The Movie Journal

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) 1966’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a searing film based off Edward Albee’s controversial 1962 play of the same name. The movie, which was Mike Nichol’s ( The Graduate) directorial debut, broke many boundaries in the world of cinema. Never before have audiences seen a movie with provocative language and sexual tendencies displayed here. Despite extreme pressure, the film was released to rave reviews from critics and audience alike. The film only has four main characters and really only one location, but the searing, angry dialogue grabs you and keeps you hooked. Modern audiences may think of Aaron Sorkin when taking in every bit of the dialogue. This was also a box office success thanks to the powerful combination of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, perhaps the most publicized couple of the 1960’s. Edward Albee’s play had a successful Broadway run, but people believed it could not be adapted to the big screen because ...

The Breakfast Club (1985) When people talk about teen movies, most minds stray to John Hughes’s 1985 classic, The Breakfast Club . Like his previous feature Sixteen Candles , Hughes attempts to explore the teenage mind. Just like that film, this film is a relatable teenage character study. Each of the main characters are vastly different in terms of image and personality, but they eventually share a common interest; a seething anger for adults, mainly their Principal Vernon. The film is a little on the talky, philosophical side but John Hughes made every word count with his screenplay and style of direction. Hughes made each one of the characters relatable for the people who have been through high school, even downright likable at times. Believe it or not, Universal was highly skeptical of the film. When shooting began, Sixteen Candles was not released yet, so the studio was still dealing with an unproven director. Hughes was able to calm the film’s investors. After all...

Witness (1985) Peter Weir’s Witness is a movie that literally took my breath away. The film was marketed as a tense thriller set within the Amish community. The ads failed to show the film for what it really is: an intelligent love story confined in a thriller. The first half is a tense thriller, but it slowly leads into a believable romance story before turning on the thriller button again. Both parts of the film are excellent! Harrison Ford, who earned an Academy Award nomination, is at his very best here. Trust me, this film is not your typical police thriller. Earl Wallace’s and William Kelley’s sensitive, endearing script was circling around Hollywood for a few years before being picked up. The script went out of its way to show the Amish culture as real as it can be within the thriller setting. After the film’s release, the Amish were very concerned about tourists invading their land. They were also somewhat critical of the script. That said, I loved how the film ...

Black Lightning: Season 1, Episode 10 "Sins of the Father: The Book of Redemption" March 28, 2018 The A.S.A are closing in on Jefferson Pierce. That’s the overall theme of this episode, “Sins of the Father: The Book of Redemption.” This episode is filled with tension and there are quite a few reveals. This is not my favorite episode of the season, but it is a necessary episode to move along the plot. Cress Williams continues to deliver solid performances as Jefferson, and he is this episode’s MVP. To protect his family from Martin Proctor and his goons, Jefferson moves his family to the house his father was killed in, as the Pierce girls reminded Jeff. Gambi is bruised and battered from Proctor as he tries to wring secrets out of him. Jeff does pay the bloodied Gambi a visit, but it is still clear Jeff is angry at him still. We learn more about Jennifer’s powers. She creates her own power and may be the strongest out of everyone in the family. And that big reve...

Black Lighting: Season 1, Episode 9 "The Book of Little Black Lies" March 20, 2018 “The Book of Little Black Lies” is an episode that focuses…on well, lies! Jefferson and Lynn had been hiding Jeff’s secret from their daughters all their lives. Once Anissa discovered her powers, she also kept lying to Jennifer. This comes crashing down when Jennifer discovered she has powers and now everything has been revealed to her. Of course, she is peeved because she wanted to be trusted like an adult. Speaking of deceits, Gambi continues to do things behind Jeff’s back, and those things may involve very toxic spider venom. This is a very strong episode with Jennifer at the forefront. China Anne McClain does an excellent job depicting the real-life feelings of a teenager. Some may find Jennifer whiny, but she is acting like a true teenager. In this episode, Jennifer learns the secrets from her family. Her family are being grounded and real about her newfound powers. Jennife...

Blood Simple (1985) Joel and Ethan Coen deserve a huge round of applause for the way they stormed the cinematic world with their debut Blood Simple. The Coen Brothers are currently a Hollywood wonder, but their debut back in 1984 was simply unforgettable. They proved themselves master storytellers with their complicated plot. They also proved that they can effectively use visuals to tell they story they want to tell. Yes, this story is bloody, gory, twisty, and incredibly fun. I love the story how the Coen Brothers got their film made. They made a trailer themselves. It was a short trailer about a man dragging a shovel on a road to a man he was going to kill. It was brief and to the point. These unknown men went door-to-door looking for financing so they can make their movie. They succeeded. They were able to raise the million or so dollars needed to make their film. The film then was made in a short time and premiered at the 1984 Sundance Festival where it was well-rec...

