FS# 127 (WBEZ Edition): All The King's Men / Jackass Number Two / Last Kiss / '80s Movies
On this Chicago Public Radio edition of Filmspotting: Steven Zaillian's "All The King's Men" should be the type of film that gets released to unanimous praise from critics, makes a respectable haul at the box office, then gets nominated for a slew of year-end awards. Zaillian himself won an Oscar in 1993 for his "Schindler's List" script, and the cast includes such heavyweights as Sean Penn, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, James Gandolfini and Sir Anthony Hopkins. Even the source material has pedigree. Robert Penn Warren's novel won the Pulitzer Prize in 1946, and a 1949 film adaptation won the Best Picture Oscar. So it came as a surprise when "King's Men" received nearly across the board negative reviews upon its release. Sam and Adam counted Zaillian's effort among their most anticipated films of 2006, so they had to take a look for themselves to try to diagnose the problem.
Scoring (miraculously) better notices than "All The King's Men" is "Jackass Number Two." Not so much a film as a series of increasingly dangerous -- and frequently scatological (note the title) -- stunts, "Jackass" is the second film inspired by Johnny Knoxville's infamous MTV series. Sam actually considers the first "Jackass" to be among the most overlooked and underrated movies in recent memory (seriously), so hopes were high for the second installment. Adam, a Jackass novice, approached the film with some reluctance.
And finally, as if watching "Jackass" wasn't enough to remind Adam and Sam exactly how childish men can be, a review of "The Last Kiss" with "Garden State's" Zach Braff as a man flummoxed by his seemingly perfect life. Written by Paul Haggis, the writer/director of last year's Best Picture winner "Crash," "The Last Kiss" got Adam reminiscing about his bad boy college days and Sam to fess up to his 20-year crush on Blythe Danner.
Plus, Listener Feedback, Massacre Theatre and ... Adam and Sam save five movies from the 1980s, then watch helplessly as the rest get thrown into the incinerator.
New music by Bobby Bare, Jr. courtesy of Bloodshot Records.
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Filmspotting #127
:28-10:36 - Review: "All The King's Men"
10:37-18:36 - Review: "Jackass Number Two"
Music: Bobby Bare Jr, "The Heart Bionic"
19:56-32:12 - Review: "The Last Kiss"
Music: Bobby Bare Jr., "Where's My Mind"
33:35-37:48 - Massacre Theatre, Poll Question
37:49-44:22 - Listener Feedback (Dahlia, Most Anticipated of 2006)
Music: Bobby Bare Jr, "Can I Borrow Your Cape"
45:25-1:00:26 - Top 5: '80s Movies
1:00:27-1:02:40 - Next Show/Close/Outtake
Links
- Top 10 Worst Movies of the 1980s
Have a comment or Top 5 list you'd like to share? Send an e-mail or short mp3 clip to feedback@filmspotting.net. Or give us a call at 206-203-CINE and leave a voice message.
3 Comments:
Just listened to the show, thought I'd bang out a top 5 too. Of your Pantheon films, Do the Right Thing would be the only film on my top 5, and it might be #1. Aside from that, here's my list.
#1) Matewan - 1986 -- Just a flat out perfect film. Direction, acting, visual style...Sayles at his best.
#2) My Favorite Year - 1982 -- When asked for my favorite film, for years my response was always 'My Favorite Year'. Peter O'Toole and Joseph Bologna are hilarious in this love letter to early television and 'Your Show of Shows'
#3) This is Spinal Tap - 1984 -- 'nuff said.
#4) Running on Empty - 1988 -- An amazing character study, well written and acted. Christine Lahti, Judd Hirsh, and River Phoenix.
#5) A Better Tommorrow - 1986 -- This is a bit of a cheat, because I didn't see it until 1991 or 92, but.... This is one of those films that is difficult to see today out of context.... without bringing all the baggage of the american action films that copied it during the 90's. John Woo reinventing the action film. Amazing.
Thanks again for the show.
Keith Kritselis
Austin, TX
I can't really separate "pantheon" films from my other favorites, so I'll list a top 10 from the '80s. Personally, I could care less about a lot of '80s films that many people consider their favorites – ET, Raiders of the Lost Arc, The Breakfest Club, 16 Candles – if those had to go on the scrapheap, I wouldn't miss them at all.
I'm including a lot of films that I didn't actually see until after the 1980s, but nevertheless should be counted as part of that decade.
1) Do the Right Thing
2) Raging Bull
(The first two are a tie, really.)
3) The Unbearable Lightness of Being
4) Matador (Pedro Almodovar)
5) Drugstore Cowbody – late '89 and really more of a 90s film, but I'll list it anyway.
6) The Right Stuff
7) Blade Runner – a defining 1980s film
8) Blue Velvet
9) Dead Ringers
10) The Hunger – another film that defined the "look" of the 1980s
Crimes and Misdemeanors probably should be up there, but I have to see it again. Honorable mentions – Raising Arizona, The Elephant Man, Videodrome, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, After Hours, This is Spinal Tap, Dangerous Liasons, and probably a whole bunch of others I'm not thinking of.
The 1980s actually had some gems, and as far as the quality of "average" Hollywood films goes, today doesn't come out looking so hot, either.
Looking back on my list, I realize I'd forgotten about Mishima, and I even own a copy of the DVD! I'd probably put that #3 on my list, though the ordering of course is very rough.
In my opinion, Mishima is also the best biopic ever, surpassing even Raging Bull when judging it on its biopic qualities. (I can't believe it didn't make either of your Top 5 biopic lists! I'll have to listen to that podcast to see if you even gave it an honorable mention.) The way it weaves together the multiple narratives of his life story, the day of his suicide, and highlights of his works into a visually beautiful and narratively interesting film is a textbook example on one way to do a good biopic. Unfortunately, biopics are more typically pretty mediocre.
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