January 2012
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List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
32 titles
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsColin FarrellQ'orianka KilcherChristopher PlummerThe story of the English exploration of Virginia, and of the changing world and loves of Pocahontas.A wildly uneven effort. The first 45 minutes are fantastic, the last 30 are dry and ultra-conventional. Emmanuel Lubezki's camerawork makes the whole thing lovely to look at, but in the end it's not even close to Days of Heaven or The Tree of Life.
- DirectorPaul SchraderStarsRichard PryorHarvey KeitelYaphet KottoWhen three automotive factory workers who're struggling financially try to steal from their own labor union, they discover corruption, and reluctantly decide to use this information for blackmail.One of the three great movies I've had the pleasure to see over the course of this month. The most heart-breakingly honest film you'll ever see about the plight of the American working man . [A+]
- DirectorBasil DeardenStarsDirk BogardeSylvia SymsDennis PriceA closeted lawyer risks his career to bring a blackmailer to justice.A fascinating but flawed look at homophobia in England. [B+]
- DirectorRené ClairStarsMarlene DietrichBruce CabotRoland YoungIn old New Orleans, a beautiful adventuress juggles the attentions of a rich banker and a dashing sea captain.A big, dumb studio picture redeemed only by Marlene Dietrich's electric presence. [C]
- DirectorJohn Michael McDonaghStarsBrendan GleesonDon CheadleMark StrongAn unorthodox Irish policeman with a confrontational personality is partnered with an uptight F.B.I. agent to investigate an international drug-smuggling ring.One of the more overlooked films of the year. A wickedly funny, if somewhat rushed flick. [B-]
- DirectorDouglas SirkStarsRock HudsonLauren BacallRobert StackAlcoholic playboy Kyle Hadley marries the woman secretly loved by his poor but hard-working best friend, who in turn is pursued by Kyle's nymphomaniac sister.My first Sirk and definitely not my last. Melodrama has never been this complex, beautiful, and memorable. [A]
- DirectorFred CavayéStarsGilles LelloucheRoschdy ZemGérard LanvinSamuel, a male nurse, saves the life of a thief whose henchmen take Samuel's wife hostage and force him to spring their boss.A short, effective, and immediately disposable little thriller. [C]
- DirectorBen WheatleyStarsNeil MaskellMyAnna BuringHarry SimpsonNearly a year after a botched job, a hitman takes a new assignment with the promise of a big payoff for three killings. What starts off as an easy task soon unravels, sending the killer into the heart of darkness.One of the best horror movies in recent memory. Dark, unforgiving, and unrelenting. You'll never see a horror movie as intense or unsettling. [A]
- DirectorAki KaurismäkiStarsAndré WilmsBlondin MiguelJean-Pierre DarroussinWhen an African boy arrives by cargo ship in the port city of Le Havre, an aging shoe shiner takes pity on the child and welcomes him into his home.People seem to mistake this movie's flaws for strengths. Everything in this is simplistic to the point of parody; it's ad if Kaurismaki is trying to subvert all that is good and gentle in the world. [C]
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsJodie FosterKristen StewartForest WhitakerA divorced woman and her diabetic daughter take refuge in their newly-purchased house's safe room when three men break-in, searching for a missing fortune.I defy you to find a movie this astoundingly *beep* [F]
- DirectorMichel HazanaviciusStarsJean DujardinBérénice BejoJohn GoodmanWhen George, a silent movie superstar, meets Peppy Miller, a dancer, sparks fly between the two. However, after the introduction of talking pictures, their fortunes change, affecting their dynamic.Gimmicky, distractingly modern, and incredibly charming. It's a blast to see with an audience; mine laughed and cheered the entire time. Some folks even danced their way out of the theater. [B+]
- DirectorJames DeMonacoStarsEthan HawkeVincent D'OnofrioSeymour CasselThe lives of three residents of New York's Staten Island intersect as they struggle to get ahead.So astoundingly awful you only realize it's not a parody about an hour into it. However, Vincent D'Onofrio is always fun in bad movies, and his unhinged, totally over-the-top performance makes the film watchable. [D-]
- DirectorChuan LuStarsYe LiuWei FanHideo NakaizumiIn 1937, Japan occupied Nanjing, the Chinese capital. There was a battle and subsequent atrocities against the inhabitants, especially those who took refuge in the International Security Zone.Begins promisingly enough, but slowly becomes a repetitive, deliberate Serious Film About Serious Issues. [C]
