MARCH
33. The Candidate (1972) – Since I am the least political person I know, there is only one reason that I would watch this drama – its appealing star, Robert Redford. As a candidate for the US Senate from California, Bill McKay can rely on the same superficial judgment that led me to choose this film – his good looks and charisma. McKay is the son of the former governor of California but is a political neophyte. He works in the community to help the poor and improve society and all those idealistic things that rich people can do when they don’t actually have to work for a living. He is persuaded to enter the campaign by political operative Marvin (Peter Boyle) with the assurance that he has no chance to beat the incumbent Crocker Jarmin (Don Porter), but that, just by virtue of campaigning, he can bring attention to the issues he champions. His ideas will be expressed and he’ll get to do things his way. But as the campaign continues, McKay sees his control slipping even as his poll figures rise. Can an unknown knock off a well-established opponent? It is worth the time to see idealism and reality collide. A few years later, Redford would go on to make a masterful film about the collision of politics and journalism, “All the President’s Men.” Meanwhile, this film gets my vote. 3½ cans.
34. Step Mom (1998) – Of all the movies Julia Roberts has made, this one and “Pretty Woman” are my favorites. Here she is Isabel, living in NY with boyfriend Luke (Ed Harris), the divorced father of Anna (Jena Malone) and Ben. His ex, Jackie (Susan Sarandon) is Supermom, organized and perfect when it comes to the house and the kids, and more than slightly resentful of the presence of the younger, pretty woman in her former husband’s life. Isabel, a professional photographer, never asked to be a mom, but Luke’s busy career often puts her in charge of the kids, and Anna in particular, cannot hide her disdain. Over time, Isabel proves to be worthy of the challenge, and, when Jackie really needs extra help as a parent, Isabel gets a chance to shine. Yes, this movie is melodramatic and formulaic, but I always get a lump in my throat watching it. And forget “Pretty Woman,” because to me, Julia Roberts has never looked better than she does here. 4 cans.
35. McFarland, USA* (2015) – We’ve seen this before: a ragtag group of underdogs, seriously underestimated and never expected to succeed, rally behind a dedicated coach and take down the bigger, better rivals. These heartwarming stories are always served best with a side of corn, but this one, with Kevin Costner as a cross country coach, despite being too long, won me over. It is based on the true story of Jim White, a football coach with a bad temper who ends up in a small California town as a last ditch effort to save his coaching career. The town is populated by Hispanic families who work in the fields, picking almonds and anything else. These kids work in the fields, go to school and go back and work more. When White sees them running, he sees potential for a cross country team, and despite his having no experience in the sport, he persuades the principal to let him form a team. It takes even more convincing to get the buys to join the team and train – and for the parents to spare them from work. If I hadn’t known this was a true story, I might have dismissed it as simplistic and unlikely, but it was actually inspiring. The acceptance of the man the kids call “Blanco,” along with his family, the warmth and power of the people in the town and how they rally behind their team, and the – never mind, I can’t give away the ending, now, can I? This won’t be the last sports movie about overcoming the odds, and it isn’t the best, but it is worth seeing. 3½ cans.
36. Chasing Mavericks* (2012) – This must be my month for sports-oriented movies about underdogs who triumph – wait, aren’t most sports movies about the same thing? In this case, surfing is the sport, and a teenaged, fatherless boy is taken under the wing of the wizened, older surfer to learn lessons about surfing and life. Gerard Butler is the experienced surfer whose scowl hides his affection for the boy, who lives with his irresponsible mother (Elisabeth Shue). Jay (Jonny Weston) is a mature kid who is willing to write essays and learn to hold his breath to prepare to ride the huge California waves called “mavericks” that only the veteran surfers are able to tame. I wish I had seen this movie in a theater (and without commercials) because the surfing scenes were breathtaking. There is plenty here about man facing the challenge of nature, teenagers maturing and, of course, the requisite drama. Young actor Weston looks like a cross between Christopher Atkins in “The Blue Lagoon” and Willie Ames from “Eight is Enough.” He may be proficient at surfing (although he was probably replaced by a real surfer in the most grueling scenes), but he is absolutely wooden on screen. The story is true, and I won’t spoil the ending. 3 cans.
