40/50x2: Platoon

This film has one of the most robust casts I have seen in a long time.

Platoon follows Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) as he drops out of college and volunteers to fight in Vietnam. He is dropped near the Cambodian border and immediately is thrust into combat.

Exhaustion overcomes him one night while he is supposed to standing watch. He asks another soldier to take over for him and he falls asleep - but so does the soldier who has taken over for him. And, the enemy is able to sneak up on them and ambushes them.

Taylor is yelled at by Sgt. Barnes (Tom Berenger), but he is taken under the wing of Sgt. Elias (Willem Dafoe), who doesn't get along with the more crazed Barnes.

The film follows Taylor through his experiences and also shows the other troops and how they are dealing with the war. Some are able to handle it, while others show the effects of war and each one deals with it in a different way.

The movie itself was decent, but not the greatest of war movies I have seen. Still, it was pretty much non-stop action, and the characters were very interesting.

It was also cool to see some of the bigger stars of the day like Johnny Depp, Forest Whitaker, John C. McGinley, Kevin Dillon and Keith David - some of which were very young and had very small roles.

Overall, enjoyable. And with most war films coming in rather long, here it is just two hours, which was nice. The ending of the film was also pretty powerful - something I was not expecting, but also understood.

Grade:

TV Meme: Day 7 - Least Favorite Episode of My Favorite Show

Wow. This took me a long time as I read through each episode of Scrubs to figure out which one I just didn't feel was up to par. Sure, I could have wussed out and went the easy route by selecting an episode from Scrubs: Med School but technically that is not the same show - so I researched and I think found the show that is my least favorite.

I say I think because I am still not sure. I can watch any episode of Scrubs nonstop and always come away happy. But, in order to stick to the guidelines of this meme my least favorite episode of Scrubs is My Quarantine.

Anyway, this episode is mainly about J.D. (Zach Braff) trying to impress his new girlfriend, Kylie (Chrystee Pharris). He shows off his outfit to Carla (Judy Reyes) and Eliott (Sarah Chalke), who soon realize just how horrible the outfit is once he starts stripping it off. The outfit as a whole works, so J.D. announces he will not take anything off and that way it will work.

Well, right away his plans are shot out the door as he runs over an opossum and uses his jacket to take it to the vet. He then hits a box as he leaves the vet's office, that turns out to be a home for a homeless man - he then has to use his shirt to wrap the man's hand - and he looks like the fool he didn't want to in front of Kylie.

They take the man to the hospital and J.D. continues to try to impress Kylie, but accidentally says the word 'SARS' which is an automatic quarantine. And as things continue to be dull, he feels he is losing her and pays the homeless man to fake a heart attack to make himself look like a hero.

I guess the main reason I was not a fan of this episode is I just wasn't a fan of the character Kylie and the apparent relationship between her and J.D. There also just wasn't too much going on during this episode - which is strange because of the great characters in such a close space usually produces great comedy. But, in this episode I just felt the characters were all in the wrong place to make the comedy great.

There were two great parts of this episode, however, but they weren't enough to make this episode better. There is a moment when the characters are explaining their worst dates and Turk (Donald Faison) overhears Carla telling hers and Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) telling his - and they happen to be the same date. I thought that was a pretty cool way to let Turk (and the audience) know that Cox and Carla once dated.

Finally, the Janitor (Neil Flynn) bets Dr. Kelso (Ken Jenkins) in a game of flicking a cotton ball into a jar using a tongue depressor. Janitor ends up about $700 in the hole and at the end says 'double or nothing' on one final shot - and nails it. I thought it was a pretty good background story.

Well, that is my least favorite Scrubs episode - which I would actually watch right now if it were on. That is how difficult this was for me, because I love each episode of this show - despite this being my least favorite, I still like it.

TV Meme: Day 6 - Favorite Episode of My Favorite Show

Well, this was actually pretty easy (and will be a little shorter than my other posts) because I did a post about this a little while ago right here.

But, just to recap: my favorite episode of my favorite show (Scrubs) is My Screw Up.

Scrubs to me has always had that rare talent in mixing both drama and comedy in such a way that it doesn't take away from the show - it only enhances it.

In this episode, Dr. Cox's (John C. McGinley) best friend and brother-in-law Ben (Brendan Fraser) returns to Sacred Heart after touring the world. In the only two previous episodes that Ben was in he was diagnosed with leukemia.

At the beginning of this episode we are now aware that Ben has been in remission since we last saw him, but he has not seen a doctor since his world tour had begun. Ben's visit also coincides with Dr. Cox's son's birthday, and Dr. Cox spends a good amount of time in this episode trying to get everything ready for the party so it is perfect.