The Cotton Club (1984) 1984’s The Cotton Club marks Francis Ford Coppola’s return to the world of mobsters…and to mixed results. If you are familiar with the director’s filmography, you will know he is the creative mind behind The Godfather films. I thought being back in his wheelhouse, he would create another masterpiece. While not a completely bad film, the highly energized film is rather bland, and the strong cast is not able to live up to its complete potential. It is an interesting movie to dissect and the making of the movie itself is somewhat interesting. Robert Evans, the famed producer behind Chinatown , had his eyes on to direct the film. He backed out and suggested Coppola to direct this movie. In purely financial terms, this was a mistake for the studio as the budget ballooned under his supervision. Mario Puzo, who had written The Godfather and its sequel, actually had a script that was already completed. Coppola hired William Kennedy at the last minute to m...

Black Lightning: Season 1, Episode 8 "The Book of Revelations" March 13, 2018 “The Book of Revelations” is straight up an episode filled….with revelations. This show has done an amazing job building up its characters, the plot, the politics, everything really. Tobias is a really scary villain…but now we are introduced to a bigger villain possibly. The ASA, or a shadowy government agency. This episode is where Gambi spilled the beans about himself and his past. There are some sad and shocking moments…stuff that makes the show even more thrilling. We are introduced to Martin Proctor, one of the leaders of the ASA. Yeah, I do not like his racist rhetoric. Last episode had Jefferson babying Anissa about her newfound superhero powers. He decided to relax his father complex and train Anissa. Her training regimen is something you would see out of Men in Black . Jefferson confides to Lynn how he loves training her and that he can actually learn from her. Lynn actually ...

Black Lightning: Season 1, Episode 7 "Equinox: The Book of Fate" March 06, 2018 SPOILERS AHEAD!!! “Equinox: The Book of Fate” is a very, very strong episode of Black Lightning. The very end of last episode revealed to Jefferson that Anissa has superhero powers. The majority of time spent in this episode focuses on Anissa and her revealed powers. Jefferson and Lynn spend time together trying to figure out how to parent this issue. Jefferson finally agrees to mentor her but made her promise to be better than him. This is a common theme in many superhero shows/movies, but it should not be hard considering all the grief Jefferson put himself through here. The ending is also crazy, with several events happening to blow your mind! Jefferson agrees to train Anissa, but he wants to be sure that she adheres to every single one of his rules. Together, they try to clear Black Lightning’s name. He is quickly losing the trust of Freeland’s citizens. He already lost Inspector He...

The Birth of a Nation (1915) 1915’s The Birth of a Nation is one of the hardest films I had to write a review for. In one sense, D.W. Griffith’s film revolutionized the art of filmmaking. Not a single soul took cinema seriously, and now this film changed the course of film. Various shooting and editing techniques were employed for the first time. This is viewed as cinema’s first epic. On the other hand, the source material and the content of the film is downright disgusting. The film paints the Confederacy in a positive light, and it sees the Ku Klux Klan as a white savior group. I make my reviews based on the film’s content, and it is hard to see anything positive here. It is a blatantly racist film that draws in and is proud about how evil it is. The film is very lucky it came out when it did in terms of filmmaking, or otherwise I would not dare give the film a passing score. This movie is based off the novel “The Clansmen” by Thomas Dixon Jr. Dixon’s book was very contr...

A Passage to India (1984) A Passage to India is a deep, mesmerizing film and also, an important film. The film, based off one of the twentieth century’s greatest literary works, is a story about prejudice and racism between the English and Indian people during the British Raj. This beautiful film is also David Lean’s last film. Lean made sure to go out with a bang, as he still had one more epic in him. The canvas that he painted is colorful, realistic, and complicated. The story has many moving parts within its politics, and it has the chance to frustrate viewers with how open-ended Lean left his film. Then again, the novel was even more open-ended. The beauty of the arts! The film took an incredibly long time to be adapted from the source material. The author, E.M Forster (also known for writing Howard’s End ), was afraid his book would be adapted the wrong way. Many filmmakers approached him for the rights, but he denied them all. He did not think it was possible to b...

Starman (1984) John Carpenter’s Starman is a science-fiction delight and a very nice surprise. There are several reasons why the film is unique. It is a sci-fi film (my favorite genre) but Carpenter took a complete U-turn to eventually turn the film into a simple, but pleasing romance story with a sprinkle of road-trip genre mixed in. The film is often compared to Steven Spielberg’s E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial and sometimes in an unfair way. Yes, the two films contain similar storylines, but this particular film is geared toward adults. Perhaps that is the reason why romance is a major player? I was taken aback when I saw John Carpenter directed the movie. I knew him as the horror maestro behind hits such as Halloween and The Fog . Carpenter wanted to prove himself as a director who can tackle any genre with success. If Starman is any indication, Carpenter does have the chops to take on a character-driven film. The film was originally going to be directed by Tony Scott....

