Happy Birthday, John Williams!

Today, we are celebrating the 80th birthday of five-time Academy Award-winning composer John Williams. Lauded as one of the greatest cinematic composers of all time, Williams has found a way to enter the collective public consciousness more often than any of his peers. While I could easily go through his list of work, I'd rather make this a more personal post. I've grown up listening to John Williams, and his work became a part of my life at an early age. I can remember listening to one of his "Greatest Hits" albums on family road trips, and it was from this particular CD that I garnered my initial appreciation for Williams's exceptional talent. My dad is just as taken by each John Williams score, so much so that he has associated a score with each of his three children. In his mind, I was given the score to the 1978 film, Superman, which has become one of my all-time favorites. The fact that this man has scored such iconic films as Jaws, Star Wars, the Indiana Jones series and, more recently, the start of the Harry Potter saga goes to show that he has quite a bit of range, and he is extremely well-respected throughout the Hollywood community. I mean, the man has nabbed a whopping forty-seven Oscar nominations in his career, bringing home the aforementioned five statuettes. There must be something brilliant about him, right? Most recently, we've heard his work in the 2011 films War Horse and The Adventures of Tintin, for both of which he received Oscar nominations. We'll next hear his work in the 2012 film, Lincoln. So, to celebrate his birthday, I've listed my ten favorite of John Williams's film scores, and I've provided a snippet of each for your listening pleasure. Once again, happy birthday, Mr. Williams. I look forward to hearing more of your work in the coming years.

10. War Horse
2011


*****

9. Schindler's List
1993


*****

8. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
2001


*****

7. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
1982


*****

6. Superman
1978


*****

5. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
1977


*****

4. Jurassic Park
1993


*****

3. Raiders of the Lost Ark
1981


*****

2. Star Wars
1977


*****

1. Jaws
1975


*****

And now, for your added viewing pleasure, I've included a fan video entitled "Star Wars (John Williams Is the Man)" by Corey Vidal that became an overnight Internet sensation a few years back. I just love this video, and it truly serves as a real tribute to John Williams's composing prowess. Enjoy!

In Memoriam: Pete Postlethwaite

Today we're celebrating the birthday of the late Academy Award-nominated actor Pete Postlethwaite, who would have turned 66 today. He passed away in January 2011 after a long battle with multiple cases of cancer, leaving a bit of a void in the acting world. Although he never truly achieved leading man status, Postlethwaite's presence in his films was always immediately noticeable. He brought a very unique character to the screen in each of his film appearances, starting with his bit role in the 1977 film The Duellists. From there, he appeared in a number of made-for-television films and television series, and he didn't make his return to the big screen until 1984 in A Private Function. It wasn't until 1990, however, that he made his first major film splash in 1990's Hamlet, and just three years later, Postlethwaite nabbed his first - and only - Academy Award nomination for his supporting role in 1993's In the Name of the Father. He worked consistently throughout the mid-1990s, starring in high-profile films like 1995's The Usual Suspects, 1996's Romeo + Juliet and 1997's The Lost World: Jurassic Park. After the turn of the millennium, Postlethwaite's acting consistency started to drop, but he managed to score a few roles here and there. In 2010, he appeared in three films - Clash of the Titans, Inception and The Town - giving his fans one last glance at his fantastic ability. Pete Postlethwaite has been one of my favorite actors since I saw him in The Lost World, and the loss of this fantastic actor was truly a tragedy to the Hollywood scene. He has been and will continue to be sorely missed, but his life will love on through his film appearances. So, to celebrate his life and his acting career, I've listed my five favorite of Pete Postlethwaite's performances. I've managed to find a few videos for the list, so I hope you'll enjoy those. Once again, I'd like us all to remember the life of a fantastic actor, and I will always cherish the acting brilliance that Pete Postlethwaite was so dedicated to bringing to the screen.

5. Fergus 'Fergi' Colm
The Town (2010)


*****

4. Father Laurence
Romeo + Juliet (1996)


*****

3. Kobayashi
The Usual Suspects (1995)

*****

2. Roland Tembo
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)


*****

1. Giuseppe Conlon
In the Name of the Father (1993)

Happy Birthday, Samuel L. Jackson!

