Ranking the Academy Award Best Picture Winners
My ranking of the movies that won an Oscar for Best Picture.
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- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMarlon BrandoAl PacinoJames CaanThe aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.Marlon Brando is the head of one of New York's five mafia "families". He grants requests from family members during his daughter's wedding, ranging from jobs to murder, in return for "favors" when he needs them. He triggers a gang war between the families when he refuses to get involved with narcotics. Barely surviving an assassination attempt himself, he grooms his son to replace him. Al Pacino as Michael undergoes a remarkable transformation: from reluctant war hero to ruthless Don, and his story anchors the film. A relentlessly violent yet fascinating portrait of a family that demands loyalty at any cost, seemingly at odds with their deeply religious Italian heritage. The ensemble cast assembled by Coppola is one of the best in cinema history, while Gordon Willis' cinematography reflects the dark, somber mood.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsAl PacinoRobert De NiroRobert DuvallThe early life and career of Vito Corleone in 1920s New York City is portrayed, while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on the family crime syndicate.Michael Corleone, now firmly in control of the family after his father's death, survives an assassination attempt in his home. He vows revenge on those responsible, first to Florida and Cuba where he suspects a corrupt Jewish business partner, but then within his inner circle. The story of his father's early days as an immigrant in New York City is seamlessly interwoven with the more modern one, mirroring his own rise to power and subsequent betrayals. More or less a continuation of the first film, although the violence this time around is less jarring, but no less effective.
- DirectorMilos FormanStarsJack NicholsonLouise FletcherMichael BerrymanIn the Fall of 1963, a Korean War veteran and criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rallies up the scared patients against the tyrannical nurse.Jack Nicholson may or may not be faking mental illness to get out of jail and into a psychiatric hospital. He ends up in a ward run by the stoic Louise Fletcher, with whom he immediately clashes. He tries to inject some normalcy into the otherwise depressing routine by stealing a bus and taking the other patients on a joyride or watching a baseball game on tv. However, he takes things too far when he sneaks in alcohol and women one night. Hilarious and well-acted, but also a scathing indictment of the mental health system, as it is clear Nicholson is the only sane person yet receives the ultimate corrective treatment.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsPeter O'TooleAlec GuinnessAnthony QuinnThe story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.Misfit British officer O'Toole is sent to unify the Arabs in their conflict against Turkey in the early days of WWI. He leads them in an epic desert crossing for a surprise attack on a key coastal city. Along the way, he risks his life to save a man that others want to leave behind, and earns not only their respect but becomes a sort of prophet. At first he relishes the attention, but when he also begins to relish the bloodshed of war he begins to doubt himself. It all takes place against bigger-than-life, windswept desert locations, beautifully captured by director Lean and cinematographer Freddie Young.
- DirectorJohn SchlesingerStarsDustin HoffmanJon VoightSylvia MilesA naive hustler travels from Texas to New York City to seek personal fortune, finding a new friend in the process.
- DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsGene HackmanRoy ScheiderFernando ReyA pair of NYPD detectives in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a heroin smuggling ring based in Marseilles, but stopping them and capturing their leaders proves an elusive goal.
- DirectorMichael CiminoStarsRobert De NiroChristopher WalkenJohn CazaleAn in-depth examination of the ways in which the Vietnam War impacts and disrupts the lives of several friends in a small steel mill town in Pennsylvania.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsMyrna LoyDana AndrewsFredric MarchThree World War II veterans, two of them traumatized or disabled, return home to the American midwest to discover that they and their families have been irreparably changed.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsWilliam HoldenAlec GuinnessJack HawkinsBritish POWs are forced to build a railway bridge across the river Kwai for their Japanese captors in occupied Burma, not knowing that the allied forces are planning a daring commando raid through the jungle to destroy it.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsCharlton HestonJack HawkinsStephen BoydAfter a Jewish prince is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend in 1st-century Jerusalem, he regains his freedom and comes back for revenge.
- DirectorLaurence OlivierStarsLaurence OlivierJean SimmonsJohn LauriePrince Hamlet struggles over whether or not he should kill his uncle, whom he suspects has murdered his father, the former king.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsGreer GarsonWalter PidgeonTeresa WrightA British family struggles to survive the first months of World War II.
- DirectorElia KazanStarsMarlon BrandoKarl MaldenLee J. CobbAn ex-prize fighter turned New Jersey longshoreman struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses, including his older brother, as he starts to connect with the grieving sister of one of the syndicate's victims.Marlon Brando, in perhaps his best performance, is a former boxer who reluctantly becomes an informer on the mob. Lee J. Cobb is the brutal boss, controlling every aspect of the New York City docks through a corrupt union. Brando's brother is his right-hand man, and through that relationship involves Brando in murder. Struggling with guilt, Brando reaches out to the sister of the man who was killed and an idealistic priest played by Karl Malden. They must convince him to turn informer on not only the mob, but his brother. Strong characters, brilliant performances, moody black-and-white photography by Boris Kaufman and a memorable Leonard Bernstein soundtrack make this one of the most powerful films of the 1950s.
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsGeorge C. ScottKarl MaldenStephen YoungThe World War II phase of the career of controversial American general George S. Patton.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsBette DavisAnne BaxterGeorge SandersA seemingly timid but secretly ruthless ingénue insinuates herself into the lives of an aging Broadway star and her circle of theater friends.
- DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsBen KingsleyJohn GielgudRohini HattangadiThe life of the lawyer who became the famed leader of the Indian revolts against the British rule through his philosophy of nonviolent protest.
- DirectorKevin CostnerStarsKevin CostnerMary McDonnellGraham GreeneLieutenant John Dunbar, assigned to a remote western Civil War outpost, finds himself engaging with a neighbouring Sioux settlement, causing him to question his own purpose.
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsBurt LancasterMontgomery CliftDeborah KerrAt a U.S. Army base in 1941 Hawaii, a private is cruelly punished for not boxing on his unit's team, while his commanding officer's wife and top aide begin a tentative affair.
- DirectorHugh HudsonStarsBen CrossIan CharlesonNicholas FarrellTwo British track athletes, one a determined Jew and the other a devout Christian, are driven to win in the 1924 Olympics as they wrestle with issues of pride and conscience.
