2005: Looking forward
Now Playing: My 25 most anticipated films for the rest of the year
Some of these films aren't currently scheduled for release before the end of the year, but that's not really a big deal for me. I'm more excited that they're coming out at all.

(in *grumble* alphabetical order)

(links provided to official sites where applicable)

ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL - Terry Zwigoff and Daniel Clowes, together again.

THE BAD NEWS BEARS - I'm a little weary of remakes, but I love Linklater and Billy Bob, plus the writers of BAD SANTA are doing this, and that sounds like a winning team to me.

THE BRAND UPON THE BRAIN! - a follow-up to COWARDS BEND THE KNEE? Seems too good to be true...

BROKEN FLOWERS - seems almost conventional by Jarmusch standards, but it has Bill Murray (or billmurray?) in wry-sad mode, and Jarmusch > Sofia Coppola in my opinion.

THE CHILD - the Dardenne brothers' first three films are all great, and all indications are that this one (which copped the Palme d'Or) is just as good.

CORPSE BRIDE - Tim Burton's first animated project since NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS looks great, and that he's co-directing has me intrigued. More than CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, anyway.

ELIZABETHTOWN - if you haven't checked out the online-only trailer yet, I HIGHLY recommend it (warning: huge file).

THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN - the cast (Carell, Keener, Rudd, Rogen) rocks, and the trailer is a hoot. I have high hopes.

THE FOUNTAIN - a hugely ambitious sci-fi film from Darren Aronofsky, starring Hugh Jackman (a talented actor who needs a worthy role), and allegedly spanning over a thousand years. Could go either way, really.

HIDDEN - Haneke is one of the greats, and this is allegedly one of his better works. Good enough for me.

A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE - allegedly Cronenberg's most accessible work since THE FLY two decades ago. And THE FLY rocks, so that's cool with me.

IDIOCRACY - in spite of delays, I'm still excited. Mike Judge's stuff tends to be pretty hilarious.

KING KONG - lest we forget that this, not LORD OF THE RINGS, is Peter Jackson's dream project...

KISS KISS BANG BANG - Shane Black is back! If that doesn't excite you, then you have my pity.

MANDERLAY - oh that Lars. Stirring up trouble again. Either you can't wait to see this or you can't wait to skip it. You know which applies to you.

MATCH POINT - could it be that Woody Allen is really back?

ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW - early word is sparkling. Could be the year's "little-movie-that-could."

THE NEW WORLD - that it has been a mere seven years since the last Malick film was released is some kind of miracle.

PRINCESS RACCOON - I wasn't the biggest fan of PISTOL OPERA, but I'm nonetheless stoked at the idea that Seijun Suzuki is making films again, and is still completely nuts.

THE SUN - Sokurov's film about Hirohito, starring YI YI's great Issey Ogata.

TIDELAND - THE BROTHERS GRIMM looks fun, but I'm more intrigued by Gilliam's upcoming heartland odyssey, not least for Gilliam's reunion with FISHER KING's Jeff Bridges.

UNTITLED SPIELBERG 1972 OLYMPICS PROJECT - I was actually dreading this until I found out that it dealt mostly with the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. Will he deal with the darker themes of the story (namely, vengeance), or will his tendency toward audience-pandering win the day?

WALLACE AND GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT - these guys rule.

THE WAYWARD CLOUD - along with the Maddin film, Tsai Ming-liang's follow-up to WHAT TIME IS IT THERE? is my most anticipated "sequel" of the year.

WHAT IS IT? - Indeed.

2005 so far: Looking back...
Now Playing: Top 10 films of the first half of 2005
Really, this feels more like a review of the first 1/3 of 2005, since so many movies for a given year don't arrive in Central Ohio until the first several months of the following calendar year. But never mind- I think we've had more than enough noteworthy offerings come to town to justify a pretty decent list.

