*THIS REVIEW DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS*
Upon arriving at a mental institution, a brash rebel rallies the patients to take on the oppressive Nurse Ratched, a woman more dictator than nurse.
Great movie. Hands down, best film I've seen in a while. I've seen a lot of movies set in mental hospitals but this one takes the cake.
All the characters are awesome (but Chief is my absolute favorite!) and the acting was amazing! I really believed I was witnessing a crazy house and an underdog story but the ending threw me totally for a loop. I wanted to scream, cry and pass out all at the same time.
I was totally moved by this movie. I will continue my raving after a mini summary:
RP was doing some time in prison but acted out so they thought he was crazy. He ends up in a mental institution so they can diagnose whether or not he actually needs medical attention or if he's just faking.
Once there, RP starts to stir things up. He messes with the crazy nurse and gets the patients to embrace themselves again. You could say they all live vicariously through him. He even gets the deaf mute Chief to play basketball (the guy barely moves to begin with so this is a HUGE improvement).
Long story short, RP finds out that he can't just leave the hospital when his sentence is over. He's there until he 'gets better'. Since he pretty much made enemies of all the staff he doesn't see how this is possible and plans to escape with Chief.
While planning to leave he gets really close with the guys and misses his window of opportunity. The nurses decide to punish him accordingly and we find out later this means they give him a lobotomy. Chief is assumed a deaf mute (even though he's just faking) so he gets off easy. In the end, Chief kills RP because he was too good a man to live life as a vegetable, and escapes the way that he and RP always planned to. He smashes a window and runs for the forest...the end.
So my summary doesn't give this movie justice but you have to see it. You just have to. I was so glued to my seat in awe that when class was over I was upset that I couldn't just keep watching the movie (yes this was another Soc class film).
Overall 5 stars! I can't wait to rewatch this movie when I'm studying for the exam. This movie deserves every award it has won/been nominated for and all the praise it has been given. NOW GO WATCH IT!!!
Friday, November 30, 2012
Winx Club (2004-present)
In a magical universe, witches and warriors begin fighting in the name of good vs. evil! At a magic school, five teenage girls are selected to defend the universe with their magic.
So this was pretty much my favorite Saturday morning tv show when I was younger. It was like the pre-teen version of Charmed (my fav show of ALL time) which is probably why I liked it so much.
But anyway, after finally hunting down all the episodes on youtube and rewatching them all I see what a pre-teen me would see in this show. It's funny, corny, exciting and knows when to insert an appropriate cliffhanger...at the end of EVERY SINGLE EPISODE!!!
I was just as hooked on this show a month ago as I was years ago when I watched it on tv. Season 1 was amazing (for a kid's show) and it progressed nicely with the power of friendship, bunnies and how good always wins over evil.
But there was always that little twist in the plot that I never saw coming, even in my adult years. I feel like I should be insulted, but really I was totally shocked. So since I don't want to talk about every season individually I figured I would just over simplify the first one so you get the idea:
Bloom is the main character and she lives in a flower town called Gardenia on Earth. A fairy from another realm travels there to fight a monster and Bloom oversees this at the public park. Bloom sees that Stella (the fairy) is in danger and unleashes powers on this monster to destroy it. The catch? She didn't know she had powers. So instead of the whole secrecy thing where Bloom tries to hide her new abilities from her parents she just outright tells them when she brings Stella home that night. And on top of all this? Her parents are totally on board with everything! Stella shows them her powers and about 10 minutes later they agree to send Bloom to a magic boarding school. Just like that!
So Bloom makes life-long friends her first day at school (of course...it's ONLY high school) and she finds out eventually that she's the most powerful fairy left in all the realms. Insert corny plot where she has to go through some major self-discovery and life lessons...skipping to the good part...there is a trio of evil witches at another magic boarding school nearby and they want Bloom's power to rule the world.
These villains are actually pretty convincing for a kid's show. The leader doesn't take anything from anybody and her sidekicks are evil and stupid so they follow whatever she says. And amazingly this plot works and kept me extremely entertained. It was very similar to the trio of witches from Hocus Pocus*.