Today, we're celebrating the 63rd birthday of Academy Award-nominated actor Samuel L. Jackson. He got his acting start in the 1972 film Together for Days, but it wasn't until his small role 1988's Coming to America that really started to put him on the Hollywood map. From there, he landed a supporting role in Spike Lee's 1989 venture, Do the Right Thing, as well as a bit part in Martin Scorsese's 1990 film, Goodfellas. Jackson nabbed his most famous role in 1994 with his inclusion in Pulp Fiction, a role that ultimately landed him his sole Oscar nomination. Since then, he's appeared in such high-feature films as the Star Wars prequels, 2000's Unbreakable, and 2006's Snakes on a Plane. So, to celebrate his birthday, I've created a bit of a tribute post for Sam Jackson, listing my five favorite of his performances. I hope you enjoy the videos I've found. Once again, happy birthday, Mr. Jackson!

5. Zeus Carver
Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995)


*****

4. Elijah Price
Unbreakable (2000)


*****

3. Ray Arnold
Jurassic Park (1993)


*****

2. Mister Señor Love Daddy
Do the Right Thing (1989)


*****

1. Jules Winnfield
Pulp Fiction (1994)

Happy Birthday, Steven Spielberg!

Today we're celebrating the 65th birthday of three-time Academy Award-winning director Steven Spielberg. After creating a number of short and made-for-TV films, Spielberg got his first hit with the smash box-office success Jaws in 1975. He immediately followed that film with his 1977 critical sensation, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. In 1981, he introduced the world to Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark, a film that has since spawned three sequels. He also brought forth other films in the 1980s like 1982's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and 1985's The Color Purple. The early 1990s saw him bring the world Jurassic Park and Schindler's List, for which he won his first two Academy Awards. Five years later, he nabbed another Oscar for Best Director for 1998's Saving Private Ryan. His work has been a little more sparse since the turn of the millennium, and the last time audiences witnessed his directorial efforts was in the 2008 film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull; however, he has two films debuting this month: The Adventures of Tintin and War Horse, both of which are sure to make a splash at the next Academy Awards. So, to celebrate this twelve-time Academy Award-nominee's birthday, I've created a list of my ten favorite Spielberg films. I hope you enjoy the videos! Once again, happy birthday, Steven!

10. Munich
2005


*****

9. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
1984


*****

8. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
1989


*****

7. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
1982


*****

6. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
1977


*****

5. Schindler's List
1993


*****

4. Jurassic Park
1993


*****

3. Saving Private Ryan
1998


*****

2. Raiders of the Lost Ark
1981


*****

1. Jaws
1975

Ten Films That Traumatized Me

Anyone who's ever watched a scary movie has sat through a film that thoroughly scared them. That's the basis of the horror genre: to shock and to terrify. However, there's a fine line between being scared and being traumatized. A scare may only last for a moment or for the a film's duration, but trauma can last days, weeks, months or years. Some films have the ability to traumatize an individual, and depending on that individual's willpower, the trauma may even last a lifetime. So for this second day of my "6 Days of Halloween," I've created a list of ten films that have traumatized me in my lifetime. As you'll see, not all of them are necessarily horror films, but the fabric of each type of trauma was terrifying enough to make each movie stick with me for an extended period of time. So without any further delay, here's the ten films that have most traumatized me in my lifetime. I hope you enjoy!

10. Independence Day
1996
Independence Day freaked me out in a couple of ways. It was the first movie I ever remember seeing that gave me the very real sensation that an alien invasion might actually be possible. As an eight-year-old child, I remember walking out of the theater as the sun was setting and thinking that the orange glow was a firestorm heading towards me. I went on to have a nightmare that night about one of the aliens hiding inside a closet in my house. I was never able to open that closet again without seeing that image.

/////

9. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
1977
To be honest, there was only one scene in Close Encounters that ever truly got to me. I first saw this film when I was a child, and the scene where Barry runs off with the aliens scared the hell outta me. Just before he leaves, everything inside the house starts to shake and rattle and roll, and electrical things come to life. For a youngster, this was quite the terrifying experience, and it's stuck with me ever since.

