Grease!

I was around twelve years old when the film version of "Grease" hit the big screen. It was such a huge hit with my peers. I even went on a "group date" to catch it at the local theater. My girlfriends and I would spend evenings singing along with the characters. Who can forget such classics as "Summer Nights", "We Go Together" or "You're the One That I Want." I can't speak for the male gender, but as a female, the story of a boy from the wrong side of the tracks who falls for a prim and proper girl grabs me every time. Boy wins girls, boy loses girl, then boy changes and girl changes in order to win each other over. I'm such a sucker for happy endings.
It doesn't matter if you're a high school student in 2007 or 1957, peer pressure is peer pressure. Danny had a chance to shed his "greaser" image for a summer when he met Sandy, a very proper young lady. But once one is back in the environs of school, you cannot easily break out of the group mentality. Danny reverted to his smoking, trouble making ways as a member of the Thunderbird gang. Much to Sandy's shock and dismay, Danny was not the boy she remembered from the summer. What happened? Was it all a lie?
Along the way, Sandy learns to broaden her horizons, i.e. let loose a little, and Danny tries to tame his wild behavior. By the end of the movie, each demonstrates to the other that they're willing to make changes for the sake of love. While I believe outward changes to your appearance are fine, you still should be true to who you are. I suggest revisiting this movie classic. "Grease" is the definitely the WORD!

A Foul -- but Fun -- Movie

Looking for a movie that provides comedy, romance and humor? Look nofurther than "Foul Play." I love the chemistry between Goldie Hawn andChevy Chase. It's a shame these two actors only collaborated one moretime (Seems Like Old Times). In "Foul Play," Chase and Hawn play adetective and librarian, respectively, who become involved in anassassination plot and find romance along the way. Why shouldn'tcomedy/mystery movies have a fairy tale ending?
Goldie Hawn first sees Chevy Chase at an engagement party but is notimpressed at his fall, which is vintage Chase. As Hawn driveshome, she picks up a stranger who experienced car trouble on the road.His name is Scotty, and he arranges to meet Hawn at a movie the nextevening. He asks her to hold on to his cigarettes. But unbeknownst toHawn, he slips in a microfilm container. When the two meet the nextevening, Scotty collapses from a gunshot wound but managed to whisperto Hawn, "Beware of the dwarf." Chaos ensues as Hawn tries to convincethe theater manager that there's a corpse in the seat next to her.Nothing is amiss in the theater. Hawn returns home only to find thattrouble has followed her. Enter Chevy Chase who is the detective incharge of Hawn's case. He's immediately drawn to her even though herstory appears farfetched with disappearing corpses, intruders, and adwarf.
Eventually Chase comes to believe Hawn and the two discover adiabolical assassination plot, which is to take place at theperformance of "Madame Butterfly" in San Francisco. The chase scenethrough the historic hills of the Golden Gate City are awesome. Twounsuspecting Japanese tourists go along for the ride as Hawn and Chasecommandeer a taxi to reach the theater in time to stop theassassination.
You'll appreciate the excellent comedic talents of Hawn and Chase, aswell as the supporting characters in "Foul Play." Dudley Moore has ahysterical cameo as an amorous orchestra conductor. You cannot gowrong with this very enjoyable comedy which also includes an excellentmystery component. So sit back with a bucket of popcorn and prepare tolaugh from start to finish.

Eat this Movie for Breakfast

You were a teenager once, right? I think I can make a sweeping,generalized statement that high school is a period of angst andpressure. Would you say that that period of your life was carefree, noworries? No way! You're put in a category: jock, nerd, popular oroutcast. You try to "fit in." Sound familiar? Would you say that themovie "Breakfast Club" encapsulates everything we felt as high schoolstudents? It doesn't matter if it's 1980 or 2080. Teenagers areteenagers. What makes "Breakfast Club" unique is that five studentswho would otherwise not associate with each other, spend one morningin detention and unwittingly break through stereotypes and labels todiscover they share things in common. Maybe things appear good on theoutside: star athlete (Emilio Estevez) will get a scholarship tocollege, the popular girl (Molly Ringwald) has beautiful clothes,jewelry and car, or the class genius (Anthony Michael Hall) is on theroad to Harvard. But beneath it all, each reveals the pressure ofhaving parents who push or expect too much, or don't care at all. Orin the case of the social derelict played by Judd Nelson, an abusivefather. Ally Sheedy plays a social misfit who keeps to herself.
I enjoyed "Breakfast Club" immensely. It was funny, but it alsotouches you with its message of breaking through the barriers whichkeep young people apart. It provides an opportunity for dialoguebetween disparate groups. Does this mean Ally Sheedy's character andAnthony Michael Hall's character will start socializing together atparties? Maybe that's not realistic, BUT each is definitely moresympathetic to the other and better understand where he/she is comingfrom. That's what makes this movie great. You're rooting for thesecharacters to continue building upon the bond forged during onedetention session. There's a lot still to share with each other. Maybethey're stronger from the experience.
On a more superficial level, the "Breakfast Club" movie draws upon thestudent vs. the mean teacher theme. It's the detention studentsagainst the evil detention teacher who's unforgiving and unwilling tobend. We can't help but root for the characters to get away with theirdetention antics without the teacher discovering them. What studentdoesn't fantasize about putting it over one of their hateful teachers?So enjoy this entertaining and thought provoking movie. I highlyrecommend "Breakfast Club."

