nickandrew

If you read my other film reviews and comments, you can pretty much tell I like older films. Recently, I have been getting into more of the classics from the 1970s and 1980s. In particular, I do enjoy the horror films and thrillers and believe it or not, I finally got around to see "The Exorcist" this past fall season. I have had a few opportunities to see this movie on TV or rent it, but just never did. Seeing it on TV, I am sure I missed most of the controversial content that was a taboo in 1973, but still some of the scenes are pretty shocking and unforgettable even by today's standards. Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn literally went through "hell" in making this, both suffered injuries and were put through grueling preparation for some scenes. The special effects are pretty good and the voice of the devil, which was done by 1950s actress Mercedes McCambridge was believable. I read she had to sew Warner Brothers because they originally did not give her credit as the demonic voice.

If you read my comments about "Terms of Endearment" (1983), you will notice I said it was a film I avoided for a while, then finally got around to seeing. In fact, I only heard about the sequel, "The Evening Star" shortly after I saw "Terms." In fact, "Star" came on TV shortly after I learned about it and I decided to give it a watch, even though I was probably going to be bored and disappointed. To my surprise, it was quite the opposite. It may start off on a boring start, but soon you will find yourself very involved with the characters and the multi-story plot, just like "Terms." Shirley MacLaine handled herself pretty well in this, maybe even more so than "Terms," but Miranda Richardson and Juliette Lewis seem out of place and they overact sometimes. Jack Nicholson's cameo was quite appropriate within the plot and he does a great job. Like the first film, the ending is memorable and falls in the "tear-jerking" category.

This three part, six hour mini series was originally released in November of 1983, which was the 20th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Martin Sheen plays JFK and Blair Brown plays Jackie, both do great jobs. I remember seeing the entire film many, many years ago; it use to come on every November, but I have not honestly seen it from start to finish in a couple years on TV. As I recall, the series starts out on November 22, 1963, showing Rose Kennedy sitting in her living room and hearing about the assassination of her son on the news, then it cuts into 1960 when JFK was running for the presidency. The series then covers the very important personal and historical events of Kennedy's life and administration in the two years he was in the White House. Of course it ends with that dark day in Dallas. The scene of the assassination is very brutal but also very real and shows how quick it really happened and how fast history changed.