Une Femme Mariee (1964) � Godard at his most trite, this is the sort of pseudo-intellectual social commentary lite movie that gives art films a bad name. Raoul Coutard does some great stuff behind the camera but it cant save an otherwise dull and overly pompous film.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058701/

4/10


The Red Shoes (1948) � Another quality film by Powell and Pressburger, one of their most famous, and whilst I do not personally consider it one of their best, its still damn fine filmmaking. Using the Hans Christian Andeson short story as a basis for a film about a ballet dancer and her tempestuous relationship with her trainer, it also features the same short story as the ballet performance that is the 15 minute centerpiece of the film.

And that 15 minute sequence is movie magic, a complete lesson in all aspects of cinematography by the great Jack Cardiff. And whilst it is not the only great scene in the movie (it has several), it is definitely the most memorable.

However, against all that, I felt that the main plotline was not effectively executed, especially towards the end when it felt a bit rushed and forced. But most definitely a memorable film.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040725/

7-7.5/10


Act of Violence (1948) � top shelf film noir from Fred Zinneman that cuts out all the fat and has a straightforward and very lean narrative brought to life by good acting and superb cinematography. Van Heflin and Janet Leigh play a couple whose tranquil life is upset when Robert Ryan�s character arrives on the scene and starts stalking them for an initially unknown reason.

The movie is all forward motion right from the start with hardly a scene wasted. And like most good noirs, there is a lot more going on under the surface than is first apparent.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041088/

7.5/10


Mystery Street (1950) � film noir crossed with police procedural, it almost feels like a 50 yr old CSI episode. But thankfully one that is not obsessed with stupid wisecacks and dull process but with interesting characters, atmosphere and clever dialogue. Nothing special overall, but hugely entertaining.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042771/

6.5-7/10


Control (2007) � this is a strange one, a biopic about Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis that eschews conventional biopic format (ie just following events in the subject�s life) and focuses more on the character themselves (which is what I prefer). But strangely, I thought it went too far in concentrating on the character and did not make sufficient connection with the events in his life, almost relegating them to the sidelines.

But its superbly acted all round especially by the leads Sam Riley and Samantha Morton, has some very welcome and delicious british humour and is stunningly shot in black and white by Anton Corbijn who was previously a photographer.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0421082/

6.5-7/10


Luck by Chance (2009) � pleasant film that takes a light stab at the filmmaking industry that is Bollywood with charming performances and some hilarious scenes. But for what it is, a fairly unsubstantial dissection of the Indian movie industry, its far too long. It either needed to lose half an hour or add more dramatic weight to its plotting.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0886539/

6/10


Europa (1991) � Before Lars Von Trier went all dogma, he actually used to make proper films. Although �proper� is probably not the most appropriate term for this bizarre Kafka influenced film set in immediate post WWII Germany, shot in alternating black & white and colour, and defying conventional narrative form. But its proper in the sense that it pays as much attention to cinematic language than it does to the story and acting. And how.

At times pompous, at times moving, at times spectacular, this is a one of a kind film, unique in its look, unique in its tone and unique in its vision. More of this please Mr Von Trier.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101829/

7.5-8/10 

Guess it is quite a long train journey from Oz to Japan though... 

have more but didnt want to post 3 in a row :)

The Far Country (1954) � another fine western from the Anthony Mann/James Stewart collaboration, faltering only at the end for me when it became a little unconvincing. Until then, this was a brilliant film with some of the finest location photography to ever grace a western.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048055/

7-7.5/10


Stagecoach (1939) � I have a hard time liking John Ford�s westerns, most of them are either ruined by inane humour or held back by fairly standard characterisations and plotting. But this one I had no problems with.

The characterisations are very strong right from the beginning, the humour is actually funny and does not interrupt narrative flow and the gradual buildup pays off superbly with great action sequences. And from the very first frame, this is lit and composed magnificently.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031971/

7.5/10


Prague (2006) � Another searing and moving recent Danish film with another great performance by Mads Mikkelsen. The movie focuses on a Danish couple traveling to Prague where the father of Mikkelsen�s character has recently died. What follows is an intense and interesting exploration of identity and various forms of relationships, all set against the glorious backdrop of Prague itself.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0855975/

7.5/10


The Great Lie (1941) � surprisingly terrible melodrama, I was expecting more from a movie featuring Bette Davis and Mary Astor but the stupid plotting and characterisation works against the two great actresses.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033677/

4/10


The Little Giant (1933) � Charming and pleasant comedy of manners starring Edward G Robinson and Mary Astor. Robinson plays a gangster, as he pretty much always did, posing as an upper class socialite to escape police attention. The plotting is ludicrous but Robinson and Astor work really well together and make the most of some clever dialogue.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024262/

6.5/10


The Man in the White Suit (1951) � Very subtle british comedy with Alec Guiness in fine form as a lab assistant who creates a material from which clothes can be made that never need to be washed/cleaned. His attempts to make the material available commercially encounter various obstacles from the unions, clothing manufacturers and other scientists.

