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Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Coming Soon...Look Out!!!! Part 4: The Golden Age

Over the past month or so, I've been reviewing movies that I waited to see at the theater. That means two things: 1, my parents didn't drag me to see them, and 2, they did not star Katherine Sieg Heil...er Heigl oops. I do seem to keep picking on her, but after catching apreview of her latest movie recently, I just can't understand why she's shoved at us.

   Now we enter what I consider to be the "Golden Age" of my movie-going, the years 1996 to 2002. This covers the time of my prime college years to when I left northern California for Las Vegas (a little of there also).

1996
 Beavis and Butthead Do America- OK, yes, we (my buddy Scott and I) were heavily influenced by the TV show. We did enjoy this film; unfortunately, the show started to get bad after this. (some would argue it always had been)

Broken Arrow- another new birth of John Travolta era film, this time he's a bad guy. Christian Slater was just along for the ride. This film was the only one that I, Scott, and Rob saw together. I can still watch this from time to time.

Escape from L.A.- a pretty good action film. I hadn't seen Escape from New York before this. What makes this movie even more memorable is that the film broke at a crucial moment (free movie pass for us!)

Independence Day- begin the "Will Smith can't lose" era of film. Quite enjoyable to this day! Imagine: Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum save the world! Unlikely in real life.

Mars Attacks- I enjoy this less now than I did when it came out, but it's still funny to think that the world was saved by Slim Whitman

Mystery Science Theater 300 The Movie- ok, I didn't exactly wait with baited breath for this one, but it's notable because Scott and I went to see this on our first night in the off-campus apartment. It was like watching an episode of the show on a big screen...which was sometimes good and often bad.

The People vs Larry Flynt- not a bad film, except one feels they've rooted for a sleazeball for 2 hours. I could take or leave this one now.

The Rock- Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage...one of many interesting pairings of the time, but it worked! This suffers from TV overplay, though.

Rumble in the Bronx- Our intro to Jackie Chan...pretty good! The only thing is, you've seen one of these, you've seen all of them.

Spy Hard- Yeah, Leslie Nielsen...one gag after another...been there done that. Next!

Star Trek First Contact- Now they got it right. This was the first reall all-NG cast with no Shatner influence. Throw in the Borg and you have a winner!

A Time to Kill- another good Grisham offering. Well done!

Tin Cup- tell the truth, I like this one better now than I did then. Painful to watch the end at first, but now it's all good.

 Yeah, a bountiful year! On to...

1997

Absolute Power- great Eastwood movie! I still love this one.

Air Force One- good Harrison Ford movie, but one gets tired of terrorists hijacking a plane, even if it does hold Han Solo!

Boogie Nights: Cheering for fictional porn stars....afternoon well-spent!

Con Air- This movie still rocks! Once again, John Malkovich shines as the bad guy.

The Devil's Advocate- hmmm, Keanu Reeves as a lawyer and Al Pacino as Satan! I think the best part was Connie Nielsen baring it all, but otherwise cheese with lots of ham

Face/Off- John Travolta again in bad (with some good) guy mode vs Nicolas Cage in good (sometimes bad) guy role...confusing? Maybe, but it's still watchable!

Grosse Pointe Blank- still a favorite! I can't help feel sorry for a guy whose childhood home is now a mini-mart.

The Ice Storm- a strange movie about mid-70s morality...depressing, actually!

The Jackal- for some reason I still like this one. Richard Gere with an Irish accent was fun to watch

Jackie Brown- this film is actually good due to the music. Otherwise, it's a yawner even with the soundtrack halfway through

L.A. Confidentail- a great detective story set in the 50s! I can watch this anytime.

Liar Liar- fun Jim Carrey without getting too dumb!

Leave it to Beaver- uh...saw this out of curiosity, and saw it ONCE!

Men in Black- fun fun fun! Really! Next!

The Peacemaker- cheesy George Clooney...next!

Private Parts- funny, but gets stale after 2 viewings

Rainmaker- great John Grisham flick...next!

Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion-okay film, hard to watch twice...so I didn't. Mostly a chick flick.

The Saint- interesting. I like it, but it has slow moments...don't watch after a long hard day

Yes, 1997 was a PEAK year. One would think I did nothing but see movies. Apart form classes and jobs, yeah, that was pretty much it!

