My Favorite Movies

The apex of WKW's career for me, In the Mood for Love is a perfect blend of voyeuristic camera angles, sublimely restrained sensuality and longing, divine music and heartbreaking forbidden romance.

I am incredibly moved by the loving detail put into every scene, from Maggie Cheung's beautifully sad and lonely face, perfectly composed except in rare moments of emotional surrender, and Tony Leung's unconscious smirks and quiet desire. Doyle & Li's cinematography is breathtaking.

This movie is all the more powerful for its simmering, subtle composition, without resorting to overt flashes of style; I cried with Mrs. Chan when Chow pretended to leave, and many other times during the movie.

A story of a futile love, all the more remarkable in its ambiguity about the lead couple's actual consummation of their relationship, especially in view of today's wham-bam mentality. WKW is a virtuoso, and this is his masterpiece.

One of my favourite movies (tied with Amelie). Brilliant from start to finish, amazingly edited and directed, wonderful plot and great cast. I can't praise it enough!

Suspenseful. The editing is used to masterful effect - it's all done in two very looooong takes! A triumph in blocking and direction.

I haven't felt this excited about a movie in a really long time, and the opportunity to see Hitchcock's classic thriller, oft-copied but never duplicated, on the big screen was one I'm really glad I didn't pass up (I nearly did, and I'm actually rather sad I can't watch it again today). I haven't given a movie 5 stars in forever, and even now I'm a bit wary of doing it for this film since this means it's automatically going on my favourites list, but I think it's worth it.

Man, there are so many things to love about this movie. Although it starts off rather weakly, with the gorgeous Grace Kelly coming off as a bit green, the movie builds into a tightly woven ball of suspense with all the leads working together fabulously to create one of the best edge-of-my-seat experiences I've ever had. It's no wonder they call Hitchcock the master of suspense; his masterful composition of each individual window, the alleyway, and Jeff's (Stewart's) own apartment heightens the sense of claustrophobia, isolation and curiosity. Every moment is loaded with suspense - (POSSIBLE SPOLERS) is Ms. Lonely Hearts going to kill herself? Is the puppy going to dig up something in the garden? When's Doyle going to get back, and has something happened to him? (END SPOILER ALERT) Especially for someone with an overanalytical mind and overactive imagination like me, this movie leads you merrily (and literally) down the garden path until you're not sure what's what and you start doubting your own doubts.

Hitchcock's muting of the action across the way is so effective in making you strain to figure out what's going on in the apartment block that the final scenes with Ms. Lonely Hearts and Ms. Torso where you can finally hear what they're saying are pretty jarring, bringing me back to earth with a resounding thud after nearly two hours of trying to figure out if Jeff and Liza have really stumbled upon the crime they think they have.

It never loses its momentum, unlike modern movies which often build to the weakest of anticlimaxes. Strangely enough, the fact that there are still unfinished questions about the crime at the end doesn't detract from the movie's climax, and only serves to heighten the feeling of excitement all the way to the closing credits.

The leads are all really strong, as well; at first blush, Thelma Ritter's cantankerous Nurse Stella was the best thing about this film, drawing laughs with her common sense wisdom and non-mincing of words. But as the movie progresses, Grace Kelly goes from just being a gloriously beautiful picture (and what a picture! Sigh, love those clothes and that hair and smile) to becoming a savvy and daring sleuth who simply sparkles with charisma and wicked humour. Jimmy Stewart is charming and relaxed as always, and the banter flows easily between him and the women.

Even the music is perfect, not only playing a pivotal role in that climactic scene, but also building that feeling of tension through minor-key jazz beats. I think I have been only been so tightly wound up one other time, with another favourite Hitchcock movie (Rope).

Thoroughly wonderful! They sure don't make movies like this any more.

One of my favourite movies of all time (tied with Memento). Charming, beautiful and whimsical; Audrey Tautou makes you fall in love with her and believe in humanity.

Stunning! This movie is an intricate examination into the lives, scenes, and events that make up the lifeblood of the beautiful City of Lights, weaving through a rich tapestry of different genres and directorial styles to create a gem of a movie. I laughed, cried, and was seduced by this absolutely beautiful movie. Stellar performances all around from some of the biggest names in showbiz, and some amazing stories from some of the best directors in the world. Isabelle Coixet's "Bastille" and Tom Tykwer (yes, of Run Lola Run fame)'s segment "Faubourg St-Denis" are especially heartwrenchingly beautiful. Watch it (I will, again and again)!

UPDATE: Watched it again last night, in full this time (I missed one and a half shorts and the intro at the film festival because of the long lines) and I have to say that the good ones got better, the bad ones got worse and the ones I was OK with also got much better in my estimation.

I guess the beauty of omnibuses like this is that the greatness of the few eclipse the mediocrity of the others (as has been said about Kieslowski's Dekalogue, for example, which I've never seen but I've heard suffers/benefits from the same thing). Chris Doyle's "Porte de Choisy" and Nobuhiro Suwa's "Place des Victoires" segments are absolutely atrocious - the former in its nonsensicality and the latter in its over-the-top melodrama. And there are a couple of shorts which are just meh, such as Gurinder Chadha's preachy "Quais des Seine" and Walter Salles's minimalistic "Loin du 16e."

