Art Imitates Life... "Twister"

Twister (1996)

Rated PG-13 for language and tornados

Starring Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Cary Elwes, Jami Gertz, Philip Seymour Hoffman

Directed by Jan de Bont

The Story:

Dr. Jo Harding (Hunt) is obsessed with tornadoes.  Has been since she was little.  Her husband Bill (Paxton) comes to get her to sign the divorce papers so he can marry his new sweetheart (Gertz).  Ah, but when a series of intense storms kicks off in Oklahoma, Harding and her intrepid band of storm chasers are off to try and get their revolutionary storm sensors into the heart of a tornado.  Bill tags along, bride-to-be in tow. He's still got the storm chaser bug in him, and he may still have some feelings for his soon to-be ex as well.

Nearing 20 years, Twister holds up remarkably well.

I'd say it's been about 10-15 years since I last watched this film, so I was afraid it would be a creaky mess of bad special effects and terrible acting.

But no, it's a crisp, quick adrenaline rush; the types of movies that de Bont delivers time and time again.

He'll give you a pause just long enough for a laugh, or to catch your breath, and then the roller coaster ensues again.

To flesh out the story a bit more, the storm chasers are a bunch of well rounded background characters that inhabit the screen nicely and aren't just cardboard cutout yes-men.

Then you have the arch-nemesis chasers led by Elwes who of course are out to steal the thunder of our heroes.

While some of the action may be far-fetched with the stunts and gags, the movie delivers with about as true to life account of what it must be like to deal with a tornado.

Easily, the best tornado movie since The Wizard of Oz.

:)

Final Grade: B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I don't know that I'll rush out and buy it (I used to have it on VHS) but I'll try and catch it again before another decade rolls by.

100 Greatest Movies of All Time...That I Own. # 7 ~ The Princess Bride

Ah...The Princess Bride.  Couple this with the Goonies, and you have a perfect one-two punch of great family entertainment that will remain timeless for generations.

The story...for the seventeen people who have never seen this movie...let me explain...

No, there isn't the time...let me sum up..

Princess Buttercup is kidnapped by a band of mercenaries to incite war between two neighboring kingdoms.  Strangely enough, a pirate interferes to rescue the princess from the kidnappers... but for what dire piratey purpose?

Oh come on, everyone has seen this film.  You know it by heart.  You can quote it... "mostly dead"  "you killed my father..."  "inconceivable"  "wuv, twue wuv"  "As...you...wish...".

The movie, is quite possibly, the greatest love-story/action adventure film/kids book narrated by a grandfather movie ever created.

The story is enchanting.  The characters are impeccably cast.  Tell me that you don't see Cary Elwes as the second coming of Robin Hood when you first saw this movie.

Mel Brooks did...

: )

It's Rob Reiner's best film that he's ever done, and I'm a big Rob Reiner fan.

The swordfight alone between Inigo and the Dread Pirate Roberts is worth the price of admission to this film.

This is the hard part about the Top 10 movies.  I've tried to keep the reviews brief, as nearly every movie on this list, aside from some of my out in left field choices are so well known, they serve more as a "yeah, love that one" moment.

So I could gush about how awesome it is, or just by the fact that it's in the Top 10, that should be considered gushing enough.

If you haven't seen this movie in some time, give it a spin again.  You'll be enchanted all over again.

And if you've got kids... you're in for a treat when they are old enough and can appreciate the magic of this movie while watching with you.  And they'll pass it down to their kids...and so on and so on...

And someday, when Hollywood decides to redo this film, generations of moviegoers will shriek in horror at the very idea.

Shriek like eels!

; )