Amy Taubin's Annual Top Ten Lists
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- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMatthew ModineR. Lee ErmeyVincent D'OnofrioA pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.
- DirectorAgnieszka HollandStarsMaria ChwalibógBoguslaw LindaPawel WitczakA story of a middle-aged woman, Irena, living alone on the outskirts of Wroclaw with her 8-year old son. They live in a drab apartment. She is a mail carrier and her son is her only pride and joy. She hardly communicates with anybody else in a humanly open and natural way. She also cares for a sick relative. One day when delivering a monthly pension to a crippled young miner Jacek, she faints at his doorsteps. Even though she is determined to live alone after divorcing her drunken first husband, she also knows that her boy needs a male figure to correct his bad habits. She also needs a man badly. The love affair between Jacek and Irena begins however their first physical encounter shatters them both. Irena has a lot of problems: her son makes a lot of trouble at school, and at work her supervisor wants to take her route and give it to somebody else. Finally, the sick relative dies, and she is hit with the funeral bill instead with the expected inheritance. She steals pensioners' money she should be delivering. Tells Jacek that she indeed has received inheritance, places her son in a boaring institution and buys a used car for a trip to West Berlin, opting to immigrate. Now the accident happens...
- DirectorStephen FrearsStarsShashi KapoorClaire BloomFrances BarberSammy and Rosie are an unconventional couple. They live amid chaos, surround themselves with intellectual street people, and sleep with everybody except each other. Things become interesting when Sammy's father visits.
- DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsAdrian PasdarJenny WrightLance HenriksenA small-town farmer's son reluctantly joins a traveling group of vampires after he is bitten by a beautiful drifter.
- DirectorMargarethe von TrottaStarsBarbara SukowaDaniel OlbrychskiOtto SanderAfter years of political agitation, Rosa Luxemburg, Karl Liebknecht, and Leo Jogiches form a revolutionary German party, the Spartacists.
- DirectorHark TsuiStarsBrigitte LinSally YehCherie ChungThe movie is set in chaotic 1920's China, when warlords fought each other for power while Sun Yat-Sen's underground movement tried to establish a democratic republic. The movie tells the story of three young women and two young men who are thrown together. One young woman grabs a box of jewels during the looting when one warlord takes Peking. A deserting soldier joins her, but the jewels end up at the Peking Opera. Here we meet the daughter of the head of the troupe, who dreams of being an actress. But even female roles are played by men in the opera. Soon, the daughter of the currently ruling warlord and a male agent of the democratic underground are involved.
- DirectorJoseph RubenStarsTerry O'QuinnJill SchoelenShelley HackAfter murdering his entire family, a man marries a widow with a teenage daughter in another town and prepares to do it all over again.
- DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsEusebio PoncelaCarmen MauraAntonio BanderasA gay filmmaker becomes involved with an obsessive fan while still pining for his absent true love. Meanwhile, he shares a close but complex relationship with his trans sister, an actress.
- DirectorLeos CaraxStarsMichel PiccoliJuliette BinocheDenis LavantAs a deadly virus which infects people who have loveless sex sweeps Paris, a lonely pariah attempts to steal a potent antidote, only to fall for the mistress of his partner-in-crime. Is the infectious young love the cure to the bad blood?
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJeremy IronsGeneviève BujoldHeidi von PalleskeTwin gynecologists take full advantage of the fact that nobody can tell them apart, until their relationship begins to deteriorate over a woman.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsEric BogosianEllen GreeneLeslie HopeA rude, contemptuous talk show host becomes overwhelmed by the hatred that surrounds his program just before it goes national.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsWillem DafoeHarvey KeitelBarbara HersheyThe life of Jesus Christ, his journey through life as he faces the struggles all humans do, and his final temptation on the cross.
- DirectorChris MengesStarsBarbara HersheyDavid SuchetJodhi May1963. Thirteen year old Molly Roth, the eldest of three offspring of Gus and Diana Roth, lives a carefree life as part of the affluent white minority in South Africa. Race is a non-issue for her as although, under apartheid, the Roths largely exist among other white people like them, she feels equally comfortable around the black people in her life, such as their servants and her parents' black friends. Beyond knowing that they are busy in their work, Molly is unaware of the full extent of what her parents do, Gus a leading member of the South African Communist Party and Ruth an anti-apartheid journalist who also secretly works for the underground in support of the outlawed African National Congress. Shortly after Gus quietly escapes the country to evade probable arrest by the government - Molly believing it just a short work related trip - Molly's carefree life starts to unravel when Diana is detained for ninety days under a new law that allows such detention without ever even being charged with a criminal offense. The goal of Diana's interrogators, led by Inspector Muller, is to get her to divulge details especially of the underground, most specifically proverbial "names". Beyond missing her mother, Molly begins to resent the anti-apartheid work which has directly and indirectly impacted her life in a negative way, she wanting a mother, not an activist-mother. As the situation with Diana evolves, which includes someone needing to act as caregivers to Molly and her younger sisters while Diana is in detention, Molly gets a broader perspective of her situation under apartheid as she is able to see more of life just outside her protected white enclave, and as she is made aware of what Diana is trying to achieve for society in her work.
