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Alien (1979)

Not being a fan of either, I generally avoid sci-fi and horror films. This film is why I can’t avoid them completely. With its feet planted much more firmly in the sci-fi half of the equation, it has incredibly visual design in both the ship and the alternate lifeform. I’m overwhelmed with how perfect the design of the Xenomorph is. Seeing a picture of one, it has the look of a typical Giger design. On the ship, slithering through the shadows of the ship’s mechanics, it is perfectly camouflaged until the moment it decides to show its menacing self. They found an entire crew of extraordinary actors to man the craft, most impressively Sigourney Weaver of whom the entire movie could be summed up with the words ‘you really should listen to her.’  Scifi  Horror

Oscar Win: Best Effects, Visual Effects

Oscar Nomination: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration

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Radio Days (1987)

I admit that I’ve added all the Woody Allen Oscar nominations to The List so that I can’t be surprised by any additional films of his that I’d be forced by my own convictions to watch. Aside from his narration, his acting is largely absent from this one. A series of 1940s vignettes, the coming-of-age tale centers on the childhood memories of the narrator, very similar to A Christmas Story. While not as cohesive of a story as that other film, this one is held up by a great cast, including many old-time Allen regulars like Dianne Wiest, Diane Keaton, and Julie Kavner.

Oscar Nominations: Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration

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The Rocketeer (1991)

A little slow to start (I watched in two sittings and the second was definitely more engaging than the first), The Rocketeer picks up once stunt pilot Billy Campbell straps the rocket pack onto his back to become the Rocketeer. Trying to avoid the FBI, the Mob, and Nazis, he needs to keep the pack just long enough to save his girl played by Jennifer Connelly. It’s a decent family adventure with lots of 1930s Art Deco details. Extra camp provided by Timothy Dalton as an Errol Flynn-inspired Golden-Age Hollywood star.

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Come and See (1985)

If I’m going to subject myself to a war film, I prefer it to be the grim, realistic type versus the flag-waving, patriotic version. I have never seen another as dark as this one. More than once, I thought to myself that it would have been better for a character to have died than to have continued with the narrative set out for them. Filled with facial close-ups, every actor conveys the feelings of the soul-emptying desperation and despair of existing in a place under siege, none better than Aleksei Kravchenko as Flyora, a young Belarussian teen conscripted into the partisan forces. Is it no surprise that one of the best Russian films ever is so incredibly bleak?   War

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Sounder (1972)

For a film named after a dog character, the dog does not have a whole lot of screen time. Reading a synopsis for the novel, which I’ve never read, I greatly suspect the movie strayed a bit from its source material, particularly the ending. That said, the screenplay as is provides a rather uplifting story of a family of sharecroppers trying to survive during the Depression. Cicely Tyson and Paul Winfield are fine as the parents, but I took particular entertainment by the acting of young Kevin Hooks who carries the story.   Best Picture Nomination

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Actor in a Leading Role; Best Actress in a Leading Role; Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium

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The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)

Africa isn’t a country. Granted this is set in Kenya, filmed in South Africa, but I’m not sure a single character mentions a country name in the entire film. The story of the Tsavo man-eaters is competently told here. The big problem is the stars. Val Kilmer with his blonde tipped hair looks and acts like a stoned Iceman crash landed into the savannah. Michael Douglas on the other hand seems to think he was cast in a second Romancing the Stone sequel. I prefer to think that Douglas’s character didn’t actually exist and that Val was just hallucinating a long haired, supposed southern Civil War survivor as a spirit guide in his quest. The lions themselves are poorly animated and best served when they are only shown in shadows. Their glowing green eyes and the potato chip crunching sound they make as they are eating human legs is laughable.

Oscar Win: Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing

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Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)

Angry, unhinged Bette Davis is an aspiration. Here she is Charlotte, an eccentric who defiantly haunts her ancestral mansion, the site where her married lover was graphically hacked to pieces many years ago, a crime many locals believe she committed. Olivia de Havilland deliciously plays her cousin whom Charlotte hopes will help her in fighting the local highway commission. Olivia is perfection, using her sweet reputation as a façade on some darkness that is evidently hiding underneath. Agnes Moorehead wickedly adds to the cast as Charlotte’s only real ally. Young Bruce Dern is also great as the murdered lover. Rather surprised to see that the creepy song Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte became a hit and that it was composed by The Brady Bunch theme writer Frank de Vol.

Oscar Nominations: Best Actress in a Supporting Role; Best Cinematography, Black-and-White; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White; Best Costume Design, Black-and-White; Best Film Editing; Best Music, Original Song; Best Music, Substantially Original Score

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The Snoop Sisters (1972)

The Snoop Sisters may technically be considered a television show, but since I’d love for more people to be exposed to their delightfulness, I’m including them here. The series was included as one of the NBC Mystery Movie programs that included a number of mystery series such as Columbo and each ‘episode’ is over an hour long. The Snoop Sisters stars Helen Hayes and Mildred Natwick as a pair of elderly sisters, the former a prolific, mystery novelist and the latter a widow who wrote the dictation for the novels. Of course they are drawn into various stories of intrigue because of their mystery connection. The sisters are delightfully amusing and make the five films completely worth their time. The series also features the likes of Bernie Casey, Vincent Price, Alice Cooper, and Paulette Goddard in her last role.

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Born Into Brothels (2004)

I spent my time watching this being extremely torn. There’s the strong pull to want to ‘save’ these kids from the future that is most likely to look just like their parents’ present. But is it really the job of an outsider to swoop in and ‘fix’ someone else’s system? Helping even a handful of individuals, while worthwhile, won’t necessarily solve the problems in the brothels. At the conclusion of the film, I ended up hoping that it had just concentrated on the lessons and experiences with photography that the kids delighted in, even if it was just illustrating a short chapter in their lives. An epilogue could have been tacked on to give insight into whatever long term benefits those experiences had given them.

Oscar Win: Best Documentary, Features

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The Package (1989)

There is nothing like portrayals of the 1980s obsession with the Cold War. This is a fun romp of a conspiracy thriller involving a plot, that includes members of both sides, to disrupt a disarmament agreement by assassinating the leader of the USSR. Gene Hackman is solid as the service member tasked with figuring out and bringing down the conspiracy. He’s assisted by the likes of Joanna Cassidy, Dennis Franz, and Pam Grier; the film could have benefited by giving Grier specifically more screen time. Tommy Lee Jones and John Heard add to the stellar cast as members of the conspiracy.

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