The Gene Hackman 'Conversation': Why I miss this big screen giant

It seems weird to categorize Gene Hackman as just a character actor (not that there's anything wrong with that) because he was such a huge movie star.

Gene Hackman in The Conversation

But he excelled so much in supporting roles and had so much range (he was convincing in dramas, comedies, action) that it's hard to pin him down with a particular persona.

For instance, he is introverted and tragically sad in Francis Ford Coppola's brilliant 1974 movie The Conversation (which I revisited last night) and he is just as great as the boisterous, scheming patriarch in 2001's The Royal Tenenbaums.

Sadly, he abruptly retired from making movies exactly 10 years ago, his last film being a forgettable political comedy called Welcome to Mooseport which was ostensibly supposed to launch a big screen film career for Ray Romano

I believe Hackman now writes historical fiction and is well into his 80s. He's one of those actors who always seemed middle-aged and up, and indeed the role that made him an A-list superstar, Popeye Doyle in The French Connection, came when he was already 40. Still, he was always a very vital, intense presence in whatever movie he was in. You never will see a lazy Hackman performance.

I miss this guy because he made consistently great, not just good, movies and I think there is still great work to be seen from leading men from his era (I'm talking to you Hoffman, Pacino, De Niro, Nicholson et. al.). Of course, being the least flashy of his peers, Hackman often is overlooked when people site their acting idols, but not with me.

Here are my top 10 favorite performances of his:

10) Heist (2001): Probably the best David Mamet directed film I've seen. As I've said before I am a sucker for films about thieves and this one is very tightly written and constructed. Hackman takes a cliched role, the crook out for one last score, and really elevates it.

9) Get Shorty (1995): Hackman, who often plays the heavy in mainstream movies, is hilarious in this satire as a wimpy director of trashy B-movies who runs afoul of crooks. Hackman is an underrated comic actor as evidenced by his work here and in The Birdcage and Young Frankenstein.

8) Superman (1978): Ever superhero movie villain (even Jack Nicholson's The Joker) owes a little bit to Hackman's devilish performance as the supremely self-confident Lex Luthor. He brought a light comic touch but also a little menace to a part that could have been silly but totally worked opposite Christopher Reeve's iconic portrayal of the Man of Steel.

7) Crimson Tide (1995): Hackman faces off with Denzel Washington over control of a submarine in this thinking man's thriller. It's an excellent showcase from two legendary actors at the top of their game. Hackman could play this kind of stubborn villain in his sleep but there is a real tension and righteous anger in his performance that is unforgettable.

6) Night Moves (1975): One of those great, overlooked and dark noir films from the 70s golden age of film. Director Arthur Penn (who also cast Hackman in Bonnie and Clyde) crafts a top-notch mystery and Hackman is excellent as the grizzled private investigator Harry Moseby. Some nice, surprising twists in this one.

5) Mississippi Burning (1988): An excellent film about the civil rights era investigation of the murders of three activists (two white, one black) in the deep south. Hackman excels as a cynical Southern cop who has unorthodox methods but gets results. He has a monologue on what breeds racism which may be my favorite explanation on the psychology of that kind of prejudice -- it's about class, not color.

4) The Conversation (1974): His most subtle and heartbreaking work. Hackman plays a surveillance expert named Harry Caul who's driven nearly mad by paranoia and an obsession with a job that he fears might lead to someone's death. Dark, moody and thoughtful, this is the kind of character piece that can't get made anymore so we should cherish the fact that at one point they were.

Gene Hackman in Unforgiven

3) The French Connection (1971): This is the movie that won Hackman his first Oscar and made him an unlikely movie star. Oddly enough he plays a violent, racist and ultimately unhinged policeman in this riveting and realistic crime thriller. That Popeye Doyle is actually appealing is a testament to Hackman's warmth and charisma.

2) Unforgiven (1992): Hackman won his second Oscar for his brutal villain Little Bill in Clint Eastwood's classic western. He is both darkly funny and terrifying in this film. I like how his character thinks of himself as noble and principled yet engages in savage cruelty when he feels it suits his purposes. And I love the moment when he says "I don't deserve to die like this."

1) The Royal Tenenbaums (2001): Pure, unadulterated joy -- that's what this performance is for me. This remains my favorite Wes Anderson film (although I love them all except for The Darjeeling Limited). The lead role of the "real son of a bitch" Royal Tenenbaum was supposedly written for Hackman and it shows. it's a pleasure to watch the way he bites into the dialogue with relish. And he's positively buoyant in scenes with each member of the eclectic cast.

So in closing: Come back Gene Hackman, come back!

Revisiting 'The Birdcage' wasn't as bad as I expected

The Birdcage was a movie I loved when it first came out back in 1996. Despite it's F-bombs and sexual humor it was something a family favorite in my house and a VHS staple. But it's also one of those movies I feared might have aged so horribly I couldn't enjoy it anymore.

After revisiting it yesterday I am pleased to say that it sort, mostly holds up.

There are the glaring things. Hank Azaria is both hilariously funny and deeply problematic in his over the top performance as Robin Williams and Nathan Lane's "houseboy" from Guatelmala. I only saw the original film on which its based (La Cage Aux Folles) once and if memory serves, Azaria's comic role is actually an improvement in terms of racism on its predecessor.

And the son character -- who cruelly forces his father and his lover to masquerade as straight to please his potential in-laws (played to perfection by a very game Gene Hackman and Dianne Weist) -- is abominable. It doesn't help that the character doesn't have much of a personality and largely acts like a jerk -- the entire conceit of what he is doing is wrong, homophobic and detestable.

Some have argued then and now that the entirety of this exercise is inherently antigay -- and those critics may have a point -- although Mike Nichols' film does take great pains to really flesh out Lane and Williams' characters so they are not just caricatures.

I also appreciate that both of their characters are given the space to pushback on their son's request that the sublimate their identities, although I don't buy that they wouldn't be more furious with him for suggesting it. But it was 1996.

The ending is probably the weakest link -- despite the delightful image of Gene Hackman in drag. When Lane is revealed to be impersonating a woman and the gig is up, Hackman's conservative politician doesn't comfort or come to grips with his prejudice or his anger at being had, we simply see the insanely young couple (Williams and Lane's son is supposed to be 20 but looks 35 and his fiancee, played by a fresh faced Calista Flockhart is supposed to be 18!) attending a big wedding ceremony, with the more colorful crowd there on the groom's side.

Whatever reconciliation or reckoning that takes place been Hackman/Weist (who are portrayed as insensitive homophobes) it happens fully off-screen and it feels like more than a cheat. It's almost like a surrender to the narrative corner to story has painted them in.

Still, it's definitely a fascinating rewatch all these years later, since its a time capsule of what passed for a risky, progressive comedy at the time -- but today seems very quaint. 

I found myself frequently comparing to Father of the Bride, which has a similar farcical meets sentimental family movie tone, albeit in a much more traditional context.

It's also strikingly sad -- watching Robin Williams show how talented he was by -- forgive the pun -- mostly playing the straight man here. His output in the late 90s was inconsistent at best -- remember Patch Adams? -- but he was an incredible actor when he was engaged with good material and a great director.

