Vanilla Sky

Vanilla Sky (2001) is a movie staring Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz with Cameron Diaz, and Kurt Russel.  It is hard to describe this movie without giving too much away.  It is about a man who has everything, has a friend who he has an on and off again relationship when he finds what he sees as true love.  He survives an accident and the movie goes from there. It is sometimes hard to follow the story line but there is a reason for this.  The movie comes together in the end and has a great payout. I find myself watching the movie, in particular the ending over and over again.  The movie has more than its share of intimate scenes.  However, I found towards the end one of the most powerful and palatable scenes of true love between two people I have ever found in the movies.

Dredd

Dredd (2012) is a movie staring Karl Urban and Olivia Thirlby. The movie is set in a dystopian world where Urban, who Stars as Judge Dredd, and Thirlby as a Judge (probationary), out for a day of crime fighting.  They find themselves trapped and alone in a building massively high and densely populated but under the control of a drug kingpin.  The movie is a battle of the Judges attempting to arrest, convict and punish the kingpin while the kingpin is attempting to destroy the Judges with her massively large army of thugs.  The movie is tightly filmed with good acting from the cast.  It is a very violent movie but low on the gore.  I find myself thinking about it from time to time so I would say it is definitely memorable. It has a following and people are clamoring for a sequel.  Dark, moody, severe with great directing and cinematography.  It has a refreshing undertone in an unflinching sense of justice from Judge Dredd as he is assailed from all angles with the injustices of the day.

Ruthless People

Ruthless People (1986) is a movie Danny DeVito and Bette Midler who star as Sam and Barbara Stone and Judge Reinhold and Helen Slater who star as Ken and Sandy Kessler.  The Kesslers decide to get justice by kidnapping Barbara Stone and demand a ransom.  Sam Stone, who sees freedom in his future, decides to ensure that his wife does not come back alive.  Through the greed on Sams part and the ineptness on the Kesslers part the movie twists and turns throughout with one humorous moment followed by another.  There are a few crude references but overall the humor is more above brow.  When I was training for our Relax the Back Stores I would use a couple of scenes from this movie to show positive and negative sales approaches modeled by Ken Kessler, a salesman in what was equivalent to an electronics store.  No one actor out shadows another but Danny DeVito is in rare form in this movie.

V for Vendetta

V for Vendetta (2006) is a movie staring Hugo Weaging and Natalie Portman.  It is about a near future totalitarian Great Britain that is ruthless and oppressive to it's people.  Hugo Weaving stars as "V" who is attempting to overthrow the government under the symbolic Guy Fawkes motif*.  Natalie Portman is a young and average person working in the TV business on a show that is hosted by a character staring Stephen Fry. It is a brooding but well done movie and has a surreal tone underlying the whole movie where the allegories between the fiction and reality can be seen throughout.  The acting is great and Natalie Portman does a great job in a not too familiar role.  The movie has developed a following and the mask used for the character V is familiar to many and shows up from time to time as a symbol of the common man against the oppressor.



 *Guy Fawkes, for those of you who do not know, attempted to overthrow the British government centuries ago and was caught before they could successfully blow up Parliament.  This is of particular interest to me as my first school was a British school in what is now Bangladesh.  My first holiday of memory, other than Christmas, was Guy Fawkes Day where we burned the Guy in effigy and shot off all kinds of fireworks.

Witness

Witness (1985) stars Harrison Ford and Kelly Mc Gillis.  A young Amish boy played by Lukas Haas is on a trip outside of their community when he inadvertently witnesses a brutal murder.  Ford plays a detective, John Book, who learns the terrible truth of the identity of the murderer and takes the boy and his mother into hiding back in the Amish Community.  The cinematography, directing, acting, music, and almost all other aspects of the movie are at their very best.  The supporting cast is a stellar group of actors as well.  The compelling story behind the story is how two people from two different worlds can somehow make sense of feelings that develop as they spend more and more time together.  At first the boy and his mother are fish out of water and then it is Book who finds himself as a fish out of water.  Can a person from one world completely give everything up and walk into another world.  This movie was nominated for multiple awards and won two Academy 'Awards.

The Ref

The Ref (1994) stars Dennis Leary and Kevin Spacey.  Leary stars as Gus, a burglar who, on Christmas Eve ends up with a burglary gone wrong.  Spacey stars as Lloyd a henpecked businessman who is having marital problems and the family on the way for Christmas.  Leary finds his only choice is to take the family hostage.  It is here that the movie takes off with Leary trying desperately to find a way out while keeping the family from melting down.  Excellent repartee between Spacey and Leary ensues from the time they meet until the very end. A well done comedy that relies more on the dialogue than any form of slapstick.

