In Contention

Tag: Planet of the Apes

  • Celebrating 25 years of Burton/Elfman collaborations

    In the “sign me up now, please” category today is a recently announced boxed set of Danny Elfman’s music collaborations with filmmaker Tim Burton.  I first heard about the limited edition set via the New York Times in a piece that went up on the Arts Beat blog yesterday.  It featured a video with Burton and Elfman discussing the monumental “Batman” score — talk about grabbing my attention.

    Anyone who knows me knows what role that 1989 superhero extravaganza played in my film-going youth.  But the idea that there might be some extra, never-before-heard material waiting in a vault somewhere?  Giddiness.  Pure giddiness.

    But it’s not just “Batman” stuff.  The set celebrates “the 25th anniversary of the ingenious collaboration” between the two singular artists, reads a press release that went out today.   “[The] numbered box set of 1000…collects expansions of the 13 original scores that Elfman has composed for Burton’s iconic films” and is “a newly produced library of 16 CDs each packaged with artwork by Burton, adding up to more than 19 hours of music.”  Wow.

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  • What are the best post-apocalyptic films ever?

    Denzel Washington in The Book of EliIn our daily web round-up posts there tends to be one or two lists in the mix.  I’m increasingly stunned at Premiere’s capacity for cooking these things up.  It’s almost as if that once-sterling film journalism outlet has become nothing but a list generating machine.

    Of course, the reason for lists — you’ll hear it from any hit-conscious editor — is traffic.  Readers love them.  And if they have a space to debate said list, perhaps even offer up their own, then the hits keep coming.  I literally had a list mandate of sorts when I was working at The Times of London last summer, which is where the obsession over collectives first started to kind of freak me out.  At least I managed to work movies into one of them, and hey, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.

    Anyway, this is a long-winded lead-in to a recent post by one of our regulars, Chuck of Entertainment Today and Beyond, picking the Top 10 Post-Apocalyptic Films.  With “Terminator Salvation” already in theaters and “The Book of Eli” (which got a first look feature in USA Today Tuesday) and “The Road” still to come, it seems a rather en vogue topic, I guess.

    Here’s Chuck’s list:

    1. “Dawn of the Dead” (George A. Romero, 1978)
    2. “Planet of the Apes” (Franklin J. Shaffner, 1968)
    3. “The Stand” (Mick Garris, 1993)
    4. “The Day After” (Nicholas Meyer, 1985)
    5. “The Omega Man” (Boris Sagal, 1971)
    6. “The Road Warrior” (George Miller, 1981)
    7. “Day of the Dead” (George A. Romero, 1985)
    8. “The Day of the Triffids” (Steve Sekley, 1962)
    9. “Testament” (Lynne Littman)
    10. “Miracle Mile” (Steve De Jarnatt, 1988)

    Your thoughts?

  • Great performances in bad movies

    Tim Roth in Planet of the ApesIt happens, sometimes when a really fine actor manages to give a brilliant performance in a terrible or weak film, a diamond in the rough. In fact, some of the best actors working have shone brightly in bad films as far back as the 1940s, though I will focus on the 1970s to present day here today.

    For whatever reason the respective film fails: perhaps the writing was weak, the direction went horribly wrong, or all the ingredients needed to make a great film, hell even a good film, simply were not there. Yet a single actor did everything right, understood their character, understood the impact they needed to make in their scenes and they give a superb performance despite his or her surroundings.

    Look at Bruce Dern in “The Great Gatsby.”  Here we have an exceptional actor in one of the roles of his career.  He WAS Tom Buchanan, elevating every single scene he was in with sheer presence. Jack Clayton’s direction was lumbering, Robert Redford was woefully miscast and Mia Farrow? Please.  (The single burning question we need to ask ourselves is what about Daisy attracts Gatsby when he can now have anyone — she doesn’t appeal on that level.)

    Dern radiates the sort of danger Redford needed to have in the role of Gatsby, but is far too good as Tom to even think of him in a different role here.  The lead really should have been Jack Nicholson.  Can you imagine the sparks between him and Dern?

    Perhaps one of the best performances ever given in a bad film was Morgan Freeman’s breakthrough in “Street Smart,” portraying a vicious pimp using a journalist portrayed by Christopher Reeve to get off a murder rap without realizing that he too is being used. Freeman is brilliant, all smiles and kindness, the sort of guy you would like to hang out with until his temper flares (to say the least). With just a few moments of screen time he gave an unforgettable performance as Fast Black.

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  • Alright…the 20 WORST endings of all time from The Times

    Olivia Newton John and John Travolta in GreaseSo The Times has followed up last week’s collective assessment of the 20 greatest movie endings of all time today with a list of the worst, and there are some reasonable choices here and there.

    Like “Grease” for starters, probably my favorite movie musical but with an undeniably wretched denouement. And then there’s the cheeky mirror of the “Planet of the Apes” saga (the original made the best list, while Tim Burton’s remake lands here), not to mention “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” which would definitely be near the top of my own list (ballsy to go so recent, too).

    I also like the shout out to the never ending ending of “The Lord of the Ring: The Return of the King.”

    But beyond those and perhaps a few others, the rest of the list is populated with terrible choices (many of which landed on my own best list). “There Will Be Blood” (which was deemed the #2 film of all time by The Times’ film critic James Christopher)? “Psycho?” “2001?” Fucking “Citizen Kane” at #1???

