In the Heat of the Night

"Just once in my life, I'm gonna own my temper. I'm telling you that you're gonna stay here. You're gonna stay here if I have to go inside and call your chief of police and have him remind you of what he told you to do. But I don't think I have to do that, you see? No, because you're so damn smart. You're smarter than any white man. You're just gonna stay here and show us all. You've got such a big head that you could never live with yourself unless you could put us all to shame. You wanna know something, Virgil? I don't think that you could let an opportunity like that pass by."

Released: August 2, 1967

Directed by: Norman Jewison

Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Description: A black Philadelphia police detective is mistakenly suspected of a local murder while passing through a racially hostile Mississippi town, and after being cleared is reluctantly asked by the police chief to investigate the case. 

Review: My next Best Picture winner movie was In the Heat of the Night, starring Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger.  I wanted to see this as a tribute to Sidney Poitier and because of Black History Month. So much of this movie is still relevant today and seeing how Virgil (Sidney Poitier) was treated in this movie really shows that not a whole lot has changed in terms of the mentality of southerners and how black people are treated. Virgil not only has to deal with these southerners trying to attack him, but also Rod Steiger's character not believing him about he investigation at the beginning. 

I love the moment when they go and talk to this man who may be connected to the murder investigation and Virgil questions him and the man slaps him and Virgil, without missing a beat, slaps him back. We don't see that done often. The black character usually stands there and takes it, but not Virgil. He isn't having it. And that's why Sidney Poitier was so influential to the black community. He was the only man at the time who portrayed these characters in a way that was fighting back against the oppression that they endured. As smart, strong people who bring joy can make a difference. He was the man during a time when there were hardly any black actors in lead roles. And he took roles that weren't typical for black actors. Lead roles in general weren't. Roles in westerns or police officers and romantic leads. He made that all possible for every black actor who came after him. 

I understand why this movie won Best Picture. Because it addressed what was happening during that time and still, unfortunately is happening today. It challenged the norms. He challenged the norms. And of course we can't forget his famous line, when he is being called "boy" and he says, "They call me Mr. Tibbs!" He is a police detective and they need him for this investigation because he has expertise in murders and indentifying how a person died and figuring it out through that. And he doesn't waver, no matter how badly he's treated, but he also doesn't take any crap. Those white guys are trying to attack him and he has a weapon too, he's not going to just let them beat him up and I love that about him. It's part of what makes the movie so memorable all these years later. 

Rod Steiger gave a great performance also as Chief Gillespe who Virgil worked with on the investigation. He was prejudiced too, but he learned to respect Virgil and even have a bit of a friendship with him. More of a mutual respect, than a friendship, but his journey in changing is a great part of the film too. 

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

"It's important to me! Alright? Maybe not to you, or your cynical friends who's only ambition is to go viral, but to me...to me...this is - God. This is my career, this is my chance to do some work that actually means something." 

Released: November 14, 2014

Directed by: Alejandro G. Inarritu

Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Description: A former superhero actor tries to revive his career by writing, directing and starring in a Broadway play. In the process he hears voices from his Birdman character which highlights his own insecurities about himself, love and life. 

Review: I'm back with my next Best Picture movie review. This time for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) Well, I don't really know what I was expecting going into this movie, but it was...interesting to say the least. I've noticed that Best Picture winners, particularly the modern ones have a certain formula about them that represent that category. Weirdness. Uniqueness. Thought Provoking. Downright blunt and philosophical. Controversial. It's usually one of those things or more that make are nominated. I think if I had seen this when it first came out, I wouldn't have understood it as well. I think I saw it at the right time. 

Michael Keaton was completely insane in the best way as Riggan Tomson. He was hallucinating and hearing the voice of Birdman (the character he played 20 years ago) in his head telling him what he believed to be the truth. He wrote, starred in and directed the play What We Talk About When We Talk About Love as a way for him to be relevant again. For him to be important. Loved. And throughout struggles with those insecurities. I really felt like the theme of the movie was insecurities. Wanting to be loved and feel important. To matter. It was also a satire on himself in a way. Same with Ed Norton's character. Michael Keaton had played Batman and probably felt like after that struggled for relevance in roles and is essentially making fun of himself telling an autbiographical story at the same time. With Ed Norton it has him being difficult to work with, which is true of the actor in real life. 

Then we have Emma Stone as Sam who is Riggan's daughter and just came out of rehab. So she's assisting her dad, and also trying to find her identity again. Feel loved by her father since he wasn't really part of her life that much being so focused on his career and ego. 