1. KINGS AND QUEEN - as if it could really be anything else.

2. TROPICAL MALADY - Joe is definitely an acquired taste, but I love his work, and this is his best yet.

2.5.
NOT ON THE LIPS - if only this would get released theatrically, it would be one of the year's best.

3. OLDBOY - you'll never look at a hammer the same way again.

4. KUNG FU HUSTLE - maybe not respectable, but certainly awesome.

5. NOBODY KNOWS - that this isn't perched at #1 on this list is the kind of disappointment I guess I can accept.

6. DOWNFALL - the crunching of glass between little teeth is the most chilling sound effect of the year.

7. SEXUAL DEPENDENCY - the "Mirrors" monologue is harrowing stuff.

8. LAND OF THE DEAD - against all odds (budget-slashing, rushed production, semi-obsolescence), George pulled it off.

9. DALLAS 362 - Scott Caan is a natural filmmaker. Who knew?

10. HEAD-ON - I'm a little ashamed of the tiny blurb I wrote for this, a scruffy little gem about two lost souls who don't quite find happiness together. Aside from being a fascinating look into the subculture of Turkish immigrants in Germany, the film is also a love story of a different stripe, in which life has other plans for the lovers that don't include a clean happy ending.

And the worst...

KING'S RANSOM - everyone in this movie is a moron, though almost none of them are acknowledged as such. If I was African-American, I'd be offended that someone thought this would appeal to me. Comedy at its most dire.

Five-and-seventy, and away we go.
Now Playing: Honestly, I'm running out of catchy titles for these things.
WAR OF THE WORLDS (2005, Steven Spielberg)- starts off awesome, with some of the tensest sequences Spielberg has ever committed to film (my favorite being the single shot where the stolen minivan careens down the highway full of broken-down cars just after the initial attack, as the family struggles to maintain sanity within). Too bad the second hour kinda blows. Rating: **1/2.

UNDERGROUND (1995, Emir Kusturica)- The Palme d’Or winner tackles a heavy, ambitious topic (nothing less than fifty years of Yugoslav history) but is surprisingly raucous. Miki Manojlovic is awesome here as and opportunist who deceives his best friend and others into thinking the war is still going long after it has ended, for his own profit. Many details might mean more to me were I more familiar with Serbo-Croatian history, but even now the film is pretty transfixing. Rating: ***1/2.

IVAN THE TERRIBLE: PARTS I and II (1945/1958, Sergei Eisenstein)- Nikolai Cherkassov’s highly theatrical title performance carries this film, not a womb-to-tomb biopic but the story of one man’s rise to power and his defeat of his enemies. There’s less incident than one might expect, as Eisenstein wisely pares down the story in a way that increases the impact of the climactic sequence. The Technicolor sequences in Part II are gorgeous, as is Sergei Prokoviev’s score. A classic, and rightly so. Rating for both films: ***1/2.

MY SUMMER OF LOVE (2004, Pawel Pawlikowski)- Point seems to be that Mona is the only principal character who is completely straightforward- Tasmin (SPOILER!) sees her relationship as a lark, a way divorce herself from serious life before returning to school, and Phil’s born-again Christianity is largely self-deluding, as he tries to will himself free from his violent nature. However, it all feels too inevitable- both Tasmin and Phil feel like they’re trying too hard, blunting the impact of the final realizations. Rating: **.

Sorry I'm late, guys...
Now Playing: A few more 75ers for ya.
GEORGE A. ROMERO'S LAND OF THE DEAD (2005)- Best zombie flick in years, a worthy entry into the DEAD cycle, but also the best Carpenter movie Carpenter never made (ESCAPE FROM PITTSBURGH?). Even with R rating, some killer gore, but also more action than expected- that DVD’s gonna ROCK.. All this plus Leguizamo acting crazy, Hopper underplaying to nice effect, Simon Baker making a solid Romero hero, and social commentary (haves vs. have-nots) for those who are so inclined. More to come, probably. Rating: ***.

HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE (2004, Hayao Miyazaki)- Once again, Visual Flair dukes it out with Muddled Storytelling, but it’s a closer fight than expected, with Muddled Storytelling giving a surprisingly good showing and Visual Flair getting winded after the first hour. Visual Flair eventually pulls off the decision (thanks to Turniphead, Old Sophie, Calcifer et al), but honestly Miyazaki needs to get some help writing the movies and concentrate on making with the awesome images. Rating: **1/2.

BEWITCHED (2005, Nora Ephron)- In which an insipid heroine and a douchebag of a hero fall in love while “re-imagining” the BEWITCHED series. “Clever” story told in most prosaic manner imaginable, with Kidman and Ferrell on seemingly completely different wavelengths, Caine and MacLaine phoning it in, Schwartzman swearing more than everyone else in the film put together and (SPOILER!) a bizarre late-coming cameo that gets more laughs from sheer disbelief than anything that came before. Harmless, but hardly good. Rating: *1/2.

