This past week we lost a legend of the industry with the sad passing of Robin Williams on Monday. Most will remember Williams as the zany Genie from Aladdin or the gender confused father who will stop at nothing to see his kids in Mrs. Doubtfire. Then there's the serious roles, like the English teacher passionate about his students in Dead Poets Society or the incredibly damaged psychiatrist that is just damaged enough to get through to a rough around the edges Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting. Considering Williams has well over 100 acting credits there's bound to be a couple movies that fall under the radar of most. Good thing I'm here to remind you all of some hidden gems.
1. August Rush (2007)
An infant secretly given away by the father of Lyla (Kerri Russell) has grown into an unusually gifted child who hears music all around him and can turn the rustling of wind through a wheat field into a beautiful symphony with himself at its center, the composer and conductor. He holds an unwavering belief that his parents are alive and want him as much as he wants them. Determined to search for them, he makes his way to New York City. There, lost and alone, he is beckoned by the guitar music of a street kid playing for change and follows him back to a makeshift shelter in the abandoned Fillmore East Theater, where dozens of children like him live under the protection of the enigmatic Wizard (Robin Williams). He picks up a guitar for the first time and unleashes an impromptu performance in his own unique style. Wizard names him August Rush, introduces him to the soul-stirring power of music and begins to draw out his extraordinary talent. Wizard has big plans for the young prodigy but, for August, his music has a more important purpose. He believes that if his parents can hear his music, they will find him. Unbeknownst to August, they have already begun that journey.
Though mostly panned by critics (Rotten Tomatoes has a 37% critic score) the consensus being "Though featuring a talented cast, August Rush cannot overcome the flimsy direction and schmaltzy plot." It was well loved by the general public (81% of audience liked it according to RT)
2. Robots (2005)
The follow up to it's premier feature length Ice Age, Blue Sky Studios produced Robots for 20th Century Fox which tells the story of a young genius wants his robots to make the world a better place. He falls in love with a very sexy executive robot and must face down a corporate tyrant and aid a master inventor. Williams plays Fender, the often broken sidekick to Ewan McGregor's Rodney Coppebottom who just wants to be somebody.
Robots was mostly warmly received by critics who found the animation visually pleasing. Currently holding a 64% on RT the consensus is "Robots delights on a visual level, but the story feels like it came off an assembly line."
3. The Fisher King (1991)
Terry Gilliam directed this adaptation of Richard LaGravenese's mystical (and mythical) tale of redemption in the hard-time town of New York City. Jeff Bridges is shock radio DJ Jack Lucas, whose low opinion of humanity lends itself well to his radio talk show, where the enmity rubs off on his listeners. One fan in particular takes Jack's rants to heart and goes to a fancy restaurant with a gun, murdering innocent diners. Jack is so distraught at what his on-air suggestion wrought that he sinks into a three-year depression, drinking himself to sleep and mooching off of his girlfriend Anne Napolitano (Mercedes Ruehl, in an Oscar-winning performance), an attractive owner of a video store. Hitting bottom, Jack slumps to the river, prepared to commit suicide. To his rescue comes a crazed but witty homeless man named Parry (Robin Williams), who tells Jack he's destined for great things -- all his has to do is find the Holy Grail (conveniently located in mid-town Manhattan) and save Parry's soul. He also wants Jack to help him out with the woman of his dreams, Lydia Sinclair (Amanda Plummer), a shy type who works at a publishing company. Parry was once a university professor became unglued by a tragic event in his past; Jack soon realizes that to save himself, he first must save Parry.
It's amazing no one talks about The Fisher King as it gave Williams his third Academy Award Nomination out of 4 following Good Morning Vietnam and Dead Poets Society, of course Williams would wait another 6 years before finally taking home a Golden Statue for Good Will Hunting. Critics of course loved The Fisher King giving it an 84% rating on RT. The consensus was "An odd but affecting mixture of drama, comedy and fantasy, The Fisher King manages to balance moving performances from Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges with director Terry Gilliam's typically askew universe."
