Moving Images

There's no disputing tastes, but here are my verdicts on films, TV, and other moving image media I've seen. It might give you an idea of what sort of person I am or help you to decide on your next movie rental. Don't blame me if you think I've steered you in the wrong direction. Some of these are foreign – meaning that they are not in English. If you have something against foreign works, then ignore those great works. (I know I did for a long time.) There's a lot of stuff missing here, but I did not mention just because I wanted to get this page up before the Sun burns out. I've also done a list by title and a separate foreign language list. Also, I did not include everything I like here, just what I either had a strong reaction to or loved or stuff I was revulsed by (see the "Crap" section below). I've boldfaced some of the one I believe those perusing the list should see first.

§ Comedy

Annie Hall – A classic.
Antonia's Line – Dutch with subtitles. Great film with lots of quirkiness that I did not expect in a foreign film.
As Good As It Gets – Great film with some great performances.
The Big Lebowski – John Goodman is great in this one.
The Butcher Boy – The weirdest coming of age story I've ever seen. One of my two favorite Irish films.
Catch-22 – Excellent satire of the bureaucratic mindset.
The Chambermaid of the Titanic – French with subtitles. How a lie builds a momentum of its own in France around the time of the Titanic sinking from the director of Jamon Jamon.
Clerks – Good film, though the dialogue is a bit too snappy (read: unrealistic).
Cookie's Fortune – Good performances by Neal, Dutton, and Close.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas – I've heard the Thompson book it's based on is supposed to be serious, but this film had me cracking up.
The Fallen Idol –
The Front – Woody Allen stars as a front for blacklisted TV writers during the Red Scare of the 1950s.
The Front Page – Mathau and Lemon are newspapermen in this Billy Wilder gem.
Ghost World – Though comical, this is quite a serious look at coming of age, especially for people who think they're more authentic than everyone else. The last third of the film, sadly, falls flat.
Happiness – Disturbingly funny, the father-son discussion scenes especially.
Jamon Jamon – Spanish with subtitles. Funny look at love and sex set in modern Spain.
Johnny Stecchino – Italian with subtitles. A mafiosi tries to use a double to escape prosecution.
Kind Hearts and Coronets – Fine little comic deathrow confession.
The Ladykillers – Hilarious Ealing Studios caper.
The Lavender Hill Mob – Caper film set in Britain.
Life is Beautiful – Italian with subtitles. It takes a lot of balls and talent to set a comedy in a concentration camp. If you like this one, see Night of the Shooting Stars.
Man on the Moon – Brilliant portrayal of a man who tried to rattle everyone's cage.
Marty – Funny and entertaining story of plain man trying to find love. Not very profound, but enjoyable.
The Monster – Italian with subtitles. The police trying to track down a serial killer pick the wrong man.
Ninotchka – Melvyn Douglad and Greta Garbo are great in this.
The Nutty Professor – The 1996 version. IMHO, Murphy's funniest film.
Paper Moon – Well shot, well performed, and well directed. Funny without being silly.
Pecker – Lighthearted, happy, funny, and "the end to irony." The running gag with Pecker's little sister is hilarious.
A Prairie Home Companion – Altman's parting shot. Must see for Altman fan's and anyone who listens to the radio show.
The President's Analyst – Chris, my former roommate, turned me on to this. It starts out on a standard comedy premise and just gets weirder and weirder.
Putney Swope – A cult classic. I'm glad Chris turned me on to this.
Rules of the Game – French with subtitles. Very funny take on adultery and risque for its time.
Seven Beauties – Italian with subtitles. Worth seeing, though the sex scene is disturbing.
The Shop Around the Corner – Predictable Jimmy Stewart film, but still funny.
Simon of the Desert – Spanish with subtitles. Surreal and irreverent.
Small Time Crooks – Woody Allen's welcome return to comedy that is not obscure.
Storytelling – Not up there with Welcome to the Dollhouse or Happiness, but worth a look.
Sunset Blvd. – Simply a masterpiece.
Swept Away – Italian with subtitles. Role reversal on an island in the Mediterranean that combines social commentary with slapstick. Well shot and well performed.
Tampopo – Japanese with subtitles. An interesting look at food culture in Japan centering on one woman's desire to become a master noodle chef. A little predictable and overdone at times, but it still works.
There's Something About Mary – Unexpectedly funny and surprisingly risque.
Three O'Clock High – Typical standing up to the bully plot, but with quite a few funny twists.
Wallace and Gromit – This is actually three short films, but all of them are good. I especially liked The Wrong Trousers.
The War of the Buttons – The Irish version. I have yet to see the French original. This is my other favorite Irish film.
Welcome to the Dollhouse – Anyone who has felt like an outsider should see this.
Zelig – Another Woody Allen classic.

