Movie #123 - Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

"Steve Martin had no reason to panic...until John Candy came along."

One of the funniest movies of the 1980's, the continuous exchange between Steve Martin and John Candy is superb. I picked up this movie on DVD a couple of years ago when I first decided to start flying for work - having to travel to San Diego by plane for the first time in my life. Knowing the type of trip Martin and Candy had to go through in order to get to their final destination, made me feel a little bit better.

Written and directed by John Hughes, the 80's was his decade. I think I rhymed off a number of his key films in another recent post, but Hughes was definitely one of the best directors of that decade... and then, once the 90's hit, Hughes was obsessed with Home Alone and Beethoven. Being a pseudo-professional writer myself, maybe Hughes was just suffering with a decade long version of writer's block, but he churned out way too many of the cute, family films and forgot what his success was built upon. Teen angst and witty comedy.

As for Martin and Candy - they are a great tandem as both can deliver a punchline and are both physical comedic actors. With Martin, you are given the persona of the serious, businessman, almost somewhat snobbish in nature. With Candy, you are given the Uncle Buck persona, the gregarious every man who is very annoying.

Whoever decided to put these two together on the same screen was a genius. Martin and Candy drive this film and the trials and tribulations of their journey, causing them to rely on each other more makes this film even funnier than originally intended.

My favourite scene is depicted in the photo above, showcasing the moment in which Martin and Candy are forced to share a hotel room bed due to lack of funds. Its a classic scene and one that breaks up all of the laughs - especially the reactions the guys have when they discover that they are in a romantic embrace.

In the end, you'll enjoy 93 minutes of hilarity with these two guys taking you through their adventure. Have fun - it definitely makes traveling more bearable.

Movie #122 - Star Trek: The Motion Picture

"The human adventure is just beginning."

After many years of syndication, 1979 marked the return of the crew from the Enterprise. This time, on the big screen. The much anticipated return of Star Trek and its original crew was definitely exciting for all Trekkies. Unfortunately, I am too young to remember this film on the big screen for I was not born yet, however, I have watched this movie many times and believe its a good one. It definitely does not rank that high in terms of the entire lot of Star Trek films, inclusive of the TNG group and the most recent prequel completed by J.J. Abrams, however, its a good start.

Nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Visual Effects and Original Score, this film brings back the familiar crew to their leap to the big screen. The storyline of this film is a little weak, but what was to be expected for a long hiatus from television and a big budget. The story behind this movie is that a planetary force is making its way to Earth and the Enterprise is sent to investigate and see if they can stop it from destroying the planet.

Although compelling and beautifully shot despite the limited special effects of the late 70's, the story is extremely slow and the drama that we were accustomed show with the television cult classic was lost in this drawn out, 2.5 hour version of a poorly edited television episode. The graphics are top notch for the era, however, most of the budget went to making this film a cinematic piece as opposed to creating a solid plot or developing the characters further beyond what we knew of them in the show.

Unfortunately, this is exactly what was done in other Star Trek films as well. I am a big fan of Gene Roddenberry, but he always assumed that movie-goers watching his movies knew about the characters involved. However, character development is the biggest aspect lacking in many science fiction blockbusters - we spend too much time worrying about the special effects and the action sequences, we forget that some fans just want a good story to be told.

Despite this flaw, the first installment of the movie franchise is a hit overall. Its much better than Star Trek III, and probably better than IV and V as well. I liked VI and obviously, everyone enjoys the movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, which is one of my personal favourites as well.

This movie does have some new cast members in the likes of Stephen Collins (known for his role as the father on 7th Heaven) and Persis Khambatta (a former Miss India from the early 60's). Both characters are developed as the main side storyline of the movie and you gravitate towards the romantic background offered by these two side characters from the main cast. However, even with these strong performances of these side cast members, the main cast is very limited in their reprised roles.

The Spock / Kirk play between characters is not focused upon in this film as opposed to the contrast in the television show and further sequels. The poor ranking of this film in the Star Trek franchise can probably be attributed to the lack of interaction between Kirk and Spock, as the focus is on attempting to develop Collins' character of Commander William Decker.

In the end, this is a good movie to start a Star Trek marathon off from (which by the way is taking place on Labour Day weekend 2009 in Canada on Space Network), however, it could easily put you to sleep as well - which for some isn't necessarily a bad thing... but only if you are narcoleptic.

Movie #121 - Robocop

"Part man. Part machine. All cop. The future of law enforcement."

One of my favourite movies coming out of the 1980's, only because I am a big fan of science fiction and I like action movies that have some possibilities for the future. Coming off the popularity of The Terminator just a few years earlier, Robocop is a movie about a cyborg police officer who is used to clean up the crime-riddled futuristic version of Detroit.

