Top 10 Opening Credits

Here are what I consider the greatest opening credits in cinema history. I put some thought into it and tried not to use the overall quality of the film dictate my options. The opening credits can be a more useful tool than many realize, setting up tone and introducing history of characters and plot. I tried to find all of them on YouTube, but I was not able to find all of them.

10. Sahara (2005)
Sahara starring Matthew MacConaughey and Steve Zahn about the adventurer Dirk Pitt and his search for confederate gold in Africa. The opening sequence is a long shot circling the yacht they call home highlighting pictures and other items of Dirk and his buddy Al's time in the Navy, and their past adventures. Star Wars may have been the obvious choice especially to highlight the history explanation of the soon unfolding story, but there is something about a scrolling paragraph that lacks creativity.

9. Casino Royale (2006)
A Bond flick had to be represented. They have been by far had some of the more consistently memorable openings in cinema history. Most of the time, they are simply a chance to show the credits and spotlight a song. This is by far my favorite. I might be a little biased because its also my favorite Bond flick featuring my favorite Bond (Connery be damned), but Cornell's song is so nostalgically classic rock but oddly fitting. Plus it has some of the more inventive imagery, as opposed to the overused (but always welcome) dancing female silhouettes.



8. Se7en (1995)
I have seen many people credit Se7en with the reemergance of the high concept opening credits. It mixes the hard rock sounds of Nine Inch Nails, with a number of creepy jounral entries and creepier hands sifting through them foreshadowing the events and eventual reveal of killer, John Doe.



7. To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
One of the more classic opening sequences, it has been paid homage to a number of times most notably with Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous, Crowe being a famous fan of the novel, referencing it in some way. The credits are played against a close-up of Scout, the young girl of the heroic Atticus Finch. It depicts Scout as the vessel for which we experience the story, and defines the subtle veil of childlike innocence in the way the story is presented to us.

6. The Fall (2006)
Director Tarsem Singh described it as "..chaos without energy." A beutiful combination of images and music. Beethoven’s Symphony No 7 sets the stage for a surreal, slow-motion mini-movie, one who's connection to the movie becomes apparent as the movie plays on, and upon second viewing becomes even more beautiful. An ode to falling.



5. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
A brilliant operatic science fiction. Thematically heavy, but still thrilling as the straight ahead horror/sci-fis. The opening is probably one of the most memorable openings of all time. A fantastic score that establishes the sweeping epic proportions the movie depicts. One of the most identifiable theme that makes all the right hits.



4. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is one of the biggest surprises in recent cinema weaving a smart and witty neo-noir that revels in its faults as well as its strengths. The opening sequence is a tribute to classic noir, resembling the old opening credits and retro covers of the detective yarns that spawned this underrated gem. Its jazz theme inspired images of fedora wearing gumshoes and survy seductive dames.




3. Romeo+Juliet (1996)
Baz Luhrman's take on Shakespeare's timeless tale of star cross'd lovers juxtaposes Shakes words over a modern era. In order to make the connection of Ye Olde English and 20th century America, Baz plays over the introduction of the play twice, once as a newscast on a lone television, and then again over a series of images of the movie and general 20th century iconography.



2. Watchmen (2009)
The highly acclaimed graphic novel adapted to celluloid has one of the greatest opening credits in recent time. It very well could be flash-in-the-pan opinion, but the unconventional choice of song in Bob Dylan's "These Times Are A-Changing" played against famous 20th Century iconography only this time with the added appearances of masked vigilantes to introduce us to a world with a vibrant history, a history the same as ours.....but not, leading up to the plot in question. Obviously, I cannot post the sequence, but if you look hard enough, you can still find it somewhere on-line. Thus is the beauty of the internet

1. Lord of War (2005)
Lord of War was pretty cool movie. A little too much coolness in general though. It was a dark comic drama with morally ambiguous characters. Its opening sequence is one of the MOST inventive and creative sequence to ever grace the silver screen. The camera afixed to a bullet starting at the beginning of creation to its killing blow in a war torn foreign world set against Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth."