An Alien that is Here to Stay!

Five stars go to the movie "E.T." which has become aclassic. Steven Spielberg is a genius at engaging an audience from theget-go. You cannot help but fall in love with E.T. and his humanfriend Elliot. This unlikely pair: an alien and a 10? year old boyforge an unbreakable bond as Elliot tries to help his friend return tohis world. What child hasn't fantasized about discovering themysteries of outer space and aliens? And to think that Elliot actuallybefriended one!
The movie opens with a space ship landing in a forest close to asuburban town in Anywhere, USA. A sole alien is left behind during amad rush to escape humans who discovered their presence. Elliot'shouse becomes the hideout for this homeward bound alien. Elliotencounters the alien one evening. He's intrigued by the creature afteran initial scare. Who wouldn't scream after discovering an aliencreature in your backyard? Once the shock was over, Elliot lures thealien or "E.T." as he calls him, to his room. Over a period of time,the alien learns English from watching TV and the two grow close infriendship. Comic antics ensue as Elliot hides E.T. from his mother,but unable to keep him a secret from his brother and sister, theybecome willing allies in protecting E.T.
Elliot realizes that E.T. longs for home. He cannot stay with hishuman friend forever. Elliot resolves to help E.T. "phone home" so hecan return to his "people." Unfortunately the "bad guys" (officialgovernment officers) discover E.T.'s existence and want to study theircaptive. Elliot knows E.T. will perish if he's not released. Elliot,his siblings, and several friends mount a rescue operation and deliverE.T. to the exact location where him spaceship will retrieve him. Thetouching farewell scene is sure to melt the hardest of hearts.
This classic appeals to any age or gender. The amazing technical teamwho created the E.T. did an amazing job with his facial features. Hisexpressions and emotions make you believe this creature is real, andmake you believe that all aliens could be as cuddly and lovable asE.T! I strongly urge you to watch E.T. as a family and experience thewonderful magic of Steven Spielberg's "E.T."

Dragon Story: Not Oscar Material

Do you like to watch giant snake-like monsters? Do you hate Los Angeles? Are you willing to put your brain in hold and not think too deeply about such minor facets of a movie such as plot and characterization? Then "Dragon Wars" may just be the movie for you.
According to legend (which legend does not really matter, it's only a legend.) Every 500 years a good dragon has to battle a bad dragon. I hope it hasn't gotten too complicated for you yet. So as these two monsters battle, they destroy the entire city of Los Angeles. Then they go fight somewhere else. I guess because there was nothing left to break in the City of Angels.
There is one unfortunate part. The real death and destruction does not start for 45 minutes. So don't be afraid to arrive late and spend some time waiting in line for popcorn and soda. During this time, the movie explains about the complicated legend. But if you read my first paragraph, you already know all you need to. 500 years. Good dragon fights bad dragon. Done.
At one funny point in the movie, the lead actress (the one with the good dragon tattooed on her arm) yells, "None of this makes sense!" So if she doesn't understand the movie (and she is the star), don't you try to. You might hurt yourself.
Yet this is what movies used to be. Just sheer entertainment. After all, they can't all be "Gone With the Wind." Sometimes, you just need to see a good monster flick. And thankfully, now we have these films with English as the original language. No longer do we have to see poor Tokyo destroyed with actors moving their mouths out of synch with the English over-dubbing.

