Stanley Kubrick's Versatility

There have been many great movie directors over the years. Names like Alfred Hitchcock, Frank Capra, Martin Scorsese, John Ford, Steven Spielberg, Roman Polanski, and John Huston come to mind. As great as these directors are, I can't think of anyone more versatile than Stanley Kubrick. Many of these directors have a trademark look or feel to their movies. Kubrick may have his preferences too but what it so amazing to me is that he was successful in directing great movies in a variety of genres.

The first film of his I saw was 2001: A Space Odyssey. I was just a little kid and was trying to make sense of the whole thing. The monkeys, the monolith, the conflict with Hal, the supernova, and the lead character aging in the end were hard for me to put together and make sense of. It is now one of my favorite movies. Maybe I'm like people who see abstract art in a museum that they don't understand and say it is remarkable just because that's what the experts say, but I doubt it.

He only directed 16 movies before his death in 1999, but each film addressed a variety of subject matter and were often controversial. I remember how surprised I was when I found out that Kubrick directed all of the films listed below. He has obviously done other works, but I think these stand out as his best.

Spartacus-Epic Historical Drama

Paths of Glory-World War 1

The Shining-Horror Movie

Dr. Strangelove-Dark Comedy

2001: A Space Odyssey-Science Fiction

Clockwork Orange-Controversial Movie

Barry Lindon-18th Century Period Film

Full Metal Jacket-Vietnam War

It's one thing to specialize in suspense movies (Hitchcock), or horror movies (Carpenter), fantasy (Del Torro), but it is amazing to me that Kubrick had so much success with such a wide variety of genres and subject matter.

Rescue Dawn

A friend recommended this movie to me back in 2006 but it was already out of the theaters once he told me about it. I had completely forgotten about it until I recently came across it on DVD. Rescue Dawn is a movie based on the true story of U.S. Navy pilot Dieter Dangler, who's plane was shot down over Laos during the Vietnam War. This movie tells of his crash, captivity in a prison camp, and his attempt to escape.

Once Dangler (Bale) is captured by the Vietcong he is moved around, tortured and eventually put in a prison camp with five other prisoners. These prisoners nearly starved to death over time and the actors dedication to losing weight for their roles was very impressive. After watching the special features I learned that Bale, Zahn, and Davies lost a combined total of 128 pounds in order to give their characters a more authentic look. (Bale had done this before when he lost 60 pounds for his role in The Machinist.) The prisoners were not just physically but also mentally wasting away. It was painful to watch them wear down over time and lose hope, but Dangler was determined to escape. He devised a complicate escape plan and they patiently waited for the right time to pull it off. They were finally able to overtake their captors and escape into the jungle but this did little to improve his situation since he was still exhausted, starving, and lost. He was pursued by Vietcong and the native villagers as he attempted to find American forces.

The film was directed by Werner Herzog. I've enjoyed many of his films over the years but it surprised me to see him making a Hollywood film. His work is usually more avant garde and artistic. Watching this reminded me of the jungle landscape from his movies Aguirre and Fitzcerraldo. I appreciate the realistic feel of his movies.

This movie was very intense and I had no problem getting into it. The acting was probably the strongest part. Bale does a great job, but I think Jeremy Davies stole the show with his portrayal of mentally unstable Eugene. I was also surprised to see Steve Zahn in such a serious role. In the past I have associated him with goofball characters in other movies, but he was very convincing. If you like war movies or films based on true stories then I highly recommend it. I give this movie 8.0 stars. And yes, the prison aspect probably helped bump up my rating.

The Appeal of the Prison Movie

I have always thought prison movies have an alluring and captivating (no pun intended) quality to them. I have never served time but I think there is something about trying to survive in the big house that can make any movie exciting. After careful analysis I have categorized prison movies in the following categories.

The Innocent Victim-It's really easy to get behind the main character when he is innocent and was wrongfully accused and sentenced. Some movies that fit into this category are: Hurricane, The Fugitive, Papillon, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Green Mile, and The Shawshank Redemption.

Wrong Place At The Wrong Time-These movies feature an inmate who is not really a bad guy but was just at the wrong place at the wrong time or received a ridiculously harsh sentence. Some of these include Cool Hand Luke, The Longest Yard, Con Air, and Les Miserables.

The Prisoner Of War- These films not only deal with surviving but almost always involve groups of prisoners escaping. Some of these are The Great Escape, The Deer Hunter, Rescue Dawn, Victory, Night Crossing, etc.

