The Directors List Returns.

Oliver Stone

For a while, Oliver Stone was my favorite director. Not only did he tackle important political and social issues, he did so with a unique visual flair. His last few movies have been suspect, but his earlier work is top notch. My sister's friend Michael told me once that Oliver Stone is the king of getting good performances from his actors, no matter how bad or good the movie is. In some cases, he said, he gets the best performance that that particular actor will ever give. I couldn't agree more. Here's how the movies stack up.

Born on the Fourth of July - "Born on the Fourth of July" and "Platoon" were movies that Oliver Stone was born to make. I don't think anyone else could have put as much authenticity into these movies as Oliver Stone was capable of. "Born on the Fourth of July" really struck a nerve with me, because I think I saw a lot of myself in Ron Kovic. Granted, I didn't go through any of the bullshit that he went through both in the Marines and afterwards, but I can certainly relate on some level to a young idealistic Marine turned disenfranchised veteran. This is also Tom Cruise's best performance as an actor.

Platoon - When people talk about movies that changed both pop-culture and culture at large, "Platoon" often gets left out of the argument. But I'd argue that "Platoon" is one of the most influential movies ever made. It helped bridge some kind of gap between war veterans and war protestors, while also bringing the plight of the Vietnam vet back into the public consciousness. In terms of pop-culture, it really helped usher in an era of war-movies that didn't shy away from the true horrors of war. I don't think you'd have a "Saving Private Ryan" without "Platoon." Tom Berenger and Charlie Sheen's best performances.

JFK - At one point, "JFK" was my favorite movie. That's before I read Gerald Posner's "Case Closed," which took nearly every single conspiracy theory and debunked them individually. Having some kind of handle on what really happened in Dallas that day, "JFK" plays more like a comedy than anything else. With that being said, the editing and cinematography in this movie is top notch. Kevin Costner's best work, but that isn't saying much.

The Doors - Unlike the actual music group, this movie practiced the style over substance method of movie making. This movie is fun to watch if for nothing else than seeing Val Kilmer go completely wigged out for this role. I seriously doubt that Jim Morrison actually was as Kilmer portrayed him in this movie, but I enjoyed his hammed up performance because he seemed to be channeling the *spirit* of Jim Morrison, instead of doing a note for note reconstruction of his life. As I said, style over substance. Kilmer's best performance.

Natural Born Killers - This movie is just wacked out. It's so wacked out that it makes repeated viewings virtually impossible. Although I disagree with many of the themes the movie advances, I can't knock the movie for trying to advance controversial topics. Woody Harrelson's best performance. Robert Downey Jr's best performance too, but I'm sure that's debatable.

Salvador - Few directors can pull off as much with their major motion picture debut as Oliver Stone pulled off. It really hits at some hard subjects and addresses issues about South America that often get forgotten about. Jim Belushi's best performance. ;-)

Wall Street - "Greed is good. Greed works." That's all you need to know about this movie. It's Reagan's eighties in one two hour movie. This movie may have ranked higher, but I felt the last half hour of the movie felt too canned and cheesy. What was once a two hour tome about the evils of greed, turned into a kind of cheesy underdog airline taking on multi-Billion dollar corporation. Michael Douglas's best role.

Heaven and Earth - I thought it was really brave of Oliver Stone to tackle the issues of the Vietnam War from the other side. I give him much respect for that. This movie was really well done. I really don't have much complaint with this movie.

Nixon - "Nixon" was the beginning of the decline for Oliver Stone. It's a great movie, but it's just too over the top. If there was ever a movie that didn't call for Oliver Stone's wacky editing, it was this movie. It's a shame because the subject matter was ripe for a great movie. The acting was top notch, as it always is with Oliver Stone movies.

Any Given Sunday - What a mess. This movie is about half a great movie, and half a total mess. The random shots of Gladiator movies were too heavy handed. "Okay, Football is the modern day Gladiator games. I GET IT." Al Pacino basically yelled his way through this one. It was cool to see Jamie Foxx hold his own in this movie, and definitely showed signs of things to come. Cameron Diaz did a good job as well, although I never bought her as the owner of a pro-Football team.

U-Turn - Good noir'ish movie. It's a good little yarn, filled with colorful characters, but isn't altogether all that memorable. It's worth a watch.

Talk Radio - There's still a better movie out there about Radio personalities that has yet to be made. Ben Stiller really parodied this movie well with his "Low Budget Tales of Cliched Horror."

Alexander - Good lord. This thing was all over the map. Just a total train wreck. I actually fell asleep in the theater, which is something that I NEVER do.