"The Time Machine (1960)" Movie Review

Original movie poster for "The Time Machine".

"On January 5, 1900, a disheveled looking H.G. Wells (Rod Taylor) - George to his friends - arrives late to his own dinner party. He tells his guests of his travels in his time machine, the work about which his friends knew. They were also unbelieving, and skeptical of any practical use if it did indeed work. George knew that his machine was stationary in geographic position, but he did not account for changes in what happens over time to that location. He also learns that the machine is not impervious and he is not immune to those who do not understand him or the machine's purpose. George tells his friends that he did not find the Utopian society he so wished had developed. He mentions specifically a civilization several thousand years into the future which consists of the subterranean Morlocks and the surface dwelling Eloi, who on first glance lead a carefree life. Despite all these issues, love can still bloom over the spread of millennia." Written by Huggo (Source below.)

Rod Taylor in the time machine.

Also known as "H. G. Wells' The Time Machine", it was directed and produced by George Pal ("7 Faces of Dr. Lao" - 1964, "Tom Thumb" - 1958, "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm" - 1962) with a screenplay written by David Duncan ("Fantastic Voyage" - 1966, "Daniel Boone" - 1964) and based upon the novel by H. G. Wells. It stars Rod Taylor as 'H. George Wells', Alan Young  as both 'David Filby' and 'James Filby', and Yvette Mimieux as 'Weena'.

The script is available to read here: http://sfy.ru/?script=time_machine_1960.

Of course, there is the 2002 version of "The Time Machine" starring Guy Pearce and Jeremy Irons, and directed by Simon Wells, with a screenplay written by John Logan. I saw that movie in the theater when it came out and it was a favorite of mine for a while (and I had a huge crush on Guy Pearce). I plan to see it again, to write a review of it, but also to see if it still holds up. I would also like to read the classic book itself, so those reviews will be forthcoming.

As this is a bit old, I decided I would mention a bit about the cast:

Hey, H. G. Wells predicted cds.
Also, Yvette Mimieux (L) and Rod Taylor.

For anyone who is a fan of Alfred Hitchcock, you may recognize Rod Taylor - he was 'Mitch Brenner' in "The Birds". He was also 'Winston Churchill' in Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" that came out in 2009. 

Alan Young won an Emmy in 1951 for "The Alan Young Show" and does voices for animated tv shows, like "Scooby Doo", his most famous character to date being 'Scrooge McDuck'. 

Yvette Mimieux starred as 'Leni Martek' on "The Love Boat" from 1984 - 1986 and was nominated for two Golden Globes - once in 1965 for her role in the tv show "Dr. Kildare" and once again in 1971 for her dramatic turn in the tv show "The Most Deadly Game". 

Playing 'Dr. Philip Hillyer' in this movie, Sebastian Cabot once starred as Kris Kringle in a tv adaptation of "Miracle on 31st Street" in 1973, but is known more for his voice work: did 'Bagheera the Panther' in Disney's "The Jungle Book" and has done a whole slew of narrations, but is usually the narrator of Winnie the Pooh's animated adventures.

Playing 'Anthony Bridewell' in this film, Tom Helmore was 'Gavin Elster' in Hitchcock's "Vertigo" in 1958 and was 'Zachary Wilde' in "Designing Woman".

Does this picture feel like "The Planet of the Apes"
to anyone else?

I just wanted to show that though we as the modern audience most likely don't know these actors or the director, they were really popular in their day and were very esteemed in their profession. This movie was kind of a big deal in its day. Now, granted, the action sequences, music and makeup just aren't going to measure up to today's standards. But for its time, it was top of the line.

Now, about those action sequences, music and makeup..... I thought the makeup for the Morlocks was awesome. They were a bit chubby, but those glowing eyes were really eerie. You can tell that the 2002 version had made homage with their morlocks; they were a bit scarier and more animalistic, but their hair and overall coloring is very similar.

Pretty, pretty princess clothes.

I didn't like the music, because either it was nonexistent or it was overpowering for two very annoying seconds. 

I didn't like the clothes either. H. G. Wells and his friends were dressed appropriately, but the Eloi were in pastel colors which were pretty, but not very realistic. Wouldn't they be dressed in whites or hues of brown? And shouldn't they have been dirty? I can't possibly assume that even though they do nothing else all day that they wash their clothes. They didn't. 

I also have a bone to pick with Wells: If the Eloi were such sheep that they couldn't be bothered to do anything, even defend themselves, why on earth did they keep up the development of their speech? Should they really have been able to speak so well? If they were really like cattle, they should have been using as few words as possible. Just saying.

The Morlocks - look at those eyes!

I like watching some of these old movies. Especially when there is a remake. It's interesting to see the differences; like music is taken more seriously today than it was back then. Makeup and clothes lean towards being more gritty and realistic, whereas back then it was more theatrical. Even the acting is kind of more theatrical back then: some of the gestures they make are a bit too much for a more close up view.