§ Documentary

Crumb – The funny thing about this is that Crumb is the most normal person in his family.
Little Dieter Needs to Fly – Fine documentary.
Man of Aran – Decent documentary of life on the island of Aran.
Nanook of the North – Great documentary on life of Unuit in the Hudson Bay filmed in the early 1920s.
Rivers and Tides – Really brings out the essence of Goldsworthy's work.
The Sorrow and the Pity – French with subtitles. Documentary on the German occupation of France based almost entirely on interviews with dozens of people involved, including average citizens, France collaborators, members of the resistance, and former German soldiers.

§ Drama

Accident – Interesting Losey film centering on corruption at Oxford.
The Age of Innocence – Made me feel like I was there – upper class NYC in the late 1800s, but the story is typical Wharton. It's a bit contrived.
All About Eve – Great portrayal of ruthless ambition, though Anne Baxter's performance is a little stilted.
Andrei Rublev – Russian with subtitles. Long, but rewarding tale of a religious painter who forsakes humanity.
The Apostle – Insane, intense, and believeable. A Corey pick!
Autumn Sonata – Swedish with subtitles. A lesser Bergman film, but worth seeing. A few scenes are overdirected, but there are some good perfomances nonetheless.
Babette's Feast – Danish with subtitles. Fine adaptation of the Dinasen short story.
Beautiful Thing – While it's definitely flawed, this coming of age, coming out of the closet drama goes in a different and more positive direction than most gay films. Comical at times, but not to belittle the main characters or their problems.
Belle de jour – French with subtitles. Surreal, raw, and a great perfomance by Catherine Deneuve.
Blowup – Another great film by Antonioni, this time in English and set in England.
The Blue Angel – German with subtitles. The film that put Marlene Dietrich on the map. Emil Jennings is excellent as the stuffy professor and admirer.
The Boy with Green Hair – Antiwar classic by Joseph Losey. Not his best, but worth seeing.
Bridge on the River Kwai – Simply a classic.
The Burmese Harp – Japanese with subtitles. Great antiwar war film.
A Canterbury Tale – Nice little Powell-Pressburger drama. Sentimental and corny at times, but watchable.
The Children Are Watching Us – Italian with subtitles. Not De Sica in top form, but definitely on the way. Great ending.
Children of Heaven – Farsi with subtitles. A poor boy loses his sister's only pair of shoes. Comical and sad at turns. This might not sound like much, but the acting is not forced and the situations seem uncontrived. One of the gems of Iranian film.
Chinatown – A classic. The reversals in it are well done.
Citizen Kane – I know it's on too many list, but it's still a great film.
The Color of Paradise – Farsi with subtitles. Story of the relationship between a blind boy and his father, who does not want to be saddled with a crippled child. Sentimental at times, yet the overall story is well done, the acting superb, and a lot of the landscape shots remind me of Ang Lee or Michelangelo Antonioni. Director Majid Majidi does it again. He also did Children of Heaven.
Come and See – Russian with subtitles. The hell of war seen through a child's eyes. One of the most disturbing films I've ever seen.
The Conversation – Paranoia well done.
Cool Hand Luke – Great film about a man who can't follow society's rules – in and out of prison. Another one Chris recommended.
The Deer Hunter – Powerful look at the effects of war on a small Pennsylvania town.
The Dreamlife of Angels – French with subtitles. Proof that French film is not dead. This one is the tale of two young woman trying to make it on the margins of society. They are at first drawn to then repelled from each other. Well done and not overintellectual.
Drugstore Cowboy – Interesting take on drug addiction.
Easy Rider – The road trip film that shook up the American film landscape.
Edge of Seventeen – Another of the more solid coming of age, coming out of the closet dramas.
The Elephant Man – Effective biography of the actual elephant man.
Elevator to the Gallows – French with subtitles. Good early Malle film with lots of tension.
El Mariachi – Spanish with subtitles. This low budget Mexican films is spectacular, especially considering that it only cost $7,000 to make and two weeks to shoot. Spanish with subtitles.