- DirectorJean-Luc GodardStarsMireille DarcJean YanneJean-Pierre KalfonA surreal tale of a married couple going on a road trip to visit the wife's parents with the intention of killing them for the inheritance.A loud, brutal and profane mess of a film. I've never understood the love-it-or-leave-it attitude many cinephiles have towards this film. Goadard admittedly never reaches the heights of Pierrot le Fou or Breathless with this film, but he does create an exhilarating and intellectually exhausting experience. [A]
- DirectorManoel de OliveiraStarsAfonso BonitoCarmen SantosPaulo MatosA photographer is asked by hotel owners to take portraits of their recently deceased daughter.Worst arthouse pic of 2011. Distractingly awful acting, generic camerawork, archaic notions of life and death all pervade this amateurish film. [F]
- DirectorNeil JordanStarsColin FarrellAlicja BachledaDervla KirwanAn Irish fisherman discovers a woman in his fishing net whom his precocious daughter believes to be a selkie.Simple, lyrical, and nothing short of magical. Watching this film is like being read a soothing bedtime story. [A]
- DirectorLuchino ViscontiStarsFarley GrangerAlida ValliMassimo GirottiAn Italian Countess is allied with Nationalists during the Italian-Austrian war of unification. However, she risks betraying their cause when she falls in love with an Austrian lieutenant.A fatal case of style over substance. Apart from ridiculously lavish sets and costumes, Senso doesn't have a lot going for it: the two main characters are two-dimensional and totally uninteresting, the plot is barely serviceable, and the score is obnoxious and often overbearing. [C]
- DirectorBennett MillerStarsBrad PittRobin WrightJonah HillOakland A's general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to assemble a baseball team on a lean budget by employing computer-generated analysis to acquire new players.Just the kind of character-over-plot film that Hollywood shies from so often. [A]
- DirectorBaltasar KormákurStarsMark WahlbergGiovanni RibisiKate BeckinsaleTo protect his brother-in-law from a drug lord, a former smuggler heads to Panama to score millions of dollars in counterfeit bills.Sure, the entire plot (including the surprise betrayal) is immediately obvious to anyone who's seen a movie before, but where else do you get to hear Mr. Funky Bunch say things like "salt dissolves in water, bitch" and "I'm coming for you"? [C]
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsJoel McCreaRandolph ScottMariette HartleyAn ex-union soldier is hired to transport gold from a mining community through dangerous territory. But what he doesn't realize is that his partner and old friend is plotting to double-cross him.Basically a more idealistic and romanticized version of the far superior The Wild Bunch, Ride the High Country is a wildly uneven but ultimately touching requiem to a dying West. [A-]
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsHumphrey BogartLauren BacallJohn RidgelyPrivate detective Philip Marlowe is hired by a wealthy family. Before the complex case is over, he's seen murder, blackmail and what might be love.Massively overrated. Subtle direction and an infallible lead actor can't overcome a hackneyed plot and an icy cold Lauren Bacall.
- DirectorAlain ResnaisStarsEmmanuelle RivaEiji OkadaStella DassasA French actress filming an anti-war film in Hiroshima has an affair with a married Japanese architect as they share their differing perspectives on war.Every now and then, I watch a movie that restores my faith in cinema as an art form. Hiroshima Mon Amour is one of those movies. An emotionally devastating and boundlessly beautiful film that anyone even remotely interested in film should watch. [A+]
- DirectorJosé PadilhaStarsWagner MouraIrandhir SantosAndré RamiroAfter a prison riot, former-Captain Nascimento, now a high ranking security officer in Rio de Janeiro, is swept into a bloody political dispute that involves government officials and paramilitary groups.One of the few sequels to expand upon its predecessor. An often unforgiving look at deep-seated crime and corruption. [B+]
- DirectorDennis HopperStarsPeter FondaDennis HopperJack NicholsonTwo bikers head from L.A. to New Orleans through the open country and desert lands, and along the way they meet a man who bridges a counter-culture gap of which they had been unaware.One of the best films ever made. Liberating, subversive, and ultimately tragic, there has never been a more distinctly American picture. [A+]
- DirectorJerzy SkolimowskiStarsVincent GalloEmmanuelle SeignerZach CohenAn Afghan POW attempts his escape.Pretentious, shallow, and about 80 minutes too long. [D-]