Last week, movie blogs and fan sites were agog with the news that James Cameron had finally unveiled part of his year-in-the-making 3-D scifi epic, Avatar, at Amsterdam's Cinema Expo. Coming years after his last feature film, Titanic, Avatar has been the subject of serious anticipation owing to its rumored brilliance. Of course, the real test of a director's character isn't in how he succeeds on dream projects with colossal budgets; the true test of his mettle is how he makes medium-scale pictures with modest aims -- like Cameron's True Lies.
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The Exorcist is an exercise in fear. Demonic possession, Biblical plagues, and projectile vomit naturally frighten the bravest of us. In the Exorcist, where does Max von Sydow (Father Merrin) find the statue of the demon Pazuzu? What's the serial killer's nickname in The Exorcist III? Find out now.
If movie marketing's most outrageous stunts for the much of the twentieth century focused on the salacious (teen nudity, skywritten breasts, and pseudo-sex-education), the gimmicks from the '70s onward tend more toward the experiential, as audience members are provided with various ways of feeling like they're part of the action. Want to experience an earthquake or join the cast? Read on.
Earthquake (1974): Disastrous Rumblings Feel Real With Sensurround
This disaster hit introduced Sensurround, a short-lived gimmick that used high-decibel bass and large speakers to create tactile vibrations in the audience. Accompanied by low-frequency rumblings, the movie's scenes of the destruction of L.A. by earthquake ended up earning it an Oscar for Best Sound. Only three other films went on to employ this technology: the all-star war pic Midway (1976), the summer thriller Rollercoaster (1977), and the feature-length TV pilot for Battlestar Galactica (1978). Three serious detriments to Sensurround's popularity: costly speaker installation, potential structural damage to old theaters, and disruptions in adjoining theaters.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975): Birth of the Midnight Movie
Writer-director Jim Sharman's movie adaptation of this hit musical bombed when released. Repositioned as an interactive midnight movie (with fans dressed as characters acting out scenes with props), the film achieved cult status and is now considered the longest-running midnight movie of all time. Other off-beat, low-budget flicks from this era to find success via midnight theatrical screenings or late-night television broadcasts include Night of the Living Dead (1968), Targets (1968), El Topo (1970), Harold and Maude (1971), Pink Flamingos (1972), and Eraserhead (1977).
Despite the fact that scifi creatures are clearly a box-office draw, not every funny-looking critter is extraterrestrial. The big screen glows with animated goblins, elves, cats, dogs, and monsters from this very planet. Some are friendly and some...not so much. See if you can name five of these animated creatures now. Take Quiz »
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10. Dustin Hoffman, The Graduate (1967)
9. Johnny Depp, Edward Scissorhands (1990)
8. Greg Pitts, Office Space (1999)
Before you watch Steven Seagal kick ass in Out for Justice tonight on AMC, warm up with our martial-arts movie quiz. Neo and Morpheus spar using which martial art in The Matrix? Whose neck does Bruce Lee snap in Enter the Dragon? When did Jet Li first appear on American movie screens? It's your move.Take Quiz »
The '80s was a decade so packed with movie gems that it's nearly impossible to narrow down your favorites. Nearly impossible, but not impossible: sure, there are some great movies that didn't make the cut here -- Real Genius! Weird Science! -- but in terms of the side-splitting, quote-generating, general '80s hilarity, this collection is about as good as it gets, from the first real mockumentary to one of the best parodies of all time. Take a look at the ten most hilarious comedies of the decade, and see if you can come up with any that fell through the cracks.
Airplane! (1980)
When Ethel Merman plays a male soldier who thinks he's Ethel Merman and June Cleaver translates jive, you know you've got a winner on your hands. Compared with today's lame attempts at parody (Scary Movie, Disaster Movie), Airplane! was pure genius. Case in point: "There's no reason to become alarmed, and we hope you'll enjoy the rest of your flight. By the way, is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?"
Caddyshack (1980)
Caddyshack had an embarrassing wealth of comedy genius in its cast and crew: Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Murray, and director Harold Ramis. In one of the movie's funniest scenes, Chase and Murray bond over a joint made from the groundskeeper's special mix -- of turf. Add to that a character named Lacey Underall and a persistent gopher who dances to Kenny Loggins, and you've got an unbeatable recipe for bizarre-slapstick success.
If you're any kind of Transformers fan, chances are you've fantasized about which megarobot you'd most want in your corner should all hell break loose on Earth. In this tournament, it's every robot for itself, as Decepticons do battle with Autobots to determine which will reign supreme. Whether you've been obsessed with Transformers ever since you got your first plastic Autobot in the '80s, or you're just into all the screeching metal in Michael Bay's big-screen flicks, now's your moment to cast the vote that could put your favorite Transformer over the top. Choose wisely!
The 1980s aren't all about big hair and skinny ties. Excess rules the decade. Who was "so popular" in The Breakfast Club? "Greed is good" is from which Oliver Stone movie? What goes to eleven in This Is Spinal Tap? Revisit some of the decade's best movies and its most memorable characters -- take our quiz. Take Quiz »
Now: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)Then: Terminator Salvation (2009)
The world just can't get enough of angry robots, can it? While their overpriced real-life counterparts struggle mightily just to vacuum our floors properly, the sentient machines of Hollywood's imagination come from the far reaches of the cosmos to kick, blast, and pummel their way across the screen -- leaving in their wake devastated cities, smoldering piles of humanity, and mountains of moviegoer cash. As Michael Bay's sequel to his 2007 hit about cheap Japanese toys -- sorry, rock 'em, sock 'em robots from outer space! -- hits theaters, what better movie to pit it against than this summer's other killer-robot movie, Terminator Salvation? So which of these scifi blockbusters pitches the bigger tent pole?
