Philadelphia (1993)

 This film contains two of the best performances of all-time.

Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks) believes that he was fired from his high powered corporate law firm in Philadelphia so he asks personal injury attorney, Joe Miller (Denzel Washington) to defend him. Joe is reluctant at first, fearful that AIDs is contagious and that homosexuality is disgusting. But he does change his mind after running into Andrew at a law library. 

This begins one of the great courtroom dramas ever, with both sides presenting great cases as Andrew's health rapidly deteriorates. The firm tries to say that Andrew was fired for incompetence (losing an important suit filing at the eleventh hour) while he feels otherwise. Also, how the brief disappear off both his desk and computer, that's just weird. First, they need to prove that the partners knew Andrew had AIDs as he kept his personal life personal and then prove that that is why he was fired. This film, unlike most, actually shows part of how the jury came to their opinion, which is great. And the jury comes back with a verdict in favor of Andrew, awarding him tons of money in punitive damages, though whatever happiness Andrew has is short-lived as his death is nigh.

While the screenplay is incredibly tight, with intricate legal dialogue and Denzel's catchphrase: Explain it to me like I'm a six-year-old. The acting is also impeccable, Hanks won an Oscar and Washington should have at least been nominated. Everyone else is also pitch-perfect in their smaller roles. This is a film to be watched and cherished. Grade: A

Side Notes:

-Pay attention for cameos or smaller roles from Anna Deavere Smith, Mary Steenburgen, Jason Robards, Bradley Whitford, Ann Dowd and Joanne Woodward. 

-I do wonder how Andrew got AIDs from a quick hook-up in a gay movie theater but didn't give it to his devoted, long-term partner, Miguel (Antonio Banderas). 

Bad Education (2020)

 This was a great film until the somewhat bizarre ending. 

Dr. Frank Tassone (Hugh Jackman) is the superintendent of Roslyn High School on Long Island which is ranked fourth out of all the public high schools in the country, which is super great but he's determined to be number by building this SkyWay, a multimillion dollar project which will connect both ends of the building together. However, the project isn't all what it seems as student journalist, Rachel (Geraldine Viswanathan) uncovers a bunch of lies and deceits, fraud runs rampant. First, business manager, Pam Gluckin (Allison Janney) is forced to resign but the problems runs far deeper. Rachel's the fearless one, though the board tries to get them to press charges but Frank won't as that would ruin the district's reputation so no charges are pressed until the deception is uncovered as there are plenty of fake companies who've been taking money from the school for years. Needless to say, the public's trust in their school district is ruined and several people are jailed, as they should be, yet, thanks to a loophole, Frank still receives a hefty pension despite all of his wrongdoings. 

Fortunately, the acting is superb and the screenwriting is tight except for the odd ending when Frank's wildest fantasy comes true, only it doesn't but at least it makes national headlines. Grade: B+

Side Notes:

-The important side plot involves Frank cheating on his long-term domestic partner with one of his former students and his long-term partner has been part of Frank's crazy schemes. 

-Also pay attention to the scene-stealing Annaleigh Ashford as the naïve niece of Pam who also unwittingly falls into the scheme of fraud.  

Silkwood (1983)

 This is a great film highlighting Meryl Streep's incredible talent.

Karen Silkwood (Streep) works at a nuclear plant, with long hours and different working conditions, being on her feet all day. She lives with her boyfriend, Drew (Kurt Russell), who fixes cars in his spare time and their friend, Dolly (Cher) who harbors a crush on Karen but also may have been the reason for Karen's downfall. Karen's main concern at the beginning is getting the weekend off so she can visit her kids who live out of state, why she moved so far away from them is never explained. But when she returns, she learns that her section of the plant suffered a contamination which starts her slow decent into realizing how dangerous her job is and she quickly becomes more involved with the union, within just weeks becoming a spokeswoman for them, which leads to complications in her personal life. 

Changes are thrown her way after she's transferred to another branch, working with the creepy Winston (Craig T. Nelson) who doctors pictures of the insufficient rods which is incredibly dangerous. This is what fascinates the fancy union men the most, as they gloss over the fact that are only two shower stalls for 75 people per shift, which is also wretched. However, Karen's life is derailed after she tests positive for internal radiation and they strip her house bare. She understands that her life will slowly decline and it probably would have, except for the fact that she dies in a tragic car wreck which may or may not have been purposeful, as the plant was furious with her actions. But she was just trying to save lives so she died a hero. 

The film is a bit oddly paced and slow at times, though the performances are all natural and great with Oscar nominations earned by Streep and Cher. And the screenplay has clever ways of explaining Karen's job at the plant. It's just a shame that the big guy won, but unfortunately, the big guy almost always wins. Grade: A-

Side Notes:

-The Confederate flag that Drew owns is a bit problematic nowadays. 

-However, they don't care that Dolly starts to date Angela (Diana Scarwid). Angela works at a funeral home and eventually goes back to her husband, talk about awkward. 

-Be on the look out for cameos from Bruce McGill, David Straithairn and Tess Harper. 

The Verdict (1982)

 This is a chilling film, but at least the good guy wins.

Boston, 1980, a medical malpractice case finally makes it to trial. A comatose woman's estate is suing the Catholic Church that applied the incorrect anesthetic, leaving her in a vegetative state with a stillborn baby and no answers.. Down-on-his-luck, alcoholic attorney Frank Galvin (Paul Newman) is assigned the case and though he initially wants to settle, he turns down the 'generous' offer and opts to take the case to trial. Except his star witness 'disappears'. Whether that doctor is murdered or forced to take a Caribbean vacation is anyone's guess. So, his case slowly falls apart, until his mentor, Mick (Jack Warden) uncovers the admitting nurse so she comes to testify and provides the smoking gun though the overly biased judge (Milo O'Shea) declares it inadmissible. The doctor didn't read Debra's chart and gave her the wrong drug, causing her to choke on her own vomit, causing her to become a vegetable for life. Debra ate just one hour before arriving at the hospital, not nine as the chart was tampered with to say and then Nurse Costello (Lindsay Crouse) was threatened that if she didn't tamper with the note, the doctors would have her fired. So yeah, there is a bunch of shady stuff going on behind the scenes. 

Though the film is slow at the start, it packs an emotional punch and the acting is great. Newman delivers another good performance and at least the doctors are found negligent by the jury as they clearly made some devastating and unforgivable mistakes and should be punished. Grade: A-

Side Notes:

-Beware of Charlotte Rampling's Laura Fisher, she's a mole and while I'm against violence, she deserves to be slapped for her going against her fellow woman.

-This is the second film in which James Mason (the opposing council Concannon) and Rampling star. The first was the great Georgy Girl. Mason received supporting nominations for both, Rampling wasn't nominated for either. 

Hud (1963)

 This is an excellent film, which is also essentially a four person drama. 

Paul Newman is brilliant as the jackass Hud Bannon the younger son of a respected rancher. The father and son do not get along especially after it is determined that the cows could have foot and mouth disease is absolutely wretched. Hud wants to sell before the diagnosis is final while his moral father absolutely refuses. Turns out the two haven't gotten along for years as Hud just doesn't care about anyone other than himself. And that was before Hud was driving drunk and killed his brother, leaving his nephew, Lonnie (Brandon De Wilde) an orphan. Still, Lonnie adores his uncle ignoring Hud's womanizing and boozing ways, until Hud nearly rapes their respected housekeeper, Alma (Patricia Neal). In end, Hud gets what he wants, the ranch all to himself but there is nothing for him. Alma and Lonnie left, not together, separately and Homer (Melvyn Douglas), Hud's father died tragically. 

Despite the somewhat depressing nature of the film, the acting is impeccable and while new ground isn't necessarily broken, the themes are timeless and done quite well. And Homer is one of the most moral characters ever portrayed in cinema. Newman is at the top of his game here despite being a total ass. I also liked the ambiguous ending. He still has the potential to be a wealthy man, if oil is found on the land or he could be even poorer than at the start of the film. Grade: A-

Side Notes:

-Douglas is one of two actors who won an Oscar for portraying a Homer in 1962. Sydney Poitier won his for Lilies of the Field's Homer Smith. 

-Alma has some of the best lines in history: "I've done my time with one cold-hearted bastard, I'm not looking for another." And "I don't like pigs."

-Though Lonnie appalled that Hud nearly raped Alma, he still chalks it up to the fact that Hud was drunk, which he was. But at least Hud apologizes, which is more than most. He's still a jerk though. 

 

Da 5 Bloods (2020)

 This film is basically Treasure of the Sierra Madre set in Vietnam. 

Four Vietnam vets gather to go back to collect the body of their fallen soldier, Norman (the late, great Chadwick Boseman) and to unbury some gold, so they will be rich. Naturally, nothing goes to plan. First, Paul's (Delroy Lindo's) son, David (Jonathan Masters) somehow manages to join them and then Eddie (Norm Lewis) turns out to be broke and dies after stepping on a landmine. And just when you think things might finally work out, think again, rebel soldiers refuse to let them keep their gold so they have endure yet another battle in Vietnam, leaving only a wounded Otis (Clarke Peters) alive out of the original 5, which is good thing as he just discovered that he knocked up his Vietnamese mistress so he has another adult daughter. 

The film is superbly acted though it is an extremely bloody film, realistically so. I wasn't thrilled with the plot, though it wasn't super predictable (I did predict that the woman was Otis's daughter and though Paul was adamant that nothing was going to kill him, I figured that he would die), I still didn't like the whole kidnapping the bomb disfuser people which involved one of the most bizarre love stories I've seen in some time. Fortunately, the film has somewhat of a happy ending, with plenty of the money going to charities, worthy charities, though the one is fictitious, created solely for the film though it should be real. Grade: B+

Side Notes:

-In another choice, during the flashback scenes, the same actors are used to portray their younger selves, without any attempt to make them look younger, which is bizarre. 

-I don't understand why Norman was rescued but not Eddie. 

-Money really is the root of all evil.