TONY PORCO’S MOVIE NEWSLETTER–BELATED TENTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Yes, folks, I have actually been doing this for ten years as of last year, which is why I refer to this as the “belated” anniversary issue. (Interestingly, I didn’t even have a personal email account when I started, and the first few newsletters were printed out and sent via regular mail.) I do have one special feature related to this, which you will find at the end.

WORDPLAY: Every year, on a chilly February weekend, the best crossword-puzzle players in the nation gather at a ritzy hotel in Stamford, Connecticut for the annual national crossword tournament. I'm not a huge crossword puzzle fan, but Patrick Creadon's documentary impressed me because it captured and shared the excitement the participants feel at this event, and why they like crosswords so much. I think this is because we get to know them, and discover that (other than their passion for this particular leisure activity) they're mostly ordinary folks--a clerical worker from Brooklyn, a suburban husband and Dad from Colorado, a college kid from New York. (In that way, they remind me of people that play Dungeons and Dragons and similar games, and the competition reminds me a bit of the conventions of game players that I used to attend.) Your guide to this world is Will Shortz, the unassuming and likable New York Times crossword puzzle editor. The director keeps things interesting by intercutting personal and competition scenes with interviews with a wide variety of celebrities who like crosswords--Bill Clinton, Bob Dole, Ken Burns, Amy Gray of the folk group the Indigo Girls, and Daily Show host Jon Stewart (who spends much of the movie jokingly haranguing Shortz about the difficulties he is experiencing finishing that day's puzzle, something that made me wonder what it must have been like when Shortz saw the movie himself). There is also a lot of creative use of computer graphics; we watch as one champion finishes a puzzle that would take me hours to complete in about five minutes. RATING: 8.

CHALLENGE THE WIND: Does anybody know who Bill Blackburn is? He was the guy who sat at the helm next to Chekov or Sulu in almost every episode of the original Star Trek series, always without saying a word, and almost always without an order given directly to him. (He was also a costumer for the show and others made in Hollywood in the years since.) Not long ago, I found out his name while surfing on the Internet Movie Database. I also found out that back in 1991, he wrote, directed, and starred in his own independent film, Challenge the Wind. I got curious and rented it, and found that while it’s not a grand, world-changing piece of cinema, it is a likable character drama. The story centers on Matt (Mark Whittington), a troubled teenage orphan sent to live in a small Arkansas town with his grandparents (Jay Jones and Norma Harding). Directionless and disdainful at first, he finds a niche on one of the school’s few varsity teams, the track squad. Jones, as the grandfather, comes off as likable and terrific as he becomes an unofficial coach for his grandson, and their scenes together are appealing. The movie also has some well-shot running footage (reminiscent of Chariots of Fire and of Personal Best, which wasn’t anywhere near as good as this movie) and a gorgeous, stunning ending shot, which help make up for somewhat melodramatic writing and trite acting. Blackburn (who has a small role as the track coach) helps everything to unfold at a slow-but-not-boring pace, matching the pace of the lives in the small town in a way reminiscent of other movies I’ve seen, especially Central Station (which I reviewed a few years ago on the short reviews page). This is worth renting if you can find a copy. RATING: 7.

STRANGER THAN PARADISE: Legendary independent filmmaker Jim Jarmusch’s first feature revolves around a slacker named Willie (John Lurie) who somehow makes enough money to live in New York City solely by playing poker and betting on horses. His world is dislocated a bit when his cousin Eva (the very beautiful Eszter Balint) flies in from their native Hungary for a visit. The two of them, along with a best friend and gambling buddy (Richard Edson from Good Morning Vietnam and Do the Right Thing, who is terrific here), end up living a slow, humble existence in New York. Later, she goes to Cleveland to get a job and stay with another relative (the irascible Aunt Lotte, played by Cecilia Stark, who was 94 at the time), where the two men follow her for a visit a year later. Many things about this film are typical for indie films like it–the minimalist (but still interesting) camera work, the realistic story and acting, the few-hundred-thousand-dollar budget--but that’s at least partly because this very influential movie is part of the reason why those things are typical. On the other hand, some of it is atypical and strange even for indie movies, especially the almost-total lack of editing–every shot is simply set up, allowed to play out with little or no camera movement until the end of the scene, and then faded out and back in for the next scene. This gives the film an unusual and somewhat repetitive (and maybe even leisurely) rhythm. Best of all, the form of the movie follows the function, and this process approximates the lives of the characters, thus helping to tell the story. That said, the editing still takes some getting used to, much as the shaky camera in Blair Witch Project took some getting used to (I can’t speak for anybody else, but in both cases, I managed to do so without too much trouble). If all this sounds too serious, it’s not. In fact, the script has many witty moments and a few sublime ones, and it and the actors succeed in making you care about these characters, which surprised me. I would give this movie a 9 or even a 10 unhesitatingly, but unfortunately, I found the ending unsatisfying, given what came before it. I didn’t regret seeing the movie at all, however. RATING: 8.

