[Persona]

Great idea!
I'll have the asterisk(*) = 1st time viewing, and the Italics = trip to theater.
To aid my own memory, i'm also going to list the directors.

12/31/02 - The Matrix (andy and Larry wachowski)
1/03/03 - The Lady and the Duke* (eric rohmer)
1/04/03 - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas* (terry gilliam)[1st attempt - bad DVD]
1/04/03 - Life as a House* (irwin winkler)
1/05/03 - Changing Lanes* (roger michell)
1/06/03 - Clash of the Titans* (desmond davis)
1/07/03 - In the Bedroom* (todd field)
1/10/03 - Cornerstone 2002 Scrapbook* (jeremy gudauskas)[a buddy of mine!]
1/11/03 - Grave of the Fireflies* (isao takahata)
1/12/03 - Catch me if you can (steven spielberg)[2nd viewing, had to take my gal]
1/13/03 - Hudsucker Proxy* (Joel and ethan coen)[1st attempt - sleep took over]
1/17/03 - Apocalypse Now (francis ford coppola)
1/18/03 - Orange County* (jake kasdan)
1/20/03 - The Pianist* (roman polanski)
1/23/03 - Hudsucker Proxy (Joel and ethan coen)
1/24/03 - 2010: The Year We Make Contact* (peter hyams)
1/25/03 - LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring (peter jackson)[5th X, 2nd X extended DVD]
1/26/03 - Gertrud* (carl theodor dreyer)
1/27/03 - Carl Th. Dreyer - My Metier* (torben skj?ensen)
1/27/03 - Tadpole* (gary winick)
1/28/03 - Audition* (takashi miike)
1/28/03 - Y Tu Mama Tambien* (alfonso cuar?1/30/03 - 13 Conversations About One Thing* (jill sprecher)
1/31/03 - Secret Ballot* (babak payami)

Favorite 1st viewings (*) from Jan: 13 Conversations About One Thing and The Pianist

2/01/03 - Gabbeh* (mohsen makhmalbaf)
2/02/03 - The Sacrifice* (andrei tarkovsky)
2/04,5,7/03 - Ulysses' Gaze* (theo angelopoulos)
2/05/03 - The Hours* (stephen daldry)
2/8,9/03 - The Shawshank Redemption (Frank Darabont)
2/11/03 - Andrei Rublev* (andrei tarkovsky)
2/16/03 - The Contender* (rod Lurie)
2/17/03 - Donnie Darko (richard Kelly)
2/18,19/03 - Yojimbo* (akira kurosawa)
2/21/03 - Adaptation* (spike jonze)
2/22/03 - Daredevil* (mark steven johnson)
2/25/03 - The son* (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne)
2/28/03 - Chicago* (Rob Marshall)
2/29/03 - Ice Age* (Carlos Saldanha and Chris Wedge)

Favorite 1st viewing (*) from Feb: Chicago

3/07/03 - The Pianist (roman polanski)[2nd viewing, had to take my gal]
3/08/03 - Gattaca (andrew niccol)
3/09/03 - Pumpkin* (anthony abrams & adam larson Broder)
3/10/03 - Heaven* (tom tykwer)
3/11/03 - Open Your Eyes* (alejandro Amen?r)
3/15/03 - Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht* (werner herzog)
3/21/03 - Harold and Maude* (hal Ashby) [missed 1/2 hour; slept - MUST REWATCH]
3/23/03 - LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring (peter jackson)[6th X, 3rd X extended DVD]
3/26/03 - City of God* (k?a Lund and fernando Meirelles)
3/27/03 - Ratcatcher* (Lynne ramsay)
3/29/03 - About a Boy* (chris and paul Weitz)
3/31/03 - Irr?rsible* (Gaspar No?
Favorite 1st viewings (*) from Mar: Ratcatcher and Heaven

4/01/03 - Signs (M. Night Shyamalan)
4/06/03 - Far From Heaven* (todd Haynes)
4/10/03 - Sweet Home Alabama* (andy tennant) [TORTURE]
4/12/03 - Ringu* (hideo nakata)
4/14/03 - Rabbit Proof Fence* (phillip Noyce)
4/16/03 - The Dreamlife of Angels* (erick Zonca)
4/18/03 - Red Dragon* (brett ratner)
4/20/03 - The Silence of the Lambs (jonathan demme)
4/22/03 - Hannibal (ridley scott)
4/26/03 - City by the Sea* (Michael Caton-Jones)
4/27/03 - Identity* (James Mangold)
4/28/03 - Salaam Bombay!* (Mira Nair)
4/29/03 - Punch Drunk Love* (Paul Thomas Anderson)
4/30/03 - Freeze - Die - Come to Life!* (Vitali Kanevsky)

Favorite 1st viewing (*) from Apr: The Dreamlife of Angels

5/02/03 - X-Men (bryan singer)
5/04/03 - Far From Heaven (todd Haynes)[2nd viewing, this time with my gal]
5/06/03 - Safe* (todd Haynes)
5/08/03 - X2* (bryan singer)
5/09/03 - The Thief* (pavel chukhraj)
5/10/03 - Closely Watched Trains* (jir?enzel)
5/11/03 - Baran* (majid majidi)
5/14/03 - Clockwatchers (jill sprecher)
5/17/03 - Morvern Callar* (Lynne ramsay)
5/19/03 - Mostly Martha* (sandra nettelbeck)
5/20/03 - Wild Strawberries* (Ingmar Bergman)
5/22/03 - S1mone* (andrew niccol) [ATTEMPT ONLY. DUMBER THAN DUMB]
5/23/03 - Beautiful People* (jasmin dizdar) [ATTEMPT ONLY... ALSO DUMB]
5/24/03 - One Hour Photo* (mark Romanek)
5/25/03 - Blue (Krzysztof Kieslowski)
5/26/03 - White (Krzysztof Kieslowski)
5/27/03 - Red (Krzysztof Kieslowski)
5/31/03 - Taste of Cherry* (abbas Kiarostami)

Favorite 1st viewings (*) from May: Morvern Callar and Mostly Martha

6/01/03 - Man Bites Dog* (R? Belvaux, Andr?onzel & Beno?Poelvoorde)
6/02/03 - the Matrix: Reloaded* (andy and Larry wachowski)
6/05/03 - Alias Betty* (claude miller)
6/07/03 - Italian For Beginners* (Lone scherfig)
6/10/03 - All or Nothing* (mike Leigh)
6/11/03 - Code Unknown* (michael haneke)
6/16/03 - The Celebration* (thomas vinterberg)
6/17/03 - Bruce Almighty* (tom shadyac)
6/19/03 - I Stand Alone* (Gaspar No?6/20/03 - Julien Donkey-Boy* (harmony Korine)
6/24/03 - Hulk* (ang Lee)
6/27/03 - The King is Alive* (Kristian Levring)
6/28/03 - 28 Days Later* (Danny Boyle)

Favorite 1st viewings (*) from jUNE: The Celebration , The King is Alive,
Code Unknown, Italian For Beginners and All or Nothing.

7/05/03 - The Best of Flickerings Short Films:
*Shooting Guns in Church (Kevin Nikkel)*Stranger Things (Luke Renner)
*Psalm 51 (Kris Barberg)*Destination Sky (Zach Baliva)*Wildlands (Bevan Klassen)
7/11/03 - Finding Nemo* (andrew stanton and Lee unkrich)
[saw first 10 minutes -- film broke and burned up at the drive-in, MUST SEE AGAIN]
7/11/03 - Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde* (charles Herman-wurmfeld)
7/12/03 - Tranceformer: A Portrait of Lars von Trier* (stig Bj?an)
7/14/03 - Lynne Ramsay Short Films:
*Small Deaths ('96) *Kill the Day ('96) *Gasman ('97)
7/15/03 - The Element of Crime (Lars von Trier)
7/18/03 - Breaking the Waves (Lars von Trier)
7/19/03 - Dancer in the Dark (Lars von Trier)
7/21/03 - The Idiots* (Lars von Trier) [saw less than half... will re-attempt later, DVD is mine.]
7/22/03 - The Eel* (shohei imamura)
7/24/03 - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl* (gore verbinski)
7/25/03 - Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life* (Jan de Bont) [STOO-PID.]
7/29/03 - Whale Rider* (Niki Caro)
7/31/03 - Northfork* (michael and mark polish)
8/01/03 - Dirty Pretty Things* (stephen frears)
8/11/03 - La Pianiste* (michael haneke)
8/12/03 - Funny Games* (michael haneke)
8/15/03 - The Animatrix* (produced by andy and Larry wachowski)
8/15/03 - The Good Girl* (miguel Arteta)
8/18/03 - Drifting Clouds* (aki Kaurism?)
8/18/03 - The Match Factory Girl* (aki Kaurism?)
8/19/03 - Spirited Away* (hayao miyazaki)
8/23/03 - The Color of Paradise (majid majidi)
8/25/03 - Medea* (Lars von Trier)
8/28/03 - Heaven (tom tykwer)
8/30/03 - Heaven [with commentary by tom tykwer]
8/31/03 - Alphaville* (jean-Luc godard)

Favorite 1st viewings (*) from jULY/Aug: Medea and Whale Rider

9/01/03 - Spider* (david cronenberg)
9/03/03 - Stevie* (steve james)
9/04/03 - Lost in Translation* (sofia coppola)
9/05/03 - Destiny* (fritz Lang)
9/06/03 - Punch Drunk Love (Paul Thomas Anderson) [2nd viewing....
My GAL wanted to see it -- and this one is twice as good the second time around.]
9/06/03 - Personal Velocity: Three Portraits* (rebecca miller)
9/07/03 - Phone Booth* (joel schumacher)
9/07/03 - Mal?* (giuseppe tornatore)
9/08/03 - Blossoms & Blood* (Paul Thomas Anderson) [12 min.Short]
9/12/03 - Ghost Dog* (Jim Jarmusch)
9/13/03 - Twin Falls Idaho* (michael and mark polish)
9/13/03 - Mulholland Dr. (david Lynch)
9/14/03 - Russian Ark* (aleksandr sokurov)
9/16/03 - The Princess and the Warrior* (tom tykwer)
9/18/03 - Thirteen* (catherine hardwicke)
9/19/03 - Bonhoeffer* (martin doblmeier)
9/21/03 - The Princess and the Warrior (tom tykwer)
9/22/03 - Cinema Paradiso [Director's Cut*] (giuseppe tornatore)
9/26/03 - Levity* (ed solomon) [Had potential, but ultimately a let down]
9/26/03 - 25th Hour* (spike Lee) [Had potential, but ultimately a let down]
9/27/03 - Most Wonderful People* (noah riemer) [a buddy of mine!] [9 min.Short]
9/28/03 - In This World* (michael winterbottom)
9/29/03 - Crash* (david cronenberg)

Favorite 1st viewings (*) from Sept: In This World, Lost in Translation and Thirteen.

10/02/03 - The Human Stain* (robert benton)
10/03/03 - Winter Sleepers* (tom tykwer)
10/04/03 - Distant* (nuri bilge ceylan)
10/05/03 - Benilde ou a Virgem M?* (manoel de Oliveira)
10/06/03 - Not of this World* (giuseppe Piccioni)
10/09/03 - Intolerable Cruelty* (Joel and ethan coen)
10/09/03 - Mystic River* (clint Eastwood)
10/11/03 - Time of the Wolf* (michael haneke)
10/11/03 - Reconstruction* (cristoffer Boe)
10/13/03 - M* (fritz Lang) [Bad DVD.Last 20 min.unwatchable.Too bad, it seemed quite good]
10/13/03 - Metropolis* (fritz Lang)
10/16/03 - Ponette* (jacques doillon)
10/20/03 - Breathless* (jean-Luc godard)
10/21/03 - Le Petit Soldat* (jean-Luc godard)
10/23/03 - Veronica Guerin* (joel schumacher)
10/24/03 - Bus 174* (felipe Lacerda and jos?adilha) WOW.
10/25/03 - Tehran 7:00 A.M.* (amir shahab Razavian)
10/25/03 - Abadan* (mani Haghighi) World Premier with Director Present!
10/26/03 - Pieces of April* (peter hedges)
10/28/03 - Nosferatu (F.W. Murnau)
10/31/03 - Faust* (F.W. Murnau)

Favorite 1st viewings (*) from Oct: Time of the Wolf, Bus 174, Reconstruction and Pieces of April

11/01/03 - Confessions of a Dangerous Mind* (george clooney)
11/01/03 - Confessions of a Dangerous Mind [with commentary]
11/02/03 - The Magdalene Sisters* (peter Mullan)
11/04/03 - The Revolution Will Not Be Televised* (kim bartley and donnacha o'briain)
11/06/03 - Sunrise* (F.W. Murnau)
11/07/03 - Elephant* (gus van sant)
11/08/03 - the Matrix: Revolutions* (andy and Larry wachowski)
11/09/03 - Whale Rider (Niki Caro) [2nd viewing, this time with my gal.]
11/13/03 - Raising Victor Vargas* (peter sollett)
11/15/03 - Sylvia* (christine jeffs)
11/16/03 - LOTR: The Two Towers (peter jackson) [3rd X, 1st X DVD]
11/17/03 - My Life to Live* (jean-Luc godard)
11/18/03 - Kill Bill* (quentin tarantino)
11/18/03 - May* (lucky mcKee) [Vacuum-heads only, Please!! Cuz this film sucks.]
11/21/03 - To Be and To Have* (nicolas philibert)
11/22/03 - Mother* (vsevolod pudovkin)
11/23/03 - Fitzcarraldo* (werner Herzog)
11/25/03 - The Devil's Backbone* (guillermo del Toro)
11/27/03 - Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World* (peter weir)
11/28/03 - The Missing* (ron howard)
11/30/03 - U2 go Home: Live from Slane Castle, Ireland* (hamish hamilton)
I want this concert to be my faith and my weekly church service. Period.

Favorite 1st viewings (*) from Nov: The Magdalene Sisters, Sunrise, Elephant, My Life to Live,
Kill Bill, U2 go Home: Live from Slane Castle, Ireland (what a good month!)

12/01/03 - In America* (jim sheridan)
12/04/03 - The Lady From Shanghai: A Discussion w/ Peter Bogdanovich* (L. bouzereau)
12/04/03 - The Lady From Shanghai* (orson welles)
12/05/03 - LOTR: The Two Towers (peter jackson) [4th X, 1st X extended DVD]
12/07/03 - Psycho (alfred hitchcock)
12/08/03 - Psycho* (gus van sant)
12/09/03 - The Lady From Shanghai (orson welles)
12/10/03 - Girl With a Pearl Earring* (peter webber)
12/14/03 - X2 (bryan singer)
12/15/03 - Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood - Where It All Began*
(kevin brownlow and david gill)
12/15/03 - Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood - Art's Promised Land*
(michael winterbottom and dan carter)
12/16/03 - Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood - The Unchained Camera*
(kevin brownlow and david gill)
12/18/03 - LOTR: Return of the King* (peter jackson)
12/19/03 - 24 Hour Party People* (michael winterbottom)
12/20/03 - Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines* (jonathan mostow) A terrible, terrible film, which i only rented because el wifebo and i wanted to "veg." i never want to "veg" again...
12/21/03 - The Barbarian Invasions* (denys arcand)
12/22/03 - Butterfly Kiss* (michael winterbottom)
12/24/03 - The Eye* (oxide pang chun & danny pang)
12/26/03 - Vera* (francisco Athi?12/27/03 - About Schmidt* (alexander Payne)
12/28/03 - The Triplets of Belleville* (sylvain chomet)

Favorite 1st viewings (*) from Dec: The Lady From Shanghai

[I posted My final Top 10 here.]

Top 10 of 2003

January, 2004

Trying to put a Top 10 Movies-list together for 2003 has been a daunting task. Overall, I would describe 2003 as a very good film year, and where it succeeded, it flourished greatly. My top two personal film-highlights were undoubtedly the Flickerings Film Festival at Cornerstone last July, and The Chicago International Film Festival last fall, both of which I will make greater time for in 2004.

Last year was certainly a breakout year for documentaries, many of which I still need to see (OT: Our Town, Winged Migration, Fog of War, etc.). I also haven't seen Monster, a film that is linked to two Nick Broomfield documentaries, which Ebert picked as his #1 film for 2003, and Charlize Theron just won a Golden Globe for her acting abilities in it. This is obviously being highly prioritized.

World cinema proved last year that it is setting as high a standard as Hollywood, many times even higher, from its resolute scripts to its desire to challenge our notions. Foreign artists offered a great wealth of theatrical releases, many of which, unfortunately, you will never hear of at the Oscars. I have always favored foreign film; it's a bias I don't hide well. Thus, you will see more than a few foreign language selections in the list below.

This list is nothing more than personal reflection. But the reflection comes from someone who has given up on television and pursued film like a junkie to his next fix. Narrowed down from 210 to 10 (an average of 17.5 movies a month, including DVD, VHS and trips to the theater), the following films highlighted my viewing year:

1. In This World (Michael Winterbottom). Winterbottom's awe-inspiring tale of two refugees making a break from their past in Afghanistan is a digital, stunning masterpiece. The film's title takes on great meaning by the time the last frame rolls, and the struggles the two endure are filmed in dogme-like hand-held fashion, following them through actual refugee camps and checkpoints as they travel country to country, hoping to eventually make it all the way to London. The film is so close to a documentary that the possibilities of their capture and arrest (or worse) is overwhelming to the senses. Its gripping conclusion is kind that you think of when you think of the best finales seen in world cinema. A perfect film from the sporadic Winterbottom, who seems intent to constantly clash against his own previous efforts. If you missed this one in the theaters, we're still hoping that a Region 1 DVD will be in the making.

2. Time of the Wolf (Michael Haneke). Haneke is on a roll. He seems to have the filmic version of the Midas Touch, not in terms of monetary returns, but rather in terms of aesthetic greatness -- everything he touches turns to gold. The formidable prospect of following up his earlier Code Unknown and The Piano Teacher must have been intimidating, but dare I say it, Time of the Wolf is his greatest production to date. Like In This World, the finale is the equivalent of cinematic perfection. But unlike Haneke's previous efforts, it is full of a hope that no other film of his has hinted at. There are riveting, visceral sequences here, fire being the main bonding element for the length of the story. In one sense it speaks to a burning away of the things that we possess; in another it shows that without certain possessions and regulations in place, society begins to crumble. The human heart in Time of the Wolf is both selfish, tyrannical, and pulsating with need. There is a need to relate, a need to reach out, and a need to be saved. I'm hopeful for this to hit selected theaters in 2004, and I will gladly see it again (several times). If it comes near you, do not miss it on the big screen. It is Haneke at the top of his game.

3. Pieces of April (Peter Hedges). The most redemptive holiday film since It's a Wonderful Life. I was rooting for April the whole way, as she struggled to make a Thanksgiving meal for a family she had let down so many times in the past. This is the best ensemble cast of 2003, and Katie Holmes in particular surprises everyone with a magnificent performance, as Hedges writes and directs one of the finest family stories of 2003. While it never found a wide mainstream release, I'm again reminded of It's a Wonderful Life, which wasn't thought of as a masterpiece in its day. Hopefully, Pieces of April can still become the holiday hit for a new generation.

4. The Barbarian Invasions (Denys Arcand). This is the film that slipped through the cracks in 2003. Honestly, the depth here is riveting; it's a depth that is layered in dialogue and camera movement and film references that demonstrate the main character's acceptance of the surface over substance lifestyle he carves out for himself. Rémy, an older professor, is on his deathbed, dying from cancer, looking back over his life and searching for meaning (but mostly finding regret). His estranged family comes to comfort him, and his rich son even finds a way to give his dad his own hospital floor, where he can at least have friends over in privacy. The only problem is that the son has to pay these friends -- as well as the professor's old students -- and the hospital staff -- to have his dad loved and properly taken care of. It's altruistic in the sense that Rémy will never know what his son has done that will make his passing more comfortable. But more than that the story is a statement that directly correlates to Solomon's Ecclesiastes, in words that echo "All is vanity... What does man gain from all his labor under the sun?... All the rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full..." Several times in The Barbarian Invasions Rémy thinks back and obsesses over an actress that he lusted after in one of his favorite films, Augusto Genina's Heaven Over the Marshes. Here we have (in Heaven Over the Marshes) a film in which the main character is a fourteen year-old girl who instead of enjoying "the pleasures of sin for a season" resists the sexual advances of a desirous farmhand. It's a film Bazin called "a rarity; a good Catholic film." Yet Rémy obsesses over and reflects on the legs of the main actress, and misses any of the story's noble themes, only concentrating on what he has focused on for the duration of his entire life -- hedonism. I think Arcand must have purposefully chosen this particular film for Rémy to fixate on; it is a symbol that sums up his entire life. He is the most well-read and learned man, a professor who exudes knowledge and understanding, yet is incapable of wisdom, and is dying as a shallow and empty figure -- a shell that has not found anything substantial to fill the core of his being. The fact that on his deathbed, in his last moments, his mind's eye revels in these scenes once again drives the point home. This is the best imagery from last year, and its meaning is spoken perfectly through the language of film.

