The Movie Journal

  A Hard Day's Night (1964) A Hard Day’s Night is an interesting film. It is an often-entertaining look at a 12-hour span of the lives of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr in a Fab 4 group otherwise known as the Beatles. When the film was released in 1964, The Beatles have already achieved stardom thanks to their famous appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show . However, they were not the cultural icons they were soon to be as the musical group has yet to lose their innocence. The Beatles were not terrible actors and actually have some zingy one-liners. That said, their schtick fell out quickly. I am glad the film was rather short because the energy was clearly on its way out by the time the film ended. But there is enough juice to prop up the film and make it a respectable docu-comedy. As for the music, how can you go wrong with Can’t Buy Me Love or A Hard Day’s Night on the soundtrack? United Artists essentially made the film to make money from soundtrack ...

  Back to the Future Part II (1989) After the gigantic success of Back to the Future in 1985, Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale reunite for the sequel Back to the Future Part II . It received mixed reviews upon release, but it has gained a cult following in the years since release. Personally, I always enjoyed the movie. Yes, it does have an extremely complicated plot with many different time frames and paradoxes and whatnot. But if you want to avoid a headache and be take in for a wild ride, it may be best to shut off your brain for two hours. The movie had enough jokes to take the film into screwball territory at times. I still find the interactions between Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd to be gold. What surprised me and the audience in 1989 was how dark the film became when our heroes ventured back in the ’85 world. I thought they entered the world of Blade Runner but no, that is just part of the plot. I liked their depiction of 2015. Gale and Zemeckis weren’t trying to predict...

  The Little Mermaid (1989) Walt Disney Animation’s The Little Mermaid is considered the first film that initiated the Mouse’s animation revival in 1989. For the first time in quite some time, Disney finally had a box office success, and the rest is history. As for the quality, this is a fun, charming film that was a huge part of my childhood. My sister adored this movie, and the songs were played in my household over and over again. One can’t argue how great “Under the Sea” and “Part of Your World” are. The hand-drawn animation still holds up. Ursula still gives me nightmares as the villainous goddess. There are silly moments that the kids will gobble up, but there are enough enjoyable moments for adults. Ariel is a great Disney Princess that belongs in the pantheon of great Disney princesses. Who can resist the charm of Sebastian’s crankiness? He made a worthy sidekick for Ariel. The Little Mermaid is seen as the transition from old school Disney to new style that would take ov...

  My Left Foot (1989) My Left Foot is a brilliant film. It is a small Irish movie about a gifted man being dealt a bad hand with the crippling disease cerebral palsy. What I like about Jim Sheridan’s flick is that he did not set out to make an inspirational or sentimental film, yet it does inspire. Christy Brown is a real figure who, despite his late start, became an artist and author who left behind works and of course inspiration for people in similar situations. Daniel Day-Lewis delivered some successful performances, but he really became known to Hollywood with his Oscar-winning performance. Dustin Hoffman won the previous year for his Rain Man performance, one that tackles similar disability issues. As great as that performance was, Day-Lewis took it a step higher and became the character. In addition, the film manages to be funny. There are some scenes that had me laughing out loud. Christy playing goalkeeper in a soccer match is one of those scenes. Just for the heck of i...

  Smallville: Season 1, Episode 20 "Obscura" May 14, 2002 “Obscura” is a suspenseful episode that serves well for a climatic buildup to the season one finale of Smallville . Lex is essential to the episode as he ponders the question, “What else came to Earth during the meteor shower?” Someone dear to Clark has superpowers this time around and its no raging homicidal maniac. It is Lana Lang! She has visions and Clark uses these visions to save Chloe from a painful death. I thought that was well thought out. I found some things about Clark’s relationship with Chloe interesting. Wasn’t it established that they knew each other for a long time? Apparently, with them being freshmen in high school, they only knew each other for a year (since they met in the 8 th grade)? Definitely somewhat odd. In this episode, Lana develops superpowers after being hit by an explosion of a gas pipeline. Lana, now a clairvoyant, has visions of Chloe being kidnapped. Clark uses these images to try ...

