Superman

Year: 1978
Directed By: Richard Donner
Written By: Mario Puzo (story). Puzo, David Newman, Leslie Newman, and Robert Benton, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster (creators)

RYAN’S REVIEW

I have never really been a big Superman fan but I have deep respect for this movie. It’s been almost forty years since this film came out and it still manages to be influential in an industry that can’t stop pumping out comic book films. This is a legendary movie and the real first comic book movie blockbuster.

The only time I really like Superman when I’m reading a comic is when he’s getting his ass kicked by Batman. Yes they fight frequently and the Caped Crusader always manages to best the impervious pure of heart hero. I’ll get to why Batman always wins in a minute but I’ll start by explaining why I don’t like Superman. He’s too super powered for his own good. He’s an all powerful superhero and that’s totally lame. He has all the damn powers, it’s too greedy. In this movie he even reverses the rotation of the Earth and travels back in time. I’m willing to look aside from the mere fact that the whole thing doesn’t even make sense in the movie (he reverses time but the earthquake still stops?). It’s still just too much.

What makes a hero badass is the fact that he overcomes obstacles, odds, and weaknesses. Superman doesn’t overcome anything, he overwhelms every thing with his sheer power. As long as the sun rises in the morning Superman is going to be just fine and win the day. Even with Doomsday there is no doubt, and certainly none in this movie as he wrangles cat burglers and cats. I know, I know there is some thing about heroes saving cats from trees but Superman doing it is merely a waste of his (and our) time. It’s no accident that Lex Luthor is his main bad guy. He’s just a man but that doesn’t matter because anybody can beat Superman, so long as you outsmart him.

Batman vs. Superman

Now I’d like to talk about this at some length. Let’s first discuss the two:

You have:

A) Batman-Just a man but an intelligent and skilled man. He’s a fighter who knows many different forms of combat. He’s a tactician who plans ahead and knows his enemy. He has the equipment for any problem that arises, even once breaking out the “Shark Repellent Bat Spray.” He is a man who overcomes the odds, a hero in the truest sense.

B) Superman-An alien from the planet Krypton. On Krypton everyone is the same but the sun is red. Put one of them on Earth with its yellow sun and the power of a God is granted. On Earth Superman has super speed, strength, stamina, motherfucking everything. Oh and he also has the power of flight, laser vision, frost breath, X-ray vision, and apparently according to this film the power of time travel. There is a catch though. A rock from his homeland makes him vulnerable, albeit completely vulnerable. Also rays from his native red sun render him average. There is also a villain that somehow holds the surviving people of Krypton hostage and uses it as leverage against him, but that’s beside the point and not in this movie.

Now you put these two together and things should be pretty simple. The super powered alien pummels the costumed human into dust but it never works out that way. Being the badass he actually is Batman is always prepared and he figures out a way to level the playing field. Be it Kryptonite or somehow utilizing the rays of a red sun he depowers Superman. Without his powers Superman is nothing but a guy who doesn’t know how to defend himself. He becomes chump change for Batman, who doesn’t just beat him but beats the shit out of him.

I remember it being a hot topic of debate when Batman VS. Superman came out a couple of years ago. How could Batman ever fight Superman? I’ll admit once as an outsider in the comic world I would have been perplexed as well and agreed with the naysayers. Now I know better though and I always ask them name the vulnerabilities of both. Batman may be just a man, but nobody would ever accuse him of being vulnerable. While Superman falls to his knees in the presence of a green rock. Of course the gazillionaire Bruce Wayne/Batman has Kryptonite. The man literally has all the resources imaginable at his fingertips. Oh the Kryptonite didn’t quite do the trick? Here are some red sun rays for you. Not enough? Here are some of the most super powered weapons available to man to hit you with. That didn’t do anything but weaken him? Batman is more than willing to roll up his sleeves and duke it out with a guy who knows nothing of fighting because he relies solely on the power that’s been taken away.

To sum it up, Batman=badass, Superman=chump. I haven’t even touched their alter egos either. Clark Kent makes it a practice to appear as lame as possible so nobody looks past the glasses. Great disguise Superman. Bruce Wayne on the other hand may be just as cool if not cooler than Batman. He’s super rich, super powerful, and he is just as likely to beat you up as Batman is. While Superman is bumbling around trying to get the attention of Lois Lane Batman is chillin in a hot tub somewhere surrounded by gorgeous ladies, and he only does that for appearances. Clark Kent may kick a football pretty far when no one is looking but Bruce Wayne is the cool guy that drove off with all the cheerleaders.

