Showing posts with label 1989 America. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1989 America. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Driving Miss Daisy

  Released Year: 1989
Directed by Bruce Beresford

Casted by:
Jessica Tandy as Daisy Werthan
Morgan Freeman as Hoke Colburn
Dan Aykroyd as Boolie Werthan
Patti LuPone as Florine Werthan
Esther Rolle as Idella
 Story
In 1948, Mrs. Daisy Werthan, or Miss Daisy, a 72-year-old wealthy, white, Jewish, widowed, retired school teacher, lives alone in Atlanta, Georgia, except for an African American housemaid named Idella. When Miss Daisy wrecks her car, her son, Boolie, hires Hoke Colburn, an African American chauffeur. Miss Daisy at first refuses to let anyone else drive her, but gradually gives in.

As Miss Daisy and Hoke spend time together, she gains appreciation for his many skills. After Idella dies in 1962, rather than hire a new maid, Miss Daisy decides to care for her own house and have Hoke do the cooking and the driving.

The film explores racism against black people, which affects Hoke at that time. The film also touches on anti-semitism in the South. After her synagogue is bombed, Miss Daisy realizes that she is also a victim of prejudice (religious). But American society is undergoing radical changes, and Miss Daisy attends a dinner at which Dr. Martin Luther King gives a speech. She initially invites Boolie to the dinner, but he declines, and suggests that Miss Daisy invite Hoke. However, Miss Daisy only asks him to be her guest during the car ride to the event and ends up attending the dinner alone, with Hoke insulted by the manner of the invitation, listening to the speech on the car radio outside.

Hoke arrives at the house one morning in 1971 to find Miss Daisy agitated and showing signs of dementia. Hoke calms her down. Boolie arranges for Miss Daisy to enter a retirement home. In 1973, Hoke, now 85, retires. Boolie and Hoke drive to the retirement home to visit Miss Daisy, now 97. As Hoke feeds her pumpkin pie, the image fades, with a car driving away in the distance.
 L² Scored: 8/10

L² Comment
I have been wanting to watch this Oscar Best Picture for a long time and yes it was one of the recommend movie in Etihad and I happily watch this during my flight time. This movie had gotten a lot of negative criticism of not being great enough to win the best movie that year. Well, beside having soft competitors that year, this movie is not too epic enough comparing to other Best movie that has ever won the title.

But for me, this is just nice... Not necessary all the Best Movie has to be "EPIC" right? The storyline is warm and loving and the title of this movie is enough to attract people's attention. Beside Best Movie, Jessica Tandy's great performance has won herself Best Actress as well... This movie also won Best Screenplay & Best Make-up, total of 4 won in Oscar. :)

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Batman 1989

Released Year: 1989
Directed by Tim Burton

Casted by:
 Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman
Jack Nicholson as Jack Napier/The Joker
Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale
 Story:
The mayor of Gotham City orders district attorney Harvey Dent and Commissioner Gordon to increase police activity and combat crime in preparation for the city's 200th anniversary. Newspaper reporter Alexander Knox and photojournalist Vicki Vale begin to investigate reports of an elusive dark vigilante nicknamed "Batman", who is also targeting criminals in an effort to clean up the city.

Mob boss Carl Grissom, who has already been targeted by Dent, discovers his mistress is involved with his second-in-command, Jack Napier. With the help of corrupt policeman Max Eckhardt, Grissom sets up Napier to be murdered during a raid at the Axis Chemicals plant. During the ensuing shootout, Eckhardt is killed by Napier after which Batman suddenly appears. The two struggle, and Napier is accidentally knocked into a vat of chemical waste. Batman flees, and Napier is thought to be dead.

Batman is in actuality billionaire industrialist Bruce Wayne, an orphan who lives in the large mansion Wayne Manor with his butler Alfred Pennyworth. Bruce later meets and falls for Vicki at a fundraiser, and the two begin a relationship. Napier is revealed to have survived the accident. Following a botched attempt to repair physical damage from exposure to chemical waste, Napier is horribly disfigured with chalk-white skin, emerald-green hair and a permanent ruby-red grin. Calling himself the "Joker", he kills Grissom and usurps his criminal empire, making the Axis plant his headquarters.

