Stories that engaged, humored or otherwise lingered more than usual
From what I can remember (obviously).
The best ones reminded that life is worth living and/or inspired to be a better man (if only for couple of hours).
Obviously in no particular rank.
The best ones reminded that life is worth living and/or inspired to be a better man (if only for couple of hours).
Obviously in no particular rank.
List activity
632 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
504 titles
- DirectorDuncan JonesStarsSam RockwellKevin SpaceyDominique McElligottAstronaut Sam Bell has a quintessentially personal encounter toward the end of his three-year stint on the Moon, where he, working alongside his computer, GERTY, sends back to Earth parcels of a resource that has helped diminish our planet's power problems.A lot to love and nothing to really hate about.
Sam Rockwell's tour de force. - DirectorWalter SallesStarsFernanda MontenegroVinícius de OliveiraMarília PêraThe emotive journey of a former schoolteacher who writes letters for illiterate people, and a young boy whose mother has just died, as they search for the father he never knew.Made me cry.
- DirectorTom McCarthyStarsRichard JenkinsHaaz SleimanDanai GuriraA college professor travels to New York City to attend a conference and finds a young couple living in his apartment.Conveys well what it wanted to convey (even if or when one doesn't agree with everything expressed or implied).
- DirectorJan SverákStarsZdenek SverákAndrey KhalimonLibuse SafránkováA confirmed bachelor is in for the surprise of his life when a get-rich-quick scheme backfires and leaves him with a pint-sized new roommate.Perfetto.
- DirectorHarold RamisStarsBill MurrayAndie MacDowellChris ElliottA narcissistic, self-centered weatherman finds himself in a time loop on Groundhog Day.Apart from Andie McDowell everything is enjoyable and even she is more bearable than usual.
I am stunned however that a lot of - characteristically snobby? - critics suddenly started praising Murray's performance in Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation (2003), when Murray's been doing what he does best pretty much from day one. Tisk, risk. - DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerCarl WeathersKevin Peter HallA team of commandos on a mission in a Central American jungle find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.Still love the core idea a lot.
If you can suspend belief when it comes to lugging around a mini gun (plus enough ammo to justify it's usability in the first place) for more than few paces without breaking every muscle in your body known to man, then you're in for a killer ride (pun intended). - DirectorMark RomanekStarsRobin WilliamsConnie NielsenMichael VartanA mentally unstable photo developer targets an upper middle-class family after his obsession with them becomes more sick and disturbing than any of them could imagine.Gotta love Robin Williams. Lesson to learn: don't take pictures you don't want just anyone to see.
- DirectorTodd SolondzStarsJane AdamsJon LovitzPhilip Seymour HoffmanThe lives of several individuals intertwine as they go about their lives in their own unique ways, engaging in acts which society as a whole might find disturbing in a desperate search for human connection.If this leaves you cold, you are dead inside.
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsLiam NeesonFrances McDormandColin FrielsA brilliant scientist left for dead returns to exact revenge on the people who burned him alive.If you need an antidote to goody-goody superheroes saving mankind then Darkman has you covered.
- DirectorFrank A. CappelloStarsChristian SlaterElisha CuthbertWilliam H. MacyAn unhinged office worker who planned to go on a shooting spree at his workplace struggles with his newfound status as a hero after he ends up stopping a shooting spree instead.Not a great fan of Christian Slater but he gives a great performance in this delightfully quirky but somewhat uneven little gem. And as usual Elisha Cuthbert nails her role.
- DirectorAlexander PayneStarsPaul GiamattiThomas Haden ChurchVirginia MadsenTwo men reaching middle age with not much to show but disappointment embark on a week-long road trip through California's wine country, just as one is about to take a trip down the aisle.One word: bubbly
- DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsPatrick SwayzeKeanu ReevesGary BuseyAn F.B.I. Agent goes undercover to catch a gang of surfers who may be bank robbers.Works on so many levels.
- DirectorMichel GondryStarsGael García BernalCharlotte GainsbourgMiou-MiouA man entranced by his dreams and imagination is love-struck with a French woman and feels he can show her his world.It relies heavily on fantastical dream elements but feels true to life and ends in a very sweet, human, note. Charlotte Gainsbourg is pretty mesmerizing - once again.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsHitoshi TakagiNoriko HidakaChika SakamotoWhen two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.Quite possibly the greatest movie that ever got made - regardless of how old you might be or get.
Hayao Miyazaki FTW! - DirectorJames CameronStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerLinda HamiltonMichael BiehnA human soldier is sent from 2029 to 1984 to stop an almost indestructible cyborg killing machine, sent from the same year, which has been programmed to execute a young woman whose unborn son is the key to humanity's future salvation.While Terminator 2 of course fared much better in the cinemas, looks decidedly cool, and obviously made a fortune, it can't honestly touch its predecessor, and frankly, there never even was a need for the whole Terminator franchise (but someone smelled money - like someone always will).
The Terminator is a solid story as it is and there is nothing far-fetched in it - barring time travel. The terminator isn't some god-like omnipresent phoenix super villain - or even villain per se - that would be damn nigh impossible to kill (or rather dismantle).
Of course it won't be a walk in the park to stop it but something that can definitely be done - provided that you don't get yourself killed in the process.
