Dark City (1998) 7/10
Don't ask me how I did it, but I managed to have never heard of this movie, before stumbling over it by accident just now. Nice and stylish dystopian and anti-urban science fiction thriller. A lesson in art direction. (Too bad the 'mind power' idea is so silly, as an idea and in its visualization.)

Heima (2007) 7/10
Wonderful landscapes and wonderful music merging into a feel good rockumentary about a series of free concerts that Sigur Rós gave on returning home in Iceland after a world tour.

Source Code (2011) 7/10
Duncan Jones's second feature after Moon is a decent science fiction thriller, but certainly not as good as his debut film. The strong point of Moon was the simplicity of its plot, resulting in a very focused film. Jones tries to be simple here again (by repeating the same story a number of times), but the 'science' that is the trigger of the story is just not very convincing and full of paradoxes. Nevertheless, it's fun to watch.

Kim Bok-nam salinsageonui jeonmal [Bedevilled] (2010) 8/10
I agree with Chrisy, it's a pretty good film, combining drama and horror in a mature way. Quite a ride. And good to know they've got hillbillies in Korea too.

"Ercole contro Molock" (aka "The conquest of Mycenes") (Giorgio Ferroni, Italy/France 1963)
A cheap peplum by a master of the genre which deals with an obscure story of the queen of Mycenes whose son is a monster adulated as a god and who lives hidden in cave. The people offers him young and beautiful virgins in sacrifice because he can't bare their beauty. Only Medea the sister of Moloch is horrified. Glauco (aha Hercules) is the son of the king of a rebel city... he enter Mycenes with prisoners and trys to league the opponents to the cruel queen and Moloch... He fall in love with Medea find some rebel... league all the other cities against Mycenes... A true Hero as you can only see in such movie. Well It'd not so bad and done well, entertaining even if very simple. But tis is the main caracteristic of this genre of movie. So nice colors, Gordon Scott full in muscle is not so bad, the girls are pretty and the Molock ugly... What do we need more ?? 6,5/10.

"Crimes at the Dark House" (George King, UK 1940)
Another small british horror movie with the great Tod Slaughter the well named... In this one he takes the place of a man who made his life in Australia and wants to come back for an heritage... But o keep his secret he'll have to kill and kill again... A small B with a great acting of Slaughter with his sadistic laugh every time he commits murder... entertaining. 6,5/10.

"Yellow Sky" (William A. Wellman, USA 1948)
Wonderful western of a gang of thieves (with Gregory Peck and Richard Widmark excellent) who comes in a small abandoned town just inhabited by an man and his beautiful daughter (Anne Baxter).Wonderful directing absolutely huge b&w photography.... A very good western 8,5/10.

"Super 8"

The story of what happens when half a dozen middle-school kids set out to make a student film in 1979 Ohio and end up enmeshed in something much bigger and scarier, "Super 8" does not lack for potent elements. Its two lead teens have a fine on-screen chemistry, and all the film's big action sequences are faultlessly executed.

But "Super 8's" elements do not jell into a satisfying whole. Though the directors have been personally close for decades — they first connected when Spielberg hired the then-15-year-old Abrams to restore his own 8mm films — their styles do not necessarily mesh. It's a dissonance that's prefigured when the logos of their production companies — Abrams' cranky Bad Robot and Spielberg's lyrical Amblin — spiritually clash on-screen.

Old-fashioned and genteelly entertaining, even wholesome, "Super 8" plays more like a family film than a kinetic work by Abrams, best known on the big screen for such high energy items as "Mission: Impossible III" and the latest "Star Trek." A longtime admirer of Spielberg, Abrams has made something more in that director's style than his own, an action that has diminished his own effectiveness without replicating what makes the best of Spielberg's films so successful.

You only have to compare "Super 8" (unfairly perhaps, but inevitably) to the Spielberg film it most resembles, the impeccably entertaining "E.T.," to see the ways the earlier movie felt fresh and inventive while the new one has the aura of stuff we've already seen.

Very much like Rob Reiner's "Stand by Me," "Super 8" lives and dies by having those six 14-year-old kids as a group protagonist. Like teenagers everywhere, they provide both frustration and pleasure.

The frustration, unfortunately, comes first, as we meet the boys as an undifferentiated group, gathered together at a wake for the mother of one of their number, Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney), who has died in a steel mill accident in the blue collar town of Lillian, Ohio.

