The Hidden Fortress 隠し砦の三悪人
The Hidden Fortress may not be one of the most well known of Kurasawa's films, but it is a wonderfully entertaining mix of adventure, comedy and drama. It opens with…
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Jiro Dreams of Sushi is an ode to the greatest sushi chef in the world, Jiro Ono. This 85-year old sushi master has been at his craft for 75 years…
Barbara
East Germany in 1980 really must have been a dystopian hell on earth. In the film Barbara, a doctor is exiled from Berlin for a minor offense and forced to…
Rust and Bone (De rouille et d’os )
Rust and Bone opens with a man and a little boy hitchhiking, then on a train scavenging food from left-behind scraps. This is Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts) and his young son…
Anna Karenina
If ever there were a Chick Flick shoo in, this should be it. A tragic heroine foolishly throwing off her shackles for a forbidden love, and all wrapped up in…
Life of Pi
I was a big fan of the book Life of Pi, so I was very skeptical when I heard they were making a movie of it. The story of a…
Silver Linings Playbook
Lots of hype surrounds Silver Linings Playbook and I'm not sure I buy into the Best Picture scenario, but as rom-dramedies go, there are not a lot of comparable films.…
Lincoln
Daniel Day-Lewis is the real reason to see Lincoln. He is without doubt the best actor on the planet. He doesn't act -- he becomes. All the portrayals of Lincoln…
The Details
The Details is opening under the radar, and I think for good reason. It tries really hard to be a dark comedy, but doesn't really get either part of that…
The Black Tulip
I am sure you haven't seen a lot of films from Afghanistan. It is not exactly the Hollywood of central Asia. But I was intrigued when I heard about The…
Butter
Yes, indeed. This is a movie about butter -- a butter sculpting competition to be precise. Not something you see all that often, right? But I have not gone out…
The Master
You can tell from the opening frames of The Master that it takes itself very seriously and expects the same of you. Its world is very heavy. And I think…
Searching for Sugar Man
I have to say this movie is amazing! It is a documentary about an American musician who inspired a generation in South Africa to fight apartheid and was more popular…
Battle Royale
I am sure that most of you have heard of or read or watched The Hunger Games by now, but when it came out on the screen, I read a…
The Intouchables
The Intouchables is my new favorite French feel-good film! Based on a true story, I must admit, the premise sounded like a total downer. A rich Parisian quadriplegic hires an…