FilmJerk Favorites

A group of unique directors and the essential works that you've got to see.

||| Stanley Kubrick |||
Stanley Kubrick

A filmmaker of international importance, Kubrick was one of the only directors to work within the Studio System and still have full artistic control over his films from scripting through post-production, prompting Time Magazine to compare Kubrick’s early independence with the magnitude of Orson Welles.

An uncompromising antiwar film, this gut-wrenching drama depicts a World War I officer as he labors with an ultimately futile defense for three painfully sympathetic men tried for cowardice. Kubrick artistically utilizes a beautifully washed-out black and white photography to represent the muddied boundaries of right and wrong, and the many gray areas that lay between.

A fabulous and inspiring adventure, this visually stunning epic stars Kirk Douglas as the heroic slave who fights to lead his people to freedom from Roman rule. Although a clear departure from Kubrick’s oeuvre, “Spartacus” is an all time classic helmed by a man with a precise vision who is equally capable of crafting colossal spectacle, tense tête-à-têtes, and a tender moment between lovers.

This film is so stylish it’s easy to forget it’s a horror film at heart. Considered to be the thinking man’s thriller, Kubrick molds this very particularly “Stephan King” material into the portfolio of his films about human failure, as the hero’s desperate desire to become somebody ends in frustration and tragedy.

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Why all films in 2008 will own to "Eagle Eye"

By EdwardHavens

September 21st, 2007

Look out, "Sex and the City" and "Kung Fu Panda." "Keep your eyes peeled, "Get Smart" and "The Dark Knight." Even you, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Dark Crystal Krull," better get out of town before late summer. DJ Caruso's upcoming thriller "Eagle Eye" is destined to be the greatest film of all time. Here's why...

Why all films in 2008 will own to

1) The film is directed by Caruso, who parlayed his career directing television shows like "Dark Angel" and "Buddy Faro" into a feature career that includes "The Salton Sea," "Taking Lives" and "Two for the Money." Okay, he also directed "Disturbia," which hailed him as the new Hitchcock. 2) The story, about a young slacker and a single mom who get tangled up in a terrorist cell plotting a political assassination, was dreamed up by none other than Steven Spielberg. You may have heard of this guy. Amongst the movies with screenplays or stories by Mr. Spielberg: "Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "Poltergeist," "The Goonies," "Batteries Not Included" and "Animaniacs." (And let me stop here for a second to seriously suggest that Mr. Spielberg consider a remake of "Batteries Not Included," which had a strong central story but got too immersed in its own childish whimsy.) 3) The first draft of the screenplay for "Eagle Eye" was written by Dan McDermott, who doesn't have much on his C.V. besides the one-season-and-out Lifetime series "Angela's Eyes," but gets 20,000 Cool Points for being the father of Maria Bello's child. 4) The first series of revisions on the script were by the writing team of John Glenn and Travis Wright. Again, very few credits, but the team did write the upcoming "Warriors" remake (which is not needed) and, with Glenn directing, the upcoming Paul Walker film "The Heaven Project." 5) The next set of revisions were done by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. After working on "Xena" and "Hercules", and with J.J. Abrams on "Alias," Kurtzman and Orci were responsible for "The Island," Michael Bay's one true flop, "The Legend of Zorro," which couldn't recapture the magic that made the first film so much fun, "Mission: Impossible III," the least performing film in the series, and "Transformers," which may end up being the biggest film of 2007 if today's IMAX release of the film gets people excited to see it again. 6) Then J.J. Abrams himself came in for some doctoring. Why not? He is currently Paramount's golden boy, being in charge of "Snakes in the Hudson River" and the "Star Trek" reboot. 7) And with the film prepping for a November start date, the studio has brought Hilary Seitz in for one last set of tweaks. Seitz wrote the American remake of Erik Skjoldbjærg's "Insomnia," but despite the film's success, she hasn't worked since. With so many great writers aboard, if this film doesn't top the 2012 BFI "Greatest Films of All Time" list, something will have gone very very wrong.


"Eagle Eye" Scorecard
Director: DJ Caruso
Producers: Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, Pat Crowley, Ed McDonnell
:Screenwriters: Dan McDermott and John Glenn & Travis Wright and Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci and J.J. Abrams and Hillary Seitz, story by Steven Spielberg
Executive Producer: Steven Spielberg
Production Start Date: November 2007
Production Shooting Location: Los Angeles
U.S. Distributor: DreamWorks Pictures/Paramount Pictures
Scheduled U.S. Release Date: October 10, 2008