Tag Archives: 5/5

#270- Raiders of the Lost Ark

Quick recap: Han Solo is in a race to find the fabled Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis do.

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Fun (?) fact: During filming, nearly all of the cast and crew contracted food poisoning at some point, except Steven Spielberg who only ate cans of Spaghetti-Os.

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My thoughts: As seems to be the case with really popular movies lately, this was my first time watching Raiders of the Lost Ark. I don’t really have a reason for not watching sooner, except that Adventure movies aren’t really my thing. This movie didn’t change that for me, but I can at least appreciate what it did to the genre.

I’m certainly not on the Spielberg Hate Wagon ( great band name, FYI), but his director trademarks can be tiresome. Thankfully, Raiders of the Lost Ark kept sappiness and deep seated daddy issues at bay. I am glad, however, that he stuck with his old pal John Williams to create a wonderfully memorable soundtrack. It’s not my favorite of their collaboration, but it was perfect for the movie and really amped up all the action scenes.

The action scenes themselves were the main ‘wow’ factor and I loved the homage to older adventure films where it seemed someone was in danger every few minutes. It’s delightfully ridiculous at times, but also amazing to see how perfectly executed everything is. And Harrison Ford was perfect for the role, of course. No one can play know-it-all ass like he can. Dare I say that I prefer him as Indiana Jones over Han Solo? I feel like I should soak myself in holy water for even thinking something so blasphemous.

My only complaint with the movie is a very minor, personal one, as most complaints tend to be. Being the geek I am, I was most on the edge of my seat during any conversation about the Ark of the Covenant. There’s so much history here! Archeology has interested me for a long time so I’m probably the only person out there who could’ve gone with more talking and less action.

Final review: 5/5 because of course!

Up next: Planet of the Apes

 

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#266- Full Metal Jacket

Quick recap: A young Marine survives boot camp and gets sent to Vietnam where he can truly understand the phrase, ‘war is hell, man.’

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Here’s your friendly reminder of how amazing the Simpsons used to be.

Fun (?) fact: Private Joker’s real name in the film is J.T. Davis, a real soldier who is considered to be the first American casualty of the war.

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My thoughts: The Vietnam War alone is about as hellish as anyone would expect it to be. But just in case we Americans didn’t really ‘get it’ the first time around, a slew of war movies came out to make sure we remembered just how bad that war was: Apocalypse Now, Platoon, The Deer Hunter and so on. All the while Stanley Kubrick was watching us, unimpressed with our claims of horror and empty promises of not letting that happen again. And thus, Full Metal Jacket was born.

Full Metal Jacket is horrifying, but not in the ways I expected. I knew there would be blood and guts because this is war, duh, and I was even prepared to see innocent civilians murdered. But the scenes that stuck with me the most were the conversations the men had about the war. As evidenced by the boot camp sequence, the US wanted killing machines and that’s what they got. It’s much easier to give a man a gun and teach him to shoot than to sit him down and explain why he’s going to war. And this tactic works well, for the most part, until a group is separated from their leader and their leader is murdered and then they have to think for themselves. The juxtaposition of the young sniper dying while the soldiers tried to decide what to do with her followed by the men singing the Mickey Mouse theme song is chilling and affected me more than I expected it to.

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Besides horrific scenes, this movie also had some really funny parts. The opening scene of Sgt. Hartman yelling at his new recruits might be one of my favorite scenes on this list, although it’s also really horrible to watch and I felt bad about laughing. Full Metal Jacket is the kind of movie where, when you laugh, the next thing you say is, ‘oh my god, I can’t believe I laughed at that’.The soundtrack is also great and surprised me that it was used for comedic effect as well. It’s a Kubrick film, after all, so I expect nothing less.

Final review: 5/5 but I don’t know if I could sit through it again.

Up next: Shock Corridor

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#263- Trainspotting

Quick recap: Don’t do drugs, kids. Unless you don’t mind swimming through the dirtiest toilets in Scotland and watching dead babies crawl on your ceiling. If that’s your thing though, you do you.

