C - ALL FILMS 2003-6/2009
C.R.A.Z.Y. (d. Jean-Marc Vallée) V. 2nd time around this time on video.  Why is this masterpiece not getting released in the U.S.? *** 3/4
C.R.A.Z.Y. (d. Jean-Marc Vallée) V.+++ Still one of the best coming-of-age gay films ever made. *** 3/4
C.R.A.Z.Y. (d. Jean-Marc Vallée; Canada)  *** 3/4
CA-BAU-KAN (d. Nia Dinata) Indonesia AFF.  Historical drama about a beautiful pleasure girl who marries a shady businessman.  * 1/2
CADILLAC RECORDS (d. Darnell Martin) Interesting biopic of Chess recording artists. Nice musical numbers, esp. Beyoncé's Etta James. ** 3/4
CAESAR (d. Uli Edel)V. ** 3/4
CAKE EATERS, THE (d. Mary Stuart Masterson) Quirky, realistic contemporary heart tugger with some really wonderful perfs & assured direction.  *** 1/4
CALENDAR GIRLS (d. Nigel Cole) Mediocre female version of The Full Monty.  **
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN' (ENDLESS) (d. Cristian Nemescu) *** 1/4
CALL ME TROY (d. Scott Bloom) ***
CAMILLE (d. Gregory Mackenzie)  * 3/4
CAMP (d. Todd Graff) V.++ Still more entertaining than American Idol!  Guilty pleasure; but very much a pleasure.  ***
CAMP HOLLYWOOD (d. Steve Markle)V. Superb personal DV docu about a nearby hotel & its denizens, many trying to make it in Hollywood.  *** 1/2
CAMP  (d. Todd Graff) + Just hits me squarely in my wheelhouse. 2nd viewing confirms its cleverness & skills of the cast despite inherent clichés.  ***
CAMP  (US  d. Todd Graff)  Aimiable, but predictable (we've seen it before), musical comedy about a summer camp for budding entertainers.  ** 1/2
CAMPFIRE (d. Joseph Cedar) Involving family drama about a woman with 2 daughters coping with social and relational problems. Nicely acted.  ***
CAN GO THROUGH SKIN (d. Esther Rots) ** 1/2
CAN MR. SMITH GET TO WASHINGTON ANY MORE? (d. Frank Popper) V. Absorbing docu of empassioned run for Congress. *** 1/2
CAPE NO. 7 (d. Te-Sheng Wei; Taiwan) **
CAPE OF GOOD HOPE  (d. Mark Bamford) Harmless S.African ecuminical romantic comedy, sort of predictable.  ** 1/2
CAPITOL CRIMES (p. Bill Moyers) V. Surgical dissection of the Jack Abramoff/Tom de Lay scandals.  Great tv journalism.  *** 1/4
CAPONE (d. Jean Marc Brandolo) Buddy road trip film...two lost souls taking a race horse from Paris to Finland. Good film, but I dozed.  ** 3/4
CAPOTE (d. Bennett Miller) *** 1/4
CAPTAIN ABU RAED (d. Amin Matalqa) ***
CAPTAIN AHAB (Captaine Achab) (d. Philippe Ramos) ** 1/4
CAPTIVE (d. Gastón Biraben) Moving & beautifully acted film about an Argentine teenage girl who discovers her parents are not her real parents.  *** 1/4
CAPTIVE  (d. Aleksei Uchitel) ** 3/4
CAPTURE OF THE GREEN RIVER KILLER, THE (d. Norma Bailey) V. Zodiac lite. Very well made & acted.  ***
CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS  (US doc.  d. Andrew Jarecki)  A great documentary which peels the layers off of a family's secrets & justice mislaid.  ****
CARAMEL (d. Nadine Labaki; Lebanon) ** 1/2
CARANDIRU (d. Hector Babenco) A Brazilian prison worse than Oz, from doctor's pov. Involving, occasionally wrenching, well acted, nicely put together.  *** 1/4
CARD PLAYER, THE (d. Dario Argento) Ludicrous, but well directed Italian policier about a maniac serial woman killer using the internet to play games with police. * 1/2
