Category: Vintage

The Classics

Ikiru (1952)

Even the most casual of filmgoers have, in some way, shape, or form, heard of the name Akira Kurosawa.

The legendary filmmaker is still felt today in films both domestically and globally, having inspired people such as Steven Spielberg and George Lucas (shown here giving Kurosawa an Honorary Oscar). Of his films, Seven Samurai has got to be his most influential: it has been the inspiration for films ranging from The Magnificent Seven (the original and the remake) to Disney/Pixar’s A Bug’s Life. While I am still trying to work through his filmography (thank you Criterion Channel), I would argue the most moving film of his would be what he made two years prior to Samurai: Ikiru (which, translated, means “To live”).

Tags 1952, Akira Kurosawa, Foreign, Foreign Language, George Lucas, Ikiru, Kurosawa, Steven Spielberg, To LIve

5 Stars Movies Vintage

Pinocchio (1940)

Over time, many a movie made for children (or anyone, for that matter) are going to be forgotten, sought after only by die hard fans and film buffs. There are movies of my own childhood that I have seen many times, yet now are known only to a few of my generation. This is even true with the powerhouse of Disney.

Had it not been for Disney Plus, certain films of lesser popularity like Oliver & Company (1988), Meet the Robinsons (2007), The Black Cauldron (1985), Robin Hood (1973), The Sword in the Stone (1963), The Great Mouse Detective (1986), A Goofy Movie (1995), and The Princess and the Frog (2009) would be almost swept under the rug, especially when compared to other monolith films like Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937), Bambi (1942), Beauty and the Beast (1991), and The Lion King (1994), just to name a few (not to mention the Pixar ones).

Tags 1940, Children, Classic, Disney, G

5 Stars Movies Vintage

Minority Report (2002)

“The fact that you prevented it from happening doesn’t change the fact that it was going to happen”.

The line of dialogue from John Anderton is also his core belief, and one of the many lines of dialogue that has stuck with me for the countless times I have seen Minority Report (2002) over the years. It is a film that asks you to think long after, but not to a degree that certain films (especially science fiction) would make some viewers need to take a Tylenol. That, and it is as engaging as any film that has come out in the first two decades of the 21^st century.

Tags 2002, A Clockwork Orange, Max von Sydow, Minority Report, PG-13, Rated PG-13, Samantha Morton, Sci Fi, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, Spielberg, Stanley Kubrick, Steven Spielberg, Tom Cruise

5 Stars Movies Vintage

City Lights (1931)

In the 1910s, the world was introduced to Chaplin’s tramp, who would go on to be possibly the first recognizable character the film world ever knew.

Starring in numerous amounts of shorts, Chaplin later made full length movies with his famous mustached character: So famous, even Adolf Hitler (who was only four days younger than Chaplin) was said to have based his mustache off of the tramp.

Tags Charlie Chaplin, City Lights, Five Stars

5 Stars Movies Vintage

The Searchers (1956)

At the 92^nd Academy Awards, when Bong Joon Ho was accepting his Oscar for Best Director (for Parasite), he paid tributes to each of his fellow nominees. The first (and most memorable) was toward Martin Scorsese, which prompted an unexpected standing ovation. It was clear that Bong Joon Ho was paying tribute to a mentor.

In the filming industry, perhaps no other career is more vocal of paying tribute to mentors than that of a director. Most (if not all) have stated they have been in total admiration of a certain director that came before them, often rewatching their films almost to a degree of pure obsession. Certain names come to mind: Hitchcock, Kubrick, Welles, Kurosawa, Spielberg, Scorsese, Eastwood, Coppola, Lucas, Tarantino, and Spike Lee, to name a few. However, all the big named directors seem to have one person they all agree on that had influenced their career. That name is John Ford. Famously, when Orson Welles was asked the directors he admired most, he said, “John Ford, John Ford, and John Ford.”

