#385: Ace in the Hole (1951)

Director: Billy Wilder
Cast: Kirk Douglas, Jan Sterling & Richard Benedict



Journalist Chuck Tatum, who was fired from his previous big-city gigs, has landed a new job in Albuquerque. Not used to being in the small town, Tatum detests the stories he covers, nothing being as juicy as he’d like. He finally gets his big story when a cave-in at an ancient Indian burial ground traps Leo Minosa, a worker at a rest stop. Tatum learns that he could be saved within only 12 hours, but instead convinces the sheriff to dig through the rock from the top, giving time for the story to develop. While Mr. Minosa waits, trapped under the rock, a throng swarms to the site to witness the action firsthand.

Not much stuck out in this film for me. It was a film that just had to be made in the 1950’s – the film industry probably wouldn’t be complete without a criticism of the extraordinary measures journalists may take. But it wasn’t really a great film. The only performance that is worthy to be mentioned is Kirk Douglas, who makes a great sleaze.

The movie was a failure in its time, as you can see by the all-negative Fun Trivia section to follow. It seemed to have had a second wave in the past 15 years or so, having critics praise the film for having a real ‘bite’. Yes, it’s scathing… but I also found the whole thing a point that’s been made too often, and it’s lost its importance. People know not to trust the media at this point. An hour-and-a-half film just wasn’t necessary to tell me that in gross exaggeration.

I give it a C.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• When the film was released, it got bad reviews and lost money. The studio, without Billy Wilder's permission, changed the title to "The Big Carnival" to increase the box office take of the film. It didn't work. On top of that, Billy Wilder's next picture Stalag 17 (1953) was a hit and Billy Wilder expected a share of the Stalag 17 (1953)'s profits. Paramount accountants told him that since this picture lost money, the money it lost would be subtracted from the profits of Stalag 17 (1953).
• Actor Victor Desny brought a lawsuit against this film while the script was being written. He claimed the film was an unauthorized version of the Floyd Collins story. Collins was actually stuck in a cave years earlier, as mentioned in the film. Since Desny owned the rights to the Collins story, he claimed copyright infringement. Desny prevailed, although Wilder appealed. The California Supreme Court ruled in Desny's favor. (Desny v. Wilder, 46 Cal. 2d 715, 299 (Cal. Sup. Ct. 1956).)
• The studio constructed a replica cliff dwelling at a cost of $30,000. The set was located behind the Lookout Point Trading Post on U.S. Route 66, west of Gallup, New Mexico. After filming was completed, the set was left intact and the owner of the trading post used it to draw tourists to his store.
• Residents of Gallup, New Mexico were hired as extras. They were paid 75 cents an hour for a ten-hour day. Extras earned an additional three dollars if they could bring an automobile to the set.

#387: Rain Man (1988)

Director: Barry Levinson
Cast: Dustin Hoffman & Tom Cruise



Charlie Babbitt, the money-hungry yuppie car dealer from L.A. has absolutely no reaction when he gets the news that his wealthy father has died. What does get an emotion out of him is that the father has given all of his money to Raymond – a brother that Charlie never knew he had. What makes it worse for Charlie – Raymond is retarded.

Of course, as you all know, what Charlie understands in the beginning is nowhere near the truth. Charlie learns throughout the film what it means to be an autistic savant. Hoffman puts on a stellar performance, possibly the best of his career, portraying a man in a world of his own. Watching him makes you wonder what is going on behind those vacant eyes of his, but only the smallest bits of information come out of his mouth. Despite this handicap, Hoffman says so much.

The film caused a great shift in public knowledge of autism, though not necessarily bringing it a step closer to truth. Like Charlie, before this film was released, a great many people did not distinguish autism from mental retardation. After the film, however, the view of autism has gone in the opposite direction. It is often assumed that all autistics are savants, not only thanks to Rain Man, but also thanks to all of the parodies that this film has spurred.

This one’s all about Dustin Hoffman. Amazing performance.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• The script originally had Raymond as happy and friendly, but after an initial reading Dustin Hoffman successfully lobbied for Raymond to be a withdrawn autistic.
• The scene in the airport was cut by most airlines on their plane trips... except Qantas. They even promoted one of the movie's writers to first class once when he traveled on their airline.
• During the shooting of the casino scenes, Dustin Hoffman would go off and play games like blackjack. After production was halted to look for him, someone was assigned to watch him during takes.
• Barry Levinson specifically instructed composer Hans Zimmer to avoid strings in his score as he felt it would make the film too sentimental

#388: The English Patient (1996)

Director: Anthony Minghella
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Kristin Scott Thomas & Willem Dafoe



A man with an indistinguishable accent has been found near a plane crash in 1944. His face is horribly burned, and he has lost his memory. His weakness makes it difficult for him to be moved with the caravan full of hospital workers, so a makeshift hospital is set up in an abandoned monastery in Italy. Hana, a Canadian nurse who has lost all of her relations in the war, stays to take care of him. A mysterious character named Caravaggio arrives at the monastery, and he is certain the patient still has his memory in tact. While Hana begins to allow herself to love an Indian bomb detector who arrives soon after Caravaggio, the patient begins to remember how he came to his current state. While working for the Royal Geographic Society in Cairo, he becomes enamored with a married English woman, Katherine. Their relationship unravels along with the patient’s memories, leading us to the striking final act.

With such a complex premise, this is one heck of a long movie. This seems to have turned off a lot of viewers, but for me, I was riveted throughout. The performances by everyone were outstanding.

Juliette Binoche doesn’t belong in our generation; she is so comfortable in the 1940’s and 1950’s. Fiennes exhibits an ambiguity that has become a trademark for his characters. He shows a great potential for malice, but all due to his love for a woman. Dafoe’s resentment towards the patient is also brilliantly unraveled throughout the course of the film, and it is hard to look at anyone but him while he is on the screen, never knowing when he is going to burst. And then there’s Kristin Scott Thomas, whose performance as a woman torn between two lovers shines.

