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Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated The Mountain Between Us in Books
Nov 25, 2017 (Updated Nov 25, 2017)
Claustrophobic and interesting at the beginning but far fetched
Given there's only two real characters in this novel, author Charles Martin does a not bad job developing their roles.
The story surrounds Dr Ben Payne and writer Ashley Knox, who get caught up in a plane crash in the remote icy mountains of the High Uintas Wilderness. Both quite seriously injured, they attempt to battle all odds to survive.
Although the setting is well laid out, the actual plot and dialogue is slightly hyperbolic, and the long-winded explanations of love are rather sappy. The female characters are written as if swooning at Dr Payne's every beck and call. So while the novel began as a gripping survivalist plot, it falls into a wishy washy romance trap and ultimately ends up on the ash heap of almost good stories.
The story surrounds Dr Ben Payne and writer Ashley Knox, who get caught up in a plane crash in the remote icy mountains of the High Uintas Wilderness. Both quite seriously injured, they attempt to battle all odds to survive.
Although the setting is well laid out, the actual plot and dialogue is slightly hyperbolic, and the long-winded explanations of love are rather sappy. The female characters are written as if swooning at Dr Payne's every beck and call. So while the novel began as a gripping survivalist plot, it falls into a wishy washy romance trap and ultimately ends up on the ash heap of almost good stories.
Andy K (10821 KP) rated Badlands (1973) in Movies
Jul 29, 2019
Impressive debut from the legend himself, Terrence Malick
Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek look so young! Probably because they are!
Impressive directorial debut and the start of great things to come. Some of his visual style are already present including impressive landscape shots or cut scenes featuring animals and nature.
The story is based on the American serial killer Charles Starkweather who befriends a naive young girl, invades her life and brings her along on a mass killing road trip across the southern United States. The victims include almost everyone they meet. The authorities are mobilized and pursue the duo as tensions escalate.
Sheen and Spacek are perfectly cast as the young couple which modern audiences would equate to Natural Born Killers; however, this film is not over the top like NBK. I really enjoyed their reluctant relationship and the mounting peril with the inevitable confrontation with the law.
Highly recommended.
Impressive directorial debut and the start of great things to come. Some of his visual style are already present including impressive landscape shots or cut scenes featuring animals and nature.
The story is based on the American serial killer Charles Starkweather who befriends a naive young girl, invades her life and brings her along on a mass killing road trip across the southern United States. The victims include almost everyone they meet. The authorities are mobilized and pursue the duo as tensions escalate.
Sheen and Spacek are perfectly cast as the young couple which modern audiences would equate to Natural Born Killers; however, this film is not over the top like NBK. I really enjoyed their reluctant relationship and the mounting peril with the inevitable confrontation with the law.
Highly recommended.
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated 7 Days In Entebbe (2018) in Movies
Mar 22, 2018
Doesn't really work
Most of us (including me), when we heard about the new film 7 DAYS IN ENTEBBE, thought to themselves "didn't they just make this film a few years ago...?" The answer is yes. A similar film to this - RAID ON ENTEBBE - was a TV movie made a few years ago - 42 years ago, to be precise. It starred Peter Finch, Martin Balsam, Jack Warden and good ol' Charles Bronson. Made a mere few months after the true events, this slapped together movie was an old-fashioned "shoot 'em up."
This film is most definitely not.
7 DAYS IN ENTEBBE tells the true story of the 1976 Air France Hijacking of (mostly) Israeli citizens that settle in Entebbe, Uganda (under the leadership of crazed dictator Idi Amin) - refusing to negotiate with terrorists, the Israeli government plan, stage and execute a daring rescue mission.
Sounds like a pretty good plot for a Charles Bronson shoot-em-up.
In this version, Director Jose Padilha (the 2014 remake of ROBOCOP) decides to focus most of his attention not on the hijacked Israeli citizens, but rather, a pair of German hijackers juxtaposed against the political infighting in Israel between Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Defense Minister Shimon Peres. The Israeli governmental infighting was interesting to watch with intriguing characters and cat-and-mouse back-stabbing politics while the plight of the kidnappers was underwritten and underwhelming. Consequently, this film was "just okay".
