Binge-watching Bond part 1: 'Dr. No'

Sean Connery in Dr. No

My girlfriend and I have indulged in epic marathons in the past.

We've watched all the Terminator, Rambo, Superman, Rocky and Godfather films in a row for instance.

But to coincide with the highly anticipated release of the new James Bond film Spectre this fall -- and for pure fun and excitement -- we've decided to watch every official 007 movie in order over the next several weeks and offer our takes on each one in blog form.

Now, there are over twenty Bond films so this is going to take a few months -- but as a die hard fan of the series, this will hardly be a chore.

I love James Bond, albeit as something of a guilty pleasure, for loving the series requires an acknowledgment that at least in its early years it popularized some truly unforgivable misogyny.

At it's core, James Bond is wish fulfillment for little boys -- and the little boy in me ate it up. My strict parents rarely let me rent films that rose beyond a PG-13, so as a child I found early solace in the Bond films, which had plenty of sex and violence, but were all PG. Believe it or not, Roger Moore was my entry point into loving the character, although I came to see how critical viewers consider Sean Connery and now Daniel Craig as superior interpretations.

Ursula Andress in Dr. No

Liz, my girlfriend, has I believe only seen a handful of the films before, which is exciting for me because watching them with her will be like -- more often than not -- watching them all over again for the first time.

The way we want to structure these posts is that I will give my take on the film and then after viewing it Liz will give hers and we'll continue to do this until we're at the finish line.

The first Bond film came out back in 1962 and it still holds up in my opinion. It's Dr. No. My first thoughts are that although the series was just getting started several key elements are all here in vivid detail.

The incredibly gorgeous Ursula Andress may be the most stunning Bond "girl" of them all and she set the bar high for every starlet that follows in her footsteps. Connery just owns this character from the moment he is introduced and he establishes that while Bond is undeniably the hero, he is also cold-blooded, even cruel when he needs to be.

The Dr. No villain fits the prototype for future baddies of the Connery era. He's an egomaniac, foreign and seems to be beyond any established political ideology. Still, without gadgets or some of the more flashy elements which would eventually become the series' trademark, this first film doesn't skimp on the excitement or sex appeal.

It's definitely one of my favorite of the Connery Bonds which peak for me with From Russia with Love and Goldfinger. And while the plots would become increasingly fantastic, the Bond character remains the epitome of cool and calm under pressure.

Liz's take: I thought Dr. No was a really cool villain, I want to live in his evil lair. Or at least steal all the things in it. I like that there was a build up to finding out who he is (similar to the reveal of the shark in Jaws). Honey (Ursula Andress) was a cool character because she is always itching to get into the fight -- even when they don't let her. And any woman who wears a dagger on her hip is cool in my book, even though she somehow lost her pants by the end of the movie. There was also plenty of eye candy for the ladies -- Bond was shirtless and/or wet for almost the entire last act -- no complaints.

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.

'Ready Player One' promises to be a return to 'fun' Spielberg films

Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg is one of the greatest directors of all time -- even many of is detractors will admit this and yet with a few exceptions his films over the last couple decades have been portentous and serious affairs than the escapist fare that made him a household name.

I get it, as he grew older Spielberg yearned for respectability. And he got it. He's now a two-time Best Director Oscar winner, he can make anything he wants with whoever he wants. And yet he works more infrequently now and usually shies away from the blockbuster material.

That's why I am greeting the news that he plans to adapt the exciting and inventive sci-fi novel Ready Player One with tremendous excitement.

I respect and appreciate the director of Lincoln, but I miss the Spielberg who made E.T., Jaws, Close Encounters, and the original Indiana Jones trilogy.

Sure, Spielberg has shown glimmers of his old showmanship, particularly with his wildly underrated, computer animated tour-de-force, The Adventures of Tintin. But Ready Player One promises to be far more ambitious, while at the same time, a delightfully ambitious return to form.

For those of you who are unfamiliar, author Ernest Cline's Ready Player One is a pop culture junkie delight. It's set in a future universe where the entire population is caught up in elaborate treasure hunt devised by a recently deceased mogul. This uber-rich, Willy Wonka type figure was a recluse, with an obsession with 1980s pop culture. He has set up a complicated game which requires exceptional knowledge of the films, music and television of Reagan era. In other words, the more War Games dialogue you know, a better player you are.

