Death at a Funeral (2007)- Frank Oz

The biggest problems with movies are expectations.
-Frank Oz

It is no secret that I love the Brits. They have thousands upon thousands of years of really cool history. They have been the creators of awesome music. They love drinking beer. And tea. They have a long tradition of film scholarship, study, and general movie lovin'. What is also awesome about the British?

From Monty Python and the Holy Grail. 

This. This right here. What can I say...British humor appeals to my dry, sarcastic side. It's not for everyone. But if you, like me, appreciate a good ol' fashioned British black comedy, you will really really REALLY like Frank Oz's 2007 film Death at a Funeral (not to be confused with Tyler Perry's 2010 remake).

Melancholia (2011)- Lars von Trier

More than anything, there are more images in evil. Evil is based far more on the visual, whereas good has no images at all.
-Lars von Trier

Danish director Lars von Trier is unusual, to say the least. When you mention his name, you are bound to have a division of opinions.

Why such controversy, you ask? Well, to begin, he associated with a new, avant-garde cinematic movement called Dogme 95. This movement called for making films using traditional rules of story, character, etc. and not using special effects. The movement served to heighten awareness of and interest in Danish filmmakers, which was awesome.

von Trier is also known for his use of unsimulated sex scenes in some of his films, as well as having his production company be the first mainstream film company to produce hardcore pornographic films.  His pornographic films were mainly directed toward a female audience, changing the way the stories were told to appeal to a demographic that traditionally had gone ignored in the genre.

While infamous for the above reasons, von Trier is also well-known for his stunning visuals, visuals that are unmatched and completely distinct to him as a director. Melancholia is no different.

Haven't seen it? Read the summary here!

The Hurt Locker (2008)- Kathryn Bigelow

I don't want to be made pacified or made comfortable. I like stuff that gets your adrenaline going.
-Kathryn Bigelow

If you don't know of Kathryn Bigelow, then you totally should. She is a painter. She has works in MoMA's permanent collection. Oh, and she was the first woman in Oscar history to win Best Director for The Hurt Locker. Learn more about her bad self here.

Initial Reaction: I had seen The Hurt Locker the year it was released, and I remember thinking that it was easily one of my favorite war movies. I felt like I was on edge the entire film and didn't ever really get a rest. The aesthetic techniques she uses to portray war, violence, and death received some criticism, as some believed that she perhaps glamorized war by making some of the scenes too "beautiful." I personally don't agree, and while she does uses techniques that break the "realness" of war, I thought that the film was gritty, powerful, and sure to leave you breathless.

Haven't seen it? Find the summary here.

The Grapes of Wrath (1940)- John Ford

How did I get to Hollywood? By train. -John Ford

Arguably one of American's greatest directors, John Ford was admired by the likes of Orson Welles for his artistry. While he did do other types of films, he was and still is best known for his Westerns. He won 4 Oscars for Best Director, a record that still stands today. Maybe there really is no argument, then. He was an interesting guy, never really considering himself an artist. But as history has shown us, many of the greats don't. Read all about him here. 


Initial reaction: I've read John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath, and to be honest, I wasn't sure how I would like the movie before I saw it. I appreciated the story within the context of the Great Depression, and Steinbeck is a very moving author, so I thought it would be difficult to translate such a story to the film. However, I felt that the film did an excellent job inserting cinema-specific elements that highlighted the mood of the novel, which was a sad one. And visually, it's absolutely stunning.

Haven't seen it? Not familiar with the story? Find the IMDb summary here.