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In 1983,
the world was different. In Europe, people demonstrated against nuclear
missiles, were afraid of the Red Invasion or the always ‘around the
corner’ threat of a nuclear attack. The movie Wargames
was probably one of the most ‘pertinent’ reminders of this Cold War
period of the Eighties. It’s amazing to find out how the world has
changed since then.

The movie tells the story of a nerd (Matthew Broderick) who
accidently finds a backdoor in a computer program and almost
brings NORAD at the edge of starting a nuclear war. Nowadays the
movie is way out of time, but is still historically interesting.
The story line isn’t really as strong as I originally thought when I
watched it as a kid (too fast), but on the overall, still good to
watch. Mind the ‘old’ computers then.

ABC had the courage to show this movie last night (and cut into it again). Pleasantville
stars Tobey Macquire and Reese Witherspoon as a brother and sister who
end up in a 1950’s black and white sitcom called ‘Pleasantville’. Where
everything is perfect: pleasant parents, pleasant neighbours, pleasant
schools and even pleasant firemen. However, the more they (brother and
sister) try to blend into their pleasant life, the more they add
colours to Pleasantville: something that is not appreciated by the more
‘old-fashioned’ people.

Written and directed by Gary Ross, the movie
develops into a complaint against society, where at the end the ‘black
and white’ people start to attack the ‘coloured people’ and the
‘coloured’ buildings. All instigated by the Chamber of Commerce,
which apparently is also the only official body that awards medals to
students. There are more highlights, resembling attacks on
conservatism: the Code of Conduct, the Trial, the Library and the
Bowling Hall, the Fire, the Apple. There are some flaws in the
storyline (why is sexual active sister suddenly studying or reading?),
but it’s still amazing to see the colours slowly drip into the movie.
Adding colour to a black and white movie has been done before
(Schindler’s List?) but in this movie it is extremely effective: Nothing is as simple as Black and White.

Impressive, but not spectacular (I don’t like Jeff Daniels) but
the message comes out clearly: there is no One American Way. And is
that part  at the end of the movie a tribute to Lynch’s ‘Blue
Velvet’?

Ah yes: The Lost Boys.
I’ve seen this movie so many times that I can sing along that ‘gothic
song’ ‘Cry Little Sister’. You know that song with a couple of choir
boys singing repeatedly ‘Thou shalt not steal’. The
movie, directed by Joel Schumacher, in a way perfectly describes the
‘eighties feeling’. It’s shot like a video clip, with punk, rock, goth,
horror and comedy elements (alas?) overshadowing the storyline.
However, it’s still a fun movie to see, thanks to ‘island in the
stream’ Dianne Wiest. And the music of ‘Cry Little Sister’.

Heard of The Avengers,
the British 60s series? Originally played by Patrick Macnee and Dianne
Ridge, the couple literally ‘cut’ their way to popularity: Macnee with
an umbrella and Ridge with her  tight, tight, tight clothes.

In 1998, Warner released the movie The Avengers, with Mrs. Peel played by Uma Thurman.
Which already tells about the efforts to make something out of this
movie: not impressive. The clothes are tight again, but the head just
doesn’t match, one way or another. Sean Connory, playing the evildoer,
does a nice job, but is uninspiring probably because he dies at the end
anyway. The story goes fast and is almost impossible to follow. Except
for the last 30 minutes.

There are some highlights though: the sets are amazing and so are
several visual effects. But sets and effects don’t really make the
movie. I wished that Dianne Ridge was young again: Mrs. Peel, we really
need you.

I‘ve been hesitant to add this one to the Movies list: The Horse Whisperer
left some mixed feelings. I always liked Redford as an
actor and I actually can appreciate his way of directing. The
Horse Whisperer is a mix of drama, romance, Wild Western traditions and
horses. The screenplay leaves some questions open, particularly the
begin part (What was the sense of going over, or was Redford hinting
at ‘destiny’??). I was actually relieved at the end. Good movie,
but still many open questions.

Don’t play this movie when there’s a dog in the house. Dogs don’t like horses, I noticed.

Two Albert Brooks movies in a week, is that any good? Mother, starring Albert Brooks as a neurotic twice divorced SF writer,
is (again) directed by Albert Brooks himself. The movie tells the story
of the son moving back in with his mother, hoping that this may solve
his problem with women. Instead he finds out that his mom had a talent
too, which she apparantly gave up when she raised her kids.

The movie has funny conversations, silly twists and a memorable
supermarket scene where mom and son argue about organic jam. Good
comedy/drama for a night: be aware that it has been rated for several
sexual references. This mom is most likely a nightmare for conservative
people.

On Canada Day, this movie appeared on Bravo. Written and directed by Albert Brooks, ‘Defending your life’
sports Meryll Streep and Lee Grant. This film is labelled
comedy/tragedy and tells the story of afterlife
and where your next life is going to be and how it’s going to
be: apparantly people who don’t fear or did more for
charities, are offered a better life in ‘Judgement city’ before
continuing their next life. There are some good scenes in the
movie, and Lee Grant does a pretty good job in her role as a prosecutor
(is she taking off on the McCarthy era, when she was blacklisted
because she refused to testify against her husband?).

However, despite the interesting storyline, the movie drowns in the romance and the happy end.
Which is a bit too bad. Don’t see this movie when it’s hot and dampy
out. And make sure you have some gumdrops to distract you. Or a dog.

It must have been Canada day today. Oh wait, it was. Bravo (the channel) pounded with another movie out of its movies bag: Superman.

What else can I say about this movie? It’s not a bird, nor a plane,
but it’s Christopher Reeve in his funny blue pants: Saving the world
from accidents waiting to happen. As a kid I thought this was a hell of
a movie, and nowadays it reasonably stands the time. The effects are
still worth looking at, the music is still great (I mistook the
intro for Star Wars, only to discover that the yellow subtitles
were missing), Marlon Brando looks great in his neon-white suit and
Margot Kidder was really cute those days.

I flipped channels when I heard Superman exclaiming ‘I fight for
truth, justice and the American Way’. That explains why he’s only
sighted in America and UFOs are sighted in Scotland.

At least I understand why the balcony scene is probably the most memorable part of the movie.

Before I left for family obligations I was able to watch 30 minutes of ‘Lady in the Dark’, a film based on the Broadway hit with the same name. Written by Moss Hart on music by Kurt Weill,  I was curious to see which songs made it: apparantly not too many. The producer didn’t like Kurt Weill and the movie itself (despite the appearance of Ginger Rogers) kind of ‘lacks’ the cunning story line. However, fans of Kurt Weill will recognize some tunes (‘My Ship’): which makes it still a good watch for an afternoon. Particularly when you just ran out of tea.

Broadcasted by WTN.

When the intro popped up we expected a horror movie, but it turned out to be a thriller, starring Gene Hackman and Anne Archer (as always pretty, but what a silly haircut has she, she has). Anne witnesses a murder, Gene Hackman has to accompany her (by train) to the courthouse. Sounds like a regular story but is entertaining. Don’t stay up for this one, though.

The interesting part is actually the scenery and the images inside of the train. Yes: it’s VIA Rail’s. People who enjoyed traveling by train will probably get more excited by this movie because of VIA Rail’s contribution.

(sighted at TBS/The Superchannel).