Wannabe director and film geek
Top four is rotated through my "favorite films" list.
Soderbergh's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy; about as perfect a genre exercise as you can think of. The script crackles with wit and barb. Soderbergh's directing, cinematography, and editing are all crisp, clean and precise. David Holmes makes one my favorite scores in recent memory. And the actors all bring their perfect, charming best to all the twists and turns and psychology one-upsmanships. It's just a damn good time at the movies!
Tonally all over the place and it doesn't entirely all work but an admirable big swing nonetheless. Thankfully Schrader plays most of this tricky material straight, refusing to overplay or make it melodramatic. Goldblum is absolutely fantastic; career best performance.
We don't get to choose the movies that effect us emotionally, and one of the great pleasures in life is watching a movie you think is just going to be a fun genre exercise or otherwise good time and finding that you have actually become so invested in the story and characters that its ending hits like literal shot in the heart; such is the case for me with Steven Soderbergh's Presence. I deeply cared about this family and what…