2020 Monday Movies

Sep. 7th MOVIE FFFF
Aug. 31st MOVIE FFFF
Aug. 24th MOVIE FFFF
Aug. 17th MOVIE FFFF
Aug. 10th MOVIE FFFF
Aug. 3rd Immigration Nation, Pt 1 FFFF
July 28th Logan Lucky FFFF
July 20th MOVIE FFFF
July 13th Exodus FFFF
July 6th Such good Friends FFFF
June 29th Nobody's Fool FFFF
June 22nd In the Loop FFFF
June 15th MOVIE FFFF
June 8th Anatomy of a Murder FFFF
June 1st Just Mercy FFFF
May 25th MOVIE FFFF
May 18th MOVIE FFFF
May 11th The Contender , 2000 2h 6min. The Vice-President having died, a woman candidate faces Congressional investigation before she can be appointed. Excellent script. Recommended.
May 4th American Factory FFFF
APR. 27th MOVIE FFFF
APR. 20th MOVIE FFFF
APR. 13th MOVIE FFFF
APR. 6th A Place to Call Home, Pt 1 FFFF
Mar. 30th Unorthodox ,2020 4 Part miniseries. Based on the book, it tells of a young Brooklyn Hasidic girl breaking away from her community and belief. She flees to Berlin, discovering a world of friendly immigrants from diverse nation studying music.
Mar. 23rd The Plot Against America, last parts. Continuing last week's miniseries.
Mar. 16th The Plot Against America, Pt 1 , 2020 60min. HBO miniseries make Roth's 2004 alternative history comes alive as it seems all too possible today. We watched this week and some of next week. Six 1 hour episodes.
Mar. 9th The Grapes of Wrath , 1940 2h 9min. Director John Ford's epic masterpiece based on John Steinbeck's book about Okies forced off their farm by the 1930's drought, and their grim lives as homeless pickers in depression California, starring Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, & John Carradine. IMDb rating 8.0/10.
Mar. 2nd Mr. Smith Goes to Washington , 1939 2h 9min. The classic Frank Capra political comedy about a newcomer appointed to a corrupt Senate, starring James Stewart, Jean Arthur, & Claude Rains. IMDb rating 8.1/10.
Feb. 24th Parasite , 2019 2h 12min. Director Bong Joon Ho's comic thriller about a desperately poor family whose members gradually all get jobs in the household of a well-to-do family. Then the owners go on vacation, and ..., starring Kang-ho Song, Sun-kyun Lee, Yeo-jeong Jo, et al. IMDb rating 8.6/10.
Feb. 17th The Savages , 2007 1h 53min, about a brother & sister facing the ordeal of caring for their aging father as he becomes disabled in body and mind, starring Laura Linney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, & Philip Bosco. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Feb. 10th The Servant , 1963 1h 56min, a drama about the cockney servant of an aristocrat subtly undermining his master, starring Dirk Bogarde, James Fox, Sarah Miles, & Wendy Craig. In B&W. Screenplay by Harold Pinter. IMDb rating 7.9/10.
Feb. 3rd The Graduate , 1967 1h 45min, Mike Nichols' comedy romance with Beach Boys songs. Benjamin, the graduate, very confused, especially about his seducer & her daughter, starring Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, & Katharine Ross . IMDb rating 8.0/10. Does this classic still hold up? Some critics say yes, and some say no. But here's Ebert in 1997.
Jan. 27th Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb , (1964), 1h 35min, Stanley Kubrick's hilarious, but chillingly prophetic take on our SAC bombing strategy, starring Peter Sellers (Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake/President, Merkin Muffley/Dr. Strangelove), George C. Scott (General “Buck” Turgidson), Slim Pickens (Major T. J. “King” Kong), Sterling Hayden (General Jack D. Ripper), Peter Bull (Ambassador de Sadesky), Keenan Wynn (Colonel “Bat” Guano), James Earl Jones (Lieutenant Lothar Zogg). IMDb rating 8.4/10.
Jan. 20th Trois Couleurs: Rouge , 1994 1h 39min. "It is a delicate work that touches base with the following themes confronting contemporary Western society: alienation, destiny, morality, solitude, cynicism, chance and communication. It’s set in Geneva and centers on a caring but distressed fashion model named Valentine (Irène Jacob), who has an elusive English boyfriend phoning her constantly and acting possessive. The film picks up intensity when Valentine runs over a German shepherd and tracks down Rita’s owner through the collar, and he happens to be a reclusive bachelor, retired judge, Joseph Kern (Jean-Louis Trintignant)."[Dennis Schwartz] IMDb rating 8.1/10.
Jan. 13th Trois couleurs: Blanc , 1994 1h 32min, the 2nd of director Krzysztof Kieslowski's Trilogy, a romantic tragicomedy about a divorced man obsessed with his ex-wife, starring Zbigniew Zamachowski & Julie Delpy. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Jan. 6th Trois couleurs: Bleu , 1993 1h 34min, the first of Krzysztof Kieslowski's Trilogy about a woman composer who struggles with life after her husband and child die in an automobile accident, starring Juliette Binoche & Julie Delpy. IMDb rating 7.9/10.

2019 Monday Movies

Dec. 31st NEW YEAR'S MUSICAL West Side Story 1961 170 minutes. One of the best - Bernstein & Sondheim & Jerome Robbin. Romeo & Juliet revisited as immigrant teen street gangs clashing in gritty 1950s NYC.
Dec. 30th NO MOVIE
Dec. 23rd NO MOVIE
Dec 16th NO MOVIE
Dec. 9th Maltese Falcon , 1941 1h 40min, John Houston's classic film-noir from the Dashell Hammett book. PI Sam Spade investigates the murder of his partner in a case which expands into a search to find the Maltese Falcon, starring Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, & Sydney Greenstreet. IMDb rating 8.0/10.
Dec. 2nd The Mask of Dimitrios , 1944 1h 35min, another classic noir film. Based on Eric Ambler's A Coffin for Dimitrios in which a mystery writer researches the career of a murdered criminal from Istanbul to Bulgaria, to Yugoslavia, and finally to Paris, starring Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, & Zachary Scott. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
Nov. 25th Casablanca , 1942 1h 42min. Love vs selfless anti-Nazism at the beginning of WWII, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, & Dooley Wilson [as Sam]. IMDb rating 8.5/10. Perhaps the most loved film of all time.
Nov. 18th Museum Hours , 2012 1h 47min, about a Vienna museum visitor who becomes friends with a museum guard who becomes her guide to the city, art, and art's influences on us, starring Mary Margaret O'Hara & Bobby Sommer. IMDb rating 6.9/10.
Nov. 11th The Last Black Man in San Francisco , 2019 2h 1min, about a black guy and his reflections on a changing San Francisco, his home town, but maybe not anymore, starring Jimmie Fails, Jonathan Majors, & Rob Morgan . IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Nov. 4th The Man in the White Suit , 1951 1h 25min, classic British Sci-Fi comedy with Alec Guiness playing an inventor way ahead of his time. IMDb rating 7.3/10. Recommended by David Bishop.
Oct. 28th The Winslow Boy , 1999 1h 44min. Director Mamet's version of the Rattigan play about a boy expelled from the Royal Naval Academy whose father takes the Admiralty to court to defend the family's honor, starring Jeremy Northam, Nigel Hawthorne, & Rebecca Pidgeon. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
Oct. 21st An Ideal Husband , 1999 1hr 37min, based on the Oscar Wilde comedy about a successful Cabinet Minister whose position is threatened when a certain scheming lady comes to town, starring Rupert Everett, Cate Blanchett, Julianne Moore, & Minnie Driver. IMDb rating 6.8/10.
Oct. 14th Advise & Consent , 1962 2h 19min, Otto Preminger's drama based on Alan Drury's best-seller about a Senate scandal in the 1940s, starring Henry Fonda. IMDb rating 7.7/10. Donald Richie said ' Advise and Consent, was written by Allen Drury from a 1959 novel. Every time I taught, I always showed this movie. This is a story based very loosely on real events and on real people. Allen Drury was a reporter from 1943 to 1945 in the Senate for United Press later the New York Times and Readers Digest. ... One of the great things about the movie is that much of it was filmed in the Russell Senate Of­fice Building. Other than the major characters, like [the actor] Henry Fonda and the people who are the major senators in the movie, all the other personnel that you see in Advise and Consent, the policemen, the elevator operators, the senators’ staff, the committee staff, the reporters, the photographers, were all real people on Capitol Hill doing their regu­lar jobs. They were recruited for the movie to do on screen what they did every day. ... The vice president in Advise and Consent is very much based on Harry Truman. The president in the book is very much based on Frank­lin Roosevelt. The two majority and minority leaders in the book were based essentially on Alben Barkley, the Democratic leader, and Robert Taft, the Republican leader, who was the minority leader at the time. ... The reporters were able to come down on the floor and interview the majority and minority leader just before the Senate went into session. That is no longer done. ... a United States senator committed suicide in his office in the Russell Build­ing. It was a very dramatic and shocking moment. Drury then grafted that story onto this novel about the 1940s that he’d been writing, and that gave him the dramatic centerpiece for his novel.' Excerpt of Richie interview from Brian Lamb's Sundays at Eight, pp 126-8.
Oct. 7th All the President's Men , 1976 2h 18min. Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein & Bob Woodward painstakingly pursue the truth, finally exposing Nixon's Watergate crimes, starring Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, & Jason Robards. IMDb rating 8/10. I thought we'd all enjoy seeing this because of its resonance with today's news.
Sep. 30th Adoration , 2008 1h 40min, from writer/director Atom Egoyan. A high-school student's assigned essay imagines himself in a variant of a news story about a terrorist's bomb discovered aboard a plane bound for Israel. His story goes viral on the web... IMDb rating 6.3/10.
Sep. 23rd Intolerable Cruelty , 2003 1h 40min, a Coen Brothers screwball rom/com. "Underhanded tactics, deceptions and an undeniable attraction escalate as Marylin and Miles square off in this battle of the sexes, starring George Clooney & Catherine Zeta-Jones" [Luke Hickman]. IMDb rating 6.2/10.
Sep. 16th Love After Love , 2017 1h 31min, about a close-knit family mourning after the death of the father, starring Andie MacDowell, Chris O'Dowd, & James Adomian. IMDb rating 5.4/10.
Sep. 9th Trouble in Paradise , 1932 1h 23min. A pre-code romantic crime comedy from Ernst Lubitsch about a jewel thief and his adoring pickpocket lady friend, and another woman who attracts him after he has stolen her jewels. Starring Miriam Hopkins, Kay Francis, & Herbert Marshall. IMDb rating 8.0/10. Recommended by David Bishop.
Sep 2nd Thunder Road , 2018 1h 32min, a comedy about a 'police officer faces a personal meltdown following a divorce and the death of his mother' [IMDb], written, directed, & starring Jim Cummings. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Aug 26th 25th Hour , 2002 2h 15min, director Spike Lee's drama about a convicted drug dealer wondering where he went wrong in the 24 hours before going to prison for 7 years, starring Edward Norton, Barry Pepper, & Philip Seymour Hoffman. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Aug 19th Meeting Gorbachev , 2018 1h 30min: Werner Herzog interviews Mikhail Gorbachev. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Aug 12th The Souvenir , 2019 2h, British drama about a naive student of filmmaking who meets a sophisticated somewhat older man from the Foreign Office [or is he?] who romances her. But he is becoming an addict.., starring Honor Swinton Byrne & Tom Burke. IMDb rating 6.7/10.
Aug 5th Maria by Callas , 2018 1h 59min, documentary about Callas's life and career including interviews and letters. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
July 29th Transit , 2018 1h 41min, about a refugee who steals a dead writer's passport, goes to Marseilles where he meets other refugees, and falls in love with the dead writer's wife, starring Franz Rogowski & Paula Beer. IMDb rating 7.0/10.
July 22nd Last Holiday , 1950 1h 28min. A salesman with a few weeks to live splurges at a posh hotel meeting a wide variety of guests with surprising results, starring Alec Guinness. IMDb rating 7.6/10. Another JB Priestley story.
July 15th Cat on a Hot Tin Roof , 1958 1h 48min. Mendacity, homosexuality, and greed swirl around this birthday party for Big Daddy on a Southern plantation, where the alcoholic son refuses to sleep with his sexy wife, the Cat, and nobody tells Big Daddy he's dying of cancer. Starring Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, & Burl Ives. IMDb rating 8.0/10.
July 8th An Inspector Calls , 2015 1h 27min. BBC performance of the Priestley play. An engagement party in wealthy family is interrupted by an inspector inquiring into a suicide. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
July 1st Burn After Reading , 2008 1h 36min. The Coen brothers' screwball spy comedy, starring Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, & George Clooney. IMDb rating 7.0/10.
June 24th Hale County This Morning , This Evening, 2019 1h 16min, a documentary about the poor, mostly black Hale County, especially following the lives of three teenagers. IMDb rating NN/10.
June 17th Citizen Jane: Battle for the City , 2007 1h 32min, documentary mostly about her ideas on urban planning in opposition to Robert Moses. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
June 10th They Shall Not Grow Old , 2018 1h 39m, documentary, based on astonishingly restored footage from WWI and interviews with vets, showing life in the trenches for British soldiers.
June 3rd Let the Sunshine In , 2017 1h 34min, is a Claire Denis comedy about an artist searching for Mr. Right, starring Juliette Binoche. IMDb rating 6/10.
May 27th Apollo 11 , 2019 1h 33min, NASA documentary about the moon landing led by commander Neil Armstrong and pilots Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. IMDb rating 8.4/10.
May 20th An Autumn Afternoon , 2018 1h 53min. Director Ozu's last film about an aging widower trying to arrange a marriage for his daughter, starring Chishu Ryu. IMDb rating 8.2/10.
May 13th East/West , 1999 2h 1min. In June 1946 Stalin invited Russian émigrés to return. He executed most of the returnees, sparing only doctors and their families. This drama follows one such couple. It stars Sandrine Bonnaire, Oleg Menshikov, & Catherine Deneuve. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
May 6th Orphée , 1950 1h 35min. Jean Cocteau's classic surreal fantasy based on the myth of Orpheus descent to the Underworld to rescue Eurydice from Hades, starring Jean Marais & François Périer. IMDb rating 8.0/10.
Apr 29th Mary Queen of Scots , 2018 2h 12min, a revisionist history of the rivalry between the two queens, Mary & Elizabeth, starring Saoirse Ronan & Margot Robbie. IMDb rating 6.3/10.
Apr 22nd On the Basis of Sex , 2018 2h, biopic about early cases in RGB's career, eventually leading to her Supreme Court Appointment, starring Felicity Jones & Armie Hammer. IMDb rating 6.8/10.
Apr 15th Columbus , 2018 1h 40min. A young man and woman meet in Columbus, Indiana where the city's architecture is the main star. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Apr 8th Aquarius , 2016 2h 26min, a Brazilian drama about a woman fighting against developers to keep her long-time home, with flash-backs into her family life there which made it so precious to her, starring Sônia Braga. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
Apr 1st Shoplifters , 2018 2h 1min, a Japanese crime drama about a poverty-stricken family of shoplifters who take in an abandoned child. IMDb rating 8.1/10.
Mar 25th Rosenwald , 2015 1h 35min, a documentary about the life of businessman/philanthropist Julius Rosenwald. IMDb rating 8.0/10.
Mar 18th At Eternity’s Gate , 2018 1h 51min, about Vincent Van Gogh's visions and state of mind during his last years in Arles, starring Willem Dafoe. IMDb rating 6.9/10.
Mar 11th A Star Is Born , 2018 2h 16min, Bradley Cooper's version of the same old story, here about two pop singers 'These are two people who fall in love with each other’s talent as much as anything else, inspired by one another in a way that artists often are.' [Brian Tallerico], starring Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, & Sam Elliott. IMDb rating 7.8/10.
Mar 4th To Live [ Huo zhe ] , 1994 2h 13min, a Yimou Zhang masterpiece about "the life of one family in China, from the heady days of gambling dens in the 1940s to the austere hardship of the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s." [Ebert], starring Li Gong & You Ge. IMDb rating 8.3/10.
Feb 25th The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society , 2018 2h 4min. In 1946 a young writer goes to Guernsey searching for inspiration for her next novel, and uncovers an intriguing mystery, starring Lily James, Jessica Brown Findlay, & Tom Courtenay. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Feb 18th Nothing Like a Dame [aka Tea with the Dames] , 2018 1h 24min, English documentary of a conversation about their careers among four great English actresses, Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright, & Maggie Smith, with film clips. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Feb 11th The Bookshop , 2017 min, a very British drama about a woman in 1950's East Anglia struggling to run a bookshop against local opposition, starring Emily Mortimer & Bill Nighy. IMDb rating 6.5/10.
Feb 4th The Wife , 2017 1h 39min. The self-effacing wife of a famous author, en route to receiving his Nobel Prize, gradually loses her cool, starring Glenn Close, Jonathan Pryce, & Max Irons. IMDb rating 7.3/10. But NOT a NYT Critic's pick.
Jan 28th Colette , 2018 1hr 51min, bio-pic about the early years of the French writer & her husband, starring Keira Knightley & Dominic West. IMDb rating 6.8/10.
Jan 21st Seymour: An Introduction , 2014 1h 24min, a documentary made by Ethan Hawke about Seymour Bernstein, a pianist who gave up performing in order to teach and compose. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
Jan 14th Roma , 2018 2h 15min, about a maid's life in a middle-class Mexican family in 1970, written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón, based on his own childhood. IMDb rating 8.1/10.
Jan 7th Crazy Rich Asians , 2018 2h, Rom/Com from the book with an almost all-Asian & Asian-American cast. The story 'follows native New Yorker Rachel Chu to Singapore to meet her boyfriend's family' [IMDb], starring Constance Wu & Henry Golding. IMDb rating 7.1/10.

2018 Monday Movies

Dec 31st NO MOVIE
Dec 24th NO MOVIE
Dec 17th City of Hope , 1991 2h 9min, 'a top-to-bottom portrait of urban corruption' [Peter Travers] with a huge cast. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Dec 10th Withnail & I 1987 1h 47min, "hilarious" British black comedy about two unemployed debauched actors in the late 1960s go to an uncle's country house and things deteriorate fast, starring Richard E. Grant, Paul McGann, & Richard Griffiths . IMDb rating 7.8/10.
Dec 3rd Blindspotting , 2018 2h 24min, about a man trying to complete the last few days of his probation. 'Themes of loyalty, race, class, perception, gentrification, and violence are all intertwined without feeling forced, and there's amazing beauty to it all. At times its funny, at times its hard to watch, but its always gripping.' [IMDb User], starring Daveed Diggs. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
Nov 26th Sunshine State , 2002 2h 21min, 'the story of a resort town that is going to be taken over by a giant company and where most businesses and residences will have to leave... Sayles complex script lets the viewer go from character to character and we become understanding of their complexities. The film shows how the characters who left the island went on to a better life and the ones who stayed have to deal with how life is changing all around them' [IMDb user]. IMDb rating 6.9/10.
Fri. Nov 23rd Juliet, Naked , 2018 105min, Rom/Com. As Annie's tolerance for her boyfriend's obsession with rock star Crowe fades, she strikes up an email correspondence with Crowe himself, starring Ethan Hawke, Rose Byrne, & Chris O’Dowd. IMDb rating 6.7/10. Amusing.
Nov 19th BlacKkKlansman , 2018 2h 15min, a Spike Lee comedy based on true events, about a black cop who infiltrates the KKK with a Jew's help, starring John David Washington & Adam Driver. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Nov 12th Aida's Secrets , 2016 90 min, a documentary. "Family secrets, lies, high drama and generations of contemporary history unspool in this international story that begins with World War II and concludes with an emotional 21st-century family reunion" [Chris McDonald]. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Nov 5th Sweet Bean , 2015 1h 53min, a Japanese comedy about an elderly woman whose bean jelly recipe induces the manager of a pancake shop to hire her. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Oct 29th Leave No Trace , 2018 1h 49min, about a father with PTSD and 13-year-old daughter living and hiding out in a national park, starring Thomasin McKenzie & Ben Foster. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
Oct 22nd Apur Sansar [World of Apu], the last Apu film, 1959 1h 45min, which follows Apu after his mother's death into his life as an aspiring writer. IMDb rating 8.3/10.
Oct 15th The Guardians , 2017 2h 18min, about women left behind on a French farm during WWI. IMDb rating 7.0/10.
Oct 8th Aparajito , 1956 1h 50min. After his father dies Apu goes to Calcutta to study, leaving his mother alone. IMDb rating 8.2/10.
Oct 1st Pather Panchali , 2016 min, Sagit Ray's first film and the first of the Apu Trilogy. Akira Kurosawa said "To have not seen the films of Ray is to have lived in the world without ever having seen the moon and the sun". IMDb rating 8.5/10.
Sept 24th The Son's Room , 2001 1h 39min, about a family, especially the father grappling with a son's death, starring the writer/director Nanni Moretti. IMDb rating 7.4/10. It won the Cannes Palme d'Or in 2001.
Sept 17th RBG , 2018 1h 38min, documentary about her personal life and especially her fight for women's rights, starring herself, of course. IMDb rating 7.4/10. Perhaps too admiring?
Sept 10th Zama , 2017 1h 55min, Argentinian drama about an officer of the Spanish crown sent to a backwater colony in 1790, based on the 1956 novel by Antonio Di Benedetto, starring Daniel Giménez Cacho. IMDb rating 6.8/10. Totally incomprehensible, but beautiful.
Sept 3rd First Reformed , 2017 1h 53min, a thriller [?] about the minister of a small church, a divorced, ill, and alcoholic man, beset by doubts, but trying to counsel a parishioner deeply pessimistic about our environmental future, starring Ethan Hawke. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Aug 27th The Rider , 2017 1h 44min, about a young Sioux rodeo rider is severely injured, and tries to find a meaningful life after his chosen career is no longer possible for him. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
Aug 20th Captain Fantastic , 2016 1h 58min, is about a family with 6 kids living off the grid, an 'exaggerated exploration of the difficult choices that must be made in regards to raising children in today's society' [IMDb User], starring Viggo Mortensen. IMDb rating 7.9/10.
Aug 13th Sherman's March , 1985 2h 37min, a documentary by Ross MCElwee following Sherman's path through the South, encountering strong women. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Aug 6th Theo Who Lived , 2016 96min, about Theo Padnos captured by El-Qaeda in Syria, based on his NYT Magazine article "My Captivity". IMDb rating 6.9/10.
July 30th In Between , 2016 1h 43min, about 'Three Palestinian women living in an apartment in Tel Aviv [trying] to find a balance between traditional and modern culture' [IMDb]. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
July 23rd The Year My Parents Went on Vacation , 2006 1h 50min, a Brazilian comedic drama about a boy on his own in Sao Paulo in 1970, a year of dictatorship and Pelé in the World Cup. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
July 16th Intruder in the Dust , 1949 1h 27min, based on the Faulkner novel about a black man accused of murder in Mississippi, and his defense by a white lawyer. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
July 9th The Lion King , 1994 1h 28min. "Hamlet on the savannah…" [MaryAnn Johanson], starring Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones [voices]. IMDb rating 8.5/10.
July 2nd Gett: The Trial of Viviane , 2014 1h 55 min. Because divorces in Israel are governed by religious law, thus requiring the husband's consent, Viviane's divorce results in a protracted battle of wills. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
June 25th Exotica , 1994 1h 43min, Atom Egoyan's psychological thriller in which a man whose daughter had died becomes obsessed with a dancer in a Toronto sex club. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
June 18th 4 Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle , 1987 1h 39min, a Rohmer film. Two young women friends talk about the honor, justice, fairness, and artistic judgment, etc., starring Joëlle Miquel and Jessica Forde. IMDb rating 7.9/10.
June 11th The Unknown Girl [La fille inconnue] , 2016 1h 53min, Dardennes brothers mystery/drama about a doctor who investigates the death of a woman who knocked on her door just before she died, starring Adèle Haenel, Olivier Bonnaud, & Jérémie Renier. IMDb rating 6.5/10.
June 4th Portrait of Jennie , 1948 1h 26 min, Classic Hollywood fantasy about an artist and his muse, starring Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, & Ethel Barrymore. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
May 28th Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness , 1927 1h 9min, from the makers of the must-see documentary Grass (1925), a "silent, 1927 docudrama filmed in Thailand ... chronicles the lives of a family struggling to survive on the perimeter of an unforgiving jungle. Tribesman Kru leaves behind his wife and children as he stalks the leopards decimating his livestock. In the process, he unwittingly sets off a sequence of events sparking a massive elephant stampede...' [Netflix]. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
May 21st NO MOVIE
May 14th Summer Palace , 2006 2h 38min, about a pair of Chinese college students who fall in love during the Tiananmen Square protests and their separate lives afterwards. IMDb rating 7.1/10. Bomb. Forget it.
May 7th Dolores , 2017 1h 35min, a documentary about the cofounder with Cesar Chavez of a farmer's union which later develops into a platform for feminism and gender equality, starring Dolores Huerta [age 87], Hillary Clinton, & Angela Davis. IMDb rating 6.9/10.
Apr. 30th The Young Karl Marx , 2017 1h 58min, about "The early years of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and Jenny Marx, between Paris, Brussels and London" [IMDb], starring August Diehl, Stefan Konarske, & Vicky Krieps [the poisoner in Phantom Thread]. IMDb rating 6.6/10.
Apr. 23rd The Post , 2017 1h 56min, Spielberg's historical drama about Katherine Graham's decision to publish the Pentagon Papers in defiance of the government, starring Meryl Streep & Tom Hanks. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Apr. 16th Phantom Thread , 2017 2h 16min, a romantic drama about a famous dress designer in 1950's London and three people close to him, all manipulated and manipulating, starring Vicky Krieps, Daniel Day-Lewis, & Lesley Manville. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Apr. 9th Call Me by Your Name , 2017 2h 12min, is about a teenager in Italy in 1983 falling for his father's research assistant, starring Armie Hammer, & Timothée Chalamet. IMDb rating 8.0/10. Oscar-nominated.
Apr. 2nd Loving Vincent , 2016 1h 34min,Polish bio-pic animated by oil paintings in Van Gogh's late style about his death and an inquiry into who shot him, starring his art. IMDb rating 7.9/10.
Mar 26th Lola , 1981 1h 55min, one of Fassbinder's last films. It's a bitter satire based on The Blue Angel, with a very different take on the tale, starring Barbara Sukowa & Armin Mueller-Stahl. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Mar 19th Fatima , 2015 1h 19min, an excellent French drama about an Algerian immigrant single mother struggling with speaking French and raising her teen-age assimilating daughters. IMDb rating 6.5/10.
Mar 12th The Spectacular Now , 2013 1h 35min, a romantic comedy about a charming, but aimless teen with a drinking problem whose new girlfriend is shy, bright, & bookish, starring Miles Teller & Shailene Woodley. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Mar 5th Lola , 1981 1h 55min, one of Fassbinder's last films. It's a bitter satire based on The Blue Angel, with a very different take on the tale, starring Barbara Sukowa & Armin Mueller-Stahl. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Feb 26th The Florida Project , 2016 1h 51min, a drama about 'precocious six-year-old Moonee as she courts mischief and adventure with her ragtag playmates and bonds with her rebellious but caring mother, all while living in the shadows of Walt Disney World.' [IMDb], starring Brooklynn Prince, Bria Vinaite, & Willem Dafoe. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Feb 19th I, Daniel Blake , 2016 1h 40min, British drama from Ken Loach about the trials of a hard-working Everyman 'caught between two interconnected bureaucracies, one medical, the other employment related in an excruciating Catch-22 situation. He can’t work until his doctors give him the O.K.; he has to look for a job when he should be resting [NYT]'. IMDb rating 7.9/10. A NYT Critic’s Pick.
Feb 12th Eero Saarinen: The Architect Who Saw the Future , 2017 1hr 10min, a documentary narrated by his son. IMDb rating 7.3/10. Since this was short, we also saw just the last part of ' A Journey Through French Cinema which is too long, 3hr 21min, for one night. This film Bertrand Tavernier comments on films he enjoyed and that influenced him throughout his life. We started from the New Wave. IMDb rating 7.5.
Feb 5th Cléo from 5 to 7 , 1962 1hr 30min, is Varda's real time comedy about a Parisian pop-singer's life-transforming stroll around Paris as she awaits results from a medical exam. IMDb rating 8.0/10. Our critics are impressed.
Jan 29th A Man Escaped , 1956 1h 41 min, Director Robert Bresson's classic thriller about a French Resistance fighter captured by the Nazis planning his escape. IMDb rating 8.2/10
Jan 22nd My Happy Family , 2017 2hrs, a Georgian film about a rebellious wife in a strongly patriarchal society, seeking a room of her own. IMDb rating 7.6/10. Critics give this rave reviews.
Jan 15th La Collectionneuse , 1967 1hr 29min, an early Romer fiilm about the moral dilemma a promiscuous bikini-clad teenager, la collectionneuse, presents to two older decadent artistic intellectuals on vacation it St. Tropez. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Jan 8th To Be And To Have [Être et avoir] , 2002 1hr 44min, is a documentary showing us a year of teaching in a one-room schoolhouse in rural France. IMDb rating 7.9.

2017 Monday Movies

Dec 18th Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! ,1989 1hr 41min, Almodóvar comedy about an ex-mental-patient who kidnaps a porn star to woo her. IMDb rating 7.0/10.
Dec 11th The Gleaners & I , 2000 1hr 22min, French documentary by Agnès Varda about Ms. Varda herself criss-crossing France to talk to its scavengers. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Dec 4th Your Name , 2016 1h 46min, Japanese animé from Studio Ghibli about two teens switching bodies. IMDb rating 8.5/10.
Nov 27th Terri Terri, 2011 1hr 45min, is a comedy/drama about a fat teenager struggling to adjust. IMDb rating 6.5/10.
Nov 20th The Fool , 2016 MIN, a Russian drama about an idealist in a corrupt society trying to save the tenants of a collapsing building. IMDb rating 8.0/10.
Nov 13th Michael Clayton 2007, law firm's problems while representing a guilty client - starring George Clooney as "fixer". IMdB rating 7.4/10.
Nov 6th Marjorie Prime , 2017 1h 39min: as she sinks into Altzeimer's Marjorie's family gives her a holographic projection of her dead husband to help her remember, starring Geena Davis, Jon Hamm, Tim Robbins, & Lois Smith. IMDb rating 6.3/10.
Oct 30th White Material , 2009 1hr 46min, Director Claire Denis's drama about a white woman desperately clinging to her W. African coffee plantation while chaos rises around her, starring Isabelle Huppert. IMDb rating 7.0/10.
Oct 23rd Certain Women , 2016 1h 47min, three separate low-key stories about three women living in the same Montana town, starring Laura Dern, Kristen Stewart, & Michelle Williams. IMDb rating 6.5/10. Not a NYT Critic's pick.
Oct 16th This Is Martin Bonner , 2016 1hr 23min, about a deepening friendship between a newly-released convict and his mentor, starring Paul Eenhoorn & Richmond Arquette. IMDb rating 6.6/10.
Oct 9th Queen of the Desert , 2015 2h 18min, Werner Herzog's bio-pic about Gertrude Bell, the upper-class Englishwoman who drew the map of the Mideast determining the borders of Iraq after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, starring Nicole Kidman. IMDb rating 5.6/10. A very low rating. But maybe informative?
Oct 2nd Gabrielle , 2005 1h 30min, based on a Conrad story, is a French drama about a Parisian upper-class marriage after the wife decides to leave and then changes her mind, starring Isabelle Huppert & Pascal Greggory. IMDb rating 6.3/10.
Sept 25th The Big Sick , 2016 MIN, about culture clash in a romance between a Pakistani comedian and Wasp girlfriend, especially after she gets sick, starring Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter. IMDb rating 7.8/10.
Sept 18th Queen & Country , 2014 1h 54 min, - 'In this sequel to Hope and Glory (1987), Bill Rohan has grown up and is drafted into the army, where he and his eccentric best mate, Percy, battle their snooty superiors on the base and look for love in town.' [IMDb] IMDb rating 6.3/10.
Sept 11th Last Summer in the Hamptons , 1995 1h 48min, a Henry Jaglom film loosely based on Chekhov's Cherry Orchard. IMDb rating 6.0/10. Lots of talk among actors about acting.
Sept 4th The Lost City of Z, 2016 2h 21min, a bio-pic adventure tale about the English Victorian explorer, Col. Percival Fawcett, searching for El Dorado in the Amazon, starring Charlie Hunnam. IMDb rating 6.7/10. A dud. Completely unbelievable in spite of favorable reviews. Forget it.
Aug 28th Searching for Sugar Man , 2012 1h 26min, a documentary about 'Two South Africans [who] set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock n roller, Rodriguez.' [IMDb] IMDb rating 8.2/10.
Aug 21st Jackie , 2016 1h 40min, about Jacqueline Kennedy struggling with the trauma of Jack's assassination. IMDb rating 6.8/10.
Aug 14th A United Kingdom , 2016 1h 51min, based on historical events, about the political uproar caused by King Seretse Khama of Botswana when he marries a white Englishwoman, starring David Oyelowo, & Rosamund Pike. IMDb rating 6.8/10.
Aug 7th A Tale of Love and Darkness , 2015 1h 35min, based on Amos Oz's book about his youth during the birth of Israel, starring Natalie Portman, Gilad Kahana, & Amir Tessler. IMDb rating 6.1/10. Natalie Portman's directorial debut. And she wrote the script.
Jul 31st NO MOVIE
Jul 24th A Quiet Passion , 2016 2h 5min, biopic about the witty and rebellious Emily Dickinson, starring Emma Bell. IMDb rating 7.0/10.
Jul 17th My Golden Days [Trois souvenirs de ma jeunesse] , 2015 2h 3min, nostalgic ​French drama ​: middle-aged anthropologist reminisces about growing up in France in the 80s. IMDb rating 6.9/10.
Jul 10th Tanna , 2015 1h 44min, with echoes of Romeo & Juliette, about warring tribes on a remote Pacific island agree to make peace with a marriage. But the young bride-to-be is in love with another man... IMDb rating 6.9/10.
Jul 3rd Words and Pictures , 2013 1h 51min. "An art instructor and an English teacher form a rivalry that ends up with a competition at their school in which students decide whether words or pictures are more important." [IMDb], starring WHO. IMDb rating 6.6/10. A NYT Critic's pick.
Jun 26th L'enfant , 2005 1h 35min, a Dardennes brothers drama about a boyfriend who sells their baby. It's a question of free will, says Ebert. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
Jun 19th Frantz , 2016 1h 53min, Director François Ozon's historical [post WWI] drama in which 'a young German who grieves the death of her fiancé in France meets a mysterious Frenchman who visits the fiancé's grave' [IMDb]. IMDb rating 7.5/10. Mostly in luminous black-and-white.
Jun 12th The Salesman , 2016 2h 4min, the latest from the Iranian director Asghar Farhadi who made The Separation & About Elly, about a couple who are 'both participating in a production of "Death of a Salesman." The wife is assaulted in her new home, which leaves him determined to find the perpetrator over his wife's traumatized objections.' [IMDb] IMDb rating 8.0/10.
Jun 5th La La Land , 2016 2h 8min, an ode to the old Hollywood romantic musicals from Damien Chazelle, the director of Whiplash, starring Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone. IMDb rating 8.3/10.
May 29th Hidden Figures , 2016 2h 7min, a well-made propaganda or educational[?] film about the virtually unknown black women at NASA doing the calculations that made landing a man on the moon possible, starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, & Janelle Monáe. IMDb rating 7.8/10. Netflix labels this film: Witty, Inspiring, Cerebral.
May 22nd Toni Erdmann , 2016 2h 42min, German comedy about 'A practical joking father tries to reconnect with his hard working daughter by creating an outrageous alter ego and posing as her CEO's life coach.' [IMDb]. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
May 15th Fences , 2016 2h 19min, from the Angus Wilson play recently on Broadway, starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
May 8th I Am Not Your Negro , 2016 93 minutes, searing documentary about James Baldwin's writings on America's race problems. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
May 1st The Eagle Huntress , 2016 1h 27 min, Mongolian documentary. After twelve generations of eagle hunters this Kazakh-tribal 13-year-old girl strives to carry on the family tradition. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Apr 24th Don't Think Twice , 2016 1h 32min, about close friends in a NYC improv troupe facing changes when some start to succeed while others don't. IMDb rating 6.8/10.
Apr 17th Paterson , 2016 1h 58min, Jim Jarmusch's latest, a detailed look at the quiet life of a NJ poet/bus driver. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
Apr 10th Little Men , 2016 1h 25min, about two boys whose friendship is 'tested by their parents' battle over a dress shop lease.' [IMDb] - starring Theo Taplitz & Michael Barbieri. IMDb rating 6.8/10.
Apr 3rd 20th Century Women , 2016 1h 59min, about ​a boy being raised by three women, especially his mother, starring Annette Bening, Elle Fanning, & Greta Gerwig. IMDb rating ​7.5/10.
Mar 27th Allied , 2016 2h 4min, romantic drama that starts with action in North Africa in 1942 and continues to London where love is threatened by dark suspicions, starring Brad Pitt & Marion Cotillard. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Mar 20th Loving , 2016 2h 3min, about the aptly-named interracial couple who defied Virginia's anti-miscegenation laws, and took their case to the Supreme Court. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Mar 13th Cavalcade , 1933 1h 52min, about British history from 1899 to 1933 as experienced by a London couple. IMDb rating 6.0/10. Recommended by David Bishop.
Mar 6th Moonlight , 2016 1h 51min, about a young black man growing up in a rough Miami, starring Mahershala Ali. IMDb rating 7.8/10. This year's Oscar winner.
Feb 27th Manchester by the Sea , 2016 2h 17min. 'An uncle is asked to take care of his teenage nephew after the boy's father dies' [IMDb], starring Casey Affleck & Michelle Williams. IMDb rating 8.1/10.
Feb 20th Hitchcock/Truffaut 2015 1h 19 min, documentary. 'Filmmakers discuss how Francois Truffaut's 1966 book "Cinema According to Hitchcock" influenced their work.' [IMDb] IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Feb 13th Whiplash , 2014 1h 47min, about a 'promising young drummer enrolls at a cut-throat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realize a student's potential.' [IMDb]. IMDb rating 8.5/10.
Feb 6th Florence Foster Jenkins , 2016 1h 51min, comedy bio-pic about a wealthy, but tone-deaf woman who longs to be an opera singer, starring Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant, & Simon Helberg. IMDb rating 7.0/10.
Jan 30th Casque d'Or , 1952 1h 34min, about a gang-member's girl who falls for a carpenter trying to go straight. But her former boy-friend doesn't want to let her go - starring Simone Signoret. IMDb rating 7.9/10.
Jan 23rd Neither Heaven Nor Earth , 2015 1h 40min, French anti-war fantasy about a mission in Afghanistan whose men start mysteriosly vanishing. IMDb rating 6.4/10. Bomb
Jan 16th Freedom Writers , 2007​ 2h 3min, biopic about ​a young white teacher struggling to inspire a class of ghetto kids, starring Hilary Swank. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
Jan 9th Stranded: I've Come from a Plane That Crashed on the Mountains , 2007​ 2h 10min, a documentary about ​how the 16 of the crash victims managed to stay alive for 72 days awaiting rescue in the frigid Andes. IMDb rating 8.1/10.
Jan 2th Sully , 201​6​ 1h 36min minutes, Clint Eastwood's version of Sully's heroics, starring Tom Hanks. IMDb rating 7.6/10.

