193. Ed Wood

Ed Wood (1994)

Director: Tim Burton

Starring: Johnny Depp

Martin Landau

Sarah Jessica Parker

Bill Murray

IMDb Rating: 8

My Rating: 8.5

"Visions are worth fighting for. Why spend your life making someone else's dreams."

Edward Wood Jr. (Johnny Depp) is a down on his luck theater director and producer who's aspiration to become a filmmaker is easily his greatest passion. When Wood reads an article about a film based on the life of Christine Jorgensen, the first person known to have gender reassignment surgery, he feels like he would be the perfect director. You see, Wood himself is a transvestite. He is not homosexual, he just likes to wear women's clothes. Through the help of his girlfriend Dolores Fuller (Sarah Jessica Parker) he sways the head of the studio and lands himself as the director of the film, eventually titled Glen and Glenda. When the film is released, it is panned by both the critics and the studios.

While working on Glen and Glenda, Wood meets childhood idol and Hollywood horror icon Bela Lugosi (Martin Landau). The two instantly strike up a friendship, and Wood offers to put Lugosi in his film after he learns that Lugosi cannot find work. Through his next few projects, Wood gains an eceletic group of friends, which all leads up to the trials and tribulations of the production of his masterwork Plan 9 From Outer Space. The film really only focuses on Wood's life through the 1950's, which stood as the beginning and groundwork for much of the filmmaker's legendary cult status.

When it comes to film, Ed Wood is a prime example of "the right man for the job." When watching the film about director Edward Wood Jr.'s life, there is no doubt that Tim Burton was the obvious choice. Wood's life was littered with the strange and bizarre which lends to Burton's personality and talent perfectly. Burton gives us a view without judgement of the cult director who was constantly judged through out his life by friends, critics, and colleagues. While there may have been better directors working at the time of the film's release, the story and tone of Ed Wood only seems fitting in the hands of Burton.

My favorite part of this film is the relationship between Edward Wood Jr. and Bela Lugosi. It's a different twist on the classic mentor and student relationship, as it's often difficult to tell who is helping who the most. Lugosi's wisdom and advice give just as much as Wood's desire to see Lugosi kick his drug habit so that his star can once again rise. Both Johnny Depp and Martin Landau are excellent in the film. Landau won the Academy Award in 1994 for his performance, which was indeed well deserved. The focus on the friendship between the two was unexpected, but proved to be the film's best feature.

I really enjoyed Ed Wood. Even though the subject is about "the worst filmmaker of all-time", this film is absolutely wonderful. Martin Landau and Johnny Depp are excellent, as they bring life to two extremely interesting men. Tim Burton was an obvious choice to bring this story to the screen. By far one of the greatest works of his career. Overall, I give Ed Wood a very strong recommendation.

194. Letters from Iwo Jima

Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)

Director: Clint Eastwood

Starring: Ken Watanabe

Kazunari Ninomiya

Tsuyoshi Ihara

IMDb Rating: 8

My Rating: 8

"If our children live safely for one more day, it would be worth one more day that we defend this island."

During World War II, the Japanese occupied island of Iwo Jima is the last barrier between the United States military forces and the main island of Japan. Iwo Jima would prove a perfect base for the American forces to attack, which the Japanese are aware of and are ready to prevent. The initial plan of attack plays out like a suicide mission, but when General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe) is given command of the island, he sets out with a different goal in mind. This angers other leaders under General Kuribayashi's command and also others stationed on the island. This even causes a few of them to leave. As we learn more about the existing conflicts between the ranks, we also get a view into the current and past lives of many of the soldiers. This film is from the Japanese point of view of the war, and is the companion to Clint Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers.

It's rare, not unheard of mind you, that a World War II film released by an American director shows any point of view of the war other than the United States'. Letters from Iwo Jima is exactly that, a look into the lives of the people that saw us as the threat. This film really just gives us a sense that even though the United States was at war with Japan, we were really not much different. Soldiers had to leave their wives and families behind to defend their country, just as we did in the United States. This film also shows that you can make an excellent war film without littering it with propaganda. Letters from Iwo Jima succeeds because it tells a story, rather than just taking a bias and slanted view at war.

Ken Watanabe gives the memorable performance of this film. His calmness set against the background of an unknown fate and an inevitable invasion from a much larger army really stands out. Where everyone around him is in hysterics, Watanabe's General Kuribayashi leads with poise and confidence. In most films, it feels like every leader portrayed is trying to be as Patton-esque as possible. This is the complete opposite of that, and ultimately succeeds by doing so.

In the grand scheme of war films, Letters from Iwo Jima might not rank as one of my favorites, but it is definitely a refreshing view of war. There are the usual intense explosions, but the unbias angle and view of the soldiers fears and worries really set this film apart. More film than propaganda, I enjoyed it far more this time than my initial viewing in theaters during the Oscar season of 2007. As mentioned earlier, this is the companion piece to Flags of Our Fathers and in my opinion, Letters from Iwo Jima is the better film and story of the two.

195. The Kid

The Kid (1921)

Director: Charlie Chaplin

Starring: Charlie Chaplin

Edna Purviance

Jackie Coogan

IMDb Rating: 8

My Rating: 9

"A picture with a smile... and perhaps a tear."

A young mother (Edna Purviance), knowing that she cannot take care of her new baby, drops him off in a fancy car with the hopes of a better life. The car that she drops the baby off in is soon stolen. Once the thieves find the baby they drop him off in an alley. A Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) is passing through the alley when he finds the baby. Although skeptical at first, he eventually takes the baby home and raises it as his own.

Five years later, the Tramp and the Kid (Jackie Coogan) are living together much like father and son. Although, sometimes it is difficult to tell which one is filling which role. Together the two scam the locals with a window washing repair service to put food on their table. At the same time, the mother of the kid has become a famous theater actress and does charity work in hopes of finding her former child. Soon the paths of the woman, the Tramp, and the Kid cross setting up an almost inevitable reunion.

Writer, director, and star Charlie Chaplin has crafted such a simple story, it's difficult to believe that so much can be taken from it. It's moments of physical comedy are absolutely hilarious. There is no doubt when you are watching the Tramp run away from a fight with a local brute that a true comic genius is at work. The film also has a way of capturing your heart. I am not sure if it is the gentle banter between the Kid and the Tramp, or just it's simple message of love no matter what blood might run through your veins. Either way, this film steals your laughs, just as much as it does the same with your heart.

This was honestly the first time I remember watching a Charlie Chaplin film. I might have seen a few when I was younger, but none actually come to mind. Part of why I took on this project is so that I could experience films I might not normally give a chance to. When I finish the 250, this is one of those films I plan on going back and watching again. I found myself filled with joy throughout the entire film. The "wholesome comedy" is truly a lost genre in today's film scene. I enjoy a dirty joke just as much as the next guy, but it was Bill Cosby who said, "too much swearing for a performer is like dropping your pants, how do you up the ante?" In a film like The Kid there is no need to up the ante. It's equal blend of physical comedy keeps the viewer satisfied and pleased until well after the credits have passed.

196. Shadow of a Doubt

Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Starring: Joseph Cotten

Teresa Wright

IMDb Rating: 8

My Rating: 8

"I have a feeling there's something inside you that nobody knows about... something secret and wonderful. I'll find it out."

Charlotte Newton (Teresa Wright) is growing bored with her mundane life at home. Everything just seems the same. She decides that a visit from her Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten), whom she is named after, should lift her spirits. Charlotte feels that he is really the only one that understands her. She heads to the post office to mail him a letter, but while is out receives a telegraph saying that her uncle will be coming to visit. This excites Charlotte and she explains this event as an example of the connection that she and her uncle share.

When Charlie arrives he charms the local ladies club, and becomes quite popular around town as well. As we saw before Charlie left town to visit his family, two detectives are following him closely. We find that Charlie may be suspected to be the murderer of a series of East Coast widows, who is commonly referred to as the "Merry Widow Murderer." As Charlie's stay becomes longer, his actions become stranger leading Charlotte to investigate at her local library. What she finds could change her family and her Uncle Charlie's lives forever.

Shadow of a Doubt is a good film, but if you go into the film expecting a classic Hitchcock twist or something to that effect, you might be disappointed. The film doesn't have that shocking conclusion like say Vertigo or Psycho did, but it is a very solid story. Where this film shines is in the character of Uncle Charlie. You can account the character's brilliance to both the writing and the performance of Joseph Cotten. Either way, the manner the character seems to be just going along normally even though he is being accused of murder, lends perfectly to either his innocence or insanity. So Shadow might be a little straight forward, but it is still quite good.

In my mind, Shadow of a Doubt plays out like what it would be like if an accused serial killer was a member of a typical 1950's television sitcom family. When viewed this way, the film takes on a completely different dimension. I am unaware if this was Hitchcock's intention, but it is definitely the way I would go into viewing the film. Overall, the movie keeps you guessing till the end in true fashion of the master director. It is however one of his least suspenseful films. What it lacks in suspense though, it makes up in excellent storytelling. A fun piece of trivia: this was Alfred Hitchcock's favorite film of his own.

197. Rosemary's Baby

Rosemary's Baby (1968)

Director: Roman Polanski

Starring: Mia Farrow

John Cassavetes

Ruth Gordon

Sidney Blackmer

IMDb Rating: 8

My Rating: 9

"Witches... all of them witches!"

Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse (Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes) have just moved into a large apartment in New York City's Bramford building. Rosemary is a very sweet and caring younger housewive, while Guy is a struggling actor mostly working on stage and in commercials. Shortly after moving in, Guy and Rosemary meet their neighbors Roman and Minnie Castevet (Sidney Blackmer and Ruth Gordon) who instantly become quite enamored with the couple. They are rather overbearing, but seem to be harmless. While Rosemary attempts to maintain some privacy, Guy becomes very friendly and fond of the couple. Soon Guy lands a lead role in a big stage play when it's actor unexpectedly becomes blind. After landing the role, Guy immediately says that he wants to have a baby with Rosemary and she agrees.

On the night that they are planning on conceiving, Minnie drops off two chocolate mouse desserts for the couple. Rosemary stops eating after a few bites and complains about the chalky under taste. A little while later, she becomes very weak and goes to bed. While asleep she dreams that a demonic force rapes her. The next morning she tells Guy of her dream, and he dismisses it and says that it was him who was making love with her. Sure enough, a few weeks later, Rosemary finds out that she is pregnant. Minnie and Roman learn the news from Guy almost immediately, and almost demand that she see a close friend Dr. Sapirstein (Ralph Belemy), instead of the doctor her friend has recommended. Once visiting Dr. Sapirstein, Rosemary is instructed to take a herbal drink from Minnie's garden in place of regular prenatal vitamins.

Soon Rosemary's appearance becomes frail and she is tortured by horrible stomach pains. Her friend Hutch (Maurice Evans) is very bothered by her appearance after a meeting one afternoon. He calls her that evening to arrange a meeting for the night day. He says that he has some important information for her. The next afternoon when Rosemary attempts to meet up with Hutch, she finds that he has slipped into a coma. Rosemary is already growing suspicious when a package arrives that Hutch instructed his friend to send to her. The package contains a book about witchcraft that Hutch has marked and inscribed to Rosemary, "the name is an anagram." Soon Rosemary starts uncovering clues to the mystery of her noisy neighbors, and the very baby that she is carrying.

Rosemary's Baby is what I often refer to as a "domino movie." It takes a while to set up, but once all of the pieces are in place, it all comes crashing down. Each shot of the film is essential to setting up our characters and the story. Through this we gain an actual sense of care and concern for our characters, especially Rosemary. Even after watching it multiple times, you can appreciate how well the film is structured. Nothing compares to your first viewing of the film though. The last fifteen minutes is filled with enough tension and surprise to rival any of cinema's great "shock endings." It's a film that deals with the supernatural, but it's realistic approach is really what sets it apart from most thrillers of it's kind.

This film is blessed to have two strong female characters portrayed by two phenomenal actresses in Mia Farrow and Ruth Gordon. Farrow gives the defining performance of her career as the soon-t0-be mother Rosemary. In lesser hands, the role could have become rather campy and ultimately ruined the entire film. However, Farrow's perfectly paced lines and genuine terrified looks prove that she was made for the part. Ruth Gordon is also excellent as the neighbor from hell, Minnie Castevet. Gordon received many accolades for her performance including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She is consistently annoying, yet surprisingly manipulating. The way her character twists and molds the people around her is subtle, but amazing when looking at the results. The male performances in Rosemary's Baby are merely footnotes compared to Farrow and Gordon.

It's safe to say that I am a big fan of Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby. I really do enjoy films that actually set out to tell a complete story, and not just focus on one main aspect. With this film, you get a complete look at a couple wanting to have a baby, a struggling actors desperate measures, the trials of noisy neighbors, and the power of manipulation. Mia Farrow and Ruth Gordon highlight an amazing cast superbly directed by Polanski. If you are watching the film for your first time, I encourage you to stick with it for it's entirety. The run time might be long, but the payoff in the end makes the journey completely worth while. I strongly recommend seeing this shocking and well structured film.

198. Brief Encounter

Brief Encounter (1945)

Director: David Lean

Starring: Celia Johnson

Trevor Howard

Stanley Holloway

IMDb Rating: 8

My Rating: 8

"Nothing lasts really. Neither happiness nor despair. Not even life lasts very long. There'll come a time in the future when I shan't mind about this anymore, when I can look back and say quite peacefully and cheerfully how silly I was. No, I don't want that time to come ever. I want to remember every minute, always, always to the end of my days."

A man and a woman are sharing a table in a crowded train station cafe. They have mutual looks of emptiness and despair on their faces. A rather chatty lady sits down and begins to talk to the couple. Soon the man gets up to leave and gently places his hand on the woman's shoulder. The moment seems rather insignificant, until we are taken back to the couples first meeting. Laura Jesson (Celia Johnson) ventures into the small town of Milford once a week to do some shopping and take in a afternoon matinee at the local movie theater. One afternoon while waiting for her train home, she gets a small piece of grit in her eye. Luckily Dr. Alec Harvey (Trevor Howard) is there and helps her remove the debris from her eye. This short encounter leads to an affair between the two, who are both married to other people. Their story, although short and fleeting, speaks volumes about the matters and desires of the heart.

Brief Encounter is a fairly simple film. I am usually quite turned off to films about infidelity. I remained open minded before and during my viewing of the film though, and actually found it to be a rather piercing and amazing tale. Different from films like Unfaithful, this film focuses much more on the emotional aspect of an affair, rather than the physical. With this angle, the film does test the viewers moral beliefs and actually leaves you rooting for their eventual happiness. The film's ability to do this, I think speaks to it's excellent story and the manner that it is told.

Our couple played by Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard are absolutely wonderful together. The relationship while unconventional, maintains that feel of a classic cinema romance. Johnson is emotionally charged if nothing less. Her vulnerability comes across as the most authentic piece of acting in the film. Howard's performance is much more subtle, but equally as wonderful. The character's personalities compliment each other almost as good as Johnson and Howard do. Their complete performance as a couple is truly what drives this film.

Brief Encounter might be a film about being unfaithful, but it approaches the subject with class and maturity. It's never vulgar or crude, although it was still banned in a few countries during it's initial release in 1945. I liked this film very much. It's focus on the emotional aspects really did make the subject matter much more intriguing and thought provoking. This movie comes with an definite endorsement from myself.

199. Good Will Hunting

Good Will Hunting (1997)

Director: Gus Van Sant

Starring: Matt Damon

Robin Williams

Ben Affleck

Stellan Skarsgard

Minnie Driver

IMDb Rating: 8

My Rating: 8.5

"I just slid my ticket across the table and I said,"Sorry guys, I gotta see about a girl."

Will Hunting (Matt Damon) is a closeted genius who works at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a janitor. A professor at MIT Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard) posts a problem on the hallway board for his students to hopefully solve by the end of the semester. The next day while at a reunion of his classmates, Professor Lambeau is approached by a few of his students who are interested in who solved the problem. The next morning in class a large number of students has arrived to find out who might have solved the problem. No member of the student body steps forward, which leaves Professor Lambeau to post another more difficult problem. While walking down the hallway a while later, Professor Lambeau catches Will writing on the board, and attempts to chase him down. It turns out, that Will has been the one solving the problems all along.

Baffled at his identity, Professor Lambeau looks for Will and ends up bailing him out of jail for assault. Will is released on the condition that he meet once a week with Professor Lambeau and also seek conculing from a therapist. Will agrees and begins to torture therapist after therapist. It isn't until Will meets Sean Maguire (Robin Williams) that the walls begin to come down. Soon Sean starts to really breakthrough with Will, who soon strikes up a relationship with a Harvard student named Skylar (Minnie Driver). The only problem being that she is soon be moving to California. With job offers now coming, Will must make the ultimate decision about his future, but will it cost him his identity?

Good Will Hunting is your classic "underdog" storyline with an intellectual twist. Where the usual "underdog" films (i.e. Rudy or Remember the Titans) seem to divulge into sappy and cliche, this film paved a road of it's own due much in part to it's excellent writing. The screenplay was written by two young Boston natives, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, which proved to be their tickets to fame. They won the Academy Award for their work, which was justly due. Their raw look at the often forgotten about inner city side of Boston rang true with myself, as well as audiences world wide. What I like most about the writing is how it lends to the authenticity of the character of Will. Here you have this genius, but he talks just like an inner city thug, which he is as well. The three dimensions of Will are also written into the three main characters that surround him. We have his genius in Professor Lambeau, his troubled youth found in his best friend Sullivan, and his life long absence of love which can be redeemed in Skylar. Without giving away the ending, the film concludes in the way that is not only most logical, but also truest to the human spirit. The screenplay of Good Will Hunting lends greatly to it's success and, helps it to become one of the defining and most original films of it's genre.

The comedian taking the dramatic turn can prove to be rather deadly. Not many actors have the ability to transition between drama and comedy like Robin Williams. His performance in this film, all be it a short one, far outshines the rest. Keeping with our underdog theme, Williams plays the classic mentor character brilliantly. Some might draw comparisons to his character in Dead Poet's Society, and call the performances similar. I do not believe that is a good comparison. His perfectly timed and reserved demeanor makes his moments of intensity that much more effective. His scenes along side Damon can only be described as on screen magic. Knowing the star power of both now, it's neat to look back at the rising of a new star, and the true transition of another.

It's hard to not like a film like Good Will Hunting. The character of Will is so layered, that everyone should find a reason to root for his success. Where Damon and the rest of the cast give solid performances, it is Robin Williams portrayal of Sean Maguire that truly outshines the rest. Also the writing of Damon and Affleck hits with a sense of realism and sencerity that is rarely found in films of it's type. I remember in high school watching this film many times and really never getting too far past Will and his buddies. This time I was much more focused on the relationship between Will and Sean. True mentors in life are hard to come by. If you are fortunate enough, these people will shape your life. On a personal note, my life (a tad different from Will's) would not have been the same without my mentor James Brendlinger. He opened my eyes to a aspect of film, music, literature, and theater that I never knew. It is film's like Good Will Hunting that remind us of the impact these people can have on us.