Nobody knows the movies I've seen...
I need that show on YouTube... wait a second!
If I just break out of here, I can review all the films I want.
Does anybody have a rock hammer!?
This is Movie Night!
Hello and welcome to the fifth season of Movie Night!
Back in a brand new suit and tie, I'm your host, Jonathan Paula.
As with every year, I took the summer off from my film reviewing to focus on other projects,
and enjoy my summer vacation...
while the folks here at the TCL Chinese Theater were hard at work renovating Hollywood's most
iconic picture house with a retrofitted IMAX screen and stadium seating...
so welcome to the new home of Movie Night!
To coincide with the release of "The Escape Plan", tonight's theme will be prison films
- an old one, a proper full-review of the best one, and the new one.
We begin with, "The Great Escape".
Released on the 4th of July in 1963, this ensemble adventure drama film tripled its
$4-million dollar budget, and has remained a hit with audiences, 50 years later.
Featuring composite-characters, and taking artistic liberties, the story is otherwise
decently faithful to a real-life escape attempt by dozens of allied forces from a German POW
camp during World War II.
The all-star cast features Steve McQueen, who is, as always - the master of cool, an
ambitious and impatient American who spends a majority of the picture attempting escapes,
and getting locked in the "cooler".
Also starring is a young James Garner as the "Scrounger", Donald Pleasance as the prisoners'
resident "forger", Charles Bronson as their chief tunnel digger, Richard Attenborough
as the overseer of the escape endeavor, and a host of other male actors playing both the
good guys, and the bad.
The otherwise taleneted cast hardly does more than joke around and deliver exposition though.
When initially detained, the ranking British officer dutifully reminds his captor, "It
is the sworn duty of all officers to try to escape."
It's this quaint, civilized understanding between the allies and the Germans than makes
the dynamics of this picture more playful and lighthearted than other prison films - as
everyone maintains their composure and respect for each other.
Director John Sturges stays friendly with slow-moving anamorphic wide-shots, which although
typical for the period, rarely elicits any excitement.
Although seldom used, composer Elmer Bernstein's theme is certainly an iconic one... an upbeat,
whimsical tune that only begins to suggest the amount of mayhem our heroes plan to cause.
The prisoners unashamedly make brazen, and frequent escape attempts...
testing the guards response and weaknesses.
Their ingenious solutions to various problems is terrific fun, like shaking dirt out of
their pant legs, to blend it in with the lighter-colored topsoil, to avoid arousing suspicion.
At two hours and fifty two minutes, this picture, much like its mammoth cast is perhaps larger
than necessary - especially considering the lengthy runtime isn't used to develop any
of the main characters beyond a cursory level.
Slow-moving, and tame by today's standards, this film was given the equivalent of a "PG"
rating, and is surprisingly family-friendly for a war picture.
With no less than six parallel narratives, the final act of this movie takes things in
a new direction, and is a bit darker in tone than the preceding material - but remains
decidedly enjoyable on multiple viewings.
Despite its faults, this is a fun, and inspirational story for all ages - that holds up remarkably
well a half century later, "The Great Escape" is "Perfect escapist cinema.
Fascinating story."
First review of season five down, now let's see what you had to say about it.
And now, with the help of the newest redesign of Movie Night's trademark Rate-o-Matic are
the scores for "The Great Escape"... two EIGHTS.
You loved the A-list cast, and World War II story, you thought it was GREAT.
This movie has it where it counts, and is plenty entertaining because of it... as its
name suggests, I thought it was GREAT too.
Next up tonight is, "The Shawshank Redemption".
RIGHT -- Released nationwide in October of 1994, this $25-million dollar drama film directed
by Frank Darabont unfortunately failed to earn much of a profit, and was initially considered
a flop.
Thanks to especially strong word of mouth, it became the most rented home video of 1995
though, and its frequent broadcasts on basic cable have since made the 142-minute picture
an American classic - and IMDb's number one top-rated film of all time.
The R-rated story, based on the novella, "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption", by acclaimed
writer Stephen King - follows Tim Robbins , an innocent banker from Maine serving consecutive
life sentences in the titular prison.
During his decades on the inside, he bonds with the wise Morgan Freeman (in an Oscar
nominated role)... whose booming narration ties together the lengthy narrative.
William Sadler, Gil Bellows, and elderly character actor James Whitmore round out the unique
group of fellow ex-cons.
Robbins also faces off against a host of devilish adversaries; a violent gang of prison rapists
led by Mark Rolston, Clancy Brown as uncompromising and sadistic guard, and Bob Gunton in perhaps
his most iconic role; as the positively despicable and corrupt warden of the penitentiary, who
has no issue leveraging Robbins' banking talents for financial gain, only to turn around and
toss him in a dark cell for months at a time.
The portrayal of these inspirational and frightening characters is accomplished with the highest
caliber of skill from all involved, including a particularly poignant scene when Robbins
realizes his mantra for survival, "Get busy living... or get busy dying."
Set during the mid 20th-century, the allegorical tale of hope and freedom organically meanders
from one interesting vignette to the next.
