Monthly Archives: July 2005

Solaris / Trials of Henry Kissinger

Posted on 7/15/2005 by mauer

What a double bill. Solaris – reams have been written about it, and I don’t need to add more really, but it was an interesting reaction to 2001, which Tarkovsky apparently thought was “cold and impersonal.” I had trouble with … Continue reading →

Posted in (by verdict), likey | 6 Comments

character actors

Posted on 7/13/2005 by arnab

hijacking the brief nicky katt sidebar in the “layer cake” discussion and opening it up to other people we don’t see very often or in very large roles but would like to see more of. (katt, by the way, is … Continue reading →

Posted in actors/actresses | 42 Comments

Layer Cake

Posted on 7/11/2005 by reynolds

Quick recommendation: A return to the pleasures of the British gangster film. I think this is far superior to Guy Ritchie’s stuff, because both more brutal and more attentive to the consequences of brutality. The best antecedent, although some are … Continue reading →

Posted in (by verdict) | 15 Comments

I Don’t Know Jack / Team America

Posted on 7/9/2005 by mauer

I’ve seen a wealth of incredible documentaries over the past year or so. In fact, I’d say each of these was better than almost any current-run feature films I’ve seen in the same time frame: Rivers & Tides Gigantic: A … Continue reading →

Posted in (by verdict), piece of crap | 10 Comments

adaptations

Posted on 7/8/2005 by reynolds

Today’s NY Times had a decent little article about films which superseded (or were superlative to) the book. I generally sidestep conversations about such matters–they get dull in an NPR tongue-clucking way (about the ostensible decline of the literate class) … Continue reading →

Posted in (by verdict) | 14 Comments

Toys

Posted on 7/8/2005 by mauer

shudder I just had a flashback to what an awful fucking movie that was. Anyway, I plan to post on a couple of films I’ve watched in a day or two.

Posted in (by verdict), piece of crap | 1 Comment

After Life (2003… I think)

Posted on 7/6/2005 by reynolds

This flick was mentioned some time ago–but I just saw it, and at the least thought I’d throw up another nod. The scenario is a post-death fantasy where the recently-departed are asked to pick a single memory which they will … Continue reading →

Posted in (by verdict) | 3 Comments

Spielberg

Posted on 7/1/2005 by reynolds

War of the Worlds was 2/3 of a great movie. For the first hour, hour and fifteen minutes, the film creates a pervasive sense of dread and hopelessness, the gee-whiz special effects always coincident with aw-shit discomfort. By that I … Continue reading →

Posted in (by verdict) | 20 Comments