(an entirely subjective set of choices)
 |
BEST ROMANTIC COMEDY: Heaven Can Wait
Warren Beatty's 1979 take on the power of eternal love. |
|
|
BEST STUPID HIGH
SCHOOLERS MOVIE: Hollywood Knights Lots of famous faces -- Fran Drescher, Robert Wuhl, Michelle Pfeiffer and Tony Danza -- early in their careers. Be forewarned: sophomoric humor abounds. Caddyshack (runner up #1) Only the first one, of course, starring Rodney Dangerfield, the late Ted Knight, Chevy Chase and Bill Murray (and featuring the infamous Baby Ruth swimming pool scene that appeals to the scatologically minded everywhere). Gorp (runner up #2) Even TLA doesn't have a copy of this rare coming-of-age pic, although it has been released on video. Delineating the sexual hijinks among counselors at an overnight camp, this is a frisky version of Bill Murray's Meatballs (before Meatballs was even released). |
|
|
BEST USE OF POPCORN IN
A MOVIE: Real Genius
Val Kilmer's terrific here, playing an über-intelligent college senior with a finely honed sense of humor. Too bad he's so dumb in his personal life. |
|
|
BEST
UNCONVENTIAL LEADING MAN:
Jack Black There's nothing sexier than a guy with a sense of humor. Case in point: Jack Black. Pudgy, scruffy, and on the short side, I'd much look a him on screen than Brad Pitt. Here are a couple of his witticisms: "Do some Jean-Claude-van-damage!" On which celebrity he's often mistaken for: "A lot of people say Val Kilmer. We have similar packages." |
|
|
BEST FILM WITHIN A
FILM: Living in Oblivion Expecting Singin' in the Rain? While I adore Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds can give a person diabetes. True, Rain was a fave of François Truffaut's, who knew every frame by heart. In fact, the musical was a fulcrum for Truffaut's own paean to filmdom, Day for Night. But aside from Mel Brooks' outrageous parodies, few latter film-within-a-film projects sparkle like Living in Oblivion, Tom DiCillo's second effort. Steve Buscemi stars in this 1995 indie feature about the horrors of making a low-budget film. Catherine Keener (Best Supporting Oscar nominee for her fetching femme fatale in Being John Malkovich) is splendid as an actress lacking self-assuredness. (What a face she has -- sometimes the average woman and other times radiantly beautiful.) Real-life husband Dermot Mulroney (no, not Dylan McDermott) is a hoot as a way-cool cinematographer. And watch for James LeGros' dead-on take of an egotistical male superstar with a mane of blonde hair. (I won't mention his name, but he starred in DiCillo's first film, Johnny Suede, and his initials are B.P.) Sly references to David Lynch and other cinematic icons are also fun. What's ironic is Oblivion's own shoot went smoothly, in part because its stars helped finance it. |
|
|
BEST RECENT FOREIGN
FILM : Amelie I love Delicatessen, an early film by this same French filmmaker, that is thoroughly original and offbeat. In the wake of September 11, we could all use a dose of optimism in regard to the human spirit, and that is the fulcrum for this charming fairy tale of a story. BEST TEARJERKER: Map of the Human Heart I have only to see the listing in the cable guide and I start bawling. Set mainly in Canada, this is an interracial love story about a native Inuit (Jason Scott Lee) who never gets over his childhood sweetie, a wealthy Québecquoise. WW II reunites them with bittersweet results. Untamed Heart (runner up #1) I still haven't forgiven Marisa Tomei for stealing the 1992 Best Supporting Actress Oscar from Judy Davis (for her role in Woody Allen's Husbands and Wives), but I musto admit she's fine here as a waitress who finds true love with a sulking busboy (Christian Slater). Of course the path of true love never runs smooth, or there'd be no narrative tension. Here her boyfrieind's been given a baboon's heart, but how long will his implanted ticker last? Rosie Perez is on hand for some needed comic relief, but you'll still need a hanky or two. The Best Years of Our Lives (runner up #2) Not the whole film, just the homecoming scene when Frederic March's character returns from WWII. He tries sneaking into the house but his daughter sees him. He motions for her to keep silent, while in the background, his wife (Myrna Loy) comes in, leading to a tearful reunion. Got any extra Kleenex? |
|
|
BEST SCARY MOVIE:
Don't
Look Now Sure, the hand at the end of Carrie is scary, but this mid-70's work, directed by erstwhile cinematographer Nicholas Roeg (Walkabout), sustains its intelligent fright quotient throughout. Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland play a married couple who get caught up in spiritualism, ESP and murder. Set mostly in Venice, the fog-encased waterways, old buildings and twisted streets provide an eerie feel. |
|
|
BEST SEX SCENE IN A
MOVIE: Don't Look Now Was I surprised to leaf through an issue of In Style magazine (no intellectual value but fun reading nonetheless), and find a Hollywood starlet touting the sex scene between Sutherland and Christie in this film, despite the fact they're supposed to be a married couple, as the best ever. (By surprise, I mean that I didn't expect anyone under 35 to be familiar with this film.) I've read the two didn't know each other before filming began, and conversely, that they were lovers before shooting started. The truth hardly matters. It sizzles! The End of the Affair (runner up #1) This period piece is based on actual incidents in the life of writer Graham Greene and features Ralph Fiennes and Julianne Moore in love/lust. While there are a handful of scenes where they get it on, I love the one in which Fiennes bares his butt but Moore is fully dressed. What a switch from the usual hot-to-trot movie, where the woman is often naked while the man just unzips his pants. Thank you, Neil Jordan! BTW, the film is good, too, especially the spiritual overtones. |
|
|
BEST SPORTS MOVIE:
Slapshot No, it's not just that I'm married to a Canadian (who learned to skate just after learning to walk) that attracts me to this movie about hockey. It's the funny/raunchy script, penned by a woman, and of course, the skating triplets! Besides, Paul Newman, who plays the central character, was recently asked by Diane Sawyer about his best filmmaking experience. The überstar said he had the most fun making this decidedly un-PC movie. |
|
|
BEST MOVIE VILLAIN:
Alan
Rickman During the fall of '99, a keeper issue of Entertainment Weekly spotlighting special movie moments got one choice right: Alan Rickman is the ultimate screen villain. But in addition to playing the conniving Hans in the first Die Hard flick, Rickman is also the over-the-top Sheriff of Nottingham ("No more merciful beheadings!") in Kevin Costner's take on the sylvan swashbucker. Rickman's good guy performances in The January Man; Truly, Madly, Deeply; and Sense and Sensibility also ring true. Check him out as Metatron, the voice of God, in Kevin Smith's compelling Dogma, and a world-weary Spocklike character in the Star Trek spoof Galaxy Quest, both available on video. And, of course, he positively embodies Professor Snape in Harry Potter. An intriguing New York Times article about how movie villains will be different after the World Trade bombing can be found here. |
|
|
BEST MOVIE
OVERSHADOWED BY BLOCKBLUSTER RELEASES AT CHRISTMAS: Inside Moves The plot of this late 70's film, written by Barry Levinson in his pre-directing days, sounds sappy: A young man (John Savage) tries to commit suicide by jumping out of a window but merely maims himself. During rehab, he befriends other impaired people, with life-affirming consequences. Notable for only the second film appearance by Harold Russell (the handless WWII vet who won the Best Supporting Oscar for the aforementioned The Best Years of Our Lives), it's a romance, sports drama and a feel-good story peppered with loads of humor. Few people saw this when it was first released, but everyone I know who's seen it loves it. Trust me. |
|
|
BEST VIETNAM WAR FILM: The Deer Hunter It's become fashionable to take a revisionistic view of this Best Pic Oscar winner and badmouth it, since director Michael Cimino hasn't lived up to his initial promise. Those of you who weren't around in the mid 70's may not know about the big stink -- actually two of them -- generated by this film: One, the central character, Michael (Robert De Niro), is Cimino's inflated cinematic alter ego; that is, while the two share the same name and both served in Vietnam, Cimino was never the brave figure the on-screen Michael is. Also, there's been controversy over the first "Russian roulette" sequence, in which the Viet Cong force American prisoners to play the deadly game. Some feel Cimino had no right to include this bit of fiction, since no evidence exists that the Viet Cong ever used this form of torture. Others, however, realize that since this is a feature film, not a documentary, Cimino had a right to include whatever he wanted in his creation. |
|
|
BEST CROSS-DRESSING
FILM:
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Yes, there are plenty of contenders: Victor/Victoria, Tootsie, The World According to Garp, Charley's Aunt, The Bird Cage and lots of Shakespearean adaptations. (Then there're movies featuring crossdressers that stink, such as To Wong Foo...) My pick is the Australian hit Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, if only for Terence Stamp's performance as a maribou-clad transsexual and the eclectic musical choices. (Love that ABBA!) Check it out. |
|
|
BEST SCREWBALL COMEDY: There's Something About Mary
|
