Guy X (2005, 101 min) A date movie. Meaning that I would never have seen it if I hadn't been on a date. Attempts Catch 22 / Buffalo Soldiers humour, and not really successful. [4.11.05]
Goal! (2005, 118 min) Silly soccer story set in Newcastle and North Tyneside. Shearer? Pah! [26.10.05]
Broken Flowers (2005, 106 min) Ah Bill Murray. Zen. [17.10.05]
The Rules of Attraction (2002, 110 min) Yuppie college drama with lots of drugs and beer kegs. [8.10.05]
A History of Violence (2005, 96 min) Overrated Cronenberg drama about retired hit-man. [2.10.05]
Bob Dylan: No Direction Home (2005, 201 min) Scorcese bio-pic. Nice to see Suze Rotolo after all these years. [1.10.05]
The game of their lives (2005, 101 min) Silly US-made film about the infamous 1950 World Cup defeat of England in Belo Horizonte. [30.9.05]
The Longest Yard (2005, 113 min) Did exactly what it said on the tin - daft prison comedy about American football. High point? Burt Reynolds as always. [30.9.05]
Me and you and everyone we know (2005, 91 min) [9.9.05]
The 40 year old virgin (2005, 116 min) [7.9.05]
Dukes of Hazzard (2006, 106 min) [31.8.05]
Waiting for Happiness (2002, 95 min) [29.8.05]
Dear Wendy Modern youth-western, by Dogma sidekicks Vinterburg and Von Trier. (2005, 105 min) [28.8.05]
Crash Laudable ensemble piece revolving around racism in Los Angeles. (2004, 113 min) [27.8.05]
Asoka Bloody Bollywood epic with one or two songs. Didn't like it any more than I liked Troy. (2001, 155 min) [25.8.05]
The Perfect Catch Not bad US remake of Fever Pitch. This time based around the story of the non-sports loving woman (the lovely Drew B), rather than the boring old sports loving male. (????, ??? min) [24.8.05]
The Apartment Cute Shirley Maclaine and geeky Jack Lemmon, in 'classic' that I found all too obvious and disappointing. All of my favourite movies seem to be post-1960, with the exception of a few comedies and musicals. I never 'get' these old and much admired critics hits. (1960, 125 min) [23.8.05]
Ararat Atom Egoyan vehicle for musings on the Armenian genocide. Raised some interesting questions and sent me to Wikipedia for more information. (2002, 115 min) [21.8.05]
Uzak Blimey. This one drags a bit doesn't it? Turkish movie about a blocked writer and his country cousin who comes to stay with him in the city. (2002, 110 min) [?.8.05]
Black Indian movie without any songs. About a deafblind girl and her Alzheimers afflicted teacher. Oddity - bit overacted - but interesting to see a non-Bollywood Indian movie. (2005, 122 min) [8.8.05]
Lagaan Big Bollywood epic set in late nineteenth centuray and built around a cricket match between a rural Indian village and the local British garrisson. Quite gripping stuff, good cricket scenes, and the usual high-standard of songs by AR Rahman. (2001, 224 min) [7.8.05]
Charlie & the Chocolate Factory Johnny Depp's hair! (2005, 115 min) [3.8.05]
The Machinist Big weightloss by Christian Bale while Jennnifer Jason Leigh plays 'whore-with-a-heart-of-gold'. Like Memento, but not as good. Nice visually though. (2004, 102 min) [31.7.05]
Clean Maggie Cheung and Beatrice Dalle in a rock n roll n drugs drama. Beatrice looking very good at forty, Maggie probably slightly older. The odd inclusion of rock acts playing themselves - and Tricky who isn't even convincing doing that. But otherwise stylish and nicely subtle. (2004, 111 min) [26.7.05]
War of the Worlds Oh puhleeez ... Tom Cruise? What were they thinking? This one defies criticism, but let me just say that it petered out about five minutes before the end and sort of stopped. What a way to end an action pic ... splutter splutter. (2005, 116 min) [18.7.05]
Bombon - El Perro Nice enough, though not startlingly original, world cinema. Good to see Argenitinian landscapes - rather like Texas or bits of Australia. Lead actor Juan Villegas has one of the saddest faces I've ever seen on screen. (2004, 97 min) [14.7.05]