It gets far more complicated than that -- there's an unlikely romance and some very elaborate action scenes (that will be very hard to realize on screen realistically) -- but ultimately it's a fun, far-from-pretentious adventure book, more Back to the Future than The Matrix, and I had a ball reading it.

Spielberg, because of his identification with the '80s, is the perfect director to helm this project. He's always shown a great sense of humor and pathos in his best work and he's also always been at the forefront of technology in the film. The key is that he knows how to let special effects serve his story, instead of overwhelm it.

I'd love to see Spielberg wow us again like he did with say, Jurassic Park, with his sheer audacious showmanship. Now that he's proven several times that he can tug on our heartstrings and be a critical darling, I'm ready to see him put all of these pretenders who have tried to assume his mantle to shame.

If you study the so-called film brat generation of the '60s and '70s as I religiously do, you'll find that Spielberg has always had the reputation of being the "safe one" who was afraid to take on the suits. And, as he nears 70, he is about to take on something that would probably prove too daunting for a director half his age.

But I think he's still got a little fire in him as a filmmaker.

Has Kevin Hart been crowned the king of comedy too soon?

In the modern black comedy pantheon there is Richard Pryor first, then came Eddie Murphy -- who both stole from Pryor and surpassed him in terms of range and popularity.

The heir to Murphy's throne has not been as clear. Chris Rock certainly occupied it in the world of stand up but his film work, save for his recent resurgent role as the writer-director-star of Top Five, has never been up to par with his talent.

Dave Chappelle had the potential to capture the comedy zeitgeist but he has chosen to stay under the radar. Into the void stepped Kevin Hart, who despite a very devoted following, has never really bowled me over.

Don't get me wrong, when I see him in interviews and occasionally catch his stand up, I think he's a funny, talented guy. I just don't think he is the transcendent comedy star that his predecessors Pryor and Murphy were.

Still, he seems to be one of the hottest performers at the movies right now. Almost every month there is a new Hart vehicle in theaters. Yet not a single one of them looked appealing or funny to me. It seems like most if not all of his movies are a succession of short guy put downs met by a panicked or angry meltdown from Hart,

It seemed like he deserved a better movie. When I first saw the trailers for Get Hard, I was excited. I thought Hart looked like he was stepping up his game by starring alongside the reigning MVP of big screen comedy, Will Ferrell. Trading Places comparisons were inevitable, but I thought the premise of faux tough guy training a pompous snob for prison could be funny.

Eddie Murphy in Raw

Now that the reviews are in, my hopes for this film and for Hart's career in the short term, are fading.

According to widespread critical consensus, the film relies on tired gay panic humor and even more problematic racial stereotyping. Ferrell's movies have always had a field day thumbing their nose at political correctness but apparently this film is more offensive than outrageous -- and that's really disappointing.

I can't shake the feeling that Hollywood is so desperate to make Hart the "new Eddie Murphy" that they aren't letting it happen organically and his movies aren't getting better -- if anything they appear to be getting worse.

Even if this movie is the misstep it's being called I'm not ready to throw in the towel on Ferrell. He just may be my favorite comedy star working in Hollywood right now and he's made consistently hilarious movies for the last 12 years. Still, it's disappointing that at this stage of his career he's apparently regressing with this kind of lowest common denominator fare.

Of course I haven't seen the movie yet, and perhaps all the early reviews are way off base. I don't know. I rarely if ever see movies with terrible reviews because I almost always end up agreeing with the critics.

So it may be a while yet before I hop aboard the Kevin Hart bandwagon.

In defense of Francis Ford Coppola's post-'Apocalypse Now' career

Rumble Fish

I should preface this post by saying that Francis Ford Coppola is one of my favorite directors of all time.

If he never made anything besides The Godfather and The Godfather Part II he would be a legend, but his remarkable run of '70s films also includes the classics: The Conversation and Apocalypse Now.

Unfortunately his work after this fertile period tends to get a bad rap.

