Heartbeeps (Allan Arkush, 1981)

Heartbeeps (Allan Arkush, 1981)
Rating: 4.3

This could have been a cute family film, or even a decent satire, instead it is just a debacle. The casting was good, as Andy Kaufman, Bernadette Peters, and Randy Quaid were all perfect. Visually, the film had a nice look to it, and most notably the make-up work was great and was even nominated for an Oscar. Unfortunately, the writing was atrocious and the film has basically been forgotten. In some regards it may be considered a prototype for the more popular Short Circuit films in 1986 and 1988.

For Your Consideration (Christopher Guest, 2006)

For Your Consideration (Christopher Guest, 2006)
Rating: 4.8

The biggest disappointment of the year for me. :(

The Proposition (John Hillcoat, 2005)

The Proposition (John Hillcoat, 2005)
Rating: 7.1

Cars (John Lasseter, 2006)

Cars (John Lasseter, 2006)
Rating: 6.7

Babel (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2006)

Rating: 7.4

The Wolf Man (George Waggner, 1941)

The Wolf Man (George Waggner, 1941)
Rating: 6.8

Election (Alexander Payne, 1999 )

Election (Alexander Payne, 1999 )
Rating: 7.2

Werckmeister harmóniák (Béla Tarr, 2000)

Werckmeister harmóniák (Béla Tarr, 2000)
Rating: 9.5

Yojimbo (Akira Kurosawa, 1961)

Yojimbo (Akira Kurosawa, 1961)
Rating: 8.3

Shortbus (John Cameron Mitchell, 2006)

Shortbus (John Cameron Mitchell, 2006)
Rating: 6.9

"It's like the 60s, but with less hope."

Hiroshima mon amour (Alain Resnais, 1959)

Hiroshima mon amour (Alain Resnais, 1959)
Rating: 10

A beautiful glance at the horrors of forgetting fond memories and being forever tormented by the awful ones.

Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick, 1975)

Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick, 1975)
Rating: 8.8

Contains some of the best cinematography, set and costume design I've seen as well as a myriad of gorgeous shots and compositions and a great score to match.

Stranger Than Fiction (Marc Forster, 2006)

Stranger Than Fiction (Marc Forster, 2006)
Rating: 3.2

Disappointing waste of a creative premise that just seemed to be a half-ass attempt at a Charlie Kaufmanesque story.

Dead Man (Jim Jarmusch, 1995)

Dead Man (Jim Jarmusch, 1995)
Rating: 9.9

"Do you have any tobacco? "

Borat!: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (Larry Charles, 2006)

Borat!: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (Larry Charles, 2006)
Rating: 7.0

"We decided to not take airplane should the Jews repeat their attack of 9/11."

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (Tommy Lee Jones, 2005)

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (Tommy Lee Jones, 2005)
Rating: 6.8

"You're good people. You need to go ahead and shoot me."

Bananas (Woody Allen, 1971)

Rating: 7.8

"I once stole a pornographic book that was printed in braille. I used to rub the dirty parts."

Allen's second film messily mixes amateurism with brilliance. Bananas, potentially could have been one of my all time favorites, but I just couldn't overlook the technical flaws and sloppy structure.

Dracula (Tod Browning, 1931)

Dracula (Tod Browning, 1931)
Rating: 8.9

Count Dracula: To die, to be "really" dead, that must be glorious!
Mina Seward: Why, Count Dracula!
Count Dracula: There are far worse things awaiting man than death.

The Puffy Chair (Jay Duplass, 2005)

The Puffy Chair (Jay Duplass, 2005)
Rating: 2.0

Another run of the mill indie film with excrutiatingly annoying characters. It felt like I was watching a student film.

La Science des rêves (Michel Gondry, 2006) aka The Science of Sleep

La Science des rêves (Michel Gondry, 2006)
Rating: 9.5

"I don't want to be spaghetti."

I found The Science of Sleep to achieve everything theorist's like Munsterberg and Arnheim want film to achieve. They differ from the realists in that they say film is art because of it's detachment from the real world and bring our fantasies to life. I found this to be one of the most aesthetically pleasing and surreal films I've seen. The narrative is messy, I agree, but we are meant to be seeing things through the eyes of a possible schizophrenic man who confuses his dreams and reality and I think Gondry was well aware of what he was doing. In the end the inability for life to live up to the expectations of the imagination is a heartbreaking reality that we can all relate to. The script truly is secondary and the visual style primary, but that is no reason to write it off. Abstract and experimental films as well as visual spectacles deserve to be championed just as narrative fiction films do, and The Science of Sleep gives us an enjoyable hybrid.