Day 20: Held Hostage

Saturday, May 7, 2011

DAY 20, MOVIE 1:

Key Largo (1948), directed by John Huston. John Huston is one of my favorite directors of the 1940s. Every time he time he teamed up with actor Humphrey Bogart, it seemed a classic was brought to the screen. The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and The African Queen all immediately come to mind when I think of these two legends. Today I watched one of their lesser known films, Key Largo. In Key Largo, a gangster holds a family and a cowardly GI hostage in a Florida hotel, as a hurricane is approaching. This movie was based on a play, and Huston directs it as such. There isn’t anything fancy about the filmmaking, but the acting is superb. The performances were what created the tension in the situation portrayed onscreen. One great scene was when gangster Johnny Rocco (played by Edward G. Robinson) dares Bogart to shoot and kill him. However, Bogart’s character was too much of a coward, but was too afraid to show he was a coward. He simply throws the gun down and says killing Rocco isn’t worth it. The highlight of the scene is after the gun is revealed to be unloaded, and Lauren Bacall states that Bogart didn’t know the gun wasn’t loaded, and calls him a coward in front of everyone. But my favorite scene is at the end, taking place on a boat. Bogart had killed all the gangsters, except Rocco. Rocco begs for his life, and without saying a word, Bogart sits there silently, letting Rocco go crazy by trying to bargain his way out of being killed. Writing about the scene doesn’t do the performances justice, but if you’re a fan of Bogart, Huston, or 1940s crime films, then you owe it to yourself to check out Key Largo.

DAY 20, MOVIE 2:

Jurassic Park (1993), directed by Steven Spielberg. I’m not the biggest Spielberg fan on the planet, and in fact I would say he’s overrated. But I will admit that Jurassic Park was a gigantic achievement. The visual effects in this film are among the greatest of all time. Most times CGI effects become dated within a couple of years, but Jurassic Park is one of the few that still holds up today, almost twenty years later. Those dinosaurs looked real in 1993, and they still look real today. Of course the CG wouldn’t hold up half as much if they didn’t use animatronics whenever in conjunction with the CG effects. The blend of both computer and physical effects gives this movie a realistic edge over most effects driven movies put out today. But a movie can’t truly pass the test of time based on its effects alone; it also needs a well rounded, well told story. Jurassic Park is about an amusement park that clones dinosaurs, and puts them on display like a zoo. A group of scientists is brought to the park for a preview tour, and of course everything goes wrong, and the dinosaurs escape. It is a basic story, but Spielberg is able to create suspense by putting likeable characters, who feel real, right into the midst of the action. Plus it doesn’t hurt that John Williams’ score heightens the tension, with some of the most famous music ever created for a film.

DAY 20, MOVIE 3:

Toy Story 3 (2010), directed by Lee Unkrich. Since I watched the first two Toy Story movies last weekend, it was inevitable that I watch the third one this weekend. This is a movie that I have already talked and written about numerous times. Toy Story 3 is easily my favorite of the three, and my favorite animated film of all time. The writers take characters from more than ten years ago, who are so strongly written, and puts them through the dregs. It is the ultimate adventure for the conclusion of a trilogy. In Toy Story 3, Andy is grown up and on his way to college, and the toys are donated to a daycare center, and then eventually thrown into every toy’s nightmare: the garbage dump. This is a movie with an ending so powerful, that I don’t even dare spoil anything about it. But I will say that there is a moment at the climax that will make you realize just how well written these characters have always been. Toy Story 3 is the perfect ending for some perfect characters.