Mini-Review: Is it a morality play about the effectiveness of intellectualism against the power of money? Does it go against the grain of its times and champion the middle class and small business owners in their struggle against the encroachment of excess and the influences of wealth? Is it just a cheesy, silly, completely unrealistic movie about a bouncer who rips out throats and reads about philosophy? Who could say, really?

Mini-Review: The quintessence of Bond. The movie is suspenseful, charming, fun, and surprisingly close to the book. The villains are all memorable, as are the ways Bond disposes of them. A very enjoyable movie that's aged very well (except for the sexism, but sexism in a Bond movie isn't a huge shock).

Mini-Review: Better than you'd think an ultra-cheap, obscure film made for public television in 1993 would be. (It's easy to find, though, available for rental on YouTube.) Although it's intended for young audiences, it doesn't let them off easy! There's some disturbing imagery later in the film, but the ending is happy enough. Robbie Sams is a strikingly good actress for her age and lack of experience; it's a shame cystic fibrosis claimed her life four years after this film was released.

Mini-Review: Cahill's and Marling's debut (or, to paraphrase Marling, this opportunity to create acting work for herself) makes use of cinéma vérité techniques to tell a human story with a sci-fi backdrop similar to Cloverfield or Primer. It's easy to deride this movie for what it's not, but what it is is a drama about remorse, coping with the unforgivable, and what it is to face oneself. The cinematography is gorgeous, lingering on all the right moments, and the score heightens the constant tension well.

Mini-Review: One of the saddest movies I've ever seen. Incredibly well-directed, though. Kurosawa is incredible at having scene transitions that flow and conveying the characters' thoughts and emotions through implications. The quick cuts, narration, and shot composition are clear influences on directors like Jeunet and Cuarón. The two times Shimura is shown singing are just incredibly, hauntingly sad. The early flashbacks are tragic as well. So the film's a downer, but still extremely well done.