1. Black Swan

If anyone had any doubt in their mind, that Darren Aronofsky is a masterful director, it will be completely erased upon viewing his latest film, one that’s nothing short of masterpiece, Black Swan. It’s an erotic thriller; a combination of head-spinning madness and paranoia. While this madness is unpredictable, it’s never random. There’s a cunning in the film that we haven’t seen in anything else released in 2010. And it’s never anything short of breathtaking.

2. Enter the Void

Noé provides his shocks and provocations. There’s no shortage of them. But every now and then, all of the wildly unrestrained facets of the film converge and the cacophony of it all gets quite. Then there are, quite literally, revelatory moments that make Enter the Void exhaustively interesting, and completely unforgettable.

3. I Am Love

Guadagnino has a career of directing films and operas about the Italian aristocracy. And like Claude Chabrol of France, he seems to have found himself a genre where no one could ever replace him. John Adams’ particularly beautiful and soaring score provides a rather perfect soundtrack to this strange and beautiful life lead by Emma and her family. A satisfying metaphor of all the emotion just beneath the surface, aching to be set free.

4. Lebanon

True profundity is a rare trait of films these days. But after walking out Lebanon, that’s what I felt. I knew I had experienced something outstandingly discerning. This feeling was reinforced by the remarkably forceful, and wordless final scene. This particular moment in the film is carried out with such subtlety, the disgust it invokes is directly juxtaposed with the beauty of the filmmaking and the empathy it calls for.

5. Fair Game

even though the subject matter is bound to polarize, Liman did an excellent job of keeping the film somewhat even. You could see the joy in Sean Penn’s face as he spouts monologues and tirades against Bush, and his cabinet. But he did the part proud. Ms. Watt’s was called upon for a much less flamboyant performance. And while it may seem muted next to Penn, the composure and emotion she brought to the role was actually quite moving. This is a film that deserves to be seen.

6. Somewhere

Coppola’s direction is paired beautifully with Harris Savides’ cinematography, and we are often treated to stunning images that seem to come from Hollywood’s golden age. It’s easy to see borrowed influences from Michelangelo Antonioni films (particularly L’avventura, and La Notte), perhaps inspired by a short trip Cleo and Johnny take to Italy for a ridiculous awards show.

7. The Social Network

I’m reluctant to say that this film is ‘anchored’ by anything. It’s strong in every aspect of its filmmaking. But after the brilliance of the script by Aaron Sorkin (who I’m sure relished the opportunity to write scenes involving doing lines of coke off young coed stomachs), the central performances of Eisenberg and Garfield are surely two of the greatest showcases to be seen.

8. Restrepo

As Kathryn Bigelow managed to do so seemlessly with The Hurt Locker, the filmmakers managed to keep any anti, or pro-war opinions out of the film. And rightly so. Any sort of preaching would have been vastly inappropriate. Neither the cause, nor the result of the war is examined or discussed. The only subjects that matter here, are the soldiers. It may be too early to use superlatives, but this will almost certainly turn out to be one of the year’s greatest films.

9. The American

With such a lack of plot, and even a lack of words, you have to wonder what is actually offered to make the film worth watching. Well, there’s plenty to be taken advantage of. Every scene is remarkably beautiful. Mr. Corbijn is a photographer turned filmmaker, and it shows in his remarkable ability to compose every shot with such skill and decidedly relaxed confidence. His prodigious knowledge of how to capture landscape and architecture on film is outstanding. This cinematography is matched by original music by Herbert Grönemeyer, who assists in keeping up tension.

10. 127 Hours

While the majority of focus on 127 Hours will be on this one single act, it’s not difficult to remember that what Danny Boyle, and probably Ralston himself, wanted to do with the film, is to celebrate human life, the drive to stay alive, and more idioms about overcoming adversity. The film is anything but a tired cliche, though. It’s brutal and honest. It’s difficult to watch, but at the same time, it’s inspirational without couching the message with soft, and flabby platitudes.

