Apocalypse Now

Drink: Green Tea, Honey & Rice Wine
Entree: Asian Grilled Salmon
Side: Asian Cole Slaw
Dessert: Coffee Toffee Ice Cream
Timing: Fourth of July Weekend

Movie:
We felt obligated to watch this movie here in our amateur classroom of film.  After all it was directed by Francis Ford Coppola & includes greats such as Marlon Brando, Robert DuVall & Dennis Hopper.  However we struggled to hang on towards the end & now feel that much of it was just an egotistical rant on Coppola's part.  I can't imagine how alienating this would have been when it came out in 1979 right on the heels of the war's end. Audiences were not used to seeing such grotesque images but unfortunately over the past 30+ years we have become more immune especially after shows such as Game of Thrones.Regardless of its imperfections this remains a must see for those serious about movies.  It certainly starts off strong but gets lost as we make our way further & further up the river.  Maybe that's Coppola's whole point though?

Mel's Rating: 71%
On a scale of 100.

Brett's Rating: ⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️
On a scale of 10.

Walk The Line

Entree: Nashville Hot Chicken Po'Boy's
Dessert: Peanut Butter Cookies
Timing: It's June & the movie is about Johnny Cash & June Carter.

Movie:
Walk The Line is the story of the rocky start to June Carter & Johnny Cash's relationship.  For a proper set up of this plot we are provided with an interesting glimpse of the unflattering early tour days for up & coming stars like Elvis, Buddy Holly & Jerry Lee Lewis.  The strategy was playing a grueling circuit over & over again until your name sticks.  The result for Johnny Cash was an addiction to uppers coupled with alcohol & a broken home all admist finding his soulmate June.  Unlike his wife June can relate to his love for creating & performing which is what bound them together through thick & thin. You would think is a solid foundation however there are more twists & turns to this real life struggle between morals, money & love.

Below are a couple of things to consider after viewing:

• How was June & Johnny's initial relationship complicated by the over simplistic 1950's expectation to rush to get married & have kids?
• Did Johnny's realization of his unapproved love for June cause him to ultimately have a meltdown?
• What would you do if you were in Vivian's situation?
• Is the foreshadowing showing us Elvis' demise as a by product of the early tour days?

As far as the nuts & bolts of the movie goes Joaquin Phoenix did a phenomenal job.  Reese won the Oscar for her role as June Carter but honestly by the end of the movie I got a little of tired of her.

Mel's Rating: 84%
On a scale of 100.

Brett's Rating: ⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️
On a scale of 10.

Meek's Cutoff

Entree: Cowboy Stew

Dessert: Chocolate Cowboy Hats
Timing: June Heatwave

Movie:
Meek's Cutoff is an intuitive mix of fiction & real life events revolving around a group of westbound pioneers. It turns out that there was a man named Meek who led about 200 people into the Oregon high desert under the assumption that they were taking an alternative short cut from the Oregon Trail.  In the movie the premise is the same but the amount of characters is cut down to about nine people.  Even though the film simplified the situation it is anything but simple on it's own.

Audiences are intentionally left with many questions and theories which are essentially mysteries of the frontier that no one except those present would know anyways.  For example:

• Was the Native American on a suicide mission & purposely leading them into a very certain death via starvation?
• Was the Native American trying to help the settlers but with language being the main barrier was unable to do so?
• Did Meek ever really know of a short cut or did he greatly underestimate the vastness of the country?
• Did Meek plan on getting these people out into the country & robbing them but then decided not to go through with it?

Additionally there are a couple of well thought out themes that make this even more interesting to watch. For instance:

• The movie is filmed in SD which to say the least is an adjustment for modern day audiences. However the purpose is to feel as trapped as the settlers did in the high desert.
• The women are wearing bonnets in order to protect themselves from the sun, wind, etc.  However think about how they represent the confines of being a woman during this time period.  
• One of the pioneers brings a yellow canary on the trail.  The bird is a symbol of refinement & frivolous culture which is in stark contrast to the barren & harsh frontier. 

In the end this is not an action packed movie & people that don't appreciate history will not enjoy it. However if you are a fan of history, like reading in between the lines & symbolism you will appreciate it for what it is...a half fiction, half non-fiction character study of what life might have been like on the unforgiving westbound trail.

Mel's Rating: 90%
On a scale of 100.

Brett's Rating: ⚡️⚡️
On a scale of 10.

Delayed Due to Heatwave: Splendor in The Grass

Timing: Visiting Tallgrass National Prairie Preserve

Close Encounters of The Third Kind

Entree: Cornbread muffins (shaped like stars) topped with mashed potatoes, gravy & fried chicken.

Dessert: Milky Ways

Timing: Visiting Powell Observatory

Movie:
The promotional posters for this movie are better than the movie itself which is sad because it had so much potential.  For example:

1. It was made in the 70's.
2. The subject matter was aliens.
3. It was directed by Steven Spielberg.

How can you go wrong?  Well the plot was underdeveloped. For instance what happened to the family that Roy left high & dry?  Also it was so cliche that the aliens represented a, "we come in peace," utopia.  Additional cheese factors include but by no means are limited to:

1. The aliens resembled a human form.  Look around, life can take on any form.
2. The aliens bothered to contact us when space is infinite.
3. The main encounter consisted of exchanging trombone melodies when in real life we'd try to blow each other up.

In conclusion, yeah it's a sci-fi film but we sci-fi fans should not be so desperate for relative material that we let just anyone into the club.

Mel's Rating: 66%
On a scale of 100.

Brett's Rating: ⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️
On a scale of 10.