Pumpkin

Imagine the sassiness of “Election” combined with the un-PC approach of “The Ringer” and you have “Pumpkin.” What a great, funny, little romantic film about the perfect sorority girl falling in love with a disabled boy. Christina Ricci stars and is also listed as a producer. Her character surprised me by being nowhere near as sympathetic as I expected her to be. She does not want to like this kid and resists all the way. She makes an honest transition from a bitch to an accepting person despite all the negative folks around her who see goodness only in perfection. Good soundtrack.
Favorite moment: Pumpkin being taken to a picnic on the beach in his wheelchair.
28

De-Lovely

I found it rather amusing that I saw this right after “Eternal Sunshine” because it also deals with memory and love. I really, really enjoyed this film, the performances, the settings and the music. I had seen Irwin Winkler’s “Guilty By Suspicion” back in 1991 and sort of liked it but it’s a straight drama as is most everything he did in between. Who knew he could craft a movie musical and do it so well? Kevin Kline is great as Cole Porter and it’s so wonderful to have a chance to see his musical talents on film. Doubt I’ll ever have a chance to see him (or Jonathan Pryce) on stage singing and dancing so I easily forgive any flaws this film might have. The rest of the cast is good and loved seeing modern pop singers in the background musical roles, especially Elvis Costello and Robbie Williams. Very fun!
Favorite moment: Jonathan Pryce and company singing “Blow, Gabriel, Blow” as Cole reaches the end of his life’s review.
27

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Ugh. I know lots of people love, love, love this film but it just could not end soon enough for me. I had made a vow not to see anymore Charlie Kaufman films after “Being John Malkovich” but when I realized (very late) that Michel Gondry directed this one I changed my mind. I loved Gondry’s compilation of videos found on “The Work of Michel Gondry” DVD, but “Sunshine” is not as good as the weakest of these videos. Yes the sequences near the end are visually compelling but not nearly as effective as the video work. The story of “memory erase” just feels cheap to me and does not fulfill. The whole Gift of the Magi nightmare at the end just did not work for me. A plain old love story between the two leads would have been more welcome. They are so charming together, and there in lies my frustration… appealing cast who have great chemistry with each other but not with the script. Bless all of you who found joy in this piece.
Favorite moment: Joel and Clementine talking/flirting on the LIRR on their way back to NYC.
26

The General

Interesting docu-drama about an Irish thief who eventually gets whacked by the IRA. It features Brendan Gleason as the thief and Jon Voight as his law enforcement nemesis. Really liked this one, though I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to watch it in black & white or the washed out color version. I picked the latter. Again I love the British heist genre so really enjoyed the big one they pulled off in this film… and it was true to boot. John Boorman directed this film and very ably I might add.
Favorite moment: Cahill protesting the tearing down of his block by camping out in a small trailer as they knock everything down around him.
25

The Matador

Very nice and very funny! Pierce Brosnan is delightful and delicious as the exhausted assassin. Never would have guessed that he and Greg Kinnear would make believable buddies on-screen but they are great together. Hope Davis is great as Kinnear’s sad wife who is curious about her husband’s new friend. Mexico looks awesome in the film and the bullfight is very colorful. Look forward to seeing this one again.
Favorite moment: Julian walking through the hotel lounge in his underwear and cowboy boots to take a swim in the pool.
24

Simple Men

Great movie with a superb twist on the western. Forgot how much I love Hal Hartley. Bill Sage and Robert John Burke are both great as modern outlaws wandering around Long Island each with their own purpose. The dialogue is sharp and well delivered. The production is very simple but also stylized and hypnotic in scenes. Very good film!
Favorite moment: The dance scene.
23

Ocean's 12

I’d like to say it was fun, but it was a bit of a drag. Loved watching Clooney and Pitt banter back and forth, and loved the addition of Catherine Zeta-Jones to the clutch. But the heist was a bit much and way too convoluted. I know I wouldn’t have been able to make a better film if I had had a chance to tool around Europe with a bunch of my friends. I’m not too jealous!
Favorite moment: Tess pretending to be Julia Roberts and running into Bruce Willis.
22

Last Orders

Totally saw this for Ray Winstone though he’s more a supporting role than lead. It’s directed by Fred Schepisi and stars Michael Caine, Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, Tom Courtenay, and David Hemmings. Works as a sweet friends film but no real stand-outs here. Enjoyed the performances and the car journey as the friends went to deliver the ashes of Michael Caine’s character to his final resting place.
Favorite moment: Flashbacks of David Hemmings’ character played by his son Nolan who is a dead ringer for him.
21

