La Nina de Tus Ojos (The Girl of Your Dreams)

Spain, directed by Fernando Trueba (Belle Epoque).

This is a charming, well produced, directed and acted film about a troupe of actors from Franco's Spain visiting and working with German actors to produce two versions of the same film. Set in Nazi Germany and overseen by Goebbels, who is after the leading lady (Penelope Cruz), this movie starts out light-hearted and funny, but ends gravely.

Using Jewish prisoners as extras in their film leads the Spanish troupe into many unexpected consequences, especially when "the most Fascist of all" is mistaken for an escaped Jew and tortured in a prison camp.

Worth watching, and I'm on a Trueba kick now. I like his style.

The Sea

Iceland, directed by Baltasar Kormakur (101 Reykjavik).

Bleak, depressing family drama. Compared to The Celebration, which it's kind of like inasmuch both are about a family reunion of sorts and all the dark secrets and horrors that families sometimes keep locked up for years, only to come out all at once.

It has its moments, but overall this is a downer of a film.

Layer Cake

I watched this for the second time last night (the first time was when it was released, and in the theater). I enjoyed it almost as much, though a lot of what makes the film fun to see the first time are all the plot twists and turns. The visual style was still as engaging, though.

I've also read the book, by J.J. Connolly, in the meantime. I actually enjoyed the book more, both because it's more complex (of course) and has a different ending. They're both worth checking out.

Devil's Island

Iceland, directed by Fridrik Fridriksson (Cold Fever). This film looks at a community living in relative poverty in quonset huts left by the US military. A story of sibling rivalry and 50s American cultural influences, it has moments of black humor and real pathos.

El Espiritu de la Colmena (The Spirit of the Beehive)

This 1973 Spanish film, set just after the Spanish civil war, follows 6 year old Ana as she tries to make sense of her life after watching the movie Frankenstein in her small town. It's a beautiful film, very moving and beguiling.

I'm not sure I understood everything that was going on, though. This is one I'll have to rewatch at some point.

Firefly - The Complete Series

Great SF series by Joss Whedon. Since I don't watch TV I completely missed this one when it was on, but really enjoyed watching the series episode by episode.

It's a shame the show was cancelled. The characters, acting, story, setting and production were all top notch.

War Photographer

Intense documentary of photographer James Nachtwey's work. Very intense and moving. His compassion and moral imperative come through very clearly in his photography. Recommended if you are at all interested in photojournalism and the deleterious effects of war and poverty.

Better Luck Tomorrow

Entertaining film about High School crime among a group of Asian friends. Very well done.

Melinda and Melinda

This Woody Allen film just didn't do it for me. I couldn't engage with it. I like the idea of looking at the same basic idea from both a comedic and a tragic viewpoint, and Will Ferrell had some great, funny lines as Woody's alter ego, but it ultimately left me cold.

Oh yeah, great to see Wallace Shawn in it as well.

Belle Epoque

Set during the Spanish Civil War, this light hearted romantic comedy was fun to watch. A deserter ends up making friends with an older man, and then meets his four beautiful daughters. The characters often say and do the unexpected, which is refreshing. I enjoyed it.

101 Reykjavik, El Crimen Del Padre Amaro (The Crime of Padre Amaro)

101 Reykjavik, with dialogue mostly in Icelandic, is a fairly entertaining black comedy. I certainly enjoyed the attitude of the main character, Hlynur, a 20 something slacker living at home with his hash-smoking mom. I wasn't totally engaged with the movie, though. It never totally connected with me. But there were some really funny, pithy lines of dialogue, such as "After you die your dead, and before you're born you're dead. Life is a break from death."

El Crimen Del Padre Amaro is a heavy, dour, tragic work. Catholic priest power trips, liberation theology, lust, guilt, narcotrafficantes, abortions. Not a feel good film, but well acted by Gael Garcia Bernal and directed by Carlos Carrera of Mexico.

Spanglish

Starring Adam Sandler and Paz Vega, this warm, funny film was a nice treat on a cold night.