Director's Review

Martin Scorsese
Best: Taxi Driver
Worst: Cape Fear
Overrated: Casino
Underrated: Bringing Out the Dead

Stephen Spielberg
Best: Saving Private Ryan
Worst: 1941
Overrated: A. I.: Artificial Intelligence
Underrated: Hook

Quentin Tarantino
Best: Pulp Fiction
Worst: Death Proof
Overrated: Kill Bill Vol. 1
Underrated: Jackie Brown

Robert Rodriguez
Best: Desperado
Worst: The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl
Overrated: El Mariachi
Underrated: The Faculty

The Coen Brothers
Best: O, Brother Where Art Thou
Worst: Ladykillers
Overrated: Raising Arizona
Underrated: Miller's Crossing

Terry Gilliam
Best: The Fisher King
Worst: The Brothers Grimm
Overrated: Brazil
Underrated: The Fisher King*

*I tried to keep only one movie per category per director, but that had to be said

That's my opinion. More to come.......................maybe.

Casting Call: Marvel Knights

Over the course of the last year (at least), I have had a higher interest in the street level Marvel Knight characters, especially Daredevil and Iron Fist. And while Daredevil had one go, I really want to see Marvel tackle movie adaptations of these characters.

Daredevil- Michael C. Hall


I love Dexter. I think Michael C. Hall is fantastic on it and has been getting robbed at the award shows. He is in good shape, his hair is more naturally red than Affleck's bad dye-job, he has plenty of acting chops as proven by Dexter, and he would probably come relatively cheap considering Marvel has had a hard time getting their high profile actors to stick around. Michael C. Hall has already gotten used to a dual performance as mild-mannered daytime and vigilante nighttime.

Iron Fist- Charlie Hunnam


Iron Fist has gone way beyond Heroes for Hire. There's no going back. If a movie were to be made I would want it based on the material in Immortal Iron Fist, rather than one half of heroes for hire. Charlie Hunnam is young, good looking, blonde, and has the perfect build for Iron Fist. I think he is a budding talent. I thought he was great in Sons of Anarchy and Green Street Hooligans, and has a lot of potential.

Luke Cage- Idris Elba


Elba has played plenty of street-wise tough guys, but his role in RocknRolla got him a chance to play a street-wise tough guys with actual wit and charm. He could easily hold his own movie. He is also a pretty big guy with a decent build that could easily get to Luke Cage size.

Misty Knight- Sydney Poitier


Misty would make a much better partner for Luke Cage than Iron Fist, considering IF's new scope. I tyhink Sydney is another up and comer. I thought she had a lot of charm and screen presence in Grindhouse, and should be getting better roles than a supporting character in a lame Knight Rider update. Plus she's smoking and has some impressive acting pedigree with having Sidney Potier as her father.

This Week in Movies

Bret Ratner signs on to Youngblood adaptation. No one cares.

Thanks to newest CGI, Arnold's original Terminator appearance might appear in Terminator: Salvation.

Aaron Eckhart signs on to The Rum Diary, another Hunter S. Thompson adaptation with Johnny Depp in the lead. I'm just excited it's finally happening. Eckhart is a cherry on top.

Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, David Spade, Kevin James and Rob Schneider team up for the first time together as actors since Saturday Night Live in a new movie. I'm on the fence.

Josh Brolin continues a director hot streak landing a role in another Woody Allen movie.

Bret Ratner promises to an R-rating if he actually gets Beverly Hills Cop off the ground.

Full Inglourious Basterds trailer hits. It looks fantastic.



Christopher Nolan's next project is Inception at WB. Don't expect the next Batman for at least 2 years.

Wachowski Brothers tipped for new Superman movie. Hopefully they leave Routh out of the picture.

Malkovich signs on as bad guy in Jonah Hex opposite Josh Brolin as the titular hero.

Miss March red band trailer hits starring 2 of the Whitest Kids You Know. Looks good.

Black Freighter trailer hits. Looks very cool.