The Joker begins to spread terror in the city, first by lacing hygiene products with a deadly chemical known as "Smilex", which causes victims to laugh to death when used in certain combinations. The Joker then sets a trap at the Gotham Museum of Art for Vicki, and he and his henchmen vandalize the surrounding works of art. Batman arrives and rescues Vicki, and the pair escape in the Batmobile. Batman gives information about Smilex to Vicki so she can warn the city via Gotham newspapers about the poisoned products.

The Joker begins plans to eliminate Batman. After recalling the Joker earlier asking him "Have you ever danced with the devil by the pale moonlight?" and remembering hearing the same quote as a child, Bruce discovers that the Joker (as Napier) is also the man who murdered his parents. Vicki suddenly appears in the Batcave, having been let in by Alfred. After avouching himself to Vicki, Bruce—as Batman—leaves to destroy the Axis Chemical plant. Meanwhile, planning to use poison gas to murder citizens, the Joker lures the townspeople to a nighttime parade with a promise to give away $20 million in cash. Batman arrives on the scene and saves Gotham City from the attack, but the Joker kidnaps Vicki and takes her to the top of Gotham City's Cathedral.

Batman pursues the two, and at the top of the dusty edifice, the two adversaries confront each other in single combat. When the Joker attempts an escape via a helicopter, Batman secures the Joker's leg to a heavy stone sculpture, causing the Joker to fall from the helicopter and plummet to his doom. Following the Joker's death, Commissioner Gordon unveils the Bat-Signal along with a note from Batman read by Harvey Dent, promising to defend Gotham whenever crime strikes again. 
 L² Scored: 10/10

L² Comment:
This would most likely the best ever Batman movie made throughout so many years, the rival totally outstand Batman's character. Is it because Nicholson is much more famous than Keaton at that time? Maybe... but definitely the acting and everything, hands down to Nicholson. And of course, this is always my favourit-st batman movie ever~ :)

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

The Haunting of Sarah Hardy 1989

 Released Year: 1989
Directed by Jerry London
 
Casted by:
Sela Ward as Sarah Hardy
Michael Woods as Austin Hardy
Roscoe Born as Allen deVineyn
Morgan Fairchild as Lucy deVineyn
Polly Bergen as Emily Stepford
 Story:
 As a child, Sarah witnesses her wealthy mother's suicide. Later, as a young bride, she is haunted by her mother's voice and other strange manifestations. Is it her imagination, someone playing tricks on her, or her dead mother's spirit?
 L² Scored: 5/10
 
L² Comment
First of all, i really really like the big mansion in the movie, it is  so huge and glamorous, i believe everyone whould like to owe one or at least stay a night there right? Same as the bad guys in this movie, i forgive them for being such greedy, who can resist such a nice place right?

Thursday, August 16, 2012

The Fly II

 Released Year: 1989
Directed by Chris Walas 

Casted by:
Eric Stoltz as Martin Brundle
Daphne Zuniga as Beth Logan
John Getz as Stathis
 Story:
Several months after the events of the first film, in which scientist Seth Brundle became a mutant hybrid of man and housefly, Martin Brundle, the son of Seth Brundle and Veronica Quaife, is born. His birth is under the control of Brundle's employer, Antonius Bartok, owner of Bartok Industries (which financed Brundle's teleportation experiments). Veronica dies during childbirth, leaving Martin in the custody of Bartok, who plans to exploit his unique condition.

Martin grows up in a clinical environment, and is constantly subjected to studies and tests by uncompassionate scientists. His lifespan is quickly accelerated as a result of his mutant genes, but he also possesses a genius-level intellect, incredible reflexes, and no need for sleep. He knows that he is aging faster than a normal human, but he is unaware of his insect heritage, having been told that his father suffered from the same rapid aging disease that Martin himself is afflicted with.

As Martin grows, Bartok befriends him, amusing him with magic tricks, and tells him that a "magic word" needs to be a secret word that can never be confided to anyone or else it would spoil the magical effect. When Martin is three years old, he has physically aged into a child of around ten. He frequently sneaks out of his quarters. One night he finds a room full of laboratory animals, where he befriends a Golden Retriever. The next night, he sneaks out again to bring the dog some of his dinner, only to find the animal is missing. Searching for the dog, Martin makes his way into an observation booth overlooking Bay 17, which contains Seth Brundle's two surviving Telepods. Bartok's scientists are attempting to replicate Brundle's experiments, and are using the Golden Retriever as a test subject. The teleportation fails, leaving the dog alive but horribly deformed. The mutated animal attacks and maims one of the scientists, and young Martin is horrified by the spectacle.

