Jean-Paul Belmondo was one of the greatest actors in all of French cinema. An antihero with a Jester’s face, Belmondo was born to a middle class Parisian family and often found himself being a class clown. When he got older he tried his hand at amateur boxing, failed, and bouncing back up, thrust himself into acting school. Belmondo was a natural. He found himself in crook roles; a result of his distinct, unusual facial features. But when maverick director Jean Luc Godard cast Belmondo in the cinema changing spectacle “Breathless,” Belmondo became an international superstar. After his breakout role, Belmondo constantly challenged and redefined himself, leaving behind a myriad of roles showcasing his great range of emotion and character.

Unfortunately, Jean-Paul Belmondo died this year. Even though we have lost him as a live human, we will always have his body of work. These 10 films are his best and most essential.

1. Breathless (Directed by Jean Luc Godard, 1960)

The movie that started it all, not just Belmondo’s career but the FRENCH NEW WAVE’S international recognition. It started your film school friend’s obsession with Jean Luc Godard. It also started your hipster boyfriend’s obsession of acting like Michel Poiccard and bringing up Jean Luc Godard in every conversation.

But there’s one thing that needs clarification, all of these inconveniences are justifiable because Breathless takes your breath away. Breathless leaves you breathless at each jump cut. Breathless brings breath into your lungs when you’re dying of cinema insufficiency. The center of all of its greatness is Jean-Paul Belmondo as Michel Poiccard. His every step oozes a suave cool that no other actor has replicated since. The precursor to all of modern cinema, Breathless represents cinema of the past and the new age of moviemaking. Belmondo, often described as detached, connected these two worlds together, creating an unforgettable performance.

2. Pierrot Le Fou (Directed by Jean Luc Godard, 1965)

Pierrot le fou, the story of a fool and his girl, played by Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina. They go on a very artsy, pretentious adventure while breaking the fourth wall. One of Jean Luc Godard’s most outrageous movies, “Pierrot Le Fou” will shock, enchant, and delight. Belmondo breaks the fourth wall cooler than Ferris Bueller, and sports a blue face before the infamous 21st century rapper “Blueface.”

3. That Man From Rio (Directed by Philippe de Broca, 1964)

Arguably Belmondo’s most fun role, That Man from Rio remains one of the most exciting action adventure movies of all time. Jean-Paul Belmondo stars alongside Francoise Dorléac as Adrien Dufourquet, a French soldier and the speedy boyfriend of Agnes. After Agnes is kidnapped and taken to Rio de Janeiro by a group of mysterious men, Adrien must go on a search for her under constantly changing conditions and crack the mystery of mystical Amazonian statues. Aside from Belmondo’s captivating performance, That Man From Rio became an inspiration to huge properties such as Indiana Jones and The Adventures of Tintin. It even became an inspiration to Jackie Chan!

Belmondo’s every stunt and fall makes you want to crack a smile, and his fast wit makes up for his delayed reaction time, causing laughs for days. Not only does Belmondo play off of himself extremely well, but he plays off of Francoise Dorleac even better. That Man From Rio is an essential part of Belmondo’s filmography that is more than worth checking out.

4. Borsalino (Directed by Jacques Deray, 1970)

Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo star together in Jaques Deray’s Borsalino, a movie known for relying heavily on the two actors’ charisma and star power. Based on the lives of Paul Carbone and Francois Spirito, Borsalino tells the story of Roch Siffredi and Francois Capella as they navigate the world of women and climb the ranks of power in the Marseille criminal underworld. Jean-Paul Belmondo plays off of Alain Delon superbly and their relationship carries the movie.

While at the time of release, Borsalino was notoriously known for the two actors’ disagreements, none of this tension is present at all in the film, and Francois Capella is larger than life and extremely charming. Borsalino not only serves as the collaboration of two legendary actors but as a showcase of Belmondo’s range of fun and charisma.

5. Le Professional (Directed by Georges Lautner, 1981)

As soon as Le Professional starts we get a deadly but stylish introduction. With Ennio Morricone’s Chi Mai blaring in the background and bright colors invading the screen, gangster Josselin Beaumont appears untouchable. What seems like an exciting intro leads to a slow burning film with small bursts of excitement in the majority of its one hour and 48 minute run time.

By far, the best part of the movie is an older Jean-Paul Belmondo as Josselin Beaumont. Beaumont is a hardened ex-government agent returning to France to get revenge on his old colleagues. Unfortunately his female counterparts are extremely one-dimensional, but Beaumont is an intriguing character and has charm and charisma around the ladies.

Remember the year 2019? Drake’s song, “Kiki, Do You Love Me,” although released a year prior, was still a bop. The entire planet Earth became enamored with Earth’s mightiest heroes through the blockbuster hit “Avengers: Endgame.” It was an innocent world without the coronavirus, without endless amounts of masks and social isolation.

In the last glimmers of 2019, American Director and Writer Robert Eggers and his creative team released a weird little horror flick that broke the world: “The Lighthouse.” Starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe, who both gave what probably were the best performances of that entire year, “The Lighthouse” blew audience minds with quirky, yet stimulating scenes of mermaid genitals and dark, windy beaches. Sadly, it didn’t seem many critics took notice of “The Lighthouse,” or any critics that mattered anyway, as it didn’t win any major accolades. But among its audience of Letterboxd users, basement dwelling film geeks, self righteous hipsters, annoying twitter users, pretentious teenagers, Twilight fans, and perverts, it was well loved. This list is for the motley crew that loved “The Lighthouse.” Here’s to those fools who dream.

Welcome to these cinematic worlds populated by black and white and loneliness.

1. Hour of the Wolf (Ingmar Bergman, 1968)

“Hour of the Wolf ” follows a married couple as they vacation on an isolated island cottage. Johan Borg (Max Von Syndow) is a super serious artist genius who suffers from nightmares and insomnia. His wife, Alma, loves to clean the house and listen to her husband’s long, solemn monologues. Alone with each other all the time, the couple’s marriage is strained, and Johan Borg starts to constantly hallucinate. Are his nightmares becoming a reality?

A top notch exercise in creating a horrific and mind boggling atmosphere, “Hour of the Wolf” is a masterclass in tropical gothic horror. Dreamy and driven by the subconscious, this 1968 film dreams up scenes that haunt the soul forever. Johan Borg’s hallucinations feel rawer and realer than Robert Pattinson’s ever will. An especially disturbing scene of a child attacking Borg traps a nightmare in the viewer’s soul.

