WALL-E (2008)

WALL-E (2008)

starring Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin

directed by Andrew Stanton

98 minutes

Trash compactor robot WALL-E (Ben Burtt), one of the last remaining creatures on Earth, lives a lonely existence until EVE (Elissa Knight), another robot arrives. Eve searches for signs of life. EVE ceases shuts down after finding a small plant. WALL-E tags along with EVE on the ship that comes to retrieve her and winds up on the spaceship Axiom.

The Axiom's captain (Jeff Garlin) gets very excited when he learns about that EVE's mission was successful. It means that they know where to find Earth which has been devastated by pollution. The ship's computer has other ideas. WALL-E and EVE work together to stay one step ahead of the ship's computer and help the captain get the Axiom back to Earth.

Shadow of the Vampire (2000)

Shadow of the Vampire (2000)

starring John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe

written by Steven Katz

directed by E. Elias Merhige

95 minutes

F.W. Murnau (John Malkovich) sets out in 1921 to make a vampire film, Nosferau. Max Schreck (Willem Dafoe) plays Count Orlock, the vampire. Murnau is very much focused on the movie and on keeping his star happy. His two goals come into conflict on more than one occasion. Finally at the end of the movie, Murnau gets the performance he wants out of Schreck.

Inside Man (2006)

Inside Man (2006)

starring Denzel Washington, Clive Owen

written by Russell Gewirtz

directed by Spike Lee

129 minutes

NYPD Detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) is called on to negotiate a hostage crisis after a group of armed men take over a bank. Dalton Russell (Clive Owen) the man behind the bank heist, keeps Frazier and the police at bay and confused while he and his gang do what they came to do in the bank. It isn't until late in the game that Frazier discovers that he's been had and how.

Ratatouille (2007)

Ratatouille (2007)

starring Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Lou Romano

directed by Brad Bird

111 minutes

Remy (Patton Oswalt) a rat with a refined sense of taste and smell longs to be a cook. He gets the idea from a chef he has seen on television, Gusteau. Remy, by chance, makes his way from the French countryside to Paris where he finds Gousteau's restaurant which since his death has been run by Skinner (Ian Holm), Gusteau's former sou chef.

Remy helps Alfredo Linguini (Lou Romano), the latest addition to the kitchen staff at Gusteau's restaurant, become the newest culinary star.

Taken (2008)

Taken (2008)

starring Liam Neeson

directed by Pierre Morel

94 minutes

Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) decides, despite having lots of doubts, to let his daughter Kim go to Paris with her friend Amanda. Kim says she wants to visit the museums in Paris but actually she and Amanda have plans to spend their time overseas traveling around Europe to see U2 concerts. Kim and Amanda are kidnapped, not long after they arrive in Paris. The people who kidnapped them have no interest in ransoming them. They just want to sex traffic them to whomever will pay them the most money.

Heist (2001)

Heist (2001)

starring Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito, Delroy Lindo, Sam Rockwell, Rebecca Pidgeon, Ricky Jay

written and directed by David Mamet

107 minutes

Joe (Gene Hackman) and Fran Moore (Rebecca Pidgeon), Bobby Blane (Delroy Lindo), and Pinky (Ricky Jay) rob a jewelry store. Joe's face is caught on camera during the robbery. He and Fran are ready to leave the country, head to Argentina, but Mickey Bergman (Danny DeVito) the fence to whom they turn over the stolen loot has other plans. He wants Joe to do another job for him before he will pay Joe and his crew for the jewelry store heist.

The Station Agent (2003)

The Station Agent (2003)

starring Peter Dinklage, Patricia Clarkson, Bobby Cannavale, Michelle Williams

written and directed by Tom McCarthy

88 minutes

Fin (Peter Dinklage) inherits a railroad station in Newfoundland, NJ. It is a small town, off the beaten path and not on the main railway lines. He doesn't want to talk to anyone but over time he gets to know some of the other residents of the town: Olivia (Patricia Clarkson), an artist who is still in mourning over the son she lost two years earlier; Joe (Bobby Cannavale), the operator of a coffee truck; and Emily (Michelle Williams), the town's librarian.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)

starring Riisa Naka, Takuya Ishida, Mitsutake Itakura

directed by Mamoru Hosoda

98 minutes

Seventeen year old Makoto Konno (Riisa Naka) spends most of her time hanging out with her two guy friends Chiaki Mamiya (Takuya Ishida) and Kousuke Tsuda (Mitsutake Itakura). Life takes a dramatic turn for her when she discovers one day, after almost getting hit by a train, that she has jumped backward in time.

She experiments with the ability that she has discovered. She changes the past which alters her life in big and small ways, and the lives of others around her.

