Buongiorno, notte (2003)

English title: Good Morning, Night.
Synopsis: Terrorists kidnap the prime minister. They keep him in an apartment. They demand the release of political prisoners. One of the terrorists is a woman who has doubts about killing their prisoner after the government refuses to comply with the terrorists' requests. But they kill him anyway.
Appraisal: This is an attempt to give a dramatic shape to a true story, but the result is flaccid. I didn't get to understand, let alone care about any of the characters.
Rating: 37

Paid in Full (2002)

Synopsis: Ace is a quiet young man working in a laundry house. His friend Mitch is a drug dealer. Ace's sister dates a drug dealer too. When Mitch and the other drug dealer go to prison Ace starts dealing.
Appraisal: Slightly above average drama about drug dealers. It is well done but the subject and situations are becoming déjà vu.
Rating: 56

Stage Beauty (2004)

Synopsis: In 1660, women are not allowed to perform in public; female parts were played by men in disguise. One day the king revokes this prohibition and actors who played women are faced with unemployment.
Appraisal: Mostly mediocre drama that shows its theatrical origins. The first half is mildly interesting, as the text serves as a vehicle for some reflections on acting. The second half cannot sustain the interest and, lacking a better plot driver, resorts to romance.
Rating: 38

Boris and Natasha (1992)

Synopsis: A scientist from a small communist country invents a microchip that has the power to revert time for a few seconds. He flees to the USA and is sought by agents of his government.
Appraisal: Poor comedy based on secondary characters from a sixties' cartoon.
Rating: 26

O Trapalhão nas Minas do Rei Salomão (1977)

Synopsis: Three street wrestlers agree to help a young woman find her archeologist father who went missing while searching for King Solomon's mines. Another man joins them. They face several obstacles and dangers during their journey, the most terrible of which is a witch who will do anything to recover the medallion that the treasure seekers hold and which contains an important clue to the treasure's location. They overcome all these obstacles and many more; they, for instance, must cross a lake by walking on a log without falling neither to the left - they would get younger - nor to the right - they would get older; lastly they engage the help of an old tractor, which is used to destroy an entire African village where the archeologist is being held captive.
Appraisal: I was taken by surprise by the overall poverty of this kids-targeted adventure. Yet it has an undeniable liveliness to it that was probably partially responsible for its big success at the time of its release. I say 'partially' because one of the reasons for said success is the casting of then-famous TV comics, whose mass appeal was practically immediate. With little regard to logic, both in plot and in dialog, it is nowadays more suitable for group viewing, whereby people would gather to laugh at its primitiveness and flaws. For example, at one point, the girl in distress asks: "Why doesn't he turn this medallion over and free us?" and it's hard not to laugh, since there is indeed no plausible reason for them to keep that medallion - its information could have been copied long ago, and since it would be going back to its original owners, it would not tell them anything they hadn't already known.
Rating: 20

Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects (1989)

Synopsis: A vice cop investigates the kidnapping of the teenage daughter of a Japanese executive working in Los Angeles. The kidnapper is a pimp who uses underage girls.
Appraisal: Mostly routine B-film that exaggerates on the stereotypes. It is not completely negligible, as it analyses some more complex situations. One of them is the cop's issue with his own daughter's emerging sexuality and how this issue relates to his xenophobia; another one is the Japanese executive's confused approach to sex, which gets even more confused when he is transplanted to a society that is different from his own. In the action department, it also has some interesting bits, particularly a sequence with a junkyard crane. All that being said, I must take points from my rating because the film relies too much on nastiness, which is done not because it is required in order to tell the story but with the intention to pander to the audience's baser instincts.
Rating: 35

Roll Bounce (2005)

Synopsis: A bunch of African American kids are very fond of disco skating but the disco house in their neighborhood is closing down. They start going to another place at the other side of town. They establish a rivalry with a local group and enter a tournament to decide who is the best skating team.
Appraisal: The first half is pretty funny and upbeat, well written, well directed, well choreographed and well acted - even though it is not the actors themselves who do the skating, for the most part, I guess. Of course it's a recycling of clichés from several 70s and 80s movies, but it is well done and works. The second half loses a little bit of steam but it is still watchable.
Rating: 54

The Good Shepherd (2006)

Synopsis: A Yale graduate is invited to be one of the leading players of the OSS in Europe during WWII, then after the war he is invited to be one of the leading players of the CIA. All this is intertwined with an investigation of a tape containing a conversation that might have some relation to a mole and the Bay of Pigs invasion.

