Author Archives: Oberst von Berauscht
Gone with the Wind (1939) Drinking Game
Gone with the Wind (1939) DVD / Blu-ray
Drinking Game
Take a Drink: whenever you feel like Scarlett deserves a good slap in the face
Take a Drink: every time Scarlett says something twice for emphasis, or says “Fiddle De-De”… (Take a bonus drink if she does this while doing something that makes you want to slap her in the face)
Do a Shot: for every horrific child actor line delivery and/or racial stereotype
Read the full Gone with the Wind (1939) review
Gone with the Wind (1939)
Gone with the Wind (1939) DVD / Blu-ray
By: Oberst Von Berauscht (Six Pack) -
How many beers do you recommend for this movie?
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Arguably the most beloved movie of all time, and adjusted for inflation, still by far the most successful. Gone with the Wind tells the story of Scarlett O’Hara (Vivian Leigh), the spoiled daughter of a plantation owner, and her quest for an unhappy life by falling in love with one person, but marrying three others. Along the way, she strikes up an on again-off again romance with Rhett Butler (Clark Gable). The movie uses this to paint a picture of the beauty and wonder of the South, and the Southern people, who struggled for freedom, and States rights…
“Freedom and States rights” are defined as: the right to subjugate Black people.
A Toast
Clearly painting on a huge canvass, Gone with the Wind is admirable for it’s truly epic vision. The film’s most outdoor shots seem borrowed from German Expressionist filmmaking, with surreal sets and matte painting backgrounds. Indoors, the set and costume design pays great attention to antebellum detail, perfectly setting the feel of each scene.
Clark Gable is absolutely fantastic in his role as Rhett Butler, playing a dashing, but somewhat self-centered character who is nevertheless undone by the far more self-centered Scarlett. Hattie McDaniel’s performance as Mammy, the house slave, is a solid performance, and avoids most of the racial slandering that other slave characters in the film are forced into. Her character was a small step forward in films of the time, in that while still a subordinate character, she was able to talk back, and was depicted very often as being far more intelligent than her masters.
Beer Two
To compensate for the relative step forward in race relations, it seems like the filmmakers worked overtime to make every other Slaver character extra offensive. This is embodied most painfully in “Prissy”, a slave who is depicted as incredibly dense, and with a shrill voice.
Some movies age like fine wine, others age like a bottle of milk
Beer Three
Vivian Leigh’s Scarlett O’Hara is definitely one of the most unlikable lead characters in cinema. However Vivian Leigh overplays her acting hand at times. Yes, it was the 1930′s and acting styles hadn’t yet fully adapted to the small screen, but played against some far more subtle actress characters, she comes off as hammy, even by standards of the time.
Beer Four
The film focuses tirelessly on Scarlett without spending much time on other characters. As a result, even at its long running time (nearly 4 hours) most of the ancillary characters feel shallow and underdeveloped. This has the effect of slowing down the movie’s pace. This film could have been cut down by more than an hour and a half without losing the dramatic tension in Scarlett’s life story. It would have been far more interesting and dynamic for the story to focus on other characters at times as well.
Beer Five
Even by the standards of the late 1930′s the dialogue is tirelessly weak. People do not really speak so much as they “describe their feelings to the other person”. It can get especially grating during conversations where people talk about historical events occurring in the background.
“My dear… mentioning a battle happening somewhere off-screen is far more interesting than showing anything!”
Beer Six
This final, honorary beer goes for my lost time. In as long as it took for this movie to end, I could have watched Commando 2.5 times, I figure, if I’m going to watch a movie with 2 dimensional characters, they might as well be exploding.
As god as my witness, I’ll never watch this movie again!
Drinking Game
Take a Drink: whenever you feel like Scarlett deserves a good slap in the face
Take a Drink: every time Scarlett says something twice for emphasis, or says “Fiddle De-De”… (Take a bonus drink if she does this while doing something that makes you want to slap her in the face)
Do a Shot: for every horrific child actor line delivery and/or racial stereotype
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) Drinking Game
Drinking Game
Take a Drink: whenever the Baron mentions beautiful ladies
Do a Shot: whenever the Baron proves himself right
Fuck it, just drink heavily: when you see the King of the Moon
Read the full The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) review
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)
By: Oberst Von Berauscht (Two Beers) -
How many beers do you recommend for this movie?