This movie requires a lot of patience, but I found it to be well worth it.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• The Germans who shoot at Almazy's plane at the beginning were actually tourists roped into the production because they couldn't afford any more extras.
• Was the first digitally-edited film to win an Academy Award for Best Film Editing (Walter Murch). Murch began editing the film mechanically, but then switched to the Avid system after his son suffered a medical emergency so that he could work from his home while his son recovered. Murch writes about the experience in his book "In the Blink of an Eye (2nd Ed.)."
• In the scene where Hana is being pulled up to see the paintings in the church, the electric power and smoke for her "torch" was being piped through the seemingly real rope on which she was sitting.

#391: Mulholland Drive (2001)

Director: David Lynch
Cast: Naomi Watts, Laura Harring & Justin Theroux

While being driven down Mulholland Drive, a woman is about to be murdered. Just as the man in the front seat is about to pull the trigger, a car crashes head-on into their limo. The woman is the only survivor, but she has lost her memory. She finds refuge in an apartment whose owner just left with some suitcases. The next day, however, the aspiring actress Betty shows up. It is her aunt’s house, and she assumes that the woman is a friend of her aunt’s. When the truth is discovered, the two put any clues they can find together to discover the woman’s identity.

I’ve seen bits of this film before, but other than that, I’ve never had any experience with David Lynch. Based on this film, I get the feeling that his style requires that you really relax your mind, though on first instinct you want to analyze everything. Everything is very dream-like, and has its own sense of logic.

I’m going to be honest, I wasn’t impressed by anything at all in this movie but the style. Acting was not so hot, the soundtrack was boring with an overload of synthesizer, and even the cinematography doesn’t stand out. But this film does provide a lot to talk about, having a very loose ending which can be interpreted in a million different ways.

It’s a conversation topic. Not a whole lot else.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• The film is dedicated to Jennifer Syme, a young actress whose story is startlingly similar to that of the character of Betty - but who in fact died after the bulk of the film was completed.
• ABC executives rejected the original pilot version of the film because, they thought Naomi Watts and Laura Harring too old to be television stars, among other reasons.

You may have noticed that I have skipped a film (#392 - Paris, Texas). It was on my Netflix Queue since #500, and the day that it got to first in line, Netflix removed it from their available DVDs. I decided to skip it for now, because Netflix also said it will be available online "soon". So, when that day comes, I'll jump back.

#395: Casino (1995)

Director: Martin Scorcese

Cast: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone & Joe Pesci

One of Las Vegas's greatest casinos, the Tangiers, is in the hands of mobsters. When the Jewish-American Sam "Ace" Rothstein is noticed for being a great handicapper, bringing in the bucks like no other, he is recruited to manage the casino. The mob bosses are skimming the profits from the casino, while Nick Santoro ensures that the money gets into the right hands and keeps the gangsters in line. While on the job, Rothstein meets his future wife, Ginger, who works as a hustler at the Tangiers. Of course, their arrangement can't last long, and the troubles that are brought to the Tangiers have a lasting impact on the city of Las Vegas.

I wish I enjoyed mafia movies. I really do. I've tried so many times. Alas, I wasn't into this one. Maybe I just don't have enough to relate to in the film - I've never been to a casino, I've never been in a physical fight, and I've never done anything remotely illegal for money. Oh, and I only say "fuck" 2.3 times per minute.

I really don't have much bad to say about the film, though. Sharon Stone was remarkable, and seeing her descent from a young, sexy, live-out-loud hustler to a drug-inducing, wrinkle-ridden ho is outstanding. Robert De Niro also is on top form here, becoming a very likable mobster who somehow maintains his morals.

But that's the thing. Yes, the acting is great... but I just don't see what else there really is. It was 150 minutes of something that I didn't really care all that much about. A big problem with this is that there isn't any humor whatsoever, which is why I liked Ocean's Eleven so much. I really hope I can get into The Godfather when it comes around... what a let-down that could be for me.

Welp, if you enjoy mob films, this might just be for you.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• The word "Fuck" is said 422 times, including in the narration - 2.4 times per minute on average. The film also holds the Guinness world record for the most swearing in a film.
• Martin Scorsese stated before the film's release that he created the "head in the vise" scene as a sacrifice, certain the MPAA would insist it be cut. He hoped this would draw fire away from other violent scenes that would seem less so by comparison. When the MPAA made no objection to the vise scene, he left it in, albeit slightly edited.
• As they were shooting scenes in Las Vegas set in the 1970s, the husband of an elderly woman extra was given a period-correct leisure suit to wear by the wardrobe department. However, instead of providing the woman with period clothes, they told her, much to her chagrin, that her out-of-date attire was just fine.

#396: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)

Director: Andrew Dominik
Cast: Brad Pitt & Casey Affleck



Jesse James was one of the greatest outlaws of American history. After he and his brother Frank fought as Confederate guerillas in the Civil War, they started one of the greatest gangs ever to exist. They became living legends in the 1870’s, when they robbed banks, trains and stagecoaches. After many members of the gang were killed in 1876, they recruited new members, including the young Robert Ford. Robert idolized Jesse in childhood, but his view of the great antihero begins to change shape while living in the James household, and decides to kill his former idol to collect a state reward.

The premise of the film is wonderful, studying Robert Ford rather than the more infamous Jesse James. Of course, we know what happens to James from the outset. It is Affleck’s portrayal of Ford that really makes the film interesting. Ford’s view of James is carefully analyzed, showing how legends can often be far from the truth.

However, this was one boring movie. It doesn’t help that I couldn’t understand about half of what the characters were saying with their greatly slurred Southern accents. I also found the narrator’s voice one of the most lulling performances in recent history. It was really only the last 10 or 15 minutes of the film that really stood out to me, describing what happened once Jesse James was killed.

