It Came from Beneath the Sea

IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA (1955) - Sept. 30, 2006
A dated and surprisingly dull film about giant killer octopus who eventually attacks San Francisco. A big problem with this film was that the octopus itself barely got any screentime; the majority of the film consists of a couple of scientists and a naval officer's attempts to figure out what the creature is, and how to kill it (and a pointless love triangle between the three). Robert Gordon's dull direction doesn't help matters. Ray Harryhousen's special effects, though obviously far from realistic, are pretty much the only interesting thing about the movie. It's also pretty obvious that Gore Verbinski was inspired by this movie, as the scene in Dead Man's Chest where a boat gets attacked by the octopus was pretty much identical to a scene in this film. *1/2

Witness to Murder

WITNESS TO MURDER (1954) - Sept. 29, 2006
A mostly entertaining but fairly routine film noir about a woman who witnesses a murder and then struggles to prove what she saw. It was decently directed by Roy Rowland, and featured expectedly shadowy cinematography (I particularly liked the sequence set in the mental facility). The performances were all fine, though George Sanders was definitely the highlight as the killer, giving an enjoyably sinister performance. **1/2

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1920) - Sept. 29, 2006 (Second Viewing)
Though this wasn't quite as bad as I remember it being, it still isn't quite the classic a lot of people make it out to be. It's sort of interesting, mostly from a historical standpoint, but it isn't very entertaining. The artificial looking sets and stagey direction make this little more than a curiosity. **

Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles

RIDING ALONE FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES (2005) - Sept. 28, 2006
The Zhangster strikes again! This was a really moving film about a Japanese father, estranged from his dying son, who journeys to China in order to film a Chinese Opera in the hopes of reconnecting with his son. This was a really good looking film. I was just mentioning how John Huston is right up there with Kubrick in terms of his visuals; Yimou is even better (than Huston, not Kubrick, though he's close). Though the version I saw, infuriatingly, was partially out of focus. Along with Yimou's stellar direction was a really remarkable performance by Ken Takakura, who is pretty much perfect as the father who has a hard time expressing his emotions. It was a really really good performance, at a level you don't see too often. And man, towards the end... I don't think a movie has so thoroughly moved me to tears since Titanic. ***1/2

Broken Blossoms or the Yellow Man and the Girl

BROKEN BLOSSOMS OR THE YELLOW MAN AND THE GIRL (1919) - Sept. 27, 2006
This was actually quite a bit better than I thought it would be, considering how much I disliked the two other D.W. Griffith films that I've seen (Birth of a Nation and Intolerance). It's short (90 minutes) unlike those two, which helps. About a romance between a British girl and a Chinese immigrant, I'm sure Griffith had good intentions while making it, but it still comes off as pretty racist (the Chinese character is played by a white guy, and he's constantly being referred to as a chink -- even his girlfriend calls him "chinky" at one point). But as far as silent films go it was well made and reasonably entertaining. **1/2

Living in Oblivion

LIVING IN OBLIVION (1995) - Sept. 26, 2006
An enjoyable film about a day in the life of the production of a low-budget film. All the performances were quite good, but Steve Buscemi was definitely the highlight as the frazzled director (though Dermot Mulroney also deserves mention as an eye-patch wearing cinematographer). ***

The Asphalt Jungle

THE ASPHALT JUNGLE (1950) - Sept. 24, 2006
Superbly directed by John Huston, this was a really good heist film about a criminal who gets involved in a big heist, and all the things that go wrong. It sort of reminded me of Rififi, though obviously it's hard to top that film. Sterling Hayden is excellent in the main role, as are all the other performances. The dialogue was really good, and then of course there was Huston's direction. In terms of the composition of his shots I think he's right up there with Kubrick. I particularly liked the final shot of the film. ***1/2

Jackass Number Two

JACKASS NUMBER TWO (2006) - Sept. 23, 2006
This was exactly what you'd think it would be. Featuring Johnny Knoxville and his wacky band of misfits as they perform outrageous stunts and prank each other. A lot of the stuff they did seemed really dangerous, and it's a wonder that no one got seriously injured. But a lot of it was actually pretty funny in a sick kind of way, and it was essentially entertaining (though it did begin to get a bit monotonous by the end). **1/2

