Gideon58's Reviews

I haven't seen the remake with Brandy and Whitney Houston, but I love Whitney Houston's voice, so I'll have to see it. (I have no idea who Brandy is. )

I've seen The Glass Slipper with Leslie Caron, and it was okay, but IMO, it isn't nearly as good as the other two versions that I mentioned, or the Disney animated version.

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OPEN FLOOR.

Ever since you posted this, I've been racking my brain trying to think of what movie Gene Kelly was working on at the time...my original thought was Invitation to the Dance,p but that was a very important project to Kelly that I don't see him walking away from for any reason...so I've decided that he must have been working on It's Always Fair Weather, ironically, one of the few Gene Kelly musicals I have never seen.

Yes, the movie he threatened to pull out of was It's Always Fair Weather. It's a very good movie, and I recommend it, but it's not one of my favorites of his movies. However I love watching Gene Kelly dance while wearing roller skates because I can't even stand on skates, so I'm amazed that he could dance on them.

The roller skate number made my dance choreography thread if you recall...that number drives me nuts...I can't believe the guy actually tap dances on roller skates...the man was amazing.

Brandy (I think her real surname is Norwood but she dropped it to be a star) played the title role in a syndicated sitcom called Moesha that ran 4 or 5 seasons if memory serves, I think she cut a couple of records and that was pretty much her 15 minutes, other than a very public romance with Ray J, who did have a recurring role on Moesha. If you watch this version of Cinderella, there is a very competitive vibe between Brandy and Houston that burns a hole in the screen...I think Houston felt a little threatened by Brandy, evidenced in their duet together, "Impossible", where the two divas are basically trying to out-sing each other. There is a review of this version on page 25 of my review thread.

I never watched "Moesha", but the name sounds familiar. I also have no idea who Ray J is, so that didn't help either.

But I like Whitney Houston, and I like the basic "Cinderella" story, so I'll give this version a chance. I added it to my watchlist.

THE WRONG GUY
The severely underrated comic talents of Dave Foley anchor a 1997 comedy called The Wrong Guy, a somewhat convoluted crime farce that defies logic and credibility throughout, rich with "Aw come on" moments, but one thing the movie does do consistently...it brings the funny.

Foley plays Nelson Hibbert, a nerdy business executive who is passed over for a promotion who storms into his boss' office to give him a piece of mind and discovers the man has been murdered. Of course, Nelson freaks out, removes the murder weapon from the victim and gets the victim's blood all over him. We then watch Nelson board an elevator and quietly leave the office, covered in blood, with nary a question from anyone in the building and manages to get out before the police get there. Assuming that the police are already on his tail, Nelson decides he has no choice but to go on the run. Of course, before he goes, he has to call his fiancee, who is the victim's daughter, and inform her that he did not kill his once and future father-in-law-to-be.

The irony of the whole situation is that even before Nelson makes his getaway, the authorities already know who the real killer is and even though they're not looking for Nelson, he keeps getting in the way of the investigation. Things get stickier when it is revealed who hired the killer and that said killer has decided that Nelson was used to set him up, so he decides that Nelson needs to be eliminated.

Foley, David Anthony Higgins, and Jay Kogen have concocted a loopy and sometimes confusing story that takes all kinds of bizarre twists and turns and asks the viewer to accept a lot, but the cast plays it with straight faces which makes it a little easier to forgive certain lapses in credibility. There is one scene where the killer actually shoots his way out of a hotel parking lot filled with police that was just too implausible, but, like William Hurt said in The Big Chill, "sometimes you just have to let art flow over you."

David Steinberg's direction is actually quite detail oriented and he keeps a pretty tight rein on a cast of comedy veterans, led by Foley, who got the movie role of a lifetime and nailed it...though the running joke of him being a woman grew tiresome, Foley's work here never does. Co-screenwriter Higgins is also very funny as the lazy police detective who is more interested in the perks of police work than the work itself. Colm Feore made a slick comic villain and the delicious Jennifer Tilly lights up the screen as the narcoleptic love interest who can't cook. I was expecting to be bored to death by this one, but every now and then I get a pleasant surprise.

