My Favorite Movies

Gus Van Sant's absolute masterpiece. It makes you doubt, wonder and hate. The direction is unconventional and the picture so still, making "Elephant" a total must-see.This movie explodes so silently, like a firework in the night time sky.

The only reason I'm sorry for, is that I didn't get to see this film when it came out two years ago. It was a powerful hit to the stomach, a film that is infused with subtle intensity, a movie about an unusual human drama. For me, this movie was about antitheses: prejudice vs. acceptance, male vs. female, freedom vs. oppression, love vs. neglect, heart-break vs. fulfillment.

The performances are simply brilliant, and although Argentinian cinema is one I'm the least familiar with, I was just proven that indeed the greatest movies don't require neither Hollywood nor billions worth of budget, nor happy endings.

A most powerful film about humanity, sexuality, acceptance, growth and tragedy. I literally didn't want it to end. Lyricism that flies off the screen straight to the heart. No taboos, no restrains, no limits. Real cinema. At last a movie I can call a masterpiece.

What can someone like me say about this movie that hasn't been already said? U.S. cinema has gone to hell after special effects were invented, and movies like this one are never coming back. A pure masterpiece. It keeps you on edge from start to end. The performances, the direction, the screenplay - all masterly delivered.The power of persuasion, speech, logic in one superb movie. Just...amazing.

Oh, I wish there were words capable enough to describe this film - to describe how it made me feel. But maybe there aren't. So, we'll make do with those we have.

I saw this movie at the 50th International Film Festival of Thessaloniki - a festival I've been going to for about 8 years, give-or-take. And this is the best movie I've seen in all those years, through all those movies. It's so intense it rips you apart, full of the most sublime poetry, simplicity raging and screaming. The direction is so meticulously studied - nothing left to chance - every single take and scene offering gravity to the characters. Even now, that I see the poster of the film, it's so brilliant is ridiculous how much. It has this sad-looking child on it, when in the film, we only see a child for seconds, and it is a happy-looking child in those seconds.

After the second half I was constantly crying. I can bet that I'm from the few people who have cried in this film - if not the only one. Because there really isn't something in it that can prompt tears. But it is one of the most intense, most human, most real films I've watched in my life. I wanted to explode, to stand up and shout. I kept switching positions in my seat, I shook my head and laughed and wanted it to end because I couldn't take anymore. And when it was over, I wanted to watch it again.

It's so far my favorite movie of this year. No, scratch that. It's my favorite movie of the last few years. If not my favorite movie amongst the few I hold so dear.

I wish Xavier Dolan can be funded to create more, more, more films in the future. Even though, I already think he has created his chef-d'oeuvre.

Edward Norton delivers in the most stunning way the greatest script I ever had to witness in a movie. Challenges the power structure and fights racism through the eyes of a racist. Rages and screams from inside its walled jail cell.

Without a doubt the best film portraying the change in a man's
fascist beliefs. Both Norton and Furlong give breath-taking performances in what is probably one of the darkest, most unfeigned and most astounding movies of the last decades.

Haven't there been movies you wish you had made? Well, this is one I wish I had made. It goes to so many different directions, but it never loses focus, it's immensely erotic, heavily asphyxiating and tortuously engaging. The storyline and characters are wonderful. Eduardo Noriega and Leonardo Sbaraglia make one of the most interesting and depraved couples I've witnessed in gay cinema. Their performances are explosive and their chemistry could make this movie a modern Romeo & Juliet.

L.I.E. successfully merges hidden desires/homosexual ambiguities with the inner will for a getaway from reality. Paul Dano and Brian Cox are marvelous. A true masterpiece that always manages to sneak up on you when you least expect it.

Absolutely my favorite movie so far this year. Adam Elliot just delivered something so sublime not even the greatest auteurs can beat - I'm sure Tim Burton will watch this and think, "ah, damn it, why didn't I think of it first?!"

I wish words could explain how truly marvelous it is. A story of an unlikely friendship, of torture, depression, love, loneliness - an appraisal of the different and the most unique. So beautiful and larger-than-life. Wonderful animation, the most gracefully disconsolate ending, one of the truest and most human stories I've ever had the pleasure to seeing. Just...wondrous.