Getting back to the point… 

I don’t love this movie but I respect it. I think it was quite an accomplishment in 1978. It’s written by one of my favorite authors, Mario Puzo, though the experience might not have been great for him. I know nothing about the experience he actually had during the making of this film but if any of his other books are to be taken into account he did not have the highest regard for Hollywood. Still, he wrote a story that was great for the time and groundbreaking in its material. I love how the sequel was set up from the get go with Zod and his cronies being imprisoned in the phantom zone. You know they will eventually get out of it and Superman will have to deal with them.

They don’t get out in this movie and I think that is the problem with the film. Or at least why it doesn’t hold up. Yeah this movie introduced a wider audience to a character and blew them away with special effects. In hindsight though this movie is lacking in excitement. Superman has no foe to fight with. Yeah there’s Lex Luthor outsmarting him at every turn but you don’t want to see a superhero fighting nature i.e. time or earthquakes. You want to see the hero fighting someone who is an equal match, or the counter opposite. In this movie Superman is saving cats for crying out loud. There’s also that bizarre man scaling the side of the building, which is an awful lot of trouble to go through for a robbery. A superhero always needs someone to fight, cats are for the firemen with their ladders and cat burglers are for the cops. Let those heroes do that work and let the superhero fight the supernatural bad guy threatening the world.

I for one think Henry Cavill is a terrific Superman, and I like him in the role. That being said, he will never be the real Superman. That’ll always be Christopher Reeve, just as Michael Keaton will always be Batman, for my generation at least. Reeve wasn’t the most incredible actor but he was an incredible man. The tragic accident that he suffered was really unfortunate. He didn’t give up though and remained an inspiration to people both in a similar situation and outside of it. While Superman may be a lame hero, Christopher Reeve was a true hero in real life. May he rest in peace.

I think special mention goes to Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor. I fear I have seen the last movie Gene Hackman will ever act in and that hurts my heart a little. I don’t think this was a particularly good movie but if I had to sound off what I liked about it I’d start with Gene Hackman. I am a big fan of him as both an actor and a person. Several years ago I heard a story about him being in a fist fight, the man was 70 years or more and fist fighting someone! That’s a real badass and I will get more into him as an actor when we reach Unforgiven in the collection.

I don’t know that special mention is really deserving but if you didn’t notice Marlon Brando is in this movie as Jor-El. He wouldn’t want you to miss that, but truthfully the presence of the Godfather is a big deal. Yet Brando caused such a problem on set and in the aftermath of the film’s success that he was cut entirely from the sequel. On set he was reading his lines off the diaper of baby Superman because he refused to learn them. After the film proved to be a success at the box office he sued for royalties. He ended up making an awful lot of money for a short part and even received first billing for what basically amounts to a cameo.

There is little more than “look what he can do!” in this movie and it’s not enough for me. Maybe it’s as simple as I’m not impressed with what the character can do. This was a big hit when it came out but Superman has regularly failed to be a success as some of the other famous film heroes have. He doesn’t rake in the money quite like Batman, Spiderman, or now Wonder Woman. This was the most successful effort as it was the first of four films and a financial success at the box office.

There was a time when I thought this movie should hold a place in the collection. I still think it deserves a place in the collection but I don’t know that it’s getting a ride in the DVD player again. I respect this movie and like some things about it but overall it is not for me. I think this movie is worth your time because it deserves your time, but I don’t think it is worth anymore of my time.

NEXT MOVIE: Superman II (1980)

The Royal Tenenbaums

Year: 2001
Directed By: Wes Anderson
Written By: Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson

RYAN’S REVIEW

This one takes me back to a long time ago when life was so much simpler. A time when a good time was a an hour down the road at my brother’s apartment and life’s greatest concern was getting school work done on time. It was at my brother’s apartment where I first saw this film and I fell in love with it immediately. I was in college myself at the time and this movie just spoke to me at that time and place in life.

I think Wes Anderson is an awesome filmmaker with a very unique style that sets him apart. I am a bigger fan of the movie he followed this one up with, The Life Aquatic, but this was a great movie in and of itself. This movie tells an interesting story about a family that used to be a big deal but tragedy befell them all as time moved on. They are all estranged until they find themselves being drawn together for the first time in almost 20 years. Their conflicting and contrasting personalities make for a great black comedy.

