Winter/Spring 2008

• Up the Yangtze (dir. Yuan Chan, 2007)**** Terrific documentary about the Three Gorges Dam project in China and the accompanying displacement of 2 million people who live along its banks. It focuses the impact by following one very poor family and their daughter who goes to work on one of the many luxury cruise ships taking "farewell tours" along the river.
• Smart People (dir. Noam Murro, 2008)***1/2 They're smart but they're also really misanthropic. Yet there's something likeable about them, too. Ellen Paige does the disaffected teenager very well. Let's hope she has some range.
• Bella (dir. Alejandro Gomez Monteverde, 2006)***1/2 A little movie that won people's choice at the TFF. The food scenes, esp. those at the family dinner table, are the best since Big Night (not quite up to the food scene standard of Babette's Feast).
• Stop Loss (dir. Kimberley Peirce, 2008)***1/2 Yet another reason to oppose the war in Iraq (but most of the action takes place on this side of the ocean). I didn't know anything about soldiers being 'stop lossed' before this movie -- it's appalling.
• The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (dir. Julian Schnabel, 2007)****1/2 Absolutely grippping account of the experience of Jean-Dominque Bauby (editor of the French Elle magazine) after a stroke leaves him with "locked in syndrome". He learns how to communicate by blinking one eye and writes a book. Amazing.
• The Kite Runner (dir. Marc Forster, 2007)**** Beautiful and sad with an especially amazing turn by the young actor, Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada, who plays Hassan. His performance is mesmerizing.
• Lars and the Real Girl (dir. Craig Gillespie, 2007)**** I don't understand how Ryan Gosling got overlooked for an academy award nomination. He's such a great actor.
• No Country for Old Men (dir. Joel and Ethan Coen, 2007)***** Brilliant pacing and fantastic acting -- it went straight onto my top ten off all time list. Very violent but the violence is not, in my view, gratuitous.
• There Will Be Blood (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)****1/2 Definitely the best acting performance of the year: Daniel Day Lewis as Daniel Plainview.
• The Savages (dir. Tamara Jenkins, 2007)**** Realer than real.
• Charlie Wilson's War (dir. Mike Nichols, 2007)*** It's worth mentioning because it so exceeded my expectations. Entertaining, with first rate acting from Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Tom Hanks.
• Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (dir. Tim Burton, 2007)**** Totally bizarre and macabre musical. Lots and lots of blood.
• The Great Debaters (dir. Denzel Washington, 2007)***1/2
• Blade Runner: The Final Cut (dir. Ridley Scott, 2007 cut of 1982 original)***** Amazing cut of the incredible sci-fi classic. Bleaker than ever. Better than earlier edits.

Fall 2007

• This is England (dir. Shane Meadows, 2007)****1/2 Thomas Turgoose is brilliantly cast as Shaun, a misfit kid who falls in with a group of skinheads in a coastal town in England in the early 80s. His father was a military man killed in the Falklands War (which continues through the film). The bad turn comes when the skinhead music and fashion scene mixes with the harder-edged racist, anti-immigrant movement when Combo is released from his three and half year prison term. See it (it's available on DVD already).
• Breakfast with Scot (dir. Laurie Lynd, 2007)*** A sweet, but not saccharine, Canadian film about a boy (Scot) who likes all things girly. He has to go live with his deadbeat guardian's gay brother and partner, a professional couple in Toronto, one half of whom is a former NHL hockey player turned sportscaster (closeted at work) who has a lot of difficulty coping with Scot's flamboyant ways. If you're looking for a film that makes your heart surge with warmth at the end, this is it.
• 3:10 to Yuma (dir. James Mangold, 2007)**** This one cinched it: I'm a Christian Bale fan and, despite my preference not to think in terms of genres (I think people limit themselves by dismissing certain genres -- Alien, for example, is brilliant whether you like spaceship horror movies or not), I can truly say I like Westerns.
• Michael Clayton (dir. Tony Gilroy, 2007)***1/2 Yes, it works. A very good thriller with lots of intrigue, twists, and turns. Great acting, esp. by Tom Wilkinson.