But the ones which sparkle in their charm, wit and style help to leave me with a wonderful overall impression, and watching this a second time helped me appreciate a few segments I "missed" the first time (as in, didn't absolutely love) - the Coen Brothers' hilarious "Tuileries" segment springs to mind; I love how wonderfully expressive and funny Steve Buscemi can be without saying a single word! - and I'm happy to say that I can stand by my earlier rating based on the merits of the few shorts I loved. I think it's safe to say that everyone will have a few favourites, and depending on how many there were and how much they were loved, this could be the blessing or the curse which decides if you loved it or were merely unimpressed. I don't think it's possible to HATE this movie. Plus, what a gorgeous ending to the whole thing... what joy and sadness with not a hint of bitterness in Margo Martindale's lonely American tourist.

P.S. I can't get that freaking ditty that Miranda Richardson is humming in "Bastille" (which I know now is from Jules et Jim yay!) out of my head...

Still lovely on a second watch.

WALL-E is possibly the best animated feature I have ever seen.

Just a few weeks ago I was bemoaning the loss of 2D animation, and I was definitely not interested in seeing this movie. But I'm glad I did, as this movie, while deceptively simple in its story and premise, contains a wealth of poignancy and complexity in the interactions of WALL-E and his EVE.

You all know the story - humans destroy the planet with their compulsive materialism - but I don't think that's the important message in this movie. It's odd that a non-speaking little garbage compacting robot is more human than all the people in this movie, and the first half of the film is touching in its portrayal of WALL-E as the last man standing in a forgotten, dusty planet, even though he's a robot. The little touches are astounding, from WALL-E hanging up his tracks before turning off for the night, to his admonishment and worry over his cockroach pal, to his glowing "eyes" as he watches the Hello, Dolly video over and over again. WALL-E is the ultimate pack rat, something I can relate to, especially as the little robot treasures the old things of a forgotten age, you feel nostalgic for a time that's still here.

Because of the lack of dialogue, the first half of WALL-E is all the more stunning in its lonely portrayal of a defiantly happy little robot - this, I believe, is what I Am Legend could have been, although admittedly the latter movie had a grimmer tone to it. You see the end of the world in a starker way here, especially when WALL-E is painstakingly building his massive towers of garbage, and when he desperately tries to find love with EVE even as she's in hibernate mode or whatever.

Despite this dystopian view, WALL-E is still incredibly optimistic for the future of humanity. I love the closing credits where WALL-E and his gang of robots are shown in hieroglyphics to be teaching the world to live again. And even apart from the message, WALL-E is a lovely movie, with the balletic space dance between WALL-E and EVE and EVE's whirling through the air following her first appearance on earth coming to mind as spectacular examples of this movie's beauty.

I haven't even gotten to EVE yet! What a wonderfully thought out character; I'd read somewhere that EVE had no emotions, unlike WALL-E, but I would hotly disagree with that assessment - EVE is possibly even more human than WALL-E, with her angry kicking things around after failing to find what she's looking for on Earth, the evident frustration in her "voice" as WALL-E does something silly again, and (SPOILER ALERT!) her frantic rebuilding of a broken WALL-E, whom she's obviously come to care about.

EVE's interactions with WALL-E are really touching, and it's a pas de deux that may rival some of the greatest love stories out there.

You also have to love the minor characters like that cleaning robot and the crazy hyper robot who beats up all of the security guard robots, all of whom add humour to a movie, which while having a dark message, is still light and entertaining and often hilarious.

I couldn't really find any flaws with this movie; even the human parts fit wonderfully with the robot stories, and you're rooting for the captain all the way even though he's been shown to be somewhat of a simpleton throughout the movie.

As well, you can't go wrong with a Thomas Newman score. Man, I love that guy! The music for this movie is sometimes otherworldly, sometimes cute and tinkly, but always appropriate, adding to an already well-crafted atmosphere.

Fantastic movie, and well worth watching again.

The most remarkable thing about this movie is Almodovar's stunning colour palette, which serves to highlight the extraordinary characters which populate this movie. Cecilia Roth is wonderfully touching, real, funny, and emotional as Manuela, who as surrogate mother-sister to all the other characters is the cornerstone of this masterpiece. Penelope Cruz is also effective as a childlike nun, a wonderfully moving and effective role for someone who has come to be known as a sex bomb. Antonia San Juan is hilarious as the mouthy Agrado, and shines in her adoptive female role. Overall, the movie sometimes reduces the people to mere caricatures, but the stunning colours and shots and brilliant acting serves to make this movie a raw, beautiful experience. Still one of my favourites.

Think of it as a darker, lonelier version of Chungking Express, with glimpses of heartbreaking comic relief. Christopher Doyle's breathtaking cinematography really connects you with the characters and makes you feel their desolation and hope and joy. Takeshi Kaneshiro stands out in particular as an endearing mute who breaks into people's shops after dark and runs them as his own. Beautiful stuff from a master.

