Johnny Guitar: This is a pure classic. It's ambitious, beautiful, technically perfect, and a joy to watch. The screenplay is able to get realistic characters and issues into a story with a lot of surreal moments. The acting is great, particularly by Joan Crawford, who creates a strong, believable character. It's very well-shot , with breath-taking images filled with meaning.
Groundhog Day: This is a genuinely funny, sweet story, that asks a lot of good philosophical questions. The acting is remarkable, particularly Bill Murray's unforgettable comic timing. The screenplay is truly outstanding, offering an original concept, that's well developed, laugh-out-loud scenes, quirky supporting characters and a cute love story. This is an unmissable comedy.
Mars Attacks!: This is a fun movie, a parody to the action movies and the sci-fi from the 50's. Its silliness will have you laughing out loud,a nd that's about it. The direction is good, as is the acting: a great cast with a good comic timing. I recommend this is you want to watch something entertaining and hilarious.
Secrets and Lies: This is pure british cinema and about the best of it. It's a character-driven story about families and, as the title says, their secrets and lies. The dialog is very strong and the characters are real people. The acting is mind.blowing, specially by Brenda Blethyn, who lives her character. The chemistry between actors is great, and you learn a lot about their relationships without any speaking. This is truly beautiful and original.
The Shawshank Redemption: This is a beautiful stroy about redemption. It's a calmly good movie, that explores life in prison decently and has a lot of sweet moments. You like the characters and the ending is beautiful. The acting is great by everyone, but the best were Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins, who perfectly capture the essence of their characters. The technical aspects are good.
The 25th Hour: This is a morally ambiguous, uncomfortable, but poignant tale. The screenplay perfectly explores modern society, the characters are very realistic and the final solution is poignant and touching. Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rosario Dawson, Barry Pepper, Brian Cox and Anna Paquin all give amazing performances, the best being Ed Norton and Philip Seymour Hofman, whose performances are just exceptional.The direction bravely captures fear, anxiety, paranoia and other feeling in our society. The cinematography and editing are also fine.
A Fish Called Wanda: A comedy classic, this has one of the best screenplays ever. It's hilarious nad you won't stop laughing for a second . The actors do an excellent job and create unique, subversive characters. All the technical aspects are good, this is a true gem and a favorite. You need to watch it to understand.
Corpse Bride (re-watchment): This is one of my favorite animated movies. The gothic ambiance is fascinating, the characters are lovely and the story is heartbreakingly poetic. The voice-overs are perfect, and the screenplay also has a lot of genuinely funny moments of satire. The sets, music, gorgeous camera angles and color make this movie a huge joy to watch. I just love it.
You Can Count On Me: This is a very beautiful, honest movie about ordinary lives and human relationships. The screenplay is excellent with great character development, realistic dialogue and situations. The acting brings the movie the life: Laura Linney creates a character to whom you can relate without overacting, Mark Ruffalo gives Terry a painful rawness which is rarely seen in movies and Rory Culkin delivers a very natural child performance. The direction is good, giving the movie an intimist feeling.
The Piano: The Piano is avery acclaimed movie, and even if I didn't like it it's a technically well-made movie. All actors deliver very good performances: Holly Hunter can express her feelings without saying a word and Anna Paquin shows a lot of talent in a dificult part. It's beautifully shot and it has a gorgeous cinematography, but I disliked the screenplay. Even if it has some interesting ideas about dealing with love and adapting to a different culture, its secondary characters are very flawed, and I found many scenes pointless and repetitive in a pretencious way.
To Have and To Have Not: This Hollywood classic is a movie with a lot of charm and sensuality. The story is a typical adventure of the 40's, which is not great, but the acting and direction make this a thrilling experience. Lauren Bacall gives one of the sexiest performances ever and delivers her lines perfectly: she's the best thing about the movie. The camera angles are often beautiful, and the black and white color gives it a lot of glamour.
Aprile: A very sweet movie about life. It's easy to relate with the people portrayed, and the story is quite touching. There are a lot of funny moments, and technically this movie is great: gorgeously shot, with fitting music, beautiful cinematography. This will make you smile with its positive, colourful view of life.
Sleepy Hollow: This is pure Tim Burton: tongue-in-cheek horror with a beautiful romance, wonderful sets and lots of funny characters. The direction is very good, keeping you excited, the acting by a group ofaclaimed actors is excellent and delivers laughs and twists, the screenplay is very funny and, at the same time, romantic and frightening. The cinematogrpahy, special effects, music and sets are all just amazing and create an unique ambience. It's a true joy to watch.
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