My Favorite Movies

a near perfect commentary on relationships and elitists. it's in my top five for a reason

one of the most personally significant films i've ever seen. through the brilliantly handled execution of the story, the hard examination of a convicted pedophile uncovers profound flaws that reveal our own selves inside a man we are fearful of sympathizing with, let alone associating ourselves to. to the discerning, the inherent tragedy of our human nature is seen fully displayed. it's a work of true power.

an undeniable all-time classic, and one of the few movies that can get me crying like a kid

chris mcquarrie needs to put something else out asap. The Way Of The Gun can only tide me over for so long. what he and bryan singer did with The Usual Suspects blew my 16-year-old brain to little bitty pieces and continues to do so today. this film is an experience in itself, a genius noir manipulation that devours the audience whole, just by telling a story.

i love films that explore the wonder and intricacy of the human experience. p.t. anderson's films capture this element better than most, but Magnolia is a straight up masterpiece in this regard; sincere in its whimsy, straight faced in its outrageousness. there's nothing about the film that rings false to me. it's a beautifully fashioned look at the complex tapestry of sin, love, pain and hope that colors our lives, how our path crosses countless others, and how none of us get out alive, but Truth and Hope can still be discovered before we meet the end.

definitely a definitive top ten film for me

this movie made me cry happy tears in my pants. it's going to place in my top ten of '06, possibly sneaking into the top five, and is, for the record, my most satisfying theater experience of the past year, or even two. seriously.

in Rocky Balboa, the series finally comes full circle, closure is obtained, and the honesty we saw in the original film finally sees light again. and it's like the modest, mushmouthed underdog that we loved rooting for never went through the valley of the shadow with mr. t, dolph lundgren, tommy gunn and sico the robot, but is as we remembered him as at the beginning. it's quite a feat on sly's part, and while his acting has always been far more exceptional than most give him credit for (and in Balboa, he's done the best acting in his career spectrum since Cop Land), his great script (it rivals the first's) and direction push him over the top, earning him the credit he deserves.

see it or accept your place as a soulless drone, having nothing beneficial to offer society

an unbelievably sad film with a heartbreakingly bittersweet atmosphere. Rain sits much in the same vein as Thirteen, though less the sense of cautionary tale and much more of a coming-of-age story. it's a downer, but one that leaves a palpable sense of beauty and substance

this is a prime example of what the art of film looks like

second only to Die Hard as best pure action movie made

my personal favorite spike lee joint. being an NBA junkie at the time i first saw it, the basketball backdrop just drew me in, but the conflict between father and son is quite poignant and keeps bringing me back

in seeing it recently for the first time in years, i'm more struck by the film's moments of inspired ambition than by the work as a whole. the acting is choppy at times (you could tell it was mekhi phifer's first film role) and blanchard's score wasn't as seamless as his work in He Got Game and 25th Hour, but the film still works in the end the way it's meant to. for a spike lee joint, it's flawed but admirable. for a hollywood film, it's a great provocative piece.

screw Crash. this is the best commentary on racism i've ever seen

trippiest kid's flick ever.

a great hunk of nostalgia. love this movie

a wonderfully inventive story with animation that could rival anything of disney's

a great early entry into 80s noir, and burt reynolds directed it.

my favorite war movie. it hits all the right notes and engages the viewer without romanticizing its subject

fincher's best film, enigmatic and utterly intriguing. michael douglas always plays a great cold fish, and sean penn nails it

one of the most touching stories you'll see on screen. richard farnsworth is incredible, and it still kills me that david lynch was capable of directing this

a tight, genuinely creepy little horror flick, made that much better by the effectiveness despite a low budget

p.t.a. and tarantino are the only ones who can make multiple storylines work as well as arriaga

a moodily beautiful australian take on the spaghetti western

the best conspiracy theory ever commited to film

not stunning, but a solid atmospheric character drama

the last great film scorsese's done, all respect to The Departed. marty's brilliant execution of schrader's emotion-wracked screenplay make this film my personal favorite of his. an understated cinematic gem that dares to scratch the surface of the influence of death on life from the perspective of an emotionally conflicted paramedic. cage shines in this, and no matter how many shameful franchise roles he stoops to take on, this film will be one of many that reminds me what he's capable of

a breathtaking philosophical journey

a hard watch with some very interesting thoughts on time's destructive capabilities when coupled with man's evil nature

proof that eastwood knows how to soak his films in atmosphere. a passable whodunit, but watch it for the palpable ambiance

marvelously acted drama/thriller. chiwetel ejiofor's fantastic debut

mcquarrie's violent and brilliantly philosophical debut as a writer/director. a captivating thriller that nails the rebellious element of the human condition

a nice companion piece to High Fidelity. the official birth of vince vaughn and jon favreau

an involving and sobering portrayal of the internal devastation that adultery can wreak on every level of human relationship

kurasawa's incisive observation of the tragic nature of subjectivity in this human existence. the truth in the film rings true through our experiences, which redeems this piece of art as only truth can.

a harrowing journey through the psyche of a man's guilty conscience. never let it be said that christian bale doesn't have a talented and dedicated presence. the Twilight Zone-esque ambience leaves an unsettling effect that sticks with the viewer

antonioni's films don't run, jog or walk. they plod. they are almost painfully deliberate in their storytelling from a narrative standpoint. but his films capitalize on what sets movies across from every other medium. they linger on expansive landscapes and locales. the camera drinks in lush ivy saturated cemeteries, stands and cringes in arid, wind whipped deserts, and fascinatedly explores architecturally elaborate manmade structures and buildings. everything seen on the screen is what an eye lingers on, scanning the visible plane, soaking in what there is to see. the environments are characters themselves, adding a visceral texture to the action of the people, enveloping them.

at the end of The Passenger, you leave with the memory of a man, anonymous to everyone around him, a stranger being the only person he ever connects with. nicholson's acting is appropriately wooden yet sad. his eyes never lose that blank look of a lost man, and his actions are done out of a desperation to escape a life he never bothered to recognize. at the root of the film, it's existential pontification, but the subtext of it all is pretty powerful if you're willing to let it draw you in.

tony scott's masterpiece. even people who don't like him dig this movie. tarantino's script imparts his own vibe that saturates the whole manic story

kurosawa's deceptively philosophical tale of a shamed rookie detective who scours 1940s tokyo on a hot and humid day, frantically looking for the gun that was stolen from him. it seems i'm a sucker for films that observe conflicts that take place on unbearably hot days (Rear Window, Do The Right Thing etc). the atmosphere is palpable, covered in the sweat of beaten people whose desperation lends an air of volatility to whatever event arises. the clarity of kurosawa's vision has always amazed me and continues to do so with Stray Dog as one of his earlier films of note.