Some A Grade Movies

I thought I'd start out this blog with a sample of some movies I have watched in each category. Grade A movies are excellent and I happily recommend them to anyone who enjoys film.

A

Broken Flowers

Bill Murray, Jeffrey Wright, Sharon stone, Jessica Lange Tilda Swinton. Dir = Jim Jarmusch

A rich ex-playboy gets an unsigned letter from an old flame that says he has a son. He looks up 4 girlfriends who could be it. No resolution. Murray looks like Lyndon Johnson in 1968 - way too old for this role, against these women. His "acting" is little more than the stone-face he has adopted lately. However, the women, sets, killer music, directing, and Jeffrey Wright make it outstanding overall.

A

Mail Order Wife

Andrew Gurland (co-writer, director, star with Huck Botko), Eugenia Yuan, Adrian Martinez, Deborah Teng. Independent film

A fictional documentary but not a mockumentary -- plays it straight. A doorman in Queens gets a mail order bride from Burma. Yuan is the focus, but all the characters are memorable originals, totally convincing. A well-written, compelling human story. Yuan's translator (Teng) is riveting, but alas, few DVDs these days give info on cast members - regrettable..

A

The 40-year-old Virgin

Steve Carell, Catherine Keener

A scatological hoot about male sexuality. The title states the childish plot problematic. Very sharp writing and outstanding acting. CK is fantastic. No guns, explosions, or violence. Just great script, lots o' funny dirty talk and a goofy, LOL ending.

A

Assassin

Margaret Cho

A live stand-up comedy that had me laughing out loud. Her material is more politically pointed than in the past, less biological, less pure silliness. She is positioning herself as comic-activist, the next Lenny Bruce, and has the ability to succeed.

A

Brothers

Connie Nielsen. Dir=Suzanne Bier. Danish, subtitled

Family man gets called to fight in Afghanistan, is captured, presumed dead, finds living hell. His brother looks after the wife and kids. He returns. Then what? Extremely well written, scripted and acted. Editing is odd. CN is an archetypal Scandinavian beauty.

A

Melinda and Melinda

Written and directed by Woody Allen. Will Ferrell, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, others.

Melinda is lonely, stays with friends, finally falls in love. The story is told twice, in intercut scenes, supposedly once as a comedy, once as a tragedy, but WA could have skipped that setup and just told the stories, like Sliding Doors. Humorous but not jokey. Characters are the usual NYC upper class, so rich that they can be caricatures. But the performances are amazing, especially RM. WF is a revelation. Fabulous photog, interiors, costume, dialog, directing. Masterful movie craftsmanship.

A

The Day I Became a Woman

Dir= Marziyeh Meshkini. Iranian, in Farsi, subtitled.

Three short stories, loosely coupled. A girl turns 9 and gets her chador; a young woman joins a bicycle race without her husband's permission; an old woman floats away on a raft, surrounded by consumer goods. Stunning photography full of striking images. Sparse dialog, masterful directing. Dreamlike, yet still a biting (bitter?) social comment.

A

Me and You and Everyone We Know

Miranda July = actor, writer, director. Casting by Meg Norman.

Three short stories loosely coupled (seems the trend these days). Young boys do sexual chat on the internet, young girls flirt with sexuality, and an adult couple tries to find common ground. Realistic dialog, sets, costumes, script. No real plot. Slow. Human, compelling and original.

A

Palindromes

Ellen Barkin, Jennifer Jason Leigh, others. Writer&Dir = Todd Solondz

Young teenager wants a baby, gets pregnant, parents coerce abortion. She runs away to try again, and bounces from highway hitchhiker to foster home, Different actors play the girl during that period, which is confusing at first but finally says, 'this is everygirl's story'. Knockout casting, fine acting, writing, directing. Story is loose but a metaphorical palindrome.

A

Angels & Aliens: The Basement and the Kitchen

Writer, Director, Star = David Fickas. Mo Gaffney as the mother. Indie.

Paranoid youth lives in his mother's basement, won't go out, thinks aliens are trying to get him. He's nuts. Or is he? It's not aliens trying to get him! Original story, hilarious at times, convincing sets & situations, good photog & directing, strong acting. DF himself is the weakest player.

A

Merci, Docteur Rey!

