Gideon58's Reviews [Archive] - Page 6

Gideon58

04-07-16, 11:39 AM

BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID
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Stylish and imaginative direction, a witty and intelligent screenplay, and the birth of a new screen pairing that provided off the charts chemistry are the primary selling points of a richly entertaining western called Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid that had me riveted to the screen from start to finish, quite the accomplishment for someone who HATES westerns.

This 1969 Oscar nominee for Best Picture is the fact based story of the title characters, played by Paul Newman and Robert Redford in their first screen pairing, the leaders of a group of outlaws known as the Hole in the Wall Gang, who rob banks and trains but when the law gets too close, they are forced to flee the country and start all over again in South America where they return to their old ways but things eventually get dangerous for them there too.
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Throw into the mix a surprisingly adult love triangle for the 1960's: Etta Place (the lovely Katherine Ross) is a schoolteacher who, on the surface appears to be committed to Sundance, but there are clearly unresolved feelings between her and Butch as well. Etta even asks Butch at one point would they be together if she had met him first, but it doesn't really matter because the romantic lines and traditional boundaries regarding romance are entertainingly blurred here, providing a fascinating menage that accompanies the principal story.
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Director George Roy Hill has mounted a western that breaks all the rules here...it is fascinating how much of the story Hill chooses to tell without the use of dialogue. The relationship between Butch and Etta is punctuated by the Oscar-winning song "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" and the trio's journey to South America is documented through some carefully crafted still photographs backed by Burt Bacharach's jazzy, Oscar-winning score. Some of the most telling moments between the three principal characters come through in these photographs and advance story smoothly without giving too much away. I also like the fact that Butch and Sundance's only motivation for what they do is profit...they are not interested in hurting people and when they do, it is purely in self defense. Even their victims seem to have a semblance of respect for the Hole in the Wall Gang...I love when they approach a train and all the passengers stick their heads out the windows to watch the guys work. They are smarter than most of the characters in the movie but never rub their faces in it.

William Goldman's Oscar-winning screenplay is rich with laughs, even though this film is not even close to resembling a comedy...the laughs come from flawed and human places and characters who understand each other and care about each other. It's so funny watching Etta teaching the guys pertinent Spanish phrases they will need to rob banks and watching Butch later read them off a piece of paper in the midst of a robbery...I was on the floor.
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Newman has rarely been so sexy and charismatic onscreen and Redford compliments him perfectly, a screen chemistry that rivals Lemmon and Matthau. Ross is a mature and enchanting leading lady, light years away from her previous role as the virginal Elaine Robinson in The Graduate, not to mention perfectly complimenting both of her leading men. Hill has mounted a winning story here, which also includes some gorgeous Oscar winning cinematography and effective sound editing as well. Hill, Newman, and Redford reunited four years later for The Sting, which won seven Oscars, including one for Hill, but I still think this is Hill's masterpiece. 5

Gideon58

04-07-16, 08:12 PM

SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS
Sweet Smell of Success is a scorching drama from 1957 about the power of media manipulation and how it can destroy lives.
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The film stars Burt Lancaster as JJ Hunsecker, a respected New York columnist who wants to end the budding romance between his sister (Susan Harrison) and a musician (Martin Milner) and enlists the aid of a smarmy press agent named Sid Falco (Tony Curtis) to do it, in exchange for getting Falco's clients mention in Hunsecker's column.
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Clifford Odets and Ernest Lehman's screenplay sizzles with stinging dialogue and the merciless slinging of it. In 2016 it might come off as a little dated and/or cliche, but I think it still packs quite the wallop. It's never really made clear why JJ doesn't want his sister involved with this guy but once you're into the story, it really is a non-issue.
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The issue here is how Hunsecker is more concerned with what he wants than with his sister's happiness and the lengths that Falco will go in order to gain favor with Hunsecker, lengths that place him just slightly above pimp.
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Lancaster, effectively cast against type, is quiet and bone-chilling as Hunsecker and Curtis gives one of his best performances as Falco, nailing an extremely complex character who is trying to juggle a lot of balls and is not always successful.
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The movie is moody and atmospheric and I think director Alex Mackendrick's decision to make the film in black and white has a lot to do with that. The film also features a brilliant jazzy score by Elmer Bernstein that really keeps the proceedings pumping without ever overpowering the story. Despite some dated elements and a dreadful performance from Susan Harrison, there is enough that still works here to make it worth checking out. Decades later, the film was actually adapted into a Broadway musical. 3.5

honeykid

04-07-16, 08:55 PM

I think the script alone is worth seven and a half out of ten. I don't really care for Butch & Sundance, but the last time I saw it I thought it was OK.

Citizen Rules

04-07-16, 11:05 PM

Loved your review of Sweet Smell of Success it's one of the few films I've given a perfect score to.

Gideon58

04-08-16, 03:37 PM

Loved your review of Sweet Smell of Success it's one of the few films I've given a perfect score to.
It's a great film, but it looses points for Susan Harrison's awful performance...if someone else had been playing that role, I might have given the film a 9/10.

Gideon58

04-09-16, 04:21 PM

BAD NEIGHBORS
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Bad Neighbors is a juvenile 2014 comedy that doesn't really deliver the laughs it seems to initially promise.
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This film stars Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne as a couple with a newborn daughter who are totally thrown when a frat house moves in next door, Afraid their baby will never be able to sleep with all the partying, they try to broker peace with the frat's president (Zac Efron), but unable to control the frat house, our heroes have no choice but to call the police at one point, the gloves come off, igniting a war between the frat and the "old people next door."
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The idea here is a decent one and the film starts off promisingly but the whole thing bogs down into a lot of vicious and dangerous pranks, some involving innocent bystanders, with enough laws being broken here for the entire cast to be behind bars but the screenplay conveniently dodges these realities for the sake of "entertainment", which is only really delivered in spurts.
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Rogen is very funny but the casting of Byrne really doesn't work for me. This is the third comedy that I have seen this actress in and I have to say that, even though I enjoyed her work on the FX series Damages, comedy is not her thing...the woman doesn't possess anything resembling comic timing and is not funny and I don't understand why she keeps getting cast in these comedies. Efron looks amazing in and out of his clothes, but his character comes off as kind of a psychopath and you have to wonder how someone like this even got in to college. Ike Barinholtz of The Mindy Project, like Rogen, manages to rise above the muck as Rogen's co-worker, but there's just not enough laughs or viable story to make this thing really work. 2.5

Optimus

04-09-16, 04:52 PM

I turned that movie of after 10 minutes. I thought it looked like a bad comedy, with bad jokes.

Gideon58

04-09-16, 05:00 PM

It is a bad comedy with bad jokes. I've seen worse though.

cricket

04-09-16, 05:19 PM

I'm still interested in seeing it; it's my kind of humor. The upcoming sequel looks great.

http://youtu.be/WWPQDAv-bS4

Gideon58

04-10-16, 06:16 PM

OZ: THE GREAT AND POWERFUL
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Based on the writings of L. Frank Baum, Oz the Great and Powerful is a colorful and elaborate dramatic fantasy that is, in effect, a prequel to the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz, which centers around the title character and how he came to Oz, an idea that doesn't always work and often reminds us of how timeless the 1939 film is, but there is definitely more hit than miss here, thanks primarily to some impressive work from director Sam Raimi.
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The 2013 film centers on a second rate carnival magician in Kansas named Oz (James Franco) who, upon escaping his humdrum career, finds himself swept away to the same magical land that Dorothy visited in 1939, but long before Dorothy's arrival, where his arrival is expected as the kingdom has already been informed that a Wizard is on his way but before he can assume his duties, our second rate magician finds himself involved in a very convoluted power struggle with three very different witches.
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Raimi, with the aid of screenwriters Mitchell Kapner and David Lindsey-Abaire have taken the end of the 1939 film and constructed a story around that character, utilizing a lot of the characters and settings that we met in '39 and giving them a clever flip...remember those flying monkeys back in '39 who aided the Wicked Witch and gave this reviewer nightmares? Well, here we have one winged monkey named Finley (voiced by Zach Braff) who is Oz' sidekick and the Witch now has winged orangutans doing her bidding. But what they have done most effectively here is construct an elaborate story that centers completely around Frank Morgan's final moments in the '39 film, his confession to being a 2nd rate phony amateur magician and eventually utilizing his ability with smoke and mirrors to save the Emerald City from a couple of witches with some real self-esteem issues.
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Raimi has spared no expense in mounting this ambitious fairy tale. The film features first rate production values, with special nods to cinematography, art-direction-set direction, visual effects, and some exquisite costumes. Somehow Raimi has also managed not to neglect his actors, getting a first rate movie star turn from James Franco in the title role, who is flawed, rakish, and endlessly charming. Michelle Williams made a lovely Glinda and Oscar winner Rachel Weicz tore scenery up right and left as the evil Evanora. Mila Kunis was a little hard to take as the Wicked Witch of the West sometimes and the film did have a couple of too many endings, but in the long run, it was a very entertaining ride during which I never looked at my watch. 3.5

Gideon58

04-11-16, 06:53 PM

SEX AND THE CITY 2
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I wish I had seen Sex and the City 2 before I had done my list of worst sequels because if I had, this film would have been # 1 on the list...yes, it is worse than Son of the Mask and is probably the worst film that I have seen since I have joined this site.

This 2010 travesty takes place two years after the last film where we find Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Big (Chris Noth) entering a marriage rut while Carrie has a reunion with an old flame; Samantha (Kim Cattrall) is dealing with the onslaught of menopause and a reunion with Smith (Jason Lewis) that actually leads to a middle eastern adventure for the girls; Charlotte (Kristin Davis) is overwhelmed by the adoption of her second child and her voluptuous new nanny and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) becomes a new person after quitting her job and becoming the ambassador of fun in the middle east.
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Director and screenwriter Michael Patrick King, who created these characters is clearly depending on the history of these characters to get the viewer through this mess because if this film is your initial exposure to them, I'm pretty sure it will have you wondering what the fuss was all about. It is our central character, Carrie Bradshaw Preston who takes some really unattractive turns here...Carrie spent years on HBO and in the first film trying to turn Big into something that he's not but all of a sudden nothing Big does is right and, if the truth be told, Carrie comes off like a selfish bitch in this movie and this is coming from someone who liked the series and liked Carrie.

There is a whole lot of ridiculous stuff going on here, from the opening scenes at the the gayest-ever wedding of Stanford (Willie Garson) and Anthony (Mario Cantone), presided over by Liza Minnelli to the ridiculous girls-only vacation in Abu Dhabi that produces contrived adventures that range from ridiculous to just plain stupid.
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This film is just an embarrassment to everyone involved and I'm trying to think of something to recommend here, but I'm drawing a blank...even the costumes are hideous. The rating I have assigned to this film is only out of respect for Cynthia Nixon. 1.5

Sexy Celebrity

04-11-16, 07:21 PM

Gideon58

04-11-16, 07:24 PM

I didn't hate Sex and the City 2 but I think it's a massive disappointment after the first Sex and the City movie, which I think is a very good movie, even though it's like a couple of centuries too long. I've actually been wanting to rewatch the first movie lately.

Sex and the City 2..... seems pointless. Apparently they have a story idea for a third and final film, and it just makes me think.... why didn't you use it for 2? 'Cause part 2 seems pointless. The first film, while long, and while many people think it's stupid.... I found it interesting and fun and rewatchable. But part 2 is dull and doesn't really have a good story, if any story at all. So I feel it was a waste. Whatever story they have planned for part 3, which may be their last story.... should have been used in 2. And now 3 may never happen.

Also, Stanford and Anthony are a ridiculous couple. I'm sorry, but they both seem like two very queeny bottoms who need two very butch tops for lovers, not each other.
The first film was long but it was a documentary short compared to the second one...this movie just seemed to go on and on and on and on, I didn't think it was ever going to end. And pointless is putting it kindly. And I totally agree with you regarding Stanford and Anthony...there's no chemistry there, there never has been and I was grateful when I was certain they were only going to be in the opening scenes. As for a third film, I just can't see it, I mean what else can they cover that hasn't been covered already? I think it's time to finally let this franchise die and let us live in our HBO memories.

honeykid

04-11-16, 07:43 PM

I loved the series, but the first film was more than poor enough to ensure I had no interest in seeing this. Also, add me to the Stanford and Anthony never worked club. It screams 'we've got two more characters to marry off. What shall we do? Oh, they're both gay, just have them go with each other.'

Citizen Rules

04-11-16, 07:50 PM

Sex and the City was a movie? who knew:shrug:

Sexy Celebrity

04-11-16, 07:54 PM

Also, add me to the Stanford and Anthony never worked club. It screams 'we've got two more characters to marry off. What shall we do? Oh, they're both gay, just have them go with each other.'

It feels like a stunt. "Let's make a statement and have our two big gay male characters get MARRIED to show we support gay marriage."

If it was the TV show, they might experiment with each other for one episode, but by the end of it, they'd be over with and hating what had happened. In fact, I thought they were kinda disgusted with each other on the show at one point?

If they wanted to get real, in the third movie (if it ever happens), they'd be divorced. But I imagine they'd show them still together, now with adopted children.

honeykid

04-12-16, 11:20 AM

It feels like a stunt. "Let's make a statement and have our two big gay male characters get MARRIED to show we support gay marriage."
I can see that. I think it was just lazy "we've got two unattached gay characters" writing, but the support of gay marriage (especially considering the release date) could be a much better reason. Frankly, I hope it is for that reason.

They had something like this in Neighbours last year and worked it pretty well. There were two characters (one a recent arrival, the other had just finished with his b/f) and the brother of the new arrival kept trying to set them up even though they hated each other and neither appreciated the effort by the brother.

At one point, after another failed attempt to get them together, the brothers had an exchange which went something like;

Aaron: Why are you trying to set us up?
Tyler: I'm just trying to help. Y'know, you've got some stuff in common.
Aaron: You mean we're both gay?
Tyler: Well, yeah. Kinda.
Aaron: We don't all fancy each other, y'know!

That's how hearing those two get toghether feels to me. As if Tyler had written the storyline and just put them together because they're gay and gay people all love each other.

If it was the TV show, they might experiment with each other for one episode, but by the end of it, they'd be over with and hating what had happened. In fact, I thought they were kinda disgusted with each other on the show at one point?
I almost wrote the same thing last night. As an episode of the series where they, for whatever reason, got together and decided it was at least as terrible as they thought it'd be, might've worked. I still don't think it would've rang true to me, but at least it might produce some entertainment. Also, yes they did hate each other and, even at their best, they were never really friends.

Sexy Celebrity

04-12-16, 06:14 PM

I mean, I could buy that Stanford and Anthony now love each other and are committed to each other. To hell with the top/bottom assignments. Love is love, right?

But I doubt they're monogamous. Especially Anthony. They're getting action on the side and just coming home to each other when it's all taken care of. That's my theory.

Gideon58

04-13-16, 11:44 AM

ENEMY
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A fascinating pair of performances by Jake Gyllenhaal are the main reason to check out a 2013 film called Enemy, a riveting and enigmatic psychological thriller that assumes and requires complete attention from the viewer delivering heart-pounding entertainment, despite a couple of dangling plot holes.
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Gyllenhaal plays Adam, a college professor who rents a movie one night on the recommendation of a friend and notices an actor in the movie who looks exactly like himself. Adam does a little research and is eventually able to track down the actor, whose name is Anthony, who initially wants nothing to do with Adam until he learns about a phone conversation that Adam had with Anthony's pregnant wife (Melanie Laurent), which sets in motion of a series of events we never see coming. This is definitely another one of those movies that reviewing without revealing major spoilers is difficult.
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Based on a novel by Jose Saramago, who adapted the book for the screen with Javier Gullon, the writers have created an intriguing story that actually offers a little too much information along the way. There are red herrings in the screenplay that end up leading nowhere and only adding to the confusion about what's going on. It might be purposely, but said red herrings may have been made part of the story in order to distract us from what's really going on and, if the truth be told, we never really learn.
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What makes this film so fascinating is watching these two men who look exactly alike and are two completely different people and how their eventual meeting initiates a disturbing shift in both men about what they have learned. Adam is initially obsessed with learning about Anthony and pushes non-stop for their meeting, which Anthony resists but upon their meeting, the obsession seems to shift to Anthony, who is determined to get to the bottom of this...I love the moment when Anthony shows Adam a scar that he has on his chest and from the look on his face, it is obvious that Adam has the same scar even though he doesn't show it to Anthony.
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The other thing that makes the film so fascinating is intense and quietly-detailed work Jake Gyllenhaal puts into the creation of these two characters, clearly aided by director Denis Villeneuve. Every time the actor appears onscreen, I had to wait a minute to figure out if I was watching Adam or Anthony, which I actually found to be a lot of fun.
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This tidy little thriller fascinates from beginning to end and every time you think you've figured out what's going on, you'll realize that you haven't and despite a problematic climax and other unexplained plot elements, this was a riveting cinematic roller coaster ride that kept me guessing for its entire running time and has still left me with questions. 3.5

Sexy Celebrity

04-13-16, 12:26 PM

I still have to finish watching that. I watched an hour AND GAVE UP! However, Swan explained to me what was going on and it sounds better now.

Gideon58

04-13-16, 04:52 PM

I still have to finish watching that. I watched an hour AND GAVE UP! However, Swan explained to me what was going on and it sounds better now.
It's an odd little movie but I really enjoyed it and anytime with Jake is time well spent.

Gideon58

04-16-16, 05:07 PM

THE EQUALIZER
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Antoine Fuqua, who guided Denzel Washington's Oscar winning performance in Training Day reunited with his star for The Equalizer, a 2014 big screen reboot of the 1980's CBS television series that starred Edward Woodward. This review comes from someone who did not watch the television series.
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Washington plays Robert McCall, an everyman who lives a seemingly monk-like existence, working in a discount superstore and hanging out at a local coffee shop where he has struck up a friendship with a young prostitute (Chloe Grace Moretz) who wants more out of her life, but when McCall gets to see the kind of people the girl works for, he offers unasked for assistance which launches him into a one man war against the entire Russian mob.
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As I mentioned, I did not watch the series, but what I saw here is Fuqua's dark mounting of an overly elaborate and alternately deliberate screenplay that sets up McCall as this character with a mysterious past whose layers are slowly peeled away like an onion...perhaps a bit too slowly, but we are inclined to believe this man is more than what is on the surface when we watch him handle some small time hoods who are squeezing an elderly store owner for protection money and a punk who robs the superstore and takes a co-worker's ring. What we are told is that this is a guy who works in a store and likes to help his co-workers but his actions reveal brains and training that are only utilized in the defense of people who cannot help themselves.
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There are things here and there that happen in the reveal of who McCall is that contradict and confuse...in one scene, we see McCall economically cripple five Russian mobsters in a matter of minutes, but when the punk comes into the superstore to rob it and take his co-worker's ring, he just lets the guy walk out. Oddly, we see the woman get her ring back but we are never privy as to exactly how that happened. We eventually learn that McCall is some kind of former government agent in some form of witness protection who also lost a wife somewhere along the way. This is a man who is a deadly force trying to put that part of his life behind him but cannot stand idly by and watch people be bullied or controlled who can't help themselves. He has the power to kill when he wants, to cripple when he wants, and to torture enough to extract information when he wants. My favorite line in the movie is when he visits a former agent whose husband (Bill Pullman) asks if she was able to help McCall and the agent (Oscar winner Melissa Leo) replies "He didn't come here for help, he came here for permission."
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There's a lot left unexplained and the film is darkly photographed making it hard to see sometimes what's going on, but you forgive all this because this film has one thing going for it and it's all it really needs...a 100 mega-watt starring performance from Denzel Washington, a two-time Oscar winner who has already documented his ability to carry a film on his star power alone and he does that effortlessly here... you never worry about McCall because you know Denzel is playing him, but you still want to go for the ride anyway because Denzel is always worth the ride. 3

Gideon58

04-18-16, 07:54 PM

MATCH POINT
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Woody Allen mounted one of his most challenging and emotionally manipulative stories with Match Point, a 2005 film that treads familiar territory for Allen such as infidelity and the art of self-preservation, but dresses it up by setting it on a British canvas that is so intoxicating at times that one almost doesn't notice how unappealing and unerringly human these characters are until the manipulation grabs the viewer and does not let go.
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Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is a former tennis pro and new resident to London now giving tennis lessons who becomes friends with one of his students named Tom Hewitt (Matthew Goode), getting in good with Tom's wealthy family and sealing the deal by marrying Tom's sister, Chloe (Emily Mortimer). He also accepts a job with Toom and Chloe's father's company. Unfortunately, Chris becomes obsessed with Tom's fiancee, an American named Nola Rice (Scarlett Johansson), putting everything at risk.
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Allen's Oscar-nominated screenplay provides us with a central character of dubious ethics who makes a lot of wrong moves in his battle for self-preservation, but what I found was Chris was not the only character with defects here...all the players did things that made me squirm at some point through the many twists and turns that this prickly story takes. I didn't like the way Chloe attempted to smother Chris and bully him into starting a family that he clearly wasn't ready for. I also didn't like Nola from the start either...it was aggravating watching Nola do nothing to discourage Chris' obsession and then turning on him when he was unable to just walk away from his other life for her.
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Allen's screenplay does recall earlier work like Hannah and her Sisters and Crimes and Misdeamenors, but Allen has cleverly taken his normally neurotic and tragically flawed characters and placed them across the pond. These characters look and sound so proper and pious at times that you almost don't notice how messy these people are and how every central character produces repulsive and squirm worthy moments at some point in this sometimes ugly story. Tom is the only exception, the only true victim in this story.
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As always, Allen scores with some unconventional casting and pulls first rate performances from his cast, with standout work from Jonathan Rhys Meyers, whose baby-faced features provide a frightening dichotomy to this sometimes slimy central character and Johansson, who does some of the strongest work her career as the jilted mistress, bringing an intelligence that you usually don't see in this kind of character, even if it doesn't last.
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Allen has set this very unpleasant story on a very pleasant canvas...his use of London locations is just as effective as his use of Manhattan locations in his most famous work and once again, Allen's flawless ear with music works here by using minimal operatic recordings that lends further power to the piece. Despite a troublesome conclusion that left a bad taste in my mouth, this film rivals Interiors and Crimes and Misdeamenors as one of Allen's most ambitious challenging pieces which tells a story that does not pander to the audience. 4

honeykid

04-19-16, 09:05 AM

Do you know you've double posted this? Though I do see that you've fixed the ending of the second paragraph. :)

Match Point is something which I always thought I'd like and see but have yet to do so.

Gideon58

04-19-16, 11:10 AM

Just noticed that I did...deleting one right now, thanks Honeykid. Regarding the film, it's not typical Woody Allen so if you normally hate Allen, don't let that deter you from watching this one, but be warned, this one will run roughshod over your emotions.

Gideon58

04-25-16, 08:31 PM

THE OBJECT OF MY AFFECTION
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The 1998 film The Object of My Affection is a romantic comedy that attempts to tell a contemporary story but suffers due to a TV movie type cast and a story that plays like an extended episode of the NBC series Will & Grace.

The film stars Jennifer Aniston as Nina, a social worker involved in a shaky relationship, who invites a gay schoolteacher named George (Paul Rudd) to movie in with her after he breaks up with his lover. A very complicated relationship ensues as Nina begins developing feelings for George while learning that she's become pregnant with her boyfriend's baby and deciding she would rather raise the baby with George than with the baby daddy(John Pankow).
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Based on a novel by Stephen McCauley, Wendy Wasserstein's screenplay digs just deeply enough to some sensitive areas to make the viewer squirm, but doesn't really take a permanent stand on said issues either. The character of Nina does have a lot of parallels to the Grace Adler character on Will & Grace...she understands that George is homosexual but she allows herself to fall in love with him anyway. The difference between Nina and Grace is that Grace accepted who Will is and became his best friend. Nina does not accept the same about George and quietly goes about trying to "straighten" him out.
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There are bothersome elements to this story that I just can't get past. I was really bothered by the fact that Nina's primary inspiration on her mission to "turn" George was the story of his first sexual experience, not to mention the way she uses her pregnancy to manipulate George, which would have been acceptable if George was the father of the baby, but watching the character of Nina trying to change a man's sexual orientation based on his past and with the help of a baby made it hard to like Nina at times.

Aniston and Rudd do create a a certain chemistry onscreen though I never really bought Rudd as a gay character. Pankow is unconvincing as the baby daddy but I liked Allison Janney and Alan Alda as Nina's sister and brother-in-law. The story is kind of aggravating but hardcore Aniston finds might find some appeal here. 3

Gideon58

04-27-16, 12:06 PM

SOURCE CODE
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In addition to being immensely talented and drop dead gorgeous, Jake Gyllenhaal has proven to be one of our most fearless and courageous actors, taking on complex characters in life-altering situations and accepting the reluctant hero position that the character has been thrown into or accepting roles that might be considered career killers...he took on the role of Jack Twist in Brokeback Mountain when other actors, Mark Wahlberg among them, didn't have the guts to and continues on a career path that could make him the new Millenium Harrison Ford with his performance in a 2011 sci-fi thriller Source Code.
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Gyllenhaal plays Colter Stevens, a soldier who wakes up and finds himself inside the body of a man named Sean Ventrice who is on a Chicago commuter train flirting with a woman named Christina (Michelle Monaghan). It is revealed that Stevens is actually part of a special government experiment and he has been placed on this train to prevent it from being blown up and he only has eight minutes to complete the mission. When he is initially unable to stop the explosion, he is sent back to the train repeated times until the mission is completed with the same eight minute window, but with a little more information that he had during the previous attempt.
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Director Duncan Jones, whose previous assignment was directing Sam Rockwell in Moon, has taken on an ambitious and detail-oriented story that requires the recreation of a series of onscreen events multiple times with pinpoint accuracy in order for the story to make sense, but the viewer doesn't realize this as we watch this man board this commuter train and have various seemingly inconsequential encounters with other passengers, and suddenly minor details become more and more important as the story progresses. It is important that as this series of events are recreated, similar to what happens to Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, that everything happens exactly as it did the first time when we weren't really paying attention, so I actually found myself rewinding to document this and Jones nailed it.
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Jones and screenwriter Ben Ripley have mounted a riveting story that offers what appears to be red herrings to throw the viewer off, like another Gyllenhaal film Enemy, but unlike that film, what appears to be red herrings are anything but...everything onscreen here is pertinent to the story. This story demands and requires complete attention but it is definitely rewarded.
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Gyllenhaal is wonderful as the reluctant hero who accepts his position and eventually moves above and beyond the call of duty. There are also a pair of solid supporting performances from Vera Farmiga and the amazing Jeffrey Wright as the military personnel manipulating Colter's fate and, oh, that's Scott Bakula as the voice of Colter's father. The film also has some first rate editing and visual effects. This is a solid little mystery thriller that is not only deliciously entertaining but surprisingly economical. 4

Gideon58

04-27-16, 08:48 PM

ABOUT LAST NIGHT (2014)
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File under unnecessary remakes, About Last Night, an allegedly hip re-thinking of the 1986 Rob Lowe-Demi Moore romantic comedy that, with the exception of telling the story with black principals, really offers nothing new that motivates a remake.
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Bernie (Kevin Hart) and his current squeeze, Joan (Regina Hall) bring together their BFF's (Michael Ealy, Joy Bryant) who actually are attracted to each other and begin developing a serious relationship, while the relationship between Bernie and Joan starts to fall apart.
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The motivation behind this remake is such a mystery because the original film was passable entertainment but nothing that really merited re-visiting in 2014, despite the change in race for the central characters. The issues addressed here are not much different than the issues addressed in the '86 film and this fact is actually driven home by a scene where we actually see Ealy and Bryant sitting at home watching the original film. What I guess was intended to be an homage just made it clear what a waste of time this remake is.
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Don't get me wrong...Kevin Hart is a funny guy and always brings the funny, but he is not the lead character here and the film comes to a dead stop whenever he's not onscreen. Ealy and Bryant are very easy on the eyes but they don't have anywhere near the charisma that Lowe and Moore generated in '86 and make it hard to stick this one out. For hardcore Kevin Hart fans only. 2

cricket

04-28-16, 09:36 PM

I seem to be in the minority as someone who didn't think much of Source Code. I thought it was ok, but just kind of routine.

gbgoodies

04-28-16, 09:48 PM

I loved Source Code. In fact, I almost nominated it in the Sci-Fi HoF. It was in my final three choices.

Sexy Celebrity

04-28-16, 09:52 PM

I am so glad that Gideon watched and liked Source Code. I had recommended it to him. I've been hoping I'd see this review.

Gideon58

04-29-16, 03:34 PM

I seem to be in the minority as someone who didn't think much of Source Code. I thought it was ok, but just kind of routine.
Different strokes, Cricket.