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Fun (?) fact: The title Trainspotting comes from the fact that it is an unusual hobby and only people who do it truly understand what it is, much like heroin.

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Even playing a character addicted to heroin, I still love Ewan.

My thoughts: I’ve loved Trainspotting for a long time, having first watched it in high school many years ago. Back then I was drawn to it solely because Ewan Mcgregor was the star and that he had a nude scene. Now,however, I appreciate this movie on different levels, one of them still being Ewan Mcgregor.

Watching Trainspotting this time around, it was the soundtrack that got to me most. The songs are perfectly chosen and create an emotional depth I hadn’t noticed in previous viewings.My favorite scene is when Renton (Ewan’s character) overdoses and ‘falls’ through the carpet. It’s very difficult to describe if you haven’t seen it, but the perspective on the screen is what he would see if he were laying in a grave. As the audience watches the trip to the emergency room and injection that brings him back to life, Lou Reed’s ‘Perfect Day’ is playing and it is so haunting to watch.

As I looked up trivia for the film, I saw that there are people who think the movie glorifies drug use and director Danny Boyle should’ve done more to show the consequences of what happens when you get addicted to heroin. It’s kind of a stupid argument because I think the film was realistic to what really goes on. Spud was sent to prison, Sick Boy’s child died, Tommy contracted AIDS and Renton pretty much got off without too much lasting damage. That’s life. Drugs are a gamble. Many people waste their life but that would be a life to say that it ruins EVERYONE. Plus, it’s not Danny Boyle’s job, unless he worked for DARE or something. All the same, it certainly didn’t make me want to go out and score a hit, mainly because I don’t like the sight of blood. Whatever works, you know?

Final review: 5/5.

Up next: Beverly Hills Cop

 

 

 

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#260- Rashomon

Quick recap: Three men discuss a recent murder and realize no one’s story can be trusted.

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He played unhinged perfectly, especially when he hissed

Fun (?) fact: Director Akira Kurosawa had trouble capturing the rain in the background so he added black ink to the rain machine.

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My thoughts: If you look at most modern trials, especially the high profile ones, it’s always extremely hard to prove what really happened. Even with a ton of evidence and a signed confession, that doesn’t always mean the defendant is guilty, or if he is guilty, has a really good lawyer that convinces the jury otherwise. This refusal for anyone to own up to anything makes for good entertainment, although it doesn’t necessarily make for good justice. Rashomon presents a unique case where everyone owns up to a murder, but no one tells the truth about who really did it, proving that things don’t really change.

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It’s German for ‘The bart, The’

Rashomon is a complicated film, even by today’s standards. The camera work, the frequent flashbacks, the conflicting stories all come together to make something fascinating and beautiful. The main theme (I think) is that human beings naturally suck and shouldn’t be believed or trusted. There’s a murdered man and everyone has his own interests at heart: The bandit, the wife, the murdered man himself, and the Woodcutter who saw it all. All stories are believable until questioned and then the process begins again with a new version. For me, the most complicated issue was the wife who claims she was raped. My initial reaction was that even if she enjoyed it, of course it’s still rape. Not even a question. But the bandit and husband disagreed and were quick to label her a whore, someone who will forever be damaged. It was very frustrating to watch, especially considering the recent conversations about assault that have come up because of the Stanford case. In the end, the Woodcutter settles the discrepancy by saying that yes the woman was raped but she also wanted out of her marriage and this was her escape, no matter how horrible the end result. For a movie made in 1950, it made me consider viewpoints I hadn’t entertained before.

Though I’m still not sure I trust the Woodcutter’s version of events, I appreciate that for all his hypocrisy, he is still a redeemable character. It showed me that although there is plenty of evil in this world, many bad things that happen occur because of selfishness and misguided acts. It’s important to remember that there is good, even when it feels like no one is being honest.

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Final review: 5/5

Up next: Pink Flamingos

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