herbiehancock

No 363 - Good Morning Vietnam Director - Barry Levinson Ah.... Robin Williams - you are a bit of a mixed bag. He is at his best when he is fast talking, ridiculous and manic (or serious and dark) - but he often gets all schmaltzy and annoying. Luckily, Good Morning Vietnam mixes the wise talking rapid action insanity in his radio performances with his more serious side in the horrors of war. So we get to see CRAZY Robin Williams being all madcap and comedic on the radio and serious Robin Williams working with the vietnamese to try and stop the suffering many of them were inflicted with and throughout it we get an interesting (if unremarkably presented) story about boosting morale and befriending people in a rough situation. What is far more incredible than all of this is that the film is true - and that Adrian Cronauer did exist. He was also a lot more chilled out than Robin Williams' portrayal which is good because that man is EXHAUSTING !

No 387 - Rain Man Director - Barry Levinson Oh Blog! I have neglected you. I have been a bad man and July has been a rubbish month for me actually having films and watching them. I promise to rectify this in the upcoming months. I find autism fascinating. I'm aware that that can make me sound a bit voyeuristic and a bit like a bastard, but what I mean is that it is genuinely a fascinating mental process - especially the Savant syndrome, which is what Raymond's condition is defined as. My knowledge and interest on this stems initially from Daniel Tammet . If you have never read Born on a Blue Day , do so - you can get it for as little as a quid on Amazon. Bargain. It is an extremely fascinating read about how Tammet's condition allows him to complete massively complex mathematical and linguistic feats. The man is a genius, and yet when discussing his condition, you can see the limitations it imposes on him. Whilst he is a very social person, he has the confusion about em...