The cast of this movie is quite remarkable. I don’t know the whole back story behind the connection between Wes Anderson and the Wilson brothers. I know they went to college together and have a friendship beyond their careers but there is certainly more to the story than that. He must be a quite likable director because many actors and actresses continue to work with him regularly. Some even go out of their way for him actually. I read that during the shooting of this movie some of the other actors like Anjelica Huston and Bill Murray would specifically work to shield Anderson from Gene Hackman who notoriously can be difficult to work with. I read that Murray would actually show up on set during his days off just for this purpose.

Whether he was hard to work with or not I have always been a big fan of Hackman and like him in this movie specifically. He is perfect as Royal Tenenbaum and I think it was a role that capped off a great career. It hurts my heart to consider that after more than a decade of not acting we have definitely seen the last of him. At 86 years old he is still with us though, and hopefully enjoying his retirement. The last time I heard anything about Hackman he had been in a road rage incident in which he beat up somebody giving him guff, and that was only a few years ago. The man, even in his 80’s, is too badass for the general public to cross. I could be wrong about the story I’m remembering but I like it the way I remember it.

Beyond Hackman the cast is nothing short of fantastic. It’s always fun to see Ben Stiller and the Wilson brothers together but I think specific props go to Gwyneth Paltrow who played such an interesting character in this one. I think the role that Bill Murray plays is his weakest of all the roles he has played in Wes Anderson films. Murray is great as always but his character is just underused and not his best. I think Danny Glover is fantastic as Herny Sherman. While still very active as an actor Glover just doesn’t get the roles he used to and that’s a shame.

I don’t feel like I’ve said enough about this movie but this movie is all Wes Anderson and I have written my thoughts on him before. For more insight into my thoughts on the director see some of our reviews of his other films. We have reviewed The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited, and Moonrise Kingdom. We also have The Grand Budapest Hotel in the collection but it was a late addition we have yet to get around to reviewing.

So in the spirit of not being redundant I’m going to close out this review simply by letting you know that this movie is worth your time. If you are a fan of Wes Anderson then you should have already seen it but if you aren’t then you should check it out and see what you’ve been missing.

I am sure there is plenty of backstory to this movie that is interesting and note worthy. Unfortunately I have never taken the time to read about it. Anybody who does know more about the Anderson/Wilson relationship and how it transitions into the movie feel free to leave a comment and enlighten us.

NEXT MOVIE: The Rules of Attraction (2002)

 

 

The Poseidon Adventure

Year: 1972
Directed By: Irwan Allen and Ronald Neame
Written By: Paul Gallico (novel), Stirling Silliphant and Wendell Mayes (screenplay)

RYAN’S REVIEW

This was a new addition to the blog from a couple of months ago. I had never seen it before sitting down to review it for the first time. I picked it up specifically because I was familiar with it as a classic and wanted to see a more youthful Gene Hackman. In that I succeeded but despite the notoriety the film has maintained over time I was not enamored with it.

I am a big Gene Hackman fan but haven’t seen enough of his career prior to what he has achieved in my own lifetime. For as long as I can remember Gene Hackman has been old. Much like other famous and prolific actors of advanced age like Anthony Hopkins or Sean Connery I had never known any other version than the one I grew up with. Having recently taken the time to start appreciating what the younger Clint Eastwood accomplished, Hackman was another actor I wanted to see earlier in his career. I bought this movie after being prompted by Amazon but there are others I need to see too. The French Connection is one that specifically comes to mind because I have never seen it. Outside of Bonnie and Clyde, the only movie I had seen from Hackman’s younger career was Superman.

I’ll be honest I didn’t really love this movie. It’s a good movie but it didn’t pull me in quite the way I expected having heard so much about it over the years. I thought Hackman’s performance made it worth seeing and I understand how the role advanced his career. He was quick thinking, in control, and in the end he got to be the martyred hero. The movie had very compelling scenes throughout but Hackman’s heroic death at the end was one of the best.

I didn’t love this movie but I appreciate it. The movie ended on a very gripping note as the few survivors from the group found that they were the only survivors on the ship. As the camera pans out over the turned over cruise ship the reality sets in and it’s haunting. This must have been an incredibly shocking ending in 1972. Not only did the hero die but the tragedy proves be as dire as it could have been in the final moments. I think I would have liked this movie a lot more had I been around when it actually came out. Plenty of movies made long before I was born still captivate and marvel me in ways that nothing else can. This one didn’t do that though and I can’t put my finger on why. I’m gonna blame it on a generational thing having grown up overexposed to this type of tragedy and action.

