It’s the end of the fourth year of diving through the depths of the Touchstone and Hollywood Pictures movie vault, and what a ride it has been. From thrills, surprises, and genuine delight, with a few misfires, here is a look back at the best I saw, and what I will never watch again.
I love Lincoln and Air Force One but since they are not Touchstone made films rather Touchstone helped distribute the film for other companies, I was forced to exclude them from my list of the best. Daniel Day-Lewis and Harrison Ford get a special shout out for being so incredible on the big screen.
The Best (In No Particular Order)
- Bad Company: This thriller from the 1990s has Laurence Fishburne, Ellen Barkin, and Frank Langella face off in a do or die story of espionage. While the film was a box office flop, the picture is brilliant. I highly recommend the movie and remind you not to confuse the movie with the awful Chris Rock film of the same name.
- He Got Game: This Spike Lee drama is the best basketball film ever and you can quote me on that. From the first moment to the last, the film is about the power, lure, drive, and hypnotic quality that basketball exudes. The family drama between Denzel Washington and Ray Allen adds layers and depth to a story that is packed with brilliance. The fact that this movie did not win multiple Oscars is a crime.
- A Simple Twist of Fate: This is a film that has flaws, but the dramatic turn by Steve Martin in the updated adaptation of George Eliot’s Silas Marner is the surprise of the year. Martin’s work is subdued and emotional. It is the perfect update and retelling of the classic novel that everyone should see, especially any high school student who is forced to read the book.
- Casanova: The film is a little bit silly, but it is the supreme work of Heath Ledger that makes this movie a standout for me. His premature death left a hole in the acting world, and watching Casanova viewers can see how incredibly talented this man was. Ledger elevated every role and could make a run of the mill romantic drama, exciting to watch.
- G.I. Jane: While the title should have been changed, there is no denying that this military drama featuring Demi Moore as the first woman to undergo Seal/CRT training is an action-packed joyride. When the film was released, Moore was coming off the stench of Striptease and the press was looking to destroy her. The movie is not perfect, but it is a quality action picture directed by Ridley Scott, and one of Demi Moore’s best performances.
The Not So Good
The Scarlet Letter: Demi Moore also had one of the worst films I saw this year from Hollywood Pictures. The 1990’s adaption of the classic Nathanial Hawthorne novel of puritan life in the Massachusetts colony is difficult to watch. There are many things wrong with the movie including the inconsistent accents by the actors, the unnecessary nude scenes from Moore and Gary Oldman, the casting of Robert Duvall, and the lack of energy to the story. This is a movie best forgotten.
Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo: Awful. Simply terrible. This was a movie that made me feel icky from the start to the last. Deuce is a character that I would like to forget existed, but the story panders to idiot mentality. The scene where Deuce has the cashier at the fish store reach for the fish at the bottom of the fish tank just so he can stare at her chest where it is soaked from the fish tank water tells you everything you need to know about this movie.
Ernest Goes to Jail: I love Jim Varney and his first two films in the Ernest series are hilarious. Ernest Goes to Jail is not good. Varney is his usual silly Ernest but the story of a psychotic criminal who is a dead ringer for the hapless Ernest is too much. Varney needed a story where he could play off kids to help show the sincerity to the bumbling Ernest.
Evita: I do enjoy musicals, and I love historical dramas, but Evita did not work for me. I would have preferred a whole film with just Antonio Banderas in the lead as Che Guevera, but Evita suffers from a main character that is not likable and played by an actress who maybe should have sit this one out.
Cold Creek Manor: It wanted to be a suspenseful Hitchcockian thriller, but this film is all washed up in the rain of cliches and bad pacing. We know Stephen Dorff is the villain from the first moment we meet him. The narrative is predictable, and I found I didn’t care for the main characters like I was supposed to.
The Streamy Award
It was the best of times, and the not-so-great of times watching films this year. Then again, that is the luck of the draw with being a film lover. There are many great films from the past year of deep diving into the watery vault of Touchstone and Hollywood Pictures.
For example, the lighthearted comedy Off Beat starring Judge Reinhold was a joy to watch. D.O.A. was an excellent neo noir thriller remake with a great performance by Dennis Quaid and Daniel Stern. Deuce Bigalow may have been terrible in my opinion, but The Hot Chick was sweet and funny, and featured an excellent performance by Rob Schneider and Anna Farris.
The point is that film is what you make of it. Yes, I didn’t like some of the movies that I watched this year, but I am glad to have watched them all. Just because one movie doesn’t work for you, doesn’t mean that they won’t find an audience of people who praise the work as wonderful.
Film has a way of dividing people, but for me, I love the movies that I watch because they are a moment in time captured in the century of Disney magic, that holds a special place in the decades of creativity.
Coming Soon
Next week I return with a new year of ‘Touchstone and Beyond’ which will feature a new look, and more reviews of Disney films from decades past.
Starting year five off of our retrospective enlists in the army with Pauly Shore’s In the Army Now.