My Favorite Year

 

 

1982

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Directed by Richard Benjamin

Produced by Michael Guskoff and Art Levinson (Mel Brooks and Joel Chrenoff uncredited)

Unlike a lot of people I didn’t fall in love with Peter O’Toole from watching “Lawrence of Arabia.” I didn’t appreciate a proper respect of that role until I watched that movie years later and had some maturity under my belt. No, my love of Peter O’Toole came from a triumvirate of movies he made during the 1980’s. There was the absolutely brilliant “The Stunt Man” in which he played the deranged and possibly insane but undeniably genius filmmaker Eli Cross. There was “Creator” in which he played Dr. Harry Wolper, a Nobel Prize winning biologist obsessed with cloning his late wife. And the movie we’re going to talk about here; MY FAVORITE YEAR.

I link all of these movies as a loose trilogy as in all of them Peter O’Toole plays men of extraordinary gifts, charisma, intelligence and talent. Men who wish dearly that while they enjoy and relish who and what they are, we see glimmers that they aspire to be like everybody else and just be. It’s something I can relate to as I’ve felt that way ever since I was twelve years old. So it’s no wonder I identify with the characters Peter O’Toole plays in these movies as well as in “The Lion In Winter” (a good candidate for the most quotable movie of all time) Sometimes the only reason you’re the smartest and most charismatic person in the room is because everybody in that room leave you no choice but to be so because they don’t try to do so.

“The King Kaiser Comedy Cavalcade Show” is the hottest, funniest, and most successful TV show in the era of live television circa 1954.  They’ve booked as a guest-star Alan Swann (Peter O’Toole) a near Errol Flynn level star of swashbuckler movies to come on the show. There’s a couple of things getting in the way. One is that Stan ‘King’ Kaiser (Joseph Bologna) is engaged in a legal war with a corrupt union boss named Karl Rojeck (Cameron Mitchell) who is upset at the series of ‘Boss Hijack’ sketches Stan Kaiser has been doing on his show and has taken out a contract on King.

The other thing is Alan Swann (Peter O’Toole) himself who is a raging alcoholic that is always in the news due to his outrageous drunken antics. But Swann is one of those drunks that everybody loves and he is still a semi-major star so junior show writer Benjy Stone (Mark Linn-Baker) is assigned to babysit him. It’s most appropriate as Swann is one of Benjy’s heroes and Benjy speaks up for Swann when Kaiser wants to fire him. It’s a scene that sets up my favorite line in the movie as Benjy was convinced Swann was dead drunk when Benjy spoke up for him:

Benjy: “But…but you were out!”

Swann: “There is out. And then there is out.”

If you’ve seen the movie and you’ve seen that scene and O’Toole’s delivery then you’re probably chuckling or outright laughing by now. And that’s because a lot of the time in MY FAVORITE YEAR we’re laughing not just because of what Peter O’Toole says in a scene but how he delivers it.

Benjy and Swann spend a lot of time in the week leading up to the show where Benjy has to keep Swann sober. And in that week they both have to deal with family issues.  Swann has dinner at the home of Benjy’s mother (Lainie Kazan) who after the death of Benjy’s father married a Filipino bantamweight boxer named Rookie Carroca (Ramon Sison) who is very precise about not only his marital status but the pronunciation of his name. Benjy has to explain to Swann that he changed his Jewish name to the more Angelo Benjy Stone to work in Hollywood. In return, Swann reveals that Swann’s young daughter Tess has been raised exclusively by her mother but Swann has secretly sent most of his money to raise Tess and that’s why he’s broke and doing television guest-spots.

MY FAVORITE YEAR is one of my favorite movies and one I’ve seen maybe fifty times since I discovered it on cable and once it was available for VHS and I purchased it in both those formats. And I still watch it when it’s aired on Turner Classic Movies as they do so fairly often. MY FAVORITE YEAR is absolutely hilarious from start to finish and most of that is due to Peter O’Toole. He was nominated for Best Actor in The Academy Award that year and that he didn’t win was criminal. It’s a movie full of heart and truth about who we are and we we pretend to be in public and who we even pretend to be to ourselves.

If there’s any acting flaw in the movie, it’s Mark Linn-Baker. He’s our POV character and the narrator of the movie but he’s the least interesting and least likable. It’s easy for me to see why Jessica Harper’s K.C. character doesn’t want to have anything to do with Benjy as Benjy treats the ‘relationship’ they have as a comedy sketch. But Jessica Harper as usual is nothing less than perfect. Joseph Bologna is great as King Kaiser and I like his portrayal of the character as a mix of towering egomaniac and insecure little boy. And I love how King stands up to Karl Rojack in a truly sidesplitting scene where Rojack confronts Kaiser.

And I cannot leave off this review with giving major props to Lainie Kazan. This is the woman who was the physical inspiration for Jack “King” Kirby’s Big Barda character and if you’ve ever seen her in movies you know why.

So should you see MY FAVORITE YEAR? Yes. It’s a wonderful comedy that you can watch over and over again. Trust me on this. I haven’t spoiled 90% of the laughs in this movie.

But it’s also a great human story about heroism, family, personal belief and human strength overcoming human weakness. And it evokes a time in American television history worth revisiting. And it’s a terrific Peter O’Toole movie. And if all that isn’t enough to convince you to watch MY FAVORITE YEAR, I’m done.

