tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17245379732851988342024-02-18T20:44:43.311-05:00My Movies, My Words (from Abbott to Ziggy)Take a journey with me through my entire movie collection in their alphabetical order and share my reviews, my thoughts, my feelings and my memories.Eric F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05062980077091387176noreply@blogger.comBlogger835125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724537973285198834.post-82187084421523258152020-10-18T13:34:00.004-04:002020-10-25T13:21:12.841-04:002010<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOy2Jz7b6SKahd4TM8X3ufCpOrN2zUfwZOqoXYM1BbYZi0TYXRhfSQPcSKUPjVJvfFd51eB4NhWtlR4_mkwe9OAtJJlhuaAGv4A1PJpIkXGGJ1CqTBM65Mr5s0Z_hOLvhWObJxIEK4KEO/s800/2010.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="532" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOy2Jz7b6SKahd4TM8X3ufCpOrN2zUfwZOqoXYM1BbYZi0TYXRhfSQPcSKUPjVJvfFd51eB4NhWtlR4_mkwe9OAtJJlhuaAGv4A1PJpIkXGGJ1CqTBM65Mr5s0Z_hOLvhWObJxIEK4KEO/s320/2010.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p>(December 1984, U.S.)</p><p>By the year 1984, I'd only seen Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY when it aired on TV or when I rented it on pan and scan video cassette. When Arthur C. Clarke's 2010: ODYSSEY TWO was released in 1982, I read it as soon as a copy was available at my local library, and when the film version was announced with Roy Scheider taking over the role of Dr. Heywood Floyd, I waited in anticipation for its release.</p><p>I went to see Peter Hyam's sequel with a friend of mine who'd never seen 2001, so I don't think he was too keen on its sequel. Still, I was persistent about it and he was a good friend. He approached our trip to the movies with a good attitude, and was willing to at least give it a try. And to be fair, I took the time to catch him up on the events of 2001 while we drove to the movie theater, beginning primarily with the discover of the monolith on the moon, hardly bothering to describe the <i>Dawn of Man</i> sequence because it hardly fit in with the new movie. As he listened to my detailed description, my friend sounded genuinely interested, but who could really tell. Maybe he was just being a friend and humoring me. <span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">My descriptive backstory of 2001</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> combined with <b>2010</b>'s</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> pre-credit recap of the events of the first movie leading to
the point of the sequel’s introduction might have been enough information for him to know what he was watching without actually seeing 2001</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">That’s bullshit, of
course, because there is </span><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;">no</i><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> substitute
for seeing the entire masterpiece of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">, on screen if possible, and certainly a lot more than once.</span></p><p><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Admittedly, I would’ve loved to
see William Sylvester return in the role of Dr. Heywood Floyd, but Roy was about as perfect as a
substitute as I could’ve imagined.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">At
the very least, Keir Dullea returns as astronaut David Bowman and Douglas Rain
as the voice of the HAL 9000 computer (some things can </span><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;">never</i><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> be substituted).</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">It's nine years later now, and the world is on the brink of World War III due to
international tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Heywood Floyd is now a college professor
because he was initially blamed for the failure of the Discovery mission to
Jupiter in 2001.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">A new mission is in
the works, in which U.S. and Soviet astronauts will return to Jupiter together
in the Soviet spaceship, the Leonov, to find out what happened to David Bowman,
Frank Poole, the Discovery, and HAL.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Questions that are lingering for nine years are due to be answered.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Intriguing is the fact that
this joint mission will take place even as it looks like the U.S. and Russia are about to destroy each other.</span></p><p><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">While en route to Jupiter, signs of life are detected on one of its
moons, Europa.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">An unmanned probe and a
burst of mysterious energy determine that </span><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;">something</i><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> is warning the Leonov to stay away from Europa.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">The Discovery is found continuously rotating
in space, which I consider an original visual effect rather than the ship
just sitting there like a dead relic.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> It's</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> the eventual arrival at
the Monolith itself that disappoints me.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">It, unlike the Discovery, isn’t moving at all.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">It </span><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;">does</i><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> sit there like a dead relic.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">This is a
terrible point in the story because it's the mystery of the
monolith’s motion and travel through space I find so breathtaking in the first
movie.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">While I realized Peter Hyams doesn't want to intentionally copy anything Kubrick already did, this
decision seems like a mistake.</span></p><p><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Still, there are two more groundbreaking moments in the movie: an explanation to why Hal malfunctioned and killed the rest of the
crew aboard the Discovery, and the long-awaited appearance of David
Bowman.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">The first is delivered with
some explicit detail by Hal’s programmer, Dr. Chandra (played by Bob Balaban), who explains the reason
HAL did what he did is because he was instructed not to reveal the true
mission about the Monolith to the ship’s crew.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">This conflicted with HAL’s basic programming of his accurate and
truthful processing of information.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Basically, he was instructed to lie and he couldn’t handle the stress or
the consequences of it.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">He became
paranoid and had a computer mental breakdown, causing him to commit murder (that's quite a story).</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Who knew that
computers could act this way, even in what was considered our future (at the
time).</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p><p><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Tensions back on Earth are detailed. </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">The United States and the Soviet Union are escalating their conflicts
to the breaking point of what could become World War III.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">In space, American and Soviet astronauts
can no longer occupy the same ship.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">But it's Bowman’s eventual arrival that creates the circumstances that
get them working together again.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">His
warning to Dr. Floyd is that they have to leave Jupiter in two days, despite
the fact that </span><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;">“something wonderful”</i><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> is going to happen.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Unlike Dr.
Chandra’s long-winded explanation, Bowman gives little information to help us
understand things.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">He appears, he
speaks, he transforms himself into the old man and Star Child we’ve seen in the
first movie, and then he disappears. </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">As everyone in space prepares for a mutual departure, Jupiter develops a growing black spot on the planet’s surface that turns out to be an enormous
group of Monoliths that constantly multiply.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">As suspense and tensions mount, the Leonov escapes danger even as the
Discovery is destroyed (along with HAL) and Jupiter explodes.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">This explosion creates a miraculous new star
in space, and is accompanied by a final transmission of hopeful words to our
planet meant to inspire the United States and the Soviet Union to seek peace
with each other: </span><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;">All these worlds are yours except
Europa. Attempt no landing there. Use them together. Use them in peace.</i><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p><p><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">In the end, though, not all is resolved and not all questions are
answered.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Much like the first movie, we're finally left with the shape of the Monolith standing alone in the swamp of
Europa; an intelligent life form that will continue to evolve and raise
questions for humanity.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p><p><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">I recall asking my friend what he thought of <b>2010</b> and I</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> have to give the guy credit for doing his
best to spare my feelings of enthusiasm by telling me that he thought it was a
good movie, when what I’m sure he really wanted to say was, </span><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;">“Dude, I didn’t get any of it. I didn’t see any of </i><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">2001</span><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;">, so how could I possibly enjoy this?”</i><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">I’ll never know for sure if that was the
truth, but I’m still grateful for his movie companionship, nonetheless.</span></p><p><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">It’s taken some years of movie maturity to fully understand and
appreciate this, but the first rule when judging </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><b>2010</b></span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> is you’re required to put </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">2001:
A SPACE ODYSSEY</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> aside to the point where it almost doesn’t exist.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> This is</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> a sequel, to be sure,
but to make unfair and unwarranted comparisons to Kubrick’s masterpiece is
nothing short of futile.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">While </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><b>2010</b></span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> can never achieve the poetic
mystery or the sense of wonder its predecessor did, I cannot deny it
effectively continues the story that Arthur C. Clarke put in print.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">This is still a fun and exciting space adventure
in its own right, once you’ve accepted the fact that </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">2001</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> is meant to stand alone as one of the greatest motion pictures
ever created. Still, </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">I can’t be entirely kind to this film.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Despite the fact that one of the central
points of </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><b>2010</b></span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> is to answer essential
questions that have lingered for sixteen years between film releases, it’s the
answers that I feel ultimately flaw the film.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Keeping in mind that it’s the sense of inexplicable mystery that makes </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">2001</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> such an achievement, why would we
even </span><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;">want</i><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> answers?</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Yes, HAL went crazy.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Yes, HAL killed the ship’s crew.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Yes, Bowman entered an alternate dimension
beyond the infinite, and yes, Bowman was reborn as the Star Child.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Many of us didn’t get it.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Some of us were infuriated by it.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Some of us embraced the great mystery of the
unknown and beyond.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Some of us thought
the ambiguity of unanswered questions made it all the more appealing.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Bob Balaban breaking </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">it down for us in logical and explicable terms, ultimately
pointing to our own government doing what they do best, lying, serves no true
purpose but to only ruin what many of us found so delicious in the first place.</span></p><p>Favorite line or dialogue:</p><p>Victor Milson: "So, here we are on your actual brink. My agency's gonna become a part of the military, I've got a president with his finger poised <i>on</i> the button, and you want me to walk across the park and tell him we want to hitch a ride with those very same Russians. Have I missed anything?"<br /></p><br /><p></p>Eric F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05062980077091387176noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724537973285198834.post-30490025191170422132020-10-04T15:26:00.004-04:002020-10-04T15:41:40.636-04:002001: A SPACE ODYSSEY<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxjeszOhlZXq7UbE-NBYYvLC-iTET8C8wU2iK2KJhdQrMDgJGE0eaZy5-5nA-0swDnoPJeRoG5NQaY-EGV9oGAO1dB0RdpZK7ItoBCHVFiUMPUjvbSmO2KQlp7-ixz-_NSdgJKK3DjQNXa/s1500/2001+A+Space+Odyssey.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1049" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxjeszOhlZXq7UbE-NBYYvLC-iTET8C8wU2iK2KJhdQrMDgJGE0eaZy5-5nA-0swDnoPJeRoG5NQaY-EGV9oGAO1dB0RdpZK7ItoBCHVFiUMPUjvbSmO2KQlp7-ixz-_NSdgJKK3DjQNXa/s320/2001+A+Space+Odyssey.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p> (April 1968, U.S.)</p><p>Sunday February 13, 1977 was a truly significant night in my movie life, and I didn't even know it. It was the television broadcast premiere of Stanley Kubrick's <b>2001: A Space Odyssey</b> on the NBC Big Event. Because it was a Sunday night, I didn't get to watch the entire movie, but even if I'd been able to, there's no way I would've been able to fully understand what the hell I was watching because I was only ten years-old. I knew nothing of Kubrick; the man or his art. I was simply watching a movie about outer space and astronauts on TV, and it looked really cool, despite being a very quiet movie with almost no dialogue.</p><p>It's important for me to mention the TV premiere of this classic sci-fi film because its purpose and impact caught up with me again years later when I was a high school teenager and watched it again on rented VHS videotape. You know what? I <i>hated</i> it! I was an older kid now, who had lived through the generational impact of the fact-paced sci-fi entertainment of the late 1970s and early 1980s that included two <i>Star Wars</i> movies, two <i>Star Trek</i> movies, two <i>Superman</i> movies, <i>Battlestar Galactica</i> on TV, <i>Alien</i>, <i>Moonraker</i> and Disney's <i>The Black Hole</i>. For me to watch such a boring display of space exploration accompanied by classical music instead of an adventurous soundtrack was, to say the least, intolerable. Still, time and cinematic maturity can be kind to almost anything. I gave the movie another look by the time I got to college and...well, long story short, I'm proud and honored to say that <b>2001: A Space Odyssey</b> is my favorite motion picture of all time, and Stanley Kubrick is my favorite film director of all time...and none of it may have ever happened without that first TV airing on NBC planting the original seed.</p><p>What is <b>2001: A Space Odyssey</b> about, and how can it best be explained in any conventional sense? How does one effectively explain a twenty-minute sequence of the dawn of man in prehistoric Africa in which a tribe of apes are influenced by the appearance of a black alien monolith and thus discover how to use a bone as a weapon and, after their first hunt, use this new weapon to drive away their rival apes in what can only be classified as man's first war - over a watering hole? Perhaps we simply take it at face value that man was destined for war from the beginning, and thus the immediate cut to millions of years later simply show how we've evolved from one weapon of the bone to a far-more sophisticated piece of weaponry floating in space near Earth's moon.</p><p>What follows for much of the film is some of the most beautiful space and space ship imagery ever displayed on screen, accompanied by the powerful music of <i>"The Blue Danube"</i> (my favorite classical piece of music, and I don't like much classical music) and pieces by Hungarian-Austrian composer Gyorgy Ligeti (among others). Dr. Heywood Floyd (Chairman of the United States National Council of Astronautics) and his team travel to the moon where they discover a recently-found identical monolith which had buried for four million years. As they examine the monolith, it suddenly emits a high-powered radio signal which is aimed at the planet Jupiter.</p><p>Eighteen months later, the US spacecraft Discover One is bound for Jupiter. On board are mission pilots and scientists Dr. David Bowman (played by Keir Dullea) and Dr. Frank Poole (played by Gary Lockwood), along with three other scientists in suspended animation. The ship's operations are controlled by the ship's computer bearing a human personality, a HAL 9000 computer addressed as "HAL" (voiced by Douglas Rain). After some routing moments aboard the ship, HAL detects an imminent failure of the ship's antenna control device, which ultimately turns out to be a false diagnosis. This is serious because up until now, the 9000 series of computers had a zero error reputation, and HAL is proven to be in error predicting the fault, though he calmly attributes the discrepancy to human error.</p><p>Concerned over this new development in HAL's behavior, Dave and Frank have what they think is a private discussion in which they decide that HAL must be disconnected if he's proven wrong. What they don't know is that HAL has been reading their lips during their conversation, and is on to their scheme. In a series of vengeful computer acts, HAL kills Frank and the three sleeping crew members, while refusing to allow Dave re-entry into the Discovery after he's retrieved Frank's floating body in space (<i>"I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that."</i>). Through his own resourcefulness, Dave manages to re-enter the ship through the emergency airlock, and it would appear that HAL is now in big trouble, as Dave systematically disconnects HAL's memory and functioning circuits. Listen carefully to how HAL, the almighty know-it-all and controller of the entire ship, is now reduced to a babbling (and singing) fool as he fearfully pleads to Dave for his life. Upon HAL's final disconnection, a prerecorded video message plays, revealing that the mission's objective the entire time is to investigate the radio signal sent from the monolith to Jupiter.</p><p>What follows next as the chapter known as JUPITER AND BEYOND THE INFINITE can only be described as a dazzling and totally awesome visual trip of sight, sound, and color (thank you, Douglas Trumbull) as the Dave and the Discovery discover a third and much larger monolith orbiting Jupiter and its moons. Dave's EVA pod is pulled into a space vortex of colored light and he is carried across vast distances of space, while viewing bizarre cosmological phenomena and strange landscapes of unusual colors (a Stargate). When his ultimate trip finally comes to an end, Dave finds himself inside a neoclassical hotel suite where he witnesses, and ultimately becomes, older versions of himself until he finally dies a very old man in bed, where the monolith watches at the foot of the bed. As Dave reaches out for the monolith (my favorite shot in the entire film, by the way)...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG9clzWXuh5UPKNDLfLQwNe3Cn1sy9MJvLNpdcD3FFn5ZjnLkkm5rdMnpM0mi3wCdh4VUZ7Ql6p0EdB0N-ipeLzjbB57pzopKmCBMoyp86qNeT_-Mq_9rIeZmjSxZWqXlD2YVflRqyubiS/s600/dave_touches_monolith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="286" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG9clzWXuh5UPKNDLfLQwNe3Cn1sy9MJvLNpdcD3FFn5ZjnLkkm5rdMnpM0mi3wCdh4VUZ7Ql6p0EdB0N-ipeLzjbB57pzopKmCBMoyp86qNeT_-Mq_9rIeZmjSxZWqXlD2YVflRqyubiS/s320/dave_touches_monolith.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>...he appears to be transformed into a fetus enclosed in a transparent orb of light, which floats in space beside the planet Earth. This fetus has become affectionately known as the Star Child.</div><p>What does all of this mean, and upon deep reflection, does it really have to mean anything specific in order to be appreciated? <b>2001: A Space Odyssey</b> is ultimately a story of man's journey and destiny through time and space, in which anything and everything is possible. While it may not be completely comprehensible on the surface, one can come away with so many different possibilities upon multiple viewings of this sci-fi masterpiece. Stanley Kubrick himself explained in a 1980 interview of the film's closing scenes where Dave is depicted in old age after his journey through the Stargate...</p><p><i>"The idea was supposed to be that he is taken by godlike entities, creatures of pure energy and intelligence with no shape or form. They put him in what I suppose you could describe as a human zoo to study him, and his whole life passes from that point on in that room. And he has no sense of time. When they get finished with him, as happens in so many myths of all cultures in the world, he is transformed into some kind of super being and sent back to Earth, transformed and made some kind of superman. We have to only guess what happens when he goes back. It is the pattern of a great deal mythology."</i></p><p>Perfectly explained, in my opinion, and we have only ourselves to blame if we lack the patience and intelligence to allow ourselves the chance to appreciate the artistic intent behind the ultimate journey into the unknown discovery. Audiences in 1968 didn't get it because it was so dull, that is until late night patrons decided to get high before experiencing the film's awesome effects, thus dubbing it <i>"the ultimate trip"</i>. We can thank these potheads, I suppose, because folks who could appreciate true cinema finally made <b>2001: A Space Odyssey</b> the legendary cinematic classic it has always deserved to be, and my favorite motion picture of all time.</p><p>Favorite line or dialogue:</p><p>Dr. Heywood Floyd (recorded): "Good day, gentlemen. This is a pre-recorded briefing made prior to your departure, and which for security reasons of the highest importance, has been known on board during the mission only by your HAL 9000 computer. Now that you are in Jupiter space, and the entire crew is revived, it can be told to you. Eighteen months ago, the first evidence of intelligent life off the earth was discovered. It was buried forty feet below the lunar surface, near the crater Tycho. Except for a single, very powerful radio emission aimed at Jupiter, the four million year-old black monolith has remained completely inert. Its origin and purpose, still a total mystery."</p><p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Eric F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05062980077091387176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724537973285198834.post-3885083566148613702020-09-13T13:55:00.002-04:002020-09-13T13:55:29.904-04:00TWINS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQxbEhkPBQXiXOHRcsVBoMH1Fd2k3qterZWXU60HoAdZ4gXfy5L2TfO3a6WsVM8OBBo8G4rgQWe1k_4SZZP9Yk0-8XT3ccaxmqEKGYLa4Xb-zXGvfCEZ3OJ7bnMyPdatoCxgRrGOHlQdZJ/s1600/Twins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="772" data-original-width="520" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQxbEhkPBQXiXOHRcsVBoMH1Fd2k3qterZWXU60HoAdZ4gXfy5L2TfO3a6WsVM8OBBo8G4rgQWe1k_4SZZP9Yk0-8XT3ccaxmqEKGYLa4Xb-zXGvfCEZ3OJ7bnMyPdatoCxgRrGOHlQdZJ/s320/Twins.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>
