| · "vendredi soir (friday night)" (2002) - claire denis |
24-Aug-2003 |
catherine breillat and claire denis are my favorites among the new generation of french directors that push the limits of sensuality in all its forms and at the same time posses a very individual viewpoint (it is interesting to note that both of them are women, but as breillat puts it, they are directors first). |
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| · "japón" (2002) - carlos reygadas |
24-Aug-2003 |
a remarkable debut by mexican director carlos reygadas, a story that is both strikingly simple and filled with most profound pathos. |
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| · "spider" (2002) - david cronenberg |
24-Aug-2003 |
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| · "lost in la mancha" (2002) - keith fulton, louis pepe |
20-May-2003 |
lost in la mancha is another take on the "meta-movie" genre recently, perhaps somewhat comparable to adaptation. |
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| · "kairo (pulse)" (2001) - kiyoshi kurosawa |
20-May-2003 |
"kairo (pulse)" is probably the best example of the so-called "new wave" of asian horror. although I am only starting out on the path of exploration, it is obvious that the existence of "guinea pig" series with their lack of plot, dialogue, characters and extreme violence paved the way for purely psychological pictures ("ringu" series, "dark water," and "pulse" being the best examples). |
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| · "arsenal" (1929) - aleksandr dovzhenko |
16-Jan-2003 |
to me dovzhenko has always been one the pillars of soviet cinema, one of those names that are well-known, and yet not that many people have got to see his work. |
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| · "heaven" (2002) - tom tykwer |
1-Dec-2002 |
"heaven" has been directed by tom tykwer, a figure charged with an ongoing attempt of reviving the german cinema, a prodigy director that has been consistently exploring the game of chance and stylish camera work that appeared throughout his three most recent films. the writing credits feature krzysztof kieslowski; similar to "decalogue" series, "heaven" was meant to be a part of a trilogy, based on dante - an ambitious project never finished by kieslowski. |
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| · "ten" (2002) - abbas kiarostami |
11-Oct-2002 |
I had rather mixed feelings heading out to see this film. on one hand, i have always regarded kiarostami's the wind will carry us and taste of cherry among the most interesting happenings in the film world. these two films were the ones that sparkled my interest in Iranian cinema (which I am still only slightly familiar with). what attracts me in his work is meditative, non-judgmental style, his metaphysical musings about the most profound matters with the simple backdrop of iranian rural landscapes. |
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| · "safe" (1995) - todd haynes |
11-Oct-2002 |
safe is the film that I had a hard time pinning down in my mind. at first I saw it as perfectly atmosphere-setting piece that slowly alters reality, subtly tackling the issue of environmental pollution. this part is absolutely fantastic; haynes is great when it comes to creating unsettling ambience. |
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| · "la notte" (1960) - michelangelo antonioni |
11-Oct-2002 |
antonioni's la notte with its slow pace where only last 10-15 minutes that are truly frightening, gets under your skin, hides in the back of your mind, waiting to come out in the middle of the night, when you expect it the least, when all your guards are down, and there is nothing else to distract you or protect you from it. |
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| · "du rififi chez les hommes (rififi)" (1955) - jules dassin |
11-Oct-2002 |
the timing could not have been better for watching this film - first day of fall, with the usual reflective mindset, perfectly matched with the misty black & white cinematography of rififi. |
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| · "manhattan" (1979) - woody alen |
24-Aug-2002 |
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| · "sånger från andra våningen (songs from the second floor)" (2000) - roy and |
24-Aug-2002 |
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| · "espinazo del diablo (devil's backbone)" (2001) - guillermo del toro |
24-Aug-2002 |
this is nicely built and beautifully shot story, produced by Pedro Almodóvar, written and directed by Guillermo del Toro. a mystical tale set in 1939, with the absurdity and brutality of those times, that will undeniably bring comparisons with magic realism of marquez with his contrast of beautiful and macabre (not to mention the language similarity). |
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| · "signs" (2002) - m. night shyamalan |
24-Aug-2002 |
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| · "the harder they come" (1973) - perry henzell |
21-Jul-2002 |
this is such a strange film, especially for someone not familiar with jamaica. what attracted me in it right away was its vibe, the defiance of poverty, the spirit of the people, something alien to the western world, but infinitely seductive in its quest for freedom, the different set of morals, the naïve passion for glamour, fame, strangely pure in this almost childish way. |
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| · "yojimbo" (2001) - akira kurosawa |
21-Jul-2002 |
although I have liked all I have seen from kurosawa (which was not much, unfortunately), I am not by any means a kurosawa buff, this might explain my inability to put this film in context with his other work, perhaps it is all for the better, allowing me to be more objective. |
