Porco Rosso

Release Year: 1992

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Review:  One of the Miyazaki films which action is the primary focus.  Porco Rosso is Italian for 'Red Pig', and is a former Italian air force hero who has been cursed to look like a pig.  He has deserted the air force after a tragic battle in which he lost his best friend, and the guilt haunts him.  He now is a bounty hunter, battling seaplane pirates and trying to be left alone.

Of course since this is a Miyazaki film, there is much more than just the action, but it definitely has a more straight forward plot line with plenty of spectacular aerial battles. Porco is a man scared from the pain from his past.  The disfigurement is a physical representation of his grief.  The battle affected his entire life, and physical transformation is an outward expression of the toll it has taken on him.  Despite the fact that he has this ailment doesn't mean he has completely turned into a pig.  The man he once was is still there, he just needs a cause.  This is a fun film with some brilliantly executed flight sequences.  Full of action and adventure it is fast paced, but still has that Miyazaki magic which adds so much more.
Rating: 3.5/5

The Player

Release Year: 1992
Review: A movie buffs movie, delving in the cut-throat world of Hollywood in the form of a mystery. Griffin Mill(Tim Robbins) plays a ruthless Hollywood studio script reviewer who becomes paranoid after receiving death threats. The film is brimming with references to classic movies, and movie jargon is found throughout. This quick insider banter is often poking fun at the industry itself, and the Hollywood studios are often the butt of the jokes. Being a Robert Altman film, a director who is well respected by actors, and seeing that its a film about Hollywood, there are countless cameos from a slue of popular actors of the time. I enjoyed these constant Hollywood references and the way that Altman meandered around the chaotic sets dropping in and out of conversations, in a way that he had become famous for. These references and quips were the highlight of the film. I appreciated the what the film did with the plot, and the payoff was satisfying, but ultimately I found nearly everyone in the film, particularly Griffin, so loathsome that I didn't enjoy the experience moment to moment.
Rating: 3/5

Reservoir Dogs

Release Year: 1992
Review: One of Quentin Tarantino's best films, 'Reservoir Dogs' is a unique take on a botched robbery. One of the interesting things about the way Tarantino approaches this heist film is that you never actually see the crime. In fact, much of the movie is about what you don't see. For a good portion of the movie you are left in the dark, just as the group of burglars are, as to what went wrong. Tarantino masterfully guides the story, not in a linear sequence, but in a sequence that reveals just enough of the story to keep tension high, and the plot exciting. Besides a visually and stylistically brilliant film, 'Reservoir Dogs' also explores the theme of trust and the nature of good and evil. The payoff of this theme in the film's climax is one of the most memorable in Hollywood endings, and the commentary on the subject is profound. Tarantino, working on a small budget, manages to make a film which almost never leaves a single room of a warehouse feel more exciting than a big budget blockbuster. However wonderful his directing was, this film wouldn't have worked had it not been for a superb ensemble cast, each of who made their character believable and every scene enthralling. Everything about this film exudes Tarantino. Highly stylized and perfectly executed it is one of the best heist films around and is endlessly watchable.
Rating: 5/5

Malcolm X

Release Year: 1992

Review: I knew very little about Malcolm X going into this film and watching his constant growth as a thinker and as a person was fascinating. Denzel Washington played the part to perfection, seeming to hit every emotion brilliantly. The biggest draw back to this film is its length. A good portion of the beginning dragged on without building towards anything and could be cut down quite a bit. The ending could be cut down significantly as well. It was more a sermon on remembrance of Malcolm X than anything else and didn't fit with the feel of the rest of the film. The first transformation of Malcolm X from thug to Islamic could have also served to be expanded upon, as it seemed like despite this film length, that this pivotal portion of his life was skimmed over. Despite these issues Malcolm X serves as a fine biopic. It was both entertaining and educational... well worth the watch.

Rating: 4/5

Unforgiven

Release Year: 1992
Review:

I'm not a fan of westerns. I was told that Unforgiven is a film that transcends its genre, and would make me appreciate the western. Unfortunately, 'Unforgiven' didn't make me fall in love westerns, but I was able to appreciate the strong characters that this film produces. The setting, acting and other western cliches got under my skin at times, and I did have issues with much of the plot. I have a hard time connecting with a movie where I'm supposed to sympathize with an evil man doing evil things, now matter how it is presented to me. Regardless, this film is all about the characters, and Eastwood gives a phenomenal performance as an old, tormented cowboy who wishes he could escape his demons of his past. He and Gene Hackman, as Bill Daggett, create a sense of cowboy awe, where you feel as though they are superhuman. They supersede normal men and are capable of doing things that no human should be able to do. All the while they show a certain amount of vulnerability which shows that they are human, if only a few moments of weakness. Watching these men you can't help but feel as the biographer feels; wanting know their past and gawking at their feats. I can't say that this film made love westerns, but it certainly made me appreciate the impact of a few really great performances can make on an otherwise mediocre film.

Rating: 4/5