*Side note: if you haven't seen this movie then stop right now and go watch it. Just be sure to come back later :)
A lot more character development and cliffhangers later Bloom and the evil witches have their final battle. Guess who wins? Yeah Bloom does because she's super duper powerful and it's a kid's show.
End of season 1.
The rest of the seasons are not worth mentioning because short of a few really good episodes, they were long, drawn out and boring. The show also switched networks half way into the series so some of the voices and animation changed which made it really confusing because no one sounded like they did before. They didn't even really try to match the old stuff which was very disappointing.
Did I mention that this show is still going??? It's surprising but I guess people still watch it even after it changed hands so many times. It is set to air through 2015. (so this show has been on the air for about 10 years!!) Of course not regularly, but near enough! I haven't watched up through the 5th season and I'm not really planning to. I got my fix and if I need to re-live my childhood I will rewatch season 1 repeatedly. It really was the best.
If I was just rating season 1 then 4 stars...yeah it was THAT good. But since I watched most of the series, I can really only give it 2 stars. One for the villains and one for bringing back childhood memories.
So this was pretty much my favorite Saturday morning tv show when I was younger. It was like the pre-teen version of Charmed (my fav show of ALL time) which is probably why I liked it so much.
But anyway, after finally hunting down all the episodes on youtube and rewatching them all I see what a pre-teen me would see in this show. It's funny, corny, exciting and knows when to insert an appropriate cliffhanger...at the end of EVERY SINGLE EPISODE!!!
I was just as hooked on this show a month ago as I was years ago when I watched it on tv. Season 1 was amazing (for a kid's show) and it progressed nicely with the power of friendship, bunnies and how good always wins over evil.
But there was always that little twist in the plot that I never saw coming, even in my adult years. I feel like I should be insulted, but really I was totally shocked. So since I don't want to talk about every season individually I figured I would just over simplify the first one so you get the idea:
Bloom is the main character and she lives in a flower town called Gardenia on Earth. A fairy from another realm travels there to fight a monster and Bloom oversees this at the public park. Bloom sees that Stella (the fairy) is in danger and unleashes powers on this monster to destroy it. The catch? She didn't know she had powers. So instead of the whole secrecy thing where Bloom tries to hide her new abilities from her parents she just outright tells them when she brings Stella home that night. And on top of all this? Her parents are totally on board with everything! Stella shows them her powers and about 10 minutes later they agree to send Bloom to a magic boarding school. Just like that!
So Bloom makes life-long friends her first day at school (of course...it's ONLY high school) and she finds out eventually that she's the most powerful fairy left in all the realms. Insert corny plot where she has to go through some major self-discovery and life lessons...skipping to the good part...there is a trio of evil witches at another magic boarding school nearby and they want Bloom's power to rule the world.
These villains are actually pretty convincing for a kid's show. The leader doesn't take anything from anybody and her sidekicks are evil and stupid so they follow whatever she says. And amazingly this plot works and kept me extremely entertained. It was very similar to the trio of witches from Hocus Pocus*.
*Side note: if you haven't seen this movie then stop right now and go watch it. Just be sure to come back later :)
A lot more character development and cliffhangers later Bloom and the evil witches have their final battle. Guess who wins? Yeah Bloom does because she's super duper powerful and it's a kid's show.
End of season 1.
The rest of the seasons are not worth mentioning because short of a few really good episodes, they were long, drawn out and boring. The show also switched networks half way into the series so some of the voices and animation changed which made it really confusing because no one sounded like they did before. They didn't even really try to match the old stuff which was very disappointing.
Did I mention that this show is still going??? It's surprising but I guess people still watch it even after it changed hands so many times. It is set to air through 2015. (so this show has been on the air for about 10 years!!) Of course not regularly, but near enough! I haven't watched up through the 5th season and I'm not really planning to. I got my fix and if I need to re-live my childhood I will rewatch season 1 repeatedly. It really was the best.
If I was just rating season 1 then 4 stars...yeah it was THAT good. But since I watched most of the series, I can really only give it 2 stars. One for the villains and one for bringing back childhood memories.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
L.A. Confidential (1997)
As corruption grows in 1950s LA, three policemen - the straight-laced, the brutal, and the sleazy - investigate a series of murders with their own brand of justice.
