.. -*- coding: utf-8 -*- ========================================== `David Goodger’s <../>`__ DVD Collection ========================================== :Contact: goodger@python.org :Updated: $Date: 2013-05-20 17:11:15 -0500 (Mon, 20 May 2013) $ .. (query-replace-regexp "[ ]+\\.\\.\\..+[\012]+[ ]+" ", ") .. (query-replace-regexp " .+[\012].+[\012]" ", ") .. Note:: * **This list is not up to date; last updated in 2012.** * “IMDb” stands for the `Internet Movie Database `__, a great resource. * Unless otherwise noted, `Canadian home video ratings`__ are shown (G, PG, 14A, 18A, R). Other rating systems include the `Canadian Television Ratings System`__ (CAN-TV), and the American MPAA__ and `U.S. TV Parental Guidelines`__ (US-TV). In Canada, each province has its own film classification system. The `Québec film classification system`__ applies to movies on DVD and in theatres where I live. __ http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/ ratings_classification_systems/video_ratings/can_home_video_ratings.cfm __ http://www.cbsc.ca/english/agvot/ratings.php __ http://www.mpaa.org/FlmRat_Ratings.asp __ http://www.tvguidelines.org/ratings.htm __ http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/ratings_classification_systems/film_classification/pq_film_classification.cfm * Plot outlines have been adapted from DVD covers and IMDb’s pages. Here’s my `wish list`_ for anybody who would like to help me expand my collection. Many of these films contain hidden features, some of which I’ve collected in my `easter eggs file`_. .. _wish list: wish-list.html#dvds .. _Amazon.ca wish list: http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/registry/200YG9OZEZWBW .. _FutureShop.ca: http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&langid=EN&dept=0 .. _easter eggs file: dvd_easter_eggs.html .. contents:: 12 Monkeys ========== A warped, twisted, and brilliant film from the director that brought us `Brazil` and `Time Bandits`. Rewards multiple viewings with fresh insights and details. :Released: 1995 :Genre: drama/thriller/SF :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h10m :Rating: 14A :Edition: “Collector’s Edition” :Director: Terry Gilliam :Screenplay: David Webb Peoples & Janet Peoples; inspired by the film “La Jetée” by Chris Marker :Starring: Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt, Christopher Plummer :Plot: A convict, sent back in time to stop a devastating plague, is sent too far back and is hospitalized as insane. :Links: `IMDb `__ 300 === Powerful, raw, heroic, ultra-violent, stunning, and brilliant. An impeccable, immensely entertaining adaptation. :Released: 2007 :Genre: action/drama/history/war :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h56m :Rating: 18A :Edition: “Two-Disc Special Edition” :Features: commentary, featurettes, deleted scenes :Director: Zack Snyder :Screenplay: Zack Snyder & Kurt Johnstad and Michael B. Gordon, based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley :Starring: Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Dominic West, David Wenham, Vincent Regan, Michael Fassbender :Plot: Xerxes and the enormous army of the Persian Empire are poised to conquer Greece. King Leonidas and his band of 300 Spartan warriors must hold the pass at Thermopylae at all costs. :Links: `IMDb `__, `easter egg `__, 2001: A Space Odyssey ===================== A classic. :Released: 1968 :Genre: SF/adventure :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h28m :Rating: PG :Edition: “Stanley Kubrick Collection” :Director: Stanley Kubrick :Screenplay: Stanley Kubrick & Arthur C. Clarke :Starring: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Douglas Rain (voice) :Plot: The assisted evolution of intelligence, the discovery of a sentinel, and an eventful mission to Jupiter to investigate. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Adventures of Baron Munchausen ================================== :Released: 1988 :Genre: action/adventure/comedy :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h7m :Rating: PG :Edition: 20th Anniversary Edition (2 discs) :Features: commentary, documentary, storyboard sequences, deleted scenes :Director: Terry Gilliam :Screenplay: Charles McKeown & Terry Gilliam :Starring: John Neville, Eric Idle, Sarah Polley, Oliver Reed, Uma Thurman, Jonathan Pryce, Bill Paterson, Charles McKeown, Robin Williams, Sting (cameo) :Plot: The fantastic tale of an 18th century aristocrat, his talented henchmen and a little girl in their efforts to save a town from defeat by the Turks. Being swallowed by a giant sea-monster, a trip to the moon, a dance with Venus and an escape from the Grim Reaper are only some of the improbable adventures. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension! ============================================================== Fun, funny, intelligent, and silly. An SF/comedy classic. Requires multiple viewings and a bit of the geek nature to get all the jokes. Great lines. :Released: 1984 :Genre: adventure/romance/comedy/SF :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h42m :Rating: PG :Edition: “Special Edition” :Features: commentary, alternate opening, deleted scenes, documentaries, easter eggs :Director: W.D. Richter :Screenplay: Earl Mac Rauch :Starring: Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin, Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Lloyd :Plot: Adventurer/surgeon/physicist/rock musician Buckaroo Banzai and his band of men, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, take on evil alien invaders from the 8th dimension. :Links: `IMDb `__, `DVDReview.com `__, `easter eggs `__, `Banzai Institute `__, `FAQ `__, `Starland (merchandise) `__ Æon Flux ========= I had heard how bad this film was supposed to be. It was reviled by fans of the original series of animated shorts. Movie critics panned the film (once they were allowed to see it; it wasn’t pre-screened). I was ready to agree when I caught it on cable TV. But I liked it. It’s nowhere near perfect, but it’s not bad at all. Never having seen the animated series, I wasn’t biased in any existing direction. I can understand the disappointment of true fans, but a feature film is a different medium from experimental shorts. The story may be too high-concept, complex, and serious for the typical “SF action” fan. The action is cool, but there’s not enough of it to call this an action movie. The story is hard SF with ideas, set in a utopian/dystopian future. I hope a director’s cut is released someday; I’d love to see it. We’re meant to die. It’s what makes anything about us matter. -- Æon :AKA: Aeon Flux :Released: 2005 :Genre: action/adventure/drama/romance/SF/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h32m :Rating: 14A :Edition: “Special Collector’s Edition” :Features: commentaries, featurettes :Director: Karyn Kusama :Screenplay: Phil Hay & Matt Manfredi, based on characters by Peter Chung :Starring: Charlize Theron, Marton Csokas, Jonny Lee Miller, Sophie Okonedo, Frances McDormand, Pete Postlethwaite :Plot: Aeon Flux is a highly-trained assassin working for a group of rebels trying to overthrow the government of a future “utopia”. Sent on a mission to kill the Chairman, a clue from her forgotten past is revealed and the true nature of her world is revealed. :Links: `IMDb `__ After Hours =========== :Released: 1985 :Genre: comedy/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h37m :Rating: 18A :Features: commentary, documentary, deleted scenes :Director: Martin Scorsese :Screenplay: Joseph Minion :Starring: Griffin Dunne, Rosanna Arquette, Verna Bloom, Tommy Chong, Linda Fiorentino, Teri Garr, John Heard, Cheech Marin, Catherine O’Hara :Plot: An ordinary word processor has the worst night of his life after he agrees to visit a girl in Soho whom he met that evening at a coffee shop. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Alien Quadrilogy ==================== Alien_ is great horror/SF, and Aliens_ is great action/SF. The third and fourth films don’t really compare, but it’s nice to have them for completeness. (I don’t know about `AVP`; haven’t seen it yet.) And we’ll just overlook the fact that “quadrilogy” isn’t even a real word (“tetralogy” is correct, if awkward). Each of the `Alien` films has a theatrical version and an alternate or “director’s cut”. Runtimes and some ratings differ between the two versions. The information for the two versions is shown slash-separated, as “theatrical/alternate”. :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Edition: “Alien Quadrilogy” boxed set (9 discs) :Features: 2 discs per film: disc 1 contains the films with commentaries, and disc 2 contains featurettes and extras. Plus there’s an extra disk with a documentary, a Q&A with Ridley Scott, and archives. Alien ----- Groundbreaking horror/SF. Its success stems from suspense due to its restraint |---| we don’t actually see the alien until quite late in the film. :Released: 1979 :Genre: SF/horror/thriller :Runtime: 1h57m/1h56m :Rating: 18A/14A :Director: Ridley Scott :Screenplay: Dan O’Bannon; story by Dan O’Bannon & Ronald Shusett :Starring: Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Yaphet Kotto :Plot: When commercial towing vehicle Nostromo, heading back to Earth, intercepts an SoS signal from a nearby planet, the crew are under obligation to investigate. After a bad landing on the planet, some crew members leave the ship to explore the area. At the same time as they discover a hive colony of some unknown creature, the ship’s computer deciphers the message to be a warning, not a call for help. When one of the eggs is disturbed, the crew do not know the danger they are in until it is too late. :Links: `IMDb `__, `DVDReview.com `__ Aliens ------ Great action; a worthy sequel. :Released: 1986 :Genre: SF/action/thriller/horror :Runtime: 2h17m/2h34m :Rating: 18A :Director: James Cameron :Screenplay: James Cameron; story by James Cameron, David Giler &, Walter Hill; based on characters by Dan O’Bannon & Ronald Shusett :Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, Paul Reiser, Bill Paxton, William Hope, Jenette Goldstein, Al Matthews :Plot: The only survivor of the Nostromo, Ripley is discovered in deep sleep half a century later by a salvage ship. When she is taken back to Earth, she learns that a human colony was founded on the same planet where the aliens were first found. After contact with the colony is lost, she finds herself sent back to the planet along with a team of warriors bent on destroying the alien menace forever, and saving any survivors |---| if any remain. :Links: `IMDb `__, `easter eggs `__ Alien³ ------ :Released: 1992 :Genre: action/horror/SF/thriller/drama :Runtime: 1h54m/2h25m :Rating: 18A :Director: David Fincher :Screenplay: David Giler, Walter Hill, & Larry Ferguson; story by Vincent Ward; characters by Dan O’Bannon & Ronald Shusett :Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Charles S. Dutton, Charles Dance :Plot: After escaping from the alien planet, the ship carrying Ellen Ripley crashes onto a remote prison colony. While awaiting rescue, Ripley discovers the horrifying reason for her crash: an alien stowaway. As the alien matures and begins to kill off the inhabitants, Ripley is unaware that her true enemy is more than just the killer alien. :Links: `IMDb `__ Alien: Resurrection ------------------- :Released: 1997 :Genre: SF/action/horror/thriller :Runtime: 1h49/1h56 :Rating: 18A :Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet :Screenplay: Joss Whedon; characters by Dan O’Bannon & Ronald Shusett :Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder, Dominique Pinon, Ron Perlman, Gary Dourdan, Michael Wincott, Kim Flowers, Dan Hedaya, J.E. Freeman, Brad Dourif :Plot: 200 years after her death, Ellen Ripley is revived as a research clone who finds that she must continue her war against the aliens. :Links: `IMDb `__ Alien Vs. Predator ================== Not a good movie. Eye candy worth $6. :AKA: AVP :Released: 2004 :Genre: action/adventure/horror/SF/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h49m :Rating: 14A :Edition: “The Unrated Edition” (2 discs) :Features: theatrical & unrated extended cuts; commentaries; featurettes; documentary; comic book :Director: Paul W.S. Anderson :Screenplay: Paul W.S. Anderson; screen story by Paul W.S. Anderson and Dan O’Bannon & Ronald Shusett :Starring: Sanaa Lathan, Raoul Bova, Lance Henriksen, Ewen Bremner :Plot: The discovery of an ancient pyramid buried in Antarctica sends a team of scientists and adventurers to the frozen continent. There, they make an even more terrifying discovery: two alien races engaged in an all-out war. :Links: `IMDb `__ Altered States ============== Cool ideas, dated effects. Worth the price ($9CDN), but not much more. :Released: 1980 :Genre: drama/horror/SF :Format: widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h43m :Rating: 14A :Director: Ken Russell :Screenplay: Paddy Chayefsky (a.k.a. Sidney Aaron) from his novel :Starring: William Hurt, Blair Brown, Bob Balaban, Charles Haid :Plot: A Harvard scientist conducts experiments on himself with a hallucinatory drug and an isolation chamber, allowing him to access genetic memory, but it may be causing him to regress genetically. :Links: `IMDb `__ Amadeus ======= Gift from Mayumi, birthday 2008. :Released: 1984 :Genre: drama/music :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 3h0m :Rating: 14A (not sure why; G/Quebec) :Edition: “Special Edition Director’s Cut” (2 discs) :Features: documentary, commentary :Director: Milos Forman :Screenplay: Peter Shaffer :Starring: F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge, Simon Callow, Roy Dotrice, Christine Ebersole, Jeffrey Jones, Charles Kay, Kenneth McMillan :Plot: In 1781 Vienna, court composer Antonio Salieri is maddened with envy after discovering that the divine musical gifts he desires for himself have been bestowed on he bawdy impish Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whom he plots to destroy by any means necessar. :Links: `IMDb `__ American Splendor ================= :Released: 2003 :Genre: drama/comedy :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h41m :Rating: PG :Features: commentary; comic book insert :Director: Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini :Screenplay: Robert Pulcini & Shari Springer Berman; based on the comic book series “American Splendor” by Harvey Pekar and “Our Cancer Year” by Harvey Pekar and Joyce Brabner :Starring: Paul Giamatti, Hope Davis, Harvey Pekar :Plot: An original mix of fiction and reality illuminates the life of comic book hero everyman Harvey Pekar. :Links: `IMDb `__, `easter eggs `__ An American Werewolf in London ============================== A great blend of humor and horror. :Released: 1981 :Genre: horror/comedy/romance/thriller :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h38m :Rating: R :Edition: “Collector’s Edition” :Features: commentary, featurettes, extras :Director: John Landis :Screenplay: John Landis :Starring: David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Gruffin Dunne, John Woodvine :Plot: It’s a rainy night on the moors of northern England. Two American students on a walking tour of Europe trudge on to the next town, when suddenly the air is pierced by an unearthly howl... Three weeks later, one is dead, the other is in the hospital, and the nightmare begins. :Links: `IMDb `__, `DVDReview.com `__, `easter eggs `__ And Now For Something Completely Different ========================================== Extremely funny & silly. :Released: 1971 :Genre: comedy :Format: anamorphic widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h30m :Rating: G/Quebec :Director: Ian MacNaughton :Screenplay: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin :Starring: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Carol Cleveland, Connie Booth :Plot: An anthology of Monty Python’s best sketches from their 1st & 2nd seasons of their original TV show. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Andromeda Strain ==================== An SF classic. :Released: 1971 :Genre: SF/mystery :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 2h11m :Rating: PG :Director: Robert Wise :Screenplay: Nelson Gidding, from the novel by Michael Crichton :Starring: Arthur Hill, David Wayne, James Olson, Kate Reid :Plot: After an errant satellite crashes to Earth near a remote New Mexico village, the recovery team discovers that almost everyone in the town are victims of a horrible death, with the mysterious exception of an infant and an old homeless man. The survivors are brought to a state-of-the-art laboratory, descending five stories beneath the ground where the puzzled scientists race against time to determine the nature of the deadly microbe before it wreaks worldwide havoc. :Links: `IMDb `__ Angel Heart =========== :Released: 1987 :Genre: horror/mystery/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h52m :Rating: R/MPAA :Edition: “Special Edition” :Features: commentaries, interviews, documentaries :Director: Alan Parker :Screenplay: Alan Parker, based on a novel by William Hjortsberg :Starring: Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet, Charlotte Rampling :Plot: Investigator Harry Angel has a new case, to find a man called Johnny Favourite. Except things aren’t quite that simple, and Johnny doesn’t want to be found. :Links: `IMDb `__ Animal House ============ A classic comedy. :AKA: National Lampoon’s Amimal House :Released: 1978 :Genre: comedy :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h49m :Rating: 18A :Edition: “Double Secret Probation Edition” :Features: mockumentary, music video :Director: John Landis :Screenplay: Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney, Chris Miller :Starring: John Belushi, Tim Matheson, John Vernon, Verna Bloom, Tom Hulce :Plot: At a 1962 College, Dean Vernon Wormer is determined to expel the Delta House Fraternity, but those roughhousers have other plans for him. :Links: `IMDb `__ Bagdad Café =========== Quirky and fun. :AKA: Out of Rosenheim :Released: 1987 :Genre: comedy/drama :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h32m :Rating: PG :Features: trailer :Director: Percy Adlon :Screenplay: Percy & Eleonore Adlon & Christopher Doherty :Starring: Marianne Sägebrecht, CCH Pounder, Jack Palance :Plot: Drawn to a pair of lights in the barren American desert sky, a mysterious German woman, Jasmin, stumbles upon a dilapidated motel/diner in the middle of nowhere. Her unusual appearance and demeanor are at first suspicious to Brenda, the exasperated owner who has difficulty making ends meet. :Links: `IMDb `__ Barbarella ========== One of the campiest films ever. Jane Fonda is at her pinup-girl height (or depth) and looked *great* when this was released |---| the year I was born. :AKA: Barbarella: Queen of the Galaxy :Released: 1968 :Genre: adventure/SF/fantasy :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h38m :Rating: 14A :Features: trailer :Director: Roger Vadim :Screenplay: Terry Southern, from the comic by Jean-Claude Forest with Claude Brulé :Starring: Jane Fonda, John Phillip Law, Anita Pallenberg, Milo O’Shea, Marcel Marceau :Plot: In the far future, a highly sexual woman is tasked with finding and stopping the evil Durand-Durand. Along the way she encounters various unusual people. :Links: `IMDb `__ Beetlejuice =========== A gift to Erika, Christmas 2008. :Released: 1988 :Genre: comedy/fantasy :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h32m :Rating: PG :Edition: “20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition” :Features: 3 episodes of animated series, music-only audio track :Director: Tim Burton :Screenplay: Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren :Starring: Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Jeffrey Jones, Catherine O’Hara, Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton :Plot: A recently-deceased ghost couple contract the services of a “bio-exorcist” in order to remove the obnoxious new owners of their house. :Links: `IMDb `__ Beowulf ======= Gift from Kaito & Erika, birthday 2008. :Released: 2007 :Genre: action/adventure/drama/fantasy :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h54m :Rating: 14A :Edition: “Director’s Cut” :Features: deleted scenes, featurettes, three 3-D trading cards :Director: Robert Zemeckis :Screenplay: Neil Gaiman & Roger Avary :Starring: Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn, Brendan Gleeson, Crispin Glover, Alison Lohman, Angelina Jolie :Plot: The warrior Beowulf must fight and defeat the monster Grendel who is terrorizing towns, and later, Grendel’s mother, who begins killing out of revenge. :Links: `IMDb `__, `easter eggs `__ Big === “Do you mean sleep over? Well, okay... but I get to be on top!” :Released: 1988 :Genre: comedy/drama/family/fantasy/romance :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h44m :Rating: PG :Director: Penny Marshall :Screenplay: Gary Ross & Anne Spielberg :Starring: Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia, John Heard, Jared Rushton :Plot: When a boy wishes to be big at a magic wish machine, he wakes up the next morning and finds himself in an adult body literally overnight. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Big Lebowski ================ “That rug really tied the room together.” :Released: 1998 :Genre: comedy/crime/mystery :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h57m :Rating: 18A :Edition: “Collector’s Edition” :Features: Jeff Bridges’ Photography, “Making of” featurette :Director: Joel Coen :Screenplay: Ethan Coen & Joel Coen :Starring: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, David Huddleston, Philip Seymour Hoffman :Plot: “Dude” Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire Lebowski, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it. :Links: `IMDb `__ Big Trouble in Little China =========================== A lot of fun. An fantasy/comedy classic. Contains many great lines and exchanges; here’s a sample: It’s all in the reflexes. -- Jack Burton Would you just stop rubbing your body up against mine, because I can’t concentrate when you do that. -- Jack Burton to Gracie Law A brave man likes the feel of nature on his face. *And a wise man has enough sense to get out of the rain!* -- Wang Chi & *Egg Shen* Ready? I was BORN ready. -- Jack Burton Who are these people? Friends of yours? Now this really pisses me off to no end! -- Lo Pan Are you crazy, is that your problem? -- Jack Burton *And Ching Dai will be happy and my curse will be lifted!* And you go off and rule the universe from beyond the grave. *Indeed!