I took a few creative writing classes in junior high and high school, something I really liked to do during those days.  I remember taking one class with a somewhat unorthodox teacher at the time.  Was she extreme, no not really, she was just more laid back, cussed and seemed more like a California girl, so not a usual match in Mormon rich Utah.  I remember one class she was preparing us to write a story about tension and frustration, so she popped in a VHS copy of Falling Down and had us watch the opening scene.  I had remembered watching the trailers for the film and with that scene I wanted to see it even more.  That weekend I rented it, set up my two VCR’s for recording and watched it for the first time.  It was a film that I would return to.

            Michael Douglas plays a man stuck in traffic at the beginning of the film who just decides to get out of the car and walk to his ex-wife’s house for his daughter’s birthday.  Along the way he leaves a trail of mayhem and not your usual sort.  He isn’t out for some sort of revenge but just doing anything a regular citizen that has been pushed too far has wanted to do but can’t for whatever reason.  His escapades show up on the radar of a cop who is on his last day before retiring played by Robert Duvall.  As our main character continues his fed up walking trip to his daughter’s birthday the cop is following his trail and getting closer to catching him.

            This is one of Michael Douglas’ best roles in my opinion and his choice to have his character look so clean cut and a powder keg of stress waiting to explode was brilliant.  All the characters that cause him problems are great as well.  The gang members are perfectly rage inducing and the convenience store owner is expertly played to a cocky frustrating precision.  Robert Duvall is good, which is not unsurprising and brings home the dedicated cop on his last day role.  The setting of the uglier parts of Los Angeles and the way the coloring of the film helps make the viewer’s feel uncomfortable and anxious right along with Douglas’ character comes together perfectly.

            Falling Down is by no means a phenomenal movie but it was one that made its mark on my mind as I watched it in my parent’s basement sophomore year.  This was a particularly hard year for me.  I was constantly picked on, bullied and the friends I did have at the time, when I look back on that time, weren’t real friends after all.  I always wished I had been big enough to fight back, but alas I was a stick and the harassment always happened with two or more guys.  Watching this movie and seeing some of those moments where Douglas’s character fights back hit home.  How many of us have not wished that in certain circumstances we were able to hold our own against those who would harm us?  Or who of us had a snarky comeback to someone who looks down on you? 

            Are his reactions right?  For the most part when he is not defending himself, absolutely not, but you can’t help but identify a little bit with each breaking point he has.  The end of the film is the only ending that could happen because a bad man is brought to justice no matter how much we connected with his frustrations.  If you haven’t seen it and like a good character study that is able to connect with the viewer, I’d give this one a shot.

3 stars out of 4

The Number 23

               This movie could have been great but it had two serious flaws to it.  First, it starred Jim Carrey, which was just not the right fit for this role.  Sure he has done great in other non-comedic roles before, but here he was severely miscast.  Second, the story was missing a solid middle.  The movie happens, the obsession with the number begins and then it seems like it tries to hurry to the end so it can go home.  It is a decent enough movie but it could have been a really good one, but it just seems all over the place.  The ending is the best part of it because it shows a good man deciding to do the right thing even though it’s the tough decision.  2 stars out of 4

Benny and Joon

                For mother’s day with my mom, we watched this little Johnny Depp gem.  Not sure it stands the test of time due to a flimsy story that most likely wouldn’t happen nowadays, but it’s decent enough for any fan of Depp’s.  I’ve always enjoyed Aiden Quinn, who plays Benny, because he always comes across as authentic in his films.  Not sure why he seemed to suddenly fall off the movie map.  Mary Stuart Masterson on the other hand is not so compelling.  You’re supposed to care about her character, I think, like most of her other roles in the late 80’s and throughout the 90’s, but it’s hard to because she always came across as a bit of a beating.  It’s hard to connect with a character with a constant scowl that sarcastically spits out “witty” lines of dialogue.  If it wasn’t for Quinn and Depps’ usual oddball character antics, this would definitely be a pass, but it isn’t.  2 stars out of 4

Airplane

                Hands down, this is one of the best comedies every put on film.  I think there is a quotable line every couple of minutes from the film.  The two main characters, played by Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty, are funny, but it is the secondary characters that steal the show.  Leslie Nielsen and Lloyd Bridges bring about the funny straight man as well as the genius fast line delivery with Bridges character.  Both men are sorely missed in today’s comedy; they made it seem so effortless.  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is part of my favorite scenes as a character named Roger.  Peter Graves delivers a great short monologue to a young boy and Barbara Billingsly gives us a glimpse into how funny she could be.  If you have not watched this movie, treat yourself right away.  4 stars out of 4

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

                I’m sure I’ll get the business from some of you for this, but man was this movie awful.  I was bored out of my mind and more than a little annoyed throughout the film.  Basically we are watching a movie about a little girl who uses men for money but doesn’t know why she can’t save.  She meets a gigolo and they become friends.  Will they or won’t they for every single excruciating minute of the film after that.  Outside of Audrey Hepburn…why is this movie popular?  Why the title, because the gold digger likes to eat croissants while starring into the Tiffany’s windows in the wee hours of the morning.  That’s not endearing, that’s creepy.  I’m thinking this is one of the first movies where Hollywood started to celebrate selfishness because of moronic dreams and “feelings” and unfaithfulness to marriages because they don’t suit you.  Also, they spent all the music budget on varying version of the same stinking song, so be prepared to listen to “Moon River” again every few minutes.  1 star out of 4 (that’s only because of Mickey Rooney and Audrey Hepburn’s insane beauty)

                I didn’t like Shaun of the Dead the first time I saw it and I don’t remember why.  Today its stand high up on my list of great films.  Hot Fuzz was brilliant.  Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are a dynamic trio of comedy and they love genre films.  My initial response to this trailer is they might have finally run out of steam.  Maybe its because Pegg and Frost are playing against type, but regardless of my initial thoughts, I hold out hope that this will be a great end to their Cornetto trilogy.  What do you think?

            I’ve often wondered if Utah still airs these fantastic movie choices on their weekend schedules for each generation to grow up with and love.  There are still so many movies I love to this day because of that little television in the basement of my parents Bountiful home, pumping out whatever choices the station decided to show that day.  Along with showing some great eighties film, I don’t know anywhere else I would have been able to see movies that weren’t really on anyone’s radar. Not only did I see some great movies, I got to see and fall in love with some horrible ones.  Such was the case with Killer Klowns from Outer Space.

            One night on a farm just outside the town of Crescent Cove a farmer sees a light that crashes in his backyard.  When he reaches the crash site, he doesn’t see the meteor he thought he was going to see but a giant circus tent.  His bewilderment is short lived when he and his dog are taken captive by the inhabitants of the tent.  On the other side of town, Mike (Grant Cramer) and his girlfriend also see the bright falling object and threw her insistence go to see what it was.  When they too get to the tent, they find a way inside where they find giant cocoons that look like cotton candy that have bodies in them.  They run to the sheriff and his cranky partner Mooney (the late great John Vernon) who of course don’t believe them.  After calls start coming in of clowns running amuck in the town killing and kidnapping people, it is up to Mike and his crew, including the ice cream truck driving Terenzi brothers, try to find out how to get rid of the clowns.

            Like many a movie before and after, this film is so bad it’s good.  For the most part the cast has the acting chops of an eighth grade stage play and work through a story with gapping leaps of logic and lines of dialogue that make your skin crawl.  What did you expect though about a movie that shows clowns from out space who capture people in cotton candy and drink their blood through a silly straw?  This was just an idea a few friends had that wanted to be in the movie business getting together and having some fun.  The creature effects may not be top of the line from what else was coming out during this time, but they are pretty creative and look fine for a movie made on a two million dollar budget.  By the way, the Blu Ray is awesome and turns out a really good picture for a film such as this.

            Killer Klowns from Outer Space will always be a movie I’ll return to, no matter how bad it is because it made me laugh when I was younger.  Watching the making of made it a little more interesting because of all the guys involved and why it came about and that they are currently trying to make a sequel.  I was able to get my wife to sit down and watch it with me recently.  One of the best parts of sharing this film with my wife is that she enjoyed it, or at least had some of the same fun I have when watching it.  Not only that, for a few days after seeing it, she would break into song and sing the chorus to the films main track.  Love this chick! 