Tags 1956, Alfred Hitchcock, BOng Joon Ho, Classic, Clint Eastwood, Hitchcock, John Ford, John Wayne, Martin Scorsese, Oscars, PG, Rated PG, The Quiet Man, Ward Bond, Western

5 Stars Movies Vintage

Contagion (2011)

Around the age of 11, I was sitting at a cluster of desks in my fifth grade class when two of my classmates (Mary and Kelly) were talking about something. They both were holding a colored bottle of liquid. I asked what it was. It was some form of scented hand sanitizer.

Since I was such a victim of peer pressure, I went home and told my mom about this new “fad”. We eventually had a lemon scented bottle in our down stairs bathroom that seemed to last until some point when I was in High School.

Tags 2011, Bryan Cranston, Corona, Corona Virus, CoronaVirus, Elliot Gould, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Ehle, John Hawkes, Jude Law, Laurence Fishburne, Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, PG-13, Rated PG-13, Steven Soderbergh, Virus

5 Stars Movies Vintage

The Breakfast Club (1985)

Despite being an extroverted child with Asperger’s, it still seems to surprise some of my friends who did not know me growing up that I never once had a detention. Of course, it helps when nearly every person in your family history was a teacher in some capacity.

When I mentioned this to one of the minister’s at my church, he said he found that rather hard to believe. I responded simply, “That’s because you never met my dad”. That is not to say my dad was deeply strict or anything. My dad was totally loving and supportive. The issue was that, as a High School social studies teacher turned Dean turned Assistant Principal, he would tell me stories at the dinner table about what all the “bad” kids did (to be fair, it was more entertaining than what the “good” kids did). These stories, which must have started as far back as when I was a 1st grader were ingrained in my mind to know when to not mess around (despite being a self confessed class clown from time to time.)

Tags Ally Sheedy, Anthony Michael Hall, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, High School, Home Alone, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Movies, Planes Trains & Automobiles, Planes Trains and Automobiles, R, Sixteen Candles, Teenagers, Vacation

5 Stars Movies Vintage

Apollo 13 (1995)

In the 2000s, one of my favorite review sites to go to was that of “Mr. Cranky”. It was a satirical site (now no longer available), in which the reviews would state how bad the film really was (the highest rated were for films deemed “almost tolerable”).

Of the many reviews I had seen, my favorite header came from the review of Apollo 13, which read along the lines of “Spoiler: They survive.”

Tags 1995, Apollo 13, Based on a book, Based on a True Story, Bill Paxton, Chris Ellis, Ed Harris, Gary Sinise, Kathleen Quinlan, Kevin Bacon, Movie Reviews, NASA, PG, Rated PG, Ron Howard, Space, Tom Hanks

5 Stars Movies Vintage

Roman Holiday (1953)

Despite the fact that Superbowl LIV (2020) was the first title for the Kansas City Chiefs, the story most talked about was the half time show, featuring latin pop stars Shakira and Jennifer Lopez performing in ways that offended many.

Though I paid little to no attention to the show (it was not my type of music), it is understandable to see why many were concerned: it seemed to many to send a message that this is how women can act. Certainly, this is a vast difference from 1953, when Roman Holiday came out.

Tags Audrey Hepburn, Classic Movies, Classics, Gregory Peck, Halftime Show, Jennifer Lopez, Roman Holiday, Romance, Shakira, Superbowl

5 Stars Movies Vintage

Before Sunrise (1995)

A older couple begins to quarrel. As the situation dies down, we see two young people look up from their books and notice each other. Had this happened in a movie these days, they would be texting, asking each other for their Snapchat profile. Since the film is long before the time of social media, the only thing these two strangers can really do is talk.

The whole opening dialogue on the train sets up what to expect from Before Sunrise: It is not about the content of the conversations, but the outer connection of the two leads.

Tags 1990s, 1995, Before Sunrise, Ethan Hawke, Five Stars, Julie Delphy, Romance, Youth