The Movie Journal

  Live from Baghdad (2002) Live from Baghdad is a hard-hitting, made-for-television movie that takes place during the first Gulf War. Ironically, Mick Jackson’s HBO film was released just as the United States was getting involved with Iraq for the second time. In terms of production value, you can tell the film was made for television. What action scenes there were tended to be well-made especially that bombing sequence towards the end. The film does exhibit magnificent performances especially from Michael Keaton and Helena Bonham Carter. Thematically, the film pushes across questions that are not easy to answer. What is the role of press in the international scene? Should censorship be a viable option for countries? What would it take to show the world the “truth?” As 24-hour news groups such as CNN take over the business, coming up with the brand-new story gets harder and harder. Just ask tough-as-nails producer Robert Wiener, as he tries to make Saddam Hussein more accessible to...

  The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) The Vietnam War brought the issue of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) to the forefront of people’s minds. In today’s combat, PTSD is a topic that is regularly explored. PTSD is nothing new, but its thematic exploration is only recent. However, there happens to be an honest, intelligent film depicting PTSD from before Vietnam…during World War II. That particular film is William Wyler’s The Best Years of Our Lives . The film began production a mere seven months after the war ended and Wyler wanted to bring an honest, authentic feeling to his movie. He even had the principal actors buy their own clothes. At nearly three hours long, you don’t feel the time passing. Wyler, the man behind Wuthering Heights and Ben-Hur , immerses his audience into his film with a timely topic, impressive, well-developed characters, and a wonderful film score composed by Hugo Friedhofer. Big-time American producer Samuel Goldwyn came up with this film’s idea when...

  Full Metal Jacket (1987) Movies about Vietnam have been commonplace in the late 70’s-1980’s. More often that not, masterpieces were created about this topic. Of course, we all know about The Deer Hunter , Apocalypse Now , and Platoon . Let’s add another one to the list: Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket . This may actually be my favorite out of all the movies I listed. Kubrick’s story is told in two sections; the boot camp sequences at Parris Island and the actual fighting in Vietnam. While the Vietnam scenes are harrowing, nailbiting, and features excellent sound/visual choices, the first half of the film is sheer perfection. R. Lee Ermey as the colorful squad leader and Vincent D’Onofrio as Private Gomer Pyle deliver exemplary performances. Watching Ermey turn D’Onofrio into an instrument of death is nothing short of terrifying. Kubrick does not have an extensive filmography so when he directs something, you know its something that needs to be seen. After all, Kubrick created...

  Roxanne (1987) If you are a romantic soul and in search of sweet, romantic fluff, look no further than 1987’s Roxanne . Written by and starring Steve Martin, this romantic comedy is one of Martin’s underrated films. In fact, I found it strange I never heard of the movie until I randomly saw a DVD at a yard sale and the plot appealed to me. This movie is Martin’s take on the age-old 1890 play Cyrano de Bergerac . The themes are universal and certainly applied to me. Everyone, including adults, are afraid of being laughed at due to some body appendage or appearance issue. Myself, not the most handsome man in the world, can easily relate to this theme of being afraid to find love because of how one looks. I think Martin does a wonderful job applying those themes to his comedy. That said, this is also an 80’s romantic comedy so it does border on the sappy side. And that prosthetic nose! I could not stop staring at that thing…but perhaps that is the point. Steve Martin said it took 90...

  Big Little Lies: Season 1, Episode 7 "You Get What You Get" SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!!!!!!! Season 1 of Big Little Lies went out with a big bang. The ending is shocking, unforgettable, and exhilarating as we finally learn who got murdered and the reasons why it took place. While the basic premise is a whodunit murder investigation, the real story is about women empowerment in their everyday lives. How nothing is stronger than women bonding and friendship. After a heartfelt apology, Renata joins the circle. Her character wasn’t exactly an evil woman after all; just a protective mother. This episode also shows why men can be so toxic. Of course, Alexander Skarsgard’s Perry is a horrible person no matter which way you look at it. He beats Celeste and it is later revealed that he is the same person who raped poor Jane. He is the one who tried to beat all the women in this crazy ending, but it was ultimately Bonnie (whose abusive past was alluded to) who made the final, fatal push th...

  The Big Red One (1980) Samuel Fuller’s The Big Red One is an epic, harrowing personal journey into how devastating World War II was. Even though the film is fictional, the film is based off the true stories that Fuller himself witnessed during the war. My review is the review of the reconstructed 158-minute feature that critic Richard Schnickel put together, which more closely resembles the story Fuller wanted to tell. When compared to war films, this particular movie is more episodic. Instead of scenes leading to one major scene, Fuller told this war story as is; as the group travels from North Africa to Italy to Omaha Beach. The unique degree of storytelling is what sets it apart from other war films. Even star Lee Marvin later said that his other major war film, The Dirty Dozen is “moneymaking junk” when compared to this feature. The idea of the film came about in the 1950’s when Warner Brothers sent Fuller to scout locations for the film. Studio head Jack L. Warner wanted Joh...