THE SLP MOVIE WATCHLIST™ THE SLP MOVIE WATCHLIST Every Wednesday Your weekly source of movie recommendations to satisfy your cinematic cravings. Table of Contents SLP Movie Watchlist Themes Week 1……………………………...Random Week 2……………………………..Oscar Winners Week 3……………………………..Crime Drama Week 4……………………………..1980s Comedies Week 5……………………………..Johnny Depp Week 6……………………………..Sci-fi Action Week 7……………………………..Documentaries Week 8……………………………..Films over 3 hours Week 9……………………………..Horror Week 10……………………………Romantic Dramas Week 11…………………………….Fantasy Week 12……………………………Inspiring Sports Films Week 13……………………………Movie Musicals Week 14……………………………Westerns Week 15…………………………….Anime Week 16…………………………….Quentin Tarantino Week 17…………………………….Good Bad Movies Week 18…………………………….Drew Barrymore Week 19…………………………….Martin Scorcese Week 20…………………………….Actors in Multiple Roles Mental, written and directed by P.J. Hogan, is a fun film about an eccentric woman who randomly takes on the role as the nanny of five children who have a “crazy” mother. Through her shenanigans she is able to teach them about the madness of life and the importance of family. Toni Collette and Anthony LaPaglia sink themselves into their roles so brilliantly that you lose yourself in their insanity. Oh, and it’s an Aussie film, which adds yet another level of fun! Mental combines the certifiably loony characters of Best In Show with the heartfelt songs of The Sound of Music, literally. Recommended For: People who can appreciate off-the-wall, zany stories! Silver Linings Playbook is a peculiar story about two people who have experienced loss and want to believe in a better tomorrow. Hope gives them comfort. Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper spend the majority of the film challenging one another, both as characters and actors. Their chemistry on screen is undeniable. Silver Linings Playbook has the endearing qualities of He’s Just Not That Into You with the wildly honest characters of The Ugly Truth, creating a modest and tenacious love story. Recommended For: People who don’t judge romantic comedies for their inability to be something other than romantic comedies. Timeline is an adventure story in which a group of young archaeological students travel back to the 14th century to rescue their professor. We all know Gerard Butler has the ability to take on roles with a huge degree of intensity (300) and an equal degree of softness (P.S. I Love You), and his performance in this film, though earlier in his career, is no exception. Timeline will take you for one heck of a ride! When you’re about to get stabbed with a sword or punctured with several fire-arrows, the slight possibility of deteriorating while travelling through time doesn’t seem so bad in comparison. Recommended For: People who love history and can be swept away by a historical-themed film that isn’t a documentary. Cabaret is a wonderfully quirky musical about a young female entertainer in Berlin who has a dream of becoming a film actress. As Nazi Germany rises to power around her, she gets caught up in a romance with two different men. “Leave your troubles outside” and go inside the club because “life is a Cabaret”. The opening scene of the movie begins with the song Willkommen. If you haven’t seen that classic opening scene, make sure you watch it because you’ll surely come across a reference to it in popular culture at some point. The incredible performances of Liza Minnelli, Michael York, and Helmut Griem are outstanding! (Won for Actress in a Leading Role & Best Director) Recommended For: People who appreciate the exceptional talent and work of choreographer/director, Bob Fosse. Amadeus is the story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He was a brilliant composer, but a irresponsible man, especially when it came to women and booze. Mozart’s rival, Antonio Salieri, tells the story of Mozart from an insane asylum as a flashback. If you forget everything after you watch the movie, you’ll definitely remember the score of breathtakingly haunting music....and Mozart’s entertaining laugh. (Won Best Picture in 1984) Recommended For: People who’s parents played them classical music when they were kids and are intrigued to know more about the man behind the music. The King’s Speech tells the story of King George VI and his struggle with his speech impediment. After his unexpected rise to the throne, his speech therapist helps him build confidence in his abilities as a leader. Tom Hooper’s directing and Collin Firth’s incredible execution of the role of the famous monarch turned this simple and elegant story into a movie masterpiece. Geoffrey Rush even plays his humble character so well that you forget about how creepy he is