It was very diffcult to narrow it down to these ten. While Black Swan and Enter the Void absolutely stand out in my mind as the cream of the crop, the other eight are all on par with each other. The following films receive very honorable mentions.

Animal Kingdom
The King’s Speech
Rabbit Hole
Get Him to the Greek
Easy A
The Kids Are All Right
Life During Wartime
Inception

What are your reactions? Agree? Disagree? Are there glaring omissions?

Quentin Tarantino’s Favorite Movies of 2010

1. Toy Story 3
2. The Social Network
3. Animal Kingdom
4. I Am Love
5. Tangled
6. True Grit
7. The Town
8. Greenberg
9. Cyrus
10. Enter The Void (“Hands down best credit scene of the year … Maybe best credit scene of the decade. One of the greatest in cinema history.”)
11. Kick Ass

What do you think about this list?  Agree? Disagree?

1. Inside Job (Charles Ferguson) “The crisis of finance capitalism as a great crime story.”

2. Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich) “The triumph of consumer capitalism as an epic love story.”

3. Carlos (Olivier Assayas) “The failure of global revolution as farce, melodrama, erotic thriller and music video.”

4. Somewhere (Sofia Coppola) “An eccentric, perfect poem about fame, loneliness and cross-generational need.”

5. The Kids Are All Right (Lisa Cholodenko) “An eccentric, perfect comedy about love, betrayal and cross-generational confusion.”

6. Greenberg (Noah Baumbach) “A deliberately imperfect comedy about an eccentric fleeing from love, running from betrayal and wallowing in cross-generational confusion.”

7. 127 Hours (Danny Boyle) “It’s all fun until someone loses an arm. And then, strangely enough, it’s even more fun.”

8. Last Train Home (Lixin Fan) “The future of global capitalism, in China and elsewhere: a family tragedy in the form of a documentary, as full of anger, dignity and pathos as a play by Arthur Miller.”

9. Secret Sunshine (Lee Chang-dong) “A family tragedy from South Korea, in the form of a melodramatic crime story. As dense and gripping as a great novel.”

10. Exit Through the Gift Shop (Banksy) “All of the above. None of the above. Everything and nothing. An elaborate art-world stunt in the form of a documentary. Or vice versa.”

1.  The Social Network – “it is an early observer of a trend in our society, where we have learned new ways of thinking of ourselves: As members of a demographic group, as part of a database, as figures in…a social network.”
2. The King’s Speech - “Tom Hooper’s filmmaking itself is crafted in older style, depending on an assembly of actors, costumes, sets, and a three-act structure. The characters project considered ideas of themselves”
3. Black Swan – “uses powerful performances by Natalie Portman and Vincent Cassel to represent archetypal attributes”
4. I Am Love – “Tilda Swinton created masterful performances that were largely unseen because of inadequate distribution.”
5. Winter’s Bone – “risks backwoods caricatures and avoids them with performances that are exact and indelible, right down to small supporting roles.”
6. Inception – “brilliantly visualized movie.”
7. The Secret in Their Eyes – “Soledad Villamil and Ricardo Darin have presence and authority that makes their scenes together emotionally meaningful, as beneath the surface old secrets coil.”
8. The American -  “The film sees dispassionately, guards its secrets, and ends like a clockwork mechanism arriving at its final, clarifying tick.”
9. The Kids Are All Right – “In a comedy with some deeper colors, the film is an affirmation of–family values.”
10. The Ghost Writer – “Roman Polanski’s best film in years”

Special Jury Awards:

• 127 Hours
• Another Year
• Somewhere
• All Good Things
• Carlos
• Chloe
• Greenberg
• Hereafter
• Monsters
• Never Let Me Go
• Rabbit Hole
• Secretariat
• Solitary Man

– The film is seriously stylish.  Camera angles, fantastic shooting locales, perfectly paired background music give the story a feel that’s just right.  The dialogue isn’t particularly witty, but leaves plenty of room for realism that will haunt you in every relationship you have now, or ever.

