Groundhog Day, 1993

Directed by Harold Ramis
Written by Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis
Starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell

I think this is Bill Murray's best movie. It's a good story based on an intriguing premise. It's very funny, and, dare I say, even moving at a few moments. He's at the top of his game and obviously working well with Harold Ramis, who is also at the top of his game. The other performances are fine, but this is Bill's movie and he carries it off. It's not a masterpiece of cinema, but it's head-and-shoulders above most comedies (and a lot of what's out there). I could list my favorite lines, but there are too many. There's something particularly hilarious about the recurring scenes in the diner -- especially the scene where he drinks coffee from the decanter and when he gets Andie McDowell's list of what she's looking for in a man ("Me again").

There's also notable material about it in this article; spoiler alert for the article: I hope they're finally talking again.

And it's in The Pantheon.

Groundhog Day at IMDB.

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Favorite movies - The Pantheon
Me generally - Josh Lubarr's web site extraordinaire
Also also - Josh's Part of lubarr.com

Intolerable Cruelty, 2003

Directed by Joel Coen
Written by Robert Ramsey & Matthew Stone and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen
Starring George Clooney, Catherine Zeta-Jones


This movie is a favorite among favorites (and it's in The Pantheon, of course). Along with Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, this is my favorite cat-and-mouse movie.

The acting is, across the board, wonderful. Of course George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones are good, but this movie wouldn't be what it is without Geoffrey Rush ("I'm in a meeting!"), Billy Bob Thornton ("Honey, do I look worried?"), Cedric the Entertainer ("You want tact? Call a tactician."), Paul Adelstein ("Baby field greens"), Richard Jenkins ("Your Honor, this is harassment, and, frankly, it's still a little arty-farty."), Edward Herrmann ("Is that possible?") and so many others.

And they obviously wouldn't be so good if it weren't for the writing. The universe of this movie is so filled with lying that it's easy not to notice how often it happens. When George Clooney unknowingly repeats the lie that someone (no spoiler here) has died in a business meeting when we clearly know otherwise, it's just a reminder that they are all filled with, as Big Daddy would say, mendacity.

The Coen brothers really outdid themselves with this movie. The pacing is great, look is great, and even the little touches are great -- things like "Living without Intestines" magazine. That's part of the reason why this movie holds up so well after repeated viewings, and I speak from experience.

A lot of reviews compared this movie to screwball comedies, but, while their influence is evident, it's a product of now. It's just as much fun watching George Clooney go through trouble as our modern Cary Grant, but those movies (The Awful Truth, for example) are about a world that isn't greedy the way this one is. That some of the main action happens at a divorce lawyers' convention in Las Vegas, versus swanky and relatively innocent apartments and nightclubs in '30's New York is telling enough. So much of this movie is about cupidity versus Cupid that the Coen brothers may have left out that pun as a sign that it was too obvious.

Intolerable Cruelty at IMDB.

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The places to hear from me:
Food - josh lubarr food stuff
Geekiness - geekiness(josh lubarr)
Movies - Old Movies and New with Josh Lubarr
Politics - Progressive Politics (per Josh Lubarr)
Silliness and comedy - Le Repository du Silliness, avec Josh Lubarr
Favorite movies - The Pantheon
Me generally - Josh Lubarr's web site extraordinaire
Also also - Josh's Part of lubarr.com

Across the Pacific, 1942

Directed by John Huston
Written by Richard Macaulay
Starring Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor and Sydney Greenstreet

Second-tier thriller/adventure fare with Bogie, Greenstreet, and Mary Astor all providing reasonable but not stunning performances. It was obviously sold as a kind of Maltese Falcon reunion (with both the cast and with Huston directing), but it's not nearly as good. Still, it's not a bad ride. 

Across the Pacific at IMDB.

Martian Child, 2007

Directed by Menno Meyjes
Written by Seth Bass and Jonathan Tolins (from the novelette by David Gerrold)
Starring John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Bobby Coleman

This one went under the radar, but you can understand why. It's a family story with some laughs that's going for the feel-good tugging-at-the-heartstrings feeling, and it basically succeeds, but you can see a lot of where it's going way too far out. (It may be that movie's predictability probably comes from the Hollywood clean-up of the actual story; no surprise, I suppose.) At the same time, if you know what you came for, you won't be disappointed: complaining about this movie's sentiment is like complaining about a James Bond movie for being all tuxedos, fights, cars, and beautiful women. John Cusack's performance has interesting depth and subtle moments; he demonstrates his acting skills if only because you'd guess he was an actual father from watching him in this movie.

Martian Child on IMDB.
Also, some related thoughts from me at geekiness(Josh Lubarr).

The Magnificent Seven, 1960

Directed by John Sturges
Written by William Roberts
Starring Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, and Horst Buchholz

Really good Western with fine performances all around. Purists may complain that it's watered-down Kurosawa, but it's a total pleasure just the same. I particularly enjoyed Steve McQueen, James Coburn, and Robert Vaughn. Also, see this for the cha-cha version of the music.

The Magnificent Seven on IMDB

Macao, 1952

Directed by Josef von Sternberg
Written by Bernard C. Schoenfeld and Stanley Rubin
Starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell and William Bendix

It's a middling-to-pretty-good adventure/thriller/romance (with some songs, as well).

Robert Mitchum's in fine form as usual. Jane Russell is fine, though doesn't seem as tough or street smart as she's supposed to be. William Bendix is amusing in the early scenes, where he has more comedy. Brad Dexter's bad guy is a little bland. Apparently, von Sternberg was replaced as director by Nicholas Ray midway through and Ray had Mitchum and perhaps Russell write some of the dialogue; the better scenes are theirs according to them.

Macao on IMDB.

2012, 2009

Directed by Roland Emmerich
Written by Roland Emmerich and Harald Kloser
Starring John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet

Apparently, Mark Twain said about Wagner's music, "It's not as bad as it sounds." And here's the funny thing about this movie: it's not as bad as it seems. First of all, John Cusack has the lead, and his performances range from good to awesome. He's not at the top of his range here, but he's still just fine. Sorry to say, but everyone else is sort of window dressing compared to the literally apocalyptic special effects -- the moral geologist, the amoral government guy, the ex-wife who never gave up on her first husband, the martyr President, the moral + love-interest first daughter, etc. Regarding those special effects, which are the point, they're just what you came for -- tidal waves that flip cruise ships, mega-tidal waves that flip aircraft carriers directly onto the White House, and the mega-uber-tidal waves that are taller than the Himalayas, etc. It's fine, and it's fun. I've actually seen it twice, which is more than I can say for a lot of movies (which shall remain nameless).

2012 on IMDB.