Currently in the process of rating all the films I have seen to date. Here is A-D with a rating between 1/2 and *****
Accatone (****)
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (***)
Adaptation (*****)Adventures of Robin Hood, The (****1/2)African Queen, The (****)
Aguirre: The Wrath of God (****1/2)Air Bud (**1/2)
Air Force One (***)
Airplane (****)
Air Up There, The (**)
Aladdin (****1/2)Alexander (*)
Alice in Wonderland (**)
Alien (****1/2)Alien Resurrection (**1/2)
Aliens (*****)Alien3 (**)
Alien vs. Predator (*1/2)
Alien vs. Predator: Requiem (1/2)
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (***)
Ali G Indahouse (**1/2)
All About Steve (*)
All Quiet on the Western Front (****)
Almost Famous (****)
Amelie (*****)American Beauty (*****)American Gangster (****)
American History X (****)
American Pie (***)
American Pie 2 (**)
American Psycho (****1/2)American Splendor (****)
American Werewolf in London (****1/2)America's Sweethearts (**1/2)
Amores Perros (****)
Anaconda (*)
Anchorman (****)
Angels and Demons (**1/2)
Animal Factory (***)
Animal Farm (****)
Annie Hall (****1/2)Antichrist (****1/2)Antitrust (***)
Antwone Fisher (***)
ANTZ (****)
Any Given Sunday (****)
Apartment, The (*****)Apocalypse Now (*****)
Apocalypto (*1/2)
Ararat (****)
Armageddon (*)
Army of Darkness (***1/2)
Art of War, The (**)
Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, The (****)
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (***)
Austin Powers: The Spy who Shagged Me (**1/2)
Avatar (****)
Babe (****)
Babe: Pig in the City (*1/2)
Baby Geniuses (1/2)
Back to the Future (****1/2)Back to the Future Part II (***)
Back to the Future Part III (****)
Bad Boys (**)
Bad Education (***)
Bad Santa (***1/2)
Basic Instinct (****)
Batman (1989) (****)
Batman Begins (****)
Battleship Potemkin (*****)Beach, The (**)
Beautiful Mind, A (****)
Beau Travail (***)
Beauty and the Beast (****)
Be Cool (***)
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (****1/2)
Being John Malkovich (****1/2)Be Kind Rewind (**)
Bend it Like Beckham (**)
Ben Hur (****1/2)
Bicycle Thief, The (*****)
Big Lebowski, The (****1/2)Big Sleep (****1/2)Billy Elliot (***1/2)
Billy Madison (**)
Birdcage, The (***)
Birds, The (****)
Birth of a Nation (****1/2)Black Hawk Down (***)
Black Snake Moan (**)
Blade (**1/2)
Blade Runner (*****)Blades of Glory (***)
Blair Witch Project, The (****)
Blazing Saddles (***)
Blindness (***1/2)
Blind Side, The (**)
Blood Diamond (****)
Blood Simple (***1/2)
Blood Work (**)
Blue (Three Colors) (***)
Blue Angel, The (***1/2)
Blue Velvet (*****)Body Heat (****)
Bogus (**)
Bone Collector, The (**1/2)
Bonnie and Clyde (***)
Boogie Nights (****)
Boondock Saints (**1/2)
Borat (****)
Born on the Fourth of July (****)
Bound (***)
Bourne Identity, The (****)
Bourne Supremacy, The (****)
Bourne Ultimatum, The (****1/2)Bowling for Columbine (****)
Bram Stoker's Dracula (***)
Braveheart (***1/2)
Brazil (****)
Bridge on the River Kwai, The (****)
Bridget Jones' Diary (**)
Bridge to Terabithia (**)
Brokeback Mountain (****1/2)Broken Arrow (**)
Broken Flowers (****)
Brotherhood of the Wolf (***)
Bruce Almighty (**)
Bruno (*)
Bucket List, The (*)
Buffalo Soldiers (***)
Bug's Life, A (***1/2)
Bullitt (****)
Burn After Reading (***1/2)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (*****)Butterfly Effect, The (*)
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The (****)
Cabin Fever (***1/2)
Cache (****1/2)Candyman (***)
Capote (****)
Captain Corelli's Mandolin (**)
Carlito's Way (***)
Casablanca (*****)Casino (**)
Casino Royale (****)
Castle, The (****)
Catch me if you Can (***1/2)
Cats and Dogs (*1/2)
Chamber, The (**)
Changeling (****)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (***)
Charlie's Angels (**)
Charlie Wilson's War (***1/2)
Children of Men (*****)Chinatown (****1/2)Chocolat (****)
Chopper (****)
Christmas Carol, A (1951) (****)
Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (**1/2)
Chungking Express (****1/2)Cider House Rules, The (***)
Citizen Kane (*****)City of God (*****)Civil Action, A (***1/2)
Clash of the Titans (***)
Clerks (****)
Click (*)
Client, The (***)
Clockwork Orange, A (****1/2)Closer (***1/2)
Cloverfield (***)
Club Dread (*)
Coach Carter (***)
Collateral (***1/2)
Collateral Damage (**)
Coming to America (****)
Con Air (***)
Conformist, The (*****)Constant Gardener, The (****)
Constantine (*)
Control (****1/2)Conversation, The (****1/2)Cool Runnings (****)
Cop Out (*1/2)
Coraline (****)
Courage Under Fire (***)
Cradle 2 the Grave (*1/2)
Crash (****)
Cries and Whispers (****)
Crimson Tide (***)
Crocodile Dundee (***)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (****1/2)Crow, The (***)
Crucible, The (***1/2)
Cruel Intentions (**1/2)
Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The (****)
Dancer in the Dark (****)
Daredevil (*)
Darjeeling Limited, The (****1/2)Dark City (****)
Dark Knight, The (****)
Date Night (**)
DaVinci Code, The (**1/2)
Dawn of the Dead (1978) (****1/2)Dawn of the Dead (2004) (****)
Day After Tomorrow, The (**1/2)
Daybreakers (***)
Dead Man (*****)Dead Man's Shoes (****1/2)Dead Man Walking (***1/2)
Dead Snow (**)
Death at a Funeral (****)
Death on the Nile (****)
Deep Blue Sea (**1/2)
Deer Hunter, The (****1/2)Deja Vu (**)
Delicatessen (****)
Deliverance (*****)Departed, The (*****)Descent, The (***1/2)
Desperado (**)
Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (**)
Devil's Rejects, The (****)
Diamonds are Forever (****)
Die Another Day (***)
Die Hard (****1/2)Dirty Dozen, The (****)
Dirty Harry (****1/2)Dish, The (****)
Disney's A Christmas Carol (**)
District 9 (****1/2)Disturbia (**)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (****1/2)Doctor Doolittle (**1/2)
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (***)
Dogma (***1/2)
Dogville (***1/2)
Domestic Disturbance (**)
Donnie Brasco (****)
Donnie Darko (****)
Don't Look Now (****1/2)Doors, The (****)
Do the Right Thing (****1/2)Double Indemnity (*****)Doubt (****)
Downfall (****1/2)Drag me to Hell (*)
Dreamers, The (***)
Dr Strangelove (*****)Dude Where's My Car (1/2)
Dumb and Dumber (***)
Dunston Check's In (**)
Darren Aronofsky's debut film from 1998 is a deeply disturbing torture of the senses. It tells the twisted story of a troubled mathematics genius, who suffers from migraines and serious bouts of panic attacks, who is attempting to understand the nature of the world through numbers. Locked away in his apartment, he peruses over number combinations to determine trends in the stock market and he frequently visits his retired mathematics tutor for guidance. Through his malfunctioning computer system he stumbles across a 216 digit number and becomes hunted by obsessed Wall Street executives who believe he possesses the secret to predicting the stock market, and a colt of rabbis who believe the true name of God can be found within the numbers. Shot on a shoestring budget with predominantly hand-held cameras, and with grainy, black + while cinematography, it's gritty, unpleasant viewing. But absorbing and riveting nonetheless. The pulsing, electronic score works brilliantly and Sean Gullette's central performance is very impressive. Pi feels like a sequel to David Lynch's Eraserhead, filled with striking surreal locations and images of haunting human breakdown. This is a superb debut, that really shot Aronofsky onto the scene. He followed up Pi with Requiem for a Dream (2000), and is now on of the most innovative of modern directors.
The Ghost Writer is only Roman Polanski's second, and potentially final project since his Oscar victory for The Pianist back in 2002. Starring Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Olivia Williams and Kim Cattrall, The Ghost Writer premiered at the 60th Berlin Film Festival, where Polanski picked up the Silver Bear for his excellent direction. Based on the novel, The Ghost by Thomas Harris, it drew some attention at this years Sydney Film Festival and has been praised with positive reviews. A very taut thriller, it follows an unnamed British ghost writer (Ewan McGregor) hired to complete the memoirs of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan). Lang has recently been publicly disgraced by a former colleague who has accused Lang of severe war crimes, notably the illegal transfer of suspected terrorists to the C.I.A. Lang is set to face prosecution at the hands of the International Criminal Court. This controversy attracts both supporters and enemies of his crimes, and a large media hub, who settle outside his residence. The writer joins Lang and his wife Ruth (Olivia Williams) at their beach-side penthouse. He is briefed of the protocol surrounding the former Prime Minister by Lang's personal assistant, Amelia (Kim Cattrall) and given access to the notes and semi-completed manuscript to be edited into the memoirs. What is curious about his role is that his predecessor was found washed up on the beach. Confirmed originally as suicide, the death is later revealed to be under suspicious circumstances. He begins to interview Lang on his early college days to try and establish a way to start the memoirs. Lang, stressed by the allegations against his name, is sensitive of how he will be presented. As our protagonist digs deeper, intrigued by what his predecessor had found, he begins to unravel a plot that links either Lang, or his wife to C.I.A contacts, through college friend and now Harvard Professor Paul Emmett (Tom Wilkinson, in a great support performance).
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is wild, hyperactive and pure entertainment. The newest film by Edgar Wright (dir. of Shawn of the Dead and Hot Fuzz), is an inventive visual feast. This is a 'get-the-girl' teen comedy/drama set within the world of Street Fighter. When he meets the girl of his dreams, Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) must face and defeat seven of her exes to win her love. Emotionally it hits all the right buttons, it's awkward humor is subtle and amusing, and the fight sequences visceral and brilliant. The film begins to lose it's direction following the fourth ex, with the rock battle against the twins a convenient way of eliminating two more. Jason Schwarzman is always solid, and his turn as Scott Pilgrim's strongest opponent is amusing. Following the aforementioned setback, the conclusion is quite clever. Wright's adaptation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's graphic novels is a hodgepodge of dynamics and genre, but no one has proven to be more successful. Some of the sequences actually look like they are filmed comic illustrations. Good fun and worthy of a repeat viewing, this is one of the more entertaining films released in 2010.