The puerile way these boys interact with each other is standard issue teen behavior, more calculated than involving. Only the fact that they're the core of a gang of kids we eventually see gathering at midnight to shoot a Super 8 short at the local train station gives them any interest at all.

That film's director, Joe's best friend, Charles (an effective Riley Griffiths), intends his zombie thriller for the rarefied precincts of the Cleveland International Super 8 Film Festival. To up the film's emotional quotient, Charles asks attractive blond classmate Alice (Elle Fanning) to be in the movie, not realizing that she is the girl of young Joe's dreams.

If the film has an unexpected strength, it is the performances of both Fanning and Courtney as Alice and Joe, kids who manage to be sweet and natural both together and apart. While Fanning is a known quantity after films such as Sofia Coppola's "Somewhere," Courtney does exceptional work for someone who has never acted professionally before.

== piracy link removed ==

I think it is :)
One in like 3 years, we're good !

Morgiana (1973)
Really nice gothic hallucinatory movie from Juraj Herz. Awesome atmosphere and great suspense with a totally gripping music. The filming through the eyes of the cat create a unic vibe. The same actress playes the 2 different main characters, really nicely done. I already loved "The Cremator" from the same director but I think I like this one even more
Awesome!!
8.5/10



Taxi to the Dark Side (2007)
Good documentary about the torture practices of the US in in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay. Worse than I thought, terrible really. A must see!
8/10



Starsuckers (2009)
Documentary that explores human being's desire to be famous and how that effects society. Ok but not really memorable...
6.5/10

Fucking Åmål - Sweet and lovely, I liked it a lot. 9/10

"Neokonchennaya pyesa dlya mekhanicheskogo pianino " (aka "Unfinished Piece for the Player Piano") (Nikita Mikhalkov, USSR 1978)
Wonderful adaptation of Tchekhov the disintegration of a world and a deep questioning about alienation face to this decaying society and the impossibility to escape... The futility of the relation between people is also reminiscent. Great directing of actors, very nice colors... Huge movie !! 9/10

"Peter Pan" (Herbert Brenon, USA 1924)
A pure piece of magic ! This first adaptation of the famous play of J.M. Barrie is just wondefull. The screenplay id very faithfull to the play and many of the intertitles are directly taken from Barrie's dialogues. The special effects are just huge for that tim and very cleverly used. The photography is of course excellent because James Wong Howe did it ! The most impressive is the performance of Betty Bronson as Peter Pan ! She is realy excellent as the little boy who don't want to grow up! A pure jewel, the other ones (even Disney one) look very poor after this... 10/10

@RDPL55: I love the Thin Man movies. One of the best screen couples ever.

@fungus ! Yes great screen couple and surprisingly not at all outside screen...

"The Brute Man" (Jean Yarbrough, USA 1946)
A small B movie of a man taking revenge after being disfigurated by a wrong experiment... Directing is not bad by a king of the B's, the screenplay is classical and the cast including the famous Rondo Hatton as "the creeper" is not bad. A good small B. 6,5/10

Potiche (2010)

I love Francois Ozon. Although, I'm clearly a nostalgic of his first movies: "Sitcom" and "Les amants criminels", I've always been desapointed that he didn't continue in this direction with some sharp and dark themes, but I still really enjoyed most of his movies: always fresh and entertaining. The only movie I didn't like was "Angel", the biggest mistake of his career and an awful and "painful to watch" movie
Well Potiche is not that far from that cause I didn't like it. It is dull, not funny, the acting is average and there is nothing special about it. The singing of Catherine Deneuve at the end was the finishing blow, can't be more dull than that! I can't help to imagine what a Étienne Chatiliez would have done with a theme like this, what a missed opportunity!! It looked like a very bad TV production and having Catherine Deneuve and Gérard Depardieu doesn't make a good movie!

5/10 just for the smile of Catherine Deneuve

I watched Potiche today and I also agree with both of you. It was quite interesting at the beginning and I thought it'd be such a promising film but it got worse as minutes passed by, and that ending was ridiculous. I'd give it a 6/10, one extra point because despite of many really forced jokes, it made me laugh a few times.