The Emperor and the Assassin – Madarin with subtitles. Deals with the first ruler of all China, showing how the best of intentions do not prevent corruption. Very well done, interesting story, large sets, with great acting, especially by Gong Li. It can be a little on the long side, weighing in at nearly three hours.
Eyes Wide Shut – A flawed film with lots of powerful and sometimes funny scenes. It's a shame Kubrick didn't live long enough to do postproduction work on it. The soundtrack was great!
Fanny and Alexander – Swedish with subtitles. Bergman's last film. Supposedly autobiographical. Full of many wonderful and arresting scenes.
Fearless – Powerful portrayal of what happens to the survivors of a commuter jet crash.
Fires on the Plain – Japanese with subtitles. Great antiwar war film.
Forbidden Games – French with subtitles. War and loss seen through the eyes of two young children in rural France. Very funny at times.
The 47 Ronin – Japanese with subtitles. The best telling of this tale I've seen.
The 400 Blows – French with subtitles. I haven't seen all of Truffaut's films, but this the best of the ones I've seen.
Gosford Park – Shows that Altman can still do it.
The Grand Illusion – French with subtitles. Good Renoir film about French prisoners of war in World War I. Does not demonize the Germans. Probably influenced later works, such as Stalag 17. (The latter film is about Americans prisoners of war in World War II.)
Hands Over the City – Italian with subtitles. Not a great film, but a watchable documentary-style look at corruption.
Harold and Maude – Funny, satirical, and moving. Chris and Kevin both recommended this to me.
Hiroshima Mon Amor – French with subtitles. Resnais goes overboard again, but it works.
Hour of the Wolf – Swedish with subtitles. Like Through a Glass Darkly, this film deals with insanity. Disturbing, memorable, and fine.
Homegrown – Well made stoner film.
Hud – Great film starring Paul Newman. This one should be part of everyone's must see list. Another Corey pick!
I Fidanzati – Italian with subtitles. Depressing Olmi film with lots of great shots and an interesting back and forth between past and present.
Il Posto – Italian with subtitles. Depressing Olmi film about a young man trying to fit into a new job.
Images – Well shot, keen look at madness. Great score too.
In the Bedroom – Well shot and performed domestic drama about how a middle aged couple deals with tragedy.
In the Company of Men – Twisted! About two men who decide to take advantage of the same woman as a vicious gag.
The Ice Storm – Powerful, but very icy – character-wise, that is. Another Corey pick! This should probably be seen with American Beauty because they both have much the same take on life, though the former has better direction and seems less forced than the latter.
Ivan's Childhood – Russian with subtitles. War through a child's eyes with the focus on the child.
Ju Dou – Madarin with subtitles. Sort of "The Postman Always Rings Twice" set in Ancient China.
Key Largo – No list would be complete without one Bogart film. It's interesting to see the antihero become the hero.
King and Country – Great Joseph Losey film about war and justice. His typical claustrophobia permeates the film. Great performance by Dirk Bogarde – as expected.
Klute – Classic.
Kundun – Not as good as Seven Years in Tibet, but, in some ways, much more intense. Maybe it was the soundtrack.
L'Avventura – Italian with subtitles. Antonioni's masterpiece. Has to be watched attentively.
L'Eclisse – Italian with subtitles. Another Antonioni masterpiece..
La Bête Humaine – French with subtitles. Not Renoir's best, but good nonetheless.
Lacombe Lucien – French with subtitles. Interesting analysis of the the depravity and banality of evil.
La Commare Secca – Italian with subtitles. Interesting early Bertolucci film. I'm not a fan of his other work, but this one works for me.
La Notta – Italian with subtitles. Not as good as L'Avventura, but still worth seeing.
La Ronde – French with subtitles. Stylized film about love triangles in Vienna circa 1900. Not overly sexualized and not at all cynical.
La Trou – French with subtitles. Neat prison break film.
The Last Picture Show – Just rent it and see for yourself.
Les Diaboliques – French with subtitles. Very like Hitchcock.
The Little Foxes – Notable Bette Davis film about a woman who will stop at nothing to get what she wants.
Lone Star – Sayles' best film.
McCabe & Mrs. Miller – Altman's Western.
Macbeth – The Orson Welles version. Very stylish sets and Welles is in top form in the title role. It can be a bit hard to watch, since it's so close to the play and the accents are authentic Scottish. The wood moving scene obviously was borrowed by Kurosawa for his Throne of Blood.