/////

8. Old Yeller
1957
Anyone who has seen this film will know exactly why it made this list. Growing up, my family always had golden retrievers, so seeing a film with a Labrador /Mastiff was definitely appealing not only to me but to my entire household. Little did I know what tragedy awaited me at film's end, and I have yet to recover from the emotional scarring. A lot of folks will cite the mother's death in Bambi as one of their most traumatic film moments, but Old Yeller has always gotten to me.

/////

7. Jurassic Park
1993
Like Independence Day, Jurassic Park was a film from my childhood that found a way to enter the realm of my dreams. The night after seeing the film, five-year-old me had one of the most vivid nightmares of my entire life: it was so realistic that I still remember it as though it occurred yesterday. What started as a seemingly beautiful dream quickly turned terrifying as as velociraptor proceeded to chase me through the jungle, and only my sudden awakening spared me an awful fate. Needless to say, dinosaurs scared me for quite a while after that one.

/////

6. Child's Play
1988
I actually didn't see this film in its entirety until last Halloween, but the character Chucky has haunted me for years. While channel surfing one childhood days, I stumbled across a movie I had never seen. I watched for a few minutes until I saw a red-headed doll awaken and proceed to stab a woman to death. From that moment on, any mention of the doll caused me to cringe in horror. Now that I've seen the film itself, the trauma has subsided slightly, but there's still something about Chucky that gets to me.

/////

5. The Birds
1963
Ah, the brilliance of Alfred Hitchcock. While not necessarily one of his best films, The Birds still managed to seep its way into my subconscious. Having seen bits and pieces of the film during my childhood, I slowly grew a bit of fear toward it. The schoolhouse scene was one of the scariest things I had ever seen, and to torture me, my father used to tap against the walls of my room to simulate the pecking noises the birds had made in the film. Once I was able to see the film in its entirety, however, I was able to shake the terror that had haunted me for the better part of my childhood and adolescent life.

/////

4. Happiness
1998
I know what you're thinking: how could a comedy possibly traumatize an individual? My answer would be, "Surely you've never seen a Todd Solondz film." Happiness is by far one of the most sexualized and disgusting films I've ever seen, and it's easily one of my favorites. The biting sarcasm and tongue-in-cheek attitude creates a terrific atmosphere. The reason it traumatized me, however, was the result of one particular scene. Baker (pictured above) portrays a child molester, and in one scene, we see his attempt to take his son's best friend. After a series of events, I found myself cheering for Baker's character, hoping he would succeed in his endeavor to rape the boy. Once you start cheering for a child molester, you're never really the same. I still feel horribly about it.

/////

3. A Clockwork Orange
1971
Stanley Kubrick sure knew how to make 'em, and A Clockwork Orange was no exception. Like Happiness, however, this film only needed one scene to push me over the edge. It's a semi-graphic rape scene that occurs near the start of the film, almost setting the tone for the unsettling nature of what the audience is about to witness. The scene's memorability is heightened by the fact that one of the rapists sings "Singin' in the Rain" whilst committing the atrocious act. Since seeing this film, I haven't been able to listen to the original Gene Kelly version without my mind being whisked to this rape scene. Thanks, Kubrick.

/////

2. Halloween
1978
The slasher film to start all slasher films, Halloween was groundbreaking in what it did and what it meant for the horror genre. It essentially created an invincible beast who terrorized over and over, and the image of Michael Myers has always stuck in my mind. I think it's the fact that he never utters a word that really gets to me. While killers like Freddy Krueger often talk themselves to death, Michael stays silent throughout his reign on-screen, and that white William Shatner mask only adds to the creepiness. This is the boogeyman incarnate, and he'll always get to me.