- DirectorAndy WarholStarsJohn DaleyFred HerkoBilly Name
- DirectorJane CampionStarsGabrielle ShorneggGeraldine HaywoodMarian KnightThe awkwardness and confusion of burgeoning sexuality in teenage girls in a twisted and repressed suburban culture.
- DirectorJane CampionStarsDanielle PearseDon ReidAnna Maria MonticelliThe difficulty of separating sexual fantasy and reality become apparent at an investigation of an alledged sexual harassment case.
- DirectorJane CampionStarsTim PyeKatie PyeBen MartinA family get into a battle of wills on the side of the highway when their boy defiantly throws orange peels out the window.
- DirectorJane CampionGerard LeeStarsDavid BentonAnne BerrimanAlan BrownA collection of everyday awkward and embarrassing moments, each with an uneasy familiarity.
- DirectorJean-Luc GodardStarsWoody AllenFreddy BuacheLeos CaraxA descendant of Shakespeare tries to restore his plays in a world rebuilding itself after the Chernobyl catastrophe obliterates most of human civilization.
- DirectorJohn CassavetesStarsGena RowlandsJohn CassavetesBen GazzaraA renowned actress teeters on the edge of a breakdown as she counts down the days toward a big Broadway opening.
- DirectorKazuo HaraStarsKenzo OkuzakiRiichi AikawaMasaichi HamaguchiA documentary following Kenzo Okuzaki, a 62-year-old WW2 veteran notorious for his protests against Emperor Hirohito, as he tries to expose the needless executions of two Japanese soldiers during the war.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsHarrison FordBetty BuckleyEmmanuelle SeignerIn a hotel room in Paris, a doctor comes out of the shower and finds that his wife has disappeared. He soon finds himself caught up in a world of intrigue, espionage, gangsters, drugs and murder.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsBob HoskinsChristopher LloydJoanna CassidyWhen a cartoon rabbit is accused of murder, he enlists the help of a burnt out private investigator to prove his innocence.
- DirectorJean-Luc GodardStarsJean-Paul BelmondoAnna KarinaGraziella GalvaniPierrot escapes his boring society and travels from Paris to the Mediterranean Sea with Marianne, a girl chased by hit-men from Algeria. They lead an unorthodox life, always on the run.
- DirectorClaire DenisStarsIsaach De BankoléGiulia BoschiFrançois CluzetA French woman returns to her childhood home in Cameroon - formerly a colonial outpost - where she's flooded by memories, particularly of Protée, her servant.
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsDanny AielloOssie DavisRuby DeeOn the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone's hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence.
- DirectorWoody AllenFrancis Ford CoppolaMartin ScorseseStarsWoody AllenNick NolteRosanna ArquetteA middle-aged artist obsessed with his pretty young assistant, a precocious 12-year-old living in a hotel, and a neurotic lawyer with a possessive mother make up three Gotham tales.
- DirectorNagisa ÔshimaStarsCharlotte RamplingAnthony HigginsVictoria AbrilA married French woman takes a zoo chimp named Max to be her lover.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsMichael J. FoxSean PennDon HarveyDuring the Vietnam War, a soldier finds himself the outsider of his own squad when they unnecessarily kidnap a female villager.
- DirectorJim JarmuschStarsMasatoshi NagaseYûki KudôScreamin' Jay HawkinsThree stories are connected by a Memphis hotel and the spirit of Elvis Presley.
- DirectorClaude ChabrolStarsIsabelle HuppertFrançois CluzetMarie TrintignantA housewife in Nazi-occupied France struggles to make ends meet when her husband returns home after being wounded in the war.
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreRoger B. SmithRhonda BrittonAfter General Motors closes its factory in Flint, Michigan, eliminating 35,000 jobs, filmmaker Michael Moore undertakes a quixotic quest to interview General Motors' chairman, Roger B. Smith.
- DirectorAlison MacleanStarsTheresa HealeyPeter TaitAnnagretta ChristianA woman finds something quaint in her kitchen sink and feels strangely captivated towards it.