2016 Monday Movies

Dec 26th NO MOVIE
Dec 19th The Golden Dream [or La jaula de oro] , 2013 108 minutes, Mexican drama about three Guatemalan teens trying to slip over the US border. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Dec 12th NO MOVIE. Leah's 13th birthday party.
Dec 5th A Simple Story 1978 110 minutes, a French feminist drama about a divorcee who decides to leave her lover and return to her ex-husband, starring Romy Schneider. IMDb rating 7.0/10. Recommended by David Bishop.
Nov 28th Indignation , 2016 110 minutes, about a rebellious and ambitious Jewish boy's coming-of-age in 1950's New Jersey, based on Roth's semi-autobiographical novel. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Nov 21st Hunt for the Wilderpeople , 2016 101 minutes, adventure comedy about the hunt for 'a rebellious kid and his foster uncle who go missing in the wild New Zealand bush' [IMDb], starring Sam Neill & Julian Dennison. IMDb rating 8.0/10.
Nov 14th Behind the Sun , 2001 105 minutes, Brazilian drama about a boy caught up in a blood feud. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Nov 7th Sunset Song , 2015 135 minutes, a coming-of-age drama based on a classic 1932 novel about a lass on a Scottish farm just before WW I. IMDb rating 6.5/10.
Oct 31st NO MOVIE - It's Halloween. And it's Owen's 15th birthday.
Oct 24th Wild , 2014 115 minutes, bio-pic about a woman's 1,100 mile hike to from her pain, grief, and self-loathing, starring Reese Witherspoon. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Oct 17th Zootopia , 2016 108 minutes, animated comedy. In a city of anthropomorphic animals, a rookie bunny cop and a cynical con artist fox must work together to uncover a conspiracy [IMDb]. IMDb rating 8.1/10.
Oct 10th You, The Living , 2007 95 minutes, Swedish black comedy, a series of vignettes, 'some bordering on tragic, others hilarious, we are taken on a Nordic journey like no other.' [IMDb user review] IMDb rating 7.5/10. Actually watched on the 11th, because of Stella's 5th birthday party on Monday.
Oct 3rd Aferim! , 2015 108 minutes, adventure comedy about a policeman & his son hunting down a runaway gypsy. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Sept 26th Trumbo , 2015 124 minutes, bio-pic about ​the Hollywood blacklist and how Trumbo coped. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
Sept 19th Love & Friendship , 2015 92 minutes, satirical rom-com of late 17th century wit and manners in which a charming, but scheming fortune hunter seeks a 2nd marriage. IMDb rating 6.8/10.
Sept 12th Invincible , 2001 133 minutes, Werner Herzog directs Tim Roth in a drama about a Jewish strongman performing in Berlin in 1932. IMDb rating 6.6/10.
Sept 5th Rabin, the Last Day , 2015 153 minutes, Docu-drama about Rabin's murder, which ended peace efforts. IMDb rating 5.8/10.
Aug 29th Human Capital , 2013 111 minutes, an Italian drama. 'The destinies of two families are irrevocably tied together after a cyclist is hit off the road by a jeep in the night before Christmas Eve.'[IMDb]. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
Aug 22nd Wild Tales , 201​4​ ​122 minutes, ​Argentine black comedy - six short tales about characters pushed into extreme situations. IMDb rating ​8.1/10.
Aug15th Haus Tugendhat , 2013 117 minutes, Architectural documentary about the villa designed in the 1930's by the renowned Mies van der Rohe for the Tugendhat family, Jewish Czechs who soon had to flee. IMDb rating 6.5/10. Naomi lent us this award-winning disc which she highly recommends.
Aug 8th The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared , 2013 114 minutes Swedish comedy about the long life of a man who loves blowing things up. Sort of like 'Being There'. IMDB rating 7.1/10.
Aug 1st Mountains May Depart , 2015 131 minutes, Chinese drama depicting social changes in modern China as experienced by a single woman in three periods of her life. IMDb rating 6.8/10.
July 25th NO MOVIE. We watched the Democratic Convention instead.
July 18th Coming Home [Gui lai] , 2014 109 minutes, Yimou Zhang's about ​a professor who, upon release from a labor camp 20 years after arrest by the Cultural Revolution, finds his wife doesn't know him, and his troubled daughter, starring Li Gong & Daoming Chen. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
July 11th Mistress America , 2015 84 minutes, a smart and screwball comedy from Noah Baumbach about a college freshman taken on a high-spirited coming-of-age trip by her stepsister-to-be. IMDb rating 6.7/10.
July 4th NO MOVIE
June 27th Vanaja , 2006 111 minutes, Indian coming-of-age drama about ​a low-caste 14-year-old who takes a job in a household where she hopes to learn Kuchipudi dancing. But then the son comes home... IMDb rating 7.3/10.
June 20th 45 Years , 2015 95 minutes, a British drama about a couple planning their 45th anniversary when shattering news upends their lives starring Charlotte Rampling & Tom Courtenay. IMDb rating 7.1/10. It's also a NYT Critics’ Pick.
June 13th Anomalisa , 2015 90 minutes, Charlie Kaufman's stop-motion animated comedy for grown-ups about ​a famous author whose life has lost color until he meets Lisa - the anomaly. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
June 6th Theeb , 2014 100 minutes, Jordanian adventure film. ​'In the Ottoman province of Hijaz during World War I, a young Bedouin boy experiences a greatly hastened coming-of-age as he embarks on a perilous desert journey to guide a British officer to his secret destination. [IMDb] IMDb rating 7.3/10.
May 30th The New Rijksmuseum , 2014 131 minutes, documentary about the rebuilding of Holland's most famous museum. IMDb rating 7.5/10. Recommended by Naomi.
May 23rd Breathe [Respire] , 2015 91 minutes, French coming-of-age drama about the intense friendship of two teenage girls. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
May 16th Mustang , 2015 97 minutes, Turkish drama about ​five orphan girls whose scandalous behavior leads to forced marriages. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
May 9th The Pearl Button , 2015 82 minutes, documentary about Chile's history drawing parallels between the sufferings of the Patagonian natives and the modern victims of Pinochet. "A dazzling poetic meditation on history, ethnography, culture and political violence." [Nick Bradshaw] IMDb rating 7.5/10.
May 2nd Historias mínimas [Intimate Stories] , 2002 92 minutes, Argentinian comedy about three people whose separate journeys on the same road through Patagonia become intertwined. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
Apr. 27th Nora’s Will , 2008 92 minutes, Mexican comedy-drama. José's Jewish ex-wife Nora has committed suicide. But she had a scheme for her funeral... IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Apr. 25th Jimmy's Hall , 2014 109 minutes, Ken Loach drama. Leftist activist Jimmy Gralton returns home to Ireland during the Depression after ten years of exile in America. Seeing the levels of poverty and oppression, he again becomes politically active by re-opening the dance hall that led to his deportation. IMDb rating 6.7/10.
Apr. 18th Brooklyn , 2015 111 minutes, a coming-of age drama about an Irish immigrant in the 1950s, based on the best-selling Colm Tóibín novel. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
Apr. 11th Taxi Tehran , 2015 82 minutes. 'Jafar Panahi is banned from making movies by the Iranian government, he poses as a taxi driver and makes a movie about social challenges in Iran.' [IMDb] IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Apr. 4th Spotlight , 2015 128 minutes, docudrama about ​The Boston Globe team uncovering the massive child molestation cover-up by the Boston Archdiocese. This story began unveiling the Catholic Church's cover-up of child-abuse which was eventually revealed to be world-wide, and is still on-going. IMDb rating 8.1/10.
Mar. 28th Antoine et Antoinette , 1947 78 minutes, classic French comedy about a proletarian couple fending off the wife's suitors. IMDb rating 7.5/10. David Bishop loves this film so much that he bought the DVD so we could screen it!
Mar. 21st The Big Short , 2015 140 minutes, comedy bio-pic about financial manipulation by Wall Street financiers profiting from their bursting the bubble in 2007. IMDb rating 7.9/10.
Mar. 14th Timbuktu , ​2014​ 97 minutes, a drama about people's lives under the jihadists' sharia law in Timbuktu and its surrounding countryside. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Mar. 7th Palio , ​2015​ 91 minutes, a documentary about Sienna's renowned barebacked horse race through the city. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
Feb. 29th NO MOVIE
Feb. 22nd Grandma , ​2015​ 139 minutes, a comedy about a pregnant teen who seeks help from her crotchety, but smart, grandmother played by Lily Tomlin. IMDb rating 6.8/10.
Feb. 15th Learning to Drive , ​2014​ 90 minutes, a 'a small, observant dual portrait of a New York book critic and her Indian-American driving instructor' [NYT]. IMDb rating 6.4/10.
Feb. 8th Truth , ​2015​ 124 minutes, a bio-pic how the 2004 60 Minutes report of W's questionable military service unraveled ultimately costing Dan Rather and his producer Mary Mapes their careers - starring Cate Blanchett & Robert Redford. IMDb rating 6.6/10.
Feb. 1st The Kindergarten Teacher , ​2014​ 119 minutes, an Israeli drama about the teacher's reaction to a pupil's poetic talent. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Jan. 25th Gold Rush , ​1925 95 minutes, Chaplin's classic [his funniest?]: The Little Tramp prospects for gold in the Klondike. IMDb rating 8.3/10. [City Lights got 8.6/10]
Jan.18th City Lights , ​1931​ 87 minutes, the Chaplin silent classic about the tramp who falls for the blind girl starring Charlie Chaplin & Virginia Cherrill. IMDb rating 8.6/10.
Jan. 11th NO MOVIE
Jan. 4th Dallas Buyers Club , ​2013​ 117 minutes, a bio-pic about a homophobic Texan with AIDS the early days of the disease, starring Matthew McConaughey. IMDb rating 8.0/10.

2015 Monday Movies

Jan.18th City Lights , ​1931​ 87 minutes, the Chaplin silent classic about the tramp who falls for the blind girl starring Charlie Chaplin & Virginia Cherrill. IMDb rating 8.6/10.
Jan. 11th NO MOVIE
Jan. 4th Dallas Buyers Club , ​2013​ 117 minutes, a bio-pic about a homophobic Texan with AIDS the early days of the disease, starring Matthew McConaughey. IMDb rating 8.0/10.
Dec. 28th Tess , ​1979​ 186 minutes, a 'stunningly beautiful' Polanski tragedy about 'injustice meted out to a spirited, yet simple farm girl, whose main fault was being too beautiful' [IMDb reviewer], starring the 17-year-old Natassia Kinski. IMDb rating 7.3/10. Over three hours long!
Dec. 21st That Hamilton Woman , ​1941​ 128 minutes, a classic historical romance about Lady Hamilton's affair with Lord Nelson, starring the real-life lovers Vivien Leigh & Laurence Olivier. IMDb rating 7.3/10. I have always been curious to see this old film, and now we have a Criterion release with subtitles.
Dec. 14th Inside Out , ​2015​ 95 minutes, a Pixar film in which the emotions of a young girl are represented by a collection of characters inside her brain. IMDb rating 8.4/10.
Dec. 7th After the Wedding , ​2006​ 120 minutes, from the Danish director Susanne Bier about a humanitarian aid worker who returns to Copenhagen to raise money, but finds himself drawn into a complex of family secrets, starring Mads Mikkelsen. IMDb rating 7.8/10.
Nov. 30th A Borrowed Identity [Dancing Arabs] , ​2014 107 minutes, a drama about an Israeli Arab in a prestigious Jewish boarding school. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Nov. 23rd Mr. Holmes , 201​5​ 104 minutes, a mystery drama about an aging, retired Sherlock, played by Ian McKellen. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Nov. 16th Stranger Than Paradise , 1984​ 89 minutes, a Jim Jarmusch comedy about Hungarian immigrants in NYC. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Nov. 9th Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors , 1965​ 97 minutes, a Ukrainian romance about the life of Ivan whose childhood sweetheart dies, and his eventual marriage and it's outcome. Filmed with an incredibly energetic rich evocation of lives and customs, festivals, and labors of the folk. IMDb rating 8.1/10. Visually interesting, but not enough dialog or feeling. Slow.
Nov. 2nd Looking for Eric , 2009​ 116 minutes, a Ken Loach satire about a postman whose stepson "gets embroiled in some nasty business with a local gangland thug and threatens to destabilise Eric's whole fragile existence" [IMDb user]. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Oct. 26th Testament of Youth , 201​4​ 129 minutes. 'A British woman recalls coming of age during World War I - a story of young love, the futility of war, and how to make sense of the darkest times.' [IMDb] IMDb rating 7.9/10.
Oct. 19th Mrs Henderson Presents Mrs Henderson Presents, 2003​ 103 minutes, Stephen Frears' comedy with Judi Dench as an old lady who buys an old Soho theater to put on nude revues. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Oct. 12th Aimee & Jaguar , 1999​ 125 minutes, a German war drama about 'an unusual love story between a Nazi housewife (Aimée) and a Jewish underground female activist (Jaguar).' [IMDb user] Based on a true story. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
Oct. 5th The Spirit of the Beehive , 1973​ 95 minutes, the Spanish classic. A sensitive 7-year-old traumatized by the movie Frankenstein drifts into fantasy. IMDb rating 8.0/10.
Sept. 28th About Elly , 2009​ 119 minutes, an Iranian drama about how her fellow picnickers react to the disappearance of Elly, a young kindergarten teacher. IMDb rating 8.2/10.
Sept. 21st God Grew Tired of Us , 2005​ 89 minutes, a A documentary about Sudanese refugees who manage to flee to the U.S. and their first reactions to the modern world. IMDb rating 8.0/10.
Sept. 14th The Grocer's Son , 2007​ 96 minutes, a French drama about a son who returns reluctantly from the city to the village when his father has a heart attack. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Sept. 7th Two Days, One Night , 201​4​ 95 minutes, a Dardennes brothers film about young mother who must convince her workmates to give up their bonuses to save her job.. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Aug.31th CITIZENFOUR , 201​4​ MIN minutes, a documentary about reporters Greenwald and MacAskill conversations with whistleblower Edward Snowden. IMDb rating 8.2/10.
Aug.24th Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia , 201​3 83 minutes, a documentary. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
Aug.17th A Little Chaos , 201​4​ 117 minutes, a costume drama about a woman who comes to design the garden at the corrupt court of Louis XIV"s Versailles. IMDb rating 6.4/10.
Aug.10th The Pool , 2007​ 98 minutes, a film about a "boy in abject poverty [who] works in a hotel and becomes obsessed with a swimming pool in the opulent hills of Panjim, Goa, India. His life gets turned upside-down when he attempts to meet the mysterious family who lives at the house.' [IMDb] IMDb rating 7.0/10.
Aug. 3rd Tangerines , 201​43 87 minutes, an Estonian-Georgian film with a Georgian director. 'War in Georgia, Apkhazeti region in 1990. An Estonian man Ivo has stayed behind to harvest his crops of tangerines. In a bloody conflict at his door, a wounded man is left behind, and Ivo is forced to take him in.' [IMDb]. IMDb rating 8.5/10.
July 27th Clouds of Sils Maria , 201​4​ 124 minutes, A veteran actress comes face-to-face with an uncomfortable reflection of herself when she agrees to take part in a revival of the play that launched her career 20 years earlier.[IMDb] Starring Juliette Binoche & Kristen Stewart. IMDb rating 6.8/10.
July 20th Locke , 2013 85 minutes, a tense road movie about a successful construction manager who makes a major decision on his journey home which will impact on every aspect of his life. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
July 13th While We're Young , 201​4​ 97 minutes, a FILM about "the fraught relations between ascendant millennials and the rapidly aging members of Generation X."[A​.​O​.​ Scott ]. IMDb rating 6.5/10.
July 6th Lacombe, Lucien , 1974 138 minutes, a Louis Malle drama about a naive teenager who drifts almost accidentally into collaboration with the German occupation. IMDb rating 7.8/10.
June 29th Altered States , 1980 102 minutes, a Sci-Fi thriller about a Harvard professor experimenting on himself with hallucinatory drugs. Based on a Paddy Chayefsky novel,and starring William Hurt & Blair Brown. IMDb rating 6.9/10. It all seems rather silly. I guess you have to be tripping to appreciate it.
June 22nd Girlhood , 201​4​ ​113 minutes, a ​teenager struggling to grow up in the lower class suburbs of Paris. IMDb rating ​6.7/10. Not a very good film -- too little dialog, so you don't quite know what anyone is thinking or why.
June 15th Rolling Family [Familia Rodante] Rolling Family, 20​04​ ​103 minutes, a ​Argentinian comedy about ​grandmother who takes her extended family on a road trip. IMDb rating ​6.6/10. Hard to watch because of the jiggly camera work, but our group liked it.
June 8th Ivory Tower , 2014 90 minutes, a look at the cost college and whether it's worth it, by the filmmaker who also made Page One: Inside the New York Times which we liked a lot. IMDb rating 6.9​/10. A documentary recommended by David Bishop.
June 1st The Way He Looks , 2013 ​96 minutes, a ​Brazilian romantic drama about ​a blind teenager searching for independence, realizing he's gay. IMDb rating ​8.0/10.​
May 25th Ordet [The Word] , 1955 126 minutes, from the great Danish Director Carl Dreyer, is a religious allegory based on a 1944 play by a Danish priest who was killed by the Nazis for preferring Christ to Hitler. IMDb rating 8.1​/10.
May 18th Mr. Turner , 2014 150 minutes, a Mike Liegh's portrait of the painter. IMDb rating 6.9​/10.
May 11th Selma , 2014 128 minutes, a Bio/History drama about Martin Luther's King's campaign for voting rights in 1965. IMDb rating 7.6​/10.
May 4th When Father Was Away on Business , 1985 136 minutes, a drama seen through the eyes of a boy waking to life and politics in 1950s Sarajevo under Tito. IMDb rating 7.9​/10.
Apr. 27th The Immigrant , 2013 120 minutes, a drama about an 'innocent immigrant woman ... tricked into a life of burlesque and vaudeville until a dazzling magician tries to save her and reunite her with her sister.' [IMDb] IMDb rating 6.6​/10.
Apr. 20th Maria Full of Grace , 2004 101 minutes, a drama about a 'Colombian teenager becomes a drug mule to make some desperately needed money'. [IMDb] IMDb rating 7.5​/10.
Apr. 13th The Imitation Game , 2014 114 minutes, a bio-pic about Alan Turing and the Enigma code. IMDb rating 8.1​/10.
Apr. 6th The Homesman , 2014 122 minutes, a sort of anti-Western about an independent woman transporting 3 mad women back East. IMDb rating 6.6​/10.
Mar. 30th Birdman , 201​4​ ​119 minutes, ​director Inarritu's Academy Award-winning ​​comedy about ​a washed-up actor, trying to recover while preparing a Broadway play. IMDb rating ​8.0/10.
Mar. 23rd The Last of the Unjust, Part 2 , 2013 110 minutes. See below.
Mar. 16th The Last of the Unjust, Part 1 , 2013 110 minutes, a documentary about Theresienstadt from Claude Lanzmann who previously made Shoah. 'Claude Lanzmann spent 11 years working on Shoah, gathering testimony and travelling to the various locations. To date, the project has resulted in several films beyond the nine-and-a-half-hour Shoah, which is obviously Lanzmann's magnum opus. In the interview included with this set, Lanzmann tells us that Murmelstein's story didn't belong in Shoah because it has a different mood.' [Gordon Sullivan]. IMDb rating 7.0​/10.
Mar. 9th Springtime in a Small Town , 2002 116 minutes, a romantic drama about a couple in post-war 1946 China whose lives are upended by the visit of an old friend. IMDb rating 7.0​/10.
Mar. 2nd Bird People ​, 2014 127 minutes, a French fantasy. 'In an airport hotel on the outskirts of Paris, a Silicon Valley engineer abruptly chucks his job, breaks things off with his wife, and holes up in his room. Soon, fate draws him and a young French maid together.'[IMDb] IMDb rating 6.2​/10.
Feb. 23rd My Winnipeg ​, 2007 80 minutes. IMDb said. 'Fact, fantasy and memory are woven seamlessly together in this portrait of film-maker Guy Maddin's home town of Winnipeg, Manitoba.' IMDb rating 7.7​/10.
Feb. 16th NO MOVIE
Feb. 9th NO MOVIE BLIZZARD
Feb. 2nd Class Trip , 1998 96 minutes, a drama about sensitive boy who dreams and fantasies of danger [perhaps real?] from Director Claude Miller. IMDb rating 7.0/10.
Jan. 26th No Movie due to blizzard.
Jan. 19th Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry , 2012 91 minutes, a documentary about artist activist Ai Weiwei as he increasingly clashes with the Chinese government. IMDb rating 7.6​/10.
Jan. 12th Boyhood , 2013 165 minutes [long!], Richard Linkletter's acclaimed drama: watching a boy growing from 5 to 18. IMDb rating 8.4​/10.
Jan. 5th The Skeleton Twins , 2014 93 minutes. Having both coincidentally cheated death on the same day, estranged twins reunite with the possibility of mending their relationship.[IMDb] Stars Kristen Wiig & Bill Hader. IMDb rating 7.0​/10.

2014 Monday Movies

Dec. 29th NO MOVIE.
Dec. 22nd Father Of My Children ​, 2009 110 minutes, a French drama, based on the life of the producer Humbert Balsan. IMDb rating 6.7​/10.
Dec. 15th Rome Open City [ROMA, CITTÀ APERTA] Rome Open City, 1945 103 minutes, a Roberto Rossellini's masterpiece of realism about Italian resistance fighters in Rome under the Nazi's, starring Anna Magnani and Aldo Fabrizi. IMDb rating 8.1​/10.
Dec. 8th We Steal Secrets: The Story Of WikiLeaks , 2013 130 minutes, a documentary about Julian Assange's controversial website and his communications with leaker [whistle-blower?] Bradley Manning. IMDb rating 6.8​/10.
Dec. 1st La Danse , 2013 153 minutes [2 1/2 hrs]. Fred Wiseman's 36th documentary looks at the Paris Opera Ballet as an institution. IMDb rating 7.4​/10.
Nov. 24th A Most Wanted Man , 2014 122 minutes, a thriller based on John Le Carré's novel about 'good, evil and the sins committed in the name of national security,' [Manohla Dargis] Philip Seymour Hoffman's last film. IMDb rating 7.0​/10.
Nov. 17th Disc failed, so we watched 'Land Ho' (2014) about two old guys who visit Iceland. Don't bother.
Nov. 10th The In-Laws , 1979 103 minutes, a crime comedy in which the father of the bride meets the father of the groom who claims to be a secret agent and drags him into a series of chases and misadventures, starring Peter Falk & Alan Arkin. IMDb rating 7.4​/10. But is is funnier than 'Groundhog Day'?
Nov. 3rd My Summer of Love , 2004 86 minutes, an earlier film from director/writer Pawel Pawlikowski whose Ida we saw last Monday. It's a drama about a summer romance between a working class tomboy and a pampered rich girl, starring teenagers Natalie Press & Emily Blunt. IMDb rating 6.8​/10.
Oct. 27th Ida , 2013 82 minutes, a dark Polish psychological drama about a novitiate nun discovering truths about her origins. IMDb rating 7.5​/10.
Oct. 20th L’effrontée , 1985 96 minutes, a French comedy about a 13-year-old girl without a mother learning the ropes, from director Claude Miller, starring Charlotte Gainsbourg at 13. IMDb rating 6.5​/10.
Oct. 13th Obvious Child , 2014 84 minutes, a raunchy comedy about a stand-up comic with a messy life and an unwelcome pregnancy. IMDb rating 6.9​/10.
Oct. 6th Next Stop, Greenwich Village , 1976 111 minutes, a Paul Mazursky autobiographical comedy about a young actor in the 50's Greenwich Village. IMDb rating 6.9​/10.
Sept. 29th Elena , 2011 109 minutes, a noirish drama about family, money, & class in today's Russia. IMDb rating 7.3​/10
Sept. 22nd A Tree Grows in Brooklyn ​, 1945 129 minutes, a classic film, Elia Kazan's first, about a girl growing up in poverty in Brooklyn around 1900. IMDb rating 8.2​/10.
Sept. 15th The Wedding Song , 2008 100 minutes, a drama about two Tunisian teenage girls, a Muslim & a Jew, whose friendship is threatened by the Nazi occupation. IMDb rating 6.7​/10.
Sept. 8th Saving Mr. Banks , 2013 125 minutes, a comic bio-pic about Walt Disney trying to convince curmudgeon P.L.Traverse to let him make Mary Poppins - starring Emma Thompson & Tom Hanks. IMDb rating 7.6​/10.
Sept. 1st What's in a Name [Le Prénom] , 2012 109 minutes, a French comedy about an increasingly revealing discussion among close friends. IMDb rating 7.3​/10. Hilarious.
Aug. 25th The Railway Man , 2013 116 minutes, based on a true story about an ex prisoner-of-war confronting his brutal Japanese tormentor years later -starring Colin Firth & Nicole Kidman. IMDb rating 7.1​/10.
Aug. 18th Two Lives , 2012 97 minutes, a German drama: 'As the Berlin Wall crumbles, Katrine, the daughter of a Norwegian woman and a German occupation soldier, finds her idyllic life disrupted.' [IMDb] IMDb rating 7.1​/10.
Aug.11th Enemies: A Love Story , 1989 119 minutes, is based on a story by Isaac Bashevis Singer about a Holocaust escapee in NYC with three wives. IMDb rating 6.8​/10.
Aug. 4th The Lady , 2011 132 minutes,'The story of Aung San Suu Kyi as she becomes the core of Burma's democracy movement, and her relationship with her husband, writer Michael Aris.' [IMDb] IMDb rating 7.1/10
July 28th The Lunchbox , 2013 104 minutes, a romance about young Mumbai housewife and an older office worker passing notes via his lunchbox . IMDb rating 7.9​/10.
July 21st Like Father, Like Son , 2013 121 minutes, a Japanese drama about " a successful businessman driven by money. When he learns that his biological son was switched with another child after birth, he must make a life-changing decision and choose his true son or the boy he raised as his own." [IMDb]. IMDb rating 7.8​/10.
July 14th Her , 2013 126 minutes, a sci-fi romance about a lonely writer with a perfect PA. And what it means to be human - starring Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, & Scarlett Johansson. IMDb rating 8.1​/10.
July 7th Unfinished Spaces , 2011 86 minutes, a documentary recommended by Naomi about the fate of several young architects and a collection of visionary Art Schools they designed in Castro's Cuba. IMDb rating 8.0 ​/10.
June 30th Dinner With Friends , ​2001 ​94 minutes, adapted by Donald Margulies from his Pulitzer Prize-winning play, starring Dennis Quaid, Andie MacDowell, & Greg Kinnear. IMDb rating 6.3​/10.
June 23rd Sansho the Bailiff , ​1954 ​124 minutes, a dark Japanese masterpiece based on a folk tale of the feudal period during the 11th century depicting the barbarism of a dark age and also a meditation on the fate of the individual. IMDb rating 8.2​/10.
June 16th Army of Shadows , 1969 ​145 minutes, a WWII drama about the French Resistance only recently released here. IMDb rating 8.1​/10.
June 9th Run & Jump , ​2013 ​106 minutes, an Irish drama about a woman whose husband's stroke has changed his personality. IMDb rating 6.1​/10.
June 2nd Gloria , 2013 ​110 minutes, a Chilean comedy about ​a free-spirited 58-year-old divorcée as a new romance enters her complicated life. IMDb rating 7.0​/10.
May 26th Tous les matins du monde , ​1991 ​115 minutes, a bio-pic about ​a late 17th century viola da gamba player, Sainte Colombe and his pupil Marais - starring Gérard Depardieu & Jean-Pierre Marielle. IMDb rating 7.5​/10.
May 19th The Great Beauty [La grande bellezza] , ​2013 ​142 minutes, an Italian comedy about ​an aging writer reviewing his past in the nightlife of Rome, starring Toni Servillo. IMDb rating 7.7​/10.
May 12th Philomena , ​2013 ​98 minutes, a bio-pic about a ​journalist helping a mother search for her lost son, starring Judi Dench & Steve Coogan. IMDb rating 7.7​/10.
May 5th The Wolf of Wall Street , ​2013 ​180 minutes [gasp], a Scorsese's crime comedy based on a memoir starring DiCaprio as the Wolf. IMDb rating 8.4​/10!
Apr. 28th Lee Daniel's The Butler , 2013 132 minutes, an historical drama about the butler who served in the White House throughout the civil rights era, starring Forrest Whittaker. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Apr. 21st Everlasting Moments , 2008 ​131 minutes, a Swedish drama about a working class woman in difficult times whose inner life is transformed by a camera. IMDb rating 7.5​/10.
Apr.14th 12 Years a Slave , 2013 134 minutes, a bio-pic about Solomon Northup, a free black man abducted from the North and sold into the South. IMDb rating 8.3/10.
Apr. 7th Long Walk to Freedom , 2013 141 minutes, an inspirational bio-pic about Nelson Mandela from village childhood to presidency starring Idris Elba. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Mar. 31st American Hustle , 2013 138 minutes, a screwball comedy crime drama about New Jersey political shenanigans loosely based on the Abscam scandal, starring Christian Bale, Amy Adams, & Bradley Cooper. IMDb rating 7.5/10. Highly enjoyable.
Mar. 24th Wadjda , 2012 98 minutes, a Saudi Arabian film about a precocious 10-year-old girl in Riyadh who wants a bicycle. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Mar. 17th Inside Llewyn Davis , 2013 104 minutes, a Coen brothers bittersweet comedy follows a week in the life of its folk-singer anti-hero in Greenwich Village 1961, starring Oscar Isaac. IMDb rating 7.7/10. A downer.
Mar. 10th The Flat , 2011 97 minutes: "As a documentarian cleans out the flat that belonged to his grandparents - both immigrants from Nazi Germany - he uncovers clues pointing to a complicated and shocking story. [IMDb]" Recommended by Sam and others. IMDb rating 6.7/10.
Mar. 3rd Story of Women , 1988 108 minutes, director Chabrol's version of a true story about a woman struggling to survive and raise two children in Nazi occupied provincial France, starring Isabelle Huppert. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Feb. 24th Enough Said , 2013 93 minutes, a comedy in which a divorced woman who decides to pursue the man she's interested in learns he's her new friend's ex-husband.. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Feb. 17th The Hunt , 2012 115 minutes, a Danish drama about teacher accused of sexual abuse, starring Mads Mikkelsen. IMDb rating 8.3/10.
Feb. 10th Lemon Tree , 2008 106 minutes, a Israeli drama about a Palestinian widow who goes to court when her lemon grove is threatened by Israeli security forces. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
Feb. 3rd Blue Jasmine , 2013 98 minutes, a Woody Allen comedy/drama about a troubled New York socialite who descends on her sister in San Francisco - starring Cate Blanchett and Alec Baldwin. The connection to Madoff makes this sound intriguing to me, having just seen 'Imagining Madoff' at the New Rep. IMDb rating 7.5/10. I hated it, but Blanchett nailed her character.
Jan. 27th Head-On , 2004 121 minutes, another Fatih Akin romance: 'story of a man who loses faith in everything (love, God, nationality, and ultimately life itself), only to regain it in unusual circumstances.' [IMDb User] IMDb rating 8.1/10.
Jan. 20th In July , 2000 99 minutes, a romantic fantasy road-trip from the Turkish-German director Akin. IMDb rating 7.9/10. Note the high rating. Charming.
Jan. 13th Ali: Fear Eats the Soul , 1974 94 minutes, a Fassbinder film. 'The story about a love (is it?) between two people of different age and origin is universal and, though set in a very xenophobe and intolerant Germany' [IMDb reviewer]. IMDb rating 8.1/10.
Jan. 6th A Better Life , 2011 98 minutes, is about a 'gardener in East L.A. [who] struggles to keep his son away from gangs and immigration agents while trying to give his son the opportunities he never had.' [IMDb]. IMDb rating 7.2/10.

2013 Monday Movies

Dec. 30th NO MOVIE.
Dec. 23rd Winter Sleepers , 1997 122 minutes, a German film from Tom Twyker who also made Run Lola Run. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Dec. 16th Tsotsi , 2005 90 minutes, South African film about 6 days that change the life of a young gang leader in Soweto, based on a novel by Fugard. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
Dec. 9th Barbara , 2012 105 minutes, - a doctor in East Germany is banished to a remote hospital under a STASI watch. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Dec. 2nd Conspiracy , 2001 96 minutes, a reënactment of the Nazi Wannsee Conference based on Eichmann's minutes, starring Kenneth Branagh & Stanley Tucci. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Nov. 25th Renoir , 2012 111 minutes, Renoir & his convalescing son Jean & a young model in 1915 on the French Riviera. IMDb rating 6.4/10.
Nov. 18th Frances Ha , 2012 86 minutes, a comedy about a dreamy young would-be dancer in New York. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Nov. 11th Koch , 2012 100 minutes, director Neil Barsky's documentary starring 'Hizzoner', Michael Bloomberg, et al. IMDb rating 5.0/10.
Nov. 4th Stories We Tell , 2012 108 minutes, a documentary that 'excavates layers of myth and memory to find the elusive truth at the core of a family of storytellers' [IMDb]. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Oct. 28th Before Midnight , 2013 109 minutes, director Richard Linklater presents the long-awaited third in his wonderful romantic series, starring Ethan Hawke & Julie Delpy. IMDb rating 8.2/10.
Oct. 21st Chicken with Plums , 2011 93 minutes, an Iranian comedy about a violinist whose wife has destroyed his treasured instrument. From the makers of Persepolis. IMDb rating 6.9/10.
Oct. 14th Le Grand Voyage , 2004 108 minutes. A young French-Moroccan reluctantly drives his old father through 10 countries on hajj to Mecca. Recommended by Murray. IMDb rating 7.0/10.
Oct. 7th Fill the Void , 2012 90 minutes, Israeli film about an Hasidic woman being pressured into marriage. IMDb rating 6.5/10.
Sept. 30th Love Is All You Need , 2012 116 minutes, the terrific Danish director Susanne Bier makes a comedy/romance set in Italy. IMDb rating 6.4/10.
Sept. 23rd Millions , 2005 98 minutes, another Danny Boyle [Trance, Trainspotting] film - Ethics, being human and the soul come to the fore when a 7-year old finds a bag of Pounds just days before the currency is switched to Euros' [IMDb]. IMDb rating 7.0/10.
Sept. 16th The Reluctant Fundamentalist , 2012 130 minutes, director Mira Nair about a young Pakistani whose Wall Street career is interrupted by his response, and the U.S. response, to 9/11. IMDb rating 6.6/10.
Sept. 9th Ivan's Childhood , 1962 82 minutes, Tarkovsky's first film, about an orphaned Russian child working as a spy fighting Nazis. IMDb rating 8.0/10.
Sept. 2nd Monsieur Ibrahim , 2003 95 minutes, French comedy: a coming-of-age story about a Jewish boy and his Turkish mentor, starring Omar Sharif and teenager Pierre Boulanger. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
Aug. 26th Me You Them , 2000 104 minutes, Brazilian film based on a news item profiling a woman who managed to live with three men in one house, in a remote village. IMdB rating 6.8/10.
Aug. 19th Saving Face , 2004 91 minutes, a comedy/romance: 'A Chinese-American lesbian and her traditionalist mother are reluctant to go public with secret loves that clash against cultural expectations.' [IMDb]. IMdB rating 7.3/10. Mildly amusing.
Aug. 12th Brooklyn Castle , 2012 101 minutes, a documentary about a Brooklyn public junior high school's champion chess team. IMdB rating 7.1/10.
Aug. 5th Coriolanus , 2011 123 minutes. Ralph Fiennes directed & stars in this shortened version of Shakespeare's thriller, setting it in modern war-torn Eastern Europe, with subtitles which are a great help with Shakespearian language. IMdB rating 6.1/10.
July 29th Whale Rider , 2002 101 minutes, another indie drama from New Zealand with Maori stars, this one upbeat and lyrical, about a young girl struggling against long odds to become a leader in her tribe. IMdB rating 7.6/10.
July 22th Boy , 2010 87 minutes, comedy from New Zealand about two Maori boys whose missing father shows up. IMdB rating 7.2/10.
July 15th In the Family , 2011 169 minutes -- director Patrick Wang's first film is about the uncertain child custody rights of a gay survivor and much more. IMdB rating 7.0/10.
July 8th 56 Up 2012 144 minutes, director Michael Apted's latest documentary in the Up series. Don't miss it! IMdB rating 7.6/10.
July 1st The Master 2012 144 minutes, an eerie drama about a drifter drawn into a Scientology-like cult, starring Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, & Amy Adams. IMdB rating 7.2/10. We didn't get it. None of the questions you'd like to ask were answered.
June 24th Quartet , 2012 98 minutes, -- director Dustin Hoffman directs a star-studded elderly cast in this comedy about retired musicians putting on a concert, starring Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Michael Gambon & Billy Connolly. IMdB rating 6.7/10.
June 17th Gold Diggers of 1933 , 1933 97 minutes, the best of Busby Berkeley's classic musicals, recommended by David Bishop, starring Warren William, Ruby Keeler, & Joan Blondell. 'Millionaire turned composer Dick Powell rescues unemployed Broadway people with a new play.' [IMDb]. IMdB rating 7.9/10.
June 10th Donnie Brasco , 1997 127 minutes, psychological thriller based on a true story about an FBI agent who infiltrates the mob, starring Al Pacino & Johnny Depp. IMdB rating 7.8/10.
June 3rd Calendar Girls , 2003 135 minutes, British comedy starring Helen Mirren & Julie Walters, sort of a female 'The Full Monty'. IMdB rating 6.8/10.
May 27th Happy People: A Year in the Taiga , 2012 90 minutes, a Russian documentary of Siberians, narrated and edited by Werner Herzog. IMdB rating 7.6/10.
May 20th Anna Karenina , 2012 129 minutes, Tom Stoppard's script of the Tolstoy classic romantic tragedy starring Keira Knightley, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, & Jude Law. IMdB rating 6.7/10. Awesome choreographed vision. Recommended.
May 13th Robot & Frank , 2012 89 minutes, comedy about an aging ex-jewel thief who is given a robot as a caretaker, starring Frank Langella. IMdB rating 7.1/10.
May 6th The Concert , 2009 119 minutes, a French drama with lots of Russians in concert and out. IMdB rating 7.4/10.
Apr. 29th The Perks of Being a Wallflower , 2012 102 minutes, director Stephen Chbosky's coming-of-age film based on his best-selling book. IMdB rating 8.1/10.
Apr. 22th The Other Son , 2012 105 minutes, an Israeli film about two boys, one Israeli, one Palestinian who were accidentally interchanged at birth. IMdB rating 7.1/10.
Apr. 15th A Royal Affair , 2011 137 minutes, Danish historical romance based on an actual royal affair and its politically revolutionary effects. IMdB rating 7.5/10.
Apr. 8th Lincoln , 2011 150 minutes, Spielberg's political bio-pic about the decision to emancipate the slaves, starring Daniel Day-Lewis. IMdB rating 7.6/10.
Apr. 1st Watermarks , 2012 80 minutes, Yaron Zilberman's documentary about a Viennese Jewish women's swim team during the Nazi era, and their later lives. IMdB rating 7.1/10. Highly recommended, along with 'A Late Quartet'. Yaron Zilberman was our Hebrew tutor.
Mar. 25th A Late Quartet , 2012 105 minutes, 'A world-renowned string quartet struggles to stay together in the face of death, competing egos and insuppressible lust'. [IMDb] IMdB rating 6.7/10.
Mar. 11th we saw two films. First, a 35 minute documentary Hope Haff is bringing about a group from Cambridge carrying aid to our sister city in El Salvador during the dark days of the Reagan administration's brutal policy there. And second, a relatively short comedy romance for relief: Celeste & Jesse Forever 2012 92 minutes, about the complications of a continuing best friendship between a divorced couple. IMdB rating 6.5/10.
Mar. 4th Little White Lies [Les petits mouchoirs], 2010 154 minutes, 'a dialogue-driven, beautifully shot exposé about modern relationships with fully developed characters' [Anne Campbell] directed by Guillaume Canetand, starring François Cluzet and Marion Cotillard. IMdB rating 7.0/10.
Feb. 25th The Earrings of Madame de... 1953 105 minutes, director Max Ophüls classic, starring Charles Boyer, Danielle Darrieux, & Vittorio De Sica. IMdB rating 7.9/10.
Feb. 18th The Kid with a Bike 2011 87 minutes, directors Dardennes film about an 11-year-old abandoned by his father. IMdB rating 7.3/10.
Feb. 11th Encounters at the End of the World 2007 101 minutes, director Werner Herzog's documentary about the beauties and strange characters of Antarctica. IMdB rating 7.7/10.
Feb. 4th Quinceañera 2006 90 minutes, Pregnant Latina teen, kicked out of her family, lands on her feet in gentrifying L.A. IMdB rating 6.9/10.
Jan. 28th Liberal Arts 2012 97 minutes, a comedy about a jaded New Yorker making an excursion back to his alma mater in Ohio where a much younger and gorgeous kindred spirit who forces him to self-reflect. IMdB rating 6.6/10.
Jan. 21st Kinyarwanda 2011 - a series of interwoven personal stories about Rwanda's genocide and its aftermath - made by Rwandans with a Jamaican director Alrick Brown. IMDb rating 6.1/10.
Jan. 14th Enduring Love 2004 100 minutes, intellectual British thriller of haunting ethical issues and inner demons - based on the novel by the critically-acclaimed Ian McEwan. IMDb rating 6.4/10.
Jan. 7th Beasts of the Southern Wild 2012 93 minutes, - fantasy about a six-year old in the bayou facing the loss of her father and global warming. IMDb rating 7.5/10.