3 stars out of 4 (mostly because of nostalgic reasons…not film quality)

Possible Spoilers…but no big ones

            I may be a DC man at heart and always will be, but for now and for quite some time, Marvel has been the dominator in making good comic book films.  Even before the first Iron Man and the whole Phase One of the new Marvel movie universe they had good movies.  I thought the Blade trilogy, while declining in quality, was still a solid group of films.  I’ve liked the entire X-Men trilogy, even if the last one was iffy and I may be one of a handful of people out there that thought Thomas Jane’s Punisher was great.  The first Iron Man was a game changer in that it made the comic book universe that Marvel created seem like it would explode on the big screen with each new movie and they have consistently done that, unlike my beloved DC…wI’mare looking at you Green Lantern.  So, as Phase Two starts for Marvel, how does it look like Marvel will continue with their shared universe films?

            After the evens in New York City with an alien invasion and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) almost sacrificing his life for the world, Tony has an issue with insomnia and anxiety attacks.  He manages both with a new obsession of making more and more suits for different situations.  Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) has moved in with him and is unsure how to help Tony through his struggles.  A new threat has come in the form of the Mandarin (Sir Ben Kingsley) who is a terrorist who is able to blow up places with no trace of a bomb or clue as to how he did it.  When the attacks hit American soil, Tony has had enough and calls out the Mandarin who in reply destroys Tony’s home while Tony is in it.  After a harrowing escape from the destruction of his home, Tony is left stranded on the other side of the country and must, with the help of a new friend, pull himself together before it is too late.

            This is, hands down, the best Iron Man movie of the franchise bar none.  I had my doubts once they changed directors and possibly having multiple bad guys, but Shane Black, the director, put those worries to rest.  This film has a solid pacing, great action and some incredibly humorous moments throughout the film.  There are several plot holes throughout the movie, but the rest of it is so good, I could’ve cared less about them.  Just like The Avengers before it, this film was fun from start to finish and it delivered on the hype.  The cast of characters, both old and new, brought the movie together with humor and confidence.

            Robert Downey Jr. once again shows why he was born to play Tony Stark and continues to show how flawless he is at it.  Gwyneth Paltrow is once again charming as the love interest and her chemistry with Downey has always been a highlight for the franchise.  As for Don Cheadle, he remains a better Colonel James Rhodes than Terrance Howard and has shown it in the last two films.  Guy Pearce plays it goofy at first and that does seem annoying, but it serves its purpose and when he returns later in the film he is able to keep up with the rest of the cast.  As for Sir Ben Kingsley, he just about steals every scene that he is in.  What I think they did with his character was genius and paid off for me. 

            While the story may not be fully fledged out, it is still a good one.  How would a man react to what he has been through, almost dying in an alien invasion and having gods come down from the sky with magical hammers?  Our hero’s reaction is a mix of anxiety attacks, insomnia and obsessive compulsive disorder as well as doubt.  How can one of the smartest men in the world with practically unlimited resources protect people when there are things out of his control?  It is a great hero’s journey story and it is made better when the suit is laid aside for most of the movie so that the man can figure it out.  Even though he has his doubts and his crippling fears, he does not waver to do what is right and fights on.  Why can this be a powerful theme in our culture today?  Because evil does not wait for the hero to recoup and neither is it swayed by lofty words.  It stays on the attack and thankfully the real world has men like this around.

4 stars out of 4

                Surprisingly, for me at least, the first Thor movie was a lot of fun and well made.  Chris Hemsworth was the perfect choice to play the title character and Tom Hiddleston was another great choice to play the villain.  They both return here with most of the rest of the original cast and it looks like they amped up the action even more.  I’m expecting this one to keep the Marvel streak going strong.  What do you think?

