The Movie Journal

  Radio Days (1987) Before the era of television, streaming, and smartphones, there was just the basic radio. If you want to watch a film that is heavy in nostalgia and remembrance, I may suggest that you watch Woody Allen’s 1987 feature, Radio Days. The film romanticizes Allen’s childhood as a Jewish kid living with his Queens family and how radio played a major part in their lives. Allen, who also wrote the script, does not use comedy as much as his other films but there are still some zany lines we come to associate Allen with. Instead he focuses on the nostalgia and the importance of radio. He uses music to complete the threading of the story. The sound of big band/swing is used for transitions. I found that to be a pretty unique way of storytelling.   For the most part, I enjoyed the film thoroughly. That said, I did find it lacking when you compare it to other Allen films from the era such as Hannah and Her Sisters . The film did not have much of a story to it as it doe...

  Platoon (1986) “ Somebody once wrote, ‘Hell is the impossibility of reason.’ That’s what this place feels like. Hell.” -Chris Taylor Wow! That exclamation was the first word out of my gaping mouth after sitting through Oliver Stone’s Platoon . Stone’s movie follows in the footsteps of other great Vietnam War films from the era such as The Deer Hunter , Apocalypse Now , and The Killing Fields . Stone’s visceral approach gave the infamous war its most realistic story yet. Of sorts, this film is an autobiography of Stone’s experience in Vietnam. I loved how he gave no clear vision whether the soldiers in the platoon are good or bad. Yes, the main enemy is the Viet Cong. In the end, the soldiers had to face malaria-carrying mosquitoes, unknown swampy terrain that could hide the enemy, and each other. Some of the soldiers lose their sense of what’s right and wrong and could be a danger to one another. Stone made sure his audience is well aware of that sense. The film took years to...

  iZombie: Season 1, Episode 10 "Mr. Berserk" May 19, 2015 “Mr. Berserk” is another fun episode of iZombie . This episode gives Rose McIver the chance to show her acting range as it required a good portion of emotions to be used. From grief to drunk physical comedy to being mean, she does it all! This episode’s case of the week is very strong because it ties into the show’s overall mythology. Steven Weber is introduced as this week’s guest star, who plays a CEO of Max Rager (sounds familiar?). His character is such a jerk, but I loved the performance. As we near the season’s conclusion, things keep getting spicier. The only thing I disliked is Liv acting like a mean friend towards Major, which I’ll describe down below. The episode begins with Liv in shock and grief over Lowell’s death. She is questioned by the police. There is a nice moment where Ravi and Liz prove their friendship at the morgue as they say goodbye to Lowell forever. But this also gives her the determinatio...

  iZombie: Season 1, Episode 9 "Patriot Games" May 12, 2015 Good job, Patriot Brains. Way to break our hearts! It had to happen to give Liv personal stakes, but it was sad regardless. What am I talking about? The fatal ending where Blaine killed Lowell after he attempted to kill him when Liv bailed. Bradley James, as a guest star, created such a fond memory for this show. He made a believable love interest for Liv’s character. As we near the season’s conclusion, the show is picking things up as questions are getting closer to being answered. This episode also makes you aware that Blaine is a music snob or must have been in his past life. But hey, he gets points for being a Nirvana fan.  In this episode, Liv confronts Lowell about buying brains from Blaine. Lowell maintains his innocence and claims he did not know what Blaine was up to. Together, they formulate a plan to kill Blaine. The case of the week is interesting enough. It involves Liz eating a sniper brain which gives ...

  Jailhouse Rock (1957) During the 1950’s and 1960’s, rock stars capitalized on their popularity by making feature films starring themselves. Two famous rock stars/bands often did this; The Beatles and The King himself, Elvis Presley. I tried to stay away from these movies because they do not look particularly interesting and I felt like the acting skills would be diminished. As a fan of Elvis’s music, “Jailhouse Rock” is one of his best songs. I felt like perhaps it was time to see his 1957 feature Jailhouse Rock which is widely regarded to as his best film. It is not a complete disaster, but it is also not great. The elaborate dancing sequence with the title song is worth tuning in to because it features unforgettable choreography (from Elvis himself) and of course, the music! That said, the acting is bland, and the story failed to garner my full interest.   This production became Elvis’s third film and first studio film with MGM. The film actually was little known headi...

  Hoosiers (1986) Hoosiers is about as predictable as a sports movie can get. It follows the same formula that Hollywood has been doing since the beginning of time: the losing team, the new coach, the obligatory training sequences, the team driving toward its darkest hour before finally heading towards happiness and triumph. Despite the lack of originality, the movie stands out because of its charm, heart, and knowledge that screenwriter Angelo Pizzo and director David Anspaugh interject in their film. The movie understands the role of small-town politics on high school sports; how parents and school councils believe they know more about sports (in this case, basketball) more than anyone else. As a small-town man myself, I agree with how they portrayed the rural, small-town feeling.   This is one of those movies that nearly faded into obscurity. The studio, Orion pretty much just dumped the film and offered little support. It was produced on a tiny budget. Little cash was ...

