Catching the Classics: Jaws

Since 1998, I have been maintaining a list of movies that I wanted to see. Sometimes these are all-time classics that passed me by, sometimes they’re genre classics that interest me. The list grows regularly and is currently more than 1800 movies long. Fogs has gone through and hand-picked several classic films for me to “fast-track” and review here. This is one of those films.

If this were an audio review, I might simply start playing the Jaws theme here; as it is, I’ll spare you my text rendition of the classic sound. It’s such an iconic piece of film music that it was even used, semi-jokingly, as the “you’re talking too much” music at the 85th Academy Awards. Everybody knows the sound. Kids whose parents weren’t even born in 1975 know the sound. And lines from the movie show up in pop culture all the time as well, from “You’re gonna need a bigger boat” to “That’s some bad hat, Harry”, which inspired the name of a production company. To a certain extent, it feels as though I’ve known all there was to know about Jaws for most of my life… I just needed to see the film.

The Top Ten Leonardo DiCaprio Movies

Here we go, folks, back with another Top Ten for you! This time up, in light of this weekend’s “The Great Gatsby”, we’re taking a look at the filmography of Mr Leonardo DiCaprio!

Leo got his start in films at a young age, and in spite of taking a brief break from acting after “Titanic”, he’s had a pretty prolific career to this point! Further, his filmography is loaded with top-notch films, as he’s worked with some of the best directors there are: Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan, James Cameron, Sam Raimi, Danny Boyle, Ridley Scott and Steven Spielberg!

So let’s take a look at his filmography and pick out his ten best films!

Movies That Everyone Should See: “Jaws”

In 1975, a film was released that would change the business of Hollywood, launch the career of one of the most beloved directors of all time, and become one of the most famous movies ever made. It created a worldwide phenomenon, gave us an unforgettable theme, and made countless people afraid to swim in the ocean.

That film, of course, was “Jaws”.

Reader’s Recommendations: “Hook”

Hey everyone, it’s Friday, time for another entry in the Reader Recommendations series!

The Reader Recommendation series is intended to help me formally pursue all the great films that commenters bring up each week in discussion which I’ve never seen. If there’s a movie that comes up that I haven’t seen, but you think I should, email me @ fogsmoviereviews@gmail.com or let me know in the comments that you’d like to participate!

 

This time up, our movie recommendation comes from Terrence Faulkner over at the Focused Filmographer, who’s suggested I give Steven Spielberg’s “Hook” another chance.

 

I saw “Hook” when it was first released and didn’t care too much for it. I’ve never revisited it. T has a strong affinity for it, though, and we’ve sparred a couple of times about it. So now I’m going to go back and give it a second look!

 

The Top Ten Steven Spielberg Movies

We saw quite a bit of discussion last week here about Steven Spielberg, and that prompted me to focus this month’s “Top Ten” on officially ranking his ten best films.

It was quite a challenge, actually, because when you talk about Steven Spielberg films, you’re talking about several of the greatest films of all time. He’s one of the most popular directors of all time, due to the fact that he’s made so many of the most popular movies of all time. His filmography also has a number of powerful, dramatic films as well. Certainly he has more than ten that could be considered great, so it was difficult to narrow down the field!

But that’s all part of the challenge, and I’m more than happy to take it on!

Click through to see how they shook out!

Directors Talk: Steven Spielberg

Welcome back to “Directors Talk”! The roundtable discussion series I participate in with PG Cooper of PG Cooper’s Movie Reviews and Ian the Cool of Ian’s Lists, Bits and Reels…

In this series, we trade thoughts about the biggest directors working today. This time up we happen to have one of the greatest directors of all time, Steven Spielberg!

Spielberg has an arsenal of classics to choose from. His filmography is brimming with the most popular films of all time. He’s a two-time Oscar winner with numerous nominations, and he’s showing no signs of slowing down.

Click through to see what we had to say!

The 2012 FMR MAJOR Awards: The Best Director Nominees

Here we go folks. The Best Directors of 2012. They lent their talent and vision to a project and it paid off in a big way. Under their direction, these films came out shining…

Click through to see who the MAJOR Award Nominees for Best Director of 2012 are! 

Movies That Everyone Should See: “Back to the Future”

Tell me, doctor, where are we going this time
Is this the 50’s, or 1999
All I wanted to do – was play my guitar and sing

So take me away, I don’t mind
But you better promise me, I’ll be back in time
Gotta get back in time

Lincoln

“Lincoln” is mildly mistitled… It is not a Lincoln biopic.

Instead, the film specifically examines the passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which permanently abolished slavery. Certainly Lincoln is the primary character, but the movie features an enormous cast and focuses not on the life of the man but on the action in Congress surrounding the passage of the surprisingly controversial amendment.

Regardless, Daniel Day-Lewis gives a biopic performance for the ages, completely bringing our common image of Lincoln to life. And for a movie revolving around legislative action, “Lincoln” manages to be intense, moving, spirited and surprisingly humorous.

The 2012 Holiday Movie Season Preview

Ok, folks, here we are! One of the major movie release seasons of the year is upon us, The Holiday Movie Season!

The Holidays started a little early this year, with “Skyfall” (undeniably a major release) opening in the first week of November. So we’re underway! Between now and the end of the year, we’ll see some of the biggest films on the 2012 docket get released, including the conclusion to the “Twilight” Saga, “The Hobbit”, and “Django Unchained”!

Click through to check out what the Holidays hold in store!