            Nostalgia is a powerful thing and it comes in many forms.  A picture can remind someone of a great day, a certain smell can remind a person of a moment they hadn’t thought of for years, and even a film can remind someone of the feeling it was to be a carefree kid.  For many people of my generation The Sandlot is a movie most of us remember watching over and over again with that sense of nostalgia for a time we didn’t live through.  It was that easy accessibility and connection that makes this a favorite for kids of all ages.

            Scott Smalls (Tom Guiry) is the new kid in town.  The day he moves in he sees a group of kids coming back from playing baseball and decides the following day to see if they might want another player.  While most of the kids disregard him, Benny (Mike Vitar) is the one who includes him in the group and they all begin to teach him their shared love of baseball and summer fun.  As the summer unfolds, the group gets into trouble on the field, at the pool and with a huge dog that has its own legendary tale that nicknames it the beast.  The friends get into trouble as Smalls takes his babe Ruth signed baseball to a game one day and it is hit into the beast’s territory.  After many failed attempts to retrieve the ball they have to face the fact that they will have to jump the fence and out run the monster behind it.

            If memory serves me correctly and with movies it usually does, this film was an instant classic.  Not only that, but I hear the film quoted often, even to this day.  Child actors are all over the place these days and it is hard to find one good one let alone a group of decent child stars that can hold a film together so well.  As you watch the movie you see the instant chemistry between each one of them and practically each character gets a moment in the movie to shine.  The production values and locations enhance the film and on Blu Ray it looks better than it ever has.  It’s a simple story about friendship and the bonds that can be made between kids over a common interest.  To me it is more than just that, it is the straightforward way in which the creators are able to make the viewer recall a better time where life seemed easier and fun.

            This film has a bit of everything for anyone who sits down and watches it.  For those kids who remember being new in town you remember what it was like to finally be accepted by a group of kids in the neighborhood.  For those who constantly looked forward to summer, you are reminded of the hours spent with your friends being kids with not a care in the world outside of what fun awaits you.  Even for those who still love the game of baseball, you can remember what it was like as a kid looking up to your sports heroes and wanting to emulate them as you grabbed a group of guys and raced to the nearest diamond.  The Sandlot has staying power that not many movies have nowadays and it will continue to be shared with children for generations to come.

3 and ½ stars out of 4

            I know that many people are done with Tom Cruise ever since he lost it on national television but I think it’s time for those people to give the guy a second look.  He makes good movies and in the last few years he has made some really good and fun movies, see Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and Jack Reacher.  Not only that, but he is good in science fiction, his best being Minority Report.  Cruise returns to the genre with this month’s Oblivion.  Is he able to continue his recent string of delivering a good performance around a good film?

            Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) is a drone tech in the year 2077 on the practically uninhabitable earth.  Fifty years prior the earth was attacked by aliens called Scavengers and earth fought back by going nuclear and destroying most of the earth in the process.  Jack and his communications officer, Victoria (Andrea Riseborough), are tasked with protecting giant machines that are tacking up all of earths remaining water to be an energy source on the humans new home planet, Titan.  Jack patrols the remnants of New York City to find and fix downed drones that protect the machines taking earths water as well as try to track down and kill any remaining “Scavs”.  On one patrol Jack finds a mysteriously downed ship that has a handful of human survivors that are instantly attacked by the drones.  Jack is able to save one survivor, Julia (Olga Kurylenko) who has been haunting Jack’s dreams and may throw the earthly mission into question.  Not only that, but it seems some remaining Scavs are trying to capture Jack for unknown reasons.

            Tom Cruise delivers his usual intense acting with bouts of humor here, while the two lead females are not horrible but they seem very one dimensional.  Riseborought and Kurylenko don’t emote much hear even though it seems like the script and story would have them at least attempt to do it.  When either has tears come from their eyes, you think for a moment that it’s more of a clear oil leak from the tin man.  Morgan Freeman has a great introduction for his character and then he used for the rest of the film as the mysterious mentor who could have been played by anyone.  The effects and futuristic design of the film is what is the real draw hear besides Cruise, who for the most part shoulders the bulk of the film.  The CGI looks flawless, with the exception of the last few minutes of the films climax that looks like it could have used a few more days in the drawing room before getting the green light.  This film is a fun one to look at, but does it deliver on the story end?

