ABCs at the Movies: The Doubles Round!

[Fran]

Gary Oldman starred as Sid Vicious in "Sid and Nancy."

From IMDb:  Morbid biographical story of Sid Vicious, bassist with British punk group the Sex Pistols, and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen. When the Sex Pistols break up after their fateful US tour, Vicious attempts a solo career while in the grip of heroin addiction. One morning, Nancy is found stabbed to death and Sid is arrested for her murder.

[oilgun]

This movie features Mila Jovovich who was also in THE FIFTH ELEMENT with Gary Oldman!



Plot:   A young man named Owen, who can't get over his would-be fiancee and now ex-girlfriend, Chloe, who moved to Los Angeles to become a TV star, finally falls in love with Nadine, the girl who would've been their maid of honor. Soon after, however, his ex loses her TV show, and comes back home, looking to reunite.

[memento]

Isabella Rossellini starred in this film and costarred with Gary Oldman in Immortal Beloved.

Plot: A young orphan who lives with her grandmother in a large Virginian home infatuates herself with the voices of Joan d'Arc. Her nanny seeks out the help of a rich suitor (David Lynch's first real acting role) to take her and the orphan away when she realizes that the often cruel grandmother cannot offer the orphan the love that she needs. Ends with an unpredictable plot twist.

[memento]

The "N" Degrees of Jack Nicholson Round!

[southendmd]

Jack Nicholson won an Oscar for his role.

Plot:  The trials and tribulations of a compulsive writer, Melvin Udall. After his homosexual neighbor is brutally beaten, he is entrusted to the care of the neighbor's dog, with a difficult relationship with a waitress to add on top of that. What develops is a weekend trip/triangle between these three individuals, and together they learn the true meaning of "the sunny side of life".

[oilgun]

Jack Nicholson plays Burnett in this war drama.



Plot:   In December, 1944, three US soldiers sneak ashore on Luzon to gather intelligence about Japanese troops in advance of the American armada. The three are to reconnoiter and report via their shortwave radio. Lieutenant Craig may not have the stomach for killing; Jersey is a cynical sergeant; Bartlett is the radio man who also speaks Japanese. They're soon in touch with guerrillas, led by Paco, a tough, skeptical school teacher. The Japanese learn the Americans are in the area and take school children hostage until the Filipinos find, arrest, and turn over the GIs. Can this tiny squad make allies, save the children, get and transmit the information, and live to tell the tale?

[Fran]

Jack Nicholson played Freddy Gale in this film.

From IMDb:  Jack Nicholson plays Freddy Gale, the completely distraught, hopelessly depressed and lost father of a young girl killed by a drunk driver that spiraled his life into hopelessness. He lost his wife; his two sons now know his ex-wife's new husband as "Dad." He's got questionable business practices running a seed jewelry store, and his only friends and hang out are in a strip joint. Gale is an intriguing and incredibly depthy and emotional character. I have never seen Nicholson embrace a character like this and take the filmgoer on such an incredible ride of emotions. This is a Nicholson MUST SEE performance, and he should have been praised to no end for this role. It's underrated and his best, and he's done some incredible work. The role of Freddie Gale is like this fragile bomb that is falling apart and ready to explode at any moment....

[southendmd]

Dragonard  starred Oliver Reed who was in Tommy  with Jack.

Plot:  In 1747, a handsome but rebellious Scotsman named Richard Abdee is auctioned off as a slave on a Caribbean island controlled by French and British sugar-planters. When caught having sex with his owner's wife, Abdee is given 100 lashes with the dreaded "dragonard" whip. This sentence is meant to be fatal but Abdee survives and later joins in a slave revolt which puts an end to the island's era of savage whippings.

[memento]

Jack played Garrett Breedlove in this film.



IMDB: Now when this movie first came out, no one really saw it. Critics gave it bad reviews. Part of the issue was the original Terms of Endearment was made back in 1983. So when some of the cast came back 13 years later, it can lose some of its box office draw. However, the time that passed actually made this movie more believable as the characters had also aged. Shirley MacLaine reprises her role and does a nice job, trying to raise her dead daughter's children. The movie stays grounded by dealing with everyday issues as well as getting older and the trials of a non-traditional family. Paxton plays a nice role in this film adding a little flare to the shadowing plot of Shirley MacLaine's character getting older. Nicholson's return, although brief, helped this film round itself out. See this one only if you see Terms of Endearment first.

Best Scene: Nicholson and MacLaine re-living the past on the beach.

[Fran]

Jack Nicholson received an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Col. Nathan R. Jessep.

From IMDb:

This is one of those films that I never tire from viewing. Despite the fascination with legal dramas these days, this film is unique as it focuses solely on one trial, almost exclusively and does not get thrown off into tangents of relationships, sexual tensions between counsel, a shadowy villain who threatens the life of the protagonist or any other outlandish 'Hollywood' circumstances. This is an extremely well-made film, not without humour, that provides a fascinating insight into the military and the litigation process.

This is one of Cruise's best roles as the brash and confident young naval lawyer Daniel Kaffee, a talented attorney who has never been to trial before, who is assigned the case of defending two US Marines charged with murdering a fellow Marine. The cynical Kaffee is reluctant to take such a seemingly unwinnable case to trial, the facts of the case apparently very damning. But he is persuaded by the ambitious Commander Galloway (Demi Moore) that the two Marines have a case, and that there may have been a higher power responsible for the murder.

This is an absolute all-star cast. Keifer Sutherland and Jack Nicholson are terrific and despicable as the God-fearing, fanatical military superiors. Kevin Bacon delivers a solid performance as Captain Jack Ross, the ruthless but impartial prosecutor. This is a fantastic film full of twists and surprises and ultimately a very thought-provoking conclusion.

=aside= Sandy

Re:  "The Evening Star"

Who knew there was a sequel to "Terms of Endearment"!!!!!