Production Company(ies)

 
Distributor
MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Orion Pictures
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Philippines
 
MPAA / Certificate
R
 
Year of Release
1987
 

 
Genre(s)
War/Drama
 
Keyword(s)
starring Charlie Sheen, Willem Dafoe, Tom Berenger, Forest Whitaker, Francesco Quinn, John C McGinley, directed by Oliver Stone, written by Oliver Stone, produced by Arnold Kopelson, war, drama, box office success, budget, reviewed by Michael Blowen, Kathleen Carroll, Jay Boyar, Dave Kehr, Carrie Rickey, Sheila Benson, Stephen Silver, Kyle Smith, Mark Jackson, Mike Massie, MPAA rating R, Vietnam War, infantry, combat, Staff Sergeant Barnes, Sergeant Elias, Pvt Chris Taylor, Big Harold, Rhah, Sgt Red O’Neill, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Orion Pictures, Surround Sound Mix
 

Cast & Crew

Tom Berenger

Willem Dafoe

Charlie Sheen

Forest Whitaker

Francesco Quinn

Staff Sgt. Bob Barnes

Sgt. Elias Grodin

Pvt. Chris Taylor

Big Harold

Rhah

Tom Berenger – Staff Sgt. Bob Barnes
Willem Dafoe – Sgt. Elias Grodin
Charlie Sheen – Pvt. Chris Taylor
Forest Whitaker – Big Harold
Francesco Quinn – Rhah
John C. McGinley – Sgt. Red O’Neill

 

Oliver Stone

Oliver Stone

Arnold Kopelson

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Oliver Stone
 
Writer(s)
Oliver Stone
 
Producer(s)
Arnold Kopelson

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Won 4 Oscars
24 wins & 15 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Directing Winners, Oscar Best Achievement in Editing Winners, Oscar Best Achievement in Sound Mixing Winners, Oscar Best Picture Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Winners
 

Top Reviews

Michael Blowen

Kathleen Carroll

Jay Boyar

Dave Kehr

Carrie Rickey

Boston Globe

New York Daily News

Orlando Sentinel

Chicago Tribune

Philadelphia Inquirer

PLATOON
  All Critics (70) | Top Critics (19) | Fresh (61) | Rotten (9)
  Although Platoon is not the easiest film to watch, it is one of the best at reminding us that the cinema is not always interested in evading or distorting history. Sometimes it tells the truth.
 
  April 26, 2018
 
  Michael Blowen
  Boston Globe
  TOP CRITIC
  This film is an act of courage. Stone, the gutsy writer-director, records in a devastating barrage of images the relentless horror and the senseless carnage experienced by far too many Americans in Vietnam.
 
  February 22, 2015 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
  Kathleen Carroll
  New York Daily News
  TOP CRITIC
  Stone’s strongest suit, however, isn’t so much realism as it is his way of blending immediacy and insight.
 
  February 22, 2015
 
  Jay Boyar
  Orlando Sentinel
  TOP CRITIC
  There are images in Platoon so powerful that they seem, rather than simply imprinted on celluloid, to have been burned into memory.
 
  February 24, 2014 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
  Dave Kehr
  Chicago Tribune
  TOP CRITIC
  Precisely because Stone forces you to experience a grunt’s tunnel vision and rage, Platoon is a film of inspiring empathy and awesome force. Curiously, that same tunnelvision in the end compromises Platoon.
 
  February 24, 2014 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Carrie Rickey
  Philadelphia Inquirer
  TOP CRITIC
  This is movie-making with a zealot’s fervor.
 
  February 19, 2013 | Rating: 4.5/5
 
  Sheila Benson
  Los Angeles Times
  TOP CRITIC
  A brilliant, bleak Vietnam War film (35th anniversary)
 
  December 31, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Stephen Silver
  Tilt Magazine
  Everything Platoon has to say is right there on the surface, like a tattoo: “War is hell.” There are no layers to suss out. There is nothing to ponder.
 
