No matter your mood this week, here are some amazing movies to keep your interest. From comedy to deeper existential thoughts, here are a few that are sure to please.
1. Heat 2 (1992)
1992 saw Hollywood’s biggest stars continue their run of hits with movies such as Wayne’s World, Sister Act and A League of Their Own. Meanwhile, this was also an exceptional year for dramas and action flicks that continue to surprise us decades after their initial release.
One such film was Michael Mann’s Heat 2, the movie adaptation of his 1994 novel L.A. Takedown. Known for meticulous authenticity (he once spent weeks filming The Last of the Mohicans with Daniel Day-Lewis in the wilderness; became pen pals with serial killer Dennis Wayne Wallace for Manhunter; shadowed the LAPD to research Collateral), Heat 2 adds depth and resonance to its predecessor movie’s mythology – something its namesake movie couldn’t.
This novel opens with a prologue connecting McCauley’s crew in the aftermath of their botched bank heist with Chicago detective Hanna’s manhunt for Otis Wardell’s sadistic home invasions led by animalistic criminal Otis Wardell. Shiherlis finds himself without McCauley as mentor, yet must juggle killing Hanna while also trying to reunite himself with Charlene and their comatose daughter – creating an intriguing and gripping tale involving three alpha males plus the fourth ruthless one.
2. The Bourne Identity (2002)
The Bourne Identity was one of 2002’s must-see movies. Matt Damon delivered an outstanding performance as its protagonist, offering something fresh to genre films while showing that spycraft requires not just technical gear but human brainpower and muscle as well.
Action scenes in this film are expertly choreographed and confidently performed, providing some thrilling sequences that keep audiences on edge. Furthermore, there’s an engaging script filled with thought provoking dialogue and ideas; unfortunately however, towards its conclusion the plot becomes somewhat too predictable and some characters were handled too poorly resulting in some shortcomings within this production.
Mike Leigh is no stranger to domestic drama, and here he takes his skills even further with this award-winning movie that follows an elderly couple living on an impoverished working class council estate in London. Lesley Manville and Timothy Spall give outstanding performances that will warm audiences’ hearts.
3. Stir of Echoes (1999)
Two decades on, 1999 remains a pivotal year in cinema history. Many of its movies remain game-changers (The Matrix springs to mind), or represent some of the finest work from iconic directors. Click through our gallery of some of 1999’s unforgettable highlights!
At the forefront of ghost story flicks is The Sixth Sense; however, director David Koepp makes an admirable effort in this follow-up with Tom Witzky (Kevin Bacon), living a routine life in an upper-middle class Chicago neighborhood who becomes obsessed with seeing a haunted girl vengeful spirit named Ivy who haunts them both physically and psychologically. With finely tuned acting from Bacon as Tom Witzky as Tom Witzky (and fine script writing that fleshes out characters so well) this movie keeps suspense at its highest potential while providing enough psychological tension without actually scaring us away!
Andrew Keegan stands out in this movie as Joey Donner, an unemployed model obsessed with her ex-partner and subsequent robbery, leading him down an increasingly dark path before snapping. Keegan makes for one of the most delightfully villainous teen movie villains since Heath Ledger in 10 Things I Hate About You and his infamous lines such as: “Shit, Bianca! Tomorrow I’m shooting my nose spray ad!” is legendary; no wonder Brad Bird chose it as source material for his blockbuster Ready Player One.
4. The Brothers Grimm (2007)
2007 saw some of the biggest stars in Hollywood deliver incredible performances in movies such as Daniel Day-Lewis, Christian Bale and Tom Cruise’s movies. Julie Delpy and Adam Goldberg made waves with 2 Days in Paris while Ben Affleck made his directorial debut with Gone Baby Gone.
No Country for Old Men was one of the year’s standout films from The Coen Brothers and features one of cinema’s most unforgettable villains: Javier Bardem’s portrayal as Anton Chigurh is certainly memorable.
Although not the greatest film ever made, this George Pal fantasy is great fun and features some stunning Cinerama visuals. The plot revolves around Wilhelm Grimm who hallucinates various fairy tale characters such as princesses, giants and Rumplestiltskin who threaten his existence unless their stories are put down on paper.
This pastoral, dreamlike take on the Jesse James murders has not received the recognition it deserved. Despite countless edits by studio executives and disinterest from audiences alike, this film remains a superb drama with stellar performances by Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck as Jesse James himself and his cohorts – as well as being an insightful meditation on where media coverage and crime meet.