Araya (1959)

MDF (Venezuela)
Directed by Margot Benacerraf
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Milestone)

A day in the life of salt miners and fishermen in the harsh environment of a peninsula in northern Venezuela. These simple people work around the clock manually carrying salt from an inland lake to the top of ever-growing, man-made pyramids on which they are stored to eventually be hauled away by truck for sale. Others spend their time fishing for the sustenance of the incredibly poor village. The bleak landscape lends itself to the high contrast black and white photography which is outstanding. There is almost no dialogue, only narration which while occasionally poetic also tends to be monotonous. As a result, we never really get to know any of these people, as if watching from afar as a bystander.

Bartleby (1970)

Corinth Films
Directed by Anthony Friedman
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Image Entertainment)

Meek accountant John McEnery lands a new job in a small London office. Although he talks to almost no one, he is an efficient worker and his boss seems to have a soft spot for him. One day he decides to use the phrase "I'd prefer not to" instead of doing the work asked of him. He alienates his coworkers and gradually gets under the skin of his boss who eventually fires him. Instead of leaving, he squats in the office and is committed to an institution. Herman's Melville's 1853 short story makes an uneasy transition to the screen. Its claustrophobic settings, limited characters and internal dialogue make it more suitable for the written word or even the stage, instead of this distinctly un-cinematic production. Nonetheless, the themes of alienation, depression and even some of the philosophical underpinnings remain intact. Paul Scofield is excellent as the confused but sympathetic boss and McEnery is perhaps the perfect Bartleby.

Trouble the Water (2008)

Academy Awards, USA 2009

Nominated Oscar

Best Documentary, Features Tia Lessin Carl Deal

Zeitgeist Films
Directed by Carl Deal and Tia Lessin
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Zeitgeist)

A married New Orleans couple captures the impacts of Hurricane Katrina on video. Before the storm, we see how the city's poorest residents are left behind when no public transportation is provided for evacuations. During the storm, they are forced into their attic when the water quickly rises to rooftop level. After the storm, they deal with federal bureaucracy as they try to put their lives back together. The first hand account is narrated by the optimistic "Kold Madina" who also operates the hand held camcorder during the storm, but the film tends to get bogged down in her aspiring rap career in the weeks after and begins to resemble a reality tv show.

Gamera (1965)

Daiei Film
Directed by Noriaki Yuasa
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Blu-ray, Mill Creek)

An atomic blast in the Arctic awakens a hibernating giant turtle. He spits, and breathes, fire and can retract his legs so that they become jets which allow him to spin and fly. He heads straight for Tokyo, where else, where he stomps around hydroelectric plants and oil refineries looking for energy to consume. Scientists lure him to an island where they intend to try to destroy him. A little boy, whose grief over the loss of a pet turtle causes him to sympathize with the giant monster, tries to convince everyone that Gamera really means no harm. Entertaining, if not particularly intelligent, escapism from Japan, although derivative of the earlier Godzilla films.

Twin Sisters (2002)

Academy Awards, USA 2004

Nominated Oscar

Best Foreign Language Film Netherlands.

Miramax
Directed by Ben Sombogaart
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Miramax)

Twin sisters are separated at a young age after the death of their parents. One lives in Holland with wealthy relatives, the other in Germany working on a pig farm. The relatives conspire to keep them incommunicado, and it is not until the outbreak of WWII that they meet again. The intervening years have put them at ideological odds which they try but fail to overcome. The war brings much personal tragedy to both. We glimpse them again in old age, trying once again to overcome their past differences. Well done if familiar tale of the devastating consequences of war.

Lonely Are the Brave (1962)

Universal-International Pictures
Directed by David Miller
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Universal)

Cowboy Kirk Douglas, the last of a dying way of life, gets himself arrested in order to convince his friend to break out and live free on the range. The only problem is his friend is married and won't risk getting caught and spending more time in jail. Kirk breaks out alone and is pursued into the nearby mountains by the police, led by their dogged sheriff Walter Matthau. The potentially interesting theme of the clash of the old and new is given a rather obvious symbolic treatment. Kirk's horse plays a key role and is put in numerous perilous situations, including one particularly heartbreaking scene.

The Time Machine (1960)

Academy Awards, USA 1961

Won Oscar

Best Effects, Special Effects Gene Warren Tim Baar

MGM
Directed by George Pal
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Blu-ray, Warner Bros.)

