Henry's Top 100: #11 - Die Hard

The Best Christmas Movie Ever.

And the best action movie of all time.

Die Hard, about a cop who has to fight a building full of German terrorists to save his wife, created the classic action movie plot. Man, alone (perhaps with a slightly comical sidekick) must kill a lot of bad guys in a confined space with one of those bad guys being physically formidable while the main bad guy is an entertaining and cerebral scoundrel.

But being the daddy of all action movies to follow it is not what makes Die Hard the best actioner of all time.

It is the perfection with which the pacing, character interaction, and the action itself is handled by John McTiernan. The set-up is done quickly but not rushed, the stakes are made clear as we see that Hans Gruber (leader of terrorists - played by Alan Rickman) is able and willing to kill, and the character of John McLain is a fantastic every-man hero to guide us through the film.

Alan Rickman, I think it is fair to say, is probably the most charming villain ever put to film (only Hannibal Lector might compete for that title). Intelligent, determined, fair to his fellow terrorists (there's no moment where he randomly kills one of his own team just because), Hans is a perfect counterpoint to John McLain.

Full of classic moments, lines ("Now I have a machine gun: Ho, Ho, Ho" being my favorite), and really solid gun/fist fighting...just a modern classic.

Best Scene: Hans telling the FBI he wants certain individuals released from prison...and the reason why he does it.

Henry's Top 100: #12 - The Godfather

Between this, Casablanca and Citizen Kane not being in my top ten I bet you think I'm out of my mind...

A movie so classic, and so often quoted, that it is easy to just see as an iconic piece of Americana and not the brilliant film it is. Compared to Shakespeare, the story (which I know you know) of a Mob boss' family as it faces attacks from other mob families, the police, and it's own weaknesses, it is a true epic.

I appreciate the movie more than any other movie that will follow it on the list - I just don't love the film like the next 11; and it is no fault of the movie. It is just such a pillar of greatness, that all American movies since must be held up next too, that it is hard to love the film. It doesn't feel like it is "mine" like the next 11. Still, this is one of the top ten movies ever made, without question, and a flawless, literally flawless, film.

Best Scene: Al Pacino in the restaurant

Henry's Top 100: #13 - L.A. Confidential

My favorite cop procedural ever made.

First things first: This is among the best casts ever assembled. Crowe, Pierce, Spacey, Cromwell, and I guess Basinger (how was she the only one to be nominated for, much less win, an Oscar?) are beyond perfect together. What a risk to get two unknown Australians as your two leads and it ended up being one of the great gambles in movie history.

Spacey, as one of the three leads, does strong work. But it is Russel Crowe, as Bud White, and Guy Pierce, as Ed Exley, that carry the film. Their character's, so different and both filled with fascinating complexities, achieve iconic status in my mind.

The script, an Oscar winner, adapts an incredibly complex novel into a very coherent and relatively brisk film. It's worth noting that this film was considered the "dark horse" against Titanic in the Best Picture category in 1997. It of course had no chance, and of course was a much better film, but history has definitely been much kind to L.A. Confidential.

I don't have much more to say, I simply respect / enjoy the heck out of this movie. The best of the neo-noir films and a flawless cop movie.

Best Scene: The Ed Exley interrogation scene that culminates in a brutal bit of Russian Roulette.

Henry's Top 100 #14 - Good Will Hunting

It's not your fault...


Almost definitely the best thing anyone involved in the making of the movie has ever done.

Matt Damon: Really like the guy, love Bourne Identity, enjoy his role in Eurotrip, thought he was great in The Departed...this is his best performance.

Robin Williams: Truly unbearable in almost anything and yet I think he's fantastic in Good Will Hunting (even if I don't totally buy him as a guy from Southie). But he is so different from how he usually acts, and so warm and engaging, that this clearly is the role of Williams' life time.

Ben Affleck: I mean, duh, but the thing is...Affleck is actually really good in the film. Like he actually gives a great performance. In the end, playing a doofy, charming, loyal friend to a genius, Bostonian seems to fit Affleck for some reason...

Gus Van Sant: As I said in my review for Milk: this is his best film. By a lot.

And Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's script, which isn't subtle and wears its heart on its sleeve, is immensely entertaining and touching.

Just a bit of a must-see. It seems to me, though the film can be loved by anyone, that Good Will Hutning speaks especially to a young man. No, most of us aren't geniuses, but a lot of us face an uncertain future we are afraid to confront and must deal with our friends' expectations, girl issues, and questions of our self-worth. All the personal events of Will Hunting's life aside (Which...weren't his fault) his dilemmas are most of our dilemmas writ large.

A phenomenal film filled with wonderful moments ("Apples", "I'll fuckin' kill ya", "He stole my line") and just...I know I just compared Rushmore to The Graduate a few movies ago but if one movie from the last ten years captures the place young men find themselves in this world as a young adult, like The Graduate did 40 years, ago...it's Good Will Hunting.

Best Scene: Chuckie telling Will what the best part of his day is.

Henry's Top 100: #15 - Gladiator

...Fine I'll say it..."ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!?!"


So anyone who had seen L.A. Confidential knew that Russel Crowe could be a tough guy with some sensitivity.

And anyone who saw The Insider knew that Russel Crowe could act his ass off.

But Ridley Scott somehow knew that by casting Russel Crowe as Maximus in Gladiator, he could set a new standard for the premiere masculine bad-ass in film. Prior holders of this title include Errol Flynn, John Wayne, Sean Connery, Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, and Mel Gibson. But Russel Crowe is the current holder of this title and hasn't really had a challenger for the crown since Gladiator first came out.

It really says something that I know as many females that like Gladiator as males. It speaks to the non-action-scene parts of the movie (which actually are compelling and contain very strong performances from Oliver Reed and Joaquin Phoenix) and to just how awesome Russel Crowe is as the lead character.

