Decades of Cinema - 10 Best of the 1940's

After covering the 1920's (list found here) and the 1930's (here), it's time to move into a pretty iconic decade of cinema, the 1940's. These are my ten favorite achievements released during those ten years.

10. The Lost Weekend

Director Billy Wilder unleashed this Best Picture winning film on the world in 1945, telling the troubling story of a man losing his battle with alcoholism. It feels a bit over-the-top and melodramatic at times, but it is still an impeccably crafted work that certainly gets its point across, showing the damage that can be done by the disease.

9. The Treasure of Sierra Madre

A classic western adventure film, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre tells the story of three men on a search for gold in the Sierra Madre mountains. Thematically the film focuses on the way greed corrupts humanity, turning men once in cahoots against each other and having one of these characters be played by Humphrey Bogart only enhances the relevancy of this film nearly 70 years after its release.

8. The Third Man

A noir that thrives on its atmosphere, The Third Man is a film I would recommend even if it were watched with the volume muted and no subtitles. Just literally seeing the movie is a hell of an experience thanks to the cinematography alone, but when you add in the performances and that brilliant musical score? Dynamite cinema.

7. Bicycle Thieves

A man desperate to find work in Rome shortly after the conclusion of World War II receives an offer to hang advertising around the city, but owning a bicycle is a requirement for the position. After his wife Maria sells a valuable possession to a pawn shop in order to acquire one, things are looking up for this poverty stricken family until the bike is stolen on his very first day on the job.

A heartbreaking yet beautiful film, and certainly one of the greatest landmarks from the 1940's.

6. It's a Wonderful Life

I may be beginning my transformation into a bitter, old man, but I still absolutely cherish Christmas and what it represents. I think about the warmth and comfort of being indoors as winter rages on outside, a mug of coffee in my hand while watching films that perfectly suit the season. It's a Wonderful Life is without a doubt one of the greatest holiday cinematic achievements of all time, a staple for many every single year and it's easy to understand why. 

5. Citizen Kane

I'm sure for many having this one listed at only #5 of its decade is blasphemy, as Citizen Kane is widely regarded as perhaps the greatest film of all time. I may not hold it in that high of esteem but its still impossible not to admire the stunning craft of this work by Orson Welles. 

4. Rome, Open City

Released in 1945, Rome, Open City depicts the all too real events of what took place in a Nazi occupied Rome only a year earlier, so yeah, it's safe to say the power of this film was still hauntingly fresh. Seeing this one for the first time only a couple of years ago, I was blown away by the pain depicted in the movie so I can't even imagine how hard it would have been to see it having gone through the actual experiences personally. A tremendous achievement by Roberto Rossellini.

3. Shadow of a Doubt

One of two Hitchcock films to make the top three on this list, Shadow of a Doubt is a chilling movie about a charming man affectionately referred to as "Uncle Charlie" by the relatives he is staying with and the daughter of the family, also named Charlie, who sees something dark and sinister behind his facade. Brilliantly performed and having that exquisite Hitchcock touch to the whole experience, Shadow of a Doubt is a top notch film.

2. Casablanca

Hey, you guys ever heard of this one? I decided to get a little unpredictable and obscure with my number 2 selection, a little film that has flown under the radar for over 70 years called Casablanca. 

No, seriously though, this is considered a cinematic treasure for a well deserved reason. Bogart and Bergman are timeless and perfect in a frame together.

1. Rope

Decided to end the 1940's with a little bit of color. Prior to seeing Rope, I had heard it was a bit of a lesser Hitchcock when compared to his other, iconic releases, so imagine how I felt when I was floored by this absolute masterpiece. Best known for being experimental by taking place in real time and using editing trickery to appear to only use one single continuous shot throughout (which was a trick recently utilized by the Best Picture winning Birdman), I was drooling over the perfectly executed long takes and loving the sinister concept of a party going on literally around a dead body hidden right under their noses. Rope is, without a doubt, my favorite film from the 1940's.

