Friday Top Five: The Cast of Out of the Furnace

I'm going to do something a little different this week, and instead of focusing on one individual actor, I'm going to focus on the entire cast of Out of the Furnace, a movie that opens today that I am pretty excited about. It stars Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, and Woody Harrelson, to name a few, three actors whom I absolutely love. So, here are the best films starring this cast:

05. Gerry (Gus Van Sant, 2002)
All right, this movie is most definitely NOT for everyone. Considered part of Van Sant's "Death Trilogy" (along with two other movies that I love that aren't for everyone: Elephant and Last Days), the film follows to friends (Affleck and Matt Damon) who get lost in the desert and have no food or water. It's not really about anything and nothing ever really happens. There is barely any dialogue, but if you love filmmaking, existential journeys and great acting, than Gerry just might be for you.

04. Crazy Heart (Scott Cooper, 2009)
Scott Cooper isn't IN Out of the Furnace, but he did direct it, as his follow up to Crazy Heart, which stars Jeff Bridges as a washed up country star. When you watch Crazy Heart and see all the beautiful panoramic shots then you'll know instantly what Cooper is capable of. Not to mention, he pulls Oscar worthy performances from Bridges, and co-star Maggie Gyllenhaal. I'm excited to see what he's done with the incredible cast of Out of the Furnace.

03. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik, 2007)
This breathtakingly beautiful film stars two cast members from Out of the Furnace - Sam Shepard and Casey Affleck, who is absolutely riveting in this film. Yes, Brad Pitt stars as Jesse James, but this movie is about Robert Ford, and Affleck, who was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, should have been recognized as the Lead. Sometimes people wonder why I love long movies, this one clocks in at nearly three hours, but when you are constantly engrossed with such beautiful imagery and amazing performances, how could you not love long movies?

02. Rampart (Oren Moverman, 2011)
Honestly? I think Woody Harrelson is unbelievably sexy. I also think he doesn't get enough credit for what a great actor he truly is. Maybe it's because he mixes things up and does a lot of comedy, starring in waste of time movies like that one where he was a surfer who smoked a lot of weed (also known as: his life, probably). But, when he does a dramatic role, he always nails it and Rampart is absolutely no exception. He stars as a dirty cop, who also happens to be about as disgusting a man as you can imagine. He's sexist, racist, homophobic, and just plain vile. The fact that Harrelson embodies this man with such ease says a lot for his formidable talents as an actor. I'm excited to see him play the bad guy in Out of the Furnace.

01. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)
How could it be anything else? How can any list including Christian Bale not include this? I consider The Dark Knight to be the single greatest comic book / superhero movie of all time. There is none better. I'm not sure there ever will be. Sure, I've grown up loving Batman for as long as I can remember. But I'm not playing favorites here. Nolan's middle entry into his Batman trilogy is everything you can ever want from an action movie - destruction, chaos, brilliant set pieces, bank robberies, piles of cash, pretty girls, hundreds of mobsters, and a villain who gives such a staggering, anarchy filled performance so good that it breaks your heart to think Heath Ledger is gone for good. Bale plays a damn good Bruce Wayne, charming and cocky, and his Batman is genius as well (I can ignore THAT VOICE, unlike most of America). Bale is one of our best actors, and I'm excited to see what he'll bring to Out of the Furnace. Barring any sort of weekend disaster, I'll let you know how it all shakes out on Monday.

Oscar contenders arrive - Men who age backwards, nuns and political activists, oh my!

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Benjamin Button is maybe the most fascinating man you'll ever meet. Born with a warped face and amidst doctors warnings that he wouldn't live very long, his birth father abandoned him on the back steps of an old person home where the loving and caring Queenie (Taraji P. Henson) found and raised him as her own. As Benjamin (Brad Pitt) beat the odds and grew up, he may have looked like the other old men in the house but he sure didn't act like them. As his life progressed, he became younger and younger, living a full and amazing life. He left home to join a tugboat captain (Jared Harris, stealing scenes as usual) and eventually join a war. He met the alluring Brit Elizabeth (Tilda Swinton) and a host of other interesting characters. But it was the lovely Daisy (Cate Blanchett) who was the love of his life. While she aged normally, he aged backwards - could their love ever really work out? Based on the line "youth is wasted on the young," the film is a moving and emotionally harrowing journey through the life of one man. David Fincher directs the hell out of this film which has a great script and great performances. For as slow as it moves in the first half, the emotional aspect is kicked into high gear in the second half and it becomes a near masterpiece. There are so many moments of brilliance that it makes up for it's uneven beginning. Brad Pitt is the star but it's more about his journey than his acting. The acting stand outs, for me, came from a trio of fabulous women - Swinton who is all toughness and sophistication, Henson who is the heart and soul of the film and knocks it out of the park (let's start the Oscar campaign now!) and Blanchett who takes Daisy's vain, self centered nature and turns it into something that actually works. There is no one more beautiful than Blanchett as she dances in the fog. Overall, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a beautiful journey well worth the time.
Grade: A-

