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O Julie Gephart   HBO leftover on VHS   29 November 2003 The story of Othello, played out in a prep school basketball team. Even though it starred the usual teen movie stars, it didn’t feel like a teen movie, which was a good thing.

Ocean's 11 (remake) A Bennett   TiVo'd over two nights from TNT   16 September 2004 So stylish, so full of handsomely dressed men on a sliding scale of handsome (Brad Pitt to Carl Reiner and on the lowest end, Matt Damon) you quite forget to care one whit for the meat of the story. I do think that Soderbergh meant to end on the Bellagio fountains as the group of confidence men disperse, and it’s a shame he wasn’t allowed to do so. It’s a perfect ending to a film whose pedigree and care in production far outweigh its [rather] thin emotional investment. I have almost managed to swallow down the fact they rip several plot points from the premiere/pilot episode of the ‘Mission: Impossible’ TV Series.

Ocean's Eleven (1960) Ray Hunley   Netflix DVD   28 March 2005 First in a series of "How does the original compare?" films. O11, the original, is less focused on the details of the heist, and more on the characters and their relationships, than its successor. It won't be mistaken for a masterpiece of characterization, however. The Rat Pack, as usual, basically play themselves (smooth Sammy, goofy Dean, charismatic Frank, etc.). In this version Billy O. does not make off with as big a haul, but he's not saddled with Julia Roberts in the end either, so it's basically a wash.

Oceans Twelve Kristin Schrock   In-Flight Movie   03 June 2005 Complete dren. Brad Pitt is still very pretty.

Office Space Steve Gadd   Basic cable   19 January 2004 Funny look at life in a software company cubicle farm. Not half as good as Microserfs, but good for a few laughs.

Old Boy Tony Pisarenkov   DVD at home   03 June 2006 One of the best treatments of revenge I've seen in a long time. Great story, and very well made to boot. Highly recommended.

Old School Kristin Schrock   DVD   27 March 2004 To counter the "good film" pick of American Splendor, rented this. I was curious (despite bad reviews) because I adore Luke Wilson and Vince Vaughn. Surprisingly, Luke Wilson is a bit of a dud as the straight man, but Vince Vaughn and Will Farrell elicit a few chuckles. There may be some misogynistic undertones in this, but I'm choosing not to think about it too much.

On the Road: The Document Jaqi Ross   National Gallery of Art, D.C.   21 February 2004 Commissioned in 1963 (the same year as An Engineer's Assistant) to make another government public relations film--this time for the traffic division of Japan's police administration--Noriaki Tsuchimoto made the starkly beautiful, black-and-white On the Road: The Document. A cautionary tale for those who would whitewash the ills of automobiles, this "record of the city according to a cab driver" represents a historic moment for documentary film of the 1960s.

Once Upon a Honeymoon (1948) Kristin Schrock   Turner Classic Movies   19 January 2006 Ginger Rogers unknowingly marries a Nazi. Cary Grant tries to convince her of her mistake while they and Hitler travel across Europe--leaving destruction in their wake. Then they escape together to France where they become spies. Here's the thing: it's a romantic comedy. So it has all sorts of weird tonal shifts. I'm not sure it's possible to have a romantic comedy wherin Hitler makes a brief appearance (in a hall) as well as in news reels. Nazis just aren't funny.

One Against the Wind (1991) A Bennett   TiVo'd from Hallmark Channel   25 July 2003 Fascinating story (true, apparently) of one woman smuggling downed RAF out of Paris into Vichy and on to freedom during WWII. Played with incredible charisma by Judy Davis, whom I might feel led to follow to my death, so compelling a personage she is. Lastly, perhaps the only time you might encounter someone being sent to a death camp to *save* their life. (Prior to that, Davis' character spent nine--count 'em--nine months in solitary confinement--without going mad) Must find book source material to read.

One Christmas Julie Gephart   Basic cable   13 December 2003 Little country boy in the 1930’s goes to visit his big-city con artist father over Christmas. Everyone in this movie was horrible, and I could only wish for roving gangs of street thugs to come along and beat the snot out of anyone any time they left the house.

One Hour Photo Mike Gadd   dvd at home   31 March 2003 Robin Williams makes a wonderful nutjob. Tightly filmed and intense at times.

One Way Out Ray Hunley   Netflix DVD   30 March 2005 A cop flick with James Belushi. What in the world was I thinking?

Only Human Steve Gadd   DVD   20 October 2006 Funny variation on "Big Fat Greek Wedding" in Spanish.

Open Hearts Jaqi Ross   National Gallery of Art, D.C.   01 February 2004 A couple, looking forward to their wedding, suffers an accident that leaves one of them incapacitated. "But," claims critic Stephen Holden, "because Open Hearts follows the conventions of the Danish filmmaking collective Dogme 95, it purveys a documentary-style realism that dilutes any lingering soap opera gloss."

Orgazmo Steven Krise   In the kids' playhouse in my basement   24 January 2005 A Mormon turned action-adventure-porn star assumes his movie persona to become a real life superhero. A Trey Parker film.