My Personal Hall of Fame

"Loneliness has followed me my whole life. Everywhere. In bars, in cars, sidewalks, stores, everywhere. I'm God's lonely man."

Because he cannot sleep anyway Travis Bickle becomes Taxi Driver in New York. Every night he drives through the streets of the city. From the upscale neighborhoods to the slums – he goes everywhere. And his conclusion is devastating: with all the daily racism, theft, drug abuse and child prostitution his only hope is that some day a rain will come and wash all the sum off the streets. When this doesn't happen Travis decides to stand up and do something about it himself.

The second collaboration of the dream team Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro is one of the best movies of the seventies. It has no mercy with the viewer and shows New York as a place so sinister that in the end you sympathize with a madman.


Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver

Last Watched: January 18th 2010

Love Exposure provides you with 237 minutes of pure energy. The love story Yu and Yoko, the love of his life and stepsister, goes terribly wrong when Yu's family is soaked into the dubious religious cult „Zero Church“ This epic is entertaining in every single second of its four hours running time, bizarre to the core and bombards you with crazy ideas and absurd moments.

But not at all is the movie superficial. The characters are well-developed and the mostly unknown actors perform brilliantly. The movie takes up social subjects like father-son relationships, first love, social condemnation, religious mania, the damaging power of sects and many other without being overly moral. This happens with such a rapidity that before you know where you really are the movie is over. And you want to watch it again!

Not only for me is this the best Japanese movie of the decade!


Takahiro Nishijima in Love Exposure

Last Watched: April 14th 2010

Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins already re-established the caped crusader in a dark and realistic fashion after Joel Schumacher's two miserable movies had almost ruined the franchise entirely.

What followed with The Dark Knight is a true masterpiece. The heart of the movie is the antagonist, the Joker. Portrayed by Heath Ledger in his last complete performance he is one of the most frightening characters in the history of cinematic and overshadows Jack Nicholson's 1989-Joker by ages. This Joker is insane, purely irrational and drags every other character of the movie down into the darkness. But this is not the only exceptional performance of the movie. Another outstanding actor is Aaron Eckhart, who is a perfect cast for the district attorney Harvey Dent and adds a lot of depth to the movie. And of course there still is Batman...

In my opinion, this is the best comic book adaptation that exists.


Christian Bale and Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight

Last Watched: September 23rd 2009

Inglourious Basterds shows how versatile Tarantino is as a filmmaker. He wrote the script and converted it into yet another cult-favorite. This movie is far more than the B-Movies that it took for inspiration and truly deserves his eight Oscar nominations!

Much of the movie's success is due to its wonderful cast. Led by Brad Pitt it is incredibly well-chosen. Tarantino's biggest coup is Christoph Waltz as the “Jew Hunter” Hans Landa. Tarantino trusted this previously unknown actor and received one of the most memorable performances of the decade. The rest of the cast performs brilliantly too, only Diane Kruger's wooden perfomance is a pain in the ass.

Inglourious basterds is Tarantino's best effort since Pulp Fiction, in my opinion even better. The soundtrack, the actors, the script, the direction – everything is just right and so full of deliberate historical incorrectness that you just have to love it!


Eli Roth and Brad Pitt in Inglourious Basterds

Last Watched: August 25th 2009

In 2019 humanity has created androids that take over all the dirty jobs. Because these so-called “replicants” have superhuman powers they were given a very limited lifespan and are not allowed on earth. The police has established a special force called “Blade Runners” whose only job is to track down replicants that develop feelings, create a sense of self-determination and try to defy these rules.

Ridley Scott's cyberpunk vision of the future as stunning now as it was in 1982 on it's original release. The sheer amount of detail that was put into the creation of the dystopian Los Angeles is visible in every frame and makes this one of the best science fiction movies that exist. Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer both have the performances of their lives in this movie, which is crucial for every Sci-Fi fan and an urgent recommendation for everybody else.


Harrison Ford in Blade Runner

Last Watched: September 13th 2009

Last Watched: March 18th 2010

Last Watched: September 14th 2009

The story of a man that ages backwards – sounds like a goofy comedy? It isn't the slightest bit! David Fincher picked up the screenplay with so much care and attention to detail that this movie is one of the most heart-warming dramas of the past decade. Luckily it does not fall into any clichés.

The main roles of Benjamin Button and the love of his life, Daisy, who is always at the wrong age until they meet in the middle, are portrayed superbly by Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. The use of make-up and CGI is well-dosed to depict their aging. The supporting characters are also great – first of all Taraji P. Henson as Benjamin's foster-mother Queenie and Tilda Swinton as his first love affair. Only the frame storyline of Daisy and her daughter does not fit into the feel of the movie and obstructs a five-star rating.


Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Last Watched: January 17th 2010

Last Watched: September 9th 2009

Last Watched: December 26th 2009

Disarming bombs in Iraq has to be one of the hardest jobs in the world. The Hurt Locker follows a EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) unit in their daily routine doing just that. When even the hardest soldiers head for a safer place, these men are called in to save the day.

The tension of the movie is immense. The streets of Baghdad are never save. As Seargent William James and his comrades move in to disarm bombs manually in their heavy bombsuits they are surrounded by local residents and passerby who observe them curiously. And there is always the danger that one of them might have a remote control in their hands to blast them into pieces. The EOD members have to trust each other to survive. But James is a thrill-seeker and egomaniac that lives for the intensity of the moment and with his methods he endangers his teammates.


Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker

Last Watched: February 1st 2010

Last Watched: July 19th 2010

Last Watched: March 7th 2010

Last Watched: January 14th 2010

Last Watched: April 6th 2010