The Fabulous Fifties:

"This man has been standing alone against us. It's not easy to stand alone against the ridicule of others. So he gambled for support - and I gave it to him"

Review: 12 Angry Men

An Augustus Review of 8.5/10

For the Fabulous Fifties week, I will review the movie 12 Angry Men, where twelve jurors have to decide the fate of a young boy but only one believes his innocence. 

The movie begins with the trial of a young Puerto Rican boy who was accused of knifing his father to death. The twelve jurors listening to the case are all men from different backgrounds and different life styles. The trial ends and the men retire to the jury room where they have to come up with a decision. If the boy is proven innocent without a reasonable doubt, he will be free. If not, the jurors will have condemned the boy to death. 

As soon as the men meet in the room, they quickly glance over the evidence. They shortly discuss the trial and decide to have a vote. Eleven men voted the boy guilty. They turn to the last man, Juror #8 (Henry Fonda), and look at him surprisingly. They ask him what is he waiting for and to raise his hand. The juror looks back at the men and responds. The boy is not guilty.

The juror explains that to him, the evidence doesn’t make sense. He thinks that they should all go over the entire trial and carefully form a verdict. They are playing with a boy’s life, they can’t rush the details. His vote angers the other jurors especially Juror #10 and Juror #7 whom both believe the discussion is a waste of time.

The men begin to look over the evidence again and many become frustrated. After each piece of evidence is looked over, they have another vote. Slowly, some jurors begin to see the boy’s innocence and vote that he is not guilty. Some of the jurors, like Juror #10, can’t get over past prejudices to realistically consider that he is innocent. 

As the deliberation continues, the men are having even more difficulty coming to a unanimous vote.  More and more of the jurors are switching opinions. The few men who are left undecided hold the most difficult answer: guilty or not guilty?

12 Angry Men is an excellent movie in two regards: developing plot and developing characters. The entire movie focuses on the evidence given in thorough detail. The explanations given by the jurors are realistic and make a lot of sense. 

This movie is regarded as a classic. It has been given many titles such as 42^nd most inspiring film, 87^th best film in 100 years and Juror #8 was 28^th in the 50 best heroes of the 20^th century. The movie has received 100% positive votes on Rotten Tomatoes. 

Overall, this movie is very inspiring and thought-provoking. If you enjoy courtroom dramas or thorough explanation of scenes in a movie, 12 Angry Men is definitely the movie to watch!

- Augustus

"Children look. Great-Aunt Lavinia! She was beheaded by her own children!"

Review: The Addams Family

An Augustus Review of 9/10

I decided to do today’s review on a movie that was based off a television show in the early 60s: The Addams Family. This family is unlike any other; they are grim, scary, and most of all, strangely unusual. They live in a haunted house on the top of their manor; they wear dark clothing and interact with the dead. Although this may seem frightening, don’t be alarmed, they are very goofy as well.

The show was adapted into a movie in 1991. It stars Raul Julia as the father, Gomez Addams, Anjelica Huston as the mother, Morticia, Christopher Lloyd as brother Fester (or “Gordon”) and Elizabeth Wilson as the cruel stepmother, Abigail Craven.

The movie begins with Gomez reminiscing his brother, Fester, whom had separated from the family over 25 years ago due to a fight they had. Gomez’s lawyer, Tully (Dan Hedaya), is seriously in debt to a loan shark, Abigail Craven. At a meeting, Tully realizes that Abigail’s son, Gordon, looks a lot like Fester. He proposes to Abigail that they should allow Gordon to pretend to be Fester and rejoin the Addams family. In doing so, Gordon can find the family riches hidden deep within a family vault.

The Addams family decide to get together and attempt to summon Fester’s spirit. In the midst of the ceremony, Gordon shows up at the door as Fester. Overwhelmed with joy, Gomez greets his long lost brother. Gomez shows Fester the house and reunites him with a room full of the family riches and toys from his childhood. Fester and Abigail attempt later to find the vault but can’t get past the booby traps.

"How long has it been since we've waltzed?"
"Oh Gomez... hours"

As Gomez and Fester become reacquainted, Fester starts to feel as though he might almost belong with this family. Abigail dismisses his ideas and poses as his psychiatrist. She tells the family that Fester had been long lost in the Bermuda Triangle. The family become sceptical of Fester when he fails to remember his childhood memories with Gomez or the family traditions. Abigail is able to convince the family that their doubts are due to displacement.