Perhaps the film that influenced “Lighthouse” the most (besides Ingmar Bergman’s Persona, and Through A Glass Darkly), “Hour of the Wolf” is another flawless diamond in the illustrious Swedish director’s career. Robert Eggers said (quite snootily) in an interview with Rotten Tomatoes, “Bergman’s my favourite filmmaker, if I had to choose.” You can definitely tell in Eggers’ two big A24 hits so far. Except Robert Eggers is nowhere as cool as Ingmar Bergman, and never will be, and Eggers himself would probably agree. Ingmar Bergman’s films such as “Persona” and “Through a Glass Darkly” deal with themes of identity in similar ways executed in “The Lighthouse.” Except Robert Eggers will never, ever, ever be as cool as Ingmar Bergman. No matter how many movies Robert Eggers makes, he will never make a movie as good as Ingmar Bergman. There’s a reason why Ingmar Bergman’s autobiography, “The Magic Lantern” has sold so many copies. Robert Eggers will never have an autobiography. Because Ingmar Bergman was actually a cool person who lived an amazing life. Robert Eggers is just another theatre kid who went to a fancy schmancy acting school.

2. Kameradschaft (George Wilhelm Pabst, 1931)

The definitive masterpiece from Director George Wilhelm Pabst’s “Social Realism” body of work, “Kameradschaft” tells the rad tale of a mine split into a German and French section after World War I. Because of the German and French rivalry, only three old German coal miners decide to put their lives on the line, setting out to rescue the French miners. Based on a true story, this mining movie carves a poignant, anti-nationalist tale opposing division and xenophobia, reminding viewers that all men are brothers.

“Kameradschaft,” along with Pabst’s film “Westfront 1918,” reach a level of realism only found in Italian neorealism. A gritty, tragic picture commentating on post World War I European relations of the time, “Kameradschaft” is not only worth watching for the social critique. With expert production design lead by artist Erno Metzner, this film features the best set work of the early 1900s, outclassing Hollywood’s Golden Age film sets by leagues. More intense than any disaster movie released in the 21st century, the mine sets perfectly illustrate the claustrophobia, working conditions, and terror of coal mining in the early 20th century. The film’s aspect ratio and crowded, nerve-wracking atmosphere influenced “The Lighthouse.” Robert Eggers says in an interview with the BFI, “I don’t know how much of a direct influence it is, but our movie and Kameradschaft (1931) by G.W. Pabst are the only films in which the aspect ratio serves the story, because that takes place in a mine. Pabst is shooting vertical smokestacks, and the cramped locations in the mine.”

3. The Lighthouse Keepers (Jean Grémillon, 1929)

A father and son duo of lighthouse keepers have to stay on an island near the coasts of Brittany for a month. Sick from a rabid dog bite, the son is going mad. Delirious and on death’s door, the lighthouse inhabitants bombard the audience with a series of surreal and hallucinatory flashbacks as the son’s sanity waxes and wanes with the tides.

An underrated masterpiece of silent cinema, French movie maestro Jean Grémillon’s “The Lighthouse Keepers” is in need of rediscovery and reevaluation. Several shots from “The Lighthouse” pay obvious homage to this early atmospheric psychodrama. In an interview with the BFI, Robert Eggers said this about Grémillon’s film: “We give a nod to the image in Grémillon’s The Lighthouse Keepers (1929) of the son who is bitten by the rabid dog, looking at the light. We do it as an overhead zoom shot – the one zoom in the movie. We do pay homage to that.”

4. A Field in England (Ben Wheatley, 2013)

In a 1600s England steeped in Civil War, some deserters escape war by running into a crowded field, where they’re captured by an alchemist. The deserters’ descent into madness and absurdity begins.

Some sophomore movie watchers might think “The Lighthouse” to be the only genre film in recent years to be dressed in black and white, but no, no, no. Director Ben Wheatley’s “A Field in England” is another bizarre film Robert Eggers and his team pilfered from. A black and white period piece set in England’s civil war with a splash of the dark, creepy, and supernatural, “A Field in England” seems like a precursor to Robert Egger’s now A24 distributed cult hits. Every shot is screaming with a juxtaposition of surrealism with odd humor, similar to some of the oddly hilarious moments found in Egger’s latest work.

5. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (John Huston, 1948)

Three tough guys, Fred C. Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart), Bob Curtin (Tim Holt), and a prospector named Howard (Walter Huston) search for treasure in the harshest parts of Mexico. Although they do find fortune, the trio finds themselves very unfortunate as nature, robbers, and greed threaten to devour their precious gold in darkness.

One of the greatest pictures of American cinema’s Golden Age, “The Treasure of Sierra Madre” is an epic gothic western featuring the best performances of Humphrey Bogart and Walter Huston’s career. Here Bogart plays a degraded shadow of the romantic Hollywood hero became known for playing. The seeds of mistrust and desire bloom perfectly because of the dynamics and chemistry of these two actors, most likely inspiring the actions of “Lighthouse’s” protagonists. It’s also Director John Huston’s best work in terms of writing and directing – this picture’s highly quotable dialogue is among cinema’s greatest. “The Treasure of Sierra Madre” isn’t just for those who enjoyed “The Lighthouse,” it’s required viewing for any movie lover.

Ever since “Coraline” burst onto the big screen in 2009, Laika Studios has been renowned for its dark stop motion fairy tales with touches of childhood whimsy,

Before Laika became Laika, it was Will Vinton Studios, home of legendary king of claymation Will Vinton (Closed Mondays, The Adventures of Mark Twain). Will was a better artist than a businessman, so when his animation studio began to wane in funds, Nike co-founder Phil Knight bought the company. In 2005, Will Vinton Studios was rebranded as Laika, named after Laika, the dog sent to space by the Soviet Union in 1957.

Although Laika was founded through a scummy situation, the studio has gone on to innovate stop motion animation as much as Will Vinton did. Each one of Laika’s films is painstakingly hand crafted by passionate artists, engineers, and animators. Watching any Laika behind the scenes video will blow your mind. Laika’s been hailed by critics as the Studio Ghibli of the West, a slight exaggeration. Laika has made its fair share of great movies, and their films boast masterful animation on par with Studio Ghibli’s, but with each new release, Laika studios seems to be declining in story, resulting in a consistent output resembling a downward spiral.

Today we’ll rank their six original films, putting them into perspective.

6. Missing Link (2019)

Cryptid investigator Sir Lionel Frost wants to be accepted into the Society of Great Men, and if he discovers a real Bigfoot, he’ll be accepted. In the forests of the Pacific Northwest, Lionel meets real life Sasquatch “Mr. Link,” who can talk, write, and do other quirky things. The two embark on an adventure to find Mr. Link’s Himalayan Yeti relatives while being tracked by a bounty hunter.

Missing Link is undeniably Laika’s weakest film. Not a trainwreck, and even fun at times, but mostly bland and forgettable. Besides the gorgeous animation, nothing here shines, the celebrity voice acting is passable and cliche, and the character designs lack the iconic sheen of other Laika films. There’s a missing link in Missing Link.

5. Moongirl (2005)

When a cute country boy goes out for night fishing, his hook links onto a catfish made from stars. He soars to the moon, where he meets the titular moongirl. The moon has gone dark and the moonboy and moongirl, with the help of their strange pets, must fix the moon by outsmarting wispy, ghoulish creatures.