CARMEN IN KHAYELITSHA (d. Mark Dornford-May) ** 1/2
CARMO HIT THE ROAD (d. Murillo Pasta) ** 1/4
CARNAGE (d. Delphine Gleize) V. Visually stunning film about, well, bull.  And how all is connected in the world.  Or something.  ***
CARS (d. John Lassiter) Inventive animation, got better as it went along, but just not up to its rep.  ** 3/4
CASA DE LOS BABYS  (d. John Sayles) Intermittently interesting Mexican baby mill story, unexpectedly flawed by a poorly structured script.  **
CASANOVA (d. Lasse Hallström) ***
CASH TRUCK  (d. Nicolas Boukhrief) Effective, beautifully shot film noir, violent and unpredictable.  ***
CASHBACK  (d. Sean Ellis) ***
CASINO ROYALE (d. Martin Campbell) Nice new Bond; nice physical action stunts.  But the film is as ridiculous as ever.  ** 1/4
CASSANDRA'S DREAM (d. Woody Allen) Hitchcockian film with a little Purple Noon thrown in.  ** 3/4
CATCH A FIRE (d. Phillip Noyce) Excellent "making of a terrorist/freedom fighter" film from So. Africa. Derek Luke fine.  *** 1/4
CATCH AND RELEASE (d. Susannah Grant) Predictable but well acted chick flick which involved me.  ** 3/4
CAUCASIA (d. Farid Gumbatov; Azerbaijan) * 1/4
CAVE OF THE YELLOW DOG, THE (d. Byambasuren Davaa; Mongolia)
CAVEDWELLER (d. Lisa Cholodenko) Sometimes annoying but satisfying drama about woman who ran away with a rock band returning home to Georgia.  ** 3/4
CAYO (d. Vincente Juarbe; Puerto Rico) * 3/4  
CECILIE (d. Hans Fabian Wullenweber) ** 3/4
CELESTE IN THE CITY (d.  Larry Shaw) V. Queer Eye for Straight Girl makeover ABC Family film abounding with simplistic stereotypes. Another great Ethan Embry role. **
CELLULAR (d. David Ellis) More plot holes than Swiss cheese in this silly variant on Phone Booth; but Chris Evans is going to be a star.  * 3/4
CHACUN SA NUIT  (d. Jean-Marc Barr, Pascal Arnold) *** 1/4
CHAMPAGNE SPY, THE (d. Nadav Schirman) ***
CHANGE OF ADDRESS (Changement d'adresse) (d. Emmanuel Mouret) ** 1/2
CHANGELING, THE  (d. Clint Eastwood) Schocking true story resonates emotionally. Jolie's over-the-top perf. is Oscar bait; but Eastwood's clear vision holds.  ***
CHANGING DESTINY (d. Daniele Gaglianone) Jagged, cutty, edgy story of 3 teenage northern Italian boys who drop out and get into various kinds of trouble. ***
CHANGING TIMES (Les Temps qui changent)  (d. André Téchiné) *** 1/4
CHAOTIC ANA (Caótica Ana) (d. Julio Medem)   *** 3/4         
CHARITON'S CHOIR (d. Grigoris Karantinakis; Greece) * 3/4
CHARLEY AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (d. Tim Burton) V. Amusing with impressive effects. ***
CHARLIE BARTLETT (d. Jon Poll) Anton Yelchin great as a preppy Ferris Bueller type undermining public school authority.  ***
CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR (d. Mike Nichols) Simplistic demonizing of enemy turned me off.  ** 3/4
CHARLIE: THE LIFE & ART OF CHARLES CHAPLIN (d. Richard Schickel) V. Fascinating, if facile doc about the great film artist.  *** 1/4
CHARLIE'S ANGELS FULL THROTTLE (d. McG)  Some inventive stuff, though the CGI was cheesy; but ultimately tedius and familiar action thriller.  ** 1/4
CHARLOTTE SOMETIMES (d. Eric Byler) 4 Asian-American characters and their tangled relationships.  Haunting, eliptical, subtle, well played.  *** 1/4
CHARLOTTE'S WEB (d. Gary Winick) Nice voice acting, good f/x and a moving story make for a pleasant film.  ***
