If you are a student of film noir, you know the language, you know the kinds of stories and characters, but Brick is that rare film noir that takes you somewhere completely different.
The character archetypes are virtually the same, but the thing that makes Brick new and original is that it is set in a high school in modern day, yet it almost never changes the vernacular of what a film noir should and does sound like.
There are so many moments in this film where you question the era, but the clothing, the cars and the subject matter give it away.
My favorite scene is one in which we are suddenly brought back into the reality that these are just high schoolers. Brendan takes a meeting at The Pin's house and is treated to The Pin's mom, who in playing a good hostess offers whatever she can dig up from the fridge. The irony of what these young people are dealing in and with is lost completely on the mother.
It is a great and funny scene to remind us that while these kids act grown up, adults make them act there age.
Favorite Quote: "I don't want you to come kicking in my homeroom door because of something I didn't do."
Trailer:
Monday, November 23, 2009
19. The Truman Show (1998)
The Truman Show is about the undying nature of the human spirit in its quest to be free. We can all sense that there might be something wrong in the world, but rarely do we get the opportunity that Truman does to expose the unrealities of his world and the people that pretend to know and like him.
The story of Truman is also a sad one. Even though Christof gave him a family and a life he never would have had, he prevented him from ever really living. Christof created the world around Truman and inadvertently tried to create Truman himself.
They try to mold him into someone that is not curious about his surroundings. They used horrific imagery and terrifying psychology to make this man, make them money.
I am utterly opposed to this concept and that is why my favorite scene of the whole film is when Truman takes off in his sail boat toward the end of his world. Christof tries to get him to come back, but there is no going back for Truman.
It is such a powerful statement of Truman's undying humanity that he will not give up on finding his real love and not the one they forced upon him.
Favorite Quote: "Truman Burbank: Was anything real?
Christof: You were real. That's what made you so good to watch... "
Trialer:
The story of Truman is also a sad one. Even though Christof gave him a family and a life he never would have had, he prevented him from ever really living. Christof created the world around Truman and inadvertently tried to create Truman himself.
They try to mold him into someone that is not curious about his surroundings. They used horrific imagery and terrifying psychology to make this man, make them money.
I am utterly opposed to this concept and that is why my favorite scene of the whole film is when Truman takes off in his sail boat toward the end of his world. Christof tries to get him to come back, but there is no going back for Truman.
It is such a powerful statement of Truman's undying humanity that he will not give up on finding his real love and not the one they forced upon him.
Favorite Quote: "Truman Burbank: Was anything real?
Christof: You were real. That's what made you so good to watch... "
Trialer:
Saturday, November 21, 2009
20. The Incredibles (2004)
The Incredibles reinvigorated my sense of the superhero genre much like Spider-Man 2 and X2 did. It was a tale of superheroes and the people they save not wanting them around any more. It is a superhero contingency that is not always addressed in the regular superhero fare.
This movie broke the cliches of superhero monotony and even made the into their joke because we all know about monloguing and the real perils of cape wear, but the superhero genre never in any effect acknowledged our knowledge in them as cliches they thought that that is what we wanted.
The Incredibles showed us what a superhero movie could be if hey based it in more of our reality. Family life, day job, real emotional structure. It showed us that there is an aftermath to the collateral damage that a superhero causes to a city. Rebuilding cities and lives after a tragedy is not easy.
My favorite part of the film is one of the best comedy bits I have ever seen. The Parrs have just embarked in their RV from the supersonic jet they used to get it there and Bob asks Helen for directions. After she gives them, as is typical in a family unit, Bob argued that that was not in fact the best route. Bob and Helen have this very mundane argument in the heat of their careening vehicle down an interstate. It is very funny and so true to life.
That is what this movie is to me is that it becomes something more than a typical superhero adventure. It is a movie about people, extraordinary or not, trying to exist in a world full of people craving mediocrity.
Favorite Quote: "Mr. Incredible: I was wrong to treat you that way. I'm sorry...
Syndrome: See? Now you respect me, because I'm a threat. That's the way it works. Turns out there are lots of people, whole countries, that want respect, and will pay through the nose to get it. How do you think I got rich? I invented weapons, and now I have a weapon that only I can defeat, and when I unleash it...
[Mr. Incredible throws a log at Syndrome, who dodges it and traps Mr. Incredible with his zero-point energy ray]
Syndrome: Oh, ho ho! You sly dog! You got me monologuing! I can't believe it..."
Trailer:
This movie broke the cliches of superhero monotony and even made the into their joke because we all know about monloguing and the real perils of cape wear, but the superhero genre never in any effect acknowledged our knowledge in them as cliches they thought that that is what we wanted.
The Incredibles showed us what a superhero movie could be if hey based it in more of our reality. Family life, day job, real emotional structure. It showed us that there is an aftermath to the collateral damage that a superhero causes to a city. Rebuilding cities and lives after a tragedy is not easy.
