Homer Liwag

Of course, the first Star Wars was a groundbreaking classic in many ways, but The Empire Strikes Back provided the most satisfying yet addicting sequel in memory. The film's subtle color palette, realistic art direction, and the director's control of the performances balanced perfectly with the idea of the grand space opera. The effects are so seamless that they disappear into the story. The Empire Strikes Back is never campy, and every moment registers as something I would be doing naturally -- if I grew up in another time and another galaxy. [Buy]

The near monochromatic imagery in this film drips with sensuality. The way light finds it way through buildings, blinds and sheer clothing was liquid, or even like ivy -- crawling slowly and clinging around the forms it encounters. Capture just about any moment in Nine 1/2 Weeks and you are left with a sensual composition of light and shadow. [Buy]

Woody Allen's forgotten mock-musical features a scene so simple in concept that you never notice anything odd until you find yourself immersed into its magic. Reminiscing about the wonderful life they had at one time, Woody and Goldie Hawn begin the most magical dance at the edge of the River Seine. In one continuous camera shot, Woody (for the first time in a movie), transforms into the most confident, calm, gentleman as Goldie Hawn floats and levitates through the air around him in choreographed elegance. I am a big fan of Woody because I can relate to his bumbling insecurities, but there is always that one moment, like this one, where you gather yourself and everything is just perfect. The only thing that beats this sequence is David Copperfield flying around the theater with a woman from the audience in his arms. In a movie you digitally remove the cables, but David flies live, in front of an audience, impossibly through giant hoops and inside a sealed glass box! [Buy]

I was immediately drawn into this 1995 blockbuster by its amazing camera moves and intense editing, long before both became commonplace in the action genre. So many movies now have shaky camera without motivation. There is a time for the camera to shake and a time for it to float invisibly through space. Director Michael Bay knows exactly when to do either. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence have great chemistry, but it is the visuals that keep my adrenaline pumping every time I see this movie. [Buy]

I am a big fan of the spoof, ranging especially from work by the Zucker brothers (Airplane, Top Secret, etc.) to even films that poke fun at a genre, like Club Dread, Better Off Dead, and Happy Gilmore. I have shot and/or edited a couple of spoofs with close friends, and working in this genre is very fun and rewarding. Much of my sense of humor stems from the dry, stone-cold characters in the spoofs contained within Kentucky Fried Movie. Who can forget A Fistful of Yen -- the mini-movie within a movie parodying Enter the Dragon. Kentucky Fried Movie earned more than $20 million making it one of the most financially lucrative films of the 1970s and one of the most successful comedies of all time. [Buy]