Gideon58

04-30-16, 04:50 PM

IRRATIONAL MAN
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Woody Allen once again treads some familiar but cringe-worthy territory with 2015's Irrational Man, a ballsy and manipulative drama that looks at moral choices and self-preservation through the eyes of characters painted in varied shades of gray.
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Joaquim Phoenix stars as Abe Lucas, an alcoholic and womanizing college professor who is disenchanted with his life and work, including a book he's trying to write. The man is living in a vacuum and keeping most earthlings at arm's length yet still catches the eye of a student named Jill (Emma Stone) and Rita (Parker Posey), a married faculty member who are both fascinated with Abe for different reasons, despite the fact that they're both involved with other men. One day, Abe and Jill are in a diner and overhear a conversation in the next booth that motivates Abe to commit an unspeakable act.
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Surprisingly, this act completely revives Abe's interest in everything in his life...he loves teaching now, his writer's block has disappeared and he now eats a three course breakfast every morning instead of his accustomed cup of coffee. Abe feels that what he did is justified because it is helping people he doesn't even know but when what Abe did starts coming to light, he goes into full self-preservation mode, while never apologizing or rationalizing his actions.
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Once again, the Woodmeister has mounted another manipulative story rich with likable characters doing unlikable things and vice versa. The central character is not the only one who comes out of this thing unscathed either. Jill spends a good portion of her screentime throwing herself at this guy, despite the fact that he discourages it but expects him to change overnight when he doesn't turn out to be exactly the person she placed on a pedestal. Rita is no prize either...once she starts putting together what Abe has done, she goes to Jill and it's often hard to tell whether her motives are justice or jealousy.
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Like other Allen works like Crimes and Misdemeanors and Match Point, these characters are painted in serious shades of gray and no one makes all the right moves, especially the character of Abe, who Phoenix somehow manages to infuse with a dash of likability and keeps him riveting. Stone works hard at keeping Jill likable and as always with Woody's movies, the music is flawless, but again, as always with Woody's films, the story is the thing and is not a pretty one but it is told appropriately. 4

Miss Vicky

04-30-16, 05:28 PM

Nice review. :up:

Irrational Man is one of my favorites from last year.

cricket

04-30-16, 08:07 PM

Irrational Man is one of my favorites from last year.

Of course, it's got that fruitcake in it.

Gideon58

05-01-16, 05:10 PM

LIGHT IT UP
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Light it Up is a contrived and predictable teen drama from 1999 that hasn't held up very well over the years. This film suffers from a cliched screenplay, overripe performances, and a bit too much concentration on flash over substance.

The story opens on a very cold winter day at a run down high school in Queens where the kids don't have enough books and they have class wearing their down jackets because there's no room in the school budget to fix one broken window. A completely unnecessary confrontation between a couple of students and a school rent-a-cop results in six students locking down the school with the rent-a-cop as hostage, who has been shot in the leg.
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This so-called hostage drama aggravates almost immediately because it tries to create suspense where there is none. One student doesn't want to go home and we're supposed to wonder why. Another student gets involved in the situation only because he doesn't want to get beat up by some bad guys waiting for him and another who'd rather be involved in this mess than go home and tell her father she's pregnant. Craig Bolitin's screenplay attempts to build some kind of suspense where these teens and their issues are concerned but fails dismally because they are all telegraphed prior to reveal.
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The drama has further problems thanks to problematic peripheral characters...the hostage should be a sympathetic character and he's not at all...the conflict between the hostage negotiator and the head of the SWAT team also grows tiresome very quickly. Not to mention the kids lackadaisical attitude about what they are doing. When confronted with demands, they initially don't know what to say and when they finally come up with them, they're silly for the most part, silly enough that the negotiator should have worked with them more than she did. Sometimes I'm troubled with films that make teenagers look like saints and anyone over the age of 30 look like idiots and this is one of those films.
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The performances are little over the top for my tastes, though a young Rosario Dawson does display the beginning of a genuine talent in front of the camera but Vanessa Williams is just ridiculous as the hostage negotiator and Oscar winner Forrest Whitaker is equally annoying as the hostage. Fans of hip hop icon Usher might be able to tolerate and it is kind of funny watching Judd Nelson, who played the proverbial bad boy teen in The Breakfast Club playing the popular teacher, but I just found the whole thing just a little to hard to swallow. 2

Gideon58

05-01-16, 07:22 PM

THE OTHER WOMAN
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The Other Woman is a 2014 comedy that does offer a relatively original premise but gets bogged down in predictability, right down to the expected happy ending, but does provide some laughs along the way.

Carly (Cameron Diaz) discovers that the man she' seeing (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) is married and after accidentally meeting his wife (Leslie Mann) ends up actually bonding with her through the discovery of another woman (Kate Upton) the rat is seeing which has the ladies working together to get this man's blood.
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Melissa Stack's screenplay definitely has flashes of originality as we don't see a lot of comedies about infidelity where the victims bond, I mean we saw Goldie, Bette, and Diane get revenge on their guys in The First Wives Club, but they all had separate guys. These three women find out they're being screwed by the same guy and don't stand for it. Granted, their initial payback seems kind of childish, but the ladies do get down to business even if they take a little too long to do it.
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Director Nick Cassavetes hasn't had a lot of experience with comedies and could have used a little help reining in his stars, particularly Leslie Mann, who really grates on the nerves initially but didn't allow that to deter my enjoyment of what was going on. Diaz was surprisingly controlled and Upton actually appeared to have a brain in her head at times. It ain't Lysistrata, but there's fun to be had here. 3

Gideon58

05-02-16, 06:53 PM

THE LAST DETAIL
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An imaginative and often uncompromising screenplay and some charismatic lead performances are the primary ingredients of an underrated gem from 1973 called The Last Detail, that takes a sometimes jaded look at how life in the military can affect people individually while never crossing that line between the military and the rest of civilization.
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Based on a novel by Darryl Ponicscan, this is the story of two officers from Naval Shore patrol named Buddusky and Mulhall ("Mule" to his friends) who have been assigned to escort a young prisoner named Lawrence Meadows to a naval prison in Portsmouth, where he is to serve an eight year sentence. Technically, the assignment only requires two days but Buddusky and Mule have been given five. Buddusky, believing Meadows is getting a raw deal, decides to utilize this road trip to give him a real last hurrah before he gets locked up.
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Robert Towne's Oscar nominated screenplay is the driving force behind this salty adult adventure that puts three complete strangers in very close proximity to each other with nothing in common but their being sailors and how a methodical but believable bond develops between the men even though Buddusky and Mule's differing views regarding their mission keep them apart to a point. There are other gray areas here...it's never really clear how Meadows feels about what he did, but there seems to be a guilt there that makes it seem silly when Buddusky and Mule worry about him trying to escape after one dismal attempt on a crowded train. I also like the way the screenplay hints at backstory for the characters that isn't really addressed, but we keep hoping that they will be. Early on, we learn that Buddusky has been referred to as "Badass" for most of his life and you know he is the way he handles himself, but you always are curious as how he got that way.
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Director Hal Ashby has mounted a riveting episodic drama that employs some elaborate location filming but mostly works because of the three powerhouse performances in the leads. Jack Nicholson lights up the screen with his blistering Buddusky, which earned him a Best Actor Oscar nomination and Randy Quaid has never been better as young Meadows, a performance which earned him a supporting actor nomination. Otis Young manages to hold his own as Mule, never allowing these actors to blow him off the screen. There are several future stars-to-be in the supporting cast, including a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo by original SNL cast member Gilda Radner, two years before SNL's premiere, but it is Nicholson and Quaid's interpretation of this layered screenplay that makes this cinematic road trip sizzle. 4

Gideon58

05-02-16, 09:31 PM

THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
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Vincente Minnelli had a penchant for mounting colorful and splashy musicals, but also had a magic touch in the area of melodrama, evidenced by 1952's The Bad and the Beautiful, a sometimes soapy but still watchable look inside Hollywood that actually won five Oscars.
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Kirk Douglas plays Jonathan Shields, a Hollywood wanna-be with daddy issues whose ruthless rise to the top left a lot of bodies in his wake. His story is told in flashback through the eyes of a director (Barry Sullivan), an actress (Lana Turner) and a screenwriter (Dick Powell) who are forced to relive their story for us when a studio head (Walter Pidgeon) calls them to the studio to inform them that Shields is calling from Paris and wants to work with the three of them again.
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As a matter of fact, that is probably my favorite moment in the entire film, the reactions and looks on the faces of these three characters as the thought of working with this man again flashes over their faces and for this I have to credit Minnelli. We are given an immediate look at the central character and the damage he did to these people and how they haven't forgotten and never will.
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Charles Schnee's screenplay doesn't quite hold up as well as Minnelli's direction...it makes the road to Hollywood stardom a little simplistic and except for Shields, it makes the rest of the characters involved look like morons but it also aids in our eventual contempt for the central character, even if a lot of his behavior is telegraphed.

As mentioned before, this was a somewhat surprising choice of material for Minnelli, who had an uncanny eye for cinematic color and art direction, which had me scratching my head as to why Minnelli would choose the shoot this film in black and white. I have nothing against black and white films, but a film set in Hollywood about Hollywood seemed to scream for color and why one of the best Hollywood eyes for movie color chose to abandon it here was a mystery.
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Minnelli manages to get first rate performances from most of his cast, including an Oscar winning performance from Gloria Grahame as Powell's ambitious and trampy wife, but couldn't get behind Turner's lifeless performance as Georgia at all. This film could have been really incredible with someone who could act playing Georgia, but fans of 40's and 50's melodrama will be in heaven here. 3.5

Citizen Rules

05-02-16, 09:38 PM

An oldie but a goodie, nice review...Good to see you do some older films. I've seen The Bad and the Beautiful, liked it too, I agree with your thoughts.

...a somewhat surprising choice of material for Minnelli, who had an uncanny eye for cinematic color and art direction, which had me scratching my head as to why Minnelli would choose the shoot this film in black and white. You got that right, I have no idea why? But I bet it wasn't his choice to shoot B&W.

This film could have been really incredible with someone who could act playing Georgia, but fans of 40's and 50's melodrama will be in heaven here. Agreed, I'm not a fan of Lana Turner. She has the looks, but so did thousand's of other starlets. She can't act, but she looks good.

Gideon58

05-03-16, 03:40 PM

An oldie but a goodie, nice review...Good to see you do some older films. I've seen The Bad and the Beautiful, liked it too, I agree with your thoughts.

You got that right, I have no idea why? But I bet it wasn't his choice to shoot B&W.
Agreed, I'm not a fan of Lana Turner. She has the looks, but so did thousand's of other starlets. She can't act, but she looks good.
I have a feeling it wasn't Minnelli's choice to shoot in black and white either. Just out of curiosity, Citizen, who would YOU have cast as Georgia? It's the one serious flaw in the film and I wonder who you would see in the role.

mark f

05-03-16, 05:20 PM

My take: A large section of the film is about how Douglas seems to be doing the Val Lewton horror style and that only makes sense in B&W. His attempt to make a serious Award-worthy drama also makes more sense in monochrome. The film did win Oscars for Cinematography, Art Direction and Costumes, albeit in B&W. Aside from An American in Paris, Minnelli's three previous films - Madame Bovary, Father of the Bride and Father's Little Dividend - were all B&W, and Bovary may be even more lush than this one. Lana Turner is just fine in her slightly-veiled portrayal of John Barrymore's daughter.

Citizen Rules

05-03-16, 05:36 PM

...Just out of curiosity, Citizen, who would YOU have cast as Georgia? It's the one serious flaw in the film and I wonder who you would see in the role.At the time The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) was shot I like to see Susan Hayward in the role.

Gideon58

05-03-16, 05:44 PM

At the time The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) was shot I like to see Susan Hayward in the role.
Susan Hayward...good answer Citizen!

Citizen Rules

05-03-16, 05:46 PM

I like Hayward for the role, because she's full of 'spit and fire' and seems capable of being cold heartened and devious. I like her a lot. What would your choice have been?

Gideon58

05-03-16, 05:49 PM

I like Hayward for the role, because she's full of 'spit and fire' and seems capable of being cold heartened and devious. I like her a lot. What would your choice have been?
I'm good with Susan Hayward...can't really think of anyone off the top of my head, but if someone comes to mind I'll get back to you.

Gideon58

05-03-16, 09:44 PM

CARNAL KNOWLEDGE
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A sometimes shockingly adult screenplay and razor sharp direction help keep the instant classic Carnal Knowledge riveting entertainment 45 years after its release. In the manner of Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, this film raised eyebrows with its unabashed language regarding sex and its constant challenge of sexual mores from the 1950's to the 1970's.
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The film opens in the late 1940's where we meet Amherst College roommates Jonathan and Sandy, who both find themselves attracted to a pretty coed from Smith named Susan, despite the fact that Jonathan and Sandy have radically different views about women and different ideas about what they want. Eventually Susan and Sandy do marry while Jonathan spends 20 years chasing anything in a skirt and avoiding commitment of any kind, eventually finding himself trapped in a dead end relationship with a struggling actress.
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It's not so much the story that makes this film so special, but it's surprisingly frank (for 1971) way of talking about sex onscreen, which had been hinted at in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, but it is taken to a whole new level in this film...Jonathan and Sandy have no confusion about what they want from a woman, have no shame about it, and don't try to change each other, but this frank talk doesn't get in the way of a story that takes no prisoners and offers surprises until a climactic moment which really doesn't pay off the way it should but we're so exhausted with shock and surprise at this point that it is easy to forgive.
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Mike Nichols, 4 years after winning an Oscar for The Graduate, proves once again that he is an actor's director and gets some first rate performances, especially Jack Nicholson, explosively controlled as Jonathan, a star making turn from Art Garfunkel as Sandy, and Ann-Margret in a flashy, Oscar-nominated performance as the self-destructive actress. Not a great date movie, but as a part of cinematic history, it's a must. 3.5

mark f

05-03-16, 10:00 PM

Art Garfunkel was in Mike Nichols' previous film, Catch-22, so this is his second movie. :)

Gideon58

05-04-16, 03:38 PM

Art Garfunkel was in Mike Nichols' previous film, Catch-22, so this is his second movie. :)
I don't know why, I thought Catch-22 was after this, I will change that right now, thanks.

Gideon58

05-05-16, 12:06 PM

CALAMITY JANE
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Doris Day made fifteen movies before striking gold with the vehicle that officially made her a movie star. I'm talking about 1953's Calamity Jane, a colorful and exuberant musical comedy that is a lot better than it really should be, thanks to the dazzling performance from its leading lady.

This richly entertaining musical based on real Wild West figures, was Warner Brothers' answer to Annie Get Your Gun...it even borrowed that film's leading man (Howard Keel). Set in the western town of Deadwood City, the title character is an Indian scout/sharpshooter/gambler/saloon owner whose love/hate relationship with BFF Wild Bill Hickok is turned upside down when she travels to Chicago to persuade an actress named Adelaide Adams (Gale Robbins) to headline at Jane's saloon. Upon arrival, Calamity mistakes Adelaide's maid, Katie (Allyn MacLerie) for Adelaide and brings her back to Deadwood City. Katie's ruse is quickly revealed but a romantic quadrangle develops as Katie develops feelings for an army lieutenant (Phillip Carey) who Calamity thinks she's in love with while Bill thinks he's in love with Katie while Calamity and Bill remain in denial about their true feelings for each other.
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This fictionalized musical based on real historical figures is fresh and entertaining from start to finish despite some conventional musical comedy plotting. It is clear from the opening frames that Calamity and Bill have feelings for each other despite all their external sniping at each other...Bill is always telling Calamity how pretty she could be if she dressed like a girl and Calamity lights up when she explains her friendship with Bill to Katie. We know that these two are going to be together by the time the credits roll, but we can't wait to see exactly how it's going to happen.
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Doris Day turns in one of the most vivacious and entertaining performances of her career as the tomboy who discovers her inner girl, despite her fighting it all the way...I love when Katie mistakes her for a man and she looks in the mirror and realizes this is not a good thing. Howard Keel provides solid support with his rich baritone and MacLerie does a star-making turn as Katie, perhaps the most significant role of her career.
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The documentary The Celluloid Closet, which is a history of homosexuality in cinema, cites a homoerotic undertone to the relationship between Calamity and Katie. I think homoerotic is in the eye of the beholder here and I can definitely see an argument, but there is no arguing that the relationship that develops between Calamity and Katie is the best one in the film, beautifully realized in a duet they have called "A Woman's Touch".

The film features a tuneful score by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster including a soon-to-be pop standard called "Secret Love", which won the Oscar for Best Song of 1953 and was a big hit for Day. The film is beautiful to look at too with realistic looking western settings and costumes, but the biggest attraction here is Day, who really seems to be having a ball in this role and it is clear why she has always claimed in interviews that this is her favorite movie. Musical lovers will be in heaven here. 4

Citizen Rules

05-05-16, 12:14 PM

Loved your review! I've been meaning to see more with Allyn MacLerie in it...but like you said this is probably her best work. I really liked her and Doris Day and Howard Keel too.

Gideon58

05-05-16, 04:09 PM

I just looked at Allyn MacLerie's IMDB page...she hasn't worked since 1993...a guest appearance on Brooklyn Bridge was her last acting job.

gbgoodies

05-06-16, 01:54 AM

It's nice to see another fan of Calamity Jane here. (Sadly, it doesn't seem to be doing well in the Westerns HoF.)

I've seen Annie Get Your Gun many, many times, and I've only seen Calamity Jane a few times, and I prefer Annie Get Your Gun over Calamity Jane, but they're both great movies, and Calamity Jane seems to get better with every viewing.

Gideon58

05-06-16, 11:14 AM

I would agree that Annie Get Your Gun is better too, but I think that has a lot to do with the fact that Annie was an MGM film, and musicals were their specialty...the MGM gloss was something very special that no other studio could match where musicals were concerned.

Gideon58

05-07-16, 05:26 PM

THE SKELETON TWINS
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/af/The_Skeleton_Twins_poster.jpg
Former SNL regulars Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig finally proved they have what it takes for a feature film career with a promising little indie called The Skeleton Twins that doesn't provide anything innovative in terms of filmmaking but presents two actors who have great respect for each other playing characters who, when all is said and done, do the same.
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The story cleverly opens with Maggie Dean (Wiig) receiving a phone call to inform her that her twin brother Milo (Hader) has just tried to commit suicide, just as Maggie is about to swallow a handful of sleeping pills, proving I guess that the alleged psychic connection between twins has some merit. Maggie flies to LA and asks Milo to come stay with her in New York while he recovers where it revealed that not only Maggie has issues and that handful of pills we saw her with were no accident and Milo runs into a big issues from his past that he thought was dead.
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Director and co-writer Craig Johnson pretty much seems to be just a supervisor to make sure this thing came in under budget, because this appears to be a Wiig and Hader production, showcased to their abilities and to highlight their versatility as performers and on that level, it works...especially with Hader, who gives a real movie star performance as the gay twin, a frightfully unhappy man who speaks to his twin without filter but is not always so forthright with a man from his past (Ty Burrell).
https://melrook.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/luke-wilson.jpg
Wiig works very hard at keeping her character likable, a woman who is lying to her husband (Luke Wilson) about wanting to have a baby while having an affair with her scuba instructor (Boyd Holbrook) while trying to protect her twin brother all at the same time and it just turns out to be more than she can handle. Luke Wilson has rarely been so likable onscreen as Wiig's sensitive husband and Burrell is an eye-opener as well. Fans of Hader and Wiig will probably add a rating point to this. 3.5

Wolfsbane

05-07-16, 05:26 PM

Skeleton Twins was bogus.

Gideon58

05-07-16, 05:32 PM

Define "bogus"

Sexy Celebrity

05-07-16, 05:34 PM

Someone recommended that movie to me the other day. I have to see it.

TheUsualSuspect

05-07-16, 05:41 PM

I liked it enough, wasn't too thrilled with aspects of it. I don't get why Wig is on this depressed indie genre so much.

Miss Vicky

05-07-16, 06:59 PM

I thought Skeleton Twins was a pretty solid film. Glad you liked it, Gideon.

Aphex

05-07-16, 07:34 PM

Skeleton Twins is a great film. Really funny.

cricket

05-07-16, 07:34 PM

I just put that on top of my DVD queue for next weekend. I have a hard time picking out something my wife likes, and that looks like something she'd enjoy.

Wolfsbane

05-07-16, 08:34 PM

The balance of comedy and drama is drastically way off base. Both performances are mediocre at best, but we're suppose to hail it as "great" because they're comedians. Both are basket cases, but Hader had me rolling my eyes more than once with his sad face.

The drama is simply too miserable. It left me wondering why I bothered to subject myself to such stuff.

Sexy Celebrity

05-07-16, 08:36 PM

I liked it enough, wasn't too thrilled with aspects of it. I don't get why Wig is on this depressed indie genre so much.

The balance of comedy and drama is drastically way off base. Both performances are mediocre at best, but we're suppose to hail it as "great" because they're comedians. Both are basket cases, but Hader had me rolling my eyes more than once with his sad face.

The drama is simply too miserable. It left me wondering why I bothered to subject myself to such stuff.

Hmmm. Both Suspect and Wolfsbane had problems with this movie. Both didn't like the angle with the characters being depressed.

Citizen Rules

05-07-16, 08:36 PM

The drama is simply too miserable Have you seen Kristen Wiig in Welcome to Me?

Sexy Celebrity

05-07-16, 08:37 PM

Yeah I'm starting to have a bad feeling about this movie now.

Citizen Rules

05-07-16, 08:42 PM

Why's that?

Sexy Celebrity

05-07-16, 11:19 PM

I just finished watching The Skeleton Twins. Hmmm... do I wanna talk about it here.... or do I wanna write a full review in my thread since I haven't done that in awhile? The ending was very disappointing. I feel like there was absolutely no real closure. It felt fake. There were actually a lot of good moments in the movie, and some meh ones, but the movie ended on a huge meh note. I'm disappointed. It relied a lot on, shall we say, a BOGUS "feel good" attachment to the brother/sister storyline without really advancing into anything else past that, which would have been more mature and interesting to explore. The film was stunted in its developments.

Citizen Rules

05-07-16, 11:27 PM

Hmm...you have me both interested and not caring about Skeleton Twins. It sounds iffy?

...The ending was very disappointing. I feel like there was absolutely no real closure. It felt fake. Was it a happy ending or depressing ending? It matters, as one I would be interested in, the other I wouldn't.

Sexy Celebrity

05-07-16, 11:35 PM

Was it a happy ending or depressing ending? It matters, as one I would be interested in, the other I wouldn't.

I don't wanna give away spoilers, but..... it's both. BUT. What felt fake was... the happy part. The happy part felt fake. And I don't know if it necessarily needed to be more depressing... but.... I could have bought it better if it had been.

Sexy Celebrity

05-07-16, 11:43 PM

And here's spoilers for anyone who's seen it or just wants to know:

Really? She's saved just in time by her brother? In that pool? He manages to get the bus to turn around, manages to get to her just in time and save her from suicide? You could spin it and say, "Well, maybe that ending was imaginary. Maybe she passed out while drowning and hallucinated her brother saving her before she died." But come on. I think that movie was treating her rescue as serious. THAT felt FAKE. I don't think the movie necessarily needed a suicide ending... but if she had actually died from the suicide, it would have felt a lot more real. It would have been far more emotionally gripping than her being magically rescued in time by her brother. And there are so many loose ends... with her husband and with Milo and everything. I feel it's a very incomplete, messy, neurotic film. It had its moments... there were some moments that I really really liked -- especially the whole "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" scene (the best part). But overall, the movie was a shoddy piece of work.

Aphex

05-07-16, 11:47 PM

Aphex

05-07-16, 11:50 PM

I don't wanna give away spoilers, but..... it's both. BUT. What felt fake was... the happy part. The happy part felt fake. And I don't know if it necessarily needed to be more depressing... but.... I could have bought it better if it had been.

SC, how did you feel about the Milo character?

Sexy Celebrity

05-07-16, 11:55 PM

SC, how did you feel about the Milo character?

I really liked him. But at the same time.... there really wasn't much to him. He's really a co-star. His sister is really the main character. It's her story that really drives the whole film. (I'm saying the word "really" too much, I'm noticing).

cricket

05-08-16, 09:40 AM

I just put that on top of my DVD queue for next weekend. I have a hard time picking out something my wife likes, and that looks like something she'd enjoy.

Just realized it's on Hulu so we'll probably watch it tonight.

Gideon58

05-08-16, 03:37 PM

Gideon58

05-08-16, 06:03 PM

THEY CAME TOGETHER
http://static1.squarespace.com/static/500d8d9dc4aa65567192d7dc/t/52e55203e4b0e371ddda324d/1390760451658/TCT-poster-2013-12-18.jpg
It's always a little sad when a movie loses something in its journey from the written page to the screen. Director and co-writer David Wain had a rather clever idea in his 2014 film They Came Together, but really needed a little help from people who really know how to do what he was trying to do here, people like Mel Brooks and the Zucker Brothers.
http://www.filmtakeout.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/tct.jpg
Framed around a double date at a trendy New York eatery, this is a lampoon of the contemporary romantic comedy whose basic plot line resembles the Hanks/Ryan comedy You've Got Mail with Amy Poehler playing the owner of a small candy shop who finds herself romantically involved with an executive at a large candy conglomerate (Paul Rudd) but the film also features very knowing winks at films like Annie Hall, When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and Jerry Maguire. The comedy recounts the bumpy relationship between these two characters that gets complicated by misunderstandings, bad advice from BFF's and how business and careers can get in the way of true romance.
https://media0.giphy.com/media/ib0Axnzu7asJa/200_s.gif
This was a great idea on paper and David Wain's attempt to do a satire of romantic comedies does make some right moves here in term of story and scene structure...there are scenes in this movie that will bring to mind romantic comedies of the past. but as you watch there's something that's not right here and if I had to put a finger on it, I would have to say Wain and Michael Showalter's screenplay is a little safe...in order to truly lampoon a movie genre, risks have to be taken and nods to certain movies have to go where the original movie dared not to tread and this movie just isn't daring enough in its execution...it seems to want to lampoon the genre without actually offending it. A true lampoon will always involve some degree of offense, satire doesn't exist without stepping over the line a bit and this story is just played with too straight a face to be truly effective as what it seems to be intending to be.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gpOrcEjGljg/hqdefault.jpg
Rudd and Poehler do have a certain amount of chemistry, but I think even they are a bit confused as to exactly what's going on here...there are scattered laughs, but they're not the kind of laughs they should be. 2

Gideon58

05-09-16, 04:25 PM

GRUDGE MATCH
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Grudge_Match_Poster.jpg
Rocky Balboa meets Jake Le Motta for one final showdown in a surprisingly entertaining 2013 comedy drama called Grudge Match, a film that remains watchable due to a proven story concept and a massive amount of star power.
http://cdn.collider.com/wp-content/uploads/jon-bernthal-robert-de-niro-grudge-match.jpg
The film actually borrows its basic premise from a Neil Simon comedy called The Sunshine Boys. Sylvester Stallone plays Henry "Razor" Sharp and Robert De Niro plays Billy the Kid McDonnen two professional boxers who have been out of the ring for over 30 years and haven't spoken to each other over a woman (Kim Basinger) who are persuaded by a second generation fight promoter (Kevin Hart) to enter the ring again for a reunion match since the last time they met in the ring it was a draw.
http://www.filmequals.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/grudge-match-movie-photo-2.jpg
Screenwriters Tim Kelleher and Rodney Rothman have added a couple of effective layers to Neil Simon's premise that provide just enough drama to give this story an air of originality. Billy meets a son (Jon Bernthal) he never knew he had who also has a son. We also learn that Stallone and Basinger have unresolved feelings for each other and that Razor would be taking a dangerous health risk by participating in this fight. The other thing that the screenwriters and director Peter Segal have done so effectively is mine the screen legacy that these two actors have created over the years and somehow, instead of reminding us how they did better work when they were younger, it imbues a power and respect into what they're doing onscreen now that you can't help but get completely behind this story and that these two guys can work their way through the very believable complications the story places in front of them.
http://www.joblo.com/big-movie-images/grudge13.jpg
The creative forces behind this film had to know the kind of memories that this film starring these actors would ignite for the viewer and they chose to use these memories to their advantage. I love the way the Kid ends up being trained by his son and Razor ends up being trained by his father (Alan Arkin) and the TPTB know what kind of memories they are stirring up...the scenes with Razor and Dad are very reminiscent of Rocky's relationship with Mickey (Burgess Meredith) and there is a fabulous moment during the expected training montages where we actually see Stallone enter a meat locker.

I found myself enjoying this film a lot more than I thought I was going to...with all the star power going on here, four Oscar winners and a slick supporting turn from Kevin Hart who always brings the funny. The other unexpected thing that happened as I watched this film was that I found myself taking a side and I really don't think that was supposed to happen, even though it just deepened my investment and enjoyment in what was going on. 3.5

Gideon58

05-10-16, 12:08 PM

YOUNG AT HEART
Watching Calamity Jane recently motivated a rewatch of Doris Day's next film, a warm and entertaining musical melodrama called Young at Heart.
https://movieclassics.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/young-at-heart-4.jpg
The 1954 film is actually remake of the John Garfield classic Four Daughters, that introduces us to the Tuttle family, a family of musicians headed by music professor and flautist Gregory (Robert Keith) with his three daughters, Fran (Dorothy Malone), who plays the harp, Amy (Elisabeth Fraser) who plays violin, and Laurie (Day) who plays piano and sings and how the family is turned upside down by the arrival of two New York musicians (Frank Sinatra, Gig Young) who find themselves vying for Laurie's attention.
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This film was a no-brainer from the beginning...Day, fresh off Calamity Jane and Sinatra, fresh off his Oscar win for From Here to Eternity seemed like a natural fit and it was...the chemistry between Day and Sinatra is fresh, adult, mature, and sexy. Sinatra is solid as the failed musician, mad at the world for all the hard knocks he's been given who's heart is actually melted by Day's Laurie. Day is a real-eye opener here...she makes the conflicted feelings she has about Young and Sinatra's characters completely believable. Watch Laurie with Young on the beach and you can see her wanting the man with her heart and her head and then watch her in the scene where they're in a noisy restaurant while Sinatra is singing "Someone to Watch Over Me"...the desire for the man is definitely coming from her loins. Day's performance here rivals her work in Love Me Or Leave Me...she provides a three-dimensional character who remains lovable and as for Sinatra, I can't believe this hardened and bitter character is being played by the same guy who played sweet and simple Clarence Doolittle in Anchors Aweigh nine years earlier. And no one interprets a romantic ballad like Ol' Blue Eyes,
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Sinatra and Day receive solid support from Gig Young, playing his usual greasy womanizing character to a T and Ethel Barrymore as Aunt Jessie. If I had one complaint, I would have liked to have heard Day and Sinatra sing together more than they did, but it did not deter me from enjoying this story and made me sad that Day and Sinatra never made another movie together. After this film, they were both signed for the film version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel, but both withdrew from the project for separate reasons...too bad. 3.5

gbgoodies

05-11-16, 12:39 AM

I don't think I've seen Young at Heart, but with that cast, it sounds like my kind of movie. I added it to my watchlist.

