Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

Part of me is glad that they have finally put this franchise to rest. Some of this has to do with the fact that it has become a bit stale, there's only so much you can do when a museum's exhibit's have the ability to come to life. The other and more major thing is that it wouldn't be the same without Robin Williams (this is the final onscreen performance he did before his death).

After a disastrous dinner planned at the Natural History Museum of New York, where all the exhibits have gone haywire, night curator Larry (Ben Stiller) discovers that the magic that keeps the exhibits alive is fading fast and journeys to the British Museum to find a solution. He is joined by Theodore Roosevelt (Robin Williams), Ahkmenrah (Rami Malek) and the others to help. Once there he is confronted by Sir Lancelot (Dan Stevens), who believes the magic tablet to be the Holy Grail.

A lot of the jokes in this movie are subpar, if not complete repeats of jokes from the previous movies. Robin Williams, the most seasoned comedian of the group provides the most jokes, even referencing his Oscar winning role in Good Will Hunting ("Once more unto the breach, dear friends"). There are some historical jokes as well, which may float above younger audiences heads. A great example of this is a reference to the Egyptians owning many Jewish slaves, to which Larry replies that they weren't too happy about it.

Apart from Robin Williams, there are no real standout performances. Ben Stiller does his thing, but it just felt like he was recycling his role in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. He was humourous as the caveman Laa, but this character wasn't exemplary. Rebel Wilson has a small role as the night guard of the British Museum, but I found her over the top English accent unbearable. Skyler Gisondo plays Nick, Larry's teenage son, and I felt like the character was just annoying and unnecessary.

The movie's cameo's are probably more rewarding than the lead roles. Dick Van Dyke makes a small appearance as Cecil, the former night guard, along with Mickey Rooney, who died not long after this film. Hugh Jackman appears as himself playing King Arthur along with Alice Eve as Guinevere. Ben Kingsley plays Ahkmenrah's father, but doesn't stick around too long.

Verdict: Slightly funny, but if you've seen the first one of these films, then you'll know why this one seems redundant. It's very sad and poignant that Robin Williams' final line is "Farewell, good friend".

Robin Williams Tribute Month: Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)

It's an accomplishment for any actor to create a truely memorable character. But it's even more astounding to have a male actor playing a male actor create a memorable female character. That's right, I'm talking about the ultimate 'Act-ception' movie, Mrs. Doubtfire.

The classic 90s comedy from Chris Columbus is still as fresh as ever, managing to keep me laughing in stitches all the way through, even on the one-millionth viewing. I dare say it has some of the most hilarious lines and funniest montages in history, and watching Robin Williams dressed as an elderly Scottish nanny beating a criminal away with her handbag never gets old.

Many would consider this to be Robin Williams best film. I think if you treat his comedic and his dramatic performances seperately then this quite probably is the best comedy he every did, but as we've found out over the tribute month, he starred in a wide array of classics. However this could well have been one of the most challenging roles for him. Consider yourself as a short hairy American male wearing a huge body suit, women's clothes, makeup and putting on a pretty damn convincing Scottish (though she claims to be English) female accent, whilst still managing to give an outstanding performance and you'll understand Williams' feat in this movie.

This is one of those hilarious films that you don't complain about when your local TV station plays it every two weeks, because it's so accessable and never, ever seems to get old. I grew up watching this film, and I intend to grow old watching it too. It's another perfect example of the energetic, yet incredibly authentic performances that defined the career of Robin Williams.

Ed

Like with rewatching Aladdin, revisiting this movie had me in stitches. I think Williams was at the peak of his popularity, or he was just very skilled, but this period of his acting career was amazing. Maybe it's because those two movies relied so heavily on his ability as a voice actor.

A lot of this movie's greatest scenes come from Williams interactions with the other characters whilst in makeup. His insane passive-aggression toward Pierce Brosnan is hilarious and tense. His relationship with Sally Field is heartfelt and genuine. He also is a loving father who cares for his kids like the world would be nothing without them.

My favourite scenes would probably be when he interacts with his court liaison (played by Polly Holliday), both in and out of costumes. When he explains the idea of doing voices, I was laughing, but when he was making her tea as Mrs Doubtfire, I was rolling on the floor laughing.

This movie is full of pop culture references, alluding to everything from Dirty Harry to Looney Tunes. Robin Williams even says a James Bond line to the next James Bond, Pierce Brosnan.

This movie was a staple of my childhood and I love it just as much now as I did back then. This is the perfect movie to end our Robin Williams month with. I hope everyone reading this goes back and watches not just this movie, but all the ones he was in.

