Archive for the ‘Rank em’ Category

  • 04 Jan

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    Rank ‘em: The Performances of Gary Oldman

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    Oldman

    Character actor, chameleon, often playing villains and grotesques (but the occasional hero as well), it is no coincidence that I chose the image from Ridley Scott’s detestable Silence of the Lambs sequel, Hannibal for the purposes of illustration of Mr. Gary Oldman. Here is an actor who has played Ludwig van Beethoven, Lee Harvey Oswald, Pontius Pilate and Sid Vicious in biopics, and in pure fiction, the gamut from Dracula to Drexl Spivey (the Pimp) to Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg (Space Dictator), to Officer Stansfield (The cocaine snorting corrupt cop in The Professional) to Shelly Runyon (the ugliest Republican senator ever put on screen), Milton Glenn (evil warden of Alcatraz), Sirius Black (The Prisoner of Azkaban), Rosencrantz (or was is Guildenstern?) and Lt. Jim Gordon (in the most recent incarnation of Batman universe.) Of course there are many more performances, because Oldman never seems to stop working in either Hollywood, Indie, or foreign productions (underrated Spanish thriller: The Back Woods.) He even directed one of the more nihilistic dramas out there, Nil By Mouth. Of course, all of these performances add up to his recent highly nuanced, but very restrained performance of career spook, George Smiley, in Thomas Alfredson’s recent incarnation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

    Put Smiley in a room with the The Driver, and you just know that Oldman likes his Gosling served cold and raw.

    Personally, I’m partial to his performance in The Contender which is so lizard-like and vile it is the black cherry on the top of his career. But even in a few quite mediocre films (Lost in Space), outright terrible (Red Riding Hood) or even the truly WTF-how-did-this-get-made (Tiptoes), Oldman is interesting, even excellent amongst the detritus of bad cinema.

    My top 5 is tucked under the seat.

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  • 26 Oct

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    Rank ‘Em: John Carpenter’s Films

    5

    With Halloween nearly upon us, it seems appropriate to delve into the filmography of one of the most well-known and acclaimed directors of the genre. Carpenter is, without question, a master of suspense. His utilization of music in crafting an ominous atmosphere is essentially unparalleled, and his ability to engross and unnerve the viewer with subtlety and craft is nothing short of transcendent. Hyperbole aside, I am not quite sure that there is another American director that has enthralled me as well or as much as Carpenter.

    In the interest of generating a great deal of discussion, I will provide a simple tiered list, from worst to best, to get the ball rolling. Without further ado…

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  • 28 Sep

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    Rank ‘Em: Billy Wilder

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    Back when I was a mere baby film buff, Billy Wilder was probably one of the very first directors I learned to know by name and seek out his films (along with Alfred Hitchcock). I can’t really explain that, other than I just happened to introduce myself to Double Indemnity, The Lost Weekend, Sabrina, and more within a relatively short period of time when I was also becoming aware of “director” as a concept. In any case, I loved Wilder’s stuff because he could do massively entertaining and witty films in almost any genre – film noir, society comedy, romantic drama, social drama, biopic, absurd comedy, etc. Perhaps the only director of the time as versatile when it comes to genre was Howard Hawks. Meanwhile, Wilder and Preston Sturges were two of the pioneers of the writer-director paradigm, which was pretty rare in studio-era Hollywood. I just watched Billy Wilder’s A Foreign Affair for the first time last night, and that pretty much leaves Stalag 17 as the only major Wilder film I haven’t seen. I should probably wait to do this Rank ‘Em until I’ve seen that one, but whatever. I’m a rebel.

    All of these are written and directed by Wilder, except ones that have denote screenplay only. It would be wrong not to mention Wilder’s two long-term writing partners, Charles Brackett, with whom he worked on nearly every film from 1938 to 1950, and I.A.L. Diamond, who cowrote Wilder’s screenplays from 1957 through most of the rest of his career. Brackett’s departure from the team led to a bit more caustic cynicism in Wilder’s writing (see Ace in the Hole), though it had always been present. I will admit that I saw several of these a long LONG time ago and I’m going on my gut memories of them rather than specifics, so feel free to write angry comments about how wrong I am. There are at least a few perhaps surprisingly low placements.

