"Something to remember you by."
So Christopher Nolan's movies have alway been confusing as hell. Good to know.
Leonard(Gary Oldman) is stuck in his own personal hell. Once he loses a train of thought it's gone. Quite literally. He cannot remember it. He's got to tattoo himself, write notes, take pictures, and do anything else in his power not to forget... or is he trying not to remember? That's just one of the many questions Memento leaves us with.
One thing to admire about the story : The viewer is just as confused as Leonard himself. Akin Teddy Daniels from Shutter Island or the Narrator in Fight Club, he cannot decipher reality itself from his own perception of reality, and this is conveyed expertly in the non-linear narrative. Fantastic. It's easy to understand how this movie can draw people in, and why there are so many different fan theories and discussions. There is just enough mystery surrounding it to make you want to hit rewind and draw your own conclusions.
"What Kind of Convenience Store Are You Running Here?"
Dante and Randal are clerks, if you couldn't tell from the title. Dante works at his local QuickStop, and Randal works at the video store adjacent, although you wouldn't be able to guess as he's constantly in Dante's store mouthing off to customers, causing chaos, and being shockingly profane. Dante is dissatisfied with his life. He's gotta work on his day off, his customers are annoying, he's got Randal in his ear being disgusting, and he's considering leaving his girl for his ex. He drifts through his day, encountering weirdo after weirdo and enduring a series of unfortunate events and extenuating circumstances. All the while complaining about the things he's missing out on by working there. Randal, on the other hand, is never at his post, astoundingly rude to his customers, and never even bats an eye. He's happy to aimlessly wander between the two stores, disrupting everything he can, with no regard to the consequences.
At a glance, it looks like Dante is our hero. After all, he's decent to the customers, doesn't like to cause a fuss, and would never talk back to anyone. On close examination, however, the picture becomes clearer. He's a total hypocrite! He's sneaking around on his girlfriend, leaving the store unattended, and practically giving merchandise away for free! Randal may be a mess, but at least he's honest and content.
This movie is an ode to the unhappy worker. That person who's stuck behind the counter of an understocked, not-exactly-up-to-code, dingily lit convenience store when they'd rather be anywhere else. Kevin Smith, the director, makes this dream almost attainable as he was in that same position before he took a chance and made this movie on maxed out credit cards and will-power. It was an instant hit at the Sundance Film Festival, and with a script like that it's easy to see why. A fun stick-it-to-the-man fantasy that anyone discontent with life can tune into, have a good chuckle, and wonder what they could accomplish if they weren't so darn accommodating all the time!
What do your mom's house, a Barnes and Noble, and a cold storage warehouse have in common? Apparently, according to the motley crew of "criminals" in this movie, they're the perfect locations for a heist.
Criminals is an exaggeration, hence the quotations. Boy, are these guys inept. Anthony (Luke Wilson), Dignan (Owen Wilson), Bob (Robert Musgraves) and friends are really just preppy fellows who need a little excitement in their lives. With Dignan as the so-called mastermind, they hatch utterly ludicrous plans and find their ways into and somehow out of trouble as they pull stunts during ridiculous robberies that really only work out in the movies. Even though they don't necessarily have the brains to fully pull them off, they've got heart. And Spunk. And lots of Privilege.
For a film debut, especially from Wes Anderson, this is impressive. As this was his first feature film, he didn't have the funds to go full-out candyland like in The Grand Budapest Hotel or The Royal Tenenbaums. The aesthetic is there, though. It peeks through in flashes of grandma wallpaper and artfully arranged maps on tables. The fact that the movie isn't drowning in his usual aesthetic actually feels a little refreshing. It allows one to focus on the characters and script, which was also penned by himself and Owen Wilson. Though this didn't achieve high success among audiences, critics enjoyed it, as well as Martin Scorsese. According to Martin, what gives this movie its staying power is Anderson's ability to "convey the simple joys and interactions between people so well and with such richness." A true statement indeed, this is an endearing sleeper-hit that any hardcore Anderson fan should watch to take a look at his progress from then to now.
"Buddy, you're in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Richard Chance (William Peterson) has been trying to nail counterfeiter Rick Masters (Willem Dafoe) for years. When Masters takes out his partner, it's the last straw. To Live and Die in LA follows Chance on his not exactly by-the-book quest to catch the elusive, clever, and cruel Masters.