But let's not ignore the action. Yes, along with the two Bourne sequels, this movie is the most responsible for Hollywood's obsession with shooting action scenes with shakey cam, too many closeups, a thousand cuts, and all the things I hated about the action in Quantum of Solace or Batman Begins. But unlike Greengrass, Forster or Nolan, Ridley Scott made it work. You were never confused as to what was going on. He's the only director to use this style to actually make the action visceral and not just frustrating.

A truly fun and superior film that aims for, and achieves, iconic status. My favorite movie of its genre (swords and sandals) and just damn entertaining.

Best Scene: "My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next."

Here it is... in French...cause Youtube doesn't have everything:

Henry's Top 100: #16 - Rushmore

"I always wanted to be in one of your fuckin' plays."

I've always thought of this movie as "The Graduate" of my era. I like this movie much more than The Graduate...but I don't think its too hard to see what Wes Andersen's biggest influence was. It's not just the semi-similar plots (Young boy falls for older woman) but its the style of the filmmaking; the use of the soundtrack; the ambiguous but optimistic ending...an essay could be written comparing the two.

What puts Rushmore this high on the list is the sense of fun and heart the movie shows. Think of the scene where Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman escalate attacks on each other:


Fun.


But it's really the heart of Rushmore that wins me over.
"She's my Rushmore."
"I know. She was mine too."

"I guess you've just gotta find something you love to do and then... do it for the rest of your life. For me, it's going to Rushmore."

"At least nobody got hurt."
"Except you."
"Nah, I didn't get hurt that bad."

Which leads into my favorite scene from the film, the last scene, and just a great capper to a phenomenal movie:

Henry Saw: Frost/Nixon

Now that's more like it...

So it's been a run of disappointing to bland to unbelievably bad movies for me over the last few weeks. Since the entertaining Milk I've seen Cadillac Records (C), Punisher: War Zone (F), Bolt (B-), Doubt (B, but probably more of a B- on reflection as nothing from this movie stuck with me), The Day the Earth Stood Still Again (D+), and Seven Pounds (D-). I also saw Gran Torino, a movie Ben will be reviewing, that also did not live up to its potential...

Well Frost/Nixon stops that streak thankfully. Frost/Nixon (F/N) is a thoroughly entertaining, expertly acted, cleverly scripted, and capably directed film. It's a film that rewards the viewer for knowing something about history, television, and yet doesn't just rely on these two subjects as would have been easy to do (in more ways than one).

I had never heard of the Frost/Nixon interviews before the play opened in New York in 2007. Once the movie's release began approaching I decided to read the play (as I had not really thought to try to go while it was running here), read a bit of David Frost's book on the subject (boring), and watch the portion of the interview that was concerning Watergate and contains the content that makes up the climax of the film. The actual interview was the most interesting for me. Having watched it, I could see why it must have seemed like a big deal at the time, but also why I had never heard of them. By the time I arrived on the scene, and truly became a thinking and interested individual, George W. Bush was our President. And with the precedence of Nixon himself, and Bill Clinton's second term, we didn't need a landmark television interview and half-confession from our 37th President to tell us that our Government is not only not infallible but prone to being a bit of a joke.

Still, I could see where Morgan saw the drama in these interviews, and once reading the play was quite excited to see these words put in the mouths of strong actors. And the acting in the movie does not disappoint. I will start with the weightier, and more written about, role: Frank Langella as Richard Nixon. The hype and subsequent raving reviews were right; Langella is indeed fantastic. Uncomfortable yet eager and earnest to win people over...very thoughtful and solemn yet sly and not without charm...Langella's Nixon is a man who is proud of who he is yet wishes desperately he could be someone else. Whether that be David Frost, John Kennedy, or simply himself...before he got involved with the controversy that followed him throughout his Presidency. Langella, who has always had a dominating presence on screen, uses that to full effect for F/N. He lumbers about but never parodies Nixons mannerisms and when he speaks, in a voice that echoes more than mimics Nixon's famous rumble, he ends every sentence with a certain weight.

Michael Sheen, A.K.A. Tony Blair, is given the much less showy role but he also impresses. His David Frost is very charming. A natural showman who saw an opportunity to gain mainstream respect, Frost jumped at the chance to be the first "reporter" to interview Nixon in the post-Watergate era. He did this not because he had some great need to get the man to confess to anything, but because 400 million people watched Nixon's resignation speech. Frost saw a chance to regain some of his lost clout and secure himself a seat at all the post parties and restaurants in New York, London, etc. He also got the rights for the interviews with Nixon without first securing the proper funds needed and without sufficient interest in his subject and his goals for the interviews. This rush to be the man to get Nixon on tape, without first realizing all that must go into it, makes up most of the drama before the big final interview. Sheen, who has a bit of a John Edwards smile, but with a more honest sense of doubt behind it, was perfectly cast. He is believable as a ringleader for a media circus and as an intelligent man who ultimately can rise to a loftier sense of purpose and intellect than interviewing the Beegees demands.

Sheen also plays well with his supporting team made up of his producer John Birt (Matthew Macdadyen), and his two investigators Bob Zelnick (Oliver Platt), and Jim Reston, Jr. (Sam Rockwell). Rockwell is the one who really shines. The most passionate of any of the involved parties, Reston believes that the interviews must be the trial that Nixon never had. Rockwell plays the earnest liberal with a great deal of authenticity and energy. It is he who butts heads the most with Sheen, demanding that Frost go on the attack more and take the whole thing more seriously.

Nixon also has a "team" made up of his agent Swifty Lazar (Toby Jones) and his Chief of Staff Jack Brennan (Kevin Bacon) among others. Bacon, in a role that would have been easy to cast anyone, brings something to the part. Brennan is an extreme loyalist to Nixon, has a lot of rage at liberal America for "spitting" on him when he came back from Vietnam, and sees the interviews as a chance for Nixon to remind the American people of all the good Nixon accomplished in office (China for instance). Never once do you feel that Brennan is dishonest or just shining Nixon's shoes - he truly cares about, and believes in, the man. That helps us like Nixon more in many ways.

