My Favorite Movies

There are movies that so reflect their time and place that to see them is to witness a masterpiece, that work that takes an average filmmaker and holds them up to all of the greats and allows us as an audience to say "From here they must be considered for the pantheon." There are moments in an actor's work that call a specific scene, a flawless line reading, and again we can say "From here..." There are films rightly regarded as Classic, so good that one can only wonder why others have not seen them. Then there are that rare few, when everything falls together, and something stabs deep into the soul, and this is The God Movie.

This is one of mine. I so relate to this film, one of Lean's great works, this introduction to Peter O'Toole, that words fail me.

To simply look at the "supporting" cast is enough to cause a cessation of breathing: Sir Alec Guinness, Omar Sharif, Claude Rains, Jack Hawkins, Anthony Quinn.

There is no single moment in this film for me. It starts and I am mesmerized until the end.

Who's the better Lecter? Sir Anthony or Bryan Cox? The debate continues... but IMHO Petersen just flogs Norton.

It only gets better when you see it again. And again. And every single time you see it.

The best adult themed kids movie I have seen since "The Iron Giant," which has the same director. This (and TIG) stands up to repeated viewings.

Look at this cast. J-Lo catches way too much grief, but here, she is holding her own with Vince Vaughn and Vincent D'Onofrio. Excellent from start to finish.

One of the all time best Comic into Movie films ever made, somehow it always gets forgotten when people get that glassy-eyed look when going all fanboy about Sin City or Spider-Man... On the merits of the soundtrack alone it deserves attention.

Criminally neglected, one of the best roles in Willis's career. Also, it happens to rate, IMHO, with Slaughterhouse 5 and Mother Night in terms of translating Vonnegut to screen.

Flawless. One of the best examples of how to terrify as well as mesmerize ever made. Interesting that the script was followed up by the same writer whose 2nd work was 8mm. You also get Spacey (who nearly steals the film in his ... 10 minutes ? Less? ... of screen time, Pitt and Freeman, Paltrow and R. Lee Emey howling into a phone "This isn't even my damn phone!?" Classic in the truest sense of the word. Hard to call it Finch's best, as his work is consistently interesting.

Sat through this at the theater, looked at the family and said "I want this on disc the first week it is out." Didn't work out that way, but I did end up getting it. On the second viewing I kept saying "Hey, this is a GREAT story!" I once was a History major, and so much of this film is so spot on accurate that my initial viewing was marked by my being so stunned at what I was seeing I actaully failed to notice the plot!

LOVED THIS ONE!!! WOO HOO!!!

There are musicals, and there are epics. There are few films that combine both genres in one magnificent, sweeping experience. This is one of them. Amazing from start to finish, this is one of the few films I have seen repeatedly that I would pay to see on an the big screen should it be re-released. Which it should. Yearly.

Theater and film collide, and brilliantly so in this remarkable feature. The director chose to use theater lighting tricks, like a sudden spotlight on an actor to end a scene. Flawless performances abound, but what makes this film for me is the story itself. When one sits through it, try (I double dog dare you!) to imagine how (the then living) Walt Disney would have done it... would Marian The Librarian be the rumored town slut? Would Prof. Harold Hill be in pursuit of "The Sadder But Wiser Girl?" Would the turn of the century Americana be allowed to show the closed minds? Love it!

Sheer out of control genius, by an out of control geniurs, this is possibly the single best film of the director Ken Russell, with heart and lung stopping performances by Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave. Russell's "Dear John" letter to the Catholic church, it is (in its more calm moments) absolutely scathing. As of this writing (26 May 2007) it is not available on DVD ... attention Criterion!!! ... and that is a damned shame. Better IMHO by far than The Last Temptation Of Christ.

Not many silent films moved me to tears, but this one did. Certain directors who are working now would have to hang their heads in shame when seeing this masterpiece.

The only thing different about the way I feel about this movie and Lawrence Of Arabia is ... well, not a lot, really! Superb cast, superior filmmaking, a myth unto itself!

Sheer unbearable genius!

Somehow, this remarkable film, which should on the Best Of list for the year it was released and for the decade of every film critic alive, seems to have fallen beneath the radar. Possibly Voight's best performance, De Mornay (who needs to be in more movies) has a pivotal, small role, and Roberts... well, he redeems his career in this. Based on a Kurosawa screenplay, one wonders how The Master would have handled it. Even so, I cannot conceive of a better rendition.

Proving that a cast can save a film, this (director Fuqua's first) is good enough to sit though, and would be even with a lesser cast. Here, however, Yun-Fat Chow is flawless (is he ever anything less?) and the mere presence of Danny Trejo makes this worth repeated viewings.

Can an action film be an Art film? Yes, and here is proof. Everyone should watch at least one foreign language film in their lives, and if you haven't seen one, this is a grand place to start. Many things go boom quite nicely.

One of the rare moments when a novel is neatly and nearly perfectly captured and thrown onto the screen. Hurt is flawless, Burton has (literally) "one for the tombstone" and Annie Lennox helped supply the soundtrack (itself worth 5 stars). Be advised, this is a very depressing film, but perfectly crafted.

Stowe and Rickman. That's it. Two actors face off and have at it. There is no reason why everyone hasn't seen this film... ok, that's not fair, as it was a stumble across for me. The proceeds from this film went to Amnesty International. Cost to make must have been minimal, price worth watching... depends on one's politics, I presume. Great flick, front to back.

Not a film for the simple minded, this is rich in detail, in texture, and that rarity in film, rich in thought.

The most perfectly realised comic book film ever (to date). Night is genius.

The twist is in the center of the film. Most idiot critics missed that. The entire film jumps from one direction to another.

One of the best movies (and career moves) in Bruce's career, possibly one of the best films of this type ever made.

A truly great film from front to back, watch it for Mel Gibson's pre-public meltdown doing the at home version. Another work by Shyamalan that is sheer genius.

A kid movie for people that used to be kids. A church movie for people that do/do not attend church. A thinking movie for people that enjoy using their brains. From this moment forward, Night showed us what was coming, and like the Coen brothers, I think he should be declared a National Treasure.