I’ve mentioned before I have a weak spot for movies about con artists and heists and the like, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that one of my favorite writer/directors is David Mamet. For some, his dialogue-driven style is cumbersome, but I really love the way his characters seem to be both very real and very stylized all at the same time. And I love that he comes back to the “who’s being conned here, anyhow” well again and again. It works for me, anyhow. That, and I love that he frequently works with people like Joe Mantegna and Ricky Jay.

The following list is in no way meant to represent the best of Mamet’s work, nor a “top 8 list” of my own personal favorites. The thing is, a lot of what I wanted to choose wasn’t in stock, and since I was putting stuff on the Wall O’ Cool, I went with what we actually have right now. So this isn’t a dis to great movies like Glengarry Glen Ross, The Spanish Prisoner, Heist, State And Main, The Untouchables, Homicide or The Winslow Boy, it’s just what we happen to have in stock at the time.

One of my new favorite actors (well, recent) is Chiwetel Ejiofor (you may remember him as “The Operative” in Serenity). In Redbelt, he’s a jiu-jitsu master who has chosen to lead an honorable life rather than become involved in the prize-fighting circuit. A chance meeting with a lawyer and an off-duty cop throws him into a tangled web that forces him to do the thing he’s worked so hard to avoid. Joe Mantegna and Ricky Jay appear as fight promoters and Tim Allen is kind of hilarious as a very Chuck Norris-like action star. (written and directed by Mamet)

A lot of people didn’t really like the third (or fourth if you count correctly) installment in the Hannibal Lecter series, Hannibal, based on the book by Thomas Harris. I did, though. I felt like it stuck closely enough to the story in the book and that Julianne Moore did a pretty good job of taking over Jodi Foster’s role of Clarice Starling. Having read the book, I knew what to expect from the Lecter/Starling relationship and I really loved Gary Oldman’s villainous Mason Verger. yeesh, I get the willies just thinking about it. (screenplay by Mamet, though it was rewritten by Steve Zaillian)

Mamet’s talky-mind-games style of dialogue really shines in The Edge. After their plane crashes in the wilderness on the way to a remote photo shoot, Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin find themselves in a struggle for survival, not just against nature (and bears!) but also fear, suspicion and treachery. Good stuff here. (written by Mamet)

After a tarot reader tells him “You’re not where you belong”, Edmond (William H. Macy in a fantastic performance) leaves his wife and embarks on a dark and terrifying descent into his own personal hell. Telling you more would be a disservice. This is a hard movie to watch, but for fans of Mamet and Macy, well worth the effort.  (screenplay by Mamet, based on his play)

This one came as a bit of a surprise to me as I wasn’t aware that Mamet was involved. Ronin stars Robert DeNiro and Jean Reno as mercenary assassins, available to the highest bidder for whatever post-Cold War task the powers-that-be desire. Now, they’ve been called to France to steal a mysterious briefcase that not only are world-leaders after, but underworld-leaders, too. The Ronin must trust each other if any of them hope to get out of this alive.  (screenplay by Mamet)

Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange heat up the screen in The Postman Always Rings Twice, a steamy thriller about a drifter who finds work in a diner and falls for the owner’s wife. Deciding he’ll do anything to get her, he becomes entwined in a plot to murder the young woman’s much older husband. Bad, Jack. Bad. (screenplay by Mamet)

Filled with international intrigue and double-crosses, Spartan features Val Kilmer as a super-secret agent sent on a mission to recover the apparently kidnapped daughter of a US official from a white slavery ring. Of course, since this is a political thriller and it’s written by Mamet, is anything what it seems to be? (written by Mamet)

Finally, we come to my first exposure to Mamet’s work, and maybe my third favorite Mamet flick after Glengarry Glen Ross and Heist. I’m talking about House Of Games. Set in Seattle and starring Joe Mantegna, Ricky Jay (of course) and featuring an incredibly wooden performance from Lindsay Crouse (which I can completely overlook because the dialogue and the story are so freaking amazing), it’s the story of a psychiatrist who attempts to help a patient get out of a gambling debt, only to be reeled in to the devious world of the con man. Ultimately, she finds herself locked in a high-stakes game of with Joe and his crew. I. Love. This. Movie. (written and directed by Mamet)

We also have the first season of the highly-rated black-ops show The Unit, which was created by and is written by Mr. Mamet.

So there you go, loads of cool stuff to choose from here!