  March 8, 2021
 
  Kyle Smith
  National Review
  Oliver Stone’s recreation of the infantry foot-soldier’s Vietnam War is an accurate depiction of how little-or-no-choice-having, U.S. drafted soldiers comport themselves, as opposed to true-calling warriors like the elite Navy SEALS in “Lone Survivor.’
 
  January 3, 2021 | Rating: 4.5/5
 
  Mark Jackson
  Epoch Times
  It’s extremely violent and brutal, yet tragically realistic.
 
  September 6, 2020 | Rating: 10/10
 
  Mike Massie
  Gone With The Twins
  Platoon (1986) is a harrowing, visceral, ultra-realistic, gutsy, visually-shattering Vietnam-war film, based on the writer/director’s own first-hand knowledge as a Vietnam combat-infantry soldier. The insightful Best Picture-winning war film
 
  September 29, 2019 | Rating: A+
 
  Tim Dirks
  Filmsite
  Oliver Stone based his movie on his own experiences and attempted to make a more “realistic” Vietnam movie, simpler and more grounded than things like Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter… and he succeeds, truly making this war look like hell.
 
  November 7, 2018 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
  Jeffrey M. Anderson
  Combustible Celluloid…

 

Plot
Chris Taylor is a young, naive American who gives up college and volunteers for combat in Vietnam. Upon arrival, he quickly discovers that his presence is quite nonessential, and is considered insignificant to the other soldiers, as he has not fought for as long as the rest of them and felt the effects of combat. Chris has two non-commissioned officers, the ill-tempered and indestructible Staff Sergeant Robert Barnes and the more pleasant and cooperative Sergeant Elias Grodin. A line is drawn between the two NCOs and a number of men in the platoon when an illegal killing occurs during a village raid. As the war continues, Chris himself draws towards psychological meltdown. And as he struggles for survival, he soon realizes he is fighting two battles, the conflict with the enemy and the conflict between the men within his platoon.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Willem Dafoe’s performance in Platoon is considered one of the standout performances in the film.
 

 
Oliver-Stone.jpg

 

Awards & Nominations
NA
 

Synopsis (Warning: Spoilers!)

Links
 

(Click to Visit)
 

(Click to Visit)
 
Wikipedia: Go to Wiki
Rotten Tomatoes: Go to RT

 

Coming soon…
 

 
Production Company(ies)

 
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
 
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
 
Filming Location(s)
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for supernatural action and some suggestive references
 
Year of Release
1984
 

 
Genre(s)
Comedy/Fantasy
 
Keyword(s)
starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts, directed by Ivan Reitman, written by Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, comedy, fantasy, adventure, PG rating, box office gross $298.5M, reviewed by Joseph Gelmis, Kathleen Carroll, Arthur Knight, Gene Siskel, Kate Muir, Bill Murray’s deadpan performance, special effects, high-tech battle with the supernatural, gateway to another dimension, evil upon the city, save New York from complete destruction, university in New York City, ghostbusters, supernatural, magnetic stereo 6 track, Dolby stereo, surround, scope (2.35:1), Columbia Pictures, Ghostbusters collection
 

Cast & Crew

Bill Murray

Dan Aykroyd

Harold Ramis

Sigourney Weaver

Rick Moranis

Doctor Peter Venkman

Doctor Raymond Stantz

Doctor Egon Spengler

Dana Barrett

Zuul

Bill Murray – Doctor Peter Venkman
Dan Aykroyd – Doctor Raymond Stantz
Harold Ramis – Doctor Egon Spengler
Sigourney Weaver – Dana Barrett, Zuul, The Gate Keeper
Rick Moranis – Louis Tully, Vinz Clortho, The Key Master
Annie Potts – Janine Melnitz

 

Ivan Reitman

Dan Aykroyd

Ivan Reitman

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Ivan Reitman
 
Writer(s)
Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis
 
Producer(s)
Ivan Reitman

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
16 nominations total
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Joseph Gelmis

Kathleen Carroll

Arthur Knight

Kate Muir

Gene Siskel

Newsday

New York Daily News

Hollywood Reporter

Times (UK)

Chicago Tribune

GHOSTBUSTERS
  All Critics (75) | Top Critics (18) | Fresh (73) | Rotten (2)
  Ghostbusters is like romping through Disneyland’s haunted house with Bill Murray.
 
