Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work: 2010 documentary about the life and career of Joan Rivers. Turns out I knew most of the information presented, which is scary.
Girl 27: 2007 documentary about a 1937 scandal involving movie extra Patricia Douglas and the subsequent cover up by MGM. Why they needed to interview Greta Van Susteren is beyond me.
In the Cut: 2003 thriller directed by Jane Campion; starring Meg Ryan, Mark Ruffalo, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. I enjoyed watching mustachioed Ruffalo, but you are no David Fincher, Ms. Campion.
Making Ballet: 1995 documentary about the making of “The Actress” by the National Ballet of Canada, a piece featuring prima ballerina Karen Kain. James Kudelka may very well be thought of as one of the best choreographers in the world, but he’s also perhaps the most annoying.
The Life of Birds: 10-part 1998 documentary series about birds, written and presented by David Attenborough. Who is awesome.
Sunshine Cleaning: 2008, starring Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, and Alan Arkin. Directed by Christine Jeffs. Meh? The only reason I’d watch it again is Steve Zahn.
The Madness of King George: 1994 film about George III and the Regency Crisis of 1788, starring Nigel Hawthorne and Helen Mirren, directed by Nicholas Hytner. I heart Ian Holm. And this might be the only movie I’ve truly liked Rupert Everett in.
A History of Violence: 2005, starring Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris. Cronenberg is overrated.
Jules & Jim: 1962 Truffaut film starring Jeanne Moreau, Oskar Werner, and Henri Serre. By far my favorite French New Wave film, of which I have liked few.
An American Crime: 2007 true crime drama starring Catherine Keener and Ellen Page, directed by Tommy O’Haver. Keener is amazing, as per usual, but it was hard to sit through. Especially since you’re told at the very beginning this is a true story. Bitches actually did this. Good to know if you ever contemplate leaving your kids in the care of strangers while you run off to join the circus.
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army: 2008 sequel to the original. What happened to David Hyde Pierce?
Terminator Salvation: 2009, starring Christian Bale, Sam Worthington; directed by that chode McG. I would honestly watch this again, mostly because I like many in the supporting cast: Anton Yelchin, Bryce Dallas Howard, Common, Michael Ironside.
Boogie Nights: How had I never seen this before? Mind explosion. Surprisingly endearing.
The Piano Teacher: 2001, starring Isabelle Huppert, Beniot Magimel, and Annie Girardot; directed by Michael Haneke. See review.
Dangerous Beauty: 1998 biopic about Veronica Franco, the 16th century Venetian courtesan. About what you’d expect. Fluffy, but not completely stupid. Bonus points for Oliver Platt and Rufus Sewell, demerits for Moira Kelly (who is only tolerable in The Cutting Edge).
Darkon: 2006 documentary about LARPing. Watch this immediately.
One Day in September: 1999 documentary about the Munich Olympics crisis. I thought it was excellent, but I didn’t know much about the topic beforehand. Those who are well-versed might find it less interesting.
The Last Temptation of Christ: Has replaced The Age of Innocence as my least-favorite Scorsese movie.
The Lover: 1992, based on a novel by Marguerite Duras, starring Tony Leung Ka Fai and Jane March, narrated horribly by Jeanne Moreau. Soft-core pedophilia thinly veiled as an art house film. Awful.
Sherlock Holmes: the recent version with RDJ and Jude Law. Highly entertaining. I’m actually looking forward to the sequel.
History of Britain: a 15-part documentary series from 2000, written and presented by Simon Schama. It was okay. Schama is a fidgety dude, which for some reason I found less annoying in his Power of Art series.
The 400 Blows: 1959 Truffaut. See Jules & Jim.
The Painted Veil: 2006, starring Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, directed by John Curran, based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham. Pretty enjoyable. Toby Jones is brilliant as always (you may remember him as the voice of Dobby the House Elf).
Tales from the Script: 2009 documentary that’s basically just a bunch of horror stories about the life of a screenwriter, featuring an interesting mix of brilliant (William Goldman) and awful (Justin Zackham). Good anecdotes.
Freakonomics: 2010 documentary based on the book by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. Well made, very interesting, you should totally watch it.
Is Freakonomics on instant watch? Off to check!
ReplyDeleteAlso I was surprised by Sherlock Holmes, too. That said: RDJ anything? Hellboy 2 was so awesome in terms of monsters/set/etc. And somehow I still have not see Terminator!
Dude, I had the same experience with the Joan Rivers doc. Have you seen The Kid Stays In The Picture? Recommended.
ReplyDeleteDid you see the BBC update of Sherlock that PBS ran awhile back? I talked about it (non-stop) on Facebook and it's available on Netflix now! The new Sherlock is AH-mazing and Martin Freeman, as always, doesn't disappoint!
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