Ramblin' Boys Amateurish documentary about Charlie Poole, produced by Martin Stephenson, and not without charm. (2005, ?? min) [8.7.05]
Sin City Stylish rubbish. Though it's always good to see Mickey Rourke. (2005, 124 min) [19.6.05]
Downfall Hitler-bothering stuff. Not bad though. (2004, 156 min) [17.6.05]
Together (2000, 106 min) [15.6.05]
Mysterious Skin Gregg Araki feature which explores what is fast becoming THE subject matter of the early 21st Century; pedophilia. Nonetheless, this extraordinary production has a depth and subtlety that ALL of the others have been missing I think. Good acting, sympathetic storytelling, thoughtful mise en scene. Possibly the best movie I've seen this year. (2004, 99 min) [10.6.05]
Satin Rouge French/Tunisian co-production concerning a middle-aged single-Mum who takes up belly-dancing in a club. A sort of Islamic Belle de Jour I guess, but treated with sympathy and warmth, and the music and dance are genuinely entrancing. I saw this on ARTE on French TV on a weekend away in Paris and I'm not sure if it's commercially available. Still, worth seeking out. (2002, 100 min) [6.6.05]
Palindromes I'm not sure what I thought of it, but I think I enjoyed it. It's sure to upset a lot of people, being mostly about death, incest, under-age sex, abortion, religion. But just because those things can be upsetting doesn't mean you shouldn't make films about them. Especially such a funny film. Loved Sharon Wilkins performance as one of the eight women playing Aviva. Stupendous and sensitive. (2004, 100 min) [31.5.05]
Hold back the night Are you kidding me? Possibly the most cliched road movie I've ever seen. Badly scripted, badly acted, bad idea. Working class northern girl runs away from abusive father leaving behind sister with cerebal palsy, result of incestuous relationship. Gets involved with crusty, kills security guard, meets old woman witn cancer travelling to Scotland to end her life. All learn from experience and 'grow' Jeez! (1999, 104 min) [29.5.05]
Burn to Shine Produced by Brendon Canty, the idea was to film one band, every-hour-on-the-hour, playing one song, in a house that was about to be razed to the ground. Featuring The Evens, Weird War, Bob Mould. Good stuff. (2004, 45 min) [26.5.05]
The Human Stain Unsuccessful adaptation of the book by Philip Roth, in which aging university professor loses his job, dates a troubled young illiterate woman, and hides a long-kept secret. (2003, 106 min) [25.5.05]
Millions Tricksy Brit-comedy about two cute children who find a bag of money, and the chaos that ensues. A simple story told in far too complicated and mannered a way to be completely successful. (2004, 98 min) [23.5.05]
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Not completely succesful, but a good try in getting such a conceptual work onto the screen. Sam Rockwell very annoying, in a part that was crying out for Rik Mayall. Zooey Deschanel is obviously this year's Maggie Gyllenhaal. Otherwise it was fun to watch out for all the Brit-comedy cameos and voices. (2005, 110 min) [1.5.05]
The Assassination of Richard Nixon For me a quite stunning exploration of one man's mid-life crisis and descent into insanity. I could relate to this only too well. Sean Penn stars, and convinces me that he really is possessed of genius. Amazing. (2004, 95 min) [26.4.05]
Whale Rider Beautiful coming-of-age/female empowerment story woven round an ancient Maori folk-tale. (2002, 101 min) [22.4.05]
The Motorcycle Diaries Taken from books by Che Guevara and his pal, follows youthful escapades around South America and investigates the incidents which formed the revolutinary mind of Guevara. (2004, 128 min) [12.4.05]
The Big Red One Reconstruction of Sam Fuller's anti-war war film starring a troubled Hank Marvin, and a young good looking Mark Hamill. Said to have been a big influence on Spielberg in Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers. (1980, 163 min) [11.4.05]