 

 

92 minutes

Rated PG

 

 

 

Back To School

1986

Orion Pictures

Directed by Alan Metter

Produced by Chuck Russell

Screenplay by Steven Kampmann, Will Porter, Peter Torokvei and Harold Ramis

Story by Rodney Dangerfield, Greg Fields and Greg Snee

Rodney Dangerfield will always be renowned as one of the true legends of stand-up comedy. He’s one of the few comedians who could make an entire concert hall full of paying customers collapse into hysterical fits of laughter simply by saying one line; “I don’t get no respect!” As a kid I used to see him all the time on “The Ed Sullivan Show” and “The Tonight Show” but I really didn’t understand his style of comedy until I was older. And certainly by the time he began making it big in movies like “Easy Money” and “Caddyshack” I was able to properly appreciate his humor and his jokes. Now most people hold up “Caddyshack” as the height of his movie career but for me it’s BACK TO SCHOOL. It’s one of the few comedies that I’ve seen multiple times but laugh every single time I see it as if I’m watching it for the first time. It’s got a great eclectic supporting cast; Sally Kellerman, Keith Gordon, Paxton Whitehead, Ned Beatty, Sam Kinison, Terry Farrell, M. Emmet Walsh, Burt Young, Adrienne Barbeau and Robert Downey, Jr. But for me the main attraction is Rodney Dangerfield front and center playing a really great, larger than life character as he breezes through the movie throwing off one-liners with a speed and delivery that would make Groucho Marx dizzy with envy.

Thornton Melon (Rodney Dangerfield) is the poster boy for self-made millionaires. He’s taken his immigrant father’s humble tailor shop and turned it into an national chain of Tall & Fat Shops. He went on from there to diversify until now he owns Melon Enterprises, a worldwide corporation. Thornton Melon is far from being a stupid man and in fact is quite intelligent and street smart, despite his boorish, rude and crude manner. But his one great regret is that he never got a proper education. He’s determined that his beloved son Jason (Keith Gordon) will get one at the prestigious Grand Lakes University.

After getting rid of his gold-digger of a wife (Adrienne Barbeau) Thornton heads to Jason’s college to surprise him along with his best friend/bodyguard Lou (Burt Young) and gets a surprise of his own: Jason had been telling his father he’s a straight A student and a star on the university diving team. Turns out that Jason is the team’s towel boy and a lousy student. Jason wants to drop out but Thornton hits on a novel idea to motivate his son: he and Jason will go to college together and both of them will get a proper education.

The fun of BACK TO SCHOOL comes from seeing Rodney Dangerfield’s Thornton Melon effortlessly cause utter and total havoc while navigating his way around every obstacle with either his street smarts or his money. Upon being told he’s too old and too unqualified to attend the university, he promptly donates funds for the new Thornton Melon School of Business and before you can say ‘holla’ he’s registered. He turns his cramped dorm room into a luxury condo complete with hot tub. When he has problems writing a paper on the works of Kurt Vonnegut he calls up Kurt Vonnegut and has the writer flown in to the college for a session with Thornton so that Vonnegut can personally explain the meaning of “Breakfast of Champions” to him. When he throws a party he hires Oingo Boingo to play and has the campus cops deliver his booze and beer.

But the story takes a nice turn in that Thornton’s plans actually inspire his son to genuinely want to do better and become a good student while his dad lives out his college life fantasies partying and having fun instead of studying and doing the work. It’s a lot of fun to see the father and son reverse roles as they help each other grow up. There’s a subplot with Thornton romancing his English professor (Sally Kellerman) that really goes nowhere but it’s always fun for me to watch Sally work. And it may seem unusual to have Thornton be a former champion acrobatic diver until you do your research and find that before he became a successful comedian, Rodney Dangerfield actually was a performing acrobatic diver.

What else can I tell you about BACK TO SCHOOL to get you to see it? The scene in the college bar where Thornton sings “Twist and Shout.” The diving competition where Thornton performs ‘The Triple Lindy’ a dive so dangerous it can kill if not executed perfectly. Thornton’s final exam where he has to recite Dylan Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gently Into That Good Night” The movie gets a lot more mileage out of Ned Beatty’s character being named ‘Dean’ Martin than you would think.

And the best thing I can tell you about BACK TO SCHOOL is that it’s simply a whole lot of fun to watch. The humor is fast, quick and the father/son story itself to me is quite heartwarming. Dangerfield and Gordon look nothing alike but they do have great chemistry together and they did convince me of their relationship. The entire cast looks as if they had nothing but fun making this movie. I know you’re going to have a good time watching it if you’ve never seen it. And if you have seen it before, it’s high time you watched it again. BACK TO SCHOOL is available on Netflix Instant. Put it on your Instant Queue right now.

96 Minutes

PG-13

Better In The Dark #19: Take Us Out To The Game Of Your Choice

 

While we’re all still coming down from tryptophane poisoning, join The Guys Outta Brooklyn as they discuss their favorite Sports Movies. Thomas and Derrick talk about such notables as both versions of The Longest Yard, the boxing classic The Great White Hope, and the cult hockey classic Slap Shot–and then go as mental as they ever have been over the sports movie spoof Dodgeball! Plus the guys talk about their own sports memories growing up. It’s third and long, so what else can you do but click that download button now!

http://www.betterinthedarksite.com/episode-archives/episodes-11-20/

The Gang Vs. Trailer Park Boys

Under The Cherry Moon

1986

Warner Bros.

Directed by Prince

Produced by Robert Cavallo, Stephen Fargnoli and Joseph Ruffalo

Written by Becky Johnston

As long as UNDER THE CHERRY MOON stays with being a playful, goofy romantic musical set in the south of France and doesn’t take itself seriously at all, it’s actually a fun movie to watch. Sure, the acting of Prince and Kristin Scott Thomas is atrocious (she has disavowed this movie totally) and the whole thing is obviously a vanity project for Prince as I don’t recall offhand any movie where the leading man is prettier and has more costume changes than any of the women in the same movie. Prince took over directing the movie from Mary Lambert, who had distinguished herself directing music videos for Madonna, Janet Jackson, Annie Lennox, Whitney Houston, Tom Tom Club and many other artists. This was his first and as far as I know his only directing effort. Let’s just say that as a director and actor, Prince is a brilliant musician. He so obviously was attempting to do a Fellini flavored French comedy and I give him points for his ambition. And there are scenes in UNDER THE CHERRY MOON where you can see that there’s a really good movie trying to fight it’s way past Prince’s ego and be seen. Unfortunately  somewhere along the way Prince decided that what he really was doing was A Tragic Love Poem About Doomed Lovers and that’s where the movie nose dives into oblivion.

