Desert Bloom
Lone Star
Sunshine State
The House of Sand
Girl with the Pearl Earring
Starting Out in the Evening
The Madness of King George
Ratatouille
In the Bedroom
The History Boys
The Snapper
The Run of the Country
A Man of No Importance
Nobody's Fool
State and Main
The 2005 3-part Bleak House
In Her Shoes
Quinceanera
Holy Smoke
Cross Creek
My House in Umbria
A Brief Vacation
In Bruges
The recent John Adams miniseries

No one has mentioned <u>Twin Falls, Idaho</u>. Gritty (to put it mildly), but surprisingly human and humane. [Premise: conjoined twins; one hires a prostitute for his brother as a birthday present... Things unfold from there.]

Gail,

I don't think you can beat Sister Act for the music and comedy. I is better than II , but I enjoyed them both.

Anne

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[This message has been edited by Brian Watson (edited October 19, 2008).]

Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev's The Return, released about 2004 I think, is one of the most powerful and memorable films I've seen in the last decade. Do try to see it, Gail.

snooty intellectual recommendation (and a fun movie):

Providence (1977)
a french film in English (dir. Alain Resnais; screenwriter David Mercer) about writing and the mind, with John Gielgud and a bunch of other great actors


light comedy recommendations (underrated or obscure enough that you might have missed them):

Ruthless People (1984)
The Producers (1968) the original, pre-musical

Afterglow--wonderful, touching marriage/family film with Julie Christie

Citizen Ruth--Alexander Payne's best film--scathing, hilarious satire of the right to life/choice conflict, starring the great Laura Dern in her best role

The Opposite of Sex--Christina Ricci is a revelation in this very unorthodox relationship film. It's very funny, too.

Off the Map--charming film about a very unusual family, and how its members transform the life of a man who stumbles into their isolated environment--beautiful scenery--and Joan Allen!

Fearless--one of my very favorite films, a beautiful piece about a man and a woman who survive a plane crash, and how the event changes their lives. Outstanding performances by Jeff Bridges and Rosie Perez

Volver--Almodovar's hymn to his beloved La Mancha--about women and death and life--and, well, it's my favorite Almodovar film, and it's wonderful. Outstanding performance by Penelope Cruz.

The Band's Visit (Hebrew)
Waking Ned Devine (Irish)*
Les Choristes (French)
Mostly Martha (German)
Ushpizin (Hebrew)
Cyrano (French)
The Importance of Being Earnest*(old or new version, both delightful)
Great Expectations (David Lean, John Mills, Alec Guiness)
The Captain's Paradise* (Alec Guiness)
Our Man in Havana* (Alec Guiness)
The Lady Killers* (Alec Guiness)
To Be or Not To Be* (Ernst Lubistch, dir., Jack Benny and Carol Lombard)
My Man Godfrey* (William Powell, Carol Lombard)
The Kite Runner
John Adams (HBO)(7 parts based on David McCullough's biography)
The Imposters* (Stanley Tucci, Oliver Platt)
Sullivan's Travels* (Preston Sturges, dir.)
Much Ado about Nothing* (Branaugh and Thompson as Beatrice and Benedict)
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town* (Gary Cooper as Longfellow Deeds, the greeting card poet who inherits millions)
All the King's Men (Broderick Crawford-based on the RP Warren classic)
The Shop around the Corner (Ernst Lubitsch dir. James Stewart)

* Comedies

"Diabolique'" -- original by Clouzot.

Everything by Sturges and most of Lubitsch.

Eric Rohmer's movies of the late sixties and early seventies.

"Queen Margot"

And for pure melodramatic romance, “Strangers When We Meet” with Kim Novak and Kirk Douglas. Nobody did vulnerability better than Kim Novak.

Here are a few Canadian films I've enjoyed:

The Decline of the American Empire
The Barbarian Invasions
Jesus of Montreal
Exotica
Snow Cake

I also loved The History Boys and thought the French film The Valet had a lot of laughs.

Susan