Movies that I liked ( the deep, the fun, and the silly too)

Amit — Sat, 12 May 2007 19:50:31 +0000

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Amelie

Amélie (Audrey Tautou) lives alone and works in a café. When she finds a trove of toys hidden for 40 years behind a baseboard in her apartment, she’s inspired to MadisonCounty to shoot

Iowa’s covered bridges. What begins as a guarded friendship soon erupts into an intense affair that rekindles Francesca’s forgotten passions. But she finds her emotions in conflict when the time comes to choose her future. repatriate the items, an impulse of generosity that sparks more benevolent acts. A celebration of life, Amélie reminds us of the small wonders that abound around us … if only we paused to look

Australia

(2008) In the days leading up to World War II, Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) inherits a sprawling cattle ranch in northern Australia. Threatened by land barons, she reluctantly joins her farmhand (Hugh Jackman) as he drives 2,000 head of cattle across the outback. While on the grueling trek, they witness the Japanese bombing of Darwin, which heralds Australia’s entry into the war. Director Baz Luhrmann co-wrote this captivating historical epic

August Rush(2007)

After cellist Lyla (Keri Russell) and guitarist Louis (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) share an enchanted night together, circumstances rip them apart, and the child produced by the union is raised by a caring stranger (Robin Williams) who nurtures the boy’s musical talent. Determined to find his parents, the boy, known as August Rush (Freddie Highmore), relies on music to draw his mother and father to him. Terrence Howard co-stars in this magical drama.

As good as it gets

Chronic grouch and acerbic author Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson) lives in an obsessive-compulsive fog, sidestepping sidewalk cracks and rigidly following his routine of daily breakfasts in the bistro where the only waitress he’ll abide is stressed-out single mother Carol Connelly (Helen Hunt). But Melvin’s structured world crumbles when his gay neighbor (Greg Kinnear) needs a dog sitter, and only longtime antagonist Melvin will fill the bill. …

Apollo 13

bound for the moon when technical troubles scuttled the mission and nearly doomed the crew. Director Ron Howard expertly chronicles the smallest details of this true-life story, turning a failed scientific journey into a thrilling saga of true heroism. As lead astronaut Jim Lovell, Tom Hanks utters the now-famous line, “
Houston, we’ve got a problem.”

A Fish Called Wanda

A crooked foursome commits the heist of the century and is about to get away … until the
London police arrest one of them. Can the three on the lam (Michael Palin, Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Kline) persuade their comrade’s lawyer (John Cleese) to reveal the stolen loot’s location? Laugh-out-loud funny, A Fish Called Wanda explores the notion of “honor” among thieves.

Alex in Love

Israeli director Boaz Davidson lenses a touching and funny coming-of-age film about 13-year-old Alex, who falls head over heels in love for the first time. This romantic comedy set during the years of Israeli independence gets pretty racy, with a major twist thrown in the mix when Lola, a seductive older relative from
Poland, enters the scene. Overnight, Alex’s crush on a schoolgirl deflates, eclipsed by the presence of this ravishing new woman.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence

Director Steven Spielberg’s A.I. propels you into a futuristic world where humans share every aspect of their lives with sophisticated companion robots called Mechas. When an advanced prototype robot child named David (Haley Joel Osment) is programmed to show unconditional love, his human family isn’t prepared for the consequences. David soon embarks on a spectacular quest to discover the startling secret of his own identity.

Anger Management

The unlikely pairing of Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson drives this wacky comedy about gentle businessman Dave Buznik (Sandler), who finds himself in anger management counseling after a dispute on an airplane. When his therapist, Dr. Buddy Rydell (Nicholson), moves into his house and turns out to have some anger management issues of his own, the normally mild-mannered Buznik just might be driven to the brink of insanity after all.

About Schmidt

when insurance actuary Warren Schmidt (Jack Nicholson) retires and his wife dies, he looks for life’s meaning on a road trip to his daughter’s (Hope Davis) upcoming wedding to a waterbed salesman (Dermot Mulroney). But
Warren can’t seem to get anything right. En route to the wedding, he shares his life through letters with a Tanzanian boy he’s sponsoring for 73 cents a day … and soon,Warren discovers renewed purpose

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Benny and June

Benny is the older brother and caretaker to his mentally ill sister Joon, who is charming if she doesn’t forget to take her medication. Sam, a sane but creative soul falls in love with Joon sparking a jealous tinge in Benny.

(The) Blues Brothers: Extended Cut

After Jake Blues (John Belushi) gets out of prison, he and brother Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) reunite their former band mates for a one-night charity concert to save the orphanage where the brothers were raised. After cashing in, they’re chased by the Illinois police (led by John Candy), a homicidal Carrie Fisher, Illinois Nazis and Tucker McElroy — the Good Ole Boys’ lead singer and Winnebago driver. This disc includes the extended cut of the film.

(The) Bridges of Madison County

When her family is off at the state fair, vaguely discontented Iowa housewife Francesca Johnson (Meryl Streep) meets National Geographic shutterbug Robert Kincaid (Clint Eastwood), who’s in

Big fish

William Bloom (Billy Crudup) tries to learn more about his dying father, Edward (Albert Finney), by piecing together the facts out of the various fantastic tales and legends of epic proportions he’s been told over the years. Edward was a traveling salesman, and his journeys throughout the South are the seed of the tales. Directed by Tim Burton, the movie co-stars Ewan McGregor (as the young Edward), Helena Bonham-Carter and Steve Buscemi.