2012 Monday Movies

Dec. 17th Safety Not Guaranteed 2012 86 minutes, sci-fi comedy romance starring Aubrey Plaza and Mark Duplass. Time travel, anyone? IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Dec. 10th Sweet Land 2005, romantic drama about the American immigrant experience in the 1920's. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Dec. 3rd Le temps qui reste 2005, director Ozun's film about coming to terms with one's own death. IMDb rating 7.0/10.
Nov. 26th Moonrise Kingdom' 2012. IMDb rating 8.0/10.
Nov. 19th Breakfast on Pluto 2005, a quirky Neil Jordan drama. 'It tells the story of "Kitten", an outstanding performance by Cillian Murphy, an abandoned baby on the doorstep of a church, who is adopted and grows up to be a cross-dressing homosexual. It is his/her journey to find his real mother, referred to as the "phantom lady", set against the backdrop of war-torn Ulster and swinging London during the 70s.' [Netflix reviewer] IMdB rating 7.2/10.
Nov. 12th Let It Rain 2001, . IMdB rating 6.1/10.
Nov. 5th Margaret 2011, director Agnès Jaoui's film about 'professional and emotional upheavals in a tight-knit group of people in southern France' [Sarah Manvel]. IMdB rating 6.5/10.
Oct. 29th Movie cancelled due to hurricane Sandy.
Oct. 22nd    The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 2011 124 minutes, a sweet-natured comedy in which a star-studded cast (Judy Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy) takes a life-altering trip to Jaipur, India.
Oct. 15th    Daratt 2006 96 minutes, film from African director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun about an angry teenager in Chad growing up in the aftermath of its decades-long civil war.
Oct. 8th    51 Birch Street 2005 90 minutes, a family documentary by Doug Block, who has recently carried on the story in The Kids Grow Up.
Oct. 1st    The Syrian Bride 2004 97 minutes, an Israeli/Palestinian comedy about a Druze family trying to have a wedding.
Sept. 24th    Monsieur Lazhar 2011 94 minutes, a Canadian film about an Algerian immigrant teaching in a Montreal public school.
Sept. 17th    Beginners 2010 110 minutes, a romantic comedy starring Christopher Plummer and Ewan McGregor.
Sept. 10th    The Secret Life of Bees 2008 117 minutes, a drama based on the best-seller about a 14-year-old in racist South Carolina in 1964.
Sept. 4th    The Time That Remains 2009 109 minutes, a dark, absurdist Palestinian comedy 'as much about history as contemporary life, the byproduct of a jarring past' [quote from Nana Asfour review].
Aug. 27th    A Separation 2011 123 minutes, a beautiful, intelligent, jarring Iranian film.
Aug. 20th    Once Upon a Time in Anatolia 2011 150 minutes (long!), a Turkish crime drama which is really more of a character study with "gorgeously photographed images of strange lands".
Aug. 13th    England, My England 1995 153 minutes (long!), a British biopic of the composer Henry Purcell starring Simon Callow and Michael Ball.
Aug. 6th    Footnote 2011 103 minutes, a bittersweet Israeli comedy, another father/son story.
July 30th    The Artist 2011 100 minutes, a black-and-white silent film starring one of France’s most famous comic actors, Jean Dujardin.
July 23rd    Postmen in the Mountains 1999 93 minutes, a Chinese road-trip drama adapted from a short story "That Mountain, That Man, That Dog." by Peng Jianming.
July 16th    Moscow, Belgium 2008 102 minutes, a Belgian romantic comedy/drama.
July 9th    I Was Born, But... 1932 100 minutes a silent comic masterpiece from Yasujirô Ozu.
July 2nd    Pariah 2011 86 minutes, an indie coming-of-age tale of urban identity and sexual expression.
June 25th    Secret Sunshine 2007 142 minutes, a Korean drama directed by Chang-dong Lee who also made Poetry - which our group saw recently and admired.
June 18th    La Terra Trema 1948 160 minutes (2 2/3 hrs. - long), an early neorealist film by Marxist Italian director Lucino Visconti.
June 11th    My Perestroika 2010 88 minutes, a documentary made by first-time director Robin Hussman.
June 4th    Il Divo 2008 110 minutes, a political biopic about the most enduring Italian Prime Minister Guilio Andreotti starring Toni Sevillo in an extraordinary performance.
May 28th    Queen to Play [Joueuse] 2005 97 minutes, a French drama starring Kevin Kline and Sandrine Bonnaire.
May 21st    Mon Oncle Antoine 1971 104 minutes, a bittersweet French-Canadian coming-of-age tale.
May 14th    War Horse , 2011 146 minutes, a Spielberg film about a boy and his beloved horse separated amidst WWI - based on a best-selling children's book and made into a hit play in London and Broadway.
May 7th    J. Edgar 2011 137 minutes, Clint Eastwood's Hoover biopic starring DiCaprio.
Apr. 30th    Bliss 2007 105 minutes, a dark Turkish award-winning drama of love, revenge and the true nature of righteousness.
Apr. 23rd    The Iron Lady 2011 104 minutes, a political biodrama starring Meryl Streep and Jim Broadbent.
Apr. 16th    The Descendants 2011 115 minutes, the Oscar-winning film starring George Clooney.
Apr. 9th    The Girl in the Cafe 2005 94 minutes, a romantic comedy with political overtones.
Apr. 2nd    Every Little Step 2008 96 minutes, which documents the casting process for a Broadway revival of 'A Chorus Line'.
Mar. 26th    Urbanized 2011 85 minutes, a documentary about the design of cities.
Mar. 19th    The Interrupters 2011 125 minutes, a documentary about Chicagoans fighting an epidemic of violence.
Mar. 12th    Even the Rain 2010 103 minutes, a Spanish revisionist history film made in Bolivia.
Mar. 5th    Medicine for Melancholy 2008 88 minutes, a romantic indie starring Wyatt Cenac, Tracey Heggins, and also San Francisco.
Feb. 27th    The Sweet Hereafter 1997 112 minutes, Director Atom Egoyan's haunting adaptation of Russell Banks's novel.
Feb. 20th    The Mill and the Cross 2011 92 minutes, a Polish film about the Flemish painting and Bruegel it's painter.
Feb. 13th    Amen. 2002 132 minutes, a German film directed by Costa-Gavras based on the same SS officer who inspired Hochhuth's The Deputy.
Feb. 6th    The Burmese Harp 1956 116 minutes, a Japanese anti-war classic.
Jan. 30th    Poetry 2010 139 minutes, a Korean character study of an aging woman.
Jan. 23rd    Danton 1983 136 minutes, a Polish/French historical courtroom drama starring Depardieu.
Jan. 16th    Midnight in Paris 2011 94 minutes, Woody Allen's romantic comedy.
Jan. 9th    Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale 2010 84 minutes, a Finnish fantasy.
Jan. 2nd    Miss Potter 2006 92 minutes, a British romantic Bio starring Renee Zellweger.

2011 Monday Movies

Dec. 19 Widow of St. Pierre 2001 112 minutes, a French political romance starring Juliette Binoche. IMdB rating 5.4/10.
Dec. 12 Cave of Forgotten Dreams 2010 90 minutes, a spellbinding archaeological documentary from Werner Herzog about the recently discovered Chauvet cave in France filled with drawings some 25,000 to 32,000 years old. IMdB rating 7.6/10.
Dec. 5 Change of Plans 2009 100 minutes, a French film directed by Daniele Thompson whose earlier La Buche we all enjoyed. IMdB rating 5.7/10.
Nov. 28 The Duchess 008 109 minutes, an historical romance starring Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes. IMdB rating 6.9/10.
Nov. 21 Tree of Life 2011 138 minutes, Malick period (1950's) drama about growing up suburban middle America. It stars Brad Pitt and Sean Penn. IMdB rating 7.3/10.
Nov. 14 DogFight 1991 94 minutes. Before shipping out to Vietnam four marines compete to see who can bring the ugliest girl to a bar. IMdB rating 7.2/10.
Nov. 7 Silver City 2004 127 minutes, 'a scathing indictment of W and his "architect" Karl Rove', directed and written by John Sayles who also wrote "City of Hope". IMdB rating 6.1/10.
Oct. 31 Synecdoche, N.Y. 2008 124 minutes, directed and written by Charlie Kaufman who also wrote Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Adaptation and Being John Malkovich, and starring Philip Seymour Hoffman. IMdB rating 7.3/10.
Oct. 24 Chungking Express 1994 102 minutes, an Chinese romantic crime comedy directed by Wong Kar-Wei, who more recently made the acclaimed "In the Mood for Love". DVD Verdict's Joel Pearce said, 'What fascinates me as I read through criticism about the film is the way that each reviewer sees something different in it. While all see the love story, some discuss Chungking Express as an art film, others as a crime film, some see it as precious, others see it as deeply romantic.' IMdB rating 8.0/10.
Oct. 17 Off the Map 2003 110 minutes, an American coming-of-age comedy/drama about an 11-year-old girl. IMdB rating 7.1/10.
Oct. 10 La Petite Lili 2003 104 minutes, a French drama based on Chekhov's The Seagull. IMdB rating 6.2/10.
Oct. 3 When Did You Last See Your Father? 2007 92 minutes, starring Jim Broadbent and Colin Firth. IMdB rating 6.8/10.
Sept. 26 Incendies 2010 130 minutes, a Canadian film about a pair of immigrant siblings returning to Lebanon to uncover family secrets. Incendies means raging fires. IMdB rating 8.0/10.
Sept. 19 Mother and Child 2009 125 minutes - three linked stories about adoption, starring Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, and Samuel L. Jackson.….. IMdB rating 7.2/10.
Sept. 12 In a Better World (Haevnen) 2010 119 minutes, director Susan Bier, who also made "Brothers" and "After the Wedding" - and several other excellent films. IMdB rating 7.7/10.
Sept. 5 Bread and Tulips 2000 114 minutes. A neglected Italian housewife goes to Venice to start a new life for herself. IMdB rating 7.2/10.
Aug. 29 Kurosawa's Dreams 1990 119 minutes, is dreamlike collection of short visits to other more fanciful worlds which are brought to life through music, costumes, subtle special effects, and fantastic locations. IMdB rating 7.2/10. Beautiful, but boring.
Aug. 22 Winter in Wartime [Oord Winter] 2001 103 minutes, is about the dilemmas of a young teen in Nazi-occupied Netherlands and a British paratrooper. IMdB rating 7.0/10.
Aug. 15 Wild Reeds 1994 110 minutes, directed by André Téchiné, based on his experiences as a teenager in a boarding school in rural France in 1962. IMdB rating 7.0/10.
Aug. 8 Casanova 2005 112 minutes, is a comedy romance starring Heath Ledger and Jeremy Irons and Venice. IMdB rating 6.5/10.
Aug. 1 Blue Valentine 2010 112 minutes, is a romantic Indie drama. IMdB rating 7.6/10.
July 25 10 Things I Hate About You 1999 97 minutes, comedy romance. In West Coast High School - adaptation of 'Taming of the Shrew'. IMdB rating 7.0/10. I liked it a lot.
July 18 The Thief 1997 96 minutes is a Russian parable about a fatherless boy and a thief. IMdB rating 7.6/10.
July 11 Barney's Version 2011 132 minutes is a wildly entertaining journey through 40 years, 3 marriages, and the tragedy & triumphs of a highly-flawed, (but likable?), TV producer based on a 1997 novel by Mordecai Richler. IMdB rating 7.4/10.
July 4 Mother of Mine 2005 111 minutes, is an award-winning Finnish film about a boy evacuated to Sweden during WWII. IMdB rating 7.6/10.
June 27 Another Year 2010, 129 minutes, is a British family drama from Mike Leigh, who also made Topsy Turvy, Vera Drake, All or Nothing, etc. IMdB rating 7.6/10.
June 20 Small Act 2010 88 minutes - another documentary - this one about a Kenyan who, as a child, received a small monthly sum from a Swede, and later establishes a scholarship foundation for Kenyan children. IMdB rating 7.0/10.
June 13 True Grit 2010 110 minutes - the latest Coen brothers film starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, and Hailee Steinfeld - a remake of the original John Wayne classic western. IMdB rating 8.0/10.
June 6 Rabbit Hole 2010 92 minutes starring Nicole Kidman is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play. It's another movie about coping with death, here again, as in Don't Look Now, a child's. IMdB rating 7.3/10.
May 16 Man with a Movie Camera 1929 68 minutes, a documentary by the great Russian director Dziga Vertov, recommended by Naomi. Vertov said, "The film "Man with a Movie Camera" represents AN EXPERIMENTATION IN THE CINEMATIC TRANSMISSION Of visual phenomena... WITHOUT THE USE OF INTERTITLES... WITHOUT THE HELP OF A SCRIPT... WITHOUT THE HELP OF A THEATRE... This new experimentation work by Kino-Eye is directed towards the creation of an authentically international absolute language of cinema." Ebert (click link) considers it a Great Movie. IMdB rating 7.2/10.
May 9 Topsy-Turvy 1999 160 minutes, by group demand we again screened this wonderful British drama about Gilbert & Sullivan, and the Mikado. IMdB rating 7.2/10.
May 2 Four Lions 2010 97 minutes, British comedy about inept suicide bombers. IMdB rating 7.5/10.
Apr. 25 King's Speech 2010 118 minutes, this year's oscar winner with Colin Firth as the stammering George VI. IMdB rating 7.5/10.
Apr. 18 Cherry Blossoms 2008 127 minutes: German drama/romance recommended by Penny and Hopi. IMdB rating 7.5/10.
Apr. 11 'O' 2001 94 minutes: another Tim Blake Nelson (Syriana, Darwin Awards, Lincoln) film, a modern retelling of Othello. IMdB rating 6.2/10.
Apr. 4 Fish Tank Fish Tank. IMdB rating 7.3/10.
Mar. 28 Soul Kitchen 2009 99 minutes, a Turkish/German comedy about a restaurant that is nothing but trouble. IMdB rating 7.3/10.
Mar. 21 Beyond Rangoon 1995 100 minutes: an Action drama about an American doctor in Burma in the 1980's recommended by Joe & Susan. IMdB rating 6.4/10.
Mar. 14 Inside Job 2010 120 minutes: an Oscar-winning documentary on the financial crash. A Netflix customer wrote,' Inside Job is a relentless, accurate and highly entertaining look at the financial meltdown. Director Charles Ferguson clearly maps out the origins of the crisis, how it could have been prevented, how it could have been lessened, where the bodies are buried and who buried them...' IMdB rating 8.1/10.
Mar. 7 As it is in Heaven 2005 132 minutes, is a Swedish drama: a famous conductor leads a choir in a small village. IMdB rating 7.5/10.
Feb. 28 Exam 2009 101 minutes, a claustrophobic British sci-fi mystery recommended by Jill Westcott. IMdB rating 6.8/10.
Feb. 21 Still Walking 2008 114 minutes, Japanese darkly humorous family drama. IMdB rating 7.9/10.
Feb. 14 The Social Network 2010 120 minutes, one of the Oscar candidates this year we've all been waiting for, just released. IMdB rating 8.2/10.
Feb. 7 (untitled) 2009 96 minutes, a send-up of the contemporary art scene recommended by my brother Wendl.. IMdB rating 6.1/10.
Jan. 31 Yes 2004 100 minutes, romance entirely in iambic pentameter. IMdB rating 6.2/10.
Jan. 24 Last Station 2009 112 minutes, Tolstoy's last days 100 years ago, with Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren.. IMdB rating 7.0/10.
Jan. 17 Favela Rising 2005 80 minutes, is an acclaimed documentary charting the growth of Rio de Janeiro's AfroReggae movement, a grassroots effort to combat the soul-crushing oppression of the city's most notorious slum. It's a follow-on, or rather an antidote, to the dispiriting "City of God' we saw recently. IMdB rating 7.1/10.
Jan. 10 Everyone Else 2009 118 minutes, '... a sun-kissed German film about a young couple in love and in doubt, might not be perfect, but so much is right and true in this lovely, delicate work that it comes breathtakingly close…. says NYT's Dargis.' IMdB rating 7.1/10.
Jan. 3 Phoebe in Wonderland 2008 96 minutes starring the amazing child actress Elle Fanning. IMdB rating 7.1/10.

2010 Monday Movies

Dec. 20 This Christmas 2007 117 minutes. The Whitfield extended family gets together. IMdB rating 5.6/10.
Dec. 13 Stage Beauty 2004 106 minutes is an historical fantasy about theatre in Charles II's Restoration England.. IMdB rating 7.1/10.
Dec. 6 12:08 East of Bucharest 2007 89 minutes is a Romanian dark comedy. IMdB rating 7.2/10.
Nov. 29th Winter's Bone 2010 100 minutes. A netflix customer wrote, 'Part noir detective story, part family drama; Winter's Bone is a film about an exceptionally driven and responsible young woman [named Ree] whose obligation to care for her siblings and unstable mother leads her into a conflict with her father's dangerous, meth-dealing associates.'. IMdB rating 7.5/10.
Nov. 22nd A Single Man 2009 100 minutes. Gay man [Colin Firth] remembers his dead lover as he contemplates suicide. IMdB rating 7.6/10.
Nov. 15th Agora 2009 126 minutes is an epic drama based on the life of Hypatia of Alexandria, a noted 4th century Greek scholar and mathematician. IMdB rating 7.2/10. Good.
Nov. 8th Me and Orson Welles 2008 - a showbiz drama, something cheerful for a change. IMdB rating 7.1/10.
Oct. 18th Death in the Garden 1956 Buñuel. A prostitute, a thief, a mute, a priest, and old man flee into the jungle to escape a S. Amer. revolution. IMdB rating 7.0/10. Skip it.
Oct. 11th Secret in the Grain 2007 Tunisian immigrant opens a couscous restaurant in a French port. IMdB rating 7.3/10.
Oct. 4th Blame it on Fidel 2006 90 minutes. Bourgeois French couple turns communist upsetting their conservative daughter. IMdB rating 7.410.
Sept. 30th American Drug War: The Last White Hope 1995, revealing documentary included Cia's complicity in pushing drugs to support the Contras. No IMdB rating.
Sept. 20th Greenberg 2010 107 minutes. Comedy romance - Immature guy meets girl, considerate, sweet, pretty, and terrific with kids and dogs. Can it go anywhere? IMDb rating 6.2. .
Sept. 13th I Served the King of England 2006 120 minutes, recommended by Bruce, is a Czech comedy (romance?). IMdB rating 7.4/10.
Sept. 6th The Door in the Floor 2001 111 minutes based on the first part of John Irving's novel "A Widow For One Year." Starring Elle Fanning [age 5?], Jeff Daniels, and Kim Basinger. IMdB rating 6.8/10. Riveting. Memorable.
Aug. 30 Kate and Leopold 2001 118 minutes is a frothy romantic comedy with a touch of time travel, starring Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackson. IMdB rating 6.2/10.
Aug. 23 Lorna's Silence 2008 105 minutes, is a Belgian film from the Dardenne Brothers. IMdB rating 7.1/10.
Aug. 16 Ghost Writer 2010 128 minutes, a political thriller directed by Roman Polanski. IMdB rating 7.6/10.
Aug. 9 Beloved 1998 172 min., an adaptation of Toni Morrison's novel set just after the Civil War. IMdB rating 5.6/10.
Aug. 2 The White Ribbon 2009 144 minutes. Strange events in a small village in the north of Germany during the years just before World War I, involving children a ritual punishment. IMdB rating 7.8/10.
July 26 Toe to Toe 2009 Dir. Emily Abt. Lacrosse teammates as friends and foes. IMdB rating 4.6/10. But it's actually very good.
July 19 Bunuel's Robinson Crusoe 1954, skip it. IMdB rating 7.0/10.
July 12 Down by Law 1986, 107 minutes, dir. Jarmusch stars Tom Waits, John Lurie, and Roberto Benigni.. IMdB rating 7.8/10.
July 5 Broadway Danny Rose 1984, 84 minutes, is another Woody Allen comedy. IMdB rating 7.4/10.
June 28 Choose Me 1983, 106 minutes, noir film chosen by Joe, stars Geneviève Bujold and Keith Carradine. IMdB rating 6.9/10.
June 21 Whatever Works 2009 Woody Allen. Human relations in N.Y.C.. IMdB rating 7.2/10. Not bad.
June 14 Unknown Woman [Italian] 2006, 118 min., is an Italian a mystery that turns into a thriller with some violence. IMDB rating 7.5/10.
June 7th Young Victoria 2009, 105min, starring Emily Blunt. A Netflix reviewer said, 'Young Victoria is Victoria's life from her late teens to her intial years as Queen. I was expecting a lavish period piece with fantastic costumes, gorgeous scenery and elaborate sets - and was not disappointed. The Kensington and Buckingham palaces' interiors, courtyards and gardens didn't disappoint. I also expected Palace politics in Spades, with warring factions attempting to usurp power from Victoria - all that political intrigue was there...' . IMdB rating 7.1/10.
May 31st Paris 2009. Dir. Klapisch's series of stories about people leading parallel lives as the camera circles around the city. IMdB rating 6.2/10.
May 24th An Education 2009 100 min. British teen seduced by a sophisticated 35-year-old with the encouragement of her captivated parents. IMdB rating 7.5/10.
May 17th Summer Hours 103 min. 2008 French bourgeois family gathers to divide up their inheritance and childhood memories. IMdB rating 7.1/10.
May 10th No Movie
May 3rd Revanche [Austrian] 2009 122 min., an excellent gritty Austrian noir thriller. IMdB rating 7.6/10.
Apr. 26th A Serious Man 2009, 106 min.) the Coen brothers latest black comedy, a Job-like parable, recommended by Naomi. IMdB rating 7.3/10. I really liked 'A Serious Man' for its affectionate spoofing of the Midwest Jewish community. The characters were all such perfect American Jewish types. The three rabbis were very funny. The plot left a lot to be desired. I assume that the uncertainty of Schrodinger's cat was central to the idea of the events in Larry's life. (Clive and his Dad showed they did understand dead/alive cats). I was surprised when his stoned son survived his bar mitzva. I thought the shaggy dog story about the son losing his mp3 player and getting it back was very amusing. I couldn't figure out exactly how the initial dybbuk fable fit with the rest. Maybe you did? Was he cursed? He was getting tenure...probably. But then again, he maybe had cancer. And how much damage would the tornado do?
Apr. 19th Hamsun 1996 159 min., almost 2 2/3 hrs., a Norwegian biopic of the writer. IMdB rating 7.1/10.
Apr. 12th Brothers [U.S.] 2009 130 minutes. A remake of the Danish film, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, & Tobey Maguire. 'A young man comforts his older brother's wife and children after he goes missing in Afghanistan.' [IMDb] IMdB rating 7.1/10. Excellent.
Apr. 5th The Secrets [Israeli] 2007 127 minutes, 'Ha Sadot' about a young ultra-orthodox Jew faces intolerance, religious and sexual. IMdB rating 7.4/10.
Mar. 29th Beyond Silence 1996 109 minutes. German daughter of deaf-mutes wants to be a musician to her parents dismay. IMdB rating 7.0/10.
Mar. 22nd Broken Embraces 2009 127 minutes. Almodóvar's latest thriller where 'passion leads to obsession leads to the usual Hitchcockian consequences' [Ann Biancolli] IMdB rating 7.2/10.
Mar. 15th Up in the Air 2009 109 minutes, a smart, funny, and bitter comedy. A cold suave Clooney, a frequent flyer corporate downsizer hired by firms to lay off their employees… IMdB rating 7.9/10.
Mar. 8th Ararat 2002 115 minutes , an Atom Egoyan film about Turkish Armenians, and the making of a film about the Armenian holocaust (recommended by Ellen). IMdB rating 6.6/10. Ebert gave it only 2.5/4 stars.
Mar. 1st Un Secret 2007 115 minutes. French teen unearths a shocking family secret. IMdB rating 6.8/10.
Feb. 22nd No Movie
Feb. 15th Departures 2008 130 minutes, A newly unemployed Japanese cellist takes a job preparing the dead for funerals. IMdB rating 8.1/10. Ebert has included it among his Great Movies.
Feb. 8th Bright Star (2009), about Keats. "He died at 25 and remains forever young. The great and only love of his life was Fanny Brawne, the daughter of his landlady.... IMdB rating 7.4/10.
Feb. 1st Up 2009 96 minutes, from Pixar. Adventures of retiree who ties thousands of balloons to his house and simply floats away... IMdB rating 8.3/10.
Jan. 25th In the Loop 2009 106 minutes. British spoof of political shenanigans at 10 Downing Street as the US and Britain decide to bomb Iraq. IMdB rating 7.5/10.
Jan. 18th Gomorrah 2008 137 minutes about the Mafia in Naples (Naomi's recommendation). Another grim one. . IMdB rating 7.0/10.
Jan. 11th 500 Days of Summer 2009 95 minutes, comedy. A romance told as the hero remembers it. IMdB rating 7.8/10.
Jan. 4th A Woman in Berlin 2008 131 minutes. Powerful drama about women trying to survive in post-WW II Berlin. "...it feels very close to the truth."[NYT] IMdB rating 7.0/10.

2009 Monday Movies

Dec. 28th Julie and Julia 2009 123 minutes, Bio-pic. Fabulous Streep as Julia Child. IMdB rating 7.0/10.
Dec. 21st Death in Venice 1971 130 minutes, dir. Visconti starring dirk Bogarde as Ashenbach on the Lido and trailing around Venice after the beautiful boy. IMdB rating 7.5/10. Riveting. Gorgeous. Unforgettable.
Dec. 14th Crazed Fruit 1956 86 minutes, Post WW I spoiled Japanese brothers both chase the same girl at the seaside. IMdB rating 7.5/10. Our reviewer recommends the DVD commentary track.
Dec. 7th The Fall 2006 117 min.'a fairy tale for adults in which people from "the real world" appear as characters in a child's fantasy, definitely a nod to The Wizard of Oz. The first thing that should strike anyone is the breathtakingly beautiful cinematography. The story is whimsical, clever, charming, sad, and quite funny'. IMdB rating 7.8/10. Terrific.
Nov. 30th Star Trek 2009 127 minutes - 'a burst of pure filmmaking exhilaration that manages to pay homage to the classic 1960s TV series and still boldly go where no man, William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy included, has gone before' and 'creates an alternate universe you want to get lost in' (Rolling Stone). Just for fun. Panned by the NYT. IMdB rating 8.0/10. Unmemorable. Kids film?
Nov. 23rd Secret Life of Words 2005 115 minutes. Hearing impaired nurse goes out to a damaged oil rig to care for a burn victim. IMdB rating 7.4/10. Very moving.
Nov. 16th Goodbye Solo 2008 91 minutes. Suicidal retiree and Senegalese immigrant cabbie become friends… IMdB rating 7.3/10.
Nov. 9th The Dead 1987 83 minutes. John Huston's gorgeous film of the great Joyce story -John Huston's last film, with an all-Irish cast. It 'follows the story with almost complete fidelity.' ( Ebert from his great films review). A must see. IMdB rating 7.1/10.
Nov. 2nd O'Horten 2007 90 minutes. IMDB says 'You meet a delightful variety of characters in this character-driven' comedy about an eccentric retiring locomotive driver. Rating 7.0/10.
Oct. 26th Easy Virtue Ebert gives it 3 stars: "Unusually for a play by Noel Coward, Love struggles while conquering All in "Easy Virtue," a subversive view of British country-house society between the wars." IMDB 6.6/10. Originally a Hitchcock movie.
Oct. 19th Tulpan 2008 100 minutes ' the fast disappearing world of nomadic sheep herders in Kazakhstan is dramatized in the part fictional, part documentary film Tulpan' [IMDb]. IMdB rating 7.0/10.
Oct. 12th Sita Sings the Blues 2008 82 minutes, Animated Indian comedy tells the epic tale of Sita from the Ramayana. IMdB rating 7.5/10. Enchanting.
Oct. 5th Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story 2005 94 minutes British comedy referring to the book. IMdB rating 6.8/10.
Sept. 28th Human Resources 1999 100 minutes, French drama about family politics over the 35-hour work week as son of working class moves into management. IMdB rating 7.2/10.
Sept. 21st World's Fastest Indian the life story of New Zealander Burt Munro, who spent years building a 1920 Indian motorcycle -- a bike which helped him set the land-speed world record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967. It stars Anthony Hopkins. IMdB rating 8.0/10.
Sept. 14th Into the Wild 2007 148 minutes adventure bio-pic: 'Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness.' [IMDb]. IMdB rating 8.2/10.
Aug. 31st The class 2008 128 minutes, French drama - a teacher's year with a racially-mixed class in a tough Parisian neighborhood. IMdB rating 7.6/10.
Aug. 24th Romeo + Juliet 1996 120minutes, Baz Luhrmann's modern take on Shakespeare set in Venice, CA, starring Leonard DiCaprio & Claire Danes with colorfully clad road warrior rival gangs carrying revolvers instead of swords, Shakespeare's words. IMdB rating 6.8/10. Surprisingly effective.
Aug. 17th Constantine's Sword 2007. Ex-priest James Carroll's moving tour of Christianity's responsibility for anti-semitism. IMdB rating 7.1/10. See it, but read the book,too.
Aug. 10th A Casa de Alice 2007, Brazilian. Alice, in a small town, with her husband and three grown sons is under appreciated... IMdB rating 7.0/10.
Aug. 3rd La Ronde 1950, based on the scandalous Schnitzler play this Ophuls comedy shows a linked series of lovers in 1890's Vienna until we return to the first. IMdB rating 7.6/10. I always thought it showed the how syphilis 'gets around', but no one mentions it.
July 27th Revolutionary Road 2008. Leonardo DiCaprio & Kate Winslet star as 1950's suburban couple. IMdB rating 7.4/10.
July 20th Detective Story 1951, Dir. Billy Wyler's day at the precinct squad room, starring Kirk Douglas. IMdB rating 7.6/10.
July 13th Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring 2003, Korean monk trains a young boy who gradually becomes a man. IMdB rating 8.1/10.
July 6th Two Lovers 2008. Joaquin Phoenix meets Gwyneth Paltrow after his fiancée leaves him. IMdB rating 7.1/10.
June 29th Things We Lost in the Fire 2007, Dir. Susanne Bier. A new widow takes in her husband's junky friend. IMdB rating 7.1/10.
June 22nd Doubt 2008. Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman as principal and priest clash over possible sexual abuse at a Catholic school. Based on the prize-winning play. IMdB rating 7.6/10. Recommended.
June 15th East of Eden 1955. The Kazan classic starring James Dean, Raymond Massey, and Julie Harris, from the Steinbeck novel. IMdB rating 8.0/10.
June 8th I've Loved You So Long 2008, French. Kristin Scott Thomas as a woman trying to connect with her family after 15 years in prison. IMdB rating 7.5/10.
June 1st Vicky Cristina Barcelona 2008. Woody Allen comedy starring Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem, and Penélope Cruz. IMdB rating 7.2/10.
May 25th Open Hearts 2002, Dir. Susanne Bier. A woman whose husband is paralyzed in an accident has an affair with the husband of the woman responsible for the accident. IMdB rating 7.6/10.
May 18th Classe tous risques [The Big Risk] 1960, French crime romance, old gangster trying to return to his family meets young man with a girlfriend. Dir. Claude Sautet. IMdB rating 7.5/10.
May11th Shooting Party 1985, British upper class on the brink of WW I. James Mason [his last film] and Edward Fox star in this BBC-style movie. IMdB rating 6.9/10.
May 4th Slumdog Millionaire 2008. Mumbai teen wins Indian TV quiz show. IMdB rating 8.1/10.
Apr. 20th No movie
Apr. 13th Frost/Nixon 2008. David Frost interviews Nixon in 1977. IMdB rating 7.8/10. Excellent
Apr. 6th Frozen River 2008. Two poor women smuggling across the St Lawrence. IMdB rating 7.2/10. Very good.
Mar. 30th Milk 2008. Sean Penn as Harvey Milk in this bio-pic of the gay activist. IMdB rating 7.7/10.
Mar. 23rd Mafioso 1962, Italian neo-realist crime comedy. IMdB rating 7.2/10. Excellent.
Mar. 16th Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist 2008 Charming and uproarious romantic comedy with music. IMdB rating 6.7/10.
Mar. 9th Hobson's Choice 1954. David Lean comedy with Charles Laughton as Hobson the bookmaker tries to run his children's lives. IMdB rating 7.8/10.
Feb. 23rd The Witnesses 2007 A moving portrayal of Parisian friends living with the first outbreak of AIDS . IMdB rating 6.9/10.
Feb. 16th Sex and Lucia 2001 Spanish. Young author's life and his novel get mixed up. IMdB rating 7.2/10. We liked it.
Feb. 9th Ae Fond Kiss... 2004 British romance between Pakistan-British boy and Caucasian girl with family pressures. IMdB rating 7.1/10.
Feb. 2nd Zero Effect 1998 crime comedy starring Bill Pullman as "the world's greatest detective". IMdB rating 6.8/10.
Jan. 26th Historie Milosne [Love Stories] 1997 87 minutes, Polish. A college professor, an army officer, a priest and a criminal -- struggle between career and love. IMdB rating 7.1/10.
Jan. 19th Stealing Beauty 1996 Bertolucci. American girl [Liv Tyler] in search of her father and of love. IMdB rating 6.4/10.
Jan. 12th Red River 1948 Western - John Wayne and Montgomery Clift. Cattle driver and his adopted son clash wills. IMdB rating 7.8/10.
Jan. 5th Ballad of Narayana 1983 130 minutes. In a small village in a valley everyone who reaches the age of 70 must leave the village and go to a certain mountain top to die. Orin is almost ready, but first she must find a wife for her son. IMdB rating 7.7/10.