Next up, the 1950's. Thanks for checking out my lists, would love to hear some of your favorites from these decades. 

The Avengers Review

The first phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was solid, but nothing that occurred prior to the moment when the Avengers would assemble had me believing that the result of their team up would be stellar. Even as a fan of the work of Joss Whedon, I had trouble buying into the idea that you could include so many characters that required their own share of the spotlight into one coherent film.

Obviously Joss proved me wrong with his sublime, measured screenplay that not only found a way to balance all of their personalities, it exceeded anything that came before it from the universe. The Avengers was their first truly great film, a picture that demanded to be seen on the biggest screen in town and was worth every penny of the inflated ticket price.

You know what crucial aspect this one got right that the five films before it failed at? A major reason why I love The Avengers on a whole other level than the solo films leading up to it? It finally, FINALLY got the villain right. Tom Hiddleston as Loki is a home run, as he steals scenes with his menacing smile and delightfully perfect dialogue, and it didn't take long for me to realize we were in for something special in this regard. Literally the opening sequence of the film, the exchange between Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Loki put a giant grin on my face that stuck around until the very end.

I walked into the theater to see The Avengers expecting to have a bit of fun, not much more, and I walked out feeling euphoric about the scale of the spectacle and the suddenly bright future of the MCU. Prior to this, I didn't see a single of the releases in the theater, choosing to wait patiently for their Blu-ray release instead. This was the moment the game changed for me, and I knew going forward I would be eagerly waiting for each new entry to dazzle me as soon as I could possibly see it.

4.5/5

The Lazarus Effect Review

I'm sure there are a lot of dudes out there in the world who would be pretty psyched if Olivia Wilde were to wink at them. Unless of course it happens after she has been injected with the Lazarus serum, because zombie Wilde means business. Not fun, sexy business either, no sir. If the undead Olivia even so much as looks in your general direction, you gonna die baby!

The Lazarus Effect is a film that was on life support long before they ever shot a single scene. When a screenplay is this lazy and predictable, a director can pull every trick they can think of out of their bag and you can lavish as much dazzling cinematography on the audience as you want and it is still going to be a long shot to earn my recommendation. So imagine how far I am from a thumbs up here when I point out that director David Gelb had essentially no tricks in his bag and the photography was about as run of the mill as you can find. This is a movie that was about as lifeless as the dog they bring back from puppy heaven.

It wasn't a train wreck at any colossal level, early on I actually felt like something mildly cool could come from this one. You can tell that somewhere bubbling behind the lazy writing were some genuinely intriguing ideas regarding the advancements being made in medicine and the concept of why it may not be so ideal to play god, but at only 77 minutes long The Lazarus Effect quickly rushed through any potential moment to bring any substance to the narrative. Even the way the characters are "developed" is completely mishandled because at no point do we even have a chance to breathe and learn to understand and care for these people. If you want to make the death of a main character carry some emotional weight for your audience, you need to give them a reason to give a shit beyond turning a pretty face into a corpse on camera.

I can't find much negative to say about the performances across the board, including the supporting cast of Donald Glover, Evan Peters and Sarah Bolger, but I also can't find much positive to say about their characters or what they brought to the table. If you have seen this film perhaps you can explain to me, what was the point of having Niko (Glover) be in love with Zoe (Olivia Wilde)? Honestly, please help me out, because I can't find any single reason to include that side plot except perhaps the writers had a misguided notion that it would make us care about them more as people? I would love to be proven wrong, for someone to tell me why those longing looks Niko gave her from a distance had any relevance whatsoever to the big picture, but I doubt it.

Essentially this was a rushed "horror" film in which every scare is of the jump variety and none of them were particularly effective due to being so damn predictable. Oh, you are going to look under the table to see what is down there? I bet when you come back up it will be waiting for you!!! BOO!

I wanted to at least have a little bit of a fun with The Lazarus Effect, but this one never had much of a pulse.

