Chungking Express (1994)

Chungking Express is the fourth film by Hong Kong art-house filmmaker Wong Kar-wai. Quentin Tarantino saw this film in 1994 and, under the wing of Mirimax, developed his own releasing company, Rolling Thunder, thereby making the film available to Americans who have trouble finding watchable Hong Kong cinema. This earns him back the points that he lost with Four Rooms. Technically, this is a 1994 film, but I'm going to count it as a 1996 film under the same rules that the Academy follows. And Chungking Express is one of the best of 1996. read more...

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• Love Story ▶ Yes please
• Production Level ▶ Polished
• Takes itself Seriously ▶ Yes please
• Originality ▶ Different or novel for its time

Gertrud (1964)

When Gertrud was released, cinema had changed into a faster, hipper, younger medium, and the film was not welcomed. It was considered stuffy and slow. Only the French auteurists at Cahiers du Cinema and America's Andrew Sarris praised the film, and -- of course -- it turns out that they were right. Some priceless home-movie footage included on the DVD shows Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard and actress Anna Karina fawning over the 70-something Dreyer at the movie's Paris premiere. read more...

Search for streaming:

• Love Story ▶ Yes please
• Production Level ▶ Polished
• Overall Depth ▶ Deep or penetrating
• Pace ▶ Slow
• Takes itself Seriously ▶ Yes please
• Originality ▶ Different or novel for its time

The New World: The Extended Cut (2008)

In December of 2005, I saw the 150-minute cut of The New World, which was screened for my critics group for awards consideration. The film as a whole didn't quite sink in until I saw the 135-minute cut a month or so later. I'm not sure if the shorter cut played better for me, or if it took a second viewing to cement the idea that this was a true masterpiece. Now New Line has released an "extended cut," running 172 minutes. My guess is that this new cut has nothing to do with director Terrence Malick. For one thing, it's specifically called an "extended cut," and not a "director's cut." And there's no information on the disc or anywhere else explaining how this cut came about. Malick is secretive and reclusive, but I'm sure that if this were his director's cut, it would be called the director's cut. read more...

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• Love Story ▶ Yes please
• Moralistic ▶ Yes please
• Production Level ▶ Polished
• Overall Depth ▶ Deep or penetrating
• Pace ▶ Slow
• Takes itself Seriously ▶ Yes please
• Originality ▶ Different or novel for its time

Fallen Angels (1995)

Wong Kar-wai's most stylistically dense film (and my favorite), Fallen Angels, is said to be an unofficial sequel -- or at least a companion piece -- to Chungking Express, a third chapter for that film that didn't quite fit. It, too, follows a series of lost, sad characters who can't ever seem to relate. read more...

Search for streaming:

• Love Story ▶ Yes please
• Production Level ▶ Polished
• Overall Depth ▶ Deep or penetrating
• Originality ▶ Different or novel for its time

To the Wonder (2013)

Terrence Malick's sixth film in 40 years, To the Wonder has much in common with his previous film, The Tree of Life, though it's more intimate, more immediate. read more...

Search for streaming:

• Love Story ▶ Yes please
• Production Level ▶ Polished
• Overall Depth ▶ Deep or penetrating
• Pace ▶ Slow
• Takes itself Seriously ▶ Yes please
• Originality ▶ Different or novel for its time