2008 Monday Movies

Dec. 29th L'America 1994 Italian racketeers prey on would-be immigrants just post-communism. IMdB rating 7.4/10.
Dec. 15th A Place in the World 1992 Argentinian. Thoughtful couple move to frontier Argentina with their adolescent son. IMdB rating 7.6/10.
Dec. 8th The Way We Were 1973 118 minutes, leftist Jewish girl and apolitical goy boy in the 1930's to the McCarthy era, starring Barbra Streisand & Robert Redford. IMdB rating 6.9/10. Pulls its punches, but I loved it anyway.
Dec. 1st Lovers of the Arctic Circle 1998 112 minutes, Spanish mystery romance. 'Their names are palindromes. They meet by chance, people are related by chance. A story of circular lives…'[IMDb] IMdB rating 7.7/10.
Nov. 24th Water 2005 117 minutes. The fate of widows forced into poverty and prostitution in a temple in a holy city of India, even child brides. A feminist horror film, but all too true. IMdB rating 7.6/10.
Nov. 17th The Last of Shiela 1973 120 minutes, crime mystery. A deadly scavenger hunt aboard a yacht. IMdB rating 7.2/10.
Nov. 10th Sissi 1955. Historical romance. Austrian Emperor woos his fiancé's sister [Romy Schneider]. IMdB rating 6.7/10.
Nov. 3rd Edge of Heaven 2007 116 minutes, Turkish-German: three parents, a son and two daughters, all of whose lives are affected, even governed, by the fact that some are Turks, some German. IMdB rating 7.8/10. Excellent.
Oct. 27th Grbavica: Land of my Dreams 2006 Bosnian. Mother and daughter in Sarajevo after the war. IMdB rating 7.2/10.
Oct. 20th Groundhog Day 1993 101 minutes, IMDb rating 8.1. Bob's favorite comedy. A must see, more than once. It gets funnier every time..
Oct. 13th Dave 1993 110 minutes, political comedy romance. President's double turns out to be an improvement. IMdB rating 6.7/10. Not bad.
Oct. 6th Spellbound 1945 111 minutes, Hitchcock noir thriller. Psychiatrist Ingrid Bergman becomes emotionally involved with amnesia patient Gregory Peck who is suspected of murder. IMdB rating 7.6/10.
Sept. 29th Friends and Crocodiles 2005 109 minutes, dir. Stephen Poliakoff. Ups and downs for British entrepreneur and his assistant from the Thatcher era to the dot.com bubble. IMdB rating 6.4/10.
Sept. 22nd Reprise 2006 105 min. Two Norwegian aspiring novelists compete. IMdB rating 7.3/10.
Sept. 15th The Namesake 2006 122min. Son of Indian immigrants struggles with his identity as he grows up. IMdB rating 7.4/10.
Sept. 8th The Diving Bell and the Butterfly 2007 112 min. True story of writer Jean-Dominique Bauby who writes his autobiography after a stroke totally paralyzes him except for his left eye. IMdB rating 8.1/10.
Sept. 1st Carrie 1976 98min., horror thriller based on the Stephen King novel, dir. Brian de Palma, starring Sissy Spacek. IMdB rating 7.4/10.
Aug. 25th Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day 2008 92 min., comedy romance starring Frances McDormand & Amy Adams . IMdB rating 7.0/10. Amusing.
Aug. 18th The Band's Visit 2007 Bikur Ha-Tizmoret (original title) 87 min., Israeli comedy. The Egyptian police force band come to Israel, but ends up in the wrong town. IMdB rating 7.5/10.
Aug. 11th Persepolis 2007 96 min., animated bio-pic based on the graphic novel. 'Poignant coming-of-age story of a precocious and outspoken young Iranian girl that begins during the Islamic Revolution' [IMDb] . IMdB rating 8.0/10.
Aug. 4th Apollo 13 1995 140 minutes, recreation of the failed NASA mission. Three astronauts in their badly damaged spacecraft, starring Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, & Kevin Bacon . IMdB rating 7.5/10.
July 28th A Brief Vacation 1973 112 minutes, Italian romance dir. De Sico. A woman factory worker with a boring husband and family meets a young man who is madly in love with her. IMdB rating 7.3/10.
July 21st Empire of the Sun 1987 152 min. Young English boy thrives in a Japanese prison camp in China during WW II. Dir. Spielberg, starring Christian Bale (the boy) & John Malkovich. IMdB rating 7.7/10. Riveting and unforgettable. A must see.
July 14th Zuflucht in Shanghai 1998 80 minutes, documentary of the escape 20,000 Jews from the Nazis to Shanghai, the only place that would admit them without papers. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
July 7th Golden Door 2006 118 minutes, historical romance. An impoverished Sicilian widower and his family board a steamer to America. He meets woman passenger who wants to marry him before they get to Ellis Island. IMDb rating 6.8/10.
June 30th The Prestige 2006 130 minutes, mystery thriller. Competition between magicians, starring Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, & Scarlett Johansson. IMDb rating 8.5/10.
June 23rd Frankie and Johnnie 1991 118 minutes, Ex-con works with waitress, starring Al Pacino & Michelle Pfeiffer. IMDb rating 6.5/10.
June 16th I Know Where I'm Going 1945 91 minutes, IMDb rating 7.7 dir. Michael Powell starring Wendy Hiller & Roger Livesey. Anniversary showing of the film we chose to start the Monday Night Movies is 2001.
June 9th Strayed 2003 [Les égarés] 95 min. French romance. 'Emmanuelle Béart stars as a widowed schoolteacher who flees Nazi-occupied Paris with her children. A teenaged boy comes to their rescue by leading them into the forest -- their best shot at survival.' [IMDb] IMDb rating 6.6/10.
June 2nd Husbands and Wives 1992 Woody Allen. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
May 26th Un Coeur en Hiver 1992. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
May 19th Painted Veil 2006. From the Somerset Maugham story. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
May 12th Last Picture Show 1971 classic. Texas high-schoolers in dead-end town, starring Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, & Cybill Shepherd. IMDb rating 8.0/10.
May 5th Raining Stones 1993, Ken Loach story. Proud, though poor, Bob wants his little girl to have a beautiful (and costly) brand-new dress for her confirmation. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Apr. 28th Charlie Wilson's War 2007, a Texas congressman Charlie Wilson's covert dealings in Afghanistan, where his funds the Taliban in their war with the Soviets. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Apr. 21st The Wire [1 & 2] 2002, TV Series episodes, Drug wars in Baltimore. Gritty, authentic. IMDb rating 9.4/10.
Apr. 14th From Here To Eternity 1953, Hawaii 1941, based on the James Jones best-seller, starring Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, & Deborah Kerr. IMDb rating 7.8/10.
Apr. 7th Atonement 2007, mystery romance, based on the book. Thirteen-year-old changes lives by misinterpreting what she sees. IMDb rating 7.8/10.
Mar. 31st La Guerre est Finie 1966, French drama, Dir. Alain Resnais with Yves Montand, Ingrid Thulin, & Geneviève Bujold. Spanish civil war. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
Mar. 24th The Chosen 1981, based on the Potok book. Jewish teens, one Hasidic, growing up in Jewish New York become friends. IMDb rating 6.9/10.
Mar. 17th Behind the Lines 1997 British bio-pic based on the book about WWI soldiers in asylum for PTSD. IMDb rating 7.0/10.
Mar. 10th Anywhere but Here 1999, comedy, starring Susan Sarandon & Natalie Portman as mother and daughter in Beverly Hills. IMDb rating 6.0/10.
Mar. 3rd Band of Outsiders 1964 95 minutes, dir. Godard. Criminal gang's burglary of a girlfriend's house goes awry. Includes Godard's comments in the process, "Alice in Wonderland meets Franz Kafka". IMDb rating 7.8/10.
Feb. 25th Nothing but a Man 1964 Proud black man and his wife in the deep 1960's South. Stars: Ivan Dixon, Abbey Lincoln, & Julius Harris. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Feb. 18th Bell, Book, and Candle 1958 106 min. Comic fantasy romance from stage play. Stars: James Stewart, Kim Novak, & Jack Lemmon, the inspiration for the classic 1964 sitcom "Bewitched". IMDb rating 6.8/10. Dated.
Feb. 11th I am Curious (Yellow) 1967 121 minutes, Swedish girl, age 20, explores life and reality, especially sexually. IMDb rating 6.1/10.
Feb. 4th Executive Suite 1954 104 minutes, from the novel. VPs vie to become CEO when the CEO of a large manufacturing firm suddenly dies. Stars: William Holden, Barbara Stanwyck, & June Allyson. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
Jan. 28th La Vie en Rose 2007 "La môme" (original title). Bio-pic of Édith Piaf. Stars: Marion Cotillard, Sylvie Testud. 140 min. IMDb rating 7.6/10. Effective. Sad.
Jan. 21st Where the Sidewalk Ends 1950 95 min - Crime | Film-Noir. Det. Sgt. Mark Dixon wants to be a good cop. But Dixon's inherited vicious nature dominates. Director: Otto Preminger, script by Ben Hecht. Stars: Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, & Karl Malden. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Jan. 14th The Valet 2006 "La doublure" (original title) 85 min - French Comedy. 'A porter and a top-model have to pretend to be a couple in order to salvage a CEO's marriage'. [IMDb] IMDb rating 6.6/10.
Jan. 7th Once 2006 85 min - Drama + Music + Romance. A Pair of sidewalk players in Dublin as they write, rehearse and record songs that tell their love story. IMDb rating 7.9/10.

2007 Monday Movies

Dec. 17th Virgin Spring 1960 "Jungfrukällan" (original title) 89 min. Director: Ingmar Bergman. Stars: Max von Sydow, Birgitta Valberg, Gunnel Lindblom 'After a group of men brutally attack a young woman they unknowingly ask for food and shelter from the girl's parents, setting the stage for chilling revenge.' [IMDb] IMDb rating 8.1/10.
Dec. 10th Black Book 2006 "Zwartboek" (original title) 145 min. Director: Paul Verhoeven. A Jewish singer infiltrates Gestapo headquarters for the Dutch resistance. IMDb rating 7.9/10.
Dec. 3rd Paprika 2006 90 min - Japanese Animation | Mystery | Sci-Fi .' When a machine that allows therapists to enter their patient's dreams is stolen, all hell breaks loose. Only a young female therapist can stop it: Paprika' [IMDb] IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Nov. 26th Young and Innocent 1937 83 min. Hitchcock thriller. 'Man on the run from a murder charge enlists a beautiful stranger who must put herself at risk for his cause.' [IMDb] IMDb rating 7.0/10.
Nov. 19th Mostly Martha 2001 'Bella Martha' (original title) 109 min. German comedy. 'When a headstrong chef takes charge of her equally stubborn 8-year-old niece, the tensions between them mount... until an Italian sous-chef arrives to lighten the mood.' [IMDb] IMDb rating 7.2/10. See it.
Nov. 12th Ratatouille 2007 111 min - French Animation | Comedy. A young rat with culinary talents helps a young kitchen worker in a famous Parisian restaurant. IMDb rating 8.0/10.
Nov. 5th Pawnbroker 1964 116 min. From the best-selling book. Director: Sidney Lumet. Stars: Rod Steiger, Geraldine Fitzgerald. Nazi- persecuted pawnbroker has become cynical, with devastating results. IMDb rating 7.8/10.
Oct. 29th Double Life of Veronique 1991 98 min - Drama | Fantasy. Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski. Star: Irène Jacob. Young Frenchwoman singer has a double in Poland. They lead alternate parallel lives. Their consciousnesses are mysteriously linked, so that one dies, the other takes steps. IMDb rating 7.8/10. Absolutely fascinating and beautiful. A must see like all his work. He felt it was his story, too, but he didn't take steps.
Oct. 22nd Mississippi Masala 1991 118 min - Romance. Director: Mira Nair. Stars: Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury. 'An Indian family is expelled from Uganda when Idi Amin takes power. They move to Mississippi and time passes. The Indian daughter falls in love with a black man, but their respective families disapprove.' [IMDb] IMDb rating 6.5/10.
Oct. 15th The Americanization of Emily 1964 115 min - Comedy | War. Stars: James Garner, Julie Andrews, Melvyn Douglas. A cynical American naval officer's talent for living the good life in wartime is challenged when he falls in love and is sent on a dangerous mission. IMDb rating 7.2/10. First rate.
Oct. 8th Ten Canoes 2006 90 min - Aussie Adventure | Comedy. KGF Vissers wrote, 'An elder of an Indigenous tribe in Australia's Northern territory realizes a youngster on his first geese hunt is tempted to adultery with an elder brother's wife. Therefore he explains how traditionally the youth is told elaborate, edifying stories, like this one, since the earliest existence of the tribe, about how evil slips in, notably by sorcery, and ends up causing immense havoc unless prevented by virtue according to customary tribal law.' IMDb rating 6.8/10.
Oct. 1st Wind That Shakes the Barley 2006 127 min. 'A sympathetic look at Republicans in early 20th century Ireland, and two brothers who are torn apart by anti-Brit rebellion.' [IMDb] IMDb rating 7.5/10. Can't hold a candle to 'Michael Collins'. See it instead.
Sept. 24th The Two of Us 1967 "Le vieil homme et l'enfant' (original title) 86 min - Comedy. Jewish youngster in Nazi-occupied France is sent to a rural couple for safety. But the old man is anti-semitic... IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Sept. 17th Avenue Montague 2006 'Fauteuils d'orchestre' (original title) 106 min - Comedy | Romance. James Berardinelli says, '...the interaction of a young girl in the lives of three people and how, at times inadvertently, she changes them. The film uses effective acting, deft dialogue, and a sly wit to entertain, if not educate.' IMDb rating 6.7/10.
Sept. 10th Last King of Scotland 2006) 123 min - Stars: James McAvoy, Forest Whitaker. Biography of Idi Amin (MacBeth-like) as seen by his British physician. IMDb rating 7.7/10. Chilling.
Sept. 3rd Lives of Others 2006 137 min. German thriller. 'In 1984 East Berlin, an agent of the secret police, conducting surveillance on a writer and his lover, finds himself becoming increasingly absorbed by their lives.' [IMDb] IMDb rating 8.5/10. A must see.
Aug. 27th Letters From Iwo Jima 2006 141 min - Drama | War. Director: Clint Eastwood . Battle of Iwo Jima told from the Japanese side. IMDb rating 8.0/10.
Aug. 20th Morgan! 1966 'Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment' (original title) 97 min - Comedy | Fantasy. Karel Reisz said, 'Morgan (David Warner) is obsessed with Karl Marx and gorillas (as you are). He is also obsessed with stopping his ex-wife (Vanessa Redgrave) from marrying a more normal art dealer (Robert Stephens) who is not obsessed with Karl Marx and gorillas. Set in the London of the Swinging Sixties, this film is as zany as a zane and extremely funny. Morgan is several thousand sarnies short of a picnic but his wild imaginings and hysterical actions make him very funny and quite endearing (making it completely understandable why Vanessa Redgrave married him in the first place and then decided to divorce him). Adapted from a play by David Mercer.' IMDb rating 6.8/10.
Aug. 13th My Neighbor Totoro (1988) 'Tonari no Totoro' (original title) 86 min - Animation | Fantasy. Director: Hayao Miyazaki. Writer: Hayao Miyazaki. IMDb says, 'When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wonderous forest spirits who live nearby'. IMDb rating 8.2/10. Absolutely wonderful children's fantasy. A must see, especially if you are a child.
Aug. 6th Whiskey Galore! 1949 82 min - Comedy | Crime. IMDb says, 'Scottish islanders try to plunder 50,000 cases of whisky from a stranded ship.' IMDb rating 7.3/10. I don't find drunks are funny, but maybe you do.
July 30th Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles 2005 107 min. IMDb says, 'A Japanese father travels to China's Yunnan province in the place of his ailing son to film a famous folk-opera star.' IMDb rating 7.4/10.
July 23rd C.R.A.Z.Y. 2005 127 min. IMDb says, 'Extraordinary lives of ordinary people in search of love and happiness…. a family drama unlike any other.' Gay son struggles with his homophobic father. IMDb rating 7.9/10.
July 16th Days of Glory 2006 'Indigènes' (original title) 120 min - WW II Drama . IMDb says, 'four North African men enlist in the French army to liberate that country from Nazi oppression, and to fight French discrimination'. IMDb rating 7.0/10.
July 9th The Illusionist 2006 110 min - Mystery Romance. Stars: Edward Norton, Jessica Biel, Paul Giamatti. IMDb says, 'In turn-of-the-century Vienna, a magician uses his abilities to secure the love of a woman far above his social standing.' IMDb rating 7.6/10.
July 2nd Baby Doll 1956 114 min. Classic. Director: Elia Kazan. Writer: Tennessee Williams (screenplay). Stars: Karl Malden, Carroll Baker, Eli Wallach. IMDb says, 'Steamy tale of two Southern rivals and a sensuous 19-year-old virgin.' IMDb rating 7.3/10.
June 25th Bedazzled 1967) 103 min - Comedy | Fantasy | Romance. A netflix reviewer said, 'Moore plays a nobody cook who is in love with a waitress (Eleanor Bron) who doesnt know he exists. Cook enters as Satan himself and offers to get Moore Bron with wishes in exchange for his soul. Thats the premise..watch these two comedy legends work it out. Also, theres an unforgettable 5 minute scene in a bed between Moore and Raquel Welch that has to be seen to be believed.' IMDb rating 6.8/10. I've forgotten it.
June 18th History Boys 2006 109 min - Comedy. Adapted from the play. IMDb says, 'An unruly class of gifted and charming teenage boys are taught by two eccentric and innovative teachers, as their headmaster pushes for them all to get accepted into Oxford or Cambridge.' IMDb rating 7.6/10.
June 11th A Knife in the Water (1962) 'Nóz w wodzie' (original title) 94 min. Director: Roman Polanski - thriller. IMDb says, 'On their way to a sailing trip, an aging husband and wife invite along an emphatic young hitchhiker out of sheer patronization.' IMDb rating 7.6/10.
June 4th Charlie Varrick (1973) 111 min - British crime Thriller. Star: Walter Matthau. IMDb says, 'A man, his wife, and their friend, stage a bloody bank robbery, unaware they are stealing money from the Mob.' IMDb rating 7.4/10.
May 28th Pan's Labyrinth (2006) 'El laberinto del fauno' (original title) 118 min - Fantasy | War. IMDb says,'In the fascist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.' IMDb rating 8.3/10.
May 21st The Passion of Ayn Rand (1999) 104 min - Bio-Pic. Stars: Helen Mirren, Eric Stoltz, Julie Delpy . Based on Barbara Branden's memoir. IMDb says, 'eccentric...author of "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged" becomes involved with a much younger, and married man... to the dismay of ' her cult. Stephen O. Murray says, 'Her philosophy was radical individualism, but she required total subordination to all her views and whims from those around her ' IMDb rating 5.8/10. Mirren is terrific as the brilliant, but difficult, Rand. I Ioved this.
May 14th The Queen (2006) 103 min - Biography. Director: Stephen Frears. Stars: Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen. IMDb says, 'After the death of Princess Diana, HRM Queen Elizabeth II struggles with her reaction to a sequence of events nobody could have predicted.' IMDb rating 7.4/10.
May 7th 49th Parallel (1941) 104 min. War thriller. Director: Michael Powell. Stars: Leslie Howard, Laurence Olivier. British propaganda film. IMDb says, 'A WW2 U-boat crew is stranded in northern Canada. To avoid internment, they must make their way to the border and get into the still-neutral USA.' IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Apr. 30th Volver (2006) 121 min - Crime comedy. Director & Writer: Pedro Almodóvar. Stars: Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas. IMDb says, 'After her death, a mother returns to her home town in order to fix the situations she couldn't resolve during her life.' IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Apr. 23rd Half Nelson (2006) 106 min. IMDb says, 'An inner-city junior high school teacher with a drug habit forms an unlikely friendship with one of his students after she discovers his secret.' IMDb rating 7.3/10.
Apr. 16th Kiss Me Deadly (1955) 106 min - Film-Noir from the Mickey Spillane novel. IMDb says, 'A doomed female hitchhiker pulls Mike Hammer into a deadly whirlpool of intrigue.' IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Apr. 9th The Butterfly (2002) 'Le papillon' (original title) 85 min - Comedy Ben Kenigsberg said, 'Attempting to fulfill his late son's last wish, lonely widower Julien (Michel Serrault) goes hunting for the Isabella butterfly, a notoriously elusive insect whose metamorphosis serves as a convenient metaphor for growth. His nine-year-old neighbor Elsa insists on going too. IMDb rating 7.0/10.
Apr. 2nd Ballets Russes (2005) 118 min - Documentary history of the troupe who originated modern ballet. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Mar. 26th McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971) 120 min - Gritty Western. Director: Robert Altman. Stars: Warren Beatty, Julie Christie. IMDb says, 'A gambler and a prostitute become business partners in a remote Old West mining town, and their enterprise thrives until a large corporation arrives on the scene.' IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Mar. 19th Noises Off! (1992) 101 min - Comedy Romance. Director: Peter Bogdanovich. From the Michael Frayn play. Stars: Michael Caine, Carol Burnett, Denholm Elliott IMDb says, 'A travelling theater group find so much action going on behind-the-scenes, they almost ruin the performances.' IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Mar. 12th L'ami de mon amie [Boyfriends and Girlfriends] (1987) 103 min - Comedy Romance from director Eric Rohmer. Ebert said, 'Boyfriends and Girlfriends" is one of a series of "proverbs" ... lightweight little whimsies designed to illustrate some sort of everyday truth in an ironic way… The movie is essentially about bad timing. Two young women are friends, not deep lifelong soul sisters, to be sure, but friends. They see a handsome young man. One likes him, the other gets him, and then, in a sense, they trade, with an additional boyfriend and a few other friends thrown into the mixture. All of the permutations are unimportant, because we are not dealing with the heart here, but with fashion.' IMDb rating 7.3/10.
Mar. 5th Life Aquatic (2004) 119 min - Adventure Comedy. Stars: Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Anjelica Huston. IMDb says, 'With a plan to exact revenge on a mythical shark that killed his partner, oceanographer Steve Zissou rallies a crew that includes his estranged wife, a journalist, and a man who may or may not be his son.' IMDb rating 7.2/10. Skip it.
Feb. 26th SanJuro (1962) 96 min - Classic Thriller. Director: Akira Kurosawa. Stars: Toshirô Mifune. IMDb says, 'A crafty samurai helps a young man and his fellow clansmen save his uncle, who has been framed and imprisoned by a corrupt superintendent.' IMDb rating 8.1/10.
Feb. 19th Lucas (1986) 100 min - Comedy Romance. IMDb says, 'A socially inept fourteen year old experiences heartbreak for the first time when his two best friends -- Cappie, an older-brother figure, and Maggie, the new girl with whom he is in love -- fall for each other.' IMDb rating 6.6/10.
Feb. 12th I'm Not Scared (2003) 'Io non ho paura' (original title) 108 min - Mystery. IMDb says, 'A young boy accidentally discovers a deep hole in the ground, where another boy is kept prisoner.' IMDb rating 7.5/10.
Feb. 5th Soldier of Orange (1977) 165 min - War Drama. Director: Paul Verhoeven. Several Dutch students make different moral choices from the beginning of WW II, the Nazi occupation and the liberation. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Jan. 29th The Third Man (1949) 93 min - Noir Thriller. Classic Carol Reed starring Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli. Who was the shady trader Harry Lime? How did he die? IMDb rating 8.4/10.
Jan. 22nd Bob Le Flambeur (1956) 98 min - Crime Drama . IMDb says, 'Bob, a old gangster and gambler is almost broke, so he decides in spite of the warnings of a friend, a high official from the police, to rob a gambling casino in Dauville.' IMDb rating 7.8/10.
Jan. 15th Zelary (2003) 150 min - WW II Romance. A nurse in the Czech resistance flees to an isolated mountain cabin in tiny Zelary seems safest, posing as the wife of of the tough and rugged peasant... IMDb rating 7.5/10.
Jan. 8th Shadow of a Doubt (1943) 108 min - Hitchcock Thriller starring Joseph Cotten. A young woman begins to suspect her visiting 'uncle'. IMDb rating 8.0/10.
Jan. 1st Hidden Fortress 1958 126 min. Director: Akira Kurosawa. Stars: Toshirô Mifune. IMDb says,'Lured by gold, two greedy peasants escort a man and woman across enemy lines. However, they do not realize that their companions are actually a princess and her general.' IMDb rating 8.0/10.

2006 Monday Movies

Dec. 18th 49 Up DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Dec. 11th 42 Up DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Dec. 4th Seduced and Abandoned DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Nov. 27th 35 Up DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Nov. 20th 28 Up DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Nov. 13th 21 Up DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Nov. 6th Seven Up, & Seven Plus Seven DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Oct. 30th Thank You For Not Smoking DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Oct. 23rd Gloomy Sunday DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Oct. 16th Early Summer DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Oct. 9th Microcosmos [Insects] DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Oct. 2nd Junebug DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Sept. 25th My Country, My Country DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Sept. 18th In the Heat of the Night DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Sept. 11th High Fidelity DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Sept. 4th Two-Way Stretch DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Aug. 28th Il Posto DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Aug. 21st That Obscure Object of Desire DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Aug. 14th Flower of my Secret DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Aug. 7th César [Fanny Trilogy 3] DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
July 31st Jules et Jim DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
July 24th Malena DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
July 17th Game 6 DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
July 10th Thieves Highway DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
July 3rd Devil in a Blue Dress DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
June 26th Common Ground Argentinian. IMDb rating RRR/10.
June 19th Best of Youth 3 DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
June 12th Best of Youth 2 DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
June 5th Best of Youth 1 DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
May 29th No Movie
May 22nd A Place in the Sun DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
May 15th Match Point DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
May 8th Torn Curtain DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
May 1st In a Lonely Place DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Apr. 24th Lost Horizon DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Apr. 17th Pride and Prejudice DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Apr. 10th Chaos DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Apr. 3rd Fear and Trembling DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Mar.27th Forbidden Games DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Mar.20th Run Silent, Run Deep DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Mar.13th Fanny [Fanny Trilogy 2] DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Mar.6th Serenity DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Feb. 27th Girl from Paris DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Feb. 20th Stalag 17 DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Feb. 13th Diva DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Feb. 6th A Man for All Seasons DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Jan. 30th Caterina in the Big City DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Jan. 23rd Paths of Glory DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Jan. 16th Stolen Kisses Trouffaut. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Jan. 9th Heimat 1 DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Jan. 2nd Cuckoo 2002, WWII comedy from Finnland - three characters speaking three different languages. IMDb rating 7.8/10.

2005 Monday Movies

Dec. 26th Say Anything 1989 100 min. 'A noble underachiever and a beautiful valedictorian fall in love the summer before she goes off to college.' [IMDb]. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Dec. 19th Ballad of a Soldier 1959 88 min. An heroic young soldier, on leave to visit his mother, meets a girl on the train. IMDb rating 8.0/10.
Dec. 12th Twilight Samurai Ebert said, ' "One who is a samurai must before all things keep in mind, by day, and by night, the fact that he has to die. That is his chief business." -- The Bushido Code 'Twilight Samurai" is set in Japan during the period of the Meiji Restoration, circa 1868 ... a time when samurai still tried to live by the Code of Bushido, even as they faced poverty or unemployment in a changing society'. [Ebert] IMDb rating 8.1/10.
Dec. 5th Written on the Wind Ebert said, 'Films like this are both above and below middle-brow taste. If you only see the surface, it's trashy soap opera. If you can see the style, the absurdity, the exaggeration and the satirical humor, it's subversive of all the 1950s dramas that handled such material solemnly'. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
Nov. 28th Crash 2005 112 min.Tells 'interlocking stories of whites, blacks, Latinos, Koreans, Iranians, cops and criminals, the rich and the poor, the powerful and powerless, all defined in one way or another by racism.' [Ebert]. IMDb rating 7.9/10.
Nov. 21st What's Cooking? 2000 109 Great Thanksgiving eve film - ethnic L.A., IMDb rating 7.1.
Nov. 14th Silver Streak 1976 114 min. Wilder & Pryor in a comic train imitation Hitchcock . IMDb rating 6.9/10.
Nov. 7th After Hours 1985 97 min. Tense comedy from Scorsese about a lonely nerd who is invited to Soho by a girl he's just met. Nightmarish adventure follows. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Oct. 31st Richard Pryor: '67 DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Oct. 24th What's Eating Gilbert Grape? 1993 118 min. 'Small town, deep set, dysfunctional America, where eccentricity is an art form and family values are the true worth of a life less ordinary'. [Angus Wolfe Murray] Gilbert, who takes care of obese mother & retarded brother, meets a girl. IMDb rating 7.8/10.
Oct. 17th Bride and Prejudice 2004 122 min. Bollywood version. Fun. IMDb rating 6.2/10.
Oct. 10th A Very Long Engagement 2004 133 min. Young woman searches for her fiancé in the trenches of WWI. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Oct. 3rd Born into Brothels 2004 85 min. Must see documentary about Calcutta's children of prostitutes, and the filmmaker's attempts to help. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Sept. 26th I'm All Right Jack 1959 1h 45min. 'A naive aristocrat in search of a career becomes caught up in the struggles between his profit-minded uncle and an aggressive labor union.' [IMDb]. Stars Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas, & Peter Sellers. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Sept. 19th Walk on Water 2004 103 min. A burnt-out Israeli intelligence agent is sent to infiltrate the family of a Nazi war criminal. IMDb rating 7.4/10. A must see.
Sept. 12th Metropolis DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Sept. 5th My Favorite Wife DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Aug. 29th Broken Wings DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Aug. 22nd Look at Me DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Aug. 15th Bon Voyage DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Aug. 8th Touché Pas au Grisbi DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
Aug. 1st Desert Bloom DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
July 25th Motorcycle Diaries Ché. IMDb rating RRR/10.
July 18th Il Vitelloni DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
July 11th Secrets and Lies DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
July 5th My Architect DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
June 27th Life of Brian , 1979 1hr 34min hilarious, clever, and irreverant Monty Python take on a guy who keeps being mistaken for Jesus. IMDb rating 8.1/10.
June 20th A Single Girl , 1995 1h 30min French slice-of-life film follows a hotel maid through a day when she finds out she's pregnant by her shiftless boyfriend. IMDb rating RRR/10.
June 13th Out of the Past , 1947 1hr 37min. A private eye's past catches up to himWith darkness and duplicitous women, starring Robert Mitchum. IMDb rating 8.1/10.
June 6th Quai des Orfèvres 1947 1h 46min Dir. Clouzot's police thriller. 'Suspense is merely an entrée into the vibrant, seductive world of postwar Paris, which he populates with richly imagined characters whose passions reveal depths that murder can only begin to express.' [Scott Tobias]. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
May 30th Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind How happy is the blameless vestal's lot! The world forgetting, by the world forgot. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd. -- Alexander Pope, "Eloisa to Abelard" Erasing the memory of a failed relationship. IMDb rating 8.3/10.
May 23th Merchant of Venice , DDDD. IMDb rating RRR/10.
May 16th Live Flesh Dark doings in bright colors from Almodóvar. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
May 9th Sleuth , 1972 based on the Shaffer play, fun and games in a tricky mansion, starring Laurence Olivier & Michael Caine in a talkfest of battling wits. IMDb rating 8.1/10.
May 2nd Dinner at Eight , 1933 a "comedy/drama based on the 1932 Broadway hit by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber and sharply written for the screen ... about a high-society dinner that implodes". [Dennis Schwartz] IMDb rating 7.8/10.
Apr. 25th Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead 1990 Tom Stoppard's comedy - two characters in Hamlet - their adventures off-stage during the play. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Apr. 18th Vera Drake 2004 Mike Leigh's drama about an abortionist in 1950's England. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Apr. 11th To Be or Not to Be 1942, Lubitsch directed Jack Benny in this satire about an acting troupe in Nazi-occupied Poland. IMDb rating 8.2/10. Remade by ...
Apr. 4th Lawrence of Arabia 2 see below. IMDb rating 8.5/10.
Mar. 28th Lawrence of Arabia 1 1962 David Lean Epic with Peter O'Toole. IMDb rating 8.5/10.
Mar. 21st Frantic 1988, Polanski's Harrison Ford mystery thriller. The doctor's wife disappears from their Paris hotel room… IMDb rating 6.8/10.
Mar. 14th The General 1926, classic Buster Keaton - Union spies steal an engineer's beloved locomotive. IMDb rating 8.3/10.
Mar. 7th Marquise of O 1976. Eric Rohmer film based on Kleist novella. German Marquise cannot explain her pregnancy. IMDb rating 7.1/10. Our critic recommends the 1805 novella.
Feb. 28th The Horseman on the Roof 1995, French. A young officer tries to help a young woman (Juliette Binoche) find her husband in the midst of 19th century war and plague. IMDb rating 6.9/10.
Feb. 21st The Roaring Twenties 1939 Cagney classic, speakeasy gangster. IMDb rating 7.8/10.
Feb. 14th The Boxer 1997 Irish drama. Released IRA activist Daniel Day-Lewis tries to start a boxing club in Belfast. IMDb rating 7.0/10.
Feb. 7th Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud 1995 French drama. Emmanuelle Béart (Nelly) edits an old man's memoirs. IMDb rating 7.3/10. Recommended.
Jan. 31st Bread and Chocolate 1974 Italian immigrant trying to make it in Switzerland. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Jan. 24th Bread and Tulips 2000 Italian comedy romance. Housewife starts a new life in Venice. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Jan. 17th La Buche 1999 comedy. French family at christmas with infidelity, etc. IMDb rating 6.3/10. Recommended.
Jan. 10th The Missing Gun 2002 Chinese crime drama. Small town policeman's gun goes missing... IMDb rating 6.5/10.
Jan. 9th A Price Above Rubies 1998. Zellweger as Hasidic wife is unsatisfied by her restrictive role. IMDb rating 6.6/10.
Jan. 3rd De-Lovely 2004 - Cole Porter bio-pic. IMDb rating 6.4/10.

2004 Monday Movies

Dec. 27th The Adventures of Robin Hood 1938 Classic Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. IMDb rating 8.0/10.
Dec. 20th Shower 1999, Chinese - Son returns to village to run his father's bath house. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Dec.13th Infernal Affairs 2002 - Hong Kong Police have a mole, and the gang has an undercover agent. IMDb rating 8.1/10. Rive ting. Remade by Scorsese : The Departed (2006).
Dec. 6th Europa, Europa 1990 Historical drama - Jewish boy in Nazi Germany joins Hitler Youth. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Nov. 29th Murder, My Sweet 1944, Film-noir Chandler story - with Dick Powell as Philip Marlowe. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Nov. 22nd Before Sunset 2004. Hawke and Delpy meet again, 9 years later, this time in Paris. IMDb rating 8.0/10.
Nov. 15th Before Sunrise 1995, one evening in Vienna with Hawke and Delpy. IMDb rating 8.0/10. Everyone's favorite romance. Must see
Nov. 8th Clueless 1995 comedy romance - Teen Valley girl as Emma in this reworking of Austin's Emma. IMDb rating 6.6/10.
Nov. 1st Marius [Fanny Trilogy 1] 1931, French comedy romance set in a family-run bar in Marseilles. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Oct. 25th Serial Mom 1994 farcical thriller starring Kathleen Turner as sweet mom serial killer. IMDb rating 6.5/10. One of Emmy's favorites.
Oct. 18th The Big Clock 1948 Noir crime thriller - magazine editor is being framed by his boss for murder. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Oct. 11th The Name of the Rose 1986 historical mystery thriller starring Sean Connery as monk-detective. IMDb rating 7.7/10. A must see.
Oct. 4th Double Indemnity 1944, classic noir, starring Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck. Juicy details of an Insurance fraud murder plot. IMDb rating 8.5/10.
Sept. 27th César et Rosalie 1972 French romance with Romy Schneider and Yves Montand. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Sept. 20th L.A. Story 1991 - Steve Matin's comic fantasy about early-90's L.A.. IMDb rating 6.6/10.
Sept. 13th The Night of the Shooting Stars 1982 Italian Historical wartime drama. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Aug. 23rd L'Auberge Espagnole 2002 - Klapisch comedy romance - Seven students from all over Europe share an apartment in Barcelona . IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Aug. 16th The Object of My Affection 1998 Wendy Wasserstein's comedy romance starring Jennifer Aniston. IMDb rating 5.9/10.
Aug. 9th Smiles of a Summer Night 1955 - Ingmar Bergman's revision of Midsummer Night's Dream? IMDb rating 7.8/10.
Aug. 2nd Barbarian Invasions 2003, Canadian comedy crime drama - a dying man is reunited with friends and family. IMDb rating 7.7/10. A must see.
July 26th Lovers and Other Strangers 1970, comedy - family complications at a wedding. IMDb rating 6.6/10.
July 19th Mutiny on the Bounty 1935 - Story of the 1878 mutiny. Then Captain Bligh seeks revenge. With Gable and Laughton. IMDb rating 7.8/10.
July 12th The King of Masks 1997, Sichuan street performer adopts little girl . IMDb rating 7.3/10.
July 5th Otello 1986. Zeffirelli presents Verdi's opera with Placido Domingo. IMDb rating 6.8/10.
June 28th Sweet Smell of Success 1957 96 minutes, film-noir. Ruthless Broadway columnist Burt Lancaster and slimy press agent Tony Curtis smear a nice guy in love with the columnist's sister . IMDb rating 8.1/10.
June 21st The Leopard 1963, 187 minutes, Italian historical epic, based on the classic novel - Sicilian nobleman struggles to preserve tradition and family amidst upheavals as Italy is uniting as a country. IMDb rating 8.0/10.
June 14th On Guard [Le Bossu] 1997, 128 minutes, French historical drama about a duke's heir's schemes against the duke. IMDb rating 6.9/10.
June 7th The Madness of King George 1994, 107 minutes, British reverently deal with their (temporarily) mad king. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
May 31st The Dresser 1983, 118 minutes, an effeminate assistant to an aging actor struggles to get him through Lear. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
May 24th Granpa 1989, 35 minutes, inspired animated children's story with wonderful music, starring Peter Ustinov and Emily Osbourne - an imaginative young girl's adventures with her grandfather. IMDb rating 8.4/10. A must see, even for adults.
May 17th Usual Suspects 1995, 106 minutes, twisty, funny, violent crime drama, starring Kevin Spacey. IMDb rating 8.7/10.
May 10th Sea of Love 1998, 113 minutes, crime drama - detective Pacino falls for a murder suspect. IMDb rating 6.7/10.
May 3rd Character 1997, 122 minutes, Dutch Academy-award winner about father-son revenge. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Apr. 26th This Is Spinal Tap 1984, 82 minutes, satirical rockumentary about band's tour. IMDb rating 8.0/10.
Apr. 19th Belle Epoque 1992, 109 minutes, Spanish comedy/romance - a young deserter is welcomed into a farm with four marriageable daughters. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Apr. 12th La Promesse 1996, 92 minutes, Dardenne brothers' film of a father and son renting to illegal immigrants. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Apr. 5th Dirty Pretty Things 2002, 97 minutes, an illegal Nigerian immigrant struggles in London. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Mar. 29th The Fabulous Baker Boys 1989, 114 minutes, music and romance starring Jeff Bridges and Michelle Pfeiffer. IMDb rating 6.7/10.
Mar. 22nd The Rules of the Game 1939, 110 minutes, Jean Renoir's great comedy of French life just before WW II. IMDb rating 8.0/10.
Mar. 15th The Dinner Game 1998, 80 minutes, witty French comedy. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Mar. 8th Pather Panchali 1955, 122 minutes, first of the great Apu Trilogy, dir. Satyajit Ray. IMDb rating 8.1/10.
Mar. 1st Ashes and Diamonds 1958, 103 minutes, Polish resistance in WW II. IMDb rating 7.8/10.
Feb. 23, The Man Without a Past 2002, dir. Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismaki.
Feb. 16, Battle of Algiers
Feb. 9, Beauty and the Beast
Feb. 2, A Hard Day's Night
Jan. 26, Divided We Fall
Jan. 19, All About My Mother
Jan. 12, Sunset Boulevard
 Jan. 5, Mansfield Park Better than the Austen's?

