DVD Challenge #15: INDEPENDENCE DAY

Independence Day
1996
PG-13
Run-time: 2 hours, 25 minutes

Directed by: Roland Emmerich
Starring: Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Randy Quaid, Judd Hirsch & Vivica A. Fox



When I first saw Independence Day back in 1996 as a seven-year-old child, I remember leaving the theater watching the skies for any signs of deep orange or red. Because I lived so close to Los Angeles, I was sure that an alien invasion was imminent, and my family would be caught in the ensuing firestorm that was sure to ravage the city. As you can imagine, that day never came (or maybe it has yet to come...), but it didn't stop the nightmares from occurring. I can't begin to count how many times I saw that alien in my darkest dreams as a child, and sometimes, I still don't like to think about it.

That being said, I can honestly say that Independence Day soon became one of my favorite movies. I used to watch it all the time back in the day, and seeing as today was the Fourth of July, I figured I'd give it another go. It's been a few years since I last sat through the film in its entirety, and I was able to view it in a different light this time around.

Because I'm a little more well-versed in the annals of cinematic history, I can see Independence Day for what it truly is: ridiculous, mindless fun. Years ago, I used to think that it was one of the greatest movies ever made, but after watching it tonight, I saw it in all its cheesy glory. The storyline itself is a little bit stiff, and the dialogue isn't all that great, to be honest. And the acting is so over-the-top that you'd think I should be condemning this left and right. However, because everyone performs so over-the-top, the film actually flows relatively well. In a sense, Emmerich went as big as he possibly could, and the final result is something truly entertaining if completely foolish and silly.

I do have to say that one of the film's highlights is its fantastic musical composition, brought to us by David Arnold. Although it's not reaching the levels of John Williams, it definitely fits this movie quite well. The special effects are also rather astonishing. Sure, they're not quite up to snuff with today's standards, but for a film from 1996, I'd have to say the special effects guys did a pretty good job.

Now while I can't quite place this film on a list of guilty pleasures, there's definitely enough ridiculousness to go around. That being said, there's a lot to love about this movie, from the prolonged action sequences to the constant set of twists and turns to the completely over-the-top acting from the entire ensemble cast. When you put it all together, you get a batch of potpourri that's going to keep you coming back for a whiff again and again. Even if you all just watch it to see Bill Pullman's ultra-patriotic speech (embedded below) towards the end of the film, the you're definitely making it worth your while. So with that, I hope you all had a fantastic Fourth of July. I know I did, having celebrated Independence Day with...well, Independence Day.

Previous DVD Challenge: THE DEPARTED (2006)

DVD Challenge #3: THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME

The Hunchback of Notre Dame
1996
G
Run-time: 1 hour, 31 minutes

Directed by: Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise
Starring: (voices of) Tom Hulce, Demi Moore, Tony Jay, Kevin Kline & Jason Alexander



For those of you who either don't know me or have yet to figure it out, I'm a bit of a Disney freak. I've been an annual pass-holder at the Disneyland Resort for the past two years, and I simply can't get enough of it. I tend to enjoy all Disney films - I have yet to find one that I absolutely hate - but The Hunchback of Notre Dame had never been one that had truly stuck strongly with me personally. However, I saw the DVD on sale for five bucks at a store a few months back, so I figured I'd grab it while I could. This was the first time I've watched the movie in its entirety since its original theatrical run, and I must say that I was rather blown away.

The first thing you're going to notice about Hunchback is that it's a little bit darker than your standard Disney fare. Yeah, Disney has delved into the dark and dreary, but there's something about this one that really sticks it home. A friend of mine called it "Phantom of the Opera meets Disney," and I'd have to agree for a couple reasons: first, it takes place in Paris; second, the characters are definitely correlational, to a degree; and third, the over-arching musical composition is entirely operatic.

Speaking of music, I have to say that in the past, none of the songs from Hunchback ever stood out to me, but having watched it again tonight, I'd have to say that some of the music is downright brilliant. While all of the music works well within the film, there are a few songs that stand above the rest: the opener ("The Bells of Notre Dame"), Quasimodo's lament for freedom ("Out There"), and Esmeralda's prayer ("God Help the Outcasts") are all fantastic compositions that should be applauded.

Despite being a little bit on the dark side, The Hunchback of Notre Dame is still a fantastic addition to the Disney franchise and definitely worth a watch. The characters aren't as memorable as other Disney films, but the story and the music are so powerful that this film ultimately succeeds.

