step brothers*

Adam McKay - 2008

funny.

the sound of music

Robert Wise - 1965

Watched this with the kids at Kim & Sharna's house. The kids love this movie, and so do I.

juno

Jason Reitman - 2007

I love how this movie makes you feel.

almost famous

cameron crowe - 2000

This is another one I always watch when it's on. The perfect match of music and film. It runs a few great genres - the 'night journey' wherein a protagonist goes on both a literal and figurative journey and comes out a different person on the other end, coming of age tale, psuedo-historic fake biopic .

wall-e*

Andrew Stanton - 2008

fur*

Steven Shainberg - 2006

This is a very different film. An imagination of how Diane Arbus left her cookie-cutter life and became one of the twentieth century's most interesting artists. Nicole Kidman & Robert Downey Jr. are great.

good will hunting

Gus Van Sant - 1997

the darjeeling limited

Wes Andersen - 2007

The first time I saw this I didn't care for it, even though I love Wes Andersen. The second time was a bit better. This was my third viewing and it does keep getting better. That said, I wish the short film that preceded in the theaters preceded it on HBO.

the jungle book

Wolfgang Reitherman - 1967

I had never seen this before, watched it with the kids. Love Louis Prima.

revolutionary road*

Sam Mendes - 2008

Saw this at the Kubuki with Kim Broadbeck. What an amazing film. So sad. So often we think that one thing can solve all of our problems, and so often we're wrong.

bottle rocket

Wes Andersen - 1996

Got the new DVD and watched the original short film (B&W). Rocks.

cars

John Lasseter - 2006

Again.

vicky cristina barcelona*

Woody Allen - 2008

What does love mean? What choices do we make? What is 'normal'? 'Proper'? My favorite director asks all of these questions. He's in a bit of a renaissance period right now as he makes films in Europe. His new muse, Scarlett Johansson, is perfect in this and Rebecca Hall - who I wasn't familiar with - is even better. Javier Bardem is perfect. This is a film that is really about something real. 

Our choices are always ours.

Saw this on a Delta flight from Atlanta to SFO.

nick & norah's infinite playlist*

Peter Sollett - 2008

Love movies like this. Those moments where you're figuring out that you're in love or you're going to be in love. In this movie that feeling is visceral.

Saw this on a Delta flight from Atlanta to SF.

fear*

James Foley - 1996

Mark Wahlberg as a crazy guy, Reese Witherspoon looking young and innocent and my grade school crush - Alyssa Milano - as a slut. What could be better?

heat

Michael Mann - 1995

One of my favorite films of all time. A classic procedural drama that is also magical and brilliant. Watch for the falling car dealership banner at the end of the shot when the tractor-trailer hits the armored car -- he lets the camera stay on the shot just a few seconds longer to let it hit the ground. Perfect. It's the little moments that make a great movie.

blades of glory*

Josh Gordon - 2007

Hey Wow.

interview*

Steve Buscemi - 2007

Based on Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh's 2003 film, Steve Buscemi and Sienna Miller make you cringe as they dig deeper into their own psyches. Buscemi plays a washed-up writer assigned to interview a dumb starlet-of-the-month. 

I watched this on a plane on my way to Charlotte.

fargo

Joel Cohen - 1996

What can you say? Simply amazing. Love the snow.

heist

David Mamet - 2001

I caught the last forty-five minutes or so of Heist, a great suspense thriller that has you guessing until the last frame. The possible permutations of plot proceed like a reverse pyramid until the final moment. The movie ends with a scene so simple, it seems anti-climatic, but then that's Mamet. When the scene finally cuts, the protagonist has lost his love, but won the day, and he smiles. Mamet thrills in irony.

Gene Hackman, Rebecca Pidgeon, Sam Rockwell, Delroy Lindo & Danny DeVito star. On to Fargo.

the prince & me*

Martha Coolidge - 2004

Our babysitter was watching this when we got home and we just finished it after she left. Totally predictable and stupid, but I do always love a romantic comedy.

the shawshank redemption

Frank Darabont - 1994

Sam turned to me while I watched part of this great movie and said, "how can you watch this again and again?" This is one of those I watch just about every time I see it on HBO. It is a masterful piece of cinema that I always love. The nuances of character and story are great. Tim Robbins again.

things we lost in the fire*

Susanne Bier - 2006

Starring Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro, this movie was really sad, and really good. Really sad.