Gideon58's Reviews

Birth
From 2004, Birth is a dark and pretentious tale that, despite expensive trappings and solid performances, eventually degenerates into an implausible mess of questionable taste.

The film stars Nicole Kidman as Anna, a sophisticated widow who is about get remarried to Joseph (Danny Huston) when a young boy (Cameron Bright) shows up at her engagement party and claims he is Sean, Anna's husband, who died 10 years ago after collapsing in Central Park while jogging.

I really tried to stay invested in this one but director and co-screenwriter Jonathan Glazer, who fared much better with Sexy Beast asks us to accept an awful lot here and makes us wait a long time for questions that never get answered. With stories like this, we always wonder why the alleged reincarnated always take so long to offer irrefutable evidence as to who they are, which the character of Young Sean never really does. I also was confused by the fact that this boy claiming to be Sean only remembered Anna and his brother Clifford (Peter Stormare), but doesn't remember anything or anyone else about his previous life. Just when we're ready to accept the fact that Young Sean isn't going to offer evidence of his claim, we are shocked when Sean decides to take back his life in other ways, which really walk the tightrope of good taste.

As a Kidman fan, I really wanted to like this movie and they really had me until the final third, which made what had come before that completely irrelevant. What kept me watching was the beautifully controlled performances of Kidman and Bright as Young Sean. Bright had previously impressed me as Aaron Eckhart's son in Thank you for Smoking, but he had an opportunity to take center stage here and doesn't shy away from this complex role without ever going over the top.

The supporting cast including Stormare (light years away from his role in Fargo) as Clifford, Allison Elliott as Anna's sister, Lauren Bacall as her mother, and a delightfully unhinged turn from Anne Heche as her sister-in-law almost seem more important than they really are. Glazer employed first rate production values in mounting this tale, including superb Manhattan location photography and some solid editing, but the story just makes it hard to stay with this one. For hardcore Kidman fans only.

ANYWHERE BUT HERE
A pair of dazzling lead performances by two of the best Oscar-winning actresses in the business are the primary attraction of a 1999 comedy-drama called Anywhere But Here that provides consistent entertainment thanks to its stars.

Adele (Susan Sarandon) is the divorced mother of Ann (Natalie Portman) who has decided to give up her life in a fictional east coast town called Bay City and start a new life in Beverly Hills where she has announced that she has a teaching position (but doesn't) and has decided that Ann is going to change her name to Heather and become an actress.

We've seen flashes of other famous movie heroines in our girls, Adele in particular. Adele is flighty, self-absorbed, is constantly trying to live above her means, and thinks any problem can be solved with a trip to Baskin Robbins. Ann is a sensitive realist who is pretty much humiliated by every move her mother makes and spends most of the screentime threatening to leave her mother and never come back. Anyone who has seen movies like The Glass Menagerie, Mermaids, Gypsy, and Terms of Endearment will find familiar territory here, but the territory looks fresh because of the work of these two extraordinary actresses.

We know we are in for something kind of special when the movie opens with Adele and Ann on the road and instead of the accustomed broken down Cadillac we usually see in road movies, our heroines are traveling in a very expensive looking Mercedes. Few surprises are provided in terms of storytelling, including Ann's slightly pretentious and unnecessary narration, but we see the constant challenge and competition in this relationship and though the idea of who's the mother and daughter is approached, it is always clear who the mother is here and who the daughter is though both characters experience discomfort and aggravation in their positions, they accept them and no matter what conflicts they face, we know that these two will always choose each other, even though they are in serious denial about it.

The rather ordinary story is a non-issue because Sarandon and Portman are so completely enchanting in their roles that you almost don't notice the other not-so-spectacular elements of presentation. I did like Shawn Hatosy as Ann's Bay City boyfriend, Eileen Ryan as Adele's mother, and John Diehl as her brother, but it is the professional polish of Susan Sarandon and Natalie Portman that makes this one worth a look.

MARJORIE PRIME
2016's Marjorie Prime is a pretentious and well-intentioned film version of a play that, despite strong performances, suffers from the inability to escape its stage origins and a talky and confusing screenplay.

As the film opens, we are introduced to an elderly woman named Marjorie (Lois Smith) who is apparently suffering from alzheimers or dementia who is visiting with Walter (Jon Hamm), who is revealed to be a hologram of Marjorie's late husband who died over a decade ago. It appears that this hologram or "prime" as they are referred to here, has been provided for Marjorie by her daughter Tess (Geena Davis) and son-in-law Jon (Tim Robbins) to help her deal with her illness, but this doesn't even scratch the surface of what is going on here.