Interesting facts concerning the remake that ties it to the old movie:

- They based the new screenplay written by John Logan on the older version written by David Duncan. 

- Alan Young is in both movies: as the Filby brothers in the 1960 version and in the 2002 version he can be seen as the "Flower Store Worker".

So what three books would you have taken with you, to save a future civilization?

Sources: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054387/plotsummary and http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0268695/fullcredits#writers. 

I give this movie 3.5 out of 5 typewriters.

"Shutter Island" Movie Review

"Shutter Island" movie poster.

"Federal Marshall Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his new partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) travel to a government-run mental institution for the criminally insane on Shutter Island, near Boston, when there is a report that one of the prisoners has gone missing. Daniels has his own reasons for wanting to get to the island and carries baggage of his own. He is still traumatized from what he saw when his army unit liberated one of the Nazi concentration camps at the end of World War II and is still haunted by the more recent death in a fire of his wife. The head of the hospital, Dr. John Cawley (Ben Kingsley), treats him alright but others give the agents a less than warm reception. Daniels particularly wants to find out what is going on in one of the wards, reserved for the most serious offenders. As Daniels begins to peal away the layers of deceit, it becomes obvious that not all is as it seems." Written by garykmcd (Link below.)

Leonardo DiCaprio.

Based on the novel by Dennis Lehane and directed by Martin Scorsese, I really enjoyed this movie. (Book review found here.) I thought it was very well-done. The script was great. Someone had already told me the ending so I knew what was coming and could see the various ways the scene would look to the detective and to someone who knew what was really going on.

The ending makes me wonder though. I'm trying not to give too much away, but it seems as if he did it on purpose and he walked away with the orderlies just fine. Like he knew what was coming and was welcoming it. I can understand why he would not to live with what he knew. I don't know if I could.

Ben Kingsley.

I recommend this movie if you liked "The Machinist", "The Sixth Sense", or "Unbreakable".

I'm definitely gonna read the book now. I hope it's as good as the movie.

Script available here: http://screenplayexplorer.com/wp-content/scripts/Shutter_Island.pdf.

Favorite Lines:

[Daniels has asked the staff about Rachel's activities before her disappearance] 

Teddy Daniels: Anything unusual occur? 

Nurse Marino: Define 'unusual'. 

Teddy Daniels: Excuse me? 

Nurse Marino: This is a mental institution, Marshal. For the criminally insane. Usual isn't a big part of our day.

Leonardo DiCaprio.

Dr. John Cawley: [examines Rachel's note] Ah, this is definitely Rachel's handwriting. I have no idea... what the "Law of Four" is, though. 

Teddy Daniels: It's not a psychiatric term? 

Dr. John Cawley: No, I'm afraid not. 

Chuck Aule: [reads the note] "Who is 67?" Fucked if I know. 

Dr. John Cawley: I have to say that's quite close to my clinical conclusion.

Warden: Did you enjoy God's latest gift? 

Teddy Daniels: What? 

Warden: God's gift. Your violence. 

[Daniels looks at him blankly] 

Warden: When I came downstairs in my home, and I saw that tree in my living room, it reached out for me... a divine hand. God loves violence. 

Teddy Daniels: I... I hadn't noticed. 

Warden: Sure you have. Why else would there be so much of it? It's in us. It's what we are. We wage war, we burn sacrifices, and pillage and plunder and tear at the flesh of our brothers. And why? Because God gave us violence to wage in his honor. 

Teddy Daniels: I thought God gave us moral order. 

Warden: There's no moral order as pure as this storm. There's no moral order at all. There's just this: can my violence conquer yours?

An image from the film "Shutter Island".

Warden: If I was to sink my teeth into your eye right now, would you be able to stop me before I blinded you? 

Teddy Daniels: Give it a try. 

Warden: That's the spirit.

Dr. John Cawley: Why are you all wet, baby?

Teddy Daniels: After she tried to kill herself the first time, Dolores told me she... she had an insect living inside her brain. She could feel it clicking across her skull, just... pulling the wires, just for fun. She told me that. She told me that but I didn't listen. I loved her so much.

"Shutter Island"
book cover.

"Shutter Island"
book cover.

Teddy Daniels: So, what's our next move? 

Chuck Aule: You tell me. 

Teddy Daniels: I gotta get off this rock, Chuck. Get back to the mainland. Whatever the hell's going on here, it's bad. 

[pause] 

Teddy Daniels: [sotto voce] Don't worry, partner, they're not gonna catch us. 

Chuck Aule: That's right, we're too smart for 'em. 

Teddy Daniels: Yeah, we are, aren't we? 

[pause] 

Teddy Daniels: You know, this place makes me wonder. 

