"I ain't no kid, no way. I'm a real man."

Cidade de Deus (City of God)
Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund; 2002

Hailed by Roger Ebert as "One of the best movies you'll ever see," this one did not disappoint. Cinematography was stunning, the story was captivating and drawing, funny and heartbreaking--everything you'd expect from a good drama/thriller. Definitely worth your time. Just as lightness is defined by darkness, watching this right after Saw II made it seem all the better.

Image Courtesy of filmhai.de

"Hello Michael, I want to play a game."

Saw II
Darren Lynn Bousman, 2005

Horror/exploitation flick. If you wanna see some dude forced to decide whether it's worth it to cut out his own eye to save his life, this is the flick for you. Lots of people dying, lots of corny dialogue, LOTS of screaming. Highlight comes when a cop starts laying the beatdown on a senior-citizen cancer patient. The fight was somewhat one-sided.

Image Removed Courtesy of movie-page.com

"I'll Take An Advance on My Inheritance."

Les Quatre cents coups (400 Blows)
François Truffaut, 1959

Deals with the social constructs that give rise to a young criminal. Really good, really touching, really worth your time. Some say it's one of the top ten foreign films of all time, but well all know how stupid top ten lists are.

Image Courtesy of Love's Ragpicker on wordpress.

"It'll do him good to spend some time in jail-- he's got so many years ahead of him. I'm the one that's gonna die young."

La Strada
Federico Fellini, 1954

Probably has one of the most adorable characters in cinematic history. You need to see this one, but not just because of that.

Photo courtesy of someone else

Can it be? Has All This Been Staged for Me?

Russian Ark
Aleksandr Sokurov, 2002

Shot in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, this flick consists of a single continuous steadicam shot done in a single take. Apparently it took eight years to plan the film and they were only allowed 24 hours in the museum to shoot.

Oh, and it has a cast of around 2000.

Pretty rad--check it out.

Photo Courtesy of the Internet Movie Poster Awards Gallery.