For today’s film, I am a huge fan of Bill Murray (Stripes, Ghostbusters) to the point that if I started a hall of fame, I would induct him in right away. So, when I found out that Netflix had his latest film Rock The Kasbah available to watch, I chose it for today. Bill stars as music manager Richie Lanz who is really down on his luck lately. While bringing one of his acts Ronnie (Zooey Deschanel) to a club, he gets an idea of doing a USO show in Afghanistan that could benefit him. The only problem is that as soon as he gets there, Ronnie steals his money and leaves. Stuck in a country during time of war, he discovers a voice unlike any other because it’s forbidden for a woman to sing. That doesn’t stop him from trying to get her on a local TV competition despite the danger. The film also stars Bruce Willis (Die Hard) as Bombay Brian, Kate Hudson (Almost Famous) as Merci, Leem Lubany (Omar) as Salima, Scott Caan (Varsity Blues) as Jake, Danny McBride (Pineapple Express) as Nick, Arian Moayed (Rosewater) as Riza, Taylor Kinney (The Forest) as Private Barnes, and the film was directed by Barry Levinson (Toys).
As far as Bill Murray films are concerned, it’s not the best one ever, but it was enjoyable to watch. There’s nothing revolutionary in a film like this, just a cool story featuring a very cool actor. Some things in the film do not make sense to me, but then again I have never been to Afghanistan. One of the things is an American woman (Kate Hudson) working as a prostitute in a county that is against women doing anything. One thing is definitely for sure and that is Kate Hudson looks incredibly sexy in this film especially the scene where she’s in the pool. I thought Danny McBride and Scott Caan making appearances in this film was pretty cool and a nice touch. One thing is definitely for sure and that is I could totally buy Bill Murray as a music manager because he has the right kind of personality that makes you believe so. Even though the film was filmed in Morocco, the cinematography and sets made you believe that you were there with the cast. One of my favorite scenes int he film comes when Bill Murray plays and sings Deep Purple’s Smoke On The Water on what I believe is an Oud (an Arabic guitar). While he may not be the greatest singer, that was still a very cool Murray like moment. Like I said, this isn’t the greatest Bill Murray film ever, but it was still fun to watch in my opinion. I am going to give the film an B for a final grade.
I just wanted to start by saying that I hope that everyone has had a wonder Mother’s Day especially all the moms out there. I didn’t choose any films that had anything to do with mothers, but rather I went for a classic in The Bonfire Of The Vanities. The film starred Tom Hanks (Bridge Of Spies) as Sherman McCoy, a hot shot wall street broker whose whole world is about to crumble. You see Sherman has been cheating on his socialite wife (Kim Cattrall) with a very seductive mistress named Maria (Melanie Griffith). One night, they get into an accident when they hit a young black man and send him into a coma. It puts Sherman in a lot of trouble and with the help of a reporter (Bruce Willis) he will try to prove his innocence before he gets put away for good. The film also stars Saul Rubinek (The Family Man) as Jed Kramer, Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption) as Judge Leonard White, John Hancock (A Soldier’s Story) as Reverend Bacon, Kevin Dunn (Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen) as Tom Killian, Clifton James (The Man With The Golden Gun) as Albert Fox, Kirsten Dunst (Interview With The Vampire) as Campbell McCoy, and the film was directed by Brian De Palma (Carlito’s Way).
This was a very different film than I was used to watching, but how can you not want to watch a film that starred both Tom Hanks and Bruce Willis? Bruce at one time was known for doing films other than action flicks and Tom Hanks is just Tom Hanks (that means he’s awesome). I had absolutely no idea that Kirsten Dunst was in this film until I looked on IMDB after I watched the film. I thought that was kind of crazy to see, but not surprised as she let her real stamp with Interview With The Vampire. One of the biggest pluses for this film is the fact that the story is an amazing story. From the beginning all the way to the end, the story keeps you hooked because you want to know what happens to poor Tom Hanks. The film kind of touches on the ideas of racism in the New York area and the way they feel that they didn’t get the fair shake that over-privileged whites did all the time. Then the film shows you how distorted the truth can be when there is too much interest into a issue when there are too many sides that benefit. A mayor who looks at an opportunity to persecute a rich white man to try and gain the African-American vote while a reverend is looking to use the case to cash in. All of the acting in the film was superb and I really had no complaints against anyone in the film. This is a film that is definitely worth a watch even if it’s at least once. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.
For today’s film, I felt like watching a Sci-Fi movie and there was one for some reason that I had never seen before. The Fifth Element was one of those films that I had never seen and took the chance to see it for today. The film stars Bruce Willis (Die Hard) as a retired special Ops agent Korben Dallas, a man that is hired to protect a supreme being named Lola (Milla Jovovich) and retrieve some important stones. You see in the film, they explain that supreme beings have come to Earth to protect human beings from evil forces as the evil forces come every 300 years. It’s 300 years in the future and the evil forces are coming and they need the stones to protect the Earth from the evil forces. The film also stars Chris Tucker (Friday) as Ruby Rhod, Ian Holm (The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring) as Father Vito, Luke Perry (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) as Billy, Brion James (Blade Runner) as General Munro, Tommy “Tiny” Lister (No Holds Barred) as President Lindberg, Lee Evans (There’s Something About Mary) as Fog, Charlie Creed-Miles (Harry Brown) as David, Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight) as Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg, and the film was directed by Luc Besson (Lucy).
I am definitely happy that I finally took the time to watch this film. All I have to say is that Milla Jovovich is amazing hot and she was nice to look at. The film has it all from action to suspense that kept you on the edge of your seat to some comedy with Chris Tucker who while his character is annoying, he was funny. This film was like Die Hard meets any of the great Sci-Fi film we all love. Bruce Willis brought that bad ass mentality to the film that he made famous in the Die Hard series. The cinematography and special effects were absolutely awesome and I love the costume designs especially with some of Milla’s outfits. I don’t remember what they were called, but some of the aliens looked goofy and awesome. The last 30 plus minutes of the film is where all the magic happens on screen and it was worth the watch. One thing that kind of confused me is that Luke Perry had his name in the opening sequence credits and he’s only in the film for maybe fifteen minutes. I guess he was a big enough name at the time that he could get those. The other thing that I could have done without was Tommy “Tiny” Lister as president of the territories, but that’s how it goes. This is definitely one of my favorite Sci-Fi movies that I have seen and that is why I am giving the film an A- for a final grade.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 