It just so happens that the birthday clown lands himself in jail and it is up to Dr. Cox to bail him out - in doing so he leaves Ben and his other patients in the hands of J.D. (Zach Braff). J.D. tells Dr. Cox that he is swamped with patients, including one particular patient whose heart J.D. is worried about. Nevertheless, he takes on Ben as a patient.

As Dr. Cox returns we learn that one of J.D.'s patients has died - and this is where the episode gets wicked good - we aren't truly told which patient died. We are led to believe that it was J.D.'s heart patients and throughout the rest of the episode it sure does appear that way.

See, Scrubs pulled the old Sixth Sense on its audience. Throughout the rest of the episode Ben is still around, however, he only interacts with Dr. Cox. We don't find out it was Ben who passed away until the final season as Dr. Cox is walking with J.D. (and Ben) in a suit - Dr. Cox believes he is heading to his son's party, until J.D. asks him where he thinks he is and we pull back to a graveyard and Ben's funeral.

Like I said in my previous post about this episode - it is truly amazing how the audience has so much of an attachment to a character we have only seen twice before. It is a great pat on the back to the writing, the acting of Fraser and also that of McGinley.

Just an outstanding episode.

(They definitely pulled a fast one over on me - I had no clue until the end.)

TV Meme: Day 4 - Favorite Show of All Time

This, so far, was the easiest day for me. Ever since I started getting into this show it has been considered my favorite.

I speak about it almost non-stop and refer to it often in these blogs, so I am sure most of you know what show it is before I even mention it.

That being said, my favorite show of all time is Scrubs.

I am not really sure when or how I got into the show because I didn't watch it during its first and probably even its second season. I do know that once I did start watching it I could not stop.

I own each and every season on DVD and watch it whenever possible on Comedy Central when the repeats are getting shown. I have seen each episode probably a dozen times, but that does not stop me from watching it again - nor does the fact that I can probably recite each episode. I still laugh.

This show has probably been the underdog of television comedies ever since it started. It was sort of a running joke between everyone on the show if they would make it to the next season. The show began on NBC and was moved around so much over seven seasons and was never given too much promotion - but it still lasted seven seasons despite that.

Eventually after NBC pulled the plug - ABC picked up the show and had the eighth and practically final season (the show continued as more of a spinoff: Scrubs: Med School for one season).

The premise of the show was following John "J.D." Dorian (Zach Braff) as he enters Sacred Heart Hospital on the first day as a doctor. He is joined by his best friend, Chris Turk (Donald Faison), who is a surgeon. On his first day he stumbles upon Dr. Perry Cox (John C. McGinley), who over the course of eight seasons would become a mentor/father figure to J.D.

J.D.'s first (and eventual last) love interest and fellow doctor was Elliot Reid (Sarah Chalke) and the mother figure of the group and eventual wife of Turk, Carla Espinoza (Judy Reyes) was one of the head nurses.

The Janitor (Neil Flynn) as he was affectionately known was probably my favorite character on the show. He was best known for lurking around, trying not to work and busting everyone's chops throughout the episodes - but most especially making J.D.'s life as miserable as possible.


That is one thing I really enjoyed about Scrubs was despite having the five main characters, the secondary characters all had a huge role in the success of the show. Whether it was The Janitor (who originally was only supposed to be a figment of J.D.'s imagination), Ted the lawyer (Sam Lloyd) or The Todd (Robert Maschio).

If you have a great sense of humor and you haven't checked Scrubs out yet I highly recommend that you do. I have hooked a handful of my friends on the show already who thought they wouldn't be interested. It is downright hilarious, but it also has a lot of heart - the characters truly feel for one another.

Just great casting and amazing writing. I am sad to see it end, but it will live on in reruns for a good, long time.

"My Finale" (?)

The eighth season of my absolute favorite comedy, Scrubs, came to an end on Wednesday with an amazing one hour special. Possible Spoilers below.

In true Scrubs fashion it went out without a lot of fanfare - a lot like ER - as there was no huge wedding or death, but just a doctor, who's life we have all grown to know and care about, was moving on to another hospital.


J.D. (Zach Braff) began his final day at Sacred Heart with some "morning' sex from his girlfriend Eliott (Sarah Chalke) and as he arrived at Sacred Heart received one final mega "EAGLE" spin from his best friend, Turk (Donald Faison).

As the hour progressed, Turk was upset that he might have done his huge goodbye too early, as they were still going to see each other for the remainder of the day. Eliott, however, was mad at herself for not being as sad that J.D. was leaving, because she was still going to see him every day.

J.D. kept going through the day expecting some dramatic exit, but kept noticing that no one was really making a big deal about it. Carla (Judy Reyes) gave him a heartfelt "I'm going to miss you", as her and J.D. had truly grown into a brother-sister relationship over the years. Jordan (Christa Miller) pulled out some emotion, and said her goodbyes as well. Even the Janitor (Neil Flynn) gave him a goodbye, and forgave him for a long running gag 'the penny in the door' after J.D. confessed.