Because of the tragic circumstances of his death, there is a bit of a halo of sadness that hangs over all his work but there is also joy -- as he was for a time one of the funniest men who ever lived and he wore that mantle with grace and charm.

As for The Birdcage, I am glad I watched it again -- it gave me quite a few belly laughs even if the premise is both absurd and deeply problematic. I can see how some see it as an attempt by mainstream Hollywood to make a more palatable gay film for a less sophisticated audience but I think it's heart is in the right place.

And, as I said earlier, much of the humor -- remarkably -- still holds up.

Top underrated from my favorite decade of movies

Today I did a rewatch of Mike Nichols' masterful satire of sex and male-female relationships Carnal Knowledge. It holds up incredible well as perhaps one of the greatest films ever exploring the topic of toxic masculinity, in my opinion. It's also a movie that's routinely overlooked when the great films of the 1970s are listed. Film buffs know it and I understand it was a buzzy sleeper hit when it came out in 1971.

But the fact that it's so overlooked (it's streaming on Amazon Prime right now, go see it, but make sure the kids are safely out of sight, it's not a family movie) got me thinking. What are some other flicks from my favorite era of cinema that deserve to be promoted.

Here's 10 off the top of my head:

Prime Cut - A deeply strange and terrible cool action movie starring two great tough as nails leading men -- Lee Marvin and Gene Hackman. Darkly funny with a very weird premise involving sex slaves kept in a barn. Come for Marvin and Hackman macho antics, but stay for a young Sissy Spacek in a scene stealing role as a spunky survivor.

An Unmarried Woman - Although it's written and directed by a man (the great Paul Mazursky) this is a wonderfully observed, deeply feminist film featuring one of the decade's most honest performances (regardless of gender) in Jill Clayburgh who has to suddenly reinvent her life after learning of her husbands infidelities.

Lady Sings the Blues - It's a shame that Diana Ross didn't have much of cinematic career, this film proves that with the right material and director she could have been not just good but great. She totally inhabits the role of Billie Holiday in a performance that should have won an Academy Award. Meanwhile, Billy Dee Williams establishes himself as a sex symbol and Richard Pryor establishes himself as a credible dramatic actor.

Night Moves - One of the great, moody character studies of the era, featuring another unsung Gene Hackman role. It's got a terrific scumminess and cynicism, with a truly shocking ending that is keeping with the period's less earnest aesthetic.

The Candidate - One of the all time greatest movies about politics and the mostly men who control it. Robert Redford has maybe never been better in a leading role as a sincere liberal who sells out to win. He gets to show some of his range here and the movie's commentary still holds up.

The Gambler - I've never understood why this isn't one of the beloved character studies of the decade. It's James Caan at his best as an obsessive, self destructive gambler in this no-holds-barred drama, which is one of writer James Toback's best.

The Driver - A hugely influential although largely unknown minimalist thriller, with a nearly silent Ryan O'Neal as a badass getaway driver. Nicolas Winding Refn brilliantly cribbed the movie for his own Drive, but it still has plenty of flair on its own.

Klute - Jane Fonda's iconic greatness as an actress is often overshadowed by her incredible courageous activism, but don't sleep on her talents. In this chilling thriller in particular she is electric throughout and her big scene at the climax is some of the best acting I've ever seen.

Shampoo - Warren Beatty's sex comedy is also a droll satire on the creeping conservatism of the late 1960s. It might be my favorite Beatty performance and he's got an incredible cast around him. One of those movies that appears to be about nothing at first but then it's actually about everything.

Blue Collar - I know I put this movie on almost every list, but it looms that largely in my mind as one of the most emblematic movies of the decade even if it's not as well known as a Taxi Driver or a Jaws. Dark, authentic and unpredictable. It's what I look for in a movie.

Roy Scheider: The most underrated movie star of the '70s

Roy Scheider

As I've said over and over again, my all-time favorite era of movies is the 1970s.

It's the decade that some of my biggest cinematic heroes did some of their most daring work and it was a period where artistic and commercial film-making really did coincide, with studio approval to boot.

This second golden age Hollywood, albeit a more cynical and darker one, produced some legendary movie stars: Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman, Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman are just a few of the illustrious names who did some of their best work in the so-called "Me decade".

However, Roy Scheider's name is often totally overlooked when film geeks recall their favorite stars of that time. Unlike actors such as Elliot Gould, who have been rediscovered and newly appreciated by hipsters, Scheider's still not given the credit he deserves.

He gave stellar performances in five of the best films of the decade and this two-time Academy Award nominated leading man was responsible for one of the greatest lines in movie history from 1975's blockbuster Jaws (which I've at least heard was ad-libbed): "You're gonna need a bigger boat."

Why has Scheider always been so underrated? He was such a relaxed and subtle performer, that he doesn't have the showy tics of some of his method actor colleagues. His roles were weaker after the '70s, with his most memorable late career part being the lead in the short-lived sci-fi TV series SeaQuest. Like most '70s leading men, he didn't fit conventional standards of male beauty -- although I've always thought his busted nose (a result of an amateur boxing career) gave his face incredible character and charm.

Understandably, for most audiences, he is and will always be Sheriff Martin Brody from Jaws. It was his biggest and most enduring hit movie, and make no mistake about it, he's terrific in it. But he was solid in a number of great films.

The French Connection (1971): Scheider was nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar for his breakout role opposite Gene Hackman as New York City detectives obsessed with bringing down a French-U.S. drug trade operation. As the more humane member of the duo, Scheider is a useful counterpoint to Hackman's borderline deranged lead character. Their chemistry is what makes the movie work as more than just a typical police melodrama.

Jaws (1975): This was the movie that made Scheider a star and an icon. He had the least showy of the three lead roles. Robert Shaw's Quint got to chew the scenery and Richard Dreyfuss' Hooper gets all the wisecracks, but Scheider has to function as the audience surrogate for much of the film. As the nervous and water-wary Sheriff Brody, Scheider has the real arc on screen. When he summons the courage to take on the killer shark it's a moment of triumph for him as an actor and for audiences.

Roy Scheider in All That Jazz

Marathon Man (1976):  This is Dustin Hoffman's movie but Roy Scheider dominates the first third as his cool and charismatic brother, who is really a secret agent going after a neo-Nazi (played by an unforgettable Laurence Olivier). Scheider was a strikingly fit and masculine actor who could really sell an action scene as the work of the actor and not a stunt man. One of the great thrillers of the decade.

Sorcerer (1977): William Friedkin's big budget remake of the French thriller Wages of Fear flopped when it first came out (it opened opposite Star Wars) but has since grown in esteem and remains the director's personal favorite. Scheider is the lone American star of an international cast playing shady characters who are in an unnamed Latin country signing up for a likely suicide mission -- delivering explosive nitroglycerin through treacherous terrain. Visually incredible movie-making, with Scheider's tense presence holding it together.

All That Jazz (1979): Scheider scored another Oscar nomination, this time for a leading role, as the surrogate for Bob Fosse in this elaborate musical/biopic. It's excessive, sexy, self-indulgent and magnificent, with many filmmakers calling it the last truly great musical Hollywood ever made. Scheider plays the boozing, womanizing choreographer/director Joe Gideon to the hilt, showing unexpected range and grace in this endlessly creative film.