Appraisal: This film's plot is on a comic book level - precisely Hollywood's standard level for most of its history (during the 60s and maybe also 70s it got upgraded a little, then reverted to this in the 80s, and is presently on a consistent downward course). Which is funny, since it is told against a background of grand historical events and features big real organizations - why not tell a more true-to-fact depiction of these events? There are several far-fetched elements, but let's just mention one: why would someone who is sending a revealing tape murk its contents in such a way that it requires an expert forensic investigation in order to understand what it is revealing? To look for other inconsistencies or logical flaws, go to IMDb and probe the User Comments or the Message Boards. That being said, I don't agree that the film is tedious, or that the acting is deficient. On the contrary, it is entertaining (on a comic book level) and well acted. And it has one or two things to say about the psyche of spies, although in the same somewhat dumbed-down manner.

Rating: 58

Alila (2003)

English translation for the title: Story plot.
Synopsis: Several characters living in a lower-class building and their stories. A divorced couple whose son has deserted the Israeli army; a woman who uses one of the apartments for sexual encounters with a married man; etc.
Appraisal: This film has a poor execution and uninteresting characters; its only possible interest is that it offers a revealing glimpse into some aspects of Israeli life. Based on the 1997 novel "Returning Lost Loves" by Yehoshua Kenaz.
Rating: 39

The Secret (2006)

Description: "Motivational" or "self help" pseudo-documentary featuring a lot of mumbo jumbo delivered by a bunch of ludicrous quacks bearing equally amusing qualification descriptions such as 'metaphysician' or 'quantum physicist' and boasting fictitious degrees such as DD or MscD. As I watched the film I supposed they were just actors; later on, I came to realize that, no matter what they call themselves, that's just what they are after all. Unlike the similarly themed and structured "What the Hell Do We Know?", this one does not feature funny animations. There are two slightly different versions of this film, with different women speakers at a few points.
Rating: 2

Going Back (2001)

Synopsis: The remnants of a Vietnam war platoon agree to take part in a documentary to be shot on the places at which they fought. They agree to reenact a crucial moment in war in which their leader apparently caused the deaths of some of his own men by American artillery.
Appraisal: Heavily melodramatic, with all the plot twists that the genre entails, but sporting a moral ambiguity that is atypical of the genre, flaunting an anti-war message here, praising army comraderie there, even, at the last scene, complete surrendering to the charms of military discipline. The action is competently handled, even engaging occasionally; the cinematography is good. Don't look for an accurate depiction of the Vietnam war, though; this is not what the film is about.
Rating: 41

28 Days Later (2002)

Synopsis (with MAJOR spoilers): Some animal rights activists free some infected lab animals who then spread a disease that causes the infected to behave violently and bite others thus contaminating them. Soon everyone is infected except for a few. A guy wakes up in a hospital not knowing what has happened. He goes out and sees a deserted London. Later he meets a woman and a guy who are not infected. The guy gets infected and is killed by the woman. Then they encounter a dad and his teenage girl. They hear a radio transmission telling of a camp that promises the 'solution to infection' and head to the appointed place. Arriving there, the dad gets infected by blood dripping from a corpse on a roof. He is shot dead by soldiers coming from the camp. Then they all follow him and the other soldiers to the camp. There they soon find out that the women were lured there with the sole purpose of serving as sexual objects to the soldiers. The guy doesn't go along with it and is sentenced to death, but escapes. Later he returns to the camp to find out that an infected prisoner they were keeping there has escaped and is attacking everyone in sight. He manages to rescue the two women and they flee the camp but the guy gets shot. The women treat him and he gets well. Soon the infected are all dead from starvation. The three uninfected survivors signal to a plane to rescue them.
Appraisal: Derivative horror that didn't really impress me much. The cinematography is fine, and the film is well filmed and well edited. All in all, just average entertainment, nothing to take home, at least not for me.
Rating: 48

Journey to Shiloh (1968)

Synopsis: Seven Texan youngsters decide to ride to Virginia to enlist in the Confederate army. Along the way, they meet various kinds of people.
Appraisal: What stands out in this film is the solid direction and the well-written dialog. That alone makes it watchable despite the somewhat trite storyline and the obvious production flaws like the insertion of stock footage in battle sequences. One can sense a veiled reference to the Vietnam war and the general discomfort felt at that time regarding that stupid war. Based on a 1963 novel by Will Henry (pen name of Henry Wilson Allen, aka Heck Allen).
Rating: 54

Last Night (1998/I)