The Protector

THE PROTECTOR (2005) - Sept. 19, 2006
I think this might have once been a good film. It's hard to say; half an hour has been cut out of this version leaving it almost completely incomprehensible. Whoever did the cutting did a terrible job -- many scenes seem to begin or end arbitrarily, and the whole film has a choppy, outright confusing feel to it. The film is also, confusingly, dubbed in some parts, and subtitled in others. The action was really good though, with the highlights being the part where Jaa fights his way to the top of a building in one continuous shot, and the part where Jaa takes on a room full of guys, and proceeds to break more arms than Steven Seagal has in his entire career. I really do need to see the original, because this version was clearly butchered. **

The Player

THE PLAYER (1992) - Sept. 18, 2006
This movie starts out with an impressively long tracking shot, which soon reveals itself to be the highlight of the film. Not that there was anything particularly wrong with the movie, it just wasn't all that great. Tim Robbins was good as a sleazy movie executive who finds himself being stalked by a disgruntled screenwriter, as were the rest of the performances, but... Meh. **1/2

Outsourced

OUTSOURCED (2006) - Sept. 16, 2006
An enjoyable romantic comedy that is undone by a severe case of overlength. About a guy whose job is outsourced, and who has to go to India to train his replacements, the film is initially delightful, but has definitely worn out its welcome by the time the end credits roll. Which is too bad, because it definitely had a lot of promise. **1/2

The Missing Star

THE MISSING STAR (2006) - Sept. 16, 2006
A well made but outrageously slow-paced film about an Italian mechanic who travels to China in order to fix a machine sold to a Chinese company by his employers. He doesn't know what company actually bought the machine, so pretty much the entire film consists of him and his interpreter wandering around China searching for the right factory. The movie was well directed and the performances were fine, but jeez. It was just so slow, it was difficult to ever really get into it. **

The Caiman

THE CAIMAN (2006) - Sept. 16, 2006
A disappointing film from Nanni Moretti. About a washed-up film producer, and his attempt to mount a comeback with a film criticizing Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Moretti clearly doesn't care for Berlusconi; a big chunk of the film is footage from the movie within the movie in which Berlusconi is essentially portrayed as an incompetent criminal. The rest of the film was okay, but it didn't really amount to much. **1/2

The Dog Problem

THE DOG PROBLEM (2006) - Sept. 16, 2006
A really enjoyable and surprisingly well-made film (surprising considering it is written and directed by Scott Caan, from whom you wouldn't really expect much). But it was quite well made, and featured a really good performance from Giovanni Ribisi. The other performances were equally good, and the writing and direction were both top-notch. ***1/2

Seraphim Falls

SERAPHIM FALLS (2006) - Sept. 15, 2006
Featuring a couple of very grizzled performances from Pierce Brosnan and Liam Neeson, this was a really well made western. The plot was simple: one man (with the help of four hired hands) hunts down another. Much of the movie is without dialogue, focusing on Brosnan's character as he attempts to elude his hunters. It definitely worked, though the ending dragged on a bit longer than it really should have. If nothing else, it's worth it for the scene in which Brosnan removes a bullet from his arm, then cleans and cauterizes the wound with nothing but some whiskey, a large knife and a campfire. ***

Golden Door

GOLDEN DOOR (2006) - Sept. 15, 2006
About a family of Italians who decide to immigrate to America in the early 20th century (the exact year is never mentioned). The film, directed by Emanuele Crialese, who also directed the excellent Respiro, is certainly well made, but very very slow. It's never actually boring, but it's about as slow-paced as a movie can get without crossing the line into boring territory. It helps that it's really well acted and directed (plus it's Italian, so you pretty much know what you're getting into in terms of pace -- but even for an Italian movie this was slow). **1/2

The Half Life of Timofey Berezin

THE HALF LIFE OF TIMOFEY BEREZIN (2006) - Sept. 14, 2006
This was odd. For the first half or so, it almost feels like two different films: there's the stuff with the father who, in an accident at work, gets a lethal case of radiation poisoning, and then there's the Guy Ritchie-esque stuff with three bumbling gangsters trying to raise six thousand dollars for their boss. The plots do eventually converge, and it isn't quite as jarring as you'd think it would be (the gangster story becomes a bit more serious to match the tone of the radiation story). It was interesting, but I'm not entirely sure it worked; I think I'd rather have one story or the other (preferably the serious one, because the gangster stuff wasn't exactly fresh). Paddy Constantine, as the man with radiation poisoning, was almost certainly the highlight, as he gave a really excellent performance. **1/2