I have never seen the remake of this film and don’t intend to. I have written many times about my distaste for remakes and I think the idea of remaking this movie was just as poor as all the other remake ideas. When there is nothing to improve on a film there is no reason to tarnish the original with a subpar version. If anybody reading this has seen the remake make your case for it if it actually was worth seeing. I cannot imagine such an argument will be presented, the remake has an incredibly low rank on IMDB. The original on the other hand is worth seeing and if you get an opportunity to see it your time won’t be wasted.

NEXT MOVIE: Predator (1987)

Mississippi Burning

Year: 1988
Directed By: Alan Parker
Written By: Chris Gerolmo

RYAN’S REVIEW

The best movies are the ones that teach us something.  The ones that get into our core and change the very fiber of our being for the rest of time. This movie did that for me. It taught me an invaluable lesson about racism that I will never forget. The message this movie sends is one that has been preached by many films but it is one I only needed once. It has soured my opinion some to other movies along the same lines but I hope each and every one of them did for others what this one did for me.  The world was an uglier place in 1964. It’s an unfortunate reality that the world is still that ugly 50 years later, but I hope with every lesson a film like this delivers that we will be that much closer to what the world can be.

There is plenty of ugliness in this world but I think racism would just about give anything a run for its money at being the worst.  To have hate in your heart for another person based on nothing more than their skin color is despicable.  To judge a person you do not know for preconceived notions that are unfounded is awful.  Worst of all is being so blinded by hate that you physically and emotionally hurt other people to perpetuate some ridiculous idea created by hateful and evil people.  It just blows, in every way possible.  Nothing makes me sicker than to see this ugliness in the world.  I do not judge people for what they were raised to believe but I believe we should all try to be better.  When you settle for the norm or go on with a mentality you know to be wrong you aren’t being better but simply bringing us all down by being worse. The world will never change unless we change ourselves but we can’t do it alone.  It’s a sad reality that as long as ignorance is still prevalent in our society that we will have to endure unnecessary hatred and judgment.

I mentioned that this movie has soured me on others along the same lines and I’d like to clarify that statement.  I just don’t like seeing racism, and I prefer not to see it because I find it ugly.  It’s no different than seeing rape or adultery in a movie.  Some things will just turn me off of a film because I don’t care to see it.  With racism I have learned my lesson about it and I don’t care to pile on by choosing to watch more of the ugliness.  I hope they never stop being made because each and every one has the opportunity to teach someone and that’s great.  I just don’t need that lesson anymore and choose to avoid seeing those films for the most part.  This movie is enough for me but I still find this one hard to watch again.  It’s a great movie all around but I don’t think it is fun to watch.  The Klansmen make me sick to my stomach and though it is awesome to see them get what is coming to them the damage they had already done can’t go unnoticed.  I wish this world hadn’t been this way and wasn’t so similar today in various ways but it’s an unfortunate reality we have to live with.  It’s incredibly difficult to change someone’s opinion about anything once they have set their mind to it.  I am thankful for the people out there who want to fight the battle but personally I think you are just fighting.  It’s like the war on drugs, it’s unwinnable.  You can no more make someone feel a way they don’t than you can stop them from doing something they want to do.  You can preach and punish all you want but at the end of the day haters are gonna hate and hopheads are gonna get high.

I think with this movie that the lesson I have learned from it is more important than the movie itself.  It’s a very good film that is based on real events.  There are the Hollywood elements added in as they are in all movies based on true stories but the messages the film sends are clear and authentic. Gene Hackman is incredible and should have won the Oscar but lost to Dustin Hoffman for Rainman. Frances McDormand is great in everything she does and I’m a big fan of Willem Dafoe.  I think all the KKK members were perfectly cast, R. Lee Ermey and Michael Rooker fit in accordingly.  There is also a young Eddie Winslow in the movie playing an inspiring part.  That is all I want to say about the film itself though.  I think it is a terrific film and I appreciate what it taught me but I believe what it taught me was more important than the film itself.

This movie is worth your time.  If you watch this movie and don’t feel sympathy in your heart there is something wrong with you.  There is a valuable lesson to be had from this movie and if you manage to not get it you need to see more.  If you can’t feel how awful the content of this movie is then you need to open your mind and see it again.  We can all be better as people and as individuals.  This is one of the movies that taught me to be a better person and a stronger individual.  I hope you watch it and get as much out of it as I do.  We can’t change the world but we can change ourselves and we can raise children to be smarter than our parents were and we are.