This documentary is capable of changing a person's entire point of view on life. Not many movies can succeed in that, so for that reason only it is one of the greatest documentaries I have ever seen. It's an emotional roller-coaster.

I wish I could find the words to review this film and talk about it for days. But there are just some movies that no matter what you say about them, it just isn't enough. Brilliantly stunning performances (I'd bow to Emily Watson if I saw her), in what is all together for me Lars Von Trier's best film. A heart-breaking story about the power of love. Explosive and able to bring you to your knees. Simply grand cinema.

Day-Lewis gives one of the most electrifying performances of his career and Paul Dano is simply brilliant. I was taken aback at how shocking and captivating this movie actually was. Insane and powerful to its black gold core.

A movie-gem that got lost in the process of making blockbusters.

By far, the greatest, deepest, most powerful musical of all times.

Powerful movie, compelling story and stunning acting. Maybe the greatest movie of its decade.

Brilliant. Kieran Culkin is amazing

The second best musical ever for me. Everything is magical and splendid, from the performances of the entire cast, not just Nicole Kidman's and Ewan McGregor's who are seen at the best roles of their careers, but even the secondary characters are beautifully constructed and none of them is one-dimensional. The direction is above grand and magnificent, the storyline complete and circular among other things and the soundtrack...well, the soundtrack IS the movie. And what makes this movie so exhilarating is the ending itself.

This is my favorite documentary -if not favorite movie- of all times. The best elaboration possible someone could ask both on the tragic Columbine massacre and the obsession of contemporary America with guns. Michael Moore harshly criticizes the corporate controlling of today and offers a thrill of emotions.

Probably one of my top favourites of all times. Instant classic. True, non-negotiable, full of magic and surprises with one of the greatest endings ever. Sam Rockwell delivers another astounding performance in this no-budget, undisguised, lost-in-the-process-of-making-blockbusters masterpiece.

This is probably one of the greatest films of the last years. It's so human, from-the-heart, full of tragedy and pain, fearless, emotional, powerful with an amazing ending and a dynamite soundtrack. Russia proves that its cinema beats a lot of other countries' cinema.

What an amazing, soul-captivating film. Throws you in the deepness of human patterns and tragedies from the first moment. Sam Rockwell gives a poignant, powerful performance. With the background of a snowy town, its citizens are destroyed piece by piece every moment, in what is for me, one of the most soul-stirring movies I have watched in my life. A movie that could not have a different ending but the one it had.

What an amazing movie. Makes you travel with it. A movie-container of values like love and friendship that are so generously offered to the viewer. The performances are extraordinary. The greatest journal into a family's long-forgotten lies and remorse. Astonishing. Breath-taking.

What an honest, clear, true film. Right from the heart. Amazing performances, exciting plot twists, not in the tiniest bit predictable, althought does fall in some "americanized" cliches. But alltoghether, an absolute masterpiece with a rewarding ending.

This film is one of the most beautifully made and dramatic films ever

Unbelievable. Pitt proves he's not just a pretty boy, but a great actor as well

This movie is the definition of great independent american cinema. It's insane, fun, and one of the most well-directed music/band-related films. Great, non-simple performances and, generally, a must-see.

Sincere, simple, angry, wonderful, a fist to the stomach, a taste of polychromy in the mouth, a relentless question to the mind. AMAZING. Filled with everything that is and isn't, with performances that could sweep the Oscars, with excellence that shines all the way to Heaven.

What can anyone say about "Naked?" If you haven't seen it, you have no idea. David Thewlis gives an explosive performance, the script is so brilliant it feels like you don't know anything and Mike Leigh's direction is what makes this movie a masterpiece. I wish people made films like this one more often.

This film stole my heart when I first saw it. It's pure, innocent, authentic, beautifully performed and directed. It's so completely human it makes you feel like you dived into the fullness of the good nature in us.

One of the greatest documentaries I have ever watched. See what happens to a close-minded, poor, uneducated community through the eyes of murder. Free the West Memphis Three!

Filled with great performances both by Keanu Reeves and late River Phoenix, through a world of hustling and futility, we see the lives of two men who have no idea what they want out of their life. This is by far one of the most poetic, greatest gay-related movies and one of Gus Van Sant's best. Absolutely stunning, but it could do with a different ending...

