#29 — Miller’s Crossing (Joel Coen (and Ethan Coen), 1990) Joel and Ethan Coen are marvelous visual artists. They conceive of extraordinary set pieces and understand better than most of their peers how a perfectly executed sight gag or sly … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 90s — Number Twenty-Nine
#30 — eXistenZ (David Cronenberg, 1999) In November of the last year of the nineties, Entertainment Weekly published a cover story that proclaimed 1999 to be “The Year That Changed Movies.” It posited that the box office success of The Matrix … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 90s — Number Thirty
#3 — Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine in Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942) I’d seen Casablanca many, many times before I took note of the moment in which Humphrey Bogart resets an upended little aperitif glass. It arrives in the film … Continue reading Greatish Performances #3
Writer-director Vincenzo Natali sets up the story in his new film Splice to head down some dark, twisty roads. The second most surprising aspect of the film is that he willingly follows through, taking routes to their logical, if decisively … Continue reading Beautiful queen with your beautiful gene
I just harshed on the annual movie “awards” that are aired on “Music Television” over on one of my other Interweb outlets, but I must admit that there have been instances when I’ve been grateful for its presence. Example: Continue reading Your dreams were your ticket out
#31 — Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood, 1992) Clint Eastwood never made another western after Unforgiven. That may not seem like a big deal. It’s hardly a studio staple any longer, with no more than a couple per year, a major difference from the numbers cranked out by old Hollywood studios, as evidenced by any casual perusal of a Turner Classic Movies monthly schedule. But it is significant for Eastwood, probably the modern actor most associated with the genre, from the television celebrity of Rawhide to his persona-defining work in Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns to the elegiac soberness of his own directorial … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 90s — Number Thirty-One
Zack and Miri Make a Porno (Kevin Smith, 2008). I think of Kevin Smith as one of the laziest directors working today because he demonstrates no particular skill with telling stories visually, seems to know this, and, most distressingly, has indicated the awareness of this shortcoming inspires no aspirations to improve. Zack and Miri may have a whiff of desperation about it–up to an including the please-pay-attention-to-me title–but one positive side effect is that Smith does push himself a little more as a director. There are a few moments which demonstrate some care and attention to crafting interesting visuals, even … Continue reading Clifford, Karlson, Mottern, Mulligan, Smith
#32 — Beauty and the Beast (Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, 1991) The nineties were a good decade for Disney animation, an outcome that seemed highly unlikely before the release of 1989’s The Little Mermaid and far from certain after … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 90s — Number Thirty-Two
#33 — Frankie and Johnny (Garry Marshall, 1991) One of the widely agreed upon obligations for filmmakers bringing stage plays to the screen is “opening up” the action. The puzzle that playwrights need to solve is telling a wide-ranging story … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 90s — Number Thirty-Three
In the Heat of the Night (Norman Jewison, 1967). I guessed that this film would seem painfully dated. Instead, Jewison’s police drama about a black Philadelphia homicide detective called upon to help solve a murder case in a small Southern town where rampant bigotry still rules the culture holds up nicely. It’s somewhat an artifact of its time, but a dramatically sound one. Jewison makes his points with care, always grounding the conflicts in believable situations populated by well-drawn characters. What it lacks in subtlety, it makes up for in clean, gripping storytelling. Rod Steiger won an Oscar for his … Continue reading Jewison, Pollack, Roemer, Sommers, Spielberg
