The Witches Of Eastwick (1987)

It's Friday and hopefully everyone is ready for the long weekend because it's Memorial Day weekend. So for today, I decided to breakout the VCR (Videocassette Recorder) for old times sake and I decided to check out one of my recent acquisitions in the 1987 film The Witches Of Eastwick which was directed by George Miller (Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior) and based on the novel by John Updike. The film stars Susan Sarandon (Dead Man Walking) as Jane Spofford, Cher (Mask) as Alexandra Medford, and Michelle Pfeiffer (Murder On The Orient Express) as Sukie Ridgemont, three friends who are either widowed or their husbands left them and they are feeling pretty lonely especially with the prospects in the small New England town they live in. One night, they wish for the perfect man (or at least what their version is), but what they get might be more than they bargained for when a mysterious man shows up the next day. The film also stars Jack Nicholson (The Little Shop Of Horrors) as Daryl Van Horn, Richard Jenkins (Fun With Dick and Jane) as Clyde Alden, Veronica Cartwright (Flight Of The Navigator) as Felicia Alden, Carel Struycken (The Addams Family) as Fidel, Helen Lloyd Breed (Mickey Blue Eyes) as Mrs. Biddle, and Keith Jochim (A Pleasure Doing Business) as Walter Neff.

I have a couple of things that I want to say about this film and I am going to start this paragraph with them. The first thing is that before this film, the only other film that I ever found Michelle Pfeiffer attractive in was Batman Returns when she played the Catwoman. I take back all assumptions because she was an absolute fox in this film and one of the best things about the movie besides Cher who was proving once again that she had acting chops. The second thing is that in Jack Nicholson do we trust because if Jack can't do it then no one can! Jack Nicholson once again proved in this film why he is one of the G.O.A.T.'s of Hollywood with his hellraising performance as the devilish Daryl Van Horn. He had some amazing dialogue in the film and he absolutely nailed it with his sinister wit and charm. Seeing Jack Nicholson perform in this film is the reason I never became an actor because I couldn't pull off that performance. The part of the film when he becomes beats like just brought chills to my spine and gave me goosebumps because it reminded me of how great he was in The Shining and it makes me want to see the film Wolf just to see how he does in that film. Some of the stuff in the film was a little zany, but it worked with the subject matter at hand. The cinematography in the film was excellent and not enough credit goes to Richard Jenkins and Veronica Cartwright who put on one hell of a performance as well. This was a very fun film to watch which is why I am giving the movie an A- for a final grade.

A Ghost Story (2017)

There are films that completely fly under the radar that when I read about them I have to check them out. A Ghost Story is one of those films that I once saw in the coming soon section of my Redbox app that just never came to my area which in turn also means I never got to watch the film. Now that has all changed thanks to the fact that Netflix has to step up their game in a big way and I checked it out for today. The film stars Academy Award Winner Casey Affleck (Manchester By The Sea) as C, a musician who has a hard time letting go of things like the house he lives in even though his wife wants to leave. One day C is in a car accident and he dies leaving him a spectre that follows his newly estranged wife back to the house that he will not spend all of eternity in as he learns to let go. The film also stars Rooney Mara (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) as M,  Kenneisha Thompson (The Old Man & The Gun) as Doctor, Liz Cardenas (Never Goin' Back) as Linda, Barlow Jacobs (The Old Man & The Gun) as Gentlemen Caller, Sonia Acevedo (Queen Of The South) as Maria, Will Oldham (This Must Be The Place) as Prognosticator, Ke$ha (Jem And The Holograms) as Spirit Girl, Brea Grant (Halloween 2) as Clara, and the film was directed by David Lowery (Pete's Dragon).

One thing that I found super interesting about the film was the fact that time does not really exist for ghosts as seen in this film. One minute he is looking at a family living in his house in the summer, he turns one cheek, and the next it's Christmas time. I thought that was amazing because here is not willing to let go of the house until he can get that note out of the wall and it's so far into the future and the house is being knocked down. Now what does he do with his time? Does he let go? It's super interesting to see what happens in the film because he is still tied to the land and he has to start all over again. There is an article on IMDB.com that lists the ten films that influenced this one and the director breaks it down for you with each film. If you want to check that out you can do so here. There are times when there is not a lot of dialogue because he's a ghost after all and he has a sheet over him so it wouldn't make much sense, but this was a film that didn't need it. The film conveys it's thoughts through actions and through those actions you can definitely see how he is feeling. If you have a chance and you want to check out some great story telling, then head over to Netflix and watch it. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.

Godsend (2004)

You will notice over time that there are certain actors in the world that I am trying to knock down their filmography because of how legendary they are or I just want to see more from a certain actor. Robert De Niro (The Irishman) is definitely one of those actors whose had a legendary career and I am just trying to watch a lot of his films which is why I chose Godsend for today besides the fact it was showing for free on Youtube. How many of us in the world have lost a loved one whether it be that they left this earth too soon? That is what happened to Paul and Jessica Duncan (Greg Kinnear & Rebecca Romijn) who lost their son Adam (Cameron Bright) who was hit by a car. That is when they are approached by Richard Wells, a famous Doctor who specializes in children approaches them with an idea of bringing back Adam through stem cell research. The only problem is that the procedure is successful, but once the new Adam approaches the death age of his original self he begins to change and have night terrors that worry the Duncans. The film also stars Munro Chambers (Turbo Kid) as Max, Deborah Odell (Horseman) as Tanya, and the film was directed by Nick Hamm (The Hole).

Godsend is one of those films where they tease what kind of an amazing decision it is to basically clone a child then all of a sudden they turn the tables and here are the negatives about cloning. The great thing about this lesson in why you shouldn't is because there is a twist at the end of the film that I definitely didn't see coming. I definitely thought that Greg Kinnear did an excellent job in the film and I would even say he was the MVP of the film. I'm not saying that Rebecca Romijn did bad in the film, but she didn't carry the film like Kinnear did as he commanded the screen. Robert De Niro was kind of a minor character in a way where he was only in certain parts of the film, but when he is there he commands the screen as well. I also have to say that I didn't think Cameron Bright did a bad job, but he just wasn't interesting enough at times when he would change to his evil self. He didn't do a great job of revealing it like Jackson Robert Scott did in The Prodigy. The film is definitely worth checking out for free on Youtube, but would I own it? Probably not if I am being honest, but there are things to like like the overall tones of the film is very gloomy even after Adam's birth. The cinematography for the film is very good as well, but it gets better when they move to the rural town. So, I am going to say at least give it a watch and I am going to give it ab B- for a final grade.