Thursday, September 11, 2014

In theaters 9/12/14

Dolphin Tale 2
(Ashley Judd, Harry Connick Jr., Morgan Freeman)

No Good Deed
(Idris Elba, Taraji P. Henson)

Atlas Shrugged Part III
(I thought the first part was terrible, but they're at least completing the story.)

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby
(Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader)

The Drop
(Tom Hardy, James Gandolfini, Noomi Rapace)

The Skeleton Twins
(Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Ty Burrell, Luke Wilson)

Given my druthers, I'd be seeing Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, The Drop, and Skeleton Twins in a heartbeat, and preferably a marathon viewing.  Good weekend for small releases.

Friday, September 5, 2014

In theaters 9/5/14

The Identical
Featuring Ray Liotta, Ashley Judd, Joe Pantoliano, Seth Green

Friday, August 29, 2014

In theaters 8/29/14

The November Man
Looks like Pierce Brosnan misses playing Bond.

As Above, So Below
At last, the long-awaited catacombs horror movie!

Friday, August 22, 2014

In theaters 8/22/14

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
I loved the first one.  I think I'll love this one, too.


If I Stay
Chloe Grace Moretz is an acting dynamo.

When the Game Stands Tall
Jim Caviezel outside of his action comfort zone.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Historic Blockbusters 1915-1979

1910s
The Birth of a Nation (1915) $10M
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916) $8M

1920s
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) $9M
~Features Rudolph Valentino.
The Big Parade (1925) $11M
Ben-Hur (1925) $9M
The Singing Fool (1928) $10M
~Features Al Jolson.

1930s
Frankenstein (1931) $12M
King Kong (1933) $10M
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) $184M
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) $9M
The Wizard of Oz (1939) $28M
Gone with the Wind (1939) $198M

1940s
Boom Town (1940) $9M
~Features Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy.
threshold switches to $10M
Pinocchio (1940) $84M
Fantasia (1940) $83M 
Sergeant York (1941) $16M
~Features Gary Cooper.
Mrs. Miniver (1942) $13M
Bambi (1942) $102M
Casablanca (1943) $10M
For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943) $17M
~Features Ingrid Bergman and Gary Cooper.
Going My Way (1944) $16M
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) $12M
~Features Judy Garland.
The Dolly Sisters (1945) $10M
The Lost Weekend (1945) $11M
~Directed by Billy Wilder.
Mom and Dad (1945) $16M
The Bells of St. Mary's (1945) $21M
Leave Her to Heaven (1945) $13M
~Features Vincent Price.

1946
Notorious (1946) $24M
~Directed by Alfred Hitchcock; features Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant.
Gilda (1946) $10M
~Features Rita Hayworth.
Margie (1946) $10M
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) $12M
The Jolson Story (1946) $19M
Blues Skies (1946) $14M
~Features Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby.
Song of the South (1946) $65M
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) $23M
Duel in the Sun (1946) $20M
~Features Gregory Peck.

Forever Amber (1947) $16M
Mother Wore Tights (1947) $10M
Samson and Delilah (1949) $28M

Father of the Bride (1950) $10M
Cinderella (1950) $85M
King Solomon's Mines (1950) $11M
~Features Deborah Kerr.
David and Bathsheba (1951) $14M
Quo Vadis? (1951) $30M
Show Boat (1951) $11M
The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) $36M
~Directed by Cecil B. Demille; features Charlton Heston and James Stewart.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) $12M
Peter Pan (1953) $87M
House of Wax (1953) $23M
~Features Vincent Price and Charles Bronson.
Shane (1953) $20M
From Here to Eternity (1953) $30M
~Features Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, and Donna Reed.
The Robe (1953) $36M
The Egyptian (1954) $15M
~Features Victor Mature.
The High and the Mighty (1954) $10M
~Features John Wayne.
Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954) $26M
~Sequel to The Robe.
The Caine Mutiny (1954) $21M 
~Features Humphrey Bogart and Fred MacMurray.
Rear Window (1954) $27M
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) $28M
~Remake of a previous blockbuster; features Kirk Douglas.
The Sea Chase (1955) $12M
~Features John Wayne and James Arness.
Love is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955) $10M
Lady and the Tramp (1955) $93M
Mister Roberts (1955) $21M
~Directed by John Ford; features Henry Fonda, Jack Lemmon, and James Cagney.
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956) $10M
~Features Gregory Peck.
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) $11M
The King and I (1956) $21M
Around the World in 80 Days (1956) $42M
Giant (1956) $35M
~Biggest hit for James Dean.
A Farewell to Arms (1957) $11M
~Features Rock Hudson.
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) $11M
~Features Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster.
Peyton Place (1957) $25M
~Features Lana Turner.
Sayonara (1957) $26M
~Marlon Brando's biggest hit.
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) $33M
The Big Country (1958) $10M
~Features Gregory Peck and Charlton Heston.
Auntie Mame (1958) $23M
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) $17M
~Features Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman.

