(descriptions and information gathered from IMDB. The opinions rendered below these, however, are mine. Using a 5 star rating system.)
Heist*** - 2001
A jewel thief's nephew is sent along on a heist to ensure a longtime partner in crime stays honest about the division of the loot.
Director and Writer: David Mamet Stars: Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito, Delroy Lindo, Rebecca Pigeon, Sam Rockwell.
I'm a big fan of heist films and some time fan of David Mamet. This one didn't disappoint, though it was a little harsher than I was expecting. The dialog was not as oddly arrhythmic as Mamet's line readings can sometimes be and I was glad for that. Great twists and a well tempered script. Shallow characters. Complete disregard for human life. Well filmed action and intrigue.
Hidalgo***** - 2004
In 1890, a down-and-out cowboy and his horse travel to Arabia to compete in a deadly cross desert horse race.
Director: Joe Johnston, Writer: John Fusco, Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Zuleikha Robinson, Omar Sharif.
I have seen this movie before, but it was on the telly, so I watched it again. It's just everything you could ask for in an epic adventure film. This is a movie with wonderful, beautifully shot settings framing strongly built characters (including the gorgeous horse), with full and compelling back stories. Everything is done right. Everyone would be doing themselves a favor choosing to watch this one (even if for the umpteenth time).
A Pervert’s Guide to Cinema **** -2006
Takes the viewer on an exhilarating ride through some of the greatest movies ever made. Serving as presenter and guide is the charismatic Slavoj Zizek.
Director: Sophie Fiennes, Writer: Slavoj Zizek, Star: Slavoj Zizek
I bought this DVD after watching the sequel, "A Pervert's Guide to Ideology", at SIFF this year. For me, this purchase was well worth it as I'm likely to watch it many times. I'm not sure who, among all the people I know would like this at all, but it's absolutely my cup of tea. It's very much like going to the weekly lecture of your favorite professor (if that ever happened to you in college). The thing is, Zizek perfectly combines philosophy and psychotherapeutic concepts with a clear and deep love of film (which he pronounces endearingly as fil-um). Somehow it all works. It's well written and hilariously filmed and absolutely edifying. In this one, (not so much with the sequel), you do have to be okay with watching some particularly disturbing moments, like, for instance, the chest-busting scene from "Alien". That is Joseph and Ralph's sister, by the way, directing.
No One Dies in Lily Dale*** -2011
A candid portrayal of Lily Dale, a spiritualist community in upstate New York, where most of the town's residents are registered Mediums who regularly give spiritual readings to visitors through alleged communication with the deceased.
Director: Steven Cantor
I read a book about Lily Dale a number of years ago and was intrigued and very interested in seeing this film. It proved creepier than I had hoped, and I'm not sure why, really. I think it may have something to do with the actual mediums they picked to focus on. Every one had a look and a talking style that bothered me (each one completely different from the other, yet creepily the same). A number of the people who were getting readings were also pretty creepy. There were also two readings that were clearly unsatisfying for the clients, and they were both done by the same medium. That made me uncomfortable because it really made him look bad. We do see clients get satisfying readings and we see detractor protesters at the gates that look truly ridiculous. So, I think the movie is attempting a pro or at least unbiased perspective. That mostly works, but in the end, the place feels just a little bit like Stepford.
The Killing Fields**** -1984
A photographer is trapped in Cambodia during tyrant Pol Pot's bloody "Year Zero" cleansing campaign, which claimed the lives of two million "undesirable" civilians.
Director: Roland Joffe, Writer: Bruce Robinson, Stars: Sam Waterston, Haing S. Ngor, John Malkovich
This is one of quite a few films made in the 80s about journalists caught in war-torn countries. Interestingly, they are all brilliant and have gone down in history destined to be classics. Also interesting about this particular film is that the film's star, Haing S. Ngor, had himself been captured and tortured by the Khmer Rouge and had lost his wife who died in childbirth. She died, partly, because she refused to call upon him for help knowing that to do so would expose him as being a doctor which would likely have meant his execution. This kind of high stress, life and death scene was the core of the movie and the actor had lived it. He was the second non-actor to win an academy award after Harold Russell in "The Best Years of Our Lives" (one of my Top Ten). I loved this film and found it very moving and interestingly filmed. All of the performances are truly sublime. I mostly hated the scoring for this film, though at the time it was created, it was the style to use jarring and sometimes goofy music to make a point. For me, the point wasn't really made, and the music drew attention to itself, pulling me away from the movie. This is the flaw that keeps this from being a 5 star movie for me.
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