80s Movie Review - Silverado

Director: Lawrence Kasdan
Genre: Western/ Action/ Drama/Crime
Runtime: 133 minutes
Year: 1985
Starring: Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Kevin Costner, Danny Glover, John Cleese, Brian Dennehy, Rosanna Arquette, Jeff Goldblum, Linda Hunt, Jeff Fahey

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2024 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 9: A WESTERN
 
Description: A misfit bunch of friends comes together to right the injustice which exist in a small town called Silverado.

Review: Four cowboys brought together by fate arrive in Silverado. A series of events force them to face off against an overpowered force.

In 1985, director Lawrence Kasdan successfully attempted to bring back the big western to the silver screen. Even though he does not innovate the genre, he resumes authentic western mythology and creates an entertaining and adventurous old-fashioned western.

The main reason why “Silverado” is so long, is that each of the four main characters has their own plot line. But the movie does not bore for a moment. There is enough action and tension building to keep one’s attention. Only the subplot surrounding Rosanna Arquette’s characters seems a bit thrown away and isn’t fleshed out.

The four men are cast well. Kevin Kline is the main protagonist. He plays the dryly comic Paden, who tries very hard to put his past behind him. Scott Glenn is the very cool Emmett. His brother Jake is played by Kevin Costner (in his first major role), a young, carefree spirit. And Danny Glover is Mal, a more serious character partly because of his personal situation. But he was my favorite.

We get some great supporting roles by Linda Hunt as  the petite but feisty saloonkeeper Stella. Brian Dennehy as the corrupt sheriff Cobb. And John Cleese makes a brief appearance as a quirky sheriff in a town nearby Silverado.

What also lifts “Silverado” to a higher level is the music by Bruce Broughton. Which is also something I seem to love about westerns: its music. The film looks stunning. I believe that “Silverado” is a fine and sadly underrated masterpiece. Even if you’re not a fan of westerns. I loved it.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

90s Movie Review - The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Director: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise
Genre: Animation/ Family/ Drama
Runtime: 91 minutes
Year: 1997
Starring: Tom Hulce, Demi Moore, Kevin Kline, Jason Alexander, Jim Cummings, Tony Jay

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2023 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 47: A MUSICAL
 
Description: A deformed bell-ringer (Tom Hulce) must assert his independence from a vicious government minister (Tony Jay) in order to help his friend, a gypsy dancer (Demi Moore).

Review: Victor Hugo’s classic story begins in the film with the festival of fools. Quasimo lives in the bell tower of Notre Dame and dreams of being among people for once. Judge Frollo, who raised him, made Quasimodo believe that no one would accept a ‘monster’. But at the urging of his three friends, Gargoyles Victor, Hugo and Laverne, he descends to the revelry anyway.

At first, people believe he is in disguide, but the crowd discovers that Quasimodo is not wearing a mask. In front of Frollo, he is tied up and pelted with rotten tomates. The judge forbids his new captain Phoebus to intervene. But gypsy woman Esmeralda cannot stand this mistreatment and finally cuts Quasimodo loose. Frollo declares her an outlaw and sets about hunting her down. The only safe haven for Esmeralda is the Notre Dame, with Quasimodo as her only friend.

Like Victor Hugo’s “Les Misérables”, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” lends itself fairly well as a musical in which Gregorian singing, quiet songs and rousing melodies alternate. The film starts off very sad. Within the first 30 minutes, Quasimodo is almost tossed in a well as a baby, Frollo makes him sing he is deformed and a monster and he is tied up and humiliated in front of an entire crowd. It does become much happier and unlike the novel, the film has a happy ending. It’s still Disney.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

20s Movie Review - The Bob's Burgers Movie

Director: Loren Bouchard, Bernard Derriman
Genre: Animation/ Comedy/ Adventure
Runtime: 102 minutes
Year: 2022
Starring: H. Jon Benjamin, Kristen Schaal, Dan Mintz, John Roberts, Eugene Mirman, David Wain, Zack Galifianakis, Kevin Kline, Larry Murphy, Gary Cole, Nick Kroll

Description: When a sinkhole in front of Bob’s Burgers threatens the Belchers’ plans for a successful summer, Bob and Linda try to keep their business going, while the kids attempt to save the restaurant by solving a mystery.

