Exit Through the Gift Shop
Banksy curates the tale of an eccentric French family man living in L.A., who one day discovers the joy of compulsively filming everything he sees. After discovering his cousin in France is Space Invader, he falls deep into the world of street art, hanging out with interesting artists such as Shepard Fairey, and eventually Banksy. Banksy encourages him to take his hours of film and edit them into a documentary, but upon failing miserably at that, Banksy recommends he make some art. Six months later, the French man has transformed in Mr. Brainwash, in charge of a massive production of assembly-line street-style pop art. Despite having no real credentials as an artist other than his obsessive observation of actual street artists, he hoodwinks all of L.A. into believing he is the real deal, and cashes in big.

Princess Mononoke
Another Miyazaki classic.

Black Hawk Down
Ridley Scott's dramatic take on the Mogadishu fiasco, featuring a ton of respectable actors.

Manhattan
Woody Allen's first black and white film, beautiful imagery of Manhattan to Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue', clever play on the self-destructive relationships various New Yorkers engage in. Allen plays Isaac, a neurotic TV writer who quits his job to write a book, continually admires and pushes away his 17 year old girlfriend, falls in love with his friend Yale's mistress, wins and loses her, and comes running back to his 17 year old girlfriend wonderfully played by Mariel Hemingway, just as she is about to leave for London because of his suggestion. Hemingway, as Tracy, one of the only sensible and ironically youngest characters in the film, says she'll be back in 6 months, which isn't that long of a time. Allen looks at the camera with a classic look of, 'Yeah I don't know about that!', drawing on all the flip-flopping that has already occurred in the short span of the film. Other highlights: Keaton and Allen sitting on the Hudson river looking at the Manhattan bridge in the early morning light, Keaton and Allen's walk through the rain, into the Natural History Museum, on Mars.

Pickpocket
Sullen-faced Michel begins to pick pockets as a cure to his loneliness and poor finances, but is immediately caught. He continues to explore the concept of picking pockets, as a social tool, engaging in a frank relationship with the inspector who first caught him, hiding from his mother and his friend Jacques, and the unfortunate but sensible Jeanne. Michel falls in with another pickpocket who shows him the ropes and brings him in to a broader team of pickpockets who tear through train stations, and all sorts of people-packed places. As the heat gets heavy, Michel runs away, picking pockets across Europe until he has no choice but to return penniless to Paris. His mother has died. He has lost his will to live. He foolishly tries to pull one last theft, is caught in a setup, and only then does he realize that the stable and committed Jeanne is his only real reason for living. Highlights include some swift camerawork as the pick pockets move through the city, Michel's early solo attempts at picking pockets by using a newspaper.

Following
Christopher Nolan's first feature-length, I'd seen this before when I was 16/17. An aspiring writer begins following people on the streets of London to ail his loneliness, and soon meets Cobb, a burglar who likes to disrupt the fabric of people's comfort zones. "You take it away... to show them what they had." The writer gets deeper into it, changes the way he looks, and falls in with a Blonde woman whose ex-boyfriend is a vicious gangster. The writer does not realize that Cobb and the Blonde are working together to con him into stealing money from the gangster's private safe. Cobb kills the gangster in self-defense. He realizes he's been set-up. He confesses to the police. The police collect all the evidence, but can find no proof of Cobb's existence. Cobb, we discover, has double-crossed the Blonde as well, leaving the young writer with one other murder to account for. Highlights: Solid character work, smart narrative twists, a clever scene where the writer brings Cobb back to his place to "break-in", Cobb analyzes him and dismisses his life as worthless. Nolan plays with timeline jumps that would become the focus of Memento.

Raw Deal
Schwarzenegger stars in this mid-80's, ultra-violent Dino DiLaurentis action-production. The script is pretty fucking awful, but enjoying this movie is all about celebrating the hyper-excess of Arnie's never-have-to-reload shootouts, squealing guitar, thumping synthesizer riffs, explosions murder and mayhem! A sizable amount of the cast is lead by seasoned character actors, but the real show is Arnie as a magnet for violence. The movie has some blaring weak points that just make the film more ridiculous, such as Arnie's friendship with his Commanding Officer, which culminates in a super-cheesy, over-the-top happy ending.

