"A Man for All Seasons" feels much like a character study from Shakespeare, about a man who is conflicted between his religious beliefs and his personal beliefs and how that is always at odds with the church in charge of the most powerful country in the world. Paul Scofield plays the role of Sir Thomas More with quiet dignity while still having the strength to command a room, despite his opposition. As a period piece, it reminds me of "The Lion in Winter" with its castle design and regality, but the vibrant color palette of "A Man for All Seasons" is very much its own. Still, the best scenes are More standing up for himself to the much more powerful church, and there can be a lot of down periods outside of these scenes that start to lose my interest after a while. It is a beautiful tragedy, if a bit slow at parts.
Final Grade: C-
Of all the places to be stranded on the planet, the worst one that comes to mind is a frozen barren wasteland. Surviving in the arctic circle sounds as appealing as trying to survive in outer space, where the environment is created to kill you and the only thing keeping you alive are some tools that'll eventually run out. No heat, little to no food, no naturally occurring supplies besides snow, and the chance of rescue might as well be as likely as finding a needle in a snowstorm.
This is why "Arctic" hits as hard as it does. The fear and desperation of Mads Mikkelsen is stressed above all else, as well as the isolation and desolation of this inhospitable location, as one man does everything he can to survive after his plane crashes somewhere in the arctic circle. Mikkelsen turns in the performance of his career, giving a captivating and emotionally charged performance while never saying more than seven or eight lines of dialogue.
From the first moment we see Mikkelsen carving a giant "S.O.S." in to the side of a mountain, "Arctic" proves to a gripping survival thriller, playing to the full cinematic experience that movies are made for. Something like "Arctic" could not work in any other medium as well as it does here - the hardships Mikkelsen faces just by going about his daily routine, the turmoil he shows through each of his actions, and the unending dangers he will continue to face that will always try to kill him, all told through that magical bond between the audience and pictures in front of them.
Final Grade: B+
Is it just me, or does anyone else get creepy vibes anytime they see Humphrey Bogart try to romance a woman who looks like she could be his daughter? Maybe the problem is that Bogart has always looked so old, and he keeps trying to make love to beauties like Ingrid Bergman, Mary Astor and now Audrey Hepburn, all of whom look to be half his age. Bogart has always sold the hardened loner with a heart of gold, but rarely sells me on the well-meaning lover, and "Sabrina" is no exception. However, the film still boasts many great accomplishments, including a career-defining performance from Audrey Hepburn and a wonderful change-of-pace role for William Holden. It helps to have a sizzling screenplay that gets bumped by Billy Wilder's excellent unmistakable touch to many key scenes to make the dialogue really stand out, as well as Wilder's keen sense of cinematography that adds to the visual storytelling. And while I remained unconvinced by Bogart and Hepburn's chemistry, the romance between Hepburn and Holden almost plays out like a tale of revenge between two old friends, and it is both terrifying and hilarious. This is classic Billy Wilder and still comes highly recommended.
Final Grade: B
Compared to the hardened, thought-provoking films of today, "Boys Town" feels like a trip to get ice cream after a very big meal - sweet, comforting and pleasant, but you're already so full that you don't really want anything but you won't turn down ice cream. "Boys Town" is schmolstzy and cliche in all the best ways, filled with the same ideals and philosophies as its main character, Father Flanagan, who always believed that there's "no such thing as a bad boy." Everything about this movie plays to that idea, where this idealic town is practically paradise to hundreds of young boys, where they're always smiling and cheerful and nothing bad ever happens. And while the filmmakers don't skimp on the hardships Flanagan (Spencer Tracy) faced making Boys Town and the one troublemaker (Mickey Rooney) giving him a hard time, there's always an atmosphere that this is heaven for all boys, which plays better than expected thanks to Tracy's performance and the schmolstzy 1930s film style. It is a very pleasant and harmless movie about a kindhearted soul that wanted to make the world a better place.
Final Grade: B
Number 5 - "Kill Bill: Volume Two" (2004)
One thing I've always loved about Tarantino is his love for classic yet obscure cinema and how well that comes across in most of his movies, especially in his "Kill Bill" saga. "Volume Two" is certainly the worse of the two films, but it's still just as captivating and intense as "Volume One." The film exchanges excellent sword fights for word play, speeches and suspense, which makes "Volume Two" feel more like a Shakespeare piece but with Tarantino's unique dialogue. And that is glorious.
Number 4 - "Kill Bill: Volume One" (2003)
But like I said, "Volume One" is the superior movie and one I can watch at any time. The action is just so energize and stylish that I can't take my eyes off of it. It's like if Tarantino took his dialogue and turned into a vibrant action sequence reminiscent of samurai films. I was tempted to include both films as one entry and put it much higher on the list, but since both films feel unique enough, I think it would be doing each film a disservice to count it as one movie.
