The Movie Guy

If you’re like me, when everyone trots out their ten best lists or Oscar predictions, I really don’t need six different people telling me the same movie’s good- I usually have a pretty good handle on what was worth watching. Also, the lists are mostly repetitious with the exception of an independent movie I’ve missed because it played in the theater for a week, so I’ll keep a mental note to catch that film when I can. No, what really interests me is the one film or performance that’s the most memorable, the one that stood out. In keeping with the tradition of the late Siskel & Ebert’s “If we picked the Oscars” specials, here are my standouts for 2014 using the main Academy Award categories. These are the films and performances that I’ll remember most- simply put, these are the ones:   Continue reading →

It’s ironic that the very vehicle that denied “The Interview’s” wide theatrical release is exactly the vehicle that allowed me to watch it, but thanks to the Internet I did. As a film that has already achieved groundbreaking cult status for being topically taboo, it’s one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in a long time. Comedically fast and furious, “The Interview” doesn’t disappoint. Continue reading →

In a movie about picking up the pieces of one’s life when one strays from a secure and safe path, “Wild” depicts the true story of Cheryl Strayed’s physical journey in hiking the 1,100 mile Pacific Crest Trail to bring herself back to the person she was brought up to be rather than the person she has become. Along the way, the film presents pieces of Cheryl’s life in flashbacks and we gain an understanding as to how Cheryl’s life has veered onto a darker path and, more importantly, an interest into how she will bring herself back onto the straight-and-narrow. What makes us care about Cheryl is in large part due to her portrayal by Reese Witherspoon, who gives her best performance in “Wild.” Continue reading →

With the exception of “Ben-Hur,” I’ve always looked at the Biblical epics from the ‘50s and ‘60s as curiosities. For me, there was always something ‘not-quite-right’ about them- for instance, did every Roman chasing down the Nazarene have to be played by a British actor? Couldn’t one Roman be played by an actual Italian? I guess not- after translating the Bible into a Hollywood screenplay, you’d want a Shakespearean actor to deliver that ponderous dialogue.

For me, that’s the endearing quality of those old Biblical epics: interesting casting of actors that spew stilted dialogue. While these idiosyncratic flaws can be off-putting, I find them campy- can you really beat Edward G. Robinson confronting Charlton Heston in front of the Golden Calf in “The Ten Commandments?” While religious films have seen a slow resurgence since “The Passion of the Christ” and advanced CGI effects have made directors like Darren Aronofsky want to tackle Biblical stories like this year’s “Noah,” it was pure curiosity and the casting choices that made me want to watch Ridley Scott’s “Exodus: Gods and Kings.” Continue reading →

“Foxcatcher” is a haunting portrait of the events leading up to millionaire John du Pont’s 1996 murder of Olympic gold-medalist Dave Schultz at his Foxcatcher Farms wrestling training facility. As he had done in his previous films “Capote” and “Moneyball,” director Bennett Miller forgoes painting the broad strokes of the already sensational real-life stories and instead focuses on the internal motives and psyches of the characters involved. With “Capote,” we glimpsed into Truman Capote’s (Philip Seymour Hoffman) ego and manipulation of the killers of the Clutter family to write his book “In Cold Blood”; in “Moneyball,” we watched Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane’s (Brad Pitt) personal vendetta fuel his fire to buck major league baseball’s scouting system to revolutionize the process of picking a winning team. With “Foxcatcher,” Miller once again highlights the psychological aspects and internal motivations behind the characters of the story to great effect and “Foxcatcher” feels like a natural progression for Miller as its story combines two environments in which we’ve already seen him excel- sports and murder. Continue reading →

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu is a director I’ve admired since seeing his first feature film “Amores Perros,” a film that showed the interwoven stories of three different people linked to one event through vignettes and flashbacks. His subsequent features “21 Grams” and “Babel” also employed the interwoven story theme and followed a natural progression in Inarritu’s cinematic exploration of life’s external facets and how everything’s connected. In 2010, he internalized this theme with his study of the connection between the spiritual and physical worlds in his fourth feature “Biutiful,” an introspective character study of a black market labor exploiter with a psychic ability who must examine his life when he finds that he is terminally ill and follows his quest to secure a guardian for his children. Each of Inarritu’s first four features was nominated for Academy Awards: “Amores Perros” for best foreign film, “21 Grams” for Best Actress (Naomi Watts) and Supporting Actor (Benecio DelToro), “Babel” for Best Picture, Supporting Actress (Rinko Kikuchi), Original Screenplay and Director (Inarritu), and “Biutiful” for Best Actor (Javier Bardem). Inarritu’s fifth feature “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” will not be an exception. Continue reading →

One of the things I love about independent movies is when they allow actors I’ve liked, relegated to supporting roles in studio movies, the chance to shine in the lead roles. Miles Teller (“That Awkward Moment,” “Divergent”) and J.K. Simmons (“Spider-Man,” “Juno”) do just that in “Whiplash.”

“Whiplash” is a film in the tradition of student-teacher stories where the teacher is the all-knowing, all-seeing taskmaster who breaks the student down to build them back up on the solid foundation of the basic knowledge that will allow the student to continue to build and excel in whatever skill they’re trying to master. The tougher the teacher, the more the student respects them because they both want the same thing- perfection. As tough as we can be on ourselves to master any skill, we need constant pushing from that outside influence we view and respect as a master themselves. Quitting is not an option and only our best performance will do. Continue reading →

There’s one movie I find myself watching every Halloween. For me, it’s a movie that strikes all the right chords in its blend of horror, creepiness, and scares. It features a smart, compelling story, actors I like who are given clever, humorous dialogue with obscure references to recite, film direction filled with creepy cutaways and insane imagery, and, in my mind, the granddaddy of all movie monsters. It’s one of the most overlooked and underrated horror movies ever made; a movie easily passed off as just another cheesy sequel- but it’s the real deal, a genuine continuation of arguably the scariest movie ever made. Written and directed by the man who created the original “Exorcist,” it’s William Peter Blatty’s 1990 film, “Exorcist III.” Continue reading →

In a cinematic career spanning 35 years, Bill Murray has had few missteps. His sarcastic, juvenile good-natured antics have kept us entertained for decades and his appearance in a movie has always guaranteed a bright spot in our movie-watching day. He’s the guy you depend on to give you a smile; he’s the guy you root for- Murray never lets you down.

And Bill Murray doesn’t let you down in “St. Vincent” either – his performance in the title character of Vincent McKenna is one of his best. Continue reading →

As Halloween approaches, I think back to how my love affair with movies really began.

My love of movies began with monster movies. Not horror movies, monster movies- specifically Dracula, the Wolf Man, and Frankenstein. For personal reasons, I identified with these monsters- loners who lived by night.

As a kid, I would constantly get my days and nights mixed up. As a baby, my mother thought I was great because I would sleep until 1 pm. It was only when my aunt stayed over and found me standing in the crib of my darkened bedroom that my mother realized the truth. From that moment on, my aunt began calling me ‘demon,’ a play on my middle name Damon.

Even school couldn’t quell my nocturnal habits. Every summer vacation I’d find myself staying awake until 8 am and sleeping until 4pm. I’d go outside to play when the sun was going down and stay awake all night watching television. It was in these late-night hours that I’d get together with old friends, my fellow castaways from the world of the living who found themselves (like me) on the graveyard shift. It wasn’t their choice to keep these hours just as it wasn’t mine, so we bonded. Continue reading →