I've been wanting to watch this since it came out, and I'm glad I finally did. It's kind of a love story, and it's about being a parent, and about making your way in different worlds.

And it's got Adam Sandler! And Paz Vega! What more do you need? See it!

Joint Security Area

Directed by Park Chan-wook (Old Boy, Sympathy for Mr./Mrs. Vengeance), this film details various versions of the same story (an incident between four guards at the DMZ between South and North Korea), told from different perspectives and through different levels of truth and lies, as an investigation takes place.

It's very compelling to watch, beautifully shot and acted, with moments of real pathos and humor. Highly recommended.

Of Freaks and Men, A Dirty Shame

Of Freaks and Men, a Russian film directed by Aleksei Balabanov, is a strange film. Shot as if an old dauggerotype in sepia color, and sometimes as a silent film with dialogue slates thrown in, this story of conjoined twins and 1800's-style underground pornography, S&M, and murder was slow but engaging. I wasn't exactly thrilled with the subject matter, but am curious about this director's work after seeing Brat & Brat 2.

John Waters' A Dirty Shame was another example of his over-the-top, no holds barred, ripping down the tabboos style. But it really wasn't that funny (what I look for mostly in a Waters film, which may be a mistake). Sure, I guess it's important to have frank films dealing with diverse sexualities, but for some reason this one made me feel cold, an experience I've had before with his work. Perhaps my expectations are too high here.

Don't Tempt Me (Sin Noticias de Dios)

Penelope Cruz, Victoria Abril, Gael García Bernal. Angels from Heaven and Hell battle for the soul of a boxer. Pretty funny movie, well done. I thought it was fairly creative and very enjoyable. Definitely worth watching.

300

Ultraviolent entertainment with some slow political and sex scenes. The audience in the crowded theater I watched it in dug it. Very martial.

Still like the graphic novel better, but the flick is OK.

Tokyo Fist

Produced, directed and starring Shinya Tsukamoto, this flick fits in well with his ouevre. A weird kind of love/hate triangle between a boxer, a salaryman and a self-piercing woman. Like all of Tsukamoto's films, this one needs to be watched rather than explained.

Here are some words I jotted down while watching it to give you an idea of its general zeitgeist:

Decay, rot, flesh, destruction, madness, death, maggots, mutilation, self-discovery, rage, anger, extreme. Kinetic, shaking, dynamic camera movements and lighting.

The Simpsons, Season 8

Four Women by Sam Kieth

Gemini (Soseiji)

Shinya Tsukamoto's film of a kind of doppleganger, twin brother revenge madness is interesting but ultimately left me feeling disatisfied. I often wonder if I'm missing something when I watch a foreign film, some cultural connection that would give it more meaning.

A tale of a twin destroying his brother's life, this one ended for me with a big "huh?"

House of Sand and Fog

I watched this because it's based on Andre Dubus' book, which I haven't read but want to. I know of Dubus' literary work from the reviews I've read. He's a writer I'm interested in.

The movie was OK. Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly do fine work, but man was it a depressing flick. Beautifully shot, well acted, and very sad. In some ways I thought that Connelly's character could have been a continuation from Requiem For A Dream, recovering from her addictions out on the West coast, but falling into a similar despair.

Grudge (the US version), Serenity

Here, Bullet: Poems, and Bridge to Teribithia (the book)

Save the Green Planet, Travellers and Magicians, Bullet Ballet, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, The Illusionist

City On Fire

Chow Yun Fat stars in this 1987 policier directed by Ringo Lam. Inspired Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs.

Interesting role for Fat - his character is complex, and in many scenes you can see that he's having fun with it.

The subtitles were pretty entertaining, when not mangled so badly that they made the dialogue incomprehensible. I gotta say, though, that I like Tarantino's "version" of this film/idea much better, and Tim Roth's role as the undercover cop more gripping. Interestingly, I think Lam's take on this theme was a lot more graphically violent than Tarantino's.