– I had the opportunity to read the original version of the shooting script long before the film was released.  And if (and I’m not sure who to blame here), they had just stuck to that script, the film would have been much better off.  It was a much closer adaptation of book.  The book worked so well because of its singular focus of a simple relationship between a father and son, in a very complicated world.

– Fantastic Mr. Fox takes a whole lot of genius, mixes it up, and turns it in to cinematic gold.  Take one great story by Roald Dahl, combine it with the unique vision of Wes Anderson, mix in a little of the frighteningly pessimistic and hilarious Noah Baumbach, along with the voices of some of the best actors around, and you’ve got a film that promises to knock the socks off all those aged five to ninety nine.

– The cinematography was magnificent, filmed in almost all blues and greens with the rare scene showing blood, a bright red that jars the audience.  Cinematographer Hideoho Urata is to thank for the beautifully shot scenes that were all filmed within an hour of Tokyo. Yûta Yamashita created one of the most powerful and moving original scores that I’ve heard in a long time.

– With the help of one of his producers, Krasinski took the linear structure of the novel, ripped it apart, and threw it back together, in a completely non-linear way.  This was risky, for sure.  But paid off one hundred fold.  The acting was terrific on all counts, especially Krasinski who finally proved he shouldn’t be typecast and now avoid things like License to Wed.

– Each of the three pieces provides something for the viewer.  Some are easier to swallow than the others.  Str angely enough, this doesn’t seem to shed any positive light on the city of Tokyo itself.  It’s more veiled criticism than it is anything else.  If nothing else (and I think it’s much more than this), Tokyo! is thought-provoking and an interesting cinematic experience.

– The point of the film should be clear, some will say.  But Bigelow’s film has managed to transcend any sort of classifiable definition.  If it feels real to life, it seems to have served its purpose.  At the same time, it doesn’t leave the viewer feeling like he was just preached to for two hours, they’ve experienced something real, and authentic, and, perhaps, something a little uncomfortable.

– This is one brutal, daring film.  Going into the theater, I worried I wouldn’t quite ‘get’ everything since I don’t know much about the stife in Ireland.  But you don’t need a backstory in order to ‘get’ this film.  After 15 minutes, you’ll be as involved with the story as the characters are.  The tension felt can be cut with a knife.  Never has a ninety minute film gone by so quickly.  Despite the harshness of the reality Hunger is able to create, the film never falters from being perfectly balanced.

– At first I was underwhelmed, but as my buddy pointed out, Tarantino likes to make you think you’re getting one thing, and then give you another.  And it takes at least two viewings to get to his point.  The dialogue was witty (except the self-righteous moments, ‘In France, we respect directors…’ yawn), the acting was great (I’m looking at you Michael Fassbender and Christoph Waltz).  The biggest misstep was casting BJ Novak.

– The feel of the film is so perfectly and beautifully lachrymose, it’s impossible not to get sucked into Max’s imagination.  The script (which Eggers had a monumental task of taking the short children’s story to a feature-length film) wasn’t pretentious or obtrusive, it was charmingly hilarious and, when it needed to be, poignant and touching.  Records is a fantastic actor.  I can’t imagine any other child actor working today that could have outdone him in this performance.  While all the wild things were great, Lauren Ambrose really managed to steal the show with her voice acting.

– This is the only film I didn’t review that made this year’s list.  And while it’s not the scariest movie ever made like some touted it to be, it does make this list for being the only movie I can remember that really got into my head.  It really did just freak the shit out of me.

– There’s not much new in Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire that we hadn’t seen a million times in movies before. But the skill of the direction and the vibrancy of the cinematography was such that it made this love story feel new and fresh. Immediately after watching it, my brother-in-law called it winning the Oscar for Best Picture, claiming that it was just edgy enough to feel like you experienced something real, but stayed well away from pushing boundaries so that everyone could jump behind it. He was right.

