More excellent films added to PRIME for September: • 21 Grams - fascinating movie with Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Naomi Watts • Basic Instinct - the flick that made an incredibly sexy Sharon Stone a star • Big Lebowski, the - too much fun, Jeff Bridges really plays a stoner to the hilt • Bram Stoker's Dracula - dir by Coppola, with Gary Oldman in the lead role, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins • Cape Fear - the orig with a disturbingly evil Robert Mitchum (role later played by Robert DeNiro) • Chasing Amy - although he's most famous for directing "Clerks" this is my fave Kevin Smith movie • Doors, the - Oliver Stone dir, Val Kilmer thoroughly inhabits the lead singer Jim Morrison • Dressed to Kill - pretty sick film (in a good twisted way) with a very tasty Angie Dickinson • Galaxy Quest - a wacky, fun romp in space with Sigourney Weaver and Tim Allen • Lifeforce - Tobe Hooper dir, alien vampires, very enticing Mathilda May • Meet Joe Black - little known Brad Pitt movie, he's the devil come to claim Anthony Hopkins, definitely worth it • Misfits, the - the original, John Huston dir, Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe's final movie • Planes, Trains and Automobiles - very funny Steve Martin vehicle with the superb John Candy • Roxanne - another Steve Martin comedy with a fresh Daryl Hannah, Shelly Duvall, Fred Willard • Rumble Fish - Coppola dir, very young cast incl. Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Diane Lane, Nicolas Cage • Species - beautiful alien seductress Natasha Henstridge looking to mate with a human • Usual Suspects, the - great film that never gets old, Who is Keyser Söze? • V For Vendetta - one of Natalie Portman's best, future British dystopian society (sound like today?) • Where the Buffalo Roam - young and classic Bill Murray as the gonzo writer Hunter S. Thompson, Peter Boyle
Chasing Amy is a really good film. Its more professional than the other Kevin Smith films. A lot of good actors in it. Interesting juxtaposition of the comic book universe & the LGTB community. I remember watching Dressed To Kill in the early 1980s as a kid on HBO and it was pretty scary. Seeing Policewoman aka Angie Dickinson as a sex symbol was interesting. I think its the first time I heard the word Transvestite used. I think in the late 1970s there were quite a few of these sexual thrillers like Looking For Mister Goodbar, Cruisin', etc. Brian de Palma was a big fan of Hitchcock and I think this was his contribution to the Hitchcockian genre similar to Psycho in some ways though not explicitly. V For Vendetta is in the same vain as 1984. Its a pretty good movie. Its made by the same people who made The Matrix. Natalie Portman was very good. Its less dystopian than the 1984 society and it seems to give some hope that the misery will end so its more optimistic than 1984.
A few free movies on PRIME to tide us over until the November releases are announced: • Bullets Over Broadway - dir by Woody Allen, great fun of playwright forced to use mobster's talentless girlfriend • Ex Machina - early attempt at AI with the beautiful Alicia Vikander being a lifelike robot • Firm, the - excellent Tom Cruise and Gene Hackman. The evil side of law firms. • Getaway, the - remake of the orig Steve McQueen vehicle with Alec Baldwin and the delicious Kim Basinger • I'm Not There - fascinating study of Bob Dylan where famous actors play him at different times of his life • Jackie Brown - often overlooked Tarantino flick that followed Pulp Fiction. Excellent cast. • Lucy - superb sci-fi by dir Luc Besson (The Fifth Element), with an alluring Scarlett Johansson • Match Point - Woody Allen masterpiece on a theme he often pursues: how much luck plays in our lives • Memento - early flick by dir Chritopher Nolan, mind-boggling tale that must be seen more than once • New York Stories - three shorter movies directed by Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, and Woody Allen • No Way Out - early Kevin Kostner, politician Gene Hackman accidentally kills his mistress • Prizzi's Honor - dir by the great John Huston, starring Jack Nicholson. William Hickey steals the show as mob boss Prizzi. • Rounders - marvelous acting by very young Edward Norton and Matt Damon. John Malkovich is creepy and chilling. • Snatch - dir Guy Richie's 2nd movie, Brad Pitt is superb as you've never seen him, young Jason Statham
Some fine movies now available on PRIME for November: • Blown Away - Tommy Lee Jones as IRA bomb expert/terrorist, Jeff Bridges • Catch Me if You Can - dir by Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Leonard DiCaprio, Chris Walken • Commando - over the top Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rae Dawn Chong, great fun • Dune Pt. 1 - remake of orig sci-fi classic, Jason Momoa (Aquaman) • Eiger Sanction, the - dir and starring Clint Eastwood, very exciting film • Flash of Genius - guy who invented the intermittent windshield wiper and has to fight the automakers who steal it • Godfather I and II - the classics always worth re-visiting every couple of years • Godfather III Coda - the improved re-edited version by Coppola, the death of Michael Corleone • Gone Baby Gone - Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, Casey Affleck, good film, number of unexpected twists • Goodfellas - dir by Martin Scorcese, DeNiro, Pesci, Liotta, one of the greatest gangster movies ever • Midnight in Paris - dir by Woody Allen, my favorite later Woody flick • Professional, the - dir by Luc Besson, young Natalie Portman, Gary Oldman, great hitman story • Rainmaker, the - dir by Coppola, Matt Damon, Danny DeVito, Jon Voight, excellent legal flick • Run Lola Run - Franka Potente (Bourne Identity), 3 timeline variations, sub-titled, downright exciting • Serpico - dir Sidney Lumet, true story of a cop whistle-blower, brilliant early Al Pacino