Gideon58's Reviews [Archive] - Page 10

Gideon58

11-12-17, 03:42 PM

WENDY AND LUCY
Michelle Williams is starting to become one of those actresses who can make any film she graces worth sitting through evidence of which is offered in a gut wrenching cinematic journey from 2008 called Wendy and Lucy.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTI3MTE1NjAwNV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMDM3MzMwMg@@._V1_SY1000_CR0,0,674,1000_AL_.jpg
Williams plays Wendy, a lost soul who it is revealed at the opening of the story is traveling to Alaska in a broken down Honda Accord with her dog Lucy. Wendy finds herself stranded in a small town in Oregon as the Accord gives out on her. While shoplifting food for Lucy, Wendy gets arrested but when she manages to get out of jail, she returns to the store where she left Lucy tied up and the dog is gone.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_u_DvrOLOYY/Ty8fwMFAjtI/AAAAAAAAFl8/kBnpju7z8rc/s1600/WendyAndLucy_Goodbye2.png
Director and co-screenwriter Kelly Reichardt has mounted one of those seemingly simple on the surface stories where backstory is revealed through present circumstances and the viewer finds themselves trying to piece together what has brought this pathetic creature to where she is as the story opens. Wendy has some some money but has it carefully earmarked for travelling expenses, but has little else. We feel for her when it is revealed she doesn't even have a change of clothes and is observed washing herself in a filthy gas station restroom.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTIzNDc2Mzc4NV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwODA1MjEwMg@@._V1_.jpg
Clues to what has driven Wendy to this point are methodically revealed without ever revealing her entire story. We don't learn her last name until about 40 minutes into the story and there is a very telling phone call between Wendy and her brother-in-law that perhaps reveals more than it should but is a beautifully written and played scene. We also learn that Wendy is a mother, a reveal you might miss if you blink at the wrong place, but by the final act, all we want is to see Wendy reunited with Lucy and even that reunion doesn't go where we expect it to go.
https://shibasenji.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/cm-capture-21.jpg
Reichardt draws an Oscar worthy performance from Michelle Williams as Wendy, a character who is as strong as she is pathetic and makes you feel every nuance of pain that she does. There is a lovely supporting turn from Walter Denton as a sympathetic security guard and Will Patton scores as a not so sympathetic mechanic. This film features exquisite cinematography and is another one of those movies that benefits from almost no music score...there is music during the closing credits and you don't even miss it during the rest of the film...the power of the story drives itself. A very special motion picture that I want to thank my good friend Citizen for recommending. 4

Citizen Rules

11-12-17, 11:29 PM

WENDY AND LUCY

Director and co-screenwriter Kelly Reichardt has mounted one of those seemingly simple on the surface stories where backstory is revealed through present circumstances and the viewer finds themselves trying to piece together what has brought this pathetic creature to where she is as the story opens...

A very special motion picture that I want to thank my good friend Citizen for recommending. rating_4 I'm so glad you liked it! I was on pins and needles, as I wasn't sure if you would love it, or hate it. I'm glad you loved it

I have to say that was a very well written review. Your words flow and make for an interesting read and you give enough information to draw the viewer into the world of the movie, without giving away to much. I enjoyed reading it, Bravo!

Gideon58

11-13-17, 10:07 AM

Thank you Citizen, again, I wouldn't have even known about the movie if I hadn't read your review. I think I liked it more than you did, LOL!

Gideon58

11-19-17, 05:00 PM

AMERICAN BEAUTY

The recent derailing of the career of Kevin Spacey prompted a re-watch of American Beauty, a stylish and sizzling black comedy that won the Oscar for Best Picture of 1999 and won Spacey his second Oscar.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61DzXTvB47L.jpg
This film recounts the final months in the life of one Lester Burnham (Spacey), a man smack in the middle of a midlife crisis but doesn't initially realize it. His marriage to a frigid real estate agent named Carolyn (Annette Bening) is a detergent commercial and his angry teenage daughter, Jane (Thora Birch) hates him. When Lester finally decides to embrace what's happening to him, instead of fighting it, he quits his job, quits pretending that he's happily married and quits fighting his inappropriate attraction to his daughter's best friend (Mena Suvari).
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C0yqX49W8AACjxV.jpg
More than anything, this singularly unique film experience is a triumph for director Sam Mendes and screenwriter Alan Ball. Ball's Oscar-winning screenplay displays classic literary and theatrical influences like Edward Albee and Tennessee Williams in its approach to human dysfunction, social acceptability, and how subjective beauty is and how the eye of the beholder is the only real judge. The screenplay, framed by Lester's often very humorous narration, sets up the fact that Lester and Carolyn's marriage is a farce and that they haven't had sex in years within the first ten minutes of running time. We learn about Jane's feelings in the opening scene and we don't understand because Lester is one of the most instantly likable movie characters ever, making his wife and daughter's contempt of him such a mystery.
https://cinemashock.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/american-beauty-color-scheme-4.png
Of course, it becomes less of a mystery when we meet Ricky Fitts (Wes Bentley) the slightly disturbed teenager next door who is the son of a former army colonel (Chris Cooper) who becomes obsessed with Jane. Ricky, with the aid of those piercing blues eyes, becomes our conduit into the quiet insanity of the Burnham family while providing little insight into his own.
https://img.cinemablend.com/quill/f/5/5/8/9/f/f5589f35af3a0b3b3e03eb40d4e94861cd3d5d6f.jpg
Mendes also won an Oscar for the bold directorial strokes he takes here, painting striking cinematic images via bold symbolism, clearly a collaboration between him and Ball and some striking camera work. I love the way lot of this story is told through Ricky's camera lens and sans dialogue. The tension that Mendes creates through his different but similar views of the Burnham and the Fitts households, never lets us forget that these are extremely unhappy people and we will never be completely privy as to why. I have always embraced the delicious irony that the most normal people in this movie are the Burnhams' other neighbors, a gay couple played by Scott Bakula and Sam Robards. Mendes must also be applauded for his choice of music for the film. I love that both Lester and Carolyn have their own separate scenes where they are in cars singing with the radio and the radical difference in the songs.
https://emmachasel.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/amerbeauty_069pyxurz.jpg
Say what you want about what we've learned about the man's personal life recently, it doesn't change the fact that Spacey's brilliantly unhinged performance was more than worthy of the Oscar he won. Though I loved Hillary Swank in Boys Don't Cry, I still think she robbed Annette Bening of the Best Actress Oscar for her brassy and unapologetic Carolyn, a performance that will grate on your nerves and and endlessly entertain. Cooper has some bone-chilling moments as Col. Fitts and Birch and Suvari bring a maturity to their performances that walk right in the face of the characters they play. And if you don't blink, you'll catch John Cho and Tony Award winner Marissa Jaret Winokur in brief roles. A bold piece of cinema that never goes anywhere you expect it to and makes no apologies for it. 4.5

gbgoodies

11-20-17, 03:08 AM

MR. HOLMES
The 2015 period piece Mr. Holmes is not for all tastes and is not completely successful in the melding of different movie genres, but is worth a look thanks to handsome production values and some brilliant performances.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/91/Mr._Holmes_poster.jpg
It is 1947 Sussex England where are introduced to retired fictional detective Sherlock Holmes (Sir Ian McKellen), slipping into dementia, whose life after Dr. Watson left to get married has been reduced to raising bees and driving his housekeeper, Mrs. Munro (Laura Linney) to distraction while developing a real bond with her young son (Milo Parker), who has happened upon some of Homes' writing and learns that the great detective is trying to remember the details of his last case.
http://tellyspotting.kera.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Ian_McKellen_as_Sherlock_Holmes___first_on_set_image.jpg
I must begin by admitting that I have never read any of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's books nor have I seen any of the Basil Rathbone-Nigel Bruce movies, so I'm definitely coming from a different place than viewers familiar with the character. I loved the idea of a detective story blending into a biopic of a fictional character, an interesting genre mash-up that comes off as quite original and even though the screenplay is overly complex at times, my interest never waned primarily due to this fascinating central character, clearly a creation of the actor and director.
https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/images/d/df/2015-mr-holmes-mckellen-masuo-umezaki.jpg
Bill Condon, who won an Oscar for his screenplay to 1998's Gods and Monsters, returns to his leading man from that film and they create a consistently fascinating fictional character who comes off as anything but. It was so much fun listening to this fictional character talk about how he finds fiction useless and is only interested in the facts. What Condon and McKellen nail here is this character's fear of aging, evidenced in a trip to Japan to obtain an exotic jelly that he believes will help with his memory. Holmes' fear comes shining through especially around this child who refuses to accept the mortality involved in his friendship with this legendary detective. And as confusing as the screenplay is, it takes a shocking turn in the final act that I didn't see coming that kept me riveted to a story that was beginning to lose me.
https://www.filmcomment.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/07/MRHOLMES061435709889.png
My good friend Citizen compared this film to a cup of hot tea by the fire on a cold night and I think it's a lovely analogy. McKellen, looking and sounding more like John Gielgud as the years pass, is a striking combination of power and fragility as Holmes and Linney, an actress accustomed to playing unsympathetic characters, does infuse a likability into the character that is not in the screenplay. The film features rich production values with special bouquets to cinematography, production design, set direction, and costumes. A deliberate cinematic journey that doesn't always move the way one would like, but there are definite rewards for the patient. 3.5

I liked Mr. Holmes, but I found the scenes with the bees hard to watch due to my fear of bees. (It's not as bad as my fear of spiders, but it's still hard for me to watch them on screen.)

I loved his relationship with the young boy, and I thought Milo Parker was terrific in the movie. I'm looking forward to seeing more of this talented young actor.

Dani8

11-20-17, 03:25 AM

That's an excellent review of American Beauty, Gid. Wow Cooper was pretty amazing as the Colonel. The entire cast was excellent. I will never ever forget Annette. And doesnt Spacey look so young in that photo. You're so right - instantly likable.And LOL at the description of their marriage as a detergent commercial :up:

cricket

11-23-17, 09:28 AM

Love American Beauty, although I'm wondering if I should keep my lesterburnham alternate email address. For me, Spacey and Swank are the best pair of Oscar winners ever, so I'd only disagree with you on your thought that Bening should have won. Of course, she was brilliant as well.

Gideon58

11-25-17, 05:16 PM

YOU'RE NEVER TOO YOUNG
In 1954, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis had one of their biggest film hits with Living it Up, which was a remake of an old Carole Lombard comedy called Nothing Sacred. The following year, they decided to do another remake called You're Never Too Young.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTBlZTU5ZGEtN2YzNy00MzNjLTk5NGYtZWYyNzVmM2Y2YTRjXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg
In this 1955 remake of the 1942 Ginger Rogers comedy The Major and the Minor, Lewis plays Wilbur Hoolick, an aspiring barber who meets Bob Miles (Martin), a teacher at a private all-girls school who is involved with another teacher at the school (Diana Lynn). Bob and Wilbur's lives become mixed up when a murderous jewel thief (Raymond Burr) slips an exotic diamond that he killed to get his hands on in Wilbur's pocket. Wilbur finds the only way to escape is by impersonating a 12-year old boy to get a half-price train ticket out of town and ends up hiding out at Bob's school.
https://resizing.flixster.com/OsnuyzbLLQBivQNLHUzdgNBCdNs=/fit-in/705x460/v2/https://resizing.flixster.com/-XZAfHZM39UwaGJIFWKAE8fS0ak=/v3/t/assets/p2669_i_h9_ac.jpg
Director Norman Taurog provides breezy direction to Sidney Sheldon's often humorous screenplay which remains loyal to the original Ginger Rogers comedy while providing a spark of originality to the proceedings. As in the original film, we never really buy Jerry as a 12-year old boy and are surprised that most of the other characters do, but we tend to forgive because Jerry completely invests in the role the same way Ginger Rogers did, with what seems to be a little more discipline from the director's chair.
https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/sm/upload/tx/6f/yg/sd/tZfbeivQv6QVhhGJqETn9AHXMIh-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg?v=d4bc927584
Dean and Jerry were at the height of their stardom at the time and we can see why...Lewis was always the king of physical comedy, but by this time Martin was becoming just as adept at it without ever forgetting that he was always the straight man here. I also loved the casting of Raymond Burr as a comic villain, almost immediately after playing a very serious villain for Hitchcock in Rear Window.
https://ew.com/thmb/t6rz2xfeODxpvDfH5CJMFZSmf-U=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/artists-models_610-0a0e70341f38431c9c1969c23a8ac227.jpg
Diana Lynn and Nina Foch are attractive leading ladies and there is a cute supporting turn from future comedy actress/writer Mitzi McCall as a student at the school smitten with Wilbur. And if you don't blink, you'll miss a brief appearance from Hans Conreid. The film features a few songs by Arthur Schwartz and Sammy Cahn including "I Know Your Mother Likes", "Simpatico", "I Like to Hike" and an elaborate production number called "Face the Music." It has a slow spot here and there and the water-bound finale takes a little too long to wrap up, but fans of the duo will not be disappointed. 3

Gideon58

11-26-17, 06:00 PM

Birth
From 2004, Birth is a dark and pretentious tale that, despite expensive trappings and solid performances, eventually degenerates into an implausible mess of questionable taste.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5b/Birth_movie.jpg
The film stars Nicole Kidman as Anna, a sophisticated widow who is about get remarried to Joseph (Danny Huston) when a young boy (Cameron Bright) shows up at her engagement party and claims he is Sean, Anna's husband, who died 10 years ago after collapsing in Central Park while jogging.
http://www.indiewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/birth.jpg
I really tried to stay invested in this one but director and co-screenwriter Jonathan Glazer, who fared much better with Sexy Beast asks us to accept an awful lot here and makes us wait a long time for questions that never get answered. With stories like this, we always wonder why the alleged reincarnated always take so long to offer irrefutable evidence as to who they are, which the character of Young Sean never really does. I also was confused by the fact that this boy claiming to be Sean only remembered Anna and his brother Clifford (Peter Stormare), but doesn't remember anything or anyone else about his previous life. Just when we're ready to accept the fact that Young Sean isn't going to offer evidence of his claim, we are shocked when Sean decides to take back his life in other ways, which really walk the tightrope of good taste.
https://mojtv.hr//images/4bc90493-8f10-43a7-84a1-34a39cdc1464.jpg
As a Kidman fan, I really wanted to like this movie and they really had me until the final third, which made what had come before that completely irrelevant. What kept me watching was the beautifully controlled performances of Kidman and Bright as Young Sean. Bright had previously impressed me as Aaron Eckhart's son in Thank you for Smoking, but he had an opportunity to take center stage here and doesn't shy away from this complex role without ever going over the top.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTk5ODk0MzkwMV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNTUzNTQ0NA@@._V1_.jpg
The supporting cast including Stormare (light years away from his role in Fargo) as Clifford, Allison Elliott as Anna's sister, Lauren Bacall as her mother, and a delightfully unhinged turn from Anne Heche as her sister-in-law almost seem more important than they really are. Glazer employed first rate production values in mounting this tale, including superb Manhattan location photography and some solid editing, but the story just makes it hard to stay with this one. For hardcore Kidman fans only. 2.5

Gideon58

11-28-17, 09:36 PM

ANYWHERE BUT HERE
A pair of dazzling lead performances by two of the best Oscar-winning actresses in the business are the primary attraction of a 1999 comedy-drama called Anywhere But Here that provides consistent entertainment thanks to its stars.
https://media-cache.cinematerial.com/p/500x/ibohvtkp/anywhere-but-here-movie-poster.jpg
Adele (Susan Sarandon) is the divorced mother of Ann (Natalie Portman) who has decided to give up her life in a fictional east coast town called Bay City and start a new life in Beverly Hills where she has announced that she has a teaching position (but doesn't) and has decided that Ann is going to change her name to Heather and become an actress.
https://media.baselineresearch.com/images/84466/84466_full.jpg
We've seen flashes of other famous movie heroines in our girls, Adele in particular. Adele is flighty, self-absorbed, is constantly trying to live above her means, and thinks any problem can be solved with a trip to Baskin Robbins. Ann is a sensitive realist who is pretty much humiliated by every move her mother makes and spends most of the screentime threatening to leave her mother and never come back. Anyone who has seen movies like The Glass Menagerie, Mermaids, Gypsy, and Terms of Endearment will find familiar territory here, but the territory looks fresh because of the work of these two extraordinary actresses.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/0b/a0/09/0ba009d18d82f30109c0054afca8b854.jpg
We know we are in for something kind of special when the movie opens with Adele and Ann on the road and instead of the accustomed broken down Cadillac we usually see in road movies, our heroines are traveling in a very expensive looking Mercedes. Few surprises are provided in terms of storytelling, including Ann's slightly pretentious and unnecessary narration, but we see the constant challenge and competition in this relationship and though the idea of who's the mother and daughter is approached, it is always clear who the mother is here and who the daughter is though both characters experience discomfort and aggravation in their positions, they accept them and no matter what conflicts they face, we know that these two will always choose each other, even though they are in serious denial about it.
https://media.baselineresearch.com/images/84465/84465_full.jpg
The rather ordinary story is a non-issue because Sarandon and Portman are so completely enchanting in their roles that you almost don't notice the other not-so-spectacular elements of presentation. I did like Shawn Hatosy as Ann's Bay City boyfriend, Eileen Ryan as Adele's mother, and John Diehl as her brother, but it is the professional polish of Susan Sarandon and Natalie Portman that makes this one worth a look. 3.5

Gideon58

12-03-17, 06:28 PM

MARJORIE PRIME
2016's Marjorie Prime is a pretentious and well-intentioned film version of a play that, despite strong performances, suffers from the inability to escape its stage origins and a talky and confusing screenplay.
https://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/movie/movie_poster/marjorie-prime-2017/large_marjorieprime_LO.jpg
As the film opens, we are introduced to an elderly woman named Marjorie (Lois Smith) who is apparently suffering from alzheimers or dementia who is visiting with Walter (Jon Hamm), who is revealed to be a hologram of Marjorie's late husband who died over a decade ago. It appears that this hologram or "prime" as they are referred to here, has been provided for Marjorie by her daughter Tess (Geena Davis) and son-in-law Jon (Tim Robbins) to help her deal with her illness, but this doesn't even scratch the surface of what is going on here.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNjU2MmE1NzEtZDEzYi00NGUxLTlmMWItMjA5M2Y0NDZmNjlmXkEyXkFqcGdeQVRoaXJkUGFydHlJbmdlc3Rpb25Xb3JrZmxv dw@@._V1_.jpg
Director and screenwriter Michael Almereyda adapted this film from a play by Jordan Harrison which apparently was an insightful look at family dysfunction as well as some more universal messages such as the dangers of our world being constantly threatened by ever-changing technology and maybe that's where the problem lies here...either Harrison or Almereyda just seem to be trying to cover too much ground and in their effort to do so, forgot to provide answers to a lot of questions that this story raises.
https://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/review/primary_image/reviews/marjorie-prime-2017/hero_Marjorie-Prime-2017.jpg
I found myself waiting for some background on who created the primes and how much they were costing these people, but this question was never broached. I was also confused by the purpose of the prime in these people's lives and when it was actually revealed what was going on, it only added to my confusion. I didn't understand why Walter helping Marjorie was so important to Tess, since it was made clear from her first appearance onscreen, that Tess had major issues with her mother that could never be resolved, even with the help of a prime, including a classic "Mom always liked you best" issue that seemed a little dated for such an allegedly sophisticated story.
https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Marjorie-Prime-Jon-Hamm-as-Walter.jpg
As hard as he tried to open up this story for the screen, Almereyda never really succeeds at making this piece look like a movie rather than a photographed stage play, due to long stretches of story told in a single setting and long Tennesse Williams-like monologues from the characters that might have been more effective as flashbacks, but I guess that would have made the point of the movie moot, but it made for some very sluggish moments along the way.
https://ew.com/thmb/OL1wYuUsGhbJMJ3uG_3bl7SRkcE=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/ieieieie-2000-00ffea3fe4624662aa7a76ac23492997.jpg
The actors work extremely hard to sell this story...Robbins is solid and Davis does a credible job keeping us invested in a very unlikable character, and Lois Smith is luminous as Marjorie, but the actors hard work eventually dissolves under a lot of pretentious talk and artsy symbolism that made it obvious this story should have stayed where it began...onstage. 2.5

Citizen Rules

12-04-17, 01:46 PM

MARJORIE PRIME, Glad you watched this:) I didn't think it would be the type of movie you usually like, so I'm not surprised you didn't care for it. I didn't really like it much myself.

As the story went on and more Primes were introduced it got more cluttered and confusing. I wish it had just focused on the very first story of Marjorie (Lois Smith) and her Prime (Jon Hamm). I liked that first part of the film best of all.

Gideon58

12-04-17, 02:11 PM

Totally agree with you...really liked the Marjorie/Walter story but they lost me after that, not to mention that Geena Davis' character was really unlikable. Lois Smith was superb.

Gideon58

12-10-17, 05:44 PM

BELL BOOK AND CANDLE
The 1958 classic Bell Book and Candle is a darkly delicious romantic comedy that still enchants effortlessly due to a clever and original story, solid production values, and a terrific cast.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51%2BPNg8JS7L.jpg
This is the story of Gillian Holroyd (Kim Novak) a witch who resides in 1958 Manhattan who is feeling restless about her life until she meets Shepherd Henderson (James Stewart), a soon to be married book publisher who lives in her apartment building. Gillian's attraction to Shepherd is so swift and so immediate that she decides to cast a spell on him in order to make him fall in love with her, but her plan becomes complicated by an alcoholic writer obsessed with witchcraft (Ernie Kovacks) and Gillian's warlock brother, Nicky (Jack Lemmon) whose own agendas could put a permanent dent in Gillian's plan.
https://grandoldmovies.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/bbc-lemmon-novak-elsa.jpg
It's been documented that this film was one of the inspirations for Sol Saks when he created the ABC sitcom Bewitched, but Daniel Taradash's intricate screenplay (based on a play by John Van Druten) goes several places where the sitcom never did. In this story, Gillian and Shepherd only get together because of Gillian's spell, which is further fueled by Gillian's long dormant rivalry with Shep's fiancee, Merle (Janice Rule). On the television show Darrin and Samantha fall in love with each other completely unaided by witchcraft. Samantha doesn't confess about who she is until their wedding night. Here, this reviewer found mixed emotions about what is happening here because it initially seems wrong for Gillian to get what she wants through witchcraft and we're wondering whether or not this character is supposed to be sympathetic and for the first third of the film, she isn't...as a matter of fact, the Gillian character made the hair on the back of my neck stand up and I felt like that wasn't really the intention.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9TesRoMisEw/maxresdefault.jpg
That's why Taradash's screenplay is so effective, because it allows the viewer to form their own opinion about what Gillian is doing even though we realize that the only way we really want these two characters to be together is without outside influence. I also love the way certain things attributed to witches, such as the inability to cry, blush, or float are integrated into the story giving this story an added layer that Bewitched never had.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8JqC1rMKoDc/UByDWo3NZ_I/AAAAAAAABDo/a6CHPlI5xhg/s1600/vlcsnap-24368.jpg
Richard Quine's direction is detail-oriented and imaginative, utilizing some effective location Big Apple photography and some stunning art direction/set direction to help tell this special story. I loved Gillian's shop and the Zodiac Club, the witches' jazz hangout where Nicky plays the bongos, but I couldn't help wondering, considering the stars and subject matter, what an amazing film this could have been under the direction of Hitchcock, but this is probably Quine's best work. A big bouquet is also owed to George Duning's terrific music score.
http://images2.fanpop.com/image/photos/13600000/James-Stewart-in-Bell-Book-and-Candle-james-stewart-13696376-1280-720.jpg
James Stewart and Kim Novak proved that the chemistry they created in Vertigo was no fluke...though having never been a big fan of either, I have rarely enjoyed the two of them onscreen more. My first exposure to the comic genius of Ernie Kovacs was pure pleasure and, as he always did, Lemmon made every moment he had onscreen as Nicky count. Nicky and Elsa Lanchester's Aunt Queenie definitely conjured images of Bewitched's Uncle Arthur and Aunt Clara. Also loved the fabulous Janice Rule as Shepherd's snooty fiancee. A true film classic that lived up to its reputation. 4

Citizen Rules

12-10-17, 10:32 PM

Gideon you always amaze me with your smooth writing style...you have a knack for writing these reviews, they read so well.

BELL BOOK AND CANDLE

It's been documented that this film was one of the inspirations for Sol Saks when he created the ABC sitcom Bewitched, but Daniel Taradash's intricate screenplay (based on a play by John Van Druten) goes several places where the sitcom never did. In this story, Gillian and Shepherd only get together because of Gillian's spell, which is further fueled by Gillian's long dormant rivalry with Shep's fiancee, Merle (Janice Rule). On the television show Darrin and Samantha fall in love with each other completely unaided by witchcraft. Very true, in one episode of Bewitch Samantha humbly explains to Darrin, that love is stronger than witchcraft...which makes their love real. I like that!

..it initially seems wrong for Gillian to get what she wants through witchcraft and we're wondering whether or not this character is supposed to be sympathetic and for the first third of the film, she isn't...That's how I felt too.

Richard Quine's direction is detail-oriented and imaginative, utilizing some effective location Big Apple photography and some stunning art direction/set direction to help tell this special story. I loved Gillian's shop and the Zodiac Club, Agreed, the director did 'world building' so well! I loved being in Gillian's shop, the Zodiac Club and Bianca de Passe 'witch house'...those were all great sets, with amazing set details.

what an amazing film this could have been under the direction of Hitchcock, Hitch would have made a good film out of it, but for everything he would add like more mystery and thrills, he would lose the smaller moments. I like Hitch but I have no complaints with what the director did with the movie.

James Stewart and Kim Novak proved that the chemistry they created in Vertigo was no fluke...though having never been a big fan of either, I have rarely enjoyed the two of them onscreen more. I knew you weren't a big fan of Kim Novak but I didn't know you weren't a fan of James Stewart. I like both, but I didn't think they had much chemistry and I sure wish someone other than Stewart would have played the lead. Donald O'Conner would have been my choice.

My first exposure to the comic genius of Ernie Kovacs was pure pleasure and, as he always did, Lemmon made every moment he had onscreen as Nicky count. Nicky and Elsa Lanchester's Aunt Queenie definitely conjured images of Bewitched's Aunt Clara. Also loved the fabulous Janice Rule as Shepherd's snooty fiancee.I agree! Loved the supporting cast.

I'm really glad you watched this and liked it too!:)

Gideon58

12-12-17, 09:11 PM

10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU
A dazzling movie star turn by the late Heath Ledger near the beginning of his career is the primary selling point of a surprisingly entertaining high school comedy called 10 Things I Hate About You, another contemporary movie comedy that finds its roots in Shakespeare.
https://imusic.b-cdn.net/images/item/original/299/8717418239299.jpg?10-things-i-hate-about-you-2009-10-things-i-hate-about-you-blu-ray&class=scaled&v=1447938133
The 1999 comedy, based on Taming of the Shrew, introduces us to a pair of sisters who attend Padua High School. Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) is pretty and popular and is currently being pursued by two very different guys (Joseph Gordon Levitt, Andrew Keegan), but is forbidden by her father (Larry Miller) to date until older sister, Katharina (Julia Stiles) begins to date someone. Problem is Katharina is a tightly wound, anti-social snob who has no interest in dating or any other form of socialization. The two guys chasing Bianca decide to persuade school bad boy Patrick Verona (Ledger) to pursue Katharina, freeing up Bianca to start dating.
https://media.glamour.com/photos/576d810baf83c39d790ba728/master/pass/10-things-i-hate-about-you.jpg
Yes, this is another one of those stories that we pretty much know how it's going to end up about 15 minutes in, but it's a pretty entertaining ride for the most part. The screenplay by Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith is overly complex and works a little to hard at reminding us at every turn that the story is Shakespeare-based (Padua high school, the girls' last name is Stratford, Patrick's is Verona, not to mention actual quoting from the play), but it just seems so unnecessary, not to mention a waste on the target demographic for the film, who probably didn't catch or care about any of the references. They just wanted to see the sexy bad boy work his charm over the snooty girl and on that level, it works.
https://media.baselineresearch.com/images/153500/153500_full.jpg
But what this film has above everything else is a charismatic star turn from Heath Ledger as young Patrick...nine years before winning a posthumous Oscar for The Dark Knight, Ledger already proves that he was a movie star in the making with a performance that completely enchants from his first moment onscreen. Whether he's murdering a frog in biology class or serenading his girl with a microphone in the football stadium with his rendition of "Can't Take My Eyes off You", Ledger lights up the screen and has us completely behind the character, even to the point of blithely accepting the fact that Katharina isn't really likable and we're never really given any insight into why, but said insight is never really provided in Taming of the Shrew either, so I guess that's OK.
https://lovelace-media.imgix.net/uploads/1051/b82f97c0-6189-0133-0c0d-0e34a4cc753d.png?w=740&h=417&fit=crop&crop=faces&auto=format&q=70
Julia Stiles works very hard at keeping Katharine likable and she makes the transition of Katharina from icy bitch to real girl a pleasure to watch. Oleynik and Levitt are charming second leads and Miller is terrific as the dad. Also have to give a shout out to a brief appearance by Allison Janney as the school principal more concerned with the romance novel she's writing. It's no classic, but an entertaining diversion that held my attention and provided laughs, thanks primarily to the gifted Heath Ledger, RIP. 3.5

Gideon58

12-14-17, 10:20 PM

SNATCHED
After witnessing her film debut in the dreadful Trainwreck, I decided that standup comic Amy Shumer is definitely an acquired taste who has a gift with the comedy microphone but is no actress and my opinion has not changed after watching the 2017 comedy Snatched, which is only a hair's breath better than Trainwreck, thanks to a stronger supporting cast who work very hard at keeping this mess watchable.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZmM2MTlmZDItYThjZi00Y2FmLTg3NDUtYmQ5ODIxNWZmNGRiXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg
Shumer plays Emily, a young woman who has just lost her job and been dumped by her boyfriend who has left her with an available ticket on her nonrefundable vacation to Ecuador. When she can't get any of her friends to go on the trip with her, she turns to her mother, Linda (Goldie Hawn), a tightly wound divorcee and cat lady who never does anything or goes anywhere. Shortly after their arrival in South America, the women are kidnapped and that's where the adventure begins.
http://thecriticalcritics.com/review/wp-content/images/snatched-still-1-1160x480.jpg
Kate Dippold, who also wrote the recent female reboot of Ghostbusters has provided a long-winded and extremely conventional story that provides little or no surprises and really doesn't play to the strengths of either of the stars. It was particularly sad to watch movie icon Goldie Hawn caught in the middle of this mess. Though absent from the screen for 15 years and finally looking her age, Hawn still knows how to command a movie screen and effectively underplays a predictable role, with a standout scene near the end of the second act that was kind of sad reminder of what a magical actress this woman used to be.
https://tvandfilmguy.files.wordpress.com/2017/05/snatched.jpg?w=816
As for Shumer, I really can't figure out what the problem is with this woman, or maybe it's just me. I've seen the woman do standup and she is a very funny woman standing in front of a live audience with a microphone, but she definitely loses something translating to the screen playing an actual character. Even though Dippold is the credited screenwriter and director Levine was probably most concerned with bringing this mess in under budget, it is clear that Shumer had input on the character and I just didn't find this character as funny as Amy did. There was dialogue and actions that were probably meant to shock, offend, and amuse, but mostly annoyed. Shumer is also another one of those celebrities who seems to think she's really sexy and she's just not and this film just drove that home...Shumer is the last woman on the planet who should be appearing on a 40-foot screen in a two piece bathing suit.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2d/0d/45/2d0d45ed2a56e00c4bdc357ec91a35f6.jpg
Shumer does appear to have some juice in Hollywood because no expense was spared in bringing this generic tale to the screen...there is some exquisite South American location photography and some solid support comes from Wanda Sykes, Joan Cusack, and Christopher Meloni. Actually, the funniest moments in the movie came from Ike Barinholtz, playing Shumer's brother and Goldie's son, panicked at the thought of not having Mommy to support him anymore. Unfortunately, his screentime was not sufficient to keep long stretches of this movie from being intolerable. 2.5

nebbit

12-14-17, 11:46 PM

Nice review :yup: I will give this one a miss :yup:

cricket

12-16-17, 07:41 PM

I don't plan on watching anything with Amy Schumer. There's something about her that I find very unappealing.

Gideon58

12-17-17, 02:43 PM

I don't plan on watching anything with Amy Schumer. There's something about her that I find very unappealing.

Yeah, I keep trying to give her chances because she seems to have a fanbase and some juice in Hollywood, but her appeal escapes me as well.

Gideon58

12-17-17, 05:41 PM

THE VERDICT
Crisp, detailed direction, an intelligent if manipulative screenplay, and, for my money, the finest performance of Paul Newman that earned him a seventh Oscar nomination, combine to make 1982's The Verdict appointment viewing.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ea/Verdict1.jpg
This is the story of an alcoholic Boston attorney named Frank Galvin who has a chance to redeem himself when a dream case falls in his lap: A pregnant woman fell into a coma after doctors gave her the wrong anesthesia and now her sister and brother-in-law are suing the doctors and the hospital for malpractice. What initially appears to be a slam dunk for Galvin begins to be anything as we watch his case quietly and precisely fall apart before our eyes.
http://www.tasteofcinema.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/The-Verdict-1982.jpg
Director Sidney Lumet and screenwriter David Mamet have mounted an effective blend of courtroom drama and character study that rivets the viewer from the opening shot of the central character that clearly establishes who Frank Galvin is before we've learned anything else. He is observed in a full suit and tie in a bar, at a pinball machine, with a shot glass sitting in the window...this shot tells volumes about the story we are about to witness as the opening credits roll...we already know that we are meeting a character who has seen better days and we want to know what happened.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dGwQORXsYKE/VPaQWKy4LSI/AAAAAAAANZY/zHcFLyutGsU/s1600/The%2BVerdict%2B2.jpg
The other thing I love about this story is the David and Goliath sensibility to the proceedings. The defendants, or in this case the villains, are being represented by a huge firm with all staff on deck, while Frank's only assistance is his former employer (Jack Warden). The Goliath law firm is also established as villains protecting the guilty through their complete and thorough homework regarding Frank and everyone else on his side of the courtroom in an attempt to distract the jury. Frank's job is also complicated by the Judge who resents Frank for not taking the settlement that he was initially offered. And despite all of this, Lumet and Mamet manage to provide a story that rivets throughout and forces the viewer to stay with the story which isn't as predictable as it initially seems, as red herrings and small plot holes abound.
https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/zsO3VwaTrMMoo6zWrzUFnHcIGjh.jpg
Considering his long and distinguished career, it's kind of bold to call Frank Galvin his best performance and I haven't seen every movie he ever made, but I've seen most of them and I still don't think the late screen icon has ever been better and gets flawless support from Warden, Milo O'Shea as the slimy judge and an undeniably slick turn from James Mason as the opposing attorney that earned him an Oscar nomination as well. Mamet's screenplay is slightly manipulative and I'm not sure that the ending is completely realistic, but this is a sterling courtroom drama thanks to the polish in front of and behind the camera. 4

Gideon58

12-19-17, 09:49 PM

THE APRIL FOOLS
Though it definitely gets an "A" for effort, the 1969 comedy-drama The April Fools doesn't quite measure up due its troublesome mixture of "mod" 1970's sensibilities and old fashioned 1950's melodrama.
https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/45469d59-8409-4655-9cf2-a667f69910f0.122f19e9584a8088dd0f4b95fe2f4acb.jpeg?odnHeight=768&odnWidth=768&odnBg=FFFFFF
Jack Lemmon plays a recently promoted investment banker who goes to a party at his boss' lavish Manhattan apartment and finds himself drawn to a woman (Catherine Deneuve) and begins an affair with her, unaware that the woman is his boss' unhappy wife.
http://c8.alamy.com/comp/BP88AM/jack-lemmon-catherine-deneuve-the-april-fools-1969-BP88AM.jpg
Director Stuart Rosenberg and writer Hal Dresner must be applauded for a relatively adult screenplay that makes some surprising moves for a comedy about infidelity that we really don't see coming. We don't see it coming because movie's favorite everyman is at the center of the story and we are absolutely sure that Jack Lemmon would never have an affair with a married woman under any circumstances, even though we know it's just a movie character.
http://rarefilm.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/The-April-Fools-1969-2.jpg
The problem is that Rosenberg and Dresner have written a 50's style romantic comedy and tried to dress it up with 1970's trappings...the movie is filled with outrageous sets and outlandish costumes and some very dated ideas about love, romance, and men and women's roles that would never survive in politically sensitive 2017. There is a scene near the beginning of the film that takes place at a restaurant called The Safari King, where the male patrons are crowned with pith helmets and get the waitresses' attention by shooting them in the ass with popguns...seriously?
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6KBaPq_r7ZU/hqdefault.jpg
What the film does have going for it is a terrific lead performance from Jack Lemmon. Deneuve is beautiful, but her empty performance and lack of chemistry with Lemmon are a problem. Peter Lawford, Sally Kellerman, Jack Weston, Myrna Loy, Charles Boyer, and Harvey Korman do make the most of thankless roles and there is another terrific Bacharach/David/Dionne Warwick collaboration with the title song, but the film has to work extremely hard to overcome its dated elements. 2.5

Gideon58

12-21-17, 09:31 PM

PARTY MONSTER
The 2003 "docudrama" Party Monster is an up close look at a subculture of the New York club scene that I've never seen addressed before and after watching this, I can imagine why.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51K2P3CH9HL._SY445_.jpg
This film follows an outrageous group of freaks called the Club Kids, who during the late 1980's and early 1990's, were known for outrageous costumes and makeup that would put the Gay Pride parade to shame and a life of complete access, which included all the crack, heroine, and ecstasy they could get their hands on. The group came to fruition through a pair of flamboyant party boys named Michael Alig (Macauley Culkin) and James St. James (Seth Green).
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/05/05/article-2620968-1D97901700000578-770_634x362.jpg
Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato based their screenplay St. James' book, the publication of which is the hook that opens the film, but the story springs into so many different directions that it's hard to accept that it all came from St. James' book, due to his limited screentime here. The film really seems to focus more on the Alig character and tries to ease our discomfort with the character's sexuality by letting us know right from the start that the character has committed a murder, taking a lot of the inspiration out of the viewer to stay tuned in.
https://ishrinktheworld.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/mccauly_culkin_1192470073.jpg
The fact is that very few people involved in this often ugly story are nice people. The Michael Alig character redefines self-absorbed despite the "I just got off the bus" intro the character is provided here as he develops his friendship with St. James, using him as a tutor into the New York club scene and eventually betraying him in myriad ways. The only thing that makes watching Alig worthwhile is knowing that he's going to get what's coming to him, which I didn't know as I watched, but it made me feel a little better about what I had been subjected to. I was especially distressed watching him seduce a heterosexual male (Wilmer Valderamma) into a relationship with a couple of drink tickets...seriously?
http://www.teenidols4you.com/blink/Actors/mccauly_culkin/mccauly_culkin_1192470062.jpg
Bailey and Barbarato's direction is a little better than their writing, but not much. I would like to give a shout out to Jeremy Simmons' editing, despite the film's grainy, indie look. They make this club life seem so glamorous, but when you strip away all the glitter and false eyelashes, what you have is Frankie and Annette on the beach. Macauley Culkin's performance is rather one-note, but Seth Green was absolutely brilliant as St James and almost made this hot mess of a movie worth sitting through...almost. This is just not viewer friendly material 2.5

cricket

12-23-17, 09:40 AM

I forgot Party Monster existed but I have seen it and didn't think it was very good.

I need to see The Verdict.

Citizen Rules

12-23-17, 02:11 PM

THE APRIL FOOLS
Though it definitely gets an "A" for effort, the 1969 comedy-drama The April Fools doesn't quite measure up due its troublesome mixture of "mod" 1970's sensibilities and old fashioned 1950's melodrama.
rating_2_5I've never heard of that one. I still would give it a watch despite the low rating, just to see Jack Lemmon and of course Catherine Deneuve:)

Gideon58

12-26-17, 12:11 PM

The Greatest Showman
Handsome production values, some terrific songs, and a dazzling performance from the leading man help elevate 2017's The Greatest Showman, the story of PT Barnum, above the average show biz biopic.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjI1NDYzNzY2Ml5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwODQwODczNTM@._V1_.jpg
Phinneas Taylor was the subject of a 1980 Broadway musical called Barnum which starred Jim Dale as Barnum and Glenn Close as his wife Charity that ran for 854 performances, but bringing the story to the big screen opened up the story to maximum effect. And speaking of a big screen, it should be noted that this was the first movie I have seen in an actual movie theater since 2007.
https://media.newyorker.com/photos/5a3ac89fd4286305ffff0b2a/16:9/w_2991,h_1682,c_limit/Brody-THE-GREATEST-SHOWMAN.jpg
Hugh Jackman lights up the screen as PT Barnum, a show business hopeful who romances the lovely Charity (Michelle Williams) before developing his unique show business offering centered around human oddities such as a bearded lady and Tom Thumb. He persuades important but unhappy playwright Phillip Carlisle (Zac Efron) to be his business partner and his show, which is staged in a former museum, rises to even greater heights until Phinneas Taylor meets opera singer Jenny Lind (Rebecca Ferguson) with whom he becomes obsessed to the point of putting his personal and professional lives at risk.
https://movies.mxdwn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Hugh-Jackman-Michelle-Williams-Movie-Set-The-Greatest-Showman-Tom-Lorenzo-Site-1.jpg
The screenplay by Jenny Bicks and Oscar winner Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters) is an effective combination of backstage drama and politically correct sensibilities regarding the stars of Barnum's show and how it should never be forgotten they are human beings, first and foremost. Director Michael Gracey has mounted the story in the form of a Broadway musical without the limitations of a Broadway stage and is keenly aware of what audiences expect in a Broadway musical. I have to admit to being taken back the first time Jenny Lind opens her mouth to sing, that we got the voice of a Broadway belter instead of an operatic soprano, but it so fit the style of the story that I was able to forgive.
http://cdn.collider.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/the-greatest-showman-hugh-jackman-slice.jpg
The song score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (La La Land) is a perfect blend of romantic comedy and Broadway razzle dazzle that actually advances story. Highlights include "The Greatest Show", "Come Alive", "Rewrite the Stars", "From Now On", and the pulse pounding "This is Me."
https://townsquare.media/site/442/files/2017/12/the-greatest-showman.jpg?w=1200&h=0&zc=1&s=0&a=t&q=89
As expected, Jackman does a charismatic star turn that shows off his gorgeous lyric tenor to maximum effect, but the real surprise here was Michelle Williams, who I had no idea could sing and dance, but the girl delivers, as always. Efron makes an effective return to musical comedy and is allowed to keep his clothes on for the entire running time and I have to give a shout out to Keala Settle, who steals every scene she's in as the bearded lady. A grand musical comedy gourmet feast. Fans of Moulin Rouge will have a head start here. And if you can, see it in a real theater like I did. 4

Dani8

12-26-17, 12:54 PM

The screenplay by Jenny Bicks and Oscar winner Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters)

OK I'm sold. I loved that movie.

gbgoodies

12-30-17, 02:32 AM

The Greatest Showman
Handsome production values, some terrific songs, and a dazzling performance from the leading man help elevate 2017's The Greatest Showman, the story of PT Barnum, above the average show biz biopic.
http://images.mymovies.net/images/film/cin/350x522/fid17806.jpg
Phinneas Taylor was the subject of a 1980 Broadway musical called Barnum which starred Jim Dale as Barnum and Glenn Close as his wife Charity that ran for 854 performances, but bringing the story to the big screen opened up the story to maximum effect. And speaking of a big screen, it should be noted that this was the first movie I have seen in an actual movie theater since 2007.
4

I saw "Barnum" on Broadway with Jim Dale, and I have the DVD of the London show "Barnum" starring Michael Crawford. I've been looking forward to seeing The Greatest Showman with Hugh Jackman since the day it was announced, but unfortunately Hubby doesn't like musicals, so I'll probably have to wait for the DVD to be released to see it.

Have you seen either version of "Barnum"? If so, how close is this movie to the stage show?

Gideon58

12-30-17, 11:38 AM

I had the soundtrack album but never actually saw the show.

Gideon58

12-30-17, 04:23 PM

WHO'S BEEN SLEEPING IN MY BED?
Despite an overly complex story and some dated plot elements, the 1963 comedy Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? is worth a peek for its terrific cast of once and future stars.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNGIzZmY4MTktNTAwMy00N2U3LTk5MTctNzJiNTY1NmQ5NDFkXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg
The film stars Dean Martin as Jason Steel, an actor and confirmed bachelor who plays a doctor on a television show and is engaged to a pretty art teacher named Melissa (Elizabeth Montgomery). Despite what seems to be a picture perfect life, Jason is discontent and restless because he's tired of the perfect character he's playing on television and apprehensive about committing his life to one woman. His fears about marriage materialize as it's revealed that the wives of the members of his weekly poker group think Jason is the character he plays on TV and find the man in Jason that they can't find in their own marriages.
http://www.historyforsale.com/productimages/jpeg/262111.jpg
Jack Rose's screenplay purports to be a sophisticated battle of the sexes, but a lot of the ideas presented here are a little antiquated in 2017. It was disconcerting seeing the Jason character symbolically kicking Melissa in the teeth over and over again and then watching him acting injured when she starts fighting back. Female movie characters in this century would not put up with half the crap that Melissa puts up with from Jason here. Daniel Mann, who directed classics from the 50's like Come Back Little Sheba and I'll Cry Tomorrow, provides breezy direction that could have been a little more economic in terms of storytelling but works in terms of character presentation.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NjFpppCHqBE/SMBYjuolXAI/AAAAAAAAARY/0nlH6mTaYyQ/s400/WHOS+BEEN+SLEEPING+IN+MY+BED-+DEANO+1963.jpg
A wonderful cast helped to elevate the film above the dated story. Martin is fun as Jason and Montgomery makes a charming leading lady. Montgomery might have become a major movie actress of the 60's if she hadn't signed to play Samantha in the ABC sitcom Bewitched a couple of years later. Future comedy icon Carol Burnett is a total scene stealer as Melissa's best friend and provides the funniest scene in the movie, where she does a striptease in front of a bunch of drunken Mexicans. Martin Balsam, Elliott Reid, Jack Soo, and Louis Nye offer great comic bits along the way as does a delicious Jill St. John as Nye's second wife.
http://l450v.alamy.com/450v/b3kk9f/whos-been-sleeping-in-my-bed-1963-paramount-film-with-dean-martin-b3kk9f.jpg
The film also features first rate set decorations, some stylish Edith Head costuming for Montgomery and a snappy music score by George Duning. It goes on a little too long, but it's worth a look, especially for fans of Martin and Burnett. 3

gbgoodies

12-31-17, 02:50 AM

I saw "Barnum" on Broadway with Jim Dale, and I have the DVD of the London show "Barnum" starring Michael Crawford. I've been looking forward to seeing The Greatest Showman with Hugh Jackman since the day it was announced, but unfortunately Hubby doesn't like musicals, so I'll probably have to wait for the DVD to be released to see it.

Have you seen either version of "Barnum"? If so, how close is this movie to the stage show?

I had the soundtrack album but never actually saw the show.

The Michael Crawford version of "Barnum" is on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6HC-p7wYnw

Gideon58

12-31-17, 04:59 PM

I Love Melvin
Fresh off their triumph in the classic musical Singin the Rain, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds were reunited for an insignificant piece of MGM fluff called I Love Melvin that did nothing to tarnish the image of the Gene Kelly classic.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JZGs5zazpjM/hq720.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEhCK4FEIIDSFryq4qpAxMIARUAAAAAGAElAADIQj0AgKJD&rs=AOn4CLD5dR7QlYU1Nsd9TQ5N_mmaLUOCPQ
O'Connor plays Melvin Hooper, a photographer's assistant at LOOK magazine who uses his press pass to appear as he has a lot more juice at the magazine than he actually has and during his first scene at the magazine, it's revealed that no one on the editorial staff even knows who he is. Melvin meets Judy Schneider (Reynolds), a bouncy New York chorus girl who has adopted the stage name Judy LeRoy and is appearing in a Broadway show called "Quarterback Kelly" where she plays a human football. Melvin is immediately smitten with Judy and begins an elaborate ruse to make Judy believe he can get her on the cover of the magazine.
http://www.thevintagecameo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/I-Love-Melvin.jpg
The recent passing of Debbie Reynolds prompted a re-watch of this film, which was near the bottom of my list of worst musicals ever made and I think I placed it pretty accurately on that list. It's certainly not the worst musical ever made but the dated screenplay by George Wells and Ruth Brooks Flippen made this film pretty rough going. The whole idea of Judy being willing to give up her role in a Broadway show because she thinks she's going to be on the cover of a magazine is just as silly as the LOOK editorial staff revealing that they would NEVER put a woman on the cover.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/nMNHH4clmP0/maxresdefault.jpg
The film features some entertaining and elaborate musical numbers. The opening number "A Lady Loves" finds Debbie being danced around tuxedo-clad dancers who disguise the fact that Debbie is being danced around. The "meet cute" duet that introduces the two leads to each other "We Have Never Met" is kind of cute. O'Connor actually gets to do a number on roller skates and an elaborate production number called "I Wanna Wonder" which was supposed to enchant us the way "Make em Laugh" did, but it just goes on too long. Donald and Debbie also have a cute dance duet called "Where did you Learn to Dance."
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VGlRcTg9EMw/maxresdefault.jpg
MGM did pour a little money into this production. Some scenes appeared to be actually filmed in Manhattan and the accustomed MGM gloss is apparent and Richard Anderson, Allyn Joslyn, Una Merkel, and Jim Backus offer solid support in thankless roles, but it's mostly for naught. But Donald O'Connor is always worth watching and he alone makes this one worth a look. 2.5

gbgoodies

01-01-18, 03:37 AM

I Love Melvin
Fresh off their triumph in the classic musical Singin the Rain, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds were reunited for an insignificant piece of MGM fluff called I Love Melvin that did nothing to tarnish the image of the Gene Kelly classic.