LAME.
That's my entire review of this movie. The plot was lame, the characters were lame and the ending was...you guessed it, LAME!!!
The majority of the movie focused on the new guy to the police force, Ed. He's the classic nerd with glasses and wants to be a cop because that's what his daddy did. Awwww Eddie...*tear*
But he wants to be the big guy on campus and throws a bunch of cops under the bus, so the rest of the station hates him. This is until he 'solves' the latest murder in town which happens to be one where a cop got shot. Suddenly he's the guy to be...but something doesn't sit right with Ed so he keeps investigating.
Meanwhile we are introduced to Jack, the famous cop. He's a part of the narcotics division and makes deals with the local magazine editor to get the best stories (and a little payoff on the side). His life is good until Ed asks him why he became a cop in the first place and Jack can't remember. This sparks some kind of 'good samaritan' mission in him.
While all this is happening, Bud is another established cop on the force. He's really fond of women. If they are attacked or threatened in any way he goes all crazy monkey on the attacker and trust me, you DON'T wanna be that guy.
Bud doesn't actually like Ed for the longest time because he got his partner fired and later slept with his lady-friend. But as he's about to kill Ed he's convinced that he's a good guy and decides to help him out. Ed definitely has a way with words.
So Ed and Jack team up first to find the real killers in the 'solved' case. Turns out some things are shady with the captain of the station so Jack goes to talk to him: man to man. The captain, Dudley, thinks Jack knows something and shoots him. He later moves the body and says the murder of his friend is a heinous act and the killer must be found.
Ed finds out that Dudley killed Jack and freaks out. He knows he's next. Enter Bud attempting to kill Ed with every piece of office furniture possible (why he didn't just pull his gun out and shoot the guy I'll never know).
Once Ed and Bud are on the same side they realize they're being hunted by Dudley and his men so they run off to an abandoned warehouse (I kid you not) and prepare for battle. After a long, drawn out shoot out Ed shoots Dudley in the back (wow symbolism!!) and he and Bud make it out alive. Ed gets a medal for his valor and is the new head person at the station.
Oh and in between all this crap is a stupid love story between a whore and some cops.
Literally that was the whole movie. I got bored just writing this. None of the characters made you care about them at all and I was happy when some of them started getting shot. The coolest dude was Dudley because he wasn't afraid to tie up loose ends. Ed was just the lonely nerd who tried to beat the bully but ended up telling the teacher on him instead.
Keep in mind this movie is over two hours long. How I sat and watched this in one sitting is impressive. I should get an award for doing that alone!
So overall, thanks to Sociology, I again had to sit and pull myself through another disaster movie. I don't even know if this movie deserves 1 star. I'm at that point where maybe if I fall asleep right now I can pretend this movie doesn't exist and it was all just a bad dream...
GOOD NIGHT!
LAME.
That's my entire review of this movie. The plot was lame, the characters were lame and the ending was...you guessed it, LAME!!!
The majority of the movie focused on the new guy to the police force, Ed. He's the classic nerd with glasses and wants to be a cop because that's what his daddy did. Awwww Eddie...*tear*
But he wants to be the big guy on campus and throws a bunch of cops under the bus, so the rest of the station hates him. This is until he 'solves' the latest murder in town which happens to be one where a cop got shot. Suddenly he's the guy to be...but something doesn't sit right with Ed so he keeps investigating.
Meanwhile we are introduced to Jack, the famous cop. He's a part of the narcotics division and makes deals with the local magazine editor to get the best stories (and a little payoff on the side). His life is good until Ed asks him why he became a cop in the first place and Jack can't remember. This sparks some kind of 'good samaritan' mission in him.
While all this is happening, Bud is another established cop on the force. He's really fond of women. If they are attacked or threatened in any way he goes all crazy monkey on the attacker and trust me, you DON'T wanna be that guy.
Bud doesn't actually like Ed for the longest time because he got his partner fired and later slept with his lady-friend. But as he's about to kill Ed he's convinced that he's a good guy and decides to help him out. Ed definitely has a way with words.
