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.

Dead Man Walking (1995)

One of the points of doing a challenge or a blog like this is to watch films that have some critical acclaim to them or made an impact when they came out. I definitely remember the film that I chose for today made an impact when it was nominated for four Oscars and took one home and that film is 1995's Dead Man Walking which was written and directed by Tim Robbins (Mystic River). The film stars Susan Sarandon (Thelma & Louise) as Sister Helen Prejean, a nun who works in the slums section of New Orleans. One day she receives a letter from an inmate named Matthew Poncelet (Sean Penn) who is sitting on Death Row and is hoping that Helen can help him try to get off death row before his number is called. The film also stars Robert Prosky (Mrs. Doubtfire) as Hilton Barber,  Raymond J. Barry (Nothing But Trouble) as Earl Delacroix, R. Lee Ermey (Full Metal Jacket) as Earl Percy, Celia Weston (Observe and Report) as Mary Beth Percy, Lois Smith (The Nice Guys) as Helen's Mother, Scott Wilson (The Walking Dead) as Chaplain Farley, Roberta Maxwell (Brokeback Mountain) as Lucille Poncelet, Jack Black (Jumanji: The Next Level) as Craig Poncelet, Jon Abrahams (Meet The Parents) as Sonny Poncelet. and Peter Sarsgaard (Shattered Glass) as Walter Delacroix.

I know that Sean Penn is a method actor so I would love to know what he did to research the role and I wonder if he stayed in a cell to stay in character. Those are definitely some of the questions that burn through my mind while I spend time in this isolation. One thing is for sure and that is while I did like his performance in the film a lot, I thought the true MVP of the film was definitely the Oscar Winner Susan Sarandon who deservedly won the award for her role as the real life Sister Helen. She conveyed every emotion exactly the way a director would have wanted her to. You could feel that she was scared at first and by the end of the film you knew all she wanted to do was good by everyone including Matthew Poncelet who she grew very close to. The whole film, all she wants to do is get him to take full responsibility for what he had done because it would mean with the little time that he had left, she made an impact on his life. She would have gotten him to admit responsibility and in turn he grew up and finally became a man. FYI, I did not choose this movie because it's Easter weekend, if that was the case I would be watching some Bible film right now. I had always wanted to see this film and never had the chance to, but thanks to Kanopy (all you need is a library card) I took full advantage of them having it. It's beautifully shot and well acted by everyone involved in the film so I definitely suggest getting this. The end is a little hard to watch because it's very emotional and surreal, but I am going to give the film an A for a final grade.

Nothing But Trouble (1991)

There is nothing better than the word free because it means it doesn't literally cost you anything and that is what I love about the VUDU app. They literally offer you a selection of free movies every month and while some may be less desirable than others all you have to do is watch ads. That is literally the reason I chose to watch the 1991 comedy Nothing But Trouble which stars and was written and directed by Dan Aykroyd (Driving Miss Daisy). Chevy Chase (Caddyshack) plays Chris Thorne, a wealthy financial journalist who along with some friends decide that they are going to take a trip to Atlantic City. Unfortunately, the gang takes a detour into a strange town and they run a stop that brings them some backwoods justice. The film also stars Demi Moore (Striptease) as Diane Lightson, John Candy (Uncle Buck) as Dennis/Eldona, Aykroyd as Judge Alvin 'J.P' Valkenheiser / Bobo, Valri Bromfield (Needful Things) as Miss Purdah, Taylor Negron (Angels In The Outfield) as Fausto, Bertila Damas (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) as Renalda, Raymond J. Barry (Sudden Death) as Mark, Brian Doyle-Murray (Wayne's World) as Brian, Daniel Baldwin (Cold Case) as Dealer #1, the late Tupac Shakur (Above The Rim) as a member of Digital Underground, and John Daveikis (Spies Like Us) as Lil' Deebull.

One thing is for certain, I feel like Rob Zombie got his idea for the Firefly Clan house of doom from the set of this film as you can see in the picture to the left of this paragraph. There is a lot more than just that pic, but when you watch the film you'll see exactly what I am talking about. To be perfectly honest, I think that was my favorite thing about the film was the set and the way everything looked in the house as well. Chevy Chase acted like he was phoning it in with his performance in the film. Dan Aykroyd was actually the best part of the film as he obviously didn't phone it in, but he was all in as the Auteur of the film. When you think things get weird with him in the film, wait till you check out the twins outside which is just outrageous, but I loved them. It was great seeing John Candy playing two roles, but he didn't really have a huge role in the film except when he played the mute sister version of himself. Then there was the cool performance by Digital Underground which featured a young Tupac Shakur and that was probably the funnest moment of the film. Other than that, the film was just OK and I was definitely happy that I was able to watch it for free because I would've regretted paying for it. Check it out on VUDU right now, but know that I am giving the film an C+/B- for a final grade.