AMBER’S REVIEW

This movie is incredibly moving. A movie that makes you want to stand up for something, too. It is a really hard movie to watch. If you are a black person or a white person, it’s hard to watch. There is a huge lesson to be learned about this movie, about people and natural born rights. I wasn’t alive during this time and I am so thankful for that, because my whole motto in life is “Live and Let Live.” I don’t understand why people had and have hatred for other people for no reason at all. It burdens my heart. This movie tells an amazing story and it is worth watching for sure.

I am really impressed with this poster. I don’t think it effectively draws in curiosity or anything, but I do think it is really well designed. I am always a fan of a grid design. I think the colors are simple and well suited for this movie. You have two big names and they are evident and at the top and it also gives you an idea of what the characters look like in the film. For this poster to be done in 1988 is also impressive, I feel like it is a little ahead of its time. Another note here. I feel like the simplicity of this poster alludes to the seriousness of its nature.

NEXT MOVIE: Money Talks (1997)

Heist

Year: 2001
Directed By: David Mamet
Written By: David Mamet

RYAN’S REVIEW

This is a movie of great one liners with clever and witty dialogue all throughout the movie. It’s a movie that will keep you guessing with many twists and turns. Its cast is made up of mainly older actors who prove that they still had plenty to offer. I think the most important thing about this movie is that it is cool; its coolness factor makes it significant if nothing else does.

This was written and directed by David Mamet who has been involved with some really great TV shows.  Specifically The Unit and one of my all-time favorite shows The Shield. I always think films that are written and directed by the same person have a special quality to them and that is there in this one.  Mamet wrote a really interesting story and he found some quality people to bring it to life.  I am a big fan of Gene Hackman and I think with this movie he proved that in 2001 he still had it.  As it is put in the movie “he’s so cool that when he goes to sleep the sheep count him.” This wasn’t the only great performance Hackman turned in at the plus 70 age range, but it is one of the last films he made.  Hackman was a great actor and I really miss seeing him in movies.  I have never been a big fan of Delroy Lindo but he isn’t a bad actor and does well in this movie. I think Danny Devito is great as the dangerous fence.  I am not a fan of what he has done on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia so I like a movie like this one that reminds me what he is capable of. I am a fan of It’s Always Sunny, but not the part that DeVito plays as Frank.  Frank has progressively gotten weirder and grosser to the point that his character as a whole only brings the show down now.

In the supporting roles of this film I really like Sam Rockwell.  I have always been a fan of his and I was really looking forward to what else he had to offer around the time this movie came out.  I don’t know why but for whatever reason his career seemed to move in reverse as the 2000’s progressed.  I am not really that familiar with Rebecca Pidgeon beyond this movie but I don’t know that I have to be.  She is a real badass as Hackman’s girlfriend/wife/whatever and the one that really keeps you guessing the whole time.  I don’t really like how her character panned out but I thought she was sexy in the role and fit well with the cast.

This is a movie that I found impressive the first time I saw it and I still enjoy it.  It doesn’t garner enough of my enthusiasm now having just reviewed a different but similar film in Heat.  Heat is an entirely different film altogether but they are both about criminals pulling heists so the similarity is there.  I think this movie has too much that just works out too perfectly for the characters involved but that is the main flaw.  There is also some poor audio with background music playing over dialogue but I think that is simply the work from a less seasoned director in Mamet.  I do think Mamet did a good job otherwise though and he wrote a great story.  This is a cool movie and I think it is worth your time if you have an opportunity to see it.

AMBER’S REVIEW

I actually really like this movie. It’s a little long, but it’s worth the time. I am a big fan of Gene Hackman, so I could watch it for that reason alone.

I really like the design for this movie. It is set up in a grid-like structure that was pretty popular around the time that it came out. I also like the use of typography in the top right corner. The last names have hierarchy over the first names of the big names of the movie. (haha) The only thing I find really inconsistent with it is that Hackman’s face looks posed and purposeful, while the other faces are scenes from the movie. I feel like they should have either gone with all faces, or all scenes. Other than that, I like this one.

