Black Book

2005 • Director: Paul Verhoeven
Drama • Rated R • 145 minutes
Fu Works / Sony Pictures Classics
Color • Language: Dutch / German (English subtitles)
Starring: Carice Van Houten, Sebastian Koch

An epic about the Resistance, it's been called one of the best modern Dutch films by some critics. My opinion, however, is one of muted enthusiasm. There's intrigue, romance, mystery, deception, and the unraveling of an insider's plot. But ultimately it's merely a good (although overly ambitious) thriller. Rating: B

The Marriage of Maria Braun

1979 • Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Albatros Filmproduktion
Starring Hannah Schuygulla, Karl Löwitsch
 
Maria assumes her husband is lost during World War 2 and does whatever is needed to survive in the aftermath. Artfully shot, Fassbinder's story isn't just Maria's story: it's also a clever metaphor for the German "Economic Miracle" of the Fifties and Germany's regained place as a powerful nation. Rating: A–

Enter the Dragon

1973 • Director: Robert Clouse
Warner Brothers
Starring Bruce Lee, John Saxon

When Bruce Lee says, "You have offended my family and you have offended the Shoalin temple," some serious ass-kicking is about to take place, you just know it. It's campy in parts; gripping in others. Fun and serious at the same time, it's also a classic representative of the genre. Rating: B+

Through a Glass Darkly

1961 • Director: Ingmar Bergman
Janus Films
Starring Harriet Andersson, Max von Sydow

Karin (Andersson) and her husband, father and brother vacation on a forlorn Swedish island. Schizophrenia threatens her sanity and she insists God will emerge from the wallpaper in the attic. The desolate location and landscape add to the viewer's anxiety as Karin's episodes get progressively worse. A beautifully shot classic. Rating: A–

Merci Pour le Chocolat

2000 • Director: Claude Chabrol
Drama • Unrated • 99 minutes
CAB Productions / Empire Pictures
Color • Language: French (with English subtitles)
Starring Isabelle Huppert, Jacques Dutronc

The owner of a chocolate company (Huppert) marries a famous pianist. Step mom and stepson have an inappropriate emotional relationship, while dad gets too close to a beautiful young student. Malevolence and toxicity creep into the relationships of the four, and the tension finally crests with a shocking revelation. Rating: B+

The Thing

1982 • Director: John Carpenter
Horror • Rated R • 109 Minutes
MCA / Universal Pictures
Color • Language: English
Starring Kurt Russell, Keith David

It's reminiscent of Alien and the Shining, and it had the misfortune of being released concurrently with E.T. Despite a derivative premise, Carpenter unfolds a compact story and builds a credible amount of suspicion between the trapped researchers who battle the adaptable alien life form. Rating: B+

Bug

2007 • Director: William Friedkin

Drama • Rated R • 102 minutes
Lions Gate Films / Lions Gate
Color • Language: English

Starring Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon

Weird boy meets emotionally damaged girl. Her ex comes around and beats on her, but her problems multiply when she gets dragged into her new flame's world of paranoia. As a play where the imaginary could tease audiences it was probably riveting—as a film it's a tough sell. Rating: C+

The Trojan Women

1971 • Director: Michael Kakoyannis
Drama • Unrated • 109 minutes
Joe Shaftel Productions Inc. / Kino Video
Color • Language: English
Starring Katherine Hepburn, Vanessa Redgrave

Kakoyannis is as faithful to Euripides' play as modern interpreter can be. Hepburn is compelling as the fallen Queen Hecuba who has lost her sons to war and daughters to slavery. Redgrave is stellar portraying Andromache, who helplessly watches her young son taken away to be executed. Rating: A–

A History of Violence

2005 • Director: David Cronenberg


Drama • Rated R • 96 minutes

New Line Productions / New Line Cinema

Color • Language: English

Starring Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello

The owner of Stall's Diner has a secret. This secret is revealed, and Tom has an identity crisis. Suddenly his family becomes unsure of who they are, too. Unfortunately the remainder of the film doesn't explore that theme. It instead becomes an low-grade action film for the last fifteen minutes. Rating: B–

Home

2008 • Director: Ursula Meier
Drama / Foreign • Unrated • 98 minutes
Box Productions / Lorber Films
Color • Language: French (English subtitles)
Starring Isabelle Huppert, Olivier Gourmet

The highway that cuts right through the family's front yard finally opens. As the volume of vehicles increases, the noise literally and symbolically drowns out the voice of each family member. It's a smartly dressed allegorical meditation on outside pressures that threaten to destroy every family.
Rating: B+

Ma Mére

2004 • Director: Christophe Honoré 

Drama / Foreign • Rated NC-17 • 110 minutes
Gemini Films
Color • Language: French (English subtitles)

Starring Isabelle Huppert, Louis Garrel 

I hoped for something better than an Oedipal journey filled with orgies, necrophilia, and incest. Disturbing without being illuminating, perverse without being erotic, I struggled to find something useful within despite Huppert's always emotional performances and a sympathetic reading of Hansi's chararacter, played by Emma de Caunes. Rating: C