Christopher Tracy (Prince) and his sidekick/wingman/cousin Tricky (Jerome Benton) are professional gigolos swindling money out of wealthy French women. Just from their wardrobe I’d say they’re obviously highly successful at it. By day Christopher Tracy plays piano at a posh restaurant while Tricky lines up his victims for the night, including Mrs. Wellington (Francesca Annis) who seems to have honest feelings for Christopher.

Tricky sees a big payday in Mary Sharon, heiress to a shipping empire owned by her father Isaac (Steven Berkoff) who is also sleeping with Mrs. Wellington. Mary will inherit $50 million on her 21^st birthday and so Christopher sets out to seduce and marry her. Naturally this does not set too well with Isaac or even Tricky who discovers that he has feelings for Mary himself. The situation is further complicated by Christopher forgetting what he’s supposed to be doing and hopelessly falls in love with Mary.

There are scenes early on in UNDER THE CHERRY MOON that truly make me smile, such as Mary’s 21^st birthday party where she shows off her birthday suit. The “Wrecka Stow” scene which actually is an inspired comedy bit. The scene where Christopher sings and dances on top of a piano and has an entire restaurant jamming to “Girls & Boys” and reminds us of why when this movie was made there wasn’t a musical artist working (no, not even Michael Jackson) who could touch Prince.

And the absolute best thing about this movie? Jerome Benton, of course, who along with Morris Day in “Purple Rain” provides the two best reasons to watch that classic movie. I’d bet next month’s rent that Prince cast Jerome as his sidekick in this movie hoping that together they’d have the same magic. They don’t. But that doesn’t mean that Jerome isn’t his usual hilarious self and he makes every scene he’s in better. It also tickles the hell out of me that he and Kristin Scott Thomas have far better chemistry than she does with Prince.

I also like how the movie exists in its own fantasy/fairy tale universe where people dress like it’s the 1920’s, talk like it’s the 1940’s, with the exception of Christopher and Tricky who speak in 1980’s vernacular and drive cars from the 1950’s/’60’s.

What else can I recommend about UNDER THE CHERRY MOON? The terrific Prince soundtrack, of course. Except for “Girls & Boys” and “Mountains” which he performs with The Revolution during the movie’s end credits, Prince does not perform any musical numbers and the songs are used as background music. “Christopher Tracy’s Parade” and “Do U Lie” are delightfully playful and light, excellent fitting the tone of the early parts of the movie and Prince is helped tremendously having Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman singing backup. “Under The Cherry Moon” is appropriately dreamy and romantic. “Girls & Boys” and “Mountains” are both jazzy, funky numbers that are just plain flat out fun. And do I need to say anything about “Kiss” you don’t already know?

But an hour into the movie that all changes and as I said earlier, the movie turns into A Tragic Love Poem About Doomed Lovers that has an ending that comes outta nowhere and just would really spoil the whole thing if we didn’t have an epilogue with the dependable Jerome Benton to leave us with a smile on our face.

So should you see UNDER THE CHERRY MOON? Absolutely. Is it a good movie? Hell, no. In terms of acting it’s downright laughable. And the sudden shift in tone is jarring and confusing. It shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same breath with the masterpiece that is “Purple Rain” and it’s an insult to compare it with “Graffiti Bridge,” a movie that is truly horrendous and deserves to be forgotten.  But not UNDER THE CHERRY MOON. It is an awfully goofy movie that you can watch with fellow Prince fans on a Friday or Saturday night and have a good time with its unashamed silliness. And here’s a drinking game to go along with it: everybody takes a shot every time the name ‘Tricky’ is said as it seems as if every other character in the movie is afraid that we’ll forget his name, they use it so much and so often. Yeah, it’s that kind of movie. Enjoy.

98 minutes

PG-13

497 Movies You Oughta See

 

Before we get to the actual list I pray you to indulge me for a bit as I give you the backstory behind 497 Movies You Oughta See.

Ever since I started writing movie reviews and people were good enough to read and enjoy them they’ve been asking me a question: “I would love to watch more Westerns/Comedies/War Movies/Horror/Whatever but I just don’t know where to start.” It occurred to me that if I drew up a list of movies in various genres that it would be a good starting point for folks to at least dip their toes in a genre they had little or no knowledge of.

The first incarnation of this list was “250 Movies You Oughta See” that I pretty much drew up on my own. There were some folks who put in their suggestion here and there but most of it was me. And that list I drew up two or three years ago. Since then we’ve seen a lot of movies come out. It occurred to me that it was time that I revised the list dramatically.

And this time I decided that I would open it up and ask members of the BETTER IN THE DARK Facebook group for their input. And boy, did I get it. But I’m really glad I did. I got a lot of movies I wouldn’t have even thought of. And with such a wide and diverse group I was confident I would get an equally wide and diverse range of movies. Which is exactly what I got.

Couple of things. I want to stress that this is not and I repeat not a “Best Movies” list. It’s a “Oughta See” List. Which simply means that these are movies that I and others think you Oughta See because we think they’re pretty damn good movies. But we’re not saying that they’re the best in a given genre so let’s get that out of the way and done.

And it will do no good for you to jump up and down screaming that your favorite Science Fiction or Crime Movies isn’t here. The first and foremost purpose of this list is for fun. It’s not meant to be a comprehensive list of every single movie in every single genre. The best way I would hope that you guys use this list is to scan it and jot down the names of movies that sound good or you’ve been planning to see or that you’ve heard of from friends or movies you just want to take a chance on watching. Okay?

