Find the best in World and Independent Film with these selections from your Guides.
Another year, another list. What strikes me about this one are the extremes of mood -- if you were to watch these ten films in a row, you'd swing from Haneke's ominous gloom to Mottola's adolescent triumphs, from
Julia's greed and grit to
Avatar's soaring hights and back to the horrors of
Antichrist. By the time you paired
Bad Lieutenant with
A Town Called Panic…
The Best Thanksgiving Movies
Users Respond: What Are Your Favorite Anime Movies? The list ranges fro from AKIRA to PRINCESS MONONOKE.
Users respond: your all time romantic movies, indie style.
The curly haired Jesse Eisenberg is an unlikely leading man. He's best known for his portrayal of shy and introspective young men on the cusp of adulthood. Eisenberg currently stars in two films screening in theaters: Greg Mottola's
Adventureland and Fred Durst's
The Education of Charlie Banks.
Oh, whither
the glory days of 2007, when December was filled with joy, laughter, and Daniel Plainview impersonations? Whenever people call it "
a bad year for movies," I usually declare that it's always a good year if you know where to look -- but in 2008, …
Hundreds of movies are released theatrically in New York every year, but some of the best films we saw in 2008 never screened outside of festivals. Here's a highly subjective list of ten great unreleased film we saw at the four festivals we were lucky enough to attended this year -- Berlin, Hamptons, New York, and Tribeca. Let's hope they'll make it to a theater near you soon.
A.K.A. all of our most despised reviews in one easy-to-flame package! I kid, but only sort of. Many of the movies that disappointed me most in 2008 were grossly over-hyped, flagrantly overpraised -- and zealously defended by people with wide-ranging vocabularies. The hate mail I received this year was a lot more entertaining than the movies it concerned. But honestly: I'd always rather enjoy a fi…
Maggie Gyllenhaal crosses over to the dark side - Hollywood - with the summer blockbuster
Dark Knight but we love her best for her performances in indie films. An essential Maggie Gyllenhaal - the films you don't want to miss.
There are plenty of folks who still equate Japanese animation with "Pokemon" and can't get used to the flat faces and weird storylines. But the plunge is worth taking.
The great films explore everything from claustrophobic submarine warfare to expressionistic visions of the future, from angelic dreams of immortality to a certain mischievious dwarf. Lang, Wenders, Schlöndorff, Fassbinder, Herzog: here is our list of the ten best German films.
With the world once again poised at the brink of war, films can help to remind us of the pain, horror and waste of war.
Sometimes, people feel compelled to break out into song and dance. Here are the top films that demonstrate the best blend between terrific music and narrative. And no, "The Sound of Music" is not on this list.
Gay and lesbian cinema has come into its own. From herb tea to coming out, first love to the AIDS crisis, these wonderful films are essential for any comprehensive DVD collection.
A list of must-see Canadian Films, including David Cronenberg's "Videodrome," Atom Egoyan's "Sweet Hereafter" and films from Don McKellar, Patricia Rozema, and Guy Maddin.
Today's hottest stars are emerging from Ireland: Colin Farrell, Cillian Murphy, and the young Top Ten Irish Films, nominated for an Acedemy Award. Here's a list of the great contempoary films from Ireland.
Small budgets and a private vision often produce the hippest and edgiest stuff in filmmaking. From Jim Jarmusch to John Waters and Ed Wood, here are the cult favorites you can't be without.
Gay and lesbian cinema has come into its own. From herb tea to coming out, first love to the AIDS crisis, these wonderful films are essential for any comprehensive DVD collection.
Coming of age films don't get enough respect. What experience is more universal? In this genre, I have a special weakness for films about girl friendships. Here are the very best, including "Heavenly Creatures," "Ghost World," and "The Dreamlife of Angels."
They say film is a visual medium--but then why do movie stars yak so much? From Oddjob to Silent Bob, from Chief Broom to Harpo Marx, here are the top ten mute performances on film.
Essential independent DVDs for your collection, including films by Wes Anderson, Lynn Ramsay, Sofia Coppola, Victor Nunez, Jim Jarmusch, and Patricia Rocezma.
The very best foreign films--or at the very least, Jürgen's list of favorite world films.
Since "The Matrix" introduced Western audiences to wire-fu, it seems we can't get enough of the flying, leaping, gravity-defying antics of the Hong Kong action heroes. From John Woo to Jackie Chan: ten must-own DVDs.
No independent film can be truly hip and achieve cult status without a happening soundtrack.
Burdened with a craft that's essentially uncinematic, writers in the movies are perennially blocked, broke, and insane, simultaneously romanticized and ridiculed for their excesses. Here are ten films that have something real to say about what it means to write.
Daniel Day-Lewis
will drink your milkshake. Wes Anderson has returned. Sarah Polley makes her annual appearance - this time as a director. Marcy Dermansky's top 10 films of 2007.
Thanksgiving is about more than turkey and football: it's a complicated celebration of the American family gathered around a table. Here are our top picks of the best Thanksgiving films.
