Quite a few films here that are very good indeed.
Dark City is very good.
City of Lost Children also. By the same people is Delicatessan. Worth looking for.
Donnie Darko is nice and odd. Have this on DVD.
Nightwatch is available on DVD in Britain. Again recommended
The sequel Daywatch I have seen trailers for but no word on the full thing yet.
Brick is a quasi film noir detective story set in a modern day high school. Worth hunting out and seeing.
In the Mouth oif Madness is the closest I have seen any film get to a Cthulhu Mythos story.
Cube is good. You might need to know how to use a rubik's cube though.
Pi. Worth seeing once at least. And I back the headache quote
The Duelists was one of a number of British films with American leads but a mainly British cast. The music is haunting and the cinematography wonderful. Harvey Keitel is great in this.
One of my favourite films. I waited years for this on video and got it on DVD.
Seven Samurai is what the Magnificent Seven is based on. If you know the Western seek out this film. It is great. Also Yojimbo and Sanjuro which the Fistful of Dollars and Few Dollars More spaghetti westerns of Clint Eastwood are based on.
Seventh Seal has a knight playing chess with Death. It's European and black and white but brilliant.
If you liked Severance, Danny Dyer is also in a film called Closure (for the US) market and Straightheads over here. Released on DVD in September. Also stars Gillian Anderson. Word of warning. Like Irreversible this is strong stuff. A couple are attacked on the way back from a party and decide to revenge themselves on their attackers.
Ghost Dog is nice and subtle. Forest Whitaker Oscar Winner (deservedly so) for Last King of Scotland is in this.
A Clockwork Orange was one of two controversial films from 1972. It was supposed to be satire but youths in England used it as a template which made Kubrick ban the film until after his death.
The other controversial film was Straw Dogs. Dustin Hoffman and Susan George have to defend their Cornish home from locals. This is after Susan has already been raped by two of said locals. This is a Peckinpah film believe it or not.
The Host. This is a Korean monster movie where a family go after the tadpole from Hell which has capture their youngest member.
Amacord. Fellini's film of the year in the life of a town in pre WWII Fascist Italy is a delight.
Spirit of the Beehive. Set in post civil war Spain this is a wonderful little film. Worth a look. A less fantastical and less violent version of Pan's Labyrinth.
Dinner Rush. An evening in a New York restaurant while two Mafia thugs persuade the owner to give up the book he runs one of the staff is gambling with said hoods, the head chef (the owner's son) wants the place to himself and has to impress a critic. Danny Aiello stars.
A Man Escaped. French film about a Resistance man in prison and how he plots his escape slowly but surely.
The Big Sleep. Bogart and Bacall and dialogue that cuts like a razor. Find this version and enjoy.
The Killing. One of the original robbery gone wrong pics. Worth seeing. The Asphalt Jungle is a stablemate of this film.
I would have said Strange Days is too well known and for similar reason wouldn't mention The Usual Suspects. Although if you have not seen the latter do so.
Things to Do In Denver When You are Dead. Andy Garcia has to get a boy away from a girl who is the object of affection of the simple son of Christopher Walken's disabled gang boss. Things go wrong.
Last Seduction. Lind Fiorentino as a woman not to cross and Bill Pullman as her double crossed husband. Bill playing a bad guy for a change.
Five Corners. A Jodie Foster flick with John Tuturro in a New York tale set in early 60s New York.
Bound. Modern film noir with two girls versus the Mob.
The Company of Men is Mysogyny writ large. Two company guys compete to see who can be most heartless in seducing and dumping a deaf girl in the company.
Out of Sight is that rare thing a decent Jennifer Lopez film. Also has George Clooney but this one is not as well heralded as say Syriana, Good Night and Good Luck or the Ocean's franchise.
Being John Malkovich is worth a look. You too can spend some time in John's head. And what happens when John Malkovich finds out what you are doing and spends time in his own head.
Battle Royale. A Japanese class have to kill each other until there is only one survivor.
The Devil's Backbone. A Spanish ghost story in Civil War Spain.
the Dancer Upstairs. The police in a South American country hunt for the head of the Communist guerillas. Directed by John Malkovich.
Dog Soldiers. Werewolves in Scotland vs Squaddies (British soldiers on exercise)
Christy Malry's Own Double Entry. Accounting taken to the extreme where for a good deed a guy has to balance it with a bad.
The Vanishing. See the original Dutch film rather than the Hollywood remake. Will leave you gasping. A teacher tries to find out what happened to his girlfriend who disappeared on a cycling holiday. Then a guy appears who says he'll take him to her but he has to go through what she went through.....
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang has Val Kilmer as a gay Private Detective helping Downey Jnr who is supposed to be learning to be a film star. Until he stumbles onto a proper crime.
The Matador. Greg Kinnear is a normal guy who finds himself helping Pierce Brosnan's washed up assassin
And that's all for now. If you didn't already know that I was a film fan, you do now.
Me dense...