2003 Monday Movies

Dec. 29, The Deep End
Dec. 22, The Kid Stays in the Picture
Dec. 15, House of Games
Dec. 8, All or Nothing. Mike Leigh film.
Dec. 1, A Walk on the Moon
Nov. 24, The Man in the White Suit
Nov. 17, How Green Was My Valley
Nov. 10, Divorce Italian Style. Bomb.
Nov. 3, The 400 Blows
Oct. 27, Mean Streets
Oct. 20, Manon of the Spring
Oct. 13, Jean de Florette
Oct. 6, Local Hero
Sept. 29, Rabbit-Proof Fence
Sept. 22, About a Boy
Sept. 15, The Man Who Knew Too Much ('34)
Sept. 8, Marnie
Sept. 2, The Lady and the Duke
Aug. 25   ?
Aug. 18, Singin' in the Rain
Aug. 11, 8 1/2
Aug. 4, 8 1/2  (interrupted by blackout)
July 28, The Stunt Man
July 21, Day for Night
July 14, Prisoner of the Mountains
July 7, Frida. Julie Taymor's Kahlo.
June 30, Black Orpheus
June 23, Parsifal (part 1)
June 16, La Traviata
June 9, L'Atalante
June 2, Kolya

May 26th, White , 1994 1h 32min, the 2nd of director Krzysztof Kieslowski's Trilogy, a romantic tragicomedy about a divorced man obsessed with his ex-wife, starring Zbigniew Zamachowski & Julie Delpy. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
May 19th, Red,(1964), dir. Kieslowski, third of the trilogy: Blue,White, and Red with Irène Jacob.
May12th, The Thief of Bagdad, (1940) Classic for children of all ages; starring Sabu as Abu.
May 5th, The Conversation, (1964) Classic for audiophiles. Dir. Francis Ford Coppola, starring Gene Hackman.
April 28th, The Searchers, (1956) Classic Western. Dir. John Ford, starring John Wayne, Natalie Wood.
April 21st, Joint Security Area or Gongdong gyeongbi guyeok , dir. Chan-wook Park, Korean.
April 14th, Bleu, (1993) dir. Kieslowski with Juliette Binoche.
April 7th, Late Marriage , (2001) Israeli.
Mar. 31st,  Les Enfants du Paradis II , (1945) dir. Marcel Carné.
Mar. 24th,  Les Enfants du Paradis I , (1945) dir. Marcel Carné
Mar. 17th, Michael Collins , dir. Neil Jordan with Liam Neeson.
Mar. 10th, Lone Star ,(1996) dir. John Sayles.
Mar. 3rd,  All About Eve (1950) dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz with Bette Davis & Anne Baxter.
Feb. 24th, The Thin Man (1934), with William Powell, Myrna Loy, & Asta.
Feb. 17th, None ,
Feb. 10th, Black Narcissus (1947) dir. Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger.
Feb. 3rd, The Red Shoes (1948) 122 minutes, dir. Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger. Hans Christian Anderson tale retold as the pressures imposed on a talented dancer [Moira Shearer] by a Diaghilev-like impresario to choose between art and love. IMDb rating 8.3. A must see, all time great film. 'Pressburger may have been inspired by a famous scandal in 1913 when Diaghilev's great but tortured star, Vaslav Nijinsky, married the Hungarian ballerina Romola de Pulszky. He fired them both.' {Ebert]
Jan. 27th, 42nd Street (1933) dir. Lloyd Bacon.
Jan. 20th, ? ,
Jan. 13th, Baran(2001) Iranian.
Jan. 6th, Dekalog V , d. Kieslovski "Thou shalt not kill."
 

2002 Monday Movies
 

Dec. 30th, None, New Year's.
Dec. 23rd, None, Christmas Eve.
Dec. 16th, Our Hospitality (1926), Buster Keaton.
Dec. 9th, ?.
Dec. 2nd, Young Frankenstein (1974) with Gene Wilder.
Nov. 25th, Garden of the Finzi-Contini's, (1970) d. de Sica. Wealthy Jewish family in Fascist Italy.
Oct. 7th, Hope and Glory, (1987) d. Boorman. A boy's view of the London blitz,
Sept. 30th, Children of Heaven (1997), Iranian dir. Majidi,
Sept. 23rd, Dekalog VII, d. Kieslovski "Thou shalt not commit adultery",
Sept. 16th, Rashomon (1950), dir. Kurosawa,
Sept. 9th, Vertigo (1958), dir. Hitchcock,
Sept. 3rd, a Tuesday, The Scent of Green Papaya (Mui du du xanh) (1993), Vietnamese,
Aug. 28th,
Aug. 20th, The Godfather II (1974), dir. Coppola.
Aug. 12th, Dekalog IV, d. Kieslovski "Honor thy father,"
Aug. 5th, Annie Hall (1977), dir. Woody Allen.
July 29th, Citizen Kane (1941),
July 22th Shakespeare in Love (1999)
July 15th, Topsy Turvy (1999) about Gilbert and Sullivan
July 8th, Seems Like Old Times (1980), Screenplay by Neil Simon,
July 1st Dekalog III, d. Kieslovski "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain,"
June 24th, The Godfather 1972 175 minutes, IMDb rating 9.2. Classic crime. A must see.
June 17th, Claire's Knee, (1972) dir. Eric Rohmer
June 10th, On Approval 1944 80 minutes, IMDb rating 7.1. British comedy. Two wealthy Victorian widows are courted tentatively by two impoverished British aristocrats.
June 6th, The Heartbreak Kid (1972), dir. Elaine May (several thought it embarrassingly dreadful, but David said,
"interesting as a parable of failed assimilation. Lita liked it."),
May 27th, none (Connie's wedding),
May 20th, The Wizard of Speed and Time, 1988 95 minutes, IMDb rating 6.3. Dir. Mike Jittlov, himself a wizard of stop-motion animation, makes a semi-autobiographical film about a film-maker and his problems with the Hollywood Studio system.
May 13th, none (We went to an MIT panel on the play 'Copenhagen'),
May 6th, Nights of Cabiria 1957 110 minutes, IMDb rating 8.2. Fellini film about a waifish Roman prostitute poking for love.
April 29th, Dekalog II, d. Kieslovski "Thou shalt not bow down to any graven image."
April 22nd, The Man Who Would Be King (1975),
April 15th, The Road Home, (1999) dir. Yimou Zhang,
April 8th, A Tale of Winter 1992 114 minutes, IMDb rating 7.2, a Rohmer film. After a summer holiday romance, the lovers lose contact, but keep searching..., dir. Rohmer,
April 1st, The Three Musketeers, 1974 105 minutes, IMDb rating 7.3. Starring Richard Chamberlain, Michael York, Oliver Reed, Raquel Welch, and Faye Dunaway. Swashbuckling adventure, slap-stick sword-fighting, and pure good against pure evil.
Mar. 25th,  Dekalog I, 1988 60 minutes, IMDb rating 9.1, dir. Kieslovski "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." A must see.
Mar. 18th, An Autumn Tale 1998 112 minutes, IMDb rating 7.4. Rohmer film. A widow's friend tries to find her a husband by placing an ad...
Mar. 11th, Tom Jones 1963 128 minutes, IMDb rating 6.9. Tony Richardson's wonderful lusty adaptation of Fielding's novel, starring Albert Finney and Susannah York.
Mar. 4th,  Dekalog VII 1988 60 minutes, IMDb rating 9.1. dir. Kieslovski "Thou shalt not steal." A must see.
Feb. 24th, Belle de Jour (1996), dir. Bunuel,
Feb. 17th, Everyone Says I Love You 1996 101 minutes, IMDb rating 6.8. Woody Allen musical comedy.
Feb. 11th, Le Million 1931 81 minutes, IMDb rating 7.5. 'Impoverished painter and his rival engage in a race across Paris to recover a jacket concealing a winning lottery ticket. '[IMDb]
Feb. 4th, Groundhog Day 1993 101 minutes, IMDb rating 8.1. Bob's favorite comedy. A must see, more than once. It gets funnier every time.
Jan. 28th, His Girl Friday 1940 92 minutes, IMDb rating 8.0. Hilarious classic screwball comedy starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. Based on the Ben Hecht/Charles MacArthur play 'The Front Page'. A must see.
Jan. 21st, Topkapi 1965 120 minutes, IMDb rating 7.0. Stylish heist flick starring Peter Ustinov and Marina Mercouri.
Jan. 14th, Rififi 1955 122 minutes, IMDb rating 8.2. Remarkable Noir picture that defines 1950s French Cinema.
Jan. 7th, Yojimbo 1961 110 minutes, IMDb rating 8.4. Director Kurosawa's imitation Western starring the great Toshiro Mifune. Samurai with sword comes to sort out town with two rival gangs, and one of them has a gun.
 
 

2001 Monday Movies

On December 31st, New Year's Eve, we saw, My Fair Lady 1964 170 minutes, IMDb rating 7.8. Simply the best -music, wit (Shaw's), lyrics, cast.
December 24th, None.  It was Christmas Eve.
December 17th, Good Morning 1959 94 minutes, IMDb rating 7.8. Japanese. Comedy from dir. Yasujirô Ozu, suburban middle-class life in a small subdivision where the children go on strike for a TV set.
December 10th, North by Northwest 1959 136 minutes, IMDb rating 8.5. Classic great Hitchcok. Starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, and Mount Rushmore.
December 3rd, Notorious 1946 101 minutes, IMDb rating 8.2. Another great Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, & Claude Rains with a script by Ben Hecht.
November 26th, Casablanca 1942 102 minutes, IMDb rating 8.7, Bogart and Bergman in one of the world's favorite romances and a great script.
November 19th, The Maltese Falcon 1941 100 minutes, IMDb rating 8.3. John Huston directs Bogard, Lorre and Greenstreet in this classic. Private eye a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette.
November 12th, The Big Sleep 1946 114, IMDb rating 8.2. Howard Hawks directs Bogart and Bacall. Private eye takes on complex case involving murder, drugs, pornography, and love, maybe.
November 5th, Love on the Run 1979 94 minutes, IMDb rating 7.0. Truffault continues his series about Antoine Doinel, now 30.
October 29th, Dersu Uzala 1975 144 minutes, IMDb rating 8.2 dir. Kurosawa. 'The Russian army sends an explorer on an expedition to the snowy Siberian wilderness where he makes friends with a seasoned local hunter' [IMDb],
October 22th, Some Like It Hot 1959 120 minutes, IMDb rating 8.4. Hilarious Billy Wilder comedy/romance starring Marilyn Monroe, with cross-dressing Tony Curtis & Jack Lemmon in a female band. Best comedy ever?
October 15th, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgoisie 1972 102 minutes, IMDb rating 7.9. Surreal Buñuel with six middle-class people and their consistently interrupted attempts to have a meal together.
October 8th, A Summer's Tale 1996 113 minutes, IMDb rating 7.1. Charming Rohmer film about an uncertain young man on holiday who meets three tempting potential girlfriends.
October 1st, The Wild Child 1970 83 minutes, IMDb rating 7.6 dir. Truffaut. "1798. In a forest, some countrymen catch a wild child who can not walk, speak, read nor write. Doctor Itard is interested by the child, and starts to educate him." [IMDb],
September 24th,  An Autumn Tale 1998 112 minutes, IMDb rating 7.4. Rohmer film. A widow's friend tries to find her a husband by placing an ad...,
September 17th, The Lady Vanishes 1938 96 minutes, IMDb rating 8.0, early Hitchcock. Much loved flick.
September 10th, Grand Illusion 1937 114 minutes, IMDb rating 8.1. Great Renoir classic about WWI, French soldiers imprisoned in a German POW camp attempting escape,
September 3rd, The Seven Year Itch 1955 105 minutes, IMDb rating 7.2. Billy Wilder Comedy romance starring Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell in an almost summer affair. The best part is in the extras on the disc.
August 27th, Murmur of the Heart 1971 118 minutes, IMDb rating 7.7. Great Louis Malle film about coming-of-age in an uncommon bourgeois family in Dijon.
August 20th, Chinatown 1974 130 minutes, IMDb rating 8.4. Terrific Polanski crime drama about murder and water in L.A. Starring Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, & John Huston.
August 13th, Kind Hearts and Coronets 1949 106 minutes, IMDb rating 8.2, British crime comedy. Alec Guinness tour-de-force playing the murderer and all his victims in as he tries to inherit a Dukedom.
August 6th, Dr. Strangelove 1964 95 minutes, IMDb rating 8.6. Incredible but all too true Kubrick send-up of the American military.
July 30th, It Happened One Night 1934 105 minutes, IMDb rating 8.2. Capra's comedy romance starring Gable and Colbert.
July 23th, The 39 Steps 1935 86 minutes, IMDb rating 7.9, Hitchcock thriller, starring Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll.
July 16th, I Know Where I'm Going 1945 91 minutes, IMDb rating 7.7 dir. Michael Powell starring Wendy Hiller & Roger Livesey. David Bishop's favorite, and our first mad movie.
 
 

2020 Saturday Movies


Nov.7th MOVIE FFFF
Oct.31st MOVIE FFFF
Oct.24th MOVIE FFFF
Oct.17th MOVIE FFFF
Oct.10th MOVIE FFFF
Oct.3rd MOVIE FFFF
Sep.26th MOVIE FFFF
Sep.19th MOVIE FFFF
Sep.12th MOVIE FFFF
Sep.5th MOVIE FFFF
Aug.29 MOVIE FFFF
Aug.22nd MOVIE FFFF
Aug.15th MOVIE FFFF
Aug. 8th Guest of Honour , 2019 1h 45min. Atom Egoyan's latest, a complicated father daughter relationship, starring David Thewlis & Laysia De Oliveira. Very interesting, a bit puzzling. IMDb rating 5.4, but liked by the critics, & by us.
Aug.1st Milk FFFF
July 25th Honeyland FFFF
July 18th Driveways FFFF
July 11th Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy FFFF
July 4th Hamilton FFFF
June 27th MOVIE FFFF
June 20th MOVIE FFFF
June 16th Laura FFFF
June 6th MOVIE FFFF
May 30th MOVIE FFFF
May 23rd MOVIE FFFF
May 16th MOVIE FFFF
May 9th MOVIE FFFF
May 2nd MOVIE FFFF
Apr. 25th MOVIE FFFF
Apr. 18th MOVIE FFFF
Apr. 11th MOVIE FFFF
Apr. 4th MOVIE FFFF
Mar. 28th MOVIE FFFF
Mar. 21st MOVIE FFFF
Mar. 14th MOVIE FFFF
Mar. 7th Private Life , 2018 2h 3min, is a comedy/drama about a 40-something author desperately wanting a child, starring Kathryn Hahn, Paul Giamatti, & Gabrielle Reid. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Feb 29th Knives Out , 2019 2h 11min., an updated Agatha-Christie-style crime comedy written and directed by Rian Johnson. An investigation into the death of a patriarch as his heirs gather at his isolated country mansion, starring Daniel Craig, Don Johnson, & Jamie Lee Curtis. IMDb rating 8.0/10.
Feb 22nd I am Cuba I am Cuba, 1964 1h 48min, is a B&W Cuban-Russian propaganda film showing four vignettes of Batista's regime & Americans mistreating ordinary people, and their uprising to join Castro's revolution. IMDb rating 8.2/10.
Feb 15th Marriage Story , 2019 2h 17min, is Noah Baumbach's wrenching, funny, sad tale of a divorce, starring Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, & Laura Dern. IMDb rating 8/10.
Feb 8th The Report , 2019 1h 59min, a crime drama. 'Idealistic Senate staffer Daniel J. Jones, tasked by his boss to lead an investigation into the CIA's post 9/11 Detention and Interrogation Program, uncovers shocking secrets.' [IMDb], starring Adam Driver. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Feb 1st Wait Until Dark , 1967 1h 48min, a thriller about a blind woman stranded in her apartment which is invaded by vicious thugs searching for drugs, starring Audrey Hepburn, & Alan Arkin. IMDb rating 7.8/10.
Jan 25th Catch-22 Catch-22, 1970 2h 2min. Director Mike Nichols' version of the Heller classic anti-war novel, starring Alan Arkin (Capt. John Yossarian), Martin Balsam (Col. Cathcart), Richard Benjamin (Maj. Danby ), Art Garfunkel (Capt. Nately), Jack Gilford (Dr. ‘Doc’ Daneeka), Buck Henry (Lt. Col. Korn), Bob Newhart (Maj. Major Major Major), Anthony Perkins (Chaplain Capt. A.T. Tappman), Paula Prentiss (Nurse Duckett), Martin Sheen (1st Lt. Dobbs), Jon Voight (1st Lt. Milo Minderbinder), & Orson Welles (Brig. Gen. Dreedle).. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Jan 18th Rear Window , 1954 1h 52min, is great Hitchcock classic thriller about a photographer confined to his window by a broken leg spying on his neighbors & uncovering some secrets, starring James Stewart & Grace Kelly. IMDb rating 8.4/10.
Jan 11th Spider , 2002 1h 38min. Director David Cronenberg's film enters the mind of a severely disturbed man as he reviews his life, starring Ralph Fiennes & Miranda Richardson. IMDb rating 6.8/10.
Jan 4th NO MOVIE

2019 Saturday Movies


Dec 28th Gosford Park , 2001 2h 11min. Director Altman & writer Julian Fellowes team up on this comic mystery set in an upstairs/downstairs English country house with a lot going on besides murder, starring Maggie Smith, Ryan Phillippe, Michael Gambon, Kristin Scott Thomas, Derek Jacobi, & Stephen Fry. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Dec 21st NO MOVIE
Dec. 14th Avalon , 1990 2h 8min, is Director Barry Levinson's semi-autobiographical period drama of the evolution of a clan of Polish-Jewish immigrants through three generations of American life, including many Thanksgivings. IMDb rating 7.2/10. The third in Levinson's Baltimore Trilogy. Lita's family's favorite Thanksgiving movie.
Dec 7th Cold War , 2018 1h 88min. Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski's film about two musicians in an on-and-off love affair that lasts from Stalinist times through the Cold War. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Nov 30th What's Cooking? , 2000 min, is a comedy/drama about the Thanksgivings of four families of different ethnicities in L.A., starring Joan Chen, Lainie Kazan, Alfre Woodard and Mercedes Ruehl. IMDb rating 7.0/10.
Nov 23rd Blade Runner , 1982 1h 57min. Ridley Scott's classic sci-fi thriller about a vigilante, "blade runner", searching for humanoids, "replicants", who must be destroyed, starring Harrison Ford. IMDb rating 8.1/10.
Nov 16th Luce , 2019 1h 49min, adapted from J.C. Lee's play is a complex psychological reactions of a family who have adopted a former African child soldier, when he is accused as a trouble-maker by his high-school teacher, starring Naomi Watts, Octavia Spencer, Tim Roth, & Kelvin Harrison Jr. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Nov 9th The Spanish Prisoner , 1997 1h 50min. It's a tricky Mamet puzzler in which an employee invents an unimaginably valuable process, and outsiders are perhaps tricking him into revealing his secret, starring Steve Martin, Ben Gazzara, Campbell Scott, & Rebecca Pidgeon. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Nov 2nd Gentlemen Prefer Blondes , 1953 1h 31min, is director Howard Hawks' musical comedy about two showgirls pals, one engaged, one seeking a rich husband on a ship to Paris, starring Jane Russell, Marilyn Monroe, & Charles Coburn. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Oct 26th Three Days of the Condor , 1975 1h 57min, is director Sydney Pollack's paranoid thriller about a CIA agent who returns to his office to find all his colleagues dead, starring Robert Redford & Faye Dunaway. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
Oct 19th Crash , 2004 1h 52min. The lives of L.A. citizens of every stripe collide in a seething intermingling of racist interactions, starring Don Cheadle, Jennifer Esposito, Matt Dillon, Thandie Newton, & Terrence Dashon Howard. IMDb rating 7.8/10.
Oct 12th Finding Your Feet , 2017 1h 51min, is a light British rom-com about a group of older Londoners who meet to dance which eases the pain and losses that come with age, starring Imelda Staunton, Celia Imrie, & Timothy Spall . IMDb rating 6.7/10.
Oct 5th In the Heart of the Sea , 2015 2h 2min, is a dramatization of the book about the real whale-hunting expedition sunk by a vengeful whale in 1820, starring Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, & Brendan Gleeson. IMDb rating 6.9/10.
Sep 28th Annihilation , 2016 1h 55min, is a sci-fi thriller from Alex Garland, who also directed Ex Machina, about a mysterious a shimmering region in Florida that threatens mankind, starring Natalie Portman & Jennifer Jason Leigh. IMDb rating 6.9/10
Sep 21st Bohemian Rhapsody , 2018 2h 14min, is a docudrama about the career of Freddie Mercury, lead singer of rock group Queen, starring Rami Malek. IMDb rating 8.0/10.
Sep 14th Where the Truth Lies , 2005 1h 47min, is a Hollywood send-up by director Atom Egoyan. A show-biz team a lot like Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis and a young reporter trying to discover the truth about an incident in their past, starring Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth, & Alison Lohman. IMDb rating 5.4/10.
Sep 7th Mission: Impossible - Fallout , 2018 2h 27min, is the latest spy-vs-spy thriller in this series with Ethan Hunt 'running, jumping, climbing, diving, flipping, fighting' [Peter Travers] to save the world, starring Tom Cruise. IMDb rating 7.8/10.
Aug 31st M*A*S*H , 1970 1h 56min, is Altman's savage satire about a pair of surgeons trying to save casualties of the Korean war, and in between times distracting themselves from the horror with practical jokes, starring Donald Sutherland & Elliott Gould, screenplay by Ring Lardner Jr. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
Aug 24th The Big Lebowski , 1998 1h 57min, is Coen brothers comedy about 'Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire of the same name, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.' [IMDb], starring Jeff Bridges. IMDb rating 8.1/10.
Aug 17th NO MOVIE
Aug 10th Long Shot , 2019 2h 5min, is rom-com about a journalist and a presidential candidate who hires him to be her speech-writer, starring Charlize Theron & Seth Rogen. IMDb rating 7.0/10.
Aug 3rd Ash Is Purest White , 2018 2h 14min, a tale of love and betrayal in China’s criminal underworld, explores the rootless lives of its protagonists against a backdrop of rapid social and economic change. [Tony Rayns] IMDb rating 7.1/10.
July 27th A Kid Like Jake , 2018 1h 32min, is based on the play by Daniel Pearle is about the parents of a gender-nonconforming boy. They struggle with how best to raise and protect him in a world that doesn't welcome such children, starring Claire Danes & Jim Parsons. IMDb rating 5.3/10.
July20th NO MOVIE
July 13th Golden Exits , 2017 1h 34min, 'traces the emotional and psychological architecture of two intersecting groups of men and women' [Manohla Dargis] in Brooklyn, starring Emily Browning, Adam Horovitz, & Mary-Louise Parker. IMDb rating 5.8/10. The critics liked it better than IMDb voters.
July 6th NO MOVIE
June 29 Fargo , 2018 1h 38min, is a Coen brothers' comic thriller. Criminal plans go awry in wintry Fargo with pregnant policewoman on the job, starring William H. Macy, Frances McDormand, & Steve Buscemi. IMDb rating 8.1/10.
June 22nd Us , 2019 1h 56min, is another horror/thriller from director/writer Jordan Peele [Get Out], this one with comic touches. Us is about a family at home invaded by their doubles, starring Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, & Elisabeth Moss. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
June 15th Woman at War , 2018 1h 41min, is another comedy from the icelandic director Benedikt Erlingsson [Of Horses and Men] . It's an unusually amusing & informative tale about an environmental activist. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
June 8th Fighting with My Family , 2019 1h 48min, is a comedy biopic about a girl from a wrestling family who dreams of stardom, starring Florence Pugh, Dwayne Johnson, & Lena Headey. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
June 1st The Long Goodbye , 1973 1h 52min, Altman's take on the Raymond Chandler novel about Philip Marlowe puzzling through a twisty case involving the murder of a friend's wife, starring Elliott Gould. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
May 25th Marshall , 2017 1h 58min, is courtroom drama about a young NAACP lawyer, Thurgood Marshall, defending a black man accused of rape in suburban Connecticut, starring Chadwick Boseman, Josh Gad, & Kate Hudson. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
May 18th Straight Outta Compton , 2018 2h 27min. Biopic about the mid-1980's rise of the rap group N.W.A. including Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, starring O'Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, & Jason Mitchell. IMDb rating 7.9/10.
May 11th NO MOVIE
May 4th Capernaum , 2018 2h 6min, is a documentary-style Lebanese drama about 'an unfortunate 12-year-old boy Zain (Zain Al Rafeea, a Syrian migrant) living in the Beirut slums, who while in prison for a stabbing sues his parents to protest the life they've given him. [Dennis Schwartz]. IMDb rating 8.5/10.
Apr.27th Of Horses and Men , 2018 1h 21min, is a strange Icelandic comic series of vignettes about horses and people and the complicated intertwining of their affections for each other. IMDb rating 6.8/10.
Apr. 20th Burning , 2018 2h 28min, is a Korean film. A young delivery man falls for a childhood friend. She takes a trip to Africa, returning with a wealthy, sophisticated boyfriend. But this new boyfriend has a secret... IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Apr. 13th Green Book , 2018 2h 10min, is a comedy/biopic about black pianist Don Shirley on tour in the South with a racist driver, a sort of inverse Driving Miss Daisy, starring Viggo Mortensen & Mahershala Ali. IMDb rating 8.3/10.
Apr. 6th Vice , 2018 2h 12min, is a biopic about the emergence of Dick Cheney as a force in creating our today's political landscape, starring Christian Bale, Amy Adams, & Steve Carell. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Mar 30th The Favourite , 2018 1h 59min, is a dark historical comedy in-fighting among ladies in the court of Queen Anne, starring Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, & Rachel Weisz. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Mar 23rd Can You Ever Forgive Me? , 2018 1h 46 min, is a comic bio-pic about a journalist whose articles profiling media women are no longer selling. So she turns to crime which is much more lucrative, at least for a while. It stars Melissa McCarthy. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Mar 16th The Sisters Brothers , 2018 2h 2min, is a comic Western from Dir. Jacques Audiard about 'gunmen, brothels, chasing, gold and whisky' in the old West [IMDb User], starring John C. Reilly, Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal. IMDb rating 7/10.
Mar 9th The Ballad of Buster Scruggs , 2018 min. The Coen brothers bring us 'Six tales of life and violence in the Old West, following a singing gunslinger, a bank robber, a traveling impresario, an elderly prospector, a wagon train, and a perverse pair of bounty hunters.' [IMDb]. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
Mar 2nd Support the Girls , 2018 1h 33min, is a comedy about a day in the working life of woman managing a Hooters-like Texas sports bar and her team of waitresses, starring Regina Hall. IMDb rating 6.4/10.
Feb 23rd Widows , 2018 2h 9min, is about four women whose husbands just died in a heist attempt are compelled to finish the job, starring Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, & Cynthia Erivo. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Feb 16th Mr. Klein , 1976 2h 3min, is director Joseph Losey's classic psychological thriller about a case of mistaken identity in Vichy France 1942, starring Alain Delon & Jeanne Moreau [in a bit part]. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Feb 9th 10 Cloverfield Lane , 2016 1h 43min, is a scary British film. 'After getting in a car accident, a woman is held in a shelter with two men, who claim the outside world is affected by a widespread chemical attack." [IMDb], starring John Goodman & Mary Elizabeth Winstead. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Feb 2nd The Hate U Give , 2018 2h 13min. Teenager 'Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Now, facing pressure from all sides of the community, Starr must find her voice and stand up for what's right.' [IMDb], starring Amandla Stenberg. IMDb rating 7.1/10. But NOT a NYT Critic's pick.
Jan 26th Fahrenheit 11/9 , 2018 1hr 51min. ' Michael Moore examines the current state of American politics, particularly the Donald Trump presidency and gun violence, while highlighting the power of grassroots democratic movements'[IMDb]. IMDb rating 6.5/10.
Jan 19th Mommy , 2014 2h 19min, is a Canadian drama about an explosive relationship between a mother and her violent teenager. Winner of the 2014 Cannes Jury Prize. IMDb rating 8.1/10.
Jan 12th The Miseducation of Cameron Post , 2016 1h 31min, is about 'a teenage orphan forced into a gay conversion therapy center by her conservative guardians' [IMDb] in 1993, starring Chloë Grace Moretz. IMDb rating 6.7/10.
Jan 5th NO MOVIE

2018 Saturday Movies


Dec 29th NO MOVIE
Dec 22th Sorry to Bother You , 2018 1h 51min, comic fantasy about a black telemarketer in an alternative Oakland who rises to the corporate upper ranks and discovers the evils of corporate capitalism, starring Lakeith Stanfield & Tessa Thompson. IMDb rating 7.0/10.
Dec 15th Blood Simple , 1984 97min. The Coen brothers' first film, a Texas noir crime/comedy, is another take on murder in Texas, about "four people - a bar owner (Dan Hedaya), his wife (Frances McDormand), the bartender whom the wife runs off with (John Getz), and the private detective hired to kill the runaway couple (M. Emmet Walsh, the veteran character actor, who plays him with a mischievousness that is perfect for the role)." [Janet Maslin]. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Dec 8th Lone Star , 1996 2h 14min, is a John Sayles drama about an old murder in a Texas border town, and interactions among its three ethnic communities. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
Dec 1st The Third Murder , 2018 2h 4min, Director Hirokazu Koreeda [Still Walking; Like Father, Like Son] is 'An enigmatic tangle of anti-death penalty campaigning, murder-mystery, and legal procedure' [Tara Brady]. IMDb rating 6.7/10.
Nov 24th Limbo , 1999 2h 6min, is a thriller. 'In an economically devastated Alaskan town, a fisherman with a troublesome past dates a woman whose young daughter does not approve of him. When he witnesses the murder of his shady brother, he, the woman and the kid run to the wilderness' [IMDb], starring David Strathairn & Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Nov 17th The Cakemaker , 2017 1h 53min, is a Israeli drama about a grieving German baker who goes to Jerusalem where he goes to work in his lover's wife's café, starring Tim Kalkhof. IMDb rating 7.2/10. First rate.
Nov 10th Nashville , 2016 2h 40min, perhaps Altman's masterpiece, is about "the politics of country music, families, stardom, search for stardom, political manipulation and populist political candidates... at once a political drama, musical and documentary all effortless woven together..." [IMDb User], starring Keith Carradine, Karen Black, Ronee Blakley, Ned Beatty, Geraldine Chaplin, Lily Tomlin, etc. IMDb rating 7.8/10.
Nov 3rd Cookie's Fortune , 1999 1h 58min, is a late Altman comedy about a small Southern town's reaction to a murder, starring Glenn Close, Julianne Moore, & Liv Tyler. IMDb rating 6.9/10. Hilarious. Highly recommended.
Oct 27th Black Cat, White Cat , 1998 123min, is a crime/comedy/romance from dir. Emir Kusturica."Grga Pitic and Zarije Destanov are two old friends - and rivals - who haven't seen each other in years. But a series of events beyond their wildest dreams leads to a raucously funny reunion filled with gypsy mobsters, dirty deals and shotgun weddings." [IMDb] IMDb rating 8.1/10. Bomb. Forget it.
Oct 20th Eighth Grade , 2018 1h 33min, about an image-conscious 13-year-old suffering through the last days of grammar school, starring Elsie Fisher. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Oct 13th NO MOVIE
Oct 6th Summer 1993 , 2017 1h 37min, is a Spanish drama about an orphaned 6-year-old sent to live with her uncle's family and her difficulties in adjusting, even though they are loving. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Sept 29th Mia Madre , 2015 1h 46min, is another Nanni Moretti film, a follow-on to last Monday's [Sept 24th] 'The Son's Room', about a film director struggling with professional and personal problems. IMDb rating 6.8/10.
Sept 22nd Beast , 2017 1h 47min, is a British thriller. "The twists and turns of this riveting and perilous romance play with notions of trust. This first feature from director Michael Pearce is thrilling in its authenticity. Pearce reveals in a rousing way that there is darkness all around, within as well as external to ourselves. The call of adventure both repels and appeals (it repels because it is so difficult to break from what we are familiar with and accustomed to), and the story and actors heighten this inherent tension from beginning to end." [IMDb user]. IMDb rating 6.9/10.
Sept 15th A Man Called Ove , 2015 1h 56min, is a Swedish comedy about a curmudgeon living in gated community, trying to enforce its rules, visiting his wife's grave, and contemplating suicide, when an unlikely friendship develops, starring Rolf Lassgård. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Sept 8th Black Panther , 2018 2h 14min, is an almost all-black comic book sci-fi action pic in which our Marvel superhero, heir to a technically advanced African kingdom, is challenged for his right to lead his people and guide their future, starring Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, & Lupita Nyong'o. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Sept 1st Jane , 2017 1h 30min, is documentary about the Jane Goodall's work, mostly her early work with chimpanzees. IMDb rating 7.8/10.
Aug 25th Ready Player One , 2018 2h 20min, is a gamer sci-fi movie from Spielberg about video gamers retreating into a game-designer's virtual world, with parallels in the real world. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Aug 18th Everything Is Illuminated , 2005 1h 46min, about a young American Jew searching for his grandfather's roots in the Ukraine, based on the Jonathan Safran Foer best-seller, starring Elijah Wood. IMDb rating 7.5/10. This had mixed reviews.
Aug 11th You Were Never Lovelier , 1942 1h 37min, is about "a man who has decreed that his daughters must marry in order of age allows an American dancer to perform at his club under the condition that he play suitor to his second-oldest daughter." [IMDb] Starring Fred Astaire & Rita Hayworth. IMDb rating 7.3/10. Does she dance as well as Ginger? Or better? Astaire's favorite.
Aug 4th All of Me , 1984 1h 33min, is a classic screwball comedy Lily Tomlin's soul gets transferred into Steve Martin's body with hilarious results. IMDb rating 6.7/10.
July 28th My Cousin Vinny , 1992 2h, a classic Hollywood comedy, is about an ambulance-chasing NY lawyer who tries to defend his cousin & a friend charged with murder in rural Alabama, starring Joe Pesci & Marisa Tomei. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
July 21st The Endless , 2017 1h 51min, is a sci-fi horror fantasy about two brothers, ex-members of a California cult, who decide to revisit the cult for just one day, starring Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead who also directed and wrote the script. IMDb rating 6.6/10.
July 14th The Death of Stalin , 2017 1h 47min, is a 'Rousing slapstick political-comedy' [Dennis Schwartz]. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
July 7th Beautiful People , 1999 1h 47min, is a British political farce about 'the diverse immigrants from the former Yugoslavia bringing their old battles to England and then ingratiating themselves into the English system, as they try to save England...' [Dennis Schwartz]. IMDb rating 6.7/10.
June 30th Lumumba , 2000 1h 55min, is Raoul Peck's biopic about the rise to leadership and CIA-ordered [?] assassination of Patrice Lumumba, starring Eriq Ebouaney. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
June 23rd A War (Krigen) , 2015 1h 55min, a Danish drama about the moral dilemma of a Danish Commander who has to make a life-and-death decision under intense pressure, and the consequences. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
June 16th Graduation [Bacalaureat] , 2016 2h 8min, a Roumanian drama. After his duaghter is attacked the night before a crucial Bacalaureat exam, her father who turns his life upside-down trying to assure her a place at Cambridge University. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
June 9th The Insult , 2017 1h 52min, is a Lebanese thriller about an argument that escalates into a court case and further. IMDb rating 7.8/10.
June 2nd Undertow [Contracorriente] , 2009 1h 37min, is a Peruvian romance about a married fisherman in a traditional village who loves both his wife and his secret male lover. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
May 26th The Other Side Of Hope , 2017 1h 40min, is a Finnish comedy about a Syrian refugee fresh to Finland meets a middle-aged Finn in a midlife crisis who buys a failing restaurant run by three ne’er-do-wells. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
May 19th The Killing , 1956 1h 25min, is Stanley Kubrick’s first great film, about a racetrack heist, starring Sterling Hayden & Coleen Gray. IMDb rating 8.0/10.
May 12th Seven Days in May , 1964 1h 58min, is a Frankenheimer political thriller about the US Air Force Chief plotting a coup because the President is about to sign a nuclear treaty, starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, & Fredric March. IMDb rating 7.9/10.
May 5th 52 Pick-Up , 1986 1h 50min, is a Hollywood noir thriller from Elmore Leonard [book & screenplay] "chiefly preoccupied with drugs, guns, strippers, prostitutes, money, and the men who kill each other attempting to obtain them" [Chuck Bowen], starring Roy Scheider & Ann-Margret. IMDb rating 6.4/10.
Apr 28th Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story , 2017 1h 28min, is a documentary about Hedy Lamarr: refugee [?], movie star, & grossly under-appreciated inventor. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Apr 21st Lady Bird , 2017 1h 34min, is director Greta Gerwig's bildungsroman about 'a flawed American teenager... a fiery but sensitive, opinionated yet good-natured girl who only finds what home and family means when she finally flutters away on her own.' [IMDb user review], starring Saoirse Ronan. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
Apr 14th All the Money in the World , 2017 2h 31min, is a thriller about the kidnapping of 16-year-old John Paul Getty III (Charlie Plummer) and the desperate attempt by his devoted mother, Gail (Michelle Williams), to convince his billionaire grandfather (Christopher Plummer) to pay the ransom, starring WH Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer, & Mark Wahlberg. IMDb rating 7.0/10.
Apr 7th Son Of The Bride 2001 2h 3min, is an Argentine comedy about a man immersed in a midlife crisis who begins to reassess his priorities. IMDb rating 7.9. Oscar-nominated.
Mar 31st The Shape of Water , 2017 2h 3min, Oscar-winning fantasy/monster/romance from director del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth) about 'a mute janitor at a secret government laboratory who forms a bond with a captured amphibian of the "Creature of the Black Lagoon" variety' [IMDb reviewer], starring Sally Hawkins & Richard Jenkins. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
Mar 24th Wag The Dog , 1997 1h 37min, is a Hollywood comedy about a spin-doctor and a Hollywood producer join efforts to fabricate a war in order to cover up a Presidential sex scandal, as he runs for re-election, starring Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, & Anne Heche. IMDb rating 7.1/10. I thought this Clinton-era comedy might resonate with our dark fears about current events and Fox News.
Mar 17th Cat People , 1942 1h 13min, is Jacques Tourneur's influential black-and-white classic noir thriller about an American who falls in love with a Serbian immigrant who is obsessed by the legends from her village that women who engage in sex turn into dangerous, giant cats, starring Simone Simon & Kent Smith. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Mar 10th Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri , 2017 1h 55min, is a crime drama about pain and rage: a single mother whose daughter was murdered accuses the police of incompetence for not solving the crime, starring Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, & Sam Rockwell. IMDb rating 8.3/10.
Mar 3rd Creepy , 2016 2h 10min, is a mystery thriller from Kiyoshi Kurosawa about a former detective with an unusual neighbor looking into an old case of a missing family. IMDb rating 6.3/10.
Feb 24th Battle Of The Sexes , 2017 2h 1min, is a docudrama comedy about the 1973 Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs Tennis Match, starring Emma Stone & Steve Carell. IMDb rating 6.8/10.
Feb 17th Inherent Vice , 2014 2h 28min, is a crime/comedy in which a marijuana-soaked PI investigates his ex-girlfriend's disappearance in 1970's L.A., starring Joaquin Phoenix & Josh Brolin. IMDb rating 6.7/10. Based on the Thomas Pynchon novel.
Feb 10th God's Own Country , 2017 1hr 44min, is a British drama about how a discontented young Yorkshire farmer is changed by his sexual relationship with a Roumanian migrant worker. IMDb rating 7.8/10.
Since God's Own Country , unfortunately had no subtitles, we didn't watch it after all. Instead we watched Mudbound , 2017 2h 14m, about racism's effect on one white and one black family struggling on the same hard-scrabble Mississippi farm during and after WWII. Excellent, historical, but grim.
Feb 3rd A.I. Artificial Intelligence , 2001 2h 20min, is Spielberg's dark and complex tale about a robotic boy, designed to inspire love in his adoptive mother, who longs to become "real", starring Haley Joel Osment & Jude Law. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Jan 27th Kedi , 2016 1hr 19min, a Turkish documentary about Istanbul and its people as seen through the eyes of its stray cats. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Jan 20th The Lovers and the Despot , 2016 1hr 38min, is a documentary thriller about the kidnapping by Kim Jong Il of a S. Korean actress and her director ex-husband. Kim then forced them to work for N. Korea's film industry. IMDb rating NN/10.
Jan 13th The Women's Balcony , 2016 1hr 36min, is an Israeli comedy about the uproar in the Orthodox community when a new and even more conservative rabbi plans to rebuild after the balcony collapses. IMDb rating 6.9/10.
Jan 6th NO MOVIE