  Smallville: Season 1, Episode 19 "Crush" May 07, 2002 * Potential Spoilers Ahead    “Crush” is an episode about love and second chances. The love triangle between Clark, Lana, and Chloe is given lots of focus in this exciting episode. Yet, the overall story arch takes a darker turn with the arrival of villain-of-the-week Justin Gaines. This character allows Adam Brody to put in some great acting work. And someone who is not a villain bites the bullet and perishes. Not a main character, but a familiar one regardless. RIP Principal Kwan. Justin Gaines is a teenager who loves to draw. After being hit by a car, he lands in the hospital. He becomes dysfunctional because he no longer has the mobility of his hands. He does, however, have the power of telekinesis. He uses the power to give his doctor a serious accident because he is “at fault.” He returns to Smallville and begins to date Chloe. Chloe investigates the accident and discovers it was Principal Kwan who is at faul...

  Sunset Blvd. (1950)   “There's nothing else. Just us, and the cameras, and those wonderful people out there in the dark. All right, Mr. De Mille, I'm ready for my closeup.”             These are the painful words from aging actress Norma Desmond as she grapples with fame right after she committed a murder. This phrase is one of the most memorable phrases in cinema’s history. Billy Wilder has a knack of making such endings in his movies as evidenced by Some Like It Hot. Sunset Blvd. is one of the best movies about Hollywood. It tackles a very relevant topic as it deals with fame and what happens when fame run its course. The movie is every bit of a film-noir as it is a comedy. Just like Wilder did with Double Indemnity , he created a movie that thrills at nearly every turn and the relationship between William Holden and Gloria Swanson keeps coming and grabbing you until the shocking ending. You can also classify the mov...

  Black Rain (1989) There is stuff to like in Ridley Scott’s Black Rain . Sadly, the good stuff is overshadowed by its cliched, paper-thin story with a predictable ending and characters that are not fully developed. A quote about Scott came to mind. “Being a Ridley Scott film, it’s 90% atmosphere and 10% story.” Maybe a good portion of his films are not that dramatic, but I related to that quote here. But what an atmosphere the movie has! Osaka has been used in many films, but never like this. Scott always had an impressive hand with visuals. While watching the movie, Blade Runner came to mind. Yet in that story, the characters used the visuals and production design for a purpose. Here, not so much. The dark, Gotham-like feeling seems to be here just because. Still, Jan De Bont’s camerawork and Norris Spencer’s production design are expertly staged and plays a major reason why the film remains as watchable as it is. I was struck by the plot because I am fascinated in groups that ...

  Casualties of War (1989) In Brian De Palma’s first film since The Untouchables , Casualties of War is a harrowing war movie about a true event that took place during the Vietnam War. Up to this point, most Vietnam War movies such as Platoon or The Deer Hunter were lighter stories about male camaraderie and the inner workings of lifelong bonding in the platoons. De Palma, instead, used the horror imagery he is known for and created a realistic yet terrifying movie about evil deeds men commit just to satisfy their sexual desires. The military is painted in a much darker light by De Palma compared to other military films yet is still criticized for adding additional scenes that take away the potency of the actual story. Like many of De Palma’s films, the emotion is relied upon the strengths of the actors. Sean Penn and Michael J. Fox do deliver big-time in eliciting genuine emotion from the audience. At least for me. I was disturbed, angry, and incredibly sad at the events that occu...

  Uncle Buck (1989) While not the perfect comedy, John Hughes’s Uncle Buck is an underrated comedy. Hughes, as evidently seen in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles , knows perfectly well how to use John Candy in his movies. Candy is at his best when he plays these hapless characters because these characters may be wayward or dare I say dimwitted, but they always have a big heart. This character is no exception. At times, the film is threatened by mean-spiritedness or sentimentality, but there is enough heart to give the film a pass. At times, there is some hilarious comedy. In a fine example of being mean-spirited yet utterly hilarious, Candy’s line (“take this quarter, go downtown…”) stays with me every time. Hey, Uncle Buck tries to do right by the children no matter what he has to do or say. If anything, I did have a problem with Jean Louisa Kelly’s performance and how the script used her. She was just angry about everything! Even in my hormonal years, I never was half that angry. ...

