fantastic films for my friends
If you are bored of the standard Hollywood summer movie fare, here is something for you. From the young actor/director Guillaume Canet (who also directed one of my favourite films of the last few years), this is a sober look at love, friendship and selfishness, with an amazing ensemble cast. I guess you have to use a French word to describe French cinema.
I don’t know why I like this movie so much. Granted, David Fincher is obviously one of my favourite directors, but this particular film has never generally been considered to be one of his finest. Yet somehow, I don’t seem to care, and every time I watch it, I get sucked in for the ride and thoroughly enjoy it. Am I the only one?
I guess 2008 was the year of the nouveau western, since this movie ended up losing the Oscar race for best picture to No country for old men. Daniel Day-Lewis however, in one of his trademark intense performances, still walked out with a well deserved best actor statue, and PTA strikes again with this spectacular masterclass in epic movie-making. Unusual, possibly, but memorable, certainly.
I am not usually a huge fan of big period pieces, costume dramas and other literary classics adaptations, but I will make an exception for this one. A perfectly melancholic translation to the screen of E.M. Forster’s novel, it simply oozes Britishness (in a good way), and will positively ravish you. Even if you are a cynical skeptic like me.
I will confess freely that I was not a huge fan of Matthew McConaughey until now. However, after seeing this movie, I can change my mind and agree that he not only has the looks, he also has the (acting) chops necessary to pull off this adaptation of Michael Connelly‘s novel. Let’s not forget some great supporting actors (special mention to Marisa Tomei) who definitely help fleshing out the characters of the book. I can’t wait for the sequel, or to see if somebody will dare to bring Harry Bosch to the screen after this.
An amazing movie from first time director Richard Kelly, Donnie Darko refuses to be easily categorized: Is it Science-Fiction, a glimpse inside a mentally ill teenager’s mind, or a chronicle of suburban malaise? Maybe a bit of everything. In any case, this little cult gem is truly worth watching and will be a great topic of discussion afterwards.
The idea of a stylish film noir set in an American high school can seem pretty strange at first glance. Ok, even at second glance. Rian Johnson sure didn’t pick an easy choice for his first movie, but you know what? It works. And it is different. And at the end of the day, it is a bloody good movie.
Ang Lee certainly made some bigger and more famous movies (Brokeback mountain, The ice storm and Crouching tiger, hidden dragon) but this one is an overlooked little gem. A beautiful love, duty and espionage story set in Japanese-occupied China, this movie deserves to be on your Netflix queue. Oh, and if you are wondering where you have seen Joan Chen (Mrs Yee) before, this is where…
Since I was just talking about Steven Soderbergh yesterday, here is another one of his most recent movies, from the other side of the spectrum. A documentary following a few days in the life of a high-end Manhattan call girl, it is definitely an unusual but fascinating little film. At just over an hour length, I really recommend it.
To begin with, it wasn’t my first pick. Let’s see, a movie about a possibly psychotic ballet dancer… Not exactly made for me. I had found Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a dream way too depressing, but this time he nails it with this little gem. Not great for a popcorn movie night out, but a fantastic performance by Natalie Portman, well deserving her Oscar win.
Talking about Chinatown in my previous post reminded me about another Film Noir favourite of mine. From a novel by James Ellroy, one of the greatest crime writers, with a superb ensemble cast, L.A. confidential is a masterpiece and sets the bar very high for any adaptation to the screen of a supposedly difficult book… It can be done, and this is how you do it.
In loving memory of Sidney Lumet this is my favourite movie from him. A great huis-clos setting, and a fantastic turn by Henry Fonda. When you sometimes despair about the Justice system, about Society in general, or your fellow human beings, this comes as a breath of fresh air and an ode to Reason.
One of last year’s very pleasant surprises and a well deserved oscar for Kathryn Bigelow. Although to be fair the last few years best picture has been more or less on the mark since the triple fiasco of 2001 (Gladiator?), 2002 (A beautiful mind??), and 2003 (Chicago???). But I digress. Jeremy Renner is superb, both tense and human at the same time, the editing is phenomenal and will grip you and won’t let go. This is not your average war movie.
Featuring the scariest haircut in the history of Hollywood and some otherwise less hair-related great performances by Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones and Woody Harrelson, this is a modern classic. Even if you think the Coen Brothers have already filmed that same movie a few too many times, this is their masterpiece. Scary and funny in turns, well worth watching if you haven’t seen it already.
Has anybody out there not seen this film already? Talk about a dream cast: Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Alan Arkin, Ed Harris, Kevin Spacey, Jonathan Pryce… Another screenplay by David Mamet (yes, I know, I’ve mentioned him before) full of whip-sharp memorable dialog, this is a must see. So put that coffee down! And go add this to your Netflix queue…
You don’t need a big budget. You don’t need big names on the poster. You don’t need a complicated story. You don’t need a happy ending. You don’t need any of that, to make one of the best and most powerful movies I have ever seen. Just trust me blindly on this one and watch it. It will stay with you for a very long time.
I confess, I am not a huge fan of Apocalypse now. To me, The deer hunter is a much better movie about the Vietnam war, even if it only features about 10 minutes of the fighting itself… With masterful performances from Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Savage and Meryl Streep, Michael Cimino directs his masterpiece. It is well worth sitting through those sometimes uncomfortable three hours if you haven’t had the courage yet to do so.
A great director, an impressive cast (Julianne Moore, William H. Macy, John C. Reilly, Philip Seymour Hoffman and a surprisingly good Tom Cruise in one of his funniest and most nuanced performances), a beautiful and unusual story, a fantastic musical score from the talented Aimee Mann… How could you go wrong? Don’t worry, you won’t.
As much as I like Martin Scorcese and The Departed, this was yet another case of a perfectly unnecessary remake. Unless you really can’t get past the fact that it has subtitles, you should watch the original. Fast paced and even more intense, with no big names on the screen to distract from the plot, it won’t let you go until the end. And in case you are lucky enough not to know what this is about, don’t read anything about it. It will be even better!
As I (slowly) work my way through the list of all my favourite movies, I realized that between all the 40s classics, I like Casablanca, I really enjoy The Maltese falcon, but Laura is the only one I really truly love. A perfect little gem of a film noir with Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews, don’t miss it if you have never watched it before.
How do you film the horror of the First World War trenches and still somehow make a work of art with such glorious photography? Only if you are Jean-Pierre Jeunet (who also directed Amélie) can you solve those contradictions and make a beautiful movie full of larger then life characters. A highly recommended movie based on a novel by Sébastien Japrisot (PS: my favourite book from him is la dame dans l’auto avec des lunettes et un fusil)
From one of my favourite directors David Fincher comes a beautiful and magical old-fashioned story about a man with a very peculiar problem, a woman, and life bringing them together or keeping them apart. If this sounds like the most banal storyline, the movie is anything but. Served by a great ensemble cast of talented actors, superb special effects, a fantastic short story from F. Scott Fitzgerald, this is truly a masterpiece.
We caught that one randomly because I vaguely remembered hearing/reading something good about it somewhere (yes, a very precise feeling, as you can tell), and what a pleasant surprise! A little French/Lebanese movie about a group of girl friends working in or around a beauty salon, it is a comedy but with serious undertones about modern life in Beirut. Optimistic and charming, it will definitely leave you smiling.
From a fantastic book by Dennis Lehane, Ben Affleck directorial debut is an instant classic. Maybe it was the story set in his native Boston, maybe it is directing his younger brother Casey (doing an amazing job even if, after reading the books, he was really not who I had in mind to play Patrick Kenzie), but whatever the reason, he seems to be much more at ease on this side of the camera. I, for one, look forward to his next movie.