1997’s The Game was David Fincher’s film movie as a director, but the first following the highly successful and fan-favorite Se7en. Fincher’s first movie was Alien 3, which had many franchise fans wishing the series had ended with Aliens. With one flop and one success under his belt, Fincher needed to make a statement with his third movie to prove that Se7en was not a fluke. The Game grossed $48 million at the box office, roughly half of what Se7en brought in, but this was still considered a success. Moreover, perhaps more importantly, it was a success with the critics. Following this movie, Fincher became a household name. Still, he has picked his projects carefully. From 1993 to 2010, Fincher has directed just nine movies. However, His most recent films (The Social Network, 2010, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, 2008) garnered him Academy Award nominations for Best Director.
Category Archives: Adventure
The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
In The Darjeeling Limited (2007), Francis Whitman (Owen Wilson – Marley & Me, Midnight in Paris) reunites with his brothers Peter (Adrien Brody – The Pianist, The Jacket) and Jack (Jason Schwartzman – I Heart Huckabees, Fantastic Mr. Fox) for the first time since their father’s funeral one year ago. The hope is that he can lead them on a quest for spiritual enlightenment as they embark on a train trip through India in hopes of finding their long-lost mother. If this plot + Owen Wilson as the lead actor already have you imagining how dumb this movie might be, keep the imagination rolling because you aren’t even close.
127 Hours (2010)
After seeing an episode of I Shouldn’t Be Alive a few years ago that showed the story of Aron Ralston, the adventure seeker who got his arm pinned between a boulder and a rock wall and managed to survive, I didn’t know if there was a need for a full-length feature film. I figured that the only way that Danny Boyle’s (Slumdog Millionaire, Yesterday)127 Hours would be able to affect me was if there was a masterful lead acting performance, some stylish directing, or a combination of the two. Fortunately, that was precisely what happened.
True Grit (2010)
I am the first to admit that I am not as big a fan of Joel and Ethan Coen-directed movies as most people are. While I did enjoy Fargo (1996) and A Single Man (2009), I wouldn’t say I liked Miller’s Crossing (1990) and Barton Fink (1991). While I thought No Country for Old Men was pretty good, it was not close to being the best movie from 2007. Then there are the other Coen-directed movies I would prefer to see. These include Burn After Reading (2008), The Ladykillers (2007), Intolerable Cruelty (2003), or O Brother, Where Art Though? (2000). I appreciate a good Western. Once True Grit was nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award, it became a no-brainer that I saw the movie, despite my reservations about the Coens.
Into The Wild (2007)
The Sean Penn (The Crossing Guard, The Pledge) directed Into the Wild had all the promise of a movie that could have lived in the lives of high school students around the country for years to come. The novel of the same name, penned by Jon Krakauer, is part of the high school curriculum in many school systems around the country. The movie is rated R. I’ve seen it twice. Had a couple of scenes been toned down, the movie could have easily garnered a PG-13 rating, thus allowing it to be viewed in English class after reading the book. I don’t know if Penn thought about this when making the movie and, if he did, if he even cared. It is, however, food for thought.