American

American Drama Mystery Thriller

Mulholland Drive/2001/English

FiC Rating: 5/5
Dir: David Lynch
Why FiC recommends?
1) Hardcore David Lynch fans might not consider Mulholland Drive to be his best creation. But this film brought the special genre psycho-sexual surrealism to the mainstream.
2) The mysterious relationship between Rita and Betty adds on to the delight of witnessing seemingly unconnected and surreal chain of events.
3) Even though understanding Mulholland Drive in the first (first few?!) watch is almost impossible, an involved viewer can sense that the film as a whole is trying to address something around the self-indulgent pop culture that has creeped into (and spoiling?) the Hollywood system.

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  • September 20, 2020
American Drama Romance

Blue Valentine/2010/English

FiC Rating: 5/5
Dir:Derek Cianfrance
Why FiC recommends?
1) Want to understand what’s ‘Marriage on the rocks’ and experience the pain? Simple: watch ‘Blue Valentine’. It’s a beautifully done study of cycle of love (start-progress-end) through cinema.
2) Be ready for the final scene- unapologetically heartbreaking yet realistically done. It is that kind of movie which you don’t want to watch again but at the same time you can’t forget, ever!
3) Special mention of Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling for their amazing performance.

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  • August 26, 2020
American Drama Indie Musical

Whale Music (1994)

FiC Rating: 5/5
Dir: Richard J. Lewis
Why FiC recommends?
1) As a cinephile, finding a movie this original is something to sing about. It’s weird movie, true; but this film has created a world that is wonderful and bleak. The direction is beautifully good, the cinematography is perfection, the screenplay is professionally written, and the connection between all of the characters are just so enduring. It is a film that you will not regret giving a shot.
2) The music in this alone is worth seeking this picture out for. The soundtrack of Rheostatics is brilliant, the moments that make this film a musical are the ones that keep the story alive with moments of joviality and enthusiasm.

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  • August 15, 2020
American Arthouse Drama

Cockfighter (1974)

FiC Rating: 4/5
Dir: Monte Hellman
Setting: Rural
Why FiC recommends?
1) Most undeservedly obscure movies of the 70’s, certainly the most authentic and graphic depiction of the practice in America. With profuse use of the voiceover, intimately tells a simple story that confronts the male protagonist with his desires and fantasies that lead him to desperate search for victory (and how lonely he is! How great his despair! And how terribly far all salvation!).
2) The film contains some of the most realistic depiction of American masculinity and exultation in violence. There is even a pseudo-documentary atmosphere that anticipates something similar, especially in cockfights, which were so realistic that the film was banned by censors from countries like England – even though Hellman apparently refused to shoot the most violent scenes.

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  • July 12, 2020
American Drama Indie

Gummo/1997/English

FiC Rating: 4/5
Dir: Harmony Korine
Setting: Countryside
Why FiC recommends?
1) When Gummo was released in 1997, New York Times wrote ‘Worst film of the year. In 2017 Nic Castillon of Daily Emerald wrote justifying why Gummo is one of best films in 20 years. So Gummo is definitely not an ordinary film. It has got equal attacks and praises in its kitty.
2) The film is a true indie production where the entire focus is on telling the misery of an american tornado-prone village. Camera (most of the times the handheld one) is just an ‘eye’ here. You won’t see any filmschool techniques. No definitive storyline, plot etc. But it is stuffed enough to hit you hard. Just that one has stick to it and enter the shoes of the people living there.

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  • May 10, 2020
American Drama Indie Sci-Fi Thriller

Coherence/2013/English

FiC Rating: 3.5/5
Dir: James Ward Byrkit
Setting: Urban

Why FiC recommends?
1) This film is an outstanding example of how a thrilling and wonderful film can be made with a shoe string budget and an original mind blowing concept.
2) This is a Sci-Fi which has practically zero special effects but still hooks you to the proceedings till the climax.

