Friday, December 08, 2006

Platoon


The film Platoon, directed by Oliver Stone, is possibly the most graphic war movie of all time. Taking place in Vietnam, the film follows the life of Private Chris Taylor, Charlie Sheen, from his first day entering the jungle to his last. Throughout his tour, he faces not only gruesome battles with the Vietnamese soldiers, but also moral dilemmas within himself. Stone was able to portray Taylor’s experience so realistically because he himself was a soldier in the Vietnam War.

Taylor originally chooses to enter war because his father fought in World War II. Taylor was also not doing well in college so he felt like it was a good decision to drop out. However, once he arrives in Vietnam he realizes that he made a big mistake. He comes to realize the hard way that he and his fellow soldiers are not only struggling to maintain their lives from day to day, but also their sanity. In a world with no law enforcement where no rules or ethics apply, Taylor is forced to choose himself between what is right and what is wrong.

This is a very powerful film in many ways. Stone deliberately made the battle scenes extremely graphic in an attempt to convey what Vietnam was really like. For its time, this was as vivid of a portrayal that there was in the eighties. To this day, there have not been many war movies that have lived up to the realistic nature that this film offers. An exception and comparison to this type of film would be “Saving Private Ryan,” directed by Steven Spielberg which took place during D-Day; however, Spielberg did not fight in World War II like Stone fought in Vietnam.

The Breakfast Club (1985)


For my last blog I figured I would do the most popular movie of the 80’s, The Breakfast Club. This movie is the epitome of the 80’s. Like many movies form this era, it examines the relationship between young teen, and authority figure. These movies tend to frame the youths as the heroes and the adults as the enemies. The “uncool” kids are the ones that listen to the principle, and the “cool” kids are the ones that rebel. Bender, Ferris Bueller from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Jeff Specoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and Ren from Footloose are all glorified as the heroes because they question authority. Vernon, the principle, is made to look like an idiot by Bender simply because he refuses to adhere to his rules. By pretending not to care about the consequences, Vernon’s ability to have authority over him is shot. Mr. Rooney from Ferris Buellers Day off comes off like an idiot because he can’t control Ferris. He spends all day trying to catch him, and ends up getting more hurt than Ferris. All the teen authorities come off as dumb, and the kids (who are breaking the rules) come off as cool. Brian, who is by far my favorite character simply because he got a fake ID so he could vote, is uncool because he does what he’s told. But in the end, in true 80’s cheesy fashion, they realize that they’re all the same. They all have a little brain, rebel, princess, athlete, and basket case in them. “We’re all pretty bizarre. Some of us are better at hiding it, that’s all”- (Andrew- the Jock).

Ghost Busters


The film Ghost Busters, directed by Ivan Reitman in 1984, is a comedic tale about three friends Peter Venkman, Raymond Stantz, and Eagon Spengler who get fired from their jobs as professors at Columbia and are forced to find other means to make money. The three friends decide to go into business together as ghost catchers but can't seem to make any money when they first start.

The ghost busters get their first big break when they get a call to capture a ghost in a popular hotel in the city . The ghost catchers, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis, eventually catch the ghost within the hotel and in doing so jump start their business. The three friends hire Winston Zeddmore, played by Ernie Hudson, as their new partner.

Eventually later on within the film the government closes down the ghost catching buisness and releases all the once captured ghost onto the city. Eventually Peter and his friends are forced to take on a demon with an incredible amount of power that was released under paranormal circumstances.

