My Favorite Movies

Thundering, sweeping epic about a 16th century Japanese farming village that comes under attack from marauding bandits, and hires seven ragtag samurai to protect them. Quite simply one of the greatest films ever made, this masterpiece by Akira Kurosawa mixes humor, romance, and thrilling action to become one of the most perfect films in the history of cinema.

Hauntingly beautiful meditation on life and death by the great Ingmar Bergman follows a lonely, elderly professor who, while on his way to accept an honorary degree, is forced to come to terms with his own mortality, and begins to reflect upon his life, his mistakes, and his childhood. Powerful and masterful in every way.

Roger Livesey gives a terrific performance in this masterful, highly entertaining film that chronicles the military career of quintessential British gentlemen Clive Candy, from the Boer War to WWII. A powerful, witty, and poignant examination of love, friendship, the passage of time, and the act of growing older in an ever changing world. Another masterpiece from Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.

Stunning, magisterial cloak and dagger drama about the inner workings of the French Resistance during WWII. Fascinating and endlessly engrossing, this lost masterpiece by Jean-Pierre Melville is one for the ages.

Sorry Christopher Nolan, Tim Burton is still the king of Batman, and going back and watching his mad circus entries into the series only cement that status. This first entry in the franchise is THE superhero movie as far as I'm concerned (even though I like its sequel, "Batman Returns" a little better). Michael Keaton is the best Batman, and Jack Nicholson gives an amazing performance as The Joker. A classic.

Exceptional film about a group of nuns who set up a secluded school and hospital in the Himalayan mountains, only to find themselves descending into lonliness and madness. Gorgeously filmed by Jack Cardiff (who won an Oscar for his efforts), featuring brilliant use of light and color, and ranks as one of the most beautiful films ever made.

One of my all time favorite musicals, this dark vision by Bob Fosse, based on the Broadway show by John Kander and Fred Ebb, follows the sexual exploits of a cabaret singer and a British teacher in Berlin on the cusp of WWII, as the Nazi party is slowly coming to power. Fantastic music, smashingly choreographed by Bob Fosse, set against a chilling backdrop...illustrating the complacency of pre-WWII Germany. A classic musical for the ages.

My favorite musical of all time. Busby Berkeley is an AMAZING choreographer, and his work here is breathtaking in its scope and intricacy. Great fun...a feel-good movie if ever there was one.

One of my all-time favorite musicals. Featuring some truly great music, this punk-rock musical (based on the off-Broadway show of the same name) tells the story of a German transsexual whose boyfriend has stolen her music and become a mega rock star. Engaging, thought provoking, this is an all around great achievement. Two best songs: "Wig in a Box" for sheer catchiness, and "Origin of Love," one truly beautiful take on this thing called love.

I'm still kind of speechless.

I just finished watching David Lynch's latest film, INLAND EMPIRE (which should always be in all caps, per his request), and I was absolutely blown away. My breath wasn't taken away in quite the same way that it was after his last film, "Mulholland Drive" (INLAND EMPIRE doesn't have the emotional core of that film), but my mind was totally blown. I was stunned, mesmerized, held captive for nearly three hours by the bizarre magic of the warped mind of David Lynch.

And INLAND EMPIRE is his wildest, most disturbing, most avant-garde work yet. It is shot on consumer grade digital video, which gives it a haunting, grainy look yet still somehow captures images with Lynch's trademark ghostly beauty. There isn't really even a plot per se, it centers around an actress who is given the role of a lifetime, only to find that the line between reality and the role she is playing becomes erased altogether. But it is first and foremost a surrealist work, one that focuses on mood and feeling rather than linear storytelling or rationality. It calls to mind Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali's 1929 surrealist masterpiece, "Un Chien Andalou," except instead of 17 minutes long, it stretches out for a dizzying 179 minutes. But I never thought about the length. I was too engrossed in the sublime strangeness of it all. It makes even less sense upon completion than Mulholland Drive (still Lynch's masterpiece), but that really doesn't matter. It rewards the viewer with plenty to mull over late, contemplating its wonders and its riches.

It is an amazing film, definitely not for all tastes, but a thrilling work of art that pushes cinema to its limits, and comes back as a wonderfully weird masterpiece.

Wonderfully entertaining old B-western about Robert Ford, an outlaw who shot his best friend Jesse James in the back in exchange for amnesty, and how the murder haunted him for the rest of his life. Hokey at times but solidly crafted, and remarkably engaging. A good mix of psychological drama and western gunslinging - raising it above your typical throwaway B-movie.

My earliest memory in life is watching this movie and crying my eyes out. I still can't watch it without sobbing like a little baby. Seriously.

Not a particularly good movie, but this one snuck past my critical standards of taste and stole my heart...I was already crying 5 minutes into the movie. It's a sweet (almost ridiculously so) tale about a man while mourning the death of his wife, decides to fulfill the wish of a dying man by going to Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School to keep a 40 year old promise, and in the process falls in love. A guilty pleasure...but a beautiful one.

The hidden gem of 2005. Few people have even heard of Miranda July's charmingly quirky directorial debut, which is a shame because this rapturously unique film is one of the most delightful movies I have ever seen. July's simple genius lies in her ability to enthrall the audience by making the most mundane things seem extraordinary. In the enchantingly peculiar reality she creates, even the most ordinary things are made into acts of profound importance. Her mosaic of random connections and innocent beauty paints a vision so remarkably original that it almost seems like a piece of the performance art her character creates. It's easy to fall under the spell of "Me and You and Everyone We Know," and it's impossible to get it out of your head.

"For ten years we had all been told to go out and die for freedom and democracy; but now the war was over, 'The Red Shoes' told us to go out and die for art." Such was director Michael Powell's statement about "The Red Shoes," his and Emeric Pressburger's magnificent film about a girl who dreams of becoming a great ballerina, the young composer she falls for, and the jealous director who pushes her into the international spotlight. Fabulously designed, with glorious technicolor imagery and breathtaking ballet sequences (the title ballet, is one of the most glorious 17 minutes of film ever committed to celluloid), "The Red Shoes" is an awe-inspiring manifesto of devotion to one's art.

Quite simply one of the most beautiful, haunting films ever made. Tells the story of a man who falls in love with a mysterious ghost while trying to sell his wares to get money for his poor family back at his wartorn home, while his best friend tries to fulfill his dream of becoming a samurai. Its title, roughly translated, means "Tales of a Pale and Mysterious Moon After the Rain." One of the greatest films of all time.