S is for Source Code (#393)

A legitimate mind-blowing experience, Source Code (2011) seems like it's fairly straightforward, but the more you understand what's going on, you realize just how brilliant it is.  All you have to do is pay attention to Jake Gyllenhaal (this is the movie that finally made me care about him), who at first seems very obviously to not be in control of his own life, for some very good reasons.  And then, by the end of it, with a little help from Vera Farmiga, he proves Jeffrey Wright wrong in a very profound way.  He also gets to spend a lot of time with Michelle Monaghan and repeating a lot of the same events over and over again (but again, he does a lot of this with Michelle Monaghan).  From screenwriter Ben Ripley and director Duncan Jones, who also delivered Moon and happens to be the son of David Bowie.  Jones shows every indication of being the most important filmmaker of his generation.

Star Trek bonus!

S is for Sisko, Benjamin Lafayette
(from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
What I love about Sisko so much is that he's the most nuanced of any Star Trek captain to date.  You may not see it at first, because he spends most of his time fairly reserved, because he didn't after all accept the Deep Space Nine assignment willingly.  In fact, you could say he really didn't want it.  So at best he can come off as bemused.  In the first episode, in flashbacks to his time as first officer of a ship lost in the famed Battle of Wolfe 359, Sisko comes off with more active confidence, and you can see what he could have been like in different circumstances.  And once he becomes comfortable, Sisko is the most warm individual to ever fill the captain's role.  You can see it anytime he interacts with his son Jake, or romancing Kassidy Yates.  He can also be ruthless and cunning, as when he duels with Dukat or Eddington.  He can be your best friend, as when he spends a few moments with "Old Man," Jadzia Dax.  And he can be exasperated, especially when confronting his father.  He's the very center of his corner of Star Trek, and Avery Brooks makes you wish the series had gotten more love.  His crew would have shined on the silver screen.  By the sixth season, it seemed like they were already there.

A-to-Z Challenge!