The Illusionist
Sylvain Chomet (Triplets of Bellville) creates this drop-dead gorgeous story of an aging Illusionist trying to find consistent work, traveling from Paris up to the Scottish countryside - in a small Scottish tavern he meets a curious young woman who believes he can create real magic. She stows away and follows him as he heads to Edinburgh, and there they must confront the reality of moving forward and keeping their lives in pace with natural growth. The Illusionist has no real job prospects, every theater he plays is dead-silent, he spends his sparse savings on the girl's fashion, he tries to find work as an overnight garage attendant but fails miserably - while the girl has nothing to do but walk around, pine to be modern, and eventually fall in love with a young man across the street. She moves forward with her life, and the Illusionist must move forward with his, moving on to the next town. The screenplay is by Jacques Tati (who has a short cameo when one of his movies plays in the background), and is basically without dialogue - any dialogue that is there is not necessary to move the story forward, since everything can be read in the character's movements and in the masterful production of the world they live in. Fantastic character movements and cartoon personalities! It was incredible to see this in a theater (even though there were literally only 3 other people there), since a movie like this would NEVER come out of the contemporary Hollywood system, and so much of the movie speaks directly to that concept of old entertainment being brushed aside for new - although set in the 1950's U.K. Every scene is injected with so much care and attention, it really is a completely rare film and a great work to study.

Buena Vista Social Club
Wim Wenders directs this documentary about a musical journey Ry Cooder stumbled upon in the mid-90's, traveling to Cuba to record a group of African and Cuban performers - when the Africans were dealt visa problems, Ry had to fill in with whoever he could find, and from obscure parts of Cuba collected one of the greatest groups of Cuban musicians imaginable. The documentary is split between various bio segments, studio sessions, and a live performance at Carnegie Hall, allowing lots of room for the various personalities within to show their full colors. Excellent documentation of artists such as Ibrahim Ferrer, Omara Portuondo, Ruben Gonzalez, Compay Segundo and more, who are all filled to the brim with life, and whose age and incredible musical skill are a testament to the inexplicable beauty of life. Some of the performances here could probably never be matched by any other artist - such as the duet between Ibrahim and Omara. It's easy to see why the music is considered timeless, and why this group took the whole world by surprise.

茶の味
I've lost count how many times I've seen this movie. It gets better with each viewing - or each viewing at least confirms that it is a master work by Katsuhito Ishii - and this time what struck me the most is Ishii's use of transitions. His juxtaposition of bird and wind sounds with sweeping panoramas of the outer-Tokyo countryside are so fundamental for creating the warm, enveloping texture of this film. It's almost like being in a dream, or a gentle nap. This is a particular strength I've noticed among most of Japan's top directors - the creation of this poetic environment, so the film is almost like one long music composition. The pace of the film is never broken up in a way that is not cohesive to the overall feel of the movie. It's awesome to watch and experience. Ishii is the man.

Chungking Express
Wong Kar Wai... what'a fella! Wong Kar Wai offers another serving of metropolitan loneliness and missed connections with a noir tint, released prior and structured very similarly to his equally excellent Fallen Angels. Just like Fallen Angels, In The Mood for Love, and Days of Being Wild, time and place play a huge role in carving the destinies for each of the characters, and is the only true antagonist in the film. In Chungking Express, we have two main stories - Takeshi Kaneshiro plays heartbroken Cop 223, who obsesses over expired pineapples as a metaphor for the expiration of his recent relationship to the unseen May. 223 crosses passes with a blond-wig clad Bridgette Lin, a fixer caught up in a drug smuggling operation. Their story unfolds in the matter of days, whereas the second story, following Cop 663 (played by the always excellent Tony Leung) and his eventual attraction to the quirky, romantic Faye (pop star Faye Wong in her first movie role, and a real scene stealer) unfolds over untold months, at least more than a year. A dominant theme is the idea that it can take different amounts of time for people to reach the same emotions. 663 has broken up with a flight attendant (one of my favorite Wong Kar Wai camera pans ever is Tony Leung flying a little toy plane around, sweeping in a circular motion and landing on his lover's back), and undergoes a quiet depression. The attendant drops off 663's apartment keys at the restaurant he frequents, staffed by Faye. 663 won't pick up his keys, knowing it confirms their relationship is over, so Faye takes the opportunity to break into his home and rearrange all the little things in his life, slowly bringing him out of his funk. Once she is found out, 663 asks her out on a date, at a bar called 'California', but is stood-up. Faye has run off to the real California, but not before leaving him a hand-drawn boarding pass. She returns one year later to the shop where their lives intersected, to find it is now being run by 663. He confesses he was never able to read the destination on her rain-soaked boarding pass. She says she'll draw him a new one, asks where he wants to go, and 663 replies with the slick, "Anywhere you want to take me."