5. Thirteen (Catherine Hardwicke). This is a painful movie to ingest. Comparable in many ways to a Larry Clark production, we follow two girls named Evie and Tracy on their freshman decline. Co-written by 13 year-old Nikki Reed (who also played Evie), the depths the two plunge to are so utterly convincing that you feel for them as your own kids. And what parent would ever be able to figure out how to help them in their newfound glorified rebellion? Certainly not Tracy's mom, who, played by Holly Hunter, deserves at least a nomination for Best Supporting Actress. As the divorced, recovering alcoholic, trying to help where she isn't always welcome, her character becomes the moral voice of reason with which we identify. As they plunder into alcohol, sex and drug addiction, we want to see the girls' behavior change, we even long to see reason spoken to them with clarity. As Hunter's character struggles with her own past addictions, her spirit of intervention seeks out a truth that relativists fear -- there is indeed an inner moral compass that is built into every human. What we are responding to in Hunter's pleas is the recognition of a standard, one that we are saddened to see broken in the wake of the girls' defiance. The climactic final scenes, which Hunter is again involved in, perfectly capture the need for hope. This is a tough, sad, spiritual film about raw abuse, denial and desired restoration.

6. The Magdalene Sisters. (Peter Mullan) When I walked out of the theater after watching Peter Mullan�s 2003 offering, I said to myself, "This is why I love film." Movies awaken us to things we never knew (or cared) about. In the case of The Magdalene Sisters, I only wish that the awakening didn't have to be about the atrocities caused by religion. Wherever religion is taught as legalistic steps taken toward righteousness, self-righteousness becomes the next logical step in the progression. The Magdalene Asylums were built by the Sisters of Mercy in Ireland to promote a shame-based form of religious repression, in which young (supposedly promiscuous) girls were sent against their own will to laundymats (read: prisons) which would work them to the bone. Some girls weren�t even guilty of anything more than flirtation, and the pronouncement of each of their wrongdoings was certainly not equal to the sentence they received. I don't feel, as some have stated that this is an anti-Catholic film. It's obviously historical -- the Irish church is still making amends for the asylums to this day. But as Ebert so thoroughly pointed out in his review, Mullan's film is more than a personal attack on the institutionalized church; it is a call to end all forms of religious hysteria, and the practices of self-righteous oppression -- especially here in the western world where we call ourselves cultured. Much like Dreyer's Day of Wrath, the themes that surface are not always popular (indeed, they are sometimes hard to watch). But nonetheless this is a topic that's truth needs to be dragged into the light, where it can be exposed and corrected. Peter Mullan should be applauded, not shunned, for his efforts.

7. House of Sand and Fog (Vadim Perelman). Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsely star in this absorbing melodrama in which property and ownership are just as much a part of the story as are the actors themselves. You never quite know where the film is heading but by the time it closes you realize that this was the only direction it could have gone. A painful, Shakespearean tragedy of a film that addresses materialism, pride, legal ethics vs. moral ethics, western vs. eastern mindsets, and the need everyone has to establish ourselves as productive members of society. Ben Kingsleys performance is Oscar deserving.

8.Bus 174 (Felipe Lacerda and José Padilha). One of the best documentaries from 2003 depicts not only a frightening crisis situation, but also a serious fault in the character of a nation, exposed through hostage negotiations with a hijacker on a city bus. In Rio de Janeiro, on June 12th 2000, hundreds of news cameras caught the truth of what really happened to the hijcaker we now know as Sandro do Nascimento. High at the time he took control of the bus, his actions were clearly wrong, but so too were the actions of those who would bring about his young demise. This exposing film captures your heart and breathe, relentlessly reminding you of the problems in a world that are still a challenge to comprehend. My archived review is here.

9. Stevie (Steve James). This is a documentary by Steve James (Hoop Dreams) in which he returns to his home town in Southern Illinois and revisits Stevie Fielding, whom he was a big brother to years ago. Stevie has been charged with a serious crime, and the film goes through layer after layer of his troubled personality before we can know whether or not he is guilty. But whether he is guilty may or may not be the point. Whether he is forgiven, and whether he can learn to forgive himself for an entire life of wrongdoing may be harder than the jail sentence he faces. A salvation experience in a tongues-speaking church, a confrontation with Aryan supremacy, a court trial and a jail cell await him. Stevie's story may be that of an inarticulate and proud redneck bent for destruction. It may also be a fair way to characterize all of our pride and incomprehensible ways.

10. Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola). Two married-but-lonely Americans find themselves isolated in Tokyo, and in a bar one night they strike up conversation. From here on, they strike up the hottest chemistry between a male and female to be heralded on the big screen this year. The film has topped many 2003 Top 10 lists, and with such powerful acting by Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson, bringing at once laughter, and at other times tears, it's easy to see why Lost in Translation has had so many critics raving over it. Sofia Coppola further develops the talent she tantalized us with in The Virgin Suicides, but here she remains more focused on the narrative than all of the romantic imagery she can conjure, which for this story that is a perfect choice. My archived review is here.

There were moments this year in which the imagery lept from the screen and bit us in the face. While lacking the solid infrastructure that the films in the above list boast, these still deserve honorable mention.

Christoffer Boe's Reconstruction, Michael Polish's Northfork, Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, and Gus Van Sant's Elephant were all films that should be listed solely because of their style. While Kill Bill brought new creative violence to an artistic high, Elephant showed the root of nihilism at the heart of creative violence in general. Both films dealt with destructive human agendas, but Tarantino's violence was purely for purposes of entertainment while Van Sant chose to raise the levels of social consciousness (the fact that he failed does not diminish its qualitative aesthetic grip). Northfork and Reconstruction were both just plain beautiful to behold: Northfork, now available on DVD, is astounding, with its outdoor shots of an enigmatic land, and a location for Noah's ark that is laughable in a Lynchian Twin Peaks kind of way. Reconstruction, which brings forth layer upon layer of drop-dead imagery, only to dissolve into a problematic theme in which it labels itself only as a "construct," is so utterly attractive to the eyes, it should be seen only on the silver screen. All of these films are visionary, even if somewhat less grounded, and recommended high in a year of many great films.

Gaspar Noé gets the Assault on the Senses award for Irréversible, one of the harshest films ever made. Arguments are made for it and against it, but the intelligence contained in this drug-induced spree has a philosophical backbone that rivals in any other film in competition last year. Its course plot is a twisted scheme of revenge, and its results are that of the wrong man taking vengance on the wrong man. Deconstructionist in nature, the film punishes you as the viewer for an hour and a half, revealing from backward to forward (in Memento-like fashion) a narrative immersed in sensationalism, until finally, justifiably, in the last 30 seconds it erupts and explodes, literally ripping its frames right off of the reel. It is an uncomfortable, unsettling movie in which Noé uses the motion picture experience to bite into your soul and take a chunk with it. I still have not fully come to terms with this film. To be sure, there is greatness to be found in its arresting imagery, but at what cost? I survived the experience, but not without walking out feeling assaulted and messed up.

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, To Be and To Have and Spellbound were three more documentaries that could easily make anyone's Top 10 list for the year. They were made so well that the realism takes you into the picture until you become a part of the events inside the frames. In To Be and To Have, we secretly watch French children in a rural setting grow up and learn about life along the way; in The Revolution Will Not Be Televised we see the coup that temporarily took out both Hugo Chavez and Venezuela. This was a revolution made up with the country's media as much as the counterparts who promoted the uprising. Both films are astonishing documentaries, worthy of mention on any Top 10 list. [aside: Once all of these are released on DVD, the award for "Greatest Triple Feature" will be Bus 174, City of God, and The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, on any given Friday night in your home.]

Finally, In America and Girl With a Pearl Earring were two films that were balanced in the grip of the emotional. The acting was solid in each, and both were made with a realism that is often hard to come by in the age of CGI. Astonishing, quieter films, and perfect for a rental next year -- just not good enough to make the Top 10. Then again, out of 210 films, just receiving a mention here is an endorsement in and of itself.

This post has been edited by Persona: 14 January 2010 - 04:13 PM

[Darrel Manson]

Jan. Summary: 26 films, 20 *s, 7 #s Favorite for the month: Talk to Her
Feb. Summary: 20 films, 17 *s, 1 # Favorite for the month: He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not.
Mar. Summary: 20 films, 14 *s, 3 #s Favorite for the month: Rivers and Tides
Apr. Summary: 17 films, 12 *s, 2#s Favorite for the month: Spellbound
May Summary 21 films, 19*s, 3#s Favorite for the month: X-2: X-Men United
June Summary 21 films, 20*s, 2#s Favorite of the month: Finding Nemo
July Summary 24 films, 21*s, 2 #s Favorite of the month: Seabiscuit
Aug. summary 29 films, 17*s, 3 #s Favorite of the month: OT: Our Town
Sept. summary 20 films, 19*s, 4 #s Favorite of the month: Lost in Translation
Oct. Summary 11 films, 10*s, 2 #s Favorite of the month: Station Agent


11/2 The Big Night
11/4 Alien Nation
11/5 In the Cut*
11/7 My Wife is an Actress*
11/8 Shattered Glass* # Favorite of the month
11/8 King of the Hill*
11/9 Places in the Heart
11/12 Romero
11/12 Elephant* #
11/15 The Soul of a Man*
11/18 What About Bob?
11/19 Milagro Beanfield War
11/19 Matrix Revolutions*
11/19 Sister Helen*
11/21 Nine Queens*
11/22 Master and Commander: Far Side of the World*
11/23 To Be and To Have*
11/28 Magnolia
11/29 Triplets of Belleville*
11/29 21 Grams* #
12/2 The Missing*
12/3 Last Dance*
12/7 The Last Samurai* #
12/9 The Princess and the Warrior*
12/10 Mystic Pizza
12/13 In America* #
12/13 Gallipoli
12/14 Twin Falls Idaho*
12/17 Barbarian Invasions*
12/19 The Cooler*
12/20 What Alice Found*
12/20 The Score (2001)*
12/22 Blood Work*
12/23 Girl With a Pearl Earring*
12/24 A Christmas Story*
12/25 Effi Briest*
12/26 LORT:ROTK*
12/26 Love Liza*
12/26 Bandits
12/27 Stuck on You*
12/28 Cold Mountain* #
12/29 Invincible* (my 250th title for the year)
12/30 The Company*
12/31 House of Sand and Fog* #
12/31 Big Fish* # Favorite of the month (The last one I see this year, and likely to make the top 10)

Year end totals: 253 titles. 204 for the first time. 37 reviews


*First time viewing
#Review posted at HollywoodJesus

[Michael Elliott]

(All reviews can be found at http://www.christiancritic.com)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Apr 16 - Holes
Apr 17 - Bulletproof Monk
Apr 21 - It Runs In The Family
Apr 22 - Identity
Apr 25 - Confidence
Apr 29 - The Lizzie McGuire Movie
May 1 - X2: X-Men United
May 4 - Bruce Almighty
May 9 - Daddy Day Care
May 9 - A Mighty Wind
May 10 - The In-Laws
May 12 - The Matrix: Reloaded
May 16 - Down With Love
May 19 - Finding Nemo
May 24 - The Italian Job
May 30 - Martin Luther (1953) (on DVD)
Jun 02 - 2 Fast 2 Furious
Jun 06 - Adaptation (on DVD - 2nd viewing)
Jun 07 - Rugrats Go Wild
Jun 07 - Hollywood Homicide
Jun 13 - Russian Ark
Jun 14 - The Decalogue I (on DVD)
Jun 15 - The Decalogue II (on DVD)
Jun 15 - The Decalogue III (on DVD)
Jun 16 - Alex & Emma
Jun 17 - The Hulk
Jun 19 - 28 Days Later
Jun 20 - From Justin to Kelly
Jun 20 - Decalogue IV (on DVD)
Jun 20 - Decalogue V (on DVD)
Jun 23 - Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
Jun 24 - Sinbad
Jun 25 - Whale Rider
Jun 26 - Legally Blonde 2: Red White & Blonde
Jun 27 - Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Jul 05 - Decalogue VI (on DVD)
Jul 05 - Decalogue VII (on DVD)
Jul 07 - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Jul 11 - Quigley (on DVD)
Jul 12 - League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Jul 14 - Spy Kids 3D: Game Over
Jul 15 - Johnny English
Jul 15 - The Fighting Temptations
Jul 21 - Decalogue VIII (on DVD)
Jul 22 - Seabiscuit
Jul 23 - The Legend of Johnny Lingo (screener copy on VHS)
Jul 24 - Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
Jul 29 - American Wedding
Aug 4 - S.W.A.T.
Aug 5 - Decalogue IX (on DVD)
Aug 5 - Decalogue X (on DVD)
Aug 8 - Anger Management (on flight - ugh!)
Aug 9 - Secondhand Lions
Aug 9 - Down With Love (on flight - ugh!)
Aug 10 - Freaky Friday
Aug 11 - Grind
Aug 12 - Open Range
Aug 15 - Uptown Girls
Aug 19 - The Medallion
Aug 25 - Hangman's Curse (on VHS screener)
Aug 29 - Le Divorce
Sep 02 - Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star
Sep 03 - Under the Tuscan Sun
Sep 06 - Hope Springs
Sep 09 - Matchstick Men
Sep 12 - Once Upon a Time in Mexico
Sep 15 - Underworld
Sep 16 - Anything Else
Sep 18 - War of the Worlds (1953) (50th anniversary release)
Sep 19 - American Splendor
Sep 23 - The Rundown
Sep 27 - Luther
Sep 27 - Lost in Translation
Sep 27 - School of Rock
Sep 29 - Kill Bill vol. 1
Sep 30 - The Runaway Jury
Oct 04 - Out of Time
Oct 07 - Intolerable Cruelty
Oct 13 - Good Boy!
Oct 14 - Radio
Oct 19 - Mystic River
Oct 21 - The Gospel of John
Oct 21 - Scary Movie 3
Oct 22 - Pieces of April
Oct 23 - In the Cut
Oct 23 - Love Actually
Oct 27 - Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Oct 28 - The Human Stain
Nov 02 - Brother Bear
Nov 03 - The Matrix: Revolutions
Nov 06 - Charlotte Sometimes (on DVD)
Nov 07 - Elf
Nov 10 - Shattered Glass
Nov 10 - Buffalo Soldiers
Nov 12 - The Missing
Nov 18 - Gothika
Nov 18 - The Cat in the Hat
Nov 19 - Bad Santa
Nov 22 - The Haunted Mansion
Nov 23 - The Cooler
Nov 24 - The Last Samuri
Nov 25 - Timeline
Nov 26 - All About Eve (on DVD)
Nov 30 - The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (on DVD)
Dec 02 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Dec 05 - Cold Mountain
Dec 05 - Honey
Dec 06 - In America
Dec 08 - The Company
Dec 08 - Love Don't Cost a Thing
Dec 09 - Stuck on You
Dec 09 - Mona Lisa Smile
Dec 12 - Peter Pan
Dec 12 - Now Voyager (on DVD)
Dec 15 - Swimming Pool
Dec 16 - The Barbarian Invasions
Dec 17 - Spellbound (on VHS)
Dec 18 - 21 Grams
Dec 19 - Capturing the Friedmans
Dec 19 - On the Waterfront (on DVD)

[Thom]

12/2002 - Manhunter
12/2002 - My Big Fat Greek Wedding (not as good as the hype but enjoyable)
12/2002 - Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

1/15/03 - Matrix (it just gets better)
1/17/03 - Signs (I marveled at the ability of a director who could remake 3 other movies in one new one)
1/19/03 - Barber Shop (much truth in the controversial portion)
1/25/03 - The Importance of Being Earnest (The movie couldn’t capture the play!)
1/27/03 - Minority Report (How this made any best Movie list escapes me)
1/31/03 - Moonstruck

2/01/03 - Manhattan
2/02/03 - Seven Samurai
2/04/03 - Y Tu Mama Tambien (another "best list" surprise. Sorry I saw it but thank God for the DVD scene skip ability)
2/05/03 - The Bourne Identity
2/11/03 - The Thief
2/14/03 - Pumpkin (Anthony Abrams and Adam Larson Broder)
2/16/03 - The Music Man (The Matthew Broderick version) (Can't touch the Robert Preston/Shirley Jones combo of the original)
2/16/03 - The Wild One (László Benedek)
2/19/03 - The Inheritors (Stefan Ruzowitzky)
2/26/03 - The Son (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne)
2/28/03 - The Three Stooges (Classics Collection)

3/06/03 - Donnie Darko (made my top movies list)
3/07/03 - Donnie Darko
3/07/03 - 13 Conversations About One Thing
3/07/03 - The Good Girl (waste - give me my time back)
3/08/03 - Devil's Playground [doc.]
3/09/03 - Sweet Home Alabama
3/12/03 - Igby Goes Down
3/28/03 - Road to Perdition
3/28/03 - About A Boy
3/29/03 - One Hour Photo
3/30/03 - Author, Author
3/30/03 - The Mascot (Ladislas Starwicz)

4/04/03 - Door to Door
4/18/03 - Legally Blonde(Robert Luketic - 2001)
4/19/03 - Flawless (Joel Schumacher - 1999)
4/20/03 - Shadow of the Vampire(E Elias Merhige - 2000)
4/22/03 - XMEN (Bryan Singer - 2000)
4/25/03 - Red Dragon (See Manhunter instead!)
4/28/03 - Best of Show (Christopher Guest - 2000)
4/29/03 - Rosemary's Baby (Roman Polanski - 1968)

5/04/03 - 60 Cups of Coffee (David Ward III - 2000)[short]
5/04/03 - Value of a Quarter (Eric Johnson)[short]
5/10/03 - Brazil (Terry Gilliam - 1985)
5/16/03 - Matrix: Reloaded (Andy & Larry Wachowski - 2003)
5/18/03 - Evelyn (Bruce Beresford - 2002)
5/22/03 - This Is Spinal Tap (Rob Reiner - 1984)
5/24/03 - Far From Heaven (Todd Haynes - 2002)
5/25/03 - A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (Woody Allen on PBS - 1982)
5/30/03 - Love Liza (Todd Louiso - 2002)

6/01/03 - Chelsea Walls (2002 - Ethan Hawke )
6/11/03 - Adaptation (2002 - Spike Jonze)
6/12/03 - Vampyr - Der Traum des Allan Grey (1932 - Carl Theodore Dreyer)
6/21/03 - About Schmidt (2002 - Alexander Payne)
6/22/03 - The Clearing (1997 - Kat Smith)[short]
6/28/03 - 28 Days Later (2003 - Danny Boyle)

7/05/03 - The Pianist (2002 - Roman Polanski)
7/06/03 - Max (2002 - Menno Meyjes)
7/07/03 - The Believer (2001 - Henry Bean)
7/11/03 - Amelie (2001 - Jean-Pierre Jeunet)
7/12/03 - Dark Blue (2002 - Ron Shelton)
7/15/03 - The Jimmy Show (2001 - Frank Whaley)
7/18/03 - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003 - Gore Verbinski)
7/19/03 - Gangs of New York (2002 - Martin Scorsese)
7/20/03 - Ice Age (2002 - Carlos Saldanha/Chris Wedge)
7/21/03 - The Hours (2002 - Stephen Daldry)
7/22/03 - Unagi (The Eel) (1997 - Shohei Imamura)
7/25/03 - Ratcatcher (1999 - Lynne Ramsay)
7/25/03 - Small Deaths (1996 - Lynne Ramsay) [short]
7/29/03 - Gasman (1997 - Lynne Ramsay) [short]
7/29/03 - Kill the Day (1996 - Lynne Ramsay) [short]
7/31/03 - Bunny (2002 - Chris Wedge) [Animated short]

8/01/08 - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967 - Stanley Kramer)
8/08/03 - Bringing Down the House (2003 - Adam Shankman)
8/10/03 - Pat and Mike (1952 - George Cukor)
8/10/03 - Woman of the Year (1942 - George Stevens)
8/13/03 - Scotland, PA (2001 - Billy Morrissette)
8/13/03 - Cube 2: Hypercube (2002 - Andrzej Sekula)
8/20/03 - DareDevil (2003 - Mark Steven Johnson)
8/21/03 - Heaven(2002 - Tom Tykwer)
8/23/03 - Chicago (2002 - Rob Marshall)
8/29/03 - Bug (2001 - Phil Hay & Matt Manfredi)
8/30/03 - Hunted (2002 - William Friedkin) DO NOT waste your time - wish I didn't.
8/31/03 - LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring (2002 - Peter Jackson)