Some other films from the last weeks:
The Tenant - Good stuff, my least favourite from the Apartment Trilogy by Polanski, but caught my attention until the very ending and had some nice thrilling scenes. 8/10

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes - Entretaining film, some dancing scenes were very beautiful. ^^ 7/10

Vertigo - Hitchcock never fails to amuse me, I'm ashamed I didn't watch this one before. Great plot twist. 9/10

Fargo - Clever one, I liked it even more when I discovered it wasn't actually based upon real facts haha Coen Brothers' explanation to that false statement at the begining was intersting. :) 8/10

Despicable Me - I heard many good commentaries about it, which made me expect a bit more of the film... it's entretaining and sometimes sorta funny, though. 6,5/10

The Seventh Seal - An interesting tagline and many great dialogues. My first Bergman and I really hope to watch more from him soon. 7,5/10

Cría Cuervos... - Awesome film, incredibly sensitive and intense in so many points. 8/10

Moulin Rouge! - Visually astonishing and I loved Nicole in this one, but I predicted the ending from the very beginning, so it wasn't a surprise anymore... I also think the soundtrack didn't fit very well to the film. 7/10

Tekkon Kinkurîto - Interesting and very beautiful artwork, made me curious about the original manga. 8,5/10

Some Like it Hot - Such a funny film! I must admit I wasn't expecting much from it, it came up to be a great surprise. 8,5/10

Hannah and Her Sisters - Woody Allen in one of his best works, I think I don't need to say anything else. :) 8/10

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus - I liked it more than most people seem to do, and to me the changing of actors in Tony's role was pretty interesting. 8/10

Il Y a Longtemps Que Je T'aime - Beautifully made, fantastic drama about family relationships, guilt and rejection. I loved the way the film developed and some scenes actually made me cry. The best drama I've seen in months. 9/10

The Philadephia Story - Sweet little film, but the ending threw me a bit off it. 7/10

A Hard Day's Night - Well, what can I say, I like The Beatles very much and to feel the atmosphere from the Beatlemania times was really interesting. 8/10

Devil (2010) 4/10
Very average accomplishment within the silly genre of supernatural thrillers.

Tomorrow, When the War Began (2010) 4/10
Exciting Australian coming-of-age film, disguised as a war movie - exciting, that is, if you're 9 or 10 years old. As it's based on a popular series of 'young adults' books, there are some sequels to be expected - which also explains why the film has no ending worthy of the name. Acting, production value, cinematography are all OK, but the story (group of teenagers start guerrilla war against foreign invasion army) is a childish fantasy and the characters are stereotypes.

Baramnan gajok [A Good Lawyer's Wife] (2003) 6/10
Unsentimental but also somewhat messy and pointless film about a dysfunctional Korean family falling even further apart.

Trolljegeren [The Troll Hunter] (2010) 6/10
Entertaining Norwegian monster mockumentary, only very predictable.

Qian li zou dan qi [Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles] (2005) 6/10
A sad, nostalgic, character driven film about an old Japanese man, estranged from his dying son, traveling to rural China to find a specific folk opera singer. It's about the (lack of) communication between fathers and sons, and between the Chinese and the Japanese. As main actor Ken Takakura's face remains virtually expressionless the entire film, one needs to watch carefully not to miss the slightest of eyebrow movements.

The Adjustment Bureau (2011) 6/10
It's definitely a nonsensical science fictionish thriller, with a sentimental message. But the good thing is that it tries to concentrate its attention on a few phenomena and a very simple love story, which sort of keeps things together.

También la lluvia [Even the Rain] (2011) 7/10
A film about the making of a film, or so it seems at first. A Spanish film crew is in Bolivia to make a film about Cristopher Columbus exploiting the Indians. In the process, what they do is exploit the locals, who are meanwhile in a fight (based on facts) against the privatisation of their water rights. And so the film gets more political all the time.

Kokuhaku [Confessions] (2010) 7/10
It's a haunting psychological thriller, and clearly the product of a director who has control over all aspects of his art. Yet, I found the story line and some of the characters' behaviour somewhat far fetched.

