Feb 4

Feb 4 Masayuki Suo's SHALL WE DANCE

A ballroom dancing class can be filled by a lot of different types of people - young and old, fat and thin, all different colors, sizes, and shapes. Many of the men are there because their women want them to be. It seems it's the same in Japan as it is in the U.S.

Jan 31

Jan 31 Alien vs. Predator

Dennis D. McDonald

Horror, Science Fiction

Okay, Sanaa Lathan is no Sigourney Weaver, I still enjoyed this movie a great deal, despite the pedestrian story and lack of character development.

Jan 27

Jan 27 Alex Proyas' I, ROBOT

Dennis D. McDonald

Cops, Proyas, Robots, Science Fiction

Upon watching this a few times after purchasing the DVD I was struck not only by the excellent surround sound and picture quality but by the sophistication of the story and script.

Jan 25

Jan 25 Robert Bresson's “A MAN ESCAPED”

Dennis D. McDonald

Prison, Drama, War

Jan 23

Jan 23 A Short Film About John Bolton

Dennis D. McDonald

Documentary, Vampires

The short film showpieced on this DVD is not Neil Gaiman’s (American Gods) best work. It is a fictionalized look at the artist John Bolton who in real life creates erotic paintings of nude female vampires. (Neil Gaiman also helped develop the English language version of Princess Mononoke.)

Jan 21

Jan 21 Michael Anderson’s “LOGAN’S RUN”

Dennis D. McDonald

Dystopian, Science Fiction, Weird, Guilty Pleasure, Robots, Romantic, Action

Jan 18

Jan 18 Mamoru Oshii's GHOST IN THE SHELL 2: INNOCENCE

Dennis D. McDonald

Animated, Japanese, Oshii, Robots, Science Fiction, Anime

Mamoru Oshii (Avalon) does it again, this time with a sequel to Ghost in the Shell. Some of the same characters continue. The world of the future is even more detailed and incredible than in the original. There are more philosophical musings about the nature of humanity and technology. Plus, this may be the most incredible piece of animation I have ever seen. But it is not a favorite film of mine, for a couple of reasons.

Jan 17

Jan 17 Cédric Klapisch’s “L'Auberge Espagnol”

Dennis D. McDonald

Comedy

Imagine what it would be like as a young man to spend a year in Barcelona with an apartment full of male and female students drawn from all across Europe.

Jan 2

Jan 2 Martin Scorsese's THE AVIATOR

Dennis D. McDonald

Aircraft, History

The Aviator is a grand and unique combination of glamour, adventure, intrigue, spectacle, humor, tragedy, and melodrama. It's about big, famous people doing things that we expect big, famous people to do. And it uses all the power that modern filmmaking technology has to offer. But its focus, ultimately, is on people and the things they do. The fact that the people inhabit (and helped create) the world of today is a definite plus, and Scorsese makes the most of this.

Dec 28

Dec 28 Akira Kurosawa's "THE HIDDEN FORTRESS"

Dennis D. McDonald

Japanese, Kurosawa

Visually, this Kurosawa film (Red Beard, Ikiru, Throne of Blood, Madadayo) as represented on this Criterion DVD is magnificent. The widescreen photography, action scenes, natural surroundings, and Toshiro Mifune's performance are all excellent.

Dec 27

Dec 27 Monster Man

Dennis D. McDonald

Comedy, Horror

A bar full of amputee rednecks. Road trip guys chased by giant monster truck driven by faceless horror. Sexy scantily-clad hitchhiker. Giant pentagrams. Headless corpses. Fart jokes. Blood and gore up the wazoo. Road kill fantasies. This movie has it all.

Dec 25

Dec 25 Wes Anderson's THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU

Dennis D. McDonald

Comedy, One of a Kind, Wes Anderson

I admit it. I'm terminally unhip. But I really enjoyed this movie. I put it right up there with Buckaroo Banzai and Repo Man, and that's very good company.

Dec 25
Dec 25 Lemony Snicket's A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS

Dennis D. McDonald

Comedy, Fantasy

While watching this film I Imagined I was seeing an alternate universe view of a hybrid Charles Addams/Edward Gorey/Roald Dahl world as seen through the eyes of a child.

Dec 20

Dec 20 The Coen Brothers THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE

Dennis D. McDonald

Crime, Spouse Approved

This film is a triumph of style AND substance. The photography is striking, the performance are universally excellent, and the story keeps our interest until the very last scene.

Dec 5

Dec 5 The Passion of Joan of Arc

Dennis D. McDonald

Classic, Drama, Emotional, History

This 1928 silent film is emotionally wrenching. We follow a fictionalized account of the “trial” of Joan of Arc by an English-controlled religious court. The “trial” spans a day leading up to her being burned at the stake.

Nov 25

Nov 25 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkeban

Dennis D. McDonald

Fantasy, Time Travel

My daughter explained the intricacies of the plot after we finished watching the movie. I was a bit confused about the rat sub-plot but did follow the time travel exercise (I always enjoy time travel stories when well done and the end sequence here is handled quite nicely).

Nov 23
Nov 23 Nowhere in Africa

Dennis D. McDonald

Drama

Nov 20

Nov 20 Vittorio DeSica's THE BICYCLE THIEF

Dennis D. McDonald

Drama, Emotional

Nov 20

Nov 20 Martin Scorsese's GANGS OF NEW YORK

Dennis D. McDonald

Drama, Revenge, Irish

Nov 17

Nov 17 Ram Gopal Varma's COMPANY

Dennis D. McDonald

Crime, Indian

That the life of crime can be portrayed as glamorous, dangerous, brutal, and ultimately as pointless is something we in the West have grown accustomed to. We have films like THE GODFATHER and GOODFELLAS that reinforce that as they simultaneously attract and repel us.