After today, there is only five days left in the year which means there will only be five movies left to watch so making the right choices is very important. I wanted to watch a film that featured the late, great Robin Williams (Good Will Hunting) and so I chose to watch The Birdcage. Armand Goldman (Williams) is a gay owner of a cabaret club called The Birdcage who gets a visit from his only son Val (Dan Futterman). Val tells him that he is getting married, but there is one problem. He is getting married to a girl whose father is a very conservative senator and so he wants them to pretend for a night that they are not gay, but a normal family. Armand agrees to do it, but there is only one problem and it’s his drag queen boyfriend Albert (Nathan Lane). The film also stars Gene Hackman (Enemy Of The State) as Sen. Kevin Keeley, Dianne Wiest (The Lost Boys) as Louise Keeley, Calista Flockhart (Ally McBeal) as Barbara Keeley, Hank Azaria (Grosse Pointe Blank) as Agador, Christine Baranski (Trolls) as Katherine Archer, Tom McGowan (Heavy Weights) as Harry Radman, Grant Heslov (True Lies) as National Enquirer Photographer, James Lally (Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead) as Cyril, and the film was directed by Mike Nichols (The Graduate).
First off, I want to start the article by saying how inconsiderate the character of Val is throughout the whole film. He is so inconsiderate to his father and Albert and just about anyone at The Birdcage that he forces them to change who they are. I understand why Robin Williams character Armand did it, but it’s frustrating to watch because you’re like I would’ve told this kid where to go if I was in his situation. That right there is a sign of great writing where you get emotionally involved in the story. So, I am definitely giving kudos to that department as well as the acting which was superb. Williams, Lane, and Azaria absolutely steal the show in the film with their comedic wit and over the top performances. When they are on camera, they make the film that much more enjoyable. What’s up with Calista Flockhart in this film? There is this one scene where she puts on a lot of makeup and she looks like a corpse being drained of all its blood. It’s just that scary looking, but her slim figure is her trademark. The film is just fantastic from beginning to end as you wait to see if they’ll pull it off, but there is a redeeming moment at the end of the film for Val. After that, you will definitely forgive him. I loved everything about the film, this is a classic and one that a fellow co-worker recommended to me and I am glad I watched. I am going to give the film an A for a final grade.
Two years ago for Eddie’s 31 Days Of Halloween, I covered the film The Town That Dreaded Sundown which based off of a true story of a killer never found or arrested. So for today’s film, I saw that SYFY was airing the sequel of sorts as part of their 31 Days Of Halloween Marathon. In this version, it has been over 60 years since the original murders and almost 40 years since the film was made. The town of Texarkana now watches the film as some part of a tradition until Jami (
There was really no science to how I picked the film for today other than the fact that Encore was playing it and it featured Sally Field (Forrest Gump) and Kiefer Sutherland (The Lost Boys). The name of the film that I chose for today is the crime drama Eye For An Eye. For Karen McCann (Field) everything in life is as normal as can be with a loving and devoted husband (Ed Harris) and some great kids. Her life is torn upside down when repeat felon Robert Doob (Sutherland) rapes and murders her daughter Julie (
The MVP of the film, without a shadow of a doubt, was the performance from Kiefer Sutherland who made a career of playing different types of roles. He was so amazing in this film that he had me really believe that he was some twisted whack job that gets off on raping and killing his victims. The only thing that kind of bothered me is that his character seemed real out of place like he belonged more in the south then where ever the heck they were from. Sally Field also does a tremendous job of playing the mother with so much guilt that it plagues her very existence. The film has some very weird moments in it that are just creepy like Kiefer’s character talking to the youngest daughter at her school or when he spies on his victims. I can’t believe that the film is already twenty years old as it came out in January of 1996. The film I believe was advertised as a vigilante film, but it’s really not that. It’s more of a thriller where you left wondering if he’ll catch her, etc. I think that is why the film had such negative reviews back in the day and why it holds an 8% on Rotten Tomatoes. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the film a lot just because of the two performances and such as I described above. I am going to give the film an B- for a final grade.
The minute that I saw that Today’s film was available to rent at my local Redbox location, I jumped at the chance to watch and hence that there is no Ass Whoopin Wednesday film this week. When I think of great combinations in comedy, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler of Saturday Night Live fame come to mind and today I chose their 2015 film Sisters. For Maura Ellis (Poehler) she is always trying to fix everything in everyone else’s lives other than her own. For Kate Ellis (Fey), she has just never been able to get anything straight in her life and is a hot mess. One day the sisters find out that there parents are selling their childhood home in Orlando and the two decide to throw the biggest party in honor of all the great memories there. The film also stars Dianne Wiest (The Lost Boys) as Mom, James Brolin (Hotel) as Dad, Ike Barinholtz (Neighbors) as James, Maya Rudolph (The Way Way Back) as Brinda, John Cena as Pazuzu, John Leguizamo (Carlito’s Way) as Dave, Bobby Moynihan (Saturday Night Live) as Alex, Greta Lee (St. Vincent) as Hae-Won, Madison Davenport (Noah) as Haley, Rachel Dratch (Saturday Night Live) as Kelly, and the film was directed by Jason Moore (Pitch Perfect).
First I want to start by saying that Tina Fey and Amy Poehler have always made an amazing combo even in their days on Saturday Night Live when they did The Weekend Update. That amazing chemistry more than definitely transferred it’s magic into this film about two sisters who are having trouble letting go and finding responsibility. I also love how they incorporate different stars from Saturday Night Live into the film, it’s nice to see them giving people jobs. I also want to say how amazing Tina Fey looks in this film as the girl definitely ages very well and Kudos to Amy Poehler who looks amazing as well in the film. There are some scenes that are definitely funnier than others in the film and you can tell as some jokes fall flat while others prosper. I have to definitely give props to John Cena who looks incredibly bigger than usual in this film, but he definitely delivers. He plays a drug dealer in the film who has some amazing one liners with Tina Fey. Their interactions together are priceless and was definitely necessary in the film. One scene that while I did think it was funny, I thought it would be funnier was the scene where Ike Barinholtz’s character falls butt first into that Ballerina wind up thing. One thing that kind of bothered me was the interactions between Fey’s character and her daughter. The only reason it bothers me is because it’s not really explained well why she refuses to trust her. I mean all that we know is that she is mad over thew fact that Tina Fey’s character can’t really hold down a job and there is some mothering issues, but that is all we know. It’s one of the main sub plots that runs along with the main plot. Anyways, the film was definitely enjoyable to watch so I am going to give it an B+ for a final grade.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 