Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Reservoir Dogs (1992) directed by Quentin Tarantino, is an exceptional film. The storyline follows a group of experienced criminals under pseudonyms, who have been selected to rob a jewelry store for a shipment of diamonds. The robbery goes wrong, and the men all flee the scene, slowly meeting up at their planned safehouse. As they begin to discuss the events of the failed robbery, they begin to realize that there is a mole in the group, and begin to accuse and turn on each other as the men try to figure out who it is. 

This leads to a four-way Mexican standoff, and one of the men getting away with all the diamonds. Reservoir Dogs was Quentin Tarantino's first feature length film, but he says it was his favorite film to make to this day. The storytelling plays with time beautifully, creating backstories for each character mid-film, jumping between before and after the robbery as each character disproves that he is the cop. 

Each man establishes and breaks bonds with the others, giving the audience a sense of unease and confusion as to who to trust. While the film's main storyline is about the jewelry robbery, the cutaways through time offer deep insight into each criminal's personal life, and the life of the police officer as well. This helps to form an emotional bond between the audience and the characters. Visually, the film is magnificent as well. Tarantino's attention to detail pays off greatly. 

From the bright red blood contrasting with the subtly green painted walls, to the minor character aspects that bring them out of the film and into real life, Reservoir Dogs creates a major connection with audiences, making them feel bad for this group of violent, armed robbers. In the final scene, one man reveals to his one friend and supporter in the group of criminals that he is the undercover cop with his dying breaths. As the police finally raid the building and catch the two men among the bodies of their partners, the undercover cop’s friend shoots him in the head as he holds him in his lap, creating a possible allusion to Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck’s classic novel. 

From this perspective, it is not a killing out of anger, but rather a mercy killing for his dying friend. This can be shown by the fit of rage that the dying cop’s friend has, followed by his calming down and acceptance of both of their hopeless situations.

Audrey Kathleen Ruston

Audrey Hepburn was born May 4th, 1929, she was elegant and was known for being America's Sweetheart. Audrey would run into problems throughout her childhood in Holland with the Nazi's. As a small child, she was malnourished due to the food supply cut off from the Nazis. She would attend a ballet school and put on some recitals. Later on, she would find herself modeling and becoming an actress. Although her career was not flourishing in Europe so she moved to America.


 


In America, she instantly became famous winning an Oscar award for her first American film. She would continue to make movie after movie and receive award after award. The movie 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' was meant to be Marilyn Monroes part but the studio wanted Audrey Hepburn. These two ladies are complete opposites; one a sex symbol and one so elegant. Although each would have their fair share of JFK, and believe it or not the year after the infamous Happy Birthday performance from Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn would sing Happy Birthday to JFK.


                   

Audrey Hepburn Facts:

Audrey was deathly afraid of water and had a crew on standby for her scene in "Two for the Road" when she would get pushed into a pool.

She worked for the Dutch Resistance while the Nazis invaded, keeping messages in her ballet slippers.

Audrey Hepburn volunteered when she was 16 years old to be a nurse during World War II.

She and her family would eat ground up tulip bulbs and bread made out of grass to survive on during the Nazi invasion, this leads to her having acute anemia and other health problems throughout her life.

Hepburn had look self-confidence, she could not understand why everyone thought she was beautiful. To her she had a big nose and big feet, she was too skinny and didn't have large enough breasts.

Audrey had a pet deer named Mr.Famous. She originally brought him home so he could learn to follow her around on set but decided to keep him.

Hepburn was an avid smoker for her elegance, smoking a whopping three packs a day.


                   

She may not have been the infamous Marilyn Monroe but she was the opposite sweet, and elegant.

UNICEF was a big deal to Hepburn, for the rest of her life after retirement giving her time and funds.

A Quiet Place (2018)

A Quiet Place (2018) directed by John Krasinski, is a deeply terrifying horror movie. The film follows a family in a post-apocalyptic world filled with vicious creatures that hunt their prey based on sound. The family has learned to remain absolutely silent while going about daily life and uses American Sign Language to communicate.