Hanyo [The Housemaid] (2010) 7/10
Stylish Korean thriller centering around the new nanny in a wealthy family in which the master of the house is surrounded by various submissive women: his pregnant wife, his mother-in-law, an elderly servant and his preteen daughter. Tension builds up beautifully, but the climax is not entirely satisfactory.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009) 7/10
After the brilliant Brazil and Time Bandits, Terry Gilliam, in my opinion, always lacked good stories to keep the lunacy on track. It's the same here: there is so much delight in the wonderful worlds he has on offer, but he failed to organise the basics of his tale.

San qiang pai an jing qi [A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop] (2009) 8/10
Yimou Zhang's Chinese remake of the Coen brothers' debut film Blood Simple only scores 5,8 on IMDb, but actually I liked it quite a lot. Funny, nicely styled and a feast for the eye. Some overacting as well, alas.

The naked Island (1960)
Beautiful, sad and hunting piece. The repetition can be a little difficult to get used to at first but it is worth it. I still prefer Onibaba though
8.2/10


Buried (2010)
well... I found it quite desapointing, there are some interesting moments but overall it let me down on too many level
6/10


Come and See (1985)
Now this! This is the one I needed to see :) It took me a long time to motivate myself to watch it, I have heard about it, I knew it would move me and I wasn't sure to be prepared. Well it goes beyong what I imagined. Masterpiece is a small word to describe the genius of this movie. It is an experience more than just a movie, it will touch you to the core. It is terrifying, nightmarish and visually astonishing. The work on the sounds is simply fantastic and create a horribly tense and powerful atmosphere. And my god the face expressions of that boy, it still stays there in my mind days after watching it. There are not many movies I have seen that gave me a physical reaction, this is one of them, I was literally shaking lol and although I had some weird dreams the night that followed, I would want to watch it again right now!
The best war (anti-war) movie I have ever seen and a new all time favorite for me

But be prepared.... you will not feel good ;)

10/10 and I wish I could give more :)

"Metempsycho" (aka "Tomb of Torture") (Antonio Boccaci, Italy 1963)
Totaly unknown small horror movie from euro vault. The screenplay is simple but the directing is good especialy in the first 30 minutes very creepy... the photography is typicaly in the gothic b&w style of Bava, Freda and Marghireti. A small movie to discover. 6,5/10

@Chrisy "Come and See" is simply huge... a 10/10 for me too...

"The Lost Continent" (Michael Carreras & Leslie Norman, UK 1968)
Certainly the most weird movie of the Hammer. A strange story of an old ship commanded by a strange captain who has lot to hide... with passengers who olso have lot to hide... after a storm they end up in the sargassan sea and are attacked by carnivorous seeweeds and other monsters and then by a people of lost conquistadors who live on an ancien galleon... very inventive, nice photography. A very strange and entertaining movie... 7/10

"The She-Creature" (Edward L. Cahn, USA 1956)
A mysterious hypnotist bring back to life a female prehistoric monster to purchase his revenge... A small B by a master of the genre. Not so bad indeed and entertaining 6/10

"Rymdinvasion i Lappland" (aka "Terror in the Midnight Sun") (Virgil W. Vogel, USA/Sweden 1959)
One of the rare contribution from sweden to the 50's horror/sci-fi B movies... Directed by Vogel (The Mole People) it's a pretty good one, filmed in Lappland with a nice photography it's pretty watchable. I watched also the Jerry Warren's version for the US with some additional scenes (with David Carradine) and differentr editing wich is as usual pathetic. The original version 7/10 the Jerry Warren's one 4,5/10.

"Blood Thirst" (Newt Arnold, Philippines/USA 1971)
An exotic tale of vampire. Some pretty girls working in a night-club are found dead, drained of their blood. The local inspector calls his best american friend to help him... A cheap movie but good directed and with a nice b&w photography. The whole looks very like a movie of the 50's. Worth of watching. 6,5/10

Red Hill............:3/10
No surprises.

Drag Me to Hell (2009) 2/10
Advertised as being a 'horror' movie, but it's just plain stupid. Uninteresting script, bad acting, terrible special effects.

Harry Potter 6 (2009) 3/10
Harry Potter 7 (2010) 3/10
I found both films very boring. Nothing new compared to the earlier films; the story is just dragging on and on.

Legaturi bolnavioase [Love Sick] (2006) 6/10
A destructive love triangle between two girls and the brother of one of them. I suppose that themes like lesbianism and incest are not too well accepted in Romanian society, which makes the matter-of-factness with which they are dealt with here rather funny. But, maybe partly because of this casual approach, the focus is on the wrong character; the most complex one remains too much of a mystery.

