2021 Oscar Predictions & Thoughts

Over the past few months, I've been thinking about restarting this movie blog I created 10+(!) years ago, and while having two kids would make it pretty hard to keep up with, I did start writing a Facebook post about Sunday night's Oscar Ceremony. It quickly turned into more than a simple post, and so I figured why not post something here just to see what kind of comments I get. No clue if anyone even still uses Blogger or not, but here it goes...

This year marks the third year in a row I was able to see every nominated film before Oscar Night. That doesn't sound like a big deal, but check out this Letterboxd List to see how many you've seen.

And so, while no one asked for it, I figured I may have some unique insight on what might happen tonight (looks like after editing, I'm going to be posting this a little after midnight). I'm giving a prediction for each category along with who I'd vote for if I were in the Academy (Will vs Should)

Best Picture

Will: Nomadland                                        Should: Minari

Minari was my #3 film of 2020 (behind Hamilton & Derek Delgaudio’s In & Of Itself—both of which are filmed stage productions and not really movies). Nomadland was actually my least favorite of the 8 Best Picture nominees, so if/when it wins tonight I'll be pretty sad.

Best Actor

Will: Chadwick Boseman (MRBB)             Should: Anthony Hopkins (The Father)

Choosing Hopkins over Boseman for my Should was a very difficult choice. Boseman was fantastic in MRBB (even more so knowing he was silently struggling with cancer during filming) & I am gutted that we won’t see him in any more roles, but Hopkins did such a great job portraying the horrors & confusion of dementia. I won’t be upset if/when Boseman wins posthumously though. 

Best Actress

Will: Viola Davis (MRBB)                            Should: Carey Mulligan (PYW)

Another very difficult choice—for both Will & Should this time. Davis did great again in another fantastic August Wilson adaptation & I fear maybe she won’t win again (despite this role being nothing like her role in Fences). I’ve loved Mulligan ever since An Education & Never Let Me Go and her performance in PYW is spectacular. Day is the one good thing in The United States vs Billie Holiday (that voice!) and Kirby made losing a child feel all too real in Pieces of a Woman. Even though McDormand stood out a little around her Nomadland co”stars,” she’s still Frances m-f-ing McDormand! The best slate of nominees this year—all very deserving!

Best Supporting Actor

Will: Daniel Kaluuya (J&tBM)                    Should: Paul Raci (Sound of Metal)

Listen, Kaluuya is great as the charismatic & influential Fred Hampton but then I found out that Hampton was 21 when he was murdered by the FBI & Chicago police and Kaluuya is 30+. I wonder how much more powerful the film would have been with age-appropriate actors. Raci just blew me away in the center third of SoM (and he’s the perfect age for a fictional character!) 

Best Supporting Actress

Will: Yuh-jung Youn (Minari)                      Should: Yuh-jung Youn (Minari)

Bakalova was fantastic in Borat 2 & I hope this nomination gives her more opportunities in Hollywood, but Youn was even better as the comic relief in Minari. She steals every scene she’s in (in a fantastic way).

Best Director

Will: Chloe Zhao (Nomadland)                    Should: Lee Isaac Chung (Minari)

Zhao’s the overwhelming frontrunner here and she did great directing so many nonprofessional actors & producing a very pretty film, but it was such a slow, boring film that could not keep my attention. Chung, however, directed some great performances from children (just as difficult as nonprofessionals) & created a fascinating story of family struggle 

Best Original Screenplay

Will: Promising Young Woman                     Should: Minari

This is a coin toss for me on Should—I’ve already said Minari was my #3 film of 2020 and PYW was my #5 (with the animated film, Wolfwalkers in #4). I had seen a website several weeks ago that had all ten nominated screenplays available for download—I wish I had the time to read all of them since screenplays are often very different from the final film. However, with Minari & PYW both being written by their respective directors (Emerald Fennell & Lee Isaac Chung, respectively), I have to imagine the final films have to be pretty close to their original scripts.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Will: The Father                                          Should: The Father

The conceit of The Father (showing what it's like to suffer from dementia by having all the supporting cast, set design, and timeline change scene by scene) seemed so obvious, and yet I don’t think I’ve ever seen or heard of anything like it before.

Best Cinematography

Will: Nomadland                                        Should: Nomadland

The one thing Nomadland had going for it was the sheer beauty of the American landscape. Even the scenes set in an Amazon warehouse or a beet processing plant looked great.

