Top 5 Best Will Smith Movies
February 9, 2012 in Articles, Movie Blog, Movie News
Independence Day (1996)Box Office Gross: $306,169,268 Adjusted: $551,381,759
Looking back on the mid-1990s its easy to forget how much a phenomenon ID4 (as it was dubbed in press materials) turned out to be. It spawned a wave of Roland Emmerich directed blockbusters like Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow and 2012. It also confirmed the undeniably charismatic Smith was a big screen star and not just a Television actor. Durning the summer of 1996 this was he movie to see, it outgrossed heavy-hitters with established star in Mission Impossible, Eraser, and Twister. Time and the home video format haven’t been kind to this one. The Special effects hold up reasonably well but the cardboard characters and rudimentary storyline are huge detriments. Undoubtedly this film played much better in the theatrical experience. I saw it four times during that summer 16 years ago and I remember thinking ,”ID4 is so good the next Star Wars movies are going to be awesome!”. If only I knew what horrors and disappointment awaited me.
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Green Lantern (2011)
Space Jam (1996)
Commercial films are great in these 
Four Brothers (2005)
Home for the Holidays (1995)
Cherry Falls (2000)
Hardware (1990)
5. Scoop (2006)
5. Funny People (2009)
5. Batman (1989)
5. Shanghai Noon (2000)
5. Murder by Numbers (2002)
5. Shallow Hal (2001)
A little indie horror flick recently made waves by coming out in 1,507 theaters. The Bubble Factory released Creature wide with no studio support. An impressive feat no doubt, but overshadowed by meager earnings of only $327,000 for its opening weekend. That gives Creature the worst per screen average of any film released into 1,000 theaters or more and a second place holding for worst opening in 1,000 plus theaters as well. Granted Creature was in good company of other under-performers for the worst weekend of the year by $10 million. Hopefully The Bubble Factory will inspire others with this possibility and we will see more indie films going wide in the future. Jon Sheinberg, one of the producers on the film, filled us in on some of the things they were able to accomplish and learn with this release:
5. Easy Rider
National Lampoon’s Van Wilder
#5 - The film Mr. Wrong (1996), starring Ellen Degeneres, is a comedy chronicling the story of a lone woman who believes she’s finally found the perfect man, but learns he has an alter ego and deals with this realization. The movie itself is mediocre at best, but one scene at the beginning of the movie involved Ellen’s character on a date with a man, while a woman belly-danced in the background, much to the pleasure of Ellen’s date. Ellen’s character points to the belly dancer’s shimmery, revealing outfit and jokes, “I almost wore that.” Also pretty good- though short-lived- dancing on the part of the unknown belly dancer.
10. The Great White Hype – Ron Shelton (Bull Durham, White Men Can’t Jump) penned this comedic satire of professional prizefighting. Samuel L. Jackson is well cast as a ‘Don King’-like promoter who represents the champ and looks for a big angle to sell the next fight. Damon Waynes plays a comical version of Tyson with a real life problem, there is no competition for the reigning heavyweight champion. So Jackson digs into the past and finds the last man to beat him. An irishman (Peter Berg) who holds a KO victory back in the amateurs; no matter that the fighter has long since retired. Before long he is coaxed back into the ring for what is being sold as Black vs. White. A strong subtext in the script is the racial war that bubbles just below the surface of the sport. The story climaxes with a big fight the public is eager to see; that the main event is such a non-event it’s even more cynical than it sounds. Shelton’s gift as a comedic commentator on the world of boxing promotion is spot on. Jamie Foxx is very funny as is Jeff Goldblum in supporting roles.
5. Exit Wounds (2001)
The best movies have the most memorable characters, and the music can be as important to portraying a character as the actor. The right music can impose a powerful emotional interpretation of what a character is going through. Consider the longing in John Williams’ score in Star Wars as Luke Skywalker looks off into the twin-sunset and thinks about his future. The right music gives a character an emotional dimension not possible in other media, giving the audience insights into a character’s inner life.
5) House of Wax (2005)
I Am Legend (2007)
James Bond, who wouldn’t want to be Bond, James Bond… he had the coolest gadgets, latest cars, he dressed well, he always got the girl and even when he was in a tussle with the bad guy he still managed to look good. We can’t all be a spy, but the gadgets, cars and clothes are a lot more accessible than they used to be.
Good For Them Movies
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A Call for DVD Commentaries
September 1, 2011 in Articles
While watching a DVD, I was inundated with several trailers, advertisements for movie products, and a commercial featuring Martin Scorsese for the Film Foundation. According to the Film Foundation, over half of the movies made before 1950 have been lost. To preserve movies for future generations, the Film Foundation has been working to save and restore aging films to their original condition. It was a nice commercial. I then moved on to the feature film.
A few days later, I read that the third incarnation of The Thing was finished. The story centers around a research team in Antarctica that discovers an alien spacecraft. By accident, the alien escapes and wreaks terror upon the scientists. John Carpenter released his version of The Thing in 1982, starring Kurt Russell in the lead role. It has since become a classic. Howard Hawks produced the original version in 1951 called The Thing from Another World. All of the movies are loosely based upon the short story “Who Goes There” by John W. Campbell, Jr.
The Howard Hawks’ version of The Thing is my favorite. Although made over half a century ago in living black and white, it still plays well. The production values of the film were top-notch for the day. Standing at an impressive 6’7″, James Arness was a natural to play the role of the monster.
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