A Handful of Dust, featuring the always-amazing Kristin Scott Thomas

I consider the years 1984 and 1988 the two best years of the 80s for films. Those two years contained many wonderful movies and noteworthy performances. One of those performances that stands out to me is that of Kristin Scott Thomas in the 1988 film A Handful of Dust. Directed by Charles Sturridge, the film is set in England during the 1930s. Scott Thomas plays Brenda, the wife a landed aristocrat named Tony. The duo reside in a large estate in the countryside with their young son. Despite the fact that nothing appears to be lacking in Brenda's life, she seems to have grown bored with the relative isolation and the monotonous routine of living in Tony’s ancestral home, known as Hetton Abbey.

After a weekend visit from a friend of Tony’s named Thomas, who’s of a lower social rank, Brenda decides to spend time in London, as she has developed a special interest in Thomas. She fancies Thomas and wishes to get to know him better. She thus begins traveling back and forth from Hetton Abbey to London on a fairly frequent basis, first under the pretext that she’s going visit her sister. Later, she decides to rent a flat in London. It just so happens that the woman she’s renting the flat from is the mother of Thomas. Brenda then very willingly enters into an affair with Thomas, seeing him whenever she’s in London, all the while maintaining the illusion that she simply wants to spend some time away from the idleness of Hetton Abbey to relish the liveliness of London.

Brenda’s trusting and unsuspecting husband has no clue of what’s really going on, though a couple of other people within their social circle are fully aware of the circumstances. She even convinces him to let her sign up for an Economics course -- more of a reason to spend time in London. It’s during one of her stays in London that an unexpected family tragedy leads her back to Hetton Abbey. Once there, she’s determined make the definitive choice to leave Tony. She returns to London to reunite with Thomas, and writes a letter to Tony to inform him that she had been having an affair with Thomas and intends to marry him. She then files for divorce from Tony and seeks a large financial settlement from him, which incidentally would require him to lose his ancestral home.

Tony refuses to grant Brenda the divorce, and instead chooses to travel abroad for a few months. He ventures to South America with an explorer friend of his, and that voyage, as it turns out, will change his destiny and that of Brenda.

The role of Brenda was the breakout performance for Scott Thomas, and it’s a pity that she wasn’t nominated for an Oscar. Though I must admit that 1988 was a very competitive year for actresses in leading roles. The film boasts a great cast which includes Judi Dench, James Wilby, Rupert Graves, Angelica Huston, and Alec Guinness who plays an elderly loner living amidst native Indians in the Amazonian jungle. Altogether, this a very good film which managed to snag an Oscar nomination for its beautiful costume design.

Resurrection: One of Ellen Burstyn’s best performances

In the 1980 film Resurrection, Academy Award-winning actress Ellen Burstyn plays a woman who undergoes a near-death experience following a car accident. She subsequently develops a supernatural power to heal the sick, apparently as an after-effect of having survived the near-death experience.

The film starts off showing Burstyn’s character Edna going about her daily life with her husband Joe in California. Edna decides to buy Joe a new car for his birthday, which she presents to him that very day after he gets out of work. The couple then decides to go for a joy ride in their new car, with Joe driving. Once on the road, Joe loses control of the car in an attempt to avoid running over a young boy who had carelessly skateboarded onto the street, and the car ends up crashing over a cliff.

Joe dies in the accident, whereas Edna sees herself being pulled into a dark tunnel with a bright light at the end, indicative of a near-death experience. In the tunnel, she happens to see people that she knew from her past who had already died, some of whom she doesn’t immediately recognize. She winds up waking up in a hospital bed, unable to move. There, she learns that Joe is dead, and her doctor informs her of the severity of her condition. She’s got damage to her lower back including a blood clot on her spinal cord, and she learns that she won’t be able to move her legs because the main nerves in both legs have been severed below the knee.

Devastated upon hearing of what has happened, Edna decides to move back to her native Kansas with her father, who had come to visit her at the hospital. He drives her from California to Kansas, and on the way there, they make a stop at an isolated gas station manned by an elderly male attendant. Unbeknownst to Edna, that gas station will play an important role later in her life.