Synopsis: The world is going to end in 24 hours. People know about it. One character wants to spend the end alone but gets involved with a woman who wants to get to her husband but has no means of transportation to do it. Another character wants to fulfill all his sexual fantasies.
Appraisal: Interesting premise, not so well explored. It has its moments though.
Rating: 48

American History X (1998)

Synopsis: A skinhead is idolized by his younger brother, goes to prison after killing some guys who tried to steal his car, then the prison environment provokes some inner changes in him.
Appraisal: A little manipulative and at times unconvincing. On a basic melodramatic level, it has some interest. Terrible ending though.
Rating: 49

Ong-bak (2003)

English titles: Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior; Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior.
Synopsis: In a village in Thailand the head of a Buddha statue is stolen; the statue is attributed a protective function for the village, and thus the village's bravest young man is sent to the capital to recover the stolen head.
Appraisal: In terms of story, nothing really memorable happens; the characters are simply caricatures. The fights are in great quantity; the choreography is good yet not exceptional; the fighters are uniformly excellent; there is also some moderately entertaining non-fighting action, such as a street foot chase and a competition on a tree.
Rating: 45

La comunidad (2000)

English title: Common Wealth.
Synopsis: A realtor decides, along with her husband, to sleep over at one of the apartments she is trying to sell. A series of incidents leads her to a fortune which was hidden in a dead man's apartment in the same building. The only problem is that the other dwellers of the building know about the money and they don't take long to find out that she has it.
Appraisal: This film suffers from the same problems of this director's other films, only in a smaller scale, it seemed to me. The problems I am referring to are a certain amount of triteness in the situations he devises, a few of which he uses repeatedly, and the complete absence of subtlety to express the characters' feelings or thoughts. But this time around I think he has a sufficiently interesting premise and a sufficiently variegated array of characters and situations to sustain the viewer's interest until the end. Don't expect much insight or refinement though.
Rating: 52

Little Miss Marker (1980)

Synopsis: A gambler places a bet with a bookmaker but since he doesn't have the betting money he leaves his 7 year old daughter as a guarantee (a marker, as they call it).
Appraisal: Based on a 1932 story by Damon Runyon, this movie has some fine comedic moments along with not so fine ones. Anyway it is worth watching for the one-liners. Visually, it is nothing to rave about and its mise-en-scene seems stale at times. Matthau is typecast yet again as the misanthrope with a heart of gold; Andrews is lovely yet miscast as the love interest.
Rating: 51

Fratello sole, sorella luna (1972)

English title: Brother Sun, Sister Moon.
Synopsis: Francesco returns from war ill. He slowly recovers, but his subsequent acts scandalize the town of Assisi. He then retreats to a ruined church vowing to rebuild it; many other youths soon join him.
Appraisal: Justly panned for its glossy style, in which gorgeous visuals and pop songs replace authenticity and depth, this biography has nonetheless marginal merits that got more or less obscured by that massively negative critical response. While delivering the events in a manner as to ostensibly comply with the majority of viewers' expectations, it subtly, through clever scripting and cast direction, exhibits glimpses of an alternative view of the central character's motivations. For example, the 'official' version the movie conveys is that, whereas the whole town considers Francesco to be crazy, he is actually breaking with society's imprisoning rules, and seeking a deeper meaning to life. But, on the other hand, when Bernardo visits Francesco on the ruined church, the behavior and facial expressions of Francesco are typical of a deranged man. Later in the movie, Paolo, in a fit of rage, accuses Francesco of faking his 'lunacy' or 'religiousness' in order to conceal his cowardice in battle; this is a very interesting hypothesis that would make for a much more interesting approach. In another scene, after the papal audience, a cardinal commends the Pope for his cunning in using Francesco to attract the lower classes back to the Church. The simple fact that these bits of dialog exist lifts the film from mere corny propaganda. There are several other instances of good writing throughout the film. At a superficial, melodramatic level, it is mostly well directed and makes for a watchable spectacle.
Rating: 51

Tmavomodrý svet (2001)

English title: Dark Blue World.
Synopsis: The action is set on two time frames that intercalate, 1939 (and subsequent years until 1945) and 1950. The central character is a Czechoslovak man; in 1939 he becomes an allied pilot in England. In 1950, he is a prisoner in Czechoslovakia.
Appraisal: Like this writer/director duo's previous Kolja, this is a festival of clichés. I liked this one a little better, perhaps due to its theme. I can't find much to say about it; it is limited, but works well as mild entertainment.
Rating: 51

I Want You (1998/I)

