1968 - The Wolf of Wall Street

Every now and then we get to see Scorsese play with one of his favourite themes: abundance.  It’s amazing to think that this is the work of a man in his 70’s, and in his fifth outing with Leonard DiCaprio he pulls out all the stops.  Let’s be clear - DiCaprio is good here - but Jonah Hill comes to this film as a man possessed.  He’s playing a fully fleshed character that lesser actors would turn into a caraciture.  

This film is a case study in amazing scene construction.  Each scene and sequence dazzle and are a shitload of fun.  That said, the parts are stronger than the whole.  The running time bogs it down, and you wonder if the theme of excess hasn’t made Scorsese be a bit excessive with his scenes.  So it’s worth seeing absolutely - but at just under 3 hours it’s a bit of a beast.

1921 - This is Spinal Tap

I decided to go back to the beginning - and I don't know if it's Rob Reiner directing here that makes the difference, but this is a phenomenal film for a few reasons.  First off - it's ridiculous in the way that all Guest mockumentaries are - but what's different about this one is that it feels authentic.  The world is grounded by some things that make me buy into the concept.  There's tremendous heart and sadness as we watch these poor bastards turn into nobodies.  It's beautiful.  It's also filled with the iconic and hilarious bits that we all recall, but what really strikes me here is the arc of the relationships and I think that's what makes this one truly special.  There's a connection there.  This all means something to them, and so it really does mean something to us.  I'm in pre-production on something in a similar vein so it's nice to rewatch a master work like this for reference. 
If you've never seen this film and you're either a music or comedy lover, do yourself a massive favor and watch this straight away.  There's a good chance I might even revisit it again in the upcoming weeks.

1847 - The Princess Bride

God bless small children for giving you a reason for revisiting your old favourites.  Watched this with my little guy tonight and he loved the shit out of it, which of course made me proud.  My wife threw him some spoilers on the characters and so he was obsessed with trying ti figure out who the six finger man was.

This film is such a fantastic classic.  An endless amount of quotable lines and performances.  It's the kind of family that every one really can enjoy and it stands up viewing after viewing, which I'm sadly learning isn't always the case with some of the films from my youth.  If you've never seen this film, I feel badly for you, please remedy that right away - do yourself a favour and watch it with your favourite kid.

1809 - Postcards From the Edge

I'd forgotten that I'd seen this film years ago when a friend brought it up the other day.  I suppose it don't make all that much of an impression, but it's a really lovely film.  Meryl Streep is fantastic in it, and it's really a who's who of Hollywood talent at the time, with even people like Richard Dreyfus, Oliver Platt, and Annette Benning doing these great little one scene bits.  And Gene Hackman comes in for two scenes and makes a goddamn meal out of them.  Between Fisher's screenplay and Nichols direction this must have been a dream come true for the cast.  I just looked back on my previous review of this film where I gave it a 'meh' - my opinion has certainly changed.  Sadly this film isn't on Netflix, but you can get it digitally otherwise.  It's one of those classic stories that you really need to check out.  I'm kind of curious to read the book now, actually.  Glad I revisited it, even though I thought I was watching it for the first time :)

1735 - Stand By Me

I don't know what compelled me to watch this tonight.  This is one of those films that really makes me think about childhood.  I remember the first time I saw it I had nightmares about leeches all night. (and seriously, how after their friend finds a leech in his underwear, don't they all search their own areas right away?)  That scene stuck with me for sure.  But over the years, on repeat viewings it's the rest of the film that really grabs you.  The film has a ridiculously impressive cast - I never realize that it was Wil Wheton as Gordie in the lead - not for nothing - but I think this is easily his strongest role.    I grew up in a small town and so while I never had an adventure quite like this, I had friends like this.  And just like in the film those friendships have all moved on and are more-or-less gone outside of Facebook updates.  That's the part of the film that hasn't struck me before now. 
If you haven't seen this film it's a crying shame.  It's really a lovely coming of age story that's filled with humour and heart.  Four friends go in search of the body of a kid their age, rumoured dead by the train tracks a town or so over, and they decide that they want to be the ones to "find the body", but by the end of the trip they find something much more.  Sounds cheesy, sure - but it's a delightful fantastic film.  Rob Reiner directs the shit out of it and these actors.  It's a great great film.  And it's on netflix now, so you have absolutely no reason to not watch, or at least, revisit it.

1707 - When Harry Met Sally

Okay, if you don't know about this film you live under a rock.  Here's the summary - it's the ultimate "Can women and men be friends?" film.  I'm in the midst of re-watching a bunch of my favorite romantic comedies as I prepare to make my second feature Sex After Kids (which I realized just now that I haven't talked about AT ALL on my blog.  Probably because I spend such a large amount of time writing about it everywhere else). 
So I started off watching this with an attempt to just study their shooting style, and of course the movie sucked me right in to the point where I forgot and just enjoyed it.  Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal are absolutely perfect here.  Ephron's script is clever and witty and harsh and lovely.  Reiner brings a lot to the table as a comedy director.  Perhaps it was in the script, but a scene I really enjoyed on this viewing was at a sporting even where Crystal is telling Bruno Kirby about his divorce and all the while they're doing the wave.  It's kind of amazing.  Not to mention that this film has one of the most amazing split-screen sequences in film.  I can only imagine how they co-ordinated it. 
This is one of the truly great romantic comedies, and at it's heart it isn't about 'can men and women being friends without sex getting in the way' so much as it's about the difference between men and women and how we deal with that.  If you're a rom-com fan and you haven't seen this film then shame you.  Rectify it immediately.  You won't regret it, and if you do... we probably can't be friends.  Sorry.  Shit happens when you don't like amazing films :)

1650 - Bullets Over Broadway

So for my second film of my Woody Allen birthday fest I've picked something from the same time period as the previous one.  Woody had his a stride around this time in the early-mid nineties with a lot of solid comedies.  I think he went through a period of wanting to do lighter material, perhaps in response to his personal life being a bit heavy - although, what's the point in assuming?  Let's talk about the film!
John Cusack stars as a pretentious playwright who opens the film declaring "I'm an artist!".  He's had two flops on broadway which were, obviously, the director's fault.  This time he's going to direct - but the only way that his producer can get someone to finance the film is if he's willing to cast a mobster's girlfriend in the show - and she just happens to be an absolutely terrible actor.  It's such a great premise and it's an even better film - especially once the bodyguard meant to protect the girlfriend turns out to be the only true artist and we see just how far he's willing to go to make a great piece of art.  It's chock full of phenomenal performances, great plot turns, and clever lines.  In terms of story it might be one of Woody's more clear-cut films - and perhaps that's more to do with his co-writer than himself, but it's a really great example of comedy through character and situation.  It's bizarre to think that this film is almost twenty years old now (probably because it just makes me feel old), but it's another one of the classic Woody films that if you haven't seen, you really owe it to yourself to check out.