The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

A gunslinging scammersduo works together to find a fortune of gold before a thirth gets to it.

Further Summary:

During the American Civil War, the gunfighter Blondie (The Good) and the wanted Mexican outlaw Tuco (The Ugly) signed a deal: Blondie turns in Tuco to a sheriff for a high reward only to save him at the last moment and to flee away. This plan has worked several times successfully. When on the road they hear from the dying officer Bill Carson about a stolen box with $ 200,000 in gold coins. Along the way, Blondie and Tuco meet the ruthless bounty hunter Angel Eyes (The Bad), who also has his eyes on the box..

Qualities: must see classic spaghetti western, Clint Eastwood

NOTE: to fully appreciate this movie, you absolutely have to watch it on a big screen, this is not one to view on your ipod on the train

Identity

Ten strangers end up at a a desolated motel after a big storm and realize they're being murdered one by one.

Further Summary:

A storm forces ten travelers to seek shelter in a strange motel. Soon they realize that there is a murderer among them. While the storm rages, and more and more deaths occur, one thing is clear: it was no coincidence that the passengers landed at the motel ...

Qualities: surprisingly good thriller that nicely captures what's going on in the head of the murderer, an entertaining movie to watch when you want something light

Good Will Hunting

A young rebellious genius is forced to go see a psychologist.

Further Summary:

Will Hunting is working as a janitor at a university and spend his days  fighting people on the street and breaking the law. One day, one of the professors notices that Will has an exceptional talent for mathematics and wants to use his talent. He, however, quickly  discovers that Will has some problems with himself and his environment. The only people who can help him are Sean McGuire, a psychologist who has admiration for the young genius and tries to understand him, and Skylar, a medical student who is in love with Will. Will they succeed to pull Will out of his isolation?

Qualities: the dialogues between Will and Sean make some very strong scenes

American History X

A boy follows his big brother into Neo-Nazism.

Further Summary:

Like most teenagers Danny Vinyard is influenced by his older brother, but in his case his brother Derek is a skinhead. When Danny writes an enthusiastic report about Hitler's 'Mein Kampf',  the school principal makes him choose: either write an essay about Derek or be kicked out of school. Derek's hatred of other races stems from the murder of his father. Derek joins a gang and ends up in jail for murder. Once free, Derek has changed. He wants to confront some people, including his own brother ...

Qualities: In my opinion this movie shows both sides of racism, not just the glorified leftish view like most racism related movies tend to do , Edward Norton

Requiem for a Dream

Four individuals are confronted with the downside of drug addiction.

Further Summary:

The widow Sara Goldfarb is told that she was selected to join a game show. Since they no longer fit into her favorite dress, she starts taking with diet pills, to which she quickly becomes addicted. Meanwhile, the failed attempts of her cocain addicted son Harry, his girlfriend and a friend to make it into the drug scene slowly slide the main characters further and further away in a downward spiral of drug addiction, crime and prostitution.

Qualities: Darren Aronofsky succeeds greatly in showing the dark downside of drugabuse, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly

NOTE: this movie doesn't only deal with drugs, it deals with the phenomenon 'addiction'. While watching, try to notice the many subtle suggestions made towards other addictions than drug addiction. (f.e.: what are the 2 doctors who are helping Sara, talking about?)

the Usual Suspects

A lineup of criminals gets killed. The only survivor explains what happened.

Further Summary:

After an explosion in a port, eyewitness Verbal Kint explain the police how it all went down. Through flashbacks we see how five criminals were brought together in a lineup. They later decide to commit a robbery together. The man behind the scenes who seems to control everything, is the unknown Keyser Söze..

Qualities: Plot twist, Kevin Spacey

Shutter Island

Two men investigate the disappearance of a murderess who escaped a hospital for the criminally insane on a enclosed island.

Further Summary:

1954. The U.S. Marshalls Chuck Aule and his new partner Teddy Daniels go on a search for a murderess who escaped from Ashecliffe Hospital on Shutter Island, an island off the coast of Massachusetts. It is assumed that she is still hidden. A web of intrigue and deception will soon provide the necessary trouble. For exemple: the local doctors don't grand Daniels access to the archives of the hospital, which could provide him with the much needed information. To make matters worse, a sudden hurricane disconnect them from the mainland. Several patients make use of this confusion to escape from the clinic..

Qualities: Intriguing plot, Leonardo Di Caprio at his best

Unknown

A man awakes from a car accident and only to discover someone took over his identity.

Further Summary:

Berlin, Dr. Martin Harris awakes from a car accident in Berlin only to discover that his wife no longer recognizes him and another man took over his identity. He's ignored by the disbelieving local authorities and hunted down by mysterious assassins. With the help of a local taxidriver he starts his hunt for the truth, unsure of his mental condition and identity ..

Qualities: An entertaining blockbuster for a lighter movienight 

The Name of the Rose

A monk investigates a series of mysterious happenings in an abbey with the help of his young novice.

