So, I haven't done much in the last couple weeks. It has been ungodly hot and humid here (really, people, we built a city on a drained swamp why, exactly?), and when it gets into the 90s and humid, and stays in the 80s and 90s late into the night, there is exactly one thing I want to do: stay put in my AC'd room and watch TV. Since I don't have TV here, I have been watching movies on Netflix and Amazon. It started one night with an inexplicable urge to watch Ghostbusters II, mostly because I wanted to watch the Statute of Liberty walk through downtown New York City. It has kind of grown from there. Since I have been watching a lot, I figured I would comment on them here, since many are old favorites.
Note: I am choosing these movies purely for their fun entertainment factor. Many of them are not what you would consider "high cinematic art" --there is no Schindler's List here-- they are movies to beat the heat. So please don't judge me for my movie taste :). Also, SPOILERS. I am going to post a clip of, and comment on, each of these videos. It will undoubtedly have SPOILERS. So if you have not seen these movies, this is your SPOILERS warning. In order of viewing:
1. Ghostbusters II
Full disclosure: I loved the Ghostbusters movies growing up. They were a legitimate feature of my childhood. I haven't watched Ghostbusters II as much as I have watched the first one, but it is definitely something I have seen before. I loved the movies because of their paranormal bent, and the sharp witticisms and wisecracks that only Bill Murray, Dan Ackyroyd, and Harold Ramis can bring. Apparently II wasn't well received at the box office. I am not sure why: it is not as good as the first one, which was basically comedy genius, but sequels rarely are. But it still had solid performances by the cast, and enough of that goofiness from the first movie to make it solidly entertaining. Also, the Statute of Liberty walks through downtown New York City, blaring Jackie Wilson. Awesome? I think so.
2. Analyze This
Mob movie as comedy. Starring Robert DeNiro and Billy Crystal, is about a New York-area Mob boss (DeNiro, naturally), who has a personal crisis and starts seeing a square shrink (Crystal), so that he can once again be able to do the things that mobsters do. That is, whack people without crying about it. It was a thoroughly entertaining movie, and has some great gag scenes --such as the "hit a pillow" scene-- that play up the more ridiculous aspects of both the Mafia lifestyle, and psychotherapy. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the movie was written by Harold Ramis.
3. Volcano
I wanted to watch a destruction movie, but I couldn't watch Independence Day yet (I'll get to that). So I chose Volcano, a movie from 1997 that asks, "what would happen if an active volcano emerged in downtown Los Angeles?" What happens is, a lot of people and things burning up, and the better part of Los Angeles getting covered in ash and lava (the native Northern Californian in me says: suck it, LA!). I hadn't seen the movie in several years, but it basically delivers what it promises: two hours of destruction and mayhem. So if that is what you are in the mood for, the movie does it pretty well. And while over-the-top, it does have strong performances, lead by Tommy Lee Jones (and a very young, pre-fame Don Cheadle, who I did not know was in the movie before I watched it this time). While definitely a "popcorn" flick, it (thankfully) doesn't stray too far into the melodrama and/or terrible acting trap that a lot of destruction movies get sucked into.
4. Deep Impact
Also known as the "other" apocalypse-by-huge-asteroid movie to come out the same year as Armageddon, this movie is about --you guessed it-- the peril Earth is put in when it is discovered that a huge asteroid is going to come crashing down and send us all into nuclear winter. Particularly since it came out around the same time as Armageddon, it is usually disfavorably compared to that movie. I can't decide if it is worse, better, or the same. Because while the premise is the same, they are very different movies. One, Deep Impact is much darker: (HUGE SPOILER ALERT) unlike in Armageddon, Earth isn't totally able to stop disaster. They are able to spare total extinction, but a part of the asteroid still hits Earth, and basically puts the entire east coast (and pretty much most of its inhabitants) under 1,000 feet of water. Also, Armageddon primarily focused on the oil workers sent up to blow up the asteroid, their training, and the salvation mission (and Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler). Deep Impact casts a slightly wider net: while it does tell the story of those sent to destroy the asteroid, it also focuses on other people who are involved in, and are effected by, the discovery of the asteroid. More than Armageddon, the focus seems to be on the way an "extinction-level event" would impact how we live what would be the last moments of our lives, and how it would effect the relationships with the people we care about. In that way, it is kind of interesting. Also, Morgan Freeman plays the president of the United States, because of course he does.
5. Sleepy Hollow
This movie is not that cartoon that we all grew up with. It's a bone fide horror movie. I love horror movies (not those crappy slasher movies, but things like The Shining or Amityville Horror). Starring Johnny Depp in a characteristically Johnny Depp-offbeat-creepy role in a creepy movie, the movie is really part horror and part Sherlock Holmes. It is 20 years after the American Revolution, and Johnny Depp (aka Ichabod Crane), a New York City police detective, is sent upstate to investigate the gruesome murders/decapitations of several prominent citizens of the town, Sleepy Hollow (which is actually a real place). He learns that the town citizens blame the murders on an evil spirit known as the headless horseman but Depp, a "modern man of the (almost) 19th century," is determined to use logic and science to discover what he believes to be the mortal murderer. So much of the movie is Depp following clues and piecing things together, all while the horseman keeps picking off victims. It was a really good mystery and horror movie, and it had me fooled: (SPOILER) like Depp's character, I assumed the supernatural horseman would be revealed, in the end, to be a mortal murderer, using superstition as a cover for his crimes. Nope, the horseman is definitely dead, and definitely an evil spirit. But, there is a mortal culprit behind the horseman's deeds. Depp leads a strong cast that includes Cristina Ricci and Michael Gambon (yes, Dumbledore). Also a brief cameo by Christopher Lee (yes, Saruman). I personally liked it because it combined three of my favorite movie genres: period, horror, and mystery.