Dynamite film. Ian McKellen is unbelievable in his role and so is Brendan Fraser. Truly stunning, a tremendous blow of fearlessness.

It's a shame this film went unnoticed. It's so disturbing and awakening. Kevin Bacon gives his greatest performance.

What can one say about this film? Simply gorgeous.

Bale's performance is haunting. Maybe his best one so far as well.

Without a doubt one of the best sci-fi films ever. The performances are great so is direction, all leading to an unbelievable ending.

Beautiful acting, original storyline, imaginary directing

This is one of those movies you watch distracted at some random channel after midnight...But this one was tremendously amazing! Original, brave and human, leaves you with a sweet flavour on the lips and in the heart. Wonderful and simple.

The reason I'm rating this film with a 5 isn't just because the entire cast -from the extraordinary Sean Penn to the refreshingly wonderful Emile Hirsh to the surprisingly good James Franco and Diego Luna to the realistic Josh Brolin- did a marvelous job. Neither just because Gus Van Sant is one of my most favorite directors or because I'm a hand-to-heart fanatic gay rights supporter. This movie receives my 5 stars for all these reasons, but mainly because of its content, its humanity, its pulse. A film that makes you want to explode, to shout and cry. A film that shows you how one man with enough drive and will may not be able to change the world but he can change many other things. Maybe seemingly the lives of gay people have improved since the 1970's. Maybe someone responsible for a double homicide would receive something more than 5 years today. All I know is that maybe today we're all so comfortable in the puffy chair of inertia that if there was a Harvey Milk in 2009, nobody would really pay attention to him.

The most magical, the most pure, the most wonderful fairytale of all times. A lot more than just a desperate love story of two people of different worlds. Beneath its versi-colored surface lie thoughts and words that extend beyond the movie. This faitytale has stolen my heart and will always have it.

What an eye-opener this movie is. So illimitable, concussive and shaking. And Al Pacino is simply magical.
In a few words, what I received from this movie was the conceptualism that no matter how many people you know, no matter who your friends are, no matter how many people look up to you, no matter how many people wave at you on the street, no matter how many phone numbers there are in your agenda, you still die alone and lonely. And for that reason only, this movie is a tremendous blow to the human nature and the life standards we set too low.

There's not much really to be said about this film. Just that it's a masterpiece and probably the best comedy I have watched in my life. Educative, spiritedly astute, magnificent in its sarcasm. Exceptional performances, unexampled direction and a truly brave script. Denmark might have a slowly-developing cinema, but it's a cinema worth waiting for. I wish everybody could make movies like this: you laugh when you want to cry, you wonder and you are amazed. What more does one need?

I knew I was going to be shocked and get emotionally involved in this film, but I did not expect that to happen at the degree that it did. A wonderful movie. Maybe it's low-budget, maybe it's not for everyone -especially those suffering of homophobia or have the faintest of hearts- but it's a film that reaps everything apart like a whirlwind. It's real, unaffected by all the Hollywood cliches, loving and warm, promoting tolerance and aiming to make you furious about the death of a man who didn't deserve what he got. And his killers receiving 12 and 15 years? Talk about freedom and justice for all....

Love this film -still hillarious after tens of times having watched it. Thornton steals the thunder in this black comedy. A masterpiece of directing skills.

Going way too far with the rating, I know...but truth is I loved this film. I was just postponing watching it because I highly doubted its greatness, but finally seeing it made me think otherwise.

Kate Winslet is wonderful - she deserved the Globe truly and absolutely so - maybe she could grab an Oscar on her way out. Ralph Fiennes for his relatively short part was also fantastic; the scene where he records his voice incessantly was simply brilliant. And David Kross doesn't/didn't receive enough credit, I actually thought he was co-equal to Winslet's performance.

This film is an ode to love, truth, trust and betrayal. It was a bit emotionally over-the-top at times, but the theme required so. It's inspiring, powerful and heartbreaking. It surpasses lots of this year's films.

