Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)

Star Rating: 4
Length of Fim: 119 minutes
Director: Barry Levinson
Cast: Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, Tung Thanh Tran, Chintara Sukapatana, Bruno Kirby, Robert Wuhl, J.T. Walsh, Noble Willingham, Richard Edson, Juney Smith, Richard Portnonw, Floyd Vivino, Cu Ba Nguyen, Dan Stanton, & Don Stanton
Oscar Nominations: Robin Williams (actor)






In 1965, Airman First Class Adrian Cronauer (Robin Williams) arrives in Saigon from Crete to work as a DJ for Armed Forces Radio Service. Tension is high with the officers because they did not like Cronauer's comedy. Cronauer actually became an escape for the men.

Director Barry Levinson sat back and let the camera roll while it captured Williams ad-libs. The scenes where he was in the radio station is my favorite. Its like watching his stand up, but with a movie plot line. 

While out with some of the other men, he sees a beautiful Asian woman, Trinh (Chintara Sukapatana). He follows her to a school where she and other citizens of Saigon are learning English. He makes a BS excuse with the teacher and takes over. He befriends the Trihn's brother Tuan (Tung Thanh Tran), and he sets up a date, with her whole family (a tradition in Saigon). 


Of course, problems rise, he loses his time slot on air, bosses hate him, and then of course, he gets stuck in the middle of the revolt. 

The soundtrack is awesome, his one liners are hilarious. He focuses a lot on The Wizard of Oz, and taking real live feed recorded by real people and making fun of it.

WATCH THE MOVIE. IT'S HILARIOUS!
  

Un Chien Andalou (1928)

Star Rating: 2
Length of Film: 16 minutes
Director: Luis Bunuel
Cast: Pierre Batcheff, Simone Mareuil, Luis Banuel, & Salvador Dali











This is a surrealist film, known for striking visual artworks. This film is short, and oh so complicated. After watching it on Netflix live streaming, I sat wondering, what the hell I just watched. Netflix pretty much summed it up in the best way.

"Artist Salvador Dali and novice (at the time) director Luis Buñuel came together to craft this unique film consisting of a jarring collage of absurd and deplorable images aimed at raising more than a few eyebrows. Images include a razor slicing a woman's eye, a man hauling a giant piano, ants circling a hole in a man's hand and more, including assorted detached body parts and futile murders. Originally a silent film, a score was later added."

Heavenly Creatures (1994)

Star Rating- 3
Length of Film- 99 minutes
Director- Peter Jackson
Cast- Melanie Lynskey, Kate Winslet, Sarah Peirse, Diana Kent, Clive Merrison, Simon O'Connor, Jed Brophy, Peter Elliott, Gilbert Goldie, Geoffrey Heath, Kirsti Ferry, Ben Skjellerup, Darlen Takle, Elizabeth Moody, & Liz Mullane
Oscar Nomination- Frances Walsh, Peter Jackson (screenplay)
Venice Film Festival- Peter Jackson (Silver Lion)




Kate Winslet as Juliet Hulme



Melanie Lynskey as Pauline Parker

 

 

This movie is based off the real life of two New Zealand teenagers and their friendship that ended in the murder of Parker's mother. This is a dark film that focuses on the unhealthy bond between Juliet and Pauline. "Informed by court transcripts of the period, interviews with key witnesses and the extensive diaries Parker kept, filmmaker Peter Jackson observes events solely from the girls’ fantasy-based point of view. “Heavenly Creatures” has the unsettling appearance of having been created by the girls themselves. It’s a pathologically autobiographical fairy tale."- Washington Post by Desson Howe

 

You see, the two girls made up their own dream universe making clay creatures to escape reality.

 

 

 

 

 

Pauline's parents own an inn (I think) and there was a man in his 20's and took a liking to Pauline. He came into her room one night saying he "was cold" and jumped in bed with her. Her father caught them and he was forced out. Pauline's mother, (Simon O'Connor) told her that she will not tolerate this type of behavior, which just sparked Pauline's hatred to her mother even more and rebelled by sneaking out of the house to see him. At 14 she lost her virginity, and she didn't seem interested at all during sex. She daydreamed her fantasy world where she was talking to her clay character.

 

 

 

Juliet became sick with tuberculosis and had to move to a hospital to get well. The girls wrote letters back and forth to each other and when Juliet was well enough to come home, they agreed never to part.

 

 

 

Juliets parents decided to get a divorce and wanted Juliet to move to South Africa where the weather was better for her health, and this is when the girls went off the deep end. They had such a strong bond- exploring sexually with one another that they were determined to go together. Pauline's mother was against her leaving. So Juliet and Pauline planned to kill her, which they succeeded in doing.

 

 

 

 



It took me a while to write this post because I really didn't know what the hell I just watched. The claymation threw me for a loop and I didn't comprehend why it was needed for the film. They could've just mentioned their made up world, but for the sake of seeing what the girls saw, it was needed for the film. The movie was really well done, and what a great idea for a film. To know the sentence of the 2 girls and the murder, you have to watch the film. Right before the credits, it explains the girls' punishment.

 





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. :)