JetCityOrange

(and you should too)

I love movies. I’ve been known to watch 2 or 3 a day. One of life’s little pleasures is having your hand in a bag of popcorn when the lights go down and the screen lights up.

Here is a long and incomplete list of movies I recommend to watch when nothing else comes to mind (and you have no intention of patronizing a multiplex at the mall).

Deja Vu : whoa! the plot twists & it's handled brilliantly; great FX too!
Inside Man : great story even if you see it coming (I didn't)
My Life Without Me : inside someone else's life
Who Is Cletis Tout? : I forget who recommeded this to me; I owe them one
Garden State : not what I expected & loved it nevertheless

Deacons for Defense : an untold chapter in american history; a true eye opener
10,000 Black Men Named George : what an eye opener
Mississippi Burning : ahhh, Mississippi; should be part of every high school American History class; make that junior high
Dirty Pretty Things : a side of life hidden now exposed

Grand Canyon : proof that magic exists in the modern world
Crash : worth all the hype, and then some; see it again
Fathers and Sons : don't let the title fool you; deeper than you think

Diamond Men : you've probably never heard of this; trust me, just see it
Road to Perdition : see it again even if you've seen it already
City by the Sea : another father-and-son picture; besides, it's bobby deniro
U Turn : Sean Penn in a story that'll make you forget your own life

Water : a-mazing; a story that must be told
Rabbit Proof Fence : moving because of what is is, heartbreaking because it's true
Lost Boys of Sudan : proof positive of the strength of the human spirit
Erie Lackawanna : foobar
The Magdalene Sisters : true and tragic

Primal Fear : watch for the twist; shot in Chicago, always a plus for me
Dream Lover : the film that introduced me to James Spader; great twist at the end

The Straight Story : being a true story makes this film even more touching

Passion Fish : one of several great films pairing Alfre Woodward and Mary McDonnell
L.A. Story : atypical Steve Martin flick; almost changes my opinion of Sarah Jessica Parker
Mumford : Alfre & Mary together again; Jason Lee as well
Down in the Delta : Alfre is the best looking junkie I've ever seen; and it's a great film too
Life As a House : why did I resist seeing this when it first came out; thank goodness for DVDs

What's Cooking : Alfre again; Thanksgiving among and between families
Pieces of April : charming if ever so slightly off-beat; another Thanksgiving tale
Soul Food : foobar
Tortilla Soup : Hector Elizondo and Raquel Welch; with good food to boot
Eat Drink Man Woman : another single Dad of three daughters and food to boot
Luminarias : the lives of 4 LA latinas

My Life Without Me : the day after I saw it, I realized how good it really was
My First Mister : I stumbled across this and was blown away, moved to tears

The Weather Man : it just stops more than ends, sorta like life itself
Payback : Mel Gibson in a great film noir and Maria Bellow

To Live and Die in L.A. : note to slef, never let Willem Dafoe babysit
2 Days in the Valley : comedy for when you're in the mood
Where the Money Is : Paul Newman and Linda Fiorentino, how can you go wrong?
The Grifters : Anjelica Huston is John Cusack mom in this one; now add Annette Bening

Spy Game : so how often has Robert Redford been married in this one?
Sneakers : I've seeen this one over and over and over again; I wish my office was like this
Blown Away : Tommy Lee Jones in Boston; how can it be anything but good?

The Player : for the cameos if nothing else

Monsoon Wedding : great colours; makes you want to eat along with them; stories too
Bride & Prejudice : for the musical numbers alone

25th Hour : an atypical Spike Lee joint; Edward Norton is brilliant
Sucker Free City : Spike does it again but different in SF
American History X : Norton is pure genius; good the second time around too

What Dreams May Come : not being able to pigeonhole this doesn't detract from what it is

Confidence : follow along closely; it's worth it
Bound : pre-Matrix Wachowski brothers; one scene change your life or arouse you to no end

Ronin : Bobby and Jean Reno do action pic
The Ice Harvest : Billy Bob Thornton and John Cusack do bumbling crime caper

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