10 of the Most Cathartic Moments in Contemporary Film

You're not gonna find anything on here from Casablanca or some other old movie. It's not that there aren't great moments in the classics, but the most emotional moments are timely and speak to a specific audience. So all these have got to come from movies of my lifetime.

Because I don't want to ruin anything for anyone who hasn't seen these movies, I'll just give you a brief scene description that should make it obvious which moments I'm talking about.

Here are ten of my favorite movie moments:

10. Leap of Faith
Obscure, yes, but a good movie. It's one of those Steve Martin dramas (I think The Spanish Prisoner is the only other one). Martin masquerades as a faith healer, scamming people across the country. Then he sees the error of his ways. Yes, it's a common story, but the way the ending plays out: fantastic! "Yessir. Yessir."

9. Field of Dreams
I know this one's obvious, that's why it's at number nine. But really, Kevin Costner finally finds out what it was all for, and he gets to have a catch.

8. Crash
I didn't love this movie as a whole but it had some great scenes. The most powerful: (1) Matt Dillon saves the woman from the car, and (2) The scenes with the invisible cloak.

7. Shall We Dance
The tuxedo, the rose, and the escalator.

6. Life Is Beautiful
The radio scene and the march, while the boy looks on from the letter box.

5. The Kid
The discussion between Bruce Willis and Jean Smart in the bar. (And this scene almost ended up on the cutting-room floor.)

4. Serendipity
The groom's gift. The look on John Cusack's face says it all. Brilliance.

3. Unstrung Heroes
Andie MacDowell goes to fix the skipping record while the family makes pancakes. Brilliant direction by Diane Keaton and wonderful acting from everyone involved (especially John Turturro).

2. I Am Legend
Will Smith sings Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds" to his dog. Then the director takes the perfect close-up of Smith's face -- immaculate acting.

1. Children of Men
Clive Owen guides the baby through the warzone. If this doesn't make you feel something then you have no heart.

THE 5 WORST MOVIES EVER MADE

Okay, I have to lay down some ground rules first. I can't put movies like Plan 9 from Outer Space on this list, because that's a whole other standard. But what I will do is break my top five worst movies into categories. The grand master of all the lists is what I would officially call my top five worst movies ever! But first...

The 5 Worst Independent Films:

Now there's some real crap in the independent world, so I had to limit this to the five worst independent films to achieve a wide release. Basically this means that you can find all of these at your average Blockbuster or Hollywood video.

5. The Contract (2006)
4. D.E.B.S. (2004)
3. My Big Fat Independent Movie (2005)
2. Under the Same Moon (2007)
1. Romance & Cigarettes (2005)
Too bad it can't make my list of top 5 worst movies ever, because it wasn't studio-backed. But here's the basic formula: X = Produced by the Coen Bros. + written and directed by John Turturro + starring (James Gandolfini + Susan Sarandon + Mandy Moore + Mary-Louise Parker + Kate Winslet + Bobby Cannavale + Christopher Walken + Steve Buscemi). So X should equal a good movie, right? No! X = One of the worst movies I've ever seen.


The 5 Worst Critically Acclaimed Films:

These are movies that I truly hated but not quite enough to make the 5 overall worst.

5. The Hours (2002)
4. Syriana (2005)
3. Mystic River (2003)
2. Flags of Our Fathers (2006)
1. Babel (2006)
When the only good thing about a movie is its score, you've got a problem. Why anyone thinks this movie is worth seeing, I will never understand.


The 5 Worst Sequels:

I won't do repeats, so if there's a movie that should be on this list but also ends up on the top 5 worst ever, then you won't find it here.

5. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
How many times can they say, "With great power comes great responsibility"? Seriously! And I'm convinced the entire movie was built around the awkwardly unfunny scene of Spider-man in an elevator.
4. The Ring Two (2005)
3. Men in Black II (2002)
2. Shrek the Third (2007)
1. Be Cool (2005)
This sequel to Get Shorty was so bad and so boring, I almost walked out...of the dollar theater.


And now...

The 5 Worst Movies Ever Made:

The rules are as follows:
-The movie must have been produced by a major studio.
-The movie must have at least one A-list star.
-I have to have seen the movie in the theater, which narrows this list to films produced after about 1990.

So here they are...

5. Elektra (2005)
4. Dante's Peak (1997)
3. Ever After (1998)
2. The Patriot (2000)
Mel Gibson reprises the role of William Wallace during the American Revolution. Historical inaccuracies abound, the laws of physics do not apply, and there are more plot contrivances than you can count with both shoes off. Emotionally sappy and manipulative. Then the gratuitous gore.

And the worst movie ever made...

1. Batman & Robin (1997)
Admittedly in retrospect George Clooney as Batman was a terrible idea. Then they let Chris O'Donnell reprise his role as Robin. Introduce Alicia Silverstone as the batgirl? Three strikes right there. Add in a horrible script, neon thugs, Arnold's icy one-liners, and Joel Schumacher. That sounds like an unbeatable formula for the worst movie ever made.


*Other movies that almost made the list: Daredevil, Clifford, Mission to Mars, The Holiday, The Man with Two Brains, Vacancy, The Deep End of the Ocean, Beowulf, The Black Dahlia, P2

Sketches of Frank Gehry

I just stumbled across this great documentary from 2005. I'm not sure how I heard about it, but I'm glad I did.

It's from director Sydney Pollack about famous architect Frank Gehry. Before seeing this I wasn't at all familiar with Gehry's work, aside from having seen a few of his buildings on TV or in movies. If you're like me and don't know who he is, he designed the Walt Disney Concert Hall (home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic) and the famous Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain (pictured below).

I don't have a lot to say about the film except that it's well worth watching. It's a unique insight into the mind of an artistic genius.

That's the way!!!

In my review of The Dark Knight, I said that I don't typically like comic book movies. I also said that I hadn't seen Iron Man yet.

Well, today I saw Iron Man and, That's the way to make a comic book movie!

You spend time at the beginning of the movie (say, the first act) introducing and developing the characters. Then instead of having a flat, two-dimensional superhero, you allow the protagonist to actually have a character arc, you let him develop and learn and grow throughout the film. Then you have a plot and theme that tie together and are relevant and current. You maintain focus by not cluttering the film with a dozen villains and eight billion henchmen. On top of that, you have a script that's actually really good. Then you cast Robert Downey, Jr. in the lead role.

That's how you make a good comic book movie.

It's a revolutionary concept, I know, the idea that you'd actually invest time and energy in character, but it pays off. This is one of the best movies of the year so far.

How Is This Guy a Working Actor?

Seriously, this guy is one of the worst actors working today.

Just look at that picture. The guy is so disturbing! And has he ever given a good performance?

Okay, he was all right in Being John Malkovich but that's because he was playing himself. Otherwise he's just awful, and painful to watch. His constant affectations and utter creepiness are enough to make anyone shudder. And yet some people love this guy.

Let's take, for example, Rounders. Granted, not a great movie, but a good one. I mean, it's entertaining enough. And the minor characters are all great, from John Turturro to Martin Landau. That is except for John Malkovich, with his stupid Oreo cookies and his dreadful "Russian" accent. They could have had Rick Moranis in the role and it would have been better than Mr. Creepy McCreepington, John Malkovich.

It doesn't matter what this guy's in, he's eerie and terrible, from The Killing Fields to In the Line of Fire to Eragon.

What a hack!!!