Posts tonen met het label tim robbins. Alle posts tonen
Posts tonen met het label tim robbins. Alle posts tonen

vrijdag 9 september 2022

80s Movie Review - Top Gun

Director:
Tony Scott
Genre: Action/ Drama/ Romance
Runtime: 110 minutes
Year: 1986
Starring: Tom Cruise, Anthony Edwards, Kelly McGillis, Tom Skerritt, Val Kilmer, Michael Ironside, Tim Robbins, Meg Ryan,

Description: As students at the united States Navy’s elite fighter weapons school compete to be best in the class, one daring young pilot (Tom Cruise) learns a few things from a civilian instructor (Kelly McGillis) that are not taught in the classroom.

Review: Lt. Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell and his wingman and friend Lt. Nick ‘Goose’ Bradshaw are among the best fighter pilots in the Navy. Despite their reckless, dangerous behavior and failure to follow orders, they are sent to Top Gun: an elite school for the Navy’s best fighter pilot, who receive extra-heavy training here.

Maverick is also a great charmer, throwing all his charms into the fray the first night to get attention of an attractive lady. The next day she turns out to be the instructor Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Blackwood. Charlie is particularly interested in Maverick because he and Goose are the only ones who have been in contact with a Mig-28 in the air. But gradually, Charlie and Maverick fall in love with each other.

“Top Gun” is the epitome of a delightfully macho, cheesy eighties popcorn flick. A film that, many years later, isn’t as great as in the 80s. The film is impressive though because of two elements: the stunning flight scenes and the soundtrack.

When I first saw this movie, in the 90s probably, I was madly in love with Tom Cruise’s Maverick. Now, I realize that he is kind of a dick and that Val Kilmer’s character Iceman, who is portrayed as the antagonist, is absolutely right about Maverick. And the fact that Charlie is very clear with her statement of not dating students, she falls in love with Maverick fairly quick. They’ve only had like three conversations.

But that’s just me nitpicking. I still enjoy watching this film and this is pure 80s fun.

Rating: 3/ 5

zaterdag 7 mei 2022

00s Movie Review - War of the Worlds

Director: Steven Spielberg

Genre: Science Fiction/ Action/ Thriller

Runtime: 116 minutes

Year: 2005

Starring: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Justin Chatwin, Tim Robbins, Miranda Otto

Description: An alien invasion threatens the future of humanity. The catastrophic nightmare is depicted through the eyes of one American family fighting for survival.

Review: Steven Spielberg is one of the world’s most famous, popular and best directors. With good reason. Although he has not always been consistent, he has proven many times in several genres to be an extremely competent director. War films, cheerful adventure films, engaging dramas and children’s films, science fiction, horror and most recently even a musical. He always makes quality films. But it’s always the same films who get all the praise. In my opinion, “War of the Worlds” is a way better film then most people say it is.

Dock worker Ray Ferrier is divorced and has a bad relationship with his children. therefore, when they are required to stay with him for a weekend, it’s not exactly fun. The next morning, all the appliances in the entire neighborhood are down and Ray witnesses very peculiar lightning striking near his house. When he goes to look for the place of impact, a strange machine emerges from the ground and starts pulverizing people. Ray has to flee with his son Robbie and daughter Rachel, to get to a safe place.

It is best not to know too much about the aliens. Almost immediately the tension is well established, and in fact there is no time to catch your breath. There is a constant feeling of fear, panic and chaos and Spielberg did an excellent job of bringing all these feelings to the screen. With great editing and camera work, he builds up the tension after which he reaches larger and larger climaxes. Especially the basement scene is fantastic.

The ending of the film is somewhat debatable, but that doesn’t take away from the fact “War of the Worlds” is a perfectly good science fiction film.

Rating: 4 / 5


vrijdag 7 januari 2022

00s Movie Review - Mystic River

Director:
Clint Eastwood
Genre: Drama/ Thriller
Runtime: 137 minutes
Year: 2003
Starring: Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon, Tim Robbins, Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden, Laura Linney, Emmy Rossum

Description: With a childhood tragedy that overshadowed their lives, three men (Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon) are reunited by circumstance when one has a family tragedy.