Certainly a good choice for history buffs. Otherwise, meh.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• When Jesse goes looking for Jim Cummins he introduces himself as "Dick Turpin". Dick Turpin was a legendary English rogue and famous historical highwayman romanticized in English ballads and popular theatre of the 18th and 19th century. Dick Liddil introduces himself as "Matt Collins", which is actually a play on the name of Liddil's wife, Mattie Collins.
• According to Andrew Dominik, Brad Pitt had it put in his contract that the name of the movie was not to be changed.

#398: Killer of Sheep (1977)

Director: Charles Burnett

Cast: Henry G. Sanders, Kaycee Moore, Charles Bracy & Eugene Cherry

At the slaughterhouse, Stan rounds up, kills and skins sheep on a daily basis. When he gets home, he is encountered by the people of the Watts district of Los Angeles, including his friend Bracy who is trying to buy a car engine, some friends who are trying to involve him in crime, and his children who are having a hard time finding how to take control of their lives with the color of their skin.

There is no question why this film has been selected for preservation by the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The straightforward filming, with no tricks at all - I doubt the camera even pans at any point in the film - gives a great sense of what it was like in the black community in the 1970's. This was aided by a fantastic soundtrack, using songs from some great names - which is why this film became unheard of until 2007: the rights were never secured for the songs.

Many critics have compared this film to Italian neo-realism, due to its documentary-style filmmaking with nonprofessional actors. This is particularly strange considering it's coming from a poor African-American in a time when styles such as Italian neo-realism simply were not accessible to people in his situation.

While it's remarkable that this film even exists today, I wasn't particularly interested in the film. There's no plot, which is something I just can't get over. Yes, it gave me a very clear impression of what life must have been like then and there, but it just didn't pique my interest. I tried.

Ah, well. For anyone interested in African-American history, this is really a must-see. If you need a plot like me, I'd pass.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• Burnett encountered actor Henry G. Sanders in the elevator of the building where he worked. He immediately asked him to do a screen test for the film, because he found he had an unusual face.
• Charles Burnett made this film when he was still at UCLA and for a budget of $5000.
• No permits were obtained in the filming of the movie.

#399: Greed (1924)

Director: Erich von Stroheim
Cast: Gibson Gowland, Zasu Pitts & Jean Hersholt

McTeague grew up under the pressure of a mother who vowed he would have a real career, rather than continuing to dig in the mines. When an unlicensed dentist came through town, McTeague became his apprentice, and soon had his own office in San Francisco. When his friend Marcus came to the office one day to bring his girlfriend Trina for an appointment, McTeague instantly fell in love. While Marcus and Trina wait for the previous patient, the maid offers to sell lottery tickets. First Trina hesitates, saying they are illegal, but eventually buys one ticket. Later, McTeague tells Marcus that he kissed Trina while she was sedated, and Marcus selflessly offers to leave Trina so no tension exists between them. When Trina wins $5,000, Marcus fills with jealousy, Trina grows into the world’s worst miser, and McTeague suffers the consequences.

Stroheim’s directing led to what is undoubtedly the best silent drama of all time. Under his direction, no scene was filmed in a studio. Both indoor and outdoor scenes in San Francisco and Oakland were filmed on location, as well as scenes in Death Valley. In these scenes, which were filmed in August in 125-degree heat, it was required to lay wet towels over the camera. This approached resulted in some horrible casualties, including death, but the imagery is absolutely remarkable, and nearly unheard of in such an early year in film history. All of this is extraordinary as it is, but then it must be remembered that the film originally ran 9 hours, the remainder of which has been destroyed. This tragedy has caused this film to be dubbed as the holy grail of cinema.

The lighting in indoor scenes was nothing but brilliant, as well. Often requiring walls to be knocked down in real buildings to make room for the equipment, the scenes came out to perfection. The sight of a dark silhouette at the back of a room beating somebody unconscious is something nearly impossible to create in black and white, with less-than-perfect quality of the 1920’s, but the image came out flawlessly.

It’s hard to estimate acting potential in a silent film, but I’ve got to say, they did a pretty darn good job of it. Of course, some of it was a bit exaggerated, but that’s just a consequence of having no sound available at the time. Big props to Zasu Pitts, who was one of the biggest weirdos of all time.

The historical relevance is what makes this film absolutely incredible, but even aside from its production, it is a great film all-around.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• The original version was 42 reels, and ran for 9 hours at 20 fps. Von Stroheim then shortened it to 24 reels (just over 5 hours - the "Director's Version"). It was then cut again, not once, but twice. The first time by Rex Ingram, who cut the film down to 18 reels, and forbade Stroheim to let anyone cut it again. The final cut was performed by MGM editing department's Joseph Farnham acting on orders from Irving Thalberg, who without having read the book ("McTeague") or the script, cut the film down to 10 reels. This final version was released with a runtime of 2-1/4 hours. No copies of the earlier versions were made, and the entirety of the 32 reels that did not make the final release version were destroyed - along with all of the outtakes - so that the silver could be extracted from the film celluloid. It is in this way, that most of the movie was lost forever.
• MGM's first feature-length movie.
• Jean Hersholt was hospitalized after he lost 27 pounds during the filming of the movie's climax in Death Valley.
• The only screening of the original complete director's cut was for a small group of reporters. One wrote a glowing review of it, using words like "wonderful" and "brilliant" to describe it, but lamented the fact that nobody else would ever see it.

#403: Do The Right Thing (1989)

Director: Spike Lee

Cast: Spike Lee, Danny Aiello, Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Nunn, John Turturro & Ossie Davis

A heat wave has taken control of Brooklyn in the late 1980's, and as the steam rises, it uncovers the worst in the inhabitants of what used to be a friendly block. Originally a black community, now Italian-Americans, Koreans, and Hispanics have moved in, and the tension between the races becomes more apparent over time. Things begin to boil over when an African-American walks into a popular Italian-American-owned pizzeria and notices that its "Wall of Fame" features only white celebrities. While at first nobody joins in the fight to boycott the pizzeria, anger slowly spreads from various sources, ending in disaster.

