wish you were here.

This week marks what would have been the 36th birthday of River Phoenix. I can roll out the clichés now if you like ‘young life tragically cut short’, ‘James Dean of his generation’, ‘brooding good looks’ and these are all clichés for a good reason. They are said again and again; but you know not so much now. He’s an actor I thought would have been immortalized and revered in retrospect. A tragic young matinee idol. But he seems to be all but forgotten.

Maybe he wasn’t as great as I remember. Maybe people like Leonardo Di Caprio, Elijah Wood, Tobey Maguire and new guns like Topher Grace and Orlando Bloom just overshadow our faint memory of River Phoenix. Maybe the shining light of his brother Joaquin has now finally overtaken (what a battle that has been).

So I’d like to take some time to lay a small bouquet at River’s grave his grave and send him some love from the couch. I’ll do this be renting the top five River Phoenix films

5 Running on Empty (1988). Very few people will remember this film and it can be hard to track down but it’s really terrific. It’s the story of a fugitive family – Judd Hirsch and Christine Lahti are the parents in hiding from the FBI, Phoenix their son who just wants a normal life knowing that this could possibly lead to his parents arrest. It sound pox I know, but it really is incredibly sad. Directed by the wonderful Sydney Lumet – a gem.

4 Sneakers (1992). Oh this film really is what separates us geeks from the rest of the population. It’s not a good movie for lots of different reasons but at the same time every time it comes on I find myself watching it. Could it be that the pull of Robert Redford, Sydney Poitier, Dan Ackroyd, David Strathairn and River as a gang of hi tech thieves is just too strong? Or do I just like any movie with gadgets in it? River doesn’t do too much in this but my fondness for the picture as a whole warrants its entry onto the list

3 Stand By Me (1986). This is probably the greatest film about childhood friendship that has ever been made. It also the very best Stephen King adaptation. A young River is tough and smart and gives such a rich performance. This film is a classic and you can’t say that about many films made in 1986!
memorable quote: "I never had any friends later on, like the ones I had when I was twelve...Jesus....does anyone?"

2 The Mosquito Coast (1986) An underrated Peter Weir film about a father who takes his long-suffering family into the Amazon to lead a 'simpler' life which actually translates to being hell on earth as dad becomes more and more unhinged. Perfectly cast with Harrison Ford and River Phoenix in the father/son roles. It was one of those great passing of the torch moments in film history (but more on those later).

1 My Own Private Idaho (1991). The most beautiful Gus Van Sant film. Two hustlers on the streets of Portland Oregon doesn’t sound like much to go on but it is an elegiac and heartbreaking film. Poetry. Phoenix’s character suffers from narcolepsy so there are all these wonderful moments where he just falls unconscious. It’s a film to swim through. I watched this again recently as part of a Gus Van Sant festival in couchville 9yes I am that obsessive) and it's still a stand out.

Was he a good actor? A Leonardo Di Caprio or a Johnny Depp? Or was he just so beautiful you were captivated by him like an Orlando Bloom or Jared Leto? Did he remind us of old teen idols James Dean and Marlon Brando? Yes is the simple answer. He was charismatic and talented. He came to define Live Fast Die Young.

If he were alive today what films would he be making? River would have stolen the Bourne Identity from Matt Damon. He would have been brilliant in Gattaca, Before Sunrise, Training Day – basically Ethan Hawke would be out of a job. And there would be no Joaquin Phoenix - no Walk The Line, no Gladiator, and certainly no Buffalo Soldiers. Joaquin just couldn’t have become the great actor he is without that sadness he carries with him in each film. River would have been Leonardo Di Caprio in Gangs of New York, he would have been Brad Pitt in Spy Game. He would have beaten Robert Downey Jr to Chaplin.

He would have been great. River Phoenix would have been amazing.

My wasted youth

I spend many an hour watching film previews online. I am in fact obsessed with previews often watching them repeatedly – sometimes to the point of never going to actually see the film. This may just be a symptom of my very short attention span or the fact that I have probably now seen about 10,000 films and can kind of get the idea after 3 minutes (that’s an actual figure I'm afraid – a friend of mine worked out to demonstrate why I have no real life).

So as far as previews go I currently have a top 20 but I thought I’d limit it to five just to get us started

5. 10th and Wolf (release TBA). I have whined about the lack of good rolls for James Marsden and it looks like he has finally found something half decent to sink his teeth into. He plays a marine sergeant who leaves his mob family behind to fight in desert storm only to get sucked back in by the FBI who want him to be their mole on the inside. Also stars Giovanni Ribisi (not always good but always interesting) and Brian Dennehy (anyone who doesn’t like Brian should watch Belly of an Architect and then shut the hell up). It sounds terrible I know, but trust me the preview tells me this may be great.
Best Line from Preview: When I saw my father killed outside our house I remember thinking he probably deserved it.


4. A Scanner Darkly (21.9.06) I am not as convinced by Linklater as everyone else not having the deep affection for Before Sunrise or Slackers that everyone else seems to have. But I was intrigued to learn that you can watch the first 24 minutes of A Scanner Darkly online. Having done so I can honestly say I am really looking forward to seeing this film, tried to at the film festival but it had sold out. I don’t think this weird arse animation technique Rotoscoping is going to take off but it’s great to see an American filmmaker being innovative and not abandoning storytelling at the same time.
Best Line from Preview: It may just be my imagination, but whatever is watching is not human.

3 The Fountain. (13.10.06) I really admire Darren Aranofsky as a filmmaker. Not that I can ever rewatch his films because they are so freakin disturbing. I attempted to revisit Requiem for a Dream last week and turned it off after 20 minutes as the horror of it all came flooding back to me. The Fountain doesn’t look quite so bleak. Aranofsky may think differently as it’s taken him nearly a decade to get the thing made. I have no idea what it’s about. I know there is some weird time travel involved and Hugh Jackman does a lot of running. So I’m happy with that. Aranofsky clearly had a much larger budget to work with and he looks like he’s spent his money well. The preview is spellbinding.
Best Line From Preview: Our bodies are prisons for our souls.

2. Casino Royale. (December 2006) I can’t say I am a huge fan of the 007 franchise. It’s never really done much for me. Not to say I dismiss them but I’m not rushing out to by the box sets that’s for sure. I am however a huge fan of Daniel Craig. I was in fact outraged that he would be the new Bond. Now everyone would know about him and he would stop making films like Layer Cake, Sylvia, Enduring Love and Hotel Splendide. But I have to say that this preview is absolutely exhilarating. Expect a darker, grittier Bond.
Best Line From Preview: So you want me to be half monk half hitman?

1. Talledega Nights (release 21.9.06) Will Ferell is a comedy god. If there is anything that comes as close to bringing me as much joy as Anchorman I think Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby may just do it. I love Nascar, I love John C Reilley and Gary Cole, I love the preview.
Best line so far: Help me Tom Cruise! Use your witchcraft to get this fire off me!!!

Other films I’m looking forward to: Hollywoodland, 2:37.The Departed, The Wicker Man, Children of Men, The Last Kiss, The Prestige, The Illusionist, Down in the Valley, Pulse, The Book of Revelations, The Descent, Fearless, Half Nelson, Little Miss Sunshine, Running With Scissors, World Trade Center, Invincible, Babel, The Assassination of Jesse James, Ar School Confidential, Peaceful Warrior, Flyboys, Thankyou for Smoking.

phew. busy year.