Beautiful mind

John Forbes Nash Jr. (Russell Crowe) was a brilliant economist — when his mind was clear. But life changed forever with the revelation that he was a schizophrenic. Nash’s brilliance persisted amidst the anguish his mental illness caused for him and his wife (Jennifer Connolly), and 40 years after his diagnosis, he won the Nobel Prize for economics. Connolly’s acting and Ron Howard’s direction won Oscars, and the film was named Best Picture.

Braveheart(1995)

Enraged at the slaughter of Murron (Catherine McCormack) — his new bride and childhood love — legendary Scottish warrior William Wallace (Mel Gibson, who also directed the film) slays a platoon of the local English lord’s soldiers. This leads the village to revolt and, eventually, the entire country to rise up against English rule. With vivid battle scenes and a heaping portion of legend, Gibson’s epic won five Oscars, including Best Picture.

Bridget Jones’s Diary

It’s Monday morning. Bridget (Renée Zellweger) has woken up with a headache, a hangover and her boss. Wickedly clever, this tale of Miss Jones’s yearlong odyssey from Mr. Right-here-right-now (Hugh Grant) to Mr. Right (Colin Firth) delivers a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the female mind. Zellweger, Firth and Grant are perfectly cast in this popular adaptation of Helen Fielding’s best-selling novel.

Being Julia

Estranged from her son and willfully ignorant of her husband’s philandering, aging actress Julia (Annette Bening, who earned an Oscar nomination for her spirited performance), seeing her youth and beauty fading, is adrift and in search of some way to regain the spark of passion. And that passion may lie in the smoldering attentions of a much-younger admirer, Tom (Shaun Evans). Costars Jeremy Irons, Michael Gambon and Bruce Greenwood.

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Chocolate

An iconoclastic single mother (Oscar-nominee Juliette Binoche) and her young daughter move to a village in
France and open a chocolate shop — that’s open Sundays — across the street from a church. At first, Binoche’s rich, sensuous desserts scandalize the town, but soon the villagers welcome the newcomers with open arms. Judi Dench, Lena Olin and Johnny Depp co-star in this 2000 Best Picture nominee.

Crash

A 36-hour period in the diverse metropolis of post-Sept. 11
Los Angeles is the theme of this unflinching drama that challenges viewers to confront their prejudices. Lives combust when a
Brentwood housewife and her D.A. husband, a Persian shopkeeper, two cops, a pair of carjackers and a Korean couple all converge. Director Paul Haggis’s Best Picture Oscar winner stars Sandra Bullock, Brendan Fraser, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon and Jennifer Esposito.

(The) Cider House Rules

Director Lasse Hallström’s nostalgic look at the past takes on racism, romance and the difficulty of saying goodbye to those you love. A young man (Tobey Maguire) leaves the orphanage where he was raised to see the world, learning in the process that the real world is wherever you are. John Irving’s carefully hewn script and supporting actor Michael Caine won Oscars.

Cast Away

Move over, Gilligan: You have company! After Federal Express systems engineer Chuck Noland’s (Tom Hanks) plane crashes in the
Pacific Ocean, he finds himself fighting to survive on a deserted island with nothing but a painted volleyball for company. An acting tour de force for Hanks (who received an Oscar nod), Cast Away is a fascinating abstract about the human spirit’s indomitability.

City of Angels

Who can resist Meg Ryan’s charms? Neither man nor angel, including virile heavenly host Nicolas Cage. Ryan plays a heart surgeon who loses a patient as ethereal guardian Seth (Cage) looks on. He’s so smitten with Ryan that he decides to turn in his wings for life as a lowly mortal. Based on Wim Wenders’ 1988 masterpiece Wings of Desire.

Chicago

Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger) hungers for stardom, but instead ends up in the slammer in 2002′s Best Picture winner. Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is a superstar whose fame flares — then dims — when she shoots her cheating husband and lands in jail. When Velma’s lawyer, notorious Billy Flynn (Richard Gere), makes Roxie a tabloid sensation, he sets up a singing, dancing catfight between the two ambitious women. Based on the Broadway musical.

Contact

Jodie Foster stars in this adaptation of Carl Sagan’s thoughtful novel about the attempt to reconcile science and religion. After idealistic Dr. Ellie Arroway (Foster) discovers a signal being broadcast from outer space, the race is on to interpret humanity’s first contact with extraterrestrial intelligence. Matthew McConaughey co-stars as Father Palmer Joss, Ellie’s friend/lover; Robert Zemeckis directs.

Cinema Paradico

Director Giuseppe Tornatore’s sentimental tribute to moviegoing of days past celebrates its 12th anniversary with an additional 48 minutes of footage. Spanning three stages of a man’s life, Cinema Paradiso tracks the relationship between a boy, Salvatore, and the cinema projectionist, Alfredo (Philippe Noiret), who inspired him to become a film director.

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin

Dr. Iannis (John Hurt) and his beautiful daughter, Pelagia (Penélope Cruz), live an idyllic life on the Greek island of

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Young Spanish flamenco dancer Carmen (Natalia Verbeke), who lives in

Cephallonia — that is, until Italian forces occupy it during World War II. When Capt. Corelli (Nicolas Cage) is placed in the Iannis home as a boarder, he and Pelagia are quickly smitten with each other. But when the Nazis arrive, Corelli must fight to liberate the island from the real enemy.