So Ed and Jack team up first to find the real killers in the 'solved' case. Turns out some things are shady with the captain of the station so Jack goes to talk to him: man to man. The captain, Dudley, thinks Jack knows something and shoots him. He later moves the body and says the murder of his friend is a heinous act and the killer must be found.
Ed finds out that Dudley killed Jack and freaks out. He knows he's next. Enter Bud attempting to kill Ed with every piece of office furniture possible (why he didn't just pull his gun out and shoot the guy I'll never know).
Once Ed and Bud are on the same side they realize they're being hunted by Dudley and his men so they run off to an abandoned warehouse (I kid you not) and prepare for battle. After a long, drawn out shoot out Ed shoots Dudley in the back (wow symbolism!!) and he and Bud make it out alive. Ed gets a medal for his valor and is the new head person at the station.
Oh and in between all this crap is a stupid love story between a whore and some cops.
Literally that was the whole movie. I got bored just writing this. None of the characters made you care about them at all and I was happy when some of them started getting shot. The coolest dude was Dudley because he wasn't afraid to tie up loose ends. Ed was just the lonely nerd who tried to beat the bully but ended up telling the teacher on him instead.
Keep in mind this movie is over two hours long. How I sat and watched this in one sitting is impressive. I should get an award for doing that alone!
So overall, thanks to Sociology, I again had to sit and pull myself through another disaster movie. I don't even know if this movie deserves 1 star. I'm at that point where maybe if I fall asleep right now I can pretend this movie doesn't exist and it was all just a bad dream...
GOOD NIGHT!
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Dawson's Creek (1998-2003)
Four friends in a small coastal town help each other cope with adolescence.
So apparently this tv show was 'all the rage' on the WB when it first came out. Honestly, I don't know why. This show is just a bunch of teens awkwardly talking about sex, then they debate about having it (with each other no less) and then actually do it.
First of all, I think it's great that all these people find comfort in each other and stay close as a group but they didn't need to take it to the next level. Jen moves to Capeside, MA from NYC to live with her grandmother because her parents sent her away. At first you feel bad for the girl because you want to pity the kid that gets no love from her parents but then you find out why she moved...she was having sex, doing drugs and pretty much an alcoholic at the age of 15. As sad as that is, she made those choices and I understand why her parents threw her out.
So back to my original point, thank god Jen didn't get any kind of STD because she could have started a mini epidemic in Capeside. She kissed/dated/slept with the whole town! First it was Jen and Dawson, then Jen and Abby, then Jen and Dru...the list goes on and on. Keep it in your pants woman!
But to backtrack a bit...the show starts off with three best friends: Dawson, the movie-freak, Pacey, the side-kick and Joey, the girl who wants out. Joey has been climbing into Dawson's room just about every night for years. They watch movies and sleep in the same bed. No one thinks anything of this by the way...
Pacey mostly keeps to himself. He is the main underdog of the series because he can't do anything right. He gets a girlfriend...turns out it's his new English teacher at school. He gets a good grade...it's undermined by his family's general dislike of him. Poor guy can't catch a break. Until he starts dating Joey.
Little Joey Potter (as she's referred to countless times, even by herself!) lives down the creek and thinks she's in love with Dawson. He's to slow to act on any feelings so she dates Pacey (after dating Jack the gay kid for a brief period). This flip flop from Dawson to Pacey to random guy and back again is what keeps the series going.
Granted, there are a few episodes that I did like, but mostly it is just teen angst on top of more teen angst. There isn't any substance to this show. They ask the general "What is love?" and "Should I have sex?" questions over and over again until the answer is beaten into the viewer's brain.
Season 1 was pretty straight forward, it set up the conflict between Joey, Dawson, Pacey and Jen. Season 2 introduced Andi and Jack into the mix, but after that nothing really happens. Season 3 was almost unbearable until you get to season 4. Then you wish you were watching season 3...and the show just went downhill from there.