37. Places in the Heart (1984) – I really, really liked Sally Field in her Oscar-winning performance as Edna Spalding, a widow living in impoverished Texas during the Depression. Edna is fighting to keep her farm and her children, so she wards off the mean old bank by taking in itinerant worker Moze (Danny Glover) to help her plant and harvest cotton. The unconventional family also includes her blind boarder, Mr. Will (John Malkovich). Will Edna keep her kids and her farm? Will they survive a tornado (which is harrowing on screen)? Will the Klu Klux Klan kill Moze and all of the other black people in the area? Aside from an entirely extraneous subplot involving Edna’s sister (Lindsay Crouse), her husband Wayne (Ed Harris) and his girlfriend (Amy Madigan, his real-life wife), this is a first-rate movie that defines family and struggle. It will always have a place in MY heart. 4 cans.
38. Oliver’s Story (1978) – “Oliver’s Story” begins where “Love Story” ended – at the funeral of Oliver’s young wife, Jenny. The morose Oliver (Ryan O’Neal) is living alone in New York and immerses himself in his work as a lawyer, sworn to doing good deeds for underprivileged people. He is afraid to connect with anyone out of respect for his late wife until he runs across Marcy (Candice Bergen) in Central Park. These two are meant for each other. They are both rich and impossibly good-looking and both are unattached. But Oliver can’t give up the ghost and enjoy their time together. This sequel to the cheesy but compelling original seems designed merely to pair up two attractive actors with about the same dramatic skill level and is not nearly as satisfying as its predecessor, but if you’ve seen the first, how can you pass up the sequel? 3 cans.
39. Hoosiers (1984) – What March Madness would be complete without a viewing of the quintessential basketball (and perhaps all-sports) movie? Another underdog, rising to the challenge, the fiery coach, the rural setting, the undermanned squad – all staples of the sports movie but never portrayed better than in this based-on-a-true-story tale of Indiana high school basketball in the early 1950s. I subscribe to Coach Normal Dale’s (Gene Hackman) philosophy of life – not just basketball – to always do your best, live up to your potential and everything will take care of itself. You cannot be a true basketball fan if you have never seen this classic. “I love you guys.” 4½ cans.
40. Stop at Nothing* (2014) – This title is particularly appropriate for a movie about Lance Armstrong, noted cycling champion, Tour de France winner, cancer survivor and perpetrator of one of the biggest frauds in sports history. Armstrong duped and doped his way to the top of the cycling world (as well as pop culture and advertising), fending off all accusations about his use of banned substances and intimidating people around him to perpetuate the lie. When he improbably came back to win the Tour de France after recovering from testicular cancer, he expanded his power base and improved his image with the truly commendable work of the Lance Armstrong Foundation (remember those ubiquitous yellow wristbands?). It is safe to say that he had a lot riding on maintaining his clean image, so denying his use of banned substances and his carefully constructed drug program for his entire racing team was part of the ruse. He threatened and cajoled people, sued them, ruined their lives with malicious rumors and had absolutely no hesitation to lie – under oath – about anything he didn’t wish to reveal. This documentary is compelling in its unflinching look at Armstrong as well as at the people whose reputations he sullied while trying to save his own, and the people who were absolutely determined to bring him down. My lasting image of him will be his interview with Oprah, after all the facts were revealed and he responded with a simple “yes” to her direct questions about taking drugs such as EPO, human growth hormone, testosterone and cortisone. I don’t care if he used drugs and I don’t care about biking. I do care about the people who suffered as a result of his imperviousness and those people who admired him and trusted him. The saying goes that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. That’s what Armstrong attempted, to control everything and everyone in his wake. It is hard to imagine a more deserving fall from grace. 4 cans.
