# 138 The Big Lebowski (1998)

The Big Lebowski follows "The Dude" played by Jeff Bridges who is mistaken for a rich-namesake. Two thugs ruin his rug, and he seeks revenge with the help of his bowling teammates. Of course, the plot is a lot more complicated than what I've described. Twisted plotlines is something the Coen brothers have always been good at.

Needless to say, the movie is very quirky. It is the sixth movie by the Coen brothers that I've seen so far, and this one definitely has the quality. The best part of the movie was probably the cast. Most of all I enjoyed the acting of Jeff Bridges, Steve Buscemi, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Peter Stormare. It kind of made me wonder if Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare are friends since they have starred in so many movies together.

I think that the film would have been better without all of the weird dreams the Dude had every time he was knocked out. And even though the movie was fun to watch, I wouldn't call it a masterpiece. To me it was more like an average comedy that depicted American people. The dialogues were funny, and the most hilarious moment was at the end of the film, when one of "The Dude's" friends scatters their other friend's ashes at the ocean, and they blow all over Lebowski. But I think that the Coen brothers focused too much on being funny. Still, the movie was mostly positively received by the critics, and made it on the list, so I guess may be there was something brilliant about it, something I did not notice.

Favorite quote: "That rug really tied the room together".

Interesting fact: The Dude is in every scene of the movie, with the exception of the scene where the Nihilists are ordering pancakes. This is in keeping with the traditional film-noir, in which the protagonist is the narrator and acts as the audience's guide throughout the film. 

# 137 Platoon (1986)

Platoon is a movie that came out the year I was born. Funny how I didn't know anything about the Vietnam War until I started watching IMDb Top 250. As much as I like learning something new, especially when it comes in a form of a movie, I wish there weren't so many war (or anti-war) movies on the list. But these are just some general thoughts on the subject. Now let's get to this specific film.

Platoon tells us about the war through the eyes of Chris Taylor, played by Charlie Sheen. He, and his platoon are torn between two sergeants: Sgt. Elias (Willem Dafoe) and Sgt. Barnes (Tom Berenger). It's sort of a like a battle between good and evil, and it may sound a little bit clichéd, in fact there is a lot of dualty in this film. But it's interesting that the enemy doesn't qualify as either good or bad, it isn't taken into account at all, all that matters in this story is the war between the people who fight on the same side. I think that was a very interesting idea.

As I have already said, I don't know much about the Vietnam War, but I think Oliver Stone created a very realistic atmosphere in this film. Probably it because he's an actual Vietnam veteran. The things that were happening in Apocalypse Now weren't so believable, but here the director, the actors, and everybody who took part in making this film did a great job at capturing the war. It's interesting that Charlie Sheen's father, Maritn Sheen, starred in Apocalypse Now, another Vietnam classic.

The same as in The Deer Hunter, I was excited to see so many famous actors, such as Johny Depp, Forest Whitaker, and Willem Dafoe, back when they were young. The actors did well, but I feel like there was no need to mention it, as good acting is an essential part of any war film. Overall, I think that this is a great film. Not my favorite genre though.

Favorite quote: "I love this place at night. The stars... there's no right or wrong in them. They're just there".

Interesting fact: All of the actors had to endure a harsh 14-day boot camp in the Philippines before the shooting of the film commenced. The actors were given military haircuts, were required to stay in character throughout the camp, ate only military rations, were not allowed to shower, slept in the jungle, and even had rotations for night watch. 

# 136 The General (1926)

The General is an old old old movie. To the point that it bothers me. While I enjoyed watching some of Charlie Chaplin's movies, I'm still not a big silent film fan, as silent films require a lot more attention, and sometimes they're not worth this attention. This story takes place during the Civil War, and it is about an engineer who is turned down for service, which makes his girlfriend think that he didn't enlist because he's a coward, so he does all this crazy stuff trying to impress his girl.

Don't get me wrong, The General is not a bad film. As a matter of fact, at the beginning it is very interesting and even funny. However, it is not a pure comedy, there's a lot of action and romance in this movie. I can't say that this combination made the film look disharmonious. But it's hard for me to watch long sequences of action in the first place, and it's even harder when all of this action is shot in black-and-white. It was fun to watch the first train chase, but then there's another train chanse at the end, and it feels too much like deja vu. I got really bored towards the end of the film.

What makes this movie more valuable is that it's based on a true story of the Great Locomotive Chase. I always feel like adding one star to the movie's rating when I find out that it was based on a true story. This is just my thing. Not bad at all for something that was made in 1926, but I'd fall asleep if I had to watch it again.

No favorite quote in a silent film.

Interesting fact: Florida State University commissioned composer Jeff Beal to write a brand-new soundtrack for this silent film. It was premiered by the University Philharmonia along with the original film playing just above the orchestra.