Ghost (6/10): One of the top hits of 1990

“It's amazing, Molly. The love inside, you take it with you.”

Only one film beat Jerry Zucker’s Ghost at the U.S. Box Office in 1990 and that was Home Alone, but Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore’s romantic fantasy managed to take everyone by surprise as it topped other films like Pretty Woman, Dances With Wolves, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Total Recall, Goodfellas, and even the sequels for Die Hard, The Godfather, Robocop, and Back to the Future. What is surprising is that this ghost tale still remains such a beloved classic to this date, thanks in most part to the amazing chemistry between Swayze and Moore and to the fantastic soundtrack performed by The Righteous Brothers. I don’t know however, if this film would’ve worked without Whoopi Goldberg’s hilarious supporting performance (which won her her only Oscar) considering the story doesn’t really pick off until she enters the picture. Of course that overly emotional touching scene at the end is what everyone probably remembers (and the reason why this film won an Oscar for Original Screenplay), but I don’t think it has aged too well. The film is entertaining, although it is cheesy at times and the visual effects don’t live up to today’s standards. What surprised me the most when I saw this is how well it balances those melodramatic moments with the comedy, because I always believed this film was a romantic tale from beginning to end, but it really is more of an action comedy with several twists along the way (albeit predictable ones). There is no doubt that the universal premise of wanting to believe that our loved ones are still with us when they pass away to protect and guard us is what really sold this film and Ghost easily manages to tell that story with two likable actors sharing a strong chemistry together.

The film opens by introducing us to a lovely couple, Sam (Patrick Swayze) and Molly (Demi Moore), who’ve just bought a property and are ready to make their dreams a reality. Carl (Tony Goldwyn) is Sam’s good friend and work partner at the bank who is always there supporting him and Molly. However, their dreams are shattered when Sam is murdered after a thug tries to steal his wallet one night. Sam’s spirit remains on Earth and he discovers that this wasn’t simply a robbery and that Molly’s life is also in danger. He must warn her before it’s too late, but no one seems to see or hear him. That is until Sam meets a psychic named Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg) who will try to convince Molly that she can speak to her dead lover’s spirit before it is too late.

Up to this point Jerry Zucker was known mainly for co-directing satires like the classic Airplane!, Top Secret!, and Ruthless People. Prior to his solo directorial feature debut in Ghost, he had helped write the screenplay for Naked Gun as well, so he was mainly known for his work in satires. Many probably believed this ghost story was just another satire and so the romantic story took everyone by surprise. I’m sure Bruce Willis was regretting not having accepted to co-star along with his wife at the time, and that may be the reason why he accepted to star in The Sixth Sense years later. It’s a different film but it does seem to borrow certain ghostly elements from this romantic tale. I did find it kind of ironic that in the 90’s you had these actors standing next to each other being forced to act as if they couldn’t see one another, while now you actually have actors forced to talk to characters who aren’t there but thanks to the magic of movies and CGI are easily placed later.

My Review: Very Good Girls (4/10)

"We got to get over this hump."

Very Good Girls was on my radar ever since I heard it was debuting in last year's Sundance Film Festival. The reason I was attracted towards this despite not knowing anything about the plot was the cast. It starred Elizabeth Olsen who I've been a fan of ever since Martha Marcy May Marlene and Dakota Fanning who I think hasn't matched that same potential she had as a child actress. The supporting cast included Demi Moore, Peter Sarsgaard, Clark Gregg, and Richard Dreyfuss so I was really looking forward to what they could do. This was also the feature film debut from director Naomi Foner who had written a couple of screenplays in the past, but is best known for being the mother of the talented actors, Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal. 

You would never guess this screenplay was written by a woman considering these young teenage girls have no personality and their entire lives seem to revolve around this guy they met at a beach. He is the only thing they talk about and both girls end up falling for him, which is pretty much the basic theme of this film as their friendship is tested by their personal feelings towards him. Dakota Fanning and Elizabeth Olsen play these young girls who want to lose their virginity before going to college. The guy they both fall for is played by Boyd Holbrook and I really wasn't a huge fan of his performance. I couldn't see why these girls would fall for him as he lacked personality and wasn't really charming either. Both Fanning and Olsen come from very different families. Olsen's parents are played by Richard Dreyfuss and Demi Moore who are very talkative and liberal, while Fanning's parents are played by Clark Gregg and Ellen Barkin and they are much more reserved. The parents don't get much screen time so they weren't really developed very well and all the information we gather from them is through the conversations the two girls have about how they view them (which is almost entirely negative). So that was a big let down for me because I was interested in what these actors could bring to the drama. There is nothing really that engages the audience since none of the characters have any personality whatsoever and not even the love triangle seems too appealing due to the lack of romantic chemistry. The film is only 90 minutes long but it seemed to drag forever and the score didn't help out either. I was hugely disappointed by Very Good Girls and I understand now why it took so long to reach a wider audience after the Festival. 