2.5

I love both Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds, and I'll watch just about anything with either of them in it, but I agree that I Love Melvin was only okay.

Citizen Rules

01-01-18, 01:55 PM

Did I Love Melvin have a musical number with Donald O'Connor dancing on a table in a restaurant's kitchen?

Gideon58

01-01-18, 04:22 PM

Gideon58

01-01-18, 06:01 PM

Nobody's Fool (1994)
Paul Newman's brilliant Oscar-nominated performance is at the center of Nobody's Fool, a 1994 character study rich with colorful supporting characters who appropriately serve the story.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FZmUBFcq_Cw/movieposter.jpg
Set in the fictional town of North Bath, New York, Newman plays Scully, a construction worker well past retirement age who has injured his knee and pinned all his hopes on the workmen's comp claim that was recently denied. This puts him at odds with his former boss (Bruce Willis) and moves Sully's relationship with his wife (Melanie Griffith) to another level. Sully is also trying to deal with a meddlesome landlady (Jessica Tandy) and the grown son (Dylan Walsh) with whom he is trying to make up lost time.
http://c8.alamy.com/comp/BPEYMK/melanie-griffith-paul-newman-nobodys-fool-1994-BPEYMK.jpg
Director and screenwriter Robert Benton (Kramer VS Kramer) based his screenplay on a novel by Richard Russo and really scored in his mounting of this flawed and fascinating central character. We're shocked as we watch Sully decide that stealing his ex-boss' snow blower is justified because he didn't get workmen's comp. We are shocked when it's revealed that Sully deserted his son when he was a year old and feels no regret about it. We're shocked by Sully's lack of respect for the law, evidenced in his physical assault of a cop, but you know when all of this becomes irrelevant? When we see Sully spending time with his grandson. Every moment Sully has onscreen with his grandson is golden and makes you forget some of his questionable behavior throughout the rest of the film.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f7/b4/51/f7b4512a9e05c8f76267809a01384f3b.jpg
Benton's story is mounted in the form of individual vignettes, little chapters in Sully's life and how they don't always gel the way Sully might like. Benton also scored casting Newman in the starring role...a dazzling performance that gives this film a substance that would not be there with a lesser actor playing this role.
https://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/review/primary_image/reviews/nobodys-fool-1995/hero_EB19950113REVIEWS501130303AR.jpg
Willis is fun as the cocky boss as are Griffith as his lonely wife and Tandy as his persnickety landlady. Josef Summer, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Gene Saks round out the supporting cast and a shout out has to be given to Howard Shore's music, but the real success of this human and moving drama is due to the professionalism of Robert Benton behind the camera and Paul Newman in front of it. 3.5

Gideon58

01-02-18, 09:44 PM

Wonder Woman
The most famous comic book heroine is given the big budget treatment in 2017's Wonder Woman, a lavish cinematic adventure that takes too long to get going and a story that seems like a very long commercial regarding feminism and the absurdity of war.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjEzYmZkNjktODBmYi00NzNkLWIzMjItMjhkMWZiZTZlN2MwXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg
The film introduces us to young Diana, an Amazon princess who lives on an island populated by female warriors who are training Diana to follow in their footsteps. We watch Diana embrace her destiny when her mother is killed and she rescues a World War II pilot named Steve Trevor from drowning, who she decides is her key to finding Ares, the God of War, in order to stop all fighting everywhere.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTc1ODUwMTYyM15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNjYyOTYzMjI@._V1_.jpg
Screenwriters Alan Heinberg and Zack Snyder have put a lot of work into opening up the story of Diana Prince, giving it an identity that doesn't even resemble the 70's TV series with Lynda Carter, but there is message about the superiority of women as a race that is delivered with sledgehammer-like intensity, which is juxtaposed with Diana's encounters with the Germans and how they only deserve destruction and how she is the only one to do it. We are told more than once that these "men of the earth" don't deserve Diana. The story presents Diana as being passionate about her mission to finding Ares, but compromised as well when she is really exposed to the ugliness of WWII.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTUzNzE5NDQyNl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMjcyOTYzMjI@._V1_.jpg
Unfortunately, between the exposition on Diana's island and her complete command of WWII, there are a lot of fish-out-of-water elements thrown into the story that offer mild amusement but really just slow the film down. The scenes of Diana learning about sex and romance through her reluctant tutor Steve Trevor just delay what we, as viewers, are really waiting for...to see Diana kick ass with those golden wrist bands and that awesome lariat.
https://cdn.theatlantic.com/thumbor/-9a-H_2bavpHntn5B2tFmERw8Tg=/0x78:1499x921/960x540/media/img/mt/2017/06/wonderwoman/original.jpg
Director Patty Jenkins has taken on a mammoth assignment here and was clearly given an unlimited budget, but this story definitely could have used some tightening and a little more respect to the central character and what fans of the genre expect to see. We are actually more than halfway through the film before we see Diana in her Wonder Woman costume for the first time. I don't know why this bothered me, but it did.
https://www.indiewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Justice-League-e1670462452490.jpg
Despite all the problems with Diana trying to outdo Steve Trevor at every turn, I did enjoy the relationship between the characters once the story allowed them to lighten up a bit, but then what action fans expect took over and the film starts to slip into conventionality, but it's never boring.
https://cdn.fstoppers.com/styles/large-16-9/s3/lead/2017/06/wonder_woman_cinematography.jpg
Gal Gadot brings sincerity to the title role, though I might have cast someone more physically intimidating in the role, I mean she is an Amazon princess. Chris Pine brings a little sexy to Captain Steve and the film scores big on production values, with special nods to film editing, art direction, and sound, but the whole thing just takes too long to get going and once it does, it delivers what fans expect. 3

Joel

01-06-18, 12:44 PM

Nobody's Fool (1994)
Paul Newman's brilliant Oscar-nominated performance is at the center of Nobody's Fool, a 1994 character study rich with colorful supporting characters who appropriately serve the story.

but the real success of this human and moving drama is due to the professionalism of Robert Benton behind the camera and Paul Newman in front of it. 3.5

I should revisit this. Thanks for a great review!

Joel

01-06-18, 12:47 PM

Gideon58

01-06-18, 12:53 PM

I haven't seen this but are you saying that Wonder Woman fought in WWII according to this movie? I don't know if I can take such a movie like this, and if it's reverse sexism to the hilt, I'm all set.

That's exactly what this movie tells us.

Joel

01-06-18, 01:36 PM

Citizen Rules

01-06-18, 01:52 PM

I seen Nobody's Fool (1994) I agree with your rating, I really liked it too. Wonder Woman doesn't sound like something I'd be interested in.

Gideon58

01-06-18, 04:42 PM

Stolen Hours
A lovely performance from Susan Hayward does make the 1963 melodrama Stolen Hours worth a look.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMmRmNjE2NmEtNmVjZC00MmE4LWJlMTMtMDc0MTdiM2YzZDhhXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg
Hayward plays Laura, a wealthy, twice-divorced party girl who is deep denial about the blinding headaches and blurry vision she has been having. Laura refuses to talk to anyone about her health issues and she just doesn't show up when concerned friends make doctors' appointments for her. Finally a friend persuades a doctor to attend a party at Laura's mansion and perform an examination without letting Laura know that's what he's doing. The ruse is partially successful and the doctor does manage to get Laura to agree to surgery but falls in love with her in the process.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QDQSoYIrEXA/hqdefault.jpg
If this story sounds familiar, it's because this film is a remake of the 1939 classic Dark Victory starring Bette Davis, but Jessamyn West's screenplay telegraphs all its cards right away. We weren't informed of Davis' condition as quickly in the 1939 film as we were here. We are given the whole story in about ten minutes of running time and the viewer has to wonder what is going to happen for the other 90 minutes of movie.
http://c8.alamy.com/comp/BKJYPX/stolen-hours-1963-michael-craig-susan-hayward-stol-002p-BKJYPX.jpg
What we have is a slightly overwrought melodrama thanks to Daniel Petrie's rather pedestrian direction which almost completely overshadows what a powerhouse actress Susan Hayward is and makes you want to wade through the muck that is this movie because Hayward almost makes the wade worthwhile.
https://resizing.flixster.com/UCdMnJ7MrIWg20-N0K7d5Oo4Uhk=/fit-in/705x460/v2/https://resizing.flixster.com/-XZAfHZM39UwaGJIFWKAE8fS0ak=/v3/t/assets/p4077_i_v8_aa.jpg
The film is a British-American collaboration which I assume had something to do with the big budget that was afforded this remake. Handsome production values, including some striking cinematography and a lush musical score, help but this one is a tough one because as a remake, it owes respect to the original but should bring something new to the table as well, but, sadly, does not accomplish the latter. For hardcore Hayward fans only. 2.5

Gideon58

01-07-18, 06:44 PM

12 Angry Men (1957)
My undying respect for the talent of the late Sidney Lumet as one of the best directors in the business has once again been documented with my first viewing of the 1957 classic 12 Angry Men,a compelling and intense look at the justice system that looks at the pursuit of justice from a new (for 1957) cinematic angle that works thanks primarily to Lumet's ability to tell a story with his camera.
https://professormortis.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/12angrymen.jpg
The film opens with 12 jurors being given instructions from the judge before they retire for deliberations to determine whether an 18 year old boy murdered his father. The men retire to the air-deprived jury room and the jury foreman (Martin Balsam) decides to take a vote to see if they can wrap this up quickly but is dumbfounded when all of the jurors vote guilty except one (Henry Fonda).
https://filmschoolrejects.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/12-angry-men-knife-700x480.jpg
Screenwriter Reginald Rose has written what appears to be a simplistic story on the surface and the fact that Henry Fonda is playing the lone juror, we pretty much know what's going to happen, even knowing that the jurors have been instructed that their verdict must be unanimous and if the boy is found guilty, he is going to the electric chair. We think we know exactly what's going to happen in that jury room and very little of this story played out the way I expected it to and, boy, what a pleasure that was.
https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/aaaaa.jpg?w=900
The first clue we have as to what is going on actually comes from Lumet, not Rose or the other actors. As the jurors retire for deliberations, Lumet does a brilliant close up of the defendant...still sitting in the courtroom, his wide-eyes welling up with water. This shot alone tells us that the boy is innocent, but the journey to the jury figuring that out is so perplexing and funny and aggravating and we begin to believe that there is no way a unanimous verdict can be achieved. After the first vote, Fonda's character, Juror No. 8, is asked why he thinks the boy isn't guilty and he replies that he's not sure that he's guilty, but he's not sure he's not guilty, we know this story is not going to go an easy or predictable route.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/criterion-production/images/4827-664f8fedbdf6cbf48d64035ac729bba6/current_1534_073_medium.jpg
There are universal themes addressed in this story that were quite bold for the time. There is one juror who cannot get past the fact that the defendant is not white and continually uses phrases like "those people" and bases his vote on his bigotry. The film reminds us of the importance of jury duty, something millions of people spend a lot of trouble trying to get out of. Juror No. 7 (Jack Warden) is only voting guilty because he has tickets for a ball game in a few hours. I loved that the primary reason No. 8 wanted to make sure he was right was because this boy's life hung in the balance.
https://theinvisibleevent.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/12am9.jpg?w=666
I also loved the way Lumet used his camera to quietly foreshadow Fonda's mission in getting these men to consider reasonable doubt. It was fun trying to guess who would be the next juror to fall under No. 8's spell and it was fun watching the camera leading us to who that was going to be.
https://i0.wp.com/filmotomy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/12-Angry-Men-b.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1
Lumet's direction is atmospheric as always...few directors can provide an atmosphere of sweaty claustrophobia the way Lumet can and, as always, has gotten powerhouse performances from his cast, with standout work from Fonda, Balsam, Warden, Ed Begley, Jack Klugman, and especially the amazing Lee J. Cobb. I still say Network is Lumet's masterpiece, but this is definitely second. The film was remade for television in 1997 but it was but a pale imitation of this. A master class in the art of film direction. 5

gbgoodies

01-08-18, 02:09 AM

I'm surprised that you hadn't seen 12 Angry Men before now, but I'm glad that you liked it so much. It's one of my all-time favorite movies.

Citizen Rules

01-09-18, 01:28 PM

So glad you final watched 12 Angry Men Gideon. That was a well written review, and a joy to read. Most everyone loves that movie, but not me! I won't go into detail why, but I did review it if you're interested in reading it.

BTW, Congratulations on reaching 900 reviews!

Gideon58

01-09-18, 09:45 PM

Girls Trip
In the tradition of classic film comedies like Animal House and Bachelor Party comes a gender reversal of those films called Girls Trip, an expensive comic romp that delivers some solid laughs, despite some cliched writing and general over indulgence.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71eRdfQrRKL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg
The 2017 comedy follows four high school girlfriends, who were known as the Flossy Posse, who reunite a couple of decades later to attend the Essence Festival in New Orleans. Ryan (Regina Hall) is a famous relationship expert/author who is denial about her cheating husband (Mike Colter); Sasha (Queen Latifah) is a gossip blogger whose business is fading and is quietly going broke; Dina (Tiffany Haddish) is an unemployed party girl and Lisa (Jada Pinkett Smith) is a single mother of two who hasn't had sex in years. As expected, upon arrival in New Orleans, the usual bawdy adventures and eventual personal confrontations scratch their way to this well worn cinematic surface.
https://i0.wp.com/www.wearemoviegeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/girlstrip.jpg?resize=560%2C315
Screenwriters Erica Rivinoja and Kenya Barris have brought us the classic buddy movie except that the buddies Involved are African American females who speak with little or no filter and treat men like meat and you know what? In this day and age, it's acceptable to see men objectified for a change, even though most of the male characters in the movie don't have a brain in their head and the ones that do are shoved in the background.
https://fr.web.img6.acsta.net/pictures/17/09/01/09/53/471697.jpg
Director Malcolm Lee was definitely given a healthy budget for this one...the film features authentic New Orleans locations and a shout out should go to Paul Hillspaugh's editing , but a big budget doesn't necessarily mean a movie has to go on forever. I wish Lee had spent a little more time looking at the screenplay and finding about 25 minutes of this movie to cut.
https://media.ksat.com/photo/2017/07/19/girls%20trip%20image%202_1500464204397_10119655_ver1.0.JPG
Don't get me wrong, this movie brings the funny, but it just needed a little tightening. Regina Hall works hard at being convincing as a New Millenium Oprah and Tiffany Haddish steals every scene she is in as Dina. There is a plethora of cameo appearances including Larenz Tate, Morris Chestnut, Bobby BrOwn, Ne-Yo, Terry McMillan, Michael Blivens, P. Diddy, and Johnny Gill. Despite the expected lapses into melodrama in the final act, the movie does provide laughs, but it just goes on too long. 3

Gideon58

01-13-18, 03:58 PM

Barbra: The Music...The Mem'ries...The Magic!
As the legendary Barbra Streisand approaches her 75th birthday, I was thrilled that I was able to view her latest concert experience before her birthday in April. This 2017 concert documents why this consummate artist continues to pack venues after 50 years in the business and if you're a Streisand-hater, stop reading now.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BOTA5ODQ2MDktZmU1OC00YmM5LTk2MjgtODQ4ZWUwN2ZiMmZmXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg
It started back in 1984 when Streisand agreed to do a fund raising concert in her own backyard called One Voice for nuclear disarmament. It would be the first time that Streisand would sing in public in 20 years. She charged $5000 a ticket and everyone who is anyone in Hollywood showed up and it eventually wound up on HBO. Since then, Barbra has been getting her act together and taking it on the road for almost three decades now, filling venues everywhere and proving that there still is an audience out there that adores this woman.
https://occ-0-8407-1361.1.nflxso.net/dnm/api/v6/9pS1daC2n6UGc3dUogvWIPMR_OU/AAAABYN6d-A5wgC8j8FrR1gu2mV0GxXvtvfdugC2SBkuj_ld5onjqKmBR7jlnACHQUz-mPhovneGOG_zdtVX2tvS93Rfq-ZpWiAGBNgg2_X3RG5d7jTjywOs6lH8Mg.jpg?r=503
I have to admit that there was a dash of bittersweet that swept over me as I watched this concert. It's taken me awhile to reconcile myself to the fact that the singularly unique instrument that is the voice of Barbra Streisand, is not what it used to be and that's OK. What I've come to understand after watching One Voice and this concert, is that Streisand is aware of this as well and has adapted her choice of concert material to reflect that. Some of the vocal acrobatics that Barbra used to thrill us with are no longer possible, but she knows this and it has forced her to redefine herself as an artist and seek out music that she is still vocally capable of but still brings her audience exactly what they want to hear.
https://assets.playbill.com/editorial/f45b3d8808a36885ad2535d9c822226c-barbra-streisand-concert-17-hr.jpg
What I loved about this particular concert is that because she can't sing the way she used to, this concert found Barbra digging out some underrated gems from the past that she hasn't performed in a LONG time, like "Everything" from A Star is Born and "Isn't this Better?" from Funny Lady that might not be as theatrically exciting as some of the songs we expect from Barbra, but were equally effective, because Barbra makes each song a performance, like no other artist. I also continue to be impressed by the fact that, no matter how many times Barbra has sung some of these songs, she never performs a song the same way twice. Streisand also impresses with a surprise guest star and their choice of duet was even more surprising.
https://www.newsday.com/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.newsday.com%2Fimage-service%2Fversion%2Fc%3AZDNiM2E2OTItMTZiZC00%3AOTItMTZiZC00MzI4NzM4%2Fettel112117_web.jpg%3Ff%3DLand scape%2B16%253A9%26w%3D770%26q%3D1&w=1920&q=80
The film covers her arrival in Miami, offers some rehearsal footage and an overlong eulogy to her recently deceased dog Samantha. As always with concert films, we also get a lot of audience shots and with a Streisand concert, there are three things you are always going to see: Someone mouthing every word to every song, someone completely mesmerized, and someone wiping tears from their eyes. Yes, it's only for a specific fanbase, but if you love Barbra the way I do, celebrate her upcoming 75th birthday with this melodic and nostalgic musical feast. 3.5

Gideon58

01-14-18, 06:18 PM

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
An unapologetic and unpredictable story, bold direction, and some powerhouse performances are the primary ingredients that make 2017's Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri, a blistering cinematic rollercoaster that won four Golden Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture Drama.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/thereelplace/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/13092808/three_billboards_outside_ebbing_missouri_xlg.jpg
Frances McDormand stars as Mildred Hayes, a woman whose daughter was brutally raped and murdered almost a year ago and has heard nothing from the Ebbing Police Department regarding her daughter's case in almost seven months. Feeling the police have forgotten about her daughter, Mildred lashes out by paying $5000 to rent out three billboards with a boldly painted message to the police, singling out Police Chief Willoughby (Woody Harrelson), a hard-working officer who is dying of cancer.
https://thefilmstage.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Three-Billboards-2-620x308.png
Director and screenwriter Martin McDonough, who is responsible for one film I hated (In Bruges) and one I loved (Seven Psychopaths) has constructed a bold and singularly unique motion picture experience that's never quite sure if it wants to be a black comedy or a searing docudrama, but the one thing that this story guarantees is complete unpredictability...this story never went anywhere I thought it was going to go and therefore I was galvanized to the screen, either dropping my jaw or holding my breath, not to mention some pretty consistent laughs that I almost felt guilty about. It's been awhile since a movie ran roughshod with my emotions the way this one did.
http://cdn.collider.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/woody-harrelson-sam-rockwell-three-billboards-outside-ebbing-missouri.jpg
In addition to its unpredictability, the other success of this story is making us understand and sympathize with every single character involved. Needless to say, we understand Mildred's feelings that the police have forgotten about her daughter, but we also understand the repercussions of these billboards and how they systematically tear the town apart. We are thrown surprise layers when we meet Mildred's ex-husband, who left her for a 19-year old and we have to wonder how much of her bitterness is rooted in that. Not to mention we get to meet Mildred's daughter in a flashback, a brief but telling scene that is as shocking and unpredictable as the rest of this emotionally raw story.
https://compote.slate.com/images/358e2365-ed89-4820-8951-a8192142bb03.jpeg
And even though we understand Mildred and her actions to a point, we also completely understand the consequences of her actions and how it affects the rest of Ebbing, especially Chief Willoughby and his family, his slightly dim but devoted officer, Jason (Sam Rockwell), and even Mildred's son, who is suffering for his mother's actions in ways that get past Mildred. There are a couple of small plot points that I had trouble reconciling, but to discuss them further would spoil this intricate story for those who haven't seen it. I will say these plot points did nothing to keep him from trying to untie the knots that my stomach was in or fighting the tears I fought. We keep waiting for answers that never come but we understand why and forgive.
https://images.everyeye.it/img-notizie/-three-billboards-outside-ebbing-missouri-chiudera-london-film-festival-v3-302326-1280x720.jpg
McDonaugh's direction is in-your face and also has its own sense of unpredictability...there are shocking moments of violence on different levels that actually produced audible gasps from this reviewer. In addition to McDonaugh's screenplay, the film also won a Globe for Frances McDormand, brilliant as the ticking time bomb that is Mildred, a character impossible to predict or take your eyes off of. Sam Rockwell also won a Globe for his accustomed explosive and unhinged performance as the bigoted but sincere Jason and Harrelson does a real movie star turn as the police chief. Mention should also be made of Peter Dinklage as a friend of Jason, Oscar nominee Lucas Hedges (Manchester By the Sea) as Mildred's son, and Zeljko Ivanek as the desk sergeant.
https://goodtimes.sc/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/film-1749.gif
The film features striking cinematography, editing, and a properly evocative music score. The Globes really got this one right and I hope McDormand and Rockwell are remembered at Oscar time. A motion picture experience that will leave you limp. 4.5

Gideon58

01-20-18, 05:16 PM

Collateral Beauty
Since joining this forum, I have watched a lot of movies that revolved around the grieving process but I found 2016's Collateral Beauty a prickly and moving cinematic journey that is an examination of the grieving process at a different and challenging level, even if it's a bit of a cheat at times.
http://static.tumblr.com/cf80610077dad99a046b652cfef17797/rvnxpnd/8jPolavtv/tumblr_static_15wvpbaao1eog0wkckokk8g4g.jpg
Will Smith heads a terrific ensemble cast as Howard, the co-owner of an advertising empire whose life has gone into a tailspin two years after the death of his six year old daughter. Howard continues to go to work every day but his heart and his head aren't in it causing serious repercussions on the business. As the business quietly begins circling the drain, Howard has cut off communication completely and begins seeking answers to his grief by writing letters to entities like love, death, and time.
https://rogermooresmovienation.files.wordpress.com/2016/12/coll1.jpg?w=640&h=360
Whit (Edward Norton), Claire (Kate Winslet), and Simon (Michael Pena) are three of Howard's business partners who feel for what he is going through but have issues of their own, primarily watching their business being destroyed because major deals cannot be executed without Howard's input, so after we learn that Howard has "terrorized" grief counselors, the partners decide to go in a different direction and they hire three actors (Helen Mirren, Keira Knightley, Jacob Latimore) to go to Howard pretending to be time, love, and death and talk to Howard about the letters they received from him.
https://themoviemylife.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/collateral-beauty-2016-edward-norton-will-smith.png
This story was a unique screen journey anchored by Allen Loeb's quirky and edgy screenplay which initially has sort of a Woody Allen sensibility to it, taking very realistic story elements and running roughshod over them with fantasy trimmings that don't wash as cleanly as they should. I found myself intrigued by the idea of these actors taking on this ultimate acting challenge while simultaneously wondering if doing this would drive Howard into total insanity since his competency is already in question. I understand that Howard's partners are concerned about their business, but I had to wonder if there was an element of danger in what they were doing.
https://www.pluggedin.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Collateral_Beauty_Large.jpg-1200x688.jpeg
The danger of this charade becomes a through line as we do find Howard seeking more realistic help in the form of a support group led by a woman (Oscar nominee Naomie Harris) who finds Howard a constant struggle but refuses to give up on him. This story approaches the subject of death and grief with a kind risky fragility that teeters on the edge of storytelling taste, but wraps to a very surprising and very satisfactory conclusion. Before that, we are enchanted as each of the three actors develop interesting personal connections with Whit, Claire, and Simon.
http://www.indiewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/collateral-beauty-will-smith.jpg
David Frankel's direction is detailed enough to allow the viewer to forgive small plot holes and must also give a nod to Andrew Marcus' editing and Theodore Shapiro's lush music score. Frankel gets some strong work from his hand-picked cast. Will Smith has not moved me this way since The Pursuit of Happyness and Norton, Winslet (doing another perfect American accent), Pena,and Mirren also make every moment they have onscreen count. A compelling cinematic experience that might have you scratching your head at times, but the final ten minutes make any confusions the viewer might have had worth it. 3.5

Gideon58

01-21-18, 06:22 PM

8MM
8MM is an overindulgent and over the top "thriller" from 1999 that attempts Hitchcock-like suspense but found me stifling the occasional yawn due to a swiss cheese screenplay, lethargic direction, and an overwrought performance from its leading mam.
http://horrornews.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/8mm_b.jpg
Tom Wells (Nicolas Cage) is a private investigator who is hired by a billionaire's widow to verify the authenticity of an alleged snuff film the woman found in her husband's vault. Her primary interest is that Wells find out if the young woman in the film is alive because she appears to have been murdered in the film.
https://vengonofuoridallefottutepareti.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/asesinato-en-8mm.-con-nicolas-cage-y-joaquin-phoenix.jpg
Considering the subject matter, this film should have been a lot more interesting than it was, yet on the other hand, that might have been exactly the problem...pornography on film itself is a dead industry and the idea of the underground snuff film is practically an urban legend, but apparently someone thought that a story revolving around underground porn would be titillating enough to make a compelling film.
https://d36v3uyzob3tcl.cloudfront.net/products/ILEA000419941/thumbnails/thumbnail.jpg?t=1630249200.0
Unfortunately, Andrew Kevin Walker's screenplay is not as complex as he thinks it is and has plot holes you can drive a truck through. I was confused by the fact that this wealthy widow was more concerned about the girl in this film than she was about why her husband had the film in the first place. Not to mention, the unlimited financial assistance she provides Wells to get to the bottom of this and as confused as Wells was, I had figured out a major part of what was going on about ten minutes in and that's not good when you're dealing with a film that's two hours long. It's hard to get behind this detective as well. When he's at home pretending not to smoke in front of his devoted wife (Catherine Keener), he appears to be all about his family, who he ends up practically throwing under a bus in favor of this investigation.
https://reelgingermoviefan.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/m4.png
Joel Schumacher's leaden directorial hand is no help either, telegraphing everything that's going to happen with the camera rather than letting the story do its part of the work. Schumacher's frantic camerawork should have made for a more economic story, but somehow this film is still about 20 minutes longer than it needs to be. Schumacher should have spent a little less time trying to be Hitchcock and concentrated on his actors a little more. Nicolas Cage is a startling combination of stone-faced and overwrought here and even James Gandolfini grated on my nerves. I did enjoy Joaquin Phoenix as an adult bookstore employee and Peter Stormare as the bad guy, but this movie was just too much of everything, produced unintentional laughs, and it went on forever. Even the music was creepy and intrusive. I suspect it's movies like this one that led to all the Cage hate I see on this site. 2

Joel

01-27-18, 11:58 AM

MOTHER
The recent passing of Debbie Reynolds prompted a re-watch of the 1996 comedy Mother, a surprisingly warm and funny story directed, co-written by and starring Albert Brooks that has a much more caustic and edgy screenplay than I remember and even though the reference raises eyebrows well into the film, this movie is actually, more than anything, a love story.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/2c/Momposter.jpg/215px-Momposter.jpg
3.5

I consider this to be Brooks' best film. I really like Modern Romance, Lost in America and thought Defending Your Life was just slightly above average, but this film was a joy. The eyebrow raising stuff you refer to, was it the exchange with the two siblings about Freudian themes when Brooks' character "calls him out"? a bit for being so horrified and disturbed?

I remember that stuck out in my head and gave me a chuckle.

Gideon58

01-27-18, 02:26 PM

I was actually talking about the inferences to an incestuous relationship between the two leading characters. I guess what's eyebrow-raising is in the eye of the beholder.

Gideon58

01-27-18, 03:11 PM

Lady Bird
A 2017 Best Picture nominee, Lady Bird is a an engaging coming of age comedy-drama that perhaps tries to cover a little too much territory, but works thanks to sparkling direction and some on-target performances.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/61/Lady_Bird_poster.jpeg
Saoirse Ronan, so memorable a few years ago in The Lovely Bones, lights up the screen as Christine "Lady Bird" Johnson, a free-spirited Sacramento high school senior who feels like a prisoner in her life, whether at her uptight Catholic school or at home with her rigid mother and condescending older brother criticizing everything she does. The story follows Lady Bird through her first real romances, her opportunity to becomes one of the "cool kids", and her number one mission: getting into a college as far away from Sacramento that she can.
https://compote.slate.com/images/65093ba9-f66a-4912-92a7-090af2f5ef20.jpeg?crop=1560%2C1040%2Cx0%2Cy0
Writer-director Greta Gerwig has crafted a screenplay that perhaps tries to cover a little too much territory, resulting in the occasional slow spot. The subplot revolving Lady Bird's father and his bouts with unemployment and depression weighs the story down a bit, but where Gerwig really triumphs is in the creation of this central character...we understand and absolutely adore Lady Bird from the moment we meet her. This is a character we understand and have to giggle at because as we watch some of her outrageous behavior, we realize that this young lady isn't really as miserable as she claims to be. This comes out clear in the very complex relationship she has with her mother. We understand completely as Lady Bird blames her mother for everything wrong in her life during one scene and defending her to anyone who says anything bad about her the next.
https://jonnegroni.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/LadyBird_Trailer.jpg
Director Gerwig also scores in creating a searingly realistic teenage atmosphere here...I love all the scenes in the proper Catholic school where every time Gerwig turned her camera on the students, there were always at a least pair of students staring out the window or at each other or at anything than what they were supposed to be doing. I was also impressed that Gerwig didn't make all of Lady Bird's teachers heartless monsters...no Sister Mary discipline with the steel ruler. These people were sensitive and sincere about what they were doing and often took more from the students than they deserved. And on a lesser note, I was also impressed with the scenes revolving around the school musical...I loved that Gerwig had the class to have the school doing a Stephen Sondheim musical instead of Oklahoma!.
https://womenrockinghollywood.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/ladybird-movie.jpg
Gerwig shows a real talent as a filmmaker here and I found her direction slightly superior to her screenplay, I'm behind the Oscar nominations she received for her work, though I really don't see her winning. I also think Gerwig should remain behind the camera. My only exposure to her onscreen was the Russell Brand remake of Arthur and I thought she was dreadful. I think she may have found her niche in this business.
https://occ-0-8407-1723.1.nflxso.net/dnm/api/v6/E8vDc_W8CLv7-yMQu8KMEC7Rrr8/AAAABfRiacn6nBFiqlnTRiUbQVtVraVXf18Ah1n3OEoETEHhohXFAIPUVDsHbF578O2uDPf5YjKJFhQOhqORGFZte_w3Tc7U30pE DK_D.jpg?r=a14
Ronan's unhinged performance earned her a Lead Actress nomination and Laurie Metcalf's beautifully understated performance as Lady Bird's mother deserves to win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for which she's been nominated. Also loved Lucas Hedges as boyfriend Danny, Tracy Letts as Lady Bird's dad, and Beanie Feldstein as her BFF Julie. The film is beautifully photographed and Jon Brion's music perfectly frames the story. Fans of the movie Juno will have a head start here. 3.5

Gideon58

01-27-18, 05:20 PM

Bringing Up Baby
The performances by Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, cast radically against type, are the main reason the 1938 classic Bringing Up Baby is still viable entertainment,
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91fmKEvM3sL._SL1500_.jpg
Grant plays David Huxley, a tightly wound zoologist who is working diligently at procuring a one million dollar donation for his museum, who finds his mission and his life endlessly complicated by his meeting a wealthy and flighty socialite named Susan Vance (Hepburn) who falls for David instantly and goes to some serious extremes to make the man forget his fiancee.
https://theblondeatthefilm.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/bringing-up-baby-48.jpg?w=800
Fans of the 1972 Peter Bogdanovich comedy What's Up Doc? will recognize this story almost immediately as it was clearly the inspiration for the Barbra Streisand/Ryan O'Neal comedy. Screenwriters Dudley Nichols and Hagar Wilde have crafted a screenplay that, on its own, is pretty standard stuff, but it is what director Howard Hawks and his stars do with this story is what makes it so special.
https://fanwithamovieyammer.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/bringing-up-baby.jpg?w=487
Howard Hawks takes a conventional story and films it at breakneck speed and makes his offbeat casting choices in the leads even more effective...Grant and Hepburn spend a lot of their time onscreen chasing animals, tripping and falling over each other, and getting wet and dirty. The other special element in this silly battle of the sexes is the reversal of the roles here. It was fun and probably a little daring back in 1938 to see the Susan character doing the chasing, but with Hepburn playing the role, we totally buy it.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yPzAML0fs2o/maxresdefault.jpg
Grant and Hepburn are a comedic joy here, one of four films that they did together. They are so funny in this movie that you almost don't notice how completely annoying most of the supporting cast is. Grant's sexy nerd is just as ingratiating as is Hepburn's goofy persistence . Grant and Hepburn are the whole show here, and for fans of either star, this film is a must that still holds up. 3.5

Gideon58

01-28-18, 06:35 PM

I, Tonya
The Oscar-nominated performances of Margot Robbie and Allison Janney do make the over-the-top 2017 docudrama I, Tonya worth a look.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjI5MDY1NjYzMl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNjIzNDAxNDM@._V1_.jpg
Robbie gives a full bodied performance as Tonya Harding, the trailer trash from Portland who grew up to be an Olympic skater but found her skating career derailed when she was accused of planning the attack on fellow skater Nancy Kerrigan, which resulted in a broken knee for her. The film introduces Tonya as a pre-schooler being shoved onto the ice by her abusive mother (Janney) and follows her through her romance and marriage to the equally abusive Jeff Gillooly (Sebastiani Stan), through the attack on Kerrigan, referred to here as "the incident", and beyond.
https://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/review/primary_image/reviews/i-tonya-2017/hero_I-Tonya-2017.jpg
Director Craig Gillespie does bring a semblance of style and imagination to this now legendary story in sports history that probably needed some sort of tweaking to interest 2017 movie audiences. I liked the way Gillespie split up the narration of the film between Tonya and Jeff and actually incorporated into the story that was being told onscreen, which involved some innovative camerawork and some tricky editing that kept this reviewer on his toes and helped to elevate this above the level of a Lifetime TV movie.
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/12/08/arts/08itonya-1/08itonya-1-superJumbo-v3.jpg
Unfortunately, Steven Rogers' screenplay paints Harding as this innocent saint who spent her whole life being abused and misunderstood. The screenplay finds her being verbally and emotionally abused by her mother whose anger toward her daughter seems unmotivated and verbally and physically abused by Jeff, who comes off as being jealous of the attention Tonya was getting because of the Olympics. The relationship between Tonya and Jeff reminded me a lot of the relationship between Dorothy Stratten and Paul Snider in Star 80...a woman trapped in a relationship with a man she really didn't need and a man who felt his life was pointless without her.
https://resizing.flixster.com/R_DiA8G_vCkoHo6-bzUxU0WeNA4=/fit-in/705x460/v2/https://resizing.flixster.com/-XZAfHZM39UwaGJIFWKAE8fS0ak=/v3/t/assets/p14614669_i_h8_aa.jpg
It is the combination of Rogers' hard to swallow screenplay and Gillespie's often maniacal direction that makes it hard to take anything that happens in this film seriously. We see Tonya's mother throw a steak knife into Tonya's arm for no reason and without remorse. After getting beaten mercilessly by Jeff, we scratch our heads and wonder why when she has a chance to get back to the Olympics, she says she can't do it without him, even though a few minutes earlier we had seen her calling cops and installing restraining orders. And because all of this is so hard to believe, it is also hard to believe that Tonya was completely clueless regarding the attach on Kerrigan and whatever you know about these events or how you feel about them, this film will probably not change them.
http://cdn.collider.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/i-tonya-margot-robbie-sebastian-stan.jpg
Margot Robbie finally gets a role that she can sink her teeth into and she runs with it. Robbie has not impressed as an actress prior to this, but she proved to be an actress of substance and I'm sure a strong assist from Gillespie had a lot to do with it. Janney is superb, as always, though the character is so unlikable it's hard to invest and Stan does a star making turn as Jeff. It's melodramatic and over the top, but it's never boring. And may I say I find the title a little pretentious? 3

Joel

01-28-18, 07:06 PM

I, Tonya just looks stupid, but thank you for enduring it, having a few painful laughs (?) and reviewing it.

Joel

01-28-18, 07:07 PM

I was actually talking about the inferences to an incestuous relationship between the two leading characters. I guess what's eyebrow-raising is in the eye of the beholder.

OK, that's in line with what I thought, too..the brother being a catalyst to bring it out into the open.

Gideon58

01-30-18, 10:05 PM

Lovely to Look At
One of MGM's nearly forgotten gems, 1952's Lovely to Look At is a splashy and sophisticated musical romp that provides just about everything that lovers of MGM musicals have come to expect from the famed Dream Factory.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d4/Lovely_to_look_at_---_film_poster.jpg/220px-Lovely_to_look_at_---_film_poster.jpg
Al (Red Skelton), Tony (Howard Keel), and Jerry (Gower Champion) are trying to raise money to produce a Broadway show when they learn that Al's Aunt Roberta has passed away and has left him half ownership of an elegant fashion house in Paris, so the three fly to Paris to sell their half of the shop so they can use it to invest in their show.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/a4jXDGAeQQg/hqdefault.jpg
Upon arriving in Gay Paree, Al is instantly smitten with Stephanie (Kathryn Grayson) the adopted daughter of Aunt Roberta who now runs the shop with her sister, Clarisse (Marge Champion). Though Al falls for Stephanie, she only has eyes for Tony, who, upon learning that Roberta's is having financial troubles, decides to save the shop by producing an elaborate fashion show/stage musical. Throw into the mix Tony's girlfriend Bubbles (Ann Miller) who follows our boys to Paris and you have all the ingredients for an MGM musical feast.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b8/c3/c4/b8c3c4730a7aff2fb9a8ccb15e7dec01.jpg
If this story sounds familiar, it's because this musical is a re-thinking of the Broadway musical Roberta, which originally came to the screen in 1935 with Irene Dunne, Fred Astaire, and Ginger Rogers. Of course, the screenplay by George Wells and Harry Ruby tweaks the original story by having our leading men be Broadway producers in order for MGM to tailor the film to their stable of talent, a lot of whom had worked together before this film and would work with each other after this one.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F02%2F05%2Fid5580923-0100.jpg&w=1200&q=75
This would be the second of three films that Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson made together, who once again prove that their screen and vocal chemistry was no accident. Their characters in this film are a little more sophisticated than I expected and both actors, Grayson in particular, get to stretch themselves as performers. Grayson even does a drunk scene, something I've never seen from her and she actually pulls it off and even if she didn't, whenever these two open their mouths to sing together, you forget anything wrong that's going on.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2vs5YJEC-aQ/UX7l-fQdUuI/AAAAAAAAGm8/5-hSh_DZ-zM/s1600/f4318f58.jpg
The other big sell is the iconic Jerome Kern score which includes Miller's solo "I'll Be Hard to Handle", Grayson's "Yesterdays", Keel and Grayson's fantasy rendition of the title tune and we get two different takes on perhaps the most famous song in the score, "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes"...there's a sultry vocal version by Grayson and a beautiful pas de deux danced by Marge and Gower Champion, a gifted dancing pair who could have been the next Astaire and Rogers.
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/4d/67/3c/4d673c47a308b22ec1b875ad81c56793--kathryn-grayson-howard-keel.jpg
Red Skelton proved to be a charming leading man and is only allowed a brief moment near the beginning of the final act to show glimpses of the future TV clown he would become. Ann Miller's role was kind of thankless though it was a nice change of pace to see her playing a character who wasn't dumb as a box of rocks. Must also give a shout out to classic movie costumer Adrian for the stunning fashions featured in the elaborate musical finale. Grayson, Keel, Miller, and Kurt Kazner would all reunite in Kiss Me Kate and if you liked that movie, you'll like this one too. 3.5

Gideon58

02-03-18, 04:19 PM

The Post
Arguably cinema's greatest storyteller, Steven Spielberg proves that he still knows how to bring compelling fact-based entertainment to the screen in The Post, an elaborately mounted docudrama that covers some prickly subject matter like the senselessness of war and the sanctity of the First Amendment.
https://www.myboca.us/ImageRepository/Document?documentID=31394
This almost epic story begins back in 1966 during the Vietnam War when a reporter named Daniel Ellsberg managed to get his hands on an enormous study of the justification of the war which would eventually become known as The Pentagon Papers, a study that revealed a cover-up by the federal government trying to legitimize U.S. involvement in wars that we had absolutely no chance of winning and still sending thousands of our soldiers over there to perhaps die in vain. Washington Post Editor-in-Chief Ben Bradlee and the the Post's publisher, Katherine Graham then find themselves in a battle of wills with the United States Government and with the New York Times when the opportunity to publish these papers in the Post becomes an option.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8CK9ononKrE/maxresdefault.jpg
More than anything, this film is a triumph for its director. Spielberg's clear mission in bringing this story to the screen is his combined respect and anger regarding the subject matter. There is a definite leaning in the way this story is told as the story definitely seems to be told with a bias toward The Washington Post and the shark-infested waters that they were swimming into here. The earth-shattering impact that these papers would have on everyone involved here are made clear through stylish directorial touches from Spielberg...from the reporter's initial meeting with Ellsberg and seeing the papers for the first time to him having the buy an extra plane ticket to transport the papers back to DC to the staffers trying to piece together the study with the papers spread all over Ben Bradlee's living room, we know that these papers are going to have an permanent effect on journalism and freedom of the press that will be hard to measure.
https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2017/12/21/08/tom-hanks-the-post.jpg?width=1200&height=1200&fit=crop
And though I didn't really understand why the papers were packaged out of order and that the Post staffers had to figure out what went with what, I found this to be one of the most entertaining aspects of the story. Watching the staffers' passion for what they had to do was made all the more ingratiating by the fact that their mission had a clock on it. And just when we thought that was enough, legal ramifications rear their ugly head that could put Bradlee and Graham in prison.
https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/171108110656-the-post-trailer-exlarge-169.jpg
I was also intrigued by Spielberg's take on these two central characters, especially Katherine Graham. I loved the power that this woman clearly had in a business that she had inherited from her father and husband and learned about it after it had fallen in her lap and what she didn't know, she depended on Bradlee to inform her whose passion for the paper is as deep as Katherine's. I love the final shot of the two of them in the press assembly room reveling in the glory of what they do. Also loved Spielberg's attention to period detail...the news footage of Walter Cronkite and Daniel Shorr...can't remember the last time I saw Daniel Shorr anywhere. The drama of deciding whether or not to publish while the publishing process was already underway totally worked thanks to some crackerjack editing.
http://garlandjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/the-post-dom-NOR_D30_071017_204253_204322_R_COMP_rgb1.jpg
And with all this, Spielberg managed to get some impressive performances out of his terrific cast. Streep's nicely understated work as Katherine Graham earned her an unprecedented 21st Oscar nomination and Hanks brings a humanity to Bradlee that Jason Robards didn't. Also have to give a shout out to Bruce Greenwood who does standout work as Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. But the actors serve the story, which is Spielberg's vision come to fruition. Needless to say, this film would make an interesting double bill with All the President's Men. 4

Gideon58

02-03-18, 06:13 PM

The Campaign
The 2012 comedy The Campaign isn't big on originality, but the film delivers laughs thanks to breezy direction and a terrific cast.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTY0NjI3MzM2Nl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNDgxNjA5Nw@@._V1_UY1200_CR90,0,630,1200_AL_.jpg
Will Ferrell stars as Cam Brady, a North Caroina congressman with a questionable moral compass who is running for his fifth unopposed term, but a pair of billionaire businessmen brothers (Dan Aykroyd, John Lithgow) persuade a local nerd named Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis) to run against the reprehensible Brady.
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2012/08/10/arts/10CAMPAIGN_SPAN/10CAMPAIGN-superJumbo.jpg
I didn't really realize it as I was watching it, but there's a lot of stuff in Chris Henchy and Shawn Harwell's screenplay that really walks the line of good taste. Yes, politicians do and say a lot of stupid things and this movie really brings that message home with a sledgehammer. At one point, we find the old stereotype of politicians kissing babies mangled beyond recognition to the point where we don't know if our jaws should be dropped in shock or should we be laughing until our sides hurt. I can't lie, I was laughing...I don't know what it was about this story, but I found myself laughing a lot more than this movie really deserved. I actually laughed when Cam Brady punched a baby in the face.
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2012/08/10/arts/10FERRELL1/0810FERRELLjp1-jumbo.jpg
Jay Roach (Meet the Parents) provides breezy direction and gets some solid performances from his cast. Will Ferrell completely invests in the idiotic character he is asked to portray here and proves that he can still bring the funny. Galifianakis is a charmer and I loved Aykroyd and Lithgow, whose characters reminded me so much of the Duke Brothers in Trading Places.
https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2012/08/06/df-18946cr_wide-c85cf18bca81f1d9d75b1d8bcbd885dc05af07ee.jpg
Katherine LaNasa was a refreshing casting choice as Cam's duplicitous wife and Jason Sudekis made the most of his relatively straight role as Brady's campaign manager. Kudos to Brian Cox too, very funny as Marty's father and Dylan McDermott as a slick spin master hired by the evil brothers. There are also cameos by Wolf Blitzer and Chris Matthews and the story pretty much goes where you expect it , but the manic journey to the conclusion does provide laughs. 3

Gideon58

02-04-18, 06:55 PM

The Shape of Water
It's a little bit science fiction, a little bit character study, a little bit love story, but the 2017 film The Shape of Water is definitely 100 % dazzling and original entertainment unlike anything I've ever seen and is the frontrunner for the Oscar for Best Picture and with good reason.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/A1ZXHdyJQUL.jpg
It's 1962 where we meet Elisa (Sally Hawkins), a mute housekeeper at an important research facility who actually develops a relationship with an amphibious creature who has brought to the facility by a military representative (Michael Shannon) for study and eventual destruction. There is also a Russian scientist (Michael Stuhlberg) who has been sent to the facility to destroy the creature but is trying to get out of the assignment because of the belief that this creature has intelligence and the ability to communicate with human beings. As Elisa becomes aware of what is going to happen to the creature, she makes it her mission to save him and finds allies in the Russian scientist, a lonely gay artist/neighbor (Richard Jenkins), and a co-worker of Elisa's (Octavia Spencer).
http://www.showbiz411.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/the-shape-of-water-sally-hawkins.jpg
Director and co-screenwriter Guillermo Del Toro has crafted a sometimes shocking and completely riveting story that takes a complete 180 from the direction to which it initially seems to be going. A film that initially seems to be a loving homage to science fiction films of the 50's turns out to be anything but as we watch a creature cast a spell over characters in the film that should be terrified of him. Del Toro puts us on the creature's side almost immediately by having the creature abused by the military and the researchers and by his not understanding what is happening to him. We are then thrilled when Elisa introduces the creature to the joys of hard boiled eggs and the love story of the year is born.
http://cdn.collider.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/the-shape-of-water-richard-jenkins-sally-hawkins.jpg
Del Toro's direction is detail-oriented as is his attention to period detail. The dark look the film has is appropriate for the story and Del Toro never forgets that the story is set in 1962 without beating us over the head with it. We get one scene of a diner employee asking a black couple to leave his establishment and we move back to the story at hand. And it goes without saying that Del Toro really scores in the creation of the two characters at the core of this story. Elisa is a lovely and loving character who makes everything shes feeling crystal clear without saying a word and watching the creature slowly beginning to relate and understand and eventually love her was an absolute joy to watch.
https://constantscribbles.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/the-shape-of-water.jpg?w=700
Sally Hawkins' Oscar-nominated performance as Elisa is luminous and Michael Shanning is nothing short of bone-chilling producing one of the best cinematic villains I've seen in a while...hissable but three-dimensional and Richard Jenkins steals every scene he's in, a performance that earned him a supporting nomination. The film has a gloriously gothic look and features spectacular art direction/set (loved the Cadillac showroom), editing, sound, and an absolutely fabulous musical score that ran the gamut from genres to time periods. This film was like nothing I've ever seen and the finale had me grinning from ear to ear and wiping tears from my eyes. 4.5

Joel

02-04-18, 08:57 PM

http://www.magiclanternfilmsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/BigNight.jpeg
Tucci co-wrote and directed this gem with actor Campbell Scott, who also appears briefly as a slick-talking used car salesman and Tucci and Scott's one scene together is a standou3.5

Nice review. I like Campbell Scott in everything I've seen him in. My favorite is Roger Dodger. He inhabits a POS really well.

Gideon58

02-05-18, 09:59 AM

I've noticed that you've been exploring my review thread, Joel...it's flattering to still get reps on stuff I wrote years ago, thanks a lot.

Citizen Rules

02-05-18, 12:53 PM

I'm going to watch both The Post and The Shape of Water as soon as they are available on DVD. Glad to see you think highly of both of them.

Joel

02-05-18, 01:21 PM

You and Citizen are among my favorite reviewers. Red Triangle reviews are fun, too. He's the YTYD gent, here on the forum.

Gideon58

02-05-18, 06:12 PM

I'm going to watch both The Post and The Shape of Water as soon as they are available on DVD. Glad to see you think highly of both of them.