Rankings
Best Animated: #38

Previous DVD Challenge: NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION (1983)

Movie Review: THE ROCK

THE ROCK

1996
R

The Rock is a 1996 action film directed by Michael Bay. The film follows the terrorist plot of General Francis Hummel (Ed Harris) who goes to extreme lengths in order to force the government into compensating the families of soldiers killed during secret black ops missions. He and his team of similarly disgruntled Marines take hostages on the island of Alcatraz in San Francisco, setting up base inside the famed prison. They soon inform the government of their demands: a sum of $100 million dollars that will partially serve as reparations for the aforementioned families. If the money is not delivered, the Marines will launch four missiles containing a highly toxic chemical into the heart of the city, an attack that could cost hundreds of thousands, if not millions of lives. In an act of desperation, the government quickly calls leading FBI chemical biologist Dr. Stanley Goodspeed (Nicolas Cage) to help defuse the weapons. However, when issues arise concerning the prison's layout, FBI Director James Womack (John Spencer) reluctantly agrees to call upon a man named John Mason (Sean Connery), the only man ever to escape Alcatraz prison. After crafting a deal that would allow Mason to go free after helping with the operation, both he and Goodspeed head into the prison with a group of Navy SEALS to help stop the Marines' plot.

Although the plot we're given is a little bit on the straightforward and simplistic side, it never fails to turn even the slightest bit boring. Michael Bay has long been considered one of the lesser directors on the Hollywood scene, bringing more style than substance to any of his films. However, The Rock does serve as a bit of an exception, in my opinion. The screenplay is rather well-written, not taking it self too seriously but never really delving into anything too silly and rote. In a way, it lets the action do the talking rather than being mired in strange twists of logic or anything of the like. It's straightforward in that we have a man with a warped sense of justice who is out to kill innocent lives battling against men who will do anything to stop him. It's good versus evil, end of story. Although, you can easily argue that our "bad guy" really isn't all that bad, but you'll have to watch the movie to see exactly what I mean.

I think the casting is also top-notch. We get an all-star cast with the likes of Oscar winners Connery and Cage and Oscar nominee Harris. Those three alone make this movie worth watching. Yes, Nicolas Cage does know how to act, and this film serves as evidence. I know he's been mired in a lot of drivel in the past few years, but once upon a time, he was an Oscar winner, so you better believe he's got some sort of talent. Connery is simply Sean Connery, almost playing off himself and his career bravado (in fact, we even get a quip about how John Mason's training came from British Intelligence - clever clever, Mr. Bond). Harris does well as a conflicted man; we're never truly sure if he's completely prepared to do what he's planned to do. We also get some good performances from the likes of John Spencer, David Morse, William Forsythe, Michael Biehn and John C. McGinley.

To be honest, the only real issue I had with the film was the musical score, which was composed in a collaboration between Hans Zimmer, Nick Glennie-Smith and Harry Gregson-Williams. Now don't get me wrong - the music composed for the film is actually very, very good and it fits the piece well. However, it does steal a little too directly from a previous film's score. That film, 1991's Backdraft, was also composed by Zimmer, so we can see where the parallels may have come from. The only problem was that whenever I heard the bit that sounded like the Backdraft score, I was immediately transported back to that film. That's not good for The Rock. To be fair, most people wouldn't recognize this little hiccup, but considering Backdraft is a personal favorite, there was no way I was going to miss that slip.

Despite that, The Rock is still a great action film that definitely deserves a watch if you haven't already seen it. Dispel any current thoughts you may have about Nicolas Cage and just enjoy the ride. It doesn't require much brain-power, but it'll make up for it with guns and explosions all that other guy stuff that we love to watch.

Movie Review Summary:

Grade: A-
2 Thumbs Up

Movie Review: JACK

JACK

1996
PG-13


(I know this is short, but it's the only trailer I could find.)

Jack is a 1996 dramatic comedy directed by Francis Ford Coppola that centers around a ten-year-old boy named, well, Jack. The problem is that Jack Powell (Robin Williams) has a medical condition that causes him to grow and age at four times the normal rate; therefore, at age ten, he looks like a forty-year-old man. Because of this, his parents - Brian (Brian Kerwin) and Karen (Diane Lane) - have chosen to keep him out of public school, leaving his home-schooling to an outsider named Mr. Woodruff (Bill Cosby). However, Jack desperately wants to go to school in order to have the opportunity to leave his house and make new friends, so his parents reluctantly agree, sending him to the local public school to start in fifth grade with Miss Marquez (Jennifer Lopez). Despite some expected early troubles with fitting in, Jack soon begins to make friends, especially with a boy named Louis (Adam Zolotin).

