Tommy Boy (1995)
Another one that never gets old - Fat Guy in a Little Coat. One of the earlier Lorne Michaels, Saturday Night Live movies, in the vein of Wayne's World meets Gung Ho, about a adult child who must step into the shoes of his father to run a company in a dying industry in Steel Town America.
American Sniper
Any movie that starts off with September 11 footage and ends in Cowboys Stadium with flags waving will honor the American Soldier & Sailor. That was probably what director Clint Eastwood wrote on the wall the first day of filming. When you have a guiding principle like that, you will not stray from your mission.
Bradley Cooper plays Chris Kyle, a rodeo cowboy from Texas who enlists in the Navy after 9/11. When told that BUD/S SEAL training is the toughest, he is there. The movie takes a familiar stroll thorough the training academy and then lands in Iraq. Chris trains as a sniper and is tasked with "Protecting from Above" watching over the troops as they clear houses and all of the attendant dangers.
Four tours of duty will take a toll on any man, even the one they call Legend. We see flashes of his PTSD but he does a pretty good job of hiding it. There is a nice nod to another post war movie - academy award winner The Deer Hunter.
The military attention to detail is pretty impressive in the settings. Interesting how some scenes there is rank and insignia displayed and some there is not. But otherwise, there is not a lot of military structure or justice. There is very little oversight by officers or ranking NCO's. It's all about him - when he says charge, the troops charge. Damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead.
As with other Eastwood movies, there is going to be some liberties taken to contrast the good v. evil (Gran Torino, Flags of Our Fathers) e.g. The Legend v. the Butcher. But even knowing that, it manages to touch all the bases. Mission Accomplished.
* * * * of 4
Bradley Cooper plays Chris Kyle, a rodeo cowboy from Texas who enlists in the Navy after 9/11. When told that BUD/S SEAL training is the toughest, he is there. The movie takes a familiar stroll thorough the training academy and then lands in Iraq. Chris trains as a sniper and is tasked with "Protecting from Above" watching over the troops as they clear houses and all of the attendant dangers.
Four tours of duty will take a toll on any man, even the one they call Legend. We see flashes of his PTSD but he does a pretty good job of hiding it. There is a nice nod to another post war movie - academy award winner The Deer Hunter.
The military attention to detail is pretty impressive in the settings. Interesting how some scenes there is rank and insignia displayed and some there is not. But otherwise, there is not a lot of military structure or justice. There is very little oversight by officers or ranking NCO's. It's all about him - when he says charge, the troops charge. Damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead.
As with other Eastwood movies, there is going to be some liberties taken to contrast the good v. evil (Gran Torino, Flags of Our Fathers) e.g. The Legend v. the Butcher. But even knowing that, it manages to touch all the bases. Mission Accomplished.
* * * * of 4
Pulp Fiction (1994)
"a Top 100 film"
Greg Turley/ Southland View
Noted Movie Blogger
I'd been resisting it, nothing more to see. It's a modern classic and I was an early adopter when it came out. Why did I need to watch Pulp Fiction again on Netflix? Since I've now seen the full Tarantino Collection it was time. Today was the day.
What makes it great...
1. The movie as a play in acts. The framing of many of the scenes takes place in just one room, which almost becomes a character in itself. Think of the apartment scene with Jules and Vincent and Brett. Or the warehouse in Reservoir Dogs. Or the basement in Inglourius Basterds.
2. The characterizations. It would be hard to come up with a description of the lead characters Jules and Vincent. Are they smart? Dumb? Quiet? Living Loud? All of the above? There's a lot going on, from their dialogue to their clothes.
3. The Hyperlinked Storyline. Not quite time travel, but it keeps you guessing and involved.
4. The Wolf - perhaps the greatest movie characters EVER!
What brought it down...
1. Quentin Tarantino as an actor. Jimmie was perhaps as bad as it gets. "We've got to resolve this before.... Bonnie gets home from work? I like being married? Gimme a break. This alone takes it down.
2. The Bruce Willis storyline. It takes up a lot of the movie and doesn't add as much as it uses. Suffice it to say the vulgarity might even be over the top. But you could say it was a major plot point as to Marcellus. And it plays into the revenge motives used to great extent in Kill Bill, Inglourius Basterds and Django Unchained. All much better revenge stories to be sure.
What might the next Tarantino film look like? Stay tuned.
Greg Turley/ Southland View
Noted Movie Blogger
I'd been resisting it, nothing more to see. It's a modern classic and I was an early adopter when it came out. Why did I need to watch Pulp Fiction again on Netflix? Since I've now seen the full Tarantino Collection it was time. Today was the day.
What makes it great...
1. The movie as a play in acts. The framing of many of the scenes takes place in just one room, which almost becomes a character in itself. Think of the apartment scene with Jules and Vincent and Brett. Or the warehouse in Reservoir Dogs. Or the basement in Inglourius Basterds.
2. The characterizations. It would be hard to come up with a description of the lead characters Jules and Vincent. Are they smart? Dumb? Quiet? Living Loud? All of the above? There's a lot going on, from their dialogue to their clothes.