Jack

Robin Williams Tribute Month: Good Will Hunting (1998)

We couldn't do a Robin Williams month and not mention Good Will Hunting, the role which won him his only Academy Award (Best Supporting Actor). In addition to his role, the movie is pretty solid, with amazing direction from Gus Van Sant.

Will Hunting (Matt Damon) is a young mathematical genius with a photographic memory who works simply as a janitor at MIT. He mostly hangs out with his friends Chuckie (Ben Affleck) and Morgan (Casey Affleck) and they mostly spend time drinking and getting into fights. One day Will solves a difficult maths problem set by Professor Gerry Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgård). He eventually gets caught by Lambeau, who sees potential in Will.

But Will's troubled past gets in his way and one of his conditions of working with Lambeau is that he goes and sees a psychiatrist. After a slew of failed attempts, Lambeau contacts Sean Maguire (Williams), his old college roommate and asks him for help.

While this story of troubled kid tries to make something of himself is nothing new, Good Will Hunting is still a great movie. A lot of this comes down to the amazing performances and direction. Of course the setting of South Boston is also a rousing feature (our friend Mark Wahlberg tells of his passion for Southie here).

Van Sant has always been an amazing director and I always look forward to his movies. He has chosen a slightly overexposed look for this movie, but at the same time focuses on warmer colours for most of the scenes.

But I should really be talking about Williams performance. Although we don't get introduced to him until halfway through the film, Williams dominates every scene he is in from that point. Although he does have his funny moments, most of the time he is sombre and reflective. He is a great mentor to Will and really tries to open him up to realising that it's okay to be vulnerable at times.

Both Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are also great in the film (although they did write these roles for themselves). While they didn't win any awards for acting, they won Best Original Screenplay. Skarsgård is great as the gruff Gerry Lambeau and Minnie Driver adds some touching moments to this all-boy movie.

Verdict: This movie is a must-see if only for Williams award-winning performance.

Robin Williams Tribute Month: Dead Poets Society (1989)

As John Keating says whilst perched upon his desk, "We must constantly look at things in a different way", quite a suitable turn of phrase from a film that could transform even the most sceptical person into a lover of literature and poetry. But that is not the only accomplishment of Peter Weir's Dead Poets Society, for it remains one of the most touching films I have ever seen.

The film follows a group of seniors at an elite preparatory school, Welton Academy. Neil Perry (Robert Sean Leonard) who struggles to overcome his Father's controlling attitudes, Todd Anderson (Ethan Hawke), a new student whose introversion becomes his constant stumbling block, and Knox Overstreet (Josh Charles) who falls in love with the daughter of his parents' friends, are just three of the rich ensemble that graces this film. However it is Robin Williams who takes centre-stage here as the boys' new English teacher, John Keating, whose eccentric teaching methods have a profound effect on the lives of his students.

From ripping out useless textbook pages, to marching, to kicking soccer balls whilst reciting poetry, Keating's style doesn't simply keep the boys interested, it enriches them with the beauty of phrase, teaching them to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life. But it's his past life as a Welton Boy that inspires the troupe to reinstate Keating's old secret body, the Dead Poets Society. Meeting every few evenings in a damp cave off school grounds, the boys explore poetry in the hope that they will gain further understanding about the joys of life.

Revisiting this film for the first time in years, it's astonishing to see how talented these young actors were. Robert Sean Leonard is fantastic as Neil, perfectly enthusiastic whilst unable to justify his desires to an authoritative father, yet it is Ethan Hawke that really shines here for me. Even at nineteen, the talented actor who seems to be in every new release at the moment, brings to life the toils of a reclusive young male amongst a group of such lively, free-spirited boys, almost the polar opposite of his character in Boyhood.

Once again, Robin Williams proves his proficiency as a dramatic actor here. John Keating is one of the most memorable characters ever preserved on celluloid, partly because Tom Schulman is a fantastic scriptwriter, but largely because Williams is able to deliver such energy and humanity in his performance. Keating could have so easily become yet another character lost to the depths of pretension, yet the sincerity of Williams presence on screen makes him come across as a man driven by a passion to teach and an authentic love of poetry.

Dead Poets Society is an all time classic. It's one of Robin Williams' best films, and he's supported by an array of  talented young actors. If there was one underlying message to the film, it would be that we must strive to find our own voices in this world, and if you can't take that away from your viewing, then at least you'll gain plenty of fantastic quotes. 

Robin Williams Tribute Month: The World According To Garp (1982)

Out of all of Robin Williams' comedic roles, The World According To Garp is probably one of his most subtle. Sure, there are some hilarious moments, but he hasn't quite gotten to that manic state that he would be known for half a decade later. This is also Williams' first big starring role, unless you're counting Robert Altman's Popeye and I don't think anyone really counts that one.

