Review of Platoon

I somehow think that it would be very wrong to say that I love Platoon, or even like Platoon. When watching this movie, for me it became very difficult to separate the movie's atmosphere from my enjoyment of it. The atmosphere is hateful.

Perhaps that's what Platoon does best. It was one of the first movies to capture the hateful experience of being an American soldier in Vietnam. The soldiers do and witness hateful things, live in filth and misery, and try to escape it all with drugs and alcohol. They not only kill the enemy, but kill each other: sometimes with misplaced artillery barrages, sometimes purposefully fragging each other.

How can somebody enjoy being in that place? At the same time one has to admire the portrait that has been painted, even if its subject is horrible to view. I think comparing this movie to a painting is rather apt, actually. The plot is simple: it can be summed up in a few sentences. It is merely filled in with terrifying images of men slaughtering each other and getting stoned.

So if you don't mind being thrown into the mud and shit of the Nam, you'll like it. If you'd rather stay home, don't watch it.
3 1/2 dog tags out of 5

Review of 12 Angry Men

It is obvious from viewing 12 Angry Men that you are watching a play adapted for the screen. What is remarkable about this film is how well the movie works despite this. Most movies adapted from the stage feel excessively wordy and the locations get boring very quickly.

Not so with 12 Angry Men. As the film's plot progresses the camera angles get more claustrophobic, heightening the tension. As the balance of power in the hot, cramped jury room shifts, the film gets more exciting. The outcome of their verdict is never certain.

I liked it a lot. Go see it.
4 switchblades out of 5

Review of Bringing up Baby

I really liked this movie.

The real star of the show is Katherine Hepburn. She is astoundingly funny. The sense of humour is quite modern compared to comedies from this period, and it all gets pumped into her character. The leopard doesn't play as big a role in the show as the posters suggest, it is merely a part of the weirdness that constitutes Katherine Hepburn's character.

If there is one thing I will take with me from this movie forever, it is the gardener character. He's hilarious, wandering about mumbling about how if one more thing upsets him it will drive him to drink, and everything upsets him. Love it.

The show collapses just a little bit near the end at the police station when Katherine Hepburn starts pretending to be a gangstress, but other than that the show blew me away, considering when it was made.

4 brontosaurus intercostal clavicles out of 5

Review of the Sixth Sense

I think that it's only possible to view and love The Sixth Sense twice. The first time you watch it, you love it because it's so creepy and the twist ending blows you out of the water. The second time you love it because you marvel at how intricately the twist ending is woven into the fabric of the movie and how all the clues were there the whole time.

After that? This was my third time. This time it was only okay. I think the reason why is related to the twist ending. Once you know the twist ending and have digested it with a second viewing, there is not much left. This problem is compounded by another problem, encapsulated in this bit of dialogue in the movie, regarding Cole's ghosts:

COLE: What if they don't want help? What if they're just angry and they want to hurt somebody?

A creepy line to be sure. But once you have seen the movie and know the answer to these questions, there is not much tension in repeated viewings. The ghosts become a little less scary because they are demystified.

Is it fair to judge a movie based on re-watchability? I think so. Speaking as somebody who watched The Fellowship of the Ring 19 times in theatres, some movies are re-watchable in the extreme. The Sixth Sense is not one of them. However, the first viewing was amazing, so I have to give the movie its due.

4 dead people out of 5