The greatest question that arises in this film comes straight from the title: what is the right thing? When an elderly man tells one of the main characters to do the right thing, it gets shrugged off. Everyone intends to do the right thing, but if everyone has a different idea of what the right thing is, what then?

This could be considered a character piece, with each character being thoroughly different from the next, though never fully caricaturized. In the first scene, a radio DJ mentions that the weather is hot, but the color of the day is black. He recommends that everyone wears black in the sun today to absorb the heat and save it for winter. Certainly, everyone in the cast has absorbed some heat from their anger, though each releases it in different ways.

The filming of this was really remarkable. The opening scenes of the block are so vibrant, celebrating the diversity of the neighborhood, while the end is a horrific counterpoint. Somehow, though, the entire film maintains a red-orange lighting.

The acting is all wonderful, though it must've been made a little easier with such a remarkable script. Spike Lee could easily be the next Arthur Miller or Neil Simon. The film seems to exude American culture, demonstrating its accomplishments and its detriments.

Brilliant, brilliant movie with so much to read into. I would highly recommend this, with a caution that you have to be ready to be hit hard. This will definitely be among my top films so far when I renumber the first 100 I've watched.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

This film was inspired by an actual incident in New York where some black youths were chased out of a pizzeria by some white youths in a section of New York known as Howard Beach.

The story takes place at the intersection of Bedford and Stuyvesant Avenues. In reality, the two do not cross each other, however the film was shot in the Bed-Stuy section of Brooklyn.

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama reportedly saw this movie on their first date in 1989.

The title comes from a Malcolm X quote: "You've got to do the right thing."

#413: Finding Nemo (2003)

Directors: Andrew Stanton & Lee Unkrich
Cast: Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres & Alexander Gould

Marlin is a father who is extremely cautious over the safety of his son, Nemo, after Nemo’s mother was attacked while expecting multiple children. Nemo was the only one to survive the attack. On Nemo’s first day of school, Marlin anxiously watches the class head off on a field trip. After discovering that the class is exploring the dangerous ‘drop-off’, Marlin chases after them, only to witness Nemo get kidnapped. With the aid of Dory, who suffers short-term memory loss, Marlin hunts down the kidnappers and plans to save Nemo before he’s flushed down the toilet.

Oh, did I not mention? Nemo’s a fish.

Needless to say, this film covers some pretty intense material for a kids movie. With Marlin’s back story being given immediately is shocking for adults let alone kids, and the emotional roller coaster he endures is remarkably deep. Not gonna lie, this is the one cartoon that can give me shivers.

The animation for Finding Nemo surpasses all of Pixar’s films to date. That’s right, even WALL-E. There was just so much to work with, from the anatomy of many species of underwater life to the light coming through the water. The opening scenes are absolutely dazzling, and the quality never fails throughout.

The voice acting is also extraordinary. Albert Brooks, though he has admitted that he didn’t enjoy making this film, gives a wonderful tenderness to Marlin. But the star voice actor of the film, no doubt, is Ellen DeGeneres. Dory could have been one of the most irritating characters of all times, but Ellen just made her fun, care-free, and extremely loving.

And the music! Thomas Newman at his best. It’s unfortunate that this Newman has been put to the side for so many years to make room for his cousin Randy, though the tides are turning, with such huge titles under his belt as WALL-E, Revolutionary Road, Jarhead, Cinderella Man and The Good German.

Accessible for adults, kids, and everything in between. Absolutely wonderful.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• The seagulls ("Mine, mine") were modeled after the penguins in the claymation Wallace and Gromit short Wallace & Gromit in The Wrong Trousers (1993).
• Afraid that kids would try releasing their pet fish by flushing them down a drain, a company that manufactures equipment used by water filtration and sewage treatment plants released a warning the Thursday after the film came out saying that, even though drains do eventually reach the ocean, before it got there the water would go through equipment which breaks down solids, and went on to say that in real life the movie would more appropriately be called "Grinding Nemo".
• As "research" the key figures of the production crew had to get SCUBA certification and go to the Great Barrier Reef on the insistence of John Lasseter.
• 'Bruce' the great white shark was named after 'Bruce' the animatronic great white that was used in making the movie Jaws (1975).

#414: The Double Life of Veronique (1991)

Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski

Cast: Irène Jacob

(Sorry about the bad quality on the trailer, it's the only version I could find that doesn't suck.)

Have you ever felt like you somehow aren't quite complete? And I don't mean that in the sense of the search for a soulmate. I mean, you felt like you yourself are somehow in two different places at once. Well, Véronique of Paris has felt that way her whole life, and Weronika of Krakow would be able to tell her why. Weronika was walking along Market Square in Krakow when she sees herself boarding a bus full of tourists.

I wish I could give more to the synopsis. This movie is brilliant, but there's really no way to put it into words. Even though I could say that not much happens in the plot, I can't deny that my eyes were glued to the TV. The feeling evoked from the film is absolutely haunting - and that's a word I use sparsely ( -- it's also one of my favorite words!).

Through Irène Jacob's performance, the audience is put into a constant state of unease. We are immediately in league with Véronique and can sense every nuance of her emotional state, and everyone else is a mystery. There are even characters that we see multiple times, watching Véronique, and we never learn who it is that's watching her.

I would normally be ashamed of myself to leave the post here, but reading other reviews, I know that this is one of the hardest films to write about. I could sit here for weeks trying to come up with something without success. All I can say is, this is a beautiful movie that instills feelings in me that no other film has. Will certainly be looking up more of Kieslowski's works.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• Kieslowski originally wanted Andie MacDowell to play Veronique.
• The text sung by Weronika in the Concert is actually the beginning of the second Chant of Dante's Paradiso: "O voi che siete in piccioletta barca, desiderosi d'ascoltar, seguiti dietro al mio legno che cantando varca, Non vi mettete in pelago, ché forse, perdendo me, rimarreste smarriti. L'acqua ch'io prendo giá mai non si corse; Minerva spira è conducemi Appollo, è nove Muse mi dimostran l'Orse." Dante, Paradiso, II, 1-9.

#418: V for Vendetta (2005)

Director: James McTeigue

Cast: Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving & Stephen Rea

After the fall of the United States, England is taking extraordinary measures to maintain civility. All people of non-English (and non-hetero) background have become outcasts. A curfew is set, but young Evey needs to visit her friend Deitrich and risks it. She is soon stopped in an alley by two threatening corrupt policemen. She is saved by a stranger in a Guy Fawkes mask presenting himself as "V". He brings her to the top of a building to hear what he calls a concert, which turns out to be the bombing of the Old Bailey, with the 1812 Overture blasted through the streets through the government's city-wide PA system.

Evey becomes the target of the government, being caught on CCTV. At her office, the TVs stop their normal broadcast, and Evey sees V once again on the screen. He announces that the government must be stopped, and calls for the people of England to march on Parliament on Guy Fawkes Day in one year to bomb the building, as Guy Fawkes planned centuries ago. When the broadcast is over, government officials enter Evey's office. She narrowly evades their 'black bags', being saved once again by V, who brings her back to his underground hiding place. Meanwhile, Inspector Finch discovers disturbing information while investigating V's past, leading him to doubt everything he led to believe about the government he serves.

There is no doubt that this is Natalie Portman's best performance of her career. Her emotional breakdown is remarkable, and I've never seen somebody cry more convincingly on screen. I would really love to see her in a slasher flick - she would definitely add a huge sense of dread through her absolute terror.

The representation of Britain in this film is absolutely disturbing, especially due to how believable it all is. The use of CCTV all over London in real life is already considered highly invasive, though there's no end of its use in sight. The election of BNP members to the EU Council is also a step towards the London represented in the film, with their discrimination against non-English peoples.

This film has hit home for Americans as well as the British. Though most Americans can't relate to the issues going on abroad, this film is probably the first to really push on the possibility that the fall of the World Trade Center could have been planned by the US Government itself. Of course, this will probably never be proven, but this film shows how and why it could have been done.

It's clear that this film did something right. How many Americans do you think knew who Guy Fawkes even was before this film came out? And how many Facebook statuses did you see this year on November 5 reading "remember, remember the fifth of November"?The film deserves its wide recognition, and I hope McTeigue keeps his career going (though his second, very recent film release - Ninja Assassin - isn't getting much praise).

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• Natalie Portman looked forward to shaving her head totally bald for the role of Evey Hammond during the torture scenes, stating that she has wanted to do it for a long time. For the shaving scene, the crew and the shaving guys had only one take to do it.
• The Houses of Parliament destroyed in the film are not the same buildings which Guy Fawkes planned to destroy in 1605. The original Parliament buildings were destroyed in a fire in 1834. The current buildings are built on the same site and took 30 years to build, finishing in 1870. They were largely destroyed again in World War Two and rebuilt to the original design in the late 1940s.
• The scenes near the end that take place in an abandoned London Underground station were actually filmed at Aldwych, a branch from the Piccadilly line that was closed in 1994. The branch still has its tracks and current rails, allowing an operational train to be used in the scene.
• V's pseudonym, "Rookwood", is the last name of another conspirator at the 1605 Gunpowder Plot, as are the names of Rookwood's friends "Percy" and "Keyes".
• In the original graphic novel, V's cause was anarchy, not freedom. Alan Moore was specifically and harshly critical of the movie for changing what he called the "anarchy vs. fascism" structure of his graphic novel into what he saw as an exploration of "American neo-liberalism vs. American neo-conservatism" that should have been thusly set in the U.S. instead of Britain.
• The name Evey is pronounced EV, with E being the fifth letter of the alphabet, V being five in Latin and Y being the 25th letter (5 squared)
• On a clock that has an hour hand and a minute hand, the time 11:05 makes a V. These two numbers, 11 and 5, where 11 is November, and 5 is the day of November, spell out: the fifth of November. "Remember, remember the 5th of November."
• The building used for the wide-angle shot of Evey on the balcony actually exists, although certain architectural details were digitally modified. It is located at 1 Cornhill, London, and is just across the street from the Bank of England.
• All of V's dialogue was recorded via ADR. Initially, a mask was designed with a small microphone inside it and another mike was designed to sit along the hair line of actor Hugo Weaving, but neither worked very well.

#419: Days of Heaven (1978)

Director: Terrence Malick

Cast: Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard & Linda Manz

To get away from the cops after accidentally murdering his boss at the steel mill, Bill hops on a train with his lover, Abby, and his kid sister, Linda. They travel across the country from Chicago to Texas, where they find jobs in the field of a large farm. To avoid rumors that could lead to Bill's history, he claims that Abby is his sister. When Bill overhears the rich farm owner speaking with his doctor, he discovers that the farmer will die within a year from a disease. Bill convinces Abby to marry the farmer so they can have a share of his fortune in the near future. Things get out of hand, however, when Abby begins to fall in love with the farmer... and the farmer's health doesn't seem to be deteriorating.

The cinematography is incredible in this film. Every shot could belong in a magazine, and it's hard to take your eyes off the screen. If only the same thing were true for your ears.

Ennio Morricone was praised for this score. I don't really think it's deserved - though it's possible its because of being a music student alum. The film starts with Aquarium from Saint-Sæns' Carnival of the Animals. Throughout the film, the music alternates between this and Morricone's score of variations on the Saint-Sæns. With so much iconic American scenery featured throughout the film, I found it inappropriate to use so much music from France, and even worse, such a well-known piece of music. There doesn't seem to be any meaning behind its use to justify the choice, so I don't understand why Morricone didn't write his own themes, or at least chose a theme a little less recognizable.

Also, the narration made me cringe. The film is narrated by Linda, the kid sister. Her voice is tainted with a cringe-worthy Chicagoan accent. Not only did I not want to be told a story by an obnoxious sounding 12-year-old, but I couldn't even understand a whole lot of what she was blabbering about. The fact that her narration has been praised, calling her role 'haunting', completely mystifies me.

