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The Most Underrated Movies of All-Time  

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It's been far too long since I posted a list blog post on here. After watching Inception rise to #3 on the IMDB Top 250 (now I think that's a bit too high even for a 5 JR film) I got to thinking.... which movies that are not on the top 250 deserve to be there. A few immediately came to mind and I present to you my personal list of the five most underrated movies in cinematic history (well actually just the past 20 years).



This film features what I consider to be Billy Bob Thornton's best performance (although I have not seen Sling Blade). A dark disturbing drama from Sam Raimi (one of his best films) that illustrates how money can ruin relationships. It includes two great staring turns by Bill Paxton and Bridget Fonda. This is a tense movie that unravels brilliantly in front of the viewer.


Robert Redford and Sidney Poitier lead an all-star cast including Mary McDonnell, Ben Kingsley, Dan Akyroyd and a just-before-death River Phoenix. The entire movie deals with espionage, code breaking and various levels of spy stealthdom. You will not be bored at all in this movie. In my opinion this is Redford's most memorable role. NO MORE SECRETS

#3 - Dark City

This movie is just plain awesome. From The Strangers (darkly-dressed weird dudes with funky names like Mr. Hand and Mr. Wall) and their building changing abilities to a pre-24 Keifer Sutherland and his creepy stammering way of speaking, this movie is the type of oddball futuristic science fiction film that appeals to me. It's obvious that The Matrix and Inception borrowed some ideas from this groundbreaking 1998 film.


The movie that single handedly launched the poker boom in the USA. Matt Damon and Edward Norton give great realistic performances and John Malcovich is in top form as Teddy KGB. For guys who enjoy playing some cards, this is a top five all-time classic. It totally deserves to be in the IMDB Top 250.


David Fincher. Michael Douglas. Sean Penn. Perfect casting and a totally original and mind-bending plot make this one of my favorite films of all-time. The audience is in for a wild ride from start to finish. Because of the excellent twists and turns of the plot, this movie is best during the initial viewing but I still find myself putting down the remote every time I come across it on cable. If you haven't seen The Game, do yourself a favor and go rent it tonight.

Honorable Mention goes to The Sandlot, Sweeney Todd, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and of course Ghostbusters II which all deserve to be in the top 250 on IMDB.

I'm sure I'm missing some more obvious ones that others can chime in on. Some that deserve to be removed from the Top 250 (in my opinion) are: The Green Mile, Donnie Darko, Ed Wood and No Country For Old Men.

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Review: Inception  

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It's very rare when a movie comes along that brings something entirely new to the idea of storytelling. In 2000, a film called Memento started the whole temporal narrative trend that has since been adopted by popular fare such as Lost, Flash Forward, and Star Trek (the new one). Christopher Nolan's Memento was unique and made the audience re-think the traditional structure of a film plot. 10 years later he's done it again by creating an original story that deals with different levels of reality. Rather than going back and forth through time, the story of Inception takes the audience through multiple sub-levels of conscious. It's a ride I haven't experienced at the movies in a while and the end result is remarkably original and extremely engaging and interesting to take in as a viewer.


Of course it doesn't hurt that Nolan assembled the perfect cast for this movie. Ellen Page (Juno), Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (who has gone from a goofy kid in Angels in the Outfield to a LEGIT actor) and Marion Cotillard (Oscar winner for La Vie En Rose) are all very good in their roles as members of an elite dream extraction team. I know, dream extraction itself is a far fetched idea but one that is made completely plausible in the world that Nolan builds for his audience. This film wouldn't be what it is however without yet another strong performance by the best actor working today, Leonardo DiCaprio. Leo cranks out hit after hit and is always dependable at his craft. You know when you go to see a DiCaprio movie that you're getting a full-effort from Leo without a doubt. One of these years he needs to win an Oscar or two.

While the acting is a strong suit of this movie, the plot itself completely makes this film exceptional. I don't know how Nolan dreamt this tightly wound narrative up but he managed to weave it all together perfectly and actually make it accessible for viewers. I went into the movie preparing to be lost at times and miss key plot elements due to the complexity (from what I've heard). I was pleasantly surprised that by the end (a VERY quick 2.5 hours of run time) I totally understood everything I just saw. The temporal differences between dream layers were crafted brilliantly to allow all loose ends to be wrapped up in time. I don't want to give any spoilers away, but this is definitely the type of movie that warrants follow-on discussion. Feel free to express any questions/comments about the review that contain spoilers over email. I purposely avoided most reviews about this movie and I think it paid off. Try to know as little as you can about Inception before you see it. It's best to experience it fresh for the first time. All I will say is that when you see the "dream team" boarding a plane together near the middle of the movie, buckle in and brace yourself for an original and rewarding hour of film.