Jenny Fields (Glenn Close) is a feminist woman who wants a child, but not a husband. After she rapes a soldier in the war hospital where she works, she gets her wish. She raises her son T.S. Garp (T.S. standing for Technical Sergeant) the way she wants to. We get an insight into Garp's early years, but the fun doesn't really start until he is in his early 20's.

When Garp (Williams) is at college he expresses a keen interest into both wrestling and writing and he excels at both. He has a passion to be a writer, which he is really good at, but it isn't until he meets Helen Holm (Mary Beth Hurt) that he really strives toward it. It is at this time that his mother notices lust for the first time in Garp and decides to write her own book on the subject.

Jenny soon releases her book A Sexual Suspect, which is part autobiographical. This is both a huge success with feminists and overshadows the release of Garp's book. Garp decides to settle down with Helen to pursue his career, whilst his mother sets up a feminist colony.

One thing about this movie is that it is incredibly long (it quite literally tracks one man's entire lifespan), but it is also incredibly rewarding and fun.Williams has many one liners about the situations that he finds himself in that cracked me up. This movie has its poignant moments too that can't really be forgotten.

The majority of the performances are fantastic. I am not really a fan of Glenn Close at all, but her performance is fantastic, considering that this was her debut film. She is a very strict mother, but at the same time you can tell that she loves Garp more than anything. John Lithgow gives a performance that will make me look at a different light forever. He plays transsexual ex-football player Roberta Muldoon. His performance is amazing as this big woman who is very gentle.

Of course this movie would be nothing without Williams. He is very gentle and softly spoken throughout the film although there are times where his character does get quite angry. It is fun to see him in a role that came after his serious acting training at Julliard and before his manic, crazy movie roles that would make him famous in the years to come.

Verdict: A fun and touching movie about the life of T.S. (Terribly Sexy) Garp.

Robin Williams Tribute Month: Jumanji (1995)

Having not seen Joe Johnston's Jumanji since I was a kid, I swear the special effects looked better back then, but apparently this was a major flaw pointed out by reviewers at its release. Despite this, Jumanji is still great fun, and another of Robin Williams' energetic roles.

In the late 1960s, 12 year-old Alan Parrish (Adam Hann-Byrd), the son of a shoe-factory owner, unearths a mysterious chest that he hears beating away in a construction site. In it, he finds a board game, titled 'Jumanji'. After a row with his wealthy parents over going to boarding school, Alan and his friend Sarah Wittle (Laura Bell Bundy) start to play 'Jumanji'. Soon it becomes apparent that the game has supernatural powers. Alan is sucked into another world within the game and Sarah abandons him out of fear.

Some 26 years later, siblings Judy (Kirstin Dunst) and Peter (Bradley Pierce) also discover the game and rescue a grown-up Alan (Robin Williams) from inside. They must all now face the trails and tribulations presented to them by 'Jumanji', in order to finish the game.

Despite being adapted from a children's book, Jumanji manages to remain enjoyable for both children and adults, but not simply because it pitches different jokes at different levels (as many children's films attempt to do) but because it evokes some genuinely all age themes, including isolation, growing up and dealing with demanding parents, whilst still entertaining everybody through it's fun and fanciful plot line.

I had totally forgotten that Kirsten Dunst was in this as a child actor, but both her and Pierce are great as the two leading kids. Bonnie Hunt portrays the neurotic and anxious grown-up Sarah Wittle with ease, and David Alan Grier as Carl, shoe-factory worker turned cop, provides some great slapstick humour. However, every time I see this, I find Nora (Babe Neuwirth) absolutely intolerable, though that's more due to the character than Babe's acting.

As we saw with Hook and Aladdin, Robin Williams proves a fitting choice for a children's movie. Whilst his sense of humour may not have always be 'PG-13' (just check out any of his stand-up), his energetic delivery style breathes a lot of life into the characters. Here is no different. Its fun to see him explore the confusion of this boy, raised in the desolate jungles of the 'Jumanji' board, now thrown back into the real world to once more have the basic amenities of toilet paper and a razor.

This was never going to be Robin Williams greatest role, but there's no doubt that the film would have been much worse off without him. Jumanji manages to cross the age brackets and provide a fun experience for all, only slightly hampered by some fairly appalling special effects.

Robin Williams Tribute Month: Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)

With the exception of Apocalypse Now, Good Morning, Vietnam is possibly the best Hollywood movie about the Vietnam War. Although it doesn't really have a lot of war in it, it captures the feelings of the country (especially the people of Vietnam) during the war. It is also the first time in a movie that Robin Williams played a character that was closer to his stand-up persona. Indeed, a lot of his dialogue is lifted straight from his stand-up.

