Day 234 - 8/22/09 - Movie #230
BEFORE: Another movie with a general seizing control of a prison - this time it's Ed Harris, and Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery have to take it back...
THE PLOT: A group of U.S. marines, under command of a renegade general, take over Alcatraz and threaten San Francisco with biological weapons. A chemical weapons specialist and the only man to have ever escaped from the Rock are the only ones who can prevent chaos.
AFTER: OK, I guess this isn't a "prison" movie per se, except for the Alcatraz setting. If I had known more about the plot, I might not have included this in my prison-movie chain - but I just didn't know enough about it. It's a fairly standard Michael Bay shoot-em-up (and blow-em-up) film - this guy never met an explosion he didn't like (except maybe the little ones).
I'm not an action film junkie, so this was sort of satisfying without being enormously entertaining to me. Nicolas Cage was fine as an FBI chemical-weapons specialist, but he was outshined by Sean Connery as a former spy/escape artist who was a former Alcatraz inmate.
You sort of have to take a lot of things for granted, like a glowing-green poison gas that can kill thousands if dispersed in the atmosphere, which someone has decided to store in little breakable glass balls. Also that someone would design a rocket to carry these poison gas balls - and in order to disable said rocket, one has to remove ALL the poison balls, not breaking one of them, in order to reach the little computer guidance chip...okay, I guess...
Supporting characters played by John Spencer ("West Wing"), John McGinley ("Scrubs"), David Morse ("St. Elsewhere") and William Forsythe (the guy from "Raising Arizona" who wasn't John Goodman)
RATING: 7 out of 10 Navy Seals
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
The Last Castle
Day 233 - 8/21/09 - Movie #229
BEFORE: Another Redford prison movie - but this time James Gandolfini plays the warden...
THE PLOT: A court-martialed general rallies together 1200 inmates to rise against the system that put him away.
AFTER: Now that's what I'm talkin' about - I think that was the best prison movie I've seen so far, very action-packed. It's also a war movie, since it takes place in a military prison full of ex-soldiers. Redford plays Eugene Irwin, a general who disobeyed orders and was sentenced to 10 years - unfortunately, he doesn't know how to be an inmate, or a civilian, so once he proves himself, he becomes a sort of general to the inmates of the prison, who organize under his "command". The warden condones violence against the prisoners, which is against the military code, so Irwin leads a prison revolt to take command of the prison, in order to force the resignation of the warden.
It starts as a psychological chess game between the two men - but Irwin sees more moves ahead, and is able to put his battlefied expertise to good use. The last hour had me on the edge of my seat - Redford can still bring it, and it's good to see Gandolfini playing someone besides Tony Soprano. Also starring Mark Ruffalo (who I usually can't stand, but he's tolerable here) and Delroy Lindo.
My one complaint - just because a man is a general and an expert on modern warfare, it doesn't necessarily mean he's an expert on ALL types of warfare - building a trebuchet, for example, is a very specific skill that most people would not possess. Gen. Irwin might be a master of strategy and technique, but he seems a little too omniscient.
RATING: 9 out of 10 rubber bullets
BEFORE: Another Redford prison movie - but this time James Gandolfini plays the warden...
THE PLOT: A court-martialed general rallies together 1200 inmates to rise against the system that put him away.
AFTER: Now that's what I'm talkin' about - I think that was the best prison movie I've seen so far, very action-packed. It's also a war movie, since it takes place in a military prison full of ex-soldiers. Redford plays Eugene Irwin, a general who disobeyed orders and was sentenced to 10 years - unfortunately, he doesn't know how to be an inmate, or a civilian, so once he proves himself, he becomes a sort of general to the inmates of the prison, who organize under his "command". The warden condones violence against the prisoners, which is against the military code, so Irwin leads a prison revolt to take command of the prison, in order to force the resignation of the warden.
It starts as a psychological chess game between the two men - but Irwin sees more moves ahead, and is able to put his battlefied expertise to good use. The last hour had me on the edge of my seat - Redford can still bring it, and it's good to see Gandolfini playing someone besides Tony Soprano. Also starring Mark Ruffalo (who I usually can't stand, but he's tolerable here) and Delroy Lindo.
My one complaint - just because a man is a general and an expert on modern warfare, it doesn't necessarily mean he's an expert on ALL types of warfare - building a trebuchet, for example, is a very specific skill that most people would not possess. Gen. Irwin might be a master of strategy and technique, but he seems a little too omniscient.
