F is for eternal, fantasy, zombies

As I've said before, my favorite movies often evoke certain memories. This movie will always remind me of my mother and the brief, but wonderful time we spent living together when I moved back to Michigan. I feel so fortunate that many of my favorite movie memories include her. In fact, I have watched over half of the reviewed films so far with her. Coincidence? Not at all. But let's get back to what makes this movie so special. Where should I start? Is it the wonderful story of a boy's imagination awakened? Or the heart-wrenching performance of young Freddie Highmore whose huge, hazel eyes reduce me to a blubbering idiot? Or is it just one more wonderful Johnny Depp film. I think it's a combination of all those things and so much more. I love the theme that imagination must be encouraged, nurtured, and kept from ever growing up. (thanks, Mom, for being there)

  

Beautiful, exotic locations. Amazing costumes. And a wonderful little girl who will both endear you and wrench your heart out. These are but a few reasons why this film exists on this list. It is the amazing expression of one director's love of movies. This is a wonderful fairy tale filled with tragedy, adventure, and love. It's one of those movies that I watch when I need to be reminded of all the fantasy and wonder there is in the world. My favorite films often do one thing-arouse specific, strong, emotional reactions that linger long after the end credits stop. The scene that does it in this film (actually there are a few, but this is the strongest) is the wonderful montage of great stuntmen. Yep, you guessed it. I become a blubbering idiot, yet again.

 

And now for something completely different. In fact, this is a complete 180 degree turn from the two previous entries. But I love it just the same. Actually it is a heart-warming tale like the other two. It's the story of a boy and his zombie. Yes, I said zombie. What I love about this film is the originality of the story. It takes true talent to make a zombie flick that completely breaks from the genre and gives a fresh, new voice to the undead. Combining the archetypal 50s with flesh-eating creatures, this is a hilarious romp of a movie. Billy Connolly is wonderful as man's best friend.

F is a good letter for great movies. I had to struggle to narrow my reviews to only three. I could have just as easily chosen Fantastic Mr. Fox, the Roald Dahl story told with great, traditional, stop-motion animation. Or The Fisher King, yet another fairy tale set in New York and starring Robin Williams as a tragic hero haunted by a horrific past. Perhaps you'd prefer Full Metal Jacket, Stanley Kubrick's jaunt into Vietnam via the harsh, dehumanizing journey through basic training with the amazing performances of Vincent D'Onofrio and R. Lee Ermey. And there's always Darren Aronofsky's time traveling love story, The Fountain. This is one of those films you either love or hate and I love it. Here's a little known fact-the backgrounds that appear to be CGed are actually micro-photography of chemical reactions.

 

 E is for sideshow, kiwi, prisoner

I have been horrible at posting and for this, I apologize. I could use the excuse that it was difficult to find enough 'e' movies to post, but that would be a lie. I'm just lazy. That being said, it was somewhat hard to find movies to review; however, these three are among my all-time favorites:

 

 

I can tell you where I was the first time I saw this movie. It was at the State theater in downtown Kalamazoo, MI. I remember this because certain movies have a resonance that makes the first time linger in my memory. This poignant story based upon the brief life of John Merrick is full of rich performances by John Hurt, Anthony Hopkins, and Anne Bancroft. David Lynch is one of those directors whose films are so odd that people either love them or hate them. This is not one of those films and I think it's because, in this case, reality is stranger than fiction. Filming it in black and white helps transport the audience to a time where sideshow freaks were commonplace. But instead of exploiting Mr. Merrick's life, Lynch successfully brings out the tenderness of a person who never was able to have a normal life. The makeup is stunning, bringing to life a vision which we might only see in a nightmare. And the music in one scene (I don't want to spoil it by saying too much) always brings me to tears, no matter where I hear it.

 

This truly odd story stars one of the most hilarious, new actors out there-Jemaine Clement. Fans of the brilliant but short-lived series, Flight Of The Conchords, know what I'm talking about. The best word to describe this film is quirky. Quirky storyline, quirky performances, quirky animated sequences, quirky everything. That's what makes it so funny. The audience is left to wonder, 'is all of New Zealand like this?' If you're talented enough to scratch your head in wonder at the oddness of it and hold your stomach from laughing so hard, this is the movie for you.

 

Long before Terminator and Batman, or Little Women and Newsies, there was this film. The first of many brilliant performances by Christian Bale and by far the best. With every scene, he proves that not all talent is created. Some people are just born with it. This is a different kind of war film. A tale of loss, imprisonment, starvation, and struggle. Based upon the autobiographical novel by James Ballard, it brings to life a lesser known story of the Japanese invasion of Shanghai and what happened to the British citizens living there. Bale was only 12 when this film was shot, but he holds his own acting with John Malkovich and Miranda Richardson. One of Stephen Spielberg's lesser known films, this is one of my favorites.

As I said before, there weren't a lot of 'e' movies to search through; however, it's interesting to note that most of them were really good movies. A few others to note would be Enemy At The Gates, another great war story about two snipers fighting during the battle of Stalingrad starring another favorite actor, Jude Law; Equilibrium, yet one more movie I love that stars Christian Bale, it's the future and emotions are outlawed in the movie that introduced me to gunkata; and of course, Escape From New York, the classic film that introduced the world to the best anti-hero of them all, Snake Plissken. My dad loves to quote him so I'll end this entry with one: "call me Snake."