NOTE: May the spoilers be with you. Also, fair warning, this is more of an in-depth review so hang in there.
“Some things never change.” - Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Star Wars: The Force Awakens All his life, J.J. Abrams wanted to be a storyteller. Inspired by the films of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, he became a screenwriter. In college, he wrote the film Regarding Henry. During the making of the film, Abrams got to meet its star, Harrison Ford – who had years earlier played two of his film heroes, Han Solo and Indiana Jones.
Nearly 20 years later, Abrams transitioned into directing. He was offered Mission: Impossible III by Spielberg and Tom Cruise, which led to the reinvention of the franchise. Paramount would often ask Abrams to help revive a franchise with 2009’s Star Trek. The film was a massive success and led to Abrams’ first original directorial project, Super 8, about a group of kids shooting a zombie movie in a small town when an alien monster attacks. He was able to share a set with Spielberg, the film’s producer. It was also a major success.
Then, Abrams hit a major speed-bump in the form of 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness. While the film was a financial success, the critical and fan reaction was dismal; the leading argument being that the film was nothing more than a rip-off of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Speaking of Khan, the decision in the film marketing to hide the true identity of Benedict Cumberbatch’s character was loudly decried. Eventually, things got so hostile that the film’s co-writer Roberto Orci launched into an all-out rage against the fans on Twitter and declared he knew “what was best for Star Trek” more than they did. After the outburst, Orci left Twitter and has not resurfaced other than his television projects (“Limitless” and “Minority Report”) with his partner, Alex Kurtzman. Abrams has since taken the blame for most of the decisions made on the film. Little did he know that he was about to jump from one galaxy to another and become a part of something he once knew as a younger man.
Late October 2012. The world is stunned when George Lucas and Bob Iger jointly announce that Lucasfilm has been sold to the Walt Disney Company. They also announced that – for the first time – Star Wars Episode VII was officially in the works; the movie George Lucas said for DECADES would never happen. Almost immediately, the brains of fans everywhere were working overtime to think of who could possibly direct this new installment. Lucasfilm’s press release specifically stated that “Star Wars will be handed over to the new generation of filmmakers”.
“There were very early conversations and I quickly said that because of my loyalty to Star Trek, and also just being a fan, I wouldn’t even want to be involved in the next version of those things. I declined any involvement very early on. I’d rather be in the audience not knowing what was coming, rather than being involved in the minutiae of making them.”
Fast forward to late January 2013. With fans chomping at the bit for Lucasfilm to announce who will be behind the first Star Wars movie in a decade, it is finally revealed that the director of Episode VII will be… J.J. Abrams. Jaws everywhere fell to the floor. Even worse, this was not immediately confirmed by Lucasfilm until a day later. Abrams then said in an official press release titled, “Star Wars Is Being Kick-Started With Dynamite”:
“To be a part of the next chapter of the Star Wars saga, to collaborate with Kathy Kennedy and this remarkable group of people, is an absolute honor. I may be even more grateful to George Lucas now than I was as a kid.”
While fans might be angry for Abrams’ outright lie (or at least poor attention of misdirection), The Hollywood Reporter reports that:
“Abrams said in November that he wasn’t interested in taking over the venerable franchise from creator George Lucas. But sources tell THR that Kennedy contacted Abrams in early January and went to visit the filmmaker at the Santa Monica offices of his Bad Robot production company. Kennedy is said to have won over the filmmaker with her pitch [“Please do Star Wars”].”
And so, with the financial backing of Disney, the encouragement of powerhouse producer Kathleen Kennedy and the universe that was the brainchild of George Lucas, Abrams embarked on unarguably the biggest movie of his career.
30 years after the destruction of the Death Star II, the heroes of the Rebellion have disappeared into legend. In the case of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), he and the Jedi have fallen into myth after Luke vanished after one of his Jedi students turned to the dark side. With Luke’s disappearance, the galaxy has fallen into chaos with a new evil rising, the First Order. One of its darker disciples, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) is obsessed with Skywalker’s father Darth Vader and continuing where he left off – destroying all that is good in the galaxy; apparently not realizing Vader had a change of heart before he died. He captures X-Wing pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), from a secret mission for General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), and threatens to destroy him if he does not reveal the information he seeks. On the distant planet Jakku, a desert scavenger Rey (newcomer Daisy Ridley) is dreaming of a life of adventure rather than being stuck in the middle of nowhere. She gets her wish granted in the form of a rogue stormtrooper nicknamed Finn (John Boyega), who crash-lands his TIE Fighter while escaping from the fanatical First Order. Reluctantly teaming up, they come across the paths of old veterans Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca (Peter Meyhew), who knew Luke Skywalker firsthand.
J.J. Abrams has pulled off a moviegoing miracle. After the disastrous fan reactions to the Prequel Trilogy (I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look at the Prequels without scoffing intensely now; welcome back, character dialogue that sounds like what people actually talk like), The Force Awakens is a callback to the good old Original Trilogy while establishing itself as an entirely new entity. I quite enjoyed the bromance between Poe and Finn, it was quite funny and awesome. Finn and Rey are the main focus of the film however, and they both play off each other well; I was particularly appreciative that they were not given a typical romance attached to them just because they are opposite genders. Daisy Ridley is a vision, perfectly smart, beautiful and talented. John Boyega has this natural charisma and charm that works well; all the controversial brouhaha over him being a Stormtrooper was absolutely worthless. Oscar Isaac is someone I had seen in movies before, but here he shines as someone personifying cool and confidence. But, to me, the shining light of the film is Harrison Ford as Han Solo. We are given a genuinely fun performance from a guy who otherwise looks so miserable he would not even go to his own funeral.
Speaking of funerals... Harrison Ford has finally delivered on his threats to kill off Han Solo. It is the scene everyone and their mother is talking about: Han Solo confronts the monstrous Kylo Ren and reveals to the audience that he knows Ren as Ben, his son. After he tries to convince his son to abandon the Dark Side of the Force, Ren kills his father with his lightsaber. As he falls, Han lovingly bids farewell to his son. It is a scene I knew was coming, but even as it was happening, my heart was pounding as I wished it was not true. However, if it had to happen, this was the best possible scenario: something noble, appropriate and well-made. Ford looks truly heartbroken, but I am sure he had to fight the urge to jump with joy.
I will make this analogy (if it makes any sense): George Lucas builds a shiny automobile. He lavishes over it and everybody loves to see it. Then, he starts adding all sorts of annoying gadgets and gizmos to the car, too proud to let anyone else handle it. Eventually, the car falls into disrepair and, having fallen out of love with it, Lucas decides to bequeath it to a friend, Kathleen Kennedy. Kennedy knows that this car used to be really something and just needs a little tender love and care. She immediately takes the car to a mechanic, J.J. Abrams, known for fixing up old hot rods. Abrams gives the car a once-over and brings in a specialist, Lawrence Kasdan, to help him match together parts. For this operation, Abrams uses top-of-the-line technology while also tracking down old parts from its distributor. The result is a purring sports car with a brand-new engine, leather seats, full tires and a new paint job.
All in all, Disney and Lucasfilm have given the world a wonderful gift: new Star Wars movies with endless possibilities. Unlike the prequels which had to go in a very specific direction and “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” which is set in a contained period of time, The Force Awakens and subsequent films can go anywhere. Anybody in Hollywood who consider themselves true blue fans of Star Wars can eventually take their shot with their favorite space saga. Abrams was the first because he has the ability to revitalize a brand. His films are action-packed thrill rides with depth-filled characters and appropriate levels of levity. Force Awakens is no different, a thrill ride with enough laughs, cheers and tears to keep audiences coming back for more of that galaxy far, far away…
"Well, we basically lived out... the history of mankind within this line. We got together. We formed a government. We formed a hierarchy. We had our revolution. It all finally worked out and we're gonna see Star Wars. It's just a great time."