A lovely short film directed by animation maestro Henry Selick (Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline) from an idea by CG modeler Michael Berger, “Moongirl” stands out as Laika’s only completely CG animated work, as well as the studio’s one and only short film. With its abstract, imaginative story and lovable duo of characters, Moongirl is a wonder inspiring film that holds its own among Laika’s features.

4. Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)

Kubo, a cute, one eyed Japanese kid living in ancient Japan, has a magical guitar that brings origami creatures to life. After he accidentally summons vengeful family spirits of the past, mainly his two creepy sisters and his evil, eye stealing grandfather known as the Moon King, Kubo teams up with a monkey and a beetle warrior to defeat his corrupted relatives.

Kubo’s first act is lush, beautiful, and intimate in story and visuals. Kubo telling a story while bringing an origami samurai to life is cinematic gold. but a bit into the second act the film collapses into cliche and predictability. Human elements and suspense are all lost to glittery, exquisite visuals, video game side quests, and stellar sword fighting spectacles in a dazzling yet mind-numbing display of Laika’s technical ability. The third act’s finale is an inferior ripoff of Paranorman’s climax, and sends a confusing, conflicting resolution to Kubo’s half baked themes concerning storytelling and family. While Kubo and the Two Strings wields some of the most impressive action scenes ever animated, it too often comes across as nothing more than a visually pleasing highlight reel as soulless as real life stop motion puppets. The animation alone is mind blowing and warrants great praise, but the film itself ends up being a hollow, imitative shell of Japanese culture.

Kubo’s guitar is gently weeping, as it was a tragic waste of potential and honestly would’ve worked better as a video game.

Ozploitation. Not The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – we’re talking about Australian genre cinema of the 70s and 80s! In the early 70s, Australia’s government decided to create Australia’s own cinema culture by founding the Australian Film Commision. Emerging from the shadows of the Australian New Wave, ozploitation found itself answering to Australia’s primal, grindhouse needs by making exploitation movies through an outrageous Aussie lens.

Dystopian worlds, crazy stunts, zany gore, touches of Aboriginal mythology, and terrifying portraits of Mother Nature, ozploitation is stuffed chock-full of bloody cult classic morsels that deserve a mainstream resurgence. You’ve probably already watched some great ozploitation films without knowing it, namely George Miller’s “Mad Max” series, but that’s hardly scratching the surface. Here are 10 great ozploitation flicks you’ve never seen.

1. The Plumber (1979)

A quirky plumber continuously torments a dorky, young graduate school couple in their apartment. He barges into their house, fixing toilets and playing mind games by showing off his harmonica skills, remodeling the bathroom, and leaving poopity scoop everywhere. The couple is very confused, clueless on how to get rid of his unneeded services.

Oscar nominated “Truman Show” director Peter Weir began his career with humble roots in the Australian grindhouse, and “The Plumber” is the best of his exploitation bunch! Disorienting , fetishistic shots of pipes, toilets, and bathtubs plumb into your soul as the awesome plumber, Max, played monumentally by Ivar Kants, plunges your heart out. Hot and steamy with gorgeous, dark chocolate curls, he’s a real man, a real god, a real chad, a tubby tool expert man of your dreams, and it’s too bad these nasty, asty college nerds won’t accept his free and unique brand of plumbing. This black comedy thriller made for tv is as great as Weir’s big budget productions, full of off kilter suspense and unbearable laughter.

2. Death Cheaters (1976)

Steve (Josh Hargreaves) and Rod (Grant Page), two ex-vietnam commando best friends are stuntmen for hire that do any and all stunts, no matter how dangerous. They’re hired by the Australian government to sneak behind Phillipino lines to steal classified documents, and the stunt buds have a blast doing it!

Originally made as a television pilot funded by the Australian Film Commission, “Death Cheaters” would have never been made today because of the crazy, fun, unregulated Mad Max level stunt work. The light plot is only an excuse to show off explosive ozploitation pyrotechnics and choreography. “Death Cheaters” is a love letter to action film artists everywhere, as well as an exhilarating display of the heavenly joys a true bromance can bring.

3. Long Weekend (1978)

“Long Weekend” follows Peter (John Hargreaves) and Marcia (Briony Behets), an annoying married couple who treat mother nature very rudely as they argue and squabble all along their retreat to the beach. The two wedded companions litter their cigarette butts, slash into trees, and spray smelly aerosol cans, until Mother Nature decides she’s had enough and exacts her revenge. Every animal, tree, and blade of grass turns against them, and Peter and Marcia find themselves in the biggest fight and fright of their lives during an isolated ecological apocalypse.

A psychological horror thriller with drops of intense, doomed rom-com, “Long Weekend” is perhaps the zenith of Australian horror, and all man vs nature films for that matter. This was Everett De Roche’s (arguably ozploitation’s best screenwriter) first feature film screenplay, inspired by his own vacation to a remote beach. Actors Hargreaves and Behets are wonderfully believable as two pathetic lovers, and the creature effects and mix of real animals deliver wonderful performances as well. A relentless, brutal, amalgamation of “Jaws,” “The Birds,” and “The Blair Witch Project” set in the Australian bush, “Long Weekend” tells an sinister ecological tale that’ll scare anyone away from taking wildlife safaris in Australia. The film’s inspiring message of respecting mother nature also serves as a subtle allegory for Peter and Marcia’s crumbling relationship.

4. Mad Dog Morgan (1976)

Based on the true story of legendary bushranger Dan Morgan, famous for his sporadic and violent behavior in the bush, “Mad Dog Morgan” is essentially Morgan’s exploitation biopic. A surrealistic Sam Peckinpah inspired spaghetti western starring a drug addled Dennis Hopper, who kills, robs, and mutilates his way through the wild world down under as he tortures and gets tortured.

Overall, “Mad Dog Morgan” is a delectable exercise in sadism and sadomasochism, rivaling the likes of “El Topo” in carnage and cruelty. If you want to enjoy “Morgan’s” bleak, Francis Baconesque gore in all its bloody savagery, you’re going to have to dig deep to find the unrated, unedited cut. An insane Dennis Hopper explodes as Morgan, “method acting” on set by indulging in booze and hard drugs between takes. That’s our Mad Dog!

5. The Man from Hong Kong (1975)

Fang Sing Leng (Wang Yu), a kung fu cop from Hong Kong, takes a trip to Sydney, Australia in search of a drug dealer. He and two narcotics cops, Grose (Hugh Keayes-Byrne of Mad Max) and Taylor (Roger Ward, also of Mad Max fame), try to bust down the drug lord Jack Wilton (George Lazenby), and his Hong Kong drug runner Win Chan (Sammo Hung) in a non stop adrenaline action thriller full of motorcycles, kung fu, gun fights, and a brilliant car chase. Nothing will get in the man from Hong Kong’s way.