Macbeth – The Roman Polanski version. Gorey and realistic in a way only Polanski could make it.
Mad Max – The one that started it all off. I thought it was very intense and gritty.
Matewan – Makes me feel like I was part of the strike.
Memento – Well directed.
Midnight Cowboy – Powerful performances and some extremely memorable scenes in this tragicomedy about a "cowboy" who tries to become a giggolo in NYC. A Corey pick.
Miller's Crossing – One of the best mob films made.
The Mirror – Russian with subtitles. A collection of dream sequences that are captivating. One of Tarkovsky's best.
The Mosquito Coast – The Apostle and this have similar themes about fanaticism and devotion. Obligatory viewing for utopians.
Murmur of the Heart – French with subtitles. Rather disturbing tale of a parent-child relationship.
Next Door – Norwegian with subtitles. A film that starts out with a quite normal breakup and gets more twisted from there on.
The Nick of Time – Good plot that is well executed.
Night of the Shooting Stars – Italian and German with subtitles. About a village in Tuscany during World War Two. Should be compared with Life is Beautiful for its comic aspects, though this is not a comedy.
Nights of Cabiria – Italian with subtitles. It's amazing how the main character manages to wind her way through all levels of society in such a short time and, despite all her failures, still finds joy in life.
Nostalghia – Russian and Italian with subtitles. Surreal tale set in Italy in the way on Takovsky could direct it. Corey thinks it's his best film.
Now, Voyager – Bette Davis film about a woman struggling to gain self-esteem and control over her life.
Once Upon a Time in America – One of the greatest mob films.
Once Upon a Time in the West – One of the greatest Westerns.
Ordinary People – Family drama with a good plot, great performances (by Hutton, Sutherland, More, McGovern, and Hirsch), good direction, and cinematography. Compare this view of an American family with The Ice Storm. Another Corey pick.
The Passion of Joan of Arc – Silent. Wonderfully shot and performed story of Joan of Arc's trial and demise. Mostly told through brilliant closeups and based on the actual trial transcript.
Pather Panchali – Bengali with subtitles. Great but very sad tale.
Pathfinder – Laplander with subtitles. A passage to manhood tale set in the Norwegian Tundra. Based on a legend.
Persona – Swedish with subtitles. Great psychological drama about the relationship between an actress who refuses to speak and her nurse. Well shot, well performed. One of Bergman's best.
Quo Vadis – Simply a classic.
Ran – Japanese with subtitles. Great retelling of "King Lear." Set in Japan during its feudal period.
Raise the Red Lantern – Madarin with subtitles. Interesting role for Gong Li as fourth wife of a man who collects wives.
The Ragman's Daughter – Hard to believe this is a first film. Fine British kitchen sink drama directed by a native New Yorker.
Rashomon – Japanese with subtitles. Another classic.
The Red Shoes – Perhaps the only film where dancing is the focus that I like. Well acted, choreographed, directed, and even the music is good. The story's a little worn – choosing between love and career or love and art – but well wrought.
The Rite – Swedish with subtitles. Claustraphobic, semi-Kafkaesque, risque drama about a troop of actors being prosecuted for violating the laws of some unnamed country.
The Road Home – Madarin with subtitles. Sentimental, but well executed film about a man recalling how his parents got together after his father dies.
Romeo and Juliet – The 1968 version, directed by Zeffirelli. The titles roles are actually played and played well by teenagers.
Rosetta – French with subtitles. Highly kinetic film set in Belgium about a girl trying to maintain her self-respect and lead a normal life despite being saddled with poverty and an apathetic, alcoholic mother.
Running on Empty – Filmed in New Jersey, if you can believe that. Probably the best role for River Phoenix. Judd Hirsch gave a great performance too.
The Sacrifice – Swedish, French, and English with subtitles. Tarkvosky's last film. Not as good as all his others, but worth seeing.
Salvatore Giuliano – Italian with subtitles. Great little docu-drama.
Sansho the Bailiff – Japanese with subtitles. In my opinion, the greatest Japanese film and one of the greatest films.
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning – The best of the British angry young men movies.
