Great Movies (you've never seen)
Here are some movies that you've probably never heard about but are fantastic. If your favorite video store is out of the movie you wanted, try one of these out. I've yet to have ONE PERSON say they didn't like any of these movies.
Never Cry Wolf
Charles Martin Smith ("Toad" of American Graffiti) plays a scientist who goes to Alaska to study Arctic wolves. This movie is beautifully filmed, and the story will follow you long after you've seen the movie. Kids will love this movie. Adults will love it more. Rated PG.
Jack's Back*
James Spader finds himself in the middle of a series of murders that parallel the famous "Jack the Ripper" murders. I guarantee there are at least two twists you will not see coming. Not very bloody for a murder mystery. Rated R.
Bedazzled (Original Version)
Dudley Moore and Peter Cook wrote and starred in this comedy of a man (Moore) who makes a deal with the Devil (Cook) in exchange for 7 wishes. To cancel a wish, Dudley must blow a raspberry (it's simple: just put your tongue between your lips and blow), which just keeps getting funnier. There is one brief, almost hidden, hard-to-pick-out flash of breasts in a mirror, but other than that it is OK for kids. This movie was made before the rating system was implemented.
The Best Years of Our Lives
Set after the end of WWII when all the boys are coming home, four men return to their families. One of the more amazing things about this movie is that it has aged wonderfully. It's probably more powerful than when it was originally released. This movie was made before the rating system was implemented.
The Philadelphia Story
Jimmy Stewart, Katharine Hepburn, and Cary Grant star in this love triangle that defies any plot description to do it justice (and it does have quite a plot). This movie has also stood the test of time. It has not become dated at all, and could have been made last year had all the actors stayed that young. This movie was made before the rating system was implemented.
Forbidden Planet
The only big Science Fiction film MGM ever made, and the only film made by another studio that Disney Studios participated in (they made the monster). This is loosely based on Shakespeare's The Tempest, but so what. This movie has fabulous special effects, a great story, and was ground-breaking in the area of science fiction films. The monster may be too intense for children under 8. This movie was made before the rating system was implemented.
Inside Moves*
John Savage and a stellar cast tell the story of a man who tries to commit suicide, but even fails at that. The movie goes straight uphill from there. Don't let the premise throw ya, this is a wonderful, fun movie. Rated R.
Red Rock West*
The fabulous Nicolas Cage stars as a Hitchcockian hero who gets embroiled in something that's not his fault. The wonder of this movie is Cage's character always does the intelligent thing. By this I mean every time he gets in a jam, he does what any of us would do, not the contrived movie thing. There's also a great cameo by Dwight Yoakam. A very funny, intelligent movie. Rated R.
Dazed and Confused*
Simply put, this is the "American Graffiti" for my generation, the folks who graduated high-school in the late 70's. Set on the last day of school; we follow several dead-on characters around through the day. If you are of my/this generation, I guarantee you will be able to pick out yourself and your friends in this movie. This is also one of those movies with great lines in it. My favorite line, delivered by Matthew Mcconaughey, is: "That's what I like about these high-school girls; I keep getting older, but they stay the same age." Rated R.
The 13th Warrior*
This is a fantastic adventure epic about an Arab poet who is exiled from his country to go live with "the men of the north," the Vikings. There he joins a band of warriors as the 13th warrior to go save a Nordic town from the attacks of mysterious bear-like creatures. The 13th Warrior grabs you by the nostrils from the first frame doesn't let go until the credits. Rated R.
Zero Effect*
Bill Pullman is private detective Daryl Zero. Ben Stiller is his gopher/lawyer/assistant. Detective Zero is the best detective around, smooth when he's on the job, can solve just about any mystery. However, when he's not out doing his thing, he's about as neurotic and weird as they come. A lot of fun to watch. It would be great if this ended up being a series. Rated R.
More Great Movies (that you probably have seen)
Note: I have not linked most of these to Amazon.com or elsewhere because they are so common or so recent, you should be able to find them wherever you decide to shop, rent or borrow.
**SPOILER ALERT**
There are intermittent spoilers throughout these movie descriptions. However, I've tried to make it so you would still enjoy the movie if you haven't already seen it, and I've strived not to give away any huge surprises. (OK, I give a way a pretty big surprise from The Matrix, but that's about it.)
The Wizard of Oz
The change from black and white to color, the perfectly formed world of Oz, the fact that the flying monkeys and the wizard were scary as hell, and the fact that they broadcast this movie once a year while I was growing up, made it my first movie love. Along with Star Trek, this movie has insinuated itself into American culture and the general gestalt to such a degree that anyone of any age or background in America can get a reference to it.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail*
I saw this with my very first girlfriend and she hated it as much as I loved it. (I realized you can love someone and not love their tastes in entertainment.) Even those in our little crowd from the Jr. High who liked the movie were pissed at me because I laughed so long and loudly at the "the animator suffers a fatal heart attack and dies" gag in the midst of the animated monster chase. My sense of humor has never recovered, thankfully. On a hike recently, one of the guys broke into a trot, clacking coconuts (imaginary) together. This movie has *almost* reached the cultural status of Star Trek and The Wizard of Oz.