- Jason from the Mann's Chinese Theater line
A global social experiment is about to be set upon the world once again: can Star Wars, a worldwide phenomenon that has legions upon legions of fans, be resuscitated for a new generation after a lengthy absence? Certainly, Star Wars: The Force Awakens has a lot more going for it than The Phantom Menace, but let us take a journey back through time to just before May 1999. A time where when a new Star Wars movie was coming out, anything was possible. The creator himself, George Lucas, was back in the director's chair for the first time in over 20 years and had all of Industrial Light and Magic at his command. As the timely phrase goes, "What could possibly go wrong?" I was 8 years old at the time and was crazy into Disney's The Love Bug, so Star Wars had yet to take its hold on me. However, there is a great documentary produced at the time that chronicles the crazy phenomenon of waiting in line for weeks.
Dennis Przywara's Starwoids is a time capsule of this scarcely remembered period where feelings regarding Episode I: The Phantom Menace was positively at an all-time high. The film opens with a Kevin Smith narration defining what a "Starwoid" is: anyone who takes their fandom of Star Wars to the next level; whether it be cosplaying as a X-Wing pilot, creating Star Wars-themed music or collecting action figures. This is where Daniel Alter enters the story. Alter, who later in life went on to produce the Hitman films, is a young man in high school who decides to bring a chair out to his favorite theater and wait there until opening night for The Phantom Menace. Soon, more people follow suit and a camp is set up outside.
On the other side of town, in front of another theater, members from the now-defunct movie website CountingDown.com are constructing another compound of their own. They have their own TVs, Internet access and even a phone booth set to receive calls from international fans watching on a webcam. This is a more professional setup than Daniel's line. Despite that they are also raising money for charity, many in the group begin to decry the CountingDown line as nothing but a commercial gimmick to promote their website; less about Star Wars and more about cramming TV cameras everywhere.
While the battle of the lines is the center of the film, it also focuses on the general fandom phenomenon of Star Wars. One of which follows Guy Klender, avid collector, as he goes to various toy stores in search of all-new The Phantom Menace action figures. Another centers around the high school production of "Star Wars: The Musical" which takes popular songs from other musicals and gives them a twist from a Galaxy Far, Far Away. It also shows their failed attempt at infiltrating Skywalker Ranch; one ponders if this was where Fanboys was born. One of the more surprising elements is the inclusion of Phil Brown, Uncle Owen from A New Hope. Audiences learn quite a lot of interesting points including he directed a film on The Harlem Globetrotters and was a part of the Hollywood Blacklist (a topical point today because of the new film Trumbo).
The time finally comes to both lines when they can finally see The Phantom Menace. Whereas the official Episode I documentary "The Beginning" shows a few fans gleefully kiss the ground of the theater and run inside like crazed maniacs (a popular clip used in a negative fashion by Harry Plinkett of Red Letter Media), Starwoids shows that proper planning and level heads are not out of the question. Certainly excitement is in the air, but not sheer out-and-out nerdy madness. As they exit the movie after viewing it, everyone is praising it; quite long before popular opinion/sheer utter hatred envelops the planet. Daniel proclaims, "It's my favorite film!" The film then picks up a year later with Daniel looking quite different than he has at the beginning, having undergone a strict dietary regimen. He says that he was glad for the experience and that he may go again for Episode II.
Starwoids is a great look back to a simpler time and place; before the dark times, before the Prequels. Personally, I find things to like about the Prequels, but they are clearly inferior to the Originals. It would be easy to turn these people into stereotypes to laugh at, but the documentary wisely refrains from this; preferring the "laugh with us" approach. Both lines have their dramas, trials and tribulations, but nothing deadly serious (the most serious threats to the lines come from the police and apparently a group of interns from "The Man Show" who had terrorized some line people for laughs). George Lucas may never understand why people do not like the Prequels, but hopefully he takes some comfort in that Star Wars brings people together for positive reasons. We believe in these films and we all hope that Star Wars: The Force Awakens may bring back that effortless sense of wonder we have all been missing. Starwoids is available on Amazon.com.
"You see this guy here? That's the toughest opponent you're ever going to have to face. I believe that's true in the ring, and I think that's true in life. Now show me something."
- Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), Creed
Whether it was planned or not, there has certainly been an increase in bringing back characters in pop culture from the past to now – particularly this year. Not in remakes, but in what is being called “legacyquels”: from television’s “Ash vs. Evil Dead” (Bruce Campbell making a return to the title role he left behind twenty years ago) to, obviously, Star Wars: The Force Awakens (everybody making a return to the roles they left behind thirty years ago). But, certainly one character who has without a doubt gone the distance (pun intended) is Rocky Balboa, played by the often imitated but never duplicated Sylvester Stallone.
Almost forty years ago, Stallone had to fight to get Rocky on the screen and in doing so left a lasting impact on pop culture. Soon sequels followed, some better received than others; but all notable in their own ways. Stallone had intended 2006’s Rocky Balboa to be the swan song for the character going out on a personal triumph. And this is still true. Rocky will never get back in the ring as a fighter again. Enter Ryan Coogler, hot off the critically acclaimed Fruitvale Station. Coogler had been a huge fan of the Rocky films growing up and pitched Stallone on a new story set in that same timeline of films, but centered on a new character: the son of Apollo Creed, Rocky’s former rival turned friend. Stallone was originally skeptical on a further installment (especially since this would be the first film featuring the Rocky character not scripted by Stallone) but was swayed by Coogler’s admiration and commitment to having Stallone as a viable part of the film.
All his life, Adonis “Donny” Johnson (Michael B. Jordan) has been chased by a shadow: the truth of the identity of his father, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers – who, despite being alive in real life, appears in archive footage). Determined to make a name for himself, he heads from Los Angeles, California to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to the restaurant owned by the aging Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone). The ring is the last place Rocky wants to be, but eventually and reluctantly, he agrees to help Adonis train. Over in England, there is a massively-built boxer, “Pretty” Ricky Conlan (Tony Bellew), who is out for one last good bloody fight before he goes to prison. In order to defeat this challenging opponent, Adonis will have to embrace his legacy, follow Rocky’s guide and face his destiny.
The Rocky series has often been lampooned as a series that should have known when to stop. Still, Stallone has never wavered in his devotion into Rocky being a symbol of endearing dedication to following one’s dreams and believing in one’s self. Creed follows in this tradition, paying great homage to what has come before, while opening up the world to a new fighter. I haven’t seen much of Michael B. Jordan, but he has a great likability and charm that quickly wins you over. Stallone undergoes a massive transformation as Rocky, and not just from a fighter to a trainer. It is such a dramatic change that many are predicting Stallone may be the first actor to get two separate Oscar nominations for portraying the same character. In the course of the story, it is revealed that Rocky has developed lymphoma and must undergo chemotherapy. Rather than keep it as a point to deal with later, the movie goes headlong into that and shows us an extremely vulnerable and health-deteriorated Rocky. It does not shy away from his appearance, but it also does not linger. It is Adonis’ story and Rocky is in his corner.
The score by the Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson pays tribute to Bill Conti’s original Rocky score (naturally you can’t have a Rocky movie without some form of “Gonna Fly Now”) while also establishing itself in the modern age. The best fight in the film is actually the one in the middle with Leo “The Lion” Sporino (Gabe Rosado). Coogler does something I have never seen before in a boxing film: shoot the whole fight as one shot. Now, there could be some hidden cuts that I am not seeing but that is massively impressive. It is over and under the fighters, crisscrossing and moving; the fight keeps going. The movie also works as an interesting mirror of the very first Rocky. It follows a lot of the same beats as the original: courting a girl, trying to get a trainer, dealing with self-doubt and eventually losing to the champ.
