I noticed we had four Tim Burton films on the Wall O’ Cool and wondered why the guy did not have a whole shelf to himself. So I perused the store and made it so!
8 films directed by the super strange Burton and several featuring his go-to actor, Johnny Depp.
Beetlejuice (1988) – The story of a couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) who want to start a life together in their new home, and instead must start their afterlife together following a car accident. They learn that most of the world beyond is a lot like the DMV and that dealing with the living sucks. Michael Keaton plays the title character as a super creep that causes havoc for the dead and the living.
Batman (1989) – Michael Keaton plays the dark knight in this version. The Joker being played by Jack Nicholson and Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale, the most annoying reporter ever. I understand she is pretty, but her screams in this movie drive me INSANE. I like Keaton’s Batman though. He plays him with humor and reluctant heroism. It always worked for me.
Edward Scissorhands (1990) – One of Burton’s best. This twisted fairy tale is reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast, with Johnny Depp playing the title character of a patched together man with scissors for hands. He is sweet, naive and brought into the home of a wholesome suburban family (Dianne Wiest and Alan Arkin as the folks are wonderful) to change their lives. Edward falls for their beautiful daughter (Winona Ryder) and finds he has too many sharp edges to truly fit in.
Sleepy Hollow (1999) – Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane, the classic coward who encounters the Headless Horseman in the tiny town of Sleepy Hollow. Christina Ricci also stars.
Planet of the Apes (2001) – I think the title pretty much says it all about this sci-fi retake of the 1968 film of the same name. The ape make-up is cooler, the action is more packed and it has Tim Roth in it…..I like Tim Roth and so should you. Also during this film, Tim Burton became romantically involved with his current sweetie, Helena Bonham Carter. Who now apparently has to be in all his movies.
Big Fish (2003) – One of my absolute favorite Burton films, although some fans think it strays too far from his usual touch. It is the tale of Will Bloom (Billy Crudup) who goes to visit his dying father, Ed Bloom (Albert Finney), and listen to the collection of seemingly tall tales of his life that Ed insists are all true. The film flashes back to all the stories with Ewan McGregor playing a young Bloom to perfection. This movie is sweet and original.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) – Another film remake that, while good in some ways, does not begin to touch the original 1971 musical. I like that Burton stayed true to the Roald Dahl story, but I think he fell flat with his Oompa Loompas (Deep Roy….he played ALL of them) and let Depp go too far with his interpretation of the eccentric candyman, Willy Wonka. The kids were all good though.
Corpse Bride (2005) – A stop-motion animated feature with Johnny Depp voicing the character of Victor Van Dort, a young man nervous about his wedding vows, so he decides to practice them to a grave. When he slips the ring onto what he believes is a stick, an energetic dead women (Helena Bonham Carter) comes to life thinking they are married. It is dark, funny and a great little love story.
What better actor to have a shelf on the Wall O’ Cool than Bill Murray?!?
He has always been on my top ten list for actors even when I was a kid. I loved watching old SNL episodes with him, adored all his funny movies, and when I was older, appreciated that he was a good dramatic actor as well. Plus I always thought he and my dad looked alike, so he has that goin’ for him.
Here are some of his best:
Meatballs (1979) – One of the best camp movies ever. Murray plays activities director, Tripper, at Camp North Star. It is the camp movie that I am sure inspired every other camp movie made. Pot smoking counselors, crazy sex starved teens, clueless camp director, and of course the inevitable competition with the rich camp across the lake. Laughs all the way through.
Caddyshack (1980) -Bill Murray is Carl Spackler, greenskeeper at the exclusive Bushwood Country Club. He goes head to head with a super intelligent gopher, makes inappropriate comments about the older female golfers, and brags how he once was a caddy for the Dalai Lama. “So, I’m on the first tee with him. I give him the driver. He hauls off and whacks one – big hitter, the Lama – long, into a ten-thousand foot crevasse, right at the base of this glacier. Do you know what the Lama says? Gunga galunga… gunga, gunga-lagunga. So we finish the eighteenth and he’s gonna stiff me. And I say, ‘Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know.’ And he says, ‘Oh, uh, there won’t be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness.’ So I got that goin’ for me, which is nice.” Classic.