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Turkish invaders have laid siege to a large, unnamed European city. As cannonballs rain down, the City officials and civilian populace watch a play about Baron Munchausen (German Nobleman famous for telling Tall Tales). In the midst of this performance, an old and disheveled man approaches the stage, and claims to be the real Baron. Embarrassed by the fact that no one believes him, he walks from the theater in defeat. He is then confronted by Sally; a curious child named who continues to hound him with questions. A series of unlikely circumstances sends the Baron and Sally out of the city, and on an adventure which shows a truth far stranger than fiction.
And an Uma far more jailbait than legal…
A Toast
Terry Gilliam’s Munchausen is notorious as one of the biggest box office failures of all time, made even more infamous for going well over the initial budget of $23 million dollars (finishing production at roughly $46.63 million). The film ultimately grossed less than $10 million dollars worldwide. As a result of this, the movie is often dismissed without being given a fair viewing. In truth, Munchausen is one of the most ambitious fantasy films of its time, with numerous admirable aspects, of which I will outline three:
1) The Visuals: Terry Gilliam, alongside Cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno and production designer Dante Ferretti, creates a surreal fantasy world, from a European city walled-in (both physically and psychologically) to the lavish palaces of the Turks to the fires of hell and the belly of a whale. The camerawork takes great advantage of wide lenses to give the sets a cavernous feel, and is complimented by immensely eccentric set and costume design.
Albeit sometimes quite confusing
2) The Acting: Young Sarah Polley delivers a wonderful performance, and easily eclipses other child actors of the day. John Neville as the eponymous Baron is the ultimate liar, whose exploits are nothing less than impossible, which somehow makes the viewer that much more likely to believe in them. He is a contradiction in nearly every way; sensitive and cantankerous, a gentleman and yet a clown. Of course, these contradictions suit the character brilliantly. The film is also full of small supporting actor moments that are simply wonderful to watch.
3) The Story: This movie is the third in an unofficial trilogy of films Terry Gilliam created based around the concept of imagination. Time Bandits explored the imagination of a child, Brazil the imagination of a Government Bureaucrat, and Munchausen covers the imagination of an old man. Like Don Quixote, the Baron loves to see himself as a man whose feats of greatness are beyond counting. And the story makes it clear that the world is better with fantasy and ridiculousness, as it allows us to escape gruesome reality. To Gilliam, the “real world” is filled with callous men whose interests are only in weeding out exceptional individuals, for fear that they’d disrupt their comfortable existence. These people are officious, ignorant, useless to the betterment of society, and worst of all; boring.
Although Jonathan Pryce’s shades are simply faaaaaabuloooous!
Beer Two
While the movie is very inventive, sometimes it can be too inventive. The film grinds to a (thankfully brief) halt in a sequence featuring the “King of the Moon” played by Robin Williams in all his 80′s glory. This sequence is played so over the top that it is obnoxious. Williams is an actor who can be capable of great subtlety and depth, but also gross miscalculation. Thankfully, this sequence is not at all necessary to the movie’s plot and can today be easily overcome with fast-forward. And the rest of the film is fantastic, so don’t let this moment kill the rest of the movie for you.
Cocaine is a hell of a drug…
I cannot tell a lie, this movie is pretty cool. Though perhaps a bit over-the-top at times.
Drinking Game
Take a Drink: whenever the Baron mentions beautiful ladies
Do a Shot: whenever the Baron proves himself right
Fuck it, just drink heavily: when you see the King of the Moon
Empire of the Sun (1987) Drinking Game
Empire of the Sun (1987) DVD / Blu-ray
Drinking Game
Take a Drink: when Jim talks about, or plays with airplanes.
