Thursday, December 24, 2009

A Christmas Story ***


Director: Bob Clark
Year: 1983
Book by: Jean Shepherd
Adapted by: Jean Shepherd, Leigh Brown, Bob Clark
Cinematographer: Reginald H. Morris

Saturday, December 12, 2009

As Tears Go By ***


Writer/Director: Wong Kar Wai
Year: 1988
Cinematographer: Andrew Lau Wai-Keung

The Passenger *****


Director: Michelangelo Antonioni
Year: 1975
Writers: Mark Peploe, Michelangelo Antonioni, Peter Wollen
Cinematographer: Luciano Tovoli

Eros ***


Writers/Directors: Michelangelo Antonioni, Steven Soderbergh, Wong Kar Wai
Year: 2004

Andrei Rublev ****


Director: Andrei Tarkovsky
Year: 1966
Writers: Andrei Tarkovsky, Andrey Konchalovskiy
Cinematographer: Vadim Yusov

Solyaris *****


Director: Andrei Tarkovsky
Year: 1972
Book by: Stanislaw Lem
Adapted by: Andrei Tarkovsky, Fridrikh Gorenshtein
Cinematographer: Vadim Yusov

Aguirre: The Wrath of God


Original Title: Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes
Writer/Director: Werner Herzog
Year: 1972
Cinematographer: Thomas Mauch

Mala Noche ****


Director: Gus Van Sant
Year: 1985
Story by: Walt Curtis
Writer: Gus Van Sant
Cinematographer: John J. Campbell

Drugstore Cowboy *****


Director: Gus Van Sant
Year: 1989
Book by: James Fogle
Adapted by: Gus Van Sant, Daniel Yost
Cinematographer: Robert Yeoman

Solaris ***


Director: Steven Soderbergh
Year: 2002
Book by: Stanislaw Lem
Adapted by: Steven Soderbergh
Cinematographer: Steven Soderbergh

A good movie, but nothing compared to the original by Tarkovsky.

Worth seeing, but first see 1972's Solyaris.

My Own Private Idaho ****


Director: Gus Van Sant
Year: 1991
Play by: William Shakespeare (Henry IV)
Adapted by: Gus Van Sant
Cinematographer: John J. Campbell, Eric Alan Edwards

Ocean's Eleven *****


Director: Steven Soderbergh
Year: 2001
Writer: Ted Griffin
(original 1960 story by George Clayton Johnson, Jack Golden Russell, screenplay by Harry Brown, Charles Lederer)
Cinematographer: Steven Soderbergh

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues ***


Director: Gus Van Sant
Year: 1993
Book by: Tom Robbins
Adapted by: Gus Van Sant
Cinematographer: John J. Campbell, Eric Alan Edwards

Good Will Hunting ****


Director: Gus Van Sant
Year: 1997
Writers: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck
Cinematographer: Jean-Yves Escoffier

Finding Forrester ***


Director: Gus Van Sant
Year: 2000
Writer: Mike Rich
Cinematographer: Harris Savides

Gerry *****


Director: Gus Van Sant
Year: 2002
Writers: Gus Van Sant, Matt Damon, Casey Affleck
Cinematographer: Harris Savides

Last Days ****


Writer/Director: Gus Van Sant
Year: 2005
Cinematographer: Harris Savides

Paris, je t'aime ***


Directors: Olivier Assayas, Frederic Auburtin, Emmanuel Benbihy, Gurinder Chadha, Sylvain Chomet, Joel and Ethan Coen, Isabel Coixet, Wes Craven, Alfonso Cuarón, Gerard Depardieu, Christopher Doyle, Richard LaGravenese, Vicenzo Natali, Alexander Payne, Bruno Podalydes, Walter Salles, Oliver Schmitz, Nobuhiro Suwa, Daniela Thomas, Tom Tykwer, Gus Van Sant
Year: 2006

Milk ****


Director: Gus Van Sant
Year: 2008
Writer: Dustin Lance Black
Cinematographer: Harris Savides

Paranoid Park ****


Director: Gus Van Sant
Year: 2007
Book by: Blake Nelson
Adapted by: Gus Van Sant
Cinematographer: Christopher Doyle

The Sixth Sense ****


Writer/Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Year: 1999
Cinematographer: Tak Fujimoto

Unbreakable ***


Writer/Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Year: 2000
Cinematographer: Eduardo Serra

Signs *****


Writer/Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Year: 2002
Cinematographer: Tak Fujimoto

My favorite of Shyamalan's films, and my favorite film about aliens coming to earth.