Summer 2007

• Knocked Up (dir. Judd Apatow, 2007)**** With a title like that you wouldn't expect much. But it's laugh-out-loud funny and even a little smart.
• The Bourne Ultimatum (dir. Paul Greengrass, 2007)***1/2
  Whew! Surely one of the best action flicks in a long time. At its best during the action; not as convincing between chase scenes and fights.
• The Evening (dir. Lajos Koltai, 2007)***1/2
• Away from Her (dir. Sarah Polley, 2007)**** A gripping Canadian film treatment of Alice Munro's powerful short story, "The Bear Came Over the Mountain," handled deftly by the talented Sarah Polley.
• Hairspray (dir. Adam Shankman, 2007)***
• Sicko (dir. Michael Moore, 2007)***
  I'm not a great MM fan and it looks too staged, at times, to be a full-fledged documentary, but the idea of focusing on the folks who have insurance is an interesting angle and, as a Canadian, it's hard not to agree with a plug for public health care.
• Transformers (dir. Michael Bay, 2007)***
  If you missed it on the big screen, I'd say don't bother. That's a big part of its impact and made it worth it. It's also kind of funny. If it were up to me, I'd have cut about 30 minutes.
• Jindabyne (dir. Ray Lawrence, 2006)***
  A bleak Australian film based on a Raymond Carver story ("So Much Water So Close to Home") about four men who find the body of a lost girl at the beginning of their fishing trip and decide to do their fishing weekend first, then report their find to the police. It's about the fallout of their decision in the small town in which they live.
• Once (dir. John Carney, 2007)****1/2
  Most engaging film of the summer with incredible music.
• Paprika (dir. Satoshi Kon, 2007)***
  Japanese animated film in which a machine that therapists use to enter people's dreams falls into the wrong hands. Paprika is the only one who can save the day. Wild animated dream sequences.
• Interview (dir. Steve Buscemi, 2007)**1/2
  Contrived banter and not believable sparks between a washed up journalist and a young female pop actress; great acting, especially from Steve Buscemi, as expected.

Winter-Spring 2006-07

• The Italian/Italianetz (dir. Andrei Kravchuk, 2007)***
  Cutest kid, sweet and poignant film, but pay really close attention to catch the ending because everything wraps up in about 20 seconds, to the film's detriment, since up until then the pacing is spot on. Politically, it makes some troubling assumptions, which are never examined, about "real" mothers as opposed to "adoptive" mothers, and about motherhood in general.
• Spiderman 3 (dir. Sam Raimi, 2007)***1/2
  Well, considering that we meant to go to Disturbia but go the time wrong, and that on the way to Disturbia we made a decision to wait until mid-summer, when the pickings become very slim, to see Spiderman 3, and that as a result I went into this one with low-ish expectations, I found it entertaining, funny, and spectacular in terms of special effects.
• The Lives of Others/Das Leben der Anderen (dir. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 2006)*****
  
• The Wind That Shakes the Barley (dir. Ken Loach, 2006)****1/2
• Notes on a Scandal (dir. Richard Eyre, 2006)****
• Volver (dir. Pedro Almodovar, 2006)****
  Yes, Penelope Cruz is a serious actor. Another brilliant turn by Almodovar.
• The Queen (dir. Stephen Frears, 2006)****
  You really do think you're watching the queen. Helen Mirren becomes Elizabeth II, only more so.
• Children of Men (dir. Alfonso Cuaron, 2006)****1/2
• Zodiac (dir. David Fincher, 2007)***1/2
• Pans Labyrinth (dir. Guillermo del Toro, 2006)*****
• 24 (Day Three)
  I've only seen up to Season Four and I have to say, Season Three is my favourite. It's violent, devoid of strong female characters (unless they're nasty), and nationalistic, and one VERY long day where no one eats or sleeps or ever mentions that they are hungry or tired, but if you have an addictive personality and approach it with a critical eye, it's one of the least self-destructive outlets available. No star rating.
• Last King of Scotland (dir. Kevin MacDonald, 2006)***1/2
  The only thing I would like to say about this is that films that are "inspired by true events" irritate me because it is difficult to disentangle fact from fiction. This one was really challenging in that respect, since it included a real character (Idi Amin) and enough truths about him and about Uganda during his dictatorship that it was easy to lose sight of the fictional nature of the central story line and main protaganist (the Scottish doctor).
• Beat the Drum (dir. David Hickson, 2003)***1/2
  This South African film about an AIDS orphan who leaves his small village to find his uncle in "the City" (Johannesburg) is beautiful, heart-wrenching, and important.
• Happy Feet (dir. George Miller, Warren Coleman, Judy Morris, 2006)****
  Overwhelminly cute, but I wonder whether this generation of children will eat fish?
• Casino Royale (dir. Martin Campbell, 2006)****
  Daniel Craig is the best James Bond so far, and Casino Royale is one of the best Bond films.
• Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man (dir. Liun Lunson, 2005)***** Completely gripping and thoroughly entertaining (but perhaps only to Leonard Cohen fans?).
• Souvenir of Canada (dir. Robin Neinstein, 2005)***
  By musing on Canadian identity and building "Canada House," Douglas Coupland tries to prove that he is, indeed, Canadian. He's reasonably successful, and Canadians will enjoy the cultural touchstones, from Hockey Night in Canada to Kraft Dinner.