1998

Armageddon- okay but overlong. Couldn't see it twice!

The Avengers- horrible! next!

The Big Hit- looked good in previews, but it sucked. Next!  ( hmm, detecting a pattern here!)

The Big Lebowski- that's more like it! Jeff Bridges as an aging hippie, say no more!

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas- a bit confusing at times (as Hunter Thompson was often confused and confusing!)...Johnny Depp shines here. Good movie to see every 5 years.

Lethal Weapon 4- good movie, and a good end to a series!

Lost in Space- tough to like...and I didn't!

The Mask of Zorro- Antonio Banderas as Zorro...it worked! I can always watch this.

The Negotiator- ok, but it was a bit dark. Can't like this one anymore, the ending wasn't satisfying

Out of Sight- better George Clooney, and paired with J. Lo (who was hot at the time) this was a good Elmore Leonard adaptation

Psycho remake- word of advice...ALWAYS stick with Tony Perkins!

Star Trek:Insurrection- good, but forgettable

The Truman Show- good and insightful..are we all in a glass dome?

U.S. Marshalls- a sequel to The Fugitve...it had lost its charm after 1 viewing

The Wedding Singer- great, always enjoyable!

Overall, an ok year, but not nearly as much gold as 1997.

1999

8mm- dark Nicolas Cage film, and quite disturbing...one view was enough

American Beauty- enjoyable drama, but again, a not-so-happy ending and those don't sit well with me

Analyze This- funny still

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me- pretty funny sequel, still funny!

Dogma- great, funny movie, and it still does well at poking fun at Catholicism

Mystery Men- funny sttill even if I was the only one who loved it.

Payback- rooting for a bad guy was pretty fun! Still is!

Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace- What I'd looked forward to for years.....just no pod races!!!!!!!!!

The Thomas Crown Afair- pretty good thriller with a good cast! Always watchable.

This seemed to be a tough year! Granted I saw a few others, but not always with previous anticipation.

2000

Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle- funny at first...dumb on 2nd viewing.

Charlie's Angels- pretty good still...another chhese with lots of ham

The Contender- great political drama! Always watchable.

High Fidelity- good on first viewing, tough afterwards

Keeping the Faith- wonderful flim about a girl, a priest, and a rabbi...one of the best of the year

Space Cowboys- Eastwood back in top form with a great cast! A favorite.

O Brother Where Art Thou?- pretty good. Unusual, but well done. Next!

Road Trip- fun and goofy! Still fun to watch!

Scary Movie- the only good one of the series, still fun!

Shaft 2000- good, but Samuel L. Jackson is no Richard Roundtree!

A bit better than 1999, but lacking still. Oh well, I was in ed school so I was busy! The Golen Age is slowly dimming.

2001

Ali- good, but not immortal. Only the man himself is!

Bandits- for some reason, this is a favorite. Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton jsut worked here

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back- still funny...if you know what to expect.

Ocean's 11- I still love this one! Yet, I also love the original 1960 classic even more.

Rat Race- a fun movie for everyone!

The Royal Tenenbaums- a major disappointment, and disturbing at times.

Vanilla Sky- weird, bad, never again!

A pretty bad year overall, not only for films, but a lot of people in general as well.

2002

The Count of Monte Cristo- great adventure! Still a favorite

Big Trouble- a good and funny film, but the book was better

Spider-Man- great live-action adaptation of the comic book! Still fun to watch.

Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones- uh, what? I like it, but it's the worst of the series. I had to see ti twice to realize I didn't like it all that much. The obligatory lightsaber duel was even disappointing!

The Sum of All Fears-I like this one, but I liked the book better. The adapation was poor but the story was good

The Bourne Identity- I still love this one. It introduced Matt Damon as an action star, not just goofy independent drama

Men in Back II- not nearly as good as the 1st one...haven't seen it twice.

Road to Perdition- interesting Tom Hanks film, but it showed me Jude Law has range.

Well, 2002 was slightly better, but there were many so-so films. And with that, the golden age ends. Sure, there have been some good films over the years, but the movies get so expensive and, well, there's a lot of CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!  I still blame Heigle!





U-571- great World War II submarine flick! I love this one.














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