Meryl Streep anyone?

So, when i was watching the Oscars i learned that Meryl Streep is the most nominated actor. That's pretty impressive (even if she's not the actor with the most awards). So, i decided to see her in action last weekend. I checked out Plenty. Unfortunately i didn't pay it full attention, and it's kind of a complex movie. It deals with an English woman in post WWII Britain. She has some mental issues.... "a desire to lose control" is how she describes it. She is violent, unfaithful, selfish and just seems to be a very unstable character. Streep portrays this very well, however, and "Susan" becomes very believable, and almost understandable.
The biggest tension in the movie is created by Streep's attraction/attachment to three different men. One a husband, one a physical affair and one a "soul mate". the first is an English diplomat, a well to do caring sort of guy. The second is slightly less developed, while the third is Sam Neil. The two meet while both are working for the French resistance during the war. They had a quick affair while in the midst of a war, and Streep’s character never seems to be able to move beyond this. She always needs something to fight for, some cause, and she struggles to lead a meaningful existence without some sort of conflict.
Susan (meryl streep) builds one lasting friendship with Alice, played by Tracey Ullman. Alice is another complex character, who claims she is a novelist at heart, but really seems to be little more than a talkative, flirtatious distraction. It is a slightly uncharacteristic role for Ullman, she usually produces comedies. But, her character does provide slightly entertaining moments.
Not really a fun movie to watch, and I probably should have paid more attention. But, the acting was good, and the situations compelling. 3 stars.

Blind Date

Being the huge Bruce Willis that I am, I just had to check out Blind Date. It is one of his few movies that I had not seen before. Going into the movie, I had high expectations because it's Bruce and I have rarely been disappointed by a movie with Bruce in it. And I was not disappointed this time; this movie is full of humorous moments and funny antics. It has a pretty stellar cast too: besides Bruce, there's Kim Basinger, John Larroquette, Phil Hartman, and William Daniels.

Bruce plays Walter Davis, a workaholic who doesn't have much of a life to speak of besides work. He needs to find a date at the last minute for a business dinner, so enter Basinger as Nadia Gates. She is his sister-in-law's cousin, and she comes with one warning: do not let her drink, or she will turn crazy. Well, of course, this warning is not heeded and craziness insues. The craziness gets worse when Nadia's psychotic ex-boyfriend, David shows up.

Nadia literally ruins Walter's life in one night: because of her outrageous behavior at the dinner, he gets fired; because of the threats from David, he pulls a gun out and gets arrested. Then, he goes to drop her off at a friend's house in a sketchy neighborhood, and while there, some hoodlums start stripping his car. It is pretty funny to see him in the next scene driving down the freeway with no doors, no roof, and sitting on a box for a seat.

This movie will have you laughing pretty much from beginning to end. David makes a fool of himself the whole time, so this is good for a laugh. He is constantly crashing into buildings: first a pet store (he winds up with a monkey in his backseat), then a paint shop, and finally a flour factory. So you can imagine what he looks like by the end: painted rainbow colors and lightly coated with flour. The ending of the film was more involved than I expected. I was pleasantly surprised. Of course, it comes down to Walter and David vying for Nadia's love, and who do you think she's going to pick? Walter, of course! After the comedic struggle, there is a passionate underwater kiss between the two of them, sealing the deal. It is very cute, although it could be argued that today, this scene has become overdone. Overall, this movie is cute and funny. It is also a plus to get to watch Bruce when he was so young--such boyish good looks he had then!

Little Darlings

This coming of age tale has everything you would expect from a movie about summer camp food fights, smoking in the bathroom, rivals from opposite sides of the tracks, and wagers as to who can lose their virginity before summers end. Well, almost.

Angel (Kristy McNicol) is a streetwise girl who is determined to not let the name fool anyone; she is constantly at odds with Ferris (Tatum O’Neal – Pre-drugs and John McEnroe) an upper class, well-traveled debutante. Of course the girls share a cabin with a rag tag group of campers (including a young Cynthia Nixon from Sex in the City.) One rainy day the girls are talking about boys and decide to live vicariously through the two girls and make a bet as to who will lose their virginity first. The girls accept the wager and the cabin follows suit by choosing sides. Angel sets her sights quickly on a heartthrob from the rival boys camp across the lake, ironically named Randy (a young Matt Dillon.) While Ferris’ affections find an older man, Gary a councilor at camp (Armand Assante.)

