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Reviews
Body and Soul (1999)
Body and Soul... More like AWESOME and Soul
I've seen a lot of great movies in my time, but this one takes the cake. What. A. Thrill.
What starts off as a simple boxing movie suddenly evolves into an emotional whirlwind that will leave the viewer gasping and breathless. The main character, a boxer, sets off on a journey with Michael Chiklis -- only to meet up with Jennifer Beals, who has "blue streaks in her hair and skeletons in her closet". These "skeletons" are never quite revealed; her character maintains a pouty, ineffective demeanor the entire film. Brilliant.
An unexpected love story develops between Jennifer Beals and the boxer... and interestingly, between Michael Chiklis and Rod Steiger, who develop a love/hate relationship. Steiger is at the top of his game here -- easily the best performance of his career. His loud, abrasive and witty one-liners will have you howling for more.
The narration by Michael Chiklis really sets the pace for what is at the heart of Body and Soul. The movie could very well be called "Soul and Soul" because the "body" is extraneous; this is a story about love, about brotherhood, about making your dreams come true. The direction is tight, the soundtrack impeccable, and the acting top-notch. You'll want to watch over and over as Joe Mantegna makes crazy exits out of scenes, Jennifer Beals rests her head romantically on Boom Boom's shoulder, and a mysterious woman in a red dress shows up again and again.
10/10
12 Angry Men (1957)
Best movie. Ever.
Now, I've never been the type of person who is impressed by flashy set designs, special effects, non-stop action, etc. In fact, the most important things for me in any type of story (film, television, play, novel) is characterization. I'm a sucker for good, complex, three-dimensional characters. And dialogue. Boy, do I ever go crazy over good dialogue. This is most likely why 12 Angry Men is my favorite movie of all time. Twelve men, one room, fabulous acting, fabulous cast, fabulous dialogue. Brilliant.
The cast itself is enough to drive you crazy. Henry Fonda, one of my favorite actors of all time, leads the pack, with Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley, Jack Klugman, and E.G. Marshall putting in excellent performances too. In fact, this is one of Lee J. Cobb's best performances ever. He's tremendous in this role and you really just can't help but like him in the end. E.G. Marshall puts forth maybe the best performance in the entire film with his calm and intelligent character as the perfect balance to Cobb's angry and out of control character. Also, notable performances by Joseph Sweeney and John Fiedler, who are both entirely endearing.
There's not a lot to say about this amazing film. Anyone who has any interest in the American legal system should definitely watch this. If you appreciate good casting, excellent acting, and first-rate dialogue, you won't be disappointed. It's odd to think that a movie about twelve nameless men sitting around in one room talking for most of the movie could continue to be interesting the whole way through, but somehow they do it.
Gone with the Wind (1939)
Absolutely breathtaking
What can't I say about one of the greatest movies of all time? Watching this masterpiece makes one long for a time when thought and energy was put into make a good film, when an epic really was epic. When actors were cast not for their looks and their fame rating, but for their talent and - maybe even most importantly - their chemistry with the other actors. Gone With the Wind has the reputation of being one of the best movies of all time, and for good reason.
Now, I had what I initially thought was the misfortune of seeing the movie before reading the book. I always say, Better to read the book first so as the movie doesn't influence your opinion of the writing too much. In the case of Gone With the Wind, I don't think it matters at all. The movie is as close to the 1000+ page book as possible. It's almost impossible to imagine anyone other than Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, and Olivia de Havilland playing the leads. The actors know their characters so well you'd think they actually helped Margaret Mitchell write the novel. Every cast member interacts wonderfully with each other and everything fits together so well. Gable and Leigh especially shine in their respective roles. Gable is so irresistibly handsome and suave, making him the perfect Rhett Butler, and at the same time he proves what a brilliant actor he is by adding subtle emotional depth to the character. Leigh is amazing in the role of Scarlett O'Hara, a difficult feat considering the complexity of a character like this one is often hard to lift out of the pages of a book and slap onto a movie screen. Leigh manages to play Scarlett with the proper amount of overwhelming emotion and underlying vulnerability. Both Leslie Howard and Olivia de Havilland are stunning in their roles and round out a perfect cast consisting of Hattie McDaniel, Butterfly McQueen, and the stellar Thomas Mitchell.
Of course, the film has many other qualities that I love about it - the costumes, the set design, the color, the music, and that oh-so-heartbreaking plot. But for me, characters more often than not make a story and Gone With the Wind has got a handful of wonderfully complex characters that are just cast brilliantly. If not for the on-screen chemistry of Gable and Leigh, why else would people watch this movie over and over, always hoping for a different ending?