This film is one of my favorite movies of all time. The special effects for its time were amazing and you couldn't get a better story. The plot combined with the great casting made this movie one of the hit movies of 1984. The movie plays on the horrow craze of the 80's by making fun of such movies as Nightmare on Elms street, and Halloween. If you like funny movies this is a good one to watch

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087332/

Young Guns

Young Guns

Young Guns is a classic gun fighting movie set in old west in the 1800’s. How can anyone turn down Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen, and Keifer Southerland. These three are part of a group of “regulators” as they call themselves who are on a quest for vengeance of their old boss while using their power of the law to fight criminals and corrupt businessmen in New Mexico. The story revolves around the character Billy the Kid who is ultimately the one who abuses the power given to the regulators by the sheriff. This then sets into motion, a waive of bounty hunters who try and kill the regulators and just basically leads to more good ol’ fashioned gun fightin’. Strong bonds between characters start to mold and add to the depth of the story. There is also a love story in the background with Doc’s (Southerland’s) character who falls for an Asain girl who is property of the man who killed his boss. The end of this movie is the best when the gang becomes trapped and attempt to take on 100 men by themselves. If you like action, you will love this movie which also has a decent plot to it as well. All the guys out there in the class, if you haven't seen this movie yet you definately should. I don't like westerns at all and I liked this movie jsut beacause of the action. Its always on AMC or USA too so you can catch it on TV.

Classic Quotes:
“Regulators, let’s mount up.”

"Dear Governor Axtell,
I've heard that you will give 200 dollars for my head. Perhaps we should meet and talk. I am at the Juarez village at the border. Send 3 men, and instruct them not to shoot, as I am unarmed. In short, Sir; I surrender.

Your obedient servant,
William H. Bonney.

PS: I changed my mind. Kiss my ass."

“They say he’s killed more men than small pox.”


Check out the trailer....

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096487/trailers-screenplay-E13118-10-2

Ski Patrol

Ski Patrol


Now that I am back home in Rhode Island, I had to go down to Blockbuster and rent a couple of 80’s movies to finish up the semester’s blog requirement. Since it is about 20 degrees here (not like 80 when I left) I figured 1990’s Ski Patrol might be fitting. This is basically your classic 80’s slapstick comedy starring the only notable name that looks familiar, George Lopez. Now if you have 91 minutes of pure boredom maybe you might want to pick this movie up but even then I wouldn’t recommend it. The basic plot line is that a ski resort is being threatened to get shut down and taken over by a developer who is then going to build on what was once the ski mountain. The only hope left lies within the out-of-control ski patrol and its members. The developer realizes that the only way to shut down the resort is to create a few problems on the mountain and damage the immaculate safety record that the ski patrol has upheld for so many years. The only other person that I had seen before in this movie was the guy from the original Saved by the Bell, the janitor Milo I think his name was, T.K. Carter. I originally rented this movie because I enjoy skiing and you just don’t see too many skiing movies- now I know why… This was just poorly thought out even for a comedy of the 80’s. Next time you pass this title in your favorite video store just keep on walkinnnnn


Check out the trailer if you don’t believe me…

http://videodetective.com/default.asp?frame=http://videodetective.com/home.asp?PublishedID=1029

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Field of Dreams (1989)

The image “http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/G/posters/dfmp_0038_field_of_dreams_1989.jpg” cannot be displayed, because it contains errors.Field of Dreams” is one of the best baseball films of all time. It involves an Iowa corn farmer who plows over his valuable cornfields to build a baseball field which brings back the Chicago Blacksox and “Shoeless” Joe Jack, the reason being because he hears a voice. After the voice comes up multiple times again later, he is compelled to follow his instincts and listen to it, risking bankruptcy.

When everybody else thinks that Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) is straight-up out of his mind, he disregards their thoughts and does what he feels is right. The trick is that the voice does not tell him directly what to do; Ray must infer the voice’s message and act on it appropriately. He ends up going out of his way to, driving across the nation to find Terrance Mann (James Earl Jones), an author who wrote about the Brooklyn Dodgers. He then realizes that Terrance is the only other person who is able to pick up on these hidden messages. He also comes to learn that the only people who can see the Blacksox’s ancient players on his field are the people that believe it to be true.