I have seen five of the nine films nominated for Best Picture so far and right now my vote is for The Shape of Water.

Gideon58

02-10-18, 05:32 PM

Phantom Thread
Paul Thomas Anderson enters a bold new phase of his artistry with a 2017 confection called Phantom Thread which has earned an Oscar nomination for Best Picture and could win Daniel Day-Lewis an unprecedented fourth Oscar for Outstanding Lead Actor.
https://cuindependent.com/new/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Phantom-Thread-movie.jpg
This film is nothing like anything Anderson has ever done but everything works here. Daniel Day Lewis plays Reynolds Woodcock, a dress designer in 1950's London who finds himself attracted to a waitress named Alma (Vicky Krieps) who quickly becomes his muse and lover much to the consternation of his fiercely loyal assistant, Cyril (Lesley Manville).
https://media.vanityfair.com/photos/5a39200a8ae8fd2b3a999c47/1:1/w_865,h_865,c_limit/Phantom-Thread-Review-Lawson.jpg
Anderson, the man behind contemporary dramas like Boogie Nights and Magnolia has never really been known for traditional period pieces, but this initial effort does not indicate that in any way. This is an exquisitely mounted romantic drama and character study that looks at love and obsession and its effect on artistic temperament. Despite all of the elegant trappings provided here, the most fascinating aspect of this movie is the three central characters that Anderson created for this story.
http://www.indiewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/2017_1023_gq_phantomthread.jpg
Woodcock is an artist, first and foremost, and there is nothing more important than his work as a designer and his process, which Cyril understands but Alma does not. The tension between Alma and Cyril sizzles from the beginning as we try to see Alma change something she can't possibly change but is not deterred in her mission to do so nevertheless. Every time the three characters sit down at the dinner table to share a meal you can cut the tension with a knife. The constant battle for Alma to make Reynolds her own is the seemingly futile through line that keeps this story humming.
https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/phantom-thread1.jpg
The backstory seems a little rushed...we see Reynolds involved with another model at the beginning of the movie who disappears with no explanation and we get absolutely know hint about Alma's life before meeting Reynolds, which initially bothered me but I found the main story so compelling that I was eventually able to let this go.
http://cdn.collider.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/phantom-thread-movie-image.jpg
The film features handsome production values especially cinematography, some lovely costumes, and a lush musical score that help to make this basically simple story all the more inviting. Daniel Day-Lewis gives a quietly brilliant performance as Woodcock, a rich performance where the actor effectively displays a gamut of emotions without any histrionics. The character actually only raises his voice in one scene and the actor completely invests in a clearly unsympathetic character. There's a terrific moment where his head is lowered and he looks around the room without raising his head, using his eyes only. Kriegs is charming as Alma and Manville is nothing short of spectacular with her beautifully internalized Cyril, a character who works diligently at not letting anyone know her exact feelings about anything. This film is a triumph for its writer and director who might have a shot at the Oscar that has alluded him. 4

Gideon58

02-11-18, 05:08 PM

Battle of the Sexes
Battle of the Sexes, the 2017 docudrama that revolves around the people and events that led to the historical tennis match between the number one women's player of the 1970's Billie Jean King and former tennis great renowned sexist loudmouth Bobby Riggs provides some entertainment value, but suffers due to a preachy screenplay and an air of "who cares" that surrounds everything being presented.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SIx6-aMViMw/movieposter.jpg
The film opens in 1972 when Billie Jean King, fresh off winning the world's championship, learns that the Women's Tennis Association is planning a tournament where the male participants are being paid eight times more than the female players. This motivates King, Rosie Casals, and several other women tennis pros to walk and form their own association with financial backing from the Virginia Slims cigarette company.
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/09/21/movies/BATTLE-ANATOMY1/BATTLE-ANATOMY1-superJumbo-v2.jpg
Bobby Riggs' best days as a player are over and he has now become a professional gambler/hustler who has no problem telling anyone who will listen that women belong in the kitchen and the bedroom, but not on a tennis court. His life has been reduced to gamblers' anonymous meetings and half-heartedley working to keeping his wife from leaving him since she is his meal ticket. Bobby approaches King about an exhibition match but rescinds the offer when Margaret Court usurps Billie as #1, so Bobby offers the match to Court who accepts. Bobby wins $35000 when he actually beats Court and then offers to play King on ABC television for $100,000.
http://s3.amazonaws.com/threadsmagazine.s3.tauntoncloud.com/app/uploads/2017/10/10220138/image-e00a3487-8855-46e1-90b2-fa32261bb393%5B1%5D-thumb16x9.jpg
For those too young to remember this event, the match between King and Riggs garnered OJ-like publicity and became a major platform for the Women's Liberation movement that flourished during the 70's, a movement where women were demanding equal treatment to men in all forms of life. The world was all about men and women being treated equal at this time and Simon Beaufoy's preachy screenplay drives this home with a sledgehammer which is why I felt like everything here was dated and unimportant. I can't even remember the last time I even heard the phrase "Women's Lib", but it is the underlying theme of the historic events presented here and as important as they are, for a 2017 movie, it grows tiresome.
https://www.autostraddle.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/battle-sexes.jpg
I do think it is important that young women of today become acquainted with the events that happened here because most of them have no idea how what happened between King and Riggs affected the campaign for women's rights and the lives they have now.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcREfBttXWm3n44mZesamFjt6u_VzMs8v1zHOA&s
The film must be credited for solid attention to period detail...I was impressed with the editing of Natalie Morales' Rosie Casals into actual footage of Howard Cosell's actual commentary on the match. The story becomes simplistic and melodramatic as it progresses where all the women become saints and all men become sexist pigs. I also suspect that Billie Jean's sexual encounter with a female hairdresser might have been glossed over a bit to make the story more digestible.
https://pixel.nymag.com/imgs/fashion/daily/2017/09/28/28-battle-of-the-sexes.w710.h473.2x.jpg
Emma Stone works very hard at being a convincing Billie Jean King, but I found her a little too girly for the role and found it a disappointing follow-up to her Oscar-winning performance in La La Land. Steve Carell was absolute perfection as Bobby Riggs though and I liked Morales as Rosie Casals. I also have to mention a classy turn by Elisabeth Shue as Bobby's wife. The film has an authentic 70's feel to it, but these events are a little dated and might have been more suited to a TV movie, but it was never boring. 3

Gideon58

02-11-18, 07:20 PM

Shall We Dance? (1937)
The seventh onscreen teaming of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Shall We Dance does provide entertainment, but is one of their lesser efforts because it falls short on the primary reason we watch an Astaire/Rogers musical.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/95/Shall_We_Dance_poster.jpg/225px-Shall_We_Dance_poster.jpg
Astaire plays Peter P. Peters, a ballet dancer who is the lead dancer in a ballet company and dances under the stage name of Petrov who is performing in Paris at the same time as Linda Keene (Rogers), a musical comedy star who Peter has been crushing on for years. When Peter learns Linda is going back to America on the Queen Ann, he books passage on the same ship but before he leaves he runs into Lady Tarrington (Ketti Gallien) a former dancer in Pete's company who still wants him. To get rid of her, he tells Lady Tarrington that he and Linda are already married but word of the ruse gets out, complicating the lives of Peter and Linda beyond recognition.
https://www.arsenal-berlin.de/assets/_processed_/5/8/csm_web_Swing-Time-03_9f28605ab3.jpg
This film contains just about everything you expect from an Astaire/Rogers musical, including the overly complicated plot that gets in the way of the musical numbers, which are really why we're here and there are some terrific numbers here but I had the same problem with this film that I had with the Elizabeth Taylor-Richard Burton drama The VIPS...there wasn't enough of Fred and Ginger together in this movie. When I watch an Astaire/Rogers musical, I want to see them dance together and not counting their brief pairing during the finale, the pair only danced together twice in this film.
http://www.doctormacro.com/Images/Astaire,%20Fred/Annex/NRFPT/Annex%20-%20Astaire,%20Fred%20(Shall%20We%20Dance)_NRFPT_04.jpg
Fred and Ginger did make the most of their two numbers together..."Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" was an energetic duet on roller skates that was a delight and they strutted their stuff after Ginger's "They all Laughed" as well. The most famous song in the score, "They Can't Take that Away from Me" was well sung by Fred but they didn't even dance. Fred and Ginger would utilize the number again a dozen years later in their final film together The Barkleys of Broadway.
http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/5500000/Fred-in-Shall-We-Dance-fred-astaire-5556997-720-480.jpg
Mark Sandrich's breezy direction does help to keep a somewhat talky story moving to a musical finale that is well staged but goes on way too long. Edward Everett Horton, Jerome Cowan, and Eric Blore are a fun supporting cast, but this film didn't have enough of what we expect in a Fred and Ginger musical...Fred and Ginger dancing together! 3

Gideon58

02-13-18, 01:05 PM

Artists and Models (1955)
Despite an overly complex screenplay, Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin deliver solid entertainment with a splashy romp from 1955 called Artists and Models that finds the comic duo at the height of their popularity doing what they do best.
http://www.doctormacro.com/Images/Posters/A/Poster%20-%20Artists%20and%20Models%20(1955)_02.jpg
Lewis plays Eugene Fullstack, a nerdy wanna-be writer who is obsessed with Bat Lady comic books to the point of him having very elaborate nightmares. Martin is Rick Todd, his best friend, a wanna be artist who is going through a a creative dry spell. Rick and Eugene are thrown for a loop when Abigail Parker (Dorothy Malone), the illustrator of the Bat Lady comics and her roommate Bessie (Shirley MacLaine) who is the model for Bat Lady, move into their apartment building.
https://i0.wp.com/rarefilm.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Artists-and-Models-1955-3.jpg
The plot thickens as Rick begins using Eugene's nightmares as inspiration for his art while pursuing a romance with Abigail. Bessie finds herself crushing on Eugene who only seems to notice her when she has her Bat Lady costume on.
https://filmfanatic.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Artists-and-Models-Gabor.png
Herbert Baker's screenplay, based on a play by Michael Davidson, has clearly been tailored to the talent of the stars, even though it gets overly complicated as the film progresses. What starts out as a simple story about the romance between a quartet of aspiring artists balloons into a somewhat over the top tale that touches upon the way comic books are rotting children's brains and how Eugene's dreams end up being linked to government secrets and formulas that threaten national safety and bring the FBI into the story.
http://rarefilm.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Artists-and-Models-1955-1.jpg
Despite a story that begins to stretch credibility during the second half, director Frank Tashlin never forgets who he's working with and provides plenty of opportunities for this iconic screen team to do what they do best. Lewis again proves to be a master of physical comedy with several funny scenes, with his running up and down the stairs to communicate messages between Rick and a publisher and a very funny scene in a massage parlor that reminded me of the classic crowded stateroom scene in A Night at the Opera, as standouts.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_EJiNI3bj4k/ULS2ZGidIHI/AAAAAAAARPQ/l7TxNotjsUo/s1600/artistsandmodels19.png
Jack Brooks and Harry warren provide some great songs tailored to the stars including a duet for the boys called "When You Pretend", a love song for Dino called "You Look So Familiar" and a production number called "The Lucky Song" which features a tap dancing Dean and some adorable kids. There's also a song called "Innamorata" that starts out as a love song for Martin and turns into a comic tour-de-force for MacLaine.
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/75/01/b6/7501b65b2b45e91071ddcdbe7eebbfb0--shirley-maclaine-bats.jpg
As always Dean and Jerry are a well-oiled machine, Malone is lovely leading lady with a gift for light comedy, and MacLaine steals every scene she is in showing the beginning of the comic movie icon she would later become. Eddie Mayehoff has some funny moments as the publisher as does Kathleen Freeman as the boys' landlady. The film also offers glimpses of future stars like Eva Gabor and Anita Ekberg. This is fun and frantic entertainment that will not disappoint fans of the stars. 3.5

Gideon58

02-13-18, 05:14 PM

The Disaster Artist
An intense and unapologetic Oscar-worthy performance by James Franco is the centerpiece of an offbeat biopic called The Disaster Artist, an offbeat but never boring look at eccentric filmmaker Tommy Wiseau.
http://anygoodfilms.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/the-disaster-artist-poster.jpg
In my review of Big Eyes, I mentioned how I enjoy watching films about real people where I know nothing about the subject because it allows me to judge the film purely on its entertainment value and that was the case here.
https://pixel.nymag.com/imgs/daily/vulture/2017/09/12/12-the-disaster-artist-trailer.w600.h315.2x.jpg
The film opens in late 1990's San Francisco where we meet Tommy in an acting class where he frightens most of the class with his interpretation of Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire, but catches the eye of a pretty but mediocre young actor named Greg (Dave Franco) who asks Tommy to do a scene with him, morphing into a bizarre friendship that finds the struggling actors moving from San Francisco to Los Angeles where after getting nowhere as an actor, Tommy decides to write and direct his own movie, an oddity called The Room and use Greg as his star.
https://www.musicboxtheatre.com/sites/default/files/styles/page_images/public/thedisasterartist2.jpg?itok=vvkFqzSW
This is a Hollywood biopic that, like Ed Wood, earns its credentials by focusing on someone who wasn't exactly considered a star or any kind of innovator in the business. I had to admit that prior to watching this film, I had never heard of Wiseau and checking his IMDB page revealed that I knew nothing of his work either; however this film definitely piqued my curiosity about the man that is due mostly to an intelligent and witty screenplay that takes some pretty accurate potshots at Hollywood and Franco's unhinged interpretation of this unique movie character who happens to be based on a real person.
https://i.redd.it/0uxhj64xzglz.png
Tommy speaks with one of those fake-sounding "Mittle-European" accents that we're all familiar with but he in complete denial about. He loves making a public spectacle of himself and throwing furniture around. It is also revealed that Tommy is quite wealthy though he remains mum on the source of said wealth, documented by the scene where he goes to a movie equipment company to rent movie equipment but insists on buying it, which is the beginning of his overspending to the point that he has to stop paying for air conditioning on the boiling hot set of his film.
https://weliveentertainment.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/disaster-artist-4.jpg
The film's razor sharp screenplay has received an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay and I have to wonder how Franco was overlooked in the Best Actor category because this performance has power and pathos, producing equal doses of laughter and lumps in the throat. Dave Franco somehow manages to hold his own against his brother and there are interesting contributions along the way from Seth Rogen, Megan Mullally, Melanie Griffith, Sharon Stone (unrecognizable as the head of a modeling agency), Allison Brie, and Zac Efron. And anyone wondering about the authenticity of the facts presented here will probably have their doubts put to rest during the must-see closing credits. A very special look at a very special motion picture artist. 4

Gideon58

02-13-18, 10:26 PM

The Boyfriend
The endlessly imaginative directorial style of Ken Russell anchors his 1971 film version of a Broadway musical called The Boyfriend, which Russell turns into an affectionate valentine to 1930's Busby Berkley musicals.
https://filmartgallery.com/cdn/shop/products/the-boy-friend-the-boyfriend-vintage-movie-poster-original-half-sheet-22x28-7504_1024x1024.jpg?v=1665727281
This film takes place during the performance of a stage musical at a second rate theater in the English countryside where we are introduced to Polly, the assistant stage manager for the show who is asked to fill in for the leading lady when she sprains her ankle. She takes her reluctant place onstage playing the lead in a musical about a young girl in a finishing school who falls in love with a handsome messenger named Tony. Polly is smitten with Tony offstage as well but it's a much more complicated matter offstage.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/75/c3/4d/75c34de79ba6ea9d151491b443a76592.jpg
The Sandy Wilson musical actually hit the British stage for the first time in 1932 but didn't come to Broadway until 1954 with Julie Andrews taking her first major role on Broadway as Polly. The show was revived in 1970 with Judy Carne playing Polly, but Russell decided that the show was a little too antiseptic to bring to the screen in its original form. Russell altered the screenplay so that the original musical becomes a play within the movie, performed by actors, who are now essentially playing one set of characters onstage and another off. We have seen this before in musicals like Kiss me Kate, but Russell takes it to another level, using Sandy Wilson's original score as the basic blueprint for some lavish and elaborate production numbers, some stay on the stage and some move seamlessly into the era of fantasy that we accept happily because, after all, it is a musical.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ucsrgl5Ek5I/TcPgnq_bztI/AAAAAAAAA-8/wu2gRBR83SM/s1600/The+Boy+Friend+balcony.JPG
Russell also does a splendid job of setting up the atmosphere backstage during this story...the various rivals among cast members, the musicians who take control of the show when they're not supposed to, the hair and makeup people made responsible for miracles they can't always pull off and much more. There's one terrific shot from backstage of a scene being performed on one side of a curtain while half a dozen actors are in the middle of a frantic costume change on the other side. If you've ever done community theater, you'll be right at home here.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/94Ai_wDkdlo/maxresdefault.jpg
The slightly altered Sandy Wilson score includes "Perfect Young Ladies", "Sur Le Plage", "Fancy Forgetting", "Won't You Charleston with Me?", "I Could Be Happy with You", "It's Never too Late to Fall in Love", and the title tune.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-arWdL08FaG8/TcRSvxhGlnI/AAAAAAAAA_o/gf1yueMwi0s/s1600/The+Boy+Friend+Golf.JPG
Leading man Christopher Gable, with the aid of director Russell provided the incredible Busby Berkeley like staging of the musical numbers, The lavish production design belies the fact that this theater is supposed to be kind of run down, but it's a bit of a nitpick. 60's model Twiggy makes a charming film debut as Polly and the film also features a brief appearance from dancer Tommy Tune, who would later win two Tony awards for directing and choreographing the Broadway musical NINE. There's also a stylish cameo from Oscar winner Glenda Jackson as the bitchy star with the sprained ankle. Musical lovers will be in heaven here, especially lovers of the 1975 musical Tommy. 3.5

Citizen Rules

02-13-18, 10:28 PM

The Boyfriend
The endlessly imaginative directorial style of Ken Russell anchors his 1971 film version of a Broadway musical called The Boyfriend, which Russell turns into an affectionate valentine to 1930's Busby Berkley musicals.

There's also a stylish cameo from Oscar winner Glenda Jackson as the bitchy star with the sprained ankle. Musical lovers will be in heaven here, especially lovers of the 1975 musical Tommy. rating_3_5 I haven't heard of this one, but if it's an ode to Busby Berkeley then it sounds like something I would like to see. Adding it to my watch list.

Gideon58

02-13-18, 10:30 PM

You would LOVE this movie Citizen.

Gideon58

02-15-18, 09:41 PM

The Hero
Brett Haley, the creative force behind Blythe Danner's sleeper I'll See You in My Dreams has similar success with a 2017 character study called The Hero that definitely has its problems, but is well worth your time due to a powerful and charismatic performance from its leading man, one of the most underrated actors in the business.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51Hs53ds4FL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg
Sam Elliott commands the movie screen as Lee Hayden, a former star of movie westerns who is scraping by doing voice-overs for commercials (of course, it's Sam Elliott) who as the story begins, also learns that he has cancer. Lee is perplexed when a speech he gave after accepting an award goes viral and is equally perplexed by a struggling stand up comedienne (Laura Prepon), decades younger than he is, who pursues a relationship with him.
https://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/review/primary_image/reviews/the-hero-2017/hero_Hero-2017.jpg
I'm not going to lie, there's nothing terribly original here in terms of storytelling, we have seen the things that go on this movie elsewhere, but what makes this movie so special is that the criminally underrated Sam Elliott is center stage. This is an actor who started out in films as a romantic leading man (Lifeguard) but eventually morphed into one of our most durable and versatile character actors. Unfortunately, he is usually on the periphery of the story but the same way he did with Blythe Danner, Haley gave this gifted actor, who is more than just an amazing voice, the chance to prove that he has the acting chops to carry a full length motion picture.
https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/rs-the-hero-1f4ef832-6e7c-485a-9238-2b5a7381046f.jpg?w=1500&h=844&crop=1
As I said, the story isn't terribly original, as a matter of fact this movie reminded me of The Wrestler with Mickey Roarke...someone who used to be at the top of his game in denial about the downslide of his career and trying to retrieve the things he gave up along the way. There's a scene in this movie that Lee has with his daughter (Krysten Ritter) that is almost identical to a scene that Roarke had with Evan Rachel Wood in 2008, but the comparison didn't bother me because this movie affected me the same way The Wrestler did...it broke my heart. The scene where Lee is rehearsing for an audition with his drug dealing BFF (Nick Offerman) actually brought tears to my eyes.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNTVjNzYzODMtN2EyOC00YTRhLWI3OWYtZjU5MWVmNWZhYWY3XkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_QL75_UX480_.jpg
Prepon proves to be an actress of substance, Offerman offered some funny moments as well and there was the obligatory cameo by Elliott's wife Katherine Ross, but honestly, this was the Sam Elliott Show and if anyone else had been starring in this movie, I would have taken a popcorn bag and half off my rating. Thank goodness I don't have to do that. Treat yourself to this indie sleeper. 3.5

Citizen Rules

02-15-18, 09:48 PM

Gideon58

02-16-18, 09:58 AM

I watched both movies based on your reviews Citizen.

Gideon58

02-17-18, 02:28 PM

Dunkirk
Christopher Nolan has received his first Oscar nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Direction for 2017's Dunkirk, an uncompromising and often heart-stopping epic that looks at a very specific WWII battle but addresses several universal themes regarding the senselessness and absurdity of war from multiple points of view and putting a very human face on war in the process.
http://thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Screen-Shot-2017-07-20-at-2.48.26-PM-998x661.png
I should begin by saying this review is coming from someone who hates war movies as a rule. This review is coming from someone who was bored to death by Saving Private Ryan but found this film to be a riveting cinematic journey that had me on the edge of my seat, holding my breath, and often wanting to turn away from the screen, bur never wanting to turn it off.
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/07/21/arts/21DUNKIRK/21DUNKIRK-master768.jpg
This film is an up close and surprisingly personal look at allied soldiers from Britain, France, and Belgium who survive the merciless German attacks at the beach of Dunkirk, a seemingly impossible mission told from three basic angles. We watch this battle being fought from land, sea, and air through the eyes of these amazing soldiers who bend together for this war effort and put everything else aside when what they have become involved in stops becoming a mission of victory but just a matter of survival.
https://i.redd.it/49uk0nvnsh071.jpg
This Best Picture nominee enveloped me from the beginning with its look at this historic battle from these three points of view. My minimal exposure to war movies usually are told from the land or from the sea or from the air but we get a balanced and suspenseful look at all three through Nolan's incisive camera eye. Nolan not only addresses the unity that this war cultivates, but also the fact that it is not written in stone. I was surprised to see the concept of allies being challenged at every turn...there is a scene in the beginning where French soldiers are refused solace on a ship reserved for British soldiers only.
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/51b3dc8ee4b051b96ceb10de/t/58e52623725e25bcd425de9e/1491412522448/
The look at the civilian effort that was involved here was also an eye-opener. One of the most compelling parts of this story focuses on an older gentleman who clearly had a military background who leases his fishing vessel to the Navy but impulsively takes the boat to the water himself, accompanied by two teenage boys. His confrontation with a shell shocked soldier rescued from atop a piece of a plane in the middle of the ocean is quite compelling. His terror at returning to Dunkirk was palpable and frightening.
https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/dunkirk-review.jpg?w=1000
This film also brought home the fact that there was no safety in this conflict. Sometime the only safe places for soldiers here was floating in the ocean letting life jackets keep them afloat. As for the air, a sequence of a pilot being shot down and the speed with which His cockpit filled with water had me holding my breath.
http://www.indiewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/screen-shot-2017-05-05-at-12-40-00-pm1.png?w=780
In addition to Best Picture and Director, the film has received six other nominations and I wouldn't be surprised if the film swept most of the technical categories. The film features superb cinematography (the shots of the ocean are breathtaking, not to mention when water and fire dangerously merge), editing, sound, and Hans Zimmer's heart pumping music beautifully frames the story. The actors serve the story with standout work from Kenneth Branaugh as a sensitive Navy admiral and Tom Hardy (Bane in The Dark Knight Rise) as a pilot. A one of a kind war movie not to be missed. 4.5

Citizen Rules

02-17-18, 02:52 PM

Dunkirk
Christopher Nolan has received his first Oscar nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Direction for 2017's Dunkirk... Dunkirk is so far the only Best Picture Oscar nomination that I've seen. I think you liked it more than me. I do want to see the other Best Picture nominations so I can compare them. Have you seen them all?

Gideon58

02-17-18, 03:31 PM

I've seen seven out of nine now...I haven't seen Call Me By Your Name or The Darkest Hour yet.

Gideon58

02-17-18, 05:28 PM

How to Murder Your Wife
Despite a problematic screenplay, the 1965 How to Murder Your wife still provides laughs thanks primarily to the professionalism of the cast, even if it goes on a little too long.
https://scopophiliamovieblog.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/how-to-murder-your-wife.jpg
This allegedly sophisticated battle of the sexes stars Jack Lemmon as Stanley Ford, the illustrator of a nationally syndicated comic strip called Bash Brannigan and confirmed bachelor who goes to a bachelor party one night and gets very drunk. When Stanley wakes up the next morning, he is distressed to learn that during his drunken stupor, he married the non-English-speaking Italian beauty (Virna Lisi) who jumped out of the cake.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C4MjWLDScrs/TixXpoBCYvI/AAAAAAAAAJg/mbnhuOsWhss/s1600/How_To_Murder_Your_Wife_Terry_Thomas_Jack_Lemmon_Virna_Lisi.jpg
George Axelrod, who also wrote the screenplay for The Seven Year Itch provides a somewhat confusing story that leaves a little too much unexplained I did like the fact that Stanley remembered exactly what happened the morning after the party. It is never made clear why Stanley decides to incorporate his wife into his comic strip and change it completely even though he seems miserable being married and his devoted manservant, Charles (Terry-Thomas) walks out on him. I had a hard time believing how quickly the new Mrs. Ford began learning English and the rules of marriage so quickly. And most confusing of all, fed up with a final invasion of his manhood/privacy, he decides to kill his wife in the comic strip and is then shocked when she really disappears and he's the first suspect.
https://ghostof82.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/how2d.jpg?w=640
I did find myself laughing through a great deal of this movie and put my questions about the story and its antiquated views on love and marriage on the back burner and enjoyed a cast that seemed to be enjoying themselves. Lemmon is a complete charmer as Stanley, even though I kept thinking Dean Martin might have been a better fit for the role. There are a pair of razor sharp supporting performances from Eddie Mayerhoff as Stanley's lawyer and BFF and the fabulous Claire Trevor as his wife, who helps the new Mrs. Ford adjust to married wife. And needless to say, Lisi is a breathtaking bride
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HY8MV0ThtyU/T9avITcCcLI/AAAAAAAAAQs/vr73IuCrZRw/s1600/how-to-murder-your-wife-5.jpg
Richard Quine, who also directed the 1958 classic Bell Book and Candle provides a similar breezy direction to this tale, which includes some first rate production values, especially set design (Stanley's townhouse is awesome) and Neil Hefti's zingy music. The screenplay definitely could have used some maintenance but Lemmon is always watchable and this comedy that is over half a century old held up a lot better than I thought it would. 3

Gideon58

02-18-18, 05:18 PM

Call Me By Your Name
2017's Call Me By Your Name is a sophisticated and luminous coming of age drama that, thanks to stylish direction and a pair of charismatics lead performances, managed to capture Oscar nominations for Best Picture and a Best Actor nomination for its 22-year old star.
https://atwoodmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Call-Me-By-Your-Name-Header.jpg
This story takes place in Italy in the summer of 1983. Elio is an intelligent and compassionate 17 year old who loves to read and play piano. He is the son of a professor of Greco-Roman culture whose life is changed forever with the arrival of Oliver, his father's research assistant who has come to stay with Elio and his family for the summer. As hard he he tries to understand it, then fight it, Elio cannot deny his attraction to Oliver which is surprisingly reciprocated.
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/11/24/arts/24callmeby-web2/24callmeby-web2-master768.jpg
James Ivory's Oscar-nominated screenplay, based on a novel by Andre Aciman, is to be applauded not only for its tasteful approach to the subject matter that could have come off as exploitative, but by absolutely nailing what Elio is going through. The most entertaining aspect of this story was the first third showing this restless teen going through typical teen growing pains, including the beginning of a relationship with a girl named Marzia, which only further complicates Elio's inability to stop thinking about OIiver and always wanting to be around him and having no idea why.
https://cdn.theatlantic.com/thumbor/36Y05x25G1iY5mvJWykODbO1TJc=/49x8:1146x625/960x540/media/img/mt/2017/12/MV5BYTcyMmI3ZjYtYzBjZi00NWQyLWI2ZTUtNzcyMDQ1YmE0Yjc2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzI5NjA1NzE._V1_/original.jpg
This story establishes a chemistry between the character of Elio and Oliver that puts us behind what is happening between them, despite the fact that Oliver is clearly SEVERAL years older than Elio, making what is happening between them look inappropriate on the surface. Unfortunately, the inappropriateness of the relationship becomes moot because the age difference is just the beginning of the issues that are going to challenge these two, primarily the fact neither character is actually gay.
https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1000/1*4fTTlb3TWub3cJUSYlRQ1A.jpeg
Where this film really scores is in the sharp directorial eye of Luca Guadagnino, who allows his camera to tell the story and project a lot of feelings going on between the characters without any dialogue at all. So much of this story requires the viewer to read the faces of the characters and that is only possible through very specific direction that gives an air of ambivalence to certain parts of the story that should actually be that way. And the reveal of the meaning of the title of the film absolutely melted by heart.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7Ap3sA0JqF8/maxresdefault.jpg
Guadagnino works wonders with his cast, especially Timothee Chalamet whose smart and charismatic performance as Elio lights up the screen and earned the young actor (who is also in another Oscar nominated film this year, Lady Bird) an Oscar Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor. Armie Hammer is undeniably sexy as Oliver and I also loved Michael Stuhlberg as Elio's dad. The film also features stunning Italian scenery and the most gorgeous score of classical piano music ever. A lovely and transcendent cinematic journey that definitely had me fighting tears during the final act. Needless to say, Brokeback Mountain fans will have a head start here. 4

Gideon58

02-18-18, 07:24 PM

Bachelor in Paradise (1961)
Bob Hope fans will not be disappointed with a sophisticated romp from 1961 called Bachelor in Paradise that combines classic Hope one-liners with a clever story and a terrific supporting cast.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8b/Bachelor-in-paradise.jpg/220px-Bachelor-in-paradise.jpg
Hope plays AJ Niles, the author of a series of books on bachelor living abroad who finds himself in hot water with the IRS thanks to his crooked business manager. He is ordered back to the states and is forced to live in a suburban community called Paradise Cove, under an alias, where his presence as a bachelor in a community of marriage and family has a profound effect on the entire town, especially the frosty real estate agent (Lana Turner) who rents Niles his house.
http://c8.alamy.com/comp/BPB6P8/bob-hope-paula-prentiss-virginia-grey-bachelor-in-paradise-1961-BPB6P8.jpg
Valentine Davies and Hal Kanter have provided a screenplay that is a clever skewering of the Battle of Sexes combined with just enough Hope one-liners that this story seems to fit him like a glove, even though on the surface the story seems more suited to someone like Cary Crant or Dean Martin, but the smooth direction by Jack Arnold helps the screenwriter work for the star. And needless to say, the constant wordplay on the term "Paradise" became silly very quickly.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hOJ6dbFApWI/UFMmOHZFtDI/AAAAAAAAAX0/8b1vjSBMzkU/s1600/P1010153.JPG
Even though this was during a latter phase in his career, Hope still proves to be quite adept at physical comedy with a scene at the supermarket and an encounter with an overloaded washing machine being a highlight. But the most pleasant surprise for me in this movie was Lana Turner...one reason I wanted to see this movie was my curiosity if Hope and Lana would have any chemistry and I'm happy to report that they did. Turner displays a gift for light comedy that I have rarely seen displayed before (Ziegfeld Girl comes close).
https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Jvgwkrtd67k/UFtPMwnFpXI/AAAAAAAALRg/8Ywf1zZKMUQ/s1600/bachelorinparadise3.jpg
The leads receive solid support from a veteran comedy cast including Jim Hutton, Paul Prentiss, John McGiver, Reta Shaw, Virginia Grey, Don Porter, and the fabulous Janis Paige, doing her accustomed brassy turn as a soon to be divorcee. There's also a fun cameo by Agnes Moorhead as a judge. Even non-Hope fans might find something to enjoy here. Another 60's comedy that holds up pretty well. 3.5

Gideon58

02-20-18, 09:48 PM

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Before winning an Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club, Matthew McConaughey was methodically destroying his career with films like 2009's Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, a clever idea that gets lost in a cliche-ridden screenplay and some really unappealing characters.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91Cin9hgctL._SL1500_.jpg
In this contemporary re-thinking of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, McConaughey plays Connor Mead, a womanizing fashion photographer who travels to his brother's wedding hoping he can stop him from making a terrible mistake. After the rehearsal, Connor is visited by three ghosts who are going to show him the error of his ways, which include the possibility of a second chance with the girl who got away (Jennifer Garner) who just happens to be the maid of honor.
http://cdn.collider.com/wp-content/image-base/Movies/G/Ghosts_of_Girlfriends_Past/Ghosts%20of%20Girlfriends%20Past%20movie%20slice.jpg
With the dozens of versions of Dickens' original story out there, a genuine re-thinking of the story was a good idea, but the screenplay by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, who wrote The Hangover is just a little too antiseptic and full of cloyingly sweet sentiment that I felt like I needed an insulin shot at the end of the movie. The ghost of Connor's Uncle Wayne (Michael Douglas) talks like he's in a Damon Runyan story rather than Dickens and Connor and his brother actually describe their relationship as "you and me against the world"...seriously?
https://m.aceshowbiz.com/webimages/still/ghosts_of_girlfriends_past36.jpg
The screenplay becomes more problematic because the characters presented here are just not very likable. Of course, Connor is a jerk, but he's not the only one. Garner's Jenny is an icy bitch who is full of herself and the reveal of why she and Connor broke up did not add to her appeal and the bride to be (Lacy Chabert) is a hysterical shrew who needs to up her meds. Emma Stone plays the first ghost that visits Connor, who is revealed to be the first girl Conner ever had sex with and I have never found Stone more annoying onscreen. The only likable character in the movie is Connor's brother, charmingly played by Breckin Meyer, but his screentime is sadly limited.
https://static.standard.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2012/01/03/09/ghosts-girlfriends-243x162.jpg?w968h681
Mark Waters, who directed 500 Days of Summer, does employ some fantasy touches in his vision of the story but most of them come off as kind of contrived and silly. This is definitely another one of those really good ideas on paper that lost something in its translation to the big screen. 2

Citizen Rules

02-20-18, 10:26 PM

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91Cin9hgctL._SL1500_.jpg
rating_2 Sounds horrible just from the DVD cover. I think I'll pass on that one.

Gideon58

02-21-18, 09:58 AM

Yeah, it was pretty bad...it was a nice idea, but it just didn't work.

Gideon58

02-22-18, 09:40 PM

Born Yesterday (1950)
One of Oscar's biggest upsets was when Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, Gloria Swanson, and Eleanor Parker lost the Outstanding Lead Actress Oscar of 1950 to Judy Holliday for her performance in a little black and white comedy called Born Yesterday.
http://c8.alamy.com/comp/D5RB85/judy-holliday-william-holden-broderick-crawford-poster-born-yesterday-D5RB85.jpg
Based on a play written by Garson Kanin, this is the story of Harry Brock (Broderick Crawford) a junk tycoon who arrives in Washington DC to buy a couple of congressman, accompanied by his mistress, a voluptuous, not-too-bright, ex-chorus girl named Billie Dawn (Holliday) who is an unwilling participant in some of Harry's shady business dealings. Harry decides that Billie has some rough edges that need to be smoothed out and he offers a reporter named Paul Verral (William Holden) $200 a week to educate Billie and make her more refined.
https://backlots.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/annex-holliday-judy-born-yesterday_01.jpg
In addition to trying to educate Billie, Paul also ends up opening Billie's eyes to the kind of man Harry is and how nothing good can come of the relationship. Paul's influence on Billie also comes to light as she begins to question Harry's shady business dealings and the way he treats her. And as hard as he tries to fight it, Paul finally has to be honest about the fact that he's falling for Billie.
https://www.moma.org/d/assets/W1siZiIsIjIwMTYvMDYvMjIvNnA2NTRybGJxal9ib3JuX3llc3RlcmRheV8yNTgxeDIwMDAuanBnIl0sWyJwIiwiY29udmVydCIs Ii1xdWFsaXR5IDkwIC1yZXNpemUgMjAwMHgyMDAwXHUwMDNlIl1d/born-yesterday_2581x2000.jpg?sha=b1697327e6ffccf7
Judy Holliday became a Broadway star when she originated the role of Billie on Broadway but when Columbia president Harry Cohn purchased the rights for the movie he planned to have the current woman in his life, Rita Hayworth, play Billie in the film. At the same time, Holliday was appearing in the Tracy-Hepburn comedy Adam's Rib and when Katharine Hepburn heard Hayworth had been signed, Hepburn beefed up Hollliday's role in their film so the studio would notice and it worked, Columbia reconsidered and decided to let Holliday recreate the role she originated on Broadway.
https://thebestpictureproject.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/bornyesterday1.jpg
One of the smartest decisions Columbia ever made, because Judy Holliday's performance is the centerpiece of this movie and what makes it worth watching. Holliday creates the real movie "dumb blonde" who really isn't as dumb as she looks and paved the way for girls like Marilyn Monroe to become a star. Holliday lights up the screen here, delivering one of the greatest comic tour-de-forces ever onscreen. This character is a clear collaboration of director George Cukor and the gifted actress who bring us a character we love from the first time she opens her mouth and that voice like nails on a chalkboard comes out. The character is a perfect counterpart to the loud and dangerous gangster Brock and the sensitive reporter who takes his job to educate Billie seriously without ever talking down to her.
https://classicforareason.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/william-holden-judy-holliday-in-born-yesterday.png
The film features authentic DC scenery, solid black and white photography and costumes which aided Cukor in opening this story up for the screen. Broderick is kind of one-note as Brock, but Holden is his usual charming self, but this movie is the Judy Holliday Show and it is her performance alone that earns this film its rating. 3.5

Gideon58

02-23-18, 11:03 PM

It (2017)
One of novelist Stephen King's most terrifying visions has been re-imagined for the big screen with It, a repellent and bone-chilling re-thinking of King's on-the-surface simple tale of childhood fears and the power of true friendship.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5a/It_%282017%29_poster.jpg
King's novel first came to the screen via ABC television in the early 1990's as a four hour mini-series shown in two parts that condensed King's novel in order to tell the entire story in a four hour time slot. The creative forces behind this remake have decided to tell the entire story by dividing it into separate movies. This film, subtitled "Chapter One" , is actually a more detailed account of what happened between the characters at the beginning of the mini-series that was economically packaged into about 45 minutes during the mini-series. This film lays out exactly what happened between the principal characters during the original that brought them all together when they learned that "he's back."
https://www.ourmovielife.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/it.jpg
This film opens in the summer of 1989 shortly after the disappearance of a little boy named Georgie. Georgie's older brother, Billy has never gotten over his part in what happened to Georgie and has allowed it make him a social outcast at school. We are introduced to six other so-called "losers" who band together when they find themselves terrorized by a clown named Pennywise.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZWVmYzJiMDktYzM3Yi00YTVkLTg4MjktMjAyYzQyOWQwZmRmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTkxNjUyNQ@@._V1_.jpg
Director Andy Muscietti has taken the backstory of King's novel and made it the primary story, utilizing his camera, music, and imagination to tell a riveting story that doesn't answer all the questions that it should. What becomes apparent immediately is that as dangerous as Pennywise might be, his power is diminished as long as these seven kids stay together. They only face true danger when confronting Pennywise individually, which seems to be King's through line throughout this story...that true friendship and unity is more powerful than anything.
http://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/e470cd420e1f51e13806fa2aa2ad4721
King and Musicietti keep you riveted to the screen primarily by making Pennywise's motives a mystery...it's never really clear what he wants from these children and seems more interested in scaring the bejesus out of them rather than actually harming, but Pennywise seems to be a manifestation of whatever made these kids "losers" and forces them to face it. And we absolutely understand their doubt about his demise and how they must reunite if he returns.
https://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/review/primary_image/reviews/it-2017/hero_It-2017-2.jpg
Musicetti's direction is intense and he has employed first rate production values with special nods to editing, art direction, sound editing, makeup, and a pulse pounding music score. The talented young actors cast here serve the story with Amy Adams-look-alike Sophie Willis' Beverly and Bill Skarsgaard's Pennywise standouts. Turn out the lights, grab onto something tight and watch. Can't wait for Chapter Two. 3.5

Gideon58

02-24-18, 02:32 PM

Portrait in Black
Portrait in Black is a glossy but overwrought 1960 soap opera that features melodrama queen Lana Turner doing what she does best, but the film produces a few more unintentional giggles than it should.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/92/Portrait_in_Black_1960.jpg
Sheila Cabot (Turner) is the glamorous trophy wife of a dying shipping magnate named Matthew Cabot (Lloyd Nolan) who is having an affair with her husband's doctor, David Rivera (Anthony Quinn). When David reveals he has accepted a job in Zurich, he and Sheila figure the only way for them to be together is to get rid of Matthew via lethal injection, but their plan goes awry when it is revealed that someone knows exactly what they've done.
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/514a2911e4b0896b36342655/515b7b42e4b0da6f25dd3091/515b7b43e4b0da6f25dd32f9/1364949894692/
The other pertinent players in this drama include Mason (Richard Basehart), Matthew's attorney who has been secretly lusting after Sheila for years; Sheila's stepdaughter, Cathy (Sandra Dee) who is dating Blake Richards (John Saxon) a Matthew Cabot wanna-be who gets screwed out of a contract with him and a chauffeur with a gambling problem named Cobb (Ray Walston).
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AQxTzIIC-A0/UqcIYlRlFAI/AAAAAAAAMCE/cagf-IAVFyQ/s1600/John+Saxon_Sandra+Dee_Portrait+in+Black.JPG
This movie provides the same kind of unintentional giggles that the previous Ross Hunter/Lana Turner/Sandra collaboration Imitation of Life did. Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts have adapted their own stage play for the screen but director Michael Gordon plays most of his storytelling cards too quickly. From the moment we see Sheila and David onscreen together for the first time, we KNOW their having an affair, despite the fact that the actual reveal comes a little later. It would have been more interesting to have a little suspense regarding the plot point around which the whole story revolved.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRD4l56govyM9dx2w4NlkEyOfgwWU7DQuHA1V9j9SP_QYqtx-ZQ
I must credit Goff and Roberts for constructing a classic soap opera story rich with what we think are red herrings but turn out to be anything but. There is a moment near the beginning of the film where Matthew is livid to learn that Sheila has gotten a learner's permit so that she can learn to drive, which seems pointless during the scene, but it definitely becomes important later on in the story. I just wish director Gordon hadn't laid on the melodrama with such a heavy hand and trusted the story and his actors a little more. There's a moment where David looks at the hippocratic oath hanging on his office wall and goes into a meltdown that was supposed to be high drama but just made me laugh out loud.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hhSP92QmtAY/UqbUBXXe3ZI/AAAAAAAAMBE/meRZXCKHuAg/s1600/Lana+Turner_Richard+Basehart_Portrait+in+Black.JPG
Lana Turner does some of her best hand-wringing here wearing some gorgeous Jean Louis gowns, but the real pleasure here was watching Anthony Quinn as her leading man. Soap opera was never really Quinn's thing as an actor, but he completely invests in this character and definitely keeps this movie worth checking out. Basehart was appropriately greasy as Mason. Also loved Walston as Cobb and Anna May Wong as an Asian variation on Mrs. Danvers. First rate production values are a given with a Ross Hunter production, but I got the feeling this film produced a few more giggles than intended. 2.5

Gideon58

02-25-18, 12:07 AM

Daddy's Home Two
A sequel that proudly stands up next to the original, 2017's Daddy's Home Two follows most of my rules of a good sequel (see my review of The Dark Knight Rises) and provides pretty consistent laughs for most of the running time.
https://imusic.b-cdn.net/images/item/original/844/5053083141844.jpg?daddy-s-home-2-2018-daddys-home-2-blu-ray&class=scaled&v=1521340928
Brad Whitaker (Will Ferrell) and Dusty Mayron (Mark Wahlberg) are learning to peacefully co-exist in the murky world of step-parenting but discover that they've been dropping the ball where Christmas is concerned. Their plans for a single Christmas in a single location are disrupted with the arrival of Brad's dad (John Lithgow) and Dusty's dad (Mel Gibson).
https://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/review/primary_image/reviews/daddys-home-2-2017/hero_Daddys-Home-2-2017.jpg
Director and writer Sean Anders has decided not to mess too much with a proven commodity, that is the undeniable and hard to explain chemistry between Will Ferrell and Wahlberg but still manages to bring something new to the table by adding the boys' fathers to the mix, which keeps this sequel from being just a rehash of the first film.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjIxMDM4NzA3NF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMDQ0OTAyNDM@._V1_.jpg
Anders also scores in the casting of the dads, especially the return of Mel Gibson in front of the camera proving he still knows how to turn in a real movie star performance, Gibson's Kurt Mayron, a womanizing former astronaut who has not seen Dusty for five years, is a rowdy, foul-mouthed instigator who has no filter and finds nothing sacred, including his relationship with Dusty. The relationship between Dusty and Kurt is the funniest thing in this film and pretty much anchors the proceedings, thanks to surprisingly effective underplaying from Gibson.
https://substreammagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Daddys-Home-2.jpg
Ferrell and Lithgow don't exactly fade into the wallpaper though...they have a lot of funny moments involving the cutting of a giant Christmas tree, an encounter with a snow blower and some Christmas lights and a clever scene in an improv comedy club. Even with all the father/son angst going on here, Anders never forgets what this story was originally about...the delicate art of step-parenting and how no one is perfect at it. We even get to see Sarah (Linda Cardellini) stumble as she finds it hard to hide her resentment of the new woman in Dusty's life (Allessandra Ambrosdsio). A fun sequel that was just as good, maybe even a little better, than the original. 3.5

Gideon58

02-25-18, 05:35 PM

Darkest Hour
A breathtaking performance from cinema's greatest chameleon, Gary Oldman, is the centerpiece of a slightly pretentious but well-intentioned historical drama called Darkest Hour, centering on one of our most controversial military leaders, that has earned six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture of the Year.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/38/Darkest_Hour_poster.png
This film actually covers the same time in history as another Best Picture nominee, Dunkirk. but from a different angle. It is May of 1940 and Hitler has invaded France, Belgium, and Norway and the British Parliament is not happy with the leadership provided by Neville Chamberlain and reluctantly turn to Winston Churchill has a replacement. Even though it is never really said out loud. most of the Parliament think Churchill is a little bonkers and are not thrilled about him leading Great Britain through this critical part of a world war that the allies are clearly losing.
https://d1nslcd7m2225b.cloudfront.net/Pictures/1024x536/1/1/9/1275119_darkesthourbehindthescenes_679941.jpg
I won't lie, my knowledge regarding Churchill is limited to brief mentions of his name in history class, so I was curious as to how the character would be presented here. When we first meet Churchill here, we are introduced to a man who is not only up to the challenge of becoming prime minister, but has been alternately dreaming about it since childhood and being terrified of it at the same time. I liken his attitude about his position to an actor dreaming of being nominated for an Oscar and being terrified and feeling unworthy when it finally happens.
http://content.internetvideoarchive.com/content/photos/11599/664052_052.jpg
These conflicted feelings are the basis of this complex character, who is made surprisingly human and flawed through director Joe Wright's initial presentation of the character...our first glimpse of the character is in bed enjoying his breakfast of bacon, eggs, and scotch and screaming at his new secretary. His meeting with King George IV as he accepts the position of Prime Minister is probably his most humbling moment in the film, as Churchill's through line comes shining through...the only way to win this war is to fight, as opposed to entering peace negotiations, which is what the Parliament wants. It is also at this point that we realize that the lack of trust the Parliament has in Churchill is totally mutual. As the story progresses, we see that Churchill has very few allies and the ones that he has are quite unexpected.
https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2017/11/darkest_hour/lead_960.jpg?1511799703
Anthony McCarten's screenplay is a little talky and pretentious, but it perfectly captures the sensibilities of the British people and their way of never saying exactly what they mean, which is probably why they consider Churchill crazy. One character in the movie said it best: "We never know what's going to come out of your mouth." Despite the character's lack of filter and his conflict about what he's doing, we know that no matter what his actions are on the surface, his feelings about this war never change.
https://play-lh.googleusercontent.com/proxy/1FOH5dfzxaBE_3GZjRNNu-Px3Q27bGn5M_7fAw6lo8RTDAXSLt4tc4JCywhwe6BpQd-SWs75LVsjQYjkpW1lY7HFdkROVZSB1xon57DRdyfy_FmjXUdZwzb-=s3840-w3840-h2160
The film is exquisitely mounted featuring spectacular cinematography, set direction, costumes, and Gary Oldman's phenomenal makeup. Oldman is completely unrecognizable in the leading role, if his name hadn't been in the credits, I never would have known what actor was playing this role. I'm pretty sure Oldman will finally win the Lead Actor Oscar that has alluded him and mention should also be made of Ben Mendelsohn as King George IV, Ronald Pickup as Chamberlain, and Kristen Scott Thomas as Mrs. Churchill. The pacing of the story is a little too leisurely, but Oldman and company do make this a journey worth making. 4

Gideon58

02-25-18, 07:25 PM

The Belle of New York
MGM went the Guys and Dolls route with a forgotten gem from 1952 called The Belle of New York,a tuneful and colorful musical fantasy that deserves a little more attention than it has received.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNmE3NjEwZjQtMmU4Zi00YWE0LWE2ZjAtNWJmMzQwYzc3YjI4XkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg
The story takes place in turn of the century New York where Astaire plays Charlie Hill, a rich, commitment-shy playboy who has just announced his 5th engagement to a female sharpshooter (Gale Robbins) who falls head over heels with a pretty Salvation Army worker named Angela (Vera-Ellen). Things get complicated when it's revealed that Charlie's rich aunt (Marjorie Main) is also Angela's boss at the Salvation Army (though it's not called the Salvation Army here).
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTZiMTZmMDAtNTNiNi00Y2RkLTg2NzgtY2U1ZWQwYjlhZGJkXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg
Director Charles Walters, fresh off his triumph with Judy Garland and Gene Kelly in Summer Stock has mounted an elaborate period piece with just enough plot not to get in the way of the terrific dancing by the two leads, individually, and together.
http://c8.alamy.com/comp/K36132/the-belle-of-new-york-alice-pearce-fred-astaire-vera-ellen-date-1952-K36132.jpg
The melodic Harry Warren Johnny Mercer score includes "Who Wants to Kiss the Bridegroom", "Seeing is Believing", which is Fred's fantasy number floating over Central Park, "Oops", the jazzy duet with Astaire and Vera-Ellen dancing on a horse-drawn cable car, "Naughty But Nice", Angela's big coming out of her shell number and Fred's classic finale, "I Wanna Be a Dancing Man."
https://moviemaniamadness.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/vera-ellen.jpg
Of course, the MGM gloss is everywhere here, the film features some exquisite set decorations and some absolutely gorgeous costumes, especially in the ice skating fantasy about halfway through. The leads receive solid support from Main, Keenan Wynn, and the hysterical Alice Pearce, who worked with Vera-Ellen 3 years earlier in On the Town. This all but forgotten MGM chestnut is fun diversion that fans of the genre should definitely check out. 3

cricket

02-26-18, 08:52 AM

Seen a lot of praise for The Darkest Hour but it just doesn't interest me. I'd rather watch The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.

