GOOD MORNING VIETNAM

A month ago, we lost a great performer. A performer who was a comical genius when it came to improv and stand-up. A performer who was great at being a serious actor, outside of being a comedian. A performer who would give a film his all, even if the film sucked. I'm talking about the great, talented, and gifted Robin Williams, who we sadly lost from suicide due to his depression. It really, really pains me that he's gone, and sadly took his own life because of depression, which is a battle I personally still fight against. In memory of this great and gifted actor, I'm going to review my personal favorite performance by him in a movie, and that movie is...



In Saigon 1965, Robin Williams plays a goofy Disc Jockey who is assigned to the US Armed Services Radio station, and breaks the rules with his comedy, methods, and choice of music (Even though in reality, rock music was acceptable in radio stations in Vietnam). While his superiors try to pull him off the air, Williams witnesses the horrors and effects of the war. The film is loosely based on real life Disc Jockey Adrian Cronauer when he was broadcasting in Vietnam, but the film fictionalizes the real life of Adrian Cronauer so much, that there's no point in pointing out in the inaccuracies to the real guy. Plus, I don't think the film was meant to be a biographical film on the real guy, I think the film was just inspired by the guy and was meant to be a fictional comedic take on this guy's experience. My only big criticism of the film's accuracy is Williams is named after the real guy, and since the film doesn't even come close to the real guy's story, its just best to change the characters name all together that way people won't confuse this film as biographical film. So, since the film turns a true story, into a fictional story, does it do a good job with it, or does it fail like the later Robin Williams film "Patch Adams", for example (I won't bother with that film any time soon); ON WITH THE REVIEW!



Robin Williams as our main character is perfect, it's truly one of his best performances, if not his best performance of all time. Best scenes, of course, is when he's on the radio. The jokes, the humor, the energy, the improv, the timing, the pop culture references, the impressions, the racial jokes, the dirty jokes, the characters he creates for when he does the radio, the sound effects, he's just so perfect for those scenes! None of those scenes come off as unfunny and boring, I always find myself laughing my head off. Also, just how he says "Good Morning Vietnam" is incredible, just incredible!  Even his scenes outside of being a rule breaking disc jockey, he's still funny, as well as likable! What I think truly makes this character so great outside of the radio scenes, is he has really good development. He starts off as this carefree, over the top disc jockey who doesn't take life that seriously; teaches Vietnamese how to curse in an English class he teaches; and breaks the rules, not caring about the consequences, to becoming a much wiser man and taking life a little more seriously than he used to, due to his surroundings, and horrifying experiences in Vietnam. He still keeps his sense of humor, but we all know that he won't be leaving Vietnam as the same man he used to be, which is done very effectively. When I found out that Williams first Oscar nomination for Best Actor came from this film, I not only found myself loving the film more than I did, but I was very pleased that this was the film that boosted his film career.



Most of the supporting cast do just as good of a job as Williams does. First, you have Robin Williams's sidekick and friend Eddie Garlick (Forest Whitaker) who like Williams brings a really fun and likable performance, and the chemistry between him and Williams is highly enjoyable. Only few issues I have is, his development of taking chances and risks, felt very half-assed and downplayed into the plot. Also, his running gag of starting the car when it's on, was funny the first two times, but it sadly overstayed its welcome when the film did it a third time. There's Williams' two superiors Sergeant Dickerson (J.T. Walsh) and Steven Hauk (Bruno Kirby) who are both characters you love to hate, and want to see Williams get back at and insult. My favorite performance out of the two, is Kirby's performance, who is both fun and hatable as this Lieutenant who thinks he's funnier than Williams, which he isn't that kind of makes you feel bad for the guy. The rest of the troops, and people that Williams meets do give a good performance, but they're not as memorable or fun, as the characters I just mentioned. The only other Troop character that I remember are the two censors played by the Stanton Twins, who are really just there for Williams to pick on. Outside of the troop characters, most of the Vietnamese actors aren't that good or funny for that matter. I mean the Vietnamese Bar Owner, I couldn't understand him half of the time, nor did I get much of a laugh out of him, outside of that goofy smile. In fact, most of the Troops and Vietnamese characters, are just their for Williams to work off on with his comedic talents. There's really not much character to most of them. He even has a love relationship that feels forced into the plot; is not interesting or effective; and the actress herself playing Willaims' love interest is forgettable. Outside of Williams's sidekick and his two rivals; the only other person that has character, is memorable, and has an interesting relationship with Williams is his Vietnamese friend Tuan, who's the brother of Williams's love interest. I enjoy seeing the two hang together; I admire seeing Tuan showing Williams his culture; I love how much he cares for Williams' safety; and the actor playing Tuan gives a really emotional performance at the end.