Doubt - There is a particular scene at the end of the film between Meryl Streep and Phillip Seymour Hoffman that just proves these two are arguably the two best working actors today. I didn't think anyone was going to make it out of that scene alive. Streep is the stubborn and stern Sister Alyisous who begins to think that Father Flynn (Hoffman) had an inappropriate relationship with the only black student at the school. Stripped down to just four main characters - Amy Adams as the naive and sweet (and I think the key to making your final decision about Flynn's innocence or guilt) Sister James and Viola Davis who has one powerful scene as the boy's mother - the film is very character driven with intense dialogue and a great, well written story. John Patrick Shanley is indeed a fantastic writer. I'm not convinced he is a great director, however. He's making a character/dialogue driven film but spent much of the first act using strange camera angles to tell a very simple story. His choices at times were very distracting from the effectiveness of the script. The performances, however, make up for it. Every one is making a huge deal about Viola Davis and I admit she was quite good. However, and maybe it's because I've been hearing for so long about how amazing she is, I didn't think she was quite as riveting as everyone else. Instead, in the supporting actress character, I felt Adams' more subdued and understated work was far more impressive. Then there's Streep and Hoffman and, like I said, they were pheneomenal in every way.
Grade: B+

Milk - There may be a more touching, gripping, emotional, politcally timely, perfect film released this year... but I haven't seen it. Milk is everything a movie should be. Directed by the fantastic Gus Van Sant (he has directed two of the best this year - Milk and Paranoid Park), Milk tells the true story of Harvey Milk (Sean Penn), the first gay man elected to public office in the late 1970s in San Francisco. It follows his long journey to the top - where he ran for office numerous times, losing over and over again before finally winning and fighting for gay rights, human rights before being shot down by a disgruntled co-worker, Dan White (Josh Brolin). Milk surrounded himself with a group of young, empassioned followers who helped rally the gay community, including Cleve Jones (a fantastic Emile Hirsch), Anne Kronenberg (Alison Pill, the spitfire) and two boyfriends including the long suffering Scott (James Franco) and the needy and smothering Jack (Diego Luna). The script is face paced and well written. Van Sant sticks to straight directing, for the most part. However, there are a few of his little artsy moments thrown in there and it adds to the film, for sure. Whether he's directing art films or more mainstream work, Van Sant is one of the most daring and interesting directors working today. Of course, the cast is amazing. If all is right in the world (which, of course, it's not) the men of Milk could all but over run the Supporting Actor category. Franco, Brolin and especially Hirsch are all fantastic. But, of course, this is Penn's show and he embodies Harvey Milk like you wouldn't believe. Known for his moody and intense work, it's refreshing and lovely to see him play someone a little more carefree and emotionally open. His performance is Oscar worthy, for sure and I'd love to see him win a second Oscar. The best thing about Milk, however, is how very timely it is. With the recent passing of Prop 8 (which is much like the Proposition 6 that Harvey fights so tirelessly against in the film), it's clear to see that after thirty odd years, Harvey's fight is still not over. This movie should be a rally cry, a call to people to come together and stand up for gay rights, civil rights, human rights.
Grade: A+

