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:

27/50x2: Finding Neverland

The creation of a story, a film or an idea can sometimes even be more fulfilling than the finished project. But, what if the finished project is an iconic masterpiece known to everyone in the world? Would that story still be interesting?

Well, in Finding Neverland it certainly was. J.M. Barrie (Johnny Depp) had just wrapped up the play called 'Little Mary', which became a serious flop. Barrie heads off to a park to think and finds himself becoming wrapped up with the Davies family.

This family consists of four boys (most notably Freddie Highmore as Peter) and their mother Sylvia (Kate Winslet). The boys allow Barrie to act like a kid again and go on many adventures together. Barrie's wife, Mary (Radha Mitchell) and the boys' grandmother, Emma (Julie Christie), do not agree with the amount of time that Barrie is spending with the family. Especially since Sylvia is suffering from an unknown illness that she is desperately trying to keep from the children.

But, Barrie has given the children something they need - a sort of surrogate father figure - while also supplying friendship and companionship to Sylvia, but they are also giving Barrie something he needed as well - the inspiration to write what is now known as Peter Pan.

Barrie, however, needs to coax the producer, Charles (Dustin Hoffman), into allowing him to show the play as it is not something that the upperclass, stuffy people would usually enjoy. Barrie has a plan up his sleeve, though, as he brings children from a nearby orphanage and scatters them throughout the crowd to watch the production. And as the children react to the play - the adults react as well. 

The film is said to be semi-autobiographical so I am not sure how much of the story is true, but I was definitely enthralled by the performances of Depp, Winslet and Highmore. They were all at the top of their game.

Kind of nice to know that the play/film about a boy who never wanted to grow up - came from a man who loved acting like a kid.

Also, kudos to Hoffman for returning to the Peter Pan franchise. Of course, he played Capt. Hook in Hook years earlier.

Grade: 

18/50: Alice in Wonderland

I have heard a ton of horrible things about this film. I for one am not a huge fan of Tim Burton, and I absolutely hated Charlie in the Chocolate Factory - but that could be because it was a 'remake' of my absolute favorite movie.

But, you know what? I loved Alice in Wonderland. Was it crazy? Of course it was. But, that is what Alice in Wonderland is supposed to be - so honestly, it was the best vehicle for Tim Burton to just go nuts.

Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is now a 19-year old woman, who believes that Wonderland is a dream that she has been having over and over again in her head. Her mother has arranged for her to get married, but while at the engagement party (right when the man has asked her) Alice notices the white rabbit yet again - and chases him down the rabbit hole.

Once in Wonderland (or Underland that it is called here), the lovable characters we have come to know - the white rabbit, the blue caterpillar, the dormouse and Tweedledee and Tweedledum, begin discussing if this is indeed the Alice who was there before - even though she doesn't believe it. Apparently, Alice is supposed to lead the people out of the tyranny of the Queen of Hearts (Helena Bonham Carter) - and allow the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) to take over. She must, however, slay the Jabberwocky to do so.

On her journey, the Knave of Hearts (Crispin Glover) is out to capture her and stop her from her destiny. Along the way, she comes across the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), who gives himself up in order to keep her safe.

I will say no more about the film plot itself, but I thought it was great. Depp was absolutely crazy as the Mad Hatter - and despite my feeling that the look of the Queen of Hearts was a bit over the top, it may have actually been necessary to everything that she was saying.

I had not seen Wasikowski in a film before, but I thought she was brilliant in her role as Alice. And, the slew of characters were done just right, in my opinion.

I know this film is either loved or hated - but I feel it was great. Just my opinion.

Grade: