Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995)
Musician Glenn Holland (Richard Dreyfus) takes a temporary job as a music teacher, but, as his idol John Lennon once sang, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” After thirty years in this temporary job, Mr. Dreyfus is forced to retire. On his last day of school, a cadre of his former students assemble in the school auditorium for a surprise performance of his long-delayed orchestral piece.
Dreyfus’s best performance in years grounds Holland’s struggle to find meaning and purpose in his life, transforming the film into the ultimate everyman story.
Great performances from William H. Macy as the vice principal opposed to the music program, Olympia Dukakis as the sympathetic principal, Glenne Headly as Mrs. Holland, and Terrence Howard as a young student elevate the film.
Director Stephen Herek’s previous credits, including Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989) and The Mighty Ducks (1992), could not have prepared audiences for this inspiring film about the greatness of ordinary lives.
Smoke (1995)
When Rashid (Harold Perinneau) saves the life of writer Paul (William Hurt), the two form an unlikely bond with Paul facilitating a reconciliation between Rashid and his father, Cyrus (Forest Whitaker). Meanwhile, Ruby (Stockard Channing) tells Auggie (Harvey Keitel), he has a daughter who needs his help.
Like the titular tobacco smoke, the lives of various characters drift in and out of each other’s lives via Auggie’s tobacco store in this sprawling ensemble in the vein of Altman’s Short Cuts (1993) and Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994).
The Day of the Locust (1975)
Towards the end of the Great Depression, Tod Hackett (William Atherton) moves to Hollywood and takes a job as a set designer. During his time on the studio lots, he paints scenes inspired by the movies he’s working on.
He encounters many odd characters working on the fringe of Hollywood including Abe Kusich (Billy Barty), a midget who enjoys cock-fighting, Homer Simpson (Donald Sutherland), a dimwitted man who moved to California for health reasons, elderly vaudevillian Harry Greener (Burgess Meredith), and his daughter Faye (Karen Black).
The film climaxes with the premiere of a much-anticipated motion picture. During the frenzy outside Grauman’s Chinese Theater, Homer is provoked into a fight with a boy (Jackie Earle Haley) and stomps him to death, which leads to a terrifying and chaotic riot.
Featuring several fantastic performances, this is a fine examination of the decadence and depravity of early Hollywood by John Schlesinger who had already won the Academy Award for his ode to depravity, Midnight Cowboy.
Von Ryan’s Express (1965)
When Colonel Joseph Ryan (Frank Sinatra) is captured during World War II, he becomes the highest ranking officer in an Italian POW camp, where he struggles to win the respect of the mostly British soldiers in the encampment, but eventually plays an integral role in their escape.
Part Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), part The Great Escape (1963), this works because of Sinatra’s immense charm. It’s a fun escape film, but also asks serious questions about the nature of leadership.
In the Park (1915)
While hanging out at a park, The Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) harasses a pair of lovers and angers the police.
Without a strong narrative, the film drifts from gag to gag, bearing closer resemblance to the Marx Brothers than Chaplin’s mature work.
Some of the jokes land, some don’t, but it’s a solid effort by Chaplin to push himself and experiment with his comedy style.
The Age of Adaline (2015)
In the early twentieth century, widowed mother Adaline Bowman (Blake Lively) crashed her car into a frozen lake. Fortunately, a lightning strike revived her heart. She survived the wreck, but is now unable to age.
Recognizing the unwanted attention her condition will likely bring, Adaline periodically changes her name and address to keep from arousing suspicion. Several decades later, her elderly daughter Flemming (Ellen Burstyn) now pretends to be her mother.
Adaline, now calling herself Jenny, is reluctant to begin a relationship, but her feelings for coworker Ellis Jones and Flemming’s prodding compel her to try. After briefly dating, she accompanies Jones to meet his parents, where she discovers his father William (Harrison Ford) is her former lover.
Despite some missteps, this a nice film about the possibilities of love and life, and what it means to be mortal.
In the twilight of her career, Ellen Burstyn is experiencing a personal renaissance, producing exceptional work here, and in Interstellar, and in Louie. While Ford proves with the right material, he can be more than Indiana Jones or Han Solo.
Critical opinion on the film was mixed, but put me in Jaden Smith’s camp; this is an excellent film.
The Revenant (2015)
During a fur hunting expedition, Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is mauled by a mother bear protecting her cubs. His party tries to bring him with them to their encampment, but their leader is convinced he won’t survive the journey and asks a small party, including Glass’s son, to stay behind, wait for Glass to die, and give him a proper burial.
One of the men entrusted with the task, John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), kills Glass’s son and convinces everyone else to abandon their responsibility because of the threat of eminent attack by Native Americans.
Glass, an apparent 18th century MacGyver, survives and slowly makes his way back to the base to extract his revenge, crawling 200 miles over a six-week period to reach his destination.
Much has already been written about the infamous mauling scene. It’s as intense a scene as I’ve seen in a while, and Glass lasts longer against the bear than Ronda Rousey against Holly Holm.
The rest of the film is a probing tale about the depths people will go for revenge and the limits of vengeance to provide closure, but the most striking aspect is the cinematography. This is to snow-covered forests what Lawrence of Arabia was to the desert.
Between this, Ex Machina, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Domhnall Gleeson has had a helluva year. He’s excellent as Andrew Henry, the leader of the expedition.
Leo may not win the elusive Oscar for his work in the film, but it will be one of the first roles mentioned in his obituary. It’s a demanding physical performance and an astounding transformation for an actor frequently thought to be a matinee idol.
I slightly prefer Iñárritu’s previous film (and Best Picture winner) Birdman, but this is an impressive achievement.
The Departed (2006)
Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is a mob informant working for the Massachusetts State Police. Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is an undercover policeman who’s infiltrated the Irish mafia. Both men work with mobster Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson), although neither of them are aware he’s an FBI informant.
Martin Scorsese’s Best Picture winner, a sleek, compact adaptation of the Hong Kong trilogy Infernal Affairs, embellished with details from the notorious case of Whitey Bulger, is a refreshing view of organized crime outside of the typical Italian America lens.
Nicholson is a tad over the top, but this was (unbeknownst at the time) his last hurrah. Two years later, he effectively retired from filmmaking.
To his credit, Scorsese doesn’t allow the competing loyalties and narrative threads to overwhelm the film. And while the nihilistic end ties together a little too neatly, he commendably refuses to give in to the temptation to provide a happy ending. Taking down the vilest aspects of humanity, is not easy, and requires sacrifice.