Best Editing

Will: The Trial of the Chicago 7                 Should: The Trial of the Chicago 7

I had issues with the ending and some of the direction, but the editing (especially some of the cutting between trial and protest) was fantastic.

Best Production Design

Will: Mank                                                  Should: The Father

How Mank got so many nominations I’ll never know! (I guess the Academy likes movies about making movies.) It’s pretty and made me want to rewatch Citizen Kane but The Father literally had to do Production Design 3 or 4 times on the same set to keep changing the layout on poor Anthony Hopkins.

Best Costume Design

Will: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom                 Should: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

First, shout out to Trish Summerville for this:

If the award was for Best Single Costume, she’d definitely win it. Also, Emma and Pinocchio both had some gorgeous costumes, but only MRBB made me horny for an $11 pair of shoes. 

Best Sound

Will: Sound of Metal                                    Should: Sound of Metal

It does amazing work (I can only assume) recreating the main character’s slow loss of hearing. I mean, it’s right there in the name! Maybe next year someone will make Picture of Metal to win Best Picture.

Best Makeup/Hairstyling

Will: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom                   Should: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

I wish I could see before/after shots from each film showing off the makeup. I saw some amazing work in Pinocchio, and the Hillbilly Elegy team did amazing work making Glenn Close look like the real person she's portraying, but I'm sticking with MRBB.

Best Original Score

Will: Soul                                                  Should: Soul

Howard's score in News of the World was the only one that made my 240-character Twitter review (but it was also the only one of the five I watched AFTER the nominations were announced). I wish I had time to listen to each score in its entirety. Some excerpts from Minari sounded great but I'm going with Reznor, Ross, & Batiste. 

Best Original Song

Will: "Speak Now" (One Night in Miami)       Should: "Husavik" (Eurovision...)

"Speak Now" is a gorgeous song, sung beautifully by Leslie Odom Jr. but "Husavik" is beautiful, yet haunting, yet funny. It's a shame Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga was so hit or miss (most of the misses coming from Ferrell)

Best Visual Effects

Will: Tenet                                                     Should: Tenet

Regarding the time-inverted special effects in Tenet, Christopher Nolan was so preoccupied with whether or not he could that he didn't stop to think if he should. But were the effects worth failing to write a good story or pay for decent sound mixing if it wins his film an Oscar? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Best Documentary Feature

Will: My Octopus Teacher                            Should: Collective

Last year's Honeyland got noms for Best Doc & Best Int'l Feature just like this year's Collective, but it went home with nothing & I fear Collective may follow... However, Collective was my #6 of 2020 & I think it deserves to win best Documentary. Unfortunately, My Octopus Teacher is probably going to win despite it being the 11th worst film I saw in 2020…

Best Documentary Short

Will: A Love Song for Latasha                        Should: Colette

A Love Song for Latasha is sadly ever-relevant but Colette was my favorite of this year's slate. I had no idea I was sitting down to watch a short film about the horrors of the Holocaust when I watched it during a lunch break. That was the most I ever cried during lunch!

Best Animated Feature

Will: Soul                                                    Should: Wolfwalkers

Pixar's Soul is great (my #12 of 2020) and while Wolfwalkers is also a 4.5* film along with Soul, I think it's just a little better (#4). The hand-drawn animation style took some getting used to (a lot of the backgrounds are sort of flat—it's a weird perspective thing) but the story is as good as any Pixar/Studio Ghibli film. If you have Apple TV+, give it a watch!

Best Animated Short

Will: If Anything Happens I Love You             Should: Opera

Opera is a fascinating little short that I immediately rewatched after it finished. There are dozens (hundreds?) of little details crammed into 9 minutes, and I feel like every repeat viewing would just uncover more things I didn't catch before. Very ambitious—I wish I could see it on repeat on the big screen. But, I won't be upset if/when IAHILY takes home the Oscar.

Best Live Action Short

Will: The Letter Room                                 Should: The Present

The Present was a fascinating look at the struggle a father & daughter go through to do some shopping on the other side of a checkpoint. I know very little about the ins & outs of Israeli/Palestinian relations, but damn if this short didn't make me hate walls & border crossings. There's some buzz around Two Distant Strangers possibly winning, and if it does I'll be so pissed. I have no idea how a 0* "film" got nominated. It's just an exploitative P.O.S. with good acting from the lead (and no one else). Here's hoping Oscar Isaac's star power wins it for The Letter Room instead.