As for the rest of the movie's credits...well the script and direction are both very well done. Morgan adapts his own play to great success and Ron Howard succeeds in making a film about two men talking have a compelling and fun pace. When compared to something like "Doubt", which was also adapted by the original author (John Patrick Shanley) but who was also allowed, despite having only directed one other film almost 20 years ago, to film his play...the difference is night and day. Howard, not always my favorite director and among the lesser directors to win an Academy Award in recent memory, does a very solid job in opening the play up and turning it into an actual movie whereas Shanley struggled mightily with this and greatly damaged the picture. Howard lets the actors and the script do the heavy lifting whereas Shanley refused to do so.

The movie has two scenes that I've seen written about the most that I'll briefly speak to. One is a fabricated phone call a drunk Nixon made to Frost in the middle of the night before the Watergate interview. This scene seems to be the most celebrated from the play, and Langella is given a strong monologue, but there is something forced about the direction of the scene. The constant cutting to Frost's stunned reaction and Langella's speaking into a speaker phone...it loses some of the power I imagine the scene had on stage. The other great scene is when (minor spoilers I suppose) Frost gets Nixon to admit to, and apologize for, his involvement in Watergate. This was the most effective scene in the movie for me. Langella, more than at any point in the movie, truly becomes Nixon in this scene. And being able to compare the real version and Langella's version of this moment...I "prefer" Langella's. If Langella wins the Oscar, and I think he could, this is the scene that wins it for him.

A very strong movie, probably not great enough to win Best Picture, but certainly a cut above a lot of the other contenders. A relative must-see considering how lame some of the other contenders have been. We'll see what Benjamin Button, Revolutionary Road, and (ugh) The Wrestler have to offer.

Grade: A-

Best Scene: The aforementioned "confession"

Henry's Top 100: #17 - The Usual Suspects

The Usual Suspects hasn't actually aged that well.

For one, once you know the big "surprise" then it loses just a little bit of the appeal. That's the nature of any movie like this, or the The Sixth Sense, or any of the "surprise ending" group.

Two, everyone involved is a little less fresh as they were then. Kevin Spacey, especially, is just impossible to see as a sidekick cripple nowadays. He's a two-time Oscar winner who has become a bit of a parody of himself. Gabriel Byrne has lost his magnetism, Stephen Baldwin got fat, Benicio del Toro is Che Guevara, Bryan Singer has become a bit of a joke (Superman Returns was terrible and Valkyrie has had a troubled birth)...this movie is very much a case of the right people meeting up at the right time.

Still, having just rewatched The Usual Suspects last night, this is a fantastic film.

The script, which won an Oscar, is among the best ever written. It all starts with the movie's construction. The five "usual suspects" are so distinct (which obviously is aided by the fantastic acting / casting) and the plotting is so tight...it would have been hard to mess this movie up.

But Bryan Singer not only doesn't ruin the movie but he does an awesome job. The whole movie stinks of energy and cinematic joy. Yeah, it's a bit grim, and yeah, it's not action packed...but Singer makes the movie move along so well and with such a brisk pace, that one leaves the movie feeling exhilarated.

A truly original movie that stands as one of the finest films of the 90's.

Best Scene: There's the reveal...and there's the scene showing Keyser Soze in action...but I like the intial introduction to the characters in the interrogation scenes. "I flip ya. I flip ya for real."

Henry's Top 100: #18 - The Matrix

Woah

In a world in which The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions exist...it's easy to forget how damn good the first Matrix was.

Again, try to forget how the wire-fu effects ruined action movies for awhile...and how the leather look pervaded movies...and every other bad thing that you associate with the impact The Matrix had on the cinematic world. Try to remember walking out of the theater the first time you saw the film; Neo flying into the sky, "Wake Up" by Rage Against the Machine blasting, and giant grin you had on your face.

This is a truly great movie. I don't care that it has silly fights or ridiculous shoot-outs...this is just a brilliant film. One of the great action flicks ever made and one of the most original (even though it wears its influences on its sleeve) films ever made. A modern classic.

Best Scene: I think you can guess...

Henry's Top 100: #19 - Casablanca

So not only did I not have Citizen Kane as my number 1 but I have Casablanca at only 19? I am the worst movie fan ever...

Look, if you want to tell me this is the best script in Hollywood history...I'm not gonna argue with you. It is an timeless and eternally quotable script. It is also, without a doubt, my favorite love story in film history. Cynical but caring, tragic but uplifting...perfectly handled.

Casablanca is just one of those things you have to see if you are a living person. That sounds over-the-top and silly but it is true. It's like Huck Finn or Wood's American Gothic: An essential part of American culture.

Of all the movies on this list, this is the film that you should be most embarrassed if you've never seen. Go buy, not rent, this film now. It's an essential.

Best Scene:

Henry's Top 100: #20 - Closer

Yeah...I'm kinda shocked this one made it this high too...

This isn't one of the great movies ever made. It really isn't. If I was completely objective I'd say that it is more of a B+ than in the A-range. But something about this movie just totally worked for me. From the night I first saw it in Harvard Square I always appreciated how well written and performed the film is.

In the end, one scene sticks out and elevates the film to the lofty status it has on this list. Clive Owen and Julia Roberts (who I usually hate) have a nasty breakup:



I kinda can't believe Closer is 20th on my list...but here it is.

Best Scene? You just watched it (hopefully).

Do I have to see The Wrestler?

So right now on Rotten Tomatoes "The Wrestler" has a 97% rating. Apparently it is fantastic. Apparently Mickey Rourke's performance can be compared to Marlon Brando's in "On The Waterfront".

But do I have to see it?

See, I don't get paid to do this. I don't have an editor saying "GO SEE THE WRESTLER! WE NEED A REVIEW YESTERDAY!" I see what I want to watch and skip what I would skip were I not putting up reviews. And believe me, despite the buzz, I would skip "The Wrestler" under normal circumstances. I just have zero interest. None. Wrestling bores me. Rourke doesn't impress me (yes, I've seen Diner, Angel Heart, Body Heat, 9 1/2 Weeks, and Sin City). And Aronofsky is an immensely talented filmmaker but his movies have never entertained me. π is my favorite movie of his actually. Requiem is very well done but kind of unwatchable at the same time. And The Fountain...good God...

