[6] Gravity is so harrowing, I’m tempted to call it crisis porn. The movie stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as astronauts stranded in orbit over Earth after debris destroys their spacecraft. Director Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men, A Little Princess) warns us from the get-go with some on-screen text that life in space is impossible, and then proceeds to throw everything you can imagine …
[5] Even when a movie doesn’t come together, I sometimes admire the effort and ambition so much, that I have to give a little extra credit. Waterworld is one of those movies. First let’s focus on the positive: The atoll sequence is great, the boat and airplane battle is pretty good, James Newton Howard’s score is awesome, and Dennis Hopper steals the show. On the …
[6] Sean Connery returns for his second mission as Ian Fleming’s Agent 007. This time he’s trying to capture a Russian decoding device while the sinister SPECTRE organization plots revenge for the death of Dr. No (in the previous film). There are a few less Bond babes this time around, with Bond spending the bulk of the movie with a Russian spy played by Daniela …
[7] Two lovers are bewitched by a jealous Bishop — the man (Rutger Hauer) is transformed into a wolf by night, the woman (Michelle Pfeiffer) is a hawk by day. They only see each other in human form for a fleeting second at sunrise and sunset. With the help of a pick-pocket (Matthew Broderick) and a drunken friar (Leo McKern), they journey to the Bishop’s …
[6] Oliver Stone’s epic bio of the Macedonian military legend, like so many pet projects, is a glorious mess of a movie. The screenplay goes back and forth in time, mixing scenes of Alexander’s youth with scenes of his conquests. The result is jarring, never allowing you to get to know the character in any time. The narrative also relies far too much on Anthony …
[6] James Bond makes his first movie outing in Dr. No, where he’s pitted against a reclusive scientist who wants to destroy the US space program. Sean Connery is the first man to play Bond. His take is a cool mix of machismo swagger and tongue-in-cheek humor — probably the best way to approach the subject matter. As the first film in the long-lasting series, …
[7] An eccentric recluse hunts shipwrecked humans on a remote jungle island in The Most Dangerous Game, one of the earliest successful ‘talkies’. The film’s creative team (including producer Willis O’Brien and director Ernest B. Schoedsack) would next bring us King Kong, and the two films have a lot in common — large jungle sets, a screaming Fay Wray, brisk action, pioneering visual effects, and …
[8] You know you’re in for a harrowing journey when the ship’s captain gives a dead man 300 lashes before the ship even leaves port. Charles Laughton steals the show here as the torturous Captain Bligh, a greedy monster who plays recklessly with the lives of his crew. Clark Gable is charismatic as Fletcher Christian, the man who leads the uprising against Bligh (and without …
[8] Fans of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator might be surprised how much they will also enjoy (perhaps even prefer) its progenitor. Stanley Kubrick’s Spartacus is a briskly-paced epic, and uncharacteristically emotional compared to his other work. Kirk Douglas is iconic in the lead role, playing a slave forced to fight in the gladiatorial arena for the enjoyment of the aristocracy. Of course he falls in love …
[5] Armie Hammer (The Social Network) stars as the legendary masked man while Johnny Depp picks up the mantle of Tonto in this big-budget version of The Lone Ranger from director Gore Verbinski (The Ring) and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. It’s painfully obvious that the creative team is working very hard to rekindle the flame they ignited with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, complete with …
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