  Smallville: Episode 1, Episode 18 "Drone" April 30, 2002 Buzzzzzzzzzz. Do you hear that sound? Sounds like the dangerous buzzing of bees! Bees play a main factor in this episode, “Drone.” I thought it was a rather good episode, an improvement on the previous episode. We get to see Clark run for class president, and his slogan is hilariously lame. The villain of the week ties into the class president story and she uses bees to her advantage. Lex continues to shine as his dark secrets threaten to unravel everything. Guest star, Marguerite Moreau, plays Carrie Castle. She is sinister yet beautiful. One could see why Lex or anyone for that matter would be hypnotized by her. In this episode, two of the three candidates for class president are attacked by bees and taken out of running. That leaves one candidate, Sasha Woodman. Sasha, thanks to the use of meteor rocks, has the ability to control bees. Clark believes that she is behind the attacks. Pete nominates Clark to run for...

  Smallville: Season 1, Episode 17 "Reaper" April 23, 2002 “Reaper” has some great ideas and great moments, but the episode itself is only merely good. The villain of the week, Tyler, has a sad backstory and you can reason with some of his decision-making. His spontaneous combustion power is actually pretty cool. But there is some staleness and similarities to previous villains. That said, there is some great father-son ideas. Clark and Jonathan get into a fight. Plus, Lex gets involved, which is always something. In this episode, Tyler Randall is visiting his sick mom in the hospital. She requests that he use euthanasia to end her life and will do so if he loves her. After being witnessed, he falls six stories to his death. When a green rock is removed from his bracelet, he returns to life…but with a catch. He has a lethal touch and will kill anyone upon touch. He uses this power to help terminally ill people die with dignity. Whitney’s father is slowly dying, and Tyler ha...

  The General (1926) Watching the classics, everyone has one of those films that they cannot identify with, and they ask, “How do people like the movie the way they do?” For me, Buster Keaton’s The General was that movie for me. It was not terrible by any stretch of the imagination, but I was not truly enthralled. I have not seen many silent films in my life, but I am a fan of Chaplin. I scratch my head in disappointment given the praise that was sung. Still, there is much to admire. Keaton did all the stunts, even the more dangerous stunts, with such acrobatic grace. The first ten minutes are great. The scene where Keaton is turned away from the Confederacy because of his “train engineer” status and the subsequent walk to his love’s house is fantastic. But the rest of the film does not live up to that scene. Maybe another rewatch will be the cards? I will give Keaton the praise of authenticity. His movie was based on a train chase that took place between the Union and Confederat...

  Parenthood (1989) Ron Howard truly matured as a film director with his 1989 offering, Parenthood . He has seen critical and financial success previously with Splash and Cocoon , but he took a complex theme and created a story entirely relatable. Not necessarily for me, but for all the middle-class parents out there. Whether it’s 1989 or 2021, parenting is an important and complex issue. The movie made me understand the nuances of parenting. As the ancient matriarch of the family compared with her intelligent rollercoaster quip, parenting is like a rollercoaster as it has its ups and downs. I am sure my parents would find that a fair assessment based on my childhood. The film may run long and felt leisurely paced at times, Howard got to the heart of the matter by creating a relatable family. Even though the film is more dramatic than comedic, there are some moments of hilarious comedy that ensues. When Steve Martin puts on the cowboy act? Gold! The heart of the film came from th...

  Lethal Weapon 2 (1989) If you liked Lethal Weapon , you would like Lethal Weapon 2 . Action sequels very rarely are on par or exceed the quality of the original. This particular sequel is no exception to the rule, but it comes very close. Like the 1987 original, the relationship between Riggs and Murtagh is the heart of the story. Their partnership is the reason why this action series is better than most. Most of the action is loud and dumb, but Richard Donner (returning to the director’s chair) and his team made you invest in these sequences. Some of them (okay, most of them) were awesome! The helicopter gunship blowing Riggs’s trailer to pieces and especially the sequence where Murtagh cannot leave the toilet or will get blown up are memorable action scenes. I liked the villain. Their scheme is a bit complex but the steely-eyed Arjen Rudd and his righthand hit man are impressive in making us despise them…and giving the cops a worthy opponent. After the success of them origina...