Review: The biggest challenge in making a feature film from a television series is making sure to strike the right balance between offering the regular viewers what they are used to and getting the new audience into a world unfamiliar to them. The makers of “The Bob’s Burgers Movie” took a successful approach: launching into a story without any explanation that both parties will have a great time with.

Bob and Linda are keeping themselves and their three children afloat by running a struggling burger joint. They are tight on money and it is getting tense, whether they will be able to make the monthly lone payment. The obstacle that can’t be solved in twenty minutes this time: a giant sink hole appears in front of their restaurant and a dead body is found in is. With no one able to access their restaurant, Bob and Linda have to find a way to make money and Tina, Gene and Louise are trying to solve the mystery of the dead body.

“The Bob’s Burgers Movie” is not a movie that goes for depth, but I never expected that or want that. It’s a fun, entertaining, hilarious film, that will be a joy to watch for both fans of the series and those just introduced to it. Personally, the mystery that the kids are trying to solve, was my favorite part of the film.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

80s Movie Review - Sophie's Choice

Director: Alan J. Pakula
Genre: Drama/ Romance
Runtime: 142 minutes
Year: 1982
Starring: Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Peter MacNichol
 
I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2022 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 21: A MOVIE RECOMMENDED YOUR MY MOTHER
 
Description: Sophie (Meryl Streep)is the survivor of Nazi concentration camps, who has found a reason to live with Nathan (Kevin Kline), a sparkling if unsteady American Jew obsessed with the Holocaust.

Review: Stingo is a young writer from the southern United States who movie to Brooklyn to begin writing his first novel. He rents a room in a big mansion, where he soon becomes friends with his upstairs neighbors Nathan and Sophie. Nathan is a biologist whose team is about to make a major discovery. Sophie is a Polish immigrant who survived the Nazi concentration camps. Nathan is a rather volatile person, who frequently argues and leaves home and sometimes stays away for nights. Sophie then seeks comfort from Stingo, who himself craves affection passionately and is only too happy to accommodate her. During such moments she tells him stories about her life and how she ended up in a concentration camp. Slowly, Stingo gains insight into Sophie’s life, which literally and figuratively contains a lot of scars.

“Sophie’s Choice” can rightfully be called an actor’s film. Visually, the films is also impressive, however, the most of the attention goes to the three lead actors Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline and Peter MacNichol. The film contains long dialogue scenes, sometimes minutes of two people sitting on a bench, but because of the wonderful acting it’s never boring. That is the strength of the film. Especially Meryl Streep, who won her second Academy Award for this role, is convincing as the Polish immigrant. She had to learn a Polish accent and had to speak both Polish and German for the role. And does this flawlessly. For Kevin Kline, “Sophie’s Choice” was his film debut. This is what gave him his Oscar-winning role in “A Fish Called Wanda”.

The story is compelling. We see it through the eyes of Stingo and this way we see the developments in the lives of Sophie and Nathan. The theme of the film is rather heavy, but it has a lot of light-hearted moments as well. But it’s mostly the acting that lifts the film to a higher level.

Rating: 4/ 5

80s Movie Review - A Fish Called Wanda

Director: Charles Crichton
Genre: Comedy/ Crime
Runtime: 103 minutes
Year: 1988
Starring: John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin

Description: In London, four very different people team up to commit armed robbery, then try to doublecross each other for the loot.

Review: John Cleese managed to write a British comedy that was even in the US a great success. “A Fish Called Wanda” is a fun crime comedy, with both British and American actors.
John Cleese plays lawyer Archie Leach, who is in a rut. He wants to live a more eventful life and Wanda is the one to make that happen. Wanda, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, is the central character of the film. Not only Archie falls for her charms, also Ken, Otto and George. Ken (Michael Palin) is a stuttering animal lover and even named one of his fish after Wanda. Otto, played by Kevin Kline who won an Oscar for this role, is a strange man. He hates everything and everyone, especially when they call him stupid. Michael Palin and Kevin Kline are the funniest actors in “A Fish Called Wanda”.
The story is pretty simple and not very original, but executed exceptionally well. The jokes are both in the dialogue and the situations. “A Fish Called Wanda” is an entertaining comedy, a joy to watch every time.

Rating: 4/ 5

90s Movie Review - Fierce Creatures

Director: Fred Schepisi, Robert Young
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 93 minutes
Year: 1997
Starring: John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin, Robert Lindsay, Ronnie Corbett, Carey Lowell, Bille Brown, Cynthia Cleese

Description: Zookeepers struggle to deal with the polices of changing directors.