RATING: 9 out of 10 rubber bullets
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Brubaker
Day 232 - 8/20/09 - Movie #228
BEFORE: For the first time in months, the number of movies on my list is getting close to 400 - I think it dipped down to about 375 at one point, but then I discovered the $5.99 DVD store - and then Time Warner Cable started offering Movies on Demand for $1.99 - so even though I crossed off a movie per day, the list kept growing faster than that. Today's trip to the DVD store yielded only 1 film that I haven't seen, so I think I've capped the growth of the list for now.
Tonight's cellmate is Robert Redford. Well, I guess if I gotta be somebody's prison bitch, at least he's hunky and has great hair...
THE PLOT: The new warden of a small prison farm in Arkansas tries to clean it up of corruption after initially posing as an inmate.
AFTER: This is another study about how a prison works (or fails to) as Redford goes undercover as a prisoner, and witnesses torture, corruption, and horrible conditions. Like in last night's movie, the prisoners who have been there the longest seem to be running the joint - as "trustees" they seem to have as much power as the guards, even access to guns while on work detail. I'm not sure this is such a great system.
Redford sets up reforms like a prison inmate council, then goes digging around - literally - to find out how deep the corruption and conspiracies run. Unfortunately so many factions want to prevent this that we, the viewers, never really get the whole story. Something about slave labor, cans of chili, cornfields, and dead bodies, but I was never able to get a handle on the big picture.
Once again, character actors abound, including Yaphet Kotto, David Keith, and M. Emmet Walsh. Morgan Freeman has a small but memorable role as an inmate (years before "Shawshank Redemption") and it took me a while to recognize Everett McGill - aka "Big Ed" from "Twin Peaks".
I'm still waiting for a prison movie to really impress me - maybe I should add "Cool Hand Luke" to my want list.
RATING: 5 out of 10 lunch trays
BEFORE: For the first time in months, the number of movies on my list is getting close to 400 - I think it dipped down to about 375 at one point, but then I discovered the $5.99 DVD store - and then Time Warner Cable started offering Movies on Demand for $1.99 - so even though I crossed off a movie per day, the list kept growing faster than that. Today's trip to the DVD store yielded only 1 film that I haven't seen, so I think I've capped the growth of the list for now.
Tonight's cellmate is Robert Redford. Well, I guess if I gotta be somebody's prison bitch, at least he's hunky and has great hair...
THE PLOT: The new warden of a small prison farm in Arkansas tries to clean it up of corruption after initially posing as an inmate.
AFTER: This is another study about how a prison works (or fails to) as Redford goes undercover as a prisoner, and witnesses torture, corruption, and horrible conditions. Like in last night's movie, the prisoners who have been there the longest seem to be running the joint - as "trustees" they seem to have as much power as the guards, even access to guns while on work detail. I'm not sure this is such a great system.
Redford sets up reforms like a prison inmate council, then goes digging around - literally - to find out how deep the corruption and conspiracies run. Unfortunately so many factions want to prevent this that we, the viewers, never really get the whole story. Something about slave labor, cans of chili, cornfields, and dead bodies, but I was never able to get a handle on the big picture.
Once again, character actors abound, including Yaphet Kotto, David Keith, and M. Emmet Walsh. Morgan Freeman has a small but memorable role as an inmate (years before "Shawshank Redemption") and it took me a while to recognize Everett McGill - aka "Big Ed" from "Twin Peaks".
I'm still waiting for a prison movie to really impress me - maybe I should add "Cool Hand Luke" to my want list.
RATING: 5 out of 10 lunch trays
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Animal Factory
Day 231 - 8/19/09 - Movie #227
BEFORE: Played trivia AGAIN Tues. night, this time just me and 1 teammate, against a diner full of rival teams, on just TV trivia - and we won! Still haven't turned a profit, since the cost of admission, food + beverages was greater than the cash value of the prizes - but oh well, at least we got the satisfaction of winning! And I'm 2 for 2 this week!
THE PLOT: A young man goes to prison and a tough, older convict takes him under his wing as a mentor.
AFTER: This is really about the inner workings of a prison, seen through the eyes of a newbie and a lifer (Willem Dafoe) who shows him around. It's a loving relationship that isn't sexual, probably because the average viewer wouldn't be able to understand that, or pigeonhole the relationship if sex were part of the mix. Dafoe's Earl Copen has been around the jail so long, he knows all the tricks, and he's practically running the place. Edward Furlong's character gets mixed up in trouble despite Copen's advice, and learns how to shiv someone who tries to play grab-ass with him.
Lots of character actors, including Tom Arnold, Steve Buscemi (who also directed), Danny Trejo, Seymour Cassel, and Mickey Rourke, who was almost unrecognizable as a flamboyantly gay cellmate. A fairly brutal but also somewhat charming little film.