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(December 1988, U.S.)<div>
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By the late 1980s, Arnold Schwarzenegger had solidified his position as A-number 1 movie action star right alongside Sylvester Stallone. In fact, in Ivan Reitman's <b>TWINS</b>, it's a quick shot of Arnold staring at a giant poster board of Stallone and his muscles in RAMBO III, that I think brings the strongest comic moment, in which Arnold shrugs off his physical competition with a laugh. Still, back then I never would've imagined that the star of CONAN and THE TERMINATOR could ever be funny in any way. Well, of course, as life often dictates, never say ever. In fact, when you take someone as physically grandeur as Arnold and stand him next to a pudgy, little bald pipsqueak like Danny DeVito, and actually call them <i>twins</i>, the promise of comedy seems very self-evident.</div>
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And so, the story goes that Julius (Arnold) and Vincent (Danny) Benedict <i>are </i>twins, as a result of a secret experiment carried out at a genetics laboratory in the 1950s in order to combine the DNA of six superior fathers and one mother to produce the perfect human child. But the unexpectedly split and the twins were born. The mother, Mary Ann Benedict, was told that Julius died at birth, and wasn't told about Vincent at all. Vincent was raised in a Los Angeles orphanage run by nuns (one of whom he lost his virginity to when he was twelve years-old) and was told that his mother abandoned him, resulting in his becoming a small time low life jerk in debt over his head to loan sharks. Julius, on the other hand, was raised on a beautiful island in the South Pacific by a kind scientist from the original experiment. On the day that Julius becomes aware of Vincent's existence, he believes his long lost brother to be in trouble and in need of his help, and makes his way to Los Angeles, where he immediately takes in some of the local cheap, fast food cuisine.</div>
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Tracking Vincent down to jail for a lot of unpaid parking tickets, Julius bails him out and even comes to his aid when the loan sharks, the Klane brothers, come to collect their debt. He also meets Vincent's girlfriend Linda and her very hot sister Marnie (played by the late Kelly Preston). Vincent has no interest in locating his real mother, as he believed he was abandoned at birth. Julius, however, is persistent in his need for family, and tracks down one of the six fathers, who directs Julius to another one of the original scientists located in New Mexico. Agreeing on a road trip to investigate this further, they proceed in a Cadillac that Vincent previously stole from an airport parking garage run by his buddy, and discovers there's a prototype fuel injector inside the trunk of the car, which Vincent will collect five million dollars for if he drives it to Houston, Texas. Trouble is, there's a hitman called Webster on their trail who was supposed to drive that very car and collect the money instead.</div>
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In New Mexico, the twins learn the truth about themselves, and they're directed to Santa Fe, where their mother supposedly lives and runs an art colony. Once there, they learn their mother has died. They leave, unaware that the woman who told them this was in fact, their mother Mary Ann Benedict, who refused to believe their claim to be her sons since she was initially told her one son had died at birth</div>
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(you following all of this family drama?)</div>
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Frustrated, Vincent heads to Houston alone to deliver the prototype. Julius catches up, though, using what he believes is his twin telepathy and manages again to rescue Vincent from certain danger and death against Webster, who ends up being killed by a horde of falling steel chains. The two brothers return the prototype and collect a minor reward, though Vincent has managed to skim one of the five million dollars without Julius knowing (something a little weasel like DeVito would do). The film ends with the perfectly-predictable happy Hollywood ending in which mother and twins are reunited, and two families live happily ever after with twin babies of their own...and this is the part where we all say, "Awwwww."</div>
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And so, to my very fortunate surprise, it turns out that Arnold Schwarzenegger can be funny when he has to be. Though <b>TWINS</b> does offer predictable modest comic pleasures to those who just want to laugh and forget for a couple of hours, the film certainly does rely on the premise of wackiness to perhaps overcome for any narrative shortcomings in story and character function. Still, as goofy comedies go, it's engaging entertainment with the right laughs in the right places, and perhaps that's all we need when we're in the mood for a good laugh...even if it's with <i>Arnold</i>.</div>
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On a more personal note, my memory of <b>TWINS</b> serves as the first time I was ever aware of just how hot and sexy young Kelly Preston was, and it's the image of her in a white nightie on Arnold's hotel bed, with those shapely thighs and that perfectly-shaped <i>ass</i>, that I'll always hold dear to my horny memories...</div>
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Thanks for that memory, Kelly (R.I.P.).</div>
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Favorite line or dialogue:</div>
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Julius Benedict: "My name is Julius, and I am your twin brother."</div>
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Vincent Benedict (sarcastic): "Oh, obviously! The moment I sat down I thought I was looking into a mirror!"</div>
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Eric F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05062980077091387176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724537973285198834.post-71334421378738710592020-09-05T14:50:00.004-04:002020-09-05T14:50:51.335-04:00TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVS-AoJnGkyAJo-ZcmDJ_489IOwI0w9f7qvLftUjCapMAMiMxFvNnShTfAjYyKv5d60J_sIrweWHvNdRl8vBvwOspZpFi_r7_WVZybuMThn3oyQufWMxgKbvy_Fht32OWcoWO0ITOfwvnN/s1600/Twin+Peaks+-+Fire+Walk+With+Me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="842" data-original-width="580" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVS-AoJnGkyAJo-ZcmDJ_489IOwI0w9f7qvLftUjCapMAMiMxFvNnShTfAjYyKv5d60J_sIrweWHvNdRl8vBvwOspZpFi_r7_WVZybuMThn3oyQufWMxgKbvy_Fht32OWcoWO0ITOfwvnN/s320/Twin+Peaks+-+Fire+Walk+With+Me.jpg" width="220" /></a></div>
<br />
(August 1992, U.S.)<br />
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Did you watch TWIN PEAKS</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> on
ABC back in the early ‘90s?</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">If you
didn’t, and you know nothing about the show, my post for this particular
film may go way over your head.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Just the
same, give it a shot.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">If nothing else,
you may be inspired to start streaming the show from the beginning now.</span><br />
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">When David Lynch’s groundbreaking TV show premiered on April 8, 1990 on
ABC, I didn’t tune in to see the two hour pilot that immediately grabbed the
world’s attention.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">It was actually a
week later when a friend turned me on to the show already several episodes into its story. </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Yes, I’d missed the pilot, but I
was immediately hooked on this new television phenomenon trying to solve the
mystery of </span><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;">“who killed Laura Palmer?” </i><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Those who also followed the show more than thirty years ago know that
while it started off with a colossal bang, it died a very quick death after
Laura Palmer’s murderer (spoiler alert – </span><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;">it
was her father</i><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">) was revealed and was cancelled after it wrapped things up
at the end of just two seasons.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Still,
David Lynch couldn’t get his head and his heart away from the world of TWIN PEAKS</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> and wanted to make a film to
further explore the material of Laura Palmer and the contradictions of her
character – lovely and radiant on the outside, but dying on the inside.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Actress Sheryl Lee, who played Laura, never
actually got to live her character’s torment of being the victim of incest, as
she was already dead when the series began (only Laura in flashback was ever
seen).</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">There was also the torment of her
father Leland Palmer and the dark side of Bob that raged within his soul.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><br />
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">The final result was the R-rated prequel film </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><b>TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME</b></span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> more than a year after the TV series
was cancelled.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">It was released without
marketing or fanfare on Labor Day weekend of 1992, which also turned out to be
one of the best weekends I ever had with friends at my family's beach house in
Westhampton Beach, Long Island.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">I went to see it on screen with some college friends. What we all</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> undeniably had in common was our love of TWIN PEAKS</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">During that weekend, the sun didn’t shine
even once, but it also didn’t rain.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">So
while we nonchalantly went about our days without planning too much in advance,
one thing that was certain was a drive to Southampton on Sunday night to attend
the late night showing of <b>FIRE WALK WITH ME</b></span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">. </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">The theater that night was practically empty.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Except for my group of friends, there were
maybe two or three other people, and they were seated in the back.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">So for all practical purposes, my friends and
I had the theater to ourselves.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">This was
</span><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;">our</i><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> theater, </span><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;">our</i><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> night, and </span><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;">our</i><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> love
of TWIN PEAKS</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> bringing us together
now.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">We’d followed the show from beginning
to end, knew everything there was to know, and as far as we were concerned,
David Lynch had made this prequel for </span><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;">us</i><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">This private arrogance wasn’t without merit,
because it's immediately obvious when the film begins and the floating corpse
of Teresa Banks is identified on screen, the understanding of this film, its
characters and its circumstances are highly predicated on having watched the
TV series.</span><br />
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Beginning one year before the murder of Laura Palmer, FBI agents
Chester Desmond and Sam Stanley are assigned to investigate the murder of
teenage drifter and prostitute Teresa Banks in the town of Deer Meadow,
Washington.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">The weirdness of David Lynch
wastes no time with a woman named Lil, whose physical appearance and actions
reveal information about their assignment, including an artificial blue rose
pinned to her dress.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">While examining
Teresa’s corpse in the morgue, they discover a small piece of paper inserted
under her fingernail with the letter “T” printed on it (you may recall that
Laura had the same kind of paper with the letter “R” printed on it).</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Later, while retrieving Teresa’s missing
ring, the camera freezes, as if to suggest Desmond has been taken by an unseen
force.</span><br />
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">At the FBI headquarters in Philadelphia, Special Agent Dale Cooper (with
Kyle MacLachlan returning in the role) and his boss Gordon Cole (David Lynch
himself) experience a vision of their long-lost colleague Phillip Jeffries, (played by by David Bowie). </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">He tells them of a meeting he witnessed of
mysterious spirits above a convenience store, including the Man from Another
Place and the killer Bob (whom </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">we
already know to be the evil spirit that inhabited the body of Leland Palmer
when he was killing). </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">One year later, we're once again in the town of Twin Peaks.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Laura is alive, she's addicted to cocaine,
and is seeing James Hurley behind her biker boyfriend Bobby Briggs’s back.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">In her bedroom, she discovers pages torn out
of her secret diary, and then witnesses</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> her own father exiting the house, thus deducing that he and Bob are one
in the same.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Leland is abusive with her
that night at dinner, and then lovingly tender with her later.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Her dream of being in the Black Lodge with
Cooper and the Man from Another Place is creepy and visually haunting, as only
David Lynch can do it.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Cooper wants Laura not to take Teresa’s ring, but it ends up in her hand, nonetheless.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">When she awakes, the ring is gone.</span><br />
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">The scene that follows in the Roadhouse is an example of everything
Lynch couldn’t get away with on TV, including drug use, nudity and acts of
sex.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">We also learn that Laura and
Ronette Pulaski knew Teresa Banks.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">In a
private moment with Laura and father in the car, they're verbally assaulted
by Philip Gerard (also known as the one-armed man) who is possessed by the
demon known as Mike, when he tries to warn Laura about her father and Bob.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Teresa’s ring is on his finger, and the film
flashbacks to a potential foursome with her and Leland.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">This doesn't happen when he's shocked to
discover that one of the girls is his own daughter and flees the scene.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">We're reminded again that we're watching
an R-rated movie instead of a censored TV show, because there's a moment when
the incestuous nature of Laura’s torment is not only visual, but physical,
when Bob comes through her window and rapes her, only to reveal himself as
Leland for a brief moment, sending Laura into terror.</span><br />
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Finally, on the night we all know is coming, Laura meets Leo Johnson,
Jacques Renault and Ronette at the cabin in the woods.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Leland follows her there, and makes his evil
existence known to us all when he attacks the men, and takes the girls to an
abandoned train car. </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Transforming into
Bob, he beats Ronette unconscious and viciously murders Laura. </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Now wrapped in plastic, she's placed in
the lake until she washes up ashore the next morning, which is where the TV
show pilot began more than two years earlier.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">In the Black Lodge, Agent Cooper is there to comfort her spirit.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">When she sees the angel of goodness, she
laughs and cries, and we all believe that Laura Palmer shall find peace in a
happier place.</span><br />
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">This prequel was likely doomed before it ever hit the screen because if
you didn’t follow the TV show, the film’s content would mean nothing to you,
and probably just piss you off.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">This was
a time before streaming, and not even the complete videotape series of the show
was available yet.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">So it’s no wonder <b>FIRE WALK WITH ME</b></span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> bombed at both the box
office and with critics.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Those who
“didn’t get it” likely felt the character of Laura Palmer to be uninteresting
and non-compelling, in a tale that simply went beyond the standards of TV to
feature language, violence, nudity and sex. The nudity thankfully doesn't disappoint, because we finally get to see some of Laura Palmer we never got to see on network TV, including her topless body sitting next to Ronette at the Roadhouse, as she appears to enjoy getting orally pleasured by a guy under the table...</span><br />
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...and a few brief skin shots of her in her bedroom before going out on what will be her fateful night, including her lovely and shapely ass, and her firm thighs...<br />
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<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Of course, I can certainly appreciate all that, so it’s from the perspective of someone like me who followed the show, and has enjoyed following the bizarre art form of David
Lynch, that I can offer all the personal love and praise I bestow on this
film. </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Like the Italian director Federico Fellini, Lynch takes the opportunity
to be as self-indulgent as he wishes to be with material he’s been in love with
for much of his career.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Lynch is brave
in taking the small American town from TV and showing a darker, more horrific
side of it in the life of a beautiful young woman we know is going to die in
the end.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">It’s this knowledge of Laura
Palmer’s pending death that instills a psychological edge in our thoughts in
