Unnerving movie quotes: Full Metal Jacket (1987)

"Are those ... live rounds?"

"Seven-six-two millimeter. Full. Metal. Jacket."

Happy Birthday: Mary & Cameron

Mary Shelly - writer of Frankenstein

Cameron Diaz - my favorite roles of hers are in The Mask, and The Sweetest Thing

Quick Look: Insomnia (1997)

Insomnia is one of my favorite foreign films and one of the best films of the 1990's.  Stellan Skarsgard portrays Swedish detective Jonas Engstrom, who is sent to a town in northern Norway to investigate a murder case with his partner Erik Vik, played by Sverre Anker Ousdal.  While pursuing a lead, Engstrom, Vik, and several local policemen trace the killer to a shed on the coast, and a foot chase ensues through some fog which has rolled in.  One policeman is shot in leg, Vik gets shot and killed, while the killer escapes.  The stakes are high as Engstrom continues the pursuit for weeks while seemingly losing his mental facilities.  The film is directed by Erik Skjoldbjaerg, and is unrated, but I would consider it like a PG-13 or R, for subject matter and violence.  Language tracks are Norwegian and Swedish.

**spoiler alert**  The title of film is derived from the fact that Engstrom is unable to sleep in Norway; first because the town they are in is above the Artic Circle, the proverbial "land of the midnight sun" where the sun is present 24 hours a day for half of the year (including the timeline of the movie), and second, because of possible guilt over shooting and killing Vik during the previously mentioned foot chase.  Even worse for Engstrom is that the killer, whose name is Jon Holt (Bjorn Floberg), witnessed him shooting Vik, and now is going to blackmail Engstrom with the information to protect himself from arrest and prosecution.
Insomnia could be considered somewhat of neo-noir film, and the reason it plays out much better than a typical police procedural/ murder mystery is that Engstrom is a clearly flawed character, and Skjoldbjaerg never really lets the audience love or hate him.  Right after the Vik shooting we actually see Engstrom seemingly ready to "confess" the truth, but then he is let off the hook as the senior detective assigns blame to the suspect without having asked Engstrom the question.  Engstrom just goes along with this, so what are we to think at this moment?  Engstrom is truly a bad guy with no morals, or that he made a mistake and will make things right by solving the original crime?  We see several other scenes play out with this same ambiguity, as well as Engstrom's mental state start to deteriorate, like when he begins hallucinating images of Vik.  It is masterful work done by Skarsgard, and equally excellent direction.
The scenes and effects were fairly minimal, but highly effective in creating the tension of man who is under pressure; the walls almost closing in at some moments, and in a mental and physical haze from the lack of sleep or guilty conscience (or both).  This film succeeds with subtlety, production, and nuance, not with explosions, an "ah-ha Hollywood" moment, a big car chase, or a shoot-out.  I highly recommend Insomnia - fans of Skarsgard, and foreign films will be in for an even bigger treat.

- There is a 2002 remake starring Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and directed by Chris Nolan.

Happy Birthday: Pee Wee

Paul Reubens - aka Pee Wee Herman ... not many people have the ability to make us laugh both on and off screen

Quick Look: Chasing Amy (1997)

This is the third of Kevin Smith's films, and I still hold it as his best work, to date.  The story involves 2 best friends named Holden (Ben Affleck) and Banky (Jason Lee) who are comic book creators.  At a comic convention they meet Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams) who is also a comic creator, and a lesbian.  Alyssa and Holden quickly become friends, and soon after that, lovers.  Banky learns about a past sexual encounter Alyssa was involved in, and after he reveals it to Holden, all of their lives change.

**spoiler alert** This movie had the perfect balance of comical dialogue and moments, to go along with dramatic, emotionally painful ones.  The reveal about the prior encounter that Banky makes to Holden about Alyssa, is that in high school she had sex with two guys at once.  This is "ancient" history, but Holden cannot seem to get past it.  His passive aggressive confrontation with Alyssa during a hockey game was as masterful of an on-screen break up as I have ever watched.  What is somewhat ironic about the arrival to breakup scene unfolding, is that Holden knew Alyssa had slept with multiple women, and she was continuing to do so prior to her relationship with Holden, somewhat casually, yet he clearly had no problem with the idea of this.  This is another facet of Chasing Amy that takes this film to the "next step" of film greatness for me; it makes you think how you would react in a similar set of circumstances, and what your current perceptions are concerning your best friends and your lovers.  As far the film portrayed - Banky felt protective of Holden (among other feelings), so he felt it was his duty to seek out the dirt on Alyssa to "watch Holden's back"; Holden felt betrayed in his own mind(perhaps crushing a fantasy?) about Alyssa having had sex with two guys when she was still in high school; Alyssa felt she had done nothing wrong as she was monogamous throughout her relationship with Holden, and was equally as disturbed with Holden's attempt to reconcile his relationships with both her and Banky - a scene as tough to watch as the aforementioned breakup scene.
      