Synopsis: At a coastal town, several characters cross paths. Young Martin has just been released on parole, and he begins stalking his former girlfriend Helen, who is also the object of affection of a 14 year old boy who lives with his sexually active sister.
Appraisal: This is clearly an unsatisfactory film, that touches upon subjects like guilt and desire but don't fully explore them; also, the character of Helen, whose behavior has a surprising evolution in the film, is only sketched and we never really get to know her or her motivations well; has she been through a traumatic experience in her past? We can only guess. The cinematography has some yellowish filtering that gives the picture a nice look and conveys a mysterious mood.
Rating: 46

The Lost Son (1999)

Synopsis: A private detective is hired to find the missing son of a wealthy couple. As he advances his investigations, he discovers that the person he is looking for may have been executed by the members of a child exploitation ring.
Appraisal: This crime drama is not very well written, his development being marred by some inconsistencies in character behavior and some poorly executed sequences of confrontation between the main character Xavier and the thugs. He doesn't seem to be especially competent to single-handedly carry out the dismantling of the entire criminal organization. That being said, the plot development manages to sustain the viewer's interest, which is already something.
Rating: 35

Spy Hard (1996)

Synopsis: A retired secret agent goes back in service to rescue the daughter of a former colleague from the hands of a lunatic who threatens to destroy the world.
Appraisal: Rather tame spoof of spy movies but also of several 90's blockbusters. Its jokes are unoriginal for the most part, but I didn't consider it totally unentertaining; furthermore, the leading actor is a fine comedian.
Rating: 33

Pompeii Uncovered (2007) (TV)

Very interesting documentary on the "NatGeo Presents" series. Despite the title, it's about both Pompeii and Herculaneum, and the Vesuvium itself.

Les aimants (2004)

English title: Love and Magnets.
Synopsis: The plot involves several adulteries, some mistaken identities, and messages left in the refrigerator door.
Appraisal: Romantic comedy of errors that despite the complications of its plot fails to achieve a greater empathy due to somewhat trite dialogue and situations. It is sufficiently lighthearted and agile to ensure its watchability, but it doesn't imprint anything lasting on one's brain.
Rating: 40

Winter Solstice (2004/I)

Synopsis: Jim is a widower living with his two teenage sons, Gabe and Pete. Jim has a gardening shop. Gabe works at a restaurant. Pete is in high school. Molly is the single middle-aged neighbor who has just moved in.
Appraisal: Very polished chronicle of a suburban family. Its pace is laid-back, there are no shocking or even unusual events, and its approach is not so different from many recent films dealing with similar subjects. A nice touch is how the subject of Pete's history class paralells the story of his family: why did the Mongolians stop their raiding midway and never invaded Europe? Pete knows the answer. Also, the paralell between tending a garden and keeping a family together.
Rating: 55

Sometimes a Great Notion (1971)

Synopsis: A family of ununionized lumberjacks gets pressure to stop their activities during a strike but refuse to, thus garnering the hostility of the town people.
Appraisal: An analysis of individualism, from a 1964 novel by Ken Kesey, and arguably a companion piece to Kesey's Someone Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, though I haven't read the novels, just seen the films. SAGN deals with extreme individualism, the kind that won't back off even at the prospect of starving an entire city. The film is not condescending in the least; it's hard to know where the film's sympathies lie. The film is not completely successful, perhaps; for example, the episode where Hank and his brothers save the drifiting saboteurs has a somewhat abrupt ending and seems to be there to add another layer to this family's character, implying that they are individualistic but wouldn't refuse a helping hand even to their enemies. Somehow it is implied that, in a traditional sense, they are morally superior to the unionized workers, who resort to dangerous sabotage to achieve their goals. (And now come some spoilers!) One thing that baffled me was that Joby's wife, the more adjusted woman in the house, leaves after Joby dies. This doesn't seem right. Also, Leland's allegiance to his brother in the final act is subject to some discussion. Maybe it was a reaction to the union's methods. Maybe he saw his own mother and Hank in a new light after a commentary made by Hank (he was 14, she was 30), and he wanted to make up for his previous unjust assessment of his half-brother. This is more a question-raising film than an answer-providing one.
Rating: 62

The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)

Synopsis: Some guys try to help their inexperienced middle-aged friend get laid. He meets a middle-aged woman and they start dating.
Appraisal: Fairly congenial comedy that nonetheless is way too long (I saw the unrated version) and has a lot of unfunny or redundant situations. Its final musical number is completely unnecessary, to give just one example.
Rating: 42

Shao Lin si (1976)