Not every movie beats a Pixar movie in critical acclaim, but Creed took down a Dinosaur. If this is the beginning of another six movies with Jordan as Adonis Creed, I think it is a good start. He is an immensely watchable talent, someone who you can invest in. Stallone has good-naturedly taken a backseat for the purposes of the story, but continues to show he is not just an action hero but a well-rounded and woefully underestimated dramatic talent. Director Ryan Coogler takes up the mantle and charges up the metaphorical stairs triumphantly. While I think I prefer Rocky Balboa to Creed, it is still a viable film for the franchise and shows that there is no sign of stopping.
"I sat in a garage and invented the future because artists lead and hacks ask for a show of hands!"
- Steve Jobs (Michael Fassbender), Steve Jobs Making a biopic is never an easy thing to do. A life does not fit into three acts, snappy dialogue does not come naturally to everyone and if the subject of the film is still alive, a satisfactory conclusion is hard to create. Still, when a movie about a global technical innovator who might not be as nice as they think they are needs to be made, Aaron Sorkin is Hollywood's answer to the call. David Fincher's The Social Network was a rousing success, both critically and financially and resulted in Sorkin getting an Oscar for his screenplay. Whereas Mark Zuckerberg is still alive (and constantly fighting the image of him from the film), Sorkin chose to adapt a biography of a recently deceased man who invented devices that link us all but may have been difficult to work with: Steve Jobs.
The one problem being that there had already been a major motion picture that depicted the life of Steve Jobs: Jobs, released in the two years Sorkin was researching and writing his film (and also getting "The Newsroom" on HBO), starring Ashton Kutcher in the title role. The film was not well-received, though people could not deny Kutcher's resemblence to the real life Jobs. There was also the long and often disastrous road of getting Steve Jobs to the screen. Initially set up at Columbia Pictures, the same studio that released Social Network, Sorkin tried to recruit David Fincher to direct. Fincher vowed he would not make the film unless he could get his first choice for the title role: Christian Bale (an actor who is no stranger to a bad reputation). Bale had other film schedules to honor and both he and Fincher passed on the project. Leonardo DiCaprio was also considered (an actor who is no stranger to playing troubled billionaire inventors), but passed to do The Revenant. But worse was to come: thanks to the massive controversy behind a film directed by Steve Jobs star Seth Rogen, The Interview, Sony - the parent corporation of Columbia Pictures - put the film in turnaround in order to restrategize their film slate. Universal gladly picked up the film, hired Academy Award winner Danny Boyle and cast X-Men actor Michael Fassbender as Steve Jobs. Filming took an unheard of two months on schedule.
Taking place at three different product launches in three different years, Steve Jobs (Fassbender) seems to be having three different worse days of his life. The world-changing technology he wants to demonstrate is not working, there is discontent in the ranks, and to make matters worse an ex-girlfriend (Katherine Waterston) of his dragging a little girl (Perla Haney-Jardine, Ripley Sobo, and Makenzie Moss) with her demands more and more of his money. His best friend and co-founder of Apple, Steve Wozniak (Seth Rogen) pleads with him to acknowledge the team behind Apple II, something Jobs refuses to do. His self-appointed "work wife", Joanna Hoffman (Kate Winslet) acts as Steve's conscience, his sounding board, his verbal bodyguard and is getting fed up with him. But ultimately, it is the little girl named Lisa who is trying to win Steve's heart, if indeed he has one.
Between this new film and the Kutcher movie, there is a more than decent Steve Jobs film out there. But this one is not it. Where The Social Network succeeded in presenting arguments between multiple groups of people and let the audience decide who was telling the truth, Steve Jobs lays the story as if it were divine truth (Jobs is sarcastically referred to as God in the film, but asks who could love a God who sends His Son on a "suicide mission"). The trump card that Sorkin is using is that the real-life Steve Wozniak supported the making of this film and not the Kutcher film in which Steve Jobs is portrayed as a billionaire who just so happens to also be a struggling artist (and is portrayed in a more positive light). The opening act of the film, in which a technical glitch resulting in the Macintosh not being able to say the word, "Hello" results in Jobs angrily threatening to ruin Andy Hertzfeld (Michael Stuhlbarg)'s public standings, never happened. "Creation myths need a devil," Rashida Jones' character says in the Sorkin-written The Social Network. Clearly he has not strayed too far, despite Sorkin's protesting that the film "...is a painting, not a photograph". If you put everyone in a closed room and talked to them, there is a high probability that they would all be different than they are in public. Why? It is less formal, nobody is around and there is also no proof any of it actually happened.
The cast does well with the disappointingly stagy material. While Fassbender strikes me as a little too good-looking to play the gaunt Jobs (most notably his head is less round), he can definitely play the smartest guy in the room. His Jobs seems endlessly frustrated that he cannot take people apart like his computers and make them do what he wants. Kate Winslet disappears in her role as Hoffman, the woman devoted to her boss though demonstrating she should be fired by her attitude towards him. Seth Rogen (whose Interview film resulted in this film getting bumped from Columbia to Universal) seems to be chasing the Oscar that Jonah Hill has (somehow) been nominated for twice already. Rogen essentially has three scenes with Fassbender and all of them can be condensed down to...
WOZNIAK: Will you please publicly thank the people who built the only product Apple has made that has turned a profit?
JOBS: Not even if my life depended on it.
WOZNIAK: Okay. I'll go approve a movie that makes you look like a jerk now.
It's quite amusing that Jeff Daniels is in this film because not only is he also in another film this month (that beat this film at the box office) directed by a man whose famous Apple 1984 commercial is shown in the film and Daniels' character directly critiques it. His lengthy debates with Jobs are the highlight of the film, demonstrating Boyle's proficiency as a director. However, the actress who caught my eye in the film is Perla Haney-Jardine, who plays the eldest version of Jobs' daughter, Lisa. The few people running Hollywood who saw this film have got to put her in more stuff (she had previously played the forgettable role of the Sandman's daughter in the infamous Spider-Man 3). There are very few performers who can essentially come out of nowhere and totally own a scene with an established actor and those last ten minutes of the film are jaw-dropping.
Steve Jobs predictably "paints" its subject in a not-so-nice light. Sorkin's screenplay wants to invent reason upon reason to not like the guy we all know and love from his product speeches on YouTube. Whether or not it is the truth, it all depends on if the film presents a compelling story and in truth, it does not. It is suitable for a stage play, not a multi-million feature film. The cast rises to the occasion, and Boyle wisely maintains control over his frame and does not distract with wacky visuals as his filmography might suggest. Contrary to popular belief, this movie will not make you want to throw away the Apple products we cannot seem to live without. Though if you can live without this movie, I would not blame you. And one more thing... if you're interested in reading the facts versus the fiction, give this a read: http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/steve-jobs/.
NOTE: Mars Mild spoilers. Also, this review is being written almost immediately after my initial screening of the film, so this will be more in-depth than previous reviews.
"This will come as a complete shock to my crewmates and to NASA and to the entire world, but... I'm still alive. Obviously.... Surprise!"
- Mark Watney (Matt Damon), The Martian Ridley Scott is a consummate filmmaker, without question. Though it is quite interesting, with as an eclectic career as he has, that he keeps returning to space movies. Alien is the oft-quoted "haunted house in space" movie, Blade Runner has mention of space battles in the closing soliloquy of antagonist Roy Batty and, most recently, Prometheus was the "everything-goes-to-hell" journey of mankind's search for our creators. Certainly, nobody was demanding Scott to return to the subject, but if he did, he'd certainly have to figure another way around it.
