Most Wanted

A tragic love story set against the colorful backdrop of a Chinese dye mill. The fantastic cinematography makes Ju Dou a treat for the eyes even though the story is often heartbreaking and sad. Highly recommended!

Depression era con-man Moses Pray (Ryan O'Neil) reluctantly accepts the responsibility of transporting orphaned Addie Loggins (Tatum O'Neil) from her deceased mother's graveside to her Aunt's farm in Missouri. Along the way Moses discovers that his 9-year-old travel companion is a better con-artist than he is. The two are more alike than either would dare to admit and eventually they form an odd but profound friendship.

I'm not sure if it was the comforting familiarity of working with her father or if it was just a character perfectly suited for her talents, but Tatum O'Neil knocks my socks off every time I watch this movie. If ever a young actress deserved Oscar recognition, she's the one. The kid is just spectacular (and the film isn't bad either!).

I'm sure I'll incur the wrath of hard-core Fellini fans for saying this but, here goes, La Strada is my all-time favorite Federico Fellini film. (Yes, it's true - I like it even more than I like 8 1/2).

Even though Anthony Quinn and Richard Basehart are fantastic in this film, every scene is stolen by the incredible Giulietta Masina. She's naive, sexy, comic and tragic all at the same time. Her dialog is limited and yet she says so much with her expressions and gestures.

Giulietta Masina- La Strada

Masina's persona is a little Debbie Reynolds, a little Shirley MacLaine, and a touch of Charlie Chaplin. She's completely loveable and absolutely perfect for this role.

A stark, unflinching portrayal of rouge journalism and how one man's ambition can overtake and smother ethics and decency. A box office flop when it was released in 1951, this may well be Kirk Douglas at his absolute best.

Director/Writer/Producer Billy Wilder sends his main character, newspaper reporter Chuck Tatum (Douglas), down a hole, literally as well as figuratively, and presents a tale that is wonderful, brutal, dark and unapologetic. A must-see film.

Exquisite crime drama that kept me in suspense from beginning to end. It's really three stories seamlessly interwoven and simultaneous, topped off by a Miles Davis score that's just fantastic.

Gripping anti-war offering from director Luis Mandoki. Innocent Voices shows us the civil war in El Salvador through the eyes of a child. Mandoki presents a harsh but accurate indictment of the war and of the U.S. involvement in it.

One of the very, very few remakes that rival the original production. A good film in it's own right but still falls a little short of the 1956 classic.

*NOTE: Several terrific scenes worth noting, including an homage to the original (with Kevin McCarthy) and a 'swinging' priest cameo that looks suspiciously like Robert Duvall.

I don't remember who recommended this movie to me but, whoever you are, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. :)

Kurosawa's compelling "samurai" adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. This isn't just a typical retelling of the story or a film version of the stage play, this is much more of a character study with surprising depth and motivation. An epic film, in every sense of the word.

As a child of the 60's, I grew up knowing Peter Lorre as a spooky looking character actor with supporting roles in old classics like The Maltese Falcon and Arsenic and Old Lace. Although I enjoyed his performances I never fully appreciated his talent until I saw this 1931 Fritz Lang masterpiece. In it, Lorre plays a psychotic child murderer stalking a German city. Lorre's approach to the character is unusual in the sense that he himself is tormented by the unspeakable acts he commits. There is a tangible emanation of right and wrong, of good versus evil, that Lorre projects. I found myself fascinatingly disgusted (or disgustingly fascinated) by my empathy for his character.

Peter Lorre - M

There are a handful of examples of so-called "character actors" who have had that one shining moment in a lead role and then, strangely, returned to bit parts and supporting performances. For Ray Milland it was The Lost Weekend, for Ernest Borgnine it was Marty, and for Peter Lorre it was most definitely M.

The absolute BEST adaptation of Charles Dickens ever put on film.

A young Russian lad dreams of leaving his mother and younger siblings behind to join the Partisan army and "kill Germans". But later, when his military unit pulls out and orders him to stay and guard the camp, he finds himself alone behind enemy lines in the midst of a Nazi blitzkrieg.

I don't recall ever seeing a more powerful anti-war film. The transformation of Florya (Aleksei Kravchenko) from an innocent boy into a battle-hardened soldier is something that must be witnessed in order to be fully appreciated.

Picture this: 1920-something China. A rich man has four wives. Each wife has her own house. Each house is connected by a common courtyard. Every night the four wives stand by their door to see which house will get the red lantern. The house with the red lantern gets to 'host' the husband for the night. The wife with the red lantern also gets to decide what's for dinner and has general control of the combined households. You'd think that would be enough to pit four women against each other, right? Well it does, but there's one more thing that the lantern bearer gets... a foot massage! Throw four women together in vicious competition for a foot massage and you've got the makings of top-notch drama. Five stars.

