The Thursday List: My Shelf Edition (Pt 3)

"Apollo 13" (1995)

It was a rough year at the Academy Awards that year, and as cool as "Braveheart" was, for my money this was the Best Picture. Superbly directed, visually stunning, with a top-notch script and near flawless cast, "Apollo 13" is a master class on how to put together an historical drama for film. It also put into pop culture the saying I hear several times a year: "Houston, we have a problem." I believe this film was tops in what was truly a good year for movies.

"Army of Darkness" (1992)

While relying more on slapstick comedy than the violence and gore of its two predecessors, "Army of Darkness" is a fun comedy-horror, and Bruce Campbell is in top form. Critics generally panned it when it came out, comparing it to the first two Evil Dead films, but that was a mistake. On its own "Army of Darkness" holds it own and has a distinct style and tone, and it's good stuff.

"Batman" (1989)

With all the hubbub over Christopher Nolan's two Batman film installments and Heath Ledger's Joker, many people look back uncharitably on Tim Burton's film, and that's a shame. It's a good script with a good story. It has very good, stylized art direction and a distinct, dark feel. Its Batman, portrayed by Michael Keaton, and its Joker, portrayed by Jack Nicholson, don't disappoint. It's just cultural tastes have changed. "Batman" is a very good film, and I recommend it.

The Thursday List: My Shelf Edition (Pt 2)

"Aliens" (1986)

This film was an integral part of my development as a kid, a science fiction buff, an actor and writer, and a movie fan. It's a sequel unlike its predecessor in style and can work by itself as a standalone film. Its script is top notch, and it's a technically superbly executed film. All of it has held up well over time, the special effects in particular. It's a smashingly entertaining cinema experience.

"Alien 3" was included on a recent Thursday List and so will be skipped for this segment.

"An Innocent Man" (1989)

A pretty solid drama, this is one I came across quite by accident back in the '90s while channel surfing one night. It's a simple story, effectively told, and featuring a very good cast, with Tom Selleck and F. Murray Abraham at the fore. The script is well written and tight, and it's well directed and gets everything right on cue. It's kind of predictable, but it's genuinely engaging and so is better than most. I like it.

"An American Werewolf in London" (1981)

This was one of the first movies I ever saw on cable television and was the source of some of my fiercest nightmares as a pre-teen. Sometimes deadly serious, sometimes comic, sometimes deadly serious and comic -- it's a highly effective, quickly paced, very well performed, and extremely fun horror film. It was the first VHS tape I ever bought, the third DVD and third Blu-Ray I ever bought. A solid film. One of my favorites.

The Thursday List: The Renewal

"Alien 3" (1992)

Plagued by pre-production difficulties that would have killed most other franchises, "Alien 3" and its fledgling director David Fincher forged ahead and created a solid, however underrated, third film in the "Alien" saga. It's not super suspense and scares, and it's not gung ho shoot'em up action. "Alien 3" is a slow burn, a bleak, dark tragedy playing out in the coldness of space on a barren prison planet. The script, while not terribly innovative or wowwing, is good, and the acting is uniformly brilliant throughout. "Alien 3" also has its own trademark audiovisual style, as its predecessors did themselves, and it works. Compared to "Alien" and "Aliens" it falls rather short, but taken on its own, as it should be, "Alien 3" deserves a better rap than it gets. Recommended.

"Blood Simple" (1985)

This debut film of directors Joel and Ethan Coen is a masterpiece of neo-noir cinema. Suspicion, adultery, thievery, murder, double-crosses, and characters that are at the same time really stupid and really, really awful people. "Blood Simple" is dark, and it's mean, and it's unforgiving, and it's visceral, and it's truly brilliant to watch it unfold. The cast is truly exceptional, and the late M. Emmet Walsh's private eye Loren Visser is one of the most evil and treacherous villains ever to stain the silver screen, and he's almost kind of likeable, in a twisted kind of way. Treat yourself to this film. It's a classic. Highly recommended.

"The Negotiator" (1998)

The running theme today is "an excellent cast", and that's what this film has. "The Negotiator" is a police procedural plus a whodunnit in the style of "Die Hard" but with less overt humor and more intrigue and suspense. The script is tight. The pace is quick. The cast is in top form, especially Kevin Spacey and the late J.T. Walsh. It's a solid roller coaster ride, evenly spaced action and suspense, up until the end. Recommended.