One of the many reasons why I enjoy this film, is how it doesn't shy away from the heavy stuff about the war. The film is mostly made to be a war comedy, but when it starts getting dramatic, it really gets dramatic! The bomb scene as Williams witnesses civilians and troops being killed and injured; him being trapped in the jungle being hunted by the VC; the infamous "What A Wonderful World" sequence; and the emotional moment between him and his friend Tuan are very heavy scenes. Yeah, Williams does bring some humor in a few of those scenes that do feel a bit out of place, but the scenes are still sad and effective, and I'd be lying if I said, I didn't find some of those jokes funny. I also love how Williams gets to observe the Vietnamese culture and his surroundings of the war, some are treated in a comical way (Mostly when he's teaching English to the Vietnamese), but the scenes when he's at a Vietnamese village are for the most part treated in a mature way. As for the film's soundtrack, it's great and fits every scene perfectly! I might actually give the whole entire soundtrack a listen, since the film's soundtrack contains both the rock music that Williams plays, and Williams's comical improv, which I'm sure brings the feeling of being a troop or civilian listening to his radio broadcasts like in the film.

Aside from some very forgettable supporting characters, and a forced love subplot, it's still a great movie! Yeah, it doesn't follow the life of the real DJ accurately, but as I said earlier, I didn't think the film was trying to, it was just meant to be a fictional story inspired by a real guy, which I think works really well! The mix between comedy, and the drama of the war is done really well, despite some out of place jokes, but they don't really ruin the scene or moments as much as you think. The performances from the supporting actors such as Whitaker, Walsh, Kirby, and Tung Thanh Tran who plays Tuan, are great. However, the films heart and center that makes the film so great is Williams's outstanding performance, who has good character development; a likable and fun personality; and being crap your pants funny, which is truly Williams at his best!

RATING 4/5

R.I.P TO THE GREAT AND TALENTED ROBIN WILLIAMS, YOU WILL BE MISSED, BUT WILL ALWAYS BE IN OUR HEARTS!

HEAVEN AND EARTH

Here's one of the three Vietnam wars film directed by Oliver Stone called...

  

I'm going to review the film into three acts since each act has a different look on war.

ACT 1

Based on a true story, a village Vietnamese girl named Le Ly (Hiep Thi Le) sees her life and village change due to the effects of the Vietnam War. This first act is really sad and really heavy. We go from seeing a beautiful village and land get slowly destroyed due to the war; to having some members of our main characters' family dying; to having our main character being tortured and raped by both the Americans and the Vietcong; to being seduced from a married man that Le Ly works for, resulting to dishonoring her family. I can't tell you how sad and moved I was from the first hour and 6 minutes. It really disturbed me and made me cry, as well being hard to watch. The actress who plays our main character is so great for her role by bringing the sense of realism and innocence that I can't help, but cry and feel this character's pain. As for the score, it's not memorable, but it is indeed moving. The cinematography, art direction, and editing is excellent and it really does capture the beauty of the village; the destruction and chaos of war; and I like the use of Black & White for the flashbacks and dream sequences.

