To see my running list of the hundred greatest movie stars in American film history, click here All stars are listed with a single film which is particularly important, though not exclusively so, to understanding what makes them vital to American movies. 65) Cate Blanchett / Key film – I’m Not There Cate Blanchett has… Read More Better than AFI’s 100 Years…100 Stars: 61-65
Dir. Lana and Lilly Wachowski. Starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss The ’90s remain a key reference point for action films in this country, and to say “’90s action movie” is to call up larger than life scenarios and apocalyptic visions. There are significantly more ludicrous ’90s action movies than Point Break, say, but… Read More The Matrix (1999)
Dir. Stephen Frears. Starring John Malkovich, Glenn Close, Michelle Pfeiffer Valmont (Malkovich) emotionally withdraws from as many situations as he can, not because “emotion is weakness” or some other flaccid cliche, but because it’s silly to be emotionally involved in a situation where only one of you is in real life. Valmont is in a stage… Read More Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
Dir. Vincente Minnelli. Starring Louis Jourdan, Leslie Caron, Hermione Gingold Dir. Gus Van Sant. Starring River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, William Richert “Thank heaven for little girls,” Honoré (Maurice Chevalier) sings, and it’s as apt an opening for the film as there could be; there can be no question of why they are thanking heaven. The men… Read More Gigi (1958) and My Own Private Idaho (1991)
Seeing Things Secondhand 