Best International Feature

Will: Another Round                                  Should: Another Round

This is the only time I'm saying I think a film Should win when it wasn't the highest-rated film of the nominees. I think Collective is a better film (my #6 of 2020), but I also feel like it's more deserving of the Best Documentary award, while Another Round (my #15) is the better International film. Collective felt like a fascinating documentary that just so happened to take place in Romania. Another Round felt like a fantastic Danish film (if that distinction makes any sense). Plus, it's got Mads Mikkelsen experimenting on how day drinking helps him & his friends perform better as teachers! 

If you've made it this far, thank you! I have no idea how right or wrong I'll be but it was fun to write a little more about these films before the ceremony. Feel free to leave a comment about who you think will/should win below!

Fatal Attraction (1987)

#2 - 1987 Box Office: Gross $156,645,693

A look that led to an evening

Adrian Lyne directs this thriller about infidelity.  Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas) is a New York lawyer with a wife (Anne Archer) and young daughter.  When the girls leave for the weekend, he has a short affair with Alex Forrest (Glenn Close), whom he met at a work party.  However, Alex doesn't want the affair to end when Dan's family returns.  She slits her wrists, tries to buy his affection with opera tickets, stalks his family and even kidnaps his daughter for a day out at an amusement park.  Dan moves out of the city, changes his number and tries to ignore Alex, but sometimes affection becomes obsession and you can't outrun crazy.

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)

#2 - 1991 Box Office: Gross $165,493,908

Sometimes the only way to uphold justice...is to break the law

During a prison escape with his friend Peter, Robin of Locksley (Kevin Costner) saves the life of Azeem (Morgan Freeman) and the two survive thanks to Peter's self-sacrifice.  Azeem follows Robin back to England to pay back the debt of saving his life, however Robin's homecoming is tainted by the Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Rickman) who has killed Robin's father.  Robin meets Little John (Nick Brimble), Will Scarlet (Christian Slater) and a bunch of other Merry Men in Sherwood Forest and soon leads them to fight against the Sheriff, who himself has begun to aggressively court Marian (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), sister of the dead Peter, who Robin promised to protect.

Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)

#2 - 1985 Box Office: Gross $150,415,432

What most people call hell, he calls home

George P. Cosmatos's film opens with John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) in a labor prison camp, presumably convicted for the events of First Blood*. He is visited by Col. Trautman (Richard Crenna) who offers him a way out of prison, with a full pardon.  A bureaucrat named Murdock (Charles Napier) wants Rambo to parachute into Vietnam and do reconnaissance regarding American POWs—but under no circumstances is Rambo supposed to engage the enemy.  This is simply a fact-finding mission.  However, Rambo loves his country too much to let other US soldiers be tortured and killed and so he soon becomes a one-man army fighting the Vietnamese, Soviets, and even the Americans who sent him on the impossible mission.

Forrest Gump (1994)

#1 - 1994 Box Office: Gross $329,694,499

The story of a lifetime

Robert Zemeckis directs this adaptation of Winston Groom's 1986 novel, which tells the story of a simple man (Tom Hanks) who travels across the world, unwittingly finding himself in the middle of major historical events of the 20th Century. Whether it's at the integration of University of Alabama or a protest rally headed by Abbie Hoffman at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Gump finds himself meeting Presidents and influential people throughout his life.  However, he almost always is drawn back to his childhood friend, Jenny (Robin Wright) who never judged Forrest.  He spends some time in Vietnam and makes a lifelong friend in his Lieutenant, Lt. Dan (Gary Sinese). Sally Field plays his long-suffering mother while many other famous figures (e.g. JFK) costar thanks to Industrial Light & Magic.

Alice in Wonderland (2010)

#2 - 2010 Box Office: Gross $334,191,110

You're invited to a very important date

At a lavish garden party, 19-year-old Alice (Mia Wasikowska) struggles to meet the expectations of her friends and family.  In order to escape an unwanted marriage proposal, Alice chases a rabbit in a waistcoat (Michael Sheen) and falls down a large hole.  Here, she reenters Underland, a world she visited when she was six and always thought was a dream (calling it "Wonderland").  The characters from her dream are all here—Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry), Caterpillar (Alan Rickman)—and they tell her she is destined to slay the Red Queen's (Helena Bonham Carter) Jabberwocky (Christopher Lee) and help the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) return to power.

