As to Before Sunset perhaps you're not a fan of Linklater's style. He has that laid back this-is-happening-now improv groove that leaves lots of people cold. One of the keys for me was that those two characters aren't all that interesting or nearly as smart as they think they are. The movie knows that. Lesser Scorsese is still better then most directors at their best. I forgot to mention 'I Heart Huckabees' and The Life Aquatic with Steven Zissou. Not entirely succesful but ambitious and honorable.
I'm a fan of Raymond Carver (and of Lost in Translation), so character-centric stuff is fine by me. But these two people were so self-involved and lacking in anything that compelled me to watch that I was starting to get physically uncomfortable just sitting there listening to them prattle on about nothing.