wes's - Favourites List

Show moreShow less

Yesterday strangers, today inseparable soulmates. But separate they must in just a few hours. Jesse and Celine are making every moment count, pouring as much living as they can into the time 'Before Sunrise'. From Richard Linklater comes another smartly observed tale of young people at a crossroads.

Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy play twenty-somethings who meet on a train in Europe, sense a connection and explore after-hours Vienna together. The people, places and allure of the city become their sudden itineraries. Love is their destination. On the way there's the mutual sharing of hopes, jokes, dreams, worry and wonder. It's a day to linger in their memories. And a valentine to young love forever.

Show moreShow less

What Cheng Huan sees of the behaviour of 'westerners' in China convinces him that he should take the teachings of Buddha abroad for the enlightenment of others less fortunate than himself.

On arriving in London's Limehouse as a missionary, he is quickly disillusioned by the locals' reluctance to accept his teachings of peace and embarks on a life as small shopkeeper - with occasional visits to the local Chinese entertainments. Battling Burrows is a xenophobic prizefighter who's fond of drink and womanising. His adopted fifteen year-old daughter, Lucy, is frequently the convenient outlet for his temper and he beats her regularly. She is underfed and wears ragged clothes but, whilst shopping, is noticed by Cheng Huan as the priceless young beauty that she is. Following a savage beating, Lucy escapes and collapses in Cheng Huan's shop. He, lovingly, takes care of her, feeds her well and dresses her in beautiful silks.An acquaintance of Burrows discovers Lucy while Cheng Huan has to go across the street to get change for half-a-crown. On hearing the intelligence that his daughter is with a foreigner, Burrows visits the shop while the shopkeeper is out, smashes everything in sight and takes Lucy home and beats her so badly that she dies. On finding Lucy missing and the havoc caused by Burrows' rage, Cheng Huan takes a pistol and embarks on the final act of retribution in this sad, and very violent, melodrama.

Show moreShow less

L.A. private eye Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart) takes on a blackmail case...and follows a trail peopled with murderers, pornographers, nightclub rogues, the spoiled rich and more.

But Raymond Chandler's legendary gumshoe solves it in hard-boiled style - and style is what 'The Big Sleep' is all about.

Show moreShow less

Hortense (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) is a young, black optometrist whose adoptive parents have recently died. Cynthia (Brenda Blethyn) is a sad, unmarried mother who works in a factory and lives in a shabby terraced house with her confrontational daughter, Roxanne (Claire Rushbrook).

Cynthia's brother Maurice (Timothy Spall) is a successful wedding photographer who lives comfortably in suburbia with his snooty wife Monica (Phyllis Logan). In a misplaced effort to re-unite the family, Maurice and Monica throw a small barbecue party for Roxanne's 21st birthday. When Cynthia brings along her new friend Hortense, chaos ensues as some painful truths are revealed.

Show moreShow less

F. W. Murnau, Germany's finest director, was imported to Hollywood in July 1926. William Fox of the Fox Film Corporation promised and gave him complete artistic freedom. Fox told Murnau to take his time, spend whatever he had to, and make any film he wished to make.

The film that resulted was Sunrise, made entirely without studio interference. Sunrise, a psychological thriller from the silent movie era, begins when the pleasant and peaceful life of a naive country Man (George O'Brien) is turned upside down when he falls for a cold-blooded yet seductive Woman from the City (Margaret Livingston). She persuades him to drown his virtuous Wife (Janet Gaynor) in order to be with her. This is one of the most moving stories ever told on screen - a tale of temptation, reconciliation, reconsecration, and redemption, told with a lyrical simplicity that gives it the timeless universality of a fable.

Show moreShow less

As a psychotic thug devoted to his hard-boiled ma, James Cagney - older, scarier and just as electrifying - gives a performance to match his work in 'The Public Enemy' as 'White Heat's's' cold-blooded Cody Jarrett.

Bracingly directed by Raoul Walsh, this fast-paced thriller tracing Jarrett's violent life in and out of jail is also a harrowing character study. Jarrett is a psychological time bomb ruled by impulse. He murders a wounded accomplice and revels in the act. He neglects his sultry wife (Virginia Mayo) and adores his doting mother. It is among the most vivid screen performances of Cagney's career, and the excitement it generates will put you on top of the world!

Un Chien Andalou is Bunuel's first film and collaboration with Salvador Dali, a surreal exploration of desire and passion. L'Age D'or is another collaboration with Dali, a surrealist dissection of civilised values.

Show moreShow less

When an aging bamboo cutter finds a tiny girl in a glowing stalk of bamboo he and his wife decide to raise her as their daughter.

Growing at a rapid rate, she soon becomes an enchanting and beautiful young lady, but beneath the magic she holds a secret that will affect the lives of all those she encounters and everything she claims to love.

Show moreShow less

One of the most visually dazzling, strikingly original and stunningly realised films about war ever made, this landmark in animation is an extraordinary, ingenious work of devastating intensity.

Based on the true story of director Ari Folman, an Israeli 1982 Lebanon War in which he fought, the film charts his deep into the mystery, fragments of memory creep up in surreal images as the truth of what happened behind to unravel.

Show moreShow less

Catholic priest Father Frank Dowling (Tom Bosley) continually stumbles over murders, abductions and all manner of crimes in his hometown of Chicago. Assisted bystreet-smart nun Sister Stephanie "Steve" Oskowski (Tracy Nelson), wherever the holy duo go, someone usually turns up dead.

While the local police are quick to find a likely suspect, the snooping priest just as quickly finds a good reason to take a closer look.