Some recent ones you might've missed:
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans - Badass, hilarious, Nic Cage at the peak of his powers. Directed by Werner Herzog, has nothing to do with the first Bad Lieutenant.
A Perfect Getaway - A good B-movie whodunit thriller. Really fell way under the radar. Milla Jovavich, Timothy Olyphant, Steve Zahn(who's oddly pretty buff here).
The Ghost Writer - Probably my favourite movie in the last year. It's just an all around solid mystery/thriller. Ewen McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Olivia Williams, directed by Roman Polanski.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - I haven't met a person who has watched this and didn't like it.
Incendies - Kind of a modern day greek tragedy. It's from Quebec, Oscar nominated for best foreign film this year, should've won.
Hanna - Last movie I watched in theaters. It had a lot of faults that irked me, but overall it's worth a watch. Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana, Cate Blanchett.
Some others that are just on my mind:
Go - Plays like Lock Stock lite. That sounds pejorative but it's easy to watch, easy going, and fun.
Chungking Express - I watched this recently and it's the first Wong Kar-Wai film I've seen. I really liked it, kinda reminded me of Amelie but it predates that film by 6 years, go figure.
The New World - Terrence Malick's take on the Pocohontas story. When I saw it years ago I thought it was turgid and overlong, but I watched it again recently and it's gotten better for me. A real slow burn.
The Bridge on the River Kwai - Another one I watched again recently. I liked it before and it stands up now. My favourite David Lean film.
Casablanca - I watched this for the first time last year, just one of those "essentials" that I never got around to watching. But it blew me away, it deserves every word of praise it gets.
Spartacus - Watched for the first time this summer in class. A Kubrick film that doesn't really feel like it. Pretty good, especially the first hour.
Pickup on South Street - A film noir that I'm writing an essay on. Just a really solid noir that doesn't get the cred it deserves.
Went the Day Well? - I forgot why I watched this movie, it's a 1942 British propaganda war film that few people now remember. But it's really great. Funny and has a lot of character.
Dogville - A lot of people probably heard about Lar's Von Trier's trolling at Cannes and thought "Who?" This is my favourite Von Trier film. You will be confused, irritated, and maybe a little bored for the first 2 and a half hours of this 3 hour film, but it is worth it to watch the ending.
Breaking the Waves and
The Idiots are second and third, respectively.
, mostly Wade