IT'S ALL GONE PETER TORK, er, PETE TONG (2004, Michael Dowse)- Honestly I have forgotten just about everything about this movie. Let’s see… mockumentary form not really carried through the film… DJ Frankie is pretty obnoxious, even when we’re supposed to like him… “make the most of your condition” isn’t really a world-beater of a theme… the club scene isn’t my scene… drugs bad, love good. Am I right? Am I close? Rating: *1/2.

HIGH TENSION (2003, Alexandre Aja)- A gruesomely effective splatter flick in the vein of original TEXAS CHAINSAW for most of the duration (no wonder Aja landed the HILLS HAVE EYES remake), featuring a performance by Cecile de France that’s fairly accomplished for the genre. But even her performance can’t sell that ending, which is pretty (no offense intended) retarded. Half-subtitles, half-dubbing compromise pretty jarring, but it doesn’t matter much after the first reel. Rating: **.

THE MIRROR (1975, Andrei Tarkovsky)- My first exposure to this, which some believe is Tarkovsky’s best. In some respects, pretty simple- the filmmaker reflects on his life and how it affected those closest to him, particularly his mother and his wife (played by the same actress) as well as his son. But Tarkovsky’s storytelling is enigmatic to the point of being impenetrable in spots. But it’s never less than completely transfixing, with the expected corker of an ending (though this one’s fairly simple by his standards). Could very well be a masterpiece, once I figure out what’s going on. And yes, I know this is more than 75 words already. Rating: ***1/2.

FURY (1936, Fritz Lang)
THE LEOPARD (1963, Luchino Visconti)
MASCULINE-FEMININE (1966, Jean-Luc Godard)-
All three of these movies are just as awesome as they were the last time I watched them, but I don't have a whole lot to say about them right now (I'll refer you to this guy's M-F review if you're hungry for more). Also, why does it always seem like I'm winding up with girls like Elizabeth (sexually inviting but distant) when deep down I pine for someone like Catherine (seemingly innocent, but kinda freaky deep down)? Or am I projecting too much onto the film? Ratings for all three films: ***1/2.

Yeah, it's late this week. So what?
Now Playing: Some more shorties for ya
BATMAN BEGINS (2005, Christopher Nolan)- A perfectly entertaining superhero origin story, though rarely more than that. Nolan wisely downplays Burton’s gothic style (and Schumacher’s day-glo mess) in favor of character study, and Bale is up to the task as Batman and especially as Bruce Wayne. Supporting cast a mixed bag- Wilkinson overplays and Holmes sleepwalks, but Murphy steals all his scenes and everyone else does respectable work. A step in the right direction, though final scene’s a too-blatant sequel grab. Rating: **1/2.

MR. AND MRS. SMITH (2005, Doug Liman)- Diverting but rarely fun, Liman’s heavily-armed action comedy feels like a missed opportunity. Pitt’s loose and fun- his scenes with Vince Vaughn made me yearn to see them work together again- but Jolie’s a buzzkill, a self-absorbed glamourpuss packing heat but little of her much-hyped “edge.” Liman forgets he’s making a comedy in the last half-hour, concentrating instead on blowing stuff up, save an elevator gag that was done better in THE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOVIE. Rating: **.

THE ADVENTURES OF SHARK BOY AND LAVA GIRL IN 3D (2005, Robert Rodriguez)- Oh, my eyes! What might’ve been a lame but forgettable kids’ movie becomes a chore due to horrible 3D that caused me to remove the glasses after twenty minutes. Watching the balance in 2D, I don’t think I missed much- lousy acting (by both kids and adults), Rodriguez’s cheeseball DIY effects, and occasional objects being hurled (in either sense of the word) at the camera. Co-written by Rodriguez’s 7-year-old kid, and man does it show. Rating: 0 stars.