knowing that there’s nothing that can be done to save her: Laura will die by
the hands of her own father, and we know it’s coming with every terrifying minute
that passes because we’re meant to understand what it’s like to be in her shoes
as she suffers so horribly.</span><br />
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Despite its initial negative backlash (even by some die-hard fans of
the show), <b>FIRE WALK WITH ME</b></span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> has
enjoyed some positive critical re-evaluation and cult status.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">But like it or not, for better or worse, the
film is every bit as weird and twisted as anything David Lynch has offered us
before with films like </span><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Blue Velvet</i><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
and </span><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Wild at Heart</i><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">I mean, it’s TWIN PEAKS</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">, for crying out loud, and in the end, may be all but
critic-proof due to enough love and support that comes from people who
understand the artist…people like myself and my old college friends who were with me that night over Labor Day weekend 1992.</span><br />
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<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Thank you, my friends, for one of the most personal weekends in the
Hamptons I’ve ever experienced, and will never forget.</span><br />
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<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Favorite line or dialogue:</span><br />
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<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Special Agent Phillip Jeffries: "Well now, I'm not gonna talk about Judy. In fact, we're not gonna talk about Judy at all. We're gonna keep her out of it."</span><br />
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<br />Eric F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05062980077091387176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724537973285198834.post-26522994434530977682020-08-30T12:59:00.002-04:002020-08-30T13:01:02.304-04:00TWILIGHT (2008)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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(November 2008, U.S.)<br />
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Just a quick note that I intentionally identify the year of this film as 2008 so as not to confuse it with the 1998 Robert Benton film of the same name with Paul Newman and Susan Sarandon.<br />
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By all accounts, there's no reason in the world for me to like a movie like <b>TWILIGHT</b>. To begin with, I'm not a young adult in high school, and with the exception of the Harry Potter series, I have little-to-no interest in popular series of fiction that's very popular with young adults (including my son) like THE HUNGER GAMES or DIVERGENT series. Second, vampire films are about a dime a dozen ever since the first adaptation of Bram Stoker's DRACULA, and after a while, if you've seen one, you've seen nearly all of them.<br />
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So why the attraction to a movie like <b>TWILIGHT</b>? I mean, it's not like Kristen Stewart is naked in this movie (unfortunately). I'm also not a young woman with a crush on a guy like Robert Pattinson. So there must be something I deem worthy behind this introductory film to what eventually becomes a series of its own. Let's see if we can't figure it out together.<br />
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Stewart plays Bella Swan, a seventeen year-old outcast from Phoenix, Arizona who's just moved to the small town of Forks in the state of Washington to live with her father, the town's chief of police. She manages to make friends at her new high school easily, but is surprised to find that the school's heartthrob Edward Cullen is practically physically repulsed by her. Angered, yet intrigued, she seeks to learn why Cullen is keeping his distance from her, even as he repeatedly tries to talk to her. Days later, Bella is nearly hit by a skidding van in the school parking lot when Edward instantaneously covers the distance between her and his own car and saves her by stopping the van with just his hand. Refusing to explain how he did that, he warns her against befriending her. Of course, she doesn't listen. Her native American friend Jacob tells her a tale of a long-standing animosity between the Cullen family and his own, citing that the Cullens are not permitted on his reservation.<br />
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After some stubborn research, Bella concluded that Edward's mysterious powers are identical to that of the traditional vampire. He doesn't deny this when confronted by her, buy says that he and his family are like vampire "vegetarians" who only consume animal blood, and not people's. However, there are three other nomadic vampires out there who aren't so kind, having already eaten two of the local town folks. Of course Edward and Bella fall in love, and it's now his obligation to keep her safe from those who would eat her for dinner, while keeping the secret of his own identity and his family's. In the film's climax at an old ballet studio, Bella is attacked and infected with vampire venom. After a ferocious battle, Edward saves her from becoming a vampire herself by sucking out the venom, but has to control his impulsive nature to devour her completely. The film ends rather sweetly with the high school prom, but the door is already open for what will continue in four more films.<br />
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So, my not being a reader of the <b>TWILIGHT</b> series of books, it's important to note my reasons for being attracted to the first as a stand-alone film. The reason is simple in that the film in its own way is <i>simple</i>. Rather than overplay the card in which most fans would demand a whole lot of overblown action and special effects, the film recognizes the style of taking its time to not only introduce us to a series of mysterious characters, but to carefully explore the mystery of who Edward Cullen is (we already know, of course), what makes him exist the way he is, and what the dangers inherently are of him falling in love with a mortal young woman like Bella. The film doesn't pretend to be an action thriller, but rather a troubled romance, and I think I'm able to totally appreciate and understand that. It conveys the magic and the miracle of meeting that one special person you've been waiting for who truly moves you. Some of us never see that sort of magic in real life. Or if we do, it doesn't always last forever (amazing how a movie about vampires can teach a life lesson or two).<br />
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Favorite line or dialogue:<br />
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Bella Swan: "About three things I was absolutely certain. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him, and I didn't know how potent that part might be, that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him."<br />
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<br />Eric F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05062980077091387176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724537973285198834.post-64937556472301484252020-08-23T12:47:00.004-04:002020-08-23T12:48:34.436-04:0021 GRAMS(November 2003, U.S.)<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ever since PULP FICTION in 1994, I've become a big fan of films with stories told in a non-linear manner: in other words, where events are portrayed out of chronological order or in other ways where the traditional narrative doesn't necessarily follow the direct pattern of movie events. But for the purposes of this blog post, it's probably best that I describe things in the chronological order.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ex-convict Jack Jordan (played by Benicio del Toro) has found a new religious faith in order to recover from alcoholism and drug addiction, although his family has little understanding and patience for his newfound faith in Jesus Christ. In another part of the same city, Paul Rivers (played by Sean Penn) is a mathematics professor with a fatal heart condition, and unless he receives a new heart from an organ donor, he'll be dead within a month. Paul's dedicated wife wants him to donate his sperm so she can have his baby if he dies. And in yet another part of that same city, Christina Peck (played by Naomi Watts) is a recovering drug addict (another one?) living a traditional suburban life with her husband and two daughters. The lives and stories of these three people become linked together when Jack kills Christina's husband and daughters in a hit-and-run accident, and her husband's heart is donated to Paul.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The loss of her family turns Christina back to drugs, and she comes into contact with Paul, who has deliberately sought her out to find out more about his heart donor. Stricken with guilt over the accident, Jack turns to drugs again and eventually decides to turn himself in, citing his "duty to God." While incarcerated, he renounces God and even attempt suicide. He's, nonetheless, released from prison after Christina declines to press charges, though she will eventually decides she wants Jack dead instead. When she and Paul finally meet and develop their own romantic relationship, (oh yeah, Naomi Watts is naked, by the way)...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">...she convinces Paul to help carry out her obsession with extracting revenge on Jack. Paul and Christina check into the same motel where Jack is living now, and their plan eventually takes shape when Paul grabs Jack and leads him to an isolated clearing, intent on killing him at gunpoint. However, Paul is unable to kill, and orders him to just disappear. This plan backfires, however, and the three of them are inevitably brought together in a moment of gun violence in the motel room, resulting in Jack and Christina rushing Paul to the hospital. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jack attempts to tell the police that he was the one who shot Paul, but is released when his story doesn't confirm with the actual events of what happened. Paul dies (spoiler), and the conflict between Jack and Christina remains unresolved.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The filming style of <b>21 GRAMS</b> is very distinctive in that it involves rather gritty, hand-held camera shots and the use of unique color photographic images to distinguish each character's storyline and their developments. Jack's story appears to use warm colors, Paul's story appears to use cool colors, and Christina's appear to be more neutral. While the narrative of the story remains structured to a degree, it's non-linear form provides a very stylish, if not haunting drama of three lives lost, and destined to crash into each other at some point. The outstanding performances by its three principles are gripping and able to move and astonish us with it's unique (and even satisfying) story of what is supposed to be a look at ordinary life...in its most extraordinary vision.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Paul Rivers (to his wife Mary): "We've been a fraud for a long time."</span></div>
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Eric F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05062980077091387176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724537973285198834.post-59985549780121185222020-08-15T13:04:00.000-04:002020-08-23T12:09:33.941-04:0025TH HOUR(December 2002, U.S.)<br />
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Spike Lee is a director I've tried to follow closely ever since his triumphant DO THE RIGHT THING (1989), a film I consider to the best of the 1980s. Like so many other directors, he's had his hits and misses with me, but I've often been very curious when he decides to make a film that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the struggle of his people. His film <b>25TH HOUR</b> was one of the earliest films to directly deal with the tragedy of September 11, 2001, and it's well integrated into the life of of Montgomery Brogan (played by Edward Norton) as he prepares to begin serving a seven-year prison sentence for drug dealing. He plans to spend his last night of freedom with childhood friends Frank and Jacob (Barry Pepper and the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman, respectively) at a Manhattan nightclub, as well as his girlfriend Naturelle (played by Rosario Dawson). Frank is a hotshot, loudmouth Wall Street trader and Jacob is an introverted high school teach with a forbidden crush on his seventeen year-old (underage) student Mary (played by a very sexy Anna Paquin). His father is a retired firefighter and recovering alcoholic who owns a bar (yeah, I'm sure <i>that</i> helps matters) and plans to drive his son to prison in the morning.</div>
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Through the use of flashbacks, we see just how Monty came to be arrested and how his Russian contacts try to convince him that it was Naturelle who turned him in to the Feds. We see how he met Naturelle in the first place, she being just an eighteen year-old high school girl sitting in the park. Their love is meant to be genuine and true, but somehow I can never get past the idea that it was simply a horny young man who wanted to get laid by a high school girl fantasy. The fantasy does turn to love though, but it's hard for others not to suspect the girlfriend of not only living high on Monty's money, but not caring enough to get him to stop dealing drugs.</div>
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Back at the nightclub, Jacob is on the verge of turning into a pedophile, and Mary's sexually-motivated interests in him aren't helping matters. He finally finds the courage to kiss Mary in the bathroom, but both of them appear to be in shock afterwards, going their separate ways and not saying a word about it. Upstairs at the club, the Russian mob reveals that it was one of their own who betrayed Monty and turned him in. Refusing the opportunity to extract revenge on his own, he walks away leaving the informant to be killed by the Russian mobsters. </div>
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In the morning, Monty shocks his friends (and us) by demanding that Frank beat his face in so that he won't be such an attractive target of rape when he gets to prison. An insane request, yes, but it somehow makes sense when you consider the fear Monty is facing and that going in ugly may be his only chance of survival. On the road trip with his father to the prison, Monty is suddenly faced with the option (and the fantasy) of driving west into hiding, where he could begin a new life and start a family with Naturelle. This unfortunately is just a fantasy, because when it's over, Monty is still just a beaten man on his way to prison. Still, we couldn't help but imagine the possibilities of freedom along with him.</div>
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As an actor, Edward Norton has often surprised me with his dramatic abilities. That doesn't necessarily mean I can forgive him for his pointless portrayal of Will Graham in RED DRAGON (2002) and Bruce Banner in THE INCREDIBLE HULK (2008). But what's most unforgettable about him in <b>25TH HOUR</b> is his personal lashing out at himself in the nightclub bathroom mirror, as he proceeds to angrily rant against all the New York City stereotypes he can think of, from the cab drivers to the corner grocers, to the mobsters, to the terrorists, declaring that he hates them all with an ongoing "Fuck you!" This act of stereotypical targeting is, of course, very unpolitically correct, but in the wake of 9/11, we all couldn't help but feel a little (or a lot) of Ed's anger toward those who made this country more of a difficult place to live in.</div>
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Monty Brogan (staring at himself in the mirror): "Fuck the Wall Street brokers! Self-styled masters of the universe! Michael Douglas, Gordon Gekko wannabe motherfuckers, figuring out new ways to rob hard working people blind! Send those Enron assholes to jail for fucking life! You think Bush and Cheney didn't know about this shit? Give me a fucking break!"</div>
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Eric F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05062980077091387176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724537973285198834.post-71093094216357414222020-08-02T12:31:00.000-04:002020-08-02T12:31:01.619-04:0012 MONKEYS<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7JD3wDb5Ez8GA3rfvR5l72GnE7UDWf6ikfxom1v1sZJS4w3n2jE8_wFLmaPmJc0LxuMyD5uYpAmxZtxJjgJsqOLQjPnVyynFRJZy7N93vM7ookcZU-n7qmuwK1Vz9YcpJeCWeCYte2ilL/s1600/12+Monkeys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7JD3wDb5Ez8GA3rfvR5l72GnE7UDWf6ikfxom1v1sZJS4w3n2jE8_wFLmaPmJc0LxuMyD5uYpAmxZtxJjgJsqOLQjPnVyynFRJZy7N93vM7ookcZU-n7qmuwK1Vz9YcpJeCWeCYte2ilL/s320/12+Monkeys.jpg" width="215" height="320" data-original-width="408" data-original-height="606" /></a></div><br />
(December 1995, U.S.)<br />
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Lately my son is really into watching downloadable TV and movies about time travel. It's no wonder the possibilities of such a concept have been popular in our media culture ever since H.G. Wells first told us story of THE TIME MACHINE. For my generation, we had reruns of THE TWILIGHT ZONE on late night TV, PLANET OF THE APES sequels, and the entire BACK TO THE FUTURE trilogy, just to name some examples. By today's standards, I can barely keep up with all the stories out there, on screen and in print, that involve time travel. Really, it's all too much to keep up with, which is why I suppose for the last several decades, I've been very selective about what sort of time travel stories I enjoy. <br />
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<b>12 MONKEYS</b> by Terry Gilliam (of Monty Python fame) takes the concept and points out that it can be terribly flawed. Despite its flaws, though, time travel is responsible for attempting to control a deadly virus which was released in the year 1996, wiping out most of humanity. Survivors like James Cole (played by Bruce Willis) in the year 2035 are forced to live underground in the ruins of Philadelphia, and in his time, a group known as the Army of the Twelve Monkeys is believed to have been the ones responsible for releasing the deadly virus. Cole is selected for training and sent back in time to locate the original virus in order to aid scientists in developing a cure. He's haunted by reoccurring dreams involving a foot chase and shooting at an airport.<br />
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Time traveling back to Baltimore, he mistakenly arrives in the year 1990 instead of 1996, as intended. He's arrested and thrown into a mental hospital with a sea of crazies. He's diagnosed by Dr. Kathryn Railly (played by Madeline Stowe) and determined to have fanatical environmental and anti-corporatist views (whatever the hell <i>that</i> means). Despite his best explanation of his mission regarding the virus outbreak and the fact that it cannot be changed, he's deemed just another psychotic. He manages to escape through his own time portal, and ends up back in 2035. He's interrogated by the scientists who play for him a distorted voicemail message asserting the connection between the Army of the Twelve Monkeys and the virus. Cole is given another chance to complete his mission and he's sent back in time again, but he accidentally arrives in the middle of a World War I battlefield, and is shot in the leg before being sent back to 1996 again.<br />
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During a book signing for her new publication, Dr. Railly meets Dr. Peters (played by David Morse) who speaks of apocalyptic alarmists who represent sane visions while the true lunacy is humanity's gradual destruction of the environment. When Cole and Dr. Railly are eventually reunited, he forces her to drive him to Philadelphia when they learn of the Army's leader Jeffrey Goines (played by Brad Pitt), who was also once in the mental hospital with Cole in 1996, is also the founder, though he denies any involvement and cites that the virus was originated by his virologist father. Meanwhile Dr. Railly discovers evidence of his time travel which she shows him, believing him to be sane. They decide to depart for the Florida Keys before the onset of the plague begins. They soon learn the Army is not the source of the epidemic, but rather an animal rights group whose major act is to release all the animals from the local zoo to create havoc in the streets.<br />
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At the airport, Cole leaves a final message with the scientists of 2035, declaring the Army is the wrong direction for the virus and that he won't be returning. Dr. Railly also spots Dr. Peters at the airport, and he's preparing a tour of several cities of the world that match the locations and sequence of the viral outbreaks (in other words, he's the bad guy carrying the virus). Cole's airport dream is now a reality, as he's fatally shot by police while trying to stop Dr. Peters with his own gun. As Cole dies in Dr. Railly's arms, his death is witnessed by a small boy who turns out to be James Cole himself (as a boy).<br />
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Because the concept of time travel is so vast with possibilities, it's almost impossible to keep up with all of its theories and conspiracies. <b>12 MONKEYS</b> takes time travel and explores the nature of memories and their impact on our perceptions of what reality is. Cole's false memories and dreams of the airport shooting are altered every time he dreams it, and it's a complete mental case like Brad Pitt who actually has the false memories. And for ourselves as viewers, our own memories are challenged in not only keeping up with mind-blowing twists and turns, but in completely absorbing what is ultimately an effective and thought-provoking film experience. Like BLADE RUNNER, it's a cold and dark vision of doom and madness, with a hero like Bruce Willis who tries to prevail against the odds of chaos and his own depleted physical condition. Rather than attempting to change the past, as many time travel tales embark on, he instead observes it in order to try and improve the future. <br />