Enter computer scientist Andy Weir who, on a whim in 2011, decided to write an one-of-a-kind survival story where an astronaut is accidentally stranded on Mars. The story grew so popular that it quickly became a popular purchase in Amazon.com's e-book section. Drew Goddard, most known as the writer/director of The Cabin in the Woods, adapted Weir's book with the intention of directing for himself. However, various deals with Marvel (most of which fell through; though one gave the world the popular Netflix series "Marvel's Daredevil") required his attentions. Producer Simon Kinberg (also co-writer of Sherlock Holmes and currently one of Disney's new Star Wars gurus) bought the project to Ridley Scott's attention at 20th Century Fox. Scott himself brought the project to an actor he had never worked with before, Matt Damon. Damon was skeptical at first; he had just made Christopher Nolan's Interstellar where he played a stranded astronaut (though of a different attitude). When Damon explained the particulars of the part, Scott assured him that wasn't what he had in mind.
In 2035 (according to author Weir, though never specified in the movie/novel), manned missions to Mars are nothing new. Though the crew of Ares III would have liked more of a heads-up for a massive storm heading their way which forces them to abandon their mission and escape the planet. Led by Commander Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain, in one of two October 2015 film roles), the team makes their way back to their lander in the middle of the storm but along the way some debris knocks away botanist Mark Watney (Damon). With his bio-readings inactive, they have no choice but to accept his death and proceed with the evacuation. Little do they know, Watney has survived and makes his way back to the lab that was set up for the mission. With no way to contact NASA and limited supplies, Watney has to make a life for himself until the next Ares mission. On Earth, scientists at NASA have discovered Watney's survival and gather their best to plot a rescue mission before time runs out.
It's strange to me how all the movies that glorify NASA - Apollo 13, Armageddon, Gravity and now The Martian, all involve Hell breaking loose on whatever mission was strategically planned (though in Michael Bay's case, he just wanted Bruce Willis to blow up an asteroid the size of Texas; poor sweet, freaking beautiful Liv Tyler...). I guess, especially in Gravity and The Martian's case, it's all about celebrating the ability of the individual to think through situations and the durability of the human spirit. What separates The Martian from the films mentioned above is its incredible sense of good humor. Weir's novel was plenty funny, but Goddard turned the 359 page book into a streamlined screenplay that never feels unfaithful to the source material. This does inevitably lose a lot of Mark Watney's more chuckle-inducing dialogue (though I have to applaud the marketing team for the film for giving one of my favorite lines back to Watney in one of the very well-made viral videos), but it moves the story along at the brisk pace necessary for a feature film. Mayhaps a Ridley Scott expanded cut is in order?
The cast - both in space and on Earth - cannot go overlooked. Damon, as Scott predicted, is (pardon the pun) light years away from his unlikable character in Interstellar. He is able to bring the necessary light-heartedness to the film as well as the believability for the technical know-how that his character continually expounds. Jessica Chastain brings a earnestness to Commander Lewis, where you genuinely feel the guilt she has for unknowingly leaving Watney behind which leads her to physically getting him back at the end. It's kinda funny that this movie features three notable Marvel actors: Kate Mara (coming off of the dreadfully received Fantastic Four reboot as Invisible Woman/Susan Storm), Michael Peña (coming off of the wonderfully received Ant-Man as Luis) and Sebastian Stan (best known as The Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes from Captain America: The Winter Soldier - ridiculously well-received). The Earth cast, led by Jeff Daniels (who, years ago, was in a different kind of Martian movie) is a lot more serious and low-key. Recent Academy Award winner Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave) plays a character who has a bigger part (and a different first name) in the book but again, for the purposes of an ensemble cast, is spread thin. Sean Bean, I'm convinced, is in this film for the sole purpose of a Lord of the Rings connection. Kristen Wiig is in the film, playing a shrill NASA public relations officer and doesn't get much to do. The standout for me is this new girl named Mackenzie Davis playing the meek Mindy Park. I don't know much of her, but I'd like to see her in more stuff; she's on the AMC show "Halt and Catch Fire", a show I don't watch. Donald Glover, a guy who'd kill to be a Marvel actor (he so desperately wants to be Spider-Man but I honestly believe he'd be perfect for The Prowler/Hobie Brown) plays the whiz kid who out-thinks all of NASA in their attempts to bring Watney home. He gets a standout scene and then pretty much disappears from the rest of the movie.
One of the standout features of the movie is its soundtrack. In both the novel and the movie, Mark Watney makes no reservations about his utter hatred of disco being the only source of music available in what the Ares III team left behind. While the book mentions probably the most famous disco song ever written, "Stayin' Alive", the movie features (among others) "Turn the Beat Around" by Vickie Sue Robinson, "Rock the Boat" by The Hues Corporation, "Waterloo" by ABBA, "Love Train" by The O'Jays (in the Epilogue) and "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor (in the end credits). However, Watney and I share the same favorite song in the film, "Hot Stuff" by Donna Summer (described as the "least disco" of the bunch) and even Watney can't help grooving along with the beat.
After misfires like The Counselor and Exodus: Gods and Kings, Ridley Scott finally gets a crowdpleasing sci-fi movie that will catapult him back in the good graces of pop culture. The Martian has one talented cast and a smart, engaging script that will no doubt get some awards recognition. It's fair to say the long-running curse of "Mars" movies has finally been broken.
In the late '90s, Cartoon Network was the king of edgey cartoons that could still appeal to a family-friendly audience (for instance: "Ed, Edd 'n Eddy" - three children practicing to become con artists, "Dexter's Laboratory" - a little boy who stays in his room all day long and has a pretty big secret that he keeps from his parents, "Johnny Bravo" - a buff womanizer trying to pick up women and "Courage the Cowardly Dog" - a dog protecting his often-neglectful owners from frightening horrors... among others). But when MTV started animated shows like "Beavis & Butt-Head", they had to come up with something new: an entire block of cartoons that would appeal to older teenagers. To start it off, they created a new talk show out of a very old character, "Space Ghost Coast to Coast"; the idea being that the famous cartoon character would interview celebrities (who often spoke to a guy in a "Space Ghost" costume and most likely never knew they were being talked to for a TV show). One episode involved country music superstar Willie Nelson, but its biggest impact would be in three other guest stars. Space Ghost, in the episode, had racked up a pretty big bill for a local restaurant and settling the debt meant the three mascots of said restaurant would show up: Master Shake, Frylock and Meatwad. They caused chaos and unsettled Space Ghost enough that he eventually left the show in the middle of "broadcast". The episode's script was so strange and nonsensical it didn't air (or even get animated) until years later. But something about these characters struck a cord with Mike Rizzo, the head of [adult swim] (the moniker that Cartoon Network eventually created for its late-night programming). He employed Dave Willis and Matt Maiellaro (two of "Space Ghost"'s head writers) to come up with a series involving said characters.
What the world got was "Aqua Teen Hunger Force", a cartoon that rivaled "Seinfeld"'s famous declaration that it was "a series about nothing". Maiellaro said in an interview with the AV Club, "We get to do things nobody else would let us do." And yet, [adult swim] viewers thought it was hysterical. The show followed no real formula: in the first season, it was said that the Aqua Teens were detectives facing off against monsters/strange creatures sent by the criminally insane mad scientist Dr. Weird and his reluctantly loyal assistant Steve (both voiced by C. Martin Croker). This was quickly dropped as Willis and Maiellaro lost interest. The plots soon began to revolve around the antics of the vain and egotistical Master Shake (voice of Dana Snyder), the experiments of the remarkably intelligent Frylock (voice of Carey Means) and the playfulness of the impressionable Meatwad (voice of Willis); they all live in a "third-world hellhole" in South Jersey next door to the slothful and lovably repugnant Carl Brutananadilewski (voice of Willis) who hates his neighbors and loves the band Boston (and other '80s hair rock bands). Often the Aqua Teens would come into contact with villains such as the Mooninites (two 8-bit video game characters) who try to scam them, MC Pee Pants (a dead rapper who keeps returning to the land of the living under different animal disguises voiced by mc chris), the Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future (a time-traveling robot with an addiction to telling "severely long" stories) and the Plutonians (two dumb aliens out to conquer the universe if only they knew where to start). The show was famous for its non-sequitur endings (each episode is only 11 minutes long) and often Carl would end up dead. Still, viewership continued to rise and "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" quickly became a cult favorite.
