Some Really Great Movies

I have not seen a movie I can truly say was original or that I really enjoyed in a long time. Lo and behold, recently I caught up with a few that I really loved. Here's a list. Go rent these movies!

Pan's Labyrinth - From Spain, in Spanish with English subtitles. This is a wonderful movie, disturbing in several places but also a fairy tale. It's not a comedy - it's drama at its highest, fanciful and beautiful in many ways. The actors are all believable, especially the 12-year-old protaganist Ofelia. This is rated R and is not for children.

V for Vendetta - Based on a comic book (sorry, graphic novel) but far different from schlock movies like The Fantastic Four. This one is a Wachowski Brothers movie and stars Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving. Set in a future London, it has a lot to say about would-be dictators, terrorism, resistance to injustice and much more. I enjoyed this one a lot. It's also rated R.

Requiem for a Dream - OK, this one I actually saw two years ago but I need to mention it because this is one of the best movies I've ever seen from the standpoint of emotionally draining me. It was one of the most disturbing movies I've ever seen, it had me in tears, and would not leave my head for a month. When I would try to tell others about it out loud, I would start to shake. So why do I think it's so wonderful? Because it did what it set out to do. It works. It bears repeated viewing but it isn't for the faint of heart. This one stars Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly and Marlon Wayans. Rated R.

I'll tell you about more movies I like later, and some that I hated too!