For today’s film, I had been meaning to watch a John Hughes film that I had not yet seen. To be honest, I procrastinated , but I wanted to close out May with a bang and so I chose to watch Some Kind Of Wonderful. All Keith Nelson (Eric Stoltz), the very artsy, not popular teenager, wants is a date with the very beautiful, but very taken Amanda Jones (Lea Thompson). One day after Amanda’s rich snobby boyfriend Hardy (Craig Sheffer) gets caught schmoozing with another girl, Keith gets his opportunity despite not having the blessing of his tomboy best friend Watts (Mary Stuart Masterson). You see what he doesn’t realize is that Watts begins to have feelings for Keith, but he’ll just have to find out the hard way. The film also stars John Ashton (Beverly Hills Cop) as Cliff Nelson, Elias Koteas (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret Of The Ooze) as Duncan, Molly Hagan (Election) as Shayne, Maddie Corman (Swingers) as Laura Nelson, Candace Cameron (Full House) as Cindy Nelson, Scott Coffey (Lost Highway) as Ray, Lee Garlington (One Hour Photo) as Gym Instructor, Chynna Phillips (Striptease) as Mia, and the film was directed by Howard Deutch (Pretty In Pink).
I just want to say that I wish my life was a John Hughes movie because life would be so much easier if that were the case. Little fun fact for all of you out there, Zoey Deutch who has starred in the films we covered (Everybody Wants Some! and Dirty Grandpa) is the daughter of director Howard Deutch and star Lea Thompson. So if I had to take a wild guess then I’m pretty sure this is where they met and got into a relationship. Anyways back to the film at hand. This has to be one of the most well written John Hughes films besides The Breakfast Club because the film is much more than a Romcom (Romance Comedy) in my opinion. Not only does the film look at love or the idea of the unpopular kid getting the out of his league girl, this also looks at social classes and social statuses due to money. Keith, Watts, and Amanda all come from the harsher side of town, but the difference is that by being with Hardy, she had elevated her status socially. The idea that she began to be cut off from that social status because she agreed to go on a date with Keith said a lot and the fact that he wants to continue with the date to prove a point says a lot. Of course not only is the story great, but there is great music attached to this film especially one track from Billy Idol that I love (Catch My Fall) which plays in the film. The acting was amazing, the choreography was great, and what else could you ask for from a John Hughes written film. That is why I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.
First of all I want to start this article off by wishing everyone including the men and women of the Armed Forces a Happy Memorial Day. After all, this day is about remembering all soldiers past and present that have fought for this country. So for today’s film, I decided to watch a war film and I picked Flags Of Our Fathers which was directed by Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby). It’s 1945 and the war is almost coming to a close, but America is still at war with the Japanese. While on the island of Iwo Jima, the goal is to hang an American flag at the top of a certain point. The film follows the six men who raised the very flag that we see in that iconic image and all of the issues they had to deal with while at war and after it. The film stars Ryan Phillippe (Cruel Intentions) as John “Doc” Bradley, Jesse Bradford (Hackers) as Rene Gagnon, Adam Beach (Windtalkers) as Ira Hayes, John Benjamin Hickey (The Bone Collector) as Keyes Beech, Barry Pepper (True Grit) as Mike Strank, Jamie Bell (King Kong) as Iggy, Paul Walker (Furious 7) as Hank Hansen, John Slattery (Captain America: Civil War) as Bud Gerber, Robert Patrick (Striptease) as Colonel Chandler Johnson, Neal McDonough (Red 2) as Captain Severance, and Melanie Lynskey (Up In The Air) as Pauline.
As far as the film is concerned, it’s a very different type of war movie because not only do you see the horrors of war, but you see a very different side of it. You see a side of war that the politicians do not want you to see. For instance, throughout the film, the image of the men putting up the flag is more important to the cause then the actual truth behind the picture. The country practically has no money so they use the image and the remaining three men who are alive to try and raise money by selling bonds. They know very well that these guys are not comfortable with the whole hero thing, but they need to use that to try and draw money to win the war. Those are some of the things we do not get to see, but is the film controversial? Maybe or maybe not because it depends on who you ask like Spike Lee. Clint Eastwood as a director is money because I have yet to be disappointed at any of the films the man has made and that is truly amazing. There are some iconic images in this film like all of the warships out in the ocean to the gritty aspects of war. All of the acting was great, the cinematography was amazing, and the story was well written. This film may not be my favorite war movie in the world, but it certainly ranks up there. Like I said above, this day is about remembering all the men and women that served this country. Check out the film, learn some history about the nation, and I am giving the film an A- for a final grade.
For today’s film, I had been holding on to a DVD from a film that I am surprised I never watched back in the day. I waited 20 years to watch the film Striptease, but as they say better late than never. Striptease stars Demi Moore (One Crazy Summer) as a former FBI agent turned stripper Erin Grant. Erin has lost custody of her daughter to her no good pill pooping husband Darrell Grant (Robert Patrick) only because she didn’t have a job. Erin turns to dancing to try and raise money for her appeal hearing when a crazy congressman named David Dilbeck (Burt Reynolds) becomes obsessed with her. Erin has to try and battle Dilbeck’s man holding her custody of her daughter over her head while also trying to battle her ex-husband in this crime drama. The film also stars Armand Assante (Fatal Instinct) as Lt. Al Garcia, Ving Rhames (Mission: Impossible) as Shad, Paul Guilfoyle (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation) as Malcolm Moldovsky, Rumer Willis (The House Bunny) as Angela Grant, Dina Spybey Waters (Six Feet Under) as Monique Jr., Robert Stanton (Mercury Rising) as Erb Crandal, William Hill (Gran Torino) as Jerry, PaSean Wilson (Scary Or Die) as Sabrina, Stuart Pankin (Fatal Attraction) as Alan Mordecai. and the film was directed by Andrew Bergman (Honeymoon In Vegas).
Like I said in the above paragraph, I can’t believe I waited 20 years to watch Striptease which features the beautiful Demi Moore topless. It features her topless in several different scenes throughout the film which was just awesome (if you want to see it then watch the movie for yourself). Besides that fact, the story isn’t that bad because the film is much more than just a film about an angry stripper who wants her daughter back while trying to help a cop solve a murder case. Burt Reynolds is absolutely hilarious in his pre-Boogie Nights role as a severely perverted congressman who will stop at nothing to get Demi Moore despite the fact that it’s election time. I thought his character though was a little over the top and to be honest what was up with that hairdo? I couldn’t help, but laugh at a poor old Burt Reynolds with that awful hairstyle. He still was the perfect man to play the role I will add as I couldn’t see anyone else do that. Armand Assante was well Armand Assante, but the real credit to the film was Ving Rhames and Robert Patrick. Ving Rhames was so enjoyable to watch as the over protective always scheming bouncer while Patrick did a good job as the sleazeball, pill popping jerk off husband. Without those two in the film, I think this would have been an OK movie that you watched just to see Demi’s assets. While the film is certified rotten on rotten tomatoes (it has a 12%), I think that is a little unfair cause it wasn’t that bad. It wasn’t the greatest movie ever, but it was OK. That is why I am going to give the film an B- for a final grade.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 