9/04/03 - Indentity (2003 - James Mangold)
9/06/03 - The Quiet American (2002 - Phillip Noyce)
9/10/03 - Birthday Girl (2001 - Jez Butterworth)
9/11/03 - Sur mes lèvres (Read My Lips) (2001 - Jacques Audiard)
9/19/03 - High Fidelity (2002 - Stephen Frears)
9/20/03 - How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days ONLY MADE 18 minutes then took it out!! Horrible. (2003 - Donald Petrie)
9/20/03 - Monsters, Inc. (2001 - Pete Docter)
9/24/03 - Rififi (Du rififi chez les hommes) (1955 - Jules Dassin)
9/25/03 - Salesman (1969 - Albert Maysles/David Maysles)[doc.]
9/27/03 - My Favorite Brunette (1947 - Elliott Nugent)
9/29/03 - Holes (2003 - Andrew Davis)

10/09/03 - Anger Management Horrible. Possibly the worst movie I have ever seen. I have never been so mad at the waste of time,UGH!!
10/12/03 - A Mighty Wind (2003 - Christopher Guest)
10/16/03 - Zus and Zo (2001 - Paula van der Oest)
10/17/03 - Most Wonderful People (2003 - Noah Riemer)[short]
10/17/03 - Dog Star Man (Prelude and Part 1) (1964 - Stan Brakhage)
10/18/03 - Night of the Living Dead (1968 - George A. Romero)
10/19/03 - M (1931 - Fritz Lang)
10/20/03 - Scarface (1983 - Brian De Palma)
10/21/03 - The Decalogue: One (1988 - Krzystof Kieslowski)
10/22/03 - Stanno tutti bene (Everybody's Fine) (1990 - Giuseppe Tornatore)
10/23/03 - Dog Star Man (Part 2, 3 4) (1964 - Stan Brakhage)
10/23/03 - The Decalogue: Two (1988 - Krzystof Kieslowski)
10/29/03 - The Decalogue: Three III (1988 - Krystof Kieslowski)
10/31/03 - The Decalogue: Four (1988 - Krystof Kieslowski)

11/02/03 - Close-up (1990 - Abbas Kiarostami)[doc/reenactment]
11/03/03 - Bartleby (2001 - Jonathan Parker)
11/08/03 - 28 Days Later (2003 - Danny Boyle)[Good thing he didn't go with the alternate ending!]
11/10/03 - Hulk (2003 - Ang Lee)
11/16/03 - The Wizard of Oz (1939 - Victor Fleming, Richard Thorpe)
11/20/03 - The Decalogue: Five (1988 - Krystof Kieslowski)
11/23/03 - Battleship Potemkin (1925 - Grigori Aleksandrov/Sergei M. Eisenstein)
11/24/03 - The Decalogue: Six (1988 - Krystof Kieslowski)
11/25/03 - Sunrise (1927 - F.W. Murnau)
11/26/03 - Lost in La Mancha (2002 - Keith Fulton & Louis PePe)[Docudrama]
11/30/03 - The Decalogue: Seven (1988 - Krystof Kieslowski)

12/01/03 - The Decalogue: Eight (1988 - Krystof Kieslowski)
12/02/03 - In America (2002 - Jim Sheridan)
12/03/03 - Metropolis (1927 - Fritz Lang)
12/04/03 - U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle (2003)
12/05/03 - Six-String Samurai (1998 - Lance Mungia) Couldn't get through it.
12/14/03 - Finding Nemo (2001 - Andrew Stanton)
12/16/03 - Short I: Invention (1999 - Shorts DVD)
------------ Black Rider (Pepe Danquart)
------------ The Big Story (Tom Watts/David Stoten)
------------ Some Folks Call It A Sling Blade (George Hickenlooper)
------------ Shape Without Form (Stephen Berkman)
12/17/03 - Short I: Invention (1999 - Shorts DVD)
------------ Mr. Resistor (Mark Gustafson)
------------ This Unfamiliar Place (Eva Ilona Brzeski)
------------ Baraka (Ron Fricke)
12/18/03 - Short I: Invention (1999 - Shorts DVD)
------------ Henry Rollins -Easter Sunday in NYC (Albert Watson)
------------ Michael Apted (Daniel Peacock)
12/21/03 - The Decalogue: Nine (1988 - Krystof Kieslowski)
------------ The Decalogue: Ten (1988 - Krystof Kieslowski)

[teresakayep]

First-time viewings have an *, and trips to the theater are italicized.

1/4/03 Three Kings*
1/10/03 Thirteen Conversations about One Thing*
1/11/03 9/11*
1/12/03 On the Waterfront*
1/14/03 Rosemary's Baby*
1/17/03 All that Heaven Allows*
1/17/03 Nosferatu (commentary)*
1/18/03 The Good Girl*
1/19/03 About a Boy*
1/24/03 Signs*
1/25/03 The Bourne Identity*
1/9/03 Pollock (commentary)*
1/30/03 Importance of Being Earnest*

2/1/03 Monsters, Inc.*
2/1/03 Austin Powers: Goldmember*
2/1/03 Monsoon Wedding*
2/2/03 Y Tu Mama Tambien*
2/2/03 Lovely and Amazing*
2/4/03 Office Space*
2/4/03 Changing Lanes*
2/7/03 Secret Ballot*
2/8/03 Igby Goes Down (commentary)*
2/9/03 The Quiet Man*
2/10/03 Babette's Feast*
2/15/03 Possession*
2/15/03 My Big Fat Greek Wedding*
2/16/03 Tape*
2/16/03 The Emperor's New Groove (TV)
2/23/03 Hell House*
2/24/03 Lilo and Stitch*

3/1/03 Shanghai Knights*
3/1/03 The Princess and the Warrior*
3/2/03 One Hour Photo*
3/3/03 Road to Perdition*
3/9/03 The Seventh Seal*
3/15/03 The Salton Sea*
3/16/03 Happy Accidents*
3/20/03 D.O.A. (1950)*
3/21/03 The Grey Zone*
3/21/03 It Takes Two* (yeah, I know, my niece was visiting)
3/22/03 Beauty & the Beast: Enchanted Christmas*
3/23/03 Shanghai Noon (TV)
3/24/03 Butterfield 8*
3/25/03 Breathless*
3/26/03 Trekkies*
3/28/03 Analyze This*
3/29/03 Talented Mr. Ripley (commentary)
3/30/03 From Here to Eternity*
3/30/03 Atlantis: The Lost Empire* (TV)

4/1/03 Far from Heaven*
4/3/03 Sullivan's Travels*
4/5/03 Existenz*
4/6/03 Red Dragon*
4/8/03 Daughter from Danang* (TV)
4/12/03 Devil's Playground (commentary)*
4/12/03 Blood Simple* (TV)
4/13/03 Doctor Zhivago*
4/14/03 Iris*
4/16/03 MASH (1970)
4/20/03 Spirited Away*
4/21/03 Planet of the Apes (1968)*
4/25/03 Children of a Lesser God*
4/26/03 Real Women Have Curves*
4/26/03 Keeping the Faith
4/27/03 The Believer*

5/1/03 Rabbit-Proof Fence (commentary)*
5/2/03 Sophie's Choice*
5/3/03 Ben Hur* (TV)
5/3/03 American Graffiti* (TV)
5/4/03 Spy Kids 2*
5/5/03 Mostly Martha*
5/9/03 Far From Heaven
5/10/03 Emperor's Club*
5/10/03 When Harry Met Sally
5/10/03 Moonlight Mile*
5/11/03 Catch Me If You Can*
5/11/03 Eyes Wide Shut*
5/12/03 Akira*
5/14/03 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
5/14/03 The Third Man*
5/15/03 The Vanishing/Spoorloos*
5/16/03 X2: X-Men United*
5/17/03 The Son's Room*
5/17/03 Stalag 17*
5/17/03 Charlie's Angels* (TV)
5/18/03 The Paradine Case*
5/18/03 Gods and Monsters*
5/19/03 Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert*
5/22/03 Adaptation*
5/22/03 Antwone Fisher*
5/23/03 Max*
5/26/03 25th Hour*
5/27/03 Three Colors: White*
5/27/03 Amelie
5/29/03 The Pianist*
5/30/03 Heavenly Creatures*
5/31/03 Love Liza*
5/31/03 Talk to Her*

6/1/03 Matrix Reloaded*
6/3/03 Barbershop *
6/5/03 About Schmidt*
6/6/03 A Hard Day's Night*
6/7/03 Roger Dodger*
6/7/03 Personal Velocity*
6/8/03 The Iron Giant*
6/9/03 Sunset Boulevard*
6/10/03 Far from Heaven
6/12/03 Me Myself I*
6/14/03 Sorry Wrong Number*
6/14/03 Life is Beautiful
6/15/03 Frida*
6/15/03 Solaris (1972)*
6/16/03 Europa, Europa*
6/17/03 Amistad*
6/19/03 Waiting for Guffman*
6/20/03 Sugar and Spice*
6/20/03 Clockwatchers*
6/21/03 Dog Day Afternoon*
6/22/03 Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport*
6/25/03 Star Trek: Nemesis*
6/26/03 Punch-Drunk Love*
6/27/03 Kiki's Delivery Service*
6/28/03 Lost in LaMancha*
6/28/03 Say Anything (commentary)
6/29/03 The Hours*

7/3/03 La Femme Nikita*
7/4/03 Das Experiment*
7/5/03 Requiem for a Dream*
7/6/03 Enigma*
7/7/03 Raging Bull*
7/9/03 Lagaan*
7/10/03 Gangs of New York*
7/11/03 Phone Booth*
7/13/03 Do the Right Thing* (TV)
7/14/03 Seven Samarai*
7/17/03 May*
7/18/03 Man on the Moon*
7/19/03 Three Colors: Red*
7/20/03 Antz*
7/20/03 Heaven*
7/21/03 To Catch a Thief*
7/21/03 The Dirty Dozen*
7/25/03 Ringu*
7/25/03 Comedian*
7/26/03 The Women*
7/27/03 Dr. Strangelove
7/27/03 Cool Hand Luke*
7/28/03 Open Your Eyes*
7/30/03 The Quiet American*
7/31/03 Spider*

8/1/03 Daredevil*
8/2/03 Picnic*
8/2/03 Bell, Book, and Candle*
8/3/03 Cat's Meow*
8/3/03 Lion in Winter*
8/4/03 The Last Emperor*
8/5/03 Holiday Inn*
8/9/03 Wings of Desire*
8/14/03 He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not*
8/15/03 Giant*
8/16/03 Vanilla Sky*
8/17/03 Witness for the Prosecution*
8/21/03 Jonah*
8/22/03 Bowling for Columbine*
8/23/03 Chicago*
8/23/03 Matewan*

Lost track in September, highlights include:
The Kid Stays in the Picture*
Raising Victor Vargas*
In the Mood for Love*
The Fisher King*
A Simple Plan*
Identity*
The Hustler*
Elmer Gantry*
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind*
View from the Top*
Stevie*
The Red Violin*
9/26/03 Malena*
9/27/03 All about my Mother*
9/27/03 Castle in the Sky*

[Anders]

* denotes first time viewing
underlined denotes theater viewing

1/01: Chasing Amy
1/07: Adaptation*
1/08: North By Northwest
1/11: Chasing Amy
1/13: About A Boy*
1/13: Help!*
1/14: Bowling For Columbine*
1/14: Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas*
1/15: Reality Bites*

1/17: Undercover Brother*
1/17: The Bourne Identity*
1/18: 8 Mile*
1/19: Confessions of a Dangerous Mind*
1/20: The Bourne Identity
1/20: The Good Girl*
1/21: Me, Myself and Irene*
1/24: Trainspotting
1/25: American Beauty
1/28: Signs

2/02: Igby Goes Down*
2/03: Formula 51*
2/04: The Producers*
2/05: One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest*
2/07: Donnie Darko
2/09: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein*
2/09: My Big Fat Greek Wedding*
2/14: Lilo & Stitch*
2/14: The Rules of Attraction*
2/15: Daredevil*
2/16: Rope*
2/16: One Hour Photo
2/16: Donnie Darko
2/17: Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams*
2/17: Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas
2/19: Rounders*
2/21: Almost Famous
2/24: Knockaround Guys*
2/24: Slap Shot*
2/25: Good Morning Vietnam*
2/26: About A Boy
2/28: Forrest Gump

3/01: Mulholland Drive
3/02: Old School*
3/02: Road Trip*
3/03: The Ring
3/05: Robin Williams: Live on Broadway* (concert film)
3/07: On The Waterfront*
3/08: The Godfather, Pt. II*
3/09: I Spy*
3/13: The Pianist*
3/14: Changing Lanes
3/15: How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days*
3/15: Roger Dodger*
3/16: 8 Mile
3/18: Chicago*
3/19: Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
3/22: Femme Fatale*
3/24: Bollywood/Hollywood*
3/25: Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
3/28: Snatch
3/29: Barbershop*
3/30: Far From Heaven*

4/04: Brazil*
4/05: The Thirteenth Floor*
4/09: LA Confidential
4/09: JFK
4/10: Spirited Away*
4/12: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
4/13: The Producers
4/13: The Transporter*
4/14: Rabbit-proof Fence*
4/16: Spirited Away
4/16: Zoolander*
4/17: Raiders of the Lost Ark
4/18: Singin' in the Rain*
4/21: Kiki's Delivery Service
4/22: Waiting For Guffman
4/25: 25th Hour*
4/26: 8 Mile
4/27: Treasure Planet*
4/29: Dazed and Confused*
4/30: subUrbia*

5/02: X2*
5/04: Touch of Evil*
5/05: Catch Me If You Can
5/11: The Matrix
5/15: The Matrix Reloaded*
5/16: Star Trek: Nemesis*
5/18: 25th Hour
5/19: Equilibrium*
5/20: Do The Right Thing*
5/22: Independence Day
5/22: 25th Hour
5/24: The Recruit*
5/25: Antwone Fisher*
5/27: Bruce Almighty*
5/28: Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
5/29: The Big Lebowski
5/30: The Animatrix*
5/31: Extreme Ops
5/31: Dazed and Confused

6/01: About Schmidt*
6/01: Down With Love*
6/03: The Pianist
6/05: The Right Stuff*
6/06: The Guru*
6/06: Brazil
6/06: Old School
6/12: Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves - Extended Edition
6/13: Se7en
6/15: Finding Nemo*
6/16: Narc*
6/19: To Catch A Thief*
6/19: Payback*
6/20: Punch-Drunk Love
6/21: Hulk*
6/22: Metropolis* (1927)
6/22: The Importance of Being Ernest*
6/22: Punch-Drunk Love
6/23: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
6/24: Aliens
6/24: Mission: Impossible
6/27: Gangs of New York
6/28: An American Werewolf In London*
6/29: Toy Story 2
6/30: 28 Days Later*

7/03: Phone Booth*
7/03: Out of Sight
7/04: T-2: Judgement Day
7/04: Treed Murray*
7/08: T-3: Rise of the Machines*
7/08: Conan the Barbarian*
7/08: Brotherhood of the Wolf
7/10: The Bourne Identity
7/11: Pirates of the Carribean - The Curse of the Black Pearl*
7/11: Shanghai Knights*
7/14: Laurel Canyon*
7/17: This is Spinal Tap*
7/18: The Magnificent Ambersons*
7/18: Rushmore
7/19: Final Destination 2*
7/20: 1941*

7/24: Citizen Kane :fivestars:
7/25: Daredevil :twostars:
7/26: Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over* :threestars:
7/26: Solaris* (2002) :threestars:
7/27: The Quiet American* :fourstars:
7/28: Rushmore :fivestars:
7/29: Seabiscuit* :threestars:
7/29: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial :fivestars:

8/02: Rebecca :threestars:
8/06: O Brother, Where Art Thou? :fourstars:
8/07: Amerian Beauty :fourstars:
8/08: El Mariachi* :threestars:
8/08: Head of State* :twostars:
8/16: Holes* :threestars:
8/18: The Terminator :fourstars:
8/18: About A Boy :fourstars:
8/19: Pirates of the Carribean - The Curse of the Black Pearl :fourstars:
8/21: Open Range* :threestars:
8/21: Quiz Show* :fourstars:
8/22: Spider* :threestars:
8/24: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring :fivestars:
8/24: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers :fivestars:
8/25: Bridget Jones's Diary* :threestars:
8/26: Brazil :fourstars:
8/27: From Dusk Till Dawn :threestars:
8/29: Rushmore :fivestars:
8/30: Raging Bull* :fourstars:
8/30: The Thing* (1982) :threestars:

9/01: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets :fourstars:
9/02: Desperado :threestars:
9/04: Spirited Away :fivestars:
9/06: Bulletproof Monk* :twostars:
9/07: Cube* :threestars:
9/07: Dead Man* :fourstars:
9/11: Anger Management* :twostars:
9/12: Natural Born Killers* :threestars:
9/13: Once Upon A Time In Mexico* :fourstars:
9/17: Spellbound* :fourstars:
9/17: Morvern Callar* :fourstars:
9/19: A Mighty Wind* :fourstars:
9/21: Ghost World :fivestars:
9/26: Bend It Like Beckham* :threestars:
9/27: Moulin Rouge! (2001) :fivestars:
9/28: Better Luck Tomorrow* :fourstars:
9/30: Fargo :fourstars:
9/30: Whale Rider* :fourstars:

10/02: The Virgin Suicides* - :fourstars:
10/04: School of Rock* :fourstars:
10/04: The Italian Job* (2003) :threestars:
10/05: Hollywood Homicide* :onestar:
10/06: Sleepless In Seatle* :fourstars:
10/10: Kill Bill, Vol. 1* :fivestars:
10/11: The Matrix Reloaded :twostars:
10/12: Scarface* :fourstars:
10/13: Jaws :fivestars:
10/16: Das Versprechen* :fourstars:
10/16: Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers :fivestars:
10/17: Resevoir Dogs :fivestars:
10/19: Catch Me If You Can :fourstars:
10/21: Raiders of the Lost Ark :fivestars:
10/24: Monsters, Inc. :fivestars:
10/25: Lost In Translation* :fivestars:
10/26: Waiting For Guffman :fourstars:
10/28: Sunset Boulevard :fivestars:
10/31: Sleepy Hollow :fourstars:

11/01: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone :fourstars:
11/05: The Matrix Revolutions* :threestars:
11/10: The Third Man* :fivestars:
11/11: Saving Private Ryan :fivestars:
11/11: Unbreakable :fivestars:
11/15: This Is Spinal Tap :fivestars:
11/16: Kill Bill, Vol. 1 :fivestars:
11/20: X2 :fourstars:
11/21: Pirates of the Carribean - The Curse of the Black Pearl :fourstars:
11/23: Master and Commander - Far Side of the World* :fivestars:

12/04: Gigli* :onestar: (it was a joke, ok?)
12/05: Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Extended Edition* :fivestars:
12/08: Trainspotting :fivestars:
12/09: Shadowlands* :fourstars:
12/10: Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas* :threestars:
12/11: The Shape of Things* :fourstars:
12/15: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen* :twostars:
12/17 12:01 AM: Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King* :fivestars:
12/19: Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King* :fivestars:
12/22: American Wedding* :threestars:
12/24: A Christmas Carol (Alistar Sim) :fivestars:
12/25: Hook :fourstars:
12/25: It's A Wonderful Life :fivestars:
12/26: Pumping Iron* :threestars:
12/27: Alien - Director's Cut* :fivestars:
12/28: Pyscho :fivestars:
12/29: Northfork* :twostars:
12/30: Something's Gotta Give* :fourstars:

Rating System:

:fivestars: or A to A+ - Exceptional to Masterpiece
:fourstars: or B - A- - Good to Excellent
:threestars: or C+ - B- - Average to Pretty Good
:twostars: or D - C - Bad to Watchable
:onestar: or F - D- - Garbage to Disaster

[Darryl A. Armstrong]

What a great idea! I guess June's as good of a time to start as any...

