Movie #366 - Can't Hardly Wait

Can't Hardly Wait
1998 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 40 min
Directors: Harry Elfont, Deborah Kaplan
Starring: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ethan Embry, Charlie Korsmo, Lauren Ambrose, Peter Facinelli, Seth Green, Freddy Rodriguez,  Sean Patrick Thomas, Donald Faison, Jaime Pressly, Selma Blair, Jason Segel, Chris Owen

Oh, high school. This movie came out the year before I graduate high school, so the whole party-before-college premise rung true for me at the time.  Jocks, nerds, cheerleaders, and X-filers alike can revel in this movie's accurate rendering of high school in the 90s.  And what a cast... so many great bit parts played by actors who have real careers now!

See if you can spot Selma Blair. Or how about Jason Segel?  Yep, that's him all right!  This was fun to revisit after so much time has passed.  Not only could I still remember my favorite lines, but finding all these "new" faces in the crowd became a game for me. 

Anyway, it's no Oscar winner, nor does it have the kind of original plot that keeps you riveted.  The characters are stereotypes, the acting's okay, but the real joy here is in what it represents for me.  If you didn't graduate high school in the late 90s, this might not strike the same chord for you.

Movie #365 - Breach

Breach
2007 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 50 min
Director: Billy Ray
Starring: Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe, Lauran Linney, Caroline Dhavernas, Gary Cole, Dennis Haysbert, Kathleen Quinlan, Bruce Davison

Intrigue and espionage are always more interesting when the story's based on true events.  This one charts the true life take down of the biggest internal FBI spy ever.  And Chris Cooper plays the character with such duality you'll be confused how you feel about him by the end... yeah, he's a spy, but is he really so bad?

Ryan Phillippe is uneventful and unremarkable here - I feel like you could lift him out and put just about anyone in his play.  Jake Gyllenhaal. Tobey Maguire. You get the idea.  Laura Linney, however, gives a great performance here. And oh hey, it's the boss from Office Space!

Anyway, if you're into this type of movie, this is a great effort that's worth watching.  Scary that it's true, but good that we caught the guy, right?

Movie #364 - The Animatrix

The Animatrix
2003 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 42 min
Directors: Peter Chung, Andy Jones, et al
Starring: Akio Ohtsuka, Clayton Watson, Pamela Adlon

I know, with a name like Animatrix, who would guess this movie is animated scenes inspired by The Matrix. Shocking, huh?

Yes, it is written by the creators of the famed trilogy. And yes, it does involve some of the familiar characters of the same trilogy.  Trinity is as kick-ass animated as she is embodied by Carrie-Anne Moss.  But mostly, this series of 9 animated shorts tells the other stories about the matrix universe, including how it all got started.

If you're a fan, it's a must-see.  Especially because it is by the creators, not some knock-off fan fiction or something.  You'll learn more about the world and history of the Matrix and you'll meet some equally interesting characters.  If you only like the Matrix for Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, or the special effects... you can probably skip this one.  None of those appear in this compilation.

Movie #363 - Analyze This

Analyze This
1999 - Rated R - 1 hr 43 min
Director: Harold Ramis
Starring: Robert De Niro, Billy Crystal, Lisa Kudrow, Chazz Palminteri, Joe Viterelli, Molly Shannon

While the sequel Analyze That should never have happened, this first installment is actually kinda funny.  De Niro plays the gangster under pressure who resorts to getting help from Crystal, a regular psychiatrist who'd rather not be involved with the mob.  De Niro pushes and prods, Crystal resists but in the end resolves to help him confront his anxiety.

Mostly though, it's just a comedy.  And there are little tributes to The Godfather here, including a dream sequence that's shot-for-shot from the classic.  Nice.

Overall, this one's just for fun.  De Niro and Crystal are fun to watch together -- totally worth it.

Movie #362 - The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
1988 - Rated PG - 2 hr 6 min
Director: Terry Gilliam
Starring: John Neville, Eric Idle, Sarah Polley, Oliver Reed, Jonathan Pryce, Bill Paterson, Uma Thurman, Robin Williams

From the weird, imaginative mind of Terry Gilliam.... Even though it's based on a book.  This is very much up the same alley as Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, just 20 or so years earlier and with less sophisticated effects.

Visually, for its time, this movie is over the top, but really well done. Elaborate sets and costumes, eccentric characters, loud makeup, and lots of action... it's a well-rounded movie.  It also boasts an excellent cast as well.  But basically, the plot is just a bunch of nonsense strung together... some scenes more realistic than others, some more firmly rooted in myths, and some just more ridiculous.  Like floating head people. Trippy, isn't it?

But I think it was meant for kids, so then I guess that's okay.  I remember enjoying this one way back when and now it's with fond nostalgia that I watch it.  Mike loves this one too, but I credit that love to his own nostalgia too.  If you were to watch this one for the first time as an adult now, I can't say that you'd like it that much.

Movie #361 - The 13th Warrior

The 13th Warrior
1999 - Rated R - 1 hr 42 min
Director: John McTiernan
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Vladimir Kulich, John DeSantis, Clive Russell, Omar Sharif, Erick Avari, Tony Curran

I'm not a huge Beowulf fan, I have to admit. So the idea of yet another retelling of this age-old epic was bumming me out.  Even if it does star Antonio Banderas. Even if it was written by Jurassic Park genius Michael Crichton.  Add the director of the Die Hard franchise and you'd think I'd be sold.

What does win me over on this movie is the concept of the re-imagined tale, the story behind the myth viewpoint. A kind of Wicked makeover for The Wizard of Oz.  Told from the perspective of an unlikely compatriot to Beowulf (who gets a new, weird name in this version), the Grendel myth has real roots... it's a cult-like group that is raising hell.  Kill 'em and you're the hero.  Simple enough. 

There's nothing revolutionary here, but it's still appealing in a new way.  This is one version of the epic that turns things just the right way and reexamines them in a way that's more interesting.  Okay, Crichton? You got me.

Movie #360 - Last Man Standing

Last Man Standing
1996 - Rated R - 1 hr 41 min
Director: Walter Hill
Starring: Bruce Willis, Bruce Dern, William Sanderson, Christopher Walken, David Patrick Kelly, Karina Lombard, Alexandra Powers, Ken Jenkins, Leslie Mann

If you like 20's-era gangster movies that feature a "modern" 90's action hero... tada!  Bruce Willis puts on his dapperest attire to play this gunslinger who gets caught up in a mob war in Jericho, Texas during prohibition.  There are prostitutes, lots of guns, and some gratuitous violence. Delicious!

For me, the action is fun. And Willis is always good at the gritty hero-who's-no-hero role, so that works.  But the plot feels a little convuluded at times.  There's some chicks involved that Willis tries to save, but mostly he destroys all the mobsters to save his own neck. 

And yeah, he's the "last man standing" in case you were wondering.