The Bridges of Madison County (1995)

Genre

Drama | Romance

Director

Clint Eastwood

Country

USA

Cast

Clint Eastwood, Meryl Streep, Annie Corley, Victor Slezak, Jim Haynie, Sarah Kathryn, Christopher Kroon, Phyllis Lyons, Debra Monk, Richard Lage, Michelle Benes

Storyline

Photographer Robert Kincaid (Clint Eastwood) stops in a farm in the middle of nowhere to ask for directions to Roseman Bridge. That's when he meets housewife Francesca Johnson (Meryl Streep). Eventually they fall in love, but she is married with children.

Opinion

"I gave my family my life; I gave Robert Kincaid what was left of me." With these words, Francesca concludes her letter. Closing credits rolling in, I felt like she gave me a part of her life too, so very well done Clint.

Romantic and sensitive, with a devastating and emotional ending, The Bridges of Madison County redeems the clichéd plot with the help of the duo Eastwood-Streep.

Once again without his beloved Magnum .44, and in the role both of actor and director, Clint Eastwood wonderfully directs this love story, based on Robert James Waller's novel of the same name - and according to what I've read around, isn't even that good. What surprised me the most is the sensitivity Eastwood faced the story with: unbelievable.

I am not a fan of romances and the running time - 2 hours and 15 minutes - really worried me. Instead, I've found myself surprised to say that it is one of the strongest part of the film. In fact, the slow pace not only never bores, but it's necessary to make you feel the story, and to allow you to live those special moments with them. 

The cinematography by Jack N. Green is wonderful and the musical score by Lennie Niehaus really helps enhance the romantic atmosphere.

The pair Eastwood-Streep works perfectly. They have such a chemistry, their love seems hundred percent genuine. Beside from that, their performances really deserve to be praised. On the one hand we have a great Clint Eastwood, which greatly divides himself between acting and directing. On the other hand we have Meryl Streep, an astonishing, heartbreaking Meryl Streep, who brings home another Oscar nomination.

If this movie taught me anything is never judge a film by its genre. 

Quotes

Robert Kincaid: Things change. They always do, it's one of the things of nature. Most people are afraid of change, but if you look at it as something you can always count on, then it can be a comfort.

Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995)

Genre

Comedy

Director

Steve Oedekerk

Country

USA

Cast

Jim Carrey, Ian McNeice, Simon Callow, Maynard Eziashi, Bob Gunton, Damon Standifer, Sophie Okonedo, Arsenio 'Sonny' Trinidad, Danny D. Daniels, Andrew Steele, Bruce Spence, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Tommy Davidson, Frank Welker

Storyline

Ace Ventura (Jim Carrey), emerging from self-imposed exile in a remote Himalayan hideaway, travels to Africa with explorer Fulton Greenwall (Ian McNeice) to find a sacred bat which is told will avert a war between with Wachootoo and Wachati tribes.

Opinion

Guess who's back with a brand new case, and I don't mean case as in a new case of murder investigation. Jim's gotta a brand new bag of gags, what else could he possibly do to make laugh? Ok, I'll stop it with music references, and go straight to my thoughts about this film.

Alllllrighty then, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls is an extremely silly comedy, that entertains thank to the brilliant Jim Carrey.

Let's face it, if Ace Ventura: Pet Detective's plot wasn't brilliant, this one's is even worst. However, it is not important at all to enjoy the film, because the comedy does all the work.

The bizarre Ace Ventura will have you laughing out loud the whole way through, from the monopoly guy scenes, to the mother rhino giving birth scene. It's kind of annoying the way he has suddenly turned into a pervert, much more of a pervert than he was before, but the twist at the end is quite good.

The acting also isn't a strong element in the film; however Jim Carrey will make everything and everybody else disappear. This is his show, another chance to be silly and to show off his talent and his unbelievable, and unlimited range of facial expressions - he deserves a standing ovation only for that.

If you love Jim Carrey, this film will fit you "Like a glove!" Take care now, bye bye then.

