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Where the Wild Things Are 9/10 is a near-flawless film about the last days of childhood when adolescence is looming and inevitable. It perfectly captures the fear, pain, confusion and frustration of childhood without ever seeming insincere or patronising. The lead, Max Records, delivers a performance without a trace of irony or self-consciousness and all the Wild Things speak, look and behave in such a way that you really care about and identify with them in such a way that wouldn't be possible if they were realised in any other way. This should have a huge, and positive, effect on any open-minded kid who's smart and open-minded enough to appreciate it so if you know any such children, take them to see it.
Taps 6/10 is a very serious teen drama film from 1981. It's very slow and old-fashioned and the only real reason for watching it is the presence of Tom Cruise and Sean Penn in their second and first feature films respectively. They both do well, taking back seats as Cadet Captains to star Timothy Hutton's Cadet Major. Their military academy is due to be sold and turned into Condos and after their mentor General George C Scott is hospitalised they hole up in the school and prepare to defend it, militarily, from the National Guard. As Tom Cruise's role in his first feature, Endless Love, was blink-and-miss-it this is the first proper example of the slightly manic determination he's displayed in almost all his roles ever since; and Sean Penn is the more impressive when you consider the range he displays between this and his next film, which was Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
Jerry Maguire 4/10, along with Days of Thunder, is my least favourite Tom Cruise film (though I haven't seen them all yet). As always it's the story of Tom Cruise getting what he wants but this time I didn't care at all if he got it. All the characters and their motivations are disinteresting. Cruise wants to validate himself by bringing integrity back to the (very dull and uncinematic) Sports Management industry....buh. Renée Zellweger wants a man to take care of her and her horrible little boy....duh. Cuba Gooding Jr wants money (and to play football)...*yawn* Because Cameron Crowe (who can in theory make good films) made this, it's flashy and clever and over-edited and ADHD but in a very 90s way that seems really trite and dated now.
8 Mile 8/10 Eminem's acting isn't as remarkable as I thought when I first watched this, especially in the heavier scenes, but his rap battling certainly is. I really like Kim Basinger in this and Mekhi Phifer, and Michael Shannon is hilarious as Greg.
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