I see that Clint Eastwood's production of Gran Torino came out on DVD today. I saw it in the theater this past January and was moved to tears by it. I highly recommend you put this movie on your "must see" list if you haven't already. And while I know I have at least one follower out there who never watches movies more than once, this is one I would like to see again. Clint Eastwood has just gotten better with age, like a fine wine. The movie addresses so many everyday issues in our society and our nation...the disappearance of a job where you could work your whole life, the influx of immigrants into a predominantly blue-collar, white neighborhood; Catholicism and the role religion plays in our lives, stereotyping, peer pressure, racism, compassion, aging...and I could go on and on. And it does it with class, dignity and style.
In addition to having a good dinner out...seeing a good movie is also one of my favorite forms of entertainment. What about you? What is the last really good movie you saw?
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Certainly not the last good movies I saw, two that always come to mind are "You Can Count On Me", from 2000 and "Dr. Strangelove", amazingly almost half a century old.
In order, from my Netflix reviews (and five stars each):
"OK, allow me a moment to rave. I just wanted to catch again the conciseness of the opening sequence, so put it in the DVD player, and got hooked, as I have a few times before (even saw it twice at the theaters when it opened). Starring Laura Linney (warm, beautiful and complex in every respect, actor and character), Mark Ruffalo (who performs with laser-like naturalistic perfection), Matthew Broderick (out of character and effective) and Rory Culkin (the good Culkin), executive produced by Martin Scorsese, it's truly artistic without being "artsy", deceptively simple in structure but layered with characters and ideas, wonderfully complex without being perversely contradictory, deeply humanistic without being sappy, quietly profound, insightful, surprising and ultimately very moving. I dare anyone with a heart (or soul) to view it unaffected. Includes just a few easy laughs, but I would call it a 95% perfect movie, absolutely rewarding a second - and further - viewing.
And "Rotten Tomatoes" must agree - it gives it a 95 as well. I could go on and on (and on) about the very many aspects to this movie, but I'll just include two quotes from the "RT" website: 'Satisfying in every respect, it's a piece of blue-collar chamber music, never treating the characters cheaply' 'The characters in You Can Count on Me have been freed from the formulas of fiction and set loose to live [their] lives' '[F]reed from the formulas of fiction' is exactly right. If you've never seen it I envy you: you get to experience it for the first time. And your life will be richer for that experience."
and
"Quite simply the greatest American satire on film - perhaps the greatest, period! And undeniably Kubrick's masterpiece. Where to begin? Brilliant black and white cinematography highlighting the underlying stark seriousness, enhancing the moments of cinema verite; wonderful acting, especially from Peter Sellers (in three roles), Slim Pickens, George C. Scott and Sterling Hayden; an evenhanded slap across the political spectrum; the absurdity of it all, yet folded in with details of a B-52's interior, a ground battle or Central Command headquarters; and near-perfect control by the most control-obsessed director to have lived. From that first act of mid-air intercourse to that last sequence under those ironically comforting lyrics, this is roaring laughter in the dark that would make Nabokov proud. You must see it once; you cannot see it too often."
I'm sure there's something recent that compares. Maybe.
Very intelligent and insightful comments, Bill. You write and sound like one of those profound movie critics. I will agree with you on "You Can Count on Me," but I haven't seen Dr. Strangelove since I was a child so I will have to watch it again.
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