Director and screenwriter Michael Almereyda adapted this film from a play by Jordan Harrison which apparently was an insightful look at family dysfunction as well as some more universal messages such as the dangers of our world being constantly threatened by ever-changing technology and maybe that's where the problem lies here...either Harrison or Almereyda just seem to be trying to cover too much ground and in their effort to do so, forgot to provide answers to a lot of questions that this story raises.

I found myself waiting for some background on who created the primes and how much they were costing these people, but this question was never broached. I was also confused by the purpose of the prime in these people's lives and when it was actually revealed what was going on, it only added to my confusion. I didn't understand why Walter helping Marjorie was so important to Tess, since it was made clear from her first appearance onscreen, that Tess had major issues with her mother that could never be resolved, even with the help of a prime, including a classic "Mom always liked you best" issue that seemed a little dated for such an allegedly sophisticated story.

As hard as he tried to open up this story for the screen, Almereyda never really succeeds at making this piece look like a movie rather than a photographed stage play, due to long stretches of story told in a single setting and long Tennesse Williams-like monologues from the characters that might have been more effective as flashbacks, but I guess that would have made the point of the movie moot, but it made for some very sluggish moments along the way.

The actors work extremely hard to sell this story...Robbins is solid and Davis does a credible job keeping us invested in a very unlikable character, and Lois Smith is luminous as Marjorie, but the actors hard work eventually dissolves under a lot of pretentious talk and artsy symbolism that made it obvious this story should have stayed where it began...onstage.

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

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

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

BELL BOOK AND CANDLE
The 1958 classic Bell Book and Candle is a darkly delicious romantic comedy that still enchants effortlessly due to a clever and original story, solid production values, and a terrific cast.

This is the story of Gillian Holroyd (Kim Novak) a witch who resides in 1958 Manhattan who is feeling restless about her life until she meets Shepherd Henderson (James Stewart), a soon to be married book publisher who lives in her apartment building. Gillian's attraction to Shepherd is so swift and so immediate that she decides to cast a spell on him in order to make him fall in love with her, but her plan becomes complicated by an alcoholic writer obsessed with witchcraft (Ernie Kovacks) and Gillian's warlock brother, Nicky (Jack Lemmon) whose own agendas could put a permanent dent in Gillian's plan.

It's been documented that this film was one of the inspirations for Sol Saks when he created the ABC sitcom Bewitched, but Daniel Taradash's intricate screenplay (based on a play by John Van Druten) goes several places where the sitcom never did. In this story, Gillian and Shepherd only get together because of Gillian's spell, which is further fueled by Gillian's long dormant rivalry with Shep's fiancee, Merle (Janice Rule). On the television show Darrin and Samantha fall in love with each other completely unaided by witchcraft. Samantha doesn't confess about who she is until their wedding night. Here, this reviewer found mixed emotions about what is happening here because it initially seems wrong for Gillian to get what she wants through witchcraft and we're wondering whether or not this character is supposed to be sympathetic and for the first third of the film, she isn't...as a matter of fact, the Gillian character made the hair on the back of my neck stand up and I felt like that wasn't really the intention.

That's why Taradash's screenplay is so effective, because it allows the viewer to form their own opinion about what Gillian is doing even though we realize that the only way we really want these two characters to be together is without outside influence. I also love the way certain things attributed to witches, such as the inability to cry, blush, or float are integrated into the story giving this story an added layer that Bewitched never had.

Richard Quine's direction is detail-oriented and imaginative, utilizing some effective location Big Apple photography and some stunning art direction/set direction to help tell this special story. I loved Gillian's shop and the Zodiac Club, the witches' jazz hangout where Nicky plays the bongos, but I couldn't help wondering, considering the stars and subject matter, what an amazing film this could have been under the direction of Hitchcock, but this is probably Quine's best work. A big bouquet is also owed to George Duning's terrific music score.

James Stewart and Kim Novak proved that the chemistry they created in Vertigo was no fluke...though having never been a big fan of either, I have rarely enjoyed the two of them onscreen more. My first exposure to the comic genius of Ernie Kovacs was pure pleasure and, as he always did, Lemmon made every moment he had onscreen as Nicky count. Nicky and Elsa Lanchester's Aunt Queenie definitely conjured images of Bewitched's Uncle Arthur and Aunt Clara. Also loved the fabulous Janice Rule as Shepherd's snooty fiancee. A true film classic that lived up to its reputation.

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

Very true, in one episode of Bewitch Samantha humbly explains to Darrin, that love is stronger than witchcraft...which makes their love real. I like that!
That's how I felt too.