Finally the series finale. THAT was good. So those 6 seasons of loyal fandomship was finally worth it? I would say yes. For all the ragging I just did on this show it was watchable (not really my taste, but I made it through). The last episode takes place 5 years after the end of season 6, so all the characters are out in the real world living their dreams. Joey is an editor, Dawson is the director of a tv show called 'The Creek' (really creative writers there) and Pacey is the chef and owner of a restaurant. But the absolute best part of this ending was that Jen was a nobody and already had a kid. SEX HAS CONSEQUENCES PEOPLE!!!
Everytime the characters had sex on this show (which was a lot) whether or not they had a condom, or if anyone was on the pill, no one ever got an STD or pregnant. Ever.
So when Jen ended up with a kid I smiled so big I thought my lips would fall off my face. Then you find out...*SPOILER ALERT*
Jen has a terminal illness. C'mon man! The greatest moment as a viewer of this show and you had to ruin it ten minutes later because Jen's gonna die?
Now I successfully feel awful about being happy she has a kid and is going nowhere fast. Everyone cries about Jen but she wants her hospital visit to be a happy one so everyone has to put on a fake face when they see her. It was one of the most awkward scenes in the whole series (and that's saying something when you watch Katie Holmes act for 6 straight seasons).
As you might have guessed, Jen dies and gives her baby to Jack because who better to raise your daughter than a gay BFF? Good job Jen!
Overall this tv show was a disaster and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone I liked. Or even disliked. No one should have to watch this pathetically long and redundant turn of events of their own free will. All the great ratings it got set me up to really appreciate this show but it failed miserably.
So Little Joey Potter and her final lover, Pacey (she really does pick him in the end...WHY?!?!?!) can go ride off into the sunset and frankly I don't give a damn. 1 star.
Update: this show is now regularly airing on ABC Family during the ever-popular lunch hour time slot. I try to save money by eating lunch at home (being a broke college student and all that) so I have been re-watching the early seasons and to be honest, they're not as bad as I remember them. Yes the drama is still overbearing and the characters have a very strong sense of right and wrong, it's almost ridiculous, but the overall season arc is not horrible...for season 1 at least. I do standby my earlier statements that as the series progresses the seasons get more and more bogged down with needless relationship drama. But I will revise my earlier review by saying season 1 is a lovable teen angsty drama that will at the very least be nostalgic to 90's kids. And for the first time in my tv-watching experience commercials are wonderful things. Looking back, I really didn't like this show because I watched it online, commercial free, all in a row. Watching 6 years worth of tv in a matter of weeks was too much drama for me to take. It was for shows like this that they invented tv hiatuses. I can see why this show got such high ratings for its time but I can really only recommend this show for those who have a pathological need to understand every tv reference out there. If this does not apply to you, then I would skip it.
So apparently this tv show was 'all the rage' on the WB when it first came out. Honestly, I don't know why. This show is just a bunch of teens awkwardly talking about sex, then they debate about having it (with each other no less) and then actually do it.
First of all, I think it's great that all these people find comfort in each other and stay close as a group but they didn't need to take it to the next level. Jen moves to Capeside, MA from NYC to live with her grandmother because her parents sent her away. At first you feel bad for the girl because you want to pity the kid that gets no love from her parents but then you find out why she moved...she was having sex, doing drugs and pretty much an alcoholic at the age of 15. As sad as that is, she made those choices and I understand why her parents threw her out.
So back to my original point, thank god Jen didn't get any kind of STD because she could have started a mini epidemic in Capeside. She kissed/dated/slept with the whole town! First it was Jen and Dawson, then Jen and Abby, then Jen and Dru...the list goes on and on. Keep it in your pants woman!
But to backtrack a bit...the show starts off with three best friends: Dawson, the movie-freak, Pacey, the side-kick and Joey, the girl who wants out. Joey has been climbing into Dawson's room just about every night for years. They watch movies and sleep in the same bed. No one thinks anything of this by the way...
Pacey mostly keeps to himself. He is the main underdog of the series because he can't do anything right. He gets a girlfriend...turns out it's his new English teacher at school. He gets a good grade...it's undermined by his family's general dislike of him. Poor guy can't catch a break. Until he starts dating Joey.