The narrative structure is good too. The narration that our main character gives is moving and does bring the dramatic tone for the film. However, if I did have any kind of criticism for the first act, I felt like the pacing was a little too quick. I know the film is trying to juggle and put every important aspect to this person's life together within the 2 hours and 10 minutes of the film, but it feels a bit rushed. On top of it, I feel like we don't spend enough time with her family for them to become close and lovable. For example, the two brothers that go out to war and die, we're only introduced to them in one scene before they go out to war and that's it. It's sad, but we barely spend any time with them to feel bad about them. On top of it, we find out through the narration that she was really close with one of the two brothers. Think about how effecting it would be if we actually got to see their relationship. As for her relationship with her Father and Mother, I'm not saying it's not there, it is, but it feels very brief and quick during the scenes when we see them together, mostly with the scenes with her and the Mother. The only relationship I can remember well from the first act of the film is the relationship with her Sister that tries to help her, while at the same time treats her like crap. Not a bad start at all, just feels a little too rushed, probably because audiences are waiting to see the big named star in the second act.

ACT 2


In this Act, Le Ly meets an American soldier named Steve (Tommy Lee Jones) and the two begin to form a close relationship, to forming their own family in America. However, Steve becomes brutal and abusive towards Le Ly as the horrors from the war is coming back to haunt him. So how's Tommy Lee Jones in this role, he's great actually. How he transforms from a kind hearted dream soldier, to a crazed abusive husband with a bad past is great; the relationship and chemistry between him and Le Ly is moving and interesting; and the scene where he breaks down and tells Le Ly about his experience in the war is really sad and moving. I also enjoy watching Le Ly adjust to American life as we see her slowly become Americanized.  As for the score, cinematography, art direction and other filming techniques, it's still just as great as it was in the first act of the film. The only big criticism I have is the pacing. The relationship between Le Ly and Steve is there, but at times it feels just as rushed as most of the scenes in the first act. The acting at times feels rushed; some of the scenes feel rushed; it just feels like the film is trying to cram as much it can within its 2 hour and 10 minute limit.

ACT 3

The final act is when Le Ly returns to her village and without giving too much away, it's a really good conclusion to the film. Unlike act 1 and 2, the pacing feels just right. On top of it, some of the characters who we barely spend time with in the first act, are spent well here, as well as having plenty of good emotional scenes. I also find the speech about their struggle in the war to be just as powerful and moving as Tommy Lee Jones' monologue about him in the war.

OVERALL

While the film does feel rushed, I still think it's a good film. The acting is good (Especially from our two leads); the narrative is easy to follow; the look and feel of the film is powerful; and it does show the brutality and sadness of war. If the pacing of the film didn't feel rushed, perhaps I would have given it my highest rating. With that huge flaw aside, I'm really glad I saw this film, and I was indeed moved by it especially during the scenes that did take its time.

RATING 4/5

APOCALYPSE NOW (REDUX VERSION)

 Last year, I reviewed the original cut of "Apocalypse Now", which I thought was a great and fantastic war film on adventuring into the insanity's of war. Now comes a version with added scenes in the film called "The Redux" version, which is the "Director's Cut". Usually when there's a film with added scenes in it, it can be really good or it could ruin a classic by breaking the flow or putting something stupid in that doesn't work or shouldn't belong in the film. I'm going to review the added scenes that were put in the movie and see if they work and should belong in the film. So where does this film fall under, ON WITH THE REVIEW...





In the original cut, the crew is out on the boat listening and jamming to "The Rolling Stones" hit song "I Can't Get No Satisfaction". However, that scene is shown much later in the Redux version, and we just see Willard read about Kurtz; and while we see them jam to the song later in the film, we see more of Willard reading more about Kurtz. I guess in a way it flows better and gives us more information on Kurtz, but personally, I think the scene with the soldiers jamming when we first meet them actually works better because it shows how insecure and young they are, as well as giving them a fun introduction, plus making you feel more attached to them. Well, at least they still kept that scene instead of editing it out, so it's not really much of a downer.

