"Instinct" in a Nutshell #GBE2 #VOD #Blockbuster #Netflix #Oldmovies #MovieRentals

In March, “Instinct” was listed at one of those insane movies for a monday movie meme highlighting films that have madness in them. Here is a quick review on “Instinct,” which is the first attempt at shortening my “In a Nutshell” movie reviews to 140 words or less.


This movie poster reads: "Nothing is more strange than civilization"....something to think about, huh?

Anthony Hopkins and Cuba Gooding Jr. slowly build a story around unanswered questions investigated by a psychiatrist seeking to learn the inner-workings of the mind of a prisoner serving time for murdering several people. Hopkins plays the psychotic (or is he traumatized or just plain vicious?) inmate who won’t talk until warming up to the psychiatrist but it isn’t long before his new-found confidant’s life is in jeopardy as well. While “Instinct” was not a popular movie critically nor at the box office, it is worth watching at least once. The film shows how man can become one with nature....not just by living in the woods but also by adapting to survival methods of animals in the wild as well as interacting with them in ways that make them more than creatures to observe, fear, attack and/or exploit.

Despite the negative reviews and audience reactions of this film, my instincts got me to buy "Instinct" many years ago based on the movie trailer and the all-star cast. I wasn't disappointed in my purchase. Still, if anyone is willing to buy a this used VHS movie that is in Like-New condition, these same instincts will help me realize that it's time to let it go and move on.

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Summer Party Movie References #NaBloPoMo #MovieMeme #Blogging #amwriting

Today marks the official start of party week here at the Madlab Post. In an attempt to extend The Bumbles’ most recent monday movie meme “Summertime” topic, the first subject up for discussion is summer parties. When thinking of summertime, three parties come to mind.......cookouts (also referred to as barbecues), block parties and family reunions. Here is a list of movies that reference at least one of these various types of summer parties.

Cookouts & Barbecues
In John Singleton’s “Boyz ‘n the Hood,” Tre (played by Cuba Gooding Jr.) attends a backyard cookout hosted by the mother of his friend Doughboy (played by Ice Cube) to celebrate the son’s release from prison.

During the barbecue, there are moments of jealous bickering between girls who are attracted to Tre and become pissed to find out that he has a girlfriend who is in attendance. The guys sit around, play card games and discuss sex and STDs in between Doughboy’s recollection of his activities in the penitentiary.

Block Parties
The documentary, “The World’s Best Prom” is about all that comes to mind when thinking about block parties in the summer. It may not very well fit because the celebration highlighted in the movie is a parade but these things take place on the street, right? So, it works for me and for the purposes of this post. This documentary showcases the city of Racine, Wisconsin and it’s prom mania that is like no other in the country.

The parade kicks of the city’s celebration of their annual mega-prom that includes high school seniors from several schools and locals take to the streets before the planning of dresses, suits, red carpet entrances (yes, they go all Hollywood in this movie), transportation and post-high school goals get underway.

Family Reunions
In “Poetic Justice” (another John Singleton movie), Tupac Shakur and Janet Jackson play Lucky and Justice....two characters from slightly opposite sides of the tracks who crash a stranger’s family barbecue with their friends with plans on getting free food. Lucky even goes so far as to impersonate a fake cousin when approached by one of the family members at this reunion.

While they were able to get the free food and drinks, the friends are also given some unrequested scoldings on marriage and relationships by Maya Angelou. who basically calls the younger generations clueless. Their party crashing ends abruptly when members of the group get into a physical confrontation with one of the relatives.

What other movies fit into either of these three summer party categories?

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Leonardo "DiWackio" According to Generation Y'ers #NaBloPoMo

As much as many movie fans love Leonardo DiCaprio and his work, there are lots of other movie goers who are not a fan of this particular actor. I spoke with two relatives to find out their thoughts on DiCaprio and the movies that he starred in so far. Here are notes one the responses from a conversation with my 14 year-old cousin who watched “Romeo & Juliet,” “Titanic,” “The Departed,” “Blood Diamond,” and “Inception.”

Why does Leonardo DiCaprio get on your nerves?
Because he don’t know how to act.

What was your least favorite Leonardo DiCaprio movie?
“Shutter Island” Because the theme of the movie wasn’t really pleasing to me.

What was your most favorite Leonardo DiCaprio movie?
“Romeo & Juliet” Because I liked how he acted....he played Romeo really well.

Here is an audio recording of my conversation with a 25 year-old relative, with whom I asked the same three questions:

Why does Leonardo DiCaprio get on your nerves?

What was your least favorite Leonardo DiCaprio movie?

What was your most favorite Leonardo DiCaprio movie?

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