NEXT MOVIE: Hellboy (2004)

Enemy of the State

Year: 1998
Directed By: Tony Scott
Written By: David Marconi

RYAN’S REVIEW

This movie came out during my first year in high school. What’s funny is that by the time I graduated four years later it had all but become a reality. The Patriot Act had been passed and the government had the capabilities that are portrayed as too dangerous in this film. This movie was made right before our society changed so drastically.  This was made during a time when the internet was still young, cell phones were young, and the biggest problem the nation faced was the fact that the President was getting blow jobs on the side. The world was so different then and you can see that in this film.  They use strange devices like video cassettes, pagers, and VCRs.  I always enjoy movies like this that remind me of when the world was different, in a way that many of the younger generations will never understand.

The government agencies portrayed in this film are totally fictional but they still bear a representation of what certain agencies became after 9/11.  Some of the technologies used in this film have become big time players in the new society we live in such as facial recognition technology and satellite surveillance.  This movie made for a frightening scenario in 1998 but the realities of it in today’s world aren’t that severe. It doesn’t affect the day to day lives of normal people and most of what we see in this movie is just Hollywood stuff.  One interesting thing I just noticed in the movie is that Jon Voight’s character was born on 9/11/40.  Strange coincidences like that often pop up in films, as I mentioned in our Demolition Man review.

I have never been a fan of Ridley Scott‘s little brother, Tony Scott.  He is the weaker director of the two brothers and I have never liked his coloring technique or his choppy way of piecing sequences together.  I’ll admit that he has made several decent movies though and I have liked many of them, such as this one. Will Smith is, and always has been, one of the coolest guys in the business.  I haven’t always been his biggest fan but I can’t deny his talent.  He had swagger long before it became the thing people talked about.   In this film he plays the part well and I have always remembered it as one of his better movies.  It’s one that I bring up if I need to give someone an example of how good he really is.  Gene Hackman fit his part well and this was another great addition to a long and distinguished career from Hackman.  Jon Voight also naturally fits the role that he plays in this film. Tom Sizemore is another one perfectly cast in his part as a criminal with a big time shoot out ending. The casting department just hit a home run all around by putting together a great supporting cast featuring Seth Green, Jack Black, Barry Pepper, Jamie Kennedy, Gabriel Byrne, Regina King, Jason Lee, Lisa Bonet, and the sons of James Caan and Gary Busey.

This movie is a non-stop thrill ride that really keeps the excitement coming.  It has a great cast, a good story, a lot of action, and a very climactic ending.  I have written many times about how much action films meant in my household growing up. This one was held in high regard all around, and still is by me today.  This movie runs a bit long at two hours and twelve minutes but it is definitely worth that time to see it.

AMBER’S REVIEW

Every time we review a Will Smith movie, I am going to link this video. Watch it.
Jay as Will Smith
For some reason, I got really sucked into this movie last night. We did have a babysitter, so maybe that had something to do with it, but I really found the movie to be really entertaining. I have seen it before, but it had been a really long time, so it was fun to follow along and trying to remember what happens and how. This movie is a fun ride, and Will Smith is always a fun guy to watch. I don’t think that he cries in this movie. Maybe he does, but Ryan has this running joke about how Will Smith cries in every movie he is in. He can make a tear appear at the drop of a hat.

I really like this movie. If you haven’t seen it, it is worth watching. It will keep you entertained and wondering if the government is really like that. Listening to everyone’s conversations. It’s all a little creepy if you ask me.

NEXT MOVIE: Enter the Dragon (1973)

Bonnie and Clyde

Year: 1967
Directed By: Arthur Penn
Written By: David Newman and Robert Benton

RYAN’S REVIEW

When we were watching Warren Beatty in Dick Tracy we realized we didn’t have this movie and had to make arrangements to change that.  Not only is this a classic film but it is one we have both always enjoyed.  We were a young crazy couple in love once and it was during that era that we saw this movie. I think it was a movie we both related to at the time.  With the thrill seeking lifestyle that is, not the impotence problem. In our youth we fancied ourselves to be rebels of a sort, and the “Bonnie and Clyde” theme appealed to us in a number of different films.

The Great Depression produced many celebrity outlaws that the film industry has always been willing to exploit on screen. Actually adding to the problem in doing so by glorifying their actions for an even greater audience. John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Baby Face Nelson have all graced the big screen at one time or another but none were as famous or celebrated as Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow.  Arthur Penn does a good job using them as the centerpiece for his story about the Great Depression but his movie is an inaccurate portrayal of actual events.  Like most movies that try to cover something historical like this they just can’t possibly fit the whole story into two hours.  There was much more to this story and some of the things the film portrays were outright exaggerations or made up all together.  The filmmakers were actually sued for defamation by the family of U.S. Marshal Frank Hamer, who was never captured and photographed with the gang members. The infamous death of the two is shown differently in the film than how it actually happened as well.  Bonnie and Clyde did go out in a hail of bullets but they were heavily armed and fighting back at the time. The way they are killed in the film implies that they were unarmed and victimized by the law. One of the many ways the film glorifies their actions and character despite the fact that they were ruthless killers and thieves. Nevertheless the film does cover the basic story and does a good job; you just have to be careful about what you take at face value.

