60/60 Review #60: One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

Honestly, the worst way to end the 60/60 list would have been to end with a movie I felt 'blah' about. Fortunately, we're ending on a good note. McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) ends up being transferred to a mental institution so they can assess whether or not he's crazy or just dangerous. While there, he plays a psychological battle against Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher), trying to get under her skin. The other inmates are played by people such as Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, Brad Dourif, Will Sampson, Michael Berryman, and more. And my main man Scatman Crothers shows up as an orderly, as well.

I honestly didn't think I was going to enjoy this movie as much as I did. I was hoping to like it, but I came out really loving it. First of all, it has a fantastic pacing. There's never a dull moment, and I found myself wondering what was going to happen next. It kept me on my toes, which I really liked.

The acting was phenomenal, too. Of course Nicholson was excellent--this was his first Oscar win. One scene that particularly showed off his skills was probably one of the quietest scenes in the movie. It's closer to the end, and Nicholson sits down. The camera closes in on his face... and just stays there. Nicholson goes through a range of emotions, never making a noise, and all you can think about is what is going through this guy's head right now. It's a fantastic moment in the movie. And Louise Fletcher as Nurse Ratched is great. I know the comparison I'm about to make came later, but I experienced it first, so it works... but she reminds me a lot of Umbridge from Harry Potter (funnily enough, I re-watched Order of the Phoenix the same night I watched this). She seems nice and like she just wants to do what's right, but there's something not quite right, and you slowly realize that she's actually rather deranged. It really shows in the fact that by the end of the film, Nicholson has done more for the patients than she ever has, but she drags them back down and derails everything.

The best stuff comes from the relationships between the characters. The Chief was my favorite, of course, and the slow friendship McMurphy builds with him is excellent (and inevitably heartbreaking). I really appreciated this film from the character level and how they all worked off of each other and grew. I made a Harry Potter comparison already, but another comparison this made me think of was Chan-wook Park's I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK, where it seems the main guy is doing more for these patients than the staff, and you question who really are the insane ones.

It's a movie that has some good laughs, and it doesn't get too heavy and depressing that it drags you down. Well, it gets a bit serious near the end, but maybe for only about 5 minutes. Then it has a high note ending (sorta). I couldn't say I would watch it all the time, but it's definitely one I would like to revisit every now and then. The characters and their situation was just far too engaging for me to feel otherwise. If you have yet to see it, definitely check it out, especially if you enjoy mental hospital-type movies. It's excellent.


Royale With Cheese

(P.S. That's it, folks! That wraps up the 60/60 Project! As for this particular month, it was interesting. The last couple were the best, which is funny considering it was usually the opposite every other month of the year. But alas. Keep an eye out over the next few days as I post some fun stats, lists, and other information that I've put together for the project! See you then.)

60/60 Review #49: The Shining (1980).

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(Anyway...)

If you've been following along with this project, you know I've had an interesting track record with Stanley Kubrick, who seems to have had more movies on this list than any other director not named Hitchcock. Project-wise, the only one I've really liked is A Clockwork Orange. All the others have been between "eh" to "Oh God, Dear God, Kill Me Now." So which end of the spectrum did this one fall under?

Based on the Stephen King novel, The Shining tells us the story of Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), a writer who takes up the job as caretaker of a hotel during its off season. Along with him is his meek wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and his son, Danny (Danny Lloyd). Danny learns from the cook, Hallorann (Scatman Crothers), that he has what he called the shining, a psychic ability. And this ability gives him deadly visions of both the hotel's past and its future. Meanwhile, Jack starts going crazy, as the evils of the hotel begin taking over his sanity.

Visually, the movie reminded me very much of A Clockwork Orange. There were numerous colors at work, making it a very visually pleasing film. But juxtaposed against that were purposeful uncomfortable camera angles, tight corridors, and long takes. It was such a fascinating camera style that I didn't often want to take my eyes off the screen, just due to the fact I wanted to know what Kubrick was going to do next with the camera and the colors. The soundtrack worked well hand-in-hand with the visuals to add to the creepy and uncomfortable style.

