Zack and Miri Make a Porno Very funny, very sweet, and made far more compotently than most of Kevin Smith's movies. Seth Rogen is very underrated as an actor, I think he's very natural on screen, and doesn't make you cringe when he has to articulate feeling, and Elizabeth Banks is always strong aswell. Craig Robinson continues to be the best supporting actor in every movie he's in, and Kevin Smith seems to finally be inching towards knowing how to tell a story.

I love Seth Rogen, he's effortlessly funny. He can make you laugh by a mere expression. He tends to do a lot of "silly" roles (and I say that with respect), but I like to think that he has the potential to end up like our very own Bill Murray, who, as we all know, started out with all those so called "silly" roles. I would love to see what Wes Anderson would do with him. Maybe the two don't really go together, but it would be interesting.

I'm really glad to hear Zack And Miri Make A Porno was good, I've been excited for it.

Last film I saw... "Big Business", a Laurel & Hardy short from 1929. They were showing a bunch of them at the public library in Park Slope, Brooklyn, sort of near where I live. They set it up silent movie style, piano and everything, it was great.

Definitely. I think somewhere down the line he's the kind of actor who will slip into deeper supporting roles like Murray has. I don't know if it will neccesarily be in Anderson-type roles, but I do think his career will be interesting as he ages.

Ballast I might just be suffering from independent cinema fatigue, but this seemed a bit derivative. The Terrance Malick nature cutting and the Dardenne brothers handheld felt borrowed, not linked to the story. I grew more fond of it as it progressed, and I'd be willing to re-evaluate it, but at the moment I'm not love with it.

Slumdog Millionaire Very good, but failed to live up to the massive hype it's gotten so far. I really enjoyed the structure of the film, and the acting and breakneck style that Danny Boyle employs. Again, very enjoyable, but kind of a letdown from the expectations I went in with.

Police Beat Another good not great. I read about this a few years ago when it played Sundance and then remembered it recently and found it on dvd. It's a bit too spare in its story. None the less interesting, but not up to the praise.

Synecdoche, New York For a second time. I'm convinced it's not just the best movie of the year, but a profound work of genuis that defies classification in any traditional sense of "good," and that includes my earlier statement about it's ranking this year.

Australia. Despite my own eccentric romanticism, I've never been crazy about Baz Luhrmann's movies (though I haven't seen Strictly Ballroom). But I loved the hell out of this one. It's a bit of a mess, and it kind of feels like two movies in one, the western (which, by itself, I would say is one of the best new westerns I've seen in some time) and the war. Not for everybody, but almost perfectly suited for my own sensibilities.

The past few months:

Happy-Go-Lucky As everyone has said, Sally Hawkins is excellent, the film goes in unexpected directions and has a lot more depth than the advertisements would make it seem. This is the first Mike Leigh movie I've seen, and I think I'll be seeing more.

Role Models I seem not to enjoy David Wain's films. Rudd's always funny, and there are certainly laughs in the film, but it's nothing special.

Changeling Not great. I expect more from Eastwood, though to be fair the issues are mostly with the script and Jolie. Amy Ryan breathes life in the movie while she's in it, but it's nothing more than decent.

Quantum of Solace It's better if you view it as the a chapter in the new Bond story, but considering the caliber of actors and the past work of the director Marc Forster, it's a bit surprising it isn't more interesting. Looking at Mathieu Amalric in this film, and then in A Christmas Tale, you can see how wonderfully big and eccentric his character in this film could have been. Unfortunately he's directed to be as boring as possible, and the film suffers for it's absolute lack of emotion in any of the characters.

Milk Gus Van Sant elevates the film beyond a traditional biopic, and turns it into a moving, at times odd, very sad film that is also somehow funny and inspiring. Probably Sean Penn's best performance, and the rest of the cast is superb aswell, particularly James Franco, whose given two great performances this year (the other being his Golden Globe nominated (!) performance in "Pineapple Express"). Quite a wonderful mixture of Van Sant's more convetional style (Good Will Hunting, Finding Forrester) and his more recent, brilliant style (Elephant, Last Days, Paranoid Park).

Doubt Definitely feels like an adaptation of a play (which it is), but not in a bad way. It's pretty much an actor showcase, and since there are four great actors in the lead roles, it's very enjoyable to watch and the story is interesting.

I've Loved You So Long Very good. Kristen Scott Thomas' performance cannot be overpraised, and the film is very adept at keeping it's secrets and revealing them in the way inwhich it does.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button My first impression is that it's a great, great film. It feels like something that will end up being a classic. The aging is the best I've seen in any film, and without giving anything away, the location of the story works so perfectly that it seems absolutely inseperable from the narrative. Brad Pitt is not always a very good actor, but here, he's fantastic. Cate Blanchett continues to be one of the best actresses of her generation, and Taraji P. Henson's performance goes a long way in selling the early part of the film. Fincher shot this with the Viper HD camera, as he did with Zodiac, and it looks as great here as it did in that film.

