90s Movie Review - Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Director: Kevin Reynolds
Genre: Drama/ Adventure/ Action/ Romance
Runtime: 143 minutes
Year: 1991
Starring: Kevin Costner, Alan Rickman, Morgan Freeman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantinio, Christian Slater, Geraldine McEwan, Michael McShane, Brian Blessed, Michael Wincott, Walter Sparrow, Jack Wild, Sean Connery

Description: When Robin (Kevin Costner) and his Moorish companion (Morgan Freeman) come to England and the tyranny of the Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Rickman), he decides to fight back as an outlaw.

Review: In 1991 director Kevin Reynolds brought us one of the best movies based on the classic Robin Hood story. The cast is good and so is the soundtrack. The single “Everything I Do (I Do it for You)” by Bryan Adams was a huge hit (note: it’s my favorite song).
Kevin Costner portrays the historical hero Robin Hood, also known as Robin of Locksley. Costner doesn’t always convince, because of that accents, but proofs he is a great actor. His sidekick is Azeem, played by Morgan Freeman. As always Freeman manages to do this very well. But Alan Rickman is the scene stealer, as the villainous Sheriff of Nottingham. Very over the top, but a joy to watch. He is brilliant in his role.
Not only the actors are good, the décor is also amazing. It’s almost fairytale like. The locations are beautiful and spectacular. This also goes for the fight scenes.
“Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” is a movie that is still fun after watching it a couple of times (and believe me, I’ve seen it many times). Most people would rate it lower, but this movie always holds a special place in my heart.

Rating: 4,5 / 5

00s Movie Review - Finding Forrester

Director: Gus van Sant
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 136 minutes
Year: 2000
Starring: Sean Connery, Rob Brown, F. Murray Abraham, Anna Paquin, Michael Pitt, Busta Rhymes, Richard Easton Michael Nouri, April Grace, Glenn Fitzgerald

Description: A young writing prodigy (Rob Brown) finds a mentor in a reclusive author (Sean Connery)

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2021 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 35: A MOVIE WITH YELLOW POSTER ART
 
Review: Gus van Sant is know for his movie “Good Will Hunting”, a film that turned out to be a huge success in 1997. “Finding Forrester is perhaps less well known that “Good Will Hunting”, but definitely at least as good.
Jamal Wallace is black teenager who lives in the Bronx. Although he’s just getting by in school his test scores tell differently. Because he is much smarter and talented then he shows everyone. Jamal gets the opportunity to go to a private school, with a scholarship, since he is also a good basketball player. The professors think that Jamal only got in to the prestigious school because he plays basketball. In the meantime, Jamal befriends an elderly man, author William Forrester who has been living in isolation for years. William helps Jamal with his writing and discovers that he is a very gifted writer.
Sean Connery and Rob Brown really work well together. They are each other’s opposites and therefore learn a lot from each other. Jamal is an optimist, he is curious and opinionated, while William is stern and pessimistic. Not to mention the difference in age.
The story is very inspiring and I love the friendship that grows between the two, who you would never pair up together if you see them passing by on the street. It’s a touching story and it’s sad that “Finding Forrester” is such an overlooked film.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

80s Movie Review - The Untouchables

Director: Brian De Palma
Genre: Action/ Crime
Runtime: 119 minutes
Year: 1987
Starring: Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Andy Garcia, Robert De Niro, Patricia Clarkson, Charles Martin Smith

Description: During the era of Prohibition in the United states, Federal Agent Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) sets out to stop ruthless Chicago gangster Al Capone (Robert De Niro) and, because of rampant corruption assembles a small, hand-picked team to help him.

Review: Due to the prohibition, the empire of Al Capone blossoms like never before. He is too big to deal with by the police. Policemen fear revenge if they would do it or have been bribed by Capone’s men. However, Eliot Ness is going to put a stop to this. He gathers 3 men around him who will go to extremes to get Capone behind bars.
The first of the three is Jim Malone, a street cop who happens to meet Eliot. However, he hasn’t been a street cop all his life and has a lot of knowledge of fighting crime and gives Eliot important lessons. Next there is agent George Stone, a very accurate and loyal policeman. The last is gent Wallace, who is an accountant by nature, and get some more insight on Capone’s finances.
The entire atmosphere, the setting and the characters are what make this film great. Old Chicago is portrayed beautifully. All main character have enough depth and development to gain sympathy for them.
The most memorable and iconic scene is the one in the train station. It’s filmed so well and it has so much tension. This is a lesson in film by itself. So is the scene at the round table, where Capone ‘deals’ with one of his guests and later the camera has an overview and you see what happened.
With gangster films like “The Godfather”, “Scarface” and “Goodfellas”, this is one you would easily forget or overlook and that’s a shame. Because it’s a fantastic crime film.

Rating: 4 / 5