Two years later, Martin's body has physically matured to that of a twenty year old adult, and his intellect has grown perhaps even faster. On his fifth birthday, Bartok presents Martin with a bungalow on the Bartok facility's property, and offers him the chance to perfect his father's Telepods. In the past five years, Bartok and his scientists have not made any progress in getting them to work successfully again after they were damaged on the night Brundle died. Bartok expresses his hope that Martin will be able to finish what his father started, and apologizes for the dog, stating that the animal was quickly put out of its misery after the failed teleportation experiment.

As he begins work on the Telepods, Martin befriends Bartok employee Beth Logan. They grow closer together as Martin tries to get the Telepods to function correctly. Eventually, Beth invites Martin to a party at Bartok's specimens division. Breaking away from the party, Martin discovers that Bartok lied to him; the mutated dog has been kept alive as a specimen for the past two years. He runs out of the party and later sneaks down to the animal's holding pen. The deformed dog, in terrible pain, still remembers Martin, who ends its misery by euthanizing it with chloroform, which caused Martin much grief. The next day, Bartok asks if Martin is aware of the break-in at the specimen pit. Martin coldly says "No," and Bartok smiles (realizing Martin is lying) as he states that Martin is finally growing up.

Eventually, Martin gets the Telepods to function properly (after realizing that it required creative thinking, just as his father had), and he and Beth Logan become lovers. However, he also learns the truth of his father's fate, his own biology, Bartok's motives, and of a possible cure to his condition. Unfortunately, the cure, which involves swapping out Martin's insect genes for healthy human genes, requires the sacrifice of another healthy human being, who will in turn suffer a grotesque genetic fate as a result.

At this time, however, Martin's dormant insect genes awaken and the signs of his transformation begin. Martin escapes from Bartok Industries after Bartok reveals his plans--Bartok intends to use Martin's unique biology and the Telepods for his own corrupt ends of power and control. Even though Martin had successfully repaired the telepods, Bartok is unable to use them as Martin has installed a password along with a computer virus attached, which will erase the Telepods' programming if the wrong "magic word" is entered. Bartok knows Martin had indeed been listening to him when he was a child, and that they will never figure out the "magic word" without him.

Martin and Beth flee and go on the run. They go to visit Stathis Borans (who's become a reclusive, embittered drunk since Veronica died in childbirth), who confirms to Martin that the telepods are his only chance for a cure. Martin and Beth take Borans' Jeep and check into a motel, but Martin's physical and emotional changes become too much for Beth to handle, and she surrenders them both to Bartok in desperation. Before Martin becomes fully enveloped within a cocoon, Bartok tries to get him to reveal the password, but Martin refuses.

As Martin enters the final stages of his transformation, Beth is brought to Bay 17, where Bartok interrogates her about the "magic word." Meanwhile, the fully transformed "Martinfly" emerges from his cocoon and ruthlessly stalks and kills those trying to subdue him, as well as taking revenge on his betrayers. Despite the brutal methods he uses to eliminate the security team dispatched to recapture him, a trace of Martin's former humanity remains, as demonstrated by his refusal to harm a rottweiler that was sent to sniff him out and refusing to harm Beth.

After arriving in Bay 17, Martinfly grabs Bartok, types in the password "DAD", and forces himself and Bartok into Telepod 1, gesturing for Beth to activate the gene-swapping sequence. Despite Bartok's pleas for mercy, Beth activates the sequence, and when the two are reintegrated in the receiving telepod, Martin is restored to his fully human form, his fly genes now removed from his body, and Bartok suffers the fate of becoming a freakish maggot like monster. In an ironic twist, in the final scene the mutated Bartok is placed in the same specimen pit where he had kept the mutated dog.
  L² Scored: 7/10

L² Comment:
Hmm, this is not bad. Eric Stolz very American boy look, love the way he is in the movie and he can act :) The fly mutant monster looks more funny this time, which i think is not really a good thing. Though the first movie's fly is more ugly, but i feel more real of it... however, the storyline is not bad... where can i find the first 3 movie during 1950s?