Not particularly impressed. Aside from the photography.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• After filming for a short time, Terrence Malick threw out the script altogether and filmed for a close to a year allowing the actors to "find the story" for the film as they went along.
• The shot of locusts ascending to the sky was shot in reverse with the helicopter crew throwing peanut shells down, and actors walking backwards.
• Cinematographer Haskell Wexler, who got an "additional photography" credit in the film, complained to Roger Ebert that more than half of the footage was shot by him.

#420: Jerry Maguire (1996)

Director: Cameron Crowe

Cast: Tom Cruise, Renée Zellweger & Cuba Gooding Jr.

Jerry Maguire is one of the top sports agents in his firm. He's rolling in the dough, keeping his romantic life active and never committal, and doesn't even really need to try too hard to get it all done. But one night, out of the blue, he looks at his life and realizes how repulsive it is. He puts all his thoughts to paper, writing a personal mission statement in which he places morals over moolah. He distributes it to the entire company, and before he changes his mind the place is roaring with applause... except for his boss. He's fired on the spot. He calls all of his clients begging for them to stay with him, but only two stay on his side. Also on his side is single mom Dorothy Boyd, from the finance department, who has fallen head over heels for Jerry.

In all honesty, I wasn't looking forward to watching this. I mean, it has Tom Cruise - that's a bad sign. But the fact of the matter is, this is a great movie. Probably among the top 10 of the 90's (I sense a list will be made soon...). Part of its greatness is in the casting. This role IS Tom Cruise. There's even bits of insanity thrown in. Cuba Gooding, Jr. is also at the top of his game in the film, earning him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. And of course there's Ms. Zellweger, whose character is among the most charming roles of hers that I've seen.

It's also not possible to review this film without mentioning its catchphrases. Having never seen the film, I never knew where some of these lines came from, and was surprised just how many this film has.

The plot is a nice twist for the sport film genre, focusing on the work put off the field rather than the games themselves. All of the characters have much more depth in them than in the standard sport film as well, pulling you in much more for the final game we witness.

My only problem? The fact that I saw a skit on SNL before I saw the film. Renée Zellweger was hosting, and parodied a scene with Dorothy and her son. In the skit, the son was played by Chris Farley, wearing extremely large glasses and holding a gargantuan juice box. Sitting on Zellweger's lap. I just couldn't watch scenes with Dorothy and her son the way I was intended to. I wish I could find the video on YouTube, but I can't.

Great film. Don't pass up on it because a crazy man has the title role.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• Cameron Crowe has stated that Jerry's memo/mission statement was directly influenced by Jeffrey Katzenberg's tirade after leaving Disney.
• Tom Cruise did not remember that Bonnie Hunt was in Rain Man (1988). At first he thought she was joking when she said they had worked together before.
• Renée Zellweger admitted that the day she was cast in this film, it had been so long since she had worked that when she went to an ATM, she did not have enough of a balance to make a withdrawal.

#422: A Man Escaped (1956)

(Original Title: Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut)

Director: Robert Bresson

Cast: François Leterrier, Charles Le Clainche, Maurice Beerblock & Jacques Ertaud

In April of 1943, French resistance member André Devigny was arrested by the German authorities and brought to prison in Lyon. In his cell, nothing but escape was on his mind. Using the bare furnishings inside his cell, he conceived a plan - but has to carry it out before August 28, the day set for his execution.

The film is designed for the viewer to be forced to endure just a glimpse of the patience and determination required to even stay sane while detained in such horrible conditions. We grow an understanding of how much we overlook the opportunity to treasure the smallest of things, taking full advantage of their uses. Much of the success of this film is thanks to the advice from the man himself, André Devigny, who gave many details of his travails to director Robert Bresson. The film gets even more credibility by having a majority of the piece filmed inside the actual prison, Fort Montluc.

The minimal use of music, script or even visual detail gives a sense of dread to this film, leading us to have just the slightest of ideas of the horrendous state of affairs in Occupied France.

You should most certainly watch this film, considered one of the classics of French cinema. Even Paul Dano agrees with me.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• Bresson insisted on complete authenticity. Original author Andre Devigny served as adviser on the film, which was actually shot in the same Montluc prison where he was incarcerated. Devigny also loaned Bresson the ropes and hooks he had used in his escape.
• After seeing the film, Jean-Luc Godard said that Bresson was "to French cinema what Mozart is to German music and Dostoevsky is to Russian literature".
• Robert Bresson himself had been a prisoner of war during WWII.
• The first film of Bresson's where he used a completely non-professional cast.

#423: Kill Bill, Vol. II (2004)

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Cast: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Michael Madsen & Daryl Hannah

(Contains spoiler from Kill Bill, Vol I ... if you haven't seen that, I don't know what's wrong with you)

The Bride continues her quest for revenge. Having dispatched O-Ren Ishii and Vernita Green, she is set to finish off the rest of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad: Elle Driver, Budd, and - most importantly - Bill. The twist (as discovered in Vol. I)? She never learned that the child she was holding when she was attacked at the Twin Pines Chapel was still alive.

What sets this film apart from all other 'sequels' is that it in fact is not a sequel. Kill Bill was originally written as one solitary film, but it ended up simply too long. Tarantino did not have the story simply continue through this film. Tarantino has described the two films as the first volume drawing outlines for the characters, but the second volume fills in the lines.

The characters in the story have much more substance in this film. We finally see the tender side of The Bride, as well as an unexpected tenderness in Bill. We also see more of the interactions between Bill, Bud and Elle.

The script is one worth study. The lines aren't written as if they were being told in the real world. They sound more like they are lines being told from a story around a campfire (hopefully voiced by David Carradine). The script - as well as other aspects of the film - gives homage to classics from both Spaghetti Westerns and Kung-Fu flicks. Many of the songs throughout the film are borrowed from Spaghetti Westerns, and many of the characters are drawn directly from classic Kung-Fu films.