Some of this is well-deserved. I have never seen Jack for instance, but most reasonable people tell me I'm not missing anything.

I also haven't seen his trio of reportedly self-indulgent, self-consciously arty films that he has made recently and which have failed to gain wide distribution.

Still, I am a huge fan of some his later career films, even if there are a few abysmal misfires here and there (like the ill-fated One From the Heart).

In 1983, he made a pair of sensitive, earnest films inspired by S.E. Hinton's young adult novels, which were aimed at the youth audience of the time. Neither The Outsiders or Rumble Fish really connected with audiences when they were first released, but now both films stand out as cult favorites and legitimately satisfying art films.

For me Rumble Fish is the more successful of the two. It's a visual tour-de-force, with a terrific propulsive score and note perfect performances from one of the most incredible casts ever assembled. A young Matt Dillon, Diane Lane, Mickey Rourke, Laurence Fishburne, Nicolas Cage and Chris Penn all share the screen alongside the unpredictable Dennis Hopper.

Nostalgia seems like a recurring theme in Coppola's work in the 1980s. He followed up the two greaser films mentioned above with Peggy Sue Got Married and Tucker: The Man and His Dream, which are both movies which pay homage to the simplicity, innovation and sincerity (or at least the perception thereof) or an earlier time -- and most specifically Coppola's own adolescence.

Peggy Sue Got Married interestingly came out the year after another time-travel themed nostalgia piece, Back to the Future, but while the latter film relies heavy on (at the time) big budget special effects and the charms of a star (Michael J. Fox) with innate youth appeal -- Peggy Sue Got Married is a little more whimsical, and its framed from the perspective of a more middle aged character, played soulfully by Kathleen Turner.

By 1990, financial woes forced Coppola to craft a third entry in the The Godfather series. I've said it before and I'll say it again -- The Godfather Part III is a very good film, in fact several aspects of it are great. Pacino plays Michael Corleone as a broken man desperately clinging to the false hope that he can make his criminally mired family legitimate. Yes, the film is hamstrung by Coppola's stubborn insistence on casting his own daughter in a pivotal role -- but it doesn't ruin the movie.

Bram Stoker's Dracula

Sofia Coppola actually pops up in small roles in most of her father's latter career work until she became a formidable director in her own right. She might have developed into a fine actress someday, who knows. But it's clear she didn't have the range and gravitas she needed to pull off such a challenging role at that time.

Although the film was a success at the box office, it was a disappointment in relation to its cost. But in 1992 Coppola had his last -- albeit unlikely -- bonafide blockbuster with his lush and romantic retelling of Bram Stoker's Dracula. I have never been too interested in vampires, but this is my favorite film I've seen on the subject to date. Despite the inept performance of Keanu Reeves, this is a perfectly cast and beautiful looking film.

There were some quibbles then and now that the film isn't truly scary enough -- and I guess it might not satisfy audiences looking for pure horror. Still, it's a sumptuous and authentic retelling of the Dracula myth, with a never-better Gary Oldman in the title role.

The last film of Coppola's I've seen is the competent courtroom drama The Rainmaker, based on a John Grisham film. There is nothing in this film that possesses Coppola's trademark voiee or visual techniques, but it's a solid piece of entertainment, albeit inferior to other Grisham films like The Firm and The Pelican Brief.

At 75, Coppola is no longer a major force in Hollywood but his contribution to modern cinema is unparalleled. Any serious film buff should keep in mind that directors like Martin Scorsese, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg were all either proteges or acolytes of Coppola.

I would like to think he has one last masterwork left in him, and even if he doesn't I'll be enjoying the work he'd done to date for many years to come.

From 'The Jinx' to 'The Thin Blue Line': True crime is hard to top

Like so many people I have been riveted by HBO's docu-series The Jinx, and even more amazed at the real life consequences the show has had.

In this reality television age we live in, people are harder to shock than ever -- even when it comes to true life stories, and yet The Jinx's subject Robert Durst, was too fascinating to dismiss.

For those who are unfamiliar, Durst is an heir to a vast real estate fortune, who has been suspected in not one but three murders. One killing he admits to but claims self defense. 

And while he also admitted to dismembering the body of the man he killed, he was cleared by a jury of his peers.

