The crowning achievement of Robin Williams’ storied career is not the
Mork and Mindy sitcom where he was first discovered. It’s not the numerous leading roles he has received recognition with, such as Best Lead Actor Academy Awards (
Good Morning, Vietnam, The Fisher King, Dead Poets Society). It was not in the numerous timeless comedies we’ll watch for ages (
Mrs. Doubtfire, The Birdcage, Jack, Robots, Night at the Smithsonian, Jumanji). It’s not for his creepingly effective turns in movies like
Insomnia, One Hour Photo,
The Night Listener, or heartwarming dramas such as
Awakenings. Heck, it was not as the voice of The Genie in
Aladdin. Instead, it is a community college professor who has not been able to move on from his life after losing his wife to cancer in Gus Van Sant’s (
Milk, Drugstore Cowboy) surprise 1997 hit
Good Will Hunting. Nevertheless, the film earned Williams the only Oscar of his career. And he’s not even the best part of this movie.
Continue reading Good Will Hunting (1997) →
Wow. I really wanted to love this movie. Bradley Cooper’s debut directorial performance was so close to perfect and yet so far away at the same time. I admire his vision and ambition for this movie so much that I want to credit it even in the areas it struggled with. Watching it through the lens of a moviegoer looking for an escape rather than that of a wannabe movie critic would have allowed me to see past some of its many errors. Ultimately, however, this film was far too flawed to be a legitimate contender for Best Picture or Best Director, despite what many seem to be already predicting. I will touch on all of the good and all of the bad in what will be one of my more thorough reviews.
Over seven years into my movie review website and BlacKkKlansman, this is the first Spike Lee-directed movie I’m reviewing. I realized this when I checked his category and saw that he wasn’t on my list. It certainly isn’t because I don’t enjoy a good Spike Lee movie. It’s more than one of my first 370+ reviews; more than 300 have been since 2010. And while Lee has certainly directed many films since 2010, I haven’t heard of nearly any of them. I did see (and enjoy) 2013’s Oldboy and am pretty surprised I did not write a review on it. It is a movie that I will go back and watch again and review. However, Lee is better known for the movies he directed over a 15-20-year period, starting with 1989’s Do the Right Thing and ending with 2006’s Inside Man. Shockingly, he does not have a Best Director Academy Award nomination to his credit and only has one actual nomination (as a screenwriter for Do The Right Thing). While Lee isn’t a Steven Spielberg, he has directed many memorable movies that people can immediately roll out of their mouths.
“The rush of battle is a potent and almost lethal addiction, for war is a drug.” – Chris Hedges, author of War Is A Force that Gives Us Meaning.
Remember, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.