  June 8, 2016 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Joseph Gelmis
  Newsday
  TOP CRITIC
  Ghostbusters is primarily a showcase for Murray, who slinks through the movie muttering his lines in his usual cheeky fashion and getting off an occasionally hilarious crack that proves he’s thoroughly enjoying himself.
 
  June 16, 2015 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Kathleen Carroll
  New York Daily News
  TOP CRITIC
  The plotting may be primitive, but it’s all carried off with far more style and finesse than one might expect from the creators of Animal House and Meatballs.
 
  June 16, 2015
 
  Arthur Knight
  Hollywood Reporter
  TOP CRITIC
  Part of the sheer joy of this movie — aside from the comic timing of Bill Murray — is the cartoonish crapness of its apparitions and their placid acceptance by the Ghostbusters team.
 
  October 31, 2014 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Kate Muir
  Times (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  On balance, Ghostbusters is a hoot. It’s Murray’s picture, and in a triumph of mind over matter, he blows away the film’s boring special effects with his one-liners.
 
  August 19, 2014
 
  Gene Siskel
  Chicago Tribune
  TOP CRITIC
  A fantasy, but with no touches of reality at all, to be enjoyed for its zany humour typical of the “National Lampoon” school from which several of its contributors are drawn.
 
  June 12, 2014
 
  Patrick Gibbs
  Daily Telegraph (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  While Ghostbusters II failed to have the same effect on me, it will take nothing away from the greatness of this film and is one of my personal top 10 films of all time. Ghostbusters is the definition of a classic.
 
  February 18, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  David Gonzalez
  Reel Talk Inc.
  Ghostbusters is one of the greatest comedy films of all time!
 
  February 14, 2022
 
  Danielle Solzman
  Solzy at the Movies
  Test.
 
  December 10, 2021
 
  Sophie-Marie Prime
  Ain’t It Cool Movie Reviews
  I also really appreciate that Aykroyd and Ramis’ script is so tightly structured but joke dense. There is practically no wasted time in this film.
 
  April 1, 2021
 
  Sarah Brinks
  Battleship Pretension
  It’s the thrills of wraith-combating, action-packed citywide devastation, and carefree attitudes that highlight the adventures and give the film a strong sense of originality.
 
  September 6, 2020 | Rating: 7/10
 
  Mike Massie
  Gone With The Twins
  It is not intended to change anyone’s life, just invite you to follow a fun and crazy group. [Full Review in Spanish]
 
  August 20, 2019
 
  Juan Luis Caviaro
  Espinof…

 

Plot
When a single mom and her two kids arrive in a small town, they begin to discover their connection to the original Ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather left behind.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Bill Murray’s deadpan delivery and hilarious one-liners steal the show in Ghostbusters.
 

 
Ivan-Reitman.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Miramax, Be Gentlemen Limited Partnership, Lawrence Bender Productions,
 
Distributor
NA
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Corriganville, Ray Corrigan Ranch, Simi Valley, California, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language throughout, some strong graphic violence, drug use, and sexual references
 
Year of Release
1984
 

 
Genre(s)
Crime/Drama
 
Keyword(s)
starring Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern, Treat Williams, Tuesday Weld, Burt Young, directed by Sergio Leone, written by Harry Grey, crime, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Paul Attanasio, Gary Arnold, Lou Lumenick, Steve Macfarlane, David Fear, Richard Corliss, Toussaint Egan, David Nusair, Josh Larsen, Mike Massie, Dom Nero, Jeffrey M Anderson, produced by Arnon Milchan, MPAA rating R, New York City, Jewish slum, bootlegger, Mafia boss, violence, betrayal, remorse, flashbacks, 1920s, 1930s, organized crime, friendship, loyalty, guilt, American Dream, visually stunning, stylistically bold, emotionally haunting, great performances
 

