The Princess Bride (1987)

The Princess Bride did not interest me at all at first. I had it blown off as a silly little girl movie. Like the little boy, I am a tough guy, and I found this girly movie unacceptable. But after Jensen put the tiara on my head, I know longer had any masculinity to be spoken for. So I sat down on a cardboard box and watched The Princess Bride, and boy am I glad I did.

The Princess Bride offers all the cheesy dialouge of a classic B-movie, like Army of Darkness, combined with the typical modern Disney fairytale archetype. What results is a charming story full of sword fighting, evil enchanted forests, and true love.

This hybrid I felt worked very well, and probably is what serves to have it considered a classic. If you take into account the typical escapist qualities of both traditional B-movies and fairy tales, you can understand the mass appeal of a mix of both. The film is entertaining all the way through, I really wanted to see what came next.

My favorite part was probably Wallace Shawn's character Vizzini. Everytime he said inconceivable it hilarious. I have no idea why, now, in retrospect, I found it so funny. It was mostly the delivery, if I were to venture a guess.

I liked how homemade the movie looked - the special effects, in comparison with other moves around that time The Princess Bride almost seems purposefully retro. The film clearly did not have a large budget, and I feel that it's monetry constrainst are a huge part of why this film shines. It is not a summer special effects extravagana, and it seemed like all the actors knew it. They just had fun.

I too, like the grandson, was surprised by how much I enjoyed this fim. I would suggest this film to anbody, even tough guys like me.

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

Field of Dreams (1989)

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.