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In Country (1989)

It's hard to explain it. I grew up in the 1980s, and the previous decade seemed like a lifetime away. When I was seven or eight, I loved watching the A-Team, but I could never wrap my head around those guys being in the Vietnam War. I mean, if they were in their 30s or 40s, I guess that makes perfect sense, but the late 60s might as well have been the 19th century to my little kid brain.  Even when I was in college in the 1990s, I wondered why certain authors were bothering to write about Vietnam -- Tim O'Brien, or for the purposes of this film, Bobbie Ann Mason.  In Country is a movie that shows there was still something to be learned and discovered about the Vietnam War and the people that were still caught in its memory.  Samantha (Emily Lloyd) never knew her father. He was killed in Vietnam while her mom was pregnant with her. For that matter, her mom never really knew her husband. They were married for about four months when he was shipped off to Vietnam.  In th...
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Vacation (2015)

Is 4 stars generous? Maybe, but I watched all 5 Vacation movies over a weekend, and this one was the only one that really made me consistently laugh. Ed Helms and Christina Applegate do a very good job taking over the lead roles from Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo.  Chase and D'Angelo both have small roles in the film. My first thought was: D'Angelo has aged gracefully, but what in the hell has happened to Chase? The 18 years between Vegas Vacation (1997) and this film haven't been kind to him.  So, the basic premise of this film is the same as the original Vacation (1983): A cross-country to Wally World. The movie acknowledges this with a short "meta" scene. I thought that scene was funny, and I like the Albanian rental car. I thought for sure it could be driven in either direction, but they never showed that. It did come with a rather sus keypad that included quite a few unnecessary options.  Each of the main characters is developed enough to be interestin...
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Vegas Vacation (1997)

Rusty (Ethan Embry) is back to wearing Izods. In this one, his collection includes yellow and turquoise. They also bring back Christie Brickley and her Ferrari gimmick (this time she's a mom). While I like that they bring back things that might remind us of the classic Vacation (1983), I also feel like the "callbacks" can be almost them saying, "We've run out of anything new to offer."  Enter Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) and his family. They're back, because now they live in the desert outside of Las Vegas. Eh...  Elisa Bell and Bob Ducsay took over the screenplay duties from John Hughes, but it feels like they wanted to try to go back to Vacation (1983) roots. But honestly, this series just proves my theory that sequels are never as good as the original, and in this case, even the original wasn't all that great to begin with.  On the positive side, after having no reason for being in Christmas Vacation (1989), I was glad to see that Rusty and Audrey (...
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Christmas Vacation (1989)

No better than European Vacation (1985), which was pretty much dreadful.  In this installment, we have a little more physical humor, as well as some callbacks to the original. In the original Vacation (1983), they accidently killed an aunt's dog. In this one, an aunt's cat gets electrocuted chewing on the Christmas tree light wires.  Another callback is Clark (Chevy Chase) looking out the back window, imagining how nice his new swimming pool will be. Then he sees a hot girl. Maybe this fantasy sequence works if they brought back Christy Brinkley.  If they couldn't get her, though, just cut the scene. Rusty (Johnny Galecki) has some interaction with Clark, but they seem to have forgotten Audrey (Juliette Lewis). She just gets lost in the plethora of family characters. In fact, when they're busy chasing the squirrel, Audrey completely disappears. I thought, "Did she hide in her room?" I mean, I was trying to make up a reason for why she completely disappeared fr...
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National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985)

If this movie wasn't billed as a comedy, would I like it any better? But if we don't consider it to be a comedy, what genre would it be? IMDb offers some alternative categories: Farce, Globetrotting Adventure, Roadtrip.  Nope. Even if I think of it as a non-comedy filling one of those other roles, I don't like it.  The original Vacation had a very limited idea, but it had an idea: Let's drive to Wally World. This movie's idea is even more vaguely defined: Let's go to Europe because we won a contest.  As other reviews have said, this is a comedy without any jokes. When I noticed Eirc Idle had a small part in the film, that briefly excited me, but this is a prime example of "Why did he agree to take this part?" It's exciting, in theory, to think about Chevy Chase and Eric Idle sharing a scene and bouncing comedy off of one another. But when they are on screen together, nothing happens.  Just other random thoughts: Do you remember colored TP? The Gris...
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National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)

When you grew up, did you and your parents share outfits or wear the same brands/clothing styles? In National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983), Rusty opens the film in a Pink Izod. Clark will later wear a Pink Izod, too. So will Ellen, but it’s oversized so I’m guessing it’s Clark’s. Rusty also wears a yellow and a green Izod. Clark wears a light purple, a light blue, and a dark red Izod. Clark and Ellen also have Izod rain jackets. His is blue and hers is tan. Yes, I found myself distracted by that, although it's not a big deal. I would rather one character wear the Izod, but maybe 1983 was the year everyone wore the allegator gimmick.  I don't think this movie is very strong, but it is iconic, and a lot of my friends like it and quote it from time to time. In all honestly, I don't think I've ever actually watched it, and I wanted to finally give it a fair viewing. Additionally, I've been watching the films of John Hughes, and his Chicago-based presentation interests me. ...
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The Constant Gardener (2005)

  "You could learn me." -- Tessa asking Justin to marry her. What a line! And over the course of the film he does, telling her spirit that he has finally learned all of her secrets. Justin (Ralph Fiennes) and Tessa (Rachel Weisz) end up in bed together so quickly, I thought I was watching a porno for a second. But that's before. The movie starts with the "end," I suppose, with "everything" before happening in flashback. The opening shot focuses on the backs of Justin, Tessa, and Arnold. Tessa turns around briefly to say goodbye. She touches Arnold's arm briefly, and but everything feels detached and unexplained. At this moment, we don't know who these people are, or what's about to happen. We've landed at this specific moment, and it's not in the linear timeline. Justin is a very polite, very reserved British diplomat. Tessa is a woman who wants to make a difference in the world. When she asks to go to Africa with Justin, she offers...
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