Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

Featuring: Tom Cruise, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe. Director: Oliver Stone.

Warning: This movie will only stream until May 1st so act fast!

We all know Tom Cruise is a d-bag. I think we can all agree on that. All the Scientology crap, the jumping on couches and the whole closeted homosexual bit just turns people off of him and for good reason. He's a weird little man. All of his eccentricities make it very hard to take him seriously these days. He's not a bad actor though. There was a stretch there when he was a decent leading man and Hollywood's golden boy.  Sure, he's no Paul Newman, but he's not a talentless hack posing as a leading man like say, Warren Beatty, either.

In Born on the Fourth of July everyone's favorite Scientologist  gives one of the best performances of his career as a young man who goes to Vietnam as an idealist and returns a cynic and a cripple. Believe it or not, I thought Cruise was really believable in this role and probably even deserved the Oscar nomination he got for it.

The movie itself seemed a little uneven to me. It seemed to sort of just bounce around and there wasn't nearly enough about his time as a protester. I don't really get the academy's love of Oliver Stone (he won another best director award for this one) in the 80's. I've enjoyed a lot of Oliver Stone movies but he has never seemed to be a master of the craft like say, Scorsese (who was continually snubbed in the 80's). His movies all feel rushed and unbalanced. It's like he won his awards based on how good his movies could have been if he wasn't coked out the entire time he was making them. That being said, this is a good movie and worth watching for Cruise's performance. Yea, I just said that.

Click here to add this movie to your Netflix queue.

According to Netflix this movie will stop streaming on 5/1/11. Of course, sometimes they lie.

The Standard 5:

Why is it in your queue? It's an Oliver Stone movie I hadn't seen yet, it stayed there so long because Tom Cruise was on the cover.

Is it artsy? No.

What stood out the most to you? A surprisingly awesome performance from Tom Cruise.

What mood should I be in to watch this movie? In a good mood so the depressing life of a troubled Vietnam vet won't bring you too far down.

What rating did you give it on Netflix? 3 Stars. 

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Platoon (1986)

Featuring: Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen, Forest Whittaker,  Johnny Depp.
Director: Oliver Stone.

Warning: This movie is only streaming until April 1st so act fast!

War movies are never really "fun" to watch. They often deal with subject matter that shows humanity at it's worst. Every once in a while you'll get a movie like Saving Private Ryan that makes you get all teary eyed with the heroism, but for the most part, in the last few decades anyway, you get movies like Platoon that shock and disgust you with how awful war can be. Which isn't a bad thing, it's just a thing.

Because war movies deal with such horrifying content they need to be really good or else it feels like you're just watching some sort of sick snuff film. Platoon, which is director Oliver Stone's Oscar winning take on the Vietnam War is a good war movie. Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe give absolutely incredible performances, easily some of the best ever in a war film. The rest of the supporting cast is excellent as well but the biggest problem I have with the movie is that Charlie Sheen is in the lead role.

Now I hate to get on the man's case after all the recent bulls*** he's been through, especially because it's not really his fault. Charlie Sheen acted his ass off, he's just no Martin Sheen and this ain't no Apocolypse Now. The comparisons with Francis Ford Coppola's classic are unavoidable with this movie and for me, Apocalypse Now is just better. I would have loved to have seen how this movie would have been with a young Johnny Depp or Forest Whittaker (who were both in the supporting cast) in the leading role. With such incredible performances from Berenger and Dafoe the main arc of the story just comes across as being overlooked.

Don't get me wrong, this is a good movie and if you've never seen it before by all means you should watch it. However, this isn't a great movie and if you're going to watch something with such heavy subject matter wouldn't you rather watch the best?

To add this movie to your Netflix queue click here.

According to instantwatcher.com this movie will stream on Netflix until 4/1/11.

The Standard 5:

Why is it in your queue? Look at all the names in the cast, why wouldn't it be?

Is it artsy? No, but it has a clear anti-war message.

What stood out the most to you? Berenger and Dafoe going head to head was incredibly intense.

What mood should I be in to watch this movie? Looking for a good war drama.

What rating did you give it on Netflix? 4 Stars. 

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