but the film version of The Prestige is excellent, although some people have complained that it (unsurprisingly) simplifies the book's plot quite a bit.

I thought about including No Country, but didnt think it fitted what pulsar was after. But its a great film, so yeah probably should have :) 

More for puslar, trying not to duplicate what's already been suggested:

2001
Audition
Dead Alive
The Great Escape
Hellraiser
Hotel Rwanda
Koyaanisqatsi
Man Bites Dog
Patton
Pitch Black
The Shining
THX 1138

Sorry this list is so short, I had to cull a lot of the movies i like because they were thrillers, martial arts films, cop/crime movies, westerns, samurai films, etc, which didn't really fit your categories. 

If you have to see a movie about the genocide in Rwanda, watch this instead:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0400063/ 

one of them is extremely powerful, the other one is pretty bland (despite some good acting). 

"missing" with Tommy Lee Jones....

its a western. with indian folklore and stuff. 

above average I thought. 

Burn After Reading

Pretty good but could have been better. Indeed could have been a real classic of the genre whatever that genre is. The plot and escalating mess born out of small actions and simple mistakes is excellent and could have set the scene for a film full of gasps and laughs. However for a film relying equally on the behaviour of it's protagonists, many of the characters were weak and simply not distinctive enough nor smartly played enough to do it justice. Tilda Swinton and John Malkovitch were spot on, as was the laconic CIA "boss", but the rest never seemed to capture what they were intending to. Thus making it somewhat leaden until the plot got going and things started to get spicey enough to bring back some interest. 

same thoughts actually. I thought most the performances were fine, but the writing lacked bit far too often.

Burn After Reading (2008) - cant say I am all that disappointed as it turned out pretty much as I expected, a featherweight, inconsequential and occasionally funny film by the Coens where the chief concern seemed to have been to make sure everyone involved was having fun. There are a couple of genuinely hilarious scenes but, personally, I find this to be on the same level as their more unfairly mauled Intolerable Cruelty.

6.5/10


Snow Angels (2007) - bleak look at small town America from David Gordon Green that reaches some great heights at times but also comes down from there just as quickly to mediocrity far too often. The performances are strong throughout, even the usually inert Kate Beckinsale, but the film peaks about halfway through and then just peters out predictably despite plenty of scope to explore some more interesting territory.

6.5/10


Woman in the Dunes (1964) - Akira Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai has finally been toppled as my favorite Japanese film by this corker from Hiroshi Teshigahara. A plot summary will not do it justice, as most of the greatness lies in the character exploration, the setting of the mood and the absolutely amazing technical mastery. But, generally, the movie is about an entomologist who gets stranded in the sand dunes and decides to seek shelter in the nearby villages and is given shelter by a young woman who lives alone.

What follows is a mesmerising combination of a surrealistic nightmare and the harsh realities and oppressiveness of life in a sand pit, mixed with a good deal of existentialism, escape drama and carnal attraction. An extremely accomplished and very memorable piece of filmmaking.

9/10


Superman (1978) - hadnt seen it in its entirety before and now that I have, I cant say its all that much better than the unfairly maligned Superman Returns. Sure, the acting is better by Christopher Reeves, Gene Hackman and Margot Kidder but despite the long running time and admirable attempt to make a mythic epic, the characterisations of clark kent and lois lane are still pretty one dimensional. That said, it's a whole lot of fun which even a rather silly ending cant ruin.

7/10


Mr Smith Goes to Washington (1939) - I'm really beginning to warm to Capra and this is definitely one of his best. What should have been a really sentimental, over patriotic and hokey film instead comes across as genuinely charming and inspirational thanks to the performances and Capra's infusion of humour at appropriate stages. But what really makes it work is Claude Rains, an extremely underrated actor, who turns a rather difficult role into the most sympathetic character in the film.

8/10


The Shop Around the Corner (1940) - cant say there is anything really wrong with this Lubitsch comedy/drama but it just felt inconsequential. It is more of drama than a comedy (which is not what I was expecting) and whilst it works in that regard, its not exactly anything memorable in the dramatic department. Still, well made, lightweight fluff.

6/10


Lolita (1962) - not sure how exactly it was intended by Kubrick but it definitely works as a black comedy. There is some attempt at drama but the movie is just far too detached from its characters for it to make any emotional impact and also undermines many of its dramatic moments with too many sly jokes. That's not necessarily too detrimental because a lot of them are quite funny, particularly whenever Peter Sellers is involved, but anyone expecting anything serious and substantial from this will be heavily disappointed.