[adult swim] fans were overjoyed when it was announced that an actual theatrical film based on "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" was heading to theaters. The only film to come from a Cartoon Network show prior to this was The Powerpuff Girls Movie. In adapting an 11-minute cartoon to a feature-length film, Maiellaro and Willis decided to finally tell the Aqua Teen's origin story. In their own ways, naturally. And without network censors, that meant a lot more swearing, sex jokes and comedic depravity than ever before.
NOTE: This is not the actual ATHF:MFFT trailer, but one of my own creation.
The Aqua Teens come into possession of a mysterious piece of gym equipment known as the Insanoflex. However, they cannot do anything with it without the final piece of its puzzling mechanics. Their neighbor Carl naturally offers no help, so the Aqua Teens set off on a journey to find the missing piece. Meanwhile, in space, the Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future (voice of Maiellaro) teams up with the Plutonians, the passive Emory (voice of Mike Schatz) and the short-tempered Oglethorpe (voice of Andy Merrill), to prevent the Insanoflex from being put together as it could set off the end of the world. As the Aqua Teens travel, Frylock begins to have nightmares about his creation at the hands of Dr. Weird and comes to suspect there may be more to the story than he thought.
Naturally, the audiences seeing the film who hadn't seen the series were repulsed. Some were calling it the latest Dadaist piece of cinema since Tom Green's Freddy Got Fingered; a movie essentially designed to trick people looking for a comedy into seeing something surreal and disquieting to make them think more about themselves and the world around them. Methinks such critics were reading waaaaaay too much into it. It's utterly stupid, yes, but there is worthwhile entertainment in it. Of course, [adult swim] sent Carl out to encourage fans to see the film in theaters and not listen to negative criticism.
The film's random humor is hit and miss, but so much hit than miss. It goes to show how well the jokes fly in a shorter setting than over an hour. A cameo by Bruce Campbell as the lost member of the Aqua Teens, Surprisingly, the film actually made it onto the shortlist of nominees for Best Animated Feature in 2008. Not surprisingly, it didn't make the final list. But I'm sure if one asked Willis and Maiellaro, they'd definitely say it was a success. A sequel was bandied about for years, to be titled Death Fighter, involving the return and subsequent revenge of Dr. Weird. It never came to be as the series was brought to a close by the network in 2015, against the creators' desires. Supposedly, the heads of [adult swim] wanted to move on from the show that had been running since the programming block's debut.
While I do believe the creators are sincere in their declaration of the series actually being over and that it is not part of some elaborate hoax, it is quite a testament to how things will be different now at [adult swim]. There'll be original programming, like the ever-popular "Rick & Morty", but it won't have that in-house feel to it. "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" was the last of the old guard, the final cornerstone of what gave birth to a counter-cultural phenomenon - which included 13 seasons, a feature film, a PS2 video game, a Boston bomb scare and even a holiday music album. Sure it's not nearly as historical as "South Park" or "The Simpsons", but from where it was, it had a good run and left behind an indelible mark of adult-brand silliness that few will ever forget.
And now... just for fun... my favorite Aqua Teen Hunger Force episodes (random order, just how they'd like it).
"Balloonenstein" "Space Conflict from Beyond Pluto" "Super Bowl" "The Clowning" "Unremarkable Voyage" "Gee Whiz" "T-Shirt of the Dead" "Carl" "Intervention" "Last Dance for Napkin Lad" "Chicken & Beans" "Total Re-Carl" "The Cloning"
All my life I've been known as "the movie guy". The walking, talking IMDb. Among the questions I get most often -- "Why are you so into movies?" They make sense to me; they always have, they always will. "Are you, like, gonna make movies when you grow up?" I have made short films, yes, but as I get *older* I'd like to make features. -- is "What's your favorite movie?" For the longest time, I fought the question reasoning that to be a good student of film, one had to be open to all genres and all types of stories. Singling out one film more than others can be easy for some, but not for me. Still, I think I've finally sat down and realized what movies mean the most to me. The ones I know by heart because they know me by heart. My all-time favorites in a top 20 list. Now I've laid out a few ground rules for myself:
1. No Star Wars or Star Trek. Way too easy and I enjoy them all (except on the "Trek" side - Insurrection, Nemesis and Into Darkness). 2. For the purposes of this list, I'm staying with films that I currently own on Blu-Ray. That means nothing currently in theaters (believe me, that ain't saying much). 3. Because of the exclusions of Star Wars and Star Trek, trilogies ARE allowed. 4. I will not be beholden to this list for the rest of my life. Change is inevitably bound to happen (though for the top 5, it is very unlikely).
So here goes. My Top 20 Favorite Films. I'm going in reverse order to preserve surprises. There may be a few films on this list I talk more about than others (some on this list are classics everyone knows).
--- 20. Cloud Atlas (2012) Directors: Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer and Andy Wachowski
"While my extensive experience as an editor has led me to a disdain for flashbacks and flash forwards and all such tricksy gimmicks I believe that if you, dear Reader, can extend your patience for just a moment, you will find that there is a Method to this tale of Madness."
I'm quite aware there is not a lot of love for this movie. If you saw it and didn't like it, I can't tell you that you're wrong. However, if you believe the hearsay of this film without seeing it, I highly encourage you to set apart three hours for yourself and actually sit down and watch it. The directors themselves have acknowledged that this ambitious movie was hard to market because it was hard to condense to sell in a 30-second TV spot. All I know is that as soon as I saw that first extended trailer, I couldn't miss this movie. And to this day, I'm still incredibly taken by this movie. The way it was made (three directors - a brother and a sister and a unrelated Frenchman), the way it was cast (each of the main actors plays multiple parts; the two main leads play six roles each), the way it's edited (the film ranges from scenes set in 1849 to the far-flung future) and its legitimately epic storytelling (how does a man go from a villain to a hero?). The cast is fantastic and is some of their finest work. This movie is unique in that it's telling six different stories that happen to intersect in intriguing ways. One's a sea-faring voyage, another is a '70s noir and one is a modern-day "prison break" comedy caper; it's juggling genres like no other film I've ever seen. I'm told that the Wachowskis' new Netflix series "Sense8" takes a lot of cues from Cloud Atlas. I'm definitely intrigued and will have to catch up with it at some point. 19. Forrest Gump (1994) Director: Robert Zemeckis
"If there's anything you need, I won't be far away."
There's a lot of talk of "oh, this movie's overrated", "oh, if you really look hard enough this movie is nothing but tripe", blah, blah, blah. I only know that this movie works. It's a tour through 20th Century American History like no other. It's funny, it's poignant, it's sad, it's joyous; isn't that what movies do best? It's telling to this day that although Tom Hanks is probably most recognized for this character that he never got typecast. That's how good he is. Even so, this is a character that has a good heart, instinctively does the right thing and that's why I like him. The supporting cast is good - Robin Wright plays Jenny as someone trying to figure out what she wants in life and constantly going down the wrong roads; Sally Field as Forrest's mother is his conscience, telling him what is right and what is wrong; and Gary Sinise has the biggest character arc as Lt. Dan, a guy who was so sold on dying on the battlefield that he had to rediscover how to live. Should this movie be looked at as "Life: The Manual", as many of the '90s wannabe philosophers took it as? Not at all, that's a ridiculous assumption. This is just a simple American fable in a time and place where fables are not always appreciated. 18. Goodfellas (1990) Director: Martin Scorsese
"We ran everything. We paid off cops. We paid off lawyers. We paid off judges. Everybody had their hands out. Everything was for the taking. And now it's all over."