Annie Hall
Annie Hall is only my fourth Woody Allen film all the way through (after Curse of the Jade Scorpion, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and Manhattan), often heralded as one of it not the best of his work - it certainly captures a frenetic, New York energy that is masterfully handled by Allen. Diane Keaton (who ended her romantic relationship with Allen in 1971, and was actually nicknamed Annie Hall) proclaims late on into the movie that Allen's character Alvy is New York, like a little floating island closed off from the rest of the world. The characters here, like in Manhattan, are very closed off, self-centered, reaching out to the world only for their own personal emotional gain. The result is a series of ups-and-downs, of success and failure, fleeting happiness and lingering misery as characters cross paths - the vehicle for the story being the beginning, end, and epilogue of Alvy's relationship with Annie. Allen makes the same style of charming insights and quick-fire jabs at intellectualism, New York social structure, arrested development, the 70's, American media, society and more, while incorporating second person viewpoint, news documentary-like opinion, and gags similar to Take the Money And Run - an excellent blending of the Jewish comedic tradition, New York City, and storytelling. Los Angeles is used as a great foil to Allen's Manhattan towards the end of the film. Diane Keaton is incredibly charming, and while she may come off as ditsy, she is never a villain or looked down on. She has a fun, quirky fashion sense and some moments (including her singing) that are wonderful. There is no antagonist save for each character's own indecision as to what they want and where they want to go, a theme that is explored further in Manhattan. The frank, comedic and realistic portrayal of their relationship is obviously an inspiration for tons of romantic comedies that would come later.

Predator 2
Danny Glover is a cop in an almost apocalyptic L.A., literally exploding with gang warfare and a constant layer of heat and sweatstains. As Glover and his team (including Bill Paxton and Maria Conchita Alonso from Running Man) try to weave the violent Colombian/Jamaican street war, the Predator is stalking all sides, claiming human trophies for his own. This movie is ridiculous, but in a good way. Also featuring Gary Busey and Adam Baldwin as nutty feds trying to capture the Predator, it is a lot more like a cartoon then the first Arnie-led film. The ending is pretty friggin' dumb and funny too.

Belle de Jour
"A frigid young housewife decides to spend her midweek afternoons as a prostitute." Luis Buńuel uses the timid Séverine as an opportunity to explore the depths, contrasts and complex nature of desire, human lust and obsession, without ever showing any actual nudity (save for a couple butt cracks) - while, as always, poking fun at the upper and middle classes. He uses flashback, dreams and a confused reality to create a film with some entertaining characters - the harmless candy salesman who becomes forceful with the shy Belle de Jour, the quirky asian businessman who rings bells while being kissed, the professor with a penchant for being punished. As Séverine delves deeper into prostitution, she pines more and more for her husband, yet won't sleep with him. In the end, a crazed, jealous thug named Marcel forces Séverine apart from her husband - or as Luis suggests, maybe brings them closer together than ever.

Remembrance of Things to Come
Chris Marker teams up with Yannick Bellon to create a portrait of the work and pre-WWII world of Denise Bellon, her version of France and her ability to capture that moment with so much foreshadowing. The film is short and clocks in under 45 minutes, with lots of fantastic images and storylines (early photojournalism, the Surrealist movement, more). Marker employs the same style of narration and philosophical pondering that worked so amazingly in Sans Soleil. Well worth another viewing.

