Tron: Legacy (2010)

Daft Punk's excellent soundtrack was the best part of this slower-than-expected sci fi flick.

Weeds: Season 4 (2008)

Evidenced by my ability to watch this whole season in one day, (yes folks, that's 6 1/2 hours) I have concluded that this show is more addictive than any drug.

Weeds: Season 3 (2007)

I still can't stop watching this, even if it's getting a little tiring how many dramatic turns-for-the-worse our sexy pot dealer encounters.

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

It's truly daring to make a 3 1/2 hour movie and especially so when it's comprised primarily of people walking through the desert, but you've got to give mad props to director David Lean for creating this beautiful classic film.

Wristcutters: A Love Story (2006)

Great story with strong, funny characters learning stuff.

Humpday (2009)

mumblecore meets hardcore and they get along just great.

The A-Team (2010)

My least favorite movie of 2010.

Weeds: Season 2 (2007)

The plot thickens,  rises, darkens and turns out delicious.

The Family Stone (2005)

You've gotta love these characters, even if you went in expecting Sly and some disco tunes.

The Office: Season 6 (2009)

Not the series' top work, but not bad at all.

The Big Lebowski (1998)

Few other films ever created entertain me more than this one.

Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (1978)

An inverted battle of the sexes where all parties are fighting for the happiness of the intriguing female character Solange.

The Triplets of Belleville (2003)

But seriously, who gave them permission to make a perfect movie?

Shallow Grave (1994)

Exactly the sort of twisted rollercoaster you'd expect from Danny Boyle, only even better.

Weeds: Season 1 (2005)

I think this is the begining to a beautiful friendship.

Director Review: LUC BESSON

I'll preface this by saying in general I hate the action move genre. I think it's really hard for a filmmaker to say anything, let alone something of value, in between scenes of people beating each other up. Luc Besson is an example of someone who has attempted just that and succeeded half of the time.

Besson's directorial debut THE LAST BATTLE (1983) is an interesting black-and-white sci fi picture with a lot to offer. THE LAST BATTLE takes place in a post-apocalytic future where humankind has lost the ability to speak. The protagonist is a lonely dude in search of friends and female companionship. After building a strange airplane he leaves his hideaway near the desert and crash lands in the city. The film follows this character as he meets new people, some friendly and some barbaric and dangerous. The most interesting parts of the film are the ones where items fall from the sky miraculously (perhaps another one of P.T. Anderson's influences for his 1999 film MAGNOLIA). This happens on a couple occasions and is never explained, but is a compelling element of this noteworthy accomplishment.


In 1994 Luc Besson wrote and directed my favorite of the films by him I've seen, LEON (known in the U.S. as THE PROFESSIONAL). This movie features plenty of super stylish, unrealistic, gunslinging action scenes, but they're offset by a patience in unfolding a touching and unique story. Natalie Portman presents and really impressive performance in her first screen role at the age of 13. I suggest this to any Tarantino fans.


Years ago in a Science Fiction Literature class in high school we watched Besson's edgey, fast-paced film THE FIFTH ELEMENT (1997). I remember it being described to me by my teacher (a role model of mine and someone who, without, I wouldn't be anything of a writer today) that the film made reference to dozens of previous sci fi works and that it could be viewed as almost an ode or tribute to the genre. Yesterday I rewatched the film specifically looking for references to other works and expecting to really enjoy my viewing experience. While I did find a lot of sci fi allusion that are way cool, I was actually surprised to be a little bit disappointed by the movie. Though it is an impressive accomplishment I found it to be a little bit less smart than I wanted it to be. Visually it's fast-paced and frantic, colorful and interesting. Specifically the art direction and costume design are stunning. Thematically it hits all the social commentaries you would expect and hope to find in a sci fi movie, from man's ever inflating self-destructive nature, to the mind-deadening effect of our over-stimulated culture. But this time through the movie I felt like it leaned too heavily on Mila Jovovich's naked body and the "love conquers all" concept. All in all I'd recommend it, but it's certainly not my favorite sci fi film.

The Fifth Element (1997)

Luc Besson, Bruce Willis and Gary Oldman are always a good idea.

Mystery Science Theatre 3000: Hercules Against the Moon Men (1992)

I always have to fast forward through their joke and song breaks because they're annoying, but while they're in the theatre being forced to watch movies like this, it's hilarious.

Away We Go (2009)

Warm and real, I always enjoy watching these characters scramble to find their footing.

Tangled (2010)

Where music usually makes people forget how shallow the characters of a children's movie are, the sudden song breaks only made this movie more awkward and uncomfortable.