The futuristic predictions of this movie are definitely those being used or implemented today. There is references to GPS tracking devices, large scale photon weapons, metallic armor, and even cybernetic technology. Also, RC driven technology is portrayed throughout this film, quite an imagination from Paul Verhoeven and his production crew.

Verhoeven's big break into mainstream Hollywood was through the cult success of Robocop. Through the first installment, Verhoeven was able to get other projects such as Total Recall, Basic Instinct, Showgirls, Starship Troopers, and Hollow Man just to name a few. Unfortunately, all had mixed success with Basic Instinct and Total Recall being his most renowned.

Peter Weller, on the other hand, didn't really parlay his role as Robocop into other successful roles. Coming out of small roles on television and B-rated movies, Weller was cast to play Robocop, a role that curtailed his ability to land bigger roles shortly afterwards. Weller was type cast into science fiction roles throughout his career and even the Robocop role in the unsuccessful sequel in 1990.

This film does have a strong supporting cast, with appearances from Ronny Cox, Miguel Ferrer, Paul McCrane, and Kurtwood Smith. All went onto solid cast members on television, most notably Ferrer on Crossing Jordan, McCrane on ER, and Smith on That 70's Show.

In fact, its Smith's role as the main villain that makes me laugh the most whenever I watch this film, because Robocop is getting his ass kicked by Foreman's Dad and the surgeon from ER. Quite funny when you start crossing more notable roles into other bodies of work. It ends up becoming a fun game when you start referencing previous roles for various actors in movies and television. I suggest you give it a try - the game itself tends to be quite fun when you know this much about movies and television.

Movie #120 - Die Hard

"It will blow you through the back wall of the theater!"

One of the more entertaining films to come out of 1988, this film created the persona that Bruce Willis now utilizes in almost every one of his action movies. Definitely one of the crown jewels of Willis' career, the Die Hard franchise has been a box office success overall, and has some memorable moments for action movie fans everywhere.

If you watch this movie with a keen eye, you notice that the film was shot in a stretched lens, probably to make Willis look a little slimmer and taller, something that was pure illusion. Leading up to his Die Hard role, Willis was mainly known as a big time television actor, especially in his role on the romantic drama Moonlighting opposite Cybill Shepherd. That show started Willis' career and ran from 1985-1989, but was the stepping stone Willis needed to get into the big screen roles.

After Die Hard, Willis was over exposed fairly quickly both on the screen and off the screen. He quickly made a number of forgettable movies, too many to name here, and married Demi Moore, who was also one of the "it" female celebrities of the early 90's. Together, Willis and Moore became one of Hollywood's 90's power couples and thus, Willis movie career took off.

However, going back to Die Hard, this movie was both action packed, witty, and quite clever in its overall delivery. The concept of holding a bunch of people at the penthouse of a high-rise business building on Christmas Eve was intriguing and made for great suspense. The stars of the show, however, were the villains that were cast to contrast Willis (Alan Rickman and Alexander Godunov), and the supporting roles offered by the likes of Reginald VelJohnson and Paul Gleason. Other cast members such as Bonnie Bedelia and William Atherton provided some consistency in the sequels to follow, but were also strong in this film.

Without Rickman, though, the McClane character would not be as favoured, without a great villain. In Rickman, the casting was perfect. Although born of Irish and Welsh descent, Rickman is a chameleon type actor, similar to the likes of Gary Oldman or even Johnny Depp. Rickman immerses himself 100% into his character and has portrayed a villain in many strong roles over the years. His portrayal of Hans Gruber in Die Hard is one of the main reasons to enjoy this movie and this boosts the approval rating for the protagonist in the end.

Movie #119 - Metro

"San Francisco's top police hostage negotiator is about to get more than he ever bargained for."

This movie was a bomb at the box office and is definitely not a good representation of Murphy's overall body of work. In his career, Eddie Murphy has made a number of bad movie projects, Metro is one of those films. Although I have not seen his most recent box office disaster, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, critics and fans alike have made that decision for me. However, I'll stick to reviewing this film, for I know Murphy at least deserves to be slaughtered for each film individually.

With Metro, the movie is way too long with too many slow spots in between. As shown by the trailer below, it was originally marketed as a comedic action film, similar to the Beverly Hills Cop franchise or even the Lethal Weapon franchise. However, this movie falls flat, from cast members to production quality - showing the level of expertise Murphy has had in choosing some of his major roles.

Metro was supposed to be one of those films that allowed Murphy to jump back and forth from goofy, comedic roles, to action-packed summer blockbusters. Instead, many blamed Metro for fans to forget the box office success of The Nutty Professor from 1996, and recall the disastrous films such as Vampire in Brooklyn and Beverly Hills Cop III shortly before and Holy Man, Life, and Bowfinger shortly afterwards.