This is unquestionably Scorsese's masterpiece. Since the beginning of cinema, there has been more fascination with depicting bad men doing bad deeds than heroes saving people and doing the right thing. Ray Liotta narrates, as Henry Hill, his life of being a gangster; from meeting his life-long friends and wife in the '50s to getting busted for narcotics in the '80s. The movie never attempts to show how evil the things these people are doing; it's a family thing. Scorsese orchestrates a brilliant one-take shot of Henry and his wife entering into a club from the outside in; a lot of movies today have long one-take shots but Scorsese does it with such unchallenged style and class. One thing that surprised me was how funny the movie is - most of said humor coming from the Oscar-winning performance of Joe Pesci ("I'm funny to you? Like a clown? How am I funny?"). Naturally the consequences of Henry catch up to him, but even at the end, the audience never feels that Henry is remorseful for what he did, but that he got caught. It's a crime story that thrills, chills and kills.
17. Fletch (1985) Director: Michael Ritchie
"I had to keep digging... without a shovel."
There's a lot of roles that Chevy Chase has been identified with over the years but for me, as much as I love him as Clark Griswold, he'll always be Irwin M. "Fletch" Fletcher. It's a testament to not only his performance but also the tightly-constructed mystery story scripted by Andrew Bergman (Blazing Saddles, The Freshman). So no matter where in the story Fletch is, as many one-liners and wisecracks he drops, there is still a serious mystery to be solved. One of the antagonists of the film is played by Joe Don Baker, who to me will always be the sloppy cop "Mitchell" and might as well be playing the same character in this film, just with a promotion to police chief. There is a sequel to the film, Fletch Lives, that is not nearly as good as this film; mostly due to the film's construction being the opposite of this one (Fletch goes into disguises and then solves a mystery as opposed to solving a mystery requiring Fletch to go into disguises). One thing I should not neglect to mention is the stellar score by Harold Faltermeyer who is also famous for his scores for Beverly Hills Cop and Top Gun. It perfectly acknowledges the thriller aspect of the film, while staying true to the comedy. 16. The Incredibles (2004) Director: Brad Bird
"No matter how many times you save the world, it always manages to get back in jeopardy again."
It's not easy to create a hit movie with completely new superheroes that no one's heard of. Luckily Pixar seems to have that magical calculation that can take whatever you throw at it and make it awesome and endearing (except for Cars 2 for some reason). Bird always said that this film is about "the mundane and the fantastic" and how they clash at the opportune times. But it's also a great story about how we have no idea how the way we interact with people can come back to haunt us. Other movies try and tell similar stories but this movie does it the best. The cast - although none of them are marquee movie star names; aside from Samuel L. Jackson - is impeccable, tailor-suited for their roles. Jason Lee, in particular, is at once hilarious and devious. If one owns the Blu-Ray, there is a fantastic 10-minute alternate opening (in animatics) to the movie that is almost as compelling as the opening in the film. It's different, not as action-packed, but it feels more personal. You get into Bob and Helen's lives as people first and then gradually reveal they used to be superheroes. It's been long in development, but an official Incredibles 2 with Bird at the helm (at least in writing, no word on directing) is finally on the way and I'll definitely be there opening day.
15. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) Director: Stanley Kubrick
"You're talking about mass murder, General, not war."
My first Kubrick film. It constantly popped up in AFI's 100 Years... TV specials and I was intrigued. I watched it and... I didn't get it. At first. It took me a few more watches and it finally dawned on me: this was absolutely hysterical. Peter Sellers playing three different roles with three different accents and, in some scenes, he actually talks to himself. But let's not take away from the hilarity that George C. Scott brings. He's so committed to the role that in mid-take, he trips over himself, somersaults and brings himself back up into frame without blowing his line. That's amazing. The three stories that the film tells - a British officer is trapped in an office with a crazed American general who single-handedly has started World War III, the War Room of generals, a Russian ambassador, a Nazi mad scientist and a President who are desperately trying to prevent said war and a plane full of patriotic soldiers willing to die for their country - could have (and was initially planned as) played for drama, but goes for laughs in as tasteful a way as possible (a line that Slim Pickens uses was changed from referencing Dallas to Vegas in the aftermath of the JFK assassination). It's madness from beginning to end.
14. The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005, 2008, 2012)
Director: Christopher Nolan
"You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness and I won't kill you because you're just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever."
In the years following Batman & Robin, comic book movies were generally frowned upon as know-nothing tripe for the masses. Even successes like X-Men and Spider-Man were not received as game-changers in cinema. That was until Christopher Nolan, director of Insomnia, was brought on-board to reboot the Batman series for modern audiences. His first film, Batman Begins, was a brilliant reinvention that took the Batman origins and made them realistic. You see how someone with the billions Bruce Wayne has can fabricate a suit, build the gadgets, upgrade his vehicle and be Batman. It was a success (though not as much as was anticipated as some fans were still burned after Batman & Robin) and naturally a sequel followed. And the answer to the question everybody asked themselves, "How is Heath Ledger gonna play the Joker," was the talk of the year. After his untimely death, Ledger gave an expectations-defying performance that rightly won him a posthumous Academy Award. However, his performance outshone Aaron Eckhart's as Harvey Dent/Two-Face. The film itself, The Dark Knight, was an evolution of what had been set up in the previous film. It was deeper, darker and even more thrilling. Momentum was high when The Dark Knight Rises was released three years later. While Tom Hardy could not reach the atmospheric levels of Ledger's Joker, his portrayal of Bane also permeated the culture. Anne Hathaway also took up the mantle of Selina Kyle, while Nolan did away with all the supernatural cat-themed brouhaha that plagued the character in the past. Kyle, in this film, is simply a cat burglar balanced between Bane's reign of terror and Batman's war on crime. Through these three films, Christopher Nolan redefined Batman for a new generation of moviegoers as a symbol that was incorruptible. Though DC/Warners has moved on with a new Batman, we'll always have this one to go back to.
13. Superman: The Movie (1978)
Director: Richard Donner
"They can be a great people, Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason among others, their capacity for good, I have sent them you, my only son."
The character of Superman had conquered the realms of radio, theatrical cartoons, weekly serials and a popular television series. Still, he didn't get his first theatrical feature-length film until the rights were purchased by two Italian film producers from Mexico. The Salkinds, who had perfected franchise building by filming one long movie and releasing it as The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers, decided they would do the same with Superman. Hiring Richard Donner, hot off the hit thriller The Omen, was the best decision they made. Somebody who believed in bringing verisimilitude ("the appearance of being true or real") to the character. The film plays out in three acts - the icy world of Krypton featuring acting legend Marlon Brando playing Superman's father Jor-El, the Norman Rockwell-ish Smallville where Clark Kent grows up and then the city of Metropolis that plays like a '30s screwball comedy, especially when Gene Hackman shows up as "the greatest criminal mastermind of our time" Lex Luthor. Christopher Reeve brings an earnestness that shines through in his Superman. In contrast, Hackman is genuinely hilarious as Luthor. The flying effects, that won a Special Achievement Academy Award, still hold up today. This is my favorite DC Comics movie.
12. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1978)
Director: Steven Spielberg
"I know this. I know what this is! This means something. This is important."
Though this wasn't Spielberg's first take on aliens (see his short film "Firelight") and certainly wouldn't be his last, but between E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and War of the Worlds, it has a great position being in between a cutsy kidsy alien tale (no disrespect) and a dark and chilling cautionary tale (don't get invaded by aliens, Earth; you oughta know better by now). Even with its out-of-this-world (pun intended) premise, the movie is grounded in humanity thanks to the performances of Richard Dreyfuss as an Indiana lineman who finds himself in the middle of this massive UFO conspiracy and François Truffaut as the head scientist chasing the titular "Third Kind". The climax of the film is less action-packed than you'd expect but more wondrous and thought-provoking. Even Steven Spielberg has said that he wouldn't make the movie the same way today. It's cinematic catharsis at its finest.
