Recommendations

We’ve listed here selection of films that no collection wouldn’t be complete without. We hope these can offer you some suggestions for your next rental or purchase.

If you agree, let us know.  If you disagree, let us know!!

This list will grow so keep coming back.

Anime

Akira – 18

The seminal anime artwork that defined the genre in the late 80’s. A medical subject unleashes his psychic abilities against his captors with shattering effect in a post-apocalyptic world.

Classics

Die Hard – 18

Ghostbusters – PG

The Goonies – 12

If you haven’t seen these, what the hell is wrong with you?!

Comedy

Shaun Of The Dead – 15

Touted as a Rom-Zom-Com, a romantic zombie comedy, this cult comedy is essential viewing for anyone with a sense of humour and a sense of irony. If you don’t love this seek medical help.

Comedy/Drama

(500) Days Of Summer – 12

This is an intelligent, quirky, feel-good film that uses inventive editing to relay what, in less competent hands, would otherwise be standard rom-com fare.

Juno – 15

A quick-witted, over confident, often foul-mouthed, teen gets pregnant and decides to have the child and offer it for adoption. Snappy dialogue and a great supporting cast make this a fun flick.

In Bruges – 18

Colin Farrell is great as young hit-man tormented by his first job that had gone awry. He and mentor Brendan Gleeson are told to lay low while the heat is on, in Bruges, Belgium in the very black but laugh-out-loud comedy. Hands-down this is the best and most memorable dialogue since Pulp Fiction and some of the most wonderful use of foul language ever seen on film.

The Station Agent – 15

Sundance winner for Best Drama 2003, this film sees Fin McBride (Peter Dinklage) inherit an abandoned train depot in the middle of nowhere which suits this loner just fine. Reluctant friendships are made with two unlikely locals, a distracted artist and unconstrained and likeable Cuban hotdog vendor. Given the chance it deserves this irregular film will leave you with a smile. After my first viewing I watched it again the following day!

Venus – 15

Best actor Oscar nominee Peter O’Toole is Maurice, an aging veteran actor who becomes completely, and cringingly, taken with Jodie Whittaker’s Jessie – the petulant northern grandniece of his closest friend. This is a memorable and witty movie that I dare you not to like!

The Dish – 12

This is the story of the first manned lunar landing as seen from the small support team of Australian astrophysicists that were responsible for relaying signals from the moon, using a massive dish in the middle of a sheep paddock! Great humour throughout and a vision of the late 60’s almost never seen in cinema.

Cult Movies

Kill Bill Vols. 1 & 2 – 18

Pulp Fiction – 18

Reservoir Dogs – 18

All brilliant. All stylish. All with dialogue that has become part of the everyday vernacular.

Momento – 15

Long before Batman Begins Christopher Nolan directed Guy Pearce as man bent on tracking down his wife’s killer. The problem is, since that fateful night he can’t make new long-term memories and resorts to tattooing important clues across his body as he uncovers them. To highlight our hero’s condition the whole film is presented to us as in reverse order, making a unique cinematic experience.

Documentary

Baraka – PG

A time capsule of life in the early 90’s this is not exactly a documentary but rather the most beautiful series of genuinely awe-inspiring cinematic elements ever committed to celluloid. Not exactly pacey, but if you give it the time it deserves you’ll be inspired.

Drama

Gran Torino – 15

Grumpy old racist geezer producer/director Clint Eastwood is reluctantly befriended by new Southeast Asian neighbours and steps in to ‘help’ when local a gang stirs up trouble. Deserving of it’s place on this list

No Country For Old Men – 18

A deserving multiple-Oscar winner, this film is conveyed in 3 intertwined strands. The acting, script, dialogue, cinematography and plot near perfection and Javier Bardem’s hitman is truly menacing.

The Shawshank Redemption – 15

In almost every poll taken over the last 15 years this is listed as one of the best films ever made. Nuff said!

The Usual Suspects – 18

Great cast, a complex plot and fantastic climax. Brilliant!