41. Midnight Cowboy (1969) – This film is an unflinching look at the seedy underbelly of New York, in a period before Times Square underwent Disneyfication and offered little more than porno theaters and street hustlers. It was unsafe, unseemly and full of desperation, not exactly what our hero, Joe Buck (Jon Voight), expects when he gets off the Greyhound from Texas with his goal of being a “stud,” servicing rich women with his handsome looks and boyish charm. His expectations are soon dashed on the sidewalks of New York, first by an aging hooker (Sylvia Miles) whom he ends having to pay, and then by small-time hustler Ratso Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman, in a complete departure from his previous role as “The Graduate”). Joe is reduced to hustling to, let’s say, a lower level of clientele, whom he picks up in movie theaters. He’s barely making ends meet when he teams up with Ratso (most memorable line: “I’m walkin’ here!”), squatting in an abandoned building and pawning his prized transistor radio. An unlikely friendship and bond forms between the two lonely, sorry men, and when Ratso’s dream of moving to Florida and enjoying a warmer climate seems remote, Joe tries his best to make that dream come true. This movie won the Oscar for Best Picture despite its X rating (which has since been changed to an R). The performances and the milieu are spot on, even while the subject is difficult to endure. 4 cans and a tip of the cowboy hat.
42. No Way Out (1986) – Imagine that you are put in charge of a murder investigation and the trail looks like it leads to you, even though you didn’t do it. That’s the untenable situation faced by Navy Commander Tom Farrell (Kevin Costner, in my favorite of his films this side of “Bull Durham”). He’s assigned to the Pentagon, where he discovers that he and his boss, the Secretary of Defense David Bryce (Gene Hackman) share something in common – a woman named Susan Atwater (Sean Young). Susan is married Bryce’s mistress, and when she dies, Bryce and his chief of staff (Will Patton) will do anything they can to keep the investigation away from them. Enter a theory about a mole in the defense department, a Soviet spy, whose existence is yet to be proven but whom they place front and center as a suspect. This is a gripping story, as Farrell has to lead the team and deflect them from his relationship. After 30 years, there is a lot of dated technology here (including the use of telephone booths), but the action and suspense are always timely. Is there a way out? Tune in to see. 4 cans.
43. No Way Out* (1950) – Aside from sharing a name, this black and white movie about race relations shares nothing in common with the Costner movie above. Luther Brooks (Sidney Poitier) is a young doctor who has to treat two brothers (Richard Widmark is one of them) who have been caught in a robbery and wounded. When Dr. Brooks attempts to do a spinal tap, one of the brothers dies, and the other one, Johnny, a racist, accuses the young doctor of murder. The class and race that divide the town are unrelenting, eventually leading to a confrontation between blacks and whites, which Johnny has incited. This movie features more hard drinking and smoky rooms than I have seen in a long time. It is depressing to think that the prejudice displayed here has continued even to this day, but it seems like the movie was portraying it accurately for its time. 3 cans.
44. The Heiress and Her Chateau* (2014) – If you love the grandeur of “Downton Abbey,” you’ll appreciate this documentary about an estate right here in America that rivals the fictional British version. Harriet Pullman Carolan, heir to the Pullman railcar fortune, fancied French things and rich people, so she and her husband moved from Chicago in the late 1800s and settled in the San Francisco area, in a wealthy enclave called Hillsborough, where only mansions were permitted to be built (no sideways, stores, gas stations or anything else for these incredibly wealthy landowners). She commissioned a French architect to design and build Carolands, a 98-room palace, sometimes buying the entire contents of a room from a mansion in Europe to outfit it. Though warned by her mother that even her vast fortune would not be enough to sustain the building and maintenance of the home, Harriet forged ahead. As predicted, she outspent her fortune and ended up abandoning the property, which stood unclaimed for the next 29 years. It passed through other owners but was left to decay and it became the target of area residents who wanted it demolished. It finally became the home of a wealthy couple who painstakingly restored it and set up a trust to run it. Now the home is used for charitable functions and remains a symbol of grandeur. I hope I haven’t spoiled the plot enough to dissuade you from watching the movie. 3½ cans.
