Amazo USA/Europe/Brazil

The weight of this film rests almost entirely on the shoulders of two twelve year old actors ... and they deliver the goods. There's nothing groundbreaking about the story but even in a story we've seen before it's a joy to spend it with these two characters, a testament to how delicately the film is directed. The cinematography is ice cold beautiful and adds to the isolation we feel from the teenage outcasts. This is a masterful production.

Charlie Kaufman is a contortionist of the mind. How this film didn't sweep the Oscars I don't understand. Wait, yes I do. It's relentlessly bleak, but it's also belly crunch hilarious. I had to stop and rewind a dozen times because I missed things, overcome by a wheezing laughter. There is not a feel good moment in the film and yet it left me strangely uplifted.

sitenoise at the movies: Synecdoche, New York

Suffering Surrealism. It's Art-Horror. Not the gory kind, this is one of those "You-might-as-well-already-be-dead" nightmares with spooky feral children. The story's not remarkable but it's photographed extremely well. It's dirty beautiful creepy. Du Welz makes the screen drip atmosphere. Great performances build to magnificent climax. One of the best in recent memory. Yep, Great Ending.

Naomi Watts's performance of a lifetime ... Wow!

Great filmmaker, great cast.

If you like a good mind-fuck ... and who doesn't? ... a little kinky sex and a lot of tension, go here. Trying to figure out the layout of this apartment was mind boggling. It was supposed to be.

sitenoise at the movies: Next Door (Naboer)

As far as hand-held camera things go, I really enjoyed this one. The supernatural aspects of the film are on a different level than the gritty realism of the rest of the movie, and there are a couple ridiculous scenes thrown in for plot, but all in all a fun, fast ride. It's waaay better than the remake "Quaratine", which throws in a few extra scenes for plot that are waaay more ridiculous.

See this before the one with Naomi Watts.

White short shorts, no socks and deck shoes, white gloves and an ivy-league education. That's creepy. Him and his friend Bif are fucking with your life. This is one of the creepiest films I've seen.

All the pretentious talk about "making a film that sends a clear message about violence, and the audience's view and involvement with violence on film" is BULLSHIT.

I don't think there was a single misstep in this film. Javier Bardem is one of the creepiest bad guys to come along in a long time. His downright silly haircut adds to it. The man lives outside the bounds. It's hard to imagine someone so evil. And it's a great morality play without .... uh ... I dunno.

High octane intimidating sense of humor.

A surprising, illuminating, entertaining, enlightening, educational program. Michael Palin is perfect for this. He's an everyman with a sense of humor in some very foreign places.

Perfectly executed. One of the most well-crafted films I've ever seen. Dizzying animal terror. Swirling, whirling cameras and a soundtrack designed to induce nausea make watching this film a physical experience. Super punk. Not for everybody. I'm glad it went backward. Ends sweetly. Super sweet. Bravo.

Doesn't everybody bow to the greatness of this film?

Mark Wahlberg should have won an oscar for his performance in this film. And the writer of the screenplay for giving him the part. And the cinematographer for the unique look of the film.

I will call this my all-time favorite movie. I don't think I'll ever tire of watching it. Such a smartly written film.

No denying it. So much passion went into the making of this film it drips off the screen.

A gold standard

This is an uncomfortably good film but wraps up too nicely in the end. Vera Farmiga is fantastic, hard to tell what she might do from one second to the next she's so edgy weird. And the world of paraplegic wannabes is a bizarre eye-opener. For the Cronenberg's Crash-challenged.

Watching this I started out thinking Bill Nighy's act would wear thin. Wrong. Then I kept wanting to give him a hug. Beyond the sheer joy of Nighy's performance is a pretty solid slap in the G8 summit's face. The politics are solid in this film, the emotions are fragile. "I fear you'd think less of her if she were with me." Ouch! Very touching.

Like an army of films rushing at you all at once. Frustrating to follow sometimes (best to just let it fall all over you), but the sheer strength of Kseniya Rappoport's performance pulls you through the film and her character's life. It's a stunning portrayal of love, fear, and determination.

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sitenoise at the movies: The Unknown Woman (La Sconosciuta) (2006)

Interesting direction to this semi-arty French film. Loved the frustrating ending and all the scenes in the rehearsal studio. Keep your eyes out for tough, natural beauty Catherine de Léan. Wears Boots.

sitenoise at the movies: La Capture

A perfectly cast film by David Mamet.

Emmanuel Schotté as Pharaon is mesmerizing. He lets you see inside his head. His walk is modern dance. I can't imagine him being anything else but this character. All three of the male actors were masters of the facial expression. So subtle. The sound design is spectacular. I noticed it as much as anything else.

Many of the scenes which seemed to have nothing to do with anything more than revealing character were captivating. There is one scene of Pharaon riding his bicycle several miles that takes a few minutes of real time. He gets to a random place, stops, looks back and breathes heavily for a few moments. Then he rides back the other way. Fade to black, next scene.

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sitenoise at the movies: Humanité

This a great film about sadness and friendship. Outstanding performances.

Post modern disgust at its finest and most endearing. Hal Hartley at his best. Nobody acts in this film, they just deliver lines. Lead character carries around a hand grenade at all times ... "just in case."

The dialog in this film is so quick-witted I could barely keep up with the subtitles. It's very funny, and very punk. It's dark and violent and nihilistic and truly bizarre. Each member of the band must have a handicap. One has a really bad lisp and lives on the ceiling (see poster)-(only in his own home, tho), another has a debilitating mother complex and a stiff right arm, another is deaf and addicted to crack, and the drummer's handicap is that he can't play drums ... but he's writing the story. The soundtrack is magnificent and the acting is all spot on. If you like punk, you gotta see this.

sitenoise at the movies: Ex Drummer

You have to be predisposed to films with long, lingering shots ... ya know, art films ... to get into this one. It's not going to appeal to folks who enjoy 'pregnancy' or 'abortion' flicks, whatever those are. And the politics are kind of distant unless, of course, you are Romanian. But this is a masterful character study with great performances.

Best American indie flick I've seen in a long time--not "shot on a cell phone" indie, it's got good production values and one of the best "guitar riffing with effects" soundtracks EVAR. When the boy and girl sit down to watch an Annie Sprinkle video together: Priceless. Good Dick is edgy, smart, and very funny. Written and directed by and starring Marianna Palka, it's one of those first babies by an obvious talent.

I didn't get, or like, the ending, but I don't know what else could have been done. I also don't know if it was supposed to be the natural, or predisposed outcome of all the symbolism and allegory that lead up to it--which I couldn't completely process either. The film appears to have a vision, as if it's following a story that's already been told. It's gorgeously composed and photographed but it evaded my full comprehension. There's grief with rational and emotional responses to it. There's nature, green and essential, history, symbolically surreal animals, and genital mutilation that seems poignant to the story, but yikes! The film is never boring, it's beautiful to look at, Charlotte Gainsbourg is magnificent, but it's a little hard to endure. I imagine this was Lars von Trier's goal and he made it loose enough for those so inclined to spend time decoding it. I liked it but I'm not so inclined.