Directed by prolific ozploitation master Brian Trenchard Smith, “The Man from Hong Kong’ is a berserk Aussie Hong Kong Frankenstein of the 70s kung fu craze and the Australian New Wave, and a must see for lovers of “Mad Max,” Bruce Lee, and Steve McQueen. Sammo Hung delivers great action choreography, and Lazenby (James Bond) is deliciously fun as the film’s villain. Noel Quinlan’s disco-cool soundtrack and Jigsaw’s seductive, “Sky High” theme song rocks the film to a groovy, 70s excess heaven. Master cinematographer Russel Boyd’s (“Picnic at Hanging Rock”) kinetic camera compliments the action.

Let’s all say it proudly: 2020 sucked! 2020 was booty, from the coronavirus death toll to no hyped movies being released. Everyone’s ready for a new year and a fresh start, but will 2021 be any better? Probably not. Years aren’t good or bad, life doesn’t get better depending on the year- people get better, and people can decide whether they view life as good or bad. Like Marucs Aurelius said, “Everything can be taken from man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

Yeah, all of us have been probably waded through some pretty terrible murk this year, but our attitudes will decide everything in 2021. 2020, although a year of tremendous tragedy, has been a great year to filter that murk out of our systems to better ourselves. Recharge your batteries and ready your new attitude and resolutions by watching these great flicks that embody the New Year spirit. Thank you to the few trolls that have stuck around on this site. We truly couldn’t exist without you, and we love and appreciate each one of you with every inch of our hearts- you complete and improve us. Maybe sometimes we do write terrible reviews- but none of that matters; the past is the past. The real Taste of Cinema is the friends we made along the way. Happy New Year, and TOC wishes all the best!

10. Four Rooms (1995)

On New Year’s Eve, in the Hollywood Hotel Mon Signor, first time Bellboy Ted (Tim Roth) experiences crazy occurrences with insane guests. A dark anti-comedy anthology with 4 segments directed by 90s indie darling directors Alison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell, Quentin Tarantino, and Robert Rodriguez, “Four Rooms” was made in the vein of Roald Dahl’s adult stories.

Tim Roth’s over the top performance channelling Jerry Lewis really busts a gut, his comedic timing shining in strange situations involving witches, mistaken identities, baby sitting, and movie industry runoff. You might have to have an acquired taste to enjoy this flick, but there’s this one thing everyone can agree on- the turkey club featured in this film is the best movie sandwich in cinema history.

9. The New Year (2010)

A slow moving indie directed by Brett Haley, “The New Year” concerns former high school valedictorian Sunny (Trieste Kelly Dunn), who drops out of community college to tend to her father after he’s diagnosed with terminal cancer. She’s dating Neal (Kevin Wheatley), a pudgy, insecure, karate dude, but rekindles her relationship with stand up comedian Issac (Ryan Hunter), an old high school frenemy. As the narrative goes on, we learn that life is very disappointing as the film meditates on the fear of transition, our protagonist ultimately facing this fear as a new year approaches.

If you’re a depressed college student dealing with life problems and uncertainty, this is your type of movie! Thanks to the leading lady Trieste Kelly Dunn’s amazing, naturalistic, breakout performance as Sunny, “The New Year” feels like an authentic slice of real life. Brett Haley also grows as a director during the film’s duration. Overall, this movie is a must watch- “The New Year” is top tier!

8. About Time (2013)

After a disappointing New Year party, aspiring lawyer Tim Lake (Domhall Gleason) discovers a family secret- the Lake men can travel through time. They can’t change history, but can change portions of their own lives, so Tim uses his newfound abilities to get a girlfriend. He meets quirky American girl Mary (Rachel McAdams), and with his powers cunningly tweaks time and space so the two can have a smooth, perfect relationship. The meat of the conflict starts when Tim realizes time travel can’t solve all the ordinary problems of a fantastical life.

A mashup of “Groundhog Day” and “Love Actually,” rom-com maestro Richard Curtis’s “About Time” isn’t a movie that slaps- it’s a magnum opus that warms you up on a cold Monday morning.

7. Trading Places (1983)

A 21st Century Prince and the Pauper, “Trading Places” tells the story of a preppy white snob Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Akroyd), and street smart con artist Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy), who trade places due to a bet made by two millionaires. After Winthrope falsely accuses Valentine of theft, the millionaires step in to reverse the situation, one betting that Valentine could do better business than the preppy white boy. The comedy is let loose when Winthrope’s life falls apart for Valentine to inherit. The film climaxes at a train set New Year’s party that involves a business commodities scam, as well as some other nice surprises that won’t be spoiled here.

A clever social commentary on racial prejudice in America, “Trading Places” is hilarious from beginning to end, with strong performances from foils Eddie Murphy and Dan Akroyd.

6. Phantom Thread (2017)

Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day Lewis) is a famous and meticulous dressmaker who falls in love with muses, then after tiring of them, casts them aside. His latest: the elusive Alma (Vicky Krieps), a hotel waiter, and Alma has a lot of bite, not embodying the idealized feminine figure Reynolds desires of her. This unequal power balance causes an intense battle of the sexes in Paul Thomas Anderson’s fresh take on the “older artist meets young muse” trope. We dive deep into Woodcock’s strange madness, and it seems beneath all the glamor he’s just a little boy crying for mommy.

Daniel Day Lewis, of course, is brilliant as Reynolds Woodcock, playing a mad, vampiric artist, and Vicky Krieps is masterful in playing a muse cunning in her love. The film’s best scene takes place at a New Year party’s denouement where the twisted couple dances, isolated in a concert hall.

Yup. It’s that time of the year again.

I love Christmas. Yes, the holiday season is probably- no not probably- DEFINITELY a capitalist ploy for conglomerates to vacuum up as much money as possible before the year whisks out, but I don’t know. Something about seeing a battered, freezer burned baby Jesus battle a blizzard with an inflatable Will Ferell in my neighbor’s front yard just makes my love for Christmas grow bigger and bigger year after year. I love the lights, the snowflakes, the sweaters, and the torn wrapping paper. The arts, crafts, and children singing. The profane juxtaposition of the sacred and the commercial; the everlasting and the disposable.

I love Christmas’s highs and lows. There’s nothing like the beautiful feeling of falling in love during Christmas, and there’s also nothing like being hit with a bad case of the Holiday blues and playing “Last Christmas” on a loop.

Underappreciated classics, crazy tv specials, and creepy ballets- here are 10 great Christmas Movies you might not have seen. Shane Black said it best: “Christmas is just a thing of beauty.”

1. The Christmas Toy (1986)

Rugby Tiger, a stuffed animal who’s the favorite of the playroom, questions his identity when he’s not at the bottom of the Christmas Tree this year. Instead, a new space toy has taken Rugby Tiger’s place. There’s a genuinely intense sense of danger permeating this unique Jim Henson holiday special, tainting the film’s simplistic innocence with a heavy dose of darkness. If a toy is caught by the owner outside the playroom, the toy is struck lifeless, all traces of individuality vanished. The toy dies.

