Posts by Ben G «
THE BEST OF THE BEST: And not the Eric Roberts Movie (Although We Did Consider It)
It is that time year, OSCAR‘s is soon to be upon us. For us movie lovers, this is the culmination of a year of disappointments and triumphs. So we thought before we hear the winners from this year we look back at the best of the best of Oscar. These are the top five movies that won the Best Picture award since the Academy Awards began back in 1927. We whittled the over all list of 83 winners down to five by using the following criteria: Must be an Oscar winner for Best Picture, must be on AFI’s top 100 Movies list, AMC’s Top 100 list, and must be on Roger Ebert’s Top 100 List (why because he is the best). Then we here at Serious Movie Lover chose from the remaining 10.
Honorable Mentions: (10-6 in alphabetical order) Gone With the Wind, Lawrence of Arabia, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Schindler’s List, and West Side Story.
"Hey lets make a movie about our relationship, maybe we'll get an Oscar."
5. Annie Hall – (1977) The lone comedy on this list, and maybe one of the best ever. The instant classic that made Woody Allen not just another funny comedy writer also stands as the last comedy to win the statue. Along with Allen’s steady self doubt, Diane Keaton gives her Oscar winning performance.
4. On the Waterfront - (1954) The most analyzed movie on this list gives us the quintessential Brando performance of all time. Elia Kazan‘s anti-Communist film centered around the dock worker who could (everyone say it together) “Have been a contender.” With its win, On the Waterfront became a classic and one of the most divisive Cold War/Black List Era movies of all time.
"Look Michael, I tried to get it to #1." "Put your shirt back on."
3. The Godfather 1 & 2 – (1972 & 1974) We know, they are two separate movies, but let face it, you cannot watch one without the other. Go ahead and try. It is like baseball and beer, one should not be enjoyed without the other. So we place this as one movie for right now. Do we really need to describe these to you? No, you know them you love them, and the Michael Corelone in you wants to know why it is not number one.
2. Casablanca – (1943) In some circles this is regarded as the best movie of all time due to its near perfection of movie making. It has one of the best casts in a non-heist type movie. It is tough to top Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Raines, Peter Lorre, just to name a few. Then throw in some Nazi’s long lost romance, a budding friendship, and the oddly appealing acting style of Peter Lorre…you can’t lose.
And we love it too.
1. The Best Years of Our Lives – (1946) Sure this can’t beat the star power of Casablanca, but how about a ton of seasoned character actors. The Best Years tells the story of three returning World War II veterans. Each has a different path. One is haunted by his experiences and turns to liquor, another finds the fan fair of a war hero to be non-existent and instead of finding a better life has to return to his job of being a soda jerk, and finally a disabled veteran who survives only to lose his hands and be the object of pity to everyone. This earned an Oscar for the lead actor Fredric March, and a supporting one for Harold Russell who was the living embodiment of his character having lost his hands in a grenade accident during training. This was also a feather in the cap of William Wyler who took home best director. All said this movie is the benchmark by which the Academy should judge best picture nominees by.
BREAKING NEWS: Idiots Like To Go To The Movies Too
!!!Spoiler alert!!! There is no talking
The movie that seem to garner the most attention at the Golden Globes was The Artist. This then leads to some interesting movie going news to follow. Apparently in the United Kingdom, moviegoers, upon finding out that the movie is largely a silent movie, walked out. Now, this action surprised us here, mostly due to the fact that the Golden Globes pointed out that it was a silent movie about a thousand times during the broadcast. So our response is to begin an on going list of rules for watching movies. Please feel free to add here on our Facebook page, and then we can finally avoid morons from going to a theater.
Rule #5: Research the movie you are going to go see. There are thousands of websites devoted to critiquing movies. These range from local newspapers to Internet blogs. Use these sources to get a synopsis of the movie you want to see, by doing so then you know you will not be going to see movies that you will not enjoy. For future reference: IMdB, Rotten Tomatoes, Dark Horizons, Google, etc.
He is so smart yet so relaxing
Rule #4: Have an open mind. Not every movie is made for those that are stuck in comas and don’t care about what is on the screen. What this means is that once or twice a year, a movie is made that challenges the audience to focus on other parts of the movie making process than how many robots blow up. This is wear we refer you to Turner Classic Movies and the delightfully calming Robert Osborn to educate you in classic movie techniques and backstories. After a few weeks, you will realize that not all movies with booby shots are instant classics.