11. Ghostbusters (1984)
Director: Ivan Reitman
"We're ready to believe you!"
If "Ghostbusters" the franchise was just limited to one movie, no sequels (holding off judgment of the new all-female reboot; but you don't mess with the Ecto-1, that car's a classic), no animated series, no video games and no Ecto-Cooler, Ghostbusters the movie would still be awesome. They're better than superheroes because they are basically everymen who have dangerous equipment and are running around trying to protect us. Though he essentially did the film as a favor after Columbia bankrolled his pet project The Razor's Edge, Bill Murray leads a perfect ensemble cast who are all invested in not only their characters, but the concept itself. Dan Aykroyd's initial drafts of the film were very esoteric and futuristic, so Harold Ramis took time to pull the script back into something more palpable. This is the best movie Ivan Reitman has ever directed and it shows in the rest of his career. To say the special effects no longer hold up isn't exactly fair considering it was 1984 and they still had the best of Industrial Light and Magic working on the film. "Ghostbusters" the song is still as catchy and awesome today as it was then and both times it appears in the film -- the "Ghostbusters at work" montage and the joyous end credits scene -- really brightens the mood. If you can't quote-a-long with this movie, watch it again until you can.
10. Jaws (1975)
Director: Steven Spielberg
"You yell barracuda, everybody says, 'Huh? What?' You yell shark, we've got a panic on our hands on the Fourth of July."
I had to do a lot of shifting around to get Jaws in the Top 10. Not that I don't like the movie; it's amazing, I love it. But the real die-hard fans of this movie would clean my clock if I put it anywhere under 10. And it's not hard to see why: this movie literally invented the blockbuster. For years, I didn't want to see it because I'm not much of a horror guy (I was a kid too, come on). But I didn't realize that the movie is much more of an action-thriller and the horror of the movie actually came in the making of it. The fact that Steven Spielberg didn't lose his mind or snap is a testament to why he's still a legend to this day; he's always thinking through his films to make them. The cast, of course, are unforgettable - Roy Scheider playing the reluctant Brody, Richard Dreyfuss as the brainy Hooper and the performance everybody loves, Robert Shaw as Quint, the 20th century's answer to Captain Ahab. It's incredible how the team that built the shark ("Bruce") got so much personality out of the character with almost no expression. And the size of it really gives this animal more monstrous qualities. The movie itself is pretty split in half: the first being on Amity Island with all the townspeople and the second out at sea with Brody, Hooper and Quint. Personally, I prefer the first half because you get a whole lot of characters to deal with and not just the main stars. Still, it's a testament to 20th century cinema and it's a tale that will "swallow you whole". 9. Toy Story Trilogy (1995, 1999, 2010)
Directors: John Lasseter (Toy Story), John Lasseter/Lee Unkrich/Ash Brannon (Toy Story 2), Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 3)
"Look, over in that house is a kid who thinks you are the greatest, and it’s not because you’re a Space Ranger, pal, it’s because you’re a toy! You are his toy!”
These movies have a special place in my heart because they grew up with me. I mean, OK, I'm sure they grew up with a lot of people reading this, but they mean a lot to me specifically. I wouldn't say I was Andy, but I certainly could identify with him. Like him, I had (and still have) a Woody and Buzz Lightyear. But you don't see movies today being made with the care that Pixar does. As Genri says in Toy Story 2, "Ya can't rush art!" I remember the day they announced Toy Story 2 with that picture of the toys going across the street with the towering monster truck ahead. You couldn't find a happier camper that day. I saw it and was thrilled! And so years went by and Pixar just got better and better, making different movies that all followed the same idea: fish, superheroes, cars, rats, robots and old people; they're all more than they seem. Then, Toy Story 3 was announced. The one plotline that was given was that "Andy grows up and leaves for college". That's a very depressing thing for a kid who's loved these movies all his life. Each trailer reminded you of the good times but hinted of things to come. I saw the film and was blown away. The infamous trash fire pit scene? I wasn't ready to buy it because the trailers had spoiled Andy's last words about Woody so I knew there had to be more. But when the claw came down, I was laughing my head off. I think the audience I saw it with was annoyed because I caught it first: the long-awaited payoff to "THE CLAW!!!" gag that the Little Green Men from Toy Story 1 couldn't shut up about. I had a huge smile on my face as Mr. Potato Head hugged them and the LGM all say, "DADDY!!!" It still cracks me up. These are perfect movies that I will always carry with me, in my memories and in my heart.
8. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Director: James Gunn
"And you think life takes more than it gives, but not today. Today it's giving us something. It is giving us a chance."
Maybe a movie this new (at this writing, exactly a year old) shouldn't be in the top 10, but it's my top 10, so there! It's not just cause it's a Marvel superhero movie; it's a hysterically sci-fi comedy action/adventure. It's the movie of my dreams, as weird as that sounds. I had an idea JUST like that, even down to the retro soundtrack but it just didn't have the Marvel comic book edge. So if that movie never gets made, at least there's this one. This is the movie that made Chris Pratt a household name and deservedly so. He's one of those few movie stars that seems just as nice and cool as the characters he plays if not more so. Zoe Saldana gets to add another great performance to her sci-fi repertoire, rivaling that of her Avatar co-star Sigourney Weaver. Dave Bautista does a great job playing a character who seems like a massive warrior but is hiding his true heartbreak underneath and that's really hard to do. Which is why they hired Vin Diesel to play another Iron Giant-esque character Groot, who even with "I am Groot" to say, conveys so much. Bradley Cooper takes his cue from Joe Pesci in playing a funny tough guy with Rocket Raccoon. The movie took off as audiences all over the world fell in love with the characters. It was something new from a Cinematic Universe we thought we knew. It's already been confirmed that James Gunn and the cast are back for another installment. I know I can't wait for the next ride through the galaxy with these wonderful characters. 7. Marvel's The Avengers (2012)
Director: Joss Whedon
"The Avengers. That's what we call ourselves; we're sort of like a team. 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes' type thing."
Say what you will about the sequel to this, this is cinematic history whether you like it or not. The first cinematic crossover of comic book movie heroes. 10 years ago-- heck 20 years ago, this never would've been possible. Not just because of special effects, but studios just did not care enough to put the right people on these projects. Marvel made the somewhat questionable choice to announce Joss Whedon as director on April Fools' Day, but it ended up working for them. Whedon has history in the industry as a writer (including an Academy Award nomination for co-writing Toy Story) and he is the only Marvel Studios director to have previously written for Marvel Comics. The cast is impeccable as expected, improving on their characters from their previous films. Especially Tom Hiddleston as Loki, in a star-making performance; which is why Thor: The Dark World may as well be called Loki: The Movie. Just that one shot circling around the characters is worth the price of admission. To me, this is the ultimate comic book movie. 6. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Director: Steven Spielberg
"Oh, Marcus. What are you trying to do, scare me? You sound like my mother. We've known each other for a long time. I don't believe in magic, a lot of superstitious hocus pocus. I'm going after a find of incredible historical significance, you're talking about the boogeyman."
Raiders is an amazing film; perhaps the greatest action film ever made. It launched its lead character into the pop culture lexicon forever. That's not to outweigh the efforts of the rest of the cast, who all fit their characters as well as that fedora fits Harrison Ford. Seriously, they're gonna bury him in that hat. Even people who hate Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull have admitted getting chills in seeing that shot of Indy putting on the hat in silhouette; it's that iconic. Spielberg's direction has been imitated since the film's release, with many challengers to the action/adventure throne. None of them however can make you feel the sweat and blood that permeates through the celluloid. Naturally, sequels followed and although they each have pros and cons to them, none of them feel as real as Raiders. All followers, not innovators. What more can be said about a movie that is truly legendary?