Dogma

Who would have guessed that the latest battle in the eternal war between good and evil would take place in suburban

London, is on the verge of marrying Barnaby (James D’Arcy). By happenstance, she meets Kit (Gael Garcia Bernal), a Brazilian actor, the night before her wedding and ends up kissing him. What follows is subterfuge galore (to cover up their budding lust). Better cross a few of those t’s, too! Costars Charlie Cox and Tom Hardy. Matthew Parkhill directs.

New Jersey? In director Kevin Smith’s 1999 comic fantasia Dogma, angels (Matt Damon and Ben Affleck), gnarly demons, a half-baked apostle (Chris Rock) and clueless prophets walk among America’s cynics and innocents, duking it out for humankind’s fate.

Doctor Zhivago (1965)

A brilliant, epic film about a man (Omar Sharif) and his mistress (Julie Christie) caught up in the manquake of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. Based on the novel by Nobel Prize-winning author Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago is brought to scintillating life on the screen by director David Lean. The performances (including a memorable turn by Rod Steiger), production and haunting score are superb.

(The) Draughtsman’s Contract [1982]

In 17th century England, aristocratic Mrs. Herbert (Janet Suzman) commissions handsome draughtsman Mr. Neville (Anthony Higgins) to produce a dozen sketches of the family estate to surprise her absent husband. Neville accepts the project … in exchange for 12 sexual favors. The exceedingly smug Neville is in control till Mrs. Herbert’s daughter (Anne Louise Lambert) — who has her own agenda — outfoxes the arrogant artist.

(The) Deer Hunter

A group of working-class pals decide to enlist in the army during the Vietnam War and find it to be hellish chaos — not the noble venture they imagined. One of the survivors (Robert De Niro) must return to

Saigon to save a shattered pal (Christopher Walken) from certain death in a Russian roulette club. An Oscar-winning epic, The Deer Hunter shows the heavy toll the conflict exacted on soldiers and civilians.

The Darjeeling Limited(2007)

Following the death of their father, three brothers (Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman) embark on a journey on the cross-India train the Darjeeling Limited and attempt to reconnect after years of physical and emotional distance. The trip also opens up some old wounds and proves that their sibling rivalry can never be completely erased. Natalie Portman and Anjelica Huston co-star in Wes Anderson’s lyrical comic drama.

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Eyes Wide Shut

Director Stanley Kubrick’s last silver-screen odyssey dishes up a chillingly distant examination of carnal desire and obsession. A rhubarb about fidelity with his wife, Alice (Nicole Kidman), sends Dr. Bill Hartford (Tom Cruise) reeling into the

Manhattan night. He soon finds himself in a surreal succession of sexually charged encounters, capped off by a clandestine visit to an upper-crust orgy where what he witnesses could get him snuffed.

Everything is Illuminated

A young American Jewish man begins an exhausting quest — aided by a naïve Ukranian translator — to find the righteous gentile woman who saved his grandfather when his small Ukranian village (along with most of the populace) was obliterated during the Nazi invasion of Russia in 1941. Stars Elijah Wood, Eugene Hutz and Boris Leskin. Liev Schreiber directs. Based on the novel by Jonathan Safran Foer.

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Fried Green Tomatoes

Evelyn Couch (Kathy Bates) is a repressed Alabama housewife who finds inspiration in the lively stories of a feisty old woman named Ninny Threadgoode (Jessica Tandy). Over time, Threadgoode tells Couch the story of Idgie (Mary Stuart Masterson), an independent young woman who runs a small-town diner in the 1920s. Idgie finds a soul mate in Ruth Jamison (Mary-Louise Parker), and the pair’s antics cause an uproar in their rural Southern town.

Frida

Julie Taymor directs this Oscar-winning biopic of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (Salma Hayek), focusing on her often rocky relationship with husband Diego Rivera (Alfred Molina). Also known for her controversial political and sexual reputation (she was a communist and a bisexual), Frida struggled with a life of wracking pain following an accident, the amputation of a leg, and finally, drug and alcohol abuse that killed her at age 47.

Facing Windows

Feeling overwhelmed and stuck in a dull marriage, Giovanna begins refocusing her attention (or repressing her emotions) by caring for the Jewish Holocaust survivor her husband brings home one day. As Giovanna reflects on her life, she turns to the man who lives across from her and whose window faces hers. Stars Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Massimo Girotti, Raoul Bova, Filippo Nigro and Serra Yilmaz. Directed by Verzan Ozpetek.

(The) Full Monty

This raucous English comedy follows a group of unemployed British steel-mill workers who, broke and bored, devise a fabulous scheme to get off the dole: Become male strippers! Soon they’re a sensation with the ladies, who encourage the men to show the “full monty” (strip down to the skin). This quirky 1997 sleeper is full of character and great humor.

Forrest Gump

You’ll never view the world the same way after seeing it through the eyes of Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks), a simpleminded man who finds himself in the middle of nearly every major event of the 1960s and ’70s. Along the way, he makes friends, changes lives and searches for a soul mate. Winner of six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor (Hanks).

Forever Young

Daniel (Mel Gibson) is a 1939 test pilot whose girlfriend, Helen, falls into a coma. Daniel asks his friend Harry (George Wendt), a scientist working with cryogenics, to freeze him so he doesn’t have to watch Helen suffer. Fast-forward 53 years. Two boys are playing and find the freezing unit. They discover Daniel and take him home to their single mom (Jamie Lee Curtis). A relationship grows between them … until Daniel learns that Helen is alive.

