If you are a regular moviegoer, you may find yourself a bit fed up with the Hollywood formula after a while. After all, it's not the formula but the departure from the formula which turns an ordinary film into something great. The true masters recognize this fact and make their films accordingly. When you are in your home flipping through your satellite TV channels, you will find a number of opportunities if you want something outside of the typical. Here are five films you ought to check out.
1. Rodger Dodger. The cynical, misogynistic point of view gets its day in the sun with this fascinating film starring Campbell Scott and Isabella Rossellini. What happens when a jerk of this magnitude gets the right to mentor a young nephew in New York City? The state of child development hangs in the balance when Scott's character gets to tutor Jesse Eisenberg on the ways of women. Scott's character doesn't escape criticism in this excellent picture playing on IFC in high definition.
2. Glengarry Glen Ross. One look at this literary title will tell you that serious things went into this film. David Mamet's adaptation of his own hit play captures the essence of greed in the 1980's and is a real Death of a Salesman for our times. You might need to talk yourself down after all the cursing and berating involved, but the performances of Ed Harris, Al Pacino, Kevin Spacey and especially Jack Lemmon (who won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar) will renew your faith in the acting craft. This film's electricity is often revived on satellite TV networks like HBO.
3. Oldboy. Korean films have never made it to the U.S. on a large scale, but if pictures ke Oldboy keep getting made, that trend will be reversed. One of the boldest pictures ever made, there are haunting revenge sequences followed by the consumption of live squid and double-crossing that will make a film noir fan check the scorecard. Oldboy is a true revelation and should be seen without edits in HD technology.
4. Touch of Evil. Stepping back nearly half a century in time never felt so good as when checking out this Orson Welles classic on satellite TV network Turner Classic Movies. Welles pulled out all the stops: Charlton Heston plays a Mexican, Marlene Dietrich a Gypsy and Welles himself a 300-pound corrupt border cop. There are scenes in this film that might not get by the censors in 2010, but Welles made his picture nonetheless.
5. 2046. Foreign film lovers gushed over Wong Kar-Wai's devastating tale of unrequited love In the Mood for Love. 2046 takes the same concept and tells a much darker side of the story, with Tony Leung's character losing his chivalrous side and part of the action happening in the future. To be enchanted and stimulated intellectually at once is the filmmaker's ultimate goal, and Wong Kar-Wai succeeded yet again with this film. Check it out on IFC.
1. Rodger Dodger. The cynical, misogynistic point of view gets its day in the sun with this fascinating film starring Campbell Scott and Isabella Rossellini. What happens when a jerk of this magnitude gets the right to mentor a young nephew in New York City? The state of child development hangs in the balance when Scott's character gets to tutor Jesse Eisenberg on the ways of women. Scott's character doesn't escape criticism in this excellent picture playing on IFC in high definition.
2. Glengarry Glen Ross. One look at this literary title will tell you that serious things went into this film. David Mamet's adaptation of his own hit play captures the essence of greed in the 1980's and is a real Death of a Salesman for our times. You might need to talk yourself down after all the cursing and berating involved, but the performances of Ed Harris, Al Pacino, Kevin Spacey and especially Jack Lemmon (who won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar) will renew your faith in the acting craft. This film's electricity is often revived on satellite TV networks like HBO.
3. Oldboy. Korean films have never made it to the U.S. on a large scale, but if pictures ke Oldboy keep getting made, that trend will be reversed. One of the boldest pictures ever made, there are haunting revenge sequences followed by the consumption of live squid and double-crossing that will make a film noir fan check the scorecard. Oldboy is a true revelation and should be seen without edits in HD technology.
4. Touch of Evil. Stepping back nearly half a century in time never felt so good as when checking out this Orson Welles classic on satellite TV network Turner Classic Movies. Welles pulled out all the stops: Charlton Heston plays a Mexican, Marlene Dietrich a Gypsy and Welles himself a 300-pound corrupt border cop. There are scenes in this film that might not get by the censors in 2010, but Welles made his picture nonetheless.
5. 2046. Foreign film lovers gushed over Wong Kar-Wai's devastating tale of unrequited love In the Mood for Love. 2046 takes the same concept and tells a much darker side of the story, with Tony Leung's character losing his chivalrous side and part of the action happening in the future. To be enchanted and stimulated intellectually at once is the filmmaker's ultimate goal, and Wong Kar-Wai succeeded yet again with this film. Check it out on IFC.
My number one from this 5, is 2046, really amazing and touching story. I think I have never watch Sci-Fi that is so realistic and related to real life.
ReplyDelete5 great titles that are much different than most movies on TV. I have watched all and to be honest I really enjoyed 2046 and Oldboy
ReplyDeleteI haven't watched any of this movies, so probably I am going to do it during the weekend.
ReplyDeleteWithout a doubt 5 of the best movies, I have ever watched. Personally I like 2046 and I think this is absolutely unique and probably the best Asian movie ever.
ReplyDelete