Citizen Rules

02-26-18, 02:25 PM

@Gideon58 (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=79363) I've been waiting to see The Darkest Hour, glad to hear you liked it so much. I did see the other new movie about Winston Churchill called Churchill (2017), which I thought was pretty stupid.

I did see Portrait in Black, I can't remember it well enough to say much. I should watch it again as I love a good soap drama.

Same with Belle of New York, I've watched it, but I guess it didn't make a strong impression with me.

Gideon58

02-26-18, 03:00 PM

I think you would really enjoy Portrait in Black Citizen...I actually liked The Belle of New York a lot more than I thought I would. Vera-Ellen was really good.

GulfportDoc

02-27-18, 08:07 PM

Citizen Rules

02-27-18, 08:28 PM

I took your and CK's recommendation, and watched The Hero last night. Had you not showcased it I probably never would have paid it any attention. I'm glad that we did. My wife and I both enjoyed it.
~Doc Glad to hear you liked The Hero. It always makes my day when someone finds a movie from my review thread, watches it, and likes it. And both you and Gideon like The Hero, very cool:up:

Gideon58

02-27-18, 10:37 PM

Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Despite over-indulgent direction and a problematic screenplay, the 2017 legal drama Roman J. Israel, Esq. is worth a look for the reason one would suspect...another charismatic performance by Denzel Washington that has earned him his sixth Oscar nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91SxDdmzGNL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg
The title character was a partner in a two-lawyer, LA firm who did all the paperwork while the senior partner went to court. Roman is thrown when his partner has a heart attack and eventually passes away. This tragedy does lead Roman to a much larger firm where he actually finds himself having a voice he never had before. Roman then makes a move of questionable ethics that does provide a financial windfall, but initiates the downfall of Roman's principles as an attorney and a human being.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/ouzaigUZ7gtpEOpLbUSwi4nkICiAIOi8nMBzzaVWqfzQpxHdgF1kS19_fHE9WXdiwM89cyi3tUDOovfwvObC8FGgclvp3_-9rlSpitguKohl7lcMQNjM
Director and screenwriter Dan Gilroy must be credited for coming up with a legal drama that never actually enters a courtroom. The story presented here was not the story I was expecting at all. When Roman is informed of his partner's heart attack, he is sent to cover for him during his several cases, instructed to get continuances only. This made me think we were going to see Roman walk into all these courtrooms and throw down with the best legal minds in LA but this is not the story we get at all.
https://i0.wp.com/www.michigandaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/israel_online.jpg?fit=720%2C480&ssl=1
This central character and what happens to him becomes even more interesting because of the kind of person Roman is. Roman seems to be caught in a sort of 1970's time warp in terms of style and dress and social attitude and is socially inept, almost to the point of autism, like Raymond in Rain Man. Like that character, you can count on one hand the number of times Roman looks at other characters directly in the eye. The character was interesting to watch, but it was hard to swallow the pied piper effect he seemed to have on a lot of characters in the film, especially his new boss and a beautiful civil rights advocate.
https://www.cinemaclock.com/images/580x326/43/roman-j-israel-esq-20173257.jpg
The screenplay is a little too protective of this central character, almost stretching credibility until the final third of the film kicks in where Roman starts experiencing consequences of his actions. Unfortunately, this is where Gilroy's over the top screenplay is overshadowed by his over the top direction, taking the final third of the film into the realm of melodrama and not fitting in with the rest of the film.
https://collegemoviereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Roman-J-Esc-Review.jpg
However, Denzel is always worth watching and he makes this movie worth sitting through, though I think the Oscar nomination was given just because he's Denzel, it's the weakest of his six leading Oscar-nominated performances, but you still can't take your eyes off the man. There's a slick performance from Colin Farrell as Roman's new boss that is also worth a look, but it is Denzel that makes this sometimes hard to swallow story worth checking out. 3

Gideon58

03-03-18, 02:51 PM

The Florida Project
2017's The Florida Project is a pretty realistic look at a part of American society that most of us would like to think doesn't exist and those who do know, tend to look the other way.
https://blanknews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/florida-project7.jpg
Director and co-screenwriter Sean Baker takes an almost documentary-like approach to this look at life in a rundown Florida welfare hotel. The story is told through the eyes of a six year old girl named Moonie who lives at the hotel with her mother Halley, who pays her rent hustling, some of her hustles involve Moonie and some of them don't. We watch Moonie and other friends who live at the hotel wandering all over downtown Orlando and the various kinds of trouble they get into out of boredom and neglect.
https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2017/10/florida/lead_960.jpg?1507209623
Baker reveals a real eye and ear for the lives of these people and, more importantly, how it affects these children. It doesn't even occur to the viewer as the story unfolds that these children aren't in school. The question of why these children aren't in school is never really addressed, except for one brief scene between Moonie and her friend Jancey, where they are talking about something they heard about called recess. It's so sad watching these children being neglected to the point that they are seen wandering around Orlando doing anything they want, including burning an empty building to the ground.
https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2018/01/16/the-florida-project-img_9004_rgb-61896b70cc0c2d89fa70f200c488577d808c18e1-s900-c85.jpg
I liked the way the story began with the children and then expanded into a look at their parents and the lives of everyone in the housing project, but Baker's pacing of the story is a little too leisurely, making these children initially very unappealing but when the way their parents are living is laid out for us, sympathy for these children does occur, but having the viewer wait so long for it was a little risky for a film like this. The film tries to explore why these people ended up here, but it sugar-coats it a little...there is no mention of drugs in the story and most of the people who live in hotels are doing it because they can live cheaply and still support their habit, but there is no mention of drugs in this entire film, which I found unrealistic.
http://d279m997dpfwgl.cloudfront.net/wp/2017/10/the-florida-project-TFP_domestic_LP_20170823.00_43_03_17_Still003_rgb-copy.jpg
Baker does utilize first rate production values here, including some beautiful photography and production design. I loved every time the camera entered a hotel room they were all very small and cramped and filled with stuff everywhere, barely giving tenants room to walk around in the space. Baker chose to put his somewhat compelling story first by not employing a lot of names in the cast. The biggest name in the cast is Willem Dafoe, playing the manager of the hotel, who received star billing and a supporting actor Oscar nomination for his performance. Not sure if the performance is Oscar-worthy, but he had one scene where he deals with a pedophile approaching the children on the property that was just fabulous. Bria Vinaite's in-your-face performance as Halley commands the screen and Brooklyn Kimberly Prince is just remarkable as Moonie. I also liked that, except for the finale, the film features no music, but the film is watchable and proves Sean Baker is an artist to watch. 3

Joel

03-03-18, 03:46 PM

I've been wanting to check this out based solely on Dafoe being in it.

Gideon58

03-03-18, 05:19 PM

Lucky Me
An energetic performance from Doris Day is the best thing about a bouncy musical from 1954 called Lucky Me that won't disappoint fans of its star.
https://resizing.flixster.com/ZAXc3XszK2erx9oLlj0KUoCIf08=/206x305/v1.bTsxMTIyOTQ5MjtqOzE3Njc5OzEyMDA7MTUzNjsyMDQ4
Doris plays Candy Williams, a performer in a theatrical troupe working in a Miami nightclub who gets stranded in Miami when the show folds so she and her co-stars get jobs working in the hotel that they've just been evicted from.Candy accidentally meets Dick Carson (Robert Cummings) a songwriter in town trying to get a wealthy oil tycoon to finance his new show, but when he meets Candy, he pretends to be a garage mechanic.
https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w1280/e6cVhYZXvVz4lg6u0ZDjBVe2hV5.jpg
Dick's ruse is quickly uncovered and he falls hard for Candy and decides to use her to sell his score to the oilman, but that plan is complicated by the oilman's daughter (Martha Hyer) who has Daddy wrapped around her finger and will make sure Daddy finances the show as long as she has Dick to herself.
http://www.kino-teatr.ru/acter/album/67096/310236.jpg
Irving Elinson's screenplay is a little complex and talky but keeps the film from just being a bunch of musical numbers with dialogue inserted. The film immediately establishes the character of Candy as being extremely superstitious, as if it is going to be a major point plot that is going to affect the requisite happy ending. Unfortunately, it becomes less and less important as the film progresses, which was a bit of a disappointment because it seemed like a rather original hook for a musical comedy.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--OLJJmbZTQI/UaJomFWdk1I/AAAAAAAAXGU/6exA9o4-rbA/s1600/luckyme38.png
The film features a nice if unremarkable score from Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster, who wrote the Oscar-winning "Secret Love" that Doris sang in Calamity Jane. The songs include "Men", "The Blue Bells of Broadway", "I Speak to the Stars", "I Wanna Sing Like an Angel" "The Superstition Song", and the title tune.
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/56/5f/5d/565f5d84169a77b9c893582b0db1e0ec--shoe-photography-fashion-clothes.jpg
Cummings proves to be a charming leading man for Day and Phil Silvers, Eddie Foy Jr., and Nancy Walker are a lot of fun as the rest of Doris' theatrical troupe. If you don't blink you might also catch future I Dream of Jeannie co-star Hayden Roarke (Dr. Bellows) as Dick's agent. Jack Donahue's direction is a little leaden, making the film longer than it needs be, but Day fans will be in heaven. 2.5

Gideon58

03-03-18, 11:22 PM

Bad Moms
Bad Moms is an often outrageous, slightly raunchy comedy from 2016 that is a little contrived and wraps things up a little too neatly, but delivers consistent laughs and stays realistic.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81ykPE4cBRL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg
The story focuses on three suburban mothers who meet accidentally and become instant best friends after getting drunk together in a bar after a really bad day for each. Amy (Mila Kunis) is a working mother of two who has just learned her husband has been cheating on her online; Kiki (Kristen Bell) is a frazzled mother of four who says how high whenever her husband say jump; Carla (Kathryn Hahn) is a loud and obnoxious single mom with no social or sexual filter who has a big goofy son who eats butter for dinner. After their evening of drinking and bonding, the three women admit that they are bad mothers and instead of wallowing in it, they decide to embrace it and say the hell with it.
https://www.peninsulaclarion.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/15587758.jpg
Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, who were responsible for the Hangover franchise, are also the creative forces behind this energetic comedy that displays the same kind of random insanity that the other franchise did. Lucas and Moore provide us with a screenplay where nothing is sacred, providing an up close look at how being a mother just might be the hardest job out there and making that scathingly accurate examination be very funny. Lucas and Moore's direction is surprisingly stylish, showing a skill with the slow motion camera that I haven't seen in awhile and with the aid of some crackerjack editing, produce scenes that will have you laughing and cheering, with a wild trip to a supermarket being a definite highlight.
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/07/31/arts/31BADMOMS2/31BADMOMS2-superJumbo.jpg
What the screenplay also does is show changes in the character. These three women are not the same three women we meet at the beginning of the movie and even though how some of these changes came about is glossed over and the story wraps up a little too perfectly, the story has us behind these three women and there are scenes where I actually wanted to cheer.
https://ew.com/thmb/LDhu5KUBkpUCiVpl1o_OIiXy0PE=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/bad-moms-wp-2000-1d7514de8a594bb1a8f92aa93aafcf99.jpg
Lucas and Moore also work wonders with their terrific cast. Kunis proves to be very adept at physical comedy and Hahn's over the top Carla is a lot of fun. David Walton is funny as Kunis' scummy husband and Jay Hernandez is seriously sexy as the hot widower who falls for Kunis. There is also a fabulous performance from Christina Applegate as the PTA mom from hell and villain of the piece. It's not Merchant/Ivory but it's a lot of fun. And yes, there is a sequel called A Bad Moms Christmas. 3.5

Citizen Rules

03-03-18, 11:26 PM

Darkest Hour
rating_4 I just watched this and didn't really care for it. It was better than the other Churchill movie, called Churchill (2017). But I sure didn't feel it was Oscar worth. Either was Dunkirk. And that's the only two Best Pic Oscar nominations I've seen. Hopefully the best picture wins. Have you seen them all?

Gideon58

03-03-18, 11:30 PM

Citizen Rules

03-03-18, 11:36 PM

Yeah, I just read your commentary commentary about Darkest Hour. I have not seen the other two Churchill interpretations you mentioned and really don't know much about the man, so getting into Darkest Hour was a little easier for me. Yes, I have seen all nine Best Picture nominees. I think Three Billboards is going to win, but if it were up to me, The Shape of Water would win.The Crown is a Netflix original mini series. It's well worth watching if you like melodrama.

I hope to see both Three Billboards and The Shape of Water, one of these day. Have a good evening! I'm off to watch a movie.

Gideon58

03-04-18, 06:18 PM

Call Me Madam
Ethel Merman was one of Broadway's biggest stars, creating several classic musical comedy heroines from Annie Oakley to Mama Rose Hovick. The only time Merman was allowed to recreate a role on film that she originated onstage was the 1953 film version of Call Me Madam, a lavish and colorful confection which features one of Irving Berlin's most famous scores and a talented cast backing up the star.
https://i.pinimg.com/236x/fa/73/33/fa733330713998f4ae0426c2c62687cf--ethel-merman-insert.jpg
Merman recreates her stage role as Sally Adams, the Washington DC hostess who is appointed by President Harry Truman to be the US Ambassador to a fictional country called Lichtenburg, accompanied by Kenneth Gibson (Donald O'Connor), a former reporter who talks Sally into letting him be her press attache. Upon arrival in Lichtenburg, Sally wants to negotiate a loan to the financially struggling country which forces her to deal with the country's foreign minister, General Cosmo Comstantine (George Sanders), but their mutual attraction muddies their negotiations. Meanwhile, Kenneth has fallen in love at first sight with the country's Royal Princess Maria (Vera-Ellen) even though she has been promised in marriage to another in order for her to someday inherit the throne.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/49/32/c6/4932c64017ba4923fb68b2009d4b7a69.png
In 1953 MGM still ruled in making the best musicals in Hollywood, but 20th Century Fox did give them a run for their money with films like this and There's No Business Like Show Business. This film has all the elements of a classic musical that you expect, including a somewhat complex story that tends to occasionally get in the way of some terrific song and dance numbers. It was a pleasure seeing Merman actually being allowed to recreate a role onscreen that she created on Broadway, even though, if the truth be told, Ethel Merman pretty much played Ethel Merman in every role she did, but with those pipes nobody really ever cared.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2LAijDQ2cIE/maxresdefault.jpg
This splashy musical features one musical highlight after another. Merman's opening number "The Hostess with the Mostess" is a winner as is her plea to the General "Can You Use Any Money Today", Donald O'Connor's silky vocal on It's a Lovely Day works beautifully into a dance with Vera-Ellen as does another song, "Something to Dance About" Vera-Ellen also has a lavish production number called "The Ocarina" staged by Robert Alton which I think might have been an inspiration for his "Mandy" number in White Christmas. Needless to say, the musical highlight was the melding of two songs "Wonder Why" and "You're Just in Love", flawlessly performed by Merman and O'Connor. Mention should also be made of a terrific dance solo from O'Connor called "What Chance Have I with Love" where a drunken Kenneth destroys an outdoor cafe.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eYzo2bLsGRk/S90447lY5SI/AAAAAAAAAG8/aPQAAoSgcBI/s1600/call+me+madam.1.jpg
I have never seen the show onstage, but I would like to think that this movie is pretty close to the stage show. Walter Lang's direction is very structured, if a little self-indulgent. There are a couple of slow spots that make the film a little longer than it need be. Fox poured a lot of money into this film, evidenced by the elaborate sets and the breathtaking costumes received an Oscar nomination. Alfred Newman did win an Oscar for the scoring, but it is the rare chance to see Broadway's greatest Diva strut her stuff onscreen that makes this one worth checking out. 3.5

cricket

03-05-18, 06:39 PM

I wouldn't say I disliked Bad Moms but I'm not interested in the sequel. That scene in the grocery store was funny.

Gideon58

03-09-18, 02:04 PM

I don't think I have any interest in seeing the sequel either...movies like this one, the sequel usually sucks.

Gideon58

03-11-18, 01:29 AM

Midnight
An enchanting performance by Claudette Colbert is the centerpiece of an elaborate romantic adventure from 1939 called Midnight.
https://images.sr.roku.com/idType/roku/context/global/id/3ea450ebdb8b5d3899a0cb137b07b6c4/images/gracenote/assets/p43433_v_v8_aa.jpg/magic/396x0/filters:quality(70)
Colbert plays Eve Peabody, a sophisticated ex-chorus girl who arrives by train in Paris, penniless and devoid of luggage. She makes an instant connection with a charming cab driver named Tibor (Don Ameche) who comes on a little strong and scares our girl off who then finds herself part of a very complex ruse that includes her impersonating a titled baronness and breaking up an affair between a glamorous married socialite and a French playboy with a mother complex.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K9UN83Yv-OM/UYCv2E-Ge5I/AAAAAAAAFz8/mK3Gcz5V7Nc/s400/midnight.jpg
While Eve gets herself deeper and deeper into this charade which starts to bring Eve a life she could become very accustomed to, Tibor organizes every cab driver in Paris for a city wide search of this girl he hardly knows but knows that he's in love with.
http://c8.alamy.com/comp/BKJR8B/midnight-1939-don-ameche-claudette-colbert-midt-003p-BKJR8B.jpg
This film features an intelligent and witty screenplay by Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder, who would collaborate 11 years later on the classic Sunset Boulevard. This witty and incisive story is an up close look at class difference and the art of the con that is rich with clever dialogue and colorful characters that serve the story but most importantly, protect this central character of Eve Peabody. Eve really shouldn't get away with everything she gets away with in this crazy comedy, but we're behind her 100% because Colbert makes the character completely funny and lovable. She's also quick on her feet and is never at a loss for words.
http://deeperintomovies.net/journal/image09/midnight4.jpg
Colbert is also backed up by a first rate supporting cast. Ameche is a charmer, showing off all 150 of his teeth and creating an almost steamy chemistry with Colbert. John Barrymore is hammy but believable as the henpecked husband who uses Eve to get his wife back and Mary Astor is appropriately bitchy as the wife. The film even features future gossip columnist Hedda Hopper as a millionairess known for throwing boring parties.
http://carygrantwonteatyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/JohnBarrymoreMidnight.jpg
The film features some lovely Parisian scenery, a lovely music score and the ladies are draped in some exquisite gowns designed by costume icon Irene. Again, I would like to thank my good friend Citizen for recommending this one. This film would have become a classic if it had been released another year, but it unfortunately got buried in the golden year of movie making. A winner. 4

Citizen Rules

03-11-18, 02:30 PM

Midnight
An enchanting performance by Claudette Colbert is the centerpiece of an elaborate romantic adventure from 1939 called Midnight.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K9UN83Yv-OM/UYCv2E-Ge5I/AAAAAAAAFz8/mK3Gcz5V7Nc/s400/midnight.jpg So glad you liked this movie and Claudette Colbert too. I think she's all kinds of wonderful. She's really a top notch actress and one of my favorites.

Ameche is a charmer, showing off all 150 of his teeth and creating an almost steamy chemistry with Colbert. Ha! That's funny:p and it's true he does have quite the toothy grin...He's a favorite actor of mine and usually always good.

I would like to thank my good friend Citizen for recommending this one... Thanks Gideon:), I consider you a good friend here at MoFo too.

Gideon58

03-11-18, 05:39 PM

HouseSitter
The film definitely has its problems, especially a saggy middle, but the 1992 comedy HouseSitter is worth checking out for the wonderful chemistry between its stars.
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/17/21/ed/1721edaa4e73ba45144adf839bcbfc2b--romantic-comedy-movies-comedy-film.jpg
Davis (Steve Martin) is an architect who builds a house for girlfriend Becky (Dana Delaney)and surprises her with the house and a marriage proposal, but she turns him down. Three months later, Davis meets a free-spirited waitress named Gwen (Goldie Hawn) who Davis pours his heart to about Becky before spending the night with her. Davis sneaks out on Gwen in the middle of the night and when Gwen wakes up, she gets on a bus and travels to Davis' hometown, moving into the house that Davis built for Becky.
http://fr.web.img5.acsta.net/c_300_300/pictures/15/03/12/09/27/379332.png
Gwen's plans for a cozy existence on Davis' dime are complicated when the first people Gwen meets in town are Becky and Davis' parents. Of course, Davis is livid about the charade when he finds out what Gwen is doing, but Gwen has enchanted Becky, his parents, and everyone else in the tiny town with elaborate stories about their courtship and their marriage. These stories are so convincing that Davis realizes he has to continue the charade not only because it would crush his parents, but because it could cost him a promotion at work, not to mention it has made him attractive to Becky again.
https://images2.vudu.com/background/4824-1280a.jpg
Mark Stein's screenplays does contain some original touches and some sharp dialogue. The opening scenes between Davis and Gwen are very cleverly written. Stein and director Frank Oz do a first rate job of creating a small town Americana that is easy to relate to, but some of the characters and their motivations were difficult to get behind. I had a real problem with the character of Becky. Stein's screenplay works very hard at keeping this character likable even though in the opening scene where she turns down Davis' marriage proposal, she comes off as a heartless bitch. Her instant bonding with Gwen on her arrival in town didn't really make sense to me either, not to mention the mixed messages she's sending Davis throughout the story. Delany's bland performance didn't work for me either. I think the character should have been played by someone with more of an edge.
https://www.jonathanrosenbaum.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/housesitter2.jpg
I did absolutely love Donald Moffat and Julie Harris as Davis' parents and Richard B Schull and Laurel Cronin as the homeless people Gwen hires to play her parents, but what really makes this movie worth sitting through is Steve and Goldie. These two are sweet and slick together and make every moment they have onscreen together work. Unfortunately, the middle section of the film keeps them apart a lot and the film really begins to drag, but when the characters of Davis and Gwen really start working together, the film perks back up for the happy ending that we have to wait a little too long for, but Martin and Hawn fans won't care. Hawn and Martin would reunite onscreen seven years later for the remake of The Out-of-Towners 3

Gideon58

03-11-18, 11:38 PM

Dream Boat (1952)
A clever show business story and sparkling performances from the leads make 1952's Dream Boat a must for classic film buffs.
https://pictures.abebooks.com/inventory/31432089713.jpg
Clifton Webb stars as Thornton Sayre, a stuffy college professor who is shocked and humiliated when his previous career as a silent film star becomes public knowledge. Sayre was once a silent film matinee idol named Bruce Blair, AKA "Dream Boat" who did a series of films with a glamorous actress named Gloria Marlowe (Ginger Rogers). Television is in its infancy and Gloria has tried to revive her career with a television show featuring her films with Thornton/Bruce. An outraged Thornton, accompanied by his spinsterish daughter Carol (Anne Francis), decides to go to New York and file a lawsuit against the television station that is showing the films.
https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/iJOudjwnlORgldcGYsVNqNDwv8I.jpg
Claude Binyon's screenplay, based on a story by John Marr called "Love Man" is a slightly dated but pretty accurate skewering of the movie, television, and advertising businesses, showing how cut throat these businesses can be in name of the almighty dollar. The film also looks at celebrity obsession as it is revealed that the president of the college board where Thornton teaches, played with dry perfection by Elsa Lanchester, has been secretly obsessed with Bruce Blair for years. This obsession made it pretty hard to believe that the woman had been working with her favorite movie star for years and had no idea, but I didn't allow that to deter my enjoying the often hilarious going-ons here.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMzNjMTJmNWUtNzAzNS00NmJjLWJiYmUtNTljY2ExMmRhNmQwXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg
The recreations of the silent films made by Bruce and Gloria were just as funny as the look at early television commercials that occur during the climactic trial. The ironic fun of this movie is that if what was happening to Thornton happened to out of work actors today, they would totally embrace it instead of trying to put a stop to it. Carol's blossoming romance with a young television executive played by Jeffrey Hunter almost seemed like a separate movie but it didn't interfere too much with the primary story which was a lot of fun.
https://www.tvguide.com/a/img/catalog/provider/2/13/2-57380ec9b58388a84962ba9f711c5d0f.jpg
The main attraction here though was definitely the performances by the stars. Clifton Webb underplays nicely in the starring role, especially nailing the moments where Thornton is told he wasn't much of an actor and trying to act like he doesn't care. Ginger Rogers adds another effervescent comedy performance to her resume as the conniving star and businesswoman willing to do whatever is necessary to elicit Thornton's aid in resurrecting their careers. Francis is charming in one of her earliest roles and there's a fun supporting turn from Fred Clark as the head of the television station. A dreamy piece of nostalgia that contains several laugh out loud moments. 3.5

Gideon58

03-13-18, 11:19 PM

Hurlyburly
It's been on my watchlist for at least a decade, but I found the 1998 drama Hurlyburly a dark and pretentious drama that never really escapes its stage origins despite some directorial flair and a powerhouse ensemble cast.
https://scdn.nflximg.net/images/8449/3708449.jpg
Playwrwight David Rabe's ferocious look at Hollywood movers and shakers whose lives dangerously collide premiered on Broadway in 1984 and ran for a mere 343 performances, despite an impressive cast of movie stars in the cast, including William Hurt and Sigourney Weaver and sadly, the Broadway stage is where this piece should have stayed.
http://c8.alamy.com/comp/D1N5R1/hurlyburly-hurlyburly-mickey-kevin-spacey-donna-anna-paquin-eddie-D1N5R1.jpg
Eddie (Sean Penn), Mickey (Kevin Spacey), Phil (Chazz Palminteri), and Artie (Garry Shandling) are all Hollywood insiders who apparently are not very good at what they do. We learn that Phil is a struggling actor but it's never really made clear what aspect of show business these other three guys are involved in, though by the way Eddie talks, I suspect that he is probably a writer. As the story unfolds, it appears to be a convoluted triangle when it is revealed that Eddie and Mickey are both involved with a woman named Darlene (Robin Wright), but the story attempts to expand in so many directions it's really hard to keep track of what's going on here and why these people are all SO angry.
http://c8.alamy.com/comp/BPGFCT/sean-penn-robin-wright-penn-hurlyburly-1998-BPGFCT.jpg
A little more backstory on these characters might have made their unhappiness a little more comprehensible. What we get here is bunch of guys sprouting Tennessee Williams-type monologues, utilizing dialogue way above their pay grade and consuming massive amounts of cocaine and marijuana while they're doing it. Most people I know can't put two sentences together when they are wasted as these guys get but these guys never shut up.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjE1NjcyMTY0MF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNDgzNjQ0NA@@._V1_.jpg
And in this new politically correct Hollywood where sexual misconduct is the norm, the treatment of the female characters in this movie is absolutely disgusting. We hear female characters referred to as "it" and watch in horror as one actually gets thrown out of her own car...seriously?
https://images.kinorium.com/movie/shot/108102/h280_38512782.jpg?21574026978
Director Anthony Drazan works very hard at opening up the piece to make it look more like a movie, but the effort is so forced and over the top that the piece even looks more like photographed stage play that seems to go on forever. One thing Drazan did realize with this piece is that it's an actor's dream and so did his cast, who somehow keep all this pretentious and talky nonsense somewhat watchable. Penn is always worth watching and Palminteri has never been better, but when it comes down to it, this movie is much to do about nothing. 2

Gideon58

03-17-18, 03:25 PM

The Joker is Wild
One of Frank Sinatra's strongest performances anchors 1957's The Joker is Wild, an effective blend of show biz biopic and romantic melodrama that had me riveted to the screen though I have a feeling facts might be glossed over here in favor of entertainment value and on that level, this movie definitely scores.
https://twentyfourframes.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/joker_is_wild.jpg?w=640
Sinatra stars as Joe E. Lewis, a Chicago-based nightclub singer who is offered a job in another club despite threats from his current connected boss. Lewis ignores the threats and it is not long afterwards that thugs sneak into his hotel room and beat him within an inch of his life, a beating which included the slashing of his vocal chords. Joe can no longer sing like he used to, but while working in burlesque houses, he discovers a talent for making people laugh and a whole new career.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MEcqQCNpiuI/hqdefault.jpg
While finding new fame as a nightclub comic, Lewis has two ill-fated romances with an icy and wealthy socialite (Jeanne Crain) and an effervescent chorus girl (Mitzi Gaynor) but he ruins both these relationships thanks to his addictions to gambling and alcohol.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jfA6OoH4ZOA/U76t_jmI-2I/AAAAAAAAEGI/nva6H7WSC-g/s1600/Joker9.jpg
I don't know anything about Joe E. Lewis and I don't how much that is presented here actually happened, but I do know that it made for one helluva an entertaining movie, something I'm sure 1950's movie audiences lapped up with a spoon. this film features all the classic elements that we expect from biopics, notably, the rise to fame that gets ruined by addiction, which always seemed to be common thread in films like this.
https://sarasilverscreen.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/joker-is-wild-9.jpg?w=1038&h=576&crop=1
Oscar Saul's screenplay, based on a book by Art Cohn, could have used a little tightening, but seems perfectly tailored to Sinatra and I suspect if you're really interested in learning more about Joe E. Lewis. I suspect Cohn's book might be a good place to start.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/T5rSwoG7YCg/maxresdefault.jpg
Sinatra delivers a real movie star performance here, rich with warmth, pathos, and, of course humor. Needless to say, Sinatra is in fine voice here, but the pleasant surprise here was how funny his comic monologues were. I didn't find Sinatra at all funny in Guys and Dolls as Nathan Detroit, but his comic moments really worked here. I especially loved the scene where he steps onstage and realizes he can't sing and turns the song into a comedy routine. Also loved the the two separate and distinct scenes where Joe deals with hecklers.
http://www.hollywoodscrapheap.com/cutenews/uploads/joker9.jpg
Sinatra sings some great songs in the film including "I Cried for You", "If I Could Be With You", "Naturally", "June in January" and the iconic "All The Way", which won the Oscar for Best Song of 1957.
https://www.tvguide.com/a/img/resize/96dc1bc531d8ab237e3357e1c5505ab58198b3eb/catalog/provider/2/13/2-ba2b4adfba27398c3f9340204be3a48e.jpg?auto=webp&fit=crop&height=675&width=1200
Sinatra gets strong support from his two leading ladies...Crain is crisp but human and Gaynor is sweet and vulnerable. Gaynor does real standout work here, her drunken tirade in the final act is terrific and I'm sure it had something to do with her getting her next role, Nellie Forbush in the 1958 film South Pacific. I also loved Eddie Albert as Austin, Joe's piano player, Beverly Garland as Austin's wife, and Jackie Coogan as Swifty. I still say if you're looking for facts about Joe E. Lewis, this is not the place to find them, but if you're a Sinatra fan, this film is an absolute must. 3.5

Optimus

03-17-18, 04:33 PM

I just want to say well done Gideon. You have put alot of effort into this thread and continue to keep this thread active. I will keep checking in.

Gideon58

03-17-18, 06:20 PM

Spider-Man Homecoming
Despite a confusing and overly talky middle section, the expensive 2017 actioner Spider-Man Homecoming definitely scores some originality points for its attempts to meld different movie genres as well as what initially appear to be an attempt to marry two separate movie franchises.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91bBsCoK0rL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg
This film re-thinks the character of Peter Parker, who is discovered once again to be the nerdy student being bullied by the cool kids while harboring his big secret. Peter's world is turned upside down when he is offered an internship with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), which Peter thinks is going to be a quick road to an invitation to join the Avengers. This turns out to be anything but as Spidey finds his journey to becoming an Avenger thwarted by a dangerous weapons dealer known as The Vulture (Michael Keaton).
https://moviesandshakers.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/spiderman-homecoming.jpg
Director Jon Watts and screenwriter Jonathan Goldstein have presented an often logic defying look at this character that has been explored in five previous films and, despite the film's title, does nothing to bring us back to those films, but gives us new glasses with which to peer at this classic character. This story offers story elements that we haven't seen before like the fact that Spider-Man's costume was designed and given to him by Tony Stark for the length of his internship and it is the section of the film where we see Peter kissing Tony's butt and blowing off the rest of his life in order to become an avenger that become quite confusing and, at some times, even snore inducing. And the previously murky debate as to whether or not Aunt May knows who Peter really is gets addressed beautifully.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/spider-man-_homecoming_still_michael_keaton.jpg?w=1296&h=730&crop=1
On the other hand, I did like the fact that this film skips over the usual exposition regarding this character...the being bitten by a spider, the discovery of his powers and the experimentation with same, usually resulting in the dispatching of some school bully. Peter is already aware of his powers at the beginning of this film, which saved the filmmakers a lot of time that they could devote to the conflict between Peter and a very three-dimensional villain...can't recall the last time I saw a film like this where the villain of the piece actually has a family. This reveal is just the beginning of a slam-bang finale that delivers the goods in more ways than one.
https://i0.wp.com/thefwoosh.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Spider-Man-Homecoming-Iron-Man-and-Spider-Man-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C432&ssl=1
Tom Holland brings a refreshing youthfulness to the character of Peter Parker that I really haven't seen since Toby Maguire in 2002. When this guys tells someone he's 15, you really believe it. Michael Keaton is often chilling as the Vulture and, of course, Robert Downey Jr. makes the most of his screentime as Tony Stark. If you're looking for a continuation of the Andrew Garfield franchise like I was, you will be disappointed but not for long. 3.5

Gideon58

03-17-18, 09:24 PM

Cruising
The 1980 murder mystery Cruising is one of the most maligned films in cinema history for many different reasons except for one...the fact that its just not a very good movie.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/nJkEd2LkWE0/movieposter.jpg
After nine films that earned him five Oscar nominations, Al Pacino decided to take on the role of Steve Burns, a police detective who is sent undercover to sniff out the killer of several homosexual men in Manhattan and how this case affects his own life as he sinks deeper into a new dangerous world that gnaws at Burns' conscience while never taking his eye off the prize.
http://moveablefest.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/PacinoFriedkinCruising.jpg
For those who weren't around during the film's theatrical release, this film caused a firestorm of controversy and non-stop protesting, including a movement to ban the film from being released at all. Moviegoers all over the country actually picketed movie theaters trying to get people to boycott the film...and it wasn't just the heterosexual community either. The heterosexual community was against the film because of its alleged in your face look at the gay community that commercial moviegoers hadn't really been exposed to before. The gay community protested the film because it made homosexuals look like psychopaths and didn't really make it clear that the BDSM crowd around which the story is centered, is only a fraction of the gay community and one of the most feared and misunderstood.
https://www.framerated.co.uk/frwpcontent/uploads/2019/08/cruising04.jpg
It's been a couple of decades since my last viewing of this film and it definitely has its problems, primarily the fact that it is terribly dated....with the advent of HIV/AIDS, cruising in adult bookstores and having sex in Central Park are things that just don't happen anymore and hard to look at as seriously as director/co-screenwriter William Friedkin presents it here. I actually found this film more dated than another film with gay characters, Boys in the Band, ironically also directed by Friedkin.
https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fffe51af5-f457-4a02-bb1d-36941c88b9fe_5549x3723.jpeg
What does make this film worth a peek is this character Steve Burns and the changes he goes through as the story progresses. If you watch the guy who arrives in the West Village in a cab to begin this assignment and the guy at the end of the film, he is definitely not the same guy, also evidenced in how this assignment methodically destroys his relationship with his girlfriend (Karen Allen). Though I found it unrealistic that he was allowed to visit his girlfriend periodically throughout the assignment. We find ourselves wondering if what Burns is going through is making him question his own sexuality and though we don't get definitive proof that this is happening, it does make watching the character challenging. This role could have been career killer for Pacino, but he doesn't shy away from it.
https://filmforum.org/do-not-enter-or-modify-or-erase/client-uploads/_1000w/CRUISIING_slideshow_2.png
Friedkin's direction is a little stilted and other than Pacino, the performances are mostly over the top, but it's a definite curio that Pacino fans will want to experience. 2.5

Gideon58

03-18-18, 06:06 PM

Breakable You
A near brilliant lead performance from an unexpected source was the primary pleasure of a 2017 drama called Breakable You with more than its share of problems, including a talky and pretentious screenplay and the fact that only about a third of the movie really works.
https://resizing.flixster.com/sVApCXAGfPnAXWQtqiVLyD0mgY4=/206x305/v1.bTsxMjY0NTY0ODtqOzE3NjUxOzEyMDA7MTM5ODsxODY0
The film is a claustrophobic look at the Wellers, a sophisticated Manhattan family and the people and circumstances in their orbit. Adam Weller (Tony Shaloub) is a playwright who has a chance to save his failing career when the opportunity presents itself for him to present the last play written by a deceased professional rival as his own; his ex-wife Eleanor Weller (Oscar winner Holly Hunter) is a therapist who seems to hate her work and has recently begun an affair with her brother--in-law (Alfred Molina); their daughter Maud Weller (Cristin Milioti) is a know-it-all college professor who's in love with a former actor (Omar Metwally) who refuses to climb out of the hole he has been hiding in since the death of his daughter.
http://www.berkshirefinearts.com/uploadedImages/articles/6995palm2_2017-01-19_111626.jpg
Director and co-screenwriter Andrew Wagner makes a bold attempt at a look at family dysfunction in the Big Apple, but the film comes off like Grade Z Woody Allen with all the dialogue having an "aren't we all so clever" air about it, not to mention that of the three primary stories being presented here, only one really held this reviewer's interest. I didn't care about Eleanor and the brother-in-law because Hunter and Molina had absolutely no chemistry and Maud and her boyfriend were pretty much fingernails on a chalkboard every time they hit the screen.
https://images.moviesanywhere.com/movie-hero/c1de7105cb4c369f23cb45ba46ce5b1f.jpeg?r=16x9&w=2560
The only time this movie really came to life was when Emmy and Golden Globe winner Tony Shaloub moved in the middle of the proceedings. This character was warm, brilliant and most importantly, deliciously flawed. This was another movie character who spoke without filter, but not without consequence which legitimized the character and Shaloub inhabited this character completely, showing a depth and sensitivity I have never seen from the actor. He was better here than he was in Big Night. Shaloub delivers the kind of performance that ignites tear ducts, breaks hearts, and wins awards.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Lf7un7-Njx0/maxresdefault.jpg
The film does have some other virtues. I mentioned Grade Z Woody Allen above and I have to say that Wagner's photographic representation of Manhattan is on the money. Haven't seen New York look this beautiful since Hannah and her Sisters and there are a pair of classy cameos from Caroline Aaron and Brooke Adams. But what we basically have here is a third of a really good movie. Unfortunately, there are two other thirds that make this film seem interminable, but the film is worth checking out for the dazzling performance from Tony Shaloub. 2.5

Gideon58

03-18-18, 09:15 PM

Til the Clouds Roll By
The life and music of Jerome Kern is celebrated in a lavish spectacle from 1946 called Til the Clouds Roll By which was really an excuse for MGM to trot out all of their biggest stars giving them a chance to strut their stuff in some terrific song and dance numbers, but when the singing and dancing stops, the movie is pretty rough going.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjkzNGJiOTYtYTZiNC00YTJkLTk1MGYtY2U2MDU3YTdlZTIyXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg
The film opens in 1927 on opening night of Kern's most famous musical, Show Boat and then flashes back to Kern's humble beginnings as an unknown songwriter who strike up a partnership with an arranger named Jim Hessler. Kern and Hessler meet just as Hessler is headed to London where Kern meets Eva, the woman he would eventually marry. The pair return to the States and we watch Kern's rapid show business rise with shows like Oh Boy, Leave it to Jane, and Sunny, which starred 20's Broadway sensation Marilyn Miller.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/G_9R0vrvYa8/maxresdefault.jpg
This is another one of those show biz biopics that I suspect is not big on the facts, just an excuse for MGM's roster to display their talent, several of whom reveal musical talents that had been unseen before this. As I always have said on this subject, if you really want the facts on Jerome Kern's life, I suggest you go to the internet.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QtjeKSZcvDI/maxresdefault.jpg
Robert Walker's performance as Jerome Kern is a little on the melodramatic side and played with way too straight a face, as is Van Heflin's work as Hessler. Though I can't blame the actors completely, the corny and overly sentimental screenplay is fighting the actors all they way. I was a little confused by the importance of Hessler in Kern's life as I had never heard of him prior to this film which didn't help the slow moving and rather sappy story about these two, not to mention Jim's spoiled daughter Sally who has always wanted a show biz career despite her father's objections.
https://i0.wp.com/www.thejudyroom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Judy-Garland-Till-The-Clouds-Roll-By-1.png?fit=640%2C518&ssl=1
The film does come alive during some of the musical numbers, which feature some imaginative staging by Robert Alton. The standout musical numbers included Kathryn Grayson and Tony Martin doing "Make Believe", Lena Horne's smokey "Can't Help Lovin Dat Man", Dinah Shore's lovely "They Didn't Believe Me", Angela Lansbury's "How'd You Like to Spoon With Me?" and Sinatra singing "Ol Man River." Van Johnson wasa a surprisingly agile dancer in "I Won't Dance" with Lucille Bremer as Sally. And of course, Judy Garland, who plays Marilyn Miller, made her two numbers, :Who?" and "Look for the Silver Lining" highlights. Richard Whorf directed most of the film except for the Garland scenes which were directed by Vincente Minnelli and you can tell.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/085Yn_zxYgg/hqdefault.jpg
Unfortunately, the musical numbers weren't enough to make this a standout effort for MGM. They have definitely done better work, but it might be worth a look, but for me, a real disappointment. 2

Gideon58

03-21-18, 12:00 AM

It's Always Fair Weather
MGM knocked it out of the park with their 1955 triumph It's Always Fair Weather an effervescent and imaginative musical romp that rivals some of the best musicals to come from the studio.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNWFkNTAwZGYtZDI2NC00YWRiLTk0NjYtYWQ0NjQwZTNjZjQ1XkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg
Ted (Gene Kelly), Doug (Dan Dailey), and Angie (Michael Kidd) are three soldiers who return from WWII pledging eternal friendship and agreeing to reunite 10 years later but the decade finds them completely different people and at the mercy of a bitchy television hostess (Dolores Gray) and her clever program director (Cyd Charisse).
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CUhVoX4HflI/TiXvUtc7usI/AAAAAAAAFNc/NwO4u-pRNvw/s1600/ItsAlwaysFairWeather.jpg
Kelly and co-director Stanley Donen originally conceived this musical to reunite the stars of On the Town; however, Jules Munshin was having health issues and was unavailable and Frank Sinatra had won an Oscar and thought he was too good for musicals so Dan Dailey was pegged for Munshin and Michael Kidd for Sinatra, though they don't really play Chip. Gaby, and Ozzy here, the basic idea is similar.
https://d2ycltig8jwwee.cloudfront.net/features/53/fullwidth.3e5d1770.JPG
Betty Comden and Adolph Green's screenplay is intelligent and surprisingly deft, rich with effective potshots at television and the advertising business while never forgetting these three likable characters who definitely change through the course of the story and even though we watch and accept the struggles these guys go through, we still want them to be the same three joyous GI's we meet at the beginning of the movie.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-70U_C90Fzms/UDEpAYExw0I/AAAAAAAAGoA/G4Ir-tRSyYo/s1600/7.JPG
This musical contains one musical highlight after another. I loved the ash can dance where the leads dance with trash can lids on their shoes and Charisse's big number at the boxing gym, "Baby You Knock Me Out". Loved the number in the restaurant too. There's another great dance with the three leads dancing next to each other even though the characters are in different locations and Gray has a couple of showstoppers with "Music is Better Than Words" and "Thanks a lot but No Thanks". Of course, this film is most famous for "I Like Myself" a fabulous number which finds Kelly gliding all over Times Square on roller skates...just amazing.
https://dailyhumorpix.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/vlcsnap-2012-06-19-04h11m59s53.jpg
Kelly and Donen work magic with their cast, with Kidd a standout, even though he would find greater fame as the choreographer of the film versions of Guys and Dolls and Hello Dolly. Dailey's drunk scene is a lot of fun too. This uderrated gem is a must for MGM fans. 4

cricket

03-23-18, 03:06 PM

I liked Crusing but HurlyBurly was a big time dud!