1.5/5

Moneyball Review

Recently I waxed poetic about my love for the game of baseball when I revisited and reviewed the classic film Field of Dreams, and as we are only a week into the season the magic isn't even done washing over me yet. Therefore it was a safe bet that the Oscar nominated picture Moneyball would be a breezy, delicious watch for me, not only because of my love of the game but also because of my fascination with the way it is approached behind the scenes over the past 10-15 years. 

See, when I watch baseball it isn't merely a 3 hour television event involving athletes that I can switch off as soon as the final pitch is thrown. No, I want to know everything. I want to understand what the scouts are scouting. I want to know how the finances are broken down in a contract. I want to be a fly on the wall when two teams are negotiating a franchise changing trade. So the fact that a piece of Hollywood entertainment deemed excellent by critics and audiences alike was essentially about those very things, both the business and baseball decision making aspects of my favorite sport, it seemed like a movie that would give me a lot to chew on.

What I wondered, however, is how the material would be handled to appeal to everyone, even those who know little to nothing about the game itself. Luckily, my initial fear of it being a far too simplistic pill to swallow was instantly alleviated when I learned that the screenplay was co-written by Steve Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, two names that I associate with challenging me with their words rather than keeping it too simple. Sure enough, the screenplay was one of the finest aspects of Moneyball, as it perfectly revolved around the game of baseball without being bogged down by any urge to pander to people like me. Despite being one myself, I recognize that crafting a film only to appeal to fans is not the best approach to filmmaking, and Moneyball can be appreciated even if you have never watched a single inning in your life.

Despite being a not so exciting premise on paper, the tight, focused direction by now multiple Oscar nominee Bennett Miller and the shockingly gorgeous cinematography from Wally Pfister come together to create a world that anyone watching instantly wants to live in. Brad Pitt has been in a lot of great movies over the course of his career but I honestly don't know if he has ever been this on point before, as his turn as famed Oakland A's General Manager Billy Beane is perfectly powerful and yet equally subtle. Despite being familiar with the real Beane for many, many years now, I felt as if I was watching the real thing in action throughout Moneyball rather than an A list actor pretending to be him.

Jonah Hill is a strong supporting piece here, although I will be honest, I am not sure if he was truly worthy of an Oscar nomination for the role. I can't help but wonder if he benefited from a sort of shock factor with voters because he was associated with being merely a comedic actor that belongs alongside Seth Rogen and then all the sudden, there he is, a vital piece in an excellent dramatic feature. Also terrific and surprisingly underutilized is the late, brilliant Philip Seymour Hoffman. It was strange witnessing a man that I consider to be the greatest actor of a generation be such a limited factor in a great film, but at the same time I'm not sure I would change a thing to squeeze him into more scenes. The pacing of Moneyball is essentially perfect throughout just the way it is.

Yes, Moneyball is very much about the way baseball has changed thanks to the usage of advanced analytics as a way of replacing the old school methods of scouting players and teams, but it is also a strong character study about the life of a man who is petrified of repeating the failures of his past. Some of the best moments of the film are when the frame is shared by Billy Beane and his daughter, especially a sequence that takes place in a music store when a father just wants to hear his little girl sing. 

At the end of the day though, Moneyball does celebrate the romantic relationship a fan has with the beautiful game of baseball, and it did so with eloquence and honesty rather than forced sentimentality and manipulation. This is quite the film, one I know I will turn to again and again each year when I smell the way the world comes alive outside after a cold winter ends and I start craving the roar of the crowd and the crack of the bat all over again.

4.5/5 

Captain America: The First Avenger Review

Of all the pre-Avengers phase one films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I am still so impressed by Captain America: The First Avenger every time I see it. Its aesthetic is stylish, its pacing a perfect flow thanks to a balanced blend of character development and fun to watch action. The World War II setting is such a unique and fascinating backdrop for a super hero origin story, and by combining a piece of real world history with a fictional unstoppable man with a shield, the lines between reality and the pages of a comic book are blurred enough to make me buy in.

