Remember the Titans (2000)

"You over cooking my grits, Coach." (Coach Boone)
"I'm a winner.  I'm going to win." (Coach Boone)

I think this blog is starting to really coalesce my thoughts on movies.  For this post I'm going to draw parallels between my posts on Capt. America and Rudy to hopefully make my point about Remember the Titans.  I think this is sort of the true magic of Disney.

I've spoken before about there being an absolute structure and path for basically all "sports movies" -Rudy- Remember the Titans is no different.

A Virginia town is torn apart my racial integration.
Young men, a school district, a community, and a football team are threatened by destruction
A lone wolf coach (Denzel Washington) becomes the new head coach and through hard lessons and work shows the team and the community at large the value of one's inner worth. (Oh yeah, and they win; overcoming a myriad of fiendish obstacles: The School Board, Rascist referees, and genius opposition coaching- cue inspirational sports music.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLVyhWDnSOI)

Yeah, this works on me every time.

However, this was a radical departure for Disney when they made it.  Disney hadn't made a sports movie in quite some time.  Could they pull off the genre?  What I realized upon this viewing was that, actually, Disney ensured their success by following the same four rules I outlined in my Captain America Post.

1.  They maintained a tight focus on the emotional core of the movie and our relevant characters.  There was no wasted film.

2.  They hired excellent actors:  Denzel, Will Patton, Wood Harris -yeah Avon Barksdale-, Donald Faison-Turk-, Hayden Panetteire, the big man from My Name is Earl Ethan Suplee, and wait for it Ryan Gosling.  Yeah,  Cast of studs.  Check.

3.  Excellent use of soundtrack and montages.  I think it is sort of Catch -22 with sports movies that the more actual sports you show, the less powerful and exciting the sports shots become.  So, through the magical use of soundtrack and montage, the Titans win game after game after game.  Check

4. Profit.  And they did.

Seems like Disney actually has this sort of think down to a science.

Ratings:

Dancers:  See it

Rydell High Schoolers:  Skip it

Football players:  You've all seen it

Can't stand the same sort of story you've heard before: Skip it

Hey Gurl: yup...Ryan Gosling is in this.

On a scale from, "My name is Earl Warren" to "Warren Burger King", I give Remember the Titans 3.4 out of 5 stars.

True Grit (2010 & 1969)

"Well little sister..." (Rooster Cogburn)
"I usually go backward when I'm backing up." (Rooster Cogburn)
"The Texas Ranger: ever stalwart." (Le Beef)

I thought it would be fun to watch both versions of True Grit and compare them.  I think what would be possibly more interesting now would be to read the book.  I get the feeling like neither of and both of these movies are true to the book.

On the whole, I liked the Cohen brothers' movie better.  But, I am younger, attuned to Cohen style, and appreciate more modern cut schemes, so I might not be the best judge.  I think there is a good deal of value to be understood from someone more schooled in "classic style" cinema.

What I find interesting is the choices that the filmmakers made.  In one movie, Mattie loses an arm.  In the other she doesn't.  In one movie LeBeouf lives, in the other he dies.  I don't know what happened in the book, but I would guess that it is not a "somewhere in between" sort of story.  So I looked it up, and it turns out that in the book, Mattie loses the arm.  I'm having a little trouble understanding why the movie makers would choose to change such a critical outcome of the story.  I also wondered a lot about how much the Cohen's wanted to emulate the original?  Many of the lines are verbatim.     

Here are some other things I learned from watching both movies back to back.  John Wayne was just as good an actor as Jeff Bridges. I liked Bridges' character and voice more...but Wayne pulled off swagger in way Bridges could not.  I also learned that Matt Damon is a way better actor than Glen Campbell.  (Sorry, Glen.)  Oh, and seeing Robert Duval and Dennis Hopper's parts played out by different actors but with uncharacteristic procession was very cool.

Ratings:

Cowboys: See them

I eard uuus beeen drwincn too harm: See them

Medicine men bear coats: See them

Bargainers:  See it

Those that want to get their way in everything: See it

On a scale from hard tack to flapjacks, I give True Grits 3.9 out of 5 stars.