If you don't like this one then film noir is most definitely not your thing. The Killers has it all, the beautiful femme fatale (Ava Gardner), the likeable but unlucky hood (Burt Lancaster), the trench coated investigator (Edmond O'Brien) and the "fool-proof" crime that goes horribly wrong. If you liked Double Indemnity and The Asphalt Jungle then this one is a must-see.

Pedro Almodóvar continues to confound and amaze me. He can take the most peculiar circumstances, the most perverse scenarios, and extract incredible, romantic love stories. I'm not certain how he does it, but after viewing several of his films I have formed a hypothesis: he views situations without prejudice. He ignores preconceived notions. Instead of focusing on the differences, Almodóvar concentrates on the commonality, thus encouraging us (his audience) to see the world with an unjaundice eye. In the end, what might have appalled us is now cause for reflection, maybe even celebration.

Confounding and amazing...

A film that is remarkable for many reasons, eight of which are Alec Guinness. He played each of his roles with such pizazz that I kept flashing back (or flashing forward, depending on your point of view) to the late, great Peter Sellers. Guinness is beyond brilliant.

Fellini puts the loveable Giulietta Masina through yet another tragic set of circumstances. Here she's a prostitute who dreams of finding her one true love, even though her heart is repeatedly broken by a series of men with ill intentions. Masina's irrepressible impish charm compels you to root for her, but her characters always seemed destined for disappointment. Come on Federico, give the gal a break! (Where the hell is Frank Capra when you need him? lol)

A beautiful Colombian teenager discovers that 'easy money' isn't always so easy when she gets lured into the harsh, dangerous world of drug trafficking.

In order for a so-called 'message film' to work there has to be at least one character that an audience can really care about, Maria Full of Grace has an abundance of them. A talented cast and no-nonsense scripting elevate this somewhat predictable storyline to something meaningful and moving. Four Stars.

I honestly thought I was going to hate this film. A friend of mine convinced me to rent it and frankly, after reading the synopsis, I was prepared to send it back unopened. I am so glad I didn't. This is a wonderful film. It reminds me of All About My Mother but it's a little more edgy and a lot more in-your-face. Yes, I really couldn't identify with the lifestyles, but that's part of the beauty of film. It allows us to get inside the head of diverse characters and in the end we discover that we're not so different after all.

A grieving single mom leaves Madrid to search for her late son's transvestite father.

Fascinating blend of diverse dramatic elements into a cohesive and interesting story. An odd premise for a major motion picture but one that works perfectly.

Though I've never been a fan of The Sex Pistols I did, years ago, read a biography of Nancy Spungen that was written by her mother. Therefore I had a bit of empathetic preconception about what this film was about and where it was going to lead me. In a nutshell, it's the tragically true story of two social misfits who spiral downward on a drug induced odyssey of music, methadone and melodrama. Sort of a '70's version of Romeo & Juliet, if Juliet were a punk rock groupie and Romeo a tar heroine addict. This was indeed a match made in heaven destined for a life of hell.

Of course Gary Oldman did a spectacular job becoming Sex Pistols' front man Sid Vicious. Were it not for his physical characteristics that vaguely remind us it's Gary Oldman, he'd completely disappear into the character. He's just that good. What pleasantly surprised me was how Chloe Webb gave Nancy a deserving degree of likeability. I got the sense that, had she made some better choices in her life, Nancy would have been someone who was charismatic and utterly loveable. Webb's humanistic portrayal gives Oldman the reign to express Sid's romantic co-dependency on a whole new level. Great synergy in two outstanding performances (and the film's not bad either!).

If it is true that Hitchcock's Psycho would have been less effective if it had been filmed in color then the opposite could be said for Dario Argento's Suspiria. It is the abnormally bright hues, especially the reds, that help give the entire picture a surreal sort of feel and atmosphere.

Released in 1977, it has lost some of its initial shock value. In fact, modern "gore-mongers" who enjoy graphic offerings like Saw and Hostel will no doubt find the violence soft-core and perhaps even a little comical. Still, Suspiria is an important, if not timeless, genre classic.

Wicked cool! But don't just take my word for it, read what my Flixster friends are saying:

"Near perfect Swedish film..." -thefog1331

"...one of the most intelligent modern-day vampire movies since George A. Romero's Martin." -harrycaul

"...it is captivating and, in a sense, heartbreaking." -xoxcuddlecorexox

"Creepy, dark and very engaging." -jeg0u812

"...a well done and subtle film." -Stinger839

"...a terrifying tale of forbidden love that is fleshed out superbly." -paultheitie

"the 'other' vampire love story. austere, sad and sweet..." -rubystevens

"The dark atmosphere is great, so are the performances..." -John2223

"It lived up to my high expectations." -johannasince1985

Off-beat gender bender that's at times funny, at times poignant, and always entertaining. Ma Vie En Rose manages to vilify our collective ignorance without insulting our sensibilities. A truly remarkable film.

*High marks for set decoration and cinematography as well as casting and direction.

Heart-wrenching tale of two Japanese war orphans struggling to survive. I was deeply moved by the story and yet, still awestruck by the sheer beauty of the animation art. Highly recommended!