 
I'm going to admit this, in these next few deleted scenes, Kilgore isn't just as cool and insane as he was in the original film, but he actually gets a few more scenes that I wish made the original cut. He first of all gets a cool introduction than he did in the original cut. Instead of seeing him standing there leading the troops after an officer tells the crew "That they can't miss him"; the officer in this version says "There's the Colonel coming down"; he comes out of a badass helicopter that says "Death From Above" in giant red letters; and already he's ordering people around and asking for his Death Cards (Which were used in the original cut). That's actually an introduction that I wish made the original cut. There's also a brief moment where he looks at a bunch of dead bodies and all he does is just mutters out the word "Damn". Kilgore also gives Lance a pair of shorts to go surfing in (Which explains how he got them). However, the best moment with Kilgore that didn't make the original cut (Which upsets me) is the scene where a sends a wounded child and his Mother to the hospital. That scene shows that Kilgore is not completely mad and defiantly shows a compassionate side to him that we barely see in the original.

Ok, aside from one change, I seem to like this cut so far, well, here's a scene I'm glad they cut out. After knowing how bad the waves are for Lance to not even get a chance to Surf, Willard steals Kilgore's surfboard and are hiding in the Jungle because Kilgore's men are looking for them to get it back. So they're not in the Jungle to take a break from their journey and stop to get Mangoes for their trip, they're actually hiding from Kilgore because they stole his Surfboard. I read that Willard stole the board to demonstrate that the crew still haven't accepted the harsh reality of the war, but it's still stupid and was cut out for a good and obvious reason. It's a stupid moment that goes nowhere; feels like a forced in joke; is too goofy for the context of the film and is pointless to the films plot and journey.

If one pointless scene wasn't enough, we get two. After the "Playboy" Show sequence, which shows the lust and insanity of how much the soldiers miss the woman; we get a pointless scene of Chef obsessing over his "Playboy" magazines and Clean tells a story about an army sergeant who killed a man for ruining his foldouts from "Playboy". I know it's suppose to show the insanity of men missing woman and having sex when in the war, but that show sequence showed it just fine, there's no need to expand on it and on top of it, it's treated in a comical way than in a serious way. There's also a very long scene when Willard trades two fuel tanks from the ships so that the guys can score with the "Playboy" bunnies and this whole sequence is pointless (Aside from needing fuel at the "Do Lung Bridge" in this version instead of looking for information in the original version); takes away some of the seriousness that the film has; is so long and is so over the top and goofy that I'm surprised that it made it into this cut of the film instead of being part of the deleted scenes. 

This next deleted sequence lasts over 20 minutes and man does this sequence really break the flow of the film. The crew head to a French Plantation and give Mr.Clean a funereal which I'll admit I found to be very sad. Unfortunately, this sequence over stays its welcome as we get a long dinner conversation on politics, to Willard sleeping with a French girl. It really does feel like a sequence you can cut out and I'm glad it got cut in the original film because this part of the trip was too long, slow and boring.

Our final deleted scene in this version actually made me upset the most. Yeah, as if Kilgore chasing after his Surfboard, goofy moments with the crew and the "Playboy Bunnies" and a long and boring sequence wasn't enough, we get a scene with Kurtz in broad daylight, while reading "Time Magazines" to Willard. OK, the scene itself was boring, pointless and not needed, but putting a crazed maniac in broad daylight when he's in the shadows for the entirety of his appearance in the movie felt really out of place and loses the effect that the original gave us. I can't tell you how much it disgusts me to see such a crazy dark character who's kept in the shadows with little light, to be revealed on a bright sunny day! It just angers me! 

THE REDUX VERSION SUCKS! I guess if you're a fan of the film and want to see some of the missing scenes be put into the movie it's worth a look, but to be honest, I'd rather watch these scenes in a deleted scene category on the DVD than I actually want to see it be restored on film. The deleted scenes are pointless, goofy, overstay their welcome and drag on, as well as break the flow to the film and I can't believe that Coppola decided to fix something that isn't broken. Has Coppola ever restored a film with deleted scenes that was good and just as great as the original cut?

Will get to that sometime this year. If you haven't seen "Apocalypse Now" yet, the "Redux" version isn't a good place to start. See it in its original cut.

RATING 2/5