Flashback 2001: My top 10 favorite movies from 20 years ago

It's wild to think of 2001, the year that arguably changed everything in this country for mostly worse was 20 years ago. Although the attacks of 9/11 came late in the year, they cast a shadow on everything that can before and after.

It was too early for the movies to fully reflect the bleakness of this period (that would come later in the decade) and so many of my favorites from this year are surprisingly light-hearted. This was my sophomore year in college and so I have a lot of fond memories specifically tied to the viewing experience of several of these, which remain burned in my brain.

It definitely feels like a more innocent time in many ways -- pre-War on Terror, pre-Katrina, pre-Trump. It wasn't the best year bur far from the worst for movies. And, as per usual, there's a few stone-cold classics...

10) Zoolander - One of the most delightfully silly and quotable comedies of its time was like a ear-worm. It did just ok at the box office but it had real staying power. Sure, it's a little overstuffed with celebrity cameos and it's plot is laughably incoherent, but who cares -- Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson are perfection as vapid supermodels who start at as rivals and then become pals, Will Ferrell is deliriously funny as the villain and it'll always remain a favorite dumb comedy of mine although I haven't revisited it in years. 

9) Sexy Beast - Ben Kingsley completely upended his on-screen image (he'd played mostly gentle characters after becoming a star with 1982's Gandhi) as a foul-mouthed and ferocious gangster in this cool and kinetic British gangster film. The joke of the film is that everyone, including the imposing Ray Winstone, is terrified of him, and his performance is so intense you believe them. A real who's who of hangdog Brit actors with a killer soundtrack to boot.

8) The Pledge - 2001 was a great year for old man action films (there was also The Score which I am embarrassed to admit I like). Here, Jack Nicholson plays one of his most subdued roles as a retired cop who can't get over a serial killer who slipped through his fingers. To date, the Sean Penn-directed film I've enjoyed the most, keeps throwing curveballs at you, including a murderer's row of supporting performances from the likes of Helen Mirren and a devastating Mickey Rourke. A haunting little thriller that's worth rediscovery and reappraisal. 

7) Heist - Like I said, a great year for old man action. Here you have Gene Hackman at his most badass as a professional thief trying to get out of the business clean. A David Mamet script and directorial effort that works because his hyper stylized dialogue is a great fit for the genre. And again, you have an excellent cast surrounding Hackman including Delroy Lindo, Danny DeVito and a young Sam Rockwell -- all of whom are having a ball. Not reinventing the genre or anything, but old fashioned in the best way.

6) Ghost World - A moving and vivid interpretation of a popular underground comic with a scene stealing lead performance from Thora Birch (who should have had a bigger career). An episodic look at a hipster high school graduate trying to figure out her place in the universe who gets into an unlikely romantic relationship with a socially awkward blues aficionado played to perfection by Steve Buscemi, who was robbed of an Oscar nomination for his work in this film.

5) Wet Hot American Summer - Easily one of the funniest, most on target parodies of all time. This cult classic with a stacked cast of up-and-coming stars (including Paul Rudd, Bradley Cooper and Elizabeth Banks) hits out of the park with its bizarro and remarkably committed recreation of the 80s camp movie aesthetic. Deliriously weird and crude, this is always a fun rewatch and I even enjoyed the recent reboots for Netflix. I'm so glad this film (and now franchise) has the fanbase it richly deserves.

4) Training Day - Denzel Washington finally won a Best Actor Oscar for one of his greatest performances (at the time it was viewed as a career consolation prize, but that was a very wrong assessment) and his first full blown villain role. He is electric (and an underrated Ethan Hawke is a great sparring partner) as a deeply corrupt but undeniably charismatic Los Angeles narcotics detective who is indebted to the Russian mob and doing all sorts of dirty deeds to dig himself out. Exciting, funny and evocative, director Antoine Fuqua has yet to top his work here and Denzel gives a master class in genre movie acting.

3) Mulholland Drive - For many, this was a comeback of sorts for director David Lynch. It was originally intended to become a television show but it totally works as a standalone film. It beautifully explores many of his fascinations with artifice, Hollywood, glamour, sex and of course, death. An incredible breakthrough movie for Naomi Watts, Justin Theroux and the stunning Laura Harring (who never got her due). For me, it was the movie that started a lifelong love for Lynch's work and it remains a rewarding revisit all these years later.

2) Ocean's Eleven - Just a unadulterated blast of star-driven fun. I still remember how plesantly surprised and delighted I was by my first (and then second, third and fourth -- I mean who hasn't seen this movie a million times by now on cable?) viewing of this franchise launcher. George Clooney and Brad Pitt proved to be the most charming male leading duo since Paul Newman and Robert Redford, and the whole supporting team all get their moments to shine. Most importantly though, director Steven Soderbergh (who was on an all-time hot streak) didn't sacrifice his directorial flair to make it.

1) The Royal Tenenbaums - For me, it remains Wes Anderson's warmest most glorious picture. All of his specificity works wonders with this sweet and hilarious tale about a wayward patriarch (Gene Hackman again, in one of his greatest, if not his greatest performance) trying to win back the love of his eccentric family. It looks like it could be taking place in the 1970s, even though its in this fantasy version of NYC that has sort of never existed. It's got one of the best soundtracks, some of the biggest laughs, and it pulls on your heartstrings when you least expect it. In other words, it's a perfect movie.

1974 Flashback: My top 10 from 40 years ago

1974 was an incredibly fascinating year in America and at the movies. It was the year Richard Nixon finally resigned from office after the prolonged Watergate debacle and an air of cynicism and paranoia had seeped into even the most mainstream Hollywood productions.

The 1970s are my favorite film era for a myriad of reasons -- among them the dark and often subversive content, which reflected the political climate of the times.

It was also a period when my favorite generation of A-list actors (Nicholson, Hoffman, Beatty, Redford, Pacino, Hackman and De Niro) did some of their best, most iconic work.

I am continuing my top 10 series which started with 2004 and then 1994 and 1984. I don't know if I'm capable of coming up with a top 10 list from 50 years ago, so this may be the last one of these 10-year intervals.

10) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - From the opening shots, the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre creates an unsettling and uncomfortably realistic feel. An unrelenting horror classic that inspired many subpar imitators, there is also a very odd and eccentric strain of humor throughout this grisly enterprise and despite its title, the scares are genuine not gore-induced.

9) Young Frankenstein - One of two home runs from Mel Brooks in 1974. He assembled a comedy dream team, including Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman and Madeleine Kahn, to pay homage to the great horror classics of the 1930s. Very stylish looking and unabashedly silly -- this is a spoof that has a lot of genuine affection for its source material, which is part of why it succeeds.

8) Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia - I didn't love this one at first, but I've come to realize that Sam Peckinpah films are something of an acquired taste. A fascinating and deeply strange melodrama about a hard-drinking loser (played by the brilliant Warren Oates) who takes on a brutal mission for some chump change and ends up going to hell and back. Not for the squeamish -- but if you like your character studies dark (and I do) it's a keeper.

7) Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore - After his Mean Streets breakthrough, Scorsese decided to stretch and show he could make a film about women. Ellen Burstyn won the Academy Award for the titular role in this bittersweet comedy-drama about a recently widowed mom who has to fend for herself for the first time. Scorsese infuses the material with some of his signature, flashy camera moves but it is at its core a simple story with a lot of heart.