Little Joey Potter (as she's referred to countless times, even by herself!) lives down the creek and thinks she's in love with Dawson. He's to slow to act on any feelings so she dates Pacey (after dating Jack the gay kid for a brief period). This flip flop from Dawson to Pacey to random guy and back again is what keeps the series going.
Granted, there are a few episodes that I did like, but mostly it is just teen angst on top of more teen angst. There isn't any substance to this show. They ask the general "What is love?" and "Should I have sex?" questions over and over again until the answer is beaten into the viewer's brain.
Season 1 was pretty straight forward, it set up the conflict between Joey, Dawson, Pacey and Jen. Season 2 introduced Andi and Jack into the mix, but after that nothing really happens. Season 3 was almost unbearable until you get to season 4. Then you wish you were watching season 3...and the show just went downhill from there.
Finally the series finale. THAT was good. So those 6 seasons of loyal fandomship was finally worth it? I would say yes. For all the ragging I just did on this show it was watchable (not really my taste, but I made it through). The last episode takes place 5 years after the end of season 6, so all the characters are out in the real world living their dreams. Joey is an editor, Dawson is the director of a tv show called 'The Creek' (really creative writers there) and Pacey is the chef and owner of a restaurant. But the absolute best part of this ending was that Jen was a nobody and already had a kid. SEX HAS CONSEQUENCES PEOPLE!!!
Everytime the characters had sex on this show (which was a lot) whether or not they had a condom, or if anyone was on the pill, no one ever got an STD or pregnant. Ever.
So when Jen ended up with a kid I smiled so big I thought my lips would fall off my face. Then you find out...*SPOILER ALERT*
Jen has a terminal illness. C'mon man! The greatest moment as a viewer of this show and you had to ruin it ten minutes later because Jen's gonna die?
Now I successfully feel awful about being happy she has a kid and is going nowhere fast. Everyone cries about Jen but she wants her hospital visit to be a happy one so everyone has to put on a fake face when they see her. It was one of the most awkward scenes in the whole series (and that's saying something when you watch Katie Holmes act for 6 straight seasons).
As you might have guessed, Jen dies and gives her baby to Jack because who better to raise your daughter than a gay BFF? Good job Jen!
Overall this tv show was a disaster and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone I liked. Or even disliked. No one should have to watch this pathetically long and redundant turn of events of their own free will. All the great ratings it got set me up to really appreciate this show but it failed miserably.
So Little Joey Potter and her final lover, Pacey (she really does pick him in the end...WHY?!?!?!) can go ride off into the sunset and frankly I don't give a damn. 1 star.
Update: this show is now regularly airing on ABC Family during the ever-popular lunch hour time slot. I try to save money by eating lunch at home (being a broke college student and all that) so I have been re-watching the early seasons and to be honest, they're not as bad as I remember them. Yes the drama is still overbearing and the characters have a very strong sense of right and wrong, it's almost ridiculous, but the overall season arc is not horrible...for season 1 at least. I do standby my earlier statements that as the series progresses the seasons get more and more bogged down with needless relationship drama. But I will revise my earlier review by saying season 1 is a lovable teen angsty drama that will at the very least be nostalgic to 90's kids. And for the first time in my tv-watching experience commercials are wonderful things. Looking back, I really didn't like this show because I watched it online, commercial free, all in a row. Watching 6 years worth of tv in a matter of weeks was too much drama for me to take. It was for shows like this that they invented tv hiatuses. I can see why this show got such high ratings for its time but I can really only recommend this show for those who have a pathological need to understand every tv reference out there. If this does not apply to you, then I would skip it.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
A rebellious young man with a troubled past comes to a new town, finding friends and enemies.
Another super descriptive summary from IMDb but whatcha gonna do?
This movie I also watched for my Soc class but I liked this one soooo much better. Granted it wasn't a movie I'm dying to see again but compared to Boyz this was actually watchable.