Review: How do you recognize a good movie? A tough question if you ask me. But the people who watched “Mystic River” know that this is an example of a very good movie. The film, directed by Clint Eastwood, managed to win several Academy Awards. It might surprise you, because the story isn’t new and the cast isn’t filled with the biggest Hollywood names. “Mystic River” is a very strong movie that deserves every credit it gets.
The movie starts with three kids, Jimmy, Dave and Sean. They are inseparable and like to hang out together on the streets of Boston. Their bond changes when Dave is taken by a strange man, who pretends he’s a cop. When Dave returns he is traumatized. Years later the three friends reunite, when Jimmy’s daughter is found dead. Jimmy wants revenge and wants to find the person responsible.
Like I stated before, the story doesn’t sound that special. And the main characters don’t seem impressive at first either. Kevin Bacon, as Sean, is a cop trying to have a neutral view on the murder case. And Sean Penn, as Jimmy, plays a man with a temper and a criminal past who has bettered his life. Tim Robbins plays the mysterious looking Dave, who is still trying to deal with his childhood trauma. The way it was all executed is true craftsmanship. Clint Eastwood made this movie with lots of precision, love, intensity and integrity, which center the characters and not the story. The plot is done well, but aren’t the center of our attention. Eastwood focuses especially on the  irreparable friendship and what it once was. And with a cast of talented actors it gives us an anguishing movie experience. 
Eastwood gives his actor room to exploit and bring their characters to life. Sean Penn proofs why he is one of the best, what a great performance. Tim Robbins plays a remarkable role as well. His body language and facial expression sometimes tell us more than the actual words that come out of his mouth. His performance is very believable and even thinking about it gives me goose bumps.  Laura Linney and especially Marcia Gay Harden show us that they can stand tall in a movie filled with strong male actors.
“Mystic River” is a beautiful, sensitive character profile about friendship, pain and human shortcomings. Clint Eastwood deliverd one of his best movies and one of my all-time favorites.

Rating: 5/ 5

zaterdag 31 juli 2021

00s Movie Review - High Fidelity

Director:
Stephen Frears
Genre: Drama/ Comedy/ Romance
Runtime: 109 minutes
Year: 2000
Starring: John Cusack, Jack Black, Iben Hjelje, Joan Cusack, Lodd Louiso, Lisa Bonet, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Tim Robbins, Lili Taylor, Sara Gilbert

Description: Rob (John Cusack), a record store owner and compulsive list maker, recounts his top five breakups, including the one in progress.

Review: Everyone who grew up in the eighties, early nighties, recognizes something in Rob Gordon and his store Championship Vinyl. Rob is a 30-something guy, dresses okay, pays his bills, has a good education but is also a little stuck in life. And he is especially crazy about music, all sorts, preferably vinyl or cassette tape. Rob doesn’t care about his career, he rather works with his friends. Of all the important things that happen in his life, he makes top five lists. You might call it juvenile, but it can also be called authentic.
“High Fidelity” is the adaptation of the book by the British author Nick Hornby. The record store moves from North London (book) to Chicago (movie), but that’s not a problem.
John Cusack plays Rob Gordon. I’ve always had a thing for Cusack and I think this is the movie that it all began with. Rob is a sympathetic guy, he doesn’t really do a lot of useful stuff but you like him anyway. Rob just does what he likes to do. The fun thing about “High Fidelity” is that Rob breaks the fourth wall. He talks to the camera, to us viewers, making us a part of his story. Rob is in the middle of a break up with Laura and through flashbacks we see that it’s probably his fault it ended. John Cusack is perfect as Rob, who here portrays one of my favorite male movie characters. Jack Black is fun as Barry, an exhibitionist music freak who wants to be in the music business himself.
“High Fidelity” finds a good balance between humor and drama, but is mostly carried by the music and the meaning of it in the character’s lives. I think it’s an underappreciated movie, more people should love it. As Rob, I’m an avid top 5 list maker and “High Fidelity” is definitely in my top 5 of all-time favorite movies!

Rating: 5/ 5

dinsdag 21 april 2020

00s Movie Review - Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

Director: Adam McKay
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 90 minutes
Year: 2004
Starring: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner, Chris Parnell, Fred Willard, Kathryn Hahn, Fred Armisen, Seth Rogen, Vince Vaughn, Luke Wilson, Tim Robbins, Ben Stiller, Missi Pyle, Jack Black

Description: Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) is San Diego’s top-rated newsman in the male-dominated broadcasting of the 1970s, but that’s all about to change for Ron and his cronies when an ambitious woman (Christina Applegate) is hired as a new anchor.

