Robert Zemeckis Films: Ranked!

This week, Robert Zemeckis's new film, "Here," was released. It stars Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, and Paul Bettany and is directed by Zemeckis. Whenever a new movie from Robert Zemeckis is released, it is a cause for celebration, and "Here" is no exception.

In my opinion, Robert Zemeckis is the best commercial American filmmaker alive. His movies are consistently entertaining, incredibly well-made, cutting-edge, surprising, and deeply subversive.

Many of his movies have been box office smashes that are also groundbreaking, one-of-a-kind experiences that have changed how movies are made. He is a brilliant artist who has been on the cutting edge of film technology for over 40 years, has made a few certified, timeless American Classic masterpieces, and continues to push the boundaries of the medium and create ballsy, intelligent, personal, and sneakily dark films.

A true genius. We are lucky that this guy makes movies.

That's me and Robert Zemeckis. One of the highlights of my career...easily.

I met and interviewed Robert Zemeckis a few years ago when he was in town to promote his criminally underrated film "Welcome to Marwen." He was funny, generous, kind, candid, and open to discussing any subject I brought up.

He was also remarkably patient when I became a full-on fanboy and asked him to sign some stuff. He is one of my heroes, and meeting him was amazing — kind of a dream come true.

Chicago's Music Box Theater had a Zemeckis Festival in April of 2023. I went every night.

My favorite Zemeckis quote is from an interview with filmmaker Robert Rodriguez. When asked what was the true challenge of being a film director, he responded: "You gotta be able to put your dick on the window sill."

Indeed.

So, here is the list of feature films directed by Robert Zemeckis ranked in my order of preference.

Keep in mind that, in my opinion, he has never, ever made a terrible movie and that at least 8 or 9 of these movies listed below could never be equaled by any other director (he is, after all, the director that Spielberg and Lucas only wish, in their wildest dreams, that they could be).

Also, I struggled with the number 1 and number 2 slots and flip-flopped for a while before I made my final decision.

Robert Zemeckis' Films Ranked

1) BACK TO THE FUTURE 

2) WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT 

3) USED CARS

4) FORREST GUMP

5) CONTACT

6) FLIGHT

7) CAST AWAY

8) THE WALK

9) BACK TO THE FUTURE PART 2

10) I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND

11) HERE

12) ROMANCING THE STONE 

13) BACK TO THE FUTURE PART 3

14) THE WITCHES

15) WHAT LIES BENEATH

16) DEATH BECOMES HER

17) BEOWULF

18) WELCOME TO MARWEN

19) ALLIED 

20) THE POLAR EXPRESS 

21) A CHRISTMAS CAROL 

22) PINOCCHIO

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CAPSULE MOVIE REVIEWS: 11-1-24

My Film Critic pants are getting quite the workout these days! It's time for some capsule (short) reviews of four New Releases for the week of Friday, November 1, 2024.

1) HERE

Robert Zemeckis is one of cinema's most significant, innovative, and influential filmmakers. He is more than just some hugely successful Oscar-winning creator of simple, crowd-pleasing box-office hits—leave that to Spielberg. Zemeckis is a true cinematic artist, the best commercial American filmmaker alive, and his films are often very complex, very subversive, and wildly misunderstood (like "Forrest Gump," "Welcome to Marwen," and now, I'm sure, "Here.")

Always on the cutting edge of technology, he has pushed the art and creation of film forward by leaps and bounds, more than any other American director. He is also ridiculously underappreciated as a true auteur and should be regularly mentioned in the same breath as Welles, Hitchcock, Truffaut, Kurosawa, and Scorsese. 

His movies have not only been consistently entertaining, well-made, and cutting-edge, but they are also surprisingly and deeply subversive take on America and its values. Despite that, or maybe because of it, many are box office smashes that are also groundbreaking, one-of-a-kind experiences that changed how movies are made.

He is a brilliant artist, who has made a few certified, timeless American Classic masterpieces, and he continues to push the boundaries of the medium by creating ballsy, smart, personal, and sneakily dark films.

Simply put, he is a fucking giant.

