The most wonderful time of the year...(Part 2)

On the abundance of great movies afforded me by Winter Break

Thursday Movie Picks: Father-Daughter Relationships

"Fathers be good to your daughters." - John Mayer

That lyric is so deep I can hardly stand it.

Anyway, a father and his little girl...Nothing cuter. Nothing. The school I work at loans its gym out every year to host the town "Daddy-Daughter Dance." The Facebook posts reach levels of sweetness hardly bearable to a cold, childless soul like me. Of course, all these are little girls. I get to know the daughters in my town when they come to my middle school classroom as attitude-riddled, annoyed early adolescents. As far as movies go, I think I like that dynamic the best. The ones willing to answer the question:  What happens when that cute little girl is no longer a cute little girl? 

So, it's another week as part of Wandering through the Shelves' Thursday Movie Picks Meme.

Blind Spot 2015: Mean Streets

Created and Hosted by Ryan McNeil at The Matinee

I have tried to watch Martin Scorsese's 1973 tale of sins and sinners, Mean Streets, before. I failed to make it through it. I think I might have been under the influence of something and fallen asleep. I was in college at the time after all. Anyhow, I did it right this time. And on first full viewing alone, this film stands as a movie that doesn't totally work for me, or maybe at all. It's there visually, and I mean really there. Let's say this: On reaction alone, when this movie works, it really works. When it doesn't, it really doesn't.

The big opposition for me comes with the backbone of this thing, the plot, or lack of plot. I like the simplicity:  A small-time Little Italy tough named Charlie (Harvey Keitel) struggles with an unstable best friend, Johnny Boy (Robert De Niro), a secretive relationship with the epileptic Teresa (Amy Robinson), and, most importantly, his own demons, as driven by deep Catholic guilt. Charlie is on the up-and-up with made guy, Michael (Richard Romanus), and even with the higher-ups, including his uncle Giovanni (Cesare Danova), but the obstacles in his path and his compassionate demeanor keep him from the kind of success he thinks he wants.

Thursday Movie Picks: Superhero Movies

I only truly love three "superhero" franchises:  Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, and the X-Men series, originated by director Bryan Singer, who came back for the latest piece in the latest trilogy, which is easily my favorite since the original.

Now, let me be clear:  I am not big on superhero movies, or even traditional comic books, for that matter. It's just not for me. I am not a fanboy as far as this sort of thing is concerned. And I honestly haven't seen a superhero movie pre-Tim Burton's "Batman" (1989).

I fell in with the wave of new special effects extravaganzas, starting with the franchises listed above. Singer, Raimi, and Nolan revolutionized the genre and have made it what it is today. I'm pretty sure every superhero will have had a movie by the end of this decade. Maybe that's good. I haven't liked much of anything outside of these three biggies, except for I sort of liked the original "Iron Man" (2008).

And so we're back with another week in Wandering through the Shelves Thursday Movie Picks Meme...

This time...Superhero Movies, or (How the second film in the trilogy is best).

Thursday Movie Picks: Police Movies

Without a doubt, there is an attitude toward police of mistrust among many people in this country. That has most likely always been the case. Police forces breed corruption. Citizens don't trust them. Criminals don't respect them (for the most part). And rightly so. They beat and/or shoot people to death. At least, that's what we hear on the news. That's what possesses us. The sensationalism. It's what we talk about in this life, and it's what we love in our movies, especially our movies about the police.

Of course, most police officers are good people performing a noble civic duty. Men and women doing a job that really doesn't pay extremely well, despite incredible amounts of danger and sacrifice. Crappy (and long) shifts. Tons of paperwork. And, in the case of most American cities and towns, not a lot of action, which can turn bad in and of itself (I won't go there.).

Thursday Movie Picks: Teen Comedies

Another week, another entry in Wandering through the Shelves' Thursday Movie Picks Meme. This is a good one...The Teen Comedy.

This category lends itself to bad movies. There are just so many that miss the mark. Thankfully, there has already been one this year that totally works on all the levels we teen comedy fans desire. That being "The Duff," starring Mae Whitman. (Read my review of that one here.)

I went with three of the best. Two of which were movies I actually saw when I was already in my twenties. That says a lot about them, that they work for people not in their targeted demographic. Of course, I had to pick an 80s gem as well. But no John Hughes here. Not this time.

Saturday Speaks (and Links): Spring Break Edition

Part of the idea behind this Saturday Speaks thing is that I actually have to put it together on Saturday morning. Alas, if I don't have time on a Saturday morning, I will not post. These have to happen on Saturday mornings when I am up early and/or don't have company (like last week). Having said that, it has been three weeks since I've done one of my weekly recap posts. Did you miss me? 