6/1 The Recruit* (dir. Roger Donaldson 2003) :twostars:
6/1 The Adventures of Pluto Nash* (dir. Ron Underwood 2002) :twostars:
6/1 The Fifth Element (dir. Luc Besson 1997) :fourstars:
6/1 Equilibrium* (dir. Kurt Wimmer 2002) :threestars:
6/2 Shadow of a Doubt* (dir. Alfred Hitchcock 1943) :threestars:
6/2 Dancer in the Dark* (dir. Lars von Trier 2000) :fourstars:
6/4 Equilibrium (dir. Kurt Wimmer 2002) :threestars:
6/4 Bound* (dir. The Wachowski Brothers 1996) :onestar:
6/4 25th Hour* (dir. Spike Lee 2002) :fourstars:
6/9 Finding Nemo* (dir. Andrew Stanton 2003) :fourstars:
6/9 Nowhere* (dir. Gregg Araki 1997) :twostars:
6/9 Darkside Blues* (dir. Yoshimichi Furukawa 1994) :onestar:
6/13 Once Upon a Time in China* (dir. Hark Tsui 1991) :twostars:
6/13 Whiteboyz* (dir. Marc Levin 1999) :threestars:
6/16 Waiting for Guffman* (dir. Christopher Guest 1996) :threestars:
6/16 Swimming with Sharks* (dir. George Huang 1994) :threestars:
6/19 Love Liza* (dir. Todd Louiso 2002) :twostars:
6/19 Vampire Hunters* (dir. Wellson Chin 2002) :onestar:
6/20 The Hulk* (dir. Ang Lee 2003) :threestars:
6/20 Cube 2: Hypercube* (dir. Andrzej Sekula 2002) :twostars:
6/25 Down* (dir. Dick Maas 2001) :onestar:
6/25 Lost in La Mancha* (dir. Keith Fulton, Louis Pepe 2002) :fourstars:
6/26 The New Guy (dir. Ed Decter 2002) :twostars:
6/28 The Italian Job* (dir. F. Gary Gray 2003) :twostars:

7/2 The King is Alive* (dir. Kristian Levring 2000) :threestars:
7/2 Code Unknown* (dir. Michael Haneke 2000) :fourstars:
7/7 28 Days Later...* (dir. Danny Boyle 2002) :threestars:
7/10 The Last Temptation of Christ* (dir. Martin Scorsese 1988) :twostars:
7/13 Pirates of the Caribbean* (dir. Gore Verbinski 2003) :fourstars:
7/14 The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen* (dir. Stephen Norrington 2003) :twostars:
7/14 The Jimmy Show* (dir. Frank Whaley 2001) :threestars:
7/17 Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines* (dir. Jonathan Mostow 2003) :twostars:
7/18 Gangs of New York* (dir. Martin Scorsese 2002) :twostars:
7/18 Jules and Jim* (dir. Francois Truffaut 1962) :fourstars:
7/19 Johnny English* (dir. Peter Howitt 2003) :threestars:
7/21 May* (dir. Lucky McKee 2002) :twostars:
7/21 Mutant Aliens* (dir. Bill Plympton 2001) :onestar:
7/24 Bad Boys II* (dir. Michael Bay 2003) :onestar:
7/24 Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle* (dir. McG 2003) :twostars:
7/25 Chariots of Fire (dir. Hugh Hudson 1981) :fourstars:
7/26 Pirates of the Caribbean (dir. Gore Verbinski 2003) :fourstars:
7/26 The Big Hit (dir. Kirk Wong 1998) :onestar:
7/30 Phone Booth* (dir. Joel Schumacher 2002) :threestars:
7/30 Spy Kids* (dir. Robert Rodriguez 2001) :fourstars:
7/30 Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams* (dir. Robert Rodriguez 2002) :twostars:
7/31 Intacto* (dir. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo 2001) :threestars:
7/31 Laurel Canyon* (dir. Lisa Cholodenko 2002) :fivestars:
7/31 Out of Sight* (dir. Steven Soderbergh 1998) :fourstars:

8/1 Walkabout* (dir. Nicolas Roeg 1971) :threestars:
8/2 Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over* (dir. Robert Rodriguez 2003) :twostars:
8/2 Solaris* (dir. Steven Soderbergh 2002) :threestars:
8/2 Versus* (dir. Ryuhei Kitamura 2000) :twostars:
8/2 The Hustler* (dir. Robert Rossen 1961) :fivestars:
8/2 The Color of Money* (dir. Martin Scorsese 1986) :fourstars:
8/2 The Dish* (dir. Rob Sitch 2000) :fivestars:
8/3 Bringing Out the Dead* (dir. Martin Scorsese 1999) :twostars:
8/3 Heaven* (dir. Tom Tykwer 2002) :threestars:
8/4 The Piano Teacher* (dir. Michael Haneke 2001) :fivestars:
8/4 Chaplin* (dir. Richard Attenborough 1992) :threestars:
8/6 Amadeus* (dir. Milos Forman 1984) :twostars:
8/6 Cowboy Bebop: The Movie* (dir. Shinichirô Watanabe 2001) :fourstars:
8/6 Saving Private Ryan* (dir. Steven Spielberg 1998) :threestars:
8/10 The Big Kahuna (dir. John Swanbeck 1999) :fivestars:
8/12 The Hunted* (dir. William Friedkin 2003) :twostars:
8/12 House of 1000 Corpses* (dir. Rob Zombie 2003) Uh, yeah...
8/12 In Dreams* (dir. Neil Jordan 1999) :threestars:
8/12 The Mission* (dir. Roland Joffé 1986) :fivestars:
8/13 The Innocent* (dir. John Schlesinger 1993) :threestars:
8/13 WXIII: Patlabor the Movie 3* (dir. Fumihiko Takayama 2002) :threestars:
8/15 Final Destination* (dir. James Wong 2000) :twostars:
8/15 Final Destination 2* (dir. David R. Ellis 2003) :twostars:
8/15 They* (dir. Robert Harmon 2002) :onestar:
8/16 Me, Myself & Irene (dir. Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly 2000) :twostars:
8/17 Personal Velocity* (dir. Rebecca Miller 2002) :fourstars:
8/17 Flatliners* (dir. Joel Schumacher 1990) :twostars:
8/17 The Girl on the Bridge* (dir. Patrice Leconte 1999) :threestars:
8/17 Lolita* (dir. Stanley Kubrick 1962) :fourstars:
8/19 BASEketball* (dir. David Zucker 1998) :threestars:
8/19 Spider* (dir. David Cronenberg 2002) :threestars:
8/19 29 Palms* (dir. Leonardo Ricagni 2002) :twostars:
8/19 The Hairdresser's Husband* (dir. Patrice Leconte 1990) :fourstars:
8/22 Bowling for Columbine* (dir. Michael Moore 2002) :fourstars:
8/23 Castle in the Sky* (dir. Hayao Miyazaki 1986) :fourstars:
8/23 Rough Magic* (dir. Clare Peploe 1995) :twostars:
8/23 Audition* (dir. Takashi Miike 2000) :threestars:
8/24 The Time Machine* (dir. Simon Wells 2002) :twostars:
8/24 The Postman* (dir. Kevin Costner 1997) :threestars:
8/24 Proof of Life* (dir. Taylor Hackford 2000) :threestars:
8/28 Queen Margot* (dir. Patrice Chéreau 1994) :threestars:

9/2 Life Is Beautiful* (dir. Roberto Benigni 1997) :fourstars:
9/2 Shanghai Knights* (dir. David Dobkin 2003) :onestar:
9/3 Levity* (dir. Ed Solomon 2003) :fourstars:
9/3 Ararat* (dir. Atom Egoyan 2002) :fourstars:
9/3 The Taste of Others* (dir. Agnès Jaoui 2000) :threestars:
9/3 Gummo* (dir. Harmony Korine 1997) :twostars:
9/4 25th Hour (dir. Spike Lee 2002) :fourstars:
9/5 El Mariachi* (dir. Robert Rodriguez 1992) :twostars:
9/5 Desperado (dir. Robert Rodriguez 1995) :fourstars:
9/5 From Dusk Till Dawn (dir. Robert Rodriguez 1996) :twostars:
9/8 The Unbelievable Truth* (dir. Hal Hartley 1989) :fivestars:
9/8 Surviving Desire* (dir. Hal Hartley 1991) :fivestars:
9/9 Tetsuo II: Body Hammer* (dir. Shinya Tsukamoto 1992) :twostars:
9/12 Once Upon a Time in Mexico* (dir. Robert Rodriguez 2003) :twostars:
9/16 All I Want* (dir. Jeffrey Porter 2002) :threestars:
9/16 The Core* (dir. Jon Amiel 2003) :twostars:
9/16 Confidence* (dir. James Foley 2003) :fourstars:
9/16 Three Days of the Condor* (dir. Sydney Pollack 1975) :fourstars:
9/16 Midnight Run* (dir. Martin Brest 1988) :fourstars:
9/17 Laura* (dir. Otto Preminger 1944) :fourstars:
9/18 Stevie* (dir. Steve James 2002) :fivestars:
9/23 Underworld* (dir. Len Wiseman 2003) :onestar:
9/23 Run Ronnie Run!* (dir. Troy Miller 2002) :twostars:
9/23 Fishing with John* [TV Series - Episodes 1-6] (dir. John Lurie 1991) :fourstars:
9/29 I Spy* (dir. Betty Thomas 2002) :twostars:
9/29 Double Vision* (dir. Kuo-fu Chen 2002) :threestars:
9/29 Shiri* (dir. Je-gyu Kang 1999) :threestars:
9/30 True Romance* (dir. Tony Scott 1993) :fourstars:
9/30 The Arrival* (dir. David Twohy 1996) :threestars:
9/30 The Second Arrival* (dir. Kevin Tenney 1998) :onestar:
9/30 A Mighty Wind* (dir. Christopher Guest 2003) :twostars:

10/2 Bend it Like Beckham* (dir. Gurinder Chadha 2002) :twostars:
10/2 Josie and the Pussycats* (dir. Harry Elfont, Deborah Kaplan 2001) :threestars:
10/3 The Anniversary Party* (dir. Alan Cumming, Jennifer Jason Leigh 2001) :threestars:
10/3 Resevoir Dogs* (dir. Quentin Tarantino 1992) :threestars:
10/4 Breakfast at Tiffany's (dir. Blake Edwards 1961) :fourstars:
10/4 Angel Heart* (dir. Alan Parker 1987) :threestars:
10/4 View from the Top* (dir. Bruno Barreto 2003) :twostars:
10/5 The 4th Man* (dir. Paul Verhoeven 1983) :twostars:
10/5 The Third Man* (dir. Carol Reed 1949) :fivestars:
10/6 Seven Samurai* (dir. Akira Kurosawa 1954) :fivestars:
10/6 Analyze This* (dir. Harold Ramis 1999) :twostars:
10/6 Analyze That* (dir. Harold Ramis 2002) :twostars:
10/6 Bulletproof Monk* (dir. Paul Hunter 2003) :twostars:
10/8 The Baby-Sitter's Club* (dir. Melanie Mayron 1995) :twostars:
10/8 Just the Ticket* (dir. Richard Wenk 1999) :twostars:
10/9 The Jack Bull* (dir. John Badham 1999) :threestars:
10/9 Malena* (dir. Giuseppe Tornatore 2000) :fourstars:
10/10 Kill Bill: Vol. 1* (dir. Quentin Tarantino 2003) :fourstars:
10/12 Down with Love* (dir. Peyton Reed 2003) :twostars:
10/12 Dreamcatcher* (dir. Lawrence Kasdan 2003) :threestars:
10/12 Jackie Brown* (dir. Quentin Tarantino 1997) :fivestars:
10/13 Confessions of a Dangerous Mind* (dir. George Clooney 2002) :fourstars:
10/13 Any Given Sunday* (dir. Oliver Stone 1999) :fourstars:
10/15 Max* (dir. Menno Meyjes 2002) :threestars:
10/15 Eat Drink Man Woman* (dir. Ang Lee 1994) :fourstars:
10/19 Intolerable Cruelty* (dir. The Coen Bros. 2003) :fourstars:
10/22 Better Off Dead* (dir. Savage Steve Holland 1985) :twostars:
10/22 Groundhog Day* (dir. Harold Ramis 1993) :threestars:
10/22 Grave of the Fireflies* (dir. Isao Takahata 1988) :fourstars:
10/22 Donnie Brasco* (dir. Mike Newell 1997) :fourstars:
10/24 For Love of the Game* (dir. Sam Raimi 1999) :threestars:
10/26 Beautiful Joe* (dir. Stephen Metcalfe 2000) :twostars:
10/26 New Rose Hotel* (dir. Abel Ferrara 1998) :twostars:
10/26 Breakfast of Champions* (dir. Alan Rudolph 1999) :threestars:
10/27 The Crying Game* (dir. Neil Jordan 1992) :fourstars:
10/28 The Mod Squad* (dir. Scott Silver 1999) :threestars:
10/28 Edtv* (dir. Ron Howard 1999) :threestars:
10/29 Runaway Jury* (dir. Gary Fleder 2003) :threestars:
10/29 Scary Movie 3* (dir. David Zucker 2003) :twostars:

11/6 The Matrix: Revolutions* (dir. The Wachowski Bros. 2003) :twostars:
11/8 3000 Miles to Graceland* (dir. Demian Lichtenstein 2001) :twostars:
11/8 L. A. Confidential* (dir. Curtis Hanson 1997) :fourstars:
11/9 Trixie* (dir. Alan Rudolph 2000) :twostars:


* Denotes first viewing/Italicized titles seen in a theater

[John]

11/1 - The Fisher King*
11/4 - Scarface*
11/7 - The Matrix Revolutions*
11/14 - Master and Commander*
11/26 - The Two Towers
11/27 - Ten Little Indians*
11/29 - Death to Smoochy*

12/2 - Grand Canyon*
12/3 - Gallipoli*
12/5 - Strangers on a Train*
12/5 - Man on the Train*
12/6 - Pirates of the Caribbean
12/10 - A Mighty Wind*
12/12 - In America*
12/16 - Wide Awake*
12/17 - Stevie*
12/17 - The Return of the King*
12/19 - The Boxer*
12/20 - 11'09"01*
12/25 - Green Card*
12/31 - The Truman Show

[Christian]

1/3: Changing Lanes
1/18: The Last Metro
2/1: Gabbeh
2/1: Taste of Cherry
2/5: Mulholland Drive
2/7 (SNOW DAY!): Once Upon a Time, Cinema (Makhmalbaf)
2/7: The White Balloon
2/7: Amelie
2/11: Genghis Blues
2/15: Gangs of New York
2/17: The Cyclist
(At this point I lost track of my thread. In between Feb. 17 and the resumption of the dated thread with my May 10 viewing, I saw...)
The Burmese Harp
Pather Panchali
La Promesse
Babette's Feast
Nosferatu (1979)
Holes
5/10: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (AMC, longer cut)
5/16: Standing in the Shadows of Motown
5/23: Stalker
5/24: Nine Queens
5/24: The Devil's Backbone
5/28: Rosetta
5/31: Sunshine State
6/2: Richard III (Ian McKellan version)
6/3: Aparjito (completing the Apu trilogy for me, albeit out of sequence)
6/7: 25th Hour
6/8: The Singing Detective, episode 1 (filmed for television [the BBC], but I think it counts...)
6/11: The Singing Detective, episode 2
6/11: The Singing Detective, episode 3
6/14: Spirited Away
6/15: The Singing Detective, episode 4
6/18: Startup.com
6/20: The Singing Detective, episode 5
6/22: The Singing Detective, episode 6 (a satisfying conclusion, rife with redemptive significance)
6/27: Winged Migration
7/5: Terminator 3
7/5: 1776
7/14: The Big Kahuna
7/15: Himalaya
7/18: Divided We Fall
7/19: The Element of Crime
7/23: In the Bedroom
7/26: Nashville
7/30: Ghost World
8/4: Panic Room
8/8: Thirteen Conversations About One Thing
8/12: Code Unknown
8/31: The Gleaners and I
9/13: American History X
10/5: Lilo and Stitch
10/9: Children on Their Birthdays
10/11: Lost in Translation
10/11: Finding Nemo
10/13: Adaptation
10/17: Down With Love
10/18: Toy Story 2
10/27: Pirates of the Caribbean
11/4: Moulin Rouge
11/7: Finding Nemo
11/12: Master and Commander
11/20: Bowling for Columbine -- after all the hype, a major disappointment. Surprisingly muddled. And I like Moore's other stuff.
11/27: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Edition)
11/28: The Pianist
12/5: Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
12/6: A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
12/13: The Silence
12/19: Seabiscuit
12/20: Songcatcher
12/22: All About My Mother
12/23: Talk to Her
12/31: Persuasion

[Overstreet]

21 Films I Love Most (for whatever reasons)
I've seen many films that are arguably greater works of art than these--Ordet, Andrei Rublev, The Mirror, The Godfather series... but as much as I admire them, they have not had a profound effect on me personally. I don't find myself wanting to watch them over and over. This list contains some that are artful masterpieces, but also many that I cherish for the part they played in certain chapters of my life. So I really don't know what to call this list...

Wings of Desire
Three Colors: Blue
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Apocalypse Now (I prefer Redux)
The Fisher King
Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail
Blade Runner
Midnight Run
A Room With a View
Chariots of Fire
Raising Arizona
Watership Down
Down By Law
Stevie
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Double Life of Veronique
The Decalogue
Secrets and Lies
Yi-Yi (A One and a Two)
Code Unknown


- - - -
RECENT VIEWINGS
8/2/03 - Wings of Desire extras =D>
8/4/03 - Pather Panchali* - A- :D
8/5/03 - Le Divorce* - C+ :-s
8/11/03 - Lost in Translation - A :thumb:
8/16/03 - Six Feet Under* - :-s
............ - Stevie* - A+ :fivestars:
8/17/03 - Capturing the Friedmans* - B- :|
............ - Six Feet Under, ep. 2 :-s
8/18/03 - Open Range* - B- :|
8/21/03 - American Splendor* - A- :)
8/22/03 - Fighting Temptations* - C- :x
8/26/03 - The Legend of Johnny Lingo*
8/27/03 - Bonhoeffer* - B :)
8/28/03 - Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - extras :D
8/29/03 - Mad Max* :-s
9/4/03 - Once Upon a Waste of Time in Mexico* - D
9/6/03 - Seabiscuit* (finally!!) - B+
9/7/03 - Hangman's Curse* - D :x
9/10/03 - Matchstick Men* - B :)
9/12/03 - 21 Grams* - C :-({|=
9/14/03 - Stevie (2nd viewing) Now on DVD. A+ :cry:
9/15/03 - Lawless Heart* - C -
9/16/03 - In This World* - A 8O J. Robert's review says it all.
9/20/03 - Lost in Translation - A
- The Shipping News* - B :)
9/24/03 - Indentity* :roll: - C-
- Comedian* (excerpts)
9/28 - The Animation Show - C+ - :?
9/30 - Mystic River* - C+
Raising Victor Vargas - B+/A- =D>
10/4 - Blow Out* - C+
10/6 - Kill Bill-Vol. 1 - :? B-
10/7 - Intolerable Cruelty - :lol: A-/B+
10/14 - Happy Accidents - C
10/15 - The Human Stain - A-
10/21 - Ikiru* - A - Masterfully made.
10/22 - The Good Thief* - B
10/23 - Radio* - :-& C-

10/24 - Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World* - A- While it suffers a bit from being another Men Being Manly and Teaching Boys and Men How to Be Manly

10/29 - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (on DVD) - B+
The film just seems more and more trivial every time I see it. Fun, nicely done, and if it fit in tone with the other films I probably would like it better. But there is such an obvious void at the heart of the film, a lack of the profound weight that Raiders carried. Still, I hope Ford can be as good as he is in Crusade when #4 rolls around.

10/30 - Elf* - B-
[size=9]The first half is a laugh riot that plays to Ferrell's strengths. But as the formulaic and yet profoundly empty PLOT begins to come together, it's like watching a flooded basement worsen until the whole house is swamped.

10/31 - Gumnaam* (on DVD) - Billed as the first Indian thriller, this is a great party movie, full of nonsense, hilarious music-video interruptions, zany dances, and funny botched subtitles. Almost as entertaining as Kill Bill Vol. 1, this is a great flick to watch with a group and talk to Mystery Science Theater-style.

11/2 - The Princess and the Warrior* (on DVD) - C+ Some spectacular cinematography makes this film worth seeing, but the characters are impenetrable due to the bizarre circumstances that have left them emotionally and psychologically fractured, and as they interact in one surreal and implausible scene after another, I become further detached and increasingly bewildered by the whole affair. Overly ponderous, humorless, and ultimately frustrating.

11/4 - The Matrix Revolutions* - 8O B -
Wow. It doesn't ultimately redeem the trilogy for me. (I've been a nay-sayer from the beginning because I like my science fiction epics with CHARACTERS, not mannequins.) But it sure works overtime mustering up the qualities that have been lacking in the series for this viewer. Real emotion. The sense that something important is at stake. Action that's exhilarating instead of footage from a tedious video game. And Hugo Weaving steals the show (again) with his funniest, most enjoyable performance to date. I went in expecting boredom and frustration, and I was quite captivated. For sheer spectacle, I can't think of a sci-fi film that beats it.
Okay, if you challenge me on what it means, I'll probably keep my thoughts to myself (after the pounding I've taken on the board already.) I don't think the Wachowski's have a clue where to go with the film's "message," and the conclusion feels like emptiness wrapped up in religious iconography. And yet they do seem to discover that the resonance of a Christ story is unshakeable. As twisted and problematic as their Christ epic is, it is still an echo of the truth they seem so determined to avoid.