For the comical moments Affleck and Lee work very well together on screen.  A character named Hooper X (Dwight Ewell) provided even more fun at the comic convention; he acts as if he is a militant black man, when in reality he is a sensitive gay one.  Jay ( Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) make a one scene appearance, and ironically Silent Bob makes the longest speech of the movie, including a line from which the movie's title derived.
Where Chasing Amy succeeds and does not make itself into a romantic comedy, is due to the ending.  The friends part ways, with nothing said to each other (on screen, anyway), and the guy does not get the girl.  The last scene was ambiguous and could be looked either with a sense of closure, or for the romantic, maybe a sense of hope.
All in all, I highly recommend this film as one to see, and to date, in my opinion, is Kevin Smith's crown jewel.  'R' rating is for language, both profanity and discussion of sexual situations.


Trivia:
- Kevin Smith wrote the script based on his own experience with former girlfriend Joey Lauren Adams, which is maybe why this movie was so believable on screen.

Awesome movie quote: Robocop (1989)

"I got the muscle to shove enough of this factory so far up your stupid wop ass, that you'll shit snow for a year."

Happy Birthday: Dave, Rupert, Steve & Alex

Dave Chappelle - comedian, and creator of one of the great comedy shows in the last 10 years

Rupert Grint - the only role he will be known for, for now, is lovable loser Ron Weasley of Harry Potter fame

Steve Guttenberg - remember in teh 80's when he was comedy gold, making movies like Police Academy, Short Circut, and Three Men and a Baby?

Alex O'Loughlin - great TV roles in the new Hawaii Five-O and Moonlight

Happy Birthday: River and Ray

River Phoenix - best roles in Stand by Me and My Own Private Idaho

Ray Park - stunt coordinator, and great action character - best roles are Darth Maul in Star Wars I, and Snake Eyes in the GI Joe movies...

Quick Look: The Hunger Games (2012)

I recently had a chance to watch one of the year's big blockbuster films, The Hunger Games.  I have not read the books as of this posting, so I am writing from only the perspective of having watched the film and having asked my wife a few questions about perceived plot holes, as she has read the books.  The leads are Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Woody Harrelson; it is directed by Gary Ross, and it is rated PG-13 for violence.
**spoiler alert** At some point in a post-apocalyptic future, all that remains of North America is a rich, technologically advanced, fascist city-state called the Capital, and the rest of the nation, which is split into 12 Districts.  As punishment for having rebelled against the Capital in the past, the 12 Districts every year must submit 2 "tributes", one teenage boy and one teenage girl, to the Capital to participate in the Hunger Games - a fight to the death which is broadcast for the nation to watch, and the last tribute alive is the winner.  Said winner brings home the pride of the nation for that year, and extra food rations - which are scarce in these times.  Katniss (Lawrence) and Peeta (Hutcherson) are the tributes from District 12 and the protagonists of the film.  They both do a respectable job playing the naive teenagers who have never set foot outside their District, and forced into this barbaric contest.
The plot is fairly straightforward, and unfolds in a very predictable direction.  Katniss and Peeta are developed ever so slightly, and we see them prepare for the Games.  We learn a little more about some of the different Districts, the current distribution of wealth in the nation, and little about the Capital.  We do not learn much about the other tributes.  Harrelson plays the role of a middle aged man who was the only previous winner from District 12, and it is his job to promote Katniss and Peeta to the rich patrons in the Capital to win popular support for them, because that can earn "gifts" throughout the competition.
The Games open with about half of the tributes immediately being cut down by other teens from some of the richer Districts (we learn that some of those kids literally spend their lives training to win the Hunger Games), and several of them also then form a "kill squad" together to hunt the weaker District's tributes.  The rest of the movie we see the remaining tributes playing cat-and-mouse, hunting each other in the woods while the world watches on.  In the Capital there is a control room in which we see a group of people literally controlling every elemental aspect of the environment the kids are in, so when we see Katniss trying to hide and not hunt early on, they reign fire down on her to force her back into an area where the other teens are.  Then to make things "exciting" at another point the controllers loose some bear-like dogs to attack the teens.  Even worse is that the controllers can alter the rules of the Games at any point, which we learn is to stir up ratings and entertainment value.  There is no surprise by the end of the film and the audience is nicely set up for the next installment.
The effects, costumes, music, sets and location were all excellent, in fact, I would say that is what drove the film for me more than the acting.  I feel as if The Hunger Games was as much of a commentary about the state of reality TV, the distribution of wealth, perception of class, the public's general obsession with death, and the power wielding of a corrupt government, more than it is about a teen adventure in a dystopian future.  This is a very entertaining movie, but what would have put it over the top was a little more background on the tributes so that the audience was more attached to them. Even a little more focus on the Capital forcing these kids into this blood-sport could have given us a better feel for the state of the union versus the 12 Districts, but instead we are led from point A to point G without a proverbial road map.  It could have also been more entertaining if this was purely an action film, and considering what the movie is supposed to be portraying, there is not as much on screen "action" as I would have expected, especially in light of the fact this movie is 142 minutes long.  It seemed the director did his best to cover all of the plot bases, background, with some action mixed in - very well - but I felt like each of the many elements suffered just a little from underexposure because there were so many plot points to expose the audience to.
Ideally a director's cut will be forthcoming, and the subsequent films will fill in some of the unanswered questions.  In the meantime, it is worth seeing, and I will definitely have to read the books.