  The Mission (1986) I must be one of the only people that truly believe The Mission is a great movie. Do not get me wrong as the film got solid reviews and was a big player during awards season, but I do not believe it got the true recognition it deserves. This movie is a passionate, fiery film about religion and imperialism. It comes as no surprise that Roland Joffe is the man behind the camera as he tackled the likewise passionate The Killing Fields . The film expresses some important ideas within the historic background. As an avid student of history, the entire Jesuit history in South America perked interest in me. To me, it comes as no surprise that the film is powerfully directed by Joffe with two outstanding performances from Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons.   The film was written by Robert Bolt. I really liked how Bolt decided to tell this story. The story is mostly told in flashbacks through a series of letters. This could have easily gone astray but Bolt kept ev...

  iZombie: Season 1, Episode 8 "Dead Air" May 05, 2015 “Dead Air” is a better episode than the last episode. While the case of the week falls mostly flat again, this episode succeeds in making lots of stuff happen in such a short span of time. By the time the credits role, you will probably be gripping your seat so hard. I was enamored by the ending! Still there is plenty of amusing things happening. Ravi falling in love with Peyton, Blaine becoming a big part of the episode, Major’s character development, and zombie rats!   In this episode, a radio talk show host whose expertise was on love and sex was murdered. When Liv ate her brains, she became the romantic expert which created some amusing situations between herself and Ravi. Major was snooping around which landed him in jail. Peyton got him released which opened up Ravi’s eyes. He asks Liv to set them up, but Liv believed that Peyton is just too good for him. She is “a lawyer who looks like a Victoria Secret’s model...

  iZombie: Season 1, Episode 7 "Maternity Liv" April 28, 2015 We are now past the midpoint of iZombie’s excellent first season. The show has gotten into such a groove where even the somewhat mediocre episodes (by iZombie’s standard) are above average. This week’s episode, “Maternity Liv” is one of these so-called mediocre episodes. There is plenty to like, but it is not as strong as previous episodes. Mainly you can blame Liz’s brain and the personality it gives off. The brain, as the title suggests, gives Liv a more maternal personality, which makes her fussy and she makes sure all her coworkers eat their vegetables. Furthermore, her relationship with Lowell is not advanced because he happened to eat a gay brain…but that did allow for some cool interactions with Ravi.   This week’s case focuses on the killing of Emily Sparrow. That was somewhat of a surprise because it had already been believed that she was killed months prior by her boyfriend. Regardless, the case was r...

  Bonnie and Clyde (1967) 1967’s Bonnie and Clyde changed the landscape of American movies in a major way. This picture allowed movies with gratuitous violence and realistic sex scenes to make their way to the forefront. This is the picture that allows us to see movies as we today in today’s modern cinema. Detractors criticize the film for allowing heavy violence that we see in nearly every film. With the changes made to 1960’s cinema, one can easily forget that this is actually a very good film. It tells the story about the famed criminal duo Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. Robert Benton’s screenplay allows for ripe characterization and Arthur Penn’s direction was smooth and had the perfect landing.   Robert Benton, who created the screenplay with David Newman, molded his script around the French New Wave movement, which some characteristics you can see in the final product including jarring, sudden shifts in tone and choppy editing which comes to play near the film’s end...

  The Color of Money (1986) The 1980’s was an interesting decade for Martin Scorsese. After beginning the decade with one of his all-time classics, Raging Bull , he spent the rest of the decade experimenting with different styles thus creating a stage in his career that people begin to know as “Minor Scorsese.” Funnily enough, these movies including The Color of Money , is better than most director’s films. This particular film is Scorsese going more mainstream but keeping his techniques from After Hours intact. The dark lighting and colors usage, his use of panning camera angles, and a rock-heavy soundtrack are techniques that you may be familiar with. As for this particular film, it’s the sequel to the 1961 Paul Newman hit The Hustler which is an unlikely tale for Scorsese to tackle. It is a good film, but I consider this the director’s weakest (yep, he still has never made a bad movie.)   I am someone that is not infatuated with the sport of pool. Despite many good cine...

  Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) Francis Ford Coppola’s Peggy Sue Got Married is an interesting movie. If you have read my movie reviews from past films, you would realize I have many of those regarding films directed by Coppola. He is the man at the forefront of advancing cinema with new various stylistic and technological innovations. Most of them push boundaries with varying results. Here, which is shocking at first, is a film that he made just to make a film. He has strong characters and raw emotions and he makes a story out of it. Mostly, it is nothing special. It is your average story about a middle-aged woman trying to find herself by traveling to her younger years-a very similar concept to Back to the Future . The movie is fun and has some clever concepts and dialogue, but do not go thinking it is the same Coppola who directed The Godfather or Apocalypse Now .   Believe it or not, Coppola was actually the third director the studio hired to bring the project to life. ...