THE PERFECT MAN (2005, Mark Rosman)- This movie smells like television, from the telegenic cast (Duff, Locklear, Chris Noth, Mike O’Malley, Carson from QUEER EYE- nothing against TV, but we’re hardly talking Ian McShane here) to the heartwarming and inoffensive messages (scheming is bad, you don’t need a man to be happy, single moms have it tough). Wouldn’t complain about something so bland except that there’s nothing to it besides the tasteless mush. Ah well, at least Hilary Duff doesn’t sing. Rating: *.

WALK ON WATER (2005, Eytan Fox)- An effective, mostly underplayed film about the delicate situation in modern Israel. Lior Ashkenazi is particularly good here as cold Mossad assassin Eyal, coming to grips with his own life through his German “friends.” Fox uses everyday realities such as suicide bombers as fodder for wry humor- cellphones go down, sad music on the radio- while more dramatic moments sneak up on us. Final act in Germany disappoints a bit, but still a strong film. Rating: **1/2.

25 out of 26 ain't bad...
Now Playing: Originally posted at Epinions.com, although this one has way more links.
26 letters, at least 25 have yielded awesome movies (a pox upon thee, accursed X!!!). I had four criteria for the films on this list, listed below in no particular order:
1. I wanted to select films that hadn't been mentioned by too many people, if any,
2. I tried to pick films I've reviewed either here or on my personal site (a link will be provided for Epinions reviews),
3. I didn't want to use filmmakers more than once on the list, and
4. Whenever possible, the films I selected had to be awesome.

Let's see how well I did.

A is for AFTER LIFE- a film that is never less that profound while simultaneously turning me into a wreck at the end (other contenders: ALIEN, ANNIE HALL, L'ATALANTE AU HASARD BALTHASAR).

B is for BELLE DE JOUR- my all-time favorite film, which I refrain from writing about in depth for fear of not doing it justice. Deneuve is my favorite movie star ever, and she's at her most bewitching here, and Bunuel is at his wittiest and most crochety (other contenders: BAND OF OUTSIDERS, BARRY LYNDON, BLOWUP, LES BONNES FEMMES).

C is for COME AND SEE- for my money, the most affecting war film ever made, turning the Nazi invasion of White Russia into a nightmare seen through the eyes of a patriotic teenager (other contenders: CELINE AND JULIE GO BOATING, CHILDREN OF PARADISE, CHINATOWN, CLOSE-UP).

D is for DON- not quite the best "D" film ever made, but certainly the most fun. Amitabh Bachchan is unbelievably cool, especially when he's being loose and goofy (other contenders: DEAD MAN, DO THE RIGHT THING, DETOUR, DOUBLE INDEMNITY).

E is for EIGHT WOMEN- yeah, so it's been used before, but who cares? I love love love this movie, a francophile's fever dream in candy colors, with a surprising final emotional punch (other contenders: 8 1/2, ERASERHEAD, EXOTICA, EYE MYTH).

F is for FACES- Cassavetes is amazing, and for my money this is his best. Rowlands, Marley and Cassel are predictably great, but it's Lynn Carlin who's the showstopper here (other contenders: A FACE IN THE CROWD, FAST CHEAP AND OUT OF CONTROL, THE FOUR HUNDRED BLOWS, FREAKS).

G is for GATES OF HEAVEN>- yes, the pet cemetary doc, as eloquent and graceful a film as has been made about the way we find meaning for our own lives through the deaths of those we care about (other contenders: THE GENERAL [Keaton], GIMME SHELTER, GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS, GRAND ILLUSION).

H for for A HARD DAY'S NIGHT- the Beatles will always rock, and so will this film, which used cinema-verite techniques to reinvigorate the rock musical, previously embalmed by too many Elvis (and Elvis-wannabe) cheapies (other contenders: HEAVENLY CREATURES, HIGH AND LOW, HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR, THE HUSTLER).

I is for IRMA VEP- a pointed film about the making and unmaking of a forgettable film, it's like DAY FOR NIGHT if Truffaut had shot his film hung over, and I mean that in the best of ways (other contenders: IKIRU, IN A LONELY PLACE, IRREVERSIBLE, ISHTAR).

J is for JEANNE DIELMAN- "a film about nothing," says fan Todd Haynes, and he's not far off in his assessment of this 3.5-hour film that uses real-time extensively to follow the everyday routines of the titular housewife. Difficult but completely engrossing (other contenders: JAWS, LA JETEE, JFK, JOAN THE MAID).

