Movie #105- "Broken City" (2013)

Rating: 5/10
Movies I've previously seen: 6
First time viewings: 99

The fact that "Broken City" stars two Oscar winners and one Oscar nominee (actually two, but Griffin Dunne's wasn't an acting category) may catch your attention.  However, this is really an unremarkable political thriller in which Crowe is the mayor, Zeta-Jones is his wife, and Wahlberg is the former cop hired to follow her.  Naturally, corruption ensues.
However (SPOILER ALERT), one plot device that gets used should be retired from film, and that would be the secretly recorded conversation, in which the bad guy reveals his entire scheme.  In this day of cell phones, the NSA scandal, etc., being recorded isn't that much of a surprise.  To the writer's credit, they try to add a twist by turning the tables on Wahlberg and play a game of who has the juiciest recording.  All in all, not a memorable entry.

Movie #104- "The Secret of NIMH" (1982)

Rating: 7/10
Movies I've previously seen: 6
First time viewings: 98

In terms of animation, the last few generations don't realize the wealth of options they have had available.  Starting in the late 1980s, Disney had a resurgence in their animation department, then Pixar came along, raising the bar and providing plenty of high quality product.  I don't know if the success of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" was responsible back in 1988, but that film appeared to be a game changer, proving a viable market for top notch animation.
I say this, because when I was growing up in the 1970s, most of the animation took place on your television, usually on a Saturday morning.  The cartoons were generally churned out by Hanna-Barbera, and while they produced the classic Scooby-Doo, there were plenty of duds in the mix.  If you watch some of these older cartoons, you'll notice the limited animation due to a small budget.  Suffice to say, most of my animation memories come from television and not the big screen.  I don't recall any classic feature length animation from my youth (I'm sure there had to be some.  Oh, how the memory goes).  Don Bluth must have realized it as well.  He didn't like the way Disney was run in the late 1970s, so he set out to form his own company and this was his first full length feature.
"The Secret of NIMH" is a surprisingly dark film.  You immediately find out that the main character, Mrs. Brisby is recently widowed, with several children.  Her home is being threatened with a field being plowed, yet finds she is unable to move her family because of a sick child.  If that's not dark enough, SPOILER ALERT, animal testing is one of the plot points.  Scary rats and owls also populate the forest.
For its time, the animation has some depth to it as Bluth was trying to bring back some of the animation of old.  It may look strange to kids weaned on computer animation, but there is a lushness to the forest and farm scenes.  Unfortunately, an absent-minded crow is used for comic relief, and really throws off the tone of the film.  Granted, a few lighter touches would ease the dark nature, however the slapstick seems really out of place.  This film is based on a book, which I have not read, so I'm not aware if the character was added.
A lot of people appear to have a special place in their heart for "The Secret of NIMH".  Given the drought of animation during that period, I understand the reason. 

Movie #103- "Atlantic City" (1980)

With a movie named "Atlantic City", one would expect the story to center around high rollers and the glitz associated with casinos. This is not that story.  Rather, the focus is on a two-bit hustler and a dreamer dwelling in the seedier side of the city.
When we first meet Burt Lancaster as Lou, he is basically collecting pocket change from people for a lottery.  Once involved in organized crime, Lou wasn't one of the big fish, yet looks back on those days with a fondness and feeling that at one time, he had been important.  The building Lou resides in is in decay and the neighborhood around him is being torn down in the name of progress.  Susan Sarandon is his neighbor Sally.  She works at a fish restaurant with dreams of becoming a croupier in hopes of dealing cards in the casinos Monaco.  Sally's husband arrives into town with a package of stolen drugs, which sets up the relationship between Lou and Sally.
The drug storyline gives the illusion of a noisy chase film.  Instead, "Atlantic City" follows the relationships that exist between the characters as well as a city that is in transition.  Very little time is given to the casinos as the camera frames a couple individuals just trying to improve their station in life.  Sally dreams of a career that will whisk her away from her current situation, while Lou seeks a return to glory and respect that he never really had.  Complications occur because Sally's husband is with her sister and Lou is taking care of the widow of a former business associate.  Of course the drug dealers want their merchandise back, forcing one character to make a life changing decision.
"Atlantic City" is a small movie about small people getting thrust into a difficult position due to one person's mistake.  It's also a well-acted character study with Lancaster excelling in the type of role he would play toward the end of his career.

Rating: 8/10
Movies I've previously seen: 6
First time viewings: 97

Movie #102- "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (1920)

Was this the first modern horror film?  And was this the first to use the twist ending that is so vogue in current film and television?  While those arguments may be made about "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari", one cannot dispute the forward thinking aspect of the film.  Using German Expressionism, the set pieces are filled with lines, angles, shadows, and plenty of dark corners.  In some scenes, the settings are disproportionate to the actors on the screen.  It's a circus played out as a nightmare.
Over the years, the list of silent films I've seen is fairly short.  And I know one of the elements that can serve as a stumbling block is the acting.  Obviously the times required the actors to rely on facial expressions and exaggerated hand gestures.  Yet at several points of the movie, the expressions accentuate the madness circulating around the characters.  That's especially with the good doctor because it adds an extra layer of creepiness to the character.
I do question the quality of the print that I viewed as I've read the varying degrees that others have seen.  From my view, this film is so ahead of its time, the technology actually belies it.  The flickering images do add to the horror, but a crisper picture may have given a better showcase to the vastly imaginative sets.  While it's a classic, I can't begin to image what the filmmakers would have produced if they had a few more tricks at their disposal.