Winter-Summer 2006

• Word Play (dir. Patrick Creadon, 2006)****1/2
• The Notorious Bettie Page (dir. Mary Harron, Guinevere Turner, 2006)***
• The Da Vinci Code (dir. Ron Howard, 2006)*
• Miami Vice (dir. Michael Mann, 2006)***1/2
• You, Me and Dupree (dirs. Anthony and Joe Russo, 2006)***
• The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio (dir. Jane Anderson, 2005)***1/2
• The Break-Up (dir. Peyton Reed, 2006)**
• Joyeux Noel (dir. Christian Carrion, 2006)***1/2
• The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (dir. Tommy Lee Jones, 2005)*****
• Neil Young: Heart of Gold (dir. Jonathan Demme, 2006)*****
• The Sentinel (dir. Clark Johnson, 2006)**
• An Incovenient Truth (dir. Davis Guggenheim, 2006)****1/2
• Mission Impossible 3 (dir. J.J. Abrams, 2006)***
• Take the Lead (dir. Liz Friedlander, 2006)**
• 16 Blocks (dir. Richard Donner, 2006)**1/2
• Transamerica (dir. Duncan Tucker, 2005)***1/2
• Cache (dir. Michael Haneke, 2005)***
• Thank You for Smoking (dir. Jason Rietman, 2006)***
• The Constant Gardener (dir. Fernando Meirelles, 2005)***1/2
• The Libertine (dir. Laurence Dunmore, 2005)[X]
• The Matador (dir. Richard Shepard, 2005)(V)***1/2
• March of the Penguins (dir. Luc Jaquet, 2005)***
• American Dreamz (dir. Paul Weitz, 2006)*
• My Architect (dir. Nathaniel Kahn, 2003)****
• Inside Man (dir. Spike Lee, 2006)***
• Friends with Money (dir. Nicole Holofcener, 2006)**1/2
• The White Countess (dir. James Ivory, 2006)**
• Pink Panther (dir. Shawn Levy, 2006)[X]
• Tsotsi (dir. Gavin Hood, 2006)***1/2
• Mrs. Henderson Presents (dir. Stephen Frears, 2006)****
• Brokeback Mountain (dir. Ang Lee, 2005)****
• Bee Season (dir. Scott McGehee David Siege, 2005)***
• Cannes Commercials (2005)**
• Pride and Prejudice (dir. Joe Wright, 2005)***
• The New World (dir. Terence Malick, 2005)***
• Casanova (dir. Lasse Halstrom, 2005)**
• Walk the Line (dir. James Manglod, 2005)****
• Good Night and Good Luck (dir. George Clooney, 2005)**1/2
• Grizzly Man (dir. Werner Herzog, 2005)***
• Where the Truth Lies (dir. Atom Egoyan, 2005)**1/2
• Syriana (dir. Stephen Gaghan, 2005)***1/2
• Just Friends (dir. Roger Kumble, 2005)[X]
• Elizabethtown (dir. Cameron Crowe, 2005)***
• Memoirs of a Geisha (dir. Rob Marshall, 2005)***1/2

Fall 2005

• Oliver Twist (dir. Roman Polanski, 2005)**
• A History of Violence (dir. David Cronenberg, 2005)****
• The Syrian Bride (dir. Eran Riklis, 2004)*****
• North Country (Niki Caro, 2005)***1/2
• The Aristocrats (Paul Provenza, 2005)***
• Just Like Heaven (Mark Waters, 2005)**1/2