English titles: Death Chamber; Shaolin Temple.
Synopsis (spoilers!): Several young men sit for days outside the Shaolin Temple, expecting to be admitted as kung-fu students. In consideration of this, and also of the fact that the temple needs strengthening on account of being threatened by powerful enemies, among whom the emperor himself, the Temple's Grand Master decides to start taking outside pupils. The film shows their training. It ends with a massive attack of the temple and its subsequent destruction.
Appraisal: I didn't see much fun in watching hours of training; the fighting is concentrated near the ending, and, although well choreographed, is very long. So, I should say that this film didn't give me much in the way of entertaining, though it is competently directed within its budget constraints (warning: expect zooming).
Rating: 40

Lilja 4-ever (2002)

English title: Lilya 4-ever.
Synopsis: Lilja is a Russian teenage girl whose mother goes to America with her new boyfriend leaving her alone. She begins to prostitute herself out of sheer need to survive. One day she meets a handsome young boy who invites her to go to Sweden, where he says he has a job for her...
Appraisal: This is a heart-wrenching story, probably a bit exaggerated in some aspects, no doubt aiming at a higher impact. It addresses a major social illness of our times, women trafficking, and hopefully it will help to end it. Technically, the film is rather simple, shot mostly with a hand-held camera, in 16 mm. But it is a necessary movie, made with competence and emotion. This is the fourth film I see in the last two weeks that features one or more children with miserable lives who are transported to some kind of heaven.
Rating: 63

El hijo de la novia (2001)

English title: Son of the Bride.
Synopsis: A restaurant owner is stressed and overworked. He has a heart attack. His mother has Alzheimer's. His father wants to have a church wedding, after all these years.
Appraisal: The synopsis above is not stylistically exemplary, but I'm tired and writing synopses for bad movies like this one is not my cup of tea. I'll try to be short in my review. This is a ridiculous film, that thrives on fabricated emotion and some out-of-place humor. The actors and actresses are talented, but the situations they have to enact are often of an embarrassing kind.
Rating: 28

La femme de mon pote (1983)

English title: My Best Friend's Girl.
Synopsis: Two friends live at a ski resort. One is a womanizer, the other is chubby and shy. But the womanizer's new girlfriend seems to develop an interest in the chubby one.
Appraisal: Interesting but with an uneven flow, running a little low on steam around the middle. Also, a little theatrical. But the ending is very sweet.
Rating: 50

The Major Lied 'Til Dawn (1938)

This cartoon has excellent animation and many interesting gags. The humor is very lighthearted and harmless, with a lot of jokes based on analogies between urban or technological objects and natural or primitive ones (example: the elephant has a gear shifting handle). It's also interesting because it displays jokes that would be frowned upon today because of their ecological incorrectness (example: a bear is morphed into a coat); actually the whole subject of the cartoon would hardly be a viable choice in present days. As a final note, the copy I watched (shown on Cartoon Network) did not contain one the jokes mentioned in the IMDb Plot Summary section, namely the one in which a native uses his lower lip as a record player.
(I saw this film on November 18, 2006.)

The Three Little Pups (1953)

As perhaps has been observed elsewhere, Tex Avery not only concocts the most imaginative and wildest gags ever, he also creates characters that stay with the viewer forever. No one was as original. In a first attempt to summarize the essence of Avery's style, I will say that most of his visual gags are based on physical impossibilities of two kinds: (1) things that behave not like themselves but rather like what their appearance might allow -- example: the log that peels; (2) the rule of behavior of things is stretched beyond its range of validity -- example: the bullet hits the 'bull's eye', even if it has to deviate from a straight line. But Tex is much more than that: he was one of the greatest artists of the 20th century.
(I saw this film on November 16, 2006.)

Porky's Railroad (1937)

What strikes me as shocking about 'Porky's Railroad' is its absolutely -- even brutally, I should say -- honest depiction of the soul of man under capitalism -- to paraphrase the title of that famous book by Oscar Wilde -- which I unfortunately have not read yet. The first shot establishes the state-of-the-art in trains -- one that would look modern even by today's standards. Then, the film switches to Porky's obsolete -- and barely functional -- model. It is interesting then how the film establishes Porky's character as sentimentally attached to his old train, but not anti-technology at all: for him, machines have precedence over animals. The race that ensues is the necessary conflict that precedes the shocking -- and of an unbridled cynicism -- ending that carries to the last consequences the truism that sentimentality has no place in a technological capitalist society -- Porky wins the race but is not allowed to keep his train; instead he is promoted to machinist of the new one, and is soon bursting with joy. Obsolescence happens to trains as well as to people -- the old machinist goes to the 'garbage can' just as Porky's old train.
(I saw this film on November 15, 2006.)

