Back to the Future

 

     GREAT SCOTT!!!! Back to the Future is almost 30 years old. This film is a masterpiece of time travel. It stars Michael J. Fox (Spin City & Family Ties) and Christopher Lloyd (Who Framed Roger Rabbit? & Taxi).

     Our story takes place in the town of Hill Valley, California in 1985. Marty McFly's family is a bit unusual. His father, George (Crispin Glover) is kind of a loser and not ambitious and his mother, Lorraine (Lea Thompson) has a bit of a drinking problem. His sister has an endless string of boyfriends and his brother has a dead-end job. To make matters worse, George is bullied by his supervisor Biff Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson).

     The night our story begins (well, technically the next morning), at around 2:00 a.m., Marty gets a call from his friend Doctor Emmett Brown (Lloyd) telling him to meet him at the Twin Pines Mall. When Marty gets there, Doc demonstrates his latest invention, The DeLorean Time Machine!  Doc demonstrates that the time machine jumps to a new time when the Flux Capacitor is engaged and the car hits a speed of 88 MPH. But the joy didn't last long, because a gang of armed Libyans attack Doc. Apparently, Doc got the plutonium he needed for the DeLorean from the Libyans by promising to build them a bomb with it. When they realized Doc had double crossed them, they came to kill him. In desperation, Marty jumps into the DeLorean to escape. When he hits 88 MPH, bam! He suddenly finds himself transported back to November 5th, 1955. The fateful date that Doc Brown first thought of the Flux Capacitor.

     Now Marty is back in Hill Valley, 1955.  He has to convince the 1955 Doc Brown that he is from the future and to help him get back there. Meanwhile, he encounters him mom and dad as teenagers and unintentionally intervenes in the moment when they fell in love, which could cause him and his siblings to have never been born in the future!

     It's a race against the clock - and to the clock! - to get George and Lorraine to fall in love and get Marty back to the future!  It's so much fun to see Marty use his knowledge of the future to work his way through 1955. When he tells Doc that Ronald Regan, the movie star, is President of the United States, Doc asks if Jack Benny is Treasurer! Marty takes a box scooter from a kid in a coon-skin cap and converts it to skateboard.  He uses references to Star Wars and Van Halen music to convince George he's a space man from another planet.

     As Marty, Fox is endearing and funny.  Easy to like and root for.  Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown is a hoot and often steals the show.  Lea Thompson does a great job as Marty's mom, who is not the type of teenager he expected at all! And Crispin Glover is just as odd as you expect - perfect for George McFly.  Wilson is fun as the buffoonish Biff. Always getting common sayings mixed up and being made a fool of by Marty.

     These are characters you enjoy watching and are a little sad to say goodbye to when the movie is over. But not to worry - there are 2 more movies in the series!        

Fun Fact: Michael J. Fox is only ten days younger than Lea Thompson who plays his mother, and is almost three years older than his on-screen dad, Crispin Glover. This is not very surprising, since most of their scenes take place in 1955. They were cast to match their younger self's ages.

This is an unused poster concept made by Drew Struzan

Another unused poster idea.

PARENTS SHOULD KNOW: There is a little bit of mild profanity.  An unarmed character is shot multiple times by terrorists, but no blood is shown. We see his body lying on the ground from some distance afterwards. A man attempts to rape a woman, but the man is stopped by another character who punches him in the face violently. A group of teenagers chase a character through a small town in their car (he's on a skateboard) and end up crashing into a truck loaded with manure that is dumped on them, which I admit is funny. Some characters are seen smoking and drinking. Marty's mother is very attracted to him and always trying to kiss him and eventually does - but say's it's "like kissing her brother".

Happy Birthday, Walt Disney!

                   This month, December 5th, 1901, film cartoonist and innovator, Walt Disney was born. Now, Mister Disney is 113 years old. Even though we already celebrated his 100th birthday in 2001, we still celebrate his forthcoming birthdays. 

                  Walt is most famous for making some of my favorite movies such as "Snow White", "Fantasia", Bambi", and "Melody Time". 

