Directed by: Stanley Kubrick

Cast: Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D’Onofrio, R. Lee Ermey

Full Metal Jacket is Kubrick’s second war film. Unlike Paths of Glory however, Full Metal Jacket can’t be considered to be a truly anti-war film. Rather it’s a relatively objective portrayal of the Vietnam war and the soliders who fought in it.

The first half of the movie concentrates on basic training, and features a stand out performance from R. Lee Ermey as Gny. Sgt. Hartman. This first half of the story focuses mainly on the characters of Pvt. Joker (who wants to become a combat reporter) and Pvt. Gomer Pile, a slow and fat recruit who repeatedly incurs the wrath of Hartman as well as the other soliders in training.

The film then moves to Vietnam and loses some steam in the process. This makes Full Metal Jacket Kubrick’s most uneven film. While still thought provoking and entertaining, the second half of the film cannot match the greatness of the first.

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Directed by: Stanley Kubrick

Cast: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall

Kubrick’s only horror film is a creepy and effective adapatation of the novel by Stephen King. King was apparently very unhappy with the deviations that Kubrick chose to make from the original novel, but it is difficult to argue that any changes actually detract from the film.

Famous for it’s innovative steady cam and tracking shots, The Shining demonstrates Kubrick’s ability to ramp up an intense sense of dread. Music and sound effects are also used to great effect to create an atmosphere of suspense and horror.

The performances in the film range from understated to over the top. Jack Nicholson is excellent as Jack Torrance, a simmering, volatile man who is hired to stay - with his wife and daugther - at the isolated Overlook hotel over the winter as the hotel caretaker. Shelley Duvall’s character unfortunately comes off as annoying, which detracts from the film somewhat, but overall The Shining is a classic and epic horror film that should not be missed.

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Directed by: Stanley Kubrick

Cast: Malcom McDowell, Patrick Magee, Andrienne Corri, Miriam Karlin

Kubrick’s adaptation of Anthony Burgess’ novel is probably his most infamous film. A Clockwork Orange stars Malcolm McDowell, as Alex, a psychopathic criminal hooligan that stalks the streets of a futuristic London. Theft, assault, rape and murder are all everyday offenses of Alex and his gang of “droogs.”

When Alex is arrested and brainwashed into a proper citizen, Kubrick tackles issues of the duality of good and evil, the corruption of power, and the nature of human violence.

Kubrick had A Clockwork Orange pulled from UK theatres after a string of violent crimes that were thought to be inspired by the film. Today the film stands up as one of Kubrick’s most ambitious and controversial films.

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Directed by: Stanley Kubrick

Cast: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood

2001 a Space Odyssey is one of Stanley Kubrick’s most famous and acclaimed films. Kubrick won his only Academy Award for the special effects, which were revolutionary and groundbreaking for their time, and still stand up perfectly today.

The film is truly epic - beginning with our prehistoric ancestors and vaulting into our future of a colonized space and the unknown reaches of our solar system. The human performances are subtle and understated, and the standout character is certainly the HAL 9000 - a monotone speaking artificial intelligence that controls the spaceship and appears to have a sinister agenda of it’s own.

Like all of Kubrick’s films, 2001 features fantastic visuals. The pace of the film is slow and ponderous and nearly hypnotic - but never boring. Kubrick and co-screenwriter Arthur C. Clarke do a great job of creating an intelligent and compelling story that does not pander to the audience or shy away from ambiguity.

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Director: Stanley Kubrick

Cast: Ryan O’Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Hardy Kruger, Diana Koerner, Leon Vitali

Barry Lyndon is perhaps Kubrick’s best film. Adapted from William Makepeace Thackeray’s novel, Barry Lyndon satirically chronicles the social climbing rise to power of an poor Irish boy in 18th century England. Ryan O’Neal is excellent in the title role, and is supported by a fine cast and Kubrick’s impeccable direction.

The true strength of Barry Lyndon is the visuals. It is certainly not only Kubrick’s best looking films, but also one of the best looking movies ever committed to celluloid. The set design and costume design is simply fantastic, and photography is without peer. Kubrick even had special lenses and cameras developed to shoot the film’s fantastic low light candle scenes, and to flatten the images. Still frames from Barry Lyndon could easily be mistaken for 18th century paintings.

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A film that explores the dark and miserable southern town Basin City and tells the story of three different people, all caught up in the violent corruption of the city.

Directed by
Robert Rodriguez

Genres
Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller

Cast
Jessica Alba, Devon Aoki, Alexis Bledel, Powers Boothe, Cara D. Briggs, Jude Ciccolella, Jeffrey J. Dashnaw, Rosario Dawson, Jesse De Luna, Benicio Del Toro, Jason Douglas, Michael Clarke Duncan

*****/*****

Guns, dames and castrations abound in director Robert Rodriguez’s (Planet Terror, Once Upon a Time in Mexico) stylish and totally faithful adaptation of Frank Miller’s comic-book series. Specifically, the film adapts four of Miller’s short stories: it begins with “The Customer is Always Right”, a short little ditty (featuring a surprisingly well cast Josh Hartnett) that sets the tone for the awesome, hyper-charged neo-noir that is to come. Sin City then moves on to tell the first part of “That Yellow Bastard”, featuring Bruce Willis as Hartigan, a hard-boiled cop trying to save the irresistable Nancy Callihan (Jessica Alba) from a well connected pedophile played by Nick Stahl (Terminator 3). From the film moves to “The Hard Good-bye”, where a nearly unrecognizable Mickey Rourke plays Marv, a dimwitted but goot hearted street fighter seeking to avenge the death of Goldie (Jamie King) - the only woman who was ever nice to him. “The Big Fat Kill” features the perfectly cast Clive Owen and the girls of Old Town (Rosario Dawson, Alexis Bledel, Devon Aoki and more) facing off with corrupt cop Jackie Boy (Benicio Del Toro). Finally the film moves back to finish “That Yellow Bastard” for a rousing, if somewhat dark finale.

Of the four stories told in Sin City, Marv’s is probably the strongest, but the entire film is pure entertainment in the fine tradition of hyper-masculine film-noir. It looks and sounds great, and the DVD is full of great special features and deleted scenes. Watch for an extended sequence guest directed by the one and only Quentin Tarantino

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