Agreed, the director did 'world building' so well! I loved being in Gillian's shop, the Zodiac Club and Bianca de Passe 'witch house'...those were all great sets, with amazing set details.

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

I knew you weren't a big fan of Kim Novak but I didn't know you weren't a fan of James Stewart. I like both, but I didn't think they had much chemistry and I sure wish someone other than Stewart would have played the lead. Donald O'Conner would have been my choice.

I agree! Loved the supporting cast.

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

10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU
A dazzling movie star turn by the late Heath Ledger near the beginning of his career is the primary selling point of a surprisingly entertaining high school comedy called 10 Things I Hate About You, another contemporary movie comedy that finds its roots in Shakespeare.

The 1999 comedy, based on Taming of the Shrew, introduces us to a pair of sisters who attend Padua High School. Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) is pretty and popular and is currently being pursued by two very different guys (Joseph Gordon Levitt, Andrew Keegan), but is forbidden by her father (Larry Miller) to date until older sister, Katharina (Julia Stiles) begins to date someone. Problem is Katharina is a tightly wound, anti-social snob who has no interest in dating or any other form of socialization. The two guys chasing Bianca decide to persuade school bad boy Patrick Verona (Ledger) to pursue Katharina, freeing up Bianca to start dating.

Yes, this is another one of those stories that we pretty much know how it's going to end up about 15 minutes in, but it's a pretty entertaining ride for the most part. The screenplay by Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith is overly complex and works a little to hard at reminding us at every turn that the story is Shakespeare-based (Padua high school, the girls' last name is Stratford, Patrick's is Verona, not to mention actual quoting from the play), but it just seems so unnecessary, not to mention a waste on the target demographic for the film, who probably didn't catch or care about any of the references. They just wanted to see the sexy bad boy work his charm over the snooty girl and on that level, it works.

But what this film has above everything else is a charismatic star turn from Heath Ledger as young Patrick...nine years before winning a posthumous Oscar for The Dark Knight, Ledger already proves that he was a movie star in the making with a performance that completely enchants from his first moment onscreen. Whether he's murdering a frog in biology class or serenading his girl with a microphone in the football stadium with his rendition of "Can't Take My Eyes off You", Ledger lights up the screen and has us completely behind the character, even to the point of blithely accepting the fact that Katharina isn't really likable and we're never really given any insight into why, but said insight is never really provided in Taming of the Shrew either, so I guess that's OK.

Julia Stiles works very hard at keeping Katharine likable and she makes the transition of Katharina from icy bitch to real girl a pleasure to watch. Oleynik and Levitt are charming second leads and Miller is terrific as the dad. Also have to give a shout out to a brief appearance by Allison Janney as the school principal more concerned with the romance novel she's writing. It's no classic, but an entertaining diversion that held my attention and provided laughs, thanks primarily to the gifted Heath Ledger, RIP.

SNATCHED
After witnessing her film debut in the dreadful Trainwreck, I decided that standup comic Amy Shumer is definitely an acquired taste who has a gift with the comedy microphone but is no actress and my opinion has not changed after watching the 2017 comedy Snatched, which is only a hair's breath better than Trainwreck, thanks to a stronger supporting cast who work very hard at keeping this mess watchable.

Shumer plays Emily, a young woman who has just lost her job and been dumped by her boyfriend who has left her with an available ticket on her nonrefundable vacation to Ecuador. When she can't get any of her friends to go on the trip with her, she turns to her mother, Linda (Goldie Hawn), a tightly wound divorcee and cat lady who never does anything or goes anywhere. Shortly after their arrival in South America, the women are kidnapped and that's where the adventure begins.

Kate Dippold, who also wrote the recent female reboot of Ghostbusters has provided a long-winded and extremely conventional story that provides little or no surprises and really doesn't play to the strengths of either of the stars. It was particularly sad to watch movie icon Goldie Hawn caught in the middle of this mess. Though absent from the screen for 15 years and finally looking her age, Hawn still knows how to command a movie screen and effectively underplays a predictable role, with a standout scene near the end of the second act that was kind of sad reminder of what a magical actress this woman used to be.

As for Shumer, I really can't figure out what the problem is with this woman, or maybe it's just me. I've seen the woman do standup and she is a very funny woman standing in front of a live audience with a microphone, but she definitely loses something translating to the screen playing an actual character. Even though Dippold is the credited screenwriter and director Levine was probably most concerned with bringing this mess in under budget, it is clear that Shumer had input on the character and I just didn't find this character as funny as Amy did. There was dialogue and actions that were probably meant to shock, offend, and amuse, but mostly annoyed. Shumer is also another one of those celebrities who seems to think she's really sexy and she's just not and this film just drove that home...Shumer is the last woman on the planet who should be appearing on a 40-foot screen in a two piece bathing suit.

