''When Harry Met Sally...'' (1989 movie)- Review

Directed by: Rob Reiner

Released: 1989

Country: United States

Main cast: Meg Ryan, Billy Crystal, Carrie Fisher, Bruno Kirby, Steven Ford

Genres: Romantic comedy, Drama

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Review

Harry Burns and Sally Albright first meet while sharing a drive to New York from Chicago. Harry is the boyfriend of Sally's friend Amanda. They don't get along very well. Harry comments that men and women can never be friends, because sex always gets on their way. Sally disagrees. Upon reaching New York, they part their ways, because according to Harry, they cannot be friends.

Five years later, Harry and Sally meet for the second time. Sally is in a relationship, and Harry will be getting married soon.

Five more years later, they meet again. Both are single now... Sally's relation with Joe ended, and Harry and Helen are divorced. Harry and Sally become best friends, with both of them sharing everything with each other, talking on phone late into the night, going here and there, taking meals together. But will they always be able to remain friends, or will it turn into a romantic relation one day?

Their story is told with sudden interruptions, where elderly couples reveal how they had met, how they had fallen in love, how they had got married, and how their love has lasted over the decades.

Nora Ephron's screenplay was extraordinary. The dialogues are witty, the situations are humorous. Near the end, the situations does get a bit serious, but however, the humorous part remains active all the time! Harry and Sally are both remarkable characters. Both are funny and sweet. 

So many hilarious scenes, it would be difficult to mention all of them! One of the funniest scenes was Sally faking an orgasm (and the epic dialogue that follows: ''I'll have what she's having!''). When Jo is going to get married and Sally calls Harry, and she's crying, and taking a tissue paper one after another, that scene was also extremely funny. There are many touching and emotional scenes as well, for example, the ending, and many scenes throughout the film. And then there are the colorful sceneries, backgrounds, and the pleasant background music.

When Harry Met Sally is a lovely and refreshing film. Romantic comedy as a genre is extremely tired, and this is one of the examples of great films in this genre. Rob Reiner's direction is excellent. Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal also give excellent performance. And there is Nora Ephron's screenplay. These make it an excellent film.

4.5 out of 5

''The Shining'' (1980 movie)- Review

Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
Released: 1980  
Country: United States   

 Starring: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers, Philip Stone, Joe Turkel, Anne Jackson     

Genres: Psychological horror, Thriller 

Rating: 4 out of 5    

Review  

Just think of it. Three people are in a hotel alone. There is no one else. Then suddenly, things happen to one of them, terrible things. He starts acting madly and violently- ready to kill the two other people. No, The Shining is not a haunting house film. Here, the thing to fear is not the presence of spirits, but the things to fear is one of the main characters. The ghosts just form a background that is very creepy as well.   

 Stanley Kubrick's ''The Shining'' is a terrifying film, first of all, and sort of ambiguous as well. The film is somewhat confusing, because we have no idea what exactly is going on, why certain things are happening to the characters, etc. But however, this is a pretty scary and one of the best psychological horror films I've seen. The atmosphere and situations are built up so well that it's impossible to deny the greatness of this film.     

Jack Torrence, a writer, takes the responsibility of the Overlook Hotel in winter. In winters, the hotel is closed because snow makes it difficult to move; Jack and his family will be the only people in the hotel. The hotel is located in an isolated area, with no houses or people around. Jack decides to use the isolation of the hotel as a chance to pay attention to his writing. Jack hears about a tragedy that took place in the hotel. Decades ago, a man working in the hotel had killed his wife and two daughters and then committed suicide. In spite of this history, Jack decides to work in the hotel    

The family moves to the hotel. Jack's son, Danny, is clairvoyant and telepathic. He can sometimes sense what is going to happen in future. And he has a mysterious imaginary friend named Tony.  

 Soon, Danny starts sensing unnatural and supernatural things in the hotel. Twin sisters. A flood of blood. A mysterious room at the hotel, Room 237.     