“Field of Dreams” is a true thriller that involves fantasy fiction, yet still indulges into themes of mankind. It is an entertaining film to watch which includes great acting performances from Costner Jones, and Ray Liotta as “Shoeless Joe.” In addition, for sports fans out there, it includes a good deal of baseball history and would fascinate even those who don’t like sports. Overall, it is a genius film appropriate and enjoyable for people of all ages.

Cheech & Chong: Still Smokin'


I just finished watching Cheech & Chong Still Smokin. Overall I think this movie was pretty funny. I have always been a fan of silly humor, so the jokes in this movie work out for me fine.

The movie basically follows Cheech & Chong on a journey to Amsterdam. They got invited to Amsterdam by Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds to attend a film festival and go to many parties. One of the hosts of the parties decided to run off with all the money, so Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds never show up, and the other host of the part is left dirt poor. The people of Amsterdam confuse Cheech and Chong for Mr. Burt and Mr. Dolly. To help the other arty host get his money back so he can help his wife and family, Cheech and Chong decide to do a show at the film festival.

The whole movie follows Cheech and Chong as they journey around Amsterdam. The basic plot line of the movie is pretty dull. Infact, I didnt really like the movie untill Chong started having his day dreams. Those were some of my favorite parts of the movie. Chong would have day dreams about the most ridiculous things. My favorite day dream was when Chong dreamed about them being a gay couple. I was laughing the entire time.

My other favorite part of the movie was at the end, when they were putting on the show. It was basically like stand up comedy, and stand up comedy is my most favorite kind of entertainment. I thought the entire thing was sooo hilarious. I especially loved the scene where they pretended to be dogs, and Chong pretended to make a bowel movement on stage. It was a little vulgure, but at the same time it was so ridiculious that you had to laugh.

This was my first time seeing a Cheech and Chong movie, and I thought it was hilarious. I will deffinatly be renting more of there films.

The Breakfast Club (1985)




The Breakfast Club is a classic teen film based on a group of five high school teenagers serving a Saturday morning detention. Each of the five students are categorized with different stereotypes. However, throughout their detention, they begin to bond with each other, realizing that they have a lot more in common than they thought.

John Bender (Judd Nelson), the punkish, rebel kid, is the center point of the group; for, he does not get along with anybody and is already known as a troublemaker. The other four characters include Brian (Anthony Michael Hall) the nerdy kid, Andy (Emilio Estevez) the jock/wrestler, Claire (Molly Ringwald) the spoiled rich girl, and Allison (Ally Sheedy) the weird girl who nobody understands.

Most of the people in the group get along with each other fine except for Bender; everyone seems to have a problem with him. Ironically enough, however, Bender is mostly responsible for bringing the group together. His outgoing and talkative personality gels the group by constantly providing action and conversation.

This is arguably the best teen film of all time, as it accurately depicts the stereotypes of a high school. To this day in 2006 (almost 2007), all high schools across the nation still have kids that fit these stereotypes. In addition, it is a heart-warming story that brings a group of different people together as one. These aspects combined with a good laugh make this film a fun one to watch.





The Shining (1980)


The Shining is a creepy scary movie that leaves the viewer frightened hours after watching it. I think the scariest character of this film was the little boy, Danny who had different voices and rode his mini bike through the hallways. What also added to the scary tactic of the film was the music. Even before something creepy happened, we heard the music so we knew something was about to happen. Even though this film did not have as much killing and brutality as other horror films, it still does its job of getting the audience scared and leaving them with the plot still going through their head.