Warren Beatty was in his prime when he made this film.  At 30 years old this is definitely the youngest and fittest I have ever seen him. I don’t know much about Beatty beyond him being a very private and powerful celebrity. I have always been a big fan of Gene Hackman who is also really young in this film. Hackman was an actor for over forty years and maintained a staying presence during the majority of that time; he only got more active in his later years. He has made countless good movies with iconic roles throughout his career; we will review many of his films. Faye Dunaway looks spectacular in this film, although she is much more beautiful than the actual Bonnie Parker, but that makes no matter. It’s also worth mentioning that Robert Towne did some doctoring to the script of the film.  Towne is well known for his writing roles in films like Chinatown and The Yakuza.

This was a very violent movie in 1967 that had a large and pronounced sexual theme thrown in the mix.  There has been talk that our culture’s fixation on sex and violence all began with this movie. I don’t know that for any actual certainty but I think it is an interesting idea. After all, I am a product of the film world created under the influence of this film, and my favorite movie of all time is practically just a modern version of this movie. This is a classic film and you don’t need me to tell you it’s a good movie.  This one is definitely worth your time.

AMBER’S REVIEW

I remember watching this movie in film critique class in high school. I immediately liked it. There are a few things that I distinctly remember from class so I will reiterate them here.

The big guns and cigars are used in the movie to symbolize the impotence that Clyde experiences. The irony is that he is this big badass bank robber, but he can’t get his junk up. Also, this movie was one of the first of its kind to make the viewer actually side with and feel sorry for the bad guys. Bonnie and Clyde were horrible criminals that stole and killed, yet this film made the viewer actually root for them in the end. Even though you know in the end they both die, you feel a sense of sadness for the gruesome way in which they are killed.

I really like this movie. It is a classic tale of a true life story and is more than worth your time.

The Birdcage

Year: 1996
Directed By: Mike Nichols
Written By: Jean Poiret and Elaine May

RYAN’S REVIEW

When I was 12 years old I went to work with my dad one night at the theater.  This was something I did often, while he worked I would go from theater to theater and watch movies.  Well one night when I was 12 I wondered into The Birdcage not knowing anything about the film or what it was about.  I might have made it four minutes into it before getting up and leaving.  As soon as I realized those women dancing on stage were men dressed as women I had seen enough.  I went on to tell the story of me getting up and walking out of that theater for another eight years until I was in college. I had a roommate who owned the movie and suggested I watch it, I had no idea what I was in for.  Today I consider this one of the funniest movies I have ever seen, and I love it.

This movie isn’t for everyone.  There are a lot of small-minded people out there with very strong feelings about homosexuals.  Nevertheless I challenge anyone to watch this movie and not laugh. While the characters are most definitely gay they are not doing anything offensive by any means. These are funny people put together in an outrageous scenario and what they made was a very funny film. Gene Hackman is great as Senator Keeley and Dianne Wiest is great as the joyful Republican wife. Robin Williams and Nathan Lane are hilarious as two gay men trying to act straight.  Hank Azaria should not go unmentioned here either, he is a very talented entertainer who has shown a lot of versatility in his career.  I wouldn’t call myself a Mike Nichols fan but I have liked many of his films, like The Graduate and What Planet Are You From? Of all his films, I think this was his best, but it does have steep competition and there is a lot of room for argument there.

I fully support gay rights and equal treatment but I did not always feel that way.  In a weird kind of way this movie helped me to be a more open-minded person and more accepting of other types of lifestyles. I was in college when I saw it for the first time and it was during that time that I learned to think for myself.  In a psychology class I learned that homosexuality is not just a lifestyle people chose but that genetics played a part.  I believe it is wrong to judge or hate someone for being who they were born to be. The way I see it whatever or whoever anybody out there chooses to be is none of my business or concern anyway.  I do not see the point in getting angry or malicious about something that you cannot control and will never change anyway. The bigots and homophobes out there are wasting their time and energy on hate. Homosexuality is not a fad, it’s been part of society from the beginning of time and always will be.