Adrian Cronauer (Williams) has been stationed in Saigon to become a new DJ at a radio station for the troops. Cronauer is immediately seen as subversive by his superiors, but is liked by both his fellow DJs and the troops in the field. He also falls for Trinh (Chintara Sukapatana) and meets her brother Tuan (Tung Thanh Tran).

I've always found this movie to be hilarious. Williams banter with both Forest Whitaker and Robert Wuhl is fantastic and he once again relies on his amazing improvisation skills for all of his radio dialogue. Bruno Kirby has a fantastic part as Lieutenant Hauk, Cronauer's immediate senior officer, who believes that he is much funnier than Cronauer, but ultimately fails when he tries his hand.

As funny as this film is, it is incredibly poignant too. There are so many touching scenes in this movie that hit me hard. When a bomb goes off at a cafe where many GIs hang out, the scene showing the aftermath is chillingly realistic. Another in which a jaded Cronauer realises how his work has been affecting troop morale. His final broadcast is also one that made me choke up.

It would wrong of me to talk about this movie without talking about its soundtrack. I listened to this soundtrack so many times as a kid and knew every song and piece of dialogue way before I saw the movie. The songs are perfectly chosen from the many rock hits of the 60s and in a way make this movie so special. Songs like "California Sun" and "I Got You" add to the comedy of many scenes, while Louis Armstrong's classic "What A Wonderful World" has the most impact in one of the film's most violent scenes.

Verdict: A really powerful film about the Vietnam War that has a surprising number of classic one-liners from Robin Williams.

Robin Williams Tribute Month: The Birdcage (1996)

I think this is the only hilarious comedy on the list where Robin Williams plays a straight man to someone else's silly character. That's not to say he isn't over the top, but compared to his co-star Nathan Lane, he seems relatively subdued.

Armand Goldman (Williams) owns a successful South Beach gay club where his partner Albert (Lane) is his star drag queen. One day, Armand's son Val (Dan Futterman), that he had when he was younger, turns up to announce that he is getting married.

Meanwhile, Val's fiance Barbara Keeley (Calista Flockhart) is breaking the news to her own parents. Her father is the hard-line Senator Keeley (Gene Hackman), who is the co-founder of The Coalition for Moral Order. Because of this fact, Barbara has lied to her parents and said that Val's father is the cultural attaché to Greece, rather than bear the outrage that would come if they found out that Val's parents are in fact gay.

After a scandal involving Senator Keeley's associate and the subsequent media circus, the Keeley's decide to drive to Miami to meet Val's parents. This causes stress for Armand and Albert who must figure out a way to ruin Val's chance at marriage. They try everything from trying to make Albert act more masculine to pretending that he is just an uncle.

Mike Nichols has crafted quite a funny movie that for the time was pretty out there. A movie about two very conservative people meeting a flamboyantly gay couple is supposed to break down barriers. Indeed when you have Williams (one of the biggest stars at the time) playing an openly gay character, it really made people think. That's one of the reasons I like this movie so much. It did get people thinking at the time and because of it, people did start to be more accepting (not everyone I know, but this is hardly the place to discuss it).

Now I know I said earlier that Williams seems a little more subdued in this film. That's not entirely the case. Compared to Lane and Hank Azaria, he just isn't as flamboyant. He also has to carry some of the more emotional scenes. But he does get a chance to be hilarious. The scene where he is teaching Albert to be more masculine really stands out.

Speaking of Albert, Nathan Lane very nearly steals the show for me. His outlandish behaviour is hysterical. The other stand out performance for me is Hank Azaria as the Goldman's gay housekeeper, Agador Spartacus. Again he is over the top, but does it in his own way.

Verdict: A fun and refreshing comedy that does have a little bit of substance to it.

Robin Williams Tribute Month: One Hour Photo (2002)

One of Robin Williams' most defining characteristics was his versatility as an actor. The is most true of his role as a psychopathic film development clerk in Mark Romanek's One Hour Photo, which is about as far removed from any of his other films as is possible.

Seymour "Sy" Parrish (Robin Williams) works as a photo technician at SavMart, developing peoples celluloids into colourful photos with perfect precision. His life outside the department store is a lonely reality; spending his evenings watching television and tending to his pet hamster, his existence away from his work is of little value to him.

Over the years, Sy has befriended the Yorkin Family who are constantly having photos developed. He has followed the lives of Will (Michael Vartan), his wife Nina (Connie Nielsen) and their son Jake (Dylan Smith), whom Sy has seen develop since he was just a baby. Though beneath his cheery, shy exterior, lurks a darker side to Sy.