Mini DVD Reviews

Paranoid Park - It's no secret that I think Gus Van Sant is brilliant. A genius, even. He is most definitely ever present on a list of my top ten directors of all time (perhaps I shall make that list sometime...). And while I like to pretend that the ill-conceived Psycho remake never really happened, I have come to terms with the all around mediocre lameness of Finding Forester. After all, he's better than those two bit boring films. And Paranoid Park is the next film to prove it. With it's minimilistic cineamatography, non-linear story telling and mostly non-professional cast, Parnoid Park is another gem from Van Sant. It's exceedingly well done with an interesting story (did a high school skateboarder accidentally kill a security guard?) and great acting from lots of unknowns. Van Sant has not disappointed me in a very, very long time.
Grade: B+

Return to Sleepaway Camp - Having long been a believer that Sleepaway Camp is one of, if not, THE best horror films, perhaps my expectations were too high for the long, long, LONG awaited sequel. And since the original Sleepaway Camp has possibly the best twist ending ever, the sequel can't possibly top it, right? Well, unfortunately, it is right. While Return to Sleepaway Camp has the same cast (Felicia Rose and more!) and the same director, it also, unfortunately, has the same story line. There is little difference between the original and the sequel... except for, you know, twenty years or so. You can see the big twist ending coming a mile away and the main character is probably the most annoying horror movie character since Franklin in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Still, it's not a total bust. The death scenes are all original and cool as hell, my friend Nick has a scene stealing cameo and, well, it's just great to have the original cast back together. It's not a great film by any means but it's a fun way to spend an hour and a half.
Grade: C

Get Smart - The best parts are pretty much everything you see in the trailers. There's nothing really to expand on here. Bill Murray's cameo in a tree is brilliant. Other than that, I wasn't shocked by anything: Alan Arkin is a hilarious scene stealing genius, Steve Carrell is adorably dorky, Anne Hathaway is a terrible actress and The Rock has a certain amount of charm that makes up for his lack of talent. It's not a bad movie by any means... it's just not good either.
Grade: C

Transiberian - Now let's talk about the hidden film gem of 2008. I never even heard of this movie. Usually, I at least hear of most films. If I haven't heard of something, then I think it's probably a bad sign. But the cast of this film was enough to make me change my mind and give it a try. After all, it's got Ben Kingsley, Woody Harrelson, Kate Mara and, of course, Emily Mortimer who is so good and so fantastic in this film. The film follows a young couple (Mortimer and Harrelson) who get entangled in a drug trafficking plot while traveling on a train through Russia. Kingsley plays a drug agent who is on to their incidental involvement. Of course, there's so much more to the story but I wouldn't want to spoil anything. Plus, there's so much story it would take forever to explain. Basically, let me say this - Transiberian is totally worth it. It's completely engulfing, interesting and pleasantly surprising.
Grade: B

Pathology - Next on to a film which is neither engulfing, interesting or pleasant in any way. It follows Milo Ventimiglia from Heroes as a pathology student who gets involved with a little game. He and the rest of the med students begin to kill random people. The others have to figure out how it was done. Interesting concept, I guess, but that's all it really has going for it. The acting is mediocre, at best. The character arcs of certain people are completely unbelievable and bizarre. It lacks any likeable characters to cheer for. It's just a bad film, plain and simple.
Grade: D

Birds of America - Who is the MVP of pretty much every movie he's ever been in? If you answered BEN FOSTER, then you're right. Birds of America is just above terrible. The only saving grace, really, is Foster and his performance as a man so sick of society that he begins eating berries and living by a ravine. Maybe it's that I can completely relate to him because that's what I want to do just about every day of my life or maybe it's just that he's such a fantastic actor (or probably both) but it was enough to keep me interested in an otherwise dull and boring movie.
Grade: D+ (the plus is for Foster, of course)

Coming soon - Bond. James Bond.

Mini Reviews

I know I've been slacking lately - watching tons of movies and not updating about them. It won't happen anymore - promise. As for now, I'm going to right a bunch of small reviews just to get caught up...