6.5/10


The Dead (1987) - the final film from John Huston and it's a great movie to end a great career. Adapted from James Joyce' short story, the movie is primarily a period piece set at a dinner in early twentieth century Dublin where the conversations and mood evoke different feelings in the various attendees. Huston's spare and focused style makes for a very interesting contrast to someone like Robert Altman who had a very distinct method of capturing multiple characters and conversation in an overlapping fashion. Huston's method works exceedingly well here, although he is ably helped by excellent performances and also Joyce's wonderful use of words. The last 20 minutes or so are pretty much perfect.

8/10 

Quantum of Solace

More like Quantum of BALLace, am I rite?
Wait wait, this has just come to me, the next Wallace and Gromit film better be called Quantum of Wallace. That would rock my world. This film didn't. First time I've ever seen a film and been bored during 1 a boat chase, 2 a plane chase, 3 a car chase and 4 an explosion. That's right, during this film I actually got bored DURING an explosion. 

about 3 eps in so far, but hands down the best thing on tv for me at the moment. 

The Small Back Room (1949) - interesting little film from Powell and Pressburger that is a WWII based film on the surface as it looks at the 'back room boys' who conducted military research into weapons and bombs, but is really a character drama through and through with David Farrar playing an embittered, self-loathing man who is constantly battling his own self doubts and his addiction to alcohol. The character driven parts of the film are far more successful than that part of the story focused on the investigation into mysterious booby trapped bombs dropped by the germans into England.

6.5/10


Sansho the Bailiff (1954) - another film from Kenji Mizoguchi that I like but dont really get what all the fuss is about. Sure, its well made, brilliantly shot and features an involving story but I dont quite agree that its the classic that it is widely held to be. Its message is hammered home and there's a sense of inertness about the whole thing that keeps you at a distance from all the suffering piled on to the characters. Still, this is quite an effective piece of filmmaking about a family torn apart in feudal Japan but who remain unbroken in spirit till the very end. The attention to detail is first rate as are some of the restrained scenes of off screen violence which transcend the rest of the film in their ability to make the viewer feel.

7/10


Panic in the Streets (1950) - one of the many great things about film noir is that, during its heyday, almost every director made one, resulting in a genre full of films with many different individual styles. This one was made by Elia Kazan and shares many of the strengths that he displayed in his later On the Waterfront. A terrific, tense thriller rife with great camerawork, excellent characterisations and visceral direction that paces everything to perfection.

7.5/10


Harvey (1950) - likeable farcical comedy, although some of the characters can get a bit annoying at times, with James Stewart playing an alcoholic who has a 6 ft 3 best friend that is a giant rabbit called Harvey (ie the movie Donnie Darko took some inspiration from). Of course everyone around him puts it down to his alcoholism and, to a lesser extent, childhood trauma leading to some pretty cleverly executed set pieces that are quite funny. Doesnt quite manage to maintain its zany momentum all the way through, but, paraphrasing the movie, it's pleasant if not smart.

6.5-7/10


Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948) - pretty average melodrama from Max Ophuls starring Joan Fontaine (in an extension of her Rebecca and Jane Eyre roles) as an extremely na�ve young woman besotted by not so na�ve musician in Vienna.

Apart from some nice camerawork, it just didn�t work for me. The characterisation and actions of Fontaine's character were just a bit too hard to believe and so was the very convenient redemption character arc for the musician character at the end.

5.5/10


Transsiberian (2008) - The term 'hitchcockian' is thrown around a bit too much these days but Brad Anderson definitely knows what it means. He demonstrated that in The Machinist and he demonstrates it here again in an entertaining train story involving an unsuspecting couple on an adventurous train trip from Beijing to Moscow.

The second half plotting leaves a bit to be desired and the pacing is also a bit uneven (the first half an hour of the movie is pure characterisation which would generally be welcome but not when it is at the complete expense of any forward momentum). But offsetting those flaws is Anderson's real grip on suspense and atmosphere and strong performances from Emily Mortimer, Woody Harrelson and Ben Kingsley.

6.5/10


The Mark of Zorro (1940) - not a great film by any means but definitely more entertaining than the Banderas & Zeta Jones version. Tyrone Power is much more charming in the Zorro role than Banderas' annoying turn and this version is also paced heaps better than the remake. There's too many one dimensional characters though for it to be anything more than just pleasant entertainment.