K is for KINGS AND QUEEN- I've been obsessed with this movie ever since I first saw it two months ago, and for good reason, as it's the most exciting, disorienting, unpredicable, and alive film to come out in years (other contenders: the KiLL BiLL double feature, THE KILLING OF A CHINESE BOOKIE, KING KONG).

L is for THE LADY EVE- in a dream matchup of old-school stars, con-artist Barbara Stanwyck seduces bookish heir Henry Fonda only to fall in love with him. Hilarious, beautifully-written, and surprisingly sexy (other contenders: LAST TANGO IN PARIS, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, THE LIFE OF BRIAN, LOLA (Demy)).

M is for THE MOTHER AND THE WHORELA MAMAN ET LA PUTAIN- "I like French films/ pretentious, boring French films/ I like French films/ three tickets, s'il vous plait..."~ Jay Sherman a.k.a. THE CRITIC (other contenders: M, M. HULOT'S HOLIDAY, MCCABE & MRS. MILLER, MY NIGHT AT MAUD'S).

N is for NOTORIOUS- Hitchcock's best, and that's saying a lot. Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, and especially Claude Rains have never been better (other contenders: NAKED, NASHVILLE, NIGHT OF THE HUNTER, NORTH BY NORTHWEST).

O is for ORPHEUS- Cocteau was perhaps cinema's great renaissance man: a poet, an artist, a writer, and a director of some of the greatest visions of fantasy ever seen on the silver screen. That he worked with such limited budgets only made his flights of fancy that much more vivid (other contenders: O LUCKY MAN!, ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA, ON THE WATERFRONT, ORDET).

P is for PLAY TIME- to paraphrase Rosenbaum's review, see it as many times as you can in the theatre, sitting in different places in the theatre, in order to discover new treasures contained within (other contenders: PANDORA'S BOX, THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC, PEEPING TOM, THE PRODUCERS).

Q is for LE QUAI DES BRUMES- this wonderful 30s French drama has Jean Gabin and Michel Simon and a great score, and it's miles better than THE QUIET MAN, THE QUICK AND THE DEAD, and Q: THE WINGED SERPENT.

R is for RUSHMORE- aside from the discomfort that came from seeing something of myself in Max Fischer, I loved this film the first time I saw it, and have grown to love it even more since (other contenders: RED, THE RED SHOES, RIFIFI, RULES OF THE GAME).

S is for THE SINGING DETECTIVE- not a movie technically, but amazing all the same. Gambon's performance and Potter's teleplay are legendary (other contenders: THE SEVEN SAMURAI, SHAME, SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS, SUPERSTAR: THE KAREN CARPENTER STORY).

T is for THE THIRD MAN- I saw this in a little theatre in Vienna once when I was 21, and afterwards I strolled over to the Prater, rode the Ferris wheel, and spent the afternoon deep in thought. It's the kind of film you grow into (other contenders: 2001, TAXI DRIVER, THIS IS SPINAL TAP, TWO ENGLISH GIRLS)

U is for THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING- one of the only movies I can think of that are both literate and blindingly sexy, which I chalk up to the lack of literacy in cinema. Heartbreaking stuff (other contenders: THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG, UNFORGIVEN).

V is for VIVRE SA VIE- Godard was untouchable in his prime, and this is one of his greatest films from that period. Anna Karina was so bewitching back in the day (other contenders: VERTIGO, VIRIDIANA).

W is for WALKABOUT- nature and civilization come face to face but the gap is never bridged; therein lies this harshly beautiful film's central tragedy (other contenders: WAKING LIFE, WEEKEND, THE WILD BUNCH, WOMAN IN THE DUNES).

X is for XIU XIU: THE SENT-DOWN GIRL- the only one on the list I'm not really happy with, but at least it's better than XANADU or the X-MEN franchise. Maybe I need to see XALA (Sembene) and XIAO WU (Jia) and resubmit this list.

Y is for THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT- Deneuve is just one of the treats this film has to offer (along with her sister Francoise Dorleac, Danielle Darrieux, Michel Piccoli, Gene Kelly, and many more). The jazzy score gets stuck in your head for weeks, but it's so much fun you don't mind a bit (other contenders: YELLOW SUBMARINE, YI YI, YOJIMBO, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN).