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You know, I can't help but wonder if such time travel were possible in real life, what attempts could we make to alter our bleak world today which is currently drowning in its own pandemic fears and chaos of COVID-19? In <b>12 MONKEYS</b>, there is no hope because the future cannot be changed. I hope we can do better.<br />
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Favorite line or dialogue:<br />
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James Cole: "It's just like what's happening with us, like the past. The movie never changes. It can't change, but every time you see it, it seems different because you're different. You see different things."<br />
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Eric F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05062980077091387176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724537973285198834.post-65543043517532078392020-07-12T14:41:00.001-04:002020-07-12T14:42:25.197-04:0012 ANGRY MEN<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDVFUz2GdSPw1RQ8MLF5Vg8OXRQBXvajK1fnZ3uqwPmALD1demb8B13jUS8PzBkEAt_93kd6GsLrF-RLvOcjckckpfLBDIw0YrY-nXQSv0y6IVEzE2DCqIHzYztIwW6zaxqYG-wD9teYFN/s1600/12+Angry+Men.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDVFUz2GdSPw1RQ8MLF5Vg8OXRQBXvajK1fnZ3uqwPmALD1demb8B13jUS8PzBkEAt_93kd6GsLrF-RLvOcjckckpfLBDIw0YrY-nXQSv0y6IVEzE2DCqIHzYztIwW6zaxqYG-wD9teYFN/s320/12+Angry+Men.jpg" width="204" height="320" data-original-width="954" data-original-height="1500" /></a></div><br />
(April 1957, U.S.)<br />
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Despite my usually detailed memory, I honestly can't remember if I ever read the original play of <b>12 ANGRY MEN</b> as required reading for middle school or high school English class. I usually never enjoyed any of the required reading in school, but based on the late Sidney Lumet's classic black and white debut feature film, I can't imagine that I would've balked at the idea of reading such a powerful courtroom drama. <br />
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On what seems to be the hottest day of the summer in 1950's New York City, Henry Fonda leads a group of twelve jury men deliberating the conviction or acquittal of a young boy accused of stabbing his father to death, and facing the electric chair if convicted. They've been instructed by the judge that if there's any reasonable doubt whatsoever, they're required to return a verdict of not guilty. In the end, their verdict (either way) must be unanimous. In the beginning, Fonda stands alone amidst a sea of convincing evidence to the boy's guilt. This evidence includes the testimony of a neighbor who claims to have witnessed from her window, the boy stab his father, and another neighbor claiming to have heard the defendant threaten to kill his father and then hearing the body hit the floor, and then witnessing the defendant run past his door. The boy's violent past serves to further convince the jury of his immediate guilt. Fonda as Juror #8 is the only one of twelve men who doesn't want to jump to any hasty conclusion and only asks to talk the matters out first before concluding a final verdict.<br />
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In a rather step-by-step process, Fonda questions the reliability of the witnesses and also casts doubt on the supposed unique nature of switch blade used as the murder weapon, as he happens to own the same sort of knife. He's just introduced reasonable doubt, and the decision of the remaining eleven jurors must now be examined. This is the point in the film where perhaps it's not impossible to compare the story to Agatha Christie's AND THEN THERE WERE NONE. No murder involved, of course, but one by one, each juror who was so previously set in their own ways of thinking is "picked off" as they now find reason to question their values and morals, thus reversing their conviction of a guilty verdict to that of not guilty.<br />
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By the time the day has progressed, and the weather outside has become as loud and stormy as the angry debates and string of arguments inside the deliberation room, each juror, including the most die hard angry Juror #3 (played by Lee J. Cobb) believing that the undesirable accused defendant must die to pay for his anger against his own ungrateful son, has succumb to the questionable evidence and all reasonable doubt until the entire team of jurors stands at the opposite side of the spectrum as compared to how they started out. The boy is found not guilty and the jurors leave the courthouse, perhaps wiser men with a better understanding of their own humanity.<br />
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There is traditional drama, and then there's the sort of absorbing drama that manages to create the sort of claustrophobic atmosphere that <b>12 ANGRY MEN</b> does with its multi use of camera positions and close-ups. One can't help but feel spellbound as we watch these men locked in a small room with no air conditioning slowly begin to unravel at the thought of deliberating any longer than they have to against circumstantial evidence and their own personal prejudices against a minority slum kid they believe to be guilty from the start. Change is key here, as the hearts of twelve men becomes increasingly <i>less</i> angry until what appears to be justice is finally served. Sadly, we're given no hint whatsoever as to just who may have actually killed the boy's father and why. In the end, we may only be left with the prejudices of the time, in which many believed people of the slum to be so bad, that they'd just go around killing each other for no reason. I wonder if we're any wiser today?<br />
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Favorite line or dialogue:<br />
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Juror #8 (to Juror #3): "Ever since you walked into this room, you've been acting like a self-appointed public avenger! You want to see this boy die because you personally want it, not because of the facts! You're a sadist!"<br />
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Eric F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05062980077091387176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724537973285198834.post-13677431621150895832020-07-05T15:10:00.002-04:002020-07-05T15:10:43.100-04:00TRUMAN SHOW, THE<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji8usDDF2NPzYeTzOczQYg_3-P1pZRLC2by_-uy-0ombDvi69mhS8xSX8krFPK03EIGJBzurX9YgjpWibeaVcDo-zMIij4S-wup2u0oz2Mp7haP8Mk3u_iwYBgScEPYEkUH0kAjbobi94m/s1600/The+Truman+Show.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji8usDDF2NPzYeTzOczQYg_3-P1pZRLC2by_-uy-0ombDvi69mhS8xSX8krFPK03EIGJBzurX9YgjpWibeaVcDo-zMIij4S-wup2u0oz2Mp7haP8Mk3u_iwYBgScEPYEkUH0kAjbobi94m/s320/The+Truman+Show.webp" width="218" height="320" data-original-width="1088" data-original-height="1600" /></a></div><br />
(June 1998, U.S.)<br />
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Let me say something right off the bat - I hate reality TV. I mean, I loathe and detest its very existence right down to fiber of my very soul, and to be perfectly honest, I generally have low opinions of people who enjoy it. Who would have thought that back in 1998, two years before CBS's SURVIVOR went on the air, that the concept of following a person's life and activities on television would've ever been more than entertaining fiction on film. Oh, I know that reality entertainment existed long before Peter Weir's little sci-fi comedy-drama of Truman Burbank (played by Jim Carrey) who grows up living an ordinary life that unbeknownst to him, takes place on a gigantic set populated by actors for an international TV show about him, but in my opinion, you don't honestly come to grips with the possibilities of reality (past, present and future) until you've witnessed it on the big screen.<br />
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On screen, Truman suspects nothing as he lives his daily existence in the fictional seaside town of Seahaven Island, which in reality, is situated in Hollywood, equipped with state-of-the-art technology to simulate such things as day and night weather conditions, and features more than five thousand hidden cameras documenting Truman's every move (and even sleep). The town is psychologically programmed to condition Truman into never wanting to leave, despite his inner longings to break free and explore the country of Fiji. However, Truman's instilling by the show's producers of his fear of the water through the "death" of his TV father in a boating accident lead him to believe that he lacks the courage to face the water as well as the potential dangers of traveling, thus instilling the virtues of staying put at home. Every other resident of the town, including Truman's own beloved wife Meryl (played by Laura Linney) and best friend Marlon (played by Noah Emmerich) are actors playing a role. The show's creator Christof (played by Ed Harris) stands high in the makeshift moon above the town and seeks to capture Truman's real-life emotions and behavior, thus giving his audience a relatable everyday man (and extremely high TV ratings).<br />
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From the moment a spotlight falls mysteriously from the blue sky one morning, Truman suspects that something is not right about his life, and proceeds to take actions to try and figure out what's going on. Despite falling for the beautiful Sylvia during his college years, Truman was intended to fall in love with and marry Meryl. As a result of trying to tell Truman the truth, that his reality was a fake, Sylvia was kicked off the show and believed to be living in Fiji with her (fake) father, thus justifying Truman's longing to flee to that country. Now on the outside of the show, Sylvia is part of a campaign to free Truman from his fake life, thus accusing Christof of destroying Truman's life, which of course, Christof denies. As time and the show go on, mounting evidence including a radio frequency that follows his car and rain water that only falls on him, leads Truman closer to the truth. Even the return of Truman's deceased "fake" father in order to return him to a more controllable state cannot deter him from discovering who and what he really is.<br />
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As he begins to sleep in the basement after Meryl leaves him, the TV production crew realizes that Truman's sleeping body is out of their sight, and they begin to suspect something is wrong. They're right. Truman is gone and Christof orders the show's transmission cut while a citywide search for Truman begins, thus leaving TV audiences around the world on the edge of their seats wondering what will become of their ignorant TV hero. Truman is discovered sailing on the fake waters out of Seahaven, determined to conquer his fear of the water. Despite the fact that Truman may drown on live television, Christoff ignores all warnings. Truman persists and sails his boat smack into the wall of the great makeshift dome and finds an exit door. Christof, speaking directly to Truman through a giant speaker system, tries to persuade him to remain, stating that truth doesn't exist in the real world and that only be staying inside his own artificial world, would Truman be safe. Tempted by these words for only a moment, Truman takes a bow and exits, thus sending many audience members into a cheering frenzy on Truman's behalf. Show over. Turn the channel and see what else is on.<br />
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Like I previously stated, this is all wonderful motion picture entertainment from the director of DEAD POETS SOCIETY (1989) and also breaks Jim Carrey out of his insane comedy persona of the 1990s in order to try his hand at some emotional drama. But unfortunately, <b>THE TRUMAN SHOW</b> turned out to be a prelude to what would become an onslaught of reality TV that has plagued the entire 21st century with titles that include SURVIVOR and BIG BROTHER, just to name a couple. But honestly, think about it, and even you too may come to realize that in the real world, there's virtually nothing real about reality TV. Whereas Truman's reality is real to <b>him</b> in fiction, everything that's supposed to compose reality on TV is false - none of what you watch on TV is actually <i>real</i> because it all has the potential to have been scripted and rehearsed before its ever broadcasted. None of those idiots you watch on SURVIVOR are ever in any real danger, because there's a camera crew (and probably a staff doctor) is right there on the island with them (in real life, no one is there to save you if you get into trouble on a deserted island). Still, even as fiction, Truman's story illustrates the power and the hold the media has over the average moron who's willing to be controlled by all of the crap on TV.<br />
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And of course, I'm sure it's no accident that the name <i>Christof</i> is so close to <i>Christ</i>, thus giving Ed Harris's character a representative quality of Jesus Christ or even an Antichrist ("Christ-off") who seeks to control the minds of his many followers - in this case, the TV audience with an insatiable lust for the private details of the lives of (so-called) ordinary people in a world filled with celebrity culture.<br />
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Anyway you look at it, it's probably a lot easier to see why in the end, I prefer movies over television any day of the week. Thank goodness for that because this blog and my books might not exist otherwise.<br />
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Favorite line or dialogue:<br />
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Meryl Burbank (holding up a jar of cocoa): "Why don't you let me fix you some of this Mococoa drink? All natural cocoa beans from the upper slopes of Mount Nicaragua. No artificial sweeteners."<br />
Truman Burbank (looking around): "What the hell are you talking about? Who are you talking to?"<br />
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Eric F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05062980077091387176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724537973285198834.post-69559666728844463542020-06-28T13:29:00.002-04:002020-06-28T13:37:44.238-04:00TRUE LIES<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtLU3-Wcn7_VeOJ9EmmdbH4pbKvjfJ3LVOfPMA-T0D55Na_pTYVYMGNlikjwMWHPsJqex-rC3L3khA2sCpUMg5mW9pusNxES0VAjhKA9Hu1UHrYt7Vy8D3C1Y43ImDDeXkQ8cRrkvtIbAv/s1600/True+Lies.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtLU3-Wcn7_VeOJ9EmmdbH4pbKvjfJ3LVOfPMA-T0D55Na_pTYVYMGNlikjwMWHPsJqex-rC3L3khA2sCpUMg5mW9pusNxES0VAjhKA9Hu1UHrYt7Vy8D3C1Y43ImDDeXkQ8cRrkvtIbAv/s320/True+Lies.webp" width="229" height="320" data-original-width="633" data-original-height="886" /></a></div><br />
(July 1994, U.S.)<br />
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I've loved all of James Cameron's theatrical motion pictures since THE TERMINATOR (1984), and I love <b>TRUE LIES</b>, too. It's action-packed, exciting, and funny, to boot. Yet somehow it's the most easily forgettable of all his work. Perhaps it's because it was sandwiched like a filler movie in between two of his biggest hits, TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY (1991) and TITANIC (1997). Perhaps it's because of its overly-humorous tone premise among a body of work that's usually anything but funny. Who knows?<br />
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Arnold Schwarzenegger returns for the third time with Cameron to play Harry Tasker who's leading a double life as both a dull computer salesman to his wife Helen (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) and his daughter Dana and a secret agent for a United States intelligence agency called Omega Sector. With his fellow agent and comic-relief sidekick Albert (played by Tom Arnold), they start off the movie by infiltrating a foreign party of suspected arms dealers and terrorists in Switzerland in a series of action sequence that practically pay homage to the James Bond film GOLDFINGER. The terrorist leader Salim Abu Aziz (played by Art Milik) heads the group known as "Crimson Jihad" intends to hold America hostage with his newly-acquired nuclear missiles. The action that opens the movie soon dissolves itself into the mundane life of Harry and Helen. When Harry shows up unexpectedly at Helen's office to take her to lunch, he overhears her talking on the phone to a mysterious man named Simon. Convinced Helen is having an affair with him, Harry used his Omega resources to discover that Simon is merely a used car salesman pretending to be a covert undercover agent in order to seduce women into bed, and it looks like Helen is his latest target. Disguised, Harry and his participating team kidnap Helen and Simon. Simon is easily scared off, but during interrogation, Helen confesses that due to Harry's absence, she desperately seeks some adventure in her life, thus hooking up with a fraud like Simon. Harry arranges for Helen to participate in a staged spy mission, where she's required to plan a listening device in the phone at a hotel suite, but not before she has to dance in her bra and underwear to seduce a mysterious figure (who is actually her husband himself). This sequence reveals what a sexy woman Jamie Lee Curtis truly is (or <i>was</i> back then)...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsGWOk6vaG6HUj3bjrKIxtrxdVa3ZQo_XhZ-Xj4SrVOrKA32hn6Di9M0iTUEIPAt73_C1OTVWY0xHn7zZ6FZ-DWQNhzuKiWk7ViM_VKt2SZQ8sv-K_HZfI3AAE8W3xzayDv8A_MG5oW5VX/s1600/49ea5eff6f91fd13-600x338.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsGWOk6vaG6HUj3bjrKIxtrxdVa3ZQo_XhZ-Xj4SrVOrKA32hn6Di9M0iTUEIPAt73_C1OTVWY0xHn7zZ6FZ-DWQNhzuKiWk7ViM_VKt2SZQ8sv-K_HZfI3AAE8W3xzayDv8A_MG5oW5VX/s320/49ea5eff6f91fd13-600x338.jpg" width="320" height="298" data-original-width="363" data-original-height="338" /></a></div><br />
Just as the seduction reaches the point where Helen discovers it's actually Harry behind the entire facade, Aziz's men burst into the hotel room and kidnap them to an island in the Florida Keys, where Aziz reveals his smuggled nuclear warheads and threatens to destroy an American city each week unless the U.S. military withdraws from the Persian Gulf. As his first act, he plants one of the warheads on that deserted island to detonate it, showing his seriousness to the U.S. government. Of course, Harry breaks himself and Helen from from their captors and kicks major ass along the way to their freedom. After hanging from a helicopter and rescuing Helen from a speeding limo toward a gap in a destroyed bridge, the island warhead is observed in its detonation in an almost beautiful sight across the water. But back home, Aziz and his men have taken Dana and taken control of a Miami skyscraper under construction. Harry commandeers one of the U.S. fighter planes and arrives on the scene to rescue his daughter and destroy the bad guys once and for all. A year later, the Tasker family are happily reunited and Helen has joined the Omega Sector alongside Harry. <br />
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While <b>TRUE LIES</b> won't exactly be remembered as Cameron's or Schwarzenegger's greatest achievement, the film still entertains with enough action and humor to sustain itself. Arnold can be funny when he wants to, and I suppose we've also learned a thing or two about Curtis - not only with her amazing body, but her ability to adapt herself to humorous situation beyond what she did in TRADING PLACES (1983). Bill Paxton as Simon, is as obnoxious as he can be, reminding us of his panic-stricken persona in Cameron's ALIENS (1986). In the end, as I previously stated, <b>TRUE LIES</b> is fun, but doesn't nearly stand up against Cameron's the greater blockbusters of his impressive career.<br />
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Favorite line or dialogue:<br />
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Albert (about the fake Simon): "I'm startin' to like this guy. We still gotta kill him. That's a given, you know."<br />
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Eric F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05062980077091387176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724537973285198834.post-22139879431774492252020-06-21T14:25:00.002-04:002020-06-21T14:27:15.363-04:00TROY<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnKFekDc9GE_HYbe972IKCrkp9g8s_TI_OEKfGuQYi-kZZyjYQJZHBHpDAfx5hHHyxPnF0AXLM0mgzBIg0n4gnA2_kpp6fvnaXKjPU3uCQmQqbdk5l_ldmOCwUVAwHX_dhcHVIoYx9LNnt/s1600/Troy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnKFekDc9GE_HYbe972IKCrkp9g8s_TI_OEKfGuQYi-kZZyjYQJZHBHpDAfx5hHHyxPnF0AXLM0mgzBIg0n4gnA2_kpp6fvnaXKjPU3uCQmQqbdk5l_ldmOCwUVAwHX_dhcHVIoYx9LNnt/s320/Troy.jpg" width="217" height="320" data-original-width="1085" data-original-height="1600" /></a></div><br />
(May 2004, U.S.)<br />
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Let's face it - I'm more or less a product of whatever Hollywood chooses to show me on the big or small screen. I've never read Homer and I know nothing of Greek mythology. What little I know of Helen of Troy comes from the movies and the fact that Diane Kruger as Helen in Wolfgang Peterson's epic historical war drama is one of the most breathtakingly-beautiful woman I've ever seen on screen, though what she's doing with a <i>boy</i> like Orlando Bloom is beyond me. Condensed into just a few weeks in screen time, this is supposedly the entire story of the long Trojan War, in which the battle between the Greek armies of King Agamemnon of Mycenae and King Triopas of Thessaly is quickly averted when the great warrior Achilles (played by Brad Pitt), fighting for Agamemnon (played by Brian Cox), defeats Boagrius, Triopas' champion, in single combat after Achilles is initially absent from the battle. Prince Hector of Troy (played by Eric Bana) and his younger brother Paris (Bloom) negotiate a peace treaty with Menelaus, King of Sparta. However, Paris is sleeping with with Menelaus' wife, Queen Helen (Kruger), and smuggles her aboard their home-bound vessel (not a smart move, as it turns out). Menelaus meets with Agamemnon, his elder brother, and asks him to help take the city of Troy. Agamemnon agrees, as conquering Troy will give him control of the Aegean Sea. <br />
