The Accidental Husband (2008) – What’s the ultimate way to get even with someone who’s wrecked your life? Marry them. Stars Uma Thurman (Oscar nominee for Pulp Fiction 1994) & Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen 2009) make an unlikely yet adorable couple in this typical, but still likeable chick flick.
Broken English (2007) – Read the preview write-up I did here. All I can add is that it didn’t disappoint. This has become one of my favorite Parker Posey films.
Chaos Theory (2007) – A man gets startling news, and decides to completely rethink the way he lives his life. Director Marcos Siega (9 episodes of “Dexter” & 1 of “True Blood”) should maybe stick to television. Because even with an excellent cast that included Ryan Reynolds (The Proposal 2009), Emily Mortimer (Match Point 2005) and Stuart Townsend (Queen of the Damned 2002) the film still fell short. It’s an ok watch, but that’s about it.
Definitely, Maybe aka Un jour, peut-être (2008) – If you want to see Ryan Reynolds do cute and adorable go with this movie, instead of the last. From writer/director Adam Brooks (The Invisible Circus 2001); here we have a man telling his daughter the story of how he met her mother. Abigail Breslin (Oscar nominee for Little Miss Sunshine 2006) is dead-on perfect in her role, as always.
Evening aka Spuren eines Lebens (2007) – A dyeing woman recalls her summer of love. It’s a touching story made real by the performances of its all star cast. The women are Claire Danes (Golden Globe winner for “My So-Called Life” 1994), Toni Collette (Oscar nominee for The Sixth Sense 1999), Vanessa Redgrave (Oscar winner for Julia 1977), Meryl Streep (2 time Oscar winner for Sophie’s Choice 1982 & Kramer vs. Kramer 1979) and Glenn Close (5 time Oscar nominee). But rounding out this cast nicely was Natasha Richardson in one of her final roles before her tragic death earlier this year.
Fool’s Gold (2008) – Isn’t it funny how great sex can make you believe you’re in love? This is just another woman’s mistake coming back to bite her in the ass. Ok, on the surface this film is about lost treasure at sea. And ok, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I had expected. Matthew McConaughey (Failure to Launch 2006) and Kate Hudson (You, Me and Dupree 2006) team-up again 6 years after making How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003.) He’s hunky; she’s cute, blah blah blah. You get it.
Good Dick (2008) – Shocking title for a sweet movie about dysfunctional people in love. Marianna Palka wrote, directed and starred opposite her real life boyfriend Jason Ritter (son of John Ritter) to make a beautiful movie. On top of that it was filmed in my old stomping ground near the NuArt theater where I was part of the cast of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) some 20+ years ago. I really liked this film.
The Haunting in Connecticut (2009) – Horror flick supposable based on real events about a family haunted by evil spirits after moving into an old mortuary. How can anyone not expect to be haunted at least a little when living in an old mortuary? Anyway, not bad but no different than a dozen others just like it.
Into the Wild (2007) – Make no mistake, this 2 time Oscar nominated film (editing & supporting actor) is extremely depressing. The worst part is that it’s extremely good. Sean Penn (best actor Oscar winner for Milk 2008 & Mystic River 2003) directs Emile Hirsch (Lords of Dogtown 2005) in a movie based on the real life diary of Chris McCandless. A man who gave away all of his possessions to go live in the wilderness of Alaska. The ending was stuck in my head for a long time after it was over.
Je t’aime, je t’aime (1968) – An odd little French film about a man who is asked to participate in a time travel experiment, figuring death is an acceptable risk after his failed suicide attempt, only to find himself trapped reliving parts of his past out of order. Very dated, but still interesting.
Kissed (1996) – Necrophilia, there I said it (or rather, wrote it). Strangely this movie makes it seem not… so… strange? Molly Parker (“Deadwood” 36 episodes, 2004-2006) plays a girl who’s taken a special interest in her clients, who just happen to be… dead. Peter Outerbridge (Better Than Chocolate 1999) is the man so in love with her that he’s willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to have her love him in return.
Låt den rätte komma in aka Let the Right One In (2008) – Here I was expecting to watch a horror movie and I get a sweet story about a 12 year old boy’s first love. True, his love is a child vampire, but no one’s perfect. Some truly original work is coming from some unusual places; this time from Sweden. Don’t let subtitles scare you away.
Milk (2008) – With director Gus Van Sant I find that either I hate it or love it. This time around it’s definitely love. Sean Penn kicked ass as Harvey Milk earning him his second Academy Award. Dustin Lance Black also got a little gold statue for the screenplay. Plus there were 6 more nominations including best picture. All deserved. As for me, I vaguely remember the uproar over the “Twinkie defense” when I was a kid; it’s nice to finally get the whole story.