6) Death Wish - A morally reprehensible revenge fantasy -- but also an incredibly potent and entertaining one. Charles Bronson is one of my all-time favorite action stars -- and this is his most iconic role. He is completely believable as a soft-spoken but stern businessman who becomes a vigilante in the wake of a brutal attack on his wife and daughter. The politics of the film will always be hotly debated but the creepy last shot suggests director Michael Winner was at least a little ambivalent about his protagonist.

The creepy last shot in question from Death Wish

5) The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 - Walter Matthau as action hero? It's not as ridiculous as it sounds in this very New York style thriller set in the subways. The remake can't hold a candle to this gritty and clever caper film. Not only does it have genuine thrills but the movie boasts a wonderfully comic sarcasm that pays off time and time again. Also, Robert Shaw cements his status as one of the best bad guys of the decade (see The Sting).

4) The Conversation - Arguably Gene Hackman's second best performance of the decade, this is a master-class in restrained understatement. He plays Harry Caul, a deeply paranoid and lonely surveillance expert who stumbles upon a potential conspiracy to commit murder. It's much more sophisticated than it sounds, and more concerned with a character study of Caul than its thriller plot. Coppola's most overlooked 1970s masterpiece.

3) Blazing Saddles - One of the funniest and most politically incorrect movies of all time. This uproarious western spoof had some really witty things to say about race that will remind some viewers of Django Unchained. Mel Brooks' greatest achievement and a career high mark for Gene Wilder and Cleavon Little, who plays a role originally intended for Richard Pryor to perfection.

2) Chinatown - This neo-noir lives up to all the hype. Not only is it Roman Polanski's best film, it's arguably Faye Dunaway's and quite possibly Jack Nicholson's.  A pitch-black classic with one of the all-time most shocking twists in movie history. A movie that captures a mood, look and lingo of the golden age of Hollywood. The plot is infamously labyrinthian -- something to do with the water supply and corrupt politicos. Nevermind all that, just sit back and watch what happens to "nosy fellows."

1) The Godfather Part II - As I've said before, this is my favorite of the legendary Godfather films. It's a powerful, sprawling epic that shows the full reach of organized crime in just 3 hours. Al Pacino is phenomenal as the increasingly psychotic Michael Corleone and John Cazale is unforgettable as his pathetic (and ultimately tragic) brother Fredo. No movie better captured the dark spirit of 1974 America and the movie's bleak vision remains even more potent 40 years later.

From Shelley Duvall to Rick Moranis: When great actors go missing

Shelley Duvall

When this revealing interview with Rick Moranis went viral it got me thinking. He is just one of many beloved film actors who haven't exactly retired but just largely stopped working. Now, Moranis made a point to spend more time with his children after his wife died from breast cancer in 1997, an act that is both touching and inspiring.

But now that he appears eager to get back in the game, I hope Hollywood casting agents are listening. This man anchored some of the most beloved comedies of the 1980s, including Spaceballs, Parenthood and of course, the original Ghostbusters and its 1989 sequel.

He was more than just the nebbish nerd he frequently played -- if you don't believe me check out his tour de force one-take performance during the house party scene in Ghostbusters. Moranis delivers a mouthful of dialogue with such ease and nuanced personality -- it's a marvel to behold.

Recently, I've had similar recollections of Shelley Duvall. She was a standout in several of Robert Altman's great early films, including the creepy and fascinating 3 Women. In 1980, she reached the peak of her career, starring in both Altman's Popeye and Stanley Kubrick's classic The Shining.

Tom Berenger

Both films have grown in stature and critical acclaim since their mixed initial reception, but it seems as though the toll both lengthy productions had on Duvall was too much. She made a few small appearances in films after that but has since largely disappeared from the screen. She seems ripe for rediscovery.

Gene Wilder is another performer who just seemed to abruptly stop acting. Sure, I know he did a few episodes of television, but he was one of the great comic actors of the '70s -- does Hollywood have no use for him now?

Quentin Tarantino talked about actors like these when discussing his casting process for Jackie Brown.

He claims that the industry has a "list" of acceptable actors and actresses for any given role, and that it's a predictable and overused group of people. He sought out the likes of Robert Forster and Pam Grier, not only because he could but because he wanted to break the mold.

It's refreshing an exciting to see someone like Tom Berenger in Inception or Martin Short in Inherent Vice because these are talented, interesting people who you just don't get to see all that often anymore. And their presence in prestige pictures is like a nice surprise instead of an obvious cliche.

While some legends like Jack Nicholson, Gene Hackman and Sean Connery really do appear to be done with the business, there are a slew of actors who I wish would win one of those coveted "comeback roles" although none of them really went anywhere.

Imagine if Michael Keaton hadn't been cast in Birdman? He was not bankable anymore by any measure, and yet I can't think of anyone else who could have played that role. Now, Keaton is a household name again and got robbed of an Oscar earlier this year.

Lily Tomlin has already shined in the kind of role that might have normally gone to Meryl Streep in this year's Grandma. I'll be eager to see some more familiar faces this awards season that I haven't seen in a while. Here's hoping!

Rediscovering the magic of 'The Royal Tenenbaums'

I believe the reason a movie becomes a "favorite" has a lot to do with the context in which you first saw it -- or least how it affected you at a certain point in time.

For instance, I saw The Big Lebowski for the first time when I was doped up following my wisdom teeth surgery (I laughed so hard blood trickled out the side of my mouth). I saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in theaters right after a break up -- and it really hung true.

The Royal Tenenbaums arrived during the peak of my angst-ridden days in college, before I could get a girlfriend and as my cinematic tastes were really starting to come into their own.

I'd seen Rushmore in theaters and had been a big fan, but that was nothing compared to the eye-popping delight Tenenbaums was. Wes Anderson finally had a budget, and it showed.

Today, the movie plays a lot like other Anderson movies -- which have become so tonally similar as to inspire loving if albeit note-perfect parodies like Saturday Night's Live's genius spoof.

Still, Anderson's talent and knack for wringing emotion out of his meticulously crafted characters and sets is undeniable, and The Royal Tenenbaums remains my favorite film he's made to date.

For me, it starts with the brilliant casting of a never-better Gene Hackman in the lead role. He gives a bombastic, gleeful performance as a "son of a bitch" who has lied and cheated his way through life, and yet can't help but be endearing. Hackman is not an obvious Anderson-style performer, but that tension enlivens the material and keeps it from being too self consciously quirky.

Based on the director's commentary, I have a sneaking suspicion that the Tenenbaum patriarch is supposed to have some significant parallels with Anderson's own father -- and in many ways this feels like a very personal film for him.

It was certainly a personal film for me when I saw it. I saw bits of myself in all the Tenenbaum children (played, in some of their best roles ever, by Gwenyth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, and Luke Wilson). They're all innately bright, talented people who nevertheless seem to have squandered their gifts and are hamstrung by their own anxiety or neurosis.

Back in 2001, when this film was released, I myself was at a similar crossroads. I felt out of place and insecure and unlovable. When I saw The Royal Tenenbaums on the big screen I saw characters I could relate to and fall in love with. And I remember feeling like during it's slow motion final shot as the characters exit a graveyard, that I was saying goodbye to some close friends.