Ferris’ advances become inappropriate and as the summer goes on stories about her relationship with Gary spread and become exaggerated as her various bunkmates become obsessed with the possibilities. Ferris is questioned about the validity of the stories –and Gary faces termination, she eventually admits it was all a lie.

On the other hand Angel and Randy’s relationship escalates quickly and on one rainy day they sneak off to a boat house and carry out her side of the bet. The whole experience is so unloving and traumatic that she denies anything happened. Neither girl wins the bet.

Angel and Ferris are ostracized from the rest of camp for the remaining weeks and bond with each other. Angel concedes that Ferris may have been right all along and sex should be saved for someone you love. They both decide that winning a contest is not enough motivation to make such an “adult decision.”

This film is unique because I think it’s the first time young girls are portrayed in the same manner as young boys are, interested in sex. Both girls are constantly lying to each other and their fellow campmates, and the lies almost get Gary fired or even arrested. They see how their actions do affect other people’s lives. I recommend this film, since many people I’ve talked to had never heard of it, both lead actresses give great performances and it may be worth renting just to see what Matt Dillon looked like before he had veneers.

"Do I have an Uncle?"

In one of John Hughes’ finest family films “Uncle Buck” he explores the relationship between Buck Russell (John Candy) and his estranged brother’s family. After Cindy Russell’s father has a heart attack she and her husband Bob (Buck’s brother) are frantically searching for someone to watch the kids. Since they have recently moved from Minneapolis to a Chicago suburb (a Hughes trademark) they have limited options. Conveniently Buck lives in Chicago, yet Cindy is less than thrilled to have him in charge of the children.
Buck arrives in the middle of the night and when the children awake to find their parents gone, and an Uncle they’ve never met in charge of their care they are slightly shocked. Buck is a bachelor, relies on horse races and gambling for his income, and has little or no domestic or child rearing skills. However he quickly wins the hearts of Miles (Macaulay Culkin) and Maizy (Gabby Hoffmann.) Tia the Russell’s 15-year-old daughter however is a bit harder to break through to. There are a lot of funny scenes with Buck and the two youngest children, however the real important relationship is between Buck and Tia.


Angry that her family moved and her mother seems to choose her carrier over the family she is very cold and rebellious. Buck and Tia are constantly at odds with each other. Eventually Buck is on the way to bring Tia home from a “cheerleader slumber party” she snuck out to, when he finds her walking alone because her boyfriend “Bug” has tried to rape her.
Buck and Tia bond and teach, “Bug” a lesson, they also teach eachother how important family is and that the biggest family charity case can be your closest ally. This is an unconventional family film, because it is not the perfect family on the outside. Candy’s portrayal of Uncle Buck makes him impossible not to love. In one scene he toys with the idea of taking Miles and Maizy to cheat on a horse race.
I recommend this film to anyone that is a fan of John Candy or Hughes films, it is filled with hilarious moments and happy endings, the way a family comedy should be.

"Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?"

So my friend gave this movie to me to watch. I had seen it a long time ago and I didn't really remember it so I thought I would give it a go. I think this movie has to be one of my favorite batman films. I love George Clooney and all, but Michael Keaton makes a great Batman...at least in my mind. Batman goal is to avenge crime in Gotham City while living a double life as Bruce Wayne, a very wealthy man with a butler named Alfred. Alfred is the man by the way!! We learn that his choice of profession comes from the fact that as a boy, his billionare parents were murdered in front of him by Jack/Joker. Jack who has always lived a life of crime meets his fate in a vat of green chemicals which turns him into the hideous Joker. The Joker wants to rule the world and Batman is just another person getting in his way. Back to Bruce, he falls for Vicky Vale, a reporter, and the two come together and Batman must save her from the Joker. I don't want to ruin the film for anybody because I think this is one hero film that everyone should see. While we were discussing the issue of hero, I made up a list while I was watching it and I think he does fit the part...of a superhero. I like him because he is a regular guy who wants to save the world but his aid is money and some really sweet gadgets. Batman in this film is dark and brooding and he's pretty blunt in what he has to say. The Joker is a great villan...he's just so nasty and who doesn't love Jack Nicholson. I think he really makes the role with his arched eyebrows and maniacal laugh. He's sinister and we love to hate him.