1959
North by Northwest (1959) $13M
The Nun's Story (1959) $12M
~Features Audrey Hepburn.
On the Beach (1959) $11M
~Features Gregory Peck, Fred Astaire, and Anthony Perkins.
Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) $10M
Imitation of Life (1959) $14M
~Features Lana Turner.
A Hole in the Head (1959) $11M
~Directed by Frank Capra; features Frank Sinatra and Edward G. Robinson.
Pillow Talk (1959) $18M
~Features Doris Day and Rock Hudson.
The Shaggy Dog (1959) $29M
~Features Fred MacMurray.
Ben-Hur (1959) $73M
~Remake of a previous blockbuster; features Charlton Heston.
Operation Petticoat (1959) $23M
~Features Cary Grant and Tony Curtis.

1960s
The Apartment (1960) $18M
~Directed by Billy Wilder; features Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, and Fred MacMurray.
Elmer Gantry (1960) $10M
~Features Burt Lancaster.
Exodus (1960) $21M
~Features Paul Newman and Eva Marie Saint.
Psycho (1960) $32M
Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960) $11M
~Features Doris Day.
Spartacus (1960) $30M
Judgment at Nuremberg (1960) $10M
101 Dalmatians (1961) $153M
The Absent Minded Professor (1961) $25M
The Parent Trap (1961) $25M
Come September (1961) $12M
~Features Rock Hudson.
King of Kings (1961) $14M
Flower Drum Song (1961) $10M
~From Rodgers and Hammerstein.
Blue Hawaii (1961) $10M
~Elvis Presley's biggest hit.
Babes in Toyland (1961) $10M
Lover Come Back (1961) $16M
~Features Doris Day and Rock Hudson.
Hatari! (1962) $12M
~Features John Wayne.
Gypsy (1962) $11M
~Features Natalie Wood.
The Music Man (1962) $14M
The Longest Day (1962) $39M
~Features John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Sean Connery, Robert Mitchum.
Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) $13M
~Features Marlon Brando.

1963
McLintock! (1963) $14M
~Features John Wayne.
55 Days at Peking (1963) $10M
~Features Charlton Heston.
How the West Was Won (1963) $46M
The Birds (1963) $11M
Bye Bye Birdie (1963) $13M
Hud (1963) $10M
Come Blow Your Horn (1963) $12M
~Features Frank Sinatra.
Cleopatra (1963) $48M
Irma La Douce (1963) $25M
~Directed by Billy Wilder; features Shirley MacLaine and Jack Lemmon.
The Great Escape (1963) $11M
It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963) $46M
Charade (1963) $13M
~Features Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, Walter Matthau, and James Coburn.
The Cardinal (1963) $11M
The Sword in the Stone (1963) $22M
Move Over, Darling (1963) $12M
~Features Doris Day and James Garner.

The Carpetbaggers (1964) $28M
Mary Poppins (1964) $102M
My Fair Lady (1964) $74M
Father Goose (1964) $12M
~Features Cary Grant.
How to Murder Your Wife (1965) $12M
~Features Jack Lemmon.
Our Man Flint (1965) $16M
The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) $15M
The Sound of Music (1965) $163M
Shenandoah (1965) $17M
~Features James Stewart.
The Sandpiper (1965) $13M
~Features Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Eva Marie Saint, and Charles Bronson.
Cat Ballou (1965) $20M
~Features Lee Marvin and Jane Fonda.
The Great Race (1965) $25M
Doctor Zhivago (1965) $111M

1966
Fantastic Voyage (1966) $12M
The Silencers (1966) $16M
~Features Dean Martin.
Harper (1966) $12M
~Features Paul Newman, Lauren Bacall, and Janet Leigh.
The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966) $21M
~Features Alan Arkin, Eva Marie Saint, and Carl Reiner.
Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. (1966) $22M
~Features Dick Van Dyke.
The Bible (1966) $34M
Hawaii (1966) $34M
~Features Julie Andrews, Max von Sydow, Richard Harris, and Gene Hackman.
The Professionals (1966) $19M
~Features Lee Marvin and Burt Lancaster.
The Sand Pebbles (1966) $30M
~Directed by Robert Wise; features Steve McQueen and Candice Bergen.
Grand Prix (1966) $20M
~Directed by John Frankenheimer; features James Garner and Eva Marie Saint.
threshold switches to $15M