Toy Story 3 (2010)

#1 - 2010 Box Office: Gross $415,004,880

No toy gets left behind

Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack) and the rest of the toys return for part three, as Andy (John Morris) prepares to head off to college.  A mixup leads the toys to believe Andy wanted to throw them away, so they escape to Sunnyside, a local daycare center.  Here, they're welcomed with open arms by Lotso (Ned Beatty), Ken (Michael Keaton) and several other new toys. However, they soon realize their warm welcome is simply because their presence allows present toys to escape the horrors seen in the youngest room. Woody, found and taken home by imaginative young Bonnie, employs the help of her toys—Mr. Pricklepants (Timothy Dalton), Trixie (Kristen Schaal), Buttercup (Jeff Garlin), et al—to return to Sunnyside, break his friends out of their prison and return to Andy before he leaves for college...

Batman Forever (1995)

#2 - 1995 Box Office: Gross $184,031,112

Courage now, truth always....

Joel Schumacher directs this second sequel to the original Batman, where Bruce Wayne (now played by Val Kilmer) has to deal with disfigured D.A Harvey Dent & super-villain Two Face (now played by Tommy Lee Jones).  Meanwhile, Wayne Enterprises employee & genius Edward Nygma (Jim Carrey) invents a way to connect people's brains with their television sets.  Realizing he can steal people's intelligence with his device, he becomes The Riddler.  Two Face crashes a circus charity event attended by Bruce & love interest Dr. Chase Meridian (Nicole Kidman), demanding Batman reveal himself or else a bomb will explode.  Bruce fails to catch his attention under the din of the crowd, but The Flying Graysons, a family of acrobats, attempt to get rid of the bomb.  The youngest, Dick Grayson (Chris O'Donnell) succeeds in destroying the bomb, but only after Two Face kills the rest of his family. After teaming up, Two Face & The Riddler find out Batman's secret identity and destroy the Batcave.  Dick also finds out Bruce's secret and Bruce himself admits his identity to Chase.  With his secret identity not much of a secret anymore, will Batman be able to save Gotham from The Riddler's brain drain?

Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)

#2 - 1993 Box Office: Gross $219,195,243

She's a blessing... in disguise.

Daniel (Robin Williams) and Miranda Hillard (Sally Field) have been married 15 years, but their marriage is in trouble.  After Daniel quits his job in voice-overs and throws a large raucous birthday party for his son, Miranda has had enough and files for divorce.  Job- and home-less, Daniel fails to win custody of his children: Lydia (Lisa Jakub), Chris (Matthew Lawrence) & Natalie (Mara Wilson). Lost without them, Daniel applies to be the family's nanny, creating the character of Euphegenia Doubtfire with the help of his makeup-artist brother Frank (Harvey Fierstein).  Able to see his children every day, Daniel falls deep into the character of Mrs. Doubtfire, creating a loving home where the children succeed at school, Miranda comes home early from work to spend time with the family and things seem good. Miranda even starts seeing a client and old friend, Stuart (Pierce Bronsan).  However, things come to a head at a restaurant where Mrs Doubtfire and Daniel run back and forth between the family table and the table with TV-station CEO Lundy (Robert Prosky) where Daniel is trying to pitch a new TV show starring himself.

Spider-Man 3 (2007)

#1 - 2007 Box Office: Gross $336,530,303

One man will fight to find the hero within

Things are good as Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 begins—Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) has finally learned how to balance his personal life and the responsibility of being Spider-Man.  He's actually about to propose to Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst)—who herself has finally landed a starring role on Broadway—when Harry Osborn (James Franco) attacks.  As New Golbin, Harry attempts to avenge his father's death once more, using equipment he has found in his father's house.  After a blow to the head erases Harry's recent memory, the two become friends once more.  More conflict arises however, with not one, but two more villains—an alien symbiote called Venom leeches onto Peter and makes him stronger while an escaped convict (and Uncle Ben's actual killer), Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church) gets caught in a particle accelerator and becomes The Sandman.  Marko goes on a crime-spree, attempting to get money for his daughter's medical treatments, and Spidey turns black as Venom turns him vain and vengeful.  Eddie Brock (Topher Grace) and Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard) join the adventure; he, a rival photojournalist and she, a new love interest to Peter.  After mistakenly striking Mary Jane, Peter realizes that with the extra power Venom gives him, comes extra responsibility.  He ditches the new suit, but Venom soon finds Eddie and transforms him into a super-villain.  Meanwhile, Norman (Willem Dafoe) appears to Harry and urges him to remember what Spider-Man did to him.  Will Spider-Man be able to face off against all three at the same time?