This is possibly the most definitive psychological thriller I've ever seen, with Romanek channelling a very Kubrickian approach to film making, both visually and in the plot (Romanek also wrote the screenplay). It's effectiveness for me, lies in the believability of the situation. We've all gone through bouts of loneliness, and seen how these can effect us. Too many modern thrillers rely on characters that are so psychologically unstable that we cannot relate to them in any way, however with Sy it's different. There's both an understanding and a reluctance from the audience to believe the paths he chooses to take, which make him one of the most memorable psychopaths in film, up there with Patrick Bateman (American Psycho) and Travis Bickle (Taxi Driver). Much of this is down to Williams' superb performance.

Sy is likely the most subdued of all of Robin Williams' characters, toning down his extreme energy to a level where he's often just expressionless on the screen. However it's this vague neutral expression that is the most chilling characteristic about Sy. Like all good performances, the devil is in the details, and all of Williams articulations and little nuances serve to build up both a chilling portrayal of an isolated individual, as well as one of the most powerful of all Williams' dramatic roles. 

Special mention should be made about the cinematography of this film, done by DP Jeff Cronenweth (Fight Club, The Social Network). As noted before, there are many similarities between One Hour Photo and some of Kubrick's work, with some of the more powerful sequences relying on static and tracking one-point perspective shots. You can tell that it stylistically plays on the photographic themes brought up in the plot, making it truly worthy of that awful hipster phrase '#meta'.

I think this is a film that you have to see a few times to fully appreciate, but even first-time viewers can appreciate both its unique visual look and another great Robin Williams performance.

Robin Williams Tribute Month: Hook (1991)

Only Steven Spielberg could make a live action sequel to the Peter Pan tale that almost lives up to Disney's animated classic, and after viewing, it's almost impossible to imagine anybody other than Robin Williams in the leading part.

Peter Banning (Robin Williams) is a successful lawyer whose relationship with his kids, Jack (Charlie Korsmo) and Maggie (Amber Scott), is on tenterhooks due to his busy schedule and inability to see things from their perspective. The family are on their way to London so Peter can deliver a speech in honour of his wife's grandmother, Wendy Darling (Maggie Smith), who helped Peter find a family when he was an orphaned child.

However, whilst they're out for the evening, Peter's children are kidnapped by Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffman), a scheming pirate and Pan's enemy. Eventually, Tinkerbell (Julia Roberts) turns up to take Peter, who has forgotten that he is really Peter Pan, back to Neverland to beat Hook and save his children.

Written by James V. Hart (Bram Stoker's Dracula, August Rush), the film has an interesting take on the Peter Pan story arc, taking him away from Neverland and letting him grow up, so that he effectively has to start over again to prepare for his fight against Hook. Generally, it's a good script that is creative in the direction it takes the characters and never fails to amuse. However watching it back again all these year later, I would have preferred it to be a bit shorter.

This film has a great cast of actors that fill the roles very naturally. Maggie Smith may slightly overact the elderly lady gestures and tones, but she's still believable, and whilst I might find personally find Julia Roberts a bit annoying, she's great as Tinkerbell. Then there's the late Bob Hoskins, possibly the most cockney man who even lived, who makes the most perfect Smee imaginable. Though if anybody equals or even surpasses Williams in Hook, it's Hoffman as the titular character. Captain Hook's terrifying, barbarous charisma is brought to life more by Hoffman here than even Hans Conried in 1953, and he had animation to help him!

This is one of those roles that seems to fit Robin Williams perfectly. As an adult Peter, he may have grown up, but Williams' energy brings the inner Peter Pan out. His sense of humour comes through too when he's delivering all the great one-liners that are spread throughout. Though playing totally different characters, his performance here is quite reminiscent of some of his other children's films such as Jumanji and Patch Adams.

Ok, so this film certainly has it's issues, not the least of which is it's 2 Hour 20 minute running-time (for a children's movie? seriously?) but it never fails to be enjoyably childish and fun, which is what Peter Pan is all about right?

Robin Williams Tribute Month: Aladdin (1992)

This is by far my favourite Disney movie (with all respect to The Lion King, but this movie is hilarious) and that has to do entirely with Robin Williams performance as not one, but two characters.

For those not familiar with the plot at this stage (the story is based on a very old Arabic folktale), Aladdin (Scott Weinger) is a poor street rat who dreams of being rich like the Sultan of Agrabah. After being arrested and thrown into the dungeon when meeting Princess Jasmine (Linda Larkin), Aladdin is coerced into helping the evil Vizier Jafar (Jonathan Freeman) infiltrate the Cave of Wonders, which is filled with treasure. In this cave there is a lamp that is considered a great treasure.

