Ace in the Hole - MatthewHunt

Chinese history, this is epic film-making of the highest order. Few directors would contemplate
such an ambitious undertaking; the fact that Chen pulled it off so successfully is something of
a miracle.
Fargo
(Joel Coen, 1996)
The wit, the style and the drolly eccentric performances complement a strong sense of
menace and disquiet in this comedy-thriller classic from the Coens. Frances McDormand
earns her place in the hall of fame as the pregnant police officer whose dogged detective
work in the freezing Minnesota snow foils a bungled mock-kidnapping plot hatched by the
sinister yet incompetent William H Macy.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
(Amy Heckerling, 1982)
Everybody here became a star, down to minor player Forest Whitaker, and it's Cameron
Crowe's finest hour. Somewhere between Jeff Spicoli ("Duuuuuude!") and Judge Reinhold
("I'm gonna kick 100% of yer ass!") lies suburban teenage Nirvana. Until Mr Hand shows
up... .
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
(Russ Meyer, 1965)
Domineering women, fast cars, rape, murder, lesbians and a sleazy soundtrack - the world
had seen little to compare to this kinky crime classic at the time, and it's become a touchstone
for 60s retro-heads. It's more complex and less trashy than it sounds (there's a proper story)
and after all these years it still pulsates with energy.
Fear Eats the Soul
(Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1974)
In Fassbinder's hands, Douglas Sirk's All That Heaven Allows is transformed from swish
melodrama to blunt instrument. The forbidden romance is now between an elderly Berlin
cleaner and a Moroccan immigrant 30 years her junior, and Fassbinder picks away at
society's scabs so mercilessly, you've got to applaud.
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
(John Hughes, 1986)
Matthew Broderick is the slick teen top-cat who plays hooky in spectacular fashion, despite
the efforts of teacher nemesis Jeffrey Jones. More of a straight fantasy than any other of
Hughes's lauded works, FBDO is still pulled off with the frictionless brio of the best screwball
comedies: it never patronises its characters (unless they are adults), and has a peerless
straight-guy in Jones, plus engaging performances from the skiving trio of Broderick, Mia Sara
and Alan Ruck.
Festen
(Thomas Vinterberg, 1998)
A black-tie reunion descends into accusation and recrimination, and Vinterberg's hand-held
camera captures the ugliness with all the raw honesty and immediacy of a home movie. A
blistering study of bourgeois secrets and lies that kickstarted the Dogme movement.
Field of Dreams
(Phil Alden Robinson, 1989)
A spiritually uplifting movie about a ghostly baseball team starring Kevin Costner might sound
like a bad joke, but this enduringly heart-warming film about a simple Iowa farmer who builds
a baseball diamond in his yard after a voice tells him, "If you build it, they will come", is a
quietly provocative, stunningly acted tale of regret, redemption and forgiveness.
The Fifth Element
(Luc Besson, 1996)
A shamelessly overblown futuristic thriller, with Bruce Willis's tough-guy cab driver doing his