Number 3 - "Pulp Fiction" (1994)
A true classic of 90s cinema. Such a smart, stylish movie with some of the greatest dialogue ever written. At times, it never actually feels like a movie, but just a slice of extravagent life with nothing cut out. While other times, the screenplay is so perfectly layered and crafted that rivals some of the greatest works of writing. There's no denying that "Pulp Fiction" is one of the greatest films in the last thirty years...but it's not Tarantino's best film.
Number 2 - "Django Unchained" (2012)
If you ask me, "Django Unchained" is where everything came together for Tarantino. With "Pulp Fiction," the screenplay was the star to the movie. With "Kill Bill: Volume One," it was the action and acting. But "Django" finds the perfect middle ground, where the dialogue always feels crisp powerful and real, but the acting compliments that every step of the way. In the end, we get a film that sounds and acts like a Tarantino film, but moves and feels like a truly great western. It's divorced just enough from Tarantino's normal style that becomes a timeless classic.
Number 1 - "Reservoir Dogs" (1992)
Sometimes the best ones are the most simple. As Tarantino's films became more and more elaborate and complex, I think started to move further away from the personal touch that made him so unique in the first place. "Reservoir Dogs" is Tarantino at his most human - his most compassionate, his most frightening, his most confused and his most heartfelt. All of these characters go through these raw emotions as their lives are threatened and it is some of the best confined yet simple cinema I've ever seen. Tarantino's passion and anger is still on full display, but it never comes across as over-the-top or in-your-face given the situation. It is one of the most simple yet effective movies ever made.
Number 5 - "The King of Comedy" (1982)
I can honestly say that "The King of Comedy" was the first Scorsese film that I fell in love with. The characters are charming yet gloriously over the top, the story makes great work about celebrity worship and what the culture of media does to entertainers without ever taking itself too seriously, and the chemistry between Robert De Niro and Jerry Lewis is like a bad married couple where one of them doesn't see anything wrong. While Scorsese is wonderful at comedy, this is certainly his best black comedy.
Number 4 - "Raging Bull" (1980)
Certainly Scorsese's best looking movie. I've never seen boxing sequences that feel as authentic and visceral as "Raging Bull," to the point that it feels like I'm the one getting punched. While I've only seen this film once years ago, everything in the ring has left a massive impression on how I look at cinematography.
Number 3 - "The Wolf of Wall Street" (2013)
Never had I ever seen a bigger collection of charming scumbags than in "The Wolf of Wall Street." The way Leonardo DiCaprio sells this little greedy world he lives in is so uproariously loving that its hard not to like all of these despicable pleasure seekers. And that's the true strength of this film - the love-hate relationship between Leonardo and the audience. We don't want to root for this self-absorbed creep but his belief in himself and his company is so strong that you kinda want to. Like another film later on this countdown, the film makes a doomed life almost worth living.
Link to original review of "The Wolf of Wall Street" - http://gotengoxgodzilla.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-hopper-7.html
Number 2 - "Taxi Driver" (1976)
Scorsese's strength has always been taking these loathsome characters that want to be bigger than themselves and make them into strong, relatable people, and it has never been done better than with Travis Bickle in "Taxi Driver." This is a man seeking redemption and purpose without a clue to lead his lonely path, complimented by Robert De Niro's greatest performance. It is a disturbingly intimate look at a life that most people would want to look away from, yet we can't turn away from it.
Number 1 - "Goodfellas" (1990)
Not only my favorite Scorsese film, but my pick for the greatest gangster film of all time. The film proudly proclaims the power and attraction of being a gangster, saying that it's better than being the President, all while showing the greed that comes with that same power as we watch that beautiful attraction turn ugly. There is a love for the gangster in this film, stronger than any other I've seen, but never quite to the point of making them into heroes, but more like modern cowboys. "Goodfellas" is Scorsese at his most passionate, and I love it for that.
Link to my original review of "Goodfellas" - http://gotengoxgodzilla.blogspot.com/2015/06/pauls-favorite-films-number-21.html
The best way I can describe "The Prisoner of Zenda" is that it is "The Prince and the Pauper" as a 1930s action/adventure piece in the same style as "The Adventures of Robin Hood." Though while I say it has action, it really has just one big action piece during the climax and the rest is a lot of posturing and scowling. The film doesn't even take full advantage of a regular guy becoming a king, since everyone buys the act without a second thought. The film is straight-forward and has very little going for it outside of the climax, which is your typical swash-buckling affair but with a lot of props thrown in for good measure. Not the most fun 1930s adventure movie, but gets pretty exciting when it wants to.
Final Grade: C