Oh...and it had about an hour-fifteen minutes of content stretched over an hour-forty-five minutes, so to stretch things out, Padilha decided to cut back and forth between the action (what there was of it) and a modern dance recital. Clearly he was trying a metaphor of the dance punctuating the emotions and actions elsewhere. It just didn't work for me.
Neither did this film. Skip this one and check out the Charles Bronson shoot-em-up.
Letter Grade C+
5 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
This film is most definitely not.
7 DAYS IN ENTEBBE tells the true story of the 1976 Air France Hijacking of (mostly) Israeli citizens that settle in Entebbe, Uganda (under the leadership of crazed dictator Idi Amin) - refusing to negotiate with terrorists, the Israeli government plan, stage and execute a daring rescue mission.
Sounds like a pretty good plot for a Charles Bronson shoot-em-up.
In this version, Director Jose Padilha (the 2014 remake of ROBOCOP) decides to focus most of his attention not on the hijacked Israeli citizens, but rather, a pair of German hijackers juxtaposed against the political infighting in Israel between Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Defense Minister Shimon Peres. The Israeli governmental infighting was interesting to watch with intriguing characters and cat-and-mouse back-stabbing politics while the plight of the kidnappers was underwritten and underwhelming. Consequently, this film was "just okay".
Oh...and it had about an hour-fifteen minutes of content stretched over an hour-forty-five minutes, so to stretch things out, Padilha decided to cut back and forth between the action (what there was of it) and a modern dance recital. Clearly he was trying a metaphor of the dance punctuating the emotions and actions elsewhere. It just didn't work for me.
Neither did this film. Skip this one and check out the Charles Bronson shoot-em-up.
Letter Grade C+
5 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Gareth von Kallenbach (968 KP) rated Bad Boys for Life (2020) in Movies
Jan 18, 2020
Bad Boys, Bad Boys, Whatchu gonna do? Whatchu gonna do when they come for you? Bad Boys premiered in 1995, the sequel way back in 2003. Bad Boys for Life, the third movie in the franchise takes us back to Miami, where Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) have been partners in the force for over 25 years.
Marcus certainly is feeling his age, having been married with grown kids, and Mike is still ready to go and take down criminals with his own style. Marcus is eyeing retirement and his partner Lowrey, does not want any part of it. They are going by the motto of “Bad Boys for Life”. Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano) is still running the precinct and a new tactical team has been established to carry out quick responses. This small team is led by Rita (Paola Nunez) who has had some history with Mike Lowrey.
Rita’s team is comprised by Kelly (Vanessa Hudgens) the team badass. Rafe (Charles Melton) the resident smart ass who immediately chafes Mike’s hide and Dorn (Alexander Ludwig), the IT specialist and gentle giant. It is as if the recruiter got Rafe and Dorn from an Abercrombie catalogue. They are AMMO, the rapid response team assigned to take on immediate issues that affect Miami.
The current problem is an assassin taking out members of Miami’s law enforcement community. We learn that there is a Mexican drug cartel looking for retribution and it is led by Isabel Aretas, the widow of the Kingpin (Kate de Castillo, playing the character with such seething hatred) and her son Armando (Jacob Scipio)
Bad Boys 3 is co-directed by the team of Adil and Bilall, who have worked together on film for the past ten years. Taking over the franchise from Michael Bay. There are plenty of chases and gunfights in the movie. The action is fantastic, the rapport between Marcus and Lowrey is just plain hilarious. The chemistry of their partnership is still there, and their timing is on point. I did not expect to laugh so hard or so much.
The movie took a minute to find it’s pacing at the beginning. Once the story was set, the timing was quick, but steady and the humor came on one after another. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, it had all the elements that I would have expected from a Bad Boys sequel: a logical story line, action, humor, eye candy and car chases. I would recommend this movie for anyone who wants to lose themselves in an action film with a large side order of humor.
Marcus certainly is feeling his age, having been married with grown kids, and Mike is still ready to go and take down criminals with his own style. Marcus is eyeing retirement and his partner Lowrey, does not want any part of it. They are going by the motto of “Bad Boys for Life”. Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano) is still running the precinct and a new tactical team has been established to carry out quick responses. This small team is led by Rita (Paola Nunez) who has had some history with Mike Lowrey.
