80s Movie Review - At Close Range

Director: James Foley
Genre: Drama/ Crime
Runtime: 111 minutes
Year: 1986
Starring: Sean Penn, Christopher Walken, Chris Penn, Mary Stuart Masterson, Kiefer Sutherland, Millie Perkins, Eileen Ryan, Tracey Walter, David Strathairn, Crispin Glover

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2022 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 37: A MOVIE RECOMMENDED BY YOUR BROTHER
 
Description: Reunited with his career criminal father (Christopher Walken), tough teen Brad (Sean Penn) thinks he’s found his ticker to an exciting life of crime, only to find out he’s wrong.

Review: Brad Whitewood is a boy from a simple background whose life is going nowhere. Occasionally he has a job but he never really keeps it up for long. Then suddenly his father returns. Brad Sr. turns out to be the leader of a local gang. Soon Brad Jr. starts working for his father. He experiences success with some simple jobs and Brad’s friends join. They too have an appetite for making quick money. However, Brad’s friends are not the most efficient thieves and soon things go wrong. The police are after them and Brad Sr. has no problem getting some witnesses out of the way. Brad wonders how far his father will go to stay out of jail and even begins to fear for his own life.

Sean Penn and Christopher Walken in one movie, that’s going to be great. This is what any movie lover would think when they see who is starring in this film. I can say it is true. Penn and Walken both have rock solid performances and carry the film. Walken in particular is stellar as the criminal and psychotic Brad Whitewood Sr. One moment you think you are dealing with a caring father while a moment later he turns into a cold-blooded killer who does everything in his power not to get caught.

Director James Foley manages to keep the tension well throughout the film, the story is loosely based on a true story. Highly recommended for people who like dramas with a touch of thriller.

Rating: 4/ 5

90s Movie Review - Reservoir Dogs

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Genre: Drama/ Crime/ Thriller
Runtime: 99 minutes
Year: 1992
Starring: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Quentin Tarantino, Edward Bunker, Randy Brooks, Kirk Baltz, Michael Sotile, Steve Wright, Rich Turner, David Steen , Tony Cosmo, Stevo Polyi

Description: After a simple jewelery heist goes terribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.

Review: When George Baker first saw “Reservoir Dogs”, he thought that he was dealing with another B-movie that used his song. After watching it a few times, the Dutch singer realized that “Little Green Bag” was used for a masterpiece.
The jury at the Sundance film festival also ignored the movie. The wrong choice off course, because “Reservoir Dogs” grew out to become a classic and Quentin Tarantino’s style has been copied many times ever since.
In “Reservoir Dogs” we’re not dealing with a very original story: a jewelry heist gone wrong. But the way it’s told is extraordinary. The movie opens with a scene where the criminals are having lunch and discuss trivial topics like Madonna songs and waitresses. It looks like a meaningless conversation that doesn’t have anything to do with the plot.
It’s scenes like this that make “Reservoir Dogs” special. They tell us two important things. First it’s clear that criminals who don’t know each other and are very different from each other, have a certain connection. Second and maybe the most important one, Tarantino shows us that crooks are also just regular people talking about everyday things.
The fact that “Reservoir Dogs” is told in a non-linear way also adds an extra dimension. Tarantino turns a fairly simple plot into a puzzle. Two years later he would do the same with “Pulp Fiction”.
Despite the flashbacks, the movie has a high tempo, but it’s not an action film. Tarantino is a director that mainly focusses on the characters, what they think, what music they like, what they talk about. And the actors execute it well. Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, all great in their roles.
With “Reservoir Dogs” Tarantino introduces us to a new genre, that later became known as ‘nouvelle violence’. Because of this success, many directors tried to do the same. But no one managed to top Quentin Tarantino. “Reservoir Dogs” is one of my all-time favorites.

Rating: 5/ 5

80s Movie Review - Footloose

Director: Herbert Ross
Genre: Drama/ Romance/ Music
Runtime: 107 minutes
Year: 1984
Starring: Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, John Lithgow, Dianne Wiest, Chris Penn, Sarah Jessica Parker

Description: A city teenager (Kevin Bacon) moves to a small town where rock music and dancing have been banned, and his rebellious spirit shakes up the populace.

Review: It sound a bit silly, a town that has banded rock music and dancing. And it kinda is. But somehow, “Footloose” is still a fun film, filled with great 80s music.
Ren McCormack is a city boy, who moves to a small town with his mother. Rock music and dancing is banned, but Ren and his new friends are going to rebel against that. Ariel is the reverend’s daughter, the man who started it all. And of course she falls for Ren.
Two things I love about this film: the music and the choreography. It looks good, makes you happy and you instantly start moving in your chair. And especially the dance montages are my favorite.
“Footloose” isn’t really a timeless classic, but after so many years it’s still a fun film to watch. The story is still a bit silly and the performance are a bit flat. But overall, it’s a great dance film.

Rating: 3 / 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 71: Short Cuts

Director: Robert Altman
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 187 minutes
Year: 1993
Starring: Andie MacDowell, Bruce Davison, Jack Lemon, Julianne Moore, Matthew Modine, Fred Ward, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Chris Penn, Tim Robbins, Lili Taylor, Robert Downey Jr., Madeleine Stowe, Lily Tomlin, Frances McDormand, Tom Waits, Lyle Lovett, Lori Singer, Anne Archer

Description: The day-to-day lives of a number of suburban Los Angeles residents.

Review: I always like films with multiple storylines. So I was excited to finally see ‘Short Cuts”, where we follow a bunch of Los Angeles suburban residents.
Suburban life in “Short Cuts” is anything but ordinary and perfect: adultery, suicide, loveless marriages, alcoholism. Long live the nineties.
The storylines are all basically about relationships stuck in their day to day life. The storylines wouldn’t be interesting on their own, together they work a bit better. But still not so much to keep me interested for the entire runtime. Because that for me is the biggest problem. The film is 187 minutes long, way too long for a film like this.
I get why people might like this film, but I’m not a big fan of the film. I found it pretty mediocre, not compelling, it just didn’t interest me. Later movies with themes like this, like “American Beauty” and “Magnolia” are much better.

Rating: 2,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 163: Stealing Harvard

Director: Bruce McCulloch
Genre: Comedy/ Crime
Runtime: 85 minutes
Year: 2002
Starring: Jason Lee, Leslie Mann, Tom Green, Dennis Farina, Megan Mullally, John C. McGinley, Richard Jenkins, Martin Starr, Chris Penn

Description: A middle-class man (Jason Lee) turns to a life of crime in order to finance his niece's first year at Harvard University.

Review: The plot for “Stealing Harvard” is as simple as the film itsel. John once made a primuse to us niece, that if she ever got accepted to college, he would pay for it. When the time arrives, he just got the that money. But he is about to marry his fiancée and buy a house. To keep his promise to his niece, he asks his loser friend Duff for help.
The film isn’t as bad as I would think, especially since it stars Tom Green. Jason Lee plays a likeable character, somewhat reminding me of his character Earl in “My Name is Earl”. Some other supporting roles are for Leslie Mann, Megan Mullally and John C. McGinley, which are fun as well. Tom Green is, as always, over the top and not that funny. At least I don’t find his humor that laughable.
It’s okay, the movie is easy to sit through, but also pretty forgettable.

Rating: 2,5/ 5