11/06/03 - House of Sand and Fog* - B+
What is it with long, heavy, burdensome, mournful dramas this year? This one is superior to Mystic River and 21 Grams in that things play out in a way that seems dreadfully believable and natural. Nothing feels contrived. Every character is a fully-developed character, and thus, there are no good guys and no bad guys, only errors in judgment, moments when emotion overcomes rationality, and the heartbreaking consequences of sin. Ben Kingsley is a master, and this is one of his greatest performances. Jennifer Connelly, who seems to make a living at breakdowns and crying for the camera, gives her finest performance as well. But in the world we live in, it's the heavy-handed, contrived Mystic River and the angst-overload of 21 Grams that will probably win Oscars.

11/08/03 - Pieces of April* - A- - A small but wonderful film. There's a moment in this film that moved me to tears more unexpectedly and abruptly than any film in recent years. A perfect cast. Great supporting characters. Peter Hedges (who wrote What's Eating Gilbert Grape?) makes his directorial debut here and gives us his second great film about family dynamics.

- Winged Migration* - A- - Breathtaking footage that has you open-mouthed in awe and wonder at God's wild creativity and at the genius of the filmmakers, who do things with cameras in this film that seem physically impossible.

11/11/03 - The Matrix Revolutions (second viewing) B- Fights became more tedious, dialogue seemed more tedious, but I stand by my argument that this film does NOT throw the film's feeble logic out the window but actually makes the series' metaphors more poignant. In the end, it is not about how evil human institutions and systems are, but about how corrupt they have become, and how we should be seeking to redeem our systems of control rather than to overthrow them.

11/14/03 - Invincible* (on DVD) - A- A gorgeous, poetic film that tells the true story of a Polish Jew who was employed by the Nazis as a strongman entertainer until he could no longer hide from his audiences the fact that he was indeed a Jew. Highly recommended.

11/15/03 - Heat (on DVD) - B+ For the glory of Spinotti's cinematography and this combination of actors playing to their strengths. This movie has what remains my favorite movie shootout. And I love the moment when Ashley Judd makes her decision whether to betray or save her man. What a loaded silence.

11/18/03 - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Extended Edition - A-
Much improved, but still rather flawed. The new scenes are hit-and-miss. Gimli gets the worst line he's had in the whole series so far, but the presence of Treebeard, Gandalf, Faramir, and Eowyn are greatly enhanced by the new material. There's also a much better sense of THE JOURNEY, giving us a sense of time and space that keeps Middle Earth from being reduced to an amusement park.

11/19/03 - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Extended Edition (second viewing)
I'm really appreciating the re-edited and enhanced battle scenes. The order of events and choreography of the battle of Helm's Deep are much clearer. It doesn't feel so much like battle chaos, but more like an examination of how a battle played out, the steps that were taken, and the moves made by the orcs to slowly break the defense. The "turning of the tide" of the battle still feels abrupt and a bit unexplained to me, but it's definitely clearer now what happened to the enemy at the end.

11/24 - The Missing* - :? - C+
Strong performances, some gorgeous scenery, and one of James Horner's more restrained soundtracks elevate an unremarkable script. But this Western is too high in recycled content, and the conclusion lacks resonance.

11/24 - Whale Rider (second viewing, DVD) - B+
The second time through, this really grabbed my heart and squeezed it. Even if its paces are rather measured, and I still want to know more about the culture Koro is so passionate to preserve, Castle-Hughes' performance is a knockout. It makes me believe.

11/29 - The Two Towers, EE (third viewing)
Having re-read the Denethor chapters last night, I'm less bothered by this portrayal. He really is a class-A jerk.

12/03 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King* - A+
I'm tempted to knock off the "+" because of some serious flaws in the film. Those flaws are not entirely the filmmakers' fault. I've come to believe that this book cannot be translated very smoothly into a film, partly because of the awkwardness of filming so many conclusions to so many storylines. Further, the film needs to give the audience more opportunity to "breathe"... it feels something like an assault on the senses, and I staggered out a bit bruised by it all. Nevertheless, while it may not be the most artful piece of fantasy storytelling ever filmed, it is indeed the most awe-inspiring fantasy spectacle ever filmed. And compared to other films released this year, it is indeed the highest achievement in almost every filmmaking discipline. So I'll grant it a rare A+.

12/10/03 - Cold Mountain - B/B+ Good story, gorgeous lighting and cinematography, some unforgettable images, and some memorable performances (especially Zellweger, Gleeson, and Jack White from the White Stripes)... but the final film must have been thrown into a blender by a Miramax exec, because it feels more like a rushed presentation of "highlights from the epic motion picture" rather than the meditative, evenly-paced journey it should have been. Too bad. Last time they did this to a movie was "All the Pretty Horses", another Nearly-Was and Also-Ran of the Great Films list.

12/11/03 - Big Fish - B
Charming, occasionally powerful, Finney is amazing, but it's all ultimately a bit unsatisfying.

12/16/03 - Girl with the Pearl Earring - B+
Gorgeous light, color, sets, and cinematography, a strong performance by Johansson, and my favorite performance of Colin Firth's career.

12/17/03 - The Triplets of Belleville - B+
Outrageous, hilarious, at times really grotesque, and boundlessly inventive. The animation is spectacular. It's one of the year's must-sees. But it is also frivolous: it makes Amelie look like a profound work of deeply meaningful art.

12/18 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - A
The good things get better, the bad things become more evident and wince-worthy.

12/20/03 - Pieces of April (2nd viewing, DVD) - A
Again, this movie had me laughing and crying. A small wonder, one of my top 10 for the year.

12/21/03 - The Gospel of John (DVD) - B+
It was an interesting experiment. Most of the film's power actually comes from the text itself, so it is difficult to rate the "movie." The entire book of John is read aloud, and much of the style of the text works against the filmmakers in their efforts to make for a compelling viewing experience. After all, while there are some miracles in John's gospel, there is a whole lot more of Jesus walking around saying "I tell you the truth" and explaining who he is and why people should believe in him. I was put off by the deep-pore-cleansing Jesus they portrayed. Henry Ian Cusick does a good job with the dialogue, but he was too clean, too iconic, not rough and realistic enough for me. Similarly, one of the Pharisees was made into a sort of Pharisee Darth Vader, which sent the movie into the direction of a cliche "showdown." But the cinematography was attractive, the soundtrack understated, and the film did not dwell unnecessarily on details extraneous to John's focus. An admirably restrained effort.

12/28/03 - The Barbarian Invastions - :? - B-
Solid performances and some sobering portrayals of health care in Montreal, but the family at the center of this drama is an unpleasant, amoral sort that I found to be miserable company. As the film does not seem to be interested in the foolishness and consequences of their actions, I just found myself sinking deeper and deeper into frustration and apathy toward them. Technically, a well-made film, but not at all deserving of the acclaim it's been receiving. Also: The most irresponsible use of September 11th footage in a film yet. It comes like a blow to the gut, and I feel the use of the shot was entirely unjustified and gratuitous.

12/29/03 - To Be and to Have - :) - B+
Beautiful, inspiring, and yet the filmmakers seem to rely too much on the entertainment value of the kids, catching cute moments, without crafting enough of a focus or developing themes like they might have. It felt a little meandering and haphazard to me.

12/31/03 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Cinerama) - A
Has their ever been a greater film to see at the Cinerama? Whoah. Third time's a charm they say, and I'm more in love with this film than ever. But the flaws still make me wince... especially Aragorn's abrupt arrival at the Black Gate and his sudden charge. We really really needed his face-off with the Mouth of Sauron. Why in the world did they cut that out? To see the Mouth of Sauron throw down Frodo's vest and ruin the hope of the heroes, that would have made Aragorn's teary-eyed "For Frodo" really resonate. The DVD for this film will be an A+, I'm fairly certain.

[moquist]

12-28-02 (1)Alien 3
12-30-02 (2)Dancer in the Dark
01-06-03 (1)The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)
01-08-03 (2)The Thomas Crown Affair (commentary)
01-09-03 (1)Rollerball (1975)
01-10-03 (3)Fiddler on the Roof (commentary)
01-14-03 (3)Red (preparing for local film forum)
01-18-03 (4)Red (at the film forum)
01-19-03 (2)The Big Lebowski
01-19-03 (2)Star Wars I - Phantom Menace
01-20-03 (1)Star Wars II - AOTC
01-24-03 (1)Blood Simple
01-25-03 (1)Raising Arizona
01-31-03 (1)O Brother, Where Art Thou?
02-02-03 (2)O Brother, Where Art Thou? (with my wife)
02-03-03 (1)A Fish Called Wanda (preparing for Film Forum)
02-04-03 (1)Gangs of New York
02-07-03 (1)The Burmese Harp (Boston Faith & Film Festival)
02-07-03 (1)The Passion of Joan of Arc (Dreyer) (Boston Faith & Film Festival)
02-07-03 (1)Simon of the Desert (Boston Faith & Film Festival)
02-08-03 (1)Amelie (Boston Faith & Film Festival)
02-09-03 (2)A Fish Called Wanda
02-15-03 (3)A Fish Called Wanda (local film forum)
02-16-03 (5?)Moulin Rouge!
02-17-03 (1)National Geographic "Lord of the Rings" special
02-19-03 (1)The Making of Metropolis
02-22-03 (1)Chicago
02-23-03 (1)The Lost Highway
02-26-03 (1)The Seventh Seal
02-27-03 (1)The Red Shoes
02-28-03 (1)The Unbearable Lightness of Being
03-01-03 (2)The Unbearable Lightness of Being
03-01-03 (1)Charade
03-02-03 (1)Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome
03-03-03 (1)Picnic at Hanging Rock
03-07-03 (1)Coral Reef Adventure (Omnimax at Boston Museum of Science)
03-08-03 (1)The Man Who Wasn't There
03-13-03 (1)The Virgin Suicides
03-15-03 (2)Picnic at Hanging Rock (local film forum)
03-16-03 (1)The Mirror (Boston MFA Tarkovsky series)
03-21-03 (1)Changing Lanes
03-25-03 (2)Changing Lanes
03-29-03 (1)Decalogue 1
03-30-03 (1)Decalogue 2
04-05-03 (3)Metropolis (Lang, local film forum)
04-10-03 (3)The Fifth Element
04-13-03 (3)Grand Canyon
04-15-03 (1)X-Men
04-17-03 (2)X-Men
04-18-03 (1)Holes
04-26-03 (1)Ronin
05-02-03 (1)X-2
05-02-03 (1)Princess Mononoke
05-03-03 & 05-04-03 (3)Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
05-10-03 (2)Princess Mononoke
05-13-03 (1)A Mighty Wind
05-14-03 (1)The Matrix Reloaded
05-16-03 (2)Star Wars II - AOTC
05-16-03 (4)Star Wars IV - A New Hope
05-24-03 (4)Star Wars V - The Empire Strikes Back
05-24-03 (2)The Matrix Reloaded
05-25-03 (3)Star Wars VI - The Return of the Jedi
05-25-03 (1)Donnie Darko
05-26-03 (1)How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog
06-07-03 (1)The Producers (live on-stage in Boston, but inspired by the movie :))
06-28-03 (1)Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (local film forum)
07-05-03 (1)Best in Show - HA!
07-18-03 (1)Spellbound (Wilton Town Hall Theater)
07-19-03 (1)Pulse: A Stomp Odyssey (Mugar Omnimax Theater, Boston MOS)
07-22-03 (2)Die Hard
07-24-03 (1)Finding Nemo (The Milford Drive-In)
07-24-03 (1)Pirates of the Caribbean (The Milford Drive-In)
07-25-03 (1)Thelma & Louise
07-26-03 (1)Spirited Away
07-28-03 (1)Patton
08-01-03 (1)28 Days Later (Wilton Town Hall Theater)
08-02-03 (1)The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (extended w/new footage) (Brattle)
08-14-03 (1)Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
08-16-03 (1)The Magnificent Seven
08-19-03 (1)A Fistful of Dollars
08-20-03 (1)For a Few Dollars More
08-21-03 (1)The Wild Bunch
08-21-03 (1)The Great Train Robbery (1903)
08-22-03 (1)Stagecoach
08-22-03 (1)Unforgiven
08-23-03 (2)Unforgiven (Commentary)
08-23-03 (2)The Great Train Robbery (1903)
08-23-03 (3)Unforgiven (local film forum)
08-24-03 & 08-25-03 (4?) The Fellowship of the Ring (theatrical)
08-27-03 (3)The Two Towers (theatrical)
08-28-03 (1)The Long and Short of It (Sean Astin's short film)
08-28-03 (1)The Making-of "The Long and Short of It"
08-29-03 (1)The Maltese Falcon
08-30-03 (1)The Weather Underground (the Brattle)
08-30-03 (1)Whale Rider (Wilton TH Theater)
09-02-03 (1)The Shining
09-03-03 (1)Full Metal Jacket
09-04-03 (1)Eyes Wide Shut
09-05-03 (1)Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures
09-06-03 (1)Paths of Glory
09-07-03 (5)The Fellowship of the Ring (theatrical)
09-07-03 (4)The Two Towers (theatrical)
09-13-03 (1)Matchstick Men
09-16-03 (3)Singin' in the Rain (preparing for film forum)
09-20-03 (4)Singin' in the Rain (local film forum)
09-26-03 (1)Dirty Pretty Things
10-03-03 (1)Bend it Like Beckham
10-05-03 (5)Alien
10-05-03 (5)Aliens
10-10-03 (1)Lost in Translation
10-11-03 (1)Kill Bill Volume 1
10-25-03 (1)Rashômon
10-31-03 (6)Alien: The Director's Cut
11-01-03 (1)The Hound of the Baskervilles
11-01-03 (1)The Exorcist
11-01-03 (1)The Fear of God: The Making of the Exorcist
11-02-03 (1)The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
11-02-03 (1)The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (40 minutes of the commentary - very good)
11-03-03 (1)Planet of the Apes (1968)
11-06-03 (1)The Matrix Revolutions
11-07-03 (1)Psycho
11-07-03 (1)The Making of Psycho
11-08-03 (1)Halloween
11-08-03 (1)Halloween Unmasked 2000
11-09-03 (1)The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
11-10-03 (1)John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick
11-11-03 (1)Jaws
11-14-03 (1)Ghostbusters
11-15-03 (1)Akira
11-16-03 (2)The Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition
11-17-03 (1)Boogie Nights
11-18-03 (1)The Two Towers Extended Edition
11-27-03 (2)Raiders of the Lost Ark
11-29-03 (2)X-2
12-04-03 (1)Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
12-04-03 (1)Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
12-05-03 (1)Cliffhanger
12-06-03 (3)Raiders of the Lost Ark (local film forum)
12-07-03 (1)Miller's Crossing
12-07-03 (1)Barton Fink
12-16-03 (1)The Return of the King
12-18-03 (1)Brubaker
12-20-03 (1)The Mouse that Roared
12-20-03 (1)Rear Window
12-21-03 (1)The Big Sleep (1945)
12-21-03 (1)The Big Sleep (1946)
12-22-03 (3)X-Men (commentary - ok)
12-26-03 (2)Return of the King (better this time)
12-26-03 (1)The Bourne Identity (ok)
12-27-03 (1)Daredevil (stinks)
12-28-03 (2)The Hunt for Red October (sleepy in the middle)
12-30-03 (1)Mona Lisa Smile (started so-so, got better)
12-30-03 (1)Dog Day Afternoon
THE END

[Peter T Chattaway]

Videos and DVDs are in italics. Films I saw for the first time have an asterisk (*) next to them. Not counting extras and promo items.

Jan 1 -- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Jan 2 -- The Hot Chick *
Jan 2 -- Pinocchio [2002, dubbed version] *
Jan 3 -- The Reluctant Dragon *
Jan 5 -- Claire's Knee *
Jan 5 -- The Woman Next Door *
Jan 5 -- The Best of the Muppet Show [Paul Simon, Raquel Welch episodes] *
Jan 6 -- Being There
Jan 8 -- The Hours
Jan 8 -- The Gleaners and I *

Jan 8 -- Le Beau Serge *
Jan 9 -- Talk to Her *
Jan 9 -- Das Experiment *
Jan 10 -- Forgotten Silver + Signing Off *
Jan 10 -- A Real Young Girl *
Jan 10 -- The Pianist *
Jan 11 -- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Jan 13 -- Max *
Jan 13 -- Mrs. Dalloway
Jan 14 -- Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress *

Jan 14 -- 25th Hour *
Jan 15 -- Just Married *
Jan 15 -- A Guy Thing *
Jan 16 -- Singin' in the Rain
Jan 19 -- Time Out *
Jan 19 -- The Complete Goofy [disc 2] *
Jan 21 -- Kangaroo Jack *
Jan 21 -- National Security *
Jan 22 -- No Such Thing *
Jan 24 -- About Schmidt

Jan 26 -- Narc *
Jan 27 -- Trembling Before G-d
Jan 28 -- Darkness Falls *
Jan 29 -- The Guru *
Jan 31 -- A Night to Remember [Criterion] *
Feb 2 -- All That Heaven Allows [Criterion] *
Feb 3 -- Short 2: Dreams [La Jetée, etc.] *
Feb 4 -- Chaos and Desire *
Feb 4 -- The Recruit *
Feb 5 -- How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days *

Feb 6 -- Daredevil *
Feb 6 -- Ikiru
Feb 6 -- Stray Dog *
Feb 7 -- City of God *
Feb 9 -- Secret Ballot *
Feb 12 -- Shanghai Knights *
Feb 13 -- Punch *
Feb 14 -- The Quiet American *
Feb 14 -- Long Life, Happiness and Prosperity *
Feb 16 -- The Circle *

Feb 19 -- The Life of David Gale *
Feb 21 -- Chicago
Feb 22 -- The Usual Suspects
Feb 26 -- Dark Blue *
Mar 1 -- Tom Jones *
Mar 2 -- Metropolis [2002, restored version] *
Mar 3 -- El Crimen de Padre Amaro *
Mar 3 -- Spider *
Mar 3 -- Tears of the Sun *
Mar 4 -- Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home [w/ text and audio commentary]

Mar 5 -- Cradle 2 the Grave *
Mar 8 -- Agent Cody Banks *
Mar 9 -- Punch-Drunk Love
Mar 9 -- Bringing Down the House *
Mar 11 -- Old School *
Mar 11 -- Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie [w/ directors' commentary]
Mar 12 -- Fiddler on the Roof
Mar 13 -- The Hunted *
Mar 14 -- The Core *
Mar 16 -- Deliver Us from Eva *

Mar 19 -- The Party *
Mar 20 -- Willard [2003] *
Mar 22 -- Left Behind II: Tribulation Force *
Mar 24 -- Joshua *
Mar 27 -- Irreversible *
Mar 29 -- The Adventures of Robin Hood
Mar 30 -- Piglet's Big Movie *
Mar 30 -- Bend It Like Beckham *
Mar 31 -- Till Human Voices Wake Us *
Apr 1 -- The Day the Earth Stood Still [w/ audio commentary]

Apr 2 -- The Beatles: Anthology: Special Features *
Apr 2 -- The Beatles: Anthology 1 & 2
Apr 3 -- Magnificent Obsession *
Apr 4 -- The Beatles: Anthology 3 & 4
Apr 4 -- Laurel Canyon *
Apr 5 -- The Beatles: Anthology 5 & 6
Apr 6 -- Safe
Apr 7 -- Anger Management *
Apr 8 -- Head of State *
Apr 8 -- Basic *

Apr 8 -- Flower & Garnet *
Apr 9 -- Dreamcatcher *
Apr 9 -- The Beatles: Anthology 7 & 8
Apr 10 -- Phone Booth *
Apr 10 -- The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp [w/ audio commentary]
Apr 10 -- Futurama [volume 1, disc 2] *
Apr 11 -- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Apr 14 -- Frank Capra's The War Years: The Negro Soldier *
Apr 14 -- Forty-Ninth Parallel
Apr 14 -- Bulletproof Monk *

Apr 14 -- Futurama [volume 1, disc 1] *
Apr 15 -- Frank Capra's The War Years: Know Your Enemy: Japan *
Apr 16 -- Written on the Wind *
Apr 16 -- The Tarnished Angels *
Apr 17 -- Futurama [volume 1, disc 3] *
Apr 17 -- Thirty Seconds over Tokyo *
Apr 18 -- Holes *
Apr 18 -- Nowhere in Africa *
Apr 18 -- Better Luck Tomorrow *
Apr 19 -- They Were Expendable *

