Easy Rider

Origin: U.S. (BBS, Columbia, Pando, Raybert) 1969
Length: 94 minutes
Format: Technicolor
Director: Dennis Hopper
Producer: Peter Fonda, William Hayward, Bert Schneider
Screenplay: Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Terry Southern
Photography: Laszlo Kovacs
Music: Hoyt Axton, Mars Bonfire, Roger McGuinn, Jimi Hendrix
Cast: Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Antonio Mendoza, Jack Nicholson, Phil Spector, Mac Mashourian, Warren Finnerty, Tita Colorado, Luke Askew, Luana Anders, Sabrina Scharf, Robert Walker Jr., Sandy Wyeth, Robert Ball, Carmen Phillips, Ellie Wood Walker
Oscar Nomination: Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Terry Southern(screenplay), Jack Nicholson(actor in support role)
Cannes Film Festival: Dennis Hopper(best first work, Golden Palm nomination)
Links: Easy Rider Trailer, Easy Rider Wiki, Cannes Film Festival Wiki

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Easy Rider is one of those movies whose importance goes far beyond its status as a work of art. The story is slight. Two young men, nicknamed Captain America(Peter Fonda) and Billy(Dennis Hopper), make a lot of money on some drugs that they buy South of the Border. Feeling rich, they decide to realize a long-standing ambition to visit New Orleans during Mardi Gras. They buy a couple of motorbikes and set off across country. On the way, they pass by some celebrated icons of the American West, including Monument Valley and Taos Pueblo. They drop in on a commune, run into an engaging small town lawyer who helps them get out of jail, go on a drug trip with a couple of hookers in a New Orleans graveyard - all of which leads to the shock ending.

The Royal Tenenbaums(Matt)

I went into this movie expecting to not like it. I tried to watch this movie some years ago when I was quite a bit younger and I turned it off. I was bored and not interested and I quickly dispatched it to go watch Terminator 2 or something else a bit more exciting.

This time around was different however. Once the story started I found myself immersed into the lives of this strange family and their friends. I began to care for the characters, regardless of their quirks, and in some degree I was even able to relate to them and understand them.

The acting was great. The cast is made up of many famous actors. This tends to be a negative in my mind usually, as I can be taken out of the story by the pull of these huge actors. I'll start thinking of past roles that I've seen them in and such. That never happened here outside of the first appearance of each of the characters. That's quite a statement for acting.

Despite the great acting, I think that strength of the story is the movie's biggest selling point. I can say that with confidence despite my first paragraph up there. I was pulled into the story, I found myself cheering for characters and hoping for everything to work out. I was interested from the very beginning of the story and I stayed there until the end.

This movie was a complete suprise for me. I had heard others talk about how much they liked this movie but I had dismissed it as just them being sort of elitist about their movie watching. I now can say honestly that this movie is a good one, and that I was being judgmental. I was wrong.

7 masked dudes on four-wheelers out of 10.

The Royal Tenenbaums(John)

I've owned this movie for quite a few years. I've seen it maybe 3 times in the years that I've owned it. And all those times, I never really connected with the film. I thought some parts were funny, but I don't think I grasped the underlying story. Until now.

The characters in this film are some of the most unique I've ever seen. The Tenenbaum family is so dysfunctional and disconnected from each other that the children were basically able to become adults at a very early age. Each one has their own room and each room, to me, seemed like their own little house. For example, you have Chas Tenenbaum, who is a financial whiz kid and health nut. Then across the way, is Ritchie Tenenbaum, who is a master tennis player and likes to spend time with his bird, Mordechai. The movie is never boring because of the wide array of personalities that we are shown. The movie is also filled with an ensemble cast of actors: Bill Murray, Alec Baldwin, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson and much more. They made me believe that the Tenenbaums were, albeit problematic, a family. Speaking of Alec Baldwin, he did an excellent job narrating the film. The inflection(or lack of) in his voice fit perfectly for the movie.

The mixture of humor and sadness in this movie is very interesting. I think first and foremost, this is a comedy. There is a lot of subtle, smart jokes in this movie. And, if you pay attention, you will be rewarded by laughing. However, in the end, this film is able to tell a very heartwarming tale as well. I found myself laughing through most of the movie, but it did almost bring tears at the end with any scene focusing on Ben Stiller and Gene Hackman. Stiller's character has been an opposing force against his father throughout the whole movie and he finally breaks down near the end. This was a very touching part of the movie and I enjoyed it very much.

I really enjoyed this movie. Much more than I ever have from my previous viewings. It's not a movie I could recommend to anyone I don't think. But if what I've said above peaked your interest, please go get this movie.

I'm giving it a 9 out of 10.

- John Murphy

The Royal Tenenbaums

Origin: U.S. (American Empirical, Touchstone) 2001
Length: 109 minutes
Format: Technicolor
Director: Wes Anderson
Producer: Wes Anderson, Barry Mendel, Scott Rudin
Screenplay: Wes Anderson, Owen Wilson
Photography: Robert D. Yeoman
Music: Mark Mothersbaugh
Cast: Alec Baldwin, Seymour Cassel, Danny Glover, Gene Hackman, Anjelica Houston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Bill Murray, Kumar Pallana, Luke Wilson, Grant Rosenmeyer, Jonah Meyerson, Aram Aslanian-Persico, Irene Gorovaia
Oscar Nomination: Wes Anderson, Owen Wilson(screenplay)
Berlin International Film Festival: Wes Anderson(Golden Bear nomination)
Links: Royal Tenenbaums Trailer, Royal Tenenbaums Wiki, Berlin Film Festival Wiki

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Clearly inspired by back issues of The New Yorker magazine, with a streak of arch whimsy running through it, Wes Anderson's ensemble piece The Royal Tenenbaums did not disappoint fans of his two previous films, Bottle Rocket(1996) and Rushmore(1998). Decorated with Edward Gorey-like drawings and narrated by a deadpan Alec Baldwin, this oddball fantasy hangs on the mannered performances of a stellar cast. With a script that's laden with visual gags(characters are outfitted in adult versions of the clothes they wore as children, guns go off comically, and a droll stabbing takes place) and nifty, oblique quips, the straightforward emotional content is virtually nil. Despite its flaws, Anderson has yet again come up with a fresh take on the dysfunctional-family-as-comedy genre. Based on a nonexistent book, the script earned Academy Award nominations for Anderson and his co-writer Owen Wilson. Wilson also costars, but not as one of the Tenenbaum brothers, even though his real-life brother Luke plays a Tenenbaum, yet another askew aspect of an elliptical movie.