Barefoot in the Park (1967) $19M
~Features Robert Redford and Jane Fonda.
In the Heat of the Night (1967) $24M
Bonnie and Clyde (1967) $50M
The Born Losers (1967) $36M
The Jungle Book (1967) $141M
Camelot (1967) $31M
~Features Vanessa Redgrave and Richard Harris.
Cool Hand Luke (1967) $16M
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? (1967) $56M
The Graduate (1967) $104M
The Fox (1968) $19M
The Planet of the Apes (1968) $33M
Blackbeard's Ghost 1968) $21M
~Features Suzanne Pleshette.
The Odd Couple (1968) $44M
threshold switches to $20M
Rosemary's Baby (1968) $33M
The Green Berets (1968) $21M
~Features John Wayne.
Funny Girl (1968) $58M
Bullitt (1968) $42M
The Love Bug (1969) $50M
Goodbye, Columbus (1969) $22M
~Based on a book by Philip Roth; features Jack Klugman.
Midnight Cowboy (1969) $44M
Easy Rider (1969) $41M
threshold switches to $30M
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) $31M
~Features Natalie Wood, Dyan Cannon, Robert Culp, and Elliott Gould.
Paint Your Wagon (1969) $31M
~Features Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) $102M

1970s
Airport (1970) $100M
~Features Burt Lancaster.
Patton (1970) $62M
Love Story (1970) $106M
~Features Tommy Lee Jones.
The Aristocats (1970) $55M
Little Big Man (1970) $31M
~Features Dustin Hoffman and Faye Dunaway.
Billy Jack (1971) $98M
~Sequel to The Born Losers.
Fiddler on the Roof (1971) $80M
The French Connection (1971) $41M
Cabaret (1972) $41M
The Godfather (1972) $134M
Jeremiah Johnson (1972) $44M
Deep Throat (1972) $45M
~Only registered hit porn movie.
Deliverance (1972) $46M
The Poseidon Adventure (1972) $93M
The Getaway (1972) $36M
~Features Steve McQueen.
Paper Moon (1973) $30M
~Directed by Peter Bogdanovich; features Madeline Kahn.
American Graffiti (1973) $115M
~Directed by George Lucas; features Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, and Harrison Ford.
Robin Hood (1973) $32M
Papillon (1973) $53M
~Features Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman.
The Exorcist (1973) $204M
Magnum Force (1973) $44M
~Second Dirty Harry; features Clint Eastwood and Hal Holbrook.
Earthquake (1974) $79M
~Music by John Williams; features Charlton Heston.
Freebie and the Bean (1974) $30M
~Features James Caan and Alan Arkin.
Blazing Saddles (1974) $119M
Herbie Rides Again (1974) $31M
The Longest Yard (1974) $43M
Airport 1975 (1974) $47M
~Features Charlton Heston.
Benji (1974) $31M
The Godfather: Part II (1974) $57M
Rollerball (1975) $30M
~Features James Caan.
Shampoo (1975) $49M
~Features Warren Beatty and Goldie Hawn.
Funny Lady (1975) $40M
~Sequel to Funny Girl; features Barbara Streisand, Omar Sharif, James Caan, and Roddy McDowell.
Jaws (1975) $260M
The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975) $31M
Dog Day Afternoon (1975) $46M
~Features Al Pacino.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) $108M
The Other Side of the Mountain (1975) $34M
The Enforcer (1976) $46M
~Third Dirty Harry; features Clint Eastwood and Tyne Daly.
Murder By Death (1976) $32M
~Screenplay by Neil Simon; features Peter Sellers, Peter Falk, and Alec Guinness.
All the President's Men (1976) $51M
The Bad News Bears (1976) $42M
~Features Walter Matthau.
Midway (1976) $43M
~Features Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, and James Coburn.
Silent Movie (1976) $36M
~Directed by Mel Brooks.
Rocky (1976) $117M
Silver Streak (1976) $51M
~Features Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor.
King Kong (1976) $52M
~Remake of a previous blockbuster.