Freakonomics (2010) 6/10
The bestselling non-fiction book this is derived from, aimed to show 'the hidden side of everything', is probably better than this documentary, made by six different directors. The few cases singled out here do not provide too many surprising insights. Yet, there is a sympathetic whimsical atmosphere to the research that's presented.

My Blueberry Nights (2007) 6/10
For a Wong Kar-wai fan, this was pretty disappointing. The story remains sketchy and Jude Law is terribly unconvincing. The movie does establish a certain 'mood', but nothing to fall in love with.

L'illusionniste (2010) 6/10
Charming and melancholic, although the nature of the relation between the illusionist and the girl remains rather unclear. Maybe that's due to the adaptation of the original script? (For a very lengthy but interesting discussion see http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/pages-for-twitter/the-shame-of-jacques-tati.html )

Rabbit Hole (2010) 7/10
Feel-a-bit-better movie about grief. Well made, fine screenplay, fine acting.

Les Triplettes de Belville (2003) 8/10
The first half brilliant, the second half disappointing.

Medianeras [Sidewalls] (2011) 9/10
Wonderful Argentinian debut film about two people searching for love in the modern city - in this case Buenos Aires. It's both a romantic comedy and an essay on architecture and urbanism, with great images and observations, sometimes cynical and ironic, often poetic.

"The Drums of Jeopardy" (George B. Seitz, USA 1931)
An early thriller/horror movie with Warner Oland (who'll be later the famous detective Charlie Chan) as a mad russian scientist (named Boris Karlov!!) who takes revenge after the death of her daughter cause a love affair with a noble prince Petrov... He want to kill the members of the Petrov family and just before dying they recieve a part of a famous jewel called "the drums of Jeopardy" the prince offered to Karlov's daughter... Interresting early B with nice photography and inventive story. 6,5/10.

"Monster from the Ocean Floor" (Wyott Ordung, USA 1954)
A Corman production about a weird story of a girl who spend her vacation in Mexico near the sea. But there are some strange disappearance for some years. Natives say there is a monster under the sea. She meets a maris biologist who don't belive in such legends... But she want to prove him he's wrong... Very cheap production (as usual with Corman) with very few special effects, not very good acted but with nice underwater pictures... 5/10

"Varietease" (Irving Klaw, USA 1954) and "Teaserama" (Irving Klaw, USA 1955)
Thos two movies are glamourous filmed shows of pretty sexy-dancers... it's of very few interrest but it's the ocasion to watch on wide screen some forgotten sexy stars of the 50's like Lili St. Cyr, Tempest Storm and especialy the well known sex-symbol of those years Betty Page. If she only makes a short appearance on the first movie she's really the star of the second. A curiosity. not more than 5/10 but for Page Lovers "Teaserama" deserves a 9/10 at least !!

My (by now) summer movie list - The Slumdog Millionaire - excellent, a story about life, happiness, sorrow, good and bad sides of growing up and being an adult. Really a powerful portrait of one's tough destiny which kept me interested during the whole movie, 9/10.
Lesbian Vampire Killers - full of cliches, with cheap humour, but a funny story. I'm not a parody fan and I think this was though of as one, 5/10
500 days of Summer - definitely NOT a love story, especially if you're a romantic like me. Personally I adore movies which contain references to other arts, especially music, so just the mentioning of The Smiths, brit pop and Belle and Sebastian made it even more likeable to me, together with a great storytelling, beautiful screenwriting and excellent performances by the main actors, 8/10
Defiance - I love true stories, sad stories, interesting destinies, Liev Schreiber, so what to say, but, an interesting true story about a remarkable group of people, unknown to many, who risked their lives to help others and save them, 8/10
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - after pretty boring and uninventive second and third part, I was once again transferred to Jack Sparrow's world and adventures. The part with catching a mermaid was stunning. This one was a great summer film, non demanding, light and great fun, 7/10
The Dark City - one which I will definitely watch again. The movie is stunning, the story, the idea, the scenery, effects, acting. A movie, which should be mentioned and talked about more often, 9/10
The Way Back - once again a true story about what bravery and strong will can do. Colin Farrel is worth mentioning as the highlight of a great cast in this tragedy. 8/10