Late Spring
Yasujiro Ozu's the man. Late Spring is a simple enough story - an elderly widow must convince his daughter to marry and leave the house - but Ozu has captured in gorgeous black and white so much more than that. He captures a Japan that reaches far beyond the moment - deep into Japan's history, it's language, it's method of social interaction and veiled emotions. In doing so, Ozu is able to contrast the traditions of Japan with the sweeping changes of American occupation and influence creeping in at every corner. Coca Cola ads, stenographers who specialize in English, second wives, baseball and more subtle clues reveal that Japan is changing. Setsuko Hara, as the old-fashioned and incredibly charming Noriko, must also change, and move forward in step with time's progression. Chishu Ryu is fantastic as the simple Professor/father Somiya, who tells a little white lie to push Noriko out of the house and into adulthood. The parallels between family life and Japan's fate are simple and brilliant. Ozu never wastes a frame. Each image on screen is a moving photograph, lovingly lit and structured. You can see how certain scenes certainly would go on to inspire contemporary directors like Ishii Katsuhito. This movie is gorgeous, and obviously the product of a master.

Field of Dreams
Ray Consella builds a baseball diamond in the middle of his Iowa cornfield, is visited by Shoeless Joe Jackson and other legendary baseball players, and must weave together a unique set of characters to reveal what 'If you build it, he will come' means. Baseball is a connection to our past, to the American fabric, to our childhood sense of wonder and adoration. James Earl Jones is great as the reclusive Terrence Mann. Wasn't the first time I saw this movie, won't be the last.

Enter the Void
Gaspar Noe's very unique take on death, rebirth and the spirit. Oscar is a drug dealer in Tokyo who is killed after a drug deal bust. Oscar's spirit then flashes back on his life, and floats around Tokyo following his cast of forlorn losers - his sister Linda, who was separated from Oscar at an early age after their parents were brutally killed in a car crash (some amazing child acting, certain scenes were top-notch), and after finally reuniting with Oscar in Tokyo finds work as a stripper for the cold club owner/hustler Mario (マリオ), Victor the bratty teenage druggie who rats Oscar to the police after he finds out he slept with his mom for money, Alex the greasy foreigner who is just sort of bouncing around Tokyo without bad intentions but whose interest in the seedier things in life presents problems for others, and other oddballs who aren't exactly the most respectable members of society. The focus is less on the story, and rather uses the story as a vehicle for a lot of impressive technical work (most of the film is shown through first-person perspectives) which only really works because of the strength of all the other elements - a lot of really good acting, and Tokyo itself (most of the film seems to be in the Shinjuku or Roppongi district) which bursts with color and is also one of the most important aspects of the film. The film is set in Japan but close to no one speaks Japanese in the film except for the police and a couple scenes with Mario. The film in many ways is a portrait of these breed of goalless Tokyo-based foreigners, who live in a little bubble hiding from whatever they're running from - Oscar, like Linda, has basically been messed up beyond repair over the confusion and despair caused by his parents' death, so he takes drugs and finds no reason to join regular society. Victor's mother is lonely and finds little comfort in her own husband, thus sleeps with Oscar. Alex just seems to have no agenda but to hang out and party. The ensemble pop in and out of clubs, small cramped apartments, outdoor stairways and down neon-lit streets, a fantastic parallel for their emotions, maze-like and confusing. The title, Enter, is a neon sign directly across from Oscar's apartment, and the Void is an amazingly believable Japanese blacklight-lit bar that plays drone music and psychedelic images on TVs. Worth another watch for the production alone, but because the film has a slight air of technical pretentiousness and the characters are all losers it's hard to completely like the film. Definitely memorable though.

Le Doulos
One of Jean Pierre Melville's excellent tributes to American noir. Double crossings, tough guys, suspicious characters abound. Melville was a master at moving light around a set, and this film also has a couple minutes of technical prowess (a 9 minute long uncut take, more). Well worth another viewing.

Clerks 2
Why'd I watch this again? Lacking all the charm of the original.