Gideon58

05-11-16, 11:05 AM

I don't think I've seen Young at Heart, but with that cast, it sounds like my kind of movie. I added it to my watchlist.
I noticed a lot of the stuff you repped on my movie music list and I am pretty sure you would LOVE Young at Heart.

Gideon58

05-11-16, 08:18 PM

THE GLASS MENAGERIE (1987)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/0f/MenageriePoster.jpg/220px-MenageriePoster.jpg
Paul Newman didn't do a lot of directing in his career but when he did, it worked. Like most actors who went into directing, Newman had a gift for pulling great performances from actors and the performances he pulled from the cast of the 1987 version of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie are nothing short of superb.
http://mauiwatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/glass-1.jpg
Williams' play about a faded southern belle named Amanda Wingfield who now lives in St. Louis with her grown children Tom and Laura, first came to the screen in 1950 with the legendary Gertrude Lawrence playing Amanda. The story was produced on ABC television in 1973 with Katharine Hepburn playing Amanda. In 1987, Newman mounted this theatrical version as a valentine to his gifted wife, Joanne Woodward, who does one of Williams' most complex and fascinating heroines proud.
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For the uninitiated, Amanda (Woodward)is a flighty, self-absorbed woman who has never gotten over her husband walking out on her many years ago and has continued to take her bitterness out on her children...her deathly fear that Tom (John Malkovich) might walk out on her too has her smothering the man and her fear that her painfully shy and club-footed daughter Laura (Karen Allen) is destined to be an old maid has her shielding Laura from the world and Amanda is rocked by the revelation that Laura has been lying about going to business school and her life is now centered around her glass animal collection. Amanda then quietly forces Tom to find a man to bring home to dinner to romance Laura and he actually brings home Laura's high school crush (James Naughton).
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One thing I love about this version of the story is Newman's complete respect for this classic piece of theater and he really doesn't make any bones about its theatricality either...the character of Tom narrates the story as well as being a part of it and Tom's narration is done almost as if he is a separate character from the Tom in the story...providing narration from a separate location than the rest of the film and actually breaking the 4th wall with Tom tentatively talking directly to the camera and I think this might have been one place where Newman erred...Malkovich looks uncomfortable talking directly to the camera but I think if he had completely committed to it and did the entire narration directly to the camera it would have been more effective than his looking to and from the camera, but Newman has to take responsibility for that.
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That aside, Newman clearly understood this piece and understood the actors he was working with, especially Woodward, who delivers a powerhouse performance as Amanda, not shying away at all from the negative aspects of this character. Amanda says and does a lot of wrong for all the right reasons and Woodward's interpretation doesn't whitewash the wrong. Malkovich is stylish and fun as Tom, a character who is really a ticking time bomb and he makes us long for the explosion. Karen Allen is riveting as Laura, nailing the character's fear of the world outside of her glass animal collection and James Naughton captures the gentleman caller's cockiness which is layered with enough charm that we don't want to slap the character. This story is one of Williams' most frequently produced and finding something new to bring to it can be a challenge, but Paul Newman hit a bullseye, making a theatrical piece breathe onscreen thanks to some sensitive direction and powerhouse acting. 4

Gideon58

05-14-16, 02:51 PM

A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
On paper, 1992's A League of their Own, the story of the first female professional baseball team, must have seemed like a great idea, but the execution was definitely hit and miss, due to Penny Marshall's accustomed self-indulgent direction, an overly padded screenplay and some problematic casting and performances.
http://img.moviepostershop.com/a-league-of-their-own-movie-poster-1992-1010471020.jpg
The second World War has begun and millions of men are being shipped overseas, including professional athletes, so a candy mogul (Garry Marshall) decides to start the first professional all-girls' baseball team. The primary focus of the story is on a pair of sisters who are drafted for the league: Dottie (Geena Davis) is a talented catcher and hitter, but doesn't really have the passion; her sister Kit (Lori Petty) definitely has the passion but, of course, doesn't have the talent and how the competition between them becomes even more heated when Kit is traded to a different team. Also at the center of the story is Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks) an alcoholic ex-player who has been given a last chance at remaining in the game by coaching these women.
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Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandell are a proven commodity as screenwriters (Splash) but they might have bitten off a little more than they can chew here. The story starts off with some strong feminist leanings commenting on how these women were defying their expected place in society but it then veers off in unexpected directions, producing several mini-melodramas that could have made separate movies by themselves, but to try and incorporate all into a single movie resulted in a story that provides sporadic entertainment, but goes on and on and on and on...

Penny Marshall proved her skill as a director with Big and Awakenings but she got a little full of herself here, mounting a story that is interesting but is told at such a leisurely pace that we definitely find ourselves looking at our watches, or at least wishing things would move along.
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The performances are hit and miss too...Geena Davis almost seems to be phoning it in as Dottie, but Lori Petty is terrific as Kit, providing a three-dimensional character we really come to care about, as does Hanks, who nails the has been wrestling with a comeback he's not sure he really wants. The role of Dugan seems to have been written with an older actor in mind, but Hanks commits to it and makes it work. The stunt casting of Madonna was a problem for me as well...Madonna was the biggest music star on the planet in '92 and her casting here just seems to be an attempt to capitalize on that, her character here just seems to be Madonna with a different name in a different time. She and Rosie McDonnell came off as lovers here (I think they were having an affair at the time), but it was pointless to this story.
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The film is told in flashback and during the interminable final scene, we see Davis, in some really bad old age makeup, reuniting with the ladies in present time, where they're all grandmothers now, but most of the the other team members are played by older actresses. If they'e going to put Davis in bad old age makeup, why not do the same with the rest of the ladies that we have been watching for the duration of the film instead of hiring more actresses?
http://www.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/201269/1024.league.ls.7912.jpg
The film is mounted with care...there is some stunning cinematography and settings and costumes are nicely detailed and period-appropriate, but Marshall just needs to be reined in as a director, though Hanks and Petty fans should definitely check it out, but this was one film that, for me, did not live up to its reputation. 3

Gideon58

05-14-16, 04:57 PM

WE'RE NOT MARRIED
A sparkling all-star cast and a clever cinematic concept are the primary selling points of a surprisingly fun 1952 comedy called We're Not Married.
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Nunnally Johnson, who wrote the screenplay for How To Marry the Millionaire, also penned this story of a dotty old justice of the peace (Victor Moore) who receives his appointment papers before they actually go into effect and marries five different couples without realizing that he wasn't an actual justice yet. Two years later, the snafu comes to light and the five couples are all sent a letter informing them they are not legally married. What is so fun about this movie is that the news that they're not legally married anymore brings unexpected reactions from the various couples and the lives they have built together in two years.
http://www.doctormacro.com/Images/Monroe,%20Marilyn/Annex/NRFPT/Annex%20-%20Monroe,%20Marilyn%20(We're%20Not%20Married)_NRFPT_01.jpg
Ginger Rogers and Fred Allen play a couple who have a radio show together but they hate each other; however, their continued employment makes being married a contractual obligation; Marilyn Monroe plays a housewife and mother who is the breadwinner in her household by entering beauty contests for married women; Louis Calhern plays a wealthy businessman about to be taken to the cleaners by his hedonistic wife (Zsa Zsa Gabor); Paul Douglas and Eve Arden play a couple who are just in a rut and Eddie Bracken plays a soldier who learns his bride (Mitzi Gaynor) is pregnant and goes to extreme measure to make sure his child will be born legitimately.
https://sistercelluloid.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/werenotmarried-9.jpg
Despite the multiple storylines, this movie is surprisingly economic and moves along at a very nice pace, making each story just long enough to make the audience care but not become bored with them either.

The performances are terrific with standout work from Rogers, Allen, David Wayne as Monroe's husband, and especially Calhern, who is absolutely brilliant in his vignette with Gabor. The film doesn't provide a lot in terms of production values, but what it does is provide solid entertainment that is still watchable some 60 years later. 3.5

gbgoodies

05-15-16, 01:13 AM

I still haven't found the time to watch A League of Their Own, but your review pretty much sums up how much I think I'm going to like it.

I've never heard of We're Not Married, but it sounds like my kind of movie, and I think I found it on YouTube. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYIqcr15Sgs

Miss Vicky

05-15-16, 01:52 AM

Everything about A League of Their Own - a sports movie featuring a whole bunch of women - screams "Miss Vicky shouldn't like this." And I don't like it. I LOVE it. It's one of my all time favorite movies.

I really enjoy all of the performances (though Hanks certainly stands out as the best) and never got a "lovers" vibe off of Madonna and O'Donnell. :shrug:

Citizen Rules

05-15-16, 02:38 AM

I agree with Miss Vicky, the film never states that Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell are lovers. I enjoyed the film so much that I would watch it again.

The film is told in flashback and during the interminable final scene, we see Davis, in some really bad old age makeup, reuniting with the ladies in present time, where they're all grandmothers now, but most of the the other team members are played by older actresses. That's not Geena Davis in old lady make up. It's an older actresses with her voice being dubbed by Geena. The older Dottie is played by Lynn Cartwright.

Gideon58

05-15-16, 05:09 PM

I agree with Miss Vicky, the film never states that Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell are lovers. I enjoyed the film so much that I would watch it again.

That's not Geena Davis in old lady make up. It's an older actresses with her voice being dubbed by Geena. The older Dottie is played by Lynn Cartwright.
I didn't say that the film stated Madonna and Rosie's characters were lovers, I know it didn't say that, I said that's the way the relationship comes off. And putting another actress in old age makeup and dubbing in Geena Davis' voice is even dumber than what I originally thought was going on.

Gideon58

05-15-16, 07:02 PM

THE TENDER TRAP
Despite some dated ideas about dating and relationships, the 1955 romantic comedy The Tender Trap is still sparkling adult entertainment thanks to a proven rom-com premise and some terrific performances.
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Charlie Y. Reader (Frank Sinatra) is a theatrical agent and confirmed bachelor who lives in an elegant Manhattan penthouse complete with hot and cold running women, parading in and out of the place 24/7 much to the shock and jealousy of Charlie's best friend, Joe (David Wayne), who has come to New York from Indianapolis after leaving his wife. Joe finds himself attracted to Sylvia (Celeste Holm), who only has eyes for Charlie.
https://movieclassics.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/tender-trap3.jpg
Enter Julie Gillis (Debbie Reyolds), a young wannabe actress who gets cast in a show that Charlie is involved in, but acting is just a time-filler for Julie. Julie wants to be a wife and a mother and knows exactly what kind of man she wants, how many children she wants, and where they will all live and won't even sign a run of the play contract for the show because she's afraid show business might interfere with her plan, but that's nothing compared to the fight she has to put up to keep Charlie at arm's length, who stands for everything that Julie is against.
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Adapted from a stage play by Max Schulman and Robert Paul Smith, Julius J. Epstein's screenplay does contain some dated elements, but the screenplay does offer some surprising adult touches I really didn't see coming...the fact that Joe falls in love with Sylvia and actually proposes to her, even though he technically is still married, had to be a bit of an eye-opener in 55, not to mention the fact that Charlie actually proposes to two different women in a 24 hour period. We see from the opening frames, that Charlie is a player and in the beginning he claims to hate it, even though it's clear that he doesn't. Charlie does slimey things during the course of the story, but one thing I noticed is that he never actually lies to anyone, which I found refreshing for a romantic comedy.

Charlie is not in this alone though...none of these characters had time to polish their halos, they all make wrong moves at one point or another, causing some very tangled relationships, which has been the genesis for classic romantic comedy forever and though the characters do wrong, we see where it's coming from and we forgive.
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Sinatra has rarely been as charming and sexy as he was here and Reynolds proved to be a surprisingly solid leading lady for him, despite their difference in age, which is addressed in the screenplay and they get brilliant support from Holm and Wayne in the second leads. Carolyn Jones and Lola Albreight are decorative as members of Charlie's harem and the film features a fantastic title song by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Husen that received an Oscar nomination for Best Song. Lovers of classic romantic comedy don't have to look any further than here for some silly sexy fun. 4

gbgoodies

05-15-16, 07:12 PM

I liked The Tender Trap, and I think Frank Sinatra is great in the movie, and it's definitely worth watching, but the movie was very dated. It has a great theme song too.

Citizen Rules

05-15-16, 07:24 PM

OK you two:) What is dated about The Tender Trap?

gbgoodies

05-15-16, 07:47 PM

OK you two:) What is dated about The Tender Trap?

Mainly the whole idea that she has to give up her career to find a husband and get married.

Citizen Rules

05-15-16, 07:53 PM

I took it that Debbie Reynolds provided comic relief as she was so silly in her planning out every detail of her life, that her character was improvable. In other words the film is lampooning her outdated notions of marriage, in the same way it lampoons Frank Sinatra's idea of stringing women along and being a commented bachelor... and the film even lampoons his married friends idea that he wants to cheat with Celeste Holme, even though he has a wonderful wife at home.

Only Celeste Holmes character had her head on straight. So the entire movie is an expose on the silliness of the characters views on marriage. And I way say it was very modern in that respect. I should put that into my review:)

gbgoodies

05-15-16, 08:02 PM

Citizen Rules

05-15-16, 08:06 PM

I really liked that one too, even though I gave it a half popcorn lower than Gideon. Great film that I though had some intelligent dialogue.

Gideon58

05-16-16, 03:44 PM

WRITTEN ON THE WIND
Douglas Sirk, the King of 1950's melodrama, hit another bullseye with 1957's Written on the Wind, a soapy but extremely entertaining film that still works, despite some dated elements.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/WrittenOnTheWind2.jpg
The film stars Robert Stack as Kyle Hadley, a wealthy alcoholic playboy who instantly falls for a secretary at his father's company (Lauren Bacall), who has also caught the eye of Kyle's best friend Mitch Wayne (Rock Hudson), who is also the lifelong obsession of Kyle's trampy sister, MaryLee (Dorothy Malone).
http://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/review/primary_image/reviews/great-movie-written-on-the-wind-1956/hero_EB19980118REVIEWS08401010373AR.jpg
Based on a novel by Robert Wilder, George Zuckerman's screenplay makes all the moves expected from melodrama in the 1950's...we have best friends torn apart by a woman, a man who thinks he can buy a woman's affections and learning that all the money in the world is ineffective next to a wedding ring and that obsession can drive people to destroying people they care about.
https://vinnieh.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/written-on-the-wind-still.jpg
The primary quadrangle that makes up this story is constructed in a way that we know immediately there's no way things aren't going to get messy, but the slow reveal of how the destruction commences keeps us guessing and throws in a couple of curves we didn't see coming that during 1957, probably had some censors squirming, but probably attracted audience in droves as word of mouth spread.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v348/siochembio/movies%201950s/Written-on-the-Wind-brotherandsister_zps98b05fc5.jpg
There are some really interesting casting choices made here...Robert Stack probably had the most significant role of his movie career as the self-destructive Kyle and he makes the most of it, forcing Rock Hudson to underplay his role in order to make Stack's performance viable. I have to admit though, that as I watched this film, I couldn't help but think of how different this film might have been if Hudson and Stack had switched roles. Kyle reminded me a lot of Hudson's character in Magnifcient Obsession and I definitely could have seen it, but Stack was surprisingly solid. Lauren Bacall's stylish work brought a richness to her character that really wasn't in the screenplay and Dorothy Malone's delicious scenery chewing in the film's showiest role won her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress of 1957. Malone's role required her to invest in some things that would be laughed off movie screens today, but in '57 audiences ate it up and so did the Academy.
http://xavieras.qwriting.qc.cuny.edu/files/2011/10/2361_written_on_the_wind.jpeg
Director Douglas Sirk proves once again that he understood the melodrama genre and the emotions that it is supposed to produce, giving the intended audience exactly what they wanted. If you like your soap against glamorous Ross Hunter-like-trappings, you will love this. 3.5

cricket

05-16-16, 05:53 PM

I assumed going in that Hudson would be playing the playboy.

Gideon58

05-16-16, 06:09 PM

I assumed going in that Hudson would be playing the playboy.
Yeah right? Stack was OK, but I couldn't help picturing the roles being switched the whole time I was watching.

Gideon58

05-16-16, 08:02 PM

CREED
In my review of Grudge Match, I mentioned how the filmmakers effectively mined the history the characters created in the past to strengthen a contemporary story. This concept works to even greater extent in 2015's Creed, an elaborately directed drama which specifically mines the legacy of the Rocky franchise but from a different direction and comes up with gold, respecting the legacy being saluted and keeping the legacy untarnished but utilizing it for creating a credible story.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/24/Creed_poster.jpg/220px-Creed_poster.jpg
This film introduces us to Adonis Johnson, who turns out to be the illegitimate son of Apollo Creed, a young man full of anger and apparently full of passion for the sport of boxing, which has him leaving a very cushy life in Los Angeles to move to Philadelphia in order to seek out his father's former nemesis, Rocky Balboa, so that he can train him. Adonis has been using his mother's name because he wanted to make it in the ring without trading on his father's name and, ironically, when he gets a shot at exactly what he wants, that is exactly what he has to do.
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This multi-layered story has so much going on that at times it's hard to drink it all in and I found myself literally having to let certain things go and keep my eye on the prize, which is a compelling second generation story that once it grabs the viewer with its on target respect for the Rocky legend, grabs us almost immediately and never lets go.
http://i.onionstatic.com/avclub/5637/54/16x9/960.jpg
It's really lovely as we watch Rocky and Adonis enter Mickey's old gym and as we watch Rocky use a lot of the training techniques on Adonis that Micky used on him...I have to admit I was a little disappointed that Rocky and Adonis didn't visit a meat locker but I guess that was covered in Grudge Match.
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What I liked about Ryan Coogler and Aaron Covington's slightly padded screenplay is that it provides a new character for us to get behind connected to a proven legend, but unlike Rocky Balboa and Grudge Match, this story respects the fact that Rocky Balboa is no longer a kid and has no business stepping into the ring, instead he is in the corner of a young man with whom a connection inspires him to share his experience. The padding comes in the form of an underdeveloped romance for Johnson which just slows the film down.
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Coogler as director also managed to pull a star-making performance from Michael B. Jordan in the title role and a powerhouse performance from Sylvester Stallone that restores the dignity the character was stripped of in Rocky Balboa and earned the actor a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination. Phylicia Rashad even demands attention in her brief role as Adonis' mother, but this is really Stallone's show...a fitting last hurrah for the character he created some 40 years ago. 4

Gideon58

05-18-16, 12:09 PM

GONE BABY GONE
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The kidnapping of a little girl named Amanda McCready is the genesis for a dark and unapologetic drama from 2007 called Gone Baby Gone that offers disturbing surprises at every turn, rich with unsympathetic characters involved in an ugly story that literally had my stomach tied in knots for most of the running time.
http://www.onoffblog.fr/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/gone_baby_gone_013.jpg
Set in the sleepy little hamlet of Dorchester, Massachusetts, we learn that Amanda has been missing for 36 hours and the police investigation seems to have stalled. Amanda's aunt (Amy Madigan) hires Patrick (Casey Affleck) and Angie (Michelle Monaghan), investigators specializing in missing persons to aid in the investigation. Amanda's mother (Amy Ryan) is a drug addict who has been working as a drug mule to support her habit and her actions may have been directly behind Amanda's disappearance, but this is only the beginning of one of the most bizarre criminal conspiracy involving addiction and police corruption. This is another one of those movies that is very difficult to review without major spoilers.
http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/still/gone_baby_gone_7.jpg
More than anything, this film is a triumph for director and co-screenwriter Ben Affleck, who has mounted a story of stark realism where nothing is as it seems, most of the characters have hidden agendas and are not necessarily likable...this is the first film centered around a kidnapping that I recall where absolutely NO sympathy is evoked for the victim's mother...this woman appears to love her daughter and takes responsibility for what happens on the surface, but when we first meet her, she seems blissfully unconcerned and the picture of a woman who has no business being a parent.
http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/still/gone_baby_gone_6.jpg
As I've mentioned in other reviews, actors turned directors seem to have a knack for getting great performances from their actors and this film is no exception. Ben puts a lot of trust in brother Casey in a complex role and he absolutely commands the screen here and works well with Monaghan, a relationship we are on board with as we meet them but this story tears them apart. Solid support is provided by Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, John Ashton, Titus Welliver, and especially Amy Ryan, in a gutsy and uncompromising performance that earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

This film is not an easy watch, but it's worth the trouble and I promise that when you've finished watching this, if you're a parent, you will run immediately to your child and hug him forever. 4

Gideon58

05-20-16, 12:12 PM

WHATEVER WORKS
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Woody Allen goes the "romantic comedy for people who hate romantic comedies" route with 2009's Whatever Works, a quirky and challenging comedy that provides solid entertainment, thanks to an extremely likable leading character who is absolutely not written that way and some interesting supporting characters who provide constant surprises.
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Writer/comedian Larry David gets a shot at leading man status as Boris, the original grumpy old man, a former physicist and intellectual, who hates everyone and everything, angry at the world, and determined to inhabit it by himself...think Ebeneezer Scrooge without the money. Boris finds his life changed by Melody (Evan Rachel Wood), a runaway from Mississippi who Boris takes in and what begins as a Pygmalion kind of relationship actually morphs into a marriage.
http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/still/whatever_works10.jpg
Things get stickier with the arrival of Melody's mother (Patricia Clarkson), a contemporary reincarnation of Blanche DuBois, who tries to break up her daughter's marriage and discovers a new person inside of herself in the process.
http://www.superiorpics.com/movie_pictures/mp/2009_Whatever_Works/2009_whatever_works_021.jpg
As always, the real star of this film is the Woodmeister's script, which is angry and no-holds barred, offering unpopular opinions on every aspect of pop culture and politics that you can imagine, but also offers a relationship at the center of the storm that is just really hard to swallow...Melody's attraction to Boris is a mystery because other than a razor sharp mind, Boris has no redeeming qualities and actually marrying the man almost threw me off the film altogether. I was also troubled by the character of Melody herself...the character appears to be a total hayseed when we first meet her, but she soaks up everything Boris teachers her and remembers every single word that he ever taught her, even if she doesn't always remember what it means.
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We've seen a lot of actors channel Woody over the years and some worked better than others (John Cusack in Bullets Over Broadway and Kenneth Branaugh in Celebrity were standouts), but no one did it better than Larry David does here...David is comfortable with this unappealing character and his performance alone makes this film worth investing in. He especially seems to enjoy when Woody allows him to break the fourth wall and talk to directly to the camera, a technique which is not groundbreaking but leave it to Woody to take it to another level and let us all in on the joke. Wood is a talented actress but the inconsistencies in her character made it difficult to invest in her performance, but I loved Patricia Clarkson as her mother, a character who goes through an entertaining transformation, another staple of Woody's writing, one character who goes through a significant change and Clarkson appears to be having a ball.

Woody's attention to production values is flawless as always...special nod to the set designer (Boris' apartment is awesome) and cinematographer Harris Savides photographs Woody's beloved New York with loving care and of course the music is wonderful, have always loved Woody's ear for music, but this movie is worth checking out for Woody's challenging script and direction and for his choice of a very unconventional leading man that pays off in spades. 3.5

Miss Vicky

05-20-16, 01:51 PM

I keep clicking on this thread hoping to find a review for either Quills or Hedwig and the Angry Inch, but so far no luck.

Nice review for Gone Baby Gone though.

Gideon58

05-20-16, 03:45 PM

I keep clicking on this thread hoping to find a review for either Quills or Hedwig and the Angry Inch, but so far no luck.

Nice review for Gone Baby Gone though.
OK, full disclosure...I have tried to watch Hedwig and the Angry Inch on 3 separate occasions now and I nodded off every time.

Sexy Celebrity

05-20-16, 05:18 PM

OK, full disclosure...I have tried to watch Hedwig and the Angry Inch on 3 separate occasions now and I nodded off every time.

You've got company because I didn't like it the first time I saw it.

I don't wanna say you'll like it the more you see it... but that happened to me. Though, I think part of why it grew on me is because of nostalgic reasons. It was the first movie I really saw in an indie, arthouse theater. I was young and it was an experience. It was only a few weeks before 9/11. And now I see things in the movie that remind me of my own life. But there's still a part of me that UNDERSTANDS people who can't get into that movie. I remember being stunned by it - WTF am I watching?

Miss Vicky

05-20-16, 05:47 PM

OK, full disclosure...I have tried to watch Hedwig and the Angry Inch on 3 separate occasions now and I nodded off every time.

That's a shame. I liked it a lot but didn't quite love it the first time I saw it, but obviously I love it now. The stage show's going on tour in October, kicking off with some dates in San Francisco, and I just may have to check it out if my budget and schedule allow.

Gideon58

05-20-16, 06:40 PM

The stage show's going on tour in October, kicking off with some dates in San Francisco, and I just may have to check it out if my budget and schedule allow.

I think I also read about a possible remake with Taye Diggs? Was I hallucinating that?

Miss Vicky

05-20-16, 06:45 PM

I think I also read about a possible remake with Taye Diggs? Was I hallucinating that?

He did the stage show for awhile.

http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2015/news/150803/diggs-hedwig-02-800.jpg

Neil Patrick Harris and Michael C. Hall have also done it. I believe Darren Criss is doing it now.

Gideon58

05-21-16, 05:15 PM

AWAKENINGS
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5117oEAK-GL._SY355_.jpg
Penny Marshall put herself on the map as a director with the 1988 comedy classic Big, but she created her masterpiece with 1990's Awakenings, a disturbing, powerful, challenging, and heartbreaking fact-based drama that takes a frighteningly realistic look at the challenges of mental illness, the gamble sometimes involved in psychotropic drugs, and the real power of love and friendship. This film stirred a myriad of emotions and found me fighting tears throughout.
http://onthesetofnewyork.com/locations/awakenings/awakenings01.jpg
Based on the book by Dr. Oliver Sachs, this film introduces us to Dr. Malcolm Sayer (Robin Williams), a research physician who accepts a job at a mental facility in the Bronx in 1969 working with catatonic patients, despite the fact that he has never worked directly with patients before. Dealing up close and personal with actual people is virgin territory for Sayer, who is initially frightened by his patients but he does manage to find a common thread in the illness of a group of patients and reaches out to one in particular, a Leonard Lowe (Robert De Niro), who has been in a catatonic state for over 30 years, but a new drug initiates an "awakening" in Leonard, which motivates Sayer to try the drug on the rest of the patients with the same condition, producing varied reactions.
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Sayer develops a connection with Leonard and begins garnering respect from the rest of the hospital staff, but just as Leonard looks to be on the verge of resuming a normal life, he experiences a horrible backslide that is heartbreaking to watch as Sayer becomes consumed with guilt while Leonard just wants him to use what is happening to help other patients in the future.
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I have referred to Marshall's direction as being over-indulgent in the past, but this is one example where her care and sensitivity to the story being told pays off in spades...Marshall allows this story to unfold in layers and gives us insightful looks into these characters. She shows through flashback what happened to Leonard and then through a look at his home life, how Sayer is the last person who should be able to help him...love when they show Sayer open his refrigerator at home and there's nothing in it but plants for his research. Marshall lets the camera pan over a variety of patients in the facility and gives us a complete sense of how varied yet unique mental illness can be and the 50/50 gamble where a possible cure is concerned.
http://images2.static-bluray.com/reviews/4511_1.jpg
Steven Zaillian's screenplay is intelligent and uncompromising, offering no easy answers to the story and Marshall respects the story, making it sure it always remains center stage. Marshall is also to be applauded for the startling work she has pulled from her clearly hand-picked cast, who deliver the goods...Robert DeNiro's intense and heartbreaking Leonard earned him an Oscar nomination and Williams beautifully underplays as Sayer, allowing De Niro's character to roar, as it should. Mention should also be made of Julie Kavner as Sayer's loyal assistant, Eleanor, John Heard as an administrative thorn in Sayer's side, similar to his role in Big, Ruth Nelson as Leonard's mother and a handful of veteran character actors doing controlled but effective work as Leonard's fellow patients, who are all given a chance to shine, with grand assists from Zaillian and Marshall.

This film is not an easy watch, and unless you're a heartless monster, some tears will be fought during this cinematic journey, but the journey is worth it and it's due mostly to the masterful work of director Penny Marshall. 4.5

Citizen Rules

05-21-16, 05:19 PM

gbgoodies

05-22-16, 03:53 AM

I see you're watching more of Penny Marshall films. I want to do that too. I like her directorial style. You're not the first person to warn that Awakenings is not an easy watch. Both GBG and SilentVamp really liked this film. Do you have any other of Marshall's films to watch?

Yes, I liked Awakenings, but like Gideon said, "it's not an easy watch", so it's not the type of movie that I would want to watch again, but I would definitely recommend it.

Sexy Celebrity

05-22-16, 03:07 PM

http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2015/news/150803/diggs-hedwig-02-800.jpg

God, that's scary.

Sexy Celebrity

05-22-16, 03:10 PM

This film is not an easy watch, and unless you're a heartless monster, some tears will be fought during this cinematic journey

I didn't cry.... Lord.