Director Review: BERNARDO BERTOLUCCI

There are people out there who appear born to be directors. Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci is one of these cases. Son of film critic, he latched onto and learned from master director Pier Pasolini while he was still very young. This coupled with his staggering oeuvre lead me to beleive that this is a man who invariably belongs behind a camera.

His directoral debut, La Commare Secca, (1962) written by his mentor Pasolini, is a daring retelling of the classic murder mystery. Though it does lean heavily on Kurosawa's Rashomon (1950), this is still a film with its very own voice. It uses a multiple-narrator structure to put the viewer in several different vantage points surrounding a single event: the murder. What I like about this movie is that it places the viewer in the feet of the detectives investigating this particularly horrific crime. As each character involved unfolds his or her perspective, we slowly receive the clues we need to crack the case. I've always thought that the most pointless and frustrating mysteries are the ones that never give you the chance to figure it out yourself. Though it may be difficult to catch, (what with all the misdirection in the varrying stories told) it is possible to deduce who the killer is. I also like the social commentary divergences that Bertolucci takes along the way. He juxtaposes bored, higher-class loungers who laze about having affairs and collecting money against lower-class rascals and weirdos struggling and scraping to survive and find meaning in the streets of Rome. My only criticism of this film is that sometimes these vignettes are too long and boring.

A decade later Bertolucci would create an art house classic that would get him an Academy Award nomination and put him permanently on the international film map: Last Tango in Paris (1972). One of the most emotionally dense films I've ever seen, Last Tango stars Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider, both at the top of their game. Brando was coming to this hot off the set of The Godfather (for which he won the Best Actor Oscar) but really put himself into this role. Ever the master method actor (chills me to think of his methods for getting into this character) he brings so much dimension to his character Paul that, though you never feel like you understand Paul, you feel like Brando does. You feel like somewhere locked inside him lies the reason that he is so harsh, jaded and angry. Schneider's character Jeanne is no less confusing, subjecting herself to a string of brutal, animalistic sex encounters that border, at times, rape. I number this among the several movies that I love and connect with, but that are very uncomfortable to watch.

Okay, fast forward a decade and a half now to 1987, when Bertolucci would create his most acclaimed work: The Last Emperor. NINE ACADEMY AWARDS!!! And honestly, I think it just about deserves that. A truly compelling and layered epic, the story of Chinese Emperor Pu Yi, who took the throne at age three and witnessed the crumbling of the Qing Dynasty, draws you into a truly unique life. The beautiful recreation of the Forbidden City is stunning. The acting is solid, sometimes playful, sometimes torrid and upright. And, though it's not a film without a few story incoherencies, it's still thoroughly enjoyable.

Director Review: CLAUDE BERRI

Claude Berri is probably my favorite French director who was not associated with the New Wave movement of the 50s and 60s. He was around during the time, and making great films, but rather than rejecting traditional filmmaking technique, he embraced and mastered it.

In his writing and directoral debut THE TWO OF US (1967) he carves out wonderfully fun and developed characters. Looking at World War II through the eyes of an eight-year-old Parisan Jew, this film successfully approaches a serious subject with warmth and light-heartedness. Both the lead and the old man he is ship to the country to live with until Nazi occupation ends are marvelously acted. Michel Simon makes the old man character lovable and a true delight to watch despite his anti-Semitic feelings and rants.

The only other films I've seen by Berri are his 1986 releases JEAN DE FLORETTE and MANON OF THE SPRING. Two parts of one story adapted from a Marcel Pagnol novel, this story is a painful fable about the dangers of greed and cruelty. Once again I find one of the greatest strengths of this film to be Berri's ability to deeply develop a character and make you love him. In the first film the plot is set up to draw excellent social commentary from character contrasts between Jean and the villagers who are so cruel to him. I love the statements it makes about love toward your neighbors, respect to women and the power of dreams. The second segment brings the story full circle and resolves it with one of the most heart-breaking twists I've ever seen.

Two decades separate the films by Claude Berri that I have seen, but at each point in his career I find examples of the highest quality filmmaking. I suspect that as I see more films from him I'll find that to be a consistent theme.

Demetri Martin. Person. (2007)

He's a funny guy, ya know?