Dianne Wiest. Dir, writer = Andrew Litvack. French and English with subtitles

An American opera diva sings Turandot in Paris; her closeted gay son sees a man murdered who later is identified as his father. Or maybe not. Really funny screwball humor!

A

Off the Map

Joan Allen, Sam Elliott, Valentina De Angelis. Dir=Campbell Scott

A poor family lives in New Mexico "off the grid" or map. Subsistence farming, no plumbing or electricity. But they are educated and live well even as the Dad falls into depression. 10 yr old girl (VDA) is a scene-stealer, but all acting is first class. Script, story line excellent (no plot). Sets are unbelievable but scenery is good. A slow pace but not a slow movie. Humanly engaging.

A

Ten

Dir=Abbas Kiarostami
(in Farsi, subtitled)

Ten is the number of scenes in this movie, all of them of a woman driving a car in Teheran. Dash cameras show her or her passenger, and that's it. Passengers include her 14 yr old son, sister, prostitute, etc. The dialog tells the story of life in Teheran today for a woman. It's totally about gender. The son is especially disturbing. We only hear, never see the hooker, making her a subconscious voice. Brilliant.

A

Colors Straight Up

Michele Ohayon, producer, director

A documentary with high risk LA youth studying theater and dance. Gripping personal stories, good original music, excellent editing. Like Stand and Deliver but heart achingly true. No info on the teachers.

A

Million Dollar Baby

Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman

Two movies in one. The first, HS becomes a winning boxer, reluctantly trained by Clint. The second is about euthanasia after she is injured. The first movie is better. MF is CE's Boswell, a weak role. His award was probably for Unforgiven. CE acts like CE. Swank is the standout. Well directed & photo'd boxing scenes.

A

The Merchant of Venice

Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, Joseph Fiennes, Lynn Collins. Dir=Michael Radford

Pacino brings Shylock alive, especially in the famous "do we not bleed?" speech. Irons has presence but mumbles. Fiennes: outstanding. Collins good as a boy. Well-paced. Lines are not rushed. The language is only a very slight obstacle. Directing, editing, locations, costumes make it a compelling Shakespeare.

A

In My Country

Samuel L. Jackson, Juliette Binoche, Dir=John Boorman; Screenplay Anne Peacock.

2 Reporters cover the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa in the mid-90's. A fictionalization of the actual transcripts. Complex, moving and thought provoking. Acting like you've never seen from the 2 stars. Story line cliched, alas, almost kills it. Shot in South Africa.

A

Team America

Trey Parker, Matt Stone, writers, directors (The "South Park" team.)

Puppets, actually, marionettes on strings, give a parody of military/police action movies, chasing terrorists (brown puppets) around the world, blowing things up. Script is hilarious, and the puppets are funny. Much humor tends to the prurient and puerile, but the political commentary and Hollywood satires are excellent.

A

Bad Boy Bubby

Nicholas Hope. Writ, Dir = Rolf De Heer. Released in 1993, very limited US circulation. A cult hit and winner of film festivals.

A man has been locked in an ultra- squalid apartment with his mother for 35 years then gets out, joins a band, meets a girl. He is autistic maybe. Not a true sketch. Dark, horrifying, tragic, and hilarious at the same time. A comment on human development? Or it may mean nothing. Amazing performance by Hope. Totally original. You have never seen a picture like this. Best punk band in the world. Bad sound, experimental or not.

A

Dirty Filthy Love

Michael Sheen, Shirley Henderson.Dir=Adrian Shergold. Produced by the Sundance Channel

Man suffers from increasingly severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, with a touch of Tourette's. Loses wife, job. Joins a support group. A gripping, tragic, funny, realistic story by somebody who knows OCD . Meds are not given their proper due, but it is a human, not a psychiatric story.

A

The Woodsman

Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Mos Def; Dir=Nicole Kassell

KB, in his best-ever performance, is a convicted pedophile trying to start over after prison. He gets hatred and loathing when his past is discovered, but also some understanding. He is not "cured" and there are some creepy scenes, but there is a quasi-happy ending. He says "I am not a monster," but isn't he? The movie is honest, courageous, not voyeuristic or trite.