I should point out how perfectly evil Freeman's performance is in this movie. As a kid I was terrified of the character of Jafar and he has a perfect sidekick in the form of Iago (Gilbert Gottfried). The art design for Jafar is amazing that it can still make me shudder at the sight of him as I watch it now.

It's at this stage that we meet the most memorable character of the movie; Genie (played superbly by Robin Williams). The entirety of Williams' performance is ad-libbed, after he recorded one performance as per the script, he was allowed to improvise all the dialogue, which is ultimately what was used. The animating team then worked the character around this voice work. This has resulted in a performance that is filled with pop culture references that go completely over any child's head, but once you grow up, you find yourself laughing at every single thing that comes out of his mouth.

There's a theory floating around that I think makes the viewing of this movie even more hilarious. At the start of the film we are introduced to a merchant (also voiced by Williams), who tries to sell the audience a lamp. The theory goes that this merchant made up the story to sell the lamp and thus inserted himself in the story as the Genie. This makes a lot of sense, especially when you look at the dimensions of the palace in Agrabah in comparison to the rest of the city.

Speaking of the city of Agrabah, the animation is amazing to look at. Not only are all the character animations are beautiful, but also the designs of static backgrounds are fantastic. In other animated movies of this time, the backgrounds normally were one-dimensional and lifeless, but these backgrounds are dynamic and colourful. This combined with the amazing early CGI defines the look of the film.

The last aspect that I want to talk about is the music. This movie has the best songs out of any Disney movie (sorry again, The Lion King). The songs are memorable and easy to sing along with. They are all very funny and/or tender and sweet.

Verdict: This Disney movie is a hilarious display of Robin Williams improvisation techniques and I recommend everyone watch it again immediately.

Robin Williams Tribute Month: The Fisher King (1991)

Terry Gilliam's films have always offered something unique to the viewer. They're quirky and fun whilst harbouring some fairly challenging and profound themes, no wonder then that Robin Williams was such a perfect match for Gilliam's 1991 classic The Fisher King.

Jack Lucas (Jeff Bridges) is a radio shock-jock that makes a living from his pessimistic opinions, until one day, a mentally-unstable caller takes his views too seriously and goes on a rampage. Three years later, working in a video store with his girlfriend Anne (Mercedes Ruehl), Jack attempts to commit suicide, but is interrupted by a gang that mistakenly identifies him as a homeless man and beats him.

 He is saved by Parry (Robin Williams), the leader of the local homeless collective. Parry convinces Jack to help him on his quest to find the Holy Grail and recounts the tale of the Fisher King to him. However Jack discovers that Parry's delusions and homelessness are due to the massacre three years earlier, and so, suffering a moral crisis, Jack attempts to help Parry turn his life around.

Before I get onto William's performance, a word about the supporting cast. Bridges is, as usual, fantastic in the lead, portraying the selfish and ignorant Jack, who we still empathise with thanks to the extreme guilt he suffers. Mercedes Ruehl (who won the Academy Award for Best Actress) as Anne, is also very good, a charismatic kindly soul that is unfortunately stuck in a loveless relationship, beset by her loneliness and desperation.

As usual with Robin Williams' more serious performances, all I can say is, wow. The sheer raw emotion that gushes from his conflicted performance as Parry is both beautiful and confronting. Parry has such a love for life yet struggles with his inner psychological demons, and Williams is able to jump from these different states with ease. Some people have criticised Williams for supposedly over-acting here, but I don't find that at all. Just with Jack Nicholson in The Shining, he portrays a character struggling with his conflicts and on the verge of a breakdown. It's not over-acting, it's being human.

The film is another of Gilliam's wild fantasies, much like Brazil and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, hence it is full of his quirky set-design, wide angle low shots and most of his other stylistic attributes. Yet it's the touching story that really resonated with me, if you're a fan of Robin Williams and human interest films, I urge you to take a look.

Robin Williams Tribute Month: Bicentennial Man (1999)

Bicentennial Man was one of Williams' movies that wasn't that well received when it came out, but there is something about it (like Jack) that struck a chord with me when I first watched it that still resonates with me today.

One day, the Martin family get a delivery of a new serving android, whom they call Andrew (Robin Williams). Over time, they come to realise that Andrew is a special robot, who is able to feel and convey emotions, something which he shouldn't be able to do. Andrew's owner, Richard (Sam Neill), takes Andrew to the company where he was constructed. Instead of taking Andrew to study him, the head of the company suggests that they reprogram him. Time passes and the family grow older. Andrew eventually decides to look for similar robots like him and comes across Rupert Burns (Oliver Platt). Together they work on making Andrew more like a human, both in features and internal workings. After a long time away, Andrew returns and meets Richard's great-granddaughter, Portia Embeth Davidtz), who he falls in love with.

