April 2025 Wrap: Sideways, Daylight, Angus
The first Scene Lift wrap, a little story about Scene Lift's third wind, and scenes from these movies plus The Man In The Iron Mask.
In the 1990s Columbia TriStar would distribute a "Wrap" folder to film critics with production information and still photos for its new releases. In that spirit, I'll begin distributing a Wrap newsletter at the end of each month about movies featured on Scene Lift and other movies I've watched.
This month is the first month I've returned to writing about movies on a consistent basis since Scene Lift started in 2022. That's three years to the month now, back when I was a burnt out techie who needed to nourish his soul again. Immediately I resorted to movies, a form of entertainment I've written about on countless personal blogs that are now in the dregs of dusty WordPress servers.
But here this blog remains. Though not consistently nourished, it continues to live nonetheless and it's catching a third wind. The first wind came from curating uplifting scenes to cool my tech bro jets in 2022; the second wind came from being uplifted by Contact (1997) while recovering from surgery in 2023; and now this third wind is coming from a place I much prefer…
Joy.
This joy for movies, rekindled from my childhood, began to burn again while working on a screenwriting project. I began reading screenplays to improve my writing skills and purchased screenplays that I later discovered were quite valuable. This scratched at my nostalgia for collecting sports cards as a kid and I began collecting screenplays and other print movie memorabilia. Now the items I collect inspire which movies I watch and write about on Scene Lift.
“I think we have a job as filmmakers to make movies that inspire people,” said Dawn Steel, the first woman to head a major film studio who produced Angus (1995), one of the movies featured this month that includes insights based on the press kit, including that quote from Dawn and fun facts like how the kid who plays Angus was scouted by the director while getting Wendy's late one night in Illinois. The article is also Angus approved (the actor Charlie Talbert reposted it on his Instagram) and content from the article caught some traction on r/iwatchedanoldmovie.
For those of you nurturing an existing project, working on something new, or waiting patiently for something you love to come along, keep doing that and don't give up.
Featured movies this month
Sideways (2004)
Uncork the movie's shooting script and see how director Alexander Payne's smart cuts keep the movie highly drinkable over twenty years later. Some darker, more surreal scenes got left on the cutting room floor thankfully, and what we got instead is a grounded, emotionally real story that hits like a fine vintage. From silhouetted picnic scenes to spit bucket guzzling, I break down the scenes that still stick with me and celebrate the ones wisely left out.
Daylight (1996)
Go behind the scenes of the disaster-action flick that taught me as a young boy that hypothermia can kill you ("Hypo-what?!"). Powered by a gritty performance from Stallone and the real-life trauma of director Rob Cohen’s hotel fire rescue, the movie’s intensity feels oddly prescient since a similar tunnel fire echoed the film three years later.
Angus (1995)
80s babies: reclaim this cult classic from your subconscious that features Sherminator from American Pie, the actress who played the young girl in Jurassic Park, and a regular teen scouted late one night at Wendy's for the lead role of Angus. What starts as a raunchy, tender teen movie about an overweight kid navigating bullies and boners turns out to be a full-blown manifesto on being yourself in a world that wants you to shrink.
Other movies watched this month
The Thirteenth Floor (1999)
Despite some similarities to The Matrix, including the mention of deja vu and the phrase "ignorance is bliss," I had never heard of this movie until just a few weeks ago. It doesn't hit as hard as The Matrix since the sci-fi plot is underpinned by crime instead of action, but I enjoyed the performance of Vincent D'Onofrio who plays the hacker/bartender who discovers he's living in a simulation and tries to escape. The following year, D'Onofrio would play the serial killer in one of my favorite underappreciated films, The Cell.
The Man In The Iron Mask (1998)
This movie helped teach me about loyalty as a young boy. When the rest of the musketeers are quick to break their oaths to mad King Louis, D'Artagnan remains loyal as the head of his bodyguards. However, after realizing his loyalty is protecting evil, he surrenders his oath and joins the musketeers in replacing the king with the king's twin brother, the man in the iron mask. I liked the movie more as a kid but many of the scenes hold up, including DiCaprio's delivery of WEAR IT UNTIL YOU LOVE IT! that contends with Phoenix's delivery of AM I NOT MERCIFUL?! in Gladiator.
Flashdance (1983)
I first heard of this movie in the press kit for Angus and became interested in watching it after learning that Dawn Steel championed for Flashdance to get made after reading the script in her car outside the writer's agent's mother's house. Since the movie is based in my hometown I thought I'd check it out. The movie wasn't for me but I loved the final scene with Jennifer Beals' character dancing to "What a Feeling," the song the movie won an academy award for and that inspired me to create this Spotify playlist. It was also cool seeing the final scene freeze and fade on the street of the library I frequented as a student at the University of Pittsburgh.
Which movies did you watch in April?
I'd love to hear about them in the comments. Also, be sure to check the Scene Lift blog in May for new articles each week about older movies worth watching.