My Favorite Movies

Perhaps not the best film I've seen, but thus far, my favorite.

The film may not be one perfect symphony through and through, but there are plenty of glowing bits scattered all over the place. More than adequately setting up the punchline. An overwhelmingly, devastatingly accurate punchline.

About as firmly as I've ever seen, this one stands at the very doorsteps of genius.

One of the most genuinely important films I've ever seen.

Many of us are quite sure that something is trying to communicate with us through our lives' events. This is an attempt at illustration and analysis of that something. Damn good one too.

An extraordinarily matter-of-fact study of our relationships with our private parts/brains. The places they drag us and the feelings we feel as this occurs. Even Lovitz is brilliant here and we only see him for 5 minutes or so.

I see this film as a child of one basic human question. Why are we seduced by the absurd and horrifying actions lurking within us, so consistently? Why? Because of this world's unrelenting, hollow cold. That's about all there is to it. The desperate, piercing dread of failing to escape its grasp. This is a simple film and yet it packs such lucid depictions of this hollow cold, this piercing dread, this horrid absurdity and this utter desperation, that it leaves little more to be asked of it.

I don't know whether I just saw a film or fell into some elaborate daydream while visiting an 18th century art exhibit. From the brilliant narration, to the luminous cinematography, to the superb acting, I have enjoyed few films as I've enjoyed this one.

I'm aware that there are several resources out there to help piece this film together, I've not yet utilized them. This to me is a Lynch meditation on using fantasy to hide from pain and the price that is eventually to be paid for this luxury. Generally Lynch's work tends to be both fragmented and brilliant. The scale here tips squarely toward the brilliant.

Whether for objective reasons or subjective ones, this film is awfully dear to me. Certainly, in terms of psychological character truths, there are moments here that soar to incredible heights.

To say that this film is infused with intelligence, would be an understatement. It's incredibly difficult to juggle a journalistically/politically driven project with trying to bring to light the authenticities of character and situation contained therein. So difficult, that it's simply annoying when directors set out to make such monumental pictures and yet have the arrogance to think that they can cram various audience pandering devices in there as well, without ultimately doing a great disservice to both, their target audience and their supposedly beloved subjects. As far as I'm concerned, there is very good reason for this kind of sentiment on my part. The vast majority of the time, they fail. When the focus is on having "a little something for everyone", what results is most always "nothing in particular for anyone". Least of all, those actually interested in the subject matter at hand. The fascinating thing however, is that some of these devices are clearly utilized here - there is a plethora of twists, turns, unnecessary car chase sequences, etc., all obviously aimed at keeping the audience captivated and entertained, as opposed to digging into either the journalistic or psychological truths of the matter. Yet, the film is nothing short of brilliant. What gives? Two things. First and foremost: intelligence. These filmmakers have a profound understanding of something indispensable to combining art and entertainment. They identify which is most important to them and never let the other into the driver's seat, ever. The key moments in the film are pure, genuine art. The entertainment bits are small and scattered with brilliant precision only in places where they support the soul of the film, never where they'd interfere with it. The love story is the most dangerous part of this gamble. It's a great device for drawing the audience into such a story, but it usually either takes too long to develop and ultimately hijacks the whole picture, or not enough time is taken to develop it and, as a result, the audience doesn't identify. The latter, could well have been the case here. Which, in turn, brings me to the second point in regards to what absolves this film. Ralph Fiennes. Sure, in many ways this point also goes back to the filmmakers' intelligence: the part is very well written, the director and the DP both do a brilliant job in constructing the key scenes, not to mention the actual choice to cast Mr. Fiennes in this role. But in the end, the part has to be played. And I doubt very much that many other actors, could tap so strongly into the viewers' emotions with a part like this, while playing it with such genuine integrity.
All in all, I'm baffled by this film. Enough tightrope has been walked here to wrap around the earth twice and yet it's done with such masterful precision and unwavering dedication, that it hardly seems like a gamble at all.

There are few films that I will finish watching and care much more about what it presented in front of me, than whether or not I liked the manner in which it's been presented. This is one of those films. The psychology of the characters around Mr. Capote may not always be clear, but that really isn't what's important in this case. As complex a story as this is, every element of it seems to be carefully weaved into a single objective - a portrait of a man behind a book. Even that very fact, is just another facet of the portrait itself. Cream of the crop stuff.

