To Whom It May Concern

Favorite Movies

I figured today I would put up a few of my favorite movies, and why I like them. These are in no particular order as far as what I like best, just a few that I find to be good viewing material.

Heat

Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino, together, in one movie. That says a lot right there. Bank robberies, massive shootouts, explosions... add Val Kilmer in, along with several others making powerful contributions, and this movie packs a powerful dramatic punch, from beginning to end. DeNiro and Pacino play opposite one another, one a good guy, the other the bad guy, and it's hard to pull for one guy or the other, even at the end of the movie, you want the show to keep on going.

Hunt For Red October

This movie is based on a book by Tom Clancy, one of my favorite authors. Alec Baldwin plays Jack Ryan, CIA analyst turned field agent, who is responsible for trying to make contact with Captain Rameus (Sean Connery), who has stolen a Soviet ballistic missile submarine and disappeared into the depths of the Atlantic ocean, with no one knowing what motives Rameus has. I enjoy movies that get into the technical side of the military, from equipment to doctrine. This movie is just that, along with exciting twists and turns that keep you guessing right until the very end.

Tombstone

The best western movie of all time, regardless of whether or not it follows the true story or not, hell, call it a fiction movie for all I care, it is hands down the best western ever made. Based on Wyatt Earp's move to Tombstone, Arizona, where Earp was to start a new life with his two brothers, but gets drawn into skirmishes with the "Cowboy's", a gang of renegades who persist in law breaking and killing. Kurt Russel does a masterful job portraying Wyatt Earp, but it's Val Kilmer's role as Doc Holiday, a super fast gunslinger stricken with tuberculosis, that steals the show. With dead pan humor and incredible intensity, Kilmer pulls off arguably the best performance of his acting career in this movie. Star studded, loaded with gun battles, love stories, and fast paced action, Tombstone brings the old west alive with vigor.

Cutting Edge

I have always loved this movie, and after seeing this movie for the first time I have always really liked Moira Kelly as an actress. She plays a bitchy figures skater, who overworks and mistreats her partners till they always quit on her. D.B. Sweeny plays a young phenom hockey player who loses part of his vision and his dream to play in the NHL due to a horrible collision during an olympic game. Sweeny and Kelly end up together, and despite rough edges and mutual mistreatment towards one another, they end up working out thier differences, win the elusive olympic gold, and even fall in love by the end of the show. Cheesy? Yes... but still fun and worth watching, a fun little romantic comedy.

Boyz In The Hood

This movie is a powerful portrayal of the lives of several young black men in central Los Angelos, following them as they grow up on the streets, thru trials and tragedy as they try and make something of themselves in life, on the way to becoming men, and sometimes losing thier lives. John Singleton's directing debut is an amazing achievement, a deep glimpse into a culture that many of us can only imagine. Dramatic, deeply sad, this movie really changed some of my ideas about what goes on in the worst parts of the big city.

The Usual Suspects

Everyone on a burning tanker is murdered and a multi million dollar heist has taken place, and only a semi handicapped petty crook (Kevin Spacey), seems to have any idea of what has happened. Terrific performances from everyone involved in this film, along with a humorous twisting plot that has a shocking ending, it's one of those movies that just blows your mind at the very end when everything suddenly makes sense.

The Matrix

I saw this movie having heard nothing about it, and was totally blown away. The special effects were far and away the best I had seen in any movie, and the action just kept on coming. The script provided the best movie I had seen in five years, with incredible performances by all involved. Keanu Reeves plays Neo, a computer hacker with a special gift. Normally I can't stand Reeves and his dumb surfer dude attitude, but for this movie, it worked perfectly and he really did an amazing job. The performance that really made the show however was Hugo Weaving as "Agent Smith", a government operative who will stop at nothing to capture the illusive "Morpheus", played by Lawrence Fishburn. Basically, this movie changed how all movies are being made, based on new techniques in photography and computer sequences, and it's well worth it to watch it over and over.

American Beauty

My mom absolutely hated this movie, so I knew it had to be really good. Oddly enough my dad just loved it. Kevin Spacey plays a man who suddenly realizes his life sucks, so he gets fired, buys a classic muscle car, starts chasing his daughter's best friend around, smokes pot, gets a job at a fast food restaurant, catches his wife cheating on him, has a mixed up ex marine neighbor who thinks he is gay, oh, I could go on and on, it's a truly messed up funny movie, but there are some really deep themes trolling around under the surface that make the movie much more dramatic than one might think. Spacey is amazing in this movie, as is Annette Benning, who plays Spacey's controlling, career driven wife, who is out of control in her own way. There are a lot of amazingly funny moments in this movie but also enough drama to keep it deep.

Seven

Someone is using the "seven deadly sins" to commit murders, and two police detectives (Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt), have to try and stop him before it's too late. The movie is a dark and eerie take on police work in the most gruesome types of crime imaginable, ending up with a completely shocking ending. Again, Kevin Spacey completely nails a role, this time as the psychotic mastermind behind the murders. The movie has one of those endings that has everyone leaving the theater in complete shock, no one even talking. If you are able to figure out what has happened at the end before the movie actually lets you in on it, you still sit in complete disbelief that what you know is going to happen can even be true. Disturbing and shocking, this movie is truly an amazing mix of the two.

Fallen

Denzel Washington plays a police detective who is targeted by an ancient evil demon that is determined to bring him down and ruin him. It becomes a chess game of the mind as Washington goes toe to toe with the demon, ending up in a final showdown that will totally piss you off yet make you chuckle. Washington does his usual amazing performance in this role as the good cop, and John Goodman adds a surprisingly good performance as his detective partner. The movie digs deep into the dark side of religion and keeps you on the edge of your seat, tragic but fun.

I hope someday to have all of these on DVD, plus others I'm sure.