Apr 19 -- The Tunnel *
Apr 19 -- The Gods Must Be Crazy
Apr 20 -- King of Kings
Apr 20 -- Tears of the Sun
Apr 25 -- X2: X-Men United *
Apr 27 -- Identity *
Apr 30 -- The Last Temptation of Christ
May 1 -- Lost in La Mancha *
May 4 -- X2: X-Men United
May 5 -- Who Framed Roger Rabbit [w/ text and audio commentary]

May 7 -- The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad *
May 7 -- Daddy Day Care *
May 9 -- Down with Love *
May 9 -- Slap Shot *
May 9 -- The Life and Passion of Jesus Christ [1905 Pathé film] *
May 10 -- Werckmeister Harmonies *
May 11 -- The Life and Passion of Jesus Christ
May 12 -- Levity *
May 13 -- X2: X-Men United
May 13 -- Treasure Planet [w/ audio and visual commentary]

May 14 -- Osmosis Jones
May 15 -- The Matrix Reloaded *
May 16 -- A Mighty Wind *
May 19 -- The Aristocats
May 21 -- Winged Migration *
May 21 -- Bruce Almighty *
May 22 -- Robin Hood [1973, Disney version]
May 24 -- From the Manger to the Cross
May 24 -- Spellbound [2002, documentary] *
May 25 -- The Great Mouse Detective

May 27 -- A Close Shave
May 31 -- Finding Nemo *
Jun 2 -- Ghosts of the Abyss *
Jun 3 -- The Italian Job [2003] *
Jun 3 -- Mulan
Jun 4 -- 2 Fast 2 Furious *
Jun 7 -- Martin Luther [1953] *
Jun 7 -- Rugrats Go Wild *
Jun 9 -- Requiem for a Dream
Jun 10 -- The Shape of Things [2003] *

Jun 11 -- Short 4: Seduction [Lily and Jim, T.R.A.N.S.I.T., etc.] *
Jun 12 -- The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey *
Jun 13 -- Almost Famous: Untitled Bootleg Cut *
Jun 13 -- Hollywood Homicide *
Jun 13 -- 28 Days Later *
Jun 14 -- The Man on the Train *
Jun 14 -- The Thin Blue Line
Jun 16 -- The Rescuers
Jun 16 -- The Rescuers Down Under
Jun 17 -- Divine Intervention *

Jun 18 -- Hulk *
Jun 20 -- Ivan's Childhood
Jun 21 -- Andrei Rublev: Director's Cut *
Jun 22 -- The Sword in the Stone *
Jun 23 -- Alex & Emma *
Jun 24 -- Whale Rider *
Jun 26 -- Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde *
Jun 27 -- The Mirror
Jun 29 -- eXistenZ
Jul 1 -- Nostalghia *

Jul 1 -- Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle *
Jul 2 -- Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines *
Jul 2 -- Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas *
Jul 3 -- Morvern Callar *
Jul 6 -- Respiro *
Jul 7 -- The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen *
Jul 8 -- Owning Mahowny *
Jul 9 -- Pirates of the Caribean: Curse of the Black Pearl *
Jul 10 -- Together [2002] *
Jul 13 -- Swimming Pool *

Jul 14 -- All in the Family [season 1, disc 1] *
Jul 14 -- Raising Victor Vargas *
Jul 16 -- Johnny English *
Jul 16 -- Die Another Day
Jul 17 -- The Lost Dogs ...via Chicago... *
Jul 18 -- Bad Boys II *
Jul 19 -- Hulk
Jul 19 -- All in the Family [season 1, disc 2] *
Jul 25 -- The Life and Passion of Jesus Christ
Jul 26 -- Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life *

Jul 27 -- All in the Family [season 1, disc 3] *
Jul 29 -- Hercules [1997, Disney version]
Jul 31 -- The Fox and the Hound
Aug 1 -- American Wedding *
Aug 1 -- Dirty Pretty Things *
Aug 2 -- Seabiscuit *
Aug 4 -- Pocahontas [1995, Disney version]
Aug 4 -- Derrida *
Aug 4 -- The Trials of Henry Kissinger *
Aug 5 -- Trekkies

Aug 5 -- The Magdalene Sisters *
Aug 6 -- S.W.A.T. *
Aug 7 -- Northfork *
Aug 7 -- Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over *
Aug 7 -- A Little Princess [1995] *
Aug 8 -- The Animatrix *
Aug 10 -- Nights of Cabiria [Criterion] *
Aug 12 -- The Messiah [1975, Rossellini] *
Aug 13 -- Bowling for Columbine
Aug 14 -- Friday the 13th *

Aug 15 -- Freaky Friday [2003] *
Aug 16 -- Derzu Uzula *
Aug 23 -- Watership Down
Aug 25 -- The Fighting Temptations *
Aug 27 -- Futurama [volume 2, disc 1] *
Aug 28 -- Futurama [volume 2, disc 2] *
Aug 28 -- The Haunting [1963] *
Aug 29 -- Open Range *
Aug 29 -- Gigantic: A Tale of Two Johns *
Aug 31 -- Futurama [volume 2, disc 3] *

Sep 1 -- Shrek [w/ audio commentary]
Sep 1 -- A Nightmare on Elm Street *
Sep 1 -- The Life and Passion of Jesus Christ
Sep 1 -- Friday the 13th Part 2 *
Sep 2 -- Friday the 13th Part 3 *
Sep 3 -- Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star *
Sep 4 -- The Peter Sellers Story -- As He Filmed It *
Sep 5 -- Betty Boop: The Definitive Collection: Volume 7: Betty's Travels *
Sep 5 -- Door to Door [2002] *
Sep 6 -- Luther [1973] *

Sep 7 -- Futurama [volume 2, disc 4] *
Sep 7 -- A&E Biography: Nicholas & Alexandra *
Sep 8 -- Mambo Italiano *
Sep 8 -- Ford Transit *
Sep 8 -- Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter *
Sep 8 -- St. Michael Had a Rooster *
Sep 8 -- Night of the Shooting Stars *
Sep 9 -- James' Journey to Jerusalem *
Sep 9 -- To Kill a King *
Sep 9 -- Sleeping Beauty [w/ audio commentary]

Sep 10 -- Lost in Translation *
Sep 10 -- Once Upon a Time in Mexico *
Sep 11 -- Kaos *
Sep 12 -- Recess: School's Out
Sep 12 -- See Grace Fly *
Sep 13 -- People Say I'm Crazy *
Sep 13 -- Cromwell *
Sep 13 -- The Simpsons [season 3, disc 1] *
Sep 15 -- Matchstick Men *
Sep 16 -- The Order *

Sep 16 -- Casablanca [w/ Roger Ebert audio commentary]
Sep 17 -- Birdman Tale *
Sep 17 -- Los Angeles Plays Itself *
Sep 17 -- Underworld *
Sep 18 -- Bus 174 *
Sep 19 -- The Only Sons *
Sep 19 -- The Saddest Music in the World *
Sep 20 -- Anything Else *
Sep 20 -- Devil's Playground [2002] *
Sep 23 -- Cabin Fever *

Sep 24 -- The Rundown *
Sep 25 -- Day of the Wacko *
Sep 25 -- Uzak (Distant) *
Sep 25 -- Prisoner of Paradise *
Sep 26 -- Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself *
Sep 27 -- The Housekeeper *
Sep 27 -- A Problem with Fear or Laurie's Anxiety Confronting the Escalator *
Sep 28 -- The Weather Underground *
Sep 28 -- Emile *
Sep 29 -- The Barbarian Invasions *

Sep 29 -- Broken Wings *
Sep 29 -- Twentynine Palms [Dumont] *
Sep 30 -- The Event *
Sep 30 -- My Life without Me *
Sep 30 -- The Fog of War *
Sep 30 -- Elephant *
Oct 1 -- The Far Side of the Moon *
Oct 1 -- Father and Son *
Oct 3 -- The Adventures of Robin Hood [w/ audio commentary]
Oct 4 -- To End All Wars *

Oct 5 -- Gaz Bar Blues *
Oct 5 -- Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property *
Oct 6 -- Kill Bill Vol. 1 *
Oct 6 -- Zabriskie Point *
Oct 6 -- Casa de Los Babys *
Oct 6 -- At Five in the Afternoon *
Oct 6 -- Kiss of Life *
Oct 7 -- On the Corner *
Oct 8 -- Intolerable Cruelty *
Oct 9 -- The School of Rock *

Oct 9 -- Mystic River *
Oct 10 -- Moving Malcolm *
Oct 10 -- The Delicate Art of Parking *
Oct 10 -- Out of Time *
Oct 13 -- Walking with Prehistoric Beasts *
Oct 14 -- Forces of Nature
Oct 14 -- Star Trek V: The Final Frontier [w/ text and audio commentary]
Oct 14 -- Some Like It Hot
Oct 15 -- The Simpsons [season 3, disc 2] *
Oct 17 -- The Road to El Dorado

Oct 17 -- The Lion King [w/ audio commentary]
Oct 17 -- Ice Age [w/ audio commentary]
Oct 18 -- Runaway Jury *
Oct 18 -- Veronica Guerin *
Oct 18 -- Ariel *
Oct 18 -- Leningrad Cowboys Go America *
Oct 20 -- Hamlet Goes Business *
Oct 20 -- Juha *
Oct 24 -- Drifting Clouds
Oct 24 -- The Simpsons [season 3, disc 3] *

Oct 25 -- The Match-Factory Girl *
Oct 27 -- Alien: Director's Cut *
Oct 29 -- Love Actually *
Oct 30 -- The Films of Richard Massingham *
Oct 30 -- The Lady Vanishes
Oct 31 -- Spider-Man
Nov 1 -- Elf *
Nov 2 -- The Matrix Reloaded
Nov 3 -- The Matrix Revolutions *
Nov 3 -- Brother Bear *

Nov 4 -- Step Into Liquid *
Nov 5 -- The Land Before Time
Nov 6 -- Scary Movie 3 *
Nov 6 -- The Station Agent *
Nov 7 -- Finding Nemo [w/ audio & video commentary]
Nov 7 -- The Wild Thornberrys Movie
Nov 7 -- Dark City
Nov 8 -- Looney Tunes: Back in Action *
Nov 8 -- The Simpsons [season 3, disc 4] *
Nov 10 -- The Singing Detective [2003] *

Nov 11 -- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Nov 12 -- Looney Tunes: Golden Collection [disc 1, w/ audio commentary] *
Nov 12 -- Looney Tunes: Golden Collection [disc 2, w/ audio commentary] *
Nov 13 -- Song of the South *
Nov 13 -- Fantastic France I: Familiar and Unusual Worlds *
Nov 13 -- Fantastic France II: Taking Flight *
Nov 14 -- A Bug's Life
Nov 14 -- Fantastic France III: The Menagerie *
Nov 14 -- Fantastic France IV: Whodunits and Chases *
Nov 15 -- Song of the South *

Nov 15 -- Looney Tunes: Golden Collection [disc 3, w/ audio commentary] *
Nov 17 -- In the Cut *
Nov 18 -- The Missing *
Nov 20 -- Raiders of the Lost Ark
Nov 21 -- Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat *
Nov 22 -- The Jungle Book [1967, Disney version]
Nov 22 -- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers [extended edition] *
Nov 23 -- Horns and Halos *
Nov 24 -- Dinosaur
Nov 24 -- The Last Samurai *

Nov 25 -- Looney Tunes: Golden Collection [disc 4, w/ audio commentary] *
Nov 25 -- Charlotte's Web
Nov 25 -- The Human Stain *
Nov 25 -- Pieces of April *
Nov 26 -- In America *
Nov 26 -- Timeline *
Nov 27 -- Gothika *
Nov 27 -- Stuart Little
Nov 27 -- Stuart Little 2
Nov 27 -- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers [extended edition, w/ director's audio commentary]

Nov 28 -- One from the Heart *
Nov 28 -- Doctor Dolittle [1998]
Nov 29 -- The Haunted Mansion *
Nov 29 -- Edi *
Nov 30 -- Bad Santa *
Dec 1 -- The Return of the King [1980]
Dec 2 -- Doctor Dolittle [1967]
Dec 2 -- Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World *
Dec 3 -- Dr. Dolittle 2
Dec 3 -- Princess of Thieves *

Dec 3 -- Honey *
Dec 4 -- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Dec 5 -- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King *
Dec 6 -- The Triplets of Belleville *
Dec 7 -- Shattered Glass *
Dec 8 -- Stuck on You *
Dec 8 -- The Secret Lives of Dentists *
Dec 8 -- Big Fish *
Dec 9 -- Vertigo
Dec 9 -- Breakfast at Tiffany's *

Dec 10 -- Aliens: Special Edition *
Dec 11 -- Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans *
Dec 13 -- Alien3: Special Edition *
Dec 15 -- Cheaper by the Dozen [2003] *
Dec 16 -- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: Extended Edition
Dec 16 -- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: Extended Edition
Dec 16 -- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Dec 19 -- A Fistful of Dollars *
Dec 19 -- For a Few Dollars More *
Dec 20 -- Antz [w/ audio commentary]

Dec 20 -- Something's Gotta Give *
Dec 20 -- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly *
Dec 21 -- Buffy the Vampire Slayer [season 1, disc 1] *
Dec 21 -- Fantastic Voyage
Dec 22 -- Paycheck *
Dec 23 -- Calendar Girls *
Dec 23 -- Mona Lisa Smile *
Dec 26 -- Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea *
Dec 27 -- House of Sand and Fog *
Dec 29 -- Road to Perdition

Dec 30 -- Peter Pan [2003] *
Dec 30 -- The Lord of the Rings: Howard Shore: An Introspective *
Dec 30 -- Apollo 13 [w/ James & Marilyn Lovell audio commentary]

[MattPage]

I’ve decided to expand my journal here to try and encapsulate briefly some of my thoughts about a film (hope this is OK) as well as just what I’ve seen. I guess many of you do this elsewhere, but it just gives me time to consider what I think about a film & record it without spending time I don’t have reviewing a film.

For those of you trying to follow it, it’s a fairly simple system. There are seven categories below and I assess each on a scale of 1 to 3. Two is meant to be a broad rating to cover a basic / average / general rating, kind of what I expect as someone who’se taken the time to view a film. If something is notably poor in an area then its gets a one. If its notably better than average/expected then it gets a 3. If a catergory isn’t relevant because the film never even attempts that facet (e.g. humour) then I’ll leave it out. Anything particularly striking gets mentionned as an other. Perhaps not the best systrem but its designed to be consistent & easy to do.

B - Beauty / Visuals – Was it a beautiful film? Was it visually striking / innovative? etc
D - Dialogue / Characters – Were the characters believable, engaging? Was the dialogue well written?
E - Entertainment – Was I entertained by it. Did I enjoy it
H - Humour – Were there humourous aspects
M - Message(s) – Did it have anything to say? How well did it say with it?
N - Narrative – Did the narrative work? Was it engaging, believable or predictable?
Other – Anything else notable?
* - First time viewing
Underlined – saw it in a cinema opposed to tv/vid projector.

Jan (17 films)
1/1/03 - *Billy Elliot - B1,D3,E2,H2,M3,N2
4/1/03 - *Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid - B2,D3,E2,H3,N2
4/1/03 - *An Ideal Husband - B2,D3,E2,H2,M2,N2
4/1/03 - *Ordet - B2,D2,M3,N3 (needs a second watch to appreciate B more methinks)
5/1/03 - Matrix - B3,D2,E3,H2,M1,N3,
6/1/03 - *Withnail & I (Start) - rating will follow
7/1/03 - *Inquisition - B2,D3,E2,M3
11/1/03- *Mansfield Park - B2,D2,E2,M2,N2
12/1/03- *Gangs of New York - B2,D3,E3,H2,M2,N2 - Can't seem to stop thinking on this one.
13/1/03- *To Kill a Mockingbird - B2,D3,E2,H2,M2,N3
17/1/03- Life of Brian - D3,E3,H3,M2
17/1/03- Son of Man - D3,E2,H2,M3,N2
20/1/03- *The Hustler - B2,D3,E2,M3,N3 - I thought this was amazing
24/1/03- *Withnail & I (end) - B2,D2,E2,H2,M1,N2
25/1/03- The Sting - B2,D3,E3,H2,M2,N3 - I love this film - dunno why
26/1/03- *Demetrius & the Gladiators - B2,D2,E2,H2(tho' unintentional)M2,N2
29/1/03- Mary Shelley's Frankenstein - B3,D2,E2,M3,N2

Ending what has probably been the month in which I've watched more films than any other I can remember.


Feb (10 films)
1/2/3 - *Ice Age - B2,D2,E2,H2,M2,N2
7/2/3 - Groundhog Day - B2,D2,E2,H3,M2,N2
8/2/3 - *Colour of Money - B2,D2,E2,H2,M2,N2 - Disappointing after "The Hustler"
9/2/3 - *The Second Coming (p1) - B2,D3,E3,H2,M2,N2 - Interested to see how part 2 turns out.
11/2/03 *The Second Coming (part 2) B2,D2,E2,H2,M3,N2 (Alhough I disagree with the message it certainly said it well)
13/2/03 *Anne of Greengables: The Sequel: B2,D2,E2,H2,M2,N2 (The things we do for love)
15/2/03 Shooting Fish B2,D2,E2,H2,M1,N1,
15/2/03 Austin Powers 2: B2,D2,E2,H3,M2,N2 (1st Hour)
17/2/03 *Fall of the Roman Empire B3,D2,E2,M2,N2
23/2/03 *Punch Drunk Love B3,D3,E2,H2,M2,N3 (Finally - Loved it!)
28/2/03 *Raging Bull B3,D2,E2,H2,M3,N3


March (18 films)
02/3/03 *Sling Blade B2,D3,E2,H2,M2,N3
03/3/03 *Sixth Sense B2,D2,E2,H2,M2,N2 (Interesting watching this for the 1st time, but knowing the twist)
05/3/03 *Twelfth Night B2,D3,E2,H2,N2
07/3/03 Robin Hood (Disney) B2,D2,E2,H3,M2,N2,
09/3/03 *Three Colours:Blue B3,D3,E2,H2,M3,N2
09/3/03 *Three Colours:White B2,D3,E2,H2,M2,N2
09/3/03 *Three Colours:Red B3,D3,E2,H2,M3,N2
14/3/03 *About Schmidt B2,D3,E2,H2,M1,N2
15/3/03 *Dekalog 6 B3,D3,E2,H2,M2,N2
20/3/03 *The Hours B3,D3,E2,H2,M3,N3
20/3/03 *Stargate B2,D1,E2,H2,M2,N1
21/3/03 About a Boy B2,D2,E2,H2,M2,N2,
22/3/03 *Room with a view B2,D3,E2,H2,M2,N2,
24/3/03 *Vertigo B2,D2,E3,M2,N3
25/3/03 Jeremiah B2,D2,E2,H2,M3,N2
27/3/03 Punch Drunk Love B3,D3,E2,H2,M3,N2
28/3/03 Last of the Mohicans B3,D2,E2,H2,M2,N2
29/3/03 Gentlemen Prefer Blondes B2,D2,E2,H2,M2,N2

Ooh a new "record"


April (11 films)
01/4/03 *Waking Life B3,D3,H2,M1,N2
06/4/03 The Mission B3,D3,E2,M3,N2
08/4/03 Voyage of the Dawn Traeader B2,D1,E1,H2(unintentional), M2, N1
10/4/03 *Gattaca B3,D2,E2,M1,N3
13/4/03 *Signs B2,D2,E3,H2,M2,N2
18/4/03 *Laughing Gravy B2,D2,E2,H3,N2 (Second Half)
18/4/03 Il Vangelo Secondo Matteo B2,D3,E2,H2,M2,N2
20/4/03 Fisher King B2,D2,E2,H2,M2,N2
25/4/03 *The Godfather B3,D2,E3,H2,M2,N3
26/4/03 *The Godfather part 2 B3,D2,E3,H2,M3,N2
27/4/03 *The Taming of the Shrew (1967) B2,D3,E2,H2,M2,N2,


May (14)
02/5/03 *X-men 2 B3,D2,E2,H2,M1,N2
04/5/03 *Dr. Strangelove B2,D2,E1,H1,M3,N2
05/5/03 The Miracle Maker B2,D2,E2,H2,M3,N2
11/5/03 *The Sound of Music B2,D1,E2,H2,M2,N2
11/5/03 *Changing Lanes B2,D2,E2,H2,M3,N2
13/5/03 *The Life and Passion of Jesus Christ - Wouldn't relly be fare to asses this
13/5/03 *The Game B2,D2,E3,M1,N3
17/5/03 *From the Manger to the Cross - ditto L&Pof JC
20/5/03 Cool Hand Luke B2,D3,E3,H2,M2,N3
21/5/03 *Matrix Reloaded
24/5/03 *Ride with the Devil
26/5/03 *Monsters Inc.
31/5/03 *Pollock

