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 24- Death Note (2017)

After today, there are only six days left in the challenge and I am feeling pretty good about myself at this point so we are just cruising right through to the finish line. Netflix built itself to be a global powerhouse when it literally eliminated movie stores across the country as it took over with it's mailing subscription. Netflix literally changed the game again when they started the online streaming and then came the Netflix original films and that changed the game again. So, the task for today was to check out a Netflix original film and I chose 2017's Death Note which was directed by Adam Wingard (V/H/S). The film stars Nat Wolff (Stella's Last Weekend) as Light Turner, you typical everyday teen with teen problems whose problems are about to get a lot worse when he inherits a book that all he has to do is write someone's name down and they die. The film also stars Shea Whigham (Vice) as Officer Turner, Margaret Qualley (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood) as Mia,  LaKeith Stanfield (Uncut Gems) as L, Willem Dafoe (Murder On The Orient Express) as the voice of Ryuk, Jason Liles (Rampage) as Ryuk, Paul Nakauchi (Carmen Sandiego) as Watari, Jack Ettlinger (Good Witch) as Kenny Doyle, Chris Britton (The Romeo Section) as Peltz, and Christian Sloan (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 ) as Agent Franks.

I have seen these kinds of films before where someone is given ultimate power to choose outcomes, but there is always an ugly side to it like the film Wishcraft or even Wishmaster. This one definitely separates itself from the others, but that's because it's based off of a Japanese Manga series I believe. I know there were three films made from Japan that this film is also based off of. It's much of the same idea though, the book happens to land on him and after being tempted by the books keeper Ryuk, he gets a little out of control with it, but when he reaches the moral dilemma it's almost too late for him. Now the film has been accused of whitewashing as they literally removed everything that identified itself with Japanese lore and they set it in Seattle and made every major character lose it's touch with the original source material. I'll have to take the time to watch the original films so I can better educate myself, but one reviewer was right and that Light was kind of a stupid character as he literally set himself up for everything that occurred to him in the film. It does have a very high school feel to it because a lot of us make decisions based on gut and not logic which is probably what I liked about it, but again I need to watch the originals. There's nothing really special about this film as far as effects or kills are concerned and what I mean is that they don't really shock you that much. I would have loved to see Ryuk in action a little more than we got to, but I understand how he makes things happen. So, I am going to go ahead and give the film an B- for a final grade (when I watch the originals, this grade could change).

Murder On The Orient Express (2017)

There are times in life when things happen that prevent us from seeing a brand new film or a concert that you wanted to go to. The film that I chose for today is an example of a film that for some strange reason I haven't seen until now as it was being offered for free on demand. The film is 2017's Murder On The Orient Express which is based off of the novel by Agatha Christie and was directed by  Kenneth Branagh (Mary Shelley's Frankenstein) and he also stars as the films main character Hercule Poirot, the greatest detective in the world. After solving a case in Jerusalem, Det. Poirot is offered a ride to his next destination on the Orient Express. Unfortunately for him, a man is murdered on the train and Poirot is forced to put his detective skills to the test as he tries to figure out who murdered this man, but it may not be as easy as it seems this time. The film also stars Johnny Depp (Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest) as Edward Ratchett, Josh Gad (Frozen) as Hector MacQueen,  Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) as Miss Mary Debenham, Leslie Odom Jr. (Red Tails) as Dr. Arbuthnot, Tom Bateman (Snatched) as Bouc, Penélope Cruz (Blow) as Pilar Estravados,  Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (The Magnificent Seven) as Biniamino Marquez, Sergei Polunin (Red Sparrow) as Count Rudolph Andrenyi, Lucy Boynton (Bohemian Rhapsody) as Countess Elena Andrenyi, Judi Dench (Skyfall) as Princess Dragomiroff, Willem Dafoe (The Lighthouse) as Gerhard Hardman, and  Michelle Pfeiffer (Dangerous Minds) as Caroline Hubbard.

The amount of star power that is in this film is absolutely amazing from Branagh to Johnny Depp to Willem Dafoe, but let's be honest about something. When you have that much star power in your film it can go one of two ways and that is one with it being a huge success and the second being a total failure. The first option in my opinion was definitely the case as every actor seemed to bring their a game no matter how large or small of a role they had in the film. Kenneth was definitely the star of the show as he proved why he is one of the best in the business and he was definitely the better Frenchman than Steve Martin from yesterdays film (but two totally different films). The huge surprise for me from this film has to go to Daisy Ridley who I loved in the Star Wars series, but she held her own with some of the best like Dench, Pfeiffer, etc and she was absolutely fantastic. I have never read the story or seen the original film, but I definitely did not see the ending coming because the whole time I was trying to figure out who it was. I definitely love films that throw the monkey wrench in and they do a terrific job of explaining it. They don't try to throw you in a loop just for the sake of having it, but in this they do it with expertise. I loved the costumes and I loved the cinematography in the film which helped a lot in execution. This was a lot of fun to watch and I am happy I was finally able to see it and I suggest you do the same. I am going to go ahead and give the film an A for a final grade.