The Pornographers
Imamura Shohei's 1966 adaptation of the controversial novel - Mr. Ogata is a go-to man who believes in his work, helping men fulfill their fantasies by whatever means necessary - through porn films, audio recordings of unsuspecting neighbors, setting up rendezvous' with "virgins" - while trying to support his common-law wife, Haru, and her two unappreciative children, Shoichi and Keiko. Haru is wracked with guilt over finding another lover after her husband - who she believes has been reincarnated as a carp, who jumps every time something bad happens. Ogata has problems with the yakuza, the cops, and the rebellious Keiko (who was in a car accident as a child, under his supervision), and increasingly with Haru, whose guilt culminates into madness and death. In the end, Ogata is looked after by Shoichi and Keiko, following the wishes of Haru. Five years later, Ogata has sworn off haircuts (Haru ran a hair salon, and Keiko follows in her footsteps), is living in a house boat in the canal behind their house, and is diligently working on his "Dutch Woman", the perfect companion who will never react. After he refuses the financial offers of a businessman to take the Dutch Woman prototype on a research boat to Antarctica, Ogata's house boat comes unhitched, and floats out into the ocean. The camera pulls back, and we hear Ogata talking to one of his porn production assistants about how strange the story was.
Imamura uses a lot of clever techniques to reinforce the voyeur theme of the plot - positioning the camera outside rooms, looking in, outside shops, from buildings across the street, and more, while also playing with certain structures in the movie - flashback, hallucination, film within a film - creating a lot of memorable scenes. He also plays with shocking visual and plot twists - the mad Haru displaying a grotesque photo of Keiko with pins in her eyes, a father/mentally challenged daughter team starring in a porn - that all add up to make the film so strong. This film could easily be delved into deeper, an interesting study on human/Japanese social behavior, as well as economic gaps in Japanese society, among the obvious production innovations. Overall it reinforces Imamura's reputation as an auteur invested in the less glamorous groups in society. Imamura is the man.

The Others
Nicole Kidman is dead.

Terribly Happy
An interesting thriller from Denmark - a cop is punished for pulling a gun out on his wife, and sent to the boonies of Denmark where there is nothing but "mud, cows, and rubber boots". Eccentric characters abound in this small town, and we soon meet the tormented Ingelise and abusive Jorgen. The cop, Robert, begins a sexual affair with Ingelise, but is too timid to confront Jorgen. After a big drunken fight at home between Jorgen and Ingelise, Robert investigates, finds Jorgen passed out on the stairs, and Ingelise beaten on the bed. He consoles her, and ends up having sex with her there - Jorgen stirs and calls out her name - Robert covers her face with a pillow to muffle her moans, and unintentionally suffocates her. Everything gets weirder from there... tight camera work, some panoramic landscape shots very reminiscent of a Coen brothers film. Interesting, but hard to relate to the odd characters.

Win Win
A charming comedy, enjoyable performances all around from the likes of Paul Giamatti and Amy Ryan. A struggling lawyer in suburban Connecticut takes on an elderly client to help out his finances, and ends up also taking his estranged and physically-talented grandson under his wing. The characters struggle to be honest with themselves and the relations around them.

The Botany of Desire
Michael Pollan discusses the history of four plants who have subtly manipulated human history - the apple, the tulip, cannibus, potatoes - and what they're stories have to say about mankind's relationship with nature. A very interesting documentary with some great historical stories. Very strong proponent for biodiversity as a means for long-term success with nature. Ultimately, Pollan asserts, nature will have its way, and the economics of harvest and hunger will win over any human economic system such as capitalism.

The Hand
This short film by Wong Kar Wai is a fantastic entry in a larger compilation titled 'Eros'. A talented yet timid tailor Xiao Zhang makes his first customer visit to the beautiful Ms. Hua, who uses her hand to force a lesson onto him about the intimacy of his work. Hua works in a club and has a series of suitors, but her suitors' competing agendas and her inability to commit to just one prevent her from landing the successful 'sugar daddy' that she depends on to survive. Her life spirals out of control as bit by bit she is abandoned - only Zhang remains committed to her, the erotic and powerful memory of her hand frozen in his memory and expressed in all the dresses he makes for her. Finally, destitute and diseased, she allows him one last visit, and Wong Kar Wai really runs with the hand motif to create an exceptionally powerful, erotic and moving scene of two lovers never meant to be.