The family warms up to Fester and he is beyond joyful with them. Tully finds out that because Fester is the older brother, the riches and the family estate belong to him. He is able to set a restraining order against the family, forcing them out of their home. Appalled by the actions, they start to doubt Tully and Abigail. Fester is torn between his stepmother and the Addamses.

One night, Morticia decides to confront Fester about his behaviour. She leaves the family in pursuit of the house. Once she arrives, she discovers the evil behind Abigail and the lies her family was fed.

The Addams Family grossed over $110 million in the box office. It was a great success and the 7^th highest grossing film in 1991. Film directors produced a sequel to the movie in 1993, Addams Family Values.

This creepy, dark yet funny film is a great one for a late night. You will end up loving the family regardless if they tie each other up in electrical chairs for fun!

- Augustus

"Wax on... wax off. Wax on... wax off." 

Review: The Karate Kid  (1984)

An Augustus Review of 7/10

For today's review, we will look into the movie of a bullied boy who must learn discipline, patience and the true meaning of karate to overcome his suppressors and develop a relationship with a father he never had.

The Karate Kid stars Ralph Macchio as Daniel Larusso and Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi. 

Daniel Larusso is a high school senior who moves to California with his mother from New York. They live in an apartment building where the handyman, Mr. Miyagi, is an Okinawan immigrant who is kind but keeps to himself.  At his new school, Daniel meets Ali (Elisabeth Shue) and immidiately becomes friends. Ali's ex-boyfriend, Johnny (William Zabka) is a hot-head who trains at a very strict martial arts dojo. Johnny and his friends see Daniel becoming close with Ali and decide to interfere. At every opportunity, the boys beat up Daniel, who in return, is not able to defend himself.

On his way home one night, the boys brutally beat Daniel. Mr. Miyagi witnesses the incident and jumps in.  With ease, he fends off the boys with a very experienced level of karate. The boys run off and Mr. Miyagi tends to Daniel's injuries.

Daniel is amazed by Mr. Miyagi and desperately asks him to teach him karate. To Daniel's suprise, Mr. Miyagi refuses. Daniel explains that if he doesn't learn to fend for himself, the boys will continue to harrass him. Mr. Miyagi decides that he will go with Daniel to Johnny's dojo and speak to the sensei.

At the dojo, the boys are taught a very cruel and brutal form of mentality. They are told to never hold back, "no mercy". Mr. Miyagi and Daniel witness the terrifying boys in training and begin to speak to the senei, a Vietnam-war veteran. The sensei refuses to let Daniel off the hook and tells Mr. Miyagi that he needs to fight his own battles. Mr. Miyagi decides to offer a wager, that the boys will fight in an up-coming karate tournament. If Daniel wins, the boys will have to leave him alone. The sensei agrees but only on one condition, if Daniel loses, not only will the boys continue to harrass him, Mr. Miyagi will also become a target.

Mr. Miyagi beings to teach Daniel the art of karate. However, instead of teaching him moves, he gets Daniel to do chores around his house: painting a fence, waxing cars, sanding floors. Daniel becomes irritated after a few days spent doing chores and demands that Mr. Miyagi teach him real karate. Mr. Miyagi then begins to throw punches at Daniel. Mr. Miyagi tells him to use the same hand motions that he used when he was doing chores. Daniel is able to block the blows by muscle mentality. Mr. Miyagi tells him that discipline and patience is the key to learning the true art of karate.

Daniel and Mr. Miyagi train together with every moment they get. They become very close and develop an almost father/son relationship. Through their training, they learn each other's secrets from their past that strengthen their bond. Together, Daniel is ready to face Johnny in the tournament and truly prove himself as a karate kid. 

This movie did very well during its release. It received a 90% positive review from Rotten Tomatoes and film critic, Roger Ebert, named it the best movie of the year, giving it 4/4 stars. 

The Karate Kid created a fantastic franchise and released a second, third and forth movie. In 2010, the movie was remade with Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith.

I strongly recommend this watch for it is a very powerful and intriguing story. You'll get a real kick out of it. 

- Augustus

"Death has come to your little town, sheriff" 

Review: Halloween (1978)

An Augustus Rating of 8.5/10

Today I explore the wonderful and family oriented movie, Halloween. Full of laughs, fun and a memorable character, Michael Myers. 

