lazarus
Blue Crack Supplier
5. The English Patient (Minghella, 1996)
8. The English Patient (Anthony Minghella, 1996)
Glad I'm not the only one who appreciates this odd indie/studio hybrid. A very unique film and a rare Best Picture winner with some real depth.
Talk to Her and Volver might be my favorites, but I think that All About My Mother is the archetypal Almodovar film in that it contains every crucial element about his work (the tonal sensibilities, the acute insights about the feminine psyche, the awareness of and generosity to film history, etc). He is one of my favorite working filmmakers; even what is considered as "minor" by the critics (like Broken Embrances) is still damn good.
I was a huge fan of Broken Embraces last year. And Volver is a close second favorite personally. Talk to Her works wonders for me in fits and starts, but leaves me with somehow less than my two favorites.
No love for Bad Education, my personal favorite?
A lot of stuff mentioned was fighting for the bottom of my list (Rushmore, Magnolia, Heat, Shortcuts), but I went back to Stone's JFK because of how daring a film it is from a cinematography perspective, and because personally, it galvanized me politically. I haven't seen it in quite some time but from what I remember it's one of the fastest-paced 3-hours+ films I've ever sat through.
Also, what a cast. Six Oscar-winners, Gary Oldman, Donald Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, and a slew of other great character actors.