But now The Wrestler is being hailed as the best movie of the year by many. Entertainment Weekly's second best critic (they only have two) has it as his best picture of the year for instance. But I just so don't want to see it.

Ugh. Well thankfully I have things that I was planning on seeing that I can justify to myself seeing first. Frost/Nixon, Benjamin Button, Revolutionary Road...but I guess I will have to see The Wrestler at some point...but will I be fair?

I am so ready to hate the movie; so ready to call all the critics fools. The film faces a real uphill battle with me. So if, whenever I do get around to seeing The Wrestler...if I give it a favorable review...then that means the critics were absolutely right. Cause if I like the film whenever I do see it...that means it was totally fantastic.

We'll see (maybe...)

Henry Saw: Seven Pounds

Shockingly bad

Just a dreadful movie. Boring, plodding, joyless, charmless, confusing, ridiculous, overwrought...ugh.

The first scene of Seven Pounds, Will Smith calls 911 to report a suicide. "Who is the victim?" he is asked.

"Me," he responds. It's a relatively engrossing (if stolen) opening. It's the best moment in the film sadly. The next hour involves Will Smith, an IRS agent named Ben Thomas, stalking, annoying, or sometimes helping random strangers that he has researched. In one scene, he berates Woody Harrelson's character for being a blind virgin for seemingly no good reason. Immediately afterwards, Will Smith makes a face he makes throughout the movie - its a fairly inauthentic look of remorseful grimness with a mix of sadness. He makes the same face about 2000 times in the film. The movie does not tell us why he is doing things like this or what this "plan" is that he talks to Barry Pepper about for about 3 seconds...it assumes Will Smith is a big enough star to carry the film even though he turns off the charm in Seven Pounds some reason.

So the first half sets up a mystery (though honestly it is pretty easy to guess what he's up to) and then the second half of the movie deals mostly with Ben falling in love with Rosario Dawson's character Emily who is dying of congenital heart failure. The movie's plot (already plodding) just screeches to a halt to allow these characters to connect and fall in love even though Ben won't tell Emily anything about himself. The movie's sole bright spot is Rosario Dawson who gives a strong performance despite a weak script.

I just don't know what else to say. I suppose I don't wanna spoil the movie for you...but you really shouldn't see Seven Pounds. It sucks. It's just a frustrating and dull two hours.

This is especially a disappointing effort from Will Smith. When will he, and to a lesser extent George Clooney, realize that their greatest asset is their charm? I understand they want to try to go beyond their persona and prove to the world that they are true actors...but it doesn't work. Look at Cary Grant or Sean Connery...they knew what they had to offer the world and never really tried to stray from that. Will Smith...you are a charming son of a bitch. You are, statistically, the only true movie star alive. I get that you aren't a one-trick-pony (even if your dramatic career peaked with your first film) but we want the entertaining Will Smith back. You were fine in Happyness, compelling in I Am Legend, and perfunctory in Hancock. Seven Pounds...I'm sorry, there is nothing good to be said about your performance. Let's have some fun next time out eh?

Avoid Seven Pounds. It's just an awful movie. I mean it. It's right up there with Love Guru, The Happening, and Punisher: War Zone; it's really that poor. Only watch this movie if you are on a plane or a hotel and have to fall asleep. It's awful.

Grade: D-

Best Scene: As I said, the opening little bit.

Henry's Top 100: #21 - Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

One of the truly great comedies of all time


After all the over-saturation, two poor sequels, and the kamikaze path of Mike Myers' career...this movie is still great.

It has Liz Hurley looking about as good as any "actress" (I'm being kind calling her this) has since Grace Kelly...Mike Myers is just astonishing as Dr. Evil...it is a perfect, literally perfect, parody of the early Bond movies, and it has this scene:



A total fixture of my adolescence and a movie that hasn't really aged at all, despite the odds being against it.

Best Scene: The aforementioned Dr. Evil Monologue and the "WHO DOES NUMBER 2 WORK FOR?"

Henry Saw: The Day the Earth Stood Still

This will be a brief review for a brief and boring movie


1 - Casting Keanu Reeves, as others have said, as an emotionless alien is inspired casting. Its like casting Sylvester Stallone as a dumb guy or Dakota Fanning as an intelligent child...it's easy for people to be themselves. And Keanu definitely fits as a monotone, stiff, alien.

2 - Casting Jennifer Connolly as a smart scientist is also good casting. She's very smart in real life, and despite being beautiful, carries the weight and presence of someone you would listen to and respect.

Near as I can figure, other than also casting John Cleese in a surprisingly effective cameo role, these are the only two things that this superfluous remake got right.

The first The Day the Earth Stood Still is a bit preachy and wooden but also a classic and definitely affecting. It is an excellent time capsule of the era in which it was made and, this is not a complain but a compliment, feels like a super-long episode of The Twilight Zone.

So you'll understand what I mean I hope when I say that the new remake feels like a big-budgeted Sci-Fi channel movie; with a gigantic robot and world devouring bugs.

The plot, about an Alien who comes to Earth to save the planet from us humans, holds none of the resonance of its predecessor. The 1951 version was a parable about nuclear war and how it threatened to end life on earth. The 2008 version seems to be trying to reflect global warming and the damage we are doing to the planet. It was boring when Al Gore did it and it's boring when Hollywood does it.

The action, what little there is, is weak; the effects are pretty shoddy (the robot looks horrible), and you just never really care about anything in the movie. It's very cold and never lightens up enough to let you in.

There is absolutely no reason to ever watch this film. It offers nothing of substance and no entertainment. That, and it's just freaking boring.

Grade: D+

Best Scene? The interrogation scene I guess...it was all pretty bad...