Star Wars
At the point in my life that I first saw this movie, I had always loved of sci-fi but had been wondering why so many sci-fi movies sucked or weren't near as good as a novel. By the time Luke Skywalker was gazing at the two suns of Tatooine and the score swells, I was so enraptured that I'm surprised I didn't have to go towel myself off. My love for movies became profound when I saw this movie the first time.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
After Star Wars, this upped the ante for sci-fi effects and narrative. You really had to watch the movie to take in all that's happening. You can't see it on the video, but on the big screen, if you were paying attention, you always watched the stars in any scene where there was a starfield, because invariably you'd be tipped off as to when an alien craft was going to appear, because a star would break away and streak down. The best one is before Richard Dreyfuss is accosted in his utility truck - you can see the ship following him in the sky if you look for it. Complex narrative and cutting edge effects, not to mention more than one climax - this movie has so many climaxes it should be listed in Dr. Ruth's books as some sort of a record - made me expect more from all movies afterwards.
Alien*
The first sci-fi movie that made the experience of being in a space ship out in space seem real. The isolation and the helplessness of not being able to defend yourself from either the monster or the corporation were evoked so well that this remains THE movie to be topped for evoking paranoia and dread.
Altered States*
A movie that keeps changing direction and has a wonderfully tortured narrative. We go from guy floating in a sensory deprivation tank to lump of angry flesh in hallway who saves himself and his wife (who's glowing like she's volcanic) through simple love. Like wow. I haven't had a movie take me on a journey like that before or since. It showed me that there are still some stories out there that are truly something you haven't seen before.
Body Heat*
I don't know about you, but I didn't see the end of this movie coming. All the way through it was a great sexy, sultry thriller. Horniness dripped from the screen. You could see why he would be willing to do what he does. What a love/lust story. You could feel it. But then: WHAMMO. It was my first real "gotcha" movie. Before then, the endings to these kinds of movies were usually predictable for me.
Sophie's Choice*
The movie that taught me on-screen drama and tragedy can be lyrical and honestly moving rather than melodramatic and overwrought. A great bummer. Until then, I had only had that experience with written fiction. However, it's kind of wrecked me in a way. I now hold most movies that are sad or tragic to this standard because these kind of movies almost always have the tendency to slip into dreck, ala Steel Magnolias. There aren't many tragic movies that can equal this masterpiece.
Robocop*
Gad this movie looked silly in the previews - and that title! But what a ride. I was shocked and somewhat sickened at the level of violence in this film. It remains one of the most violent movies ever made. But the satirical news segments and commercials were unique, but not as unique as killing off your hero and putting him in a suit where you can only see his mouth. The way his resurrection was depicted has always haunted me.
Evil Dead II*
So schlock could be really really good after all! Horror and humor could be blended into a wonderful pulp all at once! Special effects could be obviously tacky but effective at the same time! Groovy! The only time I've stood from my seat in the theater in reaction to a scene. Luckily the theater was practically deserted. It still embarrassed my buddies that I did, though. This movie, and the series it's in, stand alone in moviedom.
The Little Mermaid (Animated)
I have always been a fan of animation, so I've seen and enjoyed most Disney feature cartoons. This was the first one that completely took me into its world. Also, as a rule, I can't stand musicals. (I like just these, and in the film version only: Wizard of Oz, Hair, Fiddler on the Roof, Rocky Horror Picture Show, and All That Jazz.) On top of it all, the freakin animated mermaid was sexy! A few of us guys discussed that with some guilt, later. A cartoon aimed at kids was giving us boners - go fig. The plot, the songs, and the visuals all combined into a movie experience that was unique for me, at the time. Since, Disney has accomplished this again with Beauty and the Beast, Tarzan, The Lion King, and Aladdin.
The Matrix*
Another movie where I didn't see the turn in the road up ahead. I think this movie has become the new standard in "what is reality?" as explored in film. The "bullet time" visuals were outstanding. When Keanu sat up in his little battery pod, I thought "Oh jeez, they've gone for this standard sci-fi chestnut. I hope they pull it off, but I bet they won't." But they did. And how.
Fight Club*
A lot of people avoided this movie because the previews made it look like a violence-fest that only a teenage boy could love. (Nothing against teenage boys who like movies where stuff blows up real good - I was that boy once.) Well, "Star Wars" can be described as a western in space. "Silence of the Lambs" can be described as a serial killer flick. "Sophie's Choice" can be described as a movie about a beautiful, tragic woman slowly going insane. Rather than continue to pound that point to China, just let me say that Fight Club will surprise you - in a good way. Ok, and sometimes in a bad way, too. I expected this to be a grim, horrific show. But it was a revelation. Sorta like "Evil Dead II," it was able to mix dark dark themes with equally dark humor, and then even come out the other side with some sort of cool point. Personally, as a ex-projectionist, I loved all the little subliminal in-jokes. I think respect and admiration for this movie will snowball as time goes by.
Batman Beyond: The Return of the Joker
(Animated)Princess Mononoke (Anime)
I kind of have a love/hate thing with anime. ("Anime" means "Japanese Animation" because the style is so different from American animation.) I sorta like all the hyper-heroic skank it usually has, but then that's the very thing that begins to get on my nerves. Imagine if every hero in every story solved his/her problems by screaming and attacking their foe, regardless. (This was the main premise of the "Conan" stories, btw - but it worked there somehow.) Nonetheless, that aside, not to be redundant, getting to the point, this is a pretty good movie. There were things in here that I've NEVER seen before - totally unique. Essentially, it's a movie about the battle between technology and nature, kinda like the animated feature from the 70s, Wizards, but with the twist of coming from an entirely different culture. Maybe someday somebody will do a point/counter-point graduate paper comparing the two movies and how they represent their culture's views on the issue. Kids should be at least 8 years old for this one.
Movies to avoid at all costs
Today's special, a rant: "Two Movies That SUCK"
*Not for kids. By "kids" I mean anyone under 13.