NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007)

FILMS FROM THE 21st CENTURY

(Post 20 of 50)

Some quick takes on the most relatively recent listings from the
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list

The Coen Brothers usual sense of humor is missing from this  bleak adaptation of Cormac Mccarthy's novel which is one of the reasons that the Academy Awards finally took them seriously. Also, features a interesting trio of main characters who only encounter each other in passing: Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), who is still trying to do the right thing, Llweylyn Moss (Josh Brolin) a welder who finds a stash of cash and quickly finds himself in over his head, and Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), an assassin who is guaranteed to give you nightmares. 

IDA (2013, POLAND)

FILMS FROM THE 21st CENTURY

(Post 19 of 50)

Some quick takes on the most relatively recent listings from the
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list

The story of a nun who turns out to have Jewish roots, is a simple but well done and beautifully photographed story of a young woman attempting to find out her identity. The film's sense of time and place is probably the chief virtue of the piece. An Oscar winner for Best Foreign film.

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (2014)

FILMS FROM THE 21st CENTURY

(Post 18 of 50)

Some quick takes on the most relatively recent listings from the
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list

Wes Anderson likes a lot of quirky characters and wild improbable plots and...I'm just not sure why I don't like his films quite as much as others do. I appreciate his style in a wacky comedic chase like The Grand Budapest Hotel, and he certainly has brought together an all-star cast headed by the surprisingly funny Ralph Fiennes, but I find this particular film more clever than laugh-out-loud funny.

I've got a few more Wes Anderson films to go through, so I haven't given up joining the club yet.

KILL BILL (2003-2004)

FILMS FROM THE 21st CENTURY

(Post 17 of 50)

Some quick takes on the most relatively recent listings from the
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I'll say this for the Kill Bill films, director Quentin Tarantino puts everything he has into them. Tarantino is a renowned Asian action movie film buff and he gives us all the action we can handle in almost every conceivable way. An epic tale of revenge that spans the globe and takes two complete films to complete looks even better now than when it first came out.

A TOUCH OF SIN (2013, CHINA)

FILMS FROM THE 21st CENTURY

(Post 16 of 50)

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Four stories of violence, revenge and mayhem loosely based on real events taken from the headlines of modern China. My favorite is the first story, which features a man who after failing to achieve justice within the law, takes vengeance in his own way.

UNITED 93 (2006)

FILMS FROM THE 21st CENTURY

(Post 15 of 50)

Some quick takes on the most relatively recent listings from the
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list

I really didn't want to watch United 93, the story of the passengers aboard the title plane on 9/11, again. No disputing the quality of the film, but it's such an emotionally charged story about a time most of us remember all too well and we know it isn't going end pleasantly for anyone on that plane. But I did watch it again and it was as emotionally draining the second time.

Should you even recommend a film that many people will understandably not want to watch?

NOSTALGIA FOR THE LIGHT (2010, CHILE)

FILMS FROM THE 21st CENTURY

(Post 14 of 50)

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1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list

When I first started watching the documentary Nostalgia for the Light, I thought that since this is a documentary about Astronomy, I really should be watching this on a IMAX screen. But then the movie turns to the political realities of families living under the dictatorships of Pinochet and Allende and the human toll of reality is shown in full force. Part science, part sociology, part philosophy, Nostalgia for the Light's ability to mix these elements is what makes it a moving and meaningful piece.

ONCE (2007, IRELAND)

FILMS FROM THE 21st CENTURY

(Post 13 of 50)

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Once is a bit of a hard movie to categorize. It's not a musical, but it has a lot of music in it. I even own a copy of the soundtrack! It's not really a romance between the two leads, though that issue does surface...a little. It doesn't really have a lot of conflict in it, either. The main characters are just trying to get a studio to record some demos! But the guy they are renting the studio from is going to be a problem, right? Well, he is for about a minute until he likes his music and then plays frisbee with the guys and girl. What about the guys dad? He won't understand his son going off and becoming a musician, right? Except he only turns out to be the most understanding dad in the world!

No romance. Not a musical. Not much conflict. Hard to define.

I just know I like this simple story and have seen it three times.  Certainly in my hypothetical 1001 book.

THE PRESTIGE (2006)

FILMS FROM THE 21st CENTURY

(Post 12 of 50)

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First of all, I tend to like movies about magic and magicians. Christopher Nolan's The Prestige has so many tricks up its sleeve, I couldn't keep track of them all even though I've seen this movie before!

Speaking  of magic, I'm glad I got to see The Amazing Randi at this year's Dragoncon!

Also worth seeing for further insight into the world of illusion is the documentary about Randi, An Honest Liar.

James Randi is An Honest Liar

BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR (2013, FRANCE)

FILMS FROM THE 21st CENTURY

(Post 11 of 50)

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1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list

While I was watching Blue is the Warmest Color, someone called me and ask me what I was doing. I said "I'm watching underage lesbian French porn...and what are you doing?" I know that's unfair, because this is really a pretty good coming of age film, where we do get to know and care about the main character of Adele and her artist friend girl-friend Emma. The NC-17 rating is for the sex scenes that are graphic and much longer in length than I can imagine them ever being presented in an American film.