Review: A British zoo bought by a billionaire who has the policy to put as much pressure on everyone as possible so that it will make a profit. Willa and Vince, two employees of this American multi-billionaire, are sent to the old-fashioned zoo where Rollo Lee is the director. At the next inspection the company has to make a 20% profit.
The first idea Rollo has is to remove all the cute animals from the zoo and only show life-threatening animals (fierce creatures, hence the title) because this is more spectacular and appealing to the visitors. When Willa and Vince arrive, they decide to intervene. They use different strategies to make the zoo more profitable. For instance telling people that the turtle belongs to Bruce Springsteen, place colorful billboards at every corner and make all the zookeepers wear silly animal costumes.
One absurd event after another is of course the result. When the billionaire Rob McCain himself comes to visit, things really get out of hand. “Fierce Creatures” is a very silly comedy that did make me laugh. It brings together the same four actors that starred in “A Fish Called Wanda”, them being of course John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline and Michael Palin. That was very obviously a much better movie, but this is also a comedy that I enjoyed and is an easy watch. Not as high of quality, but enough for an entertaining evening.

Rating: 3/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 53: Beauty and the Beast

Director: Bill Condon
Genre: Romance/ Musical/ Fantasy
Runtime: 129 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Josh Gad, Kevin Kline, Ewan McGregor, Emma Thompson, Ian McKellen, Stanley Tucci

Description: An adaptation of the fairy tale about a monstrous-looking prince (Dan Stevens) and a young woman (Emma Watson) who fall in love.

Review: As a little kid, I was never a girly girl. Wasn’t into princess stuff. But the animation “Beauty and the Beast” was an obsession. I love how intelligent, well read and kind Belle was. She saw past the looks, wanted to see more of the world and didn’t settle for mediocre. So I was super excited to see “Beauty and the Beast” being turned into a live-action film.
The film isn’t an exact copy of the animation, but it kept the essentials. But director Bill Condon also added some new characters, songs and scenes. And normally, for nostalgia sake, it would bother the hell out of me. But is surprisingly didn’t. The magic is still present, the main characters feel familiar and the songs are beautiful.
The casting is perfect. Emma Watson is a wonderful Belle and Dan Stevens does a very good job as Beast. Luke Evans is a very convincing Gaston and I really enjoyed Josh Gad as Le Fou. Kevin Kline as Maurice is also a very good choice and all the voice actors (like Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Emma Thompson and Ian McKellen) were chosen perfectly.
While watching this adaptation of “Beauty and the Beast”, I had a smile on my face from beginning ‘till end. I love it!

Rating: 4,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 88 Last Vegas

Director: John Turteltaub

Genre: Comedy

Runtime: 105 minutes

Year: 2013

Starring: Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline, Mary Steenburgen, Jerry Ferrara, Romany Malco

Description: Three sixty-something friends take a break from their day-to-day lives to throw a bachelor party in Las Vegas for their last remaining single pal.

Review: In “Last Vegas” we follow four childhood friends, now all in their sixties. Billy is getting married and his three friends want to celebrate this to take him to Las Vegas and to really party. Archie recently had a stroke and can’t wait to get away from his overprotective son and to finally live a little. Sam is very unhappy in his condo in Florida and his wife gives him a free pass to commit adultery while in Vegas. Because what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Pat is still mourning over his wife Sophie and isn’t in the mood for partying. Especially because he doesn’t want to see Billy, who didn’t come to his wife’s funeral. And finally Billy, workaholic and ‘till now the eternal bachelor. He’s marrying the much younger Lisa. The four of them are in for one hell of a trip.

I love Robert De Niro, put it’s become a little painful to watch him in these everyday comedies. His characters aren’t as intense and deep as they used to be. Michael Douglas plays a character that is more relatable, but it’s Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline that steal all the jokes. They seemingly have a lot of fun in their cliché roles, it works like a charm.

“Last Vegas” is very watchable and we got to thank the good cast for that. However, it could have been a lot better though. The script is a bit bland and it lacks inspiration.

“Last Vegas” is a fun film, but pretty mediocre. It’s a missed shot, I know that many other directors would have done better with these four experienced actors. It’s still an enjoyable movie to watch.

Rating: 3/ 5