Born On The Fourth Of July (1989)

Considering that today is the fourth of July, I thought it was appropriate to help celebrate the day by watching a film that has something to do with it. When I first did the 30 Day Challenge, someone on Twitter mentioned the film I chose for today because it had a number in it and it so happens that I had never seen Born On The Fourth Of July which was written and directed by Oliver Stone (Natural Born Killers). The film stars Tom Cruise (The Outsiders) as small town New York kid Ron Kovic who decides that he is going to join the Marines right out of high school and in the process is sent to Vietnam. During battle, Ron manages to accidentally kill a fellow American soldier, but during the battle gets hit by enemy fire that leaves him paralyzed. The rest of the film follows Ron as he struggles to life back home in the states and the road is definitely easy for the Vietnam Vet. The film also stars Raymond J. Barry (Dead Man Walking) as Mr. Kovic, Caroline Kava (Year Of The Dragon) as Mrs. Kovic, William Baldwin (Internal Affairs) as Platoon Member, Bill Allen (Rad) as Platoon Member, Kyra Sedgwick (Villains) as Donna, Frank Whaley (Pulp Fiction) as Timmy, Jerry Levine (Teen Wolf) as Steve, Stephen Baldwin (The Usual Suspects) as Billy, Willem Dafoe (Death Note) as Charlie, Rocky Carroll (NCIS) as Willie, Tom Sizemore (Natural Born Killers) as Vet, and Holly Marie Combs (Charmed) as Jenny.

This is your typical Oliver Stone film where he takes a side and he runs with it, but at the same time this is also the story of a man who has hung onto the American ideals for years. He remembers a speech by Kennedy that had him bought and sold into the American way so he joins the war that he believes that he is doing the right thing. Even after getting shot and paralyzed he comes home to a country he no longer recognizes because he still believes in the ideals of why he went to war in the first place. Then after some struggles in the world, he finally figures out that everything he has been told was a lie by the government and he quickly switches sides and he know sees the errors of the war. Tom Cruise is obviously the star of the show, but he is definitely helped out by all the individual performances in the film and there were just way too many names to list above that definitely played a huge role in the film. The film definitely shows you the ugly side of war which is the aftermath and the struggles these men went through when they got home from Vietnam. They were definitely thrown in poor conditions and the government did nothing about it back then and they still don't. The cinematography of the film is definitely a highlight of the film with all the great shots and you don't get the Stone Natural Born Killers look which was a relief. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.

30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 21- Rad (1986)

There were a few challenges that were put in place when I was coming up with this version of the 30 Day Movie Challenge that catered to my liking. I also want to say that the timing couldn't have been any better thanks to Vinegar Syndrome, a company bringing lost classics from the 80's, 70's, and so much more. Thanks to their half way to black Friday sale, I was able to get my hands on a copy of 1986's Rad which was directed by Hal Needham (Smokey And The Bandit) and is my answer to today's challenge which was to watch an 80's film. The film stars Bill Allen (Born On The Fourth Of July) as Cru Jones, a 17 year old BMX prodigy who just wants to win a BMX race at a local track called Helltrack, but he'll have to beat the odds which are highly stacked against him. The film also stars Lori Loughlin (Full House) as Christian, Talia Shire (The Godfather: Part II) as Mrs. Jones, Ray Walston (Fast Times At Ridgemont High) as Burton Timmer, Jack Weston (Short Circuit 2) as Duke Best, Bart Conner (Stick It) as Bart Taylor, Marta Kober (Friday The 13TH Part 2) as Becky, Jamie Clarke as Luke, H.B. Haggerty (The One And Only) as Sgt. Smith, Chad and Carey W. Hayes (The Conjuring 2) as Rex and Rod Reynolds, Laura Jacoby (The Night They Saved Christmas) as Wesley Jones, and Alfie Wise (Smokey And The Bandit) as Eliot Dole.

I absolutely loved everything about this movie because it had all the fixings of an 80's movie from beginning to end. It has the long opening credits sequence with the catchy 80's song with all the BMX bikers doing tricks to the dance sequence at the high where the main characters take center stage, but instead of dance moves it's moves with the BMX bikes to the music. The film also has an incredible soundtrack that will satisfy any 80's music fan with the surprise to me being Real Life's Send Me An Angel which I didn't expect to hear in the film, but I loved it. It has all the typical 80's subplots where our main character seems to constantly be pushed against the wall as he overcomes every obstacle in front of him. The only thing I could have asked for was a little more of Talia Shire who plays Cru's mom, but she is barely in the film and I was satisfied with her lines. Other than that, the film features some really cool cinematography especially with all the qualifying races and the main race at the end of the film. One of my favorite scenes for the way it was shot was the scene where Cru is being chased by the cop, it just features some stunts that your like how the hell is he doing that. The overall acting was really good as well as everyone did their jobs, but the standouts were obviously Allen, Loughlin, Weston, and Walston who always brings his a-game to every film. I definitely recommend this to anyone who loves the 80's, x-games, and so much more as I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade because it was highly entertaining.