In summary: you could do a lot worse than this movie for a dose of World War II history. Its attempts to overcome stereotypes and instead illuminate cultural differences are refreshing.
All in History
John Ford's “THEY WERE EXPENDABLE”
Compared with too many other World War II movies that came out of Hollywood during World War II THEY WERE EXPENDABLE is exceptional.
Steven Spielberg's LINCOLN
My first reaction, walking out of the theater after the credits, was to ask my wife, “How is it possible that the same guy who directed a terrifying movie like War of the Worlds could then go on to do something like LIncoln?”
Wow. What a movie:
This courtroom drama follows the defense of Mary Surrat who operated the Washington DC boarding house where Abraham Lincoln’s assassins concocted their plot in 1865.
Tom Hooper's THE KING'S SPEECH
Excellent film.
Wilson Yip's IP MAN
It is 1937 in Foshan China, a city dominated by rival martial arts academies that constantly test who is the best. Over all lords the wealthy but humble merchant Ip Man whose fighting technique is acknowledged by all as superior.
Alexander Sokurov's THE SUN
I have no idea how factually accurate this movie about Emperor Hirohito’s emergence following Japan’s defeat in WWII is. As a movie, though, it is engrossing, thoughtful, and occasionally, visually dazzling.
This animated tale about a young girl growing up in Iran during and after the Revolution as personal freedoms are inexorably removed is simultaneously touching and difficult to watch.
Robert Baca & Josh Rizzo's “WELCOME TO MACINTOSH”
This documentary is by no means a comprehensive history of Apple or even of the Macintosh computer.
Quentin Tarentino's INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
This is some movie. It’s scary, emotionally draining, funny, exciting, tense, thoughtful, violent, whimsical, cruel, and in a few places, just plain weird.
Saul Dibb's THE DUCHESS
I’m a sucker for 18th Century costume dramas, especially if part of the time is spent in sailing ships. This one, despite being landlocked, is heads above most.
There’s enough creativity, truth, history, drama, and excitement here for three movies.
Walter Salles' THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES
What a great film this is. It’s a thoughtful, contemplative, sometimes sad, sometimes funny, road picture.
Zhang Yimou's CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER
Garish, melodramatic, architectonic, fantastic. Ultimately boring.
Makoto Shinkai's “THE PLACE PROMISED IN OUR EARLY DAYS”
The creator of Voices of a Distant Star returns to adolescence but with a serious twist.
Darren Aronofsky’s “THE FOUNTAIN”
This dizzying and perplexing movie bathes the viewer in a warm and beautiful gauze of, love, death, loss, and redemption. Forget the narrative and go with the flow.
Tony Bill's FLYBOYS
I love airplane movies, but Flyboys is just plain awful.
Joseph Sargent's "Something The Lord Made"
Very few movies accurately depict either research-based advances in life-saving surgery OR the deadeningly real impacts of racism on life, mind, and spirit. To see these two themes intertwined with such ferocious dramatic impact in a film is nothing short of amazing. Yet here it is.