10 More Movies
“The movie doesn’t have to be great; it can be stupid and empty and you can still have the joy of a good performance, or the joy in just a good line.” ― Pauline Kael
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You've probably seen most of these, or not. New films aren't mentioned. Nor are reviews, in fact what someone else thought of the film isn't what you may think so why bias your opinion. Besides, really bad movies aren't included. The only thing these entries have in common is that there is a cinemagraph (those pesky little animated photos) related to each film. A couple are black and white, only because the photo is colorless and is not meant to mean the film is also.
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Lolita (1997)
Plot: A man (Jeremy Irons) marries his landlady so he can take advantage of her daughter, played by Dominique Swain.
This is a remake of the 1962 film. West Germany tried again in 1969 but didn't fair too well. Neither did Lolita 2000 when it was made in 1998. The Soviets made a TV movie in 1991 but that never came to the US.
Fargo (1996)
Plot: Jerry Lundegaard's (William H. Macy) inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand).
After the showing the word "Yah" seemed to stick in everyone's mind. In 2003 a TV movie was made and centered around Marge Gunderson, the still pregnant police chief of Brainerd, Minnesota. Later a TV series was aired but shared the name only, with favorable reviews.
The Godfather (1972)
Plot: The aging patriarch, "Don" Vito Corleone, the head of a New York Mafia "family", transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.
A box office success, The Godfather helped to popularize the image of the Mafia as a feudal organization. The film was for a time the highest grossing picture ever made, and remains the box office leader for 1972. The success spawned two sequels: The Godfather Part II in 1974, and The Godfather Part III in 1990.
The Shining (1980)
Plot: A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil and spiritual presence influences the father (Jack Nicholson) into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from the past and of the future.
Not as successful was a 1997 TV series. Jack Nicholson's acting as he slowly slips into insanity, as a result of cabin fever and former guests of the hotel's ghosts, just can't be duplicated. That crazy look is his look.
The Truman Show (1998)
Plot: An insurance salesman/adjuster, Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey), discovers his entire life is actually a T.V. show.
This film was inspired by an episode of The Twilight Zone called "Special Service" and was considered a science fiction movie. The Truman Show has been analyzed as a thesis on the rise of reality television. The film was a financial and critical success, and earned numerous nominations at the 71st Academy Awards but did not win any awards.
Casino Royale (2006)
Plot: Armed with a license to kill, Secret Agent James Bond sets out on his first mission as 007 and must defeat a weapons dealer, Le Chiffre, in a high stakes game of poker at Casino Royale, but things are not what they seem.
James Bonds (Barry Nelson) visit to the Casino Royale to play villain Le Chiffre (Peter Lorre) appeared in 1954 as an episode of Climax! (Season, Episode 3) by the same name. The 1967 film, an early spy spoof in which the aging Sir James Bond (David Niven) comes out of retirement to take on SMERSH, was as an adventure/comedy. The spoof was very loosely based on the same source material by Ian Fleming, but this film is more in-line with other early Bond movies. Casino Royale was the first book by Ian Fleming to feature James Bond and Bond goes on his first ever mission as a 00.
Se7en (1995)
Plot: Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his modus operandi.
In short, a detective-psychological thriller, starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. Se7en (pronounced Seven) introduces many of its' key themes: hopelessness, apathy, and desperation. This is a very violent police thriller, with a stress on violence. Consider yourself warned!
Fight Club (1999)
Plot: An insomniac office worker looking for a way to change his life crosses paths with a devil-may-care soap maker and they form an underground fight club that evolves into something much, much more....
Because this film defines the younger generation I appreciate more the art of the film, the beauty of the camera work, as well as the excellent acting. Fight Club failed to meet the studio's expectations at the box office and received polarized reactions from critics. However, the film over the years found critical and commercial success with its DVD release, which established Fight Club as a cult film.
Broken Flowers (2005)
Plot: As the extremely withdrawn Don Johnston (Bill Murray) is dumped by his latest woman, he receives an anonymous letter from a former lover informing him that he has a son who may be looking for him.
Don embarks on a cross-country trek in search of clues from four former flames. Four flames in 19 years may not seem like much until we distinguish between one-night stands and 'flames'. For some, four is a lot, for others... not really. Don doesn't see his 'latest' as a flame so, with the urging by his closest friend and neighbor, Winston, off he plays amateur sleuth and investigate this "mystery."
Psycho (1960)
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Plot: A Phoenix secretary (Janet Leigh) steals $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man (Anthony Perkins) under the domination of his mother.
If you have not seen this movie, do yourself a favor and do. If you just rent a DVD then buy a copy for yourself, you will be glad you did. Many feel that "Psycho" is easily the best horror-thriller of all time and they may just be right. Remade in 1998, the earlier film is, by far, the best. Alfred Hitchcock's powerful, complex psychological thriller, is the "mother" of all modern horror suspense films. The master of suspense skillfully manipulates and guides the audience into identifying with the main character, (a Phoenix real-estate secretary), and then with a crazy and timid taxidermist named Norman.
This taut masterpiece was followed by two feature film sequels, 1983 and 1986, and several TV films: Bates Motel (1987) and Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990). As mentioned before, in 1998 an almost 'scene-by-scene' remake (or replication) of the original classic was made but couldn't equal the suspense of the original.
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