Dawn to Dawn (1933)

Alternate title: Black Dawn.
Set in a farm, this has a father and a daughter living by themselves. The father exploits and represses the daughter, who toils as a slave and never meets anyone. One day, a young man appears and they become mutually attracted. This simple story has an outdoors act, as they plow the field, in between two indoors acts, inside the hut. In the outdoors sequences, the director creates a sense of loneliness and despair, and then of love and hope; the indoors are used to create an atmosphere of oppression. All this is handled competently in this short film. The problems that I saw in this film are: the excessively caricatured characterization of the father; and not-so-good acting (by all three, I guess; the young woman is actually good at facial expressions but is not so good with her voice).
(I saw this film on December 18, 2006, as part of the DVD Unseen Cinema: Inverted Narratives.)

Little Geezer (1932)

The idea of children in adults' roles is apparently recurrent in movies. It had already been the basis for The Little Train Robbery (1905), and would later reappear in Bugsy Malone (1976), which has very similar situations as in this Little Geezer, except that in that film the machine guns spilled whipped cream and here apparently they contain real bullets; in The Little Train Robbery the merchandise they steal is candy, so there is a link with children's interests; in Little Geezer there is none. There must be a reason that lead people to come back to this joke but I can't be sure what it is, and I have never figured out what is so funny about it. But this film is moderately enjoyable, mostly because of the daring (for the time) editing (only sometimes it is so fast that it is hard to make out the individual scenes).
(I saw this film on December 18, 2006, as part of the DVD Unseen Cinema: Inverted Narratives.)

Lullaby (1929)

Alternating the realistic depiction of a Russian peasant home and expressionistic hallucinations, 'Lullaby' is a remarkable short film that deserves a lot more recognition than it has. It has an oppressive atmosphere that one rarely sees in films of any age or length. The performers look like real Russian peasants. The expressionistic bits are in the style of 'Caligari', with drawings as background. There are also three men with painted faces whose exact meaning and purpose I could not figure out. One can easily see that in this film the class struggle has poor against poor (peasants exploiting a house servant). The ending is a logical solution since the musician can also be considered as an exploited worker. Thus, no matter how poor these peasants are, they are the oppressor simply because they own the land. Marx was right.
(I saw this film on December 18, 2006, as part of the DVD Unseen Cinema: Inverted Narratives.)

The Telltale Heart (1928)

Influenced by 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' in its stylized set design, this Poe adaptation has a narrative-driven structure, without much experimentation in the line of, say, 'The Fall of the House of Usher' (the American film), released in the same year. That does not mean it doesn't offer creative solutions for the storytelling. But it is a more modest film. The main actor is made to look like Poe himself, a nice idea in my opinion as Poe's stories are probably deeply related with his own neuroses and fears. Also, the actor playing the old man conveys exactly the image intended by Poe's text, especially the pale eyes with a film on them. Overall, a worthy film, recommended for fans of silent cinema.
(I saw this film on December 02, 2006, as part of the DVD Unseen Cinema: The Devil's Plaything.)

Portrait of a Young Man in Three Movements (1931)

This is a non-narrative film comprised mostly of long takes of natural events such as the flow of the tide on a seashore, or the leaves of a tree, or the clouds in the sky. The only non-natural events displayed are the motions of a machine at work (I could not identify which sort of machine it was), and it probably was chosen because of the repetitive pattern of its movement, which kind of echoes that of the tide flow shown just before them. The shifting patterns of light and shade induce a sort of trance in the viewer -- an aesthetic experience that at its best can be ecstatic. The amazing thing about this film is that its concept is simple and its images are taken from common events, yet we never take the time to look at them in our everyday life.
(I saw this film on November 30, 2006, as part of the DVD Unseen Cinema: The Mechanized Eye.)

In Youth, Beside the Lonely Sea (1925)

This short (5 minutes) film consists of three screens standing side by side, forming a continual image, just as it were a single wide frame. Above and below every frame are two verses of the homonymous poem by American poet Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836-1907); the verses are replaced by new ones as the film advances. The film (and poem) tell the story a man from his youth when he was full of dreams and hopes up to when he is old and despondent. He is haunted by visions of nymphs by the sea and in the woods (in his youth) and of fairies in his lonely room (in his old age). This is an acutely moving film, and the special effects are impressive. The fact that its maker is unknown only adds to its mystical aura.
(I saw this film on November 25, 2006, as part of the DVD Unseen Cinema: The Mechanized Eye.)