I revisited the film last night because my girlfriend miraculously had never seen it. I was worried it wouldn't work as well as it used to for me. But it still did.

The soundtrack, the pans, the sets -- all serve the story and some truly original creations. I especially love Owen Wilson's sort of Cormac McCarthy like author, Eli Cash, who dreams of being a Tenenbaum and has a bizarre on-air meltdown during a television interview.

There is a shot I will always remember. Luke Wilson's character is trying to stage something akin to an intervention to get Cash off drugs. While in the midst of trying to deny he has a problem the Cash character crosses to the other side of the room and a stack of pornography is clearly present. Each one of them appears to be a African-American themed porn. This detail is never explained, but the fact that it's there has always amused me endlessly and left me in awe of Anderson's truly awesome mind.

The Royal Tenenbaums is both sweet and sentimental but it also has a real darkness and ambiguity to it. Royal's character probably becomes a better guy by the end of the film but he never really changes. I am a better adjusted person that I was 14 years ago, at least I think I am, but some of the same self-hatred I had back then hangs like a shadow over everything I do.

I'm not even entirely sure what all this means -- but I appreciate the irony.

An Al Pacino appreciation: A misunderstood master actor

The other day at work one of my younger co-workers revealed to me that they had never seen an Al Pacino movie. I was shocked and disappointed, but when I recounted this story to an even younger co-worker -- it got worse, she had never heard of the acting legend.

Pacino has long been one of my favorite actors, but one of the disappointing facets of his career has been the paucity of memorable and/or critically acclaimed roles post-2002's successful Christopher Nolan thriller Insomnia.

So it's perhaps unsurprising that a younger generation is ignorant of his charms -- even his more goofy, over-the-top performances which have perpetuated an unfortunate stereotype of him as a bellowing blowhard, when some his best performances are actually both subtle and quiet.

An ongoing retrospective on Pacino's work is currently being hosted by the Quad Cinema in New York City, with the Oscar winner's blessing. At 77, he is firmly in the twilight of his career, although he will be appearing soon in a high-profile HBO movie about the disgraced late Penn State coach, Joe Paterno.

Still, I saw two Pacino's performances there, separated by more than 20 years, and another 20 years plus since either of their release, that spoke volumes about his talent and how underrated it is.

Pacino remains one of our greatest method actors ever -- and I was so moved by his performances in 1973'a Scarecrow and 1997's Donnie Brasco, that it made me think more deeply on his whole career as a whole.

He has certainly made his fair share of clunkers and continued making crime thrillers far past the point of plausibility (although I am cautiously optimistic about his role in the upcoming The Irishman, since he'll be collaborating with Martin Scorsese for the first time on it. But he is, by all accounts a consummate professional, and the selections suggest he's willing to embrace the virtues of some of his most notorious flops.

In Scarecrow and Donnie Brasco, Pacino delivers two brilliant, but very different character studies.

His character in Scarecrow is a sweet-natured, almost childlike man nicknamed Lion by a more forceful newfound friend played by a typically terrific Gene Hackman. For most of the films ambling narrative, Pacino cedes the spotlight to Hackman, brilliantly underplaying his character's quest to reunite with his estranged wife and child whose gender he doesn't yet know.

Al Pacino in Donnie Brasco

The film ends tragically for Pacino's character, and if he hadn't built up so much empathy and good will through his open, honest performance throughout the movie, it just wouldn't work emotionally. He ends up being the glue without doing anything particularly showy. It's the kind of performance that was the hallmark of his incredible run of films from 1972's The Godfather through 1975's Dog Day Afternoon.

By the time he made the hit gangster film Donnie Brasco, Pacino had already begun to be defined by his big performances and had some so many crime genre films that it may have hurt his chances that awards season. That year, his contemporaries -- Jack Nicholson and Dustin Hoffman -- were both nominated for Best Actor for comeback roles of sorts, but Pacino's work in Donnie Brasco is funnier, stronger and deeper.

I'll never forget his line where he describes himself as a "spoke on a wheel." His character Lefty is a perpetually passed over sad sack who suffers the double whammy of seeing his young recruit -- the titular Donnie Brasco, played by Johnny Depp -- first surpass him in the mobster pecking order and then being revealed to be a covert FBI agent.

The Depp melodrama sometimes drags the film down -- his scenes with Anne Heche as his neglected spouse are particularly overwrought and overlong -- but Pacino's work is pitch perfect. He allows himself to be so vulnerable on screen and achingly human.

He looks frail and wounded, but always plays Lefty with pride, even when he is constantly borrowing money from Brasco to save face.

Clearly, Pacino has a formidable gallery of performances in the tank that can be held up against any number of iconic stars, but I would love to see one last classic one to be a fitting capper to his pantheon. And hopefully, will be enough to make him more than a relic to younger generations of filmgoers.

Draw! It's my top 10 favorite westerns of all time (so far)

Once Upon a Time in the West

I've been on a real western kick lately. I suppose it's because, second to gangster movies, it might be my favorite film genre. I also find that they're escapist in the best way.

For a couple hours, sometimes three, I can venture into a world that I never would or could inhabit, that still strangely has resonance with the world I live in today.

Westerns have big themes -- honor, prejudice, pride, guilt, vengeance and fear. They are almost always gorgeous to look at and they do what cinema does best -- tell a story visually.

It's very hard for me to narrow down my favorites to a top 10 list -- especially since there are so many classic westerns I still need to see. So don't take this as gospel, this list will inevitably evolve. These are just a few of my the must-sees of the moment.

10) Rio Bravo (1959) - Howard Hawks helmed some terrific westerns -- Red River and his remake of this film, El Dorado, almost made my list, but this star-studded movie wins by a nose. Dean Martin plays a drunk seeking a shot at redemption, teen heartthrob Ricky Nelson is the upstart with quick hands, Angie Dickinson is the sexy love interest and John Wayne pretty much plays himself. Fun dialogue and performances make this "hang out" film a standout.

9) Django (1966) - Sergio Corbucci is the other great genius of the Italian spaghetti western (Sergio Leone being the other). This brutal classic, has inspired countless sequels and the Tarantino film that borrows its name. The typical "quiet stranger comes to town" story with some unusual, uniquely ballsy twists. He drags a casket behind him, what's inside I won't spoil but let's just say this one delivers.

8) Stagecoach (1939) - This John Ford masterpiece both established the modern western film and John Wayne's movie star persona, all while influencing a generation of filmmakers like Orson Welles. This swiftly paced ensemble piece thrusts "types" (like the town drunk and the hooker with a heart of gold) in a confined space together and reveals new depth to the characters as they are under duress. One of those movies that is iconic for almost all the right reasons.

Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid

7) Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid (1969) - Paul Newman and Robert Redford have unforgettable chemistry in this, their first on-screen pairing (The Sting followed in 1973). Newman is incredibly charming as the fast-talking schemer who is always getting the outlaw duo into more trouble. And this is the film that made Redford a star. In some ways, his Sundance kid is a selfish jerk -- but he's so cool and charismatic you hardly seem to care. The ending is a great, gallows humor joke.