Now, due to new evidence unearthed by the filmmakers of The Jinx for HBO, Durst has been charged with murder again. 

The filmmakers behind The Jinx are not new to the stranger-than-fiction drama. Their acclaimed 2003 film Capturing the Friedmans took an unconventional behind the scenes look at a truly eccentric family dogged by child abuse allegations.

As riveting as The Jinx was, I may be more partial to the earlier film, which really challenges your perceptions of guilt or innocence, who is believable and who isn't and just the very nature of this very sensitive type of crime.

Seeing these two assured pieces of work inspired me to revisit another acclaimed true crime film, the 1988 documentary The Thin Blue Line. That films look at a 1976 police shooting in Dallas where the cops zero in on one man as a suspect even when significant evidence seems to suggest another man is the culprit.

The movie succeeds as not just a compelling mystery but also as a chilling look at how the justice system can railroad seemingly innocent people due to both chance and calculated cruelty.

Audiences have always embraced these kind of stories, from In Cold Blood to Helter Skelter, to a certain extent because of our cultural attraction to the sick and violent side of human nature, but also because they are so fraught with drama and have so much more at stake (often the very lives of their protagonists). They are by their nature more shocking than any traditional narrative film.

Capturing the Friedmans

There are ethical questions these films raise too, particularly the techniques of the editors which may or may not be trying to illicit audience sympathy for one side or another. 

With each of these kinds of movies I am always intrigued to read up on what the film cut out as soon as they're done because I never trust that I am getting a full picture. And every time it turns out we're not. 

And as damning as the footage in The Jinx appears to be for Durst, it may not be the slam dunk many viewers assume it will be.

Still, the undeniable success and power of The Jinx suggest we could be in for a renaissance of a truly macabre and more meaningful dose of "reality" film-making. And I for one applaud that development.

Flashback 1985: My top 10 favorite movies from 30 years ago

Back to the Future

Following my post on my favorite movies from 10 and 20 years ago, here's the next one in my series of top tens -- my favorite movies from 1985.

This was another great year for pop entertainment -- I was 3 years old, this was the year my little sister was born and it was arguably the peak of one of my biggest comedy idol's career. But more on that later.

I had a really hard time narrowing this list down, because I have a lot of films I cherish from this year -- but alas this is what I came up with ...

10) The Purple Rose of Cairo - One of the few films of Woody Allen's that the director himself says he's totally satisfied with. It is also one of his most moving and sweet. A downtrodden housewife during the Depression-era (played by Mia Farrow) falls in love with a movie character (Jeff Daniels) who literally walks off the screen into her life. A whimsical fable that gets increasingly complex as it goes along -- the kind of thing Allen does best, he tread similar ground with Midnight in Paris.

9) The Color Purple - I saw Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Alice Walker's best-seller initially with a lot of skepticism. It has been widely criticized for watering down Walker's searing portrait of an impoverished black family in the 1930s South. While the film is less grueling, it is still incredibly powerful. Featuring stellar, Oscar-worthy performances from Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover and yes, Oprah Winfrey, this is a drama that really stands the test of time.

8) Brazil - Terry Gilliam's creative genius is on full display in this endlessly creative riff on bureaucratic evil and repression. This visually inventive -- and at times nightmarish -- black comedy is thought provoking and a total original. It's still my favorite Gilliam film (not counting Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which he co-directed) and its influence is still being felt today when it comes to how the movies portray the future.

7) Police Story - Hands down the coolest and most effective Jackie Chan movie I've ever seen. He's hilarious in this but also totally credible as an action hero. And unlike a lot of Chan's movies, the plot is not so bad that you have to look past it. This film features some of his most incredible, dangerous stunts of Chan's illustrious career and its breakneck pace never lets up. If you're looking for the ideal vintage Chan movie, I would start here.

6) Desperately Seeking Susan - A perfect time capsule of the art scene in New York in the mid-'80s. This movie is largely remembered for being Madonna's first major movie role, and she is terrific in it, but it's also a very sophisticated and clever look at identity, with some feminist asides thrown in. The real star of the show is the sexy and luminous Rosanna Arquette as a neglected wife who gets drawn into a brave new world after assuming the identity of a woman who's drama she follows in the personal ads.

