Before he conquered half the world, Genghis Khan was a slave. Mongol (2007) brilliantly tells the story of his rise to power, thanks to the stellar direction of Russian director Sergey Bodrov. Unlike most films out of Hollywood today that try too hard to be the awesome, sweeping epic tale, this one is the real deal.

Watch it.

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While it was literally impossible to top their No Country for Old Men (2007) perfection, the Coen brothers did an excellent job of shifting gears with the midwestern character study, A Serious Man (2009). The brilliant stage actor Michael Stuhlbarg (who plays Arnold Rothstein in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire series) alone makes this worth watching.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FYtprwg1As

If you enjoy action, history, and well-acted, well-written films, then the Daniel Day-Lewis-led The Last of the Mohicans (1992) is most certainly worth checking out.

Among my favorite Woody Allen films is Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993), which is also probably one of his more overlooked pieces of work. The great Alan Alda, Diane Keaton, and Anjelica Huston star in this Whodunit-classic-Woody-Allen-style flick. It is also fun to see the likes of Jerry Adler, who would later go on to play Hesh in The Sopranos, and popular character actor Ron Rifkin. Even a young Zach Braff and Joy Behar (!) make appearances.

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Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Coburn, and Donald Pleasance form the all-star cast in The Great Escape (1963), The film focuses on the true story of allied POWs attempts to escape Germany’s ‘escape-proof’ Stalag. On the weekend before July 4th, this is one of the better patriotic films that most born after 1970 or so have not seen.

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The last film that compelled me to go back and watch it multiple times (3) in a theater was No Country for Old Men (2007). In my opinion, this is as close to a perfect cinematic venture as you will find. The Coen brothers wrote and directed this, based on the Cormac McCarthy novel (from 2005) of the same title. The Coens have made some good movies in their day, but this ranks as their best…easily.

The film is also perfectly cast, with Tommy Lee Jones in a role that he seemed destined to play, as well as Woody Harrelson. The lead actors, Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin, are on the top of their games. Although Bardem is playing the villain in the upcoming James Bond movie, I doubt any role or film either he or Brolin do will ever come close to touching this.

No Country for Old Men is the quintessential drop-what-you-are-doing-and-watch-it-tonight film. I would describe the story and plot, but that would not be doing the film justice. The larger life themes, and the simplicity and beauty with which the film addresses them, are what makes this a masterpiece. I have this as easily one of the top five films I have ever seen.

It is hard to believe that it has been nearly five years since its release.

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