Review: “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” could have easily been a juvenile, forgettable comedy. But director Adam McKay really created a hilarious film, that is a favorite for a lot of people.
We meet the arrogant and quirky Ron Burgundy, who is one of the most successful news anchors in 1970s San Diego. When Veronica Corningstone enters, he gets some rivalry, because she is a very ambitious women with only one big dream: becoming a lead anchor. At first Veronica gets simple stories to cover, like a fashion show for cats, but she doesn’t accept being just that kind of news woman.
When “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” was released in 2004, it wasn’t very well-received by critics. But through the years, the film has gained a cult-status and is a comedy classic. There was even a sequel in 2013.
The constant bickering between Will Ferrell and Christina Applegate’s characters is hilarious and we get fun supporting roles from Paul Rudd, Fred Willard and Vince Vaughn. But it’s Steve Carell that steals the show, as weatherman Brick Tamland. He is seriously the dumbest movie character and you question yourself how it’s possible Brick is still alive. Carell is hilarious in his role.
“Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” is definitely one of my favorite comedies off all-time.

Rating: 4/ 5

vrijdag 17 april 2020

Movie Review - Dark Waters

Director: Todd Haynes
Genre: Drama/ Thriller
Runtime: 126 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Tim Robbins, Bill Camp, Anne Hathaway, Mare Winningham, Bill Pullman, Victor Garber

Description: Corporate defense attorney Rob Bilott (Mark Ruffalo) takes on an environmental lawsuit against a chemical company that exposes a lengthy history of pollution.

Review: Wilbur Tennant is a farmer from Parkersburg, West Virginia, who has been trying to find out for years what keeps killing his cows. It has to do something with the chemical factory nearby, he thinks, but nobody wants to help him in his search for the truth. The factory is part of chemical company DuPont. They’re not only an important employer in the region, but also a generous giver for places like playgrounds and libraries. The company has the people in its power and there is no independent chemist or environmental specialist in the area.
Ultimately Tennant gets help from an unexpected source: Robert Bilott, an attorney at a big company in Cincinnati, Ohio. At first out of common courtesy, because his grandmother is from Parkensburg. Bilott is a corporate defense attorney who normally defends companies like DuPont. He thinks he can do this job quickly, but then he sees Tennant’s cows. Convulsing, agressive and with abnormalities in their teeth and eyes. It becomes clear that he is in a minefield.
And a big one. The DuPont case started in 1999 and is still, to the date, not finalized. And the story is astounding. The billion dollar company had been using a chemical called PFOA since the 50s, to produce Teflon, while their own research showed that the substance was extremely dangerous. The American environmental department didn’t do anything, they started checking since 1976 and only to companies that reported chemicals with a high risk factor.
Actor Mark Ruffalo read about the case in 2016 and initiated filming. As a co-producer he managed to get director Todd Haynes to join him and Ruffalo himself plays the role of Rob Bilott. He has played the role of hero before, as Hulk. But this hero role is a more modest, contained and reluctant version. Without any trace of vanity, Ruffalo depicts Bilott as un inconspicuous, introspective man with a worried look, whose work obsession almost cost him his marriage and health.
Anne Hathaway, at first, seems to have a very thankless role, as the wife of Bilott. But as the story develops her role becomes more important and Hathaways performance has more substance. Bill Camp, as Wilbur Tennant, is also a performance to mention. Very solid and convincing and a man you can really empathize with. And I liked seeing Tim Robbins again, since you don’t see him in many movies these days.
Haynes’ direction is also anything but exuberant. Carefully and without fuss, “Dark Waters” follows the fact. The lack of outward display is probably the reason why this fantastic film has been overlooked by the Academy.
Haynes doesn’t need any fuss to impress. This whistleblower drama is very strong and this chilling thriller is also a very important film. Everyone should see this film, because its conclusion is very disturbing and scary.

Rating: 4,5 / 5

zondag 8 juli 2018

90s Movie Review - The Shawshank Redemption

Director: Frank Darabont
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 142 minutes
Year: 1994
Starring: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, Clancy Brown, James Whitmore, William Sadler, Gil Bellows

Description: Two imprisoned men, Andy (Tim Robbins) and Red (Morgan Freeman) bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency.