as Barbossa in Pirates of the Caribbean films. Recommended For: People who don’t get frustrated or feel bad watching someone struggle to speak clearly. The SLP Movie Watchlist™ Murder At 1600 is a hidden gem of a film. It’s got action, romance, suspense, and sneaky politics, and gives you the adrenaline rush that any great crime drama should. It tells the story of Agent Nina Chance and Detective Harlan Regis who investigate the murder of Carla Town, whose body is found in the White House. During the investigation, Regis discovers political secrets that could put the USA in danger! This is an intelligent, bold, and thrilling murder mystery that keeps your eyes glued to the screen. It deserves at least 4 stars for keeping you hooked and always wondering: “What’s going to happen next?” And it deserves 5 starts just for starring Diane Lane. She is just awesome. Recommended For: People who get a kick out of seeing Diane Lane kick some butt. The Pelican Brief tells the story about a law student who uncovers a conspiracy after the murder of two Supreme Court Justices. The student’s professor and lover, gives her brief of the case over to the FBI. The brief ends up with one of the president’s men who believes it may smear the president’s good name. 1. This film is one of the few well-told crime drama thrillers of the 1990s. 2. Warning: You will spend the entire film trying to figure out what is in the brief. 3. Julia Roberts’s performance is superbly compelling! Recommended For: People who want to watch something other than Remember The Titans when choosing one of Denzel’s earlier works. Papillon is a Steve McQueen classic. For those of you who have never seen a McQueen film, now is the time to start. His performance is haunting. It tells the story of Henri “Papillon” Charriere and his time serving his sentence on a prison island. He befriends another man, Louis Dega (Dustin Hoffman), who is a forger. Life on the island is like a nightmare so Papillon attempts escape. Unfortunately, it lands him in solitary confinement for 2 years. How many escape attempts will it take for him to escape? If one were to choose 4 words to describe the film they would be: Eerie, disturbing, raw, and sentimental. It is a crime drama that tells the story from a different side of the coin, the side that includes life imprisonment. Recommended For: People who need reassurance that their lives The SLP Movie Watchlist™ don’t suck by seeing how horrible life would be on a prison island. A Fish Called Wanda features an incredible cast of actors including John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Kevin Kline. Simply put, it’s about four characters who work together to engage in robberies around London. The tom-foolery and backstabbing involved in the story make this film an utter riot. It’s a delightful blend of vulgar comedy and endearing vivaciousness. If the awkward situations that Cleese’s character seems to find himself in don’t have you on the floor laughing, then the outrageous and highly absurd plot will. Recommended For: People who love fish. Adventures In Babysitting follows the experiences of Chris Parker. When her boyfriend cancels their date at the last minute, she must babysit the Andersons. Chris drives downtown to pick up her best friend who is in trouble, and must take the kids with her. Everything seems fine until her car gets a flat tire. It’s a great comedy-adventure for all ages…..well for anyone above 13 years old, as there is some explicit content. But the film’s inappropriateness is also the film’s charm. Chris Parker is played by Elizabeth Shue, who is also known for her role as Jennifer in Back to the Future Part II & III. Recommended For: People who have ever had the absolute worst and best time of their life all in one night. Moscow On The Hudson tells the story of Vladimir Ivanoff, a musician who makes the decision to defect from Russia while in a Bloomingdale’s store. Though his desire for freedom is strong, he finds adjusting to life in America more difficult than he thought. It is one of Robin Williams’s most raw performances. He is authentic in every single one of his emotional choices. The comedy shines through in Ivanoff’s attempts at conforming to a lifestyle that is not natural to him. The film covers important themes of integration, acceptance, fear of the unknown, morality, and the goodness of the human heart. To put it simply, it’s just a fantastic original story. Recommended For: People who can sit through an entire show of Robin’s stand-up comedy. The SLP Movie Watchlist™ What’s Eating Gilbert Grape tells the heartwarming story of Gilbert and his struggle to take care of his brother Arnie and cope with his mother’s obesity.