6/10 

Blazing Saddles (1974) - Apart from the original The Producers, I don�t find Mel Brooks' stuff funny. It might be the odd mixture of the clever and the crude but it generally never quite works for me at all. And this is the same, I could admire some of the joke setups but that's about it.

4.5/10


Young Frankenstein (1974) - this one is even cleverer than Blazing Saddles at times but once again I just didn�t find it funny.

4.5/10


Funny Games (2008) - Michael Haneke's original version of this was a good, if flawed, film. This remake has been criticised quite a lot for being an unnecessary shot for shot update but I don�t think that's the main problem with it.

The main problem is that the dialogue and characterisations which came across as very natural and realistic in the original simply don�t have the same effect when transplanted into an American setting (despite the best efforts of Tim Roth, Naomi Watts and Michael Pitt in the acting department). Consequently, the realistic tone and that the original movie relied so heavily on for effect is lacking and is replaced by a stilted and forced one which renders the whole experience quite perplexing.

3/10


The Fire Within (1963) - Louis Malle's bleak film about an ex-alcoholic who becomes disconnected with the world during the detox process and struggles to reconnect once 'cured'. Despite its one-note bleakness, it manages to involve the audience to a great degree and evoke sympathy for its main character through a combination of excellent acting and some very tightly controlled direction which is able to place you in the head of the main character during crucial parts of the film.

7-7.5/10


Dog Soldiers (2003) - An earlier, more low budget effort from Neil Marshall, who made the great The Descent, and although it is a reasonably effective B horror movie about werewolves in the Scottish highlands, the lack of budget is clearly constraining on the material which resorts to quick edits and darkness obscured shots too often to cover it up. Otherwise, it�s a pretty nifty little movie with some nice humour.

5.5-6/10


Double Suicide (1969) - just when you think you've seen it all, something like this comes along. Absolutely bizarre japanese film shot in the manner of a puppet show but with live actors replacing the puppets. Everything else though is as it would be in a puppetshow (eg sets utilising a lot of paper/cardboard and 'invisible' puppetmasters assisting with rearranging of props mid scene to set up the next one). It's an interesting technique especially when combined with the unique cinematography but its also very very distracting, so much so that I was completely disconnected with the story and the characters.

5/10


Sisters (1973) - is Brian DePalma the most frustrating director ever? Here's yet another movie that's pretty well made and with some very impressive sequences but once again is let down by a very substandard script (that de palma wrote). Worth watching for the first 2/3 and although the last 1/3 isnt terrible its very very disappointing in its execution.

5.5/10


The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) - probably William Wyler's best film that I have seen. Everyone involved seems to be aware of the strength of the material and so no one really tries to overplay any aspect of it which works in the movie's favour because it ends up being earnest without appearing to do so and affecting without resorting to oversentimentality. And despite being a 3 hr film, I think the script is a good example of a lean and direct screenplay that does not contain any padding or unnecessary scenes. Its also masterfully short by Greg Tolland with some great use of deep focus is key scenes.

8/10


Get Smart Season 1 - I used to really like it as a kid and although it's not quite as funny now its still surprisingly funnier than I thought it would be. Some of the spy satire stuff is hilarious.

Its also interesting watching something like this, which was obviously not intended to be watched consecutively on dvd but only once a week, and seeing how repetitive it is. Completely different to how a lot of tv is now made.

6.5/10 

Patlabor (1989) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100339/
Nice! You must not be afraid of anime though, some scenes are a bit weird and the music, oh well...
The story is really great, the style too. It was kinda hard to follow for me (watched the english dub and did not understand much of the first important minutes). Recommended if you like such movies.


Is the tv series watchable? I'd like less robots for sure, heh. 

Rocco and His Brothers (1960) - the second greatest italian film I have come across, Vicsonti's movie deals with a family from the south that moves to the industrial north and is slowly disintegrated by its different rules and necessities. It should be, but never is, a distracting and curious blend of neo realism and melodrama but Visconti handles it with very restrained and subtle direction that prevents a clash of styles. The performances across the board are excellent and the film manages to realistically show the lives of distinct people at a particular time in Italy's history and also have characters that are universally recognisable at the same time.

8-8.5/10


Kiss Me Deadly (1955) - quintessential film noir that rides on exceptional direction and scripting to cover up a routine plot and average performances. Robert Aldrich and his scriptwriter go out of their way, and with tremendous success, to make sure each shot and each character is memorable and relevant. Shame about the performances because better acting would have propelled this to sit with the greats.