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In Troy, King Priam (played by Peter O'Toole in one of his final film roles) is dismayed when Hector and Paris introduce Helen, but welcomes her and decides to prepare for war. <br />
The Greeks invade and take the Trojan beach, thanks largely to Achilles and his Myrmidons. They claim Briseis — a priestess and the cousin of Paris and Hector — as a prisoner afterwards. He is angered when Agamemnon spitefully takes her from him, and decides that he won't aid Agamemnon in the siege. That night in the temple of Troy, Priam discusses a strategy on how would they defend the city from the Greeks. Paris planned to duel Menelaus since he abducted Helen from Menelaus, which caused the war to occur. The Trojan and Greek armies meet outside the walls of Troy, and during a parley, Paris offers to duel Menelaus personally for Helen's hand in exchange for the city being spared. Agamemnon, intending to take the city regardless of the outcome, accepts. The fight is rather a pathetic one, in which Menelaus wounds Paris, causing him to cower behind Hector. When Menelaus attempts to kill Paris despite his victory, he himself is killed by Hector. <br />
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On Odysseus' insistence, Agamemnon gives the order to fall back. In the camp after Ajax and Menelaus were cremated, Agamemnon and Odysseus argue as to why they lost the battle. He gives Briseis to the Greek soldiers for their amusement, but Achilles saves her from them. Later that night, Briseis sneaks into Achilles' quarters to kill him; instead, she falls for him and they become lovers. Achilles then resolves to leave Troy, much to the dismay of Patroclus, his cousin and protégé.<br />
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Agamemnon finally declares that he will take Troy regardless of the cost. Odysseus concocts a plan to infiltrate the city. After seeing a carving of a horse by a Greek soldier, he has the Greeks build a gigantic wooden horse as a peace offering and abandon the Trojan beach, hiding their ships in a nearby cove. Despite objections from Paris who requests for it to be burned down, Priam orders the horse be brought into the city after Archeptolemus views it as a gift intended for calming the gods.<br />
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(at this point, if you're not thinking of MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL as I do, then you simply have no sense of humor!).<br />
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A Trojan scout later finds the Greek ships hiding in the cove, but he's shot down as he tries to alert the city. Greeks hiding inside the horse emerge, attack the sleeping Trojans and open the city gates for the Greek army, commencing the Sack of Troy. While Andromache and Helen guide the Trojans to safety through the tunnel, Paris gives the Sword of Troy to Aeneas, instructing him to protect the Trojans and find them a new home. Agamemnon kills Priam and captures Briseis, who then kills Agamemnon using a concealed knife in her hand. Achilles fights his way through the city and reunites with Briseis. Paris, seeking to avenge his brother, shoots an arrow through Achilles' heel and then several into his body. Achilles removes all the arrows but the one in his heel (ah, so <i>that's</i> what the expression means), and then bids farewell to Briseis, and watches her flee with Paris before dying. In the aftermath, Troy is finally taken by the Greeks and a funeral is held for Achilles, where Odysseus personally cremates his body.<br />
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(Wow! This is a lot of Greek names to keep track of. Good thing I watched this film before writing about it).<br />
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Met with only mixed critical reviews, I can't deny that <b>TROY</b> epic has its own rightful place alongside others of the type as BEN-HUR (1959), SPARTACUS (1960), and GLADIATOR (2000), in my opinion. As much as anything like it, it's an entertaining spectacle with some solid acting, though it may lack any real emotional payoff, particularly of the love between Helen and Paris, which is what initially triggers the entire "temper tantrum" that occupies the story. Brad Pitt and Eric Bana are modern actors in ancient roles, thus bringing a certain level of complexity that may be necessary in a 21st century production. Orlando Bloom remains a boy, and Helen Kruger...well, all I can honestly say is...DAMN, SHE'S HOT! <br />
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As for director Wolfgang Peterson, I can only say it's too bad the only American film he's made since <b>TROY</b> was the pointless remake POSEIDON in 2006. I mean, this is the same man who gave us such exciting thrillers as DAS BOOT (1981), IN THE LINE OF FIRE (1993) and AIR FORCE ONE (1997). But maybe he'll surprise us again someday...maybe.<br />
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Favorite line or dialogue:<br />
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Achilles: "Myrmidons! My brothers of the sword! I would rather fight beside you than any army of thousands! Let no man forget how menacing we are! We are lions! Do you know what's there, waiting beyond that beach? Immortality! Take it! It's yours!"<br />
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Eric F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05062980077091387176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724537973285198834.post-81674887114862245902020-06-13T12:43:00.001-04:002020-06-13T12:58:17.390-04:00TRON<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8kE4bmkb1DcRDxIfWfAvYLlfc-0CxK8qTvCZRDEcPsd9JJK40BgXYUjlkmwA_gU6PvNn3UukFRo6EjFjQswEHYiNsmAr_KOqEHCjTJAhdqT0YudCgajohaUc-GZKtAi4QyfxtFkunVqux/s1600/tron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8kE4bmkb1DcRDxIfWfAvYLlfc-0CxK8qTvCZRDEcPsd9JJK40BgXYUjlkmwA_gU6PvNn3UukFRo6EjFjQswEHYiNsmAr_KOqEHCjTJAhdqT0YudCgajohaUc-GZKtAi4QyfxtFkunVqux/s320/tron.jpg" width="210" height="320" data-original-width="630" data-original-height="960" /></a></div><br />
(July 1982, U.S.)<br />
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Let me start with a personal story...<br />
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<b>TRON</b> was the first time I went anywhere near a Disney movie since THE BLACK HOLE in 1979. It was also a time when I committed an act of movie-selection stupidity. By July 1982, I was away at sleep away camp as a CIT (counselor-in-training), and one of the privileges of such a position was that once in a while, we were taken to the movies by members of the senior staff. I recall a quad theater somewhere in town near the camp. While I can’t recall all four movies playing at the time, I know one of them was <b>TRON</b>, and two others were Clint Eastwood’s FIREFOX and John Carpenter’s remake of THE THING. The group consisted of maybe twelve-to-fifteen boys and girls total, and a few counselors chaperoning us. Most of us were evenly split between FIREFOX and THE THING, while only a couple of us chose <b>TRON</b>. All three choices had awesome visual and special effects to offer, though <b>TRON</b> was considered the more childish of the lot simply because it was a Disney movie. Well, if it isn’t obvious to you by now, I chose to go with the minority and see <b>TRON</b>. While I don’t totally regret that decision, because it was a pretty awesome movie, I do regret blowing my opportunity to see a gory horror show like THE THING with not only the absence of my parents to try and stop me, but also perhaps seeing it with one of the girls sitting next to me in a frightful state.<br />
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Even before the movie began, I was confused because I’d previously heard of the <b>TRON</b> video game already in arcades. So like the egg and the chicken, which came first, <b>TRON</b> the movie or <b>TRON</b> the video game? Was the game based on the movie or vice-versa? Turns out both of them were created together; the movie concept developed first and the game adapted from it. The story proposes the idea of life inside the video game and the computer in general, as well as those in the real world who created these games. The opening scene is simple enough when a boy puts his quarter into the video game at Flynn’s arcade and then takes us inside the game to show what is the life-like situation behind the game. Back in '82, this was some of the most incredible animation and live action effects I’d ever seen on screen before; a different class of effects which defined alternate movie-making effects having little to do with the effects of movies like STAR WARS, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND or BLADE RUNNER.<br />
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In the part of the story that takes place in the real world, Flynn’s arcade was owned and operated by Kevin Flynn (played by Jeff Bridges). Flynn is like a big kid himself, just as good at the games as his customers are, especially a game called <i>Space Paranoids</i>. According to his claims, he's the true inventor of that particularly successful game, as well as a few others, but his ideas were stolen by another man at his company named Ed Dillinger (played by David Warner), who's also the big boss. No longer employed there, Flynn spends his free time trying to get into the company’s computer system to locate evidence that will prove Dillinger has stolen his video game ideas and passed them off as his own. As Flynn performs his extensive computer tricks, we watch what happens inside the system with Flynn’s alternate computerized counterpart (also played by Bridges who looks like a blue and white robotic version of himself). When Flynn hits a snag that crashes the computer, we watch the computer version of himself called Clu crash into a wall and disintegrate into oblivion.<br />
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The company called ENCOM is controlled by what's called a Master Control Program (MCP, for short). This program talks to its human users and can even control their lives and actions by blackmailing them with information they don't want leaked to the public, as is the case with Dillinger. One of ENCOM's designs is a laser that can take apart an object and put it back together again. With the help of two friends, Flynn gains access into the system again, but he's sitting in front of the laser, not knowing what it will do or what's about to happen to him. When the laser strikes his back, his body freezes and disappears. He doesn't die, but is rather transported into the world of the computer, though once inside, he's still Kevin Flynn the user and not the computerized version of himself. Once inside the computer, Flynn is a prisoner of the MCP who not only has to figure a way out, but also has to play an assortment of combat games in order to survive. Eventually, he encounters computer versions of his two friends from ENCOM, Alan and Lora, or Tron and Yori, as they're called inside the computer world. They form an alliance to not only escape the prison of the MCP and its guards, but to also free and liberate other computer programs held as slaves to the system. <br />
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As the virtual battles continue, Flynn and Tron get closer to their freedom. In a final battle between Tron and Dillinger’s computerized version called Sark, the two try to destroy each other with flying discs. Even by today's standards, this is still an awesome light show of color and visual effects as they not only hurl the discs at each other, but block them with those same discs, as well. In the end, Tron disables Sark and then throes his disc into a gap inside the machine, thus destroying the MCP’s rule over its computer slaves. As victory is at hand, all the computer programs communicate with their users in the real world and create a free society inside the computer. This not only sends Flynn back to the real world, but also reconstructs his body with the same laser that took it apart. Still seated where he was before disappearing, Flynn now has the printed evidence he’s been searching for to prove Dillinger’s guilt. As a result of this, Flynn becomes the boss of ENCOM and all is "happily ever after" in the real world.<br />
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Well, look how far we’ve come in the world of video games and computers since 1982. By that perspective, <b>TRON</b> may be considered one of the most dated movies to represent another era. It's for that reason above all, that makes the film such a treasure today, in my opinion. When we watch <b>TRON</b>, we're witnessing several things here - not just the bygone era of the 1980s, which signified the golden age of video games with classics like <i>Space Invaders</i> and <i>Pac-Man</i>, but also the quick rise of the personal computer and machines in our society, both in everyday functions and our popular culture. Months before the film opened, Steve Jobs of Apple Computers made the February 15, 1982 cover of Time Magazine as one of <i>"America’s Risk Takers"</i>. Later, the January 3, 1983 issue of the same magazine declared the personal computer as <i>"Machine of the Year"</i>. On February 11, 1983, rock band Styx released their single <i>"Mr. Roboto"</i> from their forthcoming album <i>Kilroy Was Here</i>, declaring these immortal words,<br />
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<i>The problem's plain to see<br />
Too much technology<br />
Machines to save our lives<br />
Machines dehumanize</i><br />
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My point is that years before James Cameron depicted the rise of the machines over mankind in THE TERMINATOR, <b>TRON</b> already suggested a consequential world in which human beings would think less and computers and machines would think more. Because the film was considered a disappointment at the box office, it's easy to overlook such an achievement in story concept and technical moviemaking over the years. By its own right, <b>TRON</b> represents a milestone in the world of filmmaking due to its use of animation featuring digital patterns of such vehicles as motorcycles, ships and tanks. The technology to combine computer animation and live action was still experimental in the early ‘80s, despite the rotoscoping effects in films like Ralph Bakshi's AMERICAN POP (1981) or even the dancing sequence between Gene Kelly and Jerry the mouse in the movie musical ANCHORS AWEIGH (1945). The computer used in <b>TRON</b> was limited in how it delivered background detail on film, thus such visual effects were created using a more traditional technique of the time called "backlit animation", incorporating black and white filming for the sequences inside the computer and then later colored with more sophisticated photographic methods to give the action on the screen a greater appearance of technology. <br />
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As a kid, I never would’ve understood what any of that stuff meant. Hell, I was still trying to understand just how stop motion animation, blue screens, and matte paintings really worked in films like STAR WARS. <b>TRON</b> is an example of what it means to create pure fantasy. The computer in our world of the 1980s was a simple, mundane tool that rested atop our desks. The film suggests a dramatic, glamorous and even romantic world inside the great machine, though we can’t be expected to take such a suggested world too seriously. We’re simply here to witness a dazzling technological show of light, sound, and fluorescent color, perhaps not too unlike watching a planetarium laser light show accompanied by the classic rock music of Pink Floyd or Led-Zeppelin.<br />
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Gifted actors like Jeff Bridges and David Warner who provide the equal sides of good and evil are a welcomed plus, even for a plot that's considered weak by some. Nonetheless, it reminds us all of just how much fun and exciting video games were for my generation at a time when they were still enjoying their rise to fame and glory. Those games brought about our spirit of the fun and adventure a few hard-earned quarters out of our weekly allowance money would bring us. Today, don’t even attempt to ask me about the modern video games of the world. I don't pretend to understand them and frankly, I don’t want to try. In a world where we have games requiring a rating for violence and gore, it’s time for me to get off the ride...permanently!<br />
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Favorite line or dialogue:<br />
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Dr. Walter Gibbs: "You've got to expect some static. After all, computers are just machines, they can't think."<br />
Alan Bradley: "Some programs will be thinking soon."<br />
Dr. Gibbs: "Won't that be grand? All the computers and the programs will start thinking and the people will stop."<br />
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(The people <i>have</i> stopped thinking!)<br />
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Eric F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05062980077091387176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724537973285198834.post-32406978883572338802020-06-07T13:24:00.003-04:002020-06-07T13:24:29.866-04:00TRIAL, THE (1962)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1WXHB5FAdTOaN00cukwi1tDDeaDpfygZentCGXWM5wuqIUy_PSI5V1vemMvpPw6be96s859UKT_DNcvKA7FgInLPkL7UaJo9MVdeGZr2FoM23mdhoxVR18sExWXBfAS4yPp8ThAbGmrwn/s1600/The+Trial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1WXHB5FAdTOaN00cukwi1tDDeaDpfygZentCGXWM5wuqIUy_PSI5V1vemMvpPw6be96s859UKT_DNcvKA7FgInLPkL7UaJo9MVdeGZr2FoM23mdhoxVR18sExWXBfAS4yPp8ThAbGmrwn/s320/The+Trial.jpg" width="220" height="320" data-original-width="400" data-original-height="582" /></a></div><br />
(December 1962, U.S.)<br />
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Those of us who may worship CITIZEN KANE as not only one of the best films ever made, as well as the best of Orson Welles's distinguished career, may be surprised to learn that Welles himself declared his version of Franz Kafka's <b>THE TRIAL</b> the best film he ever made. Film fans who don't follow Welles too closely may easily dismiss <b>THE TRIAL</b> as a less important example of his work. The film itself has fallen into the public domain over the years, so it's one of those films that could really stand a good digital remastering, as even the best copy available on DVD is still grainy (on the other, that may be part of the appeal that makes it so visually special).<br />
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The film begins with Welles narrating Kafka's own words of "Before the Law" to scenes of artistic pinscreen. The story's protaganist, Josef K., is played by Anthony Perkins in what's surely his most nervous role since Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO. Josef K. is an office bureaucrat who is awakened in his apartment bed one morning by a mysterious man in a suit, who accuses him of a crime that's never specified. Josef assumes the glib man is a police officer, but the intruder never clearly identifies himself and ignores Josef's demand to produce any proper identification. Additional detectives enter the room and inform Josef that he's under arrest; again, no specific charges are described. Three of Josef's co-workers are also discovered on the scene collecting evidence regarding the unstated crime. Despite his repeated please, Josef is not informed of or charged with any specific crime, nor is he formally taken into custody.<br />
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At his office, which is visually depicted as an endless and mindless factory of desks placed in perfect symmetry, Josef's supervisor suspects he has been having an improper affair with his teenage female cousin. At the opera that night, Josef is abducted by the police inspector and brought to a courtroom, where he continues to attempt (in vain) to confront the still-unspecified charges against him. He eventually consults with law advocate Albert Hastler (played by Orson Welles himself). The interview proves ineffective, and Josef is soon brought before a room filled with condemned men awaiting trial. All attempts at discovering what is happening to Josef and why prove useless. Seeking refuse in a cathedral, he learns from a priest that he's (Josef) been condemned to death (Hastler appears again to confirm the priest's news). Josef is apprehended by two executioners and brought to an abandoned quarry pit, where he's forced to remove his clothing. A knife is passed back and forth to decide who will execute Josef, before handing it to Josef himself, who refuses to take his own life. He's left alone in the quarry and is finally killed when dynamite is thrown into the pit. The final shot is an explosion heard from a distance as smoke fills the air.<br />
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Despite the age and available picture quality of <b>THE TRIAL</b>, it is nonetheless an important piece of work for its black and white cinematography and scenic design, often including disorienting camera angles and an unconventional use of camera focus and inventive lighting. While it may be regarded as an incomprehensible piece of work, it remains, in my opinion, a lasting effect to Welles's filmmaking genius, including his trademark use of overlapping dialogue and use of multiple perspectives with foreground and background elements. It's confusing, yes, and perhaps not for all cinematic tastes, but if cinema were always that simple, it wouldn't be interesting, and it wouldn't be fun (just goes to show you what I personally consider interesting and fun).<br />
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Favorite line or dialogue"<br />
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Albert Hastler: "It's true, you know. Accused men are attractive. Not that being accused makes any immediate change in a man's personal appearance. But if you've got the right eye for these things, you can pick out an accused man in the largest crowd. It's just something about them, something attractive."<br />
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Eric F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05062980077091387176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724537973285198834.post-70238150936443509132020-05-30T13:02:00.001-04:002020-05-30T13:02:10.555-04:00TREE OF LIFE, THE<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUR4ZAFFRoMKmH3niTxA56WA4F2fNvsHzNVmRuogKAqWhnLpNDxAkgBOyaEUUbO_cVGGKRnnp-OONyHlDdmmprD-crxOeVZc8fSARoVCkwzkkz962PZcWJq3-Q8GrWok2q48rrQn7BIgHC/s1600/The+Tree+of+Life.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUR4ZAFFRoMKmH3niTxA56WA4F2fNvsHzNVmRuogKAqWhnLpNDxAkgBOyaEUUbO_cVGGKRnnp-OONyHlDdmmprD-crxOeVZc8fSARoVCkwzkkz962PZcWJq3-Q8GrWok2q48rrQn7BIgHC/s320/The+Tree+of+Life.jpg" width="204" height="320" data-original-width="252" data-original-height="395" /></a></div><br />
