21. House of Sand and Fog
Year: 2003
Director: Vadim Perelman
House of Sand and Fog is not fun nor is it easy to watch. The subject matter is dark and depressing, but it is a film filled with passion and intensity and is easily one of my very favorites. Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly turn in their best performances as two very different people locked in a dispute over the same house. If the premise sounds a little weak, believe me, it's not. Kingsley plays a retired Iranian colonel and it's just another example of how versatile an actor the man is. It seems like he can play any number of different nationalities and be convincing as them all. His role here is of a proud, determined, and reserved man, a man who will do anything to protect his family and Kingsley shines. He was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar, but inexplicably lost to Sean Penn for Mystic River. Connelly is just as good as a completely different character - a passionate and flighty woman with so many problems that she can't seem to function anymore. To match Kingsley is a spectacular feat, but Connelly does just that. The great supporting cast includes Shohreh Aghdashloo (nominated for Best Supporting Actress), Ron Eldard, Kim Dickens, and Frances Fisher and they all add complexity and depth to the film. House of Sand and Fog was Perelman's first film and he also adapted the screenplay from Andre Dubus III's great novel, accomplishing the rare feat of making a movie better than the novel. I haven't seen anything else from Perelman (who doesn't have much of a filmography), but he truly succeeded the first time around, making a film that left such an impression on me.
22. The Insider
Year: 1999
Director: Michael Mann
After several viewings, The Insider has become one of my favorite films. I first saw it in the theater in 1999 and liked it quite a bit, but with each new viewing, I find more and more to love. I've written about The Insider once before, in my piece about my favorite lead actor performances (if you missed it: http://goo.gl/mdwiWd), so I won't get into Russell Crowe's masterful performance again. Al Pacino, one of my favorite actors, gives one of the very best performances of his storied career as the 60 Minutes producer who oversees the story on big tobacco and their cover up. Pacino sometimes gets carried away and can go too far over the top, but here he balances his fiery emotions with a subtle side that is simply marvelous to behold. Christopher Plummer has a fantastic, if small, role as Mike Wallace and is in one of my favorite scenes of the film, when Wallace goes off on the corporate lackeys who tamper with his program. Bruce McGill also shines brightly in a memorable scene as a lawyer representing Crowe's character. Rounding out the cast is Philip Baker Hall, Stephen Tobolowsky, Gina Gershon, Michael Gambon, Rip Torn, Lynne Thigpen, and Colm Feore. All of them deliver such impressive performances that The Insider might be the best acted film I've ever seen, considering the collective force of performances from all these individuals. That's not to take away from Michael Mann's impressive work as director. He creates an intense atmosphere and takes a story that could have been just a character study and makes it into a suspenseful and beautiful film. The cinematography, editing, and score are all first rate. It all adds up to a breathtaking film, something I recommend to people all the time and rarely hear any negative comments in return.
23. In the Valley of Elah
Year: 2007
Director: Paul Haggis
In the Valley of Elah was a complete failure at the domestic box office (it earned less than $7 million) and didn't do much better worldwide, so it's not a film a lot of people know or talk about all that often, but I've loved it since my first viewing. Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize Theron both deliver powerful performances, with this being my favorite of Jones' long and distinguished career. As the father of an AWOL soldier who goes looking for answers, Jones carries this film with a mix of gruff outward appearance and soulful emotional outpouring, and was awarded with a Best Actor nomination. Theron is a local police detective who joins him on his search and the two work extremely well together. The supporting cast is nearly as good, especially with Susan Sarandon as Jones' wife and Jason Patric, Josh Brolin, James Franco, Barry Corbin, and Wayne Duvall all adding depth along the way. Paul Haggis is a filmmaker often maligned (on internet message boards, at least) for his much more popular film, Crash, but I love that one, too. He's also written some fantastic scripts for some excellent Clint Eastwood films - Million Dollar Baby (soon to appear in this series), Flags of Our Fathers, and Letters from Iwo Jima. His script for In the Valley of Elah is emotional, suspenseful, insightful, and brings up some good questions on matters relating to the military. His skills as a director aren't anything special, but he is more than capable. I hope to entice a few people to give In the Valley of Elah a chance, as I believe it's a criminally overlooked and under-known film.
24. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Year: 2005
Director: Shane Black
This is another film that mostly failed at the box office, but in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang's case, it found a home on DVD and Blu-Ray and has a bit of a cult following now. I couldn't be happier for the film or the cast and crew involved, since this is one of the funniest, most well written, and well acted films that I've had the pleasure to see. The jokes come fast and often and if you've only seen it once, you've probably missed a fair number of them due to laughing too hard at the proceeding lines. Shane Black, the writer of the first two Lethal Weapon films, knows a thing or two about creating interesting and detailed characters. His writing is what elevated that series and it does the same for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Robert Downey, Jr. and Val Kilmer get the roles of their careers and turn in exceptional performances. The two have amazing chemistry together, whether it's a dialogue heavy scene or an action interlude. The film is a complex murder mystery, but I could watch their two characters simply sit in a room and eat a meal together - I'm sure it would be immensely entertaining. In addition to Downey and Kilmer, the film also benefits from the work of Michelle Monaghan (who is not only beautiful, but also funny and charismatic), Corbin Bernsen, and Larry Miller. My one (admittedly very small) nitpick with the film is that Downey's and Monaghan's characters are supposed to be two years apart in age, but the actors are eleven years apart - and it's obvious that Downey is significantly older. It doesn't really hurt the film in any real way, but I do think of it every time I watch it.
25. L.A. Confidential
Year: 1997
Director: Curtis Hanson
Well,
there's part five of this ten part series. I hope to have inspired at
least one person to check out one of these films and I hope to read some
comments down below. Do you like any of these films? Hate any of them?
Let me know, please!
Coming up next Friday: My Favorite Comedy Films.
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