6) The Searchers (1956) - John Wayne gives his darkest, most compelling performance as a brooding, hate-filled Civil War veteran on the hunt for a little girl who's ostensibly been kidnapped by American Indians. A fascinating look at the racist psyche as well as one of the most visually stunning westerns of its time.

5) The Wild Bunch (1969) - I am a huge Peckinpah fan, and he made several terrific westerns I love, like the moving Ride the High Country and the elegiac Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, but so far, this ultra-violent character study is my favorite. William Holden leads a pack of unrepentant crooks with their own code of decency. The movie is infamous for its incredibly relentless final shootout, but it's a brilliant film from start to finish.

4) Unforgiven (1992) - Although I still wish Spike Lee's Malcolm X had been nominated, it's hard to quibble with Clint Eastwood's best picture win for this wonderful meditation on violence. This film marked Eastwood's maturation into a master filmmaker and boasts one of his greatest performances alongside Gene Hackman's Oscar winning turn as the complex bad guy Little Bill. Some of my favorite lines of dialogue ever are in this film.

3) The Good, the Bad & the Ugly (1967) - The last and best of the Sergio Leone-Clint Eastwood western collaborations is an incredible epic. Leone makes incredible use of close-ups in what Quentin Tarantino once described (in one of his typical fits of hyperbole) the best directed film of all time. Eastwood is at this laconic best, but it's Eli Wallach who steals the show as the playful and petulant Tucco. And who can forget the classic villainous turn from Lee Van Cleef? I haven't even mentioned the most iconic score in western history.

2) Django Unchained (2012) - While this may be an unpopular opinion, this is my favorite Tarantino film. A total blast from start to finish, this homage to spaghetti westerns also has some smart and subversive ideas about race and class just under its surface. My favorite film of 2012, this sprawling, bloody work of genius is powered by perfect performances, a crackerjack script and a real heart.

1) Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) - Often hailed as the greatest western ever made, this Sergio Leone is by far my favorite of the genre. It's one of my favorite films of all time and one of the most effortlessly cool cinematic experiences I've ever had. It's gorgeously shot, with one of the best Ennio Morricone scores. It also features Charles Bronson at his most badass alongside Henry Fonda in an against-type villain role. I won't spoil the resolution of the revenge-soaked masterpiece, but I will say it's one of the all-time great movie climaxes.

Why I can't get excited about 'Green Book'

There's one big Oscar movie this season that I am sort of dreading, perhaps unfairly, and it's the new movie Green Book.

It's getting rave reviews, and is appearing on virtually every Oscar shortlist out there, showing staying power in many major categories.

I like a lot of the comedic work of the director Peter Farrelly (he and his brother made Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin and There's Something About Mary), I love the lead actors Viggo Mortenson and Mahershala Ali -- but the film's trailers have left me with very mixed feelings.

While I am sure it's well made and well acted, it feels like the latest in a long line of well-intentioned movies out of Hollywood that seem to tell their audience "aren't you glad racism is over" or "man, isn't racism bad" through the lens of a white character observing the life of a black character, who in turn enriches them and makes them a better person.

Now, this is entirely unfair of me. I am literally basing all of my skepticism on a single ubiquitous trailer. Of course, it's totally possibly that Green Book is irrepressibly beautiful and charming story of a real-life interracial friendship that portrays a compelling Civil Rights era context. But, I do feel wary of films like this (and I include The Butler, a film made by a black director, Lee Daniels, in this category, too.) which seem to want to leave audiences with a feel-good attitude about race in America.

Great films about the era, like Ava DuVernay's Selma are unflinching about the stakes, the prescience and the real players in the events that took place. They don't require a white knight, white liberal hero to be an audience surrogate -- I'm looking at you The Help -- and so they are not weighed down by forced sentimentality or let anyone off the hook because of a little historical distance from the action.

I fear that Green Book is patting itself on the back for being a kind of reverse Driving Miss Daisy, where the black character appears to have higher status and more agency. But there's a reason that Mortenson is campaigning for Best Actor while Ali is relegating to supporting in this year's Oscar sweepstakes, because this is a movie about Mortenson's character.

Again, I need to see it. I need give it a chance to surprise me. Mortenson and Ali are such warm and lovely performers that I could see it winning me over despite my reservations. But I do want this to be the last film about the black experience from the perspective of a white person.

There have been films like this I have enjoyed in the past. I think Alan Parker's Mississippi Burning is a masterpiece even if it is about white FBI agents investigating the murder of predominately black civil rights workers.

I think the movie works because it is up front about the fact that it is about a fish out of water (Willem Dafoe) being forced to see bigotry up close and learning to embrace the hard-nosed rule breaking tactics of a veteran agent and southern native (played to perfection by Gene Hackman) to seek justice. It is not a feel-good movie per se (even if the bad guys are eventually arrested) and it doesn't turn its white protagonists into flawless superheroes.

That said, 30 years later, that film also stands as an example of when Hollywood was still too scared to tell stories about this country's dark racial past from the perspective of the people who were most affected by it -- African-Americans.

In 2018, we should be doing better, more nuanced things. Predominately black films have had enough commercial success (hell, the biggest movie of the year, and currently this decade is a nearly all-black superhero movie) that you can't argue anymore that audiences won't go to see movie like this without a white lead.

Why couldn't the Mortenson character be the supporting one and the film just be about Ali's pianist character? It's a question I ask myself every time I see ads for this film. And hopefully, I won't be still asking myself that when I eventually drag myself to see it.

RIP Max von Sydow: His remarkable career will never get old

I was just recently joking around with a friend about actors who seems like they have been 'old forever' -- Donald Sutherland came to mind. So did Robert Duvall. The dean of that type though just might have been acclaimed Swedish actor Max von Sydow, who passed away at age 90 today.

Max von Sydow has looked like a wise old man for decades -- and it doesn't help that one of his more iconic roles came when he was a younger man in old age make-up.

He had an astoundingly durable career -- starring in Ingmar Bergman dramas in the 50s and appearing in The Force Awakens just five years ago.

I will always remember his booming, emotional voice -- one that always made him a credible and charismatic heavy -- even well into old age.

The Seventh Seal

Probably like most Americans, I first became aware of von Sydow because of his titular role in the 1973 classic The Exorcist. He actually doesn't have all that much screen time, but when he arrives on the scene it's the one and only time you think the demon villain of the movie can be defeated.

Director William Friedkin passed on the chance to cast a bigger name in that role, and there plenty of great age appropriate options at the time, but his good instinct was tap von Sydow, who was largely known only to hip filmgoers familiar with Bergman's filmography.

Had von Sydow only had his work with Bergman to show for himself he still would have had an iconic career.

His chess match with death in the spiritual and stunning The Seventh Seal, is not just one of the best known Bergman moments, but its a piece of cinematic history.

And despite his reputation as an incredibly serious actor -- von Sydow wasn't above slumming it in silly movies like Strange Brew and Flash Gordon. He also frequently popped up  as the villain in thrillers like Three Days of the Condor and Minority Report.

And he was always there, unlike some great actors who prematurely retired (I'm looking at you Gene Hackman) he kept at it and continued to say relevant with the projects he chose like Game of Thrones, giving his career a distinguished longevity.

Hopefully, fans of all the big budget spectacles he appeared in later in life will be keen to re-examine his work with Bergman, his early Hollywood roles in the 1970s and curios like the small put pivotal role he plays in Hannah and Her Sisters, one of the best movies directed by he who shall not be named.