2017 Saturday Movies

Dec 30th NO MOVIE
Dec 23rd NO MOVIE
Dec 16th Heat , 1995 2hrs 50 min, a crime drama about the mastermind thief, the veteran cop, their women and the conflicts of their lives, starring Al Pacino & Robert De Niro. IMDb rating 8.2/10.
Dec 9th Wind River , 2017 1hr 47min, is about a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tracker and an FBI agent teaming up to solve the murder of an Indian teenager on a reservation, starring Elizabeth Olsen & Jeremy Renner. IMDb rating 7.8/10. The third in Sheridan's trilogy, after 'Sicario' & 'Hell or High Water'.
Dec 2nd The Good, the Bad and the Ugly , 1966 2hr 58min. Director Sergio Leone's masterpiece Spaghetti Western is about three bounty hunters in search of gold, starring Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, & Lee Van Cleef. IMDb rating 8.9/10.
Nov 25th Sicario , 2015 2h 1min, is a thriller directed by Villeneuve [Incendies] about an idealistic FBI agent finding official government agencies using shady methods and people in this bloody drug war along our border with Mexico, starring Emily Blunt. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Nov 18th Megan Leavey , 2017 1h 56min, based on true events about the bonding between a young marine corporal and her bomb-sniffing combat dog, their training and deployment in Iraq, starring Kate Mara. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Nov 11th Beguiled , 1971 1h 45min, is about an injured Union soldier taken in by a girls' boarding school in Louisiana, starring Clint Eastwood & Geraldine Page. IMDb rating 7.2/10. Recently remade by Sophia Coppola. Recent critics give this version better reviews, even though it flopped in 1971.
Nov 4th Personal Shopper , 2016 1h 45min, is about a personal shopper who is also a medium trying to contact her dead twin. IMDb rating 6.2/10.
Oct 28th Songs From the Second Floor , 2000 1h 38min, is Swedish dark comedy of short vignettes of people trying to communicate. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Oct 21st Inception , 2010 2hr 28min, is Christopher Nolan's Sci-Fi action film about a business scheme to implant ideas into men's dreams so they don't realize these ideas are not their own, starring Leonardo DiCaprio & Ellen Page. IMDb rating 8.8/10.
Oct 14th The Wedding Plan , 2016 1h 50min, is an Israeli romantic comedy about an Hasidic woman who, after her fiancé backs out just before their wedding, decides she's getting married anyway, somehow. IMDb rating 6.7/10.
Oct 7th NO MOVIE
Sept 30th Under the Shadow , 2016 1h 24min, is an Iranian horror flick about a mother and daughter struggling with the terrors of 1980's Tehran after the Iran-Iraq war, reminiscent of The Babadook. IMDb rating 7.0/10.
Sept 23rd Right Now, Wrong Then , 2015 2h 1 min, is a Korean film about choices vs fate in which a film director meets a young painter, twice. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Sept 16th Going Away , 2013 1h 35min, is a French film with a lot of going away, about a solitary teacher who meets his pupil's mother. But she's in debt, and he decides to help. IMDb rating 6.3/10.
Sept 9th Inspector Bellamy , 2009 1h 50min, is Claude Chabrol's last film, about a police inspector on vacation ..., starring Gérard Depardieu. IMDb rating 5.9/10.
Sept 2nd Crazy, Stupid, Love , 2011 1h 58 min, is a Rom-Com about Cal whose wife is leaving him. Forlorn, he meets a guy who gives him tips on how to seduce women , starring Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, & Emma Stone. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Aug 26th Belle , 2013 1h 40min, is about 'The mixed race daughter of a Royal Navy Admiral [who] is raised by her aristocratic great-uncle in 18th century England.' [IMDb], starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Matthew Goode, & Emily Watson. IMDb rating 7.4/10. Based on real people.
Aug 19th This Man Must Die [ Que la bête meure] , 1969 1h 50min, is a fairly early Claude Chabrol thriller about a father who seeks revenge for the death of his son in a hit-and-run accident, starring Michel Duchaussoy, Caroline Cellier, & Jean Yanne. IMDb rating 7.9/10.
Aug 12th The Day of the Jackal , 1973 2h 23min, based on the Forsyth book, is a thriller about the attempted assassination of De Gaulle by a professional killer, codenamed 'Jackal', starring Edward Fox, Terence Alexander, & Michel Auclair . IMDb rating 7.8/10.
Aug 5th My Own Private Idaho , 1991 1h 44min, is about two young gay hustlers, one narcoleptic, one from a wealthy family, starring River Phoenix & Keanu Reeves. IMDb rating 7.1/10. This is the award-winning performance everyone most remembers River Phoenix for. He OD'd at age 23 after 24 films including 'Stand by Me' & 'Running on Empty'.
Jul 29th NO MOVIE '
Jul 22th Their Finest , 2016 1h 57min, British comedy/romance about a young woman hired to work on propaganda films during the Blitz in 1940 , starring Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, & Bill Nighy. IMDb rating 6.9/10.
Jul 15th The Maid , 2009 1h 35min, Chilean drama about complications in the life of a long-serving live-in maid. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Jul 8th Were the World Mine , 2008 1h 35min, a musical-comedy/fantasy. 'A bullied and demoralized gay student at an all-boys school uses a magical flower derived from Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream' to turn many in his community gay, including a comely rugby player for himself.' [IMDb]. IMDb rating 7.0/10. A NYT Critic's pick.
Jul 1st Get Out , 2016 1h 44min, a horror flick about 'a young African American ... [who meets] his white girlfriend's parents for a weekend in their secluded estate in the woods, but before long, the friendly and polite ambience will give way to a nightmare' [IMDb], starring Daniel Kaluuya. IMDb rating 7.8/10. A NYT Critic's pick. First-rate thriller.
Jun 24th Things to Come [L'avenir] , 2016 1h 42min, French drama about a philosophy professor whose philosophy is tested by a series of personal crises, starring Isabelle Huppert. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Jun 17th Sightseers , 2012 1h 28min, is a black comedy thriller from Brit Ben Wheatley about 'a caravanning holiday that takes a decidedly bloody turn, as they dispose of several innocent victims.' [IMDb user review], starring Alice Lowe and Steve Oram. IMDb rating 6.5/10. Total BOMB. Don't bother..
Jun 10th Comedy of Power [L'ivresse du pouvoir ], 2007 1h 50min, a relatively recent Claude Chabrol thriller about a female judge investigating corruption in a powerful French corporation, starring Isabelle Huppert. IMDb rating 6.4/10.
Jun 3rd NO MOVIE
May 27th Dheepan , 2016 MIN, about a Tamil Tiger warrior who flees violence at home to France where he and his companions face daunting barriers in starting a new life. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
May 20th The Edge of Seventeen , 2016 1h 44min, smartly scripted teenage coming-of-age comedy about a typically miserable high-school girl whose best-friend starts dating her dim brother, starring Hailee Steinfeld. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
May 13th Nocturnal Animals , 2016 1h 56min, a Hollywood thriller about a wife experiencing her ex's novel as a symbolic revenge on her, starring Amy Adams & Jake Gyllenhaal. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
May 6th La Rupture , 1970 124 minutes, Chabrol thriller about an innocent wife, whose drug-addicted husband attacks her child. Then her father-in-law plots to get custody of the child. - Starring Stéphane Audran & Jean-Pierre Cassel. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
Apr 29th Go , 1999 1h 42 min, Doug Liman's crime comedy, often compared to Pulp Fiction, about 'events after a drug deal, told from three different points of view.' [IMDb] IMDb rating 7.3/10.
Apr 22th Arrival , 2016 1h 56min. Boring and dumb sci-fi. A linguist tries to communicate with the aliens whose spaceships encircle the globe with global political reactions, starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, & Forest Whitaker. IMDb rating 8.0/10. A NYT Critic's pick, but why?
Apr 15th Julieta , 2016 1h 39min, Almadóvar's take on three stories by Alice Munro about a woman reviewing her life's tragedies, especially her estrangement from her daughter. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Apr 8th The Handmaiden , 2016 2h 24min, director Park Chan-Wook’s erotic, violent thriller in which 'A woman is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, but secretly she is involved in a plot to defraud her.' [IMDb]. IMDb rating 8.1/10.
Apr 1st Doctor Strange , 2016 1h 55min, ​based on the Marvel Comic books ​about ​'​a brilliant neurosurgeon ​... drawn into the world of the mystic arts​' [IMDb]​, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, & Rachel McAdams. IMDb rating ​7.7/10.
Mar 25th Elle , 2016 2h 10min, director Paul Verhoeven's French thriller about a cat-and-mouse game between a rape victim and her rapist, starring Isabelle Huppert & Laurent Lafitte. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
Mar 18th The Dead Zone , 1983 1h 43min, from the Stephen King novel. Our hero awakens from a coma to discover he has psychic powers. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Mar 11th Queen of Katwe , 2016 2h 4min, Director Mira Nair's story of a Ugandan girl mastering chess, starring Madina Nalwanga & David Oyelowo. Based on true events. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
Mar 4th Ixcanul [Volcano] , 2015 1h 33min, about a Mayan teenager coming-of-age in the Guatemalan highlands causing problems for herself and her traditional family. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Feb 25th Viva Riva , 2010 1h 38min, is a thriller about an clever, ambitious Congolian who competes with Kinshasa's crime boss over gasoline and his mistress. IMDb rating 6.2/10.
Feb 18th Jason Bourne , 2016 2h 3min, he's back, and still confused. Matt Damon directed again by Paul Greengrass again. IMDb rating 6.7/10.
Feb 11th Trainwreck 2015 2h 5min, dir. Judd Apatow's comedy romance about a trash-talking promiscuous young woman who finds herself with a monogamous boyfriend. Scriptwriter & star: comedienne Amy Schumer. IMDb rating 6.3/10.
Feb 4th Snowden , 2016 2h 14min, Oliver Stone's thriller bio-pic about the NSA whistleblower, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Jan 28th Animal Kingdom , 2010 1h 53min, Aussie crime drama about a 17-year-old orphan trying to survive his criminal relatives and a detective trying to help. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
Jan 21st Hell or High Water , 2016 1h 42min, Western chase drama about unemployed Texas oil workers turning to crime to pay the mortgage during the recent recession, and the Ranger tracking them down, starring Ben Foster, Chris Pine, & Jeff Bridges. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Jan 14th Equity , 201​6​ 1h 40min, about the challenges women face on Wall St. - starring Anna Gunn. IMDb rating 5.6/10.
Jan 7th Manchurian Candidate 1962 126 minutes, classic noir about a Communist plot to send the brainwashed son of a prominent senator to assassinate a candidate for president. Still effective.

2016 Saturday Movies

Dec 31st NO MOVIE.
Dec 24th NO MOVIE.
Dec 17th Far from the Madding Crowd , 2015 119 minutes, British drama based on the Hardy book: 'In Victorian England, the independent and headstrong Bathsheba Everdene attracts three very different suitors: Gabriel Oak, a sheep farmer; Frank Troy, a reckless Sergeant; and William Boldwood, a prosperous and mature bachelor.' [IMDb] IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Dec 10th Bicycle Thieves , 1948 89 minutes, Vittorio De Sica's classic neorealist film about a poverty stricken Roman who must find his stolen bicycle. IMDb rating 8.3/10.
Dec 3rd The Celebration [Festen] , 1998 105 minutes, Danish drama about ​a dysfunctional family's birthday celebration. IMDb rating 8.1/10.
Nov 26th Morris From America , 2016 91 minutes, comedy romance about the 'romantic and coming-of-age misadventures of a 13-year-old American living in Germany.' [IMDb]. IMDb rating 6.1/10.
Nov 19th Swiss Army Man , 2016 97 minutes, comedy (many bathroom jokes) adventure about a despondent man shipwrecked on a desert island who befriends a dead body, starring Paul Dano & Daniel Radcliffe. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Nov 12th Requiem for the American Dream , 2015 73 minutes, Noam Chomsky documentary about how the American Constitution is deliberately designed to concentrate & power wealth. IMDb rating 8.2/10.
Nov 5th Mr. Nobody , 2009 141 minutes, Sci Fi film about 118 year old man reviewing his life's choices. IMDb rating 7.9/10.
Oct 29th A Bigger Splash , 2015 125 minutes, director Luca Guadagnino's lavishly sensual Italian thriller about ​a rock singer vacationing on a volcanic Sicilian island when a former lover and his "daughter" make an unwelcome visit. Starring Tilda Swinton & Ralph Fiennes. IMDb rating 6.4/10.
Oct 22nd Facing Windows , 2003 102 minutes, Italian romantic drama from by Turkish director Ferzan Ozpetek about a woman bored with her marriage who is attracted to a man seen in the facing window, whose husband brings home an old man, whose story gradually unfolds in flashbcks. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Oct 15th Barbershop: The Next Cut , 2016 111 minutes. A comedy sequel about a black community coping with Chicago's problems ​starring Ice Cube. IMDb rating 5.9/10. Compare with Spike Lee's Chi-Raq.
Oct 8th Gun Crazy , 1950 96 minutes, an earlier 'Bonnie & Clyde' story, originally entitled 'Deadly Is the Female'. IMDb rating 7.7/10. Since we just saw 'Trumbo' last week, I was curious to see an example of the stuff he turned out during his black-listed years.
Oct 1st Sing Street , 2016 106 minutes, an Irish comedy about a boy in the 1980s who escapes his strained family by starting a band. IMDb rating 8.1/10.
Sept 24th A Face in the Crowd , 1957 126 minutes, Elia Kazan directs a Budd Schulberg story about a drifter who becomes a Trump-like demagogue. IMDb rating 8.2/10.
Sept 17th The Innocents , 1961 100 minutes, ghost story based on Henry James's Turn of the Screw about ​a governess of two children in an old mansion, starring Deborah Kerr. IMDb rating 7.9/10.
Sept 10th The Witch , 2015 92 minutes, historical mystery about a ​1630s New England family facing witchcraft and possession. IMDb rating 6.7/10.
Sept 3rd For My Father , 2008 100 minutes, Israeli film about a suicide bomber whose mission is stalled. He meets a girl... IMDb rating 7.3/10.
Aug 27th A Special Day , 1977 106 minutes, Ettore Scola directs Sophia Loren & Marcello Mastroianni. Tired housewife meets melancholy reporter just fired for homosexuality during Hitler's visit to to Rome in 1938. IMDb rating 8.1/10.
Aug 20th NO MOVIE - Doyle Family Reunion.
Aug 13th Ace in the Hole , 1951 111 minutes, Billy Wilder's darkest noir film about a ruthless exploitative reporter, starring Kirk Douglas. IMDb rating 8.2/10. Recommended by Betsy's friend, Jill Abramson as a favorite movie about the newspaper world.
Aug 6th Hail, Caesar! , 2016 106 minutes, Coen Brother's latest comedy, an affectionate send-up of the 1950's Hollywood studio system, starring Josh Brolin & George Clooney. IMDb rating 6.4/10.
July 30th Labyrinth of Lies , 2014 124 minutes, German drama about a prosecutor who uncovers the post-WW II conspiracy of the German state and its major institutions to conceal Nazi crimes. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
July 23rd Eye in the Sky , 2015 102 minutes, war ​thriller about the crucial decisions by controllers of a drone attack trying to avoid, or minimize, civilian casualties - starring Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, & Alan Rickman. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
July 16th The Man Who Fell to Earth , 1976 139 minutes, Nicolas Roeg's cult sci-fi classic with David Bowie as the ambitious alien trying to earn enough money to buy a spaceship home. IMDb rating 6.8/10.
July 9th Training Day , 2001 122 minutes, a thriller about a rookie cop on his first 24-hour training day with a rogue detective, starring Denzel Washington & Ethan Hawke. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
July 2nd Ocean's Eleven , 2015 MIN minutes, Soderbergh's oh-so-cool heist film, with all-star cast acting their smoothest. IMDb rating 7.8/10.
June 25th Now You See Me 2013 116 minutes, comedy. Four magicians team up to use magic for public heists. IMDb rating 7.3 /10
June 18th Where to Invade Next , 2015 MIN minutes, is Michael Moore's latest documentary - he goes abroad in search of the lost American Dream. IMDb rating 7.6/10. It's a NYT Critics’ Pick.
June 11th Scarface , 1983 2h 50min, Dir. de Palma, Script by Oliver Stone - ​Cuban immigrant becomes drug lord and wreaks havoc, starring Al Pacino & Michelle Pfeiffer. IMDb rating 8.3/10.
June 4th Lucy , 2014 99 minutes, Sci-Fi thriller about "A woman, accidentally caught in a dark deal, turns the tables on her captors and transforms into a merciless warrior evolved beyond human logic.'[IMDb] Starring Scarlett Johansson & Morgan Freeman. IMDb rating 6.4/10. Recommended by Murray.
May 28th Cloudburst , 2011 93 minutes, old lesbians on the run pick up a hitchhiker on their way to Canada to get married, starring Olympia Dukakis. IMDb rating 7.3. Very raunchy, very funny. Excellent Dukakis.
May 28th Miss You Already , 2015 112 minutes, comedy about two lifelong best girlfriends whose friendship 'is put to the test when one starts a family and the other falls ill' [IMDb]. IMDb rating 6.7/10. Watched 1/3 & then decided to turn to something else. See above.
May 21st NO MOVIE
May 14th Remember , 2015 94 minutes, Adam Egoyan thriller about two very old Nazi hunters, starring Christopher Plummer & Martin Landau. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
May 7th The American Friend , 1977 125 minutes, Wim Wenders's version of Patricia Highsmith's 2nd thriller about Tom Ripley starring Dennis Hopper & Bruno Ganz. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Apr. 30th Phoenix , 2014 98 minutes, German thriller: a 'disfigured Holocaust survivor sets out to determine if the man she loved betrayed her trust' [IMDb]. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
Apr. 23rd Friends with Money , 2006 88 minutes, comedy-romance about ​Olivia, who has no money, and her friends, who are all rich, starring Jennifer Aniston, Frances McDormand, Joan Cusack, & Catherine Keener. IMDb rating 5.6/10.
Apr. 16th Mad Max: Fury Road , 2015 120 minutes, another road-adventure-sci-fi thriller about Mad Max, starring Charlize Theron & Tom Hardy. IMDb rating 8.1/10.
Apr. 9th Carol , 2015 118 minutes, a lesbian romance in the '50's when homosexuality was forbidden, even illegal. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
Apr. 2nd Suffragette , 2015 106 minutes, historical bio-drama about the struggle of British women for the right to vote. IMDb rating 6.9/10.
Mar. 26th Steve Jobs , 2015 122 minutes, a bio-pic which looks especially at the launch of 3 products which change our lives, with a script by Sorkin from the Isaacson book. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
Mar. 19th The Second Mother , 2015 112 minutes, Brazilian comedy about changing social relationships in a story about a housekeeper in harmony and in conflict with the family she serves. IMDb rating 8.0/10.
Mar. 12th Bridge of Spies , ​2015 142 minutes, a Spielberg thriller based on the U2 pilot Gary Powers's spy exchange, starring Tom Hanks. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Mar. 5th The Conformist , ​1970 111 minutes, the Bertolucci masterpiece about a weak-willed man under Fascism. IMDb rating 8.1/10.
Feb. 27th NO MOVIE
Feb. 20th The Martian , ​2015 146 minutes, a Sci-Fi Adventure with Matt Damon stranded on Mars. IMDb rating 8.1/10.
Feb. 13th The Diary of a Teenage Girl , ​2015 102 minutes. A teen artist living in 1970s San Francisco enters into an affair with her mother's boyfriend, starring Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgård, & Kristen Wiig. IMDb rating 7.0/10.
Feb. 6th Chi-Raq , ​2015 127 minutes, a Spike Lee polemical drama based on Aristophanes's Lysistrata about guns & gangs in Chicago, starring Teyonah Parris & Nick Cannon. IMDb rating 5.6/10.
Jan. 30th The New Girlfriend , ​2016 105 minutes, an Ozon serio-comic drama about woman whose deceased-best-friend's husband has a surprising wardrobe. IMDb rating 6.5/10.
Jan. 23rd Irrational Man , ​2015​ 95 minutes, is a Woody Allen mystery drama - 'A tormented philosophy professor finds a will to live when he commits an existential act.' [IMDb] IMDb rating 6.7/10.
Jan. 16th A Hard Day , ​2014 111 minutes, a Korean darkly comic thriller about a corrupt homicide detective speeding to his mother's funeral when he becomes entangled in a series of escalating predicaments. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Jan. 9th My Man Godfrey , ​1936 94 minutes, the classic screwball comedy starring William Powell as the butler. IMDb rating 8.1/10.
Jan. 2nd NO MOVIE

2015 Saturday Movies

Dec. 26th NO MOVIE
Dec. 19th Jack Strong , ​2014 128 minutes, a Polish Cold War thriller based on the true story of a spy passing Communist secrets to the Americans. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Dec. 12th Tangerine , ​2015 88 minutes, a wild comedy shot entirely on iPhones about a pair of transgendered 'girls' searching across Hollywood on Christmas Eve. IMDb rating 7.0/10.
Dec. 5th Arlington Road , ​1999 117 minutes, a Hollywood thriller about a grieving professor of terrorism who begins to suspect his neighbors, starring Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, & Joan Cusack. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Nov. 28th The End of the Tour , ​2015 106 minutes, a bio-pic about a Rolling Stone reporter with David Foster Wallace, starring Jason Segel & Jesse Eisenberg. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
Nov. 21st The Seagull's Laughter , 2001​​ 102 minutes, a noirish Icelandic comedy about the disruptions of female sexuality within the male-dominated order of an isolated fishing village. IMDb rating 6.9/10.
Nov. 14th Spy , 201​5​ 119 minutes, a hilarious send-up of the genre, starring Melissa McCarthy as a CIA agent. IMDb rating NN/10.
Nov. 7th Stranger Than Fiction , 2006​ 113 minutes, a comic fantasy about Harold who realizes his life is unfolding as a character in Kay's unfinished novel, starring Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, & Dustin Hoffman. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Oct. 31st Bound , 1996​ 108 minutes, a crime drama about a pair of women who concoct a scheme to rob the mob. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Oct. 24th Gemma Bovery , 201​4​ 99 minutes, a French comedy/romance about a Flaubert fan fascinated by a woman named Bovery, starring Fabrice Luchini & Gemma Arterton. IMDb rating 6.4/10.
Oct. 17th Following , 1998​ 69 minutes, Christopher Nolan's first film, a twisty thriller in black-and-white. He later made Memento, et al. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Oct. 10th The Decline of the American Empire , 1986 101 minutes, a French-Canadian comedy - mostly witty conversation, mostly about sex, among a group of intellectual friends. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
Oct. 3rd Results , 2015​ 105 minutes, a comedy - 'Two mismatched personal trainers' lives are upended by the actions of a new, wealthy client.' [IMDb] IMDb rating 5.6/10.
Sept. 26th Munyurangabo , 2007​ 97 minutes, a drama about a pair of young Rwandans, one Tutsi and one Hutu, 15 years after the massacres. IMDb rating 6.9/10.
Sept. 19th Love & Mercy Love & Mercy, 201​4​ 121 minutes, an unusually complex bio-pic about Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Sept. 12th Red Eye , 2005​ 85 minutes, a thriller about a woman kidnapped and then forced into her captors' plot, starring Rachel McAdams whom we just saw in About Time. IMDb rating 6.5/10.
Sept. 5th About Time , 2013​ 123 minutes, a fantasy romance about a man who can go back in time to change his mistakes, starring Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, & Bill Nighy . IMDb rating 7.8/10.
Aug. 29th Love Actually , 2003 135 minutes, 'Love is all around" in this star-studded British romantic comedy following 8 couples in all kinds of love. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Aug. 22nd Puppetmaster , 1993​ 142 minutes, a semi-fictional Taiwanese film about a puppeteer's life under the Japanese occupation. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Aug. 15th White God , 201​4​ 121 minutes, an amazing allegory from Hungary about a girl separated from her best friend, a dog, whose struggles to survive as a mistreated stray are vividly depicted. IMDb rating 7.0/10.
Aug. 8th Zazie Dans le Metro , 1960​ 93 minutes, an early Louis Malle satire about a clever, foul-mouthed, all-too-observant 10-year-old racing like Road Runner while on her first visit to Paris. IMDb rating 7.0/10. Screwball, over-the-top, sight-gag-filled romp through Paris. Not for all tastes.
Aug. 1st NO MOVIE
July 25th A Peck on the Cheek , 2002​ 123 minutes, a drama about a much-loved young adoptee who insists on searching for her birth mother among rebel Tamils in Sri Lanka. IMDb rating 8.5/10.
July 18th Ex Machina , 201​5 108 minutes, a sci-fi about robots, and what it means to be human, starring Alicia Vikander & Domhnall Gleeson. IMDb rating 7.8/10.
July 11th The Drop , 201​4​ 106 minutes, a crime drama, Gandolfini's last film, about "a robbery gone awry and entwined in an investigation that digs deep into the neighborhood's past where friends, families, and foes all work together to make a living - no matter the cost [IMDb], starring Tom Hardy & James Gandolfini. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
July 4th NO MOVIE
June 27th American Sniper , 201​4​ 133 minutes, a Clint Eastwood thriller about a legendary Navy SEAL sniper, starring Bradley Cooper. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
June 20th The Babadook The Babadook, 201​4​ ​93 minutes, a​ creepy Australian flick​ about ​single mother dealing with her young son's fear of a monster lurking in the dark. IMDb rating ​6.9/10. Don't bother, although the book is striking.
June 13th NO MOVIE.
June 6th NO MOVIE.
May 30th House of Cards, Season 3 Chapters ​7 & 8 , 2015 106 minutes, continues our viewing of the latest season with Frank in the Presidency, starring Kevin Spacey & Robin Wright. IMDb rating 9.1/10.
May 23rd House of Cards, Season 3 Chapters 5 & 6 , 2015 106 minutes, continues our viewing of the latest season with Frank in the Presidency, starring Kevin Spacey & Robin Wright. IMDb rating 9.1​/10.
May 16th House of Cards, Season3 Chapters 1&2, 2015 106 minutes, continues our viewing of the latest season with Frank in the Presidency, starring Kevin Spacey & Robin Wright. IMDb rating 9.1​/10.
May 9th House of Cards, Season 3 Chapters 1&2 , 2015 106 minutes, a Netflix Series about a beltway power couple whose scramble for power has landed Frank in the Presidency, starring Kevin Spacey & Robin Wright. IMDb rating 9.1​/10.
May 2nd A Most Violent Year , 2014 125 minutes, a crime drama about an immigrant fighting to save his business in the violent NYC of the 1980s, starring Oscar Isaac & Jessica Chastain. IMDb rating 7.1​/10.
Apr. 25th Beyond the Lights , 2013 116 minutes, a surprisingly effective romance which starts when a troubled singer meets a young cop, starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Nate Parker, & Minnie Driver. IMDb rating 6.8​/10.
Apr. 18th Interstellar , 2014 169 minutes, is a Sci-Fi Imax adventure flick about traveling through a wormhole to save Mankind after we have devastated our planet, starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, & Jessica Chastain. IMDb rating 8.7​/10.
Apr. 11th The Intruder , 2004 130 minutes, is a Claire Denis poetic enigma about a transforming heart transplant. IMDb rating 6.9​/10.
Apr. 4th Predestination , 2014 97 minutes, another twisty Sci-Fi time travel trip, based on a classic Heinlein story, starring Ethan Hawke & Sarah Snook. IMDb rating 7.4​/10.
Mar. 28th King of the Hill , ​199​3 ​103 minutes, a ​Soderbergh drama about ​a young boy's struggles and survival during the Depression. IMDb rating ​7.5/10.
Mar. 21st 1,000 Times Good Night , 2013 117 minutes, a French drama about a war photographer torn between her career and her family, starring Juliette Binoche & Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. IMDb rating 7.2​/10. No subtitles. I couldn't hear.
Mar. 14th NO MOVIE
Mar. 7th Collateral , 2004 120 minutes, a crime thriller set in L.A. with Tom Cruise as the bad guy and Jamie Foxx as the hero. IMDb rating 7.6​/10.
Feb. 28th Gone Girl , 2014 149 minutes, a Hollywood thriller based on the best seller about a husband under suspicion when his wife disappears, starring Ben Affleck & Rosamund Pike. IMDb rating 8.2​/10.
Feb. 21st Dear White People , 2014 108 minutes, a satire about race issues for four bright black students at an Ivy league college [a Harvard stand-in]. IMDb rating 6.3​/10.
Feb. 14th Into the Storm , 2009 99 minutes, a drama continuing our Brendan Gleeson series about Churchill leading Britain during WWII. IMDb rating 7.1​/10.
Feb. 7th NO MOVIE BLIZZARD & BAD COLDS.
Jan. 31th The Green Prince , 2014 101 minutes, a documentary about the growing trust between a Palestinian spy and his Shin Bet handler, and the consequences. IMDb rating 6.9​/10.
Jan. 24th The Guard , 2011 96 minutes, the previous film by the director John Michael McDonagh of last week's wonderful Calvary, a comic thriller about an American FBI guy, Don Cheadle, an Irich cop, Brendan Gleeson, after an international drug ring. IMDb rating 7.3​/10. For comparison, since Calvary is so fresh in our minds.
Jan. 17th Calvary , 2014 102 minutes, a drama about an Irish priest facing a murder threat in today's atmosphere of doubts and fury at the Catholic church, starring Brendan Gleeson. IMDb rating 7.5​/10.
Jan. 10th Le Boucher , 1973 93 minutes, a Chabrol thriller about a schoolteacher, a dour Butcher, and a serial killer. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
Jan. 3rd NO MOVIE

2014 Saturday Movies

Dec. 27th Half of a Yellow Sun , 2013 111 minutes, a romantic drama about privileged Nigerian twin sisters during violence of the Biafran civil war in 1960's Nigeria. Based on the novel, it combines history with romance, starring Thandie Newton & Chiwetel Ejiofor. IMDb rating 5.4​/10. No subtitles.
Dec. 20th Joyeux Noël , 2005 116 minutes, a French drama about one Christmas Eve during the First World War. IMDb rating 7.8​/10.
Dec. 13th Page One: Inside the New York Times , 2011 92 minutes, a documentary about The Times's struggle for survival with the emergence on the internet as an alternative news source. IMDb rating 6.9​/10.
Dec. 6th Never Let Me Go , 2010 103 minutes, a sci-fi romantic drama based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro about three children coming of age in a mysterious boarding school, starring Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield. IMDb rating 7.2​/10.
Nov. 29th Les poupées russes [Russian Dolls] , 2005 125 minutes, the 2nd of Klapisch's comic trilogy about Xavier & friends, 5 years after their time in Barcelona. IMDb rating 7.1​/10.
Nov. 22th L'Auberge Espagnole , 2002 122 minutes, an earlier Klapisch comedy about the same characters as last week's 'Chinese Puzzle', but when they were in their early twenties. Also known as Euro-Pudding since the students at L'auberge are all from different European countries. IMDb rating 7.3​/10.
Nov. 15th Chinese Puzzle , 2013 117 minutes, French romantic comedy - a 40-ish Frenchman pursues his dreams in NYC, last of a trilogy. IMDb rating 7.1​/10. Klapisch's first: L'Auberge Espagnole (2003) and second: Les poupées russes [Russian Dolls] (2005).
Nov. 8th Edge of Tomorrow , 2014 113 minutes, a sci-fi thriller from director Doug Liman about soldier fighting aliens who repeatedly dies, only to find himself alive again fighting the same battle again & again & again, starring Tom Cruise & Emily Blunt, no longer a teen-ager. IMDb rating 8.0​/10.
Nov. 1st Snowpiercer , 2013 126 minutes, a dystopian Sci-Fi flick about a post-global-warming dead earth, except for one train where all survivors struggle for dominance. IMDb rating 7.0​/10.
Oct. 25th Venus in Fur , 2013 96 minutes, another Polanski film adapted from a play (based on a book by the original S & M author, Sacher-Masoch) about an auditioning actress trying to convince the playwright that she's perfect for the part, starring Emmanuelle Seigner (Polanski's wife). IMDb rating 7.2​/10.
Oct. 18th A Touch of Sin , 2013 132 minutes, a Chinese drama - Four stories of random violence in modern China. IMDb rating 7.2​/10.
Oct. 11th Iron Jawed Angels , 2004 123 minutes, an historical drama about American suffragettes suffering, starring Hilary Swank. IMDb rating 7.6​/10.
Oct. 4th The Bride Wore Black , 1968 107 minutes, a Trouffaut's tribute to Hitchcock, starring a vengeful young Jeanne Moreau. IMDb rating 7.3​/10.
Sept. 27th The Aura , 2005 134 minutes, a Argentine noir thriller about a lonely taxidermist who plots the perfect crime, from Fabián Bielinsky who also directed Nine Queens which we liked . IMDb rating 7.4​/10.
Sept. 20th Starlet , 2012 103 minutes, a drama in which an "unlikely friendship forms between 21 year-old Jane and the elderly Sadie after Jane discovers a hidden stash of money inside an object at Sadie's yard sale" [IMDb}. IMDb rating 6.7​/10.
Sept. 13th Bethlehem , 2013 99 minutes, a Israeli thriller about an Israeli secret-service officer and his Palestinian informant. IMDb rating 7.3​/10.
Sept. 6th Strange Days , 1995 145 minutes, a Sci-fi thriller about gang-ridden LA in which the latest & greatest drug allows you to experience pieces other people's lives - starring Ralph Fiennes & Angela Bassett. IMDb rating 7.2​/10.
Aug. 30th NONE
Aug. 23rd The Trouble with the Truth , 2011 96 minutes, a talky, mature romance about changing relationships during a dinner conversation. IMDb rating only 5.5​/10. But the few critics who've seen it made it sound interesting to me.
Aug. 16th Carnage , 2011 80 minutes, Polanski's dark comedy about two couples 'discussing' a fight between their sons. IMDb rating 7.2​/10.
Aug. 9th Le Week-End , 2013 93 minutes, a comedy about a British coule an a trip to Paris to spark their struggling marriage, starring Jim Broadbent, Lindsay Duncan, & Jeff Goldblum. IMDb rating 6.4​/10.
Aug. 2nd American Violet , 2008 103 minutes, a docudrama about a single mother wrongly accused of drug dealing in Texas, starring Nicole Beharie, Will Patton, & Alfre Woodard. IMDb rating 7.0​/10.
July 26th The Grand Budapest Hotel , 2014 100 minutes, is a Wes Anderson [Moonrise Kingdom] comedy about the concierge of a legendary hotel in the '30's starring Ralph Fiennes & F. Murray Abraham. IMDb rating 8.2 ​/10.
July 19th Slacker , 1991 97 minutes, is a flick about "a day in the life in Austin, Texas among its social outcasts and misfits, predominantly the twenty-something set" [IMDb], director Richard Linklater's [Before Sunrise, etc. & now Boyhood] 2nd film. IMDb rating 7.1​/10.
July 12th Enemy , 2013 90 minutes, is a mystery/thriller based on the novel by José Saramago about a man who has a double - starring Jake Gyllenhaal. IMDb rating 6.8 ​/10.
July 5th Get Carter , 1971 112 minutes, is a Classic British noir crime thriller starring Michael Caine. IMDb rating 7.6 ​/10.
June 28th Le Refuge [Hideaway] , 2009 ​88 minutes, is a François Ozon flick about ​a pregnant woman who takes refuge in a friend's deserted chateau on the French coast after her lover's OD, starring Isabelle Carré. IMDb rating 6.4​/10.
June 21st NO MOVIE. Carter's High School Graduation Party.
June 14th Omar , 2013 ​96 minutes, is a thriller about a Palestinian militant tricked into becoming an Israeli informer. IMDb rating 7.7​/10.
June 7th Easy Money , 2010 ​124 minutes, is a gangster thriller about a Swedish business school student getting in deep. IMDb rating 6.4​/10.
May 31st Heavenly Creatures , 1994 ​99 minutes, is a crime drama based on true events - two emotionally unstable teenaged girls form a friendship based on sharing an imagined world, starring Kate Winslet in her first role & Melanie Lynskey. IMDb rating 7.5​/10.
May 24th Primer , 2004 ​77 minutes, is a very low-budget sci-fi flick about ​some guys who construct a time machine and get scrambled up in time-travel contradictions. IMDb rating 7.0​/10.
May 17th Intimate Strangers , 2004 ​104 minutes, is a French romantic thriller about ​a woman who mistakes a tax accountant for a psychiatrist - starring Sandrine Bonnaire & Fabrice Luchini. IMDb rating 7.0​/10.
May 10th Gravity , 2013 ​91 minutes, is a sci-fi thriller about ​two astronauts trying to survive a catastrophe in orbit, starring Sandra Bullock & George Clooney. IMDb rating 8.1​/10.
May 3rd The Past , 2013 ​130 minutes, is an Iranian family drama of complex relationships full of 'truths, lies, blame, guilt, actions and consequences' [Louise Keller], following the same family as in 'The Separation' . IMDb rating 8.0​/10.
Apr. 26th All is Lost , 2013 106 minutes, is a action film about a fight for survival aboard a sinking yacht in the Indian Ocean, starring Robert Redford, all alone. IMDb rating 6.9/10.
Apr. 19th At Middleton , 2013 ​99 minutes, is a romantic comedy about two ​parents taking their children to a college tour. IMDb rating 6.6​/10.
Apr. 12th August: Osage County , 2013 121 minutes, is an acidic comedy of three strong-willed women in a dysfunctional family facing a crisis, starring Meryl Streep, Dermot Mulroney, Chris Cooper, & Julia Roberts. Another monster-mother story, as in last Saturday's White Oleanders. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Apr. 5th White Oleander , 2002 109 minutes, is a Hollywood drama about a teenager in successive foster homes after her mother goes to prison, starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Alison Lohman, & Renée Zellweger. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Mar. 29th The Hunter , 2011 100 minutes, is Australian thriller about a hunt for the last Tasmanian tiger, starring Willem Dafoe. IMDb rating 6.8/10.
Mar. 22th In Her Shoes , 2005 130 minutes, is a romantic comedy about sibling rivalry between two sisters - starring Toni Collette, Cameron Diaz, & Shirley MacLaine. IMDb rating 6.5/10.
Mar. 15th Mother of George , 2013 107 minutes, is a drama about a Nigerian wife in Brooklyn whose husband & family demand that she produce a son. IMDb rating 6.3/10.
Mar. 8th Captain Phillips , 2013 134 minutes, is an adventure film about Somalian pirates starring Tom Hanks. IMDb rating 8/10.
Mar. 1st Nebraska , 2013 115 minutes, is a darkly comic road movie about a deluded geezer and his son on a trip across a metaphorical real America, starring Bruce Dern . IMDb rating 7.9/10.
Feb. 22th The Angels' Share , 2012 101 minutes, is a Ken Roach comedy about some budding young criminals whose lives are turned around by malt whiskey. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Feb. 15th The Hunger Games , 2012 143 minutes, is a Sci-fi thriller based on the best-selling novel, starring Jennifer Lawrence & Josh Hutcherson. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Feb. 8th Home , 2008 98 minutes, is a Swiss parable of modern life about an odd family enjoying their home in a remote spot until work begins on a highway right at their door - starring Isabelle Huppert & Olivier Gourmet. IMDb rating 6.9/10.
Feb. 1st Racing with the Moon , 1984 108 minutes, is a comedy romance recommended by Murray about teens waiting for their induction into the Marines and their girlfriends - starring a very young Sean Penn, Elizabeth McGovern, & Nicolas Cage. IMDb rating 6.8/10.
Jan. 25th Oscar and Lucinda , 1997 132 minutes, is an Australian romance involving gambling, religion, & glassworks - starring Ralph Fiennes & Cate Blanchett. IMDb rating 6.7/10.
Jan. 18th Career Girls , 1997 87 minutes, is a Mike Leigh flick about two old college buddies reminiscing and renewing their friendship. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Jan.11th Punch-Drunk Love , 2002 95 minutes, is a romantic comedy starring Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, & Philip Seymour Hoffman. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
Jan. 4th NO MOVIE