Black Lightning: Season 1, Episode 6 "Three Sevens: The Book of Thunder" February 27, 2018 What an intriguing episode! Once again, politics is at a forefront in Black Lightning . “Three Sevens: The Book of Thunder” picks it up a notch. This is the episode we truly see how the law enforcement do NOT like Black Lightning. The police department was mobilized to take him down. If you remember from earlier in the season, Jefferson was stopped by these white cops. Can you imagine what it would be like if he was unmasked? Anissa took her superhero abilities to another level when she defaced a Confederate statue. This provided some excellent character development. Watching Anissa develop her superhero powers and use them for the greater good has been a joy to behold. Whether or not you believe politics have a place in a superhero show, the show’s creator Salim Akil obviously has things to say and he does not mince his words. Jefferson uses this episode to hunt down his...

Black Lightning: Season 1, Episode 5 "And the Devil Brought the Plague: The Book of Green Light February 13, 2018 “And the Devil Brought the Plague: The Book of the Green Light,” is a remarkably interesting episode of Black Lightning . This is an episode meant for backstory and character development. Depth is not an issue here as we learn more about the Pierce family, aka Jefferson’s father, Alvin, and the sad childhood of Tobias Whale. Jefferson spent most of the episode as Black Lightning. The show continues its hard-political nature. There was an instance, for example, where Black Lightning stopped these white cops from shooting a kid high on Green Light. “Use tasers next time” Jeff said. There was also a scene later in the episode where a white person said he would be lauded as a hero for taking out Black Lighting. Scenes like these are a great example how this show tackles real racial issues. In this episode, Jefferson receives a phone call which makes him want...

From Here to Eternity (1953) Before watching From Here to Eternity , I thought I was getting an action film set in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked. Instead, I got a romance drama with the aforementioned event in the backdrop. Despite that “disappointment,” Fred Zinnemann’s wartime epic is a well-acted film which also has one of the most famous love scenes of all time. Maybe the script does not hold up very well and the dialogue is quite cringy, but this is still one picture worth watching. It was nominated for thirteen Academy Awards and won eight of them including Best Picture. This film is based off a controversial novel written by James Jones. Jones’s novel was very provocative, especially for the time period it was published. In order for Daniel Taradash’s script to be approved by the censors and the Army, it had to undergo some major changes. For example, the book has venereal diseases as an issue for bad marriage. You might recall the scenes between Maggio an...

Beverly Hills Cop (1984) Just like 48 Hrs and Lethal Weapon to name a few, Beverly Hills Cop is one of those movies that revolutionized the buddy cop genre in the 1980’s. Even to this day, this film remains incredibly popular thanks to Eddie Murphy’s fast-paced, magnificent performance. Also, what stands out here is the soundtrack. Hate talk 80’s music all you want, but there is no beating this soundtrack. In addition to the famous “Axel F’ theme song, there are songs from Patti LaBelle and the Pointer Sisters that you couldn’t imagine anywhere else. Watching Murphy drive down Beverly Hills while LaBelle is rocking out “Stir It Up” allows you to embrace the film. The megastar producing duo of Jerry Bruckheimer/Don Simpson came up with the film’s idea in the late 1970’s, but Paramount decided not to move forward with the film until the early 80’s. It is hard to believe after watching the film, but the original screenplay was a more serious drama that had Sylvester Stallo...

The Killing Fields (1984) Wow, what a punch to the gut! If you are about to watch The Killing Fields for the first time, be prepared to feel the same way. It is an emotional tale that describes the horror of the Khmer Rouge reign. It is a thought-provoking tale based from the memoirs of a New York Times correspondent. The performances from the cast are excellent, especially from Haing S. Ngor, a doctor who never acted before. This is Roland Joffe’s first film as director and he really understood the material. It is not only a movie that describes the horror of war, but it is a tale of friendship, loyalty, and love. David Puttnam, who produced this feature, actually said Joffe was the only man who understood what the film truly meant. Indeed he did, because this film is an emotional gut punch! As a history major, this time period is actually one I was not all too familiar with. I knew the Cambodian Civil War was in part due to the Khmer Rouge taking over the country. Thi...