The only reason I watched this because the Bradbury novel is a sheer masterpiece of literature. And the movie follows it quite precisely despite some major changes and omissions (like the lack of the symbolic Mechanical Hound and why the hell is Clarisse still alive at the end??) But, as always, the movie never lives up to the book - for instance, Oskar Werner's character (Guy Montag) is FAR more interesting and human in the book than he is in the film.

But generally, it's a wonderful movie. If you manage to see beyond the performances and the few flaws and try to separate it from the novel, then yes, it is a masterpiece. Chilling scenes and spine-tingling humanity, an amazing, unmatched respectful tribute to universal letters, literature and books. Through this movie, the continuing deterioration of quality in literature seems to be lesser than it really is.

I hope the 2010 Fahrenheit 451 remake doesn't dismantle its quality by casting actors like Tom Cruise or Uma Thurman.

Performances as the ones of Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn in this film never come around twice in a lifetime. Anthony Hopkins and Timothy Dalton equally excellent, but not as devastatingly powerful as O'Toole and Hepburn. The poetry and lyricism of the script is the product of a insane mastermind and the direction offers smooth pace and inner retrospection. It's really hard to notice many other things when an entire film is based on its two protagonists who happen to be breathtakingly stunning. A major film of a major era in cinema. I didn't expect to like it, but I loved it. And would see it again any time.

This is my absolutely favorite Pixar short. Warm and delightfully loving - retells the story of origins so sweetly! Praises the different, and the power of friendship. Absolutely adorable - I've watched it a bunch of times already!

This is my favorite part of the Vengeance Trilogy by far. It presents so many differences from the other parts; most importantly the fact that there really is sympathy in this movie. There are no villains here, but rather initially innocent bystanders who are pushed to their limits by a series of unfortunate circumstances. Typically, as a Park Chan-wook film, it's splendid - the guy just can't do wrong - and of course the blood and stomach-twisting scenes aren't missing. My heart was aching during this film because everything that happens to the characters isn't at all deserving. Absolutely marvelous with terrific performances - a must see in every aspect.

Ah, the always-magnificent German cinema comes through once more. 2 hours and 43 minutes of stupendous cinema experience is what this movie is.

I really can't say whose performance was the greatest: Sabine Timoteo's or Jurgen Vogel's? They were both so rattling in their own way. And the subject of the movie is bold, carelessly blow-to-blow, heartbreaking.

This movie has no beauty in it. But that's exactly the beauty in it. There's no poetry in it but it's so poetic. Every close-up, every character panning, every scream. Obsession and addiction and the free will.

Prison movies is a sub-genre I enjoy tremendously. There's something so raw and so primitive about it that cannot go unchallenged. The cast of this movie comes to life under the incredible direction of Daniel Monzon and the unstoppable tempo of its screenplay.

This particular movie brings together everything about human nature that is summed up in the quotes: The mob is man voluntarily descending to the nature of the beast, and Battle not with monsters lest ye become a monster. It's brutal, shocking, terrifying and non-redemptive. A man's logic and free will are eliminated when he is found amongst men who would kill over nothing, and he becomes like them slowly but steadily, showing that the beast in us isn't that difficult to surface. And it is rather impossible for the good ones to survive, because, ultimately, there are no good ones. And how else could it have been?

Five stars at last, dear God! It's been a while to give a movie such a rating, and boy, does it feel good! A Single Man made me feel complete. It stirred my mind and heart. It made my eyes brim with tears. The music is glorious, the direction incomparable, the cinematography, the photography, the use of color, the performances...a wonder-working specimen of modern cinema. Rarely does a movie leave me speechless, but here it is, the genius of Christopher Isherwood empties and fills my soul. This movie is a subtle explosion. One that leaves nothing but beautiful debris in its wake.

How many times has it happened in a movie trilogy the third part to be better than the first two combined? That's right. It has never happened. Until now.

This movie has so many levels and interpretations: the sense of abandonment, loneliness, oblivion, physical and mental exhaustion, growing old and not being able to change that, not being needed anymore, not being able to provide the people you love with what you can, to be gotten over.

Yes, cowboy Woody and spaceman Buzz and Mr. Potato Head are nothing but plastic toys, but who didn't feel their eyes brimming with tears when the toys are headed to the incinerator? or when Andy plays with them once more? They're only plastic toys but each of their characters represents a human one - hues of goodness, bitterness, betrayal, will, camaraderie and attachment.