The rebel is James Dean and he moves to a new town because he keeps getting into trouble and his parents think if they take him away from all that then he will improve as a person. But he doesn't because he's James Dean :)
He meets the local cool kids and tries to fit into their gang. A knife fight ensues and is stopped by a local police officer. Because their dispute couldn't be settled the group decides to do a "chickee run" later that night. For those who missed out on the 50s a chickee run is when two guys steal two cars and race them off the cliff. The last one to jump out of their car and not die wins! I can't wait to get a group of people and do this next weekend!!! WHOOOOOO!!! (I'm totally kidding by the way...this is the stupidest way to prove a man has balls)
So there's a complication and the guy that challenged James Dean drives off the cliff and dies, so of course his girlfriend (well now ex-girlfriend) starts to fall in love with Jimmy D and they run off together to an abandoned mansion. There they bump into the local wannabe kid. You know the kid that no one really hangs out with but he's always there just in case they change their mind?
Well he apparently frequents this same mansion and the three of them decide to play house. James and his new arm candy are the parents while Plato (the wannabe kid) is their son.
Later on, the police find the group and Plato gets scared and starts shooting them when he pulls out his gun (for protection of course!). They chase him to the planetarium, this movie has some WEIRD settings, and Jimmy gets him to come out unarmed. The police don't know he's unarmed so when he does come out they shoot him and he dies. Sorry guys, but the lonely underdog doesn't make it :(
Jimmy and his girl go home all sad and the movie ends.
Did I mention that this whole movie takes place in ONE day??? How cool is that?! Just because of some of the choices everyone made people died and there was a huge shootout and all this conflict came out of Jimmy's first day of school?
That just baffles my mind! But anyway this is a good movie but not super attention-keeping. I tended to daydream during the lame lovey-dovey parts and there wasn't enough action to keep me totally entertained.
But I guess I still give it 3 stars, it was better than Boyz and I was slightly more interested in the characters than I thought I would be. Yay James Dean!!
Another super descriptive summary from IMDb but whatcha gonna do?
This movie I also watched for my Soc class but I liked this one soooo much better. Granted it wasn't a movie I'm dying to see again but compared to Boyz this was actually watchable.
The rebel is James Dean and he moves to a new town because he keeps getting into trouble and his parents think if they take him away from all that then he will improve as a person. But he doesn't because he's James Dean :)
He meets the local cool kids and tries to fit into their gang. A knife fight ensues and is stopped by a local police officer. Because their dispute couldn't be settled the group decides to do a "chickee run" later that night. For those who missed out on the 50s a chickee run is when two guys steal two cars and race them off the cliff. The last one to jump out of their car and not die wins! I can't wait to get a group of people and do this next weekend!!! WHOOOOOO!!! (I'm totally kidding by the way...this is the stupidest way to prove a man has balls)
So there's a complication and the guy that challenged James Dean drives off the cliff and dies, so of course his girlfriend (well now ex-girlfriend) starts to fall in love with Jimmy D and they run off together to an abandoned mansion. There they bump into the local wannabe kid. You know the kid that no one really hangs out with but he's always there just in case they change their mind?
Well he apparently frequents this same mansion and the three of them decide to play house. James and his new arm candy are the parents while Plato (the wannabe kid) is their son.
Later on, the police find the group and Plato gets scared and starts shooting them when he pulls out his gun (for protection of course!). They chase him to the planetarium, this movie has some WEIRD settings, and Jimmy gets him to come out unarmed. The police don't know he's unarmed so when he does come out they shoot him and he dies. Sorry guys, but the lonely underdog doesn't make it :(
Jimmy and his girl go home all sad and the movie ends.
Did I mention that this whole movie takes place in ONE day??? How cool is that?! Just because of some of the choices everyone made people died and there was a huge shootout and all this conflict came out of Jimmy's first day of school?
That just baffles my mind! But anyway this is a good movie but not super attention-keeping. I tended to daydream during the lame lovey-dovey parts and there wasn't enough action to keep me totally entertained.
But I guess I still give it 3 stars, it was better than Boyz and I was slightly more interested in the characters than I thought I would be. Yay James Dean!!
Boyz in the Hood (1991)
Saga of a group of childhood friends growing up in a Los Angeles ghetto.
Yep that's the whole summary courtesy of IMDb. But honestly I think that pretty much covers it. I actually watched this movie a while ago but due to the stress of exams and papers and presentations I haven't had time to actually blog about anything. But now I'm back and trying to catch up on everything I've watched over the past month. Starting with Boyz...
