My Favorite Movies

If a movie can be judged by how long you ponder exactly what effect the movie had on you far after you walk out of the theatre... well, then this must be among the best examples of it. It focuses all of its effort on its ending, and the true thinking really starts once the climax is over and the lights come back on... that is, if you can survive the cinematic bombardment which Lars Von Trier subjects you to during the course of the movie. To some, the medium will be inexcusable despite the complex handling of the message.

Perhaps the best detective drama I have ever seen, or am likely to see. There is no excuse not to see this film.

Sometimes there comes along a movie that is #*%@ked up. Actually, MOST of the time there is such a movie. But usually, it is in a totally outrageous way. No, Lynch does it realistically. It would seem mundane, if it wasn't for the freakishness laced throughout.

A wonderful, if demented, noir film. A fine puppeteering of inhibitions, taboos, repressed desires, and lust/sensuality.

Rarely does a film really put you as the viewer into the realm of dying. Not adrenaline-pumping death throes, but a slow agonizing and totally alien death. Depp's ennui and fatigue is mesmerizing.

The film contains one of the most grittily honest views of the old west I have yet to see in a film, and is viewable for that alone.

Thankfully, there are many more reasons to see it. Again, Depp's performance is perhaps the best in his entire career. The dialouge also stands out as particularly well-crafted.

The haunting and repetitive guitar riff keeps you feeling like you are suffering a slow, delusional death. Rarely does a movie start out so clear, and intentionally lower you into a symbolic and hazy world where you feel you went through the cauls of death itself.

Some might say caul of death, but others might merely say it made them sleepy. If you really want to see what direction can do other than thrill, scare, entertain, humor or romanticize... well, this is a movie to explore.

A brilliant performance, and an epic biography of one of the most dazzling and troubled singers of the 20th century. An interesting and inspired choice of editing breathes life into the "flashback" style of storytelling, giving it a unique and fluid twist.

Unfortunately, appreciation of Piaf in America is jaw-droppingly low except among our pepperpot population. This movie is destined to be an under looked gem.

An ecclectic reel of shorts, focusing entirely on acting and dialouge, as well as the marvellous directing of Jarmusch. A film for film-lovers, it expresses the skill and art of "cinema" without the restrictions and presumptions of making a "movie."

Moving from ponderous, quixotic, to awkward, hauntingly sad, to simply hilarious... this film is almost a wildlife documentary of actors in their natural habitat.

Perhaps the Coen's best film apart from "The Big Lebowski", the over-the-top cliched stylization of the 1950's almost seems an Orwellian science-fiction... a "Brazil" esque world unto it's own.

Take every component of the 1950's (alcoholic corporate types, Madison Avenue, fast-talking reporters, etc.), throw them in a blender and add the Coen's rich cinematography and captivating dialog (tongue-in-cheek overacting included)... and you have a classic.

The Thing is one of those films that bridge the gap between Horror and Thriller, in the vein of The Shining. There is blood, there is gore, but it's never about the payoff, it's always about the buildup. Great acting and original plot make it a standout in a genre which usually doesn't find much use for either.

There are zombie films, and there are horror films in which there are zombies.

This is the former, and deals with zombies not as a terrorizing menace, but as some kind of serious plot device. Agreed, that zombies make TERRIBLE serious plot devices, but the audacity of trying gives this movie a charm that is often overlooked between the tour-du-forces of "Night" and "Dawn." The "Empire Strikes Back" of the classic Romero trilogy, perhaps.

This is the worst film ever made, hands down, which remains watchable.

Perhaps, due to its status as a film which a salesman made as a drunken bet, in which all the audio is overdubbed by himself and his wife for all the other characters... well, it is just one of my favorite movies.

Why? It's the lovable, big-kneed Torgo... a satyr who had his goat-leg prop installed backward and they only caught the mistake halfway into filming. He's the most brilliant low-budget B-Movie Igor-style character ever to stumble onto the silver screen... well, the movie had only one screening at a local theatre, before the entire thing became the laughing-stock of the town.

Either way, its amazing. It's fun. It's unbelievably bad.

Random mud-wrestling scene, anyone? 20 minutes of footage from the window of a car because they decided to cut the introductory titles, leaving only corn-field footage in it's wake for an insufferable amount of time? Or perhaps a bunch of cops who keep interrupting two teenagers having sex, which never end up tying into the actual plot of the movie?

It's THAT good... er... bad.

Brilliant, perhaps the finest and most famous of the silent-era comedies. Technically amazing, and hilarious to boot.