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REAR WINDOW (Alfred Hitchcock,) RADIO DAYS (Woody Allen, 1987) A beautiful reminiscence of the Golden Age of radio. An adult narrator (voiced by Allen) looks back to his childhood during WWII. The past is just a faded memory in this sweet rendering of 1940’s Brooklyn. The “story” is a series of funny (and at times touching) vignettes of young Joe and his extended family. Interspersed are stories from radio lore, the most prominent of which stars Mia Farrow as a cigarette girl who makes it big in radio. RED (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1994) 12 ANGRY MEN >:( (Sidney Lumet, 1957) Shot almost entirely in one room, a jury of twelve men deliberates over the fate of a young street kid. Henry Fonda plays a juror who compels the others to reconsider their verdict. Despite the name, only one of them is really angry :) CONTACT (Robert Zemeckis, ) Who said science was boring? The opposite of religion? Tell that to Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster), the passionate, brilliant scientist who discovers we are not alone in the universe. She finds common ideological and romantic ground with a man of the cloth (Matthew McConognehy) while staying true to science. A smart and enlightened look at science, as well as an edge-of-your-seat portrayal of events that would very likely happen should we get an alien signal from outer space. And I don't care what you say, the ending was great. GHOSTBUSTERS (Ivan Reitman, 1984) PERSUASION (Roger Michell, ) ROGER & ME (Michael Moore, 1989) Michael Moore takes us on a sad and funny and sometimes disturbing journey. Moore grew up in Flint, MI where the biggest employer in town was General Motors. In fact, the city's whole economy seemed to hinge on it. But when GM decides to close most and eventually all it's plants in Flint, the city takes a major downturn. This may all sound like a downer, but this is actually a very funny and biting doc. Moore's perfect ironinc tone shows through in every frame. He doggedly pursues Roger Smith, the Chairman of GM, trying to get an interview. He rides among the enormous mansions in Grosse Pointe, the yacht club, the country club, the ritzy GM headquarters in Detroit; he even crashes a shareholders meeting and each time he is turned away. Intercut throughout this pursuit are stories of the people of Flint. There is a mass exodus of the former workers out of Flint. More fascinating though, are the ones that stay: Captain Fred's has never been busier; he evicts people from their homes. And a woman sells bunnies as "pets or meat" (especially disturbing is the scene where she clubs and skins a cute rabbit). Told with wit and irony, it's a biting comment on corporate hypocrisy. I think Pauline Kael hated it, though. SAY ANYTHING... (Cameron Crowe, 1989) RUSHMORE (Wes Anderson, 1998) THE BIG LEBOWSKI (Joel Coen, ) OUT OF SIGHT (Steven Soderbergh, ) THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (Jonathan Demme, 1990) Now a cultural icon, I don't believe I need to tell you anything about it. THE GOONIES (Richard Donner, 1985) Could be the greatest movie of a generation. And it still holds up after 15 years; just as funny as when I was 10 years old. A bunch of kids, the Goonies, search for pirate treasure in a subterranean network of booby-trapped tunnels. They are chased by the Fratellis, a trio of criminals. Don't miss the new DVD in which they show the octopus scene that was mercifully excised from the final film AND in which ALL of the Goonies come together for the commentary track (what did Sean Astin want to say to Cindi Lauper?). |
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