I think it's easy to write Die Hard off as "an action movie". But truly, Willis, Rickman, VelJohnson, and even Gleason do amazing work. I think Die Hard was a reset button for action movies. The plot was more than skin deep with enough suspense and twists to keep you guessing. The writing was clever, intelligent, and full of enough one-liners to keep generations of people chuckling. I love me some Die Hard.

Cinema Paradiso... is.... otherworldly. The University I attended had "International Cinema" once or twice a week. I went to the 10am showing of CP and was so moved that I went three more times just to let it wash over me. It's a simple. lovely, and beautiful film. There are a few movies that got me interested in becoming a filmmaker, and Cinema Paradiso is one of the major players there.

As an aside, I was super excited back in 2002 when they restored some footage that was initially cut for the 1988 release in the US. I went to the local art house theater in Denver with my wife to see it... and I left a little non-plussed. Not giving anything away here - some of the longing, some of the open ended questions and storylines from the original film are included. So you find out what happens to people, places, and things... and I guess my heart and my head liked filling in those blanks. The re-release took away some of the magic for me. It's still a great film. I still love it. And perhaps it's time I give the re-release another chance...