THE DANMAN CAN

Having watched the excellent 1981 documentary The Day After Trinity the night before, it was neat to see the portrayals of the real-life people in  Christopher Nolan 's Oppenheimer   (2023) . The film take a while to find its stride and suffers from the same whacky, incomprehensible editing choices that Nolan has been making for most of his career, but I found it overall entertaining and immersive. Christopher Nolan Feature Films Ranked

Released smack-dab in the middle of the decade of excess,  William Friedkin 's To Live And Die In L.A. (1985) is the pure nihilistic, blood-soaked, macho scumbag, '80s neo-noir cinema of crooked cops and crazy criminals. Recommended for fans of  Cruising   (1980) ( review ),  Thief   (1981), and  Manhunter (1986). William Friedkin Feature Films Ranked

A sad, sweet, dark, disturbing, and funny film about a lonely weirdo. While a little rough around the edges, May (2002) is bolstered by lush cinematography by Steve Yedlin and an unforgettable, honest, and resonant performance by star  Angela Bettis .  Lucky McKee Films Ranked Recommended for fans of  Taxi Driver   (1976) ( review ),  Excision  (2012) ( review ), and  Pearl   (2022) ( review ).

A serviceable vampire picture that blends modern with gothic, 1970's  Count Yorga, Vampire  isn't salacious enough, mostly plays it by the book, and thus doesn't offer any real surprises but it's competently made and enjoyable throughout. Not quite on par with  Hammer 's best output (largely due to the lack of a heavy like  Christopher Lee  or  Peter Cushing  and also the production design of that studio's better titles) but, despite some bits that drag, there's some amusing dialogue and the film maintains a solid level of entertainment for its 90-minute runtime.

"An eerie trumpet call over a lost battlefield." - Hunter S. Thompson on  Terry Gilliam 's batshit crazy, hallucinatory, visually arresting, gonzo 1970s odyssey,  Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas (1998) Terry Gilliam Feature Films Ranked

After Hours (1985),  Martin Scorsese 's  Kafka esque odyssey, hilariously portrays an anxiety-inducing night from hell. The film is populated by an amazing cast, energetic cinematography by Michael Ballhaus (who went on to work with Scorsese many more times), enticing production design, and a mysterious, ticking score by Howard Shore . This surrealist, existentialist fever dream, which subverts the screwball comedy and film noir, is a wonderful treat by a master of the medium.  Recommended for fans of  Beau Is Afraid   (2023) ( review ),  the  Coen   Brothers ,  Charlie Kaufman , the  Safdie   Brothers , and  Quentin Dupieux . Martin Scorsese Feature Films Ranked Top 20 Directors

Ingmar Bergman 's existential masterpiece  The Seventh Seal (1957) is one of a handful of perfect films, succinctly encapsulating the struggles and mysteries of life, love, and death with lyrical, poetic imagery and words. Ingmar Bergman Feature Films Ranked Top 20 Directors The Danman Top 100 Films (2019 Edition) My Criterion Top 10 [Vol. 7]

Paul Bartel 's Lust In The Dust (1984) is a campy send-up of the western, populated with many wonderful character actors.  John Waters —who directed co-stars  Tab Hunter  and  Divine  three years earlier  in  Polyester   ( review )—was asked to direct but refused because he didn't write the script. Bartel did a good job as a director for hire and there is enough of his style to distinguish it from a Waters picture but it's tempting to think of how the movie would have turned out had "The Prince Of Puke" helmed it (particularly during his more subversive '70s period). Divine and Lainie Kazan  play perfectly off of each other and there is a great deal of fun to be had (including a few choice one-liners), even if the film doesn't quite deliver in the way that it feels it should. Paul Bartel Feature Films Ranked

A cinematic symphony of violent revenge, Lady Snowblood (1973) is the immensely entertaining tale of an asura  avenging her parents and brother, leaving piles of bodies in her wake. Essentially the even-more-poetic femme equivalent of Lone Wolf And Cub   (and likewise based on a manga series ), which was adapted into six feature films beginning the year prior,  Snowblood similarly sprays blood arterially on screen and contains many beautifully composed and edited shots. The result is an influential and satisfying western-inspired action drama with heavy replay value.

A slow burn with a terrifically tense finale, Peter Bogdanovich 's  Targets  (1968) is innovative, clever, challenging, and horrifying. A prescient and unnervingly realistic film about the clash of old and new, the proliferation of guns, and acts of random violence, Targets  features a poignant performance by Boris Karloff in one of his final roles. It remains an incredibly effective and brilliantly assured feature debut by Bogdanovich. Recommended for fans of  The Manchurian Candidate   (1962) ( review ), The Parallax View  (1974) ( review ), and  Blow Out   (1981) ( review ).

Wim Wenders ' Wings Of Desire (1987) features exquisitely composed cinematography (courtesy of Henri Alekan ) and poetic reflections on humankind and its struggles. On a rewatch, I found it a touch long and rambling (there are times when I wish it focused more on the main characters), but I can't deny that it's a beautiful, atmospheric, and moving film. Wim Wenders Films Ranked