When all is said and done, though, this is Peter O’Toole’s movie. The sensitivity of his performance is amazing to watch. We are fortunate to have a record of such performances
Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski, & Lana Wachowski's CLOUD ATLAS
What a gorgeous movie to look at this is! Plus, the intertwining stories and jumps in time provide amazing and often confusing food for thought.
Akiva Goldsman's WINTER'S TALE
I’m a sucker for well done but romantic time travel films. This one compares favorably to the romantic classic Somewhere In Time.
Yasuomi Umetsu’s KITE
Kite from 1998 has an infamous reputation.
Francis Ford Coppola's "TWIXT"
I started out this film not realizing Francis Ford Coppola made it just a few years ago.
Ari Folman's THE CONGRESS
Ari Folman’s THE CONGRESS is a feast for the eye and the imagination. On it I hereby bestow my coveted ONE OF A KIND tag though I must admit that some of the other films in that category seem now to pale in comparison with Folman’s masterpiece.
Sandra Nettelbeck's LAST LOVE
What an engaging movie this is. Slow, deliberate, and ultimately, complex.
Shinji Aramaki's SPACE PIRATE CAPTAIN HARLOCK
There’s so much eye candy displayed you almost forget about the labored exposition and hackneyed plot.
Zachary Heinzerling's CUTIE AND THE BOXER
Not being an artist myself I’ve long been mystified by how people define what is “art” and what’s not.
Sarah Polley’s “STORIES WE TELL”
Sarah Polley’s STORIES WE TELL is an exploration of how truth and memory interact in subtle and subjective ways about one family’s past history.
José Padilha's ROBOCOP
This new version, thankfully, is not quite so brutal and the plentiful action sequences don’t glory in gore and bloodsplatter the way, say, an EXPENDABLES film does.
Matt Reeves' DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THEAPES effectively portrays a clash of civilizations and uses drama and technology to make this clash real.
Peter Webber's EMPEROR
In summary: you could do a lot worse than this movie for a dose of World War II history. Its attempts to overcome stereotypes and instead illuminate cultural differences are refreshing.
Bong Joon Ho's "SNOWPIERCER"
As a high concept sci-fi epic SNOWPIERCER takes the cake.
Doug Liman's EDGE OF TOMORROW
I was unprepared for how really good this movie is.
Stephen Sommers' “ODD THOMAS”
What makes the movie enjoyable despite its familiarity are the characters, the dialog, and some very well scripted action sequences.
Bryan Singer's X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST
But with a movie like X-Men you get the sense that there is just too much of everything — too many characters, too many action scenes, too many speeches, too many forgettable details.
David Ayer's END OF WATCH
I have no idea how realistic END OF WATCH is but it’s easily the best cop movie I seen in many years.
Bille August's NIGHT TRAIN TO LISBON
Every now and then I come across a gem via streaming Netflix. Night Train to Lisbon, directed by Bille August, is one such gem.