Live at Budokan - Shawn's Sense with Shawn Loughlin

Last week’s column was “No one asked for this”. Well, guess what - no one asked for this either. But I did promise to return with an expensive box set of b-sides, rarities and live tracks, though you could get it cheaper if you wait for that bi-annual Columbia House sale. So without further ado let’s go. First, the cutting room floor...

 

The Town. A top-notch heist movie with a Jeremy Renner performance for the ages, but, more importantly, it will inspire you to ask, “ya think ya bettah than me?” in a Boston accent of everyone you see for at least a week.

 

Requiem for a Dream. Commonly cited as one of the most depressing movies ever made!

 

Her. A shockingly predictive film about A.I. and how humans will succumb to its charms.

 

Mulholland Drive. The David Lynch film that often tops these lists. So unsettling.

 

12 Years a Slave. An unflinching, harrowing tale of a not-so-distant past shame down south.

 

The Zone of Interest. Truly one of the most unique films ever made and one that shows the cost of apathy in an increasingly cruel world.

 

Fantastic Mr. Fox. A marvel of stop-motion based on one of my favourite books ever.

 

Zero Dark Thirty. The raid on Osama Bin Laden’s compound at the end - spoiler alert - is among the most war movie sequences ever.

 

Zodiac. Film heads say this may be David Fincher’s masterpiece and they may be right.

 

Once Upon A Time... in Hollywood. Yet another underrated Leo DiCaprio performance that’s equal parts fun and gruesome violence.

 

The Big Short. An out-of-the-box attempt to make sense of the 2008 stock market collapse.

 

Traffic. One of the few films to tackle drugs in a way that spares none of the participants.

 

The Tree of Life. Not for everyone, but if it’s for you and you watch it at the right time in your life, it may be a spiritual experience.

 

Moneyball. A tremendous movie in which, like Leo, Brad Pitt is ignored for being normal.

 

The Hurt Locker. Another of the best war movies of the last 30 years. Renner again. 

 

Match Point. If you’d like to meet the most attractive woman in the world, ever, allow me to introduce you to Scarlett Johansson in this.

 

Onto the documentaries because, as we know, truth is indeed stranger than fiction...

 

Free Solo. The most visually-dazzling film made by the only man capable of making it.

 

Dig! An absolutely insane rockumentary. Big on drugs, alcohol, fights and rollerblades.

 

American Utopia. A Spike Lee chronicle of a generational David Byrne live performance.

 

Citizenfour. A harrowing, prescient film that plays out in real time, executed by a master.

 

Moonage Daydream. An unorthodox David Bowie documentary by Brett Morgan (whose 30 for 30 installment, June 17th, 1994, also deserved to be mentioned here - breathtaking).

 

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. A brilliant dissection of very complicated stuff.

 

Minding the Gap. A touching documentary about surviving an abusive home that could only be made by its subject, a child himself.

 

The Cove. A heart-pounding, heartbreaking documentary that plays like a heist movie.

 

Bowling for Columbine. Whether you like Michael Moore or not, this got the ball rolling, in many ways, on the mainstream gun debate.

 

Searching for Sugarman. The hunt for one of the world’s underappreciated musicians.

 

Grizzly Man. Werner Herzog tackles this weird, sad story as only he can.

 

O.J.: Made in America. Almost eight hours long, it’s the definitive telling of the O.J. story.

 

Touching the Void. A riveting tale of survival that’s largely flown under the radar.

 

No space for comedies - DEAL WITH IT!