– Although time has faded some of the enthusiasm I felt for this film, it’s still clear in my mind as a classic. I won’t argue this is Gus van Sant’s greatest achievement, but it’s definitely up there. The stellar cast helped as well. Too bad it didn’t have quite enough oomph to get proposition 8 pasted. Damn republicans.

– As I make these lists, trends are appearing that I didn’t realize were so strong. Apparently I really like Gus van Sant, Danny Boyle, and definitely Mike Leigh. Happy-Go-Lucky, for me, was the feel good comedy of the year. I recommended this film to everyone I know (it didn’t go over as well for them) as a charming, heartfelt, authentic character study. I’ve seen it several time.

– I carried a serious torch for French films in 2008. And the one that really stuck out in my mind was Claude Chabrol’s Girl Cut in Two. It’s a vicious exploration of the vices of the upper class and it’s disastrous effects on an innocent girl. The rich direction of the film is proof that Chabrol is a master at his craft.

– Dark comedy is certainly one of my favorite film genres, and In Bruges takes the cake when it comes to them. It’s bitingly hilarious, and at the same time a heavy film (without being heavy handed). And it provided some acting cred that was desperately needed by Colin Farrell, who starred along side Ralph Fiennes and Brendan Gellson, both of whom were utterly fantastic.

– I really cant do this film justice with a blurb. I generally tend to avoid holocaust films, it’s too emotionally draining for me. But The Counterfeiters is a film, based on a true story, that everyone should see. It’s brutal, like most of it’s fellow similarly themed films, but more so, it’s inspiring. And incredibly well done.

– I hadn’t heard of this film before it popped up at the local art house theatre. I took a chance on it, and couldn’t have been happier with the result. The film certainly has it’s problems, but Tarsem’s vision has never been more beautiful. It’s filmed at the most amazing locations in 24 different countries, and has the feel of a fairytale. Not to mentioned the whole thing is coupled with some incredible classical music. The result in mesmerizing.

– The actual year this was released is supposedly 2007, but it didn’t come to my area until 2008. Gus van Sant released two stellar films that year. Paranoid Park was mostly overlooked. And understandably so. It’s a quiet, understated piece, with unknown actors. But it’s a powerful, intriguing piece of film that really haunted me all year.

– This little film really impressed me. I can’t think of a lot of great stuff out of Norway (except this year’s Dead Snow), but if this is any indication of the state of film over there, send over some more. The ironic narration, flashbacks, and fantasy scenes that illustrate the story of two best friends struggling to make it as author made quite the impression on me.

– Vicky Cristina Barcelona is still one of those films that I love to pop in at any given time. It’s witty, super well written, extremely well acted, and pure cinematic magic. I’m not the biggest Woody Allen fan, but this film certainly made me want to be.

– David Fincher’s movies are always fun. Except The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. That was more boring. Seven really messed me up for a few days after the first time I saw it. Although Zodiac isn’t technically horror, I was nervous going into it. The way he unwinds the chilling true story of the Zodiac killer is a marvel. Kill scenes were tremendously effective, but weren’t the livelihood of the movie. It’s simply a really well crafted film.

– I’m not sure if I should really consider Grindhouse as two films. I do know that seperately, they wouldn’t have made this list, but together, with the fake trailers, they made for one of the best shows in theatres in 2007. Zombies, serial killers, Fergie? All of it is an A movie cleverly disguised as a B movie. Well done Rodriguez and Tarantino.

– It blows my mind that Angelina Jolie didn’t get any awards recognition for her portrayal of Mariane Pearl. This film was so brilliantly understated. It’s a tough, tough movie to watch. And I still can’t articulate why this sort of movie is important, but I know it is. It’s a reminder that there are real people and emotionally charged stories behind the nameless, faceless headlines we read.