Take a Drink: each time Basie puts Jim into a dangerous situation, for profit
Do a Shot: whenever you’re reminded that you’re looking at a young Christian Bale
Read the full Empire of the Sun (1987) review
Empire of the Sun (1987)
Empire of the Sun (1987) DVD / Blu-ray
By: Oberst Von Berauscht (A Toast) -
How many beers do you recommend for this movie?
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Jim Graham is a young boy growing up in Shanghai, China in 1941. He is the son of wealthy parents, living in a neighborhood virtually untouched by World War II (now in its 2nd year). All that changes when the Japanese invade, separating Jim from his parents and now on his own. After wandering the streets for days, he is picked up by American smuggler Basie (John Malkovich), and the two are eventually captured by the Japanese and put in an internment camp for Western civilians. In the desperate conditions, Basie teaches Jim about survival, and also exploits him for his own personal gain. With the war raging, Jim observes the changing conditions of the Japanese military, and struggles to understand his own place in life.
That position? Kind of shitty…
A Toast
When Empire of the Sun was first released in 1987, it was far from the blockbuster that the studios had grown to count on from director Steven Spielberg. Critics dismissed it as a lesser effort as well, quite unfairly. EOTS is a movie which requires multiple viewings to fully appreciate, so it may have thrown off those who had gotten used to being able to judge a Spielberg film immediately. This isn’t to say it isn’t at its heart a classical Spielberg movie, as the themes of childhood innocence and self discovery are certainly ones that he’s explored before.
WTF is Tugg Speedman doing here?
The first aspect of the film definitely of note is the actor who plays young Jim Graham. Steven Spielberg had worked quite well with children in the past, but never before or since has he coaxed such a naturalistic performance from a pre-teen performer. Of course, it was only a matter of time before Jim Graham became the Goddamn Batman.
The American Psycho was once a English Schoolboy
The Supporting cast also provides excellent turns, particularly John Malkovich; whose Basie character is the uncultured but streetwise antithesis to the spoiled (albeit well-educated) child Jim initially is.
In addition to the solid performances, Empire of the Sun is simply gorgeous to look at. Director Spielberg along with cinematographer Allen Daviau (E.T., The Color Purple) give the film a highly stylized look, utilizing natural light as often as possible, with numerous scenes filmed at magic hour (first and last hour of sunlight in the day). This gives the film an otherworldly feel, and given the unusual situation Jim finds himself in, works quite well. Kudos should also be given to the set designers and effects experts, who created a feeling of authenticity rarely experienced even today.
Shame on you if you haven’t seen this movie.
Drinking Game
Take a Drink: when Jim talks about, or plays with airplanes.
Take a Drink: each time Basie puts Jim into a dangerous situation, for profit
Do a Shot: whenever you’re reminded that you’re looking at a young Christian Bale
Arthur Newman (2012) Drinking Game
Drinking Game
Take a Drink: any time Colin Firth and Emily Blunt have an awkward sex scene. (Protip: Imagine Firth in character as King George VI)
Take a Drink: anytime Wallace Avery’s son gives the stink face
Do a Shot: each time the characters arrive at a new hotel
Read the full Arthur Newman (2012) review
Arthur Newman (2012)
By: Oberst Von Berauscht (Four Beers) -
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Wallace Avery (Colin Firth) is a divorced mid level store manager and failed golf pro tired with his life. So he decides to end it, not through suicide, but by adopting a new identity “Arthur Newman”. So he sets out to purchase a fake identity and announces to anyone he knows of his intention to take a trip to the beach (where he sets up an elaborate suicide hoax). On his first day as Arthur, Wallace encounters a young woman attempting suicide by overdose of cough syrup.
Editor’s note: placement of NyQuil ad il advised..
He takes her to the hospital and stays by her side as she recovers. The young woman (Emily Blunt) gives her name as Mike, and decides to accompany Arthur on a road trip. It quickly emerges that both Arthur and Mike are using fake identities, a strange coincidence they bond over, as they embark on their strange cross-country journey.
