Movie Monday: The Truman Show

This week for Movie Monday I’m back with a classic. It’s The Truman Show!

Plot: The plot is pretty deep, which may surprise some people who are expecting a comedy since Jim Carrey is the star of the movie. The basic premise is that a kid named Truman is the star of a TV show, except he doesn’t know that. Everything and everyone in his life is an actor and his entire “world” is a TV set. A very advanced TV set, but still fake. It’s honestly a pretty cool premise, if not a little creepy. The fact that there is a mental disorder named after this movie is highly telling.

Casting: Jim Carrey does an amazing job as Truman, honestly I think this is one of his most serious films in terms of tone and he pulls it off amazingly. The rest of the cast is just as good.

Cinematography: The special effects are amazing, and that’s all that need be said for a non Fantasy/Sci-Fi film.

Music: The music is pretty great as well.

Overall: A very interesting and thought provoking movie, and a must see.

For those who like: Thinking Hard, Drama.

Not for those who don’t like: Either of the above.

Movie Monday: Crocodile Dundee

Hey all I’m back with a true classic film for this week’s Movie Monday. It’s Crocodile Dundee!

Plot: The plot is okay, it’s fairly stereotypical by today’s standards and even back then it was pretty cliched. However the acting and characters make up for that lackluster plot.

Casting: Paul Hogan is the titular character, Michael Dundee, and he does an awesome job at portraying him. That said it’s super stereotypical. The rest of the cast is just as good though with Linda Kozlowski portraying the female lead Sue.

Cinematography: The special effects are pretty well done although they are a bit cheesy to look at by today’s standards.

Music: The musical score is good, but not particularly noteworthy.

Overall: This is a true classic film, if a bit filled with cheesy stereotypes.

For those who like: Comedy, Romance, Action, Australian Accents.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above, or stereotypes played absolutely straight.

Movie Monday: The Hunt for Red October

This week for Movie Monday I’m back with another true classic. It’s The Hunt for Red October!

Plot: This a military thriller in the truest sense of the words, and the plot is pretty amazingly done. It’s got pretty much everything you could want from political intrigue to heart-pounding action sequences. I can’t say much more without spoiling it, but I will say that this has the Jack Ryan character from many of Clancy’s other novels and movies featured prominently in this one as well.

Casting: Sean Connery is cast as the Russian lead, Marko Ramius who pilots the titular Red October and Alec Baldwin who portrays Jack Ryan. The rest of the cast is just as well done, but these two really took the spotlight and they did a great job of it. Ironically Connery was not the first pick for Ramius.

Cinematography: It’s very well done, and considering how impractical filming on a real sub is they did a great job portraying it. The effects weren’t super amazing, but they weren’t terrible either.

Music: The music was pretty great, which is pretty obvious once you consider it won an Academy Award for Sound Editing. While it’s mostly done in English, the switch between Russian and English at the beginning was pretty well done.

Overall: A fun movie that you probably ought to watch if you haven’t seen it before.

For those who like: Military Fiction, Thrillers, Drama, Action, Sean Connery and/or Alec Baldwin.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Movie Monday: School of Rock

This week for Movie Monday I’m back with a movie that was okay, and actually inspired a TV series. It’s School of Rock!

Plot Synopsis: No Vacancy, a rock band, performs at a nightclub three weeks before auditioning for the Battle of the Bands. Guitarist Dewey Finn creates on-stage antics, including a failed stage dive that abruptly ends the performance. The next morning, Dewey wakes in the apartment he lives in with Ned Schneebly and his girlfriend, Patty Di Marco. They inform him he must make up for his share of the rent or move out. When Dewey meets No Vacancy at a rehearsal session, he finds out that he has been replaced by another guitarist named Spider. Later, while attempting to sell some of his equipment for rent money, Dewey answers a phone call from Rosalie Mullins, the principal of the Horace Green prep school, inquiring for Ned about a short-term position as a substitute teacher. Desperate for money, Dewey impersonates Ned and is hired.

Plot: The plot is okay, but not super deep or amazing. It’s fun though and was a good film to watch for those younger.

Casting: The entire is cast is pretty awesome, with Jack Black portraying Dewey Finn. Dewey is the star of the show though and much of the film revolves around him a bit too much.

Cinematography: There is no amazing special effects along the lines of a Fantasy or Sci-Fi movie, but it’s not terribly shot either. Adequate would be the term I’d use to describe it in one word.

Music: Obviously being a major theme of the movie, the Music was pretty awesome. It’s got it’s own goofy spin on it, but it’s pretty good.

Overall: A fun movie, but not a must watch.

For those who like: Comedy, Jack Black, Music, Teaching, Redemption Stories?

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Movie Monday: Zoolander

This week for Movie Monday I’m back with a movie that has a bit of a cult following. It’s Zoolander!

Plot Synopsis: In New York City, the self-absorbed and dim-witted but good-natured Derek Zoolander is ousted as the top male fashion model by the rising star Hansel, and his reputation is further tarnished by a critical article from journalist Matilda Jeffries. After his three roommates and colleagues are killed in a “freak gasoline-fight accident”, Derek announces his retirement from modeling. He goes to his native New Jersey to attempt to reconnect with his working class father Larry and brothers Luke and Scrappy by helping them in the coal mines. Derek’s delicate methods make him an impractical miner, and his family rejects him….

Plot: The plot is terrible, or rather atrocious. But that was intentional in that it’s a satire of the fashion industry in general. The movie isn’t meant to have a good plot.

Casting: The cast is pretty great, with Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson being perfect for Derk and Hansel respectively. The entire cast is pretty great.

Cinematography: The special effects are pretty okay, but some of it is just silly. Particularly the scene at the plot’s climax.

Music: The music is just as silly as the movie.

Overall: Maybe not a must watch, as it’s plot is freaking terrible, but it can still make you laugh like a madman.

For those who like: Comedy, Satire, Drama, Excellent Cast.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.