Further Summary:

A mysterious death occurs in a monastery. The monks believe that this is the beginning of the new apocalypse. It is also extremely ill-timed as they are soon to be visited by important spiritual leaders. They therefore ask help from the monk William of Baskerville and ask him to find out what is going on. Together with his student he starts to investigate the matter, but he must also fight against the clock as they expect  the important visit..

Qualities: a Classic with a great plot, I would also highly recommend the book

Drive

A mechanic/stunt driver needs to help out a friend who got himself in a bunch of problems.

Further Summary:

The main character in Drive  is a mechanic and Hollywood stund driver, a loner by nature, who also functions as a getaway driver in the criminal underworld on the side. He get's in bad blood with LA's most dangerous criminals after he helps the boyfriend of his beautiful neighbor with a job that ends up completely messed up. The only way to protect her and to stay alive is to do what he does best: drive..

Qualities: This is actually a good car driving movie, something I find to be rare..

American Psycho

A rich yuppie businessman is a serialkiller by night.

Further Summary:

Patrick Bateman seems the perfect man at first sight: he is handsome, intelligent and earns alot of money. He may be obsessed by his appearance, but to his surroundings he's just a regular guy. At night, however, Patrick likes to kill innocent people in the most horrible ways. Jealousy, hatred, anger, any reason will do for both strangers and friends to be murdered. Police suspect nothing of his massacres untill one detective starts to get suspicious..

Qualities: Bale's depiction of a selfobsessed lunitic is brilliant. Also (without spoiling anything) the ending is very good.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

A couple uses the newest technology to erase eachother from their memories.

Further Summary:

Joel is flabbergasted when he finds out that his girlfriend, Clementine erased all her memories of their tumultuous relationship. Desperatetly, he contacts the inventor of the memory-erase process and asks for Clementine to be removed from his memory too. But as Joel's memories of Clementine slowly fades away, he begins to rediscover his love for her. All he can do now is try to stop the procces that is taking place deep in his brains, deter. While Dr. Mierzwiak and his crew chase him through his own memories, it is  getting increasingly clear that Joal doesn't want Clementine out of his head..

Qualities: In this movie Jim Carry shows his talents exceed comedy. Not just another cliché love story, Kate Winslet

Mr. Nobody

In the year 2092, the confused, 118 year old Nemo tries to tell his lifestory to a reporter.

Further Summary:

2092. The 117-year-old Nemo Nobody is the oldest man on earth and the last mortal person in a world where everyone lives forever. The only question that haunts him is whether he has lived the right life, loved the right woman. As a boy he has to make an impossible choice: to get on the train with his mother or to stay behind with his father. One choice, but with very different lives as a result. The film follows Nemo throughout all his different lives, whether dream or reality ...

Qualities: absolutely brilliant movie, this is a must-watch

NOTE: the lenght of this movie is 2h30 so only watch it when you can make some time

Secret Window

A writer gets accused of plagiarism by a mysterious figure.

Further Summary:

Morton Rainey, a writer, has retreated to the shores of Lake Tashmore after his wife decides to get a divorce. One day a man arrives who calls himself John Shooter. He accuses Morton of stealing his story. Morton tries to convince the man that this is really not the case as he has written the original story two years before Shooter claims to have written his story. However, for some odd reason he doesn't manage to find the original story..

Qualities: good Horror-movie due to the brilliant acting of Johnny Depp & John Turturro

The Machinist

An extremely underweight machinist who suffers from insomniac is loosing his mind.

Further Summary:

Trevor Reznik hasn't slept for an entire year and starts seeing things that aren't there. During his work an accident occures. He knows that he is the cause of this, but claims to have been distracted by a mysterious man. Who is this man and what is the cause of this insomniac?


Qualities: The movie gives away right from the start that there is going to be a major plotwist, but by always being one step ahead of the viewer the thought of having the movie all figured out before the end is merely an illusion, Lots of seeding so definitly worth a second view, Christian Bale

NOTE:  Bale reduced his bodymass to 54 kilograms for this role.

Rundskop (Bull Head)

A movie about steroids and a man's struggle with his manliness.

Further Summary:

Belgium, Flanders. The young Limburgish beef farmer Jackie Vanmarsenille is asked  to make a deal with a notorious West-Flemish beef farmer. But the murder of a federal police officer and an unexpected confrontation with a mysterious secret from his past set up a chain of events with far-reaching consequences ..

Qualities: nominated for an Oscar for best foreign film, Matthias Schoenaerts, best movie I've seen all year

Lost Highway

I feel like telling you what this movie is about in one sentence would ruin the whole point of the movie.

Just watch it.

Further Summary:

The central figure in this hallucinatory film is Fred Madison (Bill Pullman), a saxophonist whose marriage to Renee Madison (Patricia Arquette) is full of unspoken tension. Those friction run even higher when a bunch of anonymous video tapes are found on their doorstep. Something or someone is spying on the house and its occupants. On one of those tapes, we see how Fred murders his wife, is condemned to death and ends up on death row..

QUALITIES:  one of those movies you have to watch a few times to get, but when you do, it's the best experience ever, David Lynch