Saturday, May 30, 2009

We Don't Live Here Anymore (2004)

Based on two novellas by Andre Dubus, We Don't Live Here Anymore (published in the collection Separate Flights, 1st ed. 1975), and Adultery (published in the collection Adultery and Other Choices, 1st ed. 1977).

Two middle-class couples who share an intimate friendship face some affective problems leading up to mutual infidelities amongst themselves.

Same old same old.

Rating: 49

Panj é asr (2003)

English title: At Five in the Afternoon.

In occupied Afghanistan, there is a clash between women who want the end of Taleban oppression, and the conservative men who cling to the rules set up by that regime. An ambitious woman attends classes and wants to be the country's president one day.

There isn't much to say about this film; it isn't very good. The first 15 minutes are fine, and then it's just not anymore. Camerawork is first rate though, and one can sense the director's (or the cinematographer's, perhaps) eye for composition.

Rating: 33

Sunday, May 17, 2009

The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008)

A mother and her three kids move to an old house in the country. The kids make contact with fantastical beings and find a book which is supposed to contain precious information about those creatures, being therefore coveted by an evil monster.

I don't know why I keep watching this kind of film. I can't see the point in them; I guess kids can. I guess one could say this one is "visually stunning" and that it has an "exciting pace" or something of the sort.

Rating: 37

Saturday, May 16, 2009

We Own the Night (2007)

One brother is a nightclub manager and the other, following on the footsteps of his father, is a cop. When the latter brother is shot by a drug dealer, the former brother decides to do something about it.

It's rare that we see a movie about which we can say 'classic' right after we've watched it. Plus, one of the best car chases ever, albeit a short one. Gray seems to be one of the most reliable filmmakers in activity, and getting better. Phoenix is impressive in the leading role; as a matter of fact, the whole cast is fine. But be warned: this is not an ordinary thriller, as it is not really as engaged in 'thrilling' the viewer (which might explain its lukewarm reception among American viewers, and its warmer one among European ones) as it is in constructing a fatalistic fable involving kinship and identity.

Rating: 80 (a favorite; 2007's number 1)

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

CQ (2001)

In 1969, a film editor (and second-unit director) working on a science-fiction film goes through a series of personal and professional incidents.

It doesn't really go anywhere, either dramatically or comedically, but its evocation of a certain slice of time and its filmic iconography are well-done and entertaining.

Rating: 53

Monday, May 11, 2009

The Dark Hours (2005)

A psychiatrist who deals with the criminally insane has a brain tumor which was stationary and now has resumed its growth. She shows up unexpectedly at the secluded cabin where her husband, aided by her sister, is working on a book.

Yet another film which mixes dream and reality. In the case of this film, one never achieves any sense of horror, since (as usual) things are so wrapped up in mystery that the viewer will only too late get a glimpse of what is going on behind the appearances. To be frank, I still don't know what exactly went on and I don't think the movie makes that much sense to justify a second viewing.
It borrows most conspicuously from the short story "The South", by Jorge Luis Borges, first published in 1953, and, on another level, from The Desperate Hours (1955), a reference made obvious by its title.

Rating: 25