- DirectorJohn G. AvildsenStarsSylvester StalloneTalia ShireBurt YoungA small-time Philadelphia boxer gets a supremely rare chance to fight the world heavyweight champion in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect.
- DirectorPaul HaggisStarsDon CheadleSandra BullockThandiwe NewtonLos Angeles citizens with vastly separate lives collide in interweaving stories of race, loss and redemption.Paul Haggis exposes bigotry, racism and hatred in Los Angeles by examining a series of intertwined events one snowy day. Cops abuse their power to harass an innocent couple, said couple become carjack victims, carjackers become innocent victims of cops... an imperfect circle, if you will, and that is just one example. The screen play is exceptional, every thread complete, every character connected in some way. It is a masterful use of audience manipulation, which I began to realize about half way through the film, and since I knew I was being set up some of the final scenes lost their emotional impact. Nonetheless, I was not expecting much from this film, but was pleasantly surprised.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsJack LemmonShirley MacLaineFred MacMurrayA Manhattan insurance clerk tries to rise in his company by letting its executives use his apartment for trysts, but complications and a romance of his own ensue.
- DirectorGeorge Roy HillStarsPaul NewmanRobert RedfordRobert ShawTwo grifters team up to pull off the ultimate con.
- DirectorMel GibsonStarsMel GibsonSophie MarceauPatrick McGoohanScottish warrior William Wallace leads his countrymen in a rebellion to free his homeland from the tyranny of King Edward I of England.Mel Gibson's epic tale of the Scottish rebellion lead by William Wallace features some of the last great battle scenes filmed with real people rather than computer generated ones. There is never any doubt who is fighting who or why, a rather obvious fact overlooked in lesser films. Gibson manages to balance his bloody mayhem with surprising battlefield humor, but it's not just comic relief, those bare arses had a reason for being shown. There are the inevitable romances, a lost love and another one that tries but fails to take its place. Gibson does have a bad habit of using slow motion for dramatic effect. Finally, I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of Gibson in a kilt and pigtails.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsLaurence OlivierJoan FontaineGeorge SandersA self-conscious woman juggles adjusting to her new role as an aristocrat's wife and avoiding being intimidated by his first wife's spectral presence.Hitchcock's first American film is a lushly photographed story of a young girl falling in love with a wealthy, older man, only to find herself struggling to emerge from the shadows of his former wife. They meet in Paris, and after a whirlwind romance get married and move back to England. They move into Manderley, a huge English mansion on the sea. The building becomes another character in the story, alive and breathing, echoing the memories of another unseen character, the dead wife whose initials are on everything, like fingerprints. Poor old Joan Fontaine is overwhelmed by it all, but especially by a psychotic maid played to perfection by Judith Anderson. The two have a battle of wills more formidable than a heavyweight boxing match. We slowly learn of the past, of the first wife, how she lived, her friends, how she died. The final stretch devolves into a mystery film, with a trial, some detective work, and a rather melodramatic ending.
- DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsDustin HoffmanTom CruiseValeria GolinoAfter a selfish L.A. yuppie learns his estranged father left a fortune to an autistic-savant brother in Ohio that he didn't know existed, he absconds with his brother and sets out across the country, hoping to gain a larger inheritance.Shady car salesman Tom Cruise gets called away to his father's funeral in Cincinnati. Hoping to get a multi-million dollar inheritance, he is disappointed to only receive a vintage car. He learns that the bulk of the estate has gone to a trustee taking care of a brother he never knew he had in a nearby mental institution. Dustin Hoffman is Raymond, an autistic savant who lives by strict routines but is unable to take care of himself. Cruise kidnaps him and they take a cross country trip back to California in the vintage car. The two brothers slowly get to know each other over the course of the next week, with Cruise's initial disgust turning to appreciation and perhaps even love by the time it ends. They stop briefly in Las Vegas where Cruise uses his brother's unique math abilities to count cards and win enough money to pay off his creditors. In Los Angeles, they meet with doctor's and Cruise realizes that Raymond needs to go back to the institution for his own safety. An amazing performance by Hoffman anchors this classic road trip movie.
- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsLew AyresLouis WolheimJohn WrayA German youth eagerly enters World War I, but his enthusiasm wanes as he gets a firsthand view of the horror.German youth are riled up by the patriotic fervor of their professor and run out of the classroom to sign up for the war. After being subjected to an abusive commander during basic training, they are sent to the front lines where the horrors of trench warfare await them. Most die on the battlefield, the survivors while away the days in boredom, starvation, illness or killing the rats. One survivor returns home for a few days on leave, where he visits the old classroom and the professor, still spouting his patriotism, where he tells the current class the ugly truth about warfare. They kick him out as a coward, and the dejected boy returns to the front lines. He finds an old buddy and they reminisce for a short time before meeting their fates. The scenes on the battlefield are tremendous, with Arthur Edeson's fluid camerawork catching the chaos as never before on screen. Where it falters somewhat, however, is the down time, with long, boring interludes that seem to never end. An important, and very good film, if beginning to fade a bit with time.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenDiane KeatonTony RobertsAlvy Singer, a divorced Jewish comedian, reflects on his relationship with ex-lover Annie Hall, an aspiring nightclub singer, which ended abruptly just like his previous marriages.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsRay MillandJane WymanPhillip TerryThe desperate life of a chronic alcoholic is followed through a four-day drinking bout.A weekend getaway to the country, and away from the bottle, unexpectedly turns into Milland's last stand against a long battle with alcoholism. We learn of his past through a couple of long flashbacks, including meeting sympathetic girlfriend Jane Wyman at the opera. Out of money and out of drinks, Milland wanders around New York City in search of an open pawn shop, goes to a nightclub where he gets thrown out for purse snatching and ends up in the alcoholic ward after falling down a flight of stairs. He escapes but faces suicide straight in the face. The theremin-driven soundtrack is occasionally inappropriate, and the encounter between a bat-on-a-string and mouse-in-the-wall a bit silly, but otherwise a classic and by far Ray Milland's best role.
- DirectorSam MendesStarsKevin SpaceyAnnette BeningThora BirchA sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter's best friend.
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsJodie FosterAnthony HopkinsScott GlennA young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.