                     The famous story of Walt thinking of the idea of a cartoon mouse on a train has been told for many generations. Legend has it that Walt thought of a mouse when he listen to the train going "A-choo-choo-mouse, A-choo-choo-mouse". His friend, Ubbe Iwerks, drew the first picture of this particular mouse. Walt thought of naming the mouse "Mortimer". His wife, Lillian thought it was too snobby. So, the both of them started brain storming of a perfect name. Finally, Lillian came up with Mickey. Thus, Mickey Mouse, now 86, was born. 

The Breakfast Club

On Saturday, March 24th, 1984, five high school kids went to school for detention. An athlete, a basket case, a criminal, a brain, and a princess. They didn't knew each other, until this day...
This is the story of The Breakfast Club.

As I said, five kids; the athlete, Andrew Clark, the basket case, Allison Reynolds, the criminal, John Bender,  the brain, Brian  Johnson, and the princess, Claire Standish, got in school detention on a Saturday. They look at each other as five strangers which at seems they don't have anything in common. But they are not alone. They actually have lots in common than most people would've thought.

The film also concerns some stereotypes. For example, Brian taking wood shop, because he thinks it's an easy way to  maintain a high grade point average.  People thinking that Claire, the prom queen, might not have problems. We find that even though he acts like he doesn't care, things actually do bother Bender. Allison has problems at home, because she's neglected by her parents. She even makes up stories about her life. The jock, Andrew Clark tries to act like a tough guy.

All the kids feel alone. Nobody, not even their parents nor their teachers understand them.
Everyone has problems such as issues at home, popularity, peer pressure, and even stress. The principal has problems as well. He has problems on authority, thinking that many years from now, all the kids would take care of him and run the country.

When I think of The Breakfast Club, I think of it as a coming of age film for teenagers. Like, if kids in high school have problems at school or at home, they should see this film with their parents. Of course, Mom or Dad would understand.

To my opinion, I give this movie a big thumbs up.

Fun Fact: The scene in which all characters sit in a circle on the floor in the library and tell stories about why they were in detention was not scripted. John Hughes told them all to ad-lib.

PARENTS SHOULD KNOW: There is a lot of profanity used by the teenagers in this film. While two of the characters almost come to blows, there is no physical violence shown in this movie. However, characters do discuss both physical and emotional abuse. One character implies he was considering suicide. There is a great deal of talk about sex, but except for a few kisses, there is no physical interaction. Use of cigarettes, alcohol and pot.  The movie is rated R, but mature teens under 17 would be fine watching this with their parents.


To see my video review click here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nMzWfQXb6M

12 Angry Men (1957)

My favorite movie, well, grown up movie, is 12 Angry Men, starring Henry Fonda. My mom talked me into watching this because, except for a few seconds at the beginning and end, it's all filmed in one room and the cinematography is really excellent.  Also, it's a great story about how people can be blinded by their prejudices and even grown ups can sometimes be bullies.

That's me in my room - what do you think? Do you like it?

This movie is based on the TV play of the same name, which was produced on CBS's Studio One in Hollywood, live on September 20, 1954. Actors Joseph Sweeney and George Voskovec, Jurors # 9 and #11 respectively, reprized their roles for the film version. Also starring in the film adaptation are Jack Warden, Jack Kulgman, Ed Begley (Sr), Martin Balsom, Lee J. Cobb, E. G. Marshall, Edward Binns, Robert Webber and John Fielder, who will forever be the voice of Piglet to me. :)

The characters are all known by their juror numbers. Fonda, juror #8, appropriately dressed in a white suit, is the lone hold out in a murder trial. He insists that they discuss the case rather than turn in a quick guilty verdict. Through a thoughtful and insightful series of "just suppose" and "what if's", Juror #8 gets some of his fellow jurors to question the prosecution's case.

Discussions are often heated and some of the jurors are very hot-headed.  Though the defendant's ethnicity is never identified, references to his "kind" are often made, mostly in disapproving ways.

What I really love about this movie is the way they look at the evidence and turn it over and around and look to see if it holds water. Is it credible? Is the case proven beyond a reasonable doubt?  A person's race does not determine guilt or innocence. But neither is a not guilty verdict equal to innocence. Our judicial system is set up that 'not guilty' means the person may or may not be guilty, but the evidence provided was not conclusive beyond a reasonable doubt, therefore a guilty verdict could not be determined.  I think that is part of what is hard for some of the jurors. It's hard to separate the fact that not guilty does not mean innocent.  And it's hard to accept that even if you feel the person may have committed the crime, if there is room for reasonable doubt you have to vote not guilty, and you may feel the person is getting away with a crime. 

