1979 Movies
OSCARS Won/Nominated
IMDB Top 250
IMDB Top 250
OSCARS
KEVIN'S PICK
Best Director
Best Editing Best Art Direction Best Visual Effects Best Sound |
Alien
Dir: Ridley Scott Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerrit, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Harry Dean Stanton 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die IMDB #52 I certainly don't consider this the masterpiece of sci-fi horror that most people do, but it IS impressive. The production design is top notch, the design of the large aliens are freakishly realistic, and this film contains the most intense, jump-out-of-your-seat moment you will ever see. It took me a good 5 minutes to calm down from that one...it was THAT unexpected, thrilling, and terrifying. A- DVD |
OSCARS
KEVIN'S PICK
Best Supporting Actor
Best Cinematography |
Apocalypse Now
Dir: Francis Ford Coppola Stars: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die IMDB #51 The grandiosity behind this production is thoroughly impressive, and a lot of the performances are top notch...but I couldn't help shake the feeling that this film was a bit of a slog. When we finally get to meet Colonel Kurtz...I don't buy Captain Willard's reactions...being such a dedicated soldier. I have read Josef Conrad's book, Heart of Darkness, and it was a bit clever to move the story from the desolate jungle to Vietnam...but that only seemed to make the huge war production almost an unnecessary indulgence. The original story was small and intimate...Apocalypse Now is sort of overblown. B DVD |
The Great Train Robbery
Dir: Michael Crichton Stars: Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland A solid adventure heist...where the ultra charismatic Connery and the great character actor Sutherland are put in Victorian England and are out to rob a railroad of a crapload of gold bullion. To watch the duo go through the train in order to obtain the four keys needed to open the safe is a delight, and the movie doesn't take itself too seriously...kind of like a precursor to Michael Bay movies. I had fun B |
OSCARS
KEVIN'S PICK
Best Picture
Best Actor Best Supporting Actress Best Adapted Screenplay |
Kramer Vs. Kramer
Dir: Robert Benton Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die I don't think I have ever before seen a more powerful, tear-inducing, poignant human drama than Kramer Vs. Kramer. It is a simple story about a man whose wife walks out on him and his 6 year old son and shows up 18 months later seeking custody. In lesser hands, such a simple film would come across like a Law & Order episode. As it is...it is worthy of virtually all of its Oscar wins (100% behind Picture, Actor, Supporting Actress, and Screenplay...but I could argue Director for Coppolla in Apocalypse Now. Hoffman is terrific and scenes like the infamous Ice Cream scene and when his son recieves stitches made my heart ache at the seriousness and relatability of young Billy's parents' predicament. A |
Mad Max
Dir: George Miller Stars: Mel Gibson 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die Fury Road was my first foray into Mad Max territory (other than Thunderdome when I was young but I recall nothing). The genius direction that George Miller has in him shows its face during the action, but this movie is an hour of complete boredom followed by a decent climax...but there is nothing THAT exciting or interesting. Its pretty cliched in the way it is a man out for revenge, and that simple. C |
OSCARS
Best Supporting Actress
Best Original Screenplay KEVIN'S PICK
Best Actress
Best Original Screenplay |
Manhattan
Dir: Woody Allen Stars: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep, Mariel Hemingway 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die No one has made New York more iconic in cinema than Woody Allen...and no movie has epitomized Allen's love of the Big Apple more than Manhattan. From a technical, artistic standpoint...it is Allen's finest film. However, his strong point has always been dialogue and neuroses. Manhattan's plot is vintage Allen, but never quite as interesting as the visuals or the wonderful use of George Gershwin in the soundtrack. I liked seeing Meryl Streep in the film, but the presence of Mariel Hemingway, as an underage lover of Allen's, was a little creepy...especially knowing Allen's history. Still...it is a classic Allen feature. B DVD |
Monty Python's Life of Brian