Unfortunately the talented cast is wasted in this film and not even my appreciation for Elizabeth Olsen engaged me. I didn't even like her character very much here and much less the rest of the cast. Olsen has to find better roles because her latest films haven't exploded her potential very well. I was amazed to see how little Demi Moore and Richard Dreyfuss were used in this film; there could have been a better movie somewhere if they were given more importance. The lack of personality from any character just makes this film even more boring and tedious. There have been so many good coming of age films over the past year that this film simply fails to reach the bar that was set so high by Kings of Summer, The Way Way Back, and The Spectacular Now.  This could have been an opportunity for two strong female leads but they simply didn't have much to work with.

My Review: Margin Call (8/10)

¨There are three ways to make a living in this business: be first, be smarter, or cheat¨

Margin Call may be a fictional movie, but it has more truths in it than an actual Hollywood film that claims to be based on a true story. Despite not knowing a whole lot of economics I assure you we are all familiar with what happened in 2008 with the bubble burst in Wall Street because it has affected everyone`s life. First time director and screen writer J.C. Chandor does a great job at recreating what probably happened inside one of the investment banks the night before the financial crisis actually took place. I don`t know much about economics, but this movie is pretty easy to follow thanks to the smart script which in a way serves as an Economic for Dummies book. By making the actors explain the situation to their bosses in ¨plain English, ¨ Chandor is actually telling us what is going on in understandable terms. I wouldn`t argue that their bosses would actually understand everything in harsher terms, but the audience needed to be informed so I`m not going to take credit away from Chandor for this because it needed to be done. If not most of us wouldn`t have a clue of what was going on. Margin Call isn`t just a film about the financial crisis, it also deals with some aspects about important business corporations and how sometimes as employers we are forced to do things that go against our moral beliefs. Most corporations run as ¨a dog eat dog world¨ and ¨survival of the fittest¨, and in this film we see plenty of that.

A Bank investment firm is reducing its personnel in the risk management division letting go of almost 70% of its employees including their main analyst, Eric Dale (Stanley Tucci). Dale seems to be working on something very important, and before leaving he gives his pen drive to a co-worker, Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto), so he can finish the work and warns him to be very careful. Sam Rogers (Kevin Spacey) is the division manager and he gives the remaining employees an inspirational speech about them being the best in their line of work and thus surviving in the company. The group decides to go out and celebrate with their boss Will Emerson (Paul Bettany), but Sam stays to see if he can review what Dale was working on. He manages to solve the equation that Dale never quite finished and the result was dreadful. The company is heading towards bankruptcy and the financial meltdown is about to begin. Sam calls his co-worker, Seth (Penn Badgley), and tells him that he should come back to the office with Will as soon as possible. It`s midnight, but the situation can`t wait any longer. When they arrive and discover what is happening they realize they have to call their bosses so up we go through the corporate ladder, first they call Sam, then Sam calls his boss Sarah Robertson (Demi Moore), and she calls Jared (Simon Baker), until the Owner finally arrives in his personal helicopter, John Tuld (Jeremy Irons). They discuss everything that is going on in a meeting and realize that the financial crisis is about to hit hard and have to sell all their stocks as early as possible.

One of the things I enjoyed the most about this movie is that it focuses on the financial meltdown in one confined space. We get to see how the main characters interact with each other inside the company and how everyone has to face a moral dilemma. It`s not just a movie focusing on the financial meltdown, but it`s more of a corporate drama where we have interesting characters who we end up caring about and understanding the moral dilemma they have to go through. There are some real good performances from some of the actors, and the cast is also very interesting. Stanley Tucci is always great in these small roles, Zachary Quinto delivers a strong performance as one of the lead characters, and Paul Bettany along with Kevin Spacey also give powerful performances as the struggle with some moral issues. Everything they have been working for all their lives is about to go down the drain, and the hardest decision is still right in front of them. The script is really engaging and well written. I loved this movie. Inside Job was a great documentary about the financial collapse, but Margin Call gives us a better look inside as to what might have gone on inside these big corporations. Don`t be scared off by the plot dealing with economics, this is a very strong and entertaining drama with good performances.

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