Ordinary People (1980)

Star Rating- 3
Length of Film- 124 minutes
Director- Robert Redford
Cast- Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch, Timothy Hutton, M. Emmet Wash, Elizabeth McGovern, Dinah Manoff, Fredric Lehne, James Sikking, Basil Hoffman, Scott Doebler, Quinn K. Redeker, Mariclare Costello, Meg Mundy, & Elizabeth Hubbard
Oscars- Ronald L. Schwary (best picture), Robert Redford (director), Alvin Sargent (screenplay), Timothy Hutton (actor in a support role)
Oscar Nominations- Mary Tyler Moore (actress), Judd Hirsch (actor in support role)



4 Oscar wins for this movie? Yeah...I was intrigued. Especially since Timothy Hutton (age 20) still holds the crown for youngest winner for actor in a supporting role, and it was Robert Redford's directorial debut. This movie is drama. It has its slow parts, and it has very powerful scenes. I am very glad that Timothy Hutton won the Oscar, because the scene where he has a break through, is powerful. 

Conrad Jarrett is a high school student has just come back from being in the hospital for 4 months. You see, Jarrett and his older brother Buck were on a boat and they hit a huge storm and Buck died. Seeing his brother die, and not getting support at home he tried slitting his wrists. His father, Calvin (Donald Sutherland) cares for his son, and encourages Conrad to go see a psychologist, no matter how much it cost. The mother, Beth (Mary Tyler Moore) doesn't give a rat's ass about Conrad; Buck was her favorite. The movie focuses on Conrad's journey to come to terms with what happened with his brother, and gaining strength.

We also see Calvin's character grow by realizing what kind of woman he married. In the beginning of the movie, Calvin and Beth go to a play, leaving Conrad at home. Over Christmas, Calvin and Beth went on vacation to Texas, and leave Conrad alone with Beth's mother. She also dragged Calvin to a party, which he would of preferred to go to the movies. She controlled him in every aspect. She even told him what to wear to their son's funeral (which became a fight later on.) A very selfish and uptight woman who only cares for herself.

One morning at breakfast, Beth made french toast, which is Conrad's favorite. Conrad says he's not hungry and Beth became irritated, grabbed the plate and carries it to the sink, where she stuffs it down the garbage disposal. The grinding roar of the disposal is a "symbolic embodiment of her anger and agitation." -Louis Gianetti "Understanding Movies"

Lets diagnose the photos below. We'll start with Beth and Conrad:

See the distance between the mother and son? You could fit a whole person in between them. Mothers should show tenderness, love, and comfort. Here's there tension and hositility. You can even tell in the picture how tense she is.

Conrad and Calvin:

Father and son have a closer relationship, because of their proximity. Conrad came and sat close to his father, the complete opposite of how he felt with his mother.


I wouldn't necessarily say this movie is worthy of being apart of the "1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die" list, but I can see why it made the list; winning 4 Oscars is amazing, but this is not the kind of movie that you'd want to watch over and over again. I would compare it to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, it's a great movie, but not a movie I'd ever want to see again, nothing memorable happened other than Conrad's breakthrough, and analyzing the characters relationship with one another. Again, this is my opinion, watch the movie and make your own.

P.S. Ordinary People was movie #270 that I've watched, so I am 27% done with the book. Woot, woot!

The Crying Game (1992)

Star Rating- 3
Length of Film- 112 minutes
Director- Neil Jordan
Cast- Forest Whitaker, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Rea, Adrian Dunbar, Breffni McKenna, Joe Savino, Jaye Davidso, Andree Bernard, Jim Broadbent, Ralph Brown, & Tony Slattery
Oscar- Neil Jordan (screenplay)
Oscar Nominations- Stephen Woolley (best picture), Neil Jordan (director), Stephen Rea (actor), Jaye Davidson (actor in support role), & Kant Pan (editing)






In cinema history, there are movies that are so memorable that word spreads about the best part, the "WHOA! I CANNOT BELIEVE I JUST SAW THAT!" For example, There's Something About Mary, I'll never forget that Mary confuses cum for hair gel, or when Sally is at the restaurant and fakes an orgasm in When Harry Met Sally, and where you find out that Bruce Willis' character has been dead the whole time in The Sixth Sense. The Crying Game is an example of the films above.

The movies starts out with Jody (Forest Whitaker) and Jude (Miranda Richardson) at a carnival. While making out, Jody and Jude get bombarded by men who grab Jody and put a bag over his head. It is explained to him by the kidnappers, and they are using him as ransom. If they had not come to an agreement, Jody was going to die in 3 days. You see...the British and Irish Republican Army have been enemies for quite some time. Jude is apart of the Irish Republican Army, and all of this is planned.

Fergus (Stephen Rea) was the watchman and he and Jody became close. Jody told him took look in his wallet so he can see a picture of his woman, Dil (Jaye Davidson). Jody asked him to find her and take care of her. Jody ends up dying by getting ran over by a military vehicle.

