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blah, blah, blah:
Favorite directors (not in order):
Michael Mann
Jean-Pierre Melville
Akira Kurosawa
David Lynch
Michael Haneke
Martin Scorsese
Danny Boyle
Louis Malle
Ridley Scott
Jules Dassin
David Fincher
Steven Spielberg
Frances Ford Coppola
The Coen brothers
Stanley Kubrick
Park Chan-wook
Wong Kar-Wai
Tom Tykwer
Roman Polanski
Jean-Pierre Jeunet
My personal favorite movies (not in order):
Runaway Train (1985)
Collateral (2004)
Heat (1995)
Children Of Men (2006)
Blade Runner (The Final Cut) (1982)
Mulholland Dr. (2001)
Apocalypse Now (Redux) (1979)
Le Cercle Rouge (The Red Circle)(1970)
Le Samoura� (1967)
Der Krieger und die Kaiserin (The Princess And The Warrior) (2000)
Schindler's List (1993)
Jacob's Ladder (1990)
Casino (1995)
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Ran (1985)
2001: A Space Odessy (1968)
Chinatown (1974)
The Third Man (1949)
The Train (1964)
Oldboy (2003)
Il Deserto Rosso (The Red Desert)(1964)
La Battaglia di Algeri (The Battle Of Algiers)(1966)
High & Low (1963)
Goodfellas (1990)
The Last Emperor (1987)
28 Days Later (2002)
Ronin (1998)
Layer Cake (2004)
The Bourne Trilogy (2002/2004/2007)
The Thin Red Line (1998)
Der Untergang (Downfall)(2004)
Dancer In The Dark (2000)
L'Arm�e Des Ombres (Army Of Shadows)(1969)
The Insider (1999)
Stalker (1979)
La Double Vie de V�ronique (1991)
Le Feu Follet (The Fire Within) (1963)
The Piano Teacher (2001)
Falling Down (1992)
Lost In Translation (2003)
Chungking Express (1994)
Yi Yi (2000)
La Haine (1995)
The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (2007)
L'ann�e derni�re � Marienbad (Last Year At Marienbad)(1961)
Taxi Driver (1976)
Requiem For A Dream (2000)
Dai-bosatsu t�ge (Sword Of Doom)(1966)
The Pianist (2002)
The Quiet Earth (1985)
Zodiac (2007)
Brick (2005)
Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai (1999)
Thelma & Louise (1991)
Kontroll (2003)
Kagemusha (1980)
Europa (1991)
Once Upon A Time In America (1984)
Into The Wild (2007)
Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)
Dark City (1998)
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
Sans Toit Ni Loi (Vagabond) (1985)
Un long dimanche de fian�ailles (A Very Long Engagement) (2004)
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Waltz With Bashir (2008)
Ostre Sledovan� Vlaky (Closely Watched Trains) (1966)
Du Rififi Chez les Hommes (1955)
Yaju No Seishun (Youth Of The Beast) (1963)
No Country For Old Men (2007)
WALL-E (2008)
Casino Royale (2006)
In Bruges (2008)
Dirty Pretty Things (2002)
Le Scaphandre et le Papillon (The Diving Bell And The Butterfly)(2007)
Le Fabuleux destin d'Am�lie Poulain (2001)
Chinjeolhan geumjassi (Sympathy For Lady Vengeance) (2005)
Pierrot Le Fou (1965)
Le Deuxi�me Souffle (Second Breath)(1966)
Touch Of Evil (1958)
Au Revoir Les Enfants (1987)
Solyaris(1972)
Solaris (2002)
I'm Not There (2007)
Lost Highway (1997)
El Aura (2006)
Un proph�te (2009)
Der Himmel �ber Berlin (Wings Of Desire)(1987)
Ivanovo Detstvo (Ivan's Childhood)(1962)
L'Avventura (1960)
Elephant (2003)
Last Of The Mohicans (1992)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Voskhozhdeniye (The Ascent)(1977)
Branded To Kill (1967)
The French Connection (1971)
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
The New World (extended cut)(2005)
L'intrus (The Intruder)(2004)
Before Night Falls (2000)
Nobi (Fires On The Plains)(1959)
12 Monkeys (1995)
The Godfather (1972)
Vanilla Sky (2001)
American Psycho (2000)
Theif (1981)
The Naked City (1948)
Classe Tous Risques (1960)
Huo Yuan Jia (143 minute version)(2006)
Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977)
The Plague Dogs (1982)
Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas (1998)
Glenngarry Glenn Ross (1992)
Malena (2000)
Payback (1998)
Ravenous (1999)
Shichinin No Samurai (The Seven Samurai)(1954)
Fong Juk (Exiled)(2006)
Flammen & Citronen (2008)
Forbrydelsens Element (The Element Of Crime) (1984)
The Taking Of Pelham One, Two, Three (1974)
Half Nelson (2006)
Wendy And Lucy (2008)
Das Weisse Band (2009)
Salinui Chueok (Memories Of Murder)(2003)
Starman (1984)
Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer (2006)
Trainspotting (1996)
2046 (2004)
Cach� (2005)
Stay (2006)
Heaven (2002)
25th Hour (2002)
Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001)
Breaking The Waves (1996)
Election (2005)
Election 2 (2006)
A Bittersweet Life (2005)
I Am Love (Io sono l'amore)(2009)
My Own Private Idaho (1991)
L�t den r�tte komma in (Let The Right One In)(2008)
Trois couleurs: Bleu (1993)
Trzy kolory: Bialy (1994)
Trois couleurs: Rouge (1994)
Hunger (2008)
The Road (2009)
Bus 174 (2002)
L'eclisse (1962)
Diarios de motocicleta (2004)
The Big Sleep (1946)
Watership Down (1978)
Public Enemies (2009)
Shutter Island (2010)
Silver Streak (1976)
Event Horizon (1997)
Bound (1996)
Miller's Crossing (1990)
Ascenseur Pour L'�chafaud (Elevator To The Gallows)(1958)
Unleashed (2005)
Sunshine (2007)
Training Day (2001)
Way Of The Gun (2000)
Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
The Machinist (2004)
N�z w wodzie (Knife In The Water)(1962)
The Terminator (1984)
Terminator 2 (1991)
Lock, Stock, And Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Fight Club (1999)
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
The Big Lebowski (1998)
Memento (2000)
Black Hawk Down (2001)
Carlito's Way (1993)
Delicatessen (1991)
Fargo (1996)
October Sky (1999)
American Gangster (2007)
The Ninth Gate (1999)
Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
Un Flic (A Cop)(1971)
Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Secretary (2002)
Naissance Des Pieuvres (Water Lilies)(2007)
Le Doulos (1962)
Revanche (2008)
Harry and Tonto (1974)
Casablanca (1942)
Night And The City (1950)
Blast Of Silence (1961)
Ruang Rak Noi Nid Mahasan (Last Life In The Universe)(2003)
The Salton Sea (2002)
The Limey (1999)
Krylya (Wings)(1966)
Alien (1979)
Man On Fire (2004)
The Road Warrior (1981)
The Beast (1988)
Strange Days (1995)
...to be continued...
Best of '10:
The American, Enter The Void, Shutter Island, Unstoppable, Never Let Me Go, The Town, Black swan, Inception, Robin Hood, True Grit, Going The Distance
Best of '09:
Fantastic Mr. Fox, I Am Love, Un proph�te, Das Weisse Band, A Serious Man, Valhalla Rising, The Road, Micmacs, Five Minutes of Heaven, Public Enemies, Where the Wild Things Are, 35 Rhums, The Limits of Control, The International, Sin Nombre, Broken Embraces, The Hurt Locker, The Girl on the Train, Pandorum
Best of '08:
Slumdog Millionaire, Waltz With Bashir, WALL-E, In Bruges, Flammen & Citronen, Let The Right One In, Wendy And Lucy, Hunger, Revanche, Il Divo, The Dark Knight, The Reader, Transsiberian, Snow Angels, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Bank Job, Burn After Reading, Cloverfield, Street Kings, Taken
Best of '07:
Into The Wild, Zodiac, The Bourne Ultimatum, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, No Country For Old Men, The Diving Bell And The Butterfly, I'm Not There, Sunshine, Water Lilies, American Gangster, The Mist, The Darjeeling Limited, 28 Weeks Later, Reign Over Me, Gone Baby Gone, Before The Devil Knows You're Dead, Rescue Dawn, Michael Clayton, The Kingdom, Hot Fuzz
Best of '06:
Children Of Men, Fearless (Hong Kong director's cut), Casino Royale, Half Nelson, The Departed, Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer, Exiled, Election 2, United 93, Miami Vice, Running Scared, Paprika, Thank You For Smoking, Inland Empire, The Fountain, The Proposition, The Host, The Fall, Little Miss Sunshine
Best of '05:
Brick, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Lady Vengeance, The New World, El Aura, Cache, Stay, Unleashed, Out Of the Blue, Jarhead, Serenity, The Descent, Hard Candy, The Jacket, The Matador, Kingdom Of Heaven, Syriana, Lord Of War
Best of '04:
Collateral, Layer Cake, Downfall, A Very Long Engagement, The Intruder, Diarios de motocicleta, Man On Fire, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, The Bourne Supremacy, 2046, Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, The Machinist, Shaun Of The Dead, Millions, Spartan
Best of '03:
Lost In Translation, Oldboy, Kontroll, Dirty Pretty Things, Elephant, Memories Of Murder, The Dreamers, Last Life In The Universe, Once Upon A Time In Mexico, Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World, The Station Agent, Northfork
Best of '02:
28 Days Later, Solaris, The Bourne Identity, The Pianist, Heaven, Bus 174, The Salton Sea, 25Th Hour, Secretary, Lilja 4-Ever, The Mothman Prophecies, Changing Lanes, Insomnia, Minority Report, The Ring, Below, Punch Drunk Love, The Good Thief, Femme Fatale
Best of '01:
Mulholland Dr., Am�lie, Training Day, Y tu mam� tambi�n, Black Hawk Down, Vanilla Sky, Brotherhood Of The Wolf, Enemy At The Gates, Monster's Ball, Donnie Darko, Blow, Spy Game, The Last Minute, Frailty
Best of 2000:
The Princess And The Warrior, Requiem For A Dream, Dancer In The Dark, Yi Yi, Before Night Falls, Way Of The Gun, American Psycho, Memento, Malena, The Beach, Brother
Ratings
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The Girlfriend Experience (2009)
Unlikable characters destroy what could have been interesting
Steven Soderbergh's The Girlfriend Experience is trying to be political and existential (he tries to channel Godard and Antonioni) but neither theme is really fully realized. The upcoming recession is supposed to put a couple (Chelsea, an escort, and Chris, a physical trainer) into some sort of existential crisis and force them into re-evaluating their jobs and way of life, but the film goes nowhere with this. All they do is try to make more money by doing what they already do (wow, he's looking to train at other pricier gyms, she wants to have a website to reach more customers, but needs to be reviewed). She already makes $2000 an hour and they live in an upscale Manhattan apartment, should we care if they feel the need for more? This isn't exactly Wendy & Lucy, a powerful film with a similar theme.
As for Soderbergh casting non-professional actors, Sasha Grey did alright, but Chris Santos was absolutely horrible. He pretty much chainsawed the film up for me. I hated both characters. Chris was an extremely unlikable doosh bag, and after a certain point, I just wanted to reach into the screen and punch him.
Chelsea was unlikable as well, but I only felt indifference towards her. She claims (in an interview) that she shields her real self from her clients. But really, she has nothing underneath to hide to begin with. She's a bore, no personality to speak of, why would anyone want to pay $2000 dollars an hour to hang out and talk to her (besides the sex) when all she does is sit there and vaguely answer your questions? In the end, the characters don't change or develop. The only hint at character development, is when Chelsea feels something towards a client, and when she throws a monkey wrench into her relationship, its a terrible decision with the result we see coming miles away (except for her, because she's a moron). Chelsea comes off as a dumb, naive girl who became somewhat wealthy from selling her body because she is pretty. I guess the only thing I liked about these people is watching them fall apart, we're supposed to care, but I was laughing.
Then, there's the political angle the film tries to flirt with. The political dialogue that plagues the film is pretty much the same as any gossip you can hear on the street from people who don't know anything about politics. Rich people in a private jet to Vegas bet on who will win the election and Chelsea's clients talk about their money problems and give their awful suggestions to her on how to invest her money. There is no real political insight here.
Everything technical about the film was amazing. The cinematography was beautiful, the editing and pacing was tight and breezy, and I liked the soundtrack (the street drummer is fantastic). Soderbergh is certainly a competent director (and a stylish one at that). But, like Tarentino, Soderbergh pays too much homage to the films and filmmakers that inspire him. Here he stated Godard and Antonioni's The Red Desert are influences (the bright colors and long, wide shots in The Girlfriend Experience are pretty much taken directly from The Red Desert). Obviously, he's not reaching their level, not with The Girlfriend Experience anyway.