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Clownhouse

Released Year: 1989
Directed by Victor Salva

Casted by:
Nathan Forrest Winters as Casey Collins Brian McHugh
Brian McHugh as Geoffrey Collins
Sam Rockwell as Randy Michael Jerome West
Michael Jerome West as Lunatic Cheezo (as Tree)
Byron Weible as Lunatic Bippo
David C. Reinecker as Lunatic Dippo
Story:
Clownhouse follows the story of leading protagonist Casey, a normal boy whose life is constantly influenced by his intense fear of clowns. His two older brothers, Geoffrey and Randy, are mostly disobliging. One night, the three boys are left alone, so they decide to visit a local circus for a night of amusement, despite knowing Casey's uncontrollable coulrophobia.

Meanwhile, three mental patients have escaped from a local insane asylum, and their first stop is at the same circus the brothers are attending. At the circus, Casey innocently visits a fortune teller despite Randy's better judgment. The fortune teller reveals to Casey that his life line has been cut short, and says to him: Beware, beware, in the darkest of dark, though the flesh is young and the hearts are strong, precious life cannot be long, when darkest death has left its mark.

As the boys go home from the circus, a shaken Casey thinks his nightmare is over, but it has only just begun. The three escaped mental patients have murdered three circus clowns, disguised themselves with their costumes and makeup and have made their way to the boys' house to unleash a night of terror, where Casey is forced to face his fears once and for all. Though Casey founds out the three clowns are haunting them, but his two brothers won't believe him. Randy even fool around dressing like a clown try to scare his two younger brother and in the end caught by the three lunatic clowns.

Casey & Geoffrey tried to fight their way out and manage to defeat Bippo & Dippo. But Cheezo caught Geoffrey, Casey ran and hide inside his room but the laughing clown toy sell him out. When lunatic Cheezo try to kill Casey, Geoffrey came on time and axed Cheezo to death.
L² Scored: 6.5/10

L² Comment:
Well, this is not a really scary horror movie actually. But for people like me who has coulrophobia, this is really a big challenge for me~ i hate clown, i really do... they are freaking scary and eerie for me... i never like them since small~

Back to the movie, the storyline is a bit lame. But well, for teenagers, its quite ok... Sam Rockwell is really cute at his very first movie, though he's still cute now even in his 40's. Nathan Forrest Winters & Brian McHugh is no more in the movie industry, but i can say that, Brian McHugh definitely is a hottie :)

Monday, August 22, 2011

The Little Mermaid

Released Year: 1989
Directed by Rob Clements & John Musker

Voiced by:
Jodi Benson as Princess Ariel
Chrisopher Daniel Barnes as Prince Eric
Pat Carroll as Ursula
Samuel E. Wright as Sebastian
Jason Marin as Flounder
Kenneth Mars as King Triton
Buddy Hackett as Scuttle
Story:
Ariel, a sixteen-year-old mermaid princess, is dissatisfied with life under the sea and curious about the human world. With her best fish friend Flounder, Ariel collects human artifacts and goes to the surface of the ocean to visit Scuttle the seagull, who offers very inaccurate knowledge of human culture. She constantly ignores the warnings of her father (King Triton) and court musician (Sebastian, the crab) that contact between merpeople and humans is forbidden (the sea's primary contact with humans involve fishermen, so King Triton considers humans as nothing more than mere predators), longing to join the human world and becoming a human herself. Sebastian, who is assigned to watch over Ariel and be sure she does not visit the surface again, tries to convince her that it is better to live under the sea than in the human world.

One night, Ariel, Flounder and an unwilling Sebastian travel to the ocean surface to watch a celebration for the birthday of Prince Eric on a ship, with whom Ariel falls in love. A storm hits, which sinks the ship there after. Everyone on board manages to escape except for Eric, who came up into the vessel to save his dog Max and is knocked out by a gunpowder explosion inside. Ariel saves the unconscious Eric from drowning and sings to him, but quickly leaves as soon as he regains consciousness to avoid being spotted by Max and his guardian Grimsby. Fascinated by the memory of her voice, Eric vows to find who saved and sung to him (unaware that it was Ariel) and Ariel vows to find a way to join him and his world.