Pixar has blind-sided us once more with its brilliance. Toy Story 3 is a roller-coaster during which ride you laugh and you cry and you feel. A magnificent ending to an already magnificent series.

You are warned that my rating of this movie will be biased. I wouldn't make it objective by an means. Howl means so much to me as a poem that I couldn't possibly begin to explain; ditto the Beat generation. I've analyzed it line-by-line, done college assignments and given a speech on it in class. And I can say this much: this poem changed my life in so many ways. Ginsberg is my favorite poet, and the Beats connect me deeply and irrevocably to the dearest person in my life. So, yes, I'm prejudiced.

Friedman and Epstein changed the scenery of gay-related documentaries a long time ago: from The Times of Harvey Milk to The Celluloid Closet to Paragraph 175, they have condemned homophobia more than any other director(s). I'm so glad that they retained their "documentary" elements in this movie too, which is a "real" movie indeed.

I never really liked James Franco - but I'm changing my mind slowly. I appreciated him in Milk and was completely taken aback by his performance here. He was Ginsberg in many ways. The rest of the cast wasn't as successful: Cassady and Kerouac and Orlovsky in particular didn't strike much physical or personality resemblance to the actual guys. But all performances were great so I can't complain.

This movie is divided into "scenes." Different kinds of scenes. And I loved all kinds equally; they all added something to the whole and they gave the movie such unique tone and diversity to it. The animated poem enactment scenes were eye-popping and awe-inspiring, bringing memories from The Wall - these were my favorite, I think, just by a tiny bit. Because they brought it to life.

I could go on and on. Suffice it to say this is my longest review ever, so I am yapping obviously. This movie gave me goosebumps and brought tears to my eyes. I just loved it to no end. I guess time proved that this poem does have "literary merit" after all.

There are some movies barely anyone knows and movies that you've ignored and they come to you out of nowhere and they turn out to be wonderful.

This movie studies different gay men at the course of 36 hours as they make deliberate (or not) choices which shape the Fate of not only themselves, but the people (strangers and otherwise) around them. This movie is part fiction and part true, based on the 2005 murder of gay college student Jody Dobrowski, who was bashed to death at the Clapham area of South London.

There are so many things I loved about this movie: the kissing/sex scenes are so intense and hot and dick-hardening, the characters are so wonderfully-portrayed and so clearly outlined, the action - which is almost always subtle - is explosive, and the things not shown on screen say so much. It was also nice to see Rupert Graves and James Wilby together again - after Maurice it was desired by many to see them in gay roles again.

God knows I could go on about this movie for days. It's brave and riveting and spine-tingling and sexy and it breathes hunger and need and sadness and humanity. It's just absolutely marvelous.

I can't express how much I loved this movie. A true masterpiece and a shiny gem.

I loved the screenplay, first of all - very smart, unique, touching, quotable. And Sean Penn. Oh, Sean Penn. His role as Cheyenne created a character that is one of the most memorable and cult movie characters of the last decades for me. Penn's best performance to date - his best performance ever. And I've seen a lot of Sean Penn performances. His chemistry with Frances McDormand was explosive. And don't forget how fucking awesome a soundtrack this movie had.

A movie about humanity and humans. It's been a while since I genuinely laughed in a movie as much as I laughed in this one - or felt the need to cry at the same time. Sweet, intense, haunting in a strange way. I've never really been impressed by Sorrentino's work, but this was a phenomenal movie all around. I could watch it again and again. And again.

First of all, major error on Flixster's side of things: this is a 1979 movie, NOT a 2006 one. It's vintage anime of sorts.

Secondly, I watched this movie so many times as a child, but I never learned its title. I only remembered parts of the movie, and nothing more. It was impossible for me to find which movie was for YEARS. And today, after a determined research...I FOUND IT.

I was raised with this movie, LOVED it with all my heart, and my excitement cannot be put to words now that I finally discovered it. It's simply amazing - Japanese, Miyazaki-style animation, beautiful story and graphics. It inspired me every time I watched it, and I am planning to watch it in the future now that I've rediscovered it; one of the dearest movies of my childhood.