December 12, 2008
November 11, 2008
In Bruges (2008) *****
A very original comedy about two British hitman spending some time in a medieval Belgian town. Surprising, quite funny (in a very dark way) and extremely well-made.
October 10, 2008
Import Export (2008) ****
After "Dog Days" (2001), Austrian director Ulrich Seidl comes up with another provocative satire about contemporary society. This time, his merciless camera observes (among other things) the lives of Ukrainian prostitutes and their Austrian clients. The film was presented at the Cannes Film Festival to wide critical acclaim.
The Dark Knight (2008) ****
Arguably the best "Batman" movie ever (which also makes it the greatest "superhero" movie of all times). Directed by Christopher Nolan ("Momento", "Batman Begins"), it's a fascinating parabole about modern terrorism, drawing bold parallels between Batman's vigilantism and Bush's War on Terror. Heath Ledger, as Joker, is absolutely mesmerizing, making Jack Nicholson's Joker look sane, reasonable and even boring by comparison. The action scenes are top-notch. Christian Bale's weird Batman voice is the only weakness of this otherwise perfect movie.
Don't Look Down (2008) ****
Eliseo Subiela's masterpiece and his only film where eroticism and romanticism fuse together effortlessly rather than cancel each other out (which was unfortunately the case in some of his earlier pictures such as "The Dark Side of the Heart" and "Don't Die Without Telling Me Where You're Going"). Gorgeous Antonella Costa, last seen in "Cobrador In God We Trust", spends almost the entire film completely naked, while introducing a young sleepwalking student into the joys of tantric sex.
Absurdistan (2008) ****
September 9, 2008
Wall-E (2008) ***
From Andrew Stanton (director of "Finding Nemo" and co-director of "A Bug's Life") comes this entertaining cartoon about a small waste-collecting robot who embarks on a space journey that ultimately decides the fate of mankind.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) ***
Woody Allen moves to Spain and the results are both refreshing and entertaining. It's a vaguely Henry Jamesian story about two more-or-less innocent American women discovering love and sex among ultra-sophisticated European artists. Scarlett Johansson's third movie for Woody Allen, making her now one of his regular leading ladies (and muses), after Louise Lasser (1969-1972), Diane Keaton (1972-1979 and 1993) and Mia Farrow (1982-1992).
Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) ***
Sally Hawkins won a well-deserved Golden Globe as Best Actress (Comedy or Musical) for her cheerful and effervescent performance in this cute British comedy directed by Mike Leigh.
Tropic Thunder (2008) ***
Terrific film, part action flick, part Hollywood satire, with amazing performances, hilarious dialogue and perfect pacing. Robert Downey Jr is outstanding as a Method actor who is never out of character, but it's Tom Cruise who steals the movie as a insanely ruthless movie mogul named Les Grossman, who eats actors, directors and agents for breakfast, chews them for lunch, and spits them out for supper. Great fun. Directed by Ben Stiller, (yes, the same Ben Stiller who 12 years earlier directed the insipid "Cable Guy"). Ethan Coen co-wrote the script.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)