As we come to the end of another year (lest we forget, the start of a new decade), it's really no surprise that 2020 has been very difficult, especially on the film industry. Several major summer releases (as well as a few previously scheduled for this current holiday season) have been delayed for 2021 or have switched to video on demand or select streaming services as Netflix, Disney+ or Hulu.
Since theater chains reopened temporarily back in September, only a very few major tentpoles have (sort of) stirred up the box-office, like Christopher Nolan's mind-bending, IMAX-filmed espionage-thriller Tenet and the already-long-delayed Fox-Marvel feature The New Mutants (a film that turned out middling, to say the least). Recently, Warner Bros and DC released the long-awaited superhero sequel Wonder Woman 1984 in select theaters and on HBO Max on Christmas Day.
For nearly the past decade, I've been spending the end of each year reflecting on films that have stuck with me respectively. Since 2020 didn't have enough "theater-going" experiences by yours truly (and I stand by my belief that movie houses and streaming services are two completely different mediums), I've spent much of the last few months watching classic films, most of them from the 20th century. Many of them were seen by me for the first time, and I've developed a new-found appreciation for the legacy of cinema. For this piece, I'll be reflecting on eleven select films--eleven, as an homage to Stranger Things, Spinal Tap, and a sense of "new normal"--and what made them stick with me in an unprecedented period (which we can only hope will soon be over).
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Clue (1985)
This live-action movie version of the popular board game from Parker Brothers wasn't a bona fide box-office draw on its initial release in 1985. (Perhaps a certain time-traveling DeLoreon is to blame for that.) Either way, this madcap murder mystery-comedy has developed a fan following for its witty and hysterical nostalgia (although its sexual references wouldn't play as well today). As simple and convoluted as a plot gets, viewers get the added bonus of multiple ways the "game" could end, along with a brilliant and fun cast (especially Tim Curry as "1+1+2+1" butler Wadsworth and Madeline Kahn as "flames out of the side of her face" Ms. White). (Available on Amazon Prime.)
Dick Tracy (1990)
The Disney-owned Touchstone Pictures label had several big hits throughout the Eighties and Nineties, as well as a few underappreciated flicks. This stylish and eye-popping film adaptation of the Chester Gould comic strip via the 1930s, brought to the screen by veteran filmmaker Warren Beatty, is one of the latter. Probably most known for its impeccable production design (fresh off the heals of Tim Burton's 1989 Batman) and its colorful cast of characters, particularly the rogues gallery of gangsters Tracy seeks to bring to justice. The standout: Al Pacino's hammy and over-the-top Big Boy Caprice. Fun fact: Pacino's performance was the first Oscar-nominated role based on a comic book character. And to think this was the same year he gave his curtain call screen performance as Michael Corleone. (Available on Amazon Prime, HBO Max, and Hulu.)
Ikiru (1952)
Akira Kurosawa is often regarded as the greatest filmmaker to ever hail from Japan, and one of the greatest directors in general. In a career spanning over half a century, he's primarily known for crafting epic stories set in feudal or ancient times, with complex character arcs and distinct action sequences, from Rashomon (1950) to Seven Samurai (1954), Ran (1985), and Dreams (1990). But his best work may arguably be his most benign and challenging. Ikiru (which translates as "to live") follows a middle-aged bureaucrat who learns he has stomach cancer and wrestles with how to spend the remainder of his days (even contemplating his former years). A film worth discussing and (pardon the expression) digesting. (Available on HBO Max.)
King Kong (1933)*
This classic monster movie from 1933 has one of the best high-concepts of any film: a movie crew set sail to a mysterious island and discover mysteries unlike anything mankind has ever seen, including a ferocious beast now dubbed as "the Eighth Wonder of the World." Known primarily for its revolutionary special effects (a mixture of stop-motion and animatronics, dated by today's standards), what's even more impressive (and mostly overlooked) is how the filmmakers injected genuine pathos and depth into the characters, from the fearless (if crazy) director Carl Denham, to young-actress-off-the-streets Ann Darrow, sailor John Driscoll (who falls for the newly-appointed lead actress), and the eponymous ape. This is how you craft an effective story, no matter how old it is. (Available on HBO Max.)
*This is one of only three films on this list I had already seen once before. Watching it (and the other two films) this time was the best.