Robin Williams' performance in this movie is really fun. It evolves from an extremely robotic to a regular human being. Watching him misunderstand human emotions is extremely fun. He has incredible chemistry with Embeth Davidtz, who also plays Richard Martin's daughter, Amanda or "Little Miss". Sam Neill is also a pleasure to watch in this movie as a man who is incredibly tolerant of his 'property'.

Thematically this movie is all over the place. It touches on concepts such as humanity, slavery, prejudice, maturity, love, intellectual freedom, conformity and sex. Whilst these all may have worked well in Isaac Asimov's novel, for a film that is a lot to cover, especially a family movie.

The theme of slavery and humanity are probably the most prevalent of themes. Andrew eventually is granted freedom by his master and obtains the right to die. These themes have been and are still important in today's world.

Verdict: A good family film that suffers slightly from having too much content.

Robin WIlliams Tribute Month: Cadillac Man (1990)

 Well I never thought it would happen but Robin Williams achieved the impossible. He made me actually like a car salesman. On top of that achievement and despite being considered a total flop, Roger Donaldson's Cadillac Man is actually a pretty damn funny movie.

Joey O'Brien (Robin Williams) is a car salesman in a crisis. He has a needy ex-wife (Pamela Reed), multiple mistresses to balance, he's in debt to the mafia and if he doesn't sell at least 12 cars by the end of the dealership's big sale day, he will lose his job.

However, one day his prayers are answered by the most unlikely of scenarios, when maniacal Larry (Tim Robbins) enters the dealership with an AK-47 and a large quantity of plastic explosives, sparking a hostage situation that O'Brien has to stop, changing his life forever.

There's no way around it, Williams's character here, Joey, is a total a**hole, evident from the opening scene where he interrupts a funeral to try and sell some hearses to the undertakers and a new car to the grieving widow. Sounds like a typical car salesman right? Well I'm not sure if it's his keen sense of ambition, his jokey attitude, or Williams's hilarious performance, but you just can't help but love Joey. Tim Robbins is equally strong opposite Williams, if you didn't know better, you'd swear the producers had just picked him out of a mental institution.

The supporting cast are all very good too, both Joey's mistresses and his ex-wife border on the neurotic and all the other hostages, including several irritable customers who just want to buy a car, deliver their often absurd but entertaining lines perfectly.

This may not be the most original script, nor is it much more than a light comedy, but it's a lot of fun thanks to another lively performance from Robin Williams, and is a great movie to pick up on a rainy day.

Robin Williams Tribute Month: Jack (1996)

Many people consider this film a misstep in Francis Ford Coppola's career, but when you think about it, this is probably one of the most suitable movies for Robin Williams to star in. His high energy performance just makes the whole thing believable.

Jack Powell (Williams) is a ten-year-old boy who has a rare disease that makes him age at four times the rate of a normal human. His parents Karen and Brian (Diane Lane and Brian Kerwin) are extremely protective of Jack, but one day his private tutor, Professor Woodruff (Bill Cosby) suggests that Jack attend a public school.

At first, Jack is seen as an outcast and only his teacher Miss Marquez (Jennifer Lopez) is friendly with him. Soon enough the kids start to see him as a regular kid and they all become friends. It's a bit cheesy, but in the end it's all a bit of fun.

Williams' high energy is perfect for this role. There are some fantastic slapstick moments involving him being too big for the grade school chairs, his ability to beat the smaller kids at basketball and many others.

The other performances in this movie are pretty good as well. Although both being much younger than Williams at the time, Lane and Kerwin are great as Jack's parents and really help the movie along during some of the more emotionally driven scenes. Both Bill Cosby and Fran Drescher play against the characters that made them famous. Cosby is a bit more straight laced than usual and Drescher is not as nasal as the character she played on The Nanny.

Jack ultimately failed to perform at the box office due to its similarity to the Tom Hanks vehicle Big, but when viewed through the prism of time as a standalone movie, the message is quite touching. It was a movie that touched me deeply as a kid and after all these years, I enjoyed it again.

Robin Williams Tribute Month: World's Greatest Dad (2009)

 Bobcat Goldthwait's mind is certainly a dark and mysterious one. His comedy World's Greatest Dad, is one of the most difficult Williams movie to watch in the wake of his death, considering it's suicidal themes. But the truth is, this is probably the best black-humour movie I've seen in a long time.

Single father, high-school teacher and amateur writer, Lance Clayton (Robin Williams) consistently has his novels rejected from publishers. He's involved with a much younger, more attractive teacher, Claire (Alexie Gilmore) whom he is paranoid might be cheating on him, and on top of that he has a difficult to deal with, "douchebag" of a son, Kyle (Daryl Sabara) that is an underachiever, constantly getting into fights and has a fetish for erotic asphyxiation.