The Notorious Bettie Page aka The Ballad of Bettie Page or The Last Days of Bettie Page (2005) – Gretchen Mol (“Life on Mars” 17 episodes, 2008-2009) plays the infamous pin-up model well enough, but the movie didn’t really tell me anything I didn’t already know about her. Maybe it’s just me, but I just didn’t warm-up to this character the way I thought I would.
Orientations: Chris Doyle – Stirred But Not Shaken (2000) – Documentary on cinematographer Christopher Doyle who was the vision behind such greats as 2046 (2004), Ying xiong aka Hero (2002), Fa yeung nin wa aka In the Mood for Love (2000) and Chung Hing sam lam aka Chungking Express (1994) among so many others. He’s a god at setting the perfect mood even if you don’t understand the dialog.
Push (2009) – People with special abilities waging a war on the streets of Hong Kong staring Chris Evans (Fantastic Four 2005), Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond 2006) and Dakota Fanning (War of the Worlds 2005). Better than I thought it would be, far better than Jumper (2008). But what interests me is it’s director Paul McGuigan, who also helmed Lucky Number Slevin (2006), Gangster No. 1 (2000) and The Acid House (1998). I would have never connected them.
*Didn’t have any “q” titled movies available at the time*
Rocky Balboa aka Rocky VI: Puncher’s Chance (2006) – Sylvester Stallone reprises his breakout role after 16 years in retirement, and somehow pulls it off. This is a nice ending to the saga.
Stalker aka Сталкер (1979) – Just recently I discovered that the Russians have got a real talent for making movies. Apparently it’s been so for a while now. The Zone, it’s serious, it’s dangerous, it’s forbidden, but if you venture there your deepest desire will be made true. It’s a metaphor, but of what? My guess is religion and god. The original taping of the first half of this movie was lost forever before anyone ever got to see it due to faulty/exposed film. Director Andrei Tarkovsky almost walked away from the project at that point. Eventually the missing footage was reshot, but with a much more ominous feel to it.
Taxidermia (2006) – I so hated this film, I don’t even want to talk about it.
The Ugly Truth (2009) – I’m sorry, I love Gerard Butler (imho the sexiest man alive), but romantic comedies are just not his thing. To make things worse he’s looking puffy and tired. I so wanted to like this one, and I kinda did, but my usual overwhelming lust for the man wasn’t there. I’m hoping he’ll redeem himself with Gamer (2009) coming out next month
Veronica Guerin aka Chasing the Dragon: The Veronica Guerin Story (2003) – Cate Blanchett (Oscar winner for The Aviator 2004) plays real life Irish journalist Veronica Guerin who was gunned down and murdered after writing a series of articles on local drug dealers. Guerin was amazingly courageous and this movie does her proper justice.
We Are Marshall (2006) – Another true story, this time about the recovery of a small town after the local university football team is killed in a tragic plane crash. Here Matthew McConaughey plays quirky rather than cutie and it almost works. But the real standouts were David Strathairn (Oscar nominee for Good Night, and Good Luck. 2005), Kate Mara (Shooter 2007) and Ian McShane (Golden Globe winner for “Deadwood” 2004-2006).
*Didn’t have any “x” titled movies available at the time*
You Kill Me (2007) – Ben Kingsley (Oscar winner for Gandhi 1982) is an alcoholic hitman that goes to San Francisco to sober up, and meets the love of his life, Téa Leoni (“The Naked Truth” 49 episodes, 1995-1998). In general it’s an ok film, but coming from director John Dahl it’s a bit of a letdown. His first 3 movies, Kill Me Again (1989), Red Rock West (1993) and The Last Seduction (1994), are all favorites of mine, but sense then it’s been all downhill.
The Zero Years (2005) – This is the last film from Greek writer/director/producer Nikos Nikolaidis (Singapore sling: O anthropos pou agapise ena ptoma 1990). Sometime in the future 4 prostitutes serve a sentence of slavery in a dingy apartment. It makes little sense and rarely touches base with reality, but even so I really liked it.
9 Songs aka Ice (2004) – Porn, you may say. The leads are actually having sex in this movie. But there’s a real story here too. What we’re asked to view here are the intimate moments in a relationship, between a man and a woman, from start to finish. And of course that includes the sex.
That’s my 4th run through the alphabet. I’m already working on my 5th. Follow my progress here.