Summer 2005

• Must Love Dogs (dir. Gary David Goldberg, 2005)**
• Four Brothers (dir. John Singleton, 2005)**1/2
• Dust to Glory (dir. Dana Brown, 2005)**
• Murderball (dirs. Henry Alex Rubin, Dana Adam Shapiro, 2005)****
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (dir. Tim Burton, 2005)***
• The Longest Yard (dir. Peter Segal, 2005)**
• Batman Begins (dir. Christopher Nolan, 2005)****
• Moolaade (dir. Oosmani Sembene, 2004)***1/2
• Hide and Seek (dir. John Polson, 2005)(V)*
• The Village (dir. M. Night Shyamalan, 2005)(V)***
• Eulogy (dir. Michael Clancy, 2004)(V)***1/2
• Crash (dir. Paul Haggis, 2004)****1/2
• Dear Frankie (dir. Shona Auerbach, 2004)****
• It's All Gone Peter Tong (dir. Michael Dowse, 2004)***1/2
• War of the Worlds (dir. Stephen Spielberg, 2005)**
• Mr and Mrs Smith (dir. Doug Liman, 2005)**
• Mr. 3000 (dir. Charles Stone III, 2004)(V)**
• Friday Night Lights (dir. Peter Berg, 2004)(V)****
• Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Roon (dir. Alex Gibney, 2005)*****
• In Good Company (dir. Paul Weitz, 2004)***1/2
• Ocean's Twelve (dir. Steven Soderberg, 2004)*1/2
• Downfall (dir. Oliver Hirschbugel, 2004)*****
• Saint Ralph (dir. Michael McGonlan, 2004)****
• The Interpreter (dir. Sydney Pollack, 2005)*
• Kingdom of Heaven (dir. Ridley Scott, 2005)***1/2

Spring 2005

• Tarnation**1/2 (dir. Jonathan Caouette, 2004)
• Nobody Knows****1/2 (dir. Hirokazu Koreeda, 2005)
• I Heart Huckabees*1/2 (dir. David O. Russel, 2004)
• Upside of Anger***1/2 (dir. Mike Binder, 2005)
• Bad Education**** (dir. Pedro Almodovar, 2004)

Winter 2004-05

• Sideways**** (dir. Alexander Payne, 2004)
• The Sea Inside**** (dir. Alejandro Aeanabar, 2004)
• Born Into Brothels****1/2 (dir. Ross Kaufmann, Zana Briski, 2005)
• Hitch*1/2 (dir. Andy Tennant, 2005)
• Finding Neverland***1/2 (dir. Marc Forster, 2004)
• Rory O'Shea Was Here*** (dir. Damien O'Donnell, 2004)
• Hotel Rwanda***1/2 (dir. Terry George, 2004)
• Being Julia**** (dir. Istvan Szabo, 2004)
• Vera Drake***** (dir. Mike Leigh, 2004)
• What the #$*! Do We Know!?**1/2 (dir. William Arntz, Betsy Chasse, Mark Vicente, 2004)
• Million Dollar Baby***1/2 (dir. Clint Eastwood, 2004)
• A Very Long Engagement***1/2 (dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2004)
• A Silent Love***1/2 (dir. Frederico Hidalgo, 2004)
• The Clearing** (dir. Pieter Jan Brugge, 2004)(V)
• Meet the Fockers** (dir. Jay Roach, 2004)
• The Grudge* (dir. Takashi Shimizu, 2004)
• The Aviator**** (dir. Martin Scorcese, 2004)
• Love Actually***1/2 (dir. Richard Curtis, 2003)(V)
• I, Robot** (dir. Alex Proyas, 2004)(V)
• Dogville***1/2 (dir. Lars Von Trier, 2003)(V)

Fall 2004

• Ray**** (dir. Taylor Hackford, 2004)
• The Door in the Floor*** (dir. Tod Williams, 2004)
• Billy Elliot**** (dir. Stephen Daldry, 2000)(V)
• Fear dot com [X] (dir. William Malone, 2002)(V)
• Enduring Love*** (dir. Roger Michell, 2004)
• Garden State ****1/2 (dir. Zach Braff, 2004)
• Hair*** (dir. Milos Forman, 1979)(V)
• Zelary***1/2 (dir. Ondrej Trojan, 2003)
• Maria Full of Grace**** (dir. Joshua Marston, 2004)
• Control Room**** (dir. Jehane Noujain, 2004)
• Cellular [X] (dir. David R. Ellis, 2004)
• The Forgotten** (dir. Joseph Ruben, 2004)
• Osama***1/2 (dir. Siddiq Barmak, 2003)(V)
• Saved!***1/2 (dir. Brian Dannelly, 2004)(V)
• Blue-Eyed**** (dir. Bertram Verhaag, 1996)(V)
• Spiderman 2** (dir. Sam Rami, 2004)
• Festival Express***** (dir. Bob Smeaton, 2003)
• Alexandra's Project***1/2 (dir. Rolf de Heer, 2003)
• The Notebook**1/2 (dir. Nick Cassavetes, 2004)
• Collateral***1/2 (dir. Michael Mann, 2004)

