Similar to many 1950s crime/message movies, THE PHENIX CITY STORY distinguishes itself with a raw and unflinching look at violence that was uncommon for the era. Based on the true story of Phenix City, Alabama, the film chronicles the men who stood up to 100 years of organized crime in an effort to clean up their town.

The film begins with a very dated documentary segment, which interviews some of the real life people involved in the story. Because it is completely separate from the fictionalized narrative, its weakness can be quickly forgotten. It’s like a bad newsreel was just tacked onto a good movie.

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Here’s a film that’s trying to make a statement on a subject it has no real knowledge of.

Bo Laramie (Cole Hauser, GOOD WILL HUNTING) has been plucked from obscurity to become the biggest movie star in the world over night. Him, his wife Abby (Robin Tunney, TV’s PRISON BREAK) and their son Zach (Blake Michael Bryan, JURASSIC PARK III) have moved to L.A., where Bo has an altercation at his son’s soccer game with a paparazzi photographer named Rex Harper (Tom Sizemore, BLACK HAWK DOWN).

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I never took director Lee Tamahori as a truly serious filmmaker, having directed ALONG CAME THE SPIDER, DIE ANOTHER DAY and XXX: STATE OF THE UNION. And his recent arrest for propositioning a police officer to perform sexual acts for cash while dressed in drag made him look like a strange Hollywood concoction. However, his work in the ‘90s is actually quite underrated, consisting of this film, THE EDGE and MULHOLLAND FALLS (unseen by me, but it has its fans).

ONCE WERE WARRIORS is clearly his masterpiece made with great care and passion. The native Kiwi brings to brutal life the state of Maori culture in modern New Zealand. Beth Heke (Rena Owen, A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE) is the mother of five children, living just above the poverty line. Her family lives under the explosive violence — both mental and physical — of her husband, Jake (Temuera Morrison, STAR WARS: EPISODE II - ATTACK OF THE CLONES).

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KOYAANISQATSI is one of the most successful experimental film of all time. It’s the first film in a trilogy of films that deal with the conflict between modern man and nature. Director Godfrey Reggio believed that non-narrative films could reach a wider audience if they tackled important issues in a compelling way.

He also believes that film, as a collaborative art form, should be made with the director working as an equal with the cinematographer and composer. For the film, Reggio is the conductor working hand in hand with cinematographer Ron Fricke and composer Philip Glass, whose haunting score drives the film and becomes the star of the production.

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This early thriller from director Louis Malle (AU REVOIR, LES ENFANTS, ATLANTIC CITY) drips with irony and tension from the opening until the end. It presents a film noir scenario of lovers in a murder conspiracy with a classic locked room mystery.

Florence (Jeanne Moreau, JULES AND JIM) desperately talks with her lover Julien Travernier (Maurice Ronet) over the phone. Their passion is the kind typical of a French film. After the call, Julien proceeds to carry out an elaborate scheme to murder his boss Simon Carala (Jean Wall) — Florence’s older husband. Julien’s plan is brilliant, but one mistake committed in a rush will unravel a progression of events, leading to the downfall of two couples. That second couple is young flower girl Veronique (Yori Bertin) and her two-bit hood boyfriend, Louis (Georges Poujouly, DIABOLIQUE). We don’t learn much about Florence and Julien in the beginning; just that they are in love. We watch as Julien carries out his devious, but ingenious, plan, but dread what will happen after he leaves a key piece of evidence behind. Things only get worse from there.
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Based on Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett’s play that was based Anne Frank’s actual diaries, George Stevens’ film production is able to capture the harrowing experience of the Frank family hiding in a store attic for nearly two years from the Nazis.

Told from the point of view of 13-year-old Anne (Millie Perkins, WALL STREET), the film takes place mainly in the hiding place. At first, Anne is accompanied by her sympathetic and supportive father Otto (Joseph Schildkraut, THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER), her demanding and conservative mother Edith (Gusti Huber), her quiet, older sister Margot (Diane Baker, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS), battling couple Petronella & Hans Van Daan (Shelley Winters, LOLITA, & Lou Jacobi, AVALON) and the Van Daan’s 16-year-old son Peter (Richard Beymer, WEST SIDE STORY). Shop owner Kraler (Douglas Spencer, THE THREE FACES OF EVE) and his secretary Miep (Dodie Heath, SECONDS) bring the Franks and Van Daans food regularly. During working hours, however, they must remain entirely quiet, often remaining completely still for hours.

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Here is a perfect example of a premise that has been stolen for years, yet still retains a freshness due to perfect performances and an universal tale that transcends time.

John P. Merrick (Charles Coburn, GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES) is a reclusive millionaire, who is troubled by union protests at his department store. He decides to take a job incognito in the shoe department to find out who the agitators are. Salesperson Mary Jones (Jean Arthur, MRS. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON) takes Merrick under her wing after the old man ruffles the feathers of the department’s snobby manager Hooper (Edmund Gwenn, LASSIE COME HOME). Older clerk Elizabeth Ellis (Spring Byington, MEET JOHN DOE) also takes a liking to the seemingly helpless Merrick, who appears to be too poor to buy lunch. Mary ends up taking Merrick to a union meeting led by her boyfriend, Joe O’Brien (Robert Cummings, KINGS ROW).

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Mixing post-apocalyptic sci-fi with black comedy and a dash of romance, DELICATESSEN is a dish that may be too exotic for some tastes, but for others it will make their mouths water.

The film begins with a man dressed in garbage (Pascal Benezech) trying to escape from his apartment in a trashcan. However, his cannibalistic employer Clapet (Jean-Claude Dreyfus, A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT) catches him first and butchers him. In this futuristic world, food is scarce, especially meat. So Clapet the butcher sells human flesh to the tenants that live in the apartments over his deli. He keeps hiring new handy man as a front for getting his next victim.

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I love this film. I’ve seen this film nearly a dozen times and it still makes me laugh every time. The film is more than any category it may be labeled in. It’s a coming-of-age, sports film, but deals with the subject matter honestly with great insight.

Set in Bloomington, Indiana where the University of Indiana is located, the film deals with the divide between the wealthy college students and the locals who live in the town. Dave Stoller (David Christopher, CHARIOTS OF FIRE) is a townie, or as the film refers to them — cutters, which is a reference to the stone cutting factory where many of the townsfolk work. Stoller has just graduated from high school and dreams of becoming a professional cyclist. He is so into the Italian cycling team that he has learned Italian, speaks with an accent and drives his father, Raymond (Paul Dooley, POPEYE), nuts with opera music. He hangs around with a group of other cutters, including bitter, former high school quarterback Mike (Dennis Quaid, FAR FROM HEAVEN), sad jokester Cyril (Daniel Stern, CITY SLICKERS) and short, hothead Moocher (Jackie Earl Haley, THE BAD NEWS BEARS), who is secretly engaged to supermarket clerk Nancy (Amy Wright, THE AMITYVILLE HORROR).

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My two-and-a-half star review of the original UNDERWORLD concluded with — “In the end, the filmmakers set up a promising possibility for a strong sequel. Hopefully, they use the first film as the backstory and focus on developing Selene and Michael’s relationship as the main crux of any future installments in this inevitable franchise.” The filmmakers must have missed my review.

We do feel in this film a greater connection between vampire Selene (Kate Beckinsale, PEARL HARBOR) and werewolf/ vampire hybrid Michael (Scott Speedman, TV’s FELICITY), but it goes nowhere. The Romeo & Juliet-like tale is gone. There’s little internal struggle present here, just Selene and Michael running from the bad guys.

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