- DirectorNorman JewisonStarsSidney PoitierRod SteigerWarren OatesA black Philadelphia police detective is mistakenly suspected of a local murder while passing through a racially hostile Mississippi town, and after being cleared is reluctantly asked by the police chief to investigate the case.Sidney Poitier, at home visiting his mother in a small Mississippi town, finds himself hauled in for murder while sitting at the train station. Police Chief Rod Steiger, in one of his best performances, soon finds out that not only is Poitier innocent, but he is a crackerjack homicide detective. Poitier proceeds to show the good ole boys how to solve a murder case. It's CSI for the 1960s, with a tense racism backdrop. However, the white citizens are too often shallow redneck stereotypes. The resolution of the murder case, in particular the motivation, was also weak. It does have atmosphere to burn and Poitier is fantastic.
- DirectorTom HooperStarsColin FirthGeoffrey RushHelena Bonham CarterThe story of King George VI, his unexpected ascension to the throne of the British Empire in 1936, and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch overcome his stammer.A prince reluctantly becomes a king when his brother gives up the crown to marry a divorced woman. The newly crowned king seeks out a therapist to correct his lifelong speech stammer. After other physicians have failed, he goes to the unconventional Geoffrey Rush, a man with little or no credentials but plenty of results. The two strike up an unlikely friendship during his long days of therapy. Meanwhile, Hitler invades Poland and England declares war on Germany. The king is called upon to rally the nation with an incredibly important speech to be broadcast on radio. It is up to Rush to help him through, as therapist, English citizen and friend. Beautifully filmed on many UK locations with a (mostly) fluid camera, though the inevitable modern shakiness does occasionally creep into some scenes. Firth is stunning in the lead role, and Rush almost his equal. My only gripe would be a certain coldness to Firth's character that makes it hard to sympathize with him at times.
- DirectorRobert RedfordStarsDonald SutherlandMary Tyler MooreJudd HirschThe accidental death of the older son of an affluent family deeply strains the relationships among the bitter mother, the good-natured father and the guilt-ridden younger son.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsMeryl StreepRobert RedfordKlaus Maria BrandauerIn 20th-century colonial Kenya, a Danish baroness/plantation owner has a passionate love affair with a free-spirited big-game hunter.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsHumphrey BogartIngrid BergmanPaul HenreidA cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.The quintessential "classic film" and popular favorite is certainly not the best movie ever made, but it is a fast moving romance/drama with a serious war undertone. Most of the action takes place at Rick's Cafe Americain, where would-be refugees to America bide their time gambling, listening to Sam play jazz at the piano and making deals for visas. German officers come and go, and a memorable scene features a patriotic singing duel. The film is really concerned with the romance between leads Bogie and Bergman, whose doomed relationship has caused many a classic film fan to break out the hanky. Bogie says "here's looking at you, kid" a few too many times (I counted 3), and he never says "play it again, Sam" despite movie lore. It all unwinds in the inevitable farewell scene at the airport shrouded in artistic fog.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsGene KellyLeslie CaronOscar LevantThree friends struggle to find work in Paris. Things become more complicated when two of them fall in love with the same woman.
- DirectorSteve McQueenStarsChiwetel EjioforMichael Kenneth WilliamsMichael FassbenderIn the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free Black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.A free black man in New York accepts a travel invitation to DC with a couple of business partners, who end up drugging him and selling him into slavery. He is sent to Louisiana where he spends the next 12 years in a living hell. Torture and rape are common at the hands of his owners, who dehumanize their slaves as mere property. He manages to eventually sneak out a letter to his family, who send lawyers to release him and reunite them. Vividly acted and directed, there has perhaps never been a film that shows slavery so realistically, but a painful, sorrowful experience.
- DirectorDelbert MannStarsErnest BorgnineBetsy BlairEsther MinciottiA middle-aged butcher and a school teacher who have given up on the idea of love meet at a dance and fall for each other.Ernest Borgnine is a butcher in New York City. At 34, he lives with his mother, hangs out with losers at bars and wonders why he can't find a wife. One night he meets his soul mate at the Stardust Ballroom, a homely schoolteacher played by Betsy Blair. After some awkward moments between the socially-impaired couple, they spend most of the night walking the streets and talking. Amazed that they have found each other, they desperately make another date for the next night. Feeling threatened, Borgnine's mother and "friends" ridicule the girl the next day. They almost convince him not to call her again, but he soon realizes his mistake, saving the girl from a night in front of the TV crying. Sentimental to a fault, and dated, but hard to dislike characters that are this real if a bit naive.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsTom HanksRobin WrightGary SiniseThe history of the United States from the 1950s to the '70s unfolds from the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75, who yearns to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsJean ArthurJames StewartLionel BarrymoreThe son of a snobbish Wall Street banker becomes engaged to a woman from a good-natured but decidedly eccentric family not realizing that his father is trying to force her family from their home for a real estate development.Jean Arthur and Jimmy Stewart are well-paired as lovers from opposite sides of the track. He's the son of a wealthy banker during the Depression years, a vice-president with a comfortable job and not much to do. She is his free-spirited secretary. When his stuffy father and mother meet her eccentric family chaos ensues. This eventually forces them apart. It's up to her grandfather, Lionel Barrymore, to get them back together again, and all it takes is a well-timed harmonica duet. It features many classic Capra scenes, the courtroom drama and the final harmonica scene in particular, but a stage-bound feel and occasional forced sentimentality keep it a tad below his best films.
- DirectorRobert RossenStarsBroderick CrawfordJohn IrelandJoanne DruThe rise and fall of a corrupt politician, who makes his friends richer and retains power by dint of a populist appeal.
- DirectorFrank LloydStarsCharles LaughtonClark GableFranchot ToneFirst mate Fletcher Christian leads a revolt against his sadistic commander, Captain Bligh, in this classic seafaring adventure, based on the real-life 1789 mutiny.Charles Laughton plays Captain Bligh, the commander of a British ship headed to Tahiti in the late 18th century. His first mate is Clark Gable, who is tasked with forcibly rounding up sailors for the 2-year journey. On board, Laughton rules with an iron fist, routinely doling out torture for minor offences. Gable objects but stays in line for the journey. On Tahiti, officers and sailors freely indulge in their freedom. Laughton tries to keep Gable on the ship, but relents to a local chief. However, on the journey back to England, Laughton employs his stern punishment again, this time causing a death. Gable has seen enough and help with they mutiny, casting off Laughton and his loyal men on a small ship. Gable and crew head back to Tahiti where they take up where they left off, while Laughton expertly guides his small ship to safety. Months later, Laughton shows up at Tahiti on another ship and arrests one of the officers, but Gable manages to escape. The officer is brought to England, tried and convicted for the mutiny, but an emotional speech about the tactics of Laughton earns him a pardon. Gable, meanwhile, finds another island to live on with his new Tahitian bride and friends. Laughton has never been better in his most famous role. Gable gets to act a little, but also succumbs to his romantic stereotype while cavorting with south sea girls. Franchot Tone gets the best lines with his final speech.