CHASER, THE (d. Na Hong-jin) *** 1/2
CHE Part 1 (d. Steven Soderbergh) Light on exposition, too many characters to keep straight, still interesting as docudrama.  ** 3/4
CHE Part 2 (d. Steven Soderbergh) Same problesm; but it just works better as futility and defeat is just more interesting than victory. ***
CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN (d. Shawn Levy) I expected to hate it; but instead I was enchanted by the story & actors. Funny and emotionally satisfying.  ***
CHEF'S SPECIAL  (d. Nacho Velilla) ** 1/4
CHÉRI (d. Stephen Frears) Outstanding, lavish evocation of Belle Epoque; Pfeiffer is radient, Rupert Friend fabulously epicene. Literate script.  *** 1/2
CHERRY BLOSSOMS - HANAMI (d. Dorris Dorrie) *** 1/4
CHIAVI DI CASA, LE (d. Gianni Amelio) V.+ Wonderful, moving film with sublime performances by Rampling, Stuart & Rossi. *** 1/2
CHILD, THE (L'enfant) (d. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne) *** 1/4
CHILDHOOD OF MAXIM GORKY  (d. Mark Donskoy) Classic Russian film from the writer's memoire of his peasant Volga family.  ***
CHILDREN (d. Ragnar Bragason; Iceland) *** 1/2
CHILDREN OF HUANG SHI, THE (d. Roger Spottswoode) ** 3/4
CHILDREN OF MEN (d. Alfonso Cuaron) Masterpiece of Gazaian dystopia, Nativity allegory & Time of the Wolf rolled into one. *** 1/2
CHILDREN OF WAR (d. Alexandre Fuchs) ** 1/4
CHILDSTAR  (d. Don McKellar) Funny, trenchant and occasionally silly satire about a 12 yr. old movie star & his kooky mom.  ***
CHINAMAN (Kinamand) (d. Henruk Ruben Genz) Wry Danish comedy. Plumber divorced by wife marries younger Chinese woman. ***
CHINESE ODYSSEY: 2002  (Hong Kong  d. Jeff Lau)  Funny and assured satire of a martial arts, Chinese Emperor's court film.  *** 1/4
CHOK-DEE (d. Xavier Durrenger) The French Rocky, a French street criminal becomes a world champ Thai boxer...written & acted by the guy himself. ** 1/2
CHOKE (d. Clark Gregg) * 1/2
CHOP SHOP (d. Ramin Bahrani) ***
CHORISTES, LES (d. Christophe Barratier) Franch AFF: moving drama of a teacher who tames the boys in a reform school through music.  *** 1/2
CHRIS & DON:  A LOVE STORY (d. Guido Sante) *** 1/2
CHRISTMAS TALE, A (Un conte de Noël) (d. Arnaud Desplechin) *** 1/4
CHRISTMAS TREE UPSIDE DOWN (d. Ivan Cherkelov and Vassil Jivkov) ***
CHRISTMAS WITH THE KRANKS (d. Joe Roth) Horrendous, embarrassing, utterly offensive (to this Jewish observer), silly, unfunny.  Did I love it?   1/2*
CHRONICAL OF AN ESCAPE  (d. Israel Adrián Cactano) ** 3/4
CHRONICALS (d. Sebastian Cordero) Equador's Acad. entry is a superb psychological thriller about a child serial killer's manipulation of tv pop news.  *** 1/4
CHRONICALS OF NARNIA (d. Andrew Adamson)  **
CHRYSALIS (d. Julien Leclercq) ** 1/2
CHRYSTAL (d. Ray McKinnon) Southern gothic story of the effects of an auto accident on a couple after 20 years of the husband in prison.  ** 3/4
CHUMSCRUBBER, THE (d. Arie Posin) Wonderful suburban satire cult-type film in Donnie Darko mode. Jamie Bell: #1 actor of his generation.  *** 1/2
CIAO (d. Yen Tan) Touching, arty (in a good way) American indie gay film...Italian man meets friend on net.  ***
CINDERELLA MAN (d. Ron Howard) Moving story of James Braddock with a searingly honest portrayal by Russell Crowe.  *** 1/2