Apollo 13 (1995)

Genre

Adventure | Drama | History

Director

Ron Howard

Country

USA

Cast

Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris, Kathleen Quinlan, Chris Ellis, Joe Spano, Marc McClure, Clint Howard, Ray McKinnon, Todd Louiso, Loren Dean, Xander Berkeley, David Andrews, Christian Clemenson, Ben Marley, Brett Cullen, Ned Vaughn, Tracy Reiner, Mary Kate Schellhardt, Max Elliott Slade, Emily Ann Lloyd, Miko Hughes, Thom Barry, Rance Howard, Jean Speegle Howard

Storyline

Based on the true story of the 13th Apollo mission, astronaut Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks) leads command module pilot Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) and lunar module driver Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) on what is slated as NASA's third lunar landing mission. All goes smoothly until the craft is halfway through its mission, when an exploding oxygen tank threatens the crew's oxygen and power supplies. 

Opinion

Houston, I have a problem. I did not like this film as much as I would have. I'd like to start by saying that I did not know what happened back in 1970 in the space, and while a part of me was feeling ashamed for being such an ignorant, the other part was happy because in this way the film would have been way more exciting. But I guess there is no worst way to kill tension than opening the film saying, "Based on Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger's book 'Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13'" when it's pretty clear Jim Lovell is going to be the main character - unless he wrote the book while he was exhausted on the Apollo 13, and he somehow managed to send it back to the earth, the result is pretty obvious.

Unfortunately this is not my only complain. Apollo 13 is extremely dull for the first 30 minutes of the film - revolving around Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landing on the moon, and our astronauts preparing for their mission -, and even though it gets back on track after that, and it minimally manages to engage the audience and make them feel some empathy for the astronauts, it is overfilled with sentimentality.

Ron Howard does a pretty good job, and tells the story in a very accurate way, but, as I pointed out before, he linger on emotional scenes with the astronaut's family members and friends, that seems shallow, unnecessary and put there just to fill some time.

However, the editing is brilliant and perfectly manages to show at the same time both the difficulty encountered by the astronauts and their will to survive, and the efforts made by the base of the NASA to bring the guys back home. The musical score by James Horner is spectacular, and so are the visual effects.

The acting is great. Tom Hanks does a job, even though he is not much believable as an astronaut. Ed Harris excels as Gene Kranz. Great performances also come from Gary Sinise, an actor I like, Kevin Bacon, and Bill Paxton respectively as Ken Mattingly, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise. Kathleen Quinlan is also very good as Jim Lovell's wife.

Quotes

Gene Kranz: I don't care about what anything was designed to do, I care about what it can do.

Before Sunrise (1995)

Genre

Drama | Romance

Director

Richard Linklater

Country

Austria | Switzerland | United States

Cast

Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Andrea Eckert, Hanno Pöschl, Karl Bruckschwaiger, Tex Rubinowitz, Erni Mangold, Dominik Castell, Haymon Maria Buttinger, Bilge Jeschim, Adam Goldberg

Plot

American tourist Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and French student Celine (Julie Delpy) meet by chance on the train from Budapest to Vienna.
Sensing that they are developing a connection, Jesse asks Celine to spend the day with him in Vienna, and she agrees. Unfortunately, both know that this will probably be their only night together.

Opinion

Before Sunrise is pure cinematic gold, yet one of the most underrated films ever made. Richard Linklater delights us with an honest look at relationship. The absolute beauty of this film is the dialogues, because, although they are ordinary conversations between two people who just met, they really fascinated me. This film teaches us love is never absurd, and after watching it, you will realize falling in love with someone in just one night doesn't sound that stupid after all.
Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy bring to life two unforgettable characters, and they are the pillars of the film, contributing to making of it one of the best romance films of all the times.

Quotes

Jesse: I always think that I'm still this thirteen-year-old boy, you know, who just doesn't really know how to be an adult, pretending live my life, taking notes for when, you know, I'll really have to do it.

Street Poet: Daydream delusion, limousine eyelash / Oh baby with your pretty face / Drop a tear in my wineglass / Look at those big eyes / See what you mean to me / Sweet-cakes and milkshakes / I'm a delusion angel / I'm a fantasy parade / I want you to know what I think / Don't want you to guess anymore / You have no idea where I came from / We have no idea where we're going / Lodged in life / Like branches in a river/ Flowing downstream / Caught in the current / I carry you / You'll carry me / That's how it could be / Don't you know me? / Don't you know me by now?