The story of Steve Rogers, a man who only transforms in body but has always had the heart and the bravery of a hero, is an easy one to become emotionally invested in and of the five solo films leading into the Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger has always been my favorite. I am aware this means I am in the minority because I have come across a fair amount of unflattering discussion regarding this film, which surprises me. I try to see what others see because I feel the better I understand and appreciate differing opinions, the more I will learn about the medium as a whole, but not only do I not discover more flaws with each viewing of this movie, I end up liking it more and more.

Where the film does miss the mark a tad is with its villain because frankly, the Red Skull isn't all that compelling, but until the Avengers came along and Loki absolutely stole the show this was a common thread between the five solo films leading into it. They simply could not present anything more than an adequate at best bad guy, which is a shame because I find that an impressive antagonist is usually what puts a superhero film over the top.

This is mostly forgiven because of the strength of everything else though, especially the chemistry between Chris Evans in the lead and Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter. Director Joe Johnston and the screenwriters really understand that ensuring the story and the characters that occupy it will resonate with the audience is far more vital than a constant onslaught of flashy special effects, loud noises and explosions. Don't get me wrong, Captain America: The First Avenger showcases all of those things at times, but it's the sincerity of the quiet moments that make it a winner for me.

4/5

Decades of Cinema - 10 Best of the 1930's

I began this journey of listing my ten favorite films from each decade with the 1920's (which you can see here). Now we head into the 1930's, these are the ten shining achievements from those ten years.

10. L'Atalante 

Written and directed by Jean Vigo, L'Atalante tells the story of the captain of a river barge who lives on the ship with his new wife Juliette, along with other members of the crew. Marriage can always be tough, but especially so in such close quarters and with the jealousy of the other men on the boat paying attention to the only woman they see. Eventually Juliette finds an opportunity to quietly exit the boat once it is docked and see Paris on her own, and this decision has troubling ramifications.

A poetic and visually rich film, at less than 90 minutes you can't go wrong with L'Atalante.

9. Vampyr

At the top of my last list, the ten best of the 1920's, you will notice my passionate admiration for the film The Passion of Joan of Arc. The man who created that masterpiece, Carl Theodor Dreyer, is back again here with Vampyr, a horror film that is far more effective of giving me the creeps than most modern genre efforts despite being over 80 years old. A strange, haunting piece of cinema and one of the ten best of the 1930's. 

8. Stagecoach

A game changer for the western genre and the breakthrough performance from legendary actor John Wayne, this John Ford classic has been regarded as one of the most influential films in history. If you watch it today, not much about it may seem special when compared to many of the great westerns released since, but it's possible none of those films would exist if it weren't for Stagecoach paving the way for them.

7. Partie de Campagne (A Day in the Country)

A beautiful, moving film from the brilliant mind of Jean Renoir that works wonderfully despite being quite literally incomplete. Running at a length of only 40 minutes, Renoir had plans to include more material but shut down production due to his dealing with a "creative block". It's quite amazing that his unfinished work is regarded as one of his best nonetheless. 

6. Duck Soup

I would be lying if I said I was very familiar with the work of the Marx Brothers', as I still have plenty to see, but Duck Soup is a terrifically funny film filled with various iconic comedic sequences. Another very short film, running just over an hour, this one is filled with laughs throughout.

5. Gone with the Wind

What needs to be said? A sweeping epic, one of the most famous films of all time. Gone with the Wind is big, beautiful, romantic cinema. Sure, it's long and bloated but honestly, it wouldn't be the same if it wasn't. Gone with the Wind deserves every one of its 222 minutes. It is a majestic picture and one of the finest of its decade.

4. City Lights

Buster Keaton may have won my 1920's list, but he will be entirely absent from this round of ten films where as Charlie Chaplin is the star this time around (hint: this isn't the last of him). The beauty of City Lights is the fact that it almost never happened the way we see it today, as he was in the midst of production when the talkie revolution took over cinema and it put pressure on the silent stars to adapt to modern times (look at that wordplay, another hint). 