Spider-Man 2 (2004)

#2 - 2004 Box Office: Gross $373,585,825

 Sacrifice. Destiny. Choice.

Sam Raimi's sequel picks up two years after the first ended with Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) trying to balance his everyday life with the great responsibility he has as Spider-Man. His childhood crush—Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst)—has a starring role on Broadway, his best friend—Harry Osborn (James Franco)—is convinced Spider-Man is responsible for his father's death and after the death of Peter's uncle, his Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) faces foreclosure. Meanwhile, one of Oscorp's nuclear scientists, Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), suffers a terrible accident causing intelligent robotic arms to weld themselves onto his back and into his mind.  Dubbed "Doc Ock" by the vociferous Daily Bugle editor, J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons), Spider-Man has a new enemy who threatens to destroy the city with a huge fusion reactor.  Parker's powers falter and after a visit with a two-armed doctor, he believes the reason his powers aren't working is due to the stress of protecting the city.  And so, he decides to be Spider-Man, no more.  Doc Ock needs Harry's help with his reactor so Harry asks Ock to bring him Spider-Man to avenge his father's death. MJ gets kidnapped, Peter has to become Spider-Man once more and try to save the city and himself.

SouthSide Film Festival (Part 2 of 2)

First half of my Festival reviews can be found here

Thursday Night (cont'd)
After the shorts finished, I watched The Athlete, a biopic about Abebe Bikila, an Ethiopian who ran the 1960 Olympic Marathon barefoot and won the Gold.  Four years later, in Tokyo, he became the first to win consecutive Olympic Marathon Golds (this second time, with shoes).  Tragedy struck before he could try for a third Olympic Gold in Munich when a car accident left him a quadriplegic.  Still, his determination (and an operation) upgraded his status to paraplegic after which he proceeded to participate in the 1968 Paralympics in archery and win as a dog sledder in Norway.  The story was inspiring and the cinematography was outstanding, but the movie was a bit disappointing.  This was the only talk back I was able to attend—star & co-writer/director Rasselas Lakew was present and gave some great insight to the film.  His answers definitely made me appreciate the film a little more, but I wasn't able to stay for the whole talk back because I had to run to see...  ***

...a documentary called Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone.  If you're like me (and probably most of the world), you've never heard of Fishbone, however they've influenced dozens of bands you have heard of (e.g. No Doubt, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane's Addiction, etc.).  Formed in 1979 Los Angeles, Fishbone was a black rock band that fused ska, funk, metal and punk in an amazing way.  The music of this film is great and the story of one of the most influential bands of the 80s is intriguing.  However, the middle drags on a bit too much ***1/2

SouthSide Film Festival (Part 1 of 2)

Jeez... It's been nearly a month since I've posted a MLiF blog!  For my handful of followers, I'm sorry for the delay.  Life got quite hectic, but I should be able to do weekly reviews again now that The 39 Steps closed (that is until Wedding Singer: The Musical rehearsals become every night).

However, I'm still not able to start back with a MLiF blog because I'm only halfway through Spider-Man 2 but I should hopefully get that up next week.  However, I figured I should post SOMETHING since this blog has been dead for so long, so I figured I'd give a recap of the SouthSide Film Festival.

South Side Bethlehem has apparently been presenting a Film Festival for the past eight years, however last year was the first I heard of it.  Apparently, each year there is a Cultural & Genre Highlight and 2011 focused on Africa & Folklore.  That isn't to say there aren't a bunch of other films from other cultures or genres, but a good portion of the films fall into one or both of these.

This year, I went with an All Access lanyard, and while I didn't get to use it as much as I'd have liked to (closing weekend of The 39 Steps sort of interfered), I did see more than enough films to make it worthwhile.

