Full Metal Jacket (1987) – A Rewatched Quick Capsule Review

Full Metal Jacket (1987) – A Rewatched Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Quick Review

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
Full Metal Jacket is one of the best of the raft of late 80’s/ early 90’s Vietnam films, a brutal look at the journey of the recruit to solider, from dehumanisation and initiation to deployment and ultimately, for many, death.  It’s as uncompromising as you’d expect from the controlling, detailed and obsessive Kubrick, with a legendarily career defining performance by R Lee Ermey dominating your memory of the film, even if it’s Matthew Modine whose the true lead. Not easy to watch but it’s an essential film.

Best Bit:R Lee Ermey

Worth A Rewatch: Yes

If You Liked this Try: Platoon,  Good Morning Vietnam, Apocalypse Now 

★★★★★★★★★★

 

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Platoon (1986) – A Classic Quick Capsule Review

Platoon (1986) – A Classic Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Quick Review

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
Oliver Stone’s Platoon still has a lot to say about the horrors of war and the ripping away of innocence.  That power still remains at the core of this thirty year old film.  But overall it hasn’t aged as well as you’d hope.  The performances are still great (Berenger is nuts and this is still a career high for Sheen) but the budget strains, especially at the end as the Vietcong assault the compound.  In a world of Saving Private Ryan it just feels a bit tame.  So overall – still worth a watch.

Best Bit: the cast

Buy, Stream, Avoid: Stream

If You Liked this Try: Saving Private Ryan, Good Morning Vietnam, Full metal jacket 

★★★★★★★★★★

 

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Phil’s Top 5… Actors No Longer With Us

Phil’s Top 5… Actors No Longer With Us

by Phil Hobden Other Cr*p Top 5

Each week Phil, from Phil’s Quick Capsule Review, takes a look at a different movie or TV related Top Five.  This time out: Actors we missed who have passed away.

 

Close but no cigar: Paul Walker, Heath Ledger, Pete Postlethwaite, Dennis Farina

 

5 – JT Walsh
A mainstay of early 90’s films and TV, Walsh was the very much the archetypal a character actor who could play both good and bad.  Standout role – Breakdown with Kurt Russell.

 

4 – John Candy
Candy starred in some of the funniest films of the 80’s.  He was a comedy mainstay and even in a bad film would stand out as one of the best things in it.  His films still hold up all these years later.  Stand out role – Planes, Trains & Automobiles

 

3 – James Gandolfini
From early Tony Scott films like True Romance to later roles in Crimson Tide, Gandolfini was a powerful and memorable screen presence.  And then came one of teh geratest TV shows ever – The Sopranos and he would forever be etched into pop culture. . Stand out role –  The Sopranos, obviously. 

 

2 – Robin Williams
From genius (Good Morning Vietnam) to grating (Patch Adams), Robin Williams had massive hits and bigger misses.  But as a comedian & actor he was near unmatched.  A true genre icon. Stand out role – Dead Poets Society

 

1 – Alan Rickman
Best remembered for Snape in Harry Potter, we all first saw him as Hans Gruber in Die Hard.  Rickman’s passing was sudden and unexpected but he left behind one hell of a legacy. Stand out role – Die Hard