Of the four primary roles, 2 of them were excellent, and 2 were somewhat questionable. Nicholson was having a ball with the role, and this is probably one of my favorite performances of his. My favorite in the movie, though, had to be Scatman Crothers. First of all, that's one of the coolest names ever. Second, his character was fun and interesting to watch, and I loved when he was on screen. Then there's the boy, who I can't make up my mind if he was good or bad. I look at scenes halfway in where he goes back and forth between himself and Tony and see excellence. But then I look at his reactions to freaky stuff and have to try not to laugh. The faces he makes are ridiculous and unintentionally funny. Finally, we have Shelley Duvall, and I'm left wondering about the character and her casting. For the way the character was written in the film, Duvall was a great choice... despite seeming out of place either way. I just had trouble going along with her character and her in the movie in general, but I'm not sure if that was more her fault of the script.

So speaking of writing, let's start with the wife. From what I've read up on with the differences between the novel and the film (as I haven't read the novel, but heard it's much different), all the things I questioned or had issue with in the movie turned out to be some kind of major change from the book version. Wendy, for instance, is a much stronger female character in the book, but her film version is just meek and never really pulls past that. She becomes protective and fighting for survival at the end, but always stays in a scared defensive rather than moving into a tough offensive. I think the fate of Scatman Crothers' (I do love that name) reminded me a bit too much of a similar character in Misery. I honestly had no major problem with all the weirdness and ambiguity, but there was one thing that bugged me--and again, I've heard it's done better in the novel. Jack's transition to crazy just kind of... happens in the movie. It's not gradual. It's just one minute he's sane and the next he's kinda dropped off the deep end. Don't get me wrong... his evolution of insanity is gradual. He moves from a 1 to a 10 on the crazy scale. But if you were to take that same scale and put sane as 1 and minimally insane as 10, he jumps from like a 4 to a 10 with no middle ground.

I didn't pick up on this while watching, but I read something after-the-fact stating something along the lines of how Jack is talking about violence being OK because it was on TV, early on in the movie... but at the end, after he gets hit in the head, he speaks in almost nothing by TV quotes. I thought that was rather clever and made me like it even more.

There's a lot to love in this movie... so I do. Despite all the negative I've stated, none of it really bothered me too much. I greatly enjoyed the film and do feel that, as of right now, it's edged past A Clockwork Orange into my favorite spot from the man. I don't think it's an absolutely perfect movie, but it's an incredibly well made one and a thoroughly entertaining and creepy one. I think the visual style mixed with the soundtrack is what hooked me the most (similar with Orange). So don't worry all of you who worried about what I'd think of this one. I think it's safe to say I quite enjoyed it.


Royale With Cheese

(P.S. I know this is probably damn near blasphemy, but besides Danny's hairstyle being quite similar to Orange's Alex, it also reminded me way too much of freakin' Bucky Larson. Just look it up... I think that connection is almost the scariest thing about this...)

60/60 Review #41: Easy Rider.

For the first time in this project, I've stumbled across a movie... that doesn't really fit in the category in which I put it (which is so not my fault based on the movies it kept being lumped with). There are some crimes in the movie (drug selling and use among other things), but it's not a crime movie. That being said, it's on my list, so I must review it. However, it's not really a film that can be easily reviewed. First off, there's not really a story. Taking place in the 60s, the film begins as Wyatt (Peter Fonda, who also co-wrote) and Billy (Dennis Hopper, who also co-wrote and directed) sell some cocaine and make some cash. They decide to take the money, get on their motorcycles, and travel halfway across the country from L.A. to New Orleans to experience Mardi Gras. Along the way, they meet a bunch of people, including George (Jack Nicholson), and smoke a lot of weed and discuss life, the universe, and everything.

Being born in 1986, I obviously have no personal connection to the 60s. And by and large, this film is a testament to the times and the lifestyles (and/or counter-lifestyles) of people in that day and age. It's a counterculture film that studies and explores the nature of freedom. And while some of these notions still ring true today (Nicholson's speech on fear and individual freedom is fantastic), there were still a handful of things that made me tilt my head. I mean, I grew up in south Texas, so for a bunch of rednecks to get nasty and violent to people because their hair is long and they ride a motorcycle (particularly the lengths it goes to) blows my mind.

The visual style of the film is both a highlight and a downside. The actual visuals were gorgeous, really highlighting some amazing locations in the American countryside. And as the majority of the film is them riding along to classic music with these places in the background, you get to see a lot of it. The part of the visuals that bothered me was more technical. There were some uses of the camera as well as the way the film was edited that bothered me. Throughout the film, there would be these kind of... strobe-light transitions where clips of another scene would flash in and out of the current scene before finally making a transition--I didn't like that at all.