(May 2011, U.S.)<br />
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Look up the films of director Terrence Malick and the same word continuously pops up - <i>experimental</i>. Wikipedia describes the word as a style of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explored non-narrative forms and alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. The vast majority of these films have been produced on very low budgets and distributed through independent studios. The goal of these films is often to express the personal vision of the artist, or perhaps even to promote an interest in a new technology in lieu of traditional movie entertainment. Malick's DAYS OF HEAVEN (1978), THE THIN RED LINE (1998) and THE NEW WORLD (2005) are some of the best examples I've personally experienced. <br />
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As an experimental epic drama film, <b>THE TREE OF LIFE</b> chronicles the origins and the meaning of life as told through the existence of a present day middle-aged architect's (played by Sean Penn) painful childhood memories of his family living in Waco, Texas in the 1950s, while interspersed with colorful imagery of the origins of the known universe and inception of life on Earth. The film begins with a mysterious light resembling a flame, as it flickers in the darkness. Through ongoing narration of the thoughts of Mrs. O'Brien (played by Jessica Chastain), we're told of a lesson that people must choose to follow either the path of grace or the path of nature. Following that train of thought, she learns in the 1960s that her nineteen year-old son R.L. has died in the Vietnam War, throwing her and her family into turmoil.<br />
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Back in the present, Jack O'Brien (Penn) is adrift among the tall skyscrapers of the city he lives in. His life's reflections not only camera shots of the city, but of the vast desert, trees that stretch from the ground up to the sun, as well as continuing scenes from his 1950's childhood as they're somehow all linked together, ultimately leading back to the flickering flame that opened the film.<br />
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Then suddenly, things change symbolically that seemingly have little-to-nothing to do with the O'Brien family. From the darkness, the universe is born, the Milky Way and the solar system form while we listen to voice-overs ask experimental questions of life. On the newly-formed planet Earth, volcanoes erupt and microbes form and replicate. Life in the sea is born, plants grow on land, and dinosaurs come to life. One of these dinosaurs even teaches us about compassion as it chooses not to eat another injured dinosaur. And then finally, an asteroid strikes the earth, causing an extinction event.<br />
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Back to the O'Brien family - life thrives with the birth of new babies. Babies turn into rebellious teenagers, faced with conflict of accepting the way of grace or nature, as they're embodied by each of their parents. Mother O'Brien is gentle and nurturing, while Father O'Brien (played by Brad Pitt) is strict and authoritative, easily losing his temper over the little things while he struggles personally to reconcile his own life's failures, while maintaining a strong love for his sons to prepare them for a corrupt and cruel world. Oldest boy Jack becomes increasingly angry at his father's bullying nature, slowly tallying up the various misdeeds and hypocrisies of his father (I think I can personally relate to that; only with me, it was my <i>mother</i>).<br />
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The family faces their first real test of life's struggles when the plant Mr. O'Brien works at closes and he's given the choice of either losing his job or relocating to work in a more inferior position within the company. The family packs it up, as he laments the course his life has taken over the years, questioning whether or not he's been a good man, even asking his oldest boy Jack for forgiveness for his harsh treatment of him. As a grown man of the present day, Jack experiences visions of rocky terrains, a wooden door frame erected on those rocks to witness a view of the far distant future in which the sun expands into a red giant, engulfing the earth and then shrinking into a white dwarf. In this vision, he's also reunited with his younger self, as well as the rest of his family. His father is happy to be with him. He encounters his dead brother, and the proper goodbye is said, as Mrs. O'Brien looks to the sky and whispers, <i>"I give him to you. I give you my son."</i><br />
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Nothing gives me greater joy than a film that's forced to challenge my mind (as opposed to mindless garbage). These films must be watched more than once, even if I think I may hate it the first time. <i>THE TREE OF LIFE</i> is one of the most ambitious motion pictures of the 20th century that's (unfortunately) been filled with way too much comic book hero crap. Terrence Malick's unique style of filmmaking is <i>not</i> for the impatient at heart. It's a truly emotional journey of human love and loss, as well as a visual journey, and these visual effects are deservedly attributed to the artistry of Douglas Trumbull, who like his legendary work on Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, stuck to the old school way of doing things instead of the modern CGI effects, which Malick didn't care for (even the late Roger Ebert himself compared the boldness of such visions to 2001). The film also explores humankind's place in the Earth's grand scheme of existence (whatever <i>that</i> might be) through the odyssey of a young boy's time and memories. This odyssey quite literally reaches for the stars through overwhelming visual beauty, and even suggests religious spiritual themes of good and evil, and the spoken conflicts between grace and nature (again, whatever <i>they</i> might be). <br />
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If you believe in God (I don't), then film surely suggests that God's up to something beautiful, thus possibly directing our outlook toward life. That outlook is of course, completely up to you and your belief in the power and beauty of film to reach us and teach us. For some, <b>THE TREE OF LIFE</b> may just be that perfect teacher.<br />
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Favorite line or dialogue:<br />
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Young Jack O'Brien: "Where were you? You let a little boy die."<br />
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Eric F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05062980077091387176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724537973285198834.post-65089771539913545082020-05-17T13:36:00.002-04:002020-05-17T13:36:05.496-04:00TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE, THE<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDuMq_tcCQCDL6BrgrXvQulSJ1IMhKk68kBGLGBNtLIrIEsFT5OodoQLIrS9ZoIMHBlR4PSVwSfxFfDc5BhRDEBCaZPxRgVJTs8vgyuq3Bx8C0tXFvWj6QbXsKz4Eq7BzpwKcbmIxAyNqL/s1600/The_Treasure_of_the_Sierra_Madre_%25281947_poster%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDuMq_tcCQCDL6BrgrXvQulSJ1IMhKk68kBGLGBNtLIrIEsFT5OodoQLIrS9ZoIMHBlR4PSVwSfxFfDc5BhRDEBCaZPxRgVJTs8vgyuq3Bx8C0tXFvWj6QbXsKz4Eq7BzpwKcbmIxAyNqL/s320/The_Treasure_of_the_Sierra_Madre_%25281947_poster%2529.jpg" width="210" height="320" data-original-width="1048" data-original-height="1600" /></a></div><br />
(January 1948, U.S.)<br />
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John Huston's black and white classic <b>THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE</b> is officially described as an American western adventure drama. Typically, I don't go for the entire western genre because, in my opinion, the basic stories never change: small town, good guys terrorized by bad guys, lone hero, and final shoot-out that concludes everything. The western element for this film, however, merely lies in its historical era and its background, I think. Every plot point I just mentioned doesn't exist here, but rather an exploration into the period of history that was prospecting for gold, and the dark greed it brought out of the hearts of men.<br />
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In the year 1925, Fred C. Dobbs (played by Humphrey Bogart) and Bob Curtin (played by Tim Holt) are two unemployed American drifters trying to survive on the streets of Mexico. After a failed attempt as roughneck labor contractors on an oil rig, they meet up with old prospector Howard (played by John Huston's father Walter Huston) who tells them tales of gold prospecting and the inevitable consequences of striking it rich. The two young men are easily and quickly tempted by the promise of gold and its riches. With what little money they're able to scrape up, they pool their funds together to finance a gold prospecting journey into the remote Sierra Madre mountains. <br />
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Almost immediately, the group is not only challenged with outfitting the project, but also fighting off attacks by Mexican bandits. Howard proves to be the most knowledgeable and hardest of the three men, having lived through this entire experience multiple time before. After days of difficult travel and climbing, his keen and experienced eye recognizes the terrain that's laden with gold. The men begin extracting the riches of the land, living and working in harsh and primitive conditions. After time and hard work, they manage to collect a fortune of gold that brings with it the fear, paranoia and suspicion of theft and betrayal from each man, particularly Dobbs, who slowly loses his sanity. The of them agree to divide the gold so as to jealously conceal the whereabouts of their shares. <br />
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After Howard is summoned to assist local villagers to save the life of a little boy, they insist that he return to the village to be honored, and refuse to accept no for an answer. Howard entrusts his gold with Dobbs and Curtin, but Dobbs's paranoia continues, and he and Curtin are constantly at each other's throats, to the point where Dobbs holds Curtin at gunpoint and shoots him. Taking all the gold for himself, he doesn't live long, as he's ultimately slain by Mexican bandits. Curtin survives the shooting, but walks away with nothing, ending up right back as he was at the beginning of the film. Howard, on the other hand, is contented to spend the rest of his life as a welcomed medicine man in the village who accepted him. <br />
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<b>THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE</b> is a story of the influence of greed corrupting men's souls, though it doesn't say too much about the product of gold itself as a film character. The actions of three otherwise good men is driven by not only greed, but of fear of what the other man might do. The film makes a point of expressing their the events that question their human nature, particularly Dobbs. The toughness of a man like Humphrey Bogart shines as a man who's exactly such a good man from the beginning, and who only deteriorates into something much worse as the adventurous prospect of striking it rich takes shape throughout the film. It's also one of John Huston's best works in a string of films he made with Bogart that also included THE MALTESE FALCON (1941), KEY LARGO (1948) and THE AFRICAN QUEEN (1951).<br />
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Favorite line or dialogue:<br />
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Mexican bandit: "Badges? We ain't got no badges! We don't need no badges! I don't have to show you any stinking badges!"<br />
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(that's right, people - that line did NOT originate from Mel Brooks's BLAZING SADDLES).<br />
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Eric F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05062980077091387176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724537973285198834.post-77766133297080690672020-05-03T14:25:00.001-04:002020-05-03T14:25:54.546-04:00TRAINING DAY<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgwaAAw8b6cqvqj6eSEWBcl4YpMfKUsFVT6OtpiouA7cOvPydfBFUOaNRHXkGSkXUbbtEIltr_9CFMesjWpDLv59WntCnNNahrk0trNKnh3_Z46IuEOkA2Jq0cllWWDy0cGbs-Xr4ZItYf/s1600/Training+Day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgwaAAw8b6cqvqj6eSEWBcl4YpMfKUsFVT6OtpiouA7cOvPydfBFUOaNRHXkGSkXUbbtEIltr_9CFMesjWpDLv59WntCnNNahrk0trNKnh3_Z46IuEOkA2Jq0cllWWDy0cGbs-Xr4ZItYf/s320/Training+Day.jpg" width="228" height="320" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="1124" /></a></div><br />
(September 2001, U.S.)<br />
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When I look back at the month of September 2001, it's almost impossible for me to recall exactly which movie were released and which weren't. In the weeks immediately following the events of September 11th of that year, Hollywood was being very careful about films featuring any excessive violence or reference to violence on American soil. <b>TRAINING DAY</b>, I know, saw no delayed release or cancellation because I recall seeing it in a Manhattan movie theater in its opening week. This American crime thriller starring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke takes the traditional cop and crime story to new places we've likely never seen before.<br />
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Los Angeles police officer Jake Hoyt (Hawke) wakes up to a brand new day to begin his assignment of evaluation by his new superior, Detective Alonzo Harris (Washington), a highly decorated narcotics officer. Alonzo is hardly shy about the fact that he's a corrupt cop on the take, willing to do whatever is necessary to get his job done to clean up the streets. After confiscating some drugs from a group of college kids, Alonzo orders Jake to smoke it. Refusing at first, Jake is forced to comply when Alonzo (literally) puts a gun to his head and citing that Jake's refusal would get him killed on the streets. Turns out what Jake smokes is laced with PCP, now sitting in his blood and could easily compromise him later with his authorities. Despite being rather high right now, Jake still manages to do the right thing as a cop when he saves a teenage girl from being raped in an alley by a pair of addicts. Jake discovers and retrieves the girls wallet afterwards (this pays off considerably later).<br />
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Throughout the day, Jake is unwittingly caught up in a series of corrupt busts, seizures, cash theft and the execution of a known drug dealer, for which Jake has been set up at the so-called "hero cop" of the shooting. We also learn that Alonzo is being hunted by the Russian mafia for an outstanding debt of one million dollars he incurred for killing one of their men in Las Vegas. It becomes very clear that Alonzo will use anyone and steal whatever he needs to keep himself alive and pay off his debt with the Russians. This is never more obvious when he and Jake make a stop to run an errand and Jake reluctantly plays poker with a group of gang members, waiting for Alonzo to return from the bathroom. Realizing that he's been abandoned and is now the intended target of the gang members, Jake is beaten and nearly executed in the bathtub when the teenage girl's wallet saves him. The girl, it turns out, is the cousin of the leading gang member. After confirming Jake's story of how he had saved her from being raped earlier that day, Jake's life is spared, though he's still determined to have his revenge against Alonzo.<br />
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After a gunfight and chase, Alonzo is subdued, while the entire ghetto neighborhood he has always controlled congregates to watch, refusing to help the corrupt and arrogant Alonzo now in his time of need. Jake shoots Alonzo in the ass and takes the money intended to pay off the Russians, intending to submit it as evidence against Alonzo. Alonzo, however, won't live to see the next day, as he's ambushed and executed by the Russians while driving to LAX airport. Jake returns home, a completely changed man after just a single training day.<br />
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From the day that the Los Angeles police officers who beat Rodney King on video were shockingly acquitted in 1992, the police force and their charges of racism and corruption feel as if they've always been a part of my generation's environment. As a totally corrupt (and proud of it) L.A. cop, Denzel Washington shows us just how dark and brutal he can be as an actor, reminding us of the corrupt power, if not evil, a determined police officer can generate in his community. Among the people he controls, he proudly and forcefully declares that <i>he</i> is the police, and that, <i>"King Kong ain't got shit on me!"</i> The film as a whole is raw, gritty and dirty, showing us the city in a way that often reminds me of the New York city grime featured in much older crime thrillers like THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971) and NIGHTHAWKS (1981). <br />
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Does Washington go a bit over the top as he ventures into the dark side? Perhaps, but sometimes over-the-top performances (think even Jack Nicholson in THE SHINING) can still win you the Oscar for best actor (though why he didn't win it for his performance in Spike Lee's MALCOM X instead, I'll never know).<br />
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Favorite line or dialogue:<br />
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Jake Hoyt: "That's street justice."<br />
Alonzo Harris: "What's wrong with street justice?"<br />
Jake: "Oh, what, so just let the animals wipe themselves out, right?"<br />
Alonzo: "God willing!"Eric F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05062980077091387176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724537973285198834.post-41952866110280013862020-04-25T15:54:00.003-04:002020-04-25T15:55:58.420-04:00TRAFFIC<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirA2XsxEOdsQ9gYTlovVH8RaKusb_9bLrUYy64L49BXCBCOlXgS6fSD7DPtwwF3KRjwjgrG35dMghTYbignqdqLHaGjWlKMfuxL9RYXhkuAfNxOhS81ChAQfZFJlZg1bFEKKF24pFqJB8F/s1600/Traffic.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirA2XsxEOdsQ9gYTlovVH8RaKusb_9bLrUYy64L49BXCBCOlXgS6fSD7DPtwwF3KRjwjgrG35dMghTYbignqdqLHaGjWlKMfuxL9RYXhkuAfNxOhS81ChAQfZFJlZg1bFEKKF24pFqJB8F/s320/Traffic.webp" width="217" height="320" data-original-width="1086" data-original-height="1600" /></a></div><br />
(December 2000, U.S.)<br />
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I think I'm one of the few people in the world who didn't like Steven Soderbergh's ERIN BROCKOVICH or Julia Roberts's performance in it. In fact, I used to spitefully call the movie ERIN "BREATAVICH" because it seemed to me like Roberts was doing most of her acting through her tits (not that I have a problem with big tits, of course). Anyway, I couldn't help but wonder if I'd ever enjoy another Soderbergh film again after that one (despite its enormous popularity). <b>TRAFFIC</b>, released in the same year, was a refreshing return to the kind of storytelling and filmmaking I'd already enjoyed in his two previous films OUT OF SIGHT (1998) and THE LIMEY (1999). This American crime drama which explores the illegal drug trade from its numerous perspectives (including users, enforcers, traffickers and politicians - some of whom never actually meet each other in the film) is based on a 1989 British TV series called TRAFFIK (I've never seen it). The story's breakdown is as follows:<br />
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In Mexico, police officer Javier Rodriguez (played by Benicio Del Toro) and his partner are intercepted by a high-ranking Mexican general after they stop a drug transport and arrest its couriers. Javier is recruited to capture a well-known hitman working for the Tijuana drug cartel. Under torture, the hitman reveals the names of key members of the rival Obregón cartel. Turns out the entire Mexican anti-drug campaign is a fraud, as the General is secretly eliminating one cartel because he is in business with another for a profit. As Javier gets deeper into the heart of the drug trade, he eventually lends himself out to side with the American DEA, and feels like a traitor to his country in the process.<br />
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In San Diego, an undercover DEA investigation led by agent Montel Gordon (played by Don Cheadle) leads to a high profile arrest of a high stakes dealer posing as a fisherman. As he and his partner go to great efforts to keep their witness alive to testify against his employer, said employer is arrested in front of his pregnant wife (played by Catherine Zeta-Jones) and his child. The arrest is intended as a loud message to the Mexican drug organizations. As the wife who is initially terrified and confused at the shocking disruption to her life and life style, she slowly evolves into a woman of strength and conviction, willing to pick up the illegal business where her husband left off in order to survive, even ordering the assassination of the one man who can testify against her husband.<br />
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Finally, conservative Ohio judge Robert Wakefield (played by Michael Douglas) is appointed to head the President's Office of National Drug Control Policy. This is expected to involve the traditional political bullshit, until Robert discovers that his own sixteen year-old daughter, an honor student, has become a drug addict. The line between what is political and personal comes into play, and Robert is forced to balance what is expected of him from his superiors and what he knows must be done as a concerned father, even to the point of dragging his daughter's boyfriend out of school to help find her in the big city of Cincinnati, eventually discovering her prostituting herself in a seedy hotel. Even after having rescued his daughter, he comes to realize just how futile his political intentions and plans are in the war on drugs - a war that must sometimes be fought at home against one's own family.<br />
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To call <b>TRAFFIC</b> ambitious would be a gross understatement. Even as we're watching three different stories that are ultimately connected somehow, we're forced to recognize issues in the drug world that are often grey, with no real identifiable "good guys" and "bad guys". <b>TRAFFIC</b> doesn't preach to us the immoral horrors of drugs, but rather allows its characters and their outstanding performances to do the talking and allow us as the viewers to think for ourselves. And still, it remains a haunting and gripping thriller meant to keep us on the edge of our seats, awaiting the next explosive resolution. It also reminds us to every once in a while forget crap like OCEAN'S TWELVE and THIRTEEN and remember the sort of independent and artistic filmmaking Steven Soderbergh has been giving us ever since SEX, LIES AND VIDEOTAPE in 1989.<br />
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Favorite line or dialogue:<br />
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Robert Wakefield: "What's Washington like? Well it's like Calcutta, surrounded by beggars. The only difference is the beggars in Washington wear fifteen hundred dollar suits and they don't say please or thank you."<br />
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Eric F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05062980077091387176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724537973285198834.post-30994983811950159142020-04-21T14:12:00.000-04:002020-04-21T14:12:53.646-04:00IT'S BEEN TEN YEARS!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQM_kwj2dtiOInfj4K9eqhlvPh7FtaG5FChvkdnc2zzqpGdUdC9RVMIk-XdLmKr5pNHhufT3weJHtZpTGdjxJflgz502DpB8oJB-4tSX9qEbKbukhHrxwz3Syar53HbM6kCWTsa58j5rCR/s1600/shutterstock_392503987-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQM_kwj2dtiOInfj4K9eqhlvPh7FtaG5FChvkdnc2zzqpGdUdC9RVMIk-XdLmKr5pNHhufT3weJHtZpTGdjxJflgz502DpB8oJB-4tSX9qEbKbukhHrxwz3Syar53HbM6kCWTsa58j5rCR/s320/shutterstock_392503987-1.jpg" width="320" height="176" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="880" /></a></div><br />
Wow! Has it really been ten years since I first launched my movie blog? Seems like it was only yesterday I posted my first blog for the first film in my extensive alphabetical collection - ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN. Seems I've come such a long way since. One thing is for certain, it's the personal stories behind many of the movies I've experienced and written about that ultimately led me to write my first published book (currently for sale on Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble.com & iTunesApple.com), IT'S STRICTLY PERSONAL: A Nostalgic Movie Memoir of 1975-1982...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7lJ-WAVrLjGgmUX6x6e7MvNYxIqfstDpKBdEPFkJF68Ycp7TKmyh-i5047JNN4yftGA66xlguLg8DwwHB2ZOV54hhescooFdH97AoW54S77f_7Ht1ngqtnFOxVVohVP0MDbQ17pamt6Lc/s1600/FINAL+FRONT+-+HD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7lJ-WAVrLjGgmUX6x6e7MvNYxIqfstDpKBdEPFkJF68Ycp7TKmyh-i5047JNN4yftGA66xlguLg8DwwHB2ZOV54hhescooFdH97AoW54S77f_7Ht1ngqtnFOxVVohVP0MDbQ17pamt6Lc/s320/FINAL+FRONT+-+HD.jpg" width="214" height="320" data-original-width="1071" data-original-height="1600" /></a></div><br />
...as well as the follow up book currently in publication.<br />
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My sincere thanks and appreciation to all who have read, followed and enjoyed my blog posts for the last ten years. Here's to many more years of movies and blogging!<br />
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- Eric Friedmann (Published Author)<br />
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Eric F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05062980077091387176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724537973285198834.post-5149719136385209682020-04-13T11:14:00.003-04:002020-04-13T11:14:28.633-04:00TRADING PLACES<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRREZ_-Pia29ybob5OF5WJih-f_MMEJtebOo3QdhNj3tAtjeRJxf-Y9rrI6aH6fgbDb59jC4MJv8jYVuOJ16LsIRqp9mfTGPTzvVe9Q6tzrAtmYBhLENi9rhTjZqnNK48xkEu0EG5Kod58/s1600/Trading+Places.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRREZ_-Pia29ybob5OF5WJih-f_MMEJtebOo3QdhNj3tAtjeRJxf-Y9rrI6aH6fgbDb59jC4MJv8jYVuOJ16LsIRqp9mfTGPTzvVe9Q6tzrAtmYBhLENi9rhTjZqnNK48xkEu0EG5Kod58/s320/Trading+Places.jpg" width="213" height="320" data-original-width="400" data-original-height="600" /></a></div><br />
(July 1983, U.S.)<br />
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By 1983, 48 HRS. may have been Eddie Murphy’s only previous film under his belt, but his years on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE and his HBO comedy special DELIRIOUS solidified him as a major star. Beyond the promo spots on TV, I didn’t know what his new movie <b>TRADING PLACES</b> was about when I was a teenager, and I didn’t care. It was Eddie Murphy, for crying out loud, and I needed no other reason to get my butt into the theater as soon as possible to enjoy more of wild and vulgar antics.<br />
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This was, I think, the first time I’d seen the city of Philadelphia on screen since three ROCKY movies. There were the same landmarks to look at like the Liberty Bell and the famous museum steps that made Rocky Balboa so famous. This time, the camera also focuses on sections of the city that define the wealthy and successful, including Dan Aykroyd’s character of Louis Winthorpe III as a spoiled rotten and prissy little man who couldn’t even get dressed in the morning without the help of his faithful butler and servant, Coleman (played by Denholm Elliot). I'm actually surprised to see that Louis has a job requiring him to show up to work every morning. I suppose that was part of what makes him a funny guy. When Eddie Murphy finally arrives on the scene, he's just as insane as he ever, pretending to be a blind man with no legs. There isn’t just some good physical comedy happening here, but also the spontaneous dialogue spitting out of Eddie’s mouth when he's busted by the police. Listening to him rant and rave about how happy he is to have his sight and the use of his legs back is laughter no one can resist. Before we know what's happening, Winthorpe’s encounter with Eddie’s character Billy Ray Valentine results in Winthorpe being arrested for a theft he didn’t commit, and Billy Ray getting sucked into the rich life once belonging to Winthorpe. The two of them are now unwillingly part of a one dollar bet and experiment made between the two wealthy Duke Brothers to see what will happen if Winthorpe and Valentine’s lives are switched, and what will happen to each of them.<br />
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As we can easily expect, a street hustler like Valentine takes to his wild new life of money very quickly and easily. He also becomes a better and more honest human being as time goes on. Winthorpe, on the other hand, becomes more of the criminal type who’ll stop at nothing to prove himself innocent against everything that's happened to him. He also gets help from Jamie Lee Curtis, now playing a hooker named Ophelia. Turns out she can be a funny woman, as well as the "queen of scream" in two HALLOWEEN movies. We also get to see her topless for just a brief moment (no complaint about that)...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNqqbVhmmLkwbMO5jYQff-1fhWjUjVe-ts300sgSJThrd1J5H6uVI1nDfLB01SJ7ODNt2j-GeIXVfkXyXlyAe81ycaU8AJcS8VdrbhawEY6NzmnKC7Dm-1ITPXUo58upGmY8dAhnuP94rA/s1600/478670_jamie_lee_curtis_scaled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNqqbVhmmLkwbMO5jYQff-1fhWjUjVe-ts300sgSJThrd1J5H6uVI1nDfLB01SJ7ODNt2j-GeIXVfkXyXlyAe81ycaU8AJcS8VdrbhawEY6NzmnKC7Dm-1ITPXUo58upGmY8dAhnuP94rA/s320/478670_jamie_lee_curtis_scaled.jpg" width="320" height="180" data-original-width="764" data-original-height="430" /></a></div><br />
<b>TRADING PLACES</b> is one of the earliest comedies in which I learned about the art of cliché in the movies. After watching it for some time, it becomes pretty obvious how things will turn out. It's not surprising when Dan and Eddie realize what's happening to them and decided to team up to get even with the Duke Brothers. It's not surprising to see that their plan to get rich while putting the Duke’s in the poor house is an easy and welcomed success. It's not surprising to see that Dan and Jamie end up together on a tropical island in the end after he was previously dumped by his fiancée Penelope, who was all-too-ready to disbelieve his innocence and leave him forever (perhaps we also learn about the realities of human loyalty from this movie, as well). I'd say the real surprise of this movie comes five years later with another John Landis/Eddie Murphy comedy, COMING TO AMERICA, when we're reunited with the Duke Brothers, still living on the streets in poverty.<br />
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This was the second Dan Aykroyd film released after he lost his best friend John Belushi in March 1982 (the first was a dud called DOCTOR DETROIT). His return is refreshing in a way because it displays his genuine joy toward comedy that one would expect from Aykroyd from his years on SNL, as well as his screen work. The interplay between himself and Eddie Murphy not only serves up the good laughs, but also makes for entertaining socio-economic social satire with a good heart, as well, despite any signs of character stereotype it displays (successful comedy has no rules, or at least it shouldn’t have any rules). The skills of these two young actors is both quirky and odd, defining each of their personalities and telling us who they truly are. It’s because of who they truly are as opposites that makes them so funny, I think. This is a film that easily echoes an old black and white classic like Preston Sturges’ 1941 film THE LADY EVE, in which opposing identities also conflict with each other, resulting in comic outcomes, if not genius.<br />
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And hey, I'm sure I'm not the only one who still likes to do this every New Year's Eve...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialSu6EUnQPCD0CCkXKETfoLQqqYP3RPW0wSILRtMjGY0QBeQLKighvipCSFFExY1SdJAMkMqI-58ANMKJi6HsM5TZ3Kmn4m-7aBaPYC6IYRZ2UTLR3VC8rF9yF2XxSVl7hxMEkSu1DiT_/s1600/merrynewyear.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialSu6EUnQPCD0CCkXKETfoLQqqYP3RPW0wSILRtMjGY0QBeQLKighvipCSFFExY1SdJAMkMqI-58ANMKJi6HsM5TZ3Kmn4m-7aBaPYC6IYRZ2UTLR3VC8rF9yF2XxSVl7hxMEkSu1DiT_/s320/merrynewyear.png" width="320" height="185" data-original-width="600" data-original-height="347" /></a></div><br />
Favorite line or dialogue:<br />
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Billy Ray Valentine: "Merry New Year!"<br />
Clarence Beeks: "That's "happy." In this country we say "Happy New Year."<br />
Billy Ray: "Oh, ho, ho, thank you for correcting my English which stinks!"<br />
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Eric F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05062980077091387176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724537973285198834.post-67648409543460680792020-04-04T16:23:00.001-04:002020-04-04T16:23:09.893-04:00TOY STORY 3<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDahSrnFCdGd8_1P_HBMRwLg8ox1HXHuW2u_qgHYt13WYgU9Z5c0E1SnFTV7ItMga_-xx54BMjPVKut3lPjcvruNIy0KqowYmsmhcxVzMqJbhip7k0Ji1GxnTmo22mbYXzYZ7T2b7xs4bi/s1600/Toy+Story+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDahSrnFCdGd8_1P_HBMRwLg8ox1HXHuW2u_qgHYt13WYgU9Z5c0E1SnFTV7ItMga_-xx54BMjPVKut3lPjcvruNIy0KqowYmsmhcxVzMqJbhip7k0Ji1GxnTmo22mbYXzYZ7T2b7xs4bi/s320/Toy+Story+3.jpg" width="217" height="320" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="1180" /></a></div><br />
(June 2010, U.S.)<br />
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<b>TOY STORY 3</b> was the first movie my wife and I ever took our son to see on the big screen when he was just four years-old. So the third installment in this franchise could've <i>sucked</i>, and I still would've had fond memories of it simply by recalling the look of awe and wonderment on my little boy's face while he looked up movie screen. But it didn't suck. In fact, I considered it an fresh and original take on story of our beloved toys for the first time since 1999.<br />
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Well, it's finally happened. Andy is grown up and preparing to leave for college. His old toys have gone unplayed with for years, and they're getting desperate, to the point of staging a cell phone call in order to get his attention, though it fails. Still, Andy intends to take Woody to college with him, while the rest of the gang will be put in storage in the attic. But something goes wrong, and Andy's mother mistakes the trash bag they end up in as actual trash and puts it on the curb. The toys escape, but believe that Andy finally threw them away, and decide it would be best to move on by putting themselves in the box being donated to the local Sunnyside Daycare center. Woody follows them, desperate to convince them of Andy's true intentions.<br />
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The first glimpse of Sunnyside is a calm, tranquil place where children play nicely with the toys. The toys are greeted and welcomed by other toys, led by Loto-Bear (voiced by Ned Beatty - remember him as Otis in SUPERMAN?), and Barbie meets her Ken doll counterpart (voiced by Michael Keaton), who about as effeminate as we ever imagines, complete with a full wardrobe of disco-related clothing and dream house. Woody tries to go home, but is discovered by a little girl named Bonnie, who brings him home and plays with him and her other toys. Realizing that Woody just came from Sunnyside, they have their own stories to tell, including how Lotso was abandoned by his owner and forgotten about. This traumatic event made Lots-O bitter and he ended up taking over Sunnyside as absolute ruler.<br />
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At Sunnyside, Andy's toys discover the truth about how rough it is when played with by the toddlers, in which they're licked, kicked, banged, and beaten for fun. This is their life now, and Lots-O and his "henchtoys" are keeping them prisoner. Buzz Lightyear has been switched to his original mode and is now acting as prison keeper, until he's overtaken by our hero toys and switched again...accidentally to Spanish mode. This is, perhaps, one of the more original and humorous switches the story in takes by keeping the laughs fresh particularly for adults who can read subtitles on the screen (my four year-old son could not). The toys eventually manage to escape and end up in a dumpster, but are cornered by Lotso and his gang. Woody reveals Lotso's lies and deception, and Lotso ends up in the same life and death predicament, as they toys are headed for the local landfill, where they're swept onto a conveyor belt and headed straight toward the burning incinerator. This is a moment many fans have found worthy of tears, as the toys hold hands, believing that their doom in finally at hand.<br />
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But wait, this is a <b>TOY STORY</b> movie, which means they don't end in fiery tragedy! They're rescued at the last minute by those annoying little, green aliens operating the crane claw (<i>"The claw!"</i>). The gang is saved and Lotso ends up tied to the front radiator grille of a truck, destined to ride forever swallowing highway flies. Woody and the other toys hitch a ride on another garbage truck to get back to Andy's house.<br />
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Now the final moment is at hand. What will Andy do with his beloved toys? He donates them to Bonnie, and in the process, tells her of what their playful purpose is and what each of them meant to him as a child. There's actually an unforgettable moment when he realizes that Woody is mistakenly in the box and wants to retract from giving him to Bonnie. Once the hesitation passes, the camera is carefully focused to show that the time has come for Andy's greatest toy to be passed down to another child who will love him as much he did. When Andy finally leaves, he turns and thanks his toys. They've always been there for him, and we'll never forget that, either.<br />
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There's probably nothing I can say about <b>TOY STORY 3</b> that I haven't already said about the first two, so I won't even try. What I will talk about is something none of the first three films have ever bothered to mention, and that's the fact that Andy does not have a father. We don't know what happened to him, death or abandonment, but I think we can safely say that whatever did happen, happened shortly before his little sister Molly was born. The fact that Andy has no father is important because I believe it justifies not only the tight bond he has with his toys, but also the adventures he allows himself to be sucked into with those toys. Woody is not just a favorite toy, but perhaps even so much as a father figure for Andy; a strong, courageous presence to look up to while growing up, and one to finally say goodbye to when it's time for him to venture out into the world and his future.<br />
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For me, it will always be about a precious memory of taking my son to the movies for the first time. Thanks for that memory, Sam. Your dad loves you.<br />
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Favorite line or dialogue:<br />
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Andy (to Bonnie): "Woody's no ordinary toy. He's brave. But the thing that makes Woody special is he'll never give up on you...ever."<br />
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Eric F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05062980077091387176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724537973285198834.post-48118216407126085452020-04-01T15:06:00.002-04:002020-04-01T15:06:14.425-04:00TOY STORY 2<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAXUQhzWOpnmGxF41kI4g4YfugmKuelb4LRkfg5Y6bovTp77rCTORB3GrhC2o0mqSBzYTkpqWqYiIz3Ewqsf6Q3h-LsTedQ2qlzgbKepEM7xFucJDE5KOMwygatELZMEpJG9YZS8qCMJFb/s1600/Toy+Story+2.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAXUQhzWOpnmGxF41kI4g4YfugmKuelb4LRkfg5Y6bovTp77rCTORB3GrhC2o0mqSBzYTkpqWqYiIz3Ewqsf6Q3h-LsTedQ2qlzgbKepEM7xFucJDE5KOMwygatELZMEpJG9YZS8qCMJFb/s320/Toy+Story+2.webp" width="217" height="320" data-original-width="1016" data-original-height="1500" /></a></div><br />
(November 1999, U.S.)<br />
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Well, the decade and the entire century were coming to an end, and I was dating the woman who would one day become my wife. We went to a lot of movies together, and one day decided that the new <b>TOY STORY</b> movie was well worth a bus trip across Central Park shortly following a recent snow storm. Since the original 1995 film, there'd been a wave of computer-animated movies here and there. Most of them went right passed me because it simply wasn't the genre I cared for, though I recall having a genuine fondness for Woody Allen's performance in ANTZ (1998). Still, the comic talents of Tom Hanks couldn't be ignored and <b>TOY STORY 2</b> was on my (sorry, <i>our</i>) list of movies to see during the 1999 holiday season.<br />
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So now it's just a few years later, and Andy is prepared to take Woody with him to cowboy camp. But while getting just one last playtime session in before leaving, he accidentally tears Woody's arm, and Woody ends up on the dusty shelf where toys have the past have gone forgotten. After rescuing Wheezy the penguin from a yard sale, Woody himself is discovered and stolen by a fat, greedy toy collector named Al (devilishly voiced by Wayne Knight). Witnessing the theft, Buzz and the rest of the toy entourage set out on their mission to rescue Woody. It's at Al's apartment that Woody learns his true identity in that he's part of Woody's Roundup along with cowgirl Jessie (voiced by Joan Cusack), Bullseye the horse, and still mint-in-box Stinky Peter (voiced by Kelsey Grammer). The Roundup was a national 1950's phenomenon that included a hit TV show (ultimately cancelled) and vast assorted merchandise, which Al has collected all of. Now that the vintage set is complete with Woody in it, Al prepares to take the entire collection with him to a museum in Japan for big, big bucks. Intending to return to Andy at first, Woody reconsiders when he realizes that the museum is only interested in the collection if it's complete, but also because he realizes that his time left with Andy is destined to be short-lived as Andy continues to grow up, and grow out of his toys. Woody's arm is accidentally ripped off completely, and like Harvey Keitel in PULP FICTION, the "toy cleaner" is brought in to not only fix Woody, but make him look as brand new. While still conflicted about returning to Andy, Jessie reveals she once belonged to and was deeply loved by Emily, who eventually outgrew her and gave her away to charity (sad, indeed).<br />
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Meanwhile, Buzz and the others reach Al's Toy Barn as they continue their search. Tour guide Barbie makes an appearance to entice the other toys, and Buzz is caught and imprisoned by another Buzz Lightyear action figure, who thinks <i>he's</i> the real space ranger (sound familiar?). One can't but laugh a little extra when original Buzz #1 says to himself, <i>"Man, tell me I wasn't this deluded."</i> Buzz #2 eventually joins the group, and head for Al's apartment after discovering his plan. Reunited, Woody continues to be reluctant in returning to Andy, thus looking forward to his trip to Japan. But of course, Buzz reminds Woody of their true purpose is to be there for Andy for as long as possible. Woody changes his mind, and convinces Jessie and Bullseye to go with him, but Pete is determined to get to Japan, even if it means holding the rest of the Roundup gang against their will.<br />