Lance seems to be surrounded by irritating teachers, such as Mike (Henry Simmons), another English teacher whose much more popular English elective, better physique and publishing success is only made worse by his excruciating (and quite probably false) modesty, and Principal Anderson (Geoff Pierson), who is so deadpan serious that even Bale's Batman would be more of a laugh. In fact, the only remotely likable adult around Lance is his elderly neighbour, Bonnie (Mitzi McCall) who is quite willing to chat with lance over a cup of tea and some hash brownies.

Compared to most of his other comedies, this is one of Robin Williams's more subdued performances, though just because it's missing some of his energy is not to say that it's not both funny and really quite touching. This style really does suit the character, who seems so hopelessly repressed despite all the sh*t that's unfolding around him that it really is difficult not to see elements of Williams's inner demons come out through Lance.

This is a great script. It knows exactly where the line is, and steps over it with finesse. It never really devolves into gross-out comedy but rather takes a "we'll you've got to laugh or you'd cry" stance towards the bleak situations that play out over the course of the film. One of my favourite quotes from Lance, when he's talking about his struggles as a writer is “Ernest Hemingway once said all he wanted to do was write one true sentence. He also tried to scratch an itch in the back of his head with a shotgun.” That sentence for me, perfectly sums up the tone of the film

This is one of the best of Robin's last films, and whilst it deals with difficult subject matter, Goldthwait handles it perfectly, backed up by a unique performance from Williams. Also, it's got a great final scene, with the Queen-Bowie song "Under Pressure" playing in the background. Make sure you watch through to that part. 

Robin Williams Tribute Month

Earlier this month, the world lost one of it's funniest men, and one of it's finest actors. The tragic passing of Robin Williams saw a huge public outpouring of grief, with Jack and I here included. The event has certainly brought the effects of depression and anxiety into the limelight, but we've decided that the best way to mourn this great man is to celebrate his life's work, and that's exactly what we're going to do.

September is going to be our tribute month to Robin Williams, our chance to acknowledge his influence on our lives and to explore some of his lesser known films as well. We'll be taking a look back at a large array of his films, both the major ones and the unrecognized ones. Some of the films are brilliant, some are flops, but Robin lights up the screen in all. It's going to be a fun ride and I hope you'll all join us!

Jack: 

• Mrs Doubtfire (Joint Review) 
• Good Morning, Vietnam
• The Birdcage
• Aladdin
• Jack
• The World According to Garp
• Bicentennial Man
• Good Will Hunting

 Edward:

• Mrs Doubtfire (Joint Review) 
• Dead Poets Society
• Jumanji
• Cadillac Man
• Hook
• Worlds Greatest Dad
• The Fisher King
• One Hour Photo

Editorial: Robin Williams, we will always remember you

I know Edward has already reported on the untimely death of Robin Williams, but I really want to get out some feelings that I had toward the man, who was definitely one of my heroes.

As I kid I loved all of Williams' performances (in the movies I was allowed to watch), whether that be Genie in Aladdin or his unforgettable performance in Mrs Doubtfire. Then when I grew older, I appreciated his other work for different reasons. He inspired me to do voices and characters and that helped me come out of my shell in high school, where I was a bit of a shy outcast. In recent years, I started watching his stand-up performances, which are hilarious.

But looking back, when I watched his comedy special Weapons of Mass Destruction at a friend's place, I could see some pain behind his extreme coked-out performance. Sure we were laughing along at the jokes, how could you not, this man was a larger than life figure, but I pains me now to remember.

As someone who has struggled with depression and has contemplated suicide, it is really hard to see a hero from my childhood go out this way. He was a figure in my life who I really looked up to and helped me through some really tough times. We will all miss you Robin.

I've decided that next month we are going to dedicate to the legend and review some of the movies that mean the most to us. I really want to end this with a clip, but I can't find anything that shows how much this man means to me.

-Jack

Actor & Comedian Robin Williams Passes Away at 63

Sad news this morning that the legendary actor and comedian Robin Williams has died in a suspected suicide. Williams is known for his struggle with drug addiction over the years and is rumoured to have been battling severe depression in the past few months.

Apart from his stand-up, he was known for comedic roles in films such as Mrs. Doubtfire & Good Morning Vietnam (which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor) as well as more serious films such as Dead Poets Society (also achieved an AA Best Actor nomination), One Hour Photo & Good Will Hunting, which earned him his one and only Academy Award, in the best supporting actor field.

In his honour, we have attached below some of his great scenes which we believe show his versatility as an actor. He will be deeply missed.

This one is actually just the trailer for One Hour Photo but is poignant none the less: