Kagemusha (1980)

It amazes me that Akira Kurosawa had to have Coppla and Lucas bail him out on this film in order to finish production.  When completed they had executive producer credits for an instant classic of Japanese cinema.  The story tells of a thief who is spared because he looks just like the King.   When the King is shot outside a castle, the King's loyal generals use the thief as an impersonator to keep the King's legacy for another year.  This is a tragic and beautiful story with many engaging characters.  It is a little long but well worth the time.  Grade: A-

Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)

This '80s romantic comedy from Susan Seidelman breaks all the rules in a fun and charming way.  Mostly known for co-staring Madonna as the free-spirited but tough title character, it's Rosanna Arquette as the curious house wife who forgets her identity that's the real soul of the film.  Amnesia is kind of a silly premise but here it's set up just right.  As a classic of the '80s this one still holds up and is worth checking out.  Grade: B+      

Violette Nozière (1978)

This film directed by Claude Chabrol and based on the true 1933 murder case where a young French woman poisons her parents proves that teenage rebellion and adolescent mischief have always been around.  Truth really is stranger than fiction and I doubt there is a writer that could concoct a more fascinating character.   And there are few actresses capable of turning in such a performance as Isabelle Huppert does.  She pulls you into her warped mind with dark subtitle expressions and child-like playfulness.  I'd say hers is one of the best performances I've seen of such a devoid human being.  This really is not a film to be missed and the fact that it's all true is even more incredible.  Grade: A

Sherman's March (1986)

Documentary film maker Ross McElwee planned to make a film about General Sherman's March against the South during the Civil War and its affects in the region but very quickly he turns the camera on himself after his girl friend breaks up with him.   Instead he hooks up with various women on his journey and explores his own demons on his inability to stay in a relationship.   Deeply personally and at times hilarious it's impossible to not like Ross and his honest spirit.  This is a wonderful time capsule of an experience with kooky, broad personalities.  At almost three hours you'd think such a random seemingly theme-less work might drag but it's far from boring.  Grade: A-

Look Back In Anger (1959)

A story meant to mirror the angry disillusion felt by Britain's youth after WWII quickly becomes a love triangle with a hero undeserving of love.  I guess this is the point of John Osbourne's script (based on his famous play) but in the end I could care less.  Richard Burton gives a solid performance but it's not very fun to watch an unlikeable jerk mistreat people for ninety minutes.  Sure great art doesn't always need to go down easy but a little bit of honey would have been nice.  Tony Richardson would later continue this theme with a better film, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner.  Grade: B  

A Bug's Life (1998) [Revisited]

Pixar's second film is still one of their best.  While watching it again I was amazed at the comic timing and the perfect plotting.  You can really tell that for the animators of Pixar story is king.  This one is basically the Seven Samurai with circus bugs, memorable heroes that in my mind have become legends of character animation.  Yet as I watched this again I had an eerie thought, one that I found amusing and a bit depressing.  Reflecting on the state of our economy and the trend amongst corporations to outsource our manufacturing jobs oversees, I came to realize we're the grasshoppers.  Americans are consuming irresponsible grasshoppers and all those Asian countries making our clothes, our IPads, flat-screens, cars and pretty much everything else we buy are the ants.   I know I'm over simplifying a complex shift but the metaphor is somewhat true.  We're the grasshoppers and someday (if that day hasn't already transpired) the ants of the world are going to realize that there are more of them than us.   Oh but alas, this is supposed to be a review of one of my favorite animated tales.   Why so seriously bend it around into something more?  Maybe as a warning.  Grade: A

Chronicle (2012)

The first-person (found/collected footage) genre goes superhuman with this story of three high schoolers who stumble upon a strange crystal cave that gives them super powers.  They can fly and move objects with their minds.  Every fanboy's daydream becomes an emotional rewarding drama with layers of character development.   It's a lot like Akira with a video camera and no motercycles.  Josh Trank directs from an excellent script by Max Landis (son of John Landis).  Grade: A-