Spider-Man (2002)

#1 - 2002 Box Office: Gross $403,706,375

Does whatever a spider can

Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is an average kid who lives in Queens with his Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson) and Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) next door to his high school crush Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst).  He's too shy to talk to Mary Jane, but at least has a best friend in Harry Osborn (James Franco), son of weapons mogul Dr. Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe).  On one school trip to Columbia University, Peter is bitten by a radioactive spider and overnight becomes a little less average.  His eyesight improves, his body becomes toned and muscular and he seems to have gained some new skills from the genetically engineered spider.  He can shoot webbing from his wrists, he has amazing speed, strength & agility and also has a new "spidey" sense (a type of premonition of things to happen).  In order to impress Mary Jane with a new sports car, he enters a wrestling match promising $3000 to the winner.  The owner gyps him on a technicality and in a selfish act of revenge, Peter lets an armed robber escape with all of the owner's money.  In a cruel twist of fate, this same robber kills Uncle Ben in a carjacking, and Peter soon decides to use his powers responsibly in an effort to honor his uncle, becoming Spider-Man. Meanwhile, in a lab experiment gone wrong Dr. Osborn gains a maniacal new personality who will do anything to have his company succeed, going so far as killing the competition and those who disagree with him.  Local newspaper editor J Jonah Jameson (JK Simmons) dubs this killer the Green Goblin and sells newspapers by milking the public's fear of both the Goblin and Spider-Man.  Will Peter be able to convince the public he's trying to do right?  Will he be able to save his best friend's father from the evil that lives inside him?  Will he be able to get the girl?  Will I ever figure out how to end these synopses without a list of rhetorical questions?

The Sixth Sense (1999)

#2 - 1999 Box Office: Gross $293,506,292

Not every gift is a blessing

Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) is an accomplished child psychologist who, with his wife Anna (Olivia Williams), is confronted by Vincent (Donnie Wahlberg), an ex-patient who has broken into their home one night.  Vincent blames Malcolm for never helping him and proceeds to shoot Malcolm in the stomach and then kill himself.  Months later, Malcolm begins to work with Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osmont), a shy and fearful 6-year-old living with his single mother, Lynn (Toni Collette).  At first, Cole doesn't trust Malcolm but soon confides in him, telling him he has the ability to see dead people.  Malcolm believes Cole to be delusional, however notices a lot of similar tendencies between Cole and Vincent.  He decides to do everything he can to help Cole in an effort to make up for his tragic failure with Vincent.  His devotion to Cole causes a chasm to grow between him and his wife, however.  She starts taking anti-depressants, rarely talks to Malcolm and starts flirting with a coworker.  Meanwhile, Malcolm starts to believe Cole's visions might be real and encourages him to listen to the spirits who might just be looking for help.  Will Malcolm's suggestion help Cole deal with his terrifying visions?  Will he be able to help Cole where he couldn't with Vincent?  Will he be able to move on and mend the relationship with his wife?

Men in Black (1997)

#2 - 1997 Box Office: Gross $250,690,539

Protecting the Earth from the scum of the Universe

The Men in Black are a top secret organization that monitors and polices alien activity on Earth, keeping regular humans completely in the dark about both their & aliens' existence.  After NYPD officer James Edwards (Will Smith) crosses paths with a very acrobatic alien who can climb up the side of the Guggenheim, MiB agent Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) is sent to erase his memory.  However, he's impressed when he finds out James ran down the Cephlapoid on foot and convinces his boss Agent Zed (Rip Torn) to invite him to an MiB recruiting test.  James' unorthodox methods help him pass and he becomes Agent Jay.  Soon Jay and Kay are stuck in a galactic game of keep away.  An entire galaxy was being hidden on earth, and a species of Bugs are after it.  One Bug kills a farmer (Vincent D'Onofrio) and uses his skin as a disguise as he searches for the galaxy.  The galaxy's protectors decide it'd be better to destroy the Earth than let the energy within this galaxy fall into the wrong hands.  Will Jay & Kay be able to find the galaxy before the Bug does?

'Crocodile' Dundee (1986)

#2 - 1986 Box Office: Gross $174,803,506

He's survived the most hostile and primitive land known to man.

Now all he's got to do is make it through a week in New York.

