77) Battle: LA (2011), 80) Potiche (2010) and RV!: Certified Copy (2011)

77) Battle: LA (2011) Dir: Jonathan Liebesman Date Released: March 11, 2011 Date Seen: March 8, 2011 Rating: 0.25/5

80) Potiche (2010) Dir: Francois Ozon Date Released: March 18, 2011 Date Seen: March 10, 2011 Rating: 4/5

RV!: Certified Copy (2011) Dir: Abbas Kiarostami Date Seen: March 11, 2011 Rating: 4.5/5

Battle: LA is tied with Big Mommas for worst movie of the year. So, so bad. See my reviews for Nomad Wide Screen.

60) Where is the Friend's Home? (1987), RV!: The Taste of Cherry (1997) and RV!: Close-Up (1990)

60) Where is the Friend's Home? (1987) Dir: Abbas Kiarostami Date Released: ??? Date Seen: February 28, 2011 Rating: 3.75/5

RV!: The Taste of Cherry (1997) Dir: Abbas Kiarostami Date Released: March 20, 1998 Date Seen: February 26, 2011 Rating: 4.5/5

RV!: Close-Up (1990) Dir: Abbas Kiarostami Date Released: December 31, 1999 Date Seen: March 1, 2011 Rating: 4.25/5

Watched and rewatched these for my Kiarostami profile for Wide Screen. Ok, now I get it.

306) Certified Copy (2010)

306) Certified Copy (2010) Dir: Abbas Kiarostami Date Released: March 2011 Date Seen: September 27, 2010 Rating: 4.25/5

And it has only appreciated in value since then. See my first review from NYFF for the New York Press.

125) Close-Up (1990)

125) Close-Up (1990) Dir: Abbas Kiarostami Date Released: December 1999 Date Seen April 1, 2010 Rating: 4/5

The problem with watching a film that has as much cachet as Close-Up does is it's hard not to be too expectant. I don't buy into the notion that your expectations ultimately dictate how you react to a film (prejudices and preferences only dictate your judgment so much, y'know?). But I also just didn't see something here that it seems many others did. True, I was completely caught up in the Wiseman-esque trial scenes in the film and in the playful supposition that this man impersonating Makhmalbaf was role-playing even after he was clearly caught. But I don't see how this film works as anything more than a superficial commentary on the way cinema and life cyclically are inextricable from one another. A very strong film but I can't really speak to the rest, which probably won't keep me up at nights.