June (10)
01/6/03 Exodus
02/6/03 *Elmer Gantry
08/6/03 *Il Messia B2,D3,E2,M3,N2
08/6/03 *Emma
15/6/03 *Biiiiiiiig Country B3,D2,E3,H2,M3,N2
15/6/03 *The Good Girl B2,D2,E2,H2,M1,N2
21/6/03 *To Kill a King
22/6/03 *Dirty Pretty Things
23/6/03 *Solaris (1972)
26/6/03 A Knight's Tale

July (20 - if you count L&H shorts and part watchedfilms - 12 otherwise)
01/7/03 Helpmates (L&H)
05/7/03 *Shane
06/7/03 *Once upon a time in the West
07/7/03 Men O'War (L&H)
08/7/03 The Live Ghost (L&H)
09/7/03 Trainspotting
11/7/03 *Catch me if you Can
12/7/03 *Any old Port (L&H)
13/7/03 *In the Mood for Love
14/7/03 *Animatrix (1-5)
15/7/03 Any Old Port (L&H)
15/7/03 *Brats (L&H)
18/7/03 *Bruce Almighty
20/7/03 *Little Princess
20/7/03 Vertigo
24/7/03 Exodus (start of)
25/7/03 The Hustler (start of)
27/7/03 *Heaven
27/7/03 *Solaris
29/7/03 *Solomon and Sheba
31/7/03 The Hustler (end of) - Man this is even more incredible 2nd time than the 1st


August (14)
03/8/03 Chariots of Fire
07/8/03 10 things I hate about you.
11/8/03 *Greatest Hereos of the Bible: The Ten Commandments
13/8/03 Exodus (end)
14/8/03 *Greatest Hereos of the Bible: The Story of Moses
15/8/03 *Hulk - B3
17/8/03 Star Wars: A New Hope
20/8/03 *This is Spinal Tap
23/8/03 *Mullholland Drive
26/8/03 *Arthur
26/8/03 Bridget Jones Diary
27/8/03 When Harry Met Sally
29/8/03 *Hud (Man this rocks can't believe I've been putting it off so long)
30/8/03 *Pirates of the Caribbean


September (11 & 2 halves)
02/9/03 Moses und Aron
07/9/03 The Big Kahuna
13/9/03 Adventures of Robin Hood
14/9/03 *Spirited Away
14/9/03 The Fugitive (end of)
15/9/03 *An Officer & a Gentleman
18/9/03 *The Iron Giant
21/9/03 The Madness of King George
23/9/03 *Lola Rennt
24/9/03 Dekalog 1
28/9/03 *A Touch of Evil
28/9/03 *Top Secret (end of)
29/9/03 *Calendar Girls


October (15)
04/10/03 Moulin Rouge
05/10/03 Iron Giant
07/10/03 *Bowling for Columbine
10/10/03 *Finding Nemo
11/10/03 *Legally Blond
12/10/03 *In the Name fo the Father
15/10/03 Wizard of Oz (start)
17/10/03 *39 Steps (1935)
17/10/03 *Psycho
19/10/03 Wizard of Oz (end)
19/10/03 *Rear Window
24/10/03 *Rabbit Proof Fence
25/10/03 Rob Roy
26/10/03 Last Castle
26/10/03 Erin Brockovitch
28/10/03 *Raising Victor Vargas


November (16)
02/11/03 Ordet
03/11/03 *Emma (Beckinsdale not Paltrow)
04/11/03 Il Messia (start) (finished xx/11/03)
08/11/03 Gladiator (start) (finished 11/11/03)
09/11/03 Empire Strikes Back
10/11/03 *Passion de Jeanne d'Arc
15/11/03 *Harper
16/11/03 The Hours
22/11/03 Field of Dreams
23/11/03 *Love Actually
24/11/03 *Hudsucker Proxy
24/11/03 *My Fair Lady
27/11/03 *Matrix Reloaded
27/11/03 Punch Drunk Love
29/11/03 *Phonebooth
30/11/03 Hulk

December (15)
07/12/03 *O Brother Where Art Thou?
11/12/03 *Master & Commander
13/12/03 *Adaptation
14/12/03 *The Man who Sued God
14/12/03 *The Life of David Gale
15/12/03 It's a Wonderful Life
16/12/03 *Paul the Emissary
17/12/03 Sense & Sensibility
17/12/03 *Lawrence of Arabia
18/12/03 Return of the Jedi
19/12/03 Live & Let Die
22/12/03 *Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
23/12/03 Shrek
29/12/03 The Importance of Being Earnest
30/12/03 The Music Box (Short Laurel & Hardy Film)

Matt

[M. Leary]

1/1 Adaptation (Jonze/Kaufman - very insulting, but to the point)
1/2 Casablanca (Curtiz - "greatest script ever")
1/3 Life As A House (suprisingly moving)
1/3 Election (Payne)
1/4 Grave of Fireflies (Takahata)
1/4 Swept Away-By An Unusual Destiny In The Blue Sea Of August (Wertmueller)
1/5 The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Leone)
1/17 My Big Fat Greek Wedding
1/17 Pather Panchali (Ray - Wow, Rashomon meets Truffuat's Small Change.)
1/18 Le Retour de Martin Guerre (Vigne)

1/19 About a Boy
1/19 Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (as predictable as a comic book)
1/20 Mat i Syn (Sokurov - painstakingly contemplative/superlatively Russian)
1/20 Aparajito (Ray - again, Wow.)
1/21 Under The Sand (Ozon)
1/21 La Pianiste (Haneke)
1/22 Sunshine State (Sayles - a very "thick narrative")
1/23 The Good Girl
1/23 The Big Kahuna
1/24 Lagaan

1/24 Signs (a contrived, crowd-pleasing apologetic for a deus-ex-machina...offensive on a variety of levels)
1/25 Kadosh (Gitai)
1/25 The Swindle (Chabrol)
1/26 La Belle Noiseuse (Rivette)
1/27 A Brief History of Time (Morris)
1/28 Two Sisters (Ray - "The Postman" is my favorite Ray so far)
1/29 Time Code (Figgis)
1/30 Ballad of a Soldier (Chukhrai)
1/31 Women on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown (Almodovar - what do you call this? Neo-Bunuel?)
1/31 Apocalypse Now Redux

2/1 Royal Tenenbaums (Anderson - on my top ten list)
2/1 Blood Simple (confirms my anti-Coen bias)
2/2 Melies the Magician (ultra-enlightening intro to early film history)
2/2 Thirteen Convers. About One Thing
2/4 Bananas (Allen - one of my favorites of his)
2/5 Gummo (Korine)
2/7 Playtime (Tati - most charming film I have ever seen)
2/8 Cours du Soir (Ribowski)
2/8 The Thief (Chukhrai)
2/9 Crumb (Zwigoff)

2/10 Marat/Sade (Brooks)
2/11 Prisoner of the Mountain (Bodrov)
2/11 Igby Goes Down
2/12 The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Leone - the deleted scenes on the new DVD are fantastic)
2/13 The Baker of Monceau (Rohmer)
2/13 Suzanne's Career (Rohmer)
2/15 Exotica (Egoyan)
2/17 Atanarjuat (Kunuk)
2/18 A Tale of Springtime (Rohmer)
2/19 La Collectionneuse (Rohmer)

2/21 Eva (Losey - now that is a soundtrack)
2/22 The Pianist (Polanski)
2/23 Come and See (Klimov - this is by far the most emotionally absorbing war film I have ever seen)
2/24 Monsoon Wedding (Nair)
2/25 Sexy Beast (Glazer)
2/26 Chapayev (Vasilyev)
2/28 Gangs of New York (Scorsese)
3/1 Road to Perdition (Mendes)
3/2 Sleeper (Allen)
3/2 Raging Bull (Scorsese)

3/5 Claire's Knee (Rohmer)
3/5 My Night at Maud's (Rohmer - just kicked Chloe in the Afternoon off the list as my favorite Rohmer.)
3/8 Seven Samurai (Kurosawa)
3/9 Zerkalo (Tarkovsky)
3/10 Annie Hall (Allen)
3/13 Lola Montes (Ophuls)
3/15 The Cranes are Flying (Kalatozishvili)
3/16 The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (Cassavetes)
3/17 Traffik (the long version - most excellent)
3/18 Picnic at Hanging Rock (Weir)

3/22 City of God (Meirelles)
3/23 Jackie Brown (Tarantino)
3/31 Irreversible (Noe)
4/3 Withnail and I (Ha! - Robinson)
4/4 The Killers (Siegel - 1964 version, slick noir)
4/6 Laurel Canyon (Cholodenko)
4/6 All or Nothing (Leigh - even better than Prins made it out to be)
4/7 Far From Heaven (Haynes)
4/7 Opening Night (this is epic Cassavetes)
4/8 Faces (Cassavetes)

4/10 A Woman Under the Influence (Cassavetes)
4/11 Beau Travail (Denis)
4/11 Hollywood Ending (Allen)
4/12 The Ring
4/14 Brazil (Gilliam)
4/19 Enemy at the Gates (Annaud)
4/21 Iris (Eyre)
4/22 Metropolis (Rin)
4/24 Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control (Morris)
4/26 Mr Death (Morris)

4/29 Punch Drunk Love (Anderson)
5/2 2001 (Kubrick)
5/3 Strictly Ballroom (Luhrmann)
5/3 X2
5/4 Romeo and Juliet (Luhrmann)
5/7 Nostalghia (Tarkovsky)
5/9 The Emperor and the Assassin (Kaige Chen)
5/10 American Movie: The Making of Northwestern (Smith - this is a/an hilarious reality)
5/10 My Best Fiend (Herzog)
5/11 Topsy-Turvy (Leigh)

5/13 Bodies, Rest, and Motion (Steinberg)
5/15 Gloria (Cassavetes)
5/16 Wild at Heart (Lynch)
5/16 Italian For Beginners (Scherfig)
5/18 Julien Donkey-Boy (Korine)
5/19 Solaris (Tarkovsky - w/commentary)
5/25 A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (Allen)
5/28 Delicatessen (Jeunet + Caro)
5/29 The King is Alive (Levring)
5/30 Wild at Heart (Lynch)

5/31 The Decay of Fiction (O'Neill - this is a must see)
6/5 Akira
6/6 Code Unknown (Haneke)
6/6 The Man Who Wasn't There (Coen Bros. - with commentary)
6/7 The Piano (Campion)
6/7 The Passion of Joan of Arc (Dreyer)
6/8 The Passion of Joan of Arc (Dreyer - with commentary)
6/10 Walkabout (Roeg)
6/18 Royal Tenenbaums (Anderson)
6/22 Hulk

6/23 Down By Law (Jarmusch)
6/24 Sacrifice (Tarkovsky)
6/25 Whale Rider (Caro)
6/29 L'auberge Espagnole (Klapisch)
(C-Stone) Code Unknown (Haneke)
(C-Stone) Julien Donkey-Boy (Korine)
(C-Stone) Bowling For Columbine (Moore - I actually like this now).
7/6 The Hours (commentary)
7/7 Lost in La Mancha

7/8 Eternity and a Day (Angelopolous)
7/8 Zentropa (Von Trier)
7/9 Wax or The Discovery of Television Among the Bees (Blair)
7/9 The Double Life of Veronique (Kieslowski)
7/11 Hiroshima, Mon Amour (Resnais - now on my top ten)
7/12 400 Blows (Truffaut)
7/13 Romeo + Juliet (Luhrmann)
7/21 Ghost World (Zwigoff)
7/21 The Diamond Sea (Aitken - Great short.)

7/22 I am Curious - Yellow and Blue (Sjoman)
7/22 Water Drops on Burning Rocks (Ozon)
7/23 Kairat
7/23 Waking Life (Linklater)
7/25 The Steamroller and the Violin (Tarkovsky)
7/28 Ratcatcher (Ramsay)
7/28 Criterion Ramsay Shorts
7/29 Brakhage (Criterion disc 1)
7/30 Crimes and Misdemeanors (Allen)
7/30 Northfork

7/31 I Stand Alone (Noe)
7/31 Heaven (Tykwer)
8/1 Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne (Bresson)
8/2 Seabiscuit
8/2 La Promesse (the Dardennes)
8/3 In the Bedroom (Field)
8/3 Stan Brakhage Vol. 1 (Criterion)
8/4 Crazy in Alabama
8/5 The Private Life of a Cat (Hassim)
8/5 Maya Deren - Experimental Shorts

8/6 Burroughs (Brookner)
8/7 Nuit et Brouillard (Resnais)
8/7 La Guerre est Finie (Resnais - wow)
8/8 Close-Up (Kiarostami)
8/8 Dirty Pretty Things (Frears)
8/9 The Apostle (Duvall)
8/10 XX/XY (Chick)
8/13 Celine and Julie Go Boating (Rivette)
8/14 Spider (Cronenberg)
8/15 The Goalie's Extreme Anxiety at a Penalty Kick (Wenders)

8/16 Last Year at Marienbad (Resnais)
8/16 Le Samourai (Melville - a truly perfect film)
8/17 Les Mistons (Truffaut)
8/17 Pickpocket (Bresson)
8/18 Bob Le Flambeur (Melville)
8/18 Day in the Country (Renoir)
8/19 La Chienne (Renoir - great opening)
8/19 Blood of a Poet (Cocteau)
8/20 Les Bonnes Femmes (Chabrol)
8/20 L'Atlante (Vigo - wow, this is a must see)

8/24 The Celebration (Vinterberg)
8/25 The Idiots (Von Trier)
8/25 Soft Skin (Truffaut)
8/26 Love on the Run (Truffaut)
8/27 Shoot the Piano Player (Truffaut)
8/27 Those Who Love Me Can Take The Train (Chereau)
8/30 The Secret Lives of Dentists (Rudolph)
9/1 L'Argent (Bresson)
9/2 Le Diable Probablement (Bresson)
9/3 Cloe de 5 a 7 (Varda)

9/6 Stolen Kisses (Truffaut)
9/6 Un Chien Andalou (Bunuel)
9/7 Land Without Bread (Bunuel)
9/8 Stevie (Steve James)
9/9 Ghost Dog (Jarmusch)
9/9 Adaptation (Jonze)
9/10 13 Conversations About One Thing
9/11 Rules of The Game (Renoir)
9/12 Roger and Me (Moore)
9/15 The Identification of a Woman (Antonioni)
9/16 Chappaqua (Rooks)

9/18 Antoine and Collette (Truffaut)
9/18 400 Blows (Truffaut - commentary)
9/19 Love is the Devil (Maybury)
9/20 In Praise of Love (Godard)
9/21 La Nuit Fantastique (L'Herbier)
9/22 Russian Ark (Sokurov)
9/25 Je Tu Il Elle (Ackerman)
9/26 Diary of a Chambermaid (Bunuel)
9/28 The Conversation (Coppola)
9/28 In This World (Winterbottom)

9/30 Quai de Orfevres (Clouzot)
9/30 Bed and Board (Truffaut)
10/1 Talk to Her (Almodovar)
10/1 What Did I Do to Deserve This? (Almodovar)
10/2 Waking Life (Linklater)
10/2 Suburbia (Linklater)
10/3 Ponette (Doillon)
10/4 A Man Escaped (Bresson)
10/4 Distant (Ceylan)
10/6 A Woman is a Woman (Godard)

10/7 La Symphonie Pastoral (Delannoy)
10/9 Intolerable Cruelty (Coen)
10/9 Mystic River (Eastwood)
10/11 The Time of the Wolf (Haneke)
10/11 Reconstruction (Boe)
10/13 Kill Bill (Tarantino)
10/14 Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself (Scherfig)
10/14 All Tomorrow's Parties (Wai)
10/15 Funny Games (Haneke)
10/16 The Passion of Beatrice (Tavernier)

10/18 Agent Cody Banks
10/20 The Phantom of Liberty (Bunuel)
10/21 La Grand Bouffe (Ferreri)
10/22 The Baker's Wife (Pagnol)
10/22 La Jetee (Marker)
10/24 Loulou (Pialat)
10/25 Rebels of the Neon God (Ming-liang Tsai)
10/27 The Exterminating Angel (Bunuel)
10/28 The Last Metro (Truffaut)
10/29 Masculin, Feminin (Godard)

10/30 L'Humanite (Dumont)
11/1 The Diary of a Country Priest (Bresson)
11/2 In The Cut (Campion)
Matrix: Reloaded
Pieces of April (Hedges)
Bowling for Columbine (Moore)
The Gleaners and I (Varda)
The Gleaners and I: Two Years Later (Varda)
To Be and To Have (Philibert)
Le Cercle Rouge (Melville - still is the coolest movie ever. Melville's best)

The 400 Blows (Truffaut)
Love Actually
Decalogue 1
Decalogue 2
Decalogue 4
Irma Vep (Assayas)
Beauty and the Beast (Cocteau)
28 Days Later
Winged Migration
A Hundred and One Nights (Varda)

Vagabond (Varda)
Return of the King

Recent Shorts:
Flickerings Shorts
Brakhage Criterion Collection
Small Deaths, Kill the Day, Gasman (Ramsay)
Maya Deren - Experimental Films (2002 Mystic Fire collection)
Private Life of a Cat (Hammid)
Hidden (Heilborn)
Rocks and Chocolate (Sharkova)
Into The Dark (Tupicoff)
Morning Breath (Hill)
The Diamond Sea (Aitken)
The Most Beautiful Man in the World (Duffy)
Bambi Meets Godzilla (Newland)
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Interplanetary Battle with the Tiger Men of Mars (Dr. Tarbell - 1934)
Maya Deren Shorts - 35 mm. print
Flying

[jayramirez9]

4/22/03 Core*
4/28/03 Thirteen Conversations about One Thing*
5/01/03 Matrix
5/04/03 Magnolia*
5/08/03 Yi-Yi (A one and a two)*
5/11/03 Femme Fatale* (ugh. not worth the 37 cent stamp)
5/11/03 Malena* (much, MUCH better)
5/11/03 The Pianist* (Life is Beautiful + Shine)
5/11/03 Unfaithful*
5/16/03 Matrix Reloaded* (what did he say?)
5/16/03 X2* (Much better characters than MRL)
5/18/03 Spirited Away* (Very intriguing, great dubbing)
5/20/03 X-men (anyone think Toad and Nightcrawler are similar?)
5/20/03 X2 (still great)
5/25/03 25th Hour* (great movie about what is significant)
5/26/03 The Iron Giant* (Vin, not saying much? WOW!)
5/27/03 Saving Private Ryan (Annual Memorial Day viewing)
6/01/03 Finding Nemo (Fab animation, not so fab execution)
6/03/03 Hell House* (Hey, that's me in there)
6/03/03 Requiem for a Dream* (Just say no, with cool music)
6/08/03 I Posed for Playboy* (Lifetime docu-melo-drama with Linda Carter)
6/15/03 Spinal Tap*
6/20/03 The Unbearable Lightness of Being*
6/23/03 Igby Goes Down (What was the big deal here? How to be mean?)*
6/29/03 Old School (Hey...let's redo Animal House and make it less funny!)
7/2/03 The King is Alive* (I really liked this...I wish I knew King Lear more)
7/4/03 Not of This World* (This must have hit me wrong, because I couldn't finish this one. The pace was off for me at the time)
7/21/03 Das Boot* (This was so much better than ANY submarine movie
I've seen)
7/25/03 Pulp Fiction (STILL funny)
8/11/03 Spider* (unfortunately disappointing)
8/12/03 The Maltese Falcon* (Good classic)
8/20/03 Groundhog Day (saw this on TNT and had to rent again...love it)
8/21/03 How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (yawn...nice dress though)
8/25/03 Bowling for Columbine (a fair and balanced look at gun control)
8/26/03 The Life of David Gale (a fair and balanced look at capital punishment)

[jrobert]

Since I rarely see movies on video, I'll only note the ones I see at home. Everything else I saw in the theater. Asterisks indicate first-time viewing.

