Wah-wah! Here comes the sun.

Marvin’s Room

// February 25th, 2009 // movie talk

Miramax

The reason why Marvin’s Room is great because the script are genius. I always believe that to create such a smart story doesn’t really need some complicated ideas. It could work with story simple based on everyday life. That’s the power of Marvin’s Room.

I’ve been watching this one for more than three times. Every time I just got more and more impressed. The movie is just fun to watch, entertaining and full of surprise.

The surprise factor however isn’t coming in in the interesting “twist and turn” type like we often see in thrillers or horror movies, but only from simple dialogue. You’d never guess what the actors would say in this movie. But once they do, suddenly you got a memorable movie quote. In this movie mostly comes from it’s supported actors/actress. In this case are Gwen Verdon and Dan Hedaya.

I’d say again that the most responsible of the succeed (maybe not financially, but on how it affect the audience) of the movie itself is the script. But what’s the point of having a great script without a great actors to deliver it. This movie is lucky to have it all.

Meryl Streep is amazing as Leigh, a mother who tries to be independent but at the same time try to build the relationship between her and her oldest son, Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio).

Diane Keaton played as Bessie, the sister of Streep’s character who just learned that she got Cancer and need bone marrow. She decides to call Leigh who she hasn’t been talked to in 20 years. Keaton earned an Oscar nomination for this one. Though, I must say that Streep and DiCaprio also deserves to get nomination as well.

Leigh packed her bag and brought her two sons to Florida to meet Bessie and their dying father who she also hasn’t seen in many years. There were awkward moment when the two meet.

However, the story isn’t about Bessie and her disease. It’s about everyone who lived in Marvin’s house. Oh, that’s the name of the dying father, by the way. That’s why I think it was called Marvin’s Room.

Robert DeNiro only has small part in this one as a doctor who treated Bessie. It’s probably small but important and interesting. You should see how he handle stuff with the help of hist brother Bob, who played so amazingly funny and brilliant by Dan Hedaya. It’s probably one of my favorite scene in the movie.

Well, I actually have A LOT of favorite scenes. I think that’s a good sign of a good movie, right? I like all the scenes with Gwen Verdon, I like the scene on Disneyworld between Streep and Keaton. I like the inside Marvin’s living room with Streep, Keaton, Di Caprio and Hal Scardino (played as Charlie, Frank’s younger brother) on their infamous “potato chip” scene (you’ll know what I am talking about when you see this movie).

My husband said he’s tired watching movie about dysfunctional family anymore. I do too, to be honest. But Marvin’s Room is different. Maybe because it has more energy, less depressing, and actually funnier than some comedies and it’s not even one!

The Shining

I’ve been wanting to see this one in a while, and last night I finally did.

Here’s what I thought.

I like it, but I don’t think I could put this as one of my favorite movies. If only it doesn’t have Jack Nicholson then I would. Or, if only I’ve never seen Nicholson in other thing, then maybe I’d enjoy it more.

Here’s why. I kept hearing people saying that this is one of the scariest movie ever made. It’s even becomes a classic. I understand why people came to this term, though.

Don’t get me wrong I think Nicholson is brilliant. It’s just unfortunately I saw him act exactly like that many times before. It’s strange that usually he always gives me the creep no matter what he does, even when he just doing some “light” interview. However, sooner I just getting used to it so when I saw him in The Shining it’s like I am seeing him acting “goofy” at E Channel. So, yes. I am a bit disappointed that I don’t get the “after effect” of the great horror movie, like The Orphanage or even The Descent.

However, if you never heard about Jack Nicholson or you can set your mind not to think about him being in anything else, then you should watch the movie. It’s still has great horror story, with great supporting cast like Shelley Duvall (although the Razzie disagree) and Danny Lloyd.

The film starts with Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) on a way for interview as a caretaker of Overlook hotel, which closed during the winter. He is actually a writer but decides that he wants to take the job so he can concentrate on his writing.

He then brought his family (a wife and a son) with him. Only three of them in such big and quite hotel. The manager hotel once told Jack that there was tragedy happen with the former caretaker before. He killed his wife and his two daughters before shooting himself. Jack assure him that it would never happen to him.

Before they move to the hotel, we learn that Jack’s son, Danny, has imaginary friend named Tony. He said that Tony is a little boy that lives in his mouth. His parents seemed thought that it’s perfectly normal to a kid to have imagination like that. Of course, as the audience we have the privileged to see things that the parents hasn’t seen on Denny, especially regards to Tony.

We will also learn that Danny isn’t just as a normal kid. He has the ability called The Shining. In the movie, it will explain what The Shining really is. Of course, things get worse at the hotel, when Jack’s mood changes and he seems to having hallucinating by seeing people that aren’t supposed to be there.

Is he gonna be just like the former caretaker who ended up killing his family and then himself? Well, the answer is in the movie.

Dead or Alive 2

It’s part of the trilogy of Dead or Alive. I watched the first and the third at first. The first one is good and even though I love the twist and turn in the movie but the ending is taking too much advantage on my open minded mind. The third one maybe just so boring that I don’t even remember what it was. However, the second one is pretty probably the best out of three. It started weird and it ended weird in a way that I kind of expecting. It’s not a movie for everyone but if you just need something new to experience with, I say go rent it.

Heaven and Earth

It’s a great movie and I didn’t know that it’s actually part of the trilogy by Oliver Stone. It started Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July. This one is supposed to be the “feminine” side of those and the hero itself is a female.
The movie based on memoir by Le Ly Hayslip growing up in Vietnam, then moved to US with her American husband (played by Tommy Lee Jones).
This movie itself using English language. Meaning the Vietnamese here talking English. It never a problem to me. I mean I can accept that people in Middle-Earth also talking English. One thing that bothered me is they (the Vietnamese) seemed to talk English very well on each other, but when they talk to American suddenly their English are very bad. What’s up with that?

Dead Calm

One of the 80’s greatest thriller. It’s about married couple who decide to take a vacation in the middle of the ocean after losing their son. The mother (Nicole Kidman) is still couldn’t forgive and stop blaming herself for causing the death.

One day, a stranger (Billy Zane) with a small boat appears. He tell stories about he’s the only survivor of the ship he was in before. The husband (Sam Neil) seemed doesn’t believe the story and decides to check the abandon ship, leaving his vulnerable wive with the stranger.

I found this movie entertaining and thrilling. I enjoy it a lot actually. Nicole Kidman seemed always great in everything she is in. The only thing that hurt the movie is they feel the need to end it in over the top way. No wonder how many times the bad guy seemed just to reappear when he supposed to be death. So, it stared with a great beginning and seemed that it has interesting psychological thriller plot only to end in the cheesiest way ever.