- DirectorBeth BStarsIda ApplebroogJonathan AuerbachTodd AyoungA number of somber talking heads frankly describe their most personal and perverse attitudes on sex, violence, and other family matters.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroRay LiottaJoe PesciThe story of Henry Hill and his life in the mafia, covering his relationship with his wife Karen and his mob partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito.
- DirectorJane CampionStarsGeneviève LemonKaren ColstonTom LycosAn introspective young woman's life is upturned by the arrival of her maladjusted sister.
- DirectorKrzysztof KieslowskiStarsMiroslaw BakaKrzysztof GlobiszJan TesarzA soon-to-be lawyer crosses his path with a taxi driver and a young sinister man.
- DirectorHelke MisselwitzStarsErika BanhardtHermann BusseMargarete BusseBefore GDR collapsed, Misselwitz interviewed diverse East German women who candidly reveal personal and professional stories, frustrations, hopes, aspirations to record a changing society against a backdrop of architecture and landscapes.
- DirectorPeter GreenawayStarsRichard BohringerMichael GambonHelen MirrenAt Le Hollandais gourmet restaurant, every night is filled with opulence, decadence and gluttony. But when the cook, a thief, his wife and her lover all come together, they unleash a shocking torrent of sex, food, murder and revenge.
- DirectorAtom EgoyanStarsMichael McManusArsinée KhanjianGabrielle RoseA lonely woman stalks a co-worker by obsessively watching videos he appears in. He is an actor trying to get a part in a new TV movie, written by his lover. She has written about her brother's death, but is losing control of the project.
- DirectorCharles BurnettStarsDanny GloverPaul ButlerDeVaughn NixonA charismatic old acquaintance drifts into town, stirring up trouble for a mild-mannered family.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodJeff FaheyCharlotte CornwellA thinly fictionalized account of a legendary movie director, whose desire to hunt down an animal turns into a grim situation with his movie crew in Africa.
- DirectorJoe DanteChuck JonesStarsZach GalliganPhoebe CatesHowie MandelThe Gremlins are back, and this time, they've taken control of a New York City media mogul's high-tech skyscraper.
- DirectorAllan MoyleStarsChristian SlaterSamantha MathisAnthony Luke LuceroMark runs a pirate radio station and causes an uproar when he speaks his mind and enthralls fellow teens.
- DirectorGordon EriksenJohn O'BrienStarsGordon EriksenJames HaigKevin HaigA young black soldier (James Haig), home on his first leave after basic training, has only one thought on his mind - to "score" with every woman he can in his old Hempstead, Long Island neighborhood.
- DirectorMichael AlmereydaStarsHarry Dean StantonSuzy AmisCrispin GloverDelusional and spoiled Maureen and her eccentric brother Howdy decide to track down and meet their estranged mother, all while the drama of dysfunctional relationships, disastrous weather conditions and a dark family secret ensue.
- DirectorKevin CostnerStarsKevin CostnerMary McDonnellGraham GreeneLieutenant John Dunbar, assigned to a remote western Civil War outpost, finds himself engaging with a neighbouring Sioux settlement, causing him to question his own purpose.
- DirectorJack NicholsonStarsJack NicholsonHarvey KeitelMeg TillyThe sequel to Chinatown (1974) finds J.J. "Jake" Gittes investigating adultery and murder, and the money that comes from oil.
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsLiam NeesonFrances McDormandColin FrielsA brilliant scientist left for dead returns to exact revenge on the people who burned him alive.
- DirectorStephen FrearsStarsAnjelica HustonJohn CusackAnnette BeningA small-time conman has torn loyalties between his estranged mother and new girlfriend, both of whom are high-stakes grifters with their own angles to play.
- DirectorPeter MedakStarsGary KempMartin KempBillie WhitelawThis fact-based movie follows the life of the twin crime-lords in London's '60s underworld.
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsRiver PhoenixKeanu ReevesJames RussoTwo best friends living on the streets of Portland as hustlers embark on a journey of self discovery and find their relationship stumbling along the way.
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsJodie FosterAnthony HopkinsScott GlennA young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsSusan SarandonGeena DavisHarvey KeitelTwo best friends set out on an adventure, but it soon turns around to a terrifying escape from being hunted by the police, as these two women escape for the crimes they committed.
- DirectorAgnieszka HollandStarsSolomon PerelMarco HofschneiderRené HofschneiderA boy in Nazi Germany, trying to conceal that he is Jewish, joins the Hitler Youth.
- DirectorNgozi OnwurahStarsBrian BovellSaffron BurrowsMaureen DouglassThe story of a white mother who undergoes a radical mastectomy and her relationship with her black daughter who begins a modeling career.