/////

1. Psycho
1960
Oh, the trauma to end all trauma. I first saw the shower scene from Psycho as a four-year-old at Universal Studios Hollywood. In one of their special effects stages, they chose to talk about cinematography, and who better to use than Hitchcock himself. And so, they showed the 45-second clip of a mysterious intruder brutally slicing Marion Crane as she attempts to take a shower. The high-pitched screeching of Bernard Herrmann's score, combined with the high-pitched screams from Janet Leigh, make this scene one of the most memorable and instantly recognizable to hit the silver screen. It scared me so much that it took me years to want to take a shower, and to this day, I have issues with shower curtains.

DVD Challenge #24: JURASSIC PARK III

Jurassic Park III
2001
PG-13
Run-time: 1 hour, 32 minutes

Directed by: Joe Johnston
Starring: Sam Neill, William H. Macy, Téa Leoni, Alessandro Nivola, Trevor Morgan, Michael Jeter


When you start hitting the third and fourth films in a franchise, it becomes increasingly more difficult to keep things fresh and entertaining. When Jurassic Park III hit theaters in 2001, I was a twelve-year-old kid looking for a bit of nostalgia. This is the first movie I remember seeing on opening night, and I recall being ecstatic both before and after the film. Now that I've had ten years to process exactly what goes on this film, I've started to notice the flaws in its overall approach.

We're given an interesting storyline from the get-go (I say "interesting" because I'm trying not to be harsh). While it's not the worst screenplay I've ever seen, there's just a little too much ridiculousness for it to be considered good by any standards. The basic storyline is good: a couple's son is lost on the dinosaur-ridden island from The Lost World, and they hire - albeit through lying - Dr. Alan Grant (Neill) to help them find him. As one can imagine, bad things happen, and everyone becomes stuck on the island, setting up a trek for survival. So, the story isn't bad. What's really worthy of some good eye-rolls are the leaps to assumptions that nearly all the characters take. Because some of the science is a little far-fetched, it's hard to assume that Grant and his protégé Billy (Nivola) can instantly know exactly what the dinosaurs are doing. However, they come to their conclusions with lightning speed, but it just plays out as a little over-the-top.

Still, it's nice to have Sam Neill back in the mix after missing his dry humor in the second film. His presence was steady throughout Jurassic Park, and while he's not quite as good in this installment, I think a lot of the issue has to do with the aforementioned screenplay. We also get a couple of good comedic relief performances from the likes of Michael Jeter and William H. Macy, who proves to be the best actor gracing the screen this time around. Macy has continually proven himself to be one of my favorite actors, and while Jurassic Park III is by no means his greatest achievement, he still brings a very fine presence to the film. Without him, it might be a total throwaway.

I think the biggest issue with the film is that it tried too hard to be different from the first two installments. It almost feels like the filmmakers were trying to spice it up, but they just didn't do so in the right way. Their biggest problem was taking out the T-Rex early in the film, settling for a different beast called Spinosaurus. Now, I see where they were going with this decision - the Rex had been the centerpiece of the first two films, but they wanted to bring something bigger and badder to this one. However, I think that fans of the first two films had grown rather fond of the Rex, and to see it simply cast aside after about thirty seconds was a bit of a let-down. At least we still get the Velociraptors, even if they look drastically different from the first two films...

Still, I can't really complain. We asked for a movie about dinosaurs chasing humans, and that's pretty much what we got. Although it doesn't hold a candle to the previous installments, Jurassic Park III still offers the special effects and the chase sequences, and who knows - maybe you'll get a laugh or two (intentional or not) out of it as well.


Awards
2001: Nominee - Best Sequel; Best Young Star; Best Visual Effects

DVD Challenge #23: THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK

The Lost World: Jurassic Park
1997
PG-13
Run-time: 2 hours, 9 minutes

Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Pete Postlethwaite, Vince Vaughn, Arliss Howard

Four years after the release of Jurassic Park, the world was graced with a sequel entitled The Lost World: Jurassic Park. After the smash success of the original film, there's really no question as to why a sequel was made. Money talks, and the first film showed that audiences loved their trip to the ill-fated Isla Nublar, so why shouldn't the filmmakers have given them another dose of similar medicine?