    Lots of eyebrow raisers. And from what I can gather, merely an attempt at being controversial.

    Their choices:

    1. “Citizen Kane”
    2. “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”
    3. “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”
    4. “2001: A Space Odyssey”
    5. “The Maltese Falcon”
    6. “Grease”
    7. “Brief Encounter”
    8. “The Great Dictator”
    9. “Saving Private Ryan”
    10. “The Great Escape”
    11. “Apocalypse Now”
    12. “Psycho”
    13. “There Will Be Blood”
    14. “Magnolia”
    15. “Blade Runner” (original release)
    16. “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”
    17. “Star Wars – Episode VI: Return of the Jedi”
    18. “Planet of the Apes” (2001)
    19. “Cast Away” (totally disagree here…I think it’s a beautiful ending)
    20. “Velvet Goldmine”

  • THE LISTS: Top 20 movie endings of all time

    Anthony Perkins in PsychoAlright, this was painstaking indeed. After The Times of London saw fit to rock out a list of the 20 best movie endings of all time last week, I thought I’d try my own hand at such a collective.

    There are some omissions that might surprise some folks (“Bonnie and Clyde,” “The Graduate,” “Carrie”). At the same time, there are films that, on any other day, would easily slip into the list (“A Clockwork Orange,” “Once Upon a Time in the West,” “Reservoir Dogs”).

    Rest assured they were taken into account, but they didn’t speak to me on whatever levels must have been necessary to push into the top 20. But I can say these are the denouements that most affected me, be it viscerally or emotionally.

    Send in your picks for the top five movie endings of all time and I’ll publish a collective readers’ list in a few weeks. Email me or post your list below in the comments section.

    Here’s what I came up with:

    20. “The Iron Giant” (Brad Bird, 1999)
    “You stay. I go. No following.”
    Animation genius Brad Bird made his feature directorial debut with this effort, packing an emotional punch by film’s end with shades of “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial” — and an energizing final shot to boot.

    19.”Jacob’s Ladder” (Adrian Lyne, 1990)
    “He looks kind of peaceful, the guy.”
    Capping off one of the most bizarre cinematic visions ever captured (and, ultimately, quite underrated as well), this closing scene is a twist that has been lifted in various other forms ever since. (see next)

    18. “The Sixth Sense” (M. Night Shyamalan, 1999)
    “I think I’m okay, really. I think it just went in and out.”
    Hot prospect M. Night Shyamalan tainted the original power of the twist ending by attempting to make a career of it, but in the final moments of this early effort, his buried talent poked through the surface.

    17. “The Shawshank Redemption” (Frank Darabont, 1994)
    “Get busy livin’ or get busy dyin’. That’s God damn right.”
    Less a closing scene than a closing sequence, the entire third act of Frank Darabont’s Stephen King adaptation manhandles the heartstrings and lifts the spirit.

    16. “Se7en” (David Fincher, 1995)
    “John Doe has the upper hand.”
    Andrew Kevin Walker crafted a near masterpiece that culminates as perfectly as it could have, death and despair, ambition and art, plus a Hemingway rebuttal for the ages.

    15. “The Conversation” (Francis Ford Coppola, 1973)
    “We’ll be listening to you.”
    The calmly paranoid conclusion to a mind-bender from a mid-“Godfather” Francis Coppola, this finale put Gene Hackman in a position to give perhaps the greatest performance of his career.

    The full list after the jump!

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  • What are the best movie endings of all time?

    Kevin Spacey in The Usual SuspectsI was working on this piece yesterday (nothing major — just pulling together the YouTube clips), but I wasn’t aware how the list was going to pan out.  “Carrie” at the top?  Not so sure about that.

    But The Times critics like to be contrarian.  Just take a look at their Top 100 Films of All Time list, which places Paul Thomas Anderson’s “There Will Be Blood” rather brazenly at #2.

    Anyway, debating and sussing out the best of movie endings ever could have us chatting into the night.  Most of my favorites are recent examples, but that’s probably due to what the 1990s did to the screenwriting form.

    Scribes began giving a lot more thought to how the audience would feel when leaving the theater.  Twists and emotional-punches became a currency of sorts, which is probably why there are more films from the decade than any other on The Times’ list.

    I will say I’m glad there was room for “Seven,” “Memento” (which I re-watched recently and absolutely adore) and “E.T.,” three (perhaps) out-of-the-box choices that don’t leap to mind when the subject comes up.  And it’s impossible to argue against “The Usual Suspects,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and “Planet of the Apes.”

    If I were to suggest a some additions, I might begin with “Heat,” “Citizen Kane,” “A History of Violence,” “Jacob’s Ladder” and “Boogie Nights,” to name a few.

    The Times’ list of the best movie endings of all time:

    1. “Carrie”
    2. “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”
    3. “Casablanca”
    4. “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial”
    5. “Chinatown”
    6. “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”
    7. “Some Like It Hot”
    8. “The Italian Job” (1969)
    9. “The Usual Suspects”
    10. “The Sixth Sense”
    11. “Thelma & Louise”
    12. “The Wizard of Oz”
    13. “Les Diaboliques”
    14. “Dr. Stranglelove”
    15. “Gone With the Wind”
    16. “The Shawshank Redemption”
    17. “Planet of the Apes”
    18. “Memento”
    19. “The Blair Witch Project”
    20. “Seven”

    I might pull together my own top ten soon enough.

    What are your favorite movie endings?