My Top 7 Favorite Christmas Movies

1. Home Alone (1990) 10/10

2. Miracle on 34th Street (1947) 10/10

3. It's a Wonderful Life (1946) 9.5/10

4. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) 9.5/10

5. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) 9/10

6. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) 9/10

7. Scrooged (1988) 8.5/10

Merry Christmas!

Did Mookie Do the Right Thing? Part 2 *SPOILER ALERT*

There is controversial subject matter in Do the Right Thing and this is where the spoiler alert goes into effect. I usually don't mention things which spoil the plot of a film, but in this case it's done in the name of science. Well, maybe realistically philosophy, sociology and film studies, but here it goes...

The event which I am referring to is the infamous garbage can scene in which Mookie, played by Spike Lee, takes a garbage can and throws it into the window of a pizzeria. Added note, Mookie works for the pizzeria and spends the entire movie looking forward to receiving his pay as the pizza delivery man.

So, to get back to the main question: does Mookie do the right thing?

On one hand, Mookie's display of vandalism is justified due to the treatment of the predominately black and Puerto Rican people living in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, by the owners of the pizzeria. On the other hand, Mookie breaks the law by vandalising private property, which ultimately leads to a riot and this is where I stall on the question.

Spike Lee himself has given us a bit of insight into the meaning of the garbage can incident. He claims that the answer is ambiguous. It was placed in for the audience to simply ask ourselves whether or not Mookie did the right thing and just like in the ending of The Thing, where Child's excuse of where he was is both suspicious and incomplete, this too is added to keep the audience questioning Mookie's motives.

I give Do the Right Thing a 10/10 with honors! A new feature that will be added to films which make my top 5 list of my favorite films of all time.

So again, please watch this movie, it is up on Netflix for streaming.

Did Mookie Do the Right Thing? Part 1

I am of course taking about Spike Lee's masterpiece from 1989, Do the Right Thing which was robbed for an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. I mean Driving Miss Daisy took home best picture that year and I say for shame on the Academy.

First off before I watched Do the Right Thing my Top 5 favorite films of all time went something like this:

1. Platoon (1986)

2. The Dead Zone (1983)

3. Minority Report (2001)

4. The Planet of the Apes (1968)

5. The Matrix (1999)

Honorable favorites: Dark City, LA Confidential, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Wayne's World, They Live, Fateless and Alien.

Now my top 5 reads a followed:

1. Platoon (1986)

2. Do the Right Thing (1989)

3. The Dead Zone (1983)

4. Minority Report (2001)

5. The Planet of the Apes (1968)

And I never thought that I would ever bump out The Matrix but I love Do the Right Thing and consider it a masterpiece.

First of all, why does this movie rock? The camera movements are very, very interesting. They remind me of Stanley Kubrick's style and although they aren't as surreal, the camera movements are brilliant none-the-less. Likewise, the camera angles are often tilted, which works tremendously in this film.

As for the acting, Danny Aiello brought the house down. Spike Lee was really good as Mookie who is the main character, as was the late Ossie Davis, Bill Nunn, Martin Lawrence, Ruby Dee, Giancarlo Esposito, Rosie Perez and John Turturro, to name only a few of the amazing cast. 

Danny Aiello was more than well deserving of his Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination but he should have won. Spike Lee did win an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay in 1989 and it was more than well deserving, but like I said above, he should have won Best Picture and Best Director, which he was robbed from getting.

Continue to part 2....

Review of Undercover Brother

Undercover Brother is a comedy starring Eddie Griffin, Chi McBride ad Dave Chappelle. Undercover Brother tells the story of a group of African-Americans who become involved in a plot to destroy the black cultural influence in America by replacing it with stereotypical whiteness. 

There were several anti-Mayonnaise jokes, which I found hysterical, Undercover Brother is very funny and even throughout. My favorite performance and the one who in my opinion stole the show, was far Dave Chappelle. He brilliantly played Conspiracy Brother to a tee and his conspiracies were so real too.

My only complaint is that the middle is a bit slow and the ending is cheesy. Other than that however, a good movie for a good laugh.

8/10.

A Heston Movie I Didn't Like?

I never thought I'd see the day when yours truly would sit through a movie starring Charlton Heston and I didn't end up liking it. But I did and that movie is Earthquake from 1974.

Earthquake was corny, boring, and predicable. Plus I was waiting to see Charlton freak out because that's what he does best.

Nothing too great to talk about here except for Walter Mathau's small but hilariously memorable role as "Drunk" which was entertaining but overall I wouldn't recommend Earthquake.

6/10, Charlton must have done it for the money...

Review of Heat

Starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Tom Sizemore, Val Kilmer, Hank Azaria, Ted Levine, William Fitchner, Jon Voight, Henry Rollins and the Allstate guy, Heat is a tremendously amazing crime drama film about one cop (Pacino) and one thief (De Nino) who square off against each other in a field of dead bodies, vehicle wreckage and method acting.

A fun fact about Heat, which was directed by Michael Mann the husband of Diane Sawyer, Heat was shot on 65 locations around the LA area and not one was a sound stage. If only they made movies like this more often.

I will give Heat a 9/10 for it's terrific writing and amazing acting. It is a long movie, coming in at 2 hours and 50 minutes but well worth it. Also, the all-star cast is great, including the lead females actors,  Diane Verona, Ashley Judd and Amy Brenneman.

Well done Mr. Mann.

RIP Blake Edwards

Director, Producer and Screenwriter Blake Edwards a man known for directing The Pink Panther and Breakfast at Tiffany's died two days ago at the St. John's Medical Center in Santa Monica.

Blake, who is married to Julie Andrews, was 88 years old and died from complications due to pneumonia. The same cause of death as Leslie Nielson who died this month in Florida. 

He was also the director of my father's favorite movie of all time, the one who introduced me to Peter Sellers at a young age, The Party.