Rita’s team is comprised by Kelly (Vanessa Hudgens) the team badass. Rafe (Charles Melton) the resident smart ass who immediately chafes Mike’s hide and Dorn (Alexander Ludwig), the IT specialist and gentle giant. It is as if the recruiter got Rafe and Dorn from an Abercrombie catalogue. They are AMMO, the rapid response team assigned to take on immediate issues that affect Miami.
The current problem is an assassin taking out members of Miami’s law enforcement community. We learn that there is a Mexican drug cartel looking for retribution and it is led by Isabel Aretas, the widow of the Kingpin (Kate de Castillo, playing the character with such seething hatred) and her son Armando (Jacob Scipio)
Bad Boys 3 is co-directed by the team of Adil and Bilall, who have worked together on film for the past ten years. Taking over the franchise from Michael Bay. There are plenty of chases and gunfights in the movie. The action is fantastic, the rapport between Marcus and Lowrey is just plain hilarious. The chemistry of their partnership is still there, and their timing is on point. I did not expect to laugh so hard or so much.
The movie took a minute to find it’s pacing at the beginning. Once the story was set, the timing was quick, but steady and the humor came on one after another. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, it had all the elements that I would have expected from a Bad Boys sequel: a logical story line, action, humor, eye candy and car chases. I would recommend this movie for anyone who wants to lose themselves in an action film with a large side order of humor.
Cyn Armistead (14 KP) rated More Holmes for the Holidays in Books
Mar 1, 2018
[a:Martin H. Greenberg|6436872|Martin H. Greenberg|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-M-50x66.jpg] and company have provided a fine collection of Sherlockian holiday stories that fit in quite well with the traditional set.
"The Christmas Gift" by Anne Perry is a nice little piece about a stolen Stradivarius and a couple who want to marry against the wishes of the young lady's father. There is an excellent red herring, one of the few in this anthology.
In "The Four Wise Men" by Peter Lovesey, Watson must answer a call to duty from his former commanding officer in the Army, in order to help guard a medieval treasure in a Christmas pageant. The game is soon afoot, and Sherlock's powers of observation are as keen as ever.
Barbara Paul's "Eleemosynary, My Dear Watson" gives Holmes a jewel theft and a kidnapping to solve, which he does in his inimitable way. One clue seemed slightly too obvious to me, but it may not to other readers.
In "The Adventure of the Greatest Gift" by Loren D. Estleman, Holmes receives a wax cylinder containing a recording of a song popular in America. He takes it as a warning of a crime which could lead to war between Britain and France, and of course he leaps into action. This is Mycroft Holmes' only appearance in the volume.
There's plenty of misdirection in "The Case of the Rajah's Emerald" by Carolyn Wheat. Somehow, though, I suspected one of the great revelations in this one from the beginning, but I couldn't tell you exactly why. It didn't ruin the story for me, and there was still a surprise at the end.
On the other hand, Edward D. Hoch's "The Christmas Conspiracy" managed to take me completely unawares. I couldn't fathom why the crime would be committed or by whom, despite having a major clue dropped by one character. Very well done!
"The Music of Christmas" by L.B. Greenwood telegraphed the identity of the criminal from the start, but was well worth reading. One of the characters also tugged at the heartstrings.
Bill Crider's "The Adventure of the Christmas Bear" is largely memorable because of the appearance of Oscar Wilde as a character.
"The Adventure of the Naturalist's Stock Pin" by Jon L. Breen gives us Charles Darwin as Holmes' client. The mystery is less Sherlockian than some of the others, but I didn't mind reading it.
Daniel Stashower's "The Adventure of the Second Violet" was an interesting twist on a well-known Christmas story. I cannot say more without spoiling it, but he has a nice touch.
"The Human Mystery" by Tanith Lee is as dark as I expect from her, and was a depressing ending to the collection. It was, however, very well-written.
The anthology left me hungry for more Holmes, and wishing that I weren't between seasons of BBC's Sherlock or that I had another collection of stories on hand. That's the sign of a success, I think.
"The Christmas Gift" by Anne Perry is a nice little piece about a stolen Stradivarius and a couple who want to marry against the wishes of the young lady's father. There is an excellent red herring, one of the few in this anthology.
In "The Four Wise Men" by Peter Lovesey, Watson must answer a call to duty from his former commanding officer in the Army, in order to help guard a medieval treasure in a Christmas pageant. The game is soon afoot, and Sherlock's powers of observation are as keen as ever.
