The Directors

Lynch at his finest. Horrific, dark, surreal, and experimental. Industrial wastelands and awkward interactions. An amazing film.

Director Lynch seems a bit out of his element here, and although his typical style doesn't really find it's place, this is still a great movie.

For those who enjoyed the Twin Peaks series, this movie is a great way to answer a lot of the questions regarding Laura Palmer's life, and a damn good (albeit disturbing) movie as well. For everyone else, you'll probably be going "what the hell?" and wondering why any of these characters matter.

If any of you are a fan of David Lynch's films, you may be turned off by the G-rating slapped on this one. Don't let it fool you- as far as good, clean human drama goes, it's a wonderful movie. He reeled himself in a lot for this one, but if you look closely, you'll see a lot of Lynchian elements in the presentation of this touching and heartwarming tale.

Simultaneously campy and disturbing.

A hallucinogenic film about psychosis, the nature of reality and perception, and being pushed over the edge.

Lynch's dark foreboding style and a mystery in the air. Surreal, hypnotic and wonderful.

Very Lynch. The Wizard of Oz meets...sex, violence and rock'n'roll.

David Lynch's style keeps this from being a piece of pretentious crap.

This is now showing in an art theater in Madison, WI, and my friend invited me to go see it- but I won't be living there for a few months yet. Sigh.

While it doesn't sound like my kind of movie at all, Cronenberg is one of my favorite directors, so I'll give it a chance.

I put this one off for a bit and finally watched it. An excellent movie. Very dark, filled with emotionally detached and confused characters and a good realism factor (mostly due to the excellent camera work and acting). Intense and enjoyable.

The perfect Cronenberg movie and a unique take on the horror genre. Jeff Goldblum is amazing as Seth Brundle, capturing his awkward nerdiness while dousing him in a thick layer of humanity. And of course, because Cronenberg wrote it, there is a deep tragedy played out as Seth's body is perverted by his own ignorant decision and his soul and humanity suffer for it. Geena Davis is great and the whole thing just reeks of icy darkness, cold and distant and still deeply affecting- a classic.

Be warned- you may be surprised at what turns you on. A sexy, dangerous and very artistic study of a strange fetish involving car crashes. The score is very minimal and the perspective is bleak, detached and filled with contrasts between good and evil, obsession and consequence. I don't see how anyone other than Cronenberg could have done this so well.

A bizarre head trip as seen through the eyes of a writer being investigated by "Interzone". Cronenberg's style is a perfect match for the material, and the resulting confusion is entertaining and intriguing. The movie never pretends it's going to tie things together in the end, thus be warned, if that sort of thing frustrates you.

Dark, twisted, disgusting and utterly mind-fucking, this movie is for anyone interested in creative surrealism and the potential consequences of 'simulated reality.' eXistenZ takes its generic-sounding plot and throws preconceived notions out the window. The ending was brilliant, the acting top-notch, and definitely a different role for Jude Law. Highly recommended to any fan of Cronenberg's squishy effects and his unique directing style.

The acting is rather blah, but the movie itself is a great concept flick. The violence towards the end is rather shocking as well. Very entertaining if you can stick with it.

Extremely unpleasant, yet Videodrome didn't have me reaching for the stop button. A very visceral and disturbing romp through the "what ifs" of simulated reality and hallucinogenic experiences, filled with characters so far removed from actions and emotions that we've come to expect from human beings that it becomes more dream-like than anything else.

A very hallucinatory journey through the life and memories of a delusional and very disturbed man. Very well done, the ending was top-notch.

A metaphor about our sexual anxieties and fears. Fascinating, disturbing.

Interesting to see Cronenberg's origins. Not as compelling or thought-provoking as his other works.

The tale of two gynecologists (loosely based on a true story) who are identical twins is simultaneously poignant and disturbing, and the tension is built perfectly. Highly recommended.

A true work of art. Amazing direction. Every scene looks more like a beautiful photo than a movie scene. Slow pacing may hamper viewers hoping for excitement and action.

If I ruled the world, everyone would see this movie- not because the content is necessarily your kind of thing but because it's presented so artistically it would be hard to not enjoy. It could also make for a rousing game of "name the movies this movie has influenced."

As sick as I am of hearing people quote this movie, it will always have a special place in my heart.

Another unsettling movie about the power of imagination in the face of unspeakable horrors. Jodelle Ferland is an amazing child actress.

A bit too long, a bit too confusing (even for me) and all in all, more overwhelming than enjoyable. Still, it's intriguing and the visual style is very unique.

Crazy. Wasn't as amazing as I'd heard. Put drugs in a movie and add crazy camera angles, suddenly you have...art? No, just good direction by Gilliam and an over-the-top script. Stoners and druggies will love it.