This David Steinberg is still with us.

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Thank you, I'm going to change that right now...I was confusing him with David Brenner.

Jodie Foster won her first Oscar for Outstanding Lead Actress for her performance in a 1988 nail biter called The Accused, which takes an unflattering and up close look at the crime of rape, how hard it is to convict, and how the rights of the accused seem much more important than the rights of the victim.

Foster plays Sarah Tobias, a woman who walks into a bar one night and ends up running out of the same bar later in tattered clothing after being gang-raped in the back room of the bar by three men. Sarah reports the crime immediately and does everything a rape victim should do and the three men are apprehended, but Sarah is upset when she learns that the prosecuting attorney, Kathryn Murphy (Kelly McGillis) decides that Sarah would not be a credible witness on the stand and makes a deal with the accused, pleading to a lesser charge.

Sarah feels Kathryn has let her down and it isn't until Kathryn has a personal encounter with one of the accused that she realizes she's made a mistake. She can't un-do the deal she's already made, so she decides to prosecute the witnesses who stood there in the room cheering and encouraging the rape.

Screenwriter Tom Topor has done his homework, offering us a story with no easy answers. Should the accused get a pass because Sarah came into the bar provocatively dressed? Should Sarah be penalized because she was under the influence of alcohol and marijuana? However out of hand things may have become, didn't it become rape the moment Sarah said no? Of course, the last question is where the crux of the drama lies and that's why we know the truth won't be revealed until the inevitable re-enactment of what happened that night through the eyes of a key witness and non-participant in the crime, which is where director Jonathan Kaplan really scored...the direction of the scene of the crime is nothing short of brilliant.

Kaplan also got a powerhouse performance from Foster in a role that evokes sympathy one scene and embarrassment the next. We know this woman is a victim but she really doesn't act like it a lot and seems to be destroying her own case. McGillis is a little wooden as Murphy and I have to admit I kept picturing someone else in this role, someone like Diane Keaton, who could let Foster shine in the more showy role without fading into the wallpaper the way McGillis does at points in this film. With a different actress playing Murphy, this film could have been amazing, but Foster is still mesmerizing and commands your attention, as she always does.

What a great and disturbing movie great review

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Buddha

Thanks, Nebbit...love your new avatar.

I LOVE YOU MAN
A deft screenplay and a terrific ensemble cast are the primary selling points of a 2009 comedy called I Love You Man, a goofy yet endearing look at how friendships can affect romance and vice versa.

Paul Rudd plays Peter Klaven, a tightly wound real estate agent who has just proposed to his fiancee, Zooey (Rashida Jones) and as wedding preparations begin, it is Zooey who comes to the realization that Peter doesn't really have any male friends, evidenced in his inability to find a best man. Peter actually goes on a couple of "man-dates" in order to change things, but ends up hitting it off with Sydney Fife (Jason Segel) an investment broker who crashes Peter's open house to try and sell Lou Ferrigno's house. Peter and Sydney become instant BFF's, but, as expected, Peter's relationship with Sydney begins to seriously impact his engagement.

Director and co-screenwriter John Hamburg has a very keen instinct regarding contemporary relationships and what makes them tick because he touches on all aspects of them here. The primary one being that Peter is encouraged by Zooey to make a friend and when he does, she doesn't like it. I also love that the character of Sydney is nothing like Peter...he is a slob who speaks without filter, has a masturbation station in his living room, and likes to walk his dog on Venice Beach but refuses to clean up after him. It is the development of the relationship between Peter and Sydney that makes up the crux of this movie and it is also the most entertaining aspect.

It's so much fun watching Peter's almost hero worship of Sydney and his absolute disdain of rules and etiquette. Peter's attempts to speak like Sydney, specifically coming with cool nicknames for Sydney, are also hysterical. It was adorable the way Peter's eyes would light up whenever he would see Sydney's name come up on his phone and their bonding at a Rush concert (their favorite band) was something I won't forget anytime soon.

