Thumbnails For Home Viewing

by Tony Medley

With no theaters open and people stranded at home these are some suggestions for old movies from the dawn of the century you might want to see if you missed them, or might want to see again, including several of which you may have never heard, along with where you may access them:

 1.   The Man from Elysian Fields (2002) 106 minutes. R: Not as dark and gothic as Sunset Boulevard (1950), and despite an ending that needed the touch of a Julius Epstein (Casablanca), this is an enjoyable, stimulating movie by any measure with a fine supporting performance by Mick Jagger. Available on Prime.

2.   The Pianist (2002) 150 minutes. R: An intense 148-minute movie, this story of the Warsaw Ghetto has no objectionably graphic scenes of violence. Even so, you feel the danger throughout.  In the end, The Pianist is an uplifting film, showing how one person can survive in a world gone mad.  Prime.

3.   Chicago (2003) 113 minutes. PG-13: Even though director Rob Marshall dumped Bob Fosse’s wonderful Broadway choreography and cast non-singers as stars, this is a funny, entertaining, scintillating 113 minutes. SHO with Prime video channels.

4.   Freaky Friday (2003) 97 Minutes. PG: Unlike lots of comedic films, this farce where mother and daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan, respectively, switch personas had me laughing out loud throughout. Prime.

5.   Luther (2003) 123 minutes. PG-13: The 1960s were a time that produced some of the best historical dramas.  Becket (1964), A Man For All Seasons (1966), Lion in Winter (1968), all came within four years of each other.  Luther fits comfortably with these.  This is a movie that is as educational as it is entertaining. Amazon.

6.   Out of Time (2003) 105 minutes. PG-13: An atmospheric, neo-noir Denzell Washington thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. Prime.

7.   Till Human Voices Wake Us (2003) 101 minutes. R: An emotional, evocative romantic tragedy. There aren’t any laughs in it, but the story is unique, and the acting, the writing, and the directing are so good it kept me enthralled. Prime.

8.   Shattered Glass (2003) 94 minutes. PG-13: Biographical story of Stephen Glass who wrote 27 fabricated articles for The New Republic from 1995-98, highlighted by a superb performance by Peter Sarsgaard as Glass’s editor. Prime.

9.   Swimming Pool (2003) 102 minutes. R: This is an exceptional script by Emmanuele Bernheim and Francois Ozon, who also directed. The story is enthralling and involving up to the ending, as you try to figure out what’s going on. Prime.

10.               The Hunted (2003) 94 minutes. R: One thing director William Friedkin (The French Connection, The Exorcist) knows is action. And this is a lot of well-paced action.  Prime.

11.                       Bon Voyage (2004) 114 minutes. PG-13: A non-stop, peripatetic, neo-Hitchcockian farce immeasurably aided by wonderful music by Gabriel Yared that continues to remind you that this is a light-hearted thriller, a rewarding romp. In French. Amazon.

12.               The Bourne Supremacy (2004) 108 minutes. PG-13: When Paul Greengrass took over directing this then fledgling Matt Damon franchise, he produced a thriller at its best. Prime.

13.               Hotel Rwanda (2004) 121 minutes. PG-13: This story of Rwanda’s Hutus slaughtering more than one million Tutsis is many times more exciting than any James Bond film, with the advantage that it’s mostly true. STARZ with Prime video channels.

14.               The Notebook (2004) 123 minutes. PG-13: As good as a movie gets, but bring a box of tissues because this is a major tear-jerker. It still evokes emotion almost two decades later. Prime.

15.               Miracle (2004) 135 minutes. PG: The best sports film ever. Prime.

16.               Chasing Liberty (2004) 101 minutes. PG-13: Reminiscent of It Happened One Night (1934), this is a happy, feel good romantic comedy. Complimenting the Capraesque script is stunning cinematography, which shows scenery of Prague, Berlin, and Venice, Italy that would be good enough for a travelogue. Even the modern music was good. Prime.

17.               The Inheritance (2004) 115 minutes. NR: This is an intense, Ibsenesque, drama of a family involved in major business decisions. It’s heavy, starkly realistic, and engaging. I was exhausted when it was over.  In Danish. Fandor with Prime Video Channels.