Z is for ZENTROPA- not quite a great movie, but interesting nonetheless (when is Von Trier boring), and certainly better than Z, ZARDOZ, ZOOLANDER, and ZORRO: THE GAY BLADE.

Find short pieces on some of the other listed films at my top 100 films page.

Up to 75 words now.
Now Playing: The Sunday Night Review
All right, so the 50-word thing didn't work out so well. I sometimes have a lot to say about a movie, and trying to convey it in fifty words is lying trying to squeeze me into a pair of jeans with a 32-inch waistline- just about impossible. So I've raised the maximum to 75 words, which is more like a 36 waistline- tight, but doable. Or at least I'm hoping that's how it'll be.

PALINDROMES (2004, Todd Solondz)- A missed opportunity, since a truly brave abortion-issue satire would make characters on one side of an issue reasonable to like-minded audience members and crazy to those who disagree. Here the satire feels forced and too easy. Central gimmick- how much of our reaction to a character depends on the performer?- would distinguish a worthier film, as would Barkin’s performance, the only thing that really feels grounded in reality. P.S.: Enough with the pedophilia, Todd. Rating: *1/2.

THE ANIMATION SHOW 2005 (Various artists)- Judge and Hertzfeldt return bearing animated goodies, and while this installment lacks its predecessor’s audience-pleasing segments, it’s also heavier on experimental stuff, most memorably the mixed-media short PAN WITH US. Other highlights: HELLO (a charming boom-box love story); WARD 13 (twisted Kafkaesque claymation); the darkly comedic FALLEN ART; and Hertzfeldt’s latest, the surprisingly cerebral MEANING OF LIFE. Can’t wait to see what the next installment will bring. No rating.

THE LONGEST YARD (2005, Peter Segal)- Amiable but pointless remake lacks the original’s anti-authority bent, largely because prison life in this one doesn’t seem all that terrible. Sandler, aside from being unconvincing as a disgraced ex-NFL quarterback, who’s in charmless slacker-in-search-of-a-cause mode here, gives a lazy performance. Reynolds turns up again and charms the pants off the audience, but I despair that Chris Rock will never be as funny within the confines of a narrative movie as he is doing standup. Rating: *1/2.

LORDS OF DOGTOWN (2005, Catherine Hardwicke)- fun, but lacks the headlong charge of doc DOGTOWN AND Z-BOYS, directed by Stacy Peralta, who wrote this. Emile Hirsch is a force of nature as Jay Adams, who as in Z-BOYS is depicted as the greatest talent of the bunch, albeit the most troubled. Victor Rasuk is also good as hotshot Tony Alva, ELEPHANT John Robinson is opaque as bland pretty-boy Peralta, and Heath Ledger channels Val Kilmer’s Jim Morrison as the team’s father-figure. Rating: **.

THE BALLAD OF JACK AND ROSE (2005, Rebecca Miller)- Starts off awesome, with Day-Lewis (great, naturally) and Camilla Belle conveying the emotional conflicts inherent in an isolated father/daughter lifestyle. Once other characters are introduced, so is conflict, to mixed results- I would have rather Catherine Keener (as Day-Lewis’ mainland girlfriend) had simply brought son Rodney (Ryan MacDonald, dryly funny) to the island, leaving behind more antagonistic Thaddius (Paul Dano). Final reel goes overboard with tragedy- and what’s with the coda?- but still worth seeing. Rating: **1/2.

LAYER CAKE (2004, Matthew Vaughn)- Vaughn tones down the laddish irony typical of most contemporary British crime films to good effect- rather than piling on style, this film focuses on storytelling and characters. The plot has a Chandleresque feel, as the unnamed protagonist, who thinks he knows all the angles, finds himself repeatedly in over his head. Craig proves his talent and versatility here, and he’s ably supported by a rogue’s gallery of Brit character actors (Gambon, Meaney, George Harris). Rating: **1/2.

Links to long reviews written since the last update:

Madagascar (2005, Darnell/McGrath)- Rating: **1/2.

Jurassic Park (1993, Steven Spielberg)- rating: ***.