Shumer does appear to have some juice in Hollywood because no expense was spared in bringing this generic tale to the screen...there is some exquisite South American location photography and some solid support comes from Wanda Sykes, Joan Cusack, and Christopher Meloni. Actually, the funniest moments in the movie came from Ike Barinholtz, playing Shumer's brother and Goldie's son, panicked at the thought of not having Mommy to support him anymore. Unfortunately, his screentime was not sufficient to keep long stretches of this movie from being intolerable.

Nice review I will give this one a miss

__________________
Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.
Buddha

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

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

THE VERDICT
Crisp, detailed direction, an intelligent if manipulative screenplay, and, for my money, the finest performance of Paul Newman that earned him a seventh Oscar nomination, combine to make 1982's The Verdict appointment viewing.

This is the story of an alcoholic Boston attorney named Frank Galvin who has a chance to redeem himself when a dream case falls in his lap: A pregnant woman fell into a coma after doctors gave her the wrong anesthesia and now her sister and brother-in-law are suing the doctors and the hospital for malpractice. What initially appears to be a slam dunk for Galvin begins to be anything as we watch his case quietly and precisely fall apart before our eyes.

Director Sidney Lumet and screenwriter David Mamet have mounted an effective blend of courtroom drama and character study that rivets the viewer from the opening shot of the central character that clearly establishes who Frank Galvin is before we've learned anything else. He is observed in a full suit and tie in a bar, at a pinball machine, with a shot glass sitting in the window...this shot tells volumes about the story we are about to witness as the opening credits roll...we already know that we are meeting a character who has seen better days and we want to know what happened.

The other thing I love about this story is the David and Goliath sensibility to the proceedings. The defendants, or in this case the villains, are being represented by a huge firm with all staff on deck, while Frank's only assistance is his former employer (Jack Warden). The Goliath law firm is also established as villains protecting the guilty through their complete and thorough homework regarding Frank and everyone else on his side of the courtroom in an attempt to distract the jury. Frank's job is also complicated by the Judge who resents Frank for not taking the settlement that he was initially offered. And despite all of this, Lumet and Mamet manage to provide a story that rivets throughout and forces the viewer to stay with the story which isn't as predictable as it initially seems, as red herrings and small plot holes abound.

Considering his long and distinguished career, it's kind of bold to call Frank Galvin his best performance and I haven't seen every movie he ever made, but I've seen most of them and I still don't think the late screen icon has ever been better and gets flawless support from Warden, Milo O'Shea as the slimy judge and an undeniably slick turn from James Mason as the opposing attorney that earned him an Oscar nomination as well. Mamet's screenplay is slightly manipulative and I'm not sure that the ending is completely realistic, but this is a sterling courtroom drama thanks to the polish in front of and behind the camera.

THE APRIL FOOLS
Though it definitely gets an "A" for effort, the 1969 comedy-drama The April Fools doesn't quite measure up due its troublesome mixture of "mod" 1970's sensibilities and old fashioned 1950's melodrama.

Jack Lemmon plays a recently promoted investment banker who goes to a party at his boss' lavish Manhattan apartment and finds himself drawn to a woman (Catherine Deneuve) and begins an affair with her, unaware that the woman is his boss' unhappy wife.

Director Stuart Rosenberg and writer Hal Dresner must be applauded for a relatively adult screenplay that makes some surprising moves for a comedy about infidelity that we really don't see coming. We don't see it coming because movie's favorite everyman is at the center of the story and we are absolutely sure that Jack Lemmon would never have an affair with a married woman under any circumstances, even though we know it's just a movie character.

The problem is that Rosenberg and Dresner have written a 50's style romantic comedy and tried to dress it up with 1970's trappings...the movie is filled with outrageous sets and outlandish costumes and some very dated ideas about love, romance, and men and women's roles that would never survive in politically sensitive 2017. There is a scene near the beginning of the film that takes place at a restaurant called The Safari King, where the male patrons are crowned with pith helmets and get the waitresses' attention by shooting them in the ass with popguns...seriously?

What the film does have going for it is a terrific lead performance from Jack Lemmon. Deneuve is beautiful, but her empty performance and lack of chemistry with Lemmon are a problem. Peter Lawford, Sally Kellerman, Jack Weston, Myrna Loy, Charles Boyer, and Harvey Korman do make the most of thankless roles and there is another terrific Bacharach/David/Dionne Warwick collaboration with the title song, but the film has to work extremely hard to overcome its dated elements.