Faye Dunaway deserved better: Looking back at 'Mommie Dearest'

I've written about Mommie Dearest here before. It's not just a camp classic, it's a thing to behold. Faye Dunaway's lead performance is beyond over the top -- it's pure insanity -- but also sort of breathtaking and unforgettable.

What's infuriating and sort of tragic is that this film (which has since been embraced as a cult film) effectively ruined her career.

In the wake of #MeToo, we've started to be forced to yet again look at Hollywood's policy of banishing actresses long before they're ready to pack it in. Of course, rejecting lecherous producers' advances is far from the only reason talented women have been sidelined.

In Dunway's case, the reputation for being 'difficult' is largely what dogged her -- and she very well might have been -- but being combative never seemed to hurt most male performers' careers in the slightest.

Faye Dunaway, still a babe.

During the '70s in particular, following her iconic, breakthrough '60s role in Bonnie & Clyde, Dunaway had quite a remarkable run -- with both Chinatown and Network making many all-time greats lists -- and she scored other box office hits with movies like The Towering Inferno and Three Days of the Condor.

By the time Mommie Dearest came along she was a major, in-demand draw. And when it bombed, she became something of a pariah. Yes, she did continue to work for many years, and she deserved some of the blame for picking bad projects like Supergirl. Yes, there was some unfortunate plastic surgery too, but more than a few male actors have made that mistake too and still succeeded professionally.

But how many bad movies did an actor like Matthew McConaughey have before he made his big career comeback? How many bad movies has Nicolas Cage made, and he's still hanging around, God bless him.

Male actors get a million opportunities, no matter how bad their box office or how awful their off-screen transgressions. Hell, Kevin Spacey is still appearing in movies, for God's sake.

The death of Burt Reynolds got me thinking about this -- and don't get me wrong I loved Burt Reynolds -- but the dude also got a million career life preservers, and he still is barely relevant to any filmgoer under 30.

A co-worker and I were just musing about how younger people probably have no idea who Gene Hackman is. And what about Faye Dunaway? She will sadly be best remembered now by young people as the actress who accidentally flubbed the Best Picture announcement alongside Warren Beatty (another icon becoming rapidly unsung) at the Oscars almost two years ago.

She deserves better. Better than the backlash to Mommie Dearest, better than the exile she has largely experienced over the last several decades. There are so many actresses like her who deserve second chances. They have gravitas and grit -- skills that are sorely lacking among the younger crop of up-and-coming stars.

They're just waiting for that part that is worthy of them, that will remind audiences of why they fell in love with them in the first place.

A couple years back Lily Tomlin gave a glorious, career-best performance in Grandma. That's the kind of work I'm talking about! And I don't want to hear about how audiences don't want to see older women in movies because Book Club made close to $70 million largely thanks to Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen.

It just takes a little courage, and some respect.

Caan Film Festival: An appreciation for an underrated actor

When people talk about the male acting giants of 1970s cinema, you normally hear names like Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman and Robert Redford, but rarely do you hear the name James Caan.

Partially this is a problem of his own making. At the height of his career drug abuse and poor choices (he turned down leads in The French Connection, Apocalypse Now, Blade Runner, Superman and Close Encounters, just to name a few) sidetracked what should have been a dominant run as a leading man.

Today, he is probably still best known for his most iconic role, as the bombastic and temperamental Sonny Corleone in The Godfather, and perhaps by a younger generation of viewers as the cantankerous father of Will Ferrell's titular character in Elf.

A recent retrospective at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, NY took great pains to rectify the oversight of Caan, showing some of his best movies -- most from his reign as an A-list star in the 1970s. Last night I had the pleasure of watching one of his best performances (and films), the 1974 James Toback-penned drama The Gambler.

In the film, Caan plays an erudite professor who moonlights as an addictive gambler. The film is a fascinating character study -- you really are placed within the world of a man who is in the midst of a dark descent, and Caan never tries to make his character more sympathetic or soft.

Unlike a lot his acting peers of this era, Caan almost always played hyper-masculine, uncompromising characters, which shouldn't work but somehow does because of this honesty and intensity of his performances. It's part of what made his Sonny Corleone so striking, even though he enjoys far less screen time than Pacino's Michael Corleone.

James Caan in Thief

Sonny Corleone is an abusive, racist, ignorant and crude man -- but he has a good heart. That just comes across. He has a sense of humor, that comes across too. And he has the kind of sex appeal that you have to acknowledge, even if its begrudgingly.

In a way, Caan could never escape that role, even though he wasn't even Italian. And unfortunately, it's not even his greatest role -- that would be Michael Mann's Thief, which came nine years later. That film probably best exemplifies Caan's star appeal -- it's terse, efficient and thoroughly badass.

For Caan newbies, these are -- for my money -- the must see films.

Brian's Song (1971) - This TV movie, about the ill-fated Chicago Bears running back Brian Piccolo could have been just saccharine silliness, but Caan makes Piccolo such a warm and affable hero that you can't help but be moved when his life takes a tragic turn. Long hailed as men's favorite weepie, the movie works because of his believable work alongside Billy Dee Williams.

The Godfather (1972) - Caan also tested for Michael Corleone, but he would have been all wrong as a shy and quiet character who eventually develops his inner demon. Caan's Sonny is hot wired and ready for action from the very beginning. He's the movie's raging id -- his assault of the wife beating Carlo is an amazing case study in macabre audience wish fulfillment.

The Gambler (1974) - One of Caan's most intense and revelatory performances. He plays a totally reckless and hard man, he cuts and impressive figure even if it's a vicious one. I have never seen a film deal so effectively with this kind of addiction (with drugs and alcohol its easier to externalize, but with gambling its more internal). Caan should have been Oscar-nominated for this underrated treasure. And the ending shot is unforgettable.

Freebie and the Bean (1974) - An early prototype for the blockbuster mismatched buddy cop action movie, starring Caan as the loose cannon and Alan Arkin as his slightly more buttoned up partner. A raucous and proudly politically incorrect movie, full of car chases, elaborate crashes and cuss words. What makes it work is the unlikely chemistry between Caan and Arkin, who often improvised their dialogue throughout. Apparently, Stanley Kubrick was a big fan of this movie.

Rollerball (1975) - Caan was always a magnificent physical actor and he was uniquely authentic is action movie roles at a time when most star relied on easily spotted stunt men. This bizarre but entertaining sci-fi film -- which is set in a dystopian future where the whole world is captivated by an uber violent speed-skating version of rugby -- is a great vehicle to see Caan strut his stuff as a beefcake tough guy. I've never seen the remake but I can only assume it pales in comparison.

Thief (1981) - As I've said before this is the greatest part James Caan ever played. His character Frank feels like perhaps his most personal -- he's a desperate man, eager to make himself respectable with a normal family life. The real life Caan was fighting to reassert his dominance as a movie star in a period where his films had begun to over-perform and his reputation had suffered. The film unfortunately didn't prove to the comeback he needed, but it has since grown to be embraced as a classic.

