Bad Lieutenant (1992)

Martin Scorsese has named this great film one of the best of the 1990s.
Not a surprise considering that Abel Ferrara's uncompromising trip into the lost soul of a broken, gambling and drug addicted, abusive cop is not seldom compared to Scorsese's 'Taxi Driver'. Its loose story and its authentic look and feel reminds me of yet another Scorsese film; 'Mean Streets'. Moreover both of these films share the actor in the leading role, some of the soundtrack and frequent religious themes and catholic symbolism.

Happiness (1998)

"How are you? Are you all right?" "Yes, I'm fine, thanks."

Have you ever answered this kind of question with 'No'?
Most people don't (like to) talk about their mental or physical condition ... at least not truthfully.

In Todd Solondz' off beat-ensemble drama "Happiness" all of the various different characters
are not feeling fine inside at all but will probably deny or at least downplay this fact when they are confronted with it. They are trapped and try to find a way out.

The Next Three Days (2010)

The opening shot of "The next three days" in retrospect feels random and out of place ... like most of the events in this film. Jumping around in time has long been a trend and can be a great idea, but not in this case. A failed start for a failed project.

In Bruges (2008)

After having seen "In Bruges" I doubt that it increased my desire to go on a journey to actually see Bruges but I am definately glad I came to see this film. This is a mixture of drama and black comedy that really works out very well and fortunatelly the drama surpasses the comedy. I expected this to be more like a Guy Richtie film or something and though it has edges off weird laughs in it, it is at the same time much more profound and serious.

Taken (2008)

Taken is a film about a father who has 96 hours left to save his daughter who is kidnapped by
members of a crime circle.
The good news is that the film is not even 96 minutes long. It clocks in at around 90 minutes.
If you don't have much to offer then it's better to serve the meal fast as long as it is still hot.

And indeed, its short running time, its fast pace and the straight forward storytelling save this film
into solid popcorn entertainment territory.