Black Book

BLACK BOOK (2006) - Sept. 14, 2006
A really well made, entertaining film about a Polish Jew in Germany, and her struggles to survive during World War II, eventually joining the resistance. She infiltrates Nazi headquarters by wooing a high-ranking German officer, and finds herself falling in love with him. The film was almost two and a half hours long but doesn't feel long at all -- my interest didn't wane for a second, which is rare for a movie of this length. The film was really well directed by Paul Verhoeven, and is a good companion piece for the equally excellent Soldier of Orange. It also features an outstanding lead performance from Carice van Houten (and in fact all the performances were really good). This is Verhoeven's first film in six years; I hope it isn't another six for the next one. ****

A Few Days in September

A FEW DAYS IN SEPTEMBER (2006) - Sept. 14, 2006
Here's another one I'll have to watch again. About three people waiting for a reunion with a spy of some sort, this movie seemed pretty good (though the intentionally out-of-focus cinematography got a bit annoying after a while) but I was asleep during a lot of it (and that's not a condemnation of the movie, I was just really really tired). So yeah, hopefully it'll get a release at some point because I really should watch it again. NO RATING

The Last Winter

THE LAST WINTER (2006) - Sept. 13, 2006 (S)
Jeez, talk about wasted potential. About a team of workers out in the Alaskan tundra who are supposed to build a new oil pipeline, and the weird stuff that starts happening once they get there. Though the film is very well acted (Ron Perlman and James LeGros were particularly good) and generally well made, it's ultimately undone by its overt preachiness (we GET it, global warming is bad) and some really stupid stuff towards the end that may have seemed good on paper... actually no, I can't imagine that it would seem like a good idea anywhere (murderous caribou ghosts? WTF?). There were some moments here and there that I thought were really effective (the scene where the team watches the final video of one of its members, the scene towards the end where Abby and James attempt to communicate via walkie talkie) and the film's look, with its bleakly white, Fargo-esque landscapes, effectively set the proper mood, but... I dunno, it all seemed to be building up to something really creepy, and what it did build up to was just silly (murderous caribou ghosts!). It sucks, because this could have been a great film and it wasn't even a good one. After the film, I overheard a guy calling it a "middling failure." That sounds about right. **

My Best Friend

MY BEST FRIEND (2006) - Sept. 13, 2006
An enjoyable comedy about a man who comes to the realization that he has no real friends, and who proceeds to try to find his best friend within a few days thanks to a bet. He eventually finds a friend in an outgoing but oddly friendless cab driver. The film essentially plays out like a romantic comedy without the romance, complete with a fake breakup between the friends. But it was entertaining, and Daniel Auteuil was quite good in the main role. ***

Black Sheep

BLACK SHEEP (2006) - Sept. 12, 2006
About a bunch of sheep who are driven bloodthirsty and mad thanks to some sort of genetic engineering gone wrong, this was expectedly silly but essentially entertaining. Nothing about it stood out as anything too memorable, though there were some pretty good parts (the part where hundreds of angry sheep descend upon a crowd of people was a highlight). This isn't quite in the same league as something like Shaun of the Dead, but it was a diverting enough time-waster. **1/2

Everything's Gone Green

EVERYTHING'S GONE GREEN (2006) - Sept. 12, 2006
A really well made and enjoyable film about a guy who works the lottery office in Vancouver, and who finds himself involved in a scam of sorts. That doesn't really describe the movie too well, but I guess you can't really describe this movie in one sentence. Written by Douglas Coupland, the film features all the hallmarks of Coupland's novels: the quirky characters, the humour, the thoughtful dialogue. You wouldn't think he'd be able to do it, but he really does effectively translate the experience of reading one of his books to the screen. The film is also really well directed by Paul Fox, and features a really excellent central performance from Paulo Costanzo. ***1/2

Beauty in Trouble

BEAUTY IN TROUBLE (2006) - Sept. 12, 2006
A well made but slow and sort of overlong film about a married woman who befriends a kindhearted rich man while her husband is in jail (for stealing the rich man's car). The film doesn't have much of a plot, and at times feels a bit pointless, but it was okay. Not the best movie I've seen at the film festival, and not the worst. **1/2

