Caramel (Day 82)
My Opinion: 6.4 || Lightly funny and touching romantic comedy. The casually intimate view of Beirut is nice, and the narrative structure is amiably loose — more a slice of life than a well-formed story.
Category Archive: 2000s
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Cell 211 (Day 79)
My Opinion: 6.9 || Thrilling first hour that leads to a disappointingly strained and messy second half — too many developments that smell like a screenwriter’s outline. Even with those flaws, though, it’s a… Continue reading
Good Bye Lenin! (Day 78)
My Opinion: 7.0 || A well-balanced comedy/drama that captures German unification with rich period detail. The plot itself requires some suspension of disbelief, but it’s an interesting, lightly funny, and affectionate film.
Revanche (Day 77)
My Opinion: 8.0 || Starts as a thriller before evolving into a meditative character study. Some character turns give you pause, but the tone is beautifully calibrated, and the conclusion arrives with subtle power.
The Island (Day 75)
My Opinion: 6.6 || A deeply felt movie that’s distinctive but not distinctly successful. As a depiction of earnest religious devotion it rings true, but there’s little investigation of that devotion or insight into… Continue reading
The Edge of Heaven (Day 74)
My Opinion: 7.7 || Complex, affecting movie about connections made and connections missed. After a strong beginning, the film becomes a bit strained in the middle (working too hard to set up the connections… Continue reading
Malèna (Day 70)
My Opinion: 5.4 || Beautifully shot but the tone is awkward and inconsistent, with a story that struggles and mostly fails to amount to something. The film continually adopts a farcical tone that’s discordant… Continue reading
Mesrine: Killer Instinct (Day 67)
My Opinion: 6.8 || Good gangster biopic, but the direction and acting are more interesting than the subject matter. It’s the first part of a two-film set, and has a to-be-continued ending that (unavoidably)… Continue reading
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Day 65)
My Opinion: 9.5 || I don’t think I can provide a commentary that will do the movie justice (though I’ll try). It’s perfect.
Ghost In The Shell: Innocence (Day 59)
My Opinion: 8.2 || A philosophically ambitious, Escher-like story told with spectacular visuals. One of the most fascinating movie-watching experiences I’ve had recently.
