In the Mood For Love

	Rating: 5 out of 5 Original Title: Fa yeung nin wa/Hua yang nian hua Release Date: 2000 Director: Kar Wai Wong Netflix Link IMDb Link

Nobody can make an ethereal film like Wong Kar Wai and Christopher Doyle, his cinematographer. They make it look easy. In the Mood For Love floats along effortlessly like a cloud. The story here is simple; everything else is not. Perfectly filmed, scene after scene with music to match; you’d be hard-pressed to find a flaw. In the Mood For Love will leave a permanent impression etched into your mind. Music, story, visuals, acting; everything is above par. This film is one of the reason why I consider Wong to be one of my favorite Chinese directors. I could go on and on, but I’ll just say, watch it.

Harakiri

	Rating: 5 out of 5 Original Title: Seppuku Release Date: 1962 Director: Masaki Kobayashi Netflix Link IMDb Link

Harakiri is a masterpiece of the samurai genre and quite possibly the best film Shochiku ever produced. Not only is its setting historically accurate, but the story that is told here is nothing short of badass. The tragic tale takes place during a time of peace when the noble warrior class of samurai was becoming extinct. It is yet another stellar role for Tatsuya Nakadai, cementing him as one of the greatest samurai actors of all time. There’s just so much that’s right about this film that it doesn’t bear going into other than to say that Harakiri stands along with Sword of Doom and Seven Samurai as essential, must-see samurai film recommendations.

The Sword of Doom

	Rating: 5 out of 5 Original Title: Dai-bosatsu tôge Release Date: 1966 Director: Kihachi Okamoto Netflix Link IMDb Link

Tatsuya Nakadai is one of the great actors of 60′s samurai cinema. You get a preview of his capabilities in Yojimbo. But his heartless character in that film has got nothing on Ryunosuke Tsukue in The Sword of Doom. Nakadai plays the most sociopathic samurai ever. Squaring off against the great Toshiro Mifune amongst others, Ryunosuke manages to destroy the lives of all those around him. The Sword of Doom has seemingly disparate characters that all become intertwined as the film progresses. Even though Mifune’s role isn’t all that beefy, he has some great fighting sequences. Particularly one where he takes on multiple opponents in the snow as Ryunosuke looks on in amazement. The only problem with this film is the precipitous ending due to the fact that Sword of Doom was intended to be the first film in a trilogy which, sadly, never came to fruition.

Sanjuro

	Rating: 5 out of 5 Original Title: Tsubaki Sanjûrô Release Date: 1962 Director: Akira Kurosawa Netflix Link IMDb Link

How do you follow a movie like Yojimbo? With something easily as good, yet different, like Sanjuro. This film is far sillier and sassier than Yojimbo with Toshiro Mifune playing the cantankerous character to full-effect. Constantly thwarted by the incessant stupidity of the people he’s helping, Sanjuro is basically on his own fighting a whole army in order to save someone he doesn’t even know. While it doesn’t have the depth of either story or visuals that Yojimbo does, Sanjuro is faster paced and more fun. Hollywood could take a lesson from Kurosawa on producing good sequels.

Yojimbo

	Rating: 5 out of 5 Release Date: 1961 Director: Akira Kurosawa Netflix Link IMDb Link

Inspired by the Hollywood westerns of John Ford and the novel Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett, Yojimbo was among the first action films of its kind. It spawned a host of films in various genres and countries. Kurosawa was fascinated by having two equally evil, warring factions opposed by someone who wasn’t afraid to stand in the middle. That man could be nobody else but Toshiro Mifune. Kurosawa once said, what would take other actors lines of dialog to communicate, Mifune could convey with a single look. Seemingly morally dubious but always ready and capable of fighting for the little guy, Yojimbo is the ultimate samurai superhero.

Blade Runner: The Final Cut

	Rating: 5 out of 5 Release Date: 1982 Director: Ridley Scott Netflix Link IMDb Link

Blade Runner has always been one of my favorite films of all time. So, naturally, upon hearing of another new version of it, I had to see it. The Final Cut is a beautifully restored and enhanced version of the film. It doesn’t add any ridiculous new CGI scenes just because it can and there is no unnecessary filler. For years, I’ve preferred the Director’s Cut to the Theatrical Version. It was the “belly full of killing” line that always sent me over the edge. However, I don’t think I would appreciate the Director’s Cut as much without first having seen the Theatrical Version. The Final Cut finally bridges the gap between the two. In the introduction, Ridley Scott says this version is now his favorite and I would have to agree. The Final Cut, may be just that; the ultimate version of this amazing film.

Casablanca

	Rating: 5 out of 5 Release Date: 1942 Director: Michael Curtiz Netflix Link IMDb Link

I hadn’t seen Casablanca for some time. While I always loved it, I never considered it my favorite Bogart movie. But, watching it again, Casablanca has earned its place at the top. Ingrid Bergman is spectacular, as well as Claude Rains, Paul Henreid, Sydney Greenstreet, S.Z. Sakall and Peter Lorre as supporting cast. Some may say it is overrated, but Casablanca really is one of the best, most complete movies ever made. In acting, directing, writing, music and nearly every other criteria with which to measure a movie, Casablanca stands apart.

The Big Lebowski

	Rating: 5 out of 5 Release Date: 1998 Director: Joel Coen Netflix Link IMDb Link

Whenever I give up hope that Hollywood is capable of producing anything even remotely original, I watch this movie. The Big Lebowski is probably my personal favorite Coen Brothers’ movie to date. Ridiculously funny, smart and infinitely quotable, it scores on all fronts. The cast is outstanding with cameos by John Turturro, David Thewlis and Sam Elliot to name a few. Part comedy and part neo-noir, The Big Lebowski is inspired by the writing of Raymond Chandler. This is one of those rare films that has so many layers and details that you can watch it again and again and still be surprised and entirely entertained. If you haven’t seen The Big Lebowski, you should watch it right now. Cheers to great American filmmaking.

A Clockwork Orange

	Rating: 5 out of 5 Release Date: 1971 Director: Stanley Kubrick Netflix Link IMDb Link

A Clockwork Orange is consistently in my list of top 10 favorite movies of all time. At this point, I’ve seen it so many times that I wish I could remember my first impression of it. It might have been fairly similar to some of the negative reviews on here. A Clockwork Orange, like many Kubrick films, is not one of those movies that you will catch everything on the first viewing. The imagery, language and violence are enough to distract you from its essence when you first watch it. Like most Sci-Fi movies from that era, A Clockwork Orange is supposed to be “futuristic” but it ends up looking dated. Its visual style, dated as it may be, gives it a more surreal and foreign tone as if the story is set on a different planet. I’m not going to go on and on about the genius of Kubrick or the satirical meaning of this and that. Suffice it to say that, if you haven’t seen it, you should. And, once you’ve seen it, you should see it again.

Full Metal Jacket

	Rating: 5 out of 5 Release Date: 1987 Director: Stanley Kubrick Netflix Link IMDb Link

There are more quotable lines in Full Metal Jacket than practically any other movie ever made. Some of the lines have been used so much elsewhere that, when you hear them in their original context, they almost seem out of place. Full Metal Jacket is not your typical war action flick. It is told from the point of view of a USMC journalist who spends the bulk of his time in the rear with the gear. And when they do get in the action, it’s not an epic, WW2-style battle that they face. Full Metal Jacket explores the surreality of having it drilled into your head that your job is to die, the pointlessness of individual effort in the face of the greater conflict and the bonds that keep men fighting for each other even if they disagree with the larger goal. My only issue with this movie is that they have never released a widescreen version thanks to Kubrick and his misguided opinion that it was distracting.