The Green Mile was Frank Darabont’s (
The Mist, The Majestic) first movie following
The Shawshank Redemption, a riveting prison movie that has found a permanent spot on many critics and movie fan’s top ten of all-time lists. The expectations were high for
The Green Mile, if not altogether unrealistic. Like
The Shawshank Redemption, this movie was set almost exclusively in prison. Like
The Shawshank Redemption, this movie was based on a Stephen King novel. Like
The Shawshank Redemption, this movie was set somewhere in middle America, reasonably close to the time frame of World War I, though neither of these movies ever really talks about any war.
The Green Mile was set in 1932, while
The Shawshank Redemption was set in 1946. The expectations for
The Green Mile might have been unrealistic. I say this because of the reasons mentioned above, but also because it starred Tom Hanks (
Forrest Gump, Philadelphia), Hollywood’s #1 leading man at the time, who was fresh off of receiving his 5th Academy Award Nomination for Best Actor after his performance in
Saving Private Ryan. While
The Green Mile is not as good as
The Shawshank Redemption (my favorite film of all time, at the time of this review), it is still an incredible movie that everybody should see at least once.
Continue reading The Green Mile (1999) →
Insidious was one of the few horror movies that lived up to the hype. It seems like any “horror” flick can make a trailer that looks exciting and terrifying. However, a select few can duplicate the rush you feel when you see the preview for the first time. It’s even rarer when a horror flick can come up as an original idea that hasn’t been duplicated dozens of times. I’ve probably seen 50 new horror movies that have since 2000. I felt bored by many of those movies, a feeling of been there/done that, not remotely scared, and sometimes even cheated.
Original review – September 18, 2011 | Updated review August 12, 2013
Roman Polanski’s (The Pianist, Chinatown) first American film, 1968’s Rosemary’s Baby, is a classic film that has held the test of time and should be viewed by every film fan at least once. Though classified primarily as a horror film, it isn’t scary compared to today’s movies. However, it does have a certain eeriness that only the legendary film directors (such as Alfred Hitchcock in Psycho and others) could capture in that day and age. It’s neither the darkness nor the freaky-looking characters that establish the fear. Instead, the fascinating, web-weaving storyline captures the audience’s interest for the film’s duration.
I had one primary reason for watching this movie: Timothy Olyphant was the star. Olyphant was an actor I had not even heard of one year ago. F/X had a new show this season called Justified, and Olyphant was the star. I gave the show a chance. It hooked me from the first scene in the first episode. There are many reasons why I like the television show, but one of those is Olyphant. He plays the role of US Marshall well. So, I have been looking back at Olyphant’s filmography and saw he had the leading role in The Crazies. I like Olyphant, and horror movies generally perk my interest, so checking this film out was a no-brainer.