M: Glengarry Glen Ross

A few nights ago I decided to knock out another movie that has just been stagnating in my DVR for months -- the 1992 film adaptation of David Mamet's play, Glengarry Glen Ross. It's an exploration of the unscrupulous things people are willing to do under the pressure of a high-stakes competition, with such stars as Al Pacino and Alec Baldwin playing heated personalities who bring Mamet's penchant for profanity to life on the big screen.

Overall, I don't really have much to complain about regarding this movie -- there are no flashy visuals or score to muddy the plot, which is to be expected with an adaptation of a play about real estate salesmen. I do find it interesting that probably the film's most memorable moment -- Baldwin's "Coffee is for closers" speech -- was written specifically for the film, and for a character who only appeared to give said speech. But the impressive display by Baldwin sets the tone for the rest of the film: a mixture of anger, desperation, and deception stoked by a do-or-die "third place is you're fired" workplace competition. If you're looking for a film driven by excellent dialogue, this one's a winner.

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M: Eye of the Needle

In high school, I became acquainted with Ken Follett when I chanced upon his novel Eye of the Needle at the municipal library, but I was not aware of its movie adaptation until I came across it while checking MGM On Demand's offering on Xfinity. Full disclosure: for some reason, when I was a kid I hated Donald Sutherland's eyes as well as his manner of speaking. I still do.

M: The Architect

* this rom-com's weak foundation crumbled from the get-go.

M: Enemy at the Gates

Having read William Craig's 1973 book "Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad," on which the film is based, as well as David L. Robbins' novel "War of the Rats," the sniper duel between the film's protagonists was very familiar and easily captured my imagination as my mind went back and forth to the scenarios printed in the pages of said books and the unfolding scenes in the film. I have watched 'Enemy at the Gates' numerous times before and in the eyes of this military enthusuast it never really gets old. Yes, I have seen the movie on blurry VHS tapes while on a bus trip from Bicol to Manila, on a pirated VCD bought in Quiapo, on a brand new DVD from Best Buy and tonight on Showtime cable TV. Thus, to this day "Enemy at the Gates" is easily one of my favorite movies and I always made it a point to watch it or record it on DVR for later viewing whenever it came up on cable TV. In a way it became my de facto companion especially...

B.M.S.

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