It could be argued that many smaller arcs could be excised for a leaner plot, but it's
these personal moments that build such a rich and moving tapestry; especially a sequence
focusing on Whitmore's release from prison as an old man... struggling to deal with the
psychological consequences of being institutionalized his entire adult life.
Or Robbins' small act of defiance when he plays a portion of Mozart's " Marriage of
Figaro" opera over the prison's PA system - facing certain punishment in
the process.
The period-authentic vernacular is laced with inventive phrases and colorful insults, allowing
for more than a few lighter moments in an otherwise somber picture.
Not to be understated is Oscar-nominated cinematographer Roger Deakins's work behind the lens... masterfully
filling the 16:9 frame with sweeping shots of the beautiful stone prison, shot on-location
in Mansfield, Ohio.
Every shot is so meticulously crafted, showcasing the lights, shadows, and emotion of every
scene so perfectly, it's a wonder production actually finished ahead of schedule.
The strings-heavy soundtrack from Thomas Newman is an atmospheric and moody one, swelling
to full volume during the film's spectacularly glorious final act - one of the best in cinema
history.
A marvelous technical accomplishment in every facet, it's a true shame that this near-flawless
piece of storytelling did not win any of its seven Oscar nominations... losing several
of them, including a "Best Picture" nomination to "Forrest Gump", which as incredible as
it is, was perhaps the less deserving film that year.
An effortlessly immersive and satisfying experience, that is enjoyable on every viewing, "The Shawshank
Redemption" is "A triumphant masterpiece of filmmaking."
Now let's hear some of your reviews from the YouTube comments.
Our scores now for "The Shawshank Redemption"... two TENs.
No real surprise here, the film has remained fixed atop IMDd's top-250 list for good reason,
this is a remarkable, and supremely enjoyable movie - praise was unanimous for all points.
So rarely does a fictional story inspire as much as this one, it gets an almost-perfect
score from me, an easy AMAZING - one of my favorite movies.
Before tonight's final review, lets take a quick commercial break.
Following a name change a months of production delays, the movie that finally teamed up Hollywood's
two biggest action stars was finally released nationwide on October 18, 2013.
Produced on a budget of $70-million by Swedish filmmaker Mikael Håfström, I can only hope
this picture does better than similar films these days.
Ostensibly nothing more than a 115 minute vehicle to get Sylvester Stallone and Arnold
Schwarzegger on-screen in their first "true" co-starring role together, this picture honestly
accomplishes more than it needed to.
Stallone stars as a professional escape artist who intentionally incarcerates himself for
months a time... only so he can find weaknesses from within maximum security prisons, and
report back to his clients.
The unlikely but intriguing premise begins with a cold-open showcasing Stallone's unique
talents in action...
before he's kidnapped and sent to -- you guessed it -- a supposedly escape-proof prison.
It's inside this curiously designed, airplane-hangar-sized prison that he meets and befriends Arnie,
and seeing these two old action dinosaurs duke it out is a true delight, especially
when the former Governor chides, "You hit like a vegetarian!".
Never known for their acting chops, the two brawny men still do a convincing job in the
lead roles, and play off each other with ease.
Jim Caviezel plays a sharply-dressed, stereotypical asshole warden, Sam Niel is briefly featured
as the prison's conflicted doctor, and Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson attempts to keep his acting
career afloat with a small supporting role as a wise-talking tech guru.
Plot holes aplenty, things are far more confusing and complicated than necessary, but individual
sequences actually work really well here, like Schwarzegger distracting guards by shooting
in German so Stallone can slip out of his solitary confinement cell undetected.
From Sly's heavy punches, to Arnold's chain-gun shooting spree, fans of the old-school action
genre will definitely have fun with as the picture hearkens back to iconic moments of
yesteryear.
The music, sound effects, and visuals are hardly noteworthy, but Håfström's directing
occasionally impressed; balancing extreme close-ups with time-ramped wide-shots, and
a frantic montage.
Although it gets credit for its original, non-sequel premise... if not for the big-name
talent, this is a nothing more than a leisurely paced action film with few surprises.
But that said, I wouldn't mind watching this again if I caught it on basic cable while
flipping channels.
"The Escape Plan", "Shallow excitement for action fans."
Right to the rate-o-matic now... a SIX.
For a film that was essentially thirty years in the making, I was definitely hoping for
more, but I still enjoyed the experience for what it was, I thought it was GOOD.
Lastly tonight, let's take a look at other movies currently playing in theaters with
your Tweet Critiques.
If you see a new movie in theaters, Tweet your review with the #JPMN hashtag to have
it featured on the show.
And be sure to follow me on Twitter or Facebook for updates between shows, and to help decide
upcoming reviews.
Next week, to celebrate Halloween, we'll be reviewing three slasher classics: 1978's "Halloween",
"The Nightmare On Elm Street", and finally "Friday The 13th".
I kicked off this season of Movie NIght a couple weeks early this year just for this
occasion, so I hope you can join me by watching these scary movies..
Once you've seen them, share your opinion by voting in the polls below, or by leaving
a comment review.
And please subscribe to the Movie Night Archive channel for exclusive trailer commentaries,
and an organized library of all our past reviews.
Once again, my name is Jonathan Paula - thank you for watching Movie Night, I hope to see
you, right back here for the next episode!