Gideon58

05-22-16, 03:25 PM

Do you have any other of Marshall's films to watch?

No, there isn't much more on her resume that interests me at this time and I think my disappointment with A League of their Own had a lot to do with that. I discovered recently that I'm behind on my Woody Allen and I haven't watched Trumbo yet either.

Citizen Rules

05-22-16, 03:30 PM

I want to get back to seeing more Woody Allen films too.

At first I hated them, then once I 'got them' and understand what Woody's style was, I then knew what to expect and started enjoying them. Have you seen many Woody Allen films?

Topsy

05-22-16, 03:38 PM

liked your review of gone baby gone. though for me the ending sort of ruined it for me.

Gideon58

05-22-16, 03:42 PM

Have you seen many Woody Allen films?
I've seen just about everything he made from the 70's to about 2005...I'm working on his more recent stuff right now. I'm one of the few people on earth who thinks Annie Hall is severely overrated and had no business winning Best Picture of 1977. My favorites include Hannah and her Sisters, Crimes and Misdemeanors, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Manhattan, Deconstructing Harry, Manhattan Murder Mystery, and Midnight in Paris.

Gideon58

05-22-16, 03:48 PM

Mainly the whole idea that she has to give up her career to find a husband and get married.

More specifically, the fact that a career and anything else takes a backseat to getting married...the girl is offered a lead in a Broadway musical and is so unimpressed with the idea of being a Broadway star because it might interfere with her plan to get married and have babies.

Gideon58

05-22-16, 03:49 PM

liked your review of gone baby gone. though for me the ending sort of ruined it for me.
I was troubled by the ending too...I have to wonder if Angela wasn't right.

Gideon58

05-22-16, 07:05 PM

TRUMBO
http://www.cinemapolis.org/pics/pics4/Trumbo.jpg
Dalton Trumbo was one of Hollywood's most popular writers, responsible for the screenplays of such films as Roman Holiday, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, Spactacus, and Exodus who found his career come to a standstill during the 1950's because of his political convictions, more specifically, his membership in the communist party. Trumbo was one of several actors, writers, and directors who were blacklisted in the 1950's and not allowed to work in Hollywood. The 2015 film Trumbo is an ambitious character study/docudrama that doesn't provide a lot of insight into the Hollywood blacklisting, but is a blistering look at its effects on Hollywood and the bodies destroyed in the wake of this senseless witch hunt.

This film recounts Trumbo's solid belief in the communist party and how it led to his blacklisting and eventual arrest. As Trumbo returns to society, it is revealed that the only way Trumbo can continue to write is to submit his work under other people's names and allow them credit and most of the pay. The film also recounts Trumbo finding himself dealing with a B movie studio who can't pay him what he is accustomed to but they give him so much work that he has to involve his entire family, head by devoted wife Cleo, to help him churn out one mediocre script after another, which the B studio thinks are masterpieces, but eventually Trumbo is found out when it comes to light that Trumbo wrote Roman Holiday, which won the Oscar for its screenplay, credited to Ian McKellan Hunter. A personal witch hunt begins seemingly spearheaded by gossip columnist Hedda Hopper.
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Director Jay Roach, whose only other directorial credit I remembered was Meet the Parents took on a mammoth assignment here and really knocked it out of the park. It is not an easy feat recreating actual history, especially Hollywood history involving household names that I had no idea were part of this witch hunt, but Roach has done exactly that. With a story this sensitive, most filmmakers would feel the need to preserve memories and protect the innocent by disguising some of the major players involved and using composites of several different people to make this story work but he doesn't do that. Along with screenwriter John McNamara, Roach has mounted an often unflattering look at Hollywood during a very ugly period in its history, utilizing most of the real principal players and not apologizing for it. Roach and McNamara also have to be credited for creating an intimate look at a writer and all the eccentricities we've come to expect with such a character...I loved Trumbo in the bathtub with his typewriter, cigarette, and a bottle of scotch on the side...priceless...not to mention the hunt and peck typing.

Bryan Cranston received an Oscar nomination for his riveting performance as the title character, a flashy, charismatic turn that Cranston completely lost himself in. Diane Lane brought more to the role of wife Cleo than was in the script and I loved Louis CK in a star-making turn as a fellow writer named Arlen Hird (whom I suspect was a disguised version of someone else). Oscar winner Helen Mirren made a fabulous Hedda Hopper and there were a trio of terrific movie star impressions that I loved: Michael Stuhlbarg as Edward G. Robinson, David James Elliott as John Wayne, and especially Dean O'Gorman as Kirk Douglas.
https://rogermooresmovienation.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/trum1.jpg
The film features flawless production values, reproducing Hollywood in the 1950's with the help of a lot of genuine archival footage as well as clips from Roman Holiday and Sparctacus that only enriched the authenticity of what was going on and the seamless weaving with the drama Roach presents with the help of film editor Alan Baumgartner was a joy to behold. 4.5

cricket

05-22-16, 07:14 PM

For whatever reason, I haven't had Trumbo in my mind as something I should see. I'm rethinking that.

Citizen Rules

05-22-16, 08:08 PM

Hey Gideon, glad you liked Trumbo. There's a lot of history crammed into that movie, which I like! You might also like the documentary about Dalton Trumbo, it also called Trumbo (2007).

Gideon58

05-23-16, 11:01 AM

Hey Gideon, glad you liked Trumbo.

I really wanted to thank you for recommending it, Citizen, I loved it.

Citizen Rules

05-23-16, 12:33 PM

You're welcomed...and...you've recommended me many movies I loved. BTW I did watch and enjoy Malice in Wonderland (1985), I would have never seen it, if you hadn't told me about it.

Gideon58

05-23-16, 03:26 PM

BTW I did watch and enjoy Malice in Wonderland (1985), I would have never seen it, if you hadn't told me about it.

So glad you enjoyed Malice in Wonderland, Citizen, I knew you would.

Gideon58

05-23-16, 06:37 PM

JOY
David O. Russell and his muse Jennifer Lawrence seem to have gotten a little full of themselves. They think their fans will just accept anything that they come up with. The premise of the fact-based 2015 drama Joy is a good one, but the story takes too long to get where it is intended to go and once it does, craps all over the central character before winding down to a satisfactory conclusion.
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Joy_image.jpg
Lawrence plays the title character, a housewife and mother who is at the center of an extremely dysfunctional family, to whom she is endlessly catering and despite the exhaustion this causes, still has her own dreams and aspirations. primarily the fruition of her own invention...a special mop that the user never has to touch and when it's done, the mop head detaches and can be tossed into the washing machine. It is Joy's journey to getting her product on a newly launched cable network called QVC that is the meat of this cinematic journey.
http://static.theglobeandmail.ca/232/arts/film/film-reviews/article27923418.ece/ALTERNATES/w620/ff-joy-review-23rv01.JPG
As always, Russell's direction and faith in his leading lady clearly outweigh his talents as a screenwriter...as this film begins we are let into a story of a woman trying to be everything to her dysfunctional family, but it is Joy's journey as a businesswoman that is the story here. We are introduced to her family to make their eventual betrayal of her intolerable, but said introduction could have been done in a more economic fashion.
http://images.indianexpress.com/2016/01/joy-759.jpg
Once we get to the real story, we are completely behind Joy and absolutely love her and want the best for her and just when we are feeling so good for what is happening to her, the story just craps all over her under the pretense of the woman making bad business decisions and not realizing that a lot of things that happen to her are "just business", a phrase that takes on a really ugly connotation in this story as Joy struggles to find investors, loyalty from QVC and justice when interlopers attempt to cash in on her success.
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Jennifer Lawrence's Oscar-nominated performance makes this over-complicated story worth watching and there are expected and unexpected surprises in the supporting cast...Robert De Niro is solid as Lawrence's father but unexpected fun performances also came from Isabella Rosellini as De Niro's rich girlfriend and Joy's primary investor, Virginia Madsen as Joy's dotty mother, who spends her life in her room watching a soap opera and Diane Ladd as Joy's grandmother. There's also a slick turn from Russell rep company regular Bradley Cooper as the QVC executive who gives Joy her chance.
http://momsla.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/soap-opera-stars.jpg
Yes, Lawrence is always worth watching, but if Russell had put a little more care into his overly complex screenplay, this could have been something really special that didn't have me glancing at my watch. 2.5

Gideon58

05-23-16, 09:21 PM

PLEASE DON'T EAT THE DAISIES
http://images.moviepostershop.com/please-dont-eat-the-daisies-movie-poster-1960-1010672929.jpg
An enchanting performance by Doris Day, a clever screenplay, and a solid veteran supporting cast are the primary reasons to check out 1960's Please Don't Eat the Daisies, an episodic comedy with just enough sophistication to keep the film still watchable over 50 years later.
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Day plays Kate McKay, the wife of former drama professor turned theater critic Larry McKay (David Niven), who not only has to deal with raising four children, but with a husband who is nervous about his new career, the family's move from a New York high rise to a large house in the country, and the not-too-subtle advances Larry is fending off from an amorous actress (Janis Paige) who Larry ripped to shreds in a review.
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Based on a best selling novel by Jean Kerr, screenwriter Isobel Lennart has created a family comedy with just enough adult humor to keep the story viable entertainment for the entire family and not just kids. Charles Walters' breezy direction has a semblance of control on the cast but trusts their talent as well.
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This film was a bit of a change of pace for Day, who was one of the few actresses during the 1950's and 60's who was known for playing career women. Funny thing is that even though Kate is not really a career woman, this story still presents her as the smartest character in the story and the antithesis of that old saying, "Behind every great man, there's a woman".

Day is wonderful, as always, and has a surprising chemistry with leading man Niven, fresh off his Oscar win for Separate Tables, shows a surprising gift for light comedy and makes his scenes with Day and Paige work. Also loved Richard Haydn as an oversensitive producer, Jack Weston as a cab driver and aspiring playwright, and Spring Byington as Day's mother, but Day is the one you go away from this one remembering. The film inspired a TV series a few years later with Patricia Crowley in the lead. 3

Citizen Rules

05-23-16, 09:25 PM

Gideon58

05-24-16, 10:45 AM

I love that GIANT flower that's attached to her dress, it looks like it's weighing her down. I've seen this but don't remember the flower was it part of the comedy? BTW, wow she's really trim looking in that black dress!
Actually, the big flower is never even mentioned...and if you really want to see Doris wearing a black dress, check out this scene from Love Me or Leave Me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfUniuD-jsY

Gideon58

05-25-16, 06:35 PM

FLIRTING WITH DISASTER
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Long before he became obsessed with Jennifer Lawrence, director/writer David O. Russell journeyed into Woody Allen territory with an offbeat and unpredictable comedy called Flirting with Disaster which takes a realistic premise to some really illogical and cringe-worthy places but does it all for the sake of entertainment and as pure entertainment, it totally works.
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The 1996 film stars Ben Stiller as Mel Coplin, an uptight New Yorker adjusting to the birth of his first child and trying to get his sex life back on track with wife Nancy (Patricia Arquette), who was adopted as a child and does not want to name his child until he meets his biological parents. With the help of a loopy adoption center employee and graduate student named Tina, played by Tea Leoni, Mel learns that his biological mother has been located and has agreed to a meeting, which is the springboard for one of the most outrageously entertaining road trips mounted for the screen, providing constant challenges to Mel and Nancy's marriage and surprises at every turn.
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Admittedly, there are things that happen here that I really didn't understand, primarily the fact that Tina accompanies the Coplins on this journey and wants to document the entire thing on film. I would think that an adopted adult meeting his biological parents for the first time would be a private thing for him and his family and having a stranger witness every moment just seems wrong on all kinds of levels, the most disturbing of which is the immediate sexual attraction between Mel and Tina and how they both try to pretend it's not going on. When it turns out that Tina has brought Mel to the wrong woman (Celia Weston), I would think that the woman would have been immediately terminated from her job, or at least told to leave the Coplins alone, but this doesn't happen.
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The story even gets murkier with the introduction of a pair of police detectives (Richard Jenkins, Josh Brolin) who are not all they seem and manage to also become tangled into this very confusing web of events. Though these detectives' story doesn't take too long to come to light, we can see it's only going to take an already extremely awkward situation to an even more awkward level here.
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This was one of the few times that Russell's writing was as solid as his direction...the script has a very Woody Allen quality to it...extremely appealing characters wrapped up in questionable behavior and often being completely unapologetic about it. Russell has also pulled terrific performances from his cast...Stiller does solid leading man work and the relationship he creates with Arquette is credible and evokes support from the viewer. Alan Alda, Lily Tomlin, George Segal, and especially Mary Tyler Moore, in an eye opening turn, score as the varied bio and adopted parents involved in this convoluted but entertaining story that defies logic and convention from scene to scene but never fails to entertain. 4

Gideon58

05-26-16, 11:56 AM

THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU
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A razor sharp screenplay and a sparkling ensemble cast are the primary selling points of a deliciously entertaining comedy called This is Where I Leave You.
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This 2014 confection centers on four adult siblings who return home when their father passes away and find themselves confronting their pasts and contemplating their futures. As we meet the siblings mid crisis, we learn that Judd (Jason Bateman) has just learned his wife (Abigail Spencer) has been sleeping with his boss (Dax Shepherd); Wendy (Tina Fey) has been so busy being the family referee that she hasn't noticed her marriage crumbling; Phillip (Adam Driver) is the family screw-up who arrives with a vivacious and much older lawyer (Connie Britton) on his arm; Paul (Corey Stoll) is the eldest who is obsessed with inheriting his father's business and cracking under the pressure from his wife (Kathryn Hahn) to get her pregnant. They do have one common mission: to comfort their sexually uninhibited and best selling novelist mother Hillary (Jane Fonda) who has a couple of hidden agendas herself.
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This movie entertains from beginning to end, primarily due to a wonderfully intelligent and deliciously funny screenplay adapted by Jonathan Tropper from his own novel, a story that nails family dysfunction, sibling rivalry, and more importantly, when siblings have each other's backs. Nothing here feels affected or phony, the film is rich with funny dialogue steeped in realistic situations and makes the viewer want these people to get what they want.
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Director Shawn Levy serves the story well and pulls some first rate performances from his cast. Jason Bateman has rarely been more appealing onscreen and Tina Fey has finally found a character that fits her unusual screen persona. Driver steals every scene he is in, making the most of a role that seems like it was written for Robert Downey Jr., but Driver makes it his own and after half a century in the business, Jane Fonda (who looks AMAZING) still knows how to command a movie screen with minimal scenery chewing.

The film is beautifully mounted, with a special nod to Terry Stacey's cinematography, but it's a great cast and some really funny dialogue that really make this comedy sparkle and dance. 4

Gideon58

05-28-16, 11:54 AM

PITCH PERFECT
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If you take Glee and mix it with Mean Girls and Bring it On, throw in a dash of You Got Served and just a pinch of Clueless, what you get is a 2012 musical comedy called Pitch Perfect which takes a look at A Capella choral singing, a relatively fresh subject for a film; unfortunately, the film doesn't offer anything fresh in terms of cinematic storytelling.
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The film takes place at fictional Barden University where we meet Beca (Anna Kendrick) a new freshman at the school and daughter of a faculty member (John Benjamin Hickey) who dreams of being a music producer, but finds herself approached by an all-female A Capella choral group called the Bellas, who perform arrangements of pop female tunes dressed like flight attendants. They persuade Beca to join the group, though the idea of choral singing is repellent to our heroine, who not only affects change to the Bellas, but finds romance with a singer from an all-male group (Skylar Astin).
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I sang in an A Capella choral group when I was in high school and the secret of great A Capella singing is that it doesn't sound like it's A Capella...if the arrangements are solid and performed by competent musicians, it is almost impossible to tell that the performance is being done without musical instrument accompaniment. The first time you heard Billy Joel's "For the Longest Time", did you realize it was recorded A Capella? On the level of technical musical expertise, these elements of the movie totally work...the music by Christopher Beck and Mark Kilian is brilliantly arranged and expertly performed, but the story and characters that surround the music just have a feeling of "been there done that."

There is one scene that made me feel really old...for his first date with Beca, Astin's character, who aspires to scoring movies, brings over a bunch of "old" movies for her to watch that he considers to be among the best scored movies of all time...movies like Rocky and The Breakfast Club, which this character talks about like Gone with the Wind or Citizen Kane.
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Kendrick works hard to hold this film together, but she is fighting the screenplay because the character of Beca is extremely unlikable. A proven vocalist after her performance in Into the Woods, it's not enough to keep the viewer behind the character. I did enjoy Anna Camp as the bitchy leader of the Bellas, but if the truth be known, the funniest performances in the film came from John Michael Higgins and Elizabeth Banks as the commentators at the vocal competitions. Needless to say, sound editing and sound mixing are incredible and if you like great singing, you can definitely get your fill here, but in terms of movie entertainment, fans of the films I mentioned in the opening paragraph will have a head start here, if not, you just might want to take a pass. The movie must have done decent box office business since a sequel has already been made, but that film has not been rushed onto my watchlist. 2.5

Gideon58

05-28-16, 04:18 PM

MOON
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b0/Moon_(2008)_film_poster.jpg
The meticulous cinematic storytelling skill of Duncan Jones and a powerhouse starring performance from Sam Rockwell make 2009's Moon worth your time. This film, on the surface, appears to be a science fiction adventure, but what it really turns out to be is a story of old fashioned corporate espionage wrapped up in a glossy futuristic package.
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Sam Bell is an astronaut who is stationed on the moon, a three year mission to harvest energy sources for earth only available on the moon. Sam's only companionship in his mission is an administrative computer named Gerty (voiced by Kevin Spacey). Sam is about a month from completing his mission when he has an accident and shortly after, while investigating outside disturbances, finds the unconscious body of another astronaut, who actually turns out to be a doppelganger but this is just the beginning of a disturbing story that becomes maddening as it is completely riveting.
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What director and story creator Duncan Jones does here is to create a science fiction adventure for the new millenium that is a valentine to the science fiction classics of the past, some of which were clearly an inspiration for some of what's here. Watching Bell's relationship with Gerty naturally recalls the astronauts in 2001: A Space Odyssey and their relationship with Hal, but there are definite differences here...it becomes clear almost instantly that Gerty's loyalty to Bell is not carved in granite. I also loved Gerty's emoticon smiley face whose expression changed with his feelings and/or his possible shift in loyalty.
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Jones' attention to detail is quite amazing here...as he proved in his next film, Source Code, he has an uncanny knack for recreating alleged red herring events in the film that don't turn out to be red herrings at all. As what is happening here begins to come to light, it is obvious that every moment created onscreen connects to later moments, a connection that can only be made with pinpoint attention to detail and Jones proven to be a master at weaving a delicate and intricate mystery that demands complete attention from the viewer.
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Jones also provides complete service to the story by putting a very human face on it all through the gutsy and unhinged performance he pulls from Sam Rockwell that commands the screen and our sympathy for what this character is going through. Rockwell does Oscar worthy work here playing two different characters who are not two different characters and does it so seamlessly and in such an entertaining fashion that halfway through movie I completely lost track of which Sam was which and I got the feeling that was exactly what Jones wanted. This is a riveting futuristic journey that offers no easy answers but does offer solid entertainment. 4

Citizen Rules

05-28-16, 04:26 PM

Glad you enjoyed Moon. It's one of my favorite Sci Fi films from the millennium.

Gideon58

05-28-16, 06:08 PM

SCARY MOVIE 2
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Scary Movie 2 is the 2001 sequel to the Wayan Brothers' surprise hit of the previous year that is a slight improvement over the first film (not a monumental achievement) that documents Keenen Ivory Wayans' skill as a farceur who knows how to mine laughs, but sometimes doesn't know when to let a joke go and move on to the next one.

This film picks up with Cindy (Anna Faris), Ray (Shawn Wayans), Shorty (Marlon Wayans), and Brenda from the first film now in college who are invited by a morally repugnant college professor (Tim Curry) to spend the weekend in a haunted mansion, where it is revealed that the dead mistress of the house looks exactly like Cindy...well, not exactly.

If you enjoyed the first film, you'll find laughs here too. Keenen Ivory Wayans understands the genre he's spoofing and always lets the story take a backseat to the next available joke. The film opens with a dead on spoof of The Exorcist featuring James Wood, Andy Richter, and Veronica Cartwright that is hysterically funny, but has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the movie.
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The basic plot here seems to resemble the Hithcock classic Rebecca, but the screenplay also features affectionate winks at Poltergiest, Friday the 13th, Boomerang, Charlie's Angels, Ghostbusters, and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.

Wayans basic idea is a good one, but what he has to understand when mounting this kind of satire, the jokes must come rapidly so that the viewer doesn't have to much time to think about the silliness he is being subjected to but every joke Wayans employs here is ground into dust until you just want to scream to the actors, "OK, we get it, move on!"
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The cast seem comfortable with their roles though every moment Marlon Wayans was given onscreen was agonizing. Tori Spelling and Kathleen Robertson, fresh off Beverly Hills 90210 are wasted in pointless roles and Chris Elliott is just embarrassing. Truthfully, the funniest moments in the movie come from a parrot with a potty mouth, but if you liked the first one...belly up and enjoy. 2

Gideon58

05-31-16, 10:18 PM

YOUNG MAN WITH A HORN
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1950's Young Man with a Horn is an entertaining drama with music that, despite some dated and cliched plot elements, manages to remain watchable all these years later, thanks to some charismatic performances and the screenwriter's on target understanding of the passion that drives musicians.

Loosely based on the life of jazz trumpeter Bix Beiderbecke, Kirk Douglas plays Rick Martin, a trumpet player who makes the accustomed bumpy road to success as a musician and along the way, establishing relationships with two very different women: Jo Jordan (Doris Day) is a sweet-natured band singer who fronts the band where Rick gets his first real job and Amy North (Lauren Bacall) is Jo's best friend, a sophisticated medical student with daddy issues who is attracted to Rick but bored by his music.
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Screenwriters Carl Foreman and Edmund H.North present us with a conventional romantic triangle, but what this film does do that is unique is it gives us a unique look into the psyche of a musician and the passion that drives him...this film drives home the message that nothing comes between a real musician and his love for what he does. It is no coincidence that Rick has his trumpet under his arm in almost every scene in the movie. When Rick initially flirts with Jo, she tells him that she can't be with a married man because he's married to his trumpet. And like most jazz musicians, Rick is bored with reading conventional charts and has very little interest in playing the actual notes on the page. I love the portion of the film where Rick gets hired by an important bandleader (Jerome Cowan) to play conventional band music and after he gets done there, goes to a little jazz club downtown to jam with his first teacher and mentor, Art Hazzard (Juano Hernandez).

Michael Curtiz gets some terrific performances from his stars too...Kirk Douglas lights up the screen as the rebellious musician of the title and does some very convincing fingering and lip work on that trumpet. Bacall is stylish and sexy as Amy and Day holds her own as Jo. Douglas manages to create viable but very different chemistry with both actresses, though if the truth be known, the best relationship Rick has in the movie is with Art Hazzard.
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It should also be noted that this is another movie noted in the documentary The Celluloid Closet, stating that Bacall's character was lesbian, but the hint is subtle...all in all, a richly entertaining musical journey with some amazing trumpet work by Harry James dubbing for Douglas. Loved Hoagy Carmichael as Smoke too. 3.5

gbgoodies

06-01-16, 12:46 AM

I'm surprised that with this movie starring Doris Day and Kirk Douglas, I haven't seen Young Man with a Horn yet, but it's been added to my watchlist.

Gideon58

06-01-16, 06:58 PM

IRON MAN
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With Robert Downey Jr. in front of the camera and Jon Favreau behind it, the 2008 comic book adventure Iron Man is an ambitious technical achievement and fabulous time-waster, despite an overly complex screenplay that takes a little too long to get where it's going, but it's a pretty fun ride once it gets going.
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This comic book adventure wrapped up in a story of corporate espionage introduces us to Tony Stark, a billionaire playboy who is the heir apparent of Stark Industries, a large company whose primary industry is military weaponry. When Tony is injured during a weapons demonstration in Iraq, he is seriously injured but healed with the aid of a car battery where his heart is. While being held by enemy soldiers who want him to construct a missile for them, he somehow manages to construct a special suit to aid him to escape and upon escape, decides to close the military portion of his company and take his special suit to the next level, the super hero level.
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Based on Stan Lee-created characters, the screenplay is overly detailed and spends too much time on exposition and if you're going to have this much exposition, it should not leave anything unexplained, in particular, the soldiers holding Tony prisoner have cameras in the cave where he's being held and are allegedly gauging his process on this missile, but Tony manages to construct this suit without them knowing about it, yet, by the time Tony returns home, his co-CEO, Obediah Stain (Jeff Bridges) already has people working on a similar suit.
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Admittedly, I was able to let a lot of this just slide because of Robert Downey Jr.'s richly entertaining performance in the title role...this is one of those actors who could read the phone book and keep the viewer riveted. With the help of the writers, he never takes the character too seriously and keeps him steeped in realism...this is one of the few comic book super heroes I've seen where our hero is self-created and he doesn't even realize he's doing it...I love the middle section where he's back home working on the suit trying to perfect it and having to try things over and over when they don't work, much to the chagrin of loyal assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) who is really horrible at disguising the fact that she's in love with her boss.

Favreau must be credited for assembling a crack technical team who have provided him with perfect looks, sounds, and technology to make this story viable, with special kudos to cinematography, art direction/set direction, visual effects, and sound. With a less convoluted screenplay, this movie could have been something really amazing, but Favreau's direction and the performances of Robert Downey Jr. and Jeff Bridges do keep this one sizzling once it gets going and the final showdown is spectacular. 3.5

Gideon58

06-02-16, 04:57 PM

SCREAM
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/78/Scream_movie_poster.jpg
John Carpenter's 1978 film Halloween breathed new life into the horror genre, but it also spawned a lot of laughably bad rip-offs and imitations, but director Wes Craven did something different with his 1996 classic Scream...he reinvented the genre by creating a film that broke all the rules of slasher films because it lets the audience in on the joke. It's never clear if this is supposed to be genuine slasher film or a lampoon of one and that's where Craven hits a bullseye.
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The secret here is a combination of Craven's eye for gore and suspense and Kevin Williamson's near brilliant tongue in cheek screenplay that is way smarter than the characters bringing it to life and almost too smart for the viewer. Williamson lets us in on the joke here...all of those classic cliches about horror movies that we all know by heart and make so many films of this genre so predictable. What Williamson's screenplay does is to address these cliches directly before they actually become a part of the story...just about every slasher movie cliche you can think about here is verbalized by a character on screen before it actually happens and sometimes the shock is just as effective because you find yourself thinking, "Wow, I can't believe they did that right after they said it."
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On the other hand, the characters introduced here, mostly high school students, are just not intelligent enough to be believable addressing movie cliches, using phrases like "red herrings", phrases that only serious film buffs, like the folks on this website, would ever utilize. One character actually tells his alleged girlfriend that he wants their relationship to move from R to NC-17...it's very funny to watch but hard to swallow coming out of the mouth of this character.
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The film breaks the rules from the start and never lets up. When we see the cast of a slasher movie and a big star receives top billing we expect that that star to be the last victim standing, but Craven is having none of that...he hired a big star like Drew Barrymore to appear in the film and dispatches of her almost immediately, having it be the catalyst for the rest of the story. No one expects it and that's why it's so brilliant...this film refuses to play fair...it never does what it's supposed to...it telegraphs things without taking away the shock and provides chuckles that would not be present in a normal slasher film...the film doesn't take itself too seriously and never lets the viewer take it too seriously either.

The performance range from somber to over the top...Neve Campbell is a little too straight-faced as our heroine, but Skeet Ulrich is a perfect combination of sexy and dangerous and is well-matched by Matthew Lillard as his partner in crime. Courtney Cox and David Arquette also score in supporting roles that actually sparked a real life romance, but like Hitchcock's Psycho, it's so not the story that is the attraction here, but the way Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson choose to tell it. 3.5

Gideon58

06-02-16, 06:59 PM

THE RESCUERS
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Did you know there is a group of mice from all over the world who meet underneath the United Nations called The Rescue Aid Society? This fine upstanding organization provides the jumping off point for an utterly charming animated adventures from Disney studios called The Rescuers, another look at the world from an animal point of view where humans are the bad guys and the victim.
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In this 1977 confection, it is revealed that the mice have recovered a message in a bottle from a little girl named Penny (voiced by Michelle Stacy) stating that she is in trouble (or as Penny spelled it "trubble"). One of the mice named Bianca (voiced by Eva Gabor) volunteers for the mission and when asked to choose someone to accompany her, instead of choosing an established mouse agent, she chooses the organization's janitor, Bernard (voiced by Bob Newhart) to help her.

Some quick detective work reveals that this poor little girl is being held on a run down riverboat in the Devil's Bayou by an insane and greedy wench named Madame Medusa (voiced by Geraldine Page) who kidnapped Penny from an orphanage and keeps sending her down a well to retrieve a diamond for Medusa called The Devil's Eye.
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Everything works here, I love the relationship that develops between Bernard and Bianca...the two definitely develop affection for each other but they never forget that Penny is their priority. In addition to the nutty Medusa, she is aided by her stooge Snoops (voiced by Joe Flynn) and a couple of mean alligators named Nero and Brutus. On the good guys side, are an albatross named Orville and a fabulous firefly named Evinrude who have both seen better days but are committed to the mission.
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As always with Disney, the voice work is superb, with standout work from Page, who nails this character's greed and insanity. Characters you will instantly fall for involved in a story that works its way to a satisfactory conclusion and even sets up the sequel. They got this one right. 4

Gideon58

06-03-16, 04:15 PM

LOOKING FOR MR. GOODBAR
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A powerhouse performance by Diane Keaton is the primary selling point of a very hard watch from 1977 called Looking for Mr. Goodbar, a searing and unapologetic look at a time gone by in terms of sexual morality as well as touching on family dysfunction and different kinds of addiction. This story is made all the more shocking because it is based on a real life person and events in her life.

Keaton plays Theresa, a woman who is living a double life. Theresa lives with her parents and is primary caregiver for her emotionally needy sister but is also a schoolteacher for deaf children. She loves her work and has connected with her students.
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Terry, as I like to refer to her, leads a completely different life...she is sexually uninhibited and in need of constant physical attention and emotional validation from men. Theresa leaves her nine to five job and becomes Terry and it's when the lives of Theresa and Terry begin to collide that forms the crux of this disturbing but unfortunately frighteningly realistic story which finds Theresa/Terry falling down a rabbit hall from which she can't save herself.
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Director and co-screenwriter Richard Brooks based this story on a book by Judith Rossener which brilliantly recreates the seedy and hedonistic 1970's which were all about free sex, drugs, and rock and roll, consequences be damned. This was pre HIV/AIDS and so much of the behavior glamorized in this movie was eliminated with the advent of this deadly disease...there is a scene here where Terry discovers a man she's about to have sex with actually is wearing a condom and she burst into laughter, a scene which I look at now and find nothing funny.

What this film is really about is Theresa's addiction to a lifestyle...cruising bars, drinking, drugging, and anonymous sex with no commitments and no names. Terry wants this life on her own terms but finds that the people she meets in bars don't always want to agree with her terms and that there are consequences to such behavior, a message delivered with a sledgehammer, but it works.
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Keaton delivers the performance of her career here that should have won her an Oscar, though she did win the Best Actress Oscar that year for Annie Hall, but I think she won for the wrong movie. Tuesday Weld was nominated for her dazzling work as Theresa's hot mess of a sister and Richard Kiley was bone-chilling as Theresa's father. Richard Gere, Tom Berenger, William Atherton, and Alan Feinstein also deliver the goods as the various men who cross Theresa and Terry's path and have a plethora of issues themselves. As I said before, this film is no easy watch and contains one of the most shocking climaxes of a film I've seen in 30 years, but Keaton makes this ugly journey worth your time. 3.5

Camo

06-03-16, 04:19 PM

Good Scream review :up:.

The Rescuers Down Under is better than The Rescuers IMO. Much better animation and a more interesting story, i hate that it gets ignored as part of the Disney Renaissance despite coming out after The Little Mermaid as it is a quality film.

Sexy Celebrity

06-03-16, 08:51 PM

Let's see some more Scream reviews. Three more.

cricket

06-04-16, 08:52 AM

I really liked Looking for Mr. Goodbar, as it's a movie that suits my taste perfectly. I'll never forget that ending.

The Iron-Man series is my favorite of the super hero movies. I love Pepper Potts!

Gideon58

06-04-16, 01:15 PM

Let's see some more Scream reviews. Three more.

I'm working on it, Sexy.

MovieMeditation

06-04-16, 03:47 PM

What a coincidence that we both review The Rescuers only a few hours apart.

Great little film indeed.

Gideon58

06-04-16, 04:30 PM

SCREAM 2
http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/horrormovies/images/3/3a/Scream-2-poster-neve-campbell-1997.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20131030190532
Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson, as expected, put their heads together again for Scream 2, the 1997 sequel to their surprise hit from 1996 that doesn't provide the same quirky surprises that the first film did, but has the same humorous spirit that gave the first film its appeal.
https://politicalfilm.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/scream-2.jpg
It's two years after the events of the first film. Gail Weathers (Courtney Cox) wrote a best selling book about those events and it was turned into a movie and it is at a special sneak preview of this movie, called STAB, where the killer reappears and murders two college students (Omar Epps, Jada Pinkett Smith). Of course word reaches Sydney (Neve Campbell) who is now a college student and we're off to the races again.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uegub3ARk2U/UmU-jaYnjeI/AAAAAAAAJdM/vli3C0zUqco/s1600/Scream+2-5.jpg
The thing I loved about the first film is that it let us in on the joke and was a seamless weave of a genuine slasher movie and a slasher movie satire, but that's gone here...Craven and his screenwriter have apparently decided that success requires respect and reverence and have decided to tell this story with a straight face. Yes, there are touches of humor here and there, but the constant surprises that the first film offered just weren't there this time...the whole people jumping around corners and purposely trying to scare people or people pulling back curtains or opening closets and finding nothing there just gets tiresome here. Craven and Williamson apparently decided that they wanted to make a genuine movie this time.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0_zJa8_pc_E/T3DtFENovoI/AAAAAAAAAiM/ukY-08MzuJc/s1600/DeweyGaleCameraman.jpg
Now don't get me wrong...it may a genuine slasher movie, but it's done pretty competently and even contains most of my good sequel criteria. I still found Neve Campbell a little too serious but it worked better for this film, but we certainly got a look at some future stars all given their own little star turns. Timothy Olyphant, Laurie Metcafe, Liev Schreiber, Jerry O'Connell, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Portia di Rossi, Rebecca Gayheart make the most of their screen time. Also enjoyed Luke Wilson, Heather Graham, and Tori Spelling as the stars of STAB. As sequels go, I have seen a LOT worse, but unlike the first film, Craven and Williamson have decided not to let us in on the joke this time. 3

Sexy Celebrity

06-04-16, 04:36 PM

3

Tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk!

You were supposed to like it more than the first movie.

How did you find David Arquette in this one? Sexy?

Gideon58

06-05-16, 03:20 PM

Tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk!

You were supposed to like it more than the first movie.

How did you find David Arquette in this one? Sexy?

I did not like it better than the first one and David Arquette being sexy is a given...I've always thought he was sexy.

Sexy Celebrity

06-05-16, 03:22 PM

and David Arquette being sexy is a given...I've always thought he was sexy.

So do I, but apparently we're strange for feeling that way.

Gideon58

06-05-16, 05:35 PM

A DATE WITH JUDY
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/47/A_Date_With_Judy_film_poster.jpg
A Date with Judy is an affectionate slice of Americana from 1948 that takes a simple story with some surprisingly adult touches and wraps it in the accustomed MGM gloss.
http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/25900000/Elizabeth-Taylor-in-A-Date-with-Judy-elizabeth-taylor-25925727-1067-800.jpg
Based on a famous radio program, this is the story of a hyperactive small town teen named Judy Foster, played by Jane Powell, who wants to run her life and everyone else's, especially her family. This film actually has two basic story lines: There is a romantic quadrangle between Judy, her taken for granted boyfriend Oogie (Scotty Beckett), whose sister Carol (Elizabeth Taylor), a spoiled and manipulative daddy's girl, is smitten with an older soda jerk named Stephen (Robert Stack) who only has eyes for Judy. The other story involves Judy's father (Oscar winner Wallace Beery) hiring a dance teacher (Carmen Miranda) to teach him how to rhumba in time for his upcoming 20th anniversary. These two simple stories are seamlessly woven together into a very entertaining musical comedy that entertains from start to finish.
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The screenplay by Dorothy Cooper and Dorothy Kingsley has some adult touches that I didn't see coming...when Judy tells her dad that she is in love with Stephen and he asks her if the guy has proposed, she says that she may just ask him, something that I'm sure was pretty unheard of in 1948. The dynamic between Judy and Carol had a contemporary feel, like something out of a daytime soap opera...Carol is constantly pulling the wool over Judy's eyes in an attempt to steal Stephen from her and Judy can't see it.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/px6gKZaiVkA/hqdefault.jpg
Richard Thorpe's energetic direction serves the story and he gets what is required from his cast to make this work...Jane Powell is a little sugary but perfect in the title role and Elizabeth Taylor is a revelation in the role of Carol, looking breathtaking and well beyond her teenage years, in a role that would foreshadow a lot of her work as an adult actress. Scotty Beckett was an absolute charmer as Oogie and Stack made an impressive leading man, but if the truth be told, Wallace Beery very quietly walks off with this movie as Judy's blustery father...a man often clueless about what's going on with his family but not loving them any less for it. If you're a fan of MGM musicals, this one's a must. 3.5

Citizen Rules

06-05-16, 05:45 PM

Gideon58

06-05-16, 06:00 PM

Loved your review, I can feel your enthusiasm for the movie! It's been years since I've seen A Date With Judy, but I remember really liking it and being impressed with the acting skills of a teenage Elizabeth Taylor.

Taylor was fabulous in this! I've been wanting to see this film for years knowing I would love it and it absolutely did not let me down, loved it!

Gideon58

06-06-16, 11:26 AM

SEX TAPE
http://www.pacejmiller.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/sextape3.jpg
From the people who brought us the dreadful Bad Teacher comes Sex Tape, a 2014 comedy that is actually not as sleazy as its title implies, but it's no classic either.
http://cdn01.cdn.justjared.com/wp-content/uploads/headlines/2014/06/cameron-diaz-jason-segel-final-sex-tape-trailer.jpg
The film stars Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel as Annie and Jay, a couple who when they first met were all about sex...anywhere, anytime, taking time out for sleep and meals only. But after ten years of marriage and two kids, they are too tired and don't have time for sex anymore and when the opportunity finally presents itself, they decide to make a sex tape where they plan to demonstrate every position illustrated in the book, "The Joy of Sex". Upon completion Annie tells jay to erase the tape and, of course, he doesn't and the tape ends up in "the cloud" of several I Pads that the couple distributed to family and friends. Then Jay gets an anonymous text that says "Enjoyed your video," which initiates a frantic mission for Jay and Annie to retrieve all the I Pads in order to find out who saw the video and to prevent it from going viral.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cWmwng22NEk/VAelqKnKOHI/AAAAAAAA5iE/5_oiW2yj2i8/s1600/sextapecam.gif
What was refreshing about this story is that it wasn't really about the making of the tape itself, which actually takes only a few minutes of screen time, but watching Jay and Annie confront people who got the I Pads and trying to gauge from their faces whether or not they've watched it yet or not. The confrontation with their best friends Robby (Rob Corddry, who co-starred with Diaz in What Happens in Vegas) and Ellie Kemper (from NBC's The Office) is brilliantly directed and the reveal that they have watched the tape is not as obvious as you would expect and I love that they not only support Jay and Annie in their mission, but that they LOVED the tape.
http://www.filmequals.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/sex-tape-movie-photo-6.jpg
Jake Kasdan's direction ranges from manic to on-target, with the above mentioned scene a definite highlight. Jason Segel and Kate Angelo's screenplay doesn't shy away from the subject matter and really only gets away from them in one scene that features a hysterically funny cameo by Jack Black (where has he been?), but doesn't ever get truly nasty or obscene.
http://movies.inquirer.net/files/2014/07/Sex_Tape_16.jpg
Kasdan puts a lot of trust in his actors here. Segel and Diaz, who did work well together in Bad Teacher make a wonderful couple here and the fact that they have slightly better material than they did with Bad Teacher is a definite asset. Corddry is very funny as is Rob Lowe playing a potential business partner of Annie's who also got an I Pad. Segel's confrontation with Lowe's very angry dog is pretty funny too. Also loved the outtakes from the actual sex tape which Kasdan cleverly placed at the end of the story. Like I said, it's no classic, but a big improvement over Bad Teacher. 3

Gideon58

06-06-16, 06:52 PM

MOULIN ROUGE
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9f/Moulin_rouge_poster.jpg
As mentioned in my review of The Great Gatsy, Baz Luhrman is a director who prefers flash over substance, great visuals over great dialogue, and risk over the safe and conventional and never was this more evident than in his 2001 surprise hit Moulin Rouge, a splashy and colorful musical diversion that broke all the rules of movie musicals, causing passionate debate over its merits...this is one of those films that people either really really love or really really hate.
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What Luhrman has done here is taken a classic movie storyline that is very simple on the surface and employed every cinematic illusion in his directorial magic hat to distract us from seeing how really conventional the story is by surrounding it with enough pageantry and dazzle that we think we're seeing something unique. When you strip away all the smoke and mirrors, what you have here is a romantic triangle: a wide-eyed and sensitive writer (Ewan MacGregor) instantly falls in love with a courtesan (read: prostitute) named Satine (Nicole Kidman) who returns the writer's feelings, but is also being wooed by a wealthy Duke (Richard Roxburgh), who has agreed to finance Satine's latest stage venture in exchange for her sexual slavery.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dkXOmupYO30/UM0AwtJBI3I/AAAAAAAAGx8/pMKoCJAPn3Y/s1600/moulin+rouge+03.jpg
Luhrman takes this variation on a cinematic love story and dresses it up with cinematic storytelling techniques from other places...we have love at first sight, we have the woman choosing love or money, the obsessive rich guy who sees his competition but is in denial about it, the man willing to use his money to secure the love of a woman who doesn't love him and even murder the man she does love and how just when it seems live love conquers all, star-crossed lovers can still be kept apart and endings aren't always happy.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4yjlY7aW4hY/maxresdefault.jpg
These story elements are nothing new to movies so Luhrman dazzles us with amazing visuals and musical interludes and since the story elements aren't original, Luhrman didn't feel that an original score was necessary, so he borrowed classic and contemporary music that somehow perfectly frames the story. Luhrman tells a musical story that takes place in turn of the century Paris but somehow makes music by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Madonna, Elton John, and Paul McCartney seem absolutely at home and appropriate with some stylish new arrangements by Craig Armstrong, though there are a couple of songs written especially for the movie like "Come What May" and "The Show Must Go On" that work too, though some of the most memorable musical moments in the film are new interpretations of songs we know like "Diamonds are a Girl Best Friend" and especially "Roxanne", a dazzling combination of intense vocals, inventive choreography and effective editing that must be seen to be believed.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7g7EbPboHrw/SxH6zan3TVI/AAAAAAAABQg/yRIdLode5s8/s1600/moulin+rouge.jpg
Luhrman's hand-picked cast is perfection, led by Nicole Kidman's dazzling star turn as Satine, which earned her an Oscar nomination, perfectly complimented by MacGregor who creates one of the sexiest leading men I have ever seen in a musical. Kudos as well to Jim Broadbent as Zidler, the theater owner and John Leguizamo as Toulouse Lau-trec. The film won richly deserved Oscars for art direction/set direction and for costumes, which should have been no surprise for a director who is all about the visual...the film I suspect is an acquired taste, but a musical lover who is looking to be challenged might find something to work with here. 4

Gideon58

06-07-16, 04:50 PM

SPIDERMAN 2
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51529JJX43L.jpg
Sam Raimi's ambitious direction is the primary asset of 2004's Spiderman 2, the sequel to his 2002 hit that, despite some minor plot contrivances and credibility issues provides solid entertainment for most of its running time.
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This film finds Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) dealing with everything in his life going wrong...he's lost his little part-time job, the girl he loves, MJ (Kirsten Dunst) is marrying someone else, he's flunking out of college, and he's moments from being thrown out of his dingy rented room because he's behind in his rent. Meanwhile Spiderman has to deal with Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), a brilliant scientist who has developed a fusion energy source mechanism that consists of four huge mechanical octopus like tentacles that the "Doc Ock" loses control of and finds himself the unwitting commander of a seemingly unstoppable killing machine. Issues that Peter has with best friend Harry (James Franco) also come to light.

Sam Raimi and screenwriter have mounted a story that initially annoys but works once it gets going. The film spends way too much time dumping on poor Peter Parker and just when you think there's nothing else that can happen to him, Spiderman loses his powers and gives up crime fighting but we're supposed to accept the fact that the second that MJ is in danger, his powers magically reappear? However, there are some moments of real sadness and pathos that really register...I loved when Peter attempts to get his powers back by trying to jump over the top of a pair of buildings, fails, and hurts his back...the sight of him walking between the parked cars in the alley holding his injured back was one of the saddest things I have ever seen. I also loved at the end of the hard to believe stopping the train sequence that it took everything out of Spiderman and he literally collapses in the arms of the passengers...a beautiful reminder that this super hero is human, which is sometimes easy to forget.
http://www.filmclub.es/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/spiderman3.jpg
The film also brings up a lot of question regarding the sanctity of Peter's secret identity and doesn't really provide answers. It is implied that Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) suspects who her nephew is, but never voices it...MJ tells Peter that she suspects it, yet we're supposed to believe that Harry had no clue? Harry's shock at learning the truth was a little hard to swallow but what it led to was brilliant...a perfect set-up for a third film.
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Tobey Maguire once again brings a beautifully human aspect to this super hero and the offbeat casting choice of Alfred Molina as Doc Ock was inspired...I loved that Doc Ock had a conscience and that he didn't want to cause all the harm he did, including the death of his wife (Donna Murphy), and even in full villain mode, Molina always conveyed Otto's lack of control in the situation and I love the glance of his humility we are provided near the climax. The movie takes awhile to get going but once it does, it's a fun ride and I never found myself looking at my watch. 3.5

Gideon58

06-07-16, 07:31 PM

SCREAM 3
http://images.moviepostershop.com/scream-3-movie-poster-2000-1010475479.jpg
Wes Craven, screenwriter Ehren Kruger and the gang from Woodsboro are back for another round of slasher madness in Scream 3,a fresh variation of tongue in cheek gore that captures the spirit of the first film better than the second and puts the characters we really care about center stage.
http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0260/3817/products/scream333_1024x1024.jpg?v=1393963040
The film opens with the murder of Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber) who was considering a cameo appearance in the third STAB film where the killer again rears his ugly head once again in an attempt to get to our heroine Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), who finally has to face the truth about her mother.

Craven and Kruger got the franchise back on track here with a return to the subtle humor that lets the audience in on the joke, primarily through the meeting of the real Woodsboro characters and the actors playing them in STAB who take their roles very seriously until they realize that these roles might be a possible death warrant.
http://i.imgur.com/3l0GW.jpg
The film reunites Dewey (David Arquette) and Gail (Courtney Cox Arquette with a bad haircut) in Hollywood where Dewey is a technical consultant on STAB 3 and Gail is the host of her own entertainment magazine show. The "will they or won't they" between these two characters still has mileage and Craven and Williamson are fully aware of that. The attraction between the two is always an undercurrent here though both find themselves very serious about getting to the bottom of what's going on. I love watching these two but I'm kind of over Sidney...I don't know if it's the actress or the character or the fact that Craven hasn't properly explained what he's trying to do here, but Sidney just seems like she accidentally wandered off the set of a more serious slasher movie, though Campbell does manage a semblance of chemistry with Patrick Dempsey, the detective who gets involved in the goings-on with Cotton's murder.
http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/18000000/Scream-3-scream-18091747-852-480.jpg
The Arquettes had proven chemistry and when given chance to carry the story, they really delivered...there's also solid support from Lance Henriksen, Scott Foley, Josh Pais, and especially Parker Posey, who steals every scene she's in as STAB Gail Weathers. The second film was a little too serious in tone for what I was introduced to in the first film, but this film is more in spirit of the first and was a lot of fun. 3.5

Sexy Celebrity

06-09-16, 12:18 AM

Gideon58

06-09-16, 11:18 AM

Well, I love the seriousness of Scream 2. It's the darkest Scream movie and I love it for that.

Kevin Williamson actually did not write Scream 3. He wrote the treatment for it, but his treatment was vastly different from what they actually made. Ehren Kruger wrote the screenplay. Some of Kevin Williamson's ideas are still in the movie -- like being on the set of Stab 3 and Gale having Parker Posey tagging along with her. Parker Posey is great. I like Scream 3. But I would have liked to have seen what a true Kevin Williamson version of it would be like, since this is basically an Ehren Kruger screenplay.

I know you preferred 2, but it seems that the humor was a predominant spirit of the first film and one of the main reasons I enjoyed it so much, not your typical slasher film, you know? So I was a little turned off by the serious tone of the 2nd film, but the tone of the first film seemed to resurface in 3 and that's why I enjoyed it more. I didn't realize Williamson didn't write the screenplay, I will make that correction in my review.

MovieMeditation

06-11-16, 10:06 AM

You rated the worst Scream movie higher than the second film? Damn.

And not that I follow these things closely and always trust in them, but on Rotten Tomatoes the first sequel has a 81% score from critics, while the third film has a series-low of 36% ...

I can't quite remember what I wrote about the first and second films a while back when I rewatched them, but I do remember feeling like the sequel went on a little too long and got a little too lost in its own spoof of sequels and follow-ups. The missing tongue in cheek humor I don't remember much, I actually seem to recall it was more fun and more aware than the first, and sometimes too much aware.

Sexy Celebrity

06-11-16, 10:09 AM

Scream 3 feels kinda like a soap opera to me. Gideon likes those things.

MovieMeditation

06-11-16, 10:14 AM

Scream 3 feels kinda like a soap opera to me. Gideon likes those things.
Oh yeah, that makes sense.

Gideon58

06-11-16, 12:16 PM

ZOMBIELAND
https://tokyo5.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/zombieland.jpg
From the "Check your brain at the door and enjoy the ride" genre of filmmaking comes 2009's Zombieland, a thundering and imaginative post-Apocalyptic adventure that moves at a lightening pace, never takes itself too seriously and entertains from start to finish.

The entire country has been destroyed by zombies, leaving nothing but carnage and destruction in their wake. There are a handful of human survivors trying to find passage to safety but, of course, the zombies are still out there.
http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/still/zombieland02.jpg
Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) is a nerdy college student trying to get back to Ohio to find his parents who runs into Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), a cocky, gun-toting tough guy obsessed with twinkies and they meet a pair of sisters (Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin), also trying to get home, initiating one of the wildest human vs zombie showdowns ever.

Director Ruben Fleischer displays definite influence in his work...Spielberg, Tarantino, Romero, Craven...his use of slow motion even brings to mind the great Sam Peckinpah, but it is influence only...his work is truly original and his ability to properly pace an action film is unparalleled. The main reason I said to check your brain at the door is because the movie doesn't allow you time to think...if you try to figure out everything that's going on, you're going to miss a lot. The screenplay by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick is delightfully tongue in cheek and applies great pressure to the 4th wall without actually breaking it...every time Columbus employs one of his rules, it appears on the screen in huge block lettering. We're placed in the middle of an awesome action adventure that never lets us forget it's just a movie either.
http://www.film4.com/media/images/Channel4/Film4/2000s/Z/zombieland.jpg
Woody Harrelson absolutely lights up the screen as Tallahassee and appears to be having a ball here...I don't think I have ever enjoyed him onscreen more and the unexpected chemistry between him and Eisenberg, brilliantly channeling Tony Randall, is a joy to watch. There's also an off-the-wall cameo appearance by Bill Murray, whose mansion provides our quartet a brief respite from their adventure, but it's only brief. This movie was one hell of a roller coaster ride...speaking of which, the finale that takes place in a deserted amusement park, is nothing short of spectacular. Don't try to figure it out, don't think about it, just hold onto something and watch. Fans of Tremors, Eight Legged Freaks, and From Dusk Til Dawn will have a head start here. 4.5

Gideon58

06-11-16, 03:51 PM

SCREAM 4
http://bloodbathandbeyond.tv/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/scream-4-1.jpg
Mad genius Wes Craven and partner in crime Kevin Williamson have brought their Woodsboro adventures full circle with 2011's Scream 4, the best film since the first that once again finds that seamless blend of tongue in cheek humor and genuine horror in a viable story from a formula that should have been running out of steam but apparently is anything but.
http://scream-trilogy.net/wp-content/uploads/scream4kirbyjill.jpg
It's been ten years since the first film and there have now been 7 STAB films made that have taken on a cult status in Woodsboro a la The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The local movie buffs even have an annual STAB-a-thon where they watch all seven films back to back. Sydney Prescott (Neve Campbell) has written a best selling book and has returned to Woodsboro for a book signing on the same day that the killings start again with a pair of sisters.
http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/17200000/Scream-4-HQ-Promotional-Photos-horror-movies-17275210-2560-1704.jpg
To say much more about the plot would ruin it for the uninitiated, but suffice it to say, that Craven and Williamson have actually created a fourth story that not only has cinematic legs, but actually does a 360 back to the first film that I really didn't see coming. Again, Craven and Williamson continue to break the rules, having characters talk about horror movie cliches before they are actually played out onscreen, only exacerbating the shock for the viewer. As mentioned onscreen during the film, the murders have gotten bigger, badder, and bloodier...Ghostface is not playing this time, getting too close for comfort with characters we've grown to love like Sheriff Dewey (David Arquette) and wife Gail (Courtney Cox), who find their marriage as well as their lives jeopardized here.
http://images4.static-bluray.com/reviews/4838_1.jpg
The Arquettes and Neve Campell wear these characters like comfortable shoes by now and there is some solid new support here from Marley Shelton, Hayden Pannetiere, Rory Culkin, and especially Emma Roberts, but it is the genius of Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson, creating the most unique movie franchise I have ever experienced, bringing it full circle and leaving the option for more. 4

Sexy Celebrity

06-11-16, 03:58 PM

I'm glad you liked it. For me, Scream 4 is the worst one, but I don't hate it. Ehren Kruger worked on that movie's screenplay a little, too. There were plans for Scream 5 and Scream 6, but Scream 4 didn't do so well at the box office and then Wes Craven died.

Topsy

06-11-16, 04:05 PM

Man,we have totally different views on scream 4..but i think we may have discussed it before?
courtney looks great in that poster though,i always get sad when i see her now,she was so beautiful

Gideon58

06-11-16, 04:48 PM

Man,we have totally different views on scream 4..but i think we may have discussed it before?
courtney looks great in that poster though,i always get sad when i see her now,she was so beautiful

I think have totally different views on the entire franchise than anyone else here.

Camo

06-11-16, 04:56 PM

I think have totally different views on the entire franchise than anyone else here.

Actually you pretty much have the majority opinion, only difference is you prefer 3 to 2.

Scream 4 is the best since the original i agree.

Topsy

06-11-16, 05:05 PM

I absolutely hated it. but i love the first 3-i would find it difficult to rate them though as i love different things about each.
im surprised to not see Neve Campbell in more stuff though-she was everywhere for awhile in the 90s.

Gideon58

06-13-16, 11:43 AM

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
http://static.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/the-life-aquatic-with-steve-zissou-2004.jpg
Wes Anderson, the creative vision behind The Royal Tannenbaums strikes gold again with 2004's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, a fresh and strikingly original comic adventure wrapped in a riveting character study made innovative and entertaining thanks to this director's off beat style, some terrific performances, and some first rate production values.
http://screenrobot.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/The-Life-Aquatic-With-Steve-Zissou.jpg
Bill Murray turns in a dazzling performance as Steve Zissou, an egocentric oceanographer and filmmaker with his own oceanographic empire which includes an extraordinary vessel called the Belafonte and a loyal and hard-working crew, who seem to be under the watchful eye of Steve's estranged wife, Eleanor (Anjelica Huston), who also writes the checks to keep the business afloat (so to speak). As we meet this contemporary reboot of Jacques Cousteau, he has just returned from a journey where he claims that his best friend Estaban (Seymour Cassell) was eaten by a shark, who may or may not exist, but that doesn't deter Steve from making a journey to exact revenge on said shark, accompanied by his crew, a group of graduate students working as interns for college credit, a British magazine reporter (Cate Blanchett) who is five months pregnant with her married boss' baby and a grown son (Owen Wilson) he is meeting for the first time and may or may not have been aware of his existence.
http://cdn.collider.com/wp-content/uploads/the-life-aquatic-with-steve-zissou-image.jpg
This film definitely scores points in terms of originality...an unconventional story mounted on a unique canvas. Anderson has mounted a believable and emotionally charged canvas that, outside of fans of Jacques Cousteau, had to be completely foreign cinematic territory and centered it around a character who is brilliant and undisciplined, speaks without filter, and considers everyone in his orbit ends to a means, but we see a change in the man when he meets his son and the relationship that develops between Steve and his new son actually is the heart of this film and what makes it so completely watchable. The relationship is so beautifully realized that, knowing Anderson's previous work, I was afraid we were going to learn that the guy was not his son at all, but their relationship remains as we want it to until the final credits.
http://cinapse.co/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Life-Aquatic-Zissou-20.jpg
Wes Anderson gets the same kind of performance out of Bill Murray that he did from Gene Hackman in The Royal Tannenbaums...no matter what this guy did or how wrong he was, we just don't care because he is so damn likable and that might have something to do with this actor's history and our unconditional love for him, except Murray disappears inside this character and we believe and accept and are entertained by everything this guy does. Despite an inconsistent southern accent, Owen Wilson is charming as Steve's new son, Ned who actually has a viable chemistry with Blanchett in a role that seems thankless on the surface but Blanchett gives it substance. Also loved Willem Dafoe as an insecure member of Steve's crew and Jeff Goldblum as a fellow oceanographer who has a love/hate relationship with Steve.
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This film is deliciously unpredictable with surprises throughout and Anderson has spared no expense in bringing this complex tale to the screen. The film features some beautiful cinematography, both underwater and above the surface, first rate art direction and set direction (the Belefonte is awesome), and terrific film and sound editing. But above all, this is a triumph for the director, co-screenwriter Noah Baumbach, and its one-of-a-kind star who confirms here he is a genuine movie star. 4

Camo

06-13-16, 12:28 PM

Pretty good film but i think along with The Darjeeling Limited that it is the weakest Wes Anderson film.