18.               Ray (2004) 152 minutes. PG-13: One of the best musical biopics extant and Jamie Foxx wins the Oscar, lip-syncing to Ray Charles’s iconic voice. Prime.

19.               Mean Girls (2004) 97 minutes. PG-13: I’m supposed to be interested in a story about high school girls? Against all odds, this delightful comedy superbly directed by Mark Waters enchanted me. SHO with Prime Video Channels.

20.                Riding Giants (2004) 105 minutes. PG-13: The best surfing movie ever. Prime.

21.               The Big Bounce (2004) 88 minutes. PG-13: An Elmore Leonard-inspired caper film set in Hawaii with a charming Owen Wilson; I liked it even though it went almost straight to oblivion. Prime.

Dalai Lama -- Scientist (8/10) 93 minutes. Who is the 14^th Dalai Lama? This is a fascinating picture of a man who was chosen to lead Buddhists at the age of 5. What is amazing is the breadth of his knowledge and ability to converse with the smartest people in the world. This film includes engrossing dialogues he had with leading scientists throughout the world. The subjects include discussions on several genres, I Cosmology, quantum physics, II Quantum Mechanics & Physics, III Cognitive Science/Psychology, IV Neuroscience, and V Molecular Biology and Genetics and the Dalai Lama holds his own with them all. The film compares Western science in all these things with Buddhist science. It might sound like a yawner, but it’s far from that; it’s interesting and informative. Prime $3.99

The Truth (La Véité 7/10): 106 minutes. PG. French legends Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche highlight this typically personal French film directed by Hirokazu Koreeda. Fabienne (Deneuve) is a 73 year old star with a great reputation, who has just published her memoirs, which are, to say the least, Frank. Her semi-estranged daughter, Lumir (Bionoche), comes to Paris from New York with her husband, second-rate TV star Hank (Ethan Hawke) to celebrate the release of the book. Like most French films there’s a lot of realistic talk of relationships and life. In French and English.

Return to Hardwick: Home of the 93^rd Bombardment Group (6/10): 73 minutes. Moderately entertaining, the 93^rd Air Group of the 8^th Air Force was arguably most decorated, and most effective bomb group of WWII. Helping to cripple Hitler's Europe from the air, they executed some of the most daring bombing raids in the war. Flying B-24 Liberators and B-17s when they were stationed in North Africa, they flew the disastrous raid on Ploesti in which 178 planes participated but only 88 returned. Produced, directed and edited by Michael Sellers and narrated by Michael Cudlitz this concentrates mostly on relatives who return to Hardwick where they were stationed in England to honor their ancestors. The film has substantial archival films of action scenes, but mostly it consists of interviews with the relatives. Prime $3.99

 Apocalypto (10/10): This tension-filled, gory chase movie recreates what it must have been like in the 15^th Century America rainforest as the Mayan Civilization was dying. The basic story is essentially a remake of Cornel Wilde’s “The Naked Prey,” (1966), although no credit is given. Writer (with Farhad Safinia)-Director Mel Gibson has done a masterful job of recreating pre-Columbian America. Despite the long running time, my attention never flagged. It starts out in the middle of the jungle in what appears to be a Garden of Eden situation. But you feel that this idyllic lifestyle isn’t long for the world, and it isn’t. Included with Prime

Blood Diamond (10/10): Leonardo DiCaprio joins the ranks of Bogey and Newman as screen anti-hero icons. Director Edward Zwick has taken a first-rate script by Charles Leavitt and produced a high-energy, tension-filled tale that tells a story along with educating people about what is going on in the world. Prime $2.99

Invincible (10/10): The Producers who all worked on “Miracle” (2004) have combined on this story, based on weekend warrior Vince Papale’s (Mark Wahlberg) attending a tryout for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1976. It seemed ludicrous that someone like the 30-year-old Papale, who never played football in college, could make an NFL team, but that’s what happened. Prime $2.99