Seance on a Wet Afternoon – Well shot and well performed film about a mad psychic who pushes her passive husband to crime.
Seconds – Hard to believe this film isn't on more great films list. Bizarre and compelling from beginning to end.
Secret Honor – I'm not sure if I shouldn't classify this as comedy. This is a one man show version of Richard Nixon years after he resigns. Well performed, well directed, and well photographed.
Secrets and Lies – Great contemporary British domestic drama. Not mean-spirited or hackneyed.
The Set-Up – Great early Robert Wise film set in real-time.
The Servant – Well filmed tale about a servant and his master declining into decadence together. It has problems, but Dirk Bogarde is excellent as the servant and the photography is excellent.
Seven Samurai – Japanese with subtitles. Entertaining, though not a great film. Inspiration for The Magnificent Seven.
The Seventh Seal – Swedish with subtitles. One of the most accessible (to Americans) foreign films I've seen.
Seven Years in Tibet – Good story and another example of Brad Pitt's flexibility.
The Shop on Main Street – Czech with subtitles. One of the better films of this genre.
The Silence – Swedish with subtitles. Third part of Bergman's "faith" trilogy, along with Through a Glass Darkly and Winter Light. Not as good, in my opinion, as the second part, Winter Light, but worth seeing once you've gotten some other Bergman under your belt.
Spartacus – Should be part of everyone's cultural knowledge.
Strangers in Good Company – A group of old women with a bus driver break down and spend several days and nights sharing their stories. I know this sounds like a chic film, but it worked for me.
The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum – Japanese with subtitles. Depressing and well filmed and acted tale of an actor in 19th century Japan who changes his whole life based on one act of honest decency. Early Mizoguchi effort comes off great as usual.
The Straight Story – An unexpected jewel from David Lynch.
The Swindle – Italian with subtitles. Early Fellini film that works for me.
Tattooed Life – Japanese with subtitles. Yahuza film that's set in prewar Japan. Much better, in my opinion, than the ones set in the 1960s or later.
Taste of Cherry – Farsi with subtitles. I like this film a lot, except for the last sequence.
Terms of Endearment – Great story and performances. McClaine, Winger, and Nicholson are outstanding in this film about the ups and downs of a mother and her daughter.
Three Women – Great story, direction, camera work, and performances in this tale of obsession, madness, and mixed identities. Considered by some to be Altman's Persona. Great score too.
Through a Glass Darkly – Swedish with subtitles. First part of Bergman's "faith" trilogy, along with Winter Light and The Silence. You might have to be a Bergman fan to like this one.
A Time for Drunken Horses – Farsi with subtitles. Story of a Kurdish family trying to get by on the border between Iran and Iraq. At times, sentimental, but still powerful. Wonderful landscape shots too.
To Live – Madarin with subtitles. Story of one family's life in China from right before the Revolution to today.
Touch of Evil – Flawed, especially with Charlton Heston's typical overacting, but still powerful scenes and Orson Welles is perfect as the bad cop here. Welles also directed it.
The Treasures of the Sierra Madre – Another Bogart film, this time set in Mexico.
The Trial – Welles adaptation of the Kafka novel. Difficult to watch but ultimately rewarding.
Umberto D. – Italian with subtitles. Depressing, funny, and uplifting all roled into one.
Vanya on 42nd Street – Louis Malle's last film. Set in NYC where a production of Chekov's "Uncle Vanya" takes centerstage.
Vincent and Theo – Great portrayal of van Gogh based on his letters to his brother. Corey also recommended this to me.
The Virgin Spring – Swedish with subtitles. The Last House of the Left does not do justice to this classic. Another Corey pick!
Wild Reeds – French with subtitles. This recent (1994) coming of age story is set in France during the Algerian crisis – early 1960s – and masterfully focuses on 4 young students coming to grips with life. Thanks to Corey for turning me on to this.
Winter Light – Swedish with subtitles. Second part of Bergman's "faith" trilogy, along with Through a Glass Darkly and The Silence. Great, though very stark and depressing.
Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf? – Sizzling and claustrophobic. Taylor and Burton are great together. Another Corey pick!

