The City of Lost Children (La Cité des enfants perdus) (1995)

Dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro

Nominated for a Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival, this sci-fi fairy tale features stunning visuals from directors Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro. With mad scientist Krank kidnapping children to steal their dreams, only brave young Miette (Judith Vittet) and a kindhearted circus strongman (Ron Perlman) can save them. Part fantastic vision, part nightmare, this production used more special effects than any other French film to date.

Dead Alive (1992)

Dir. Peter Jackson

Although it's easy to admire the maniacal glee of director Peter Jackson's bloodfest, Dead Alive is nonetheless intense and profoundly disturbing. When a Sumatran rat-monkey bites Lionel Cosgrove's mother, she's transformed into a zombie. She begins killing (and transforming) the entire town while Lionel races to keep things under control. Events culminate at a house party that turns into a blood-drenched zombie buffet.

Scanners (1981)

Dir. David Cronenberg

In director David Cronenberg's sci-fi horror film, "scanners" and their unparalleled psychic powers are shunned by the "normals." When Darryl Revok (Michael Ironside) forms an army of scanners to take over the world, only his brother Cameron (Stephen Lack), a scanner who wants to distance himself from his abilities, is capable of stopping him. But inexperienced Cameron's battle with the insanely violent Revok could mean a grisly death -- or worse.

Monkey Business (1952)

Dir. Howard Hawks

Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers make a delicious screwball comedy team in this caper directed by Howard Hawks. Grant's a middle-aged fuddy-duddy who may have invented a fountain of youth serum in his laboratory. But when a rampaging chimp mixes it into the water cooler, Grant and wife Rogers regress to their childhood. Marilyn Monroe is also a scream as the dim-bulb secretary to Charles Coburn.

Kung Fu Hustle (Gong Fu) (2004)

Dir. Stephen Chow

Sing (Stephen Chow) is a mobster in 1940s China who longs to be as cool as the members of the Axe Gang, formally clad killers who rule the streets of Hong Kong. But he's so awkward that he can't possibly aspire to be one of them, so he does the next best thing: pretend. Unfortunately, his shenanigans land him in a barrel of trouble with everyone, including the unassuming farmers who till the land, setting off fireworks of massive proportions.

Bringing Up Baby (1938)

Dir. Howard Hawks

Love blooms for a hapless scientist and an unstoppable heiress in Howard Hawks's classic screwball comedy. Out to win the heart of paleontologist David (Cary Grant), heiress Susan (Katharine Hepburn) lures him to her home. The hilarity begins when Susan's dog steals David's prize dinosaur bone and her pet leopard, Baby, is mistaken for a zoo escapee. One madcap adventure follows another as they try to save Baby -- and ultimately fall in love.

Mudhoney (1965)

Dir. Russ Meyer

It's 1933, in the midst of the Depression and Prohibition. Calif, a stranger with a past walks into Spooner, Missouri on his way from Michigan to California. He hires on with Lute Wade to earn some travelling money, but gets entangled in a bad family situation: Lute's daughter is married to Sidney, a good-for-nothing drunk that frequents the rural equivalent of a whorehouse and beats his wife and is just waiting for Lute to kick the bucket to get his money. When Sidney and a local wacko preacher begin orchestrating a smear campaign against Calif, he finds it difficult to conceal his past and his growing affection for Sidney's wife.

Phenomena (1985)

Dir. Dario Argento

Jennifer is capable of mentally communicating with insects. She's sent to a Swiss girls school where the students are being murdered. With the help of a wheelchair- bound bug specialist, she must find the killer before he finds her.

American Flyers (1985)

Dir. John Badham

Sports physician Marcus (Kevin Costner) convinces his estranged brother David (David Marshall Grant) to train and compete in a long-distance bicycle race across the Colorado Rockies. Family friction and a deadly medical condition inherited from the men's father complicate their relationship during the rigorous training. Director John Badham captures the breathtaking mountain scenery while giving insight into the tactics of bike racing.

Musa: The Warrior (2001)

Dir. Sung-su Kim

Zhang Zi-Yi, Jung Woo-Sung, Ahn Sung-Ki and Ju Jin-Mo star in this action-packed historical drama about a band of soldiers sent by the Yuan dynasty to broker a peace pact with the Mings. But their efforts are rebuffed by the suspicious clan, who sends them to the desert for spying. When the leader of the group, Choi Jung, meets and falls for the Ming dynasty's Princess Furong, the rest of the group demands that he choose between love or loyalty.

Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)

Dir. Russ Meyer

Three strippers seeking thrills encounter a young couple in the desert. After dispatching the boyfriend, they take the girl hostage and begin scheming on a crippled old man living with his two sons in the desert, reputedly hiding a tidy sum of cash. They become houseguests of the old man and try and seduce the sons in an attempt to locate the money, not realizing that the old man has a few sinister intentions of his own.

Spider-man 3 (2007)

Dir. Sam Raimi

After defeating eight-armed cyborg Doctor Octopus, Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire) faces off against a new crop of villains, including the shape-shifting Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), in the third adventure of the comic book series. While Spidey's superpowers are altered by an alien organism, his alter ego, Peter Parker, deals with nemesis Eddie Brock (Topher Grace) and gets caught up in a love triangle. Kirsten Dunst and James Franco co-star.

The Host (Gwoemul) (2006)

Dir. Joon-ho Bong

Seoul's River Han is the watery birthplace of a giant mutant creature bent on the city's total destruction. Hie-bong (Hie-bong Byeon) is a humble snack bar owner whose precious granddaughter Hyun-seo (Ah-sung Ko) is scooped up by the scaly lizard, presumably as an appetizer before the beast devours all of Seoul. Can the mild-mannered concession peddler, his dim son and slacker grandson band together and save both child and city?

April Update

April Total = 9
2007 Total = 55

Stats:
Rent - 3
Own - 2
Theater - 1
TV - 3
Other - 0
First Viewing - 6