A Toast
Colin Firth and Emily Blunt give their all in creating two genuinely unique characters. As Wallace Avery/ Arthur Newman, Firth admirably puts himself out of his comfort zone. His character lives a boring, unexceptional life, and he is determined to change it for the better. In his mind, he feels that abandoning everything he built in his life was a failure. As Mike, Emily Blunt plays a broken individual who lives in constant fear of falling into insanity, because her mother and sister both suffered from it.
Crazy is, as crazy does
Beer Two
It is unfortunate that director Dante Ariola fails utterly to make the movie interesting. The novel concept and performances can’t save a movie that chugs along at a snail’s pace, even as it veers from scene to scene with little context or reason. The film presents many moments that are intriguing, even funny. But when the context and reasons for these moments aren’t provided, there is ultimately no reason to care about it.
Beer Three
Lucas Hedges, the teenage actor playing Wallace’s son, has only one emotion:
Stink Face
Beer Four
Perhaps the film’s greatest weakness is in its non-ending. Ambiguous endings have to be earned, and without making much of a dramatic impact, the film lost its right to one.
Verdict
A movie perhaps too in love with its own quirky concept, that it forgets to have a point.
Drinking Game
Take a Drink: any time Colin Firth and Emily Blunt have an awkward sex scene. (Protip: Imagine Firth in character as King George VI)
Take a Drink: anytime Wallace Avery’s son gives the stink face
Do a Shot: each time the characters arrive at a new hotel
Filly Brown (2013) Drinking Game
Drinking Game
Take a Drink: for autotune
Take a Drink: whenever someone speaks in the third person
Do a Shot: each time Filly sells out
Read the full Filly Brown (2013) review
Filly Brown (2013)
By: Oberst Von Berauscht (Three Beers) -
How many beers do you recommend for this movie?
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Majo Tonorio (Gina Rodriguez) is from a primarily Latino Los Angeles neighborhood. Majo writes hip hop lyrics, and occasionally performs live for an internet radio program. Her rising popularity soon earns the notice of record producers, and puts stress on her family. And when her imprisoned mother reaches out to Majo for financial help, Filly feels obliged to assist. Majo’s support of her mother earns the ire of her father (Lou Diamond Phillips), who has long since given up on hope of his spouse’s reform. Her father is owner of a small construction company, and is aspiring for a major contract to pull him out of debt.
Maybe he could bust some rhymes… old school
A Toast
Young actress Gina Rodriguez rises well above the material, with a performance that is simply electric. Majo/Filly Brown is an intelligent young woman with a socially concious streak. She also is prone to explosive emotion that often leads her astray. In a rather brilliant character arc, Majo’s love of her mother drives her to compromise her values and integrity in order to get a quick hit record.
If it’s a long way to the top, it’s even further to become this…
Rodriguez’ subtle character changes are finally reflected in her adopting the trend among her vapid producers of speaking in the third person. The film quite earnestly shows how tempting it can be to take the easy path to fame. Co-Directors Youssef Delara and Michael D. Olmos give the film a dynamic feel. The filming style helps to overcome some of the dramatic flaws by keeping the story moving along steadily.
Beer Two
While overall well made, Filly Brown does have a few dramatic problems. First off, many of the later plot twists focus a bit too heavily on a maudlin hip-hop feud, and less on the family dynamics that made the early parts of the film work so well. By trying to jam too many plot elements into the movie, the story cheapens itself. It is worth noting that even in these scenes, the performances are genuine, and convincing, which renders this complaint minor. And anyway, Edward James Olmos is in it…
Everything goes better with a little Olmos
Beer Three
The subplot involving Majo’s mother in prison resolves itself at the end in a fairly predictable fashion. While Lou Diamond Phillips as the father is generally solid, near the end they hint at a criminal past that never seemed likely based on his earlier performance. This feels forced in at the last minute to make the Mother character more sympathetic, but it never feels believable. Majo’s mother does some pretty terrible things to Majo and her family, and with the proper set up, could have made for a powerful redemption scene. There is just no preparation for it.
A melodrama with some good, and even great performances.
Drinking Game
Take a Drink: for autotune
Take a Drink: whenever someone speaks in the third person
Do a Shot: each time Filly sells out
