As Good as It Gets

 Year:  1998

Director:  James L. Brooks

Screenplay:  Mark Andrus and James L. Brooks

Starring:  Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding Jr., Skeet Ulrich, Shirley Knight

Running Time:  139 minutes

Genre:  Romantic comedy, drama

New York City:  Best-selling romance novelist Melvin Udall (Nicholson) is bigoted, misanthropic and suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder.  Every day he eats lunch at the same Manhattan restaurant where he insists on sitting at the table and being served by the same server, Carole Connelly (Hunt), the only one who can tolerate his obnoxious behaviour.  Carole herself is struggling to make ends meet while caring for her ill son.  When Melvin's neighbour, gay artist Simon (Kinnear) is beaten and robbed in his apartment, Melvin is pressured into caring for his pet dog while Simon is in hospital, despite the fact that Melvin frequently bullies Simon and hates the dog.  However, Melvin and the dog end up bonding, and, in spite of himself, he finds himself increasingly drawn into the lives of the people around him.

This is an enjoyable, romantic comedy-drama, in the Woody Allen mould, which doesn't really break much new ground.  Jack Nicholson is ideal as the grouchy, offensive Melvin.  Helen Hunt, who at the time was probably best known for the sitcom Mad About You (1994-1999), won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as Carole, and she has real spark as the troubled, but loving Carole who is able to find some kind of humanity in Melvin.  Greg Kinnear is good as the sensitive artist, Simon, who becomes something of a tragic character as his life collapses following his attack.  The film is often uneven in tone, being really quite dark in places, which sometimes sits uneasily with the more broadly comic scenes, and sentiment.  It's also too long, with a running time of two hours and twenty minutes, and the conclusion seems very unlikely.  However, the characters are engaging, and there are some great performances and it's often very funny.  There is nothing new here, but it is an engaging and ultimately warm film, although you kind of wonder how happy the characters will be in the long term.  Also, Melvin is so obnoxious and offensive for most of the film it may be hard for some viewers to warm to him at all, even if he's ultimately shown to be warm hearted softy.  

Jack Nicholson in As Good as It Gets

Chinatown

 Year:  1974

Director:  Roman Polanski

Screenplay:  Robert Towne

Starring:  Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Hillerman, Perry Lopez, Burt Young, John Huston

Running Time:  134 minutes

Genre:  Crime, mystery, drama

Los Angeles, 1937:  Cynical private investigator Jake Gittes (Nicholson) is hired to investigate a seemingly simple case of suspected marital infidelity.  However, he soon finds himself drawn into a murderous criminal conspiracy over water rights. As he pursues his investigation, Gittes uncovers secrets far darker than he could have suspected.

Inspired by the real life "California water wars", a series of disputes in the early 20th century over the rights to supply water in Southern California, this is one of the classic American films of the 1970s.  Film noir was a subgenere of American film which flourished during the 1940s and 1950s.  Literally translated as "black film",  film noir featured dark, cynical and bleak stories with often stylish, shadowy cinematography.  Chinatown is an example of "neo-noir"in that it came after the period of film noir, but still hearkens back to it in terms of plot and style, albeit with an updated sensibility. The darkness of the film's content is somehow complemented by mostly taking place in bright sunshine.  Jack Nicholson gives one of his best performances as the cynical detective Jake Gittes, charismatic, tough and sometimes dangerous, but with a moral centre.  Faye Dunaway gives a powerful, complex performance as the brittle femme fatale Evelyn Mulwray, who turns out to be more of a tragic victim.  Legendary director John Huston plays the courtly, avuncular, fabulously wealthy and thoroughly evil Noah Cross, who is terrifying because he is so friendly and polite.  Roman Polanski has a cameo as a henchman who slices Gittes' nose in a memorable scene.  The screenplay by Robert Towne is superbly crafted, with every element fitting together like clockwork, although Polanski apparently rearranged some scenes, and also wrote the film's bleak conclusion.  Polanski, ghastly human being although he may be, was a great filmmaker, and this is one of his finest moments as director.  Despite the title, only the film's final few minutes are set in the Chinatown area of Los Angeles, although it is mentioned in several places that Jake was a policeman in Chinatown, and something terrible happened there which is never revealed, but which made him leave the force and seemingly left him with lasting trauma,  and so Chinatown in the film is less a physical place than a state of mind, as after the devastating climax, which is still shocking even after several viewings, Gittes' partner in his detective agency delivers the film's classic closing line:  "Forget it, Jake.  It's Chinatown."

Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in Chinatown

Five Easy Pieces

 Year of Release:  1970

Director:  Bob Rafelson

Screenplay:  Carole Eastman (as Adrien Joyce), story by Bob Rafelson and Carole Eastman

Starring:  Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Susan Anspach

Running Time:  98 minutes

Genre:  Drama

Bobby Dupea (Nicholson) works on a rig in the oil fields of California, and lives with his waitress girlfriend Rayette (Black), who dreams of becoming a country music singer.  In his spare time, Bobby spends his time bowling, drinking in dive bars and picking up women.  Despite acting the part of a blue collar worker, Bobby has a very privileged background, being a piano prodigy from a very wealthy family.  When he learns that his father is dying, Bobby returns to Washington State to reconnect with his estranged family.

