Following - 1998

"You take it away... to show them what they had."

Christopher Nolan (Memento, The Dark Knight) writes and directs this odd, claustrophobic neo-noir film about a seedy young Brit (Jeremy Theobald) who's obsessed with following people -- albeit harmlessly at first. After meeting a like-minded bloke (Alex Haw), the twosome graduate to breaking and entering -- but meet their match in a tough blonde dame (Lucy Russell) who may have dubious plans of her own.

This is Christopher Nolan's directorial debut with a feature-length film. He came up with the idea for the film because he had his home broken into and wondered what the people thought as they went around looking at his belongings.

The Falcon and the Snowman - 1985

"They're just as paranoid and dangerous as we are. I don't know why I ever thought any differently."

Don't let the quirky trailer fool you, this is a really great film that tells the true story of a disillusioned military contractor employee and his drug pusher childhood friend who became walk-in spies for the Soviet Union.

As a CIA employee in charge of guarding top secret documents, all-American Christopher Boyce (Timothy Hutton) becomes disillusioned with his country and decides to make a deal with the Soviet Union. Boyce drags his childhood friend Daulton Lee (Sean Penn) into the arrangement, but the drug-addicted Lee's reasons for committing espionage are strictly monetary. John Schlesinger directs this provocative and sometimes humorous account.

Pulp Fiction - 1994

Quentin Tarantino lives in another world and this is, by far, one of it's best imports. An all star cast and a lot of fun this film marks the comeback of John Travolta in a big way.

This film garnered Tarantino and the cast multiple nominations for The Academy Awards, The Golden Globe Awards, The Independent Spirit Awards, and BAFTA placing in on TIME's ALL TIME 100 Movies List.

In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked this as the #94 Greatest Movie of All Time.

Ranked #7 on the American Film Institute's list of the 10 greatest films in the genre "Gangster" in June 2008.

Ranked #1 movie in Entertainment Weekly's "The New Classics: Movies" (issue #1000, July 4, 2008).

Voted #9 on Empire magazine's 500 Greatest Movies Of All Time (September 2008).

A burger-loving hit man (John Travolta), his philosophical partner (Samuel L. Jackson), a drug-addled gangster's moll (Uma Thurman) and a washed-up boxer (Bruce Willis) converge in this sprawling, comedic crime caper fueled by director and co-writer Quentin Tarantino's whip-smart dialogue. Their adventures unfurl in three stories that ingeniously trip back and forth in time, resulting in one of the most audacious and imitated films of the 1990s.

Choking Man - 2006

I discovered this obscure, independent film at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2006 and I thought it was an excellent depiction of characters who seemed so real-to-life. It gave an interesting view of the ethnic varieties that make-up the New York landscape as America is suffocating Jorge (Octavio Gómez), a shy Ecuadorian dishwasher in a shabby Queens diner.


When Jorge isn't being tormented by his co-worker Jerry (Aaron Paul), Jorge tries in vain to forge a bond with newly hired Chinese waitress Amy (Eugenia Yuan). Steven Soderbergh called writer-director Steve Barron's intimate drama "everything an independent film should be." Mandy Patinkin also co-stars as diner owner Rick. If you give this film a chance you'll find the intimate portrait and feelings of the characters so very well put together. It's a slice of real-life.


This film is available for streaming or DVD via NetFlix. Choking Man is an intense blend of psychological drama and magical realism that encapsulates the contemporary immigrant experience in America. Jorge (Octavio Gómez Berríos) is a morbidly shy Ecuadorian dishwasher toiling away in a shabby Jamaica, Queens, New York diner run by Rick (Mandy Patinkin). He works all day long in the shadow of the ever-present Heimlich Maneuver instruction poster which hangs in the diner kitchen. From his solitary kitchen corner, Jorge gropes mutely for a bond with Amy (Eugenia Yuan), the newly hired Chinese waitress and even though she tries to reciprocate, the gulf that separates them may be too large. On the job he is continually tormented by his coworker Jerry (Aaron Paul) and at home in his Harlem boarding, under the psychological control of his late uncle, who was truly like a father to him. His uncle was described as being the only caring person in Jorge's life. he battles his inner demons. Set in the vicinity of JFK airport, the most culturally diverse neighborhood in the world, Choking Man captures the feeling of claustrophobia and almost literal asphyxiation newcomers to America experience as they struggle to find a place and purpose in this strange land.


It received the "Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You Award" at the 16th Annual Gotham Awards in 2006.


It WON "Best Director", "Best Newcomers" Octavio Gómez Berríos & Eugenia Yuan, "Best Soundtrack" Nico Muhly, Special Jury Award at The Ibiza International Film Festival in 2007.

The Reception - 2005

Here is an independent film that crossed my mind the other day. I saw in 2005 at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. I think I recall it because it was such a uniquely, well-acted drama that threw me for a loop with some intense plot twists that I didn't expect. It's worth seeing. I'm sure it's nothing you've ever seen before.

It is a drama set in wintry upstate New York. Hoping to cash in on an inheritance, Sierra (Margaret Burkwit) and her husband Andrew (Darien Sills-Evans) arrive at her mother's Jeannette's home only to discover resentful Jeannette (played by Pamela Holden Stewart) and her companion, the African-American artist Martin (Wayne Lamont Sims). I don't want to give up anymore than that...but it's an intelligent drama with great characters. The characters sometimes ask each other questions they should already know the answers to.

It only cost $5000 to do this film in "8" days. It just goes to show you that a great film can be made with a minimum amount of money if you have a good story.

C.R.A.Z.Y. - 2005

This movie was crazy good. Both a coming of age and a coming out movie that fed me the full range of human emotion. The father/son relationship in this film is dealt with in a very honest and heartfelt way.

There are five boys in the Beaulieu family -- Christian, Raymond, Antoine, Zachary and Yvan. But Zac (played by Emile Vallee and Marc-Andre Grondin) is the only one who's gay. That's why growing up in Montreal alongside his heterosexual brothers and his strict, emotionally distant father (Michel Cote) proves especially challenging for the blossoming outsider, who finds solace in the music of Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones and David Bowie.