A

The Assassination of Richard Nixon

Sean Penn, Don Cheadle, Naomi Watts, Jack Thompson. Dir=Niels Mueller

Sean Penn is a furniture salesman who can't find a way to success. Wife divorces, he loses jobs, due to a mild mental or personality defect which develops into full delusion and violent action. The mental condition is a cheap artificial motivator, unlike Miller's Willy Loman or De Niro in Taxi. But Penn's acting is pure genius. It leaps off the screen. Cheadle is also outstanding here.

A

Hotel Rwanda

Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Nick Nolte. Dir = Terry George

DC, Hutu, runs a luxury hotel in Rwanda in 1994 when Tutsis attacked Hutus with machetes. NN is the inert UN. The violence is all the more disturbing because it is not shown, but implied in the human drama. Fabulous acting and directing. Story line meanders. A personal, not a political story, although the DVD comes with an envelope for Amnesty International.

A

What Alice Found

Judith Ivey, Emily Grace. Writer, director = A. Dean Bell

A young woman escapes a small New Hampshire town with a road trip to Florida. Car breaks down, she is rescued by a couple in a big RV. She learns about the dark side of life on the highway. A good story, very well-told. Tremendous acting. A poignant comment on how easy it is for a woman to become dead-ended in life.

A

Greendale

A film by Neil Young, songwriter, singer, director of photography and cameraman.

The DVD package gives no clue what this thing is. It is a series of 8 Neil Young songs that tell stories about a family of characters. The stories are only related by the recurrence of the characters, though obvious postproduction tries to suggest a single narrative. Hand held super-8. It's incoherent; it means nothing. Like Horse With No Name on steroids. But it is an artistic achievement of the first order. It helps to be a fan of Young.

A

Robot Stories

Writer, Director = Greg Pak

Four short films, all involving robots in one way or another, but these are human, not robot stories. Example: an old man has a holographic girlfriend but won't agree to mental/digital immortality with her, because it would be "a happiness he hasn't earned." Very strong acting, great writing and directing. Haunting.

A

Ray

Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington

A bio of Ray Charles. JF nails Charles' look and moves so totally, it is eerie. Lip sync to original music is flawless. KW gives a strong and subtle performance. Story, script, directing, photog are humdrum. The music is all.

A

Hero

Jet Li. Dir = Zhang Yimou, "Presented by" Quentin Tarrantino. Chinese, subtitled.

An abstract impressionist martial arts movie like Crouching Tiger and Kill Bill 1, but this one is stunningly beautiful, more so than Kurosawa's "Ran" which is quoted, and it has an engaging, Roshomonic story. Will be a classic.

A

The Five Obstructions

Lars von Trier, Jorgen Leth. Danish, subtitled

The dogmatic von Trier gives 5 short film assignments to his mentor. Each film has different rules, such as no sets, or no edit over 12 frames, or "you must star in it." An exploration of film and of the men. Wonderful pictures, great insights, but you must be "into" film. Otherwise it will be boring.

A

The Saddest Music in the World

Isabella Rosellini, Dir=Guy Maddin. Canadian.

A music contest in depression era Winnipeg to find the saddest music, results in an international gong show. Mostly B&W, hand held, grainy super-8 or digital, with vaseline on the lens, makes it like old newsreel footage. Editing is inspired, and the story and script are a hilarious though subtle satire, mostly of American culture. Good music. Surreal sets. Weird characters. Outrageously creative, mind-boggling, Fellini-esque.

A

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring

Director and writer=Kim Ki-Duk. Korean, with subtitles.

A Buddhist tale, gorgeously photographed. The title tells the story: the seasons of life. Spring comes around twice to make sure we get the idea of the eternal cycle. In spring, a young acolyte lives with a wise old man on a raft hermitage. In the summer, the boy is a young man. And so on. Stereotypical ideas, but so beautiful and thought-provoking, you can't resist.

A

Before Sunset

Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Dir=Richard Linklater

Sequel to Before Sunrise of a decade ago, in which a couple met briefly and passionately then lost touch with each other. Now they meet again in Paris. Talking heads for 90 minutes as they catch up. Are they still interested in each other? It smolders. Script is too clever but the acting, personalities and glorious romanticism win you over.

A

A Day Without A Mexican

Dir=Sergio Arau

One day all the Mexicans in California disappear without a trace. What are the consequences? Strange fog stops out of state communications. Creative, funny, with a serious point of view. Not well acted though. Good music.

A

Shrek 2

Dreamworks. Voices of Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Jennifer Saunders

Incredible animation, very funny gags and enough story to pull it along. JS is a real standout as the fairy godmother. JC is disappointing except for one Fawlty Towers bit. AB has a sense of humor about himself. As good as S-1.

A

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Dir=Michael Gondry

A love story, time-shredded Memento-like, yet another cultural expression of anxiety about Alzheimers. But in this case the acting is superb, especially JC who plays a dramatic role without a rubber face. He agrees to have his memory of his girlfriend erased, but then decides to fight it. The POV then shifts to his memories with her, being erased even as they occur, so a thriller of how to get out of that memory in time and find another. Nonsense story, but fine acting by the whole cast saves it.

A

Coffee And Cigarettes

Dir = Jim Jarmusch. Tons of actors, including Cate Blanchett, Tom Waits, Steven Wright, Bill Murray, many others.

Eleven short scenes of two people meeting "for coffee" & smoking cigarettes. All in beautiful B&W. The people mostly do not want to be there, so the social tension is palpable. The dialogs are Mamet-esque artistic abstractions, not realist. The acting and directing are riveting. Sets interesting. A true masterpiece of film. Memorable.

A

Badaaas!

Mario Van Peebles

Documentary about the making of 1970's Sweet Sweetback Badass' Story by Melvin Van Peebles, Mario's father, who made that breakthrough movie. Fascinating, important, real.

A

Cho Revolution

Margaret Cho

Cho's third standup comedy movie. A million funny bits. She is a great face actor. Lots of crude body jokes, but also important social commentary. "A" for its genre.

A

The Singing Detective

Robt. Downey Jr., Mel Gibson, Robin Wright Penn. Adrian Brody.

A writer with a disgusting skin disease imagines himself a hard boiled Chandleresque detective who often breaks into song and dance - 50's pop (original sound tracks). Oddly, RDJ is poor at lip-sync. MG cures his condition by reflecting on his mother (really). Great makeup forces awareness of lookism. Weird, but good.

A

Monster

Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci

CT is a hooker at the end of her rope who finds it makes more sense to kill the men than endure the degradation. Clings for love to CR, who is abrasive and unlikable as always. A "true story", but without plot. CT is astounding. She is that character. Best actress award is well deserved.

A

Mystic River

Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishbourne, Marcia Gay Harden. Dir: Clint Eastwood

3 boys grow up in tough Boston hood. One becomes a cop, another, ex-hoodlum (SP), learns his daughter is killed. The third, abducted as a child, didn't do it, or did he? Best performances I've ever seen by all the actors except LF. Just a magic ensemble, or is Clint getting that good? A complex story well-told.

A

In Praise of Love

Jean-Luc Goddard (Dir). French with subtitles

Goddard's swan song is a comment on his own career, on France (& being French) since WWII, on war and psychology. Beautiful, layered, smart, humorous, historical, honest. Reverent yet fresh. Film as art. A masterpiece.

A

The Triplets of Belleville

An animation by Sylvain Chomet. French, but there's no dialog so it doesn't matter.

Animated in the old Disney style: artists capture nuance in expression and gesture to make it "human" and affecting. A Tour-de France cyclist is kidnapped by the mafia, rescued by his mother and his dog. It's nonsense. Beautifully drawn and colored with perfect sound. Plenty of wry cultural humor too. Weird but engaging.

A

Kill Bill

Quentin Tarrantino's fourth movie. Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu

Wronged woman seeks murderous revenge for the names on her list. Based on Kurasowa's 7 Samurai and Leone's spaghetti variations. Creative use of anime, and a nod to Crouching Tiger. Acting by UT and LL is excellent. Fantastic photog, directing, sets, music. Lots of gushing blood, but it is surreal comedy, not violence. A classic.

A

Lost in Translation

Bill Murray, Scarlet Johannsen, Giovanni Ribisi. Writer, Dir, Prod = Sofia Coppola.

Lonesome old actor, young girl make friends in Tokyo. A strong affectionate relationship without sex. Fab writing, directing. Fine acting. Loose story, to the point of entropy. Satirical of Japanese society. Just barely a comedy. SJ is magnetic.