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  • May 3, 2020
American Drama Mystery

Eyes Wide Shut/1999/American

FiC Rating: 4.5/5
Dir: Stanley Kubrick
Setting: Urban
Why FiC recommends?
1) The film has a strange pace, it’s like every moment and every dialogue is like looking at a dripping faucet, every drop is coming out with same lifeless pace. But that’s a huge plus point to the narrative. The film becomes hypnotic and dreamy More like a drugged up hallucination.
2) The film took 400 days of continuous shooting! Director’s vision-
“People call me a highly stylized director, which I am, but I can’t forget the purpose of style in “Eyes wide shut”, style is a lens that gives my viewers a point of access to the material, and if my material is not perfect, I can not offer it to my viewers, it’s about the viewers and not the director, something that new film makers should keep in mind.”
– Stanley Kubrick

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  • April 26, 2020
American Comedy Romance

Lars and the Real Girl/2017/American

FiC Rating: 3.5/5
Dir: Craig Gillespie
Setting: Town
Why FiC recommends?
1) Lars begins to introduce Bianca, a sex doll as his girlfriend to the townspeople, and they decide to play along, just because they care!
2) This is no comedy, it’s a solid drama, especially for those who can relate to Lars. A great movie to watch, just don’t forget that those laughter tears will make you a bit sad too!

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  • April 25, 2020
American Uncategorized

My Dinner with Andre/ 1981/American

FiC Rating: 4.5/5
Dir: Louis Malle
Setting: Dining Table!
Why FiC recommends?

1) A film of two friends talking, just simply talking, for 110 minutes!
2) First, I wasn’t sure if I was ready for a film about a long conversation. Next thing, I found myself getting more and more interested in the conversation. Before I knew it, I was the part of the conversation and nodding in affirmation!

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  • April 21, 2020
American Comedy Drama

The Truman Show/1998/American

The Truman Show/1998/American
FiC Rating: 3.5/5
Dir: Peter Weir
Setting: Revealing it would be a spoiler
Why FiC recommends?

1) Funny, tender, thought provoking.
2) The film has its own flaws, but what they made in 1998 this is the story of 90% of us in today’s scenario.

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  • April 20, 2020
American Drama Mystery Thriller

The Conversation/1974/American

FiC Rating: 4/5
Dir: Francis Ford Coppola
Setting: Urban
Why FiC recommends?

1) If you like the film especially when they explain everything and leave nothing up to your own intuition, this movie is one of the best movies you will ever see.
2) The film is made by one of the best directors in history when he was at the peak of his career, what are the odds?

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  • April 20, 2020
American Comedy Drama Horror Mystery Thriller

Creep/2014/American

FiC Rating: 3.5/5
Dir: Patrick Brice
Setting: Town
Why FiC recommends?
1) Right from the first scene to the end, “Creep” primes viewers to suspect that nothing is what it seems. We keep guessing something and then something else happens, followed by some other, far more unexpected things.
2) The film does not play by the rules of the game they chose to play.

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  • April 20, 2020
American Comedy Drama

Groundhog Day/1993/American

FiC Rating: 4/5
Dir: Harold Ramis
Setting: Town
Why FiC recommends?

1) If a person could live forever, if a person was immortal, how would they change over time? Well… watch Groundhog Day!
2) Uncommonly sweet, the perfect blend of comedy and romance, charming and intelligent humor, great lines like “I am ‘a’ God, not ‘the God’, this film is an underrated masterpiece.

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  • April 20, 2020
American Comedy Drama

A Serious Man/2009/American

FiC Rating: 4/5
Dir: Joel and Ethan Coen
Setting: Urban/Vintage
Why FiC recommends?

1) In the way that Coen brothers can see the humor behind the tragic face of commonality, they have delivered another darkly comic, absurd and well-acted film which deals with the huge themes of alienation and nihilism.
2) You don’t see comedy mixed with such deep and heavy themes in every film, do you?

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  • April 20, 2020
American Comedy Drama

Slacker/1990/American

FiC Rating: 4.5/5
Dir: Richard Linklater
Setting: Urban
Why FiC recommends?

1) When you don’t have budget, professional actors and script (literally!), but you have an extraordinary mind, you end up making Slacker!
2) The director himself defines slackers as ‘spending their whole lives in their own heads, paralyzed by the problem of making any difference’. That seems as good a definition as any.
3) The film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”

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  • April 19, 2020
American Drama

Requiem for a Dream/2000/American

FiC Rating: 5/5
Dir: Darren Aronofsky
Setting: Urban
Why FiC recommends?

1) Cruel reality of drugs, but wait! What’s your definition of drugs?
Dark, disgusting, hideous and too intense! A beautiful train wreck you can’t look away from.
2) This movie can potentially scar you for life!

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  • April 19, 2020