Sound familiar? The “Christmas Toy” was “Toy Story” Before “Toy Story,” but nowadays is criminally underrated, tallying a mere view count of 856 on letterboxd. With spellbinding puppetry, great direction from “Fraggle Rock’s” Eric Till, and a charming screenplay from Henson regular Laura Phillips, this sweet and gentle special deserves a lot more love.

2. The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

The Shop Around the Corner is about- you guessed it- a shop around the corner. At the Hungarian gift shop “Matuschek’s,” two employees are secretly loves. Their love is so secret, even they are unaware of their love, and quarrel furiously at work. Senior Salesclerk Alfred Kralik and the recently hired Kiara Novak don’t get along at all- but the two don’t realize they’ve actually secretly been romantic pen pals for a while!

“The Shop Around the Corner” is one of the best romantic comedies of all time, and deserves to be hailed more often as a Christmas classic! For a comedy, it’s very suspenseful and passionate. Ernst Lubitsch’s direction and Samson Raphaelson’s screenplay masterfully manipulates the audience and two lover’s points of view. Although they can be frustrating, we adore these characters at all times and never want to see them miss their chances. James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan’s explosive, electrifying chemistry as one of cinema’s finest couples soars out of the screen and into our hearts! Pens and letters have never felt more romantic and powerful.

3. Christmas at Pee Wee’s Playhouse (1988)

Probably one of the most insane Christmas specials ever, “Christmas at Pee Wee’s Playhouse” is a zany special that’ll microwave your nuked brain to Christmas Hell. Stop motion surrealism, offbeat musical numbers, and celebrity cameos galore; the holiday season has never been this psychedelic! “Playhouse” flaunts some genuinely great gags, and the exquisitely artificial sets gush with an over the top Christmas atmosphere. There’s nothing better than hearing Grace Jones’s sci-fi disco rendition of “Little Drummer Boy!”

As always, Paul Reubens plays Pee Wee fantastically. He writes up a Christmas wish list one and a half miles long, and holds Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello hostage, forcing them to craft Christmas cards! We watch as our self obsessed titular character hesitantly learns to let go of his selfish side for a while to bring peace and goodwill on Earth! Celebrate Christmas on acid at the Playhouse. (Also, after watching this special, you’ll probably never want to eat fruitcake again.)

4. Christmas in Connecticut (1945)

“Christmas in Connecticut” is about- you guessed it- Christmas in Connecticut! A delightful bit of screwball comedy starring Barbara Stanwyck and Dennis Morgan, “Christmas in Connecticut” follows Elizabeth Lane, a New York food writer who secretly can’t cook at all. When her publisher arranges for her to spend a holiday stay with the revered war hero Jefferson Jones, she creates a ruse of a publicity stunt to sham him.

Joyous and humorous from beginning to end, “Connecticut” separates itself from the average screwball picture as ahead of its time by subverting and critiquing the gender roles of Atomic Age America. Barabra Stanwyck humorously enlightens audiences by exposing the harmful, irritating, and unrealistic nature of the submissive American housewife fantasy.

5. Klaus (2019)

Jesper, the worst and laziest aspiring postman ever, is sent to work at the frozen village of Smeerensburg, the unhappiest and suckiest place on Earth. He forms an unlikely bond between the town hermit, a secretive toymaker named Klaus. In their attempts to spread happiness (even though there’s some ulterior motives involved), the two lay foundations for a never ending legend.

“Klaus’s” 2D animation is a beauty to watch in a 3D dominated age. The film stands out strong and genuine among other flashy animated pictures with breathtaking visuals, great character designs, and a tear jerking story. The visual comedy and gags are great and made funnier by the voiceover accompaniments of Jason Schwartzman as Jesper and J.K. Simmons as Klaus. This is the animation industry’s Sergio Pablos’s directorial debut, so be on the lookout for more animated masterpieces from him!

Sandwiched between Halloween and Christmas, Thanksgiving’s like the awkward middle child that’s always forgotten. This underrated American Holiday isn’t as flashy as the other two big ones, but Thanksgiving still manages to be an absolute blast- the perfect time to eat pie, chow down on turkey, visit relatives, and if you’re in Sweet Home Alabama, grab some booty. You’ll never know how much you truly love your cousin until the two of you play some smash! Yes, this is America- the land of the twee and the home of the strange.

Apparently many years ago some pilgrims were invited to the Wampanoag Tribe festivities to share in some feasting. This celebration is usually cited as “The First Thanksgiving.” This portrait is kind of looked at with rose tinted glasses, and is more revisionist history than anything else.

In most 21st century American households, the so-called origins of Thanksgiving have been long forgotten, becoming more or less a consumerist excuse for family gatherings and overeating. But these wholesome vices create frightening conflicts; the Thanksgiving table can be a hostile place. Differing political viewpoints, meeting a long lost family member, or settling age old generational disputes are all terrifying situations every Thanksgiving Celebrator finds themselves swept up in at some point in their lifetimes. To prepare yourself for Thanksgiving Dinner, here are the ten best Thanksgiving movies!

10. Thankskilling (2008)

A great garbage movie, “Thankskilling” follows a possessed demonic killer Turkey that terrorizes five college kids, a good girl, a jock, a ditz, a nerd, and a redneck during Thanksgiving. A man bangs a Turkey, a Turkey bangs a woman- really, I can’t spoil anymore of this film’s brilliance.

Truly a wonderful slice of trash cinema perfect for any Thanksgiving loving cinephile, and will certainly be remembered as a 21st century b-movie for the ages! “You just got stuffed!”

9. Knives Out (2019)

After revered crime novelist Harlan Thrombey is found dead at his estate, mystery is afoot, and the eccentric Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is hired to investigate Thrombey’s dysfunctional family and staff.

Rian Johnson’s best movie is pure, outrageous fun from beginning to end. This isn’t specifically set during Thanksgiving, but it has that nice, Thanksgiving feel – family, fall leaves, and sweaters straight out of Christian girl autumn! A clever whodunnit with a highly quotable script and dazzling ensemble cast, “Knives Out” plays like a mix of twitter, Agatha Christie, and “Clue.” Some absolute showstoppers include Chris Evans as a trust fund baby and Toni Collette as Gwyneth Paltrow.

8. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)

A Woody Allen gem, “Hannah and Her Sisters” tracks the interconnected lives of Hannah (Mia Farrow) and her sisters, Lee (Barbara Hershey) and Holly (Dianne West), over the course of some scrumptious Thanksgiving dinners! We get to know the men in their lives, such as Elliot (Michael Caine), Hannah’s husband, who is cheating on her with Lee. Lee’s also trying to break up with a strange, older artist Frederick (Max von Syndow). Holly’s also mad about her career while dating a hypochondriac played by Woody Allen.

A drama comedy with sharp, realistic, and humorous dialogue, “Hannah and Her Sisters” is filled with complex, pretentious, but ultimately likeable characters that show off Woody Allen at the top of his game. With the film’s mature subjects, this movie probably shouldn’t be watched with the whole family. It’s official: Taste of Cinema is now Common Sense Media.