American Beauty – 18

This black humoured, multiple BAFTA and Oscar winner features some of the most iconic scenes in modern cinema, is wonderfully told and deserving of its many accolades. A must watch.

Good Night, And Good Luck. – PG

Writer, director and star George Clooney accompanied by a great cast chronicles the real-life conflict between television news pioneer Edward R. Murrows and Senator Joseph McCarthy during the late 50’s communist ‘witch hunts’. Gripping, informative, insightful and nostalgic in equal measure.

Everything Is Illuminated – 15

In his debut Liev Schreiber directs OCD encumbered Elijah Wood in a quirky tale of a young mans quest to meet the Ukrainian woman responsible for saving his grandfather from the Nazis in 1942. Wood is assisted by a west-loving guide and accompanied by his ‘not’ blind grandfather and his seeing-eye-bitch, Sammy Davis Jr Jr! This is an affecting road movie that evokes dark and subtle humour against the backdrop of the holocaust but somehow manages to work.

The Straight Story – U

David Lynch’s least screwy movie sees stubborn pensioner Alvin Straight too proud to allow himself to be driven anywhere but must find a way to visit his estranged and ill brother following a stroke. The solution; a lawn mower. Hundreds of miles and numerous breakdowns later Alvin reaches his destination. Wonderfully acted told at a pace that mirrors it’s protagonist and simply a lovely film.

Independent

Three Burials – The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada – 15

Tommy Lee Jones directs himself in a film that almost feels like a follow up to No Country For Old Men. A tale of revenge and redemption, friendship and loyalty that revitalizes the Western genre (minus some of the big shoot-outs)

Musicals

The Nightmare Before Christmas – PG

Tim Burton’s first stop-animation feature film filled with wonderful characters, dotted with memorable songs and immersed in the quirky feel that Burton is famous for.  A great seasonal film for adults and kids alike. If you don’t have a smile on your dial at the end of this flick you’re probably dead.

Romance

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – 15

Not your standard romance by any stretch but at it’s core a romance nonetheless.  Joel (Jim Carrey) and Clementine (Kate Winslet) have had a troublesome relationship but Joel is shocked to find that Clementine has had all memories of their relationship erased. Tom Wilkinson, Elijah Wood, Kirsten Dunst and Mark Ruffalo provide great support, but it Carrey’s breakdown, Charlie Kaufman’s splintered script and Michel Gondry’s vision that make this film a must see/own.

True Romance – 18

Written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Tony Scott True Romance starsing Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette.. The couple come into possession of a suitcase of mob contraband. Fleeing to Los Angeles they hope to sell the goods, but their pursuers have other ideas.  Snappy dialogue as you would expect from QT and a cool ensemble supporting cast including Christopher Walken, Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer and Gary Oldman.  But the most discussed and memorable performance comes from Brad Pitt’s hazy stoner Floyd.

Romantic Comedy

Benny & Joon – 12

A great little cast led by Aidan Quinn, with Johnny Depp and Mary Stuart Masterson in a proper feel good, off beat rom-com. Depp’s performance as a Buster Keaton-influenced simpleton is wonderful to watch. I must have seen this film at least 15 times!

Science Fiction

Star Wars (Original Trilogy)

I you don’t know about these legendary films seek psychiatric help immediately

Westerns

Dead Man – 18

Johnny Depp stars as an accounts clerk whom has spent his last dime and inheritance to take up a job for the local land owner and monopolizer in a town at the end of the rail line as it expands ever westward. The thing is, the job is no longer available and he quickly finds himself in a triangle that results in the deaths of the other man and his gal. Depp remains on the run for the remainder of this black and white, art house western after befriending an Indian loner, chased by lawmen and hired guns. Also starring Robert Mitchum in his last film role before his death, this film has what seems like dozens of recognisable actors, including Alfred Molina, Lance Henriksen, John Hurt, Gabriel Byrne & Billy Bob Thornton to name a few. And if you needed more, there’s a great cameo from Iggy Pop! This is not a fast paced movie but well worth a watch.