A

Dogville

Nicole Kidman, Ben Gazarra, Stellan Skarsgaard, James Cahn. Dir = Lars von Trier

Woman on the run hides in a small town. She wins them over by cheerful service but they finally turn on her and put her in chains. Her father's men arrive, burn the town. Severe Brechtian minimalism. No sets to speak of. An allegory for some existential truth, but what? First class acting and directing. I really liked this movie.

A

Marci X

Lisa Kudrow, Damon Wayans; Richard Benjamin.

Rich white jewish blonde falls for black vulgar rapper. Parodies both cultures perfectly. Great jokes & music, good acting. Good production values. Lame sitcom story line. Laugh out loud funny.

A

A Good Night To Die

Michael Rapaport, Gary Stretch, James Russo. British Indie

Professional assassins become friends and rivals, like Bronson's "Mechanic" of 25 years ago. Dynamite script- clever, funny, thoughtful. MR is electrifying - you can't take your eyes off him. Why isn't he a huge star?

A

Skins

Graham Greene, Native cast and dir.

Shot on Pine Ridge, story of alcohol and crime, searching for values. Good humor and acting, especially GG. Doesn't have the emotional connection of Smoke Signals but a better story.

A

Down With Love

Rene Zellweger, Ewan McGregor, David Hyde-Pierce. Dir=Payton Reed, Costumes=Daniel Orlandi, Music=Mark Shaiman.

A tongue in cheek homage to romantic comedies of the 60's. RZ is ever impressive. EM does an amazing Bobby Darrin bit. The real stars are the costumes, the music, and the amazing throw away song during the credits.

A

Baraka

Ron Fricke, Dir, Photog

A visual feast. Stunning photography from around the world, edited like the "-qaatsi" films. Sound track of human and natural rhythms. Not a travel pic, it has implicit editorial content: from aboriginal ritual to Auschwitz ovens, from Ryoanji to NYC traffic. But the reactionary message doesn’t spoil the visual beauty.

A

The Hours

Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Meryl Streep, Ed Harris

Virginia Woolf commits suicide, her spiritual double, JM, living in 1951 suburbia does not, nor does her fictional character, MS, living in 2002 NYC. Harris, opposite Streep, does. Good psychological drama, but confuses existential despair & clinical depression. JM should have won for acting, though NK is flawless.

A

Scotland, PA

Maura Tierney, Christopher Walken, James Lebros

Farcical comedy set in a '70's diner. Couple kills owner and takes the place over. Walken is the deadpan cop. A+ acting all around. MT is wonderful.

A

Rabbit-Proof Fence

Dir=Phillip Noyce. Everlyn Sampi, Kenneth Branaugh

3 young aboriginal girls escape a gov't school in 1930's Western Australia, walk 1200 miles home. Powerful sense of place and culture. Beautiful photog. The girls' faces are magnets. Good DVD extra on casting. Too bad they had to put KB on the cover to sell it.

A

The Fast Runner

Inuit cast

By and about Inuit people of Northern Canada. A human drama of Shakespearean proportions in the arctic. Mesmerizing, for photography, story and the feeling of being in the culture. I have sat inside an igloo. It was cold.

Dumb story but fine acting, character-driven script, good photog and art direction. Bad music.

A

13 Conversations about One Thing

Allen Arkin, Amy Irving, Mathew McConaughey. Dir= Jill Sprecher.

Strong cast centered around office and home life in NYC. Captures middle class squalor and confusion. What is the role of luck in finding happiness?

A

Sidewalks of New York

Edward Burns (also Dir), Stanley Tucci, Heather Graham.

Love, Sex & relationships in New York. Snappy script, phenomenal acting by all, no story.

A

Sudden Manhatten

Adrienne Shelly, writer, director, star

Loopy woman has visions of murder, visits a medium for a seance. Surreal. Quite funny, well acted nonsense. Great camera work, editing, script.

A

Moulin Rouge

Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor

A fabulous musical based on the story in La Boheme. New, not operatic music. Funny, ironic script, terrific sound. The photog is stunning. Each shot could be framed and hung in a gallery. I read that NK did her own singing, and it is remarkable. Way ahead of its time. It will be a classic.