Asylum

I love the way Patrick McGrath writes. This adaptation of one of his novels is ok and successfully brings out the tortured angst his characters usually seem to be infused with. I preferred the film adaptation of his novel “Spider.” The strength of that film was Ralph Fiennes’ claustrophobic performance. It helped balance the demented elements. In “Asylum” we get a bit too much demented and not enough subtle performance. The plot ends up in places I wish it hadn’t gone. But I loved watching Natasha Richardson and Ian McKellen.
Favorite moment: Stella giving Dr. Cleave one last remand.
20

Brokeback Mountain

Highly overrated. The scenery is beautiful, the acting good and the story ok. Ang Lee has done much better work, especially in “Ride With the Devil” which is a much better twist on the western. Ang Lee’s strength is being able to do any genre as if he only works in that genre. How else can the man make both “Sense and Sensibility” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”? The performances are fine but the actors do not age well and look cheesy by the end. Probably works better as a short story than as a full length feature.
Favorite moment: Ennis in front of the back drop of fireworks after he bullied some bikers who annoyed him.
19

The Ringer

Yes I saw this and I paid good money to do so in a theater. I love most of the Farrelly Brothers films and though they didn’t direct this one, they had a hand in it. The basic idea is very funny but truth be told, the South Park episode where Cartman decided to win the Special Olympics was much funnier. Why? Because Cartman wasn’t set up with an acceptable reason to explain why he would do such a horrible thing. It’s funnier because he’s selfish, cruel and most importantly an idiot. “The Ringer” does have a fair amount of laughs but it’s a real winner because it does what the Farrellys do best… incorporates differently-abled people seamlessly… much more seamlessly than the clumsy language I am using here. See “Stuck On You.”
Favorite moment: Every time Brian Cox was un-PC.
18

The Pledge

I was really caught off-guard by this film. Even though I had seen the trailers I really didn’t grasp what it was about until I finished watching it. I love that it’s not a typical American crime melodrama (see “Mystic River”) and that it has instead a European sensibility (see “Insomnia”). Jack Nicholson is great as the retired policeman who gets caught up in his pledge. He has a terrific supporting cast including Helen Mirren, Benicio Del Toro, Aaron Eckhart, Vanessa Redgrave, Mickey Rourke, Sam Shepard, Harry Dean Stanton, and Patricia Clarkson. These are just the supporting actors! Robin Wright Penn plays the female lead and is awesome opposite Jack. Sean Penn directs and though I feel like I should say the film is flawed I can’t think how it is. It works so well. I love the work Sean Penn has done as an actor and as a director and I think he is an unsung American treasure.
Favorite moment: Jerry wading through a flock of turkeys to tell the Larsen’s about their daughter.
17

Gosford Park

No I did not see this when it originally came out which is a shock even to me. How did I miss a film with Michael Gambon and Alan Bates? Well now that things have been rectified I am pleased to say it’s as good as the critics claimed it was. Loved the whole murder at the estate plot combined with upstairs downstairs melodrama. Julian Fellowes has a way with words and I look forward to seeing his follow-up film “Separate Lies” before the year is out. The strength of GP? Not repeating plot points and just letting the dialogue and story flow. The production design is superb and the costumes magnificent. Could have done without the whole plotline around Ryan Phillippe… but maybe someday I’ll understand why it was there. Nice work Mr. Altman!
Favorite moment: Every time Inspector Thompson tries to introduce himself.
16

The Emperor's New Clothes

I am a sucker for an Ian Holm film and he finally gets the lead in this one! This is an interesting “What-If?” film that has Napoleon scheming to escape exile so he can reclaim his place as Emperor. Only problem is that the look alike who replaces him on St Helena enjoys the upscale life he now gets to lead and never announces he is a fake. The real Napoleon is stuck as a commoner unable to convince anyone of who he really is. Along the way he sees how plain people live and he ends up falling in love. A nice film with sweet moments and a few laughs.
Favorite moment: Napoleon wanders around the grounds of an insane asylum filled with crazy Napoleons. For a light film this scene borders on horror.
15

Good Night, and Good Luck.