Singles
A Korean romcom that miffed me a little bit at first, but after some reflection (and research) I realized how subtle and progressive the film was in commenting on social shifts in contemporary Korean culture. Na-nan is a pleasant girl in her late 20's, working in an office and going through the motions of all the steps she had always thought would bring her happiness and peace in life. Yet her boyfriend of several years dumps her, a manager at her firm bumps her down to a lowly position in one of their Chili's restaurants, nothing is going according to all the goals she had concocted in her head when she was younger, and all the while no parents are consulted or even featured. Her friends Jeong-jun and Dong-mi share an apartment, bounce around in relationships, and also move forward without any conviction in what the future actually holds for them. Na-nan meets a perfectly suitable man with a secure corporate position who, after several weeks of courtship, asks her to marry him and move with him to New York for work. Jun and Dong-mi give in to their feelings and sleep together, and Dong-mi becomes pregnant with Jun's baby. In a twist of social expectations, Na-nan says no to her suitor, and Dong-mi decides to raise the baby on her own.

Big Trouble
I watched this again on the plane to San Francisco - pleasant acting all around, a couple nice chuckles and comedic build-ups, good for passing the time.

Peppermint Candy
This film was unintentionally part 1 of a two part look at the military dictatorships and the 386 generation in Korea through the 80's. While both films tackle a feeling of injustice, they do it in distinctly different ways - and Peppermint Candy is certainly the much more powerful and poetic delivery. We meet Yong Ho in 1999, at the 20 year reunion of his school club - he is ragged, and looks lost. The reunion is held at a small riverside bank, next to train tracks. Yong Ho climbs up onto the tracks, and throws himself in front of a train screaming, "I want to go back!" The rest of the film moves backwards in time, revealing further snippets into Yong Ho's life - how he could become ragged, lost and suicidal. Three days earlier he is broke, living with just his car and a cheap bunker, trying to blow his brains out when the husband of his first love, Sunim, finds him and asks him to visit her in the hospital. He does, and brings her a small jar of peppermint candy - the candy that she would send him during his days in the army 20 years prior. In 1994 he was a businessman without humor, spying on his unfaithful wife, full of rage ready to boil over. We move further back into his life, into the 80's, during his days as a violent cop, enforcing cruel torture tactics to hunt down student rebel leaders. He reminisces over his first love, Sunim. In the mid-80's he is a fresh faced cop, just out of army and warehouse work - quiet but full of anger and confusion. In 1980 he is in the military, caught up in a hunt for "rebels" and anti-government protestors. He accidentally kills a girl who is simply trying to go home. In 1979 we see Yong Ho at the same river bank where we know he will later kill himself. He talks about photographing flowers and is gentle. We see the complete portrait of how the chaos and turmoil of 1980, and his compliance with it, has torn him apart for the remainder of his life - when in fact he was just a simple youth like everyone else. Some very powerful scenes and clever camera work make this film an exceptional look back into Korea's dark history.

May 18
In contrast to Peppermint Candy, May 18 is a direct reinterpretation of the Gwang Ju citizen takeover of 1980, when the residents of Gwang Ju rose up against an oppressive military force and drove them out of their city, only to be violently crushed several days later. The film is not historically accurate, and creates certain characters for narrative purpose - taxi drivers meant to represent the involvement of taxis in the movement, to provide comic relief, and a love story. It presents many of the same themes - an injustice is occurring, confusion, anger - but with a softer touch that is more akin to Hollywood twists and turns. While an enjoyable film, it lacks the haunting psychology of Peppermint Candy, and combined with historical inaccuracies, is a less faithful presentation of the trauma of the events. Still interesting though.

