Movie of the Week - The Fifth Element

This week’s movie is The Fifth Element (1997).

The sci-fi film is about a retired policeman, now driving a cab, who gets mixed up with a girl. Only, this girl is different and may be the salvation for humanity as an evil force approaches Earth. Now the he must help her save humanity. The film is directed by Luc Besson, amidst his string of quality adult action films before focusing on terrible films aimed at children (please come back to directing good films Luc, please). Starring Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich, the film also features a great supporting cast with Gary Oldman, whose turn as the villainous business mogul Zorg is brilliant and one of the best and outlandish performances of the decade, Ian Holm, Chris Tucker, Tiny Lister Jr., Luke Perry, and Brion James. The crew is also fantastic with music by Eric Serra, cinematography by Thierry Arbogast and production design by Dan Weil. All three collaborated with Besson on his best works. What makes the film great is that it is a very fun film, mixing sci-fi, adventure, action, and comedy seamlessly. Oldman’s show stealing performance is also a must for fans of his work (like me). Besson gives fans a little bit of everything with this film on a large scale making it very enjoyable. It is a must for sci-fi action fans. Check out the trailer.

The Fifth Element [Blu-ray/DVD]

Movie of the Week - Garden State

This week’s movie is Garden State (2004).

The film is about a young man, disconnected from society, who returns home to New Jersey for his mother’s funeral. There, he reconnects with friends and his father after being gone for a decade. He also meets a girl who might finally bring some meaning to his life. The movie is directed, written and starred in by Zach Braff and represents one of the better first features of the decade. The film through its soundtrack also helped establish for the mainstream bands like The Shins, while sort of letting everyone in on what music was cool then (as some movies seem to do now and then). The film features strong performances from Natalie Portman and Peter Sarsgaard and great small bits from Ian Holm, Jim Parsons and Ron Leibman. What makes the movie great, however, is the script and Braff’s visual composition focusing on the fringe element of society (so to speak) – those not totally outside, but not the norm either. Check out the trailer.

Garden State [DVD]