Welcome to our final day of our study in the life and work of Marlon Brando. Today we look into the film Apocalypse Now…that word film doesn’t truly describe Apocalypse Now though. It is more of an experience. It has surpassed the realm of mere movie and more a thing of obsession for many people. Trust me…you can go way too far down the rabbit hole with this thing! Not only is there the theatrical version of “Apocalypse Now” but there is also a “Redux” cut which is longer and denser AND there is a full making of documentary. Not to mention the original source material “Heart of Darkness” and countless reviews and dissections of this film (add one to the list).
The plot is very simple: During the height of Vietnam, Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) is sent on a mission to take a small platoon on a boat into the thick of Cambodia to assassinate a defective Colonel Kurtz (Brando). To simplify it even more: it’s like the Saving Private Ryan if they were setting out to kill Ryan. But of course along the journey, the platoon encounters numerous morally-grey situations and tragedies befall. As they get deeper in the jungle, the darker their interactions become and the darker their souls turn. A common comparison/theory I have heard many times is that the journey is similar to Dante’s Inferno and the seven layers of Hell.
Like the “Godfather“, the film has so many iconic moments you almost forget they are all from Apocalypse Now. Wagner’s Flight of the Valkaries playing over the speakers of the helicopters, Sheen’s almost dismal narration through out the film, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” are so parodied its almost unrecognizable as original when watching the movie. And, of course, the superb acting of Brando as the melodramatic, philosophical, and humid Col. Kurtz. I defy you to not be rapt by his droning (even non-sensical) monologue in the sparsely lit, “ladle-drenching” scene in which Willard is captured and finally meets the mysterious Col. Kurtz. The way he elongates his thoughts is mesmerizing.
“You are an errand boy…sent by grocery clerks…to collect a bill.”
This statement alone sums up not only Kurtz’s philosophy on the U.S. military but also his apathy toward his soon-to-be-murderer and his own mortality. Although, Brando is sparsely used in the movie, the build up to the grandeur of Col. Kurtz could not be executed by any other actor working at the time.
Even more interesting than the film itself is the infamous chaos surrounding it. The first line of the documentary Heart of Darkness is a quote from Francis Ford Coppola:
“This movie is not a film about Vietnam…it was Vietnam.”
Among the typhoons, disease and Martin Sheen almost dying (no lie y’all), in steps Brando and his diva-like personality. For starters, when the casting for Col. Kurtz began, he was described to be a formidable man both of stature and personality. Think A Street Car Named Desire but with salt and pepper hair. So it was much to everyone’s surprise when off steps the plane a chubby, unkempt Brando. He also refused to work with the originally written scenes, requiring he and Coppola to hide themselves away in a trailer for two days as they hammered out the lines that are in the film today. As infuriating as this must have been at the time, the results are perfect for this story.
This concludes our look into the great Marlon Brando! What are your thoughts on our picks? Did we leave one out? Did you go into Superman (1978) dying to see his take on Jor-El (I mean who doesn’t love floating-head Brando)? Are you a fan of Apocalypse Now>The Island of Dr. Moreau? Are you the only one who likes that movie? If so, let us know! You can check us out on FaceBook and Twitter! If you have any suggestions for who we should Spotlight next – actor, director, writer, cinematographer, composer – let us know that too!
Thanks, y’all!
The post Day 7: Apocalypse Now (1979) first appeared on It's Just Awesome DOT com.]]>Let’s start with a quick synopsis for those of you who have been hiding from pop culture the past 26 years. Kevin McCallister, a young rapscallion is left by his family who travel to Paris for the holiday. Little does he know, two burglars are eyeing his home as the crown jewel heist. But these burglars are in for a big painful surprise when they tango with Kevin.
This is a great Christmas movie. A young boy who wants nothing more than for his family to disappear realizes that once their gone he needs them more than anything. Also how tear-jerking is that scene when the old man next door reunites with his estranged son and grand daughter (chiiiiiiilllls). On top of that the score is incredible – you’ve done it again John Williams – and has become as synonymous with Christmas as Vince Guaraldi’s Charlie Brown score. Note: double yule-tide points for me for being able to legitimately reference C.B. Christmas in two posts – take that Gremlins!
And of course, the most fun part of all, the incredible impossible to create or survive booby trap house! How much fun is it to watch Joe Pesci try his darndest not to swear and Daniel Stern scream like a Japanese school girl! Its laughs at any age. But I do segue here…
I remember watching this in the theatre. My mom, my sister and I having a great time. When we got in the car, my mom turned to us and said, “Now you know, we laughed at those guys getting hurt but all the stuff he did could really kill them. That’s not funny in real life.” I thought back then, “Oh mom, how lame. They just got a paint can to the face and some other stuff, big deal.” But now that I am an adult who is wiser and understands how the human body works, I now know that SHE WAS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT! Kevin is hands down a sociopath, not joking. If you want to see how much bodily damage he could have caused just watch the myriad of videos on YouTube. This one is a personal favorite.
