Peyton Place (1957)

 You might think that Peyton Place is a picturesque New England town and on the surface, you'd be right. The reality is the citizens aren't as shallow as the surface. 

The film has numerous characters and while Lana Turner has top billing as Constance MacKenzie, it is truly an ensemble piece. The turning point of the film comes far into the movie, but as this film takes place in 1941 and was still filmed under the Hays Code so there is a lot of sexual frustration and tension before the turning point when shopgirl Selena Cross (Hope Lange) murders his lecherous, drunk stepfather, Lucas (Arthur Kennedy) and then hides the body and now she's on trial for murder. This brings Allison MacKenzie (Diane Varsi) back into town to testify in Selena's defense and gets the town conscience Dr. Matthew Swain (Lloyd Nolan) to betray Selena's trust, revealing the truth, that her stepfather raped and impregnated her several months earlier (as every time characters have unprotected sex in films, regardless of consent, she becomes pregnant) and while Lucas left town, it drove his wife (Betty Field) to madness, committing suicide while she was working in the MacKenzie house. Naturally, this testimony changes the entire course of the trial and yes, the film has a happy ending, thank goodness for all involved as all the characters, with maybe the exception of the gossipy Marion (Peg Hillias), they are all truly good people despite having and keeping their secrets. 

Now, while the film is trite and overly wrought and far too melodramatic at times, it is still solid and forces you to peer beyond the surface and not judge your neighbor as you don't know what's really going on with them nor understand their true motivations behind their actions. Still, there is plenty of realistic character growth throughout and the performances are truly great. Grade: B+

Side Notes:

-There did need to be a lot more development as to the dysfunctional relationship between Norman Page (Russ Tamblyn), also the name of my great-uncle, and his overprotective mother. Ironically, he doesn't want to live until his life is in danger from jumping out of airplanes.

-Selena didn't want the truth about her rape to come out due to her rock-solid relationship with Ted Carter (David Nelson), who wants to become a lawyer. But he doesn't care and stands by her after the verdict is read.

-Terry Moore is also great as Betty Anderson who is known as the class flirt, but she also has substance.

-It is a shame that Ms. Thornton (Mildred Dunnock) isn't given the high school principal job and instead give it to the newcomer Michael Rossi (Lee Phillips) and somehow manage to scrounge up two thousand more dollars yearly for his salary, something which I don't understand. 

-Nowadays Nellie's disturbing ramblings would be interpreted as a cry for help but back then, it was an annoyance for Connie so she left, leaving Nellie alone to hang herself, and Allison was the one who discovered the body, going into shock afterward.

-Times have changed since this film. No longer does being illegitimate have the stigma it did back then. 

Thelma and Louise (1991)

 Now, this was an excellent film. You think that Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon) are just headed out for a fun road trip, but things take a quick and ugly turn when Thelma is nearly raped by this total asshole, Harlan (Timothy Carhart) and Louise holds a gun against his head and refuses to apologize so she shoots him, fatality. 

So, they are on the run, and need cash which leads to their next big, bad mistake. The honey trap, J.D. (Brad Pitt) who claims that he just needs to hitch a ride to get back to school when he's actually a convicted felon, for robbery and yet Thelma leaves him alone with a buttload of cash, big mistake, huge. Yeah, he robs them blind though first he does give Thelma her first night of true pleasure in her life (her marriage is a farce). So, Thelma robs a bank and then they speed wildly down the highway, never a good idea to drive at 110 mph, so they force a state trooper into his car trunk and then get payback at a creepy truck driver by blowing up his tanker so yeah, they make a bunch of stupid, stupid choices, but they are both also victims, Louise was raped back in Texas which is why she avoids the entire state (not a bad choice, by the way) though she refuses to admit it and of course, Thelma has a mentally abusive husband, louse of a husband and then is quiet nearly raped herself, yet, all the stops are pulled out. I mean, for just four crimes (and only one fatality), it is an all out manhunt and just when it appears that they've escaped, they haven't but together they make the choice to end it all, by driving off a cliff into their inevitable end. 

Still, they have some support, namely from Louise's long-term boyfriend, Jimmy (Michael Marsden) who wires her some money and doesn't ask too many questions and then the head detective Hal (Harvey Keitel) who just wants to talk to them and does want to help even after the incident with the state trooper, though no one listens to his pleas either. 

Though this is an excellent film, I do wish we learned how Louise and Thelma became friends in the first place as they live different lies, Thelma's a bored, unhappy housewife while Louise is a busy but great waitress. And then, how does J.D. manage to meet up with them again after the first gas station? But seriously, these are largely just nit-picky details in an otherwise great film. Grade: A-

Side Notes:

-Despite her excellent performance, Sarandon is easily a decade too old for her role.

-Thelma is trapped in a loveless marriage with Darryl (Christopher McDonald), but she knows him so well that when he greets her happily on the phone, she knows something is up, and it is.

-If they really needed money, they should have just pawned off their wedding ring (Thelma) and new 'engagement' ring (Louise).

-Darryl, Thelma's husband, is 100% having an affair.

-While I don't condone murder, Harlan needed to be punished and based on what the waitress said, this wasn't the first time he'd done something wrong.

-The waitress (Lucinda Jenney) doesn't believe that the two women are murderers because she was left a big tip, probably because Louise is a waitress herself and knows how difficult the job can be. 

-I can't explain the kiss between Thelma and Louise at the end. 

-I can't believe that Louise goes back to her drink after spending time on the dance floor; first rule of going out, never leave your drink unattended.

