***** 1937. Written and directed by Jean Renoir. A prize in Venice and an Academy award nomination. Often designed as the best film ever produced, LA GRANDE ILLUSION describes the relations between war enemies of the same social class that can be, in certain circumstances, stronger than the relations between men of the same country. Criterion collection spine #1. Masterpiece.

**** 1960. Directed by Jack Cardiff. Academy award earned by Freddie Francis (Best B&W Cinematography) and Golden Globe earned by Cardiff (Best Director). A young man is torn between his possessive mother and his well-behaved girl-friend. He'll finally find sexual fullfilment in the arms of a married woman. Highly recommended.

**** 1996. Directed by Jan de Bont. Two Academy awards nominations. Jo and Bill Harding are trying to launch Dorothy, their invention, into a twister, in order to find scientific informations about this natural phenomenon. Highly recommended.

***1/2 1965. Produced and directed by Otto Preminger. Academy award nomination in the Best B&W Cinematography category. The movie depicts, from the Navy point of view, the American reaction after Pearl Harbor. Great study of characers, too. Recommended.

***1/2 1983. Directed by John Carpenter. A 17 year old teenager finds the car of his life, a 1958 Plymouth Fury, named Christine. He repairs the car and starts then to have more confidence in himself. Christine also grows a life of its own and attacks those who dare to threaten Arnold. Recommended.

***1/2 2001. Directed by Luis Mandoki. Chicago. A female police officer, with family problems, falls in love with a strange man who refuses to accept that his family died in a car crash the year before. Could have been worse. Recommended.

***1/2 2007. Written and directed by Henry Miller. Five years after having killed Uncle Eddie, a serial killer, Det. Stan Aymard is asked to find another serial killer who likes to draw paintings with the blood of his victims. A treat for Willem Dafoe fans. Recommended.

*** 2005. Written and directed by Julian Fellowes. A seemingly happy couple's life is turned upsisde down when Anne hits a cyclist while driving the car of her lover Bill Bule. A very British study of passion. Already forgotten.

*** 2006. Written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. A prize in Cannes earned by the female ensemble cast and an Academy award nomination for Penélope Cruz. Family secrets unravel when Irene, four years after her death, visits her two daughters. Am I the only one to think that Almodovár is overvalued nowadays ? Already forgotten.

*** 2007. Written and directed by the Coen brothers. Four Academy awards and two Golden Globes. When Llewelyn Moss finds $2 million in the desert, he should have warned the police. Now Anton Chigurh, a psychotic killer, is after him. Except for Javier Bardem's performance, I don't understand all the fuss made about this film. Already forgotten.

**1/2 2005. A TV movie directed by Fred Schepisi. Two Golden Globes and an Emmy award. A stellar cast for this 240 minutes adaptation of Richard Russo's novel. Not great, not bad, the film depicts the life of a few people living in a small New England town. Already forgotten.

** 2007. Directed by Peter Berg. When a terrorist attack kills dozens of American citizens in Saudi Arabia, four FBI agents are sent to Ryadh to find out who's responsible for the killing. Weak effort from a director who gave us VERY BAD THINGS or THE RUNDOWN a few years ago. Inadvisable.