– Werner Herzog is consistently putting out some really interesting stuff. I have a great respect for him as a documentarian, but didn’t realize he could direct a drama until after I saw Rescue Dawn. This is another film based on true events. And here’s to Steve Zahn. Everyone said he wouldn’t be able to do a serious role, but he managed to outshine even Christian Bale here. Sure, the film stoops to some feel-good cliches at the end, but this is a fantastic war piece.

– I’ll be the first to admit this film falls apart when it turns from a character-based meditation on the frailty of human life and the idea something greater than ourselves to a murder mystery thriller in space. But the two-thirds of the film leading up to its demise is spectacular. Both visually and intellectually. It has some of the most beautifully realized images in sci-fi history, and some of the best performances as well. Danny Boyle did it again.

– Coming off the critical success of A History of Violence, David Cronenberg again chose a straightforward narrative. And it really worked. It’s hard not to when your leads are Naomi Watts and Viggo Mortenson. But proof of his fantastic direction is that while their performances complimented the film, they didn’t carry it. It was the direction that wove the story. And it’s a damn good story at that.

– Gone Baby Gone is proof that the Academy wants you to pay your dues before you’re nominated for an Oscar. If this wasn’t the case, they surely would have recognized this fantastic directing debut by Ben Affleck. I was a doubter when I heard he directed it, and that it starred his little bro, but I couldn’t have been more wrong, or pleased as I left the theatre.

– This was, in my opinion, the best film of the year. I seem to like movies based on Ian McEwan books. But this is the best of them all. James McAvoy clearly had a career high here. And Keira Knightley was nothing to scoff at either. Joe Wright instantly went to the top of my radar. Unfortunately, he followed it up with The Soloist. I guess there’s no where to go but down when you’re at the top.

– P.T. Anderson continues to be one of my heros, and further proves he’s of cinematic deity. Not a single thing could have gone wrong with this film. It’s based on a remarkable book by Upton Sinclair. Johnny Greenwood composed the brilliant score. Daniel Day-Lewis is in the lead with a solid Paul Dano along side him. And best of all, directed by Anderson. It’s visually striking, and ridiculously good.

– If I were to make a best of list for the last decade, The Lives of Others would, without a doubt, make that list. I love this movie. And if you’d like to hear why, you can read my review here.

– This is the second Spike Lee joint to make these lists.  Not only was this one of the most memorable (I think I ended up seeing it three times in theatres), it was definitely one of the best of the year.  It made me acutely aware of Clive Owen, and the fact that Jodie Foster could act, despite her frequent attempts in crappy movies to convince me she either can’t, or doesn’t care too.

– The charm of a dysfunctional family can be very seductive to me.  So Little Miss Sunshine was right up my alley.  It certainly paid off, with it’s melancholy soundtrack and positive vibes.  Not to mention an awkward little girl does a striptease to Brickhouse at the end.  What’s not to love.

– This is definitely one of the better films that I saw at Sundance in 2006.  Neil Marshall couldn’t have done a better job at directing.  The crawlers are terrifying, but more so, is the claustrophobia in the caves.  I’m NOT looking forward to the sequel that came out earlier this year.  But this will forever remain one of my favorite horror films.

– I think the world was waiting with baited breath for the next Sophia Coppola film, and was expecting a bit much (this same pitfall has unfairly slandered films by Danny Boyle, Quentin Tarantino, and Francis Ford Coppola).  I, for one, that the fusing of a period film, with updated social practices, and a hella awesome soundtrack was pulled off fantastically.  This also was the first film I noticed Rose Byrne in.

– This was my first Pedro Almodovar film, and I’m told it wasn’t a bad place to start.  First recommended to me by a friend in France, I was promised breathtaking cinematography and fantastic storytelling along with it.  Volver delivered on all counts.  Penelope Cruz can act, and she gorgeous.  Almodovar is lucky to have her as his muse.