Having said all of that, his latest film, "Here," which he co-wrote with the great Eric Roth, based upon the brilliant, experimental graphic novel by Richard McGuire, is yet another triumph. I know I'll be in the tiny minority on this; frankly, I couldn't possibly care less.

Like the novel, the film's story spans millions of years and is told from one solitary point-of-view shot—a single unmoving frame in which all of the action takes place and a tale of time begins.

Starting with the Big Bang, dinosaurs, empty vistas, Native American settlers, denizens of the Revolutionary War era (in fact, Ben Franklin and family), and more, the film leads to the building of a house that will be occupied by various tenants over many decades, whose stories unfold during the film's 104-minute running time.

Among those tenants are characters played by Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Paul Bettany, Kelly Reilly, David Flynn, Ophelia Lovibond, Nicholas Pinnock, and Nikki Amuka-Bird, and the stories cover many historical moments throughout American history leading up to and including COVID-era issues and more.

This is yet another stellar work from Zemeckis and one of the most subversively effective satires he has ever made. It's also very moving, smart, and shockingly dark (especially during the moments of huge family gatherings with human foibles on display). It's a brilliant examination of humanity's timeless, unending, and unchanging cruelty and yet another critical assessment of us all.

As is the case with almost all of Zemeckis' work, this is a total satire of America, American values, and everything we hold sacred. Like "Gump," he disguises it as a corny melodrama (and it absolutely works on that level, beautifully, I might add), but at its core, it is an indictment of the cruelty of humanity, and this time he goes back to the very beginning of time to fuck with us.

The artifice of using the single frame camera shot, combined with the obvious digital effects, and the process of de-aging the actors (a hugely boring complaint by people bitching about this movie), is done on purpose to add to the potent commentary about the inherent duplicity of this country's history. Yes, we all know that Tom Hanks and Robin Wright aren't 17 years old. Do you really think Zemeckis doesn't understand that? Seriously?

People who think this is just a sappy-feel-good diorama are missing the point ENTIRELY, especially when the film's final moment is unbelievably cruel, heartbreaking, and a devastating take on selfishness and the American Dream. It covers billions of years, and in all of that time, the message is simple: we are all assholes.

This is one of the very best films of the year. - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

2) JUROR # 2

It's just a weird coincidence that in addition to Robert Zemeckis, one of my other favorite filmmakers of all time, the amazing Clint Eastwood, has a new movie being released this weekend. Eastwood's movie "Juror # 2," like Zemeckis' "Here," is also terrific.

Eastwood is now 94 years old, and shockingly, he continues to produce movies regularly. He has directed eight films in the past decade (admittedly, a couple of them are turkeys), and he really doesn't seem to be slowing down at all with the release of his latest, a hugely entertaining courtroom potboiler with a stellar cast and an intriguing story.

The film takes place in Georgia and stars Nicholas Hoult as an expectant father in recovery who reluctantly serves on the jury of a murder case that may or may not involve him in a major way. The film then turns into a combination of "12 Angry Men" and "The Big Clock," with a few Hitchcock themes thrown in and a smidgen of "Law and Order" added to round it all out.

The fantastic cast includes Toni Collette as the prosecuting attorney who is running for office, Chris Messina as the Public Defender, Zoey Deutch as Hoult's pregnant wife, Amy Aquino as the judge, and Kiefer Sutherland as Hoult's AA sponsor who also happens to be a lawyer. They all give outstanding performances, adding needed heft to Jonathan Abrams's light, gimmicky screenplay.

J.K. Simmons stars as a fellow juror who happens to be a former Chicago cop doing some extra investigating of the case (which might bring him closer to Hoult's character and the truth). The rest of the jurors are rounded out by strong actors like Adrienne C. Moore, Drew Scheid, Leslie Bibb, Phil Biedron, Chikako Fukuyama, and an outstanding Cedric Yarbrough, who sort of represents the Lee J. Cobb character from 12 Angry Men.

It all adds up to a perfectly entertaining, expertly made little thriller that evokes Grisham and Ellroy and has some potent commentary about the justice system and the true definition of "guilty" and "not guilty." It is also beautifully photographed, sharply edited, and has a great score—you know, just like 90% of Clint's other movies.

