Monday, April 9, 2007

20 Movies I Like Better Than Anyone Else- Part 1

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) - Shane Black's directorial debut is a return to form in his perfect screenplay construction of Lethal Weapon 1 and 2 (#2 was uncredited - he wanted to make it darker, including Riggs's death). But somewhere in his 10 year screenwriting absence, he learned how to write unbeatable dialogue. And the commentary on the DVD is one of the best in recent years.

Mulholland Drive (2001) - David Lynch took a rejected TV pilot and turned it on its ear, adding 45 minutes by revisiting nearly every scene. All Hollywood genres are represented (cop, western, romance, gangster) as a naive Naomi Watts struggles for success and love. Is the first 2/3 of the movie a dream, masturbatory fantasy, or her life flashing before her eyes?


The Thin Red Line (1998) - Unlike Saving Private Ryan, this movie allows you to sympathize with America's on-screen enemy. Terrence Malick spends a lot of time contemplating man's relationship to nature. The classical four elements of earth, water, air, and fire are all explored. The movie has some excellent combat scenes as well. But it's heart and soul is Jim Caviezel's character Private Witt who wants to find immortality. Initially conceived as the story of 3 soldiers, Adrien Brody's scenes were mostly cut.

Boogie Nights (1997) - The center is a dysfunctional family with a father (Burt Reynolds), mother (Julianne Moore), and children (Mark Wahlberg, Heather Graham). My favorite directorial touch is William Macy's increasingly distanced relationship from his wife. In three scenes, she goes from close-up, to a long-shot, to not being seen at all. I also love Rollergirl turning her identity into a weapon.


Lone Star (1996) - In a Texas border town, sheriff Chris Cooper investigates a generation-old murder after a freemason ring is found on a skeleton. The transitions between the present-day story and the past are first-rate and the screenplay skillfully explores race relations. Most of all, director John Sayles gets the feel and tone right of a Texas border town.

Fearless (1993) - Jeff Bridges survives a plane crash and is considered a hero when he leads several people out of the burning wreckage. He withdraws from everything in life, including his family, and only feels alive when his life is threatened. He forms a friendship with Rosie Perez, whose infant son died in the crash. Faith, spirituality, love, and purpose have rarely been so intelligently handled simultaneously by the underrated Peter Weir. And the ending is a knockout.


Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993) - An exciting movie about chess? Yes, but it's also about child prodigies, friendship, and parenting. The scene when Josh plays chess with Vinnie in the park and rediscovers his love of chess is a highlight. In real life, Bobby Fischer himself has become a crazy, America-hating anti-Semite who has praised the 9/11 attacks. And the kid on which the film is based (Josh Waitzkin) is now a kung fu master - but the film stands.

A River Runs Through It (1992) - The story of a precher's two sons in 1920s rural Montana is frequently touching as they grow up, discover women, and try to become men. Brad Pitt's first big role completely suits him, and as the lead, Craig Sheffer shows honesty and gravitas well. The fishing shows on TV are unwatchable, but director Robert Redford turns fly-fishing into a work of art.

JFK (1991) - The film that turned me into a movie junkie. The movie is over 3 hours of fascinating conspiracy theories expertly directed, edited, and photographed. And it's all completely false. Oliver Stone created a new cinematic language all by himself, and unfortunately it's been copied by every single music video and most movies since.


Miller's Crossing (1990) - In most years, this movie would the best, but Mr. Scorsese was in top form that year. Joel and Ethan Coen still haven't topped their third film where Gabriel Byrne plays a gangster who is having an affair with his boss's girl. From the opening Godfather homage, to the intricate repetitions in the script, the movie always has a sense of humor about itself and a sense of film history. The great Carter Burwell score has often been imitated, never equalled. Unlike most Coen Brothers' movies, this one's message about the decisions we make in our lives and the reasons we make them almost matches their monumental technical skill - almost.

5 comments:

Lawyer said...