The cinematography, like Vol. I, continues to dazzle the audience, but in a completely different way. Leaving the pristine settings of Vernita's house in Pasadena and O-Ren Ishii's Tokyo joint, we find ourselves getting gritty out west, setting kung-fu fights in the confines of a trailer, as well as at the gritty resting place of the unknown character of Paula Schultz.

The film is completely different than its predecessor, but there have never been two films that complement each other so well, leading to sheer awesomeness. If you've never seen these films, I really recommend that you get yourselves on Netflix immediately.

Oh, and read some of the trivia below, there's some pretty cool stuff.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• The chapter "Yuki's Revenge" was cut from filming to accommodate a new chapter, "Massacre at Two Pines" that details the attack on The Bride. An outline of the chapter was to have Yuki Yubari, Gogo's sister seek vengeance on the Bride for killing her sister, Yuki was to be played by Kou Shibasaki who co-stared with Chiaki Kuriyama (who plays Gogo in Vol.1) in the Japanese movie Batoru rowaiaru (2000).
• The reason that The Bride no longer has the "Pussy Wagon" in Vol. 2 is because in the original script that included the character of Yuki Yubari, Go-Go's sister, Yuki had destroyed it soon after the killing of Vernita Green.
• The character Pai Mei appears in several Shaw Bros Kung Fu films from the 1970s-80s including Hong Wending san po bai lian jiao (1980) (Clan of the White Lotus). Pai Mei means "White Eyebrow". Ironically, Gordon Liu (Chia Hui Liu), who stars as Pai Mei in this film, starred as the protagonist in Clan of the White Lotus and fought Pat Mei/Bak Mei (played by legendary Shaw Brothers studio actor Lo Lieh).
• Quentin Tarantino originally intended to only have Pai Mei's lips speaking Cantonese, while his voice would be in English, imitating a bad dub job. Tarantino was going to provide the voice himself. In the end, Tarantino abandoned this idea and Pai Mei's voice is that of the actor, Chia Hui Liu.
• The Bride never actually says anything to Budd.
• Robert Rodriguez scored this movie for $1. Quentin Tarantino said he would repay him by directing a segment of Rodriguez's project Sin City (2005) for $1.
• Bill's apartment in Mexico is number 101, the same as Neo's in The Matrix (1999). The fights in both films were choreographed by Woo-ping Yuen. In addition, room 101 is a reference to George Orwell's "1984", the room where the thing you fear most resides.
• In the scene where Uma Thurman is being buried alive, the master shot has the pickup's headlights illuminating the graveyard. On the right of the screen, the exhumed body's gnarled hand casts a bunny-shaped shadow on its coffin.

#424: To Have and Have Not (1944)

Director: Howard Hawks

Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Walter Brennan, Marcel Dalio & Dan Seymour

Just after the fall of France thanks to Vichy, the French Caribbean suffered under the new regime, though it often was overlooked. To Have and Have Not sets its tale in Martinique in 1940. American fisherman Harry Morgan (Bogart) finds himself in a pickle, trying to avoid allying himself with either the Vichy government or the French resistance.

This film is probably best known for one line, carried out by Lauren Bacall: "You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? Just put your lips together, and blow." To Have and Have Not was Bacall's first role in a film, at the tender age of 19. And I'm surely not the only one to say, but my, girls just don't mature the same way as they used to. She has one of the most sultry voices you'll get from the leading ladies of the '40s. It comes as no surprise, then, that this is also the film in which Humphrey Bogart fell in love with her, leading to a marriage (despite the 25-year age difference).

The music by William Lava and Franz Waxman is phenomenal, particularly the songs performed on screen by Hoagy Carmichael. Carmichael has an incredibly impressive resume - take a look at his IMDB profile and glance at some of the songs he's written that have been used in films for decades.

Now here's the beef. I found this film to be pretty much identical to Casablanca. They both feature Bogart in a role where he's stuck in the middle of riots between the Vichy gendarmes and the French resistance in an exotic landscape, where he meets a beautiful and intriguing girl. The strange thing about this is that the story has been completely altered from the original novel by Hemingway to actually reproduce what had been done in Casablanca intentionally. Who does that!?

Still, the film is hailed as one of Bogart's finest, with a 100% rating on RottenTomatoes. I don't agree with it - it's certainly not as good as Casablanca... but it's still a very good, classic film.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall fell in love during production. Director Howard Hawks afterward said that it was actually Bacall's character Marie that Bogart had fallen for, "so she had to keep playing it the rest of her life." However, it has also been said that Hawks - who was something of a womanizer, and who had a fling withDolores Moran during the shooting of the film - was jealous and frustrated that Bacall had fallen for Bogart and not for Hawks himself.
• The setting was shifted to Martinique because the Office of Inter-American Affairs would not have allowed export of a film showing smuggling and insurrection in Cuba.
• The most famous scene in To Have and Have Not (1944) is undoubtedly the "you know how to whistle" dialog sequence. It was not written by Ernest Hemingway, Jules Furthman or William Faulkner, but by Howard Hawks. Hawks wrote the scene as a screen test for Bacall, with no real intention that it would necessarily end up in the film. The test was shot with Warner Bros. contract player John Ridgelyacting opposite Bacall. The Warners staff, of course, agreed to star Bacall in the film based on the test, and Hawks thought the scene was so strong he asked Faulkner to work it into one of his later drafts of the shooting script.
• The screenplay was rewritten to boost Slim's role to take advantage of the public interest in the real life romance between Lauren Bacalland Humphrey Bogart.

