Deep Focus: 2004

IN THEATERS

Let the Right One In
Let the Right One In is, first, a coming-of-age tale about Oskar (Kare Hedebrant), a slight, pale boy with a shock of blond hair and good humor that belies his general beat-down wariness and barely contained anger. But horror-movie fans will suspect something sinister is going on, and they will be correct.
IN THEATERS

Hunger
In the opening shot of Hunger, a small army of protesters — hunger-strikers, perhaps — is bringing the noise by banging empty soup bowls loudly against the ground. That scene is followed, lyrically, by a scene depicting an older, staid-looking gentleman eating his breakfast, tiny crumbs tumbling from his fork onto the napkin tucked away on his lap and then getting brushed away.
ON DVD/BLU-RAY

Man on Wire
Photo ©2008 Jean-Louis Blondeau / Polaris ImagesOn a cloudy August morning in 1974, Philippe Petit could be seen from lower Manhattan streets walking to and fro on a wire stretched between the roofs of the two World Trade Center buildings. This slender documentary is a little jewel of a film that recounts the machinations behind the stunt, relying on talking-head...
ON DVD/BLU-RAY

Revanche
Revanche begins, puzzlingly enough, as a tale of two cities. To the policeman Robert (Andreas Lust), the town of Gföhl is his workplace, the environment he's charged with protecting. And to Alex (Johannes Krisch), newly released from prison, Vienna is a sleazy and dangerous environment where lovely young foreigners like his Ukrainian lover, Tamara (Irina Potapenko), are drafted into the sex trade by greasy bosses.

Screening Log

Computer Chess (Andrew Bujalski, 2013) 73/100
Mud (Jeff Nichols, 2012) 56/100
her (Spike Jonze, 2013) 46/100
Frances Ha (Noah Baumbach, 2013) 85/100
The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese, 2013) 92/100
American Hustle (David O. Russell, 2013) 44/100
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Francis Lawrence, 2013) 19/100
Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons (Stephen Chow, 2013) 71/100
Why Don't You Play in Hell? (Sion Sono, 2013) 62/100
Inside Llewyn Davis (Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, 2013) 88/100
Blue is the Warmest Color (Abdellatif Kechiche, 2013) 70/100
The Counselor (Ridley Scott, 2013) 77/100
Bad Grandpa (Jeff Tremaine, 2013) 48/100
All Is Lost (J.C. Chandor, 2013) 71/100
Captain Phillips (Paul Greengrass, 2013) 57/100
John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness * (John Carpenter, 1987) 85/100
Autumn Sonata (Ingmar Bergman, 2009) 91/100
Riddick (David Twohy, 2013) 53/100
After Tiller (Martha Shane and Lana Wilson, 2013) 54/100
Short Term 12 (Destin Cretton, 2013) 61/100
Blue Jasmine (Woody Allen, 2013) 63/100
You're Next (Adam Wingard, 2011) 64/100
Q * (Larry Cohen, 1982) 65/100
The World's End (Edgar Wright, 2013) 68/100
The Grandmaster (Wong Kar-Wai, 2013) 67/100
The Act of Killing (Joshua Oppenheimer, 2012) 66/100
Passion (Brian De Palma, 2012) 53/100
Swamp Thing (Wes Craven, 2009) 60/100
Sound City (Dave Grohl, 2013) 55/100
Exotica * (Atom Egoyan, 1994) 98/100

An asterisk (*) indicates a repeat viewing.

Top Ten List (by IMDB date: first public screening)

Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson, 2008)
Hunger (Steve McQueen, 2008)
Man on Wire (James Marsh, 2008)
Revanche (Götz Spielmann, 2008)
The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow, 2008)
The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Woody Allen, 2008)
Summer Hours (Olivier Assayas, 2008)
Julia (Erick Zonca, 2008)
Rachel Getting Married (Jonathan Demme, 2008)

2008 U.S. Releases by Grade

Traitor (Jeffrey Nachmanoff, 2008) C
Passengers (Rodrigo Garcia, 2008) D
True Blood: The Complete First Season (Alan Ball, et al, 2008) B
CJ7 (Stephen Chow, 2008) B
Resident Evil: Degeneration (Makoto Kamiya, 2008) F
I've Loved You So Long (Philippe Claudel, 2008) C+
In the City of Sylvia (José Luis Guerín, 2007) A-
The Midnight Meat Train (Ryûhei Kitamura, 2008) B
Quarantine (John Erick Dowdle, 2008) C+
Gran Torino (Clint Eastwood, 2008) B
Reader, The (Stephen Daldry, 2008) C+
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher, 2008) B-
Silent Light (Carlos Reygadas, 2007) A
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Dave Filoni, 2008) C-
Doubt (John Patrick Shanley, 2008) C+
Tropic Thunder (Ben Stiller, 2008) C-
Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle, 2008) B
Step Brothers (Adam McKay, 2008) C+
Timecrimes (Nacho Vigalondo, 2007) B+
Profit Motive and the Whispering Wind (John Gianvito, 2007) B+
Christmas on Mars (Wayne Coyne, 2008) C
Postal (Uwe Boll, 2008) D
Standard Operating Procedure (Errol Morris, 2008) B
Quantum of Solace (Marc Forster, 2008) B-
House of the Sleeping Beauties (Vadim Glowna, 2006) D
Sukiyaki Western Django (Takashi Miike, 2007) B-
Changeling (Clint Eastwood, 2008) B-
Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson, 2008) A
Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman, 2008) B
Zombie Strippers! (Jay Lee, 2008) D
Rachel Getting Married (Jonathan Demme, 2008) B+
Eagle Eye (D.J. Caruso, 2008) C-
Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (Ed Neumeier, 2008) B-
Burn After Reading (Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, 2008) B+
Transsiberian (Brad Anderson, 2008) B
Bangkok Dangerous (Pang and Pang, 2008) C-
A Girl Cut in Two (Claude Chabrol, 2007) B-
Made of Honor (Paul Weiland, 2008) C-
The House Bunny (Fred Wolf, 2008) C+
Chicago 10 (Brett Morgen, 2007) B
Counterfeiters, The (Stefan Ruzowitzky, 2007) B
Son of Rambow (Garth Jennings, 2008) C+
Doomsday (Neil Marshall, 2008) C
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Woody Allen, 2008) B+
Felon (Ric Roman Waugh, 2008) B-
American Teen (Nanette Burstein, 2008) C+
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D (Eric Brevig, 2008) C
Untraceable (Gregory Hoblit, 2008) D
The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008) A-
Man on Wire (James Marsh, 2008) A-
Hancock (Peter Berg, 2008) C+
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Guillermo del Toro, 2008) B+
WALL•E (Andrew Stanton, 2008) B+
Wanted (Timur Bekmambetov, 2008) C
Signal, The (David Bruckner, Dan Bush, and Jacob Gentry, 2007) C+
Fool's Gold (Andy Tennant, 2008) D
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (Malcolm D. Lee, 2008) C
Vantage Point (Pete Travis, 2008) D
My Winnipeg (Guy Maddin, 2007) B+
Other Boleyn Girl, The (Justin Chadwick, 2008) C
Mother of Tears: The Third Mother (Dario Argento, 2007) C+
Wackness, The (Jonathan Levine, 2008) C
Stuck (Stuart Gordon, 2007) A-
Rambo (Sylvester Stallone, 2008) C+
Teeth (Mitchell Lichtenstein, 2007) B
Speed Racer (Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski, 2008) B+
Flight of the Red Balloon (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 2007) A-
Iron Man (Jon Favreau, 2008) B
Forbidden Kingdom, The (Rob Minkoff, 2008) B-
Ruins, The (Carter Smith, 2008) B
My Blueberry Nights (Wong Kar-Wai, 2007) B
21 (Robert Luketic, 2008) C-
The Lost (Chris Sivertson, 2005) B-
Love Songs (Christophe Honoré, 2007) B-
Funny Games (Michael Haneke, 2007) C+
Duchess of Langeais, The (Jacques Rivette, 2007) B+
George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead (George A. Romero, 2007) B
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Cristian Mungiu, 2007) A
U2 3D (Catherine Owens and Mark Pellington, 2008) B+
What Happens in Vegas (Tom Vaughan, 2008) D
Redbelt (David Mamet, 2008) C+
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Steven Spielberg, 2008) B
Visitor, The (Thomas McCarthy, 2007) B
Strangers, The (Bryan Bertino, 2008) C+
Sex and the City (Michael Patrick King, 2008) B-
You Don't Mess with the Zohan (Dennis Dugan, 2008) C+
Kung Fu Panda (Mark Osborne and John Stevenson, 2008) B
Get Smart (Peter Segal, 2008) C+
Pineapple Express (David Gordon Green, 2008) B
Special (Hal Haberman and Jeremy Passmore, 2006) C
Charlie Bartlett (Jon Poll, 2007) C
Cloverfield (Matt Reeves, 2008) B-
Bank Job, The (Roger Donaldson, 2008) B
Be Kind Rewind (Michel Gondry, 2008) B
10,000 BC (Roland Emmerich, 2008) C-
Max Payne (John Moore, 2008) C
W. (Oliver Stone, 2008) B-
Mummy, The: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (Rob Cohen, 2008) D
Zack and Miri Make a Porno (Kevin Smith, 2008) B-
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (Peter Sollett, 2008) B-
Duchess, The (Saul Dibb, 2008) B
Pride and Glory (Gavin O'Connor, 2008) C+
Encounters at the End of the World (Werner Herzog, 2007) B+
Paranoid Park (Gus Van Sant, 2007) A-
Eye, The (David Moreau and Xavier Palud, 2008) D
Righteous Kill (Jon Avnet, 2008) C-
Run Fat Boy Run (, 2007) C-
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Nicholas Stoller, 2008) B
Stop-Loss (Kimberly Peirce, 2008) B
Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, 2008) B-
Jumper (Doug Liman, 2008) C-
Taxi to the Dark Side (Alex Gibney, 2007) B
Leatherheads (George Clooney, 2008) C+

2008 U.S. Releases by Title

Counterfeiters, The (Stefan Ruzowitzky, 2007) B
Traitor (Jeffrey Nachmanoff, 2008) C
Son of Rambow (Garth Jennings, 2008) C+
Doomsday (Neil Marshall, 2008) C
Felon (Ric Roman Waugh, 2008) B-
American Teen (Nanette Burstein, 2008) C+
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D (Eric Brevig, 2008) C
Untraceable (Gregory Hoblit, 2008) D
Hancock (Peter Berg, 2008) C+
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Guillermo del Toro, 2008) B+
WALL•E (Andrew Stanton, 2008) B+
Wanted (Timur Bekmambetov, 2008) C
Signal, The (David Bruckner, Dan Bush, and Jacob Gentry, 2007) C+
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (Malcolm D. Lee, 2008) C
Vantage Point (Pete Travis, 2008) D
My Winnipeg (Guy Maddin, 2007) B+
Other Boleyn Girl, The (Justin Chadwick, 2008) C
Mother of Tears: The Third Mother (Dario Argento, 2007) C+
Wackness, The (Jonathan Levine, 2008) C
Teeth (Mitchell Lichtenstein, 2007) B
Speed Racer (Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski, 2008) B+
Flight of the Red Balloon (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 2007) A-
Iron Man (Jon Favreau, 2008) B
Forbidden Kingdom, The (Rob Minkoff, 2008) B-
Ruins, The (Carter Smith, 2008) B
My Blueberry Nights (Wong Kar-Wai, 2007) B
21 (Robert Luketic, 2008) C-
The Lost (Chris Sivertson, 2005) B-
Love Songs (Christophe Honoré, 2007) B-
Funny Games (Michael Haneke, 2007) C+
Duchess of Langeais, The (Jacques Rivette, 2007) B+
George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead (George A. Romero, 2007) B
What Happens in Vegas (Tom Vaughan, 2008) D
Redbelt (David Mamet, 2008) C+
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Steven Spielberg, 2008) B
Visitor, The (Thomas McCarthy, 2007) B
Strangers, The (Bryan Bertino, 2008) C+
Sex and the City (Michael Patrick King, 2008) B-
You Don't Mess with the Zohan (Dennis Dugan, 2008) C+
Kung Fu Panda (Mark Osborne and John Stevenson, 2008) B
Get Smart (Peter Segal, 2008) C+
Pineapple Express (David Gordon Green, 2008) B
Special (Hal Haberman and Jeremy Passmore, 2006) C
Charlie Bartlett (Jon Poll, 2007) C
Cloverfield (Matt Reeves, 2008) B-
Bank Job, The (Roger Donaldson, 2008) B
Be Kind Rewind (Michel Gondry, 2008) B
10,000 BC (Roland Emmerich, 2008) C-
Max Payne (John Moore, 2008) C
W. (Oliver Stone, 2008) B-
Mummy, The: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (Rob Cohen, 2008) D
Zack and Miri Make a Porno (Kevin Smith, 2008) B-
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (Peter Sollett, 2008) B-
Pride and Glory (Gavin O'Connor, 2008) C+
Encounters at the End of the World (Werner Herzog, 2007) B+
Paranoid Park (Gus Van Sant, 2007) A-
Eye, The (David Moreau and Xavier Palud, 2008) D
Righteous Kill (Jon Avnet, 2008) C-
Run Fat Boy Run (, 2007) C-
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Nicholas Stoller, 2008) B
Stop-Loss (Kimberly Peirce, 2008) B
Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, 2008) B-
Jumper (Doug Liman, 2008) C-
Taxi to the Dark Side (Alex Gibney, 2007) B
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Cristian Mungiu, 2007) A
Bangkok Dangerous (Pang and Pang, 2008) C-
Burn After Reading (Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, 2008) B+
CJ7 (Stephen Chow, 2008) B
Changeling (Clint Eastwood, 2008) B-
Chicago 10 (Brett Morgen, 2007) B
Christmas on Mars (Wayne Coyne, 2008) C
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher, 2008) B-
The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008) A-
Doubt (John Patrick Shanley, 2008) C+
Duchess, The (Saul Dibb, 2008) B
Eagle Eye (D.J. Caruso, 2008) C-
Fool's Gold (Andy Tennant, 2008) D
A Girl Cut in Two (Claude Chabrol, 2007) B-
Gran Torino (Clint Eastwood, 2008) B
The House Bunny (Fred Wolf, 2008) C+
House of the Sleeping Beauties (Vadim Glowna, 2006) D
I've Loved You So Long (Philippe Claudel, 2008) C+
In the City of Sylvia (José Luis Guerín, 2007) A-
Leatherheads (George Clooney, 2008) C+
Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson, 2008) A
Made of Honor (Paul Weiland, 2008) C-
Man on Wire (James Marsh, 2008) A-
The Midnight Meat Train (Ryûhei Kitamura, 2008) B
Passengers (Rodrigo Garcia, 2008) D
Postal (Uwe Boll, 2008) D
Profit Motive and the Whispering Wind (John Gianvito, 2007) B+
Quantum of Solace (Marc Forster, 2008) B-
Quarantine (John Erick Dowdle, 2008) C+
Rachel Getting Married (Jonathan Demme, 2008) B+
Rambo (Sylvester Stallone, 2008) C+
Reader, The (Stephen Daldry, 2008) C+
Resident Evil: Degeneration (Makoto Kamiya, 2008) F
Silent Light (Carlos Reygadas, 2007) A
Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle, 2008) B
Standard Operating Procedure (Errol Morris, 2008) B
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Dave Filoni, 2008) C-
Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (Ed Neumeier, 2008) B-
Step Brothers (Adam McKay, 2008) C+
Stuck (Stuart Gordon, 2007) A-
Sukiyaki Western Django (Takashi Miike, 2007) B-
Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman, 2008) B
Timecrimes (Nacho Vigalondo, 2007) B+
Transsiberian (Brad Anderson, 2008) B
Tropic Thunder (Ben Stiller, 2008) C-
True Blood: The Complete First Season (Alan Ball, et al, 2008) B
U2 3D (Catherine Owens and Mark Pellington, 2008) B+
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Woody Allen, 2008) B+
Zombie Strippers! (Jay Lee, 2008) D

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