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsPaul ScofieldWendy HillerRobert ShawThe story of Sir Thomas More, who stood up to King Henry VIII when the King rejected the Roman Catholic Church to obtain a divorce and remarry.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsMark LesterRon MoodyShani WallisAfter being sold to a mortician, young orphan Oliver Twist runs away and meets a group of boys trained to be pickpockets by an elderly mentor in 1830s London.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsLiam NeesonRalph FiennesBen KingsleyIn German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.Sprawling story of a German industrialist who takes advantage of the war to make his fortune, only to give it all away in an attempt to save his Jewish workers from the holocaust. Relentless and harrowing portrait of the brutality of the Nazis, the violence almost becomes numbing after awhile. Shot in gritty black and white, the amount of bloodshed may have been too much for color. The violence does make Neeson's transformation from Nazi sympathizer to Jewish savior all the more believable, however.
- DirectorJerome RobbinsRobert WiseStarsNatalie WoodGeorge ChakirisRichard BeymerTwo youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.The Romeo and Juliet story is given a New York City gang setting, Broadway-style music and intense choreography with ballet influences. Richard Beymer is Tony, retired leader of the Jets, who falls in love at first sight with Maria, played by Natalie Wood, the sister of the leader of the rival Sharks gang. Beymer and Wood lack charisma, a nearly fatal flaw given the pivotal nature of their relationship to the plot, though it must be admitted the plot is secondary to just about everything else. The songs are timeless, "Maria" and "America" in particular are Sondheim and Bernstein gems. The stylized choreography influenced countless films. However, the dialogue is frequently punctuated with popular slang and feels dated. Characters are poorly developed stereotypes more than anything else and the ending melodramatic. As a Broadway play, this is nearly perfect, however, as is so often the case, suffers in the translation to the big screen.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanHarry d'Abbadie d'ArrastStarsClara BowCharles 'Buddy' RogersRichard ArlenTwo young men, one rich, one middle class, who are in love with the same woman, become fighter pilots in World War I.The exploits of two childhood friends who enlist during WWI to become pilots for the Army. Both are in love with the same girl, but she only pretends to be in love with one of them out of sympathy, little realizing that the girl next door, Clara Bow, is the one really in love with him. They go through the usual pilot school routine, eventually going on bombing runs over France. There is a memorable sequence in a Paris nightclub involving champagne bubbles. However, the aerial combat sequences are the real highlight, including hand tinted flame-outs. Highly enjoyable, if occasionally sudsy, silent film that will forever be known as the first winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture.
- DirectorTom McCarthyStarsMark RuffaloMichael KeatonRachel McAdamsThe true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.A crack team of Boston newspaper reporters is assigned to write a story about the Catholic church cover up of the sexual abuse of children by priests. They follow leads from victims, lawyers and other high ranking officials, eventually leading to the explosive expose. Dry, almost clinical, presentation of how a story is researched and written, only Mark Ruffalo and some of the victims manage to show any emotion. Still manages to be an engrossing story, but low key approach and predictable ending diminish its cinematic qualities.
- DirectorEdmund GouldingStarsGreta GarboJohn BarrymoreJoan CrawfordA group of very different individuals staying at a luxurious hotel in Berlin deal with each of their respective dramas.John Barrymore is a hotel thief planning to steal the jewels of ballerina Greta Garbo staying in a posh Berlin hotel. He is attracted to stenographer Joan Crawford while milling around the hotel and manages to talk her into a date the next afternoon. She is working for a wealthy industrialist trying to close a business deal. Meanwhile, hotel guest Lionel Barrymore is dying and plans to spend his final days living in luxury. The thief strikes up a friendship with him. That night, he sneaks into the ballerina's room but is discovered. They spend the rest of the night talking, and falling in love. She is suffering from a lack of confidence on the stage, making her susceptible to his compliments. The next day, he shows up for his date with the stenographer but tells her he has fallen in love with someone else in the meantime. She is crestfallen and turns to Lionel Barrymore for consolation. Still needing money for gambling debts, the thief sets his sights on the wealthy industrialist, but is caught in the act and accidentally murdered. Dizzying array of characters is handled adeptly by director Goulding. Tends to be mostly melodramatics, and Garbo really overplays her character, but denouement is quite satisfying.
- DirectorElia KazanStarsGregory PeckDorothy McGuireJohn GarfieldA reporter pretends to be Jewish in order to cover a story on anti-Semitism, and personally discovers the true depths of bigotry and hatred.
- DirectorRobert BentonStarsDustin HoffmanMeryl StreepJane AlexanderAfter his wife leaves him, a work-obsessed Manhattan advertising executive is forced to learn long-neglected parenting skills, but a heated custody battle over the couple's young son deepens the wounds left by the separation.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsAudrey HepburnRex HarrisonStanley HollowayIn 1910s London, snobbish phonetics professor Henry Higgins agrees to a wager that he can make crude flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, presentable in high society.
- DirectorLeo McCareyStarsBing CrosbyBarry FitzgeraldFrank McHughWhen young Father O'Malley arrives at St. Dominic's, old Father Fitzgibbon doesn't think much of the church's newest member.
- DirectorJohn MaddenStarsGwyneth PaltrowJoseph FiennesGeoffrey RushThe world's greatest ever playwright, William Shakespeare, is young, out of ideas and short of cash, but meets his ideal woman and is inspired to write one of his most famous plays.Superb period detail and a clever screenplay make this Shakespeare a joy to watch. Ole Will is experiencing writer's block, until he sets eyes on Viola. She inspires him not only to climb balconies for secret seductions, but to write his most famous play, Romeo and Ethyl the Pirate's Daughter. The screenplay, co-written by Tom Stoppard, effortlessly intertwines their relationship with that of the more famous couple in the play, relentlessly moving forward until we get to the debut performance: where not only are they Romeo and Juliet in character but in person as well. I did not like the doe-eyed, perfectly groomed stubble, rushed performance of Joseph Fiennes as Shakespeare, he seemed more like eye-candy for the modern audience, and for that matter so did Gwyneth Paltrow, though at least her Viola was a bit more subdued.