Henry's Top 100 #22 - The Princess Bride

Magic

One of the most charming movies of all time. I don't know a single person who has seen this movie that is not completely won over by the film. It is, in many ways, my generations The Wizard of Oz - everyone knows it, everyone can quote it, and everyone adores it.

I hopefully don't need to go into the plot of the film so I want to focus on why the movie is so good. For one, it is a movie for all ages. Very few movies can actually be called such a thing. From ages 4 - 70 you can be enchanted by the film. Second, it actually manages to be a damn good action movie and a solid romance. Another rare acomplishment in cinema. Third: it has three of the best characters ever put on film.

Inigo Montoya


Fezzik


and

Vizzini


Everything else aside, The Princess Bride has three of the great characters ever conceived.

If you haven't seen this film...shame on you. Shame.

Best Scene? The poisoned drink sequence between the Dread Pirate Roberts and Vizzini

Henry Saw: Doubt

Strong performances, weak film. Not the Best Picture of the year



To get the essentials out of the way - Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman (RAIN DANCE!) are fantastic. You knew they would be though. You knew it when they were announced as the stars, you knew it when you saw the trailer...they're always brilliant. And they do not disappoint in Doubt. Meryl Streep, bordering on being a parody of a mean old nun but never crossing that line, is captivating as the principle of a Catholic school who becomes convinced that a young priest (Hoffman) has molested a student; the school's lone African American student at that (the film is set in 1964). You can't take your eyes of Streep when she's on the screen. She will get nominated and she could definitely win.

Hoffman plays the much less "showy" role. He plays an incredibly caring and charming priest who is completely caught off guard by the accusations leveled at him. Hoffman was a great bit of casting and watching him and Streep go at it is one of the most fun bits of cinema this year.

Amy Adams and Viola Davis round out the cast. Adams, playing a completely innocent nun who is the first to have suspicions about the Father, only to regret voicing them, is not given that much to do. Viola Davis, however, playing the young boy's mother, acts Meryl Streep off the screen in her one scene. An amazing performance and even though she's only in just two scenes (really just one LONG scene) she has a really solid shot at the Supporting Actress Award. The cast, to sum it up, is flawless.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about any other part of the movie. The biggest flaw in the film is the direction. The director, John Patrick Shanley, who wrote the play, has only one other film directing credit on his resume: Joe Versus the Volcano. Seriously. And he really drops the ball filming his play. There are many shots that are at very strange angles - like the camera was literally put on its side for no reason. It just makes no sense. Also, certain themes are reinforced with clumsy recurring devices (bad weather to represent the conflict, windows to represent the idea of peering into someone else's life)...it's all so amateurish. The score, what little there is, is pretty poor and the movie has no energy other than the two lead performances. The movie tries to open up the play by using wide shots and open spaces but it doesn't work. A tighter, more claustrophobic, but more conservative direction would have been more apropos.

Also, I'm not sure I think the movie was really "about" anything. Sure, the themes of doubt and certainty without proof are ever-present but I'm not sure the movie actually is saying anything of note or worth. The final scene, which I won't spoil, doesn't totally make sense and one wonders why Streep's character does what she does at the end. It's not the kind of question that prompts interest and debate but just minor confusion and dismissal.

So what we have in the end is a clinic on acting and basically a fiasco in every other department. Streep, Hoffman, and Davis assure the movie of being a good one, and engrossing, but they're the only things in Doubt that deserve to be nominated or positive recognition.

Grade: B

Best Scene? When Streep first accuses Hoffman.

Henry Saw: Into the Wild

Better than the book


Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild was a very frustrating book. The subject, 23 year old Christopher McCandless' journey into the Alaskan wilderness, and tragic death, was far more interesting to the author than it was to me. While Krakauer saw a romantic vision of a young man trying to find himself in the world, I saw a moron who put his family through hell and died completely needlessly. Krakauer traced McCandless' journey through the country and interviewed people he met and stayed with along the way. McCandless never came to life for me though. I never quite got why McCandless felt the need to do it, even though Krakauer used parts of McCandless' diary to try to answer that question. It just never came together for me.

Sean Penn's film of the book brings the doomed protagonist to life. Emile Hirsch, playing the lead, gives a wonderful performance. His youthful and hope-filled face sells the semi-deranged plan to leave behind everything he has and forge a new life from nothing. Also, by being able to show McCandless' final moments (which Krakauer could not really do) made his death seem more upsetting than stupid.

Also helping the movie are the actors Penn got to play the people who filled the final two years of McCandless' life. Catherine Keener, Vince Vaughn, and especially Hal Holbrook are touching as people who tried to take McCandless under their wing. Kristin Stewert (the star of Twilight), as a young girl who falls for Christopher, is surprisingly enchanting as I don't find her particularly beautiful but she was very well chosen and directed.

The cinematography is stunning (Penn filmed in Alaska), and the music is very good (if you like Eddie Vedder who did the entire soundtrack for the film).

Not the masterpiece some critics claimed when it was released, and Penn and Hirsch were definitely not robbed by not being nominated, but this is a rare case where the movie works better than the book.

Grade: B+

Best Scene: Hal Holbrook's final scene with Emile Hirsch.

Henry Saw: Bolt

Cute enough...

Brief review for an unambitious and brief movie -

Bolt, the story of a dog named Bolt (John Travolta) who thinks he has super-powers and has to protect his "person" Penny (Miley Montana or Hannah Cyrus or someone) from a bad-guy called "The Man with the Green Eye". Little does Bolt know that it's actually all a TV show but the producers don't want him to find out (so that his acting is totally method). A mishap leads to Bolt being shipped to New York, and convinced he has to save Penny, he makes the long journey back to California accompanied by a feisty New York cat and a star-struck hamster...or guinea pig...named Rhino.

The film, Disney but not Pixar, is perfectly nice but lacks any real compelling hook. There's no true antagonist, there's no sense of danger until the very end, and the humor, though present and earnest, is not really a laugh a minute.