Cast & Crew

Robert De Niro

James Woods

Elizabeth McGovern

Treat Williams

Tuesday Weld

David ‘Noodles’ Aaronson

Maximilian ‘Max’ Bercovicz

Deborah Gelly

James Conway O’Donnell

Carol

Robert De Niro – David ‘Noodles’ Aaronson
James Woods – Maximilian ‘Max’ Bercovicz
Elizabeth McGovern – Deborah Gelly
Treat Williams – James Conway O’Donnell
Tuesday Weld – Carol
Burt Young – Joe Minaldi

 

Sergio Leone

Harry Grey

NA

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Sergio Leone
 
Writer(s)
Harry Grey
 
Producer(s)
NA

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Won 2 Oscars
143 wins & 380 nominations total
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Paul Attanasio

Gary Arnold

Lou Lumenick

Steve Macfarlane

David Fear

Washington Post

New York Post

Slant Magazine

Time Out

TIME Magazine

ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA
  All Critics (55) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (48) | Rotten (7)
  The movie’s four hours long, but no one had the time to write a single real character.
 
  January 4, 2018
 
  Paul Attanasio
  Washington Post
  TOP CRITIC
  This would-be epic schlep, dragging almost 50 years of chronology over a sluggish 140 minutes, is far too slight of text and ponderous of presentation to sustain more than nodding-off dramatic interest.
 
  May 5, 2017
 
  Gary Arnold
  Washington Post
  TOP CRITIC
  Adding 22 minutes only enhances Leone’s brilliant saga of guilt and betrayal
 
  April 11, 2015 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Lou Lumenick
  New York Post
  TOP CRITIC
  Here was a filmmaker who specialized in pure, blistering images, and this operatic earthiness just doesn’t play as well as the horrifying, salacious stuff.
 
  November 21, 2012 | Rating: 2.5/4
 
  Steve Macfarlane
  Slant Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  Sergio Leone’s languid, lovely and lengthy ode to Lower East Side mobsters (more specifically, mobster films) …
 
  November 20, 2012 | Rating: 4/5
 
  David Fear
  Time Out
  TOP CRITIC
  Leone is less interested in arousing an audience’s easier emotions than in presenting, at a dispassionate distance, the horror of two men warily walking toward each other on a tightrope suspended above the snake pit of their , deepest compulsions.
 
  April 12, 2011
 
  Richard Corliss
  TIME Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  Once Upon a Time in America is a tremendous work that captures the animating ambition and sorrow at the heart of the American Dream.
 
  October 22, 2021
 
  Toussaint Egan
  Polygon
  …sprawling subject matter that’s employed to admittedly erratic yet often striking effect by Leone…
 
  February 16, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
 
  David Nusair
  Reel Film Reviews
  …an epic of blinkered nostalgia.
 
  September 10, 2020 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Josh Larsen
  LarsenOnFilm
  The cinematographic style has evolved, but it’s still unmistakably reminiscent of his earlier projects.
 
  September 6, 2020 | Rating: 7/10
 
  Mike Massie
  Gone With The Twins
  A stratosphere-scraping citadel of cinema, nearly everything about Leone’s last film – and greatest masterwork – speaks to the grand illusion of the American Dream.
 
  October 17, 2018
 
  Dom Nero
  Esquire Magazine
  Complex gangster epic has strong violence, sex.
 
  October 10, 2017 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Jeffrey M. Anderson
  Common Sense Media…

 

Plot
Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood visits 1969 Los Angeles, where everything is changing, as TV star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) make their way around an industry they hardly recognize anymore. The ninth film from the writer-director features a large ensemble cast and multiple storylines in a tribute to the final moments of Hollywood’s golden age.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Robert De Niro and James Woods deliver great performances in this visually stunning and emotionally haunting crime drama.
 

 
Sergio-Leone.jpg