Chuck Aule: Yeah, what's that, boss? 

Teddy Daniels: Which would be worse - to live as a monster? Or to die as a good man?

[gets up and walks off]
Chuck Aule: Teddy?

Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1130884/.

"Gone With the Wind" Movie Review

"Gone With The Wind" movie poster.

"American classic in which a manipulative woman and a roguish man carry on a turbulent love affair in the American south during the Civil War and Reconstruction." (Link below.)

I have finally watched all 4 hours of this classic and it is so much more than the above description would have you believe. It is a long, but the people who made it were kind - they put in a long intermission. It doesn't feel like a long movie at all, it is so enticing and well-done. 

What can I say about it that hasn't already been said? The costumes are beautiful and the casting was done brilliantly. They are stories about how it was made and such that have become the stuff of legend in the movie industry. Some people don't like the character of Scarlett O'Hara, but she would be perfect to rule in today's world. In fact, all of the main female characters in this movie are very strong, powerful, and intelligent. Another reason for me to like this movie.

It is an American classic, I would rank it right up there with "Titanic" as far as romance and tragic history is involved, and it's as good as they come. I would say other movies to compare it to, but I have, unfortunately, not seen that many of the best of the old films. It stars Vivien Leigh (who isn't actually an American, but we have claimed her so too late for the British) and Clark Gable, who has huge ears but is gorgeous, handsome and tall and therefore perfect to play a rogue. Olivia de Havilland (she also starred in "Robin Hood" with Errol Flynn) and Leslie Howard, who was a huge star at the time of this movie's release, but has become known mostly for his role as Ashley Wilkes. 

I would love to watch this on a larger screen one day. The cinematography deserves that.

I'm slightly intrigued by the supposed sequel not written by the original author, but requested by the author's family, which is titled "Scarlett" but from what I have heard of it, it isn't looking good.

Vivien Leigh.

Now I just have to read the book by Margaret Mitchell.

Favorite Lines:

Scarlett: As God is my witness, as God is my witness they're not going to lick me. I'm going to live through this and when it's all over, I'll never be hungry again. No, nor any of my folk. If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again. 

Rhett Butler: Did you ever think of marrying just for fun? 

Scarlett: Marriage, fun? Fiddle-dee-dee. Fun for men you mean. 

Mammy: Oh now, Miss Scarlett, you come on and eat jess a little, honey! 

Scarlett: No! I'm going to have a good time today, and do my eating at the barbeque. 

Mammy: If you don't care what folks says about dis family I does! I is told ya and told ya that you can always tell a lady by the way she eat in front of folks like a bird. And I ain't aimin' for you to go to Mr. John Wilkenson's and eat like a field hand and gobble like a hog! 

Scarlett: Fiddle-dee-dee! Ashley told me he likes to see a girl with a healthy appetite! 

Mammy: What gentlemen says and what they thinks is two different things, and I ain't noticed Mr. Ashley askin' for to marry you. 

Scarlett: [Turns around slowly to face Mammy then throws her umbrella and stuffs food into her mouth] 

Mammy: Now don't eat too fast. Ain't no need for it come right back up again! 

Scarlett: [With her mouth full] Why does a girl have to be so silly to catch a husband?

Clark Gable (L) and Vivien Leigh.

Rhett Butler: No, I don't think I will kiss you, although you need kissing, badly. That's what's wrong with you. You should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how. 

Scarlett: [pleads with Rhett as he is about to leave to join the Confederate Army] Oh, Rhett! Please, don't go! You can't leave me! Please! I'll never forgive you! 

Rhett Butler: I'm not asking you to forgive me. I'll never understand or forgive myself. And if a bullet gets me, so help me, I'll laugh at myself for being an idiot. There's one thing I do know... and that is that I love you, Scarlett. In spite of you and me and the whole silly world going to pieces around us, I love you. Because we're alike. Bad lots, both of us. Selfish and shrewd. But able to look things in the eyes as we call them by their right names. 

Scarlett: [struggles] Don't hold me like that! 

Rhett Butler: [holds her tighter] Scarlett! Look at me! I've loved you more than I've ever loved any woman and I've waited for you longer than I've ever waited for any woman. 

[kisses her forhead] 

Scarlett: [turns her face away] Let me alone! 

Rhett Butler: [forces her to look him in the eyes] Here's a soldier of the South who loves you, Scarlett. Wants to feel your arms around him, wants to carry the memory of your kisses into battle with him. Never mind about loving me, you're a woman sending a soldier to his death with a beautiful memory. Scarlett! Kiss me! Kiss me... once... 

[he kisses her]

Clark Gable (L) and Vivien Leigh.

Rhett Butler: You're like the thief who isn't the least bit sorry he stole, but is terribly, terribly sorry he's going to jail. 