45. Bang the Drum Slowly (1973) – As we approach baseball season, I thought it fitting to watch this touching story of the friendship between two baseball players. Henry Wiggin and Bruce Pearson could not be more dissimilar. Wiggin (Michael Moriarity) is a pitcher, an educated man who sells insurance and dupes people in card games when he isn’t pitching for the New York Mammoths. Bruce (Robert DeNiro) is an uneducated catcher with a giant wad of tobacco in his cheek who is frequently the target of jokes by his teammates. Catching equipment is often referred to as “the tools of ignorance,” and, in this case, that description is entirely appropriate. An early scene depicts Wiggin and Bruce leaving the Mayo Clinic, where Bruce has been diagnosed with a fatal illness that he doesn’t really understand. No matter, because “Author,” as they call the erudite Wiggin, is determined to keep Bruce on the major league roster and he even has a clause inserted into his contract to guarantee that they stay together. Like Ratso in “Midnight Cowboy,” Bruce gets increasingly ill, looks disheveled and dirty, and is dying before our eyes. It is only when his secret is revealed that his teammates show him compassion and care. This film marked the debut of Mr. DeNiro, whom you might recall has starred in a few noteworthy movies since then. 4 cans and a box of tissues.
46. The Natural (1984) – Another day, another baseball movie. Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) is blessed with good lucks and other-worldly baseball skills. And he is cursed by people out to stop him from being “the best there ever was.” On his way to a tryout with the Cubs as a young man, Hobbs encounters a woman who will change the course of his life. We meet up with him again 16 years later, when he is no longer young and he has finally recovered enough to begin a career. He’s old, especially for a rookie, but he still has magic in his bat. He elevates the play of his new team, but the people who own the club have things other than winning on their minds. In this saga, the lighting plays a major role, as Hobbs spots his first love in the stands, her head backlit as if God himself was pointing her out. He crashes a baseball into the stadium lights, which causes a celebratory effect as sparks fly on the field like sparklers while he races around the bases. Can he go out a winner? Will he be the best ever? I don’t know about that, but he sure looks great in a uniform. Glenn Close, Barbara Hershey, Wilford Brimley, Robert Duvall and Kim Basinger are on hand to celebrate and thwart him. I won’t tell you who does what. 4 cans.
47. Innocence* (2000) – Can love be rekindled after a 50 year absence? What is love anyway? Shouldn’t it be more than friendship, passion, routine, habit? This touching movie examines these questions through the lives of Andreas and Claire, once young lovers, and Claire and her husband John, who have been married for more than 40 years. In flashbacks, the young, smitten Claire and Andreas connect with purity and lust. In the present day, the aging Andreas (Charles Tingwell), a widower, remembers that time fondly, so when he finds out that he and Claire (Julia Blake) are living in the same area in Australia, he decides to reach out to her again. But love is complicated. She confesses her love for Andreas and their renewed affair to her husband, who refuses to accept this change in his life. Do either of these men truly know and love Claire? Can she give up the life she has shared with John (Terry Norris) for one she now wants to share with Andreas? This movie is about people approaching 70 who look and act like people approaching their 70s, with lines in their faces and health issues facing them. Will love end? Will life end? And how? This is a beautiful, tender story that asks those questions. Life and love are not necessarily easy. Is there more to life and can we pursue it even as we approach its end? Think about it, which you will after watching this movie. 4 cans.
48. Going Clear* (2015) – This inflammatory HBO documentary by Alex Gibney rips the Church of Scientology apart, lambasting it for intimidating its members, forcing them into hard labor, and controlling virtually every facet of their lives. The “church” was launched by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, best known for his book, “Dianetics.” Though classified as a church (which saves the organization/cult from having to pay taxes on the millions it collects from the membership), this group was first led by the paranoid, maniacal Hubbard himself and later by its self-proclaimed leader, David Miscavige. The movie includes interviews with several prominent former henchmen who once dedicated their lives to the church and its torturous methods of accountability, all of whom now denounce its practices. It is run like a Ponzi scheme, with various “levels” of training and knowledge, each one more expensive than the previous one. The church has friends in high places, relies on people with visibility (including Tom Cruise and John Travolta) as well as a veritable army of automatons assigned to assure the loyalty of its members through fear, intimidation and abuse. How so many people could commit to this line of bull is beyond me, and the film is downright scary in its portrayal of the methods used to control its members. You can’t make this stuff up, people. 3½ cans.
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