152 Best Films: Part 2
145. House of Games
Director (David Mamet), Screenwriter (David Mamet), Cinematographer (Juan Ruiz Anchia), Stars (Lindsay Crouse, Joe Mantegna, Mike Nussbaum, J.T. Walsh, Ricky Jay)
IMDB Link: IMDB Link: Click Here
Review: I would be a con man if I had the skill, time, and talent to invest and there wasn't such a high risk of getting caught. David Mamet just makes it look like so much fun, although I imagine the reality is something a little less glamorous and a little more scummy. How mean do you have to be to take away money from people who work very hard to earn what they make and whose lives would be really messed up if you took all of their money away from them? But, damn it, it looks like so much fun! At any rate, surely there is nothing morally reprehensible about watching movies about con men, and this is one of the best. Joe Mantegna is always a pleasure to watch, and he Mamet's dialogue is spot-on like always. Of course, what more reason do you need to watch this movie than that Ricky Jay, a prominent member of my Pantheon of Geniuses, appears in this film as a clever con man scamming some poor guy out of his savings? The twists in this plot are great, as always in Mamet's con films, yet the beginning is a bit slow and the ending leaves a little to be desired. The film is well worth watching, however, and, damn it, the life of a con man is too appealing to not fantasize about.
144. The Triplets of Belleville
Director (Sylvain Chomet), Screenwriter (Sylvain Chomet), Cinematographer (Sylvain Chomet), Stars (Misc. French People)
IMDB Link: IMDB Link: Click Here
Review: Americans are fat and stupid and French people are clever and smart. There is more truth in this statement than most people would like to admit, and this film makes that plainly clear. A dazzling spectacle, this is one of the best animated films I have seen in a long time, and, with almost no dialogue, a pure visual treat. I have always had great respect for movies that could clearly tell a good story without words, for this is something that is much harder to do than it might first appear. This film contains so many inventive and outrageous scenarios that it is almost a bit overwhelming, including everything from mafia who look like giant, flat rectangle to frog licking triplets. This film is weird, but in a romantic, creative sort of way that seems entirely appropriate. Not to mention that it contains some of the coolest looking drawings I have ever seen.
143. Life is Beautiful
Director (Roberto Benigni), Screenwriters (Roberto Begnini and Vincenzo Cerami), Cinematographer (Tonino Delli Colli), Stars (Roberto Begnini, Nicoletta Braschi)
IMDB Link: IMDB Link: Click Here
Review: This is the funniest comedy ever made about the Holocaust since, um, now that I think about it I guess it's really the only one, unless you count Chaplin's The Great Dictator, but that was really more about poking fun at Hitler than showing the atrocious conditions inside a Nazi death camp. Benigni has made a film that should have offended people, and amazingly it didn't, which makes me mad because I like defending things that everyone else finds despicable. I suppose its good that everyone kept their sanity over this one, however, because it is a really good film. It is distinctly Italian and at the same time incredibly universal, for Benigni's sense of humor is one that anyone can appreciate. It is a fable, a simple fantasy that happened to be set in the middle of one of humanity's most terrible moments. Benigni is just so innocent and naive that we are automatically drawn into his world, one where everything that occurs in the film tends to have a way of showing up later in some kind of joke. Benigni is a clown sent to a concentration camp, and the film has some important messages about humor in the face of dark times. In this way, the film is uplifting, and that helps explain its popularity. Of course, it is also unrealistic, and for an interesting double feature try viewing this and then Tim Blake Nelson's The Grey Zone.
142. The Rules of Attraction
Director (Roger Avary), Screenwriter (Roger Avary), Cinematographer (Robert Brinkmann), Stars (James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, Kip Pardue, Jessica Biel, Eric Stolz, Fred Savage, Faye Dunaway)
IMDB Link: IMDB Link: Click Here
Review: Many people reading this list will think that I'm crazy when they find out that this movie made it and Avary and Tarantino's Pulp Fiction did not. I feel that I owe some sort of explanation for that, but I don't really have one except that Pulp Fiction is hailed by many as the "greatest film ever" (typically overweight kung-fu fans working in the computer industry) while nobody ever talks about this one. Sure, maybe the acting is not up to Tarantino's film and maybe the story is a little less inventive, but this film has got style in truckloads. It features so many camera tricks and special effects that you can't blink, and who really cares that the acting is over-the-top because the whole film is over the top. Avary has made a satire, for crying out load, and a fast-paced, damn funny one at that, so if it lacks Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta's acting chops, forgive me. I'm a sucker for cool, stylized movies, and this fits the bill exactly. From snow flakes turning to tears, split screens that combine into one, and people moving backwards, the film succeeds in making itself a stylized mess. There is something savage, upsetting, and just plain sick about the movie, not a shock since it comes from a novel by Brett Easton Ellis, American Psycho writer. Avary can kick Tarantino's ass any day.
141. Bowling for Columbine
Director (Michael Moore), Screenwriter (Michael Moore), Stars (Michael Moore, Charlton Heston, Marilyn Manson, Matt Stone)
IMDB Link: IMDB Link: Click Here
Review: Moore is very good at getting attention for himself, and while he preaches to the choir he does it in such a fun and inventive way that I can't help thoroughly enjoying myself when I see his films. The way in which he mixes humor with politics is enthralling, and he seems to have a real knack for finding hilarious footage and real whackos to interview. For some reason, as depressing as this movie is, I find it incredibly entertaining and enthralling. I see myself rooting for Michael against the large gun corporations, and I thank Moore for showing that asshole Charlton Heston for what he really is! I'm going to refrain from writing much more about this movie because its been covered elsewhere much better and, after all, everyone has seen it already. If you haven't, however, there is no excuse to wait, even if youre a Republican.
