Eyes Without A Face (1960)

This is ostensibly horror, but it isn't scary.  It has a certain creepiness, due mainly to the claustrophobic style of the film - the art direction and the music.  The huge kennel of constantly barking, extremely large dogs helps too.

A young girl, Christiane, is horribly disfigured in a car accident, leaving her with out a face.  Her famous surgeon father vows to "fix" her, which he plans to do by transplanting the face of another young girl on her.  Unfortunately, the only way he sees to accomplish this is by kidnapping women and killing them.  The string of murders perplexes the police, the doctor is obsessed, and his daughter is slowly going insane. 

I like this film, and I would recommend it to people who are interested in the evolution of horror over the years and across the countries.  In addition, this film was the inspiration behind Pedro's "The Skin I Live In". 

Time Bandits (1981)

My friend Nathan gave me this one to watch, and I'm really glad he did.  This is funny and ridiculous and oh-so British.  A group of little people work for the Supreme Being making shrubs and stuff, and they feel seriously under-appreciated.  They therefore decide to steal a time traveling map in order to look for and steal treasure. Makes total sense, right?

They accidentally hijack a young British boy, and he tries to keep the thieves on the straight and narrow.  This has Monty Python alumni in it, plus Sean Connery in a gladiator costume!  Good rental.

Shadow of the Vampire (2000)

I enjoyed this!  The movie is not perfect, but there is a performance here that is out of control.  Nosferatu was filmed in 1922 by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau with Max Schreck playing Count Orlock.  It is still a great movie, and incredibly creepy and disturbing. 

Shadow of the Vampire takes us to the filming of Nosferatu, with Murnau (played by John Malkovich) assembling his cast on location at the ruined castle. He has kept Schreck a secret, and so all are suitably impressed and disturbed when Schreck appears in his first scene in the role of Nosferatu.  He never breaks character while on set.  Because he's really a vampire.  People start disappearing, and soon the agreement Murnau made with his vampire in the name of science and art has put them all in serious danger.

Willem Dafoe plays Orlock / Nosferatu.  He is amazingly good.  I could not recognize him AT ALL.  But I did recognize Nosferatu.  I have watched that movie many times, and Dafoe nailed the real Schreck's movements, body positioning, stance, gestures, expressions.  It's riveting. 

I would recommend you watch Nosferatu, then turn this one on.  What fun. 

The Wrong Man (1956)

This is a Hitchcock film, but not one of his best.  Henry Fonda plays a man wrongly identified as a thief targeting local stores and offices.  He is almost sent to jail on faulty eye-witness testimony, his wife has a breakdown, he goes into massive debt to pay bail and hire an attorney.  It's a mess. 

And the movie is only so-so.  The pacing is off and there is not much tension.  I would pass.  Rent Rear Window again instead!

Bourne Legacy (2012)

There are some reasons to see this movie - first, Rachel Weisz.  This may be an action flick, but she is far above the norm for this type of movie.  The same is true of Jeremy Renner and Ed Norton. 

However, the franchise feels tired.  There is some really ridiculous stuff in here (fighting with a wolf?), and the ending is typical over-the-top nonsense.  Plus they introduce a character at the end - you would think to keep the franchise going - and then kill him off.  It's pointless and detracts from the 23 explosions and car chases. 

Still, it's better than most.  And there's no gratuitous sex!  I love that for an interesting change of pace.

Force of Evil (1948)

This is noir, and not the best out there.  John Garfield plays a crooked lawyer who sees the light only after seeing real consequences of his actions.  There are some great shots here, but the dialog blows.

I would pass.  Watch Night and the City instead. 

Amazing Grace (2006)

I really wanted this movie to be better.  However, it was pretty crappy, with bad editing and horrible pacing.  I thought it was about three hours long, but it was about two.  A painful two.

There is some really great acting - Albert Finney has a great scene!  Unfortunately, the main character was weakly played by Ioan Gruffudd.  He was miscast.  Benedict Cumberbatch played Prime Minister Pitt, and he would have been wonderful in the lead. 

This is the story of William Wilberforce, who spent a good portion of his life campaigning to end the slave trade to British plantations in their colonies.  I wanted this to be better because it's a great story. 

Planet Terror (2007)

I would rather chew off my hand than watch this piece of shit again.

If you want a good zombie movie, watch Dawn of the Dead (either) or 28 Days Later.
If you want good Tarantino, watch Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill or Jackie Browne.
For good Rodriguez, watch any of the Mariachi series or Spy Kids.
If you want to throw up, eat something fuzzy in the back of your fridge.

If you do decide to watch this crap, keep the remote handy.  This movie is why God invented the fast forward button.

Senna (2010)

OK - it's no secret that I love a good documentary.  And this is a really good documentary!  It's about Brazilian Formula One driver Ayrton Senna, his rise to fame, his world championships, and his death.  I had no knowledge of Formula One driving or politics or the points system, etc.  This film is educational and gripping.  I recommend it even if you don't care about racing.  It's fun to learn about new things!