A Prophet

As brutal and harrowing as you'd expect a prison drama to be. I had to turn my eyes away from the action several times. Tahar Rahim is brilliant as the wide-eyed young prisoner trying to find his way in life. The supporting cast is also excellent. "Un Prophète" is not for the faint of heart!


Written 8/25/10

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

Spotty and uneven. Kind of a drag to watch people throwing their lives away in the pursuit of drugs and illicit financial gain. There is a great movie in here somewhere, but the execution is sloppy. Nicolas Cage is eminently unlikable here, so I guess he played the "Bad Lieutenant" role very well indeed. There are a few gripping moments, but on the whole this is grotesque, unnecessary filmmaking.


Written 6/29/10

Escape from Alcatraz

The first 15-20 minutes really drag with slow and excessive exposition. Perhaps when the film premiered in 1979 Alcatraz wasn't so well known, but as a modern viewer I found the explanations about the prison (i.e. everyone saying again and again, "No one escapes from Alcatraz") to be tedious. But the film soon picks up. Clint Eastwood is outstanding in the lead role. The story presents enough twists that it remains compelling to the end. Not something I'd watch again and again, but definitely worthy of one viewing.


Written 5/18/10

The Hurt Locker

A tense, knotty thriller that delivers. Worthy of its "Best Picture" award. Unfortunately I didn't find the subplot involving the young Iraqi boy to be believable. If they could have axed that, this film would be near flawless. Still, a remarkable achievement. The drama is gripping throughout.


Written 5/7/10

The Friends of Eddie Coyle

This film is enjoyable enough while it plays, but I found it didn't wholly resonate with me. After the end credits, I was on to the rest of my evening, with nary another thought about the film. Despite this, Robert Mitchum is excellent as the title character. His performance here makes me want to check out more of his work. Definitely a "guys" movie, this. Female viewers are likely to get bleary-eyed, particularly if they have an aversion to gangster/heist films.


Written 2/11/10

M

Though this film was released in 1931, it feels contemporary. This is great filmmaking, unhindered by the primitive technology of its day. The only thing lacking is a musical score. One character's steady whistling somewhat fills this void. True, the film's story is disturbing, but the craft is so outstanding! "M" is a great example of imagination overcoming technical limitations.


Written 8/12/09

The Conversation

Absolutely outstanding in every regard. "The Conversation" is saturated with imaginative camerawork, skillful editing, haunting sounds, and studied performances. The story twists and turns in a dizzyingly Kafka-esque fashion, but Francis Ford Coppola deftly navigates a purposeful course. "The Conversation" is a rare work, reminding viewers that film can indeed be art.


Written 6/30/09

Elite Squad

This is incredible. A companion to the incomparable "City of God", this film presents the cops' point of view. The images are at times brutal, and the presentation is unflinching. It is the tale of men who go to war every day and then at the end of a day's work go home. The campaign is in their backyard. Day after day the same battles are waged. Learn what it's really like with this insider's perspective.


Written 6/5/09

The Town

"The Town" will not bear a heavy impact on the future of filmmaking, but there are enough exceptional elements to it that certify the film as worthy of praise. Ben Affleck both stars and directs. His directing is impressive: sure and understated. Occasionally he'll place the camera at an unexpected angle or move the shot mid-scene. This can be jarring, but in "The Town" these maneuvers always work and do well to serve the story. Speaking of the story, it presents a couple of twists on the typical bank-robbers v. cops narrative. The twists are refreshing and feel real. Jeremy Renner seethes and mesmerizes as one of the robbers. He is excellent. Jon Hamm is good as their police foil, but unfortunately he is saddled with awful dialogue at times. He does his best with what he's given. "The Town" is a satisfying and surprising thriller that has me interested in Ben Affleck's next move. The man has re-proven his talent after a decade-plus of questionable career moves. Congratulation, brother: you're back on track.

Michael Clayton

A taut thriller. As much as I enjoyed this, I am shocked that Tilda Swinton won an Academy Award for her supporting role. Her performance was silly and one-dimensional in my view, but Hollywood loves to reward actresses who alter their physical appearance for a role. That said, I did enjoy this film a lot. Clooney is at his brooding best, and the supporting cast is solid. Definitely one of the better movies released in 2007.


Written 4/28/08

Le Cercle Rouge

Once again director Jean-Pierre Melville's love for dark blue and gray hues dominates his presentation. Watch "Army of Shadows" or "Le Samourai" for further evidence of his color method. Like "Le Samourai", this film also stars Alain Delon, and with a silly mustache, no less! Delon brims with the same curious intensity in both films - never smiling, always simmering. The extended, wordless heist that the film builds to is believably rendered and seems in part an homage to the similar action in "Rififi". If you admire Melville's films as I do you must be sure to make time for "Le Cercle Rouge".


Written 2/23/08

Le Corbeau

"Le Corbeau" is French for the Raven. This film was shot and produced in France by French filmmaker Henri-Geroges Clouzot in 1943 during a period of German occupation. Clouzot was censored and banned for several years due to the film's pro-French, anti-imperialist content. The film is possessed of outstanding storytelling and execution, and has a haunting feel about it. Surprisingly racy subject matter, "Le Corbeau" will keep you rapt throughout its 90 minute running time.


Written 10/18/07

Das Boot

An excellent window into what daily life is like on a submarine. The characters are well-drawn and easy to relate to. The ending is a bit melodramatic for me, but didnt detract from my overall enjoyment. Yes, the directors cut version of the film is extremely long. And the language spoken by the actors is German. How shocking - they chose to make a movie about a German submarine crew in WWII, and have the actors SPEAK German?! If only filmmakers made this choice for authenticity was more often. Reading subtitles should not be viewed as a chore. Admittedly, "Das Boot" is slow-paced. But the relaxed pacing allows for an even greater sense of exhilaration when the sub is engaged in battle. If you think you have the patience, block out a few hours on a free weekend and take a trip down below.

Written 3/29/07

No Country For Old Men

For me, this is a perfect film. A tremendous cast and a gripping story anchor the production. Javier Bardem is outstanding as Anton Chigurh. He brings a sinister, cold edge to his role as a nihilistic assassin. The story revolves around a satchel of money and a manhunt. One would be hard-pressed to dream up a more generic premise, but the filmmakers - the Coen brothers - are almost peerless in their filmmaking prowess, and their work here never descends into cliche. In "No Country For Old Men" they add enough idiosyncratic elements that the film rewards many repeated viewings. After just watching it for a second time I'm already looking forward to seeing it again.