Director (David Mamet), Screenwriter (David Mamet), Cinematographer (Juan Ruiz Anchia), Stars (Lindsay Crouse, Joe Mantegna, Mike Nussbaum, J.T. Walsh, Ricky Jay)
IMDB Link: IMDB Link: Click Here
Review: I would be a con man if I had the skill, time, and talent to invest and there wasn't such a high risk of getting caught. David Mamet just makes it look like so much fun, although I imagine the reality is something a little less glamorous and a little more scummy. How mean do you have to be to take away money from people who work very hard to earn what they make and whose lives would be really messed up if you took all of their money away from them? But, damn it, it looks like so much fun! At any rate, surely there is nothing morally reprehensible about watching movies about con men, and this is one of the best. Joe Mantegna is always a pleasure to watch, and he Mamet's dialogue is spot-on like always. Of course, what more reason do you need to watch this movie than that Ricky Jay, a prominent member of my Pantheon of Geniuses, appears in this film as a clever con man scamming some poor guy out of his savings? The twists in this plot are great, as always in Mamet's con films, yet the beginning is a bit slow and the ending leaves a little to be desired. The film is well worth watching, however, and, damn it, the life of a con man is too appealing to not fantasize about.
144. The Triplets of Belleville
Director (Sylvain Chomet), Screenwriter (Sylvain Chomet), Cinematographer (Sylvain Chomet), Stars (Misc. French People)
IMDB Link: IMDB Link: Click Here
Review: Americans are fat and stupid and French people are clever and smart. There is more truth in this statement than most people would like to admit, and this film makes that plainly clear. A dazzling spectacle, this is one of the best animated films I have seen in a long time, and, with almost no dialogue, a pure visual treat. I have always had great respect for movies that could clearly tell a good story without words, for this is something that is much harder to do than it might first appear. This film contains so many inventive and outrageous scenarios that it is almost a bit overwhelming, including everything from mafia who look like giant, flat rectangle to frog licking triplets. This film is weird, but in a romantic, creative sort of way that seems entirely appropriate. Not to mention that it contains some of the coolest looking drawings I have ever seen.
143. Life is Beautiful
Director (Roberto Benigni), Screenwriters (Roberto Begnini and Vincenzo Cerami), Cinematographer (Tonino Delli Colli), Stars (Roberto Begnini, Nicoletta Braschi)
IMDB Link: IMDB Link: Click Here
Review: This is the funniest comedy ever made about the Holocaust since, um, now that I think about it I guess it's really the only one, unless you count Chaplin's The Great Dictator, but that was really more about poking fun at Hitler than showing the atrocious conditions inside a Nazi death camp. Benigni has made a film that should have offended people, and amazingly it didn't, which makes me mad because I like defending things that everyone else finds despicable. I suppose its good that everyone kept their sanity over this one, however, because it is a really good film. It is distinctly Italian and at the same time incredibly universal, for Benigni's sense of humor is one that anyone can appreciate. It is a fable, a simple fantasy that happened to be set in the middle of one of humanity's most terrible moments. Benigni is just so innocent and naive that we are automatically drawn into his world, one where everything that occurs in the film tends to have a way of showing up later in some kind of joke. Benigni is a clown sent to a concentration camp, and the film has some important messages about humor in the face of dark times. In this way, the film is uplifting, and that helps explain its popularity. Of course, it is also unrealistic, and for an interesting double feature try viewing this and then Tim Blake Nelson's The Grey Zone.
142. The Rules of Attraction
Director (Roger Avary), Screenwriter (Roger Avary), Cinematographer (Robert Brinkmann), Stars (James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, Kip Pardue, Jessica Biel, Eric Stolz, Fred Savage, Faye Dunaway)
IMDB Link: IMDB Link: Click Here
Review: Many people reading this list will think that I'm crazy when they find out that this movie made it and Avary and Tarantino's Pulp Fiction did not. I feel that I owe some sort of explanation for that, but I don't really have one except that Pulp Fiction is hailed by many as the "greatest film ever" (typically overweight kung-fu fans working in the computer industry) while nobody ever talks about this one. Sure, maybe the acting is not up to Tarantino's film and maybe the story is a little less inventive, but this film has got style in truckloads. It features so many camera tricks and special effects that you can't blink, and who really cares that the acting is over-the-top because the whole film is over the top. Avary has made a satire, for crying out load, and a fast-paced, damn funny one at that, so if it lacks Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta's acting chops, forgive me. I'm a sucker for cool, stylized movies, and this fits the bill exactly. From snow flakes turning to tears, split screens that combine into one, and people moving backwards, the film succeeds in making itself a stylized mess. There is something savage, upsetting, and just plain sick about the movie, not a shock since it comes from a novel by Brett Easton Ellis, American Psycho writer. Avary can kick Tarantino's ass any day.
141. Bowling for Columbine
Director (Michael Moore), Screenwriter (Michael Moore), Stars (Michael Moore, Charlton Heston, Marilyn Manson, Matt Stone)
IMDB Link: IMDB Link: Click Here
Review: Moore is very good at getting attention for himself, and while he preaches to the choir he does it in such a fun and inventive way that I can't help thoroughly enjoying myself when I see his films. The way in which he mixes humor with politics is enthralling, and he seems to have a real knack for finding hilarious footage and real whackos to interview. For some reason, as depressing as this movie is, I find it incredibly entertaining and enthralling. I see myself rooting for Michael against the large gun corporations, and I thank Moore for showing that asshole Charlton Heston for what he really is! I'm going to refrain from writing much more about this movie because its been covered elsewhere much better and, after all, everyone has seen it already. If you haven't, however, there is no excuse to wait, even if youre a Republican.
posted by Matt at 8:01 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home