Recommended films

I watch many films that I wouldn't recommend as a good film to pick up on a Saturday night to watch with friends. Not because they are bad or anything (in fact, some I wouldn't recommend are 'masterpieces'), but they are for various reasons of limited appeal. Below are films that I've reviewed here that I would generally recommend to anyone over 18 (many are PG-17 or R). For reviews of other great films, but with somewhat more limited appeal see the 4-5 starred films on the list of all reviews.

Organized by year I watched the film.

2005

• Ballard of a Soldier***** Beautiful little story of a young Russian soldier
• Downfall ***** Great WWII film
• Kontroll ** Quirky and fun.
• LoveFilm **** An intimate movie about love, childhood and nostalgia.
• No Man's Land*** In the trenches.
• Prisoner of the Mountains***Set in stunning Chechnya.
• Stalingrad **** Germany's own Saving Private Ryan.
• Zelary ***** Beautiful romantic epic

2006

• Fateless **** Story of a Hungarian boy caught up in the Holocaust
• Goodbye Lenin **** Fun, not heavy story of the fall of East Berlin
• Himalaya **** Beautifully filmed story of a boy in the Himalayas
• Motorcycle Diaries, The ****Beautiful cinematography and fun road-trip story.

2007

• A Woman in Berlin ***** Fascinating memoir from a young woman journalist who was in Berlin when the Red Army arrived.


• Lives of Others *****Fantastic psychological spy drama set in East Germany in 1984.


• Mysterious Skin ****Brilliant acting in a movie on a difficult subject.

For nature documentary recommendations: Nature Documentaries