A very special experience, unique in many ways. One that somehow manages to encapsulate a vivid reflection of the mysticism that riddles a child's intake of the world. This is not a sanitized, cliched encapsulation like the trilogy and disney packages relentlessly bombarding theaters, but rather one that is wide open to all potential manifestations of our own world's darkness and light, internal and external, with no set assessments - anew. I often call films "explorations", meaning that they're intended to help the viewer explore this thing or that, as predetermined by the filmmakers. Yet this is perhaps the most genuinely exploitative picture that I've seen to date. Down to it's very essence. Get through the first hour without closing your mind and you just might catch another glimpse at a very raw kind of magic, the kind that usually leaves with the onset of teenhood, never to return.

Profound? No. Haunted by poor musical choices? Certainly. Enjoyable? It is to me. Saw this when I was a teen wanting to be an actor. Sobered me up a little. Love it until this day. Timeless themes explored through life's little tidbits. Ranging from trite-yet-cute to just-plain-wonderful.

One of my favorite Kubrick films. Something about many of the moments he creates here, runs very very deep.

Well, a masterpiece. Much as the music supporting this film, which pushes off of a banal structure (such as that of a man on a street corner with an acoustic guitar singing for money) and propels itself to pure flight, so does the film itself. It takes an ordinary setting, chalk full of dreadfully familiar elements, and with minimal manipulation, glorification, regurgitation or masturbation, it simply looks closely enough to spot some tiny, enormous miracles inside.

The best short film that I remember seeing to date.

Bits and pieces aside, on the whole, this is more of a story about an isolated incident than an exploration of some truth relating to all of us.
That, to me, is a weakness in and of itself. Still, this just-a-story moved me more than any such film I remember seeing to date. There's definite total-greater-than- the-sum-of-parts magic here. A magic that the creators, perhaps without even fully realizing it, were clearly able to tap into. My favorite scene takes place in a movie theater. I could just play that scene alone, see those murky figures protruding from a sea of empty chairs, hear that incredible music and Donnie asking: "Why are you wearing that stupid bunny suit?" and Frank's reply: "Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?" and within seconds tears come to my eyes. Because it's perfect.

A wonder*ful monument to the wonder*land that contains us. Subtle, honest, thoughtful and deeply touching.

A finely nuanced and strangely magnetic little character study.

Brilliant film, top to bottom. No pandering, no card playing, just a piercing mixture of reality and creativity, of objectivity and heart.

I've watched this film twice. Once while I was still with my wife and now that this is no longer the case. To be frank, watching it the first time, I saw certain humor and depth there, but felt that it was ultimately too small and subtle to be significant (sort of mirroring what the main character here feels about himself). Perhaps my energy just wasn't right for the film first time around or maybe this film was tailored specifically for people with experiences similar to those depicted here. Either way, sitting in a hotel room right now, going through the beginning stages of a separation, a part of me hoping that it won't last, yet another part knowing that it will, my reaction to this film is, shall we say, pretty different. Suddenly, as subtle as it is, the film strikes a chord, deeply. In fact, its subtlety of tone is now the films greatest source of power. It offers no false hope, it looks rather squarely at the realities of chronic loneliness, loss and the fear of one's own insignificance, yet still, there's hope here. The best kind of hope.

A "momentous ancient-history piece", engineered proficiently, wisely enough to bear the weight of its intention. Exceedingly rare and quite haunting.

A film which (if I'm not mistaken) poses a very similar question to that posed in "A Streetcar Named Desire" and in a similarly brilliant manner.

A wonderful example of the depths an exploration can reach when (instead of spewing creative energy all over the place, trying to be all things for all people) the filmmaker just... chooses... to focus.

This film possesses a very rare sort of intelligence. One which gives it the power to create deeply touching moments and those of extreme tension (sometimes with the aid of fairly self-aware keep-em-guessing type of trickery) yet, all the while, the film never put its soul in jeopardy, never loses its grasp of life's harsh, beautiful greys. And then, of course, there are the numerous moments of full-on brilliance sprinkled throughout the piece. The "real Swedish raspberries" on top.

This film is among my very favorite juxtapositions of hilarity and brilliance, lightness and wisdom. It is a whirlwind exploration of holiday and family and even the nature of time itself. It is an experience.