7. Alice’s Restaurant (1969)

“Alice’s Restaurant” is Director Arthur Penn’s hilarious adaptation of singer Arlo Guthrie’s folk song, “Alice’s Restaurant.” Arlo avoids the draft by going to college, and then quits school and hitchhikes back home. After he visits his friend Alice for Thanksgiving dinner for a celebration, he and his friends dump the trash at the bottom of a ditch. But he gets arrested for littering and goes on a strange adventure that finds him at the front of the draft board.

Partly based on Guthrie’s real life, “Alice’s Restaurant” tells a distinct, beserk, and bonkers countercultural tale rooted in a fear of the military draft; distinctly American and a perfect ‘60s comedy for Thanksgiving.

6. The Ice Storm (1997)

An underrated Ang Lee outing based on the excellent novel by Rick Moody, “The Ice Storm” depicts the turbulent, inner world of the American middle class. It’s 1973, Thanksgiving in the suburbs of Connecticut, and the Hoods and Carters are going crazy. Daddy Benjamin Hood is a cheating drunkard, his wife is sad, and two of his kids are doing drugs and sleeping around. But these problems are of little consequence when an ice storm tops it off.

Lee and screenwriter James Schamus tell a brutally realistic story about the corruption trickling amidst America’s overabundant harvest, the Watergate Scandal perfectly serving as the film’s backdrop. Every actor is outstanding here, especially the three main kids, a young pre-Frodo Elijah Wood as Mickey Carver, a cute pre-Spiderman Tobey Maguire as Paul Carver, and Christina Ricci as the edgy teenager Wendy. Joan Allen as Elena Carver owns the movie.

There’s deep problems in the American subconscious that really need fixing. If you hadn’t guessed it already, the literal ice storm is a metaphor. Maybe your family has a lot of problems that haven’t been dealt with yet. If you all gather round and watch “The Ice Storm” during Thanksgiving, perhaps you’ll be inspired to indulge in some reconciliation before an ice storm blows in to destroy you.

Chow Yun Fat is the coolest action star of all time because he’s the sweetest. Or maybe it’s because he’s the sweetest he’s the coolest.

On May 18, 1955, Chow Yun Fat was born on Lamma Island, Hong Kong. His mother was a cleaner and vegetable farmer, his father an oil tanker. Living in a small community without electricity, he spent his days as a diligent farmer and street vendor with his mother. After dropping out of high school to work odd jobs as a bellboy, taxi driver, postman and camera salesman, his life changed after responding to a newspaper advertisement for TVB, the Hong Kong Television Station, for an actor training program of three years. Fresh out of graduation, he secured roles in television soap operas like “Conflict” and “The Bund,” becoming a national heart throb. His first feature film roles had him dubbed box office poison, but after his role as the gangster Mark in John Woo’s “A Better Tomorrow,” Fat became an international action superstar, and has been ever since.

Most popular for his roles in the heroic bloodshed genre (characterized by violent, stylized action, gunplay and melodramatic themes of brotherhood, friendship, loyalty and redemption), especially his collaborations with director John Woo, Chow Yun Fat shone as Woo’s honorable alter ego in musical inspired action scenes, because with his confident swagger Fat offered an emotional vulnerability that touched the hearts of many. When scenes found his characters crying he improvised incidents from his life into dialogue, injecting his true self into the role much to Woo’s delight.

Besides being an actor, Chow Yun Fat also specializes in being a great guy! He’s so down to earth he takes public transportation, frequents local food vendors, wears discount clothing, hikes and jogs in the park, goes on movie dates with his wife, does charity, cleans up HK streets, takes selfies with any fans he bumps into, and lives simply with his wife Jasmine Tan on only 100 dollars a month. After his death his million dollar fortune will be donated entirely to charity. Affectionately dubbed Brother Gor, Chow Yun Fat is Hong Kong’s favorite person! Here are 10 essential Brother Gor classics.

10. All About Ah-Long (1989)

“All About Ah-Long” starts off with a cute sequence of our leading man Ah-Long (Chow Yun Fat) rushing his farty little son to school as he heads off to work. An opening so adorable the audience is fooled into thinking this movie’s going to be a nice, feel good romp- but beware! What follows is something much darker; a harrowing melodrama in what could be described as “Kramer vs. Kramer” meets “The Wild Angels.”

Directed by Johnnie To, “All About Ah-Long’s” melodrama brutally assaults the emotion. When we meet Ah-Long’s ex girlfriend, Sylvia Poon, we delve into Ah-Long’s scumbag past as an unfaithful, abusive boyfriend, who was left with a clean slate when raising their child Porky. Sylvia’s become a successful head of a casting organization, offering her son a better life rife with opportunity. Ah-Long’s poor life has little to offer in material goods, but lots in heart, while Sylvia’s capitalist Hong Kong feels artificial and exhausting to Porky, a boy of the streets. To cope, Ah-Long sets his sights on an old hobby: motorcycling, the only saving grace to his crippling inadequacy. You’ll be unsure what to feel at the end of this dramatic commentary on class in HK and East versus West.

9. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

A coming of age story about kung-fu prodigy Yu Jiaolong (Zhang Ziyi), we watch as she steals a legendary sword originally wielded by famed swordsman Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun Fat). When she’s cornered by the equally famed Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh), enemies from the past surface, kicking this sprawling wuxia epic into motion. But there’s a problem: Li Mu Bai and Yu Shu Lien are falling out of love with kung fu, falling in love with each other. These two heroes just want to settle down for a peaceful life of love.

“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” doesn’t have Chow Yun Fat as the lead, but he still gives a smashing performance. The audience soars, witnessing breathtaking fight scenes clashing with the elegant will they won’t they dynamic between Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh. Catch Chow Yun Fat dancing in the trees.

8. The Story of Woo Viet (1981)

Vietnamese refugee Woo Viet flees Saigon, traveling through Thailand and Hong Kong, where he meets and a newfound lover (Cora Miao). When circumstances force the couple into a Thai refugee camp, many fellow refugees begin vanishing.

One of Chow Yun Fat’s first major onscreen performances, “The Story of Woo Viet” was later marketed as “God of Killers” in the West to draw in the action crowd, but this Ann Hui masterpiece is the polar opposite. Juxtaposing the tragic stories of Vietnam refugees with themes of Hong Kong’s political uncertainty, this brutal character study and political drama leaves an empty feeling when finished.

7. Love in a Fallen City (1984)

Adapted by Eileen Chang from her classic Chinese novel, “Love in a Fallen City” is Ann Hui’s romantic blockbuster set in Hong Kong on the eve of Japanese invasion. Fan Liu Yuan (Chow Yun Fat) is a rich playboy pining after Pai Liu So (Cora Miao), a divorcee. The two are opposites: Fan Liu Yuan is a life of the party businessman and a lover of western fashion. Pai Liu So is an introvert in love with Chinese Opera.