6. Soylent Green
SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE! One of the most iconic movie lines from cinematic history. Starring Charleton Heston(fun fact: my grandmother starred opposite Charleton Heston in their high school play, (obviously) before he was famous), the now-familiar (and often cliched) movie tells of a dystopian future where there are too many people and not enough food to go around. So guess what they do to fix that? I have to admit, I am not usually a big fan of dystopian-future movies; particularly ones from the 70s give off kind of a weird (and dated) vibe, but it was worth it to finally see a movie that has become very ingrained in popular consciousness. It was an OK movie -- entertaining, a bit melodramatic, but ultimately not my favorite genre . It was interesting to see, as my dad would say, "what the future used to look like" -- that is, what people thought "the future" (which today would either be the present or the near future) was going to be like. Apparently, stylistically and in fashion, very much like the mod 60s and 70s. Obviously, they didn't get a lot right. One theme that was very prevalent in the movie was the effects of environmental degradation, particularly global warming, and how it exacerbates the dystopian human condition. This movie came out before environmentalism was "cool," and "going green" was mainstream, so I was curious whether or not it represented one of the earliest moves by Hollywood to get onboard with the whole "green" thing.
7. The Usual Suspects
Who is Keyser Soze? The Usual Suspects has become a modern classic and a cult hit, and for good reason. It is basically another detective/whodunit movie: After a boat blows up in a Southern California harbor, killing 23 people aboard, a federal detective from New York flies out and interviews Kevin Spacey, the only witness to survive the explosion, in order to figure out what went down. The story is very well put together, and leaves the viewer guessing --particularly in light of the ending-- what from the story is true, and what is fiction. Spacey does a great job as Victor Kint. I had seen the movie when I was younger, but I don't think I really "got" it; a lot went over my head. As far as crime mysteries go, this movie is really great. By now most people know the "big twist" --and I did going into it-- but honestly, I don't think it detracts too much from enjoying the film, because unlike a lot of movies that use the "big twist ending" device, the story leading up to and setting up the twist is compelling and well-done in and of itself. Like, it would be a good movie even without the twist ending. All the acting performances are strong, and it is just a very well put-togther film.
8. Independence Day
Independence Day. What is there to say? It is the megablockbuster alien invasion/destruction movie that really launched Will Smith into A-list stardom. For the five people who don't know the film, basically a hostile alien force descends on Earth, destroying its major cities, in the couple days leading up to July 4. Smith, along with Jeff Goldblum, are tasked with finding a way to fight back before all of humanity is wiped out. I really like the film: it has some good one-liners, has plenty of explosions and destructions, is a quasi-war movie, and features one of the better "inspirational" movie speeches (in my opinion) out there, right up with the "FREEEEDOMMMM!" speech given by Mel Gibson in Braveheart. A lot of people don't like the movie because they think it the plot, and how it is resolved, is ridiculous. And it is. But you know what? The movie is about rote entertainment: come in, watch, be entertained. Get lost in a movie for a couple hours. If the movie is compelling for other reasons, I don't need anything to make total, 100% logical sense. And for a movie that really is just about spectacle, some comedy, and aliens, it does its job well. I really like it for what it is. In fact, it kind of has become a mini tradition of mine to watch "ID4," as it has come to be called, on actual Independence Day (the final climatic battle between mankind and the aliens occurs on July 4).
9. Labyrinth
Holy 80s, Batman! I loved this movie growing up as a kid, and would regularly watch it when it popped up on TV. Last night, when I was feeling a bit under-the-weather, I decided to watch it in the spirit of, how much does a movie from your childhood change when you watch it as an adult. You know what I mean: references, insinuations, jokes, and plotlines that kind of went over your head as a kid, that you "get" seeing it as an adult, and it changes your understanding of the movie (for better or worse). Granted, it has literally been probably a decade or more since I last saw the movie, but at least from what I can remember, a surprising amount of the movie, was about the same as I remember it. A few minor details about why characters did things were more clear than I remember them being as a kid, but for the most part it was the same movie. So either the movie didn't have a lot for adults-only things to "get," I was an unusually perceptive child, or I mentally haven't progressed beyond that of a 10-year-old. There were a couple major differences that I noticed now, though: first, wow is this movies from the 80s. I mean it was --it was made in 1986-- but if a movie could encapsulate the over-the-top pop culture of the 80s, this is that movie. Hello, copious amounts of syth music! Secondly, awkward sexual tension. So David Bowie plays Jareth, the Goblin King, and Jennifer Connolly plays Sarah, sent into the Labyrinth to find her baby brother, who has been kidnapped by the Goblin King (you had to be there). As she makes her way through the Labyrinth, Sarah has several run-ins with Jareth, before she ultimately reaches the castle where her baby bro is kept. And, at least on the part of Jareth, there is definitely an undertone of attraction and sexual tension towards Sarah. Which is cool... until you realize that Jareth/Bowie is like 30-something, and Sarah is supposed to be like 13. So, ew. I really liked the movie growing up; I can't say I like it as much after a more "mature" viewing, but it still held my attention, and is a good piece of fantasy moviemaking by the same guy that brought you the Muppets.
That's it for this addition of Operation No Boredom. I am sure there will be more movie viewings to come.