            The answer to that question is yes…but also no.  While the story tries to keep you guessing until the end I guessed what was going to be the big reveal maybe twenty minutes in.  That’s not to say I’m some genius, just a fan of the genre who made an educated guess.  It is admirable though how the film tries to slowly unfold the secrets to the overall story, it just doesn’t really pay off.  There are some glaring plot holes, like how certain characters happened to know there might be a certain object floating above the earth and just happened to know how to make it land near them.  While Cruise’ characters journey throughout the film is interesting, you are not really connected to him in any way outside of the desire to see what he is able to figure out as the movie moves along.  Without any true emoting from most of the cast, you don’t connect to anyone, even when a scene calls for it.

            The trailer seemed to promise more than what the film was able to deliver but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t entertaining.  Go in for a summer popcorn flick and you’ll enjoy it, anything more than that and you will be disappointed.

2 and ½ stars out of 4

                 Are you able to watch this trailer and not tell me you’re intrigued?  If so…you are a liar.  This is the type of trailer that brings people to the theater.  Charming, funny and leaves you wanting more.  It’s that simple.  And it is that simplicity that makes me look forward to this film.  How about you?

            I remember this movies initial release only because my little brother was a huge fan, I think even before it was released.  He had the novelization worn out and a poste on his wall for years after the films theatrical release.  I can’t remember if there was any toy merchandising for the film itself, but if there was, I am sure he had that as well.  While I might not have been as big a fan as he was, I did like the movie and when it was recently released on the blu ray format, I snatched it up to watch with my family.  Did its initial appeal stick around or was it a bit disappointing after seeing what movies offer today?

            Cliff Secord (Billy Campbell) is a stunt pilot who is testing out a new race plan when he is shot down by mobsters who are trying to escape from the FBI.  One of the gangsters puts a stolen rocket pack made by Howard Hughes (Terry O’Quinn) in Cliff’s mechanic friend’s hanger.  Cliff and the mechanic, Peevy (Alan Arkin) find the rocket and try to figure out what it is.  During a stunt show near their hanger, a plane is in trouble and Cliff decides to strap on the rocket and save the pilot, amazing the crowd of on lookers and press who dup him the Rocketeer.  Neville Sinclair (Timothy Dalton) is a movie star who had hired the mob to steal the rocket and when he finds out that Cliff has it, he tries to seduce Cliff’s girlfriend Jenny (Jennifer Connelly) to get the rocket back.

            Directed by the man who would later be hired to direct another action movie set during WW II based on another masked hero, Joe Johnston.  Johnston brings a lot of old Hollywood fun to a story about a man putting on a rocket pack to be a hero.  The film unfolds like a classic Errol Flynn movie, with humor, lightheartedness and American pride and does it all unashamedly.  He is able to set up the whole movie to have the old Hollywood look to it and it is done with great love of what came before it.  This is such a great film to look at because of the production design and the energy that comes across the screen because of the set pieces and the fun the actors seem to be having with their characters.

            Timothy Dalton does a great job as the villain and was well cast.  Jennifer Connelly doesn’t have much to do hear but be the pretty face and Alan Arkin could have been let off the reigns a little more because he seems like he wants to do more with the role.  Billy Campbell is a good choice for this role because he plays the old style naive good guy characters shown in Hollywood’s heyday.  There does seem to be an out of place character that looks like he just walked off the set of Warren Beatty’s Dick Tracy, but not enough to pull you out of the films story.  The rest of the cast is rounded off nicely.

            The Rocketeer has a simple story of a boy looking to impress his girl and suddenly needing to protect her and becoming a hero to many.  Each character seems to be a love note to the old Frank Capra movies that showed basic good versus bad while also showing the optimistic view of America that used to be seen all over this country.  The makers did a fantastic job of not only recreating the time period the film is set in, but also recreating the story and film style of that time in a way that transports the viewer into another age.  If I had the ability to watch the film in black and white, I think it would be an even better movie because of this.

            Not a lot of language and a pretty safe bet for a family movie night.  Give it a shot if you haven’t already seen it.

2 and ½ stars out of 4