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Good Will Hunting

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck won an Oscar for their script about friendship and risk for this film directed by Gus Van Sant. With an abuse-filled past and a janitorial job, Will Hunting (Damon) spends his days hanging out with best friend Chuckie Sullivan (Affleck). But the aimless young man’s also a mathematical genius, and when his talents are discovered, a therapist (Robin Williams) helps Will confront the demons that have been holding him back.

(The) Gods Must Be Crazy 1&2

Gallipoli

Australian Director Peter Weir takes on one of his country’s most tragic moments in history: the World War I confrontation with the German allied Turks. As the film leads up to the battle in act three, we get to know the young men destined to be casualties of war. A young Mel Gibson (on the heels of his successful turn in Mad Max) plays one of the innocent doomed. This poignant war drama swept the Australian Film Institute Awards with eight wins

Gloomy Sunday

A romantic melodrama set in 1930s

Vietnam. His monkeyshines — lampooning any and all sacred cows — tickle the troops but land him in hot water with his superiors, who’d like the broadcast to be sanitized and uncontroversial. Then, after encountering war’s horror firsthand, Cronauer makes the egregious mistake of telling his audience the truth. …

Budapest, Gloomy Sunday centers on a love triangle with tragic consequences. Restaurant owner Laszlo hires pianist András to play in his restaurant. Both men fall in love with the beautiful waitress Ilona, who inspires András to write his only composition. The resulting song, “Gloomy Sunday,” is at first loved by the public … but soon, its melancholic melody appears to trigger a chain of suicides.

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His Secret Life

While recovering from the shock of her husband’s death, an Italian woman (Margherita Buy) discovers that her husband had had a secret lover for the last 7 years. But she’s even more surprised to discover that he and his lover (Stefano Accorsi) were part of an extended “family” of gays, transgenders and other social outcasts … a family she finds herself drifting toward as she overcomes the emotions of her husband’s passing.

Everything is illuminated

History of the WorldA young American Jewish man begins an exhausting quest — aided by a naïve Ukranian translator — to find the righteous gentile woman who saved his grandfather when his small Ukranian village (along with most of the populace) was obliterated during the Nazi invasion of Russia in 1941. Stars Elijah Wood, Eugene Hutz and Boris Leskin. Liev Schreiber directs. Based on the novel by Jonathan Safran Foer.

The Horse Whisperer

After a riding accident, New Yorker Annie MacLean (Kristin Scott Thomas) takes her injured daughter, Grace (Scarlett Johansson), and a frightened, wounded horse to

Montana. They’re looking for Tom Booker (Robert Redford), a man with the unique ability to “talk” to horses. As Tom heals the horse, Annie’s growing feelings for him make her reluctant to return to city life — and her husband.
Redford also directed this Oscar-nominated drama.

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I, Claudius

(5-Disc Series)Roman history comes alive in this 13-part series told from the perspective of Claudius. His physical impairments helped him avoid assassination by the corrupt Caligula, only to become utterly corrupt himself. Tracing the lives of the first of the Roman emperors, this 13-part series is an epic of ruthless ambition, shocking debauchery and murderous intrigue set in one of history’s most fascinating eras.

(The) Importance of Being Earnest In this adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s witty play about mistaken identities, Algernon Moncrieff (Rupert Everett) and Jack Worthing (Colin Firth) cause trouble as two proper gentlemen in 1890s

London who use the same pseudonym. At a country estate, they fall in love with two ladies — Cecily (Reese Witherspoon) and Gwendolyn (Frances O’Conner) — but the hilarious confusion that ensues from their deceptions may just sink their chance at romance.

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Jean de Florette

In this compelling tale about human greed set in 1920s

Provence, a local farmer (Yves Montand) and his son (Daniel Auteuil) covet the property adjoining theirs for its valuable freshwater spring. The two men concoct a plan to block the spring and conceal its location, in hopes that the land will be ruined by drought and that the unsuspecting owner (Gerard Depardieu) will sell it to them cheap. But their selfish act may come back to haunt them.

(The) Joy Luck Club

Based on a novel by Amy Tan, Wayne Wang’s drama follows four Chinese women — Suyuan (Kieu Chinh), Lindo (Tsai Chin), Ying Ying (France Nyuen) and An Mei (Lisa Liu) — who gather weekly to share stories and friendship. Interwoven with the travails of their daughters — June (Ming-Na Wen),
Lena (Lauren Tom), Waverly (Tamlin Tomita) and Rose (Rosalind Chao) — are stories of the women’s own struggles for a better life.

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(The) life of others

Set in 1980s East Berlin, director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s debut feature (which earned an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film) provides an exquisitely nuanced portrait of life under the watchful eye of the state police as a high-profile couple is bugged. When a successful playwright and his actress companion become subjects of the Stasi’s secret surveillance program, their friends, family and even those doing the watching find their lives changed too.

Little Miss Sunshine

Convinced their little Olive (Abigail Breslin) is beauty queen material, parents Richard (Greg Kinnear) and Sheryl (Toni Collette) and the rest of the family embark on a life-altering road trip to a pageant in this madcap Independent Spirit Award-nominated comedy. Struggling motivational speaker Richard pushes Olive to win, while her silent brother (Paul Dano), depressed uncle (Steve Carell) and nursing-home reject grandpa (Alan Arkin) add their own quirks to the mix.

Like Water for Chocolate

A feast for the senses, this magical romance from director Alfonso Arau was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award and a Golden Globe. The passionate Tita (Lumi Cavazos) is in love with Pedro (Marco Leonardi), but her controlling mother (Regina Torne) forbids her from marrying him. When Pedro instead marries her sister, Tita throws herself into her cooking — and discovers she can transfer her emotions through the food she prepares.