Director Review: INGMAR BERGMAN

I've never seen a film directed by Ingmar Bergman that was anything less than amazing. Woody Allen once described him as, "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera." I might have to agree. From the very start he saw the film medium as more than an entertainment opportunity, but as an art form. His techniques were revolutionary. The work he pulled from the great actors he worked with was some of the best of their careers. Interestingly he did so by helping them to stick to simplicity. And yet with each film of his that I see I'm further astounded by the complexity to be found in the subtext. Ingmar Bergman was a man that understood dichotomy. The relationship between reality and dream. Love and hate. Religion and doubt. One's desires and one's actions.

I've seen quite a few films by Bergman, so I'll share only a few thoughts on each. Still, this only represents a small portion of his gigantic oeuvre. I'm working on it.

SAWDUST AND TINSEL (1953): I've seen this a couple times, and each time I've been surprised that it doesn't get as much attention as some of Bergman's later work. This film is teeming with beautiful sexual tension and aggression. About a circus owner, Albert, and his mistress Anne, who find themselves in the town where Albert's wife and family live. When he decides to pay a visit Anne becomes jealous and begins an affair with the star of a rival carnival. My favorite part of this story is the separation between the characters' desires and their actions. Each one is almost destroyed by their pride and as the whole thing unfolds it gets messier and messier.

SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT (1955): Another intricate relationship drama, this film really is stolen by the performance of Harriet Andersson as the loose-moraled maid Petra. As several relationships, some marital, disintegrate (and just as many form) it's the events of her life that I found myself most emotionally connected to.

THE SEVENTH SEAL (1957): This is one of my all time favorite movies. A Crusades-seasoned knight challenges Death to a game of chess with dire stakes. I love how in every scene the viewer is reminded of death. Bergman never wants you to feel comfortable in this film. Even the scenes that don't feature the chess game make some mention of man's futile search for meaning and immortality. It's so beautifully dark! I also love the less than subtle contrast between the religious-minded people with their doom and gloom and the art-minded people who are portrayed as simply striving for joy, and often finding it.

WILD STRAWBERRIES (1957): Apparently Bergman was just on his game this year. This film has some of my favorite creepy dream sequences, reminiscent of Bunuel's Un Chien Andalou or Fellini's 8 1/2. An old professor reflects on his life and mistakes as he travels to receive an honorary degree from a university. We get to know main character Isak Borg's inner life so very well while he becomes reacquainted with himself.

THE VIRGIN SPRING (1960): Bergman won Best Foreign Language Film from the Academy for this one. It's a story about faith's divisive nature and its relationship to revenge and pain. One of the things I like about Bergman's religion-based works is that he lets the characters take the stances and make the statements while he seems to remain silent. It's clear that he has feelings on the subject of religion, but what side he falls on is often hard to determine.

PERSONA (1966): Unnerving, complex and affecting, this film is hard to really describe. Parts of it are clearly visual poetry and meant to be taken more figuratively than literally. I see it mostly as a study of identity and the effect others can have on our psyche.

HOUR OF THE WOLF (1968): When I first saw this film I thought the beginning felt very French New Wavey. It was interesting as the mood slowly slid into a more easily categorized horror film. Even then, I felt hints of Fellini mixed in with Hitchcockian influence. A very interesting, unnerving film.

CRIES AND WHISPERS (1973): Though HOUR OF THE WOLF is considered Bergman's only horror, I think this is much scarier. It's the story of four sisters, told through flashbacks while one of them is dying in bed. The complexity of familial love and hate, defense mechanisms, and the thin line between the supernatural and reality are just some of the themes of this intense, densely emotional film. Top score.

SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE (1973): Cut down from a television series, the theatrical version of this work by Bergman is still a large undertaking. SCENES tells the story of one crumbling marriage and the difficulty of making decisions about love. It portrays love as so fleeting and difficult to understand that I'm convinced if everyone saw it there would be far fewer weddings.

FANNY AND ALEXANDER (1982): Bergman's most celebrated film (earning 4 Academy Awards) is a bizarre mix of realism and magic. Two children, Fanny and Alexander lose their father and gain in his stead an abusive, strict minister step-father. As they try to adapt to their new home in a large, purportedly haunted castle, Alexander rebels and relations worsen. There are also interesting side stories told through the children's extended family about responsibility, infidelity and the pursuit of happiness in spite of poverty. Some of the film's most interesting moments deal with Alexander's relationship to various strange and supernatural occurrences (i.e. statues moving, seeing and speaking with his dead father, and meeting a very odd magician who shares some sort of bond with him). If there is any weakness to the film it's that it leaves you overwhelmed with the multiplicity of messages and emotions it conveys. But it's a truly marvelous work.

And that, friends, represents only about one-fifth of Bergman's directorial work. Needless to say, he left behind a dense legacy.