Ingenious premise and plotting but the execution was a little too subtle and quaint for my on personal taste.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044876/

6/10


Om Shanti Om (2007) � very big budget Bollywood film that pretty much represents the epitome of the typical blockbuster Bollywood film: overdramatic and nonsensical plot, ridiculous overacting from the leads, gorgeous cinematography with stunning use of colour and well choreographed song and dance numbers but which disrupt narrative flow.

Not really my type of thing, but it had me entertained till about the halfway mark, after which it got more and more tedious.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1024943/

5.5/10


Jhoom Bharabar Jhoom (2005) � see above, pretty much the same but there is an extended 30 min song and dance sequence towards the end that is just brilliantly choreographed.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0833476/

5.5/10 

recently saw Amar Akbar Anthony (1977)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075669/

Wild story and characters with some visually interesting scenes, a bit uneven and sometimes dragging a bit when the musical parts halts the story and go on a bit too long for my taste. Overall a good watch though. 

yeah that is pretty much representative of most bollywood, but perhaps more entertaining even if its a little more hackneyed than recent stuff. 

but In the Loop is the Spinal Tap of political humour. 

Nikita
I really did not like how it started but after an hour or so it became good. Shame about the synthesizer soundtrack and sometimes the (rest of the) painfully Eighties-ness. Embassy & Victor, bleh. Ending, well, moving (*sniff*...).

Overall a really cool movie but misses a lot of character. I probably will not watch it again, at least not many times, but still I'd recommend it. 

Actually Nikita left quite an impression. Nice! 

Actually Nikita left quite an impression. Nice! 

Thanks to everyone that recommended this, I just finished watching the last episode of season 4 and it was fucking brilliant!

Great characters, acting etc, really can't fault it. I think my favourite had to be Omar the shotgun totting pirate :) You feel me?

If you haven't seen this, check it out! 

Drag Me to Hell - Awesome movie, has that classic Sam Raimi taste to it. Very fun, especially the comical "horror" scenes which Raimi is known for. The movie was so brutal on the poor main character that my dad suggested the Raimis lost a ton of money because of the banking sector collapse and this was their way of venting their anger. They put her through so much shit it's almost unfair, but at the same time a super blast to watch.

Various Nightmare on Elm Street movies - Garbage. The 2nd one seemed to have to deal with nothing but homosexual overtones, the 4th one didn't even try to be scary and was mainly just about killing people in different ways (as are most slasher movies) and in each one the characters were all lifeless, bland 1.5 dimensional bags of meat. Meh. It was pretty awesome to see how bad the times were in the 80s though - fashion and music mainly. Pretty crazy throwback to my child hood, when I actually thought these movies were scary. 

you knwo there's 5 seasons right? I havent seen the fifth one yet, but just checking that you dontmiss out :)

And yeah Omar is great, but my personal favorite is the Bunk.

Zwiffle, I saw Drag Me to Hell a few days ago, dunno didnt like it that much. It was neat and well made but not quite comic enough or scary enough IMHO. Still better than Saw/Hostel 50 and all those other remakes. 

Nitin you are a life saver!

Have a cookie. 

also check out Carnivale next if you havent already. 

Avatar 3D - Visuals are nice overall, although the live action stuff looks pants in 3d, the depth of field is not right at all and is pretty distracting. But the fully cgi 3d stuff is definitely impressive, the highlight being the dragon flying sequence midway through.

But the scripting, especially the dialogue, is downright atrocious. Think first half of Titanic but delivered by worst actors.

5.5-6/10 

delivered by w�rst actors. 

Why did I even bother watching one of the new Scrubs episodes? Now I have to watch them all. They are super super super crap. Save yourself the pain. 

I have exactly the same problem.

And yeh, they're so bad it makes my eyes bleed... 

They're ok. I mean it really isn't the same show, but you know, they try.







Ah yeah it's pretty awful. :( 

was it ever good (ducks for cover)? 

I had the off chance to view this movie over the Christmas holiday and liked it. While it is not the most compelling story, it is visually interesting and imaginative. Found out later the same day that Tim Robbins (who starred in it) and Susan Sarandon split. I need to remind myself give her a call ;-) 

I've worked out why there wasn't a prison series in The Wire.

Watch Oz, it's very, very good. Not as good as The Wire, but pretty close (and a remarkable number of the same actors). About halfway through series 2 atm and absolutely loving it. I fully reccommend. 

Also, Lost fans can have good fun people spotting while watching it. Michael in a wheelchair with dreads being my favourite ;) 

I intend to eventually catch up on. 

but having finally caught up with most of 2009's releases (that I wanted to see), I was ready to declare that there was no legitimately great film from last year.

But then I saw Up last night, and it was exhilarating. The best Pixar have done since Toy Story 2 and also the best film of the year.