La cartomancienne (1932)

English title: The Fortune Teller.
A woman is looking for the perfect man. She ascends a flight of stairs and meets a fortune teller. The figure of a man wearing a bathing suit appears. The film is full of symbolism that uses alchemical motifs -- so we are told -- and can be understood as a work of pure visual art, working through beautiful association of geometrical patterns or fusions. The only thing that nearly spoils the film is the asymmetry between the nakedness of the masculine figure and the abundance of garment on the feminine one. Was it one-sided prudishness or what? I had never heard of this filmmaker and, looking at his filmography, I don't see any familiar titles. Judging by this film, he was a talented artist.
(I saw this film on November 24, 2006, as part of the DVD Unseen Cinema: The Mechanized Eye.)

Hellboy (2004)

Synopsis: The Nazis hire Rasputin to open a portal to another dimension and summon some gods who will destroy the world. The Allies arrive in time to prevent him from doing it, but during the time the portal was open a baby creature from hell enters our dimension. He is raised by a scientist to be a good man and sixty years later he and his friends go after Rasputin resuscitated.
Appraisal: Well, the plot synopsis says it all, I guess. This is possibly this director's most autobiographical film, though probably not his most personal - that honor should go to the ghastly El laberinto del fauno. Hellboy, I guess, is his alter ego, as a boy who came from 'the other side', just as he, the director, came from across the Rio Grande to become an international filmmaker. The message of the film is 'where you came from doesn't make you; your choices do'. He, the director, abides to that all the way - you don't see Mexico once in his filmography. I guess I should give some points to this film on account of all the second unit work, and cinematography, and also some of the performances (the main actor, most of all). Based on a comic book series which appeared for the first time in 1993.
Rating: 25

Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)

Synopsis: A virus that resuscitates the dead contaminates an entire city. The city is sealed and no one is allowed to enter or leave it. The film follows the attempts of a few people that are trapped in the city to get out.
Appraisal: This is essentially an action movie without much room for dialogue or character development. The action is depicted with fast editing, sometimes too fast but in an overall competent fashion. The plot is highly derivative, echoing films like Night of the Living Dead and its sequels, and also Robocop; it's also sleazily scripted, with some inexplicable occurrences here and there. Basically an unnecessary film, although it has some minor entertaining value.
Rating: 38

The Insider (1999)

Synopsis: A former head of Research and Development for a tobacco company reveals to the press that the company he worked for has been hiding their knowledge about some dangerous characteristics of the product they sell.
Appraisal: It has all the appearance of a rigorous dramatic telling of real events; rigorous not only in its fidelity to fact but in its depiction of the private dimension of the characters involved. To be honest, my taste for such productions is limited due to the fact that beneath their surface of technicalities, legal and otherwise, their development is very predictable; also, they don't give room to much interesting drama. But it is entertaining, and even instructive; it is also has virtuous editing and camerawork, and excellent performances.
Rating: 68

Julie Walking Home (2002)

Synopsis: A couple finds out that one of their children has cancer. His prospects are not good, since he is allergic to chemotherapy. The mother then decides to visit a healer in Europe who allegedly cures people by laying his hands on them.
Appraisal: Perhaps I will not be able to present a rational analysis of this film; up until it was almost over, I was not sure whether it was a great film or some inconsequential melodrama. I think that the closing events were really well thought out though, and did not let the film lose itself. Anyway, what I am perfectly sure of is that from the first scene to the last, it is intense and gripping. And it makes us think about the emotional pitfalls along our lives, without an inch of moralizing about it. For me, it was a rewarding experience. And a great part of its strength is in its flawless cast.
Rating: 74
Ranking: 12th position in 2002

Bring It On (2000)

Synopsis: Torrance has just been nominated captain of her team of cheerleaders. But everything starts going wrong, from an injured team member to a stolen choreography to a suspiciously untraceable boyfriend...
Appraisal: This is so aware of its own limitations that at one point it seems to be mocking itself, as one of the characters asks in disbelief: "Wait! People cheer cheerleaders?" Some of the dialogue is exquisitely clever, but it's never more than an accessory to a succession of moderately amusing trivialities.
Rating: 45

The Squid and the Whale (2005)

Synopsis: Two teenage brothers must adapt to a new life when their parents separate.
Appraisal: It manages to turn a somewhat grim subject into an attention grabber, which is a sure sign of talent; however, its telegraphic style composed predominantly of short sequences allows only a superficial glimpse into these lives and that is not engrossing enough in this case. The approach may work in films like The Wild Child (referenced in one line) because it is sort of an anthropological study; here, all you have are its characters, and the deeper the filmmaker goes, the more resonating the experience of watching it will be. I guess (not having seen it, only read some of its dialog) The Mother and the Whore (referenced in another line) would have been a better model. The Squid and the Whale feels honest but at the same time distant. I think it works, though not as well as it could.
Rating: 67

Daisy Doodad's Dial (1914)

Synopsis: Husband and wife decide to enter grimacing competitions (I didn't know there were such things, even in 1914).
Appraisal: Rather undistinguished little comedy, though not entirely without worth.

