Love and Death on Long Island (1998)

After viewing this film I wished it was 20 years ago, back when you were allowed to just stay in your chair and see the show a second time.

John Hurt is astounding as an English author who discovers beauty the last place he'd expect to find it - in an American "B" movie actor's performances. Hurt's character, Dr. De'Ath, is a true original, totally out of step with the 20th century. He simply had no need nor interest in modernizing his ways. He stumbles upon the work of Ronnie Bostock (Jason Priestley, in a heckuva good, self-effacing performance) and sees in him talent and passion. That's about all I can say without going too far into plot - but if I were able to physically compel people to see it, I certainly would. It's a lovely piece of work.

A+

My Family/Mi Familia (1995)

This is the story of the Sanchez family. It begins when Jose treks from Mexico to the "village" of Los Angeles in the 1920s, and ends in modern-day L.A., with Jose's children grown and living lives more varied and confusing than he could have imagined.

Often, I'll sit through a two-hour movie that focuses on two or three main characters and I'll feel, at the movie's end, as though they were strangers. Although this film spreads itself over about 10 characters, the script and performances let you connect to them in a way that is unusually intimate. You know these people. You understand these people. They are family.

My Family/Mi Familia has landed on both Gary's and my "Top Movies of All Time" lists -- and it deserves the honor.

A