Chaplin decided to finish the film the way it started, as another silent picture and thank goodness he did. City Lights is a wonder of a film.

3. The Wizard of Oz

Many people would list The Wizard of Oz in their ten favorite films of the 1930's. Hell, many people would likely list it in their ten favorite films ever made, and with that comes the assumption from others that it had been a beloved movie since they were a kid. The first time I saw The Wizard of Oz was literally 3 months ago, and despite being a 30 year old man at the time, I instantly loved it. A magical experience worthy of all the admiration it has earned over the years.

2. M

A psychological thriller that feels just as chilling and relevant today as I am sure it did when it was released in 1931. The pursuit of a child murderer on the loose and a bystander with the brilliant idea to literally make the top suspect with a letter M so he could be easily caught by the police, M is brilliant, eerie cinema. Also, neat little tie in to the previous list from the 1920's, this is the second consecutive appearance of a Fritz Lang film in the #2 spot. 

1. Modern Times

Ahhh here is that second Charlie Chaplin selection of the decade, and it is the best film of the bunch. Modern Times is such a delightful, perfectly crafted masterpiece and it is almost troubling how much it applies today despite being a representation of a society dealing with the great depression at the time it was released. Constantly laugh out loud funny and a touching love story that transcends their painful lack of financial resources. Modern Times is one of the great achievements in the history of film, and it is the best work of the 1930's.

The next list will cover my ten favorites from the 1940's. The image above is from one that is certainly worthy of the recognition.

Iron Man 2 Review

Right off the bat in this review I am going to stir the shit, and I apologize for this, but I really mean what I am about to say. Ready? Okay, here it goes...

Iron Man 2 is the Jar Jar Binks of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

I know, the whole bitch about Jar Jar thing is so damn played out and I agree. You can't turn a corner in a discussion regarding Star Wars: Episode VII online without someone making a "Maybe Abrams will bring Jar Jar back! LOL!" joke being made, and I need to be perfectly clear here, that isn't what I am trying to do. I am not laughing out loud as I write this, and that is precisely my point. Iron Man 2 cranks up the silly factor to 11 and is practically begging the audience to chuckle so hard it makes us slap our knee, but there is a problem. It isn't funny. At all.

It is a bit unfair to equate this entire film to an annoying, pointless, terrible character from another franchise because not everything in Iron Man 2 is misguided. When it actually attempts to portray a serious narrative, it succeeds and I am locked in during these moments, but unfortunately it spends so much time trying to be wacky and "fun" that it mostly fails as a complete movie. The reason I couldn't help but think of good ol' Jar Jar during this revisit was because I ask myself the same question here as I did back when The Phantom Menace was released 16 years ago: Why?

Why so silly? Why so over-the-top? I completely understand and appreciate that the source material these films are based on are comic books featuring men in costumes fighting super villains, so expecting total realism is obviously not in the cards. Why did it have to go that far in the other direction though?

Robert Downey Jr. is just as charming and perfectly suited to play the role of Tony Stark as ever, but that is another prime example of why the screenplay fails in Iron Man 2. Even his wit and clever banter is often times falling on my deaf ears because I had to tune out the terrible villain performance from Sam Rockwell the scene prior. I love Sam Rockwell and when I hear his name, I immediately think of his masterful turn in the science fiction film Moon. I will choose to pretend this nonsense isn't even actually on his résumé. On the other hand, a welcome bright piece of the Iron Man 2 puzzle is the introduction of Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson). Her role in this film is refreshing and interesting, a nice break from the cringe inducing comedic dialogue that is otherwise so prevalent here, and we now know just how important to the entire universe of movies her character proves to be. 

Iron Man 2 has always been my least favorite effort from the MCU and that has not changed a bit. I have no hatred in my heart for anything relating to this franchise as I have had some fun with even the lesser efforts like this, but the tone of this film is something I have never been able to understand.

2/5