Skyfall (2012)

"Bond, James Bond."

James Bond movies have been around for 50 years.  Take that in for a moment.  50 years.  Is there a longer running franchise?  If we were to do a survey of global citizenry, James Bond might be more well known than John Wayne and the Beatles.  ( I think.)

That was where my head was when I went into the theater.  How can anyone think they can be original, inventive, true to the genre, meaningful, and above all deliver on BOND?  My answer was that one can't.  The best I was hoping for was a "Goldeneye" or "Casino Royale", and the worst was a "Moonraker" or "Die Another Day".  (-the best part is that I would completely forgive the worsts and still demand more bond.  Boy, do we have brand loyalty.)

Yet, Skyfall is a Bond apart.  It is neither campy nor above making fun of itself.  It follows none of the Bond protocols and troupes and all of them, all at once.  Some may claim that, "you can't be everything to everyone."  To that I say, in a franchise with as much history as James Bond, that has been everything to everyone at some point in the last half century, there are no rules or absolutes that apply.  In a unique way, James Bond can do anything.

So yeah, I liked it.  I actually loved it.  This is the first Bond that I can remember that wasn't about world domination or stopping a war.  Skyfall is about people.  It's a personal Bond.  Our villain shows and tells the audience that he could try to take over the world, but for the maniacal,  the world has gotten too small.  It's too easy he says.  In a weird way, Skyfall has reset the clock back to 1962.  Our perceptions are now back to the personal from the global.  From outward villains to inward villains.

Oh, and I loved the concept of a broken Bond.  It was fantastic storytelling to show us the audience some truth and not just the suit and gadgets.

Ratings:

Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, George Lazenby:  See it  (I would love to see all of you on Inside the Actor's Studio together.)

Ralph Fiennes:  See it  ( I look forward to you in more Bonds.)

Villains of dubious repute:  See it

Malcontents:  Skip it  (Why do you go to movies anyway?)

Steven Spielberg:  You produced this and for that I am grateful.

On a scale from Jane Seymore to Terri Hatcher to Michelle Yeoh to Famke Jansen to Ursula Andress and Minnie Driver (Did you forget that she has a bit part in Goldeneye?), I give Skyfall 3.89 out of 5 stars.  

Braveheart (1995)

"In order to find his equal, and Irishman is forced to talk to God.  Yes, Father."  (Stephen)

I think the wonderful thing about Braveheart, in the abstract, is that it has become a one word cultural touchstone and treatise on defiance.  All you have to do is yell at the top of you lungs "FREEDOM" and suddenly you are William Wallace.  When your sports team is losing, and you all know it, good captains tell their teams "They may take our lives, but they will never take our freedom."  -I've lost countless Ultimate matches that way.  At least for those that were around during 1995 blue face paint, flames and kilts are synonymous with defiant rejection of authority.  I would label this movie iconic.

As I was watching Braveheart, this time, I could help but snigger when I thought about the movie without the soundtrack.  It suddenly became one endless Monty Python and the Holy Grail epic running towards camera joke.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFufoOgCMW8  Seriously, Braveheart has so many shots of Scots and army men running it is borderline absurd.  However, the reason that this had never crossed my mind until like my 4th viewing is that the soundtrack and music are just that good.  It takes the absurd and pedantic and makes it legendary.  While it may not be the best score of all time, the Braveheart soundtrack is the movies clear MVP.  All the rest is for not without it.

Ratings

David O'hara:  Your Stephen was wonderful performance.

Real Scotsman from the 1300s:  Skip it  (This movie is so inaccurate.)

Teenagers:  See it -learn what real defiance is.

Mel Gibson:  See it  (You were so awesome.)

