The fourth film I've seen by Shane Meadows and maybe one of the best. His abilities to confound expectations and shift tonality make for very good films. The actors are always very well chosen also.

Informative and seemingly objective. Kind of glazes over his life, hitting the key points, but a good entry point. It's incredible the things this man endured, even if partially because of his own shortcomings.

John Huston is a legend and this is one of his best. Stacy Keach and Susan Tyrrell are fantastic together. Bridges plays his role well, but isn't particularly memorable. A great film. Some scenes seem to have inspired Scorsese for Raging Bull.

Conducting pranks for about a decade now, there is a sense of desperation now. Their attempts have gotten larger-scale and thus have also welcomed much more skepticism. I love the fact that they consult with the actual people affected by their stunts. Unfortunately, it feels like those with a sincere desire for change are running out of options. Depressing stuff.

Harrowing film. Blends documentary and fiction, taking a page from Errol Morris' book with the realistic reenactment. Verges on the unbelievable. I especially cannot believe Joe is still climbing.

Vigo only made two films, but what films they were. If you haven't seen L'Atalante or this, find them both and watch. He captured so much with so little artifice.

An incredibly absorbing chain of events, not unlike watching dominoes fall in its ability to create a divine sense of anticipation for the entirety of the running time. Endlessly fascinating.

More about a certain start-up than the overall dot com boom/bust though I'm sure there are many parallels. I'm glad Kaleil and Tom continued to work together afterwards, since they make a good team, each bringing unique (and necessary) values to the table. Consider yourself warned: start-ups are not for the faint of heart.

Pretty strong film. Documentary feel, nice editing and an eye for aesthetics. Confounds expectations several times and managed to get under my skin. Tense though it requires a few leaps of faith to buy into the story; sometimes facts are harder to believe.

A brilliant film from Minnelli. At times a bit melodramatic, as could be expected, but otherwise very strong and depressing. MacLaine, Sinatra and Martin all give incredible performances.

Haven't seen this in a decade or so and it still made me laugh. Hanks' straight-faced incredulity paired with Shelley Long's tantrums are perfect together as their house falls apart in 'Mouse Trap' fashion.

Much more political than I would have liked, but an interesting glimpse into how New York has changed intellectually over the past five decades.

Certainly scary. Karloff has one of the great expressive faces in cinema history. The plot swerves a bit, but overall a gripping, haunting film.

Wes Anderson fans should start here. Honest, challenging in many ways, lovely and dark (in a good way). Comical, but also profound. Hal Ashby is one of the unsung great directors.

Chantal Akerman's minimalist film. I have yet to see her other stuff, but this is a strong enough entry point to encourage seeking it out. Voiceover can be very effective when used correctly.

Extremely minimalist film with a single character that does not speak. The majority of the sound throughout the film is either voiceover or ambient noise. Incredible. If you can find it, see it.

A grand spectacle. Not sure why Heston was in so many films, as his acting is transparent and caricatured. DeMille does an excellent job here catching all the action and weaving it together.

Bresson's formative film about struggles with faith and living well. Minimally made, yet dense and rich with meaning. Simplicity in action.

Fellini's narrative masterpiece before he began exploring elliptical, more dream-like stories (La Dolce Vita and 8 1/2). Masina has a Chaplin-esque quality about her and Quinn is terrific as well.

Antonioni made a lot of great films. This is the first though where he really utilized his strong points: space and time, growing beyond the expressionism of Il Grido. An all-time favorite.

Renoir's humanist masterpiece. Less satirical than Rules of the Game, and better for it. Gabin and Von Stroheim are dependably excellent.

Very similar to Moravia's novel in some ways and very different in others. Taken on its own, it's an excellent film (one of my favorite from Godard). The use of color, sound, and movement was way ahead of its time.

Godard's splash onto the international scene. Indicative of what would come to define the French New Wave, it's not as great a film as its reputation might imply. Paved the way though, and Belmondo and Seberg are reason enough to check it out.

An incredible achievement in several respects. Inspiring, harrowing, brutally visceral. Powerful and unsettling.

A bit weepy, but has enough depth usually lacking from the genre to separate it out. Grant and Kerr have great chemistry and McCarey's direction is solid. Inspired many others, including it seems the recent Before Sunrise/Sunset.

Certainly one of Soderbergh's more straightforward efforts, but no less affecting. Absorbing story, tight direction and well-acted. Really enjoyed it, even if it's depressing.

This up-and-coming director has made 2 good-almost-great films. I liked this one much better than Red Road because of its emotional core. Tense, suspenseful, evocative and authentic. Fassbender is excellent, albeit deplorable, and Katie Jarvis is superb in her first role.

This Romanian New Wave, as it's being called, has produced some very strong films. This is one of them, with its characteristic deadpan humor, sociopolitical issues and auteur-style direction. A fine film.

John Huston directs this genre-masher with Nicholson and Turner as the two leads. Pretty well done and it's always a pleasure to see Jack in action.

Probably the only movie I've seen about skiing (Redford references this as one of his motivations for making it in the DVD interviews). Stunning first-person camerawork, good performances by Redford and Hackman, and great direction.

Interesting time capsule of the mayhem surrounding Radiohead at this pivotal moment on the verge. Don't expect much music or full performances. Probably more geared towards die-hard fans.

Pretty funny satire that has a knack for curse words and sarcasm/snark. If you like that, you'll enjoy it. If not, you'll still be able to appreciate the political/corporate critique.

Rich, charming short film that I will likely watch several times. An excellent precursor to the more sophisticated Mary and Max with just as much heart and skill.

Was pleasantly surprised by this. Proyas definitely has the formula down: setting of dread and doom with underlying philosophical ideas and plenty of tragedies along the way. Not as good as I, Robot or Dark City, but still watchable.

Sinatra gives a compelling performance (he and Novak have great chemistry). Landmark film that broadened Hollywood's censoring. Preminger directs excellently.

An intriguing peek into the mind and process of this genius (I don't use the word lightly) pianist. He was a puzzle to even his loved ones.