The Village ****


Writer/Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Year: 2004
Cinematographer: Roger Deakins

The Happening *


Writer/Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Year: 2008
Cinematographer: Tak Fujimoto

Lady in the Water ***


Writer/Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Year: 2006
Cinematographer: Christopher Doyle

Rabbit-Proof Fence ****


Director: Phillip Noyce
Year: 2002
Book by: Doris Pilkington
Adapted by: Christine Olsen
Cinematographer: Christopher Doyle

Last Life in the Universe ***


Director: Pen-Ek Ratanaruang
Year: 2003
Writers: Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, Prabda Yoon
Cinematographer: Christopher Doyle

2046 ****


Writer/Director: Wong Kar Wai
Year: 2004
Cinematographer: Christopher Doyle

Erin Brockovich ****


Director: Steven Soderbergh
Year: 2000
Writer: Susannah Grant
Cinematographer: Edward Lachman

Syriana ****


Director: Stephen Gaghan
Year: 2005
Book by: Robert Baer
Adapted by: Stephen Gaghan
Cinematographer: Robert Elswit

Michael Clayton ***


Writer/Director: Tony Gilroy
Year: 2007
Cinematographer: Robert Elswit

Good Night, and Good Luck. ****


Director: George Clooney
Year: 2005
Writers: George Clooney, Grant Heslov
Cinematographer: Robert Elswit

Adaptation. ****


Director: Spike Jonze
Year: 2002
Book by: Susan Orlean
Adapted by: Charlie Kaufman
Cinematographer: Lance Acord

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind ****


Director: George Clooney
Year: 2002
Book by: Chuck Barris
Adapted by: Charlie Kaufman
Cinematographer: Newton Thomas Sigel

Being John Malkovich *****


Director: Spike Jonze
Year: 1999
Writer: Charlie Kaufman
Cinematographer: Lance Acord

Human Nature *****


Director: Michel Gondry
Year: 2001
Writer: Charlie Kaufman
Cinematographer: Tim Maurice-Jones

Hugely overlooked Gondry/Kaufman collaboration. Great film.

The Science of Sleep ****


Writer/Director: Michel Gondry
Year: 2006
Cinematographer: Jean-Louis Bompoint

Be Kind Rewind ****


Writer/Director: Michel Gondry
Year: 2008
Cinematographer: Ellen Kuras

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind *****


Director: Michel Gondry
Year: 2004
Writers: Charlie Kaufman, Michel Gondry, Pierre Bismuth
Cinematographer: Ellen Kuras

The greatest screenwriter of our time, Charlie Kaufman, paired with the most creative filmmaker of our time, Michel Gondry.

Caché *****


(Hidden)

Writer/Director: Michael Haneke
Year: 2005
Cinematographer: Christian Berger

L'enfant *****


(The Child)

Writers/Directors: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
Year: 2005
Cinematographer: Alain Marcoen

Le fils *****


(The Son)

Writers/Directors: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
Year: 2002
Cinematographer: Alain Marcoen

Son of Rambow ***


Writer/Director: Garth Jennings
Year: 2007
Cinematographer: Jess Hall

Distant ****


Original Title: Uzak
Writer/Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Year: 2002
Cinematographer: Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Climates ****


Original Title: Iklimler
Writer/Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Year: 2006
Cinematographer: Gökhan Tiryaki

The Death of Mr. Lazarescu ****


Director: Cristi Puiu
Year: 2005
Writers: Cristi Puiu, Razvan Radulescu
Cinematographer: Oleg Mutu, Andrei Butica

4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days *****


Writer/Director: Cristian Mungiu
Year: 2007
Cinematographer: Oleg Mutu

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada ****


Director: Tommy Lee Jones
Year: 2005
Writer: Guillermo Arriaga
Cinematographer: Chris Menges

Very good present day western.

The Proposition *****


Director: John Hillcoat
Year: 2005
Writer: Nick Cave
Cinematographer: Benoit Delhomme

Nick Cave's screenplay for an Australian western is surprisingly good, and his soundtrack is a totally unexpected expressionistic force. The story, the acting, the directing, the cinematography and the soundtrack work together powerfully to tell a unique western which, while hitting upon some usual tropes, finds interesting twists in the genre.

A must see film, especially for western fans.