This is one of the key films of the "New Hollywood" movement of the late 1960s to early 1980s.  This features Jack Nicholson, fresh off Easy Rider (1969), in one of his finest performances.  Bobby Dupea is a charismatic, angry, self-destructive and highly intelligent man, and Nicholson conveys that in a subtle, nuanced performance, making a largely unlikeable character fascinating and sympathetic, despite some of Bobby's pretty reprehensible acts.  There are a few moments where Nicholson lets loose with what would become his trademark manic schtick, there are several moments of real emotion.  However it is not a one man show.  Karen Black is impressive as Rayette, Bobby's chatty, working-class girlfriend who genuinely cares about Bobby, despite the horrible way he treats her.  Largely cheerful and good natured, she conveys a lot with small looks and tone of voice.  Bobby treats Rayette with total contempt, frequently cheating on her and seeing her as uncouth, irritating and kind of stupid.  When he goes to visit his family home, he puts her up in a motel because he is embarrassed by her, although she does follow him when she runs out of money.  However, he does defend her when she is mocked by his family's obnoxious friends, which is probably the nicest thing that he does for her in the course of the film.  Susan Anspach play Catherine, Bobby's brother's girlfriend, who becomes the object of Bobby's attentions, and her lacerating speech to him, where she pretty much verbally tears him apart, is a highlight.  Lois Smith is also impressive as Bobby's fragile sister Partita.  This is almost a film of three parts, starting as a gritty portrayal of blue collar life, briefly turning into a road movie about a third of the way through, and then turning into a bleak family drama.  There are also some really funny moments, such as the scene where Bobby jumps in the back of a moving van to play the piano, and the famous scene in a diner where Bobby is determined to get his plain toast in the face of an obstinate waitress.  This was the second film Bob Rafelson directed, following the surreal musical-comedy film Head (1968), starring The Monkees, and co-written by Rafelson and Jack Nicholson.  Here he directs with an almost documentary style, giving each segment of the film a distinct look, from the saturated yellows and golds of the California scenes, to the cool, crisp, greens and dark browns of the Washington scenes.  It all ends on a highly ambiguous note.

"Give me a toasted chicken salad sandwich.  Hold the salad.  Hold the chicken.":  Lorna Thayer takes Jack Nicholson's order while Karen Black looks on.  

 

Batman

Year of Release:  1989
Director:  Tim Burton
Screenplay:  Sam Hamm and Warren Skaaren, from a story by on Sam Hamm, based on characters created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger
Starring:  Micheal Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Billy Dee Williams, Micheal Gough, Pat Hingle, Jack Palance
Running Time:  121 minutes
Genre:  Action, science-fiction, fantasy, superhero

In Gotham City, reporter Alexander Knox (Wuhl) is investigating the mysterious "Batman" terrorizing the city's criminals.  No-one takes Knox seriously except photojournalist Vicki Vale (Basinger).  The trail leads them to eccentric billionaire Bruce Wayne (Keaton).  Meanwhile, the city's police department are desperate to bring down powerful crime boss Carl Grissom (Palance) and his ruthless enforcer Jack Napier (Nicholson).  Realising that Napier is having an affair with his girlfriend, Alicia (Jerry Hall), Grissom sets him up during a raid on a chemical works.  Batman intervenes and badly injures Napier, who is presumed dead.  Shortly afterwards Gotham City's underworld is taken over by a mysterious and deadly new criminal known as The Joker, who plans a horrific revenge on the good people of Gotham City.

This is kind of a difficult film because it gets a lot right, and when it's good it's brilliant, but it gets a lot wrong, and when it's bad it is terrible.  At the time it came out Batman was probably best known to general audiences from the campy 1960s TV series with Adam West and Burt Ward, but in the world of comics writers such as Frank Millar, Alan Moore and Grant Morrison were bringing a much darker and grittier version of the Dark Knight with critically acclaimed stories such as The Dark Knight Returns (1986), Year One (1987), The Killing Joke (1988) and Arkham Asylum (1989).  The film combines both aesthetics, despite the gloom and surprising levels of violence, a lot of it is as camp as anything in the TV series.  As you would expect from Tim Burton, the film has a lot of visual style.  Borrowing a lot from the shadowy world of traditional film noir, Gotham City is an almost surreal blend of 1920s, 1940s and 1980s styles.  Micheal Keaton does a great job as Bruce Wayne and Batman, although his casting was controversial at the time, with some fans deeming him not muscular enough for the role, as well as the fact that he was best known as a comedy actor.  He makes Bruce Wayne a strange and slightly sinister character (although to be fair, it is a little strange to dress up in an animal costume and beat up criminals every night), however it is slightly odd the amount of times that Batman get his ass kicked in the film.  He's knocked over a couple of times and gets knocked out and unmasked once by a gaggle of random goons (which include Mac McDonald, best known as Captain Hollister in Red Dwarf (1988-present)).  However Jack Nicholson is perfect as The Joker.  However, the film's biggest flaw is that it totally demystifies The Joker, because it gives him a definitive origin, whereas the character works better when he is ambiguous, as well as forcing a connection between the Joker and Batman.  Kim Basinger is good as Vicki Vale, although she is not given enough to do.  The film's unsung hero, however is Robert Wuhl as Alexander Knox.  It's an interesting idea to have a superhero story told from the point of view of an investigative journalist and Knox adds a lot of humour to the story, and he is the main character early in the film, but then he pretty much gets written out and abandoned. 
The film was released to huge publicity in the summer of 1989, and, when viewed with later Batman films, seems like kind of an oddity.  Tim Burton openly stated that he had no interest in comics, and the filmmakers don't really seem to connect with the Batman mythology and it's characters.  

Batman (Micheal Keaton) investigates The Joker (Jack Nicholson) in Batman