       

Awesome movie quotes: The Godfather (1972)

"Leave the gun. Take the cannoli".

Happy Birthday: 2 ladies and Spongebob

Kim Cattrall - best know for her role on the TV and movies 'Sex and the City', but also had good parts in Big Trouble in Little China, and Porkys

Carrie-Anne Moss - best roles in Memento, Suspect Zero, and The Matrix

Stephen Hillenburg - writer, creator, and the voice of Spongebob Squarepants

Review: Airplane (1980)

People in the Movie: Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, Leslie Nielsen

Director: Jim Abrahams, Jerry and David Zucker (the Zucker brothers)

Pigeonhole: Comedy / Spoof / Satirical

The Basics: The story is about of a shell-shocked war pilot named Ted Striker (Hayes) who ends up on a flight from Los Angeles to Chicago, trying to “win back” his estranged girlfriend Elaine (Hagerty), in which most of the crew and a good number of passengers end up sick from severe food poisoning. So, it is up to Ted with Elaine’s help, to land the plane.  The movie spoofs a typical day in the airport; the flight and its slow crescendo into chaos; plus the mayhem in the tower trying to eventually assist Striker to land the plane safely.

Recommendation: I highly recommend this film to anyone who enjoys spoof-type comedy.  Many films have attempted to copy the formula put forth in Airplane, because it is that great.  ‘PG’ rating is for language, drug and sexual references.  This would likely be more like a PG-13 if rated today.

My Take: I cannot count how many times I have seen this film, but it is one of a select few movies that I can keep watching it over and over and not get tired of it.  Why I think Airplane has such great appeal lies in the performances of the supporting actors, specifically Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Robert Stack, and Leslie Nielsen.  All of them had previously done dramatic roles and in disaster films, so it made the “deadpan” delivery twice as funny.  Nielsen’s comedy career actually launched, as it were, from Airplane.  Besides those big name actors, a bevy of the passengers on the flight also created forever memorable characters including; the sick girl, the Jive talkers, the religious cult guys, the panicking wife, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Johnny.

This is also probably the single most quotable movie I have ever watched, surely.  Some of the highlights include:

“Joey, do like to watch movies about gladiators?”

“I am serious.  And don’t call me Shirley.”

“Stewardess, I speak Jive.”

“Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit drinking.”

“There’s a sale at Penny’s!”

I think that Airplane highlights what can happen when a great script, great directing, excellent comedic acting, and probably a little luck, all come together and hit the bullseye.  The day just does not seem as funny for me when I cannot work an Airplane quote into some situation.

Final Thoughts/ Extras/ For Fun: The jive talk was mostly improvised by the 2 actors… Airplane is based mostly on Zero Hour!, a film from 1957.  The lead characters name in that film is Ted Stryker… Hays and Hagerty practiced the dance routine for the disco scene for over a month… There was a sequel that Abrahams and the Zucker brothers were not involved with…

Happy Birthday: to 3

James Marsters - best know for his role on TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Angel

Ray Wise - has over 170 acting roles, to date... my favorites of which are in Twin Peaks (movie and TV), and Jeepers Creepers 2

Isaac Hayes - singer/ actor ..best role in Escape From New York

RIP Tony Scott

I was saddened to learn of the death of director Tony Scott this morning.
He is the brother of director Ridley Scott, and has directed and produced many successful movies including Top Gun, True Romance, Days of Thunder, Beverly Hills Cop II, Crimson Tide, and Unstoppable.
I am looking forward to the TV miniseries 'Coma' out soon.

Happy Birthday: to 5

Patrick Swayze - my favorite roles of his were in Road House, and Dirty Dancing, and Point Break

Edward Norton - an excellent actor who I regard one of the best of my generation... best roles are in Primal Fear, American History X, Fight Club, and The Illusionist

Christian Slater - my favorite roles of his are in Heathers, True Romance, Mobsters, and Pump Up the Volume

Madeleine Stowe - great roles in 12 Monkeys, The Last of the Mohicans, and The General's Daughter

Robert Redford - actor / director... my favorite films of his are The Natural, Sneakers, Indecent Proposal, and All The Presidents Menn