Now I’m going to be the lame parent writing this (go ahead and imagine me in high waisted paints, socks and sandals) but I must point out these blaring questions:
- How is Kevin not more severely punished for talking to his parents that way in the beginning of the film?
- What does Mr. or Mrs. McCallister do to afford that house, have like a dozen kids, and have all those mannequins lying around?
- Why do they always have every light on in the house on? How much is their electric bill?!?!
Watch it, question it, but in the end you gotta love it! Join us tomorrow as Christopher takes a look at the re-imaging of the classic story How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000).
The post Day 10: Home Alone (1990) first appeared on It's Just Awesome DOT com.]]>
My main question when (re) watching these trailers is AM I EXCITED TO SEE THIS MOVIE?
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
I won’t go into too much detail because every fan boy from here to Tattooine has talked about this one but I do need to say this one thing: IT DID ITS JOB! A trailer should make you excited for the upcoming movie and this one made everyone want to put themselves in Carbonite Freeze until December. It showed us that this movie will have what we all want from a new Star Wars film: new story with old characters. I’ve watched it a dozen times now and still can’t get enough!
SUPERMAN V BATMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE
Since it’s announcement I have been very skeptical about this film and the trailer did not quell my fears. It showed me what I already know and fear: the tone will be very dark/serious/gloomy, there is a lot of Zack Snyder CGI lighting effects and Batman is going to fight Superman ala “Dark Knight Returns” style. Three things that make me let out a deep-gutted groan about the direction of this whole franchise. (I am going on record here and now to say I think Frank Miller’s “Dark Knight Returns” is the most over-rated piece of junk on the book shelf – send your hate my way). The best shots in this trailer are seeing Ben Affleck done the cape and cowl (I have very high hopes for Bat-Fleck) and all the Bat-Fodder (cave, vehicles, gadgets, etc.) Overall, this trailer does not make me excited for the film, just more nervous they are going to mess up the story.
JURASSIC WORLD
This one was pretty good. It set the tone that this is fun like the original but has a very real sense of danger and it gave us a bit more insight to the story that the genetically modified dinosaur was “hunting for sport” and being an all-around “clever girl” (they don’t actually say that but come on, you really wanted them to). I have two main issues though:
- Yes, we get it, Chris Pratt is funny and cute. It didn’t lend to the trailer for the laugh line of “surely you can relate to one of those things” in the style of Peter Quill.
- IT SHOWED THE DINOSAUR! They were making a big deal about how they have created a new dinosaur; genetically modified to be a superior creature unlike we have seen. So…you got me hooked with that. I’m gonna go into the theater saying “Boy I can’t wait to see that new dinosaur!” But then they show the dang thing. Suspense…over. They had a good start by showing claw marks, shadows, a foot – STOP THERE!
TOMORROWLAND
I have been trying to decide if I want to go see this movie or not since I first heard about it. This trailer pushed me more toward the “go see it side” which for the purpose of a trailer was successful in selling me the movie. But it also made me more confused about the story. It seems as if they are only showing us the first act of the film in these trailers…which is good. So…yes…I am excited?
MR. HOLMES
Another Sherlock Holmes story? Ugh, ok what…wait. He’s an old man? He’s saying that Watson stretched the truth about their famous stories? He regrets his last case? Ian McKellen? I’m excited and I am going to see this movie!
ANT MAN
I have been on the fence about this movie since the beginning. Marvel is on fire right now so it seems they can do no wrong but they are running low on the A list characters and have to build their bench if they want to stay in the game. Ant Man though, while important to the Avenger’s comics has never seemed like a strong character. The teaser did not show us anything new. This one shows us a little more story and a villain. It is very reminiscent to Sam Raimi “Spiderman” in the light-heartedness and CGI action. While I will still see “Ant Man” this summer, this trailer did nothing to convince me to be excited. The selling point to me was the red MARVEL logo at the beginning.
TERMINATOR GENISYS
This trailer did the opposite of its job. After watching I made the decision to wait. I’m so confused by the time line, the villain…it just all messes with what I know about Terminator.
SUFFRAGETTE
Just watch it and see if you know anything else about the story other than the time period. I feel like the creators of this trailer just said “Feminist Movement” then dropped the mic.