Metropolis
Fritz Lang's masterpiece, presented at the American Art Museum with a new score by Silent Orchestra - it was long and there were brief periods where I almost fell asleep, but in the end I was able to stay awake for the full show and it was well worth it. Lang's techniques and craft was well ahead of its time, and certain scenes are certainly worthy of being called art. Lang's machines, the grand scope of his sets, the brillant vision of Metropolis with intersecting sky bridges, lights and floating planes, the haunting tale of machinery versus humanity - coupled with Silent Orchestra's solid, cool and occasionally funny score - all in all made for a great show.

Wet Hot American Summer
I was really tired while watching this, but it was fun to see it again after several years.

The Professional
Watched this on DVD, great Luc Besson film. Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, young Natalie Portman, hitmen, ruthless cops, Besson's playfully violent style - all add up for a great, fantastic film!

Red
Chris and I joked that this film was made for dads, some great actors having a lot of fun, playing songs like "Back in Black". Worth another viewing.

Nighthawks
Sly Stallone and Billie Dee Williams team up for this crime drama, do a decent job of moving the film along, but it's the often excellent Rutger Hauer who steals the show as the cold, intelligent terrorist Wolfgar, schmoozing his way around with women, killing and causing havoc across London and New York. There are really two movies going on - a lame drama starring Stallone, and a tight thriller starring Hauer - which are epitomized in the final scene. Hauer stalks Stallone's wife, moving swiftly, slowly, using subtle eye movements and body language to increase the tension and impending terror, he uses every beam of shadow and all the objects around him to fill the scene and aid him, he moves in to strike and it's... Stallone wearing a ridiculous woman's wig. Sheesh.

Manhunter
Michael Mann's "Manhunter" was the first movie to feature Dr. Hannibal Lektor (Lecter) - this film was pretty good, tight camera work and editing, strong use of music, great 80's thriller look without ever looking cheesy or particularly outdated.

Arahan
Featured on MNet, Arahan is an action-comedy about a bumbling cop who finds his fate intersecting with 7 Tao masters and their search to unlock Arahan - and with Arahan, world domination. Entertaining, some clever fight sequences and slapstick, worth another casual viewing.

True Grit
Finally saw True Grit, a lot of really fun Coen Brothers-style performances, Bridges and Damon and Steinfeld are all really strong and fun to watch, character actor Ed Corbin does an excellent Bear Man, a couple gorgeous Coen-style shots of the large open Arkansas plain - if anything the story seems to go faster than it should... or perhaps is not as epic as I imagined it would be. Great script though, quick and clever dialogue, def. would watch again.
Che
Drawn-out, but captivating... worth another watch if I had a long rainy day to kill.

Hobo With a Shotgun
Rutger Hauer with a shotgun, a brief cameo by Rob Wells, sinister Irish crimelords and demented, homicidal Varsity Jacket-clad brothers... Canada has never looked more dangerous... this movie is pretty schlocky, and is aiming for that, the ironic thing is the poor distribution and certain production values really do make it a B-movie. If Robert Rodriguez or Quentin Tarantino could make a grindhouse film without getting instantly noticed b/c of their famous love of grindhouse, then it would be right beside Hobo With a Shotgun. The best part about this film is the EPIC duo named The Plague, who made the entire film worth watching. I'd watch it all again just for when The Plague starts piling on to the body count.

Fallen Angels
Second viewing of Fallen Angels confirms that Wong Kar Wai had it spot on with his early 90's noir odes to lonely people in Hong Kong... Michelle Reis is gorgeous, mysterious and mesmerizing, Kaneshiro Takeshi is hilarious, and cool is slathered over almost every scene in this film.

Drive
I had high hopes for Drive when I first saw the opening segments, and it did not disappoint. The acting is solid, Gosling is a fantastic, tight-jawed ronin type, Cranston is full of life, Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman are ruthless and Carey Mulligan's innocent face is the perfect counterbalance for the tension and incredible violence that explodes in short bursts throughout the film. Like a true noir film, it's all about the atmosphere, sucking the viewer in to an almost sleepy lull before everything pleasant goes haywire. Maybe not on the top shelf with Breathless, Le Samourai or Sonatine, but it comes pretty damn close. A cult film treat after years of so many by-the-book blockbusters and CGI gimmicks.