""One of my favorite science-fiction movies is Gravity starring Sandra Bullock. As a rocket scientist, I was blown away by the stunning visual effects and three-dimensional-like movement. Plus, I am thankful that producers and writers cast a woman as an astronaut to bring science concerns to the forefront of American and international discussion.""

"Much has been written on this great film—I would just say that I am always struck by how perfect Joseph Cotten is as a foil to Orson Welles (not for the first time, of course). Cotten flawlessly captures Graham Greene’s cynical view of American naïveté on matters of international affairs and the mysteries of human behavior"

"My late father’s favorite movie. The film is disturbing on so many levels: the fact that it was made during the Occupation; the way theater and real life are layered and confused; the performance by Arletty, who would later be convicted as a collaborator. She notoriously justified her treason by saying, “My heart belongs to France, but my ass is international.”"

"I recently moved to LA with my family. Driving around the first few weeks, I realized how Frank started his genius career in a house in Santa Monica and with tiny commissions on Venice Beach. It's like I watched him blow up into an international architect super star. I love this archive of his greatest hits. His vibe is the reason I moved here in the end."

"When I graduated from high school, I worked at a video store in Philadelphia with an extensive selection of international films. La promesse became one of my first favorites because of the real, raw quality of the acting and the Dardenne brothers’ brave and unflinching look at racism and prejudice. When I rewatched the film recently, it felt especially meaningful given the ongoing plight of migrants around the world today."

"A dice roll—it could have been L’avventura or La notte, but I rewatched this recently and was blown away by Antonioni’s mastery and control, and his epic nihilistic vision of upper-middle-class despair is sweeping and unrivaled. Alain Delon and Monica Vitti are the most gorgeous couple in ’60s international cinema—embalmed and yet completely alive. The trilogy is one of the great achievements in twentieth-century film."

"This was the first in a series of books that feature a mouse, a vain cat, and a wombat. Everything the wombat says is nonsense (“Oh wonderful, fish—my favorite fruit.”), and it made me howl with laughter as a kid. I was brought up in East Africa, and was at school with all the international kids. We’d all been given our copies of A.A.Milne and Dr. Seuss, but people know those books. The Muddleheaded Wombat deserves a place among them."