- DirectorSamuel FullerStarsKristy McNicholChrista LangVernon WeddleA trainer attempts to retrain a vicious dog that's been raised to attack black people.
- DirectorTodd HaynesStarsEdith MeeksLarry MaxwellSusan NormanA boy shoots his father and flies out the window. A man falls in love with a fellow inmate in prison. A doctor accidentally ingests his experimental sex serum, wreaking havoc on the community.
- DirectorJane CampionStarsKerry FoxAlexia KeoghKaren FergussonJanet Frame was a brilliant child who, as a teen, was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia. Explore Janet's discovery of the world and her life in Europe as her books are published to acclaim.
- DirectorJohn SingletonStarsCuba Gooding Jr.Laurence FishburneHudhail Al-AmirFollows the lives of three young males living in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles, dissecting questions of race, relationships, violence, and future prospects.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsPeter WellerJudy DavisIan HolmAfter developing an addiction to the substance he uses to kill bugs, an exterminator accidentally kills his wife and becomes involved in a secret government plot being orchestrated by giant bugs in a port town in North Africa.
- DirectorJean-Luc GodardStarsEddie ConstantineHanns ZischlerClaudia MichelsenCharacterized by deconstructivism and philosophical references and by briefly exposing the good, bad, and ugly periods of the country's history, this post-modern film portrays the abstract need for guidance of Germany following the fall of the Berlin Wall.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsSigourney WeaverCharles S. DuttonCharles DanceReturning from LV-426, Ellen Ripley crash-lands on the maximum-security prison Fiorina 161, where she discovers that she has unwittingly brought along an unwelcome visitor.
- DirectorAki KaurismäkiStarsKati OutinenElina SaloEsko NikkariA woman's terribly dull life is upended by a one-night stand pregnancy, causing her to seek retribution.
- DirectorWarren Sonbert
- DirectorErnie GehrAn experimental short in which San Francisco is viewed from an elevator moving up and down 24 floors.
- DirectorJonas MekasStarsGeorge MaciunasJonas MekasThe life and work of Fluxus artist George Maciunas as seen in clips filmed between 1952 and 1978.
- DirectorChristopher MunchStarsDavid AngusIan HartStephanie PackA fictionalized account of what may have happened when John Lennon and Brian Epstein went on holiday together to Spain in 1963.
- DirectorChantal AkermanStarsGuilaine LondezThomas LangmannFrançois NégretJack and Julie live in a bare flat in Paris. At night, Jack drives a taxi while Julie wanders around the city, and in the day they make love. One day Julie meets Joseph, the daytime driver of the taxi, and soon Julie is spending her nights with Joseph and her days with Jack.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsJohn LithgowLolita DavidovichSteven BauerThe oncologist wife of a prominent child psychologist suspects her husband has an unhealthy scientific obsession with their child, unaware of what - or who - is really going on inside his head.
- DirectorNeil JordanStarsStephen ReaJaye DavidsonForest WhitakerA British soldier kidnapped by the IRA soon befriends one of his captors, who then becomes drawn into the soldier's world.
- DirectorNick GomezStarsPeter GreeneAdam TreseEdie FalcoThe lives of two incompetent young men from Brooklyn spin out of control after a friend returns from Florida with guns to sell.
- DirectorCarl FranklinStarsBill PaxtonBilly Bob ThorntonCynda WilliamsA small town police chief awaits the arrival of a gang of killers.
- DirectorClaire DenisStarsIsaach De BankoléAlex DescasSolveig DommartinDah and Jocelyn come from Benin, Africa, to coach their rooster, "S'en fout la mort", for an illicit cock-fight in the basement of a restaurant.
- DirectorCatherine BreillatStarsClaude BrasseurLioNils TavernierA middle-aged tough cop, George, is trying to help and protect a criminal, Manoni, that he has known since they were both young. He orders his younger colleague and friend, Didier, who has just married to stay with the Manoni's wife and son for surveillance. Meanwhile he starts a sexual affair with Barbara, Didier's young and sexy wife.
- DirectorAtom EgoyanStarsElias KoteasArsinée KhanjianMaury ChaykinA family with the lack of sincerity faces a crisis.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsDaniel Day-LewisMichelle PfeifferWinona RyderA tale of nineteenth-century New York high society in which a young lawyer falls in love with a woman separated from her husband, while he is engaged to the woman's cousin.
- DirectorMike LeighStarsDavid ThewlisLesley SharpKatrin CartlidgeAn unemployed Mancunian vents his rage on unsuspecting strangers as he embarks on a nocturnal London odyssey.