I don’t know that this movie would teach everybody to be open-minded but it will definitely have even the most uncomfortable guy laughing.  I consider this movie one of the funniest I have ever seen and it is one of my all time favorites.  I hope you will give it a chance if you have never seen it, it is worth your time.

AMBER’S REVIEW

In college, when Ryan told me that he had never seen this movie, I was shocked. I couldn’t believe that he had never seen it, when I had seen it a couple hundred times, I wasn’t sure how he was going to take it or like it. I fell asleep during the movie at some point, and while I was peacfully dreaming away I was all of a sudden awoken with laughter and the words that I will never forget…””Baby! (that’s what we call each other) Baby! Wake Up! LOOK WHAT HE IS DOING!” Those words will live on forever in our relationship. He was so shocked by the outcome of the dinner that he was urged to wake me up.

I thoroughly love this film. i really like Robin Williams in this role. I think he does an incredible job and Nathan Lane is priceless as his lover. I think this is a great movie. I don’t know if it is qualified as a movie for everyone, but if you are open-minded (which I feel everyone should be) then you would most likely like this movie and probably benefit from having watched it.

NEXT MOVIE: Black Sheep (1996)

Antz

Year: 1998
Directed By: Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson
Written By: Tim Alcott and Chris Weitz

RYAN’S REVIEW

In passing I’ve noticed a pattern in movies that I have never looked into but garners some need for research.  Frequently during the mid to later 90s two movies were released at the same time that were virtually the same thing.  Off the top of my head I remember these examples: Volcano (1997) and Dante’s Peak (1997), The Sixth Sense (1999) and Stir of Echoes (1999), Armageddon (1998) and Deep Impact (1998), Tombstone (1993) and Wyatt Earp (1994), and of course this movie, Antz and A Bug’s Life both made in 1998. Those 10 movies are merely the ones I can remember specifically off the top of my head, I’m sure I could think of many more if I gave it more thought. I don’t think this is coincidental, but I’m sure there is a fascinating story that practically nobody will ever know about behind it all.  It probably has to do with the big time movie studios and the rivalries that most of us will never know about.  In this case I think Dreamworks was trying to prove a point to Disney, but I know nothing factual about it, just my own personal assumption. I don’t know why I have never researched this trend myself but it is weird.  Typically I only saw one of these movies and didn’t care about the other.  Just about every one of these movies had large and reputable cast.  This one is no different sporting the voices of Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Sylvester Stallone, Gene Hackman, Christopher Walken, Donald Glover, and Jennifer Lopez.

Far too often this movie feels like a typical Woody Allen movie but the strength of the story and cast make it worth wild.  Most of the animated movies in our collection have been taken off our movie rack and moved to our daughter’s collection.  This movie remains because it doesn’t seem even remotely like a kids movie to me.  There isn’t anything childish or silly about it, yeah it’s about ants but they are ants with really adult problems.  Z is questioning his purpose in life, the queen is nervous about her arranged wedding, the General is planning a hostile takeover, an entire ant army platoon is specifically sent to their death in battle. These don’t seem like problems young children would understand or care about, and in some cases I don’t know that they are even appropriate story lines for children.  I imagine A Bug’s Life was more kid friendly.  Early on, this was one of the movies that got me interested in animated films, and showed me that they were moving away from the stereotype of being only for kids. These days Amber and I find ourselves loving the movies we watch for Cadence as much as we love the ones we watch for ourselves.  Up, How to Train Your Dragon, The Incredibles just to name a few are fantastic movies that I enjoy as much as I enjoy any of my favorite movies.

Antz is a cool movie and if you have a chance to see it you should check it out.  It’s a funny and interesting film that is easily forgettable because it came out at the same time as A Bug’s Life.  There have also been so many successful animated films released  in the last 12 years that this movie is overshadowed.  Never the less, take it from me, this movie is worth your time and you will probably like it.

AMBER’S REVIEW

There are two types of people in this world, optimistic and pessimistic. The main character in this film, Z is the worst case scenario pessimistic person. We all know them. This movie is really made for adults and contains many real life morals and lessons for humans, set into the life of ants. I thoroughly enjoy the real life questions this movie poses and answers. From the worker, to the fighter, to the queen and the free ant, they all relate to our own human life questions. This movie is worth watching.

NEXT MOVIE: Any Given Sunday (1999)