Matthew R. Reis: Film and TV Critic

Film mania Blog exclusive! In this new weekly series I will be highlighting the things I love most and least about cinema. I watch a lot of films and obviously some stand out more than others. I didn't actually rank these numerically, but I tried to do my best by listing the films I liked better first. So without further ado here are my favorite films of all time: "Being John Malkovich" (1999, color) "Fantastic Mr. Fox" (2009, color) "Avatar" (2009, color) "Breathless" (1960, black and white) "Slumdog Millionaire" (2008, color) "True Romance" (1993, color) "The Matrix" (1999, color) "Alien" (1979, color) "There Will Be Blood" (2007, color) "Wall-e" (2009, color) "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" (1964, black and white) "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012, color) "Star Wars Episode V: ...

Risen. From the ashes. 5 Stars Blog Exclusive! The best way to describe "The Dark Knight Rises" (TDKR) is by analogizing it to that of a train leaving a station. It starts off slow and steady, gradually building up steam. When it's operating at full tilt anything can happen. In "Rises" Bruce Wayne/Batman (played by Christian Bale) has to overcome demons starting from the somber opening sequence all the way through a twist filled conclusion. Along the way he meets alluring personalities such as the devious, sexy criminal Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) and Bane (Tom Hardy), a ruthless mercenary threatening to become Gotham's reckoning. Batman stands in his way, but Bane's his strongest adversary yet. Only the will of ordinary people banded together can help save the city. Aiding TDKR story are many grandiose set-pieces, Wally Pfister's flawless, sweeping cinematography and Hans Zimmer's genre bending score. Even minor details even feel like they...

A Roger Corman cult classic...gee isn't that vague? (Now on DVD) 2 1/2 Stars Blog exclusive! Imagine that you wake on a private beach with a shoreline of pristine sand. Far off and perched on hill rests a creepy mansion that even Count Dracula would even envy. You are dehydrated, yet completely conscious and you take in the magnificent view. No you are not Fabio playing some romantic lover to a buxom blond, but rather Andre Duvalier (Jack Nicholson), a French soldier separated from his troops. Welcome to "The Terror," it may very well be your worst nightmare... or not. Starring a young Jack Nicholson and veteran horror actor Boris Karloff, "The Terror" is hardly short on terrific performances, yet is very lacking in the shrills department. Legendary Director Roger Corman elicits convincing performances from his leads. The leads play off of each others strengths. Karloff hams it up and Nicholson is captivating because of his signature grin. Karloff of cou...

Don't wake up, Inception is a really good dream. 3 1/2 Stars Blog exclusive! In a slumber of a summer movie season it’s hilariously ironic that the best film revolves around dreaming. Inception’s director Christopher Nolan likes to bend the rules when it comes to linear story-lines. Like Tarantino in the 90s, Christopher Nolan is a master of time manipulation. Inception revels is Nolan’s bag of tricks from start to finish. The plot centers around a dream thief, a highly skilled extractor named Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his team of assistants seeking to plant a idea into an unsuspecting energy company executive. Inception’s plot elements are folded like an accordion, one intriguing bit on top of another. The gist of the story is accessible through a single viewing, but I recommend seeing Inception twice. My second viewing didn’t unearth any significant new information, but it really enabled me to focus on the characters and how they deal with their emotions and each oth...