A perfectly fine kids movie but there have been better this year. Wall*E is kind of in a world of its own (heck, it's barely a kid's movie) but something like Kung-Fu Panda, and far easier movie to compare to Bolt, is a much more entertaining film.

Grade: B-

Best Scene? The cats messing with Bolt while he's stuck in his trailer.




Bolt is a Disney movie but not a Pixar movie

PITAOE's BLOCKBUSTER AWARDS - THE WINNERS

The votes are in. Whose bringing home a Golden Pancake?

The votes are in. Earlier I posted the nominees for our first Blockbuster Awards - celebrating the biggest movies of the year. Well Ben, Sam and I independently wrote up our ballots and I tallied the score to see who the winners were. Let's start with:

Worst Film:

The Nominees:
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The Happening
Speed Racer
The Love Guru

and the winner is


THE LOVE GURU

Now obviously this is the best film ever made so I don't understand how we could have voted it the worst of the year. It's not like this movie made me want to claw my eyes out and set them on fire. It's not like the movie made me ashamed to be a man. It's not like this movie didn't, in all probability, lead the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. I don't get it.

Runner up: Speed Racer

Funniest Movie:

Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Tropic Thunder
Pineapple Express

And the winner is


FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL

A runaway winner with three first place votes.

Runner up: Tropic Thunder - which was second on all the ballots

Most Unintentionally Funny Moment:
Mark Wahlberg talking to a plastic plant in The Happening
"For Aslan!" - Prince Caspian
Watching Mike Myers piss away his career in The Love Guru

And the winner is

RETARD BEAR



A hotly contested vote but Aslan wins by decision. Sam though watching Mike Myers shine in Love Guru was first while Ben enjoyed Marky Mark asking a plastic plant to "say hi to your mother for me". But retarded bear wins as we all had it second or first.

Most Disappointing Movie:
Quantum of Solace
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls
Pineapple Express
Hancock

And the winner is


INDIANA JONES

Sam and I each had this as our number one so despite Ben putting it fourth (he had Hancock as the most disappointing) Indiana Jones is the winner. It really was a terrible film and just gets worst the second and third times you see it. A damn shame

Runner-Up: Hancock

Most Surprisingly Good:
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Hellboy 2
Cloverfield
Wanted
Kung-Fu Panda

And the winner is


FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL

Ben and I each had this as our number one surprise of the year. Sam had Kung-Fu Panda (which really was shockingly fun) as his number one. I mean...Ben and I both liked Superbad and Knocked up so why were we surprised? I'm not sure. Maybe we didn't think Sarah Marshall would be as funny as it was...

Runner-up: Wanted - A very worthy action movie that I thought would be just silly and bad. This ended up being a very fun movie and a good example of a dying breed - a straight up action movie.

Best Adaptation of a Comic Book:
Wanted
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Incredible Hulk
Hellboy 2

And the winner is


THE INCREDIBLE HULK

The Hulk is a boring character. All you can do with him is have Banner on the run, fight the military, or fight another strong guy. What does this movie have Hulk do? Run, fight the military, fight another monster. The Incredible Hulk takes the only elements of the comic that works and then revels in it. The movie has a bit of a tongue in cheek tone, as if everyone knows that The Hulk sucks and if the movie works its a miricle, and that plays well for a comic book movie. The Dark Knight reached too high and Wanted is completely different from the comic. Ben had Hellboy 2 first but I thought the movie was too big and whimsical to suit the tone of the series.

Runner-Up: Iron Man - The funny thing is, the reason I didn't have this as my number one was that the comic book series has never been as good as the movie was.


Best Action Scene:
Iron Man returns to the Middle East to get some revenge
The opening fight scene against Scarecrow's goons in The Dark Knight
The chase at "Yale" in Indiana Jones 4
Hulk vs. Blonsky round 2 (the one on the college campus).
Wesley fights all the assassins at the end of Wanted.

And the winner is

IRON MAN - The first scene in this clip




Just bad-ass.

Runner-up: Hulk Vs. Blonsky

Best Scene:
Hellboy and Abe singing Barry Manilow - Hellboy 2
Joker's Pencil Trick and then talking to the gangsters - The Dark Knight
Stark and Pepper's dance - Iron Man
Wesley quits his job - Wanted
Tom Cruise Dancing at the end of Tropic Thunder
First 10 minutes of Wall*E
When you first hear the song from the Dracula musical in the bar - Forgetting Sarah Marshall

And the winner is

THE DARK KNIGHT



An easy winner.

Runner-Up: Tom Cruise dancing at the end of Tropic Thunder

Best Blockbuster:
The Dark Knight
Wall*E
Iron Man
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Tropic Thunder

And the winner is


IRON MAN

Our Blockbuster of 2008. Dark Knight might have made more money but for us Iron Man was the most entertaining movie of the summer.

Runner-Up - Tropic Thunder

Most Anticipated Sequel of a movie from 2008:
Bond 3
Batman 3
Iron Man 2
Hulk 2
Narnia 3

And the winner is


IRON MAN 2

Not that surprising given what won Best Blockbuster.

Runner-Up - Bond 3

Most Anticipated Movie of 2009:
Wolverine
Transformers 2
Star Trek
Bruno
Angels and Demons
Terminator: Salvation
Pixar's Up
Public Enemies
GI JOE
Harry Potter: The Half-Blood Prince

And the winner is


WOLVERINE

We all had different movies as our number one but Wolverine was in all our top three. Sam is most excited for Pixar's Up, while Ben is anticipating Harry Potter: The Half-Blood Prince. I can't wait for Michael Mann's Public Enemies about John Dillinger and the efforts to catch him.

Runner-Up - Harry Potter: The Half-Blood Prince


Congrats to all the winners. We'll have our 2008: Year in Review Awards sometime next year.

Henry Saw: Punisher: War Zone

This was worse than the 2004 Punisher movie...which is almost impossible...