Don't Breathe (2016) directed by Fede Álvarez, also follows a group of people being hunted by the sounds they make, but A Quiet Place is significantly more successful in their use of this concept. The family in A Quiet Place has learned to adapt and survive in this ruthless world, whereas the group of teens in Don't Breathe merely react to being thrown into a high-risk situation. Millicent Simmonds plays a teenage girl who feels responsible for her brother's death, and is deaf in real life. This allows her performance to feel much more real and brings out the intensity and emotion of the film even more than a non-disabled actor could.

The film's use of silence magnifies the noises that the characters do make, creating a psychological thrill on levels that only a select few movies are able to reach. The story is strengthened further by the relatively small amount of time the monsters are actually on screen. The threat that the creatures pose is established early in the film, through the death of the family's youngest member. However, the vast majority of the film focuses on the family's struggles to remain silent, and their desperate attempts to fix any mistakes they make before they are hunted down.  While the threat of the monsters is always present, the monsters themselves are usually not. This adds an interesting dynamic to the film, allowing the audience to deeply connect with the characters by placing the focus on them as individuals and their different experiences in the same world. The audience gains insight into the internal conflicts each family member has, in addition to the external conflict in the world. Simmonds' character struggles more with the guilt of her brother's death than the monsters themselves, and longs for her father's love.

 It is not until the father's gruesome end, and the end of the film, that Simmonds' character realizes she has had his love all along, and he does not blame her for her mistakes. This conflict is much larger than the threat of death, and is a common feeling that children have, especially in their teenage years. A Quiet Place has a very well developed storyline that has many distinct layers.

10 Cloverfield Lane

10 Cloverfield Lane

Directed by Dan Trachtenberg in 2016, 10 Cloverfield Lane is a very interesting and entertaining horror/suspense film. It all starts with the main character, Michelle driving down the highway. Michelle looks in her rear-view mirror and sees a truck coming up behind her very quickly. The truck attempts to swerve out of the way, but hits the back of her car, causing her to spin uncontrollably and ultimately wreck. She blacks out and wakes up with her arms chained to a bed frame in a very small room. The man who locked her in this room, Howard, tries to explain to her that he is just trying to help, but Michelle is obviously very scared and tries to escape.

Howard is eventually able to calm Michelle down and explains that he was the man who hit her with his truck. He told her that he was in such a hurry because the invasion was about to take place. Michelle had no idea what he was talking about, but he explains that a poisonous gas would be sent down and then aliens would take over once all humans were wiped out. He told her that he saved her life. Still skeptical, Michelle meets Elliot, Howard's neighbor who is also hiding out in Howard's bunker. The three end up getting along for a little while once Michelle and Elliot both see what happened to a woman who got killed by the gas. 

All is well up until there is a leak coming from the roof. Howard fears that some gas might slip through the vents if the leak is not repaired, but he cannot fit into the air vent. Michelle is the only one capable to repair the leak, but when she enters the vent she sees etchings on the roof such as "help me". She then finds a box filled with pictures of a young girl wearing the same shirt that Howard has given to her. Howard denied having any children at first, so Michelle knows something is up. She questions Howard and it results in him freaking out. Elliot and Michelle plot to kill Howard because he shows how psychotic he is, but Howard foils their plans and kills Elliot. Michelle and Howard end up fighting to the death and Michelle ultimately is able to kill Howard at the cost of burning down the bunker. She makes a hazmat suit out of shower curtains and is able to go outside. She escapes the surrounding aliens and finds a car. The film ends the same way it started, with Michelle driving down the highway, and then the film cuts to a blank screen that reads, "to be continued."

Norma Jeane Mortenson

Norma Jeane Mortenson also was known as Marilyn Monroe has been an icon for many years, the seductive voice, blonde locks, voluptuous figure, and the beauty mark. There are many other things Marilyn Monroe had going for her than just her looks. A young bride, Marilyn would get married for the first time in 1942 at the age of 16. Unfourtanetly, her marriage would only last four years followed by two more failed marriages.



                         



Marilyn had a rough life growing up; her mom was mentally and financially unstable. Monroe would end up in foster care until her mother got her life together and got her back at age 7. Marilyn's mom would then be diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and would spend time in mental facilities. While in foster care Monroe had claimed to be sexually abused. She lived with her mothers best friend, Grace, before being placed into foster care once again and returning to the best friends care. This stay did not last long, Monroe went to stay with Grace's aunt but due to her age could not make it a long-term solution, and once again Marilyn would return to Graces home. Grace and her husband decided they were going to move and Monroe could not be apart of this so she would either have to go back to foster care or get married.