Summer 2004

• Thirteen Going on Thirty** (dir.Gary Winnick, 2004)(V)
• Seven**** (dir.David Fincher, 1995)(V)
• Stepford Wives***1/2 (dir. Brian Forbes, 1975)(V)
• Persuasian**** (dir. Robert Michell, 1995)(V)
• Stepford Wives** (dir. Frank Oz, 2004)
• Godsend* (dir. Nick Hamm, 2004)(V)
• The Manchurian Candidate**1/2 (dir. Jonathan Demme, 2004)
• Fahrenheit 9/11**1/2 (dir. Michael Moore, 2004)
• The Saddest Music in the World*** (dir. Guy Maddin, 2003)
• The Day After Tomorrow* (dir. Roland Emmerich, 2004)
• Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself***1/2 (dir. Lone Scherfig, 2002)
• Ned Kelly*** (dir. Gregor Jordan, 2003)(V)
• The Terminal**1/2 (dir. Steven Spielberg, 2004)
• Pulp Fiction**** (dir. Quentin Tarantino, 1994)(V)
• Goodbye Lenin*** (dir. Wolfgang Becker, 2003)(V)
• Love Me if You Dare**1/2 (dir. Yann Samuel, 2003)
• Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion**1/2 (dir. Tom Peosay, 2003)
• Personal Velocity*** (dir. Rebecca Miller, 2002)(V)
• Laws of Attraction*1/2 (dir. Peter Howitt, 2004)
• Lolita*** (dir. Adrian Lyne, 1997)(V)
• After Dark, My Sweet** (dir. James Foley, 1990)(V)
• Dirty Dancing*** (dir. Emile Ardolina, 1987)(V)
• To Catch a Thief***1/2 (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1955)(V)
• Drumline*** (dir. Charles Stone, 2002)(V)
• Moulin Rouge*** (dir. Baz Luhrmann, 2001)(V)
• Rules of Attraction** (dir. Roger Avary, 2002)(V)

Spring 2004

• The Girl Next Door** (dir. Luke Greenfield, 2004)
• Laws of Attraction*1/2 (dir. Peter Howitt, 2004)
• Troy**1/2 (dir. Wolfgang Petersen, 2004)
• Secondhand Lions***1/2 (dir. Tim McCanlies, 2003)
• Mean Girls**1/2 (dir. Mark S. Waters, 2004)
• Dirty, Pretty Things**1/2 (dir. Stephen Frears, 2003)
• Dawn of the Dead**1/2 (dir. Zack Snyder, 2004)
• School of Rock**** (dir. Richard Linklater, 2003)
• Pirates of the Carribean**** (dir. Gore Verbinski, 2003)
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind**** (dir. Michel Gondry, 2004)

Winter 2004

• Fog of War: Eleven lessons from the life of Robert S. McNamara**** (Errol Morris, 2003)
• 21 Grams*** (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, 2003)
• The Human Stain**1/2 (dir. Robert Benton, 2003)
• In America***1/2 (dir. Jim Sheridan, 2003)
• Monster***1/2 (dir. Patti Jenkins, 2003)
• Casa de los Babys*** (dir. John Sayles, 2003)
• Thirteen*** (dir. Catherine Hardwicke, 2003)
• The Last Samurai**1/2 (dir. Edward Zwick, 2003)
• Something's Gotta Give***1/2 (dir. Nancy Meyers, 2003)
• Honey* (dir. Bille Woodruff)
• Cold Mountain***1/2 (dir. Peter Weir, 2003)
• Lost in Translation**** (dir. Sophia Coppola, 2003)

Rating system (up until January 2004):
**** excellent
*** worth seeing
** okay rental
* only if there's nothing else to see
[X] not worth the time it takes to watch it
Movies that I watched on video are indicated with a "(V)".

Winter 2003-04

• Under the Tuscan Sun**1/2 (dir. Audrey Wells, 2003)
• Master and Commandre: The Far Side of the World*** (dir. Peter Weir, 2003)
• Wonderland**1/2 (dir. James Cox, 2003)
• Scenes of the Crime [X](dir. Dominique Forma, 2001)(V)
• Identity**1/2 (dir. James Mangold, 2003)(V)
• Love Actually*** (dir. Richard Curtis, 2003)
• Freaky Friday***(dir. Mark S. Waters, 2003)