So anyway, I recommend this film to everyone. I also enjoyed how the music was written and sung by Prince...well the non-instrumental ones. Look for the Joker dancing to some Prince it'll make you laugh...I promise. Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, and Kim Basinger all play memorable characters in the film. You get sucked into the story and you want to know what will happen in the end. Tim Burton has a created a film that again can stand the test of time. There will always be fans of Batman. This movie is one of, if not the best Batman film of the series of films that have come out in recent years. I haven't seen Batman begins though so I can't judge that one but lets say that the one with Batman and Robin, o h and Alica Silverstone is foul and I don't think people should see it...unless you really like George Clooney. The one with Val Kilmer is kinda iffy in my eyes as well. So yeah, check it out but maybe not on VHS like I saw...the DVD has widescreen!!! (Cue Batman theme) Batman! Superman could so kick is butt!

Some Kind of Wonderful

John Hughes’ Some Kind of Wonderful (1987) deserves a place amongst the noteworthies of the teen movie genre. If you liked Hughes’ other films, The Breakfast Club (1985) and Pretty in Pink (1986), chances are you’ll enjoy this one as well. An unoriginal plot (centered upon angst-ridden love triangles and the high school social scene) nevertheless enables a touching and sophisticated depiction of teenage life in the 1980s.

High school senior Keith Nelson manages to get a date with his popular classmate, Amanda Jones. Although they are both from working-class backgrounds, Amanda runs with the rich kids’ crowd. Does this mean Amanda is shallow? Absolutely, according to Watts, Keith’s tomboy best friend. Watts persistently tries to dissuade Keith from becoming involved with Amanda- for his own good, of course. Keith, however, ignores both Watts’ advice and her own growing infatuation with him, creating a deliciously painful situation.

Meanwhile, Keith’s father urges him to break the Nelson family out of their blue-collar status by attending college. Keith, who is artistically inclined, continually avoids discussing post-graduation plans with his father and befriends some misfit classmates who also appreciate art. Though rough around the edges, these skinheads prove to be both generous and loyal, in stark contrast to Amanda’s snobby girlfriends.

The antagonism between Keith and Amanda’s ex-boyfriend, the wealthy and preppy Hardy Jenns, thus goes beyond mere rivalry to highlight class tensions between children of blue-collar and white-collar backgrounds. Love triangles are all very well and good, but this sort of conflict is a real issue, one that lends the film a sense of credibility and gravity it would not otherwise have. The trials and tribulations of Some Kind of Wonderful’s teens are made powerfully compelling by the very fact that they are mundane. This, then, is the film’s true strength and what makes it well worth viewing.

Somewhere In Time

If you enjoy romance films of the “fluffy” variety, this one’s for you. Directed by Jeannot Szwarc and based on the novel by Richard Matheson, Somewhere in Time (1980) tells the story of a modern-day Chicago playwright who falls in love with a popular actress from 1912.

Using self-hypnosis, Richard Collier (Christopher Reeve) manages to transport himself back in time so that he can meet the woman that has become an obsession to him. The beautiful Elise McKenna (Jane Seymour) instantly feels a connection to this mysterious stranger, despite her initial wariness. Her manager, William Robinson (Christopher Plummer), is not merely wary of Collier but outright hostile towards him and persistently attempts to prevent the lovers from growing any closer.

Is Collier and McKenna’s love strong enough to withstand the boundaries of time itself? Can Collier sacrifice his life in the future for a possible life with McKenna in the past? One would think that such questions deserve to be treated seriously indeed. Unfortunately, Somewhere in Time takes the idea of a powerful, time-defying love so seriously that it leaves no room for character development. The cinematography is undeniably beautiful (the film received an Oscar nomination for Best Costume Design), but the story itself is weak. The actors do the best they can with a script that does not do justice to their talents. Ultimately, Somewhere in Time is an inadvertently ridiculous film that is entertaining but insubstantial.

Coen brothers classic

If you have never seen Raising Arizona, you're missing out on some great hick humor. The ultimate screwball comedy starring Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, and John Goodman, it is law-breaking at its finest. Only an infertile cop who married a convict would attempt to steal someone else's child. And that's exactly what she does. Actually, "Ed" sends her husband "Hi" to break into the local furniture salesman's house to steal one of his quintuplets. They figure that 5 is too many babies for one family. Causing a media frenzy, they successfully make off with Nathan, Jr., an unusually happy child. They are a cute little family with a secret until Hi's friends, fugitives who have literally dug their way out of prison, show up on his doorstep with nowhere else to go.