And now, here’s where I thank those BiTD friends who helped me put together this list. And here they are:

Mark Bousquet. Tobias Christopher. Zoe Collins. Kelen Conley. James Dye. Gordon Dymowski. Michael Franzoni. Erik Fromme. Lucas Garrett Don Gates. Orenthal Hawkins. James Hickson. Lonni Susan Holland. Chris Johnson. Matthew Laub. JD Mathis. Tom Moses. Chris Munn. David Olfers. Adam Orchekowski. David A. Pascarella. Arthur Ratnick. Jeffrey Rist. Andrew Salmon. Kenneth Smith. Parker G. Stanfield. Sean Taylor.

Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you all for your time and your suggestions. Some of them were phenomenal. Some were downright dangerous. Others provocative and while still others hilarious. But all are appreciated and I don’t take your participation lightly.

I have run my mouth sufficiently so now it’s time to present the list at last. Enjoy and I hope that this list will enable you to enjoy movies that you would not otherwise have even heard of. Good night and God Bless.

 

COMEDIES

9 TO 5

A Christmas Story

Airplane

Amazon Women On The Moon

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

Animal House

Arsenic And Old Lace

Beetlejuice

Better Off Dead

Blazing Saddles

Bridesmaids

Cannonball Run

Clerks

Clerks II

Clue

Down Periscope

Ghostbusters

Johnny Dangerously

Midnight Run

Mother, Jugs & Speed

Murder By Death

Never Give A Sucker An Even Break

Office Space

Oscar

Sleeper

South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut

Smokey and The Bandit

SuperTroopers

The Blues Brothers

The Bride Came C.O.D.

The Kentucky Fried Movie

Trains, Planes & Automobiles

Tropic Thunder

UHF

Young Frankenstein

EPIC DRAMAS

A Clockwork Orange

A Face in The Crowd

A Raisin in The Sun

As Good As It Gets

Becket

Ben-Hur

Black Narcissus

Boogie Nights

Casablanca

Citizen Kane

Germany Year Zero

Gladiator

Glory

Imitation of Life

Jaws

Legends of The Fall

Lolita

Master & Commander

Nothing But A Man

On The Beach

Raging Bull

Rocky

Schindler’s List

Seven Samurai

Shawshank Redemption

Spartacus

Taxi Driver

The Bad and The Beautiful

The Grapes of Wrath

The Lion In Winter

The Ten Commandments

The Third Man

Titanic

To Have and Have Not

To Sir, With Love

Troy

Twelve Angry Men (both versions)

Gone With The Wind

Cape Fear (both versions)

Falling Down

FANTASY

Dragonslayer

Excalibur

Jason And The Argonauts

Ladyhawke

Merlin

Star Wars

The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen

The Empire Strikes Back

The Green Pastures

The Neverending Story

The Princess Bride

The Seventh Seal

The Sword And The Sorcerer

The Thief Of Bagdad (1940)

The Wizard of Oz

Time Bandits

Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (1971)

SPORTS

A League of Their Own

Brian’s Song

Cool Runnings

Eight Men Out

Field of Dreams

Friday Night Lights

He Got Game

Hoop Dreams

Hoosiers

Necessary Roughness

Pride Of The Yankees

Remember The Titans

Rudy

Slapshot

The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars And Motor Kings

The Sandlot

The Wrestler

When We Were Kings

White Men Can’t Jump

CHICK FLICKS

An Angel At My Table

Bright Star

Clueless

Dirty Dancing

Fried Green Tomatoes

He’s Just Not That Into You

How Stella Got Her Groove Back

How To Marry A Millionaire

Love Story

Pretty Woman

Sense and Sensibility

Spice World

Steel Magnolias

Terms of Endearment

Thelma & Louise

The Bridges of Madison County

The English Patient

The First Wives Club

The Notebook

The Piano

The Proposal

The Red Shoes

Under A Tuscany Sun

The Way We Were

Waiting to Exhale

What Women Want

When Harry Met Sally

SCIENCE FICTION

12 Monkeys

2001: A Space Odyssey

A.I.: Artificial Intelligence

Alien

Children Of Men

Close Encounters of The Third Kind

Back To The Future Trilogy

Blade Runner

Dark City

Dr. Cyclops

Enemy Mine

eXistenZ

Forbidden Planet

Gattaca

La Jetee

Metropolis

Moon

Planet of The Apes

Robocop

Serenity

Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan

Sunshine

Soylent Green

The Blob (both versions)

The Bride of Frankenstein

The Fountain

Westworld

ACTION/ADVENTURE

300

48 Hours

Aliens

All Through The Night

Beverly Hills Cop

Big Trouble In Little China

Die Hard Series

Dr. No

Enter The Dragon

Equilibrium

Escape From New York

Indiana Jones Series

Jurassic Park

Lethal Weapon Series

King Kong (Original & Peter Jackson remake)

Mad Max

National Treasure

Passenger 57

Predator

Raiders of The Lost Ark

Sahara

Silver Streak

Tango & Cash

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

The 13th Warrior

The Fifth Element

The Hidden Fortress

The Last Dragon

The Road Warrior

The Terminator

WESTERNS

3:10 To Yuma (both versions)

Barbarossa

Bend In The River

Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid

Cat Ballou

Dead Man

Duel at Diablo

El Dorado

Forty Guns

Hidalgo

High Noon

Lonesome Dove

My Name Is Nobody

Once Upon A Time In The West

Open Range

Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid

Quigley Down Under

Ride The High Country

Rio Bravo

Silverado

Stagecoach

The Angel and The Badman

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

The Magnificent Seven

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

The Missouri Breaks

The Outlaw

The Professionals

The Quick And The Dead

The Searchers

Valdez Is Coming

Vera Cruz

The Virginian

The War Wagon

The Wild Bunch

The Wrath of God

Two Mules For Sister Sarah

Tombstone

True Grit

Unforgiven

MUSICALS

1776

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum

A Hard Day’s Night

Cabin In The Sky

Cabaret

Chicago

Dreamgirls

Godspell

Grease

Guys And Dolls

Hair

Hairspray

Jailhouse Rock

How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying

Jesus Christ, Superstar

Little Shop of Horrors

Mamma Mia

Moulin Rouge

Pennies From Heaven

Showboat (1936)

Singin’ In the Rain

South Pacific

The Apple

The Music Man

The Sound of Music

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

Victor/Victoria

Wattstax

West Side Story

The Wiz

WAR MOVIES

Apocalypse Now Redux

Band of Brothers

Blackhawk Down

Fixed Bayonets!