Scarlett: But you are a blockade runner. 

Rhett Butler: For profit, and profit only. 

Scarlett: Are you tryin' to tell me you don't believe in the cause? 

Rhett Butler: I believe in Rhett Butler, he's the only cause I know.

Rhett Butler: And those pantalettes, I don't know a woman in Paris who wears pantalettes. 

Scarlett: Oh Rhett, what do they - you shouldn't talk about such things. 

Rhett Butler: You little hypocrite. You don't mind my knowing about them, just my talking about it. 

Scarlett: But really Rhett, I can't go on accepting these gifts although you are AWFULLY kind. 

Rhett Butler: I'm not kind, I'm just tempting you. 

Scarlett: Well if you think I'll marry you just to pay for the bonnet I won't. 

Rhett Butler: Don't flatter yourself. I'm not a marrying man. 

Vivien Leigh.

Scarlett: Ooh, if I just wasn't a lady, WHAT wouldn't I tell that varmint. 

Scarlett: Cathleen, who's that? 

Cathleen Calvert: Who? 

Scarlett: That man looking at us and smiling. The nasty, dark one. 

Cathleen Calvert: My dear, don't you know? That's Rhett Butler. He's from Charleston. He has the most terrible reputation. 

Scarlett: He looks as if... as if he knows what I look like without my shimmy.

Rene Picard: Twenty dollars. Twenty dollars for Miss Maybelle Merriwether. 

Tony Fontaine: Twenty five dollars for Miss Fanny Elsing. 

Dr. Meade: Only twenty five dollars to give? 

Rhett Butler: One hundred and fifty dollars in gold. 

Dr. Meade: For what lady, sir? 

Rhett Butler: For Mrs. Charles Hamilton. 

Dr. Meade: For whom, sir? 

Rhett Butler: Mrs. Charles Hamilton. 

Dr. Meade: Mrs. Hamilton is in mourning, Captain Butler. But I'm sure any of our Atlanta belles would be proud to... 

Rhett Butler: Dr. Meade, I said Mrs. Charles Hamilton. 

Dr. Meade: She will not consider it, sir. 

Scarlett: Oh, yes, I will. 

Title card: There was a land of Cavaliers and Cotton Fields called the Old South... Here in this pretty world Gallantry took its last bow... Here was the last ever to be seen of Knights and their Ladies Fair, of Master and of Slave... Look for it only in books, for it is no more than a dream remembered. A Civilization gone with the wind... 

Vivien Leigh.

Rhett Butler: So, you see I shall have to marry you. 

Scarlett: I've never heard of such bad taste. 

Rhett Butler: Would you be more convinced if I fell to my knees? 

Scarlett: Turn me loose, you varmint, and get out of here! 

Rhett Butler: Forgive me for startling you with the impetuosity of my sentiments, my dear Scarlett. I mean, my dear Mrs. Kennedy. But it cannot have escaped your notice that for some time past the friendship I have felt for you has ripened into a deeper feeling. A feeling more beautiful, more pure, more sacred. Dare I name it? Can it be love? 

Scarlett: Get up off your knees! I don't like your common jokes! 

Rhett Butler: This is an honorable proposal of marriage made at what I consider a most opportune moment. I can't go all my life waiting to catch you between husbands. 

Scarlett: You're coarse, and you're conceited. And I think this conversation has gone far enough.

Scarlett: Rhett, Rhett... Rhett, if you go, where shall I go? What shall I do? 

Rhett Butler: Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.

Scarlett: Tara! Home. I'll go home. And I'll think of some way to get him back. After all... tomorrow is another day.

Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031381/.

"Mean Girls" Movie Review

"Mean Girls" movie poster.

"Raised in African bush country by her zoologist parents, Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) thinks she knows about survival of the fittest. But the law of the jungle takes on a whole new meaning when the home-schooled 16-year-old enters public high school for the first time and encounters psychological warfare and unwritten social rules that teenage girls face today.

"Cady Heron is a hit with The Plastics, the A-list girl clique at her new school, until she makes the mistake of falling for Aaron Samuels (Jonathan Bennett), the ex-boyfriend of alpha Plastic Regina George (Rachel McAdams)." Written by Sujit R. Varma (Link below.)

I have finally watched this cult classic! It was quite funny! And it had quite a cast too: Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Seyfried, Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert, Tina Fey (who also wrote the screenplay), Neil Flynn, Tim Meadows, and Amy Poehler as "the cool mom".

It's actually a really wonderful film! I had a very good time watching it with my friends. If I had been a bit younger than I am now, I think it might have been more influential for me.

The print is small, but you can read the script here: http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/mean-girls-movie-transcript.html or http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/mean_girls.pdf.

(L to R) Lacey Chabert, Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams,
and Amanda Seyfried.