Here's my take on the ones I've seen:

1. Mulholland Drive - One of my favorite movies. Elegant and weird, plus Billy Ray Cyrus.

2. Thin Red Line - A top 5 all time war movie for me. I have to watch with subtitles on to get the movie (the narration is hard to attribute to the characters). The Zimmer score is unbelievable, especially "Journey to the Line", also used in the climactic scene of the last episode of the first season of Carnivale.

3. Boogie Nights - One of my all time favorite movies. My favorite scene is when Dirk's mom is screaming at him. The brutality and force of that scene coupled with the immediate cut to the inviting and fun pool party is no accident.

4. Lone Star - Need to see again.

5. Fearless - Ah, the Doctor's fabled love affair with Peter Weir. This one is okay, but the strawberries etal is too much for me.

6. River Runs Through It - Simply put, the most overrated movie ever. Don't get it, don't like it. Pretty though.

7. JFK - A great one, but divergence from reality gives me tired-head. Agreed on influence.

Lawyer said...

Great post, by the way.

Doctor said...

Some quick thoughts:
1. Fearless - The strawberries were just a portal through which Max enters - and leaves - a parallel life/waking dream. Admittedly, the weak link in Fearless is the one-note caricature money-grubbing lawyer (Tom Hulce). At least the doctor in the film (John Turturro) is portrayed honestly, if ultimately powerless.

2. A River Runs Through It works better for me than most because it's the story of two brothers, the younger of which is more reckless and more willing to break with tradition/family - pretty close to home, but so far my life has turned out better than the Brad Pitt character - if not Brad Pitt himself.

3. I was a complete conspiracy nutjob for over 10 years. What finally convinced me 100% of Oswald's guilt is "Beyond Conspiracy" - which the History Channel is showing again this upcoming Sunday night (4/15).

Anonymous said...

"First of all, I'll make a tour of the whole world, giving exhibitions. I'll charge unprecedented prices. I'll set new standards. I'll make them pay thousands. Then I'll come home on a luxury liner. First-class. I'll have a tuxedo made for me in England to wear to dinner. When I come home I'll write a couple chess books and start to reorganize the whole game. I'll have my own club. The Bobby Fischer ... uh, the Robert J. Fischer Chess Club. It'll be class. Tournaments in full dress. No bums in there. You're gonna have to be over eighteen to get in, unless like you have special permission because you have like special talent. It'll be in a part of the city that's still decent, like the Upper East Side. And I'll hold big international tournaments in my club with big cash prizes. And I'm going to kick all the millionaires out of chess unless they kick in more money. Then I'll buy a car so I don't have to take the subway any more. That subway makes me sick. It'll be a Mercedes-Benz. Better, a Rolls Royce, one of those fifty-thousand-dollar custom jobs, made to my own measure. Maybe I'll buy one of those jets they advertise for businessmen. And a yacht. Flynn had a yacht. Then I'll have some more suits made. I'd like to be one of the Ten Best-dressed Men. That would really be something. I read that Duke Snyder made the list. Then I'll build me a house. I don't know where but it won't be in Greenwich Village. They're all dirty, filthy animals down there - lower than cats and dogs. Maybe I'll build it in Hong Kong. Everybody who's been there says it's great. Art Linkletter said so on the radio. And they've got suits there, beauties, for only twenty dollars. Or maybe I'll build it in Beverly Hills. The people there are sort of square, but like the climate is nice and it's close to Vegas, Mexico, Hawaii, and those places. I got strong ideas about my house. I'm going to hire the best architect and have him build it in the shape of a rook. Yeah, that's for me. Class. Spiral staircases, parapets, everything. I want to live the rest of my life in a house built exactly like a rook"(Bobby Fischer)...read more

Doctor said...

Hey anonymous, does that mean my post didn't make any sense? Or that I was too loquacious? Or are you agreeing that Bobby Fischer has gone totally insane?