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Bound for the airport now, the toys remain in pursuit to get Woody and his new friends back. The scene into the baggage handling system and the multitude of suitcases is quite a visual feast in that you not only wonder how the toys will be rescued, but also in the knowledge that it's just <i>that</i> busy and insane inside that thing. Pete is defeated and ends up in a little girl's backpack who likes to paint her toy's faces. Woody rescues Jess from the airplane as it's taxiing down the runway and eventually all of them are home again awaiting Andy's return from cowboy camp. Whatever time they'll all have with Andy, they'll enjoy while it lasts, thus giving us all the Hollywood happy ending we need in a movie like this. Oh, and don't forget to stay for the closing credits so we can all enjoy the toys in their own hilarious bloopers.<br />
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Speaking as a sequel four years later, the quality of the animation of <b>TOY STORY 2</b> is surely improved to look a lot more crisp and detailed, thus abandoning any bright and colorful hues of the first film. Still, the second go-around makes it a point of not simply being a remake of the first film, but rather exploring the characters as toys just a little deeper while never forgetting to maintain the same fun spirit of a toy's story. One also can't help but consider the world of the toy in not only its purpose of being loved and played with by its child owner, but also their place in the world as a collector's items intended <i>never</i> to be played with. For any of us who are adult toy collectors (I'm not...not really), we're reminded of the true value of toys and what they mean to not only our childhood past, but how we perceive ourselves today as grown-ups. Whatever my personal reasons may ultimately be, <b>TOY STORY 2</b> remains my favorite film of the franchise (it was also a memorable and snowy date with my future wife).<br />
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Favorite line or dialogue:<br />
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Woody: "What's that? Jessie and Prospector are trapped in the old abandoned mine and Prospector just lit a stick of dynamite thinking it was a candle and now they're about to be blown to smithereens?"<br />
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Eric F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05062980077091387176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724537973285198834.post-56138291757770977482020-03-29T13:15:00.002-04:002020-03-29T13:15:27.479-04:00TOY STORY<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0wncaCkUdD3FueMd1palhmGlpvW-aYL4J4D4t6_6j270vVfiv_4YQMWl1-g2gMM-S3V8U_yeuSFsXYY_eKphiFWfiKEj7ehm4rJtDfY58-fmKpiXb3u2K86FJd_8b_OtMdy6VTj6zv1MI/s1600/Toy+Story.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0wncaCkUdD3FueMd1palhmGlpvW-aYL4J4D4t6_6j270vVfiv_4YQMWl1-g2gMM-S3V8U_yeuSFsXYY_eKphiFWfiKEj7ehm4rJtDfY58-fmKpiXb3u2K86FJd_8b_OtMdy6VTj6zv1MI/s320/Toy+Story.jpg" width="215" height="320" data-original-width="1073" data-original-height="1600" /></a></div><br />
(November 1995, U.S.)<br />
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When my son was a little boy, I must have watched just about every computer-animated feature that was ever made because that's just what you have to do when you're a father. The original release of <b>TOY STORY</b> in 1995, though, was at a time during the crust of my '20s, when animation was just about the last thing I had on my mind when I went to the movies. Any initial interest I had in this brand new full length Pixar feature was more about the comic voice of Tom Hanks behind one of its characters than anything else. <br />
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Taking place in a world where anthropomorphic toys come to life when human beings aren't present, the plot tells of the relationship between a vintage pull-string cowboy doll named Woody (voiced by Hanks) and an astronaut action figure, Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Tim Allen), as they evolve from rivals competing for the affections of their owner Andy, to close friends working together to be reunited with Andy after being accidentally separated from him and his house. On the day of Andy's birthday, all his toys are in a panicked frenzy because they've yet to discover what new toys are going to be a part of their world. All seems safe until the final birthday present is a brand new Buzz Lightyear action figure who's looking to be the best of the group above Woody. Buzz, however, things he's the one and only space ranger, and not a toy, though Woody repeatedly tries to convince him otherwise. It's days before Andy, his mother and his little sister Molly are due to move, and the toys are organized to make sure it all goes smoothly. Before going to dinner at Pizza Planet, Andy is permitted to bring one toy with him. Knowing that Andy will choose Buzz, Woody attempts to trap Buzz behind a desk but ends up knocking him out of the window, causing most of the other toys to accuse Woody of "murdering" Buzz out of jealousy. Before they can exact revenge, Andy arrives and, after failing to find Buzz, takes Woody with him.<br />
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Now faced with the challenge of getting back home, Woody and Buzz reach Pizza Planet and end up getting stuck in a crane game filled with alien toys. They're both retrieved by Andy's neighbor Sid, who takes pleasure in sadistically torturing toys. Inside Sid's room, Woody and Buzz meet the mutant toys who have suffered under Sid's torture. While trying to escape Sid's room, Buzz sees a TV commercial for a Buzz Lightyear action figure and suddenly and painfully realizes he <i>is</i> just a toy, and nothing more (his drunken stupor as "Mrs. Nesbitt" still cracks me up even today). But as cliché would dictate, Woody restores Buzz's confidence by convincing him of the joy he brings to Andy as a toy. The next morning, as Sid is about to launch Buzz on a his newly-acquired firework rocket, Woody and the mutant toys come to life in front of Sid, terrifying him into no longer abusing his toys. <br />
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The duo manage to make it to the moving truck by not only working together, but by actually employing Sid's rocket that was meant to destroy Buzz. In the end, the beloved toys are reunited with Andy (who's never been the wiser to anything that happened to them) and on Christmas Day at their new home, the new challenge (if not threat) to the toys will be a new puppy who may just enjoy chewing up toys.<br />
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Twenty-five years later, even as compared to the <b>TOY STORY</b> sequels, the original film looks a bit lame and underdeveloped in terms of its computer animation quality. For the mid '90s, of course, it was considered state-of-the-art with its bright, flashy colors. It also helped to reinvigorate animation through Pixar's arrival, even after a series of successful Disney animated releases that started with THE LITTLE MERMAID in 1989. Again, for its time, the film is a feast of visual razzle-dazzle offering a secret world beyond our own in a way we'd never seen before. As comedy, Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and the rest of the cast make it fun, imaginative and inventive, with just the right amount of adult wit to keep one interested. For children, it's surely a pure and free-spirited romp though a world of toys that many of us may have grown up with as kids. It may also open our own minds and imaginations to how much our childhood toys really meant to us beyond the initial gratification of getting them from our parents when we asked for them. At least, that's how it works for me.<br />
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Favorite line or dialogue:<br />
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Buzz Lightyear: "Don't you get it!? You see the hat!? I'm <i>Mrs. Nesbitt</i>!!"<br />
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Eric F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05062980077091387176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724537973285198834.post-59902526205623819552020-03-21T14:39:00.000-04:002020-03-21T14:39:53.043-04:00TOWERING INFERNO, THE<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqd1RBWdlb-Vtb4Q6Mc1NChOTrLrQMeJVbZcmBK7-YNMB8HJ3v1hGohgS6OUp0Dv1yDRU2VfyvMlGl4IweUVE4RUaq8Hx1W5z375rE73lTaT5qsNk2XX1BzW6qEBRFAwYCrdIQd2sv20lP/s1600/The+Towering+Inferno.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqd1RBWdlb-Vtb4Q6Mc1NChOTrLrQMeJVbZcmBK7-YNMB8HJ3v1hGohgS6OUp0Dv1yDRU2VfyvMlGl4IweUVE4RUaq8Hx1W5z375rE73lTaT5qsNk2XX1BzW6qEBRFAwYCrdIQd2sv20lP/s320/The+Towering+Inferno.jpg" width="213" height="320" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="1200" /></a></div><br />
(December 1974, U.S.)<br />
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Allow me to post what is undeniably considered the greatest of the 1970s disaster genre, <b>THE TOWERING INFERNO</b>, with a very personal story...<br />
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It was late November 1975, and it was the year my life underwent a dramatic change when I finally learned that my parents were not getting divorced, but actually already <i>were</i> divorced. Apparently, it was finalized back in September, and my younger brother and I learned about it for the first time from my father following the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. As might not be expected from a typical eight year-old child, my initial reaction was not a negative one. Realizing that my parents were constantly fighting and there was an ongoing environment of tension and hostility in the household, the only feeling I experienced was <i>relief</i>. I was just a child and all I could focus on, upon hearing the news, was that the fighting would end. Upon further reflection, I also realized that I'd spend my weekends with my father at his Manhattan apartment and that likely meant more fun, more leisure and more movies. <br />
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There was a small catch, however. He had a new girlfriend whom I shall call Mindy (because that's really her name). Just prior to Christmas, we arrived at his new apartment in Gramercy Park on Saturday morning to meet her for the first time. I was nervous, but going against the grain of how most children would traditionally react, I took to her almost immediately. She was pretty, fun-loving and high-spirited, which is exactly what a child needed when his own mother was experiencing her own personal feelings of bitterness following the divorce and, unfortunately, found its way into the home environment during the week with her. So as that day dragged closer to dusk and we were planning an evening of take-out food together, I stumbled upon something I’d never seen before. It was a guide, but not the traditional TV Guide I’d seen before. This was a mini booklet with a cover depicting the bright colors of red, orange and yellow. On the left side of the guide were the words ON AIR with December 1975 printed underneath it. On the right side of the guide were three letters I’d never seen before – HBO with the words Home Box Office printed underneath it. Underneath that was what really caught my attention and that was the movie title of a major blockbuster hit that was in theaters just one year before, <b>THE TOWERING INFERNO</b>. Here's what it looked like...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2j7DPIVNp2XktzSJGr6RVaamKmO_VGqmChFPv-dP56-ivQ696X5ZzgHJ3A_xeyEjpcOGqhxHnZZz83Q4lYrY9PUDBLhN7jl9-JkSpndtkbKOrq0EyEGaWxLg9V91aJQ8pwzutf_N_s19e/s1600/01+The+Towering+Inferno+HBO+TV+Guide+01+3-25-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2j7DPIVNp2XktzSJGr6RVaamKmO_VGqmChFPv-dP56-ivQ696X5ZzgHJ3A_xeyEjpcOGqhxHnZZz83Q4lYrY9PUDBLhN7jl9-JkSpndtkbKOrq0EyEGaWxLg9V91aJQ8pwzutf_N_s19e/s320/01+The+Towering+Inferno+HBO+TV+Guide+01+3-25-13.jpg" width="241" height="320" data-original-width="989" data-original-height="1314" /></a></div><br />
Inside the guide were numerous pictures and schedule listing of not just this movie, but many others. Wait a second – just what was this I was looking at? My father told me he was paying for an extra channel every month that showed movies without commercials, though he didn’t specifically identify his new service by the name HBO, but rather simply stated that he was paying for <i>cable TV</i>. HBO, cable TV, extra channel, I didn’t care what the proper name for it was. This was something new that I never knew existed before – the latest hit movies on television without commercials. My visitation weekends with my father and Mindy had just jumped up a considerable amount of points. For the first time, I was going to watch <b>THE TOWERING INFERNO</b> on television, uncut and uninterrupted. I'd heard of the movie a year ago simply by staring at the promo ads in the newspaper, which depicted the tall skyscraper engulfed in fire, so I didn’t need to guess what it was about. So, that evening, by the time 8 pm rolled around and the consumption of take-out fried chicken had been completed, we all sat in front of one of the most modern color televisions available at the time, ready to watch the movie.<br />
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Two and a half hours later, I was not only enlightened, but also just a little freaked out by what I’d just watched. Enlightened because this was the first disaster film I saw during an era when this particular genre gained widespread popularity with moviegoers ever since George Seaton’s film AIRPORT in 1970. It seemed I was just starting to understand what all the fuss was about because <b>THE TOWERING INFERNO</b> proved to be sheer excitement and intense drama for my movie tastes, limited as they still were at my age. <i>Freaked out</i> because watching a raging inferno in the world’s tallest building taking the lives of so many people is a frightening thing and because my father was a living in a rather tall apartment building. There was also a Christmas tree flashing in the corner of the living room. That night, I couldn’t remember if he’d unplugged the tree before retiring, but I do remember that idea of an electrical element like that running all night in an apartment building after having just watched <b>THE TOWERING INFERNO</b> didn’t sit right with me. I have the vaguest memory of waking up in the middle of the night and checking the living room. It would seem that childish paranoia and the power of the disaster motion picture took its toll on an eight year-old boy (thanks so much for doing that to me, Irwin Allen!).<br />
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Years later, in my high school teen years, the film actually inspired me to pursue architecture as a career because I'd convinced (actually, <i>deluded</i>) myself into believing that I could possibly conceive and design such a feat of construction. It also gave me a case of anxiety because as the architect of the film, Doug Roberts (played by the late, great Paul Newman) is not only an expert in his field, but in the field of every engineering department, as well, including mechanical and electrical. Geez, would I really have to know all <i>that</i> if I wanted to become an architect in real life? Well, speaking as one now, the answer is <i>no</i>. Architects know their profession, and engineers know theirs, and neither one of us are interested in becoming experts in the other's field. <br />
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All these years, <b>THE TOWERING INFERNO</b> continues to thrill and astound me as it did back in the '70s, as not only a technical achievement of action and dangerous thrills, but as a better story of the actual people behind the disaster. Whereas Universal Studios disaster films of that same year (EARTHQUAKE and AIRPORT 1975) featured acting performances about as shoddy and cheesy as the disasters themselves, Irwin Allen's great production provides dramatic characters with all their charms and their flaws that one can actually care about (hell, you even believe that Mike Lookinland, formerly Bobby Brady of THE BRADY BUNCH, had to potential to act beyond his infamous childhood TV role). In a way, I suppose I'm not too unlike the film itself when it comes to my memory of it...a personal story of <i>people</i>, as well as action. So again, thanks so much for doing that to me, Irwin Allen!<br />
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Favorite line or dialogue: <br />
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James Duncan: "We've got a fire, and if it was caused by anything you did, I'm going to hang you out to dry, and then I'm going to hang you!"<br />
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Eric F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05062980077091387176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724537973285198834.post-58122118782132445022020-03-15T14:24:00.001-04:002020-03-15T14:24:08.117-04:00TOUCH OF EVIL<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-8cfluUoxSjmTo2hpF1XFBACNBaRNgTUVS_2FTn57JGMQdjbZHIq41t-3uyrfx0UIyUcwhoIEWkhKAb4LiGHZ1hiSYkcQCkfiPJ1w-2IMq9VQiX_rH5HCopxwKLp0MxxQir9IGW1a1M5O/s1600/Touch+of+Evil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-8cfluUoxSjmTo2hpF1XFBACNBaRNgTUVS_2FTn57JGMQdjbZHIq41t-3uyrfx0UIyUcwhoIEWkhKAb4LiGHZ1hiSYkcQCkfiPJ1w-2IMq9VQiX_rH5HCopxwKLp0MxxQir9IGW1a1M5O/s320/Touch+of+Evil.jpg" width="206" height="320" data-original-width="400" data-original-height="620" /></a></div><br />
(February 1958, U.S.)<br />
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I am writing this post on Orson Welles's 1958 theatrical version of the film...<br />
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It took me some time beyond CITIZEN KANE to fully realize the genius behind many of Orson Welles's films, including <b>TOUCH OF EVIL</b>. Believe it or not, I was barely aware of the film until it was featured in the 1995 John Travolta film GET SHORTY. The combination of Travolta's enthusiasm and the image of the Los Angeles movie theater marquee peaked my interest in this American film noir classic. Not long after, I got the chance to see it on screen at a revival theater in Manhattan's Greenwich Village in a double bill with DOUBLE INDEMNITY (that was a great day at the movies!). Then in 1998, it was re-released as an extended and re-cut version remaining faithful to Welles's original vision, as it was described in a fifty-eight page letter he wrote to Universal Studios at the time. It was, of course, a pleasure to watch this film again on screen, but I've always (with only a few exceptions) clung to the original theatrical versions of popular movies.<br />
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Charlton Heston plays his version of a Mexican drug enforcement official named Mike Vargas, just newly married to Susie (played by Janet Leigh). While walking along the U.S.-Mexico border, a time bomb is planted inside the trunk of a car and explodes on the U.S. side of the border, killing a man and his young female lover. Realizing the political implications of a Mexican bomb exploding on American soil, Vargas proceeds into the investigation despite having no official authoritative jurisdiction. Several police officials arrive on the scene, including obese and sloppy police captain Hank Quinlan (played by Orson Welles himself). The prime suspect in the bombing is a young Mexican named Sanchez who was secretly married to the car bomb victim's daughter. Sanchez is roughly interrogated by Quinlan and the other cops and eventually framed for his arrest by two sticks of dynamite planted in a shoe box in his apartment. Vargas accuses Quinlan of planting the evidence and soon suspects that Quinlan has been planting evidence and framing suspects for years to help secure convictions. Vargas's claims are dismissed due to his presumed just-biased in favor of fellow Mexicans.<br />
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Meanwhile, Susie is holed up alone at a remote American motel to escape the trouble brewing amidst the investigation and the criminal intentions of crime family boss Uncle Joe Grandi. The motel is owned by Grandi and proven to be unsafe when Grandi's relatives take over and terrorize Susie by overdosing her with drugs and planting drugs around her unconscious body. Grandi is double-crossed and strangled by Quinlan, leaving Susie in the room with the dead body, all as an attempt to discredit Vargas and his suspicions. A drunk Vargas is confronted about his past history of tainted evidence by his police partner, while Vargas is not far behind recording the conversation on foot. Qunilan drunkenly admits to planting evidence on those he believed to be guilty. But during the outdoor recorded conversation, Quinlan hears an echo from the secret microphone and suspects betrayal by his partner, as well as Vargas's presence nearby. Qunilan shoots his partner with Vargas's' gun (stolen earlier in the film) and prepares to shoot Vargas himself, but is instead shot by the dying partner. Like the filthy man he is (was), Quinlan falls and dies in a pool of filthy wastewater. The film ends with a simple implication that men are just men, and it doesn't matter what we say about them in the end.<br />
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Despite being a film that Welles initially didn't want to make, it has all the styles and traditions that make his films great, including the overlapping dialogue and multiple perspective camera shots and cinematography. Orson Welles himself plays a role that may also be considered semi-autobiographical, in that he not only acknowledges his own changing physical appearance, but also a man who may be confronting old feuds and past demons, exhibiting an obsessive need for control of everything and everyone around his professional career and personal life.<br />
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However many versions of <b>TOUCH OF EVIL</b> there may be, or however it's been judged throughout the history of cinema, it still remains a shining example of Orson Welles's brilliance.<br />
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Favorite line or dialogue:<br />
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Tanya: "Isn't somebody gonna come and take him away?"<br />
Al Schwartz: "Yeah, in just a few minutes. You really liked him didn't you?"<br />
Tanya: "The cop did...the one who killed him...he loved him."<br />
Schwartz: "Well, Hank was a great detective all right."<br />
Tanya: "And a lousy cop."<br />
Schwartz: "Is that all you have to say for him?"<br />
Tanya: "He was some kind of a man. What does it matter what you say about people?"<br />
Schwartz: "Goodbye, Tanya."<br />
Tanya: "Adiós."<br />
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Eric F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05062980077091387176noreply@blogger.com0