Top 10 True Stories...Thoughts on Reservation Road...

Alright, so this is a tough top 10 to really do. There are so many classic and soon to be considered classic films that have been based on actual events (and not like The Strangers style "based on true stories"), which led to many of these said films getting left off. However, I tried my best to get this down to ten, so here it is...

10. Adaptation
9. Goodfellas
8. Elephant
7. Ali
6. Lawrence Of Arabia
5. Schindler's List
4. Ragging Bull
3. Reds
2. All The President's Men
1. Zodiac

Alright guys, there's a lot of great films I left off, what are your favorite Biopics/True Stories??

In other news, I watched something pretty interesting last night, and would like to just say a couple of things about it. The film is called Reservation Road, and stars Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo, and the best actress in Hollywood (and I will fight anyone who thinks differently), Jennifer Connelly, and is a story about a man (Phoenix) and him coping with the death of his son. His son was attempting to release a jar full of fireflys, when he was accidentally hit by Mark Ruffalo's character. I don't want to get into the story a lot, so here is the IMDB page on the film... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0831884/ ...

If that sounds interesting to you, than please check this movie out. The film comes to us from Terry George, the director of the great film, Hotel Rwanda, and, while not as good as that, RR fits nicely into his canon. It is a gorgeous film and while the story is definitley not a fun one to watch unfold, I was completley engaged from begining to end. It's a story about the frailty of human life, and what one will or would do in the most heartwrenching of circumstances, and it is a solid neo-morality tale. Also, while this may be a back handed compliment (more on why it may be in a minute), the way George is able to make the viewer think about who he or she is "rooting for" is really startling. However, there are a few flaws.

Mainly in a single performance, Joaquin Phoenix. He is so over the top, and almost annoying, that I found myself becoming enfuriated by what he was doing to cope with the death of his son. He slowly begins to neglect his family, and more and more he becomes detatched from the rest of his life, until it all culminates in a really solid ending. Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Connelly are also really amazing in this film. Their performances almost overshadow Phoenix and really bring out a few of his flaws. Their are some improbable plot twists, but I went with them, and they kept me more engrossed into the film. A few scenes here or there (one in Phoenix's class room for example) are pointless and slowed the movie down a bit as well. All of this said, it's a solid movie, and is out now on DVD, so you should give it a shot.

Alright, that's it for now...come back tomorow for some news, and maybe a special something...(Two/Face anyone?)...


Go see something good!