I'm in the gutter...and there are the stars

Average rating: 7.75—with a couple of my favorites.

American Women {The Closer You Get} (2000) - "A group of ordinary Irish fellows are bored and dissatisfied with the local women in their small town. Led by fashion-conscious butcher Ian, they decide to pool their resources and put an ad in an American newspaper inviting American women to their town dance in the hope of attracting some exciting potential mates. The local women, including Ian's assistant Siobhan, decide to retaliate in their own way."
length: 1 hour, 30 minutes

source: I own the DVD
I watched it because: I was in the mood for something familiar and funny (previously reviewed here)
IMDB: 6.2/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 32% Audience: 46%
my IMDB: 9/10

MPAA rating: PG-13

notable quote: "'Should have been looking a bit closer to home....'

    'Oh, it's not his fault. Sometimes the closer you get to something, the harder it is to see it.'"

directed by: Aileen Ritchie

my notes: charming, hilariously funny, and surprisingly dear. This is one of my all-time favorites.

overall: strongly recommended

 

The One (2001) - "In a stunning dual role, international star Jet Li portrays Gabriel Yulaw, a police officer confronted with a sinister form of himself escaped from an advanced, parallel universe and intent on killing Gabriel. His alter ego's hunt culminates in a fateful battle between good and evil that changes Gabriel's perception of reality and forces him to examine the evil hidden within himself."
length: 1 hour, 27 minutes

source: I own the DVD
I watched it because: after the previous film, I needed a little violence to clear my mental palate (not previously reviewed, but briefly mentioned here)
IMDB: 5.9/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 13% Audience: 51%
my IMDB: 6/10

MPAA rating: PG-13

notable quote: "'I am a Multiverse agent.'

    'You're a nut.'

    'Hey, you're the one that's seeing yourself.'"

directed by: James Wong

my notes: wildly dumb, but still strangely entertaining. Besides Jet Li and Jason Statham (in his not-yet-shaving-his-head phase), this movie features Delroy Lindo, who is always good. Don't expect great cinema or a remotely plausible story—if you watch this, watch it for the action. The fight on the catwalk over the exploding chemical factory (?) is especially cool.

overall: mildly recommended

Face/Off (1997) - "Obsessed with bringing terrorist Castor Troy to justice, FBI agent Sean Archer tracks down Troy, who has boarded a plane in Los Angeles. After the plane crashes and Troy is severely injured, possibly dead, Archer undergoes surgery to remove his face and replace it with Troy's. As Archer tries to use his disguise to elicit information about a bomb from Troy's brother, Troy awakes from a coma and forces the doctor who performed the surgery to give him Archer's face."
length: 2 hours, 18 minutes (about a half hour too long--all the fookin' birds for crissakes, metaphors work better when they're subtle!!)

source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: (previously reviewed here)
IMDB: 7.3/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 93% Audience: 82%
my IMDB: 7/10

MPAA rating: R

notable quote: "If you dress like Halloween, ghouls will try to get in your pants."

directed by: John Woo

my notes: it's not great cinema but it's sure a fun movie. The stunts are terrific, the action is palpable, the chemistry between the actors is really good, and there are parts that are awesome. My favorites were still Sasha (Gina Gershon) and Dietrich (Nick Cassavetes). Joan Allen (Eve) is always wonderful (how has she not won an Oscar?!), and I think Castor/Archer is one of Nic Cage's best performances, both loud and soft.

Academy Award nominee: Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing—Mark P Stoeckinger, Per Hallberg
overall:  recommended

The Big Blue {Le Grand Bleu} (1988) - "Director Luc Besson is famous for his imaginative visual technique and breathtaking action sequences. One of the most stunningly beautiful films ever made, The Big Blue features gorgeous underwater photography and spectacular location shooting in the French Antibes, the Greek islands, Peru, and Taormina in Sicily. But it is the emotional intensity of the film experience and mystical themes of the story that have made it a cult phenomenon."
length: 2 hours, 48 minutes

source: I own the DVD

I watched it because: I'm feeling a little achy and bruised, and needed a movie to fit.

IMDB: 7.5/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 62% Audience: 93%
my IMDB: 9/10

MPAA rating: PG

notable quote: "Don't look at Jacques as if he was a human being. He comes from another planet."

directed by: Luc Besson

my notes: it's some of Besson's best writing, equal to The Professional. Jean-Marc Barr is brilliant as Jacques Mayol, and of course I love Jean Reno as Enzo. This time, medical researcher Dr. Laurence (Paul Shenar) and especially the competition official Novelli (played by Sergio Castellitto) caught me, their roles revealing the struggle and emotion that underlies the film. This movie breaks my heart.

overall: very highly recommended

 

[the title quotation is from American Women]