Dir: Terry Jones Stars: Monty Python 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die IMDB #183 When Monty Python is episodic, skit-based, and outrageouslt stupid...they are at their best. This film...their most controversial, is still very funny, very clever, and outrageous...but because it is their only film with any sort of narrative structure...I think it is their weakest. I really do love the idea of a baby being born the same day as Jesus and mistaken as the messiah...it is a bold approach to comedy...but waiting for the story to progress can get boring. In the other Python films, when one ridiculous scene is up...they smash cut to another skit-like scene...and it may be totally irrelevant to what happened before...and it is all the funnier for it. B DVD |
OSCARS
Best Original Score
Best Original Song KEVIN'S PICK
Best Original Score
Best Original Song |
The Muppet Movie
Dir: James Frawley Stars: Charles Durning, Austin Pendleton The Muppets were never better than their original outing in this film. The story is an allegory for the actual muppets themselves...when Kermit decides to leave the swamp (TV) and heat to Hollywood to become rich and famous. The character introductions, the music, the irreverent comedy...it is all wonderful. Also, the cameo's in this film are legendary. Edgar Bergen, Mel Brooks, Milton Berle, James Coburn, Dom Deluise, Bob Hope, Elliot Gould, Madeline Kahn, Carol Kane, Cloris Leachman, Steve Martin, Richard Pryor, Telly Savalas, and even freakin' Orson Welles. It lends such credence to the movie and it is a phenomenal joy to behold. A- DVD |
Nosferatu the Vampyre
Dir: Werner Herzog Stars: Klaus Kinski, Bruno Ganz 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die I am almost always impressed by Werner Herzog, but I don't know what the hell he was doing with this update to the classic Murnau horror film. It is slow, ugly, and overly sound edited. Plus, Kinski makes Dracula a creepy recluse instead of a seductive gothic monster. It wasn't until the end where there was ANY scene that felt Dracula-like, where it is scary and a bit sexualized. I just hated this movie....and I also wasn't a fan of the original. I guess I just don't like this version of the myth in any way. D |
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Dir: Peter Weir Stars: Rachel Roberts, Dominic Guard 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die Movies about the lack of knowledge and characters that to not understand their situation are few and far between....because it is hard to tell a story about people who "don't know what happened". Peter Weir's film is a solid example on how to make a movie like this. It follows a trip by a bunch of college girls, in 1900, when 4 of them disappeared without a trace during their picnic at the locally famous geological outcropping. No one knows what happened, no one understands why no one knows, and we never find out. It is an odd approach to the movie....but Weir's cinematography and especially the score, project a sense of mystery that can easily be explained like it was a Twilight Zone episode written by Jane Austen. B+ |
OSCARS
Best Art Direction
Best Visual Effects Best Original Score |
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Dir: Robert Wise Stars: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Deforest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, James Doohan, Walter Koenig This was my introduction to the Star Trek universe. I hadn't seen a single movie or TV episode before...but I was aware of it. It is Sci-Fi but it is treated seriously and believably. It is definitely that. With the fantastic Robert Wise at the helm, he brings us a thoughtful, stoic, serious adventure that is thoroughly impressive. Sure...the space travel/alien spaceship is fantastic...but it is treated respectively and down to earth...so it is a brainy exercise instead of a whimsical escape like Star Wars. A- |
KEVIN'S PICK
Best Costume Design
|
The Warriors
Dir: Walter Hill Stars: Michael Beck, James Remar, David Patrick Kelly I really dug this movie. It is like the opening of Gangs of New York, in 1979, for 90 minutes. It takes place in a New York City that has slipped into near complete anarchy and there seem to be dozens upon dozens of gangs, all with flamboyant "colors" and names. They have all gathered together in a sort of conclave to discuss taking over the city. When something bad happens and "The Warriors" are wrongly accused...they set out to get back to Coney Island from the Bronx, with all these different gangs, and cops, standing in their journey's path. That is ALL there is to it. Will all 9 make it back? That's why I kept watching because I couldn't wait to find out. It is dirty, gritty, and incredibly entertaining. B+ |