What we have here is a (badly titled) brilliantly clear and fearlessly scribbled equation. An expression of the struggle and the dialogue we all know in some way. Reaching well beneath the sedimentary layer of good-guy/bad-guy/corrupt-soul bs, the film drives its point home: no matter who you are or what you've done, both this struggle and this dialogue continue. If there is one thing to count on, its the anything-but-predictable-yet-anything-but-arbitrary nature of this dialogue's other side. The kind, unwavering glow of its desire to help and the baffling ways in which it (for some reason) has to go about doing so.

It tries very hard to be a genuine exploration of a certain human place, not a pity party. And succeeds. Admirably.

I didn't find any holes here whatsoever. Just mature, honest, touching filmmaking, doing its digging well below the surface. It may not get as far down as a few of my absolute favorites, but my saying this could just as easily be my reaction to not seeing the answers that I would have given. Once you get to this level of work, criticism and bias become near reflections of each other.

A gripping look at the warmth deprived nature of our world through the prism of a few specific lives. Be my soft spot for such films as it may, this one is chalk-full of genuinely piercing moments. Some of them carried solely on the small shoulders of a decidedly brilliant young actor.

A tragic tale set against a backdrop of the paralyzingly dreadful junior high world. Told in a very genuine way, with all the: pitilessness, heartache, danger, puzzlement, loneliness and absurdity of the real thing. No ingredient overdone, neglected nor taken for granted. All, through the experiences of a little female person. Between this and "Happiness", Solondz is quickly becoming one of my favorite directors.

A warm and often brilliantly nuanced film about our incessant search for a home in this world and some of the wonderful and utterly bizarre places where this search may lead. It reminded me of "Nobody's Fool" in its tone, but with Scorsese's masterful infusion of rich and quirky detail, the film often manages to just reach through the screen and pull the viewer into the experience. You can almost smell the cheap hotel rooms, feel the pain of every person in the shot. Not just the "important" characters, everyone. No small parts here, no "background actors". No matter how fleeting the appearance, each one is a rounded human being. Few directors comprehend the importance of such intricate detail and even fewer are capable of materializing it.

It may not be perfect beginning to end, but the bulk of this incredibly ambitious contraption is downright inspired. It is one of those rare classics where:
A) Due to its tremendous punch, references-to/parodies-of it permeate pop culture
B) Due to your being late to the party, you've seen a million of these references long before seeing the film itself
C) Now that you do see the film, those damn references (along with the bursts of triumph associated with finally finding their source) are just flooding your brain, attempting to cause one hell of a distraction
D) The film is so "on the money", that it STILL leaves you breathless
Classics are a dime a dozen. Classics like THIS, are few and far between.

An exploration of our desperately selfish and ultimately futile gulps from life's tainted fountain. The pretenses that keep us feeling presentable and the truths beneath. Like serpents, both repulsive and wondrous at the same time. This film makes no apologies about going to extremes. Justly so. This is what art is all about - honestly attempting an objective gaze upon human life. This attempt is both gutsy and quite brilliant. The closest thing to a gripe here is that annoyingly repetitive score (the piano bit anyway).

A real film, doing its actual best to deal with real life, in a real way. Such a good thing when the oscars go to artists instead of the usual con artists.

Though mostly an entertainment piece, it is one tailored in a tasteful enough fashion that it avoids insulting the audience's intelligence nearly as often as does your typical Spielberg contraption. While the director's shamelessly manipulative side is well blended into the film's many strengths (not the least of which being Walken's short, inspired performance). Not to mention that, given the film's premise, elements of manipulation that do seep through, are not entirely out of place - the two con artists in question, seemingly kindred spirits. Ultimately, the piece is like the Nat King Cole songs featured herein - you're never entirely sure it's honest, nor that it isn't and hell, it sounds good.

There is one sequence here, about ten minutes in all, near this film's ending - which is simply inspired. This is the destination. The journey toward this destination however, is far less luminous - as the fun/tasteful/atmospheric notes peppered throughout, are not enough to gloss over the false and clumsy ones. And yet that destination, the film's pearl, is so bright in so many ways - that the total here manages to rather easily outweigh the parts' sum.

It may have the makings of a sapfest, it may even dip the scales in that direction from time to time, but, ultimately, I don't believe it crosses over into the realm of the implausible (thanks in large part to some wonderful actors, who carry this tightrope tapdance with great proficiency).

I may disagree with it, but this is certainly a distinct, interesting and ultimately mesmerizing thesis on a certain facet of god's relationship to man.

