QUICK FIX Movies To Watch #96-100 take a look at great storytelling
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!
Keeping this column consistent in regards to a strict weekly schedule has proven a little tougher than expected, and I promise to do better with the next 100 films! I’ll be posting a recap of the first 100 QUICK FIX Moves to Watch soon, and compiling a new list to get the column back on track, so your patience and continued reading is appreciated. It’s bringing new, great movies to all kinds of film fans that keeps the art alive!
This week’s QUICK FIX, topping off our first 100 films, takes a look at O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Road, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Apocalypto, and the Harry Potter series.
QUICK FIX Movie To Watch #96: O Brother, Where Art Thou
Release: 2000 Rating: PG-13 Director: Joel Coen
Stars: George Clooney, Tim Blake Nelson, John Turturro, Holly Hunter, John Goodman
Joel Coen, and his equally well-known yet uncredited brother Ethan, is one of the finest filmmakers in the industry today. Can we get that out of the way right here? The pair’s unique voice is echoed on screen in honestly interesting characters, bizarre mishaps, and ridiculous attention to detail. Praise aside, their appealing adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey is strange and hilarious like most of their work. O Brother, Where Art Thou sees an evolving crazy-eyed George Clooney running from the law, running out of hair pomade, running a successful singing group, and running his mouth like a man born to spin a tale.
HIDDEN GEM: John Goodman’s cyclops character is brutally truthful in his assessment of Clooney and cronies’ misadventures, and watching poor Tim Blake Nelson’s face crumble as Goodman deals out his brand of justice is just priceless.
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QUICK FIX Movie To Watch #97: The Road
Release: 2009 Rating: R Director: John Hillcoat
Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce, Charlize Theron, Garret Dillahunt, Michael Kenneth Williams
This book-to-screen adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel of the same name explores the aftermath of an apocalypse with the character development and emotional resonance that most films of the ilk tend to gloss over. The movie is about relationships, and one relationship in particular between a boy and his father, when all hope seems lost and that flickering candle threatens to die out forever. Watching a father try to teach his son that keeping the flame going is a fight worth fighting is why McCarthy garnered praise for the novel. Carrying that theme over successfully is why the film is a worthy adaptation.
HIDDEN GEM: The supporting characters bring a spark (fire metaphors abound today) to roles left for throwaway dialogue in lesser films, and seeing Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce, Garret Dillahunt, and Michael Kenneth Williams surviving however they can in a wasteland is very rewarding.
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QUICK FIX Movie To Watch #98: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Release: 2005 Rating: R Director: Shane Black
Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan, Corbin Bernsen, Shannyn Sassamon, Dash Mihok, Larry Miller
Before Shane Black’s success with Iron Man 3, and a few years before Downey would don the suit in fact, Black wrote and directed an under-watched little detective noir-type film called Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. With his new partner in blockbuster success, Black packed this little gem with quick quips, smart storytelling, and a just enough action to keep things moving at an impressive pace. Fitting Kiss Kiss Bang Bang into a genre would be doing it an injustice, as it’s really a mix romance/action/comedy/existential awakening, so giving it a watch is really the best thing you can do to understand its awesomeness.
HIDDEN GEM: Someone loses a finger. Look for it and laugh at what ensues.
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QUICK FIX Movie To Watch #99: Apocalypto
Release: 2006 Rating: R Director: Mel Gibson
Stars: Rudy Youngblood, Raoul Trujillo, Gerardo Taracena
Say what you will about the man’s personal life, but Mel Gibson is one hell of a filmmaker. He’s got an eye for entertaining an audience in adventure without sacrificing character and story, and Apocalypto balances all three like a true epic. Focusing on the Mayans and their rollercoaster of a culture, the film is an intricate look into an intriguing people’s violent way of life. Putting a strong, well-rounded fictional character at the center of the story helps weigh down what could have been a preachy peek into questionable history ala The Passion of the Christ, and it’s this character’s journey that we cheer for and hope to see completed at every turn.
HIDDEN GEM: Dropping us into an immersive world that once was is the real treat of Apocalypto. Everything about the film feels authentic.
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QUICK FIX Movie To Watch #100: Harry Potter 1-7
Release: 2001-2011 Rating: PG-PG-13 Director: Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuaron, Mike Newell, David Yates
Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Warwick Davis, Richard Harris, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, John Hurt, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Jason Isaacs, and many, many more
Trying to convince someone to read or watch the entire Harry Potter series is a lot like trying to convert someone to a religion or new sports team. The madness spewing from your mouth makes little sense, the promises of glory and happiness seem to good to be true, and investing so much time into something make-believe seems like a lot of work. So, with the wild world of Harry Potter having taken the world by wand-wielding storm, there’s a good chance you’re either on board or have no interest in joining the bandwagon. Either way, the series is easily the most successful book turned box office explosion to ever happen, and it’s for good reason. Like watching a character grow up over the course of a television sitcom, seeing young wizard protagonists age and learn in an enchanting and fully-realized world is fulfilling on multiple levels. Give the first few films a try, and if you’re not hooked tell yourself you’ve already seen the first few so you might as well complete the series. It’s a notch on any film fan’s belt that needs to be made eventually!
HIDDEN GEM: Diving right in, there’s a one-on-one fight between Dumbledore and Voldemort somewhere in the series that shows just how cool magic can be when used by two masters of the craft. It’s a lot of fun, and unfortunately far too short.
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