Category: Mark’s 21st Century Movie Milestones

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Mark's 21st Century Movie Milestones

Number 12…

There are a few variables as to why it took me longer than I would have hoped to get to see a Quentin Tarantino film. 

For starters, my mom had only two movies I was not allowed to see growing up, and one was Pulp Fiction because she thought it too weird (the other was The Exorcist, which one cannot blame her for in the long run). My older brother’s last bit of cinematic knowledge I remember him passing on to me (before he lost interest) was on QT, and I eventually got to Pulp as well as other films of his, the first being Kill Bill Vol. 1 in 2003. Yet my mind was truly opened a year later, with Kill Bill, Vol. 2.

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Mark's 21st Century Movie Milestones

Number 13…

In the past 15 years, I’ve been blessed to get to work a lot in my Church’s children’s ministry.

This has included being a camp counselor 11 times, plus another 3 at another Christian Camp. Yet all of this can’t hold a candle to what Rocky Braat has achieved in the film Blood Brother (and continues to achieve).

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Mark's 21st Century Movie Milestones

Number 14…

Like most of my fellow millennials, I became consciously aware of great child performances beginning with Haley Joel Osment in 1999’s The Sixth Sense.

This would pave the way for child actors of the 21st century such as Nicholas Hoult (2002’s About a Boy), Miranda Cosgrove (who broke through in 2003’s The School of Rock), Abigail Breslin (Oscar nominated for 2006’s Little Miss Sunshine), Hailee Steinfeld (also nominated for 2010’s True Grit), Quvenzhané Wallis in Beasts of the Southern Wild (yet another nomination), Tye Sheridan in 2013’s Mud, Woody Norman in 2021’s C’mon C’mon, and the more recent discovery of Alfie Williams in 28 Years Later. 

Then, there is Jacob Tremblay. Within ten years, he was in the likes of 2017’s Wonder (my little sister’s first date movie), Luca, and The Little Mermaid remake, just to name a few. Yet all that started with his enormous impact in 2015’s Room.

His role was no easy task. He plays the role of Jack, who has spent the first five years of his life inside of a single room. This is sadly due to his mom, Joy (Brie Larson), being kept as a sex slave in the shed of “Old Nick”. The film details Jack’s soon discovery of the situation, and eventual escape into the real world.

There have been some haters of sorts over the years of Brie Larson. I’m not sure if it has to do with anything in her personal life or her role as Captain Marvel in the MCU (regardless of how you feel about those films, she still does a solid job in the role). It’s when people say she can’t act that I laugh. Even before this, she was in the likes of Scott Pilgrim vs the World and the vastly underrated Short Term 12.

She didn’t win the Oscar for Best Actress for nothing here, and the scene where she runs to Jack in the car is as tearjerking as anything I have seen in fiction.

Obviously, this is not an easy watch of a film, so parents, keep the kids away from this one.

Even with the subject matter and the totally mood shift midway through, the film is still spell binding. I will go to my grave thinking Jacob Tremblay was robbed of a Best Actor Oscar nomination (even though he would have been passed over by the inevitable win of Leo in The Revenant). He is the glue that holds the film together, making that rare case for film to be both hard to watch yet hard to keep your eyes off of.

(As of this writing, Room is available to rent on Amazon and VOD).

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Mark's 21st Century Movie Milestones

Number 15…

As of now, there have been two times the Oscars have occurred on my birthday during my lifetime.

I have had a few birthday parties on Oscar night (such as the one in 2002, when A Beautiful Mind won Best Picture), but it was exactly two decades later, on my 35th birthday, when it was even more memorable. All people remember from this night, of course, is Will Smith slapping Chris Rock (giving me the ample chance to tell my friends not interested what had transpired), yet even that could not dampen my spirits. I got my highest prediction score to date, getting 21 of 23 (I missed Best Editing and one of the shorts categories). And, of course, the Best Picture award went to my favorite movie of 2021, CODA.

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Mark's 21st Century Movie Milestones

Number 16…

It must be annoying to be a film star and have fans who are foolhardy to ask you to “do” a character of theirs for them. I imagine if anyone were brave enough to ask that to Daniel Day-Lewis, and he were willing, he would say something like “Come back in a year”.

It was Marlon Brando who became the original cinematic method actor, paving the way for the likes of Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Charlize Theron, and Jeremy Strong, just to name a few. Yet Daniel Day-Lewis is almost another breed. The behind the scene stories of him are ghastly: being carried around in between takes of My Left Foot (where his character had cerebral palsy), making his own canoe during The Last of the Mohicans, and even denying specific medical treatment during Gangs of New York because the meds were not around during the time of the film. 

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Mark's 21st Century Movie Milestones

Number 17…

I can’t recall why I was asked to go to a certain YMCA week long camp back in 2003 (probably so my little brother was not alone, even though I hardly saw him the whole week), but the last night was indeed eventful. 

We had a canoe ride that was to be followed by a dance, in which a girl I developed a summer crush on said she would dance with me. The canoe ride when over by an hour or so (we got lost in the rain), but I got that last bit of time to dance with her (to Elvis Presley’s “Can’t help falling in love”, for that matter).