Terry Gilliam's scifi masterpiece, more focused than epic, thoroughly enjoyable. Easy to watch a second and third time.

I am a fan of a good ensemble film. This is a good ensemble film. People feel powerless, try hard to make it right, get royally screwed over and then a twist of fate completely out of their hands brings hope back again.

Bizarre and awkward, but intriguing. I enjoyed it.

A harsh portrayal of addiction and how it affects the lives of four people. Amazing acting and a realistic portrayal of the extremes one can sink to in defense of a drug.

The power a child's imagination in the face of an upheaval in her world. Violent. Intriguing. Visually amazing. Dark without being overwhelming.

This movie has something that really turns me off, even though I love del Toro's other films.

A gorgeous, blood-drenched fantasy tale.

Definitely a profound take on the rock'n'roll burnout cliche, Last Days is very slow, played out mostly in real-time chunks of Blake's final few days. Pitt plays Blake as a drugged-out yet sympathetic character, who carries a sort of running whispered monologue throughout the film. Blake is a wreck, in the midst of a breakdown he tries to dodge with drugs, I get the strong feeling that music is the only thing going for Blake- the film itself even emphasizes music by keeping the majority of the soundtrack at normal volume while turning the characters dialogue down. But it has become a curse for him- he hates the attention, but has no other means of living. This is a very introspective film- the pace and the jumps back and forth in time may turn off many- but I loved it. Very well done.

Definitely best watched with subtitles, or a swift hand waiting on the volume knob.

Realism that may come across as boring to some. A day in the lives of teens in school that ends in horrific violence. Dark, disturbng, and incredibly effective. Amazing direction by Gus Van Sant, stellar performances by the cast.

I was stunned by this movie- it is visually powerful and deeply affecting, albeit very minimal. Definitely not for everyone, but those who have seen Van Sant's Last Days will know a bit of what to expect: long takes, gorgeous visuals and subtle hints of humanity. I found this to be more interesting than Last Days, and more rewarding.

Beautiful. A heart-warmer in the truest sense of the word (phrase?). The first movie I've ever seen that's made me feel all gushy and closer to my girlfriend. Evoking these emotions are some wonderfully written (always interesting) and beautifully directed short films about falling in love in Paris.

Of particular interest are the films by Van Sant and the Coens, as well as elijah wood's role as a man smitten by a beast in Vincenzo Natali's piece.

Easily one of the finest examples of film-making I've ever seen, Oldboy is not only stylish and brutal, but stylish and brutal for the purpose of the story. I cannot begin to express how deeply affecting this movie is- a tragedy on an epic scale. Absolutely gorgeous, perfectly paced and so much human depth, this is a movie like none that I've ever seen. I came away from it in a daze.

Am I becoming an Asian cinema fan-boy? Perhaps. Three...Extremes is a brutal, violent assault on your stomach and eyes. Each sequence is straight out of an acid-fueled, hallucinatory hell, it seems- a surreal nightmare vision. I won't bother reiterating what can be found out by perusing any review on line. I will say that I enjoyed the hell out of Cut, although the ending was a definite "huh?" moment. Dumplings was one of the most disturbing things I've ever seen. Its lack of a solid progression is forgivable, since in a trilogy of shorts made to push the boundary back, director Fruit Chan succeeds admirably. Box is flooded with a strange atmosphere and ends on an equally strange note, and was probably the least memorable of the three.

How they managed to get an R rating from the MPAA boggles me, and I wonder again why on-screen sex is so much more taboo in america than this kind of violence?

Chan Wook Park's first in the Revenge Trilogy. Solid film-making. Park juxtaposes the peaceful imagery and horrific violence to create a powerful and intriguing tragedy.

The only reason this fails to get 5 stars is that the gruesomeness of the situation and the violence are a bit excessive at times. It will undoubtedly draw comparisons to Oldboy and come up a bit short, but keep in mind that this is Park's first installment in his trilogy.

Another stylishly directed mind-fucker from Chan-wook Park. :) Unfortunately, I'll have to see it again to tell you if I understood the plot or not- definitely not good to watch the first time with "chemical enhancement" :P

Solondz movies leave me at a loss of words, and I continue to chew on them until I'm ready to write something more. To say the least, this was amazing, shocking, strangely halarious and completely unnerving. His ability to capture those who act like they do because they don't know any better is always used well- the characters are extremely ambigious in terms of good or bad- expect your sympathies to be tossed around and played with more than a few times.

I would bet money that this whole thing is somewhat true to the director's view of himself. Having seen and loved Solondz's other movies prior to this one, I appreciated it much more because of that.