Mercury Rising (1998)
Directed by Harold Becker
As I sat down to watch the 1998 Bruce Willis vehicle, Mercury Rising, I was overcome by a feeling of extreme disappointment. “Oh shit,” I thought. “It’s this movie.” Apparently, I’d stricken all memory of having already seen this pile of garbage, and honestly, I wish things had stayed that way. Not only is Mercury Rising horribly plotted, shot, and acted (Willis won that year’s “Golden Raspberry” award for worst actor; I can’t imagine his co-star Alec Baldwin was far behind in the running), but it’s also borderline mean-spirited towards those diagnosed with autism. Hollywood is certainly no stranger to exploiting medical conditions for financial gain, but this level of lazy caricature somehow still surprises me. Adding insult to injury, Mercury Rising is nothing more than a cheap knock-off of 1985’s Witness, only they’ve replaced “Amish” with “autistic” and made the whole plot completely stupid. I might be impressed with this ineptitude if I wasn’t so exhausted by it.
Strangers on a Train (1951)
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
According to Rotten Tomatoes, Strangers on a Train currently ranks as the eighth-best film in Alfred Hitchcock’s vast filmography. I’m not sure I completely agree with that (and to be honest, I’m not sure I will ever be mentally prepared enough to categorize Hitchcock’s films into any sort of numbered classifications – what an unenviable chore!), but there’s no denying it’s an interesting entrant. Hitchcock movies are known for their double entendres and visual clues, but Strangers on a Train goes pretty damn nuts with them. Try to count how many times you run across “double,” “double-cross,” “criss-cross,” or some variation on that theme over the course of the film. (If one were so bold, they could even make a drinking game out of it, though I wouldn’t recommend it.) Then there’s Hitchcock’s use of light and innovative camera techniques, his weirdly veiled (yet not-so-subtle) use of Cold War hysteria (specifically the targeting of homosexuals), and the craziest carnival ride disaster scene this side of a Final Destination film. But it all adds up, and thanks to a phenomenal performance by Robert Walker, it even manages to stand out in a very crowded field of Hitchcock classics.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez
When The Blair Witch Project came out in 1999, it was the only thing my friends wanted to talk about. Being the grump that I was (and still am), I was highly suspicious of this exploding phenomenon and put off seeing it for as long as I could, which turned out to be only a month after its release. A good friend insisted I see it, and since he was offering to pay for my ticket and snacks, I finally relented and entered the dark theater. Long story short, I loved it. Call me what you will, but even after all the hype and build-up, The Blair Witch Project still scared the shit out of me and still does to this day. In fact, upon my most recent viewing, I was expecting its dizzying and paranoia-inducing effects to have watered themselves down since that first afternoon with my friends, but if anything, they became more palpable than ever. The Blair Witch Project is an extremely unique experiment of which no duplicate has ever been made and likely never will be, despite all the knock-off attempts over the years. You’ve been warned.
James is a writer, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.