When I write a review this close to the start of a new year, I usually see most of the movies considered for one of the big six Oscar awards. If I don’t, I usually wait for those limited releases set for a wide release a couple of weeks later. Regardless, most people would have known of all the big-budget or Oscar-worthy movies by the time of a January 1st post. In 2020, the rules changed, and the cinema was no exception. Some big-budget movies slated to come out during the year have been tabled until the pandemic ends and will likely come out in the second half of 2021. However, the Academy has made date modifications, which means that films will be eligible for the end-of-year awards as long as they are released by February 28, 2021. I usually start watching the final one or two movies that might receive a Best Picture nomination around the start of the new year. 2020 is a different kind of beast, and this review is my first of the year of a film that will receive a nomination for that award.
Category Archives: Adventure
The Abyss (1989)
I remember the first time I saw the trailer for The Abyss on television, like it was yesterday. The film’s release date was August 9, 1989, so I don’t believe it aired during the Super Bowl, but it might have. At the time, it was common to tease a trailer seven months before release. However, I don’t believe it was during the Super Bowl because I remember the trailer being much longer than the 30- or 60-second spot a Super Bowl advertisement traditionally ran. The preview might have been hyped for weeks as something set to be shown as an extended trailer on a popular show. In either case, I had never been awed by a movie preview in my entire life, and that might be the best trailer I’ve ever seen on television.
A Perfect World (1993)
David Mackenzie’s critically acclaimed Hell or High Water, a 2016 movie nominated for Best Picture, reminded me of a quiet, subdued gem from 1993 that undoubtedly inspired a director just entering his prime. Clint Eastwood (Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby) was fresh off Unforgiven (a movie that earned him his first Best Director Oscar win as well as Best Picture of the Year) and the critically acclaimed, equally fan-adored In the Line of Fire. A Perfect World was Eastwood’s third movie between 1992 and 1993, the most successful two-year period of the most exceptional director/actor combination in cinema history.
3:10 to Yuma (2007)
The Western genre is dying. Gone are the days of John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, et al., and the era of Westerns in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Once a staple in American cinema, those films are now few and far between. Years could pass before a good Western connects with critics and audiences alike. Unforgiven reset the standard in 1992, connecting with critics and audiences alike while earning nine Oscar nominations and taking home four, most notably for Best Picture. Others have followed. Appaloosa, Hostiles, True Grit, Tombstone, and Open Range were big-budget movies that hit the screen with reckless aggression. True Grit was the most successful with critics (10 Oscar nominations, but no wins), but even its success pales in comparison to Unforgiven.
Cast Away (2000)
Tom Hanks is an American cinema legend. From Splash to Big to A League of Their Own to Philadelphia to Forrest Gump to Apollo 13 to Saving Private Ryan to Toy Story to The Green Mile and everything in between, Hanks has crafted some of the most memorable performances any generation has ever seen. But, if you notice a trend in the above movies, these and many other classics occurred before 2000, when Robert Zemeckis’s (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump) Cast Away had its theatrical run. Since then, Hanks’ has starred in quality movies like Road to Perdition, Catch Me If You Can, Charlie Wilson’s War, Captain Phillips, Saving Mr. Banks, and Sully. However, there have also been misses like The Da Vinci Code trilogy, Larry Crowne, Cloud Atlas, Ithica, The Circle, and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. Indeed, his career still has more ups and downs, but his overall portfolio isn’t quite as robust. Plus, in the last 20 years, he has taken more time off between projects. I mention all of this because he’s been my favorite actor for a large portion of my life, and I would prefer him acting more often with fewer duds in between.