- DirectorNancy SavocaStarsTracey UllmanVincent D'OnofrioLili TaylorUnsettling drama about three generations of Italian-American women struggling to get by in post-World War II New York's Little Italy.
- DirectorTodd HaynesStarsJ. Evan BonifantBarbara GarrickJulie HalstonAn artistic six-year-old boy in 1960s America is obsessed with The Dottie Show. His father is concerned about the show's sexual influence, especially the boy's fascination with a spanking scene.
- DirectorPeggy AhweshStarsMartina Meijer TorrSonja MereuA creepy concoction of a ghost story with little plot other than spooky sound and visuals.
- DirectorChantal AkermanStarsSami Frey
- DirectorKaige ChenStarsLeslie CheungFengyi ZhangGong LiTwo boys meet at an opera training school in Peking in 1924. Their resulting friendship will span nearly 70 years and endure some of the most troublesome times in China's history.
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsTom HanksDenzel WashingtonRoberta MaxwellWhen a man with HIV is fired by his law firm because of his condition, he hires a homophobic-small time lawyer as the only willing advocate for a wrongful dismissal suit.
- DirectorMichael AlmereydaStarsBarry Del ShermanIsabel GilliesBob GosseAn ordinary-looking guy proves to be an unusually successful womanizer, and his East Village apartment begins to assume aspects of Grand Central Station.
- DirectorAgnieszka HollandStarsKate MaberlyMaggie SmithHeydon ProwseA young, recently-orphaned girl is sent to England after living in India all of her life. Once there, she begins to explore her new, seemingly-isolated surroundings, and its secrets.
- DirectorVictor NunezStarsAshley JuddTodd FieldBentley MitchumA young woman struggles for independence and identity in a small Florida tourist town.
- DirectorLeslie HarrisStarsAriyan A. JohnsonKevin ThigpenEbony JeridoWith hopes of becoming a doctor and not a product of her environment, a Brooklyn teenager is faced with numerous challenges that threaten her dreams.
- DirectorJean-Luc GodardStarsJean-Luc GodardGeneviève PasquierDenis JadótDirector Jean-Luc Godard reflects in this movie about his place in film history, the interaction of film industry and film as art, as well as the act of creating art.
- DirectorAndy WarholStarsTosh CarilloLarry LatraeGerard MalangaWarhol's strange interpretation of "A Clockwork Orange." Includes Gerard dancing to the Martha and the Vandellas classic "Nowhere to Run" and being tortured by professional sadists.
- DirectorAndy WarholStarsRobert IndianaThis art experiment by Andy Warhol captures the simple act of a man eating mushrooms. This one-man show starring Robert Indiana presents the actor slowly eating some mushrooms, having an enjoyable time not only with the food but also with a friendly cat that from time to time comes to see what the man is doing.
- DirectorAndy WarholStarsDeVeren BookwalterWillard MaasAndy Warhol directs a single 35-minute shot of a man's face to capture his facial expressions as he receives the sexual act depicted in the title.
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsAlfre WoodardDelroy LindoDavid Patrick KellySpike Lee's vibrant semi-autobiographical portrait of a school teacher, her stubborn jazz musician husband and their five kids living in Brooklyn in 1973.
- DirectorJan de BontStarsKeanu ReevesDennis HopperSandra BullockA young police officer must prevent a bomb exploding aboard a city bus by keeping its speed above 50 mph.
- DirectorPeggy AhweshFrom a clumsy and heavy handed pornographic film of the seventies that bad storage conditions have deteriorated over time, Peggy Ahwesh uses the alterations and the mold of the film to emphasize the sensuality of the scenes. It produces a newborn beautiful film , powerful, erotic and disarming at a time.
- DirectorSteve JamesStarsWilliam GatesArthur AgeeEmma GatesA film following the lives of two inner-city Chicago boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional.
- DirectorAlan ClarkeStarsSpencer BanksJohn AtkinsonGeorgine AndersonSummer 1955, and pastor's son Stephen must come to terms with his own identity amid societal pressure, religious guilt and his own imaginings.
- DirectorAlan ClarkeStarsRay WinstoneMick FordJulian FirthAn uncompromising story of life in a British juvenile offender institution in the '70s.
- DirectorAlan ClarkeStarsTim RothTerry RichardsBill StewartAfter being sent to a detention center, a teenage skinhead clashes with the social workers, who want to conform him to the status quo.
- DirectorAlan ClarkeStarsPhil DanielsAlun ArmstrongBruce PayneCocky, flatulent, cockney snooker player Billy Kid accepts the challenge of a grudge match from Maxwell Randall ( the Green Baize Vampire ) , six times world champion. The loser will never play professional snooker again. Oh, the humanity..