BLACK MASS
The first thing you see is an extended scene at a dinner table, two men talking about steak, one man is blindingly pale with soul-piercing eyes. Then you realize, son-of-a…THAT’S JOHNNY DEPP. Just as that thought hits your brain, the tension of the scene becomes heavier and images from the film start flashing reminicent of all your favorite crime movies – Heat, The Departed, Zodiac. This trailer not only gets your attention, it sets the tone of suspense and drama and leaves you wanting to know more (note, it never says anything about this being the story of Whitey Bulger which just makes it even more intriguing). And the best part of this trailer, it leaves us hoping with all movie nerdness – is he back? Is the acting greatness we all know from the 90’s of Johnny Flippin’ Depp back on the screen? Does it make me excited to see this movie? YES!
What are your thoughts on the trailers? Check ’em all out on the second best website on the net IMDB
The post THIS WEEK IN TRAILERS – 9 REVIEWS! first appeared on It's Just Awesome DOT com.]]>
“This is my favorite part!”
“Are you watching? Watch careful. This is important, ok.”
“I want to ride on a boat.”
“Everybody hold on! Whoa!”
“OK, this is where they die…aaaaand there they go.”
So…should I be concerned? Love that girl!
For more DARK COMEDY for those of us over five, check out our latest episode of the THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE PODCAST here
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I was blown away by this film! In our modern world of dystopian Y.A. fiction fodder it is unique to see a multi-layered story as this one. So, a quick synopsis: in response to global warming, the world governments disperse a chemical into the atmosphere to strengthen the ozone (yeah, that screams disaster). It works too well and instead sends the world into a new ice age killing off all life on Earth. The only survivors board a train whose original purpose was a luxury liner which travels the globe. There of course is hierarchy on the train (first class, coach, etc.) which overtime turns into a bitter caste system. This exposition is quickly taken care of in the credit sequence so we can jump in with no waste into the story: the rebellion of the “tail end” people to overthrowing the engine.
Now this all may sound like a story you’ve heard before but “Snowpiercer” is so brilliantly executed you’ll think the dystopian concept couldn’t be told any other way. It also is as diverse as the train which it’s set. Based on a French graphic novel, written, directed and produced by a Korean crew and prominently starring British and American actors. The best way to describe this movie is that it is Asian cinema with English-speaking actors. The pacing, humor and (sometimes) melodrama of scenes are what I have seen with other Asian films. And the twists are numerous and shocking – leaving the viewer unsure from the beginning where it is going.
Story aside, the strongest attribute about “Snowpiercer” is the cast. All are great: John Hurt (Hellboy, V for Vendetta), Kang ho-Song (The Host), Jamie Bell (Jumper, new Fantastic Four franchise), Octavia Spencer (The Help) and Chris Evans who sets himself far apart from his Captain America role as the rebel leader Curtis.
By far though, the best performance is Tilda Swinton. Many times you have to remind yourself that the character on screen is Swinton and not just because of the thick glasses, fake teeth and heavy accent. The part was rumored to be originally written for John C. Reilly, but negotiations fell through leaving a very masculine part to be played by a female. All in all, the biggest upset of the Oscar season was that Tilda Swinton was not nominated for Supporting Actress.
As I write this, I am currently snowed in (ironic I know). So please take the time this cold weekend to watch this quintessential ‘snowed-in’ movie. You’ll be glad I gave you that push.
The post Snowpiercer: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Train first appeared on It's Just Awesome DOT com.]]>With that said, I was not as impressed with “The Trip to Italy” (which was recently released to Netflix). Don’t get me wrong, I thought it was a great film. The first “Trip” was so perfect though that in this one, the comedy, the pacing, the camaraderie seemed a little re-hashed. Would I get a groan if I even said it was like eating leftovers?
There was of course a multitude of great one liners and impressions (I mean we can not get enough Michael Caine impressions), but the freshness of the story was not there. I also couldn’t help but feel disappointed in the lazy writing move to just switch Coogan and Brydon’s character arches from the last film. My only two complaints.
I appreciate a movie such as “The Trip” and “The Trip to Italy” for not pandering to a more idiotic audience but taking a “high brow” approach to their location, character’s traits/aspirations and even the timing of the comedy – not waiting for the big laugh but moving quickly through smaller ones. I also vey much appreciate the food! As a lover of food myself and the eating of said food, I can happily say this film is FOOD PORN!
The IMDb user reviews are littered with bad posts and low ratings for this film. Many of those comments saying, “I couldn’t understand what they were saying” or “this is just British humor” or “I had to watch ‘The Other Guys’ afterward – now that’s a funny movie.” To those people I would say (trying my best to not sound pompous), “I guess ‘The Trip to Italy’ is for those that have refined tastes.”
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