We also learn the Janitor's real name. Or did we? In another great gag, the Janitor has become known as a pathological liar and story teller - so even after he told J.D. his real name, we are again left wondering if it was true.

The one person J.D. was obviously looking for some sort of response from was Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley), but of course Dr. Cox would never give him the satisfaction - knowingly. J.D. ended up tricking him at the end by having Sunny (Sonal Shah) say something to him that triggered a response.

The ending was pretty magical - J.D. (in his head as always) voiced over how in the end your future is what you make of it - and he walked through an entire hallway of people from his past, including the dead, that have been apart of his life for the past 8 years. It was nice to see some of the people from the older episodes.

Finally, the show ended with a montage of things that could happen if the series were to have progressed along with the current cast. J.D. and Eliott get married; they have a baby; they hang out with Turk, Carla, Dr. Cox, Jordan and their families for Christmas; even their children (I want to say Sam and Izzie) get engaged in the future. It was very fitting, and touching.

And in the final moments before J.D. jumped in his car to leave Sacred Heart one last time, he says goodbye to a new janitor cleaning up some garbage - the creator Bill Lawrence.

It was an amazing finale, and an amazing run for this comic gem. One that I don't think every truly got the praise it deserved. But, like Lawrence said, once they realized they weren't drawing in the tons of people - they decided to write the show for their followers - so this finale was for us.

The question mark in the title above is due to the fact that despite the episode title, "My Finale", the final decision has still not been made as to whether or not Scrubs will return for another season. There has been discussion to bring the show back as ABC is liking the pairing of it and Better Off Ted on Wednesday nights.

Whatever happens, though, this was the finale for the main cast because almost all of the entire cast has decided to leave after this season - but they did say they would return in recurring guest spots in the future. Braff has left to focus on movies and directing while McGinley, Flynn and Faison have all signed on for new pilots that if picked up wouldn't allow them to return, except in guest starring roles.

So, in essence, this was the true finale of the show we have come to love over eight seasons., because even if it returns it will never truly be the same.

Thanks for a great eight seasons. I love you Glenn Matthews!!!!!

Scrubs: My Screw Up

As I have mentioned numerous times on this blog, Scrubs is probably one of my favorite television shows of all-time and is definitely my favorite comedic television show.

I recently got season seven on DVD and finished it in two days.

Anyway, this blog is about a an episode that occurred way back in season three entitled 'My Screw Up'.

I have a lot of favorite episodes on Scrubs, in fact it is pretty hard to narrow down my favorites. But, I think this one just may be my favorite.

Scrubs has that quality that can both have you on the floor laughing, and also tug at your heart strings - and that is not a clearer point then when watching this episode.

-There will be spoilers from here on out-

This episode marks the return of Jordan and Dani Sullivan's brother, Ben - played wonderfully by Brendan Fraser.

The last time Ben visited Sacred Heart, he was diagnosed with leukemia. However, for the past two years he had been out living his life in remission - but is best friend, Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley), scolded him for not seeing a single doctor during that two years, and recommended he get a check up.

Around this same time, Dr. Cox's son, Jack, was having a birthday party - so Dr. Cox had to bail the party clown out of jail and left all of his patients - including Ben - in the hands of J.D. (Zach Braff).

J.D., however, tells Dr. Cox that he is swamped with patients, and is worried about a patient's heart. Dr. Cox tells him not to worry about it - he won't be dead in the time it takes him to return.

This is where the show gets really interesting, as sort of an homage to The Sixth Sense we are led to believe that while Dr. Cox was away, J.D.'s patient dies - but we don't find out until the conclusion that it was in fact Ben who passed away.

For the rest of the episode, Dr. Cox blames J.D. for the death - which the audience still believes is the heart patient - and takes over all of his patients. Ben is still around, and talking to Dr. Cox - in the same vein as Bruce Willis - however, if you pay attention he never interacts with any other character on the show after the 'death'.

In the end, J.D. is finally forgiven - and Ben even convinces Dr. Cox to forgive himself. The final scene is Dr. Cox believing he is heading to his son's birthday party, but as Ben fades away we now are aware that it was Ben who died - and this was his funeral that everyone was attending.

Like many Scrubs episodes, this one still had its many comedic parts, but there was something about the way they led up to Ben's death. I mean, Ben was only in two other episodes prior to this one - and for some reason you still feel horrible about his death.

Perhaps it's because you are so attached to Dr. Cox, and realize just how hard he is taking the loss of his best friend.

Anyway, kudos to Bill Lawrence (the creator), Chris Koch (the director) and Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan (the writers) - this is truly a rose of an episode that sticks out on a show that, in my opinion, only has roses for episodes.