Gideon58

03-24-18, 02:44 PM

The Fortune Cookie
The genius of Billy Wilder and the first onscreen teaming of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau make 1966's The Fortune Cookie a classic that still provides solid laughs a half century later.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/fc/24/86/fc248687175dd5241e9e3cacb68c28b9.jpg
Lemmon plays Harry Hinkle, a television cameraman who gets injured by a football player during a Cleveland Browns game whose minor injuries don't stop his brother-in-law, Willie Gingrich (Walter Matthau), a fast-talking ambulance chaser who sees big money in the accident and decides to sue the Browns and CBS for a million dollars.
http://haphazardstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Fortune-Cookie-1966-Jack-Lemmon-Walter-Matthau-comedy.png
Harry initially balks at the idea of the phony lawsuit, but the idea of all that money and a possible reconciliation with his cheating ex-wife (Judi West) turns Harry around. Also thrown into mix is the football player who injured Harry and is wracked with guilt about it and an insurance company who has detectives shadowing Harry in an attempt to prove that Harry's injuries are bogus.
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rTb8ZrugchQ/ULJhOQdyXUI/AAAAAAAAAsc/KrMAVEfA-8I/s1600/Fortune+Cookie3.jpg
The creative team that won Oscars for 1960's Best Picture, The Apartment, Billy Wilder and IAL Diamond come up with another winning comic tale, a layered story with colorful characters painted in various shades of gray, except for one. Boom Boom Jackson, the football player who hurt Harry, is really the only straight up character in this farce. Jackson's guilt about what he did to Harry comes shining through in every appearance he makes onscreen and it is through his guilt that we saw how greasy the rest of the characters are, especially Willie and Harry's ex-wife, whose agendas are pretty muddy. Harry initially appears sincere but it's not crystal clear the exact moment where he comes on board with Willie's scheme.
http://c8.alamy.com/comp/BKGB8N/the-fortune-cookie-1966-meet-whiplash-willie-alt-billy-wilder-dir-BKGB8N.jpg
Wilder's direction is a little deliberate, causing some slow spots here and there, but Wilder's eye and ear for what is funny is on target here, as well as his and Diamond's ability to create funny and three dimensional characters that we can't help but find entertainment value. Once again, Jack Lemmon is the perfect everyman caught in the middle of madcap circumstances and Walter Matthau's brilliant turn as the fast talking shyster is so on-target, it actually won him the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Ron Rich is absolutely charming as Boon Boom and I loved Cliff Osmond and Noam Pitlik as the detectives watching Harry. Lurene Tuttle has some funny moment as Harry's mother, and if you don't blink, you'll catch a brief appearancy by William Christopher, who would gain greater fame a decade later as Father Mulcahy on MASH. A bouquet as well to Andre Previn's jazzy score. An underrated classic that deserves more attention than it has received. 4

Gideon58

03-24-18, 06:38 PM

Two Days in the Valley
Two Days in the Valley is a sizzling and sexy crime drama that consistently entertains due to colorful characters, stylish direction, and a terrific all-star cast.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51BPRRA4ENL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg
This 1996 drama is one of those stories that appears to be telling multiple stories but eventually meld into one but the trail to the primary story is one that requires patience from the viewer and it does eventually pay off.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8FysZvGGiz8/maxresdefault.jpg
This story begins with murder of a guy named Roy (Peter Horton) while sleeping next to his ex-wife (Terii Hatcher). This seemingly simple crime becomes the jumping off point for several subplots including a pair of hitmen (James Spader, Danny Aiello) whose partnership comes to an ugly end; a suicidal screenwriter (Paul Mazursky); a sensitive nurse (Marsha Mason); a pair of Vice detectives (Jeff Daniels, Eric Stolz) who stumble onto Roy's murder and a lonely secretary (Glenne Headley) completely devoted to her scummy boss (Greg Cutwell).
https://media.gettyimages.com/id/51096053/photo/james-spader-and-charlize-theron-stars-in-the-movie-2-days-in-the-valley.jpg?s=1024x1024&w=gi&k=20&c=yuplf760aLseQcKtrQeEgwIeqUo7FDp60w06aWmjE8o=
Director and writer John Herzfeld shows a real flair for onscreen storytelling, presenting story rich with characters who are larger than life involved in a somewhat complex story where it seems like you're watching three or four different movies simultaneously but the story parts do eventually and economically meld into one before you realize it's happening. Herzfeld's provides just enough backstory for the characters who require it and his often inventive camerawork makes some of the plotholes easy to overlook. And he legitimizes it all by setting the story in what Archie Bunker once referred to as "the land of fruits and nuts"...California's San Fernando Valley.
http://www.eric-stoltz.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Eric-Stoltz-and-Jeff-Daniels-in-2-Days-in-the-Valley.jpg
Herzfeld gets some solid performances form his hand-picked cast with standout work from Daniels, channeling Clint Eastwood as a very angry vice cop with a lot of issues, Spader as an icy assassin with absolutely no conscience, and especially director/screenwriter Paul Mazursky, delivering a real movie star performance as a down on his luck Hollywood loser that will definitely tug at the heartstrings. Kudos as well to the editing and the inventive music score...Pulp Fiction fans will have a head start here. 3.5

Gideon58

03-24-18, 10:18 PM

Patriots Day
One of American history's most devastating acts of terrorism and its tragic and dangerous aftermath are recreated in 2016's Patriot's Day, a disturbing and heart stopping docudrama centered around the tragic 2013 bombing of the Boston Marathon that resulted in three deaths and 246 civilian injuries.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Q6PdDrDBxVI/movieposter.jpg
The story opens a couple of days before the annual marathon where we are introduced to a group of characters anticipating the annual event and some who aren't, specifically a police officer named Tommy Saunders (Mark Wahlberg) who is getting ready to come off his suspension from the force and has been assigned duty at the race's finish line. Saunders is front row center as an obvious act of terrorism destroys Boston's most important annual event which leads to the entrance of the FBI into the investigation, their identification and pursuit of the two suspects, which not only involved the FBI and Boston police, but neighboring Watertown police as well.
https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/patriots-day.jpg?w=1000
Director and co-screenwriter Peter Berg is to be applauded for this mammoth undertaking, the mounting of a horrible series of events and their effect on the nation and trying to provide a balanced account of the events which I'm not sure needed to be so balanced, There are disturbing elements to the way this story is mounted. The terrorists are introduced to us at the beginning of the movie along with the rest of the characters with no major clues as to who they are, but the screenplay actually seems to want to evoke sympathy for the terrorists by introducing them at home with a wife and a baby and in a college dorm room. I don't know why Berg would want us to feel anything for these people, especially since we never get any information about why they are doing this and who exactly they're working for.
https://typeset-beta.imgix.net/2016/12/28/ccc55384-5665-4dfc-8aec-1b30e49e6f60.jpg?w=970&h=582&fit=crop&crop=faces&auto=format&q=70
One thing I did like that the screenplay did was introduce characters at the beginning of the movie who initially appear to have no purpose in the story and the fact that we have to wait until almost halfway through the running time to find out how these characters are relevant to the story requires viewer patience that is beautifully rewarded. I was also disturbed that when the FBI arrives on the scene that a discussion is actually initiated as to whether or not this bombing was actually an act of terrorism. We then actually see the FBI Special Agent (Kevin Bacon) pick up a tiny piece of debris from the ground, look at it, and then announce "Yeah, it's terrorism"...seriously
https://www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/film-patriots-review-adv13-7015bfe0-d765-11e6-9f9f-5cdb4b7f8dd7.jpg?w=525
This was one small misstep in a cinematic story that created numerous scenes of genuine suspense, I mean Hitchcock like suspense that found me actually holding my breath. I also the loved watching the FBI mount their investigation, watching them turn an empty warehouse into a command station featuring a blueprint of the parade route was fascinating as was their computer tracking of the suspects at the bombing, which they were able to do with the assistance of Officer Saunders, who served as an extremely effective linchpin to all aspects of this harrowing story.
https://www.ara.cat/2013/04/16/societat/explosions-Boston-DAN-LAMPARIELLO-REUTERS_902319858_20845013_900x550.jpg
Berg's attention to detail in mounting this story is also on the money, employing some first rate production values, with special shout-outs to editing and sound. The performances serve the story as they should and Berg makes sure that the few name stars he utilizes here don't forget that. I usually tend to skip epilogues with movies like this one, but I found the update on Boston's recovery from these events quite moving, especially the sight of amputees from the bombing running in another marathon. This is one of those docudramas that will definitely stick with you after the credits roll. 4

Citizen Rules

03-24-18, 10:30 PM

Patriots Day
rating_4 Another well written review:up:....But wow did we have vastly different opinions on Patriots Day. I hated it and gave it a 1 rating. Have you read my review? There's 5 total reviews for that movie on MoFo. It's fun to read them and see how people either love that movie or despise it.

Gideon58

03-25-18, 03:08 PM

I don't get how people could have hated this movie unless they are confusing the quality of the film with the subject matter.

Gideon58

03-25-18, 04:34 PM

The Great Lie
It's the kind of movie plot that defines the genre "Soap Opera", but 1941's The Great Lie provides solid entertainment, thanks to solid performances from the leading ladies, both cast against type.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/ef/The_Great_Lie.jpg/220px-The_Great_Lie.jpg
Based on a novel by Robin Banks, this is the story of Pete (George Brent), an amateur aviator who is married to a famous concert pianist named Sandra (Mary Astor). When Pete learns that his marriage to Sandra isn't valid, he hops in his plane to see his ex, Maggie (Bette Davis) who pretends that she is over Pete but nothing is further from the truth. Pete senses this and returns to Sandra and offers to remarry her on the day of an important concert for her. When Sandra won't give up her concert date to remarry Pete, he flies back to Maggie and marries her.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BOTc3YTIxYWEtM2E1YS00ZGZlLTg5NDAtMTVhNTQ5NGRkMDIyXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg
Pete and Maggie are blissfully happy until Sandra and Maggie run into each other and Sandra announces that she is pregnant with Pete's child. Sandra is certain that this will help her win Pete back, but then a call from Washington sends Pete on a mission that finds him missing and assumed dead. With this news, Maggie agrees to help Sandra have her baby and then agrees to raise Pete's baby as her own. This is all well and good until it's revealed that Pete is alive after all.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYjViODQyZWEtNTdiNy00NTQ5LWE3MTQtMzI3ZWQ0ZGU1MjM5XkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg
Lenore Coffee's screenplay is pretty straightforward...it's the classic romantic triangle played out as the ultimate melodrama that gets a little corny in spots. As always in stories like this, the apex of the triangle is a clueless boob and you have to wonder what these two women see in him. The film earns its cinematic credentials through the performances of Bette Davis and Mary Astor playing roles that were virgin territory for both of them. Davis made a career out of playing, strong, manipulative, no-nonsense women with questionable moral compasses and it was surprising watching her playing the good girl. Mary Astor pulls out all the stops playing the nasty diva that Davis usually played in her sleep and was so convincing that she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress of 1941. These actresses sizzle onscreen together...I especially loved the middle section of the story where the two women go away so that Sandra can have the baby privately and Maggie is taking care of her. These scenes where you see both women coming thisclose to strangling each other were worth the price of admission alone.
https://diaryofamoviemaniac.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/great1.jpg
Brent is wooden as always as Pete, but his leading ladies do their best to disguise that and Max Steiner's music is a little overpowering at times, but Bette Davis and Mary Astor make this soap opera worth enduring. 3.5

Gideon58

03-25-18, 07:06 PM

Eight Men Out
A historical scandal in sports history is effectively dramatized in an expensive 1988 film called Eight Men Out.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51gy0ZIqetL.jpg
it's Chicago 1919 and the Chicago White Sox are on their way to the World Series but are still unhappy because they are being severely underpaid by their tight-fisted owner, Charles Comisky. So interest is definitely piqued when the players are offered $10,000 a game to throw the World Series. Apparently, in the midst of the series, two of the players, Shoeless Joe Jackson and Buck Weaver, re-thought their decision but it was too late. The Sox lost the series, the scandal became public and the eight players were put on trial, exonerated legally, but banned from major league baseball for the rest of their lives.
https://assets.mubicdn.net/images/film/4383/image-w1504_overlaid.jpg?1481129958
Director and co-screenwriter John Sayles has mounted a historical sports drama that attempts to tell a compelling story in a balanced manner and he almost succeeds. As we learn during the trial portion of the story, certain evidence disappeared which probably made it impossible for the jury to convict. I suspect that during the 1920's, guilty verdicts had to be unanimous and there was no way that could ever happen. This story clearly puts us in the corner of these ballplayers from the beginning, making their unhappiness with Comisky a no-brainer and showing how quickly the thought of $70,000 put dollar signs in their eyes that they could not turn away.
http://www.cinemastance.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Eight-men-out-court-cusack.jpg
Sayles does a wonderful job of mounting the individual games in the series, making it clear which players are participating in the fix and which are not. Unfortunately, the players who were in were only so convincing in the eyes of the fans in the stands and the young boys who idolize Buck Weaver and see him on his way home from the stadium after every game. I have to admit that I found it a little hard to believe that the other players and their dugout coach, Kid Gleason, had NO idea what these guys were doing. These guys have been an athletic unit for years and know each other inside and out yet the guys playing it straight had NO idea what was going on? I was impressed that they stuck to this even when they were on the stand during the trial, the one section of the film that smacks a little of pandering for audience sympathy, but was it historically accurate? Who can say?
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BKtBN0KHq5A/maxresdefault.jpg
Sayles spared no expense in bringing this tale to the big screen, employing first rate production values...including lovely cinematography set direction, and exquisite attention to period detail. . I loved the look of the ball field, the way it was still close to the ground so that when fans yelled at the players, the players could actually hear what fans were saying to them. A terrific ensemble cast serves the story with standout work from John Cusack, David Strathairn, Michael Rooker, John Mahoney, Christopher Lloyd, Michael Lerner, and Don Harvey. Historically accurate, I don't know, but as far as entertainment value, Sayles and company knock it out of the park here. 3.5

Joel

03-25-18, 07:38 PM

Good review. I may watch this soon as I haven't seen it yet and am a big Sayles fan.

GulfportDoc

03-25-18, 08:24 PM

The Great Lie
It's the kind of movie plot that defines the genre "Soap Opera", but 1941's The Great Lie provides solid entertainments, thanks to solid performances from the leading ladies, both cast against type.
...
rating_3_5
This was a very good film, and a little shocking for its day. Astor and Davis were two of the very best.

But I could never understand why George Brent became popular. Perhaps he was thought to be both good looking and self-assured by the women of the era. But he put me in mind of Herbert Marshall-- only without the excitement...:D He should have been limited to soap operas (I guess was).

~Doc

Gideon58

03-26-18, 09:57 AM

Yeah, George Brent was such a bad actor...can't believe Bette did FOUR movies with him.

Gideon58

03-26-18, 01:00 PM

This was a very good film, and a little shocking for its day. Astor and Davis were two of the very best.

But I could never understand why George Brent became popular. Perhaps he was thought to be both good looking and self-assured by the women of the era. But he put me in mind of Herbert Marshall-- only without the excitement...:D He should have been limited to soap operas (I guess was).

~Doc

"Herbert Marshall without the excitement", LOL, I love that.

Citizen Rules

03-26-18, 01:26 PM

Agreed, George Brent is flavorless. Not horrible, but I too have wondered how he managed to become such a big star. At any rate he won't be making my Top 1930s Actors & Actresses list.

Gideon58

03-27-18, 10:33 PM

Just Married
The 2003 romantic comedy Just Married doesn't really offer anything new in terms of the genre and is a little self-indulgent in terms of story, but it is watchable thanks to some gorgeous scenery, some clever writing, and an effervescent performance from its leading lady.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51STHKPZJKL._SY445_.jpg
This is the story of Tom (Ashton Kutcher) and Sarah (the late Brittany Murphy) who meet cute one day when he hits her in the nose with a football Marcia Brady-style. The story follows their brief courtship, their marriage, and a European honeymoon that redefines Murphy's Law and almost tears our young lovers apart, not to mention a lot of interference from Sarah's ex, who actually follows the couple to Europe in an attempt to break them up.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HTjeSsgZVW4/maxresdefault.jpg
Screenwriter Shawn Harper had provided a story full of funny dialogue but portions of the story just come off as either affected, predictable, or hard to swallow. It smacks of convenience that Tom is a part-time radio personality and Sarah is from an obscenely rich family who are against the relationship from the start and I also found it hard to believe that this ex-boyfriend Peter would not only attend their wedding but follow them to Europe on their honeymoon. The honeymoon was enough of a disaster that the protagonists really didn't need the extra aggravation of a psycho ex-boyfriend stalking them, it was just extra padding the story didn't really need.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sLRRp6hwCtY/hqdefault.jpg
Shawn Levy, who directed Night of the Museum and Date Night and has a penchant for big budget action comedy, provides rather lackluster direction. Despite the gorgeous European location filming and a lot of silly physical comedy, this movie moves at snail's pace and seems four hours long. I did enjoy the fact that the film opened with the couple returning from Europe through with each other and then flashed back to how they met, but the wait for the requisite happy ending was interminable.
http://ilarge.lisimg.com/image/4308410/852full-just-married-screenshot.jpg
Ashton Kutcher seems to be channeling Jerry Lewis in his gift for physical comedy but he eventually just grates on the nerves. I also loved David Rasche and Veronica Cartwright as Sarah's parents, but it was the vivacious performance by Brittany Murphy that made this movie worth sitting through. I love the way this character would laugh at seemingly tragic or stupid situations when laughing was the least appropriate move at the moment. This European postcard comedy is worth a look for a gifted young actress who was taken from us much too soon. 3

Gideon58

03-31-18, 05:46 PM

Twins
Ivan Reitman, director of Stripes and Ghostbusters triumphed again with a 1988 comedy called Twins that explores the often maligned theory of the cosmic connection between twin siblings and does it in a manner that provides solid entertainment with the help of a clever story and a pair of terrific lead performances.
https://screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Twins-movie-poster-cropped.jpg
It is revealed that through a genetic experiment 35 years ago, a woman named Marianne Benedict was implanted with an embryo created with six different fathers in an attempt to create the perfect human being. Unfortunately, the embryo split somewhere during the process and the children, with the help of environment and separate upbringing, became very different people.
https://queensofgeekdom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mv5bnjflndy5ymytmje4ms00nmm1ltgymtutmji5mzhmy2nmnjrlxkeyxkfqcgdeqxvymjuyndk2odc40._v1_.jpg
Julius (Arnold Schwarzeneggar) was raised on a beautiful tropic island near Fiji where he received intense physical training and the finest education. He is socially naive, completely oblivious to life outside of the island where he was raised and a virgin. When Julius learns the story of his birth, he leaves the island to find his mother and his twin brother Vincent (Danny DeVito), a degenerate womanizing gambler who steals cars and is into some serious thugs for about $20,000. Vincent steals the wrong car and Julius insists they find their mother. initiating a road trip that involves adventure, danger, and romance.
http://images2.fanpop.com/image/photos/9200000/Vincent-and-Linda-twins-the-movie-9279971-954-727.jpg
Reitman's evocative directorial hand is to be applauded for bringing credibility to this often hard-to-believe story by never forgetting the through line of the story...the cosmic connection between twins and its legitimacy. Reitman never allows the viewer to forget that these leading characters are truly twins who truly feel each other. There is a terrific moment near the beginning of the film where the twins are standing right next to each other before they have even met and they both scratch themselves in the exact same place. There's a scene in the final act where Vincent spills coffee on his hand and Julius suddenly starts wiggling his fingers. It's little moments like this that make any doubts about the credibility of the story a moot point.
https://wallpapercat.com/w/full/8/f/c/1489018-3840x2160-desktop-4k-twins-movie-background-image.jpg
Reitman was given a big budget to make this story work and that's all he does with it...serves a slightly complicated screenplay that never causes viewer incomprehension or impatience. We love Julius from the minute we meet him and we learn to love Vincent, but more than anything, we want to see these twins be a family and want to believe that connection really exists. Schwarzeneggar has never been more endearing onscreen in a role like nothing he had done before and DeVito's Vincent has some layers we really don't expect from the actor. Kelly Preston and Chloe Webb are decorative and fun romantic interests and there's a terrific cameo from 60's television icon Hugh O'Brian as one of the six fathers. And if you don't blink, you'll catch a very young David Caruso playing a parking garage attendant. After four previous viewings, this movie remains fresh and funny and kept me grinning for the entire running time. 4

Gideon58

04-02-18, 11:10 AM

Jesus Christ Superstar Live (2018)
Singer/songwriter John Legend made a credible musical theater debut playing the title role in NBC's live presentation of Jesus Christ Superstar.
https://d1r8mljd08gmy5.cloudfront.net/marquee/489/marquee/56ab8bf3-fad2-451e-8bd3-1da425bea91b.jpg
This now iconic Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice rock opera started out as a two-record album set in 1970 and was then mounted for Broadway the following year where it ran for over 700 performances. The opera came to the big screen in 1973 directed by Norman Jewison and a London revival of the show was also filmed in 2000. This musical has ruffled the feathers of many over the years while simultaneously making the story of the final days of Jesus Christ on this earth more accessible to others.
http://image.nj.com/home/njo-media/width620/img/entertainment_impact/photo/jesus-christ-superstar-live-in-concert---season-2018-14405e44e1aefe8a.jpg
This lavish re-working of the opera was presented in the form of a concert as opposed to a piece of theater and I think that was a bit of a detriment to the production. Despite the rock music atmosphere that pervades this piece, it is a pretty serious story that is being told here and I felt that co-directors David Leveaux and Alex Rudzinski erred by filming the story in front of an audience. It felt like the audience was confused as to whether they were watching a rock opera or a John Legend concert, as the audience was clearly a lot of fans of the star, evidenced during Judas' opening number "Heaven on their Minds" when Jesus was shaking hands with audience members in the front row. Filming this show in front of an audience diluted a lot of the power of the piece for me.
http://image.nj.com/home/njo-media/width620/img/entertainment_impact/photo/jesus-christ-superstar-live-in-concert---season-2018-c83b818d54c00402.jpg
On the positive side, the show was mounted with a great deal of respect to the original score. The only tampering of the original score was when they borrowed the lyrics for "The Temple" from the movie and this pleased me because I think this one of the most incredible scores ever written for the Broadway stage.
http://image.nj.com/home/njo-media/width960/img/entertainment_impact/photo/jesus-christ-superstar-live-in-concert---season2018-add18c18cfe5d540.jpg
The casting of John Legend in the title role comes off initially as stunt casting and a ratings tool, but Legend made it work for the most part. Vocally, the role was a little bit out of Legend's range, but he and the musical director masqueraded the problem vocal spots for him effectively. My only other issue with his performance, and I blame the directors for this, is that the character was missing a quality I have always associated with the character...humility.
https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/entertainment/television/2018/03/1140-jcsuperstar-bareilles-legend.jpg
The rest of the cast was rock solid...Brandon Victor Dixon was a superb Judas and made "Heaven on their Minds" and "Judas' Death" two of the production's musical highlights. Ben Daniels commanded the screen as Pilate as did Norm Lewis as Ciaphas. The stunt casting of rock icon Alice Cooper as King Herod was just that, a stunt, but the audience loved him. Sara Bareilles made a lovely Mary Magdalene and brought a freshness to the show's most famous song, "I Don't Know How to Love Him."
https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/04/dixoncrop-e1522696768179.jpg
Production values were first rate...the orchestra was nothing short of amazing, loved having the guitarists onstage during the overture and the directors utilized the almost stadium size stage to maximum effect. Must also give a shout out to Camille A. Brown's imaginative and energetic choreography that electrified several musical numbers. The production had its problems but there was entertainment value here and fans of the musical should definitely check it out. 3.5

Gideon58

04-04-18, 01:22 AM

Time Out of Mind
The plight of the homeless in Manhattan is dramatized in 2014's Time Out of Mind, a well-intentioned if not totally accurate look at the human condition manifested through homelessness which is exaggerated for dramatic effect but the emotional power of which cannot be denied.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/M6Vvn6aPJus/hqdefault.jpg
The film stars Richard Gere as George, a homeless man who after attempting to survive on the streets can no longer deny that the weather is getting too cold to remain on the streets and finds himself turning to a heartless system in the form of a men's detention center which eventually moves him to a homeless shelter where he actually makes a friend named Dixon(Ben Vereen) while trying to cling to the remnants of the relationship with his bitter daughter (Jena Malone).
http://streamondemandathome.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Time-out-of-mind.jpg
Having worked for non-profit organizations that involved direct contact with the homeless community I must say that the director/co-screenwriter's presentation of the homeless is a lot different than what I've seen. Where I live, the homeless community is exactly that...they are a community of people who know each other and sometimes help each other and sometimes steal from each other, but they are a group of people who usually look out for each other when it comes down to it. Until he meets Dixon, which doesn't happen until halfway through the film, George is portrayed as being all alone on the streets. not knowing anyone and no one knowing him and though it made for effective drama, it wasn't terribly realistic.
https://pyxis.nymag.com/v1/imgs/cb0/09c/455a4757a73c4970a2f779393d3c4a0062-04-time-out-of-mind-review.2x.h473.w710.jpg
When we first meet George, he is sleeping in the bathtub in an empty brownstone where he is heartlessly kicked out by a superintendent (Steve Buscemi). The super asks George how he got into the apartment and George never answers. I was curious to see what he would say because there is NO way a homeless person could break into an empty brownstone and sleep there. but then we see a battle with the buzzers where he leans on them until someone buzzes him, something else I don't see occurring IRL either.
http://www.dcfilmdom.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/time-out-of-mind-4.jpg
One sequence that rang totally true and really summed up the sensibility of the homeless was when George is observed selling the coat off his back , buying beer with the money. and then going to a church to get another coat. This story seems to intimate a correlation between homelessness and mental illness but doesn't explore it fully.
http://www.dcfilmdom.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/time-out-of-mind-3.jpg
What does work here is some really imaginative camerawork....I was intrigued by the way George was photographed through large portions of the story through dirty and stained windows. I also loved Richard Gere's gut-wrenching and raw performance as George that kept this somewhat melodramatic story worth investing in. I can't remember Gere being more moving onscreen and he gets solid support from Vereen and Malone. If movies were all about intentions, this would be a winner shining a light on an important subject, but the bulb is flickering here. 3

Citizen Rules

04-04-18, 01:36 PM

@Gideon, I'm glad you were able to find Time Out of Mind, it's a movie I'd never heard of until I accidentally bumped into it. I thought it was an interesting subject and I liked how it told the story of a confused man who might be suffering from mental difficulties and is alone on the streets. I liked how his confusion was so thorough that for the first part of the film, we're not even sure if he's really homeless? or just suffer from amnesia. That put us in his shoes, as we the audiences experience the world of Manhattan from his viewpoint. I totally bought the presentation of the homeless. Like any group of people, they have different types of lives. Some like you said are supportive of other homeless, and some like Richard Gere's homeless man suffer so much from mental problems that they are literally outcast. If you remember at the start of the film, he does have a friend who lets him sleep in the abandoned building, but we never meet her. Glad you could find this movie to watch.

Gideon58

04-04-18, 01:55 PM

I found this movie because of you, I read your review and asked you to send me a link. The only thing I might disagree with is that we weren't sure as to whether or not Gere's character was homeless. The guy was first seen sleeping in the bathtub of a vacant apartment. We see him sleeping on a park bench, the validity of his homelessness was never an issue. I wished we had had a little more background on how he became homeless and whether or not there were mental health issues with the character was also kind of vague.

Gideon58

04-04-18, 02:52 PM

Now that I think about it, I think if Gere's character had genuine mental health issues, his daughter would have treated him a lot differently than she did.

Citizen Rules

04-04-18, 03:18 PM

Now that I think about it, I think if Gere's character had genuine mental health issues, his daughter would have treated him a lot differently than she did. I wish they would have left the daughter and best friend out of the story. I'd rather see the last half of the film, like the first part was...more of a documentary-drama about Gere alone and coping on the streets...while filmed from his viewpoint 'as an invisible person'.

Gideon58

04-04-18, 06:08 PM

Actually, now that you mention it, I think the film could have worked without Dixon and the daughter...even though I thought his performance was strong, I found Vereen's character REALLY annoying...it was annoying because it was frighteningly accurate, a lot like homeless people I've met.

Gideon58

04-07-18, 06:36 PM

Serpico
Al Pacino received his second Oscar nomination for his performance in Serpico, a gritty 1973 docudrama which found Pacino playing a real life police officer trying to blow the lid off police corruption.
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fpWBCUNi1Ew/VUgH016lDrI/AAAAAAAAKuQ/KlNvtmd77qA/s400/serpico.jpg
The film introduces Frank Serpico as a fresh-faced police academy graduate eager to make the world a better place to live, but finds his personal agenda muddied when he begins to learn that the bad guys are not all killing and raping and that some of them are sitting in squad cars with him. Frank is genuinely shocked when he learns that his fellow officers are lining their pockets with money from local businessmen and criminals. Frank finds a way out of being a uniform cop but finds the corruption is at an even deeper on the undercover level, making Frank not only a pariah with criminals, but with fellow police officers as well.
https://constantscribbles.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/serpico.jpg
You know you're not going to be in for a typical police drama during the opening moments of the film when word reaches the station that Serpico has been shot and someone asks if a cop did it. This one little exchange of dialogue was the perfect hook to keep me riveted to find out what this guy did that was so terrible that even his fellow officers hate him.
https://static.rogerebert.com/redactor_assets/pictures/far-flung-correspondents/serpico-the-cop-who-wouldnt-take-money/9-serpico-pvs.jpg
There were a couple of things that I kept waiting for to happen but didn't. One, I expected Frank to give up and become another officer on the take and two, I expected Frank to persuade some fellow officer to join him in his battle against corruption, but neither of these things occur, taking this one a notch above the average police drama.
https://images.bauerhosting.com/legacy/empire-tmdb/films/9040/images/6pHv9P9yNXvOAp6G9UU8W8wzeLR.jpg?ar=16%3A9&fit=crop&crop=top&auto=format&w=1440&q=80
Director Sidney Lumet provides another atmospheric look at New York and its surrounding boroughs, filled with colorful characters and realistic dialogue. I must admit I did chuckle during the roll call scene where joints were passed out for officers to smoke so they recognize the smell and recognize the side effects in perps, whhich I found a little hard to swallow. Al Pacino's raw and explosive performance in the title role is nothing short of a revelation, a performance that galvanizes the screen and gnaws at the viewer's insides, a terrific collaboration between actor and director, who would reunite a few years later for Dog Day Afternoon, but their first work together is definitely worth investing in. 4

Gideon58

04-07-18, 09:39 PM

Goon
The 2011 comedy Goon is a silly and inconsequential sports comedy that works a little too hard at being quirky, but does provide sporadic laughs.
https://is5-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Video49/v4/36/67/38/36673899-3d49-eb39-ea5c-4be6ecc9e0b7/source/1200x630bb.jpg
Seann William Scott returns to the big screen as Doug, a bouncer at a club in Orangetown, Massachusetts who is drafted to join a farm league hockey team, not because he knows how to play hockey, but because he knows how to fight.
https://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/review/primary_image/reviews/goon-2012/hero_EB20120328REVIEWS120329980AR.jpg
Director Michael Dowse clearly has a knowledge for films like Slaphot and Happy Gilmore and utilizes this knowledge to bring Jay Baruchel and Evan Goldberg's semi-raunchy screenplay to fruition, though there are holes in the story that are never really explained. We learn at the beginning of the movie that Doug is unhappy with his life and is dealing with some self-pity issues and the way this self pity manifests into often unmotivated violence doesn't really make sense. It was also strange that Doug is originally drafted to play for one team that he almost immediately gets drafted for another team. Doug is developing a funny relationship with the first coach and all of a sudden he's gone.
http://cdn.collider.com/wp-content/uploads/goon-movie-image-liev-schreiber-01.jpg
One thing I did enjoy was the character of Eva, the romantic interest played by Allison Pill. I loved the fact that when she meets Doug, she already has a boyfriend and tells Doug that and the fact that she's a terrible girlfriend. She even goes as far to say that she sleeps around, but this information does not deter either Doug or Eva, making for a very offbeat onscreen romance.
https://dailytrojan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/GOON_web.jpg
Dowse does a credible job creating action scenes on the ice, with the help of some first rate editing and the art of slow-motion. Scott underplays nicely as Doug and is briefly reunited with American Pie co-star Eugene Levy, who appears briefly as his dad. Co-screenwriter Baruchel also gets laughs onscreen as Doug's BFF and Liev Schreiber has a classy cameo as Doug's hockey idol, but there's just an emptiness about the proceedings that doesn't sustain laughs for the entire running time. 2.5

Citizen Rules

04-07-18, 10:02 PM

Gideon58 As far as I know I've never seen Serpico. Maybe I caught a bit of it on TV years ago, but if so I don't remember it. I liked to see it someday. On the other hand no one could pay me enough to watch Goon:eek: Even the screen shots from the movie make it look silly.

Gideon58

04-07-18, 10:21 PM

Goon was nothing to write home about.

Citizen Rules

04-07-18, 10:25 PM

Goon was nothing to write home about.Just curious, what made you watch it?

Gideon58

04-07-18, 10:29 PM

Just kind of ran into it accidentally and I've always kind of liked Seann William Scott.

Citizen Rules

04-07-18, 10:45 PM

Just kind of ran into it accidentally and I've always kind of liked Seann William Scott. I don't think I've ever seen him in anything before.

Joel

04-07-18, 11:35 PM

Goon
The 2011 comedy Goon is a silly and inconsequential sports comedy that works a little too hard at being quirky, but does provide sporadic laughs.
https://is5-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Video49/v4/36/67/38/36673899-3d49-eb39-ea5c-4be6ecc9e0b7/source/1200x630bb.jpg
Seann William Scott returns to the big screen as Doug, a bouncer at a club in Orangetown, Massachusetts who is drafted to join a farm league hockey team, not because he knows how to play hockey, but because he knows how to fight.
https://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/review/primary_image/reviews/goon-2012/hero_EB20120328REVIEWS120329980AR.jpg
Director Michael Dowse clearly has a knowledge for films like Slaphot and Happy Gilmore and utilizes this knowledge to bring Jay Baruchel and Evan Goldberg's semi-raunchy screenplay to fruition, though there are holes in the story that are never really explained. We learn at the beginning of the movie that Doug is unhappy with his life and is dealing with some self-pity issues and the way this self pity manifests into often unmotivated violence doesn't really make sense. It was also strange that Doug is originally drafted to play for one team that he almost immediately gets drafted for another team. Doug is developing a funny relationship with the first coach and all of a sudden he's gone.
http://cdn.collider.com/wp-content/uploads/goon-movie-image-liev-schreiber-01.jpg
One thing I did enjoy was the character of Eva, the romantic interest played by Allison Pill. I loved the fact that when she meets Doug, she already has a boyfriend and tells Doug that and the fact that she's a terrible girlfriend. She even goes as far to say that she sleeps around, but this information does not deter either Doug or Eva, making for a very offbeat onscreen romance.
http://media.nbcbayarea.com/images/Goon+Trailer+Goalie2.jpg
Dowse does a credible job creating action scenes on the ice, with the help of some first rate editing and the art of slow-motion. Scott underplays nicely as Doug and is briefly reunited with American Pie co-star Eugene Levy, who appears briefly as his dad. Co-screenwriter Baruchel also gets laughs onscreen as Doug's BFF and Liev Schreiber has a classy cameo as Doug's hockey idol, but there's just an emptiness about the proceedings that doesn't sustain laughs for the entire running time. 2.5

Well, Gideon58, I don;t know what you'd expect, but I appreciate you taking the time to comb over an otherwise MIA stupid comedy for some explanation. Eugene Levy is a talented writer when he's with Guest, as you know. It's always nice to see people in the business who remind you that there's more there with them, even if it's not in Goon. :)

Gideon58

04-07-18, 11:52 PM

I don't think I've ever seen him in anything before.

I don't know if you've seen any of the American Pie movies, but he played Stifler. He also played Bo Duke in the film version of The Dukes of Hazard.

Gideon58

04-08-18, 12:37 AM

The Harvey Girls
Judy Garland had one of her biggest hits at MGM with a 1946 romp called The Harvey Girls which works thanks to a clever story, some terrific songs, and a solid cast.
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/52fb1089e4b073964669e872/t/572598e7e707eb7c1fd4d011/1462081777835/
Garland plays Susan Bradley, a young mail order bride traveling by train to a western town called Sand Rock where she's agreed to marry a man she's never met (Chill Wills). She meets a group of young women who are moving to the same town to work as waitresses in the expanding Fred Harvey Restaurant chain. Susan's engagement doesn't work out partially because she learns the letters that made her fall in love were actually written by a man named Ned Trent (John Hodiak).
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ff/68/bd/ff68bd90258b5093912037d905186516.jpg
Susan decides to join the the Harvey waitresses whose new restaurant gets involved in a turf war with the saloon across the street, owned by Trent. Trent finds himself attracted to Susan, much to the chagrin of a hardened saloon singer named Em (Angela Lansbury) who is also crazy for Trent, even though she might be in denial about it.
https://recollections.biz/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/harvey_gitls_collage_02.jpg
MGM pulled out all the stops for this elaborate western musical romp, anchored by a surprisingly meaty story from screenwriters Edmond Beloin and Nathaniel Curtis that has an almost West Side Story sensibility to it as we watch the battle between the good girls at the restaurant and the rowdy girls at the saloon and their battle which starts with the saloon boys stealing the restaurant's meat but escalates pretty quickly.
https://recollections.biz/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/harvey_girls_web_01.jpg
The musical numbers serve the story and never interfere with it. Highlights include a couple of Garland solos "In the Valley" and "My Intuition", a trio with Garland, Virginia O'Brien and Cyd Charisse called "It's a Great Big World", O'Brien's "The Wild Wild West" and of course the big production number "On the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe", which features elaborate vocal arrangements by Kay Thompson and effective staging by Robert Alton and also won the Oscar for Best Original Song of 1946.
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/4c/48/2d/4c482d983fd6dade5e5e9ce124ec14e2--helen-rose-angela-lansbury.jpg
Garland is backed by a first rate cast here. John Hodiak was an offbeat choice as a leading man for Garland, his rugged good looks and toothy Don Ameche-type grin were most appealing. Garland is reunited with her Wizard of Oz co-star Ray Bolger here who has an incredible tap solo that is also worth the price of admission. Virginia O'Brien's deadpan delivery still works and a very young Cyd Charisse shows a glimpse of the star she would become. Needless to say, Angela Lansbury steals every scene she's in (though her singing is dubbed). A joyous and nearly forgotten gem from the MGM dream factory. 4

Citizen Rules

04-08-18, 02:33 PM

The Harvey Girls
Judy Garland had one of her biggest hits at MGM with a 1946 romp called The Harvey Girls which works thanks to a clever story, some terrific songs, and a solid cast.

A joyous and nearly forgotten gem from the MGM dream factory. rating_4 Not forgotten by me! The Harvey Girls is one of my favorite Judy Garland musicals. I'm a sucker for period pieces, especially period piece musicals when they have great costumes, wonderful songs and a romance-drama-comedy story line that works. Glad to see you're a fan of The Harvey Girls too.

My other favortie Garland vehicles would be Meet Me in St Louis and In the Good Old Summer Time. I'm sure you've seen both of those many times.

Gideon58

04-08-18, 02:43 PM

Of course, there are reviews of both movies in my thread. She does some of her best vocal work in both films. Never get tired of listening to "The Boy Next Door", "Have Yourself a Merry a Little Christmas", "Play that Barbershop Chord", and "Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland".

Gideon58

04-08-18, 06:17 PM

Downsizing
Alexander Payne, the creative force behind films like Election, Sideways, and About Schmidt takes us on another bizarre, if not altogether successful fall down the cinematic rabbit hole with a 2017 epic called Downsizing which begins as a clever social satire, but takes a lengthy detour leading to a pretentious and overindulgent finale that doesn't even resemble the movie we're watching at the beginning.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91-ajQ+6+TL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg
As a method of battling world overpopulation, a Norwegian scientist has a developed a process that will shrink human beings to five inches tall that becomes known as "getting small" or "downsizing" from which an entire community in Norway has flourished. The process of getting small does come to the United States in the form of a community called Leisureland. Paul and Audrey Sefranek (Matt Damon, Kristen Wiig) decide that getting small is the way to go, but halfway through the extremely complicated process, Audrey chickens out and leaves Paul to forge a new life by himself in Leisureland which eventually leads to an unconventional relationship with an Asian activist with one leg.
https://cupofjo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Downsizing-Kristen-Wiig-Matt-Damon-680x462.jpg
Payne and longtime writing partner Jim Taylor are no strangers to off the wall storytelling but they have never brought us anything of this scope and size. Despite the size of the story, it still starts off quite brilliantly as a sort of social satire depicting an almost class war between ordinary people and the people who have gotten small. I was sucked into the story immediately by the way the story makes us think getting small is the only way to live. It appears to be an expensive process but it is also revealed that getting small triples whatever your yearly income is. The actual process was fascinating to watch...I loved the fact that the process involved the removal of the people's teeth and every strand of hair on their bodies.
https://www.flickfilosopher.com/wptest/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/downsizing.jpg
The movie is quite intriguing up to this point because I thought we were then going to get a close up comparison between living as a normal human being and living as a downsized one, but this is not what we get at all. Once we get over the fact that the heartless bitch Audrey just deserts Paul, the film focuses exclusively on the small population, but without conflict with the normal population, it was way too easy to forget that the small people were even small and the journey to an ending that had some legitimacy but came off as overindulgent and a little creepy. And the fact that it took forever to get there didn't help matters either.
https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59e7ad0cd7bdce1a63515d5c/1527707731848-IHT1C6ZG8TCBZEL5YOFD/downsizing.jpg
There were matters of logistics/continuity that gnawed at me. We see some of the small people from Leisureland take a journey by boat back to the original colony in Norway, but as they sailed, I couldn't help but thinking the waterways would still be normal-sized and shouldn't the boat they were on have been a lot smaller. Actually, by this point in the story my main struggle was keeping my eyes open.
https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/9246915/downsizing_movie_jason_sudeikis.png
Payne's directorial eye is imaginative as it has always been and his huge budget is everywhere on the screen. The film features exquisite art direction, set direction, and some great visual effects. A bouquet to Rolfe Kent's gorgeous music as well, but it all begins with the story and in this case, Payne seems to be unsure about what kind of story he wants to tell. 2.5

cricket

04-08-18, 08:42 PM

Happy to see you thought highly of Patriot's Day.

Gideon58

04-08-18, 09:48 PM

Love with the Proper Stranger
The 1963 classic Love with the Proper still provides sparkling entertainment due to a surprisingly adult story for its time and mad chemistry between the stars, both cast radically against type.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZjM0YmU1NzMtNTk4MC00ZDlhLWIxZmUtZmY2ODgxZTdkYmQ0XkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg
Angie (Natalie Wood) is a Macy salesgirl who lives in a cramped New York tenament with her mother and her three over-protective brothers and is being courted by a clumsy short order cook. Rocky (Steve McQueen) is an unemployed musician who is having a relationship with an exotic dancer (Edie Adams). As our story opens, it is revealed that Angie and Rocky had a one night stand which Rocky doesn't remember and even the news that Angie is now pregnant barely jogs his memory. Angie claims all she wants from Rocky is the name of a reputable doctor who can get them both out of this impossible situation.
http://onthesetofnewyork.com/locations/lovewiththeproperstranger/lovewiththeproperstranger05.jpg
This movie scores on a number of levels. Abortion was not an everyday topic for the movies in 1963 and this story manages to broach the subject without ever actually using the word, which I'm sure was one of the conditions upon which the studio allowed the movie to be made, the same way The Man with the Golden Arm was made without ever using the word heroine. Even though the "A" word is never used, we know exactly what is going on, thanks to Arnold Schulman's carefully molded screenplay and Robert Mulligan's sensitive direction. The episodic progression of this story is quite compelling from Rocky seeking advice from his girlfriend about a doctor to the pursuit of money to pay for it, to the ugly climactic meeting with a backstreet butcher as I'm pretty sure abortion was still illegal at this time.
https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTg1MDIzODAzOV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwMjE3NzQ2._V1_.jpg
What we get then is the relationship that develops as Angie and Rocky get to know each other and it should come to no surprise that this so-called courtship has genuine peaks and valleys as we are see Rocky trying to do the right thing and Angie wanting something that is probably never going to happen.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/S/pv-target-images/b5c2b1bc3c8d58a14cb9892f5d09aae125db9d43f4622708536cf190f31cb55b.png
A great deal of the appeal in this story also steams from the lead female character, a truly contemporary movie heroine. I loved when she first meets Rocky that all she wants from him is the name of a good doctor. I also loved that when Rocky offers to marry her, she turns him down because she doesn't want him to marry her out of obligation, though she is willing to marry the short order cook, who she doesn't love. This character was all over the place. but nothing she did or said strayed from realism. She was explosive and unpredictable.
https://kinolorber.com/media_cache/userFiles/uploads/films/love-with-the-proper-stranger/filmgalleryfull/love_with_the_proper_stranger_19_.jpg
Natalie Wood's dazzling performance as Angie earned her a third Oscar nomination and I can't believe I'm saying this, but Steve McQueen has never been sexier onscreen and McQueen brought a lot of sexy to the screen in the 60's and 70's. Also have to give a shout out to Herschel Bernardi as Angie's oldest brother and Tom Bosley as Angie's clumsy, cooking boyfriend. I also loved Elmer Bernstein's bluesy music which served this bumpy yet believable love story to a T. A must for Wood fans. 4

Gideon58

04-10-18, 10:37 PM

Notting Hill
Most of us film buffs fantasize either privately or with fellow buffs what it would be like to meet our favorite movie star. Well that fantasy comes to fruition in the form of a lovely date movie from 1999 called Notting Hill.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/38/NottingHillRobertsGrant.jpg/220px-NottingHillRobertsGrant.jpg
The setting is contemporary London where Hugh Grant plays William Thacker, the owner of a small bookstore, who actually meets and actually falls in love with a movie star who is in London to promote her new movie named Anna Scott (Julia Roberts).
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JexO-N39Nzg/maxresdefault.jpg
This movie definitely scores some originality points by setting it on foreign soil and having Julia Roberts the only American playing a lead role. Richard Curtis' screenplay succeeds in making the character of William Thacker so likable that we are willing to accept the fact that what happens to this guy never happens to anyone in real life. The screenplay is also generously peppered with a lot of British slang that was completely new to me, but never felt the need for a British to American thesaurus to catch everything being said.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uJPI1qu9bE4/maxresdefault.jpg
Curtis and director Roger Michell also do a first rate job of showing the different levels of celebrity obsession from non-existent to completely over-the-top. Both sides of this spectrum are cleverly observed during the scene where William takes Anna to his sister's birthday party. William's sister claims to know everything about Anna and already thinks they're BFF's while her boyfriend has a 20 minute conversation with Anna, not having a clue who she is. And I don't know if it was intentional or not, but I loved the fact that Anna seemed a little offended that the guy didn't know who she was.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PTjIRQU_HdM/maxresdefault.jpg
I did find the character of Anna to be a bit of an enigma...she initiates this whole relationship with an unmotivated kiss and then spent the rest of the story making William jump through really big relationship hoops. I thought it strange of her to invite him to that press junket that she claimed she thought would be over by now. Or when they were playing the game at the dinner party trying to win the last brownie and she was trying to convince these folk how miserable her life has been...seriously? On the other hand, I have the feeling that the character of Anna Scott is the closest thing moviegoers have ever seen to the real Julia Roberts.
https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/notting-hill-2-gty-er-190527_hpMain_4x5_608.jpg
Still, the film is beautifully photographed and the chemistry between Grant and Roberts is positively kinetic...we want these two together from the minute they lay eyes on each other. Rhys Ifans also steals every scene he's in as William's nutty roommate. If you're looking for the ultimate date movie, look no further. 3.5

Gideon58

04-14-18, 06:17 PM

When We First Met
Entertainment is provided in the 2018 comic fantasy When We First Met, despite an overly complex screenplay that liberally borrows from past movie classics which sets up one story but ends up telling another.
https://usishield.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/when-we-first-met.jpg
This Netflix original opens with a young man named Noah attending the engagement party of Avery and Ethan that flashes back to a Halloween party three years earlier where Noah and Avery meet and seem absolutely perfect for each other but somehow Noah gets relegated to the "Friends zone", but Noah gets to travel back to that fateful Halloween party and possibly figure out went wrong and make Avery the girl of his dreams.
http://digitalspyuk.cdnds.net/18/05/1600x800/landscape-1517314440-wwfm-unit-05701r.jpg
John Whittingham's screenplay does provide a spark of originality even though it does borrow from movies like Back to the Future and Groundhog Day but doesn't apologize for it either...when Noah first realizes what is going on, we hear Huey Lewis singing "The Power of Love" filling the audio and we're certain that Noah is going to be allowed to change his destiny as Avery's friend. As Bill Murray did in Groundhog Day, Noah utilizes information he learned to manipulate Avery and it initially looks like Noah is going to manipulate his destiny and that the opening scene engagement party was a red herring.
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56d61ffeb654f980b27fca3b/t/5a8762eb652deaeaab86e811/1518822231308/When+We+First+Met+%283%29+my+screencap.png
Every time Noah hops into that photo booth to return to that fateful Halloween party, we think he's going to get closer to Avery, but that's not quite what happens here, though, as in Back to the Future we do see Noah's machinations have a positive effect on his future, even though each times he goes back in time, he seems to become a little more of a jerk so I guess the message here is to not mess with destiny though the film initially sets up the premise that Noah can do this and because I went with this, I found it hard to get behind the conclusion that this romantic fantasy took me to.
https://assets.mubicdn.net/images/film/159971/image-w1280.jpg?1517401727
I must credit director Ari Sandel for his meticulous attention to continuity, making each return to that 2014 Halloween party credible, serving the story, even if it wasn't the story I really wanted to see. I was also charmed by Adam Devine's terrific performance as Noah, which effectively anchored the proceedings and Tiffani Amber Thiessen-look-alike Alexandra Daddario was charming as Avery, but the story made a journey to a disappointing conclusion that I couldn't quite get behind, but fun is provided here and Devine proves to be an actor to watch. 3

Gideon58

04-14-18, 09:50 PM

Mildred Pierce (1945)
Joan Crawford's Oscar-winning performance is the anchor of a stylish and adult melodrama called Mildred Pierce which examines a mother's unconditional love for an unworthy daughter and what it does to both of them.
http://hookedonhouses.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Mildred-Pierce-movie-poster-Warner-Bros-1945.jpg
Based on a novel by James M. Cain (The Postman Always Rings Twice), we are introduced to Mildred, a housewife and mother of two daughters whose husband walks out on her for another woman. In order to support her daughters, Mildred takes a job as a waitress and eventually opens her own restaurant, working herself to the bone to give her spoiled rotten teenage daughter, Veda, anything she wants and destroying her relationship with a handsome playboy who helped her start her business in the process.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Txtdj6A6jZg/UWj9j9htOAI/AAAAAAAAC30/lnM6IjLDNII/s640/Mildred+Pierce+1945.png
This riveting melodrama, despite some dated story elements, still has a lot going for it, other than the most memorable performance of Crawford's career, which was on the verge of crumbling at the time. Ronald McDougal's impressive screenplay presents a compelling melodrama under the guise of a crime drama. The film opens with a murder and it is the investigation into said murder that leads to an unexpected story of a mother who would do anything for a daughter who so doesn't deserve the mother she has. I also enjoyed watching the evolution of the main character, from housewife to independent business woman, a rarity for cinema in the 1940's. On the other hand, it was sad watching this smart businesswoman be so foolish regarding her personal life.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTQxNTA1NjUxMF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNjU0NDQyNw@@._V1_.jpg
There were certain story elements that smacked of convenience and would never happen in this day and age. I was bothered by Mildred's reluctance to divorce her first husband Bert even though staying married could threaten her business. The guy left her for another woman, divorce should have been a no-brainer. I was also bothered that after years of the slimy Monte taking money from her, that she would not only pay him to get him out of her life, but then beg him to marry her later in an attempt to win back the teenage bitch that she spoiled.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Exor_cWEiSA/U3JmrKxWY6I/AAAAAAAACso/7_xojDZHgKo/s1600/Mildred+Pierce+2.jpg
It's been at least 20 years since my first viewing of this film and I was impressed at how well it held up. Crawford effectively underplays as Mildred and I guess I understand her Oscar win, but I'm not sure if she was better than Gene Tierney in Leave Her to Heaven, who was also nominated that year. Ann Blythe received a supporting nomination for her nasty Veda as did Eve Arden as Mildred's wisecracking BFF who had the film's best line: "Veda makes me think alligators have the right idea...they eat their young." I also loved Jack Carson as Bert's former business partner who always had a thing for Mildred and eventually becomes her business partner. Can't believe I was so riveted to the screen by a film that is 73 years old, but I was. A classic that earned and maintains its status as such. 4

Citizen Rules

04-14-18, 11:22 PM

Mildred Pierce (1945)

I was bothered by Mildred's reluctance to divorce her first husband Bert even though staying married could threaten her business.

I was also bothered that after years of the slimy Monte taking money from her, that she would not only pay him to get him out of her life.

...but then beg him to marry her later in an attempt to win back the teenage bitch that she spoiled.
I love what you wrote because it shows you had a strong emotional response to the film...as the director intended. I felt the same way! Which just shows the power of Mildred Pierce.

As it happens I'm currently watching the HBO miniseries Mildred Pierce with Kate Winslet. It's also good and I assume follows the novel closely. And yes Veta is still a spoiled little snob, that should have been sent off to an orphanage!