Not too long after they arrive in the rural small town where Edna grew up, she comes to the realization that she has a power to heal people of their injuries and afflictions -- something that she can accomplish by simply placing her hands on their bodies. From that point on, she becomes determined to not only help heal other people but to heal her own self of the injuries that she sustained in the car accident.

The townspeople grow impressed with Edna’s ability to heal, though some suspect that the healing power she possesses is in reality the work of the Devil. One of the naysayers happens to be a devoutly religious man whose son, named Cal (played by Sam Shepard), becomes Edna’s love interest. Amidst the town’s speculation over Edna’s healing power, a couple of scientific researchers from California who have witnessed some of her public healings invite her back to California to conduct tests on her power. Cal himself eventually develops a suspicion of his own with regard to Edna’s power, wondering if there is a divine source to it.

Burstyn rightfully received an Oscar nomination for her work in this film. It's a believable performance, and one I consider among her best ever. The film features striking music composed and conducted by Maurice Jarre. Overall, this is a very good film which I happen to like a lot. Though I must say, it seemed almost like this film was a satire, made with the intention of poking fun at the deep-rooted religious convictions that can typically be found in the small towns of America’s heartland.

Amityville II: The Possession -- A blatant ripoff of The Exorcist

My last blog post was about a movie franchise (the James Bond film series). So, in this entry, to continue with the theme of movie franchises, I’m going to cover a movie that was part of another franchise: Amityville II: The Possession.

The 1977 book The Amityville Horror: A True Story (written by Jay Anson) was based upon the aftermath of a 1974 multiple homicide that took place in a Colonial-style house situated within a neighborhood known as Amityville, which is located in Long Island, New York. A young man by the name of Ronald DeFeo, Jr. murdered six members of his family in that house. The following year, a man named George Lutz moved into the house with his family, but that would turn out to be a short-lived stay. After only 28 days, the Lutz family decided to move out. The reason they chose to abandon the house was that they claimed to have experienced paranormal activity during the time that they lived in the house.

The original Amityville movie (from 1979) was based on Anson’s book, and it focused on the paranormal experiences of the Lutz family. In contrast, Amityville II, despite being the second Amityville movie is actually a prequel of sorts. This movie was based on a different book titled Murder in Amityville, written by Hans Holzer in 1979. Holzer’s book delves with what caused DeFeo to murder his family -- specifically demonic possession. So, the movie showcases the murderer’s demonic possession, hence the words “The Possession” as part of the title. However, for the movie, the DeFeo surname was changed to Montelli.

The plot primarily revolves around the Montelli’s elder son named Sonny who becomes possessed by a demonic entity one night while his family is out and he happens to be home alone. As a result of the possession, Sonny’s personality becomes drastically altered in the weeks that follow. One of the shocking effects of the possession is that Sonny decides to engage in an incestuous relationship with one of his sisters. And after some time, the entity that has possessed his body orders him to kill his family.

After the murders, Sonny -- seemingly unaware of what took place -- winds up in jail. A priest who had unsuccessfully tried to bless the house shortly after the Montellis moved in decides to go visit Sonny in jail and thus determines that Sonny is possessed by a demonic entity. In the denouement, an exorcism takes place, with an unforeseen outcome and a mysterious ending.

This movie very obviously “drew inspiration” from The Exorcist. In fact, some of the scenes in this movie seemed almost like direct copies of some of the scenes from The Exorcist -- particularly the scene in which the priest performs the exorcism on Sonny, as well as a scene in which the words “Save Me” magically appear on Sonny’s forearm. And overall, this movie as a prequel falls flat in comparison to the original Amityville movie. Though, I can admit that some of the scenes are genuinely scary and creepy. Nonetheless, this is an awful movie with no famous actors other than Burt Young who plays Sonny’s father. But, the movie deserves a mention here, as it was one of the many movies that I saw as a child in the 80s.