Eastwood still knows how to tell a compelling story in an impressively efficient and smartly stylized way. At 94, this guy still has the goods and can execute a forceful final moment that feels justified and satisfying despite being thoroughly unbelievable. - ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

3) EMILIA PEREZ

The latest from French director Jacques Audiard ("Read My Lips," "The Beat That My Heart Skipped," "A Prophet," "Rust and Bone") is a wild swing-for-the-fences combination melodrama/crime-thriller/musical that never really comes together and succeeds mostly at being either boring or irritating.

The plot involves a ruthless Mexican cartel boss (Karla Sofia Gascon) who wants gender confirmation surgery and hires a frustrated lawyer (Zoe Saldana) to handle the logistics, like finding a discreet surgeon, scheduling the procedure, and keeping the whole thing a secret.

Complications arise when the cartel boss' wife (a terrific Selena Gomez) and two kids are transported to a new home in Switzerland with no knowledge of the operation and must return home to the new crime boss, who still has love for the family.

A whole lot is going on in this rambunctious, unwieldy thing. While I admire the sheer audacity on display (hey, I'm the one guy on earth who has seen "Megalopolis" three times, so I'm clearly not opposed to audacity), it all feels forced, self-important, and annoyingly vaunting.

It doesn't help that the musical numbers are poorly staged, varying uncomfortably in tone and style (is it an operetta? Is it a farce?), and going on for far too long. The film plays more like a long-form music video made by a director who has never seen a music video before but somehow also thinks he's David Lynch or Pedro Almodovar, and he definitely isn't.

Despite the massive amount of tears and passion being launched all over the screen, none of it translates to any real emotion for the audience. The only emotions I felt were tedium and frustration, except for when the luminous Gomez was on screen giving a wonderful performance while single-handedly raising the quality of the music, simply being in the scenes. It's terrific work that is, unfortunately, wasted on a mess of a movie. - ⭐️1/2

4) CHASING CHASING AMY

The whole thing started with a TED Talk entitled: "The Rom-Com That Saved My Life."

In the new documentary "Chasing Chasing Amy," filmmaker, host of that TED Talk, and star of this movie, Sav Rodgers, goes on a journey of self-discovery concerning the development and creation of Kevin Smith's controversial LGBTQ+ film, "Chasing Amy."

Rodgers' entertaining film explores the transformational impact that a smartass Kevin Smith movie made on a 12-year-old kid from Kansas, coming of age and dealing with his queer identity.

I happen to be a big fan of "Chasing Amy" and still think it is the best movie Smith has ever made. However, like many films, it hasn't aged particularly well, and some of the portrayals of the gay lifestyle were a bit pat and problematic.

In this movie, Rodgers talks with Smith extensively, acknowledging the backlash that his film received and that the most significant blow black in its initial run came from "Ellen Degeneres and Anne Heche walking out in the first 10 minutes." Ultimately, though, "Chasing Amy" has survived and continues to inspire people like Rodgers, who still adores the movie.

Rodgers puts his story up front in the film, and, at times, it feels a bit forced and Michael Moore-ish; unlike the extraordinary "Time Passages," another personal documentary I saw this past week, the filmmaker's involvement in the story doesn't entirely work.

The best parts of the film come from the interviews Rodgers does with the cast of "Chasing Amy," the most revealing, intelligent, and insightful of which comes from Joey Lauren Adams. Adams not only played the lead (a lesbian who ends up dating a man) but was also Smith's off-screen girlfriend at the time.

Adams assertively questions why Rodgers is making this movie and especially why he is including so much of the developments of his current romantic relationship. These are valid questions from an artist whose feelings about Smith's movie aren't exactly blissful.

Another interview Rodgers conducts with Smith and Adams examines the relationship dynamics of the 1997 film. In it, their relationship is put under a microscope. They dive into their first meeting, their romance, and how Adams became Smith's muse until their eventual breakup, which was unpleasant.