Gideon58

04-15-18, 06:30 PM

Baby Driver
Director/screenwriter Edgar Wright triumphs with 2017's Baby Driver, a dark, sexy, and ferocious action thriller with style and imagination to spare that had this viewer riveted to the screen.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjM3MjQ1MzkxNl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwODk1ODgyMjI@._V1_.jpg
Ansel Elgort plays Baby, the getaway driver for a criminal mastermind named Doc (Kevin Spacey) who has several different crews working for him but always utilizes Baby as his driver. It is revealed that Baby is working for Doc to pay off some sort of debt and just when Baby thinks his debt with Doc has been settled, Doc approaches Baby for one more job which interferes with his plans to hit the road with a pretty young waitress named Debora (Lily James).
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSIK7Nmq-kEIKyn-1oxxV3ewe5nUDzUgxbcQ0hV5JmN2-Pl2P2yQ5quL_bqR0UiMtEoBoE&usqp=CAU
Baby is given a unique backstory which endears him to the viewer from jump. Baby's parents were killed in a car accident which left him with hearing damage resulting in a constant ringing in Baby's ears that he controls by having music playing all the time through earbuds that somehow don't hinder his ability to hear Doc's plans, which the rest of the crew don't understand but accept to a point because, despite his handicap, Baby is the very best at what he does and when he finishes each job, he goes home to his dingy furnished apartment where he is the caretaker for his handicapped adopted father.
https://media.glamourmagazine.co.uk/photos/6138c5062b5bbea008294062/16:9/w_2560%2Cc_limit/Baby-Driver-2-gl-29jun17_rex_b.jpg
Wright mounts a story rich with offbeat and colorful characters and stylized action that is coordinated into an imaginative cinematic journey that integrates film editing and music to the point that they are almost additional characters in the story. None of the production values are left to chance here. There is an absolutely brilliant gun battle sequence about halfway through the film where every shot fired is in perfect sync with the music. Baby's obsession with music is a through line that remains a part of the story landscape throughout. whether he is lip syncing to the music or tapping the rhythm of the song on a table with his fingers. And no matter how into his music Baby seems to be, he never misses any of Doc's instructions and is always aware of what's going on around him, at least most of the time. There is a fabulous moment where he is told to purchase Michael Meyers masks for the crew and instead of getting masks of the Halloween villain, he gets masks of Mike Meyers as Austin Powers.
https://s1.r29static.com//bin/entry/b9c/720x480,80/1812359/image.jpg
Wright's story is peppered with intelligent and often witty dialogue, not to mention some hair-raising car chases and stomach churning violence that keep this story moving at a thunderous pace to a surprisingly bittersweet finale. Elgort, who last lit up the screen in The Fault in Our Stars, does a star making turn in the title role and there is also a chilling turn from Jon Hamm, in a role light years away from Don Draper. Of course, bouquets to the editing, music, and sound editing people as well. Tarantino and Richie fans will have a head start here. A bumpy thrill ride that delivers. 4

Gideon58

04-15-18, 09:09 PM

Cat Ballou
The 1965 western comedy Cat Ballou remains the entertaining movie classic it is thanks to a clever story and a pair of charismatic performances from its stars.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/57/Cat_Ballou_Poster.jpeg/220px-Cat_Ballou_Poster.jpeg
Catherine Ballou (Jane Fonda) is a timid schoolteacher who returns home to protect her father (John Marley) when she learns that a legendary gunfighter named Tim Strawn (Lee Marvin) has been threatening to kill him. Cat enlists the aid of another gunfighter named Kid Shelleen (also Marvin) to help protect her father, but Shelleen turns out to be a drunken bum who hasn't shot a gun in years and when he fails in his mission to protect Mr. Ballou, it is the springboard for a war between Cat and a greedy land developer named Sir Henry Percival (Reginald Denny) who she believes hired Strawn to kill her father.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/3e/61/f3/3e61f325c03e75940ad9713d450621d1.jpg
Cat finds allies in a drunken but well-intentioned Shelleen, a pair of shady young outlaws with prices on their heads (Michael Callan, Dwayne Hickman), and an intelligent young Indian named Jackson Two Bear (Tom Nardini).
https://trueclassics.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/cat-ballou-cast.jpg
This comedy remains fresh and funny after over half a century thanks to a well-structured screenplay by Walter Newman and Frank Pierson that somehow tells a classic western good guys/bad guys story but presents a surprisingly contemporary heroine at the center of the proceedings. The majority of the male characters in this story spend a good deal of time drooling over the title character, but this lady has no time for romance and is interested in nothing but her mission of getting Strawn and Sir Harry. Cat never uses sex as a weapon and only uses her feminine wiles in her final confrontation with Sir Harry. I also loved that the character of Jackson Two Bear is the smartest male character in the story.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7NP0gDQQIl0/VNO8drY20FI/AAAAAAAAD64/33oQAVuP9hc/s1600/image0009.jpg
Lee Marvin commands the screen in his dual role as Kid Shelleen and Tim Strawn, two characters so alike and yet so different that you almost forget they are being played by the same actor. Despite the farcical nature of the story, Marvin plays both roles with a straight-faced sincerity that earned him the Oscar for Outstanding Lead Actor of 1965. As she always does, Fonda brings an extra layer of intelligence and strength to the title character that really isn't in the screenplay. Fonda is enchanting in what was probably her first really significant role and commands the screen like a veteran. Callan and Nardini are terrific and I loved Stubby Kaye and Nat King Cole as the Balladeers narrating the story. Rowdy western fun from start to finish. 4

Gideon58

04-15-18, 11:32 PM

Father Figures
The 2017 comedy Father Figures does provide some solid laughs even though it takes a little too long to get to a surprise ending I didn't see coming.
https://cdn.flickeringmyth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Father-Figures-Exclaim-Contest-Graphic-1-600x400.jpg
Owen Wilson and Ed Helms play fraternal twins who attend their mother's wedding and learn that they have been lied to about their father since childhood and set out on a journey to meet their real father, who their mother has told them is Terry Bradshaw. What starts out as a road trip to track down Terry Bradshaw turns into much more when Bradshaw is revealed not to be their father after all.
https://www.thewrap.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/BAS-10872r.jpg
Justin Malen's screenplay does provide some funny dialogue and situations for two brothers who couldn't be more unlike each other, which piques our curiosity about what's going to happen and puts us behind these guys and their mission, but the mission just takes a little too long and there are a couple of detours revolving unresolved sibling rivalry issues and current financial and romantic issues that take a little too much focus off the story and make the story a little more labored than it really needed to be, This labored journey is almost made up for by a lovely bittersweet conclusion that brought logic and closure to a story that got more and more muddled as the story progressed, a double reverse ending that I didn't see coming at all.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT8RJvPQ3qyxEHGSyyLNYRJPKGHu1WzNikCYQ&s
Director Lawrence Sher does make up for the meandering story by fueling it with some serious star power. Wilson and Helms are very funny together and Glenn Close is lovely as their mom. In addition to Bradshaw, Ving Rhames, and Oscar winners JK Simmons and Christopher Walken have funny turns as the possible dad in question and there are a couple of cute cameos by Katt Williams as a hitchhiker and Ali Wong as a medical assistant. The story is a little fuzzy and overlong, but the film certainly has star power and the ending is a winner. 3

Gideon58

04-17-18, 10:39 PM

Wonder Wheel
A richly complex performance from Oscar winner Kate Winslet is the main attraction in the latest offering from Woody Allen, a melodramatic period piece from 2017 called Wonder Wheel which suffers due to an overly intense story and dialogue that doesn't fit the characters delivering it.
https://kvikmyndir.is/images/poster/wonder-1507197921.jpg
It's Coney Island in the 1950's where we meet Winslet's character, Ginny, a severely unhappy housewife who is married to the boardwalk's carousel operator (Jim Belushi) and the mother of a young son who is a pyromaniac. Ginny's life begins to look up when she meets a handsome lifeguard and aspiring playwright named Mickey (Justin Timberlake) and begins an affair with him which gets complicated when Mickey meets Carolina (Juno Temple), Ginny's stepdaughter who has just blown onto the boardwalk after deserting her gangster husband who has sent people to find her.
https://hustonsite.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/wonderwheel_winslet.jpg
I've always been hot and cold with Woody Allen and I do prefer his not so serious work but there's just a little too much going on here for all of it to work. The Woodmeister attempts to set up this atmosphere of nostalgia that should inspire warm and fuzzy feelings that is the canvas for the story of a love triangle that turns very ugly due to the fact that the characters of Ginny and Mickey are painted in serious mud tones. I found having the Mickey character serve as narrator for the story and having him speak directly to the camera was a technique for a story much lighter in tone than this one. Yes, Goodfellas and Casino had narrators but those narrators were not speaking to the camera, a storytelling technique more associated with comedies but it just didn't work here because there were very few laughs going on here.
https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/wonder-wheel1.png?w=1000&h=563&crop=1
The story didn't provide a lot of laughs, but I still found myself riveted to the screen despite the fact that most of the dialogue was way too sophisticated for these characters. This is forgiven with the character of Mickey because he is an aspiring writer but it didn't change the fact that he shouldn't have been narrating the story because he was hardly an objective outsider sharing the story, which I could have accepted if the character had turned out to be as sincere as he is originally presented.
https://c8.alamy.com/comp/K9278H/wonder-wheel-2017-amazon-studios-film-with-kate-winslet-K9278H.jpg
Despite an unpleasant story that tied my stomach up in knots and not in a good way, I could not turn away thanks to some solid acting. Justin Timberlake's baby face and baby blues were a perfect counterpart to his somewhat scummy character and Jim Belushi was convincing in a role that I kept picturing John Goodman in, but Kate Winslet easily walks off with the acting honors, chewing up scenery in a performance that provided equal doses of sympathy and danger. This character goes from Laura Wingfield to Blanche DuBois in the blink of an eye and never allows you to take your eyes off her. This kind of unhinged performance might have brought her an Oscar nomination in another year and it is her work in this less than stellar Allen effort that make this worth a look alone. 3

Citizen Rules

04-17-18, 11:00 PM

Wonder Wheel...which suffers due to an overly intense story and dialogue that doesn't fit the characters delivering it.

I still found myself riveted to the screen despite the fact that most of the dialogue was way too sophisticated for these characters. This is forgiven with the character of Mickey because he is an aspiring writer but it didn't change the fact that he shouldn't have been narrating the story because he was hardly an objective outsider sharing the story, which I could have accepted if the character had turned out to be as sincere as he is originally presented.

Mickey isn't really narrating the story, that's Woody talking directly to us, through Woody...especially in the beginning of the film. It's like the use of a Greek Chorus in ancient Greek plays. Micky is Woody's proxy and lets us know what to expect from the movie. That's why he says this:

I'm Mickey Rubin, poetic by nature. I harbor dreams of being a writer.
A writer of truly great plays.

So I can one day surprise everyone and turn out a profound masterpiece.

Anyhow, let me get to the story in which I am a character, so, be warned, as a poet, I use symbols and as a budding dramatist,
I relish melodrama and larger-than-life characters. That speech to the audience explains that the film is being told as a tall tale, like a Eugene O Neil play. That's why the people are so dark and dramatic and the dialogue so intelligent and wordy. At least that's how I took it to be.

Gideon58

04-18-18, 10:22 AM

But as the apex to the romantic triangle that was the center of the story, it felt inappropriate that he should be telling us the story, just my opinion.

Citizen Rules

04-18-18, 01:02 PM

But as the apex to the romantic triangle that was the center of the story, it felt inappropriate that he should be telling us the story, just my opinion. That's true. As always I respect you as a friend and a fellow movie reviewer:)

You know I also thought Jim Belushi (who I usually don't like) did a great job and I thought during the movie he seemed like John Goodman...and I noticed you thought that too.

Gideon58

04-21-18, 10:53 PM

Lady in the Dark
Handsome production values and an effervescent performance from Ginger Rogers make the 1944 musical fantasy Lady in the Dark worth a look.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/517M3T0OnkL._SX463_.jpg
Rogers plays Liza Elliott, a no-nonsense magazine editor who has been suffering from headaches and recurring dreams that have no medical explanation and Liza is sent to a psychiatrist (Barry Sullivan) to get the bottom of these dreams. With the help of the psychiatrist, Liza's issues are presented in the form of three very elaborate dream sequences that seem to revolve around the three men currently in her life: her former boss and married lover (Warner Baxter), her slick-talking advertising exec (Ray Milland) and a handsome but insecure movie star (Jon Hall).
http://www.catwalkyourself.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/catwalk_yourself.ladyinthedark.jpeg
The Broadway musical with songs by Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin, upon which this film is based, premiered in 1941 and ran for 161 performances with the legendary Gertrude Lawrence playing Liza and an unknown comedian named Danny Kaye playing Russell the photographer. Kaye stopped the show on a nightly basis with a patter song called "Tschaikowsky (and Other Russians)", but Kaye was under contract to another studio at the time this film was being made and was unavailable. Mischa Auer got the role of Russell but the song (along with several others) was dropped from the film.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/ba/85/76/ba8576f1be17557b67ffdaf2dabafa81.jpg
Despite a serious overhaul of the original score, director Mitchell Leisen has still managed to mount a lavish and entertaining fantasy, serving Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett's adaptation of the original Moss Hart book admirably. The story is almost a character study about a woman who has been burying her inner woman for years behind wool suits and work for years but still longs to be a glamour girl, even though she is in denial about it. This story of a woman in man's world who's not sure if she likes her position there wouldn't fly in 2018, but this was heady stuff in 1944 so it was no surprise that the film didn't do too well at the box office.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2a/be/d6/2abed6878f2ff29ae4f3052240eb9af4.jpg
As mentioned, much of the Weill/Gershwin score was discarded, but we still have "Girl of the Moment", "The Greatest Show on Earth", and "The Saga of Jenny" an elaborate production number which was re-thought a couple of decades later for Julie Andrews in the 1968 Gertrude Lawrence biopic Star!.
http://artsmeme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Lady_Dark_470x350-300x223.jpg
There is money all over the place here. Leisen and company have set this somewhat ahead of its time story against a dazzling canvas, featuring elaborate set designs and the ladies are gorgeously gowned by the one and only Edith Head. Ginger Rogers is lovingly photographed and gives one of her richest performances and you can see why she and Ray Milland did so many films together, the chemistry between them is undeniable. Mischa Auer was very funny as Russell and loved Mary Phillips as Liza's co-editor and pal, Maggie. Not your typical 1940's musical, but fans of the genre and of Ginger Rogers should be right at home. 3.5

Gideon58

04-22-18, 01:31 AM

Period of Adjustment
Some terrific performances from a young cast at the beginning of their careers help to make a talky but entertaining comedy from 1962 called Period of Adjustment worth your time.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/Periodadjustment.jpg/220px-Periodadjustment.jpg
George Haverstick (Jim Hutton) and his new bride Lil' Bit (Jane Fonda) climb into a hearse and arrive on the doorstep of George's old war buddy Ralph Bates (Anthony Franciosa) on Christmas Eve, shortly after Ralph's wife, Dorothea (Lois Nettleton) has walked out on him.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qxTgJId4xA8/hqdefault.jpg
This comedy is actually the film version of a play by Tennessee Williams that premiered on Broadway in 1960. Williams is not a playwright known for producing a lot of laughs in his work but Isobel Lennart's screenplay does attempt to open up the play and make it play more like a movie, though it never really escapes its stage origins.
https://c8.alamy.com/comp/C8CPTJ/anthony-franciosa-jane-fonda-period-of-adjustment-1962-C8CPTJ.jpg
The subject matter also seems to be a bit for foreign territory for Williams...this view of two different marriages in two very different places often plays like a TV sitcom with typical male vs female views on the institution of marriage but about halfway through the proceedings, those lengthy and allegedly deep monologues that Williams was so famous for creep their way into the story and you do see Williams' style come through, which really doesn't work for what is supposed to be a comedy.
https://forgottenfilmcast.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/period-of-adjustment-5.png
What makes this film work is some really first rate performances by a quartet of stars who weren't really stars yet. Jane Fonda is a bit on the shrill side, brings another entertaining sex kitten part to the screen and Jim Hutton is absolutely charming as George, the war vet with the shakes that defy medical explanation but brought him and Lil Bit together. Nettleton is dark and fragile as Dorothea, but Franciosa easily walks away with the acting honors as Ralph, a guy whose honesty about the mistakes he's made in his marriage doesn't qualify him for husband of the year either. John McGiver and Mabel Albertson are also fun as Dorothea's parents, but the acting quartet at the center of this comedy will definitely hold your attention. 3.5

Gideon58

04-22-18, 05:31 PM

Mrs. Henderson Presents
Sparkling entertainment from start to finish inspired by true events, 2005's Mrs. Henderson Presents is a deliciously entertaining and endlessly imaginative piece of cinematic cotton candy that evokes warmth, sentiment, and might even ignite a tear duct or two.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTUyODQ2MzU0M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNDExMzE2MQ@@._V1_.jpg
It is London in 1937 where we meet Mrs. Laura Henderson (Judi Dench), an eccentric and very wealthy widow who, as she puts it, is "bored with widowhood" and, on a whim, decides to buy a run down theater on London's west end and renovate with the aid of the theater manager she hires to manage the place, Vivian Van Damm (Bob Hoskins). The theater experiences brief success producing colorful musical revues, but business begins to suffer when other theaters begin to copy them, so Mrs. Henderson decides the way to revive ticket sales is turn the revues into nude revues.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieZ8yUGGV55tJNV_yud4t1LBeeq69AjLGdjL28lxUzzUuuHBPne-WHGaqNRu0l15J9YVCCb0xrbi__1MhGvVGpKwwBc5Bipr7c2xICEoITGEXIrPPWSfk8-d8Fmkg7omg7cL-b/s400/mrs-henderson-presents-12.jpg
Of course, Mrs. Henderson must obtain permission for this dramatic change from the current head of London law, Lord Cromer (Christopher Guest) who agrees to the change as long as the women who appear onstage are not allowed to move, like a tableau. Henderson and Van Damm agree and the theater finds even greater success until the advent of WWII, which changes everything for everyone at the Windmill Theater.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2421/3775569700_213287a81b.jpg
Director Stephen Frears, who mounted 1988's Dangerous Liaisons and directed Helen Mirren into a 2006 Best Actress Oscar for The Queen has crafted a richly entertaining and wonderfully human story that flies in the face of British aristocracy and does it on a large and inviting canvas, that extends beyond the Windmill Theater and involves most of London as a new theatrical concept threatens the very proper British theater going population.
https://resizing.flixster.com/OxSacX5ty4juUfjxr22gjQ5l75s=/fit-in/705x460/v2/https://resizing.flixster.com/-XZAfHZM39UwaGJIFWKAE8fS0ak=/v3/t/assets/p159443_i_h9_ab.jpg
I loved that the story turns out to be a show business story that involves more than pretty girls baring their breasts. It was interesting watching the difference between the two sets of auditions that we witness. The audition for the original revue was a completely different thing than the audition than for the nude revue and I loved the way they decided what kind of girls they were going to need for the nude revue and that it wasn't just about the way they looked without their clothes on.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/theatre/2016/02/16/HendersonCrop_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqeo_i_u9APj8RuoebjoAHt0k9u7HhRJvuo-ZLenGRumA.jpg?imwidth=680
Mrs. Henderson's care about her theater and especially for the way these girls are treated was quite endearing, as well as her attraction to Van Damm, which she is in complete denial about. The scene where Mrs. Henderson discovers that Van Damm is married was quite startling, a reaction this reviewer didn't see coming, but found wonderfully human. And despite the attraction between these two, I like that it never became the focus of the story, the focus was always the Windmill Theater.
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/45/1378/1600/mrs19.jpg
Frears' striking attention to period detail is on the money and production values are first rate, with standout photography, film editing, Sandy Powell's incredible costumes. and George Fenton's evocative music. Oscar winner Judi Dench lights up the screen in the title role, a performance rich with power and humor and she is matched by the late Mr. Hoskins as the man Mrs. Henderson constantly attempts to crumble, but never does. The offbeat casting of Christopher Guest totally works and I loved Kelly Reilly as Maureen, one of the nudie chorus girls. Loved this movie, everything worked here. 4.5

Gideon58

04-22-18, 09:03 PM

Stage Door
RKO had one of its biggest hits with a sparkling look at the New York theater scene with a 1937 comedy/drama called Stage Door.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNzQwNTQxOTY3OF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMTg0MDgyMTE@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg
This film version of a play by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber centers around The Footlights Club, a theatrical boarding house for aspiring young actresses. The primary players in this slightly dated soap opera include Terry Randall (Katharine Hepburn), the fiesty millionaire's daughter who wants to make it on her own as an actress without the aid of daddy's money; Anthony Powell (Adolph Menjou) a slick-talking Broadway producer who's dating two of the girls who live in the club; Jean Maitland (Ginger Rogers) is Terry's cynical roommate and an aspiring dancer who has caught Powell's eye, much to the dismay of Linda Shaw (Gail Patrick), another club resident who has been seeing Powell and there's Kay Hamilton (Andrea Leeds), an actress who had a part on Broadway a year ago but hasn't worked in so long that she can't pay for her meals at the club.
https://static.wixstatic.com/media/13b669_48349c1516a041a2a3c53df3539812b7~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_568,h_428,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/13b669_48349c1516a041a2a3c53df3539812b7~mv2.jpg
Apparently, screenwriters Morrie Lyskind and Anthony Veillier made a lot of changes to the original play that prompted one critic to say that she should have changed the title to "Screen Door" but the film is still a pretty insightful look into what drives people to achieve success in the theater and what they often give up in said pursuit. Yes, the idea of a theatrical boarding house is definitely dated, but it provides a wonderful canvas to present several interlacing stories about the struggles and disappointments that come along with a show business career. We watch as rich girl Terry struggles to fit in as just one of the girls while Linda and Jean contemplate a shortcut to success through their feminine wiles and poor Kay, a girl who proves that talent is not a guarantee of success. Several show business traditions are touched upon here, in particular "The show must go on" and "It's not what you know, but who you know."
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d1/7c/10/d17c10d46b46642ebc7b7d045bfe44ef.jpg
Director Gregory La Cava does an extremely effective job of giving almost a dozen actresses their individual moments in the sun. Hepburn is fire and ice as the spitfire Terry and Menjou is appropriately greasy as Powell. Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, Ann Miller, and Constance Collier score in small roles and Andrea Leeds received a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her tragic turn as Kay, but if the truth be told, Ginger Rogers walks off with this movie as the cynical wisecracking Jean, a girl who knows what it takes to succeed but is not always willing to do it. The scene where Menjou attempts to seduce a drunken Rogers might have been my favorite in the whole movie. Despite some dated elements, this classic still holds up and provides solid entertainment. 4

Gideon58

04-24-18, 10:18 PM

The Comedian
Star power is the primary attraction with 2016's The Comedian, an episodic character study that provides laughs thanks to a motion picture icon in the title role.
http://sonyclassics.com/thecomedian/img/share.jpg
Two time Oscar winner Robert De Niro plays Jackie Burke, an aging insult comic who back in the day was the star of a very popular television series called "Eddie's Home" and has now found his career coasting on the memories of his time as a TV star while desperately trying to recharge his career and his self-respect.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BOWMwYWNmYjgtMDdiNi00NDM2LTg2ZGYtMDYxZGNhYzE2NDIyXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg
Director Taylor Hackford, whose credits include Ray and An Officer and a Gentleman once again applies his over-indulgent directorial style to a story that really doesn't have enough originality to sustain it. Needless to say, images of Rupert Pupkin 25 years later will initially fill the viewer's head but the character De Niro takes on here is nothing like Rupert...Rupert wanted stardom at any cost, while Jackie tries to turn his back on the role that made him a star, despite the fact that his fans won't let him. Like Chris Rock's character in Top Five, Jackie Burke wants his career on his own terms and can't accept the fact that it's never going to happen, not to mention the effect that social media has on a show business career, which Jackie can't seem to wrap his head around.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CyAucDQWIAAtl9K.jpg
Fortunately, Hackford was afforded the luxury of having one of our industry's greatest actors center stage, playing a character whose lack of filter onstage and off make the character a little shocking but mostly likable. Unfortunately, Art Linson and Jeffrey Ross' screenplay takes a couple dark detours about halfway through that make getting through this leisurely-paced character study a little more of a chore than it should be. There are scenes in this movie that provide nervous laughs but go on longer than they should. Those familiar with his work, should not be surprised that Hackford has mounted a story whose interest doesn't really sustain its length.
http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/thecomedian-deniro-wedding.jpg
On the positive side, Hackford has packed this film with stars as far as the eye can see. Leslie Mann has never been more appealing onscreen as Jackie's love interest and Edie Falco was terrific as his long suffering agent. Along the way, we also get some entertaining star turns from Danny De Vito, Harvey Keitel, Charles Grodin, Patti Lupone, and Cloris Leachman. There are also cameos from Brett Butler, Jimmie Walker, Jim Norton, and De Niro's Analyze This co-star Billy Crystal. I think in the hands of another director, this could have been something pretty special, but De Niro and his terrific supporting cast still make it worth a look. 3

Gideon58

04-28-18, 07:28 PM

Eeverybody Wants Some!!
The creative force behind Dazed and Confused explores similar themes in a talky but entertaining 2016 comedy called Everybody Wants Some!!
http://i.imgur.com/qR3ekOs.jpg
Writer/director Richard Linklater sets this story the weekend before classes are to begin at a fictional Texas college where we are introduced to various members of the school's baseball team through the eyes of Jake (Blake Jenner), a freshman and potential new pitcher for the team.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1uQq3jQdIkk/maxresdefault.jpg
Linklater's screenplay could have used some tightening, but it is still a pretty on target examination of college life , which has often been referred to as all the freedom of being an adult with none of the responsibility. The writing is smart and funny without ever being unrealistic. Naturally, we get a glimpse into the class separation between freshmen and upper classmen as wide-eyed Jake seems to effortlessly fit into his new life but is never allowed to forget that he is a freshmen. This story also spits in the face of the cliche that all athletes are morons with their brains in their biceps. These character are smart, some of them a little too smart for their own good, but never so smart that they are talking above the viewer's heads.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8WAulKwKHbY/sddefault.jpg
The actual events that make up this story are nothing that we haven't seen before...the parties, the bar fights, the freshmen hazing, but there is an underlying theme throughout everything that happens in this film that the team comes first. Whatever individual conflicts come up between these guys, and they are numerous and varied, the good of team is always top priority. I also liked the fact that this story was about a college baseball team. Traditionally, a film like this would be about a football team, like Dazed and Confused, but I like that Linklater decided to switch it up for this story.
https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/rs-234046-R1258_Online_G.jpg
As it was in Dazed and Confused, Linklater's attention to period detail is nothing short of spectacular. The film is set in 1980....the hair, the clothes, the music, effective in transporting the viewer back to 1980 and probably conjuring up your own 1980 memories. Speaking of the music, the only music in the film is the music in the clubs where our boys party. There is virtually no other music in the film and you don't really miss it. Linklater gets terrific performances from his ensemble cast with standout work from Glen Powell as Finnegan, but the actors serve this story that never fails too entertain, if it does go on a little longer than need be. 3.5

Gideon58

04-28-18, 10:25 PM

Carefree
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers paired up for the 8th time for a delightful piece of fluff called Carefree that turned out to be a lot more entertaining than I thought it was going to be.
https://hollywoodrevue.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/carefree-1938.jpg?w=620
Fred plays Dr. Tony Flagg, a psychiatrist who has been asked by his best friend Steve (Ralph Bellamy) if he would take on Steve's fiancee Amanda (Ginger Rogers) to try and figure out why Amanda keeps putting off their wedding.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/26/75/86/267586a693144a114d65fd9d682fb8c7.jpg
During their first session, Tony hypnotizes Amanda and she has a romantic dream about herself and Tony. The next morning, an embarrassed Amanda can't tell Tony about her dream and he says that unless she does, he can no longer help her. In order to continue seeing Tony, Amanda starts making up crazy dreams that just confirm what Amanda is denying...the fact that she has fallen in love with Tony but doesn't know how to tell Steve.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/70/c3/0c/70c30c9dd703b227337c75cba2ee5c50.jpg
Allan Scott and Ernest Pagano's screenplay is witty and sophisticated, not only providing clever dialogue but even providing small backstory elements that legitimize what happens here. I loved that during the opening scene with Tony and Steve, Tony confesses that long before he became a psychiatrist, he actually entertained thoughts of being a dancer, which allowed me to accept the concept of a dancing psychiatrist, one of the reasons I actually avoided this film for awhile.
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yam_21.png
Mark Sandrich's smooth and economic direction (the film runs less than 90 minutes) serves the story and never gets in the way of what we want to see when we tune into an Astaire/Rogers. Their first number together is actually Amanda's first dream about Tony, a lovely pas de deux which utilizes slow motion photography to maximum effect. I also enjoyed a big production number called "The Yam", which not only involved Fred and Ginger, but everyone in the audience watching them as well.
https://i.pinimg.com/474x/49/e7/5d/49e75d7ac881f61d98edf54fc6d677f1--movie-lines-fred-astaire.jpg
As you can imagine, Fred and Ginger are a well-oiled machine by now and once again, Ginger gets an opportunity to prove how funny she is. The scene where she makes up a dream in order to keep seeing Fred is a riot. Ralph Bellamy once again is regulated to the odd man out in the romantic triangle and there is a very early appearance by a young Jack Carson as Tony's assistant. It's no Top Hat, but there is fun to be had here. 3.5

Citizen Rules

04-28-18, 10:43 PM

Lady in the Dark 1944https://i.pinimg.com/736x/26/62/47/26624726fcf92f52e95bcb98228bff0c--ginger-rogers-classic-movies.jpg
rating_3_5
Sold! I have to see this now. I'm not only a big fan of Ginger Rogers, as you know, but also of Ray Milland. I've been wanting to see more films with Milland in it.

Mrs. Henderson Presents 2005
It is London in 1937 where we meet Mrs. Laura Henderson (Judi Dench), an eccentric and very wealthy widow who, as she puts it, is "bored with widowhood" and, on a whim, decides to buy a run down theater on London's west end and renovate with the aid of the theater manager she hires to manager the place, Vivian Van Damm (Bob Hoskins). The theater experiences brief success producing colorful musical revues, but business begins to suffer when other theaters begin to copy them, so Mrs. Henderson decides the wave to revive ticket sales is turn the revues into nude revues.
rating_4_5 Sounds interesting and your rating piqued my interest in this. I'd never heard of it but will add it to my watchlist.

Stage Door
RKO had one of its biggest hits with a sparkling look at the New York theater scene with a 1937 comedy/drama called Stage Door.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51rbGeaf31L.jpg
rating_4 I might have seen this one, sounds good! Glad to see you're watching a lot of Ginger Rogers films:)

Carefree

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yam_21.png
rating_3_5 Ahhh, nothing better than Fred and Ginger floating through the air. You've watched a lot of good stuff lately:up:

Gideon58

04-29-18, 12:16 AM

The Big Hangover
Despite a clever premise, the 1950 comedy The Big Hangover doesn't work quite as well as it should, due to a story that's too convenient at times and tries to cover a little too much territory.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71Hm2FJIldL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg
Van Johnson plays David Muldon, a recent law school graduate who has joined one of Manhattan's top law firms. It is revealed that when David was in the war, he was being held prisoner in a monastery where the monks made wine and that he fell in a large vat of wine. Ever since, David now has a disturbing allergic reaction every time he takes a drink of alcohol. Elizabeth Taylor plays the daughter of David's boss, who tries to cure David of his ailment.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZWQwMmUwOWEtODViYi00OTRkLWI3OWEtOTFmYzU5NmRkMzBkXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg
Writer/director Norman Krasna has provided an interesting premise for this story in the fact that David is not an alcoholic, but displays bizarre behavior that is triggered by alcohol, including the ability to have conversations with his dog, Mike. David's behavior is not really explained...he doesn't get drunk and the effect that a drink has on him only lasts for a few minutes, almost like a magic spell of some kind. Understanding this condition, which seemed to make light of the disease of alcoholism did make it a little difficult to get behind what happens to David.
https://images.justwatch.com/backdrop/48985128/s1440/the-big-hangover
The comic possibilities of this story are explored to a point and there are some laughs along the way, but the story gets diluted with a very serious subplot involving the law firm trying to keep an Asian man and his wife from moving into an apartment building and how David puts his job on the line to stop it. This story seemed like a separate movie and could have been a very good one, but piling this story on top of David's story made for a very uneven film experience.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/de/67/d2/de67d26cc21185feba8aeb5b391b8507.jpg
What the film does have going for it is a solid cast, led by Johnson and Taylor whose onscreen chemistry was so strong that were reunited onscreen four years later in The Last Time I Saw Paris. Johnson's goofy charm was so endearing that you almost don't notice that Taylor is a little too straight faced for this kind of comedy. Gene Lockhart, Leon Ames, Percy Waram, Rosemary DeCamp and Edgar Buchanan score in supporting roles, but a muddled story that tries a little too hard to be something "important" eventually weighs down the proceedings. Taylor is breathtaking though. 2.5

Gideon58

04-29-18, 06:17 PM

Absence of Malice
There is an old expression that "The Pen is mightier than the Sword". The power of said pen is thoughtfully examined in a 1981 Best Picture nominee called Absence of Malice.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91VEH17gtiL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg
Megan Carter (Sally Field) is an ambitious reporter for a Florida newspaper who writes an unsubstantiated story about an investigation into one Michael Gallagher (Paul Newman), a wholesale liquor distributor and son of a mob boss, who is believed to have been involved in the "disappearance" of union leader. Gallagher confronts Megan who refuses to reveal her source and a cat and mouse ensues as he tries to learn her source and she tries to learn if he's really guilty.
https://prowlerneedsajump.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/5060_1.jpg
Kurt Ludetke's intelligent screenplay provides just enough answers to legitimize the story for the movie screen and just enough questions to keep the viewer invested in what's going on. It's always interesting in stories like this when someone is accused of something like this, they always want to know how the story got leaked but never offer proof of their innocence either. Gallagher's innocence is revealed but it is not really the point of the story, the point of the story is the far reaching ramifications of Megan's story on a lot of different people and how their lives will never be the same. An even richer irony is that Megan revealing her source (which she eventually does) doesn't really change things.
http://images4.static-bluray.com/reviews/5060_5.jpg
Sidney Pollack's direction is centered and focused and in complete service of this compelling and somewhat tragic story. Paul Newman's powerhouse performance as Gallagher earned him a Best Actor nomination and Field matches him note for note as the reporter with a conscience. Melinda Dillon offers another one of her best "hot mess" characterizations that earned her a Supporting Actress nomination. Bob Balaban, Josef Sommer, Wilford Brimley and Luther Adler also shine as key supporting characters.
https://twentyfourframes.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/absence-of-malic1e.jpg
Luedtke's screenplay earned a nomination and Owen Roizman's cinematography and Dave Grusin's music should have. Pollack once again proves what a gifted and underrated filmmaker he was. Fans of All the President's Men and The Firm will have a head start here. 3.5

Gideon58

04-29-18, 11:42 PM

Sabrina (1954)
Billy Wilder puts his own stylish touch on the well worn cinematic premise of a romantic triangle in the 1954 classic Sabrina.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51RT76N31ML.jpg
The setting is the Larrabee Estate on Long Island where we meet Sabrina (Audrey Hepburn) the daughter of the family chauffeur (John Williams) who has had a crush on younger Larrabee brother David (William Holden) forever, a thrice married playboy who doesn't know Sabrina is alive. Sabrina actually half-heartedly tries to commit suicide but is stopped by David's older brother, Linus (Humphrey Bogart). To help her get over David, her father sends her to school in Paris for two years.
https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/sabrina1954.16295.1.jpg
Sabrina returns to the Larrabee estate a more mature and glamorous woman who David falls for instantly, despite being engaged to the wealthy daughter of a business associate (Martha Hyer). When David gets sidelined, Linus begins dating Sabrina as a ruse to save an important business merger but, as expected, the lines between business and romance begin to blur.
http://classiq.me/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Audrey-Hepburns-style-in-Sabrina-4.png
As director and co-screenwriter, Billy Wilder has taken the romantic triangle to a sophisticated level we don't see coming because all the feelings that come out of this triangle are or become genuine. Sabrina definitely cares for David who definitely cares for Sabrina who finds herself caring about Linus who finds himself caring about Sabrina. Usually in a story like this, one part of the triangle is pretty much out in the cold but in this story Sabrina does care about both of these brothers, despite the fact that one of the brothers is much older than Sabrina.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Jaw5GzRc9Us/VN-WWP78RaI/AAAAAAAANQ0/vr6Pcp415c8/s1600/Sabrina%2B1.jpg
Wilder's casting instincts are also on the money here, casting three actors at the top of their game. Audrey Hepburn received an Oscar nomination for her accustomed enchanting performance in the title role and William Holden is completely winning as young David. Humphrey Bogart works very hard to be a convincing romantic lead, but comedy was never Bogey's thing and there are times where he just doesn't seem to know what he's doing, but he does seem to understand Linus and that's something. Williams is lovely as Sabrina's father and I also loved Walter Hampden as Linus and David's father.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lB2ckiy_qlQ/hqdefault.jpg
The movie features first rate production values including lush black and white photography and marvelous set direction. The Larrabee estate and Linus' office are classic yet contemporary and Edith Head's costumes for Hepburn won her an Oscar for black and white costume design. Anyway you slice it, a classic. The film was remade in 1995 with Julia Ormond in the title role. 4

Gideon58

05-02-18, 12:01 AM

Bright Lights Big City
Despite first rate production values and a strong cast, 1988's Bright Lights Big City is a pretentious and smug melodrama that isn't nearly as smart as it purports to be.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/A1765prYP5L._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg
The film stars Michael J. Fox as Jamie Conway, magazine fact-checker and aspiring writer who is dealing with his mother's death from cancer and the breakup with his girlfriend by drowning his sorrows in massive amounts of alcohol and cocaine.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTc0NDU5MTczMl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNjU3NDcyNA@@._V1_.jpg
Director James Bridges, whose other credits include The China Syndrome and Urban Cowboy does display some directorial flair with this in your face look at the "me" generation of the 1980's that attempts to convey deep messages about the grieving process and the evil of drugs, but the way these messages are beaten over the viewer's heads becomes tiresome very quickly.
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/b5/04/82/b50482d51a09e71eeb60eed5fa863e06.jpg
Jay McInerney's screenplay, adapted from his own novel, attempts to say a lot through this somewhat pathetic central character, but provides less than satisfactory motivations for a lot of his behavior and what is provided comes way too late for us to care. We learn that Jamie's girlfriend has been modeling in Paris, but we're never sure if she left because of the work or because of Jamie because every time Jamie talks about it, the story changes. It's also revealed that Jamie's brother has been trying to contact him and Jamie wants nothing to do with him. Their eventual reunion actually results in an actual chase all over the streets of Manhattan. And don't get me started on Jamie getting fired from his job and trying to get revenge on his boss with a ferret.
https://bryanthefilmguy.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/josh-schwartz-making-bright-lights-big-city-00.jpg
The film does feature some authentic Manhattan locations and a jazzy music score that set the mood for this sullen and allegedly self-important story. Michael J. Fox was apparently trying to stretch himself as an actor with this role, but the performance is basically Alex P. Keaton on crack. Keifer Sutherland was slick and sexy as Jamie's BF and I also liked Swoosie Kurtz as a co-worker who has been secretly crushing on Jamie and Frances Sternhagen as his boss, but this film is pretty much the cinematic equivalent of a beautifully wrapped gift box with absolutely nothing inside. 2

gbgoodies

05-02-18, 12:42 AM

Sabrina (1954)
Billy Wilder puts his own stylish touch on the well worn cinematic premise of a romantic triangle in the 1954 classic Sabrina.

Wilder's casting instincts are also on the money here, casting three actors at the top of their game. Audrey Hepburn received an Oscar nomination for her accustomed enchanting performance in the title role and William Holden is completely winning as young David. Humphrey Bogart works very hard to be a convincing romantic lead, but comedy was never Bogey's thing and there are times where he just doesn't seem to know what he's doing, but he does seem to understand Linus and that's something. Williams is lovely as Sabrina's father and I also loved Walter Hampden as Linus and David's father.

4

I like the 1954 version of Sabrina, but I thought Humphrey Bogart was miscast in that role. That's probably the main reason why I prefer the 1995 remake.

Gideon58

05-02-18, 10:04 AM

Bogey is the only reason I didn't give the film 5

gbgoodies

05-02-18, 11:23 PM

Bogey is the only reason I didn't give the film 5

Have you seen the 1995 remake of Sabrina? If so, what did you think of it?

Gideon58

05-03-18, 10:08 AM

Yeah, a long time ago, it was OK...Julia Ormond is no Audrey Hepburn.

GulfportDoc

05-03-18, 10:27 AM

Yeah, as much as I liked Bogart, he was aged 55 in this film. He did seem natural for the business tycoon part, but it was a stretch for the love interest. Even at that, he might have pulled it off but for the fact that he looked so hammered. After decades of heavy drinking and chain smoking, he just looked very unhealthy, which didn't jibe for the Sabrina part. And there was almost 20 years differences in ages between Bogart and Holden, so the brother angle felt slightly unbelievable.

OTOH he did Caine Mutiny that same year, and his look was perfect for the Captain Queeg role. Bogart died 3 years later in 1957.

~Doc

Gideon58

05-05-18, 06:28 PM

Mother's Day (2016)
The late Garry Marshall had already provided us star-studded looks at holidays like Valentine's Day and New Year's Eve. The final part of the trilogy, which turned out to be Marshall's final work as a movie director, was 2016's Mother's Day, which I'm happy to report is the strongest film in the trilogy and a nice swan song for this show business icon, who passed away a couple of months after its release.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/85/Mother%27s_Day_poster.jpg/220px-Mother%27s_Day_poster.jpg
This story is set in Atlanta one week before Mother's Day and like the other two films, features multiple storylines that weave together and make a couple of connections we see coming and a couple we don't. Jennifer Aniston plays a divorced mother of two who is having a hard time dealing with the fact that her ex-husband (Timothy Olyphant) has remarried; Kate Hudson and Sarah Chalke play sisters who have been keeping major secrets regarding their life from their domineering mother. Jason Sudeikis plays the father of two daughters whose wife was killed during her time in the military. Oscar winner Julia Roberts plays an on air spokesperson for HSN who is part of more than one story here.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQL9ZT81R1qFQF4TpOIII3P6LqCyozBbmtX4A&s
I must first applaud the screenplay by Marshall, Anya Kochoff, Tom Hines, and Matthew Walker which even though it often plays like very long sitcom episodes. presents multiple stories that keep within the basic framework of the film's theme, still have an air of originality to them. The stories presented here weren't at all what I was expecting, which was a pleasant surprise that allowed me to forgive some of the predictable outcomes of the stories as well as the fact that, like Marshall's other two holiday films, this one does go on a little too long.
https://i0.wp.com/aftercredits.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/MothersDayFeat.jpg?fit=1500%2C1000
Despite its over-length, I found this film to be the strongest of his three holiday films, was never bored, and found consistent laughs throughout and Marshall's directorial instinct for what's funny had a lot to do with that. This man has been making us laugh since the late 1960's and right up to the end, he proved that he hadn't lost his touch.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNzc5MzE4Njg2OV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNDYzODI3ODE@._V1_.jpg
Marshall works magic with his cast, as always, and even though the film is packed with stars, the actors serve the story and I didn't find my attention to the story diverted by star-gazing. Aniston was terrific as the divorced mom and I found Jason Sudeikis utterly charming as the widowed dad struggling to move on. Roberts brings a substance to her role that really isn't in the script and I absolutely LOVED Margo Martindale doing another of her patented mother-from-hell turns, stealing every scene she was in. And if you don't blink, you'll catch brief appearances from Jon Lovitz, Loni Love, Larry Miller, and the director himself, not to mention Marshall's long time good luck charm Hector Elizondo. The director's sister, Penny, does the opening narration and his widow, Barbara has a cameo as a nurse. It could have wrapped a little sooner. but I found the film consistently entertaining and a fitting tribute to its director, RIP. Oh, and stay tuned through the closing credits. 3.5

Gideon58

05-05-18, 09:21 PM

Diner
Barry Levinson would eventually win an Oscar for directing 1988's Best Picture Rain Man, but the guy actually put himself on the map six years earlier with a gem from 1982, a great year in cinema, called Diner, a deliciously humorous slice of life coming of age story that looks at that period between college and career/marriage that can seriously impede lifelong friendships.
https://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/movie/movie_poster/diner-1982/large_iCo3iKmvEQcjVIFZuFCbE8jyBf4.jpg
It's 1959 Baltimore (the first of four films Levinson set in this period) where we meet a group of guys who grew up together whose primary hangout is the Fells Point Diner. This very special circle of friends include Boogie (Mickey Roarke) a self-proclaimed womanizer with a gambling problem; Shrevie (Daniel Stern) is a television salesman whose marriage to Beth (Ellen Barkin) has him feeling like he's missing something; Eddie (Steve Guttenberg) has just gotten engaged but will call off the wedding if his fiancee can't pass an oral test about the Baltimore Colts; Fenwick (Kevin Bacon) is an unhinged firecracker who works tirelessly for the other guys' attention.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/14/64/6a/14646aa71db199ac5db9a12849921ec6.jpg
Levinson scores a direct bullseye here, proving that he was a writer and director to watch. His attention to period detail and his ear for 1950's dialogue is just uncanny. Levinson takes us back to a time and a way of life that is nothing but a dream but manages to still entertain contemporary audiences. Despite the 36 years that have passed since this film's release, it still felt fresh and funny and best of all, authentic to the period. From the music to the settings (especially that fabulous diner) to the french fries with gravy, everything that appears on the screen is absolutely 1959.
https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hqJgjtW0A-0/VtBq5pKs6XI/AAAAAAAAHyk/eHLBtV6myYA/s1600/1982-diner_1914318i.jpg
The other thing this film does so effective is absolutely nail the concept of friendship and how the waters of the concept are often quite muddy. The guys make it pretty obvious that Eddie making his fiancee pass a test on Colts trivia is ridiculous but they never actually say it to his face, They're even in the next room when he's giving the test! I loved when Modell (Paul Reiser) wanted some of Eddie's sandwich but Eddie wouldn't give him a piece because Modell wouldn't come out and ask. Also loved Shrevie's rant about putting his records away properly. If you have a BFF, there will be something in this film that will remind you of something that happened between you and your BFF.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMDZjYTlkMjMtMGM2Zi00MTZiLWI0NjMtZGUxNGMyNzBmOTQ1XkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg
Levinson managed to construct an intelligent story that definitely has a structure and a focus, but also has a very improvised feeling to it. That whole scene of discussing what singer they like to have for background during sex just feels totally off the cuff and totally real. Levinson's brilliant ensemble cast works because it is just that, an ensemble who serve the story and don't try to act over each other, something else for which Levinson must be credited. If you've never seen this quietly dazzling sleeper, please treat yourself. 4

Gideon58

05-05-18, 11:42 PM

Austin Powers International Man of Mystery
Mike Myers capitalized on his success on Saturday Night Live and became a movie star as the writer and star of Austin Powers International Man of Mystery.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91L12Wh63PL._SX342_.jpg
This 1997 comedy/adventure is a dead-on satire of James Bond films in the best tradition of farceurs like Mel Brooks and the Zucker Brothers. Meyers stars as the title character, a British secret agent from the 1960's whose longtime rival with Dr. Evil (also Myers) climaxes in 1967 when both Powers and Evil are frozen for thirty years.
https://res.cloudinary.com/ybmedia/image/upload/c_crop,h_814,w_1200,x_0,y_0/c_scale,f_auto,q_auto,w_700/v1/m/0/1/0154b1b59b225c15750d8d354286bed5987f28b1/austins-glasses-homage-another-film.jpg
As the two men are unfrozen in 1997, both find themselves struggling with the many ways the world has changed since 1967. Austin is in complete denial that the time of free love and promiscuous sex is a thing of the past and poor Dr. Evil is not only upset to learn that a million dollars doesn't buy what it use to, but that he now has a teenage son who was created in a lab during his absence and absolutely hates his dad.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pYwgIQaq9qY/maxresdefault.jpg
Myers' razor sharp screenplay not only brilliantly establishes how different the world was in 1967 and how much it has changed, but also creates "Austin speak"...a very special and very funny language for the title character that sounds very British but still manages to be very funny. Myers script shows a definite knowledge, respect, and affection for Bond movies, even borrowing the most famous line from Goldfinger.
https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/sm/upload/rs/9v/22/nc/austin%20powers-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg?v=391b34a0ba
Myers and director Jay Roach (Meet the Parents) were apparently given a huge budget for this one because there is money all over the place here. There are elaborate set pieces, some first rate visual effects, and the 1960's costumes are absolute perfection. Myers effectively chews the scenery in his dual role and Elizabeth Hurley is a very decorative leading lady. Robert Wagner and Michael York shine in supporting roles and Seth Green is a riot as Dr. Evil's son, Scott. And if you don't blink, you might catch Will Ferrell in the opening scene. After twenty-one years, this movie still brings the funny. Followed by two sequels. 3.5

Gideon58

05-06-18, 05:52 PM

Finding Dory
The Blue Tang Fish with short term memory loss returns in Disney Pixar's Finding Dory, the 2016 sequel to Finding Nemo that actually seems to be aimed at its target audience with a story whose main themes are the importance of friendship and the importance of listening to your parents.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fqNhnLkg-7U/movieposter.jpg
This story takes place a year after the first film which finds the dizzy Dory (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres) separated from her parents, Jenny and Charlie, (voiced by Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy) and embarks on a journey to find them with the help of Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks) and his boy Nemo (voiced by Hayden Rolence). Unfortunately, the dangerous journey finds Dory a prisoner at the Marine Life Institute where she brokers a deal with a slick-talking octopus (voiced by Ed O'Neill).
https://lumiere-a.akamaihd.net/v1/images/h_findingdory_19754_4710e52d.jpeg?region=0,0,2048,878
The film actually begins with a lovely backstory where we meet Dory as a toddler fish being taught some valuable life lessons from her parents and it is these lessons that are instrumental in Dory's confusing journey back to them.
https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/finding-dory-4.jpg?w=681&h=383&crop=1
Director and co-screenwriter Andrew Stanton does a wonderful job of fleshing out the character of Dory without rehashing the events of the first film. I loved the opening scenes of baby Dory trying to accept her condition and her parents unconditional love and support in teaching her survival techniques without ever talking down to her and making sure that she knows that she is capable of accomplishing anything she needs to despite her condition. I loved seeing Dory's flashbacks to her childhood that would be sparked by certain things that she encounters while looking for her parents.
https://images.bauerhosting.com/legacy/empire-images/reviews_films/57619712823490d062647d2e/Finding%20Dory%20Sea%20Lions.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80
When I first heard about this sequel and heard the title, I was afraid that it was going to be all about Dory and have no connection to the first film. My fears were put to rest when I learned that Marlin and Nemo were determined to help Dory in her quest, even if Marlin needed some serious nudging from his son. Don't get it twisted though...this film is rich with a full array of eccentric and colorful new characters including a pair of sea lions who are very territorial about the rock upon which they live, a crazy bug-eyed bird named Becky and a couple of very helpful whales, one a childhood friend of Dory's named Destiny (voiced by Kaitlin Olsen) and another with telepathic skills named Bailey (voiced by Ty Burrell).
https://cdn.abcotvs.com/dip/images/1421802_071116omddoryfactsthumb.jpg
The story is full of danger for our heroine, with special mention to the scene in the touch pool. where the humans stick their hands in a large tank and grab the fish they want and there are even a couple of scenes where Dory, Marlin, and Nemo leave water and actually have to struggle for air. I have to admit it took a minute to get going, but this one was fun, a sequel that told its own story without rehashing the original film. Disney Pixar scores again.
3.5

Gideon58

05-06-18, 10:30 PM

The Big Knife
A razor sharp screenplay and some charismatic performances are the primary selling points of 1955's The Big Knife, a slick and sizzling look at Hollywood behind the scenes that takes no prisoners.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/516J0NPMNZL._SY445_.jpg
Based on a play by Clifford Odets, the film version stars Jack Palance as Charlie Castle, a movie star with a shady past at a crossroads in his career and his personal life...he wants out when his current contract with the studio expires and so does his wife, Marian (Ida Lupino) who is separated from Charlie but still in love with him. Of course, studio head Stanley Hoff (Rod Steiger) is not having this and is willing to put Charlie at the center of an ugly scandal involving a boozy starlet (Shelley Winters) in order to have his way.
https://www.scaruffi.com/director/aldrich/aldr9.jpg
Charlie's life is further complicated by Connie (Jean Hagen), the wife of his best friend who seems to be willing to throw her marriage away for Charlie and by Smiley (Wendell Corey), Hoff's flying monkey whose agenda seems to change from scene to scene.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/10/b5/0e/10b50e3c96e098a07b38d26c30e88042.jpg
Odets' play premiered on Broadway in 1949 with John Garfield playing Charlie and ran for 109 performances. James Poe does a terrific job of opening up the story for the screen and being true to the original story, a biting and merciless look at what some Hollywood movers and shakers will do to protect their bottom line. This combined with a story of a crumbling marriage crying to be repaired but the manifestations of this ugly story keep Charlie and Marian torn apart, even though it's the last thing they or we want.
https://cinemafanatic.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/the_big_knife.jpg
This film was done on a modest budget, evidenced by the black and white photography, though I think black and white just added an additional layer of intensity to this troubling story. Kudos to Edward G. Boyle's set direction though...Charlie's house is gorgeous. Frank DeVol's music is a little much. but it didn't interfere too much. The performances were superb down the line...Palance's performance as Charlie was riveting and Lupino underplays the melodramatic aspects of her character to maximum effect. Rod Steiger was nothing short of bone-chilling as the studio head, which he played like a mob boss. Some might find this performance over the top but I found it fascinating and wonderfully entertaining. Jean Hagen, fresh off being robbed of an Oscar for Singin in the Rain, once again proves what an underrated actress she was and Shelley Winters shined in her brief role as the pathetic Dixie, reminiscent of the tragic Alice Tripp in A Place in the Sun. Once again, I must thank my good friend Citizen for recommending this one...I loved this movie. 4

Citizen Rules

05-06-18, 10:39 PM

The Big Knife

The performances were superb down the line...Palance's performance as Charlie was riveting and Lupino underplays the melodramatic aspects of her character to maximum effect.

