It's not an original picture, but a remake of an Argentinian film called Nueve Reinas (Nine Queens). In the original, a pair of con men attempt to sell a sheet of (nine) counterfeit stamps. In this version, it's a very old "silver certificate". They're both good, but I like the American version better mostly because of John C. Reilly. It's a movie about con men and an elaborate con, so I'll try to keep from spoiling too much, but don't worry about the item. It's a macguffin for the plot and characters to revolve around.

If I'm being honest, The Gambler isn't a great movie. Heck, it might not be a good movie. So why is it in this list? Because of a couple great characters and a handful of great scenes. And I like it a lot and it's my list. There's good stuff here, but somehow it all ends up less than the sum of its parts. So it goes.

Technically, The Red Turtle is a joint venture French/Japanese film. But that doesn't really matter beyond informing the art-style; it's a hybridization of Western animation and anime. The reason it doesn't matter what country it's from is because there isn't any dialogue in the movie. It's not a silent film, strictly speaking. There is a lot of sound, there just isn't any language. The sound design does add a great deal to the experience the film provides and the lack of language also allows the film to be universally accessible.

Andy Lau is a cop who is working on the force as a mole for a big time triad boss played by Eric Tsang. On the other side Tony Leung plays a cop under deep cover as a mole in Tsang's organization. Each side becomes aware of the existence of the other's mole during a drug deal and an attempted bust. The deal fails, but so does the bust and both sides realize their failure was due to the presence of a spy in their midst.

The Rover could almost be a war film. There are long stretches where "nothing" happens, punctuated by brief flashes of intense violence. The events of the movie tell a story, but the real reward is the illumination of the eponymous character.