My favorite part of the film is one of the best comedy bits I have ever seen. The Parrs have just embarked in their RV from the supersonic jet they used to get it there and Bob asks Helen for directions. After she gives them, as is typical in a family unit, Bob argued that that was not in fact the best route. Bob and Helen have this very mundane argument in the heat of their careening vehicle down an interstate. It is very funny and so true to life.
That is what this movie is to me is that it becomes something more than a typical superhero adventure. It is a movie about people, extraordinary or not, trying to exist in a world full of people craving mediocrity.
Favorite Quote: "Mr. Incredible: I was wrong to treat you that way. I'm sorry...
Syndrome: See? Now you respect me, because I'm a threat. That's the way it works. Turns out there are lots of people, whole countries, that want respect, and will pay through the nose to get it. How do you think I got rich? I invented weapons, and now I have a weapon that only I can defeat, and when I unleash it...
[Mr. Incredible throws a log at Syndrome, who dodges it and traps Mr. Incredible with his zero-point energy ray]
Syndrome: Oh, ho ho! You sly dog! You got me monologuing! I can't believe it..."
Trailer:
Friday, November 20, 2009
21. A History of Violence (2005)
A History of Violence is another one of those movie that sticks with you after the end credits have rolled.
It is such a different kind of story than we are used to seeing. The villain usually becomes the hero on screen and not the hero trying to destroy his past when it comes back to haunt him in the present.
It is one of those films that makes you wonder about all the people in your own life and whether or not they have something deep and dark hidden in their past. Whether someone you know has had to reinvent themselves because they never liked who they were before.
The problem with these revelations is that, they never bode well for the truth teller's home life. That is one of the best aspects of this film is that Tom's home life is completely ruined by his past. There is no lovey dovey, "I'm with you to the end," stuff.
Edie is pissed that the past she thought was gospel turns out to have been fictitious. That is a reality based reaction and it works very well with this story.
My favorite scene is and will forever be the scene between Tom/Joey and Richie. William Hurt as richie oozes with evil and utter malice behind his guise of kind-hearted jokes and playfulness. It is the life that Joey escaped from that wants him dead and it is spectacularly well written and well filmed. It captures the climax of this film perfectly in that it ends all of the chances for any one to bother Tom or his family again. Even if they never fully take him back.
Favorite Quote: "Richie Cusack: What am I gonna do? You bust up a made man's place, you killed some of his guys, you take his eye... Jesus Joey, you took his *eye.* Barbed wire, wasn't it? That's disgusting! You always were the crazy one.
Tom Stall: Not anymore.
Richie Cusack: [unbelieving] Yeah, I heard. You're living the American Dream. You really bought into it, didn't you? You've been this other guy, almost as long as you've been yourself. Hey, when you dream... are you still Joey?
Tom Stall: Joey's been dead a long time.
Richie Cusack: And yet here you sit. Big as life. You know you cost me, a lot of time and money. Before you pulled that shit with Fogarty, I was a shoe-in, to take over when the boss croaked, a shoe-in. It was made very clear to me Joey, I had to clean up your mess, or nothing was ever gonna happen for me! You got no idea how much shit I had to pull to get back in with those guys! *You cost me!* A hell of a lot Joey, *a hell of a lot!*
Tom Stall: [calmly] Looks like you're doing all right over here.
Richie Cusack: Yeah, I am... I am. I'm still behind the eight-ball. Because of *you*. There's a certain lack of respect; a certain lack of trust. Boys in Boston are just waitin' for me to go down.
[Richie pauses, sipping his drink, and chuckles]
Richie Cusack: You always were a problem for me, Joey. When Mom brought you home from the hospital, I tried to strangle you in your crib. I guess all kids try to do that. She caught me... whacked the daylights out of me.
Tom Stall: I've heard that story.
Richie Cusack: Well, what do you think? Better late than never?
Tom Stall: Richie... I'm here to make peace. Tell me what I have to do to make things right.
Richie Cusack: You could do something, I guess.
[Richie pauses as Ruben stealthily reaches into a sleeve]
Richie Cusack: You could die, Joey."
Trailer:
It is such a different kind of story than we are used to seeing. The villain usually becomes the hero on screen and not the hero trying to destroy his past when it comes back to haunt him in the present.
It is one of those films that makes you wonder about all the people in your own life and whether or not they have something deep and dark hidden in their past. Whether someone you know has had to reinvent themselves because they never liked who they were before.
The problem with these revelations is that, they never bode well for the truth teller's home life. That is one of the best aspects of this film is that Tom's home life is completely ruined by his past. There is no lovey dovey, "I'm with you to the end," stuff.
Edie is pissed that the past she thought was gospel turns out to have been fictitious. That is a reality based reaction and it works very well with this story.
