JUNE WATCH PARTY - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), Best F(r)iends (2017), Hotel Mumbai (2018)
SPOILER ALERT
In the Fall of 1963, a Korean War veteran and criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rallies up the scared patients against the tyrannical nurse."
- IMDB
Some movies just make me remember why I love film as much as I do.
Obviously had to watch this film for Jack Nicholson. You get the Class A acting you'd expect from him for his performance as McMurphy. We also have a great supporting cast that includes the likes of Christopher Lloyd and a very young Danny DeVito. However, a huge standout is Louise Fletcher as Nurse Ratched.
Now, I didn't know Ratched was from this story. My only prior knowledge to the character was that she was kind of scary. There is definitely some untapped story potential with the character - I'm talking like AHS Asylum level potential. But even so, Fletcher's performance was eerie. As the character always had dominion over everyone in the room, I always felt that Fletcher had a dominating presence every scene on screen. My attention was always on her and she always left me uneasy. This is why Fletcher won her Oscar, I'm sure of it.
This energy from Fletcher's performance provided such a great balance for her scenes with Nicholson - who, as an actor, always had his own dominating presence on screen in any of his movies. But just like their characters, Nicholson / McMurphy always seemed powerless next to Fletcher / Ratched. It was brilliant acting to watch. Their scenes together also contributed the the film's constant tone shift. While McMurphy was high spirited and lively, Ratched was dark and menacing; the movie itself would go back and forth between these energies often within the same scene. It was just a constant fluctuation between hope and despair and I can't think of too many other films or shows that were able to achieve the same effect so effortlessly.
This is definitely a huge aspect of the ending - an ending which shocked me. At the end of the day, this was really a story about Chief told through his growing friendship with McMurphy. That moment when McMurphy returns after his lobotomy was spine chilling. And the way Chief put him out of his misery..... devastating. Chief then escapes and, again with the tone shifts, he runs into the sunset. I guess he's considered free - they both are. But wow. That ending had me thinking for a while. I'm still thinking about. I need to read analyses on it. An absolutely incredible and literal Oscar winning ending.
My Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆
"When a drifter befriends a quirky mortician, an unlikely business partnership is formed. Paranoia soon develops, however, and both men are forced to come to terms with the fragility of friendship and loyalty."
- IMDB
If you enjoyed the great movie experience that is the Room, then go ahead and watch F(r)iends. It's different, but an equally unique experience. It's a joy seeing Tommy and Greg work together again. This really added a layer of charm to the film that made the whole experience a bit heartwarming. Of course, if you watched the Room, then you will already be prepared for Tommy Wiseau. What you expect is what you get. If you're not prepared, you might not like it. If you are, then this is just a trippy experience of eccentric acting from Tommy and a quirky "drama" about friendship.
Don't watch Part 2. It's actually not that good. Not enough Tommy to rescue a poor plot tbh.
My Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
"The true story of the Taj Hotel terrorist attack in Mumbai. Hotel staff risk their lives to keep everyone safe as people make unthinkable sacrifices to protect themselves and their families."
- IMDB
Dev Patel is one of my favorite actors of all time. I'm sure I've seen half of his filmography by now. In this film, he played a waiter at the prestigious Taj Hotel who was on shift during crazy city wide terrorist attacks. This was one of those brutally intense actions films in the sense that no one was a fighter. It was just a bunch of regular people trying to survive. The real hero of the story is the Chef. I was rooting for him in the beginning. It's good to know that the Chef in real life prospered and became the face of the hotel as it reopened. Highly recommend this film for anyone looking for a suspenseful action piece.
My Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆
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