- DirectorBernardo BertolucciStarsJohn LoneJoan ChenPeter O'TooleBernardo Bertolucci's Oscar-winning dramatisation of the life story of China's last emperor, Pu Yi.Three year old Pu Yi is taken from his mother and installed as emperor of China. He grows up in opulence with his every wish granted. These early years are spectacularly filmed in the Forbidden City. As a young adult, he becomes rebellious of his surroundings and seeks change. However, another rebellion outside the gates forces him to seek asylum in Japan. The rest of the film is a rather tedious lesson in the political history of China and Japan, with Pu Yi regaining his crown but at the expense of his own self-respect. In the last scene he is reincarnated as a cricket.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsCharlie SheenTom BerengerWillem DafoeChris Taylor, a neophyte recruit in Vietnam, finds himself caught in a battle of wills between two sergeants, one good and the other evil. A shrewd examination of the brutality of war and the duality of man in conflict.Oliver Stone's depiction of the Vietnam war, based on his own experiences, is realistic but unfocused. It follows one platoon through the eyes of Charlie Sheen. The leadership of the platoon alternates between the evil Tom Berenger (you know he is evil because of the facial scars) and the good William Dafoe (hangs out and smokes pot with the guys). When they raid a Vietnamese camp, Berenger murders an old woman because she won't stop talking, while the men of the platoon murder and rape other residents. Sheen watches in horror. Dafoe confronts Berenger, but without proof he escapes punishment. More fighting follows, the platoon is decimated by casualties, until they are overrun by the enemy in the final battle. Sheen gets retribution for Berenger's atrocities in a rather contrived scene, proving that the real enemy was ourselves all along. This is the weakest of the three great Vietnam war movies, behind Coppola's Apocalypse Now and Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsClark GableClaudette ColbertWalter ConnollyA rogue reporter trailing a runaway heiress for a big story joins her on a bus heading from Florida to New York and they end up stuck with each other when the bus leaves them behind at one of the stops along the way.Classic comedy starring Clark Gable (and his ears) as a newspaper reporter who stumbles on the story of his life, missing heiress Claudette Colbert (and her eyebrows) on an overnight bus trip. She's a spoiled brat and he's a gruff reporter, but with time his romantic side is revealed and the Walls of Jericho come down. The dialogue is snappy, the chemistry between the leads sizzling, but it tends to drag a bit in the middle and the Wall of Jericho gag is overplayed.
- DirectorJames L. BrooksStarsShirley MacLaineDebra WingerJack NicholsonFollows hard-to-please Aurora looking for love and her daughter's family problems.James Brooks takes his formula for success on TV, the "dramedy", to the big screen with some deeply drawn characters and superb acting from a trio of superstars. Debra Winger is the main focus, a naive teenager who gets married to an irresponsible English professor against the wishes of her overbearing mother. We watch as all of the characters grow, and grow up, over time. Winger is devoted to her husband and children, despite his affairs, and stays close to mother Shirley MacLaine on the phone when they move to another state. Dissatisfied at home, she starts her own affair with John Lithgow. Meanwhile, mom is sleeping with next door astronaut played to the hilt by Jack Nicholson. The characters and plot are obsessed with sex and that does get a bit tiresome after awhile. For some reason the film decides to torture the viewer with 30 minutes of a depressing battle with cancer for the finale.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsHilary SwankClint EastwoodMorgan FreemanFrankie, an ill-tempered old coach, reluctantly agrees to train aspiring boxer Maggie. Impressed with her determination and talent, he helps her become the best and the two soon form a close bond.Emotional story of female boxer Hilary Swank persuading a cranky, aging Clint Eastwood to become her trainer. It doesn't take long for them to replace the relationships missing in their lives with each other: he becomes her father and she his daughter. Well, old Clint is an exceptional trainer and he takes her all the way to the title bout. This part of the film is simply Rocky revisited with a different gender. Cliches abound, including gravelly-voiced, folksy narration which provides a running commentary on the real meaning of what we are watching. The plot takes a detour into weepy hospital melodrama, with an impassioned plea for assisted suicide. I'm reminded of another Best Picture winner, Terms of Endearment, a good film, but not necessarily one I look forward to revisiting.
- DirectorDanny BoyleLoveleen TandanStarsDev PatelFreida PintoSaurabh ShuklaA teenager from the slums of Mumbai becomes a contestant on the show 'Kaun Banega Crorepati?' When interrogated under suspicion of cheating, he revisits his past, revealing how he had all the answers.A boy from the slums of Mumbai, India, becomes a national TV hero on a game show. Remarkably, the questions he is asked on the show are all related to his life. It's and odd way to frame a story, and I'm not sure it could have been told better without it. Anyway, as a young boy, he befriends another "slumdog" and together they grow up on the streets. His mother is killed, leaving him homeless. The two friends take in a third, a girl, and their love story is really the heart of the movie. As teenagers, they hustle tourists at the Taj Mahal, but eventually return to the big city. His friend becomes a gangster and the girl forced into virtual slavery. He becomes obsessed with finding her again, with the hopes she would see him on TV. It's a flashy film, over-produced and over-directed given the subject matter, but it does have a way of drawing you into its story. I could have done without the dancing at the end.
- DirectorMichael AndersonJohn FarrowStarsDavid NivenCantinflasFinlay CurrieA Victorian Englishman bets that with the new steamships and railways he can circumnavigate the globe in eighty days.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsWalter PidgeonMaureen O'HaraAnna LeeAt the turn of the century in a Welsh mining village, the Morgans, he stern, she gentle, raise coal-mining sons and hope their youngest will find a better life.Life in a Welsh coal mining town at the turn of the century is vividly brought to life by director Ford. Donald Crisp plays the patriarch of a large family, whose sons all work in the coal mine. Their idyllic existence is disrupted when wages are cut, leading to a strike. Meanwhile, his only daughter, Maureen O'Hara, falls in love with the local preacher. Their doomed affair is one of many subplots. Ford struggles to keep the narrative on track, frequently diverting to these subplots, leaving others forgotten for long stretches. The end result is a bit frustrating, melodramatic at times, episodic, but then not afraid to confront themes of labor and unions, or the harsh working conditions in the mine. The crisp black-and-white cinematography by Arthur C. Miller is real highlight, though.
- DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsMorgan FreemanJessica TandyDan AykroydAn old Jewish woman and her African-American chauffeur in the American South have a relationship that grows and improves over the years.
- DirectorAnthony MinghellaStarsRalph FiennesJuliette BinocheWillem DafoeAt the close of World War II, a young nurse tends to a badly burned plane crash victim. His past is shown in flashbacks, revealing an involvement in a fateful love affair.Exquisitely filmed adaptation of the Michael Ondaatje novel. It's basically the story of a love affair between a map maker and his friends' wife in north Africa in the early days of WWII, told from his death bed in Italy. It took some time to warm up to the framing device in Italy, in fact I'm still not convinced it really added much to the story. Juliette Binoche, his nurse, and her brief fling with an Indian bomb diffuser was more of a distraction than anything else. The other problem was Ralph Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas, whose characters were rather selfish and cold. It was hard to sympathize with the adulterous relationship that was the heart of the movie. Nonetheless, some very moving scenes, in particular the last 15 minutes or so in the "cave of swimmers".
- DirectorMichel HazanaviciusStarsJean DujardinBérénice BejoJohn GoodmanWhen George, a silent movie superstar, meets Peppy Miller, a dancer, sparks fly between the two. However, after the introduction of talking pictures, their fortunes change, affecting their dynamic.A silent film icon has trouble adapting to talkies and spirals into bankruptcy and depression. His wife divorces him and his comeback film is a failure. He spends his time alone drinking or watching his old films. One day he decides to burn them and sets his house on fire, only surviving because of his quick thinking faithful dog. Meanwhile, a girl he once helped get her first job becomes a Hollywood sensation in the sound era. After the fire, she takes him into her mansion to recover, but he is too proud to accept and walks out. Eventually she finds a role for him in one of her movies that he can accept. A breezy, easy-to-take homage to Hollywood's golden age, almost spoiled by the pathetic figure of Jean Dujardin's "George Valentin", who goes from egotistical star to self-loathing has-been over the course of the film.
- DirectorBarry JenkinsStarsMahershala AliNaomie HarrisTrevante RhodesA young African-American man grapples with his identity and sexuality while experiencing the everyday struggles of childhood, adolescence, and burgeoning adulthood.A Miami youth lives alone with his drug-addicted mother in a housing project. He is befriended by her drug dealer who becomes a replacement father figure. As a teenager, the boy is bullied and beaten by classmates for being gay. His mother takes money from him for drugs and his father figure has since died. He has his first homosexual encounter on a beach. As a young adult, he has fled to Atlanta and become a drug dealer himself. One day he gets a phone call from the man he first met on the beach, and travels back to Miami to meet him. Pretentiously filmed melodrama filled with homoerotic imagery of muscular black men. It tries but mostly fails to break stereotypes. The swirling, floating camerawork distracts from rather than adds to the story. Disappointing.
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsJames StewartCharlton HestonBetty HuttonThe dramatic lives of trapeze artists, a clown, and an elephant trainer are told against a background of circus spectacle.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsPaul MuniGale SondergaardJoseph SchildkrautThe biopic of the famous French muckraking writer and his involvement in fighting the injustice of the Dreyfus Affair.The life of French author and activist Emile Zola, portrayed by Paul Muni, traces his history from a struggling writer living in a decrepit attic with artist Paul Cezanne. A chance encounter with a prostitute inspires him to write Nana, which brings him fame. He follows it up with more than a dozen novels, eventually settling in his middle age for a comfortable life of wealth and leisure. He is lured into defending a man framed for spying and writes a treatise exposing the French generals responsible. They vigorously defend themselves in libel trial which is little more than a farce. Zola flees to London rather than face prison time. Eventually the truth comes out but Zola dies accidentally at about the same time. Another long, predictable Hollywood biopic, with the so-called "Dreyfus affair" consuming far too much running time.
- DirectorBen AffleckStarsBen AffleckBryan CranstonJohn GoodmanActing under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1979.Ben Affleck is a CIA agent who comes up with an audacious idea to rescue 6 Americans hiding out in the Canadian embassy in Tehran during the hostage crisis of 1979. A fake movie is created as a cover story, the Americans given Canadian passports and try to pass themselves off as the film crew on a location scout. Affleck must convince the skeptical Americans, the politicians in Washington and, most of all, the Iranian guards at the airport. Tension builds to the breaking point, but, unfortunately, the pay off is typical Hollywood: an impossible last second escape all dressed up in CGI. Based on a true story, so I'm not sure how much liberty was taken with the airport scenes, but I'd be surprised if police cars were feet away from the wheels of a jet during take-off.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliCharles WaltersStarsLeslie CaronMaurice ChevalierLouis JourdanWeary of the conventions of Parisian society, a rich playboy and a youthful courtesan-in-training enjoy a platonic friendship which may not stay platonic for long.
- DirectorWesley RugglesStarsRichard DixIrene DunneEstelle TaylorA newspaper editor settles in an Oklahoma boom town with his reluctant wife at the end of the nineteenth century.Restless Richard Dix moves his family from Kansas to Oklahoma hoping to claim real estate in the land rush of 1889. He is outwitted by a prostitute named Dixie Lee, so instead moves to the nearby town of Osage to start a newspaper. His progressive editorials make him popular with the locals, especially when he backs it up by shooting outlaws. However, his pro-Indian stance is not so popular, especially with his wife. Years pass, and Dix becomes restless again. He abandons his family for another land rush and disappears for five years. When he returns, he finds his wife running the newspaper and his children growing up. However, when he defends his old nemesis Dixie Lee in court he alienates them, and the town. He disappears once again and decades pass. His wife becomes the first female member of Congress and his son marries an Indian princess. He returns one more time, an old man, war veteran, and hero, having sacrificed himself to save another man in an accident at a local oil rig. The opening scenes of the epic land rush are still impressive today. However, the film tries to cover too much history, and loses the characters along the way. Irene Dunne's transformation from frontier housewife to newspaper editor and politician is particularly unconvincing. Racist overtones seem out of place today.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsRussell CroweEd HarrisJennifer ConnellyA mathematical genius, John Nash made an astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But the handsome and arrogant Nash soon found himself on a harrowing journey of self-discovery.This is essentially a variation of the gimmick used in The Sixth Sense. I felt stupid, and worse used, for falling for it again. The movie ceased to be interesting from the time the gimmick is revealed. Russell Crowe mumbles his way through the dialogue, to the point I thought subtitles would have helped. He's like a schizophrenic Forrest Gump. The relationship between Crowe and Connelly is overemphasized and overly-romantic. It's all typical for a Ron Howard movie, based on fact but ironically impossible to believe.