New stills of Wolverine solo movie look horribly photoshopped


Scarlet Johanssen has been tipped as Black Widow in Iron Man if Emily Blunt doesn't take it. I think they could do better.

Hidden Gem #2

Feast

I watched this project greenlight and thought that they were doing everything wrong. Dimension decided to supersede every ones script vote and pick Feast instead of even thinking over Affleck, Damon, or Craven's opinions. They picked a director who was borderline incompetent and unready for a studio picture, and none of the people on set seemed to like each other. But I have to say I was impressed.

The writers described the script as "Army of Darkness meets Die Hard." The story takes place in a bar in the middle of no where, where a rag-tag group of bottom barrel degenerates team up to fend of the likes of evil, hungry creatures

The actors do a bang up job, better actors than you would expect in a movie of this caliber. The direction was amateurish but fit the style of a very funny and scary monster movie. The gore was excellent, and the monsters were better than most prosthetics live up to these days. The story was more interesting than expected. Overall this flick is incredibly surprising at what it does.

Before watching of course, you should firmly place tongue in cheek and enjoy the gore and one-liners for what they are. Superficial horror fluff, but damn fun.

Top 5 Most Anticpated Movies of 2009

5) Monsters vs Aliens- Great cast (Seth Rogen, Will Arnett, Stephen Colbert, Keifer Sutherland, Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Laurie, and Rainn Wilson) with a really cool and fun concept (its right there in the title)

















4) Public Enemies- Depp vs Bale, two of the more prolific actors today, in a movie about John Dillinger, one of the most infamous American criminals, directed by Michael Mann, one of the better crime directors out there. How could I resist? Also stars the fantastic and beautiful Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard, and set in one of my favorite time periods other than present. I am a sucker for the noirish Prohibition era type stuff (gumshoes and dames).










3) X-Men Origins: Wolverine- The title is a mouthfull, but Hugh Jackman's Wolverine is probably one of my favorite superhero portrayals of all time. Thank god they recasted Tyler Mane with Liev Shreiber. By the trailer alone I am confident in saying he'll make a better Sabertooth, I don't care how much bigger Mane is. Plus, the movie has Deadpool, and I love me some Deadpool. The fact that he is being played by Ryan Reynolds is as perfect a casting as Ron Perlman as Hellboy.











2) Inglourious Basterds- Despite Tarantino's horrible spelling, I have been looking forward to his WWII epic since back when Mickey Rourke was "attached" (way before The Wrestler). The cast is a bit of a let down except for Brad Pitt considering the likes of Michael Madsen, Sylverster Stallone, and Adam Sandler were once in talks for roles. Nevertheless, a WWII epic with a spaghetti western mentality is a fantastic enough concept to keep me interested.











1) Watchmen- Alan Moore might be too stubborn to watch it, but the "unfilmable" comic being directed by a highly visual director and an inspired cast is finally happening and I cannot be any more psyched. I feel that it has odd placement in the market, but the contrversey surrounding it and the intense visuals of the trailers will probably be enough to snag some unintiated viewers.

Review- Australia

Australia is a sweeping romantic epic set against a dramatic historical moment in similar vane to Casablanca and Titanic. The actual country serves as a fantastic aesthetic background. The landscapes are absolutely stunning. The filmmakers used a number of motifs and themes in a very creative fashion. Using traditional Australian aboriginal beliefs, the filmmakers depicted dreams and storytelling as a way that connect people of varying races and beliefs. They also uprooted the romanticized western world and superimposed it over Australia's own "Wild West" period.

The movie occasionally pays homage to the classic '30s pulp fiction a la Doc Savage. The whimsical, humorous nature of the homage seems to be a strength, a weakness, and a crutch all at the same time. The homage creates a vision for the movie of heroic champions and a golden Western color scheme, something recognizable that sets up the audience for the tone of the movie. Unfortunately, the beginning is also too cliche and tongue in cheek at first. Kidman's fish-out-of-water experience and Jackman's over-machismo, shotgun-punch hero lend to some overacting early on in the first act. This is probably done as a crutch to lesson the boredom of getting introduced to all the characters and settings, but at times feels a little awkward and forced. Thankfully, the movie itself eventually gets legs and grabs your interest for that time on.

