Breathless
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard
1960
Breathless is a French language film that follows a criminal and his American girlfriend as they wander around Paris. Both meandering and urgent with its unhurried musings, sudden violence, and fast jump cuts, Breathless, at 56, still feels new and daring.
Would see.
American Beauty
Directed by Sam Mendes
1999
American Beauty follows a middle aged man in a midlife crisis. Though fleetingly amusing, the film is insipid, pretentious, and overwrought.
Would not see.
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Directed by Wes Anderson
2009
Fantastic Mr. Fox is Wes Anderson’s distinctly personal adaptation of the Roald Dahl novel about a clever fox who outwits three mean farmers. Fantastic Mr. Fox has meticulously animation, an unobtrusively sincerity, and a feeling of effortlessness that greatly belies the rarity of the film’s accomplishment.
Would see.
The Lion King
Directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff
1994
The Lion King is an animated musical that loosely retells Shakespeare’s Hamlet with animals in Africa. The animation and music are impressive, but the dialogue is merely serviceable. The Lion King seems to have the ambition to be a slightly above average animated children’s movie, and, in that, it succeeds.
Would see.
Youth
Directed by Paolo Sorrentino
2015
Youth is a comedy-drama that follows a retired composer and an aged film director vacationing in the Swiss Alps. Youth aims for profundity often, but the efforts are shallow and insincere, leaving the film cluttered, confused, and soon forgotten.
Would not see.
Micro Film Reviews 