The Visitor (2007)
Thomas McCarthy is a man of many talents. He has a lucrative TV acting career with stints on "Law & Order", "Boston Public", and "The Wire". He appears in many a quality films made States-side (Syriana (2005), Meet the Parents (2000) and Good Night and Good Luck (2005)). He is also apparently responsible for the story of Up. And lest we forget he directed The Station Agent (2003) - a directorial debut that is as good as they come.In his second directorial output, McCarthy strikes an even more poised and poignant tone with The Visitor, in which Richard Jenkins's bored-out-of-his-mind economics professor, Walter Vale, comes to his s

Hurt Locker (2008)
I remember reading a post-modernist pop-cultural mishmash, called "Heroes" by the Spanish author Ray Loriga back in college. The book was full to the brim with references to popular movies, musicians, and artists. The title of the book was a David Bowie song. The narrator / protagonist / "experiencer" was a huge fan of Kathryn Bigelow and, in particular, her 1995 film, Strange Days. It was quite refreshing that an obscure Spanish novella made references to a mildly successful sci-fi extravaganza. The fact that Bigelow was namechecked is proof enough of her subtle but concrete place in modern cinema and pop culture in general: Near Dark (1987) is probably still the most interes