Nanny McPhee (10/10): From a start that grabbed me, an aerial shot zooming in on the house where the recently widowered Mr. Brown (Colin Firth) resides with his seven obstreperous children, it just got better and better. This isn’t some slow, predictable children’s movie. Based on the "Nurse Matilda" Books by Christianna Brand, this is an up-tempo film that doesn’t fade. Highlighted by wonderful music by Patrick Doyle, director Kirk Jones has kept the pace at a surprisingly high tempo for what most people will enter expecting a clichéd children’s movie, buttressed by an ill-advised ad campaign raising the specter of “Mary Poppins” (1964). But it’s not just a children’s movie. It’s not even close to the saccharine “Poppins.” Nanny McPhee's (Emma Thompson who also wrote the script) motto of "Behave or Beware" makes it more like the old time war movies in which a tough, decent drill sergeant, like John Wayne or Clint Eastwood, takes over a group of feisty recruits and molds them into people who can take Mount Suribachi.  STARZ with Prime Video Channels.

Stranger Than Fiction (8/10): Will Ferrell finally drops his buffoonery in this Kafkaesque adventure, highlighted by the performances of Ferrell and Emma Thompson.

Military Wives (9/10): 108 minutes. PG-13. This was such a pleasant surprise. “Inspired by true events,” the story of a monopolizing wife of the Commanding Officer, Kate (Kristin Scott Thomas), and her officious efforts to organize the wives of the men under his command while they are deployed to a six month tour of duty in Afghanistan is disarmingly captivating when, under less talented hands, it could have dripped with banality. This is a realistic, heart-warming film with some good music and shines a light on a part of society that rarely gets considered. I recommend it highly, not something I generally say about a chick flick, although I also liked “Emma;” am I getting soft? This is a 2020 release but it’s available on Prime.

Cassandra’s Dream (10/10): Woody Allen is something like the little girl with the curl in the middle of her forehead. When he’s bad, he’s very, very bad, but when he’s good he’s wonderful. In this 108-minute film, which he wrote and directed and filmed in London, he’s wonderful. It’s a gripping drama of decisions, family loyalty, selfishness, and how one can drift into disaster. Let me add here that one thing I’ve always admired about Woody is his statement that no film should be longer than 90 minutes, with which I wholeheartedly agree. But I have no complaint that this ran almost 20 minutes over his limit, because it is a compelling story with acting that is off the scale. Prime.

Chaos Theory (10/10): This film has scenes so funny I was laughing out loud, uncontrollably. But it also has scenes of pathos. It starts with Ed (Mike Erwin) a fledgling bridegroom unsure about his potential wife, Jesse (Elisabeth Harnois as the grown up/Matreya Fedor as the seven-year-old), having discovered her infidelity. He mistakenly wanders into the bar where he finds his potential father-in-law, Frank Allen (Ryan Reynolds) who engages him in an unwanted, unexpected contentious conversation about life. This is a gem of a film that did not get a wide release, so many people didn’t see it. STARZ with Prime video channels

Tell No One (10/10): Directed and written (with Phillippe Lefebvre) by Guillaume Canet (who also appears in the film as Phillippe Neuville), this thriller is based on Harlan Coben’s bestselling novel of the same name, which has been translated into 27 languages, and has sold over 6 million copies worldwide. It’s always difficult to write a review of a good thriller because anything a critic writes can spoil the enjoyment of a fresh viewing without knowing what’s going on and what’s going to happen. But the way Canet sets the ambience of the film at the start, you’d have to be dull, indeed, not to know that something pretty bad is about to happen. Although this is rare, it’s a film that is at least as good as the book. In French. Fandor with Prime video channels.

Eagle Eye (9/10): Jerry (Shia LaBeouf) comes to his apartment to find all sorts of boxes he didn’t order. His phone rings and a voice tells him the FBI is on the way and he must get out immediately. He doesn’t believe the caller; the FBI comes and he’s in big trouble. Inspired by producer Stephen Spielberg, while this is a thinly veiled attack on The Patriot Act, it is still a high-tension thriller, regardless of your political belief, reminiscent of (if not homages to) “2001” (1968), “Colossus: The Forbin Project” (1970), and even "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (1956). Prime.

 Recommended reading: A Single Spy (2017) by William Christie. Unique WWII spy novel.