The Shining is the story of Jack Torrence who applies for a job as a caretaker of The Overlook Hotel in the Rocky Mountains. This hotel has been abandoned for years and when he goes for the interview, he is told that the last caretaker shot and killed his family due to the loneliness he experienced. He decided to take the job and after he says this we see a shot of his son visualizing the hotel and the old caretakers two murdered daughters. When the family finally arrives and settles in, we see a change in Jack as his temper grows and he is continuously yelling at his wife. As winter becomes worse, we see Danny's shinings (voices) getting more intense. After Jack has a terrible dream about killing both Wendy and Danny, we see Danny emerge from upstairs with scrapes all over his neck. Soon after this, we see Jack going crazy and entering a 1920's ballroom where he meets up with Mr. Grady, the old caretaker who tells Jack how he corrected his famiy and how Jack should do the same thing. We see Jack going crazy, trying to kill his wife and son. Jack dies in a maze and in the last scene there is a photo that says Overlook Hotel, July 4th Ball, 1921 with Jack in the front row.

Through sounds, symbolism, and cinematography, this film provides great horror and sometimes humor. This film definitely makes the audience jump and does a good job of completely freaking everyone out. I would highly recommend this film for those that love a good fright.

Ghostbusters II


Ghostbusters II begins several years after the events of the first film, and the popularity of our heroes has dwindled down from national media attention to hosting children's birthday parties. A lack of ghosts to capture has them out of business until Peter Venkman's (Bill Murray) old flame, Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver), asks the gang to investigate some paranormal activity surrounding her child. It turns out to be connected to some hateful slime and an evil painting.

The most memorable scene in the film, and possibly the series, would be the legendary Statue of Liberty fight scene. In order to get into a museum covered in evil goo, the Ghostbusters use the same evil goo and some soul music courtesy of Jackie Wilson to bring the statue to life. It proceeds to walk across New York City to the museum, where it breaks all the windows, allowing the Ghostbusters to run in and zap the evil painting. Ghostbusters II made a lot of sense.

The problem with this film is that it is very loosely held together by a plot that involves goo and paintings. The movie is completely ridiculous, in that regard. However, if you can ignore the weak plot and simply look at it for its entertainment value, it is just as much fun as the first.

Scrooged


While many people of my generation look at A Christmas Story as the definitive 80's Christmas film, I've always preferred Bill Murray's Scrooged, an adaption of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Bill Murray plays Frank Cross, a modern-day Scrooge who owns his own television company and is in the process of making his own live-action special of A Christmas Carol. Frank goes about Christmas the entirely wrong way, whether it is firing people or giving half-hearted gifts, until he is visited by three ghosts and shown the true spirit of Christmas.

While Murray delivers a great performance as Cross, the real stars of this film are the role players. Carol Kane and Daniel Johansen are particularly enjoyable as the Ghosts of Christmas Present and Past, respectively. The scene in which Kane repeatedly delivers blow after blow to Cross, from a toaster to the face to a swift kick to the privates, was one of my top 5 favorites as a young one.

The true hero of the film, however, is a staple of 80's comedies, Bobcat Goldthwait. Riding the popularity generated from his performance as Zed in the Police Academy films, Goldthwait appears as Eliot Loudermilk, an employee that Frank fires on Christmas Eve. Eliot proceeds to go berzerk and returns to terrorize the building later on. Goldthwait is the true scene stealer in this film. With his off-pitch voice and wacky antics, he creates a truly unforgettable character.

Commando (1985)





Starring: Arnold Shwarzeneggar
http://imdb.com/title/tt0088944/

Commando is the most unrealistic action movie I have every seen. Shwarzeneggar plays Col. John Matrix. He is an ex-commando and his daughter has been kidnapped by the dictator of some South-American country. Matrix is probably the most muscular army guy I have ever scene. H escapes from his enemies and goes to Val Verde to rescue his daughter. Once in Val Verde, Matrix kills what seems to be over a thousand people.

He is probably the most badass character ever. When he goes to use Cindy’s car and cannot fit, he simply rips the front seat out of the car and sits on the gound. Only Arnold can do that…Matrix even manages to land a fall from a plane that just took off with out hurting himself.Another one of my favorite scenes is when he breaks into the gun store and finds the secret red button. This button opens up secret compartments in the store filled with crazy weapons such as a bazooka. Matrix brings these weapons to Val Verde and is unstoppable. Although it is realistic that one man kills hundreds and takes down what seems to be an entire army, it is still entertaining. There are still cool guns and huge explosions, which in my book make a good movie. If you do not like Arnold Shwarzeneggar or ridiculous and unrealistic action films, I suggest you stay away from Commando.

