Time For Some “C” Cinema!

My countdown of favorite movies “A-Z” continues with another great letter, which is full of comedy, drama, horror and John Travolta!

REMEMBER: This is not a top ten, just ten movies I love, so if your favorite pops in at #8, that doesn’t mean the next 7 are better!

Let’s get started with a “C” movie that may not be well known, but it is a beloved cult gem, from acclaimed Writer Mike White!

10 – Chuck & Buck

This is one of those quirky classics that, when you mention it to someone, they embrace you as if you’re part of a secret club!

Here’s the plot: an offbeat, naive “man-child” stalks his childhood best friend in Hollywood in order to rekindle a “long ago” friendship.

“Chuck & Buck” was directed by Miguel Arteta, and was written by Mike White, who also stars as Buck. White is the genius behind the current TV show “The White Lotus!”

Check out the trailer:

Chris Weitz stars as Chuck, a successful Hollywood Producer hounded by his long-forgotten childhood friend. Aside from acting, Weitz is also an acclaimed Writer/Director – he directed another great film “About A Boy.”

This movie is offbeat, a bit dark at times, and a real treat…a great movie to begin our list, and one of my favorite “forgotten cult classics” – here are some more:

Next up is one of my top 5 favorite films – a masterpiece of horror and suspense!

9 – Carrie

In 1976, Director Brian DePalma took Stephen King’s debut novel about a girl with special powers and turned it into the ultimate “teen angst” movie. Sissy Spacek is terrific as Carrie, a shy girl who doesn’t wish anyone harm, until they make a very bad decision at the prom.

Here is the trailer:

John Travolta and Nancy Allen also star in the film, which is one of the best horror films ever made – a true cinematic masterpiece. I love this film so much I wrote an entire article about the legendary “Carrie” / “Star Wars” casting connection – click to see more!

Back to forgotten films – have you heard about the town that was paid $25-million to quit smoking – by a tobacco company?

8 – Cold Turkey

This 1970 film was a flop, produced and directed by the legendary Norman Lear, who just passed away at 100…but it’s an inspired black comedy starring Dick Van Dyke and Bob Newhart.

Here is the trailer, with a very young Paul Dooley as an Anchorman:

Lear recovered from this flop to make the classic TV comedy “All In The Family” the very next year!

Next up, Francis Ford Coppola won Best Picture in 1974 for “The Godfather Part II” – but he was competing against himself!

7 – The Conversation

Coppola made this “quiet masterpiece” in 1974 as well – and Gene Hackman is terrific as an audio specialist who works on a job that includes murder! Check out the trailer:

This movie is terrific, if you haven’t seen it, there is a nicely remastered blu-ray you can find.

Speaking of offbeat films worth finding on blu-ray:

6 – Charley Varrick!

This 1973 crime thriller stars Walter Matthau as a bank robber who only steals from small rural banks…so no one will really care…that is until he robs a bank that’s a front for a LOT of mob money!

Check out the trailer:

Andrew Robinson co-stars: he was the psychopathic sniper in “Dirty Harry”. Both films were directed by the legendary Don Siegel – and did you realize that Walter Matthau, one of cinema’s greatest comic Actors, was once an action star?

Yes, he had a string of great action dramas…click here to see them all!

Oscar nominations were just announced, and Martin Scorsese’s latest film “Killers Of The Flower Moon” was nominated for Best Picture, but this 1995 classic of his wasn’t!

5 – Casino

Director Martin Scorsese made this 1995 drama about the world of Las V Vegas casinos, and it’s one of his most masterful films

Here is the trailer:

Some have written that it pales in comparison to “GoodFellas”, which is why it was overlooked for awards, but it’s a masterful story with an unbelievable performance by Sharon Stone, who WAS Oscar-nominated!

Next up is one of the 70’s best conspiracy thrillers that asked the question: “what if the moon landing was faked?”

4 – Capricorn One

As you see, the poster asks the question, but the film images a world where its not the moon but a landing on the planet Mars that was not real!

This is a great acton thriller starring James Brolin, Elliott Gould and San Waterston – click here for the trailer and much more!

Next up is one of the most commanding movie performances ever:

3 – Cast Away

Tom Hanks is alone on screen for over an hour of this film – a man who survives a plane crash and end up on a deserted island…here is the trailer:

I love this film, and Hanks is brilliant.

Director Robert Zemeckis shot the first half of the film with a “normal” Tom Hanks, then stopped production for a year so Hanks could lose fifty pounds – and when you see the weight loss in the film, it is stunning…the film is also iconic for the character of “Wilson”:

“Wilson” was, of course, the soccer ball that also washed ashore from the wreckage, and became the only “person” Hanks had to talk to during the entire middle of the film.

I love this movie for the flawless filmmaking and a mesmerizing performance by Hanks. Subtle and powerful.

Next up, a comedy that has some subtle warmth as well:

2 – Cedar Rapids

Ed Helms stars as nebbish Insurance Agent Tim Lippe, who has no idea what he’s in for when he’s sent to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to represent his company at an annual insurance convention.

Check out the trailer:

Look at this great cast! Anne Heche, John C. Reilly and Isiah Whitlock Jr. star as the convention veterans who take Helms under their wing…and of course, Reilly steals the movie as the abrasive Dean Ziegler, who tosses off lines like this:

“Lemke may have been a class-A deviant, but what the fuck does that have to do with selling insurance?”

It’s a terrific comedy with heart as well – see more great lines from the film and more trivia here as well:

Finally, I leave you with one of my all-time favorite films – as inky black as any black comedy can be:

1 – Catch – 22

It’s one of the most revered novels of modern times – a darkly black comedy about the horrors of war. Check out the trailer:

If you don’t know, the “catch” is this: if you are mentally ill, you cannot fly a war plane – BUT if you think you are mentally ill, then you MUST be sane, therefore you must fly!

As they say in the film:

“That’s some catch, that catch-22!”

Alan Arkin plays Yossarian, a WW2 pilot desperate to get out of the war – he heads an all-star cast, including Charles Grodin, Jon Voight, Art Garfunkel, Bob Newhart, Richard Benjamin, Paula Prentiss and Orson Welles!

Click here to find out more about this neglected masterpiece, including the DVD that includes a fascinating conversation between Mike Nichols and Steven Soderbergh!

There you have it – a list of “C” movies worth finding – and if you want to see my “A” list, here’s an example of a classic one:

Subtle, right?

Well, it’s one of the funniest films of all time, and it started with the letter “A” – see ten of the best here!

I also shared the “B” list, and there were some of my favorite all time films on it:

“Body Heat” is a perfect “film noir”, and there are many other “B” movies as well – click here to see them all:

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Categories: 70's Cinema, Academy Awards, Action Films, Art, Comedy Movies, Cult Movies, Film Fight Club, Film Noir, Great Films, Hollywood, Movies, Pop Culture, Revenge Movies, Talent/Celebrities

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