Also included in the conversation are an array of filmmakers and critics, who label the film as an "accidentally important look a biphobia" while analyzing its impact in the real world. It's all pretty fascinating stuff, and it works when Rodgers isn't jamming his relationship into the movie and clumsily recreating moments from "Chasing Amy" for fun.

"Chasing Chasing Amy" captures a bit of the importance of Smith's magnum opus while it covers the ongoing discourse on the nature of the movie's subject matter and the impact it made on the film community and beyond. Flawed, but worth a look. - ⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Tears For Fears Live (A Tipping Point Movie)

I should start this review by explaining how much I love the band Tears For Fears. I have been a huge fan since I first heard their work in the early 1980s, and my love for their music has only grown stronger over the years.

Comprised of the core duo of childhood friends Roland Orzabal (who writes the vast majority of the songs) and Curt Smith, with various musicians coming in and out of the band over the years (including the great Ian Stanley and Manny Elias), Tears For Fears has been a formidable act in music for many years, selling millions of records and performing sold out shows worldwide.

They released some classic albums in the 80s, like 1981's "The Hurting," which includes such great songs as "Pale Shelter," "Mad World," and "Change," and the hugely successful "Songs from the Big Chair" from 1984, which gave us legendary singles "Mother's Talk," "Head Over Heels," "Shout," and "Everybody Wants to Rule the World."

But it was their third album, released in late 1989, that really blew my mind. The absolutely extraordinary "The Seeds of Love" is truly one of my favorite albums of all time and is near the top of my list of Desert Island Discs. It features incredible songs like "Woman in Chains," "Badman's Song," "Advice for the Young at Heart," and the Beatles-influenced "Sowing the Seeds of Love."

Curt left the band in the early 90s, while Roland continued as Tears For Fears with the terrific and hugely underrated albums "Elemental," and "Raoul and the Kings of Spain," each loaded with outstanding tracks.

Curt returned in 2004, they released the incredible album "Everybody Loves a Happy Ending," took an 18-year break, and came back in 2022 with the extraordinary disc "The Tipping Point," for which they embarked on a hugely successful world tour that lasted almost two years and resulted in a new concert film that played in theaters last week.

I have seen Tears For Fears six times over the last 40 years, and the duo always fills the stage with a great band to recreate their catalog perfectly. Even when Curt was away, Roland gathered incredible musicians together and kept things going beautifully. My favorite lineup was during the 1990 "Seeds of Love" tour, which included vocalist Oleta Adams, who is one of the best singers on the planet.

Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith of Tears For Fears.

I saw them in 2023 on The Tipping Point Tour, and they were incredible, so when the new concert film Tears for Fears Live (A Tipping Point Film) was announced, I HAD to see it on the big screen... and man, am I glad that I did.

This film is a beautifully shot and extremely well-made document of the grand tour, during which they focused a lot on the latest album but also performed songs from their vast catalog of brilliant songs dating back to 1981.

The performance captured in the movie was recorded at the beautiful outdoor FirstBank Amphitheater in Franklin, Tennessee, on a warm summer night in 2023. This venue, a former quarry just outside of Nashville, is a perfect place to showcase the band, their special show, and the fantastic crowd of fans who all seemed to have a great time.

The film's setlist is strong and covers their whole career while also giving everyone a taste of songs from "The Tipping Point," which are just as good and vital as their older material. The new stuff sounds just as great as the old stuff, and Curt and Roland clearly love the new material as much as the older material.

The concert is outstanding, featuring awesome versions of the studio tracks and showcasing the incredible musicians and vocalists in the current lineup.

It was very special to see the film on the big screen (although it was disappointing that the crowd in the theater consisted of just me and five other people) with great stereo sound and some cool extras like the showing of 4 videos from their new EP "Songs for a Nervous Planet" that immediately followed the screening.

Tears For Fears new EP "Songs for a Nervous Planet."

The whole night was a real treat, and as one of Tears For Fear's biggest fans, this concert movie is an absolute must-see. The film is available as part of the extras that are included with the live album and the new EP. I highly recommend getting this package, listening to the great music, and watching the fantastic "Tears For Tears Live (A Tipping Point Movie)"

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