1977
The Gauntlet (1977) $35M
~Directed by and featuring Clint Eastwood.
In Search of Noah's Ark (1977) $55M
~Documentary.
Airport '77 (1977) $30M
~Features Jack Lemmon.
Annie Hall (1977) $38M
~Directed by Woody Allen.
Star Wars (1977) $460M
~You've probably heard about this one.
Smokey and the Bandit (1977) $126M
A Bridge Too Far (1977) $50M
~Features Sean Connery, Michael Caine, and Laurence Olivier.
The Deep (1977) $50M
~Features Nick Nolte and Louis Gossett, Jr.
The Rescuers (1977) $48M
Oh, God! (1977) $51M
Pete's Dragon (1977) $36M
Semi-Tough (1977) $37M
~Features Burt Reynolds and Kris Kristofferson.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) $166M
Heroes (1977) $33M
~Features Henry Winkler, Sally Field, and Harrison Ford.
The Turning Point (1977) $33M
~Features Shirley MacLaine.
Saturday Night Fever (1977) $139M
The Goodbye Girl (1977) $83M
~Features Richard Dreyfuss.
High Anxiety (1977) $31M
~Directed by Mel Brooks.

1978
Coming Home (1978) $32M
~Features Jane Fonda, Jon Voight, and Bruce Dern.
The End (1978) $30M
~Features Burt Reynolds and Sally Field.
Grease (1978) $181M
Jaws 2 (1978) $102M
Heaven Can Wait (1978) $98M
Convoy (1978) $45M
~Features Kris Kristofferson.
Foul Play (1978) $40M
~Features Goldie Hawn, Chevy Chase, Dudley Moore, and Burgess Meredith.
Hooper (1978) $51M
~Features Burt Reynolds and Sally Field.
National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) $141M
Halloween (1978) $47M
California Suite (1978) $42M
~Screenplay by Neil Simon; features Maggie Smith, Jane Fonda, Michael Caine, and Walter Matthau.
Every Which Way but Loose (1978) $104M
~Features Clint Eastwood.

1979
The Deer Hunter (1979) $50M
Love at First Bite (1979) $43M
~Features George Hamilton.
Chapter Two (1979) $30M
~Screenplay by Neil Simon; features James Caan.
The China Syndrome (1979) $35M
The Champ (1979) $30M
Manhattan (1979) $39M
~Directed by Woody Allen.
The In-Laws (1979) $38M
~Features Peter Falk and Alan Arkin.
Rocky 2 (1979) $85M
The Main Event (1979) $37M
~Features Barbara Streisand.
Escape from Alcatraz (1979) $43M
~Features Clint Eastwood.
The Amityville Horror (1979) $86M
Apocalypse Now (1979) $78M
10 (1979) $52M
~Features Dudley Moore and Bo Derek.
...And Justice For All (1979) $33M
~Features Al Pacino.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) $82M
The Jerk (1979) $73M
1941 (1979) $34M
~Directed by Steven Spielberg; music by John Williams; features John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd.
The Electric Horseman (1979) $42M
~Features Robert Redford and Jane Fonda.
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) $106M
~Features Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep.
All That Jazz (1979) $37M
The Black Hole (1979) $35M

Threshold changes determined by ease of access to previous marker.