Review: In Shawshank prison, the inmates are doing serious time. Through the eyes of prisoner Red, we follow the story of Andy Dufresne who comes to Shawshank in 1947 for murdering his wife and her lover. Red and Andy become friends. Based on a story by Stephen King, the life in prison is a metaphor to real society. The prisoners settle for a life at Shawshank, they stop dreaming so nothing can get worse than it already is. The big guys get their way no matter what. Off course there is always one guy that doesn’t care, in this case Andy Dufresne. He teaches his fellow inmates to read and makes them feel normal again.
Director Frank Darabont made the short Stephen King story into a fully length movie, with some differences and more detail. He captured it so well, it easily reaches the audience and it’s a film with real people instead of characters.
The acting is sublime. Never over-the-top, very timide yet convincing. The chemistry between Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman is amazing, you can feel it in every bone in your body. Their friendship is honest and heartfelt. Also Clancy Brown, as the relentless prison guard Hadley, and Bob Gunton, as warden Norton, are very strong in their roles.
This movie really took my breath away when I first saw it, and still after watching it so many times it does that exact same thing. Only a perfect movie can do that. A great story, fantastic acting, beautiful music and off course that great scene (we all know it). For me still the best movie in the books.

Rating: 5/ 5

maandag 5 juni 2017

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

woensdag 12 juni 2013

Quotables: "The Shawshank Redemption"

Off course my favorite movie needs to be spotlighted in this item, so here it is. I can actually quote this movie without any help. That's how many times I've already seen it. But I don't get tired of it.






Red: [narrating] I wish I could tell you that Andy fought the good fight, and the Sisters let him be. I wish I could tell you that - but prison is no fairy-tale world. He never said who did it, but we all knew. Things went on like that for awhile - prison life consists of routine, and then more routine. Every so often, Andy would show up with fresh bruises. The Sisters kept at him - sometimes he was able to fight 'em off, sometimes not. And that's how it went for Andy - that was his routine. I do believe those first two years were the worst for him, and I also believe that if things had gone on that way, this place would have got the best of him.

Andy Dufresne: You know what the Mexicans say about the Pacific?
Red: No.
Andy Dufresne: They say it has no memory. That's where I want to live the rest of my life. A warm place with no memory.

Brooks: [to Andy] Son, six wardens have been through here in my tenure, and I've learned one immutable, universal truth: Not one of them born whose asshole wouldn't pucker up tighter than a snare drum when you ask them for funds.


Warden Samuel Norton: I believe in two things: discipline and the Bible. Here you'll receive both. Put your trust in the Lord; your ass belongs to me. Welcome to Shawshank.

Brooks: Easy peasy japanesey.

Red: [narrating] I must admit I didn't think much of Andy first time I laid eyes on him; looked like a stiff breeze would blow him over. That was my first impression of the man.

Red: Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.

Red: These walls are funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them. That's institutionalized.
Heywood: Shit. I could never get like that.
Prisoner: Oh yeah? Say that when you been here as long as Brooks has.
Red: Goddamn right. They send you here for life, and that's exactly what they take. The part that counts, anyway.

Red: [narrating] I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can't be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free.
Red: [narrating] In 1966, Andy Dufresne escaped from Shawshank prison. All they found of him was a muddy set of prison clothes, a bar of soap, and an old rock hammer, damn near worn down to the nub. I remember thinking it would take a man six hundred years to tunnel through the wall with it. Old Andy did it in less than twenty. Oh, Andy loved geology. I imagine it appealed to his meticulous nature. An ice age here, million years of mountain building there. Geology is the study of pressure and time. That's all it takes really, pressure, and time. That, and a big goddamn poster. Like I said, in prison a man will do most anything to keep his mind occupied. Turns out Andy's favorite hobby was totin' his wall out into the exercise yard, a handful at a time. I guess after Tommy was killed, Andy decided he'd been here just about long enough. Andy did like he was told, buffed those shoes to a high mirror shine. The guards simply didn't notice. Neither did I... I mean, seriously, how often do you really look at a mans shoes? Andy crawled to freedom through five hundred yards of shit smelling foulness I can't even imagine, or maybe I just don't want to. Five hundred yards... that's the length of five football fields, just shy of half a mile.


Andy Dufresne: You know the funny thing is, on the outside I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook.
Red: [narrating] We sat and drank with the sun on our shoulders and felt like free men. Hell, we could have been tarring the roof of one of our own houses. We were the lords of all creation. As for Andy - he spent that break hunkered in the shade, a strange little smile on his face, watching us drink his beer.

Red: [narrating] I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.
Floyd: Red, I do believe you're talking out of your ass.