Revenge of the Nerds (1984)





Starring: Robert Carradine and Anthony Edwards
http://imdb.com/title/tt0088000/

Although dorky and ridiculous, Revenge Of the Nerds is absolutely hilarious. This movie is about two nerdy best friends, Lewis and Gilbert. They are both the stereotype of a typical nerd. They have geeky laughs, wear pocket protectors and glasses, and have large I.Q.’s in place of big mussels. Lewis and Gilbert are most excited about the “chicks” in college. Throughout the film Lewis and Gilbert are teased and harassed by the Alpha Beta’s. The quarter back of the football team, Stan Gable, is an Alpha Beta who has a person vendetta with Lewis. The two decide to join a fraternity, and become Tri-Lams. Stan Gable, whom is also the president of the greek counsel, does everything in his power to hurt the nerds. The Trilam’s realize the only way for them to escape the wrath of Gable is by winning the homecoming games. By using their brains, the nerds are able to win most of the events. One example of this is during the bicycle race. Each lap each rider has to chug a beer. The Trilam’s come up with a pill that reduces the effects of alcohol and they are able to perform at a much higher level than the rest. Another example is during the Javolyn Toss, Lamar is given a javolyn by one of the nerds that was designed to fly further.The nerds do the best prank I have ever heard of and put hidden camera’s all over the girls sorority. They prove through the rest of the movie that brain power is more important, and win respect from the majority of the campus. It is made clear that the nerds have out-done the Alpha Beta’s when Stan Gable’s long time girlfriend Betty has sex with Lewis on an artificial blow up moon. If you want a good laugh, watch this movie.

The Heathers (1989)



Directed by Michael Lehmann
The Heathers is definitely The Mean Girls and Jaw Breakers of the 80's. It offers a dark, satirical perspective of high school and popularity. What makes the film so comical is that all of the female clique members besides Veronica are named Heather. This adds an almost unreal characteristic to film, but as one watches the film it is clear to see how unrealistic and imaginary the whole film is. While this film depicts the cruelty of high school girls and cliques it does it in a way that makes the audience laugh because the characters in the film do not seem to understand how truly mean they are being and how they are living in a fantasy world.

The Heathers is the story of Veronica Sawyer who is in the popular group called the Heathers. Unlike the other girls in the group, she is not nearly as stuck up and does not understand why they are either. She claims the only reason she hangs out with them is because it is her "job." We often see the clique playing croquet, making fun of people, and using their own slang. While Veronica hates them, she initially does not do anything about it. As the film progresses, we see Veronica hating the Heather's more and more. One night after the "head" Heather embarrasses her at a party she has had enough. We see her at home frantically writing in her diary about how much she hates the three Heathers. When she meets Jason Dean, everything changes for her. He gives her the confidence to disassociate from the Heathers, but at the same time kill the head "Heather" by going over to her house with drain cleaner. At first Veronica is relieved but then she begins to realize that even though one is dead, there are still two others and another assumes the "head" role. As they continue their killing spree murdering two football players, other students start to kill themselves because it is the "cool" thing to do, leaving Veronica feeling guilty. She tells Jason Dean she cannot do this anymore and he freaks out attempting to kill her, but she fakes a suicide. When she learns Jason is going to set a bomb off at a school pep rally, she goes where they get into a fight and she shoots his middle finger off. After he rushes out to the pep rally and detonates a bomb, we see Veronica ashy and bleeding. The last scene that we see is Veronica ripping the red bow out of Heather Duke’s hair that she always wears and putting it in her own hair.