Nolan is a 100% lock to win an Oscar for Best Screenplay, making up for the two he missed out on for Memento AND The Dark Knight. Right now I can't see another movie approaching this one for title of Best Picture. It will be nominated for sure (especially with the 10 film format in play once again). I am starting to think I will be behind this movie in the same way I backed District 9 last year.
Both movies consist of uniquely original ideas for Hollywood. In this day and age of remake after remake, it really is refreshing to see visionary directors try to roll the dice and bring something new to the table. Christopher Nolan took a risk with this film and it totally paid off. 5 out of 5 JR's for Inception which indeed passed Shutter Island as my favorite movie of 2010. DiCaprio is a huge two-for-two in my book in 2010 with two outstanding performances.

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Morning Rant: Gym Locker Rooms  

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I went to the gym by work this morning where I just joined recently. After having been in this locker room at the Sport and Health several times I've come to a conclusion. The older men get, the more they like to show their junk. I don't know what it is. Maybe as I get older I will just care less about clothes or something. All the old dudes at the gym seem to relish the opportunity to not wear any clothes in the locker room. They iron their clothes naked, they piss in the urinals naked, they fix their hair and brush their teeth naked. Quite often I see two old guys having a lengthy conversation, standing and talking to each other with no clothes on.

Maybe it's just me, but I go to the locker room with a mission. Change, shower, dry off, get ready for work, all as fast as possible without the need to parade around the entire locker room naked. When I get older will I just not care anymore? Will I enjoy feeling the breeze down there and just go for half and hour without clothes after a workout? I kinda doubt it, but who knows. I especially think naked conversations between two dudes are quite awkward, but maybe I'm in the minority in that thought. Regardless, I'm just not a big fan of gym locker rooms in general but they come with the territory and I deal with them.

Of course I don't know whether the same thing goes on in women's locker rooms. Perhaps one of my esteemed female readers could chime in on this one.

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Review: Predators  

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The original Predator that was released in 1987 is one of my favorite films of all-time. It marked the official arrival of Arnold Schwarzenegger as a legitimate action star and featured amazing tension and visual effects. The tension in that original movie was built up so well and really made you feel like you were in the jungle along with the commandos on screen.


Since that movie was made, several attempts have been engineered at producing an adequate sequel. After Danny Glover's failed turn in Predator 2 and the recent pair of god-awful Aliens vs Predators films, I had given up hope for the series as a whole. Robert Rodriguez and director Nimrod Antal (yes... Nimrod... really) got my hopes up again with the trailer for Predators. I went to the movie theater yesterday expecting to relive some of that old-school Predator vibe.

I was pleased with the visual style and musical scoring of Predators. The overall feel of the movie was very much in line with the original. In fact the biggest problem with this sequel is that it seems to be more of a remake than an actual sequel. We get a lot of the same plot elements from the 1987 film including some terribly cheesy dialogue at times featuring a near word-for-word repeat of Arnold's "Kill me now, I'm here, Do it!" rant from the original. (see this clip to jog your memory) The plot is simple and sets up a sport-killing stage on a remote planet in which eight criminals have been tossed into the jungle preserve as prey for the cunning and animalistic Predator creatures. There's nothing new here, but the production values are solid and the action is well directed by Antal.

The acting in Predators is adequate for this type of movie. I am still mad at Adrien Brody for Splice but he comes off a little better in this one almost as a poor man's Christian Bale with a Batman-esque voice. I really don't buy him as this gung-ho action hero though. I think he's trying to stretch his acting range into a genre that doesn't really suit him. Lawrence Fishburne makes a very brief guest appearance as a crazy survivor who briefly tries to help the group of criminals. I don't know what happened to Morpheous since The Matrix, but apparently he's been munching on Ho-Hos and Twinkies. Topher Grace and the rest of the rag tag group of no-name actors pitch in for some comic relief at times.

This movie is pretty much what I thought it would be. An entertaining reboot of the Predator franchise that is markedly better than the previous three sequels but nowhere near as original or groundbreaking as the 1987 classic. There is some potential for a follow-on film with a much better script that would take this series to the next level. But for now we're left with a popcorn flick that reminds us of the original and forces me to give it a 3 out of 5 JR rating.

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You Don't Know Jack, Facebook!  

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I like a lot of things about Facebook. It really is the most engaging social networking site out there and I can't believe I haven't become bored with it over the past 2 or 3 years of accessing it. One of the increasingly annoying aspects of the site, however, is how Facebook seems to think it's all hot shit and knows what you like before you choose to "like" it yourself. The recommended pages area of the front page allows Facebook to post suggested pages based on existing pages and content you've decided to "like" over the history of your profile.


Sometimes the all knowing Facebook actually gets a page or two spot-on, but mostly the suggestions seem to be all wrong for me. This glaring Facebook assumption just presented itself to me a few minutes ago:



Ummm Facebook... I hate to break it to you. I'm a big movie buff but one of the reasons I love movies so much is because I can watch a story and I don't have to actually read the book. Reading in general can be OK in small doses but I would much rather take in a two-hour movie than start a long novel that can sometimes take me a month or so to finish. Maybe it's because I'm a slow reader and feel I need to re-read paragraphs a lot when my mind starts to wander. Maybe it's due to the fact that I'm a very visual person and wish I had gone into film school to pursue a different career path. Movies completely trump books for me and for Facebook to automatically think I would like Reading just because I enjoy Watching Movies is ridiculous.