Favorite Lines:

Janis: [reading list the major cliques in high school] You got your freshmen, ROTC guys, preps, J.V. jocks, Asian nerds, Cool Asians, Varsity jocks Unfriendly black hotties, Girls who eat their feelings, Girls who don't eat anything, Desperate wannabes, Burnouts, Sexually active band geeks, 

[a picture of herself and Damian come on screen] 

Janis: the greatest people you will ever meet, and the worst. Beware of plastics. 

[seeing all the girls fighting] 

Mr. Duvall: Hell, no. I did *not* leave the South Side for this! 

[hits fire alarm with a baseball bat] 

[Damien is in the Girl's Bathroom] 

Short Girl: Hey, get out of here. 

Damian: Oh my God - Danny DeVito! I love your work! 

Karen: If you're from Africa, why are you white? 

Gretchen: Oh my God, Karen, you can't just ask people why they're white.

Damian: [reading Cady's class schedule] Health, Spanish... you're taking 12th Grade Calculus? 

Cady: Yeah, I like math. 

Damian: Eww. Why? 

Cady: Because it's the same in every country. 

Damian: That's beautiful. 

[to Janis] 

Damian: This girl is deep.

(L to R) Lacey Chabert,
Rachel McAdams,
Lindsay Lohan,
and Amanda Seyfried.

Coach Carr: Don't have sex, because you will get pregnant and die! Don't have sex in the missionary position, don't have sex standing up, just don't do it, OK, promise? OK, now everybody take some rubbers.

Karen: God. My hips are huge! 

Gretchen: Oh please. I hate my calves. 

Regina: At least you guys can wear halters. I've got man shoulders. 

Cady: [voiceover] I used to think there was just fat and skinny. But apparently there's lots of things that can be wrong on your body. 

Gretchen: My hairline is so weird. 

Regina: My pores are huge. 

Karen: My nail beds suck. 

[pause. All look at Cady] 

Cady: I have really bad breath in the morning. 

Karen: Ew! 

[Mr. Duvall is introducing Cady to the class] 

Mr. Duvall: Her name is Cady. Cady Heron. Where are you, Cady? 

Cady: That's me. It's pronounced like Katie. 

Mr. Duvall: My apologies. I have a nephew named Anfernee, and I know how mad he gets when I call him Anthony. Almost as mad as I get when I think about the fact that my sister named him Anfernee. 

Mrs. George: I just want you to know, if you ever need anything, don't be shy, OK? There are NO rules in the house. I'm not like a *regular* mom, I'm a *cool* mom. 

Bethany Byrd: Somebody wrote in that book that I'm lying about being a virgin because I use super jumbo tampons... but I can't help it if I've got a heavy flow and a wide set vagina! 

Mr. Duvall: Yeah, I can't do this.

Amber D'Alessio: [reading from the burn book] Made out with a hot dog? Oh my God that was one time! 

Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0377092/.

"The Basketball Diaries" Movie Review

"The Basketball Diaries"
movie poster.

"Film adaptation of street tough Jim Carroll's (Leonardo DiCaprio) epistle about his kaleidoscopic free fall into the harrowing world of drug addiction. As a member of a seemingly unbeatable high school basketball squad, Jim's life centers around the basketball court and the court becomes a metaphor for the world in his mind. A best friend (Michael Imperioli) who is dying of leukemia, a coach ("Swifty"), played byBruno Kirby, who takes unacceptable liberties with the boys on his team, teenage sexual angst, and an unhealthy appetite for heroin -- all of these begin to encroach on young Jim's dream of becoming a basketball star. Soon, the dark streets of New York become a refuge from his mother's (Lorraine Bracco) mounting concern for her son. He can't go home and his only escape from the reality of the streets is heroin for which he steals, robs and prostitutes himself. Only with the help of Reggie (Ernie Hudson), an older neighborhood friend with whom Jim "picked up a game" now and then, is he able to begin the long journey back to sanity." Written by Mark Fleetwood (Link below.)

Leonardo DiCaprio (L)
and Ernie Hudson.

This movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Wahlberg, Bruno Kirby, Ernie Hudson, andLorraine Bracco as Jim Carroll's mother. I think everyone did an extraordinary job in their parts. I like how the movie was more realistic, it wasn't about how cool the drugged up scenes looked, but more about how screwed up he got.

Leonardo DiCaprio (L)
and Mark Wahlberg.

I really enjoyed this movie. I would love to read the book. It was sad, but very interesting and ultimately rewarding. If they showed dirtier movies like this in high schools, a lot more people wouldn't do drugs. I doubt too many would want to prostitute themselves just to get a high, if people realized that's what they might become if they start. Or maybe they would do it for a while and then realize something was wrong before it got real bad. Here's to hoping. 

