Hunger
Word association: when I say "hunger strike", do you think "brimming with cinematic possibilities"? Maybe not. Turner Prize-winning artist and first-time feature director Steve McQueen thought otherwise, and it just won him the Camera d'Or prize at Cannes. (Shows what you know, huh?)
It's easy to see why.
Man On Wire
In 1974, French tightrope walker Philippe Petit strung up a cable between two corners of the World Trade Centre buildings in New York and went for an awe-inspiring stroll. Suddenly, the up-til-then ambivalent public response to the new constructions was converted into a fever of art-fuelled patriotism.
David Lynch DVD Collection
Has David Lynch just become a friendly caricature of American oddness? I mean, once you turn sixty, start evangelising about meditation, and release your own brand of coffee - how strange can you really be?
A new five-disc DVD collection gives a before-and-after glimpse of Lynch's career. You can start with the industrial nightmare of fatherhood that is Eraserhead, and then wash your mind clean afterwards with his early short films like the adorable The Frenchman and The Cowboy.
Sukiyaki Western Django
Sergio Leone has been a punchline for too long. Half the time someone faces off with an enemy - whether in comedy, soap opera, or sci-fi - suddenly we'll see close-up squinting and hear Morricone's whistled woo-WEE-woo-WEE-woooooo.
Yeah. They're like cowboys. We get it.
Cult-auteur Takashi Miike knows better, and his latest film is one long love letter to Leone.
Waltz With Bashir
War might be hell, but it's also totally awesome, right? That's the message embedded in most war movies. François Truffaut even claimed it's impossible to make an anti-war film, as the big screen automatically turns bodies and bullets into fodder for spectacular cinematic ka-boom.
Ari Folman's animated kinda-documentary Waltz With Bashir makes a convincing case that Truffaut was wrong.
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
In Hellboy, Guillermo Del Toro finds the big red muse that lets his artsy aesthetics and blockbuster tendencies combine into a glorious mess of pulp fiction.
Pan's Labyrinth? The Devil's Backbone? Blade 2,even? Del Toro only has one story, but tells it with such heartfelt glee and attention to detail that no one minds.
The Dark Knight
Chances are you've already decided if you're interested in seeing The Dark Knight, so I'll keep this short.
This is pure pop-mythology. That doesn't mean it's lightweight - masks and costumes mean it's bigger, even deeper, than real life, and it earns every heavy second of its epic running time. It's almost awkward at first, but these jitters are exactly the point.
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