§ Experimental

At Land – Nearly insane yet captivating.
Dimensions of Dialogue – Claymation with a serious twist.
Down to the Cellar – An interesting play on childhood fears.
Fireworks – Brief and powerful short work by Kenneth Anger.
The Flat – Imagine a world where every object is not what it seems...
Koyaanisqatsi – An audiovisual fugue. Though I disagree with the message, it was fun to watch.
Meshes of the Afternoon – Surreal and, at times, horrifying.
Ritual in Transfigured Time – Very playful, especially the stop action sequences, but then builds up to a sort of terror.
Scorpio Rising – Short film of amazing ferocity. My favorite of Anger's.

§ Horror

The Abominable Snowman – Much better than the title makes it sound.
The Birds – Simply a classic.
Black Sunday – Gothic horror, Italian-style.
Blair Witch Project – Low budget that delivers. Despite flaws, this belongs in the big league.
Creep – Something's down in the London subway. Well, you get the idea. Not for everyone and a bit gruesome at times.
Day of Wrath – Danish with subtitles. Paced drama centering on witchcraft in Denmark. Filmed in 1943. Great photography, memorable soundtrack, good performances, some brilliant scenes, and a neat plot.
Der Golem – Silent. A classic that had a huge impact on Wales' Frankenstein. Great sets.
The Devil's Backbone – Spanish with subtitles. Compelling ghost story set during the Spanish Civil War.
The Evil Dead – Another low budget classic. The story is rather simple and a lot of it is formula horror (e.g., people go off alone in the forest at night), but the camera effects are great.
The Exorcist – Great film with appearance by Max von Sydow of many a Bergman film fame.
Eyes of Fire – Good up until the end, then it decides to go for the obvious trick.
Halloween – A classic.
Jaws – Mythic in its handling of a simple man-, woman-, and child-eating shark.
Night of the Hunter – Bizarre 1955 camp classic about a psychopathic preacher. Some parts of it just don't make sense, but Mitchum is powerful and a lot of the scenes are self-consciously stylized.
Night of the Living Dead – Low budget, but very well done.
Nosferatu – Silent. The original is a classic. One of the few silent films I'll even bother watching.
Nosferatu – German with subtitles or dubbed into English. Werner Herzog's remake has problems, but it's still a good remake. Klaus Kinski's performance is, as expected, powerful and maniacal.
Picnic at Hanging Rock – Full of foreboding. Some memorable scenes. More of a thinking person's horror film than the typical members of the genre.
Psycho – The Hitchcock version. A classic.
Rosemary's Baby – Well done paranoid supernatural horror.
Secret Ceremony – The 1968 film. A psychological thriller more than a true horror film. Strong performances by Taylor, Farrow, and Mitchum. Great camera work and use of color. The ending is a bit pat, but the overall effect lingers.
The Shining – The Kubrick version. Believe or not, there was a made for TV version. Far from the book, but great direction and good performances.
28 Days Later – Derivative and not without flaws, but compelling.
Village of the Damned – The 1960 Wolf Rilla version – not the bloodless John Carpenter 1995 remake.
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? – Davis was an excellent madwoman in this somewhat dated tale of one sister who terrorizes another.
The Wicker Man – Lost classic. Chris turned me on to this too!

§ Science Fiction/Fantasy

Alien – A classic! Loved the sets as well as the story.
Aliens – So different from the first one, yet still good.
The Andromeda Strain – In a lot of ways, very believeable.
The Arrival – This film should have beat Independence Day in the category of alien invasions. Hearkens back to the paranoid science fiction films of the 1950s.
Brazil – Mindblowing.
Children of Men – Near future science fiction with a documentary feel.
City of the Lost Children – Bizarre and very interesting.
Dark City – Hard to believe such a film could be made these days. Avoids a lot of the pitfalls of science fiction film, such as being mushy and grandeloquent. Also, Sutherland was fantastic in it.
The Dark Crystal – Simply a classic.
Demon Seed – In some ways, parallels 2001: A Space Odyssey. Christie is great in it.
Destination Moon – One of the postwar science fiction films that set the tone for the 1950s craze of space films. Actually, this one has its flaws as a work of art, but, for the time, the story and the science are convincing.
Equilibrium – Somewhat kooky, inconsistent, and not too original dystopian film that's worth seeing for the action.
Event Horizon – Somewhat corny, but I liked it.
Fahrenheit 451 – Not Truffaut's best, but good nonetheless.
Fantastic Planet – Cartoon that is very imaginative.
Faust – Czech with subtitles. I believe this is Svankmajer's most ambitious film to date.
The Ghost in the Shell – This is what anime should be all about!
La Jette – French with subtitles. Time travel story shot as a sequence of photographs. Basis for the more recent film Twelve Monkeys.
Little Otik – Czech with subtitles. Based on a Czech fairy tale, this film combines many of Svankmajer's experimental techniques with a straightforward narrative. It would probably be the best introduction to his feature length films.
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring – Decent adaptation of Tolkien's first novel from the trilogy.
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers – More action packed and visually stunning than the first film.
The Matrix – I don't buy the cerebral aspects of the tale, but the effects were great.
The Matrix: Reloaded – Not as good as the first one, but still worth seeing.
Metropolis – Another classic of silent film.
The Neverending Story – Original for the genre – kid fantasy film.
Nineteen Eighty-Four – Powerful performances by Burton and Hurt. Burton was especially powerful since he was so subdued. Compare him to hams like William Shatner or Charlton Heston.
Planet of the Vampires – Inventive Italian science fiction horror that influenced Alien.
Primer – Interesting take on time travel that doesn't rely on special effects.
Road Warrior – Isn't it funny how many times this sort of thing has been copied? Anyway, everyone probably knows this has one of best chase scenes on film ever. The production was also better than Mad Max and this is more strictly a science fiction film (using the postapocalyptic setting as the touchstone).
Slaughterhouse Five – I don't much like Kurt Vonnegut, but this film was trippy.
Solaris – Russian with subtitles. Very long but captures the essense of Lem's novel. This refers the Tarkovsky version. I did not like the recent remake.
The Star Wars Trilogy – Part of our modern mythology.
Stalker – Russian with subtitles. Slow moving yet arresting.
Terminator – Even though it's pretty much a standard anti-technology theme – robot meets girls, robot tries to kill girl, robot gets crushed by girl – I thought it was very well done.
The Thing – The John Carpenter remake, which is closer to the original Campbell story "Who Goes There?"
Twelve Monkeys – Gillian does it again, but, not surprisingly, it's tragic.
2001: A Space Odyssey – A classic and, for me, the epitome of science fiction film. Great soundtrack too.
Zardoz – Perhaps a bit too symbolic in a Sixties way, but the story is good.

§ Suspense/Thriller

Blood Simple – Surprising, especially for a first film.
I Confess – Hitchcock does Montreal.
The Narrow Margin – Worth seeing.
Scarlett Street – Great performances, especially by Robinson.
Sirocco – Should probably be required viewing for those who support the current wars.
They Drive by Night –
The Killers – The 1946 version. Double-dealing and slick dialogue. Great performances and well directed. By the way, Andrei Takovsky also did a version of this when he was in film school.
The Killing – Not Kubrick's best, but worth seeing.
L.A. Confidential – Great and a lot like Chinatown and not just in setting.
The Long Goodbye – Altman's noir film. Not perfect, but great camera work, great dialogue and acting, and an interesting take on Chandler's novel.
Night and the City – Solid noir classic.
Ossessione – Italian with subtitles. Transplanting an America crime story into Fascist Italy might seem doomed to failure, but it works.
A Simple Plan – This is probably Raimi's best film. Serious subject with nods to exploitation films. Billy Bob Thornton's performance is great as expected.
Targets – Great film.
The Third Man – Great setting, great story, great acting. I'll never think of cuckoo clocks the same way.

§ Television

All in the Family – Need anything more be said about this one?
Aqua Teen Hunger Force – Hit or miss, but mostly hit.
Babylon Five – TV science fiction usually sucks, but this is one of the better shows.
Family Guy – Kind of The Simpsons on crank.
Firefly – TV science fiction of high quality.
Home Movies – Great series that I'm happy Comedy Central revived.
King of the Hill – Hit or miss, but mostly hit.
Nova – Not every episode of this PBS documentary is great, but enough fascinate me to keep me watching.
Sherlock Holmes – It's no so much the mysteries, but Jeremy Brett is how I picture Sherlock Holmes to be.
Home Movies – Great series that I'm happy Comedy Central revived.
King of the Hill – Hit or miss, but mostly hit.
Nova – Not every episode of this PBS documentary is great, but enough fascinate me to keep me watching.
Poirot – Any episode of this Mystery show where David Suchet plays Poirot. He simply is Poirot!
Robot Chicken – Funny, but only in small doses.
Seinfeld – Love the writing, especially the way everything fits together.
The Simpsons – One of the few shows that can making me laugh so hard I cry.
South Park – Okay, I'm a sucker for their brand of humor.
Upright Citizens Brigade – Funny though uneven.
The Venture Bros. – Magnificent and comical, but, to get the full effect, must be watched in order.