Imagine a movie that fails on every conceivable level. A movie so bad that you can't say "Well if the script had been better" or "it was just the wrong director" or "the acting was poor" or "the cinematography was terrible" or "the lighting was bad" or "the score was lame" or simply "it was no fun"...imagine if you couldn't boil a movie's problems to one or two things because everything, literally everything, about the movie was made of fail.

It really will be difficult for me to get across how bad Punisher: War Zone is. It's a uniquely bad movie. Most bad movies are just lame. Nothing overly offensive...they just didn't work for some reason. This film is bad for every reason.

So let's start with the script. The plot, about Punisher questioning his purpose after killing an undercover FBI agent, while dealing with a mobster he disfigures who starts to call himself Jigsaw. Generic, completely uninteresting...but you don't expect a Punisher movie to have a strong plot. You do expect it to have some interesting dialogue and some creative action scenes. Nope. The dialogue is terrible. There is no creative action scenes. No compelling...anything. The script is an F.

The direction is truly incompetent. Lexi Alexander should never be allowed near a camera ever again. The action scenes have no punch and are completely unclear. The whole movie looks like it cost 5 million dollars when it had a budget of 35. There's not scene in the movie that you could call well done. Not one. Directing: F

The acting...I like Ray Stevenson. I thought he was great on HBO's Rome. And he does kind of look the part of the Punisher...but he was bad in this movie. He moved awkwardly and just seemed uncomfortable whenever on screen. I like Dominic West. I thought he was great on HBO's The Wire. He gives one of the worst performances I've ever seen as Jigsaw. He hams it up to a hard to believe level. Abominable. Wayne Night also shows up as Microchip and he just seems happy to have a paying job. Acting: F because of West and all the bad accent work all around.

The cinematography is just unpleasant. Shots are framed so that sometimes important things are in the corner of the screen. Whenever they try to get a "cool" shot or even an "art" shot they completely miss the mark. Also, like many movies of this kind, the movie is very poorly lit at times so that it is difficult to see what's going on. Cinematography and lighting: D.

The soundtrack is your usual hard rock...which means its horrible: F.

The worst movie of the year other than The Love Guru and it's a pity because it means we probably won't get a decent Punisher movie for a long, long time now. I guess I'll just have to live with Man On Fire as a noble substitute.

Grade: F

Best Scene? The trailer for Taken, a movie with Liam Neeson, that showed before Punisher: War Zone.

Henry Saw: Cadillac Records

...At least the music was good


Cadillac Records is the story of Leonard Chess (Adrian Brody) and the record company he founded in Chicago during the 1950's. Muddy Waters (Jeffery Wright), Little Walter (Columbus Short), Howlin' Wolf (Eamonnn Walker), Chuck Berry (Mos Def), and Etta James (Beyonce).

This movie is a total mess.

One problem, a common one in music bio-pics, but even more extreme in this film, is that it doesn't have a plot. None. It just kinda starts with Adrian Brody not having any idea what to do with himself, he starts a record company, assembles some talent (starting with Muddy Waters), and...the movie just kinda picks a random moment to end (the death of Little Walter). But the movie has no center. It wants the relationship between Chess and Muddy Waters to be the spine of the film but there's no chemistry between Brody and Wright and Waters' life was just not interesting enough to focus on.

Wright, one of my favorite actors (check out Shaft, Basquiat, Angels in America, or his fun role as Felix Leiter in the Daniel Craig Bond movies) is strangely lifeless here. He isn't given much to do (no drama emerges between Muddy and his wife played by Gabrielle Union), and outside of a rivalry with Howlin' Wolf, Wright doesn't seem to be having fun.

Brody really seems to just be wandering around the movie. You never know if he's taking advantage of his talent or not or if he likes them, puts up with them...nothing. He is about the most boring main character I've seen in film in quite some time. In other words: he's Adrian Brody.

The standout of the film is Beyonce...not kidding. Beyonce, who has been kinda pathetic in prior movie roles (Austin Powers 3 and Dreamgirls) is fantastic as Etta James. She has the best performance in the movie (not that surprising) with "I'd Rather Go Blind" and actually out-acts Brody and Waters off the screen. The role is still underdeveloped but that's not her fault. If she was to be nominated for supporting actress I would feel it is very, very justified.

The music, the main draw of the film, is indeed great. The actors do the singing, but because most are musicians or very talented, this is not a problem at all. The problem is...they don't ever play enough of it. Other than I'm a Man and two Beyonce performances we probably get 15 seconds, at most, of every other song and performer. Just not enough in a movie whose strongest draw is the great soundtrack that is promised.

There's also an absurd appearance by people playing The Rolling Stones that was just funny (not in the way the filmmakers intended). And at one point Little Walter shoots a man in the head and nothing comes of it. That's when I realized the movie wasn't working.

Not a good movie and a disappointing one. Beyonce is the only worthwhile part of the film but she's not strong enough for me to recommend it.

Grade? C

Best Scene: Beyonce's I'd Rather Go Blind

Henry's Top 100: #23 - Rosemary's Baby

"This is really happening!"


See, the thing is, I don't find this movie scary. I know my sister does...and my mom does...which makes me believe that this is a scary movie for females and just a flat out entertaining movie for everyone else (which I guess would be...men).

But whether or not I find the movie scary or not I would definitely call it a horror film. And that's what is most remarkable about Rosemary's Baby...it's so entertaining and fun given the fact that it is a horror film. The entire first half, even hearing the chants through the walls, is played with a very whimsical tone. Not in an annoying way but an incredibly engrossing way. The movie sucks you in.

Then...Rosemary has that dream. Not the one with the nun...the one on the boat...and to paraphrase Martin Lawrence, that's when "shit gets real". But still not so serious. The movie still has some fun. The sad party that Rosemary and Guy have, the great use of Scrabble, the whole description of Adrian Marcato's life...all fun.

The movie only really gets scary right at the end. When you realize that everyone is working against Rosemary. Whether it be in the name of the devil, or a very misguided sense of ethics (Dr. Hill), and then there's that final scene with the baby.

