Dan Introduces Himself

Hello cinephiles! My name is Dan and I am excited to be a part of the Reckless Video family. I'm a graduate student in Psychology at the UW. Don't worry, I promise I won't try to analyze you when you come into Reckless. Being a frequent Reckless customer over the years, I've always loved the fact that employees always have ready suggestions for new and old movies they love themselves. I grew up in Orange County (no, we don't call it 'the OC') down in sunny Southern California. If you want to get a better idea of what growing up in the OC is really like, watch the movie BETTER LUCK TOMORROW

The Critically (and Not-so-Critically) Acclaimed

My two favorite critically acclaimed movies are: AMADEUS and DANGEROUS LIASIONS. The character of Salieri in Amadeus is just so evil and human at the same time. The perfect example of how jealousy can consume a person. Dangerous Liaisons is by far my favorite John Malkovich movie. "It is out of my control!" (It's also highly entertaining to see Keanu Reeves in a period piece).

Since I'm sure you don't need me to tell you how great THE GODFATHER or THE PRINCESS BRIDE are, I'll restrict my recommendations to some lesser known movies:

The Coen Bros. THE MAN WHO WASN’T THERE is a great movie starring Scarlett Johansson and Billy Bob Thornton. Beautifully shot in black and white, it is funny, entertaining, and dark.

Another one of my favorites is MUMFORD about a new psychologist in a small town and all the interesting people he meets and all of their troubles and secrets.

Liv Tyler! Bernardo Bertolucci! In one of the most beautiful movies ever made. Also starring Joseph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, and Jeremy Irons, STEALING BEAUTY is a coming of age story taking place on an artist commune in an Italian villa.

LIFE AS A HOUSE is a movie about an architect trying to make sense of his life after he is fired from his job. The movie shows how a man manages to communicate with his ex-wife and his troubled teenage son (played by Hayden Christensen aka Anakin from Star Wars episodes 2 and 3).

FREQUENCY stars Jesus from Passion of the Christ (James Caviezel) and Dennis Quaid as father and son in a time travel cop drama. It's complex, it's exciting, it's a hidden gem of a thriller.

BANDITS - Funny caper movie with Billy Bob Thornton as a hypochondriac and his partner in crime, Bruce Willis.

THE END OF THE AFFAIR (1999) - Based on the Graham Greene novel, The End of the Affair is a hot, steamy, and sensuous movie about WWII England and adultery, and jealousy.

IMMORTAL BELOVED - A beautiful movie about Beethoven. Great music, great suspense. Who was Beethoven's Immortal Beloved, whom he dedicated his great symphony to?

HEAVY - Warning, this is quite the downer. Very depressing. It's a movie about loneliness and shyness in modern suburbia.

Some other favorites I'd recommend: SERENDIPITY, ZERO EFFECT, OFFICE SPACE, MAGNOLIA, O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU?, L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, AMERICAN HISTORY X, BEFORE SUNRISE, MYSTERY ALASKA, CHASING AMY, and A FEW GOOD MEN.

Older Classics
I just love Audrey Hepburn, especially in ROMAN HOLIDAY, SABRINA, CHARADE, and WAIT UNTIL DARK. Along with my love of Audrey, I also enjoy old romantic comedies, my favorite being THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER with Jimmy Stewart & Margaret Sullavan (remade in 1998 with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan as YOU’VE GOT MAIL).

I am also a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock (PSYCHO, THE BIRDS, VERTIGO, and SPELLBOUND).

(Not Mindless) Action

Go out and see THE DEPARTED. But before you do so, watch INFERNAL AFFAIRS, the Hong Kong mobster movie which Scorsese remade. Other great action movies that you may want to try are THE KILLER and HARD-BOILED by John Woo and EL MARIACHI. Jackie Chan's little known WHO AM I? also have great action, high comedy, and a great car chase scene.

Jean Reno is one of my favorite actors in this genre. THE PROFESSIONAL amazing gun fights and RONIN which I regard as having the best car chase scenes ever.

If you like Kung-Fu movies in the vein of CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, I'd recommend HERO and HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS. Both of them are beautifully shot in bright vivid colors. The brilliant hues in Hero make it not just a martial arts epic, but also a work of art.

As for Westerns, my three must-sees are: UNFORGIVEN, OPEN RANGE, and HIGH NOON.

Honorable Mention: ROMEO MUST DIE, PAYBACK.

Foreign
If you can handle subtitles, there are many great movies that aren't in English. I've listed a several great foreign films to get you started.

There more to Chinese movies than just martial arts or gangster movies:
FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE is about the friendship between two men growing up together in 20th Century China.
CHUNKING EXPRESS - a light hearted look into daily life of young people
IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE - a nostalgic look back at 1940's and 1950's Hong Kong.
Directors: Chen Kaige, Wong Kar-Wai, and Zhang Yi-Mou - you can't go wrong with these guys.

Spain has produced some excellent movies lately.
SEX AND LUCIA, ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER, and TALK TO HER.

If you've seen (and liked) SPIRITED AWAY or HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE, my favorites by Miyazaki are actually MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF WINDS, and CASTLE IN THE SKY (in that order).

Honorable Mention: AMORES PERROS, Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN, CINEMA PARADISO, and AMELIE.

TV Shows

As for TV shows I watch regularly, I watch LOST, ENTOURAGE, and THE SOPRANOS like everyone else. If you like cop dramas or The Sopranos, you should watch THE WIRE. The show is about a drug unit in Baltimore that uses wire-tapping — the wire, get it? — to apprehend criminals. It is as addictive as the heroin and crack cocaine being sold on the show. I watched all three seasons in less than a week.

As for shows that you may not have heard of, I'd recommend CARNIVALE. It follows a religious revival and a traveling freak show during the dustbowl era. And an epic clash of good and evil ensues. Sadly HBO only made two seasons, but they're two darn good seasons.

I've never been a trekkie, but I do enjoy some sci-fi. I am an X-FILE X-phile and I also watch the STARGATE SG-1 series. What's better than Richard Dean Anderson making wisecracks about his MacGyver days? BATTLESTAR GALACTICA is also an amazing series, but I'm sure you already knew how great the show is.