RATING: 6 out of 10 razor blades
BEFORE: Played trivia AGAIN Tues. night, this time just me and 1 teammate, against a diner full of rival teams, on just TV trivia - and we won! Still haven't turned a profit, since the cost of admission, food + beverages was greater than the cash value of the prizes - but oh well, at least we got the satisfaction of winning! And I'm 2 for 2 this week!
THE PLOT: A young man goes to prison and a tough, older convict takes him under his wing as a mentor.
AFTER: This is really about the inner workings of a prison, seen through the eyes of a newbie and a lifer (Willem Dafoe) who shows him around. It's a loving relationship that isn't sexual, probably because the average viewer wouldn't be able to understand that, or pigeonhole the relationship if sex were part of the mix. Dafoe's Earl Copen has been around the jail so long, he knows all the tricks, and he's practically running the place. Edward Furlong's character gets mixed up in trouble despite Copen's advice, and learns how to shiv someone who tries to play grab-ass with him.
Lots of character actors, including Tom Arnold, Steve Buscemi (who also directed), Danny Trejo, Seymour Cassel, and Mickey Rourke, who was almost unrecognizable as a flamboyantly gay cellmate. A fairly brutal but also somewhat charming little film.
RATING: 6 out of 10 razor blades
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Against the Wall
Day 230 - 8/18/09 - Movie #226
BEFORE: Played bi-weekly Monday night trivia last night - our team won with an astonishing 76 out of a possible 78 points! But then it was back into the lock-up for me... I went through the Entertainment Weekly Fall Movie Preview, and out of all the movies being released this fall, I'm only moderately interested in 7 films for the whole fall season - so things are looking up, I'm hoping that I can stop adding films to my list soon, and the numbers can start going down.
THE PLOT: Based on the true story of the Attica Prison uprising of 1971.
AFTER: This was an HBO movie from a few years back - after a stock-footage tour through the late 1960's (the same cultural touchstones recently seen in "Ali" - Malcolm X, Martin Luther King) we see Kyle Maclachlan showing up for his first day as a prison guard - at Attica. This is a bit like showing someone merrily going on a cruise, only to pull back and reveal that the ship is the Titanic.
I'll admit I didn't know a lot about the Attica prison riots before watching this film - it was a tense standoff with guards as hostages, with the civil rights of prisoners a central issue. Once that ACLU lawyer Kunstler shows up, you know the standoff's not going to end anytime soon... It's also a tense, tough movie to watch, so I guess they hit the right tone. Samuel L. Jackson plays one of the head prisoners, Clarence Williams III plays another. With Williams, Maclachlan and Harry Dean Stanton, this is almost like a "Twin Peaks" reunion...
RATING: 6 out of 10 nightsticks
BEFORE: Played bi-weekly Monday night trivia last night - our team won with an astonishing 76 out of a possible 78 points! But then it was back into the lock-up for me... I went through the Entertainment Weekly Fall Movie Preview, and out of all the movies being released this fall, I'm only moderately interested in 7 films for the whole fall season - so things are looking up, I'm hoping that I can stop adding films to my list soon, and the numbers can start going down.
THE PLOT: Based on the true story of the Attica Prison uprising of 1971.
AFTER: This was an HBO movie from a few years back - after a stock-footage tour through the late 1960's (the same cultural touchstones recently seen in "Ali" - Malcolm X, Martin Luther King) we see Kyle Maclachlan showing up for his first day as a prison guard - at Attica. This is a bit like showing someone merrily going on a cruise, only to pull back and reveal that the ship is the Titanic.
I'll admit I didn't know a lot about the Attica prison riots before watching this film - it was a tense standoff with guards as hostages, with the civil rights of prisoners a central issue. Once that ACLU lawyer Kunstler shows up, you know the standoff's not going to end anytime soon... It's also a tense, tough movie to watch, so I guess they hit the right tone. Samuel L. Jackson plays one of the head prisoners, Clarence Williams III plays another. With Williams, Maclachlan and Harry Dean Stanton, this is almost like a "Twin Peaks" reunion...
RATING: 6 out of 10 nightsticks
Monday, August 17, 2009
Monster's Ball
Day 229 - 8/17/09 - Movie #225
BEFORE: I thought maybe I'd watched this film, but I think I've only watched a few scenes - I think you know which ones I'm referring to... This is sort of a last-minute addition to my prison movie chain, IFC ran this one just last week...
THE PLOT: After a family tragedy, a racist prison guard reexamines his attitudes while falling in love with the African American wife of the last prisoner he executed.