Red: [narrating] Sometimes it makes me sad, though... Andy being gone. I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up DOES rejoice. But still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone. I guess I just miss my friend.
Heywood: The Count of Monte Crisco...
Floyd: That's "Cristo" you dumb shit.
Heywood: ...by Alexandree Dumb-ass. Dumb-ass.
Andy Dufresne: Dumb-ass? "Dumas". You know what it's about? You'll like it, it's about a prison break.
Red: We oughta file that under "Educational" too, oughten we?


Red: There must be a con like me in every prison in America. I'm the guy who can get if for you; cigarettes, a bag of reefer, if that's your thing, a bottle of brandy to celebrate your kid's high school graduation, damn near anything within reason. Yes sir, I'm a regular Sears and Roebuck.

donderdag 2 mei 2013

Top 5 Thursday: Scene Stealers

Everybody knows this: supporting actors or actresses that just happen to steal practically every scene they’re in. Here are my five favorites.

5. Chloë Grace Moretz in “Kick-Ass”
As Hit-Girl, Chloë Grace Moretz gives away a classic scene stealing performance. Coolest hero without superpowers ever!


4. Emily Blunt in “The Devil Wears Prada”
I think everybody stole all the scenes away from leading lady Anne Hathaway in this movie. Poor Anne. Most people prefer Meryl, but I’m team Emily! Great role, perfect scene stealer.


3. Jack Black in “Orange County”
I simply love this movie, but Jack Black’s character is just unforgettable. He steals all the scenes, especially the ones where he is in his undies.


2. Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Bastards”
Let’s be honest, Christoph Waltz made this movie. What a wonderful performance, by an actor that we didn’t know at that time. A real scene stealer.


1. Tim Robbins in “Mystic River”
Tim Robbins knows how to steal a scene. His performance is so amazing and I just felt for him. He got an Oscar for this role and he totally deserved it.


They Almost Made the Top 5: Kevin Spacey in “Se7en”, Melissa McCarthy in “Bridesmaids”, Robert Carlysle in “Trainspotting”, Michael Clarke Duncan in ‘The Green Mile”,Louis Gossett Jr. in “An Officer and a Gentleman”, Sean Penn in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”, Brad Pitt in “Twelve Monkeys”, Christian Bale in “The Fighter”, Mark Wahlberg in “The Departed”, Christoph Waltz in “Django Unchained”

maandag 6 augustus 2012

Movie Moments: "The Shawshank Redemption"

It's time for my favorite movie! Here are the best moments for the most amazing movie ever: "The Shawshank Redemption".

Moment # 1: Andy arrives at Shawshank
Red and his buddies watch how the new batch enters Shawshank. They bet on which of the guys is going to break the first night. Red bets on “the tall drink of water with a silver spoon up his ass”, meaning Andy.

Moment # 2: Fresh Fish
It’s the first night for Andy and the other new inmates. Heywood tries to startle ‘fat guy’, because that’s the one he bet on. He breaks first and starts crying and everyone starts yelling fresh fish. Guard Hadley warns the fat guy to stop. When he doesn’t, Hadley grabs him and beats him up. It later turns out that he died of his injuries. Andy never made a sound that night.

Moment # 3: Red meets Andy
Red is playing ball with his friends when Andy introduces himself to him. He asks Red for a rock hammer. Red thinks it’s a lethal object, but Andy convinces him that if he’d seen it he would understand why it isn’t dangerous. Red agrees on getting it for him and he likes Andy.

Moment # 4: The sisters
Red had warned Andy for the sisters, who had their eyes on Andy. They grab him and Andy fights back, but they rape him anyway. It happens more than once and sometimes Andy manages to fight them off.

Moment # 5: Working on the roof
Andy, Red and their friends are working on the roof of the prison. Andy overhears a conversation between Hadley and his men, about money. Andy claims he can help him keep all the money, but Hadley doesn’t believe him and threatens to throw him off the roof. When he realizes that Andy can actually help him in exchange for some beers for his friends, he releases him. The guys enjoy the beer and Andy doesn’t drink one beer himself. He just sits there and has a strange smile on his face. He just wanted to feel normal again.

Moment # 6: Welcoming Andy back
Andy has almost been beaten to dead by Bogs and the sisters. Red and his friends want to welcome him back properly. They decide to find him some rocks, so he can make chess pieces out of them. Heywood thinks he found a good rock, when it’s actually horseshit. When Andy returns to his cell, he finds a Rita Hayworth poster that he got from Red.