Rod Steiger was nothing short of bone-chilling as the studio head, which he played like a mob boss. Some might find this performance over the top but I found it fascinating and wonderfully entertaining.

Jean Hagen, fresh off being robbed of an Oscar for Singin in the Rain, once again proves what an underrated actress she was and Shelley Winters shined in her brief role as the pathetic Dixie, reminiscent of the tragic Alice Tripp in A Place in the Sun.

Once again, I must thank my good friend Citizen for recommending this one...I loved this movie. rating_4 Glad you liked it! When I watched it, I thought to myself, 'I have to tell Gideon about this one.' I know you like movies about the underbelly of Hollywood and The Big Knife really dives into the sleazy manipulation of big time studio heads.

I agree across the board with what you said about the performances. Every actor was amazing in this! Rod Steiger gave me goose bumps and Jack Palance was so good in this, it's too bad he mostly got type cast as the weird/creepy guy later on in his career. And poor Shelly Winters! I love that comparison you made to her role in A Place in the Sun, I thought that too. Her character never ends up well in her movies do they.

Gideon58

05-08-18, 11:45 PM

North Country
The events surrounding Kevin Spacey, Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, James Franco, and others motivated my first re-watch of North Country a compelling and manipulative docudrama that is hard to swallow at times, but there's no denying that the manipulation works and that the majority of this movie had my stomach in knots.
https://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/movie/movie_poster/north-country-2005/large_nnRoQ5Ycqa15lgqxofGDOoQ55n5.jpg
Charlize Theron received her 2nd Oscar nomination for her performance as Josey Aimes, a single mother of two who leaves her abusive husband and moves back to her Minnesota hometown where she gets a job as a miner, working in the same mine with her father (Richard Jenkins) and a childhood sweetheart named Bobby Sharp (Jeremy Renner). Josey is immediately repulsed by the sexually offensive behavior she and the other female miners have to put up with but Josey is the only one making any noise about it.
https://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/review/primary_image/reviews/north-country-2005/hero_EB20051020REVIEWS51005002AR.jpg
Unfortunately, nobody wants to hear anything Josey has to say because of her sexual history (she doesn't even know who fathered her son,Sammy) so when Bobby rapes her and no one believes her, she quits her job and seeks out a lawyer (Woody Harrelson) to help her sue the mine. We also are privy to the effect the events have on Sammy and even on Josey's parents.
http://minnesotabrown.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/2005-north-country-014.jpg
Yes, Michael Seitzman's screenplay, based on Clara Bingham's book is based on fact but the story presented onscreen is just a little too black and white and hard to believe at times. It never lets us forget that maybe Josey is asking for what happens to her. There are events that occur in this film that may have happened but have been altered for dramatic effect to make a more entertaining movie. There's a scene at a hockey game where Bobby Sharp's wife confronts Josey, warning her to stay away from her husband and we are supposed to believe that everyone in the entire stadium went dead silent so that everyone present, including Sammy, hears the accusation, making Josey's rant in the parking lot look over the top as everyone stands there pointing and whispering as Josey drags her humiliated son home. This is the scene where the movie almost loses me,
https://images.moviesanywhere.com/5f30e9d191bbb66fc4aee21bd1740ac9/f3e8e8a4-0dfe-4883-96a5-71c3f044b892.jpg?w=2560&r=16x9
I did find myself invested in why the other female miners adamantly refused to have Josey's back even though everything she complained about was true and there were levels of harassment that challenged credibility but the way the men backed each other totally rang true. We are given separate looks at the other side of the coin as we witness a young female co-worker (Michelle Monaghan) trying to play both sides of the sexual fence and failing miserably as well as a male miner (Corey Stoll) who knows what the men are doing is wrong but remains silent.
https://alchetron.com/cdn/North-Country-film-images-804353e6-e660-4076-8ea1-44632325e0b.jpg
Niki Caro's direction is focused and sensitive and she always makes sure the camera tells just as much of the story as the characters do. She also pulls some first rate performances from a terrific cast. Personally, I think Theron's full-bodied performance here is far superior to the over the top scenery chewing she did in Monster and Jeremy Renner is appropriately slimy as the black hat of the story. Jenkins and Sissy Spacek are superb as Josey's parents and there is a fabulous performance from Frances McDormand as Josey's BFF whose body is being ravaged by Lou Gehrig's Disease. McDormand earned a supporting actress nomination as well. The film is beautiful to look at and yes, it is manipulative and the ending is a bit predictable, but the manipulation definitely works. 3.5

Gideon58

05-12-18, 12:06 AM

The Long Goodbye
Director Robert Altman gives a classic literary character a contemporary coat of paint in 1973's The Long Goodbye, an intelligent and stylish crime drama that makes up for a somewhat predictable story with evocative direction and some offbeat casting.
https://kinolorber.com/media_cache/userFiles/uploads/products/the-long-goodbye-special-edition/full/738329256883(no_o-card).jpg
Based on Raymond Chandler's novel, this is the story of Phillip Marlowe, an easy going private eye who lives with his cat. Marlowe is visited by a friend at 3:00 in the morning asking Marlowe to drive him to Mexico. The next day, Marlowe reads in the paper that his friend has committed suicide and is being sought for questioning about his wife's murder while almost simultaneously, Marlowe gets a call from an icy Malibu socialite who wants to hire Marlowe to locate her missing husband, an eccentric alcoholic writer.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGS-SISNPSEMZ5_rDzWSTIuw4pHNOmq72Nl3aN5MZBrEiZCHeLZ0WN0tRrpijwnS87fVRrVIyWM83scFVc60HNDDb8TPwaomFUJ0GLKh e3O4ppFgK6GcbRjNzZtBLyDgXh42TfYXs8vcw/s828/IMG_0436.jpg
Altman score big here, taking Leigh Brackett's somewhat long-winded screenplay based on a classic literary detective and giving this detective a contemporary makeover and individual personality that are most appealing. Altman takes the time to let us know in this Marlowe, starting with a seemingly overly-detailed opening scene involving Marlowe and his cat which really has nothing to do with the forthcoming story, but gives this character instant likability as he seems to care more about this cat than the bevy of beautiful girls who occupy the penthouse next door.
https://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/review/primary_image/reviews/great-movie-the-long-goodbye-1973/hero_EB20060423REVIEWS08604230301AR.jpg
Brackett's screenplay initially seems to set up two different stories that seemingly have nothing to do with each other, but we know that eventually there is going to be a connection between the stories and, even though it takes a little too long for that connection to surface, we forgive. We forgive because of Altman's atmospheric direction and the midnight to dawn feeling he creates through photography and music.
https://filmstvandlife.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/thelonggoodbye.jpg
As he always did, Altman made some offbeat casting choices in the central roles that played off. During a period when Nicholson and Pacino were the biggest stars on the planet, Altman went a different way casting Elliott Gould as Marlowe, who beautifully captures the character's laid back attitude while never taking his eye off the prize. I loved the way the character constantly talked to himself, like he was narrating his own life and Gould was seemingly at ease with it. I also LOVED Sterling Hayden as the eccentric writer, his most charismatic performance since Dr. Strangelove. Bouquets as well to cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond and John Williams unusally bluesy music. Fans of the director will not be disappointed. 3.5

GulfportDoc

05-12-18, 09:11 AM

Nice review. Altman's treatment was a nice idea, but Chandler's story didn't jibe for me in a contemporary setting. And Gould didn't seem right for a classic Marlowe.

I too really enjoyed Sterling Hayden's bit. I read that he wanted to improvise almost all of it, and that he was boozed up at the time.

Just so happens I'm currently reading the novel again after many years. The screenplay has some major differences from the novel. Altman's film is good, it's just not good Chandler. I'd love to see a new treatment of it.

~Doc

Citizen Rules

05-12-18, 01:02 PM

Gideon58

05-12-18, 07:50 PM

Brooklyn
Soairse Ronan received her first Oscar nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress for her performance in Brooklyn, a luminous coming of age drama from 2015 that also received nominations for adapted screenplay and Best Picture of the Year.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5b/Brooklyn_FilmPoster.jpg
The story begins in Ireland during the early 1950's where we meet Eilis (Ronan),a young Irish girl who is preparing to begin a new life in Brooklyn, New York where a job and a place to live have already been arranged for her. Upon her arrival in Brooklyn, the frightened young mouse struggles to fit in with the girls who live in the boarding house with her and her new job as a department store salesgirl, not to mention a serious case of homesickness. She begins night classes to help her in her dream of becoming an accountant. She even finds romance with a hard-working young Italian named Tony (Emory Cohen).
https://themoviemylife.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/screen-shot-2015-07-13-at-15-32-32.png
Just as her new life seems to be falling quietly into place, a family tragedy forces Eilis to return to Ireland for awhile and she actually begins building a life there similar to the one she has built in Brooklyn. a life which she now seems to be on the verge of just throwing away.
http://lylesmoviefiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/brooklyn-movie-emory-cohen-saoirse-ronan-fields.jpeg
Director John Crowley puts a loving hand to Nick Hornby's Oscar-nominated screenplay that begins as a somewhat conventional coming of age story watching a young girl adjusting to not only a new life but a clashing of cultures. I love when one of the girls in the boarding house advises her that if she is going to be involved with an Italian boy, make sure he doesn't talk about baseball and his mother all the time. The story does a surprising 180 when Eilis returns to Ireland and goes to places that actually found this viewer talking back to the screen, a sure sign that I am completely invested in what's going on.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/p0CbjGARX0g/maxresdefault.jpg
Crowley employed a first rate production team in bringing this lavish story that takes place on two different continents to fruition. Art direction, set direction, cinematography, costumes, and Michael Brook's music deserve special mention and casting is pretty much on the money here...Ronan, nominated last year for Lady Bird, proves that performance was no fluke and her nomination here was richly deserved as well. The way this young actress can command a movie screen just continues to amaze me. Cohen lights up the screen as young Tony and I also loved Julie Walters as the boarding house den mother who bristles at improper language at the dinner table. If you liked Lady Bird, this one is a don't-miss. 4

Gideon58

05-12-18, 10:41 PM

Two Weeks with Love
Another offering from MGM's golden age of musicals, 1950's Two Weeks with Love is best known for one musical number, but it actually has a few other things going for it.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/ee/Two-Weeks-with-Love-1950.jpg/220px-Two-Weeks-with-Love-1950.jpg
This turn of the century slice of Americana centers on the Robinson family who spend two weeks every summer at a resort in the Catskills where elder daughter Patti (Jane Powell) is pursued by the owner's geeky son, Billy (Carleton Carpenter) but only has eyes for a dashing Cuban playboy (Ricardo Montalban) who is also being pursued by Patti's snooty BFF (Phyllis Kirk). Throw into the mix Patti's younger sister, Melba (Debbie Reynolds) who is crazy about Billy and the girls' parents (Louis Calhern, Ann Harding) whose differing views about how grown Patti is finds them arguing over whether she is old enough for a corset, and you have all the ingredients for this amusing musical romp.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QjXv2SYWVTs/maxresdefault.jpg
This film didn't do big box office back in 1950 and something tells me it might have had something to do with the leading man. Montalban just seemed out of place here and it was hard to reconcile myself with a rich Cuban playboy in the 1950's showing up at a resort in the Catskills at the turn of the century when this story takes place, much less in the 1950's. It is addressed discreetly during Montalban's first entrance into the resort dining where everyone stops what they're doing to stare at him. Montalban also appears to be at least a decade older than Powell, adding a slight "ick" factor to the relationship. Montalban's character even mentions at one point that Patti is a child but it doesn't stop his pursuit of her either.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/00/3b/15/003b153325cedaa6876f65a7390f9ac1.jpg
If you can roll with all of this, there is some fun here watching the accustomed romantic complications we're used to in MGM musicals. It is fun watching poor Debbie Reynolds chasing around the clueless Carpenter who only has eyes for her big sister. Reynolds and Carpenter do give this film its place in musical history with their rendition of "Abba Dabba Honeymoon", pretty much the only thing people remember this film for.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/6c/e6/62/6ce6629180c6fa9f425f60155a123320.jpg
Powell does have a couple of nice solos like "Oceana Roll" and "My Hero" and Louis Calhern is lots of fun as the girls' bewildered father and the gangly Carpenter was adorable. I was a little disappointed with the staging of the musical numbers since the opening credits revealed that Busby Berkeley was the choreographer. I expected more lavish musical sequences from Berkeley but I guess it wasn't that kind of story. MGM has definitely done better films, but if you liked A Date with Judy... 3

Gideon58

05-14-18, 12:32 AM

The Prince and the Showgirl
Despite the professional polish in front of and behind the camera, the lavish 1957 romantic comedy The Prince and the Showgirl never really becomes the truly special motion picture it should have been.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61gsrLjNXEL.jpg
The film stars Laurence Olivier as The Grandduke Charles, the Prince Regent of a fictional country called Carpathia who arrives in London for the coronation of King George V. The evening before, The Regent takes in an English music hall show and becomes entranced with one of the chorus girls, a bubbly American named Elsie Marina (Marilyn Monroe). he invites Elsie to his palace for a private supper under the ruse of it being a big party but his intended simple seduction of this naive chorus girl turns out to be anything but.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ba/66/b3/ba66b3d5de680a5e75ded97c903d196e.jpg
Olivier also served as director on this film and for those who didn't know, the backstage turbulence during the film was brought to the screen in 2011 with My Week with Marilyn, really has nothing to do with what goes on here as am I here to report what ended up onscreen and what ended up here is Olivier's self-indulgent treatment of Terrence Rattigan's overly complex screenplay that attempts to tell too many stories and offers way too many mixed signals coming from the two lead characters to keep things moving the way they should.
http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/32600000/The-Prince-and-the-Showgirl-the-prince-and-the-showgirl-32632197-245-178.gif
On a positive note, it should be noted that these mixed signals are coming from two very intelligent characters. I loved the fact that even though Marilyn is playing a chorus girl, this chorus girl has a brain in her head and she uses it throughout this story. It takes her just enough time to realize what is happening to her and when she puts a stop to it, it's nice to see that she won't allow herself to be summarily kicked to the curb. Needless to say, the Regent is no dummy either, but is completely dumbfounded when his simple seduction doesn't go just as planned.
http://rarefilm.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/The-Prince-and-the-Showgirl-1957-3.jpg
Olivier the actor delivers a fascinating performance and Monroe offers one of her strongest characterizations as well, but I think the real problem was the lack of chemistry between the two. You can't fake chemistry and as obsessed as Olivier might have been with Monroe at the time (at least according to My Week with Marilyn), it never translates into actual chemistry and when the leads in a romantic comedy have no chemistry, we just don't really care what else is going on. However, there is no denying that Marilyn has rarely looked more breathtaking onscreen.
http://www.doctormacro.com/Images/Posters/P/Poster%20-%20Prince%20and%20the%20Showgirl,%20The_20.jpg
The film is handsomely mounted with outstanding set design and stunning costumes and Dame Sybil Thorndyke was a hoot as the Regent's Mother-in-Law, but the lack of chemistry between Olivier and Monroe made this is a very labored romantic comedy that moved at a snail's pace. What a shame. 2.5

Gideon58

05-15-18, 11:12 PM

Young Adult
Director Jason Reitman (Up in the Air) and screenwriter Diablo Cody (Juno) are the creative forces behind an odd little romantic comedy from 2011 called Young Adult which is actually a character study disguised as a romantic comedy starring a character with whom it is often difficult to empathize.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71-tIWQXL7L.jpg
Oscar winner Charlize Theron plays Mavis, the recently divorced author of a series of teen romance novels who gets an e-mail from her childhood sweetheart, Buddy (Patrick Wilson) announcing the birth of his daughter. Mavis impulsively jumps out of her bed (leaving a man there), packs her bags and travels to her small Minnesota hometown where she decides that she is going to break up Buddy's marriage and take up where they left off in high school.
http://cdn.collider.com/wp-content/uploads/patton-oswalt-young-adult-movie-image-2.jpg
Upon Mavis' return, she also runs into Matt (Patton Oswalt), the chubby geek who used to have the locker next to Mavis in high school. Matt was crippled during a beating he received in high school, likes to make and paint action figures, and likes to make his own homemade whiskey. For some reason, Mavis confides her plan to Matt who becomes her sounding board since his warnings to not do what she's planning fall on deaf ears.
https://m.wsj.net/video/20111205/120811youngadult/120811youngadult_1280x720.jpg
Like she did with Juno, Diablo Cody comes up with a screenplay that is just edgy enough that we find ourselves loving the central character one scene and wanting to strangle her the next. It's a little disconcerting as we watch the spiral this character takes. She seems so intelligent and independent at the beginning of the story and she doesn't immediately strike you as a homewrecker and not just a homewrecker, but a homewrecker who thinks what she's doing is right because she has decided in her own mind that Buddy is not happy
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/youngadult_a.jpg?w=1440&h=810&crop=1
The element of the story that I had a little trouble getting behind was that neither Buddy nor his wife (Elizabeth Reaser) have a clue about what Mavis is doing, even though it seems glaringly obvious to the viewer. We are in the final act before Buddy and his wife catch on and the scene where everything bubbles to the surface is undeniably intense and director Reitman deserves the lion's share of credit for that.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/AoJIkAsCAAA4lnX.jpg
Though Mavis' behavior is often self-absorbed and occasionally hints at mental health issues, Charlize Theron's gutsy and ferocious performance in the starring role commands our attention and makes us wonder if she is going to accomplish her mission even though we know what she's doing is wrong. Patton Oswalt does a real movie star turn as Matt and Wilson makes the most of what is basically a thankless and underwritten role. Shout outs as well to Dana E. Glauberman's editing and Rolfe Kent's quirky music. There's a whole lot of unpleasantness that goes on here, and the lead character doesn't really learn the lesson she should, but I couldn't take my eyes off the screen either. 3.5

GulfportDoc

05-16-18, 10:50 AM

The Prince and the Showgirl
Despite the professional polish in front of and behind the camera, the lavish 1957 romantic comedy The Prince and the Showgirl never really becomes the truly special motion picture it should have been.
...
Nice review. I enjoyed the film, chiefly because of its alluring story. Both Olivier and Monroe are fascinating to watch, but the reason there was no chemistry between them was that Olivier was so completely disgusted with MM. As in many of her later films, she was painfully late to the set, had lots of trouble with her lines, and did not take direction well. In short, completely unprofessional. Poor Olivier was said to have aged 15 years due to trying to work with her on the film. Still, it didn't hurt his bank account..:D
~Doc

Gideon58

05-18-18, 11:03 PM

Brigadoon
Considering all of the talent involved on both sides of the camera, the 1954 film version of the Lerner and Lowe Broadway musical Brigadoon never becomes the truly enchanting musical film it could have and should have been.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51KI1TL3XfL._SY445_.jpg
Tommy (Gene Kelly) and Jeff (Van Johnson) are New York businessmen who go on a hunting trip in Scotland who get lost but they encounter a tiny village where the townspeople are preparing for the wedding of Jean (Virginia Bosler) and Charlie (Jimmy Thompson). Tommy is instantly attracted to Jean's older sister, Fiona (Cyd Charisse) but their romance leads Tommy to a secret about the town that could keep Tommy and Fiona apart forever, not to mention Harry Beaton (Hugh Laing) the other man who still loves Jean whose obsession with Jean could also destroy Brigadoon forever.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V-h-7ig3ELY/UokQog9R-gI/AAAAAAAAAtI/kX7Q-CVg598/s1600/Brigadoon2+(1).jpg
Considered by many a lesser work of Lerner and Lowe, who also wrote the scores for My Fair Lady and Camelot, the stage musical does go under some serious deconstruction here as a large portion of the score was scrapped to fit the MGM stable of stars, or more specifically, the dancing talents of Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse (Charisse's singing is dubbed by Carole Richards). A lot of what is expressed between the lead characters in this story that was done with dialogue and song onstage is done with dance and dilutes a lot of the story's charm. Despite the score tampering, we still have "Waitin for My Dearie", "The Heather on the Hill", "I'll Go Home with Bonnie Jean:, "Almost Like Being in Love" and the lilting title song. The town tart, Meg Brody, had two of the show';s best songs onstage, "The Love of My Life" and "My Mother's Wedding Day", but both were scrapped here reducing the role of Meg to a cameo that she makes the most of with Johnson. I also missed a lovely ballad between the leads called "Come to Me, Bend to Me."
https://78.media.tumblr.com/9d45071871db3e147cb10aa78d5a882f/tumblr_onn0wyINps1v4dcn7o1_500.gif
The other problem here (and director Vincente Minnelli has to take some blame for this) is the look of the film. We all know of Minnelli's eye for color onscreen and it is evident here; unfortunately, this allegedly magic Scottish village looks like it was built completely on a sound stage. I never get the feeling that I'm in the highlands of Scotland and it's a shame that Minnelli didn't do some location shooting for this. He didn't have to go to Scotland, but he could have gone somewhere with some real mountains and hills. Minnelli's overly melodramatic handling of the final act didn't help either.
https://i0.wp.com/theclassicmoviemuse.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/0cf52fbdb7d18b6ca223292656d8aa35.jpg?resize=800%2C608&ssl=1
Kelly also served as choreographer for the film and his staging of the dance numbers is energetic but a little unimaginative. He works well with Charisse, who makes a lovely Fiona and Johnson has some funny moments, but for an MGM version of a Lerner and Lowe musical, this was a disappointment. 2.5

Gideon58

05-20-18, 12:16 AM

The Master
Paul Thomas Anderson, the creative force behind Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and last year's Best Picture nominee Phantom Thread takes us on one of his most bizarre cinematic acid trips, an oddity from 2012 called The Master.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KohQB438m70/UrWbm_G-VUI/AAAAAAAAAOA/HUBRNV-GT2M/s1600/The-Master-la-8-6-12.jpg
Joaquin Phoenix stars as Freddie Quell, a WWII Navy vet who is having difficulty adjusting to life after the war until he happens upon something called The Cause...a form of hypnosis that allegedly helps one deal with their present life difficulties by confronting their past. Freddie initially fights the process but is lured into an intense love/hate relationship with The Cause's charismatic leader, one Lancaster Dodd (the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman).
https://thebestpictureproject.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/themaster1.jpg
Anderson must be credited for a screenplay that definitely has a dash of originality to it...the opening scenes of Freddie floating from job to job because of PTSD are no indicator of the strange story that unfolds before us, but this is Paul Thomas Anderson we're talking about so I should have known trying to foresee what was going to happen to this guy Freddie was pointless.
https://wondersinthedark.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/the-master-paul-thomas-anderson-philip-seymour-hoffman.jpeg
Anderson approaches some really prickly subject matter here as we get about halfway through the story and realize that The Cause is nothing more than a cult and Lancaster Dodd is a very sophisticated con artist...or is he? The story moves in varied directions and it is hard to keep track of what is going on a lot of the time and there are a couple of scenes that defy any kind of explanation or logic. There is a similar confusion with the characters. Everyone in this story seems to have their own agenda and said agendas change from scene. Dodd's wife, daughter, and son-in-law for instance, seem to welcome Freddie to the fold with open arms, but around the same time we realize what Dodd really is, we see the family close ranks around him and warn him that Freddie is a danger to their existence.
https://assets.mubi.com/images/film/97752/image-w1280.jpg?1487109317
The biggest disappointment story-wise for this reviewer was watching Freddie being taken in by this people and hoping that they can somehow help the hot mess of a character we meet in the opening scenes. We want to see him get the help he needs but it becomes clear this is not going to happen and we just want to see him get away, instead what we get is an attempt to "de-program" Freddie which really doesn't work because Freddie really isn't any different than he was in the beginning of the film which. to me, made most of the story kind of pointless.
https://c8.alamy.com/comp/CY8CBA/the-master-2012-weinstein-company-film-with-joaquin-phoenix-as-freddie-CY8CBA.jpg
As confusing and squirm-worthy as I found this story, I could not take my eyes off the screen due to the performances by the three leads, which all received Oscar nominations. Phoenix is darkly unhinged as Freddie, a performance that had a really Brando-esque quality to it...Freddie was a like a car accident...you didn't want to look, but you couldn't help looking. I don't think Anderson rep company member Hoffman as ever been better as Dodd (and that includes his Oscar-winning performance in Capote) and I'm surprised he didn't win a second Oscar for his work here...this performance is intense yet beautifully controlled and slightly creepy. Amy Adams once again proves her versatility in a quietly powerful turn as Dodd's wife, who turns out to be the real power behind The Cause. This performance earned Adams her fourth Oscar nomination.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Y91TRMxKjKE/maxresdefault.jpg
As always, Anderson's attention to production values is first rate, the film is beautifully photographed and I loved the costumes and the quirky music. I just wish his direction had been a little less self-indulgence and that his screenplay had cared a little more about his central character. 3

GulfportDoc

05-20-18, 02:00 PM

Brigadoon
Considering all of the talent involved on both sides of the camera, the 1954 film version of the Lerner and Lowe Broadway musical Brigadoon never becomes the truly enchanting musical film it could have and should have been.
...
Years ago I played in the orchestra for a production of this musical. You're right, the music is great-- classic Lerner and Lowe. Too bad much of it wasn't used in the movie.

It's always nice to see Kelly dancing, especially with Miss Cyd. What talent... She had a nice dancing part in Singing in the Rain. But I think her better dancing roles were with Fred Astaire.

~Doc

Gideon58

05-20-18, 03:22 PM

My senior year of college we did Brigadoon and I was the assistant director. This movie is a pale imitation of the original stage production. I also preferred Charisse with Astaire over Kelly.

Gideon58

05-20-18, 03:59 PM

The Addams Family
A clever screenplay, outrageous set pieces, and a terrific cast make the 1991 comedy The Addams a gothic comedy gem.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51DZGADFDNL._SY445_.jpg
Based on comic strip characters by Charles Addams which then became a popular sitcom in the 1960's, this is the story of an eccentric family of characters living in a gothic house that puts Norman Bates' house to shame. This film version delves a little into the roots of the family which includes patriarch Gomez (Raul Julia), a lawyer who never practices law but goes nuts whenever wife Morticia (Anjelica Huston) speaks French. They have two children named Wednesday and Pugley who are into some often sadistic play. Also living in the house are Morticia's mother, a manservant named Lurch who resembles Frankenstein, a pet lion named Kitty, and a hand servant (who is just a hand) named Thing.
https://s3.drafthouse.com/images/made/addams_family_title_758_426_81_s_c1.jpg
The primary story here is a group of con artists who think they can bulk the Addams out of their millions because one of them (Christopher Lloyd) bears an uncanny resemblance to Gomez' brother Fester, who, after a terrible argument with Gomez, was lost in the Bermuda Triangle.
https://media.timeout.com/images/103528372/image.jpg
If the truth be told, the story is so not the attraction here, but the presentation of these characters and their gothic existence, presented as if the sitcom never existed, perhaps borrowing more inspiration from the original comic strip. Former film editor Barry Sonnenfield made an impressive directorial debut here, establishing the Halloween-brought-to-life atmosphere that this creepy family inhabits. I just loved the visit to the family graveyard and Wednesday's electric chair and the bagged lunches that Lurch hands the children that contain something alive and wriggling. Not to mention Morticia's gardening...she takes fully grown roses, cuts off the blooms and arranges the stems.
https://imgix.bustle.com/rehost/2016/9/13/f6e5ab1f-4b30-4a63-8191-2a2a4ad729f7.jpg
There are some outrageous set pieces that sometime shock and always amuse...love the family cuckoo clock that appears near the opening and Gomez' secret hideaway where he attempts to connect with FauxFester. Sonnenfeld's casting is also on the money, led by Julia and Huston whose white hot chemistry lights up the screen and provides major grins throughout. Lloyd is terrific, as always, and young Christina Ricci became an official movie star with her scene-stealing turn as the stone-faced Wednesday. Also loved the criminally underrated Elizabeth Wilson as the venemous villianess.
https://vaguevisages.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/The-Addams-Family-1991-Movie-Film-Essay-Five.jpg
The production values are superb with special nods to editing (no surprise with Sonnenfeld at the helm), art design, makeup, and Ruth Myer's Oscar-nominated costumes. A delicious comic romp that the entire family can enjoy together. It was followed by a sequel called Addams Family Values and the characters also came to Broadway in 2010 with Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth playing Gomez and
Morticia. 4

Gideon58

05-20-18, 09:11 PM

Rabbit Hole
2010's Rabbit Hole is another cinematic look at the grieving process that provides wisps of originality in terms of storytelling and two very strong performances from the leads.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQdJT4YdEd15ScwIrhM92wY2ZlYW1oKL8Ukjw&s
Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart play Becca and Howie, upwardly mobiles whose young son was accidentally hit by a car about eight months and of course the pair are in completely different places in their grief. Howie has found a support group that is helping him but Becca doesn't like it because they talk about God too much. After several missteps revolving around her sister's pregnancy and trying to erase all memories of her child from the house, Becca actually seems to find solace in forging a relationship with the high school student (Miles Teller) who was driving the car that killed her son.
http://www.johnlikesmovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/rabbit-hole-movie.jpg
Things for the couple get muddied further by Becca's conflict over her mother (Oscar winner Dianne Wiest) who also lost a child and Howie's attraction to another member of the support group (Sandra Oh).
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2010/12/17/arts/17RABBIT1-span/SUB-RABBIT-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale
David Lindsey-Abaire's screenplay is an adaptation of his own play and I'm happy to report that he does a wonderful job of keeping the movie looking like a movie. There was one very effective scene, that probably wasn't in the play, where we see Becca wait until Howie goes to work, she then gets dressed and takes a train to New York where she is clearly trying to get her old job back, thinking this might be an effective way to channel her grief, but most of the people she worked with are gone...this scene really hit home and once again reminded us that Becca is trying to grieve in her own way and that it isn't working.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-nmpEaAYNWA/TQpody5iCiI/AAAAAAAADsc/sh1o8ELgbHw/s1600/RH3.jpg
I found the idea of a woman bonding with the person responsible for her child's death a bold one and was pretty certain that this would destroy her marriage and my curiosity as to whether that would actually happen kept me glued to the screen. After some pretty brazen story moves, the conclusion is a little pat, but doesn't stray from reality either.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjI3Njg5NTk2Ml5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMDIyOTYxNA@@._V1_.jpg
Kidman's gutsy performance anchors the film and she is matched note for note by Eckhart in his finest performance since Thank You for Smoking. Wiest and Oh make the most of every moment they have onscreen and I also loved Tammy Blanchard as Becca's sister. John Cameron Mitchell's sensitive direction is another factor in making this heartbreaker worth a look. 3.5

Gideon58

05-20-18, 11:37 PM

Without Love (1945)
The 1945 romantic comedy Without Love was the third film featuring one of our greatest acting teams: Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn.
https://andyoucallyourselfascientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/wl45-card1b.jpg?w=640
Tracy plays Pat Jamieson, a scientist who arrives in Washington to work on a special project for the military but has nowhere to live. He gets hired as a caretaker for a wealthy widow named Jamie Rowan (Hepburn) who is unimpressed with Pat until she learns more about his work, which was similar to the work of her late father.
https://i0.wp.com/faintlyfamiliar.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/LOVE-4.jpg?resize=960%2C707&ssl=1
Even though there is an attraction between the two, Pat and Jamie are both gun-shy about love but for different reasons: Pat was badly burned by his last relationship with a woman named Lila who is not completely out of his life and Jamie had a perfect marriage that she is certain she will never be able to duplicate. What does exist between these two is a passion for Pat's work and a respect for each other which prompts Jamie to suggest a platonic marriage.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UqU7Fu9gd4Y/hqdefault.jpg
There is also a subplot involving Jamie's cousin Quentin (Keenan Wynn) who is engaged to the tightly wound Edwina (Patricia Morison), but is really in love with Jamie's business manager and BFF, Kitty (Lucille Ball).
http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/images/reviews/264/1304065660_3.png
This film is actually based on a play by Phillip Barry and adapted for the screen by Donald Ogden Stewart, the pair behind the 1940 classic The Philadelphia Story. The screenplay is surprisingly sophisticated for the 40's with a big nod to the war effort but never forgetting the primary story. This was not a new topic for movies, but it was fun trying to figure out which one was going to crack first and how long it would take the other to come around.
https://i.pinimg.com/236x/d2/cf/91/d2cf912cbfe03e0b0fab3c51e08bad73--katharine-hepburn-lucille-ball.jpg
But above everything else, this movie has the magic of Tracy/Hepburn, which can make even second rate material jump off the screen and dance. I think I liked them here more than Woman of the Year and Lucy was terrific as Kitty. This is one of the least seen of the nine films Tracy and Hepburn did and I don't know why. Another one of those romantic comedies for people who hate romantic comedies. 3.5

Gideon58

05-22-18, 11:12 PM

The Glass Castle
2017's The Glass Castle is a moody biographical drama that is a bit self-indulgent but worth watching due to a powerhouse performance from one of the industry's most likable actors playing an absolutely detestable character.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71LdRVn2QML._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg
This film is based on a book by a writer named Jeannette Walls who we meet at the beginning of the movie going home in a cab and almost running over a homeless couple rummaging through a dumpster. Moments later we are shocked to learn that this couple are Jeannette's parents. The film than flashes back to Jeanette's extremely dysfunctional childhood with her two sisters, one brother, her mother Rose Mary (Naomi Watts) and her father, Rex (Woody Harrelson).
https://media.vanityfair.com/photos/597f3c1def23fb47b83e2f41/master/pass/the-glass-castle-jeanette-walls.jpg
Rex and Rose Mary have raised their children living on the street and in abandoned buildings. We see the family move through several different homes in the course of the story and I don't think any of them had lights or electricity. Rose Mary is an impractical dreamer and aspiring artist who knows in her heart the way she's raising her children is wrong but is really afraid of Rex, an abusive, lazy, alcoholic gambler who will always make sure there's a bottle of whiskey in the house and the fact that his kids haven't eaten in three days is a non-issue.
https://weliveentertainment.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/070B_TGC_SG_5215crp.jpg
The story eventually whittles down to the love/hate/love relationship between Rex and Jeanette which changes from scene to scene and completely defies logic because for the majority of the running time, Jeannette manages to see some good in her father that no one else does. Rex's conception of being a parent is often hard to swallow even though you can see some of the twisted logic behind it. There's a scene where Rex is trying to teach Jeannette how to swim and all he does is terrify the child. It was also disheartening watching the way Rex seemed to virtually ignore the other three children...until they try to get away from him.
https://popcultureuncovered.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/tgc2.jpg
Writer and director Destin Daniel Cretton's screenplay is a little long-winded and delivers Rex's dysfunction with a sledgehammer effect to the point where it is hard to understand why anyone likes this guy. Cretton's direction is dark and gloomy...the film is often poorly lit to the point where sometimes it's hard to tell what's happening, though I have to admit, that there are times we don't want to know.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNTEwMDA1ODk1MF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMjQwNzgwMzI@._V1_.jpg
The performances are the real glue that keep this depressing docudrama crackling, especially a savage and often venomous performance by Woody Harrelson as Rex, a performance that gets under the skin and scratches at the nerve. Oscar winner Brie Larson is beautifully controlled as the physically and emotionally scarred Jeannette. Naomi Watts made the most the thankless role of Rose Mary, as she always does and have to give a shout out to Max Greenfield as Jeannette's tightly wound fiancee. Despite some really unpleasant subject matter, the performances make this quite riveting, aided by the fact that it is allegedly a true story. Fans of The Prince of Tides will have a head start here. 3.5

Gideon58

05-26-18, 06:38 PM

Talk Radio
Oliver Stone and Eric Bogosian triumphed with a claustrophobic and intense drama from 1988 called Talk Radio that is one of the most underrated and nearly forgotten cinematic treasures from the 1980's.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41MN1FG8TWL.jpg
The film version of Bogosian's play, based on the book "The Murder of Alan Berg", seems to have just gotten more timely as the years pass, kind of like Network. This is an intimate look at a facet of what many consider the armpit of show business...late night talk radio. Bogosian plays Barry Champlain, the host of a talk radio show in Dallas called "Night Talk" where he angrily berates listeners on a nightly basis, hangs up on many of them, and gets at least a couple of death threats during every show.
http://www.tasteofcinema.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Talk-Radio.jpg
As the film opens, we learn that Barry's show is about to be picked up by a national sponsor which produces mixed emotions for Barry...as much as he'd like the national platform and the additional money, he doesn't want to water down his show and be something he isn't to satisfy his potential new bosses who might not be able to take Barry completely without filter the way they do in Dallas. Barry is so nervous and confused about what is going to happen that he asks the only person he really trusts, his ex-wife, to fly in and watch what is supposed to be his first national broadcast.
https://www.jonathanrosenbaum.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/talkradio11.jpg
This was my sixth viewing of this film but the first in about 15 years and this film hasn't lost a bit of its power and intensity. Bogosian and director Oliver Stone's screenplay spares no one and drives home the fact that the majority of people who listen to late night talk radio are insane. Fans of people like Rush Limbaugh were probably not happy with what is presented here. The story allows us to view this insanity from two different viewpoints...not only do we see Barry belittling his listeners over the radio waves, but we also get to see personal encounters with fans outside of the radio station. There's a great scene where Barry is asked to speak at the opening of a sporting event and is barraged with such heavy booing that he doesn't even speak. I also loved his encounter with a drunken female fan who goes on about how much she hates him but the half smile never leaves her face. This story also makes a strong point for the fact that these people really think they KNOW Barry, which in this story, is more than a little unsettling.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNzFmODhiMGQtZTc2ZS00ZTg2LWFhMzctMGMyZDk2ZDA0NWMzXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg
Stone's direction is intense and imaginative...he manages to create the claustrophobic atmosphere that a radio station booth should have but keeps the action opened up as we watch the other people in Barry's orbit react to him and sometimes we're not sure what they're feeling either. Bogosian does an Oscar-worthy turn in the starring role and gets solid support from Alec Baldwin as his boss and Ellen Greene as his ex-wife. Stone's set direction and sound editing crews deserve a shout out as well. Not for all tastes, but a uniquely squirm worthy movie experience if you're up for it. 4

Gideon58

05-26-18, 09:07 PM

The Long Long Trailer
A year before the premiere of their classic sitcom, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz introduced their very special chemistry to movie audiences in a 1950 comedy called The Long Long Trailer which proved the success of I Love Lucy was no accident.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZDdhODU1OTQtYjI4MC00YTc0LTg5ZjUtYWE0YzY1ZTJhZmE1XkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg
Directed by Vincente Minnelli, this is the story of Tacy and Nicky, a young California couple about to be married but are worried about Nicky's new job which is going to involve a lot of traveling with an initial destination of Colorado. Tacy gets the inspired idea to buy a trailer so that they can take their home wherever they have to go. Despite Nicky's limited budget, Tacy talks him into purchasing a huge 40-foot travel trailer as their new home.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ff/2e/e5/ff2ee505a89b2cd7f39cbc373ee00308.png
The episodic comedy follows the adventures as they discover the expense of this purchase, which includes the purchase of a new car that is capable of pulling the 40 foot beast, the joys of trailer park living, and the perils of maneuvering the beast on crowded highways and narrow mountain roads.
https://themotionpictures.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/rjoq23k.png
Albert Hackett's screenplay, based on a novel by Clinton Twiss, has been effectively adapted to fit Mr. and Mrs. Arnaz and provides plenty of opportunity for the kind of crazy slapstick comedy which would become a staple of Lucy's long and distinguished future career in television. Standout scenes include Nicky getting instructions on how to drive the trailer, Tacy trying to cook dinner in a moving trailer, and Nicky's battle with a shower head with a mind of its own. Also loved the climactic climb up a very steep Colorado mountain road that perfectly combined suspense and laughs as the couple try to make small talk to cover their terror about the situation.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Z57zQNujPyY/hqdefault.jpg
Minnelli's well-documented eye for color is also evident here with some absolutely gorgeous location photography as our happy couple hit the road. Robert Surtees' cinematography is first rate and Helen Rose provides some lovely fashions for Lucy. Speaking of which, I also have to say that Lucille Ball has never looked more beautiful onscreen. There are also a couple of fun cameos by Marjorie Main as a trailer park resident and Keenan Wynn as a traffic cop. If you loved I love Lucy, you'll love this too. 3.5

Gideon58

05-26-18, 11:23 PM

LBJ
Rob Reiner's direction and a charismatic performance by Woody Harrelson in the starring role make the 2016 biopic LBJ worth a look.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMzM2Njg5NDU4MF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMDMwMTQ1MzI@._V1_.jpg
This ambitious film covers quite a bit of territory, from Johnson's reluctance to oppose JFK for the democratic presidential nomination in 1960, not to mention his reluctance to becoming his running mate, and his struggle to make the Civil Rights Bill a reality, despite its original intention by Kennedy to be "busy work" authorized by Kennedy to keep the Vice President out of his hair. All of this is framed by a very authentic reincarnation of that fateful day in Dallas on November 22nd, 1963 that changed America and LBJ forever.
http://postperspective.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/2-SHOT.jpg
As always, when viewing biopics, it is often difficult to decipher fact from fact that has been altered for the sake of heightened entertainment, but Joey Hartstone's economic screenplay does contain a couple of effective through lines based on reality. I was a child when all of this was happening and have vague memories of a lot of what happens here, but a couple of things I do remember that get driven home here are the coma that this country went into after the assassination and how no one thought LBJ was up to the job of being President.
https://resizing.flixster.com/g9jZzfFzZ0fYFBuxacQ592XdiFo=/300x300/v1.bjsxNzU2NDY5O2o7MTc3NTA7MTIwMDs0OTI4OzMyODA
What was news to me after viewing this film were a couple of very personal feuds that Johnson had with men who should have been in his corner. This movie makes no bones about a strong animosity between Johnson and Robert Kennedy. This is the first piece of entertainment I've seen based on this historical period where Robert Kennedy is painted as a stone cold villain, but he is here. There is also the battle of wills between Johnson and Senator Richard Russell which was almost the death of the Civil Rights Bill.
https://rogermooresmovienation.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/lbj1.jpg?w=640
Reiner does a fine job of respecting the history of what is being presented here while providing entertainment, Reiner's skill as a director also shines in Johnson's big speech at the climax as it is made clear that just as many members of Congress were wary of Johnson as members who supported the new President. Also loved the moment that Johnson is addressed as "Mr. President" for the first time,
https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/MfK6j8JH/poster.jpg?width=720
As I watched Harrelson's interpretation of Lyndon Johnson, I couldn't help but think that Harrelson's Johnson was a lot more interesting than the real Johnson and though I don't believe that Johnson used all the salty language that Hartstone's screenplay had Harrelson use, I forgave for entertainment's sake. Reiner's makeup team must also be applauded for transforming Harrelson into an authentic looking Johnson as they also did for Jennifer Jason Leigh's Lady Bird, not the first actress I would have thought of for this role, but Leigh made it work. Richard Jenkins was great as Senator Russell and I loved Jeffrey Donovan as JFK. The movie is economic and might try to cover a bit too much territory but Reiner still knows his way behind a camera and Harrelson again proves to be an actor of substance. 3.5

Gideon58

05-27-18, 04:14 PM

A Quite Place
Last year it was Jordan Peele and Get Out, this year it's John Krasinski and A Quiet Place. I will try to talk about this superior thriller without spoilers.
https://cdn.eventcinemas.co.nz/cdn/resources/movies/12060/images/largeposter.jpg
John Krasinski co-wrote and directed this post-Apocalyptic nail biter that introduces the viewer to a solitary family, all barefoot, rummaging through an abandoned store but for some reason they seem to be communicating with sign language even though they are not mutes. We see a child pull a model airplane off a shelf and one of his parents leap to catch it before it actually hits the floor. Before we realize it, it is revealed that the family is in terrible danger from some seriously dangerous alien creatures who have hyper-sensitive hearing and only appear when they hear noise.
https://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/review/primary_image/reviews/a-quiet-place-2018/hero_A-Quiet-Place-2018.jpg
Not a lot of backstory is provided here, but we do get a glance at some old newspapers warning of these creatures and how to protect yourselves from them but no other explanation is supplied as the story plows forward focused on this one family who have somehow managed to live a noiseless existence but we begin to wonder how long this can last when it is revealed that the mother (Krasinski's wife, Emily Blunt) is pregnant.
https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--uKUslSWB--/c_scale,f_auto,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/tq8ckresgdie902xvhqo.png
Krasinski and his co-screenwriters Bryan Woods and Scott Beck really score here creating a horror film that not only provides the expected scares, but non-stop nail-biting suspense for its entire running time, I'm talking Hitchcock-calibre suspense that has the viewer alternately squirming, holding its breath, and trying to figure out what's going to happen next and always being wrong. The screenplay also scores in establishing this family unit at the beginning of the story and continually separating them throughout the story. Safety in numbers has always been assumed in horror films but Krasinski throws that rule out the window too...where the horror genre is concerned, nothing is sacred here and nothing feels ripped off from another movie.
https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/3542650/the-sound-of-a-quiet-place_fb.jpg
This movie had me alternately holding onto something and jumping out of my skin at the same time and this is coming from someone who has never really been into the horror genre so that's saying something. Krasinski and Blunt are a couple whose offscreen chemistry is just as strong onscreen, having us frightened for these people from the opening frames even though we don't really know what's going on yet. Krasinski has employed first rate production values here with special nods to editing and, ironically, the sound and sound editing. This movie had me on the edge of my seat so I can only imagine what people who really like horror movies are going to think. 5

Joel

05-27-18, 05:08 PM

I'm sold!

