The Ray Pletcher Blog

Quentin Tarantino certainly delivers a fascinating else worlds take on World War Two in his film Inglourious Basterds. This picture is definitely gruesome but it extends beyond focusing on the effects of the Nazi’s reign and touches on the similarities between every man in war. Tarantino’s picture is the tale of a group of U.S. soldiers called the Basterds who scheme to kill a theatre full of Nazi officials on the same night a theatre owner plans to burn the theater to get revenge against the Nazis. The action is only utilized when absolutely vital and as Tarantino uses dialogue heavily to make his characters come to life to the audience the film succeeds in spades in providing quite the unique experience. The story follows many different characters and Tarantino skillfully allows the audience to spend different amounts of time with different characters. The movie is told in chapters and when certain characters intersect and crossover from one chapter to the next and the piec

In a version of King Arthur that forgoes the mystical element of the legend, Clive Owen shines brightly as the invincible moral upright knight Arthur. Arthur is the lead character in Antoine Fuqua’s 2004 film King Arthur in which the director soars to entertaining heights of entertainment in this motion picture. This tale which attempts to interpret a more realistic version of the legend of King Arthur follows Arthur during the times in which he lived when the Roman Empire was collapsing and politics forced him and his group of knights at the roundtable whom he has served with and trusted his life with for the last fifteen years were forced out into the field for one last mission before they could secure their freedom in the Roman Empire. The dangerous mission finds Arthur and his knights taking on Cerdic and his forces and along the way they gain an alley in Guinevere, a prisoner of the Roman Empire, who helps Arthur look at his life in a different light. King Arthur beautif

Are you paranoid about America’s state of the art surveillance system? Well, you should be according to Tony Scott’s 1998 film Enemy of the State starring Will Smith and Gene Hackman a film that goes to great lengths to impose its view on the government’s surveillance tactics and invasion of personal rights. In this adventure, an everyman lawyer Robert Clayton Dean played by Will Smith who has a wife and son through an incidental mix up receives video captured evidence of corrupt Senator Reynolds played by Jon Voight killing a congressman. Senator Reynolds goes to any lengths with the aid of his NSA goons to retrieve that evidence which puts Dean’s life in jeopardy. Edward Lyle played by Gene Hackman comes to Dean’s aid as the two share an important personal connection that plays a very important role in the story. This film’s creepy high intense action driven story results in a very satisfying engaging solid film. The audience’s perception on the American surveillance sys

Investigative journalism is important and it shines more than ever in the 2015 motion picture Spotlight directed by Tim McCarthy with Michael Keaton and Mark Ruffalo headlining. The film focuses on a true story through the eyes of the Spotlight team, a team of four investigative journalists at the Boston Globe who set out to prove that different corrupt priests had been molesting children for decades and the truth had been swept under the rug. This story is a powerful one because the characters face an unspeakable truth that directly exposes an evil that had been present in our world and it takes into consideration the effects on the people discovering this truth in a realistic manner. McCarthy certainly had a challenge in effectively presenting a true story in a clear and engaging manner to his audience without simply regurgitating the events of what happened and he does so excellently.     Whenever a movie presents a serious topic or issue it has to make sure it doesn’t

Traumatic events can define moments in people’s lives and it certainly does in the life of the character Dr. Malcolm Crowe played by Bruce Willis in the 1999 movie directed by M. Night Shyamalan when he is paid an unexpected visit from an unhappy former patient who comes back to haunt him. After that monumental night in Malcolm's life, he decides to help a young boy named Cole suffering from similar circumstances that the unhappy patient who visited Malcolm experienced. The plot device used to set a rather awry tone for the movie is the revelation that Malcolm sees people that are dead and the dead people don’t necessarily see each other. In the midst of Malcolm trying to help this boy, his marriage to his wife takes a toll and his devotion to his job as a child psychologist is tested to its limits. M. Night Shyamalan is an excellent choice of director for this particular picture as the tone he captures and the themes he explores are well executed and set a particularly