10 Items or Less

10 ITEMS OR LESS (2006) - Sept. 11, 2006
Morgan Freeman, essentially playing a variation on himself, gives a phenomenal performance in this film about a past-his-prime actor who strikes up a friendship with a young supermarket clerk (played by Paz Vega, who actually manages to hold her own against Freeman). The film basically just consists of Freeman and Vega talking, but it's really entertaining throughout, mostly thanks to Freeman's charismatic performance and the quality of the dialogue. Good stuff. ***1/2

Diggers

DIGGERS (2006) - Sept. 11, 2006
A really well made and well acted film about a group of friends, all clam diggers, who find their livelihood at stake when a large corporation moves in and starts to make things more difficult. Though Ron Eldard, Paul Rudd and Maura Tierney were expectedly excellent (though Eldard didn't have nearly enough to do), Ken Marino was definitely the standout, stealing pretty much every scene he was in. ***

Love and Other Disasters

LOVE AND OTHER DISASTERS (2006) - Sept. 11, 2006
An enjoyable but cliched and inconsequential romantic comedy (and just because they acknowledge that they're using cliches, that doesn't make them any less cliched). Brittany Murphy stars as Jacks, who along with her group of quirky friends in London, is on a search for true love. There were no surprises here - this is a movie that features both the fake breakup and the mad dash to the airport - but the film was still well made and an enjoyable enough way to spend an hour and a half. **1/2

The Host

THE HOST (2006) - Sept. 10, 2006
A really uneven film. About a giant mutated monster terrorizing Korea, this movie had some really good moments, but was otherwise so-so. The first scene with the monster, in which it runs amuck in park full of people was CLEARLY the highlight, and was probably one of the best scenes of its type that I've ever seen. It was awesome, but it was all downhill from there. There were a few other good scenes with the monster, but none of them could come close to the first one. The movie was otherwise way overlong; the family at the centre of the film was probably too large -- the movie could have been trimmed down quite a bit if there weren't so many central characters. **1/2

Shot in the Dark

SHOT IN THE DARK (2006) - Sept. 10, 2006
A really engaging documentary about Adrian Grenier and his efforts to forge a relationship with his long-absent father, and to figure out what being a father really means in the process. The documentary was really well made and entertaining, and Grenier's efforts to reconnect with his dad proved to be surprisingly compelling. The film was at times touching, and at times funny (such as the part where Grenier has to explain the title to his confused psychiatrist). Good stuff. ***1/2

Palimpsest

PALIMPSEST (2006) - Sept. 10, 2006
An interesting but really slow-paced drama about a gritty cop trying to solve a murder, and seemingly going crazy in the process. The over-the-top score seemed like it would be more at home in a horror movie, though I suppose it did help set the mood and tone. I really can't say much more about the movie; I was really tired during the screening and was very close to falling asleep on several occasions (and in fact I think I may have actually drifted off at least once). So yeah, another viewing would be a good thing, particularly after the whopper of an ending, which is the type that makes you see the movie in a whole different light. NO RATING

The Fall

THE FALL (2006)
Another self-indulgent, pretentious stinkpile from Tarsem. I really don't know what to say about this movie. It featured some impressive visuals; they obviously filmed in some interesting places. But the "story" is just pointless, and seems like an excuse to go from one interesting looking place to the next. I'm not sure why Tarsem didn't just make a Baraka type of movie, as the backgrounds seemed to be what he really cared about. Blech. I did like the ending though, with a series of clips of stunts from silent films set to a piece from Beethoven's seventh symphony. *1/2

The Wind that Shakes the Barley

THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY (2006) - Sept. 9, 2006
A disappointment. Though Cillian Murphy gave an expectedly electrifying performance, this film is just not up to his level. For one thing, Ken Loach's direction is bland almost to the point of non-existence. Even more problematic, the film just isn't all that interesting; it probably didn't help that I knew nothing about the whole conflict, and I think the film assumes you have at least a little knowledge of the situation (a little bit of text at the beginning would have really helped). Aside from Cillian Murphy and a couple of other people, all the characters were pretty much interchangable. And there's a point where I thought the movie would end, but it keeps going for at least half an hour. Plus the strong Irish accents didn't help matters (I missed a good chunk of the dialogue). And then there's the little things, like why weren't there any squibs in this movie? It's a really minor complaint, but it kind of takes you out of the movie when a guy gets shot and just falls over, especially in a film that's otherwise so gritty. **

