Hostel (2006)

Hey, isn't this movie supposed to be hateful?

I let the marketing and editorializing keep me away until now, and watched it expecting to stop it well before the end.

All of the hand-wringing was way off-base: Hostel is really just a well-constructed little thriller. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

What the hell. Recommended.

I Am Legend (2007)

With a different script -- and maybe Josh Brolin instead of Will Smith, and the mood of the first half hour maintained throughout -- this could've been great.

No Country For Old Men (2007)

Brilliant, then not.

The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005)

Remember Fingers, a James Toback film from the seventies starring Harvey Keitel?

Neither do I. And now I've forgotten this French remake I watched a couple months ago.

Before The Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)

The opening scenes may lead to you believe you're in for a dirty good time, but don't be fooled.

Prepare to suffer.

The Lives of Others (2007)

I don't know...for most of its running time, this feels like an Afterschool Special about the Stasi. A bit simple. And are the actors playing characters who've grown used to keeping their reactions tamped down...or are they just not very expressive (not good actors) to begin with? Then comes the coda and, I promise you, your eyes will well up.

The Triplets of Belleville (2003)

The pathos is undercut by the eerieness, the eerieness is undercut by the humor. Really one of a kind.

Recommended.

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P2 (2007)

Another genuine B movie?: a thriller, no one in it, no one went to see it, gone before I had the chance. I'll bet it's good.

Dark Water (2005)

Not truly scary -- but moody and good-looking.

Battle Royale (2000)

An entire class of Japanese students is dispatched to a remote island and ordered, under threat of death, to kill one another.

Completely engaging nonsense.

Snakes On A Plane (2006)

Proof you can't set out to make a bad movie.

The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

Limited is right.