Also, it is obviously something that Tarantino, Lynch and Spielberg all admire as there are direct references in at least Pulp Fiction, Lost Highway and Raiders of the Lost Ark.

7.5/10


This is England (2007) - Funny, touching but also disturbing movie set in 80's England and focusing on a particular part of the childhood of a 12 year called Shaun who, due to circumstances, becomes involved with a neo nazi group of teenagers who become his friends.

From there on, it's a bit of a rollercoaster ride as Shaun first appreciates, then is confused by and eventually doubts his new found friends and what they stand for. Shane Meadows' objective view of the topic from the point of view of an unpopular 12 yr old is a refreshing and personal take on the material that is not for everyone but well worth watching.

7-7.5/10


Mad Men Season One - Most definitely the best show (not) on tv. Set in 1960's New York and utilising the lives of advertising executives as a way of exploring the psyche, makeup and fabric of America at a time when prosperity and success masked and repressed identity and a darker world, the show is as good as any of the drama heavyweights that have come and gone in recent years.

The attention to period detail is superb, the multitude of characters very interesting and the show also benefits from a delicious strain of blink and you miss it understated humour.

8-8.5/10


Shanghai Express (1932) - probably the best of the Josef Von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich collaborations, this is a great little movie that works equally well as a thriller and a drama. Dietrich is at her iconic best here, magnetic in every scene and every shot, and von Sternberg has a field day with a pre-code script that he brings to life with vivid imagery and precision. I personally found the very end to be a little problematic in terms of believability but everything else is of a very high standard.

7.5/10


You Cant Take it With You (1938) - the first real misfire from Capra that I have come across which apart from a few scenes is too reliant on eccentricity for its drive (in much the same way as the Coen bros can be guilty of). Most of the characters are poorly etched and the scripting, save a few great lines, is predictable both in its plotting and its tone.

5/10


Vagabond (1985) - sort of like the nihilistic european version of Into the Wild, and faring only slightly better in my book (mainly because even though the main character is a twat, she's not turned into some sort of idol like in Penn's film). Agnes Varda has a very distracting and noticeable style which disconnects you from the material at crucial stages and despite some very good acting, particularly from Sandrine Bonnaire in the title role as a female drifter in self-imposed exile, its hard to really care about what's happening. However, there are some inspired scenes, including one involving some sort of strange french town ritual that will definitely make you sit up and take notice.

5.5-6/10 

proper comments later but fuck this is good! 

 

before finishing the first one :) 

imdb comment: ... The best thing about this movie are probably the CGI generated cats, that feature of this movie deserves huge praise. The CGI shows that this director is capable of making really great movies but he needs to use it a lot more. I understand that they did not have enough money but I hope that the next movie will at least have 50% of the scenes with some form of CGI. That's all from me. :D

for this weird thing http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1139797/ It has fantastic ratings and comments, but i don't get why at all. pacing / shockers don't work at all for me, or anyone in the cinema. I couldn't really care less about the shallow characters; some of the supports were nicer, though. The 'coming of age' story is clichee at best, and the vampire stuff naturally is the same, and mostly doesn't fit into the story at all. The only purpose of the plot seems to be support of the finale - it doesn't offer anything over the course of the movie besides the occasional WTF. pictures/sound were okish, but nothing stood out, really. The shocker scenes were mostly.. laughable, because everything else was that much like a child-movie. It's basically shocker-10mins of child-story-shocker-repeat

Everyone in the cinema continued joking and laughing at the movie (though it didn't intend to be funny at all, i think).

Somehow i'd still rate it a 4/10 though. weird. 

joking and laughing about the movie :) 

from usually reliable sources. Very curious about it, especially after your comments. 

the only thing i'd heard of it is that i should see that instead of Twilight. 

usually i like unusual movies, and i also like slow paced movies (25th hour is my favorite movie, and it's quite slow imho). This one MIGHT have been off to a bad start, because everyone in the cinema was constantly WTFing right from the start, but i don't know. should probably rewatch it, just that it wasn't particularly entertaining :( 

among my favorite movies, too. Really love the pacing and the atmosphere as well as the acting in that one. 

25th hour was great. I should watch that again. 

Assassination (1967)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061367/

This movie would be great if there was a plot a human mind could follow and understand. Feels like if the script was complex and meant for a book rather than a movie. (Or like a director trying to put a overly complex book into 90 minutes of film.) A shame, really.