Starring: Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro
Director: Jay Roach
Country: USA
Genre: Comedy
A comedy that gets most of its laughs from horrific situations it coins the new genre Hormedy.
The ‘bad luck’ subgenre of comedy films is quite effective as it immediately allows the audience to connect with the underdog and wish the best for him/her. Just look at the movie Precious– hilarious! Meet the Parents falls in the same vein as the exceptional Planes, Trains, and Automobiles following a character through one of the more nerve wrecking events a person can go through… meeting the parents, (duh.) I was pleased to find, just like PT&A that the humor held up completely. It does such a fine job of putting us in Gaylord Focker’s shoes that it really doesn’t give us any other option but to laugh otherwise we might die of humiliation. DeNiro and Stiller have a great comedic chemistry that pays off in every moment they are on screen together. Top notch.
Starring: Christian Bale, Willem Defoe, Reese Witherspoon
Director: Mary Harron
Country: USA
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Corporate America has been slowly killing people for years. At least Patrick Bateman is honest about it.
Mary Harron translates Bret Easton Ellis’s sterile and deeply disturbing novel into a quiet masterpiece of cinema. At first glance, American Psycho doesn’t necessarily feel like a horror film; it’s surface is plastic and shiny, but once you peel away the mineral face mask, a violent and truly disgusting beast is revealed. Most of the film feels artificial, meticulous, and staged, but there are these piercing moments of insanity that are incredibly perturbing. It’s part Taxi Driver, and part an expensive Italian silk suit. Social status has never been so savagely explored.
Starring: Jason Statham, Brad Pitt, Vinnie Jones, Dennis Farina
Director: Guy Ritchie
Country: UK
Genre: Crime
Through the last decade films have been playing copycat to this insanely energetic crime comedy by Guy Ritchie. Some might even argue that Mr. Ritchie himself has time and time again tried to copycat it, and the result, unfortunately, makes one nearly desensitized to Snatch’s style. But style isn’t all that makes a film, and what gives Snatch longevity is its amusing line-up of wild characters, and the humor squeezed out of every mucked-up situation. There is no denying that every student filmmaker wanted to remake this when it came out, and that kind of influence shouldn’t be set aside easily. Plus, this film contains one of Brad Pitt’s most eclectic and entertaining performances as Mickey, the fast-gibberish-talking bare-knuckle-boxer gypsy. It delivers on the laughs, on the action, and the cool.
Starring: John Cusack, Jack Black, Iben Hjejle, Todd Louiso
Director: Stephen Frears
Country: USA
Genre: Comedy, Drama
There’s a part of me that has a great affection for this story. It may not quite be a hugely influential film, but it definitely carved itself a tiny little niche in pop culture at the turn of the century. If people didn’t want to work at a music store after Empire Records, they certainly did after this film. I was certainly drawn to the lure of listening to music all day and being unfair to people with bad taste, by the constant over-analyzing of every detail of a relationship, and of course, the top ten lists, (which might be partly to blame for this site’s existence!) It’s a great story, greatly cast, greatly told, but it’s obvious that not everyone can to connect with a selfish main character wallowing in his own pity. For me, I relate, and having since read the book, I find the film even more entertaining. Top 5 John Cusack In The Rain Films, go:
Starring: Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Robin Wright Penn
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Country: USA
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
In a decade completely over saturated with superhero movies, Unbreakable brings an interesting concept to the table: a man who has lived half of his life not knowing his abilities. And it’s because of this concept, together with a decent performance from the always appealing Bruce Willis, that make this film work. It’s not very often that a film is both overrated and underrated simultaneously, but I think that the mass audience didn’t give Unbreakable the chance it needed, but I also think that people who are in love with Mr. Shyamalan’s gimmicky-schtick need to take a step back, M. Night Shyamalan’s directing is incredibly pretentious and arrogant and at points almost hinders the film. But when all is said and done, there is something in the very essence of the story that makes this film so alluring: a man coming to terms with his potential. And to me, that’s far more interesting than watching a climatic fight in the middle of a city between the hero and his nemesis.
Starring: Patrick Fugit, Billy Cruddup, Kate Hudson, Jason Lee
Director: Cameron Crowe
Country: USA
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Hollywood and audiences love biopics of musicians. They eat them up, as we’ve seen proof of this decade (Walk the Line, Ray, La Vie En Rose, etc.) But in your humble writer’s opinion, most biopics tend to drag on, they feel inflated, yet never really seeming to capture the entire span of its subject’s life or career, (or in some cases, can’t decide which to focus on.) Which is why doing a biopic of a fictional band is nearly a stroke of genius. Enter Almost Famous. It starts at the most interesting point in a band’s career, on the brink of success, and doesn’t have to pay heed to it’s roots to appease fans, nor does it have to go to extraneous lengths to bring us up-to-date with the band. It allows for a natural arc to develop, and thus lets its characters shine. While Almost Famous isn’t quite as hip as it thinks it is, it still provides an entertaining look behind the curtains of the rock world from a semi-autobiographical point of view from writer/director Cameron Crowe. And while his movies are usually wrought with way too many songs, (Elizabethtown, I’m looking at you,) I don’t believe you can ever have enough classic 70’s rock ‘n roll in a movie.
Starring: Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Ziyi Zhang,
Director: Ang Lee
Country: China
Genre: Foreign, Drama, Action
I was very late to the Tiger train. I believe my first time seeing it was a year after its theatrical release in the living room with a couple of friends. Not the ideal setting for a young lad who hadn’t quite found the necessity of subtitles over English-dub. The second time I watch it was after I purchased it for $5.00 during some sale at Target or Best Buy. And, once again, didn’t fully appreciate the beauty of the photography or ballet-like choreography. Instead I licked my greasy-pizza stained fingers and fell asleep half-way through.
Cut to eight years after my first viewing, and it for some reason clicks. The dreamlike imagery, the mystical storytelling, the classical romance, all of the aspects came together quite like a symphony before my eyes. Plus, um, does the sword fighting in this film kick-ass or what? The weapon-room fight scene was the thing that captured my attention on the first viewing, and with good reason. It’s possibly one of the best hand-to-hand combat sequences I’ve ever seen in film.
Whenever I see one of Ang Lee’s films, I always get anxious over the fact that he hasn’t done but twelve films in his almost twenty year career, but then I remember how damn good (most) are.