Jesse: I kind of see this all love as this, escape for two people who don't know how to be alone. People always talk about how love is this totally unselfish, giving thing, but if you think about it, there's nothing more selfish.

Celine: I used to think that if none of your family or friends knew you were dead, it was like not really being dead. People can invent the best and the worst for you.

Rating

9.0/10

The Usual Suspects (1995)

Genre

Crime | Drama| Thriller

Director

Bryan Singer

Country

United States

Cast

Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Kevin Pollak, Pete Postlethwaite, Stephen Baldwin, Benicio del Toro, Peter Greene, Suzy Amis, Clark Gregg, Dan Hedaya, Giancarlo Esposito, Michelle Clunie, Paul Bartel

Plot

A deadly firefight and a fire aboard a ship docked in the San Pedro Bay leaves two survivors: a Hungarian criminal named Arkos Kovaz (Morgan Hunter) hospitalized from severe burns, and Roger "Verbal" Kint (Kevin Spacey) with cerebral palsy.

Separately, FBI agent Baer (Giancarlo Esposito) and Customs agent Kujan (Chazz Palminteri) arrive in San Pedro, lured by reports that the Turkish criminal Keyser Söze was involved with the incident. As Verbal later explains, Söze has a near mythical and vengeful reputation, having killed his own family when they were held hostage by a Hungarian gang to show his resolve, and then killing off all but one of the gang members before disappearing underground, keeping his true identity secret by insulating himself from his agents that may not even know who they are working for.

Opinion

The Usual Suspects is one of the best thrillers of 90's, along with Seven (David Fincher) and The Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme). The script is excellent, the story does keep the viewer in suspense until the last minute. The final twist is simply unforgettable. The outstanding Kevin Spacey overshadows the other actors. The two Academy Awards won, for Best Supporting Actor (Kevin Spacey) and Best Original Script (Christopher McQuarrie), are totally deserved.

Quotes

Roger "Verbal" Kint: A man can convince anyone he's somebody else, but never himself.

Rating

9.5/10

Seven (1995)

Genre

Neo-noir | Thriller

Director

David Fincher

Country

United States

Cast
Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Kevin Spacey, Gwyneth Paltrow, R. Lee Ermey, John C. McGinley, Richard Roundtree, Richard Schiff, Martin Serene, Michael Massee, Richard Portnow, Leland Orser, Pamala Tyson, Richmond Arquette, Tudor Sherrard

Plot
Soon-to-be-retiring Detective William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) is partnered with short-tempered-but-idealistic Detective David Mills (Brad Pitt), who recently transferred to the department.

They discover an obese man who was forced to feed himself to death, and the next day investigate a fatal bloodletting of a rich attorney. The detectives find clues that lead them to believe they are chasing a serial killer relating to the seven deadly sins. Two day later the fingerprints found on the second crime scene lead them to an apartment where they find an emaciated man strapped to a bed. Using library records, Somerset and Mills track down a man named John Doe (Kevin Spacey), who opens fire on the detectives when he finds them approaching his apartment. On Sunday they investigate the death of a young model whose face had been mutilated. After that, at the police station, John Doe offers himself for arrest, with the blood of the model and of an unidentified victim on his hands. Through his lawyer, Doe claims he will lead the two detectives to the last two bodies and confess to the crimes, or otherwise will plead insanity. Despite Somerset's concern, Mills agrees to the demand. Doe directs the two detectives to a remote desert area and...

Opinion
A masterpiece! The film is poetic and spectacular. The direction of David Fincher is not far behind: it's amazing. Good credits to Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt. Kevin Spacey is brilliant (as usual); his performance is comparable to Anthony Hopkins in The Silent of the Lambs and so the film. I'm surprised that this film did not win any Academy Award.

Quotes
People don't want a hero, they want to eat cheeseburgers, play the lotto and watch television.

Nothing wrong with a man taking pleasure in his work. I won't deny my own personal desire to turn each sin against the sinner.

Wanting people to listen, you can't just tap them on the shoulder anymore. You have to hit them with a sledgehammer, and then you'll notice you've got their strict attention.

Rating
9.5/10