2013 Saturday Movies

Dec. 28th American History X , 1998 119 minutes, is a drama starring Ed Norton as an ex-skinhead trying to save his brother from becoming one. IMDb rating 8.6/10.
Dec. 21st NO MOVIE
Dec. 14th 5X2 , 2005 90 minutes, is another Ozon film, this one about a failing marriage, but told backwards in time. IMDb rating 6.7/10.
Dec. 7th Sleepers , 1996 147 minutes, is a crime thriller starring Robert De Niro, Kevin Bacon, Brad Pitt. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Nov. 30th Fitzgerald Family Christmas , 2012 99 minutes, is director Edward Burns' portrait of an large Irish-American family in turmoil over the projected return of their father at Christmas. IMDb rating 6.2/10.
Nov. 23rd Hannah Arendt , 2012 113 minutes, is a mostly about the controversy over Arendt's take on the Eichmann trial, starring Barbara Sukowa. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Nov. 16th La Ceremonie , 1995 112 minutes, is a French thriller from Claude Chabrol 'based on ''A Judgment in Stone,'' a book by the crime writer Ruth Rendell, whose view of human nature is every bit as big-hearted as Alfred Hitchcock's, and almost as fascinatingly macabre'. [Janet Maslin] IMDb rating 7.5/10.
Nov. 9th Wagner & Me Wagner & Me, 2010 89 minutes - as a Jew Stephen Fry struggles with his passionate responses to the anti-Semitic Wagner's music. IMDb rating 6.8/10.
Nov. 2nd Memories of Murder , 2003 132 minutes, is a Korean mystery. IMDb rating 8.1/10.
Oct. 26th Lantana , 2001 121 minutes, is an Aussie mystery/drama involving the tangled lives of four couples. "Paradoxes of modern marriage… dependence on secrecy and deceit" [NYT Review]. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Oct. 19th A Hijacking , 2012, 103 minutes, is a Danish thriller about a cargo ship's encounter with Somalian pirates. IMDb rating 7.2/10..
Oct. 12th In the House , 2012 105 minutes, is a French thriller/comedy from François Ozon. I am a big fan of his films, so I wanted to see this. IMDb rating 7.3/10. Recommended.
Oct. 5th Friday Night Lights , 2004 118 minutes, is a sports drama starring Billy Bob Thornton. IMDb rating 7.1/10. It inspired a long-running TV Series.
Sept.28th The Place Beyond the Pines , 2012 140 minutes, is a crime drama recommended by Joe, from director Derek Cianfrance (of Blue Valentine fame) starring Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Sept. 21th Mud , 2012 130 minutes, - 'Two young boys encounter a fugitive and form a pact to help him evade the bounty hunters on his trail and to reunite him with his true love.' [IMDb]. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Sept. 14th Trance , 2013 101 minutes, is a heist thriller directed by Danny Boyle. IMDb rating 7.0/10.
Sept. 7th The Great Gatsby , 2013 143 minutes, is Baz Luhrman's 3-D romantic extravaganza starring DiCaprio. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
Aug. 31st Proof , 1991 96 minutes, is a Australian dark comedy about a blind photographer struggling to distinguish lies from truth. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Aug. 24th What Maisie Knew , 2012 99 minutes, is based on the Henry James story about a child's view of her parents' divorce. It stars 6-year-old Onata Aprile and Julianne Moore. IMdB rating 7.4/10. Heartbreaking, touching.
Aug. 17th Kicking and Screaming , 1995 96 minutes, is a comedy/romance written and directed by Noah Baumbach about a bunch of recent college graduates who talk wittily and postpone 'real life'. IMdB rating 6.9/10. Quite amusing.
Aug. 10th The Science of Sleep , 2006 105 minutes, is a comedy/fantasy from director Michel Gondry whose also made The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. IMdB rating 7.2/10.
Aug. 3rd 3-Iron , 2004 88 minutes, is a highly-rated Korean crime/romance from the director Ki-duk Kim, recommended by my son Derek. IMdB rating 8.0/10.
July 27th The Company Men , 2010 104 minutes, is a dark indie drama about middle-class guys struggling with downsizing in the current recession, starring Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones. IMdB rating 6.8/10.
July 20th Stoker , 2013 99 minutes, is a thriller from the Korean director, Park Chan-wook, whose “Oldboy,” is greatly admired 'for its blend of visual elegance, melodrama and extreme violence'. [NYT] IMdB rating 7.0/10.
July 13th The Gatekeepers , 2012 101 minutes, is an Israeli documentary interviewing six retired Shin Bet agents. IMdB rating 7.3/10.
July 6th Cloud Atlas 2012 172 minutes, is a sci-fi fantasy drama based on the best seller of the same name showing "how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future" [IMDb], starring Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, & Jim Broadbent. IMdB rating 7.7/10.
June 29th The President's Last Bang 2005 102 minutes, is a S. Korean crime comedy about the life and death of the military dictator Park Chung-hee, father of the current President of S. Korea. IMdB rating 7.0/10. Skip it: read wikipedia on Park instead.
June 22nd Side Effects , 2013 106 minutes, is a Soderbergh medical-Rx-gone-bad thriller starring Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum, & Jude Law, recommended by Sam, who said he'd like to see it a second time. IMdB rating 7.2/10.
June 15th Chloe , 2009 96 minutes, an Atom Egoyan film about a woman who thinks her husband may be cheating on her, so she hires an escort to seduce him... . IMdB rating 6.3/10. We tried to watch "Lore" but stopped after 15 minutes.
June 8th End of Watch , 2012 109 minutes, a police procedural about LA cops starring Jake Gyllenhaal & Michael Peña. IMdB rating 7.6/10.
June 1st Tchoupitoulas , 2012 80 minutes, is a documentary: Three brothers explore night-time New Orleans. IMdB rating 6.4/10. Don't bother.
May 25th Life of Pi , in 3-D. 2012 127 minutes, is Ang Lee's dazzling transformation of the best-selling book to the screen starring Irrfan Khan and Suraj Sharma. IMdB rating 8.1/10.
May 18th Hitchcock , 2012 137 minutes, is an imagined version of Hitchcock's struggles with his wife and the making of Psycho, based on the book by Stephen Rebello, starring Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, & Scarlett Johansson. IMdB rating 6.9/10.
May 11th Rust and Bone , 2012 120 minutes, is a French romance about boxing and disability starring Marion Cotillard & Matthias Schoenaerts. IMdB rating 7.5/10.
May 4th Silver Linings Playbook , 2012 122 minutes, is a comedy romance based on the novel by Matthew Quick starring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, & Robert De Niro, about an ex mental patient trying to get his life back together. IMdB rating 7.9/10.
Apr. 27th Django Unchained , 2012 165 minutes (long but juicy), is a Tarantino alternative history thriller starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, & Leonardo DiCaprio. IMdB rating 8.6/10.
Apr. 20th Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close , 2011 129 minutes, is a drama about a boy who searches NYC for clues to a secret left by his father who died on 9/11. IMdB rating 6.8/10. We recommend it.
Apr. 13th Zero Dark Thirty , 2012 157 minutes, is a thriller about the CIA's ten-year hunt for Osama bin Laden, starring Jessica Chastain. IMdB rating 7.5/10.
Apr. 6th Mysterious Skin , 2012 105 minutes, is a drama in which a teenage hustler and a young man obsessed with alien abductions cross paths, together discovering a horrible, liberating truth.' [IMDb] - starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt whom we saw recently in Looper and Inception, and who appears also in Monday's Lincoln. IMdB rating 7.7/10
Mar. 30th Argo , 2012 120 minutes, is director Ben Affleck's thriller about a top secret CIA-Canadian operation to extract six fugitive Americans from our embassy during the Iran hostage crisis of 1979-80. Also funny... IMdB rating 7.9/10.
Mar. 23rd Skyfall , 2012 143 minutes, is the latest James Bond thriller starring Daniel Craig & Javier Bardem. IMdB rating 7.8/10.
Mar. 16th The Intouchables , 2011 112 minutes, is a comedy, wildly successful in France, about a millionaire quadriplegic and his poor African immigrant caretaker. IMdB rating 8.6/10.
Mar. 9th The Opposite of Sex , 1998 105 minutes, is an inventive, unpredictable comedy starring Christina Ricci as a scheming, trash-talking teenager from Arkansas who wisecracks about the movie as it progresses. IMdB rating 6.4/10.
Mar. 2nd 50/50 2011 100 minutes, is a comedy about a young man's struggle to beat cancer, written by Will Reiser based on his own experience. IMdB rating 7.8/10.
Feb. 23 Cosmopolis 2012 109 minutes, is a David Cronenberg flick based on the DeLillo novel, starring Robert Pattinson and Juliette Binoche. A young Manhattan master-of-the-universe spends 24 hours in his stretch limo having a variety of business and personal encounters on his way to a hair-cut. Recommended by Joe, who's a big DeLillo fan. IMdB rating 5.2/10.
Feb. 16th Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol 2011 113 minutes, is a Hollywood action flick (also funny) starring Tom Cruise. IMdB rating 7.4/10.
Feb. 9th Looper 2012 119 minutes, is a tricky sci-fi starring Bruce Willis. IMdB rating 7.7/10.
Feb. 2nd Boy Wonder 2010 93 minutes, is a revenge flick about an abused boy. IMdB rating 6.8/10. We didn't watch it because there were no subtitles. Instead we streamed Netflix's House of Cards, the first two episodes. Excellent remake of great Brit series.
Jan. 26th The Man from Elysian Fields 2001 106 minutes, is a comic and romantic character study starring Andy Garcia and Mick Jagger! IMdB rating 6.6/10. Recommended.
Jan. 19th Arbitrage 2012 107 minutes, is a Hollywood thriller about a hedge fund manager with problems, starring Richard Gere. IMdB rating 6.7/10. Quite good.
Jan. 5th Savages 2012 131 minutes, an Oliver Stone crime thriller with pot growers facing off against a Mexican drug cartel. IMdB rating 6.6/10.

2012 Saturday Movies
Dec.29th Notes on a Scandal 2006 92 minutes, - a British thriller starring Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench. IMdB rating 7.5/10. Quite Good.
Dec. 22nd Gladiator 2000 - a multi-award winning Hollywood spectacular historical epic starring Russell Crowe in Ridley Scott's resurrection of Ancient Rome. IMdB rating 8.5/10. Just another epic.
Dec. 15th The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada 2005 121 minutes - a Western crime drama directed by and starring Tommy Lee Jones. IMdB rating 7.5/10.
Dec. 8th Waitress 2007 - a comedy starring Keri Russell. IMdB rating 7.1/10.
Dec. 1st The Fighter 2010 116 minutes, is based on a true story of a boxer starring Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale. IMdB rating 7.9/10.
Nov. 24th United 93 2006, a riveting docudrama recreating (almost) real-time events on the hi-jacked plane. IMdB rating 7.7/10.
Nov. 17th Changing Lanes 2002, a thoughtful thriller starring Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Affleck. IMdB rating 6.4/10.
Nov. 10th The Limey 1999, Soderbergh vengeful Englishman goes to L.A. IMdB rating 7.1/10.
Nov. 3rd Waking Ned Devine 1998, a British screwball comedy about friendship and community in an Irish village. IMdB rating 7.1/10.
Oct. 27th C.R.A.Z.Y. 2005, a French-Canadian gay coming-of-age film which paints an indelible portrait of an entire family. IMdB rating 7.9/10.
Oct. 20th Death at a Funeral 2007 90 minutes, a screwball black comedy starring Matthew MacFaydyen.
Oct. 13th Citizen Ruth 1996 106 minutes, an issue-centered comedy starring Laura Dern: the debate over abortion. Not really a comedy, though it had funny parts.
Oct. 6th Gumshoe 1971 88 minutes, a British crime comedy starring Albert Finney, and directed by Stephen Frears.
Sept. 29th Bernie 2011 104 minutes, a 'comedy of generosity, money lust, and skewed perception is based on a true story' [to quote David Denby] starring Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine and Matthew McConaughey.
Sept. 22nd Headhunters 2011 100 minutes, a twisty Norwegian thriller. Good fun.
Sept. 15th Moneyball 2011 133 minutes, a sports drama starring Brad Pitt.
Sept. 8th The Tao of Steve 2000 87 minutes, an Indie romantic comedy with a scrappy, witty script.
Sept. 1st Get Low 2009 100 minutes, a 'comedy about loneliness, guilt, redemption, forgiveness, love, and human mortality' starring 'cantankerous Robert Duvall, the hilarious Bill Murray and elegant Sissy Spacek'. [quotes from an IMDB review]
Aug. 25th Shotgun Stories 2007 92 minutes.
Aug. 18th Le Havre 2011 93 minutes, a Finnish comedy in French and in France.
Aug. 11th Show Me Love 1998 89 minutes, a Swedish teenage comedy-romance.
Aug. 4th Panic 2000 88 minutes, a comedy/thriller film starring William Macy, Donald Sutherland, and Tracy Ullman. No subtitles, but CC.
July 28th Billy Elliot 2000 110 minutes, an English comedy starring Jamie Bell, boy dancer. But 'director Stephen Daldrey has enough sense not to let the dance get in the way of his story' which takes place in a gritty coal-mining town.
July 21st Young Adult 2011 93 minutes, a dark comedy starring Charlize Theron.
July 14th The Lincoln Lawyer 2011 119 minutes, a Hollywood thriller starring Matthew McConaughey. Recommended.
July 7th The Window [La Ventana] 2008 85 minutes, an Argentine 'Déclassé Fairytale with emphasis on that golden prewar era' directed by Carlos Sorin. Definitely not our usual fare for Saturday, but...
June 30 The Grey 2011 117 minutes, a thriller starring Liam Neeson. Skip it.
June 23rd Men in Black 1997 98 minutes, a sci-fi action comedy, recommended by Joe.
June 16th Let the Right One In 2008 115 minutes, a Swedish vampire film about two lonely youngsters.
June 9th Certified Copy 2010 106 minutes, a French romantic comedy starring Juliette Binoche and William Shamell.
June 2nd The Disappearance of Alice Creed 2009 100 minutes, a twisty British psychological thriller. With English subtitles!
May 26th Felicia's Journey 1999 116 minutes, an Atom Egoyan thriller starring Bob Hoskins and Elaine Cassidy.
May 19th Love Crime [Crime D'amour] 2010 106 minutes, a riveting French thriller about relationships as a lever to power and influence.
May 12th The Help 2011 146 minutes, a film starring Emma Stone and Viola Davis about black maids and their mistresses in 1960's Jackson, Mississippi on the eve of the civil rights movement. Based on the popular book.
May 5th Sunshine Cleaning 2008 91 minutes, a quirky black comedy starring Amy Adams and Emily Blunt. Joan Krizack, my son's mother-in-law, said, 'You've got to see this.' (She's Grey's other grandmother).
Apr. 28th Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy 2011 127 minutes, the British thriller starring Gary Oldman as Le Carré's Smiley with an all-star supporting cast.
Apr. 14th The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 2011 158 minutes, the Hollywood remake of the Swedish thriller. Starring Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig.
Apr. 7th A Dangerous Method 2011 99 minutes: the evolution of the rift between Freud and Jung as they analyze each other and their patient, Keira Knightley.
Mar. 31 Jackie Brown 1997 154 minutes (i.e. long), a Tarantino crime/action comedy.
Mar. 24th The Debt 2010 113 minutes, a remake of the Nazi-hunting Israeli film Ha-Hov starring Helen Mirren and Jessica Chastain (as her younger self).
Mar. 17th Take Shelter 2011 120 minutes, "a dark, symbolic mapping of the last five years of the middle-class American experience".
Mar. 10th The Skin I Live In 2011 117 minutes, Almodóvar's latest, a 'philosophically complex mystery and horror film'.
Mar. 3rd Project Nim 2011 93 minutes, a tragic documentary starring Nim Chimpsky, the chimpanzee. Sad and unforgettable.
Feb. 25th The Clearing 2004 95 minutes, a character-driven crime drama film starring Robert Redford, Willem Dafoe, and Helen Mirren. What a cast! I found it intriguing that the women reviewers liked it much better than the men.
Feb. 18th Contagion 2011 106 minutes, a Soderbergh film starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishburne, Matt Damon, Elliot Gould...
Feb. 11th Take Out 2004 87 minutes, an suspenseful Indie drama shot on a shoestring in NYC.
Feb. 4th The Guard 2011 96 minutes, an 'an Irish "French Connection" by way of "The Long Goodbye".'
Jan. 27th The Ides of March 2011 111 minutes, a political thriller starring George Clooney who also worked on the screenplay. Recommended.
Jan. 21st Win Win 2011 103 minutes, a quirky indie sports comedy starring Paul Giamatti.
Jan.14th Margin Call 2011 107 minutes, a thriller film starring Kevin Spacey and Jeremy Irons about the beginning of the financial panic.
Jan. 7th No Movie. Thomis family get-together.

2011 Saturday Movies
Dec. 31st No Saturday Night Movie New Year's Eve.
Dec. 24th No Saturday Night Movie Christmas Eve.
Dec. 17th Disgrace 2008 119 minutes, a South African film starring John Malkovich.
Dec. 10th Joe Versus the Volcano 1990 102 minutes, a comedy/romance/fantasy from J.P. Shanley who received an Oscar for writing Moonstruck, and starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. No comparison.
Dec. 3rd Super 8 2011 112 minutes, is another Sci Fi thriller, this one produced by Spielberg dir. J.J. Abrams, but perhaps more of a coming-of-age drama than thriller. Bob particularly waneds to see this because of his lifelong interest in Super 8, including founding the company Super 8 Sound based on his inventions (with Jay Kirsch & my brother Wendl), and it's relation to Spielberg's early efforts.
Nov. 26th District 9 2009 112 minutes, a 'fresh and entertaining' Sci Fi thriller.
Nov. 19th A Perfect World 1993 138 minutes, a Clint Eastwood thriller. About a boy and a criminal. Recommended.
Nov. 12th Where the Truth Lies 2005 108 minutes, Atom Egoyan's period (1950's) crime drama with Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth.
Nov. 5th Bridesmaids 2011 125 minutes, finally a comedy. Writer/actress Kristen Wiig and co-writer Annie Mumolo 'with their sharply observed, sharply satirical screenplay, turn the chick flick into comedy for all'.
Oct. 29th The Edge 1997 117 minutes, starring Anthony Hopkins and Alex Baldwin, script by David Mamet, is recommended by my brother Wendl.
Oct. 22nd Cell 211 2009 110 minutes, is Spain's answer to French prison epic A Prophet.
Oct. 15th The Year of the Quiet Sun , a Polish WWII romance/drama.
Oct. 8th Melvin Goes to Dinner 2003 83 minutes, cerebral comedy.
Oct. 1st In the Shadow of the Moon 2007 100 minutes, a NASA documentary on the Apollo 11.
Sept. 24th Incendies 2010 130 minutes. Canadian twins Jeanne and Simon Marwan (Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin and Maxim Gaudette) travel to Lebanon in search of their father and their brother.
Sept. 17th Police, Adjective 2009 115 minutes, is a Romanian crime drama with a lot of semantics.
Sept. 10th Source Code 2011 93 minutes, a sci-fi thriller directed by Duncan Jones whose earlier Moon we enjoyed a lot.
Sept. 3rd The Adjustment Bureau 2011 106 minutes, a romantic sci-fi thriller suggested by Joe & Susan. Looks as if it raises some of the questions Bob has been addressing in his book and IPhi website. An IMDB reviewer said, 'The way the bureau works and how they function is a wonder in itself. You'll never look at a door or a man wearing a hat the same way again after viewing the film.... [It] leaves you questioning how much of your life is really left to fate and chance...'
Aug. 27th Akira Kurosawa's Dreams 1990 119 minutes, a dreamlike collection of short visits to other more fanciful worlds which are brought to life through music, costumes, subtle special effects, and fantastic locations.
Aug. 20th Dinner Rush 2001 99 minutes, a restaurant comedy-thriller.
Aug. 13th My Dog Tulip 2009 81 minutes, based on J.R. Ackerley's 1956 autobiographical novel, an animated love story not intended for children about a man and his dog.
Aug. 6th Dick 1999 94 minutes, a political comedy satire - the 'true' story about Watergate - 'the flip side of "All the President's men" '.
July 30th I Love You Phillip Morris 2009 98 minutes, a comedy-romance starring Jim Carrey.
July 23rd No Saturday Night Movie.
July 16th Moonlighting 1982 97 minutes, an acclaimed political allegory which follows a Polish construction crew -- led by English-speaking foreman Nowak (Jeremy Irons) -- as they renovate a rich man's London flat without British work permits.
July 9th The Machinist 2004 101 minutes, a dark psychological thriller.
July 2nd L'Affaire Farewell 2009 113 minutes, a French Reagan-era spy thriller based on a true story.
June 25th Open Your Eyes 1997 117 minutes, Spanish thriller.
June 18th Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life 1925 71 minutes, a documentary by the pioneering filmmakers Merian Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, who would later make King Kong. Riveting, fascinating story of an Persian tribe's seasonal migration with all its animals from the winter lowlands into the summer highlands. A must see.
June 11th A Place in the Sun 1951 122 minutes - a classic starring Liz Taylor, Montgomery Clift, and Shelley Winters based on Dreiser's novel of the 20's, An American Tragedy.
June 4th Passing Strange 2009 135 minutes. 'Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man meets Rock n' Roll. Post-post-modern African-American epic journey. .... a live filming of a Broadway musical on stage.
May 28th Don't Look Now 1973 110 minutes: a classic thriller starring Donald Sutherland & Julie Christie. A rational man who does not believe in psychics, omens or the afterlife sees evidence which shakes his skepticism.
May 21st Black Death 2010 108 minutes, a British medieval horror/thriller.
May 14th Shutter Island 2010 88 minutes: a Scorsesi thriller . We didn't much like it, although it held our interest to the end.
May 7th A Film Unfinished 2010 88 minutes: an Israeli documentary: inside the Warsaw Ghetto.
Apr. 30th Black Swan 2010 108 minutes: Nightmarish ballet thriller with a magnificent Natalie Portman as the swan in Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. Can't compare to 'The Red Shoes', though.
Apr. 23rd Hereafter 2010 129 minutes: Clint Eastwood's latest, a supernatural thriller starring Matt Damon.
Apr. 16th Fair Game 2010 108 minutes: Political drama based on the Valerie Plame affair.
Apr. 9th Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974 2009 102 minutes: First of a trilogy of British dark thriller/police-procedurals.
Apr. 2nd Leaves of Grass 2009 105 minutes: Indie black comedy.
Mar. 26th Terribly Happy 2008 90 minutes: Danish mystery/drama.
Mar. 19th Beyond Rangoon 1995 100 minutes: an Action drama about an American doctor in Burma in the 1980's recommended by Joe & Susan.
Mar. 12th Secretary 2002 104 minutes: comedy-romance, S&M sex at the office, recommended by Bruce LeClair.
Mar. 5th Exam 2009 101 minutes, a cerebral, claustrophobic British sci-fi mystery recommended by Jill Westcott. Recommended by us, too..
Feb. 26th Last Train Home , 2009 85 minutes, a Chinese documentary.
Feb. 19th Thirteen 2003 100 minutes, about a 13-year-old and her mother.
Feb. 12th The American 2010 105 minutes, a slow, dark thriller about an aging hit-man.
Feb. 5th The Town 2010 125 minutes, a must see as it is directed by our own Ben Affleck - about a gang of Charlestown bank robbers.
Jan. 29th Salt 2010 100 minutes, an action flick starring Angelina Jolie at full speed.
Jan. 22nd Day of Wrath 1943 97 minutes, Carl Theodor Dreyer's brilliant parable about witch-finding and witch-burning in 17th-century Denmark.
Jan. 15th Inception 2010 148 minutes, unnerving sci-fi thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
Jan. 8th A Christmas Tale 2008 150 minutes, French, with Catherine Deneuve matriarch of another dysfunctional family reunion.
Jan. 1st No movie - New Year's Day.

2010 Saturday Movies

Dec. 25th No movie - Christmas Day
Dec. 18th No movie.
Sat. Dec. 11th Mother 2009 128 min., a Korean thriller.
Dec. 3rd Stander 2003 116 min. To quote our famous critic Bruce, 'This is one of my favorite movies, partially because it tells a true story, and for the flair and visual style used in the telling.'
Nov. 27th Come and See 1985 142 min., the last film of the Russian Elem Klimov shows WW II on the Eastern front through the eyes of a boy.
Nov. 20th Red Cliff: Part 2 2008 142 minutes, more of the same with the exciting conclusion of the historic battle. Everyone says it's as good as the 1st part.
Nov. 13th Red Cliff: Part 1 2008 146 minutes, a sweeping Chinese martial arts action-adventure centered on a battle fought in China's Three Kingdoms period (220-280 A.D.) recommended by Joe and Susan.
Nov. 6th The Baader Meinhof Complex 2008 149 minutes, a sweeping German docudrama recommended by Bruce. There seem to be several other films on this topic, perhaps as good or better than this, exploring different aspects of terrorism.
Oct. 23th Crimson Rivers 2000 105 minutes, a French whodunit.
Oct. 16th Identity 90 minutes 2003, a psychological mystery thriller of the Agatha Christie genre.
Oct. 9th The Square 2008 106 minutes, a neo-noir thriller from Australia with 'more plot twists than a corkscrew' (IMDB reviewer)..
Oct. 2nd The Secret in Their Eyes 2009 129 minutes, an Argentinian thriller/romance - won the 2010 Academy Award for best foreign-language film.
Sept. 25th City of God DDDD.
Sept. 18th A Prophet 2009 155 minutes, a must see French prison thriller. We considered 'Time Bandits', but it has no subtitles, sigh.
Sept. 11th Primal Fear 1996 129 minutes, a courtroom mystery -An altar boy is accused of murdering a priest.
Sept. 4th Donnie Darko 2001 113 minutes, a sort of cult mystery that Derek's mother-in-law tells me is a 'must see'.
Aug. 28th Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus 2009 122 minutes, a Terry Gillian (of Monty Python) dark comedy.
Aug. 21st No movie.
Aug. 14th No movie.
Aug. 7th No movie.
July 31st Night on Earth 1991 129 min., a Jarmusch comedy requested by the group after we saw his 'Down by Law'.
July 24th Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 2009, 148 minutes, Swedish, based on the bestseller.
July 17th Invictus 2009 134 minutes, historical drama - Nelson Mandela enlists the national rugby team in 1995 to unite the country newly freed from apartheid. Directed by Clint Eastwood.
July 10th Separate Lies 2005, 86 minutes, British character study recommended by my brother Wendl, stars Tom Wilkinson and Emily Watson. .
July 3rd High and Low 1963 143 min., dir. Kurosawa's film noir thriller based on an Ed McBain police procedural.
June 26th Five Minutes of Heaven 2009 89 minutes, stars Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt.
June 19th Ripley's Game 2002, based on a Patricia Highsmith novel, 110 min. Ebert includes it among his Great Movies.
June 12th The Big Heat 1953 Dir. Fritz Lang, 89 min. Film noir starring Glenn Ford and Gloria Swansen.
June 5th Milagro Beanfield War 1988 117 minutes. Dir. Robert Redfield - irrigation wars- tradition vs. progress - plus a bit of magic.
May 29th The Messenger 2009 113 min., about the soldiers whose job is telling the family their son or daughter died in Iraq.
May 22nd Crazy Heart 2009 112min., with Jeff Bridges as alcoholic country singer, recovering.
May 8th Uncertainty 2008 101 min., I wanted to show it because of its connection to Bob's theme in his Barcelona talk.
May 1st There Will Be Blood 2007 158 min., very loosely based on Upton Sinclair's 'Oil!' about the beginnings of the oil boom in California. Bob Bradford said, 'very much like a Steinbeck novel in scope and biblical character (with a darkly ironic Thomas Hardy-like doomsday destiny in the background.) All to say, it's a "must-see" epic for anyone with a serious interest in truly distinctive great films---an exceptional cinematic tour de force for the intellectual film buff.'
Apr. 24th 35 Shots of Rum 2007 100 min., slice of life from French director Claire Denis. Ebert gave it 4 stars. 7.3/10 on IMDB.
Apr. 17th Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans 2009 122 minutes, corrupt cop played by Nicholas Cage. Ebert gave it 4 stars. 6.7/10 on IMDB.
Apr. 10th Cherry Blossoms 2008 127 minutes, German romantic drama - grieving widower visits Japan. 7.5/10 on IMDB
Apr. 3rd The Informant!' 2009 128 minutes, a Matt Damon dark comedy/thriller, dir. Soderbergh, based on a true story. Ebert gave it 4 stars. 6.6/10 on IMDB.
Mar. 27th The Butcher Boy 1997 110 minutes, an Irish anti coming-of-age tragi-comedy. Ebert gave it 2.5 stars. 7.0/10 on IMDB.
Mar. 20th No movie.
Mar. 13th Duplicity 2008 125 minutes, romantic thriller starring Julia Roberts and Clive Owens. Ebert gave it 3 stars. 6.2/10 on IMDB.
Mar. 6th Inglourious Basterds 2007 153 minutes. Fasten your seatbelts, it's Saturday night!. Tarantino's alternative WWII. Ebert gave it 4 stars. 8.3/10 on IMDB.
Feb. 27th The Brave One 2007 122 minutes, dir. Neil Jordan (of 'Crying Game & Michael Collins, etc.) - Jodie Foster out for revenge. Ebert gave it 3.5 stars. 6.8/10 on IMDB.
Feb. 20th The Hurt Locker' 2008 131 minutes, riveting war thriller about a bomb disposer in Iraq. Ebert gave it 4 stars. IMDB rating, 7.7/10.
Feb. 13th Perfume: Story of a Murderer 2006 147 minutes, fascinating French fantasy based on the best-selling novel. All about smell. Ebert gave it 4 stars. IMDB rating, 7.5/10.
Feb. 6th Moon (2009), sci-fi drama, practically a one-man performance by Sam Rockwell. A must see. Ebert gives it 3 1/2 stars out of 4. IMDB rating, 8.0/10!
Jan. 30th Adoration another terrific Atom Egoyan film. 'An intensely involving film, and a powerful one as well; a film about prejudices, loss, the power of technology, and the effect of fiction on reality and vice versa will always be topical, but given the actual plot of the film it is particularly relevant to today's world.' (Reviewer quoted). IMDB rating, 6.4/10.
Jan. 16th Avatar 2009, the 3D sci-fi sensation that has amazing reviews and astounding special effects. We went downtown to see it in 3D rather than wait for the DVD version. You must see it. IMDB rating, 8.0/10.
Jan. 9th Risky Business 1983, a comedy about male adolescent guilt, with a young Tom Cruise turning his suburban family home into a brothel among other escapades. Ebert gave it 4 stars. IMDB rating, 6.7/10.
Jan. 2nd The Unforgiven 1992 131 minutes, Clint Eastwood classic western. Ebert gave it 4 stars as a great movie. IMDB rating, 8.4/10.

2009 Saturday Movies

Dec.12th Soapdish 1991, a satire on TV soaps of inspired lunacy. IMDB rating, 6.2/10.
Dec. 5th The Merry Gentleman an offbeat Holiday film. IMDB reviewer said, 'relies on its two main characters, Frank (Keaton) and Kate (Macdonald), to carry the film. And these two fine actors do not disappoint. Their scenes together are strikingly powerful.' and 'a drama about human connections, more than anything else.' Ebert gave it 3 1/2 stars . IMDB rating 7.2/10.
Nov. 28th 21 Grams director Iñárritu's (of Amores Perros) latest film starring Sean Pean, Benicio Del Toro, Naomi Watts and Charlotte Gainsbourg. Filmed out of time sequence, this is 'a gripping story of disconnected lives that intersect in odd and unpredictable ways in the wake of a horrible accident'. IMDB rating 7.9 out of 10.
Nov. 21 Prick Up Your Ears 1987, biopic of Joe Orton's spectacular life and murder, dir. Stephen Frears. Ebert gave it 4 stars. IMDB rating, 7.2/10.
Nov. 14th Scanner Darkly 2006, rotoscoped, based on Philip K. Dick's sci-fi novel.
Nov. 7 Charlie Bartlett 2007, 'A rich kid becomes the self-appointed psychiatrist to the student body of his new high school'. IMDB rating 7.0/10.
Oct. 31st Fracture An 'intellectual chess game between Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling'. A legal thriller with the two leads playing mind games. IMDB rating 7.1.
Oct 24th Homicide David Mamet's film only gets a 6.9 rating in IMDB, but Ebert gives it fours stars. It's about a detective who is forced to wake up to his Jewish identity.
Oct. 17th Kiss Kiss Bang Bang 2005, Joe suggested this one, I'm off the hook. It's a comic film noir. IMDB rating 7.7.
Oct. 10th Catch Me If You Can 2002, comic crime biopic starring DiCaprio. IMDB rating 7.9.
Oct. 3rd Brothers Bloom 2008, romantic adventure comedy about the bloom brothers, lifelong con men. Recommended by Derek & Rebekah. IMDB rating 6.8/10.
Sept. 26th No Movie.
Sept. 19th Play Misty for Me 1971, Clint Eastwood's first director/star effort (7.0/10) - a Crime|Drama|Romance\Thriller.
Sept. 12th Soloist 2009, biopic. Journalist seeks out homeless Julliard-trained musician. IMDB rating 6.6/10.
Sept. 5th State of Play 2009., political mystery starring Ben Affleck & Russell Crowe. Congressman's mistress's murder investigation involves reporters and police. IMDB rating 7.2/10.
Aug. 29th Tropic Thunder 2008, an action adventure war comedy. IMDB rating 7.0/10.
Aug. 22nd - No movie.
Aug. 15th Knowing Sci-fi mystery starring Nicholas Cage. IMDB rating 6.2/10. Not recommended.
Aug. 8th - No movie.
Aug. 1st Hard Candy 2005, a drama/thriller. A 14-year old girl meets a charming 32-year old photographer on the Internet. Suspecting that he is a pedophile, she goes to his home in an attempt to expose him...IMDB rating 7.2/10. Recommended.
July 25th Changeling 2008, with Angelina Jolie - based on a true story. 1920's L.A. Boy disappears. Can he be found? IMDB rating 7.8/10. Recommended.
July 18th - No movie.
July 11th Lakeview Terrace 2008 Samuel L. Jackson as a racist cop. IMDB rating 6.2/10. Skip it.
July 4th - No movie.
June 27th Gran Torino 2008, Clint Eastwood's highly rated - IMDB 8.4/10.
June 20th Miracle of Morgan's Creek - a 1944 Preston Sturges film (7.8/10 at IMDb).
June 13th Traitor - crime/drama/thriller with Guy Pearce and Don Cheadle, screenplay by Steve Martin, but not a comedy, 7.2/10.
June 6th Body of Lies 2008, CIA agent on the ground in Jordan hunts down a powerful terrorist leader, starring DiCaprio and Crowe. Ebert gave it 3/4 stars. IMDB rating 7.1/10.
May 30th On The Waterfront 1954, with a Hollywood blacklist backstory, Elia Kazan defends testifying and naming names. Stars Marlon Brando. IMDB rating 8.3/10.
May 23rd High Noon Joe suggested we watch this iconic western (like no other western, really, no stagecoaches and Indian chases.). It's really a Kantian morality play about the conflict between duty and beauty (well, desire). And it has a terrific political back story. It's a thinly veiled allegory for friends deserting you under pressure. It came out in 1952 at the height of Joe McCarthy witch hunts. The writer Carl Foreman had been in front of HUAC and refused to name names. Before High Noon got to the screen, he was blacklisted and exiled himself to the UK. The other producer, Stanley Kramer (also a former communist like Foreman) was deathly afraid he would be blacklisted too and tried to get Foreman's connections with the film expunged. He is the main abandoning friend, HUAC the bad guys coming to town. Maybe we should see Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront sometime. It's the flip version of HIgh Noon, with those who stood up for American values (Kazan naming names) against the corruption in unions (Hollywood). Here HUAC are on the good guy side.
May 16th Black Hawk Down 2001. With all the news about Somali pirates, here's the failed mission to capture some Somali warlords during the Clinton administration. It's a dramatic feature by Ridley Scott (Blade Runner) with the feel of a documentary. IMDB rating 7.7/10. Everyone but Holly liked it.
May 9th War Zone 1999, 'follows an isolated British family living in the lush green hills somewhere in England. ... until one day the son sees something he's not supposed to -- the dad molesting the daughter' [Michael Margetis on IMDB]. IMDB rating 7.3/10.
May 2nd Stray Dog Toshiro Mifune stars in Akira Kurosawa's version of a Hollywood crime/drama/thriller. IMDb gives it 7.8/10 and calls it Kurosawa's first masterpiece.
Apr. 18th Layer Cake 2004, British crime thriller - cocaine dealer tries to retire, but... IMDB rating 7.4/10.
Apr. 11th Tell No One 2006, a twisty Belgian Crime/Drama/Mystery - 7.6/10 at IMDb.
Apr. 4th Shane 1953, Alan Ladd's classic.
Mar. 28th Happy-Go-Lucky 2008, Mike Leigh's hilarious comedy about Poppy, a cheery, colorful, North London schoolteacher.
Mar. 21st Rachel Getting Married 2008, a Jonathan Demme romantic drama starring Ann Hathaway. (7.2/10).
Mar. 14th Sweet Sixteen 2002, a Ken Loach crime drama about a teen trying to buy a home for his ex-con mom. IMdB rating 7.4/10.
Mar. 7th - No Movie.
Feb. 28th Point Blank 1967, a lyrical postmodern noir revenge movie starring Lee Marvin with a great commentary track.
Feb. 21st Transsiberian 2008, an American couple finds murder and deception on the trans-Siberian express. IMdB rating 6.7/10. Recommended.
Feb. 14th Le Samourai 1967, classic starring Alain Delon as an assassin. IMdB rating 8.2/10.
Feb. 7th Nine Queens 2000, Argentinian crime thriller about a counterfeit sheet of rare stamps. IMdB rating 7.8/10.
Jan. 31st Victim 1961, British crime drama - homosexual lawyer (Dirk Bogard) threatened by blackmailer. IMdB rating 7.7/10.
Jan. 24th - No Movie.
Jan. 17th Klute 1971, call girl (Jane Fonda) threatened seeks protection from cop (Donald Sutherland). IMdB rating 7.2/10.
Jan. 10th Burn After Reading 2007, Coen brothers' zany crime comedy starring Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, and George Clooney. IMdB rating 7.1/10.
Jan. 3rd Narrow Margin 1952, noir thriller - protecting an anti-mob witness on train trip. IMdB rating 7.7/10.