Hana

HANA (2006) - Sept. 9, 2006
An overlong but otherwise delightful film about a samurai who moves to a small village hoping to find leads in order to get vengeance against the man who killed his father. It sounds serious (and that's what I thought it was going to be) but it was actually a light-hearted comedy about the samurai and the quirky residents of the small, ramshackle village in which he resides. A lot of time is also spent on the blossoming relationship between the samurai and a single mother (though not quite enough to classify this as a romantic comedy). The residents of the town are endearing and became people I really came to care about, and the film was actually quite funny. My only real problem with this movie (though it's a big one) is that, at 127 minutes, it's just way too long. It overstays its welcome a little bit, and that's too bad because otherwise it's really good. ***

2:37

2:37 (2006) - Sept. 8, 2006
I don't think the word homage even applies here -- more like outright theft. This movie was very heavily "inspired" by Gus Van Sant's Elephant, and it shows. Like Elephant, the movie takes place in a high school over the course of one day leading up to a tragedy. And like Elephant, the movie follows a few different kids, and shows how their lives overlap. And like that film, this movie features a lot of long steadicam shots (though not nearly as many as Elephant, which was pretty much nothing but steadicam shots). It was good though, if not quite as compelling or well made as Van Sant's film. (An addendum: I can't help but be a little bitter that the director of this film is two years younger than me. What's up with that?) ***

Lights in the Dusk

LIGHTS IN THE DUSK (2006) - Sept. 8, 2006
I can't help but feel a bit disappointed by this, Aki Kaurismaki's first film since the excellent The Man without a Past. About a sad-sack security guard who aims for something higher, the main problem is that the film, and all the characters within it, are deadpan to a ridiculous degree. No one in the film seems to have any reaction other than a sort of curious disdain. When, towards the end of the film, the protagonist cracks a big smile, it seems weird and out of place. That's not to say that the film was bad; it was really well directed, and the performances were actually quite good, particularly the main guy (and that's no small feat, considering the narrow range of emotions he had to work with). **1/2

Big Bang Love: Juvenile A

BIG BANG LOVE: JUVENILE A (2006) - Sept. 8, 2006
A strange, strange movie. Starting off with a long, nonsensical speech and followed by a really bizarre dance number, this film initially seemed like it was going to be quite the ordeal. This turned out to be somewhat untrue, as the movie did improve as it progressed. A sort of murder-mystery set inside a very strange jail, the movie got better once the plot started to unfold. But the whole thing was just strange, and slow-paced, and pretty much pointless. *1/2

Syriana

SYRIANA (2005) - Sept. 6, 2006
Meh. This movie was well made but I felt oddly disconnected from it. It probably didn't help that it featured so many characters that I felt like I didn't really get a chance to get to know any of them. It also would have been nice if the movie had spent slightly longer chunks of time with each character; the movie kept zipping from subplot to subplot. I guess the problem was that they didn't feel like characters as much as devices to set the many many wheels of the plot in motion. It wasn't so bad though; it was well made and well acted. But did I really need a two hour movie to tell me that big oil companies are bad? **1/2

Crank

CRANK (2006)
Featuring a perfectly-cast Jason Statham as a hitman who gets injected with a bizarre poison that requires him to keep his adrenaline up to survive, this was a ridiculously over-the-top but really entertaining film. Though the two directors were clearly inspired by Tony Scott in their kinetic sense of style, they actually put it to better use here than Scott ever has (the style actually seemed to fit the movie, unlike in something like Man on Fire, where it felt shoehorned in and only served to distract the audience). Everything about this movie was insanely over the top, but it worked and I quite enjoyed it. ***

Idiocracy

IDIOCRACY (2006) - Sept. 1, 2006
A silly but enjoyable film about a man and a prostitute who, in an experiment gone wrong, are cryogenically frozen for over 500 years. When they wake up, they find that evolution has favoured the stupid, and that America has been dumbed down to a ridiculous degree. Though not as good as Mike Judge's last film, the cult classic Office Space, this was pretty entertaining and had its moments. It's a bit perplexing that it was shelved so long, but with the numerous digs at American culture, maybe it hit a bit close to home. **1/2