Blah...blah...blah...Dil and Fergus started making out and things were heating up. Dil excused herself to the bathroom, and she comes out in a red silk robe. She opens up the robe and reveals that she's actually A GUY. And you do get to see a penis.


I am surprised that I have not heard about this HUGE spoiler because having a main character in a film turn out to be a tranny?! WOWZA. More happens in the film, but everything goes down hill after the revealing of the penis. :o( The story line is very futurist for 1992, and I bet they dropped a lot of mouths 20 years ago, and many years to come.

Double Idemnity (1944)

Star Rating- 4
Length of Film- 107 minutes
Director- Billy Wilder
Cast- Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward C. Robinson, Portal Hall, Jean Heather, Tom Powers, Bryon Barr, Richard Gaines, Fortunio Bonanova, & John Philliber
Oscar Nominations- Joseph Sistrom (best picture), Billy Wilder (director), Raymond Chandler, Bily Wilder (screenplay), Barbara Stanwyck (actress), John F. Seitz (photography), Miklos Rozsa (music), & Loren L. Ryder (sound)




Double Idemnity is a clause or provision in a life insurance or accident policy whereby the company agrees to pay double of the face amount in the contract. This is the basis of the movie. Insurance salesman Walter Neff ( Fred MacMurray) goes to the Dietrichsons house to sell insurance. The maid answers the door, and up on the second floor, he sees her. Mrs. Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) and immediately falls in love.

 

 



 Since the husband was not home, they reschedule a meeting. Phyllis calls him and reschedules, because she wants to see him alone. She confesses to Walter that she's unhappy and he confesses how he loved her the first moment he saw her. They plot to get rid of the husband, by getting him to sign an accident policy, so when he dies, Phyllis can take the money. Walter meets with Mr. Dietrichson and gets him to sign up for "auto insurance", but the form is actually accident policy. To be discreet, they aways talked over a payphone, or met at the local grocery store. Walter makes sure he has a tight alibi the night that they murder Mr. D.

Black and whites more are hard to watch, if the plot doesn't catch your attention, and this movie kept my attention the whole entire time. I was also intrigued by this movie, because Body Heat (1981) was based off of this movie. Double Idemnity is a film noir movie, and by definition, it is a "style defined primarily in terms of light- or the lack of it. Noir is a world of night and shadows. Its milieu is almost exclusively urban. The style is profuse in images of dark streets, cigarette smoke swirling in dimlynlit cocktail lounges, and symbols of fragility, such as windowpanes, sheer clothing, glasses, and mirrors. Motifs of entrapments include alleys tunnels, subways, elevators, and train cars.  Its theme characteristics revolve around greed, violence, lust, betrayal, and depravity." (Understanding Movies- Luis Giannetti)

I am not going to tell you Phyllis' and Walters plan, because that ruins the fun! I will tell you that there's a lot of twists and turns. If you've seen Body Heat, it kind of gives you an idea of the leading lady, of who she's not, but it's not the same ending for Phyllis as it was for Matty Walker (Kathleen Turner).

Watch this movie. I really liked it. I left it open ended and mysterious for a reason. I don't give out a lot 4 ratings. WATCH IT!!!

Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985)

Star Rating- 3
Length of Film- 119 minutes
Director- Hector Babenco
Cast- William Hurt, Raul Julia, Sonia Braga, Jose Lewgoy, Milton Goncalves, Miriam Pires, Nuno Leal Maia, Fernando Torres, Patricio Bisso, Herson Capri, Denise Dumont, Antonio Petrin, Wilson Grey, Miguel Falabella, & Walter Breda
Oscar- William Hurt (actor)
Oscar Nominations- David Weisman (best picture), Hector Babenco (director), Leonard Scrader (screenplay)
Cannes Film Festival- William Hurt (actor), Hector Babenco nomination (Golden Palm)


Set in a Brazilian prison, homosexual Luis Molina (William Hurt) was sentenced for immoral behavior with politcal prisoner Valentin Arregui (Raul Julia). Molina entertains Arregui by telling him stories of his favorite movies, and the film flashes to WWII in France, which has nothing to do with the plot line other than the audience getting to know the important things Molina finds dear. Which telling these stories,i he's not dressed in regular prison attire, he's in a floral robe and head wrap.

Molina has been working with the Warden, hoping to get early bail if he gives the Warden any information on his cell mate. The Warden poisons his food, which causes Arregui to have stomach pains and diarreha. Molina, is happy to care for him and clean up after him.

Molina tells another story, about a spider woman.

He explains that " In a tropical island far away,there lived a strange woman. She wore a long gown of black lame that fit her like a glove. But the poor thing, she was caught in a giant spider web that grew out of her own body. One day a shipwrecked man drifted onto the beach. She fed him and cared for his wounds. She nourished him with love and brought him back to life." This story symbolizes the relationship between Molina and Arregui. Molina is the spider woman; Arregui is the drifter.

