QUICK FIX Movies To Watch #66-70 are are lights in dark places
Quick Fix Movies To Watch is a weekly column of mixed movie suggestions for both the avid film fan and the casual movie-goer. Dive in, swim around a little bit, and come up with a new movie or two you think is worth watching. They’re all great!
This week’s Quick Fix takes a look at Goon, The Mist, Wristcutters: A Love Story, The Last Samurai, and 28 Days Later. Read more about why you should watch them as soon as you can after the jump!
QUICK FIX Movie To Watch #66: GOON
Release: 2011 Rating: R Director: Michael Dowse
Stars: Seann William Scott, Liev Schreiber, Alison Pill, Jay Baruchel, Eugene Levy, Kim Coates
Seann William Scott plays the nicest guy you’ve ever met who happens to have a knack for kicking the crap out of people. When you pair that with a “biggest crap kicker” rivalry build-up between Scott and Leiv Schrieber, surround the fighting with some hockey and Canadian sensibilities, throw in a crazy hot girl-who-likes-rough-guys Alison Pill, and top it off with a wise-cracking foul-mouthed Jay Baruchel you’re in for a pretty great film. Pick up a 6-pack, pull a pillow close to throw a punch or two into in between laughs, and enjoy Goon with a group of friends for best results.
HIDDEN GEM: Seann William Scott’s nice-guy with a fist of gold is what you’d imagine the good twin to Scott’s Stifler character from American Pie would be like. He’s a little dumb, would never spout out f-words like Stifler, and is all heart. Which is why I guess it’s so crazy to see him beat a guy senseless on the ice time and time again.
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QUICK FIX Movie To Watch #67: THE MIST
Release: 2007 Rating: R Director: Frank Darabont
Stars: Thomas Jane, Toby Jones, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Andre Braugher, William Sadler, Jeffrey DeMunn, Sam Witwer
Before Frank Darabont brought us The Walking Dead he brought to the big screen an adaptation of Stephen King’s The Mist. This sci-fi drama is a raw spiral down an increasingly depressing drain that examines the complexities (and simplicities) of group-think coupled with religious fanaticism. When a military experiment goes awry, opening up an inter-dimensional hole that spills out violent, primal creatures, a group of townspeople are trapped inside a local grocery store as the mist closes in and the creatures cause chaos. This is a movie that makes you fear what people might do to one another when they think the apocalypse is upon them and appeasing a higher power is the answer. Violence usually ensues.
HIDDEN GEM: The ending of this film is one you simply won’t forget. It’s so powerful and overwhelming in its finality for those who’ve made it through the film’s madness, and from what I understand it’s completely different than how Stephen King ended his written work. Bravo Mr. Darabont for taking it where you did. Bravo.
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QUICK FIX Movie To Watch #68: WRISTCUTTERS: A LOVE STORY
Release: 2006 Rating: R Director: Goran Dukic
Stars: Patrick Fugit, Shea Whigham, Shannyn Sossamon, Leslie Bibb, Tom Waits, John Hawkes, Will Arnett, Mark Boone Junior, Clayne Crawford
Wristcutters is essentially a buddy road trip movie, complete with whacky stops and understood revelations along the way, except the catch is everyone in the movie is dead. The film takes place in an afterlife-like limbo world that’s like reality but a little worse and inhabited by people who’ve committed suicide and can’t smile. As the story goes, Patrick Fugit’s character finds out his old girlfriend committed suicide some time after he did, and our lovesick protagonist is deadset on finding her. What makes Wristcutters stand above most sub-par road trip movies is the unique introspection and chaos of this afterlife world and how the colorful cast of characters often play with the understanding of what it means to live a full life. WARNING: The film starts out with someone killing themselves by slitting their wrists. The topic of suicide is often discussed, and it may be a bit morbid/intense for some.
HIDDEN GEM: Shannyn Sossamon turns in a fragile yet controlled performance, and if I ever wandered the highways of limbo I’d hope to find a girl like her to wander with me. Also, there’s a little community of miracle workers looked over by Tom Waits that our travelers come across, and it’s fun to imagine yourself being a part of such a place with such bizarre people.
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QUICK FIX Movie To Watch #69: THE LAST SAMURAI
Release: 2003 Rating: R Director: Edward Zwick
Stars: Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Billy Connolly, William Atherton, Tony Goldwyn, Hiroyuki Sanada
As strange and eccentric as Tom Cruise is in reality I can’t help but give the guy credit for his acting chops. Every movie he’s in is solid, and his performances range from above-par to pretty great across the board, which is impressive when you think about the caliber of actors out there. That said, The Last Samurai is Cruise in his own Dances with Wolves-style film set in Japan. I unashamedly enjoy this one for the arc of the adventure and the emotion everyone brings to the table, and I throw it on every now and then for a good dose of wartime period piece adventure drama.
HIDDEN GEM: The climax of the film is heartfelt and powerful, and I choke up a bit in those last moments almost every time. Also, the relationship that grows between Cruise’s character and a few of the villagers who aren’t too fond of him at first seems organic and earned, which we don’t get as often as we’d like these days.
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QUICK FIX Movie To Watch #70: 28 DAYS LATER
Release: 2002 Rating: R Director: Danny Boyle
Stars: Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Noah Huntley
28 Days Later was Danny Boyle’s entry into the horror realm, and the movie is a testament to the man’s ability to leave his unique mark on a genre. At a time when zombie horror was growing stale this film introduced “the infected” as something newly terrifying. Boyle’s once-human rage-driven monsters could run and climb, and instead of eat you they’d rather beat you to a pulp until you’re dead and in bloody pieces. It’s rage that fuels their actions, not the need to feed, and the end result is a movie full of dread and darkness.
HIDDEN GEM: 28 Days Later introduced a lot of the world to Cillian Murphy who went on to make a name for himself in Christopher Nolan’s Batman films, Inception, Cold Mountain, and again in Boyle’s own Sunshine. I’ve been a fan of the man ever since. Also, just the concept of a new kind of zombie (which they’re really not) is extremely refreshing.
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