Underlined titles are the outsize blockbusters, earning $40 million or more, listed here again for your convenience in descending order of totals:
  1. Star Wars (1977) $460M
  2. Jaws (1975) $260M
  3. The Exorcist (1973) $204M
  4. Gone with the Wind (1939) $198M
  5. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) $184M
  6. Grease (1978) $181M
  7. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) $166M
  8. The Sound of Music (1965) $163M
  9. 101 Dalmatians (1961) $153M
  10. The Jungle Book (1967) $141M
  11. National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) $141M
  12. Saturday Night Fever (1977) $139M
  13. The Godfather (1972) $134M
  14. Smokey and the Bandit (1977) $126M
  15. Blazing Saddles (1974) $119M
  16. Rocky (1976) $117M
  17. American Graffiti (1973) $115M
  18. Doctor Zhivago (1965) $111M
  19. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) $108M
  20. Love Story (1970) $106M
  21. Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) $106M
  22. The Graduate (1967) $104M
  23. Every Which Way but Loose (1978) $104M
  24. Bambi (1942) $102M
  25. Mary Poppins (1964) $102M
  26. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) $102M
  27. Jaws 2 (1978) $102M
  28. Airport (1970) $100M
  29. Billy Jack (1971) $98M
  30. Heaven Can Wait (1978) $98M
  31. Lady and the Tramp (1955) $93M
  32. The Poseidon Adventure (1972) $93M
  33. Peter Pan (1953) $87M
  34. The Amityville Horror (1979) $86M
  35. Cinderella (1950) $85M
  36. Rocky 2 (1979) $85M
  37. Pinocchio (1940) $84M
  38. Fantasia (1940) $83M
  39. The Goodbye Girl (1977) $83M
  40. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) $82M
  41. Fiddler on the Roof (1971) $80M
  42. Earthquake (1974) $79M
  43. Apocalypse Now (1979) $78M
  44. My Fair Lady (1964) $74M
  45. Ben-Hur (1959) $73M
  46. The Jerk (1979) $73M
  47. Song of the South (1946) $65M
  48. Patton (1970) $62M
  49. Funny Girl (1968) $58M
  50. The Godfather: Part II (1974) $57M
  51. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? (1967) $56M
  52. The Aristocats (1970) $55M
  53. In Search of Noah's Ark (1977) $55M
  54. Papillon (1973) $53M
  55. King Kong (1976) $52M
  56. 10 (1979) $52M
  57. All the President's Men (1976) $51M
  58. Silver Streak (1976) $51M
  59. Oh, God! (1977) $51M
  60. Hooper (1978) $51M
  61. Bonnie and Clyde (1967) $50M
  62. The Love Bug (1969) $50M
  63. A Bridge Too Far (1977) $50M
  64. The Deep (1977) $50M
  65. The Deer Hunter (1979) $50M
  66. Shampoo (1975) $49M
  67. Cleopatra (1963) $48M
  68. The Rescuers (1977) $48M
  69. Airport 1975 (1974) $47M
  70. Halloween (1978) $47M
  71. How the West Was Won (1963) $46M
  72. It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963) $46M
  73. Deliverance (1972) $46M
  74. Dog Day Afternoon (1975) $46M
  75. The Enforcer (1976) $46M
  76. Deep Throat (1972) $45M
  77. Convoy (1978) $45M
  78. The Odd Couple (1968) $44M
  79. Midnight Cowboy (1969) $44M
  80. Jeremiah Johnson (1972) $44M
  81. Magnum Force (1973) $44M
  82. The Longest Yard (1974) $43M
  83. Midway (1976) $43M
  84. Love at First Bite (1979) $43M
  85. Escape from Alcatraz (1979) $43M
  86. Around the World in 80 Days (1956) $42M
  87. Bullitt (1968) $42M
  88. The Bad News Bears (1976) $42M
  89. California Suite (1978) $42M
  90. The Electric Horseman (1979) $42M
  91. Easy Rider (1969) $41M
  92. The French Connection (1971) $41M
  93. Cabaret (1972) $41M
  94. Funny Lady (1975) $40M
  95. Foul Play (1978) $40M
Source: The Numbers
(Any errors or omissions are their fault and/or mine.)

Sunday, August 17, 2014

1990

Viewed/Ranked

  1. Dances with Wolves
  2. The Godfather Part III
  3. Awakenings
  4. Hamlet
  5. Home Alone
  6. Pretty Woman
  7. Goodfellas
  8. Mo' Better Blues
  9. Young Guns II
  10. Dick Tracy
  11. Edward Scissorhands
  12. The Freshman
  13. Rocky V
  14. Kindergarten Cop
  15. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
  16. Ghost Dad
Other Notable Releases
  1. Another 48 HRS.
  2. Back to the Future Part III
  3. Cinema Paradiso
  4. Days of Thunder
  5. Die Hard 2: Die Harder
  6. Ghost
  7. The Hunt for Red October
  8. Miller's Crossing
  9. Misery
  10. The Two Jakes
  11. Three Men and a Little Lady
  12. Total Recall

Saturday, August 16, 2014

1989

Viewed/Ranked

  1. Born on the Fourth of July
  2. Glory
  3. Dead Poets Society
  4. Batman
  5. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
  6. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
  7. Field of Dreams
  8. Do the Right Thing
  9. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
  10. The Abyss
  11. Henry V
  12. When Harry Met Sally...
  13. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
  14. Earth Girls Are Easy
  15. Kickboxer
  16. Who's Harry Crumb?
  17. K-9
  18. The Little Mermaid
  19. All Dogs Go to Heaven
  20. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
  21. Ghostbusters II
  22. Weekend at Bernie's
  23. Akira
Other Notable Releases
  1. A Dry White Season
  2. The Adventures of Milo and Otis
  3. Back to the Future Part II
  4. Crimes and Misdemeanors
  5. Driving Miss Daisy
  6. Heathers
  7. Lethal Weapon 2
  8. License to Kill
  9. Look Who's Talking
  10. Say Anything
  11. sex, lies and videotape
  12. Steel Magnolias
  13. Turner & Hooch

Friday, August 15, 2014

In theaters 8/15/14


The Expendables 3
(Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Statham, Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Jet Li, Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas, Dolph Lundgren)

This whole series is improbably fantastic for fans nostalgic for classic modern action stars.

The Giver
(Jeff Bridges)

I've never gotten around to reading the 1993 book by Lois Lowry.