High Fidelity (2000)

High Fidelity (2000)

starring John Cusack, Jack Black, Iben Hjejle

directed by Stephen Frears

113 minutes

Laura (Iben Hjejle) dumps Rob (John Cusack). She moves out of his apartment and moves in with Ian, an older guy. Rob's life as a record store owner goes on but he doesn't know how to handle the break up. He makes a list of the top five heartbreaks of his life. He leaves Laura off the list at first but later reconsiders.

Rob reaches out to the four other women on his list in an effort to understand where he went wrong and why his heart has been broken at least five times. He doesn't give up on Laura and eventually his persistence pays off.

The Making of 'Dog Day Afternoon' (2006)

The Making of 'Dog Day Afternoon' (2006)

directed by Laurent Bouzereau

58 minutes

The following people were interviewed for this documentary

• Dede Allen, editor
• Martin Bregman, producer
• Charles Durning, Moretti
• Burtt Harris, assistant director
• Lance Henriksen, Murphy
• Victor Kemper, cinematography
• Sidney Lumet, director
• Al Pacino, Sonny
• Frank Pierson, writer
• Chris Sarandon, Leon

Up (2009)

Up (2009)

starring Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai

directed by Pete Docter

96 minutes

Seventy-eight-year-old Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner), soon after his wife Ellie dies, takes off on a journey to visit Paradise Falls in South America. Russell (Jordan Nagai), a Wilderness Explorer Scout, accompanies Carl on the journey, partly by chance and partly because he needs to earn a badge for helping the elderly.

Carl and Russell discover a colorful bird in the vicinity of Paradise Falls. Russell names it Kevin although he later learns that it is a female. They also encounter several talking dogs on their trek to the top of the falls, all but one of whom wants to capture the bird for their master, Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer).

XXX (2002)

XXX (2002)

starring Vin Diesel, Asia Argento, Marton Csokas, Samuel L. Jackson

directed by Rob Cohen

125 minutes

YouTube x-treme sports daredevil Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) is blackmailed by Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) into working for the NSA. He is dropped into rural Colombia to test his skills before he is sent on a more serious mission in the Czech Republic. Cage (aka X) is sent to make contact with Anarchy 99, a group of former Russian Special Forces soldiers.

X makes friends with Yorgi (Marton Csokas) the leader of Anarchy 99 and for a little while they are on decent terms. X and Marton's bromance ends about the time that X reveals to Yelena (Asia Argento), one of Yorgi's team, that he is a secret agent. X and Yelena learn about Yorgi's bond villain style plan to sow chaos and kill millions of people.

3-Iron (2004)

3-Iron (2004)

starring Lee Seung-yun, Jae Hee

written and directed by Kim Ki-Duk

Tae-suk (Jae Hee) lives a solo existence. He breaks into homes when people are not there, fixes things, washes their laundry, and then disappears before they return.

Everything changes when he meets Sun-hwa (Lee Seung-yun) a physically abused wife who is still in one of the houses which Tae-suk visits. She leaves with him when her husband returns unexpectedly early from a business trip.

They travel around together for a while. They are eventually caught in one home when the owners return from vacation in the middle of the night. They flee but not long after that they find the dead body of a elderly man in one of the homes which they visit. Tae-suk gets accused of murder but is later exonerated of that crime when an autopsy reveals that the old man died of lung cancer. Sun-hwa is sent back to her husband.

Tae-suk and Sun-hwa are separated for a while but eventually they are reunited but in an unexpected way.

Thoughts

I don't know how to explain what Tae-suk goes through in the second half of the movie. He gets locked up. That part is fairly straight forward. What isn't is that he seems to teach himself how to be invisible.

The first half seemed a little different but really intrigued me. There are long periods in which there is no talking. There doesn't seem to be a romantic spark between Sun-hwa and Tae-suk at first. It is only towards the middle of the film that this changes.

I don't fully understand this movie but it was magical. The way it was shot, the music, and the pacing all contributed in positive ways to the experience.

Shaft (2000)

Shaft (2000)

starring Samuel L. Jackson, Jeffrey Wright, Christian Bale

directed by John Singleton

99 minutes

Walter Wade, Jr. (Christian Bale) is arrested by NYPD Detective John Shaft (Samuel L. Jackson). Wade killed a Black man outside of a New York City restaurant. There was just one witness Diane, a waitress who is afraid to talk. Wade is granted bail and then flees to Switzerland.

Two years later Wade secretly returns to New York. Shaft finds out about it from Rasaan, one of his informants. Shaft arrests Wade but once again Wade is granted bail despite his past record. Shaft quits the NYPD, frustrated with the way Wade was treated by the justice system.