I just have to say, I probably loved this movie way more than I should have. I watched it on the recommendation of my friend Claire, and although I'd heard little bits and pieces about the film, I'd never actually seen any of it. After doing a little research, I found that the movie wasn't terribly well-received upon its release in 1996, nor has it been well-received by regular audiences over the time since its release. And I can't really understand what those people are thinking because I absolutely loved it.

We've got a very good screenplay working here that's filled with moments of laughter and moments of tears. It's got its finger on the pulse of childhood and adolescence as well as the incredible fits of pain and anxiety that would come with a child having a disease such as Jack's. At times, you'll be laughing so hard that you'll cry, and at other times, you'll be crying so hard that you'll want to laugh to break the moment. Or maybe that was just my reaction to it all. There's a kind of ticking clock associated with the movie, in that you know how it's all going to end - and it's an utterly tragic thought - but you still want to see the most made of the time leading to that point.

Speaking of having a finger on the pulse of childhood... Robin Williams is simply fantastic in the titular role. He's always been able to embody any level of comedy, but taking on the lifestyle and the mannerisms of a child couldn't have been easy. But he knocked it outta the park, so to speak. I completely lost myself in the film, forgetting that he was Robin Williams and simply seeing a boy named Jack afflicted a most terrible "disease." He was that good. We've also got some great supporting performances, especially from Zolotin who is Williams's counter in every way. Whereas Jack is the manic boy trying to figure out the world, Louis is the calm, cool and collected kid who's world-savvy. The two complement each other perfectly. It was also a delight to see Bill Cosby gracing the screen time and again. He has a couple of very good scenes, including one heartfelt moment where he tells Jack just how special he is. Kudos, Mr. Cosby.

Yes, this movie is heartfelt. Yes, this movie is sappy. Yes, this movie is predictable. But I loved it anyways. There's a charm to it all that left me laughing and crying and wanting the best for everyone in the movie. It's rare that I get this hooked into a comedy, but I'm so glad that I did.

Movie Review Summary:

Grade: A-
Current All-Time Rank: Best - #238
2 Thumbs Up

Movie Review: DON'T BE A MENACE TO SOUTH CENTRAL WHILE DRINKING YOU'RE JUICE IN THE HOOD

DON'T BE A MENACE TO SOUTH CENTRAL WHILE DRINKING YOUR JUICE IN THE HOOD

1996
R


You can watch the trailer here

It's really tough to make a spoof that touches on the source material while being hilarious without diving into silliness. Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood, which I will simply call Don't Be a Menace for the rest of this post, is a spoof from the Wayans brothers. They wanted to create a spoof of coming-of-age "hood" films, and they predominantly take situations presented in 1991's Boyz n the Hood and 1993's Menace II Society.

Don't Be a Menace, which was directed by Paris Barclay, follows Ashtray (Shawn Wayans) as he chronicles his life in the hood. He always aspires to leave the hood and finds a potential path when he meets Dashiki (Tracey Charelle Jones) who also wants to leave the hood. However, he has quite a few bases set in the hood, with friends like Loc Dog (Marlon Wayans) and Preach (Chris Spencer) rounding out his gang. The film basically shows a number of situations that one would be familiar with if they have seen the aforementioned films (and I strongly recommend watching those before Don't Be a Menace, if you can; you'll get more out of the spoof experience).

The screenplay does touch on quite a few of the "hood" film conventions, and it crafts a comedic twist to a number of situations that I recognized from the other films. As I said previously, however, it's hard to create a spoof that doesn't delve into silliness, and unfortunately, silliness is a key component of Wayans brothers' films. In the beginning of the movie, I was rolling with laughter, but as it went along, I found those guffaws turning into chuckles and scoffs. It just got to be a little too much ridiculousness for me, but that's not to say that someone else wouldn't absolutely love it.

The acting, on the other hand, stays pretty consistent throughout the movie, and Shawn Wayans is definitely a good lead to follow. He brings a wide range of emotions to such a comedic role. Marlon is typical Marlon, if you've seen any of his other comedic ventures. I think the best parts of the films involve a number of cameos, from Keenen Ivory Wayans to Bernie Mac to Vivica A. Fox.

For me, Don't Be a Menace is a fun little movie that's good for a day of boredom, but it's definitely not making its way up the annals of great comedy for me. It's a solid little piece of entertainment, and that' probably exactly what the Wayans brothers were going for.

Movie Review Summary:
Grade: B-
Thumb... Slightly Up