Thursday Movie Picks: Movies Adapted from a Young Adult Novel

Now, this week's category in Wandering through the Shelves' Thursday Movie Picks Meme is right in my wheelhouse.

I teach this stuff. Well, that it to say that I teach kids who read this stuff. So, in turn, I read it as well. I have to. I have to stay connected with the YA goods.

There are so many good movies to pick from here. Some I've used before (I'm trying not to repeat any picks). I focused on screen adaptations of works I've actually read. I came up with, in the end, three movies that I will love forever, no matter how many times I've seen them.

Thursday Movie Picks: Live Action Fairy Tale Adaptations

This week on Wandering through the Shelves' Thursday Movie Picks Meme, I'm at a bit of a loss.

Here's the thing: I've never seen a live action fairy tale adaptation. By that I mean, I have never seen a live action adaptation of a traditional fairy tale in the Grimm sense of the genre. It's just not my bag. I have seen quite a few great ones in the realm of fantasy that I think could work here, including Rob Reiner's "The Princess Bride" (1987) and Ron Howard's "Willow" (1988). And I'm sure I saw several "fairy tale"-type movies growing up that I just don't have enough memory of, or love for, to offer as recommendations.

Thursday Movie Picks: Black-and-White Movies made since 1970

There are just so many to choose from...

That said, I've decided to break the rule of three for this edition of Wandering through the Shelves' Thursday Movie Picks Meme. That's right, since we have five decades to choose from, I'm choosing my favorite from each decade.

I love black-and-white cinematography, and, with these picks, I'm going full-on black-and-white. Many movies since 1970 have integrated bits of black-and-white into a color movie or vice versa. One of my favorites of all-time, Gary Ross' "Pleasantville" (1998), even beautifully splashes color into its black-and-white frames. But, no, I'm going black-and-white with a full on purpose with these picks. Movies in which their makers chose to depict worlds bereft of color.

Black-and-white cinematography gets down to the essence of what makes movies movies. It even reminds us that we're watching a movie, as if we need to be reminded. What I mean by that is that it triggers the escape effect we movie lovers crave.

Saturday Speaks (and Links): Cabin Fever Edition

On Saturday Morning

I'm getting out of the house today. That's for sure. I haven't worked in two weeks. Here in my little section of East Tennessee, snow has accumulated on five separate occasions in the past 13 days. Yesterday, the sun came out. We broke 45 degrees. The melt began.

But I'm getting out of the house to see my first movie released in 2015, though I'm not sure what yet. Don't worry, you'll know soon enough.

When I Was Thirty: Back to the Future Trilogy

Back at the end of last September, my wife pooled all of our close friends and family together to buy me Blu-ray trilogies. We decided that we would do one trilogy per month. 

I've done three of these posts so far ("LOTR", "Bourne", and "Oceans"). In those, I feel I tried to act like something I'm not. By that, I mean I actually tried to watch and review special features. The truth is: I don't really have time for that with all of these, I've found. I've decided to focus on what I love about these movies from here on out. How they connect to me, and, really, to all of us. Digging out themes is what I really love to do. I'm not doing consumer reviews here. I'm sharing a love of classic American cinematic trilogies. 

So, I'm not gonna really review the extras, I'll just list what's available, whether I get to watch them or not. If I get to watch them, as was totally necessary with LOTR, I will comment. 

For this one, let's get it out of the way now: the "Back to the Future: 25th Anniversary Trilogy" Blu-ray is beautiful. The movies looks great, they sound great, and there are hours upon hours of featurettes and makings-of and interviews and archive footages and commentaries, even a documentary about the physics of the films. I will watch some of this eventually. 

Thursday Movie Picks: Father-Son Relationships

Fathers and sons don't always see eye-to-eye. In fact, some men have no relationship with their fathers...period, many by choice. These three are fathers that are there for their sons but not really there, you know? These are stories of emotionally distant men with second chances but only if father and son, and even if they don't know it, can trust in each other enough to work together.

It's the return of the All in the Family Edition of Wandering through the Shelves' Thursday Movie Picks. This time biologically related fathers and sons.

Blind Spot 2015: Fitzcarraldo

Created and hosted by Ryan McNeil at The Matinee

A little less than a third of the way into Werner Herzog's 1982 epic "Fitzcarraldo," our hero, played by the fierce Klaus Kinski, answers a question posed to him by a land surveyor from whom he is purchasing a large parcel of Peruvian jungle. The man asks him, "Do you really know what you're doing?" Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, or as the natives call him, 'Fitzcarraldo', answers, "We're going to do what nobody's ever done."