Craziness ensues. Hi has a couple of memorable Huggies runs. He decks his boss for suggesting that they becomes swingers like he and his wife. A bounty hunter that shows up in Hi's dreams turns out to be real and tries to acquire the baby for reward money in the end. Before that, the fugitives make off with the baby so they can have the $25,000 and rob a convenience store and a bank along the way. Despite the horrific thought of a child in a car seat falling off the roof of a car...twice, all of these antics are supremely entertaining.
The Coen brothers have a way of making stupid comedy (which I usually hate) great. They mix the boring reality of life in rural Arizona with some unexpected, unlikely twists. Details like the old man in the convenience store counting with "Mississippi"s make it unique -- never a dull moment. Holly Hunter's character is particularly hilarious. This is also a different film for Nicolas Cage, though he pulls it off as well as he does all the action and suspense roles he did in the 90s and after. The movie is a classic, and well worth the time.

Baby Boom

In this 1987 film, Diane Keaton plays J.C. Wiatt, a woman who has successfully climbed the corporate ladder. She has the money, the beautiful house, and the wealthy man. As her boss informs her, though, when he is promoting her to partner, no one can have it all. No woman, at least. Yet another portrayal of the complicated gender war of the 80's, Baby Boom gives a comprehensive view of all the subtle messages being shoved at J.C. Just one wrong move and she could lose everything to the man close on her heels in the company.

The wrong move turns out not to be a personal choice at all. J.C. inherits a baby from a distant cousin overseas who dies in a tragic accident. Unfit to be a mother, she struggles to do everything from a diaper change to simply holding the child without dropping her. She thinks she has found the solution when her boyfriend finds the clause in her cousin's will allowing her to give the baby up for adoption. Despite the practical advantages of this decision, her heart won't let her do it (especially after meeting the scary prospective parents). J.C. decides to become a mother after all.

Losing her boyfriend and her job as a consequence, J.C. makes a drastic move from NYC to rural Vermont, where she and her new daughter, Elizabeth, must survive the snowy winter in a rundown house. Every personality in the town of 319 people is unique, and the plumber whom she has to call several times is particularly hilarious. Though she is the unhappy outsider for awhile, J.C. finally finds her place in the town, meeting a handsome veterinarian and stumbling upon a baby food business accidentally.

Being the "chick flick" that it is, this movie has a happy ending, and it also happens to be a morally satisfying one. The sexist men she once worked with get what they deserve, and we see that the mother and the working woman can truly be one in the same.

Say Hello To My Little Friend!

Watching Scarface, I couldn't help but think, 'damn this movie is slow.' Not to say it isn't a good movie, which it is, but the film is almost three hours long and for the first two thirds, you feel every minute of it. Tony Montana (Al Pacino) is a Cuban immigrant who, along with his friend Manny, become deeply rooted in the Miami cocaine business in an attempt to make it rich and live out the 'American dream' (lying, stealing, killing--whatever it takes to become powerful). Along the way, Tony survives various attempts on his life, crooked cops, and rises through the ranks to the head of his own crack empire. As good as his life seems to him, however, his obsession with staying on top leads to his downfall, as his wife (Michelle Pfieffer, perfect as a trophy wife) leaves him and he ends up killing Manny over his sister.

I was surprised to see that Tony actually did have somewhat of a moral compass, as he refused to kill a guy's wife and kids, even though that man was going to harm Tony's associates. This isn't what you'd normally find in a ruthless drug lord character. The final scene of the movie is one of cinema's most famous scenes, with Tony facing down a number of attackers in his mansion by himself. Of course, the murder of his sister allows him to kill over twenty guys by himself. Yes, the scene is over the top, but so is most of the movie, and it works well here and is an indication of the kind of over the top violence that became a trend in the 80's and early 90's. Another example of this is the movie's chainsaw scene, which takes place after a drug deal goes bad and is almost painful to watch. Proof of this violence is that the movie was given an X rating 3 times, until DePalma brought in a panel of law enforcement experts that convinced the MPAA that the movie was accurate and shoud be seen by a mass audience.

This is a remake of a 1932 movie of the same name, but I haven't seen that one so I can't compare the two. There also seem to be some similarities between Tony and real-life gangster Al Capone, like getting busted for tax evasion. DePalma dealt with Capone in The Untouchables, which i think is a better movie than Scarface.

Overall, the movie is definitely a product of the 80's, from the music and clothes to the over the top violence. It's definitely long, but still a good movie and worth watching.