Chevy Chase in Spies Like Us

5) Spies Like Us - The first of two classic Chevy Chase comedies to appear on this list. Chase was one of the top box office stars of the year, totaling three hits, each of which showcase him at this best. Here he makes an ideal partner for a droll Dan Aykroyd as two D.C. pencil pushers who are selected to be decoys for real CIA agents in serious harm's way. I grew up on this movie and have many of its lines committed to memory.

4) After Hours - One of Martin Scorsese's most underrated films is another great look at '80s-era New York City. It features an amazing cast of character actors, with Griffin Dunne in the lead, playing out one spectacularly crazy night in the Big Apple. Of course the NYC of today in no way resembles the grimy metropolis presented here, but that only makes the film more fascinating. It's full of adventurous camera trickery and stylish flourishes from a filmmaker really trying to work outside of his comfort zone.

3) Back to the Future - The biggest box office hit of the year is also one of the best releases of its era. A sci-fi movie, romance and comedy rolled into one irresistible package. I actually love the whole trilogy -- but the first film is definitely the best. Michael J. Fox has the iconic role of Marty McFly, the wannabe rock star teen whose best friend is inexplicably an aging scientist with a time machine (a note-perfect Christopher Lloyd). A genuinely smart and creative mainstream movie that just delivers on every conceivable level. So many modern blockbusters owe a little something to this one.

2) Witness - As I just recently said in my ode to Harrison Ford, this police drama features one of his greatest performances of all time. He scored his first, and so far only, Oscar nomination for his role as John Book, a Philadelphia cop who falls in love with an Amish woman and becomes a father figure to their son while hiding out with them to escape a ring of corrupt officers. A movie that has increasingly become an all-time favorite of mine. It's beautiful to look at and has one of the most sexy and affecting love stories I've ever seen.

1) Fletch - I've written about this one before -- one of my favorite characters of all time, my favorite journalism-themed movie ever and the poster for this hit comedy proudly sits on my apartment wall. There's been remake talk for years which I kind of hope never happens because this Chevy Chase vehicle is already perfection. He plays a wisecracking investigative reporter named Irwin Fletcher who takes on a series of personalities and disguises to expose a complex fraud scheme. And he's damn funny doing it.

That's my list -- I hope you like it. And stay tuned for my top 10 favorites from 40 years ago!

All hail Harrison Ford! Plane accident puts his legacy in perspective

Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones

I feel like my generation all collectively gasped when we first heard the news that Harrison Ford was in a serious plane accident. Not only because he over 70 years old now, but also because he means something to us.

Now that we all know he's ok -- although he did sustain some significant injuries -- people on the Internet are having fun with the story, photoshopping images of stormtroopers on the golf course where he landed, stuff like that.

This all makes sense -- we live in an age where sarcasm is always rewarded over sentiment.

It also doesn't help that much of Ford's best work dates back twenty years at least, so there isn't the same reverence for him that there once was.

That said, had he died this week or been hurt irrevocably it would have been profoundly tragic, because Ford is one of the greatest leading men in Hollywood history, and he also happens to be on of my favorite actors of all time.

Much of the media coverage surrounding his incident has identified him as the star of both the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises. This is understandable, they remain some of the highest grossing films of all time (Ford once held the record as the biggest box office star ever), and they are the roles he will always be identified with, no matter how much it seems to annoy him.

Han Solo or Indiana Jones? It seems impossible to decide which is the cooler character. Ford has always been partial to Jones, the thinking man's action hero. And while I love that character and resent the notion of anyone else ever playing him, I think I might be more of Han Solo fan. I love his swagger and his bravado, particularly in A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. He seems to cede the badass spotlight to Luke Skywalker in Return of the Jedi, but he's still the man.

Of course, Ford has done some truly outstanding work in several films outside of the George Lucas-Steven Spielberg wheelhouse. For instance ...