Full Metal Jacket

Hamburger Hill

Inglourious Basterds

Kelly’s Heroes

Letters From Iwo Jima

M*A*S*H

Paths of Glory

Platoon

Red Tails

Saving Private Ryan

The Big Red One

The Bridge Over The River Kwai

The Dirty Dozen

The Hurt Locker

The Steel Helmet

The Thin Red Line

Three Kings

Tuskegee Airmen

We Were Soldiers

Where Eagles Dare

HORROR

American Werewolf in London

Angel Heart

Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

Cabin In The Woods

Candyman

Carrie

Carnival of Souls

Dawn of The Dead

Demon Seed

Event Horizon

Halloween

House on Haunted Hill (1959)

Insidious

Let’s Scare Jessica To Death

Night of The Hunter

Night of The Living Dead

Nightmare on Elm Street

Phantasm

Poltergeist

Psycho

Stir of Echoes

Suspiria

The Abominable Dr. Phibes

The Beyond

The Birds

The Black Cat

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

The Changeling

The Crazies (both versions)

The Exorcist

The Haunting (1963)

The Invisible Man

The Island of Lost Souls

The Last Man on Earth

The Thing (both versions)

Trick ‘R Treat

ODDITIES

Battle Royale

Barton Fink

Big Fish

Blue Velvet

Buckaroo Banzai

Brazil

City of Lost Children

Crash

Day Watch

Dogma

Donnie Darko

Edward Scissorhands

Eraserhead

Heathers

Hudson Hawk

Ichi The Killer

Identity

Inception

Liquid Sky

Miracle Mile

Mulholland Drive

Naked Lunch

Night Watch

Oldboy

Repo Man

Six String Samurai

Speed Racer

The Big Lebowski

The Cell

The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover

The Point

The Thirteenth Floor

Time Bandits

Videodrome

Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

CRIME

A Rage In Harlem

Bonnie & Clyde

Charlie Varrick

Cotton Comes To Harlem

Detour

Double Indemnity

Donnie Brasco

Drive

Ghost Dog: Way of The Samurai

Goodfellas

Heat

High Sierra

Hoodlum

Jackie Brown

King of New York

L.A. Confidential

Last Man Standing

Little Caesar

Memento

Miller’s Crossing

New Jack City

Ocean’s Eleven (both versions)

Once Upon A Time In America

Pickup on South Street

Pulp Fiction

Scarface (both versions)

Shadow of a Doubt

Shaft(1971)

Silence of The Lambs

Sin City

The Big Sleep

The Conversation

The Departed

The Godfather Trilogy

The Italian Job

The Maltese Falcon

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three

The Thin Man

The Third Man

The Usual Suspects

Touch of Evil

Zodiac

SUPERHERO

Batman (1969)

Batman (1989)

Batman Returns

Batman: Mask of The Phantasm

Batman Trilogy

Blade

Blade 2

Captain America: The First Avenger

Darkman

Danger: Diabolik

Dick Tracy

Doctor Strange

Dredd

Hellboy

Hellboy and The Golden Army

Hulk

Incredible Hulk

Iron Man

Iron Man 2

Meteor Man

Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins

Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow

Sky High

Spider-Man

Spider-Man 2

Superman

Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut

The Avengers

The Incredibles

The Phantom

The Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941 serial)

The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl

The Rocketeer

The Shadow

Thor

Unbreakable

V For Vendetta

Watchmen

X-Men

X-Men 2

X-Men: First Class

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

ANIMATION

A Boy Named Charlie Brown

Akira

American Pop

Antz

Beauty and The Beast

Chicken Run

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs

Cool World

Despicable Me

Fantasia

Fantastic Planet

Finding Nemo

Fire & Ice

Ghost In The Shell

Grave of The Fireflies

Happy Feet

Heavy Metal

How To Train Your Dragon

Iron Giant

Laputa: Castle In The Sky

Lilo And Stitch

Mulan

Princess Mononoke

Rock and Rule

South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut

Spirited Away

Steamboy

Streetfight

The Aristocats

The Castle of Cagliostro

The Jungle Book

The Lion King

The Triplets of Belleville

The Tune

Toy Story

Toy Story 3

UP

Waking Life

Wall-E

Wizards

SPY & ESPIONAGE THRILLERS

Hunt For Red October

In Like Flint

North by Northwest

Taken

The Good Shepard

The James Bond Series

The Jason Bourne Trilogy

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

The Professional

Ronin

Safe House

Salt

Sneaker

Spy Game

Three Days of The Condor

Spione

Primary Colors

 

 

1998

Universal Studios

Directed by Mike Nichols

Produced by Mike Nichols, Jonathan Krane and Neil Machlis

Screenplay by Elaine May

Based on “Primary Colors” by Joe Klein

A lot of you reading this review won’t remember the controversy and hullabaloo when PRIMARY COLORS hit the screens back in ‘98. The book it’s based on was originally credited to “Anoymous” as it is in the movie’s credits.  Written by political journalist/columnist Joe Klein, the book and movie were both supposedly based on Bill Clinton’s first presidential campaign. And after watching John Travolta and Billy Bob Thornton doing dead-bang near perfect impersonations of Bill Clinton and James Carville it’s hard to argue against that.  But even if you don’t know a dodgamn thing about Bill Clinton or his presidency, PRIMARY COLORS works as a political drama/satire/comedy on all levels due to the exceptionally strong work of the amazing cast. Sure, there are a few serious bumps along the way but on the whole, PRIMARY COLORS is a Must See Movie about American politics.