Paul Rudd is loopy and charming as Peter and Jason Segel's breezy laid back Sydney is a joy to watch and the chemistry between the two is undeniable, true movie BFF's. Hamburg has surrounded the stars with a terrific supporting cast including Jon Favreau, Jaime Pressly, JK SImmons, and Jane Curtin. Andy Samberg has some funny moments as Peter's gay younger brother, though there is nothing in the performance that makes the character appear gay, though Thomas Lennon does score as a man date of Peter's at the beginning of the film who falls in love with him instantly. Definitely one of the more pleasant surprises I've had at the movies lately.

ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE

The 1974 comedy-drama Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore won its leading lady her first Oscar after two other nominations and was something very different on the resume of its director. This thoughtful character study of a woman trying to find herself sustains interest due the aforementioned talent.

Ellen Burstyn stars as Alice Hyatt, a New Mexico housewife in denial about her fear of her abusive husband (Billy Green Bush) and her fear that he might harm her son, Tommy (Alfred Lutter), has her wishing for a way out and not long after, Don Hyatt dies in an automobile accident, leaving a penniless and confused Alice to pick up the pieces, which she decides is to return to her childhood home of Monterrey in time for Tommy to start school there.

Alice has never really worked except as a lounge singer and when the few opportunities she found to sing dry up, she reluctantly accepts a job as a waitress at Mel and Ruby's Diner in Tuscon, where she may have also found the man of her dreams in the form of a hunky and charming rancher (Kris Kristofferson).

This is definitely not the kind of film most people would associate with Martin Scorsese and I constantly have to remind myself that Scorsese directed this because episodic character story is not exactly what he director is known for, but he has mounted an evocative and somewhat voyeuristic look at a woman struggling to stay above water without letting her son know what's going on. Scorsese does a wonderful job of establishing the relationship between Alice and Tommy...sometimes they are more like friends than mother and son, which isn't always a good thing, but it makes for some entertaining yet realistic diversions in this cinematic journey.

But above everything, this film has a breathtaking leading performance from one of the best actresses in the business, who brings so much more to this character than revealed in Robert Getchell's Oscar-winning screenplay, which actually reveals quite a lot but Burstyn takes us completely inside Alice's soul, a sometimes dark and conflicted place that is the source of a woman who has never really been truly happy but seems to have no problem with putting her son ahead of her own happiness. Burstyn also manages to create a lovely chemistry with Kristofferson, who has rarely been this charming onscreen and Alfred Lutter is a real scene-stealer as Tommy. Diane Ladd received an Oscar nomination for her performance as Flo, a waitress at the diner and future Oscar winner Jodie Foster also manages to steal a scene or two as a friend of Tommy's. A lovely little melodrama made much more entertaining than it should be thanks to its leading leading lady. Later turned into a CBS television series called Alice that ran for nine seasons.

I think Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore is Martin Scorsese's most underrated movie, and I Love You Man one of the best comedies of the last 10 years.

THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
For many film goers, the best film of 1994 was The Shawshank Redemption. a sweeping and emotionally charged epic that weaves multiple stories of corruption, friendship, survival, and loyalty and sets all these stories behind prison walls without ever making the story feel claustrophobic.

Based on a novel by Stephen King called "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption", this is the story of Andy Dufrane (Tim Robbins), the vice president of a bank who is convicted of the murder of his wife and her lover, sentenced to two life sentences for each of his victims and, in 1947, is sent to Shawshank, a huge prison where Andy learns how to survive, make friends, and even make improvements to the facility, primarily through the use of his own brains and education and his friendship with another lifer in the facility named Red (Morgan Freeman).