Jack slowly starts getting violent, extremely violent. His nature starts changing: from a gentle person, he starts getting violent and, in short, mad. He senses ghostly presences in the hotel, encounters men from the hotel's past, and then he gets eager to murder his wife and his son...    

 The film repeatedly reminded me of a word: isolated. Just think of this. The hotel is situated in an isolated area, with no houses, no neighbors around, but only mountains and snow. And in this hotel, the three members of the family live around. You can probably guess how well the situation is built up. The production design is pretty marvelous. The hotel is luxurious and vast, which amazes not only the characters but also the audience. The background music is suitable and creepy and ghostly all around.    

 Jack Nicholson is great in his role. The character slowly becoming crazy- Nicholson portrays that very well. His performance is very scary and effective. One of the few disappointments in this film is Shelley Duvall's performance. Shelley plays Jack's wife Wendy, a very important character in the film, but her performance is rather ineffective, I should. As the son, Danny Lloyd gives a satisfying performance.     

Overall, this is a splendid psychological horror film. This may not be one of my favorites of this genre, but however, I enjoyed and liked it a lot.    

 4 out of 5

''Ordinary People'' (1980 movie)- Review

Directed by: Robert Redford
Released: 1980
Country: United States

Stars: Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Timothy Hutton, Judd Hirsch, Elizabeth McGovern, M. Emmet Walsh, Dinah Manoff

Genres: Drama

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Review

Ordinary People, Robert Redford's directorial debut, deals with a family who is having troubles in restarting and renewing a good relationship, after the death of one of it's members. It's a calmly intense film that moved me, and impressed me... it made me look at the screen and have an emotional journey along with the characters. A thoughtful, melancholy, yet a feel-good film, once I watched it, I liked it, a lot. 

After the death of a son, Bucky, upper middle class parents Calvin (Donald Sutherland) and Beth (Mary Tyler Moore) and their other son Conrad (Timothy Hutton) are having a hard time. Beth is getting distant from both Calvin and Conrad. Conrad somewhat blames himself for the death of Bucky. Conrad attempted suicide, and spent some months at a psychiatric hospital. Now he feels that people are drifting away from him, his world has become something melancholy and sad, and his mother is becoming more distant. His father, Calvin, is always a kind and compassionate person, and advises Conrad to see psychiatrist Dr Berger. He agrees, and has both problematic and refreshing times with the doctor. Meanwhile, his swimming lessons are also giving him a hard time. What will he do now? The world seems now melancholy to all three members of the family...

Basically, the film tells us a sad story about the three members of this family, about how the death of the family's older son have affected them all. The story doesn't have a problem in it, and if it has, there is no solution in it. But yes, it makes some advances towards a solution, and the ending does hint that everything may not get fine, but still, there may be improvements on the relations between the family members, that their can still be hope.

The screenplay, adapted from a novel by Judith Guest, is calm yet emotionally overwhelming. The scene where Dr Berger assures Conrad that he is his friend, almost made tears coming to my eyes. The cinematography is beautiful. The opening is also nice; the film starts showing us natural beauty of woods, trees, leaves, water. This natural beauty is seen throughout the film, adding a sublime beauty to the overall looks. 

The performances are very powerful. First of all, there is the handsome Donald Sutherland as the father, a calm, quiet man who is quite worried about the distance that the members of his family are developing. Timothy Hutton, who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for this role, becoming the youngest actor ever to win in this category, gives a superb performance, bringing the emotional aspects of the character to life. Mary Tyler Moore, as the distant mother, is, in a word, perfect. Then there is Judd Hirsch, as Dr Berger, giving another very memorable performance.

It will not become one of my favorite films, but I liked this film, a lot, and would highly recommend it. It's an emotionally intense and calm, overwhelming... great film.