Henry Burton (Adrian Lester) is the idealistic grandson of a 1960’s civil rights leader.  He’s involved in American politics in small ways until he’s practically kidnapped into the presidential campaign of Senator Jack Stanton (John Travolta).  Henry’s extremely reluctant to take the job of Campaign Manager until he sees Stanton interact with the public, especially at a meeting with the students of an adult illiteracy class where Stanton brings everybody to tears with the story of how his Uncle Charlie won the Congressional Medal of Honor but didn’t have the courage to admit he couldn’t read. Uncle Charlie will also be influential in other ways later on in the story I dare not reveal.

Henry is totally swept into the campaign by Stanton’s trusted circle: his wife Susan (Emma Thompson) political strategist Richard Jemmons (Billy Bob Thornton) Spokeswoman Daisy Green (Maura Tierney) and Howard Ferguson (Paul Guifoyle). And they hit the campaign trail which takes them all in directions none of them ever imagined a presidential campaign would take them. Mainly because Jack’s inability to keep it in his pants. One scandal piles on top of another as one of Jack’s mistresses comes forward with tapes of their romantic conversations. And if that wasn’t enough, one of Jack’s friends informs Henry that his 16 year old daughter is pregnant and claims Jack as the father.  To counter all this, Henry, Daisy and Richard bring in Libby Holden (Kathy Bates) to dig up the dirt on the Stantons and clean it up before it can be used against them. Libby has special qualifications for the job as she is a firm political ally of the Stantons and has known them since they were all radical college students.  But Libby suffers from the same disease as Henry. They both have what Richard calls “Terminal TB” They’re both True Believers in Jack Stanton and that belief may be more dangerous than anything else…

Believe it or not, despite my description, PRIMARY COLORS is actually very funny at times. And it worked for me because it made me feel as if I were really getting inside the heart of a political campaign and seeing how it operates.  I liked the scenes where it showed that while Jack Stanton is out shaking hands and kissing babies, it’s his staff that is actually making the pivotal decisions for his career. I liked the scenes where Richard walks into a room and immediately lies down on a bed or couch and fields questions from the other staff members and formulates strategy as if it’s something he was born to do.  I liked how Henry struggled to hold onto to his core values and principals even in the face of such blatant manipulation of public opinion and perception by not only his staff but everybody else involved in the presidential race.

Adrian Lester I knew from the British crime drama “Hustle” and was pleasantly surprised at seeing him in this movie. His British accent and manner slips through at times but he’s good at being our eyes and ears into the Stanton campaign. Maura Tierney is just as good as Daisy Green but then again, Maura Tierney is good in every role I’ve seen her play. Supposedly there was an interracial love subplot between Daisy and Henry that got cut and I can understand why. We see a couple of scenes with the characters together in bed and that’s all we really need to know because these characters have a love affair with politics and not each other.

And every time I see this movie I fall in love with Emma Thompson.  She’s simply amazing and totally into the role. I don’t think she’s going so much for a straight-up and down Hillary Clinton impersonation as she is trying to get us to understand the mindset and drive of women who link their destiny to that of men like Jack. The genius of the movie is that we never get a scene with Jack and Susan alone where we get to hear what they discuss in private, away from advisors and press and I like it that way.

But it’s John Travolta and Kathy Bates who clearly walk away with the movie.  As Jack Stanton, Travolta plays a man who is so full of charisma that people fall over themselves to just be in his presence. It’s a performance that just leaves me amazed every time I see it because Travolta does such a good job of disappearing inside of Jack Stanton. And he makes Jack Stanton his own character.  Sure, we see Bill Clinton in there because that’s who it’s supposed to be but Travolta puts spins on the character and I appreciate that he did so in order not to make Stanton a caricature.

And Kathy Bates as Libby is the soul and conscience of the Stantons.  She has a marvelous scene near the end of the movie where she shows Jack and Susan pictures of the three of them when they were young and idealistic and thought they could change the world. And then she begs them to make the right decision. They don’t.

So should you see PRIMARY COLORS? Absolutely yes. It’s a movie full of laughs but it’s also a movie full of seriousness. It feels honest and it feels real. It also feels joyous and sad. It gives hope and then takes it away.  I’m the first person to scoff at a movie that claims to be based on real people or events but somehow I got the sneaking suspicion that PRIMARY COLORS at times comes uncomfortably close to the truth of how politics in America really are.

143 minutes

Rated R

 

 

 

 

Hope Springs

2012

Columbia Pictures

Directed by David Frankel

Produced by Todd Black and Guymon Casady

Written by Vanessa Taylor

I’m highly reluctant to describe HOPE SPRINGS as a “romantic comedy” because it’s nowhere near as brain dead as 90% of the movies in that genre. HOPE SPRINGS is too smart for that. I suppose the best label that can be slapped on it is “dramedy” as it’s got too much drama to be a flat-out comedy but yet it’s got more than its share of lighter moments to be classified as a straight-up drama. But whatever you do, don’t be taken in by the trailers which makes this movie out to be a wacky laugh riot with Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones and Steve Carell trading funny lines.  HOPE SPRINGS is most definitely not that kind of movie.

Kay (Meryl Streep) and Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones) have been married for thirty-one years.  They apparently have an affluent life-style and have raised good children. He works hard at his job and she keeps a good home. But for Kay it’s not enough. There’s an emotional disconnect between herself and her husband she doesn’t know how to fix. Fortunately she runs across a book written by Dr. Feld (Steve Carell) who is a specialist in couples counseling. Desperate to reignite the long dead flames of passion in their marriage, Kay persuades Arnold to attend a weeklong counseling session in the small Maine town of Hope Springs where Dr. Feld lives and works.

