The Usual Suspects *Spoilers*

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm late, better late then never, I suppose.

So while sifting through bargain bins at Blockbuster I happened upon Goodfellas in a bin labelled '2 DVDs for $6.99' (Canada btw). I haven't seen Goodfellas either so I begin searching for an adequate partner for this deal. What I found was 'State of Play' the movie I'm sure none of you remember with Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck, seriously, that was the best I could come up with to go with Goodfellas...

So I move on to other sections of the store, when I realize I forgot my football back at the 2 for $6.99 bin, when I go to retrieve it, I bend down, pick it up and staring me in the face, at the very top of the heap of movies, was The Usual Suspects. Flabbergasted at how I could have missed it the first time, I subbed it in for State of Play and off I was.

Why is this important? Just to illustrate the point that instead of just finishing The Usual Suspects about an hour ago, I could have been finishing State of Play... big difference right?

*Minor and Major Spoilers for The Usual Suspects and The Prestige begin*

Right, so onto the movie... WOW!

yeah, that's my educated opinion on this movie. Seriously, I couldn't have even possibly understood what I had been missing for so long, all this time and I had never seen it, but again, better late then never.

Right now, it's very possible, indeed very likely that I'm still seduced from the last 5 minutes of the movie what with the 'big reveal' that's making me jizz my pants like a 12 year old watching Transformers. Even with this shock factor still glazed over me, I still can't help but think that this is one of the best endings I have ever seen. period. But more on this later.

Even without the ending, the movie before these finals minutes was itself a damn fine movie with excellent story, characters, acting, just about everything. I was rooted to my seat at the complete mercy of wherever this film would take me and then the ending came and my wet dream became real.

The one thing I really want to get across in this post was it's similarity to The Prestige, one of my favorite films as mentioned previously. Not from a story standpoint, as the twist is completely different and the stories can't be compared whatsoever, but from the closing lines.

My favorite scene, surprise surprise, is Michael Caine finishing the movie with the last shot of Hugh Jackman in the water tank set to, "Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it, because of course you're not really looking. You don't really want to know. You want to be fooled." and the instance he finishes, the film suddenly cuts to black. end. That the most memorable scene in the movie for me, and that's partly why it's one of my favorites, because the final seconds grip you right until Chris Nolan's name appears and you realize your heart rate has increased, I found that the same thing happened in The Usual Suspects.


I somewhat saw it coming, not the twist, but that the detective would discover something from looking at the bulletin board behind the desk. While the movie was setting it up I wondered what it could possibly be. And as soon as the Quartet and Illinois came into full view I was most absorbed as I could have been, I was hanging on every word the characters said, every gesture and scene. As the movie began to set up Kevin Spacey's identity as Keyzer Sose I was almost refusing to believe it because I had already fully taken in and believed that Keaten was Keyzer Sose and it wasn't until he straightened out his walk on the sidewalk that my mind finally exploded. Now, this movie had me at hello, but then it went and finished like this in the final seconds, "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. And like that... he's gone." and in the instant that he begins to say he's gone, the film suddenly cuts to black and I'm left with my head spinning and my heart racing, where have I had this similar feeling before?


Maybe this point has been made before, well then I apologize for wasting time, I just had to get my thoughts down because I still feel like I've been mentally winded. Only time will tell if this movie is truly capable of joining the other 6 with my favorites, but I am definitely going to add that last line as one of my favorite quotes of all time.


P.S Kevin Pollack is badass.


Spoilers for both movies end

Comments, questions, feedback. I kinda realize now that this is pretty long and unstructured, oh well, if you do read I thank you.

Favorites

 One kind individual commented on what my favorite film was, and I realize that this was inevitable, so why not use this idea for my first real post.

What are my favorite movies?

Before I reveal to thee my favorite films, first I feel like I should get some things out of the way, so people who stumble upon this don't think I'm a big jackass with no taste. First, I'm not the oldest guy out there, I'm still fairly young, and as a result, the movies I'm going to name are all fairly new (I have a bit of a problem with 'connecting' with super old movies, I understand that they're good, but they don't do anything for me, but that's enough of that). Second, these favorites aren't necessarily the 'best' movies I've ever seen. There is a definite correlation between the best movies and my favorite movies, but it is not as obvious as you might think, there are certainly much better movies then some of the ones I'm about to list, and I can totally understand your dissenting opinion if you don't agree.

So without further ado, in alphabetical order:

Anchorman

What can I say? I love lamp... I have always been a fan of Will Ferrell, but this was the first time that I saw a Mackay / Ferrell combination and I have been a fan ever since. Talladega Nights, Step Brothers, The Other Guys, I love em all but this still remains as the best of their collaborations, and of the best comedies I've ever seen.





                                                                                                          The Aviator

This goes hand in hand with my enjoyment of biopics, especially on topics and about people I'm not particularly familiar with. I'm a pretty big fan of Leo and I have to say that his Howard Hughes is the best acting I have ever seen out of him (a close second is What's Eating Gilbert Grape). This movie also made me a Scorsese fan for life, I've seen a lot of his work from this decade, and am just beginning to check out his earlier stuff (like I said, I haven't watched/ seen that many older movies). Scale, style, substance and entertainment, this movie has it all.



Down Periscope

 Ever since I was a young lad I've loved this movie, and even to this day it gets laughs out of me, even when I can (probably) recite half the movie. This is the mark of a good film: the way I feel now, is the same way I felt immediately after watching the first time. Bet you didn't expect to see this movie on here eh?

Muppet Treasure Island

This movie embodies the very definition of timeless. Even without the classic nostalgia (which is very strong) the movie is hilarious, even to an elder crowd with good music and an entertaining experience. Seriously, if you have never seen it, you must, it is well worth it.






Pan's Labyrinth

 This is probably the most touching and heartfelt movie on here. Pan's Labyrinth is subtitled but it doesn't matter, it is one of the most emotionally gripping films I have ever watched and I loved every second of it. Accurately described as a 'fairy tale' for adults, the movie has its graphic violence, amazing (and often weird) creativity and characters that were vividly imagined and acted to perfection.

The Prestige

The Prestige is, in my opinion, the best work to come out of Christopher Nolan, and that is saying something. The Prestige is one of the most ridiculously interesting movies I have ever seen, everywhere the plot takes you will grip you right up until the very end. Speaking of the ending, I don't mean to spoil anything but the very last line in the film gave me, and still gives me goose bumps, with the chilling delivery and suddenness. A true achievement.

That's it! comments, questions, feedback always welcome. thanks for reading!

Introduction

Hello.

This is a rather unexpected move for me, I never thought I'd find myself blogging, and yet, here I am sharing my thoughts and opinions like the rest of you. The idea came from having a lot of thoughts on the movies I'd watch as well as upcoming news concerning a variety of things with cinema. So many ideas, and yet, no one to share them with. I'm hoping to extend what's going on in my mind to anyone who is kind enough to read it and hopefully make it interesting for others who share a love of movies as I do.

I'm just using this first post to introduce myself and say hi, I will begin the blogging soon enough with posts of a much high quality than this, so in the meantime for the first batch of people to stumble upon this blog, here is a video that always cracks me up:

comments, questions, feedback are always welcome! thank you for reading.