The Machinist (R) 7.5

The Machinist (2004): An industrial worker who hasn't slept in a year begins to doubt his own sanity. (7.8)

Director: Brad Anderson
Writer: Scott Kosar
Stars: Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Aitana Sánchez-Gijón

A really good psychological thriller that kept me guessing right to the end. They've changed the color hue with filters and I think they got it right. Not sure how they made Christian Bale look like that, but boy that was eerie. If I say more, I'd spoil it but suffice it to say that this is a good movie. My Rating: 7.5

Happythankyoumoreplease (R) 7.0

Happythankyoumoreplease (2010): Captures a generational moment - young people on the cusp of truly growing up, tiring of their reflexive cynicism, each in their own ways struggling to connect and define what it means to love and be loved. (6.8)

Director: Josh Radnor
Writer: Josh Radnor (screenplay)
Stars: Josh Radnor, Malin Akerman and Zoe Kazan

The story is sort of like the "Thirty Something" series from late 80s but without a whole lot of cultural (or counter-cultural) references. Good songs too. (spoiler) heh ... I want to exchange my universe with that of this movie where everything works out for everybody. Sweet, but not overly so. Josh Radnor has written, directed and played the leading role; that couldn't have been easy. My Rating: 7.0

Spring, Summer, Fall ... (R) 8.0

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003) Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom (original title): This film takes place in an isolated lake, where an old monk lives on a small floating temple. The wise master also has young apprentice with him. And, we watch as seasons and years pass by. (8.1)

Director: Ki-duk Kim
Writer: Ki-duk Kim
Stars: Ki-duk Kim, Yeong-su Oh and Jong-ho Kim
Language: Korean (w/ English subtitles)

I didn't plan to watch two movies by Ki-duk Kim back-to-back. They are similar in the sense the dialog is quite minimal and a lot is said with scenes and acting. They are both beautiful in the cinematic sense. This one, however, has that "old world" feel. Basically, the circle of life story told in a unique way. Loved it. My Rating: 8.0

3-Iron (R) 8.0

3-Iron (2004) Bin-jip (original title): A transient young man breaks into empty homes to partake of the vacationing residents' lives for a few days. (8.0)

Director: Ki-duk Kim
Writer: Ki-duk Kim
Stars: Seung-yeon Lee, Hyun-kyoon Lee and Hyuk-ho Kwon
Language: Korean (w/ English subtitles)

The "poster" on Netflix and IMDB gave me the wrong impression of the movie. Then again, I went into it w/o much sense of what it is; and, it is one of those weird, funny, quirky, silly movies. It turns into bit surreal towards the end. Then you realize that it has been surreal from the very beginning and that that's the real story. Very little dialog; but so much is said w/o actually saying it in words. I really liked the script and the way it has been filmed. Highly recommend it for anyone looking for something different and wonderful. My Rating: 8.0

Enron (R) 7.5

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005): A documentary about the Enron corporation, its faulty and corrupt business practices, and how they led to its fall. (7.7)

Director: Alex Gibney
Writers: Alex Gibney, Bethany McLean, and Peter Elkind
Stars: John Beard, Tim Belden and Barbara Boxer

This documentary shows why the greed is the wrong motivator and why it is bad for a civilized society. The story is presented in the usual documentary style with people sitting and talking to the camera, plus archival footage of various key players. Numbers could have been better presented with charts and graphs. Still, it explains what happened to the energy company. My Rating: 7.5

Somewhere in Time (PG) 6.0

Somewhere in Time (1980): A Chicago playwright uses self-hypnosis to find the actress whose vintage portrait hangs in a grand hotel. (7.0)

Director: Jeannot Szwarc
Writers: Richard Matheson (screenplay), Richard Matheson (novel)
Stars: Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour and Christopher Plummer

This is another movie from 1980, but I'm seeing it with the hindsight of Superman and Christopher Reeve's subsequent saga ... I just couldn't get past that. Plus, I don't think he was the right person to play the somewhat delicate role; he's just too overgrown for the character, IMHO. Not a sci-fi, but an old fashioned romance with an impossible timeline thrown in. (A sci-fi would have used the fact that crossing timelines could have been used to pass messages, etc. neat tricks.) It went for the feel-good ending ... (spoiler) when we die, we end up whereever in our prime age regardless of the age at the death? How convenient. Heh.) My Rating: 6.0

TRON: Legacy (PG) 7.5

TRON: Legacy (2010): The son of a virtual world designer goes looking for his father and ends up inside the digital world that his father designed. He meets his father's creation turned bad and a unique ally who was born inside the digital domain of The Grid. (6.9)

Director: Joseph Kosinski
Stars: Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde

Okay, the story isn't all that unique; it is a father-son story; been there seen that. However, this takes place in the grid and some of the idealism of the father (and the son) refer to today's tech industry's leading players. (Couldn't help but think of Jobs and Gates, and others in the field.) The mix of live action and CGI is pretty incredible. Loved it. My Rating: 7.5

Running Out of Time (R) 6.5

Running Out of Time (1999) Am zin (original title): Police inspector and excellent hostage negotiator Ho Sheung-Sang finds himself in over his head when he is pulled into a 72 hour game by a cancer suffering criminal out for vengeance on Hong Kong's organized crime Syndicates. (7.2)

Director: Johnnie To
Stars: Andy Lau, Ching Wan Lau and YoYo Mung
Language: Cantonese | Mandarin | English

Even though an English track is available, I watched this in Mandarin w/ English subtitles. An interesting cops and robbers story where the cop actually can identify himself with the bad guy. I liked the fact that the movie actually used quite a lot of outside shots, thereby letting us see the Hong Kong skyline a bit. My Rating: 6.5

The Stunt Man (R) 6.0

The Stunt Man (1980): A fugitive stumbles on a movie set just when they need a new stunt man, takes the job as a way to hide out, and falls for the leading lady. (7.2)

Director: Richard Rush
Stars: Peter O'Toole, Steve Railsback and Barbara Hershey

[[ I'll come back and finish my review soon. ]]

Chinatown (R) 7.0

Chinatown (1974): A private detective investigating an adultery case stumbles on to a scheme of murder that has something to do with water. (8.4)

Director: Roman Polanski
Writer: Robert Towne
Stars: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway and John Huston

Okay, this is one of those supposedly neo-noir films, a classic, etc. The Wikipedia article about Chinatown claims that it has been called one of the greatest films ever made. Really, one of the greatest? That's just effing BS! Cinematography isn't something to write home about. The portrayal of the private detective and a femme fetale client, to me at least, looked like feeding into the '20s-'30s stereotype or actually inventing that stereotype. I don't get what's so great about fast-speaking, monotonic, high-pitched dialog (a la Joe Friday or Johnny Dollar) for a private detective. Yeah, for its time, the story with so many convoluted/perverted twists may have been revolutionary, but then again, it was only short 3 years later (in 1977) when the director Roman Polanski was convicted of charges stemming from an affair with a 13-year old girl. Life imitating his own art? And, that scene where the PI slaps the woman who hired him ... seriously? I think that says more about the portrayal of women in Hollywood movies than it does about the attitude of men in the 1920s. I think, a lot of the people say this is a great movie (or one of the greatest) because others say it. I personally don't think this is a wonderful movie. It us useful as a reference point in the evolution of cinema; watch it for that and not because it is all that good. That's just MHO. My Rating: 7.0