Edward Norton | Primal Fear (1996) | Dir. Gregory Hoblit

Edward Norton was practically a fetus in his first foray into the film world, 1996’s Primal Fear. Norton stars as Aaron, an altar boy is accused of murdering a priest and Richard Gere is his lawyer who attempts to prove his innocence in what appears to be a case that cannot be won.

The cast is incredible with Laura Linney and Frances McDormand as supporting players, though it is Norton’s phenomenal performance is that really stands out. His character goes from meek, stuttering Southern boy to violent sociopath and back and he does it brilliantly. Just from this one film, you could tell that Edward Norton had an amazing career ahead of him. 

He should have won the Academy Award for this film. How can we live in a world where Cuba Gooding Jr. has a Oscar but Edward Norton does not?

1969 | Take the Money and Run (dir. Woody Allen)

Here is Woody’s second film, even though it’s really the first truly Woody Allen movie. He directs, writes, and stars in it himself, as he does with many of his films after this. Being one of his earliest, it really goes ahead and gives us an establishing view of Woody, as well as a look into what some of his future films would be like. It features plenty of slapstick scenes, which would be major in upcoming films (Bananas, Sleeper, etc), as well as some gags that would be later brought up again (such as the use of Groucho Marx glasses and nose). One of the major things to be noticed is the mockumentary style that he used within this film, and that he later develops and perfects in the film Zelig. All and all, it’s actually a really fantastic Woody Allen film, with a marvelous score by Marvin Hamlisch. If you’re at all interested in comedy and enjoying some early Woody, give this movie a shot.

Quentin Tarantino | Reservoir Dogs (1992)

“Are you gonna bark all day, little doggie, or are you gonna bite?”

I tried to imagine what was the experience like to see this film on a big screen in 1992, facing the fully formed piece that was the first Tarantino feature film. It’s not like you haven’t seen heavy films before, but here you have a pleasure (or a misfortune some may say) of experiencing so many campy things put together in one piece that you start to wonder: is this guy serious? Is it bad that I’m enjoying this so much?

It starts off with an ordinary conversation about Madonna’s Like a Virgin and one guy claiming it’s all about dicks. The other guy refuses to put one dollar to a tip for waitress. He is kind of an asshole, but he’s got a point, you would say. Later you will find out he likes to use the word professional a lot. George Baker Selection’s Little Green Bag kicks in, they walk through a parking lot in a slow motion, putting their shades on, and you can’t help but thinking: man, this is cool.

Apart from the nicknames (ah, the nicknames!) you quickly learn a few things about these guys. Mr. White (Harvey Keitel) seems like a decent man, Mr. Orange (Tim Roth)- well, let’s just say he’s in a lot of pain, Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi) doesn’t even like his nickname to begin with and Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen) is a psychopath, a good looking maniac. And what great names these are (and I mean the actors this time)! They must’ve felt this pretty much small, cameral piece was going to be something. Or maybe they just liked the guy?

Because it is impressive how Tarantino managed to put all those things you can notice shyly emerging in My Best Friend’s Birthday: irregular plot line, great dialogues, heavy swearing, perfect usage of oldschool music- together in a fully-shaped well executed form. It’s not a complicated piece, touching important matters or a life changing experience. But it’s respectable how gracefully, lightly it is handled by Tarantino, who, I dare to state, with this film created a whole new genre of a picaresque dipped in a groovy, bloody sauce of black humour. So the chances are you either walked out of the cinema in 1992 thinking “Good God, that was awful!” or “That was fantastic, can I get more?”

1968 | What’s Up, Tiger Lily? (dir. Woody Allen)

This movie is credited as Woody Allen’s directorial debut, so we’ve got some of the earliest stages of Woody in writing as well. It’s really not all that much directing in this case, seeing as What’s Up, Tiger Lily? is actually Woody taking a Japanese action film “International Secret Police: Key of Keys” and re-dubbing it as a comedy in which the plot revolves around a secret egg salad recipe. It’s really a treat for anyone who’s ever found re-dubs amusing, and even if you aren’t a big fan of them, it’s worth a shot. Plenty of fun jokes, some silhouettes against a movie screen, and plenty of Asian overacting makes this an enjoyable treat from the sixties, although some might find it a little dull and dated.

Robert Downey Jr. | Baby It’s You (1983) | dir. by John Sayles

I’m telling you… The things I do for just a glimpse of Robert Downey Jr. There wasn’t even a full facial shot of him in this one like there was in Up the Academy. Then again, this wasn’t as awful as Up the Academy, so there’s that. Plus, I think RDJ had lines — in the background, but still — though. That must count for something.

