Amadeus (1984)
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Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
See more on Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb after the jump…
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
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A Clockwork Orange (1971)
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In Anton Corbijn’s new film, The American, George Clooney plays an aging spy who has a certain skill with creating weapons. Like the endangered species of butterflies that he loves, it seems his time in the industry may be running out, as he has been unable to shed the Swedes that pursue him across two different countries.
Clooney’s character, Jack (or Edward to some), is a lonely man who’s singular lifestyle has created an overwhelming sense of paranoia. His mistrust of everyone he meets is apparent throughout the entire film from the word go. Whether it be his business partners, the local priest, or even the woman he loves (played by Violante Placido, the daughter of The Godfather’s Apollonia), we get the sense that Jack is always having to look over both shoulders to see where the next assassin will be coming from.
Although The American is not a film with lots of action, the quiet tension and deliberate pacing had me on the edge of my seat for most of the movie. The American is an intelligent, reticent, patient film, cloaked in suspenseful paranoia that will have you looking in your rearview after seeing it. Clooney is superb, as always, and reminds us why he is one of the best actors of today.
Oscar Contention: Cinematography
Mark’s Rating = 7.5
Finally, after weeks of ineptitude for video releases, we have one that I think just might be worth seeing. Michael Douglas stars in Solitary Man, in which he received a pretty decent amount of praise for his performance. In the film, Douglas plays Ben Kalmen, a self indulgent auto dealership owner who has put himself before everyone and everything else. When his luck takes a turn for the worse, Ben is forced to change his ways for the better. Will he be able to maintain his new better self? Solitary Man also stars Susan Sarandon, Mary-Louise Parker, Jenna Fischer, Jesse Eisenberg, Danny DeVito and Imogen Poots.
Not so fast! Just one decent looking film is all you’re going to get this week… the other two films out this week are The Killers (Remember the one where Katherine Heigl marries Ashton Kutcher only to find out he is part of the CIA? Didn’t think so!) and MacGruber (the SNL MacGuyver parody). Stick with Solitary Man if you want something from this week.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), and The Return of the King (2003)
I have always stood by the belief that the Lord of the Rings trilogy is one film. The main reason I feel this way is because it was shot all at once and has no gaps in the storyline. To me, it is one film divided into three parts due to its total running time. Feel free to disagree, but for me it is one film.
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