* Or check into a psycho ward, whichever comes first, huh? -- Jack Burton & *Lo Pan* A much cheaper 1-disc edition is available. :Released: 1986 :Genre: action/fantasy/adventure/comedy :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h39m :Rating: 14A :Edition: 2-disc “Special Edition” :Features: commentary, deleted scenes, featurette, extras :Director: John Carpenter :Screenplay: Gary Goldman & David Z. Weinstein, adapted by W.D. Richter :Starring: Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun, James Hong, Victor Wong :Plot: Jack Burton, an All-American trucker, gets dragged into a centuries-old mystical battle in Chinatown. :Links: `IMDb `__, `DVDReview.com `__, `easter eggs `__, `The Wing Kong Exchange `__ Bionicle: Mask of Light ======================= For Kaito, March 2007. Found it second-hand in Dallas. :Released: 2003 :Genre: animation/action/adventure/fantasy :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h14m :Rating: PG/MPAA :Features: commentary; deleted scenes; featurette :Director: David Molina & Terry Shakespeare :Screenplay: Henry Gilroy, Alastair Swinnerton, Bob Thompson, Greg Weisman, Tracy Berna :Plot: The spirit that protects the islands of Mata Nui is put into a deep sleep, causing the islands to crumble into the ocean, and three islanders must use the Mask of Light to save it. :Links: `IMDb `__ Birdy ===== Tragic and comic; the last minute pays for all. An excellent soundtrack by Peter Gabriel consists of instrumental versions of songs from his 3rd & 4th solo albums. :Released: 1984 :Genre: drama/war :Format: anamorphic widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 2h :Rating: R/MPAA :Director: Alan Parker :Screenplay: Sandy Kroopf and Jack Behr, based on the novel by William Wharton :Starring: Matthew Modine, Nicolas Cage :Plot: Two young men are seriously affected by the Vietnam war. One of them has always been obsessed with birds |---| but now believes he really is a bird, and has been sent to a mental hospital. His friend tries help him pull through. :Links: `IMDb `__ Blade Runner ============ Brutal. Beautiful. Moving. Stunning. Compelling. Magnificent. A cinematic masterpiece: visuals, music, and emotion. Many love it, others don’t get it. It’s a classic. I saw it in the theater in 1982, and from the first scene, the “Hades” flyover with Vangelis’ music, I was blown away. It’s very different in plot details from Philip K. Dick’s novel, but it captures the essence very well (unlike most other PKD adaptations). My copy of the “Director’s Cut” was a gift from Mayumi, spring 2003. My “Ultimate Collector’s Edition” (“limited edition gift set”: a briefcase containing a model spinner, a plastic origami unicorn, a motion film clip, and an art folio) was a gift from Mayumi, Christmas 2007. :Released: 1982, 1992, 2007 :Genre: action/SF/drama :Format: widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h57m :Rating: 14A :Edition: “Five-Disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition” :Features: 5 versions of the film (1982 US Theatrical Cut, 1982 International Theatrical Cut, 1992 Director’s Cut, pre-release workprint, 2007 Final Cut), commentaries, “Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner” documentary (3h34m), “Enhancement Archive” disc, featurette :Director: Ridley Scott :Screenplay: Hampton Fancher & David Peoples, from the novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by Philip K. Dick :Starring: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos, M. Emmet Walsh, Daryl Hannah, William Sanderson, Brion James, Joe Turkel, Joanna Cassidy, James Hong, Morgan Paull :Plot: Deckard, a blade runner, has to track down and terminate 5 replicants who hijacked a ship in space and have returned to earth seeking their maker. :Links: `IMDb `__, `BRmovie.com `__, `“On-Line Magazine” `__, `2019: Off-World `__, `Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner `__ Blazing Saddles =============== Beware the baked beans! :Released: 1974 :Genre: comedy/western :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h33m :Rating: R/MPAA :Edition: “30th Anniversary Special Edition” :Features: commentary, documentaries, TV spinoff pilot, deleted scenes :Director: Mel Brooks :Screenplay: Mel Brooks, Norman Steinberg, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Alan Uger; story by Andrew Bergman :Starring: Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Slim Pickens, Mel Brooks, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn :Plot: To ruin a western town, a corrupt political boss appoints a new sheriff, who happens to be black, and who promptly becomes his most formidable adversary. :Links: `IMDb `__ Blind Fury ========== A satisfying remake of the Zatoichi story. :Released: 1989 :Genre: action :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h24m :Rating: R/MPAA :Edition: “Double Feature” (double-sided disc with `Omega Doom `_, a piece of crap) :Director: Phillip Noyce :Screenplay: Charles Robert Carner, from an earlier screenplay by Ryozo Kasahara :Starring: Rutger Hauer, Terrance O’Quinn, Noble Willingham, Lisa Blount, Randall “Tex” Cobb :Plot: A blind Vietnam vet, trained as a swordfighter, returns home and helps to rescue the son of a friend and fellow soldier. :Links: `IMDb `__ Blow Out ======== :Released: 1981 :Genre: crime/mystery/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h48m :Rating: 18A :Director: Brian De Palma :Screenplay: Brian De Palma :Starring: John Travolta, Nancy Allen, John Lithgow, Dennis Franz :Plot: A sound man accidentally records the evidence that proves a car “accident” was murder, and consequently finds himself in danger. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Blues Brothers ================== A classic comedy. :Released: 1980 :Genre: action/comedy/music :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 2h28m :Rating: 14A :Edition: “Collector’s Edition” :Features: expanded version, documentary :Director: John Landis :Screenplay: Dan Aykroyd, John Landis :Starring: John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd :Plot: Jake Blues, just released from prison, and his brother Elwood put together their old band to save the orphanage where the brothers were raised. They’re on a mission from God. :Links: `IMDb `__ Body Double =========== Sexy and fun. :Released: 1984 :Genre: mystery/thriller :Format: widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h54m :Rating: R :Director: Brian De Palma :Screenplay: Robert J. Avrech & Brian De Palma; story by Brian De Palma :Starring: Craig Wasson, Melanie Griffith, Gregg Henry :Plot: Jake, an unemployed actor is asked to house-sit a luxurious hillside home, equipped with a telescope through which he can spy on a neighbor’s arousing striptease. Jake discovers another man is also spying on her, but with murderous aims. :Links: `IMDb `__ Bolt ==== Received at `PyCon 2009 `_, a gift to speakers and organizers from sponsor `Disnay Animation Studios `_. :Released: 2008 :Genre: animation/comedy/family/fantasy :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h36m :Rating: PG :Features: “Super Rhino” short :Director: Byron Howard & Chris Williams :Screenplay: Dan Fogelman & Chris Williams :Starring: John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Susie Essman, Mark Walton, Malcolm McDowell, James Lipton, Greg Germann :Plot: The canine star of a fictional sci-fi/action show that believes his powers are real embarks on a cross country trek to save his co-star from a threat he believes is just as real. :Links: `IMDb `__ Brainstorm ========== :Released: 1983 :Genre: SF/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h46m :Rating: 14A :Director: Douglas Trumbull :Screenplay: Robert Stitzel and Philip Frank Messina; story by Bruce Joel Rubin :Starring: Christopher Walken, Natalie Wood, Louise Fletcher, Cliff Robertson :Plot: A pair of brilliant researchers develop a system to record and play back people’s actual experiences and sensations. They fight the corruption of their invention while exploring the limits of human experience. :Links: `IMDb `__ Brazil ====== A wildly imaginative, funny, tragic, controversial, and entertaining masterpiece. :Harry Tuttle: Bloody paperwork. Huh! :Sam Lowry: I suppose one has to expect a certain amount. :Harry Tuttle: Why? I came into this game for the action, the excitement. Go anywhere, travel light, get in, get out, wherever there’s trouble, a man alone. Now they got the whole country sectioned off. You can’t make a move without a form. .. :Harry Tuttle: Listen, kid, we’re all in it together. .. :Holly: Put it on, big boy. I won’t look at your willy. .. :Mrs. Terrain: My complication had a little complication. .. :Harry Tuttle: We’re all in it together, kid. .. :Sam Lowry: You don’t exist anymore. I’ve killed you. Jill Layton is dead. :Jill Layton: Care for a little necrophilia? Hmmm? :Released: 1985 :Genre: comedy/drama/fantasy/SF :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h22m :Rating: G/Quebec (R/MPAA!) :Edition: Criterion Collection boxed set (3 discs) :Features: director’s cut, butchered “Love Conquers All” U.S. theatrical release, commentary (both versions), documentaries, production notes :Director: Terry Gilliam :Screenplay: Terry Gilliam & Tom Stoppard & Charles McKeown :Starring: Jonathan Pryce, Robert De Niro, Katherine Helmond, Ian Holm, Bob Hoskins, Michael Palin, Ian Richardson, Peter Vaughan, Kim Greist :Plot: A bureaucrat in a retro-future world tries to correct an administrative error and himself becomes an enemy of the state. :Links: `IMDb `__ Breaking Away ============= A truly great film. Entertaining & inspiring. :Released: 1979 :Genre: comedy/drama/sport :Format: anamorphic widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h40m :Rating: PG :Director: Peter Yates :Screenplay: Steve Tesich :Starring: Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, Jackie Earle Haley, Barbara Barrie, Paul Dooley, Robyn Douglass :Plot: When top-notch cyclist Dave learns that the world’s cycling champions are always Italian, he attempts to turn himself into an Italian, driving his parents crazy. But everything changes after he meets the Italian racing team—an encounter that ultimately leads him and his friends to challenge the local college boys in the town’s annual bike race. :Links: `IMDb `__ Brick ===== A very cool super-low-budget independent noir crime drama in a highschool setting. :Released: 2005 :Genre: crime/drama/mystery :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h50m :Rating: 14A :Features: commentary, extended scenes :Director: Rian Johnson :Screenplay: Rian Johnson :Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Nora Zehetner, Lukas Haas, Noah Fleiss, Matt O’Leary, Emilie de Ravin, Noah Segan, Richard Roundtree, Meagan Good :Plot: A teenage loner pushes his way into the underworld of a high school crime ring to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Brother From Another Planet =============================== A wonderful, thought-provoking, fun film. :Released: 1984 :Genre: comedy/drama/SF :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h50m :Rating: R/MPAA :Features: commentary :Director: John Sayles :Screenplay: John Sayles :Starring: Joe Morton :Plot: A mute alien is chased by outer-space bounty hunters through the streets of Harlem. :Links: `IMDb `__ Bullitt ======= Part of “The Essential Steve McQueen Collection” (6 film box set), a gift from my parents, birthday 2008. :Released: 1968 :Genre: action/crime/drama/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h54m :Rating: 14A :Edition: “Two-Disc Special Edition” :Features: commentary, documentaries, featurette :Director: Peter Yates :Screenplay: Alan R. Trustman & Harry Kleiner; novel “Mute Witness” by Robert L. Fish :Starring: Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset, Don Gordon, Robert Duvall, Simon Oakland, Norman Fell :Plot: An all guts, no glory San Francisco cop becomes determined to find the underworld kingpin that killed the witness in his protection. :Links: `IMDb `__ Caddyshack ========== Funny stuff. :Released: 1980 :Genre: comedy/sport :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h38m :Rating: 14A :Edition: “20th Anniversary” :Features: documentary :Director: Harold Ramis :Screenplay: Brian Doyle-Murray & Harold Ramis & Douglas Kenney :Starring: Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O’Keefe, Bill Murray :Plot: An exclusive golf course has to deal with a brash new member and a destructive dancing gopher. :Links: `IMDb `__ Cars ==== Gift for Kaito & Erika, Christmas 2006. :Released: 2006 :Genre: animation/comedy/family :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h56m :Rating: G :Features: two animated shorts; deleted scenes; featurettes :Director: John Lasseter & Joe Ranft :Screenplay: Dan Fogelman & John Lasseter & Joe Ranft & Kiel Murray & Phil Lorin & Jorgen Klubien; story by John Lasseter & Joe Ranft & Jorgen Klubien :Starring: (voices) Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Larry The Cable Guy, Cheech Marin, Tony Shalhoub, Guido Quaroni, Jenifer Lewis, Paul Dooley, Michael Wallis, George Carlin, Katherine Helmond, John Ratzenberger, Joe Ranft, Michael Keaton :Plot: A hot-shot race-car named Lightning McQueen gets waylaid in Radiator Springs, where he finds the true meaning of friendship and family. :Links: `IMDb `__ `easter egg `__ Casino Royale ============= The best Bond film... ever? Since Connery at least. (Mayumi’s purchase.) :Released: 2006 :Genre: action/adventure/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h24m :Rating: 14A :Edition: (2 discs) :Features: documentaries, music video :Director: Martin Campbell :Screenplay: Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and Paul Haggis; novel by Ian Fleming :Starring: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright, Giancarlo Giannini :Plot: In his first mission as a double-0, James Bond must stop Le Chiffre, a banker to the world’s terrorist organizations, from winning a high-stakes poker tournament at Casino Royale in Montenegro. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Cell ======== Stunning imagery. :Released: 2000 :Genre: crime/horror/SF/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h47m :Rating: MPAA/R :Features: commentaries, deleted scenes, documentary, vignettes, extras :Director: Tarsem Singh :Screenplay: Mark Protosevich :Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jake Weber :Plot: A psychotherapist journeys inside the mind of a comatose serial killer in the hopes of saving his latest victim. :Links: `IMDb `__ Chasing Amy =========== :Released: 1997 :Genre: comedy/romance/drama :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h53m :Rating: 18A :Edition: Criterion Collection :Features: Commentary, deleted scenes, outtakes :Director: Kevin Smith :Screenplay: Kevin Smith :Starring: Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, Jason Lee, Dwight Ewell, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith :Plot: Everything is going well for comic book artist Holden until he meets Alyssa, another comic book artist. He falls for her, but his hopes are crushed when he finds out she’s a lesbian. :Links: `IMDb `__ Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ======================= A gift to Erika, April 2004. :AKA: Ian Fleming’s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang :Released: 1968 :Genre: family/comedy/musical/fantasy :Format: widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 2h24m :Rating: G :Edition: “Special Edition” (2 discs) :Features: sing-along, featurettes :Director: Ken Hughes :Screenplay: Roald Dahl & Ken Hughes, from the novel by Ian Fleming :Starring: Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries, Benny Hill :Plot: An eccentric professor invents wacky machinery, but can’t seem to make ends meet. When he invents a revolutionary car, a foreign government becomes interested in it, and resorts to skullduggery to get their hands on it. :Links: `IMDb `__, `DVDReview.com `__ The Cincinnati Kid ================== Part of “The Essential Steve McQueen Collection” (6 film box set), a gift from my parents, birthday 2008. :Released: 1965 :Genre: drama :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h42m :Rating: ? :Features: commentaries, featurette :Director: Norman Jewison :Screenplay: Ring Lardner Jr. and Terry Southern; novel by Richard Jessup :Starring: Steve McQueen, Edward G. Robinson, Ann-Margret, Karl Malden, Tuesday Weld :Plot: An up-and-coming poker player tries to prove himself in a high-stakes match against a long-time master of the game. :Links: `IMDb `__ Clerks. ======= :Released: 1994 :Genre: comedy :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h32m :Rating: 18A :Edition: “Clerks. X: Tenth Anniversary Edition” (3 discs) :Features: theatrical version, unrated original version, commentaries, documentary, deleted scenes, animated funeral parlor scene (in the style of `Clerks: The Animated Series`_ below) :Director: Kevin Smith :Screenplay: Kevin Smith :Starring: Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Marilyn Ghigliotti, Lisa Spoonhauer, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith :Plot: A day in the lives of two convenience clerks named Dante and Randal as they annoy customers, discuss movies, and play hockey on the store roof. :Links: `IMDb `__ Clerks: The Animated Series =========================== Six animated episodes, only two of which aired on TV. Me and Silent Bob have an appointment at the gorilla cage. We’ve come to the conclusion that we need more gorillas in our empty lives. -- Jay, from episode 6 :Released: 2000 :Genre: comedy/animation :Format: fullscreen :Runtime: 2h10m :Rating: 14A :Edition: “Clerks Uncensored” (2 discs) :Features: commentary, featurettes, intros by Jay & Silent Bob :Director: Chris Bailey, Nicholas Filippi, Steve Loter :Screenplay: David Mandel, Scott Mosier, Kevin Smith, Paul Dini, Brian Kelley :Starring: (voices) Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith :Plot: The continuing adventures of clerks Dante and Randal, who try to make the best of their menial labor, with no help from Jay and Silent Bob. :Links: `IMDb `__ Clerks II ========= A worthy sequel, IMHO better than the original. :Released: 2006 :Genre: comedy/drama :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h37m :Rating: 18A :Edition: “2-disc widescreen edition” :Features: commentaries, deleted scenes, documentary, featurettes :Director: Kevin Smith :Screenplay: Kevin Smith :Starring: Jeff Anderson, Brian O’Halloran, Rosario Dawson, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith :Plot: Ten years after `Clerks.`_, Dante and Randal have become “funployees” at Mooby’s fast food. :Links: `IMDb `__, `easter eggs `__ A Clockwork Orange ================== Fancy a little of the old ultra-violence? :Released: 1971 :Genre: crime/drama/SF :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 2h17m :Rating: R :Edition: “Stanley Kubrick Collection” :Director: Stanley Kubrick :Screenplay: Stanley Kubrick, based on the novel by Anthony Burgess :Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Adrienne Corri, Miriam Karlin :Plot: The adventures of a young man who loved a bit of the old ultra-violence, went to jail, volunteered for an experimental therapy and came out cured. Or was he? :Links: `IMDb `__, `DVDReview.com `__ Close Encounters of the Third Kind ================================== A classic. Alien-contact SF taken seriously. “We are not alone.” :Released: 1977 :Genre: adventure/drama/SF :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h17m :Rating: PG :Edition: 2-disc “Collector’s Edition” :Features: Making-of documentary, featurette, deleted scenes, trailers, filmographies :Director: Steven Spielberg :Screenplay: Steven Spielberg :Starring: Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon, François Truffaut :Plot: A line worker, after a encounter with UFOs, feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen. :Links: `IMDb `__ Contact ======= Good SF with a message of hope. :Released: 1997 :Genre: drama/SF/mystery :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h30m :Rating: PG :Edition: “Special Edition” :Features: commentaries, featurettes :Director: Robert Zemeckis :Screenplay: James V. Hart & Michael Goldenberg, based on the novel by Carl Sagan, story by Carl Sagan & Ann Druyan :Starring: Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, James Woods, John Hurt, Tom Skerritt, Angela Bassett, David Morse, Jena Malone :Plot: After years with the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI), Dr. Ellie Arroway finds conclusive radio proof of intelligent aliens, who send plans for a mysterious machine. :Links: `IMDb `__ Coraline ======== :Released: 2009 :Genre: animation/adventure/family/fantasy :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h41m :Rating: PG :Edition: “2-Disc Collector’s Edition” :Features: 2-D & 3-D versions (with 3-D glasses), commentary, deleted scenes, documentary, featurettes, “digital copy” :Director: Henry Selick :Screenplay: Henry Selick, based on the novel by Neil Gaiman :Starring: (voice talents of) Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Keith David, John Hodgman, Robert Bailey Jr., Ian McShane :Plot: An adventurous girl finds another world that is a strangely idealized version of her frustrating home, but it has sinister secrets. :Links: `IMDb `__ Crimes of Passion ================= Stylized, dark (sometimes comedic), disturbing, brilliant, and well worth seeing. The uncensored version is definitely superior to the R-rated theatrical cut, but it’s interesting to contrast them and recognize the hypocrisy of the ratings boards, especially the MPAA. :Released: 1984 :Genre: drama/romance/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h52m :Rating: unrated :Edition: “Unrated. Uncensored.” :Features: commentary, deleted scenes :Director: Ken Russell :Screenplay: Barry Sandler :Starring: Kathleen Turner, Anthony Perkins, John Laughlin, Bruce Davison :Plot: A sportswear designer leads a double life as a hooker named China Blue. :Links: `IMDb `__ Cube ==== :Released: 1997 :Genre: drama/horror/mystery/SF/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h30m :Rating: 18A :Edition: “Special Edition” :Features: commentary, deleted scene, interview :Director: Vincenzo Natali :Screenplay: André Bijelic & Vincenzo Natali and Graeme Manson :Starring: Nicole de Boer, Nicky Guadagni, David Hewlett, Andrew Miller, Julian Richings, Wayne Robson, Maurice Dean Wint :Plot: 7 complete strangers of widely varying personality characteristics are involuntarily placed in an endless kafkaesque maze containing deadly traps. :Links: `IMDb `__ Dark Angel ========== A gift to Mayumi, May 2004. :AKA: James Cameron’s Dark Angel :Genre: drama/SF/action/crime :Format: fullscreen :Rating: TV-14/US-TV :Edition: “Collector’s Edition” (6 discs) :Features: commentaries, featurettes, extras :Creator: James Cameron and Charles H. Eglee :Plot: A genetically enhanced superhuman prototype named Max escapes from a military lab and dwells among the street people of a post-apocalyptic future Seattle to avoid government agents who want to capture her. Searching for others of her kind, Max encounters and joins forces with Logan, an idealistic cyber-journalist battling repression and corruption. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Complete First Season ------------------------- :Released: 2000-2001 :Runtime: 16h5m (21 episodes) :Starring: Jessica Alba, Michael Weatherly, John Savage The Complete Second Season -------------------------- :Released: 2001-2002 :Runtime: 15h43m (21 episodes) :Starring: Jessica Alba, Michael Weatherly, Jensen Ackles, John Savage Dark City ========= Very noir. Very twisted. Very original. :Released: 1998 :Genre: SF/mystery/thriller :Format: widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h36m :Rating: 14A :Edition: “Platinum Series” :Features: commentaries, extras :Director: Alex Proyas :Screenplay: Alex Proyas & Lem Dobbs :Starring: Rufus Sewell, Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly, Richard O’Brien, Ian Richardson, William Hurt :Plot: When John Murdoch awakens in a strange hotel room, he finds that he is wanted for a series of brutal murders. The problem is he can’t remember a thing. Pursued by the police and haunted by the mysterious Strangers, he seeks to unravel the twisted riddle of his identity. :Links: `IMDb `__, `easter eggs `__ The Dark Knight Trilogy ======================= :Director: Christopher Nolan :Genre: action/adventure/crime/drama/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Rating: PG Batman Begins ------------- :Released: 2005 :Runtime: 2h20m :Screenplay: Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer; story by David S. Goyer; based on characters by Bob Kane :Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hauer, Ken Watanabe, Morgan Freeman :Plot: The story of how Bruce Wayne became what he was destined to be: Batman. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Dark Knight --------------- Christmas 2008. :Released: 2008 :Runtime: 2h33m :Edition: “Two-Disc Special Edition” :Features: featurettes, IMAX scenes :Screenplay: Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan; story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer; characters by Bob Kane :Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman :Plot: Batman, Gordon and Harvey Dent are forced to deal with the chaos unleashed by an anarchist mastermind known only as the Joker, as it drives each of them to their limits. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Dark Knight Rises --------------------- Christmas 2012. :Released: 2012 :Runtime: 2h45m :Features: featurette :Screenplay: Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan; story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer; characters by Bob Kane :Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Morgan Freeman :Plot: Eight years on, a new terrorist leader, Bane, overwhelms Gotham’s finest, and the Dark Knight resurfaces to protect a city that has branded him an enemy. :Links: `IMDb `__ Dogma ===== Brilliant. :Released: 1999 :Genre: adventure/comedy/fantasy/romance :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h8m :Rating: 18A :Edition: “Special Edition” :Features: commentaries, deleted scenes, outtakes :Director: Kevin Smith :Screenplay: Kevin Smith :Starring: Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Jason Mewes, Chris Rock, Alan Rickman, Jason Lee, Salma Hayek, Kevin Smith, Janeane Garofalo, George Carlin, Alanis Morissette :Plot: The last known descendant of Christ is called upon to save the existence of humanity from being negated by two renegade angels trying to exploit a loophole. :Links: `IMDb `__ Donnie Darko ============ A real sleeper which deserves to be viewed widely. Original, warped, thought-provoking. Worth multple viewings. Confused as to what’s actually happening? The director’s commentary helps. :Released: 2001 :Genre: SF/drama/mystery/thriller :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h53m :Rating: 14A :Director: Richard Kelly :Screenplay: Richard Kelly :Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, Patrick Swayze, Noah Wyle :Plot: High school student Donnie is plagued by visions of a giant evil rabbit who orders him to commit acts of violence and predicts the impending end of the world. :Links: `IMDb `__, `easter eggs `__, `Official site `__ Dragonslayer ============ Good story, and a great dragon. :Released: 1981 :Genre: fantasy/action/adventure :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h49m :Rating: PG :Director: Matthew Robbins :Screenplay: Hal Barwood & Matthew Robbins :Starring: Peter MacNicol, Caitlin Clarke, Ralph Richardson :Plot: A dragon leaves the kingdom alone, as long as it receives regular sacrifices of maidens. An old wizard and his keen young apprentice volunteer to kill the dragon and attempt to save the next virgin in line: the King’s daughter. :Links: `IMDb `__ Dumb and Dumber =============== :Released: 1994 :Genre: adventure/comedy/romance :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h53m :Rating: 14A :Edition: “Unrated” :Features: deleted scenes, alternate endings, documentary :Director: Peter Farrelly & Bobby Farrelly :Screenplay: Peter Farrelly & Bennett Yellin & Bobby Farrelly :Starring: Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Lauren Holly :Plot: The cross-country adventures of two good-hearted but incredibly stupid friends. :Links: `IMDb `__ `easter eggs `__ The Dune Saga ============= Although made with relatively small budgets, these well-written and well-acted made-for-TV mini-series are a feast for the eyes and put many big-screen SF feature films to shame. :Genre: SF/drama/fantasy :Format: widescreen :Screenplay: John Harrison, from Frank Herbert’s novels Dune ---- A deep and worthy rendition of Frank Herbert’s classic SF novel. Its story is far superior to the 1984 David Lynch adaptation; the story changes required by the dramatic medium (both additions and omissions) are quite reasonable and make sense. At almost 5 hours, it may be too long for non-fans though. David Lynch’s 1984 `Dune `__ was an interesting failure. Although it boasted a first-rate cast, sumptuous visuals and interesting ideas, it was far too short, leaving much of the story untold or awkwardly altered. Some of the changes/additions made for Lynch’s `Dune` are wonderful (heart-plugs and the Baron Harkonnen’s boils!), but others are obnoxious (“a technique involving sound”?!?). Unfortunately, it was little more than “great scenes from the book on film”, and unintelligible unless you’ve read the novel. :AKA: Frank Herbert’s Dune :Released: 2000 :Runtime: 4h55m :Rating: unrated (televised version: PG) :Edition: “Special Edition Director’s Cut” (3 discs) :Features: extended by 30 minutes; commentary; featurettes :Director: John Harrison :Starring: William Hurt, Alec Newman, Saskia Reeves, Barbora Kodetová, P.H. Moriarty, Ian McNeice, Matt Keeslar, Giancarlo Giannini, Julie Cox, Uwe Ochsenknecht :Plot: In the distant future, the planet Arrakis |---| Dune |---| is the only source of the “spice” which gives whomever controls it dominion over commerce and civilization. By way of an ancient prophecy, a young man realizes his destiny as Dune’s messiah and leads a rebellion against the corrupt galactic empire and forever changes the balance of power. :Links: `IMDb `__ Children of Dune ---------------- Sequel to Dune_, combining the story lines of both `Dune Messiah` (mini-series part I) and `Children of Dune` (parts II & III). A worthy sequel; worthwhile viewing for fans. :AKA: Frank Herbert’s Children of Dune :Released: 2003 :Runtime: 4h26m :Rating: 14A :Edition: 2-disc set :Director: Greg Yaitanes :Starring: Alec Newman, Julie Cox, Edward Atterton, Ian McNeice, Barbora Kodetová, Steven Berkoff, Daniela Amavia, P.H. Moriarty, James McAvoy, Jessica Brooks, Jonathan Bruun, Alice Krige, Susan Sarandon :Plot: The twin children of Paul “Muad’dib” Atreides become embroiled in the political landscape of Arrakis (“Dune”) and the rest of the universe. :Links: `IMDb `__ Earth Girls Are Easy ==================== A lot of fun. :Released: 1988 :Genre: comedy/musical/SF :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h40m :Rating: PG/MPAA :Edition: “Special Edition” :Features: additional scenes; karaoke :Director: Julien Temple :Screenplay: Julie Brown & Charlie Coffey & Terrence E. McNally :Starring: Geena Davis, Jeff Goldblum, Jim Carrey, Damon Wayans, Julie Brown, Michael McKean, Charles Rocket :Plot: Trio of fuzzy (and funny) aliens crash land in Valerie’s pool — putting a decided damper on her future wedding plans to cheating Dr. Ted Gallagher. Action interrupted by musical numbers. :Links: `IMDb `__ Edward Scissorhands =================== A wonderful fantasy; a classic. :Released: 1990 :Genre: drama/fantasy/romance :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h45m :Rating: PG :Edition: “10th Anniversary Edition” :Director: Tim Burton :Screenplay: Caroline Thompson, from a story by Tim Burton & Caroline Thompson :Starring: Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall, Alan Arkin, Vincent Price :Plot: An artificial man with scissors for hands lives completely alone until a local woman befriends him and brings him home. :Links: `IMDb `__, `DVDReview.com `__ Equilibrium =========== :Released: 2000 :Genre: action/SF/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h47m :Rating: 14A :Features: commentaries, featurette :Director: Kurt Wimmer :Screenplay: Kurt Wimmer :Starring: Christian Bale, Emily watson, Taye Diggs, Angus MacFadden, Sean Bean :Plot: In order to end wars and maintain peace, mankind has outlawed the things that trigger emotion: literature, music, and art. A special breed of police is assigned to eliminate all transgressors. But when the top enforcer misses a dose of an emotion-blocking drug, he begins to realize that things are not as they seem. :Links: `IMDb `__ Escape From New York ==================== Snake! Snake Plissken is the ultimate anti-hero. :Released: 1981 :Genre: action/adventure/SF/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h39m :Rating: 14A :Edition: “Special Edition DVD Collector’s Set” (2 discs + comic book) :Features: Commentaries, deleted scene, featurette, extras :Director: John Carpenter :Screenplay: John Carpenter and Nick Castle :Starring: Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Isaac Hayes, Season Hubley, Harry Dean Stanton, Adrienne Barbeau :Plot: In 1997 (!) Manhattan Island is a maximum security prison, with no law, rules, or guards. Breaking out is impossible. When the US President crash lands there, Snake Plissken, a recently convicted bank robber sentenced to Manhattan for life, is offered his freedom in echange for a rescue. :Links: `IMDb `__ Excalibur ========= Gorgeous. Epic. Stunning. The definitive King Arthur. :Released: 1981 :Genre: adventure/fantasy :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 2h20m :Rating: 18A :Director: John Boorman :Screenplay: Rospo Pallenberg & John Boorman; adapted from Sir Thomas Malory’s “Le Morte d’Arthur” :Starring: Nigel Terry, Helen Mirren, Nicholas Clay, Cherie Lunghi, Paul Geoffrey, Nicol Williamson :Plot: The legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, the sword Excalibur, and the quest for the Holy Grail. :Links: `IMDb `__, `DVDReview.com `__ The Exorcist ============ The best use of projectile vomit ever. :Released: 1973 :Genre: drama/horror/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h12m :Rating: 14A :Edition: “The Version You’ve Never Seen” :Features: commentary :Director: William Friedkin :Screenplay: William Peter Blatty, based on his novel :Starring: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty Winn, Jack MacGowran, Linda Blair :Plot: A troubled cleric sees a means of redemption in helping a psychologically damaged teen. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Exorcist III ================ “The Exorcist III” is an excellent, underrated film. It simply ignores “II”, which sucked. Brad Dourif’s acting is chilling. :Released: 1990 :Genre: horror/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h50m :Rating: 18A :Director: William Peter Blatty :Screenplay: William Peter Blatty, based on his novel `Legion` :Starring: George C. Scott, Ed Flanders, Brad Dourif, Jason Miller, Nicol Williamson, Scott Wilson :Plot: A serial killer haunts the streets of Georgetown, do these events have anything to do with the exorcism of 15 years ago? :Links: `IMDb `__ Fallen ====== :Released: 1998 :Genre: horror/mystery/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 2h5m :Rating: 14A :Features: commentary :Director: Gregory Hoblit :Screenplay: Nicholas Kazan :Starring: Denzel Washington, John Goodman, Donald Sutherland, Embeth Davidtz, James Gandolfini, Elias Koteas :Plot: Homicide detective John Hobbes witnesses the execution of serial killer Edgar Reese. Soon after the execution the killings start again, and they are very similar to Reese’s style. :Links: `IMDb `__ Femme Fatale ============ :Released: 2002 :Genre: thriller/crime/fantasy :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h54m :Rating: 18A :Features: featurettes :Director: Brian De Palma :Screenplay: Brian De Palma :Starring: Rebecca Romijn, Antonio Banderas, Peter Coyote :Plot: A woman tries to straighten out her life, even as her past as a con-woman comes back to haunt her. :Links: `IMDb `__ Ferris Bueller’s Day Off ======================== A classic teen comedy. Great music and a lot of fun. :Released: 1986 :Genre: comedy :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h42m :Rating: PG :Director: John Hughes :Screenplay: John Hughes :Starring: Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, Alan Ruck :Plot: One spring day, toward the end of his senior year, Ferris gives in to an overwhelming urge to cut school and head for downtown Chicago with his girl and his best friend. They see the signts, experience a day of freedom and show that with a little ingenuity, a bit of courage and a red Ferrari, life at 17 can be a joy! :Links: `IMDb `__, `DVDReview.com `__ The Fifth Element ================= The ultimate eye candy & escapist guilty pleasure. :Released: 1997 :Genre: action/adventure/romance/SF/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h6m :Rating: PG :Edition: “Ultimate Edition” (2 discs) :Features: fact track, featurettes, test footage :Director: Luc Besson :Screenplay: Luc Besson & Robert Mark Kamen :Starring: Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Milla Jovovich, Chris Tucker :Plot: In the colorful future, a cab driver unwittingly becomes the central figure in the search for a legendary cosmic weapon to keep Evil and Mr Zorg at bay. :Links: `IMDb `__ Fight Club ========== :Released: 1999 :Genre: action/drama/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h19m :Rating: 18A :Edition: “Two-Disc Collector’s Edition” :Features: commentaries, vignettes, deleted scenes, outtakes :Director: David Fincher :Screenplay: Jim Uhls; novel by Chuck Palahniuk :Starring: Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter, Meat Loaf :Plot: An office employee and a soap salesman build a global organization to help vent male aggression. :Links: `IMDb `__, `easter eggs `__ Finding Nemo ============ Good story for children & adults. Breathtakingly beautiful underwater animation. A gift to Kaito, Christmas 2003. :Released: 2003 :Genre: adventure/animation/family/comedy :Format: widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h40m :Rating: G :Edition: 2-disc Collector’s Edition :Features: visual commentary, documentaries, extras :Director: Andrew Stanton :Screenplay: Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson, David Reynolds :Starring: (voices) Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, Willem Dafoe :Plot: When Nemo, a young clownfish, is unexpectedly carried far from home, his overprotective father, Marlin, and Dory, a friendly but forgetful regal blue tang fish, embark on an epic journey that leads to encounters with vegetarian sharks, surfer dude turtles, hypnotic jellyfish and hungry seagulls. :Links: `IMDb `__, `DVDReview.com `__, `easter eggs `__, `Pixar site `__, `Disney site `__ The Fisher King =============== :Released: 1991 :Genre: comedy/drama :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h17m :Rating: 14A :Director: Terry Gilliam :Screenplay: Richard LaGravenese :Starring: Jeff Bridges, Robin Williams, Mercedes Ruehl, Amanda Plummer, David Hyde Pierce :Plot: A talk radio host, suicidally despondent because of a horrible mistake he made, finds redemption in helping a deranged homeless man. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Fly ======= An effective monster movie with excellent production values. “Be afraid. Be very afraid.” :Released: 1986 :Genre: horror/SF/drama :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h35m :Rating: 14A :Edition: “Fox Double Feature” (double-sided disc with `The Fly II`_) :Director: David Cronenberg :Screenplay: Charles Edward Pogue & David Cronenberg, based on a story by George Langelaan :Starring: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz :Plot: An over-ambitious scientist conducting a teleportation experiement accidentally merges with a housefly. A journalist who has fallen in love with him while covering his scientific endeavors suddenly finds herself caring for a horrifying creature whose insect half gradually begins to take over. :Links: `IMDb `__, `DVDReview.com (combined review of double feature) `__ The Fly II ========== A worthy sequel. “You’re getting worse.” “I’m getting better.” :Released: 1989 :Genre: horror/SF :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h45m :Rating: 14A :Edition: “Fox Double Feature” (double-sided disc with `The Fly`_) :Director: Chris Walas :Screenplay: Mick Garris, Jim Wheat, Ken Wheat, & Frank Darabont, based on characters created by George Langelaan :Starring: Eric Stoltz, Daphne Zuniga, Lee Richardson, John Getz, Harley Cross :Plot: Beneath his ordinary exterior, Martin is the most extraordinary person alive. Though only five years old, he is a genious, a fully matured adult, and the son of a human fly! Now it is only a matter of time before his mutated genes waken from their dormant state. :Links: `IMDb `__, `DVDReview.com (combined review of double feature) `__ Fly Away Home ============= A wonderful story, beautifully shot & told. :Released: 1996 :Genre: family/adventure/drama :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h48m :Rating: G :Edition: “Special Edition” :Features: commentary, documentary, featurette :Director: Carroll Ballard :Screenplay: Robert Rodat & Vince McKewin; based on the autobiography by Bill Lishman :Starring: Jeff Daniels, Anna Paquin, Dana Delany, Terry Kinney :Plot: A father and daughter decide to attempt to lead a flock of orphaned Canada Geese south by air. :Links: `IMDb `__ Forrest Gump ============ Funny, sad, original, and gorgeously shot, this is one of the rare instances of a movie being better than the source novel. I first saw this on a tiny LCD on a flight over the Pacific, which didn’t do it justice. When I later visited Hong Kong on business, I was lucky to find it still playing in a theater. The vistas are amazing. Gotta get me a big screen TV for this one some day... :Released: 1994 :Genre: drama/comedy :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 2h21m :Rating: PG :Edition: “Special Collector’s Edition” (2 discs) :Features: commentaries, documentaries :Director: Robert Zemeckis :Screenplay: Eric Roth from the novel by Winston Groom :Starring: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson, Sally Field :Plot: Forrest Gump, while not intelligent, has accidentally been present at many historic moments, but his true love, Jenny, eludes him. :Links: `IMDb `__, `DVDReview.com `__ The Fountain ============ :Released: 2006 :Genre: drama/romance/SF :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h36m :Rating: 14A :Features: featurettes :Director: Darren Aronofsky :Screenplay: Darren Aronofsky, story by Darren Aronofsky & Ari Handel :Starring: Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz, Ellen Burstyn :Plot: Spanning over one thousand years, and three parallel stories, The Fountain is a story of love, death, spirituality, and the fragility of our existence in this world. :Links: `IMDb `__, `director’s commentarty track (downloadable MP3 file) `__ Frequency ========= :Released: 2000 :Genre: drama/thriller/SF :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h59m :Rating: 14A :Features: deleted scenes, documentary, commentaries :Director: Gregory Hoblit :Screenplay: Toby Emmerich :Starring: Dennis Quaid, James Caviezel, Shawn Doyle, Elizabeth Mitchell, Andre Braugher, Noah Emmerich :Plot: An accidental cross-time radio link connects father and son across 30 years. The son tries to save his father’s life, but then must fix the consequences. :Links: `IMDb `__ From Dusk Till Dawn =================== Fun! :Released: 1996 :Genre: action/comedy/fantasy/horror/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h48m :Rating: R :Edition: “Collector’s Series” (2 discs) :Features: commentary, outtakes, featurettes, deleted scenes, extras; “Full-Tilt Boogie” full-length feature documentary :Director: Robert Rodriguez :Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino, story by Robert Kurtzman :Starring: Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Juliette Lewis, Ernest Liu, Salma Hayek, Cheech Marin :Plot: Two criminals and their hostages unknowingly seek temporary refuge in an establishment populated by vampires, with chaotic results. :Links: `IMDb `__; `Full-Tilt Boogie `_ Galaxy Quest ============ :Released: 1999 :Genre: adventure/comedy/SF :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h42m :Rating: PG :Features: featurette, deleted scenes :Director: Dean Parisot :Screenplay: David Howard and Robert Gordon :Starring: Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Daryl Mitchell :Plot: The alumni cast of a cult space TV show have to play their roles as the real thing when an alien race needs their help. :Links: `IMDb `__ Gattaca ======= Thought-provoking, stylish, and underrated. True SF: a story of characters and ideas, without space battles or overwhelming special effects. A very good film. :Released: 1997 :Genre: drama/mystery/SF/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h46m :Rating: PG-13/MPAA :Director: Andrew Niccol :Screenplay: Andrew Niccol :Starring: Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Alan Arkin, Jude Law, Loren Dean :Plot: A genetically imperfect man in a society obsessed with genetic perfection is determined to beat the system. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Getaway =========== Part of “The Essential Steve McQueen Collection” (6 film box set), a gift from my parents, birthday 2008. :Released: 1972 :Genre: action/crime/drama/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h3m :Rating: PG/MPAA :Edition: “Deluxe Edition” :Features: commentaries :Director: Sam Peckinpah :Screenplay: Walter Hill; novel by Jim Thompson :Starring: Steve McQueen, Ali MacGraw, Ben Johnson, Sally Struthers, Al Lettieri :Plot: A recently released ex-con and his loyal wife go on the run after a heist goes awry. :Links: `IMDb `__ Gladiator ========= :Released: 2000 :Genre: action/adventure/drama :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h51m (extended), 2h35m (theatrical) :Rating: 14A :Edition: “Extended Edition” (3 discs) :Features: Extended & theatrical cuts, commentary, trivia track, Documentary: “Strength and Honor: Creating the World of Gladiator”, supplements :Director: Ridley Scott :Screenplay: David Franzoni and John Logan and William Nicholson; story by David Franzoni :Starring: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris, Derek Jacobi, Djimon Hounsou :Plot: When a Roman general is betrayed and his family murdered by a corrupt prince, he comes to Rome as a gladiator to seek revenge. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Gods Must Be Crazy ====================== A simple, subtle, and absolutely hilarious comedy. :Released: 1980 :Genre: action/comedy :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h49m :Rating: PG/MPAA :Edition: “Double Feature” packaged with `The Gods Must Be Crazy II`_ :Director: Jamie Uys :Screenplay: Jamie Uys :Starring: Marius Weyers, Sandra Prinsloo, N!xau :Plot: A Sho in the Kalahari desert encounters technology for the first time — in the shape of a Coke bottle. He takes it back to his people, and they use it for many tasks. The people start to fight over it, so he decides to return it to the God — where he thinks it came from. Meanwhile, we are introduced to a school teacher assigned to a small village, a despotic revolutionary, and a clumsy biologist. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Gods Must Be Crazy II ========================= :Released: 1980 :Genre: comedy :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h38m :Rating: PG/MPAA :Edition: “Double Feature” packaged with `The Gods Must Be Crazy`_ :Director: Jamie Uys :Screenplay: Jamie Uys :Starring: N!xau, Lena Farugia, Hans Strydom, Nadies, Eiros :Plot: Xixo’s children accidentally stow away on a fast-moving poachers’ truck, unable to get off, and Xixo sets out to rescue them. Along the way, he encounters a couple of soldiers trying to capture each other and a pilot and passenger of a small plane, who are each having a few problems of their own. :Links: `IMDb `__ Gothika ======= An OK film. (Purchased in a 2-pack with `The Exorcist`_, because that was cheaper than buying The Exorcist alone.) :Released: 2003 :Genre: horror/thriller/mystery :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h38m :Rating: 14A :Features: commentary, music video :Director: Mathieu Kassovitz :Screenplay: Sebastian Gutierrez :Starring: Halle Berry, Robert Downey Jr., Charles S. Dutton, John Carroll Lynch, Bernard Hill, Penélope Cruz :Plot: Ghost story in which a repressed female psychiatrist wakes up as a patient in the very asylum where she worked with no memory of why she is there and what she has done. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Great Escape ================ :Released: 1963 :Genre: action/adventure/drama/history/thriller/war :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h52m :Rating: G :Features: documentary :Director: John Sturges :Screenplay: James Clavell and W.R. Burnett; based on the book by Paul Brickhill :Starring: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn :Plot: In World War II, several hundred Allied POWs plan a mass escape from a German POW camp. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Green Mile ============== A wonderful, near-perfect film: impeccably cast & acted, flawlessly designed & filmed, transparently directed, from a great story. The best screen adaptation ever? Certainly one of the best. :Released: 1999 :Genre: crime/drama/fantasy/mystery :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 3h9m :Rating: 14A :Edition: “Two-Disc Special Edition” :Features: commentary, documentaries, additional scenes :Director: Frank Darabont :Screenplay: Frank Darabont, from the novel by Stephen King :Starring: Tom Hanks, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, Michael Clarke Duncan, James Cromwell, Michael Jeter, Graham Greene, Doug Hutchison, Sam Rockwell, Barry Pepper, Jeffrey DeMunn, Patricia Clarkson, Harry Dean Stanton :Plot: The lives of the guards and prisoners on death row leading up to the execution of an innocent man who has the power of healing. :Links: `IMDb `__ Grindhouse ========== An experimental double-feature in the style of 70’s "grindhouse" films. The theatrical presentation included trailers of other (nonexistant) grindhouse films, two of which (Machete_ and `Hobo With a Shotgun`_) were subsequently made and released. :Released: 2007 :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Rating: Unrated :Edition: “Extended and Unrated” (2 discs each) Planet Terror ------------- A fun-filled zombie flick. One scene in particular seemed unnecessarily unpleasant, but it was intentional, telling us that “all bets are off”. :Genre: action/horror/SF/thriller (& comedy too!) :Runtime: 1h45m :Features: commentary, audience reaction track, featurettes :Director: Robert Rodriguez :Screenplay: Robert Rodriguez :Starring: Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodríguez, Josh Brolin, Marley Shelton, Michael Biehn, Jeff Fahey, Bruce Willis, Naveen Andrews :Plot: After an experimental bio-weapon is released, turning thousands into zombie-like creatures, it’s up to a rag-tag group of survivors to stop the infected and those behind its release. :Links: `IMDb `__ Death Proof ----------- Starts off slowly but builds to an exhilarating finalé. Perhaps the best car chase, ever. :Genre: crime/thriller :Runtime: 1h53m :Features: featurettes, “Double Dare” trailer :Director: Quentin Tarantino :Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino :Starring: Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito, Jordan Ladd, Rose McGowan, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Tracie Thoms, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Zoe Bell :Plot: Two separate sets of voluptuous women are stalked at different times by a scarred stuntman who uses his “death proof” cars to execute his murderous plans. :Links: `IMDb `__ Hancock ======= :Released: 2008 :Genre: action/fantasy :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h32m (theatrical) 1h42m (unrated) :Rating: PG/unrated :Edition: 2-disc Unrated Special Edition :Features: theatrical & unrated versions, featurettes, limited edition lithograph :Director: Peter Berg :Screenplay: Vincent Ngo, Vince Gilligan :Starring: Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman, Jae Head, Eddie Marsan :Plot: A hard-living superhero who has fallen out of favor with the public enters into a questionable relationship with the wife of the public relations professional who’s trying to repair his image. :Links: `IMDb `__ Happy Tree Friends: Overkill ============================ 3 volumes plus 5 bonus episodes (3 discs). :Released: 2005 :Genre: animation/short/comedy :Format: fullscreen :Features: lots :Director: Rhode Montijo & Kenn Navarro :Screenplay: Warren Graff, Rhode Montijo, Kenn Navarro, Jeff Biancalana, Ken Pontac, David Winn; created by Rhode Montijo & Aubrey Ankrum :Plot: They’re cute, they’re happy, they’re cuddly, they love life, and they die in the most gruesome ways — every single episode... :Links: IMDb: `Volume 1: First Blood `__, `Volume 2: Second Serving `__, `Volume 3: Third Strike `__ Harold and Maude ================ A sometimes morbid but finally uplifting black comedy. Excellent soundtrack by Cat Stevens. :Released: 1971 :Genre: comedy/romance/drama :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h31m :Rating: 14A :Director: Hal Ashby :Screenplay: Colin Higgins :Starring: Ruth Gordon, Bud Cort, Vivian Pickles, Cyril Cusack, Charles Tyner :Plot: Young, rich, and obsessed with death, Harold finds himself changed forever when he meets lively septuagenarian Maude at a funeral. :Links: `IMDb `__ Heathers ======== The quintessential antidote to John Hughes’ syrupy teen comedies. :Released: 1988 :Genre: comedy/crime/drama/romance :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h43m :Rating: 14A :Director: Michael Lehmann :Screenplay: Daniel Waters :Starring: Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty :Plot: A girl who half-heartedly tries to be part of the “in crowd” of her school meets a rebel who teaches her a more devious way to play social politics. :Links: `IMDb `__, `DVDReview.com (different edition) `__ Heavenly Creatures ================== :Released: 1994 :Genre: crime/drama/fantasy/romance/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen fullscreen :Runtime: 1h49m :Rating: 18A :Edition: “The Uncut Version” :Director: Peter Jackson :Screenplay: Fran Walsh and Peter Jackson :Starring: Melanie Lynskey, Kate Winslet, Sarah Peirse, Diana Kent, Clive Merrison, Simon O’Connor :Plot: Two girls have an intense fantasy life; their parents, concerned the fantasy is too intense, separate them, and the girls take revenge. :Links: `IMDb `__ Hellraiser ========== Highly original and entertaining. Not for the squeamish or the faint of heart. :AKA: Clive Barker’s Hellraiser :Released: 1987 :Genre: horror/fantasy :Format: widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h34m :Rating: R :Edition: packaged with `Hellbound: Hellraiser II`_ :Director: Clive Barker :Screenplay: Clive Barker, from his novel `The Hellbound Heart` :Starring: Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, Sean Chapman, Oliver Smith, Doug Bradley :Plot: A man finds he is given more than he bargains for when he solves the puzzle of the Lamont Configuration: a doorway to hell. But his ex-lover has found a way of bringing him back, and his niece finds herself bargaining with the Cenobites, angels to some, demons to others, whose greatest pleasure is the greatest pain. :Links: `IMDb `__, `DVDReview.com `__, `Hellraiser: Online `__ Hellbound: Hellraiser II ======================== Sequel to Hellraiser_. If you liked that film, you’ll like this one too. :AKA: Clive Barker’s Hellbound: Hellraiser II :Released: 1988 :Genre: horror/fantasy :Format: widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h39m :Rating: R :Edition: packaged with Hellraiser_ :Director: Tony Randel :Screenplay: Peter Atkins, from a story by Clive Barker :Starring: Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, Kenneth Cranham, Doug Bradley :Plot: The head of a psychiatric prison who meddles with a satanic puzzle cube unleashes a cabal of pain-seeking demons who terrorize his daughter. The girl must find a way to solve the puzzle and force the demons back to hell after a series of victims fall victim to the cube’s power. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Hidden ========== Underrated. Fun popcorn action/horror/SF. Low-budget, but good story, good dialogue, and well made. :Released: 1987 :Genre: action/horror/SF :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h38m :Rating: R :Edition: “Double Feature” (single-sided disc) with `The Hidden 2 `_ (crap) :Features: commentary track :Director: Jack Sholder :Screenplay: Jim Kouf :Starring: Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Nouri, Claudia Christian, Clarence Felder :Plot: An L.A. police detective and an FBI agent join forces to hunt down those responsible for a series of bizarre crimes. The problem is, the serial robberies and murders are being committed by seemingly ordinary citizens. What’s the connection? :Links: `IMDb `__ High Fidelity ============= :Released: 2000 :Genre: romance/comedy/drama/music :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h54m :Rating: 14A :Features: deleted scenes, conversations with writer/producer and director :Director: Stephen Frears :Screenplay: D.V. DeVincentis & Steve Pink & John Cusack & Scott Rosenberg; book by Nick Hornby :Starring: John Cusack, Iben Hjejle, Todd Louiso, Jack Black, Lisa Bonet, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Joan Cusack, Tim Robbins :Plot: Rob, a record store owner and compulsive list maker, recounts his top five breakups, including the one in progress. :Links: `IMDb `__ A History of Violence ===================== :Released: 2005 :Genre: action/crime/drama/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h36m :Rating: 18A :Features: commentary, documentary, featurettes, deleted scenes :Director: David Cronenberg :Screenplay: Josh Olson; based on the graphic novel by John Wagner & Vince Locke :Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris, William Hurt :Plot: A mild mannered man becomes a local hero through an act of violence which sets off repercussions that will shake his family to their very core. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Hitcher =========== A seemingly B-horror flick that rose to A-level thanks to some excellent performances. Rutger Hauer gives a subtle, nuanced, and insidious performace as one of the best villains in cinematic history. But skip the sequel — it sucks. :Released: 1986 :Genre: action/horror/thriller :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h38m :Rating: R :Director: Robert Harmon :Screenplay: Eric Red :Starring: C. Thomas Howell, Rutger Hauer, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jeffrey DeMunn :Plot: A young man transporting a car to another state is stalked along the road by a cunning and relentless serial killer who eventually frames the driver for a string of murders. Chased by police and shadowed by the killer, the driver’s only help comes from a truck stop waitress. :Links: `IMDb `__ Hobo With a Shotgun =================== Originally a fake trailer from the Grindhouse_ double-feature. :Released: 2011 :Genre: action/crime/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h27m :Rating: R :Edition: 2-disc :Features: commentary, deleted scenes, featurettes, etc. :Director: Jason Eisener :Screenplay: John Davies, story by Jason Eisener & Rob Cotterill & John Davies :Starring: Rutger Hauer, Gregory Smith, Molly Dunsworth, Brian Downey, Nick Bateman :Plot: A homeless vigilante blows away crooked cops, pedophile Santas, and other scumbags with his trusty pump-action shotgun. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Hudsucker Proxy =================== Wonderfully quirky. “You know... for kids!” :Released: 1994 :Genre: comedy/drama/fantasy/romance :Format: anamorphic widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h51m :Rating: 14A :Director: Joel Coen & Ethan Coen :Screenplay: Ethan Coen & Joel Coen & Sam Raimi :Starring: Tim Robbins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Paul Newman, Charles Durning, John Mahoney, Jim True-Frost, Bill Cobbs, Bruce Campbell :Plot: A naive business graduate is installed as president of a manufacturing company as part of a stock scam. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Hunger Games ================ :Released: 2012 :Genre: action/adventure/SF :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h22m :Rating: 14A :Edition: 2-disc :Features: featurettes :Director: Gary Ross :Screenplay: Gary Ross and Suzanne Collins and Billy Ray, based on the novel by Suzanne Collins :Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Wes Bentley :Plot: In a dystopian future, the totalitarian nation of Panem is divided between 12 districts and the Capitol. Each year two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal retribution for a past rebellion, the televised games are broadcast throughout Panem. The 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors while the citizens of Panem are required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss’s young sister, Prim, is selected as District 12’s female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart Peeta, are pitted against bigger, stronger representatives, some of whom have trained for this their whole lives. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus =================================== :Released: 2009 :Genre: adventure/fantasy/mystery :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h3m :Rating: PG :Features: commentary, featurettes, deleted scene :Director: Terry Gilliam :Screenplay: Terry Gilliam & Charles McKeown :Starring: Heath Ledger, Christopher Plummer, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell, Verne Troyer, Andrew Garfield, Lily Cole, Tom Waits :Plot: In exchange for extraordinary powers, Doctor Parnassus makes a deal with the Devil to turn over any child of his when they turn sixteen. But as his daughter’s birthday approaches, a mysterious stranger arrives with the power tho change everything. :Links: `IMDb `__ Impostor ======== Although the extended action drags a bit in spots, this is one of the best adaptations of a Philip K. Dick story. It captures the paranoia and the questioning of identity that infuses phildickian fiction. Originally shot as a short film for a 3-part anthology. :Released: 2002 :Genre: SF/thriller/action/drama :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h42m :Rating: 18A :Edition: “Director’s Cut” :Features: featurette, original short film :Director: Gary Fleder :Screenplay: Caroline Case & Ehren Kruger & David Twohy, adaptation by Scott Rosenberg, story by Philip K. Dick :Starring: Gary Sinise, Madeleine Stowe, Vincent D’Onofrio, Tony Shalhoub, Tim Guinee, Mekhi Phifer :Plot: An engineer creates the ultimate weapon in a battle against aliens, only to be suspected of being an alien himself. :Links: `IMDb `__ Inception ========= A blockbuster that makes you think. :Released: 2010 :Genre: action/crime/mystery/SF/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h28m :Rating: PG :Features: featurettes :Director: Christopher Nolan :Screenplay: Christopher Nolan :Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Dileep Rao, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Marion Cotillard, Pete Postlethwaite, Michael Caine, Lukas Haas :Plot: Dom Cobb leads an “extraction” team, corporate spies who steal ideas by invading the dreams of their targets. Now they’ve been tasked with the nearly impossible: “inception”, the implantation of an idea where the target believes the idea is their own. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Incredibles =============== A gift for Kaito & Erika, March 2005. :Released: 2004 :Genre: animation/family/adventure/action/comedy/SF :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h1m :Rating: G :Edition: “2-disc Collector’s Edition” :Features: commentaries, documentaries, featurettes, animated shorts :Director: Brad Bird :Screenplay: Brad Bird :Starring: (voices) Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, Jason Lee :Plot: A family of undercover superheroes, while trying to live the quiet suburban life, are forced into action to save the world. :Links: `IMDb `__, `easter eggs `__ Inglourious Basterds ==================== :Released: 2009 :Genre: drama/war :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h33m :Rating: 18A :Edition: “2-disc Special Edition” :Features: deleted & alternate scenes, “Nation’s Pride” film & making of, roundtable discussion, etc. :Director: Quentin Tarantino :Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino :Starring: Brad Pitt, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth, Michael Fassbender, Diane Kruger, Daniel Brühl, Til Schweiger :Plot: In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as “The Basterds” are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. :Links: `IMDb `__ I.Q. ==== Brilliant portrayal of Albert Einstein by Walter Matthau. :Released: 1994 :Genre: comedy/romance :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h35m :Rating: PG/MPAA :Director: Fred Schepisi :Screenplay: Andy Breckman and Michael Leeson, story by Andy Breckman :Starring: Tim Robbins, Meg Ryan, Walter Matthau :Plot: Albert Einstein helps a young man who’s in love with Einstein’s niece to catch her attention by pretending temporarily to be a great physicist. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Iron Giant ============== Excellent story and animation; works for kids & adults too. :Released: 1999 :Genre: animation/drama/family/SF :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h26m :Rating: PG :Edition: “Special Edition” :Features: commentary, additional scenes, documentaries & featurettes :Director: Brad Bird :Screenplay: Tim McCanlies; screen story by Brad Bird; based on the book by Ted Hughes :Starring: (voices) Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick Jr., Vin Diesel, Christopher McDonald, John Mahoney, Eli Marienthal :Plot: A boy makes friends with an innocent alien giant robot that a paranoid government agent wants to destroy. :Links: `IMDb `__, `easter eggs `__ Iron Man ======== :Released: 2008 :Genre: action/adventure/drama/SF/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h5m :Rating: PG :Edition: “Ultimate 2-Disc Edition” :Features: deleted & extended scenes, featurettes :Director: Jon Favreau :Screenplay: Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby and Art Marcum & Matt Holloway; characters by Stan Lee & Don Heck & Larry Lieber & Jack Kirby :Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow, Leslie Bibb, Shaun Toub, Faran Tahir :Plot: When wealthy industrialist Tony Stark is forced to build an armored suit after a life-threatening incident, he ultimately decides to use its technology to fight against evil. :Links: `IMDb `__ `easter egg `__ Jackie Brown ============ :Released: 1997 :Genre: crime/drama/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen fullscreen :Runtime: 2h34m :Rating: 14A :Edition: “Collector’s Edition” (2 discs) :Features: featurettes, deleted and alternate scenes, etc. :Director: Quentin Tarantino :Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino; novel by Elmore Leonard :Starring: Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Bridget Fonda, Michael Keaton, Robert De Niro :Plot: A female flight attendant becomes a key figure in a plot between the police and an arms dealer. :Links: `IMDb `__ Jacob’s Ladder ============== Weird, nightmarish, and thought-provoking. The visual style — special effects done completely optically, in-camera — is original and stunning. I saw this on the big screen on its opening night, a Friday, and it was running through my head so much all weekend that I went to see it again Monday night. You’ll love it or you’ll hate it. I loved it. :Released: 1990 :Genre: horror/mystery/thriller/drama :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h56m :Rating: 18A :Edition: “Special Edition” :Features: commentary, documentary, deleted scenes :Director: Adrian Lyne :Screenplay: Bruce Joel Rubin :Starring: Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Peña, Danny Aiello :Plot: A traumatized Vietnam war veteran finds out that his post-war life isn’t what he believes it to be when he’s attacked by horned creatures in the subway and his dead son comes to visit him. :Links: `IMDb `__ Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back ============================== :Released: 2001 :Genre: adventure/comedy :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h44m :Rating: 18A :Edition: “Collector’s Series” (2 discs) :Features: commentary, deleted scenes, featurettes, gag reel, music videos :Director: Kevin Smith :Screenplay: Kevin Smith :Starring: Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Ben Affleck, Shannon Elizabeth, Eliza Dushku, Ali Larter, Will Ferrell, Jason Lee, Chris Rock :Plot: The comic “Bluntman and Chronic” is based on real-life stoners Jay and Silent Bob, so when they get no profit from a big-screen adaptation they set out to wreck the movie. :Links: `IMDb `__, `easter eggs `__ The Jerk ======== “I was born a poor black child” says Navin Johnson (Steve Martin). He’s also a budding songwriter: | Oh, I’m picking out a thermos for you | Not an ordinary thermos, for you | But the extra-best thermos you can buy | With vinyl, and stripes, and a cup built right in | I’m picking out a thermos for you | And maybe a barometer, too | And what else can I buy | So on me you’ll rely? | A rear-end thermometer, too :Released: 1979 :Genre: comedy :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h34m :Rating: R/MPAA :Edition: “26th Anniversary Edition” :Director: Carl Reiner :Screenplay: Steve Martin & Carl Gottlieb & Michael Elias :Starring: Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Catlin Adams, Jackie Mason :Plot: A complete imbecile struggles to make it through life on his own, until a strange invention makes him unbelievably wealthy. :Links: `IMDb `__ Kill Bill ========= Although split in two for theatrical release, this is really one film. `Kill Bill` is [a] kung fu samurai revenge kick-ass chick take-no-prisoners movie. -- Lawrence Bender, producer :Genre: action/thriller/drama/crime :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Rating: 18A :Features: featurettes, deleted scene (vol. 2) :Director: Quentin Tarantino :Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino, based on the character of “The Bride” created by Q & U Volume 1 -------- Violence as art, taken to the campy extreme. A lot of fun, if you don’t mind a *lot* of blood and severed body parts. I saw `Volume 1` several times in the theater, it was such visceral fun. :Released: 2003 :Runtime: 1h51m :Starring: Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Daryl Hannah, Sonny Chiba, Julie Dreyfus :Plot: Four years after taking a bullet in the head at her own wedding rehearsal, The Bride emerges from a coma and decides to seek revenge on her former colleagues, the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (DiVAS). :Links: `IMDb `__ Volume 2 -------- First we got the action, now we get the story and the dialogue. There are a few good fights too. I only saw `Volume 2` once in the theater, but I’ve found it has grown on me, and I’ve enjoyed it frequently since obtaining a copy for my collection. :Released: 2004 :Runtime: 2h17m :Starring: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, Gordon Liu, Michael Parks :Plot: The Bride continues her vengeance quest against her ex-boss, Bill, and his associates. Much of her past is also revealed. :Links: `IMDb `__, `DVDReview.com `__ King Kong ========= :Released: 2005 :Genre: adventure/drama/romance :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 3h8m :Rating: 14A :Edition: “2-Disc Special Edition” :Features: documentary, featurettes :Director: Peter Jackson :Screenplay: Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson; story by Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace :Starring: Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Colin Hanks, Andy Serkis, Evan Parke, Jamie Bell :Plot: In 1933 New York, an overly ambitious movie producer coerces his cast and hired ship crew to travel to mysterious Skull Island, where they encounter Kong, a giant ape who is immediately smitten with leading lady Ann Darrow. :Links: `IMDb `__ Kundun ====== :Released: 1997 :Genre: drama :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 2h15m :Rating: PG-13/MPAA :Director: Martin Scorsese :Screenplay: Melissa Mathison :Starring: Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong :Plot: True story of one of the world’s most fascinating leaders — Tibet’s Dalai lama — and his daring struggle to rule a nation at one of the most challenging times in its history. :Links: `IMDb `__ L.A. Story ========== An intelligent, quirky comedy. :Released: 1991 :Genre: comedy/romance/fantasy :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h38m :Rating: PG :Features: featurette, hidden interviews :Director: Mick Jackson :Screenplay: Steve Martin :Starring: Steve Martin, Victoria Tennant, Richard E. Grant, Marilu Henner, Sarah Jessica Parker :Plot: With the help of a talking freeway billboard, a “wacky weatherman” tries to win the heart of an English newspaper reporter, who is struggling to make sense of the strange world of early-90s Los Angeles. :Links: `IMDb `__, `easter eggs `__ Labyrinth ========= Wildly imaginative, but not entirely successful. The scene emulating Escher’s `Relativity` is very cool. :Released: 1986 :Genre: family/fantasy/adventure/musical :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h41m :Rating: PG :Features: documentary :Director: Jim Henson :Screenplay: Terry Jones & Elaine May; story by Dennis Lee & Jim Henson :Starring: David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly, Toby Froud :Plot: Sarah, a teen, summons the goblins from her favorite book, the Labyrinth, to steal her baby half-brother Toby. When the goblins actually do steal him, she must solve the Goblin King’s Labyrinth in 13 hours or else Toby will become a goblin. :Links: `IMDb `__ Ladyhawke ========= A decent fantasy. Unfortunately, the music (by Alan Parsons, whose albums I enjoy) often doesn’t suit the film. :Released: 1985 :Genre: fantasy/adventure/romance :Format: widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 2h1m :Rating: PG-13/MPAA :Director: Richard Donner :Screenplay: Edward Khmara & Michael Thomas & Tom Mankiewicz & David Peoples :Starring: Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Leo McKern, John Wood :Plot: Philipe Gastone, a thief, escapes from the dungeon at Aquila, and meets Captain Navarre, who has been hunted by the Bishop’s men for two years. Navarre and his true love, the Lady Isabeau, have been cursed by the Bishop to be forever apart. Navarre insists that Philipe help him re-enter the city to help him kill the heavily guarded Bishop. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Last Unicorn ================ Gift to Erika, March 2008. :Released: 1982 :Genre: family/animation/fantasy :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h33m :Rating: G :Edition: “25th Anniversary” :Features: documentary, game :Director: Jules Bass & Arthur Rankin Jr. :Screenplay: Peter S. Beagle, based on his novel :Starring: (voices) Alan Arkin, Jeff Bridges, Mia Farrow, Tammy Grimes, Robert Klein, Angela Lansbury, Christopher Lee, Keenan Wynn, Paul Frees, Rene Auberjonois :Plot: A brave unicorn and a magician fight an evil king who is obsessed with attempting to capture the world’s unicorns. :Links: `IMDb `__ Legend ====== A gorgeous and underrated fantasy. I love the Tangerine Dream score on the theatrical version. :Released: 1986 :Genre: fantasy/adventure/romance :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h54m :Rating: PG (theatrical release) :Edition: “Ultimate Edition” (2 discs) :Features: director’s cut & theatrical versions, commentary, featurettes, extras :Director: Ridley Scott :Screenplay: William Hjortsberg :Starring: Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry, Arnon Milchan :Plot: A young man must stop the Lord of Darkness from both destroying daylight and marrying the woman he loves. :Links: `IMDb `__, `DVDReview.com `__ Léon ==== :AKA: The Professional :Released: 1994 :Genre: crime/drama/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h13m :Rating: 18A :Edition: “Uncut International Version” :Features: isolated music score :Director: Luc Besson :Screenplay: Luc Besson :Starring: Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, Natalie Portman, Danny Aiello :Plot: Professional assassin Léon reluctantly takes care of 12-year-old Mathilda, a neighbor whose parents are killed, and teaches her his trade. :Links: `IMDb `__ Life of Brian ============= :AKA: Monty Python’s Life of Brian :Released: 1979 :Genre: comedy :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h34m :Rating: R/MPAA :Edition: “The Criterion Collection” :Features: commentaries, documentary, extras :Director: Terry Jones :Screenplay: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Michael Palin :Starring: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Michael Palin :Plot: Three wise men visit a baby born in a stable in Bethleham, before realizing that the real messiah was born next door. :Links: `IMDb `__, `DVDReview.com (different edition) `__ A Little Princess ================= Quite charming, gorgeous, and very well acted by the young lead. :Released: 1995 :Genre: drama/family/fantasy/war :Format: anamorphic widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h37m :Rating: G :Edition: “Family Double Feature” with `The Secret Garden`_ :Director: Alfonso Cuarón :Screenplay: Richard LaGravenese & Elizabeth Chandler, novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett :Starring: Liesel Matthews, Eleanor Bron, Liam Cunningham, Rusty Schwimmer :Plot: A young girl is relegated to servitude at a boarding school when her father goes missing in World War I and is presumed dead. :Links: `IMDb `__ Local Hero ========== A real gem. I also have fond memories of Forsyth’s `Comfort and Joy `__. :Released: 1983 :Genre: comedy/drama :Format: widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h51m :Rating: PG :Director: Bill Forsyth :Screenplay: Bill Forsyth :Starring: Peter Riegert, Denis Lawson, Fulton Mackay, Burt Lancaster :Plot: An American oil company sends a man to Scotland to buy up an entire village where they want to build a refinery. But things don’t go as expected. :Links: `IMDb `__ Logan’s Run =========== A classic of utopian/distopian SF. I remember in elementary school my friends and I running around with plastic bingo chips in our hands, pretending they were life-clock crystals. :Released: 1976 :Genre: SF/action/adventure :Format: widescreen/fullscreen :Runtime: 1h58m :Rating: 14A :Director: Michael Anderson :Screenplay: David Zelag Goodman, from the novel by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson :Starring: Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Richard Jordan, Roscoe Lee Browne, Farrah Fawcett, Peter Ustinov :Plot: In the Year of the City 2274, humans live in a vast, domed metropolis, protected from the outside world, ravaged by nuclear holocaust. In the City, computerized systems provide all needs and everyone can pursue endless hedonism. Until Lastday, when all 30-year-olds must submit to Carrousel, with certain death and the promise of rebirth. The alternative is to become a Runner and seek out Sanctuary. Logan 5 is a Sandman who is prematurely forced to become a Runner. :Links: `IMDb `__, `easter eggs `__ The Lonely Guy ============== Steve Martin is at the top of his form, but Charles Grodin’s subtle delivery steals the show. :Released: 1984 :Genre: comedy :Format: anamorphic widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h30m :Rating: R :Director: Arthur Hiller :Screenplay: Neil Simon & Stan Daniels & Ed. Weinberger, based on the book “The Lonely Guy’s Book of Life” by Bruce Jay Friedman :Starring: Steve Martin, Charles Grodin, Judith Ivey, Steve Lawrence, Robyn Douglass, Merv Griffin, Dr. Joyce Brothers :Plot: A writer for a greating card company learns the true meaning of loneliness when he comes home to find his girl friend in bed with another man. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Lookout =========== :Released: 2007 :Genre: crime/drama/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h39m :Rating: 14A :Features: commentary, featurettes :Director: Scott Frank :Screenplay: Scott Frank :Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels, Matthew Goode, Isla Fisher, Carla Gugino :Plot: Chris is a once promising high school athlete whose life is turned upside down following a tragic accident. As he tries to maintain a normal life, he takes a job as a janitor at a bank, where he ultimately finds himself caught up in a planned heist. :Links: `IMDb `__ Looper ====== `Looper` is a well-crafted, intelligent, complex, unpredictable, and challenging SF thriller dealing with time travel, organized crime, responsibility, love, and sacrifice. A must-see. :Released: 2012 :Genre: action/crime/SF :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h59m :Rating: 14A :Features: commentary, deleted scenes, featurettes :Director: Rian Johnson :Screenplay: Rian Johnson :Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Noah Segan, Piper Perabo, Jeff Daniels, Pierce Gagnon, Summer Qing, Tracie Thoms, Frank Brennan, Garret Dillahunt :Plot: In 2074, time travel is controlled by the mob. When they want to get rid of someone, the target is sent 30 years into the past, where a “Looper” hired gun awaits. In 2044 Joe is getting rich and living large as a Looper, but gets worried when he hears that the mob is “closing the loops”, sending many Loopers’ future selves back in time for dispatch. :Links: `IMDb `__; `Screenplay (final draft) `__; `Theatrical Commentary Track `__. Lord of Illusions ================= :Released: 1995 :Genre: horror/thriller/fantasy/mystery :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h1m :Rating: R :Edition: “Unrated Director’s Cut” :Features: commentary, score :Director: Clive Barker :Screenplay: Clive Barker :Starring: Scott Bakula, Kevin J. O’Connor, Famke Janssen, Daniel von Bargen :Plot: A private investigator gets more than he bargains for when he encounters a performer whose amazing illusions captivate the world. But are they really illusions? :Links: `IMDb `__ The Lord of the Rings ===================== A wondrous and awe-inspiring adaptation; Peter Jackson & crew really did the books justice! Taken as a whole, The Lord of the Rings is an epic of staggering proportions, a single film with a running time of over eleven hours that has already become a classic. The Extended Editions, to me, represent the definitive version of the films: more moments, more character development, more story. The six discs of documentaries, features, and galleries, in combination with the multiple commentaries, are simultaneously entertaining and informative. They could be used as the basis of an introductory curriculum covering all aspects of the art of filmmaking. Film versions of beloved books often betray the source material and aren’t worthy adaptations. I went to see `Fellowship` the week it opened, with some trepidation. I was impressed by the prologue and then delighted by Hobbiton. By the time Gandalf handed his hat and staff to Bilbo, I fully trusted that the technical and artistic foundation was sound, and sat back to enjoy the story, vaguely remembered from when I’d last read the books as a teenager. (I intentionally refrained from re-reading the books until after I’d seen all three films, not wanting to spoil the experience with nit-picking. I’m glad I did, and when I finally did read the books again, I was impressed by just how much had been incorporated into the films. Dialogue and details sometimes had to be moved around or mixed together to fit the medium, but the decision to use so much original source material was very wise.) These films are worthy adaptations of the books. They’re labors of love, and it shows. :Genre: fantasy/adventure/action :Format: widescreen :Rating: 14A :Edition: Each is a 4-disc “Special Extended Edition” :Features: commentaries, documentaries, featurettes, and extras galore :Director: Peter Jackson :Screenplay: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Stephen Sinclair, & Peter Jackson, from the novels by J.R.R. Tolkien :Starring: Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Sean Astin, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett, Sean Bean, John Rhys-Davies, Orlando Bloom, Andy Serkis, Bernard Hill, Christopher Lee, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Hugo Weaving, Miranda Otto, David Wenham, Brad Dourif, Karl Urban, John Noble, Ian Holm :Links: `Official site `__, `TheOneRing.net `__, `IGN FilmForce `__, `The Encyclopedia of Arda `__ The Fellowship of the Ring -------------------------- This Extended Edition gives fans more of a very good thing. :Released: 2001 :Runtime: 3h28m :Plot: In a small village in the Shire a young Hobbit named Frodo has been entrusted with an ancient Ring. Now he must embark on an epic quest to the Cracks of Doom in order to destroy it. :Links: `IMDb `__, `DVDReview.com `__, `easter eggs `__, `101 Observations `__, `Encylopedia of Arda Movie-Goer’s Guide `__ The Two Towers -------------- The Extended Edition of `The Two Towers` is essential viewing. The added scenes (especially the flashback with Boromir, Faramir, and Denethor) make this a truly satisfying film, as opposeed to the merely satisfactory theatrical release. The real star of this film is Gollum, and `Gollum’s Song` (over the end-titles) is heart-breaking. :Released: 2002 :Runtime: 3h42m :Plot: Frodo and Sam continue on to Mordor in their mission to destroy the One Ring, guided by Gollum. Their former companions make new allies, defend Helm’s Deep from attack, and launch an assault on Isengard with the help of the Ents. :Links: `IMDb `__, `DVDReview.com `__, `easter eggs `__, `101 Observations `__, `Encylopedia of Arda Movie-Goer’s Guide `__ The Return of the King ---------------------- The Extended Edition fills in many pieces missing from the story: the Voice of Saruman; the Paths of the Dead; the Corsairs of Umbar; more interaction between Faramir and Denethor; the courage of Merry and Pippin; the Witch King’s Hour; the Houses of Healing; Frodo and Sam in the company of orcs; Aragorn and the Palantír; the Mouth of Sauron. Although not as essential as with `The Two Towers`, the additions restore a lot of story and character development to the theatrical action/adventure. :Released: 2003 :Runtime: 4h10m :Plot: The former Fellowship of the Ring prepare for the final battle for Middle Earth, while Frodo & Sam approach Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring. :Links: `IMDb `__, `easter eggs `__, `101 Observations `__, `Encylopedia of Arda Movie-Goer’s Guide `__ Lost In Translation =================== In August 2009, during a vacation visiting Mayumi’s family in Japan, we stayed at the hotel where this film was shot, the Park Hyatt Tokyo, a five-star hotel. We spent two nights there while exploring Tokyo with the kids. We used loyalty points for the stay, which would have been about $600/night (!) otherwise. Upon returning to Canada, we felt we just had to get this movie. :Released: 2003 :Genre: comedy/drama/romance :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h42m :Rating: PG :Features: deleted scenes, featurettes, music video :Director: Sofia Coppola :Screenplay: Sofia Coppola :Starring: Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Giovanni Ribisi :Plot: A movie star with a sense of emptiness, and a neglected newlywed meet up as strangers in Tokyo, Japan and form an unlikely bond. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Lost Room ============= A 6-episode Sci-Fi Channel mini-series, it’s like a super story arc of `The X Files` that makes sense (it’s internally consistent) and has a satisfying conclusion. :Released: 2006 :Genre: drama/fantasy/mystery/SF :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 4h44m :Rating: PG :Features: featurette :Director: Craig R. Baxley, Michael W. Watkins :Screenplay: Laura Harkcom & Christopher Leone & Paul Workman :Starring: Peter Krause, Julianna Margulies, Peter Jacobson, Dennis Christopher, April Grace, Chris Bauer, Elle Fanning, Roger Bart, Kevin Pollak :Plot: A detective investigating a double murder receives a key which opens any door, and opens into a mysterious motel room. From inside the room, the door opens any door in the real world. When his daughter becomes lost in the room, the detective has to track down other objects that are being sought by individuals and warring groups, while desperately seeking his daughter’s return. :Links: `IMDb `__ Machete ======= Originally a fake trailer from the Grindhouse_ double-feature. :Released: 2010 :Genre: action/comedy/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h45m :Rating: 18A :Features: deleted scenes, audience reaction track :Director: Robert Rodriguez & Ethan Maniquis :Screenplay: Robert Rodriguez, Álvaro Rodríguez :Starring: Danny Trejo, Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Steven Seagal, Michelle Rodriguez, Jeff Fahey, Cheech Marin, Don Johnson :Plot: After being set-up and betrayed by the man who hired him to assassinate a Texas Senator, an ex-Federale launches a brutal rampage of revenge against his former boss. :Links: `IMDb `__ Mad Max ======= :Released: 1979 :Genre: action/adventure/SF/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h34m :Rating: 18A :Edition: “Special Edition” (1 disc, double-sided) :Features: Australian & US-dubbed audio tracks; commentary; featurettes; trivia :Director: George Miller :Screenplay: James McCausland and George Miller; story by George Miller and Byron Kennedy :Starring: Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Steve Bisley, Tim Burns, Roger Ward :Plot: In a crumbling future Australia, a savage motorcycle gang rules the road, terrorizing innocent civilians and laughing in the face of the police... until they cross officer Max Rockatansky. :Links: `IMDb `__, `easter eggs `__ Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior =========================== Great action. :AKA: The Road Warrior :Released: 1981 :Genre: action/SF/thriller :Format: widescreen/fullscreen :Runtime: 1h35m :Rating: R :Director: George Miller :Screenplay: Terry Hayes & George Miller with Brian Hannant :Starring: Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence, Michael Preston :Plot: In the post-apocolyptic Australian wasteland, a cynical drifter agrees to help a small, gasoline rich, community escape a band of bandits. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Majestic ============ :Released: 2001 :Genre: drama/romance :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h32m :Rating: PG :Features: additional scenes, featurettes :Director: Frank Darabont :Screenplay: Michael Sloane :Starring: Jim Carrey, Bob Balaban, Brent Briscoe, Jeffrey DeMunn, Hal Holbrook, Laurie Holden, Martin Landau :Plot: Set in 1951, a blacklisted Hollywood writer gets into a car accident, loses his memory and settles down in a small town where he is mistaken for a long, lost son. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Man From Earth ================== :AKA: Jerome Bixby’s “The Man From Earth” :Released: 2007 :Genre: drama/SF :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h27m :Rating: not rated :Features: commentaries, featurettes :Director: Richard Schenkman :Screenplay: Jerome Bixby :Starring: John Billingsley, Ellen Crawford, William Katt, Annika Peterson, Richard Riehle, David Lee Smith, Alexis Thorpe, Tony Todd :Plot: An impromptu goodbye party for Professor John Oldman becomes a mysterious interrogation after the retiring scholar reveals to his colleagues he is an immortal who has walked the earth for 14,000 years. :Links: `IMDb `__ Man On The Moon =============== Strange, funny, and moving. A brilliant performance by Jim Carrey. :Released: 1999 :Genre: comedy/drama :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h58m :Rating: PG (but R/MPAA, for language & brief nudity) :Features: “Making Of” documentary; deleted scenes; music videos; biographical notes & video clips of the real Andy Kaufman. :Director: Milos Forman :Screenplay: Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski :Starring: Jim Carrey, Danny DeVito, Courtney Love, Paul Giamatti :Plot: The life and career of the eccentric avant-garde comedian, Andy Kaufman. :Links: `IMDb `__, `easter eggs `__ The Man With Two Brains ======================= Silly and very funny. Well worth the price I paid ($9CDN), and more. :Released: 1983 :Genre: comedy :Format: fullscreen :Runtime: 1h33m :Rating: 14A :Director: Carl Reiner :Screenplay: George Gipe, Steve Martin, & Carl Reiner :Starring: Steve Martin & Kathleen Turner :Plot: Steve Martin comedy about brain transplantation, marital infidelity, and pure platonic love. :Links: `IMDb `__, `Steve Martin’s site `__ Marathon Man ============ An excellent thriller. | “Is it safe?” | Open wide and say “Ahhh!” :Released: 1976 :Genre: drama/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h5m :Rating: 18A :Features: interviews, trailers, featurette :Director: John Schlesinger :Screenplay: William Goldman, based on his novel :Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, Roy Scheider, William Devane, Marthe Keller :Plot: A graduate student is unwittingly caught in the middle of an international conspiracy involving stolen diamonds, an exiled Nazi war criminal, and a rogue government agent. :Links: `IMDb `__ Mars Attacks! ============= A fun 50’s SF B-movie spoof, with cameos galore. :Released: 1996 :Genre: action/comedy/SF :Format: widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h46m :Rating: PG :Director: Tim Burton :Screenplay: Jonathan Gems :Starring: Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J. Fox, Rod Steiger, Tom Jones, Jim Brown, Lukas Haas, Natalie Portman :Plot: The Earth is invaded by Martians with irresistible weapons and a cruel sense of humor. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Mask ======== :Released: 1995 :Genre: comedy/fantasy/action/crime :Format: widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h41m :Rating: PG :Edition: “New Line Platinum Series” :Features: commentary, extras :Director: Charles Russell :Screenplay: Mike Werb; story by Michael Fallon & Mark Verheiden :Starring: Jim Carrey, Cameron Diaz, Peter Riegert, Peter Greene, Amy Yasbeck, Richard Jeni :Plot: Bank clerk Stanley Ipkiss is transformed into a manic super-hero when he wears a mysterious mask. :Links: `IMDb `__, `DVDReview.com (different edition) `__ The Martian Chronicles ====================== I vaguely remember watching this on TV when it was first broadcast as a mini-series. I remember it favourably, but I would have been 11 or 12 years old at the time. :AKA: Ray Bradbury’s “The Martian Chronicles” :Released: 1980 :Genre: SF :Format: fullscreen :Runtime: 4h53m :Rating: NR :Director: Michael Anderson :Screenplay: Richard Matheson, from the novel by Ray Bradbury :Starring: Rock Hudson, Gayle Hunnicutt, Darren McGavin, Roddy McDowall :Plot: cannot be summarized :Links: `IMDb `__ The Matrix Trilogy ================== `The Matrix` was original and cool (even though the “human batteries” concept is hokey). `The Matrix Reloaded` had some excellent fights and chases. And at $6 each, the whole trilogy was worth getting. :Genre: action/adventure/SF/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Rating: 14A :Director: Andy Wachowski & Larry Wachowski :Screenplay: Andy Wachowski & Larry Wachowski :Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Gloria Foster, Joe Pantoliano, Jada Pinkett Smith The Matrix ---------- :Released: 1999 :Runtime: 2h16m :Features: commentary, documentaries, music-only audio track, extras :Plot: A computer hacker learns from mysterious rebels about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against the controllers of it. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Matrix Reloaded ------------------- :Released: 2003 :Runtime: 2h18m :Edition: 2 discs :Features: featurettes :Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Jada Pinkett Smith :Plot: Neo and the rebel leaders estimate that they have 72 hours until 250,000 probes discover Zion and destroy it and its inhabitants. During this, Neo must decide how he can save Trinity from a dark fate in his dreams. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Matrix Revolutions ---------------------- :Released: 2003 :Runtime: 2h9m :Edition: 2 discs :Features: featurettes :Plot: The human city of Zion defends itself against the massive invasion of the machines as Neo fights to end the war at another front while also opposing the rogue Agent Smith. :Links: `IMDb `__ Memento ======= Disc 2 menu: * SKULL: “Anatomy of a Scene”, a Sundance Channel featurette. * COMPASS: a behind-the-scenes photo gallery, as well as pages from Leonard’s Journal. * BOOK: read Nolan’s script while listening to the audio track of the movie, including the margin notes, offering further thoughts on how scenes might be filmed. * GLOBE: international promotional material. * BINOCULARS: international and North American theatrical trailers. * CLOCK: alternate chronological version; see the `easter egg `__ :Released: 2000 :Genre: crime/drama/mystery :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h53m :Rating: 14A :Edition: Widescreen Limited Edition (“Psychiatric Report”, 2-disc) :Features: commentary, documentary, alternate chronological version (see the menu above) :Director: Christopher Nolan :Screenplay: Christopher Nolan, based on a short story by Jonathan Nolan :Starring: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, Mark Boone Junior, Stephen Tobolowsky, Harriet Sansom Harris, Callum Keith Rennie, Larry Holden, Jorja Fox :Plot: A man, suffering from short-term memory loss, uses notes and tattoos to hunt for the man he thinks killed his wife. :Links: `IMDb `__, `easter eggs `__ Mexico Trilogy ============== Boxed set of 3 films. Gift from Mayumi, birthday 2008. :Director: Robert Rodriguez :Genre: action/crime/thriller/western :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Screenplay: Robert Rodriguez El Mariachi ----------- :Released: 1992 :Runtime: 1h21m :Rating: 18A :Edition: “Special Edition” :Features: commentary, short film “Bedhead”, “10-Minute Film School” :Starring: Carlos Gallardo, Consuelo Gómez, Jaime de Hoyos, Peter Marquardt :Plot: A traveling mariachi is mistaken for a murderous criminal and must hide from a gang bent on killing him. :Links: `IMDb `__ Desperado --------- :Released: 1995 :Runtime: 1h43m :Rating: R :Edition: “Special Edition” :Features: commentary, “Anatomy of a Shootout” :Starring: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Joaquim de Almeida, Cheech Marin, Steve Buscemi, Carlos Gómez, Quentin Tarantino :Plot: A gunslinger is embroiled in a war with a local drug runner. :Links: `IMDb `__ Once Upon a Time in Mexico -------------------------- :Released: 2003 :Runtime: 1h42m :Rating: 18A :Features: commentary, featurettes, deleted scenes :Starring: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp, Mickey Rourke, Eva Mendes, Danny Trejo, Enrique Iglesias, Marco Leonardi, Cheech Marin, Rubén Blades, Willem Dafoe :Plot: Hitman “El Mariachi” becomes involved in international espionage involving a psychotic CIA agent and a corrupt Mexican general. :Links: `IMDb `__ Minority Report =============== Another satisfying adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s work, this film succeeds on all levels. Spielberg has finally made another serious and successful SF film for adults, the first since 1977’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. :Released: 2002 :Genre: action/SF/thriller/crime/drama/mystery :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 2h26m :Rating: 14A :Edition: 2 discs :Features: documentaries :Director: Steven Spielberg :Screenplay: Scott Frank & Jon Cohen, from the Philip K. Dick short story :Starring: Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Max von Sydow, Samantha Morton, Kathryn Morris :Plot: In 2054, criminals are caught before the crimes they commit, but the head of the Precrime unit is accused of murder and sets out to prove his innocence. :Links: `IMDb `__, `Official site `__ Monster House ============= :Released: 2006 :Genre: animation/family/fantasy/mystery :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h31m :Rating: PG :Features: commentary, featurettes :Director: Gil Kenan :Screenplay: Dan Harmon & Rob Schrab and Pamela Pettler; story by Dan Harmon & Rob Schrab :Starring: (voices) Steve Buscemi, Nick Cannon, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kevin James, Jason Lee, Catherine O’Hara, Kathleen Turner, Fred Willard, Ryan Newman, Mitchel Musso, Sam Lerner, Woody Schultz, Ian McConnel, Spencer Locke, Jon Heder :Plot: Three kids discover that their neighbor’s house is really a living, breathing, scary monster. :Links: `IMDb `__ Monsters, Inc. ============== Anyone with kids has probably already seen it. Several times. Luckily, it’s quite entertaining for adults also, and stands up to repeated viewings. A gift to Kaito & Erika, February 2003. :Released: 2001 :Genre: animation/family/comedy/fantasy :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h32m :Rating: G :Edition: 2-disc “Collector’s Edition” :Features: commentary, documentaries, game, easter eggs :Director: Pete Docter :Screenplay: Pete Docter et al. :Starring: (voices) John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Mary Gibbs, Steve Buscemi, James Coburn, Jennifer Tilly, Bob Peterson :Plot: Monsters generate their city’s power by scaring children, but they are terribly afraid themselves of being contaminated by children, so when one enters Monstropolis, top scarer Sulley find his world disrupted. :Links: `IMDb `__, `easter eggs `__, `Pixar site `__, `Disney site `__, `The Fanlisting `__ Monty Python and the Holy Grail =============================== Classic silliness. :Released: 1975 :Genre: comedy/adventure/fantasy :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h31m :Rating: PG :Edition: “Special Edition” (2 discs) :Features: extra 24 seconds of film!, commentaries, featurettes :Director: Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones :Screenplay: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Michael Palin :Starring: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Michael Palin :Plot: King Arthur and his knights embark on a low-budget search for the Grail, encountering many very silly obstacles. :Links: `IMDb `__ My Bodyguard ============ :Released: 1980 :Genre: comedy/drama/family :Format: anamorphic widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h36m :Rating: PG :Director: Tony Bill :Screenplay: Alan Ormsby :Starring: Chris Makepeace, Adam Baldwin, Matt Dillon, Joan Cusack, Ruth Gordon :Plot: When a boy comes to a new school and gets harassed by a bully, he acquires the services of the school’s most feared kid as a bodyguard. :Links: `IMDb `__ My Neighbor Totoro ================== An imaginative film suitable for young children. A gift to Erika, Christmas 2003. :AKA: となりのトトロ (Tonari no Totoro [Japanese title]) :Released: 1988 :Genre: animation/family/fantasy :Format: fullscreen :Runtime: 1h27m :Rating: G :Director: Hayao Miyazaki :Screenplay: Hayao Miyazaki :Starring: (voices; English version) Lisa Michaelson, Cheryl Chase :Plot: Deep inside a tree trunk, sisters Satsuki & Mei discover a fascinating new world inhabited by Totoros — amazing, charming creatures who become their friends. :Links: `IMDb `__, `Studio Ghibli (Japanese) `__, `Nausicaa.net (fan website) `__ Napoleon Dynamite ================= :Released: 2004 :Genre: comedy :Format: anamorphic widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h35m :Rating: G :Features: commentary, featurette, deleted scenes, “Peluca” short film :Director: Jared Hess :Screenplay: Jared Hess and Jerusha Hess :Starring: Jon Heder, Jon Gries, Efren Ramirez, Aaron Ruell, Diedrich Bader, Tina Majorino :Plot: A listless and alienated teenager decides to help his new friend win the class presidency in their small western high school, while he must deal with his bizarre family life back home. :Links: `IMDb `__ Natural Born Killers ==================== :Released: 1994 :Genre: action/crime/drama/romance/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h1m :Rating: R :Edition: “Director’s Cut” :Features: commentary, deleted scenes, alternative ending, interviews :Director: Oliver Stone :Screenplay: David Veloz, Richard Rutowski, Oliver Stone; story by Quentin Tarantino :Starring: Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr., Tommy Lee Jones, Tom Sizemore, Rodney Dangerfield :Plot: Two victims of traumatized childhoods become lovers and psychopathic serial murderers irresponsibly glorified by the mass media. :Links: `IMDb `__ Near Dark ========= A highly original and intelligent, low-budget vampire horror/western cross. Stunning shot, engaging and complex characters, exciting, and superbly acted. The music by Tangerine Dream is among their best and stands alone. :Released: 1987 :Genre: horror/western :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h34m :Rating: R/MPAA :Edition: 2 discs, deluxe :Features: commentary, documentary, deleted scene, screenplay :Director: Kathryn Bigelow :Screenplay: Kathryn Bigelow and Eric Red :Starring: Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, Jenette Goldstein, Tim Thomerson, Joshua John Miller :Plot: A young man tries to seduce a girl, but a nibble infects him and forces him to join her and her family, a travelling band of vicious nocturnal blood-suckers. :Links: `IMDb `__ Never Cry Wolf ============== A wonderful story, beautiful cinematography. :Released: 1983 :Genre: adventure/drama :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h45m :Rating: PG/MPAA :Director: Carroll Ballard :Screenplay: Ralph Furmaniak & Sam Hamm & Richard Kletter; narration by Charles Martin Smith & Eugene Corr & Christina Luescher; based on the book by Farley Mowat :Starring: Charles Martin Smith, Brian Dennehy, Zachary Ittimangnaq, Samson Jorah :Plot: A government researcher, sent to research the “menace” of wolves in the north, learns about the true beneficial and positive nature of the species. :Links: `IMDb `__ Never So Few ============ Part of “The Essential Steve McQueen Collection” (6 film box set), a gift from my parents, birthday 2008. :Released: 1959 :Genre: drama/war :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h4m :Rating: ? :Director: John Sturges :Screenplay: Millard Kaufman; novel by Tom T. Chamales :Starring: Frank Sinatra, Gina Lollobrigida, Peter Lawford, Steve McQueen, Richard Johnson, Paul Henreid, Brian Donlevy, Dean Jones :Plot: A band of skilled O.S.S. operatives are in WWII Burma to train the Kachin natives in modern warfare. :Links: `IMDb `__ Nightbreed ========== Highly original. :Released: 1990 :Genre: fantasy/horror :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h41m :Rating: R :Director: Clive Barker :Screenplay: Clive Barker, from his novel :Starring: Craig Sheffer, Anne Bobby, David Cronenberg, Charles Haid :Plot: A community of mutant outcasts of varying types and abilities attempts to escape the attentions of a psychotic serial killer and redneck vigilantes with the help of a brooding young man who discovers them. :Links: `IMDb `__ A Nightmare On Elm Street ========================= :Released: 1984 :Genre: fantasy/horror/mystery/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h32m :Rating: R :Edition: 2-dics “infinifilm” :Features: commentary, featurettes, interactive features, alternate ending(s) :Director: Wes Craven :Screenplay: Wes Craven :Starring: John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp, Robert Englund :Plot: When her best friend is brutally murdered, teenager Nancy suspects the killer is a horrifying figure from her dreams. Convinced that this vicious murderer is stalking her friends and killing them as they sleep, Nancy races to bring him out of her dream world before she falls asleep and becomes his next victim. :Links: `IMDb `__ Office Space ============ :Released: 1999 :Genre: comedy/crime/romance :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h30m :Rating: 14A :Director: Mike Judge :Screenplay: Mike Judge :Starring: Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, David Herman, Ajay Naidu, Diedrich Bader, Stephen Root, Gary Cole :Plot: Comedic tale of company workers who hate their jobs and decide to rebel against their greedy boss. :Links: `IMDb `__ Papillon ======== Part of “The Essential Steve McQueen Collection” (6 film box set), a gift from my parents, birthday 2008. :Released: 1973 :Genre: adventure/biography/drama :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h30m :Rating: 14A :Director: Franklin J. Schaffner :Screenplay: Dalton Trumbo and Lorenzo Semple Jr.; book by Henri Charrière :Starring: Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman, Victor Jory, Don Gordon, Anthony Zerbe :Plot: A man befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence on a dreadful prison island, which inspires the man to plot his escape. :Links: `IMDb `__ Parenthood ========== Great humor & great truth. You know, when I was nineteen, Grandpa took me on a roller coaster. Up, down, up, down. Oh, what a ride! I always wanted to go again. You know, it was just so interesting to me that a ride could make me so frightened, so scared, so sick, so excited, and so thrilled all together! Some didn’t like it. They went on the merry-go-round. That just goes around. Nothing. I like the roller coaster. You get more out of it. -- Grandma :Released: 1989 :Genre: comedy/drama :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h9m :Rating: 14A :Edition: “Special Edition” :Features: featurettes :Director: Ron Howard :Screenplay: Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel; story by Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel & Ron Howard :Starring: Steve Martin, Dianne Wiest, Mary Steenburgen, Jason Robards, Rick Moranis, Tom Hulce, Martha Plimpton, Keanu Reeves, Joaquin Phoenix :Plot: The Buckman family is a midwestern family all dealing with their lives: estranged relatives, raising children, pressures of the job, and learning to be a good parent and spouse. :Links: `IMDb `__ Paris, Texas ============ :Released: 1984 :Genre: drama :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h25m :Rating: R/MPAA :Features: commentary, deleted scenes, featurette :Director: Wim Wenders :Screenplay: Sam Shepard, adaptation by L.M. Kit Carson :Starring: Harry Dean Stanton, Nastassja Kinski, Dean Stockwell, Aurore Clément, Hunter Carson :Plot: A man wanders out of the desert not knowing who he is. His brother finds him and helps to pull back his memory of the life he led before he walked out on his wife and son four years before. As his memory returns, he makes contact with people from his past. :Links: `IMDb `__ Peter Pan ========= An excellent adaptation of the classic story, this film takes its source material seriously and does it justice. A delight to watch. Gift to Kaito & Erika, Christmas 2004. :Released: 2003 :Genre: adventure/family/action/fantasy :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h54m :Rating: PG :Features: alternate ending (worth watching!), deleted scenes, featurettes :Director: P.J. Hogan :Screenplay: P.J. Hogan & Michael Goldenberg, based on the stageplay and books by J.M. Barrie :Starring: Jason Isaacs, Jeremy Sumpter, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Lynn Redgrave, Richard Briers, Olivia Williams, Ludivine Sagnier :Plot: The Darling family children receive a visit from Peter Pan, who takes them to Neverland where an ongoing war with the evil Pirate Captain Hook is taking place. :Links: `IMDb `__ Pink Floyd The Wall =================== A powerful, disturbing, brilliant 90-minute music video of one of rock’s classic albums. :AKA: The Wall :Released: 1982 :Genre: drama/music :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h35m :Rating: 18A :Edition: “Deluxe Edition” :Features: commentary, 2 documentaries, extras :Director: Alan Parker :Screenplay: Roger Waters :Starring: Bob Geldof :Plot: The life and descent into madness of fictional (semi-autobiographical) rock star Pink in the midst of his physical and social isolation. A visually evocative cult film based upon the music and visions of Roger Waters and Pink Floyd. Relationships, drug abuse, sex, childhood, death and fascism combine in a disturbing mix of episodic live action and lyrical animation. :Links: `IMDb `__, `DVDReview.com `__, `easter eggs `__ Pleasantville ============= :Released: 1998 :Genre: fantasy/comedy/drama :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h4m :Rating: PG-13/MPAA :Features: commentary, featurettes :Director: Gary Ross :Screenplay: Gary Ross :Starring: Tobey Maguire, Reese Witherspoon, William H. Macy, Joan Allen, Jeff Daniels, J.T. Walsh, Don Knotts :Plot: Two teenagers find themselves in a 1950’s sitcom where their influence begins to profoundly change that complacent world. :Links: `IMDb `__ Predator ======== Tense kill-or-be-killed action. How do you fight an enemy who cannot be seen and uses advanced technology? This film features two future US state governors! Gift from Mayumi, Christmas 2004. :Released: 1987 :Genre: action/horror/SF/thriller :Format: fullscreen :Runtime: 1h46m :Rating: R :Edition: “Collector’s Edition” (2 discs) :Features: commentaries, documentary, featurettes, deleted scene :Director: John McTiernan :Screenplay: Jim Thomas & John Thomas :Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Elpidia Carrillo, Bill Duke, Jesse Ventura :Plot: A team of commandos, on a mission in a Central American jungle, find themselves hunted by an extra-terrestrial warrior. :Links: `IMDb `__, `easter eggs `__ Prince of Darkness ================== :Released: 1987 :Genre: horror/fantasy/thriller/SF :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h42m :Rating: R :Director: John Carpenter :Screenplay: John Carpenter (as Martin Quatermass) :Starring: Donald Pleasence, Jameson Parker, Victor Wong, Lisa Blount, Dennis Dun :Plot: A research team finds a mysterious cylinder in a deserted church. If opened, it could mean the end of the world. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Princess Bride ================== Fun for adults & children alike. :Released: 1987 :Genre: fantasy/family/adventure/comedy/romance :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h38m :Rating: PG :Edition: “Special Edition” :Features: commentaries, featurettes, extras :Director: Rob Reiner :Screenplay: William Goldman, based on his novel :Starring: Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn, Andre the Giant, Fred Savage, Peter Falk :Plot: A classic fairy tale, with swordplay, giants, an evil king, a beautiful princess, and yes, some kissing (as read by a kindly grandfather). :Links: `IMDb `__, `easter eggs `__, `DVDReview.com (different edition) `__ Prometheus ========== A prequel of sorts to Alien_. :Released: 2012 :Genre: adventure/mystery/SF :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h4m :Rating: 14A :Edition: Blu-Ray & DVD Combo :Features: (on the Blu-Ray) commentaries, deleted scenes, alternate beginning & ending, featurette :Director: Ridley Scott :Screenplay: Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof, based on elements created by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett :Starring: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce :Plot: A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race. :Links: `IMDb `__ Pulp Fiction ============ Pure Tarantino. :Released: 1994 :Genre: crime/drama :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h34m :Rating: 18A :Edition: “Collector’s Edition” :Features: documentary, deleted scenes, featurettes, interviews, TV shows & spots :Director: Quentin Tarantino :Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino, stories by Quentin Tarantino & Roger Avary :Starring: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, Maria de Medeiros, Ving Rhames, Eric Stoltz, Rosanna Arquette, Christopher Walken, Bruce Willis :Plot: The stories of two mob hit men, a boxer and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption. :Links: `IMDb `__ Pump Up The Volume ================== :Released: 1990 :Genre: drama/comedy :Format: anamorphic widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h42m :Rating: 14A :Director: Allan Moyle :Screenplay: Allan Moyle :Starring: Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis, Scott Paulin, Ellen Greene :Plot: A teen runs a pirate radio station and causes an uproar when he speaks his mind and enthralls fellow teens. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Quiet Earth =============== A nearly-great film, with a stunning finalé |---| a beautiful visual punch where words couldn’t possibly do the story justice. :Released: 1985 :Genre: SF/drama/mystery :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h31m :Rating: R/MPAA :Features: commentary :Director: Geoff Murphy :Screenplay: Bill Baer & Bruno Lawrence & Sam Pillsbury; based on the novel by Craig Harrison :Starring: Bruno Lawrence, Alison Routledge, Pete Smith :Plot: A man wakes up to find himself literally alone in the world, and goes about trying to find other survivors, as well as to find out what happened. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Raggedy Rawney ================== :Released: 1988 :Genre: drama/war :Format: anamorphic widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h43m :Rating: 14A :Director: Bob Hoskins :Screenplay: Bob Hoskins & Nicole De Wilde :Starring: Dexter Fletcher, Zoë Nathenson, Zoë Wanamaker, Bob Hoskins, Ian McNeice :Plot: A young military recruit goes AWOL after his first taste of battle. He disguises himself with face paint and women’s clothing to avoid being captured by his vengeful commanding officer. He’s taken in by the leader of an eccentric group of traveling gypsies, who thinks he’s a “rawney”—a half-mad, half-magical woman who brings good fortune. :Links: `IMDb `__ Raising Arizona =============== Funny & quirky. A gift on Father’s Day 2006, from *my* parents! :Released: 1987 :Genre: action/comedy/crime :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h34m :Rating: PG :Director: Joel Coen :Screenplay: Ethan Coen & Joel Coen :Starring: Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, Trey Wilson, John Goodman, William Forsythe :Plot: A con and a cop get married. They can’t have children of their own so decide to help themselves to one of another family’s quintupelets. Their lives get more complicated than they anticipated. :Links: `IMDb `__ Ratatouille =========== A gift for Erika, Christmas 2007. :Released: 2007 :Genre: animation/comedy/family :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h51m :Rating: G :Features: animated shorts “Lifted” and “Your Friend the Rat”, deleted scenes, featurette :Director: Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava (co-director) :Screenplay: Brad Bird; story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird :Starring: (voices) Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Lou Romano, Brian Dennehy, Peter Sohn, Peter O’Toole, Brad Garrett, Janeane Garofalo :Plot: Remy is a young rat in Paris who dreams of good food and becoming a great chef. He visits the restaurant of his dead cooking idol, where he makes an unusual alliance with Linguini, the new garbage boy. :Links: `IMDb `__ Red State ========= :Released: 2011 :Genre: action/horror/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h22m :Rating: 18A :Features: featurettes, deleted scenes, podcasts :Director: Kevin Smith :Screenplay: Kevin Smith :Starring: Michael Angarano, Kerry Bishé, Nicholas Braun, Kyle Gallner, John Goodman, Melissa Leo, Michael Parks, Kevin Pollak, Stephen Root, Ralph Garman :Plot: Set in Middle America, a group of teens receive an online invitation for sex, though they soon encounter fundamentalists with a much more sinister agenda. :Links: `IMDb `__ Repo Man ======== Intense! An SF/comedy classic. :Released: 1985 :Genre: comedy/SF :Format: widescreen/fullscreen :Runtime: 1h32m :Rating: 18A :Director: Alex Cox :Screenplay: Alex Cox :Starring: Emilio Estevez, Harry Dean Stanton, Tracey Walter, Olivia Barash :Plot: After frustrated punk rocker Otto Maddox quits his dead-end supermarket job, he’s hired to work as an apprentice “repo man”. In no time, the rookie is caught up in a series of adventures involving government agents, UFO cultists, hired thugs, and a lobotomized nuclear scientist, culminating in the search for an incredibly valuable ’64 Chevy Malibu containing a secret that can change the course of civilization overnight! :Links: `IMDb `__, `easter eggs `__, `DVDReview.com `__, `Alex Cox’s Repo-Page `__, `Repo Man links page `__ Reservoir Dogs ============== Intense & bloody. :Genre: crime/drama/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h40m :Rating: R :Edition: “Special Edition — Ten Years” (2 discs) :Features: deleted scenes, featurettes :Director: Quentin Tarantino :Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino :Starring: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Michael Madsen :Plot: Five total strangers team up for the perfect crime. But something goes wrong. One of the men is a rat, an infiltrator working for the cops. But who? :Links: `IMDb `__ Risky Business ============== A teen classic. Great songs and an amazing score by Tangerine Dream. :Released: 1983 :Genre: comedy/crime :Format: widescreen/fullscreen :Runtime: 1h39m :Rating: R/MPAA :Director: Paul Brickman :Screenplay: Paul Brickman :Starring: Tom Cruise, Rebecca De Mornay, Joe Pantoliano, Richard Masur, Bronson Pinchot :Plot: After his parents leave on vacation, Joel cuts loose. Joel gets in over his head after late-night visit from Lana, a gorgeous young prostitute. An unauthorised trip in his father’s Porsche means a sudden need for lots of money, which he raises in a creative way, with Lana’s help. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Rocky Horror Picture Show ============================= It’s a lark! :Released: 1975 :Genre: comedy/horror/musical/SF :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h40m :Rating: 14A :Features: multiple versions; commentary :Director: Jim Sharman :Screenplay: Jim Sharman & Richard O’Brien :Starring: Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Richard O’Brien, Patricia Quinn, Nell Campbell, Jonathan Adams, Peter Hinwood, Meat Loaf :Plot: A newly engaged couple have a breakdown in an isolated area and must pay a call to the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-N-Furter. :Links: `IMDb `__ Rollerball ========== There was no need for a remake. The original rocks. :Released: 1975 :Genre: action/SF :Format: widescreen/fullscreen :Runtime: 2h5m :Rating: PG :Director: Norman Jewison :Screenplay: William Harrison (from his short story) :Starring: James Caan, John Houseman, Maud Adams, John Beck, Moses Gunn :Plot: The year is 2018. There are no wars. There is no crime. There is only... the Game. In a corporate controlled future, an ultra-violent sport known as Rollerball represents the world, and its most powerful athlete is out to defy those who want him out of the game. :Links: `IMDb `__, `The Unofficial Movie Website `__ Run Lola Run ============ Quirky, original, and a lot of fun. The commentary is quite interesting. :AKA: Lola Rennt (German title) :Released: 1999 :Genre: drama/thriller/crime/romance :Format: widescreen/fullscreen :Runtime: 1h21m :Rating: R/MPAA :Director: Tom Tykwer :Screenplay: Tom Tykwer :Starring: Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, Herbert Knaup :Plot: Time is running out for Lola. She’s just received a frantic phone call from her boyfriend Manni, who’s lost a small fortune belonging to his mobster boss. If Lola doesn’t replace the money in twenty minutes, Manni will surely suffer severe consequences. She only has one chance. Or does she? :Links: `IMDb `__, `song lyrics `__ Salem’s Lot =========== :Released: 1979 :Genre: horror/thriller/drama/mystery :Format: fullscreen :Runtime: 3h3m :Rating: 14A :Director: Tobe Hooper :Screenplay: Paul Monash; novel by Stephen King :Starring: David Soul, James Mason, Lance Kerwin, Bonnie Bedelia, Lew Ayres :Plot: Vampires are invading a small New England town. It’s up to a novelist and a young horror fan to save it. :Links: `IMDb `__ A Scanner Darkly ================ :Released: 2006 :Genre: animation/crime/drama/mystery/SF/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h40m :Rating: 14A :Features: commentary, featurettes :Director: Richard Linklater :Screenplay: Richard Linklater, based on the novel by Philip K. Dick :Starring: Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, Winona Ryder, Rory Cochrane :Plot: An undercover cop in a not-too-distant future becomes involved with a dangerous new drug and begins to lose his own identity as a result. :Links: `IMDb `__ Scanners ======== :Released: 1981 :Genre: horror/SF/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h43m :Rating: R :Director: David Cronenberg :Screenplay: David Cronenberg :Starring: Jennifer O’Neill, Stephen Lack, Patrick McGoohan, Lawrence Dane, Michael Ironside :Plot: A scientist sends a man with extraordinary psychic powers to hunt others like him. :Links: `IMDb `__ Scott Pilgrim vs. the World =========================== An underappreciated gem. The film’s video-game-universe-comes-to-life is a delight. Worth watching many times for all the details alone. :Released: 2010 :Genre: action/adventure/comedy :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h52m :Rating: PG :Features: four commentary tracks, deleted scenes, outtakes :Director: Edgar Wright :Screenplay: Michael Bacall & Edgar Wright; based on graphic novel by Bryan Lee O’Malley :Starring: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ellen Wong, Kieran Culkin, Anna Kendrick, Brandon Routh, Alison Pill, Chris Evans, Mark Webber, Johnny Simmons, Brie Larson, Jason Schwartzman, Aubrey Plaza, Mae Whitman, Satya Bhabha, Keita Saitou, Shota Saito :Plot: Scott Pilgrim must defeat his new girlfriend’s seven evil exes in order to win her heart. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Secret Garden ================= :Released: 1993 :Genre: drama/family :Format: anamorphic widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h41m :Rating: G :Edition: “Family Double Feature” with `A Little Princess`_ :Director: Agnieszka Holland :Screenplay: Caroline Thompson, novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett :Starring: Kate Maberly, Heydon Prowse, Andrew Knott, Maggie Smith :Plot: Three lonely children are forever changed as they learn to trust each other while restoring and taking refuge in the secret garden. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Serpent and the Rainbow =========================== “Don’t bury me! I’m not dead!” :Released: 1988 :Genre: horror :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h38m :Rating: R/MPAA :Director: Wes Craven :Screenplay: Richard Maxwell & Adam Rodman, inspired by the book by Wade Davis :Starring: Bill Pullman, Cathy Tyson, Zakes Mokae, Paul Winfield :Plot: An anthropologist goes to Haiti after hearing rumors about a drug used by black magic practitioners to turn people into zombies. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Shawshank Redemption ======================== Story & characters: *that’s* what dramas are all about, and *that’s* what this film gets right. A moving, lasting classic; a great film. “Get busy living, or get busy dying.” :Released: 1994 :Genre: drama :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h22m :Rating: 14A :Edition: “Two-Disc Special Edition — 10th Anniversary” :Features: commentary, documentaries, Charlie Rose Show, “The SharkTank Redemption” spoof :Director: Frank Darabont :Screenplay: Frank Darabont, from a story by Stephen King :Starring: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler, Clancy Brown, Gil Bellows, James Whitmore :Plot: The life of Andy Dufresne changes when he is convicted and jailed for the murder of his wife. :Links: `IMDb `__, `Late Show spoof `__, `JibJab’s “Shawshank in a Minute” `__ The Shining =========== “Heeeere’s Johnny!” :Released: 1980 :Genre: horror/thriller :Format: fullscreen :Runtime: 2h22m :Rating: 18 :Edition: “Stanley Kubrick Collection” :Features: documentary :Director: Stanley Kubrick :Screenplay: Stanley Kubrick & Diane Johnson, based on the novel by Stephen King :Starring: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers :Plot: A family arranges to be the caretakers of an isolated hotel for the winter. :Links: `IMDb `__ Sin City ======== Ultra-violent, ultra-noir, and ultra-entertaining. (“Frodo eats people.” —Frank Miller, from the commentary.) A gift from Mayumi for my birthday, 2006. :AKA: Frank Miller’s Sin City :Released: 2005 :Genre: action/crime/drama/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h27m :Rating: R :Edition: “Recut & Extended” (2 discs) :Features: Theatrical cut & recut versions, commentaries, featurettes, extras, graphic novel. :Director: Robert Rodriguez & Frank Miller, with Quentin Tarantino :Screenplay: Frank Miller :Starring: Bruce Willis, Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, Benicio Del Toro, Brittany Murphy, Nick Stahl, Michael Madsen, Elijah Wood, Alexis Bledel, Jaime King, Carla Gugino, Josh Hartnett, Michael Clarke Duncan, Rutger Hauer, Devon Aoki, Powers Boothe :Plot: Four tales of crime adapted from Frank Miller’s graphic novels: a muscular brute is looking for the person responsible for the death of his beloved Goldie; a man fed up with Sin City’s corrupt law enforcement who takes the law into his own hands after a horrible mistake; a cop who risks his life to protect a girl from a deformed pedophile; and a hitman looking to make a little cash. :Links: `IMDb `__ Slaughterhouse-Five =================== :Released: 1972 :Genre: comedy/SF/drama/war :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h44m :Rating: R/MPAA :Director: George Roy Hill :Screenplay: Stephen Geller, based on the novel by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. :Starring: Michael Sacks, Ron Leibman, Eugene Roche, Sharon Gans, Valerie Perrine :Plot: A man tells his story of how he became unstuck in time. :Links: `IMDb `__ Solaris ======= :Released: 2002 :Genre: drama/mystery/romance/SF :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h39m :Rating: PG :Features: commentary, documentary, featurette :Director: Steven Soderbergh :Screenplay: Steven Soderbergh, novel by Stanislaw Lem :Starring: George Clooney, Natascha McElhone, Viola Davis, Jeremy Davies, Ulrich Tukur :Plot: A troubled psychologist is sent to investigate the crew of an isolated research station orbiting a bizarre planet. :Links: `IMDb `__ Soldier ======= An OK action/SF B-movie, worth the $6.88 I paid. :Released: 1998 :Genre: SF/action :Format: letterbox widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h39m :Rating: 14A :Features: commentary, trailer, production notes :Director: Paul W.S. Anderson :Screenplay: David Webb Peoples :Starring: Kurt Russell, Jason Scott Lee, Jason Isaacs, Connie Nielsen Michael Chiklis, Gary Busey :Plot: After being defeated and left for dead by his genetically engineered replacements, Sergeant Todd must save a peaceful community from destruction by the same soldiers. :Links: `IMDb `__ Something Wild ============== :Released: 1986 :Genre: comedy/drama/crime :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h54m :Rating: R :Director: Jonathan Demme :Screenplay: E. Max Frye :Starring: Jeff Daniels, Melanie Griffith, Ray Liotta :Plot: A free-spirited woman “kidnaps” a yuppie for a weekend of adventure. But the fun quickly takes a dangerous turn when her ex-con husband shows up. :Links: `IMDb `__ Spaceballs ========== “May the schwartz be with you.” :Released: 1987 :Genre: comedy/SF :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h36m :Rating: PG :Edition: “Collector’s Edition” (2 discs) :Features: commentary, documentary, featurettes :Director: Mel Brooks :Screenplay: Mel Brooks & Thomas Meehan & Ronny Graham :Starring: Mel Brooks, Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman, Daphne Zuniga, John Candy, George Wyner, Joan Rivers (voice), Dick Van Patten :Plot: Planet Spaceball’s President Scroob sends Lord Dark Helmet to steal Planet Druidia’s abundant supply of air to replenish their own, and only Lone Starr can stop them. :Links: `IMDb `__ Speed Racer =========== An ultra-colorful, hyper-real blast. `I reviewed it on my blog. `__ An underrated gem. :Released: 2008 :Genre: action/family/sport :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h15m :Rating: PG :Features: featurettes :Director: Andy Wachowski & Larry Wachowski :Screenplay: Andy Wachowski & Larry Wachowski; based on animated series by Tatsuo Yoshida :Starring: Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Matthew Fox, Benno Fürmann, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rain, Richard Roundtree, Paulie Litt, Roger Allam :Plot: Speed Racer is a natural behind the wheel of his car, Mach 5. With support from his family and friends, Speed takes on fierce competitors to save his family’s business and protect the sport he loves. :Links: `IMDb `__ Spirited Away ============= Incredibly original. A masterpiece. A gift/bribe from Frank Siebenlist, December 2003. :AKA: 千と千尋の神隠し (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi [original Japanese title]); Miyazaki’s Spirited Away (International: English title) :Released: 2001 :Genre: adventure/animation/family/drama/fantasy :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 2h5m :Rating: PG :Edition: 2 discs :Features: documentaries :Director: Hayao Miyazaki :Screenplay: Hayao Miyazaki :Starring: (voices) Rumi Hiiragi & Miyu Irino; (English version) Daveigh Chase & Jason Marsden :Plot: In the middle of her family’s move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by witches, monsters, and ancient spirits. :Links: `IMDb `__, `easter eggs `__, `Studio Ghibli (Japanese) `__, `Disney’s Miyazaki site `__, `Nausicaa.net (fan website) `__ Splash ====== Funny & touching, and still holds up well. :Released: 1984 :Genre: comedy/fantasy/romance :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h51m :Rating: PG :Edition: “20th Anniversary” :Features: commentary, “making of” featurette, screen tests :Director: Ron Howard :Screenplay: Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel and Bruce Jay Friedman; story by Brian Grazer :Starring: Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah, Eugene Levy, John Candy :Plot: A man is reunited with a mermaid who saved him from drowning as a boy. He falls in love with her, not knowing who or what she is. :Links: `IMDb `__ Stand By Me =========== :Released: 1986 :Genre: adventure/drama :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h28m :Rating: PG :Edition: “Special Edition” :Features: commentary; featurette; music video :Director: Rob Reiner :Screenplay: Raynold Gideon & Bruce A. Evans; based on the novella `The Body` by Stephen King :Starring: Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O’Connell, Kiefer Sutherland, Casey Siemaszko :Plot: After the death of a friend, a writer recounts a boyhood journey to find a body of a missing boy. :Links: `IMDb `__ Starman ======= “Green means go. Red means stop. Yellow means go very fast.” :Released: 1984 :Genre: adventure/drama/romance/SF :Format: anamorphic widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h55m :Rating: PG :Director: John Carpenter :Screenplay: Bruce A. Evans & Raynold Gideon, Dean Riesner :Starring: Jeff Bridges, Karen Allen, Charles Martin Smith, Richard Jaeckel :Plot: An alien who has crash-landed in the United States takes on the the appearance of a woman’s dead husband and enlists her help to escape from pursuing authorities and rendezvous with a spacecraft on the other side of the country. As he learns how to be more human the alien begins to take on more and more qualities of the woman’s husband, drawing the woman closer. :Links: `IMDb `__ Star Trek ========= :Released: 2009 :Genre: action/adventure/SF :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h6m :Rating: PG :Features: commentary, featurette, gag reel :Director: J.J. Abrams :Screenplay: Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman :Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Bana, Bruce Greenwood, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Ben Cross, Winona Ryder, Chris Hemsworth, Jennifer Morrison :Plot: An alternate-(future)-history origin story of James T. Kirk and his first mission aboard the USS Enterprise. This timeline reboot is due to a time-travelling vendetta against the future’s Ambassador Spock by the Romulan Captain Nero. :Links: `IMDb `__ Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan =============================== The best in the series. :Released: 1982 :Genre: action/adventure/SF/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h56m :Rating: PG :Edition: “The Director’s Edition” :Features: commentary, text commentary, interviews, featurettes :Director: Nicholas Meyer :Screenplay: Jack B. Sowards, story by Harve Bennett & Jack B. Sowards, characters by Gene Roddenberry :Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Bibi Besch, Merritt Butrick, Paul Winfield, Kirstie Alley, Ricardo Montalban :Plot: Admiral Kirk’s midlife crisis is interrupted by the return of an old enemy looking for revenge and a potentially destructive device. :Links: `IMDb `__ Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith ========================================== It doesn’t suck! :Released: 2005 :Genre: action/adventure/fantasy/SF :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h20m :Rating: PG :Features: 2 discs; commentary; deleted scenes; documentary; featurettes :Director: George Lucas :Screenplay: George Lucas :Starring: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, Jimmy Smits, Frank Oz (voice), Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker :Plot: After three years of fighting in the Clone Wars, Anakin Skywalker concludes his journey towards the Dark Side of the Force, putting his friendship with Obi Wan Kenobi and his marriage at risk. :Links: `IMDb `__ Star Wars Trilogy ================= Perhaps it was because I was a child when I first saw them, but I enjoy these three films much more than the later prequels. :Released: 2004 :Genre: SF/fantasy/action/adventure :Format: widescreen :Rating: PG :Edition: Special Edition boxed set (4 discs) :Features: commentaries; includes bonus disc with documentary, featurettes, extras :Links: `Official site `__, `DVDReview.com `__, `easter eggs `__ Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope -------------------------------- The original blockbuster, that changed how blockbusters were made. :AKA: Star Wars :Released: 1977 :Runtime: 2h3m :Director: George Lucas :Screenplay: George Lucas :Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing, Alec Guinness, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, David Prowse, James Earl Jones (voice) :Plot: Luke Skywalker teams up with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Han Solo, leaves his home planet, and tries to save the Rebel leader Princess Leia from the Imperial clutches of the evil Darth Vader. :Links: `IMDb `__, `Star Wars: The Changes - Part One `__ Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back -------------------------------------------- The darkest and best of the Star Wars films. :Released: 1980 :Runtime: 2h9m :Director: Irvin Kershner :Screenplay: Leigh Brackett & Lawrence Kasdan; story by George Lucas :Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Alec Guinness, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, Frank Oz (voice), David Prowse, James Earl Jones (voice) :Plot: While Luke Skywalker takes advanced Jedi training from Yoda, his friends are relentlessly pursued by Darth Vader as part of his plan to capture Luke. :Links: `IMDb `__, `Star Wars: The Changes - Part Two `__ Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi ---------------------------------------- A bit too cute & light-hearted at times, and the climax gives us a sense of déjà vu. But it is fun. :Released: 1983 :Runtime: 2h16m :Director: Richard Marquand :Screenplay: Lawrence Kasdan & George Lucas; story by George Lucas :Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Alec Guinness, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, Frank Oz (voice), David Prowse, James Earl Jones (voice), Ian McDiarmid :Plot: Han Solo is imprisoned by Jabba the Hutt, the Empire is building a new Death Star, and Luke hasn’t finished his Jedi training. :Links: `IMDb `__, `Star Wars: The Changes - Part Three `__ The Storyteller =============== All 9 episodes of a wonderful short-lived series of folk tales from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. Magical, dark, and beautiful. Some of these scenes have stuck in my mind since I saw them when they were first broadcast. :AKA: Jim Henson’s The Storyteller :Released: 1988 :Genre: fantasy :Format: fullscreen :Runtime: 3h15m :Rating: PG :Edition: “The Definitive Collection” with `The Storyteller: Greek Myths`_ :Directors: Jim Henson, Steve Barron, Jon Amiel, Charles Sturridge, Paul Weiland, Peter Smith :Screenplay: Anthony Minghella :Starring: John Hurt, Brian Henson :Plot: A retelling of classic folk tales, fables, and legends. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Storyteller: Greek Myths ============================ A follow-up to `The Storyteller`_. :AKA: Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Greek Myths :Released: 1990 :Genre: adventure/drama/fantasy :Format: fullscreen :Runtime: 1h35m :Rating: PG :Edition: “The Definitive Collection” with `The Storyteller`_ :Directors: David Garfath, John Madden, Tony Smith, Paul Weiland :Screenplay: Nigel Williams :Starring: Michael Gambon, Brian Henson :Plot: A storyteller in a labyrinth tells his dog the stories of Perseus and Medusa, Icarus and Daedalus, Theseus and the Minotaur, and Orpheus & Euridyce. :Links: `IMDb `__ Strange Days ============ A slick futuristic mystery/thriller, with some incredible POV sequences. At $6.88 in the bargain bin at WallyWorld, I couldn’t resist. It was more than worth the price. :Released: 1995 :Genre: crime/thriller/SF/mystery/action :Format: letterbox widescreen :Runtime: 2h25m :Rating: R :Features: trailers, 2 deleted scenes, extensive discussion/dissection of opening POV sequence by the director :Director: Kathryn Bigelow :Screenplay: James Cameron & Jay Cocks; story by James Cameron :Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett, Juliette Lewis, Tom Sizemore, Michael Wincott, Vincent D’Onofrio :Plot: An ex-cop black-market peddler of “clips” |---| experiences recorded directly from the cerebral cortex |---| is having a bad night when he is confronted with the brutal rape/murder of a friend. Convinced that his ex-girlfriend is somehow involved and in danger, he sets out to protect her and solve the murder. Set in a possible-future Los Angeles on the eve of the millenium amid racial tension, riots, and general chaos. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Stunt Man ============= An innovative cult hit. A lot of fun to watch. :Released: 1979 :Genre: drama/comedy :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 2h10m :Rating: R/MPAA :Director: Richard Rush :Screenplay: Lawrence B. Marcus, adaptation by Richard Rush, based on the novel by Paul Brodeur :Starring: Peter O’Toole, Steve Railsback, Barbara Hershey :Plot: Vietnam veteran Cameron is on the run from the police when he stumbles onto the set of a war movie directed by megalomaniac Eli Cross. But when the young fugitive is forced to replace a dead stunt man, he falls in love with the movie’s leading lady while trying to avoid getting arrested or killed. Is Eli trying to capture Cameron’s death on film? And what happens to a paranoid stunt man when illusion and reality change places? :Links: `IMDb `__, `DVDReview.com (different edition) `__ Superman ======== :Genre: fantasy/SF/action/adventure :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Screenplay: Mario Puzo, David Newman, Leslie Newman, Robert Benton, & Tom Mankiewicz; story by Mario Puzo; based on characters by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster Superman -------- :AKA: Superman: The Movie :Released: 1978 :Runtime: 2h34m :Rating: PG :Edition: “Expanded Edition” (1 double-sided disc) :Features: commentary, documentaries, deleted scenes, extras :Director: Richard Donner :Starring: Christopher Reeve, Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder, Ned Beatty, Jackie Cooper, Glenn Ford :Plot: An alien orphan is sent from his dying planet to Earth, where he grows up to become his adoptive home’s first and greatest super-hero. :Links: `IMDb `__ Superman II ----------- :Released: 1980 :Runtime: 2h7m :Rating: G :Director: Richard Donner (uncredited) & Richard Lester :Starring: Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder, Ned Beatty, Jackie Cooper, Terence Stamp, Sarah Douglas, Jack O’Halloran :Plot: Superman agrees to sacrifice his powers to marry Lois, unaware that three Kryptonian criminals he inadvertently released are conquering Earth. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Terminator Series ===================== The first and second are great. The third is OK, and its ending begs—almost demands—a sequel, which came in 2009. The Governator was only able to participate (briefly) via CG effects though. The Terminator -------------- Made for quite a low budget, this one could have been the epitomy of bad B-movie SF. But some great ideas, including an intelligent treatment of time travel, and almost non-stop action made it a classic. It proves that money isn’t everything. This one made Ahnold famous. :Released: 1984 :Genre: SF/thriller/action :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h47m :Rating: 18A :Edition: “Special Edition” :Features: double-sided disc, documentaries, extras :Director: James Cameron :Screenplay: James Cameron with Gale Anne Hurd, additional dialogue by William Wisher, acknowledgement to the works of Harlan Ellison :Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton, Paul Winfield :Plot: In the year 2029, the ruling super-computer, Skynet, sends an indestructible cyborg back in time to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, before she can fulfill her destiny. :Links: `IMDb `__, `easter eggs `__, `DVDReview.com `__ Terminator 2: Judgment Day -------------------------- Great non-stop action with depth and ideas. Not for the faint of heart. Definitely not for children. :Released: 1991 :Genre: SF/action/thriller/drama :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 2h32m :Rating: 14A :Edition: “Extreme DVD” (2 discs) :Features: special edition of film; commentary; documentaries; DVD ROM content; metal outer case :Director: James Cameron :Screenplay: James Cameron & William Wisher Jr. :Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick, Joe Morton :Plot: A shape-shifting cyborg is sent back from the future to kill John Connor before he can grow up to lead the Resistance; a protector is sent, too. :Links: `IMDb `__, `DVDReview.com (different edition) `__, `easter eggs `__ Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines ---------------------------------- Not as good as 1 or 2, but decent action. Bought it cheap, second-hand, for completeness. :Released: 2003 :Genre: SF/action/thriller :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h49m :Rating: 14A :Edition: “2-Disc Widescreen” :Features: commentaries, featurettes, extras :Director: Jonathan Mostow :Screenplay: John Brancato & Michael Ferris; story by John Brancato & Michael Ferris & Tedi Sarafian; based on characters by James Cameron & Gale Anne Hurd :Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes, Kristanna Loken :Plot: T-X, a female “Terminatrix”, is sent back in time to kill the adult John Connor. Once again, the Resistance manages to send a protector. :Links: `IMDb `__ Thelma & Louise =============== :Released: 1991 :Genre: adventure/crime/drama/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 2h9m :Rating: 18A :Features: commentary, alternate ending :Director: Ridley Scott :Screenplay: Callie Khouri :Starring: Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Brad Pitt :Plot: An Arkansas waitress and a housewife shoot a rapist and take off in a ’66 Thunderbird. :Links: `IMDb `__ They Live ========= :Released: 1988 :Genre: SF/thriller/action :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h35m :Rating: R/MPAA :Director: John Carpenter :Screenplay: John Carpenter (as “Frank Armitage”); based on a short story by Ray Nelson :Starring: Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster :Plot: A down-on-his-luck construction worker discovers a pair of special sunglasses through which he is able to see the world as it really is: people being bombarded with subliminal messages, and aliens in charge of a massive campaign to keep humans subdued. :Links: `IMDb `__ Thief ===== Great soundtrack. “Thief” and “`Risky Business`_” turned me on to Tangerine Dream, and from there I discovered the world of modern instrumental music (a.k.a. new age, electronic, and a half dozen other names). :Released: 1981 :Genre: action/crime/drama/thriller :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 2h2m :Rating: R/MPAA :Edition: “Special Director’s Edition” :Features: commentary, deleted scenes :Director: Michael Mann :Screenplay: Michael Mann, from the novel “The Home Invaders” by Frank Hohimer :Starring: James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Willie Nelson, James Belushi, Robert Prosky :Plot: A highly skilled jewel thief falls for a woman he meets out on the town and gets hired by the local godfather to pull a few heists. In return, the mob arranges a steady flow of cash and a black-market adoption for Frank and his girlfriend. When he tries to quit the mob, various bad things happen to illustrate the point that he can’t quit. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Thing ========= A classic horror/thriller which still holds up very well. “Who Goes There?”, the classic SF story by John W. Campbell Jr. upon which this movie was based, is a must-read. This film succeeds in conveying the cloying paranoia that the story exudes, even though it adds the effects and gore that modern horror audiences seem to require. :Released: 1982 :Genre: action/horror/SF/thriller :Format: anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen :Runtime: 1h49m :Rating: 18A :Edition: 2004 “Collector’s Edition” :Features: commentary, documentary, extras :Director: John Carpenter :Screenplay: Bill Lancaster, based on the story “Who Goes There?” by John W. Campbell Jr. :Starring: Kurt Russell, A. Wilford Brimley, T.K. Carter, David Clennon, Keith David, Richard Dysart :Plot: Scientists in the Antarctic are confronted by a shape-shifting alien that perfectly mimics and assumes the identity of everyone that it kills. Who can be trusted? :Links: `IMDb `__, `DVDReview.com (different edition) `__, `Official site `__, `fan site `__ The Thirteenth Floor ==================== What is reality? :Released: 1999 :Genre: mystery/SF/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h40m :Rating: 14A :Edition: “Special Edition” :Features: commentary, galleries, trailers, music video :Director: Josef Rusnak :Screenplay: Josef Rusnak & Ravel Centeno-Rodriguez, based on the novel `Simulacron-3` by Daniel F. Galouye :Starring: Craig Bierko, Gretchen Mol, Vincent D’Onofrio, Dennis Haysbert, Armin Mueller-Stahl :Plot: Computer scientist Hannon Fuller has discovered something extremely important. He’s about to reveal the discovery to his colleague, Douglas Hall, but knowing someone is after him, the old man leaves a letter in his computer-generated virtual 1930’s, filled with seemingly real people with real emotions. Fuller is murdered in our real world the same night, and Hall is suspected. Unable to recall what he was doing the night Fuller was murdered, he enters the virtual world in order to find the letter, but has to confront the unexpected. The truth is harsher than he could ever imagine… :Links: `IMDb `__ Three Days of the Condor ======================== “I don’t remember yesterday. Today it rained.” :Released: 1975 :Genre: thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h57m :Rating: 14A :Director: Sydney Pollack :Screenplay: Lorenzo Semple Jr. & David Rayfiel, based on the novel `Six Days of the Condor` by James Grady :Starring: Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson, Max von Sydow, John Houseman :Plot: A bookish CIA researcher finds all his co-workers dead, and must outwit those responsible until he figures out who he can really trust. :Links: `IMDb `__ Time Bandits ============ A great Gilliam epic. Intelligent enough for children and exciting enough for adults. :Released: 1981 :Genre: fantasy/adventure/comedy/family :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h56m :Rating: PG :Edition: “Special Edition” (2 discs) :Features: documentary, interview :Director: Terry Gilliam :Screenplay: Michael Palin & Terry Gilliam :Starring: John Cleese, Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall, Katherine Helmond, Ian Holm, Michael Palin, Ralph Richardson, Peter Vaughan, David Warner, David Rappaport, Kenny Baker, Malcolm Dixon, Mike Edmonds, Jack Purvis, Tiny Ross, Craig Warnock :Plot: A young boy accidently joins a band of dwarves as they jump from time-period to time-period looking for treasure to steal. :Links: `IMDb `__ To Kill a Mockingbird ===================== A great story, and a classic film. One of the best ever. A gift from Mayumi & my kids on Father’s Day 2006. :Released: 1962 :Genre: drama :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h10m :Rating: PG :Edition: “Legacy Series” (2 discs) :Features: commentary, interviews, featurettes, “A Conversation With Gregory Peck” documentary, international theatrical poster replica postcards :Director: Robert Mulligan :Screenplay: Horton Foote, based on the novel by Harper Lee :Starring: Gregory Peck Mary Badham, Phillip Alford, Robert Duvall, John Megna, Brock Peters :Plot: A lawyer in the Depression-era South, defends a black man against an undeserved rape charge and his kids against prejudice. Told from a child’s perspective. :Links: `IMDb `__ To Live and Die in L.A. ======================= A real shocker. :Released: 1985 :Genre: action/crime/drama/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h56m :Rating: R :Edition: “Special Edition” :Features: commentary; documentary; deleted scene; alternate ending :Director: William Friedkin :Screenplay: William Friedkin & Gerald Petievich; based on the novel by Gerald Petievich :Starring: William Petersen, Willem Dafoe, John Pankow, Debra Feuer, John Turturro, Darlanne Fluegel, Dean Stockwell :Plot: A fearless Secret Service agent will stop at nothing to bring down the counterfeiter who killed his partner. :Links: `IMDb `__ Tom Horn ======== Part of “The Essential Steve McQueen Collection” (6 film box set), a gift from my parents, birthday 2008. :Released: 1980 :Genre: romance/western :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h37m :Rating: R/MPAA :Director: William Wiard :Screenplay: Thomas McGuane and Bud Shrake; based on “Life of Tom Horn, Government Scout and Interpreter, Written by Himself” :Starring: Steve McQueen, Linda Evans, Richard Farnsworth :Plot: A renowned former army scout is hired by ranchers to hunt down rustlers but finds himself on trial for the murder of a boy when he carries out his job too well. Tom Horn finds that the simple skills he knows are of no help in dealing with the ambitions of ranchers and corrupt officials as progress marches over him and the old west. :Links: `IMDb `__ Transformers ============ A gift for Kaito, Christmas 2007. :Released: 2007 :Genre: action/adventure/fantasy/SF/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h23m :Rating: PG :Edition: “Two-Disc Special Edition” in “Destroy” (Decepticon logo) steel case :Features: commentary, featurettes :Director: Michael Bay :Screenplay: Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman, story by John Rogers and Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman :Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Rachael Taylor, Anthony Anderson, Jon Voight, John Turturro :Plot: When battle erupts on Earth between two robotic clans, all that stands between the evil Decepticons and ultimate power are the heroic Autobots and a clue held by teen Sam Witwicky. :Links: `IMDb `__ Tron ==== A groundbreaking and revolutionary film for its time |---| the first feature film to embrace computer graphics. It’s not a great film, but it’s fun, and has stunning visuals. 2004 Father’s Day gift. :Released: 1982 :Genre: action/fantasy/adventure/SF :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h36m :Rating: PG/MPAA :Edition: “20th Anniversary Collector’s Edition” (2 discs) :Features: commentary; documentary; featurettes; deleted scenes; extras :Director: Steven Lisberger :Screenplay: Steven Lisberger, from a story by Steven Lisberger & Bonnie MacBird :Starring: Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner, Cindy Morgan, Barnard Hughes :Plot: A hacker is digitized and abducted into the world of a computer ruled by the despotic MCP (Master Control Program). He is forced to participate in gladiatorial games where his only chance of escape is with the help of a heroic security program. :Links: `IMDb `__, `DVDReview.com `__, `Tron-Sector (fan website) `__ True Romance ============ :Released: 1993 :Genre: crime/drama/romance/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h1m :Rating: R :Edition: “Two-Disc Special Edition, Unrated Director’s Cut” :Features: commentaries, storyboard track, deleted & extended scenes, alternate ending, featurettes, photo gallery :Director: Tony Scott :Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino :Starring: Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Michael Rapaport, Val Kilmer, Bronson Pinchot, Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, Tom Sizemore, Christopher Walken, Samuel L. Jackson, Saul Rubinek, James Gandolfini, Chris Penn :Plot: Clarence meets and marries call girl Alabama, accidentally takes a suitcase full of cocaine from her pimp, and tries to sell it in Hollywood, while the owners of the coke try to reclaim it. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Truman Show =============== A great, funny, thought-provoking, and original story, with a great soundtrack. :Released: 1998 :Genre: comedy/drama/SF :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h43m :Rating: PG :Features: trailers :Director: Peter Weir :Screenplay: Andrew Niccol :Starring: Jim Carrey, Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich, Natascha McElhone, Holland Taylor, Ed Harris :Plot: An insurance salesman/adjuster discovers his entire life is actually a TV show. :Links: `IMDb `__ V For Vendetta ============== :Released: 2005 :Genre: drama/SF/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h12m :Rating: 14A :Edition: “Two-Disc Special Edition” :Features: featurettes :Director: James McTeigue :Screenplay: Andy Wachowski & Larry Wachowski, graphic novel by David Lloyd :Starring: Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Rea, Stephen Fry, John Hurt :Plot: A shadowy freedom fighter known only as “V” uses terrorist tactics to fight against his totalitarian society. Upon rescuing a girl from the secret police, he also finds his best chance at having an ally. :Links: `IMDb `__, `easter eggs `__ Vanilla Sky =========== I saw this in the theater with my wife. I was expecting a chick flick, but was pleasantly surprised. My wife expected a romantic thriller, and was somewhat disappointed. :Released: 2001 :Genre: drama/romance/SF/thriller/mystery :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h15m :Rating: 14A :Features: commentary, featurettes, trailers, music video :Director: Cameron Crowe :Screenplay: Cameron Crowe, based on the film `Abre Los Ojos` written by Alejandro Amenábar & Mateo Gil :Starring: Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Kurt Russell, Jason Lee, Noah Taylor :Plot: A successful publisher finds his life taking a turn for the surreal after a car accident with a jaded lover. :Links: `IMDb `__, `DVDReview.com `__, `easter eggs `__ Vanishing Point =============== The inspiration for the car chase in `Death Proof`_. :Released: 1971 :Genre: action/drama :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h38m (U.S.), 1h45m (U.K.) :Rating: 14A :Features: U.S. & U.K. theatrical versions, commentary :Director: Malcolm Hart :Screenplay: Guillermo Cain :Starring: Barry Newman, Cleavon Little, Dean Jagger :Plot: Kowalski works for a car delivery service. He takes a bet that he can deliver a 1970 Dodge Challenger from Colorado to Frisco, California in less than 15 hours. :Links: `IMDb `__ Videodrome ========== Twisted, vintage Cronenberg. :Released: 1983 :Genre: fantasy/horror/mystery/SF/thriller :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h29m :Rating: 18A :Director: David Cronenberg :Screenplay: David Cronenberg :Starring: James Woods, Sonja Smits, Deborah Harry :Plot: A lowly cable TV operator begins to see his life and the future of media spin out of control in a very unusual fashion when he acquires a new kind of programming for his station. :Links: `IMDb `__ Waking Life =========== Interesting animation (variations on rotoscoping), but I found the film itself to be a bit tedious. :Released: 2001 :Genre: animation/fantasy/drama :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h40m :Rating: 14A :Director: Richard Linklater :Screenplay: Richard Linklater :Starring: Wiley Wiggins (voice) :Plot: A man in a dream state encounters many characters who, one by one, talk about their views on the meaning, perception, and reality of human existence. :Links: `IMDb `__ WALL·E ====== Christmas 2008. :Released: 2008 :Genre: animation/adventure/comedy/drama/family/romance/SF :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h38m :Rating: G :Edition: “3-Disc Special Edition” :Features: commentary, “BURN·E” & “Presto” animated shorts, deleted scenes, “The Pixar Story” documentary, BnL shorts, featurettes, digital copy :Director: Andrew Stanton :Screenplay: Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon; original story by Andrew Stanton & Pete Docter :Starring: (voice talents of) Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin; Fred Willard :Plot: In the distant future, a small waste collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind. :Links: `IMDb `__, `easter eggs `__ WarGames ======== Fun and frightening at the same time. :Released: 1983 :Genre: SF/thriller/war/drama :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 1h54m :Rating: PG/MPAA :Director: John Badham :Screenplay: Lawrence Lasker & Walter F. Parkes :Starring: Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood, Ally Sheedy :Plot: A young man finds a back door into a military central computer in which reality is confused with game-playing, possibly starting World War III. :Links: `IMDb `__, `easter eggs `__ Watchmen ======== :Released: 2009 :Genre: mystery/SF/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 3h6m :Rating: 18A :Edition: “2-Disc Special Edition Director’s Cut” :Features: featurettes, “digital copy” :Director: Zack Snyder :Screenplay: David Hayter and Alex Tse; based on the graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons :Starring: Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Patrick Wilson, Carla Gugino, Matt Frewer, Stephen McHattie :Plot: In an alternate 1985 where former superheroes exist, the murder of a colleague sends active vigilante Rorschach into his own sprawling investigation, uncovering something that could completely change the course of history as we know it. :Links: `IMDb `__ The Weather Man =============== :Released: 2005 :Genre: comedy/drama :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h41m :Rating: 14A :Features: featurettes :Director: Gore Verbinski :Screenplay: Steve Conrad :Starring: Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine, Hope Davis, Michael Rispoli, Gil Bellows :Plot: A Chicago weather man (Cage), separated from his wife and children, debates whether professional and personal success are mutually exclusive. :Links: `IMDb `__ Wild At Heart ============= “This whole world is Wild at Heart and crazy on top!” :Released: 1990 :Genre: crime/drama/romance/thriller/comedy :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 2h4m :Rating: R :Edition: “Special Edition” :Features: documentary, featurettes :Director: David Lynch :Screenplay: David Lynch, based on the novel by Barry Gifford :Starring: Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, Willem Dafoe, J.E. Freeman, Crispin Glover, Diane Ladd, Calvin Lockhart, Isabella Rossellini, Harry Dean Stanton, Grace Zabriskie :Plot: Young lovers Sailor and Lula run from a variety of weirdos that Lula’s mother hired to kill Sailor. :Links: `IMDb `__ Wild Things =========== From the cheapo bin at Wally-World. :Released: 1998 :Genre: crime/thriller :Format: anamorphic widescreen & fullscreen :Runtime: 1h48m :Rating: 18A :Features: commentary; deleted scenes :Director: John McNaughton :Screenplay: Stephen Peters :Starring: Matt Dillon, Kevin Bacon, Neve Campbell, Denise Richards :Plot: In south Florida, a high school counselor is accused of rape by a manipulative rich girl and her trailer trash classmate. The cop on the case begins to suspect a conspiracy and dives into an elaborate and devious web of greed and betrayal to find the truth. :Links: `IMDb `__ The World According to Garp =========================== A great, funny, tragic, thought-provoking film. A gift from Oliver Rutherfurd, Christmas 2003. :Released: 1982 :Genre: comedy/drama/romance :Format: widescreen :Runtime: 2h16m :Rating: 14A :Director: George Roy Hill :Screenplay: Steve Tesich, from the novel by John Irving :Starring: Robin Williams, Mary Beth Hurt, Glenn Close, John Lithgow :Plot: This film chronicles the life of T.S. Garp and his mother, Jenny. Whilst Garp sees himself as a “serious” writer, Jenny writes a feminist manifesto at an opportune time, and finds herself as a magnet for all manner of distressed women. :Links: `IMDb `__ Young Frankenstein ================== “Pardon me, boy. Is this the Transylvania station?” :Released: 1974 :Genre: comedy/SF/horror :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h46m :Rating: PG :Edition: “Special Edition” :Features: commentary, outtakes, trailers, documentary, deleted scenes :Director: Mel Brooks :Screenplay: Gene Wilder & Mel Brooks; based on characters in the novel “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley :Starring: Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, Teri Garr :Plot: Dr. Frankenstein’s grandson, after years of living down the family reputation, inherits granddad’s castle and repeats the experiments. :Links: `IMDb `__ Zack and Miri Make a Porno ========================== :Released: 2008 :Genre: comedy/drama/romance :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h41m :Rating: 18A :Edition: “2-disc Edition” :Features: deleted scenes, making of, webisodes, Comic-Con, outtakes, featurette :Director: Kevin Smith :Screenplay: Kevin Smith :Starring: Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Craig Robinson, Jason Mewes, Traci Lords, Jeff Anderson, Katie Morgan, Ricky Mabe, Brandon Routh, Justin Long :Plot: Lifelong platonic friends Zack and Miri look to solve their respective cash-flow problems by making an adult film together. As the cameras roll, however, the duo begin to sense that they may have more feelings for each other than they previously thought. :Links: `IMDb `__ Zathura ======= :Released: 2005 :Genre: action/adventure/comedy/family/fantasy/SF :Format: anamorphic widescreen :Runtime: 1h41m :Rating: PG :Edition: “Special Edition” :Features: commentary, featurettes :Director: Jon Favreau :Screenplay: David Koepp & John Kamps, based on the book by Chris Van Allsburg :Starring: Josh Hutcherson, Jonah Bobo, Dax Shepard, Kristen Stewart, Tim Robbins :Plot: Two young brothers are drawn into an intergalactic adventure when their house is magically hurtled through space because of the board game they are playing. :Links: `IMDb `__, `easter eggs `__ .. |---| unicode:: U+02014 .. em dash :trim: .. |^3| replace:: :superscript:`3`