Another periodic update
Now Playing: Stuff I've seen recently, in case you couldn't guess
So I've seen a good number of movies lately, although you wouldn't know it to look at my blog here. My excuse for not posting is that I've been busy. Plus boiling my thoughts on a movie down to 50 words is hard, since I usually feel the need to explain where I'm coming from before I really get into my opinion. In other words, doing this is probably a big waste of time, and you should make do with the star grades on my screening log and the occasional longer stuff I've posted on Epinions.com. But I'm a trouper, so I press on. Just don't expect much.

OFF THE MAP (2003, Campbell Scott)- Strong performances (dig Allen and Elliott both playing against type) bolster story about early-teenage girl coming of age in unlikely surroundings, and a houseguest searching for himself. Scott, predictably, is good with actors, but also acquits himself visually. Quirkiness laid on thick at times, but the film is satisfying overall. Rating: **1/2.

MONDOVINO (2004, Jonathan Nossiter)- Pretty boring, and I don’t use that word often. Yeah, globalization and homogenization of wine is bad, local traditional recipes are good, okay. Also dogs. Perks up some when the film heads to Argentina, but a snore overall. Thank goodness we have Nossiter to show us what real connoisseurship is. Rating: *1/2.

CHAIN (2004, Jem Cohen)- Feature-length video contrasts a foreigner’s POV of American mall culture with that of a native, and the result is thought-provoking but rarely compelling. Probably worked better as gallery installation, as I got impatient with this stand-alone version after about 45 minutes. Not uninteresting, however. Rating: **.

BABY FACE (1933, Alfred E. Green)- Delicious Pre-Code offering, with Stanwyck as a brazen woman sleeping her way to the top. Restored scenes add teeth to the story, although the finale still feels a bit soft. Wonder if Jean-Claude Brisseau has seen this? Rating: ***1/2.

THIRTEEN HOURS BY AIR (1936, Mitchell Leisen)- Not exactly a great movie, but still a fun one. Fred MacMurray flies the friendly skies with Joan Bennett, ZaSu Pitts, and an assist from United, until a fugitive and a snowstorm imperil their journey. Granddaddy of AIRPORT series plays better now than its descendents- it’s a smooth, unpretentious ride. Rating: **1/2.

ADVISE AND CONSENT (1962, Otto Preminger)- Homosexual subplot aside, Preminger’s film dates quite well, with its look at congressional politics strangely modern. Henry Fonda feels like a guest star, as the film mostly takes place around him, and it’s all the more successful for it. Charles Laughton rules, obviously. Love the understated regime-change ending. Rating: ***1/2.

50 words max
Now Playing: stuff I've seen lately, in short
CINDERELLA MAN (2005, Ron Howard)- surprisingly engaging, largely due to the presence of Crowe and Giamatti, two of the least sentimental actors currently working in Hollywood. Zellweger stuff drags down the story, as she fails to trick up a cliched worried-wife role with her crinkly-faced mannerisms. Fight scenes good, in a RAGING BULL-in-color-and-PG13 way. Rating: **1/2.

UNLEASHED (2005, Louis Leterrier)- comes out swinging, starting as a quick-cutting actioner only to become a sometimes touching portrait of a killing machine’s (Jet Li, quite good) movement towards self-awareness. Story’s pretty silly, but the filmmaking and performances sell it (Bob Hoskins makes a scarily avuncular baddie). Certainly the most fun summer movie thusfar. Rating: **1/2.

ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM (2005, Alex Gibney)- despite attempts to interject filmic flair (moneybags, strippers, etc.), this expose of Enron’s rise and fall is like an audiobook with pictures (videobook?). Moments of outrage come throughout- California power outage/fires scenes especially- but credit belongs to the story, not Gibney. Maybe it’s time to give politically-motivated docs a breather. Rating: **.

HEAD-ON (2004, Fatih Akin)- fascinating character-driven work, with the personalities of aging punk Cahit (Birol Unel) and suicidal party girl Sibel (Sibel Kikelli) dictating the story’s trajectory. Their ethnicity (both German-born Turks), while part of the narrative, matters little to them, freeing them up to be individuals. Sexual frankness and unpredictability justify Fassbinder comparisons. Rating: ***.

JOINT SECURITY AREA (2000, Chan-Wook Park)- Park’s film about a incident along North/South Korea border is less effective as RASHOMON-inspired mystery than as minor-key drama. The central flashback is the highlight, as the major players in the violence become more complex while their dilemma becomes indelibly clear. Bookend material’s more prosiac, but it’s still worth seeing. Rating: **1/2.