Gideon58

06-13-16, 05:23 PM

ADMISSION
An overly ambitious and unoriginal screenplay is the primary culprit in making 2013's Admission really rough going, but fans of the stars still might find it worth checking out.
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The film stars Tina Fey as Portia Nathan, a tightly wound admissions counselor at Princeton who has been at her job for 16 years and has her pitch for the school down to a fine art and is in a dead end relationship with a professor (Michael Sheen). Upon visiting an alternative New England high school, she is immediately attracted to the head of the school (Paul Rudd) but finds the relationship complicated when she learns that one of his students (Nat Wolff), who wants to get into Princeton, might be the child that Portia gave up for adoption many years ago.
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This is another example of a movie that has the genesis of at least three really good movies in it, but the attempt to meld all three ideas into a single movie just doesn't work. The film takes a really likable central character and has her putting her entire career on the line when she has always been the kind of person who has never colored outside the lines, so it was just hard to accept all the rule-bending that Portia does here for a child she gave up. The movie doesn't exactly shed a flattering light on the college admissions process either...something I hadn't really questioned before except in the case of athletic scholarships (an issue addressed in Blue Chips), but I couldn't help wondering what Princeton thought of this movie. I guess it wouldn't have bothered me as much if the story had been set at a fictional college.
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Paul Weitz' direction is kind of pedestrian which I didn't expect with such an all-over-the place screenplay and there is some odd casting...Fey is OK in a role that seemed to be written for Sandra Bullock and she has some chemistry with Rudd, but the rest of the cast...Nat Wolff's performance was snore inducing and Michael Sheen's role seems to have been made much bigger than it deserved to be just because Sheen was playing it. The character seemed to keep popping up throughout the story for absolutely no reason than to legitimize Michael Sheen's paycheck. The only satisfactory support in the cast came from Lily Tomlin as Fey's mother, even though the whole sexually uninhibited mother producing the prudish daughter just seems played out too. There's a couple of nice story concepts introduced here and Fey and Rudd are likable together, but this one is for hardcore fans of the stars only. 2

MovieMeditation

06-13-16, 05:30 PM

Despite its lesser reputation, at least compared to other Anderson works, I freaking loved The Life Aquatic the first time I saw it.

I better revisit some time soon, to make sure, but I loved pretty much everything about it, so I hope it'll hold up.

Gideon58

06-13-16, 05:36 PM

Gideon58

06-14-16, 12:00 PM

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
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Wes Anderson is a filmmaker whose work has inspired a cult audience but he has also found mainstream success, as evidenced by 2014's The Grand Budapest Hotel, a lavish and loopy comic adventure that is so stylishly mounted and brilliantly cast that it earned eight Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture. I have to confess that it is only coincidental that I watched this after The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou...this one had been on my watchlist for a while but had no idea that Anderson directed it.
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The film follows the incredible but entertaining adventures of Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes), the concierge at the title establishment and the unlikely friendship he develops with Zero Mustafa (Tony Revolori), his devoted lobby boy (bell hop) that grows and flourishes between the first and second world wars. As concierge, Gustave was able to manipulate up close and personal relationships with hotel guests, particularly the older, female wealthy ones and when one of them (Tilda Swinton) ends up dead, Gustave's job and life are forever compromised, forcing him to go on the run with Zero, the jumping off point for one of the most outrageous comic chase/crime escapades ever put on film, whose originality is only surpassed by its unpredictability.
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Anderson's Oscar-nominated screenplay is sophisticated and stylish, though it seemed to be peppered with a lot of adult language that didn't seem period-appropriate and might have had something to do with the film losing that award. Anderson was also nominated for his direction and there aren't a lot of wrong moves made here...a director who has developed a growing rep company with each film and somehow manages to create the perfect marriages of character and actor while never neglecting the technical aspects of perfecting story authenticity while never letting us forget we're watching a movie without actually breaking the 4th wall, something that Anderson has gotten down to a science. His camera work is deliberate and stark, creating striking cinematic pictures that linger in the viewer's mind, yet at the same time keeping his story moving at a such a lightening pace that there is no time to question the events unfolding in front of us. Anderson is a filmmaker whose work requires and demands complete attention and never has me looking at my watch.
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Anderson has put together an absolutely brilliant cast here, headed by Fiennes, who has not been so charismatic onscreen since Quiz Show and Revolori is a revelation as young Zero. The brilliant supporting cast includes Adrien Brody, Jeff Goldblum, Edward Norton, Harvey Keitel, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, F. Murray Abraham, and Jude Law. Anderson's care regarding the look of his story was rewarded with four richly deserved Oscars for costumes, hair and makeup, music score, and the breathtaking set design. A one-of-a-kind motion picture experience that will spark the imagination and tickle the funny bone. 4.5

Gideon58

06-14-16, 07:00 PM

A FAREWELL TO ARMS (1957)
Producer David O. Selznick put a lot of money into A Farewell to Arms, a 1957 remake of the 1932 film based on Ernest Hemingway's classic novel, apparently as a valentine to wife Jennifer Jones, but I think he chose the wrong vehicle.
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Hemingway's novel was actually turned into a stage play by Laurence Stallings in 1930 and ran for 30 performances before becoming a film in 1932 with Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes playing an ambulance driver and nurse who have a star-crossed romance during WWI. This review is coming from someone who has never read Hemingway's novel nor saw the 1932 film.
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On the positive side, director Charles Vidor did a credible job showcasing the absurdity of war, mounting some pretty believable battle sequences for the 1950's. I also enjoyed Rock Hudson's performance as Lt. Frederick Henry. Hudson had spent most of the decade up to this point becoming the king of 1950's melodrama and fresh off his Oscar-nominated performance in Giant, the actor proves he understands this genre. Also liked Mercedes Macambridge and Elaine Stritch as nurses who fall on either side of this star-crossed romance. It was fun seeing Hudson and Macambridge share the screen again after playing brother and sister in Giant. The screenplay did have some surprising adult touches too...I loved when Jones enters Hudson's hospital room during one scene, it fades to black, and the next scene we see Jones out on the terrace, out of her nurse smock and her hair down.
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Jennifer Jones was another story...not sure if I was more annoyed by the character of Catherine or Jones' performance but actually I think it was a combination of both. From her opening scene where Catherine is telling Frederick about the soldier who died before she could marry him, I was never quite sure if Catherine wasn't confusing Frederick with that guy, coupled with Catherine's incessant need for constant validation and needing Frederick to say he loves her every ten seconds. By the time we get to the childbirth scenes, she is intolerable and can't believe Hudson isn't running from the hospital room screaming.
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Hardcore Hudson fans might want to check this out, but I thought Jones was unconvincing and the movie was about 45 minutes too long, but judge for yourself. 2.5

Gideon58

06-15-16, 04:42 PM

THE ARTIST
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I discovered I have recently been overusing the phrase "strikingly original" after my viewing of a remarkable piece of filmmaking called The Artist, a 2011 masterwork that became the first silent film to win the Oscar for Best Picture, as well as four other awards. In addition to being "strikingly original", this film is also funny, stylish, heartbreaking, profoundly moving, running roughshod over my emotions as an elegant valentine to Hollywood and the art of filmmaking, proving that film can stir emotion with minimum dialogue and maximum soul.
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The film stars French heartthrob Jean Dujardin as George Valentin, a silent movie matinee idol at the height of his career in late 1920's Hollywood who meets an aspiring starlet named Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo) and though there is an immediate attraction between the two, it is also clear that for both of these people put their careers first, which experience a serious and irreparable fork with the advent of talking pictures, which George initially dismisses as a fad that will fade, but Peppy embraces and runs with. In true Hollywood fashion, George's career begins to crumble while Peppy becomes a huge star but never forgets George, who though he will always have feelings for Peppy, can never truly accept the fact that she is now a bigger star than she is. The plot does sound familiar, but the hook here is that everything that happens in this film is done with absolutely no dialogue.
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The last time I saw an actual silent movie released theatrically was Mel Brooks' 1976 comedy Silent Movie, which was a parody of the filmmaking technique. This film is not a parody, it is an homage, a loving homage mounted in elegant and sophisticated fashion that is true to the film technique for most of its running time. I had resisted this film for awhile because knowing it was silent I knew it would require reading and I hate reading at the movies. It is initially unsettling that the title cards with the dialogue are actually in French, but very quickly into the story this becomes completely irrelevant. Writer and director Michel Hazanavicius has clearly done his homework, understands the art of silent film and makes everything that happens on the screen crystal clear and the inability to read French becomes a non-issue and for this alone, Hazanavicius deserved the Oscar he won for Outstanding Achievement in Direction.
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Of course, in a silent film, music is a crucial component because it has to stir a lot of the emotions that are usually assigned to dialogue and Ludovic Bource's work here is masterful and won him a richly deserved Oscar as well...the music in the film turns on a dime as the scenes do and it ranges from full orchestrations to a single instrument from scene to scene but it is always appropriate and matches what is happening on the screen.

There is a lot of classic Hollywood inspiration present here...films like Singin in the Rain, Sunset Boulevard, A Star is Born, All About Eve, and The Bad and the Beautiful come to mind while watching but nothing here smacks of imitation or rip-off, it is purely homage and homage done with complete respect.
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Jean Dujardin, a charismatic actor who reminded me of Gene Kelly in his prime, is a revelation in the starring role and won a richly deserved Oscar for Outstanding Lead Actor. Berenice Bejo, whose deep soulful eyes reveal an actress of depth, was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress, though I'm a little unclear as to why she was nominated in the supporting category, unless the studio thought she had a better chance of winning in the supporting category, because this role was clearly a lead. There were a few familiar American actors here too...John Goodman made a perfect movie studio head and loved James Cromwell as George's chauffeur and BFF. The film was shot in beautiful black and white and was robbed of the cinematography Oscar, as well as the one for art direction. but it did win for costume design.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime movie experience that had me laughing, holding my breath, smiling, and most importantly for me, fighting tears. When I have to fight tears, this is a motion picture that has taken complete control of me, a sign of a great film...this film is, in a word, a masterpiece. For true cinema purists. 5

Gideon58

06-15-16, 07:39 PM

IRON MAN 2
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2010's Iron Man 2 is the busy sequel to the original Marvel comic smash that attempts a novel approach to the comic book sequel and achieves a semblance of success, even though I think director Jon Favreau may have bitten off a little more than he can chew here, stepping in front of the camera as well.

Favreau had to go a different route with the sequel as the basis of most sequels, the reveal of the secret identity, was not an option since the alter ego was revealed at the end of the first film. What Favreau chose to do here was to create a story wrapped around Tony Stark's legacy, which really wasn't addressed in the first film and creating some very personal risks for Tony that interfere with his battle with a mad man (Mickey Roarke) who knew his father teaming with a competitive weapons dealer (Sam Rockwell).not to mention a possible shift in allegiance for Tony's friend Rhodey (now played by Don Cheadle, Terrance Howard wanted too much money for the sequel).
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Favreau came up with some good ideas here, but either let them get away from or didn't develop them enough. I liked the idea of the equipment that originally saved Tony's life is now endangering his health, forcing him to make Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) CEO of Stark Industries, but the health issues seems to resolve itself with little or no explanation and how Roarke was able to locate Stark so quickly was also a little hard to swallow and the appearance of Nicky Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and the soon to be Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) seemed to come out of nowhere just to set up the Avengers series. As always with an eye on the bottom line, Favreau does make sure that this story clearly sets up a third Iron man film as well, while leaving dangling plot participles here unaddressed. but it all happens so quickly under the guise of elaborate smoke and mirrors that we're not supposed to notice.
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Don't get me wrong....the film is watchable as long as you don't think about it too much. Robert Downey Jr. still lights up the screen in the title role and the "will they or won't they" with Pepper is briefly addressed. Mickey Roarke was an offbeat choice for a comic book villain, but it worked and Sam Rockwell, as always, made every moment he had onscreen count. Loved Cheadle as the new Rhodey too...my first reaction to Cheadle in this role is that he is much too intelligent a screen presence for this kind of popcorn, but he seemed committed and made it work.
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Of course, the technical aspects of the film are solid, with special nods to art direction and sound editing, but I think if Favreau had stayed behind the camera and spent more time working with Justin Theroux's screenplay than trying to get screentime, this sequel could have rocked, but as it stands, I've seen a lot worse. 3

Citizen Rules

06-15-16, 10:59 PM

Wow, I'm gone one day and you've reviewed three movies already!

Thanks for watching a recent reviewed movie of mine, A Farewell To Arms. Nice review, I liked that you gave the reader some background information about he stage play. I didn't know there was a play.

Jennifer Jones was another story...not sure if I was more annoyed by the character of Catherine or Jones' performance but actually I think it was a combination of both. From her opening scene where Catherine is telling Frederick about the soldier who died before she could marry him, I was never quite sure if Catherine wasn't confusing Frederick with that guy, coupled with Catherine's incessant need for constant validation and needing Frederick to say he loves her every ten seconds.I believe Hemingway wrote Catherine as a neurotic and damaged, needy woman, who gets that way from the horrors of war. At the start of the film she has suffered emotional stress when her fiance is killed in the war. She tells Rock Hudson, she's not right in the head. So yeah, you're right she was weird, my wife raised the same questions after we watched the movie. I'm pretty sure her character was suppose to be so needy-annoying, almost a psychosis. I loved the scenes that were shot in the Alps and on Lake Como.

Gideon58

06-16-16, 11:15 AM

Wow, I'm gone one day and you've reviewed three movies already!

Thanks for watching a recent reviewed movie of mine, A Farewell To Arms. Nice review, I liked that you gave the reader some background information about he stage play. I didn't know there was a play.

I believe Hemingway wrote Catherine as a neurotic and damaged, needy woman, who gets that way from the horrors of war. At the start of the film she has suffered emotional stress when her fiance is killed in the war. She tells Rock Hudson, she's not right in the head. So yeah, you're right she was weird, my wife raised the same questions after we watched the movie. I'm pretty sure her character was suppose to be so needy-annoying, almost a psychosis. I loved the scenes that were shot in the Alps and on Lake Como.

Thank you for once again respecting my opinion...I was a little apprehensive writing the review because I got the impression that you really liked it, but I've never lied about my opinions and you've always respected them. I have a feeling that Catherine's behavior is better explained in the novel, one of the first things I thought of after finishing the movie is that I wish I had read the book, but I've always been a "wait for the movie to come out" kind of guy. Rock Hudson was great though. I will also tell you, if you haven't seen it, run, don't walk to see The Artist...absolutely amazing movie and I KNOW that you will love it.

Citizen Rules

06-16-16, 01:51 PM

I always respect your opinion too Gideon...No, I didn't love A Farewell To Arms (but I did like it), and thought it was a uniquely different movie for an American film. There were scenes in it like the dead topless woman with a baby at her breast that would never be included in a Hollywood film.

I agree with you that Rock Hudson was very good in this and that the character of Catherine was odd. Yes, she drove me crazy at times too!

Gideon58

06-16-16, 06:31 PM

SOUTHPAW
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The 2015 boxing drama Southpaw has a cliche-ridden screenplay that heaps a lot on the central character and some really unappealing supporting characters, but the film is worth investing in for the gutsy and unhinged performance by Jake Gyllenhaal in the starring role that makes the film seem a lot better than it really is.
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Gyllenhaal plays Billy Hope, the light heavyweight champion of the world, 43 wins and no losses, who is facing that crucial point in his career where he's getting hit a lot more than he used to and his wife, Maureen (Rachel McAdams) is worried about how much more he can take. A confrontation with a cocky fighter (Miguel Gomez) who wants a shot at Eddie's title, actually results in Maureen's tragic death, an event that sends Billy on a dizzying downward spiral where he loses everything, including custody of his daughter, Leila (Oona Lawrence), forcing him to start over again with a new trainer (Forrest Whitaker) in his corner.
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Kurt Sutter's screenplay offers nothing really groundbreaking and I really didn't expect it to...I've seen a whole lot of movies revolving around this sport and there's not a whole lot new or innovative that can be brought to the table at this point. The one thing that I have noticed with each boxing movie I have ever seen is that each film offers a new training technique that I have never seen before...in the case of this film, it was the tying of the rope across the center of the ring and having Billy duck from one side of the rope to the other...of course I had never seen a fighter punch a slab of beef until I saw Rocky so who am I to say this is not a legitimate training technique?
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What I didn't like about this story is that even after the death of his wife, the story kept heaping more and more misfortune on poor Billy, making sure the character was rock bottom before he would initiate any kind of change in his life. I also didn't like the way his posse drifted away after things turned bad for him, just as Maureen had predicted...it was really disturbing watching Billy's manager (50 Cent) walk to the ring for the climactic fight behind Billy's opponent. I was also turned off by Forrest Whitaker's character the second he lied about drinking...his character seemed to be of the "do as I say not as I do" school, which was a real turn-off and Whitaker's unconvincing performance didn't help.
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What we do have is Antoine Fuqua, a proven director of action with Training Day and The Equalizer under his belt, providing believable action sequences inside and outside the ring and Gyllenhaal, looking pumped and amazing, commanding the screen with such authority that it actually wasn't that difficult looking past the film's problems and watching a real movie star killing it...again. 4

Gideon58

06-16-16, 09:14 PM

Jason Bateman made an inauspicious feature directorial debut with a pointless, unfunny, and bordering on offensive comedy from 2013 called Bad Words, which when all is said is done, just comes off as someone's public working through their childhood issues and I'm not sure if it's Bateman or the writer.
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Bateman plays Guy Trilby, a 40 year old proofreader who, through a technical loophole, is able to enter a children's national spelling bee, upsetting bee staff, outraging parents and baffling the internet reporter (Kathryn Hahn) who has agreed to sponsor him on what appears to be a very serious mission for which Guy takes a lot of abuse, physical and otherwise, but eventually we learn that there is a very specific reason why Guy is obsessed with winning this bee and it is supposed to garner our sympathy as is the relationship he develops with a fellow bee contestant, who is 30 years younger than he is.
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I don't know what exactly is the problem here...I don't know if it's the fact that Andrew Barton's screenplay gives us a very unlikable central character or the fact that the reveal of why he's doing this comes way too late in the story and doesn't really seem to be worth all the unhappiness and anger he causes a whole lot of people during this ugly little mission of his or that this 10 year old is so pathetic that he would actually take all the abuse he does from Guy because he is that lonely and pathetic...OK, I think it's all of that.
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Bateman has such a likable screen persona but this character really stretches it to its limits and Hahn is effective in the most significant role of her career. Allison Janney and Phillip Baker Hall provide solid support but Rohand Chand is completely annoying as the boy. Bateman even provided a significant role for Steve Whitting, who was his co-star on The Hogan Family, but really, unless you're a hardcore Bateman fan, I'd take a pass. 2

Gideon58

06-17-16, 05:31 PM

EVERYBODY'S FINE
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Director and co-writer Kirk Jones and star Robert De Niro form an effective film partnership in Everybody's Fine, a bittersweet comedy-drama that, despite some soap opera-ish elements, drives home a realistic message about what happens to families that grow up, separate, and stop communicating.
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De Niro plays Frank, a widower for less than a year, who is disappointed when his four grown children cancel their plan to attend a reunion at his house so, against doctor's orders, decides to take a road trip to visit his children individually, learning that his children did all their talking to their mother and that they all have been keeping secrets from dad ever since mom died. As the story progresses, we wonder which will happen first: will dad confront the children about the truth or will the children get honest with their dad.
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There is so much going on in this warm family drama but it's never too much for the viewer to take in. It's sad watching Frank, who is clearly still adjusting to widowhood and still talking to his wife as though she's there, even though he tells his doctor that he never does that. The screenplay is a little fuzzy initially about how much Frank knows and how much he wants to know...he is aware that the children found it easier to talk to their mother and he can't reconcile the fact that they can't automatically talk to him just because mom is gone. As we watch him visit the children, you get the impression that he might suspect that the wool is being pulled over his eyes, but he never lets the children know what he suspects, but a climactic fantasy scene brings all of this beautifully into focus.

The film broaches a lot of the same territory as the Alexander Payne/Jack Nicholson film About Schmidt, but it takes it a step further as we watch an aging family man in deep denial about his children not being the people he thought they were but never wavering in his love for them either, evidenced by his final words to each of them as they part: "Are you happy?"
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After almost half a century in the business, De Niro proves that he can still command a movie screen, making us love Frank immediately and wanting him to face the reality of what's going on with his children and we are relieved when he does. Drew Barrymore has one of her best roles as daughter Rosie, a dancer in Vegas questioning her sexuality; Sam Rockwell is wonderful as the orchestra percussionist whom Frank thought was a conductor and Kate Beckinsale is quite convincing as the advertising exec trying to hide her separation from her husband, but it's really De Niro's show and with the aid of director Kirk Jones, presents a movie character who evokes sympathy, sadness, and the need to just give the guy a hug. 3.5

Gideon58

06-18-16, 12:40 PM

LAST VEGAS
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With a cast led by five Oscar winners, the 2013 comedy Last Vegas definitely has star power going for it, but the story does have a little more substance than what appears on the surface, given even more richness thanks to the professionalism of a cast who give a rather unremarkable story a gloss it really doesn't deserve.
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Four childhood friends are reunited after over a half century when Billy (Michael Douglas) announces that he is marrying a woman half his age and his friends Archie (Morgan Freeman) and Sam (Kevin Kline) decide to throw a bachelor party for him in Las Vegas. Also thrown in the mix is Paddy (Robert De Niro), who has past and present issues with Billy and has to be dragged along for the party, but eventually gets into it, until history between Billy and Paddy begins to repeat itself in the form of a 2nd rate Vegas lounge singer (Mary Steenburgen).
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Director Jon Turtletaub and screenwriter Dan Fogelman really didn't have to do much here but trust the amazing cast that they have assembled and let them do what they do best, kind of the way Rob Reiner stayed out of Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson's way when they did The Bucket List...if you trust the talent to deliver and they do here. The story goes all the places you expect it too, but the lack of originality is forgiven because these actors demand said forgiveness.
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Turtletaub mounted this comic escapade on expensive Vegas locations that serve the story but never get in the way of this incredible cast. As expected the performances are first rate, with standout work from Kevin Kline, who steals every scene he is in. Nothing groundbreaking here, but the cast definitely makes this one worth seeing. As mentioned before, fans of The Bucket List will have a head start here. 3.5

Gideon58

06-18-16, 03:23 PM

COMPLIANCE
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Compliance is an infuriating and stomach-churning drama from 2013 that is only made all the more sickening by the fact that it really happened...and has happened multiple times all over the country.
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This low budget indie stars Dreama Walker as Becky, a fast food employee who has been accused of allegedly stealing money from a customer in the store. Her supervisor (Ann Dowd) brings her to the back and is given instructions on the phone from an alleged police officer regarding searching Becky's clothing and making her submit to a strip search, progressing to actual sexual humiliation involving other employees and the supervisor's fiancee (Bill Camp), resulting in what is clearly a sexual assault on this innocent woman conducted over the phone.
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This story is aggravating almost immediately because the viewer already knows that Becky is innocent and we just don't understand how someone can just call a fast food place, identify themselves as a police officer and everyone at the restaurant just takes the man's word, not to mention that none of the things he's saying make any sense and he's not offering any information regarding the alleged crime that he should be offering, like the name of the alleged victim or how much money was taken or why she didn't accuse Becky while she was still in the restaurant or why no one in the restaurant saw Becky come from behind the counter, walk over to a customer's purse and take money out of it. The supervisor questions none of this and asks for no confirmation of what has happened. She blindly obeys everything this guy on the phone tells her to do including getting her fiancee involved in the mess, which should have been a major red flag.
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This movie also aggravates because it makes just about everyone involved in this story look like complete idiots, including Becky. When the alleged officer insisted on the strip search or Becky would have been picked up, Becky should have said fine and waited for the police to come get her. Nothing that happens in this restaurant makes sense and had no justification and for once, in a refreshing change of pace, the police figure out what's going on in about five minutes and the final nail in the insanity is when the police question the supervisor about why she cooperated with this guy, all she does is cover her own ass and declare that she has broken up with her fiancee.
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On the plus side, the low budget look definitely added authenticity to the piece and Walker and Dowd do give solid performances, but more than anything else, this movie just pissed me off. 2.5

Gideon58

06-18-16, 05:47 PM

Bells are Ringing
Sparkling direction by Vincente Minnelli, a musical score that spawned a couple of pop standards and a terrific lead performance by the star make the 1960 musical Bells are Ringing a must for musical comedy fans.
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This delicious musical comedy stars the legendary Judy Holliday as Ella Petersen, an operator for an answering service run by her cousin Sue (Jean Stapleton) called Susanswerphone, who gets a little too personally involved with the lives of her clients...she uses a different voice for each client and uses information she learns from one client to help another but things becomes complicated when she falls in love with one of the voices on the phone, a struggling playwright named Jeff Moss (Dean Martin) who's having trouble writing since breaking up with his partner, even though they haven't met but of course they do eventually, forcing her to lie but eventually getting his new play written, a dentist she knows to write the songs, and coaches an actor (Frank Gorshin) she knows on how to get the lead.
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Of course every classic musical has a subplot and here it's where Sue's new boyfriend (Eddie Foy Jr.) starts running a bookie joint out of her business pretending that he's selling classical record albums, but like all great musical comedies, everything works out before the credits roll.
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This musical has a lot going for it including Minnelli's penchant for musical comedy and a terrific musical score by Jule Styne and Betty Comden and Adolph Green which includes "A Perfect Relationship", "Nothing But a Dream", "Just in Time", "I Met a Girl", "The Party's Over", "Drop that Name", and a song called "Do It", written especially for Dean Martin. But the best thing about this musical is Holliday, ten years after winning an Oscar for Born Yesterday, she reprises her Broadway role that allows her to sing, dance, clown, and employ all kinds of different voices. There is a sadness attached to the performance though...Holliday learned she was dying of cancer during production and this would be her final film role, but a fitting swan song for a movie star who never phoned it in. 4

Citizen Rules

06-18-16, 05:54 PM

Bells are Ringing is good fun! It has a real clever story line too. I'm surprised I don't hear more about it. Glad to see you liked it.:)

Gideon58

06-19-16, 04:44 PM

The Pick Up Artist
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The seemingly limitless charm and charisma of Robert Downey Jr. makes a 1987 comic romance called The Pick Up Artist seem a lot better than it really is, but Downey Jr. almost makes you forget you're caught up in pointless cinematic fluff.
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Jack Jericho is a 21 year old stud so obsessed with romancing as many women as possible that he actually rehearses pick up lines in the mirror and will have his eye on his next conquest while obtaining the phone number of the current one. Jack meets his match in Randy (Molly Ringwald) a smart and sexually liberated young museum tour guide who is trying to help her father (Dennis Hopper) with his mob debt.
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Director and writer James Toback has mounted an entertaining romantic comedy that has some surprising adult touches for 1987. I loved that when Jack and Randy first meet, she agrees to anonymous sex with him in his car, but won't give him her phone number. It was fun seeing a womanizer get what he's been giving out for so long and be totally thrown about it. Even when Jack learns of Randy's mob troubles, Randy works very hard at keeping Jack out of it, but, any rom com buff knows that this is never going to happen, especially when it's Robert Downey Jr.
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The mob elements get a little convoluted and eventual bog down the movie, but the chemistry of the leads keeps us interested and invested in their union in the final reel. Robert Downey Jr. has rarely been so sexy onscreen and Ringwald's Randy is surprisingly mature, if a bit aloof. The supporting cast is pretty solid with Harvey Keitel playing another variation on Sport in Taxi Driver and Dennis Hopper is wonderful as Randy's dad, but this movie belongs to Robert Downey Jr., who makes what could have been a monotonous journey in the hands of another actor, worth the time. 3

Sexy Celebrity

06-19-16, 05:03 PM

The Pick-Up Artist.... that's an '80s movie that seems to have played a great game of Hide and Seek with me. I've never found it, didn't really know it existed.

Gideon58

06-20-16, 12:05 PM

BURNT
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Despite some impressive production values and a slick leading performance from Bradley Cooper, the 2015 film Burnt misses for me, due to the screenplay which utilizes a well-worn backstory for the central character to justify the present story but doesn't let the backstory serve the present as it should.
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Cooper plays Adam Jones, a gourmet chef who spent several years in Paris as the premiere chef in one of Paris' most famous eateries but destroyed his career with drugs, alcohol, and abusive behavior. Clean and sober for a couple of years, Jones arrives in London on the doorstep of a former employer whose son, Tony (Daniel Bruhl) now runs the restaurant and demands that Tony hire him as the head chef. Jones is hired on the condition that he submit to drug and alcohol testing on a weekly basis and has to deal with all the expected problems involved in starting life over, including some wreckage from his past that has reared its ugly head, a rival chef (Matthew Rhys) who has not forgotten anything, a former co-worker (Omar Sy) who hasn't forgotten Adam's long ago betrayal and establishing a proper working relationship with a sous chef (Sienna Miller) who Adam arranges to have fired from her present job so that she is forced to work for him.
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Steven Knight's screenplay, sadly has the same problem that I have found with a lot of similar movie characters. Once again, we have been presented with a movie character who destroyed their life through drugs and alcohol. have magically recovered and never work any kind of program to keep their sobriety in fact, they don't even talk about it. When it is suggested by the doctor who does his drug testing (Emma Thompson) that he join a group she moderates for alcoholics and addicts, Tony's reply is that he "doesn't do groups." I am so over movie characters who are allegedly alcoholics and drug addicts who just stop and that's that...arresting alcoholism and drug addiction is a daily process that goes on for the rest of the addict's life and I hate the way Hollywood has always made light of this. Even though Adam has stopped drinking and drugging he is still a self-absorbed prick and if he actually worked a program, that could change.
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I'm not asking for a lot here. I think a movie about a recovering alcoholic and drug addict working a program and all we see is the character going to meetings and working with his sponsor would be pretty boring. I would just like to see some kind of onscreen acknowledgement by the writer through the character that staying sober is a lifelong process. Just once, I would like to see a scene in a movie where an alcoholic is asked to join a friend somewhere or do something and the character replies that he can't, he has to go to a meeting...that's all. We do see consequences of Adam not working a program but the screenplay doesn't bother to inform us that it happens because Adam is not working a program.
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Bradley Cooper works very hard at keeping a very unlikable character likable and creates a viable onscreen chemistry with Sienna Miller, who also starred with him in American Sniper. Daniel Bruhl and Matthew Rhys offer solid support and the production values are first rate, with some outstanding location filming and some great editing, but the film is more miss than hit because of the message it should be delivering and doesn't. 2.5

Gideon58

06-20-16, 06:17 PM

SHOOT THE MOON
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Alan Parker is a director whose resume defies pattern in any way, shape, or form. This is a director who has tackled prison drama (Midnight Express), musicals (Evita, Fame), and docudrama (Mississippi Burning, but even when he takes on what appears to be a simple domestic drama about the end of a marriage like 1982's Shoot the Moon, he takes a seemingly well-worn movie territory and takes it to a new level, charged with human emotion and unabashed about a story that shouldn't, but does, take sides.
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This is the story of George and Faith Dunlop (Albert Finney, Diane Keaton) a writer and his wife whose marriage is coming to an end after 15 years and 4 daughters. The story makes no qualms about whether or not this marriage is over, but it does constantly challenge the viewer as we watch both parties try to move on and watch the children try to adjust to what has happened, especially the eldest daughter (the late Dana Hill) who has decided that there is enough blame for her mother and father to share and that she and her sisters are the innocent victims.
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Parker and screenwriter Bo Goldman, who won an Oscar for co-writing the screenplay for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest have mounted a story that fascinates and occasionally shocks but is rich with unpredictability. From the opening scene, Parker and Goldman make it clear that George and Faith are not happy and the fact that we're about to see a story about a marriage about to end is not disguised or sugar-coated in anyway. What is so unusual about this story is that even though we see George and Faith both move on and even though it is clear this marriage is over, it is also clear that these two people still love each other...we don't know exactly what happened, but we know this marriage is a thing of the past, despite the love that's still there, which is what makes this story so sad.
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The sadness is further complicated by the story clearly making George the villain of the piece, thinking he has the right to move on but not allowing Faith the same luxury, not to mention refusing to accept the fact that his daughters won't accept his moving on and won't be the well-behaved little soldiers that he never realized were such a chore for Faith to raise by herself.

