Delila's Reviews

Ther French Connection is a classic, and it's a shame you couldn't see what it was getting at. First of all, it's still probably the finest police procedural ever made. Yes, there is THE celebrated car chase (still amazing all these years later, and you can feel how "real" it is, free of CGI and stunt drivers on a closed set) and a couple of shoot outs, but I love how the film emphasises how much of the job is out standing in the cold freezing your nuts off or sitting in a car for weeks drinking bad coffee without anything of seeming importance happening.

But in addition to Hackman's amazing performance, the big thing about The French Connection that makes it a classic is the uncompromising way it looks at the cops. Unlike movies had done almost exclusively up until that point and still do all too frequently now, the police are not treated as simple "good guys". There is a complicated and murky morality throughout. Hackman's Popeye Doyle is good at his job. He's also a racist, sexist pig who rarely thinks about the consequences in his single-minded drive to do his job the way he thinks he should do it, and if you take a shot at him and piss him off, he's not above shooting an unarmed man in the back either. This was a pretty radical concept for a movie to portray in 1971, and judging by your reaction I'd say it's still pretty radical.



The strength of the movie is that it presents this world without sugar-coating any of the bitterness. Hell, it revels in the biterness. And that dingy reflection of the world is much closer to reality than super cops trailing pyschopaths. Not that every cop is a scumbag, but they surer than ***** aren't all kights on white horses either, and for the first time here we see that a cop is just as capable of being a psychopath as the criminals he is trying to apprehend. The French Connection was one of the first and remains one of the finest depictions of how complicated and troubling the dynamic of cops and crooks can be. And of course it's a GREAT character study, with Hackman really going all-out to bring this brutal and insensitve man to life. The ending is absolutely brilliant, and really sums up the uneasy morality of the film perfectly.

It's not supposed to be an easy, breezy, fun flick. That much you nailed in your review. That you couldn't go any deeper and were struck by the period clothing is too bad. Great, great movie.

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

Sturges is one of the greats, a singular genius of comedy and dialogue that has not been matched before or since on the silver screen. Did you get around to seeing any of his others movies yet? Sullivan's Travels is definitely one of his best and also one of his best-known today, but I love Unfaithfully Yours, Hail the Conquering Hero, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, The Great MicGinty, The Palm Beach Story and especially The Lady Eve as much if not more than Sullivan's. Judging from your taste Delila, I think you'll ADORE The Lady Eve the most of the bunch. Hank Fonda and Babs Stanwyk weren't known for their comic turns, but they are perfect in this movie. Don't know how you'll respond to the darkness of Unfaithfully Yours, but I'm sure you'll enjoy if not want to marry every single one of those movies. Even Preston's "lesser" efforts are a treat and a half, but try and find the ones I listed above starting with The Lady Eve.

Well, if it isn't Holden Pike, as I live and breathe!

Thanks for your comments on The French Connection - I see why you like it and that's valuable to me. I'd like to clarify my POV, as it is actually white-horseless. I don't mind bitter. In fact, I'm drinking coffee right now. Black. I also am holding my breath for the mailperson to bring my next disc of The Wire, and I loved Homicide, Life On The Street and several other cop shows about human cops. I found Popeye Doyle to be off-balance as a character for me, though: too much dark, not enough cream and sugar. Films that feature a central character who has major flaws walk an uneasy line and are highly impressive when they garner a sympathetic reaction, despite that. I'd cite Sideways as an example of that. (Now, don't make that face!) Popeye is, however, unrelatable to me - someone I wouldn't want to know, wouldn't even want to have to deal with in any capacity - because of all those ignorant attitudes he exudes. White horses are ok in parfume ads. I don't need 'em under a cop and I don't need a cop who's representational of the statistical average of the attitudes of most working-class background police officers of a mean age with 2.4 kids to feed. That stuff is tiresome. But if he's an outright *******... bleah.