Naomi Watts and Andrea Riseborough also gave great performances as Lesley and Laura and I was NOT expecting that kiss between them. In that moment I understand why it happened though. They both wanted to feel special and Riggan told Leslely she was beautiful and talented and he was lucky to have her, but Laura, who had been with Riggan said he never said anything like that to her. Lesley repeated what he said and then they shared a kiss. That's why I keep going back to love. Because at the core, this movie is about being relevant. Being loved. Having a purpose. And it's about our insecurities. It was a very different way to go about it, but it worked. I think this movie deserved to win Best Picture. And Michael Keaton should have won Best Actor, but usually the best performances don't always win the awards. They do live on and spark all kinds of discussion and most of all, they make you think and that's why we love movies. 

Legally Blonde

"No more boring suits or pantyhose, I'm trying to be somebody I'm not."

We all love a good chick-flick right? Well, Legally Blonde is definitely that type of movie and I'm not ashamed to say that I enjoyed it. Yes, it had all of the classic, cheesy cliches and tropes, but it still made me happy and even brought a sense of nostalgia too. The movie came out when I was 10 years old and through the years I had seen bits and pieces and knew about it and even saw Legally Blonde: The Musical in 2010 (the whole thing is on youtube by the way) and I loved the way they turned into a musical. I actually enjoyed it more than I did the film, or at least what I had seen of it. And so, in a recent watch, or rewatch, I found that I really enjoyed it, and I made the connections with certain things in the movie to the musical, so that was fun because now I have them in a different context. 

I love how it starts out with Elle initially going to Harvard to win Warner back, but she ends up taking it seriously and she proves that she is good enough to be a lawyer, regardless of what Warner said. Everyone said it was too serious, but her knowledge of fashion, actually helped them in the case they worked on, so that just shows that it's good to have other talents/skills that can be used when others wouldn't even think about that particular thing.  

Warner was a first rate jackass and I enjoyed all the times when Elle told him off and proved him wrong when he said she wasn't good enough. She proved him and everyone wrong and it was so inspiring to me and gave me so much confidence because while it is a chick-flick, it made me feel like there wasn't anything I couldn't achieve. Reese Witherspoon did a wonderful job playing Elle and rewatching it as an adult, gave me a new perspective and it was there when I needed it. 

The Cider House Rules

"Goodnight, you princes of Maine, you kings of New England."

Released: December 10, 1999

Directed by: Lasse Hallström

Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Description: A boy named Homer that is raised in an orphanage in Maine, leaves to see the world and becomes an apple picker on a family's apple farm. He learns about life and love and what it means to belong in the process. It's a coming-of-age story that is based off a book by John Irving of the same name. 

Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and felt that I related to Homer in some ways. Here's a man who's never left the orphanage and was taken in by Dr. Wilbur Larch (Michael Caine) and he taught him all the things he knew about being a doctor, even though Homer wasn't actually certified. He appreciated what he learned and Dr. Larch thought of him as a son, but he didn't think that he would amount to anything else if he left, so he didn't really approve, but Homer did anyway. He wanted to find out where he belonged. He wanted to help others, but he didn't feel like he had to be a doctor to do that. In the end though, he ended up going back to help at the orphanage he had left. I think he came back because he felt like that was the right thing to do, but he had learned some lessons while he was gone that he could bring back with him to the orphanage. He never knew his real family, but he had found a family within the orphanage with Dr. Larch, the nurses and the kids who looked up to him. 

Charlize Theron gave a great performance as Candy Kendall and her in a way finding herself also. Being there for Homer, not wanting to be alone while her boyfriend was off at war and the experience she and Homer had together. I loved that it was set in the 1940s since historical, period films are some of my favorites. The scenery was so gorgeous. It was so beautifully shot and it made me want to visit the New England states that much more. They are the most beautiful during Autumn. I loved what he learned and the experiences he was able to have by leaving, but then after he had them, he came back and stayed there. It was like he just needed that time to find out who he was and where he belonged and ultimately he belonged back at the orphanage. It came full circle and it shows that even though we leave and need to find our place, in the end we always come back to where we came from. I also undeerstand where the title for the movie came from because the were rules in the Cider house that no one could read and Homer reads them. The symbolism of it all is that the rules were pretty much never followed to begin with and that life isn't necessarily all about rules. They made mistakes, they learned. Homer got to make those mistakes. Same with Candy and all the others that worked there. It was a place where mistakes and experiences happened. That's what makes life so interesting and fun and I think Homer had his "fun" so we he went back to what he knew and mayeb he will go outside of that orphanage again and help others or maybe he will just stay there with those kids. That's what is left for us to think about. 

Best Picture Winners: Midnight Cowboy

"The two basic items necessary to sustain life, are sunshine and coconut milk... didya know that?"