Taken. Good for Liam (I'd love to see him in a Wes, for what its worth). Not sure how many 6'5 dudes the CIA hires as spies (he doesn't exactly blend in), but whatever. Hopefully the film's success will prove to Hollywood how effective internet ads can be (I can't tell you how many times I watched the trailer on Hulu).

Somers Town Shane Meadows' (This is England) new film. I enjoyed it a great deal and I think it might be better than "This is England." Natural performances, understated comedy, beautiful but not distracting black and white photography. Fantastic film.

La belle personne Christophe Honore's (Dans Paris, Love Songs) new film. Definite change of pace from his last two films but still very much has his stamp on it. I loved it completely, and I think it's one of better films I've seen of late, it also contains the second best use of Nick Drake in a movie I've come across. Typical Honore actors (Louis Garrell, Clotilde Hesme, Chiara Mastroianni) show up in mostly cameos here, instead focusing on younger characters, and their naivite and restlessness serves well as a contrast to the more static style Honore employs in the film. No one is making movies like him now, harkening back to the Nouvelle Vague, but exploring contemporary lives.

Short takes:

Mutual Appreciation Not a mumblecore fan, but this actually had some direction and aesthetic, and I ended up enjoying it's casual nature instead of being infuriated by it. (Plus it was actually shot on film Shocking...)

Rumba Same trio that did "L'Iceberg." Very subtle, Tati-esque comedy that really plays with the frame in inventive ways, and the story is so tragic could be played for drama, but somehow it's entirely charming and hilarious.

I Love You, Man Very good natured, cast is funny and likeable, very enjoyable.

Sunshine Cleaning Cast is great, script is weak, it's entertaining but it's a bit derivative and not altogether very good.

Duplicity Fantastic, tremendous writing, acting, cinematography, just as good as Michael Clayton.

Frontier of Dawn Phillipe Garrel, Louis Garrel, tragic, romantic ghost story with beautiful french women in high contrast black and white in Paris, what's not to love?

Goodbye Solo Another great Rahman Bahrani film, unique, powerful independent American cinema.

Medicine For Melancholy A middle class black love story that's politically aware, funny, tense, and unique, and no one has a gun or deals drugs? Crazy.

Summer Hours Still unsure as to how I feel about it, it hit a lot of buttons for me, Julliete Binoche, french country-side family film, but I think it might have lacked a sense pace. I will have to think about it.

Observe and Report Crazy + Awesome.

I Love You, Man. Grand movie. It just shows how a good cast can make a movie work.

Observe and Report I think this is the best movie of the year so far (not that it means much in April, but...). It's one of the funniest, and definitely the most political* comedies I've seen, especially from a major studio. It gets so unapologetically dark that some of the laughs are at the sheer audacity of the filmmakers and the shock of what's happening on screen. There's shades of Scorsese, David Gordon Green, and kinetic 70s directors like Friedkin, but it has its own aesthetic and feel that's unique and distinctive.

*for more on that, long inarticulate ramblings of mine are here.

Doubt
Marvelous. Meryl Streep undoubtedly carries the thing, but Philip Seymour Hoffman is very, very good in it, too. The beauty of it really struck me (and the seasons reminded me of Rushmore).

The Reader
The hype worried me, but I was pleasantly surprised. David Kross is very good, and I always like Kate Winslet. I could do without bad German accents though. Ralph Fiennes doesn't really do it for me. I appreciated the ways in which the character of Hanna complicates the Holocaust (and other horrible things), not in a Nazi sympathizer/apologist way but in a "why do we do what we do?" sort of way.

I've Loved You So Long
Very good. Reminded me of Doubt in that you don't know what you think you know. A little French melodrama mixed in, but limited.

Twilight
Cheesy, campy, etc. I didn't expect to enjoy it, but I did (mostly).

A Mighty Heart.
A very good drama. And I think Angelina was brilliant in it.

Pulp Fiction.
Funny, dark, smart, original, different. Enjoyed it a lot.

Psycho (Hitchcock)
Perfect movie. They don't make movies like this these days.

Citizen Kane
One of the best movies I've ever seen.

Shoot the Piano Player- The first movie I've watched in about a month. And I thought it was pretty great. This is easily my new favorite film of the French new wave because this might be the only one thats actually made me laugh out loud.

Religulous, Bill Maher Is My Homeboy. Great film that confirms what I've felt/known all along. That human beings created God.

Man on a Wire, Phillipe Petit reminds me of The Little Prince. Riveting, inspiring film & sorely needed in this current economy, "a great work of public art!" - Sarah Schiller

Mister Lonely, Harmony Korine. Michael Jackson impersonator falls in love with a Marilyn Monroe impersonator. Beautifully shot, I admit I fell asleep in the middle, but it's just that kind of film, you know...Still need to see the infamous GUMMO.

Gommora, Oscar nominated Italian film about the Mob. They own everything. Nuff said.