Rule #3: Shut Up! This is not directed to the sassy woman loudly talking on your phone during the credits, nor to the gentleman making funny wise cracks during horribly awesome movies. This is directed to the person that goes to a movie and has to ask questions although out the movie. Questions like: Who is that? What is he doing? What is going on? What happened while I was in the bathroom? Or statements such as: This does not look good. Ooooooh, I wouldn’t do that. That would never happen in real life. All we can say is shut up. If you cannot go two hours without making a sound then you need to stay at home, just be quiet and let the movie explain it to you. 90% of the time, your question is answered within five seconds.
Rule #2: Stay for the Credits. I know this one is kind of out of place for this article, but is a cardinal rule by our standards. We get it, you just spent the last hour and a half plus sitting in one place (quietly), and you got places to go and people to see. All we ask is that you take the extra five minutes to stay through the credits. There are other people that work on the movies that you see that are not on the screen or get to walk red carpets. All that these people get is their name lumped in a large group of people that goes by rather quickly, and you sometimes get rewards like an extra scene or bloopers. So before you leave your next movie ask this question, “Who was the Best Boy and the Key Grip?” Answer those questions and you may leave.
In real life, he sounded like Snagglepuss
Rule #1: Just because you love movies doesn’t mean that you should see just any movie. We here at Serious Movie Lover obviously love movies, but we disagree on many films. That doesn’t mean that the movie is bad or not worth watching. What this means is some people have different tastes. For instance with two best picture contenders, as mentioned before, The Artist is mostly a silent movie, so if you sit watching a Charlie Chaplin movie and think to yourself, “This would be better if he only would talk instead of acting out his emotions.” then the Artist is not for you. Another example would be Tree of Life; if watching Kubrick‘s 2001: A Space Odyssey makes your brain hurt, you don’t get the connection between the bone and technology, or you wish HAL would have a more cheerful tone; then Tree of Life is not for you. If you cannot wrap your mind around ideas like these then stick with what works, the newest Shia La Beouf movie.
MAYBE WE’LL SEE YOU AT THE PARTY RICHTER: New Years Means Second Chances for Movies
A few months ago, we saw an article about the remaking of the classic movie Point Break. This led us to think, why? Why mess with one of the best horribly awesome action movies in the last thirty years. This one gets better with age, and if younger audiences cannot appreciate Keanu Reeves‘ horrendous acting, then they do not deserve a reboot. So we have broken these down into ones that you should look out for, and those you might want to avoid and wait until you can get them with Netflix.
To See: Man of Steel – This is the Superman reboot with Zach Snyder at the helm with Henry Cavill (of Immortals and the Tudors) as Superman. Along with Cavill the cast is rounded out with Russell Crowe, Amy Adams, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, and Michael Shannon as General Zod. Seeing as Superman was nearly killed by Bryan Singer and Kate Bosworth with the previous attempt, Snyder and an all star cast have no where to go but up, and I am sure it will be in 3D. This is due out in 2013
Dark Shadows – Yes the beloved campy tv series (both incarnations) is coming to the big screen, however this is looking to be one to mark on your calendar. Headed by the hit or miss trio of Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, and Helena Bonham Carter; Dark Shadows looks to be one movie that even if awful could be highly entertaining. The rest of the cast contains Eva Green, Michelle Pfeiffer, Johnny Lee Miller, Christopher Lee, and Alice Cooper as himself (awesome). Summer 2012.
Snow White and the Huntsman – Of the two live action Snow White movies due out, this one looks to be the better of the two. Starring Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, and Charlize Theron; this adaptation is more of a dark realistic (for a fantasy movie) version of the fairy tale. Deviating a slight bit from the original story to offer a bit more action than singing dwarves, this version looks to have a shot at being a summer blockbuster. Summer 2012
To Miss: Mirror/Mirror – The flip side of that Snow White coin is this movie geared towards 8 year old girls. Starring Julia Roberts, Nathan Lane, and teen heart-throbs from various other movies; this is the one with singing, dancing, and all the little people jokes that your heart desires (if that is your thing). Even with all that wholesome family fun, this is one that we do not recommend seeing. If you want to see a nice sweet happy version of the story then wait till Disney re-releases the original animated movie from its vaults next time they need a boat load of money. Spring 2012
Maybe: The Bourne Legacy - This one that is tough to gauge. The fourth installment of the Bourne franchise sees the spy role go to the rising Jeremy Renner. This time he is not Jason Bourne but associated with the same organizations. Along with a good cast, the film is helmed but the original screenplay writer for the franchise Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton). This is his first hand at directing in the Bourne series, and he has big shoes to fill following Doug Liman and Paul Greengrass. However, this one could prove to be a new starting point for the franchise and launch it into 
possible early James Bond status. Summer 2012
Total Recall - This one is the toughest. This remake is directed by Len Wisemen (of Underworld fame) and the cast includes Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, Bryan Cranston, Bill Nighy (as Kuato), Ethan Hawke, and John Cho. Have to say for myself, this looks pretty awesome. However, this cannot touch the original by Paul Verhoven with Schwarzenegger, which was campy with modest special effects (by today’s standard) and Arnold murdering the English language every line. We cannot cheat on the original, but then again… Summer 2012
WHAT WERE YOU THINKING: Seriously Cuba, Come On!!!
Back in 1996, everyone watched in awe as a young exuberant man jumped up and down on the Oscar stage for winning best supporting actor. For a brief time, his future was bright, and he had the world at his feet. However, the dark hand of the Oscar winner began to creep over him before the night was over. The young man was Cuba Gooding Jr.
After paying his dues, Cuba was given a great role and did everything he had with it. Looking back at his role of Rod Tidwell in Jerry McGuire, he deserved his oscar fair and square, but afterwards, dogs have laid better piles of work than Mr. Gooding, Jr has. The pinnacle of this pile of stinky poo is Radio, but first lets see the movies in between: As Good As It Gets, What Dreams May Come, Instinct, Men of Honor, Pearl Harbor, Snow Dogs, and Boat Trip. In the midst of these are several less notable films. As you can see this is not the most impressive list of films. The most notable is As Good As It Gets, but in that movie he had a supporting role that bordered on a cameo. In addition, it is one of those that we all know that he had signed up and filmed well before he earned his Oscar.
Then in 2003, a movie came along that many a great actor has fell victim to…the mentally handicapped
role. Dustin Hoffman made his career with one, Sean Penn embarrassed himself with another, and Ben Stiller mocked them all. Cuba was no different. Radio gave him a chance at another Oscar, but as Mr. Stiller pointed out in Tropic Thunder about Sean Penn in I Am Sam, Cuba went to far with the character. In the end, he embarrassed himself and was part of a failed movie. To note, Ed Harris also signed on to this turd, and in the end, it was a failed I Am Sam meets Remember the Titans.
Cuba still continues to make films, but has never come close to his former glory. However, in the middle of a horrible slump, Cuba showed his greatness in a small role in American Gangster. That reminded all of us of how good he could be, but either he or his manger need to be smacked in the face for allowing an Oscar winner go the way of Kevin Spacey and Halle Berry.
MOVIES THAT MATTER: Olmos And Philips Face Off With Their Brains
In 1982 in a poor L.A. public school, a teacher arrives to make a difference. Along the way, he meets resistance from the faculty, the students, and the school board itself. In the end, through his own personal sacrifice and the students strong will, the teacher gets through to the students and has them reach their full potential in Math.
While, I even fell asleep while writing that synopsis, it does not give the film justice. When this film was released in 1988, the idea of failing public schools and disorder in them might have seemed like it was in a far off place like L.A. to most of America, but now that problem has become common place all over. Schools like this one, have become somewhat of the standard for most cities public schools.
So what is compelling about this story over other true stories that have been made into movies? Unlike movies like Dead Poets Society and Lean on Me, Stand and Deliver actually has the students go through what is the model even today, testing. Yes along the way they better themselves, but this movie is not about bringing a school and a community out of poverty (physically and psychologically), but rather about how one teacher can impact the lives of individual students. The students do not become model citizens in the end; but they are able to realize that they are not what their school, parents, and friends tell them who they are.
The movie has a brilliant performance by Edward James Olmos, and Lou Diamond Philips at the beginning of his heyday. Always a good somber movie to watch and with the new school year in full swing, a good one to revisit to see that not much has changed in over twenty years.
HORRIBLE AWESOMENESS: Shuuuush!!! The Weasel Is On
Oh yeah, I am going there. Remember back when Pauly Shore was famous for not being a has-been boob. This was the movie that put him over the top, and you are welcome. On top of that, this movie launched the feature film career of Brendan Fraser, and again, you’re welcome. To put the cherry on top, Sean Astin puts in his typical “and you thought I was dead” appearance to remind everyone of how old they are to see the star ofGoonies age.