Ghostbusters/Ghostbusters 2 (1984/1989) – One of my top films as a kid. We have the two pack with as much ghost busting action as you can handle. Murray plays Dr. Peter Venkman, head of a crew of crazy scientists who decide to open a lucrative paranormal investigation and elimination business in New York. And it is only lucrative because New York is evidently the doorway to Hell. Dan Akroyd, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, and Sigourney Weaver co-star in the super quotable action/comedy. Plus the best monster ever. The Stay Puff Marshmallow Man.
What About Bob? (1991) – Murray plays Bob Wiley. A manipulative, obsessive-compulsive psych patient who tracks down his therapist, Dr. Leo Marvin (Richard Dreyfuss), while he is on a family vacation. Bob wedges himself into the home and hearts of Dr. Leo’s family and goes about driving his therapist completely insane.
Groundhog Day (1993) – Murray plays Phil, an obnoxious weatherman sent on assignment to cover the groundhog day ceremony in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. When he wakes the next morning, he discovers it is still the same day. Phil must continue to live out the same day over and over again until he gets it right….or he goes insane. Co-starring Andi MacDowell and Chris Elliot.
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) – Murray’s second film in a long and happy relationship with writer/ director Wes Anderson (the first being Rushmore). He plays Raleigh St. Clair, husband of Margot Tenenbaum (Gwyneth Paltrow). Margot is one of three adult siblings who belong to a super dysfunctional family (a Wes Anderson standard). Even though Murray is only a supporting character in this film, he still shines as always.
Lost in Translation (2003) – Murray’s first majorly lauded dramatic role as Bob Harris, an American actor who has past his prime. Bob is in Tokyo doing commercials when he meets Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson), a the wife of a visiting photographer. Bob and Charlotte, bored and weary, find themselves as unusual companions in a city where the cultural and language differences make for hilarious scenarios.
Broken Flowers (2005) – Murray plays the devoutly single Don Johnston who, after getting dumped by his latest girlfriend, receives an anonymous pink letter informing him that he has a son who may be looking for him. The situation causes Don to examine his relationships with women instead of moving on to the next one, and he embarks on a cross-country search for his old flames who might possess clues to the mystery at hand. Co-starring Jessica Lange, Sharon Stone, and Tilda Swinton as some of the women in his past.
So Bruce Willis, Steve Martin, and John Cusack have all had the glory of being featured on our wall of cool stuff. I figured it was high time an actress had her turn. I barely had to think about who I would choose.
Cate Blanchett of course!
She can handle the meaty dramatic roles, dry comedic ones and can even pass for an ethereal, yet creepy elf. So I grabbed a selection of Cate’s film’s from the shelves to share with our customers.
In her most recent role Cate plays Daisy, the love of Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Cate’s Daisy must deal with loving Benjamin as he ages backwards through his adventurous life.
In Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Cate plays Irina Spalko, a Soviet psychic hell bent on taking a crystal skull from Dr. Jones and gaining power that could endanger the Western world. Not my favorite Indy movie, but Blanchett is a great bad girl!
Cate did the best at embodying the spirit of Bob Dylan in I’m Not There. She plays Jude, a character so Dylan like it is positively eerie. Also starring Heath Ledger, Richard Gere and Christian Bale as other incarnations of Dylan.
In Notes on a Scandal, Blanchett plays Sheba Hart, a free-spirited art teacher who catches the attention of the nearly retired battle-ax of a teacher, Barbara Covett (an always brilliant Judi Dench). Covett soon discovers Hart’s sexual indiscretion with a student and feeling betrayed, plots revenge on Hart.
Cate plays Susan Jones in Babel. The wife of Richard Jones (played by Brad Pitt), the couple is struck with tragedy as they are vacationing in Morocco. This touches off an interconnecting story of four groups of people who, while divided by distance and cultural differences, will discover a shared destiny.
In Charlotte Gray, Blanchett plays a young Scottish woman who joins the French Resistance during World War II to rescue her Royal Air Force boyfriend who is lost in France.
Her ethereal turn as Galadriel, the elfin princess/witch in Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring as well as all the other Rings movies, gives me the willies every time I see her. Spooky and beautiful, that’s Cate!
Finally, we have one of the films that helped propel Cate to A list actress. She plays the title role in Elizabeth, the story of Queen Elizabeth I. In this role Cate handles war, romance and the possibility of losing her head if she does not please her country and those running it.
All in all a good selection. While I wish we currently had copies of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou or The Missing, two of my more favored Blanchett roles, I think there is always plenty to choose from in her repertoire!
Enjoy!!