Misery (1990) - That comeback finally came nine years later with his role opposite Kathy Bates in this critically acclaimed hit horror film. Ironically, Caan -- who spent a career passing on great roles -- got this part after much Hollywood's A-list turned it down. They figured that because his character (an author who's been crippled by a car accident and becomes captive by his number one fan) would be too passive, but they were wrong. Caan's athleticism and dry humor are used to devastating effect here and his clever underplaying works beautifully alongside Bates' broader work.

Bottle Rocket (1996) - In the last twenty years, Caan has moved into more supporting roles and the best of the early ones was a bit part in Wes Anderson's new film. His character, the avuncular and mysterious veteran criminal Mr. Henry feels like an homage to his performances as the consummate macho ideal in movies like Thief. He is relaxed, funny and smart -- something the real life Caan is supposed to be as well.

RIP Richard Donner: The man who made superhero movies legit

I guess to some extent we have Richard Donner to blame. Had his 1978 classic Superman failed we might never have seen big screen superhero epics emerge as the dominant cultural force they are. Still, the late filmmaker (he died yesterday at 91) didn't stop there. He reinvented 'cop' movies with his four Lethal Weapon films -- two of which are great. He also made a kid's film that is seminal for a whole generation and a modern holiday classic which has also become a cable TV staple around Christmas.

I remember seeing on Wikipedia that Donner was slated to direct a theoretical Lethal Weapon 5, which would have reunited the embattled to say the least Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. It seemed a little far fetched that this movie would happen but also its a tribute to Donner's longevity that I wouldn't have been shocked if it did indeed eventually get made.

Donner was widely beloved by his peers and his personal buoyancy clearly carried over into his best films. No one is going to rank him among the great auteurs but he knew how to make a crowd pleasing hit, that's fo sure. And although his career was not without it's share of failure -- 1982's The Toy is both one of the worst movies I've ever seen and one of the most racially insensitive -- he also left behind some films that are going to be viewed over and over again for decades, which is all any director could hope for. 

Here are my favorite films of his long and varied career:

The Omen - The movie that was Donner's breakthrough is sometimes overshadowed by the other great '70s horror film, The Exorcist. It treats its absurd premise -- the devil's spawn teams up with a psychotic nanny to wreak havoc -- with credibility and features a solid late career lead performance from Gregory Peck. A fun, fast-paced pop horror film.

Superman - Although the experience took a bad turn with his firing from Superman II, Donner's vision and execution of this movie is note perfect. He managed to wrangle Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman and turned Margot Kidder and especially Christopher Reeve into stars. A movie that works for every generation and is still arguably one of the high water marks of the genre.

Inside Moves - A smaller, more intimate film than Donner became known for features a very moving performance by the underrated John Savage as a physically disabled man who befriends a basketball player and finds a new lease on life. If this film had been better received commercially I'd be curious to know what direction Donner's career would have taken, but ultimately he was a blockbuster guy.

The Goonies - It took me longer to embrace this loud, raucous '80s kid comedy than most. It definitely wasn't a movie I grew up with (we were more of an Indiana Jones household) but now I see it's ramshackle charms. The movie is a bit of a mess and beyond ridiculous, but it's easy to see why kids can't get enough of it. It's the ultimate staying home from school and the parents aren't around movie.

Lethal Weapon - People don't realize what a gamble this movie was back in 1987. Danny Glover was best known for a dramatic role in The Color Purple and while the Mad Max films had a cult following here in the states, Mel Gibson was far from the A-list leading man he would become. The darkest entry in the series (Gibson is suicidal) and the most satisfying. It became the gold standard of mis-matched cop buddy movies.

Scrooged - It was an infamously troubled production and he clashed with star Bill Murray, but the result is an angry, unconventional holiday movie classic that showcases Murray when he was neck and neck with Eddie Murphy for the mantle of biggest comedy star in the world. I've learned over the years, it is definitely not for everyone's taste. But it's a really creative reboot of most iconic Christmas story ever.

Lethal Weapon 2 - Donner goes bigger and bolder with this victory lap of a sequel. Sometimes this one is conflated with the original -- but it adds more comedy, some Joe Pesci and some very nasty international villains ("Diplomatic immunity!"). The franchise would start to lose it's way a bit after this one, although all the films are fairly watchable. The dude knew how to shoot a good balls to the wall action sequence, that's for sure.

Touchdown! My favorite sports movies of all time

To commemorate the Super Bowl I thought I'd take a look back at my favorite sports movies of all time -- with a few caveats of course.

I won't include comedies like Caddyshack (1980), Kingpin (1996) and Talladega Nights (2006), as much as I love those movies -- and I do -- they're not the kind of earnest sports movies I had in mind when coming up with this list.

I am also not going to include movies like Raging Bull (1980), The Wrestler (2008), The Hurricane (1999) and The Hustler (1961) (or its sequel The Color of Money (1986)) because for me they're more dramatic character studies than pure "sports films."

Ironically even though I am a huge football and basketball fan there have been very few, if any, movies about those sports which I have really loved.

I know there a lot of diehard Hoosiers (1986) fans out there, but for me that movie was just alright and I am big Gene Hackman fan. And while I am not particularly nuts about baseball -- it does tend to spawn some of the best sports movies.

Perhaps it's the old fashioned quality of the game, the sort of legendary feel of it. But for me more traditional sports like baseball and boxing almost always make for more moving, even spiritual sports films.

Rocky (1976)
One of my all-time favorite films. I really like most of its sequels as well (IV is campy fun but not very good and V is unwatchable -- but I quite like all the others). It's a simple story amazingly well-told and acted and you really feel so invested in that final fight because of the time and care put into crafting the Rocky character and the people around him.

Sylvester Stallone's career may have been overwhelmed by vanity and indulgence (his recent output has seemed like an increasingly desperate attempt to reclaim former glory) but he really tapped into something magical here.

Field of Dreams (1989)
Speaking of magical...this movie (as hokey as it is) still manages to move me. The performances are uniformly excellent -- remember when Kevin Costner was a bonafide movie star? So many indelible, great movie "moments" here. From "if you build it they will come" to James Earl Jones' incredible monologue about how timeless baseball is to Burt Lancaster's emergence into the modern world to just Ray Liotta's compelling gravitas -- this movie really warms your heart.

Bull Durham (1988)
In a way this movie is everything Field of Dreams is not, and it ironically stars Costner also, in what is probably his greatest role. Cynical, sexy and smart this movie is a showcase for its three leads (including the gorgeous Susan Sarandon and a hilarious Tim Robbins). This small-scale story really gets at how the players are and what makes them tick (sex) and how tough the game can be on the people that love it. A classic that has sadly gone forgotten over the years.

The Natural (1984)
I am a massive Robert Redford fan, and this is probably his most rousing mainstream movie star performance. The soaring score, the unabashedly sincere script and elements of fantasy make for a very attractive mix is this beautifully photographed baseball epic. Another movie that taps into the mythology and glory of baseball heroics. And it's got a magic bat!

Slap Shot (1977)
If you like your sports movies with more of an edge I highly recommend this politically incorrect romp through the minor league hockey world starring Paul Newman. He considered his role as the foul-mouthed over-the-hill team captain Reggie Dunlop his favorite and it's not hard to see why -- Newman has never been more hilarious and the raucous, crude spirit of this movie is infectious.

That's all for now folks. Enjoy the Super Bowl and go Seahawks!