Hair enthusiasts:  See it (Some of the best hair; head, facial, and otherwise in a movie ever)  

On a scale of " at the age of 80 warm in your own bed with a belly full of wine" to "On the field of battle in defiance of tyranny", I give Braveheart 4 out of 5 stars.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

"ism's, in my opinion, are not good." Ferris Bueller

I'm going to make this short.  Watch this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgd46QiHz4I

If you don't smile........perhaps you should visit a doctor's office.

Ratings

Craftsmen: See it

ChicagoLanders: Seen it many times

Truants:  See it

Abe Froman:  You're the sausage king of Chicago!  See it

Car Enthusiasts:  That Ferrari is so gorgeous.  I don't even like cars and I love it.

On a scale of Staying back another year in High School to a day game at Wrigley with your best friends in May, I give Ferris Bueller's Day Off 3.9 out of 5 stars.

The Campaign (2012)

"Cam Brady:  He's a real man's man."  (Slogan of a Cam Brady commercial)

Welcome back Will Ferrell.  I know you never left, but....I didn't really laugh at some of you more recent movies so, welcome back to funny.

Yup, The Campaign is funny.  It is not particularly smart, timely, truthful, wistful, important, endearing, or worthy of my long term memory.  But it is funny.  I can't really think of a point in the movie that did not make me chuckle.  My theater going experience included a live laugh-track.

I would also like to see Jay Roach direct more movies.  I believe he has a wonderful natural eye for when to use unique camera angles and approaches.  The switch-over to "COPS shot" for when Cam Brady steals the police car was a stroke of genius.

Ratings:

Casting agents:  See it

Potty mouths:  See it

Chinese markets:  Skip it

Dog enthusiasts:  See it

Frank Capra: Skip it   (You would cry.)

On a scale of "my chad is hanging" to "this chad is pregnant with my son", I give The Campaign 3.45 out of 5 stars.

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

"We have the White Wizard.  That has to count for something." (Pippin)
"And they doesn't taste very nice, does they, Precious?" (Gollum)
"You go to war, but not to victory." (Elrond)
"Do you think the eyes of the white tower are blind, Mithrandir?" (Lord Denathor)

While this is not a TRUTH, I find it true that there is no substitute for the feeling and experience how, when, and where you see a movie for the first time.  Hell Raiser III will always have a special place in my personal movie lore because I watched it clandestinely with my brother at 9 years old when we weren't supposed to.  The danger element cannot be replicated with more viewings.  This is how I feel about final chapter of the Lord of the Rings.

My story:  One would think that my story would involve going out on a snowy night in December of 2003, but, in-truth, I saw The Return of the King for the first time on February 14th of 2004 at 10am in a small cinema in Namba, Osaka (I skipped school.) because the movie wasn't released in Japan in conjunction with the Worldwide release.  Yup, I willfully denied myself media, spoilers, talking with friends, and all general communications for two months, just so I could have an authentic "first-time" experience.  It was extremely difficult.  I was paranoid about conversations and friends.  It was like plugging my ears and blathering to myself to drown out all talk.  "I'm not listening" -Gollum.  Needless to explain to nerds, my anticipation was off the charts.  And.....

It was totally WORTH IT!!  The Return of the King is mindnumbingly stupendous.  Bordering on 10 years later it still sets the absolute standard for ensemble performances, technical wizardry, story telling, and pure BATTLE.  Despite the diminishing returns I imposed on myself from the first time, I still get chills and a little bit of heart swell, when Theoden rallies his men to charge the seemingly innumerable Orcish horde.  That's magic.

Ratings:

Joss Whedon:  You're the one man who I might even trust to ever let me get this hyped up about a thing...so please be careful with that power.

James Cameron: You're good...but this is what you should strive for.

Conductors:  This is how you should perform the last movement

Therapists:  Did you notice an uptick in depression related services due to Post Elation Stress Disorder?

Dates:  Yeah in Japan the movie came out over Valentines, so it was marketed as a couples event.  There were posters talking about its love story, and how there was something for you and her.  (It was a little weird from my perspective...but eh, it worked.)

On a scale from Everest to the Marianna trench, I give Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 4.7 out of 5 stars.