§ Crap

Alien Resurrection – Merely copies stage sets from the previous Alien films while forgetting about plot.
Alphaville – French with subtitles. So bad, it's almost funny.
Angry Red Planet – Only worth seeing to make fun of.
Audition – Japanese with subtitles. Overly predictable (save for hallucination sequence that makes little sense) and gory Japanese version of Fatal Attraction. This director's Gozu was a little bit better, though it still displays a fascination on disgust.
Being John Malkovich – Weirdness tries to pass as deepness. Catherine Keener also gives one of the most lifeless performances in unremarkable her career. Jonze should stick to music videos.
Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows – At least it didn't try to completely copy the original, but still a definite flop.
Clan of the Cave Bear – Basically a Hannah vehicle and feminist tract disguised as an anthropological drama with a bad soundtrack to boot. See Quest for Fire instead.
Dark Breed – Predictable. Bad acting. I've seen better special effects on TV shows.
The Dead Hate the Living – And some of the living hate this film..
Die, Monster, Die – Another Lovecraft adaptation for film gone wrong, which is typical.
Get Real – Ridiculous gay film with bad acting and an unbelievable script.
Ghosts of Mars – So so story seed idea turns into a mosh pit on Mars. Even hardcore Natasha Henstridge fans won't find much here.
The Haunted Palace – Bills itself as based on Poe's poem, but it's actually based on Lovecraft's The Strange Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Not as bad as Die, Monster, Die, but still seriously flawed.
He Got Game – I'm not a Spike Lee fan, but this movie was bad even for him. One bit of humor though was the soundtrack – Aaron Copland and Public Enemy. I'll never think of Copland the same way.
The Killers – The 1964 version. Made for TV crap. Bad performances, bad direction, predictable editing, stupid dialogue. I'm glad Siodmak was chosen over Siegel for the 1946 film.
Kiss the Girls – I only saw it because I arrived too late to see something else.
The Lion in Winter – Too anarchronistic and silly to take seriously. O'Toole, as usual, overacts.
Lust for Life – This too Hollywood version of van Gogh's life falls flat. The only redeeming feature is that it showcases many of his paintings. If you want a better film on van Gogh, see Robert Altman's Vincent and Theo.
Mall Rats – Though Kevin Smith might have found it hard to top Clerks, this film just sucked.
Men with Guns – This film failed because it tried to be serious and funny at the same time. Add to this, John Sayles directed it!
Mimic – Roaches takeover NYC. What else is new?
Mission to Mars – As one reviewer put it, "not worth the trip." Decent special effects, but with bad acting and a ridiculous story.
A Month by the Lake – It felt like a month!
Mortal Combat 2: Annihilation – Don't ask!
Mrs. Dalloway – Some have said that Virginia Wolf novels just can't be translated into film. This and Orlando are proof, though the latter was much more exciting.
Nightwatch – This is the American version. I haven't seen the Dutch original. I liked this film when I first saw it, but after watching it again, I have to ask myself if I was drunk, high, or hallucinating. It's predictable and unbelieveable.
Nowhere – Inane kaleidoscope of sex and violence. Director Araki could probably make his point better if he didn't try to make things so symbolic.
Red Planet – Makes Mission to Mars look like a decent film.
The Relic – Stupid from idea to execution.
Reptilicus – Bad story, bad acting, and bad special effects even for its time. The monsters tail, after it thaws out, is partly made of burlap.
The Sheltering Sky – This movie suffers from trying to follow a very internal novel too closely. Still, there are some wonderful camera shots in it.
Sleepy Hollow – Not sleepy given Burton's kinetic cinematography and the everpresent dramatic music, but very hollow given the unconvincing story and mechanical acting.
Sometimes They Come Back For More – Devil worship in the Antarctic should say enough about this mostly boring flick.
Species – This could've been a good film, but came across like a jeans commercial.
Species 2 – Didn't have the clothes ad feel of the first one, but quickly became an H. R. Giger vehicle.
Spirits of the Dead – I expected a lot better from Malle and Fellini. Don't waste your time.
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace – See why money and lots of effects can't make a bad story good.
Star Wars: Attack of the Clones – The Yoda fight scene is the only reason to see any of this slop.
Surviving Picasso – Throughout the entire film, I kept asking why would she stay with him and when will it end.
Terror Toons – Made on a budget of $2300 and it shows.
Total Eclipse – Leonard DeCaprio vehicle. I didn't like it, though it did have some intense scenes.
Virus – Great special effects, but the acting and the story are what's to be expected from mediocre science fiction film.
Year of the Horse – Unless you're an unreconstructed Neil Young fan, this movie will bore you to tears. I saw it with a friend who is big into Young. Needless to say, I am not and probably am less into him after having to sit through this.
Your Friends and Neighbors – Some good scenes, but overall there was no character differentiation.
Zombie 3 – Lots of senseless gore, bad photography, and everpresent fog in search of a plot. Considered to be Fulci's worst film.
Zombie 4 – Ditto.

"... the goal for all art... is to explain to the artist himself and to those around him what man lives for, what is the meaning of his existence. To explain to people the reason for their appearance on this planet; or if not to explain, at least to pose the question." – Andrey Tarkovsky, Sculpting in Time: Reflections on the Cinema