5. Groundhog Day (1993)
Director: Harold Ramis
"Well, what if there is no tomorrow? There wasn't one today!"
Here we are at the top 5, with what I will argue to my dying days as the best Bill Murray movie ever. The movie operates briskly and brilliantly with each day that Phil Connors re-experiences audiences are able to see something new that they hadn't before. Characters that come into play later on in the film are set up early in the story; for instance, Buster the Groundhog Day head honcho (played by Bill's brother, Brian Doyle-Murray, one of the best character actors around today), the drunks (one of whom played by the late Rick Ducommon) and Nancy, Phil's one day love tryst. There's the frequently mentioned "deleted opening" to the film that features Phil's ex-girlfriend having a gypsy place him under a curse, which results in him repeating Groundhog Day; naturally, that's a dumb move. Phil is repeating Groundhog Day because he needs to learn how to become a better person. If it takes him months, years, decades... so be it. This is one of the few comedies I've seen that really emphasizes the drama properly; Murray knocks his scenes with Andie MacDowell out of the park. Unarguably, it's Ramis' masterpiece. 4. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
Director: Robert Zemeckis
"So tell me, Eddie. Is that a rabbit in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"
How Zemeckis, master animator Richard Williams, or anybody in the cast and crew did not lose their minds doing this movie is beyond me (though Bob Hoskins has admitted, perhaps jokingly, to seeing cartoon rabbits long after the movie had ended). This film is a work of art; a modern miracle. It works on so many levels: as a flat-out funny comedy, a hard-boiled detective story, a buddy picture, a '40s romance and an action-packed thriller. The British Hoskins delivers his greatest role as American private eye, Eddie Valient. You see all the backstory necessary for his character in that great panning shot across his desk that shows you his relationship with his late brother ("Toon dropped a piano on his head") and Dolores, the hardened lady running the bar across the street that ostensibly has a train running next to it. Though the shining character is Roger himself, voiced by certified genius Charles Fleischer (seriously, look him up, he's written about gamma-rays making him a real life Dr. Bruce Banner). It'd be easy to make Roger really obnoxious and annoying, but Fleischer wisely balances both wackiness and sympathy for his character making him endearing to the audience. And who can forget the evil Judge Doom, played by Christopher Lloyd, in an absolutely chilling performance. The blend of 2D hand-drawn animation and live-action is still a marvel to this day; even more so is the blend of world-famous Disney characters and Looney Tunes characters. Legally, you will never see Mickey and Bugs and Daffy and Donald together in a movie ever again. That's how special this movie is. Zemeckis triumphs, balancing story and spectacle, and this is just one of the films that proves it.
3. Mary Poppins (1964)
Director: Robert Stevenson
"I'd know that silhouette anywhere! Mary Poppins!"
Yeah, you laugh, but this movie means a lot to me. Disney has always been a huge part in my life but unlike a lot of people in my generation, I was raised more on the live-action side of Disney than the animation side. Of course, a movie bridging both of these sides had to be "practically perfect in every way". It's also my all-time favorite musical: all the songs by the Sherman Brothers are sensational. Everyone in the main cast gets a song to sing; if "Feed the Birds" doesn't make you teary-eyed to outright bawling, you have no soul. Can you believe this was Julie Andrews' first film? Not only is she the title character, she also won an Academy Award and became a part of childhood consciousness. A few years ago, a wild rumor went around saying that Steven Spielberg had mused about remaking Mary Poppins. Naturally the world went into an uproar, while actors like Will Ferrell and Jim Carrey were trying to get in on the part of Bert. Spielberg eventually had to release a press statement saying, "I have no intention of remaking a classic, let alone a Disney classic." That's how powerful this film is. Quite frankly, it's supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
2. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Director: Frank Capra
"You see, George, you really had a wonderful life. Don't you see what a mistake it would be to throw it away?"
I am constantly frustrated at the number of people my age I meet who have never seen this film. And how is that possible? It's on practically every Thanksgiving on NBC; don't they know a holiday perennial when they see one?! Steven Spielberg (yes, him again) has said that this movie necessitates about "five hankys" to get through it. I don't necessarily cry at this film, but it's certainly moving. Though he achieved a lot through his Westerns and Hitchcock films, this is without a doubt James Stewart's signature role. Through the eyes of his guardian angel Clarence, we see all of George Bailey's life in Bedford Falls, NY: as a boy saving the life of his kid brother and losing half of his hearing in the process, as a young man courting the love of his life, and as an adult trying to get out of the town that he's been tied to his whole life and see the world. But at his lowest moment, when he's lost a large amount of money for the banking and loan for the town that needs him, he considers throwing away God's greatest gift ("Oh, dear, his life!"). Clarence comes down to tell George that he shouldn't think of killing himself. George cynically says he should've never been born which gives Clarence an idea: he shows George the town of Bedford Falls as though he's never been born. Although George regains the hearing he lost as a boy, he loses all the friends and family he's ever known (the plot of this film is often used as fodder for Christmas-themed episodes of sitcoms past and present). At first he believes it's nothing but a trick, but as George explores this terrifying train of thought, he fears for all that he's lost and wants his life back. What follows is probably the happiest ending ever seen in American cinema short of "...and they lived happily ever after," (though it comes awfully close). A year or so ago, a low-budget production company proudly announced they were attempting a sequel to the beloved film. Never have I been more thankful for brutal studio mentality as the rights holders of the film quickly issued a cease-and-desist order towards these fools. This is the ultimate Christmas movie, but its shining quality is that it can be seen at any time of the year and still reach your heart.
1. Back to the Future Trilogy (1985, 1989, 1990)
Director: Robert Zemeckis
"It means your future hasn't been written yet! No one's has! Your future is whatever you make it! So make it a good one, both of you!"
Come on, guys. You knew this was coming. These series of films combines so much of what I love: science-fiction, comedy, rock 'n roll, time travel and just the definition of cool in the performance of Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly; somebody who's kind, funny, smart and talented. Who wouldn't want Doc Brown as their friend? Who wouldn't want Jennifer Parker as their girlfriend? Who wouldn't want to drive around in a time-traveling DeLorean? Michael J. Fox apparently, but that's beside the point! Zemeckis and Bob Gale's script is flawless; it's often used in screenwriting classes today to explain the concepts of "setups-and-payoffs". A lot of talk has been made recently of Eric Stoltz, who was originally hired to play the role of Marty, disliking the ending of Part I as it seemed to celebrate '80s excess. As with everybody else on the planet, I disagree. The ending of Part I is all about good choices in life versus bad ones. With Marty's help, George changes the course of his life. The second film is my favorite of the three. A lot of people don't like it because it's darker than the other two films. To me, the dark moments of the film only make the funnier stuff stand out that much more. It's really cool to see two Martys, two Docs, two Jennifers and two Biffs running around. My favorite moment in the entire film, if I had to sum up my sense of humor, is Part II Marty getting knocked out by Part I Marty running out the door. Makes me laugh every time. Part III really belongs to Christopher Lloyd and Mary Steenburgen. Their relationship is so sweet and really makes you look at Doc in a completely different way. The train climax is so awesome, simultaneously achieved with a full-size train and a smaller scaled model; something you wouldn't see in today's CG extravaganzas. Ultimately, I feel like these movies were made for me. I know there are legions of fans for these movies, and deservedly so, but... I don't know. It just seems like whenever I watch these movies, they might as well be speaking to me. They're truly timeless.
And so we've come to the end of my top 20 favorite movies! I hope you've enjoyed reading and I certainly hope it's inspired you to revisit these films or even see them for the first time. Cinema is something very important to me and I like to share it with everyone. I'll leave you with a little jam that's sweeping the Interwebs that's very fitting for the occasion.