Jackman and Kidman have great chemistry and make you believe that opposites definitely do attract. Each gave a great performance and showed depth as their characters started as archetypes and evolved over the course of the film. The supporting cast is solid and set up a very distinct Australian society. David Wenham in particular made a great villain, but probably the brightest shining light in the entire cast was newcomer Brandon Walters, who played the young mixed child Nullah. Walters flawlessly proved that he has more charisma and screen presence in his pinky than any other young up-and-comer in the business. I truly hope to see more from this kid.

As like any other epic, the music is on a playing field all its own, effortlessly complementing the drama and action when necessary.

8/10

This Week in Movies 2/1-2/6

-The Superbowl ads were played. We got a sneak peek at G.I. Joe, Transformers 2, Monsters vs Aliens, Star Trek, Angels and Demons, Year One, Fast and Furious, Land of the Lost, and Race to Witch Mountain. I'm probably looking forward to Monsters vs Aliens the most, but I will certainly see everyone of them before I see the dreadful looking Land of the Lost



- Scorsese picks his next, Silence. Set in the 17th century about two Jesuit priests who face violence and persecution when they go to Japan to locate their mentor and to spread the gospel of Christianity. It stars Daniel Day-Lewis and Benicio Del Toro, top-notch talent. Day-Lewis is pretty picky to so it must be one hell of a script.

- The Flash gets a writer, Dan Mazeau, who recently passed in a draft of Johnny Quest to Warner Brothers.


- John Carpenter picks his next, The Ward, about a women stalked inside an insane asylum. Hopefully he keeps the quality of his Masters of Horror episodes rather than the quality of Ghosts of Mars

- Slap Shot might get a remake. Not ideal in the least. Just go watch the original

- We got a first look at The Black Freighter addition to Watchmen


- People still don't know who Rourke is playing in Iron Man 2. :)

- Bale's temper got the best of him on Terminator: Salvation. Internet nerds are torn between hating and loving the talented actor who's planning on rebooting and improving every beloved film franchise ever. ;)

- Green Lantern gets a director, Martin Campbell of Bond fame (Goldeneye and Casino Royale)


- Disney is actually attempting to adapt Candyland to film.

- Jeff Bewkes, CEO of WB, says they'll make Batman movies until people stop paying. Could this be the next Bond, a franchise with 23 installments and counting.

- This week's releases: Coraline, Push, He's Just Not That Into You, Pink Panther 2, and in limited release Fanboys and Chocolate. If I had to see one, it would be Fanboys, a cool looking comedy that the Weinsteins bounced around for far too long.

Cool websites

JoBlo Movie Emporium
One stop shop of movie info. They even have a series of sister sites: a horror one, a DVD one, a hottie one, and a myspace-ish movie community.

Hollywood Stock Exchange
Kinda like fantasy movie studio. You can treat movies, filmmakers, and other cool options like the stock market

Warehouse 23
Found this on a whim once, just a list of "boxes" in a "warehouse" and the weird things they contain. Think of the warehouse at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark except digital.

Pandora
Online radio. You create a station with your favorite bands and they play stuff you might like.

Beer Advocate
One stop shop for beer news and brews

Give Terry Gilliam Money!!!!

Terry Gilliam is one of the most visionary directors of our time. 12 Monkeys, Fear and Loathing, and Brazil were some of the more interesting and visually stunning movies ever on top of what Gilliam has done with Monty Python. Special mention to the heartwarming Fisher King

Hes had a few stinkers in the last couple years. The Don Quixote movie never took off but I don't blame him: the weather and health of his two main actors were neither on his side. The Brothers Grimm just plain sucked.

Now, he has Tideland. A really great looking film, although it got some pretty negative reviews from Toronto (i think that was the film festival). The movie itself was suffering distribution funds for awhile, and I have still yet to see it embarrassingly enough.

