Ever notice how some actors play themselves in every movie that they star in? This occurred to me last night as I clicked through an endless sea of movie channels and found Matt Damon on every channel at once. And in each movie, to his credit, MD was playing a completely different character.
Brilliant and undirected in Good Will Hunting.
Scared yet resolute in Saving Private Ryan.
Resourceful shitk*cker in The Bourne Identity.
Unique roles, good acting = Matt Damon.
But there are other actors who are revered for their skills who seem to take on the same role on an annual basis. [Read more…]
Movie Friends You Wish You Had
Sometimes when I watch a movie, I often wish that the characters were real, and if a movie is done well, the characters are real. For those 2+ hours, they live and breathe and take up space in your subconscious. Simply put, they exist. Many times, I wish I actually knew them, that they were my friends in real life! Below are just a few “movie pals” that I wish were real.
Chris Chambers – Stand by Me
Chris was the ultimate friend; fiercely loyal, honest, and flawed. You know he’d have your back in a fight and even if it scared the heck out of him, he’d go into battle with you. Once you earned his trust you know you had a friend for life. He was the type of guy that commanded respect without asking for it and yet he was also sensitive and insightful. [Read more…]
5 Movie and TV Show Worlds I’d Like to Live In
So I’m at work and kind of bored and wondering what it would be like if I lived a different life, in a different place. It’s not that I’m unhappy in my current situation – but when my mind is bored it tends to wander into that creative no-man’s land straight into my imagination. Next stop ladies and gentleman, the Twilight Zone!
Below are just a random sampling of some movie and TV worlds I would occasionally like to inhabit. [Read more…]
Remakes We Want to See: The Incident
An unheralded classic of urban gritology, ‘The Incident‘ is a b/w film from 1967. The story is primarily, and claustrophobically, confined to a New York City subway car. As it hurtles and rattles through dark underground tunnels, it becomes a terror ride for a cluster of local types. Two young thugs, including a teen-aged Martin Sheen, taunt, threaten and intimidate the other passengers. They take over the car and hold the other riders hostage to their whims, their sadism, and their unabated cruelty.
The passengers on this night ride include Beau Bridges as a soldier with a broken arm from the mid-west and his Manhattan GI buddy, Ed McMahan as a harried young father (nope, no “Herrrre’s Johnny!” in this flick), a whiny old husband and wife, a gay guy, a black couple, and a few other typical subway strap hangers. [Read more…]
Movie Beginnings: Before the Sh*t Hits the Fan I Make My Own Happy Endings
I don’t know about you but I love the beginning of movies. In fact, sometimes I’ll watch just the beginning and then turn the movie off at a certain point (only movies I’ve seen before of course) and imagine that the characters never experience the conflict or turmoil that only real life dishes out.
I like to call the beginning of the movie (or Act 1) the calm before the storm. This act usually serves as an opportunity for the filmmaker to get in the most exposition. This part of the movie establishes characters, relationships, plots, conflicts, and most of all it introduces us to the world in which we’ll reside for the remaining 2+ hours. I love this part because it’s usually before anything goes wrong. Of course there are exceptions where we’re plunged right into the action (Total Recall and The Shawshank Redemption come to mind) but for the most part, our main characters are happy in the beginning. They’re still blissfully ignorant to the s$%! storm coming their way, and that’s just the way I like them.
Let me explain what I mean with a few examples of some of my favorites. [Read more…]