All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) Upon completion of All Quiet on the Western Front , I had a myriad of thoughts flashing through my brain. The thought on the top of my head was, “how on earth was this film made in 1930?” It is a film that is way ahead of its time, cinematically and thematically. The film is clearly an anti-war film that discusses the horrors of World War I, which only ended about a decade before. This is a powerful, thoughtful movie and its one that is relevant some ninety years later. This is one of the first war films in the sound era, and it really revolutionized how war films were made. Steven Spielberg later credited this film for his 1998 picture Saving Private Ryan , which is often heralded as one of the genre’s best. Lewis Milestone’s film is based off the controversial book written by Erich Maria Remarque. The book, which details the horror of war, was banned in many countries because of its anti-war message. The book and film were banned in ...

Black Lightning: Season 1, Episode 4 "Black Jesus" February 06, 2018 “Black Jesus” is a solid episode. It gets relatively dark in moments, but there are some moments of levity to be found. The episode also continues to fleshen out its characters, especially Tobias and Lady Eve. The two work together to take down Black Lightning once and for all. Lady Eve says her partners are growing restless (even more villains, perhaps?) and threatens to turn Tobias into bone dust if Black Lightning is not killed. Geez, I do not want to cross her. Also, there is a new drug in town. This Green Light seems like it will take up the rest of the season. While this episode is slower than the first three episodes, it does allow for great character development. Jefferson Pierce seems to have a lot of troubles heading his way, huh? Jefferson gets his first look at this drug, which basically turns its users into the Hulk, in the school’s bathroom. Jeff had to use his powers to stop the...

Black Lightning: Season 1, Episode 3 "LaWanda: The Book of Burial" January 30, 2018 “LaWanda: The Book of Burial” continues Black Lightning’s grounded drama and hard frictional politics. Three episodes in, this series is not holding back in terms of its political nature. The running theme in this very episode is oppression and freedom. We learn that the 100 answers to Tobias Whale, but the corruption runs deeper and deeper because he reports to a woman named Lady Eve (played with menacingly perfection by Jill Scott). Her motivation is money. She does not care what the black folks of Freeland do, as long as they do not take back the streets. Black Lightning is the thorn in their sides particularly with Tobias since Tobias thought Black Lightning was long dead. So, in terms of the show’s villains, we get more of their backstory and what they are trying to achieve. This is an episode that is high on character development. Last episode, Black Lightning stopped a ma...

The Terminator (1984) The Terminator is, without a doubt, one of the most iconic science-fiction movies of all-time. It may not be my favorite (it’s still high up on my list), but there is no denying the influence the film had for filmmakers and moviegoers alike. The studio, Orion, originally saw this film as a flop, but it was moderately successful on a limited budget. It spawned a sequel that brought the property to a mass audience, which it turn created more sequels of varying degrees of success. Even in today’s world, this is a beloved film that has a wide audience. The film brought forth the Hollywood careers of many people. The top of the list is director James Cameron. It took people time to see he was the real deal. With the tight budget given to him, Cameron was able to make most of what he had. His movie, which he also wrote, has some very dark themes. What will the world look like with the rapid acceleration of technology and what would happen if there was...

Amadeus (1984) Amadeus , without a doubt, is my favorite film from 1984. Looking in from the outside, the movie looks to be a dark, disturbing tale about the feud between legendary composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri. In reality, while the film has some extremely dark moments, it is also light-hearted and quite funny. The casting is perfect. Tom Hulce as Mozart is one of the best casting of all-time, and it comes out of nowhere! The costumes are fantastic. Should I even mention the music? This film made me appreciate the fact that Mozart is one of the greatest minds in human history. In 1975, a movie was released called One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest . That movie was one of my favorite films that year and also won Best Picture at the Oscars, just like this movie. Both films were directed by Milos Forman. Forman directed the heck out of the movie. Each scene was expertly staged and meaningful. Considering the world was entering the MTV stage, Forman too...

Black Lightning: Season 1, Episode 2 "LaWanda: A Book of Hope" January 23, 2018 When it comes to television shows, it is important for them to have a strong second episode. The pilot of course is the hook, but viewers can be lost if they are unimpressed with the pilot’s follow-up. Luckily for Black Lightning, “LaWanda: A Book of Hope” is an episode that impresses. The series continues to be grounded in real-life situations such as gang violence and police brutality. This episode asks a particularly important question. Is Black Lightning back? Jefferson Pierce spends the episode struggling with himself the importance of his decision. Yes, he needed Black Lightning in the pilot to save his two daughters, but his appearance gives hope to the community. Not only is Jefferson wondering if he should come back or not under his superhero identity, so is his ex-wife. Lynn left him because she couldn’t take the pain he suffered during the first go-around. Jefferson, if h...