The Late Great Stanley Kubrick, His Best

"Clockwork Orange" is the greatest. One of star Malcom McDowell's great regrets: He never worked with Kubrick again. Well that was Kubrick. He certainly wasn't repetitious. The film is based on a Anthony Burgess novel. Alex (McDowell) and his gang of "droods" get their kicks out of perpetrating the good old "ultraviolence". Outstanding cinematography abounds as do great dialect and costumes. This film was unfairly shunned (although nominated) at the Academy Awards. Too "controversial". Why the controversy? Alex got "cured".
"2001, A Space Odyssey" won an Oscar for Best Special Effects. Duh, that was a tough one to vote on I bet. This is a movie I think that everyone has seen. As usual S.K. was ahead of his time. It is a masterpiece (like most of Kubrick's direction) in which an inanimate object, HAL the computer, steals the show. You'll never forget the compositions "The Blue Danube" and "Also Sprach Zarathustra" after seeing the film. The light show on display as astronaut David (Keir Dullea) goes berserk is the best that I have seen on film. A different kind of horror show than....
"The Shining" is of course based on a Stephen King novel. S. King's stories seldom translate successfully to film. It is a tribute to director S.K. and Jack Nicholson that this one works for sure. By the way, it is a great book also. Kubrick had a reputation for being too much of a perfectionist, but it didn't seem to bother Jack N. (who ad-libbed the famous "Here's Johnny!", which isn't in the book). "Redrum" is in the book and spoken well by Jack's son, Danny Torrance (child actor Danny Lloyd). That is one creepy kid. Well, Jack goes nuts. Goes?! Is I mean.
"Dr. Strangelove..." came out the same year as "Fail-Safe" (directed by Sidney Lumet, 1964) at the height of the "Cold War" vs. the U.S.S.R. It's a little different though. No one except Stanley Kubrick would have had the guts to go with this spoof at that time. Peter Sellers plays three parts to a hilarious "T". He is funny as can be as is George C. Scott. This black and white film was nominated for 4 Academy Awards, and of course shunned. Could it be controversial?
"Barry Lyndon" is on the list especially for the (18th. century period) costumes, for which the film won an Academy Award. It also won for cinematography. Both awards were well deserved. Ryan O'Neal stars as an unscrupulous Irishman who cheats his way to the top and then falls hard. It's a pretty good flic story-wise, but especially easy on the eyes. Like, unfortunately, most of Kubrick's work, it's reputation gains traction in retrospect.

Kubrick never won an Oscar for "Best Director". The system failed.

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Bros Coen, The Best of

"Blood Simple" was the great debut film by the best storyteller brothers since the Brothers Grimm. Frances McDormand, a favorite of Joel and Ethan C, stars in this crime flick. The quirky M. Emmet Walsh steals the show, in my opinion. Dan Hedaya is Abby's (Frances M.) husband and a strange ranger, of course. LOOK UNDER THE FISH BLOODY BUDDY!
"Fargo" is their best. Frances McDormand is the main character (a nine months prego copper) in beautiful, snowy Fargo, N.D. Her hubby is the reliably effective William H. Macy. Quirky actor Steve Buscemi stars also. The Coens love the crime stuff and this one is (ya hey dere you betcha) a good one. Frances garnered a well deserved "Best Actress" Oscar.
"No Country for Old Men" is J & E's (2007) nicely done film-noir, this one involving drug dealing gone violent. Who would have thunk? Tommy Lee Jones stars as the sheriff. Javier Bardem, a fine actor and Josh Brolin star also. This not too bad film took Best Pic, Best Director(s) and Best Supporting Actor (Bardem) at the Academy Awards ceremony.
"Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" is Joel & Ethan's adaptation of Homer's "The Odyssey". What? It has a great southern Mississippi soundtrack, which won a Grammy. This is the film that let me know that I had previously under-respected George Clooney as an actor. He is brilliant in this chain gang story. John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson are good as his escapee brothers.
"Raising Arizona" likewise made me respect Nicolas Cage. Holly Hunter is great too in the comedy based on the unlikely premise of a baby's kidnapping. This is a touching film by the Coen Brothers. The always funny John Goodman and Frances McDormand are in this one.

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