This is one of the best black comedies made, especially for the time since it is one of the first 80's films to depict the true dark side of high school. While John Hughes films may shine some light on the cruelties in high school, it does not compare to this which gives a much colder and harsh view. In addition to this, the cast is brilliant with Winona Ryder playing Veronica as a disturbed but truly enlightening character. Even though this film is old, it still depicts high school cliques in a light that may still be too familiar for some.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Sleepaway Camp (1983)


Sleepaway Camp is a low budget horror film set on a lake at camp Arawak. Angela is a quiet girl that is uninterested in the activities and is constantly picked on by the other campers at the camp. She is the survivor of a motor boat accident that killed her father eight years earlier and is very removed from the rest of the camp. When murders start to happen the owner of the camp tries to keep them quiet because he does not want his camp to be shut down. More dead campers and employees are found, but the killer remains a mystery until the end of the film when we find out that Angela was the killer all alond and the she was in fact a boy and not a girl.
Although it is cheesy and the murders throughout the story aren't very scary, I thought that the ending was great. When i watched the film, i actually had to watch the Texas Chainsaw Massacre to calm down. With that being said, the ending doesn't really make up for the rest of the story which is weakly thrown together and sometimes boring. I can appreciate the fact that the movie was probably a little creepier when it came out in 1983, but it would definately be an overstatement to call Sleepaway Camp a good horror movie. The only way to enjoy this film is to go into it knowing that you'll probably feel like laughing more than anything. And if you read this blog and already know the ending, don't even bother.

The Untouchables (1987)


The untouchables is a classic gangster movie set in the 1930's in Chicago. It's the story of Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) trying to put the famous crime kingpin Al Capone (Robert DeNiro) behind bars. Ness is a federal agent called upon to stop the illegal flow of alcohol in the city. After an attempted raid fails, he almost gives up hope until he gets help from a veteran cop named James Malone (Sean Connery). After teaming up with Malone, they enlist a rookie cop George Stone (Andy Garcia) to help them take Capone down. After raiding a large brewery Ness and his family become wanted by Capone and he sends his wife and his daughter away to safety. His team of untouchables (called so because of their refusal of bribes) then stops a shipment and finds out Capone's business information after capturing his book keeper and making him confess. Capone is taken to court on the charges of tax evasion and is put in jail because of Ness' efforts.
This true story is told amazingly, and keeps the viewer at the edge of their seat. It is very interesting to see how the famous Al Capone was caught and life of Eliot Ness, the man that caught him. The cast makes the story believable and add to the already great plot. The Untouchables is a classic gangster film that can be enjoyed by people that aren't already interested in the story of downfall of Al Capone.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)


Bill and Ted’s excellent adventure might be one of the dumbest yet entertaining movies ever made. It marks the beginning of the age of totally pointless stoner flicks geared toward the teenage burn-out. However, with an open mind even the non-stoners can enjoy the film on a very basic level. Much like Jeff Specoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Ted Logan (aka Theodore Logan) and Bill S. Preston ‘esquire’ are threatened to fail history if they don’t get an A on their presentation. Their troubles are solved when a mysterious man comes to them with a phone-booth time machine that will bring them into the past to gather information for their presentation. It’s almost like reading rainbow for stoners in that it brings together simple historical concepts into a fun and interesting setting. The movie makes an obvious reference to Fast Times at Ridgemont High with the struggle between teen and authority figure. Once the teens realize that history and learning can actually be fun when it is put into terms they can relate to, they are finally able to respect the teacher’s efforts to teach. Some of the interactions between the historical figures are actually very clever, like some of the more subtle jokes with Freud. Whereas some of them are almost painfully stupid, like Lincoln’s speech to the class in which he tells the class to “party on, dude.” Despite all the work they do to gather all the figures, and the lessons they learn, they still can’t properly pronounce the names of some of the historical figures or understand the concepts. Like many films of the 80’s, this film is best if taken for pure entertainment value. There is apparently a Bill and Ted cult following, which can be found online at www.billandted.org.

