FilmJerk Favorites

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

||| Elia Kazan |||
Elia Kazan

Known for his creative direction and controversial story choices, Kazan was not only a great proponent of “method acting” and one of the founders of the Actors' Studio, but he used the style to its greatest effect, working with actors to capture unforgettable moments that bore his unique signature.

Under Kazan's potent direction Andy Griffith gives a stunning portrayal of a Southern itinerant singer catapulted to fame, with dehumanizing effects, in this early look at the power and corruptibility of television celebrity.

Gregory Peck is a humble and idealistic magazine writer who researches an article on anti-Semitism and learns first-hand about prejudice when he poses as a Jew. The film is unique in its ability to be quietly strong and subtly powerful while remaining constantly engaging.

Winner of eight Academy Awards, this powerful and brilliantly performed saga focuses on the dreams, despair and corruption of New York City longshoremen, Marlon Brando as he struggles over the choices of right and wrong and what that means to his brother, corrupt union officials, his priest, and his girlfriend.

Recommended by CarrieSpecht

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Fly Me to the Moon 3-D

By BrianOrndorf

August 13th, 2008

Didn't we just do this with the chimps? "Fly Me to the Moon" takes budget CG animation back into the vastness of space, only now the subjects are tiny, the visual depth enormous, and the objective much more educational. The entertainment value? Debatable.

Fly Me to the Moon 3-D

Three young flies, dreamer Nat, gifted I.Q., and pudgy Scooter, are hungry for adventure, but afraid to step outsides the boundaries of their lives. When NASA plans to launch the Apollo 11 mission, the flies slip out in the middle of the night and sneak into the ship. Launched to the moon, the pals achieve their dream, much to the concern of their respective parents (voiced by Kelly Ripa and Adrienne Barbeau), and the delight of Nat’s grandfather McFly (Christopher Lloyd). While peaceful stowaways, the flies are compelled to help when the mission runs into mechanical and Soviet trouble.

The producers claim that “Fly Me to the Moon” is the very first CG-animated film built entirely and exclusively for 3-D presentation. The endeavor is impressive as the movie actually makes time to show off the enhanced visual thumbprint with extended takes of insect flight or reverent shots of the space mission, gladly displaying detail to help deepen the 3-D aesthetic. While money was clearly in short supply for the “Moon” production, the screen reveals genuine effort from the animators and director Ben Stassen (a 3-D vet), who successfully impart a fleeting sense of awe in the film.

The rest of “Moon” didn’t grab me with its familiar routines of potty humor and uplifting messages on reaching for the stars. “Moon” feels halfhearted in the story department, suffering from too much filler to meet something near a 90-minute running time. The second act introduces some commie flies into the mix (led by “Poopchev”), suggesting the writers had little left in their creative gas tank, disturbing this once peaceful film, which now has to balance a worshipful tone with the space sequences and the slapstick provided by humorless Russian bugs.

“Moon” is routine but there are flashes of invention, spied in the 1969 setting and the hilarious, straight-faced epilogue, which wheels out astronaut Buzz Aldrin to remind families that the film is pure fiction, and the space program would never allow “contaminates” onboard one of their ships. It’s nearly worth the price of admission to see this surreal nugget.

“Fly Me to the Moon” isn’t offensively bad, just anemic and uselessly trendy. It’s strictly a diversion for kids, and while it’s hard to recommend it on purely creative merit, I suppose it would be a wonderful thing if these silly flies ended up pushing kids to investigate space travel and the legacy of NASA. Unlikely, but it’s more comforting than fart and burp jokes.

My rating: C-