CINEMA, ASPIRIN & VULTURES (Cinema, Aspirinas e Urubus) (d. Marcelo Gomes) ** 1/4
CITIZEN DUANE (d. Michael Mabbott) ** 3/4
CITY OF BORDERS (d. Yun Suh) ***
CITY OF EMBER (d. Gil Kenan) Superb dystopian heroic fantasy, a live action Wall*E with the visual panache of Brazil.  *** 1/2
CITY OF GHOSTS (d. Matt Dillon) Pseudo Graham Greene. Stifling atmosphere well done, as were characterizations. Story falls down.  Good try.  ** 1/4
CITY OF MEN (d. Paolo Morelli) Much better than City of God, imho.  Emotionally affecting, driving narrative. *** 1/4
CITY OF THE SUN, THE (Slunecný Stát) (d. Martin Sulík; Slovak Republic)  **
CLAPHAM JUNCTION (d. Adrian Shergold) Terrific British TV movie about contrasts in modern society (marriage & bashing).  *** 1/2
CLASS, THE (d. Ilmar Raag; Estonia) *** 1/2
CLASS, THE (Entre les murs) (d. Laurent Cantet; France) *** 3/4
CLASSE TOUS RISQUE (d. Claude Sautet) A terrific classic noir with a star-making Belmondo perf (if Breathless hadn't hit first).  *** 1/2
CLAY BIRD, THE (d. Tareque Masud) Bangladesh AFF.  A family uprooted by political upheaval in '68.  ** 3/4
CLEAN (d. Olivier Assayas) Maggie Chung is superb as a junkie trying to go clean to reclaim her son from her inlaws in this wonderful drama.  *** 1/2
CLEARING, THE (d. Pieter Jan Brugge) Hi-gloss kidnap film, Redford victim, Mirren the suffering wife. "Without a Trace" does it better.  **
CLICK (d. Frank Coraci) Good F/X, lousy script, sort of an It Might Have Been a Wonderful Life. Not Sandler's finest.  * 3/4
CLOSER (d. Mike Nichols) Four loathsome characters well acted and beautifully photographed (cf similar Carnal Knowledge!)  Portman & Owen never better.  ** 3/4
CLOUD, THE (d. Gregor Schnitzler) ** 3/4
COAST GUARD, THE  (d. Kim Ki-duk) Overwrought drama about the soldiers who guard the Korean coastline from spy incursions.  Way over the top.  * 3/4
COAST TO COAST (d. Paul Mazursky) V. Judy Davis & Richard Dreyfuss are excellent in this moving, adult drama about a couple devastated by their son's death. *** 1/2
COCHOCHI (d. Israel Cárdenas & Laura Amelia Guzmán) *** 1/4
COCK COLLEGE (short films) (d. various)
CODE 46 (d. Michael Winterbottom) One,   of the greatest examples of cyberpunk ever put on film. Winterbottom's future imagery is amazing.  *** 3/4
COFFEE DATE (d. Stewart Wade) Amusing comedy about sexual confusions, really well written script.  ***
COLD LIGHT (d. Hilmar Oddsson) Iceland's AFF is a dour tragedy about a 40ish man finally facing a tragedy of his youth.   ***
COLD MOUNTAIN (d. Anthony Minghella) Fine production, good acting, but the "well made" story was too predictable. Jude Law is a bonafide star. ***
COLD SHOWERS (Douches froides) (d. Antony Cordier) ***
COLD SOULS (d. Sophie Barthes) ** 1/2
COLDEST DAY, THE (d. Xie Dong) A somewhat boring film about mutual infidelity in a modern Chinese marriage.  **
COLLATERAL (d. Michael Mann) L.A. is the star here; and Mann doesn't cheat the geography. Mann's best film in a while.  ***
COLLECTOR, THE (Komornik) (d. Feliks Falk; Poland)  ** 1/4
COLMA: THE MUSICAL (d. Richard Wong) Strictly amateurville musical, but charming, simple story.  ** 1/2
COLOR OF FAME, THE (d.Alesandro Bellame Palacios; Venezuela) ***
COMANCHE MOON (d. Simon Wincer) V.  Nicely played, if choppy, miniseries. Val Kilmer? weird.  ** 3/4