The Conversation (1974) - Ford is essentially a shadowy villain here in a totally against-type role opposite Gene Hackman in Francis Ford Coppola's dark thriller about a surveillance expert who gets too close to one of his clients. Ford is a silky and sinister operator here and his work in this film and five years later in Coppola's Apocalypse Now, suggest that he could have been an interesting character actor too if he never became the huge movie star he did.

Blade Runner (1982) - In the early 1980s, Ford had perhaps the greatest run of A-list movie star turns of any actor ever. In 1980 he did The Empire Strikes Back, in '81 Raiders of the Lost Ark and following this sci-fi classic he would do Return of the Jedi in '83 and Temple of Doom in '84. This was the one film that flopped and yet now it may be remembered as one of his most critically acclaimed and influential films.

Witness (1985) - Ford received his first and so far only Academy Award nomination for this amazing movie which works as both a romance and as a thriller. Ford plays a tough Philadelphia cop forced to hide out in an Amish community to both evade corrupt colleagues and protect a young boy and his mother who know more than they should about a murder. Ford has never been better.

Working Girl (1988) - He showed he could earnestly play comedy here in a movie that is really Melanie Griffith's show, although he gets top billing. They have real chemistry and he brilliantly plays off of her and off of Sigourney Weaver as her obnoxious boss. Ford has dipped his toes in comedy since, most recently in a very amusing cameo in Anchorman 2. He's always showed a light touch, particularly in the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films -- or even on late night shows, but it'd be nice to see him exploit it more.

Presumed Innocent (1990) - Quite possibly the most overlooked masterpiece of Ford's golden age, this riveting legal thriller has him playing a less noble hero than usual and boasts a devastating twist ending that sticks with you long after the movie is over. The film's greatest shot just plays out on Ford's face as he listens to the big reveal. One of the things I really appreciate about Ford is he was always a grown up and with a few exceptions he made movies squarely aimed at more mature filmgoers, this one is perfect example of that.

The Fugitive (1993) - This film just may feature my favorite Ford performance of all time. I can't think of a more sympathetic hero figure. His Dr. Richard Kimble is smart, industrious and driven -- he's been falsely accused of brutally murdering his own wife and he leads the audience on a desperate search to find the real killer while staying one step ahead of the authorities, led by Tommy Lee Jones in an Oscar-winning performance. Ford shows he's not afraid to be truly vulnerable here, something that set him apart from his more generic action star peers.

Clear and Present Danger (1994) - Other actors have and will play Jack Ryan (and I actually think Alec Baldwin probably did it the best in The Hunt for Red October) but Harrison Ford was the most iconic and had the most success in the role. Only perhaps Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington are as good at playing trustworthy, endearing good guys that you can root for. His role as a CIA "boy scout" would be boring if he didn't bring so much grit and determination to the proceedings.

Air Force One (1997) - Sure it's campy ("Get off my plane") and a little dated, but Ford was still legitimately kicking butt at 55 years old and made a convincing president of the United States to boot. Before he made a few too many movies where his family was being threatened, he made this blockbuster and it's an undeniably entertaining thrill ride. And he has great scenes opposite Gary Oldman as the boiler plate sadistic villain.

What Lies Beneath (2000) - This silly but stylish horror film was probably the last major hit Ford has had not counting his return as Indiana Jones in 2008 and his terrific supporting turn in the 2013 Jackie Robinson biopic 42. He shocked audiences by playing a truly evil character and seems to really relish upending his all-American hero persona. Sadly, his work since has been largely disappointing and with his age starting to show his affinity for action has limited him.

Still, there is great hope for this year's The Force Awakens, which will reunite him with original Star Wars stars Mark Hamil and Carrie Fisher. And there is also word that he will play a part in a continuation of the Blade Runner saga. It hards to think that someday he'll be gone and thankfully, for now, he isn't.

Why there really needs to be a remake of 'Unbreakable'

It's hard to believe now but there was a time when director M. Night Shyamalan was being hailed as the next Steven Spielberg. He's better known now for a brutal string of critical and commercial failures, the most recent of which -- After Earth -- may have irrevocably damaged Will Smith's standing as an A-list movie star.

The wunderkind behind The Sixth Sense has had diminishing returns with each new release, and yet he continues to arouse interest, if nothing else but because of the potential he once showed.