With all of this going for it, along with a no name director Les Mayfield (amazingly enough this is not his worst film), the film has one of the most asinine plots every created. Two high school dweebs, while digging a pool, find a frozen cave man. Upon thawing him out, the two dweebs bring him to high school, because one is trying to impress a girl (of course). In the ensuring madness, the cave man becomes the most popular guy in school, and ends up making his dweeb friends cool enough to make out with their crushes (cause that’s how real life actually is).
The absolute implausibility of this story is so amazing that you let go of any rationality while watching this and see through to a bunch of juvenile jokes, that lets admit will always makes us laugh. However, my favorite part is the fact that Pauly Shore’s character is the exact same as his MTV character, but the names are different. This would take place again in Son In Law, and would lead to way to many weasel jokes that can never be taken back. As with many movies from various stages of our lives, Encino Man shows us the absolute idiocy of the MTV culture in the early nineties, and emends that you never want to go back again.
WHAT WERE YOU THINKING: I Don’t Give 2 Flips About That Stupid Gingerbread Man
In this edition, we look at the illustrious career of Robert Altman. Altman had the old textbook directors career, struggling directing TV shows and shorts until his first big break. Through this Altman was able to refine his craft and create his own signature. He favored ensemble casts and using omni-directional sound to present a real atmosphere for the audience. His early career was working out the bugs in his method, but with M*A*S*H, he hit the big time.
Following M*A*S*H, Altman rattled off a string of successes including: McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Nashville, The Player, Short Cuts,Cookie’s Fortune, and Gosford Park. Other notable films are: A Prairie Home Companion, Popeye, and Ready to Wear. But for all of his success, Altman still would pop out a huge stinker every now and then, and when a great director fails, they fail big.
Now every director or producer or actor has bad movies typically early on in their career, but the ones stinkers that happen mid career are the oddest ones. With Altman, the first of these and maybe the worst was The Gingerbread Man. Amidst the wave of John Grisham novels being made into movies, Altman was caught up in this as well. The restraints of the product limited Altman’s style, and instead of being an Altman movie, Gingerbread Man turns out being a dimly lit version of the Firm, style-wise. It is a movie with a well rounded cast and with Altman at the helm, this should have been a slam dunk, but in the end it is a forgettable movie.
And finally there is Dr. T and the Women. This was right in Altman’s wheelhouse. Ensemble cast and an original script to work from. However, this movie falls right on its face. While it has every trademark and seems to have all the right pieces to work, something about the movie just doesn’t click. Some the cast were not the best choices (Tara Reid, Kate Hudson, Liv Tyler) and Richard Gere being Richard Gere may not have helped either, but in the end, the blame has to go to the man who ran everything. Robert Altman is one of the best directors in cinema, but not everyone of his films is meant for top 100 lists.
The Greats: Indie As In No Money, Not Hipster Cool
Back in the mid nineties, one of the best directors of the past fifty years hit his stride and no one noticed. In the spirit of John Cassavetes, John Sayles built up one of the most impressive resumes without one dime from major studios. Lone Star marked Sayles culmination of writing and directing. The film is set in a Texas border town where Sheriff Sam Deeds is serving the last of his term when the skeleton of one of his predecessors is unearthed. This leads to the uncovering of many secrets of the small border town and its people. Sayles takes the remaining time not only to tell the mystery of the skeleton, but also of the politics of the town and its residents being a border town with an Army base.
Critics adored this film particularly the performance of Matthew McConaughey, he showed that he could do a dramatic turn every now and then. The rest of the film sees some of great performances from actors like Chris Cooper, Kris Kristofferson, Elizabeth Pena, and Clifton James. While it gained notoriety, Sayles still did not get any support from major studios, and even though there was no real breakthrough with the public. As with previous and future Sayles movies, without the support of major studios, his films were relegated to art house theaters and devoted fans.
By this time, Sayles had made a name for himself with films like: Return of the Secaucus Seven,The Brother From Another Planet, Matewan, Eight Men Out, City of Hope, and Passion Fish. All of the movies are ensemble pictures written more to show character development over plot, however for Lone Star, Sayles used flashback not only for the first time in his films but in the best way possible as a true story telling device. After Lone Star, Sayles went on to make Sunshine State, Casa de los Babys, and Silver City among other films. Never breaking from his independent roots and from ensemble movies. However, now Sayles was beginning to display new style to his writing that is more concerned with social ideals within the communities that the characters represent. In the process, he has solidified himself at the very least as a titan of independent film if not one of the best directors living today.