But it didn’t count enough to make this movie interesting for me.

Baby It’s You is a movie about first love, and if Down to You taught us anything (other than the fact that a Cops-esque cooking show would be the BEST show), it’s that movies about first love are kind of just…dull.* You don’t care about the characters and they petty tantrums (in the name of love). You don’t care about the obstacles keeping them apart. Movies about first love mean always having to say you’re sorry — both the studio for making the movie and the audience for dragging their dates to said movie. Especially when the lead female is a young Rosanna Arquette playing a far less dramatic (and therefore, not at all interesting) Rachel Berry.

(The movie’s soundtrack could get it though. Just like RDJ smoking that cigarette.)

*The exception is Rushmore, of course.

Kate Winslet | A Kid in King Arthur’s Court (1995) | Dir. Michael Gottlieb

Seeing as how I was a child of the 90s, this was more of a rewatch for me, a refresher on the story after realizing that Kate graced my screen the zillion and one times I saw this movie as a kid. The plot is simple enough, (loosely based on Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court) Calvin Fuller, fresh off of his last strike out during what seems to be a pretty high stakes Little League game given the acting of the spectators, gets magically transported to Camelot accidentally by Merlin. (Don’t blame him, he’s living in a well in a dungeon for Pete’s sake.) Smart enough to work with what he’s got, Merlin gives Calvin the task of saving Camelot from the evil Lord Belasco, who is prepared to marry Princess Sarah (Winslet) and take over the kingdom with his weird black and white receding ponytail. Crazy antics involving roller blades and a discman ensues, giving both Calvin and the court of King Arthur some assumed culture shock.
 It’s tough it actually review something that’s meant for kid’s, the writing is cheesy for the most part and the plot gets a bit boring, but for it’s demographic it’s pretty perfect. In fact, the only shining light acting wise is Winslet. Her scenes, while few and far between, are much more intimate and darker in nature, and especially in a movie where the opportunity to overact is so big. Bottom line, if you need a movie to pop in to entertain 6-8 year olds, this is a great choice. It’s not really worth it otherwise.

Annette Bening | The Great Outdoors (1988) | dir. Howard Deutch.

The Great Outdoors is one of those typical comedies from the eighties where a typical everyday situation is turned farcical by an unlikely event. In this case, John Candy plays Chet Ripley, a guy who just wants a quiet holiday with his wife and sons but finds himself disturbed by the rude arrival of his obnoxious brother-in-law Roman (Dan Aykroyd) and his wife’s sister Kate (Annette Bening). Silly things happen, terrible outfits are worn. It’s an eighties movie starring John Candy…what else do you expect?

It does include a moment where the children sit on the lap of a dead man. Which I believe was a pre-requisite of most eighties films. And there are definite moments of misogyny that the Porkys movies would be proud of.

In terms of Annette’s performance, well, she spends a great deal of the film wearing headscarves and hoop earrings. She plays a rather gaudy wealthy housewife…and that’s about it. It’s not as though she does a bad job, in fact you do get a couple of glimpses of her comedic potential (of which she is in abundance). Her role, however, is really secondary as this is not a film about the families or the wives, rather it is about the ‘hilarious’ rivalry between Candy and Aykroyd. 

John C. Reilly | We’re No Angels (Neil Jordan, 1989)

John C. Reilly’s second movie role was in the film, We’re No Angels a 1989 remake of the same title with Robert De Niro and Sean Penn. The movie was pretty funny it didn’t have me rolling on the floor ,but it had it’s moments and watching Penn and De Niro act together was truly a pleasure. The film is about two convicts who after escaping prison pose as priests to hide from the warden and all the other police forces who are after them. They aim to one day cross the border to Canada and finally live the rest of there lives in peace. 

John C. Reilly’s role is very supportive. He plays a young, aspiring monk in the church who seems to look up to Sean Penn’s character as a priest. The moments that he is on camera he really lights up the screen and plays the part really well. His affection and ambition for the clergy really shines and always put a smile to my face as I watched.

Philip Seymour Hoffman | My New Gun (1992) | dir. Stacy Cochran

Painful to watch and somehow even more painful to listen to once I stopped actually physically watching the movie, this one was a dud. A woman (played by Diane Lane) is given a gun by her husband for protection in their affluent Long Island neighborhood and news of this gun piques the interest of one of her next door neighbors. Philip Seymour Hoffman makes a three minute appearance as the co-worker of the James LeGros character. It was a bright shining moment in a murky slice of early 1990s’s mediocrity.