Deadpan humour at its best! A well put-together cast; even the usually one-dimensional Gwyneth Paltrow does surprisingly well in her role. Sharp, black wit.

As I watched this movie, I was reminded of a preacher's words in talking about how viewing grand and beautiful things like the Grand Canyon or gymnastics turn your eyes towards God because of how marvellous they are, and that was the feeling I got watching 2001: A Space Odyssey, because the movie is a marvel, plain and simple. All I can say is that I felt incredibly dull and stupid coming out of it, and that words failed me as I struggled to describe how I felt about this movie.

Even now, everything seems like hyperbole as I try to talk about this film, my first Kubrick (can you imagine?). The film is iconic in ever sense of the word; sometimes incomprehensible (but then again, so many beautiful and strange things are), often magical and mesmerising (the first few shots of the space stations wheeling across the sky are particularly hypnotic), even manipulative (in particular, because of the film's use of music to manufacture emotion, not necessarily in a negative sense, don't get me wrong, but the swells of the Blue Danube and eerie operatics surrounding HAL 3000 certainly go a long way in making one feel a certain way).

I can definitely say that I liked it, and although in all honesty I can say that I couldn't understand a lot of it (particularly that last bit!) and that did temper my enjoyment of the movie somewhat, but I was definitely moved, stimulated, provoked, and after all, isn't that the function of art?

Too many things to say about the amazing shots and effects, although occasionally the movie's stillness may bore or confuse. I can totally understand how this is a love-it-or-loathe-it kind of film as it can be frustrating to watch something which seems so... inert (can't think of a better word right now - immobile? Static? Goes back to my original problem of describing this). But one thing that puts me in the "pro" camp is just that it can be completely incomprehensible why someone would like a certain piece of art or sculpture or music but still have it evoke a certain emotion or twinge in one's heart, and THAT is what 2001 does for me. Evocative is probably the best way to describe it.

Still, however, a thought-provoking, inadequately describable experience, by turns eerie, frightening, heartwrenching, suspenseful and poetic. Glad I got to see it in theatres.

I looooove musicals, and I miss good ol'-fashioned 2D hand-drawn animation. As such, Enchanted is absolutely lovely, and possibly one of the best films I've seen in theatres this year, with its blend of spoofy, yet warmhearted humour, sweet idealism, and glorious, gorgeous showstopper numbers (too few of them! There really should have been more, IMO). Of that last element, the Central Park number "That's How You Know" is absolutely fantastic and immensely hummable. I won't pretend that I'm not one of those freaks that would love to sing and dance all day, I am, but you'd have to really hate musicals to dislike that number, featuring the wonderful Amy Adams as our hapless 2D-turned-flesh-and-blood heroine Giselle. Adams has a great voice for Disney, and her starry doe-eyed looks and red hair are perfect for this role.

Disney does a delightful job of balancing irony - note the gentle send-ups of the stereotypical wake-up stretch and pillowed hands pose as Giselle is about to fall asleep - and wide-eyed enchantment, and I was entirely enthralled throughout the first two-thirds of the movie. I found myself thoroughly entertained by all the singing numbers, and the stereotypical working-with-the-help-of-animals song ("Happy Working Song"), subverted with the help of a little creepy-crawly Manhattan twist, had me laughing and smiling along. I'm also a huge fan of Disney's willingness to encourage working through stuff instead of just giving up in divorce.

But then the movie's tone changes as Giselle becomes less and less starry-eyed under Robert (Patrick Dempsey)'s cynical tutelage, and the pivotal romantic turn is creepy and uncomfortable (SPOILER ALERT: I for one was rooting for Giselle to end up with the dimwitted Edward - a perfectly, perfectly cast James Marsden who has a surprisingly amazing voice and boy, does he look like a cartoon Prince Charming!).

Susan Sarandon's evil Queen Narissa also seems somewhat thrown in as a plot device, although she, like the others, has a great look for the role, although poor Ms. Sarandon looks a bit wrinkly throughout her live-action segment. Timothy Spall, however, as the nefarious Nathaniel, is both hilarious and pitiful - I cannot fault the casting in this movie.

If you were born before 1996, Enchanted is a great nostalgic movie to watch as you recall the heyday of Disney, and the screenplay certainly rewards older viewers with throwbacks to Snow White and Cinderella, and it's great that Jodi Benson who voiced Ariel in The Little Mermaid got a small role as Robert's receptionist and even got to do a tiny bit of warbling, and Paige O'Hara, the voice of Belle in Beauty & the Beast has a tiny cameo as a hilarious character in a soap opera, although she and Broadway superstar Idina Menzel (as Robert's fiancée Nancy) are rather wasted though, as they don't get to do any singing.

Young children will be able to get into the fairy-tale princess clichés we all know, love and miss, and I suppose teens can enjoy the sassy "follow your dreams" theme. It's a movie for everyone!

All in all though, a fantastic movie, and it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Ah, how I long for the '50s movie musical. An instant favourite.