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  • 23 Sep

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    Guy Maddin Blogathon: Rank ‘Em: Guy Maddin’s Films

    4

    [Part of The Maddin-est Blogathon in the World! Contest Head over to that link for more Maddin-ness.]

    I remember the day I discovered Guy Maddin. I was filling a gap in my film festival schedule and The Saddest Music in the World happened to fit. What I didn’t bargain for was Maddin’s style. Here was a director, Canadian no less!, making a movie unlike anything I’d seen before. It looked old, it sounded old, it was melodramatic and every moment was enjoyable. In a sea of film that all looked alike, this was something new and refreshing. That was my first run in with Maddin but not the last.

    Over the years I’ve seen a dozen or so films from Maddin’s long filmogaphy and though I’m sometimes happy to simply let them wash over me in a haze of grainy film and crackling music, there are a few that I have come to love. Enter my list of favourite Guy Maddin films.
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  • 21 Sep

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    Rank ‘Em: Steven Soderbergh’s Films

    15

    My interest in Steven Soderbergh is strongly rooted in his general lack of commonality within his oeuvre. With the notable exception of the Ocean’s series, no two films share an overwhelming vibe that screams “Soderbergh,” despite his fondness for working with certain actors … and that strikes me as an unusually rare quality. Werner Herzog’s films are distinguished by the protagonist battling personal demons. The majority of David Lynch’s films are defined (or undefined) by the surreal. Clint Eastwood is a paradigm of simplicity. Terrance Malick aims to characterize nature. Great directors all, yet all with a clearly defined comfort zone.

    To be fair, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a distinguishing characteristic. In fact, Herzog and Lynch are likely my favorite directors, and my least favorite of their works are those that stray too far from their respective wheelhouses. It is for this reason that I became intrigued with Soderbergh’s filmography – I have no natural biases created by a want for a specific theme or philosophy.

    Without further ado:
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  • 14 Sep

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    Rank ‘Em: Brad Pitt Films

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    With World War Z hitting the headlines as of late (not least because of controversial book-to-film changes being made to the overall structure), Terrence Malick’s magnificent The Tree of Life providing one of this year’s highlights and Moneyball recently premiering at TIFF, I thought it would be an apt time to highlight the films of acting megastar Brad Pitt.

    Pitt has made a lot of films in his 20+ years in the business and I was surprised to actually look back and see that most of them have been at least good and some, I think you’ll agree, have been fantastic. He is a surprisingly consistent actor as far as choice of good films goes.

    Below is my ranking of all of the Pitt films I’ve seen (the list will go by the quality of the film not by his performance). I must point out that I haven’t seen absolutely everything the man has done, with the likes of Meet Joe Black, Troy and Legends of the Fall being notable omissions (any others not on the list means I also haven’t seen them). Also, I’ve decided not to include voice works so the likes of Megamind and Sinbad won’t be listed.

    Here goes, my ranking of Brad Pitt’s filmography (possible spoilers within):

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  • 07 Sep

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    Rank ‘Em: Milla Jovovich

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    Milla.jpg

    If there were still actual B-movies around these days, Milla Jovovich would undoubtedly be queen of them; even as it is, she’s made her career largely in lower-budget pulp films produced by either her ex-husband Luc Besson or her current husband Paul W.S. Anderson. Marina goaded me into putting together a Rank ‘Em for our favorite Ukranian-model-turned-actress, though it didn’t require much urging! Milla admittedly hasn’t been in that many good movies and she certainly has a reasonably well-defined range of acting ability, but she brings such a level of go-getter charisma to everything that I will almost unfailingly enjoy anything she’s in. Plus, girlcrush. They don’t have to make sense.

    There are still a good many of her films that I haven’t seen, like The Fourth Kind, The Messenger, and Dummy, but here’s a good chunk, ranked by my Milla-viewing pleasure.

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  • 31 Aug

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    Rank ‘em: David Lynch Films

    16

    Years back I took a chance at the DVD store and bought a certain film by director David Lynch (I don’t wanna give away which one just yet as it’s number 1 on my list). From then on I was a die hard Lynch fan. I sought out every other film he has ever made and have since watched them all multiple times (some more than others). One of the masters of weird and surreal American cinema, I find even when one of his films perhaps doesn’t work as a whole, there’s always something interesting to experience. He is possibly my favorite director at this point in time.

