Short Cuts: "Ya, You Know It's a Radisson So It's Pretty Good"

Fargo (1996). Directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen; written by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen; starring Frances McDormand, William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi, John Carroll Lynch, Peter Stormare, and Harve Presnell.

Short Cuts: "So is Pregnancy if You Don't Have a License"

Demolition Man (1993). Directed by Marco Brambilla; written by Joel Silver and Howard Kazanjian; starring Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, Sandra Bullock, Benjamin Bratt, Rob Schneider, Bob Gunton, Denis Leary, and Jack Black.

Short Cuts: "Mathletes Don't Wear Body Art Like That"

Along Came Polly (2004). Written and directed by John Hamburg; starring Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Hank Azaria, Debra Messing, and Alex Baldwin.

Short Cuts: "Make Work Your Favorite"

Elf (2003). Directed by Jon Favreau; written by David Berenbaum; starring Will Ferrell, Zooey Deschanel, Bob Newhart, Ed Asner, James Caan, Faizon Love, Mary Steenburgen, and Peter Dinklage.

Although I personally find it only chuckle-inducing, I've accepted that Elf has, in the span of only six years, become a Christmas comedy classic for the new millennium. I can't believe how many people talk about this movie each December, but then The Christmas Story never did much for me either, so go figure.

Elf is one of the few Will Ferrell movies in which I don't find him very funny, but some of the reserved supporting cast performances complement his over-the-top geekiness really well. Exhibit A (above) is one of my favorite scenes, with Faizon Love giving one of the best incredulously blank stares in years. I find it a lot funnier than Ferrell's hysterics, but that's just me.

Anyway, I don't mean to be a grinch - enjoy Elf, A Christmas Story, or whatever other holiday movies you might watch around this time of year. I'll be traveling and offline for the next week, but I have a couple of posts in the pipeline that will go up before I get back. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours!

Short Cuts: "...Breakfast the Night Before..."

City Slickers (1991). Directed by Ron Underwood; written by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel; starring Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, Bruno Kirby, Jack Palance, Jake Gyllenhaal, Patricia Wettig, and Helen Slater.

Short Cuts: "I'm Bloody Ibiza!"

About a Boy (2002). Directed by Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz; written by Peter Hedges, Chris Weitz, and Paul Weitz, based on the novel by Nick Hornby; starring Hugh Grant, Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, and Rachel Weisz.

Short Cuts: "Then We'll Have to Look After Ourselves"

Lord of the Flies (1963). Directed by Peter Brook; written by Peter Brook, adapted from the novel by William Golding; starring James Aubrey, Tom Chapin, Hugh Edwards, Roger Elwin, and Tom Gaman.

Short Cuts: "The Door Is Always Open...To My Office"

The Apartment (196o). Directed by Billy Wilder; written by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond; starring Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, and Fred McMurray.

Short Cuts: "Haooo - Hup!" (Drill Captain Command)

A Few Good Men (1992). Directed by Rob Reiner; written by Aaron Sorkin; starring Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kevin Pollack, Kevin Bacon, J.T. Walsh, Kiefer Sutherland, Christopher Guest, Cuba Gooding, Jr., and Noah Wyle.

Short Cuts: "Idn' That a Daisy?"

Tombstone (1993). Directed by George P. Cosmatos; written by Kevin Jarre; starring Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Powers Boothe, Michael Biehn, Charlton Heston, Jason Priestley, Thomas Haden Church, Billy Bob Thornton, Dany Delany, Stephen Lang, Joanna Pacula, John Corbett, and Billy Zane.

(apologies, you'll have to turn your volume up to hear this one well)

Short Cuts: "Baby Fish Mouth! Baby Fish Mouth!"

When Harry Met Sally (1989). Directed by Rob Reiner; written by Nora Ephron; starring Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, Bruno Kirby, Steven Ford, and Lisa Jane Persky.

Short Cuts: "How's Your Faith Now?" & "I Wasn't Talking to You"

A double feature of Short Cuts this week since I skipped it on December 10th. There are hundreds of Christmas movies to choose from but I've narrowed it down to two popular ones, one reverent and the other anything but.

To all those who celebrate it, have a Merry Christmas. I'm in Las Vegas for the week, desperately trying to thaw out before returning to the inhospitably frozen landscape of the Twin Cities...

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The Nativity Story (2006). Directed by Catherine Hardwicke; written by Mike Rich; starring Keisha Castle-Hughes, Ciarán Hinds, Oscar Isaac, and Shohreh Aghdashloo.

There's weird irony in the fact that Keisha Castle-Hughes was actually an unwed, pregnant 16 year-old while filming this, and yes, the movie lacks an intensity that the story deserves, but The Nativity Story is nonetheless a decent retelling of the birth of Christ.