Rod Taylor is an inventor in Victorian London who tries to convince his skeptical colleagues that he has invented a time machine. He takes it on a test run and goes into the future. He sees both World Wars before ending up in a nuclear attack in the 1960s. He then goes nearly a million years into the future where he finds the remnants of humanity split into two: youth apparently living a life of leisure and underground mutants who control them. His romance with one of the girls is not very convincing, but otherwise this is a sci fi classic based on the novel by H.G. Wells (also the lead character) that is perfect for a Saturday afternoon matinee.

One Day in September (1999)

Academy Awards, USA 2000

Won Oscar

Best Documentary, Features Arthur Cohn Kevin Macdonald

Sony Pictures Classics
Directed by Kevin Macdonald
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Columbia Tri-Star)

The kidnapping by Palestinian terrorists of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympic games is recounted in this documentary. The lone surviving terrorist, in disguise, gives his version of the events along with their motivations. Archival footage of the actual stand off in the Olympic village is incorporated. A very thorough overview of the tragic events of that day, with some surprising revelations of the inept German response and complicity in the escape of the terrorists a few months afterwards. However, the rock music soundtrack and flashy editing is not always appropriate for the material.

Les Choristes (2004)

Academy Awards, USA 2005

Nominated Oscar	Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song Bruno Coulais (composer) Christophe Barratier (lyricist) For the song "Look To Your Path (Vois Sur Ton Chemin)".
	Best Foreign Language Film of the Year France.

Miramax
Directed by Christophe Barratier
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Miramax)

Dickensian tale of a new teacher at a boarding school for troubled boys who forms a chorus as an outlet for his own musical pursuits but has a positive impact on everything else. The boys are easier to control with a purpose and sense of pride and it even takes the edge off their cruel headmaster. However, when they finally get to perform in public there are unintended consequences. Light, easy fare with small doses of conflict and romance.

Finding Neverland (2004)

Academy Awards, USA 2005

Won Oscar	Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score Jan A.P. Kaczmarek
Nominated Oscar	Best Motion Picture of the Year Richard N. Gladstein Nellie Bellflower
	Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Johnny Depp
	Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay David Magee
	Best Achievement in Film Editing Matt Chesse
	Best Achievement in Art Direction Gemma Jackson (art director) Trisha Edwards (set decorator)
	Best Achievement in Costume Design Alexandra Byrne

Miramax
Directed by Marc Forster
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Miramax)

London Playwright James Barrie struggles with a recent flop. By chance, he meets a woman and her young children one day in the park. They strike up a long friendship, as much with her children as with their mother. He inspires their imagination, which in turn gives him ideas for a new play which he will call Peter Pan. The period detail is impeccable and the flights of fantasy fun, but Depp sleepwalks through the role and rarely shows any emotion, even when confronted with the end of his marriage.

In the Bedroom (2001)

Academy Awards, USA 2002

Nominated Oscar	Best Picture Graham Leader Ross Katz Todd Field
	Best Actor in a Leading Role Tom Wilkinson
	Best Actress in a Leading Role Sissy Spacek
	Best Actress in a Supporting Role Marisa Tomei
	Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published Todd Field Robert Festinger

Miramax
Directed by Todd Field
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Miramax)

A couple's teenage son gets involved with an older woman separated from her husband, leading to tragedy. Their grief threatens to destroy their marriage. Frustrated by a slow and unfair legal process, they decide to take things into their own hands.  It's not always plausible, and some of the foreshadowing is too obvious, but these shortcomings are easily overlooked with Tom Wilkinson and Sissy Spacek giving outstanding performances as the desperate husband and wife.

The Dead (1987)

Academy Awards, USA 1988

Nominated Oscar	Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium Tony Huston
	Best Costume Design Dorothy Jeakins

Vestron Pictures
Directed by John Huston
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Lionsgate)

Irish high society types meet for dinner on a snowy January evening. They play the piano, drink wine and have polite conversation.... for nearly an hour. The most dramatic thing that happens is a wink. After the dinner mercifully ends, a husband and wife return home where she laments about a teenage lover who died at an early age. His final internal dialogue is poetic and moving, but it is more suited to the literary page than the screen, which is true for the movie as a whole.

