On This Day in Movie History

The Dark Knight was released in theaters a year ago today, July 18, 2008.

The summer smash quickly became the number one movie, earning over $158 million its first weekend, and going on to earn over $533 million last year. Coming in second was Iron Man, and third Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Heath Ledger won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar posthumously for his gripping portrayal of the Joker (Ledger died of in January 2008, just after filming wrapped). Watch the movie tonight in remembrance of Heath...

On This Day In Movie History

Men In Black was released in theaters July 2nd, 1997, 12 years ago today.

The summer film grossed $250 million, and was one of the top grossing movies of the year, second only to Titanic, which grossed $600 million. Jurassic Park: The Lost World was third, coming in at $229 million.

On This Day In Movie History

Spider-Man 2 was released June 30th, 2004, raking in $373.5 million that year.

It was one of the top-grossing films of 2004, second only to Shrek 2, which grossed over $400 million. Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ was the third-best earning movie that year.

Bluff's Movie review: The International

THE INTERNATIONAL  (* * *)

RATED R: Strong language and violence

Directed by Tom Tykwer, starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts

The International is a political thriller directed by Tom Tykwer (Perfume, Run Lola Run) about two INTERPOL agents (Owen and Watts) on the trail of bringing down the IBBC, an international bank that has been suspected of buying and selling arms to and from countries all over the world. When his partner is killed meeting with a whistle blower, Lou Salinger (Owen) takes it upon himself to bring down the enterprise.

The film starts off a little slow, with some wooden television drama acting, but the film is shot beautifully and sucks you in over the first half hour. It is a tightly edited movie, with not much extrianious subplot to bog it down. The villian, bank chairman Jonas Skarssan is expertly played by Ulrich Thomsen. 

In a sense, the movie tries to make itself bigger than it is. The idea of taking on an international bank that has secretive ties to the FBI, CIA, and countless world government agencies deserves a lot more explanation and background than is given in this film, but Owen and Watts try to make the most of it, as Owen shines as he follows the trail of the men who killed his partner (a shootout in an art gallery is one of the film's highlights). 

If you are a fan of Tykwer's previous filmwork, you may be disappointed at what The International brings to the table, but Tykwer's style, especially the visuals, is evident on this project. This is a neat little film that stands on its own and is worth checking out. My rating: 3 out of 4 stars.

 

Bluff's Movie Review: The Hangover

THE HANGOVER (* * * 1/2)

RATED R: Pervasive strong language, sexual humor and content, nudity, comedic violence

Directed by Todd Phillips, Starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas should be the theme of this very funny comedy from director Todd Phillips (Old School, Road Trip). The premise is, of course, a bachelor party in Vegas gone awry, as the groom goes missing during the drunken partying. A school teacher, (Bradley Cooper), a nerdy dentist (Ed Helms) and the quirky bride-to-be's brother (Galifianakis) wake up the next morning to find their hotel suite trashed, a tiger in the bathroom, a baby in the closet, and the would-be groom missing.  

What makes this movie clever is that you never actually witness the indiscretions on screen. As the 3 can't remember what they did last night, and find their groom missing, the audience is brought into the meat of the plot and events as the characters start piecing the clues together themselves. It is refreshing that this movie doesn't beat you down with cheap sex jokes, but layers them in with humorous dialogue and situations between the 3 friends. The great comedies appeal to high and low brow, and The Hangover pulls it off nicely, as director Phillips knows just when to pull back when it seems things are getting out of hand.

The film is a buddy road trip movie, but it goes much deeper than that, as The three characters Alan (Galifianakis), Phil (Cooper) and Stu (Helms) really get to know each other during their trials in Vegas, and come to depend on each other for the sake of getting the groom to his wedding on time. Each man comes away having learned something about himself. Heather Graham appears as a stripper, and Mike Tyson has a very funny cameo. The ensemble cast plays brilliantly off of each other, as almost every line in the movie delivers a laugh.

All in all, take this Las vegas trip and get ready to have fun. Highly recommended. My rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars.

Bluff's Movie Review: A Classic Revisited

THE DEER HUNTER  (* * * *)

RATED R: strong language and violence, brief nudity, sexual situations

Directed by Michael Cimino, Starring Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep

A movie in 3 parts, this 3-hour epic put Cimino on the map as a screenwriter and director. Winner of 5 Oscars in 1978, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor (Christopher Walken), the movie is set across a decade (late 60s to early 70s) and is about a close knit group of friends who go to Vietnam and how the experience changes their lives. 

The first act is set in an industrial town, Clairton, Pennsylvania, where a community of Russian-Americans are celebrating a wedding party and a going away party for three steel workers (the groom, Steve, played by John Savage, Walken, and De Niro ) enlisting in the airborne infantry to Vietnam.  The film paints a vivid picture of blue-collar workers, carousing, drinking, going hunting, and just having fun in the throse of naivety about their future. Meryl Streep plays a young woman caught in a bit of a love triangle between two of the friends, Michael (De Niro), and Nick (Walken). John Cazalle (Dogday Afternoon, The Godfather) is wonderful as a part of the strong ensemble cast.

The second act is a sharp contrast to the safe, small town lives led in Clairton, PA. We find Steve, Michael and Nick fighting for their lives behind enemy lines as POWs. Some of the violence in the Vietnam sequences is tough to take, but strong performances by De Niro and Walken really bring a human emotion to the film (De Niro was also nominated for Best Actor). There is an especially haunting scene where the friends are forced to play Russian roulette at gunpoint. Director Cimino seems to go out of his way to make the viewer understand that these boys are completely cutoff from any familiarity of their past life.

The third act is again set in Clairton a few years later, with the boys back and trying to get on with life as normal. But one by one they realize that the war experience has forever changed them, and the familiar surroundings now only create a sense of physical and emotional distance between the group of friends.

The Deer Hunter gets its title from the lead character Michael, who loves hunting deer. He is fond of saying "To kill a deer, only use one shot...two is p***y." The 'one shot' theme fleshes itself out throughout the movie, as the different characters are faced with what they want in life, and their realities.

At 3 hours, this film clocks in on the longish side, but Cimino expertly fleshes out the characters and locations so thoroughly, you feel like you are there with them. Strong performances all around make this a definite classic in my book. Required viewership. My rating: 4 out of 4 stars.

On This Day In Movie History

Star Trek II: the Wrath Of Khan was released in theatres June 4th, 1982, 27 years ago today. 

Watch it tonight in remembrance of Ricardo Montalban.