Obviously influenced by our very own slowly evolving Top 100 list, two films and counting people!, The Times has went and done their own.
They've attempted to do one that's not the same as all the rest, which means they left Citizen Kane out for no other reason than it's always number 1, and popped Point Break in at number 97 (yes, Point Break). The thing is some of the placings (Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind at number 9?) and omissions (The Bicycle Thieves) seem designed to piss people off rather than find a true list, a silly thing really, there is no one film to unify us all.
The biggest problem is that the odd choice apart it's pretty standard stuff with most of the films the sort of things that feature in these things regularly and offering Casablanca number 1 is almost as cliched as offering it to Welles' masterpiece. Even the placing of There Will Be Blood at number 2 is the usual knee-jerk reaction to a current piece of brilliance that does deserve to be there found in all of these lists.
In the end The Times writers have failed pretty miserably in their attempt to revive a very tired piece of film journalism. I know it smacks of Hippo's Clit-ism while we here at Splice are doing one but it's really just an excuse to go back and watch those films we love and write about them. Citizen Kane may not be the greatest film ever made (it's obviously Evil Dead 2, another frankly shocking omission) but to dismiss it in the way they did shows how flawed their list is. And the fact that there's a link to a separate piece about Silent Cinema because it was all but ignored tells its own story. Nosferatu over Cabinet of Dr. Caligari my arse!
Obviously it isn't out here on DVD until June but it's out on Region 1 and from the above video it appears to be worth importing. They've also recently tackled shitefests Spiderman 3 and Beowulf and I Am Leg End is coming this week.
Thank you Rifftrax for allowing us to laugh at rubbish current movies...again.
So the opening film of our little project has been mulled over and now it's my turn to pick one. Now it would be very easy to go for the obvious great films that came out in the 90's (Bicentennial Man of course) so I won't, instead possibly leaving them to the end when the realisation strikes that we can't have a Greatest 90's film list without (fill in obvious film starring Robin Williams here, say Jumanji or Jack).
And so with that in mind and the fact that Ruud chose something quirky to begin with I'm going to do the same. But to upset the apple cart a little more I'm going to start with movie makers that may well be the finest exponents of the art during that decade; the Coen Brothers. But instead of going for all those films that always get touted I'm going to go with what I consider their forgotten gem, the film every Coen fan, casual or otherwise, dismissed before it was easy to do that with any of their works.
I am, of course, talking about THE HUDSUCKER PROXY (it may have helped if as you read that some dramatic music played). Keep the ol' eyeballs peeled for my review soon followed by Ruud's response.
Grosse Pointe Blank's one of those films that came out in the mid-90's in that post-Pulp Fiction era. Loads of cool, hip, jive... sorry I turned into an old man there! Basically it was one of those popular "indie" movies. I have to confess that at the time I didn't get it. And unlike Ruud, who thanks to the wonder of Minnie Driver's tits (let's be honest that's what he meant to say when he was prattlin' on about her hair and her sass!) has reignited some long-lost feelings from his youth, I don't want to revisit 1997. Sure Scotland actually qualified for a major tournament and Oasis' Be Here Now didn't sound like the coke-fuelled mess it actually is but see in 1997 I was a pleb.
Hard to believe I'm sure but at that point I was and my taste in movies was shite (it could be argued that that never changed as my choices on this list will probably attest) and so maybe that's why Grosse Pointe Blank never worked. I then never bothered to see it again until now. All I can say is; "thanks Ruud".
It's a cracking wee film. The soundtrack's a belter, Driver is adorable and Cusack is most certainly the man. Plus Jeremy Piven's in it which is always a good thing and it's probably the last time we'll ever see Dan Ackroyd good in anything, I'm still not forgiving him for playing Britney Spears' Dad in Crossroads, at least that bint frae Whores in the City had the good sense to scarper after one scene. Plus the killer going to his therapist and spilling his guts, not always to the therapist's liking? Grosse Pointe Blank only went and influenced one of mankind's towering achievements in art Analyze Th..., er, The Sopranos!
Basically I was a bit too young, mentally at least, to appreciate Grosse Pointe Blank when I first saw it. The music, the snappy dialogue, the genius setup all kind of passed me by. But something else rang true beyond just being able to appreciate film better. With being that bit older now I can identify with Martin Blank. The whole small town thing, the want to get away and how things change when you do. It's funny that Ruud chose the scene where Martin discovers his house is gone and a convenience store now stands in its place as I have recently discovered that the place I grew up in is to be demolished soon. Doubt a shop's going there (knowing this place it'll be mare unaffordable shitey hooses) and so the scene resonated with me. The whole shootout thing afterwards not so much, but then casual violence isn't rare here either so maybe it did.
When Ruud first declared Grosse Pointe Blank as his choice to start the whole thing off I was a bit unsure. Now I'm in full agreement that it's a very deserving film. It is in some ways also highly appropriate to start with it, as it does represent a strain of filmmaking quite common in the 90's, the cool, popular "indie" flick. Of course it wasn't long until "indie" pictures became those ones about white, middle-class American families that are all miserable because it turns out being comfortable's a bit dull (thanks alot American Beauty!). But in 1997, my plebishness aside, things seemed to be pretty cool indeed.
here is how it is, i managed to dodge the bullet of going to see the stage play of mama mia, in order to do this i agreed to get tickets to see something else, i noticed that The Wedding Singer is now a stage production so in order to cement my not going to Mama Mia i stuck on my video copy of The Wedding Singer for the girl to watch and hopefully enjoy enough to want to go. It was watching this particular film that made me think a few things, the first is that as a film it hasn't really aged well, for a film from the 90s based on the 80s that's kinda saying something, secondly it got me thinking that i have seen plenty of nostalgia of the 80s things which this film has plenty but the 90s is as yet overlooked, maybe i can do something about this, and thirdly i thought, I'm sure there is a better 90s film which gets all nostalgic about the 80s, and then i remembered, so i looked out my video copy (a very 90s act) but it wasn't there, it must be at my mums house still, I will need to remember, so i put a notice on this blog site saying i had a terrific idea, hows about a top 100 list of 90s films, and then i remembered about that missing video, i dug it out. The film in question, the full screen with trailers before it and everything video i am talking about and what will kick off Splice's Greatest Films Ever Made To Come Out In The 90's (the 1990's). 1997's Grosse Point Blank.