Parker's direction is uncompromising and pulls a pair of powerhouse performances from Albert Finney and Diane Keaton as the Dunlops, a couple whose marriage died years ago but their love never did. Finney, in particular, makes the most out of a character who makes a lot of unattractive moves here but never shies away from the ugliness of George's behavior. The scenes where he tries to deliver a birthday present for his eldest daughter and a very public argument he has in a restaurant with Faith are undeniably powerful and the finale pulls no punches either. This is the story of a family imploding that offers no real solutions, as if there are any. 4

Gideon58

06-21-16, 05:56 PM

BAD LIEUTENANT
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A frighteningly unhinged performance by Harvey Keitel in the title role is the best thing about a 1992 film called Bad Lieutenant a repellent, disturbing, and downright ugly character study wrapped around a gritty police drama that provides nothing in the way of positive characters or a story with point, logic, or legitimacy and never apologizes for it either.
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The title character (whose name is never actually revealed) is an NYPD officer who, through none of his own actions, is still actually employed by the NYPD. This guy is a serious alcoholic and drug addict who uses his position as a police officer to get the best drugs, prostitutes and is observed taking advantage of teenage girls by abusing his badge. He is also addicted to gambling on baseball games and owes a major debt to a loan shark which he keeps putting off by doubling down on the previous bet. This guy has no issues with the way he lives and doesn't feel the need to explain it to anyone, including his wife and two sons.
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This unflattering character study suddenly becomes a crime drama when our "hero" is assigned to a case when a nun is brutally raped by two young crackheads. Being a devout Catholic, the Lieutenant is deeply affected by this crime which he is not only determined to solve, despite the fact that the victim has already forgiven her attackers. but finds himself facing his own demons and re-thinking the way he has been living.
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Director and co-screenwriter Abel Ferrera has mounted a story centered around a character who really doesn't have a single redeeming quality but makes him absolutely riveting...no matter what disgusting things this guy does, and this guy does do some disgusting things, you can't take your eyes off of him, as much as you might want to. The alleged epiphany he seems to experience seems illogical, considering what we have been exposed to up to that point but nothing else in the film is really based on anything resembling reality. There's no way a real life police officer could be living the way this guy does and still have his badge and gun...I think this might be one reason the character is not given a name...to protect the innocent...namely the NYPD.

As unpleasant and disturbing as this story, I couldn't take my eyes off the screen because of the powerhouse performance from Keitel in the starring role, a role that is an actor's dream and nightmare but Keitel commits to it and makes this film worth sitting through. Hardcore Keitel fans will probably give this rating an extra half bag of popcorn. And, yes, this is the film that features full frontal Harvey. 3

cricket

06-21-16, 09:48 PM

I love Bad Lieutenant but it's certainly not for everyone.

Gideon58

06-22-16, 06:00 PM

The Last of Robin Hood
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Erroll Flynn was a great movie star and his Hollywood legacy deserves better than the 2014 film The Last of Robin Hood, a look at the movie legend at the end of his career that employs every tired cliche we've ever seen in a Hollywood biopic and just makes this great movie star look like a pathetic pedophile.
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The film recounts Flynn near the end of his career, circa 1958, when the matinee idol met and began an affair with a fifteen year old starlet named Beverly Aadland (Dakota Fanning), much to the consternation of Beverly's smothering stage mother, Florence (Susan Sarandon) whose outward disdain at Flynn's pursuit of her daughter is really just a cover for Florence's vicarious enjoyment of the Hollywood good life and what she can get out of it through pretty much pimping out her daughter whose only talent apparently was her skill in bed.
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I am so over these Hollywood biopics that showcase great stars at the end of their careers. I don't understand why we have to be subjected to the loneliness and misery that most of their lives became. Why can't we have a movie that shows the star on the rise and at the height of the fame that justifies the making of a biopic?
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Co-writers and co-directors Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland's screenplay is crammed with so many Hollywood cliches that it's hard to tell how much of this really happened and when we're rounding the final third of the film, we really start not to care. Dakota Fanning's lifeless performance as Beverly was nothing to write home about, though Kevin Kline made a terrific Erroll Flynn, but the acting honors here definitely go to Sarandon, who walks away with this movie with her flashy and complex interpretation of yet another screen variation of Mama Rose in Gypsy, a character you're laughing at in one scene and wanting to slap across the face the next. Walking away with this movie was no great feat though, because this film was a chore to get through that had me looking at my watch and the movie was only 90 minutes long! 2

gbgoodies

06-23-16, 12:49 AM

I think a big part of the problem with The Last of Robin Hood is that the movie is more about the teenage girl than about Errol Flynn. I though it made him look like a womanizer, but maybe your word "pedophile" might be better.

Other than the few movies that I've seen him in, I don't know much about Errol Flynn's personal life, but this movie is certainly not the way people should remember him.

Citizen Rules

06-23-16, 03:27 AM

Errol Flynn was no pedophile. The actress Beverly Aadland, lied about her age telling him she was a legal adult, a lie which her mother help make possible so as to promote her daughter's career. If anything her mother was a pimp.

Oliva DeHaviland life long friend of Errol has only the kindest things to say about him. He was not a womanizer, that would suggest he used and abused women. Women liked him and literally threw themselves at him, after all it takes two to tango. He's one of my favorite actors. I've seen him in a lot of films, and he always has great screen presences.

Zotis

06-23-16, 03:38 AM

The Last Robin Hood sounds awful. I didn't read your Bad Lieutenant review because I still haven't seen it and even though I've seen the remake I don't want any more spoilers.

Gideon58

06-23-16, 10:38 AM

I don't know much about Errol Flynn's personal life, but this movie is certainly not the way people should remember him.

Couldn't agree more.

Gideon58

06-23-16, 10:39 AM

I didn't read your Bad Lieutenant review because I still haven't seen it and even though I've seen the remake I don't want any more spoilers.

I didn't know Bad Lieutenant has been remade.

Gideon58

06-23-16, 10:40 AM

Errol Flynn was no pedophile. The actress Beverly Aadland, lied about her age telling him she was a legal adult, a lie which her mother help make possible so as to promote her daughter's career. If anything her mother was a pimp.

I know Flynn was no pedophile and I mentioned in my review that Beverly's mother was basically pimping her out.

Citizen Rules

06-23-16, 12:19 PM

I know Flynn was no pedophile and I mentioned in my review that Beverly's mother was basically pimping her out.
I know you didn't say that. I was just making a general statement in support of Errol Flynn. Errol was just one cool guy and that movie can give false impressions of him. I did like Kevin Kline as Errol Flynn.

Gideon58

06-23-16, 06:24 PM

KISS KISS BANG BANG
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Film noir fans will be in heaven with an overly clever 2005 homage to the genre with the memorable title Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, that despite a convoluted and confusing storyline, is riveting and endlessly entertaining thanks to a trio of terrific performances in the starring roles.
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This film introduces us to its star and narrator, Harry Lockhart (Robert Downey Jr.), a two bit thief who is mistaken for an actor auditioning for a movie who ends up in Hollywood at a party where he is reunited with a childhood sweetheart (Michelle Monoghan) and is taken under the wing of a gay private investigator (Val Kilmer) who get Harry involved in a murder mystery that defies description.
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I love what director and co-screenwriter Shane Black's is trying to do here...he appears to be doing for the film noir genre what Wes Craven did for slasher movies with his Scream francise. Black is breaking all the rules here...he starts the film off with a noir-ish type narration, brilliantly performed by Downey Jr. that almost immediately breaks the 4th wall and makes no qualms about the fact that we're watching a movie, which I guess gives him the license to present a story that moves at such a lightening pace, contains so many red herrings, and makes so little sense that it is absolutely impossible to catch everything that is going on here...this was actually my third watch of this film and I'm still not convinced I caught everything, but I was so utterly entertained by the actors and the relationships they created onscreen I really didn't care and still don't.
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It's the actors that give this film its enormous re-watch appeal, not the hard-to-take-it-all-in story...Robert Downey Jr., already a proven commodity where the ability to carry a film is concerned, does so again effortlessly here, with a grand assist from Val Kilmer, who seems to be having a ball putting his own spin on a gay movie character and Michelle Monoghan, conjuring up memories of Carole Lombard with her slick and sexy work here. If the screenplay weren't so overly complex and working so hard to be smarter than the actors, this movie could have been something really amazing, but, as it is, still worth watching...more than once. 3.5

Gideon58

06-24-16, 05:04 PM

HAS ANYBODY SEEN MY GAL
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Douglas Sirk, who had a patent on 1950's melodrama with films like All that Heaven Allows, Magnificent Obsession, and Written on the Wind tried something more on the light side with a 1952 comedy called Has Anybody Seen My Gal?, a nostalgic and colorful family comedy that, despite some dated elements, does deliver a still pertinent message about how money can change people and not necessarily for the better.
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Charles Coburn, who had won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar eight years prior for The More the Merrier plays Samuel Fulton, a wealthy old gentleman who has no family to leave his estate to and decides that the money should go to the family of his long ago love to whom he proposed but was turned down because he was poor. Before delivering the windfall to the Blaisdell family, Fulton decides to move into their home as a border, calling himself John Smith, in order to determine if they are worthy of his money. Fulton finds himself growing very fond of the two Blaisdell daughters, Millie (Piper Laurie) and Roberta (Gigi Perreau), encouraging Millie's budding romance with a young soda jerk named Dan (Rock Hudson), but is not too thrilled with the family matriarch Harriet (Lynn Bari) who, upon receipt of the $100,000 inheritance, insists the family move into a mansion, that Millie dump Dan for a rich snob named Carl (Skip Homier) and informs "Mr. Smith" that he needs to make other living arrangements ASAP.
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Joseph Hoffman's screenplay provides some unintentional chuckles as you watch the film in 2016, primarily because the prices have definitely changed...$100,000 certainly doesn't go as far now as it did then and, if the truth be told, $100,000 really wouldn't go as far as it does here during the roaring 20's, but it's forgiven because the message that is delivered here is a positive one, a classic cinematic message that money doesn't necessarily buy happiness.
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Douglas Sirk seems a little out of his element here and so do some of his cast...Laurie and Hudson play this whole thing with very straight faces, but they do manage a spark of chemistry and we do want to see them find their way back to each other. On the other hand, Coburn and Bari know exactly what's going on here and deliver on target comic performances that make this colorful comedy worth checking out. Don't blink and you'll catch a brief appearance by future film icon James Dean. 3

Gideon58

06-24-16, 07:01 PM

THE BIG WEDDING
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Star power is the main selling point of 2013's The Big Weddinga predictable but watchable comedy with a cast that makes the film seem a lot better than it really is.
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Don (Robert De Niro) and Ellie (Diane Keaton) were married and raised Jared (Topher Grace), his sister Lyla (Katherine Heigl), and adopted son Alejandro (Ben Barnes) but their marriage ended when Don slept with Ellie's best friend, Bebe (Susan Sarandon). Don and Bebe are together now even though Don refuses to marry her. Alejandro has announced his engagement to Missy (Amanda Seyfried), but reveals to Don and Ellie that his biological mother (Patricia Rae) is coming to the wedding but is too traditional to accept divorced in-laws so Don and Ellie reluctantly agree to pretend to be married and Bebe agrees to get out of the way, but of course, we know there's no way that's happening.
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Jared is a 29 year old doctor who is a virgin and finds himself attracted to Alejandro's sister (Ana Aroyo) while Lyla, who has been having trouble getting pregnant finally becomes pregnant but doesn't want the baby daddy (Kyle Bornheimer) to know.
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The film is actually a remake of a French film called Mon frere se marie, but it actually just plays like an extended episode of a sitcom with really big stars playing the parts. Fortunately, director and co-screenwriter Justin Zackham is aware that he's working with great actors who know what they're doing and doesn't get in their way too much.
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As expected, De Niro, Keaton, and Sarandon rise above the mediocrity of the material and Barnes also registers as Alejandro as does Topher Grace as Jared. Only Katherine Heigl misses the boat, playing her accustomed unlikable character, but there are definitely worse ways to spend ninety minutes. 2.5

Gideon58

06-25-16, 03:46 PM

AFFLICTION
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1997 was a pretty important year in film which found a lot of strong movies crumbling under the shadow of Titanic and LA Confidential and one such film was Affliction, a gripping character study effectively melded with an intriguing murder mystery that rivets the viewer to the screen, thanks primarily to some powerhouse performances.
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Nick Nolte was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor for his explosive performance as Wade Whitehouse, the alcoholic sheriff of a sleepy New England town who is simultaneously trying to maintain a relationship with his daughter, remain civil with his ex-wife (Mary Beth Hurt), and keep the current lady in his life (Sissy Spacek) happy. He is also placed smack dab in the middle of a mysterious hunting accident involving his good friend and co-worker Jack (Jim True) and trying to resolve unaddressed issues with his abusive, alcoholic father (James Coburn).
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This film draws us in from the opening frames, perfectly projecting small town sensibilities, rich in atmosphere and that sense of a town where everyone knows everyone. Director and co-screenwriter Paul Schrader has built a beautifully complex but human lead character in Wade, a man struggling to overcome his personal demons and not always succeeding and often doing all the wrong things for all the right reasons...our heart goes out to Wade as he struggles to make his daughter happy and remain a viable part of her life and every time he fails, we understand when he tries to blame his ex-wife.
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We also understand the demons of Wade's past which are introduced early on in the story via childhood flashbacks where it is clear that Wade's father has left permanent scars on Wade and his brother, Rolfe (Willem Dafoe)that may or may not be irreparable but it is also clear that Wade will never be the man he should be until he deals with them in one way or another. We watch as Wade's avoidance of these issues and his growing obsession that friend Jack is guilty of murder are somehow going to be the root of his downfall.

This film offers no easy answers, but we keep watching because we want to find some, thanks primarily to Nick Nolte's extraordinary performance that evokes constant attention and unabashed sympathy. The late James Coburn, one of our industry's most underrated actors, was finally given the role of a lifetime and killed it, winning the Oscar for Outstanding Supporting Actor. Coburn's uncompromising performance playing this completely unsympathetic character is a one-man acting class.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UVRsxx7NpUY/maxresdefault.jpg
Admittedly, the film doesn't offer a lot in the way of surprises in terms of story, and having Willem Dafoe's character serve as narrator doesn't really make sense because he is such a peripheral character, but what it does offer is some riveting direction and a group of actors working at the top of their game. 4

gbgoodies

06-26-16, 02:00 AM

I didn't really care for the narration in Affliction, but the movie was great, and I think this was Nick Nolte's best performance.

Gideon58

06-26-16, 02:11 PM

I didn't really care for the narration in Affliction, but the movie was great, and I think this was Nick Nolte's best performance.

No argument about the narration, it seemed kind of unnecessary and they DEFINITELY had the wrong character doing it...Dafoe's character was so peripheral it just seemed weird that he would be telling us the story.

Gideon58

06-26-16, 04:34 PM

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51qtzMETrSL.jpg
Writer-director Dito Montiel seems to have been given creative control in bringing his life to the screen with 2006's A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, a coming of age drama that, despite an unfocused screenplay that meanders to an effective conclusion, manages to remain watchable due to Montiel's unforeseen talent as a director and a solid, hand-picked cast.
http://dvdmedia.ign.com/dvd/image/article/959/959791/a-guide-to-recognizing-your-saints-20090305022401853-000.jpg
Robert Downey Jr. plays Montiel as an adult, a writer residing in LA who has just finished what apparently is his autobiography who gets a phone call from his mother (Dianne Wiest), asking him to come home because his father (Chazz Palminteri) is dying and refuses to go to the hospital.
https://switchtheshift.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/2.jpg
The film then flashes back to Dito's teen years in Astoria, Queens, where Dito (now played by Shia LaBouef) is dealing with teenage growing pains, his three best friends, including Antonio (Channing Tatum) and an exchange student from Scotland named Mike (Martin Compston) and the tentative relationship he has a with a girl named Laurie (Melonie Diaz).
http://static1.squarespace.com/static/55d20eb3e4b0ada576ca15a4/t/56c4c7f32eeb8185fa4b4253/1455736821945/yhm_a_guide_.jpg?format=750w
Montiel offers a standard tale of teen angst where we see Dito and his friends dealing with sex, gang violence, drugs, and other things we would associate with growing up in Astoria Queens in the 1980's, but what this story does finally boil down to is the extremely strained relationship between Dito and his father. Sadly, a lot of this strain seems stemmed from Dad seeming to care more about Antonio than his own son, not to mention his inability to listen to his son or tell him every once in awhile that he loves him, with poor Mom caught in the middle as reluctant but always present referee.

The movie does seem to come off as a ninety minute therapy session for the writer and director, who somehow possessed the juice to finance this (though the budget was definitely limited) journey into an unknown writer's childhood resentments and pain, which we really shouldn't care about, but he manages to make us care, thanks to some memorable set pieces and a cast that is completely invested in the project.
https://switchtheshift.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/31.jpg
Shia LaBoeuf gives a star-making performance as young Dito, as does Channing Tatum as the explosive and unpredictable Antonio. Palminteri and Wiest are solid, as always, and mention should be made of Anthony DeSando as gay dog walker who young Dito works for and, of course, Robert Downey Jr., who makes the most of his limited screen time as the adult Dito. The film offers sporadic entertainment but I think Dito might have found one on one therapy a little less expensive. 3

Sexy Celebrity

06-26-16, 05:24 PM

That's the same rating (http://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=741243#post741243) I gave to A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints -- rating_3

Gideon58

06-26-16, 05:30 PM

That's the same rating (http://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=741243#post741243) I gave to A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints -- rating_3

Great minds think alike I guess.

Gideon58

06-27-16, 06:54 PM

GONE GIRL
http://truby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/gone-girl-622x719.jpg
David Fincher, a director with a gift for epic storytelling onscreen with work like Fight Club, Zodiac, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button under his belt, found a slightly more intimate story but employed his accustomed gloss to the material and knocked it out of the park with Gone Girl, a stomach-turning and disturbing tale of questionable moral barometers that become part of a media circus that all parties found far from their control and the irreparable damage left in its wake.
http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2014-10-01-gonegirl02.jpg
This 2014 shocker stars Ben Affleck as Nick Dunne, a guy who comes home one day to find the glass coffee table in a million pieces and his wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike)nowhere to be found. As this story slowly unfolds over a thirty day period, we learn that Amy is a famous writer and that everything she and Nick shared was in her name and that Amy paid for the bar that he and his twin sister, Margo (Carrie Coon) run together. Needless to say, as the case comes together, the lead detective (Kim Dickens) becomes convinced that Nick has murdered his wife. Once again, I have another fascinating piece of film making here that is extremely difficult to review without spoilers.
http://www.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/2014825/rs_560x415-140925120320-1024-gone-girl.ls.92514.jpg
After Amy's disappearance, we are given two separate looks into Nick and Amy's marriage that are completely different...one is in Ben's mind and the other is in a journal written by Amy which make us think we know exactly what's going on, but we're not even close.

Gillian Flynn, who adapted the screenplay from her own novel, has crafted a story that creates doubt from all directions from which the story materializes and I'm pretty sure that is the intention. This viewer never for a single minute believed that Nick murdered his wife; however, also allowed certain red herrings in the story to get past me so that once it came into focus exactly what was going on here, I felt like I had walked into the story about half way through and had missed something but I really didn't. There is some satisfaction provided at the conclusion, but there's just as much left unexplained and up in the air, which definitely made me wonder about what's going to happen to these people after the credits roll.
https://theexportedfilm.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/gone-girl-movie-hd-trailer-captures00008_1_1.jpg
Fincher's direction is crisp and focused and he has gotten superb performances from his well-chosen cast. Affleck offers his best performance since Hollywoodland as Nick and Rosamund Pike is a revelation as Amy, a richly complex performance that earned her an Oscar nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress. Dickens and Coon provide effective support along with Neil Patrick Harris, surprisingly solid as a victim of Amy's web of deception. It's not an easy watch and despite an ending that is a bit on the ambiguous side, the story provides some semblance of justice but leaves all kinds of doors open to the viewer's imagination for the future of the players involved here. 4

cricket

06-27-16, 07:02 PM

I didn't think Gone Girl was anywhere near a masterpiece but I pretty much loved it. They should make more movies like it.

Gideon58

06-27-16, 07:08 PM

I didn't think Gone Girl was anywhere near a masterpiece but I pretty much loved it. They should make more movies like it.

Maybe I'm misreading this, but you're sounding a little contradictory here...it's no masterpiece, but you wish they'd make more movies like it?

Gideon58

06-28-16, 12:02 PM

Charlie Bartlett
http://cdn.movieweb.com/img.news/NEMJtRRR7sKXRN_1_1.jpg
The recent passing of Anton Yelchin motivated me to check out the 2007 comedy Charlie Bartlett, a somewhat entertaining variation of Ferris Bueller's Day Off that, despite some uncomfortable lapses into melodrama, is worth watching because it actually provides an epiphany for the lead character that movies of this genre rarely do.
http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/19400000/Charlie-Bartlett-movies-19435975-950-534.jpg
The title character (Yelchin) is a spoiled rich kid who has been kicked out of his chi-chi private school and is now entering public school for the first time, jumping head first into that primary goal for all high school teenagers: popularity. Charlie starts by befriending a mentally challenged giant (Dylan Taylor) and the school bully (Tyler Hilton) who help him start a business as the school psychiatrist, operating out of the boys' bathroom and selling prescription drugs to his patients, which he learns about via therapy he is receiving under orders from his clueless mother (Hope Davis). Throw in Charlie's immediate conflict with the school's tight-assed principal (Robert Downey Jr.), further complicated by Charlie's attraction to his daughter (Kat Dennings) and you have all the makings of a classic teen comedy.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YgG4LV9gxtI/TjUj4AWVf2I/AAAAAAAAGpw/p_4QKOiGf_0/s1600/vlcsnap-85589.png
Director Jon Poll and screenwriter Gustin Nash are definitely in tune with their target and have definitely seen their share of teen comedies, because the influence of a lot of teen comedies is definitely felt here, particularly Ferris Bueller, evidenced in the conflict between Charlie and the principal, though it gets a little more serious here than it did in the '85 film because of the principal's daughter and consequences this principal faces that Ed Rooney never dealt with in the 1985 classic.
http://91.207.61.14/m/uploads/v_p_images/2007/05/6078_5_screenshot.png
There's a also a rather contrived subplot regarding the students revolting because of the school planning to install security cameras in the student lounge. This plot not only distracted from the primary story, but I just found it hard to empathize because when I went to high school, we didn't even have a student lounge. We had the theater and the cafeteria.
http://i.onionstatic.com/avclub/583/16x9/960.jpg
What we do have here is a charming performance by Anton Yelchin that lights up the screen and he is matched perfectly by Robert Downey Jr., bringing a richness to his role as the troubled principal that is not in the screenplay. Kat Dennings was a refreshing leading lady for a comedy like this and also loved Tyler Hilton as the reformed bully. If you liked Ferris Bueller's Day Off, you'll like this and Yelchin proves to be a gifted young actor who was taken from us from too soon. 3.5

gbgoodies

06-28-16, 03:30 PM

Charlie Bartlett has been on my watchlist for a while because of Robert Downey Jr., but I haven't gotten around to it yet. It sounds like I'll have to bump it up on my watchlist a little bit.

Sexy Celebrity

06-28-16, 03:33 PM

I remember seeing some of that movie when it came out, but didn't care for it/didn't pay attention. Didn't realize Anton Yelchin was the star of that.

Gideon58

06-28-16, 06:07 PM

THE LONG HOT SUMMER
http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/40/4033/XNFLF00Z/posters/the-long-hot-summer-uk-movie-poster-1958.jpg
They don't make 'em like this anymore. 1958's The Long Hot Summer is a wonderfully entertaining, old fashioned southern soap opera, that despite some dated elements, still delivers, but is most famous for introducing one of our most beloved acting teams, who also became the off screen gold standard for Hollywood marriage.
http://2h3mh837ken53kitqv1co5fh83o.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/LONG-HOT-SUMMER-6.png
Paul Newman plays Ben Quick, a drifter with a shady past who arrives in the sleepy southern town called Frenchman's Bend, Mississippi, where he immediately gets involved with the town's wealthiest family, the Varners. Will Varner (Orson Welles), the family patriarch is an old fashioned dictator who finds in Ben the son he wish he had instead of his son Jody (Anthony Franciosa), the lazy and dumb-as-a-box-of-rocks heir apparent who finds himself competing with Ben for the keys to the kingdom which he always assumed were going to be his automatically. Will's daughter, Clara (Joanne Woodward) is a spinsterish schoolteacher who's been in a dead end relationship with a mama's boy (Richard Anderson), but finds herself fighting an attraction to Ben, not realizing daddy is already arranging their marriage behind her back.
http://www.deepsouthmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/The-Long-Hot-Summer.jpg
We also meet Jody's trampy wife, Eula (Lee Remick), who has men driving buy the estate hollering her name while keeping Jody at arm's length and Minnie (Angela Lansbury), Will's devoted mistress who is tired of being a mistress and wants to be Will's wife.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7tK-k8UURYk/maxresdefault.jpg
This film made history by introducing the steamy onscreen chemistry created by Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward here...Newman, in particular, has rarely been this sexy and charismatic onscreen. Newman brought a similar character to the screen the same year in Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, but this character isn't as much of a downer as Brick Pollitt and Newman really seems to be enjoying himself. He and Woodward burn a hole through the movie screen with their chemistry.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/da/92/75/da9275c7da7502ae904c35c29b9dffc7.jpg
Orson Welles' scenery chewing as Will Varner might be a matter of personal taste, but I thought it was appropriate for this kind of southern melodrama. Remick and Lansbury make the most of their underwritten roles and Anderson isn't blown off the screen either. Loved Mabel Alberston as his mother too, who spent most of the 1960's playing everyone's mother on prime time television. If you loved Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, you'll love this...an absolute must for Paul Newman fans. 4

Camo

06-28-16, 06:18 PM

I thought Charlie Bartlett was not good at all. It's sad that he died but i thought Yelchin was pretty terrible to be honest, it is the only film i've ever seen him in.

Gideon58

06-28-16, 06:21 PM

I thought Charlie Bartlett was not good at all. It's sad that he died but i thought Yelchin was pretty terrible to be honest, it is the only film i've ever seen him in.

Have you seen Alpha Dog? I thought Yelchin was excellent in that.

Camo

06-28-16, 06:23 PM

I have seen Alpha Dog. Damn, Yelchin made zero impression on me at all. I can't even remember him in that and i forgot Charlie Bartlett even existed until i saw your review.

Gideon58

06-28-16, 06:28 PM

I have seen Alpha Dog. Damn, Yelchin made zero impression on me at all. I can't even remember him in that and i forgot Charlie Bartlett even existed until i saw your review.

You should squeeze a re-watch of Alpha Dog onto your watchlist.

Camo

06-28-16, 06:31 PM

Might do that sometime.