5 Centimeters Per Second (2007)

5 Centimeters Per Second (2007)

starring Kenji Mizuhashi, Yoshimi Kondou, Satomi Hanamura

written and directed by Makoto Shinkai

62 minutes

This movie consists of three stories. The first is about Takaki (Kenji Mizuhashi) and Akari (Yoshimi Kondou). They met when they were in 4th grade. They bonded to the point that others teased them about being married. Her family moves away but they stay in touch through letters. Takaki decides to visit Akari after he learns that his family is going to be moving very far away.

Takaki takes the train to see Akari one day in March. It snows. The train gets delayed but he eventually gets their, hours late. She is waiting for him. They share some food, go for a walk, kiss under a tree, and then spend the rest of the night huddled up together. He goes back home the next day.

Havoc (2005)

Havoc (2005)

starring Anne Hathaway

directed by Barbara Kopple

85 minutes

High school student Allison Lang (Anne Hathaway) gets interested in Hector after he embarrasses her poser boyfriend. She seeks out Hector who deals drugs and comes from a poorer section of Los Angeles than she and her boyfriend do. Everything seems fairly low key until Allison and her friend Emily decide that they want to join Hector's gang. 

Allison and Emily agree to go along with the initiation ritual which involves having sex with (potentially) multiple members of the gang. It gets to be a bit too intense for both of them and the two teens leave before it gets any worse.

Emily reports the incident to the police and accuses Hector of raping her. Allison doesn’t back up her friend’s account of the incident when she is questioned by the police. This creates a rift between the two friends although it is only a temporary one.

My Suicidal Sweetheart (2005)

My Suicidal Sweetheart (2005)

starring Natasha Lyonne, David Krumholtz, Tim Blake Nelson

directed by Michael Parness

91 minutes

Max (David Krumholtz) attempts to kill himself, several times. His parents have him committed to a psychiatric hospital after his eighth attempt. Max kept trying because he hoped it was would lead to a beautiful vision of white light. Max changes his mind, while he is in the hospital, when he meets Grace (Natasha Lyonne).

Grace is also suicidal. Max falls in love with Grace. He convinces her to marry him. They stay at the hospital, against their will, after they get married. They escape once it gets to be too much and they can't stand it there. They go to see his parents (in New York) and her mother (in Wisconsin). Grace gets pregnant at some point.

Tokyo Godfathers (2003)

Tokyo Godfathers (2003)

starring Aya Okamoto, Yoshiaki Umegaki, Tohru Emori

directed by Satoshi Kon

92 minutes

Japanese with English subtitles

Three homeless people (Miyuki, Hana, Gin) find a crying baby, on Christmas Eve in a pile of garbage. They spend the next couple days trying to track down the parents. Their quest takes them on quite a journey through Tokyo as they use what clues they have to figure out who the baby's parents are and where they live.

Miyuki (Aya Okamoto) is a young woman who fled from her parents home after she stabbed her father. He survived the incident but she fears how she will be treated if she returns, in part because her father is a police officer.

Hana (Yoshiaki Umegaki) is a drag queen who abandoned her her friends after her boyfriend died suddenly.

Gin (Tohru Emori) is a middle aged man who abandoned his wife and daughter after wracking up huge gambling debts. He has not seen them in years and has no idea if they are still alive.

Frida (2002)

Frida (2002)

starring Salma Hayek, Alfred Molina

directed by Julie Taymor

122 minutes

This is the story of Frida Kahlo (Salma Hayek) from the time she was crippled in a bus crash until she died. Her husband Diego Rivera (Alfred Molina) plays a big part in the story. The movie is a feast visually. The threads that run through it are Frida's relationship with Diego and her artwork.

I've seen some of Frida Kahlo's artwork here and there but I am not very familiar with it. The movie in some ways feels like it was made primarily to bring Frida's artwork to the masses. I think it stretches and tries to cover a little too much ground in terms of Frida's life. It is not in my experience uncommon for biopics to do that. It does get a little exhausting, especially in the last 30-40 minutes.

I'm glad I've seen this movie. I don't love it. It didn't give me a lot to think about. It is visually stunning. I couldn't help but feel that the scenes in Mexico should have, for the most part, been in Spanish.

Finding Nemo (2003)

Finding Nemo (2003)

starring Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres

directed by Andrew Stanton

100 minutes

Nemo, a young clownfish, gets separated from Marlin (Albert Brooks), his father. on the first day of school. Nemo is captured by a scuba diver and taken to Sydney, Australia. He wakes up in a big tank with a bunch of other fish.

Marlin goes on a quest to find Nemo. One of the first fishes he meets is a blue fish named Dory (Ellen DeGeneres). She travels with him on his voyage to Sydney. Together they meet sharks, jellyfish, sea turtles, whales, pelicans, and lots of other creatures. Eventually they make their way to Sydney.