Tarkovsky codirected shorts:

Segodnya uvolneniya ne budet (Aleksandr Gordon and Andrei Tarkovsky, 1959) aka There Will Be No Leave Today
Rating: 7.5


Ubiytsy (A. Gordon, M. Beiku, and A. Tarkovsky, 1958) aka The Killers
Rating: 7.2

Il Bidone (Federico Fellini, 1955) aka The Swindle

The Swindle (Federico Fellini, 1955)
Rating: 6.8

A Family Finds Entertainment (Ryan Trecartin, 2004)

Rating: 1.0


one of the most annoying things I've ever seen. I would probably rather suffer through Transformers again than ever have to see this piece of shit passing it self off as digital avant-garde a second time.

Hancock (Peter Berg, 2008)

Hancock (Peter Berg, 2008)
Rating: 5.4

Entertaining, and well casted (Jason Bateman is especially funny), but tonally a mess, as the film shifts between corny comedy, sci-fi, superhero deconstructionist drama, and action. I thought Peter Berg's directing style seemed completely out of place for most of the film, with it's over abundance of hand-held and meaningless 360 degree shots, poorly chosen music including several dated hip-hop tracks, and short cut montage sequences. The only time it really fit was in the final climactic scene, but the rest of the time it came across as somewhat amateurish.

Encounters at the End of the World (Werner Herzog, 2007)

Encounters at the End of the World (Werner Herzog, 2007)
Rating: 6.4

Werner Herzog narrates, directs, and even does production sound in this odd documentary shot in Antarctica, which is mostly just him randomly pontificating about science, philosophy, nature, and the inevitable demise of human existence. The underwater photography was gorgeous, and it was fitting that it is juxtaposed with choral music, as Herzog hints at a spiritual force that coincides with nature. Aside from the seal noises that sound like a Merzbow or Black Dice album, the suicidal penguin and Herzog's absurd and sometimes egotistical narration were my favorite parts.

Lo Sceicco bianco (Federico Fellini, 1952) aka The White Sheik

The White Sheik (Federico Fellini, 1952)
Rating: 6.8

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.

Day of the Dead (George A. Romero, 1985)

Day of the Dead (George A. Romero, 1985)
Rating: 4.8

Gerry (Gus Van Sant, 2002)

Gerry (Gus Van Sant, 2002)
Rating: 5.8

I Am Legend (Francis Lawrence, 2007)

I Am Legend (Francis Lawrence, 2007)
Rating: 5.6

Paranoid Park (Gus Van Sant, 2007)

Paranoid Park (Gus Van Sant, 2007)
Rating: 6.8

The film begins with a gorgeous time lapse shot of a bridge and a piece from a Nino Rota score before the nonlinear story intercut with consumer grade video clips of skating teenagers gets underway. Van Sant later returns to an even more beautiful time lapse scene during a storm after the most pivotal scene in the film. The film isn't short on striking imagery, but it is lacking in adequate acting. Throughout the film, the main character named Alex dictates the letter he is writing which reveals a gruesome accident he was involved in. The narration is seriously grating; it's like in grade school when kids are asked to read a passage from the textbook out loud only the material is much less articulate. I also found the gratuitous use of unmotivated slow motion shots became tedious, not to mention the over the top eclectic for the sake of it soundtrack which probably included double digit genres ranging from Beethoven, experimental/electronic, jazz, country/folk, Elliott Smith, hip-hop, opera, metal, as well as sporadic pieces of Nino Rotas scores from Amarcord and Juliette of Spirits as mentioned before. I was most impressed with the sound design for a film of such a small scale. There is some really great stuff going on during the shower scene, railroad scene, among others, but my favorite part was when Alex's internal thought process is running through his head; dialgue overlaps with different echoes and reverbs making for a great effect.

Amarcord (Federico Fellini, 1973) aka I Remember

Amarcord (Federico Fellini, 1973)
Rating: 10

A beautiful bittersweet nostalgic film that really evokes a love for life, especially after watching so many depressing films lately. I almost want to say this is my favorite thing I've seen from Fellini. Nights of Cabiria, 8 1/2, and La dolce vita are all extraordinary films, while La Strada and Satyricon are great, but I think this one resonates with me more personally than any other.

Il Gattopardo (Luchino Visconti, 1963) aka The Leopard

The Leopard (Luchino Visconti, 1963)
Rating: 8.4

Trilogia I: To Livadi pou dakryzei (Theodoros Angelopoulos, 2004) aka The Weeping Meadow

The Weeping Meadow (Theodoros Angelopoulos, 2004)
Rating: 8.3

Mest kinematograficheskogo operatora (Wladyslaw Starewicz, 1912) aka The Cameraman's Revenge

The Cameraman's Revenge (Wladyslaw Starewicz, 1912)
Rating: 9.2

Los (James Benning, 2004)

Los (James Benning, 2004)
Rating: 6.5

13 Lakes (James Benning,2004)

13 Lakes (James Benning,2004)
Rating:5.7

La Morte ha fatto l'uovo (Giulio Questi, 1968) aka Death Laid An Egg

Death Laid An Egg (Giulio Questi, 1968)
Rating: Decadent Eurotrash Gold

Fellini - Satyricon (Federico Fellini, 1969)

Fellini - Satyricon (Federico Fellini, 1969)
Rating: 8.8

Katakuri-ke no kôfuku (Takashi Miike, 2001) aka The Happiness of the Katakuris

The Happiness of the Katakuris (Takashi Miike, 2001)
Rating: 7.3

Umberto D. (Vittorio De Sica, 1952)

Umberto D. (Vittorio De Sica, 1952)
Rating: 9.5

Very touching film.
I have a crush on Maria-Pia Casilio and want a dog more than ever.

Burden of Dreams (Les Blank, 1982)

Burden of Dreams (Les Blank, 1982)
Rating: 8.7

Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe (Les Blank, 1980)
Rating: 6.0

The Man Who Laughs (Paul Leni, 1928)

The Man Who Laughs (Paul Leni, 1928)
Rating: 9.3

I saw this at The Silent Theater with live music accompaniment by Ariel Pink, Plastic Crimewave and Jimi Hey. As a child, Gwynplaine has a permanent smile carved on his face by a group of gypsies. Years later he becomes a popular clown and falls in love with a blind girl named Dea, but their love is jeopardized when it is discovered he is a royal heir. The character later served as the visual inspiration for The Joker. The art direction in this film dark film was incredible. I also enjoyed the adorable apple throwing monkey and the heroic wolf dog named Homo.