The Helpful (?) Sisterhood (1914)

Synopsis: Mary is invited to join a sorority but she is not from the same social class as the rest of the sorority girls, and soon she finds out she cannot afford the expenses imposed by their social life.
Appraisal: A competently crafted moral tale. Its premise is interesting, though of course it is approached in a simplified way.

Borat (2006)

Synopsis: A reporter from a third world country travels to the U.S. to learn more about the American way.
Appraisal: I had a moderate amount of amusement from this film; to be honest, I was bored at certain parts too. The anti-semitism bits are not very funny; the rodeo sequence, which had potential, turned out to be a dud; the scene at the antique shop is just old fashioned slapstick; none of this is really annoying, but the overall result is just a curious, though uneven, experiment that owes much of its structure and dynamics to television.
Rating: 40

Pi li shi jie (1985)

English title: Disciples of the 36th Chamber.
Synopsis: Unruly student Fong Sai-Yuk is expelled from his school and sent to the 36th Chamber to learn kung-fu. He remains an undisciplined sudent there, sneaking out at night to see a festival. At the festival, he meets the governor, a Manchu, who coaxes Fong to bring the best kung-fu students to watch the festival. Fong accepts, not knowing that the governor has evil plans.
Appraisal: Entertaining but too focused on choreography, a characteristic some may like, but I find lacking. Comparing it to Return to the 36th Chamber, Disciples has a little less humor and higher production values (less zooming is used, for example). The fights are equally arresting, and the acting is mostly good.
Rating: 50

The Speed Kings (1913)

Synopsis: A man takes his daughter to a car race. She is infatuated with one of the racers, but he prefers another one, so he tampers with the first one's car.
Appraisal: This is a pretty dull short comedy, whose main interest is to show some real race footage and famous racers of that time. I saw it on a bad copy, which made things even worse.

Fatty's Magic Pants (1914)

Synopsis: Fatty wants to take Mabel to a dance but doesn't have the required clothes. His rival invites her but Fatty steals his clothes.
Appraisal: This is my second viewing of this short comedy. I had seen it previously on a minuscule frame, but my appraisal then was identical to my present one.

Mabel, Fatty and the Law (1915)

Synopsis: Fatty and his wife go to a park where 'no spooning is allowed'. He flirts with another man's wife while the other man flirts with his. Fatty and the other man's wife end up in jail.
Appraisal: Only moderately entertaining short comedy.

Fatty Joins the Force (1913)

Synopsis: Fatty saves the police commissioner's daughter from drowning and is offered a job as a policeman.
Appraisal: This is my second viewing of this short film. My previous evaluation of it was a bit harsh; actually this comedy is not devoid of entertaining value; maybe the fact that I had seen it from a copy that had to be played at a minuscule frame size influenced my opinion then.

At First Sight (1999)

Synopsis: Woman falls in love with blind man; she encourages him to have an operation to recover sight.
Appraisal: I was never bored through it, but even so I had the feeling that it was overlong; furthermore, it was a bit too heavy on the philosophizing stuff, especially near the ending. Based on a true story, reported in 1993 in this article.
Rating: 51

Children of Men (2006)

Synopsis: The year is 2027, and a plague of infertility has ravaged the planet for years. In England, the government is capturing and deporting all illegal immigrants, some of whom have organized themselves into an underground resistance group. This film concerns a man who is offered money to provide an immigrant woman with travel permit documents, and then to escort her to another location.
Appraisal: This is a typical genre picture, centered on action and with many instrumental secondary characters which are given some exotic or dramatic attribute and usually don't stay in the film for long. The infertility premise is scientifically improbable, and has to do more with a specific neurosis of the female gender than with anything else. Not very significant or brilliant in any sense except for the cinematography, camerawork and perhaps set and landscape designs. Shortly put, this is a B-film with A-production values which builds its narrative with some competence but is ultimately shallow. Based on a 1992 novel by P.D. James.
Rating: 46