– While not my first Aronofsky film, I was willing to follow him anywhere he wanted me to go after Requiem for a Dream.  The Fountain is a baffling piece of film, and I’m not sure I really get it.  But visually it’s a remarkable piece that I’ll never forget.  The soundtrack, matched with three fantastic performances by Rachel Weisz, and three more by Hugh Jackman made for an unforgettable, if baffling, cinematic experience.

– Post-apocalyptic films are among my favorites (unless they’re directed by Roland Emmerich). And in 2006, Clive Owen was one of my favorite actors, so this was a no brainer. What I wasn’t expecting was how freaking good this film was, and how it would never leave me. It was wicked powerful. Crazy poignant, and is still, to this day, one of the greatest oversights of the Academy.

– Another complete oversight by the Academy. Five years later, and I still love to pop this in and watch it. Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett as the leads involved in a ambiguously lesbian/minor love affair? Awesome. Blanchett’s descent into madness is one of the best I’ve seen on screen, and it continues to hold that dubious title to this day.

– This is the second Guillermo del Toro film to make these lists (see: 2001: The Devil’s Backbone). And this was even better than the first. Del Toro’s imagination, as witnessed through the imagination of a young girl in post-world war II Spain is tragic, and mysterious, and extremely beautiful. It’s a rough ending, but the images are the some of the most powerful of the decade. And I’m not even into fantasy.

– I’ll be perfectly honest, I didn’t hear about this film until Ryan Gosling was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal as the inner-city elementary school teacher with a serious monkey on his back.  So I tracked it down and was wicked impressed.  Ryan Fleck mostly went to directing TV after this, and it’s a shame.

So here’s the list of the most memorable films of 2005 (not the best necessarily).  Check out the lists for 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004.

– This was, indeed, my very first Cronenberg movie.  And how special it was.  I watch this at least two or three times a year to this day.  (I accidentally bought two copies if anyone wants one).  The script is brilliant and so are the performances.  And, it’s actually quite an interesting examination of how violence affects everyone.

– I’m not saying that Jarhead is a great movie.  I don’t feel that way.  But Jake Gyllenhaal’s courageous (if misguided) performance is worth seeing alone.  It was most interesting to see how Sam Mendes would do a war movie, during a time that war was on everyone’s mind (not to mention he’s a stage director).  He didn’t pull it off.  But it’s an interesting attempt.  He needs to stick to surrealist melodramas.

– Another intensely war focused drama that caught my attention.  This one was far better than Jarhead.  Syriana moved the war themes a little further to explore private cooperations and contractors benefiting financially because of the conflicts and war.  Despite the fact Amanda Peet was in it, the cast was exceptional.  The violence was a little difficult to take, but it’s worth it.

– Felicity Huffman as a pre-op male-to-female transsexual?  Yes, please.  The movie is forgettable, but Huffman’s performance is really spot on.  She deserved the Oscar that year.  Oh, and people to this day find my site using the search term, ‘Is Zac Efron in Transamerica?’  I’ll answer that quickly; no.

– I still get really angry when I think about the Academy giving the award for Best Picture to Crash over Brokeback Mountain.  I’m not sure whether this is better than The Ice Storm or not, but it’s most definitely one of Ang Lee’s masterpieces.

– This may be the best spy movie ever (you think Daniel Craig is going to be pigeon-holed?).  I’m not a big fan of Steven Spielberg flicks for the most part, but Munich made me at least reconsider him as a director I might like.  Plus, who doesn’t enjoy a revenge film every now and then?  Munich is cool as shit, and I could (and do) watch it frequently.

– I didn’t pick The Libertine just because Johnny Depp’s nose falls off due to syphilis.  That’s just icing on the cake.  Not being one for period pieces, I was doubtful when I watched this, but I ended up being very impressed.  It should have garnered award attention for Depp, but it didn’t.  Other notable performances include Samantha Morton and John Malkovich.

