A personal touchstone that retains its magic 50 years after its release. http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/04/vision-for-all-perhaps-not-meant-for.html

The greatest movie musical of all time with memorable musical sequences galore and great comedy and plot between the numbers. Jean Hagen practically steals the movie as Lina Lamont. Donald O'Connor gets his best role ever and Gene Kelly turns in his greatest performances on all levels: acting, singing and dancing. http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/04/and-you-can-charm-critics-and-have.html

Twenty years later, Robert Altman's classic impresses more than it did when released. Ostensibly a satire on Hollywood, the film resonates even more strongly as so much more: a thriller, an exploration of guilt, artifice and a mirror reflecting society at large. http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/04/dark-weird-and-funny-and-with-stroke.html

Francis Ford Coppola took a trashy novel and miraculously turned it into a cinematic masterpiece. It remains great, moving amazingly fleetly for a nearly three hours. It pretends the Corleones are nice gangsters who only kill those who deserve it and you never see the innocent victims of their business, but can't argue with its wonders. http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/03/just-when-you-thought-you-were-out-i.html

While not as great as Almodóvar's other films in his amazing run of winners since 1999, it's another intriguing take on a genre, this time the horror film in a hybrid of Frankenstein and Eyes Without a Face. http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/03/frankenstein-on-verge-of-nervous.html

One of the two best collaborations between director Zhang Yimou and actress Gong Li, ably supported by a great ensemble of actresses. While ultimately heartbreaking and tragic, the film also manages to be riveting entertainment. Its look at the plight of women in China in the '20s has echoes everywhere, even in U.S. politics today. http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/03/desperate-concubines.html

Alain Resnais' landmark has been praised and mocked almost in equal measure and I can't rationally explain the hold this film has over me, but it does. It's just magic. http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/03/at-glance-it-seemed-impossible-to-lose.html

Alan Parker's superb detective thriller led by a great Mickey Rourke performance, a fun supporting turn from Robert De Niro and lots of colorful characters stretching his search from 1955 New York to New Orleans. http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/03/how-terrible-is-wisdom-when-it-brings.html

I finally put my finger on what gnawed at me about The Artist. It's like the old joke about eating Chinese food. It's fulfilling enough while you're consuming it, but a few hours later you're hungry again. http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/02/he-didnt-need-dialogue-he-had-his-face.html

Despite good makeup and Meryl Streep's excellentry mimicry, this biopic of Margaret Thatcher which freely admits to mixing fact, fiction and "poetic flights of imaginaiton" is a huge blunder that for some reason was assigned to be directed by the woman who brought us the god-awful film version of Mamma Mia! http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/02/movie-about-being-someone-not-doing.html

Alexander Payne's winning streak continues unabated and he gives George Clooney a role that allows him to give his best performance ever. http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/02/nothing-just-happens.html

The solid performances, especially by the brilliant Michael Shannon, are the major selling point of this film which would play better if it were tighter. http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/02/take-shelter.html

Two great performances get undermined by nothing but bad decisions from director Lynne Ramsay and her behind-the-scenes cohorts who edit the film as if it were run through a paper shredder and display no consistent approach to the subject matter. What a mess.

A nice documentary look at one of the inspirations for The Horse Whisperer and how childhood abuse led him to embrace natural horsemanship. http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/02/your-horse-is-mirror-to-your-soul.html

A true mystery to me because though I think Glenn Close isn't very good in her role, which is the title character and the main thrust of the picture, I actually enjoyed the film overall because the rest of the cast, particularly Janet McTeer, turn in such wonderful performances and there is a lot more purposeful humor than I'd been led to believe.

The longer I think about Shame, the worse the film gets. If you set out to make a provocative film, it helps to have something to say. Your aim should be to provoke thought, not anger about the time wasted by talents such as Fassbender and Mulligan making it and movie lovers such as me watching it. http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/02/truth-be-told-you-two-are-both-dragging.html

Using modified equipment, this documentary gets closeup footage of fighting in Afghanistan but what sets this documentary apart is its innovative style since it also follows one Marine home, carrying the physical and psychological wounds of service with him. http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2012/02/hell-and-back-again.html

A solid cast and a script that does a better job than most recent wedding-set films more successfully mixes the dark humor with the pathos. Ellen Barkin gets her best role in more than a decade and Ezra Miller really shows he's someone to watch. http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/02/if-anyone-believes-these-two-families.html

Writer-director Dee Rees expands her short film into a feature with most of the same cast and produces great results in this touching, at times heartbreaking coming-of-age story that may be specific in its details but is universal in terms of its emotional resonance and recognition. http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/02/not-straight-out-of-brooklyn.html

A swift, suspenseful film with a great cast led by Ryan Gosling continuing his comeback into good acting and away from the mannered tic-filled performances he'd been giving. http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/02/gosling-stays-in-right-acting-lane.html

Susanne Bier's Oscar winner for foreign language film manages to avoid most of the pitfalls that could trip up its subject of intolerance, pacifism and bullies. http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/02/everyone-understands-language-of-bully.html

A fine cast and a solid script propel this bittersweet comedy-drama about a young man facing cancer. http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/01/thats-how-you-fictionalize-your-life.html

Lars von Trier writes excessively insipid script and pretends he has something profound to say about something. http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/01/trier-of-strife.html

Director Clio Barnard takes an unusual approach to this documentary about the British playwright Andrea Dunbar and her troubled children. Ultimately, it's all gimmick for a tale that's not that interesting. http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/01/that-line-blurs-flurther.html

Good performances overcome awful old age makeup but they can't save a film that lack a point-of-view toward its subject matter. http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/01/we-must-never-forget-our-history-even.html

A wonderful little gem of a film driven by the great chemistry by breakthrough performer Jacob Wysocki and John C. Reilly. http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/01/lifes-mess-dude-but-were-all-just-doing.html

A strong cast builds a suspenseful story out of the search for a Russian mole and shows you don't need James Bond-style action to make a good spy movie. Gary Oldman is great. http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/01/its-about-which-master-youve-been.html

Brad Pitt gives his best-ever performance in this film that should prove compelling even for non-baseball fans. Jonah Hill also gets to show he can do things beside raunchy comedies. http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/01/adapt-or-die.html

Chris Weitz transfers Bicycle Thieves to modern day L.A. as an illegal immigrant struggles to raise his American-born teen son and find his newly bought lawn care truck and equipment when stolen. Good performances. http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/01/lawn-care-truck-thief.html

A great ensemble makes enlivens one of 2011's funniest comedies of the years (with special treats for fans of The Wire). http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/01/whole-new-world.html