Gideon58

06-28-16, 09:56 PM

RIDE ALONG
http://www.theglobaldispatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Ride-Along-movie-poster-Kevin-Hart-Ice-Cube.jpg
the 2014 action comedy Ride Along doesn't really offer anything new or innovative in terms of originality or film making technique, but this cop/buddy/action/adventure is worth watching for one reason and one reason only...Kevin Hart.
http://cdn.breitbart.com/mediaserver/Breitbart/Big-Hollywood/2014/01/19/ride-along/ride-along.jpg
Hart plays Ben, a video game junkie and security guard who has just found out that he has been accepted into the Atlantia, Georgia police academy, much to the chagrin of his future brother-in-law, James (Ice Cube), a rogue cop who is currently trying to bring down a major arms dealer (Laurence Fishburne). Ben wants to prove to James that he is worthy of marrying his sister (Tika Sumpter) so James decides to take Ben on a ride along to see if Ben has what it takes to be a cop.
http://www.post-gazette.com/image/2014/01/16/ca157,19,1996,875/Ridealong.jpg
Needless to say, James sabotages the ride along with staged incidents and Ben does get wind of this and insists on a chance to prove that he's worthy and ends up being more of an asset than James ever imagined.
http://b-i.forbesimg.com/scottmendelson/files/2014/01/ridealong03.jpg
As I mentioned, the film is rampant with predictability...we pretty much see everything that happens in this movie five minutes before it actually happens, but we forgive because of the comic powerhouse that is Kevin Hart. Hart has the ability to command a movie screen in a way that recalls Eddie Murphy in films like Beverly Hills Cop and Trading Places...the guy is so damn funny that the mediocrity of the material is almost forgotten.
http://www.apnatimepass.com/ride-along-movie-image-2.jpg
Ice Cube manages to hold his own opposite Hart and makes a perfect straight man. Fishburne is an acceptable villain and John Leguizamo and Bryan Kallen offer yeomen support, but this is the Kevin Hart show all the way and he never makes you regret it. If you're a Hart fan, you'll be in heaven here because he makes this movie a lot more fun than it probably was on the paper. 3.5

gbgoodies

06-29-16, 12:31 AM

THE LONG HOT SUMMER
http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/40/4033/XNFLF00Z/posters/the-long-hot-summer-uk-movie-poster-1958.jpg
They don't make 'em like this anymore. 1958's The Long Hot Summer is a wonderfully entertaining, old fashioned southern soap opera, that despite some dated elements, still delivers, but is most famous for introducing one of our most beloved acting teams, who also became the off screen gold standard for Hollywood marriage.
http://2h3mh837ken53kitqv1co5fh83o.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/LONG-HOT-SUMMER-6.png
Paul Newman plays Ben Quick, a drifter with a shady past who arrives in the sleepy southern town called Frenchman's Bend, Mississippi, where he immediately gets involved with the town's wealthiest family, the Varners. Will Varner (Orson Welles), the family patriarch is an old fashioned dictator who finds in Ben the son he wish he had instead of his son Jody (Anthony Franciosa), the lazy and dumb-as-a-box-rocks heir apparent who finds himself competing with Ben for the keys to the kingdom which he always assumed were going to be his automatically. Will's daughter, Clara (Joanne Woodward) is a spinsterish schoolteacher who's been in a dead end relationship with a mama's boy (Richard Anderson), but finds herself fighting an attraction to Ben, not realizing daddy is already arranging their marriage behind her back.
http://www.deepsouthmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/The-Long-Hot-Summer.jpg
We also meet Jody's trampy wife, Eula (Lee Remick), who has men driving buy the estate hollering her name while keeping Jody at arm's length and Minnie (Angela Lansbury), Will's devoted mistress who is tired of being a mistress and wants to be Will's wife.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7tK-k8UURYk/maxresdefault.jpg
This film made history by introducing the steamy onscreen chemistry created by Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward here...Newman, in particular, has rarely been this sexy and charismatic onscreen. Newman brought a similar character to the screen the same year in Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, but this character isn't as much of a downer as Brick Pollitt and Newman really seems to be enjoying himself. He and Woodward burn a hole through the movie screen with their chemistry.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/da/92/75/da9275c7da7502ae904c35c29b9dffc7.jpg
Orson Welles' scenery chewing as Will Varner might be a matter of personal taste, but I thought it was appropriate for this kind of southern melodrama. Remick and Lansbury make the most of their underwritten roles and Anderson isn't blown off the screen either. Loved Mabel Alberston as his mother too, who spent most of the 1960's playing everyone's mother on prime time television. If you loved Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, you'll love this...an absolute must for Paul Newman fans. 4

I haven't seen the 1958 version of The Long Hot Summer, but I saw the 1985 TV movie starring Don Johnson, and I remember it being a very good movie. I'll have to make sure to watch the Paul Newman version before I submit my list for the 1950's countdown.

Gideon58

06-29-16, 05:19 PM

I'll have to make sure to watch the Paul Newman version before I submit my list for the 1950's countdown.

I've never seen the TV remake, but, as mentioned in my review, Paul Newman is amazing in this movie and any serious Newman fan will be in heaven here.

Gideon58

06-29-16, 06:39 PM

https://www.vintagemovieposters.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/spiderman3large1.jpg
The 2007 comic book adventure Spiderman 3 is an overblown and overlong visual extravaganza that is, at its essence, Sam Raimi and company just going to the well once too often.
https://mallsurfer.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/spiderman-3-punch.jpg
This film introduces a bigger and badder villain for Spiderman and an equally obnoxious nemesis for Peter Parker. Spidey's relationship with MJ is also shaken up with a new woman (Bryce Dallas Howard) coming into his life and issues from the first film are addressed as well. And if that weren't enough, there is a gooey black entity from another world that decides to attach itself to Spiderman as its earthly host, causing a complete and confusing change in Spiderman's personality.
http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/villains/images/d/d6/Spiderman-3-movie-screencaps_com-12339.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130623152611
A good sequel definitely has to offer something new or something demanded from the previous films in order to find appeal but this is another case of a screenplay that just tries to encompass way too much while simultaneously leaving too much unexplained, which is a pretty dandy trick if you think about it. How Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church) actually becomes the Sandman is done with a little too much razzle dazzle to be completely viable, not to mention his almost immediate grasp of his power or how this black entity affects Spiderman in one way but then when it attaches itself to Brock (Topher Grace) the photographer trying to get Peter's job at the Bugle, it has a completely different effect on him.
https://thesuperleader.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/spiderman-3-movie-screencaps_com-14941.jpg
The screenplay also errs in trying to keep Peter's relationship with MJ (Kirsten Dunst) important because it turns her into a self-absorbed diva who wants everything to be about her and then we're supposed to care when the story tries to put her in jeopardy later? Peter's issues with Harry (James Franco) also took way too long to resolve themselves, but this was one part of the movie that worked for me, with some really standout work from Franco, who embraced the return of Harry's brain for this final film of the trilogy. And like most comic book adventures, the film had about four too many endings and was about 45 minutes too long.
http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/villains/images/4/4b/Spiderman-3-movie-screencaps_com-7593.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130623150944
Tobey Maguire still manages to infuse some likability into this superhero despite some dumb behavior for the character, but it's time to get this guy a costume that doesn't tear at the bicep and pectoral areas every time he gets in a fight with a bad guy. Thomas Haden Church was quite credible as Marko, but I just didn't buy the Sandman...how was it every time he appeared he got bigger and bigger? It was also nice to see JK Simmons and Elizabeth Banks' roles beefed up a bit. I was kind of hoping the attraction between Peter and Banks' character might be addressed in this film, but I don't want it enough to have a Spiderman 4...with Andrew Garfield's reincarnation of the character, let's hope this trilogy is cinema history now. 2

Gideon58

06-30-16, 05:55 PM

HONEYMOON IN VEGAS
http://moviefiles.alphacoders.com/174/poster-17486.jpg
Director and co-writer Andrew Bergman had middling success with a 1992 comedy called Honeymoon in Vegas that holds interest and sustain selected chuckles despite an unfocused screenplay that the leading actor manages to rise above somehow.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/09/24/05/2CB3A0CC00000578-3247100-image-m-43_1443069493808.jpg
Jack Singer (Nicolas Cage) is a 2nd rate New York private eye specializing in cheating spouses, who made a promise to his mother (Anne Bancroft) on her deathbed that he would never marry, but is gently pressured into flying to Vegas with girlfriend Betsy (Sarah Jessica Parker) and getting married. Upon their arrival in Vegas, Jack and Betsy are spotted in their hotel lobby by a professional gambler named Tommy Korman (James Caan) and we learn that Betsy is a dead ringer for Tommy's deceased wife, Donna.
http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/16200000/Honeymoon-in-Vegas-1992-90s-films-16236034-1067-800.jpg
Instantly obsessed, Tommy has an invitation sent to their suite for Jack to join a high stakes poker game in Tommy's suite. Jack puts Betsy off from the wedding chapel long enough to attend the poker game, where he is set up to lose $65,000.00. Tommy agrees to forget about the debt if Jack will let Betsy spend the rest of the weekend with him.
http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/16200000/Honeymoon-in-Vegas-1992-90s-films-16238760-1067-800.jpg
We have nothing terribly original in terms of storytelling, in fact, the story takes a couple of unnecessary detours, but where Bergman scores here is in his creation and casting of the character of Tommy Korman. James Caan is an absolute revelation in this role, giving one of his richest characterizations playing a character that, on the surface, is basically a mustache-twirling bad guy, but Caan breathes a charm and humanity into this character that is just intoxicating, making this character instantly likable...so likable that we almost forgive what he is doing here, almost to the point of being on his side, until he shows his true colors in the final act, where he is upstaged in the silly finale by a bunch of Elvis impersonating skydivers (don't ask).
http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/16200000/Nicolas-Cage-in-Honeymoon-in-Vegas-nicolas-cage-16274496-1067-800.jpg
Nicolas Cage works very hard to make us like Jack, but he plays the role a little too straight-faced, as if Bergman forgot to remind him that he was appearing in a comedy, but Sarah Jessica Parker is a lovely leading lady and there is effective use of Las Vegas and Hawaiian scenery, but the Elvis impersonators that seem to punctuate every scene get a little tiresome as do some very tired covers of Elvis' most famous songs utilized for the soundtrack, but I found the film surprisingly watchable due to the charismatic star turn by James Caan, which almost made up for the rest of the film's shortcomings. 3

Gideon58

06-30-16, 09:15 PM

MAN'S FAVORITE SPORT?
https://www.movieposter.com/posters/archive/main/8/b70-4470
Veteran director Howard Hawks proved he still had what it took to produce viable screen entertainment with an entertaining and surprisingly sexy 1964 comedy called Man's Favorite Sport?, an amusing battle of the sexes that took traditional roles for men and women in relationships during the 1960's and flipped them.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1JO_058jc-g/UCE8QMMwnMI/AAAAAAAAMwc/A0Nw3FbzLaQ/s1600/mansfavsport5.png
Rock Hudson stars as Roger Willoughby, a sporting goods store employee and author of a best selling book about fishing, despite the fact that he has never gone fishing in his life. When forced to enter a fishing tournament, Roger must depend on a public relations expert named Abigail Page (Paula Prentiss) to try and pass him off as a fisherman for this tournament.
https://cinematalk.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/33.jpg
I'm pretty sure this sexy slapstick comedy was a real eye-opener in 1964 as it reversed traditional roles for men and women...we actually had a film centered around a sport where the central male character knew nothing about the sport and didn't really have any shame about it. We were also introduced to a leading female character in Abigail who made no bones about her attraction to Roger from their first meeting and doesn't wait for the guy to chase her. I love the scene where she calls Roger to get a sleeping pill and her roommate asks her when she's coming home and she replies, "I don't know". Pretty grown up stuff for 1964.
https://analiseindiscreta.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/mans-favorite-sport.jpg
Director Hawks proves that he has not lost his skill with razor sharp dialogue delivered at a lightening pace, delivered here in a way that recalls his 1940 classic His Girl Friday. Rock Hudson shows an unforeseen skill with actual slapstick comedy here...the only actor doing comparable physical comedy during this time was Jerry Lewis but Hudson fully commits to it here. Prentiss is an unconventional but fun leading lady and there is effective support from John McGiver as Roger's boss and Norman Alden as an Indian con man. Kudos as well to Henry Mancini for a great title song and a bluesy score. It's a little dated, but it's still a lot of fun. 3.5

Citizen Rules

06-30-16, 09:37 PM

I'm glad you liked it! Told ya, Rock Hudson was really funny in this one. Man's Favorite Sport is one of those movies I could watch multiple times. Great review.

Citizen Rules

06-30-16, 10:01 PM

THE LONG HOT SUMMER
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They don't make 'em like this anymore. 1958's The Long Hot Summer is a wonderfully entertaining, old fashioned southern soap opera, that despite some dated elements, still delivers, but is most famous for introducing one of our most beloved acting teams, who also became the off screen gold standard for Hollywood marriage.
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Paul Newman plays Ben Quick, a drifter with a shady past who arrives in the sleepy southern town called Frenchman's Bend, Mississippi, where he immediately gets involved with the town's wealthiest family, the Varners. Will Varner (Orson Welles), the family patriarch is an old fashioned dictator who finds in Ben the son he wish he had instead of his son Jody (Anthony Franciosa), the lazy and dumb-as-a-box-rocks heir apparent who finds himself competing with Ben for the keys to the kingdom which he always assumed were going to be his automatically. Will's daughter, Clara (Joanne Woodward) is a spinsterish schoolteacher who's been in a dead end relationship with a mama's boy (Richard Anderson), but finds herself fighting an attraction to Ben, not realizing daddy is already arranging their marriage behind her back.
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We also meet Jody's trampy wife, Eula (Lee Remick), who has men driving buy the estate hollering her name while keeping Jody at arm's length and Minnie (Angela Lansbury), Will's devoted mistress who is tired of being a mistress and wants to be Will's wife.
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This film made history by introducing the steamy onscreen chemistry created by Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward here...Newman, in particular, has rarely been this sexy and charismatic onscreen. Newman brought a similar character to the screen the same year in Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, but this character isn't as much of a downer as Brick Pollitt and Newman really seems to be enjoying himself. He and Woodward burn a hole through the movie screen with their chemistry.
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Orson Welles' scenery chewing as Will Varner might be a matter of personal taste, but I thought it was appropriate for this kind of southern melodrama. Remick and Lansbury make the most of their underwritten roles and Anderson isn't blown off the screen either. Loved Mabel Alberston as his mother too, who spent most of the 1960's playing everyone's mother on prime time television. If you loved Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, you'll love this...an absolute must for Paul Newman fans. rating_4 I love this movie! You're so right that Paul Neman and Joanne Woodward have real chemistry. Everybody is steamy in this southern movie.

gbgoodies

06-30-16, 11:53 PM

I haven't seen the movie Honeymoon in Vegas, but it has a great soundtrack.

I haven't heard anyone talk about it here before, but Man's Favorite Sport? is a great movie. IMO, it's one of Rock Hudson best movies.

Citizen Rules

07-01-16, 03:10 AM

....I haven't heard anyone talk about it here before, but Man's Favorite Sport? is a great movie. IMO, it's one of Rock Hudson best movies.:shrug:I have, I have!:p I know I've mentioned Man's Favorite Sport several times and I'm sure I've mentioned to you that I thought it was Rock Hudson's best performance. It's a really fun movie.

gbgoodies

07-01-16, 03:13 AM

:shrug:I have, I have!:p I know I've mentioned Man's Favorite Sport several times and I'm sure I've mentioned to you that I thought it was Rock Hudson's best performance. It's a really fun movie.

That just shows how bad my memory is sometimes. I know that we've talked about Rock Hudson movies, but I didn't remember this movie coming up in the discussion. :shrug:

Citizen Rules

07-01-16, 03:16 AM

It's my favorite Rock Hudson comedy movie. I might have told you about it the first time back before MoFo. Anyway it's got three fans now (you, me, Gideon), so the movie is bona fide funny:D

gbgoodies

07-01-16, 03:22 AM

It's my favorite Rock Hudson comedy movie. I might have told you about it the first time back before MoFo. Anyway it's got three fans now (you, me, Gideon), so the movie is bona fide funny:D

Have you seen Lover Come Back and Send Me No Flowers? Those movies are right up there at the top of my Rock Hudson list, along with Man's Favorite Sport? and Pillow Talk. (I'm sure you've seen Pillow Talk. :) )

Gideon58

07-01-16, 10:46 AM

I'm glad you liked it! Told ya, Rock Hudson was really funny in this one. Man's Favorite Sport is one of those movies I could watch multiple times. Great review.

I did like it, Citizen, thanks for the recommendation.

Gideon58

07-01-16, 10:50 AM

Have you seen Lover Come Back and Send Me No Flowers? Those movies are right up there at the top of my Rock Hudson list, along with Man's Favorite Sport? and Pillow Talk. (I'm sure you've seen Pillow Talk. :) )

I think Lover Come Back might be my favorite Rock comedy performance (still think Giant is his best all-around performance). Love Pillow Talk of course, but considered Send Me No Flowers a let-down...as I mentioned in my review of the film, the appeal of Doris Day and Rock Hudson as a screen team seemed to lie in the chase...the "will they or won't they" factor, that's what made Pillow Talk and Lover Come Back so much fun...the chase is done in Send Me No Flowers...their characters are already married and the storyline is kind of stupid.

Gideon58

07-01-16, 11:05 AM

I haven't seen the movie Honeymoon in Vegas, but it has a great soundtrack.

The soundtrack was one of the few things about the movie that I didn't like...a lot of those covers of Elvis tunes were just not worthy of the King (liked Willie Nelson's take on Blue Hawaii though). They should have just used original Elvis recordings, but that probably would have been more expensive.

Citizen Rules

07-01-16, 01:08 PM

Have you seen Lover Come Back and Send Me No Flowers? Those movies are right up there at the top of my Rock Hudson list, along with Man's Favorite Sport? and Pillow Talk. (I'm sure you've seen Pillow Talk. :) ) Yup, seen them! Any comedy with Doris Day is always the cat's pajamas and puts a smile on my face:)

I did like it, Citizen, thanks for the recommendation. Just 'paying you back':) for some of the wonderful movie recommendations you've give me!

gbgoodies

07-01-16, 04:35 PM

I think Lover Come Back might be my favorite Rock comedy performance (still think Giant is his best all-around performance). Love Pillow Talk of course, but considered Send Me No Flowers a let-down...as I mentioned in my review of the film, the appeal of Doris Day and Rock Hudson as a screen team seemed to lie in the chase...the "will they or won't they" factor, that's what made Pillow Talk and Lover Come Back so much fun...the chase is done in Send Me No Flowers...their characters are already married and the storyline is kind of stupid.

As much as I love Doris Day and Rock Hudson together, sometimes I think I like her even more with James Garner. They were wonderful together.

But I recently rewatched The Pajama Game with Doris Day and John Raitt, and I realized how much I loved them together too. I wish he had made more movies because he could have easily become a favorite.

The soundtrack was one of the few things about the movie that I didn't like...a lot of those covers of Elvis tunes were just not worthy of the King (liked Willie Nelson's take on Blue Hawaii though). They should have just used original Elvis recordings, but that probably would have been more expensive.

"Wear My Ring Around Your Neck" is easily my favorite song from Honeymoon in Vegas, but probably because Ricky Van Shelton is one of my all-time favorite singers. (I don't think I've ever even heard the Elvis Presley version.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDPj19e2Cgc

Gideon58

07-02-16, 11:46 AM

As much as I love Doris Day and Rock Hudson together, sometimes I think I like her even more with James Garner. They were wonderful together.

But I recently rewatched The Pajama Game with Doris Day and John Raitt, and I realized how much I loved them together too. I wish he had made more movies because he could have easily become a favorite.

I thought I was the only one who felt this way...I always thought Day's chemistry with James Garner was equally possibly more viable than her chemistry with Hudson...I never get tired of watching The Thrill of it All. Of course, Garner was one of those actors who had chemistry with everyone. I will admit I'm not as crazy about John Raitt though...I understand him getting this role because he originated it on Broadway and he has an absolutely gorgeous voice, but I don't think he's much of an actor. But with a voice like that, I can forgive and The Pajama Game is another movie I never tire of re-watching.

Gideon58

07-02-16, 02:21 PM

LUCKY YOU
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Curtis Hanson, the creative force behind my favorite film of 1997, LA Confidential, had a major misfire in 2007 with Lucky You, a cliched and overlong drama that looks at gambling as an addiction and a lifestyle, as well as family dysfunction, but it takes way too long to get to its long foreseen conclusion.
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The setting is the world of championship poker, which has found a a major following on late night cable television but this is the first film I've actually seen on the subject. Eric Bana plays Huck, an extremely skilled professional poker player who continues to languish in the shadow of his father, a two time world champion winner, played by the always reliable Robert Duvall. Despite his poker skills, Huck still has a lot of personal issues and professional debt he must deal with before he can raise the $10,000 stake required to participate in tournament with dad. During this bumpy mission, he meets a lounge singer named Billie (Drew Barrymore), a novice to championship poker in particular and gambling in general who gets a lesson in gambling as a disease when Huck steals $1200 from her to help with his stake.
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As I struggled to get to the closing credits, all I could think of was "I can't believe Curtis Hanson is behind this." This movie features a cliche-ridden screenplay that Hanson co-wrote and his direction here is lethargic...this film moves at a snail's pace and that is the primary problem here...I'm so over movie characters with parental issues and it is more than obvious about 20 minutes into the film that these two will be facing each other in the tournament, so why make us wait so long for a conclusion that is not only glaringly obvious, but if the truth be told, was a little bit of a disappointment?
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The performances are hit and miss as well...Eric Bana's wooden performance did nothing for me and Drew Barrymore is way too an intelligent a screen presence to be believable in this almost child-like character and she gets no help from the screenplay. Robert Duvall is superb, as always, but the character is so unlikable that it's really easy to overlook how good he is (even in a bad toupe). This guy seems to care more about winning this tournament a third time than he does about his own son. Mention should be made of a cameo by Robert Downey Jr as friend of Huck's who he seeks out for help with his entry fee.
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The film is beautifully photographed and there is some sharp editing, but coming from the great Curtis Hanson, this was a huge disappointment. 2

Gideon58

07-02-16, 05:27 PM

THE NORMAL HEART
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HBO, director Ryan Murphy, and screenwriter Larry Kramer collaborated on 2014's The Normal Heart, a raw, gut-wrenching, emotional powerhouse of a film that holds back nothing in its depiction of the panic and fear that swept through Manhattan during the original outbreak of "gay cancer", the foundation of the Gay Men's Health Crisis, and a very unconventional love story.
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This is emotional subject matter for a lot of people and the tendency is to get preachy in the presentation of a story like this, but this is a case where I can definitely forgive a little preachiness because the subject matter demands preachiness and said preachiness has been ignored or minimized for too long.
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The film opens in 1981 when the first cases of the disease started appearing and a wheelchair bound doctor named Emma Brookner (Julia Roberts) shocked the gay community when, after treating the early cases, determined that the disease only afflicts homosexuals and that they all need to stop having sex for awhile. Emma encounters a gay writer named Ned Weeks (Mark Ruffalo) who has her back in this idea and begins a campaign to fight this disease while beginning a romance with a semi-closeted writer for the New York Times named Felix Turner (Matt Bomer) which is in direct conflict with everything he and Emma are telling the rest of the gay community, a point driven home by the reveal that Ned and Felix actually met during the film's backstory at a gay bath house but Ned doesn't remember.
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What I loved about Larry Kramer's screenplay, based on his play, is the balance it provides in terms of the fear and ignorance regarding this ugly disease. Naturally, we are privy to the heterosexual viewpoint, manifested primarily in Emma and in Ned's heterosexual brother (Albert Molina), who accepts who Ned is up to a point but we also get to see the ugly ramifications of the disease within the gay community, particularly the denial involved regarding the theory that their behavior triggers this disease and that if they want to live, they have to stop having sex. Not to mention the impact the disease has on gay couples themselves, and the random ugliness of it...how one partner is affected and the other isn't without rhyme or reason and how eventually both partners find the only way to deal with what is happening to them is to assign blame (other than their sexual orientation) and separate.
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Director Ryan Murphy's passion for the subject matter is evident in every frame of this movie and it is pretty clear that he has lost people in his life that are important to him in this disease. He and Larry Kramer don't shy away from the bitchy gay sensibilities that ring true through all of this ugliness or the way the disease ravages the body...watching Felix's deterioration is particularly heart breaking.
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Murphy also pulled some amazing performances from his hand-picked cast...Mark Ruffalo won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his raw nerve of a performance as Ned Weeks and is well-matched by Matt Bomer as Felix. Also loved Joe Mantello as Mickey Marcus, Jim Parsons as Tommy, Taylor Kitsch as Bruce and especially Molina, whose work here earned him an Emmy nomination. A one-of-a-kind motion picture experience that had me fighting tears all the way...and losing. 5

honeykid

07-02-16, 05:47 PM

There's so much talent in Lucky You, it's such a shame it's all for nought.

Gideon58

07-03-16, 05:59 PM

SHOWGIRLS
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The 1995 film Showgirls has been deemed everything from camp classic to sleazy trash over the years, earning it a reputation that causes giggles when the title of the film is even mentioned. I needed to put some distance between myself and the film before writing an objective review and after my recent fourth viewing of the film, I think I'm ready to give it a shot.
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For those who've been living under a rock since 1995, Showgirls stars former Saved by the Bell co-star Elizabeth Berkley as Nomi Malone, a woman with a past (this is made clear from the opening frames), who hitchhikes to Las Vegas determined to become a Las Vegas showgirl, but learns that there's a price to fame and it can be expensive as well as trying on the soul.
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This film produces unintentional laughs from the beginning...the film is already showing its age depicting our central character hitchhiking to Las Vegas. I didn't realize it until I actually began watching it, but who hitchhikes anymore? It's not only dangerous but it's such an obvious movie "tell"...anyone who is hitchhiking at the beginning of a movie is running from something or someone or has a huge secret that they are trying to distance themselves from. Unfortunately, we have to wait a LONG time to find out exactly what Nomi is running from.
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If the truth be told, the majority of the unintentional giggles this movie produces come from the character of Nomi bristling every time someone calls her a whore when that is exactly what she is. Whether she's confronting her boss at the strip club (Rovert Davi), the bitchy bisexual star of the stage show gets hired for (Gina Gershon), or the entertainment director for the show (Kyle MacLachlan), this girl knows exactly what kind of vibes she's giving at all times and knows when to use them to her advantage. This girl is no fool and every time she gets upset about someone calling her a whore, I just bust out laughing...still.
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Director Paul Verhoeven directs the film with a sledgehammer approach in regards to what is considered erotic onscreen. There are countless moments in this film that were intended to arouse and titillate and just produce laughs. The most erotic moment in the whole movie is the first and last kiss between Berkley and Gershon...Verhoueven really made us wait for this kiss and we knew it was going to happen at some point, and it was worth the wait.
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The performances range from uneven to annoying...Berkley really needed to be reined in here, but Gershon was a lot of fun and Kyle MacLachlan just seemed like he walked off the set of another movie, an odd casting choice IMO and Alan Rachins in a bad toupe as the director of the stage show was just silly, but the performances were such a minor part of the problem with this movie...I guess it's Joe Eszterhas' silly screenplay, which adopts just about every show business cliche you can think of, which is the true culprit here. I guess as a matter of morbid fascination, this film might be worth a look or if you just like laughing at stuff that's not supposed to be funny...step right up. 2

Sexy Celebrity

07-03-16, 06:51 PM

I like that movie, but it's nice to see someone hate it again. It's become trendy around here to love Showgirls.

Citizen Rules

07-03-16, 11:26 PM

I like that movie, but it's nice to see someone hate it again. It's become trendy around here to love Showgirls. Probably because Tarantino praised Showgirls in an interview.

Gideon58

07-05-16, 06:49 PM

COMING HOME
A rich and compelling Oscar winning screenplay that recreates a bygone era of serious unrest, crisp direction by Hal Ashby, and a pair of Oscar winning lead performances make the 1978 film Coming Home definitely worth the time. The film is a conventional love triangle set against a time of such political and social uproar that a richly layered story comes to fruition that will rivet the viewer to the screen, especially if you're old enough to remember this time.
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The film stars Jane Fonda as Sally Hyde, the genteel wife of a career marine captain named Bob (Bruce Dern) who is terrified when Bob is sent to Vietnam. Lost without Bob and not knowing what to do with herself, Sally agrees to volunteer at a hospital for disabled veterans where she encounters Luke Martin (Jon Voight), a former high school classmate who is now paralyzed from the waist down and very angry about it and how this re-connection initiates a slow-to-fruition love affair between Sally and Luke that brings about significant change in both characters.
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The Oscar winning screenplay by Waldo Salt, Robert C. Jones, and Nancy Jones beautifully recreates the turbulent 1960's and how the lives of our central characters are affected by everything that is going on. Luke is unhappy for obvious reasons but it is also clear from the opening scenes that Sally is not a happy woman...it's never really clear whether she's just fallen out of love with her husband or just afraid of being alone, but we have a woman here who is open to some change in her life, a desire which Fonda effortlessly projects in her performance, not to mention other symbols of change...I love when after Bob leaves for Vietnam, Sally stops straightening her hair, but when she goes to visit him in Hong Kong, she straightens it again before she leaves.
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This film is also unapologetic in its depiction of the ugliness of war and not so much the death of the soldiers who died over there, but the ones who came back with their bodies completely ravaged and unable to live normal lives...this movie reminded me how I shouldn't take for granted my ability to walk, or go to the bathroom, or bathe myself. Sometimes I have to wonder if having to live like this is worse than actually dying.
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Ashby, fresh off his work in The Last Detail has mounted a compelling drama that was nominated for Best Picture of 1978 and won Oscars for both Voight whose slightly unhinged Luke Martin is fascinating and for Fonda, as the unhappy military wife who really didn't know how unhappy she was. Dern was also nominaetd for an Oscar for the ticking time bomb that was Bob and there was also effective support from Penelope Milford, Robert Carradine, and Robert Ginty in supporting roles, but it is the powerful screenplay and the sterling lead performances that you will move from this one remembering. 4.5