4.5 out of 5
  

Mystic Pizza (1988 movie)

Directed by: Donald Petrie
Released: 1988
Country: United States

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Plot synopsis

The film tells the story of three young women: sister Kat and Daisy and their best friend Jojo, who work in the famous pizzeria named Mystic Pizza. Jojo loves her boyfriend but shies away from marriage. Kat falls in love with a married older man whom she babysits for. And Daisy also falls in love with a handsome young man. A coming-of-age romantic comedy film.

Cast

Julia Roberts as Daisy Arujo 
Annabeth Gish as Kat Arujo
Lili Taylor as Josephine (Jojo) Barboza
Vincent D'Onofrio as Bill
William R. Moses as Tim Travers
Adam Storke as Charles Gordon Windsor
Conchata Ferrell as Leona

My Opinion

A sweet coming-of-age romantic movie, and for this movie Julia Roberts first achieved critical acclaim. Great acting by Annabeth Gish and Lili Taylor, and others as well. With a good story, presented in a nice way, this movie is quite likeable. Not a masterpiece, to tell the truth, however, this movie will not disappoint you. It is a good, quite enjoyable, and sweet movie.
 2.5 out of 5.

Grave of the Fireflies (1988 movie)

Directed by: Isao Takahata
Country: Japan
Original title: Hotaru no Haka
Released: 1988
 
Plot synopsis

Seita is a teenager and his sister, Setsuko, is about five years old. In the last months of the World War II, during a bombing, their house is destroyed and their mother dies; however, they survive. Though they are taken in by a distant aunt, they very soon leave the aunt's house because she is becoming increasingly hostile and mean towards them (for example, she persuaded Seita to sell his mother's food for rice). They take shelter in an abandoned bomb shelter. Now they have to fight against starvation, against diseases. But will they be able to survive?


Cast

Tsutomu Tatsumi as Seita (voice)
Ayano Shiraishi as Setsuko (voice)
Yoshiko Shinohara as Mother (voice)
Akemi Yamaguchi as Aunt (voice)


My opinion

This is the saddest animated movie I have ever seen. Grave of the Fireflies is a film that deeply touched me. Other animated movies, like Bambi, also brought tears to my eyes, so did Brother Bear (though it was not as sad), but Grave of the Fireflies completely touched me; it has a very touching theme and a touching story.  It is a very nice film. This film cannot actually be described in short, as it is such a very nice film! I loved this film. There are a very few animated films which are probably as sad as Grave of the Fireflies.

5 out of 5.

​

A Room with a View (1986 movie)

Directed by: James Ivory
Released: 1986
Country: United Kingdom

Plot synopsis

A young woman, Lucy Honeychurch, and her cousin Charlotte, visit Florence, Italy. There Lucy meets George Emerson, a handsome but eccentric young man. After she returns to England, Lucy is confused about whom to choose as her husband: either her fiance Cecil, or George, towards whom she feels attracted...

Based on the novel by E. M. Forster. 



Cast

Helena Bonham Carter as Lucy Honeychurch
Maggie Smith as Charlotte Bartlett
Denholm Elliott as Mr Emerson
Julian Sands as George Emerson
Simon Callow as The Reverend Mr. Beebe
Judi Dench as Eleanor Lavish
Daniel Day-Lewis as Cecil Vyse
Rupert Graves as Freddy Honeychurch
Rosemary Leach as Mrs. Honeychurch

Achievements

''A Room with a View'' won three Oscars. It also won several BAFTAs and a Golden Globe Award, along with other awards and nominations.

My opinion

This movie is nice, has romantic as well some funny element, and is really interesting to watch. I liked it very much. The performances of Maggie Smith, Julian Sands, and Helena Bonham Carter, are quite remarkable. (Before watching this film, I had watched Harry Potter series, so it was impressive to see Helena Bonham Carter and Maggie Smith in this movie, in completely different roles). The film is quite sweet, with a romantic story, and some of Lucy's dialogues, though may not intended to be funny, made me laugh. This is such a movie which brings a smile.

4 out of 5.