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| · "à ma soeur! (fat girl)" (2001) - catherine breillat |
20-Jul-2002 |
in fat girl catherine breillat continues her exploration of female sexuality, the subject of her previous largely controversial romance. |
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| · "minority report" (2002) - steven spielberg |
2-Jul-2002 |
it is hard for me to comment on spielberg movies. when I was growing up watching his films, I never knew any better, deprived in my cultural isolation. ever since then I have not really re-watched his older films with a critical eye, so his name always had an aura of untouchable perfection. of course, this always results in either too critical or too forgiving commentary. |
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| · "yi yi" (2000) - edward yang |
2-Jul-2002 |
taiwanese director edward yang has been making movies for quite a few years, and finally with this picture he breaks through to the western market and gets the attention he really deserves. |
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| · "une femme est une femme (a woman is a woman)" (1961) - jean-luc godard |
2-Jul-2002 |
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| · "gummo" (1997) - harmony korine |
12-Mar-2002 |
I have been trying to see "gummo" for a few years now, and finally I got a chance to watch it. there was this instant shock, this eerie, sickening feel as I watched it, often realizing that I am squinting with uneasiness. there were moments of strange insecurity, when I feverishly searched my mind to re-affirm my difference from these characters. |
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| · "the road home" (1999) - yimou zhang |
12-Mar-2002 |
I find myself more and more willing to compromise watching films like that, I have no problems with closing my eyes on certain shortcomings and be so accepting, enjoying the best I can find in almost everything, this sort of active, seeking acceptance is what makes me a worthless critic in some ways, but at the same time I think it is a fine line and with enough objectivity I can balance it all. maybe it does take a lot of objectivity and effort to be able to immerse yourself so seamlessly, so completely. |
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| · "storytelling" (2001) - todd solondz |
5-Mar-2002 |
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| · "ghost world" (2001) - terry zwigoff |
5-Mar-2002 |
a piece below is a reflective account of emotions/thoughts after watching ghost world for the first time on a big screen. ideally one would read it after watching the movie, since it is not strictly a review. |
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| · jim jarmusch retrospective |
5-Mar-2002 |
jim jarmusch has established himself over the years as a unique independent filmmaker with a recognizable style and an impressive connections in the film/entertainment industry (which one realizes after seeing the likes of coffee and cigarettes). below is a free-flowing account/meditation inspired by his pictures. |
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| · "chocolat" (2000) - lars hallstrom |
5-Mar-2002 |
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| · "princess and the warrior" (2000) - tom tykwer |
5-Mar-2002 |
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| · "mulholland dr." (2001) - david lynch |
4-Mar-2002 |
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| · "acid house" (1998) - paul mcguigan |
4-Mar-2002 |
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| · "amores perros" (2000) - alejandro gonzález iñárritu |
4-Mar-2002 |
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| · "harry potter and the sorcerer's stone" (2001) - chris columbus |
4-Mar-2002 |
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| · "tin drum" (1979) - volker schlöndorff |
4-Mar-2002 |
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| · "léolo" (1992) - jean-claude lauzon |
2-Mar-2002 |
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| · final fantasy: the spirits within |
19-Jul-2001 |
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| · agnes varda - "gleaners and i" |
13-Jul-2001 |
agnes warda, affectionately called “the grandmother of the french new wave”, filmed this movie with a small production crew, traveling across france in the course of a year, filming on locations with a small digital camera. |
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| · brothers quay - "in absentia" |
13-Jul-2001 |
this short 20-minute film by quay brothers is their first new release in five years. it has premiered at the directors' fortnight at cannes last year. knowing pervious work by quay brothers, i was quite excited to see it on the big screen. yet another reason for that was the music of legendary composer, conductor, music theorist karlheinz stockhausen. |
|
| · kiss of the dragon |
11-Jul-2001 |
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| · Cinema Revisited: Pabst's 1931 "Kameradschaft" |
2-May-2000 |
Kameradschaft (1931) is an interesting classic German film made at a very sensitive point in Western European history, targeting French/German tensions temporally situated directly between World Wars I & II. The director, G.W. Pabst, seem to sense this and what results is ambiguous: is the content of the film simple exploitation or an astute realization? A bit of both perhaps, and a lot of captivating cinema in between. |
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| · Pitch Black. A Review with Commentary on the Genre. |
28-Feb-2000 |
Each time a science fiction trailer catches my eyes and fills me with hope for the genre, I remind myself that there has been very little in recent sci-fi memory to get excited over. |
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