“Love in a Fallen City’s” touching performances and masterful direction work harmoniously, crafting one of the finest love stories of the Hong Kong New Wave.

6. Hard Boiled (1992)

After losing his partner in a brutal tea house shootout, police inspector and saxophone hobbyist “Tequila” Yuen (Chow Yun Fat) teams up with origami enthusiast and undercover cop Alan (Tony Leung) to bring an end to the psychopathic triad leader Johnny’s (Anthony Wong) reign.

Since most of John Woo’s popular films prior glamorized gangster life into exhilarating romances (perhaps unintentionally spiking triad membership in the 80s) he made it up by glorifying police life. “Hard Boiled” is Hong Kong’s enormous action extravaganza, where John Woo and his crew get to go absolutely crazy. It’s not only one of the greatest Hong Kong, Chow Yun Fat, or heroic bloodshed films of all time, it’s one of the greatest action spectacle films to ever exist. Stuntmen perform exhilarating motorcycle fights in an all time cinematic high! The sequence where Chow Yun Fat wields two pistols while sliding down a flight of stairs is legendary, and the movie’s biggest action set piece of an exploding hospital nearly incinerated Fat to death. After cursing John Woo out, he quickly asked, “Did it look okay?”

Chow Yun Fat is excellent as a tough, lovable, baby saving cop, and young Tony Leung is perfect as an undercover suffering from a violent identity crisis. Both Fat and Leung play off each other in humorous and intimate moments, sharing the pain of the police life. Leung’s traumatized by playing a character 24/7, having to kill cops and gangsters, unsure which is which. Tequila and Alan live like cops, but will they die like men? To sort out their personal problems, the hard boiled justice serving pair hit the pub and ask advice from the bartender: John Woo.

Besides our main leads, Anthony Wong’s maniacal insanity as Johnny holds a remarkable screen presence as a trigger happy animal. He plays the best dirtbag in the heroic bloodshed genre, a spoiled brat with unlimited access to a military the size of a small nation. But “Mad Dog” (Phillip Kwok), a member of Johnny’s gang, serves as “Hard Boiled’s” most intimidating baddie as a one eyed, motorcycle riding, machine gun extraordinaire, dressed in fire and shadow- a character resulting from on set improvisation, creating for Tequila a formidable foe.

“Ideas are like fish. If you want to catch little fish, you can stay in the shallow water. But if you want to catch the big fish, you’ve got to go deeper. Down deep, the fish are more powerful and more pure.They’re huge and abstract. And they’re very beautiful.” – David Lynch

Red curtains. Telephone calls. Electrical hums. As a cinephile, you know the drill. He’s the great pop surrealist director of the postmodern age, but many forget that he’s not just a filmmaker. David Lynch is a multimedia artist whose projects are as elusive and spellbinding as his feature films, his artworks ranging from the ambiguously beautiful to the ridiculously pretentious.

Whatever side of his spectrum you find yourself on, one thing is certain: his projects will always be highly entertaining, and most important of all, Lynchian. Which is why once you get started on the Lynch pill, the addiction’s impossible to stop- there’s so much Lynch to swim in. With the new YouTube channel, “DAVID LYNCH THEATER” releasing his short films and experiments every week, let’s recommend to you the best of what’s perceived as his side-projects. So if you’re ever in a pinch and can only take a cinch, treat yourself to an inch of Lynch!

Here are the best Lynch shorts that are worth your time. If you’re a hard-core Lynch fan you might’ve seen these already. But if not, it doesn’t hurt to dive deeper into this dreamy director’s big, purple ocean to catch his smaller fish.

1. Lady Blue Shanghai (2010)

A gorgeous woman (Marion Cotillard) enters her hotel room. Someone’s been inside- the stereo’s turned on, and when she stops the music, a Dior bag shines a smokey ray of light as it pops into existence. Something is wrong. We watch as she reminisces of a dreamy Shanghai lover she romanced once upon a time.

“Lady Blue Shanghai” is a wonderful Lynch tidbit. This Dior advertisement comes off as a captivating concoction of “Inland Empire,” “Twin Peaks: The Return” and the “DIORMAG.” Stylish, hip, but also classy and old fashioned. The nightmarish surrealist flashes of Lynch’s most famous works are missing here, but that’s not a bad thing- the cold film noir and the swooning melodrama is amped up to a beautiful max.

“Lady Blue Shanghai” has the flourishes of a student film and the brushstrokes of a master artist. The Shanghai scenery is wondrous to behold, especially through Lynch’s blurred, hyper shaky camera, giving the city a mysterious, expressionist feel. The Dior bag is a surrealist artifact from the “Convenience Store’s” lower dimensions, animated in the style we would see more of in “Twin Peaks: The Return.” And did I mention there’s a blue rose?

2. The Grandmother (1970)

Out of seeds in the ground grows a man and woman. Barking like animals, they sniff each other’s butts, and poof, out of the earth pops a boy, their son. The boy tries as hard as he can, but sadly, when night falls, he keeps on wetting the bed, leaving a bright, yellow stain to show for it. Furious, his father beats his son up, rubbing the boy’s face in the stinky urine. With his parents mean and abusive all the time, the sad son grows a grandmother in his room, and she gives him the love he needs.

This is technically Lynch’s first “movie” movie, or at least a work that’s close to feature length. Bushnell Keeler, Lynch’s painting mentor, suggested Lynch submit his previous short film, “The Alphabet” to the American Film Institute, and the AFI liked it so much they gave Lynch a grant to make more stuff. An essential stepping stone to “Eraserhead,” “The Grandmother” is Lynch leveling up to his final form. Here the strange, Lynchian sound design bursts to life, as this was his first collaboration with a young man who would become legendary sound design master Alan Splet. Splet and Lynch spent 63 days crafting sounds for the film, and these odd droning shrieks populating this grainy, granny centric piece creates most of its horror.

“The Grandmother” is David Lynch’s marriage of painting and film. And besides “Eraserhead” and the first third of “Lost Highway,” “The Grandmother” might be his scariest.

3. The Alphabet (1968)

“The Alphabet,” a haunting mix of animation and live action, tracks a nightmarish girl who has alphabet dreams of an abstract creature made of shapes and letters. One of Lynch’s earliest shorts, it plays out like a melting pot of Francis Bacon and films of the surrealist movement.

4. Dumbland (2002)

Frank Booth meets Homer Simpson. While technically not a short but an animated series, “Dumbland” only clocks in at 33 minutes, so it’s still going on this list.

A series crudely drawn, animated, and voice acted by David Lynch, and set in a “Blue Velvet” suburbia, “Dumbland” follows a fat meatball of white trash, Randy, as he abuses his cute son, traumatized wife, and everything else around him. These eight episodes are, sadly, a pretty accurate representation of American culture. But don’t get too down in the dumps about that though, “Dumbland” is hilarious- it’s funny ‘cause it’s true. It revels in its absolute nihilism- the scenes of Randy beating up his family and surroundings are so over the top, it’s hysterical. This is David Lynch’s most lowbrow outing, full of potty jokes, crude animation, and silly voice acting. A masterpiece! Watch out for Randy farting all over his next door neighbor, the one-armed duck fricker!