Moment # 7: Brooks leaves Shawshank
After 50 years Brooks can finally leave prison. He releases his bird Jake, gets his own apartment and a job at a store. Brooks can’t adapt to his new life and hangs himself. Before he does he writes the guys a letter and carves his name in the wall.

Moment # 8: Music
Andy wanted new books for the Shawshank library. He started writing one letter a week and after six years they finally send new books. Andy finds a record in one of the boxes and decides to listen to it. He puts it on speaker so the entire prison can hear it.

Moment # 9: Harmonica
Red’s parole was rejected again and Andy gives him a present. It’s a harmonica, Red used to play it.

Moment # 10: “Dumbass”
Shawshank is getting a new library thanks to Andy. Him and his friends are rearranging all the books. Hewood finds a copy of “The Count of Monte Cristo” and he thinks it’s written by Alexandre ‘Dumbass’.

Moment # 11: Obtuse
Tommy told Andy a story about a different prison visit. A guy named Elmo Blatch told him that he killed Andy’s wife and her lover. That means that Andy is actually innocent. Andy tells Warden Norton this story but he doesn’t believe him. Andy calls him obtuse and Norton sends him to the hole for a month.

Moment # 12: The promise
After Andy spend two months in the hole, he starts talking to Red about his past with his wife. And about the life outside prison. Andy wants to go to Zihuatanejo, buy an old boat and fix it. Red tells him not to torture himself with such dreams, but Andy tells him to either get busy living or get busy dying. He wants Red to make him a promise. There’s an oaktree in Buxton and Andy will burry something for Red there. He wants Red to find it when he gets out. Red promises.

Moment # 13: Andy’s escape
When Andy doesn’t come out of his cell, the guards discover he’s gone. No one seems to know what happened until Warden Norton finds a hole behind the poster. Andy escaped and we get to see how he did it.

Moment # 14: Approved
The board wants to know if Red rehabilitated. Red doesn’t really care anymore, because he knows they will reject it anyway. This time it’s actually approved and Red is a free man.

Moment # 15: Red finds Andy
When Red is released he goes to the same place as Brooks. He also finds it hard to adapt, but he goes a different direction. He made a promise to Andy and goes to Buxton. There Red finds the oak tree and under that tree he finds a box. Inside is some money and a letter from Andy. This brings him to Zihuatanejo, where him and Andy reunite.

Favorite Moment: Moment # 13: Andy’s escape

vrijdag 30 december 2011

In the Picture: The Characters from "The Shawshank Redemption"

This is the last "In the Picture" of the year so I decided to go with the characters from my favorite movie, "The Shawshank Redemption". Here they are.

Andy Dufresne
Played by: Tim Robbins
Andy Dufresne is a banker who is convicted of murdering his wife and her lover. He is sentenced to two consecutive life sentences at Shawshank State Penitentiary. Andy claims he is innocent, but nobody believes him. He decides to keep quiet and he tries to sit out his sentence, but secretly has other plans. He befriends Red and becomes the target of the sisters. Andy is a man who can always keep his calm and he is very intelligent. He even offers the wardens to do their taxes and because he is so persistent he can expand the prison library.

Ellis "Red" Redding
Played by: Morgan Freeman
Red is an inmate serving a life sentence whose parole application was recently rejected. He is the guy who can get things and he provides for the prisoners. He is the first person Andy talks to and they become close friends. He gets him a rock hammer and delivers him a giant poster of Rita Hayworth. Red thinks he couldn't survive outside prison, but eventually gets out. There he is going to do as promissed and he travels to Zihuatanejo to meet with Andy.

Warden Samuel Norton
Played by: Bob Gunton
Warden Norton is well versed in the Bible and presents himself as a pious, devout Christian and reform-minded administrator, but his actions reveal him to be corrupt, ruthless, and remorseless. Andy eventually outsmarts him.

Heywood
Played by: William Sadler
Heywood is already in Shawshank Prison when Andy arrives and he is one of Red's buddies. He is in jail because, so he says, his lawyer fucked him. Heywood isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but has a big heart.

Capt. Byron Hadley
Played by: Clancy Brown
Capt. Hadley is the chief of the guards. The only way he can overpower the inmates is by using insults and violence. He actually beats up one of the prisoners so badly, that he died of his injuries. Hadley doesn't feel any remorse from his actions. Deep inside he is a very weak man which he tries to hide with his tough act.