And for those whose celebrations aren't as spiritual, there are always classics like Bad Santa or Christmas Vacation, which two decades after its release is as much of a Christmas tradition as a tree for some families. Great movie, but I've never understood why they ditched the "Holiday Road" segment for the opening credits in place of a curiously kid-friendly animated sequence - anybody?

Christmas Vacation (1989). Directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik; written by John Hughes; starring Chevy Chase, Randy Quaid, Beverly D'Angelo, Johnny Galecki, Juliette Lewis, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Short Cuts: "Unless'n You're a Hog, Or a Cattle"

A classic scene from my favorite Thanksgiving movie (but not my favorite scene, which was taken off of YouTube by Paramount this week). Enjoy...

Planes, Trains, & Automobiles (1987). Written and directed by John Hughes; starring Steve Martin, John Candy, Laila Robins, and Edie McClurg.



Happy Thanksgiving!
(here's a more touching scene from the movie, appropriate for the holiday)

Several of the many things I'm thankful for, in addition to film, are the time, ability and access to technology necessary for writing this blog. And for all of you who make it worthwhile. Thanks for reading.

Short Cuts: "Making Mud Pies, 007?"

Diamonds Are Forever (1971). Directed by Guy Hamilton; written by Richard Maibaum and Tom Mankiewicz (adapted from the novel by Ian Fleming); starring Sean Connery, Jill St. John, Charles Gray, Lana Wood, Bernard Lee, and Desmond Llewelyn.

Short Cuts: "You Have to Take It"

As if business (the state of being busy, not corporate affairs) hasn't already been keeping me away from here lately, now I'm going to be gone to New England for the rest of the week. First back to Boston for a quick stop and then a weekend wedding in NH.

There are fair number of Boston movie scenes that I could have used here, but the opening scene of The Departed was one that was fresh in my mind (plus I've already used Good Will Hunting here), even though it has no relation to any of the years that I lived in Boston.

To be honest, I didn't actually like this Best Picture winner, and I would rather have used one of the scenes that features "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" by the Dropkick Murphys, but I couldn't find it.

While I'm gone I may or may not get my review of Happy-Go-Lucky finished before it opens here on Friday. If not, thanks for being patient until I get back...

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The Departed (2006). Directed by Martin Scorsese (whoops, for the second time!); written by William Monahan (based on the original screenplay by Alan Mak and Felix Chong); starring Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Vera Farmiga, Alex Baldwin, Mark Wahlberg, and Martin Sheen.

Short Cuts: "In This Life or the Next"

Gladiator (2000). Directed by Ridley Scott; written by David Franzoni, John Logan, and William Nicholson; starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris, and Djimon Hounsou.

Short Cuts: "So Is the Kitchen"

The Money Pit (1986). Directed by Richard Benjamin; written by David Giler; starring Tom Hanks, Shelley Long, Maureen Stapleton, and Joe Mantegna.

Short Cuts: "I Don't Like Remembering"

Today is still a difficult day for me, as it is for many of you. There were a number of people from BU on those planes that morning, including a personal friend of my roommate. But beyond the trauma of that day in Boston, I still can't fully comprehend how much our daily lives are still affected by what happened. Look past it if it makes you feel better, but you have to admit that under the surface, we're in a much different country than we were seven years and one day ago.

I don't do anything special today, and I don't expect anyone else to. I didn't post anything last year and I just as likely won't next year. There's nothing to do, really, but reflect and move on.

One of the reasons I love film is because it can be used as a tool for such occasions. It can provide perspective and bring us into another person's life. There have been a handful of movies that have dealt with 9/11, some directly but most indirectly, and I've found a couple of appropriate clips for this installment of Short Cuts (a year from now, of course, one could potentially use the scene in Man on Wire).

As in Reign Over Me, some of us are living like Charlie (Sandler), and some of us are living like Alan (Cheadle). I think both are normal, and I think both are fine. But whatever your reaction is, whether grief or indifference or something else, maybe that reaction - and not tragedy itself - is worth reflecting upon.

In doing so, we might better understand the full scope of the situation, and in doing that, we might better understand the people we encounter in our daily lives.

Because, as you know by now, the movie experience shouldn't end in the theater.

25th Hour (2002). Directed by Spike Lee (two Spike Lee joints in a row?!); written by David Benioff; starring Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper, Rosario Dawson, Anna Paquin, and Brian Cox.




Reign Over Me (2007). Written and directed by Mike Binder; starring Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle, Liv Tyler, Jada Pinkett Smith, Donald Sutherland, and Saffron Burrows.

Short Cuts: "A Hundred and Eight With Tax!"

Do The Right Thing (1989). Written and directed by Spike Lee; starring Spike Lee, Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, and John Turturro.

Short Cuts: "You Got It, Man!"

Dog Day Afternoon (1975). Directed by Sidney Lumet; written by Frank Pierson; starring Al Pacino, John Cazale, Charles Durning, Penelope Allen, and Carol Kane.