PARTY MONSTER
The 2003 "docudrama" Party Monster is an up close look at a subculture of the New York club scene that I've never seen addressed before and after watching this, I can imagine why.

This film follows an outrageous group of freaks called the Club Kids, who during the late 1980's and early 1990's, were known for outrageous costumes and makeup that would put the Gay Pride parade to shame and a life of complete access, which included all the crack, heroine, and ecstasy they could get their hands on. The group came to fruition through a pair of flamboyant party boys named Michael Alig (Macauley Culkin) and James St. James (Seth Green).

Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato based their screenplay St. James' book, the publication of which is the hook that opens the film, but the story springs into so many different directions that it's hard to accept that it all came from St. James' book, due to his limited screentime here. The film really seems to focus more on the Alig character and tries to ease our discomfort with the character's sexuality by letting us know right from the start that the character has committed a murder, taking a lot of the inspiration out of the viewer to stay tuned in.

The fact is that very few people involved in this often ugly story are nice people. The Michael Alig character redefines self-absorbed despite the "I just got off the bus" intro the character is provided here as he develops his friendship with St. James, using him as a tutor into the New York club scene and eventually betraying him in myriad ways. The only thing that makes watching Alig worthwhile is knowing that he's going to get what's coming to him, which I didn't know as I watched, but it made me feel a little better about what I had been subjected to. I was especially distressed watching him seduce a heterosexual male (Wilmer Valderamma) into a relationship with a couple of drink tickets...seriously?

Bailey and Barbarato's direction is a little better than their writing, but not much. I would like to give a shout out to Jeremy Simmons' editing, despite the film's grainy, indie look. They make this club life seem so glamorous, but when you strip away all the glitter and false eyelashes, what you have is Frankie and Annette on the beach. Macauley Culkin's performance is rather one-note, but Seth Green was absolutely brilliant as St James and almost made this hot mess of a movie worth sitting through...almost. This is just not viewer friendly material

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

I need to see The Verdict.

I've never heard of that one. I still would give it a watch despite the low rating, just to see Jack Lemmon and of course Catherine Deneuve

The Greatest Showman
Handsome production values, some terrific songs, and a dazzling performance from the leading man help elevate 2017's The Greatest Showman, the story of PT Barnum, above the average show biz biopic.

Phinneas Taylor was the subject of a 1980 Broadway musical called Barnum which starred Jim Dale as Barnum and Glenn Close as his wife Charity that ran for 854 performances, but bringing the story to the big screen opened up the story to maximum effect. And speaking of a big screen, it should be noted that this was the first movie I have seen in an actual movie theater since 2007.

Hugh Jackman lights up the screen as PT Barnum, a show business hopeful who romances the lovely Charity (Michelle Williams) before developing his unique show business offering centered around human oddities such as a bearded lady and Tom Thumb. He persuades important but unhappy playwright Phillip Carlisle (Zac Efron) to be his business partner and his show, which is staged in a former museum, rises to even greater heights until Phinneas Taylor meets opera singer Jenny Lind (Rebecca Ferguson) with whom he becomes obsessed to the point of putting his personal and professional lives at risk.

The screenplay by Jenny Bicks and Oscar winner Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters) is an effective combination of backstage drama and politically correct sensibilities regarding the stars of Barnum's show and how it should never be forgotten they are human beings, first and foremost. Director Michael Gracey has mounted the story in the form of a Broadway musical without the limitations of a Broadway stage and is keenly aware of what audiences expect in a Broadway musical. I have to admit to being taken back the first time Jenny Lind opens her mouth to sing, that we got the voice of a Broadway belter instead of an operatic soprano, but it so fit the style of the story that I was able to forgive.

The song score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (La La Land) is a perfect blend of romantic comedy and Broadway razzle dazzle that actually advances story. Highlights include "The Greatest Show", "Come Alive", "Rewrite the Stars", "From Now On", and the pulse pounding "This is Me."

As expected, Jackman does a charismatic star turn that shows off his gorgeous lyric tenor to maximum effect, but the real surprise here was Michelle Williams, who I had no idea could sing and dance, but the girl delivers, as always. Efron makes an effective return to musical comedy and is allowed to keep his clothes on for the entire running time and I have to give a shout out to Keala Settle, who steals every scene she's in as the bearded lady. A grand musical comedy gourmet feast. Fans of Moulin Rouge will have a head start here. And if you can, see it in a real theater like I did.

OK I'm sold. I loved that movie.

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

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