Semi-Pro - The best thing about this movie is, for sure, the preview for Sex and the City that shows before the movie starts. Other than that, Semi-Pro is sort of a big, unfunny mess. Will Ferrell will keep on keeping on, for sure but I think he needs to stop with the sports movies. Any remotely funny part is in the trailer and Will Arnett can't even save this floundering mess. It's not a bad movie, per se, just boring and trite and unfunny. So far, I've only given one grade out that wasn't in the D family (at least my year end Worst List will have a lot of contenders).
Grade: D

10,000 B.C. - Seriously. I don't know what else there is to say about how bland and terrible the films of 2008 have been so far (with the exception of Cloverfield which wasn't even THAT good). I just hope things turn around with the release of Stop Loss later this year. Anyway, this movie is mild and boring where is should be bold and wild. It is plagued by weak dialouge and even weaker characters. Even the special effects are inconsistent at best. The only positive thing I can say about this movie is that Camilla Belle is perfectly cast. I've always thought her beauty is other worldly. She is of a different time and age but she deserves better surroundings than this.
Grade: F


Romance and Cigarettes - With a great cast that includes Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet, Steve Buscemi, Christopher Walken and more, it's hard to imagine where this movie went oh-so-wrong. There are times when the movie is really funny and great (pretty much any time Winslet is on the screen) but other than that it's messy and often times ridiculous. Now, I love a ridiculous movie as much as the next person but this is so far past ridiculous into the realm of silly that it just can't be seen as good.
Grade: D


Silk - Starring Michael Pitt and Kiera Knightley (my god, are they not the most beautiful couple on the planet!? It was really like a battle of who has the better cheek-bones at times here), this movie takes place in the 1800's and centers on the silk industry (duh). It's long, it's boring, it's about romance and deciet and all that great stuff. Still, I found it at least slightly entertaining. The end was a great little twist. It was often too much of the same exact thing over and over again but Pitt and Knightley are engaging and the movie isn't bad so much as it is boring.
Grade: C


Things We Lost in the Fire - The thing that elevates this movie from below average to slightly better than average is Benicio Del Toro and his perfect portrayal of a heroin addict. He is always better than good and at times just perfect. I would have liked this movie even more if it was just about him. I could care less about Halle Berry, someone who is absolutely beautiful, but, let's face it kids, not a great actress. The fact that she has an Oscar and Kate Winslet doesn't makes me want to scream sometimes. But, enough about that. The movie is mostly anti-climactic and poorly written. Again, it's not necessarily bad. If you are a Del Toro fan than you should see it.
Grade: C+


The Gift - I saw this Sam Raimi directed movie years and years ago but didn't remember much about it. As I watched it, I did realize that I remembered how it ended (or else, the 'twist' is so absolutely obvious that a 3 year old could figure it out) but I still think it's an expertly done mystery thriller with a superb cast. It's got Cate Blanchett, Giovanni Ribisi, Keanu Reeves, Hilary Swank, J.K. Simmons, Gary Cole, Greg Kinnear and more. Ribisi really acts the hell out of this movie. He's easily the stand out. No one really does creepy yet oddly sexy quite the way he does. However, I was mostly really surprised by Reeves who is usually so wooden it's hard to find him enjoyable but he was strong here. Of course, Cate was Cate - beautiful, amazing, perfect in every way.
Grade: B+


Finally, let's talk about Gus Van Sant...
I officially take back all of the mean things I said about him after Finding Forrester. I also completely take back all the mean things I said about his upcoming Paranoid Park. He is officially one of my favorite directors working today after recently watching his 'Death Trilogy.' [Spoilers maybe... I mean... if you don't want to know that people die in the following movies.] A few years ago, I watched a movie called Last Days. It was loosely based on Kurt Cobain and starred Michael Pitt. I wasn't sure what to make of it at the time. Part of me absolutely loved how it meandered about and was more concerned with long takes of nature than actual story telling. Part of me wanted to call it a modern day masterpiece. Another part of me, however, wanted to know why I just wasted two hours of my life on this movie that could have been told in 10 minutes. But, Gus Van Sant isn't really interested in story, per se. He's more interested in all the beauty that is everywhere around us in this ugly world. The beauty is even more significant when being paralelled with such bleak concepts as suicide, murder and mass shootings. And, after watching the Death Trilogy individually and then together (thanks to movie night!), I can say I appreciate it more than ever. Maybe it's my current state of mind. I don't know. But Gerry, Elephant and Last Days are outstanding movies by themselves but together... they are just perfection. Elephant was easily my favorite of the three but all three are exceptional and worth watching either by themselves or together. I mean, if you have the patience for it. I've changed my grades since seeing the three of them together (something I don't like to do but I've made an exception here).
Elephant - A
Gerry - A-
Last Days - B+