Key To Reserva (Martin Scorsese, 2007)

Key To Reserva (Martin Scorsese, 2007)
Rating: 6.3

WALL-E (Andrew Stanton, 2008)

WALL-E (Andrew Stanton, 2008)
Rating: 8.3


Presto (Doug Sweetland, 2008)
Rating: 9.0

Le Amiche (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1955) aka the Girlfriends

Le Amiche (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1955)
Rating: 6.8

Le Notti bianche (Luchino Visconti, 1957) aka White Nights

Le Notti bianche (Luchino Visconti, 1957)
Rating: 6.3

My Winnipeg (Guy Maddin, 2007)

My Winnipeg (Guy Maddin, 2007)
Rating: 8.5

The rhythmic prose of Guy Maddin's narration in My Winnipeg has been running through my head all day. It's reminiscent of Pare Lorentz's The River only with more of a sense of humor. The film features unique surrealistic imagery of Guy's exaggerated memories with his patented silent film era aesthetic. It is all at once entertaining, informative, humorous, and deeply saddening as Maddin mourns and pays tribute to the the forgotten people and places he loved so dearly and made him who he is today. A man sitting behind me at the theater commented that he thought it is Maddin's most accessible film yet. Although I don't necessarily agree completely, it definitely strikes a universal emotional nerve.

Roma (Federico Fellini, 1972)

Roma (Federico Fellini, 1972)
Rating: 8.2

Giulietta degli spiriti (Federico Fellini, 1965) aka Juliet of the Spirits

Juliet of the Spirits (Federico Fellini, 1965)
Rating: 9.5

Mamma Roma (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1962)

Mamma Roma (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1962)
Rating: 9.5

La Terra trema: Episodio del mare (Luchino Visconti, 1948) aka The Earth Trembles

The Earth Trembles (Luchino Visconti, 1948)
Rating: 7.8

Visconti's knack for rich compositions shine in this tragic Italian neorealist story of a family who stands up against the exploits of local wholesalers in their fishing community. The narration leaves too much emotional distance in my opinion, but at the same time makes the film feel more like a documentary.

Professione: reporter (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1975) aka The Passenger

The Passenger (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1975)
Rating: 8.5

The final 7 minute long shot is one of the greatest endings I have ever seen, and Maria Schneider is so adorable. Only major problem I had with this film was some of the editing, both sound and picture wise.

Being There (Hal Ashby, 1979)

Being There (Hal Ashby, 1979)
Rating: 8.2

The first 30 minutes are incredibly well done and engaging. Aside from the wonderful screen presence of Peter Sellers, the editing is the films greatest asset, as it incorporates the random television programming and Chance's interaction with it throughout. The editor, Don Zimmerman, also does an interesting thing on several occasions where he will cut away in the middle of conversation or an anticipated action of a character, and allows the audience to fill in the blank. Even when the television is not seen in a shot, the audio remains present probably for about 70% of the film. After about an hour into Being There I started feel the film was becoming too one note with it's humor, and didn't blossom as it should have, although the ending is great as well.

Il Grido (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1957) aka The Outcry

Il Grido (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1957)
Rating: 9.0

Work of Michael Robinson:

Light Is Waiting
Rating: 8.1





A kaleidoscopic collage of LSD induced footage from the sitcom Full House which morphs into a seizure inducing flicker film.

Victory Over The Sun
Rating: 8.1

lovely static compositions, a string tribute to "November Rain" as the soundtrack...video game samples...and abstract animation...I want to see more from this guy so badly now.

Try (Jonas Åkerlund, 2000)

Try (Jonas Åkerlund, 2000)
Rating: 5.5

L'Eclisse (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1962)

L'Eclisse (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1962)
Rating: 9.2

Into the Wild (Sean, Penn, 2007)

Into the Wild (Sean Penn, 2007)
Rating: 6.0

I wasn't too enthralled with the story, which I think mostly had to do with the fact that I disagreed with a lot of the main character's philosophy on life. The sister's narration of the back story was unbelievably irritating, but the final 30 minutes of the film made up for much of my disinterest. There are some beautiful shots in this film, however that should be expected in a film like this, so I don't give Penn too much credit in that regard as it's not that difficult to capture the beauty of nature.

Cobra Verde (Werner Herzog, 1987)

Cobra Verde (Werner Herzog, 1987)
Rating: 8.8

Speed Racer (Andy and Larry Wachowski, 2008)

Speed Racer (Andy and Larry Wachowski, 2008)
Rating: 8.5

After initially intending to avoid this film due to my love of the original series and my fear that it would be butchered, I finally saw Speed Racer, and to my surprise loved it. This film is everything great about mainstream cinema. An amazing eyegasm inducing, sensory experience that gave me goosebumps. The Wachowski's managed to deliver something truly unique visually by creating a cartoon-realism hybrid fantasy world. This is honestly one of the first times I can remember being content with an adaptation of a cartoon or television show, as the cast was about as perfect as it could have been. Even Christina Ricci, who I had doubts about, was great. I'd like to see this film get recognized for an editing Oscar, although not likely.

Diary of the Dead (George A. Romero, 2007)

Diary of the Dead (George A. Romero, 2007)
Rating: 5.7

Maybe the most ambitious and well crafted film in Romero's Dead Series, but also perhaps his most heavy handed, overwrought with on the nose dialogue and voice over narration. I also cannot fully agree with his view of humanity crumbling under the chaos and being more vicious towards one another than the zombies are.

13 Going on 30 (Gary Winick, 2004)

13 Going on 30 (Gary Winick, 2004)
Rating: 3.3

The Strangers (Bryan Bertino, 2008)

The Strangers (Bryan Bertino, 2008)
Rating: 2.4

The directing, shot selections and overall aesthetic was rather uninteresting and anything but bold, consisting of overused dirty hand held camera work. of The score and sound design was generic horror crap, and the story and dialogue, etc. was predictable and petty. I also found it hilarious how often they would cut to inserts of the record player without much motivation behind it. Most annoying of all, was the characters irrational behaviors. Overall the film adds up to be little more than cheap thrills.