Monday, December 04, 2006

Dirty Dancing 1987




Dirty Dancing
is the Classic tale of love overcoming class.
BabyHouseman is the daughter of Dr. Houseman and she is obviously a "daddy's girl." the beginning of the movie shows Baby in the car with her sister, mom, and father driving to the summer getaway they've been going to for years. Her voiceover explains how she is still naive and doesn't even care yet that people call her baby.
Shortly after arrivng, Baby watches Johnny Castle, the dancer and dance instructor, and is intrigued. Johnny is from the wrong side of the tracks and it would be a major breech of social contract for Baby to be involved with him.
Baby saves his friend and saves his job by covering for his partner while she gets an "abortion." Of course the two fall in love, but they can never be together. When Baby finally reveals to her father that she's been seeing Johnny, he is extremely disappointed. Johnny gets fired for their relationship, but of course comes back for her in the end. Where they have their finally dancing number at the annual talent show. Dr. Houseman sees that he is a good guy.In a corny and completely unrealistic finish, the poor workers and the rich people who attend all merge to dance together all because Baby and Johnny beat the class system!
Opening Voiceover:
"That was the summer of 1963 - when everybody called me Baby, and it didn't occur to me to mind. That was before President Kennedy was shot, before the Beatles came, when I couldn't wait to join the Peace Corps, and I thought I'd never find a guy as great as my dad. That was the summer we went to Kellerman's."- Baby

The Shining 1980



In 1980 Stanley Kubrick's The Shining was released in theatres. The film, of course, was an adaptation of Stephen King's novel. I had read the book previous to viewing the movie and found the book to hold much more suspense. In my opinion, it is interesting that a text would evoke more fear than a movie seeing as a movie is a multi-track medium and is able to directly influence more senses.
Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), a recovering alcoholic and english teacher, takes the job as the witner caretaker at the Overlook Hotel. The Hotel is completely isolated during the winter and he takes his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and son, Danny (Danny Lloyd). In the book, it is clear that there is a supernatural power that seems to posess Jack. The reader knows this because of a topiary with moving animals. However, in the film it seems more that Jack has gone mad being isolated with his family. He eventually tries to kill his wife and child, but ends up dieing in the snow himself.
The film utilizes the steady cam during long takes of Danny riding his bicycle through the halls of the hotel. The bicycle runs from wood to carpet and the noise is far louder than it should be, creating suspense.
Famous Quote:
"Here's Johnny!" -Jack Nicholas

Sunday, December 03, 2006

The Breakfast Club

I watched The Breakfast Club for my first time over the weekend. I really liked this movie. I tend to like "teen movies" usually, but this movie was more than just a teen movie. Although it had the typical people, the brain, the jock, the outcast, the princess, the bad apple, and the bullying principal adult, the movie was still really different.

The movie follows a group of students, all from different scoail groups in their high school, to detention on a saturday mornning. It is a really strange group of kids to all have, and they more than likely would never have hung out together if it haden;t been for their all getting detention at the same time. The movie shows how they dont get along in the beginning, and they dont really give eachother a chance, but as the movie goes on, and they start to really talk to eachother and get to know eachother, but see through the sterio types they held of eachother, and see that they all have alot of the same problems.

It made fun of othe teen movies in the sense that it was so obnoxious about making a point of who each kid in detention was. They really went out of their way to say stero-type all the kids to fit into a catagory.

Emilio Estevez is really quite handsom in this movie. He is obviously much younger, but this is one of the only movies he has actually looked pretty good in. It is funny to see all those actors in this movie, like Judd Nelson, who looks COMPLETELY different, and Molly Ringwald, who looked very different in her movie before this, Sixteen Candles. They all look much older now, and it is funny to see them from when they were so young.

Overall I think this is a really good film. At times it is a bit cliche, but it still holds a slightly different look and feel than most other teen movies.