Wednesday, July 14, 2004

Mount Up

"We work for Mr. Tunstall as regulators.
We regulate any stealin' of his property, we're damn good, too...
But you can't be any geek off the street...
You gotta be handy with the steel, if you know what I mean,
Earn your keep."
Charley Bowdre (Casey Siemaszko), Young Guns

Quotability is a huge factor in determining one's favorite movies of all time, and "Young Guns" certainly ranks up there for me, even though it's very cheesy at times. Rewatchability is probably the main element used in evaluation, because all the movies that make my top 10 have had viewings that number well into double figures. The final quality is timelessness, meaning that no matter how old the film is (or how old it will become), the humor, the story and the characters all remain relevant and entertaining.
One thing that sucks about some of these older movies is that the girls aren't as hot as time goes on, like Kelly McGillis in Top Gun or Dana Wheeler-Nicholson in Fletch, so that can't really play into the process. How amazing was McGillis the first time you saw Top Gun? Are you kidding me? But watching it now, she's just a run-of-the-mill chick with bad hair. Weird how that happens.
So here begins the top ten, with only two days of thought about it, meaning that a movie or two could certainly have escaped my memory. If something occurs to me in the near future, I'll be sure to update and explain. Ten through six come in this entry and the top five will come next time...

10. Young Guns
Why: Who doesn't want pals? The essence of that brat pack at their Western best--Kiefer Sutherland as the poem-writing, Chinese girl-wooing Doc Scurlock, Casey Siemaszko (remember him from 3 O'Clock High?) as the wussy Charley Bowdre, Charlie Sheen as the uptight Richard Brewer and Emilio Estevez as the insane William H. Bonney, aka Billy the Kid. Dermot Mulroney was also sweet as Dirty Steve and Lou Diamond Phillips as Chavez y Chavez. The second one was great too, if only because of the music of Jon Bon Jovi, but this first movie captured the "wild" in wild west (better than WIll Smith and Kevin Kline did, anyway) and gave the viewer six strong characters to root for, no matter if they were breaking the law or not. Their benefactor (Terence Stamp as John Tunstall) was such a great guy that having him killed meant those boys needed to go out and shed some blood in vengeance.
Best scene: The final showdown, where they're totally surrounded in Alex's house by Murphy's boys and the U.S. Cavalry. After it all seems to be over, Chavez somehow escapes and rounds up some horses, then Billy jumps out of the chest they dropped to the ground and opens fire, flanked by the rest of his boys coming out the windows, and the survivors manage to get away. Classic shoot-em-up stuff. Oh yeah, and the last line is pretty sweet, too, voiced over by Keifer: "The epitaph read only one word: pals."

9. Office Space
Why: Mike Judge's sense of humor is incredible, and even though I've never worked in an office environment like the one displayed in the film, the frustrations they experience and the random other events that accompany their money-making scheme (the one from Superman III, if you'll recall). Every character, from Ron Livingston's scintillating Peter Gibbons on down to the neighbor Lawrence (Diedrich Bader) and the "oh-faced" co-worker Drew (Greg Pitts). The humorous moments are too numerous to re-cap, and Stephen Root's classic portrayal of Milton ("Have you seen my stapler?") ties it all up into a nice little package. Naming a character Michael Bolton? Priceless.
Best scene: No doubt it's the return of Peter to the office, bolstered by the Geto Boys, "Damn it Feels Good to be a Gangsta." His attitude about work has completely changed after a hypnosis session and a ridiculously long night of sleep, and he shows up with complete disregard for authority. Good stuff. He blows off Lumberg, re-arranges his cubicle and heads in for his meeting with the Bobs--"I wouldn't say I've been missing it, Bob." I really can't say enough about this movie and its funny moments.

8. The Shawshank Redemption
Why: It's on a far different level than the previous entry, but its lessons in hope and loyalty are tremendous. Tim Robbins plays such an endearing character and such a cool guy--earning beer for the inmates after their roofwork, getting books and records for the library and setting up the income tax service. All the other guys obviously looked up to him and he looked up to Morgan Freeman's character, Red. Thank God I've never been in prison, but I can imagine the sentiment that Brooks must have felt trying to return to the real world after a lifetime behind bars. Thankfully Red was able to make at least a partial transition before heading down to his tropical paradise.
Best scene: Definitely the escape, when Red stays up all night worrying, then Andy doesn't come out in the morning and they all think he's dead. As the warden realizes he's gone, they retrace Andy's steps from the night before and he is indeed a free man. Quality.

7. The Usual Suspects
Why: One of the great endings in movie history and some awesome characters. The false sense of reality it gives you is a unique thing and adds a lot to the plot. Kevin Spacey is amazing, Benicio Del Toro and Kevin Pollak are hilarious and Gabriel Byrne is solid. Whichever Baldwin it is (Stephen, maybe Billy?--not Alec) also does a pretty good job. The creation of this mythical (or not) character and the build-up to his revelation makes for a great story and the final twist (and re-twist) makes this one quite memorable. The circumstances under which this one was viewed also makes it great: on my birthday in 1995 up at Hastings Ranch with several good friends right after a nice dinner (and some pie) at Baker's Square.
Best scene: Though the final re-cap scene (Chazz Palminteri's Kobayashi coffee mug crashing to the ground while he figures out what's going on) is epic, the one I can watch over and over is the interrogation scene early on, when we're first getting to know each of the characters. They stand in the line-up, reading the "Gimme the f-ing keys, you c-sucker" line in various hilarious ways ("In English, please") and going through various levels of interrogation ("You have a team of monkeys working around the clock on that one?"). Evidently much of that was ad-libbed (thank you, DVD commentary), which makes it even better.

6. Scent of a Woman
Why: Another dramatic entry in the top ten, Pacino's Oscar-winning performance is incredible and the film provides my favorite scene in any movie ever (see second half of this entry). Chris O'Donnell plays a solid Charlie, attempting to figure out his own stuff while helping out this crazy old military guy--nice easy weekend job, he thought. They go through some great stuff together--test-driving the Ferrari, dancing with the girl at the restaurant, having a lovely Thanksgiving dinner at Frank's brother's house (with an appearance by Bradley Whitford, West Wing's Josh Lyman). The conversation about women on the plane is classic and Frank's advice to Charlie about how to handle the "to snitch or not to snitch" situation is well-delivered. Though there are sad turns, the story certainly turns out positively, as Charlie is exonerated and Frank gains a new lease on life--happy is a good way to finish.
Best scene: Unbelievable stuff from Pacino in the student hearing at the Bayard School. He struts in and has Charlie's back, initially by his mere presence, and then with a remarkably challenging diatribe that's delivered to Headmaster Trask. The quotable lines within his speech are innumerable, including his "Out of order? I'll show you out of order!" and the entire harangue on Charlie choosing the right path while his friends chose the wrong.

I think I'm too brief on this first half, but wow, there's still five to go, so that'll have to suffice. Shaq's officially gone now--not sure how it'll be as a Laker fan next year, but I suppose I'll press on. Dang.

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