Finally a real movie!!! Amazing. This film solidifies for me George Clooney’s role as a film savior. He’s got power and clout and he chooses to use some of it to make films he’d like to see. An intelligent drama that looks good, sounds good and is well acted. Hopefully more “power people” will follow suit instead of just making the same old stuff...I mean you Harrison "Get off my file-server" Ford"! The cast is great, especially David Strathairn. The music is also great, gotta get the soundtrack. Love the smoking! More smoking in films please, smoking is cool on the big screen even if it's not cool in real life.
Favorite moment: Either Murrow’s face superimposed over the jazz singer as he reflects on and mourns his friend’s suicide or Fred Friendly crouching at Murrow’s knee tapping his leg to count him down. Both are great!
14

The Statement

What was I thinking? Oh yea how much I like Michael Caine and what an awesome British cast (Alan Bates, Tilda Swinton, Ciaran Hinds, Frank Finlay, Jeremy Northam, Edward Petherbridge). Except they are in a film that takes place in France playing French characters directed by an American. What were the producers thinking? Am I supposed to accept they are French because they take loving care to carve the fish at every meal? Way too many close-ups of fish by the way. The story is a basic thriller involving the Church covering up for a Nazi collaborator but the story gets no traction. We do however see lots of pretty places in France. Oh well, always love seeing Alan Bates no matter what the film is. R.I.P. Alan!
Favorite moment: Michael Caine crawling across a ladder linking two rooftops to evade the police in a coastal French town. Why? Because the possibility that Michael Caine might have fallen to his death during the filming of this scene is far more exciting than anything else that happens in this film.

13

L4YER CAKE

Or is it 4 Layer Cake? I’m confused. No matter it’s fun. Loved this film and want to see it again and again. I love British gangster and heist films and this fulfills on both counts. The film has the style of it’s two cousins “Lock Stock” and “Snatch” though it’s not directed by Guy Ritchie. Just as well because Matthew Vaughan knows his way around a camera and a plotline. Loved all the major players especially Michael Gambon – he’s just so vicious. Great soundtrack, awesome shots and fun story.
Favorite moment: the final scene.
12

Star 80

Bob Fosse’s last film and certainly not his best. Why watch it? Eric Roberts is creepy and compelling as Dorothy Stratton’s psychotic Svengali Paul Snider. Cliff Robertson is amusing as Hugh Hefner and Roger Rees is controlling in a nicer way than Snider as Peter Bogdanovich, I mean Aram Nicholas. What else is cool about this film? The throwback feel it as of 80’s or maybe really 70’s film making. Or is it just Fosse’s style and the technology of the time. Whatever it is, I miss that roughness that most films today lack even when they try to recreate it.
Favorite moment: Paul trying to convince one of Hef’s minions to let him back into the mansion. What a schmuck!
11

Jarhead

Did not expect to like this film because I disliked Road to Perdition so much. Sam Mendes is a great visual stylist (see American Beauty) but lacks any real emotional core. His visuals are used too much to serve as the emotion… in my opinion. But Jarhead is probably his best effort at real emotion (maybe because it’s a true story) and not just heightened feelings with striking images. Love war movies so of course I would see this.
Favorite moment: Troy breaking down after he wasn’t allowed to do what he’d been trained to do: kill. Nice scene Sarsgaard!
10

Bob Roberts

Saw this film year’s ago, way before I understood the dangers of the right wing. Was funny then… comes off as scary and funny now. Love Tim Robbins and his take on American political culture. So many current actors show up in this one that it’s almost like looking at an old yearbook. David Straithairn, Bob Balaban, Alan Rickman, James Spader, John Cusack and Jack Black to name a few standouts for me. Brian Murray is fun to watch as he tries to get an honest view of a corrupt campaign.
Favorite moment: Bob tapping his foot while singing in the wheelchair.
9

City of Ghosts

Another actor directed and conceived film. This time Matt Dillon displays his talents behind the camera. Really liked this movie and the other worldliness it had. Love films like this that take you on location, this time in Cambodia, so you see, and and sort of feel what it’s like there. Also love the use of local non-actors in roles, especially Matt’s hired driver. Brings an authenticity to the production. Loved all the major actors but especially got a kick out of Gerard Depardieu as the hotel owner. Where’s he been? Gotta get me more of the Depardieu for this project.
Favorite moment: Sok introducing Jimmy to his family.
8