Lost in Translation

Set in

Lool: The Chicken Coop

Popular Israeli composers and entertainers Arik Einstein and Shalom Hanoch collaborated on this four-part television series, which captures the culture and essence of

Tokyo, this subtle, nuanced film played Bill Murray against type and earned director Sofia Coppola an Original Screenplay Oscar. Two lost souls — the young, neglected wife (Scarlett Johansson) of a photographer and a washed-up movie star (Murray, in an Oscar-nominated performance) shooting a TV commercial — find an odd solace and pensive freedom to be real in each other’s company and away from their lives in America.

Israel during simpler, more carefree times. The series offered a mix of whacky sketches and musical numbers and was much loved by Israelis during its brief run. Along with Einstein and Hammock, the show features Dori Ben-Ze’ev, Uri Gross, Moshe Ish-Kassit and Talia Shapira.

Life is Beautiful

In this poignant tragicomedy, a clever Jewish-Italian waiter named Guido (Roberto Benigni, who won an Oscar for his role) is sent to a Nazi concentration camp during World War II, along with his wife (Nicoletta Braschi) and their young son (Giorgio Cantarini). Refusing to give up hope, Guido tries to protect his son’s innocence by pretending that their imprisonment is an elaborate game, with the grand prize being a tank. Benigni also directed.

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Monsieur Ibrahim

1960s Paris serves as the backdrop for Francois Dupeyron’s heartwarming drama. Momo (Pierre Boulanger), a teenage orphan, lives in a working-class neighborhood and has very few friends — save for the kindly local prostitutes, who adore him. Momo soon befriends the older and wiser shopkeeper Ibrahim (Omar Sharif), who soon becomes a father figure for Momo and takes him on a journey of self-discovery that will change both of their lives.

Mona Lisa Smile

At Wellesley College in 1953, the all-female student population may constitute the smartest and the best, but they’re still measured by how well they marry. In comes professor Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts) to challenge the status quo, which raises the ire of many administrators, some of the teachers and even a few of the students she dares to inspire. Co-starsKirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Marcia Gay Harden and Maggie Gyllenhaal.disc includes audio commentary with director Ridley Scott , writer Callie Khouri and the two stars; four documentaries; 30 minutes of deleted scenes; an alternate ending with director’s commentary — and much more!

Malena

When 12-year-old Renato catches a glimpse of beautiful new bride Malèna (Monica Bellucci), his heart skips a beat. But when jealous town busybodies begin spreading vile rumors about Malèna, Renato must incorporate those falsehoods with what he knows to be true. A coming-of-age story set in
Sicily during World War II, Malèna exposes the effect waggish gossip can have.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Beware the knights who say “Ni.” The Python comedy clan skewers King Arthur and his knights as they quest far and wide for the Holy Grail in this inspired piece of lunacy. John Cleese stands out as the Black Knight, who suffers gory, slow dismemberment at the hands of the mighty king himself. (Cleese’s protestation after every sword whack that “It’s just a scratch” is still hilarious.)

Much Ado About Nothing

Complications, pranks and peerless word play: This must be Shakespeare! Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson star as Benedick and Beatrice, two marriage-phobic rivals in

Florence, Italy. Hero (Kate Beckinsale) and Claudio (Robert Sean Leonard) try to hook up the two B’s despite tenacious resistance. Denzel Washington, Michael Keaton and Keanu Reeves round out a cast that cavorts amid sumptuous Tuscan scenery.

Maverick

Yes, it’s an old TV show transformed into a movie. But it has a script by William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), was directed by Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon) and stars Jodie Foster, James Garner and Mel Gibson as gamblin’ man Bret Maverick (a role Garner originated on the tube). Giddy up for some goofy, gamblin’ fun.

Milk(2008) R

Sean Penn (in a Golden Globe-nominated role) stars in this fact-based drama about Harvey Milk, the openly gay activist and San Francisco politician who was murdered along with mayor George Moscone (Victor Garber) by disgruntled city employee Dan White (Josh Brolin) in 1978. Director Gus Van Sant’s compelling biopic (nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards) co-stars Emile Hirsch, James Franco and Diego Luna.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Nia Vardalos plays Toula Portokalos, a single Greek woman who falls in love with a non-Greek (John Corbett), which is a no-no to her strict family — especially her commanding mother, Maria (Lainie Kazan), and her traditional father, Gus (Michael Constantine). Think of it as a cross between Meet the Parents and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner … with a flavoring on the souvlaki side.

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No Country for the old man

A hunter (Josh Brolin) stumbles upon a dead body, $2 million and a stash of heroin in a Texas desert. He absconds with the cash, but brutal thief Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) comes looking for it, with a local sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones) on his trail. The roles of hunter and prey blur as the violent pursuits of money and justice collide. Joel and Ethan Coen direct this dark morality tale, which won four Oscars in 2008, including Best Picture.

Name of the Rose

14th century Franciscan monk William of Baskerville (Sean Connery) and his young novice (Christian Slater) arrive at a conference to find that several monks have been murdered under mysterious circumstances. To solve the crimes, William must rise up against the Church’s authority and fight the shadowy conspiracy of monastery monks using only his intelligence — which is considerable. Adapted from Umberto Eco’s best-selling novel.

