My Favorite Movies

This film is such an incredible gift to the world. I saw this on the recommendation of several friends, and it's probably the most emotional viewing experience of my life. A touching, haunting story about an orphaned boy and his baby sister trying to survive during the harsh existence of World War II Japan. Sheer visual poetry, a mesmerizing story, and the most lovable protagonists ever to grace my TV screen. Five stars isn't nearly enough.

The first summer blockbuster, and still one of the best. I make it a point to rewatch this film every year on the first day of summer. We're gonna need a bigger boat, indeed.

And I don't care if the shark looks fake. It could still kick your ass.

With cinematography so rich and atmospheric that you could drown in it, David Lynch's second feature film tells the true story of the horrendously deformed John Merrick with warmth, elegance and respect. Every component of the film is flawless, from the stunning performances of John Hurt and Anthony Hopkins to the haunting musical score, the aforementioned cinematography (it really is glorious), to the mature and restrained direction of a gifted filmmaker still learning his craft. Absolutely perfect.

"Nice work, bone daddy!"

Poor Jack Skellington. Pigeonholed into a job (the Lord of Halloween) that has long since lost its appeal, the well-intentioned Jack decides to spice up the stale holiday by kidnapping Santa Claus, and combining the best parts of Christmas and Halloween into a gloriously gothic yuletide fiasco. It's become a tradition in the Barlow household to rewatch my beloved laserdisc of Tim Burton and Henry Salick's stop-motion classic each and every October 1st. We're a day late this year, but the delay only made the experience even sweeter. I've seen this movie so many times over the past decade that the story contains no new surprises for me, but I'm always astonished at the visual delights, colorful characters, and mesmerizing songs that infuse each frame with a sense of giddy catastrophe. Discover this film and let it become your Halloween equivalent of "It's a Wonderful Life."

Brilliant 60-minute "mockumentary" extolling the praises of a (non-existant) New Zealand filmmaker who invented just about every component of modern cinema, but received no credit for his hard work. Hilarious satire of the silent film era, with surprising moments of dramatic power sprinkled in among the comedy gold. A must-see. I just wish it was feature-length!

This first film from director John Carpenter still ranks among his best. With a screenplay by Dan O'Bannon ("Alien"), "Dark Star" tells the story of a ramshackle spacecraft and its utterly passionless crew, who have spent the last several decades on a thankless mission to destroy unstable planets. Filled with dark humor and ironic social commentary (with an ending reminiscent of Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove"), "Dark Star" continues to be an important, relevant, and hilarious look at both human nature and Murphy's Law. Oh, and "Benson, Arizona?" Best song ever.

Can someone please tell me why the hell this isn't out on DVD yet? This gorgeous 70mm uncut version of Shakespeare's best play, directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh, is absolutely go-for-broke in its attitude. Branagh is flawless in his portrayal, and the scenes involving the ghost of ol' Hammy's Dad earn some serious "scare" points. Well worth a look if you can find it.

"I am a leaf on the wind... watch how I soar."

Leave it to Joss Whedon to revive a supposedly dead franchise with a brilliant big screen outing that builds upon its source material and takes it in fascinating new directions. This movie is everything the Star Wars prequels could have (and should have) been. Major kudos goes to Whedon for assuming that his viewers are smart enough to keep up with him, and for building a story in which the stakes are very high -- not all of our beloved characters survive the ordeal, and some that do will never be the same again. The only flaw in the film is some very Michael Bay-type editing in the third act, which occasionally makes the action hard to follow. For the love of God, someone *please* greenlight a sequel, and hire me to edit it.

This film does for misogyny and sexism what "Do the Right Thing" did for racial tension. The story involves two women-hating businessmen who decide to "punish" the female gender by separately wooing, and then leaving, a shy, deaf secretary in their office. Sometimes hard to watch, this film is a bold exploration of modern gender relations, and is an important, controversial, and absolutely mandatory viewing experience. Aaron Eckhart is the best screen villain ever... just wait until you hear his final revelation at the end of the movie. *shudder*

Think you're passionnate about wildlife? Wait til you meet Timothy. Mad as a hatter, but no coward. One of my favorite documentaries of all time.