Certainly not without old and tired elements. And yet, much as the film describes, amongst its confines and limitations there is a twinkle of something greater.

The usual tough-guy movie complaints are mostly all here, in one form or another. And yet, between the photography and the solid bits of acting, a certain sense of barren hopelessness materializes. Feint as it may be, the film seems to grow itself a kind of soul.

A highly intelligent and highly elegant take on what makes life worth living. Or to put it another way: *spoiler alert* one of the most cautiously optimistic films ever made. If this film hasn't earned its optimism, no film has.

Who says escapism sucks by default? Oh yeah, that tends to be me. Well then - I take it back. Because when the all-around abundance of bullshit that generally envelops escapist contraptions, is instead replaced with: a wonderful sense of humor (first and foremost - about itself), frequent moments of genuine creativity, meticulous attention to detail and all-around good taste - then magic happens. Even in a piece such as this, that's 98%-pure-fun and geared squarely at the ADD prone.
Don't get me wrong, there are a few minor flaws here. But ultimately, this thing cracked me up beginning to end. And never at the cost of making me feel like a cheap date. I love exceptions to buzzkill rules and this is nothing if not one of these exceptions. My favorite escapist work in recent memory. If not - ever.

Oh and please don't make the mistake I did and confuse this with "Kick-Ass". It's like confusing a pearl for a pellet of rabbit poop.

The antithesis of a film like Hard Candy. This one works diligently to get at the truth of a consensus enemy's existence. Despite the societal risks involved in depicting this sort of inconvenient reality. The product of this diligent effort is art, at its most useful.

One of the most effective fly-on-the-wall, window-into-another-life type films in recent memory. Laced with a very sophisticated hypnotic quality.

Cream of the crop stuff.

A fairly simple story, nothing particularly striking about it. But the level of "real" achieved here, in and of itself, is rare to say the least.

Thoughtful, creative and honest. Far from the pandering "magical black guy" oscar grab, that one might expect.

Other than the casting of Jane Adams to play her ever-recurring "vulnerable creature desperately searching for mate" character (at the most - a minor gripe), this is really very good. I love especially the subtle little tricks used here to grab the viewer by the attention span, without having to overload the plot in the process. Affording the film time to really study the characters involved, without having to force anything.

Devastatingly real. Without being arrogant about it.

More of a portrait than a thesis. One that manages to achieve deep, captivating textures with relatively subtle, minimal strokes. Hoffman is very interesting to me, in that he is the most consistent "A-lister" I know at taking part in high quality projects. I wanted to see how much this would spill over into his directing. The answer I got from this is: plenty.

Let me put it this way. Before seeing it for myself, my sense (from the previews and interviews and whatnot) was that this could very well be a shameless, pointless tearjerker in disguise. And now, after seeing it, I'm relieved to say that this is not at all what I found to be the case. Does this film contrast the interactions that take place between two people when the chemicals inside their bodies induce closeness, with those that take place between these same two people when those chemicals wear off and new ones take their place? In short: is this about relationship problems? Yes, it certainly is. But instead of doing what's easy and jerking us around by our tear ducts - this film instead, sets its sights on what is most difficult. It does all it can to see these things for what they really are. And it does this brilliantly. Perhaps so, while being a tad kinder to the male ingredient of this this equation than its female counterpart (which is a bit suspicious given the creator's own gender), but brilliantly nevertheless.

A remake that stands squarely on its own two feet.

What happens when you know that you can take something you want at another person's expense and get away with it? What happens inside one's own mind? This is a study of human nature from this perspective. Of a certain little gymnast inside our heads. If this study can be criticized for anything, it's that the events here, the choices that drive those events - are too avant garde. Not justified enough by the circumstances at hand. And there may be a measure of truth to this criticism. Still, my feeling is that this small amount of truth - is far from being sufficient to overturn the film's point. Ultimately, I heartily agree with the film's assessment. Not only as a result of having focused my attentions outward (i.e. having gained a rudimentary understanding of human history) for the past 30 years, but also as a result of more inwardly observations.
Dogville indeed.
The film may not address the next logical questions: "why?", "how hopelessly?" and so on. But this point - it covers with calm, elegant, gut-churning clarity.

It may not be "profound" in every sense of the word. But it is a thing of utter beauty. In every sense of this word, that I can think of.