Has humor and horror ever been better mixed? What's with the little fat woman who sticks her tongue out at Rosemary? How does that jive with "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ITS EYES?!" They don't give...but it works just so, so well.

One of my three favorite horror movies ever made. We'll get to the other two soon enough.

Best Scene? Rosemary using the Scrabble board to unravel a mystery.

Henry's Top 100: #24 - The Fellowship of the Ring

The best of the Lord of The Rings movies.

I saw this film in IMAX, with Sam's whole family, and had no idea what I was in for. I had never read the books, always assumed they were closely related to Dungeons and Dragons, and was therefore blown away by the film. It's amazing.

I recently rewatched the film and was reminded of how slow the film starts but how excellently the movie finishes.

This is, obviously, my favorite of the trilogy. I know Ben prefers The Two Towers and my uncle likes The Return of the King the most, but to me this is the most complete movie. The Two Towers has the slow talking trees and Return of the King has 100 endings. This one is a perfectly constructed film. There's no fat (the slow begining I mentioned is really set-up for a ten hour movie) and amazing act-ing/ion.

Ian Mckellen deserved his oscar nom, Viggo was the best piece of recasting since Hugh Jackman getting Wolverine, and the hobbits are all perfectly cast. And the action...I know we voted the siege in Two Towers as being better, and I know the big "Elefant" is considered superior, but for my money the action scene at the end of The Fellowshipis the best in the trilogy. I love the moment when Viggo sends Frodo off and marches out to fight 30+ Nazgul and the fight that follows:



The best movie of a great trilogy,

Best Scene? The fight scene I just showed you. Focus on the death of Boromir.

Henry's Top 100: #25 - Amadeus

.
.
.
...ROCK ME AMADEUS!



So I don't know if this is unique to me or not...but do you have any movies that you've always loved even though...it doesn't really make any sense? And I'm not referring to the fact that I like Amadeus now. There's nothing weird about that...it's a fantastic film. But I liked Amadeus when I was 10. Why? I mean, I guess it's possible that my mom and dad had told me it was a great movie so when I watched it I just went with that. But I don't remember it that way. Sure, my parents liked Amadeus, but so did I; independent of their influence. I totally connected to it.

Which is slightly distressing. But F. Murray Abraham's performance as Salieri I just find so terribly understandable. Sure, there's some rot at his core, but this is a basically decent and brilliant man...who just can't handle encountering an even more brilliant man. Maybe I'm just a shit but I completely get that. I get that burst of rage one gets when one meets someone who is better at something that you consider a great skill of one's own. Most people don't let it develop into irrational jealousy and hatred...but I know I can at least understand Salieri's character.

I don't know whether this portrayal of Mozart was controversial or not, the film was made the year before I was born, but if nothing else it is very entertaining. Tom Hulce, who was nominated along with Abraham (who won) for Best Actor, is shockingly good. Especially if you only know him as the "main" character from Animal House. You know, the guy who almost date rapes the teenager. The laugh, the way he portrays Mozart's last days...very solid work.

The other standout role, other than Jeffery Jones, the principle from Ferris Bueller as the Emperor, is Elizabeth Berridge as Mozart's wife Constanze. To go from calling Mozart "Wolfy" in early, flirty scenes, to the later moments where she's worried about money and her husband's health...I find her performance really stands out.

Amadeus was originally a play, my parents - the lucky dogs - got to see the play with Ian Mckellen playing the role of Salieri...I can only imagine...but at least I have the film. Which, I hope needs not be said, has amazing music throughout. It had pretty good source material.

Just one of the great, "great" films of all time.

Best Scene? This, to me, is an easy call. Mozart is dying, in debt, and under contract of sorts to write a requiem to a random stranger. That stranger is Salieri in disguise. Salieri goes to visit Mozart, as himself, and finds him bedridden but devastated because he's under a deadline to complete the piece. Salieri offers to help Mozart...Amadeus can dictate the notes and Salieri will write them down on paper.

Almost immediately it is too much for Salieri. Mozart's mind works on another plane. No one on earth can keep up. And as we start to hear the music Mozart hears and Salieri can't...my gosh. Just one of the very best things ever done on film. I can't fully describe how much I love this scene.





My dad emailed me this when I told him I was getting to Amadeus on my list:

This movie has morphed over time. On Broadway, it was a serious meditation in which Ian McKellen as Salieri was unquestionably the brooding center and the master of ceremonies of the piece. The sole protagonist; and Mozart was merely a foil. That Mozart was a genius and a lazy, silly philistine was more described then demonstrated, while McKellen's performance was one of the great Broadway tours de force of the past 30 years.

When the movie first appeared, it MUST have been perceived the same way. How else could the unknown F. Murray Abraham have won the Oscar? [This is one of the few Best Acror winners who never was a movie star for five minutes; Trivia question - apart from a brutal turn in Scarface, name any other movie he was in?], Yet over the years, with repeated viewings, a few from beginning to end, more often starting in the middle at a change in channel and getting hooked anew, the center of the action has moved to Wolfy, and the whole character of the film has turned from a serious meditation on the nature of genius and artistic rivalry to a cartoon. A great cartoon but a cartoon.

The scenes one remembers: Hide-and seek in over-formal settings, creating brilliant music faster than he can write it down on the billiard table, the antics at the masquerade ball, riffing on Salieri's pompous little march, the "too many notes" scene -- all have a cartoonishness, and Tom Hulce's Wolfy, at the center of it all, has a madcap inventiveness that recalls Bugs Bunny or Roger Rabbit more than any flesh-and-blood model. The actor who portrays the Emperor made a small career out of cartoonish buffoon roles -- principal in Ferris Bueller, Dad in Beetlejuice -- that at moments are just across the border from touching. I suppose the message here is that this is how you make a move from a play: you take a director who will not
attempt slavishly to reproduce the effect of the play but who will use the play as a jumping off point for the movie the director has always wanted to make.