It isn’t going to be easy. Arnold doesn’t see the need for counseling and even though at first Kay is all for it, there are some long buried feelings inside her that get poked and she’s not entirely comfortable with that.  There are some deep emotional and sexual issues in conflict here and it’s going to take a maximum effort from Arnold and Kay to get this marriage back to where it once was.  But can they? Do they even want to?

This is very much a relationship movie targeted at an older audience. Not that younger movie fans of Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones can’t go see this and won’t get something out of the struggles of their characters as they re-learn how to love each other in ways that are sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes sad, sometimes funny and occasionally downright hilarious.

Saying that Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones are extraordinary actors is as unnecessary as saying water is wet. And you would think that this kind of role is one that Meryl Streep could play with her eyes closed but as usual she makes whatever she does on camera look as fresh as if she’s making it up as she goes along.  As for Tommy Lee Jones, he’s one of those very few actors who are funniest when they’re not trying to be funny. Some of the best laughs he gets are when he’s delivering his lines with an absolute straight face and deadly seriousness.  He trusts that the situation and the reaction from his co-stars will sell the lines and it does.  Steve Carell’s role as Dr. Feld is the most surprising one in the movie and I’ll leave it for you to discover how if you choose to see this movie.  He’s really interesting in how he quietly stays back and doesn’t try to steal scenes from the two old pros. Watch what he does in this movie and I think you’ll agree with me that it’s some of his best work so far.  I can’t stand him in “The Office” but I don’t think there’s a movie Steve Carell has been in I’ve seen I didn’t thoroughly enjoy his performance.

There’s some solid work from Jean Smart, Mimi Rogers and Elisabeth Shue in roles that are actually extended cameos.  But they use their time wisely like the talented actresses they are and it’s always welcome to see them in a movie.

So should you see HOPE SPRINGS? If you’ve been lamenting that movies now are all about superheroes and special effects this is most definitely the movie for you. There’s nothing here except for a mature story about rebuilding a marriage, the usual wonderful acting from Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones, a surprisingly different performance from Steve Carell and solid support from Jean Smart, Mimi Rogers and Elisabeth Shue. Combine that with beautiful photography and locations and you’ve got the perfect date movie for married couples.  Enjoy.

100 minutes

PG-13

Full Clip

2004

Lions Gate Films

Directed by mink

Produced by Happy Walters and Scott Nemus

Written by Kantz

Usually when looking through the $5 bin at Wal-Mart or Target or browsing through Netflix looking for something good, I steer clear of urban action movies starring rappers.  Why?  Well, because most of them aren’t good. I’ve seen some of them and it always strikes me that more work was spent on the soundtrack than on a decent script.

So how did I end up watching FULL CLIP? Because I recently watched the 1975 Blaxplotation classic “Bucktown” and while doing research for the review I read FULL CLIP being mentioned as a remake of that movie so I figured why not give it a watch.  And you know what? I’m glad I did. FULL CLIP surprised me by being a really entertaining B-movie.  It’s got enough of the heart and soul of “Bucktown” to make it a legitimate remake but it also stands as its own movie. It’s not necessary to watch the movies back to back but I certainly would recommend it as a Saturday night double feature.

FULL CLIP is presented as the film adaptation of a graphic novel that actually doesn’t exist.  Scene changes and transitions are done as comic book panels and it’s just enough to give you that sort of flavor and put you in the mindset of how you should take this movie. In fact, some of the transitions reminded me of the transitions Ang Lee did in his “Hulk” and raises the look of the movie up a couple of notches.  Now I’m not suggesting for a minute that FULL CLIP rises to the same level of artistry and sophistication as “Hulk” but it is nice to see a director working to create a unique look and style for his movie.

Joshua Pope (Busta Rhymes) returns to his Alabama hometown for his father’s funeral. He intends just to stay long enough to bury his father and then leave. But then he finds out that his father has left him $250,000, a classic Cadillac as well as the ownership of a dilapidated hotel managed by Sleepy (Bubba Smith).  It’s going to take some time for the paperwork to be processed so Joshua is persuaded to stay and help run the hotel. It’s not just Sleepy who persuades him to do so.  The gorgeous Simone (Shakara Ledard) is also a powerful reason for Joshua to hang around.

But there’s just as powerful a reason for Joshua to leave: Sheriff Wallace (Mark Boone Junior) and his right hand man McCloud (Shaun Baker) who make it clear they don’t want Joshua around.  Turns out that Sheriff Wallace and McCloud are as crooked as they come, shaking down the whole town for protection money as well as controlling the prostitution, gambling and drug trade.  The elder Pope tried to stop paying and got killed as an example to everybody else.

Joshua realizes he’s going to need help and one phone call later he gets it. His buddy and fellow ex-Green Beret Duncan (Xzibit) arrives to provide that help. And along with his crew of mercenaries (Tiny Lister’s one of ‘em) they help Joshua take down Wallace and his corrupt cops.

And that’s where Joshua’s problems begin. Duncan realizes that this is a pretty sweet set-up and he steps right into the place once occupied by Wallace.  And in fact, Duncan and his crew are even worse as they really start to screw the town for every last nickel.  Joshua soon comes to realize that he brought this trouble to town and he’s the one who’s going to have to deal with it once and for all.  Which means a bloody showdown with Duncan and his mercenaries.

What makes FULL CLIP enjoyable for me is that the writer, director and actors apparently all are familiar with the genres of Blaxplotation and Grindhouse as this movie fits comfortably in both genres.  If they took this too seriously it wouldn’t work. But everybody is having just enough fun to let us know we should sit back and just enjoy the story and performances.  This movie wouldn’t have been out of place playing in a 42end Street theater back in the 70’s.

