Leaving Las Vegas - 1995

"This wrenchingly sad but extraordinarily moving drama provides an authentic, superbly acted portrait of two people whose lives intersect just as they've reached their lowest depths of despair. Ben is a former movie executive who's lost his wife and family in a sea of alcoholic self-destruction. He's come to Las Vegas literally to drink himself to death, and that's when he meets Sera, a prostitute who falls in love with him, and he with her, despite their mutual dead-end existence. They accept each other as they are, with no attempts by one to change the other, and this unconditional love turns Leaving Las Vegas into a somber yet quietly beautiful love story." - amazon.com

Couldn't have said it any better myself. This movie is not only depressing but it will leave you emotionally drained. Elisabeth Shue is fantastic drawing us in with her charm and vulnerability. But Nicolas Cage was the big winner come Oscar night as he takes home Best Actor for his portrayal of the strung out alcoholic Ben. His performance really was amazing. You can feel the pain and dispair through his eyes. He was so convincing that he made me feel drunk just watching him.

And if you like Nicolas Cage, another one you have to see is Matchstick Man.

Whatever happened to Elisabeth Shue?  Man, I really liked her in all those 80's movies.

District 9 - 2009

It is 2010 and the aliens who took refuge in a district of Johannesburg, South Africa after their spaceship stalled have overstayed their welcome. In charge of getting rid of the aliens and their nuisance is Wikus van der Merwe who, in the process of their eviction, is infected by a substance that slowly overtakes his body. In his mission to save himself, he befriends the very alien whom he must evict and discovers that those who had put him in charge are more interested in Wikus' new capabilities than in Wikus himself.

This is a brilliant, exciting piece of entertainment. I went into it not knowing much and it took me for an unexpected ride.  The movie is pure fun. Definitely not your typical alien movie. The story is very original and the special effects are astoundingly believable. I don't like watching movies where the cgi is so obvious that it either overwhelms or ruins the whole movie, like Transformers and the Incredible Hulk. I watched this movie on HD and the cgi was so incredible yet subtle that it only added to the experience. Watch this one.

Fun Fact:
- This certified blockbuster sci-fi adventure only costed $30 million USD to make and look in $37 million in the first 3 days. That's mind blowingly cheap for a movie of this caliber.

The Matrix - 1999

This is one of the best movies of all time if not the best. The action sequences are incredible. But that's not what makes the movie what it is. It's the story. And it's deep.

Have you ever thought if we are real? Do we really exist? Is there such a thing as free will? Well this movie doesn't only question what is real but takes us into a totally different dimension, a world where computers are at the top of the food chain. Our hero, Neo, "the chosen one", is recruited by a rogue group of humans and is taught not only to question his real existance and test his will, but discovers that humans are simply crops to computers. This movie is mesmerizing, the casting is excellent, and the story is so deep in philosophical thought that to categorize The Matrix purely as a sci-fi action movie is a travesty. It is a theatrical masterpiece.  Definitely a must watch.

Fun fact:

-The Wachowski brothers had an incredibly hard time selling the movie to the big studios because no one could understand the story. I've seen this movie 4 times and I learn something new each time. It's that deep.

- The success of the trilogy helped Keanu Reeves make over a quarter of a billion dollars.

Dances With Wolves - 1990

There are movies I think, like Crash and No Country For Old Men, though good movies, are not deserving of the Best Picture Oscar. Dances With Wolves is definitely not one of them. In fact, it deserves each and every one of the 7 Oscars it won. This movie was so moving that I had to hold back the tears to prove just how macho I was. Sure, I was younger back then but it is a movie I knew I would never forget.

This film takes place during the American Civil War era and centers around an officer who is posted to a remote, uninhabited frontier in the west. Lieutenant Dunbar takes us on a solitary journey as he settles, learns to adapt to the new land, and slowly discovers that he is not alone and that the land is already home to a tribe of Sioux Indians. What starts off as initial distrust between this white man and the tribe slowly evolves into a bond that is tested with the events that ensue.

This movie might be longer than most but worth every minute. Have relax, get comfortable, and ladies, get that box of tissue out.

The Miss List

After just finished watching Up In The Air, I realize that I ought to make a list of films I've seen since setting up this site which, in my personal opinion, does not warrant a recommendation.  They aren't necessarily bad. Just not on par with the caliber of films I've chosen to include on the main site. I call this...

THE MISS LIST

Up In The Air (2009) - I had my hopes too high considering all the great reviews. I found it a complete disappointment and a bit boring, especially the anticlimactic ending.

About the site

The site is not a movie review site. There's a million of those out there. It's a recommendation site. What it offers is a place for people to go to where they are presented with a collection of films, especially older ones, that I personally feel should not be missed.

Sites like Rotten Tomatoes and imdb are too big in nature and to find a good movie to watch (especially non-new releases) can be quite difficult. Their ratings are based on thousands of people with different views on any particular movie so it's hard to determine exactly what a 72% rating really means. I've used those sites before and I notice that the process can be quite a chore, particularly when you have no specific movie in mind. Furthermore, the more reviews you read the more it takes away from the main factor that makes watching movies enjoyable in the first place, and that is mystery and intrigue.

I made the site to make it easier for those who would rather have someone suggest a good movie instead of having to hunt one out. The write ups are meant to be short and sometimes vague in order to not spoil the experience for the viewer. Pick any movie on the site and you can't go wrong. You will not find any average or mediocre films on here. If the movie isn't good, then it'll have to be great.

So welcome to my movie recommendation site and I hope you enjoy it and find it as useful as it was intended to be.


- Markenstein
January 1, 2010