For Your Eyes Only: The first James Bond film that I ever saw

The James Bond franchise is one of the world's long-running film franchises as well as one of the most successful. The original James Bond film was Dr. No (from 1962), and the most recent one was last year's Skyfall. This particular film, For Your Eyes Only, dates from 1981, making it the first James Bond film of the 80s. It also happens to be the first James Bond film that I personally ever saw, and the one that made me develop a love for the whole Bond franchise. Several different actors have played the role of James Bond over the years, and in the case of this particular film, he is played by the legendary Roger Moore, who cleverly portrayed the character in every James Bond film from the mid 70s to the mid 80s. I've seen all of the Bond films, and of all the actors who played the role of Bond, Moore was my favorite.

In this installment of the Bond film series, Bond's mission takes him to Greece, Spain, and the Italian Alps. His purpose is to recover a device belonging to the British government known as an "ATAC" which uses a coded transmitter to order Britain's submarines to launch ballistic missiles.

The ATAC had been aboard a British spy ship in the Ionian sea, which was sunk by a mine. As Bond seeks to uncover the whereabouts of the ATAC, he inadvertently meets a beautiful Greek woman named Melina (played by French actress and former Chanel model Carole Bouquet) who seeks to assassinate the man who murdered her parents. It just so happened that Melina's father was a marine archaeologist who had been working with the British government to locate the wreck of the ship that contained the ATAC. Within a matter of time, Bond agrees to have Melina assist him in finding the ATAC, while in the process he tries to determine who was the entity that ordered to have a mine sink the British spy ship.

The film's scenery is quite interesting, as it showcases the Greek mountainous terrain and the snowy landscape of the Italian Alps. But, more importantly, the film features a lot of underwater footage, as several of the scenes take place out at sea.

And of course, one of the most amazing and unforgettable things about this movie is its namesake theme song, "For Your Eyes Only," sung by Sheena Easton.

A brief tribute to Ronald Reagan: The greatest president of my lifetime

1981 -1989

With the American presidential election on the horizon, I want to briefly highlight the man I consider the greatest president of my lifetime. Ronald Reagan served two consecutive terms as President of the United States, from 1981 to 1989, and he easily won both elections as landslide victories. As a matter of fact, he won 44 states in the presidential election of 1980, and then 49 states in the presidential election of 1984. I personally have a fond memory of watching his first presidential inauguration on tv in my first grade class, in January 1981.

As president, Reagan was much loved, and there were lots of amazing things about the Reagan years overall (though I can’t possibly mention them all in this one entry). Reagan’s huge triumph in his first presidential election was primarily in response to the disastrous Carter administration of the late 70s. The turnaround that the country experienced during Reagan’s two terms was quite impressive. The decade of the 80s is sometimes referred to as the “Age of Excess” for a reason. It was a time of prosperity. And for me personally, the fact that the 80s was a time was a time of prosperity is probably the most memorable aspect of the Reagan years. The country had a thriving, booming economy. My own parents were able to establish a successful business during that time.

And, one thing that makes Reagan’s accomplishments as president all the more interesting is that it all took place in a time when the USSR was America’s biggest threat, and the Cold War was still in full swing. In the back of many people’s minds, there was the fear of possible nuclear war. Through it all, Reagan managed to keep the threat of the Soviet Union at bay. He proved to be a resolute leader and a statesman, which was exactly what the country needed from the president at the time. In addition, as fate would have it, he even survived an assassination attempt in March 1981.

Oran "Juice" Jones - "The Rain"

Here in my area, the last few days have been very rainy. The rain has inspired me to write an entry about the 1986 song "The Rain" by Oran "Juice” Jones.

When I listen to music, the aspect of a song that I focus on the most is the sound of the music itself. The song’s lyrical content is secondary to me. I would say it's always been that way. That's probably why, as a child in the 80s, I was drawn to (and greatly enjoyed) the futuristic "electronic" sounds of synthpop music. And then later, in the mid 1990s, I forayed into Rave scene, being attracted to the lyric-less sounds of the electronic music of that subculture.