COMBAT (d. Patrick Carpentier) *
COME EARLY MORNING (d. Joey Lauren Adams) ***
COME INTO THE LIGHT (Alla Luce Del Sol) (d. Roberto Faenza) ** 1/2
COMEDY OF POWER, A (d. Claud Chabrol)  ** 3/4
COMIC EVANGELISTS (d. Daniel Jones, Dann Sytsma) ***
COMPANY, THE (d. Mikael Salomon) V. *** 1/2
COMPANY, THE  (d. Robert Altman) Little narrative, lots of good dancing. Neve impresses, and James Franco underplays to splendid effect.  *** 1/4
CONDOR: AXIS OF EVIL (d. Rodrigo Vasquez) A doc linking the U.S. to South American dictators and disappearances of the '70s.  Too unstructured.  ** 1/4
CONFESSIONS OF PAIN (d. Andrew Lau & Alan Mak) *** 1/4
CONFIDENCE (d. James Foley) Foley has style to burn.  Too bad he didn't burn this derivative script. Why I like Ed Burns is the question.  ** 1/2
CONGORAMA  (d. Philippe Falardeau) ** 3/4
CONNIE AND CARLA (d. Michael Lembeck) Silly, if intermittantly funny, script. I liked the music; but the film is excessivly clichéd.  * 3/4
CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE (d. John Deery) Ernest, polemic drama: celebacy and the Catholic church. Nice production, but too on-point for good drama.  **
CONSTANT GARDNER, THE (d. Fernando Meirelles)  ***
CONSTANTINE (d. Francis Lawrence) V. Looks good with graphic novel feel, nice f/x, absurd plot.  ** 1/4
CONTAINER (d. Lukas Moodysson) * 3/4
CONTINENTAL, A FILM WITHOUT GUNS (d. Stéphane Lafleur) ** 1/2
CONTROL (d. Anton Corbijn) ***
CONTROL ALT DELETE (d. Cameron Labine) ** 3/4
CONTROL ROOM (d. Jehane Noujaim) Doc. about Al-Jezeera's coverage of the current Iraq War. Good footage, though repetitive.  ** 3/4
CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER WOMEN (d. Hans Canosa)  *** 1/4
COOL MONEY (d. Gary Burns ) V. Modestly involving TV caper film about some losers knocking off N.Y. hotels.  ** 1/2
COOLER, THE  (d. Wayne Kramer) The acting's pretty good, especially Alec Baldwin; but the plot, direction & cinematography pretty well suck.  **
COPYING BEETHOVEN (d. Agnieszka Holland) Overwrought, overacted. Sublime music (though weirdly edited).  **
CORE, THE (d. Jon Amiel) F/x end-of-world flick fun enough to overcome implausibilities.  First hour great & then film degrades to clichés.  ** 3/4
CORPORATION, THE (d. Achbar & Abbott) Overlong but fascinating Canadian documentary about "corporations" as psychotic people.  *** 1/2
CORRECTION (Diorthosi) (d. Thanos Anastopoulos, Greece) ** 1/4
CORTEX (d. Nicolas Boukhrief) ***
COST OF LIVING  (d. Phillippe Le Guay) Vivid, beautifully realized multi-character story connected by the theme money for love.  *** 1/4
COTE D'AZURE (d. Ducastel & Martineau) Entertaining French farce about an family on vacation whose sexuality is mutable & evolving.  ** 3/4
COUNTER INVESTIGATION (Contre-enquête) (d. Franck Mancusco) *** 1/2
COUNTERFEITERS, THE (Die Falscher) (d. Stefan Ruzowitzky; Austria) *** 1/2
COUNTRY TEACHER, THE (d. Bohdan Sláma) *** 3/4
COUNTRY WEDDING (d. Vladis Öskarsdóttir) ***
COUPERET, LE (d. Costa-Gavras) More black comedy than the usual Costa-Gavras, entertaining film which takes Time Out to a higher level.  ***
COVE, THE (d. Louie Psihoyos) ** 3/4
COVERBOY (d. Carmine Amoroso) ***
COWBOYS AND ANGELS (d. David Gleeson) Beautifully written & acted Irish coming-of-age gay/straight romantic comedy. Michael Legge is wonderful.  *** 1/4