The Pardoned Convict-These are movies that involve springing an inmate from jail so he can help the police and be pardoned or receive a lesser sentence. These include The Rock and 48 Hours.

Futuristic Escape-Then there are movies with more figurative or futuristic prisons or confined societies that the hero must break out of like The Matrix, THX 1138, Chronicles of Riddick, or Logan's Run.

Some prison movies don't fit so nicely into these categories like Escape From Alcatraz or Brubaker but they still have the exciting elements of life in prison. I'm not sure why, but movies where the main character has to fight to get free or escape an unjust system have always appealed to me, even if it's a bad guy. I admit that I'm biased and if there is a prison or an escape involved in a movie then I will probably give it an extra star no matter how bad the movie is. At least I'm honest about my bias.

Hellboy 2 Review

Disclaimer: Some of you may have noticed I have been reviewing movies that are now at the dollar theater or were recently released on DVD. To prove I am a legit movie reviewer and not just a cheap wanna be, I am going to start covering more new releases this year. I might even get in on a special screening one of these days.

Last week I rented Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. I wasn't a big fan of the first Hellboy movie. I was not very familiar with the comic book series and despite the cool special effects I just couldn't get into it. When I saw the preview for the sequel it looked much more appealing. I'm not sure if that was because I was already familiar with the characters or if it was because of all the cool visuals in the trailer. Speaking of visuals, I think it is easy to identify a Guillermo del Toro movie by his trademark artistic style. The same thing goes for any Tim Burton movie.

The story line reminded me of Lord of the Rings meets Hellboy. This movie begins by telling the story of the ancient world and how elves and men used to be at war. The elves created a merciless golden mechanical army which defeated their enemies. The army was later decommissioned by the king since they were so merciless and a truce was made between the waring factions . A disgruntled elf Prince wanted to change the world back to how it was with the elves in control so he attempts to collect 3 parts of an ancient crown which will allow him to unlock and control the golden army. Once he is able to accomplish this he can again defeat the human race.

The background for the movie is explained in the first 5 minutes and then then it changes to modern times in New York. Hellboy and his entourage attempt to stop Prince Nuada before he can accomplish his evil plan. In one of the earlier scene Hellboy and his friends blow their cover and the public is made aware of their existence. Hellboy fits the classic mold of the misunderstood superhero. Like Batman, Spiderman, and others he risks his neck for the public but despite his service many humans still fear or hate him. I really liked Ron Pearlman's performance and found myself laughing at several of his one liners. He does a great job of portraying one of the funniest and most kicked back superheros I can think of.

This movie was visually appealing and entertaining and I have a hard time requiring much more than that from a comic book movie. It is not Academy Award material (maybe the special effects are) but I enjoyed it enough to give it 7.4 out of 10 stars.

My Futuristic Movie Timeline

I have a problem with the Star Wars movies. They supposedly took place "a long time ago in a galaxy far far away." Why does this irritate me? Because years ago I started making a time line for movies. I started with ancient history movies and categorized them up until modern times. Then I decided I would also document futuristic movies.

If a date is mentioned in the movie then it is easy to identify and categorize. For instance 2001 A Space Odyssey and it's sequel 2010 are no brainers. Some movies like Star Wars throw a wrench in my project. Did they really have cool technology, space ships, and robots a long long time ago. I wish he would have said way "in the distant future in a galaxy far far away" so I could have included Star Wars. Oh Well, I guess George Lucas is going to pay for that mistake now as I leave his series off my futuristic movie timeline.

Many movies that take place in the future do not specifically mention a date when they take place. Some of these are: The Matrix, Blade Runner, V for Vendetta, Gattaca, Waterworld, Starship Troopers, Equillibrium, etc. I think it is easier to play it safe and just say it takes place some time in the future than to give a specific date, but I'm glad the movies below did. If you come across any others with specific dates please add them in the comments section.

2010-2010

The 6th Day- 2015

Back to the Future 2-2015

Rollerball-2018

Terminator Salvation-2018

The Island-2019
Red Planet-2020

Soylent Green-2022

Metropolis-2026

The Terminator 2-2029

12 Monkeys-2035

I Robot-2035

Minority Report-2054

Ultraviolet-2080

Total Recall-2084

Alien-2200

The 5th Element-2250

Aliens-2257

Logans Run-2274

Aeon Flux-2415
THX 1138-2450

Serenity-2490

Pitch Black-2500

Chronicles of Riddick-2505

Titan AE-3028

AI-4000

Now if you'll excuse me I need to go find something else to categorize.