5.3 ~ #16

"Apocalypse Now" (1979)

From Netflix: "Francis Ford Coppola's timeless epic adapts Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness to the Vietnam War, where special operations Capt. Willard (Martin Sheen) must travel deep into the Cambodian jungle to locate and kill the mysterious -- and insane -- Col. Kurtz (Marlon Brando). This double feature includes the 1979 Oscar-winning masterwork set in the Vietnam War, along with the re-edited and expanded 2001 director's cut, Apocalypse Now Redux."


Finally got around to watching this. I've had it at home for almost 2 whole months and I couldn't bring myself to watch. I'd seen a few scenes of this when I was in middle school and I expected something REALLY gory and sad, what I got instead was almost three hours of BLAH.

I really couldn't make myself care enough to pay full attention. Maybe I missed something crucial that would make me understand it's brilliance, but although I watched the whole thing, I'm pretty sure I could have lead a full existance without ever having seen this.

Dennis Hopper was the best part of the movie...he was only in it for about 20-30 minutes at the end, but his acting made the whole movie. I really hope he won something for his role...though true to the film, I don't care enough to actually look it up and see for sure.

Well, at least now I can say I've seen it, though that's all I can say about it.

Trying to get back on track, though at this point I think it's safe to say that the schedule is screwed...but I will do my best to catch up on the list as quickly as possible! :)

8.2 ~ #12

"Braveheart" (1995)

From Netflix: "Enraged at the slaughter of Murron (Catherine McCormack) -- his new bride and childhood love -- legendary Scottish warrior William Wallace (Mel Gibson, who also directed the film) slays a platoon of the local English lord's soldiers. This leads the village to revolt and, eventually, the entire country to rise up against English rule. With vivid battle scenes and a heaping portion of legend, Gibson's epic won five Oscars, including Best Picture."

I REALLY didn't want to watch this film. I remember being nine years old when my dad took my sister and me to the theater to watch this, and my elementary school aged ass walked out of the theater and waiting outside for 2.5 hours because I couldn't stand how ridiculously bloody and horribly sad the movie was...and now here it is on this list, so I can no longer escape it...

Not even fifteen minutes, there's shacks full of hung corpses, the child being called in to check out how his dad's heart was cut out, and then that theme song...which made me actually pause the movie just so I could look this up...(LOL I HAD to! That song was the JAM back in the day...and I've just successfully dated myself LMAO)

Seriously though, this is not a movie to watch at work (which I did) because the movie is a very emotional one to watch...it makes you desperately sad, uncontrollably angry, and you can't unleash your emotions just anywhere. If you are going to watch this movie, make sure you do it in a space where people won't think you're crazy for changing your mood 37 times in the span of three hours.

Oh...I hadn't mentioned this movie is 3 hours long? Well, it is. (Good thing I love all things medieval.)

It's also remarkably violent and gory, which is cool if you're into that sort of thing. I'm not.

The movie is also sad, but in a way that makes you feel grateful for your lot in life. There's a lot of wisdom to be taken away from this movie, if you let it hit you...One to watch at least once, perhaps more often if the violence doesn't bother you...Really a beautiful film...