Devil's Advocate (1997)

If you're going to cast Satan in a movie, who better to portray the Prince of Darkness than Al Pacino?

This is an underrated movie with a supernatural twist to the usual thriller formula. Keanu Reeves plays Kevin Lomax, a young Florida trial lawyer who has never lost a case. He's recruited by the enigmatic head of a powerful firm in New York who, oh yeah, turns out to be the Devil.

If the Devil is anywhere on this Earth, it's definitely the courtroom. How do you think O.J. got absolved?

There's some pretty serious acting in this movie. Anytime you've got Pacino, you better get ready for some intensity coming through the screen, and he does not disappoint. The rant he delivers at the climax of the film is truly legendary. I could listen to it over and over again as Satan lays out his disdain for the Almighty.

Charlize Theron plays Kevin Lomax's wife who suffers from a mental breakdown after putting out for Satan. She's great in this, too. Her mental collapse is absolutely pitiful. And is there an actress in Hollywood who just sweats sex? She does a couple nude scenes in this one so...score.

And then there's Keanu Reeves. Oh Keanu. He's been in some excellent movies (and keep in mind I don't count the Matrix movies among them), but the man still takes a ton of shit for his acting (which does include many "Whoas"). I must admit this is not one of his better outings as he "attempts" to make use of some sort of southern accent. I'm not sure what the hell it is, but it's not good. Regardless, he plays his role well and one must keep in mind he's holding his own playing opposite Pacino so he gets a pass.

Any fan of film must see this movie for no other reason than the final Pacino rant after his "true nature" has been revealed. It's posted below so check it out if you want to watch Pacino curse out God.

Why It's Awesome: Pacino as Satan. 'Nough said.

Best Quote:

Pacino's entire final monologue. It's boss.

Lars and the Real Girl (2007)

This is a good movie. I said it aloud while I watched it. I was sitting on the floor half-watching it while I played with my son, and I glanced over at my wife and said, "This is a good movie." She agreed. It's the kind of movie you have to watch once in a while as a reminder of what a good movie looks like. With Kristen Stewart still acting, you need that every once in a while.

The movie stars Ryan Gosling (in a role not intended to make girls wet, surprisingly) as an introverted man named Lars. One day Lars shows up at his brother's house with his new girlfriend: an expensive real-life sex doll (the kind you pay thousands of dollars for because they're anatomically correct...). Lars treats the doll as if she is a real-life Brazilian woman named Bianca. Lars' brother thinks he's crazy, but the small town doctor encourages him to go along with Lars' delusion. Pretty soon the entire town is playing along, inviting Bianca to parties, electing her to the school board, and hiring her part-time at the local department store.

The concept sounds like it should be some madcap comedy starring a Wyans brother or something, but this is a subtle, sweet indie comedy, and that's what makes it such a great movie. The writing is smart, and the acting all around is phenomenal. Ryan Gosling should have at least gotten a nomination for his performance, and Patricia Clarkson is especially house as Dr. Dagmar. Oh, but the best actress in the film is Kelli Garner for acting like a mousy, awkward co-worker of Lars' when she is actually smoking hot (check out her pics online if you don't believe me). Damn those puppy-concealing sweaters!

My favorite part of the movie is the ending when Lars starts to fall for Margo, an actual flesh and blood human being, but he's still "dating" his sex doll, Bianca. So he does what any honorable man does when he wants to leave his current chick for a new one: HE KILLS HER OFF! Ha! That's right, he kills off his sex doll. All of a sudden Bianca gets "sick" and dies, and Lars is such a pimp he actually macs Margo at Bianca's funeral! Now that's a playa!

Why It's Awesome:

You take a great concept (delusional man parades around with sex doll as if it's real), write a smart script, and populate the movie with solid actors. That's how you make a good movie. Oh, and don't let Kristen Stewart anywhere near the thing.

Best Quote:

Dagmar: You won't be able to change his mind, anyway. Bianca's in town for a reason.
Gus: But - but...
Dagmar: It's not really a choice.
Karin: Okay. Okay, all right, we'll do it, whatever it takes.
Gus: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And everyone's gonna laugh at him.
Dagmar: And you.

Dawn of the Dead (2004)

There are so many just God-awful, shitty zombie movies out there that the entire genre has become a running joke. Check out Netflix if you want to watch an example of how truly terrible and cliché a movie can be. Now that statement may make you think that I don't like zombie movies.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

When a zombie movie is done right, it's a thing of true beauty. Romero introduced the zombie flick to shine light on how disgusting and base human beings can be. When those truths are at the foundation of the movie, nothing is better than a quality zombie flick.

Romero introduced the zombie formula in Night of the Living Dead, but he perfected the formula in his version of Dawn of the Dead. Similar movie to the remake, although not the exact same story; it still takes place in a shopping mall and involves a group of survivors of a zombie apocalypse, but it also holds the distinction of having the WORST zombie make-up of all time. Green faces, my ass!

Fast forward to 2004's version of Dawn of the Dead. 28 Days Later introduced the innovative idea of "the fast zombie," something that revitalized the zombie genre. It was the perfect innovation for the new millennium where everything had to be bigger, better, and faster. Fast zombies. It seems like such a simple idea now, but at the time it really was something that totally transformed the genre. Now a single zombie became a threat whereas before a solo zombie was a joke. It just made the stakes that much higher.

Even now nearly ten years later, Dawn of the Dead is a terrifying and blood-soaked movie that holds absolutely nothing back. It opens with a zombie child taking down a grown man and then it's just a sprint to the finish from there. It even answers the question of what happens if a pregnant woman gets bitten by a zombie (Awesome scene, by the way).

Everything else is very routine by today's standards. We have a diverse group of survivors (including a jacked up Ving Rhames and the dad from Modern Family) all meeting up at a shopping mall as they attempt to survive a zombie apocalypse. The other humans become the main obstacle to survival. Ridiculous reasons to leave the safety of the shopping mall arise. People make poor decisions that get them killed. But it's all done in such a fun and gory style, and there is certainly some creative stuff thrown in along the way. The "Hollywood Squares" game that is played by the dude at the gun shop and the other survivors is still one of my all-time favorite horror movie scenes. Oh, and that ending? How great is that ending? What better statement about mankind than to have everyone die in the end?

Does the movie make the same powerful statement about humanity that Romero's zombie movies made? No. But goddamn it's a fun movie.

In today's film industry, it seems like everything's been done before, but sometimes all it takes is a small (or at least smart) innovation to turn something that had become cliché into something that feels fresh and exciting. For me, Dawn of the Dead represents that film that brought the pure zombie creature feature back from the dead...ha!

Why It's Awesome:

Two words: zombie baby.

Best Quote:

Michael: So what's the plan?
C.J.: The plan is you drink a nice tall glass of shut the fuck up.