But anyway, I recommend this movie as a coming of age story and for those who are aficionados of Leonardo DiCaprio's career. A very good performance by him in this film. Very promising actor, as we all know now.

Favorite Lines:

Jim Carroll: [Is continuously getting hit by the Father's cane. The bell rings and the Father stops hitting him] Too bad, Father. I was just beginning to enjoy it. 

Father McNulty: We can do it again tomorrow if you like, Mr. Carroll.

Juliette Lewis (L) and
Leonardo DiCaprio.

Jim Carroll: First, it's a Saturday night thing when you feel cool like a gangster or a rockstar- just something to kill the boredom, you know? They call it a chippie, a small habit. It feels so good, you start doing it on Tuesdays... then Thursdays... then it's got you. Every wise ass punk on the block says it won't happen to them, but it does. 

Jim's Mother: Idle time is the devil's play thing.

Reggie Porter: Hey white boy! Are you ready for your beatin'? 

Jim Carroll: Don't let your mouth get you into something your ass can't handle. 

Jim Carroll: Time sure flies when you're young and jerking off. 

Jim Carroll: You're growing up. And rain sort of remains on the branches of a tree that will someday rule the Earth. And it's good that there is rain. It clears the month of your sorry rainbow expressions, and it clears the streets of the silent armies... so we can dance.

Leonardo DiCaprio
as Jim Carroll.

Jim Carroll: Just my own naked self and the stars breathing down, it's beautiful. 

Jim Carroll: I felt dazed, like I just came out of a 4 hour movie I didn't understand. 

Jim Carroll: You gotta have presence on the court. Presence like a cheetah rather than a chimp. Sure, they both got it, but Chimpy gotta jump his nuts around to get it. The shy cheetah moves with total nonchalance, stickin' it to them in his sexy, slow strut. Me? I play like a cheetah.

Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112461/plotsummary.

"Body of Lies" Movie Review

"Body of Lies" movie poster.

"Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a CIA operative in the Middle East; Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) is his control at Langley. Cynicism is everywhere. In Amman, Roger works with Hani Salaam (Mark Strong), Jordan's head of security, whose only dictum is "Don't lie to me." The Americans are in pursuit of a cleric, Al-Saleem, (Alon Aboutboul) who leads a group placing bombs all over Europe. When Hani rebukes Ed's demand that Jordan allow the Americans to use one of Jordan's double agents, Roger and Ed hatch a plan to bring the cleric to them. The plan involves implicating an innocent Dubai-based architect named Omar Sadiki (Ali Suliman) as a rival terrorist, but the plan is complicated by its being a secret from Hani and by Roger's attraction to a local nurse, Aisha (Golshifteh Farahani). Satellites and cell phones, bodies and lies: modern warfare." Written by jhailey@hotmail.com

(Link below.)

A Ridley Scott film of 2008 with screenplay by William Monahan, based on the book of the same title by David Ignatius. It is kind of a cut and dry story as far as CIA operative spy thriller movies are concerned. But it is enjoyable and has a political message that still has relevance to today's society.

Script can be downloaded here:
http://www.screenplaydb.com/film/scripts/bodyoflies20070921/.

Mark Strong.

The cast also consisted of Oscar Isaac and Simon McBurney. Nobody's acting was particularly strong, but everyone was very good as their characters. Mark Strong was sultry and sexy as Hani Salaam. I felt so bad for Omar Sadiki - poor bastard.

*SPOILER ALERT* I'm still a little confused about the ending, what did Hani tell Aisha that would make it hard for Ferris to earn her love? And is Ferris fired?

Golshifteh Farahani.

I'm going to read the book in the hopes that it clears most of this up. But I have heard that the movie is actually better than the book and it doesn't have all of the same characters. I have also heard that the book has a kick-ass ending though, so hoping for the best. (Book review here.)

Favorite Lines:

[first lines] 

Title Card: I and the public know what all schoolchildren learn, those to whom evil is done, do evil in return. - W.H. Auden

Roger Ferris: [having cell phone conversation] You know what? I've had it. I've had it. I can't do this anymore.

Ed Hoffman: Yes, you can. Now, you just get yourself a couple of hours' sleep. And you call me when you're thinking straight. 

Roger Ferris: You know what? I am thinking straight. You're not, all right? You can't, because you're a million fucking miles away. I'm here, Ed, every day. And I see the unnecessary travesties of this war... that the rest of you backstabbing political fucking bureaucrats... only look at pictures of. So don't you dare tell me I am not thinking straight! This is not working, all right? It's not working, I'm out. 

Ed Hoffman: Ferris? Ferris? 

[phone disconnects] 

Ed Hoffman: I should pack.

Russell Crowe (L) and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Hani: And so we throw him back into the sea to swim where he naturally swims, to learn what he naturally learns. We'll see how long he remembers my benevolence. 

Roger Ferris: What if he forgets? 

