Movie Recommendation

[StillHope]

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Originally posted by Les C

There are tons of great movies from other countries and non-Hollywood American productions that are way more entertaining than the typical Hollywood fare. These non-H-wood films are usually more character-driven and built around a good story. Too many American productions go with special effects, loud Surround-Sound audio, and CGI instead of a good story and acting because the former seems to be less risky and may return more at the box office.

A few favorites:
Derzu Uzala - at Russian production, dir. by Akira Kurosawa
Sugar Cane Alley - about cane workers at an African plantation
Gaijin - about Japanese and other immigrant cane workers in Brazil, unfortunately not available except at retrospective screenings
El Espinazo del Diablo (Devil's Backbone) - a Spanish movie set just after the Spanish Civil War, dir. by Guillermo del Toro - okay, this one has special effects
Spirit of the Beehive (El Espiritu de la Colmena) - another post Spanish Civil War setting
Cold Fever - an Icelandic/Japanese production

As for American films, I like all Jim Jarmusch and John Sayles' films, American directors who shun the typical Hollywood production values. The Cohen brothers' movies are good, too (they are becoming more main-stream; likewise with Spike Lee). "The Big Lebowski" is an all-time fave. During the winter holiday season, we like watching "The Ref" and "A Nightmare Before Christmas".

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Les C,confess,you are (an undercover) movie critic,like John Dirgo!