Tommy Williams
Played: Gil Bellows
Tommy is a young convict who has been in and out of prison ever since he was a teenager. He didn't kill anyone, because he's a thief and according to his prison mates not very good at it. Tommy is supposed to be Andy's way out of prison, because he overheard a conversation in another prison where an inmate admits to killing Andy's wife and her lover. Warden Norton gets him killed, but claims that Tommy tried to escape so they had to shoot him.

Bogs Diamond
Played by: Mark Rolston
Bogs is one of the most feared men in prison and the leader of the sisters. They attack and rape fellow inmates and Andy is their next victim. They don't do it because the are gay, they just have needs. Capt. Hadley eventually grabs Bogs and beats him so badly, he can never do it again.

Brooks Hatlen
Played by: James Whitmore
Brooks has been in Shawshank prison for as long as he can remember and is the prison librarian. He is one of the oldest convicts and doesn't know much about the world outside prison. Brooks finds a bird, who he calls Jake and he takes care of him. When he gets out, Brooks releases Jake. Brooks can't adapt to the new situation and hangs himself. Before he does, he sents his friends in prison one last letter.

Favorite Character: Andy Dufresne

donderdag 8 december 2011

Top 5 Thursday: Quotes from "The Shawshank Redemption"

I decided to share my favorite quotes from my favorite movie. Here are the best quotes from "The Shawshank Redemption".

5. Red: “Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane”.



4. Red: “There's not a day goes by I don't feel regret. Not because I'm in here, or because you think I should. I look back on the way I was then: a young, stupid kid who committed that terrible crime. I want to talk to him. I want to try and talk some sense to him, tell him the way things are. But I can't. That kid's long gone and this old man is all that's left. I got to live with that. Rehabilitated? It's just a bullshit word. So you go on and stamp your form, sonny, and stop wasting my time. Because to tell you the truth, I don't give a shit”.


3. Andy Dufresne: “Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies”.


2. Andy Dufresne: “Get busy living, or get busy dying”.


1. Red: “Andy Dufresne - who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side”.



They almost made the top 5: Red: “I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can't be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free”.

dinsdag 19 juli 2011

In the Picture: The Characters from "Mystic River"

Clint Eastwood is a fine actor, but in my opinion he's an even better director. "Mystic River" is such a great piece of work and an actual character study of the people involved in the story. Here are the most important characters in the film.

Jimmy Markum
Played by: Sean Penn
Jimmy is the beloved father of three daughters. Two of them he had with current wife Annabeth and he had his oldest daughter with his now deceased wife Marita. Jimmy does have a criminal history. He spend two years of his life in prison for a robbery. After they found Jimmy's daughter Katie dead, that old Jimmy turns up again. For him it doesn't matter how, but he's going to find the man who did this to her. And he will pay.

Dave Boyle
Played by: Tim Robbins
Dave is a loving father and a loyal husband to his wife Celeste. As a kid he experienced something horrible and now, twenty years later, he's still traumatized. Dave is very troubled and the image of that incident so many years ago is still haunting him every day. This is also a burden in his relationship with Celeste, his son Michael and his friend Jimmy.

Sean Devine
Played by: Kevin Bacon
Sean used to be friends with both Jimmy and Dave. Nowadays he doesn't have contact with them, although they run into each other from time to time. He is a cop and the one who has to solve the murder of Katie Markum. He tries to handle it as professional as possible. Sean's wife left him six months ago, while she was pregnant. She calls him, but never says anything when he picks up the phone. It looks like it doesn't affect him, but his future with her isn't secure and he just wants her back in his life.

Celeste Boyle
Played by: Marcia Gay Harden
Celeste is Dave's wife. She loves him more then anything, but she doesn't know what to do with her troubled husband. Celeste doesn't know about Dave's traumatic experience as a child. When Dave comes home covered in blood, she doesn't believe his story. After she finds out about Katie Markum's death, Celeste starts doubting her husband and feels really insecure about her life with him.

Annabeth Markum
Played by: Laura Linney
Annabeth is Jimmy's second wife. She accepted Jimmy's oldest daughter, but it's clear that they don't always get along. Unlike Celeste, Annabeth will always stand by her husband and she would never doubt his actions. Even if it's not the right thing to do, according to the law.

Favorite Character: Dave Boyle