I think what it all boils down to, regarding the fact that I focus more on the sound of music than on lyrics, is that I have a very good sense of hearing. I even sometimes jokingly tell people that I have “supersonic hearing.” Seriously though, I feel that my sense of hearing is the best of my five senses. And therefore, that’s something that enables to really enjoy the sounds of a song whenever I'm listening to music.

But anyway, needless to say, what I love about this particular song is the way it sounds. And, I’ve always wondered if there’s an instrumental version to this song, as I think it would sound awesome with just the music and no lyrics. The lyrics deal with a man who discovers that his girlfriend is cheating on him with another man. After the halfway point of the song, the singer switches from singing to just spoken words. I’ve always thought that the delivery of the words in that part of the song -- where the man confronts his girlfriend about her cheating -- is pretty silly. It's the only part of the song that I actually dislike. But otherwise, I love the song.

On a side note, the singer, Oran "Juice" Jones, looks like a cross between Eddie Murphy and the actor named Eric Lasalle. :)

Here's the song's video.

Sophie’s Choice: The greatest performance ever by an actress?

If one were to take a poll of “Who do you consider the greatest actress alive?” most respondents would likely choose Meryl Streep. In the same vein, if there is one female acting performance that is generally thought of as the best (or the greatest) of all time, it’s Streep’s performance in the 1982 movie Sophie’s Choice. The role itself is one of Streep’s best-known roles, and I’m sure most people who’ve seen the movie would say that Streep’s performance definitely ranks as one of the best ever by any actor or actress. Streep, being the queen of mastering foreign accents, takes on a Polish accent in this movie. She plays a Holocaust survivor from Poland who lives in a boarding house in Brooklyn, New York with an unstable, abusive boyfriend named Nathan (played by Kevin Kline). The couple befriends a new boarder at the house -- a novelist who’s known as Stingo (played by Peter MacNicol) who hails from the South.

The movie, which takes place two years after the end of World War II, mainly focuses on the friendship of the trio as they go about their day-to-day lives in the boarding house and elsewhere. Sophie had been an inmate of the Auschwitz concentration camp during the war, and while there, she was chosen to work as a secretary for the camp’s Nazi commandant, due to her fluency in German. Once in the United States, and suffering from anemia, she was taken in and looked after by Nathan who works for a pharmaceutical company. As Stingo gets to know this couple better, he comes to discover that there’s more than meets the eye with them. Not only does Sophie have some skeletons in the closet, but it just so happens that Nathan harbors a shocking secret of his own.

 

The movie itself can be described as lukewarm at best. Directed by Alan J. Pakula, and having a runtime of 2 hours and 30 minutes, it's slow-paced and overlong for its subject matter (it’s primarily a story of friendship). Also, there aren't many scenes showing Sophie’s past, which is somewhat ironic, considering that the title of the movie refers to a choice she made during the war. The actual scene involving the revelation of Sophie’s “choice” is, for the most part, underwhelming.

Nonetheless, Streep delivers a spellbinding performance, and she speaks three languages in the movie: English, Polish, and German -- rumor has it that she actually spoke German with a Polish accent. One particular scene, in which she delivers a lengthy monologue, is the best scene of the movie.

This performance remains Streep’s greatest performance ever, and nothing that she's done since has surpassed the caliber of it. Her performance in 1985’s Out of Africa is perhaps the only one that comes close. Streep rightfully won a Best Actress Oscar for her performance in Sophie’s Choice, and it’s bewildering that despite her multiple Oscar nominations since then, the Academy did not give her another Best Actress award until this year (for The Iron Lady, nearly 30 years after her win for Sophie‘s Choice).

When it comes to determining what’s the best performance ever given by an actor or actress, it’s all subjective. I’ve seen lots of films from several decades. To me, Streep’s performance in Sophie’s Choice is, without question, the best performance by any actress during the decade of the 80s. But the best performance ever? Sorry, Meryl, but that is an honor I can only reserve for someone else. As far as I’m concerned, THIS is the greatest female acting performance of all time:

And if you're wondering, the actress is Vanessa Redgrave, and the movie is Isadora (from 1968).