Nurse Betty

In director Neil LaBute’s Cannes award-winning black comedy, Kansas waitress Betty Sizemore (Renee Zellweger) falls hard for soap opera star George McCord (Greg Kinnear) — and follows that obsession after her husband is killed in front of her by hit men Charlie (Morgan Freeman) and Wesley (Chris Rock). In a delusional daze, Betty heads to
Los Angeles to be with the soap star — unaware of the drug cache in her car or the men following her.

Ninotchka (1939)

Ninotchka (Greta Garbo, in one of her greatest roles) is the Communist Party’s dream member: a stern-faced apparatchik who does things entirely by the book — the Soviet book. She’s sent to Paris to arrange the sale of Grand Duchess Swana’s jewels for the Soviet government, but while taking in the appalling materialism of
Paris, Ninotchka meets a lawyer for the Swana estate, Count Leon (Melvyn Douglas), who melts her icy heart.

Noa at 17

Amid the political turmoil of 1950s

Germany to escape the Nazis. Not all members of the family are happy with this drastic change — but going home isn’t an option. Ultimately, they must all come to terms with a new life in a new continent. Director Caroline Link’s epic drama won the 2002 Oscar for best foreign film.

Israel, a teenage girl named Noa (Dalia Shimko) is caught between her desire to go to college to express her individuality and her parents’ wish to send her to a kibbutz — a type of rural Jewish community based on the idea of communal property. Noa’s middle-class upbringing and the options it affords her are catalysts for tension during a time of smoldering unrest.

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Office Space

In a film that takes plenty of jabs at the nihilism of corporate life, Ron Livingston plays office drone Peter Gibbons, who conspires with his cubicle cohorts to embezzle money from their soulless employers. With help and hindrance from those around him — including the eminently quotable workplace nerd Milton Waddams (Stephen Root) — and the affection of waitress Joanna (Jennifer Aniston), Gibbons may just find his sanity … and

October Sky (1999)

As the Soviet satellite Sputnik streaks across the heavens in October 1957, it’s a source of inspiration for 17-year-old Homer Hickam (Jake Gyllenhaal), who refuses to follow in his father’s footsteps laboring in

West Virginia’s coal mines. Homer would rather reach for the stars — literally. Drafting a few friends, he sets about crafting a rocket to compete for a science-fair scholarship — and a chance to change his seemingly immutable future.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

The first movie since It Happened One Night to win all five major Academy Awards (picture, director, actor, actress, screenplay), Cuckoo’s Nest still has the ability to entertain and inspire. Implacable rabble-rouser Randle Patrick McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) is committed to an asylum and inspires his fellow patients to rebel against the authoritarian rule of head nurse Mildred Ratched (Louise Fletcher).

Oci ciornie – dark eyes/Italian

Aboard a ship late in the 19th-century, a middle-aged Italian tells his story of love to a Russian. In a series of flashbacks filmed almost entirely in creams, whites, and ochers, the clownish and superfluous Romano Patroni leaves his wife’s opulent home to visit a spa where he falls in love with a Russian woman whose marriage is a horror. He pursues her into the Russian heartland and returns to

Italy resolved to leave his wife and marry his love. His amazed and appreciative Russian listener then narrates a shorter story.

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Three convicts (George Clooney, John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson) break out of jail during the 1920s with an eye toward retrieving a cache of hidden money. Along the way, they fast-talk their way out of jams, sidestep alluring riverside sirens and record a hit country song. O Brother is a rollicking romp in the tradition of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby’s “road” pictures.

Of Mice And Men

(1992)Based on John Steinbeck’s 1937 classic tale, this drama tells the story of friends George (Gary Sinise, who also directed) and dim-witted gentle giant Lennie (John Malkovich), who wander the country during the Depression. They find work on a California farm and get closer to realizing their dream of settling down, but it all goes tragically wrong when the boss’s wife (Sherilyn Fenn) makes advances

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(The) Pianist

Famed Polish concert pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman (Adrien Brody, who won an Oscar for the role) struggles to survive the onslaught of Nazi tyranny during World War II in this autobiographical film. Already lauded at the time for his talents as a musician, Szpilman spent those years holed up in

Denmark native Karen Blixen (Meryl Streep) enters a marriage of convenience with a baron. The couple moves to
Nairobi, where Karen finds herself trapped in a loveless marriage as her husband returns to a life of philandering and drinking. Then Karen crosses paths with free-spirited hunter Denys Finch Hatton (Robert Redford): Will their relationship blossom into love, or is Karen headed for heartache?

(The) Painted Veil

(2006)Shunned by a husband (Edward Norton) who’s more interested in his research, the simpleminded Kitty Fane (Naomi Watts) embarks on a quest for life fulfillment. Along the way, she ignites a passionate affair with a dashing womanizer (Liev Schreiber) and travels with her husband to the

Warsaw, subsisting on scraps of food and barely able to stay alive. Grace comes in the form of a second chance — at music, at freedom, at life.

Far East, where she turns her attention to fighting the cholera epidemic. Diana Rigg co-stars in this period drama based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham.

(The) Princess Bride

In this enchantingly cracked fairy tale, the beautiful Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright Penn) and the dashing Wesley (Cary Elwes) must overcome staggering odds to find happiness. Giants, swordsmen, six-fingered counts, murderous princes, Sicilians, pirates, rodents of unusual size and even death cannot stop true love from triumphing. Mandy Patinkin and Andre the Giant costar in this modern classic.