What would happen if you angered the last man on Earth you would want to anger? Well, that’s what First Blood the 1982 film directed by Ted Kotcheff explores in the film starring Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo, former Special Forces soldier, a green beret, that served in Vietnam. This adventure tells the story of this man Rambo who is haunted deeply by his time in Vietnam and what happens when bored Sheriff Teasle portrayed by Brian Dennehy picks a fight with Rambo and arrests him leading to Rambo being abused by police officers at the station resulting in Rambo turning violent and escaping. The rest of the film is about the police hunting Rambo down with their vendetta as heated as ever and Colonel Trautman, played by Richard Crenna, the man who trained Rambo, stepping in to prevent the police from meeting their demise under the wrath of Rambo. This adventure is well executed and told thoughtfully through the eyes of an emotionally wounded Vietnam vet which results in an impactfu

In the mood for a swashbuckling adventure that truly captures the spirit of adventure with riveting excitement throughout? Well, look no further than Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl the 2003 film directed by Gore Verbinski starring Johnny Depp as the down on his luck pirate Jack Sparrow. In this adventure Jack Sparrow must team up with honest blacksmith Will Turner played by Orlando Bloom to save the governor’s daughter Elizabeth Swann played by Kiera Knightley who has been kidnapped by Sparrow’s rival Barbossa another pirate who along with his crew has been placed under an ancient curse that causes them to be neither alive nor dead who are in search of the cure to their state of imprisonment. The tale is one of great intrigue and fun to entertain audiences around the world with the great characters that take the stage here. Great characters envelop this tale with great actors that bring them to life in this film. Johnny Depp is excellent as Jack Sparro

What would our modern civilization look like if we were forced into obedience by invading forces surrounded by walled in settlements? According to the first season of the Colony, it would be a dangerous affair with humans warring against each other for control. In the Colony, Josh Holloway stars as Will Bowman who works as a car mechanic in the walled in settlement of Los Angeles ever since the “occupation” by the invading forces. He has a lovely wife named Katie played by Sarah Wayne Callies and has two kids Bram and Gracie. However, he has another kid named Charlie who went missing during the “occupation” who he and his family want back so desperately. Anyways the story in the first season is that Will is recruited by the occupation to work as a spy against the forces of the resistance who reign chaos and threaten the peaceful existence in the settlement. The occupation wants Will because of his past experience as an army ranger and agent on an FBI fugitive task force. Will resi

Friends is one of the most iconic TV sitcoms ever made that aired on NBC from 1994-2004. Originally pegged as a Seinfeld wannabe this series went on to capture the hearts and minds of fans around the globe. The show started out as telling the story of the everyday lives of six twenty-somethings in New York. Matthew Perry starred as the sarcastic joker Chandler Bing, Courteney Cox played the fanatic charming Monica Geller, David Schwimmer played the nerdy yet very relatable Ross Geller, Lisa Kudrow played the sporadic Phoebe Buffay, Matt Leblanc played the ladies’ man Joey Tribbiani, and Jennifer Aniston played the spoiled but ever so charming Rachel Green. The first season of Friends introduced us to all these characters and established the chemistry amongst the cast.        The chemistry amongst the cast is great as all the actors play off each other so well and this leads to so many fascinating character interactions. The writers did a good job of creating believable char

Is the future bound to be one of despair and the failings of the human race? Well not according to Star Trek The Next Generation which promotes a message that in the future humanity prospers and evolves past their “animalistic” natures such as found in the 21st century among humans. The first season of this show propels its audience into the world that this show creates with its premise setting it decades after the events of the original Star Trek TV show. The show takes place in the 24th century and follows the events of the universe-trotting mission of exploration led by Captain Jean-Luc Picard played by Patrick Stewart. The first season like the others is laid out episodically but it does do care to characterization arcs to allow the characters of the crew to be much more than one note characters who don’t develop. Star Trek The Next Generation’s first season succeeds in introducing the audience to a diverse group of characters and familiarizing it with the mythology and ideals

A father decides he needs to spend more time with his family which just so happens to be a house full of women and he has to juggle his priorities with all the family drama that ensues. This sounds like a typical run of the mill sitcom, doesn’t it? Think again because the sitcom Last Man Standing headlined by Tim Allen provides some genuine entertainment and in it's first season it delivers a solid foundation for the show. Tim Allen plays Mike Baxter head of marketing of an outdoor sports retail line called Outdoor Man who has decided to reign back his traveling trips to spend more quality time with his wife and daughters one of which is a high school dropout with a son. The first season introduces us to other quirky characters in Mike's life such as Christoph Sanders as the goofy Kyle who dates his daughter with a son Kristen and Ed played by Ector Helizondo, Mike's boss who may be old but is very young in spirit. His wife Vanessa is a headstrong lady played by Nancy Tr