Newsday reporter, Sue Charlton (Linda Kozlowski) had been sent to Australia by her editor/boyfriend Richard Mason (Mark Blum) where she hears of legendary Michael 'Crocodile' Dundee (writer, Paul Hogen), a man who lost his leg to a crocodile attack in the Outback.  Sensing a great story, she hunts him down only to find the story was greatly exaggerated—Mick still has his leg, with a scar.  With some time on her hands, she decides to hear his story and travels the wilderness with Mick and his assistant, Walter (John Meillon).  Mick amazes her by soothing a savage buffalo, telling time by looking at the sun and shaving with his large Bowie knife.  One point, while bathing, Sue is attacked by a crocodile, but peeping Mick comes to her rescue and kills the beast.  An attraction grows, and wanting more time with the man, Sue invites Mick back to New York, where fish-out-of-water craziness ensues.  Mick gets scared by an escalator, confuses an African-American limo driver (Reginald VelJohnson) for a tribesman, grabs a transvestite's crotch to check if she's a man, and confuses a cocaine user's sniffles for a cold, mixing his cocaine with hot water to create a steam bath.  Richard begins to feel threatened by Mick, Sue begins to question her true feelings for both men, and Mick continues to try and fit in despite his obvious out of placeness.  Will Mick decide to go back to Australia while on walkabout around NYC?  Will Sue make up her mind in time before losing Mick to the Outback forever?

The Lion King (1994)

#2 - 1994 Box Office: Gross $312,855,561

Life's greatest adventure is finding your place in the Circle of Life

"Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba." And with this Zulu chant, our film opens as every animal across the African plains comes to Pride Rock to witness the birth of Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas), son of the current king and queen Mufasa (James Earl Jones) and Sarabi (Madge Sinclair).  Every animal is overjoyed by this addition to their circle of life except for Mufasa's brother, Scar (Jeremy Irons), since the birth of his nephew dashes any hopes he had of gaining control of the kingdom. In a scheme that feels somewhat Shakespearean, Scar uses his hyena minions to create a wildebeest stampede to kill Simba and Mufasa, leaving the kingdom (and Sarabi) in his hands.  Simba, however, wasn't killed in the stampede but is driven out of the Pride Lands where he grows up (now voiced by Matthew Broderick) among new friends Timon and Pumbaa (a meerkat and warthog voiced by Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella, respectively).  Scar's reign nearly destroys the Pride Lands while Simba lives with "No Worries" on the edge of the kingdom.  Will the pleas of childhood friends and a message-in-the-stars from his father's spirit be enough to convince Simba to return home and take back his kingdom?

Iron Man (2008)

#2 - 2008 Box Office: Gross $318,412,101

Heroes aren't born. They're built.

Jon Favreau directs this comic book adaptation which opens with billionaire and weapons engineer Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) demonstrating his company's shocking and awesome new Jericho Missile in Afghanistan.  As he and best friend James Rhodes (Terrence Howard) travel away from the demonstration, Stark's vehicle is attacked with his own technology, leaving him near death (as Rhodes escapes unharmed).  Stark awakens to find he's being held by terrorists who want him to build them their very own Jericho Missile.  His fellow captor has implanted an electromagnet into Stark's chest to keep the shrapnel from destroying his heart, and soon the two secretly build a suit in which Stark can escape.  Back home in his mansion, he's able to fine tune his heart magnet and perfect his suit with some help from assistant and sometimes love interest Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow).  Stark begins to dissolve his father's company having found out his weapons are being sold to both sides of almost every war, but his father's business partner Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges with some of the most evil hair I've ever seen) wants to continue the business as is.  Meanwhile, the Afghan terrorists are trying to reverse engineer the destroyed suit they found in the desert which Stark left behind after he escaped.  Will self-centered Stark have a change in heart regarding his role in his father's company?  Will he be able to keep his ego in check with his new found identity?  Who will win the final battle of Iron Man vs iron man?

Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

#1 - 1984 Box Office: Gross $234,760,478

He's been chased, thrown through a window, and arrested.

Eddie Murphy is a Detroit cop on vacation in Beverly Hills.

Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) is a Detroit detective who often plays by his own rules, which does not put him in good standing with his boss.  And so, after an old friend visits Axel and is killed right in front of him, Axel isn't allowed to investigate.  Knowing his friend had spent the past six months in California, Axel decides to go on a (semi-forced) vacation to see if he can determine why his friend was killed.  After a little sleuthing, he finds out local art dealer Victor Maitland (Steven Berkoff) isn't all he seems, but local police have their hands tied since cops go by the book in Beverly Hills.  Sgt. Taggart (John Ashton) & Det. Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) are assigned to watch Axel, who often gives them the slip and eventually convinces them, that while his methods are unorthodox, they get results.  The three work together in an attempt to get to the bottom of a conspiracy involving drugs and murder, all the while avoiding any Beverly Hills police who are still upset at Axel's techniques.