Let's Be Cops
(Jake Johnson, Damon Wayans, Jr.)

Johnson's pretty great in New Girl.

Thursday, August 14, 2014

1988

Viewed/Ranked

  1. Big
  2. U2: Rattle and Hum
  3. Die Hard
  4. Young Guns
  5. Talk Radio
  6. Beetlejuice
  7. A Fish Called Wanda
  8. Rain Man
  9. Eight Men Out
  10. Au Revoir, Les Enfants
  11. Who Framed Roger Rabbit
  12. Willow
  13. Coming to America
  14. The Land Before Time
  15. Gorillas in the Mist
  16. Stand and Deliver
Other Notable Releases
  1. Big Top Pee-Wee
  2. Bull Durham
  3. Cocktail
  4. Crocodile Dundee II
  5. Dangerous Liaisons
  6. The Dead Pool
  7. The Last Temptation of Christ
  8. Mystic Pizza
  9. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
  10. Oliver & Company
  11. Rambo III
  12. School Daze
  13. Scrooged
  14. They Live
  15. Twins
  16. Working Girl

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

1987

Viewed/Ranked

  1. Wall Street
  2. The Princess Bride
  3. Spaceballs
  4. The Untouchables
  5. Lethal Weapon
  6. Full Metal Jacket
  7. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
  8. Masters of the Universe
  9. La Bamba
  10. Critical Condition
Other Notable Releases
  1. Beverly Hill Cops II
  2. Broadcast News
  3. Dirty Dancing
  4. Dragnet
  5. Eddie Murphy Raw
  6. Empire of the Sun
  7. Evil Dead 2
  8. Fatal Attraction
  9. Good Morning, Vietnam
  10. Harry and the Hendersons
  11. Hellraiser
  12. Ishtar
  13. The Last Emperor
  14. Less Than Zero
  15. The Living Daylights
  16. Moonstruck
  17. Planes, Trains and Automobiles
  18. Predator
  19. Raising Arizona
  20. Robocop
  21. Roxanne
  22. The Running Man
  23. Three Men and a Baby
  24. The Witches of Eastwick
Fun Facts!
  • 1987 saw a reissue of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  This was the first time I saw a movie in a theater.
  • Dragnet's TV previews might have been the first time I saw either Tom Hanks or Dan Ackroyd.

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

1986

Viewed/Ranked

  1. Salvador
  2. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
  3. Stand by Me
  4. An American Tail
  5. Top Gun
  6. Platoon
  7. Highlander
  8. The Name of the Rose
  9. Three Amigos
  10. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
  11. Aliens
  12. Manhunter
  13. Labyrinth
  14. The Karate Kid Part II
  15. Crocodile Dundee
  16. Space Camp
Other Notable Releases
  1. 9 1/2 Weeks
  2. A Room with a View
  3. Big Trouble in Little China
  4. Blue Velvet
  5. The Color of Money
  6. Every Time We Say Goodbye
  7. The Fly
  8. Friday the 13th Part VI
  9. Hannah and Her Sisters
  10. Heartbreak Ridge
  11. Howard the Duck
  12. Legend
  13. Little Shop of Horrors
  14. The Mission
  15. The Money Pit
  16. Nothing in Common
  17. Peggy Sue Got Married
  18. Police Academy 3: Back in Training
  19. Poltergeist II: The Other Side
  20. Pretty in Pink
  21. Psycho III
  22. Sid and Nancy

1985

Viewed/Ranked

  1. Back to the Future
  2. Brazil
  3. Return to Oz
  4. After Hours
  5. Rocky IV
  6. Once Bitten
  7. Lifeforce
  8. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
  9. Cocoon
  10. Santa Claus: The Movie
Other Notable Releases
  1. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge
  2. A View to a Kill
  3. The Black Cauldren
  4. The Breakfast Club
  5. Clue
  6. The Color Purple
  7. Commando
  8. Death Wish 3
  9. Desperately Seeking Susan
  10. European Vacation
  11. Fletch
  12. Follow That Bird
  13. Friday the 13th - Part V
  14. The Goonies
  15. The Jewel of the Nile
  16. Kiss of the Spider Woman
  17. Out of Africa
  18. Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
  19. Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment
  20. Porky's Revenge (Part III)
  21. Prizzi's Honor
  22. The Purple Rose of Cairo
  23. Rambo: First Blood Part II
  24. Ran
  25. Re-Animator
  26. Real Genius
  27. Return of the Living Dead
  28. Teen Wolf
  29. To Live and Die in L.A.
  30. Weird Science
  31. Witness