Overall, if you cut out the crappy films, Murphy's career is filled with gems such as the Beverly Hills cop franchise sans #3, his voice over work with Mulan and the Shrek franchise, and his more recent work like Dreamgirls. However, everything always comes back to Pluto Nash, which is Murphy's version of Waterworld, the film that will forever follow Kevin Costner.

Unfortunately for Murphy, this film sees better acting from both Michael Wincott as the villain and Michael Rapaport as his rookie cop partner. However, as previously mentioned, this movie drags on and the violent, action scenes are misplaced throughout the duration of this film.

If you take my advice, do not see Metro as it falls in line with some of the poor decisions Murphy made in the mid-90's. If you want to see some stellar work, go through Murphy's earlier stuff or seek out episodes of his time on Saturday Night Live or even his stand-up work. I actually hope that he goes back to doing that, because he ranks up there in terms of delivery and quality of jokes. Maybe in the latter part of his career, he'll dust off the microphone, but I think he desperately wants to win his Oscar first... maybe a sequel to Pluto Nash just might be in order.

Just kidding!

Movie #118 - As Good as It Gets

"Brace yourself for Melvin."

Winner of two Academy Awards (Helen Hunt and Jack Nicholson - both for Best Actor/Actress) and also nominated for five more awards, this movie was one of the surprise hits of 1997. Not only was this film well cast from top to bottom, with Hunt and Nicholson leading the way, but it was definitely well-written.

James L. Brooks, probably more famous nowadays for his lifetime of work on the television blockbuster cartoon, The Simpsons, is the main person responsible for this movie. However, James L. Brooks has had a distinguished career in both television and film. From the television side of things, beyond The Simpsons, Brooks has been a writer for such hits as The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spin-off Rhoda, not to mention an extended run behind Taxi. As for the big screen, Brooks is best known for Terms of Endearment and Broadcast News.

Casting Nicholson as a neurotic, rude, paranoid, crazy man wasn't much of a stretch. In fact, most of Nicholson's current roles now play on his Melvin character from this film - which probably is not a real stretch from his personality in real life, hence its so easy for him to play this type of character. Helen Hunt was the surprise of this film, but deserved her Oscar due to the ability to play alongside Nicholson throughout this film and having the uncanny ability to steal some scenes from the great actor as well.

The other cast members really make this movie work, from Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding Jr., and even a rare live appearance of Simpsons' alumnus Yeardley Smith, the voice of Lisa Simpson, who coincidentally is playing a character named Jackie Simpson. The real show-stopper was the pet dog, Vardell. This dog was the real driving force behind the friendship of the Kinnear and Nicholson characters, but was definitely well cast and well trained.

Anyhow, this movie is a treat for all you Jack Nicholson fans out there, however, it is the start of many movies similar to this in his resume. I'd like to see Jack begin to branch back into playing an evil villain similar to what he accomplished in The Departed or his earlier 90's roles such as in A Few Good Men. However, because this type-cast character is so successful and comedic at the same time, I doubt we'll ever be rid of this version of Jack anytime soon.

Movie #117 - We're No Angels

"The con is on."

A remake of the 1955 original of the same name, the updated version starring Robert De Niro and Sean Penn is a funny comedy of the late 80's that I am sure that no one watched. Growing up in a household in which my father ensured that he watched every De Niro movie ever made, this was obviously rented back in 1989 when it was first released.

The concept of this movie is quite comedic. Two convicts escape prison and are attempting to cross the border. When they are detained, they are mis-identified as two missing priests, who were traveling to join a local church.

The cast is full of recognizable names. Outside of Penn and De Niro, there are the likes of Demi Moore, Bruno Kirby, and a young John C. Reilly. Also, the production crew behind this film was actually top notch, as it was directed by Neil Jordan - famous for The Crying Game and Interview with the Vampire. It was also written by David Mamet, best known for his writing abilities on The Untouchables, Hoffa, Ronin, and Hannibal.

Overall, this movie has some funny scenes and does have a strong ensemble cast, but it falls flat in a lot of places. This movie is one of the first of many De Niro films in which he is poking fun at his tough guy persona in film and is playing a comedic role. There are probably more films like this now in his resume than serious ones. Also, Sean Penn is playing a real dope in this film - going back to his Fast Times at Ridgemont High days, but I like him better as a serious, dramatic actor.

This movie is a hidden gem amongst 80's comedies as many people did not watch this movie when it first came out in theatres or went to video, so it will also be tough to find to rent or purchase. However, if you are able to do so, you won't be overly disappointed as it does provide you with many laughs in the end.

Please note - was having trouble finding a trailer for this movie, so we'll have to settle for a scene from the film.