Being a juror is a huge responsibility and Fonda schools his fellow jurors in their duties.  The process is so interesting and the filming is mesmerizing.  You may not even notice it, but as the movie begins, the scenes are shot at long and wide angles. But by the time the movie draws to an end, the shots are close and tight, feeling almost claustrophobic. It's an excellent example of the cinematography itself helping to create the mood.

The AFI rates this as the #2 Courtroom Drama of all time, (#1 is To Kill a Mockingbird) and #87 on its list of Greatest American Films of All Time. (I've seen 25% of that list - so far....)

Absolutely a thumbs up!

Fun Fact: Because the painstaking rehearsals for the film lasted an exhausting two weeks, filming had to be completed in an unprecedented 21 days.

PARENTS SHOULD KNOW:  There is a lot of prejudice and racism, even though the boy's race/ethnicity is never identified. No one ever mentions any particular race or ethnicity. They say "them" or "their kind".  However, the characters who behave this way are shown to be wrong and shunned by the other jurors for their attitudes. This is a great vehicle for discussing such behaviors and how to deal with intolerance and bullies. An excellent family film.

Ghostbusters 1984

For my first review, I've chosen Ghostbusters from 1984.  This year marks the film's 30th anniversary and a restored and remastered version will return to more than 700 movie theaters on Aug. 29. Cool huh? You should see it in your local theater. Just saying, you don't have to.

(See my video review on my YouTube Channel - HERE)

Starring Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray and the late Harold Ramis, as a group of parapsychology professors who get booted from their cushy jobs at a New York university and decide to open a business where they become spirit exterminators. Ernie Hudson and Annie Potts join the team in their refurbished firehouse and the group earn notoriety tearing around Manhattan capturing ghosts, goblins and slimers.

Dana Barret, portrayed by Sigourney Weaver, becomes their biggest client, and Murray's love interest when she starts hearing voices in her refrigerator. Her neighbor, Louis Tully, played by the hysterical Rick Moranis, never captures Weaver's interest - that is until they are both possessed by spirits! It seems their apartment building is some sort of conduit to a supernatural world.

The Ghosbusters race to save Dana and Louis and the battle is a funny spectacle! Great visual effects and funny, quotable lines! I don't want to give anything away. See it yourself and find out what happens. I'll only say this, it's a happy ending.

To sum up, for me, there's a check list for what makes a great movie, and Ghostbusters has all of it. It has the heroes, the villain, friendship, romance, adventure (my favorite), great special effects, and most of all, fun.

RIP Harold Ramis 1944-2014

Thumbs up.

Fun Fact: Almost none of the scenes were filmed as scripted and, in fact, almost all of the scenes had at least one or two ad-libs. Most of Bill Murray's lines are ad-libs.

PARENTS SHOULD KNOW:  This film has some cursing in it. Some 4-letter words are tossed around, but it's not too vulgar. There is a scene where one of the Ghostbusters, ummm... has a night time visit from a ghost, but you don't actually see anything and little kids won't get that it has anything to do with sex.  In one scene, Dana says she wants Peter "inside her" but nothing physical happens. The scene only lasts a few seconds and nothing graphic or lewd happens. There is some cigarette smoking too. Despite all the ghosts and goblins they aren't too scary. Some smaller children might find the two big dog beasts a little scary, but it's pretty obvious they aren't real.

Welcome to my blog!

Glad you found me :)  My name is Aidan. I am a 15 year-old with Asperger's Syndrome.  Since I was little I have been obsessed with movies. My first love, and main interest is Disney, but I also love classic films and the world of movies in general. If you know what I mean.

I decided to start a blog in the hopes of introducing other teens and kids to classic movies. I know a lot of people, even adults, don't always like to watch old movies, especially black and white ones. Can you imagine that? That's insane, wow! But, boy! are they missing out!  Some of our greatest cinematic treasures are found in black and white film and if you just get hung up on whether or not the picture is in color, you are missing out on some great stories. Give them a chance, okay? Please?

I hope to share some great movies with you and hope that you find new stories and stars to entertain you.

Thanks again,
Aidan