I would imagine that if that same question was asked to German auteur Werner Herzog upon pitching the idea to make this film, he would've said the exact same thing.

Most filmmakers simply make films. They tell stories with lights and cameras and sound stages and backlots and actors in secure, protected environments. They do a great job. We love these movies.

Werner Herzog creates experiences grounded in danger and mystery, true adventures complete with unexpected elements and settings and untrained actors. Then, he films them. We can't fathom how this sort of thing is even possible. And we love these too.

The Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts

A shot from the short film, "Parvaneh"

Earlier this week, I noticed that my local art house theater was running the Oscar Nominated Short Films, both Animated and Live Action. I couldn't fit both into my schedule, but I was able to catch the five nominated Live Action Shorts, and I was so impressed.

All of these films tell beautiful stories. Stories of friendship and family and history, and they do so in minute amounts of time. I actually fell in love with a few of these. You will find a personal ranking and predictions at the end of my mini-reviews. They are reviewed in the order they played, which, I have to say, is a genius sequence. This was very well-thought out.

Twenty Years of Oscar: Achievement in Directing

At some point in the late 1990s, probably around '97/'98, I began to realize that there was this job called film director and that it was these creative geniuses that drove the storytelling aspect of movies. Steven Spielberg was my first love. I wanted so much to see all of his movies. I began to learn about filmmaking through him and his love of it. I read about him constantly. "Saving Private Ryan" came to theaters. I went...twice. I was blown away by its power, its greatness.

I got into some Scorsese, "Goodfellas and "Casino." Then, I saw Paul Thomas Anderson's "Boogie Nights" and "Magnolia." I became obsessed with the camera. I began to see the differences in directors' various styles.

I began to understand what made a "Best Director" for the first time.

All of the movies mentioned below are Oscar choices that I just fully agree with. Most of these are for "groundbreaking," even controversial films. All of them are visually masterful pieces of cinema from truly visionary filmmakers.

Twenty Years of Oscar: Actor in a Leading Role

I want to go ahead and get something out of the way: I love Tom Hanks. Now, he didn't make this list because I'm in constant struggle about "Forrest Gump" and whether it's actually a great movie or not. I haven't seen it in years, and I fear it may not be as powerful as I once considered it to be. Also, while his win as Gump was deserved, I am still bitter about his loss in 1998 to that Italian Jumping Bean guy. If Hanks had won for "Saving Private Ryan," he would be on this list.

Anyway, we've reached Day Three in my "Twenty Years of Oscar" extravaganza. Best Actor...it's a biggie. And it is so often one of the tightest races each year. Some are runaways, including most of the picks you'll find below, but it always finds itself a hot topic this time a year. This year, especially. Can't wait 'til Sunday.

Thursday Movie Picks: Oscar Winning Movies

Oscar is in the air. "The mood is tense!"...sort of. This week's edition of the Wandering through the Shelves Thursay Movie Picks Meme is all about "the big enchilada, ya dig?" You know, Best Picture, the last one of the night. But Oscar gives out more than one "Best Picture." Yeah, to spread it around, there's a category for Best Foreign Language Film and one for Best Animated Feature. Since it's an option and I'm doing another Best Picture post this weekend, I've decided to go ahead and spread it around myself. I'm giving you a favorite from each of the aforementioned Oscar categories, in order.

Twenty Years of Oscar: Screenplay

So, OK. Anyone who knows Oscar knows about "The Big Five," which are Writing, Directing, Actress, Actor, and Picture. Only a few films have won them all in the same year: "It Happened One Night" (1934), "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1975), and "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991). Most recently, "American Beauty" (1999) got close, winning four of the five. Annette Bening got beat out for Best Actress.

Anyway, this is the first in a series of posts that will contain "Top Five" lists on the "Big Five Academy Awards" categories. We start...with writing.

The Academy Award for Writing...there are two. One for an Original work, conceived for the screen alone. The second for an Adaptation, something not initially thought of as a movie.

Since 1994, there have been some absolutely groundbreaking scripts written, several of which have actually changed movies for the better forever. Those are the ones I tried to capture here. Surely, there are many more than ten great scripts in the past twenty years, but these are the ones that meant something to me, and, from my perspective, movies, in general.

Twenty Years of Oscar: If Speaks Picked Best Picture, Part II

I left the last post with a question: What does that say about me? The fact that I only agree with two of the ten Best Picture winners from 1994-2003. I think that's about like everybody else. The movie Oscar picks is not always the one that stands the test of time.

So, we continue...