Tabloid (2010)

Sundance Selects
Directed by Errol Morris
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Netflix)

Documentarian Errol Morris interviews a former model who became famous for following her Mormon lover to London, kidnapping him, chaining him to a bed for several days as her "sex slave", then making the front pages of the ruthless UK tabloids. However, she paints a different story than the tabloids during the interviews, claiming she did it all for love and her husband-to-be was brainwashed by the Mormons. Her candidness is at first refreshing, but when we get glimpses of the other parts of her life, including spending outrageous amounts of money to clone her recently deceased dog, it's hard to believe much of anything she says. Morris unwisely adds slick animation, graphics and other distractions to dress up what really boils down to a rather trivial story.

Angela's Ashes (1999)

Academy Awards, USA 2000

Nominated Oscar

Best Music, Original Score John Williams

Paramount Pictures
Directed by Alan Parker
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Netflix)

Chronicle of an Irish family living in abject poverty as seen from the point of view of one of their children. His father can not find steady work because of his northern Ireland ancestry, but mostly because of his alcoholism. Eventually he abandons the family for England, leaving his mother to take care of their brood. A bleak mood permeates most of the film, although there is some comic relief later on when the boy reaches his teenage years, however it seems forced and almost out of place. Cinematography by Chris Connier and Michael Seresin creates a vivid atmosphere of the slums of Limerick.

Everybody's Famous! (2000)

Academy Awards, USA 2001

Nominated Oscar

Best Foreign Language Film Belgium.

Miramax
Directed by Dominique Deruddere
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Miramax)

A recently unemployed father resorts to desperate measures to get his insecure daughter on a TV show and a chance for stardom. He kidnaps a pop star singer and blackmails her manager. There are just enough real moments between the main characters to make up for the downright strange behavior, and bad singing, otherwise on display. The song "Lucky Manuelo" may stick in your head for weeks afterwards!

The Virgin Suicides (1999)

Paramount Pictures
Directed by Sofia Coppola
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Netflix)

Five teenage sisters, each a year apart in age, grow up in the suburban 1970s. The youngest commits suicide, causing their parents to become increasingly overbearing. Boys come calling, leading to more problems at the prom. Most of the story is just teenage romance tinged with 70s nostalgia (how many Kiss references can you spot?), bookended by tragedies which almost seem like an afterthought.

Malèna (2000)

Academy Awards, USA 2001

Nominated Oscar	Best Cinematography Lajos Koltai
	Best Music, Original Score Ennio Morricone

Miramax
Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Miramax)

A 13-year-old in Italy develops a sexual obsession with local beauty Monica Bellucci. He follows her around on his bicycle and spies on her every move. Her husband is sent away to fight in WWII and is eventually reported killed in action. Her widowhood prompts him, and every male in town, to vie for her attention. This raises the ire of every wife in town, who, at the end of the war, almost beat her to death in the town square. Her husband unexpectedly returns deflating his and everyone elses hopes. Beautiful photographed by Lajos Koltai, who captures the period, the small town atmosphere and the wistfulness of childhood, but the film dwells too much on juvenile sexual fantasies and we hardly get to know the title character at all.

Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)

Academy Awards, USA 2006

Nominated Oscar	Best Motion Picture of the Year Grant Heslov
	Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role David Strathairn
	Best Achievement in Directing George Clooney
	Best Writing, Original Screenplay George Clooney Grant Heslov
	Best Achievement in Cinematography Robert Elswit
	Best Achievement in Art Direction James D. Bissell (art director) Jan Pascale (set decorator)

Warner Independent Pictures
Directed by George Clooney
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Bros)

Popular newsman Edward R. Murrow exposes Senator Charles McCarthy on his widely viewed TV show. McCarthy responds with a scathing attack that almost destroys his personal and professional life. Good period detail from the days when integrity in news reporting still mattered, but talky and lacking any real emotional involvement.

The Imposter (2012)

Indomina Releasing
Directed by Bart Layton
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Netflix)

A teenager in Spain manages to convince the police, the American embassy and a family in Texas that he is their long missing son. He gets an American passport and is returned to the family who accepts him as their son, even though he is older, speaks with an accent and looks nothing like him. A persistent FBI agent and private investigator eventually expose him. The plot would be ludicrous if it wasn't based on a true story. It's presented in a confusing manner as part documentary, part re-enactment, that makes it feel like one of those cheap productions for cable TV.