And a Human Shall Lead Them!
Transformers 2: After a brief interlude with his new college roommates and a bizarre slapstick pot-brownie episode involving his mother, it becomes clear that helping good alien robots isn't just Sam's duty, it is... (cue deep voice) "his destiny."
Terminator Salvation: We've known since the first film that John Connor (Christian Bale) is destined to lead the human resistance against Skynet. Luckily, there are no colleges left in this post-nuclear age to allow for detours into audience-appeasing juvenilia. Poor us.
Winner: Terminator Salvation. This iteration of John Connor is a fairly lifeless and bland one, but we'll take lifeless and bland over shrill and annoying any day.
Michael Bay has directed just eight movies, including Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, but he's a master of big-budget mayhem. What sports car is featured in Bad Boys? Which Bay movie won an Oscar? How big is the asteroid in Armageddon? Take the quiz, and watch out for giant robots and falling debris.Take Quiz »
Nobody plays Woody better than Woody -- even if sometimes you'd prefer a less geriatric leading man. But since Woody isn't about to get younger and since he's also less prone to star in his movies, how have his various substitutes fared? Let's take a look.
Larry David, Whatever Works (2009)
Has anyone ever been better suited to adopt the Wood-man's nasal twang and signature kvetch? In a word, no. Though David had bit parts in Radio Days and New York Stories, he's finally old enough (and cranky enough) to pinch-hit for Allen big time. The movie's misanthropic physicist Boris Yellnikoff was originally written for the late Zero Mostel. At the risk of sounding morbid, Mostel's death appears to have led to a wiser piece of casting. David is Woody 2.0 as much as anyone can be.
John Cusack, Bullets Over Broadway (1994)
For Woody's Oscar-nominated period piece, Cusack amped up the neuroses and sported unflattering glasses as the intellectual yin to tough guy Chazz Palminteri's yang. But while Cusack's whiny playwright is the straight man to crazies like Dianne Weist's melodramatic leading lady, the actor still geeks up the joint with his excellent portrayal. It's clearly the role Woody would've played (and at his age ruined) so this movie is all the better with Cusack subbing in.
Back in 1992, young rapper Will Smith officially made the transition from vinyl to celluloid with a role in the ensemble flick Where the Day Takes You. He hasn't looked back since, and what's more -- probably because Smith makes it all look so ridiculously easy -- countless other hip-hop stars have followed in his footsteps. But which rappers turned actors have scored big on the big screen and which should never have left the recording studio? Glad you asked.
Common
It took Common nearly a decade and a half to reach mainstream fame with his Grammy-nominated album Be. It's no coincidence that since then he's landed roles in big-time flicks like American Gangster (2007), Wanted (2008), and Terminator Salvation (2009). Next up: a rumored stint as B.A. Baracus in an upcoming A-Team remake, which, judging by Mr. T's career, may or may not be a good thing. But for now, we'll say, "Glad you're giving acting a shot."
DMX
Though his acting career has stalled, DMX did star in a few action flicks early this decade, including Romeo Must Die (2000), Exit Wounds (2001), and Cradle 2 the Grave (2003). After the box-office smashes of Romeo Must Die and Exit Wounds, DMX seemed poised to become a mainstream star, but his music career soon went off the rails and his acting career followed suit. We say, "Relaunch your career in the recording studio. Afterward, we'll talk about your next movie role."
Eminem
Like Snoop Dogg, this enigmatic rapper has had one shining Hollywood moment: playing Jimmy Smith, a talented up-and-coming white rapper in Detroit in the semi-autobiographical hit 8 Mile (2002). Thankfully, no lame Hollywood actor stepped to play Em -- er, Jimmy. Instead, Eminem delivers an entertaining effort that plays like a hip-hop version of Saturday Night Fever (1977). We say, "Go ahead. Make another movie!"
Director John Ford helped reinvent the Western, turning B-movie matinees into moral dramas that were steeped in the mythic grandeur of American history. Ford alternately envisioned an America that was a new Eden and a forbidding wasteland. Watching his Westerns is a bit like joining a long, rambling conversation about civilization and progress, solitude and sacrifice, violence and courage. Which one deserves the number-one spot on this top-ten list?
1. The Searchers (1956)
John Ford is at his most understated in this dark, austere fable, which tracks John Wayne as he searches for a niece kidnapped by Cherokees. The girl's gone native, and, at the end of his odyssey, he aims to kill her. Like Vertigo, the movie is driven by an obsessive quest but is less about plot resolution than conjuring haunting textures and enduring mysteries: the wind rasping across the desert, a solitary figure in a doorway.
2. Stagecoach (1939)
Stagecoach helped raise the Western's profile into A-picture territory. It's also the first of Ford's films to be shot in the region that would become his favorite stage, Monument Valley. And finally, it's the movie that marked the director's most important invention: John Wayne as Western icon. Of course, none of that would matter if Stagecoach weren't swimmingly good entertainment, which it is.
The King of Pop may be gone, but the artistic contributions of Michael Jackson live on and not just in the world of music. The star of The Wiz and Captain EO also worked with some major Hollywood directors in his day. Take this time to see how well you remember his cinematic career.Take Quiz »