Good Morning Vietnam (1987)

Typically films that are strict vehicles for actors can only go one of two ways.  Oscar contender with passionate yet small support or oblivion.  Good Morning Vietnam fits into the Oscar contender category.  Yes, it is a vehicle for Robin Williams to be Robin Williams -and yes, it is very very funny.  It even fits to my rule in that Robin was nominated for an Oscar.  He is amazing, but from my perspective it's sort of like watching him do an intentionally dated comedy routine.  I like his performance because I like him.  The movie is far more interesting and poignant than zeitgeist recollection gives it credit.  I especially would like to commend the writer, director, and producers for letting the music carry so much of the movie.  I liked that it was such a jarring dissonance when the the same of images of Vietnam seen before with rock & roll were so different when set to polka and Laurence Welk.  I'm going to put this movie in terms of an SAT analogy.

Young: Old, as The Beach Boys: Laurence Welk, as Vietnam: WWII

Pat Boone:  See it

Robin Williams:  Take a look back at who you were

Nixon:  Skip it

English teachers:  See it for enthusiasm not for methodologies

Those wishing to learn how to do impressions:  Study

On a scale from, and IPOD to a phonograph, I give Good Morning Vietnam 3.6 out of 5 stars.

Animal House (1978)

It's slightly sad that this movie is so timeless and yet is showing signs of age.  Perhaps, it is because college has changed.  I first watched Animal House when I was in jr. high.  I was impressionable.  It did make me want to go to college.  I went to college.  After college, the movie, while still great, has lost a very slight amount of its former brilliance.  My favorite character is still D-Day.  Bruce McGill, you will live on forever.  Otis Day and the Knights can always play Shout and I will dance the "GATOR!!!!"  Double secret probation just makes me laugh and laugh and laugh.  Flounder will forever be Flounder.

Ratings:

Frat brothers: Must see it.

Blonde with a Beehive:  See it

Trouble makers:  See it

TOGA TOGA!!

Germans that bombed pearl harbor:  You already saw it

On a scale of American cafeteria food fights to British cafeteria food fights, I give Animal House 3.45 out of 5 stars.
 

Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

An elegant movie.  There are surprisingly few movies -action movies even fewer- that can be thought of as elegant.  It would have been easy for Ghost Protocol to loose itself in cliche characters, plot points, location tropes, or standard shoot'em up movie necessities.  On the flip side if a mission impossible movie doesn't pay homage to the genre and all the baggage it carries with it it risks alienating it audience.  I found Ghost Protocol elegant for the way in which it paid just enough lip service to cliches to pass the audience test and still went on to blatantly disregard the past in favor of a its own unique story telling.
              There were some wonderful things about Ghost Protocol and there were some muddy points.  On the plus side, I love basically any movie with Simon Pegg.  Ghost Protocol is no exception.  He is funny.  He can pull of serious, and he just seems to make movies better.  Middlingly, Paula Patton was purely acceptable.  There were many times when I thought her performance and character were going to turn the corner....but they never did.  Jeremy Renner- I like you- but I wish you and Josh Holloway would have switched roles.  Josh Holloway should just be in more movies for longer.
             Lastly, I would like to vent about the use of Dubai as an "international" background in movies.  In the case of Ghost Protocol, I got the feeling like the Dubai government must have just shelled out a crazy tax break to make it irresistible as a location.  What was weirder was that most of the team's time in the city was in a unremarkable fancy hotel that did not distinguish itself as being in Dubai.  Then when Tom Cruise was chasing down our villain through the streets of Dubai they covered the whole city in a sandstorm so one couldn't see anything.  I'd don't think I will understand Dubai.

Ratings:

JJ Abrams:  See it

Jon Voight:  See it  (Prep for your inconceivable return to the franchise in the next installment.)

Spy Masters:  Skip it

Wanna-be Spy Mastas: See it

Jet-setters: Skip it

On a scale from Charade to The Man Who Knew to Little, I give Mission Impossible- Ghost Protocol 3.2 out of 5 stars.    

Titan AE (2000)

Titan AE is sort of forgotten gem; and rightly so.  But if there were every a movie that would actually benefit from a 3D rerelease it would be Titan AE.  What a beautiful movie.  It is just stunning.  Forgetting the semi-awkward plot, the halting story arch, the weak character interactions/introductions, and above all the way that it is just a little bit too graphic/sex-ish/brutal for kids, Titan AE is just gorgeous.  There are so many super cool elements of this movie that just never quite cross the threshold of potential into undeniable awesome.  The energy based Drej super villains have so much potential as super foes that I sort of want to go back and have a movie where they can really get their due.

Ratings

Kids:  See it  (Gotta learn about Tech-wars and Titan AE sometime.)

Nathan Lane:  Skip it

Teenagers at heart:  See it

Toy makers:  Skip it  (No kid's want action figures from this...........sad)

Daft Punk:  See it  (Please please please write a new soundtrack to undue the harm done by the current CREED wannabee soundtrack.)

On a scale of Grave of the Fireflies to Mystery Men, I give Titan AE 2.2 wonder stars out of 5.