Busta Rhymes, Shakara Ledard and Xzibit are basically playing the same roles Fred Williamson, Pam Grier and Thalmus Rasulala did in “Bucktown” and while none of them make movie history, their acting is adequate enough to support the material and that’s all I ask from a movie of this type. Bubba Smith reminds us that when he gets the chance he can be quite funny. And it’s always a pleasure to see Tiny Lister in anything and any role.  Wyclef Jean is amusing as The Narrator who pops up from time to time to comment on the characters and the action.

But we must take bitter waters with the sweet and the bitter comes in the form of Bobb’e J. Thompson who is one of those annoying child actors that we’re supposed to think is so cute because he curses and is disrespectful to every adult in the movie, even his mother. Cute isn’t the word I would use for him.  And I wish that Ellen Cleghorne had played her role without the unnecessary Jamaican accent that sounds as if she’s doing a bad Miss Cleo imitation.

So should you see FULL CLIP?  I will be the first to say that this movie is not for everybody.  Some people just don’t take to urban action movies starring rappers and I’ll be honest: if it wasn’t for the fact I like Busta Rhymes and Xzibit, I’d probably have given it a pass as well.  But given that the cast has such solid players as Bubba Smith, Mark Boone Junior and Tiny Lister present, I gave it a try.  And I wasn’t sorry I did. I don’t think you will be either.

95

Rated R

Safety Not Guaranteed

2012

FilmDistrict

Directed by Colin Trevorrow

Produced by Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass

Written by Derek Connolly

 

“Wanted: Somebody to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. You’ll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. I have only done this once before. Safety not guaranteed.”

This is the newspaper advertisement that sets the story of SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED in motion.  This apparently was an actual ad placed in a California newspaper way back in 1997.  According to the guy who wrote the ad one of his his jobs at that newspaper was to come up with filler ads when the classified ads page came up short.  The SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED ad wasn’t one he came up with on the spot.  It’s the opening lines of his unfinished novel.  I intend to find out if he ever did write that novel if only to see if it’s anywhere near as clever and as fun as the movie.

Three reporters for a Seattle magazine are intrigued by the ad that appears in the newspaper in the small town of Ocean View and decide to investigate it to see if it’s a joke or what. Jeff Schwensen (Jake Johnson) talked his boss (Mary Lynn Rajskub) into the whole idea without telling her or his partners his real reason for wanting to go. He plans on reconnecting with a long lost girlfriend who lives there.  Arnau (Karan Soni) really doesn’t care one way or another as he’s only interning at the magazine to diversify his resume.  Darius Britt (Aubrey Plaza) lives with her widowed father (Jeff Garlin) and is way too young to be so cynical and disillusioned by life.

They stake out the P.O. Box stipulated in the ad and find the guy who placed it.  Kenneth Calloway (Mark Duplass) works as a clerk in a grocery store.  Jeff’s attempt to connect with Kenneth fails miserably but Darius has way more success. Mainly because she treats him with total seriousness.  So convincing is she that after a few tests he trusts her enough to accept her as a partner.  Kenneth says his purpose in going back in time is to prevent the death of his girlfriend Belinda (Kristen Bell).  This touches Darius in a way that begins to crack the stone that her heart has become.  Even if he’s nuts, he’s a romantic nut and what woman can resist that?  While Jeff is off romancing Liz (Jenica Bergere) and trying to rekindle that long ago relationship, Darius gets closer to Kenneth and slowly she begins to think that there’s a lot more to the story than they thought.

Take Kenneth’s insistence that he’s being monitored by the government.  Darius, Jeff and Arnau figure he’s just being paranoid.  Until it turns out that Kenneth actually is being followed by Honest-To-Will Smith Men In Black.  Kenneth also is building some kind of device of incredible sophistication in his garage if the designs and blueprints Darius sneaks a peek at are to be believed.  Kenneth also seems to have an exceptional level of technical knowledge for a grocery store clerk as well as mysterious access to huge amounts of cash. But on the other hand, Kenneth has no problem lying about everything and anything and he demonstrates an extremely volatile and even frightening temper. Darius is never sure if Kenneth actually can travel through time or if he’s just forgetting to take his meds every day.

Is Kenneth actually a time traveler?  Has he done it before and can he do it again?  And does the fact that Darius finds Belinda alive and well means that he actually does go back in time to prevent her from dying or is he dangerously deluded?

Although I went in thinking that SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED was a science fiction movie (and to be fair…there is a sci-fi element near the end) instead I found a romantic comedy.  But it’s not one of those disgustingly trite and shallow romcoms that are turned out with all the creativity and intelligence of a cheese sandwich.  The two love stories played out are both unique and delightful to watch. This is a romantic comedy that has actual characters who interact with each other and talk to each other and are not just acting and talking like idiots because the cards handed in by preview audiences said they prefer watching a move with idiots.

Most of my enjoyment of SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED came from Aubrey Plaza who is the second funniest cast member on NBC’s “Parks and Recreation.”  And if I have to tell you who is the funniest then you can just leave the room.  Aubrey Plaza has the best deadpan expression I’ve ever seen and she can say more with that expression and those wonderful eyes of her than other actors can with three pages of dialog.

Jake Johnson really surprised me in this movie as I only know him from Fox’s “New Girl” and here he plays a sleazy, sneaky character totally unlike the guy he plays in “New Girl.”  Matter of fact, there’s a lot of good work here from this cast of actors who I mostly know from television, such as Mary Lynn Rajskub who every week effortlessly stole scenes as CTU systems analyst Chloe O’Brian on Fox’s “24”and Kristen Bell who is still remembered more for her WB television series “Veronica Mars” than for any of her movies

So should you see SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED?  If you’re in the mood for a quirky, oddball romantic comedy that doesn’t adhere to the tired formula of the genre, I say give it try. I don’t think you’ll be sorry.

86 minutes

Rated R