-Props to Hans Zimmer's brilliant score, he should have at least earned an Oscar nomination for this. 

Silence of the Lambs (1991)

 So, I finally saw this movie, and it wasn't as scary as I anticipated. 

Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster, great) is a novice FBI officer, still in training when she's called to interview convicted and disgusting serial killer, Hannibal Lector (Anthony Hopkins) in order to pump him for more information on another serial killer, Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine), who skins his victims after he kills them. Yeah, this film has a bunch of upstanding citizens in it. Still, it is solid, and the woman who would be Buffalo Bill's next victim does manage to survive, which is good, she was just trying to be nice and help him move some furniture, so lesson learned, don't be nice to people. Still, it is disturbing at how evil and intelligent Lector is and how quick he turns a situation on its head. 

Sure, the film is gritty and downright nasty at times, but Foster is brilliant and so is Hopkins, though his role is quite small, it is shocking that he won an Oscar for Best Actor as opposed to Best Supporting Actor, still, this film nevertheless made his career. While this film was quite good, I have no intentions of watching it again. Grade: A-

Side Notes:

-Brooke Smith plays the almost victim of Buffalo Bill, so it is surprising how she didn't notice the signs of a serial killer, considering she was married to one in the TV show Big Sky. 

-The lambs part comes in to play when Clarice describes her childhood to Lector. 

-Apparently, Buffalo Bill is also having issues his sexuality and gender.

-Clarice stumbles upon Buffalo Bill through a case of sheer dumb luck.

-It is a miracle that she's find as the FBI only had an inkling of where she'd be.

-Pay attention to Kasi Lemmons as Clarice's friend in Quantico, she's great in her small role. 

Misery (1990)

 This is the film which won Kathy Bates her only Oscar. 

It was shocking to see her so young on film, in one of her first major roles as the deranged epic fan, Annie Wilkes, who can't believe her luck when she stumbles onto her favorite author of all-time, Paul Sheldon (James Caan) who nearly dies in a wretched car crash (overturning into a ditch during a sudden snow storm).

At first, you think she's kind, but she's actually completely evil and manipulative and desperately wants the Misery, the character to survive so she forces Paul to burn his manuscript, the only copy of the book he has (this was before the flash drive was invented) and then re-write it to appease her. It is basically a battle of the wills, though for most of the plot, Paul seems complacent, but in reality, he's just planning his next move.

Fortunately, Paul does also have a savvy and concerned agent, Marcia (the legendary Lauren Bacall) who alerts the local sheriff, Buster (Richard Farnsworth) who eventually stumbles onto the truth, only to die as a result, as Annie does have a murderous past, a maternity nurse who killed babies. Babies, doesn't get much worse than that. Still, in the end, Paul does win, though it is a bloody mess and just when you think Annie's dead, she comes back so he has to kill her again, just like in Fatal Attraction. 

Now, while it was bizarre and certainly creepy and disturbing, Bates was great (as she should have been, considering she won an Oscar for the role), but Caan and Farnsworth were great also, matching the performances beat for beat. The film needed the good performances as there so few characters in the film. Still, she was such a wretched character, the film was different to watch. Grade: B

Side Notes:

-Who knows if Annie spills her wine on purpose or if it was an accident? Paul was attempting to drug her, but his plot failed.

-Annie is truly the biggest Paul Sheldon fan, even naming her pig Misery, after the character.

-I wonder what Annie does for money, as she's clearly done time in prison, but is still able to live in the nice, albeit dated, farmhouse and keep Paul hostage. 

-Annie is probably her most deranged when she purposely breaks Paul's ankles again. 

-When you write a book, make sure you have a back-up copy. 

Ghost (1990)

This movie was better and more interesting than expected. 

Of course I knew the plot, Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze) is murdered and can't fully pass over or leave the love of his life, Molly Jansen (Demi Moore). And I figured out that Sam's co-worker, Carl (Tony Goldwyn) was actually the man behind Sam's murder, which Sam actually figured out pretty quickly as well, but it got fascinating as Sam uses seer Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg) to sabotage Carl, though it does almost backfire as nearly she and Molly wind up dead and Sam's ghost is responsible for the death of two people. Still, the journey was a truly great ride, though I do wish the ending had had an epilogue, something with Molly and Oda Mae long after Sam finally passes over. 

Goldberg won her only Oscar for this role and while it is a bizarre role, she was truly great. And I don't know why Swayze wasn't considered a good actor, but this role will prove them wrong, as he was great, probably the best in the film. Still, despite the predictability, there were some truly funny, truly romantic and truly thrilling moments. Grade: B+

Side Notes:

-Oda Mae may have thought she was a fraud in the beginning, but that proves to be incorrect.

-I did feel that we needed to get some sort of closure for the subway ghost (Vincent Schiavelli) as his role was small but painfully vital. Also, his teeth are disgusting.

-Carl really is slimy, not only is he laundering money (for unknown reasons, though greed is likely the main culprit), but he also tries (and thanks to Sam's interventions, fails) to seduce Molly.

-Though the cat is only about two scenes, he plays an important role nonetheless.

-Stephen Root has a cameo as one of the police officers who tries to get Molly to believe that Oda Mae's a fraud.

-How many bullets can that little handgun hold? Apparently tons.

-If you've lived an evil life, you get dragged away by evil demons?

-We never really learn why Sam can't say I love you. 

-The scene where Carl fakes a contagious disease to clear a crowded elevator doesn't age well, especially during this pandemic.