It's list-makin' time again, and to keep the annual ritual fun, I'll propose new ground rules: instead of a hyper-filled blurb, I'll quickly describe a favorite scene from my ten favorite movies of 2007. For more on why I loved each film, just click through to the review. Honorable mention in this outstanding year go to: Eastern Promises, Rocket Science, Syndromes and a Century, Day Night Day Nig…
A list of film critic Marcy Dermansky's top ten films of the year 2006.
A list of film critic Jürgen Fauth's top ten films of the year 2006.
There have been so many intriguing and accomplished documentaries in 2006 that we decided to give them their own list.
Worst Movies of 2006: Some filmmakers want to make you suffer and call it art. If there's no agony in your own hum drum life, turn to the silver screen and experience pain beyond your wildest belief. Leave the theater with a raging headache and anger against your fellow man. Highlights of the worst in foreign and independent film include Alejandro González Iñárritu's Babel and the Dardenne Brother's L'Enfant.
Read this list and you might think we are a little twisted. Okay, we are little twisted. But our top romances of 2006 include the moving reunions of old lovers, gay threesomes, two little known Gael Garcia Bernal films, and old fashioned cowboy and young pretty girl love.
One of the reasons we love foreign film is the inventiveness, the excitement you feel when you're discovering a kind of movie you've never seen before. But subtitles alone don't make art. Even foreign film often follows a crowd-pleasing formula that sucks all the life right out of it. Here are the worst offenders--world films we love to hate.
Maybe you haven't learned these names yet, but take note: the future stars of cinema are making their presences known. Newcomers Ivana Baquero, Abbie Cornish, Paul Dano, Shareeka Epps, and Zoe Weisenbaum all gave unforgettable performances in numerous notable films this year.
We adore a good love story, a film so romantic that the conclusion will make you gasp and bring tears to your eyes. Our top indie romances include Richard Linklater's two-part French-American slacker love story, David Lynch's sweetest movie, and Sofia Coppola's "Lost in Translation."
It's not all popcorn and free movies: the lives of film critics are fraught with danger. Sore backs, headaches, and loss of faith in cinema as an art form are only some of the risks we bravely face on a day to day basis—so you won't have to. From the megaplex to the art house, the world of movies is a minefield, and this is our list of the most explosive dissapointments of the year.
This year I was swept away by small moments in small films. The power of a smile. The breathtakingly radiant smile of Isild Le Besco in "A Toute De Suite." The nervous, but still giddy glee of Mona Press in "My Summer of Love." The heady triumph of Sibel Kikelli in "Head-On" returning home in her wedding gown the morning after sleeping with a man who was not her husband.
Blame the political climate, blame the wars or the natural disasters--one thing is certain: it was a terrific year for tragedy. There's much pain, bloodshed, and lost love on this year's top ten list. Here they are: Jurgen's favorite films of 2005.
It's that time of year again: with the wreckage of the summer blockbusters behind us, Hollywood slowly gears up toward the big Oscar end-run in December. But world film follows its own seasons, and many great movies come out early in the year. Here are our favorites of 2005... so far.
Jurgen's Top Ten favorite films of the year 2004.
The best movies of 2004 include Richard Linklater's unabashed romance "Before Sunset," Lars von Trier's despairingly bleak "Dogville" and Alexander Payne's giddy wine quest "Sideway."
Why wait until December? The year has already seen some outstanding releases that deserve a little extra spotlight. Here is our top ten list of the best films of 2004, so far.
The Best Films from Australia and New Zealand, including movies by Peter Jackson, Jane Campion, George Miller, and Peter Weir.
British humor isn't exactly everybody's cup of tea, but those who enjoy it would have it no other way. Here's a list of essential English entertainment that could make the queen lose her wig.
Here they are, and without apologies: my favorites. I proudly present and heartily recommend the world films you can't afford to miss.
Check out some geniunely side-splitting exports rather than the half-assed American remakes. Très rigolo!
Jürgen's Top Ten Best Films of 2003. She swooned over Sofia Coppola's "Lost In Translation." Also "Chaos," "21 Grams," and more.
Jürgen's Top Ten Best Films of 2003. Peter Jackon's "The Return of the King" rocked his world. Also "City Of God," "House of Sand and Fog," and others.
Regardless of what they say, every year is a good year for movies. Here are ten films you don't want to miss. They all teeter on the edge between pure lush escapist entertainments and topical, political films.
She loved the smaller of the small movies this year. No epic stories, no big budget productions, just compelling characters, beautiful faces, well-told stories, and for the most part, happy endings.
You, too, can enjoy Penelope at home with this selection of photos, posters, and DVDs.
Before he directed Frodo, Gandalf, and Sauron, the New Zealand auteur was known for twisted and unique cult movies.
The Worst Movies of 2004--from the mega-million flops like "Alexander" and "Van Helsing" to John Water's indie failure "Dirty Shame" and Mel Gibson's snuff film "The Passion of the Christ."
Fellini, De Sica, Rossellini, Visconti, Antonioni--Italian cinema has its fair share of masters. This top ten isn't meant as an end-all list to the great films of Italy, but as a starting-off point for exploration.
