Caché

Stunning, arresting and dark, this thriller slowly and methodically (and oh so Frenchly) explores a who-done-it where who-did-it is a problem that pales in comparison to the other problems it uncovers. Set in a Parisian suburb, it has not-so- subtle political underpinnings. A family struggles with being stalked and the past catches up with a well-to-do man. At one point, so shocked by what happened in a scene, the whole audience uttered a collective gasp.

Stats
Length: 2 hours
Cast: Juliette Binoche est superbe (and how does she manage to be so sexy in frumpy flat smocks that she wears in a few scenes??) Interestingly, Daniel Auteuil who plays the main character is Algerian, which, given the texture of the story, ads another layer.
Director: Michael Haneke (The Piano Teacher and The Time of the Wolf) does heavy and grim really well.

Match Point (or Woody does Crime and Punishment)

I really feel like Woody Allen makes two bad films for every good one. Some people love him, some hate him, but I am in between. This is a great character-driven drama and it unfolds gorgeously and leaves you gasping at the end. It's Woody at his most focused and efficient.

The Weeping Meadow

Our first movie of 2006 was slow, sad, long and beautiful.

Set in Greece in the early 20th century. Weary refugees from Odessa arrive in Greece and set up a small village home. One of the kids is an orphan who falls in love with her brother and then he dad wants to marry her and she flees. The fascists take control from the popular front and war tears the heroes apart. Childhood pregnancy, incest, vengeance, death and twins -- all the Greek tragedy requisites are present and played out in all their glory. Difficult to watch, but visually stunning and emotionally compelling. The horrors that the poor woman protagonist goes through are reminiscent of a Lars von Trier epic.

The Stats:
Really freeking long! (3 hours-ish)
Cast was unknown to me although the lead woman, Alexandra Aidini, did amazingly.
First part in a trilogy

Bubble - Another Steven Soderbergh Experience

We saw Bubble last night and LOVED it. Most people won't. (Love it or see it.)

Adding to my appreciation of this film, was knowing that Soderbergh took a group of non-actors and made them into his characters. It is both funny and sad and felt so authentic that is was hard to remember the actors were acting. The costumes and little touches (like the food they ate meal after meal after meal) were perfect. On the down side, it felt a little like a joke that people only on the coasts (and perhaps the more urban areas of Minnesota) might understand.

Here's the stats:
85 minutes
No one famous
Doll factory workers experience a little drama and a little reality

Our 2005 Movie List

3 Iron
Aristocrats
The Assassination of Richard Nixon
The Beat that My Heart Skipped
Bee Season
Born into Brothels
Bozo Texaco
Breakfast on Pluto
Brokeback Mountain
Broken Flowers
Capote
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Chicken Little
The Constant Gardener
The Corpse Bride
The Days of Being Wild
The Dying Gaul
The Edukators
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Good Night and Good Luck
Grizzly Man
Guerilla
The Hitchhikers Guide to the galaxy
Hotel Rwanda
The House of Flying Daggers
In the Realms of the Unreal
Junebug
King Kong
Kontrol
Kung Fu Hustle
Last Days
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Lost Embrace
March of the Penguins
McLibel
Me, You and Everyone We Know
The Merchant of Venice
Millions
Mirror Mask
Mondovino
Moolade
Munich
The North Country
Oliver Twist
Palindromes
The Producers
Ray
Reel Paradise
Rock School
Schizo
Shop Girl
Shortcut to Nirvana
The Squid and the Whale
Syriana
Travelers and Musicians
Up and Down
Walk the Line
Where the Truth Lies
The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
The Year of the Yao
Yes

Our 2004 Movie List

Bad Education
Battle of Algiers
Bavarian Invasion
Blind Shaft
Bon Voyage
Broken Wings
Bus 174
Coffee and cigarettes
Corporation
Dogville
Donnie Darko (Directors Cut)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Fahrenheit 9/11
Fog of War
Hero
I Heart Huckabees
Kinsey
Kitchen Stories
Lemony Snicket's a Series of Unfortunate Events
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Maria Full of Grace
Monsieur Ibrahim
Monster
Motorcycle Diaries
My Architect
Napoleon Dynamite
Osama
Revolution will not be Televised
Rick
Saddest Music in the World
Same River Twice
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, And Spring
Super Size Me
The Incredibles
The Return
The Statement
The Trilogy: After Life
The Trilogy: On the Run
The Trilogy: The Amazing Couple
The Yes Men
Tokyo Godfathers
Touching the Void
Triplets of Belleville
Vera Drake
Very Long Engagement