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
I'll be honest, I was on the fence in my decision to watch this 1979 Oscar-winner starring Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep as a divorced couple fighting for custody over their young son. As a child of divorce myself, it's a difficult topic for me. (I'm not sure I even want to see Noah Baumbach's latest film Marriage Story in that regard.) But I did view the film, and as difficult as Kramer vs Kramer is, it's also very sincere and raw. Part of that has to do with the profound and genuine performances of its lead actors, who really make the most out of what could've been a corny soap opera in the wrong hands. (Available on Amazon Prime and Pluto TV.)
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Perhaps no subgenre of horror has been more relevant in 2020 than that of zombies. And the undisputed veteran of that subgenre is the godfather of zombie movies himself, the late George A. Romero's. His original 1968 frightfest, Night of the Living Dead, essentially follows a group of survivors (including an African-American protagonist, revolutionary at the time) hauled up in a farmhouse as countless "ghouls" invade the area. Shot in black-&-white on a low-budget in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, Night serves as a striking social commentary that broke a lot of molds (and some censorship controversies for some "flesh-eating" imagery. Of course, such content would be pushed to the extremes with the sequels, Dawn of the Dead [1978] and Day of the Dead [1985], both intriguing premises in their own right). "They're coming to get you, Barbara." (Available on Amazon Prime and Sling TV.)
Only Yesterday (1991)
The Japanese anime company Studio Ghibli has been making exceptional, high-quality animated features since the late-70s/early-80s. For every celebrated masterpiece like Spirited Away (2001) and Princess Mononoke (1997), there are also underappreciated gems that deserve equal if not greater attention. This 1991 coming-of-age drama from the late Isao Takahata (Grave of the Fireflies [1988], Pom Poko [1994], The Tale of the Princess Kaguya [2013]) is one of them. The central story of a young city woman who returns home one weekend brilliantly alternates between her past upbringing (with dynamic lighting cues) and her present rediscovery of country lifestyles with such delicacy, grace, and realism, not to mention magic. This unseen masterpiece made its debut in America in 2016, with vocal dubs from UK actors Daisy Ridley and Dev Patel. This is a film I highly recommend. (Available on HBO Max.)
Raging Bull (1980)*
Martin Scorsese's brutally poetic character study of former boxing prize-fighter Jake Lamota is thoroughly profane, difficult, and challenging. (It's an equally incredible feat when considering the celebrated filmmaker's own background at the time; Scorsese had reportedly been battling a cocaine addiction when DeNiro presented him with this story and urged the director to clean himself up for this film.) Perhaps Robert DeNiro's most career-defining performance is also a cautionary tale of one man's self-destruction. Not really a sports film, as the boxing serves as the main character's emotional state. (Available on Amazon Prime, Cinemax, Hulu, Philo, and Sling TV.)
Sherlock, Jr. (1924)
One of silent comedy star-director Buster Keaton's most famous and enduring pictures follows an amateur sleuth who also happens to be a theater protectionist, who imagines himself as the detective hero of the movie he's reeling. A high mark of the clash between reality and fantasy, as well as one gem of a film.
The Sugarland Express (1974)
Everybody knows Steven Spielberg and the unforgettable body of work he's famous for (Jaws [1975], E.T. [1982], Jurassic Park [1993], you name it). But very few know of his directorial debut. A loose adaptation based on a true story, the underappreciated and impressive Sugarland follows two married felons on a cross-country road trip to reunite with their baby boy. Goldie Hawn leads a roster of incredible talent (under Spielberg's skilled and crisp direction) in this quirky and engrossing commentary on the media and parenting. (Available on HBO Max and Hulu.)
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)*
Okay, this one's a bit of a cheat (meaning this is the film I have seen the most times compared with the others mentioned above). But seriously, who doesn't love seeing the late Gene Wilder as author Roald Dahl's quirky and mischievous candy maker? Those who know the story best know it as a cautionary morality tale, as five different children win golden tickets to tour Wonka's titular factory. While many are still traumatized by the psychedelic boat sequence, there's no denying the charm and eccentricities of the film's characters and morals, especially the hero's journey of the eponymous Charlie Bucket. "So shines a good deed in a weary world." (Available on fuboTV and Philo.)
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