Hello and Happy Thanksgiving…although this might not be posted until long after you’ve digested the Thanksgiving turkey. Before Sunrise is a movie that I raved about in a prior column. This movie removed my skepticism about Ethan Hawke’s talent and really gave a good glimpse of what spontaneity between two intelligent people can produce. Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke (along with director Richard Linklater) have come full circle with the sequel, Before Sunset. It is a reunion of our two central characters. Older, wiser, perhaps a bit more cynical, but just as charming a duo as they had been in the first movie. While elements of this movie tend to break your heart, it does keep a positive sense about it and ends on a satisfying note. Julie Delpy’s charisma seems to grow exponentially with each film she makes and this is no exception. Her singing (near the end of the film) sent shutters through me (to the point where I now know that I’ll be buying her CD somewhere down the line). At a brisk 80 minutes, and basically in real time, the movie flies by and is well worth the time. Go see it!

45. VACATION – The original. Cousin Eddie, real tomato ketchup, a dead Aunt on the roof-rack, Christie Brinkley in the red car, a dead dog tied to the bumper, a talking moose, John Candy as a neurotic park worker, getting lost in the bad area of St. Louis, and many more events all make up the wonder of the original vacation movie. This movie began the saga of the Griswold family and helped to define the humorous family comedy film. I find that I constantly quote from this movie (even though many people stare at me and have no clue what I’m talking about) and I never pass up the opportunity to see it again.

46. CHRISTMAS VACATION – I was a bit skeptical when the third installment of the “Vacation” films was released. OK….that’s a lie. I was only a very young teenager and lacked the ability to be skeptical of the third movie in a trilogy…who an I kidding…but looking back on it I believe that skepticism probably crept into many people’s minds when they saw that another Griswold saga was about to unfold. Thankfully…it was still funny! Julia Louis-Dreyfus and her beau play the yuppie neighbors. Quaid is back as Cousin Eddie (the idiot who emptied a chemical toilet into the sewer). We get a glimpse into the work life of Clark W. Griswold and we get to meet the entire extended family. Enjoy it with a nice cup of eggnog this holiday season.

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing a few older films recently that I’d like to briefly discussed now:

THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD – Errol Flynn, Claude Rains and a cast of talented classic actors bring together the story of Robin Hood. I’m not sure if this was the first adaptation of Robin Hood on the screen, but it most certainly has become the most famous. This story of treachery, right versus wrong and the classic struggle of good and evil helped to spawn many inferior versions of Robin Hood (as well as some good versions) for decades to follow (this was made in 1938).

GORILLAS IN THE MIST – This was one of those films that I had heard about for years and just seemed to never get around to watching. This movie is the story of Dian Fossey. Dian was a woman that went to Africa to study the mountain gorillas of the region. This particular species was endangered and the counting and studying of these gorillas was of prime importance. Fossey remained in Africa for several decades and was a great protector and advocate for these gorillas. She developed a keen sense of their ways and spent extreme amounts of time amongst these gorillas. Poachers, civil wars and politics never through Fossey off of the track that she put herself on. In 1985, after beginning the collaboration that would yield this motion picture, Fossey was murdered in her mountain dwelling and the mystery of her death remains to this day. This film, and more so the fact that it really happened, is extraordinary in so many respects. Take the time to watch it and you won’t regret it!

Stay tuned for more reviews next week!

Last 5 posts by

• Dan's Favorite Films -- Oscar Weekend Finale! - February 26th, 2005
• Dan's Favorite Films -- Oscar Weekend Special! - February 25th, 2005
• Dan's Favorite Films: #47-50 - December 2nd, 2004
• Dan's Favorite Films: The Jerk & European Vacation - November 18th, 2004
• Dan's Favorite Films: Pulp Fiction & Lost In Translation - November 11th, 2004