Barbara Paul's "Eleemosynary, My Dear Watson" gives Holmes a jewel theft and a kidnapping to solve, which he does in his inimitable way. One clue seemed slightly too obvious to me, but it may not to other readers.
In "The Adventure of the Greatest Gift" by Loren D. Estleman, Holmes receives a wax cylinder containing a recording of a song popular in America. He takes it as a warning of a crime which could lead to war between Britain and France, and of course he leaps into action. This is Mycroft Holmes' only appearance in the volume.
There's plenty of misdirection in "The Case of the Rajah's Emerald" by Carolyn Wheat. Somehow, though, I suspected one of the great revelations in this one from the beginning, but I couldn't tell you exactly why. It didn't ruin the story for me, and there was still a surprise at the end.
On the other hand, Edward D. Hoch's "The Christmas Conspiracy" managed to take me completely unawares. I couldn't fathom why the crime would be committed or by whom, despite having a major clue dropped by one character. Very well done!
"The Music of Christmas" by L.B. Greenwood telegraphed the identity of the criminal from the start, but was well worth reading. One of the characters also tugged at the heartstrings.
Bill Crider's "The Adventure of the Christmas Bear" is largely memorable because of the appearance of Oscar Wilde as a character.
"The Adventure of the Naturalist's Stock Pin" by Jon L. Breen gives us Charles Darwin as Holmes' client. The mystery is less Sherlockian than some of the others, but I didn't mind reading it.
Daniel Stashower's "The Adventure of the Second Violet" was an interesting twist on a well-known Christmas story. I cannot say more without spoiling it, but he has a nice touch.
"The Human Mystery" by Tanith Lee is as dark as I expect from her, and was a depressing ending to the collection. It was, however, very well-written.
The anthology left me hungry for more Holmes, and wishing that I weren't between seasons of BBC's Sherlock or that I had another collection of stories on hand. That's the sign of a success, I think.
Darren (64 KP) rated Midnight Run (1988) in Movies
Oct 28, 2019
An under-rated Masterpiece
Midnight Run is an Action/Comedy masterpiece.
A modest hit at the box office way back in 1988, Midnight Run, Is the perfect buddy buddy movie. Robert De NIro stars as Jack Walsh, an ex Chicago cop turned bounty hunter, who is hire by his slimy bail bondsman Eddie Moscone (played by Joe Pantoliano) to bring in Jonathan Mardukas aka The Duke ~(fantastically played by Charles Grodin) a former mafia accountant who has jumped bail and is wanted by the FBI and the Mafia themselves.
Walsh succeeds in easily finding The Duke in New York which embarrasses the FBI. Walsh plans to bring back "The Duke" on a plane but, An incident on the plane leads Jack having just 5 days to travel cross country to bring in Mardukas from New York.
Moscone, not sure that Walsh can deliver Mardukas in 5 days, hires another bounty hunter Marvin Dorfler ( John Ashton) to take Mardukas from Walsh. Not only is Marvin trying to Mardukas for a payday but Walsh also has FBI agent Alonzo Mosely (Yaphet Kotto) on his tail so that they can bring him in.
On top of all of that, Mafia Boss Jimmy Serrano (The late great Dennis Farina) has his guys hunting Walsh and Mardukas so, they can have them dead before reaching LA as Mardukas was Jimmy's accountant and has damning evidence which can land Jimmy and his pals in prison for a very long time.
I really can't say enough good things about Midnight Run. Never at any point do you get bored or fed up of this film. In fact, at 2hrs and 6mins i wished it had gone on a little more.
How many films can you say that about?
De Niro and Grodin play off each other wonderfully. Their relationship goes from hunter and hunted to a nicely played out bromance of mutual respect.
John Ashton as Marvin, always thinking he's one step ahead of Walsh when he is actually one step behind. Joe Pantoliano is a fine character actor and here once again, As Eddie Moscone he plays slimy brilliantly. Yaphet Kotto never puts in a bad performance and finally, Dennis Farina as Jimmy Serrano has some of the best lines in the film.
Martin Brest delivers an absolute all time classic as director. It's a shame that after Gigli he decided to never direct again. Understandable i suppose because of the reviews but, Lets not forget he did bring us Beverley Hills Cop and Scent of A Woman and only ever directed 9 films in his career.
