I got the bug, I think, when I first saw Star Wars…then that was it, I was in—hook, line and sinker. I  remember being mesmerized by pirate films, action-adventures, heist films, science fiction and martial arts films.  Now that I’m older (hopefully wiser) and somewhat taller (!), I have added international, surreal and kitchen sink/drama type films to the list.  It doesn’t matter, though…as soon as the lights go down I feel just as excited as a little kid.

This is not an exhaustive list, and definitely not in any particular order…

The Matrix (1999) Andy and Larry Wachowski

After Life (1998) Koreeda Hirokazu

Lilya 4 Ever (2002) Lukas Moodysson

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) Ang Lee

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring (2003) Ki-duk Kim

Brazil (1985) Terry Gilliam

The Squid and the Whale (2005) Noah Baumbach

Motorcycle Diaries (2004) Walter Salles

The Science of Sleep (2006) Michel Gondry

The Magnificent Seven (1960) John Sturges

Unforgiven (1992) Clint Eastwood

Caché (2005) Michael Haneke

Rosetta (1999) Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne

La Promesse (1996) Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne

Seven Samurai (1954) Akira Kurosawa

Kill Bill, volumes 1 & 2 (2003 & 2004) Quentin Tarantino

Pulp Fiction (1994) Quentin Tarantino

Usual Suspects (1994) Bryan Singer

Le Samurai (1967) Jean-Pierre Melville

Bullitt (1968) Peter Yates

Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) Jim Sharman

Les voleurs (1996)André Téchiné

The Sacrifice (1986) Andrei Tarkovsky

The Manchurian Candidate (1962) John Frankenheimer

M (1931) Fritz Lang

The Limey  (1999) Steven Soderbergh

Ocean’s Eleven (2001) Steven Soderbergh

Monster (2003) Patty Jenkins

No Country for Old Men (2007) Joel & Ethan Coen

Fargo (1996) Joel & Ethan Coen

Gladiator (2000) Ridley Scott

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) Steven Spielberg

Star Wars (1977) George Lucas

Ghost Dog, The Way of the Samurai (1999) Jim Jarmusch