A few interesting flicks just traded in:

Marie Antoinette played by the bubbly Kirsten Dunst in this candy colored story of a queen bound to lose her head (as all teenagers do). Soundtrack is awesome, the visuals rock….but if you are looking for serious substance you are out of luck.

Woody Allen’s Sweet and Lowdown about jazz in the 1930’s. Great performance by Sean Penn as Emmet Ray, an eccentric guitarist who loves two very different women, a mute laundress (Samantha Morton) and an eccentric heiress (Uma Thurman).

More unconventional romances – Julie Johnson, starring Lili Taylor and Courtney Love as friends who discover they are much more to each other; Tattoo A Love Story about a straight laced schoolteacher who falls for a tattooed bad boy and loosens up; and The Cooler starring William H. Macy, Maria Bello, and Alex Baldwin. Macy plays Bernie Lootz, the unluckiest man in Las Vegas who falls for Bello’s character and changes his luck.

Gus Van Sant’s Last Days, a fictional story inspired by the last days of Kurt Cobain. Doomsday “an action packed thrill ride through the beating heart of hell! ” (That is from the back of the box. I just think the cover looks super cool.)

And two kid flicks to round out the selection; The Wild and Wallace and Gromit The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, a feature length film from that claymation genius Nick Park.

Paul Thomas Anderson is one of the true creative visionaries of our time, giving us such cinematic masterpieces as Boogie Nights, Magnolia, There Will Be Blood, Punch-Drunk Love, and Sydney. Being that he is one of my favorite directors, I only thought it fitting to dedicate a post to my five favorite films of his, in no particular order.

1. Boogie Nights – This is the film that put P.T. Anderson on the Map, made people believe Mark Wahlberg could act, and even revived Burt Reynolds’ career for a year or so. Set in the booming 70’s porn industry, this movie has much more to offer besides t & a (timing and acting). It is filled to the brim with comedy, drama, and even a fair share of drugged out disaster scenes; not to mention a booming soundtrack and an amazing supporting cast of P.T. Anderson regulars, including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Don Cheadle, Julianne Moore, William H. Macy, John C. Reilly, and more. Based loosely on industry legend John Holmes, this film offers a giant measurement of enjoyment.
2. Magnolia – A sprawling epic set in modern Los Angeles, this movie deals with the intersection of multiple stories one one very rainy evening. Is it fate? Coincidence? John C. Reilly as a cop? Tom Cruise as a womanizing infomercial hound? Jullianne More as a crazy lady? William H. Macy as quiz kid Donnie Smith? Phillip Seymour Hoffman playing a character named Phil? Yes, it could be all that and more, if only you were to watch it. I highly suggest you do. It’s a downer, but in a good way. This movie grips and will give you indian burns.
3. There Will Be Blood - based on Upton Sinclair’s classic novel Oil!, we have another sprawling epic, this time set in the turn-of-the 21st century as the ambitious Daniel Plainview (Played to a T by the similarly-named Daniel-Day Lewis) strives to rise to the top of the booming oil industry. What this movie lacks in a supporting cast of P.T. Anderson regulars, it more than makes up for it in it’s amazing landscapes and vivid score by Radiohead guitarist Johnny Greenwood. This is the kind of movie with a premise your grandpa would be interested in, but then he would find it too “out there” and turn off the DVD player after 20 minutes. It’s that good.
4. Punch-Drunk Love. Best Valentine’s Day movie ever? Certainly the best Adam Sandler movie ever. Sandler breaks into serious work with his portrayal of Barry Egan, a small-business owner whose main concerns include Healthy Choice Pudding and Emily Watson’s character Lena Leonard. Watch Sandler fall in love, get in trouble with Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and.. well I don’t really know what all to say about this movie, except it’s well worth a watch.
5. Sydney (retitled as The Hard Eight) – This feature debut by Anderson may not be in the same epic callibur of films like Boogie Nights, Magnolia, There Will Be Blood, or even Punch-Drunk Love, but it’s an extremely impressive debut nonetheless. Basically, you get to see Paul C. Reilly be mentored by Philip Baker Hall, hook up with Gwyneth Paltrow, and even hang with Samuel L. Jackson. The movie’s all about gambling and counting cards, so you know someone’s gonna get beat up.

There you have it. If you must watch a Paul Thomas Anderson movie, I suggest you make it one of these five. They’re all spectacular!