Singing the Blues

One of my favorite movies of all time is "The Blues Brothers." John Belushi and Dan Akroyd used the film to show that their talents need not be limited to the supporting roles they played in Saturday Night Live. Both of them were bonafide actors and there could not have been a better showcase to demonstrate their abilities than "The Blues Brothers." While on their own, they are among the funniest people to have ever walked the planet, together they make a comedy duo that is unmatched.
The movie is so funny because the two of them play off each other so well. At times, both are straight men and at other times, both are the jokesters. Yet the movie, which they co-wrote, never crosses the line and makes the plot seem trivial. Far from trivial, Belushi and Akroyd are on a "Mission from God." They take on themselves the task of saving the orphanage they grew up in. While Belushi's first thought was simply "We'll knock off a few liquor stores, we'll have the money for you in no time," the Nun who runs the orphanage would rather go broke than take "dirty" money.
No, the Blues Brothers realize that saving the orphanage will require them to put their old band back together and give one big concert that will make enough money to save all the orphans. So they set upon their task collecting the odd assortment of characters that once made of their rhythm and blues band. Some are willing, others less so. Yet the brothers have ways of convincing their old friends to help out.
Along the way, they also make a lot of enemies. Every time they seem to be caught, using their wits and a little help from above, they escape. The final scene must have set a record for a movie car chase. They are pursued by hundreds of vehicles, from police cars to navy ships. Yet just in the nick of time, they make it to the Cook County Assessors office to pay the tax bill for the orphanage. The orphans are saved, the band is back together, the enemies of the Blues Brothers are vanquished, and you have just had a really good time watching this movie.

Rachel Wood's Bad Year

Woods has had a bad year. No, not Tiger Woods. He has had a great year. In two seasons he may break the all time major victory record. No, don't worry about Tiger. He will be fine. The one that I am worried about is the actress Rachel Woods.
If you read one of the earlier reviews, she stars in that horrible waste of time called the movie "Crossing the Universe." Just when her career could not get any worse, she "stars" in the "King of California." The "King" makes "Crossing" look like Oscar material.
So here's the plot. I hope I give enough away that you won't go see it. You will thank me later. A mental patient wanders the streets of L.A. looking for gold that he is convinced is buried under the local super market. Sound exciting? Yeah, right. Well, just as we are gritting our teeth watching this poor fool bumble around, we find out that he has a daughter. Played by the tragic figure of Ms. Woods.
Woods plays a character who works at McDonalds during the day and helps her mentally ill father search for buried treasure at night. That's it. Sounds like a winner, I know.
I wish I could write more, but there's nothing more to say. This movie may sound like "The Fisher King" with Robin Williams, but don't kid yourself. That was a classic movie. I would rather watch Williams than Woods even if she sat beside me and gave me free popcorn.
Rachel, please. Read the scripts before you say "yes." Help yourself and help all of us. Now as far as Michael Douglass, this is his 1,000 film so he couldn't care less what I write. So I am giving him a break in this review. (Although he is really bad!)
O.K., so I didn't really give him a break.

The Rape of Europa

O.K., so after sitting through "Across the Universe," I was really looking for something different. Sort of like when you take a drink at the Dentist's office to rinse your mouth from the plaque. I saw a sign for "The Rape of Europe" and figured, "Hmm, maybe this will be interesting." It was far more than I ever imagined.
Stop right now, it was not that kind of movie! It is a documentary about World War II. Notably, how Hitler -- in addition to be a mass murderer and greatest villain the planet Earth has ever known -- was also an art thief. All over Europe, he ordered that the greatest European works of art being stolen and shipped to Germany to be part of his private art collection. By the time of his downfall, he owned a collection that would be worth billions of dollars today.
The documentary is skillfully narrated. I am not much of a fan of non-fiction movies, but this one is so gripping, you really don't mind. We don't often remember the horrors that gripped the world last century. What makes the subject of the film so compelling is that art is considered one of the great achievement of modern civilization. Monkeys don't make art. Dolphins are wonderful animals, but they can't paint. Early man was great at using clubs to kill their prey, but could they leave traces of emotion on canvas? I don't think so.
Yet, the most beautiful and moving works or art were looted by a madman. A crazed hooligan who came frightening close to dominating the world. This film is important because it shows the next generation just how far evil can go when left unchecked.
By the way, few people realize that Hitler was an art school drop out. He could just not cut it, even though he claimed to love art. Maybe stealing all these famous paintings was his way of gaining revenge on his old art teachers