As for the 18 rating, That was down to the language! There are a lot of FUCKS in this film and it really isn't a violent film.
If you have not seen it, I implore you to take a chance! I promise you will not be disappointed.
A modest hit at the box office way back in 1988, Midnight Run, Is the perfect buddy buddy movie. Robert De NIro stars as Jack Walsh, an ex Chicago cop turned bounty hunter, who is hire by his slimy bail bondsman Eddie Moscone (played by Joe Pantoliano) to bring in Jonathan Mardukas aka The Duke ~(fantastically played by Charles Grodin) a former mafia accountant who has jumped bail and is wanted by the FBI and the Mafia themselves.
Walsh succeeds in easily finding The Duke in New York which embarrasses the FBI. Walsh plans to bring back "The Duke" on a plane but, An incident on the plane leads Jack having just 5 days to travel cross country to bring in Mardukas from New York.
Moscone, not sure that Walsh can deliver Mardukas in 5 days, hires another bounty hunter Marvin Dorfler ( John Ashton) to take Mardukas from Walsh. Not only is Marvin trying to Mardukas for a payday but Walsh also has FBI agent Alonzo Mosely (Yaphet Kotto) on his tail so that they can bring him in.
On top of all of that, Mafia Boss Jimmy Serrano (The late great Dennis Farina) has his guys hunting Walsh and Mardukas so, they can have them dead before reaching LA as Mardukas was Jimmy's accountant and has damning evidence which can land Jimmy and his pals in prison for a very long time.
I really can't say enough good things about Midnight Run. Never at any point do you get bored or fed up of this film. In fact, at 2hrs and 6mins i wished it had gone on a little more.
How many films can you say that about?
De Niro and Grodin play off each other wonderfully. Their relationship goes from hunter and hunted to a nicely played out bromance of mutual respect.
John Ashton as Marvin, always thinking he's one step ahead of Walsh when he is actually one step behind. Joe Pantoliano is a fine character actor and here once again, As Eddie Moscone he plays slimy brilliantly. Yaphet Kotto never puts in a bad performance and finally, Dennis Farina as Jimmy Serrano has some of the best lines in the film.
Martin Brest delivers an absolute all time classic as director. It's a shame that after Gigli he decided to never direct again. Understandable i suppose because of the reviews but, Lets not forget he did bring us Beverley Hills Cop and Scent of A Woman and only ever directed 9 films in his career.
As for the 18 rating, That was down to the language! There are a lot of FUCKS in this film and it really isn't a violent film.
If you have not seen it, I implore you to take a chance! I promise you will not be disappointed.
Sarah (7798 KP) rated The Untouchables (1987) in Movies
Dec 16, 2020 (Updated Dec 16, 2020)
A little melodramatic
(not) Film #7 on the 100 Movies Bucket List: The Untouchables
As with most of the films on this list, The Untouchables is a film that has garnered a great deal of acclaim over the years, and yet if I’ve ever seen it, I’m ashamed to admit that I don’t remember it.
The Untouchables (1987) was directed by Brian De Palma and stars Kevin Costner as Eliot Ness, a treasury agent who recruits a group of fellow cops and agents to take down mob boss Al Capone (Robert De Niro) in Prohibition-era Chicago, with Ness and his agents soon becoming known as the “untouchables” after refusing large bribes. Sean Connery, Andy Garcia and Charles Martin Smith make up the rest of the Untouchables.
An American gangster film is a dime a dozen, there have been countless over the years and the 1920s and 30s are always featured fairly heavily, no doubt due to the large number of criminal gangs and mobsters around in that era. Personally whilst The Untouchables is a good film, I don’t think there’s a lot in this to make it particularly notable or outstanding above any of the others. It’s engaging and interesting, which it should be considering the subject matter – it is based on a true story after all. The entire production looks great too; the sets, costumes and locations are very well done and definitely look the part.
The issue with The Untouchables is it’s too melodramatic, too over the top and clichéd. This isn’t helped by Ennio Morricone’s score, which feels far too heavy handed, cheesy and out of place for the scenes. Even the open title credits is ridiculously over dramatic. You can definitely tell this film was made in the 80s and I’m afraid that’s not a good thing. There’s also some questionable acting from Kevin Costner, and while admittedly I’ve never been a big fan of his, the script and some of the almost cringeworthy scenes with Ness’s wife don’t help matters. And De Niro’s Capone pops up in scenes that feel rather random and forced during the first hour, and seem completely out of place with the rest of the story.
Despite this, The Untouchables is still fairly enjoyable and this is mostly due to Sean Connery’s Malone, the role that he won his only Oscar for. The Irishman, despite sounding very Scottish, injects some much needed heart, humour and spirit into the film and without him, this would have been a very lacklustre film indeed. Even Connery’s horrific Irish accent is a source of amusement, and without the character having been described as Irish, I would’ve just assumed he was Scottish.
Overall, I found The Untouchables to be a decent and entertaining gangster film as long as you can ignore the melodramatic overtones. But I’m not convinced that it’s anything memorable or above average, and if it even deserves a place on this list.
Update: So after having watched this film and headed to my Bucket List to scratch it off, I realised that the film on this list is actually The Intouchables, a French film from 2012 also known as Untouchable. Oops. So I’m afraid The Untouchables isn’t number 7 ticked off my bucket list after all 😆
As with most of the films on this list, The Untouchables is a film that has garnered a great deal of acclaim over the years, and yet if I’ve ever seen it, I’m ashamed to admit that I don’t remember it.
The Untouchables (1987) was directed by Brian De Palma and stars Kevin Costner as Eliot Ness, a treasury agent who recruits a group of fellow cops and agents to take down mob boss Al Capone (Robert De Niro) in Prohibition-era Chicago, with Ness and his agents soon becoming known as the “untouchables” after refusing large bribes. Sean Connery, Andy Garcia and Charles Martin Smith make up the rest of the Untouchables.
An American gangster film is a dime a dozen, there have been countless over the years and the 1920s and 30s are always featured fairly heavily, no doubt due to the large number of criminal gangs and mobsters around in that era. Personally whilst The Untouchables is a good film, I don’t think there’s a lot in this to make it particularly notable or outstanding above any of the others. It’s engaging and interesting, which it should be considering the subject matter – it is based on a true story after all. The entire production looks great too; the sets, costumes and locations are very well done and definitely look the part.
The issue with The Untouchables is it’s too melodramatic, too over the top and clichéd. This isn’t helped by Ennio Morricone’s score, which feels far too heavy handed, cheesy and out of place for the scenes. Even the open title credits is ridiculously over dramatic. You can definitely tell this film was made in the 80s and I’m afraid that’s not a good thing. There’s also some questionable acting from Kevin Costner, and while admittedly I’ve never been a big fan of his, the script and some of the almost cringeworthy scenes with Ness’s wife don’t help matters. And De Niro’s Capone pops up in scenes that feel rather random and forced during the first hour, and seem completely out of place with the rest of the story.
Despite this, The Untouchables is still fairly enjoyable and this is mostly due to Sean Connery’s Malone, the role that he won his only Oscar for. The Irishman, despite sounding very Scottish, injects some much needed heart, humour and spirit into the film and without him, this would have been a very lacklustre film indeed. Even Connery’s horrific Irish accent is a source of amusement, and without the character having been described as Irish, I would’ve just assumed he was Scottish.
Overall, I found The Untouchables to be a decent and entertaining gangster film as long as you can ignore the melodramatic overtones. But I’m not convinced that it’s anything memorable or above average, and if it even deserves a place on this list.
Update: So after having watched this film and headed to my Bucket List to scratch it off, I realised that the film on this list is actually The Intouchables, a French film from 2012 also known as Untouchable. Oops. So I’m afraid The Untouchables isn’t number 7 ticked off my bucket list after all 😆
Darren (1599 KP) rated American Graffiti (1973) in Movies
Nov 21, 2019
Thoughts on American Graffiti
Characters – Curt has always enjoyed his time on the strip, he knows everybody and is one of the most popular guys around, he was due to head of the college, but hasn’t made his mind up yet, despite it needing to be read for his next day, he ends up trying to spend his time chasing a mysterious woman around town all night. Steve has always planned his life out, he is going off to college and he is ready to make his relationship more open while they are separated, here he gets to learn about his relationship even if his best friend might not be joining him in college. John is the friend that has always been known for his ability with cars, he has a reputation around town with the police following him around and now he is starting to see the future where his friends are doing a lot more than him and gets stuck with a younger girl for the night, where he starts to see a brighter side to his future. Terry has always been the butt of most of the jokes between the friends, now he gets Steve’s car to look after he spends the night trying to find himself a woman and impress her with his lines.