I recently did a revisit of one of his early cult hits, Unbreakable; a movie I mostly loved when it first came out but that was ruined for me with it's matter-of-fact title card ending.

Today, I think it would be an ideal movie to be remade because it has so many elements of greatness, but its execution is sorely lacking.

The movie came out in 2000, the year after The Sixth Sense became a surprise phenomenon and before the superhero movie boom was really in full swing. I think this hurt the movie in some major ways. First, I think audiences (and Shyamalan himself) were hoping for a repeat of The Sixth Sense. He had the same star (Bruce Willis), the same hushed (and I would argue, overly effected) dialogue, and the same eerie atmospherics. It also had a doozy of a twist ending, but one that inexplicably denies you a final act.

SPOILER ALERT: The movie reveals that Samuel L. Jackson's character -- who is obsessed with comic books -- has been causing tragic disasters in order to see if anyone emerges unscathed to be the superhero to his super-villain. We learn that he has found that man in Bruce Willis, who survived a train wreck he caused early in the film. This is a devastating, well-acted scene and could have led to some sort of confrontation, or dare I say it, action sequence.

Instead Willis' character walks away -- mortified. Now this ending could have still worked for me, it's arguably more realistic -- although the movie itself isn't really. The finale as is could have a certain dark quality to it, but then for God knows what reason Shyamalan sticks these hokey title cards on there to let you know Willis called the police and Jackson is in the nuthouse. Umm ok...

The movie was released by Touchstone (a.k.a. Disney) -- were they too afraid to have an ending where the bad guy sort of won? Perhaps, but that moment singlehandedly ruins a potentially fascinating film. I would also argue that Shyamalan's pacing doesn't do the material any favors either.

Bruce Willis in Unbreakable

I don't need movies to be fast-paced, some of my favorite movies ever are by most standards slow, but this material requires wit and humor and this movie is mostly devoid of that. Willis can be an effective leading man, but here he's drained of so much emotion he's almost comatose. Jackson fares better in his role but neither get enough screen time to really flesh out their characters much.

Instead, we're saddled with a poor man's Haley Joel Osment as a the requisite weepy kid -- who adds nothing to the movie but feeble attempts to pull on our heartstrings.

That said, there are some terrific sequences in the film. Shyamalan is not a great writer of dialogue but he knows how to stage suspense scenes with some real bite. And his concept, what if a superhero lived among us and he didn't even know it, is a grabber.

I just think it was the wrong time for this movie. Nowadays, virtually every weekend a new comic book franchise is launched, and this story could serve as an intriguing counterpoint to the pomp and circumstance of the Marvel universe. Typically great movies shouldn't be remade, and terrible ones almost never are, because who would waste the money.

Unbreakable falls into that middle ground. A story that could be exceptional and improved upon if the material is in the right hands. I don't know if it'll ever happen -- but it's been 15 years so I don't think it's too soon to remake this imperfect film.

Happy anniversary! My girlfriend's top 10 favorite movies

Elizabeth Rosado, my editor and best friend

Today is my two-year anniversary with my darling girlfriend, Elizabeth Rosado, the light of my life and the cream in my coffee.

She is, like me, an enormous movie fan and a little known fact is she eventually edits each and every one of these blog posts.

So needless to say, a tribute to her is long overdue.

In honor of the time we've spent together -- during which we've probably watched hundreds of films both on the big screen and at home, I am going to take a look at her top 10 favorite movies of all time.

She is not as rigid about her personal favorites as I am. I have so many I've had to bulk my list up to 30, whereas it took some prodding for Liz to pick her 10.

Nevertheless here they are in no particular order...

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) - Liz is an attorney and although she is not a trial lawyer like the protagonist of this film Atticus Finch (played brilliantly by Gregory Peck), she still has an innate, righteous sense of justice -- which is why, to a certain extent, I think this Oscar winner appeals to her. One of the things I love the most about her is her strong sense of right and wrong. She's one of the most humane, decent people I know and this film reflects her attitudes.