It's not like in the sequel where a second gen terminator is this pure liquid metal shapeshifting creature that can mysteriously and instantly take any reasonably sized form and automagically for example don a suit of its fancy by seemingly simply exerting will power… while never having to experience diminished capacity to function properly, no matter what.
Luckily The Terminator isn't one of "those" movies.
If you can suspend belief when it comes to time travel - and this much you must - then you will find that The Terminator is an action packed, yet relatable, human and even wise movie - possibly even prescient (though hopefully not!) - that shows us just what might happen if we fail to take the time to collectively sit down on the same table as a human race to consider - and to constantly reconsider! - how much we really want to allow technology to do for us from here on forward.
I'm personally all for Aristotle's notion of how better developed tech has the potential to ultimately set us free from daily drudgery in order to allow mankind to finally concentrate on the much finer things in life.
There really isn't a single bone in my body that would want to partake in a technological neo-luddites' favorite pastime.
It's just that I doubt a lot of people's judgment - my own including - and because of this the issue of automating most aspects of our life one step at a time needs to be pondered and achieved in a concerted fashion that is based on factual evidence and scientifically sound risk evaluations.
Because, as most of us know only too well, the road to hell tends to be paved with good intentions. And few films drive that message home better than The Terminator. - DirectorDanny BoyleStarsKerry FoxChristopher EcclestonEwan McGregorThree friends discover their new flatmate dead but loaded with cash.Great story played by a great cast from a great director. Danny Boyle's least flashy and most profound work, no doubt about that.
- DirectorTed DemmeStarsMatt DillonTimothy HuttonNoah EmmerichA piano player at a crossroads in his life returns home to his friends and their own problems with life and love.Nat was a great child actress (see also Léon: The Professional (1994)), who has since mostly failed to impress me. Today she is more or less just another pretty faced actress with a couple of facial expressions who works hard and fails miserably at being natural.
When you watch Portman in Closer (2004) or in Black Swan (2010) - for which the movie establishment of course gave her an Oscar - starring alongside with folks who are actually/mostly plausible, it's painstakingly evident that this woman might be a lot of things but she ain't no stellar actress - and will likely never be one either.
Beautiful Girls is a lifelike and often more or less humorous drama irrespective of the viewer's own opinions about love, affection, lust and, yes, sex as well.
What ever happened to Timothy Hutton? - DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsTom HanksHelen HuntPaul SanchezA FedEx executive undergoes a physical and emotional transformation after crash landing on a deserted island.Priceless.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJohnny DeppBenicio Del ToroTobey MaguireAn oddball journalist and his psychopathic lawyer travel to Las Vegas for a series of psychedelic escapades.Benecio pretty much steals the show.
- DirectorMike FiggisStarsNicolas CageElisabeth ShueJulian SandsBen Sanderson, a Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his alcoholism, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with prostitute Sera.Nicolas Cage's finest and will likely remain as such. Hope this isn't Elisabeth Shue's best effort, too. I believe Julian Sands was horribly miscast here.
Simple and solid story that has some truly memorable scenes. - DirectorAnthony MinghellaStarsRalph FiennesJuliette BinocheWillem DafoeAt the close of World War II, a young nurse tends to a badly burned plane crash victim. His past is shown in flashbacks, revealing an involvement in a fateful love affair.What a cast! The finale is one of the most powerful moments ever captured on-screen and shows Ralph Fiennes at his finest.
- DirectorTodd FieldStarsKate WinsletJennifer ConnellyPatrick WilsonThe lives of two lovelorn spouses from separate marriages, a registered sex offender, and a disgraced ex-police officer intersect as they struggle to resist their vulnerabilities and temptations in suburban Massachusetts." Maybe I just didn't understand it. "
- DirectorPaul MazurskyStarsRobin WilliamsMaria Conchita AlonsoCleavant DerricksA Russian saxophonist visiting New York City with a USSR circus troupe suddenly decides to defect in Bloomingdale's.Even when Robin Williams isn't at his best form, he's still better than most actors can ever hope to be.
Some folks just love nothing better than to label movies like MOTH as promoting Reaganism (what ever the hell that's even supposed to mean), consumerism or basically whatever ism they personally tend to find deplorable.
I guess a lot of the same people tend to find it incredibly hard to accept facts of life.
Soviet did happen. And it wasn't all that rosy living for many Russians in the Soviet regime.
Unless I remember incorrectly MOTH didn't argue that everything was perfect in USA either.
But at least you were free(er) to speak your mind and work towards goals you yourself deemed valuable and worth pursuing. - DirectorRidley ScottStarsHarrison FordRutger HauerSean YoungA blade runner must pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.Another Philip K. Dick inspired story (only much better than the original). I love the general atmosphere they managed to create in Blade Runner. Timeless.
What ever happened to Sean Young? She was on her way of becoming a huge star but obviously something went terribly wrong. Tisk, tisk, such a rare beauty to go to waste. - DirectorMichel GondryStarsJim CarreyKate WinsletTom WilkinsonWhen their relationship turns sour, a couple undergoes a medical procedure to have each other erased from their memories forever.I think the subplot was unnecessary and only dragged down otherwise brilliant story (I could care less about Frodo and Kirsten Dunst here).
Jim Carrey's most serious work and Kate Winslet is perfect as usual.