In this section, I will attempt to enlighten you as to my views of the world of cinema. Being the pretentious sort, I like mainly foreign and independent films, although I can be amused by the odd Hollywood creation every now and then.
Some of my favorite directors are Hal Hartley, John Cassavettes, Jean-Luc Godard, Luis Bunuel, Orson Welles, Stanley Kubrick, Terrance Malick, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Tim Burton, Akira Kurosawa, the Coen Brothers, Seiji Suzuki, Mike Leigh, and Alan Smithee (haha).
The kinds of movies that I like often fall into one of the two following categories: movies with wild, freaky 60s nightclub scenes (i.e. "Faces", "Point Blank") or movies with a bit part by Tom Waits (i.e. "Mystery Train", "Short Cuts"). Of course, I like other things, as well, but those just seem to be common criteria.
Here are a few movies that I think everybody should see right now, and why:
"Black Lizard", 1968, Japan. Dir: Kinji Fukusaku
One of the most bizzare films ever, it's been described as a cross between "What's Up, Tiger Lily?" and "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls", but that really doesn't do it justice. The plot centers around a mysterious diva (played by Japan's most famous female impersonator, Akihiri Maruyama) who just happens to be the world-famous jewel theif the Black Lizard. She steals a big-ass diamond, kidnaps some girl, and retreats to her underground lair, where she keeps a menagerie of naked people who've been embalmed and turned into living human statues. What keeps this from berely merely another campy 60s super-villain flick (although I do love the genre ever so much) is that this one is really ultra-weird. There are some really lurid color schemes in this, and if the cinematographer wasn't on drugs, I'd be really surprised.
I'll be putting more reviews up as soon as I get some free time, until then here are some good resources:
