|
Top notch. Dialogue, music, camera, lighting, acting, plot, theme, moral. |
| A film that aspires to art without being too pretentious. Very sexy. And Oscar Levant is hilarious. |
|
Ingmar Bergman's best. Gripping reflection on the
silence of God; the battle of reason with uncertainty and fear; hope in
children. Other Bergman favorites are Wild Strawberries and The Magic Flute. |
|
Life. Great soundtrack by Cat Stevens, too. |
|
Liberty. Edelweiss always makes me cry.
|
| The pursuit of happiness. Morality and acceptance of God's blessings, both spiritual and corporeal. |
|
A beautiful contemplation of what's worthwhile, set to music. |
|
A wonderful romp of contradictions: The highest placed have no
sight of reality (the king is possessed by fantasy of the grail), the
least educated are the most articulate ("help, help I'm being
repressed!"), the icons of character are the shadiest souls (Sir Robin
the Brave bravely ran away, Sir Lancelot the Just wantonly slays
passersby), the sauve are disgusting (the French knights fart in your
general direction), the prey is the predator (the killer rabbit), the
princess is a prince (no singing!), the most educated are the least
logical (therefore she's a witch!)...
And Life of Brian (1979) is another favorite from Monty Python. |
 |
Because we need the eggs (as explained in the final scene). This movie and Manhatten are my favorites of Woody Allen. (But I'm finding they don't seem as funny as they used to. Is this a common finding in the psychology of humor?) |
|
What it is to be truly conscious. During my walk home after seeing this movie (in 1981 I think), I touched the bark of the trees and the bricks of the walls. I tried to become aware of the tonic background I otherwise take for granted. This is also a great film for issues in cognitive science: To what extent are our tools, such as electric blankets, the ultimate expression of human inventiveness, and to what extent are these tools ultimately dehumanizing insulators from "reality"? Is it most human to be viscerally aware of sensations, or is it most human to be absorbed by our humanly created structures? |
 |
Yes, the Disney film. The most grown-up and deepest of the 1990's Disney animations. Great music; beautiful visuals; gripping themes. |
  |
These updated interpretations of Shakespeare are a treat. Romeo+Juliet is visually stunning, and the 400-year old language is given new life. Hamlet pondering what to do in the "Action" section of Blockbuster is a nice touch. |
 |
A fascinating and entertaining journey of self-awareness, with contemplations of one's relationship to father(/god), spouse, friends, society, and self. |
 |
Everyone is painfully frustrated (except the tax accountant and the
anesthesiologist), but there is beauty everywhere -- if you can
disengage from the pain. Another favorite by director Sam Mendes is Away We Go (2009). |
 |
Gnome is where the heart is. |
 |
Maybe not as high on my list as some of the others, but definitely eye catching, so the eyes have it. |
 |
"What, chicken again?!?!" A gentle saga of how everyone must deal with disappointment. |
 |
I listened to Beatles albums for thousands of hours as a teenager. I
doubted that re-makes could possibly sound right. But the music here
is beautiful. "I want to hold your hand" actually sounds better as
it's rendered here: quiet, yearnful, intimate. "Let it be" makes me
weep every time. And "I want you (she's so heavy)" never made so much
sense! The musical performances are wonderful, but it wouldn't work
half so well without the stunning visuals and creative screenplay.
Another favorite directed by Julie Taymor is Frida (2002). |