Unknown

Jaume Collet-Serra 2011

Liam Neeson loses his identity while on a business trip to Europe. His wife pretends not to know him – but why? By the time you find out you won’t really care. Despite having all the standard ingredients of a good thriller, UNKNOWN is better left unseen.

Soul Kitchen

Fatih Akin 2010

From the writer/director of HEAD ON. Not funny – plays for hammy laughs that don’t come.  Some sexy moments, but ultimately disappointing.

Katzelmacher

Rainer Werner Fassbinder 1969

What if I say it’s hypnotic, rather than boring?  The film lulled me into a kind of mesmerized catatonic state during which I am said to have laughed and drooled at all the appropriate moments. Stylish lowlifes walk in and out of a handful of frames – the railing in front of the building, the tavern, Elisabeth’s dining room, Rosa’s bedroom – often with the intention of lackluster copulation. Eventually a foreigner enters the picture and the Germans welcome him with not-so-open arms.

The American Friend

Wim Wenders 1977

From the director of PARIS, TEXAS and WINGS OF DESIRE – loved both. Unlike some friends, the AMERICAN FRIEND will not let you down.  The plot intrigue might be a little thrown together but the characters are clear and fun to watch. Bruno Ganz and Dennis Hopper are great together. That they look and move alike only adds to the strange affinity that develops between the two characters over the course of the film. Also, I’m pretty sure Hopper’s character was the physical basis for the character of Eli Cash in Wes Anderson’s THE ROYAL TENNBAUMS (played by Owen Wilson); the haircut, the eyeglasses, and the cowboy hat are spot on the same.  (geek-out: see also RUSHMORE, where the character of Dirk Calloway’s physical appearance resembles Rene, Antoine Doinelle’s friend in Truffaut’s FOUR HUNDRED BLOWS.)