TOP TEN LISTS: In honor of this issue being the (belated) tenth anniversary issue, I solicited top ten (or top whatever) movie lists from some of the newsletters’ most faithful readers, and here are the results. If any other reader wants to do the same, and wants his or her list to be included here, feel free to do so!

DEAN OMAN: My preliminary top 10 list is below. These are a measure of my favorites (subjective), rather than "bests" (an attempt to be more objective), though some would appear on both lists. The list would probably change if I had more time to ponder it.

1. Forrest Gump

2. It's a Wonderful Life

3. Wizard of Oz

4. One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest

5. Amadeus

6. Gandhi

7. American Grafitti

8. Papillon

9. Dr. Strangelove

10. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

CHRIS MALINOWSKI:

1. Silence of the Lambs

2. Shawshank Redemption

3. Sixth Sense

4. The Green Mile

5. A Beautiful Mind

6. Saving Private Ryan

7. Forrest Gump

8. Good Will Hunting

9. Usual Suspects

10. A Few Good Men

11. Shrek

12. The Insider

13. Analyze This

14. Philadelphia

15. A Time to Kill

16. Seven

17. American History X

18. Midnight Run

19. The Hurricane

20. Million Dollar Baby

21. Notting Hill

22. Good Morning Vietnam

23. Fatal Attraction

24. The Shining

25. Falling Down

26. Awakenings

27. Fear

28. Boys Don't Cry

29. Primal Fear

30. Jerry Mcguire

31. Cinderella Man

32. Finding Nemo

33. Sleepless in Seattle

34. Pearl Harbor

35. Enemy of the State

MICHELLE MARTIN:

These are in no particular order except for the first one: Saturday Night Fever: This is my favorite movie. People who haven't seen this film sometimes assume that it's a cheesy "disco" or "dance" movie, but it's actually a gritty coming-of-age film. It earned John Travolta his first best actor nomination. This was also Gene Siskel's favorite movie, which makes me miss his presence even more. A little bit of trivia: Gene Siskel bought John Travolta's white disco suit at an auction.

Dirty Dancing

Swingers

Amelie

Bring it On

The Station Agent

Muriel's Wedding

Girlfight

Ghost World

Real Women Have Curves

In the Heat of the Night

Sunset Boulevard

The Long, Hot Summer

A Streetcar Named Desire

It's a Wonderful Life

Casablanca

Singin' in the Rain

Auntie Mame

Psycho

Rear Window

Rocky

Harold and Maude

Forrest Gump

Good Will Hunting

To Kill a Mockingbird

JILL PORCO:

Educating Rita (very worth watching...Michael Caine in one of his best performances ever...)

The Gods Must be Crazy (the first one, not the second one--that was sillier than the first one and I didn't like it as much)

In the Heat of the Night (the chemistry between Rod Steiger and Sidney Poitier is outstanding)

One Who Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest (Jack Nicholson was truly great, even this young.)

Ordinary People

Ragtime

The Remains of the Day (a truly great performance by Sir Anthony Hopkins, better than in Shadowlands above, although that was good too)

Shadowlands

One last thing–in addition to having every back issue of the newsletter (including the early, postal-mail issues) posted at http://www.geocities.com/museumcataloging/movierev.html, all of the movies that have ever been reviewed in the newsletter are listed in alphabetical order at http://www.geocities.com/museumcataloging/movierev_abc.html. Feel free to stop by, and thanks again for your interest!

TONY