Triton and his daughters notice a change in Ariel, who is openly lovesick. Triton questions Sebastian about her behavior, during which Sebastian accidentally reveals the incident with Eric out of pressure. Triton furiously confronts Ariel in her grotto, where she and Flounder store human artifacts, and destroys the objects with his trident. After Triton leaves, a pair of eels, Flotsam and Jetsam, convince a crying Ariel that she must visit Ursula the sea witch, if she wants all of her dreams to come true.

Ursula makes a deal with Ariel to transform her into a human for three days. Within these three days, Ariel must receive the 'kiss of true love' from Eric; otherwise, she will transform back into a mermaid on the third day and belong to Ursula. As payment, Ariel has to give up her voice, which Ursula takes by magically removing the energy from Ariel's vocal chords and storing it in a nautilus shell. Ariel's tail is transformed into legs and she loses her ability to breathe underwater, forcing Sebastian and Flounder to drag the drowning Ariel to the surface. Meanwhile, Triton discovers Ariel and Sebastian's disappearance and, overwhelmed with guilt, orders a search for them.

Eric and Max find Ariel on the beach. He initially suspects that she is the one who saved his life, but when he learns that she cannot speak, he discards the notion, to the frustration of both Ariel and Max (who know the truth). He helps her to the palace, where the servants think she is a survivor of a shipwreck. Ariel spends time with Eric, and at the end of the second day, they almost kiss but are thwarted by Flotsam and Jetsam. Angered at their narrow escape, Ursula takes the disguise of a beautiful young woman named "Vanessa" and appears onshore singing with Ariel's voice. Eric recognizes the song and, in her disguise, Vanessa/Ursula casts a hypnotic enchantment on Eric to make him forget about Ariel.

The next day, Ariel finds out that Eric will be married to the disguised Ursula on a ship. She cries and is left behind when the wedding barge departs. Scuttle discovers that Vanessa is Ursula in disguise, and informs Ariel. As Ariel and Flounder chase the wedding barge, Sebastian informs Triton, and Scuttle is assigned to literally "stall the wedding." With the help of various animals, the nautilus shell around Ursula's neck is broken, restoring Ariel's voice and breaking Ursula's enchantment over Eric. Realizing that Ariel was the girl who saved his life, Eric rushes to kiss her, but the sun sets and Ariel transforms back into a mermaid. Ursula reverts to her true form and kidnaps Ariel.

Triton confronts Ursula and demands Ariel's release, but the deal is inviolable. At Ursula's urging, he agrees to take Ariel's place as Ursula's prisoner. Ariel is released as Triton transforms into a polyp and loses his authority over Atlantica. Ursula declares herself the new ruler. She is then attacked by Ariel and Eric, and in the confusion accidentally kills her minions, Flotsam and Jetsam. Enraged by this, Ursula begins to grow into titanic proportions on the seafloor.

Ariel and Eric reconcile on the surface just before Ursula grows past and towers the two. She then gains full control of the entire ocean, creating a storm with a maelstrom and shipwrecks, one of which Eric commandeers. As Ursula attempts to destroy a trapped Ariel in the maelstrom, Eric turns the wheel hard to port and runs Ursula through the abdomen with the ship's splintered bowsprit, mortally wounding her. The ocean calms after her demise, and Eric makes it to shore before losing consciousness.

After her death, Ursula's power breaks, causing Triton and all the other polyps in Ursula's garden to revert back into their original forms. Triton's power returns after the change. Later, after seeing that Ariel truly loves Eric and that he also saved her and the ocean in the process, Triton willingly changes her from a mermaid into a human permanently using his trident, where she reconciles with Eric once more.

An unspecified amount of time later, Ariel and Eric have their wedding on a ship, where both humans and merpeople could attend, before sailing away afterwards happily married.
L² Scored: 9.5/10

L² Comment:
This is one of my favorite cartoon ever :) Watch it during the first time when i was 7 years old and i still love it nowadays. Ariel is the main reason why i always love those caucasian who has red hair~

The cartoon is so real if you make it humanity. First of all, a lot of ppl is willing to make a deal with devil to get what they want; second of all, Ariel leaving her seaworld to human world is a big challenge and she's willing to change for love. I really hope i can find the 2nd movie of Little Mermaid which has been filmed in 2000.

My favorite scene will be when Sebastian the hermit crab went into the kitchen and chase after by Luigi the chef~ lol... and the music are nice :) A classic cartoon of Walt Disney which u should never ever miss~