Performances – When we look at the cast, Richard Dreyfuss is great through the film showing us a character that can get plenty of laughs and is quick on his feet. Ron Howard brings the character we know him for is always going to be easy for him to play. Paul Le Mat brings the typical bad boy to life that does show how he bought us a level of sympathy to the character. Charles Martin Smith brings the geeky sounding character out which become one of the most popular characters in these teen comedies for years to come.
Story – The story here follows four friends on the last day of summer before college is due to start, we see how the four have a different adventure on this night, which will help them discover what they want next in their lives. This is a story that shows just how difficult life is when you take the next step, leaving school is one of the first and biggest anybody will take, with the uncertainty being there for everybody involved, part of you will want to stay close to what you already had, while other sides of this will see you wanting to see what is next. This story mixes all of this together through the film with little effort and makes you believe these people could be real, while certain aspects will have dated here, with a new generation, back n the 1970s this would have been the idea of the house party in the 80s or 90s and wild adventure the modern youth would be having.
Comedy – The comedy in this film would be right up there with any teen comedies, it would have gotten more laughs for when it was released, rather than the ones you would expect to see now.
Settings – The film is set in one hang out location known as the strip, this will be the location where we get all the hang outs you would expect for teens in this generation.
Scene of the Movie – Terry’s attempts to get boozes.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The world involved does seem to have dated.
Final Thoughts – This is a wonderful look at teenage life in the 70s it shows us just how close the friendships were, how hard the changes coming were and just what was left for the people in life.
Overall: Beautiful Look at the 70s.
Rating
Characters – Curt has always enjoyed his time on the strip, he knows everybody and is one of the most popular guys around, he was due to head of the college, but hasn’t made his mind up yet, despite it needing to be read for his next day, he ends up trying to spend his time chasing a mysterious woman around town all night. Steve has always planned his life out, he is going off to college and he is ready to make his relationship more open while they are separated, here he gets to learn about his relationship even if his best friend might not be joining him in college. John is the friend that has always been known for his ability with cars, he has a reputation around town with the police following him around and now he is starting to see the future where his friends are doing a lot more than him and gets stuck with a younger girl for the night, where he starts to see a brighter side to his future. Terry has always been the butt of most of the jokes between the friends, now he gets Steve’s car to look after he spends the night trying to find himself a woman and impress her with his lines.
Performances – When we look at the cast, Richard Dreyfuss is great through the film showing us a character that can get plenty of laughs and is quick on his feet. Ron Howard brings the character we know him for is always going to be easy for him to play. Paul Le Mat brings the typical bad boy to life that does show how he bought us a level of sympathy to the character. Charles Martin Smith brings the geeky sounding character out which become one of the most popular characters in these teen comedies for years to come.
Story – The story here follows four friends on the last day of summer before college is due to start, we see how the four have a different adventure on this night, which will help them discover what they want next in their lives. This is a story that shows just how difficult life is when you take the next step, leaving school is one of the first and biggest anybody will take, with the uncertainty being there for everybody involved, part of you will want to stay close to what you already had, while other sides of this will see you wanting to see what is next. This story mixes all of this together through the film with little effort and makes you believe these people could be real, while certain aspects will have dated here, with a new generation, back n the 1970s this would have been the idea of the house party in the 80s or 90s and wild adventure the modern youth would be having.
Comedy – The comedy in this film would be right up there with any teen comedies, it would have gotten more laughs for when it was released, rather than the ones you would expect to see now.
Settings – The film is set in one hang out location known as the strip, this will be the location where we get all the hang outs you would expect for teens in this generation.
Scene of the Movie – Terry’s attempts to get boozes.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The world involved does seem to have dated.
Final Thoughts – This is a wonderful look at teenage life in the 70s it shows us just how close the friendships were, how hard the changes coming were and just what was left for the people in life.
Overall: Beautiful Look at the 70s.
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