    Below is my ranking of all 10 David Lynch films, not including shorts, TV shows (sorry, Twin Peaks, as much as I love ya’) and anything else that isn’t a full-length feature film. Mind you this is going by my mood at this particular moment, and the list could change half an hour from now. For kicks I’ve included a moment/scene to highlight each film (spoilers lay within).

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  • 11 Aug

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    Rank ‘em: James Stewart

    3

    It is no question that James Stewart, known endearingly to much of the American public as Jimmy, is one of the American acting giants. Charming, aloof, yet carrying so much presence on the screen, he became the epitome of the Hollywood everyman from the late thirties throughout the sixties, starring in classic after classic.

    Despite his praise though, many are only familiar with him due to Christmas viewings of It’s a Wonderful Life and a Hitchcock film or two of his. His filmography, of course, is so much more rich than that – so much so that I not only had trouble making a “top ten” favorites, but would have had trouble narrowing it down to twenty. Below though are my ten favorite James Stewart films, with some of my favorite moments attached as clips.

    After checking out mine, share your own list and favorite James Stewart moments in the comments!

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  • 14 Apr

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    Rank ‘em: Paul Giamatti

    3

    Paul Giamatti has over 70 credits to his name according to the IMDb. Some of these are televisions episodes but still, that’s a much more impressive filmography than I thought. Of these 71 credits, I’ve seen 28 of his feature films and 1 television mini-series (“John Adams”). I haven’t caught Barney’s Version or Ironclad yet, but can’t wait to. Still, what the hell, I thought. Let’s rank out his performances shall we?

    I’ve divided the list into two parts: (fairly) major roles and minor roles (unranked).

    MAJOR ROLE:
    American Splendor
    Sideways
    The Illusionist
    “John Adams”
    Cold Souls
    Cinderella Man
    Planet of the Apes
    Shoot ‘Em Up
    Win Win
    Storytelling
    Lady in the Water
    Man on the Moon
    Fred Claus
    The Hawk Is Dying
    Duplicity
    The Last Station
    Confidence*
    Paycheck*
    Safe Men*

    MINOR ROLES: (unranked)
    Big Momma’s House
    Saving Private Ryan
    Private Parts
    The Negotiator
    The Truman Show
    Doctor Dolittle
    My Best Friend’s Wedding
    Donnie Brasco
    Sabrina
    Singles

    * = I don’t remember all that well

  • 23 Mar

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    Rank ‘em: Westerns

    14

    We haven’t done a Rank ‘em in ages (it has been over a year, actually), so it is about time that we bring them back. Fun, superficial, and completely pointless – we always enjoy the banter that comes with trying to justify some sort of top ten list and then arguing about our opinions with others. With my recent re-watch of True Grit, what a better topic to cover than westerns?

    Below is my list, based on my current mood, which I will surely be tempted to change in five minutes times. Be sure to share your own and feel free to tear into everyone else’s.

    10. The Gunfighter (Henry King, 1950)
    9. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik, 2007)
    8. The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)
    7. The Naked Spur (Anthony Mann, 1953)
    6. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1968)
    5. The Outlaw Josey Wales (Clint Eastwood, 1976)
    4. The Proposition (John Hillcoat, 2005)
    3. The Great Silence (Sergio Corbucci, 1968)
    2. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Sergio Leone, 1966)
    1. Once Upon a Time in the West (Sergio Leone, 1968)

    Click here for previous Rank ‘Ems!

  • 10 Mar

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    Rank ‘em: Jeff Bridges

    14

    In honor of his Best Actor win at the Oscars and because Sandra Bullock doesn’t have too many good movies, we’re bringing you a Rank’ Em thread for Jeff Bridges, a dude that has been acting steadily since the 1960s and an actor that has always been cool to like due to his unappreciated status (despite his four prior Oscar nominations before this win). Glancing through this filmography, it seems I have yet to see a lot of his work (again, this guy has been around a long time, so specifically his older stuff), so maybe your lists will help me sort out what I should and should not bother watching. Rank these anyway that you would like: the movie itself, his performance, the amount of dudeness. I’ll rank mine by how much I enjoyed the film itself.

    10. Starman
    9. K-PAX
    8. The Men Who Stare at Goats
    7. Crazy Heart
    6. Iron Man
    5. The Contender
    4. The Fisher King
    3. Arlington Road
    2. The Last Picture Show
    1. The Big Lebowski

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