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Academy Awards, USA 2014

Nominated Oscar	Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Leonardo DiCaprio
	Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Jonah Hill
	Best Achievement in Directing Martin Scorsese
	Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay Terence Winter
	Best Motion Picture of the Year Leonardo DiCaprio Emma Tillinger Koskoff Joey McFarland Martin Scorsese

Paramount Pictures
Directed by Martin Scorsese
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Netflix)

A talented salesman with an insatiable thirst for money becomes a wildly successful stockbroker. He is transformed from timid family man to an out-of-control drug and sex addict who will use any means possible to preserve his lifestyle. He surrounds himself with "friends" who think the same way. It eventually comes crumbling down around them when the FBI investigates. Scorsese pulls no punches in his depiction of rampant amorality. It's filled with sex and drugs and set the record for the most uses of the "F word" on film. At nearly 3 hours, Scorsese seems to fall victim to the same excesses, unable to make even the slightest edit to tell a story that should have been half as long.

Ida (2013)

Academy Awards, USA 2015

Won Oscar	Best Foreign Language Film of the Year Pawel Pawlikowski Poland
Nominated Oscar	Best Achievement in Cinematography Lukasz Zal Ryszard Lenczewski

Music Box Films
Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Netflix)

A Polish nun leaves her convent in search of her past. With the help of an aunt, they travel across the country to a remote village where they begin to ask questions about her parents. At first reluctant to tell what they know, her aunt's position as a judge in the communist government persuades them otherwise. It turns out her parents were Jews hidden from the Nazis, but that is only the beginning of the story. The nun also undergoes a personal crisis, emulating her older aunt's bad habits of smoking, drinking and eventually having sex with a musician they meet on the road. It's all presented in harsh, beautiful, high contrast black and white, reflecting the cold interiors of its angst ridden characters. The plot becomes a bit too predictable by the end and it is hard to care about these unhappy characters who seem to bring much of it on themselves.

The Queen (2006)

Academy Awards, USA 2007

Won Oscar	Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Helen Mirren
Nominated Oscar	Best Motion Picture of the Year Andy Harries Christine Langan Tracey Seaward
	Best Achievement in Directing Stephen Frears
	Best Writing, Original Screenplay Peter Morgan
	Best Achievement in Costume Design Consolata Boyle
	Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score Alexandre Desplat

Miramax
Directed by Stephen Frears
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Miramax)

In the days following the tragic death of Princess Di, Queen Elizabeth II struggles to reconcile her desire to preserve royal privacy with the public's outpouring of grief. Newly elected prime minister Tony Blair advises her as to how to rectify the situation, but she mostly ignores him and spends her time hunting or walking her dogs. As public anger over her apparent disinterest grows, she is forced to make a decision. Helen Mirren plays the cold, emotionless queen perfectly, perhaps too perfectly, as this is not exactly riveting film making, but more like expert reenactments.

Brotherhood of Death (1976)

Downtown Distribution Company
Directed by Bill Berry
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

Three black men are harassed in their racist southern town. They join the Army and learn combat skills while on duty in Vietnam. Back home, the harassment continues, leading to an all-out war with the Ku Klux Klan during which their combat skills are put to good use. Blaxploitation classic pushes all the right buttons, and manages to work in social issues which sadly are still relevant today.

Deconstructing Harry (1997)

Academy Awards, USA 1998

Nominated Oscar

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen Woody Allen

Fine Line Features
Directed by Woody Allen
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, New Line)

Woody Allen is an author suffering from writer's block, haunted by memories of his characters, who are based on people in his real life. Those people are very angry about the way he portrayed them and spend a lot of time yelling at him about it. He doesn't really seem to care and is more interested in making it to an awards ceremony in his honor. Crude and vulgar "comedy" is Woody Allen at his worst, with a self-absorbed lead character obsessed with sex.

Bigfoot (1970)

Ellman Film Enterprises
Directed by Robert F. Slatzer
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(YouTube)

An airplane crash survivor, teenagers on dirt bikes, local yokels and some Indians deal with a family of bigfoot creatures living in the woods of California. The bigfoots (bigfeet?) kidnap all of the pretty girls with the intention of carrying on their species. Traveling salesman John Carradine sees an opportunity to make some money and tries to capture one with the help of inept law enforcement. Hilariously awful, with more than a few overt references to the original King Kong.