Now Gilliam is looking for money to make Good Omens, one of my favorite books. The plot alone I would think would attract a studio. Its both clever, interesting, and in line with the kind of stuff out lately (LOTR, comic book movies, Harry Potter, etc.). As far as I know, Gilliam has Johnny Depp and Robin Williams pinned for the main characters. Williams isn't the cash cow he used to be, but still considered one of the funnier comics in the biz, and Depp has always been a fan favorite amongst film buffs and general audience alike. So far, I see no real negative side.

Some time ago, he made a public statement that all he needed was $4 million to get it off the ground, which seems like peanuts by modern standards. Considering Gilliam is excellent with physical and prop effects, I would think that he could keep the cost relatively low, as long as he doesn't have the same luck he had on Don Quixote. And with bankable actors in tow, I think I'll just never understand the Hollywood machine, nor see one of my favorite books reach the silver screen. Woe is me.

Hidden Gems #1

SLC Punk

SLC Punk is a great film showing the angst ridden subculture of 1980s and the inability of rejecting responsibility. The film also doubles as a well-made argument of the ineffectiveness of anarchy in society (the pure chaos kind poser punks adhere too).

Matthew Lillard stars in this tale of a '80s punk (blue hair and all) and his voluntary rejection of modern society. He is on top of his game with a Chuck Palahniuk like inner monologue as well as an energy for his fictional cause. Its movies like these that allow actors to shine, even those who are seen as the comic relief (a typecast Lillard may never let go).

I recommend this to anyone who likes to turn up the Sex Pistols to deafening volumes and hang out with friends. A great eye opener for incoming high school and/or college students who have yet to find their maturity (a proverbial boot in the ass, if you will).

Most memorable scene: Matthew Lillard's oral report on "The Fight."

Hollywood and the Lost Cause

Hollywood is constantly worrying and trying to fix the long lasting decline in movie goers, so every year more and more crappy pictures come out that try to out due the last one. More explosions, more nudity, more shocks, more gore. This is not the way. The general audience is not stupid. they want sibstance and Hollywood is just scaring them away.

Plus, the real problem lies within the high movie prices and poor atomsphere that is the movie theatre. When I saw The Departed, I caught the old lady show (my first mistake) on Saturday afternoon. I wanted to pay matinee prices, so sue me. The lady behind me even though I asked her to stop more than once continued to talk about the graphic nature of the movie. The worst was when she said, "I didn't think it was going to be like this." Its rated-R. If it didnt have the gratuitous violence and language it would have been PG. Not to mention seeing the midnight show of The Omen 666 on 6/6/06 and seeing a young mother bring her 1 year old child. There is too much wrong with that equation, I do not evn know where to begin.

Top 5 Favorite Movies of All Time

5. Taxi Driver
Scorsese's look at post-war human psyche and existentialism in an American society that isn't what it once was.

















4. Raiders of the Lost Ark
Stephen Spielberg, George Lucas, and Harrison Ford's homage to classic '30s pulp fiction that helped shape the action/adventure genre as we know it. Indiana Jones will go down as one of the greatest cinema heroes of all time. The American Film Institute ranked him the best hero, second only to Atticus Finch (a tough character to beat).













3. Die Hard

Die Hard has set up a precedent for every action movie after it. It's an industry joke that most action screenplays get pitched as "Die Hard on a boat/on a plane/etc." To this day, its still one of the greatest uses of physical effects and miniatures













2. Pulp Fiction

Quentin Tarantino's tour de force that is one of the most memorable screenplays and has spawned plenty of imitators. Dialogue has rarely been both cool and relatively natural at the same time.














1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

A simple plot of a man who enters a mental facility and becomes an inspiration to the members puts a lot of weight on the actor and Jack Nicholson performed masterfully. This is the movie that transformed Jack Nicholson, one of the greatest actors to ever come out of the industry, from a promising up and comer to a superstar. Never will anyone watch a movie and want to kill the villain as much as this one.