               



While married for the first time, her husband was in the army, and she modeled. After her marriage, she attended literature classes at UCLA downtown, and eventually Monroe would get signed with 20th century fox. Marilyn lost contracts for movies because she would show up late to set due to her drug problems. Monroe may have seemed to have a perfect life and be a big idol, but she had her problems. She did not own her own house until the last year of her life. She only lived for 36 short years before dying from a drug overdose on August 5, 1962.



                    



"Chanel No 5" -Marilyn Monroe

Monroe Facts:

Truman Capote had Marilyn Monroe in his mind as the lead role of Breakfast at Tiffany's, but her coach told her that is a role she would not usually play so she turned the opportunity down. Capote said he was not thrilled that Audrey Hepburn had been cast as the lead.

Monroe was not known to be a good cook. She was once asked to wash lettuce for a salad and washed each leaf with a brillo pad.

Monroe was a bookworm, after her death over 400 novels were discovered in her home.

The dress Marilyn wore to sing 'Happy Birthday' to JFK in was sold for over a million dollars, and in 2011 her dress from 'Seven Year Itch' sold for 4.6 million.

Her marriage to DiMaggio only lasted eight months and the reason for the end of their marriage was Monroes infamous subway scene. DiMaggio insisted that she revealed too much of her body.

DiMaggio remained friends with Monroe and was even close to remarrying her but fell short due to her death. He arranged the funeral and allowed very few people from Hollywood to attend, and for 20 years after her death, he had roses delivered to her grave twice a week.

DiMaggio owned the crypt above Monroes but sold it when they divorced. The buyer requested he wanted to be buried upside down so that way he would always be face down on top of Marilyn. In 2009, his wife insisted this not come true so they listed the crypt on eBay and brought in 4.6 million, unfortunately, the buyer backed out of the sale. Hugh Hefner bought the plot next to her because he felt a connection, she was on the cover of the first Playboy magazine but never met him.

Straight Outta Compton (2015)

The highly anticipated biopic telling the tale of one of the pioneer hip hop groups N.W.A certainly lived up to the billing. F. Gary Gray's 2015 film Straight Outta Compton told the story of five black individuals from Compton, California and how they were the first to truly make completely uncensored explicit musical content.

Their message was simple and direct: their challenging lifestyle in the streets of California in the late 1980's isn't documented nearly enough. Through their music, in the most genuine way possible they tell the story of their brutal upbringing.

N.W.A, who quickly got the title of "The World's Most Dangerous Group" was made up of all time great producer Dr. Dre, the MC headliner responsible for the lyrical content of the group Ice Cube, another MC headliner and was dubbed the groups "character" the late Eazy E, underrated rapper MC Ren, and back line DJ, Yella.

Many people feared an inaccurate depiction of this flavorful and unique group when news of the movie as a biopic was first released. Luckily for N.W.A fans, Ice Cube (O'Shea Jackson) and Dr Dre (Andre Young) were very much hands on during the making of the film.

The coolest aspect of this film was that the Ice Cube role was played by Cube's own son, O'Shea Jackson Jr. Cube, who transitioned into a prominent acting career once he became famous as a rapper, stressed that his son wasn't given this role just because he really resembles Cube and is his son, he had to earn the role like everyone else, and it took years of preparation.

Elsewhere in the cast, Jason Mitchell played the role of Eazy E. With Eazy E passing away due to complications of H.I.V in 1995, Mitchell had the tough assignment of playing the only member of the group who couldn't be mentored by him during the filming process.

Corey Hawkins, who formally was an actor of broadway, played Dr. Dre. Aldis Hodge played the role of MC Ren, and Neil Brown Jr played DJ Yella. Lastly, amongst the prominent cast, well renowned actor Paul Giamatti played the role of the rap groups controversial manager, Jerry Heller. Financial disputes between Heller and Ice Cube was the beginning of a snowball effect that would ultimately break the group up.

This group defied incredible odds to gain prominence in hip hop. In the beginning they strictly wanted to be an underground group, something that their community could follow. Soon enough, with controversy along the way, the group went worldwide and became a staple in rap history.

They did the only way they know how, giving raw, uncensored content that people may not want to hear, but need to hear.