Sam took a lot of my picks, but I would particularly like to second both "Gattaca" and "Dark City." Both are extremely smart sci-fi, and defy the genre by using the setting as a means to tell actual stories, not just show off special effects.

In the same vein, let me add "Contact" to that list, which is just another reason why I love Robert Zemeckis so much. Again, this is sci-fi with a brain, and I like the way a movie manages to so fairly portray the differences between science and religion.

"Bound" is another great movie that virtually nobody has seen. It's sort of hard to describe -- it's a lesbian love story and a mob movie rolled into one. It was the first movie from the Wachowski Brothers (guys who did "The Matrix") and they displayed just as much as style in "Bound" as they did in Matrix.

"Ed Wood" is Tim Burton's best movie and is yet unseen by many. Anytime I tell people I love Burton, I point to this movie as evidence. It's about everyone's favorite IABBBM director (the guy who brought us "Plan 9 From Outer Space") and is both extraordinarily funny and touching at various points. It also has Tim Burton working in black and white, which is clearly where he belongs (all of his "color" movies, with the exception of "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" seem to want to be B&W).

"Requiem For a Dream" is probably the most intense movie I've ever seen, and while I'm not sure that I like it, it is a sort of movie that everyone needs to see. It's a movie about heroin addicts, but I can't say that it ever gets preachy. It's painful to watch at times, but it is never dull. I think we should scrap the D.A.R.E. program in schools and just make teenagers sit through RFAD a few times.

"Say Anything" is one of the best teen movies ever made, and probably surpasses the John Hughes stuff in that genre. John Cusack is brilliant as always, and the characters are actually allowed to be smart and real, not just stock stereotypes. Cameron Crowe, who wrote and directed, does his usual fantastic job (he was also responsible for "Almost Famous" which made Sam's list, and which I highly reccomend).

"Fight Club" is sort of an odd choice for me, because I didn't like the movie the first time I saw it, and I agreed with the sort of muddled critical reaction it got. However, I've watched it at least ten times since then and I believe it to be a brilliant film. It's dark, violent (though not as much as it seems at first glance) and incredibly funny. The thing people most remember about it is the big plot twist at the end, but that's almost peripheral to the main point. "Fight Club" is a satire and works perfectly on that level, and benefits greatly from repeat viewings.

Other movies that have been mentioned that I'd like to second include "Being John Malkovich," "The Iron Giant," "The Hudsucker Proxy," "Pleasantville," "Mumford," "Unbreakable," "Defending Your Life," "A Simple Plan," "Mute Witness," and "Zero Effect." (Listed roughly in the order that I enjoyed them.)

Stephen