Hani: If he forgets, I remind him that I have the power of life and death over him. Because you see, any time I wish, I can let them know he works for me.

Roger Ferris: I thought you didn't believe in torture, Hani Pasha. 

Hani: This is punishment, my dear. It's a very different thing. 

Mark Strong (L) and Leonardo DiCaprio.

[Nizar refuses to come to them and Bassam has to leave the car to fetch him] 

Bassam: Hey hey, listen to me. I'm not getting my head cut off on the Internet, alright? No. If something happens, shoot me. Will you shoot me? 

Roger Ferris: Fuck that shit, I will shoot you right now. 

Bassam: I'm not kidding. 

Roger Ferris: Quit being a pussy.

Garland: ...and a list of emails for the Brothers of Awareness. 

Roger Ferris: The Brothers of who the fuck?

Ed Hoffman: Nobody's innocent in this shit.

Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758774/plotsummary.

"The Beach" Movie Review

"The Beach" movie poster.

"Alex Garland's novel centers on a young nicotine-addicted traveler named Richard (Leonardo DiCaprio), an avid pop-culture buff with a particular love for video games and Vietnam War movies. While at a hotel in Bangkok, he finds a map left by his strange, whacked-out neighbor, who just committed suicide. The map supposedly leads to a legendary island paradise where some other wayward souls have settled." Written by Mike Arndt (Link below.)

FIRST IMPRESSION (Before Watching): I did a little research on this film because I had heard it was a terrible film. I didn't want to waste any time on a bad film even if Leonardo DiCaprio was in it. But it seems that it's more of a 'love it or hate it' film, there isn't any room for anything in between. Some of the 'love it' part is from director Danny Boyle's diehard fans. Now, I haven't seen any of his work - not even Slumdog Millionaire (it's on the list) or the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games, courtesy of the morons who run NBC. But he has won an Oscar, so I'm thinking it's worth a try. But here's another moment for skepticism - the summary sounds like a bad, run-of-the-mill horror movie! These young, gorgeous kids run off to a beach where they have wild sex and do drugs until the locals get sick of them. That's what it sounds like to me. But I am looking forward to seeing DiCaprio nearly naked for two hours, so there's that!

AFTER WATCHING: It wasn't a horror movie, not by a long shot, but it was kind of weird. It was very picturesque and pretty. I don't know if I would watch it again. It seems one of those movies that would be more enjoyable if you were high while watching it.

Script can be found here: http://scripts-onscreen.com/tag/the-beach-script/.

(L to R) Virginie Ledoyen, Leonardo DiCaprio,
and Guillaume Canut.

None of the characters were really likable and rather selfish - letting a guy slowly die just so they can relax and party. Paterson Joseph's character was likable in his way. No one's acting particularly stood out, although no one was allowed the chance. No one was given a lot of face time except for DiCaprio, everyone else was literally background noise. The island was beautiful and given it's own kind of character in a way.

The deleted scenes on the dvd were interesting, but easy to see why they were deleted. Although Tilda Swinton got a lot more action in those scenes.

All in all, I thought it was an okay film. Interesting. I will probably read the book, hopefully I will find it more sustaining.

Leonardo DiCaprio as Richard.

Favorite Lines:

[first lines] 

Richard: My name is Richard. So what else do you need to know? Stuff about my family, or where I'm from? None of that matters. Not once you cross the ocean and cut yourself loose, looking for something more beautiful, something more exciting and yes, I admit, something more dangerous. So after eighteen hours in the back of an airplane, three dumb movies, two plastic meals, six beers and absolutely no sleep, I finally touch down; in Bangkok.

Françoise: Richard, this is just the kind of pretentious bullshit that Americans always say to French girls so they can sleep with them. 

Richard: Trust me, it's paradise. This is where the hungry come to feed. For mine is a generation that circles the globe and searches for something we haven't tried before. So never refuse an invitation, never resist the unfamiliar, never fail to be polite and never outstay the welcome. Just keep your mind open and suck in the experience. And if it hurts, you know what? It's probably worth it.

[last lines] 

Richard: And me, I still believe in paradise. But now at least I know it's not some place you can look for, 'cause it's not where you go. It's how you feel for a moment in your life when you're a part of something, and if you find that moment... it lasts forever...

Summary information taken from International Movie Database (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0163978/)

"The Man in the Iron Mask" Movie Review

"The Man in the Iron Mask"

movie poster.