Gideon58

05-28-18, 11:28 PM

The Edge of Seventeen
There are sporadic laughs and some solid performances, but the 2016 coming of age comedy-drama The Edge of Seventeen was hard to like primarily because of a central character who was really hard to like (not to mention other issues).
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQWOMCsf8FBh6bl4G1zoLVcW_qrZfTK49St8bG5iEt56HWi2nzb
This film is about the seventeenth year on earth for a sullen teen named Nadine, who thought her life was over when her father passed away five years earlier. Nadine's junior year of high school finds her dealing with the fact that her BFF Krista has started dating her older brother Darian. Nadine is also dealing with her own obsession with a boy named Nick who works at Pet Mart but doesn't know that she's alive while a charming and brilliant film student named Irwin Kim thinks she's the best thing since sliced bread but she doesn't care.
http://s3.amazonaws.com/wboc-digital/production/sites/wboc/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/22200727/Edge-of-Seventeen2-1024x684.jpg
Writer director Kelly Fremon Craig was clearly raised on the teen comedies of the 80's, the influence is everywhere here and she works very hard at coming up with something unique and she succeeds to a point, but her screenplay is just a little too busy and tries to cover way too much territory and because of that, this movie seems to go on forever.
http://www.indiewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/edge_of_seventeen_trailer_h_2016.jpg?w=780
But investing in this film was pretty difficult for me because it was really hard to invest in this really detestable character named Nadine. She is completely self-absorbed and can't sustain any real relationship because she wants everything her way. I understood her dismay regarding her best friend and her older brother, but when she forced Krista to choose between her or her brother, her likability began floating out the cinematic window and it left permanently when she stole her mother's car. And don't even get me started about the way she used and abused poor Irwin Kim. I was also bothered by the fact that Nadine paid very few consequences for her behavior and her transformation during the finale was just a little hard to believe after everything we witnessed prior to said transformation.
https://www.columbusmonthly.com/gcdn/authoring/2016/11/17/NCOA/ghows-OH-bc0cdf32-b812-4e25-bda9-48606b026bc6-b86b7d0c.jpeg?width=1200&disable=upscale&format=pjpg&auto=webp
Despite everything mentioned, the most interesting relationship Nadine has in the movie is with a charming teacher, played to perfection by Woody Harrelson. I loved this relationship because this teacher saw right through Nadine ignoring her pleas for unwarranted attention but giving her attention when she needed. I also loved the fact that this relationship never crosses that line you expect it to in movies like this. These scenes were easily the most enjoyable part of the movie.
https://thedailytexan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/edge-of-17-court-of-STX-Entertainment_0.jpg
Hailee Stanfield gives a real movie star performance as Nadine but the character is so unlikable that you almost can't tell. Kyra Sedgewick was terrific as Nadine's mother and I absolutely LOVED Hayden Szeto as Irwin Kim. Kelly Fremon Craig works very hard at making something offbeat and special here, but for me, a bit of a let down. 2.5

Gideon58

06-01-18, 09:02 PM

Gremlins
Executive producer Steven Spielberg and director Joe Dante scored with a 1984 sleeper called Gremlins, a meticulously crafted send-up of 1950's science fiction movies that completely defies logic but never fails to provide the laughs that prove that the filmmakers are clearly in on the joke here.
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/gremlins/images/7/75/Gremlinsposter.jpeg/revision/latest?cb=20160120182738
It's Christmas time in the fictional hamlet of Kingston Falls where a third rate inventor named Rand Peltzer presents his son Billy with an exotic pet named Gizmo as a gift. Rand and Billy are both warned there are three things they must never do to Gizmo: They are not to expose him to bright light, they're not to get him wet, and they are not to feed him after midnight. Needless to say, about 35 minutes into the film, Gizmo gets light, water, and fed after midnight which turns Gizmo into a gremlin machine, producing hundreds of deadlier, uglier versions of Gizmo who wreak destruction on the small town.
https://i0.wp.com/popdose.com/wp-content/uploads/gremlins_3.jpg?fit=1200%2C788
This film reminds me of another Spielberg production from 1982 called Poltergiest in that Chris Columbus' screenplay was written in a tongue in cheek manner that makes it an affectionate valentine to the genre it's saluting but provides more laughs than genuine scares. The film actually walks the line between valentine and lampoon and does it quite beautifully as the realistic small town atmosphere that is carefully established in the opening frames becomes the blueprint for a story that makes very little sense but we don't really notice.
https://people.com/thmb/5f3nwCWGaIjmvd8C_pP6vAQJEqE=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(861x524:863x526)/gremlins-where-are-they-now-tout-060424-3e0fd8820c3e4dbaa506807d42b6daf0.jpg
While most movie monsters attack, they have one focus and do one thing, they want to destroy all earthlings. Though there is destruction here, the actual body count is rather small and we watch the gremlins adapt to human sensibilities a little too quickly. We should be wondering how these gremlins know how to cut telephone lines or how to sing Christmas carols or how to drink and smoke cigarettes or how to kill someone with a chainsaw or a tiny gun, but instead of scratching our heads, we just laugh.
https://d21ehp1kf1k9m9.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/07144952/Gremlins-featured-1.jpg
I'll never forget the scene of Billy's mother actually nuking one of the gremlins in a microwave. That's the other thing that tickled me about this movie. In most horror movies, when monsters attack, the people run, but not the Kingston Falls population...these people stand up for their houses, their property, their town, no matter what. I also loved the minor subplot of Rand Peltzer's ridiculous inventions that only work temporarily
https://wheresthejump.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/gremlins-2.jpg
The performances serve the story beautifully. Baby-faced Zach Galligan is sincere as Billy and country singer Hoyt Axton is terrific as Rand Peltzer. I also LOVED Polly Holliday as the rich dragon lady who owns half the town, where Holliday perfectly channels Margaret Hamilton's Elvira Gulch in The Wizard of Oz. Dante deserves a bouquet for his overseeing of production values here, which were first rate, but with Spielberg's presence on the set, that shouldn't be a surprise. There are some slightly dated elements, but this one is still a lot of fun. 3.5

Citizen Rules

06-01-18, 10:47 PM

Gremlins
Executive producer Steven Spielberg and director Joe Dante scored with a 1984 sleeper called Gremlins I'm pretty sure Joe Dante cut his movie making teeth with B-king movie producer Roger Corman. In fact I think Dante did Piranha a few years earlier for Corman. I haven't seen Gremlins since it came out at the theater but I remember it as being loads of fun....But what? no mention of the world's cutest human being, Phoebe Cates. (according to David Letterman that is).

BTW was that #1000?:)

Gideon58

06-01-18, 11:41 PM

Yes, that was review # 1000.:D

mattiasflgrtll6

06-01-18, 11:44 PM

I think Gremlins is a decently funny movie. But I don't love it. I seem to be the only one.

When I said to someone I prefer Piranha he reacted like I was nuts :shrug:

Luis

06-02-18, 12:07 AM

A Quiet Place is a contender for favorite movie of the year (so far). I actually loved Edge of Seventeen, I thought it was a superior Coming of Age film, but your criticisms are very easy to see. For me, she was riding that line between melodramatic and unlikable, but she captivated me in the end.

Gideon58

06-02-18, 12:40 AM

Ada (1961)
Despite a long-winded screenplay and some dated plot elements, the 1961 melodrama Ada is worth a look thanks to a trio of solid lead performances.
https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BNzc0NDg3ZWEtZWNiMi00YjNlLThiZGItNzdiYjVmMTNiMjQzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTk2MzI2Ng@@._V1_.jpg
Dean Martin plays Bo Gillis, a folksy candidate for governor of Tennessee who prefers playing guitar to making speeches on the campaign trail. One night in the back room of a saloon, Bo meets Ada (Susan Hayward), a smart and savvy prostitute who enchants Bo to the point that he spends three weeks with her and then marries her.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Dean_Martin_and_Susan_Hayward_in_Ada.jpg
Not long after their marriage, Bo is elected governor but things are not sunshine and roses for Bo and Ada as Bo finds himself nothing but a figure head in the governor's office while the state is actually being run by his sleazy campaign manager Sylvester (Wilfred Hyde White) who is also doing his best to manipulate Ada into the perfect First Lady but her ambitions turn out to stretch beyond First Lady. Not to mention the people from Ada's past who refuse to let her forget it.
https://moviemem.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/ADACOLOURSTILL9.jpg
Arthur Sheekman and William Driskill's screenplay, based on a novel by Wirt Williams does provide contemporary sensibility in a 60's movie heroine who actually ventures into politics, which in the 60's was strictly male territory, but the whole melodrama of a woman knowing her place and never forgetting where she comes from eventually wears this story down, making the hard to swallow finale on the floor of the Tennessee congress just interminable.
https://c8.alamy.com/comp/B3NK87/ada-1961-mgm-film-with-susan-hayward-and-dean-martin-B3NK87.jpg
On the plus side, director Daniel Mann does pull strong performances from his cast, especially Hayward, who Mann directed in other films and it's clear he understood her strengths as an actress. Love that scene shortly after they move into the governor's mansion where Ada puts a bunch of snooty society matrons in their place when they start questioning her about her past, though I did find Ada's transformation into this political dynamo a little unbelivable. Dean Martin brought some meat to Bo and Wilfred Hyde White really grows into the villain of the piece here...I love greasy bad guys who do their dirt with a constant smile on their face and that's exactly what Sylvester was. The film has expensive trappings, but the story eventually wears the whole thing down. 2.5

Gideon58

06-02-18, 07:27 PM

Eat Pray Love
Even with Oscar winner Julia Roberts in the starring role, the 2010 character study Eat Pray Love is still pretty rough going, even if it is pretty to look at.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/611iXUoPcuL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg
Roberts plays Liz, a writer who has just finished divorcing her husband (Billy Crudup) and leaped into a relationship with another guy (James Franco) and realizes that she needs some "me" time and decides to explore her deeply buried passion for travel and takes a trip to Rome, India, and Bali in order to "find herself."
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/3a/4f/f8/3a4ff8852dd95b33b6747d5e30ce5e64.jpg
I was curious about this film because the title has become part of pop culture and has become the new upwardly mobile phrase for going out to find oneself, but the movie just didn't live up to the hype. The screenplay by Ryan Murphy (Feud, The Normal Heart) and Jennifer Salt has humor peppered throughout. The opening scenes of Roberts trying to get a divorce from Crudup are a lot of fun, but the story eventually degenerates into a really attractive picture postcard where the actors are having a lot more fun that the viewer.
https://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/review/primary_image/reviews/eat-pray-love-2010/hero_EB20100811REVIEWS100819999AR.jpg
Murphy's direction is a little on the unimaginative side, despite some truly breathtaking scenery, but he seems to be a little too dependent on his star's charisma to carry a story that, once it leaves American soil, moves at a snail's pace and makes this central character a little hard to tolerate at times, because about halfway through the film, it feels like this journey to find herself is pointless because there really is nothing to find and there's no way this Liz is ever going to be happy again.
http://images.nymag.com/movies/reviews/eatpraylove100823_560.jpg
A decade after her Oscar winning performance in Erin Brockovich, Roberts proves she still has the chops to carry a film, but the story is really fighting her here. Crudup and Franco make the most of their screentime and there's a terrific supporting performance from the fabulous Richard Jenkins, not to mention a brief but memorable bit from Oscar winner Jarvier Bardem, but for the most part, this film isn't much more than a really pretty travelogue and I wished I had as much fun watching it as Murphy and Roberts seemed to have had making it. 2

cricket

06-02-18, 07:52 PM

I'm surprised you didn't like Edge of Seventeen more, but then I actually liked Nadine. I do agree with you about Woody Harrelson, and even my wife loved him in it and she usually doesn't like him.

We also watched The Glass Castle around the same time strangely enough, and my wife picked that out. I didn't care for it and thought it was like a made for TV movie.

Talk Radio and Gremlins are old favorites and I'm very much looking forward to A Quiet Place.

Gideon58

06-02-18, 11:03 PM

Rocky
Reading my good friend Citizen's review motivated my 6th re-watch of Rocky, the feel good movie of 1976 that struck such an emotional chord with moviegoers, not to mention winning the Oscar for Best Picture of 1976 and making an official movie star out of a struggling actor named Sylvester Stallone.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4hZUyI0FeNE/maxresdefault.jpg
For those who have been living under a rock for the past 40 years, Stallone wrote the screenplay for this winning Cinderella story playing one Rocky Balboa, a former boxer who lives in Philadelphia and works as a thumb breaker for a local loan shark. He is good at his work even if his heart gets in the way sometimes and he recently lost his locker at the gym where he works. Rocky is suffering from self-pity and even some self-loathing when the opportunity of a lifetime falls in his lap. Heavyweight boxing champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) offers Rocky a chance to step in the ring with him for the championship when his original opponent falls ill.
https://dustinogburn.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/rocky2.jpg
Amidst all this, Rocky begins to seriously pursue a relationship with Adrian (Talia Shire) the painfully shy sister of Rocky's buddy Paulie (Burt Young), an abusive alcoholic who works in a butcher shop. Rocky's sensitive approach to getting this girl's attention not only works, but brings the girl out of the shell she's been living in.
https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57e05e534402434aa0f846c2/1542656575563-M7X3T5VFF0AFQ94VG4PY/TT3f7e32_09.jpg?format=1000w
Many have speculated on why this movie struck such a chord with movie audiences in 1976, considering the fact that prior to this, Stallone had only done bit parts in seven or eight other films, the only significant role being in The Lords of Flatbush. I think the Cinderella story onscreen paralleled so strong with the one off that an immediate connection was made with people. It didn't hurt that Rocky was also one of the most instantly likable movie characters ever created and Stallone's script and John G. Avildsen's sensitive direction take their time in crafting this likability...i loved watching Rocky trying to teach the young tomboy not to act like a whore or trying to justify not breaking the thumb of a guy who was $70 short on what he owed. I also loved Rocky and Adrian's first date on the ice...with the vocal alarm clock in the background.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--01kPdfS6AE/UW61hT-VJBI/AAAAAAAABgA/_Ay_fRlsBfw/s1600/Rocky+1.jpg
I was also impressed by the fact that even though Rocky was not the brightest bulb in the row, he was not a complete moron. I LOVE that scene where Mickey (Burgess Meredith) comes to his apartment trying to climb on the Rocky bandwagon after Rocky has been offered the title shot. He reminds Mickey that he just took Rocky's locker, but his acceptance of Mickey's offer is done out of earshot of the audience...a nice directorial touch from Avildsen.
http://cdn.playbuzz.com/cdn/d0e092f0-0e3e-408c-9312-2a54d179fb6f/518a318e-f3af-471e-a87a-f75573f32d43.jpg
Avildsen's direction also won him an Oscar as did Richard Halsey and Scott Conrad's film editing. Personally, I think Best Picture and Director should have gone elsewhere, but I definitely understand the wins. Stallone's movie star turn in the title role is an absolute revelation. I think Talia Shire was robbed of the Best Actress Oscar for her Adrian, a character who makes a remarkable and believable transformation from her first scene to her last, Shire is a one woman acting class here and Meredith's supporting actor nomination was richly deserved as well. The climactic fight between Rocky and Creed is effectively choreographed and edited, though I really didn't buy Rocky knocking Creed down so early in the fight, but that's a very small nitpick regarding this instant classic that riveted me to the screen to day the same way it did 42 years ago. 4

Citizen Rules

06-02-18, 11:16 PM

Gideon58 have you seen and/or are you going to watch the other Rocky sequels?

I haven't done so yet. I guess I didn't catch Rocky fever. But I still might check out Rocky II and Rocky III. I did see the last Rocky film he made and I thought that was pretty darn good.

Gideon58

06-02-18, 11:59 PM

If you've never seen them, you really should watch II, III, and IV.

mattiasflgrtll6

06-03-18, 12:06 AM

What about Rocky V?

Gideon58

06-03-18, 01:08 AM

What about Rocky V?

Rocky V sucked. So did Rocky Balboa

Gideon58

06-03-18, 01:26 AM

Love, Simon
A richly imaginative screenplay, sensitive direction, and some terrific performances make the 2018 comedy Love, Simon, a coming of age story with a twist, one of the most entertaining romantic comedies I've seen in a long time. I LOVED this movie.
https://resizing.flixster.com/ckqIOLlC1H3lQX5faYFWhhpDz1M=/206x305/v1.bTsxMjY4NjczNjtqOzE3NzQxOzEyMDA7NDA1MDs2MDAw
Simon is a 17 year old high schooler who seemingly has it all...a wonderful family, great friends, he's even in the school's upcoming production of Cabaret, but Simon has been keeping a secret for almost four years that is about to complicate his life beyond recognition...the fact that he's gay and hasn't told anyone.
https://moviesandshakers.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Movies-and-Shakers-Love-Simon-3.png
Simon discovers a letter online from a fellow student who admits that he's gay but won't sign his real name, calling himself "Blue." Simon responds to him using the name "Jacques" and before you know it, the two are corresponding regularly and before he even realizes it, Simon has fallen in love with "Blue", but pursuing this relationship and trying to keep his secret at the same time have several unforeseen ramifications for Simon.
https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/love-simon-ferris-wheel-scene.jpg
Elizabeth Berger and Isaac Aptaker must be applauded for their intelligent and imaginative approach to this subject which covers a lot of territory and does it pretty effectively. The story not only shows us the pain Simon is going through, but the confusion of his family who suspect something is wrong but can't put their finger on it, not to mention what he puts BFF Leah through who is starting to fall in love with him and how he throws another friend under the bus when someone threatens to out him. The story also throws us just enough red herrings that we spend the majority of the film thinking we know who "Blue"is but learning we're wrong...more than once.
https://media.them.us/photos/5aa6da9f2d74570010c1cf41/master/pass/lovesimonk.jpg
Director Greg Berlanti manages to mine all the laughs and heartache out of this different teen angst comedy and effectively blends fantasy elements into the story that we really don't see coming. The whole bit about straight kids having to come out to their parents the way gay kids do was hilarious. Nick Robinson lights up the screen as Simon and I also loved Alexandra Shipp as Abby, Tony Hale of Veep as the school principal, and Josh Duhamel and Jennifer Garner as Simon's parents. A quirky and unique romantic comedy that really makes you wait for that happy ending, but the journey is so real and so fun. 4

Gideon58

06-03-18, 04:09 PM

Teacher's Pet
Clark Gable, Doris Day, and Gig Young make a fun romantic triangle in a 1958 comedy called Teacher's Pet, that takes a little too long to get where it's going, but the stars make the journey a smooth one.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51VskRihrBL.jpg
Gable plays Jim Gannon, a veteran newspaper editor who receives an invitation to speak at a night journalism class taught by one Erica Stone (Day). Gannon, a strict believer in experience over education, turns down Erica's invitation in the form of a very rude letter. Gannon's boss gets word of the letter and insists that Gannon go to her class and apologize and once he gets a look at Erica, he decides to pretend to be a student in the class. Throw in a psychologist and author named Hugo Pine (Young) who is dating Erica and you have the cinematic staple known as the romantic triangle.
https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--W-YGDO80--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_center,h_900,q_80,w_1600/ooimynbndx2dez26vlqm.jpg
The Oscar-nominated screenplay by Fay and Michael Kanin not only sets up a classic triangle but provides an effectIve debate regarding experience over education where journalism is concerned and I liked that the debate concludes that both are equally important. There's a subplot involving a young boy (Nick Adams) who quit school to come work for Gannon and how his mother wants him to quit the paper and come back to school.
https://www.dorisday.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/mamie-van-doren-clark-gable-teachers-pet2.jpg
I was also impressed with the fact that Jim and Erica both learn something during the course of the story and are not the same people they are at the beginning of the movie. And the real irony of it is that a lot of what they learn and concede comes from Hugo Pine, who actually sees what's happening between Jim and Erica before they do and aids them in seeing it too instead of squaring off against Jim.
http://brothers-ink.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/gig-young-in-Teachers-Pet.png
Gable offers a razor sharp performance as Gannon, a performance where some of his funniest moments have nothing to do with dialogue. The first meeting between Gannon and Hugo Pine is hysterical, the way he just stares bullets at the guy. I also loved the fact that he thought he could tame Erica with a kiss, which, to his surprise, he couldn't do. Day is delightful as the no-nonsense Erica and Gig Young actually received a supporting actor Oscar nomination for his slick turn as Hugo Pine. Mamie Van Doren and Charles Lane shine in supporting roles and if you don't blink, you'll catch the future Marian Cunningham from Happy Days, Marian Ross and the future Gladys Kravitz from Bewitched, Sandra Gould, in tiny roles. The film also opens with a terrific title song, that was a monster hit for Doris. It's a little on the long side, but it's a lot of fun. 3.5

Gideon58

06-03-18, 09:47 PM

The Heartbreak Kid (1972)
1972's The Heartbreak Kid is a Neil Simon comedy written directly for the screen that is unlike anything Simon has written before. This is the kind of comedy that would normally be associated with Woody Allen and I have to keep reminding myself that Simon wrote it.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71YshArCjPL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg
This is the story of a young man named Lenny Cantro who gets married to a clingy and needy young woman named Lila Kolodny. Lenny and Lila drive to Miami Beach for their honeymoon and one day while Lila is still in the hotel room, Lenny meets a WASP-ish blonde from Minnesota named Kelly (Cybill Shepherd) and instantly falls in love with her. Lenny is so smitten with Kelly that he decides to end his marriage and follow Kelly back to Minnesota, despite strong objections from Kelly's wealthy father.
https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56cdc4478259b5c112bb2285/1671113081107-YBUVLSSJMFWEJW3KZZ7Y/Heartbreak-Kid-Car-Scene.jpg
Neil Simon isn't a writer associated with black comedy and this is definitely his darkest work, centered around a character who brings about strong mixed emotions. We do get hints early on that Lenny feels he made a mistake marrying Lila though he doesn't say anything. There's a scene in a restaurant where Lenny is clearly repulsed by Lila's sloppy consumption of an egg salad sandwich and he seems completely aggravated by her need for constant reassurance during sex. On the other hand, as instantly attracted as Lenny is to Kelly, she really gives no indication of feeling the same way and we wonder why Lenny is so willing to just throw away his brand new marriage for a woman who gives him no reason to, not to mention her father who threatens Lenny physically if he doesn't stay away from his daughter.
https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMzI3NDFjM2YtMDE0NC00MDY0LTk1MmEtNGI0OTNmZTRkYjM5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjUyNDk2ODc@._V1_.jpg
My usual experience with Neil Simon is a lot of rapid-paced punch lines producing consistent laughter and though there are funny moments here and there, i didn't find too much funny here because I couldn't get past how Lenny was going to end up destroying Lila for this other woman who just seemed to be leading him on. I guess this would be the Neil Simon comedy for people who hate Neil Simon.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTLLWHn4qM4WZez8HOVEG-aVW3gW044i8NKeJ3dWE1pg6I8DpK13-SJiQnG2nYTz3ok_Y4&usqp=CAU
Elaine May's direction is straight-faced and based in realism and the sometimes comic situations that can happen. I was also troubled by an ending that the story promised but I'm not sure that Lenny really deserved. Charles Grodin became an official movie star with his charming performance as Lenny and May's real life-daughter, Jeanne Berlin, received an Oscar nomination for her pathetic Lila, as did Eddie Albert for his venomous performance as Kelly's father. Definitely atypical Neil Simon, but Grodin and Berlin do make it worth a look. The film was remade in 2007 with Ben Stiller in the lead. 3

Gideon58

06-03-18, 11:38 PM

The House
The 2017 comedy The House is silly and pointless and defies credibility at every turn but you know what? I was pretty much doubled over with laughter for the majority of the running time.
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/zf4AAOSw7DlkIj66/s-l400.jpg
Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler star as Scott and Kate, a couple who find out that the college scholarship they were counting on for their daughter has fallen through. With the aid of their nutty soon-to-be-divorced neighbor, Frank (Jason Mantzoukas), they decide to raise the money to send their daughter to college by running a casino out of Frank's house.
https://cinefilesreviews.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/the-house-2017-summer-movie-release-amy-poehler-will-ferrell-jason-mantzoukas1.jpg?w=1038&h=576&crop=1
Director and co-screenwriter Andrew Jay Cohen had a pretty funny idea here. but this is definitely another one of those movies that you can enjoy as long as you understand from jump that what happens here has no basis in realism. This house could not possibly hold more than 40 or 50 people at a time and we are supposed to believe that these people were making millions? And why would people keep coming back if they were all losing? Not to mention the legal issues involved....running any kind of a business out of a private home requires all kinds of permits and fees and there's no way these people would have gotten away with this IRL as long as they do in this movie.
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/07/01/arts/01HOUSE/01HOUSE-superJumbo.jpg
So if you're willing to let all that slide and go with it, there is some funny stuff here though I wish Cohen had put a little more confidence in his lead actors. Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler have proven ability to command a movie screen but they are basically just straight men here playing second banana to what is basically a TV sitcom supporting cast. This also might have had something to do with the fact that I heard Ferrell and Poehler did not get along at all during the filming of this movie and there is no denying a palpable tension between them.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjI2ODc4MjExMF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwOTk0NjQ3MjI@._V1_.jpg
Nick Kroll has some funny moments as Bob the city councilman as does Rob Huebel as a very confused cop. There is also a very funny surprise cameo by Jeremy Renner, but if the truth be told, Mantzoukas walks off with this movie with his maniacal Frank, a character who redefines the phrase "hot mess." The movie is a little on the manic side and there are a couple of unnecessary endings, but I would be lying if said this movie didn't make me laugh. 3

Gideon58

06-06-18, 12:13 AM

The Messenger (2009)
The Messenger is a dark and at times gut-wrenching drama from 2009 that features a fascinating premise and some superb performances but suffers from a screenplay that wanders off in too many directions during the final third of the story.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81pVZPlhieS._SY445_.jpg
Will Montgomery is a Staff Sergeant in the US Army who has been assigned to what is probably the most difficult work in the army. Will has been assigned to the notification unit. These are the soldiers who travel to the homes of men who have been killed in the line of duty to inform their next of kin. Under the tutelage of Captain Tony Stone, Will learns the ins and outs of this extremely difficult task of the military and finds sticking to the regulations is not as easy as hoped. We also watch Will wander into some prickly ethical waters when he finds himself attracted to a young widow with a young son who he had to inform.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/ff20130308a3a.jpg
This movie starts off quite brilliantly focusing on something that we have seen in other movies but it is usually given short shrift in most stories surrounding the military. Director and co-writer Oren Moverman really scores in the opening scenes where Will is learning about his new duties. I was genuinely moved when his commanding officer referred to the duty of notification as "sacred." It was also fascinating watching the difference between Will's handling of the notifications as opposed to Stone, who appeared as if he had been doing this for a hundred years and was immune.
http://content.internetvideoarchive.com/content/photos/6310/550800_009.jpg
The individual scenes of notification were absolutely brilliant because they weren't just widows....each notification was a completely different story with different next of kin getting the notification and needless to say their reactions to the news were completely different as well. These scenes alone were worth the price of admission. Sadly, the film begins to go off the rails as Will's obsession with this widow takes center stage and just wrong as well as he and Stone's adventures into alcoholism, sexual debauchery and their crashing of Will's ex-girlfriend's engagement party, a scene that reminded me of the "Say Goodnight to the Bad Guy" scene in Scarface. Even when the film goes off course, what kept me watching was the ever-evolving relationship between Will and Tony which was exhausting to keep up with, but unerringly realistic. Another thing this story nails is what this war has done to these two guys and how the damage is irreparable.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61RMKefyS8L._SL1400_.jpg
Ben Foster delivers another ticking time bomb performance as Will that is never safe or predictable and Woody Harrelson's powerhouse turn as Tony Stone earned him his second Oscar nomination. Samantha Morton also hits all the right notes as Will's widowed obsession. Also loved Steve Buscemi as the father who learns of the death of his 20-year old son. The story tends to meander a little too much in the final third, but it is never boring and I never took my eyes off the screen or checked my watch. 3.5

Gideon58

06-08-18, 10:40 PM

Let's Make Love
Marilyn Monroe at her most delectable, Yves Montand at his most charming and some really terrific musical numbers make a 1960 musical comedy called Let's Make Love worth a look.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Cv1oLx6zxXM/hqdefault.jpg
Montand plays a billionaire playboy named Jean Marc Clement who learns that he is about to be satirized in a new off-Broadway show. He plans to put a stop to the show until he gets a gander at the star of the show, the voluptuous Amanda Dell (guess who). Clement is thrown a curve when the director thinks he is there to audition for the show and casts the billionaire to play himself, which he decides is the perfect opportunity to romance sexy Amanda.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GferdMdjl3Y/Uy8bwsRHrKI/AAAAAAAAHXY/pqBumDCi2cI/s1600/mm01.jpg
Clement pretends to be a struggling actor named Alexander Dumas and starts to make headway with Amanda, who has also caught the eye of the lead singer in the show Tony Danton (Frankie Vaughn). Clement decides to take control of the situation by secretly purchasing 51% ownership in the show and trying to learn how to sing, dance, and act.
http://themarilynmonroecollection.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Marilyn-Monroe-Lets-Make-Love-7.jpg
Norman Krasna's screenplay is a little complex and asks the view to accept something about the basic premise that I had a problem with: Jean Marc Clement is supposed to be an international businessman and playboy, world famous, womanizing, constantly in the headlines, but NO one involved in this show realizes that this is the real Clement and not an actor? It made for some very funny situations throughout the film, but it gnawed at me throughout the running time that neither Marilyn's Amanda nor anyone involved in the show ever suspects that this is the real Clement playing himself.
https://thetelltalemind.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/lets-make-love25.jpg?w=829
I was also bothered by Clement thinking that not only could he buy Amanda's affections by owning the show, but that he could actually buy talent. At one point in the story, Clement actually hires Bing Crosby to teach him how to sing, Gene Kelly to teach him how to dance, and Milton Berle to teach him how to be funny.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GzVXnbF3Xho/hq720.jpg?sqp=-oaymwE7CK4FEIIDSFryq4qpAy0IARUAAAAAGAElAADIQj0AgKJD8AEB-AH-CYAC0AWKAgwIABABGGUgXyhSMA8=&rs=AOn4CLD3UgUzynvmsRtikEBdmdG5MrcGDw
Fortunately, director George Cukor, who would later be motivated to fire Marilyn from her final film project, Something's Got To Give, brings such care to the presentation of these leading characters that we're able to overlook a lot of the problems with the film. This film is another example of how special Marilyn Monroe could be onscreen in the hands of a talented director.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d1/7d/ce/d17dced9f2101b76c6fde653fc5c1c30.jpg
The film also features some great songs by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Husen, including "Specialization", "Incurably Romantic", "Sing Me the Song that Sells", and the title tune. The film also opens with Marilyn's steamy version of Cole Porter's "My Heart Belongs to Daddy". The musical numbers are imaginatively staged by Jack Cole.
https://i1.fdbimg.pl/jhlwqds1/1701x1285_n6e07q.jpg
Marilyn has rarely been so charismatic onscreen, playing a character who isn't as dumb as she appears. You would never know what a mess Marilyn's personal life was at the time from her work here, none of her off-screen misery shows onscreen and I absolutely loved Montand whose charm and sex appeal keeps Clement likable even though sometimes he shouldn't be. He does a pantomime of a man waiting for a subway that actually sparked visions of Marcel Marceau. Tony Randall and Wilfred Hyde White are wasted in supporting roles, but this is the Marilyn/Montand show and they definitely make it worth watching. 3.5

Gideon58

06-09-18, 04:08 PM

Out of the Furnace
Out of the Furnace is a pretentious and sluggish 2013 film that starts off as a somewhat interesting character study but eventually deteriorates into a standard crime drama that takes way too long to get where it's going.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91K7-GdNx1L._SL1500_.jpg
Russell and Rodney Blaze are a pair of angry brothers trying to start their lives over in the small milling town they grew up in. Russell is returning to town after doing some serious jail time and Rodney is returning after four tours in Iraq. Russell gets his job back at the mill and is distressed to learn that his girlfriend has moved on with the sheriff. Rodney owes a local bar owner a lot of money and is trying to work off the debt participating in bare-knuckle fist fights.
http://cdn.collider.com/wp-content/uploads/out-of-the-furnace-scott-cooper-christian-bale.jpg
Rodney sets his eye on a big prize courtesy of a career criminal named Harlan DeGroat who specializes in drugs and gambling. Not long after hooking up with DeGroat, Rodney disappears and when the local police don't seem to be getting anywhere trying to find out what happened, Russell decides to take the law into his hands.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/H4DvcUPN6Yo/maxresdefault.jpg
Director and co-screenwriter Scott Cooper shows some real promise as a filmmaker here but he definitely needs to work on his writing. The story starts out interestingly enough as we watch these brothers trying to resume their normal life, including their love for each other, strengthened by the passing of their father, but once Rodney disappears, the story becomes another one of those standard cat and mouse games between Russell and DeGroat where the bad guy always seems to stay two steps ahead of the good guy and when that inevitable showdown does occur, it's a big let down that we had to wait WAY too long for. I also found the introduction to the character of DeGroat in a drive-in movie theater very strange
https://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/review/primary_image/reviews/out-of-the-furnace-2013/hero_11-out-of-the-furnace.jpg
Cooper's direction is stronger than his screenplay. He shows some real style with a movie camera creating some stark and original cinematic pictures that will be hard to erase from my mind. There's this fantastic shot of Russell standing at the door of DeGroat's house waiting to go in while way in the background you see something coming over the hilltop and you're startled to see it's about two dozen cops with rifles. It reminded me of the tanks coming over the hill to attack Judas in 1973's Jesus Christ Superstar. I also loved the shot of Russell with his head down standing on the small bridge after he learns it's over with his girlfriend. It should also be mentioned that Rodney's fight scenes are expertly photographed and edited.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/12/8b/16/128b16f44ee96d30cdcf0dc75b1cb94d.jpg
Cooper also got himself a pretty solid cast to serve his vision. Oscar winner Christian Bale is fine as Russell and Woody Harrelson sizzles as DeGroat, but if the truth be told, Oscar winner Casey Affleck walks off with this movie with his explosive Rodney and honestly, remaining invested in this story became a lot more difficult after Rodney's screentime ended. Cooper does show promise here, but the parts are definitely better than the whole. 2.5

Gideon58

06-09-18, 07:33 PM

Barton Fink
Joel and Ethan Cohen take us on one of their most bizarre cinematic journeys with a 1991 sleeper called Barton Fink.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XIi4A4goR5A/UejXq3JB28I/AAAAAAAADBU/th6LO1AGUVQ/s1600/1991-barton-fink-poster2.jpg
John Turturro plays the title character, an intellectual New York playwright in 1941 who is offered a contract to write movies in Hollywood. A curious but reluctant Fink arrives in Los Angeles and is less than impressed when his first assignment is to write a wrestling picture that is going to star Wallace Beery. Barton moves into a creepy old Hollywood Hotel where he develops a friendship with his neighbor, Charlie (John Goodman), an insurance salesman. Barton is also suffering from a severe case of writer's block.
https://filmicmag.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/bf.jpg
Things get even more complicated for Barton when he meets one of his writing idols (John Mahoney) who turns out not to be the man Barton thought he was, evidenced in his abusive treatment of his unhappy wife (Judy Davis). Eventually, a series of events do nothing but solidify Fink's writer's block.
http://s18675.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/bartonfink.png
The Cohen Brothers have constructed what appears to be a cinematic lambasting of Hollywood and possibly how they were treated upon their first arrival. This cinematic concept of Hollywood is alternately riveting and disturbing. The pervading theme here that New York is the center of the universe and that Hollywood is a living hell is driven home with a sledgehammer. Barton has encounters with Hollywood movers and shakers throughout the film where the people Barton meets, particularly a maniacal studio head played by Michael Lerner, who received an Oscar nomination, appear almost insane, but their behavior in this movie is on par with most LA big shots so you have to wonder exactly how jaundiced the Cohen Brothers' eye is here.
https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--IcGIn_yz--/c_scale,f_auto,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/o2fdblswq1eivsoaegas.jpg
There's a lot that happens here that defies logic, but it's the Cohen Brothers so I forgive. The film is absolutely breathtaking to look at...cinematography, set design, and the Oscar nominated costumes are incredible. That hotel where Barton lives definitely evokes memories of the Overlook in The Shining. Turturro commands the screen in the title role and gets solid support from Lerner, Goodman, and Davis. Fans of the Cohens, belly up. 3.5

Citizen Rules

06-09-18, 07:53 PM

Barton Fink

The film is absolutely breathtaking to look at...cinematography, set and the Oscar nominated costumes are incredible.

That hotel where Barton lives definitely ignites memories of the Overlook in The Shining... OMG! I had the same exact thought when I seen Barton Fink, it screams The Shining. I agree with you that the cinematography & sets are stunning. Check out my review, I think you'll see we agreed on most points.

Gideon58

06-09-18, 10:07 PM

I read your review and , again, it was my inspiration for watching it.

Gideon58

06-09-18, 10:32 PM

The Star
A powerhouse, Oscar-nominated performance by the legendary Bette Davis is reason enough to check out a 1952 melodrama called The Star.
http://www.dawtrina.com/personal/film/bloguploads/1950s/1952thestar3.jpg
Davis plays Margaret Elliott, an Oscar winning actress who is having trouble dealing with the fact that her acting career might be over. Margaret sees some of her most prized possessions auctioned off and is heartbroken when she learns her teenage daughter (Natalie Wood) got in a fight at school because a schoolmate said her mother is washed up.
A distraught Margaret gets drunk one night and ends up in jail for drunk driving. She is bailed out by Jim Johanssen (Sterling Hayden) a former actor who got his first break as an actor from Margaret but gave up acting and now works as a boat builder and mechanic.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9d/5e/79/9d5e79fa7cc207736a70b41f456981bd.jpg
Needless to say, this is the kind of role that Davis could play in her sleep and it is her performance that allows the viewer to overlook the often corny and contrived elements of Dale Eunson and Katherine Albert's screenplay. The opening scene finds Margaret walking down the street and walking right pass the auction where her belongings are being sold off. Seriously? Her shock and embarrassment of being arrested and the fact that her arrest was front page news...the woman can't get a part in a movie to save her life, but her arrest is on the front page of the paper? And of course, we get the obligatory scene where Margaret tries getting a job in a department store and is immediately recognized by a couple of customers. Davis shines in this scene, which motivates her to resume her career and we know right away that nothing good can come of whatever she plans to do next.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xv6XF1jrRwU/hq720.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEhCK4FEIIDSFryq4qpAxMIARUAAAAAGAElAADIQj0AgKJD&rs=AOn4CLApFQvpf4d6CnA0xSRRvgxYH_fS5A
I did love the relationships Margaret has with her daughter and with Jim, easily the strongest part of the story. I loved that the first things Margaret did when she got of jail was call her daughter and try to convince her it was all a lie. Davis is quite moving in this scene. I also loved the no-nonsense Jim who refused to fuel Margaret's giant ego by telling her everything she wanted to hear, but couldn't deny he still had feelings for her.
https://alchetron.com/cdn/the-star-1952-film-be06278d-a510-4ca4-967e-48158359aee-resize-750.jpg
Davis' tour-de-force performance here earned her a 9th Oscar nomination, though the performance does pale next to her previous Oscar-nominated performance in All About Eve. Sterling Hayden underplays beautifully as Jim, knowing who the star of the movie is but never fading into the woodwork either. Stuart Heisler's direction is sensitive to the star and I loved Victor Young's music. It's no Sunset Boulevard, but Davis definitely makes it worth a look. 3

Citizen Rules

06-09-18, 10:35 PM

I love The Star, a very underrated film. Bette Davis is excellent in it, and so's Sterling Hayden. I'm a big fan of Hayden.

Gideon58

06-10-18, 05:12 PM

Rampart
A raw and uncompromising story and an unhinged performance from the leading man are the primary ingredients that make 2011's The Rampart work.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51je5SwKT2L._SY445_.jpg
From the director and co-screenwriter of The Messenger comes the story of Officer David Douglas Brown, a hardened, uniformed LAPD officer of 24 years who has a reputation of bending the rules to the point of breaking, not to mention the drinking and womanizing we expect from such a character. He has two daughters from two different women and they all live together in the same house. Not long after scaring the bejesus out of his latest trainee, Officer Brown finds himself at the center of a Rodney King-type incident that happens to get caught on video and might completely destroy his career.
https://resizing.flixster.com/uZEOicnZC-59XG1XFFkNPRb-M30=/fit-in/705x460/v2/https://resizing.flixster.com/QvpeyRIntxkpLG9K_48JsF8VjSk=/ems.cHJkLWVtcy1hc3NldHMvbW92aWVzL2Y1MDE3ZWVlLWRhYmUtNDU3ZC05NmM5LTdjZjNiYzNjOGI3OC53ZWJw
What starts out as a rehash of films like Bad Lieutenant and Training Day goes to another level as we see the officer's entire career get peeled away layer by layer taking Officer Brown to a level of desperation we never see with Harvey Keitel's character and before he gets taken out the way Denzel's character does. Officer Brown is intelligent and well-spoken and, most importantly, knows the law and is aware of exactly what his superiors in the Rampart Division of the LAPD can do to him. We know there is more than meets the eye with this character when the first time in the film he is greeted by his older daughter (future Oscar winner Brie Larson), she refers to him as "Date Rape", a greeting from a daughter to a father that definitely made the imagination run wild. I was impressed when the story behind the moniker comes out and it was nothing like I imagined.
https://i0.wp.com/aftercredits.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/RampartFeat.jpg?fit=700%2C326
The whole incident that spurs the deconstruction of Officer Brown's career is just as aggravating because the video that the world saw did not show the entire incident, which was a very interesting storytelling choice because it allows the audience to weigh in on exactly what happened and whether or not Brown was justified in what he did and an argument for both sides is credible.
https://www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/20120314__20120316_D8_AE16SCRAMPARTp1.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,900
Director and co-screenwriter Oren Moverman also shows a real stylish hand with a movie camera...there is a lot of inventive camerawork here, giving this film an almost voyeuristic quality. There are a lot of uncomfortable closeups of the central character where the camera almost seems to be looking inside the character's head to show us what he's thinking.
https://c8.alamy.com/comp/CTGBE8/rampart-2011-woody-harrelson-oren-moverman-dir-008-moviestore-collection-CTGBE8.jpg
Moverman's impressive cast delivers the goods, headed by Woody Harrelson, an actor who Moverman really seems to understand. He gets another performance from Harrelson that is vivid and explosive. There are some impressive star turns along the way from Sigourney Weaver, Ned Beatty, Robin Wright, Cynthia Nixon, Anne Heche, Ben Foster, and Ice Cube. Bouquets as well to Jay Rabinowitz' film editing, Jarvier Bennesar's sound editing, and Dickon Hinchcliffe's music. A rough cinematic ride that's worth it if you have the stomach for it. 4

GulfportDoc

06-10-18, 08:05 PM

The Messenger (2009)
The Messenger is a dark and at times gut-wrenching drama from 2009 that features a fascinating premise and some superb performances but suffers from a screenplay that wanders off in too many directions during the final third of the story.
...

rating_3_5
I agree with your review, although you liked the film more than I did. The acting was first rate, but the stories beneath the main action were not believable, and it was too scattered. I couldn't connect with it at all. My wife, however, enjoyed it.

~Doc

Gideon58

06-10-18, 11:39 PM

Guess Who
The late Bernie Mac makes the 2005 comedy Guess Who seem a lot better than it really is.
https://www.iceposter.com/thumbs/MOV_7ec011c3_b.jpg
This comedy is actually a re-thinking of the classic 1967 melodrama Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? which found a white girl bringing her black fiancee home to meet her parents. In this version, a black girl is bringing her white fiancee home to meet her parents. Now in the '67 film, the black fiancee was a doctor, here the white fiancee has just quit his job and hasn't told anyone about it, including his fiancee. This is all occurring while the girls' parents are planning to renew their vows after 25 years of marriage.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bu2Ub6up1lY/hqdefault.jpg
I was a big fan of the 1967 film despite its sketchy and convenient approach to the subject matter. In that film, they made the black fiancee an important doctor who had just lost his wife and child in an accident. The girls parents in that film are also given limited time to decide how they feel because the couple is planning to leave the country that night. I had always wondered what the film would have been like if the girl had brought home a drug dealer or a pimp instead of an important doctor with a million degrees and without the time restraint and both those issues are addressed in this film version.
https://robsmovievault.files.wordpress.com/2005/03/guess_who29.jpg
It just seemed more realistic story that the fiancee in question was unemployed just as he was freaking out about meeting his future in-laws, though I would have liked to have seen him be honest with his fiancee and watch them battle dad together. In the '67 film, Sidney Poitier told Tracy and Hepburn he would not marry Katharine Houghton without their blessing. I liked the fact that this was not an issue with the fiancee here, though we do see, primarily through director Kevin Rodney Sullivan's camerawork, the fiancee winning over his future mother-in-law.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/6d/b6/67/6db667f667d84f0d6d22713340996de0.jpg
William Rose, who won an Oscar for the screenplay for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? is actually given screen credit here, but I don't know why, there isn't a word of dialogue from his screenplay here. I have to admit that even though it did make me laugh, the scene at the dinner table where the fiancee starts telling black jokes teetered on the edge of tastelessness.
http://c8.alamy.com/comp/F6JXNX/release-date-march-25-2005-movie-title-guess-who-studio-columbia-pictures-F6JXNX.jpg
Despite my issues with the story, the performances are surprisingly solid. Bernie Mac eeked every bit of comic gold out of his role and Ashton Kutcher was shockingly restrained as the fiancee. Zoe Saldana was lovely as the daughter/fiancee caught in the middle and I loved Judith Scott as the mom. The film is beautiful to look at and I liked John Murphy's music. Despite its predictability, the late Bernie Mac makes it worth a look. 3

mattiasflgrtll6

06-11-18, 12:02 AM

This movie was a lot funnier on my first watch than the second one. It gets incredibly cheesy in the last 30-so minutes, with the comedy replaced by melodramatic nonsense. It's still decent though.

Citizen Rules

06-11-18, 01:41 PM

Gideon58

06-11-18, 05:28 PM

Citizen Rules

06-11-18, 06:03 PM

Yeah, I was surprised that you even read this review because I've noticed that you don't seem to watch a lot of comedies. I have to vary what I watch...if I watch a heavy drama, I have to follow it with a comedy or a musical. I always look at your reviews when I've seen you've posted another, but I usual only rep the ones I've seen.

Gideon58

06-13-18, 01:29 AM

Suddenly Last Summer
Polished direction, a talky but effective screenplay, and a pair of sterling performances by two of the best actresses in the business make the 1959 film version of Tennessee Williams' Suddenly Last Summer well worth the time of any serious buff.
https://filmartgallery.com/cdn/shop/products/Suddenly-Last-Summer-Vintage-Movie-Poster-Original-Half-sheet-22x28-2436.jpg?v=1665736879
This is the story of a wealthy and eccentric widow named Violet Venable (Katharine Hepburn) who has read about a new surgical procedure called a lobotomy that is being perfected by a surgeon named Dr. Cukrowicz (Montgomery Clift). She decides to offer a huge amount of money to the asylum where the doctor works if he would agree to perform the procedure on her niece, Catherine (Elizabeth Taylor) in order to keep her from revealing the truth about the way Violet's beloved son, Sebastian died.
https://media1.fdncms.com/stranger/imager/u/original/24548811/suddenly_under-text2050.jpg
Fans of other Tennessee Williams work will be right at home here with the kind of characters and situations presented here. As in some other work by the playwright, a large portion of the story is centered around a character that is dead at the beginning of the story and is eventually revealed to be homosexual, though that word is never used. These characters always seem to be dead as some sort of punishment for their lifestyle, a pervading theme in Williams work, seemingly stemming from Williams' hatred of his own homosexuality. In Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, it was Brick's football buddy, Skipper, in A Streetcar Named Desire, it was Blanche Dubois' first and much younger husband and here, it is Sebastian Venable.
https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/sm/upload/f9/45/ak/ni/suddenly-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg?v=7971b490a7
Actually, I have always had a fondness for movies centered on a character who is already dead, because it allows the audience the opportunity to use their own imagination about what that person was like. Lawrence Kasdan did this to great effect in 1983 in The Big Chill which centered around the death of a character we never meet named Alex. Just like Alex, we never meet Sebastian, but he is at the forefront of the story at all times and we also know ten minutes into the film that we are not getting the real story of how he died.
https://www.eastman.org/sites/default/files/styles/gallery_overlay/public/Suddenly%20Last%20Summer%20S.L.S.A71-23R.jpg.webp?itok=US1j2yzX&timestamp=1618345795
The film has a very gothic quality to it, rich with characters who redefine terms like creepy and squirm worthy. The character of Violet Venable is a true enigma...there are moments in the story that are almost sickening as you listen to her talk about her relationship with Sebastian...she speaks about their life together as if they were lovers and not mother and son and we can also see that Violet knows all about her who her son was but doesn't want anyone else to know.
https://www.backseatmafia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Suddenly-Last-Summer.jpg
The screenplay by Williams and Gore Vidal imaginatively skirts the word "homosexual", but makes it very clear who Sebastian was early in the story and one keeps waiting for them to actually come out and say it, but it was 1959. I think 1959 mores also had a lot to do with the over the top finale where we finally learn what happened to Sebastian, but director Joseph L. Mankiewicz mounts the final flashback with some taste and some effective editing and photography.
https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/aaaaa.png?w=730
Where Mankiewicz really scores is the brilliant performances he gets from his two leading ladies. Hepburn is absolutely bone-chilling as Mrs. Venable and Elizabeth Taylor is a fragile yet explosive Catherine. Both actresses received Oscar nominations and Taylor won a Golden Globe. The film also received a richly deserved Oscar nomination for art direction/set direction...Mrs. Venable's garden/jungle and the snake pit at the asylum were amazing. The finale is a bit much, but this is still a rich cinematic experience. 4