We have holy ghost power!!

We got holy ghost power! We got holy ghost power today! Why? Because we have the keys to the kingdom. We got holy ghost power!

This quote from a key moment of action of the indie 1997 Sundance Festival film "The Apostle" finds actor Robert Duvall taking on the difficult role of a flawed, womanizing preacher Sonny in Duvall's essentially self-funded film project.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Absolutely a pleasing film to watch, "The Apostle" absolutely shows off the great talents of real-life southern Holiness style preachers.

"The Apostle" finds Sonny Dewey, a gifted, self-aware Pentecostal Southern preacher, going on the lam after committing an act of violence. He does this after discovering his wife sleeping with the youth minister (Horace) at his church, and then going through his own church's by-laws that ends up firing him from his pastoral at the church.

Fast facts: Duvall cast real life Holiness preachers and choir members for the film to add a strong, realistic feel (IMDB).

Source: www.popoptiq.com

According to Duvall, he self-financed the film after possibly near a decade of finding non-supportive studios. After it did sort of well in the box office (around $20 million stateside), he was reimbursed for his film.

I think "The Apostle" is one of those rare gems. It's like that perfect marinade for a steak you have been perfecting, and if you especially like the taste of marinade, it stays with you for years and years.

My rating for it: 5 out of 5 stars

"Fletch" good for the end of a long week

“Fletch” (1985)

ENG 496 Blog Entry

            “Excuse me, my car just hit a water buffalo. Can I borrow your towel?”

            This quote, said to a woman as she recently finished her shower, is a classic example of actor Chevy Chase in the 1980s comedy “Fletch.”

            There is also a scene where he is dressed up like Moses and roller skates down the beach where he talks to a potential source for his drug trafficking story. Classic, I must say.

            “Fletch” is based a series of detective fiction from the 1970s and early 80s. I don’t remember the name of the author of those books, but regardless, I have a gut feeling that he would have approved of Chevy Chase as the unorthodox newspaper column writer.

            

           As a disguise, he introduces himself as Harry S. Truman, Don Corleone, and probably most humorously Ted Nugent.

            While these references show very much just how old this movie is (Nugent being a music star from the late 1970s), it still makes for a fun hour and a half of your time, if a bit quirky part of your time.

            One really cannot go very deeply in the movie-analyzing business by writing articles on “Fletch.”

            Directed by the late Michael Ritchie, “Fletch” is fun, and I must say would make for a good remake idea.

            It is a shame they let a gem like this go, because “Fletch Won” (the second film was released in 1989) has been in and out of development for more than 20 years.

            I recommend this movie if you are feeling a bit low and looking for some old-school deadpan comedic delivery—as former Saturday Night Live actor Chevy Chase could do.

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Jaws: because of the music

Tonight is Feb. 5, later at night. The classic Jaws is showing on one of the Showtime channels right now, and it's every bit as good as I remember it.

Excellent music, original score by John Williams it had.

Jaws was powered by a very realistic looking mechanical arm-powered shark machine that was engineered specifically for the film. Released in the summer of 1975, it was one of the movies that started the idea of a blockbuster. 

The only oddity? Back then, it was technically a "dramatic horror" film. It made several million dollars in the U.S., and it starred one of England's famous bad guy actors, Robert Shaw and somewhat newcomer Richard Dreyfuss.

What is the best part of the movie? A satisfying, death-shot that actor Roy Scheider makes with his spear-rifle right before the very end of the film.

Excitement, aspects of horror, ethical situations, convincing acting, and a perfect score all made this a great 1970s blockbuster that is still rewatcheable today.

Zach Filtz Movie Blog for class: ENG 496

Hello,

I'm Zach and this will be used for my class, ENG 496. This is a preliminary post and not meant to be graded--just a sign to my instructor and to my classmates. 

Others from the English department are welcome to read, as well.

The blog will be doing some movie analyses, probably a critique of the Oscars when they come around later in February, and maybe a movie/game adaption, as well. Some movies made for some great video games, I must say.

Toodles!