Boasting an extremely 80s soundtrack from Wang Chung, a crazy car chase and a surprise ending, this isn't your run of the mill cop movie, although it feels like that sometimes. When it came out, critics dismissed it as a "rich man's miami vice" and called it over-the-top. On the other side of the coin were those claiming it exposed the corrupt underbelly of LA, and was "nasty, cynical, and incredibly good." Live and Die was also criticized for its lack of big talent at the time. Critics are probably hitting themselves as Dafoe, Peterson, John Turturro, John Pankow, and Jane Leeves have become established stars at this point in time. Dafoe's performance is especially a highlight, and is beloved among hardcore fans of his. Definitely a cult classic worth tuning into if you are a fan of anyone involved in the production, or just like hard-boiled ( if formulaic) crime thrillers.
"What about the truth? What about reality?
"What about the way the ending tested in Canoga Park?"
Biting satire and ruthless commentary on the movie business like you've never seen before. The Player is known as director of classic films like M*A*S*H, Nashville and The Long Goodbye Robert Altman's comeback movie after a spell of bad luck. And what a comeback movie it is. It almost feels like an open letter to Hollywood, calling out everything wrong with the direction it was going as of 1992, which is the path it unfortunately ended up staying on after all. The most interesting aspect of the film is how meta it is, it even casts several dozen people from the golden days of Hollywood including Anjelica Huston, Jack Lemmon, and Malcom McDowell to play themselves. The fictional performances are great too. Tim Robbins gives a wonderful performance as Griffin Mill, the soulless studio exec, and Greta Scacchi is amazing as the woman who captivates him.
This is truly a movie for the old souls and the old timers, good-naturedly ribbing Hollywood for its departure from the simpler films of the 70s-80s in favor of the blockbuster. It's a movie for those who love pop culture from around that time, as it is absolutely chock full of references to other films and actors. It also provides a look inside the movie industry, which is interesting even if the purpose is to take a jab at the way things are done. All in all, The Player is a movie-lover's movie.
"It is not a world of men, machine. It is a world of clockwatchers, bureaucrats, office-holders. It's a f**ked up world. No adventure to it "
This may just be the most unlikely cult classic ever. A movie about two days in the lives of 5 men who work at a shady real estate office selling land hardly seems like anything exciting, but these aren't just any men, and this isn't just any movie. I'm going to get personal in this review, which is something I've been trying to stay away from, but this is easily one of my favorite movies of all time. I've worked on a sales floor before, illegally of course as I am a child, and things haven't changed much from how they were in the 90s, although sales leads aren't printed out on notecards anymore. I've listened to people try and sell products. They talk a big game and try to convince customers they're special, but no one improvs any scarily accurate fake client scenarios. That's purely a Glengarry thing.
Rapid fire dialogue written by the great David Mamet, atmospheric production design, and some insane performances by 4 of my favorite actors make this movie such a wild ride. All the greats are involved; Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino, Alan Arkin, Ed Harris. There's even a short cameo from Alec Baldwin where he performs the titular Always Be Closing monologue, and one of the most famous monologues in movie history. Everything about it oozes shady, but the film plays out in such a brilliant, darkly funny, and high tension sequence of events that you can't help but get hooked.
"He has something up his sleeve."
Based off the short story Billy Budd, Sailor by Herman Melville, Beau Travail follows a french Foreign Legion chief stationed in Djibouti grows increasingly jealous and suspicious of his new recruit, trying to do everything in his power to stop him from becoming their commanding officer's new favorite.
This is not a war film in the sense of combat and explosions and gunfire, but rather a more private showdown between the newcomer (Gregoire Colin) and the chief (Denis Lavant). Instead of fighting, this movie leads the audience through tough exercises and endurance tests which are stylized and choreographed almost like dances. The desert landscape and bare-bones architecture of the location add to the mise-en-scene, creating a rich and hauntingly beautiful atmosphere that sucks you in and keeps you captivated. It is often credited as director Claire Denis's magnum opus, and it isn't hard to see why. It now has a passionate following in the film community and is a must-see for any serious film fan, making it a modern cult classic.
"Terminate with extreme prejudice."
Apocalypse Now can only accurately be described as a fever dream. A surrealist dark comedy war epic. When have you ever heard that combination before? This film is captivating. It follows our protagonist Benjamin Willard (Martin Sheen) through the hellscape of the Vietnam war on his mission to take out a rogue Captain who has escaped to Cambodia and become some sort of deity to a group of locals (Marlon Brando). As we follow Willard and his motley crew of young soldiers, including Laurence Fishburne in his first ever role, we witness their slow descent into madness as they get closer and closer to their destination.
A slow as molasses meandering towards danger and its effect on those involved in the mission make for a truly unique and addictive story that may even rub off on you. An unsettling score, breathtaking cinematography, and creepy performances make this "art film on a blockbuster budget" a cult classic worth watching.
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