The Movie Journal

  Ghost (1990)   Ghost is an underrated blockbuster. It had a healthy box office fun, in fact was the highest grossing film of 1990. Yet no one seems to talk about these days. Every once in awhile, that pottery scene would be spoofed but that seems to be it. When I first saw the movie, I was emotionally wrecked. I believed in the romantic chemistry between Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. Moore’s character has a tendency to make idiotic choices but if you were put in her position, wouldn’t there be a chance you could so the same. Grief can do fickle things, so I am more forgiving. There are great romantic scenes, but the film has all what is needed for a fun, memorable blockbuster. There is action, comedy relief (due to Whoopi Goldberg’s magnificent performance), romance, and horror. All this situated around the main ghost story. Do you know what horrified me? The idea of being a ghost in the NYC subway system. It is bad enough as it for the living. Those scenes…and Vincent Schi...

  Star Trek: Discovery: Season 1, Episode 8 "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum" November 5, 2017 After last episode’s reprieve, “Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum” jolts us back to the war with the Klingons. I am not enamored 100% of the time with focused on the Klingons, but there is potential. L’Rell is an interesting character. The writers make the right choice in not overusing her character. I believe she is going to be an important factor in the outcome of this war. This particular episode has the Discovery front-and-center in the battle to start with. As someone looking in from the outside, I see what a lethal force Lorca’s ship is in battle. I also see what a forceful weapon the Klingon’s “invisible cloak” can be. The main mission of the episode is for Burnham, Tyler, and Saru to stop this invisibility so they can track the Klingons and figure out when they will attack. Saru has the best lines and the best moments. He eventually becomes crazed in his desire for peace. He is a strong f...

  Star Trek: Discovery: Season 1, Episode 7 "Magic to Mak e the Sanest Man Go Mad" October 29, 2017 “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad” is a fun episode! As Star Trek is wont to do, this episode deals with the temporal process. I like these kinds of episodes/films. There is always so much to explore with Groundhog Day -esque plotlines. After Harry Mudd (played brilliantly by Rainn Wilson) appeared earlier in the season after Lorca failed to rescue him from the Klingons, he is back to execute a plan of delicious revenge. The ending is a bit of a letdown especially considering how Mudd’s wife is portrayed here but leading up to that is fun. Some people complained because this episode touches more on the humor than previous installments. This is Rainn Wilson we are talking about. Let him Let him play into the comedic world. The best scenes are the multiple ways he comes up with to kill Lorca. Fortunately for the captain, time is repeating itself. For once, Stamets is given wo...

  The Searchers (1956) Many filmmakers today owe gratitude for John Ford’s magnus opus western The Searchers . It is considered one of the best Western of all times and still influences filmmakers of the modern world. George Lucas used the film as a basis for one of his plotlines in Star Wars . The film’s hero, Ethan Edwards, is considered a loner and that lifestyle presses him into a life of violence. Martin Scorsese emulated that character trope with Travis Bickle in his masterpiece Taxi Driver . The director makes clear that this western is one of his favorite movies. The story itself is relatively straightforward and daresay simple, but Ford gives depth to his characters. His son-in-law Frank Nugent wrote the script and together they created a simple story that is anything but. There is the loneliness, the racism, and the harsh life of the frontier that can be taken apart to figure out exactly what Ford is trying to say. In terms of quality, it may not be his very best film. Bu...

  Die Hard 2: Die Harder After John McClane saved the Nakatomi Plaza in Die Hard , you would think that the everyman cop would have had enough adventures with terrorists for a lifetime? Nope, he must defeat terrorists yet again. As he quipped, McClane always happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. One could argue that he is in the right place, though. His wife, up in one of the airplanes held hostage, could possibly be one of the victims. The first film is undoubtedly a classic. An action film that will take lots of effort to beat. This film does not reach the standards the 1988 put forth. Yet it remains an infectiously fun movie with plenty of high-octane action. There are some stunts that still surprise me with how effective they are. There is some CGI, but it is not like there is a CGI overload. If you are a frequent traveler, you may not like this scene, but the plane crash scene is very effective. In keeping with the action that made the first (and now this film) so...

  Days of Thunder (1990) Days of Thunder is not my favorite Jerry Bruckheimer production. It is a slick, fast-moving production that delivers satisfying eye candy, but the story grows stales fast. It also helps that I am decidedly not a fan of auto-racing. I wanted to see the film considering it’s a Tony Scott-directed film starring Tom Cruise, who may have been the biggest name in Hollywood at the time (despite losing the Oscar in Born on the Fourth of July ). It just needed a better script. Consider my shock when I discovered who wrote the screenplay. It was Robert Towne…the legend behind films like Chinatown (which most people consider has the best script for any film). This script just seemed by-the-numbers with rote, flat dialogue. The cast was up to the challenge to deliver but ultimately was let down by the script. In a sense, this movie is very similar to the superior Top Gun , which of course launched the careers of Scott, Cruise, Bruckheimer, and his producing partner ...