As there's very little story and a minute amount of dialogue (this was apparently only a partial screenplay, and the majority of the film was adlibbed), the bulk of the film's success banked on its actors. Fortunately, everybody is pretty top notch. There are maybe two very brief moments where it's not that great, but for the most part... it's pretty dang good. I don't know if they sucked me in enough for the ending to get the payoff it wanted, but it was somewhat close.

Here's the big "unfortunately," though. On the whole, I recognize it as a well-made film, and I see its importance and status to the overall history of film and culture. It just wasn't my cup of tea, as it were. This is purely a position of preference. There was very little I disliked on the whole, and I wasn't really bored through it. It's just that this is not the type of movie I enjoy on an entertainment level. I respect it, and I "get" it as much as a guy not from that time can "get" it, I just... didn't fall in love with it. Because of that, I'm rating this film more on an entertainment scale than a quality scale--just know that this rating does not encapsulate my feelings on whether it is good or bad, but rather how it worked for me.


I Am McLovin!

60/60 Review #40: Chinatown.

Well... I didn't see that coming. If you've seen this movie, you probably know what I'm talking about. And no, I'm not talking about the reveal of the villain or the reason behind it. Anywho, moving on, Chinatown focuses on private detective J.J. Gittes (Jack Nicholson) who is hired to snoop around on Hollis Mulwray (Darrel Zwerling) and an affair he's having. But, well, one thing leads to another and Gittes not only has a murder investigation that gets him caught up with Mulwray's wife, Evelyn (Faye Dunaway), but a much bigger conspiracy that has something to do with water.

Coincidentally, I just watched Rango the night before this one, giving me two nights in a row with films on water dumping and thievery. Needless to say, the novelty of such a fresh idea didn't grab me as it probably otherwise might have. But then again, it's not that fascinating of a motive. The story was both interesting and... not. The movie wasn't boring, don't get me wrong. I think the way the film played out the story was done quite well and kept you guessing. However, the story itself, when all's said and done (with one major exception), is like... huh, OK. Now, the major exception is the shocker I mentioned in the opening. I totally didn't see it coming, and when you look at it after-the-fact, it's one really effed up movie. The following paragraph is spoilers, so read with caution if you haven't seen the film.

(SPOILERS) What's clear is that Katherine is Evelyn's sister/daughter due to incest... great, thanks a lot Polanski. Bringing me back to rape again, damnit! Anyway, what I gathered from there is that Evelyn's father and husband were business partners when she was a little girl. They had a fight when she "was still in grade school" and separated. Then the partner ends up marrying Evelyn, meaning he has to be at least 20 years older than her. Eventually, the man has an affair with his wife's sister/daughter. Not only is that weird in and of itself, but the girl was probably between 13-16 (OK, pedophilia), then the man himself had to be 30-40 years older than the girl or something. Unless I totally missed something. So the dad ends up seeing his former partner and current son-in-law cheating with his daughter/granddaughter and kills him, which also gets him the water rights he wants. And there's a whole other convoluted mess in there with land buying and whatnot, but I haven't figured that out yet. Anyway, to top it all off, at the end of the movie, the father not only gets away with it, but he takes his incest-daughter/granddaughter with him to do who knows what with. (END SPOILERS)

If I had any other complaints, it would be that this film is tough to follow. I'm still not 100% about everything that was going on or the motives behind things and whatnot. I'm sure that would be an easy fix with another watch, but I strongly doubt that will happen for a while. I didn't dislike the movie, but it's not one I'm gonna pop in when I'm bored. On the positive side, the acting and the writing in general was pretty dang good. Nicholson is great, and John Huston as Noah Cross was pretty fantastic. Of course, the writing won an Oscar for this film.

Sorry to disappoint, but I don't have any major thoughts on this film. It was good. I liked it. I'm not gonna go out of my way to watch it again, but I'm not disappointed I've seen it. I'm glad I have. Perhaps if anyone would like to spark a conversation in the comments, we could go from there. But for now, I'll just leave it at that.


I Am McLovin!

(P.S. Please note, that rating is almost entirely on the film's entertainment value for me, not on its quality.)

(P.P.S. Whoo, review #40! I'm 2/3 of the way through the list!)