Under the Skin (2014) - I'll never forget seeing this film with Liz on the big screen. We were in midtown Manhattan, hardly a highbrow filmgoing crowd. There were walkouts, there were dumbfounded reactions -- but we were astounded. When we revisited this complex, unusual sci-fi film on bluray, we both fell in love with it all over again. My girlfriend is a passionate and devoted feminist, and she had a very strong read of this film as a meditation on the female body and how women's sexuality is valued.

Don't Look Now (1973) - Even though Liz is a lightweight when it comes to scary movies, she bravely took on this acclaimed, dark, brooding, psychological thriller (which happens to contain one the most satisfying sex scenes of all time) -- and she loved it. This fascinating, arty film is about a couple (Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie) haunted both literally and figuratively by the tragic death of their own child. It probably requires repeat viewings to be fully appreciated. But it's definitely one of the great films of the '70s.

Bob & Ted & Carol & Alice (1969) - When this comedy-drama ended (and without spoiling it, the film's finale is oddly poignant), Liz burst into tears. I couldn't comprehend why, but she articulated that the movie's inherent message affirming love moved her intensely. The film is a satirical look at two couples, one seemingly more sexually liberated and another presumably more uptight. The movie is infamous for its climax, which features a very tame attempt at an orgy. Not dated in the slightest, this smart movie has a lot to say about adult relationships.

Groundhog Day (1992) - Like any reasonable movie fan, Liz appreciates the work of Bill Murray. While for my tastes, Ghostbusters is the quintessential Murray vehicle, Liz is a hardcore Groundhog Day fan, and I can't blame her. This brilliant movie has a pitch perfect premise and a truly sweet and romantic core. Liz tells me she loves the idea of a man having to repeat the same day every day until he learns how to respect and please his ideal woman; I wonder if she's trying to tell me something.

The Swimmer (1968) - This oddball cult classic features Burt Lancaster in one of his greatest performances as an aging hunk with a mysterious backstory who is inexplicably dropping in on all his neighbors via their swimming pools. As the movie progresses it grows stranger and more foreboding, leading to a compelling reveal that makes everything that proceeded it somehow more profound. It's amazing that this character study was even made in retrospect, since in so many ways it was ahead of its time. I'm just glad it's sustained an audience and been rediscovered all these years later.

Burt Lancaster in The Swimmer

West Side Story (1961) - It's common knowledge that this update on the Romeo and Juliet mythology is one of the greatest musicals of all time, and it's also undeniably culturally insensitive. I always figure, being Puerto Rican, Liz would not be a fan of this film. But I guess it turns out the music and dancing in this gorgeous production is too irresistible to ignore. I definitely used to listen to the soundtrack to this film incessantly when I was a kid, so it always has held a soft spot in my heart. And it stars the iconic Natalie Wood (pictured above) who appears in two films on this list.

Clueless (1995) - So Liz and I have a pretty strong break when it comes to this one. I think it's one of the most overrated comedies of all time -- but this is one of her adolescent touchstones. Clearly, I was not the target audience, and I find it's catchphrase-heavy dynamic hopelessly dated (even though I always get a chuckle out of the late Brittany Murphy's "rolling with the homies" scene). I get it though -- the Jane Austen source material is right up Liz's alley (she is a sucker for period romances) and it was clearly a movie that spoke to her as a young girl growing up.

Highlander (1986) - Ok, so this movie is utterly silly. Not as bad as its infamously inept sequel -- but in my estimation this is 1980s sci-fi at its worst. But I'll be damned if Liz doesn't love this saga of an underground community of immortals that can only die when their heads get lopped off. I still am not sure why characters are routinely bellowing, "There can be only one!," or what Sean Connery is doing in this goofy movie -- but nevertheless this movie was one of Liz's childhood favorites, and I certainly have my fair share of guilty pleasures like this.

Serpico

Serpico (1973) - Liz feels very strongly about this based-on-a-true-story biopic of a crusading New York City cop who valiantly fought police corruption in the 1960s. Al Pacino, one of my all-time favorite actors, gives one of his greatest performances here -- he's so sympathetic and intense at the same time. Liz is well aware of the fact that the 1970s is my favorite film decade and she too appreciates the complexity and honesty of that era's best films. She also has a big heart -- and she really feels for the Serpico character, who ends up sacrificing everything for a truly noble cause.