40 WORDS OR SO
Black comedy about a hitman with issues who returns to his hometown for a job and also high school reunion. rekindling old feelings for an old girlfriend he rethinks his career but his peers and gov spooks presence in the titular Grosse Point mean, well they mean he cannae.
REVIEW
There are plenty of reasons o love Grosse Point Blank; its funny, its a teriffic script, its well directed, it stars John Cusack who is great in pretty much everything, it has Dan Ackroyd, it has 80s music, good 80s music i might add, in fact i will go into that a bit further later, and its edgy, a cult classic in all its glory but there is one reason, probably the main reason i love this film. Minnie Driver. Back then i loved her, going back to it now, i think maybe it wont be the same, maybe the film is rubbish and i had weird taste years ago. But i didn't and i don't, i still love Minnie Driver, maybe not modern day 2008 Minnie Driver, not seen her in ages so cant comment, no 1997 Minnie Driver playing Debbie Reynolds is my kinda girl, is it the sassy way she talks, is it the curly hair, is it all these things? probably! in fact i can even pinpoint it down to my absolute moment of love first time round and reingnition of the love, when she answers the door then runs back to her bed and jumps on it, she looks in her prime youthful and beautiful, funny and smart, and it makes me want to be back then, but i cant so fuck it. That scene, that part of a scene gets me every time. love it, love her, Grosse Point Blank, best 90s film ever.
But i cant simply sum it up that way, i suppose it has other redeeming qualities, in fact i know it does because i highlighted them before slevering over the quirky female co-star, basically the idea is a stoater, a hitman who is becoming jaded by his job, his psychiatrist who is terrified of him, fellow hitman played by Akroyd (funny as Fuck) wanting an assassins union started, a high school reunion, love story, violence, its all there. a good twist at the end also. John Cusack is one of the best under-rated (is he under-rated? not by me) of his generation, his performance is magical, cant imagine anyone else in this, so much so that i actually want him to get Debbie more than i want me to get her, no higher praise for his character is needed i think. And then there is the music, what actually turned me onto this, like i said it has the 80s nostalgia thing going on like The Wedding Singer but its musical choices are fantastic, plenty of the Clash, The Specials, guns and roses get played, all in all some great choices, the soundtrack is in a word amazing, then the credits reveal that the score was done by Joe strummer, it all makes sense now.
In the end its just a great film, the nostalgia doesn't go over the top, you want the main characters to succeed, the secondary characters are rounded but don't take over, and it has stood up to the passing of time, its still a fresh idea and works even now. Plus there is Minnie Driver, did i mention the green top type thing she wears to the reunion, no? well, oh my god, its tremendous.........................
THE TOP 100, WHERE AND WHY
This is how it works, Grosse Point blank is the first film reviewed so its #1 and also since its number 1 it goes straight in at number 1 on the list, when the next film is reviewed it is placed at either 1 or 2 depending on whether it is thought of a better than Grosse Point, then the third will be the same and so on, here will be a chance to see the thought process of the choice of position, but since this is number 1 then that doesn't happen here. The list will feature and will grow and grow and links to the pages of the the other films will be in the list making it easy to go from one to another. See? It'll all make sense.
So the first quarter of 2008 has been and gone and what a quarter of a year it has been. First of all it has been as much of a quarter of a year as possible thanks to February taking up the slack and managing to squeeze out a twenty ninth day this year. That's one more than the first quarter of 2007, impressive I'm sure you'll agree. Congratulations February!
As it was the first quarter there were a load of awards ceremonies and loads of people won stuff. A big round of applause to all of them. But in Hollywood if you weren't winning an award you were dead or dying. God's cull of celebrities has been brutal in the first quarter of 2008.
As for films, ooft (is that a word?)! The pre-blockbuster period has thrown up some fantastic wee pictures. No matter which you think should have gotten the Oscar, No Country For Old Men and There Will be Blood both arrived over here in January and instantly staked a claim for not only film of the year, but the decade. And there was me walking out of No Country thinking "I won't see anything better than that this year". Within a fortnight I had seen a film that easily equals it and possibly surpasses it (I still want to see both again on DVD before making a snap decision).
On the comedy front Juno was sweet and very funny, although a little too smart for it's own good, while Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story was hilarious if a little confused as to its tone. And we saw the return of many of the MST3K alumni with Cinematic Titanic's first outing The Oozing Skull which was a welcome return to the slacker early Joel-era of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
On the horror front The Orphanage is right up there as one of the best films of the first couple of months of the year. Hopefully it'll stick in there until the end of quarter four. It does the quiet, subtle mindfuck think with aplomb. The complete opposite of Cloverfield which managed to underwhelm in its attempts to overwhelm the viewer, mainly because the film's major problem is that it isn't scary.
So that's the first bit of 2008. Now it's blockbuster season. Let's hope it's good or Splice will revert to reviewing whatever DVDs we could get in HMV in the 5 for £20 offer!