2008 Saturday Movies

Dec. 20th Dog Day Afternoon DDDD. IMdB rating RRR/10.
Dec. 13th Clockers DDDD. IMdB rating RRR/10.
Dec. 6th White Countess DDDD. IMdB rating RRR/10.
Nov.29th American Gangster DDDD. IMdB rating RRR/10.
Nov. 22nd Choose Me DDDD. IMdB rating RRR/10.
Nov. 8th Mongol DDDD. IMdB rating RRR/10.
Oct. 25th The Visitor DDDD. IMdB rating RRR/10.
Oct. 18th After the Wedding 2006​ 120 minutes, from the Danish director Susanne Bier about a humanitarian aid worker who returns to Copenhagen to raise money, but finds himself drawn into a complex of family secrets, starring Mads Mikkelsen. IMdB rating 7.8/10. A must see.
Oct. 11th Pulp Fiction DDDD. IMdB rating RRR/10.
Sept. 27th True Love DDDD. IMdB rating RRR/10.
Sept. 20th Lust, Caution 2007, Ang Lee's espionage thriller set in WWII Shanghai. IMdB rating 7.5/10.
Sept. 13th My Blueberry Nights 2007, Romance starring Jude Law. IMdB rating 6.7/10.
Sept. 6th Bank Job DDDD. IMdB rating RRR/10.
Aug. 30th Night Moves DDDD. IMdB rating RRR/10.
Aug. 23rd No Movie. We went to Lenox.
Aug. 16th Chop Shop DDDD. IMdB rating RRR/10.
Aug. 9th Little Voice DDDD. IMdB rating RRR/10.
Aug. 2nd God's Country 1985, Louis Malle documentary about small Minnesota town, warts and all. IMdB rating 7.5/10.
July 26th Definitely, Maybe DDDD. IMdB rating RRR/10.
July 19th 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days DDDD. IMdB rating RRR/10.
July 12th In Bruges DDDD. IMdB rating RRR/10.
July 5th Wolf DDDD. IMdB rating RRR/10.
June 28th Goya's Ghosts 2006, political drama about Goya's model in the Inquisition. IMdB rating 6.9/10.
June 21st The Bubble 2006, Israeli and Palestinian 'lovers attempt to hide from Israel's violent political turmoil in the liberal "bubble" of Tel Aviv'. IMdB rating 7.0/10.
June 14th History of the World: Part I 1981, MelBrooks unforgettable comedy. IMdB rating 6.7/10.
June 7th Romance and Cigarettes 2005, musical comedy/romance. IMdB rating 6.2/10.
May 31st Heaven And Earth 1993, Oiver Stone's 3rd Vietnam War - from the point of view of a young Vietnamese woman. IMdB rating 6.7/10.
May 24th Juno 2007, Pregnant teen comedy/romance. IMdB rating 7.7/10.
May 17th Before the Devil Knows You're Dead 2007 - Crime within the family goes horribly wrong. IMdB rating 7.3/10.
May 10th Zodiac 2007, Detectives after a serial killer. IMdB rating 7.7/10.
May 3rd Starting Out in the Evening spring/fall romance starring Frank Langella. IMdB rating 6.9/10.
Apr. 26th Knocked Up 2007, Judd Apatow's male-fantasy in which crude juvenile guy gets the girl. IMdB rating 7.2/10.
Apr. 19th 2 Days in Paris Julie Delpy's comic take on the war of the sexes. IMdB rating 6.8/10.
Apr. 12th Kite Runner 2007, Afghan exile tries to atone for his sins in Afghanistan. IMdB rating 7.6/10.
Apr. 5th In the Valley of Elah 2007, father of an Iraq vet investigates his disappearance . IMdB rating 7.3/10. Riveting, grim.
Mar. 29th Mafioso 1962, Italian neo-realist crime comedy. IMdB rating 7.2/10.
Mar. 22nd The Company 2002, Hindi expose of Mumbai underworld. IMdB rating 7.9/10. Forget it.
Mar. 15th No Country for Old Men 2007, Coen brothers' violent thriller. IMdB rating 8.2/10. Must See.
Mar. 8th Andrei Rublev 1966, Andrey Tarkovskiy's masterpiece about 15th century Russian icon painter, and forging a gigantic bell. IMdB rating 8.2/10. Slooow.
Mar. 1st Michael Clayton 2007, law firm's problems while representing a guilty client - starring George Clooney as "fixer". IMdB rating 7.4/10.
Feb. 23rd Gone Baby Gone 2007, Ben Affleck's Boston detectives investigate kidnapping. IMdB rating 7.8/10.
Feb. 16th Bourne Ultimatum 2007, 3rd Hollywood action thriller starring Matt Damon, from the Ludlum novel. IMdB rating 8.1/10.
Feb. 9th Bourne Supremacy 2004, another Hollywood action thriller starring Matt Damon, from the Ludlum novel. IMdB rating 7.7/10.
Jan. 26th A Short Film About Love 1988, Kieslowski's extended version of the Dekalog's adultery part. IMdB rating 8.3/10.
Jan. 19th The Devil Wears Prada 2006, Naive Ann Hathaway works for wicked fashion mag magnate Meryl Streep. IMdB rating 6.7/10.
Jan. 12th House of the Flying Daggers 2004, Zhang Yimou's eye-popping historical fantasy. IMdB rating 7.6/10.

2007 Saturday Movies

Dec. 15th Angel Heart 1987, Private Eye in nightmarish mystery slips into horror. IMdB rating 7.3/10.
Dec. 18th Matrix 1999, paranoid fantasy - computer hacker discovers the nature of reality. IMdB rating 8.7/10.
Dec. 1st Bourne Identity 2002, action thriller starring Matt Damon. First of three. IMdB rating 7.9/10.
Nov. 24th A Short Film About Killing 1988, Kieslowski's meditation on the 5th commandment, murder and the death penalty. IMdB rating 8.1/10.
Nov. 10th No End 1985, an early Kieslowski collaboration with Krzysztof Piesiewicz, three loosely connected stories about life under martial law. IMdB rating 7.5/10.
Nov. 3rd Brokeback Mountain 2005, Ang Lee's Oscar-winning romance about cowboys in forbidden love, starring Heath ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. IMdB rating 7.7/10.
Oct.: No Saturday movies this month.
Sept. 29th Heat and Dust DDDD. IMdB rating RRR/10.
Sept. 22nd Oliver Twist 1948, David Lean classic. IMdB rating RRR/10.
Sept. 15th Keeping Mum DDDD. IMdB rating RRR/10.
Sept. 8th The Five Senses DDDD. IMdB rating RRR/10.
Sept. 1st The Damned 1969, collapse of a industrialist Junker family during the Hitler's Third Reich. IMdB rating 7.4/10.
Aug. 25th Cold Mountain DDDD. IMdB rating RRR/10.
Aug. 18th Winter Guest 1997- Phyllida Law and Emma Thompson play mother and daughter, which they are in real life. IMdB rating 6.9/10.
Aug. 4th Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself 2002, Wilbur's brother hopes to save him. IMdB rating 6.9/10.
July 28th Why We Fight 2005, documentary on American militarism - how we got into this mess. IMdB rating 8.0/10.
July 21st The Loved One 1965, Hollywood Cemetery satirized - based on the Evelyn Waugh book. IMdB rating 7.0/10.
July 14th Little Children 2006, damaged lives and relationships in middle America - starring Kate Winslet. IMdB rating 7.7/10.
July 7th Delicatessen 1991, surreal French black comedy. IMdB rating 7.8/10.
June 16th Unbreakable 2000, suspense thriller from Shyamalan starring Bruce Willis. IMdB rating 7.2/10.
June 9th Vanya on 42nd Street 1994, Chekhov translated by Mamet, with Wallace Shawn. IMdB rating 7.2/10.
June 2nd Shaun of the Dead 2004, British horror comedy with the undead coming to eat us. IMdB rating 8.0/10.
May 26th Stranger then Fiction 2006, author's character tries to escape her intensions. IMdB rating 7.7/10.
May 5th Caché 2005, Parisian couple terrorized by suveillance videotape, starring Auteuil and Binoche. IMdB rating 7.3/10.
Apr. 28th My Life So Far 1999, memoir of Scottish 10-year-old in the late 20's, starring Colin Firth. IMdB rating 6.4/10.
Apr. 21st Queens 2005, five sexy Spanish mothers cope with their gay sons weddings. IMdB rating 6.6/10.
Apr. 14th Children of Men 2006, sci-fi drama - chaos in a childless world, starring Clive Owen and Julianne Moore. IMdB rating 8.0/10.
Apr. 7th Babel 2006, interlocking international stories. IMdB rating 7.5/10.
Mar. 31st Brothers 2004, complex Danish family drama about consequences of a tour in Afghanistan, from Susanne Bier. IMdB rating 7.6/10.
Mar. 24th L.A. Confidential 1997, noir crime thriller - police corruption, with Kevin Spacey and Russell Crowe. IMdB rating 8.4/10.
Mar. 17th Under the Sun 1998, Swedish romantic drama - love triangle on the farm. IMdB rating 6.8/10.
Mar. 10th Gathering Storm 2002, Albert Finney nails Churchill. IMdB rating 7.5/10.
Mar. 3rd An Inconvenient Truth 2006, Al Gore on Global Warming. A must see. IMdB rating 7.6/10.
Feb. 17th Finding Neverland 2004, J.M. Barrie meets Wendy's family. IMdB rating 7.8/10.
Feb. 10th Conversations with Other Women 2005, comedy romance with Helena Bonham Carter and Aaren Eckhart. IMdB rating 6.9/10.
Feb. 3rd Smoke 1995, smoke shop stories from Paul Auster. IMdB rating 7.2/10.
Jan. 20th Two Family House 2000, Buddy finally fulfills his dream of owning a bar on Statin Island. IMdB rating 7.2/10.
Jan. 6th Road to 9/11 2005, PBS documentary: Mid-East History from the fall of the Ottoman Empire to Islamic terrorism. IMdB rating 8.0/10.

2006 Saturday Movies
Dec. 23th Beyond Silence 1996, child of deaf parents wants to be a musician.... IMdB rating 7.1/10.
Dec. 16th Identity 2003, ten stranded strangers killed off one by one.... IMdB rating 7.3/10.
Dec. 9th The Da Vinci Code 2006, murder in the Louvre and a religious mystery, from the best-seller. IMdB rating 6.4/10.
Nov. 25th Pieces of April 2003, Thanksgiving dinner comedy with dysfunctional family. IMdB rating 7.0/10.
Nov. 18th Twelve and Holding 2005, Three twelve -year-olds in small town deal with a death amongst them. IMdB rating 7.5/10.
Nov. 11th A Canterbury Tale 1944, Michael Powell - A land girl, a US G.I., and a British soldier unravel the mystery, before embarking on a pilgrimage to Canterbury. IMdB rating 7.5/10.
Nov. 4th Earth 1998, Indian, love amidst political and religious violence in 1047. IMdB rating 7.5/10.
Oct. 28th The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp 1943, Michael Powell classic with a very young Deborah Kerr playing three roles. Ebert includes it in his Great Films. IMdB rating 8.1/10.
Oct. 14th 11:14 2003, dark comedy, 5 perspectives on a car crash. IMdB rating 7.2/10.
Oct. 7th Kings and Queen 2004, French comedy/romance. IMdB rating 7.1/10.
Sept. 23th Ridicule 1996, French 18th century costume drama that 'substitutes wordplay for swordplay'. IMdB rating 7.3/10.
Sept. 16th Too Beautiful for You 1989, Gerard Depardieu, businessman with gorgeous wife is attracted to his secretary. IMdB rating 6.8/10.
Sept. 9th Cousins 1989. IMdB rating 6.1/10.
Aug. 19th The Sea Inside 2004, Javier Bardem's quadriplegic seeks euthanasia. IMdB rating 8.0/10.
July 29th Lord of War 2005, Nicolas Cage as cheerfully amoral arms dealer chased by Interpol. IMdB rating 7.6/10.
July 22th A History of Violence 2005, Viggo Mortensen as quiet man who suddenly saves the day, and complications . IMdB rating 7.6/10.
July 15th Syriana 2005, George Clooney, CIA agent in mideast politics and Big Oil. IMdB rating 7.0/10.
July 1st Passion of Mind 2000, psychological romantic thriller about woman with a double life. IMdB rating 5.2/10.
June 24th The New World 2005, Terrence Malick's recreation of Pocahontas's Virginia. IMdB rating 6.8/10.
June 17th Nine Lives 2005, Snapshots of nine women's lives. IMdB rating R.8/10.
June 10th Shopgirl 2005, Steve Martin and Claire Danes in Martin story. IMdB rating 6.5/10.
June 3rd Paradise Now 2005, Two friends on a suicide mission in Tel Aviv. IMdB rating 7.5/10.
May 27th Munich 2005, Spielberg's - kidnapping and deaths of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. IMdB rating 7.7/10.
May 20th Capote 2005, biopic starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman. IMdB rating 7.4/10.
May 13th The Squid and the Whale 2004, two young boys and divorced parents. IMdB rating 7.5/10.
May 6th Constant Gardener 2005, murder and corporate corruption, starring Ralph Fiennes. IMdB rating 7.5/10.
Apr. 29th North Country 2005, 'docudrama' of sexual harassment case. IMdB rating 7.2/10.
Apr. 22th The Mother 2003, British, widowed woman steals daughter's lover. IMdB rating 6.7/10.
Apr. 15th Proof 2005, Mathematician's death leaves daughter troubled, starring Gwyneth Paltrow. IMdB rating 6.8/10.
Mar. 25th Goodbye, Columbus 1969, poor Jewish boy meets Jewish princess, starring a very young Ali McGraw. IMdB rating 6.6/10.
Mar. 18th The Holy Land 2001, modern prodigal son tale. IMdB rating 6.6/10.
Mar. 11th Made-Up 2002, . IMdB rating 6.5/10.
Feb. 25th Toscanini: The Maestro 1985, documentary. IMdB rating 2.5/10.
Jan.28th La Petite Lili 2003, Modernized French version of Chekhov's Seagull. IMdB rating 6.2/10.
Jan. 21th Together 2002, Chinese: violin prodigy and his father travel to Beijing. IMdB rating 7.2/10.
Jan. 14th Heaven 2002, based on a script written by Kieslowski and Piesiewicz . IMdB rating 7.1/10.
Jan. 7th Since Otar Left 2003, . IMdB rating 7.4/10.

2005 Saturday Movies
Dec. 31st Candide Bernstein concert performance with costumes. IMDb rating 9.0/10.
Dec. 17th Dandelion Dead 1994, miniseries starring Michael Kitchen - wife-killer. IMDb rating 7.8/10.
Dec. 10th Me and You and Everyone We Know 2005, a shoe salesman, a performance artist and others. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
Nov. 26th Leolo 1992, Canadian boy struggles with largely insane family in Montreal tenement. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Nov. 12th Wonderland 1999, gritty British drama about dysfunctional working class family. IMDb rating 6.9/10.
Nov. 5th Floating Weeds 1959, Ozu drama about traveling players in a small Japanese seaport. IMDb rating 7.9/10.
Oct. 22nd Enigma 2004, cracking the Nazi code and finding the girl. IMDb rating 6.4/10.
Oct. 15th Fever Pitch 2005, remake of British original, this time about the Red Sox. IMDb rating 6.2/10.
Oct. 8th Murder on a Sunday Morning 2001, documentary about teenager accused of murder and his court-appointed lawyer. IMDb rating 8.1/10. Riveting.
Oct. 1st The Mighty 1998, two misfit boys with imagination. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Sept. 24th Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids 2004, documentary about trying to rescue a few of them. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Sept. 17th The Naked Gun 1988, hilarious send-up of police action flix. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Sept. 10th The Dish 2000, comedy. Australian radio telescope plays a role in the Apollo moon landing. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Sept. 3rd Downfall 2004, Hitler's last days in the bunker. German. IMDb rating 8.3/10. Recommended.
Aug. 27th Casa de los babys 2003, Sayles looks at S. American adoption industry. IMDb rating 6.5/10.
Aug. 20th Lost in Translation 2003, Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson in Japanese hotel. IMDb rating 7.8/10. It lost me.
Aug. 13th Time of Favor 2000, tricky Israeli political thriller. IMDb rating 6.7/10.
Aug. 6th Million Dollar Baby 2004 Clint Eastwood trains Hilary Swank to box. IMDb rating 8.1/10.
July 30th Crimson Gold 2003 Iranian thriller - pizza delivery man turns to violence. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
July 23rd The Aviator 2004, Scorsese biopic about the young Howard Hughes, starring diCaprio. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
July 16th Out of the Past 1947. You can't escape it. Mitchum classic noir. IMDb rating 8.1/10.
July 9th I Never Sang for My Father 1970, regretful son, difficult father, based on Robert Anderson's play. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
July 2nd Bad Education 2004, Almodovar mystery about sexual abuse in Franco-era school. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
June 25th The Secret Lives of Dentists 2002, dentist suspects his wife is unfaithful. IMDb rating 6.4/10.
June 18th Spring Forward 1999, two guys work in the park around the seasons. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
June 11th The Son 2002, Dardennes brothers drama - carpenter and apprentice. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
June 4th Fever Pitch 1997, soccer vs girlfriend. Starring Colin Firth. IMDb rating 6.5/10.
May 28th Kinsey 2004, biopic starring Liam Neeson. Recommended. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
May 21st Sideways 2004, middle-aged buddies on a wine-tasting tour. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
May 7th Truman 1995, biopic his rise and 1948 election. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
Apr. 30th The Gods Must be Crazy 1980, Bushman encounters modern civilization. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Apr. 23rd The Taste of Others 2000, Director Agnes Jaoui's ensemble romantic comedy. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Apr. 16th Farmer's Daughter 1947, Loretta Young and Joseph Cotten comedy romance. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
Apr. 9th Death Takes a Holiday 1934 Frederick March as Death, shorter than the remake: "Meet Joe Black". IMDb rating 7.0/10.
Apr. 2nd Angels in America 2003, Tony Kushner's adaptation of his play, starring Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, etc. Fabulous, must see. IMDb rating 8.2/10.
Feb. 26th Tokyo Story 1953, DDD. IMDb rating 8.2/10.
Feb.19th Sleepless in Seattle 1993, comedy romance starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, screenplay, Nora Ephron. IMDb rating 6.7/10.
Feb.12th House of Saud 2005, excellent Frontline documentary. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
Feb. 5th The Edge 1997, billionaire Anthony Hopkins and others stranded in the wilderness, scripted by Mamet. IMDb rating 6.8/10.
Jan. 29th A Price Above Rubies 1998, Hasidic woman troubled by her restrictions,starring Renee Zellweger. IMDb rating 6.6/10.
Jan. 22nd Bell, Book, and Candle 1958, old fantasy romance starring Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak. IMDb rating 6.8/10.
Jan. 15th Garden State 2004, comedy romance starring Natalie Portman and Zach Braff. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Jan. 8th Into the Woods 1991, American Playhouse production of the Sondheim musical. IMDb rating 8.0/10.

2004 Saturday Movies

Dec. 31st All That Jazz 1997, Bob Fosse's autobiographical fantasy musical about a womanizing choreographer. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Dec. 18th The Station Agent 2003, dwarf inherits an abandoned strain station and meets a hot dog vendor and an artist. IMDb rating 7.8/10.
Dec. 11th Short Cuts 1993, Altman interweaves 9 Raymond Carver Tales. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Dec. 4th The Terminal 2004, Spielberg comedy with eastern immigrant, Tom Hanks, stranded at JFK Airport. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Nov. 27th Swimming Pool 2003, Ozun's thriller. Rampling, mystery novelist, in the South of France. IMDb rating 6.7/10.
Nov. 20th Control Room Al Jazeera covers US war on Iraq. IMDb rating 7.7/10.
Nov. 13th I'm Going Home 2001 old actor's routines, Portuguese director Oliviera's meditation on aging and death, but he's still making films in his 90's. IMDb rating 6.9/10.
Nov. 6th Baadasssss! 2003, son's homage to father's filming of 'Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song', influential blaxploitation flick. IMDb rating 7.4/10.
October 30th Osama 2003, Afghan girl poses as a boy in Taliban school. IMDb rating 7.3/10.
October 23rd Aberdeen 2000, daughter sent from Scotland to find drunkard father and bring him home. IMDb rating R7.1R/10.
October 16th The Dreamers 2003, Bertolucci imagines young American and Parisian brother and sister in Paris 1968. He wishes he'd been there. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
October 9th Italian Job 2003, heist thriller starring Donald Sutherland. IMDb rating 6.9/10.
October 2nd, Hope Springs (2003), dir. Colin Firth.
September 25th, Under the Sand (2000), dir. Francois Ozon, starring Charlotte Rampling . Terrific, sad.
September 18th, The Letter (1940) dir. Wyler, old Bette Davis melodrama based on Maugham story, contrived, but it was fun to see her emote as the bad guy.
September 17th,  It Could Happen to You (1993),  silly and predictable.
September 11th, Classical High School Reunion, Bob's 50th.
September 4th, Me Myself I (2000). Very amusing Australian fantasy-romance.
August 28th, Carrington (2002), very good, about Bloomsbury.
August 21st, Needful Things (1993), silly Stephen King thriller **.
August 17th, Object of My Affection (1998). Holly only. ***1/2.
August 5th, Liam (2001). **** Gritty 1930's Liverpool family struggle. 
August 1st, L'Auberge Espagnole (2002), OK, not great, and  
                  Triplets of Bellville (2003). We fast-forwarded through most of it.
July 21st, A Month by the Lake (1995). ***1/2 Holly only.
July 14th, Mystic Pizza (1988). Holly only. Chick flick.
July 10th, 28 Days Later (2002). *, Forget it.
July 4th, Legalese (1998). *** Tricky lawyers involve the media in murder case.
June 25th, Mystic River (2003), ****.
June 22nd, In America (2002), ****.
June 12th, Gangs of New York (2002). We couldn't finish watching it.
June 10th, Voice of the Turtle (1947). Silly romance in wartime NYC, starring Ronald Reagan.
May 29th, Fog of War (2003), **** Documentary: interviews with McNamara. A must-see.
May 22nd, Ghost World (2001). ***1/2 Romance about strange characters. Interesting.
May 15th, Beggar's Opera (1983).
May 8th, House of Sand and Fog (2003), ***1/2. Tragic battle about a house. Both side sympathetically presented.
April 30th, Heavenly Creatures (1994).
April 30th, World of Henry Orient (1964).
March 27th, Intolerable Cruelty (2003), *** Coen Brothers twisty satire on divorce lawyers.
March 25th, Green for Danger (1946), Not that great; I didn't finish it.
March 7th, Bend it Like Beckham (2002). Very enjoyable sports chick film.
March 6th, Men with Guns (1997), dir. Sayles.
February 28th, Seabiscuit (2003). About a racehorse in the 1930's.
February 6th, Quiet American (2002). ***1/2 Effective.
January 31st, Spellbound (2002), documentary: spelling bee contestants, and their families. ****
January 30th, I Capture the Castle (2003). Class-ridden English chick flick.
January 24th, 13 Conversations about One Thing (2001), ****.
January 17th, Marvin's Room (1996), ***1/2.

2003 Saturday Movies
Dec. 27th Defending Your Life 1991, comedy about the afterlife, starring Albert Brooks. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Dec. 20th Winged Migration 2001, documentary. Amazing footage of birds in flight. IMDb rating 7.9/10.
Dec. 13th Alias Betty 2001, grieving mother becomes surrogate mother for small boy. Based on Ruth Rendell's novel, 'Tree of Hands'. IMDb rating 6.8/10.
Dec. 6th Rain 2001, New Zealand teenager realizing her parents are breaking up. IMDb rating 6.8/10.
Nov.29th Mystic Masseur 2001, schoolteacher and masseur in Trinidad becomes author of mystic content. IMDb rating 5.4/10.
Nov. 15th Red Cherry 1995, Chinese students caught in the German invasion of Russia in WW II. IMDb rating 7.1/10.
Nov. 8th Mostly Martha 2001, from Germany. Super chef and her headstrong niece and the sous-chef. IMDb rating 7.2/10.
Nov. 1st Rare Birds 2001, comedy. Restauranteur in Newfoundland lures patrons. IMDb rating 6.4/10.
Oct. 25th Possession 2002, two literary investigators' relationship echoes that of the poets they are researching. IMDb rating 6.3/10.
Oct. 4th Walking and Talking 1996, Two young women friends and their men in NYC. IMDb rating 6.5/10.
Sept. 27th Rabbit-Proof Fence 2002, Australian history tale about three aboriginals who escape from a white school. IMDb rating 7.5/10.
Sept. 20th Y Tu Mamá También 2001. Two Mexican teenagers and an older woman take to the road. IMDb rating 7.6/10.
Sept. 13th Barbershop 2002, one day in a Chicago barbershop. IMDb rating 6.1/10.
Sept. 6th, NONE,.
Aug. 30th, NONE.
Aug. 23rd, NONE.
Aug. 16th, NONE.
Aug. 9th, NONE, trip to Gardiner, Connie's place.
Aug. 2nd, NONE, Tom Foley's party.
July 26th, Red Rock West .
July 25th, Fri., She Done Him Wrong .
July 24th Thurs., Paradise, & Diabolique (1955), French classic. 
July 23rd, Wed., Warm Water Under a Red Bridge (2001).
July 20th, Sun, Blood Work (2002) dir. and star: Clint Eastwood, ***.
July 12th, Wendy's party: Talk to Her (2002) Another Almodovar winner ***1/2.
July 5th, The Hours , Virginia Woolf & modern counterparts ***1/2.
June 29th, Sun. watched 1/2 of The Human Condition. (1959), First of a trilogy.
June 28th, Signs (2002) dir. Shyamalon (couldn't watch) *, then About Schmidt(2002), starring Nicholson, but a bit boring **.
June 21st, Frida , fabulous and gorgeous *****.
June 14th, Miller's Crossing (1990), dir. Coen brothers, 1930's Prohibition mob drama.
June 13th, Fri., Adaptation (2002), Meryl Streep. Holly didn't like it **.
June 7th, none.
May 31st, Touch of Evil (1958), dir. Orson Wells.
May 24th, Sat., Igby Goes Down (2002) dir. Steers, starring Kieran Culkan. Charming ***1/2. 
May 22, Thurs, San Francisco (1936) Barbary Coast, Clark Gable as Blackie, crooked but good-hearted.
May 21, Wed, Duellists (1977), based on a Conrad short story about the Napoleonic War.
May 17th, None. Birthday party, Kathy & Richard.
Thursday May 15th, Chocolat (1997) Starring Juliette Binoche as pagan sorceress(?) vs the prudish Catholic establishment.
May 10th, The Game (1997) Starring Michael Douglas as an unlikeable protagonist again. Too implausible, and who cares.
Thursday May 8th, Boomerang! (1947) Courtroom drama about a murdered priest. Dir. Elia Kazan, with Dana Andrews.
May 3rd, The Fast Runner (2002) Inuit film.
Friday May 2nd, Becket (1964) Henry II has his dearest friend murdered. Starring Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole. Based on Anouilh's play.
April 26th, The Fast Runner (2002) Inuit film.
April 24th, Thursday, Three on a Match (1932) w. Anne Dvorak, Joan Blondell, and Bette Davis.
April 19th, The Pledge (2001) dir. Sean Penn; with Jack Nicholson,
April 18th, Friday, The Golden Bowl (2000) Henry James via Merchant Ivory,
April 12th, The Circle, (2000) Iranian dir. Panahi.
April 11th, Friday, White Palace, (1990) 103 minutes, IMDb rating 6.3. With Susan Sarandon, James Spader (Holly)
April 11th, Friday, The Haunting, (1963) British horror film based on Shirley Jackson novel 'The Haunting of Hill House'. (Holly)
April 10th, Thursday, Heaven Can Wait (1943) dir. Lubitsch, (Holly)
April 9th, Wednesday, Hanging Garden (1997) Canadian, Nova Scotia (Holly),
April 5th, None, Emmy's Birthday.
Mar. 20th, Italian for Beginners, (2000) 112 minutes, IMDb rating 7.1. Danish comedy romance. Several lonely suburban Danes take Italian lessons hoping to improve their love-lives.
Mar. 22nd,  My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) 95 minutes, IMDb rating 6.5. A young Greek woman, planing to marry a non-Greek, tries to get her family to accept him.
Mar. 21st, Sunday, Va Savoir [Who Knows], (2001) 154 minutes, IMDb rating 6.9. French crime comedy directed by Jacques Rivette. A group of artistic theater types and their siblings each in search of something else.
Mar. 16th, Closely Watched Trains ,(1966) Czech film, too slow, not funny, didn't finish.
Mar. 15th, Lovely and Amazing , (2001) pretty good chick flic.
Mar. 13th, Thursday Lantana , Aussie film, good.(2001) 121 minutes, IMDb rating 7.3. Aussie. "Paradoxes of modern marriage… dependence on secrecy and deceit' [NYT Review].
Mar. 8th, None ,
Mar. 1st,  None , Daniel's wedding.
Feb. 22nd Angels and Insects , (1996) from Byatt's book.
Feb. 21st, Friday, Apocalypse Now Redux , (1979) new long version dir. Coppola.
Feb. 19th, Wednesday, Flirting (1991) dir. John Duigan, Australian.
Feb. 8th, Seconds ( 1966) dir. Frankenheimer with Rock Hudson, very good; sleeper.
Feb. 7th, Friday, Insomnia ( 2002), with Al Pacino in Alaska. See also, the original Norwegian film.
Feb. 1st, Last Orders, (2001) dir. Schepisi, British. "Three longtime friends — Vic (Tom Courtenay), Ray (Bob Hoskins) and Lenny (David Hemmings) — gather in a London pub. Their best mate, Jack (Michael Caine), has died, and they are following his last orders to drive to Margate and scatter his ashes in the sea… Told in flashbacks… a bawdy delight..." [Peter Travers]. With Helen Mirren, too.
Jan. 25th, None,
Jan. 18th,Minority Report (2002) Tom Cruise, Sci Fi.
Jan. 11th, Beijing Bicycle (2001) Chinese.
Jan. 4th, Such a Long Journey (1998) dir. Gunnarsson, Indian.

2002 Saturday Movies

Dec. 28th, Monster's Ball (2001) with Billy Bob Thornton and Halle Berry.
Dec. 21st, None.
Dec. 14th, Man Who Wasn't There (2001) Coen Brothers.
Dec. 7th, No Man's Land  (2001) Bosnia.
Nov. 30th, Un Air de Famille.  (1996) French dysfunctional family.
Nov. 23rd, Strictly Ballroom (1980), Dir. Baz Luhrmann.
Nov. 16th, Royal Tannenbaums, (2001) got bored, didn't finish.
Nov. 15th, Friday, Panic (2000),
Nov. 9th, Monsoon Wedding (2001),
Nov. 2nd, None, Owen's 1st birthday party.
Oct. 26th, None,
Oct. 19th, The Lathe of Heaven (1980),
Oct. 17th, a Thurs., Novocaine (2001),
Oct. 6th, American Beauty (1999),
Oct. 5th, Copenhagen (2002), the play on Ch 2,
Sept. 28th, In the Bedroom (2001),
September 21st, Pixote: A Lei do Mais (1981), Brazilian,
September 18th, a Wednesday, Matewan (1987), dir. John Sayles,
September 14th, The Passion of Ayn Rand (1999), Helen Mirren very convincing as Ayn,
September 7th Gosford Park (2001),
August 31st There's Something about Mary (1998),
August 24th Moby Dick (1956), dir. John Huston,
August 17th, None, To Lenox, Shakespeare and Co.
August 10th, None, Katrina's wedding.
August 3rd, None,
July 27th Mulholland Drive (2001),
July 20th, A Beautiful Mind (2001),
July 13th,  Waking Life (2001),
July 6th,  Best in Show (2000),
July 5th, Dr T and the Women (2000),
June 29th, Une Liaison Pornographique (An Affair of Love )(1999),
June 23rd, Mona Lisa (1986),
June 15th, Thirteen Days (2000), dir. Roger Donaldson,
June 8th, Dreamlife of Angels ,
May 25th and June 1st, none,
May 18th, The Mother 2003 1h 52min, British drama. Daughter falls for her mother's boyfriend. IMDB rating 6.9.
May 11th, Say Anything 1989 1h 40min, comedy romance about a slacker who falls for a valedictorian just before college. IMDb rating 7.4.
May 4th, Nixon 1995 3h 12min, Oliver Stone bio-pic starring Anthony Hopkins. IMDb rating 7.1.
April 20th and April 27th, none,
April 13th, Croupier 1998 1h 34min, British noir thriller about a novelist who takes a job as a croupier and decides it would make a great novel. IMDb rating 7.2.
April 6th, Mississippi Burning 1988 2h 8min, historical crime drama about the murder of civil rights workers Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner. IMDb rating 7.8.
March 30th, Almost Famous 2000 2h 2min, comedy about high-schooler following a rock band on tour with a chance to write a story for Rolling Stone Magazine. IMDb rating 7.9.
March 24th, Into the Arms of Strangers 2000 2h 2min, Documentary - 'The secret smuggling of 9,300 Jewish children out of Nazi-occupied Germany in the late 1930s' [IMDb]. IMDb rating 7.8.
March 16th, none,
March 9th,   Butterfly (1999), Spanish,
March 2nd, Ma Saison Preferee (1993),
February 23rd, Quills (2000),
Febuary 16th, Flirting with Disaster,
Febuary 9th, The Graduate,
Febuary 2nd, Pollock,
January 26th, StartUp.com,
January 19th, Memento,
January 12th, Blood Simple.

2001 Saturday Movies

December 31st, We saw My Fair Lady, 1964 170 minutes, on New Year's Eve. Simply the best -music, wit (Shaw's), lyrics, cast. IMDb rating 7.8.
December 29th, Out of Sight 1998 123 minutes, Crime/comedy starring Clooney and Lopez. IMDb rating 7.0.
December 22nd, Pygmalion 1938 89 minutes IMDb rating 7.9. Shaw's classic starring Wendy Hiller and Leslie Howard
December 15th, House of Mirth 2000 140 minutes IMDb rating 6.9. Edith Wharton's tragedy of 'the raging emotions, the cruel unfairness and the desperation that are masked by' Victorian manners.
December 8th, You can Count on Me (2000) 111 min IMDb rating 7.6. Struggling single mother and her estranged brother. Excellent
December 1st, State and Main 2000 105 minutes, IMDb rating 6.7. Smart Mamet comedy starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and William H. Macy. "Profanely hilarious".
November 24th, Night of the Hunter 1955 93 minutes, classic noir thriller. Religious fanatic Robert Mitchum threatens widow's children. IMDb rating 8.2.
November 21st, What's Cooking? 2000 109 Great Thanksgiving eve film - ethnic L.A., IMDb rating 7.1.
November 17th,  Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988) 90 minutes, IMDb rating 7.5. Almodóvar black comedy.
November 10th,  The Luzhin Defense (2001) 109 minutes, IMDb rating 6.8. Eccentric chess-player falls in love with a strong-willed society beauty. From Nabokov's story. Starring John Turturro and Emily Watson.
November 3rd,  Amores Perros (2000) 154 minutes, IMDb rating 8.1. Mexican thriller "Love's a bitch'. A car accident in Mexico City entwines three stories. Writer Guillermo Arriaga Jordan, sets out on an ambitious screenplay "to write a script that could convey the pain, confusion, sadness, joy, ruin and hope of life itself."
October 27th,  Sunshine 1999 181 minutes, IMDb rating 7.3. The fate of a Hungarian Jewish family throughout the 20th century. Starring Ralph Fiennes & Rosemary Harris.
October 13th,  Cast Away 2000 143 minutes, IMDb rating 7.6. Adventure drama starring Tom Hanks on a desert island, trying to keep his sanity. Very good film.
October 6th,  Down in the Delta 1998 112 minutes, IMDb rating 6.7. Inspirational family drama from Maya Angelou starring Alfre Woodard and Al Freeman, Jr.
September 22th,  Girlfight (2000) 110 minutes, IMDb rating 6.7. Teenage girl trains as boxer without her father's knowing it. Must see.
September 15th,  Alice (1988) 86 minutes, IMDb rating 7.3. Surrealist dark version of Alice in Wonderland by Czech director Jan Svankmajer. Fascinating.
September 8th,  A Walk in the Clouds (1995) 102 minutes, IMDb rating 6.3. A pregnant young woman asks a stranger to pose as her husband as she returns to her father's grape harvest.
September 1st,  32 Short Films About Glenn Gould (1993), 98 minutes, IMDb rating 7.2. Vignettes of his life and work.
August 25th,  Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) 120 minutes, IMDb rating 7.9. Gorgeous Chinese historical fantasy romance from Ang Lee.
August 11th,  Only Angels Have Wings (1939) 121 minutes, IMDb rating 7.7. Pilots risking their lives in a South American trading port. Starring Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, & Rita Hayworth (stunning in her first film).
August 4th, My Night at Maud's (1969) 105 minutes, IMDb rating 7.9, French. A young man visits divorcée Maud. Philosophical discussions in her bedroom follow that night. Directed by Eric Rohmer.
July 28th,  Cinema Paradiso (1988) 155 minutes, IMDb rating 8.4. Italian boy loves the movies and befriends the projectionist.
July 21st, O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) 106 minutes, IMDb rating 7.8. Coen brothers' comic Odyssey variant set in the 1930's deep south.
July 14th, none.
July 7th, none.
June 30th, Traffic 2000 147 minutes, IMDb rating 7.7. Soderbergh's Americanized version of the great British miniseries Traffik, starring Michael Douglas. The war on drugs.
June 23rd,  none.
June 16th,  Mighty Quinn (1989) 98 minutes, IMDb rating 6.0. Crime drama starring a young Denzel Washington as a Jamaican policeman.
June 9th, Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) 91 minutes, IMDb rating 7.7, French musical romance, a star-making role for 20-year-old Catherine Deneuve. An umbrella shop girl sleeps with her boyfriend on the eve of his military service...
June 2nd,  Yi Yi (2000) 173 minutes, IMDb rating 7.8. A character study of a Taiwanese family's struggles with problems of modern life.
May 26th, A Zed & Two Noughts (1985) 115 minutes, IMDb rating 7.1. A Peter Greenaway comedy. Skip it.
May 19th, Deliverance (1972), 4 men take a canoe trip down a river, and things go very wrong. IMdB rating 7.8/10. Violent.
May 12th, Sacrifice [Offret] (2000) 145 minutes, Directed by Andrei Tarkovskiy in Sweden, his last. A man plants a tree on the verge of WW III. Slow. IMdB rating 7.9/10.
May 5th, Aviator's Wife (1981) Eric Rohmer film about a boy convinced his girl-friend is cheating on him, so - he starts to follow her... IMdB rating 7.4/10.
May 5th, 2001 was the first of our Saturday Movies.

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