"In 1638 Queen Anne of France (Anne Parillaud) gives birth to a boy, who will inherit the throne one day. But, only known to few, there is a twin brother born minutes later. 22 years later, King Louis XIV (Leonardo DiCaprio) rules the country of France, but due to his lifestyle and the costs of war, people are forced to suffer hunger and poverty. Of the Musketeers, who had served his father Louis XIII faithfully, only one is still on the king's side: D'Artagnan (Gabriel Byrne), the Capitain of the king's guards. His three companions Aramis (Jeremy Irons), Athos (John Malkovich) and Porthos (Gerard Depardieu) have retired into civil life long ago. One day on a royal party, the young and unliked king gets a crush on Christine (Judith Godreche). This young lady is the fiancé of soldier Raoul (Peter Sarsgaard), the son of Athos. Without further ado, the king has Raoul recruited and sent to war, so that he himself can take care of her. Soon Raoul dies in combat and the king has him out of the way. But Athos, Aramis and Porthos think of a plan to take revenge on the king. Aramis points out that there is a man in an iron mask in a very secure prison, and that this man's existance can solve all present problems. So they free the king's hidden twin brother (also Leonardo DiCaprio), and tell him who he is, as he of course feels free of guilt and has no idea whatsoever why he was imprisoned for 6 years with this mask forged around his head. The plan now is to replace the evil king with his brother at a masquerade party held soon. Only D'Artagnan still is guarding the king and so he has to turn against his old friends..." Written by Julian Reischl (link below)

The script can be read here, but beware, they used very small print:
http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/man_in_iron_mask_95.html and http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/m/man-in-the-iron-mask-script.html.

(L to R) John Malkovich, Gerard Depardieu and Jeremy Irons as the Three Musketeers, Athos, Porthos and Aramis.

(L to R) John Malkovich, Gerard Depardieu and Jeremy Irons

as the Three Musketeers, Athos, Porthos and Aramis.

This film was based on the third novel from his Musketeers trilogy by Alexandre Dumas, the others being titled "The Three Musketeers" and "Twenty Years Later". Dumas based his story on a real but mysterious prisoner in the Bastille, although he was not forced to wear an iron mask but wore a mask of leather. Scholars are still unsure about who the masked man was. Most sources think it was the lover of a Queen who fathered the heir to the throne. Anyone interested in the real events surrounding the Man in the Iron Mask, go here: http://www.royalty.nu/legends/IronMask.html. I totally plan on reading the book one day.

I found the movie enjoyable. The drama and acting were all very well done. DiCaprio had the hardest part because he was playing two different people. Although they were complete opposites so maybe that helped. All the different accents in one movie only made it slightly weird. But who on earth is going to tell Jeremy Irons he can't talk like Jeremy Irons? Hugh Laurie even shows up for a short funny bit.

Leonardo DiCaprio.

My favorite part were the clothes - oh so beautiful! And the sets were amazing as well.

If I had one problem it would be with the action sequences. A few of them were badly filmed and/or choreographed. It may be because of the ages of many of the older actors and lack of training on the part of the younger actors. 

All in all, a good film: funny, dramatic, not nearly as bad as people made it seem.

Favorite Lines:

Athos: What is Porthos doing?

Aramis: Walking into the barn naked, or so it would seem.

Athos: But what is he doing?

Aramis: About to hang himself, I suppose; he's been threatening to do it for months.

Athos: Hang himself?

Porthos: [he puts the rope around his neck and prepares to jump] Farewell cruel world... farewell to useless Porthos.

[jumps]

Athos: [Aramis and Athos are watching the building from the outside] What was that?

Aramis: It's all right; I sawed the beam.

[the building promptly collapses, and Athos stares at Aramis in disbelief]

Aramis: Well, I'm a genius, not an engineer! 

Leonardo DiCaprio as Phillippe.

Phillippe: I've worn that mask so long I don't feel safe without it.

Porthos: [the Musketeers have just broken into the Bastille to free Philippe] It worked!

Athos: Of course; it's a prison. There's no trouble getting in, the problems will come when we want to get out.

Gabriel Byrne as D'Artagnan.

Aramis: Why are you so glum?

Porthos: I expected action. There was no fighting, there was no killing. I was useless.

Aramis: Porthos, I grow tired of this attitude. You're surrounded by beauty, by intrigue, by danger. What more can a man want? The robins are singing, the pigeons are cooing. Can't you listen to their song?

[he walks off in disgust; Porthos takes off his hat when something falls on it to reveal it's bird-dung]

Louis: You're the new chief advisor. Execute him for distributing rotten food.

Athos: Is that just because you are holier than everybody else?

Aramis: Well, there is that, but also because I'm more intelligent than everybody else.

Hugh Laurie as the First Advisor
to the King.

Louis: D'Artagnan, you will hunt down Porthos, Athos, and Aramis, and bring me their heads, or I will have yours. And as for you, my brother, back to the prison you will go, and into the mask you hate. Wear it 'til you love it! And die in it.

Christine: I shall burn in Hell. So will you.

King Louis XIV: No, no my love. You shall burn in hell. But not me. For I am King... ordained by God!

Source: (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120744/plotsummary)