- DirectorRob MarshallStarsRenée ZellwegerCatherine Zeta-JonesRichard GereTwo death-row murderesses develop a fierce rivalry while competing for publicity, celebrity, and a sleazy lawyer's attention.The perennial Broadway musical gets a modern jolt and ends up looking like a sleazy Madonna video with a huge budget. Roxie Hart is as unlikeable as ever as the self-absorbed murderess after fame and fortune. Richard Gere is the lawyer who is even more egotistical and unethical to boot. Finally, there is Catherine Zeta-Jones who lives for the limelight, only to lose it to Roxie, but will stoop to anything to get it back. Flashy editing techniques, over-the-top costuming and set design can't hide the fact that every character is corrupt to the core. However, the whole film may be nothing more than the fantasies of Roxie, as implied by the opening zoom-shot into her eyeball.
- DirectorVictor FlemingGeorge CukorSam WoodStarsClark GableVivien LeighThomas MitchellA sheltered and manipulative Southern belle and a roguish profiteer face off in a turbulent romance as the society around them crumbles with the end of slavery and is rebuilt during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods.Vivien Leigh plays southern belle Scarlett O'Hara, a stubborn, high-strung, spoiled girl living on a cotton plantation in 1861 Georgia. She falls in love with an older gentleman who lives at a neighboring plantation, or at least tells herself she does, then spends the rest of her life, and the movie, regretting it. She ignores the initial overtures from visiting playboy Rhett Butler (Clark Gable, in his iconic role), despite their obvious mutual attraction, even when the other man announces he is engaged. Civil War breaks out, and as the men go to war the women are left to take care of the plantations. Scarlett impulsively marries another departing soldier, but he soon dies. Ostensibly in mourning, she travels to Atlanta to recover, but really is hoping to meet the other man. She helps her family doctor tend to the wounded, becoming more and more involved, and is eventually overwhelmed, in perhaps the film's most powerful scenes. She returns to her plantation home with the the help of Rhett, in a memorable carriage ride in the wake of Sherman's March to the Sea. The war ends and she is left to try to put the plantation back together mostly alone. She marries a shop owner in Atlanta for money, and proves to be better than him at business. He dies, leaving her alone again. Rhett comes to the rescue and she marries him, again for his wealth. The film quickly devolves into a turgid melodrama chronicling their unhappy marriage, beautifully filmed in Technicolor, but still turgid melodrama. By the fourth hour, I was relieved to hear those magic words from Rhett: "frankly my dear, I don't give a damn", signalling at long last the end.
- DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsJeremy RennerAnthony MackieBrian GeraghtyDuring the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.A new sergeant takes over command of a small bomb squadron in Iraq. His reckless methods clash with the more experienced crew. They go from one tense situation to another, never quite sure if it is their time to die. At night, they get drunk, listen to heavy metal and play violent video games. A countdown clock tells us the number of days left in their rotation. However, when the sergeant finally gets home he is bored and immediately signs up again for more of the same. The plot, if you can find one, is episodic and the characters broadly drawn. It is shot in the trendy shaky cam style that tries to pass it off as a documentary, but instead just gives it an amateurish, sloppy look.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsJulie AndrewsChristopher PlummerEleanor ParkerA young novice is sent by her convent in 1930s Austria to become a governess to the seven children of a widowed naval officer.
- DirectorMilos FormanStarsF. Murray AbrahamTom HulceElizabeth BerridgeThe life, success and troubles of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as told by Antonio Salieri, the contemporaneous composer who was deeply jealous of Mozart's talent and claimed to have murdered him.Antonio Salieri has his world turned upside down by the arrival of a young, impetuous composer by the name of Mozart. Court composer Salieri attends every performance of every opera, yet at the same time plots his ruin, eventually turning to murder. As for Mozart, he's a vulgar drunk with an obscene laugh. "Vulfie", as his wife calls him, likes to spend his nights drinking with harlots while she stays home with the kids. He writes operas in his spare time with little to no effort. After more than two hours, I was beginning to despise him as much as Salieri. Still, there is the music, brilliantly realized by Neville Mariner, which saves this from being a complete bore.
- DirectorEthan CoenJoel CoenStarsTommy Lee JonesJavier BardemJosh BrolinViolence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong and over two million dollars in cash near the Rio Grande.Josh Brolin is a hunter who stumbles upon a drug deal gone bad in the Texas desert, and a satchel full of cash which he takes home to his trailer park wife. Javier Bardem is the Mexican drug dealer who wants the money back at any cost. Bardem is one of the most psychopathic killers in recent memory, his weapon of choice is an air bolt gun that is used to kill steer, that or a shotgun with a silencer. However, the film is marred by the excessive gore: do we really need to see Bardem operate on his own leg, or a broken bone sticking out of his arm? The violence does not serve the story, it is only there to shock and call attention to itself, the definition of exploitation. Then there is the predictable Cohen brothers quirkiness: few characters speak like normal people, preferring to rattle off dry dialogue laced with even dryer humor. Much like the previous year's best picture winner, The Departed, this is a disappointing film that prefers to wallow in its own disgusting imagery.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioMatt DamonJack NicholsonAn undercover cop and a mole in the police attempt to identify each other while infiltrating an Irish gang in South Boston.Matt Damon plays a cop who works for the city's most wanted drug kingpin. Leonardo DiCaprio plays an undercover cop working for the same drug kingpin. Damon and DiCaprio spend the movie trying to discover the identity of the other one. It's a long, tiring cell-phone centric plot that stretches the limits of believability. Nicholson as the city's most wanted criminal is a stereotype of every mafia don in the history of movies. It's a violent, foul-mouthed film in which nobody comes out alive, neither the good guys nor the bad guys. It feels more like a parody of gangster movies, not what Scorsese was trying to accomplish, in what is probably a great director's worst film, and ironically the one that finally got him the best picture Oscar.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodGene HackmanMorgan FreemanRetired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner Ned Logan and a young man, The "Schofield Kid."