AFTER: Damn, that was depressing. I don't want to spoil all the plot points, but most of them are pretty bleak - this could be a rough couple of weeks for me. Here we see the other side of capital punishment - the effect that it has on the prison guards that have to "pull the switch", as well as the executed man's family. Billy Bob Thornton plays Hank, a prison guard who starts out as a real racist, but then after meeting Halle Berry's character, Leticia, decides that he might like his women like he takes his coffee... They get together, but considering all the tragedies that have come their way, the feasability and functionality of the relationship is suspect, to say the least. It's pretty depressing that 2 of the film's supporting actors - Heath Ledger and Peter Boyle - are now deceased. I like dark films, like "Affliction" and "A Simple Plan", but this is a bit much.
RATING: 5 out of 10 bowls of chocolate ice cream
BEFORE: I thought maybe I'd watched this film, but I think I've only watched a few scenes - I think you know which ones I'm referring to... This is sort of a last-minute addition to my prison movie chain, IFC ran this one just last week...
THE PLOT: After a family tragedy, a racist prison guard reexamines his attitudes while falling in love with the African American wife of the last prisoner he executed.
AFTER: Damn, that was depressing. I don't want to spoil all the plot points, but most of them are pretty bleak - this could be a rough couple of weeks for me. Here we see the other side of capital punishment - the effect that it has on the prison guards that have to "pull the switch", as well as the executed man's family. Billy Bob Thornton plays Hank, a prison guard who starts out as a real racist, but then after meeting Halle Berry's character, Leticia, decides that he might like his women like he takes his coffee... They get together, but considering all the tragedies that have come their way, the feasability and functionality of the relationship is suspect, to say the least. It's pretty depressing that 2 of the film's supporting actors - Heath Ledger and Peter Boyle - are now deceased. I like dark films, like "Affliction" and "A Simple Plan", but this is a bit much.
RATING: 5 out of 10 bowls of chocolate ice cream
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Dead Man Walking
Day 228 - 8/16/09 - Movie #224
BEFORE: We went out yesterday to Fair Lawn, NJ for a BBQ - so early Sunday morning I was so tired I fell asleep about 20 minutes into this film (not a good sign) and had to pick it up the next day. I had bought some of those chocolate-covered espresso beans at the Harry & David's outlet, and forgot to eat two before starting the film.
THE PLOT: A nun, while comforting a convicted killer on death row, empathizes with both the killer and his victim's families.
AFTER: This is a tough one for me to rate - there's not much question about the guilt of Sean Penn's character, Matthew Poncelet, so the debate about his execution isn't likely to sway anyone's opinion on the matter - and Susan Sarandon's character, Sister Helen Prejean, attacks the subject from so many angles, the issue just gets more muddled. So I'm going to treat this as more of a character study, a portrait of both a convicted killer and his spiritual advisor. What goes through a man's mind before his execution - can a nun connect with him emotionally, and help him find some form of redemption or peace in his final days?
Penn and Sarandon do deliver the goods - with supporting work by Robert Prosky, R. Lee Ermey, and the female character actors Margo Martindale (last seen by me in "Million Dollar Baby") and Celia Weston. Cameos from Jack Black and Clancy Brown as a small-town sheriff (see what I mean?)
RATING: 6 out of 10 Bibles
BEFORE: We went out yesterday to Fair Lawn, NJ for a BBQ - so early Sunday morning I was so tired I fell asleep about 20 minutes into this film (not a good sign) and had to pick it up the next day. I had bought some of those chocolate-covered espresso beans at the Harry & David's outlet, and forgot to eat two before starting the film.
THE PLOT: A nun, while comforting a convicted killer on death row, empathizes with both the killer and his victim's families.
AFTER: This is a tough one for me to rate - there's not much question about the guilt of Sean Penn's character, Matthew Poncelet, so the debate about his execution isn't likely to sway anyone's opinion on the matter - and Susan Sarandon's character, Sister Helen Prejean, attacks the subject from so many angles, the issue just gets more muddled. So I'm going to treat this as more of a character study, a portrait of both a convicted killer and his spiritual advisor. What goes through a man's mind before his execution - can a nun connect with him emotionally, and help him find some form of redemption or peace in his final days?
Penn and Sarandon do deliver the goods - with supporting work by Robert Prosky, R. Lee Ermey, and the female character actors Margo Martindale (last seen by me in "Million Dollar Baby") and Celia Weston. Cameos from Jack Black and Clancy Brown as a small-town sheriff (see what I mean?)
RATING: 6 out of 10 Bibles
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