DON”T FLUB THAT LINE: Who’s Wearing The Queen Pants Around Here
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE (1998/DVD)
How could a love story about the origins of Romeo and Juliet be a controversial film? Well, one that snubs Saving Private Ryan from the Best Picture Oscar. What seemed like a typical costume period nomination, along with Elizabeth, beat out modern war classics like Ryan and Terrence Malick’s Thin Red Line. Ever since creating the question of why? Along with Best Picture, the movie garnered six more Oscars including Best Actress for Gwyneth Paltrow and Supporting Actress for Judi Dench.
Most of the uproar came from the Best Picture, but no one raised any eyebrows when Judi Dench won having only been in three scenes. In what was a glorified cameo, seemingly to give Dench a chance to round out her portyale non current female British Monarchs, somehow convinced everyone that she was in a true supporting role. Therefore, in her three scenes she had to be on point, and by gift of the screenwriters given lines that would be her staple in movies to come. Marc Norman was the originator of the idea of a struggling Shakespeare, but it was the brilliant Tom Stoppard who actually gave the movie its Elizabethan flare. While it is not certain who wrote the most obscured lines in the movie, we do have to lay the blame at both of the writers feet.
So the scene: It has just been pointed out that one of the actors in the premier of Romeo and Juliet maybe a woman (not prohibited in English theater at the time), and Queen Elizabeth (Dench) has somehow disguised herself in the crowd (a massive undertaking considering that she was wearing a costume that was larger than a family sedan) to see for herself. After she reveals herself to everyone, as the queen, she begins to solve every one’s problems, but this is after she has to explain how she can empathize with even a supposed drag queen. So when the Queen is justifying her upcoming round of decrees on the people’s lives involved with the play, Dench says (but very quietly), “I know something of a woman in a man’s profession. Yes, by God, I do know about that.” Really, we get it. She is the Second Queen of England, but come on! Does she have to remind us constantly? In the two previous scenes, Dench points out that she is the Queen and that she is a woman. Then again, with all of the make up and crazy make up, maybe the filmmakers thought that the audiences would think that it was Divine back from the dead and not Judi Dench.
MOVIES THAT MATTER: Go Back To The Moon? I Can See It From My Back Yard
IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON (2007/DVD)
I am actually going to review a somewhat new movie. With the conclusion of the NASA Shuttle program, America is faced with a gap in its intrigue that has not been there since Yuri Gagarin. With no more launches of American manned craft for the foreseeable future, we have to look back to see the wonder and excitement of space travel. Along with The Wonder of It All, Shadow shows the story of the Apollo Space Program as told through the Apollo astronauts themselves. From great men like Buzz Aldrin a.k.a. Dr. Rendezvous, Gene Cernan, Michael Collins, Charles Duke, Jim Lovell; we see the guts that it took not only from them but from engineers and the American public to push ourselves beyond our planetary boundaries to send the only other humans to walk on another planetary body.
Where this documentary is better, than its contemporaries and predecessors, is that they got use of NASA archived footage and not just the stock footage that had been used in every space movie ever created before. From original camera footage from Apollo 8‘s first orbit of the moon, to the main rocket assembly floating in space and the footage of the capsule taking off and spinning back toward earth. Most of the shots are incredible, and the interviews are incredibly uplifting and inspiring. The fact that the captain of Apollo 17 and last man on the moon, Gene Cernan, says he was angry that he did not get to fly fighter jets in Vietnam but had to sit on top of a rocket that would be propelled faster than a bullet to the blackness of space, shows you the huevos that these men had to go where no man had gone before.
In recent days, this movie carries more weight of asking the question, when do we go back? With current politics and the constant struggle NASA for funding now that the Cold War is long over, for now we will not even being returning to orbit. Those stories are for Russia and China now, we will just be sending our astronauts out to their launch pads with thumbs held out looking to hitch a ride to outer space. In the Shadow of the Moon reminds us of when there was a time that dreams were not somethings we shrugged our shoulders at and moved on, however they were challenges to not just show up a rival but better ourselves in the process. In the meantime, us dorks will have to settle for Star Trek and Battlestar…what their all canceled, SON OF A…