I'm not a sociopath, I swear. 

Halloween  was directed in 1978 by John Carpenter and was Jamie Lee Curtis' debut movie. This movie is set in fictional Haddonfield, Illinois starring the killer psychopath, Michael Myers.

(Now that sounds much more believable.) 

The movie starts on a night of 1963 where Michael Myers is a young child. After witnessing his 15 year old sister have sex with her boyfriend, Myers proceeds to murdering his sister with a butcher's knife. He was admitted to a mental institution for 15 years until he managed to escape one faithful night, October 30th, 1978. 

 The next day, high school student Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) continually sees Myers wearing blue overalls and wearing a white mask. When she tries to tell her friends that a strange man keeps appearing, her friends dismiss her claims. Myers' psychiatrist, Dr. Samuel Loomis (Donald Pleasance), anticipated Myers' return and went to visit the grave of Myers' sister. He notices that the headstone is gone and quickly goes back into town. 

Due to low budget, the trademark mask

was purchased for $1.98

 That night, Laurie babysits a neighbour's child while her friend, Annie, is also babysitting across the street. Annie gets a phone call from her boyfriend to come pick him up. When Annie drops off the girl she was babysitting at Laurie's, she is killed by Myers in her car. 

The children witness Myers carrying Annie's dead body across the street and begin to panic. They tell Laurie that the Boogeyman is outside. Laurie, believing it is just a prank, tells them to simmer down. Laurie's other friend, Lynda, comes home with her boyfriend, unaware of Myers, who is patiently waiting for them in her empty house.

This was one of Carpenter's first big movies. He was requited by an independent film producer, Irwin Yablas, to write and direct a movie about a serial killer. With only a max budget of $300K and 4 weeks to film, Yablas had his doubts about this new director. 

Halloween ended up grossing $70 million in the box office. It was nominated for The Saturn Award for Best Horror Movie and was ranked 3rd scariest movie of all time by the Chicago Film Critics Association.

So for a really low budget and only a month to film, John Carpenter killed it.

- Augustus  

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween_(1978_film)

"I just want them to know that they didn't break me."

Review: Pretty in Pink

An Augustus Rating of 7/10

Today I’ve decided to review an old time favourite of mine, Pretty in Pink. This 1980s movie illustrates the difficulties of being in a lower social class, love at first sight and believing in yourself.

Molly Ringwald plays the protagonist, Andie Walsh, a teenager in her senior year. She lives with her father, Jack (Harry Dean Stanton), who is unemployed and extremely unmotivated. Andie lives in a very low class neighborhood and is often teased about her working class family.

Andie’s best friend and childhood friend is her neighbor, Philip “Duckie” Dale (Jon Cryer). Duckie is in love with Andie but is so nervous that he plays his feelings off as a joke. He makes Andie laugh, but she doesn’t consider him anything more than a friend.

Andie develops a crush on a preppie, rich boy at her school, Blane McDonough (Andrew McCarthy). The two feel instant attraction but feel resistance due to their difference in wealth. Blane’s friends, Steff (James Spader), and Benny (Kate Vernon) constantly make fun of Andie and disapprove of Blane’s interactions with her.

Why yes, that is Alan from Two and a Half Men!

Andie and Blane try to advance their relationship by going on their first date. Andie is ridiculed by Blane’s friends but isn’t affected by their harsh words. When Blane tries to drive Andie home, she breaks down and admits that she doesn’t want him to know where she lives. Blane decides to ask Andie to the prom. Andie accepts and they passionately share their first kiss.

When all seems well, Andie and Blane’s relationship takes a rocky turn. The clash between the social hierarchies creates problems for every character in the movie. Hearts are broken; jealousy consumes friends and the one event that will decide true love: the prom.

Pretty in Pink was overall a commercial success. It earned over 6 million in its opening weekend and over 40 million during its theatrical run. The movie was the 22^nd highest grossing film in 1986. The movie earned its legacy in later years, mentioned in popular TV series such as Psych, Glee and Dawson’s Creek.

This movie is a heartwarming story of a girl whose courage and self determination was able to help her overcome her status and accept who she is.  A truly inspiring movie, why, I shed a tear every time!

-       Augustus

      SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_in_Pink