The Rum Diary (2011)

If you have been living under a rock then you obviously wouldn't know that there is some controversy in Hollywood surrounding the lives of Johnny Depp (Mortdecai) and Amber Heard (Pineapple Express) as both are engulfed in a nasty case. So, I have decided that I was going to check out a film that both former lovers starred in together as I watched The Rum Diary which was released in 2011 and was written and directed by Bruce Robinson (How to Get Ahead in Advertising) and is based off of the Hunter S. Thompson novel. Depp stars as freelance writer Kemp who decides to take a job as a writer for a newspaper in Puerto Rico. The only problem is that things are not what they seem as he tries to navigate himself between the culture of the island and certain characters that inhabit the island. The film also stars Aaron Eckhart (Thank You For Smoking) as Sanderson,  Michael Rispoli (While You Were Sleeping) as Sala, Richard Jenkins (The Witches Of Eastwick) as Lotterman, Giovanni Ribisi (Gone In 60 Seconds) as Moberg, Amaury Nolasco (A Good Day To Die Young) as Segurra, Marshall Bell (Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead) as Donovan, Bill Smitrovich (The November Man) as Mr. Zimburger, Julian Holloway (Carry On Up the Khyber) as Wolsley, and Bruno Irizarry (Looking for Maria Sanchez) as Lazar.

One thing is definitely for sure and that this film was not as good as Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas which was a classic Thompson novel turned into a film. Johnny Depp was well Johnny Depp and that is you can definitely enjoy his performance in the film, but Eckhart deserves some of that credit as well. This was definitely not my favorite Amber Heard performance as her sexuality was more of the tool used for this film as they had that forbidden affair in the film and most of the time I was like God do it already and get it over with. One thing that I definitely loved about the film was the cinematography which was excellently shot with beautiful tones and some amazing shots of the island and the beach life which was amazing in this film. I think that honestly the sets, the cinematography, and the editing of the film were probably my favorite parts of the film besides the obvious performances I talked about above. I didn't think the story was as interesting as Fear and Loathing, but it definitely keeps you somewhat near the edge of your seat for most of the film. I was curious and the film has a 51% on Rotten Tomatoes which is just about probably where I am overall with the film which means that it may seem a little harsh, but this is not I have to rush to see this kind of film. Which means that I am going to give the film an C for a final grade.

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.

Fun With Dick and Jane (2005)

It's Monday, it's a new month, and it's a new week of films that are available on every streaming services everywhere and I was in the mood to watch a comedy for today and I looked to someone who I adored as a child. The man I am talking about is none other than Jim Carrey (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective) who I have followed since his days on In Living Colour and for today we are checking out 2005's Fun With Dick and Jane which was directed by Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest). The film stars Carey as recently promoted VP of public relations Dick Harper who works for a major cooperation that threw him out to dry when all of their stocks plummeted. With his back against the wall and everything being taken away from them, Dick and his wife will turn to a life of crime to make ends meet. The film stars Téa Leoni (Jurassic Park III) as Jane, Alec Baldwin (A Star Is Born) as Jack McCallister, Richard Jenkins (Step Brothers) as Frank, Carlos Jacott (Grosse Point Blank) as Oz, John Michael Higgins (Yes Man) as Garth,  Richard Burgi (The Green Inferno) as Joe Cleeman, Aaron Michael Drozin (The Ant Bully) as Billy, Gloria Garayua (Driving While Black) as Blanca, and Angie Harmon (Agent Cody Banks) as Veronica Cleeman.

Originally as I was watching this film, I thought that the plot and the events of the film sort of mirrored the events of Enron so that's what I thought the film was about. I had no idea that the film was actually a remake of a 1977 version that starred Jane Fonda. So upon reading that, it changes my perspective on the film a tiny bit, but I just want to be clear that I really liked the film. I definitely believe that this is not the best Jim Carrey film in the world, but it was a lot better than a lot of the films he was coming out with. While the film wasn't laugh out loud funny all the time, it had a lot of great moments in it and that starts when they turn to their life of crime. That right there was some dynamite stuff that made me laugh and they did something with the story that I loved. We all thought that Dick and Jane were going to screw Baldwin's character at the bank, but when it failed we were all like wow no happy ending? Then they throw you a curveball out of left field that was satisfying because you wished this had happened to the Enron people. Unfortunately real life is a hell of a lot crueler than Hollywood and that happy ending did not happen, but there was a quick reference at the end of the film to Enron. The film is available right now on Netflix and I definitely think it's a film worth checking out especially if you want to hear Baldwin's ridiculous southern accent. I am going to give the film an B for a final grade.