#425: Wonder Boys (2000)

Director: Curtis Hanson

Cast: Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire, Robert Downey Jr., Katie Holmes & Frances McDormand

Prof. Grady Tripp has been struggling to complete his second publication, which colleague Terry Crabtree has been anticipating to read for the past seven years. Upon Terry's arrival with his tuba-playing transvestite girlfriend, Prof. Tripp evades Terry's questions on the book. Tripp is also going through a divorce while sleeping with the married chancellor, who has suspicions about student Hannah Green, who is renting a room from Prof. Tripp. While Tripp may be struggling for inspiration for his book, student James Leer certainly isn't. A troubled youth, Leer has just finished writing his first novel, despite his troubles at home.

I'm surprised this film hasn't become better known. It's gotten many great reviews, though not that many seats taken in the audience.

The greatest thing about this movie is its mellow attitude towards some crazy events. With sex, drugs and transvestites (sorry, not that much rock-n-roll in this flick), you would expect some wacky, over-the-top characters yelling and screaming. Instead, the events are portrayed in a way that seems much more plausible on the university campus. Everyone takes these events in stride, focusing on what's most important at the end. In this case, that end is the publication of a great book.

Great performances are made by all, particularly Robert Downey Jr. His character could so easily have been absolutely over-the-top, but his nonchalance makes the character superb.

Oh, and the music is pretty fantastic as well. I hadn't known beforehand, it actually won an Oscar for Best Song with Bob Dylan's 'Things Have Changed'.

I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who wants a fun but relaxing time.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• All key scenes feature a bridge in the background, either one of the bridges of Pittsburgh, or on a painting.
• The film was originally released in February of 2000 to almost universal praise (especially for the performance of Michael Douglas) but with very little fanfare. Paramount, the film's distributor, decided to re-release the film that November with a different marketing campaign that highlighted its strong supporting cast, and hopes that it would garner some Oscar nominations, despite Paramount Vice Chairman Rob Friedman's acknowledgment that no studio had ever successfully re-released a picture that initially flopped.
• Bearing in mind the film's interest in Marilyn Monroe, the character of Miss Antonia Sloviak - a tuba-playing transvestite - may be a nod to Monroe's film Some Like It Hot (1959), in which two men disguise themselves as women and pose as members of an all-female band. (One of the men was played by Tony Curtis, which may have been the inspiration for Antonia's real name Tony.)

#426: Enduring Love (2004)

Director: Roger Michell

Cast: Daniel Craig, Rhys Ifans & Samantha Morton

Lovers Joe and Claire are enjoying a day out in the sun, having a picnic in a field outside of Oxford. Their time together is interrupted suddenly when a hot air balloons descends from the sky, one of its passengers dangling from the basket being dragged along the field. Joe, and others who witness the crash from the road, run after the balloon and bring it to a halt. However, before the man's young son gets out, the balloon takes off again with Joe and the other helpers holding on. One by one, the helpers let go of the basket, while one holds on too long. The men watch the balloon drift away, and finally the last man falls down to his death. Joe is traumatized by what he witnesses and can't seem to let it go. Soon after, one of the helpers calls his flat. This man, Jed, tells Joe that there is something they must discuss. When they meet, Jed is very off-putting, never stating quite what he means to say. Joe soon finds himself struggling to disentangle himself from Jed, as well as the balloon accident.

In my view, the genre of this film itself alters completely about halfway through. In the beginning, it posed moral questions to the audience. Who is at fault for the man's death? Why did the man hold on for so long? Halfway through, though, we seem to forget all of this as all of a sudden we find ourselves in the midst of a thriller. Personally, I feel that this is just a bad decision to make, and I suppose I must blame Ian McEwan, author of the novel. There's no question that this simply wasn't his best novel (though I haven't read it myself).

Aside from that, this film is quite well done. The cinematography is phenomenal, especially the scene of the balloon accident. The acting is very good, as well. Daniel Craig flawlessly portrays the devolution of a man's character after a traumatic experience.

The reaction to the film seems to be mixed. Among the audience, many have criticized the film as negatively portraying both the mentally troubled as well as homosexuals. I have to agree, I found that there was absolutely no sympathy for our antagonist, which I believe is simply something that shouldn't be done aside from evil maniacs in fantasy stories.

Overall, I'm pretty ambivalent.

No Fun Trivia, once again, folks. IMDB is failing on us.

#427: Spring in a Small Town (1948)

(Original Title: Xiao Cheng Zhi Chun)

Director: Mu Fei

Cast: Wei Wei, Yu Shi, Wei Li, Hongmei Zhang & Chaoming Cui

Surprise! No trailer found, but you can watch the full film for free! Sorry, embedding doesn't seem to work. But! Free movie!

Soon after WWII, Yuwen finds herself living unhappily with her ill husband Liyan. Also living at their formerly exquisite house are Liyan's sister known simply as Meimei (Mandarin for 'little sister') and their servant, Lao Huang. Yuwen gets a shock one day when her old sweetheart named Zhichen arrives to visit Liyan, Zhichen's old schoolmate, a fact that Yuwen never knew. She soon realizes that she is still in love with Zhichen, while Liyan hopes for Yuwen to play matchmaker for Zhichen and Meimei.

This film was originally released just a year before the Communist Revolution. Before the film could make a name for itself, the Communists banned the film for being counter-revolutionary, and it was doomed to be lost forever. Luckily, the '80s brought a renaissance of Chinese cinema, leading to the film's rediscovery. Since then, Spring in a Small Town has been hailed as the greatest Chinese film of all time.

I'm not gonna lie, I don't see the big deal about this film. Yes, it demonstrates a feeling of a world lost to a joyless post-war depression, but there doesn't seem to be much in style or content that stood out to me at all. And to be completely honest, the audio quality completely ticked me off. Every time the narration comes in, you can hear the microphone turn on by the initiation of scratchy annoyance.

I read a fellow film blogger's analysis of this, and he completely adored it. I wouldn't mind if somebody could convince me to see this film in a better light. Because right now, I'd take Crouching Tiger over this for Best Chinese Film Ever any day.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• Voted the best Chinese-language film of all time by the Hong Kong Film Academy in 2004.
• Voted the best Chinese-language film of all time by the Hong Kong Film Critics Society in 2002.