Thursday, June 5, 2014

1984

Ranked/Viewed

  1. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
  2. Ghostbusters
  3. The Terminator
  4. The Neverending Story
  5. Amadeus
  6. Romancing the Stone
  7. The Muppets Take Manhattan
  8. The Last Starfighter
  9. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai
  10. Dune
  11. The Karate Kid
  12. Splash
  13. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
  14. Revenge of the Nerds
  15. Supergirl
Other Notable Releases
  1. 1984
  2. 2010
  3. A Nightmare on Elm Street
  4. A Passage to India
  5. Beverly Hills Cop
  6. The Bounty
  7. Broadway Danny Rose
  8. Cannonball Run II
  9. Conan the Destroyer
  10. Firestarter
  11. Footloose
  12. Friday the 13th: Final Chapter
  13. The Gods Must Be Crazy
  14. Gremlins
  15. Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan
  16. Johnny Dangerously
  17. Meatballs II
  18. Missing in Action
  19. Moscow on the Hudson
  20. The Natural
  21. Oh, God! You Devil!
  22. Once Upon a Time in America
  23. Paris, Texas
  24. Places in the Heart
  25. Police Academy
  26. Purple Rain
  27. The Razor's Edge
  28. Red Dawn
  29. Sixteen Candles
  30. Starman
  31. This is Spinal Tap

1983

Viewed/Ranked

  1. Return of the Jedi
  2. Superman III
  3. Scarface
  4. Monty Python's Meaning of Life
  5. Trading Places
  6. The Right Stuff
  7. Risky Business
  8. The Curse of the Pink Panther
Other Notable Releases
  1. A Christmas Story
  2. The Big Chill
  3. Breathless
  4. Cheech & Chong Still Smokin'
  5. Christine
  6. Cujo
  7. The Dead Zone
  8. The Evil Dead
  9. Fanny and Alexander
  10. Flashdance
  11. The King of Comedy
  12. Mr. Mom
  13. National Lampoon's Vacation
  14. Octopussy
  15. The Osterman Weekend
  16. The Outsiders
  17. Porky's II: The Next Day
  18. Psycho II
  19. Silkwood
  20. Smokey and the Bandit Part III
  21. Staying Alive
  22. The Sting II
  23. Strange Brew
  24. Sudden Impact
  25. Tender Mercies
  26. Terms of Endearment
  27. To Be or Not to Be
  28. Twilight Zone: The Movie
  29. WarGames
  30. The Year of Living Dangerously
  31. Yentl
  32. Zelig

1982

Viewed/Ranked

  1. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
  2. Blade Runner
  3. Gandhi
  4. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
  5. Rocky III
  6. The Road Warrior
  7. First Blood
  8. Annie
  9. Trail of the Pink Panther
  10. The Secret of NIMH


    Other Notable Releases
    1. 48 HRS.
    2. A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy
    3. Airplane II: The Sequel
    4. An Officer and a Gentleman
    5. Conan the Barbarian
    6. Creep Show
    7. The Dark Crystal
    8. Das Boot
    9. Death Wish II
    10. Diner
    11. Fast Times at Ridgemont High
    12. Friday the 13th Part III
    13. Grease II
    14. Halloween III: Season of the Witch
    15. Night Shift
    16. Poltergeist
    17. Porky's
    18. Sophie's Choice
    19. Tootsie
    20. Tron
    21. The Verdict
    22. Victor/Victoria
    23. The World According to Garp

    1981

    Viewed/Ranked

    1. Superman II
    2. Reds
    3. History of the World, Part I
    4. Time Bandits
    5. Excalibur
    6. Clash of the Titans
    7. The Great Muppet Caper
    8. Raiders of the Lost Ark
    9. The Fox and the Hound
    10. Stripes
    Other Notable Releases
    1. An American Werewolf in London
    2. Arthur
    3. Blow Out
    4. Body Heat
    5. Buddy Buddy
    6. The Cannonball Run
    7. Chariots of Fire
    8. Escape from New York
    9. The Final Conflict: Omen III
    10. For Your Eyes Only
    11. Friday the 13th Part 2
    12. Gallipoli
    13. Halloween II
    14. The Howling
    15. The Legend of the Lone Ranger
    16. Mommie Dearest
    17. On Golden Pond
    18. Prince of the City