Enduring Love Bit sick of seeing Daniel Craig and Rhys Ifans in Brit movies, but I'm a big Samantha Morton fan, and this movie didn't disappoint. Well told story of the after effects of a ballooning-accident, with a mid-life crisis, stalking and a woman coping with widowhood thrown in. (2004, 101 min) [10.4.05]
The Door in the Floor Much better than I thought it would be, being an adaptation of a John Irving novel, and me not being a particular fan. But, great performances from Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger, and a nude supporting role for the well-endowed Mimi Rogers. You can't go wrong. (2004, 111 min) [9.4.05]
Waking Life Amazing animated-from-life movie, which explores a bunch of philosophical and theological ideas, while all the time keeping you guessing - are we in the real or the imagined world? (2001, 101 min) [7.4.05]
Heartworn Highways Pretty interesting 1975 take on the 'new country' phenomenon, and starring Townes van Zandt, Guy Clark, David Allan Coe, and in a final cameo, a young, thin Steve Earle. The kind of movie that makes you wish you'd been there - especially sitting in the kitchen as Townes plays Waitin' Around To Die to a tearful 92-year old Seymour Washington. (1981, 92 min) [6.4.05]
Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism Fascinating exploration of the way Fox and Murdoch mishandle and mangle the news to suit right-wing agenda. (2004, 75 min) [5.4.05]
Guerilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst Study of the Symbionese Liberation Army and their kidnap of heiress Patty Hearst. In the vein of the Weather Underground doco I saw last year. (2004, 86 min) [4.4.05]
Man in the sand Documentary on the making of the Mermaid Avenue albums, featuring Wilco and Billy Bragg. (1999, 120 min) [4.4.05]
Friday Night Lights I'll watch almost anything that Billy Bob appears in. And this was better than most, in that I hadn't heard of it and it delivered. Lots of hand-held documentary style shooting in this study of American high-school football. (2004, 87 min) [22.3.05]
Criminal Good cast, but I've already forgotten what this one was about. Sorry. (2004, 87 min) [22.3.05]
Woyzeck One of my favourite pairings - Herzog and Kinski - in a film I really shouldn't have watched, feeling as low as I have felt for some time. The story of a lowly army private and his descent into madness and murder, while his wife whores it around a small German town; I think the town might be Telc in the Czech Republic - and it looks beautiful. Herzog says that there is no adequate translation of Buchner's play - but I may have to find it and see for myself. Mysterious, modern and very intriuging. (1979, 80 min) [17.3.05]
The Wicker Man Quite disappointingly lame. Having waited so long to see this legendary Hammer horror, I found it lacking in both suspense and fear-factor. Nice to be reminded how cute Ingrid Pitt was though, and hilarious to watch Britt Ekland's big-bottomed body double writhing around. (1973, 117 min) [16.3.05]
Spotswood Fairly lame Ealing-style comedy starring Ben Mendelsohn and Anthony Hopkins, with Toni Collette and Russell Crowe in supporting roles. Obviously some kind of comment on the rationalisation of Australia. (1992, 95 min) [10.3.05]
Dirty pretty things (2002, 93 min) [8.3.05]
My wrongs #8245-8249 & 117 (2002, 12 min) [8.3.05]
All the real girls (2003, 108 min) [6.3.05]
Kinsey (2004, 118 min) [4.3.05]
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004, 118 min) [2.3.2005]
Personal Velocity (2002, 86 min) [1.3.2005]
End of the century: The Story of the Ramones (2003, 110 min) [23.2.05]
Rushmore (1998, 93 min) [14.2.05]
Sideways (2004, 123 min) [12.2.05]
Team America; World Police (2004, 98 min) [15.1.05]
Million Dollar Baby (2004, 137 min) [14.1.05]
Alexander (2004, 175 min) [11.1.05]
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004, 108 min) [29.12.04]
Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004, 93 min) [15.12.04]
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