Shout-Out to Four Great Films (November 2021 Edition)
Written by Victor DeBonis
Hello, everyone. I hope that you all are doing well. I wanted to give a quick preface before I begin today’s article. I wanted to try something different with this. For someone, such as me, who loves movies as I do, I always enjoy going out to see a new one that’s recently released in theaters or streaming services. However, I’ve also done a little reflecting about writing for this site, and I wanted to see what other ways I can share my love for movies and help others explore more of their appreciation for film as well beyond doing the monthly review of what’s new for that time.
One way that I thought about doing that is not every month but, during times that I have more free to myself and if I’m up to it, I would like to give briefer thoughts or shout-outs to movies that either aren’t out in theaters for the first time or may not receive much as attention or get much discussion but still are ones that I either like or love. Something that I’ve discovered over the years is that, when it comes to media, there tends to be focus mainly on what’s new or what the newest blockbuster is and less about what is either older and deserves more recognition or is a little underappreciated in some other way.
This article is one of other ideas that I have for my movie/animation blog for the future that I hope will help others come across something that they might enjoy as well or, at the very least, help me test a new way for me to discuss film in a way that will be different for me.
These articles won’t be AS detailed or analytical as a straight-up review tends to be, and each of the movies on this list won’t be graded here. That doesn’t mean that I won’t do an essay in the future that either explores more of a theme or other element regarding them or that I won’t talk about one of these films in greater detail ahead. This is just a way for me to give recognition to movies that aren’t discussed as much in recent times and, yes, maybe, give an opportunity for me to share a little about what a few of these films personally mean to me.
No particular order with these. It’s just a small list of four randomly selected movies that I greatly admired and recommend for anyone to check out on streaming or otherwise. Enjoy!
“Sideways” (2004)
This is a fantastic movie that I heavily admired and had it still stay with me from way back when I first watched in my college days. On the surface, it doesn’t sound too different from many road trip movies. However, Alexander Payne’s direction and the performances of the main actors, particularly Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church, enable it to stand proudly as an amazing comedy and one of the best movies from the 2000’s. Giamatti and Church are the types of character actors who bring so much more to whatever project that they appear in, and both of them easily give some of their best work in this film.
Their chemistry and hilarious clashing of their wildly different personalities makes you curious to what it would be like for someone else to join them on a trip. For every time that they bicker in frustration or do something that gets the other into trouble, there is another moment in which one of them brings a strangely insightful moment of clarity or tries to reason with them about what the more constructive thing is to do for a crazy situation or set-up. Neither Giamatti nor Church is completely good or completely bad. They’re both flawed yet decent humans trying to find fulfillment or better happiness for themselves in their own paths, and their vulnerability and honesty with each other helps result in one of my favorite cinematic duos.
On top of that, I just love the pacing of the story and how it lends itself to feeling, in many respects, similar to how a vacation can be. In many of the vacations that I’ve been on, there is downtime and simply resting in a hotel room and chatting, and it goes along with the excursion or “adventure” for the day. It sounds like a obvious thing to mention to some, but people tend to forget how many films overlook this and simply have one shenanigan after another happen to its characters almost non-stop. And, as someone who loves traveling or going on a good vacation, I still appreciate this. This and another beloved favorite of mine, “Lost in Translation” is a movie that makes me think about wanting to travel just by watching it.
Some parts can be a little sad in this movie, but the balance of it with the warm or hilarious moments and how terrific these characters are with each other makes this a fantastic dark comedy to check out.
“Hot Fuzz” (2007)
Many movie fans have a favorite comedy director, and, while comedy is a genre that I am about as picky as you can get with regards to what I like and what I don’t, I can tell you without batting an eyelid that Edgar Wright is, in my opinion, the gold standard for an amazing director in this category. He’s proven time and again with “Baby Driver” and “Last Night in Soho” that he can work wonders outside of this genre, but this entry in the “Cornetto Trilogy” of his comedies backs that up in spades. The editing for this movie’s jokes and scenes is incredibly sharp and precise, and it allows every reaction or joke to become all the funnier when it goes from one moment to the next.
There’s an impressive energy that comes from this and how straight-faced Simon Pegg is with Nick Frost and all of the other delightfully nutty inhabitants of the small town that he serves in. Other well-known British actors, such as Jim Broadbent and Timothy Dalton, have a grin or confidence that welcomes intrigue to what is actually happening in this village but, also, brings some strong humor from what they do or say. Pegg and Frost themselves are fantastic as they respectively play a cop who is hardcore and dead serious to the highest level and a playfully dumb yet faithful buddy who cares so much about his job to the point that he has an entire walking closet of hundreds of cop DVD’s that help light a spark of inspiration and thrills for him.
