Books
Movies
- 16 Blocks
The acting is good enough to note. (***) - 28 Days Later
One of the better zombie flicks I've seen. Danger is palpable. (****) - 3 Days of the Condor
Redford spy stuff. Very good statecraft, political intrigue. (****) - A Bridge Too Far
Big talent (Micael Caine, etc) shows British trying to take a crucial Nazi position (a bridge), and failing in WWII. (****) - All Or Nothing
Mike Leigh and another London kitchen sink setting. (****) - Andromeda Strain
One of the best apocalyse movies I've seen. Good Michael Chrighton. (*****) - Baaadasss
Melvin Van Peeble's triumph. Baaadasss has his mama killed nad is out for revenge. Pulsing music and non-linear narrative make this one of the most interesting Blaxploitation films next to "Sun Ra: Space is the Place". (****) - Battle of Algiers
Dramatization of French occupation of Algiers. Required viewing even for American and French commanders. (*****) - Black Caesar
Black hustler from New York goes against his supplier. He starts a small army and challenges some of New York's biggest crime families. Great ghetto chic. (***) - Blair Witch Project
The Bogey man is only as powerful as the people who believe in him. The most frightening aspect of this film is watching these camp goers turn on themselves and slowly slide into insanity. (****) - Bloody Sunday
Telling of th 1972 Irish civil rights protest and subsequent massacre by British troops. Excellent, seat of your pants film making. (****) - Boys From Brazil
Far fetched, but fun to watch. Spooky seeing little Hitlers across the globe. (***) - Brazil
Terry Gilliam weaves a wymsical tale of the rat race gone mad. Really good. (****) - Brick
A great, noir, teenage detective story. Our loner hero manouvers his way into the coolest and most dangerous local gang to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend. (***) - Brick
Teen detective noir. Very well developed. (***) - Bullit
My favourite McQueen movie. Classic. (*****) - Bye Bye Brazil
A poor young fool in shanty town Brazil is swept away by a travelling roadshow. A beautiful performer and magician mesmerize the fool into forcing himself into the travelling company. Lost innocence and life changes ensue. A good film about 1960s rural Brazil. Especially its people's longings. (***) - C'etait un Rendezvous
The movie is one long shot of a cars racing through the streets of Paris. Brilliant. (*****) - Canadian Bacon
US invades Canada for bad beer and the metric system. Funny. (***) - Clockwork Orange
Fancy a bit of the 'ol ultra violence. Classic Kubrick. (*****) - Coffy
Classic Pam Grier. Standard revenge plot. But it's the aestetic that makes this and all other Blaxploitation flicks so cool. (***) - Control Room
Follows Al Jazeera and media war during 2nd Gulf War. (***) - Dawn of the Dead
The Original horror classic slowly closes in on your psyche as the entire world turns into flesh-eating zombies. (****) - Day of the Jackal
Riveting. French army extremists hire an assasin to kill DeGaul for giving Algeria independence. (*****) - Deliverance
John Voigt and Burt Reynolds in a scary study of revenge. Excellent. (*****) - Dirty Dozen
Standard WWII special Ops stuff. Well done though. (***) - Dr. Strangelove
Classic Kubric. (*****) - Easy Rider
Easily one of the best films of its era. (****) - Fog Of War
Robert McNamara was Secretary of State during Johnson and Kennedy administrations. He discusses 11 political lessons he learned throughout his career. (***) - Funeral In Berlin
2nd Harry Palmer film done in 1966, this is my favourite Palmer film. Slick, suspenseful and some great twists. (*****) - Guns Of Navarone
Excellent infiltration/subterfuge. One of my favourites. (*****) - Heading South
Old White Ladies in Haiti. Pulls no racial punches on both racial ends. Never simplistic and very well performed. (****) - Hedwig and the Angry Inch
East german drag queen performer loses all but an inch of his thing to make it to America... just before the wall falls. Excellent performances. (****) - Hell Is For Heros
Very good McQueen war movie. (****) - I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
This is the first movie in which I noticed "Clive Owen". He plays a Stone cold ex-gangster investigating the death of his younger brother. Great acting and amazing presence in all of the characters. That's it - that's what makes the movie so chilling. (****) - Ile Aiye (House of Life)
A movie documenting the Candomble religion in Brazil. Very beautiful culture that has survived from Africa. (****) - Inertia
A great study on the frailties of human emotion. I loved this film. (****) - Kelly's Heros
Clint Eastwood and Donald Sutherland hire half an American division to steal Nazi gold. (***) - Kontroll
Very existential. A beautiful film underground the a Hungarian metro; it follows the lives of some metro inspectors. Triumph. Love. Amazing. Nothing. (****) - L'Enfant
'Being' in European film has been one of my enduring cinematic pleasures. With nothing contrived or under pretense, we see the life a Belgian petty thief and his girlfriend play out in the streets of some non-descript city. There was something really amazing about watching his life spiral from bad to really bad. It was how life gets sometimes. - Lie with Me
Clement Virgo's 2nd film about a summer of love. Really really good. (****) - Manufacturing Consent
Noam Chomsky outlines how media control in the West shape public opinion. Still very relevent. (*****) - Morvern Callar
This film is stark and complex. Well done art house. (****) - My Summer Of Love
2 teenage girls fall in love during a summer in Northern England. Very good. (****) - Nada
Struggle of a radical militant group trying to create revolutionary change in France. A great commentary on the brutal nature of the state. (****) - New Waterford Girl
A displaced New Yorker and local teen in New Waterford, Nova Scotia bring upheaval. A fun coming-of-age film. (***) - Quebec-Montreal
Multiple simultaneous road trips. Truth is revealed and old bonds fall apart. Very well written (****) - Quiet Earth
Very uneasing as the viewer explores what existence is like with noone else on earth. (****) - Remains of the Day
Haunting story of repressed desire in Elizabethan England. (****) - Rockers
Great Jamaican Robin Hood story. Amazing music. Supposed to be as good as "The Harder They Come". (****) - Roger and Me
Roger Moore shows social decay of GM factory closing. (****) - Ronin
Good Frankenheimer spy stuff. You might also like "Year of the Gun". (***) - Russian Dolls (Les Poupees Russes)
Follow-up to "Aubergue espagnole" (The Spanish Apartment) finds Xavier in Europe trying to figure out love. Nice warm fuzzies. (**) - Seven Samurai
Desperate Japanese villagers use the season's crops to hire masterless Samurai to protect them from roaming marauders. Brilliant film. Classic. (*****) - Shaft
Do I need to say it. "Shut yo mouth!!!" I'm talking 'bout Shaft. (****) - Shallow Grave
A Classic. (****) - Sketches of Frank Gehry
We watch as Frank Ghery comes up with his unique architectural ideas. I like that such a down-to-earth guy is a part of the cultural zeitgeist. (***) - Spartan
Mamet wrote this with good dialogue, , and little pretension. You feel like you are there in the operation. (***) - Spy Game
I like how Redfod weaves deception and statecraft together. "3 Days of the Conder" is also his doing - very good. - Superfly
Dealing is the only way out of the ghetto for Superfly. His struggle through it's crime and hopelessness polarized New York and an era. Essential viewing. (*****)
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