And, as promised...

IN THE REALMS OF THE UNREAL (2004, Jessica Yu)- Henry Darger was a fascinating figure- a reclusive janitor who created a massive illustrated epic novel at night in his little room. While Yu’s tendency to parallel events in the book with Darger’s own life feels overly neat at times, computer-animated versions of scenes from the work prove surprisingly effective. Rating: **1/2.

Why do I always come here/ I guess I'll never know/ it's like some kind of torture/ to have to watch the show
Now Playing: Newish stuff I saw this week
KICKING AND SCREAMING (2005, Jesse Dylan)- I've started to like Will Ferrell in the last several years, in movies like ZOOLANDER, ELF and ANCHORMAN. While his cuddly white-bread dufus schtick would seem to be an ideal fit for a kid's movie, this isn't a very good vehicle for him, not so much because the character doesn't work in the film, but because the film isn't funny. At all. Ferrell's character has some serious issues here, namely his relationship with his ultra-competitive dad (Robert Duvall), who has always been driven to win, especially against his son. This central storyline doesn't work for a PG-rated family film, since while the rating requires it to be toned down to kid-friendly levels, effectively taking any potential bite out of it, it's still too serious-minded a plot on which to hang ninety minutes of silliness followed by a pat, forced sentimental climax and reconciliation. It's in the final reel that Ferrell's sappy side comes out after it was so expertly hidden in ANCHORMAN, and the results are deadly, making me think of the sage words of the alien in STARDUST MEMORIES- "you wanna do the world a world a favor? Try telling funnier jokes." Rating: *.

MONSTER-IN-LAW (2005, Robert Luketic)- ever since MEET THE PARENTS, the conflict between in-laws (or future in-laws) has become a popular premise for Hollywood comedies. However, it's wearing fairly thin now, with the only thing making this better than FOCKERS being the long-awaited return of Jane Fonda. She's every bit the star presence she was when she was last seen onscreen a decade and a half ago, and although she's unafraid to tear into a role (or to look her age, for that matter) she still commands the screen. Now all she needs is to find movies that are really worthy of her. A big problem is that Jennifer Lopez's character is clearly no match for Fonda, and any attempts the movie makes to even the odds don't ring true. Even more deadly is the fact that J. Lo seems to have forgotten how to interact with her costars- she can deliver her lines all right, but she never really engages with the people around her, as though she's acting in front of a blue screen (or maybe having her own dialogue filmed and then having her costars interact with her double, like Sinatra did in his later films). More assured filmmakers- Soderbergh, or even Martin Brest- have gotten good performances out of Jenny from the Block by making her earn her paycheck, but Luketic isn't on their level. And quite frankly, it shows in the finished product. Rating: *1/2.

CRASH (2004, Paul Haggis)- looking at the rating below, I'm probably overrating this, but not nearly as much as the critics who are fawning over it. Seems to me a clear-cut case of being so taken with the film's message (the tendency in every one of us to judge others, whether we admit it or not) as to disregard the clumsy manner in which it's delivered. Haggis neglects to make the characters at all interesting, instead making them mouthpieces for various theories on race relations, which bogs the film down in speechifying, particularly in the first half-hour. Likewise, he sets the film over the course of a day and a half, which gives it the feel of a writerly exercise but also points out his over-reliance on some rather far-fetched coincidences. That said, nearly all the performances worked for me, and some were actually quite impressive, particularly Terrence Howard as a black studio executive. I actually think the film would have worked had it spun out the Howard/Thandie Newton/Matt Dillon storyline out to feature length (and with the timeframe expanded to, say, a year)- a film that explores the judgmental nature of many police officers would certainly be a worthwhile project, and the tensions that arise between Howard and Newton would be an ideal counterpoint. But for every moment I found myself caring about what was going on, there was one moment I found myself slapping my forehead, and at least once during the film I wanted to throw something at the screen (that would be the highly contrived scene involving the little girl). Still, CRASH is a film that should be seen for what it's trying to say, even though you have to wade through a lot in the meantime. Rating: **.

IN THE REALMS OF THE UNREAL (2004, Jessica Yu)- I'm tired. Comments to come, maybe. Rating: **1/2.