Don’t ever let them tell you they don’t make movies like they used to. With the final film on my countdown plus the fifty special mentions, I would argue they make them better than they used to. 1- Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) Directed by Béla Tarr / Ágnes Hranitzky (co-director) Genre: Drama / Art-House Bela Tarr …
24- Zodiac (2007/I) Directed by David Fincher Genre: Thriller / Crime An intriguing and methodical depiction of police work which avoids any clichéd action shootouts, chase sequences, and false climaxes. David Fincher manages to build gut-wrenching anxiety scene after scene in this mostly quiet, dialogue driven atmospheric thriller. The meticulous attention to period detail by …
50- District 9 (2009) Directed by Neill Blomkamp Genre: Sci-fi District 9 is an allegory for our time, bursting with contemporary themes such as oppression, greed, power and propaganda and while the metaphor itself is pretty clear, Blomkamp goes for the visceral quality of the images and situations proving that sci-fi thrillers don’t have to …
100- Morvern Callar (2003) Directed by Lynne Ramsay Genre: Drama On Christmas Day, Morvern finds her boyfriend dead and a note on a computer telling her to be brave and to sell his novel. She does, but only after pocketing the funeral money and claiming the book’s authorship. Morvern Callar is assured and confidently-made while …
90- Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) Directed by Mike Leigh Genre: Comedy / Drama In a shift away from his usual exploration of the dark and dreary, director Mike Leigh takes a lighter look at life with Happy-Go-Lucky. Sally Hawkins is a comic revelation as the lead character Poppy, delivering a nervy, utterly captivating tour de force performance. …
134- Birth (2004) Directed by Jonathan Glazer Genre: Drama A stylistically bold movie that combines the surrealist work of Luis Buñuel while evoking the austere technical mastery of Stanley Kubrick, Birth is visually dazzling, always unpredictable and features lingering performances by Nicole Kidman and 11-year-old Canadian actor Cameron Bright. Coupled with an intriguing premise about …
150- The Birthday (2004) Directed by Eugenio Mira Genre: Horror, Dark Comedy A young man attends his girlfriend’s father’s birthday party held at a luxury hotel. Just as they arrive, weird things start to happen and guests and hosts alike become exceptionally aggressive. Shot in real time (a la Hitchcock’s Rope), The Birthday begins as …