Well, here it is. Another movie checked off the Best Picture Winner list. Going into this, I wasn't sure how much I would actually like this movie because it is very mature as many of the movies of the late 1960s and 1970s are. People told me I may not like or it might not be for me and stuff like that, but I decided to give it a shot. While it isn't the type of movie I would watch often, it still has some important messages about how low people will go on the streets and about friendship. Joe and Ratso's friendship was a big part of the film because Ratso knew what it was like on the streets and Joe was coming from Texas trying to make it in New York. He was naive and vunerable about the way of life in New York compared to what he came from. The performances by Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight were amazing and this movie is what established Dustin Hoffman as the character actor that he is.

The lengths they would go were hard to watch at times and a little bizarre, but what I like about these movies is that it captured the realism of the time. The way the films were shot, the coloring, the grittiness, it all just fit with how it felt. It was almost done like a documentary instead of a movie and I think that is why it won Best Picture. It was unique. Real. Vunerable. Yeah there were things that were difficult to watch, but overall it was an important movie and I am glad that I watched it. It gets 3 and a half stars from me. 

The Zookeeper's Wife

"You can never tell who your enemies are, or who to trust. Maybe that's why I love animals so much. You look in their eyes, and you know exactly what's in their hearts. They're not like people."

Ever since I found out about this movie, I have wanted to see it and now I can finally saw that I have. I mean it's not all that old, it came out last year, but still. I love movies that are based on true stories and this was one of those. The story of Antonina and Jan Zabinski who ran a zoo in Warsaw, Poland and used the basement and areas of their zoo to hide Jews during the war. It was so inspiring, but also sad because of the content.

Jessica Chastain gave an amazing performance and she even got the Polish accent down, which I imagine was difficult. One of the things I really loved about her character was how she didn't want to leave. She didn't want her son to be moved around anytime things got dangerous. Yes they were taking a risk by staying, but they were able to help all these people because of it and I loved her determination in staying and keep people save despite the circumstances.

The Holocaust wiped about most of the population of Warsaw, Poland. Only 6 percent remained, but the Zabinski's rebuilt their zoo. All the people they saved survived. I love that there were people during the war who did what they could to save the Jews. The story of determination and heroism in a time in history that was anything but beautiful, they demonstrated beauty through their passion for animals and people and using their resources to help the ones who were suffering. It was as good as I expected it to be, if not better. It gets a 5 star rating from me. Now, I just need to read the book...

Grease 40th Anniversary

"Danny, is this end?" "Of course not, it's only the beginning." 

And what a beginning it was. Since it is the 40th anniversary of Grease this year, I thought it would be appropriate to write a post about why I love this movie and why it's still so popular 40 years later...

I can't tell you the age I was when I was first introduced, I think I was 7 or 8 and so most of the innuendos went over my head, but I loved it for the music. I have loved musicals since I was a child and ever since I first saw it, I liked it and it becomes even more awesome every time I see it.

Now, I know many people have opinions about this movie (especially the ending) and while I see where they are coming from, I have my own opinion of how I interpret it. Here we have this girl who thought she was going to move to another country after having the best summer of her life and then plans change and she goes to the same high school as Danny. He acts differently around his friends when they do reunite causing Sandy to respond with: "You're a fake and a phony and I wish I never laid eyes on you." Which of course is completely understandable and I would probably react the same way, but then Danny wants to get her back and she wants him back, so the majority of the film is spent on just that. Changing for each other. Not in the sense that I have to change so the other person likes you better because Danny already liked Sandy the way she is. I mean they wouldn't have been together all summer if he hadn't. He is trying to show that he can be the kind of guy she met during the summer and she wants to shed her wholesome image and be more confident and bold. I don't see it as, 'I have to change my appearance for the guy and then we live happily ever after.' No, they did those things for each other. Not one person having to conform to what the other wanted and I think that's actually really sweet because like Danny told the guys, "I'm gonna whatever I can to get her." and he did. So did she. That's why I think it's so iconic. I mean, everyone is going to take it however they want to, but ulitmately it's a story about finding yourself. All of these characters were trying to figure out what was going to happen after graduation and were just trying to make the most of their senior year.

Now, I know people have issues with certain things in the movie and I understand that. Everyone has their own perspective, but it's really not supposed to be taken that seriously. Yes, we can learn from situations in the movie, but mainly it's supposed to be fun and silly and predictable. Most musicals are, and there is nothing wrong with that. For everyone that enjoys musicals, whether they are theatre musicals or movie musicals, let's all unite and keep Grease alive for another 40 years. GREASE IS THE WORD!