My favorite scene is and will forever be the scene between Tom/Joey and Richie. William Hurt as richie oozes with evil and utter malice behind his guise of kind-hearted jokes and playfulness. It is the life that Joey escaped from that wants him dead and it is spectacularly well written and well filmed. It captures the climax of this film perfectly in that it ends all of the chances for any one to bother Tom or his family again. Even if they never fully take him back.
Favorite Quote: "Richie Cusack: What am I gonna do? You bust up a made man's place, you killed some of his guys, you take his eye... Jesus Joey, you took his *eye.* Barbed wire, wasn't it? That's disgusting! You always were the crazy one.
Tom Stall: Not anymore.
Richie Cusack: [unbelieving] Yeah, I heard. You're living the American Dream. You really bought into it, didn't you? You've been this other guy, almost as long as you've been yourself. Hey, when you dream... are you still Joey?
Tom Stall: Joey's been dead a long time.
Richie Cusack: And yet here you sit. Big as life. You know you cost me, a lot of time and money. Before you pulled that shit with Fogarty, I was a shoe-in, to take over when the boss croaked, a shoe-in. It was made very clear to me Joey, I had to clean up your mess, or nothing was ever gonna happen for me! You got no idea how much shit I had to pull to get back in with those guys! *You cost me!* A hell of a lot Joey, *a hell of a lot!*
Tom Stall: [calmly] Looks like you're doing all right over here.
Richie Cusack: Yeah, I am... I am. I'm still behind the eight-ball. Because of *you*. There's a certain lack of respect; a certain lack of trust. Boys in Boston are just waitin' for me to go down.
[Richie pauses, sipping his drink, and chuckles]
Richie Cusack: You always were a problem for me, Joey. When Mom brought you home from the hospital, I tried to strangle you in your crib. I guess all kids try to do that. She caught me... whacked the daylights out of me.
Tom Stall: I've heard that story.
Richie Cusack: Well, what do you think? Better late than never?
Tom Stall: Richie... I'm here to make peace. Tell me what I have to do to make things right.
Richie Cusack: You could do something, I guess.
[Richie pauses as Ruben stealthily reaches into a sleeve]
Richie Cusack: You could die, Joey."
Trailer:
Thursday, November 19, 2009
22. United 93 (2006)
United 93 is one of the hardest movies to watch of the movies that I have seen, but it is one of the best movies that I have ever seen.
There are no name brand actors in this film. I think that was the way it was meant to be. If they were going to make the film right, that is how it has to be if not for the respect of the families, but for the sake of realism in the storyline.
If we saw Brad Pitt or George Clooney try and storm that cockpit it would not be as affecting, as touching, as powerful as it is without them.
It is kind of interesting that I call this one of my favorite movies, but really it is. It is so well made that I feel like I am a fly on the wall of each one of the locales that are filmed. There are no dry and script like deliveries. It feels as though it was not written for these people, but they lived it.
The scene that is the most affecting and the hardest to watch for me is the few scenes where several passengers get on the phones with their loved ones. They call and say goodbye because they know they are going to die. They call and let them know not to worry.
Then they do the absolute bravest act any human being can do for another and they storm the cockpit to save lives that are not their own.
This movie keeps me in tears and in shock every time I watch it. I thank these real people for what they did for all Americans on that fateful day and this is the perfect movie to commemorate their sacrifice and their heroism.
Favorite Quote: "[crying to husband Phil over the plane's airphone] Baby I swear, I promise, if I get out of this I'm quitting tomorrow! I quit tomorrow! I promise I'll quit tomorrow!"
Trailer:
There are no name brand actors in this film. I think that was the way it was meant to be. If they were going to make the film right, that is how it has to be if not for the respect of the families, but for the sake of realism in the storyline.
If we saw Brad Pitt or George Clooney try and storm that cockpit it would not be as affecting, as touching, as powerful as it is without them.
It is kind of interesting that I call this one of my favorite movies, but really it is. It is so well made that I feel like I am a fly on the wall of each one of the locales that are filmed. There are no dry and script like deliveries. It feels as though it was not written for these people, but they lived it.
The scene that is the most affecting and the hardest to watch for me is the few scenes where several passengers get on the phones with their loved ones. They call and say goodbye because they know they are going to die. They call and let them know not to worry.
Then they do the absolute bravest act any human being can do for another and they storm the cockpit to save lives that are not their own.
This movie keeps me in tears and in shock every time I watch it. I thank these real people for what they did for all Americans on that fateful day and this is the perfect movie to commemorate their sacrifice and their heroism.
Favorite Quote: "[crying to husband Phil over the plane's airphone] Baby I swear, I promise, if I get out of this I'm quitting tomorrow! I quit tomorrow! I promise I'll quit tomorrow!"
Trailer:
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
23. Rear Window (1954)
Rear Window has that quality we all share in that in our society, we don't really know our neighbors, but make up stories for them based on their personality quirks and foibles.
Yet, when one of those neighbors starts to become something else, something more sinister in nature, that's when we and Jeff start to wonder whether or not they are capable of murder or of any other crime.
Rear Window has that utter suspense in its action because like the audience, our main character is completely unable to help the people he sees through his window frame. He becomes like us in that he only knows what is told to him by others.
He can only speculate on what he sees. When he suspects his neighbor of murder, we see what he sees and vice versa. We don't actually know anything more than he does about any one living in the complex and least of all, we don't know anything of whether or not Mr. Thorwald did murder his wife.
My favorite scene is when Jeff is caught looking out the window at Thorwald and suddenly Thorwald is on the rampage toward him. Jeff thinks quickly turning off the lights and hiding as best he can. Then we see the shadow of the man under the light of the doorway. Thorwald breaks in, but Jeff is ready and flashes a flash bulb in Thorwald's eyes. It is his only defense. Jeff does this several times, but Thorwald gets the better of him.
This is my favorite scene because like any killer Thorwald is desperate to keep his secret and he will even pick on a man in a wheelchair if he has to, but Jeff is not helpless and holds his own. It is a very suspenseful scene and it is well done.
Favorite Quote (Only because it was featured in The Venture Bros.): "Reading from top to bottom, Lisa.....Carol......Fremont."
Trailer:
Yet, when one of those neighbors starts to become something else, something more sinister in nature, that's when we and Jeff start to wonder whether or not they are capable of murder or of any other crime.
Rear Window has that utter suspense in its action because like the audience, our main character is completely unable to help the people he sees through his window frame. He becomes like us in that he only knows what is told to him by others.
He can only speculate on what he sees. When he suspects his neighbor of murder, we see what he sees and vice versa. We don't actually know anything more than he does about any one living in the complex and least of all, we don't know anything of whether or not Mr. Thorwald did murder his wife.
My favorite scene is when Jeff is caught looking out the window at Thorwald and suddenly Thorwald is on the rampage toward him. Jeff thinks quickly turning off the lights and hiding as best he can. Then we see the shadow of the man under the light of the doorway. Thorwald breaks in, but Jeff is ready and flashes a flash bulb in Thorwald's eyes. It is his only defense. Jeff does this several times, but Thorwald gets the better of him.
This is my favorite scene because like any killer Thorwald is desperate to keep his secret and he will even pick on a man in a wheelchair if he has to, but Jeff is not helpless and holds his own. It is a very suspenseful scene and it is well done.
Favorite Quote (Only because it was featured in The Venture Bros.): "Reading from top to bottom, Lisa.....Carol......Fremont."
Trailer:
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
24. Munich (2005)
Munich is one of those movies that you cannot get out of your head. It is so invasive to every sense of right and wrong and what is vengeance and what is just murder.
The question of retaliation against someone you have never met for a crime they committed against someone else you have never met makes it a very hard decision to bear on one's conscience.
When does the killing stop and when do the connections become thinner and thinner that this person you are about to kill becomes only partially related to the man that you killed months ago. His only crime being blood relation to an evil personage.
This brings me to what I think is the best scene in the film. Avner and his team are bunking down in a safe house for a night when another team happens to come in, a Palestinian team no less, but as Avner's team does not reveal their true identity there is no shoot out.
Then something incredible happens. Avner and the leader of the Palestinians have a logical and clam debate about politics and the way of the world. This is what is ultimately great about this film is that if we removed our labels and just talked we could be better.
This is a depiction of the perfect situation for each party involved and if these two men trained to kill and hate each other can engage in civil debate, why does it never happen? It is such a topical movie for us in the 21st Century because this conflict still exists and this rivalry still exists and continues to tear apart the Middle East today.
Favorite Quote: "There is no peace at the end of this."
Trailer:
The question of retaliation against someone you have never met for a crime they committed against someone else you have never met makes it a very hard decision to bear on one's conscience.
When does the killing stop and when do the connections become thinner and thinner that this person you are about to kill becomes only partially related to the man that you killed months ago. His only crime being blood relation to an evil personage.
This brings me to what I think is the best scene in the film. Avner and his team are bunking down in a safe house for a night when another team happens to come in, a Palestinian team no less, but as Avner's team does not reveal their true identity there is no shoot out.
Then something incredible happens. Avner and the leader of the Palestinians have a logical and clam debate about politics and the way of the world. This is what is ultimately great about this film is that if we removed our labels and just talked we could be better.
This is a depiction of the perfect situation for each party involved and if these two men trained to kill and hate each other can engage in civil debate, why does it never happen? It is such a topical movie for us in the 21st Century because this conflict still exists and this rivalry still exists and continues to tear apart the Middle East today.
Favorite Quote: "There is no peace at the end of this."
Trailer:
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