Pleasantville

What happens when a brother (Tobey Maguire) and sister (Reese Witherspoon) time-travel to the black-and-white world of a 1950s TV sitcom with a perfect mom (Joan Allen) and dad (William H. Macy)? They find the “perfect” world has imperfections. This delicate fable with heart examines in a rich, thoughtful way our collective nostalgia for days of apple pie and peace that perhaps never existed.

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Robin Hood: Men in Tights

It’s the classic tale of Robin Hood…reenvisioned by comic master Mel Brooks. As evil Prince John (Richard Lewis) oppresses the people, Robin (Cary Elwes) steals from the tax collectors, triumphs in an archery contest, foils (literally!) the Sheriff of Nottingham (Roger Rees) and makes goo-goo eyes at Maid Marian (Amy Yasbeck). Undisputed highlight: the title musical number!

Rivers and Tides

Andy Goldsworthy Working With Time(2003) NR

This amazing documentary from Thomas Riedelsheimer won the Golden Gate Award Grand Prize for Best Documentary at the 2003 San Francisco International Film Festival. The film follows renowned sculptor Andy Goldsworthy as he creates with ice, driftwood, bracken, leaves, stone, dirt and snow in open fields, beaches, rivers, creeks and forests. With each new creation, he carefully studies the energetic flow and transitory nature of his work.

Andy Goldsworthy Working With Time

Run Lola Run

A thrilling roller-coaster ride, Run Lola Run is the internationally acclaimed sensation about two star-crossed lovers who have only minutes to change their lives. Set to a throbbing techno score, Run Lola Run will thrill you!

(The) Return of Martin Guerre

In 16th century France, a man who deserted his wife (Nathalie Baye) and child unexpectedly returns to his native village after eight years. But the astonishing metamorphosis in his personality leads a number of his relatives and neighbors to believe he’s a fraud and, ultimately, he’s hauled before a magistrate to expose the truth. Gérard Depardieu capitalizes on his nuanced role as the returning spouse.

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Something’s Gotta Give

Sixty and still sexy, Harry (Jack Nicholson) is having the time of his life, wining, dining and bedding women half his age. When he meets an auctioneer (Amanda Peet) and agrees to go to the

Hamptons with her, he’s convinced he’s in for a sinfully fun weekend. Plans go awry when her playwright mother, Erica (Diane Keaton), stops in unannounced, and Harry soon discovers there’s nothing wrong with — and plenty good about — acting your age

Sense and Sensibility

This tale of 19th century etiquette and ethics chronicles the troubles and triumphs of the marriage-minded Dashwood sisters: sensible Elinor (Emma Thompson) and romantic Marianne (Kate Winslet). While Marianne charms two suitors — the staid Col. Brandon (Alan Rickman) and the dashing but rakish John Willoughby (Greg Wise) — Elinor must weather a circuitous courtship with aspiring clergyman Edward Ferrars (Hugh Grant).

Sliding Doors

Two universes unfold in writer-director Peter Howitt’s romantic fantasy about alternate realities, fate and train timetables. In the first scenario, Londoner Helen Quilley (Gwyneth Paltrow) squeezes through the subway train’sdoors just in time, making it home to find her boyfriend (John Lynch) fooling around with another woman. In the second, she misses the train and returns to her flat none the wiser. Which is better?

Sketches of Frank Gehry

Architect Frank O. Gehry’s signature style of sleek curves and modern angles is explored in this intimate documentary by Sydney Pollack. Pollack starts with Gehry’s original sketches and follows their evolution from a 3D model to a computer-assisted rendition to construction and finally, the polished finished product. Works featured include the Fish in Barcelona, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in

Los Angeles and various residences.

Salaam Bombay!

This first fiction film from Mira Nair (director of Monsoon Wedding) won her the new director’s award at
Cannes in 1988. The wrenching story concerns a 10-year-old boy who’s tossed out onto the streets of
Bombay to find work. As he tries to earn enough money to return home, he finds it’s hard enough just trying to stay alive in this lawless world. Nair hired many
Bombay street kids for the film, and some scenes are filmed in an actual brothel.

Saving Grace

Newly widowed Grace (Brenda Blethyn) finds herself in financial ruin when she discovers that her dearly departed husband has left her deep in debt from his failed get-rich-quick schemes. With the help of her gardener, Matt (Craig Ferguson), Grace turns her green thumb to growing ganja, and soon, everyone in her small English town is getting high on more than life. Director Nigel Cole’s comedy won the Sundance Film Festival’s Audience Award.

Sideways

Two men go on an excursion and end up inducing midlife crises in this comedy-drama that won six Independent Spirit Awards, including Best Feature and Best Director. Pinot Noir lover Miles (Paul Giamatti) convinces friend Jack (Thomas Haden Church) to enjoy his last days of bachelorhood with a wine country road trip. The pair get involved with two women (Sandra Oh and Virginia Madsen) and inevitably come face to face with their past and present.

Sophie’s Choice

Aspiring author Stingo (Peter MacNicol) shares a

Brooklyn boarding house with winsome Polish émigré Sophie (Meryl Streep) and her mercurial lover, Nathan (Kevin Kline) — a union unsettled by Nathan’s violent behavior and Sophie’s disturbing recollections of her wartime experience. Stingo discovers that Sophie is a fraud, though, when her accounts of her stint at a Nazi concentration camp unravel, laying bare the real source of her torment.