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsWilliam PowellMyrna LoyLuise RainerThe ups and downs of Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., famed producer of extravagant stage revues, are portrayed.William Powell plays the famous entrepreneur and Broadway producer Florenz Ziegfeld. The story traces his origins from a sideshow at the Chicago World's fair where he successfully lures customers away from competitor Frank Morgan. On a trip to Europe, he steals Morgan's new discovery by lying about his wealth. He does however eventually make her a star. Later he comes up with the idea to reproduce the French follies around handpicked American beauties. The lavish productions, which are reproduced here in vivid detail, are a hit. However, when their popularity eventually declines he has as string of misses while his personal life falls apart. He makes a strong comeback on Broadway, but loses everything in the stock market crash of 1929. He never really recovers, and dies a broken man, in the particularly bad, cliched final scene. Overlong by at least an hour, this is a real chore to sit through, with a standard biopic plot, mugging by Fannie Brice and overacting by Luise Rainer.
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsElijah WoodViggo MortensenIan McKellenGandalf and Aragorn lead the World of Men against Sauron's army to draw his gaze from Frodo and Sam as they approach Mount Doom with the One Ring.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsRussell CroweJoaquin PhoenixConnie NielsenA former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery.One of the best examples of a film that puts style above substance. Ridley Scott's epic tale of a fallen general resurrected as a vengeful gladiator has all the modern trappings: over reliance on CGI, flashy editing and almost too much attention to detail. All of these things distract from the character and story, which literally get lost in the mix. The film also displays an almost monochromatic color palette, reminiscent of old sepia tone techniques from the silent era: scenes are mostly a cool blue or warm brown. I am not a big fan of Russell Crowe, he relies mostly on cliche facial expressions and a mumbling delivery, both on display here. Joaquin Phoenix is better as the emperor, but did he really need a scar on his face to make us see that he is "evil"? Connie Nielsen as his sister spent nearly the entire film crying. Only old timers Richard Harris and Oliver Reed provide any real spark.
- DirectorTony RichardsonStarsAlbert FinneySusannah YorkGeorge DevineThe romantic and chivalrous adventures of adopted bastard Tom Jones in 18th-century England.
- DirectorHarry BeaumontStarsBessie LoveAnita PageCharles KingA pair of sisters from the vaudeville circuit try to make it big time on Broadway, but matters of the heart complicate the attempt.A sister act arrives in New York where the older's boyfriend has a hit song waiting for them and they hope to find stardom on Broadway. His connections get them an audition in a big show, but it is sabotaged by a rival. However, the younger sister's good looks get the attention of the producer and they get hired. After their number is cut during rehearsal, the younger girl's looks save them again. Meanwhile, she is falling in love with her older sister's boyfriend. She takes up with a notorious playboy for distraction, much to the dissatisfaction of her sister and boyfriend, who try to break them up. Eventually the truth comes out, the lovers are reunited and the sister act breaks up. However, after the honeymoon they make up and the younger sister finds a new partner for the act. Entertaining early talkie with well-drawn characters, but emphasizes the romantic melodrama rather than the backstage drama.
- DirectorFrank LloydStarsDiana WynyardClive BrookUna O'ConnorA portrayal of the triumphs and tragedies of two English families, the upper-crust Marryots and the working-class Bridgeses, from 1899 to 1933.Sprawling account of one British family, and their servants, during the first three decades of the 20th century. Time is marked by historical events, including the Boer War, the death of Queen Victoria, the flight of Louis Bleriot over the English Channel, the sinking of the Titanic, and WWI. In between all of these historical events the family endures separations, births, deaths, and marriages. The melodramatics are predictable and some of the historical references seem forced, with the scene on the Titanic particularly bad. The montages used to show the passage of time are now cliches.
- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsSally HawkinsOctavia SpencerMichael ShannonAt a top secret research facility in the 1960s, a lonely janitor forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.Lonely mute Sally Hawkins improbably falls in love with the Creature From the Black Lagoon. The amphibious man is kept chained up in the government lab where she works as a cleaner. The Americans have him and have plans to send him to outer space but the Russians are trying to stop them. When the Americans decide to kill the creature, she kidnaps him and keeps him in the bathtub of her apartment. I wasn't sold on the romance at the heart of this film. Obviously, the two lovebirds have no chemistry, and once that goes the film falls apart. All that is left is to endure unpleasantries such as a cat being eaten and a man pulling his own fingers off. Michael Shannon has a thankless role as one of the most heartless villains in recent memory.
- DirectorAlejandro G. IñárrituStarsMichael KeatonZach GalifianakisEdward NortonA washed-up superhero actor attempts to revive his fading career by writing, directing, and starring in a Broadway production.A Hollywood actor is having a serious mid-life crisis. Michael Keaton, who became a worldwide celebrity by playing a superhero named "Birdman" in the movies, tries to find himself by writing, directing and starring in his first Broadway play. At the last minute he hires Edward Norton, who almost manages to wreck the play with his ego and unpredictability. Meanwhile his personal life is a mess: his daughter is just out of rehab, his girlfriend thinks she is pregnant and his ex-wife shows up in his dressing room. The stress has caused him to hear the voice of his former superhero role in his head, leading him to become delusional at best and suicidal at worst. Unfortunately, all of these characters are so self-obsessed that we don't really care what happens to them. Iñárritu strings together a series of unbroken shots in the style of Robert Altman, but it just seems like a gimmick here to call attention to itself. Other than a couple of scenes, a confrontation in a bar with a critic and a CGI-laced rumination on the emptiness of Hollywood action/superhero movies, it's a pretentious with a capital P mess.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsLeonardo DiCaprioKate WinsletBilly ZaneA seventeen-year-old aristocrat falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard the luxurious, ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic.