Oh Ida & Rachel & Mira...

On Dangerous Ground(dir. Nicholas Ray)
It started off slow and was rather cold much like it's main character, but that quickly changed once the character gets relocated and meets Ida Lupino's character. She brings warmth and grace to the main character as well as the picture as a whole. The film is rather unsatisfying when it tries to please it's crowd with chases and the score becomes obnoxiously bombastic during these sequences. The score, however, is rather hypnotic when it's quiet and serene. I think I've put off saying this long enough, but this has to be one of the most moving experiences I've had in all of cinema. The last ten minutes are simply breathtaking. This film is fucking fantastic.
**** out of ****
The Fountain(dir. Darren Aronofsky)
Heartfelt, but somewhat brain dead. It's almost embarrassing in it's emotional sincerity and it is at given moments (Jackman's Spanish character gulping down the tree "jizz" all crazily made me LOL). It's a strange combination of grace and cheese. The film works best when it dwells on the feelings of lost one feels after a loved one dies and the film works worst when it dwells on it's spiritual mumbo jumbo. A majority of the scenes set in Izzy's story felt like filler while the future sections complimented the present story fairly well with it being a manifestation of Jackman's character's emotions. The whole thing could be deemed silly and at some points, it is, but there's something to be said about a film that was made with such conviction and compassion. Some of his stylistic touches seemed unnecessary and some scenes spelled things out a little too clearly for the audience, but there's still something here to marvel. The score was excellent and the film was visually stunning at points(mainly the future scenes). This isn't a great work of art, but it's a heartfelt one.
*** out of ****
Barcelona(dir. Whit Stillman)
I wasn't digging this in the beginning. I felt it was the perfect example of the Honkeys with Money and Problems genre and didn't give a shit about the characters. I took a food break and came back and I guess I gave into it somehow. It quickly became amusing in it's apparent trivialness. Mira Sorvino and Turska Bergen were smoking and you sit there wondering how were these self-obsessed intellectuals able to get these girls to go out with them? Some dialogue in the end attempts to answer that question rather amusingly. The movie as a whole was a highly amusing experience. I highly recommend seeing it.
***1/2 out of ****