23rd Five Films, 2007

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Ratatouille (Brad Bird, 2007] at the Ziegfeld. I thought the theater was great, but was slightly disappointed by the movie. Disappointed only because of expectations that were perhaps too high. If I watched it again, regarding it in the same light as, say, Finding Nemo, it would probably be more satisfying.
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Seraphim Falls (David Von Ancken) at home on DVD. I liked the initial chase sequence all right, but can't say that I enjoyed the rest all that much. It kind of feels like an idea for a movie that went into production without being fleshed out into a real, live screenplay.
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Smiles of a Summer Night (Ingmar Bergman) at MoMA. I think there were a few delightful moments here and there. The subtitles were kind of sparse, leaving a few scenes slightly misunderstood. Not my favorite romantic jealousy comedy.
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Once (John Carney) at the Landmark Sunshine theater. It's a musical, but since the performance of the songs is actually integral to the story, and not a collection of strange, non-diegetic set pieces, it doesn't feel quite like a musical. The songs are nice, and fit well with the characters, but they could just as easily be in a really dumb movie. It's probably the performances of the two lead actors, and the setting in Dublin (with a trip to the coast), that make the movie so good.
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Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Alfred Hitchcock) at MoMA. I thoroughly enjoyed both Robert Montgomery and Carole Lombard, but I think either the writing or directing was not quite up to the highest screwball standards.
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