No joke. Wright and Pegg literally watched over 100 cop films and held over 50 interviews with police officers to find the best ideas for the plot and dialogue for this cop comedy. On the surface, such preparation does sound extreme, but, when one sees the plot of the film and how different “Hot Fuzz” feels from every other entry in this genre out there, all of the work shows itself in a movie that is a genuine ode and tribute to cop action films, in general. A real passion expressed by the main characters for why they do what they do and how great everything in the movie is, including the action, brings both a humor and oddly moving feel to the genre as a whole.
It’s also worth mentioning that “Hot Fuzz” ends with what has to be one of my favorite climaxes in cinema. The action and sheer energy from every frame has to be seen and experienced to be believed, and I still get thrills and a big smile on my face whenever I re-visit it. It’s awesome from start to finish, similar to the rest of the movie.
“The Town” (2010)
Ben Affleck is one of those people in the film industry who has come a long way in terms of his career, and, while he has experienced his share of ups and downs, he has still managed to maintain a solid track with movies, whether it’s his entertaining presence in the awesome Ridley Scott movie, “The Last Duel” or his directing career. Some may point to “Argo” as his best directorial achievement to this date. And, while I do admire that movie, the movie that he directed and made the strongest impact in my eyes was with 2010’s “The Town.”
Boston looks phenomenal from how it’s shot, and all of the tight streets and sense of community and knowledge of each other is strongly present from every frame and each interaction between these characters. Affleck and Jeremy Renner have such terrific chemistry with each other and the rest of their small yet brutally efficient gang. They calmly plan and debate back and forth as though they’ve truly been best friends from their childhood days, and it immediately amplifies the intensity of their superbly filmed robbing sequences. Despite both of these characters having done awful deeds in their past and present capers, the audience is still fully invested in them.
Everybody else in the cast, including Jon Hamm as the FBI agent and Rebecca Hall as the banker that gets involved in the conflict and has her own difficult past, works wonderfully off of each other, and Harry Gregson-Williams and David Buckley’s score blends both intense melodies for the action scenes and quieter tunes for when characters are wistfully reflecting about what might have been or what their dilemmas are. The one scene that is worth the price of admission alone is listening to Affleck discuss the loss of his mother. There’s no music in this scene, and it’s all acted, written, and directed amazingly. An aching aura of hurt and the still present trauma of someone who unexpectedly lost a loved one can be seen as painfully clear as day from Affleck’s eyes and defeated voice. Whatever you may want to say about some of Affleck’s past movies or personal life, there’s no denying that, at his best, his talent truly shines. Moments, such as this, and “The Town” as a whole are living proof of that.
“Big Fish” (2003)
Much like 1994’s “Ed Wood” “Big Fish” might be one of Tim Burton’s most criminally underrated movies. It’s a beautifully crafted narrative that shines with imagination from the crooked trees that literally move with a life of their own to the decade-old houses that look so lonely but also brim with intrigue in the sense that it makes the audience wonder what is going on with the character who lives within it. One of the reasons that Burton has always remained one of my favorite directors is that, for some of his films, they feel as close to fairy tales as one could hope for outside of Disney.
And, “Big Fish” is essentially an imaginative fairy tale that most likely didn’t happen exactly according to how Albert Finney tells it but carry the soul of someone telling stories about the wonders and terrific people and points in his life. There’s an interesting discussion in this movie about whether either truth or fiction is more important and where the line should be drawn when reflecting or elaborating upon one’s life. Yet, through it all, John August’s script and Tim Burton’s direction and the endlessly upbeat and spirited performances of both Finney and Ewan McGregor establish that, regardless of how true or questionable the main character’s narrative about his life may be, the spirit of his stories and what they mean to others and especially himself is what matters.
As a writer, this movie holds a special place in my heart because it stands as a sincere love letter to storytelling, in general. There will always be critiques for how good or bad a particular tale is, but it’s so easy to forget that, regardless of how it turns out, there is such a power and passion to telling tales. Storytelling can help others connect. It can help others learn important lessons about themselves and each other. It can bring truth and joy and even show love when all else fails. And, “Big Fish” captures all of that down to a tee.
On top of all that, it’s a nice movie about someone who wants to do what he can to help others, and, even if some of his tactics are misguided at times, Ewan McGregor brings so much heart and optimism that, for all of his foolishness, you still want to follow through every bit of his journey because it’s him simply living his life. This film has so much to say about life, but it also isn’t afraid to touch upon the unavoidable presence of death and how one might approach it, especially when it comes to the loss of a loved one.
Full disclosure: The ending to this film is one of only a select number of finales that makes me cry every time that I watch it or even listen to the music for it. It’s beautifully done, and, without divulging too much, this film holds a special meaning to me after events in recent years in regards to loss and change. This is easily one of my favorites from Burton, and it brings something new for me to appreciate or love whenever I return to it.