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Number 18…

In my mind, a foreign language film can go one or two ways.

Either the film can be so ingrained into a country’s culture that it would not work anywhere else, or the film can be so universal that it could be told virtually in any language or country. I personally try for the middle ground, where a movie shows characters that are relatable to any nationality or race, and no other live action foreign language film has impacted me in that way this century more so than 2011’s Iranian film, A Separation.

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Mark's 21st Century Movie Milestones Movies

Number 19…

As I grow older, I realize I have a need for afternoon naps.

Sadly, I would find this out during my times at the theater, making me miss out on key parts of certain films that are, for the most part, great movies (some examples include Mad Max: Fury Road, The Boy and the Heron, and, recently, Ballerina). So naturally, when I went to see Todd Fields’ TÁR, I was worried I would clock out for twenty minutes or so. That did not happen at all.

The film centers on Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett), a world renown EGOT winning composer who was given more talent and drive as a person than any form of empathy or kindness (shout out to whoever originally thought she may be a relative of sorts to Terrence Fletcher from Whiplash). The story revolves around her rise in the music community with her eventual fall. 

I revisited this movie a little over a month ago for the first time since it’s release, and I still feel as though I am scratching the surface: the film contains a manifold of meanings. Director Todd Fields gives a look into a subject rather prevalent to our society the last few years (cancel culture) with a character you can still feel for despite how horrendous her actions are (remember the scene where she stands up to her daughter’s bully? You will never feel worse for a bully in a film.)

I’m not sure when it occurred to me, but I am rather confident in saying that Cate Blancett is probably my favorite living actress. While I have not seen all of her films, I have still yet to see her give a bad performance (thankfully, I missed out on Borderlands). I can’t think of any actress who can portray “steely resolve” better than she can. She even manages to have fun with roles ranging from Indiana Jones to the MCU. She never phones anything in. You truly can’t start talking about the best of all time without bringing her up.

I’m not entirely sure why the character is named TÁR (it is an anagram for “Art” as well as “Rat” spelled background), but I do have my own theory. Weeks ago, I was driving to work and sadly got a lot of tar sprayed on my car. Removing Tar from the surface of the car is not easy, just like watching TÁR is not easy to forget.

(As of this writing, TÁR is available on VOD).

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Mark's 21st Century Movie Milestones Movies

Number 20…

Very few directors in my life time have been as unique or eclectic as the Coen brothers.

There are still three or so films of theirs I admit I need to see, but one only needs to see a couple to realize their talent. Even their “lesser” films are still interesting to watch (with the probable exemption of 2004’s The Ladykillers). They even managed to make a remake of the classic True Grit in 2010, and managed to make it just as effective (some would argue it is even better). Yet for all they have under their artistic belt, no film stuck to me (or the Academy) more so than their Best Picture winner of 2007, No Country for Old Men.

Based off of the book by Cormac McCarthy, what the film taught me as a film goer was patience. The film is not afraid to take its time before Llewelyn (Josh Brolin) stumbles upon the stolen money, and finds himself being chased by Anton Chigurgh (Javier Bardem). The pieces left behind are being picked up by the local Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (the pitch perfectly cast Tommy Lee Jones).

The Coen’s don’t mind taking their time giving us little subtle moments that, these days, require the viewer to stay off of their phone. The cat and mouse scenes between the aforementioned characters are basically Hitchockian.

This was one of two movies in 2007 that was a resurgence for Josh Brolin (the other being American Gangster, where he also shoots a dog). He had been in movies going as far back as The Goonies, but 2007 was the year that brought him truly into the public eye (it was not long before he was cast/immortalized as Thanos in the MCU).

Yet even with the immaculate performances from Jones and Brolin (not to mention Woody Harrelson and Kelly Macdonald), as well as the cinematography by the legend that is Roger Deakins, there is simply no way anyone cannot ignore Javier Bardem. His Anton Chigurgh is proof that not all fictional characters that are clearly psychopaths don’t have to be portrayed over the top. His is so emotionless and silent, but never the less ruthless. Add in the fact that (spoiler) he escapes and you have my pick for the best villain of the century so far.

Like many, I felt at the time the ending of the film was a bit abrupt and awkward, but I have come to accept it as clearly the right one (this was the same year as that wonderful finale for The Sopranos that confused a lot of people, myself included). Yet the Coen’s always played by their own rules. When the Coen’s won Best Director for the film (one of four Oscars it won, along with Picture, Screenplay, and Supporting Actor for Bardem), Joel said it best when he thanked everyone for letting them continue to play in their corner of the sandbox.

(As of this writing, No Country for Old Men can be found on MGM plus on Amazon).

Friendo.

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Mark's 21st Century Movie Milestones Movies

Number 21…

Only a few days ago did I finally get around to seeing Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center from 2006, dealing with the true story of two men recovered from the wreckage (played by Nicholas Cage and Michael Peńa).

Stone is definitely one to take risks, but even he was in murky waters when tackling a film that centered on the one day that signified all other days of the 21st century (and five years later, no less).

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