5. Hotel Room: Blackout (1993)

“Hotel Room” is an anthology series showing the ongoings of a hotel, its unaging staff, and its visitors lodging in room 603. Many of the “Twin Peaks” behind the scenes crew would also work on this one, but it wasn’t a big hit, so only three episodes were produced. The first two were alright, but the third shines the brightest. There isn’t much surrealism in this one- it’s rambly and dialogue driven, feeling like an old fashioned stage play.

Written by Barry Gifford (“Wild at Heart” and “Lost Highway” writer), “Hotel Room’s” final episode “Blackout” is set in 1936 and tells the story of a cute, Midwestern couple staying at the hotel during a New York City blackout. As their conversation unravels, the husband, Danny (played wonderfully by Crispin Glover) becomes more worrisome about his wife, Diane (played terrifically by Alicia Witt) who is suffering from an unknown illness brought about by trauma. The focus on the strong performances and the couple’s relationship defines “Blackout,” creating some moments of great suspense, unease, and beauty, finally showing out with an ending as sweet as apple pie.

The show’s opening narration (narrated by David Lynch) is the coolest thing ever: “For a millennium, the space for the hotel room existed, undefined. Mankind captured it, and gave it shape and passed through. And sometimes when passing through, they found themselves brushing up against the secret names of truth.”

6. Premonitions Following An Evil Deed (1995)

Policemen discover a dead body laying in a field, a woman waits in her home, and eerie men with blurry, bulbous heads operate a factory buzzing with electricity as a girl is trapped in a water tank. The camera flutters, opening and closing.

“Premonitions Following an Evil Deed” is a one minute short made as a tribute to the 100th year anniversary of the Lumiere camera in a challenge 40 directors participated in. The film had to mimic the early filming conditions of cinema, so the shorts had to follow three rules: a single sequence, 52 second shot; no synced up sound, and having a total of only three takes. “Premonitions’” sets were right next to each other, so the effect of a camera shutter opening and closing creates the illusion of separate, disjointed shots, while in reality “Premonitions” was shot all in one take.

When the other Lumiere tributes chose to pay nostalgic homage to early cinema’s infant films, Lynch executed a distinct vision with one foot in the past and the other in the present.

“Is It FuTuRe… oR iS It PaSt?” Sorry, I couldn’t resist- that was a reference I had to make.

When 70s American and French cinemas were overtaken by worlds of gangsters and crime, you bet Italy had to make their own! Italy was in a time of extreme political tension and unrest. It was a bloody time in Bel Paese. The country was overrun by real life gangs, crimes, and assassinations boiled into the Italian Consciousness.

Stealing from 60s Italian crime films, popular hits like “The Godfather” and “Dirty Harry,” the prevalence of exploitation films, as well as the violent climate in Italy at the time, the poliziotteschi genre changed crime films forever. The genre was characterized by over the top violence, shootouts, motorcycles chases, heists, and social commentary on Italy’s corruption. Although another Italian take on a popular genre (the spaghetti western), seems to have somewhat seared itself into the mainstream consciousness, the poliziotteschi genre appears to be forgotten, although they filled the space that spaghetti westerns left in their decline. These 10 are among the best.

10. Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man (1976)

Directed by Ruggero Doedato (of “Cannibal Holocaust” fame) and written by Feranando Di Leo, this police story features the best bromance in Italian cinema.

“Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man” tells the story of Fred and Tony, members of an elite “special force” squad of police in Rome. They are licensed to kill and love living dangerously. These two vigilante pretty boys roam Rome in a sleek, coffee black Motorcycle, picking up criminals and torturing them to death. You try to steal a purse? Bang- you’re dead! Fred and Tony are both massive edgelords with a cynical attitude toward life, but they’re still living the life, living in a cool flat, having fun driving around on their motorcycle, beating crooks senseless, and making love to women. When gangsters want to take these two carnage loving cops out, Fred and Tony cause even more carnage!

“Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man” is probably on this list because of just how plain fun it is. In any other film Fred and Tony would come off as unlikable. But in this movie they kill, torture, and maim so casually it’s jaw-droppingly hilarious! The violence exacted by this cute police couple is so over the top it basically becomes an absurdist film, entertaining from beginning to end.

9. Mad Dog Killer (1977)

This nasty eurocrime flick gets its full freak on by being one of the most disgusting, grotesque, nihilistic crime movies out there, even by poliziotteschi standards. “Mad Dog Killer” really lives up to its title (one of many).

The sadistic killer Nanni Vitali (played brilliantly with terrifying dedication from Helmut Berger, who steals the show) and his gang break out of prison, and terrible things ensue as they are pursued by Inspector Santinini (played by Richard Harrison).

8. Revolver (1973)

Sergio Sollima’s mystery action combo, “Revolver” (also titled “In the Name of Love”) tells the story of Vito Cipriani, a prison warden who has to break out infamous prisoner Milo Ruiz in order to get his kidnapped wife back. The kidnappers aren’t playing it that simple however, and Milo and Vito team up in an unlikely partnership to find Cipriani’s wife. They end up traveling through the alps as they get caught up in a colossal manhunt.

Oliver Reed’s angry performance is one of “Revolver’s” highlights. Both Vito and Milo go through great character arcs and the twists in this film will leave you breathless.

7. The Big Racket (1976)

You can’t help but to wish there was more of a big racket over the excellent 1976 film “The Big Racket,” a fine poliziotteschi directed by the iconic Enzo G. Castellari. Fablo Testi stars as Nico Palmeri, a police inspector waging war on a criminal gang that is terrorizing a quiet Italian town as they extort money from locals. The whole village is afraid to do anything, and when a restaurant owner speaks up, his daughter is raped, and the terrible gang violence continues.

Because the gang is correlated with drug dealers, Palmeri is banned from investigating the case by his superiors. So he, and his sidekick Sal Borghese gather a group of gang banged victims: angry husbands, enraged fathers, and petty, double-crossed criminals, to set out and take justice into their own hands, stopping the sadistic gang themselves.This pretty much results in a full out war straight out of an anime between Palmeri’s scruffy village crew and the gang. This brutal gem is a diamond.

6. Goodbye and Amen (1978)

“Goodbye and Amen” is one of those movies you need to say before you’re on your deathbed saying goodbye and amen. Tony Musante stars as CIA agent John Dhannay, stationed in Rome, who is planning a coup to to overthrow an African Government. But he figures out one of his men is a traitor who has been contacting the enemy.

Before John can confront this traitor, he goes berserk, killing quite a few people and taking an adulterous couple hostage. What follows is a suspenseful contusion of thrills. Claudia Cardinale, beautiful as ever, definitely steals the show.