Molina gets out, and the night before he leaves, Arregui and Molina share an intimate night (which is not seen). In the morning, with his suitcase in hand, and Arregui whispered something in Molina's ear. 

The ending has a shocking, "WHAT?!" Not an ending like The Sixth Sense, but more 'I didn't see that coming.'  Watch it yourself, see what you think. :)

Days of Heaven (1978)

Star Rating- 3
Length of Film- 95 minutes
Director- Terrence Malick
Cast- Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard, Linda Manz, Robert J. Wilke, Jackie Shultis, Stuart Margolin, Tim Scott, Gene Bell, Doug Kershaw, Richard Libertini, Frenchie Lemond, Sahbra Markus, Bob Wilson, & Muriel Joliffe
Oscar- Nestor Almendros (photography)
Oscar Nomination- Patricia Norris (costume), Ennio Morricone (music), John Wilkinson, Robert W. Glass Jr., John T. Reitz, & Barry Thomas (sound)



Watch this movie for the photography. Nestor Almendros did an amazing job showing the scenery of the grain farm and all the wildlife. You will see peacocks, pheasants, antelope, chickens, deer, otters, and much more.

"Almendros suggested that virtually the entire movie could be shot during the "magic hour". It is a term used by photographers to denote dusk, roughly the last hour of the day before the sun yields to night.  During this fleeting interlude, shadows are soft and elongated, people are lit from the side rather than from above, rimmed with a golden halo, and the entire landscape is bathed in a luminous glow. Naturally, shooting one hour a day was expensive and time-consuming, but they got what they wanted. Whether focusing on a close-up of a locust munching on a stalk of wheat, or an extreme long shot of a rural sunset, the images are rapturous in the lyricism. We feel a sense of poignant loss when the characters must leave this land of milk and honey."-Louis Giannetti "Understanding Movies"  

The plot is very simple, and there's barely any dialogue in the film. There's a reason why it didn't get nominated for anything like best screenplay or best film. Most is narrated by the sister, Linda (Linda Manz) of Bill (Richard Gere). Based in 1916, Bill and girlfriend Abby (Brooke Adams), move from  Chicago to Texas with little sister, Linda to Texas to sack wheat for $3 a day. The farmer (Sam Shepard) is a quite observer who doesn't talk amongst the harvest hands, but he notices Abby. Abby and Bill claim that their brother and sister, and to keep up appearances, they had to be very discreet.

 
The meaning behind the title "Days of Heaven" is based off of a prophet Linda hears. She fears a fiery apocalypse that will consume everything in its path, unless one is judged to be good and saved by God's mercy in heaven:

 "I met this guy named Ding-Dong. He told me the whole Earth is goin' up in flame. Flames will come out of here and there and they'll just rise up. The mountains are gonna go up in big flames, the water's gonna rise in flames. There's gonna be creatures runnin' every which way, some of them burnt, half of their wings burnin'. People are gonna be screamin' and hollerin' for help. See, the people that have been good - they're gonna go to heaven and escape all that fire. But if you've been bad, God don't even hear you. He don't even hear ya talkin'."
 

The farmer (yes...that's his characters name) pulls Abby to the side and tells her he loves her. Abby discusses it with Bill and he's jealous, but consents to view the farmer's love as a great blessing and opportunity.

Bill: I never thought he'd have the guts. Who'd know but you and me?
Abby: Nobody.
Bill: That's all that matters, isn't it?
Abby: You talk like it was all right?
Bill: He'll never have a chance to enjoy his money, anyway.
Abby: What makes you think we're talkin' about just a couple of months?
Bill: The man's got one foot on a banana peel, the other on a roller skate. We'll all be gone in a couple of years. Who's gonna care that we acted perfect?
Abby: (resisting) I held out a long time. I had rich men pay me compliments. Have I ever said anything to make you...
Bill: You don't have to. I mean, I hate it, to see you stooped over out there, him lookin' at your ass like you're a whore. I hate it.
 

The Farmer (Sam Sheperd)

Denis Leary- Sam Sheperd's celebrity look-a-like

Abby marries the farmer and he provides her, and "her family" with clothes and belongings, and for the first time, move up in society. The problem is Bill thought the farmer was going to die, and Bill did NOT expect Abby to fall in love with the farmer, because that was not part of the plan. The farmer noticed intimate moments shared between Bill and Abby and approached Abby about it. Bill decided to leave for Chicago to alleviate some of the tension. Time passes and Bill comes back in a red motorcycle with a side car.

The farmer sees a kiss exchanged. Mad and hurt (the camera zooms in very close to his face which portrays a very intimate moment with this character) the farmer takes action. He grabs his gun, and rides on his horse and approaches bill who's working on his motorcycle. With a screwdriver in hand, he defends himself, and it goes right into the farmer's heart (dum dum DUM!!!)

Here are some still photos from the movie. There's a reason why it won an Oscar.