Attack the Block

Attack the Block (2011) is a British movie about a street gang of young kids ends up having to defend themselves, and their council estate (housing project) alone against alien attack.  The movie is full of action, humor, suspense interspersed with some, but not overtly too much gore.  The movie is a solid B movie which is, according to various sites,, becoming a cult classic.  the lexicon is British and therefore may be hard at times to understand what is being referred to.  For movies of this genre I found it to be a fun experience.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) is a movie starring Sydney Poitier, Katherine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy.  Tracy and Hepburn play the Drayton's who's daughter announces that she is engaged to be married and that her fiance and his parents are coming to dinner so that they can all meet.  The hitch is that her fiance is black and she is white.  At the time of the making of this movie it was still illegal to have an interracial marriage in 17 states.  By the middle of the year interracial marriages were no longer illegal in the united states.  This movie explores the coming to grip with race and how each person and mix of  people struggle with their perspectives and feelings on the impending marriage.  The performances of the entire cast are powerful. It is clear as you hear the different arguments and discussions between the fathers, mothers, and the mix of the two as well as those of the intended couple you realize how pertinent the issue is still today.  This is Sydney poitier at his best and sadly Spencer Tracy's last film as he died two weeks after filming.

Wait Until Dark

Wait Until Dark (1967) is a movie starring Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin and Richard Crenna.  Hepburn plays Susy, a blind woman who finds herself besieged in her apartment, with little or no help, trying to defend herself against drug dealers who believe a secret stash of drugs is hidden in her apartment.  The movie lives up to its categorization as a suspenseful thriller.  Audrey Hepburn does an exceptional job in this role. Even when watched for a second time the suspense is still strong and edgy.

Charade

Charade (1963) is a movie starring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant.  The movie also co-stars Walter Mathau, James Coburn and George Kennedy.  Both Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn are my favorite actors from that era and it was surprising when I learned that this was the only movie that they did together.  The chemistry works well between Hepburn and Grant.  The story revolves around a mysterious stash of money Hepburn's newly deceased husband allegedly hid away.  There are several people after the money and you don't quite know who is who at any given time.  The movie holds together quite well and the acting is delightful.  Audrey Hepburn breaks out into a slightly different role than she usually plays in this film.

Ladyhawke

Ladyhawke (1985) is a movie about two lovers separated by a curse, he a wolf by night and her a hawk by day; forever together but always apart.  The movie stars Rutger Hauer as Etienne, the knight/wolf and Michelle Pfeiffer as Isabeau, the damsel/hawk.  There is an underlying web of love throughout the movie. the love between characters is not solely delegated to the two lovers in the story but between each character and the others that find themselves part of the tragic tale before them.  It is portrayed in a heartfelt manner and helps to endear each protagonist to the viewer.  There is a subtle humor brought into the tale from time to time to assuage to some degree the painful tragedy between Isabeau and Etienne.  The movie relies mostly on dialogue and the telling of the story with little in the arena of time wasting fight/action scenes.  The movie is entertaining, engaging and does not disappoint.

The Mission

The Mission (1986) is a movie set in 18th century South America Staring Jeremy Irons, Robert De Niro along with Aidan Quinn and Liam Neeson.  Jeremy Irons plays Gabriel, a Jesuit Priest who is establishing a mission in the interior regions of South American to convert and serve the Guarani Indians.  He is accompanied by Rodrigo (Robert De Niro) who portrays a soldier who is doing so as a penance.  This is an exceptional movie.  The acting is powerful, the cinematography is breathtaking and the music is inspiring.  The story is one of human triumph accompanied closely by tragedy.  The movie explores how the beauty of humanity and how it fares when confronted by greed and politics.  The music, by Ennio Morricone, is still played
often on classical radio stations.

Rear Window

Rear Window (1954) is an Alfred Hitchcock movie starring Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelley.  It is by far my favorite Hitchcock movie and still as gripping today as when I first saw it.  Jimmy Stewart plays a convalescing photographer who thinks he witnesses a terrible event though he can't prove it.  The entire movie takes place from his room.  The story is compelling while the acting superb.  While the movie takes place you are witness to life in the 50's as seen from one apartment to others, and without air-conditioning being common the windows and lives of others are open for all to see.

Popeye

Popeye (1980) is a movie starring Robin Williams, Shelly Duvall and Ray Walston.  The movie takes place in Sweethaven where a newly arrived Popeye is trying to find himself.  The movie is both a comic strip come to life and a musical.  Overall I enjoyed the movie and love the songs that are sung.  The movie sets are well done giving a surreal presence in real life.  Robin Williams does a great job as Popeye as well as Shelly Duvall in her portrayal of Olive Oyl.  It is a movie you will either really like or not like at all.

Zoro: The Gay Blade

Zoro: The Gay Blade (1981) is a movie staring George Hamilton, Lauren Hutton, Brenad Vaccaro and Ron Liebman.  George Hamilton stars as the son of Zoro who inherits the responsibilities of being Zoro upon his fathers death.  He also plays the role of his gay brother who has to come to his assistance.  While the movie itself is more of a "B" movie, it is filled with memorable lines and humorous situations.  The reason I found the movie merits mention is that since I first saw the movie in the theater in 1981 I am still quoting lines from it to this day.  Another example was a situation at work that mirrored a scene in the movie.  I was able to find the scene on Youtube and the result was laughter.