Jan 1 -- *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Jan 2 -- * Some Like It Hot
Jan 3 -- *Guide (late '60s Bollywood...very strange)
Jan 4 -- *Biggie & Tupac (on video)
Jan 5 -- *An American in Paris (not Singin' in the Rain, but still highly enjoyable)
Jan 5 -- *Trouble in Paradise (my first Lubitsch film, and an absolute delight)
Jan 7 -- *Ninotchka (the Greta Garbo mystique all makes sense now)
Jan 10 -- *Take Care of My Cat
Jan 10 -- *The Wild Thornberries
Jan 10 -- *The 25th Hour (awesome and brilliant)
Jan 13 -- City of God (just as good on second viewing)

After a great deal of travel, I get back in the swing of things:

Feb 13 -- *The Son (extraordinarily impressive, though I found the abrubt ending unsatisfying)
Feb 16 -- *Deliver Us from Eva (the two leads are charismatic, everything else is embarrassing)
Feb 23 -- *Amandla! (on video)
Feb 24 -- *Bringing Down the House

Mar 2 -- *Gerry (I like Bela Tarr a lot more, but this is still beautiful and provocative)
Mar 2 -- *All the Real Girls (a disappointing follow-up from the groundbreaking director of George Washington)
Mar 6 -- *Phone Booth (not as bad as other Schumacher movies but still too over the top)
Mar 6 -- *Spider (brilliant and deeply moving)
Mar 6 -- *Levity (fantastic performances, interesting themes, awkward narrative)
Mar 8 -- *Russian Ark (wow!)
Mar 21 -- *Dreamcatcher (almost as bad as Jeffrey complains)
Mar 21 -- *Rivers and Tides (breathtaking beauty, a stirring example of God's creation)
Mar 21 -- *Marriage of Maria Braun (my first Fassbinder and one that inspires me to see more)
Mar 25 -- *Raising Victor Vargas (highly recommended)
Mar 28 -- *Basic (entertaining and stupid)
Mar 29 -- Washington Square (on video)
Mar 31 -- *Holes (earnest, though nowhere near as good as the book)
Mar 31 -- *Anger Management (whoa nelly, this is awful!)

Apr 1 -- *A Mighty Wind (enjoyable, suprisingly tender)
Apr 1 -- * Derrida
Apr 1 -- Spirited Away
Apr 3 -- Ten* (Kiarostami's latest. Fantastic but I like everything he does)
Apr 9 -- Stevie* (an early contender for best pic of 2003)
Apr 13 -- Ossessione* (enjoyable Italian neo-realist adaptation of Postman Always Rings Twice)
Apr 15 -- Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (wonderful Powell/Pressburger "bio-pic")
Apr 16 -- Herencia* (part of Chicago Latino film festival, from Argentina)
Apr 16 -- Dona Barbara* (another Latino fest pic, an old melodrama from Mexico)
Apr 17 -- Divine Intervention* (disappointing-- provocative without being insightful)
Apr 20 -- The Last Supper* (Iranian film that shoots for the profound but ends up with banal)
Apr 20 -- Open City* (brilliant, brilliant, brilliant)
Apr 27 -- Shoe-shine* (passable Italian neorealist movie about children in trouble)
Apr 28 -- Daddy Day Care* (not as bad as I feared but not good...more grist for my article on The Emasculation of the Black Comic)
Apr 28 -- The Legend of Suriyothai* (with great production values and a stirring story, it's better than a history lesson. But it still feels like a history lesson)
Apr 29 -- Fruit of Paradise* (first of three movies by Czech director Vera Chytilova)
Apr 29 -- Ceiling* (second Chytilova movie...if Godard were a woman)
Apr 29 -- Daisies* (hilarious, provocative, extremely cool)
Apr 30 -- Bend It Like Beckham* (good fun...highly recommended)
Apr 30 -- Blackboards* (Samira Makhmalbaf's follow-up to The Apple...more difficult and not as good)

May 1 -- Under the Skin of the City* (another reminder of why Iran is the most vital national cinema right now)
May 2 -- Lilja 4-Ever* (another outstanding movie from Swedish director Lukas Moodysson, but it's a tough, tough film)
May 2 -- Respiro* (fairly blah, superficial Italian flick)
May 2 -- X2* (fairly blah, superficial American flick)
May 9 -- Finding Nemo* (marvelous, marvelous, marvelous--my favorite Pixar film, and that's saying a lot)
May 9 -- Le Cercle Rouge* (enjoyable Melville film with a great heist sequence and predictable metaphysics)
May 9 -- The Good Thief* (fun to see this Melville update after seeing the real thing--Nolte is great, the movie is breezy fun)
May 11 -- The Dancer Upstairs* (good "political political" film)
May 11 -- Winged Migration* (amazing nature documentary and well worth seeing, but what's up with that music!)
May 12 -- Matrix Reloaded*
May 12 -- Together* (the new Chen Kaige film, not the Lukas Moodysson)
May 17 -- Love and Diane* (powerful doc about an inner-city family struggling to get off welfare...worth seeing)
May 17 -- Morvern Callar* (enjoyable but very different follow-up to Ratcatcher...made more enjoyable by the wonderful company of Stef )
May 18 -- From the Other Side* (Chantal Akerman doc about the plight of Mexican immigrant workers...interesting more for its formalist issues)
May 18 -- I Vitelloni* (Fellini in his realist mode, thoroughly enjoyable)
May 20 -- The Red Shoes* (justifiably famous ballet sequence slightly marred by unjustifiably melodramatic ending)
May 23 -- Nowhere in Africa* (doesn't quite escape its Tradition of Quality feel, but the little girl is delightful)
May 23 -- Down with Love* (Ewan McGregor is great, Renee Zellweger is miscast, and the slavish imitation feels, well, slavish after a while)
May 29 -- Chi-Hwa-Seon* (gorgeous in places and even compelling, but the bio-pic genre imposes an unfortunate pace)
May 29 -- Blue Car* (a typical first film, full of poetry and clunkiness, praiseworthy for its two fine lead actors)
May 29 -- Red River* (John Wayne on a horse...what else do you need?)
May 31 -- Spellbound*
May 31 -- Decay of Fiction*

June 1 -- Man on the Train*
June 1 -- Under the Moonlight*
June 1 -- Il Posto*
June 2 -- Whale Rider*
June 3 -- Hollywood Homicide*
June 3 -- Italian Job*
June 3 -- 2 Fast 2 Furious*
June 5 -- Sweet Sixteen*
June 10 -- Alex & Emma*
June 12 -- The Eye*
June 12 -- Man without a Past*
June 12 -- The Magdalene Sisters*
June 16 -- Charlie's Angels 2*
June 17 -- The Hulk*
June 29 -- L'auberge Espagnole*
June 30 -- Pirates of the Caribbean*

July 2 -- Code Unknown* (Cornerstone)
July 3 -- Bowling for Columbine (C-stone)
July 4 -- Hell House (C-stone)
July 5 -- Not of this World* (C-stone)
July 6 -- Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary*
July 10 -- A Woman is a Woman*
July 12 -- Stone Reader*
July 12 -- Bruce Almighty*
July 14 -- Bad Boys II*
July 14 -- Spy Kids 3-D*
July 16 -- 28 Days Later*
July 16 -- Terminator 3*
July 16 -- Swimming Pool*
July 17 -- The Weather Underground*
July 17 -- Mondays in the Sun*
July 22 -- Gigli*
July 22 -- Seabiscuit*
July 23 -- After the Truth* (on video)
July 23 -- Kairat*
July 23 -- The Milky Way*
July 25 -- Bugsy* (on video)
July 29 -- S.W.A.T.*
July 29 -- Le Divorce*
July 29 -- American Splendor*
July 30 -- Northfork*

Aug. 1 -- Quai des Orfevres*
Aug. 7 -- silent films of Karl Valentin*
Aug. 7 -- Cuckoo*
Aug. 7 -- Dirty Pretty Things*
Aug. 7 -- The Housekeeper*
Aug. 8 -- Open Range*
Aug. 8 -- Hamlet Goes Business* (Kaurismaki)
Aug. 8 -- Secret Lives of Dentists*
Aug. 9 -- Drifting Clouds* (Kaurismaki, on video)
Aug. 9 -- Match Factory Girl* (Kaurismaki, on video)
Aug. 9 -- Ariel* (Kaurismaki, on video)
Aug. 10 -- Leningrad Cowboys Go America* (Kaurismaki, on video)
Aug. 10 -- Adam's Rib*
Aug. 12 -- Lost in Translation*
Aug. 25 -- Veronica Guerin*
Aug. 26 -- Matchstick Men*
Aug. 28 -- Tycoon*
Aug. 28 -- My Life without Me*
Aug. 29 -- In this World*

Sept. 1 -- Adventures of Robin Hood* (1938)
Sept, 5-14 -- Toronto Film Festival
Sept. 17 -- Twilight Samurai
Sept. 17 -- A Talking Picture (on video)
Sept. 18 -- Sex is Comedy
Sept. 18 -- Stevie (on video)
Sept. 19 -- Jesus, You Know
Sept. 25 -- S21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine
Sept. 25 -- Incantato
Sept. 26 -- Kill Bill, Vol. 1
Sept. 26 -- Casa de los Babys
Sept. 26 -- Shattered Glass
Sept. 26 -- The Human Stain
Sept. 29 -- Runaway Jury
Sept. 29 -- Reconstruction

Oct. 1 -- Mystic River
Oct. 3 -- Out of Time
Oct. 3 -- School of Rock
Oct. 3 -- Intruder in the Dust
Oct. 3 -- Come Drink with Me
Oct. 11 -- International shorts @ Chicago Film Festival
Oct. 11 -- Radio
Oct. 11 -- Intolerable Cruelty
Oct. 17 -- In the Cut
Oct. 17 -- Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan
Oct. 17 -- Sergeant Rutledge

Nov. 3 -- Matrix Revolutions
Nov. 3 -- Gothika
Nov. 3 -- Calendar Girls
Nov. 5 -- Films of Maya Deren
Nov. 12 -- Dekalog 1, 2 & 8 (on video)
Nov. 13 -- Bad Santa
Nov. 18 -- The Company
Nov. 19 -- Monster
Nov. 19 -- Cowards Bend the Knee
Nov. 20 -- From Here to Eternity
Nov. 20 -- Big Fish
Nov. 21 -- Fog of War
Nov. 21 -- Product Re-placements
Nov. 21 -- Master and Commander

Dec. 1 -- Return of the King
Dec. 2 -- Triplets of Belleville
Dec. 2 -- Love Don't Cost a Thing
Dec. 2 -- In America
Dec. 5 -- The Cooler
Dec. 5 -- Girl with a Pearl Earring
Dec. 6 -- Valerie and Her Week of Wonders
Dec. 6 -- Honey
Dec. 6 -- The Station Agent
Dec. 13 -- Pieces of April
Dec. 13 -- Tom Jones
Dec. 14 -- The Shop around the Corner
Dec. 14 -- To Be and To Have
Dec. 14 -- Melvin's Coming to Dinner
Dec. 18 -- One from the Heart
Dec. 18 -- The Battle of Algiers
Dec. 18 -- The Flower of Evil
Dec. 18 -- The Last Samurai
Dec. 27 -- Cold Mountain
Dec. 31 -- House of Sand and Fog
Dec. 31 -- Barbarian Invasions

[Ron Reed]

Exceptional favourites are in bold. Repeat viewings are in italics.

ADAPTATION (Jan 3, Theatre)
GANGS OF NEW YORK (Theatre)
GOSFORD PARK (DVD)
DEKALOG 1 (DVD)
DEKALOG 2 (DVD)
DEKALOG 3 (DVD)
NINE QUEENS (Jan 17, VHS)
MONTEREY POP Disk 3 (Jan 19, DVD)
DOOR TO DOOR (Jan 19, VHS)
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (Jan 23, Theatre)
AMERICAN MOVIE (Jan 30, VHS)
10/11

THIRTEEN CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ONE THING (DVD)
THE HOURS (Feb 11, Theatre)
A BUCKET OF BLOOD (DVD)
WHERE'S MARLOWE (VHS)
TWO GIRLS & A GUY (DVD)
+5/5=15/16

CHICAGO (Mar 1, Theatre)
THE WEIGHT OF WATER (Mar 8, VHS)
THE SON (Mar 14, Theatre)
THE PIANIST (Mar 16, Theatre)
BODY HEAT (Mar 17, VHS)
LAST DAYS OF DISCO (Mar 18, VHS)
SONGS FROM THE SECOND FLOOR (Mar 19, DVD)
ONE HOUR PHOTO (Mar 22, VHS)
DRAGNET (Mar 26, VHS)
Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN (Mar 27, DVD)
THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS & DOGS (Mar 29, VHS)
+10/11=25/27

DONNIE DARKO (Apr 1, DVD)
THE OTHER SIDE OF HEAVEN (Apr 28, VHS)
+2/2=27/29

HOURS & TIMES (May 3, VHS)
RUSSIAN ARK (May 6, Theatre)
THE MAN WITHOUT A PAST (May 6, Theatre)
BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM (May 11, Theatre)
A MIGHTY WIND (May 12, Theatre)
LAUREL CANYON (May 13, Theatre)
DEATH WISH (May 14, VHS)
MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO (May 17, DVD)
TWO OF US (May 18, VHS)
MATRIX RELOADED (May 19, Theatre)
MATRIX (May 21, VHS)
TWIST & SHOUT (May 22, VHS)
TIME OUT (May 29, VHS)
THE MAN ON THE TRAIN (May 31, Theatre)
+12/14 = 39/43

SPELLBOUND (June 8, Theatre)
PERSONAL VELOCITY (June 20, DVD)
ANDREI ROUBLEV (June 21, Theatre)
OLD SCHOOL (Airplane)
THE MIRACLE MAKER (June 25?, DVD)
THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY (Schloss Mittersill, DVD)
+5/6 = 44/49

PALE RIDER (July 13, DVD)
THE SIXTIES (July 18, VHS)
SPIRITED AWAY (July 20, DVD)
OWNING MAHOWNEY (July 21, Theatre)
THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY (July 24, DVD)
PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN (Theatre)
TWELFTH NIGHT, d. Trevor Nunn) July 28, VHS)
ROMEO + JULIET, d. Baz Luhrmann (July 28, VHS)
ROMEO AND JULIET, d. Franco Zeffirelli (July 31, VHS)
+6/9 = 50/58

FINDING NEMO (August 3, Theatre)
PHONE BOOTH (August 6, DVD)
IKIRU (August 7, Theatre)
THRONE OF BLOOD (August 7, Theatre)
GOD TOLD ME TO (August 11, VHS)
DIRTY PRETTY THINGS (August 11, Theatre)
NOT OF THIS WORLD (August 15, DVD)
OPEN RANGE (August 15, Theatre)
MST3K: POD PEOPLE (August 21, VHS)
MST3K: THE GUNSLINGER (August 21, VHS)
28 DAYS LATER (August 21, Theatre)
THE LOVE BUG (August 22, Drive In)
ETRE ET AVOIR (August 23, Theatre)
GHOST DOG (August 27, DVD)
THE ROOKIE (August 30, VHS)
+13/15 = 63/73

DEAD MAN (Sep 1, DVD)
LES MISERABLES, d. Bille August (Sep 5, DVD)
LES MISERABLES, d. Claude LaLouche (Sep 7, VHS)
WHALE RIDER (Sep 7, Theatre)
SALESMAN (Sep 8, DVD)
THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE (Sep 10, DVD)
WINGED MIGRATION (Sep 11, Theatre)
WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND (Sep 14, VHS)
WISE BLOOD (Sep 16, VHS)
CHILDREN OF HEAVEN (Sep 17, DVD)
GATES OF HEAVEN (Sep 18, VHS)
COOL & CRAZY (Sep 22, DVD)
TEARS OF THE SUN (Sep 24, DVD)
LOST IN TRANSLATION (Sep 26, Theatre)
STOLEN SUMMER (Sep 30, DVD)
+14/15 = 77/88

THE RAPTURE (Oct 3, VHS)
CONFLICT [AKA Catholics] (Oct 7, DVD)
THE QUIET AMERICAN (Oct 7, DVD)
ANGER MANAGEMENT (Oct 14, DVD)
SCHOOL OF ROCK (Oct 20, Theatre)
FIGHT CLUB (Oct 21, DVD)
DEKALOG IV (Oct 28, DVD)
AMERICAN BEAUTY (Oct 30/31, DVD)
+7/8 = 84/96

MYSTIC RIVER (Nov 4, Theatre)
WIRED TO KILL (Nov 4, VHS)
BARCELONA (Nov 5, VHS)
METROPOLITAN (Nov 6, VHS)
THE WIDOW OF ST. PIERRE (Nov 9, VHS)
ELEPHANT (Nov 15, Theatre)
THE GOOD GIRL (Nov 21, DVD)
ATTACK THE GAS STATION (Nov 23, DVD)
+7/8 = 91/104

MY NEW GUN (Dec 2, VHS)
MASTER & COMMANDER (Dec 4, Theatre)
21 GRAMS (Dec 5, Theatre)
BRUCE ALMIGHTY (Dec 5, DVD)
A DECADE UNDER THE INFLUENCE (Dec 10/11, DVD)
Extended LOTR: FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (Dec 11, Theatre)
EMMA (Dec 12, DVD)
Extended LOTR: THE TWO TOWERS (Dec 13, Theatre)
THE LAST SAMURAI (Dec 17, Theatre)
THE COMMITMENTS (Dec 18, VHS)
ABOUT A BOY (Dec 19, VHS)
LOTR: RETURN OF THE KING (Dec 27, Theatre)
PETER PAN (Dec 29, Theatre)
+9/13 = 100/117

This post has been edited by Ron: 29 September 2005 - 06:43 PM

[Diane]

5/4 Goodfellas
5/16 The Matrix*
5/20 Amadeus*
5/21 Vertigo*
------The Seventh Seal*
------Strictly Ballroom*
5/25 The Matrix Reloaded*

6/6 Rudy*
6/7 Howard's End
6/8 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (ext. edition)
6/9 Frenzy*
-----The House of Mirth*
6/14 A Passage to India*
6/15 The Secret of Roan Inish*
------Chariots of Fire*
6/17 The Miracle Worker
6/19 Gosford Park*
6/20 White Heat*
6/21 Shine*
------Picnic*
6/28 The Matrix
6/29 To Kill a Mockingbird

7/3 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon*
7/4 The Straight Story*
7/5 Hud*
----Cinema Paradiso*
7/11 Code Unknown*
7/12 The Winslow Boy*
7/13 Babette's Feast*
7/20 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl*
7/24 One Hour Photo*
7/25 The Lord of the Rings: FOTR (ext. edition)
7/26 Donnie Darko*
------Edward Scissorhands
7/29 The Wings of the Dove*
------The Third Man* (first time to make it all the way through this one)
7/30 The Apostle*
-------Jean de Florette

8/1 Manon of the Spring*
-----Punch-Drunk Love*
8/2 Moulin Rouge!*
----Sleepy Hollow*
8/6 Blossoms and Blood*
8/8 The Last Emperor*
8/9 Memento*
----The Madness of King George*
8/15 A.I. Artificial Intelligence*
8/16 The Talented Mr. Ripley*
8/19 Monsoon Wedding*
8/20 A Midsummer Night's Dream* (1999)
----Richard III* (1995)
----The Importance of Being Earnest* (2002)
8/21 The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
----Benny and Joon*
8/22 Ed Wood*
8/23 In the Bedroom*
----The Portrait of a Lady*
8/24 Romeo + Juliet*
8/30 Picnic at Hanging Rock*
8/31 Close Encounters of the Third Kind*

9/1 A.I. Artificial Intelligence
9/5 The Virgin Suicides*
9/6 The Garden of the Finzi-Continis*
9/7 The 400 Blows*
9/8 Nicholas Nickleby* (2002)
9/9 Unbreakable*
9/12 Minority Report*
9/13 The Night of the Hunter*
9/14 Catch Me If You Can*
9/18 Pi*
9/19 Lady Jane*
9/23 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
9/24 Insomnia* (2002)
9/25 The Long and Short of It + "The Making of..."*
9/27 The Apartment*
9/30 Shall We Dance?* (1996)

10/3 The Pianist*
10/4 A Beautiful Mind
10/5 The Pianist
10/9 Monsters, Inc.*
10/10 The Sixth Sense
10/11 For the Birds*
10/14 Italian for Beginners*
10/15 Toy Story*
10/17 Unbreakable
10/17 Toy Story 2*
10/18 Sling Blade*
10/22 The Others*
10/24 Rope*
10/25 An Ideal Husband*
10/26 Signs*
10/27 Baran*
10/29 The Count of Monte Cristo* (2002)
10/30 X-Men*

11/1 The Godfather*
11/1 The Man in the Moon*
11/7 All Quiet on the Western Front* (1930)
11/8 The Godfather Part II*
11/8 Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones*
11/18 Amélie*
11/19 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (extended edition*)
11/26 Singin' in the Rain
11/27 Clue*

12/6 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (extended)
12/14 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (extended)
12/17 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King*
12/21 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King