COWBOYS AND ANGELS (d. David Gleeson)V.+ ***
CRACKER:  A NEW TERROR (d. Antonia Bird) V.  Excellent tv film about a killer British cop driven crazy in the "troubles".  ***
CRANE WORLD (d. Pablo Trapero) Slow, Argentine neo-realist B&W film about a 49 yr. old construction worker ex-rock guitarist.  ** 1/2
CRANFORD (d. Simon Curtis) V. Superb British early Victorian mini-series which just got better & better. The final part blew me away. *** 1/2
CRASH (d. Paul Haggis) Superb Short Cuts type multi-character, roundabout drama...modern day L.A. as racial dystopia. I need to leave L.A.!  *** 1/2
CRAZY LOVE (d. Dan Klores & Fisher Stevens) *** 1/4
CREATIVE NATURE (d. John Andres) ** 1/4
CRIME NOVEL (d. Michele Placido) *** 1/4
CRIMINAL (d. Gregory Jacobs) A faithful remake of Nine Queens, which means a good, if familiar script. A sympathetic cast, still this one doesn't quite jell.  ** 1/2
CROOKED E, THE  (d. Penelope Spheeris) V.  CBS film docudrama about fall of Enron.  Predictable script, Christian Kane actor to watch.  **
CROSSING A SHADOW (d. Augusto Tamayo; Peru) ** 1/2
CROSSING BORDERS (d. Arnd Wächter) Hopeful, moving docu feels like "Real World Morocco", 4 American & 4 Moroccan students live together for a week and keep it real.  *** 1/4
CROSSING OVER (d. Wayne Kramer) Like Crash, only better, this is an involving ensemble drama about distressed immigrants in L.A. *** 1/4
CROSSING THE BORDER (Un Franco 14 Pesetas) (d. Carlos Iglesias) ***
CROSSING THE BRIDGE: THE SOUND OF ISTANBUL (d. Fatih Aiken) V. Music docu, sporadically good music, nice photog. ** 1/2
CROSSING  (d. Kim Tae-kyun; Republic of Korea) ** 3/4
CRUDE  (Turkey  d. Paxton Winters)  Road film about 2 young American guys and their travels through Turkey looking for fame & fortune.  ** 3/4
CRUEL BUT NECESSARY (d. Saul Rubinek) Innovative video about a woman secretly recording her life for 2 years on a hidden camera. ** 3/4
CRUEL JOYS  (d. Juraj Nvota) Slovakia AFF.  Relationship drama in pre-war small Slovak town.  ** 3/4
CRYING LADIES (d. Mark Meily) Three Philippine women hired as cryers for a Chinese funeral. I was uninvolved; but the film wasn't that bad.  W/O
CSI:  GRAVE DANGER 1 & 2 (d. Quentin Tarantino)V. ** 3/4
CUBA LIBRA (d. Juan Gerard) Nostalgic, but too pat, reminiscence of an 11 yr. old boy coming of age in '58 small town Cuba prior to revolution.  **
CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, THE (d. David Fincher) + Even more moving 2nd time around. Epic, emotional, great film. *** 3/4
CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, THE (d. David Fincher) Moving, epic filmmaking which works at all levels. Nearly a masterpiece. *** 1/2
CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER (d. Zhang Yimou; China) ***
CURSED (d. Wes Craven) V. Campy parody of werewolf stories with a great cast (Jesse Eisenberg & Milo Ventimiglia are wonderful). Ridiculous; but clever & fun. ***
CUT SLEEVE BOYS (d. Ray Yeung) ** 3/4
CUTTING EDGE 3, THE (d. Stuart Gillard) V.  Surprisingly not bad, although predictable. Matt Lanter is good! ** 1/2
CUTTING EDGE, THE (d. Paul Michael Glaser) V. Moira Kelly & D.B. Sweeney have good chemistry. Otherwise clichéd. ** 1/2
CYCLES (d. Cyril Gelblat) *** 1/2