Rating: 9/10
Movies I've previously seen: 6
First time viewings: 96

Movie #101- "Promised Land" (2012)

Rating: 7/10
Movies I've previously seen: 6
First time viewings: 95

I've mentioned this movie to a few people, and it's usually returned by a blank stare.  I get a little more recognition when I refer to it as the "Matt Damon fracking movie."  You could easily substitute any company dealing in natural resources and arrive at a similar message.  Yet fracking still seems to be a mystery to many as we continue to learn more about the method.
Matt Damon and Frances McDormand work for a natural gas company.  Their job is not an easy one as they canvass a rural town trying to urge the residents to lease their property for the purpose of drilling.  Some are appalled by what fracking will do to the community while others eagerly sign with thoughts of dollar signs in their heads.  Complicating matters is John Krasinski as an environmentalist, warning the people of the dangers of fracking.  This helps drive a wedge into the town, leading to the final climax of a town meeting and a big speech (no real spoiler alert as all of these movies end with speechifying).
"Promised Land" goes beyond the good versus evil of corporations, delving into an internal moral battle.  Damon is a rising star with the company, yet questions the purpose of his trip.  Meanwhile, McDormand is resigned to her position because she has a family to provide for.
This is the third time Damon has received a writing credit for a film and every time, Gus Van Sant has been in the director's chair (Krasinski is also listed as a writer).  In watching one of the extras, the familiarity between writer/actor and director aided in the flow of the film.  While this is a sound piece of work, "Good Will Hunting" was a better collaboration for the pair.  Of course, the rating may vary depending on your view of fracking.

Movie #100- "Saving Private Ryan" (1998)

For the milestone numbers, I wanted to hit some of the big movies I've missed over the years.  Out of all the movies of the first one hundred, "Saving Private Ryan" has generated the most surprise.  Given ample opportunity to see this film, I just never set aside the time to watch it.
It's interesting to note the frequency Spielberg has used war, real and fictional, as either the main focus or even the backdrop of his films over the last 20 years.  That's just looking at his filmography as a director and not taking into account several projects he served as producer.  Spielberg must be intensely fascinated by war or is still trying to make up for the fiasco that was "1941" (I did catch part of "1941" on cable one night and it's a spectacle, not necessarily a good one).
Outside of the question about my take on the movie, I was asked to recount my favorite scene.  I hate to take the obvious choice, but the opening battle scene unfolds on such a grand scale, containing some many different emotions associated with war.  Spielberg carefully executes the violence and loss, but you also feel the sense of fear, bravery, uncertainty, and trust that accompanies the platoons as they go into battle.  Beyond the opening sequence and various other battle scenes, their are several stellar quiet moments, of men bonding and trying to make peace with the activity around them.  Hell, Spielberg even made Vin Diesel seem like an actor.
Truly one of the best movies in the last 15 years.

Rating: 10/10
Movies I've previously seen: 6
First time viewings: 94

Movie #99 "The Place Beyond the Pines" (2012)

Occasionally this happens.  You get primed for a movie based on a well constructed trailer and repeated positive reviews.  To your surprise, this small movie miraculously is playing in your local theater.  After sitting in a darken theater for two plus hours, you're only thought is "did I see the same movie as everyone else?".
"The Place Beyond the Pines" lets the story unfold in three acts, exploring the dynamic between fathers and sons. The first act opens with a bang, losing substantial steam in the second act before running out of gas for the third.  Ryan Gosling is a motorcycle stuntman for a traveling carnival.  A brief fling has lead to him to fatherhood and he makes the snap decision to become a part of his son's life.  Unfortunately, this change doesn't fit into Eva Mendes' plan, as she has already moved on in life.  Money is tight, so Gosling soon discovers bank robbery as a career.  So far, so good.  When Gosling crosses paths with Bradley Cooper, act one seamlessly morphs into act two and the movie goes astray.
Act two focuses on Cooper as a cop with high ambitions, while act three jumps 15 years ahead to follow the sons of Cooper and Gosling.   Several convenient happenstances and cliches push the story forward, even to the point of casting Ray Liotta as a dirty cop (if Liotta asks you to follow him to the woods, you say "No, you're Ray Liotta and I know it doesn't end well").  And while the storyline with Cooper is long and drawn out, the third act with the two sons is even more tedious.  The kids are obnoxious, supposedly a product of their upbringing, yet it's difficult to root for two characters that are so douchey.  Through the final arc, I found myself rolling my eyes, ready to yell at the screen "will something happen."  I had no empathy for the characters on screen and apparently my wife felt the same way.  At dinner, we mercilessly picked the movie apart.
I went back to watch the trailer for the film, realizing that most of the content is pulled from the Gosling portion of the film.  I'm assuming that's intentional since that was the only part of the film that clicked with me.  As much as I liked Derek Cianfrance's previous film "Blue Valentine", this one didn't resonate.  It wasn't so much the performances, which were solid, but rather the content.  Now, as a running joke, my wife and I hide the ticket stubs around the house for the other to find, as a reminder of our dislike of "The Place Beyond the Pines".

Rating: 3/10
Movies I've previously seen: 6
First time viewings: 93