Way back in 2014, I set out to review every film in the Warner Bros. 50 Film Collection. I did great at first! However, as the years (and responsibilities) piled up, this vow soon became an impediment to completing this formerly joyous task.
Instead of plowing through the collection the way I would binge-watch, say, Community, I found myself delaying the process because I knew that each entry would require a lengthy review on this humble blog. In fact, I’ve actually recently watched three of these films that I haven’t even reviewed yet!
The Last Duel, Ridley Scott’s latest effort, has much to like. The cinematography is very strong. The focus on the legal norms of the day, including the loophole of sorts exploited to arrive at the duel itself, is highly interesting. The action scenes are excellent. In particular, the titular duel is so well-choreographed that I actually wasn’t 
If it’s been a while since you’ve seen it, it may come as some surprise that Full Metal Jacket is part of a sub-set of films that include an iconic first portion, followed by a middling or flawed remainder that nobody really remembers because oh my God that first part! Other examples might include Stripes or Superbad, not that those films are anything like FMJ. Nor are they part of the 
NCAA Football, long a staple of the EA Sports gaming line-up, will cease to exist after the current version—a least under that name.
The next stop in my meandering, years-long journey through the 
The Color Purple has the distinction of being the most-nominated film not to win an Oscar. The 1985 adaptation of the Alice Walker novel earned an impressive 11 nominations, but failed to win a single Academy Award, tying the record held by mostly-forgotten 1977 ballet drama The Turning Point.
There are two vital pieces of insight I’ve learned about 
And, so, the first (and, presumably, only) season of WandaVision came to a conclusion with Episode 9, “The Series Finale.” Before I get into the spoiler-y bits, let me recap the key finale expectations I had after 
The Axis of Ego 
Untimely Movie Review – Warner Bros. 50 Film Collection: 1989-1994
Driving Miss Daisy (1989): Showing this film to the median 25-year-old in 2022 would be an interesting exercise. This movie depicts what most of us in the 80s and 90s believed to be a positive, hopeful representation of race relations, but today would likely be mocked or sharply criticized as naïve or condescending or worse. I’m not convinced that this shift is “progress.” Still, contemporary critics and the Twitterati would almost certainly pillory Morgan Freeman’s Hoke as demeaning or servile—even though that’s sort-of the point! In 1989, though, critics loved it, and the Academy honored it with a boatload of nominations, including Jessica Tandy becoming the oldest Best Actress winner, and Dan Aykroyd(!!!) getting a nomination for Best Supporting Actor. To date, it’s the last PG-rated movie to win Best Picture. For me personally, it’s fine, if a bit paint-by-numbers. It’s certainly better than some of the other films you’ll read about in a moment, although it’s probably one of the weaker Best Picture winners. The only thing that I actively disliked about Driving Miss Daisy was that I found it implausible that a backwoods highway patrolman would instantly identify the rather uncommon surname “Werthan” as Jewish.
Goodfellas (1990): Here’s where I drift in to heretical territory. Goodfellas is undoubtedly a strong movie. Let me say that at the outset. Excellent performances abound, including the best of Ray Liotta’s career. Here comes the “but.” But, I think Casino is actually a better version of this type of film. Goodfellas has some of the hallmark “Scorcese”-isms, including requiring a voiceover to drive the plot, and having some scenes that clearly include partial improvisation, but Casino handles both of these elements better. Goodfellas gets credit for coming first, but Casino took much the same formula and smoothed out some of the rougher edges. On the other hand, the rough edges are part of what so many people like about Goodfellas. For me, it’s a good movie that’s plagued a bit by the eternal “book-based-on-a-movie” challenge, where time leaps and glossing-over are necessary to fit the story within a three-hour window. But I don’t want it to sound like I don’t think Goodfellas is good. I absolutely do. I just wouldn’t put it in my top three of Scorcese’s movies—which is as much a testament to his work as it is to my opinion of Goodfellas. Continue reading →
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