Directed by Louis Malle Au Revoir Les Enfants is a story straight from director Louis Malle's childhood.  It's a very personal film, one you might expect to be among his first rather than thirty years into his professional career.  It's a story about a French boarding school in wartime France.  The Germans had already occupied … Continue reading Au Revoir Les Enfants (1987)

Directed by Nicholas Ray In a Lonely Place is a bit hard to pin down.  The protagonist, Dixon Steele (Humphrey Bogart) is as sardonic and detached from the world as some of Bogart's other characters (Samuel Spade, Rick Blaine), and he's always sure that he's in control of the situation.  In this case, however, his … Continue reading In a Lonely Place (1950)

Directed by Sergio Leone This is probably the most famous of Leone's films, and the final Mexican standoff is likely the most famous scene of any of his films.  And then you have Ennio Morricone's famous score, which is meant to sound like coyotes howling.  It comes in at some of the least expected moments, … Continue reading The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

Directed by John Ford The Searchers is a highly influential Western.  It's the 12th collaboration between director John Ford and star John Wayne, and the cowboys of this era are like the Tony Starks of our era. In this film, Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) searchers for years to find and bring back his niece, Debbie … Continue reading The Searchers (1956)

Directed by Sergio Leone A Fistful of Dollars was the first Spaghetti Western, an Italian-made film set in the old west.  The film follows Joe, (Clint Eastwood) who enters a town ruled by two gangs.  He has no stake in the fight, but we recognize him as the hero when pitted against two tribes that … Continue reading A Fistful of Dollars (1964)

Directed by Michael Showalter The Big Sick is a very Apatow-ian comedy, which is fitting since he produced it.  Like with Knocked Up or Funny People or Trainwreck or even Forgetting Sarah Marshall, this is a comedy that tackles a very serious situation, without mocking it.  In this case, Kumail Nanjiani's (ex) girlfriend falls into a coma, and he's … Continue reading The Big Sick (2017)

Directed by Louis Malle For Place de la Republique, Louis Malle turned the camera on the people in the street, one street in particular.  He spent ten days in Paris interviewing people who walked by, like catching fish in a net.  Some people ignored him and kept on walking, others volunteered to speak with him, and … Continue reading Place de la Republique (1974)

Directed by Richard Linklater Before Midnight is the third film of the "Before" trilogy.  Jesse (Ethan Hawke) meets Celine (Julie Delpy) on a train to Vienna in 1994.  As strangers they spend the night talking about life and falling in love.  In 2003 they meet again for the first time, now in Paris.  They are … Continue reading Before Midnight (2013)

Directed by the Coen Brothers The first thing I noticed about Miller's Crossing is how much Tommy (Gabriel Byrne) gets beat up.  He's an enforcer, working for both sides of a mafia war and everywhere in between.  His loyalty is never certain, not to either side and not even to the audience at times.  So everyone … Continue reading Miller’s Crossing (1990)

Directed by Michael Curtiz I look at Casablanca as a much older version of The Notebook.  It's great, sure, but it's so damn popular, and it's just a love story that it can't be that great, right?  It features starts Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, though I imagine their fame increased dramatically following this film. It's a … Continue reading Casablanca (1942)