    Sunday, May 11, 2014

    1980

    Ranked/Viewed

    1. The Empire Strikes Back
    2. Raging Bull
    3. The Blues Brothers
    4. The Stunt Man
    5. The Formula
    6. Caddyshack
    7. The Shining
    8. Mad Max
    9. Airplane!
    10. Flash Gordon
    11. Herbie Goes Bananas
    12. Altered States
    13. Smokey and the Bandit II
    Other Notable Releases
    1. 9 to 5
    2. American Gigolo
    3. Any Which Way You Can
    4. The Big Red One
    5. The Blue Lagoon
    6. Coal Miner's Daughter
    7. Cruising
    8. Fame
    9. Friday the 13th
    10. Heaven's Gate
    11. Kagemusha
    12. Melvin and Howard
    13. Oh, God! Book II
    14. Ordinary People
    15. Popeye
    16. Private Benjamin
    17. Prom Night
    18. Somewhere in Time
    19. Stardust Memories
    20. Stir Crazy
    21. Urban Cowboy
    22. Where the Buffalo Roam
    23. Xanadu

    Sunday, January 19, 2014

    Some of the pretty good older movies I've enjoyed in recent months

    Anchors Aweigh (1945)
    Kind of astonishingly good, and in a pleasantly surreal way, as Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra con their way into Frank's courtship of lovely Aunt Susie, who's looking after the boy they randomly stumble across on shore leave.  Real old school Hollywood charm.

    White Christmas (1954)
    Here's a Bing Crosby classic I've seen previously, but really only appreciated for the first time the most recent time I saw it.  It's not just an excuse to hear the title song again (previously debuted in Holiday Inn), but rather to celebrate the soldiers who experienced WWII on the war front and who are still struggling to get back to what they "used to know."

    Becket (1964)
    Everyone (except Oscar voters) knows how brilliant an acting talent the late Peter O'Toole was, a magnetic and commanding presence completely unparalleled and never duplicated in film.  Here he's Henry II to Richard Burton's title character, who at first is as close a match to O'Toole as anyone could hope to be, but soon enough undergoes a religious conversion that puts Henry and Becket at odds.

    These are three movies that quickly shot themselves into the ranks of my all-time favorites.  I don't tend to just assume that an older movie has earned immortality, the way some critics do.  They have to earn their acclaim through their work.  These do.

    Monday, January 13, 2014

    For those who became Colin Farrell fans after Saving Mr. Banks

    Suppose you've just seen Saving Mr. Banks, the new movie based on the creation of Disney's Mary Poppins and you really enjoyed Colin Farrell's performance as P.L. Travers' dad.  Perhaps you're now wondering, where has this actor been all this time?

    It's true that Travers Goff is a new kind of role for Farrell, but he's been this consistently good for ages, since Tigerland, really, the movie where Hollywood discovered him.  He gives a performance of considerable depth in Banks, sure, and it's probably his most romantic role in a mainstream movie ever, certainly where he wasn't top-billed (although his part as one of three Heath Ledger stand-ins in The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus would give that title a run for its money).  (It's also a perfect lead-in to his upcoming Winter's Tale.)

    Truth in fact, he's my favorite actor, but this is only because Farrell has consistently impressed me, even when the material around him needs a little more time to appreciate than his own work.  Critics like him, too, although the form his career has taken to date has made it hard for them to admit it, except for the Golden Globe he won for In Bruges.

    That's actually the movie I'd suggest you start with, post-Banks.  He plays a mournful assassin, troubled by the accidental shouting of a child.  It presents a comparable display of his impressive full range.

    So far, then, Saving Mr. Banks and In Bruges.  What else?  It's hard for me to not say everything else, but I'm trying to be objective here, okay, trying to keep his career open.

    Let's go back to the beginning, then, with Tigerland, where he plays a noncomformist Army recruit during the Vietnam War, giving equal doses of hope and hell to those around him.  His early Hollywood roles after this struggled to expand on a performance that already said everything there was to know about that particular facet of his talent.

    Try The New World next.  It's his John Smith in the Terrence Malick version of Pocahontas.  It's perhaps the defining role of Farrell's famous soulful eyes, nearly silent (as with all Malick films) but none the worse for it.

    Another strictly bouncy performance of whimsy (if you don't want him in a superhero movie, Daredevil) is featured Ask the Dust, where he plays a struggling writer who falls in love with a woman as contentious as he is.

    That's Saving Mr. Banks, In Bruges, Tigerland, The New World, and Ask the Dust.  Anything else?  Again, being a big fan already makes it hard for me to limit myself.  One of the least popular movies ever also happens to be my favorite ever, Alexander, which to my mind is Farrell's most important performance to date.  If you want to take one last suggestion from me, that's it.  As far as I'm concerned, you'd start there, but perhaps it's a better place to finish.  By this point you will probably want to just see all of his movies anyway...