– It’s the little independent film that could.  I remember this was a huge testament about the power of indie films, as I was really just testing the water back then.  Junebug was also the first time I took notice of Amy Adams (it may be the first film I ever saw her in).  And she clearly was a talent to be watched (now if only she’d stop her current trend of films).  Since Junebug, I’ve been waiting for Phil Morrison to do something new, and I’m still waiting.

– Danny Boyle has pretty much proved himself one of the most versatile directors out there.  Millions really cemented this fact.  He managed to take a family-friendly, feel good script and make it one of the best films of the year (which he has done with horror, sci-fi, and drama).  This movie is just charming.

– This was, most definitely, my first Jim Jarmusch film.  Bill Murray initially attracted me to the film, and I’m glad he did.  I hate the word quirky, but that’s how you’d have to describe Broken Flowers.  The film has the weirdest, yet pleasant tone.  I’ve only seen a few other Jarmusch films since then, and I haven’t liked any of them as much as this.

– For some reason, despite it’s relatively unpleasant subject matter, Closer is a film I can watch again and again. And again. I can’t get enough of the four leads in this flick. They’re all remarkable. And the direction is pretty spot on too. Not to mention, this film introduced me to Damien Rice, who I thought was the shit for about two months (until The Blower’s Daughter got really old). This is a really well shot film with a great mood, pace, and above average performances. It’s such a shame Mike Nichols followed this up with Charlie Wilson’s War.

– Another Roger Michell film on this list (see 2003: The Mother). Admittedly, this isn’t a cornerstone of cinema. Not at all. But it’s based on a book by Ian McEwan and is really quite fascinating/disturbing. This also stars Daniel Craig, along with a frighteningly good Rhys Ifans. It’s kind of a cliched story about stalking and obsession, but it’s wicked tense, and a lot of fun. I even have the movie poster hanging in my living room right now.

– There’s nothing more to be said about Eternal Sunshine. It’s easy to understand why it’s so awesome, I won’t even attempt a blurb.

– It’s refreshing to see Johnny Depp act in a role that doesn’t shout, “look how crazy and weird I am!” (Alice in Wonderland will be his next installment in this fashion).  Plus, Kate Winslet is in this, and they’re both remarkable.  The story is sad, sad, sad.  But still filled with magic.  It’s one of the rare PG movies that really caught my attention.

– I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead has haunted my movie memory since I saw it.  The story is just so raw and, well, frightening.  It’s a rough film to handle, but it’s really bitchin’.  Mike Hodges took a script that could have been totally trite and turned it to a helluva good movie.

– Until the last few years, I liked Vol. 2 more than Vol. 1.  And even though those rankings have changed recently, this is still one of my all time favorite films.  There’s a lot more talk, less limb amputations, and more scenes dedicated to Tarantino’s foot fetish.  I will never get enough of Quentin and Uma.

– If there was ever a Hitchcock-ian film that Hitchcock didn’t direct himself, it’s The Machinist.  Brad Anderson and Christian Bale jumped to the forefront of my radar thanks to this fantastic film.  It’s worth a rental just to see Bale weighing in at 121 pounds.  That’s called dedication.  Plus I always like watching Jennifer Jason Leigh.

– This is where Tony Scott is teetering on the edge of ridiculous excess (he takes the plunge on his next film), but the result is wicked entertaining.  The pace, the story, the gory torture (it’s okay since it’s for Dakota Fanning), it makes for one of the best action movies of the last decade.  It’s one of the few Denzel Washington movies I really like.

– It’s difficult, I assume, to make swallowing bags of heroin look like art.  But that is what is accomplished in Maria Full of Grace.  It’s a difficult film for me to watch, but it’s one of the better drug-themed films I’ve seen.  There’s no sensationalism, no romanticism, it just is.  This sort of honesty is refreshing.

– Man, 2004 was a year of heavy films for me.  Rape, Drugs, Murder, adultery, and now, added to that list is a portrait of back alley abortions in England.  Mike Leigh always directs solid films, but this is one of his best.  And it’s one of the most thought-provoking of the decade.  That’s for sure.