The Lady Eve does look fun. I love Babs and I think Hank was great. The references to this in the extra material that came with Sullivan's Travels sounded like a great time, and so far you haven't steered me wrong. I will check it out. If I don't get my Netflix, I may go get it today.

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Review: Cabin in the Woods 8/10

Vivian Bearing has Stage 4 ovarian cancer. "There is no Stage 5."

Emma Thompson brings her considerable skills to bear on making our time with Vivian, the central character in adaption of Margaret Edson's play, Wit, worthwhile. We are privy to her re-evaluation of her life and attitudes as her health declines, including her regrets over getting lost in her intellect to the detriment of her emotional life. And she brings us into the trenches in the opposition between intellect and compassion as her doctors fight, not for her life, but for their research data.

If that doesn't sound like fun, it's because it isn't. While this film is meaningful, and beautifully acted, at times darkly humorous, and all the production values are top-notch... it's crushingly sad without ever delivering a satisfying story arc and without the balance of some happy times in the life of our protagonist. There is poignant beauty in it, in particular the end, which positively tore my heart out. But would I recommend this to y'all? No.

Julianne Moore plays a woman who lost her son 14 months ago and can't seem to move on in a functional way. The heart of this film would like to be a testament to the maternal bond and the power of love. It would like to be, but that concept is told with such pedantic, preposterous plot points and wrapped up in such a vague fashion that I wonder if the creators of this story didn't actually hate their mothers.

The one good thing in this movie is the cast. Julianne Moore, Gary Sinease and Dominic West manage to motivate their characters, despite the ridiculous situations, and for that they deserve kudos I guess... or better managers.

This is sci-fi where the laws of physics have been utterly suspended. It hopes to capitalize on paranoia about the government and alien coverups, but it offers insanely unfounded actions on the part of like... everyone. This film is, in short, crap with some good special effects.

This one got me by the heartstrings. Shine is the story of a young man, driven by an abusive father, to excel at playing the piano. The stress causes a mental break that derails not just the young man's career, but his life. Jeffrey Rush plays the pianist, David Helfgott upon whose life this story is based. Rush won an Oscar for this and well-deserved. The real star though (sorry, Jeffrey) is Noah Taylor (Max, The Life Aquatic, many others) who plays Helfgott as an adolescent, who shows us a brilliant and sweet young man having a slow-speed-come-apart and wringing sympathy from us.

This is an inspiring story of coping with mental illness - of the joy found in doing what one can. It's also a heart-touching look at the emotional truths in growing up with abusive parents and the long-term coping deficits that can result. Overall it's well worth a watch though, and something that will leave the viewer smiling, if damp.

Annette Bening shines in this amusing story of the triumph of wit and ego over manipulation and ageism. Unfortunately, it does so without much character growth and with no heart, exhaulting the worst of human ambitions: revenge at all costs. Being Julia is a film whose highest ambition is to one day serve as a punchline on Will and Grace. It's a tale of a fading diva who regains the affections of her (I'd have sworn he was gay) husband by scheming, plotting, manipulating, philandering and in general, being a ruthless bitch. She has no moral high ground and she obviously doesn't love her husband. Her motivation for winning this battle of wits/wills is to maintain a very shallow status quo. It's hard to cheer for that. Once the battle is won, she does manage to enjoy a beer by herself, but sheesh... after all that, I wanted a beer and a shower.

The production values are gorgeous, but honestly... how many more stories of moral bankruptcy can Hollywood crank out?

Good stuff Delly

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Pumpkins scream in the DEAD of night!

Thanks for reading, blibby.
Means a lot.

thanks for the reviews...sorry i'm so late...i couldn't agree with you more on the forgotten and shine...

For Delilah or anybody else who wants to see some of the finest, wittiest romantic comedy screwball ever put on screen, tonight Turner Classic Movies is showing four of Preston's best in row. Starting at 6:15pmEST is Miracle of Morgan's Creek, followed by Sullivan's Travels at 8:00pmEST, The Lady Eve at 9:45pmEST and capped-off by The Palm Beach Story at 11:30pmEST.