This movie was very true to its genre: drama. Drama was leaking off the screen evertime I watched this movie (which was all of 3 times...I would like to go back and re-claim those six hours of my life please!) and all the characters were classic poor, lower class minorities.
Keeping in mind I didn't watch this movie of my own free will (it was for that Sociology class I keep mentioning) so I wasn't too open to it from the beginning. I don't usually find these types of movies too interesting or thought-provoking so I tend to avoid them.
Boyz was the same until the end. It starts off with the main character, Tre, who moves across town to live in the ghetto with his dad so his mom can go back to school. There he meets Ricky, the kid who is obsessed with football, and Doughboy...Ricky's brother. Doughboy doesn't do much of anything so it's hard to characterize him simply.
Anyway, these crazy kids get into some trouble and end up on the wrong side of a drive by shooting. Someone dies and this hits the whole neighborhood really hard. Everyone is sad and then shortly after the movie ends.
To give you guys a hint, Dough doesn't die...well not immediately. He gives a really nice 'last speech' about the person that did die in the shooting and this was the only part of the movie I really liked. To sum up he said something along the lines of, 'people don't know what's happening here in the ghetto because no one shows it. We are never gonna get any respect or help from anyone because they don't know we're here.'
Powerful, right? Well maybe not my rendition of it but you should find the clip on youtube and watch it. You don't have to understand the rest of the *cough* awful *cough* movie to feel the emotion from this guy. And all this coming from a nobody who wastes his life drinking and having sex? Wow, that's really impressive. Then just when you think he's gonna pick up his life and do something he dies.
Harsh, but predictable. Even so his speech is definitely worth checking out so here's the video, I know the quality is terrible but ignore it...you're welcome :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt9PYuC1RZs
Overall, 2 stars. If this last scene didn't exist then this movie would only be worth 1 star, but that's how much I was affected by it.
Yep that's the whole summary courtesy of IMDb. But honestly I think that pretty much covers it. I actually watched this movie a while ago but due to the stress of exams and papers and presentations I haven't had time to actually blog about anything. But now I'm back and trying to catch up on everything I've watched over the past month. Starting with Boyz...
This movie was very true to its genre: drama. Drama was leaking off the screen evertime I watched this movie (which was all of 3 times...I would like to go back and re-claim those six hours of my life please!) and all the characters were classic poor, lower class minorities.
Keeping in mind I didn't watch this movie of my own free will (it was for that Sociology class I keep mentioning) so I wasn't too open to it from the beginning. I don't usually find these types of movies too interesting or thought-provoking so I tend to avoid them.
Boyz was the same until the end. It starts off with the main character, Tre, who moves across town to live in the ghetto with his dad so his mom can go back to school. There he meets Ricky, the kid who is obsessed with football, and Doughboy...Ricky's brother. Doughboy doesn't do much of anything so it's hard to characterize him simply.
Anyway, these crazy kids get into some trouble and end up on the wrong side of a drive by shooting. Someone dies and this hits the whole neighborhood really hard. Everyone is sad and then shortly after the movie ends.
To give you guys a hint, Dough doesn't die...well not immediately. He gives a really nice 'last speech' about the person that did die in the shooting and this was the only part of the movie I really liked. To sum up he said something along the lines of, 'people don't know what's happening here in the ghetto because no one shows it. We are never gonna get any respect or help from anyone because they don't know we're here.'
Powerful, right? Well maybe not my rendition of it but you should find the clip on youtube and watch it. You don't have to understand the rest of the *cough* awful *cough* movie to feel the emotion from this guy. And all this coming from a nobody who wastes his life drinking and having sex? Wow, that's really impressive. Then just when you think he's gonna pick up his life and do something he dies.
Harsh, but predictable. Even so his speech is definitely worth checking out so here's the video, I know the quality is terrible but ignore it...you're welcome :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt9PYuC1RZs
Overall, 2 stars. If this last scene didn't exist then this movie would only be worth 1 star, but that's how much I was affected by it.
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