There's always something that always kills Soderbergh's films for me, and for The Girlfriend Experience, it was the characters.
The International (2009)
Great mystery/investigative thriller, beautifully shot by Tom Tykwer
I'm a fan of German director Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run, The Princess And The Warrior, Heaven, Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer). The story seemed like a different direction for him, so this was a must see for me.
First, the only problem I had with the film is the screenplay, some contrived lines, especially in the third act, stick out. The dialogue really tries to force the theme down the viewers throat. Other than that, everything else was top notch. The way the story is set up and fleshed out was engrossing to me. I like a film that lets the viewer figure it out for themselves. It's got a classic mystery set up, where the viewer is in the shoes of the protagonist, we get to figure it out along with him as he unravels it.
Clive Owen and Naomi Watts were decent, but not really stretching there acting legs here. The cinematography and locations were beautiful, filmed in a neo-noirish blue/grey color palette with lots of wide angle shots of the characters dwarfed by the urban architecture. The shootout was very well done and more realistic and grittier than the usual action set piece.
It actually reminded me of a Michael Mann film.
Europa (1991)
A Surreal and stylish character film
Lars von Trier's Europa is a worthy echo of The Third Man, about an American coming to post-World War II Europe and finds himself entangled in a dangerous mystery.
Jean-Marc Barr plays Leopold Kessler, a German-American who refused to join the US Army during the war, arrives in Frankfurt as soon as the war is over to work with his uncle as a sleeping car conductor on the Zentropa Railway. What he doesn't know is the war is still secretly going on with an underground terrorist group called the Werewolves who target American allies. Leopold is strongly against taking any sides, but is drawn in and seduced by Katharina Hartmann (Barbara Sukowa), the femme fatale daughter of the owner of the railway company. Her father was a Nazi sympathizer, but is pardoned by the American Colonel Harris (Eddie Considine) because he can help get the German transportation system up and running again. The colonel soon enlists, or forces, Leopold to be a spy (without giving him a choice or chance to think about it) to see if the Werewolves might carry out attacks on the trains.
Soon, Leopold is stuck in an adventure by being involved with both sides of the conflict in a mysterious and film noir-ish way, where everyone and everything is not what it seems. Its amazing to watch the naive Leopold deal with everything (his lover, the terrorists, the colonel, annoying passengers, his disgruntled uncle, even the railway company's officials who come to examine his work ethic) before he finally boils over and humorously and violently takes control. The film is endlessly unpredictable.
The film stylishly shot, it always takes place at night during the winter with lots of falling snow. Its shot in black and white with shots of color randomly appearing throughout. Also, background screens displaying images that counter act with the images up front. Add Max von Sydow's hypnotic narration, and Europa becomes a dreamlike place that's out of this world.
This is now a personal favorite film of mine.
Classe tous risques (1960)
One of the best films Melville didn't make
Classe Tous Risques (The Big Risk) is repeatedly recommended every time I look up a Jean-Pierre Melville film that I had to give it a watch as soon as possible. Since I've been discovering Melville and seemingly working backwards through his filmography, it would be easy for me to mistake this as one of his films, but it was made in 1960, by Claude Sautet, before Melville would come and stake his claim on french neo-noir.
Classe Tous Risques has two of the best lead men of the time, Lino Ventura and Jean-Paul Belmondo. Ventura plays Abel, a gangster exiled in Italy with his wife and two kids, who wants to come back to Paris because the police are closing in on him. After a roaring and fast paced opening with a big surprise, Abel eventually gets hooked up with Eric Stark (Belmondo) who wants to get into the criminal underworld. Stark becomes Abel's chauffeur and eventual only friend in an underworld that turns it's back on Abel after everything he's done and been through. The film shows the the duality of the two men, the older Abel at the end of his time after tragedy strikes him, and the younger Eric starting off the same way Abel did, falling in love with a beautiful woman who sticks with her man despite the world they are a part of. It never ends pretty for them, or their loved ones. Its one thing to see a individual criminal come to his demise, its different when he has loved ones he risks taking down with him.
Much like Melville's film, the seemingly simple story gets more subtlety complicated as it goes along. As usual, as what I feel with Melville's films, it left my head spinning (in a good way) and dying to re watch it again to pick up what I missed the first time. Classe Tous Risques is a definite keeper.