4. Insomnia (2002)
Director Christopher Nolan follows up his breakthrough sophomore film Memento with this remake of a stylish Norwegian thriller. Al Pacino stars as Detective Will Dormer, a Los Angeles Police Department legend who temporarily escapes an internal affairs investigation that may ruin his career by traveling to Nightmute, AK, the remote site of a murder that has the local authorities flummoxed. Along with his partner, Hap Eckhart (Martin Donovan), and the small town's wide-eyed rookie investigator, Ellie Burr (Hilary Swank), the exhausted Dormer probes the brutal slaying of a teenage girl who was rumored to have a secret lover. A clever ruse quickly lures the killer into a police trap, but the suspect escapes and a tragic accident at the scene leaves Dormer at the mercy of the murderer, a pulp crime novelist named Walter Finch (Robin Williams). As Finch plays a dangerous game of extortion with Dormer, the detective's mental health deteriorates rapidly from guilt over his complicity in a crime and sleep deprivation compounded by the lack of darkness in the land of the midnight sun. Meanwhile, the bright and dogged Ellie continues putting the pieces of a complex puzzle together despite Dormer's skillful attempts to lead the investigation toward the right suspect, but away from his own malfeasance. Insomnia co-stars Paul Dooley, Nicky Katt, Maura Tierney, and Jonathan Jackson.
Insomnia was a new direction for Williams career as it trended darker in 2002 along with Death To Smoochy and One Hour Photo. But it's Insomnia that people most marvelled at giving it a 92% rating on RT and saying "Driven by Pacino's performance, Insomnia is a smart and riveting psychological drama."
5. Aladdin And The King Of Thieves
In Disney's second straight-to-video sequel to Aladdin, Aladdin (voice of Scott Weinger) and Princess Jasmine (voice of Linda Larkin) have finally decided to marry, but when the big day finally arrives, the ceremony is thrown into chaos by the unexpected arrival of the Forty Thieves, who are searching for the enchanted Hand of Midas, a charm that will turn all it touches into gold. Aladdin makes the shocking discovery that his father (voice of John Rhys-Davies), long believed dead, is actually the leader of this infamous band of thieves, and when his father falls into peril, Aladdin must rescue him -- with the genie of the lamp (voice of Robin Williams) on hand to help. Robin Williams, whose voice work was considered a key factor in the success of the original Aladdin, returned to the franchise for this film after bowing out of the first sequel, The Return Of Jafar, due to a financial dispute (in The Return Of Jafar, the genie was voiced by Dan Castellaneta).
The story goes that Williams agreed to do the Genie as long as he wasn't heavily featured in the promo material (No more than 25%) after the Genie became the main focal point Williams was not happy and decided he would no longer do voice work for Disney... But time heals all wounds and Williams signed on for the third part, and as Scott Mignola said "It's a reunion Aladin fans will love".
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5. The Expendables 3: Yeah, yeah I know, these movies are pretty much the most redundant things that have come out in the last couple years but really when you get down to it, The Expendables doesn't take itself too seriously, so just grab your popcorn and shut your brain off for 1.5 hours... Okay?
3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: (Bashing Michael Bay Comment) Good! Now that we got that out of the way, this is still the Teenage Mutant Ninja Frickin' Turtles we're talking about here, even if we get given the Godfather III here we're still gonna smile reminiscing about the good ol' times.
2. Guardians Of The Galaxy: The reviews are amazing, the word of mouth is amazing, the visuals look amazing and the cast seems to be firing on all cylinders, this could be the best original MCU movie yet.
1. Sin City: A Dame To Kill For: Completing our Comic Book Trifecta is the sequel to Sin City, coming an unbelievable 9 years later, however like a fine wine Sin City gets better with age and A Dame To Kill For returns some important cast members along with some great newcomers that can result in the sleeper hit of the summer, well maybe Maleficent has that wrapped up, but still!