(The) Secret Life of Bees(2008)

Haunted by the death of her mother, 14-year-old Lily (Dakota Fanning) escapes the dreary life she lives on her father’s farm and heads to Tiburon, S.C., with her friend and caregiver, Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson), setting off on a life-changing journey of self-discovery. Set amidst the hotbed of racial tensions in the South in the 1960s, Gina Prince-Bythewood’s dramatic tale is based on the bestselling novel by Sue Monk Kidd.

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Team America: World Police

Trey Parker and Matt Stone apply their acerbic wit to global crime fighting in this satire starring an all-marionette cast. Team America is a police force tasked with the role of keeping the peace in a troubled planet. Wherever there’s a dictator itching to rule the world, the heroes fly in to dismantle the government. The team’s newest recruit is Gary Johnston, a Broadway star who just may have found his true calling.

Thank You for Smoking

Big Tobacco spin doctor Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) is on a mission to make the country forget the dangers of his product. Rallying for the cause, he works to promote smoking in the movies and hush former employees who bad-mouth cigarettes, all the while trying to remain a role model for his young son. Maria Bello, Katie Holmes, Robert Duvall and William H. Macy co-star in Jason Reitman’s razor-sharp satire based on Christopher Buckley’s novel.

Thelma & Louise: Special Edition

Waitress Louise Sawyer (Susan Sarandon) and naive housewife Thelma Dickinson (Geena Davis) take off for a simple weekend free of men … and become outlaws blazing a cathartic trail across

Tampopo

A celebration of the role of food in Japanese culture, acclaimed director Juzo Itami’s hit satire was dubbed the first “noodle western” for its delightful parody of American Westerns and Japanese samurai films. Tampopo follows a young widow (Miyamoto) who runs a small noodle restaurant in America.

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Under the Tuscan Sun

In this movie loosely based on Frances Mayes’s best-selling memoir of the same title, Diane Lane stars as Frances, a newly divorced American writer who heads for the Italian region of Tokyo and Goro (Yamazaki), a cowboy hat-wearing truck driver, as they attempt to concoct the perfect bowl of ramen.

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Volver(2006)

Written and directed by Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar, this humorous fantasy stars Carmen Maura as Abuela Irene, who revisits her hometown in the La Mancha region — in spectral form — to resolve problems she couldn’t settle during her life. Abuela’s spirit gradually becomes a reassuring presence to her daughters (Penélope Cruz, in an Oscar-nominated performance, and Lola Dueñas) and granddaughter (Yohana Cobo).

V for Vendetta(2005)

From the pages of David Lloyd and Alan Moore’s groundbreaking graphic novel springs the enigmatic “V” (Hugo Weaving of The Matrix), a masked freedom fighter who’s taken up arms against the totalitarian government in a futuristic Britain. Finding an unlikely ally in a young woman named Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman), V urges the citizenry to fight the oppression of the state. John Hurt and Stephen Rea also co-star.

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Walk the Line

Among the pantheon of great country singers, Johnny Cash (played here by Joaquin Phoenix) may just be the most enigmatic. James Mangold’s film distills Cash’s transformation from man to icon — from his hardscrabble days on an Arkansas farm to Sun Records in Tuscany to make limonita out of life’s lemons. Having just quit her high-pressure job and ended her heartbreaking marriage, she buys a decrepit-but-charming house in Cortona on impulse, rebuilding it piece by piece — and herself along with it.

Waitress(2007)

Written by director and co-star Adrienne Shelly (who was murdered shortly before the film’s selection for the Sundance Film Festival), Waitress is a frank and funny examination of the fears brought on by impending motherhood. Keri Russell plays Jenna, a waitress whose fabulous pies are about the only sweet ingredient in an otherwise dreary existence. An unwanted pregnancy, however, brings unexpected romance in this film co-starring Cheryl Hines.

(The) World According to Garp

John Irving’s best-selling novel about an oddball writer (Robin Williams) who grapples with the cruel world is heartwarming and tragic all at once. Born the bastard son of an unconventional mother (Glenn Close), T.S. Garp inhabits a strange universe filled with well-intentioned head-cases, a feminist icon, a transsexual football player (brilliantly played by John Lithgow), fanatics and lovers. George Roy Hill

Memphis, Tenn., where Cash finally found a way for his talent to come into its own. Reese Witherspoon plays his beloved June, alongside co-stars Robert Patrick and Shelby Lynne.

Waking Ned Devine

How can dead Irishman Ned Devine collect his lottery winnings? Well, longtime cronies Jackie O’Shea (Ian Bannen) and Michael O’Sullivan (David Kelly) have the answer. After discovering that Ned croaked from the shock of hitting the jackpot, Jackie and Michael mastermind a scheme to impersonate the lucky stiff and collect his prize money. Now all they need to do is persuade the rest of Tulaigh Mohr’s denizens to go along…

(The) World’s Fastest Indian

Based on a true story, this drama follows 67-year-old grandfather and New Zealander Burt Munro (Anthony Hopkins) as he flies across Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats and blazes into the record books at 183.586 mph on his customized Indian Scout motorcycle. Set in 1967, this film is the second pairing for Hopkins and writer-director Roger Donaldson (Cocktail, Thirteen Days), who also worked together on The Bounty (1984).

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Zig Zag Story (1983) French

An excellent French comedy (of kinds) and one of the rare examples where we can be pretty certain that it will never be remade by Hollywood.Why? It is too surreal, too illogical, it steps on the toes of too many institutions (the police, the arts world, the church – to name just three), it is politically incorrect, it has too much sex, it has a sad ending, etc. And if one tried to touch any of these “too”s one would seriously damage the film.

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