CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

Eastern Promises [Blu-ray]

starring: Josef Altin, Mina E. Mina, Aleksandar Mikic, Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse, Lalita Ahmed
directed by: David Cronenberg

Release Date October 14, 2008
I watched this on HBO last night. The plot is a very captivating, edge-of-your seat thriller. Although there is a lot of graphic violence, the characters, including the bad guys, are not entirely unlikeable. "Kirill" and his father possess at least a glimmer of a compassionate side (the way they interact with children), and Viggo Mortensen is spectacular as Nikolai (althought I should add, the extensive footage of his teeny ding-dong during the bath house fight scene left me a little queasy). That said, would it have killed the director to hire some actual Russians to speak Russian more believably? I had the hardest time making out what they were saying. Overall, a very entertaining film. In the end, all the loose ends are tied up nicely, and ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

Eastern Promises (Widescreen Edition)

starring: Naomi Watts, Viggo Mortensen, Vincent Cassel, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Sinéad Cusack
directed by: David Cronenberg

Release Date December 23, 2007
I watched this on HBO last night. The plot is a very captivating, edge-of-your seat thriller. Although there is a lot of graphic violence, the characters, including the bad guys, are not entirely unlikeable. "Kirill" and his father possess at least a glimmer of a compassionate side (the way they interact with children), and Viggo Mortensen is spectacular as Nikolai (althought I should add, the extensive footage of his teeny ding-dong during the bath house fight scene left me a little queasy). That said, would it have killed the director to hire some actual Russians to speak Russian more believably? I had the hardest time making out what they were saying. Overall, a very entertaining film. In the end, all the loose ends are tied up nicely, and everyone ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

Brotherhood of the Wolf - Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition)

starring: Samuel Le Bihan, Mark Dacascos, Vincent Cassel, Émilie Dequenne, Monica Bellucci
directed by: Christophe Gans

Release Date August 26, 2008
thats assuming this is the same Directors cut from 2003...
Interesting that in my EU edition of the film, they refer to the beast as a "she"
I beleive it was genderless in the US release

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

Elizabeth (Spotlight Series)

starring: Fanny Ardant, Daniel Craig, Angus Deayton, Christopher Eccleston, John Gielgud
directed by: Shekhar Kapur

Release Date September 18, 2007
For those keeping up wtih the history of England this is a must have for Anglofiles. Cate Blanchett does a wonderful job (as did Helen Mirren) portraying young Queen Elizabeth.

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

Irreversible

starring: Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel, Jean-Louis Costes, Stéphane Derdérian, Stéphane Drouot

Release Date August 05, 2003
Its a fairly good movie. Runs from the end to the front in sections. It is a french movie with English subtitles. Has a realistic, brutal rap scene that is extremely disturbing. Affected me for 3 days.

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

La Haine (Criterion Collection)

starring: Vincent Cassel, Saïd Taghmaoui, Hubert Koundé, Benoît Magimel, Francois Toumarkine
directed by: Mathieu Kassovitz

Release Date April 17, 2007
In many ways, this powerful movie is like a Chekhov story where the mere presence of a gun requires its use. The story follows three young men the day after a riot in a French ghetto where the racial tension and police tension is not merely hiding under the surface, but always present. Without going into many details, the movie is a powerful statement about racial identity and the power struggles that are embedded in society. My French has been deteriorating for years, but even if it hadn't, I would have needed the subtitles since much of the language is slang. Everything about the movie seemed very real and the ending will haunt you for days.

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

Derailed (Unrated Widescreen)

starring: Clive Owen, Jennifer Aniston, Vincent Cassel, Addison Timlin, Melissa George
directed by: Mikael Håfström

Release Date March 21, 2006
Okay, was this made before or after "Rumor Has It?" Jennifer Aniston continues to convince me that her acting is pedestrian. She [is] one of those actors who just don't work in the big screen. She may have been fine on televsion but....she wrecked this film. I was very glad that she (Lucinda Harris) got blown away in the big shootout; unfortunately, too late in the film. The big shootout was the highlight of the film.

Clive Owen as Charles Schine played his part very well. That being of the person victimized in a blackmail scheme by the sinister La Roche played by Vince Cassell and his convincingly scumbag accomplice Dexter, played by the one-dimensional Xzibit; whom I was also glad when he was blown away. I also enjoyed the final scene when La Roche gets it "stuck to him." ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

Brotherhood of the Wolf

starring: Samuel Le Bihan, Vincent Cassel, Émilie Dequenne, Monica Bellucci, Jérémie Renier
directed by: Christophe Gans

Release Date October 01, 2002
thats assuming this is the same Directors cut from 2003...
Interesting that in my EU edition of the film, they refer to the beast as a "she"
I beleive it was genderless in the US release

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc

starring: Milla Jovovich, Dustin Hoffman, Faye Dunaway, John Malkovich, Tchéky Karyo
directed by: Luc Besson

Release Date April 04, 2000
This movie is historically inaccurate in so many ways. I wouldn't even give it one star unless Amazon made that little a requirement of the rating process. Not only does Joan not have a sister (who is VERY brually murdered in this film), but the prince is far too old.

They also make her look like an insane heretic who is quite possibly in league with the Devil. Then, they have her kill in this film. According to legend, she led an army, but never took a life. She was a standard bearer, but not a soldier.

This is a horrid portrayal of Joan of Arc and possibly written and directed by someone/several people without a soul(s). She looks like a lunatic.

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

Elizabeth [HD DVD]

starring: Fanny Ardant, Daniel Craig, Angus Deayton, Christopher Eccleston, John Gielgud

Release Date September 18, 2007
For those keeping up wtih the history of England this is a must have for Anglofiles. Cate Blanchett does a wonderful job (as did Helen Mirren) portraying young Queen Elizabeth.