Behold the power of Holden Pike: he not only makes recommendations; he delivers!

Great reviews Sammy, and thanks to good ol Pike, I can finally check out Sullivan's Travels this evening...

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Nice reviews as usual Sammy. I still haven't seen Shine and after reading your review, I'll need to put that on my 'too see' list.

Wit... I love Emma Thompson and it's one of those movies I always felt I should see even if it was too depressing. Nice review...and I think I'll keep on avoiding it.


I loved Annette Benning in this also. I'm sorry you didn't like this one as much as I did. By the end I was cheering for the aging diva...maybe because of some similarities in the characters of Julia and Margo Channing in All About Eve and their fear of aging. I see what you're saying about Julia not having a high moral ground and it being hard to root for her...but I didn't see any of the main characters having high morals. They were all users (except for her best friend).

I liked the ending actually. I didn't see Julia as winning back her husbands affections (in a romantic way) with that end performance...but more renewed admiration and respect for her as an actress and in turn as a person (since her/their mentor kept coming in visions and beating the idea of 'real life is theatre' theme in). I thought there was a point he seemed to just see her as more of a business than a person, so I liked how it it turned out. By the way...I thought he was gay to at one point.

And the beer by herself...I thought it was interesting and more of a statement that she could finally just enjoy 'being Julia' and didn't need a man to be fullfilled or to stroke her ego. She could now stroke herself.


Hehe...sorry if I went over-board. So far you're the only one who's talked about this movie. Thanks.

No way, I love hearing what you like about films, especially if it's something I missed. I think this is one of those times where it just grabbed you and not me, more than that I missed something. (THIS time. ) Thanks for your thoughts.

And Sedai, as always, thanks for reading!

Thanks. And, sorry again if I got carried away. Maybe it grabbed me too because I always wondered what was so special about Annette Benning. I had only seen her in a few things and thought she was ok, but never blew my skirt up. She won me over in this.



Also...Holden...
I watched a little of the Preston night last night on TCM. I wish I could have seen all of Sullivan's Travels. I'll keep my eye out for any re-runs. And, it was the first time I had seen The Lady Eve all of the way through (had seen bits and pieces). Great stuff. I loved seeing Charles Coburn in this....he's in quite a few old flicks I love. He's like a comfy slipper.

Sammy, did you get to see any of them? I still have a fondness for The Palm Beach Story. I love Claudette Colbert.

Sling Blade -
I remember seeing this with one of my friends and laughing throughout the whole thing, because we were being retarded. Anyways, my favorite line, "I aint' got no reason to kill nobody." Genius.


Sling Blade Soundboard - Hours of fun.

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This movie is an odd one, that way: it is dead serious and funny at the same time. That "mmmm hmmm" thing, and the "taters and mustard" and all is so imitatable. Hopefully less imitatable than the, you know, murdering people in cold blood part.

I have put off watching this for a long time, only because it is so much like work, what was I thinking this is a great movie with great acting.

Thanks Sammy for the reviews

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

As a matter of fact, I do feel lucky. If you like the notion of old-school honor surviving in a cover-your-ass society, you'll feel lucky to stumble across Dirty Harry, as well.

Clint Eastwood stars as colorful vigil ante cop Harry Callahan, and turns in a winning performance. Not every actor could pull off Harry and Rita Fink's super-macho dialogue, but Eastwood's calm, cool delivery pulls us through it.

The story is based loosely on San Francisco's Zodiac Killer, who was never caught. (Andy Robinson plays the filmic version to the hilt.) This is an upgrade from your usual cop dramedy, as Callahan has to outwit not only the bad guy, but the social system that safeguards him. It's a thoughtful story, underlined with brilliantly thoughtful photography and a gritty look overall. You won't be wondering why they call him "Dirty Harry".

4.5/5