Listen Facebook... stick to what you do best: allowing us to post pictures and video, comment on statuses and play goofy games with friends. You don't need to try to run my life and steer my personal preferences as well. Thanks but no thanks.

And oh yeah... I've never seen an episode of House and Fringe is my favorite show. Strike two!

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Review: The A-Team  

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I'm not really sure if the classic 80's action TV series The A-Team needed to be remade into a 2010 popcorn action flick. Nowadays with the way Hollywood seems to crave remaking just about anything, I'm pretty sure NONE of these new remakes are necessary at all. That being said, Joe Carnahan and his producing team of Tony and Ridley Scott decided to give it a try and update the story of four ex-military vigilantes, super-sizing the scope of the TV show and updating all of the stunts.


This movie felt a lot like Michael Mann's updated Miami Vice (with Jaime Foxx and Colin Farrell) for me. Vice came off well as a stand-alone action film with well timed stunts and set pieces that seemed to ooze coolness on the screen. The A-Team has the same sort of cool feel to it. The four team members were all cast spot-on including Liam Neeson as Hannibal Smith, Bradley Cooper as Face Peck, Quentin "Rampage" Jackson as B.A. Baracus and Sharlto Copley as "Howling Mad" Murdock. Each of the four actors does a solid job in portraying the individual nuances of the original TV characters while bringing a bit of originality to the role. Copley stands out for me as I was a huge fan of his work in District 9 (I believe this now marks over 10 posts on my blog that mention the excellent South African sci fi film). It's kind of odd to see him go in and out of various accents throughout the movie, but that's what makes Murdock "Howling Mad" I suppose.

Rampage Jackson (who fights in the UFC during his day job) is very serviceable in Mr. T's role. I mean he's probably a better actor than Mr. T himself (that's not saying much of course). Jackson seems to be a natural at pitying fools and I'm curious to see if he can act at all in a different role.

This movie doesn't do anything revolutionary. What you get here is a standard buddy-buddy-buddy-buddy action film with some kick-ass stunts, great sound and a stunning Jessica Biel mixed in. It's the quintessential guy movie and I'm sure most Americans ages 18 to 40 will enjoy it. At two hours, it seemed to go by quickly which is a testament to the good pacing and direction of Carnahan. Overall I'd have to give this A-Team remake a 3.5 out of 5 JRs. I'm intrigued to see if an A-Team sequel is in the works. I'd have to hope that it comes off better than Iron Man 2 did.

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And So it Begins...  

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Once in a generation, a special athlete rises to stardom in front of our eyes. In golf we've seen it with Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods as they all started playing at a very young age. Tiger's prominence was captured on national television when he was 3. And now a new age has dawned for golf as we know it. Joshua Robert Rose is now officially a golfer.


I had been meaning to take Josh out on a real golf course for over a year now. He has been to the driving range with me since he was 3 and showed some promise in hitting the ball pretty straight. I finally decided to get him out for 9 holes at the local par 3 course on Father's Day. My friend Doe tagged along and the three of us walked the 9 hole circuit on a steamy Summer Sunday.

All I wanted to get out of this round was to have Josh enjoy the game. Ever since Josh was born I've been eagerly anticipating the day when I would get a chance to teach him how to play a game I've loved my entire life. I think my mission for his first round was accomplished. He had a great time walking the course and hitting the ball. Despite some really disastrous putting (yes... I know... he's only 5!!!), he did play pretty well. He seemed to be actually more consistent off the tee than the 10-year-old playing in the group in front of us. On his very first hole, Josh drove the ball in the fairway down the middle and then actually sank a 25-foot putt for a 7 (quad bogey). He matched his 7 on the 2nd hole (out-driving Dad in the process after I topped my 8 iron shot). After two great opening holes, Josh showed he is human by getting a bunch of 9's, 10's and 11's for the rest of the round.

Josh's legitimate 9-hole total was 79. I shot a 39 myself but was not really concentrating on my own game. I had to help carry his bag around the course. I need to get him a better bag that has backpack type straps. Overall, he had a blast out there. He got genuinely excited when he would hit a nice shot in the air that went far. I even had him give Doe the old "Does your Husband play?" verbal jabs after Doe hit a short putt. We finished the round at the pro shop drinking a nice refreshing Gatorade together.

I'm sure this is just the first round of hundreds we will play together as Father and Son. I'm already looking forward to getting back out there again with him and for Alex and Becca to fill out my foursome eventually. The highlight of the day was driving back home with Josh and having him say to me "I want to go play again sometime Dad." In golf, all it takes is one round to get you hooked.

Here's some extra pictures from the round. If you missed it, I have a video of Josh up on Facebook hitting a tee shot.



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