Next Director: CLAUDE BERRI

Director Review: JEAN-JACQUES BEINEIX

 Of all of French director Jean-Jacques Beineix's numerous filmmaking skills I'd have to say his absolute forte is weaving an addictive, absorbing story. Each of the three films I've seen directed by him have had unique characters acting out lives or responding to conflicts that the average person will never experience. Even so, everything I've seen by him touches on key emotions that are common to most people. How he pulls it off I couldn't tell you, but it makes for some enthralling viewing.

Jean-Jacques Beineix's premeire feature length film, DIVA (1981) is the only film solely surrounding opera that I've ever enjoyed. On top of that it's something of a crime thriller! But, taking two elements that don't usually interest me, Beineix crafts a tale that I thoroughly enjoyed. Jules is an opera-loving mail-carrier who records the concert of a diva opera singer who refuses to be recorded in a studio. After Jules meets singer Cynthia they develop a trusting friendship which is jeopardized when a pair of Taiwanese criminals get ahold of the recording and wish to profit from it. The moral dilemma and the periodic action scenes are enough to keep this movie far more interesting than an actual opera.

BETTY BLUE (1986) is Beineix's most notable work. Raw and real and dangerous, this twisted disfunctional love story caught a lot of buzz at its release from the plentiful frontal nudity and long, realistic sex scenes. But deeper than the hype is the profile of a beautiful love affair. Zorg, a handyman and plumber allows Betty who he's been dating for one week to move in with him. The two quickly become obssessed with each other in spite of the constant trouble Betty gets them into with her violent and unpredictable outbursts. The two star-crossed lovers run away together to try to forge a life out of nothing but their love and trust for each other and their mutual stubbornness. Less cheesy and Hollywoody than the plot could have been, this film is thoroughly French, complete with a tragic ending and a moral about the dangers of (and complete necessity for) unchecked passion.

Similarly, Beineix's ROSELYNE OF THE LIONS (1989) is also about two lovers who take to the road due to unfavorable circumstances in search of their dreams. ROSELYNE is a different animal though, in that the two leads play lion tamers trying to find work in circuses. This is what I refer to when I say Beineix spins a unique tale. This film is filled with such excellent suspense, from the risky lion show stunts to the several inter-relationship squabbles as the couple struggle, fist to find work, then to cope with the work they are hired to which ends up stretching their skills as trainers. Unfortunately that tension is only released when lions don't eat the couple. I found myself disappointed by the lack of resolution at the end. While some of the couple's difficulties were faced and solved, the movie seemed to just sort of end without making note of the other unfinished conflicts. Still, definitely a movie worth seeing.

Next Director: INGMAR BERGMAN (one of my top ten directors

The Last Battle (1983)

The great downfall in this post-apocalyptic drama isn't its slow development of the plot or its wordlessness, but the new wave 80's soundtrack that took me out of the viewing experience and usually didn't match the mood.

Wings of Desire (1987)

A ceaseless barrage of beautiful poetry and images touching on topics as broad as the loneliness of fulfillment, the taste of coffee and all the experience you can only have by being human.

The Professional (1994)

In her first ever role Natalie Portman proves an asset to this polished action movie.

Arrested Development: Season 3

Somehow managed to end too soon, yet still perfectly.

Ghost World (2001)

This will never stop being the funniest movie ever.

Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001)

At once a triumphant travel log and a sex-fueled coming-of-age tale complete with all the jealousy and tension you'd expect and a few things you wouldn't.

Hour of the Wolf (1968)

Starting out almost New Wavey, this early Bergman thriller quickly spirals into a half Fellinian, half Hitchcockian frenzy.

Roselyne and the Lions (1989)

Interesting and suspenseful, but in the end lacking meaning and resolution.

Fair Game (2010)

Watts and Penn would have been better off promoting this topic through a documentary than allowing it to be marched around to a suspenseful, drum-heavy score and shaky Bourne trilogy cinematography.

Betty Blue (1986)

LOVE: the gateway madness.

Fanny and Alexander (1982)

Bergman's most celebrated film earns its keep with a methodical and and masterfully executed study of familial troubles, responsibility, the supernatural and death.

Smiles of a Summer Night (1955)

One part Pride and Prejudice + One part Closer = A strangely evocative drama for its decade, not to say we shouldn't expect that from Master Bergman.

What's Up, Tiger Lily?

Had its moments but ultimately Allen wouldn't be excellent until he dropped the slapstick and made movies for grown-ups.

Grass (1999)

Entertaining and informative, but the whole thing looked like a PowerPoint to me.