3. The Hyperlinked Storyline. Not quite time travel, but it keeps you guessing and involved.
4. The Wolf - perhaps the greatest movie characters EVER!
1. Quentin Tarantino as an actor. Jimmie was perhaps as bad as it gets. "We've got to resolve this before.... Bonnie gets home from work? I like being married? Gimme a break. This alone takes it down.
2. The Bruce Willis storyline. It takes up a lot of the movie and doesn't add as much as it uses. Suffice it to say the vulgarity might even be over the top. But you could say it was a major plot point as to Marcellus. And it plays into the revenge motives used to great extent in Kill Bill, Inglourius Basterds and Django Unchained. All much better revenge stories to be sure.
Inglourious Basterds
Two weeks ago, I had never heard of Christoph Waltz. Then I saw Big Eyes and noticed his billing as Academy Award winner - twice! So further investigation followed. I watched Django Unchained. Cousin Jon's review was on target. Then I saw the second half of the double feature.
It is World War II. We meet Christoph Waltz, the Jew Hunter, Col. Hans Landa of the SS. He's the Bill of Kill Bill here. Melanie Laurent is Shoshanna, whose parents are killed. She escapes, to plot revenge. She gets her opportunity by meeting a German war hero in Vichy Paris, who happens to be a film buff. And she has a theater.
Juxtaposed is the Sgt Aldo (Brad Pitt), the noted Nazi killer. He's billed as a mountain man and he approaches his work with a strict moral code. He's got a commando group of Nazi killers and with the help of some inside information, they plot the biggest score of their career.
Suffice it to say the plot has a lot to it. There are 5 separate chapters and some of it seems a bit slapstick. When you see a head blown off, its nice to realize "its just a movie" And a Tarantino movie at that.
The wartime setting and the chapters reminded me of Grand Budapest Hotel. The Kill Bill plot is there to a T. And the End, with the Nazis, strongly was like Raiders of the Lost Ark. Lots of movie references by Tarantino and the different languages and actors used throughout were great.
* * * * highest rating
It is World War II. We meet Christoph Waltz, the Jew Hunter, Col. Hans Landa of the SS. He's the Bill of Kill Bill here. Melanie Laurent is Shoshanna, whose parents are killed. She escapes, to plot revenge. She gets her opportunity by meeting a German war hero in Vichy Paris, who happens to be a film buff. And she has a theater.
Juxtaposed is the Sgt Aldo (Brad Pitt), the noted Nazi killer. He's billed as a mountain man and he approaches his work with a strict moral code. He's got a commando group of Nazi killers and with the help of some inside information, they plot the biggest score of their career.
Suffice it to say the plot has a lot to it. There are 5 separate chapters and some of it seems a bit slapstick. When you see a head blown off, its nice to realize "its just a movie" And a Tarantino movie at that.
The wartime setting and the chapters reminded me of Grand Budapest Hotel. The Kill Bill plot is there to a T. And the End, with the Nazis, strongly was like Raiders of the Lost Ark. Lots of movie references by Tarantino and the different languages and actors used throughout were great.
* * * * highest rating
2015 Preview
If your New Year's resolution is to see more movies, here's a list of some of the upcoming movies of note. With the streaming of The Interview online as first release, the existing movie release model may be changing. See these in the theater while you can.
In case you like sequels, you'll REALLY like 2015
Here's a partial list:
Star Wars - the Force Awakens
Avengers - Age of Ultron
Terminator - Genisys
Furious 7
Pitch Perfect 2
Jurrasic World
Hunger Games 4
Spectre - James Bond
Mission Impossible 5
Magic Mike XXL
Mad Max - Fury Road
And here are some upcoming ones of note that I hope to see.
Blackhat - directed by Michael Mann - January
50 Shades of Grey - February 14
Chappie - directed by Neil Blomqvist - March
Insurgent (Divergent 2)
Antman - starring Paul Rudd - July
In case you like sequels, you'll REALLY like 2015
Here's a partial list:
Star Wars - the Force Awakens
Avengers - Age of Ultron
Terminator - Genisys
Furious 7
Pitch Perfect 2
Jurrasic World
Hunger Games 4
Spectre - James Bond
Mission Impossible 5
Magic Mike XXL
Mad Max - Fury Road
And here are some upcoming ones of note that I hope to see.
Blackhat - directed by Michael Mann - January
50 Shades of Grey - February 14
Chappie - directed by Neil Blomqvist - March
Insurgent (Divergent 2)
Antman - starring Paul Rudd - July
2014 in review
As part of the New Year's resolutions I was looking back over 2014. Checking my blog stats, I had 51 posts which is nearly every week. That's about what I would have wanted.
I'll keep that up for 2015. It makes going to the movies a priority - plus you've got to write about it and get it out there.
Top blogs posts were by stats for the year:
The Fault In Our Stars - #1, of course * * * * 139 page views
Gone Girl * * * 1/2 81
Nebraska 74
&
Neighbors (tied for 3rd)
Best movie of the year: The Fault In Our Stars
Other 4 star movies: Wild, Grand Budapest Hotel, Edge of Tomorrow, Life Itself
And Worst Movie of the Year - Walked Out! - The Gambler- 0 stars
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