Like I mentioned in my post about Jurassic Park, my age has shown me some of the flaws in The Lost World as well. From the very get-go, there's a very ridiculous aura about this film, and when you actually sit and think about what's going on, there's little that actually makes sense. For starters, why was there never a mention of a second island during the first film? You'd think that'd be something they'd at least allude to from time to time. It almost feels like a little bit of a cop-out at the beginning of the film: "Oh, by the way, there's another island with dinosaurs that I forgot to tell you about, and they're living on their own so we're going to study them." If that doesn't have you scratching your head, then I don't really know what to tell you.

It's also lost a little bit of the awe and wonder of the first film. We never get that moment of magic like we had in the first film, but I think that's one of the reasons the film works despite a curious screenplay with more holes than a bowl of Cheerios. In a way, we're experiencing the emotions of Dr. Ian Malcolm (Goldblum), who survived the events of the first film. He brings a level of cynicism to this film that permeates through a lot of it. There's a scene early in the film where Nick Van Owen (Vaughn) and Eddie Carr (Richard Schiff) are amazed by the gigantic creatures they see, but Malcolm immediately responds by saying, "Oh yeah, ooh ahh. That's how it always starts. Then later there's running and screaming." In a way, he's telling us that we've seen this all before, but there's no reason we couldn't go along for the ride anyway.

The acting is, at times, of a little bit lower quality than the first film. Goldblum's character doesn't work as well in a leading role as he does in a supporting role, so that brings some issues. Moore isn't really at her best, but she's serviceable. Schiff probably brings the best performance in a limited amount of screen-time, with his dry humor bringing a consistent stream of one-liners. We also get a great performance from Postlethwaite, one of my personal favorite actors (so yeah, I'm probably a bit biased). We also do get a great score from John Williams again, so that's a plus.

Despite the over-the-top ridiculousness of the overall storyline, there's still a lot to like about The Lost World: Jurassic Park. The special effects are a step above what the first film created, so if anything, there's a legitimate reason to give the flick a view. Just don't think too hard about this movie - it's just supposed a fun, popcorn-munching flick that'll take your mind away for a couple of hours. And I mean, come on - it's a movie about dinosaurs. That's enough for you to want to love it.

DVD Challenge #22: JURASSIC PARK

Jurassic Park
1993
PG-13
Run-time: 2 hours, 7 minutes

Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough


When Jurassic Park hit theaters in 1993, I was a five-year-old kid who had an over-the-top obsession with dinosaurs. Because of this, my parents thought it'd be fun for me to see the "new dinosaur movie." Little did they realize that this film probably wasn't meant to be seen by a kindergarten-aged child. The night after seeing the film, I had one of my most vivid nightmares I've ever had - one that still sticks with me today - and yet, Jurassic Park has easily become one of my favorite films of all time.

As I've grown older and have watched the film over and over again, I've started to notice some of the holes in the storyline and the less-than-brilliant acting performances. Still, there's something very endearing and magical about what this movie brought to the table. It's an "it" factor that the subsequent sequels simply couldn't match. When audiences first saw the massive brachiosaurus walking across the plain, they had the same reaction of wonder and awe that characters Alan Grant (Neill) and Ellie Sattler (Dern) have. It's an astounding scene, punctuated by the ever-reverberating line, "Welcome to Jurassic Park."

I think what makes this particular film so great is the fact that it takes the audience along for the emotional ride that the characters also experience. We're astounded when we first see these majestic creatures; we're disappointed when we're on the park tour and don't see the dinosaurs lurking in their paddocks; and we're utterly terrified when the power goes out and the dinosaurs start to roam free. It's almost as though we're right there with the actors and actresses, doing whatever we can to survive this entire ordeal as well.

We're also given a resounding musical score from none other than John Williams. It's easily one of the most beautiful scores he's brought to the screen, and it completely embodies the beauty and majesty of the film. Here's the score, in case you're interested in hearing it:

Although I've grown older and have started to see the little holes here and there, you simply cannot deny the magic that this film brings to the movie-going experience. Jurassic Park brings you everything that a movie should bring, and it does so no matter how many times you watch it. It's a beautiful film that needs to be respected for what it brought to the table, and even though the sequels didn't quite live up to the bar this one set, nothing can take away from the amazing spectacle that is Jurassic Park.