Sam’s Place

Rock the Bells (2006)

Sam: ****

• For people, like me, who don’t like hip-hop, this documentary provides reinforcement. Plenty of unpleasant people on drugs.

Emma: ***

• A well-made documentary, but the subject, promoter Chang Weisberg, seems like an annoying egotist unconcerned about public safety. Several pretentious white rappers add to the annoyance factor.

The Swindle (1997)

Sam: ***

• A French movie about a pair of grifters. There’s nothing terrible about it but nothing surprising either.

Emma: ***

• It started off well — & I liked the location shots in the Swiss Alps, etc. — but just fizzles out.

The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

Sam: ****

• A lot of fights and exotic locales. I forgot I was watching a movie a few times during this so it was pretty good, unlike the previous movie (I don’t really remember the 1st one).

Emma: ****

• Good but there could have been one less car chase.

Avenue Montaigne (Fauteuils d’Orchestre) (2007)

Sam: **

• This was supposed to be a feel-good but sensitive, & whimsical story of a country girl gone to Paris, & various people she interacts with but I found most of the characters annoying.

Emma: **

• A bit boring. But I liked the music.

A Lot Like Love (2005)

Sam: **

• A predictable romantic comedy. Inoffensive but bad. I chuckled twice at two Amanda Peet pratfalls.

Emma: ***

• A bit cheesy. Amanda Peet played an unconvincing punk rocker, or rebel, or whatever she was supposed to be in the beginning of the movie.

The Darwin Awards (2005)

Sam: ****

• Like You Kill Me, an extra star for quirky & (partly) set in SF. In real life, Winona Ryder was babysat by Lawrence Ferlinghetti at City Lights cuz her parents run (or ran?) the Fitz Hugh Ludlow Memorial. Library.

Emma: ***

• Interesting, & almost good. Joseph Fiennes did a good job as the neurotic cop/investigator. The supporting cast was funny, as was the Darwin Awards concept.

 Shooter (2007)

Sam: **

• Kinda like an updating of Oliver Stone’s JFK, but much worse, & Marky Mark is Oswald, & he’s a super-hero.

Emma: **

• This was bad.

The Painted Veil (2006)

Sam: **

• Stiff, predictable, slow-moving, stylized (in a bad way) tale set in pre-revolutionary China.

Emma: ***

• Edward Norton’s acting an English accent were annoying. Good job by supporting actor Toby Jones. Some nice cinematography but otherwise nothing to write home about.

Breaking and Entering (2007)

Sam: ***

• The movie was almost ruined by pretentiousness (metaphors & talk about metaphors) and clichés (a wise, goodhearted hooker, for example), & sluggish pace but all-in-all not bad, some nice shots of London. Much better than director Anthony Minghella’s English Patient, at least.

Emma: ***

My Boss’s Daughter (2003)

Emma: ***

• OK but not great. Worth watching for Terence Stamp.

Sam: ***