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Music for One Apartment and Six Drummers (2001)

A gang in a Volvo have staked out a flat; when its occupants leave to walk their dog, the six break into the place.

Ordinary Extraordinary are the most orderly people on the planet. Their sense of propriety is something that this American can only wonder about. That’s why this little film escapes me. The whole point of this is that the six folks who break in are not odd-looking,...


Published May 1, 2023
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Dark Blue World (2001)
Filmmaker(s): Jan Svěrák

Lt. Franta Slama is a top pilot in the Czech Air Force who is assigned to train a promising young flier, Karel Vojtisek, and they soon become friends. When Nazi Germany invades Czechoslovakia in 1939, they both reject the authority of their new leaders and escape to England where they join other Czech exiles in the RAF. While flying a mission over England, Karel crash lands and happens upon the farmhouse of Susan, a young woman whose husband is in the Navy. Karel soon falls head over heels for Susan but, while they enjoy a brief fling, in time Susan decides she prefers the company of the older and more worldly Franta. As Franta and Karel struggle to maintain their friendship despite their romantic rivalry.

Not Czech nation cannot be a nation unless it has an identity. These days that identity is at least found in and often generated by movies, especially war movies. Also, if a nation has a mature identity, you will see it in the nature of the...


Published January 23, 2024
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Dude, Where’s My Car (2000)
After a night they can't remember, comes a day they'll never forget.
Filmmaker(s): Danny Leiner

Two stoners wake up after a night of partying and cannot remember where they parked their car.

Who’s On First like this are made like chewing gum: a cheap commodity that occupies you if you’re normally sleepwalking. It is nothing but a collection of various jokes in one bag, so the best we can hope for is that one or two of...


Published November 22, 2022
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Family Guy (1999- )
Parental Discretion Advised, that's how you know it's good.

Sick, twisted, politically incorrect and Freakin' Sweet animated series featuring the adventures of the dysfunctional Griffin family. Bumbling Peter and long-suffering Lois have three kids. Stewie (a brilliant but sadistic baby bent on killing his mother and taking over the world), Meg (the oldest, and is the most unpopular girl in town) and Chris (the middle kid, he's not very bright but has a passion for movies). The final member of the family is Brian - a talking dog and much more than a pet, he keeps Stewie in check whilst sipping Martinis and sorting through his own life issues.

Formulas all started with “The Flintstones”, I suppose. In its time, it was novel. Since then we’ve had a number of versions of the dumb dad cartoon. This one was recommended to me by a reader because it is edgier than the others. Here’s the formula...


Published November 8, 2022
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Billy’s Balloon (1998)
Filmmaker(s): Don Hertzfeldt

A balloon wraps itself around a young child's hand, bringing him higher and higher, much to the child's delight, but a sinister truth begins to unravel.

Inflated is a replacement comment. The original bothered a diligent reader, so I have made some expansion. Animation is like any film type: artists ally to certain philosophies, perhaps without realising it. In the case of animation, it bumps up against that great American invention, noir....


Published August 27, 2023
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Chicago Cab (1997)
Do you dare pay the fare?

A day in the life of a Chicago cab driver is examined as he picks up fares from the good and bad parts of the city and emotionally connects to many of his passengers.

Illegal Shorts filmmaker needs to decide early in the game who is going to capture her. The normal choices are short form or long form, usually cast described as stories about people or ideas with stories. (There’s an in-between choice having to do with situations...


Published November 21, 2022
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Henry Fool (1997)
An honest man is always in trouble...
Filmmaker(s): Hal Hartley

An egocentric bum transforms the lives of a shy New Jersey garbageman and his sister.

We See The Poem is a major talent, a unique, competent voice in a bramble of sameness. The last project I saw was “No Such Thing,” which is one of those that if you don’t actively avoid it, it hits you deep in your soul...


Published November 28, 2022
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Harriet the Spy (1996)
On your case!
Filmmaker(s): Bronwen Hughes

When the secret notebook of a young girl who fancies herself a spy is found by her friends, her speculations make her very unpopular! Can she win her friends back?

Is About Itself little film has been roundly criticised for being disjointed and amateurish. Well, it is disjointed: part of it is surreal allegory, part realistic morality play. Part of it moves with a natural rhythm while other parts seem to have been transplanted from...


Published January 19, 2024
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Oscar and Lucinda (1995)
They dared to play the game of love, faith, and chance.
Filmmaker(s): Gillian Armstrong

After a childhood of abuse by his evangelistic father, misfit Oscar Hopkins becomes an Anglican minister and develops a divine obsession with gambling. Lucinda Leplastrier is a rich Australian heiress shopping in London for materials for her newly acquired glass factory back home. Deciding to travel to Australia as a missionary, Oscar meets Lucinda aboard ship, and a mutual obsession blossoms. They make a wager that will alter each of their destinies.

Obsession, Compulsion is one of my favourite movies. Regular readers of my comments will wonder why I elevate it to my "must see" category Part of the reason I want you to see it is because of how well it pairs with Cate's masterpiece, "Heaven." Now,...


Published February 19, 2023
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Antonia’s Line (1995)
A motion picture that celebrates everything you love about life.
Filmmaker(s): Marleen Gorris

After World War II, Antonia and her daughter, Danielle, go back to their Dutch hometown, where Antonia's late mother has bestowed a small farm upon her. There, Antonia settles down and joins a tightly-knit but unusual community. Those around her include quirky friend Crooked Finger, would-be suitor Bas and, eventually for Antonia, a granddaughter and great-granddaughter who help create a strong family of empowered women.

Lined Up movies are there just to make you feel good about your self. And among those, most do so by showing you values you admire. Characters inhabit those values so we admire them as well. But the whole thing is engineered to parade Hallmark...


Published April 5, 2023
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