Manny and Lo

Loved this re-working of the buddy film. The story itself is OK and quirky but it’s really little Scarlett Johansson who drives the film as the more practical of the two kids. So great at such an early age, who knew? Mary Kay Place is creepy and endearing as the “nurse” the two girl’s kidnap to help them with Lo’s pregnancy. The driving scenes reminded me a bit of Broken Flowers, not sure why.
Favorite moment: Manny meeting and talking with “the boy next door” while she’s on the lam. It’s a quiet and simple moment with this great tension of what if she no longer had to be on the run and could actually have dinner over at friend’s house.
7

Munich

Snore. I saw “The Constant Gardner” and “Syriana” at the end of 2005 and basically they ruined “Munich” for me. By the time I got to Spielberg’s international political drama I was spoiled by filmmakers who showed me realistic international settings without romanticizing them. Avner meeting his contact in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower in a cute open market paled in comparison to actual locations used realistically in the other films mentioned above. Very bummed that the narrative and the settings let me down because the cast was filled with favorites: Geoffrey Rush, Ciaran Hinds, Eric Bana, Daniel Craig. Strong cast, weak everything else.
Favorite scene: Avner having family dinner with Papa’s family. This should have been the heart of the movie, not the shameless use of the Trade Towers. Is subtlety really so difficult?
6

Nil By Mouth

Funny to think I saw this right after Finding Nemo. Both are films about families in dire circumstances but suddenly the barracuda in Nemo seems pleasant. This film is written and directed by Gary Oldman. Amazing. He is amazing and this film is a vision we rarely get to glimpse on the big screen. True raw emotions and circumstances that are painful but real. Nothing is romanticized or apologized for. Ray Winstone, Kathy Burke, and Charlie Creed-Miles are stand outs but everyone is amazing. I found it very difficult to watch this film and yet very compelling. Between this and “Sexy Beast” I will now make a point to see any Ray Winstone movie.
Favorite moment: Ray and Val with the family getting ready to go to a Christmas party.
5

Finding Nemo

I joke that this film is about a family massacre that leads to a kidnapping which ultimately has a happy resolution facilitated by a brain damaged friend. Who knew such a tale would be so entertaining? But it is! It’s one of the few films where I can handle Albert Brooks' angst and actually find it funny. The detail of the ocean life is really wonderful and the whole journey is endearing.
Favorite moment: Dory speaking humpback.
4

Gerry

Gus Van Sant’s hiking movie… not sure what else to refer to this one as. Definitely not a movie I would have normally spent a lot of time with and yet a movie I am glad I saw. Amazing that extended shots of two people just walking could be compelling, but the sound and the rhythm of the walking sucked me in. Loved both Casey Affleck and Matt Damon. Both are very personable and honest on screen, I really enjoyed that. Not so sure what happened at the end and if maybe the whole thing was a hallucination, but I really don’t care. The journey was fulfilling and the desert scenes interesting.
Favorite moment: Casey getting stuck on a tall rock and struggling with how to get down as Matt piled up sand he could jump into. Seriously, how is that gonna help?
3

The Incredibles

Imagine Pixar doing an animated drama. Well that’s what I really loved about this film. By the time I got to the end of the film where the spectacular battle against evil occurs I was longing for the down to earth drama of the Parr residence and Bob’s ennui. Not that the end is bad, it was just amazing to see that an animated film did not need to make use of fantastical elements to be entertaining. Got to see this at the same time I visited MOMA’s exhibition of Pixar work. More than one person has said to me that animated films should not count in this little project of mine because they are not really “films.” The Pixar exhibit showed that more thought about the art and craft of film is put into these works than most mainstream blockbuster films. As I write this “Madea’s Family Reunion” is number one at the box office. 'Nuff said to all you “animater haters!”
Favorite moment: any scene with Edna.
2

King Kong

My first movie of this resolution was Peter Jackson’s “King Kong.” It was actually the 2nd time I’d seen the film. Yes I did like it that much even though almost 2 months on, I now barely remember it! Loved it because it was so over the top in terms of action but also had a heart. Andy Serkis was great as Kong. Imagine having a career where you excel at embodying a character but no one sees what you really look like as a human. Blessing or curse? Jackson’s re-imagining of historic New York City was as spectacular as any of the other special effects or sequences, just as fun as the Coen brothers’ imaginary NYC in “The Hudsucker Proxy.” Jackson is a genius visual storyteller. Saw this movie in the AMC 25 on 42nd street. By far my favorite theatre in the country with the best seats and best sound!
Favorite moment: Kong and Naomi in Central Park.
1