Not that o think others’ choices suck, but I’ll go tap others for variety’s sake.
1. Strange Days. Bruce Sterling said the essence of cyberpunk is “the Street has its own uses for things”. In that spirit, this story of what’s gained and lost in a world where memories can be recorded and millennial fever is everywhere is th most deeply cyberpunk movie ever made. It’s beautiful, with a bunch of actors in top form, and intensely emotional as characters struggle with unwanted responsibilities.
2. Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. Didn’t see many/any animation on other lists, so here’s one. In the far distant future, humanity is emerging from millennia of being ruled by vampires. The remaining vampire lords aren’t going gently into that good night, so D - a dhampyr, half human half vampire - helps them along. ((They pronounce it “dunpeal” for complicated tedious reasons). Here’s a story of obsession, love, and unexpected insight, set against the absolutely stunning background of this post-post-apocalyptic milieu. Not many movies give you rocket cathedrals, but this one does. Behind the scenes at White Wolf, the scuttlebutt was that Abyssal 1e charms weren’t done until they covered all the powers used here.
3. Until the End of the World. Speaking of millennial fever. It’s late 1999, and a nuclear satellite is out of control. Where will it come down! How many of us are going to die? That panic is the background for this story of searching lovers, bankr robbers and their enablers, bounty hunting, family reunion, and self-ownership. It’s an intercontinental road trip with paths that converge in the Australian interior, set to one of the best soundtrack ever. In 1991, director William Wenders went to a bunch of great musicians and asks them each for a song in the style they’d be using in 1999. It worked. There are multiple cuts, a you want the longest you can get, up to the 6-hr jumbo, because they add more and more road trip fun.
4. Arrival. Genuinely alien aliens are hard to show. This film manages it, alongside great acting of characters trying to deal with very difficult first contact and global pressures to do different things about it.
5. Primer. You’ll have noticed I like epics, and admire smart spending of big budgets. But sometimes neither of those suits a story. This is about two obsessed young men who build a time machine. There are strong limits on when you can go with it, but it turns out amazing things are possible within those limits. There are diagrams online if the time loops, but don’t search for them before watching this, as they will spoil the most interesting developments, and aren’t necessarily entirely correct. Take in, and then look them up.
1. Strange Days. Bruce Sterling said the essence of cyberpunk is “the Street has its own uses for things”. In that spirit, this story of what’s gained and lost in a world where memories can be recorded and millennial fever is everywhere is th most deeply cyberpunk movie ever made. It’s beautiful, with a bunch of actors in top form, and intensely emotional as characters struggle with unwanted responsibilities.
2. Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. Didn’t see many/any animation on other lists, so here’s one. In the far distant future, humanity is emerging from millennia of being ruled by vampires. The remaining vampire lords aren’t going gently into that good night, so D - a dhampyr, half human half vampire - helps them along. ((They pronounce it “dunpeal” for complicated tedious reasons). Here’s a story of obsession, love, and unexpected insight, set against the absolutely stunning background of this post-post-apocalyptic milieu. Not many movies give you rocket cathedrals, but this one does. Behind the scenes at White Wolf, the scuttlebutt was that Abyssal 1e charms weren’t done until they covered all the powers used here.
3. Until the End of the World. Speaking of millennial fever. It’s late 1999, and a nuclear satellite is out of control. Where will it come down! How many of us are going to die? That panic is the background for this story of searching lovers, bankr robbers and their enablers, bounty hunting, family reunion, and self-ownership. It’s an intercontinental road trip with paths that converge in the Australian interior, set to one of the best soundtrack ever. In 1991, director William Wenders went to a bunch of great musicians and asks them each for a song in the style they’d be using in 1999. It worked. There are multiple cuts, a you want the longest you can get, up to the 6-hr jumbo, because they add more and more road trip fun.
4. Arrival. Genuinely alien aliens are hard to show. This film manages it, alongside great acting of characters trying to deal with very difficult first contact and global pressures to do different things about it.
5. Primer. You’ll have noticed I like epics, and admire smart spending of big budgets. But sometimes neither of those suits a story. This is about two obsessed young men who build a time machine. There are strong limits on when you can go with it, but it turns out amazing things are possible within those limits. There are diagrams online if the time loops, but don’t search for them before watching this, as they will spoil the most interesting developments, and aren’t necessarily entirely correct. Take in, and then look them up.