Director and screenwriter Frank Darabont has created a textbook in cinematic storytelling here that is centered around a character who is not bathed in an angelic glow from the beginning. Our first glance at Andy sees him getting drunk and loading a gun with bullets, scenes that are juxtaposed with a prosecuting attorney (Jeffrey DeMunn) putting the final nails in Andy's coffin, as it were. It's not until Andy arrives in Shawshank and confronts Red about getting him that tiny little hammer that we know Andy is innocent. It is only a couple of months after his arrival in Shawshank that Andy actually begins planning his escape only no one realizes it.

We don't realize it because Andy's exterior survival mode not only finds him a way out of the laundry room and as the right hand man to the warden (Bob Gunton). We can't help but wish for a way out for Andy as he begins to think of the men around him and how he can help and educate them as well. I love Andy's tireless pursuit of the state for funds to improve the prison library, beautifully climaxed by Andy broadcasting that operatic recording all over the prison yard and watching every single man in the place be mesmerized by it. We also get a look at the other side of Andy's situation with the heartbreaking subplot of Brooks (James Whitmore), a lifelong con who actually gets released and is absolutely terrified about it...a man who has spent so much of his life on the inside that being a free man is something he can't even conceive.

Darabont has spared nothing in bringing this sprawling epic to the screen, taking time to introduce us to all the characters who are a part of Andy's story, never forgetting that it's Andy's story and because of the way he tells the story, the viewer will only be satisfied with one conclusion to this story. Darabont gets some excellent performances from his cast...Tim Robbins is a perfect Andy, another character where that baby face of his works to such great advantage and Morgan Freeman's Oscar nominated work as Red is so good that you almost forget that Freeman is a much more intelligence screen presence than this character. Bob Gunton just drips evil as the warden as does Clancy Brown as the head corrections officer. William Sadler, Gil Bellows, and Mark Rolston also score in supporting roles. The film also deserves nods for cinematography, film editing, sound, and a lush musical score that serves the story effectively, but most of all, this film is a tribute to the artistry of Frank Darabont. A must for all cinema purists.

THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, Agree with everything you said. Great to see some love for Shawshank as lately it's been the movie du jour to knock. It's a solid 5/5 movie for me.

SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL
Screenwriter John Hughes and director Howard Deutch, the creative team behind Pretty in Pink and the architects of 80's teen angst scored again with a 1987 confection called Some Kind of Wonderful, a basic love triangle made watchable due to Hughes' uncanny insight into teen psyche and Deutch's surprisingly detailed direction.

The basic triangle here involves Keith (Eric Stolz), a teen mechanic who dreams of being an artist who has been best friends since the third grade with Watts (Mary Stuart Masterson), a tomboy who really hasn't discovered her inner girl yet and Amanda Jones (Lea Thompson), the popular school beauty who can't seem to extricate herself from a sleazeball named Hardy Jenns (Craig Sheffer).

As with most John Hughes teen comedies, we pretty much know where this is going about ten minutes in, but what makes this one interesting is the very complex journey the characters take, sometimes of their own doing and the way the characters aren't always what they are supposed to be for the story that unfolds.

We understand how Keith's obsession with Amanda is intensified when he learns that Hardy is not faithful to her, but we don't understand is how Keith can be completely clueless as to how Watts feels about him. And Watts doesn't exactly make all the right moves either...when Keith and Amanda have their big date, why on earth would Watts agree to be their driver and why would Keith accept such an offer? Watts goes through a lot of pain during this story but a lot of it is self-inflicted and to make things even more complicated, the character of Amanda, who we would expect to be a total bitch, is not at all, making us scratch our heads as to how we're ever going to get to that ending we saw ten minutes in.

But Hughes and Deutch have crafted a tale that hits all the right teen angst notes with the aid of a solid cast. Stolz is a charming leading man and Mary Stuart Masterson is a revelation as Watts, the sight of her huge expressive eyes welling up with water is hard to resist and Lea Thompson keeps Amanda likable even though she shouldn't be. Also loved Elias Koteas as the school psycho and Maddie Corman as Keith's sister. It ain't Pretty in Pink, but it will hold your attention.

I saw that at the movies, a lesser John Hughes movie but still decent.

NANCY GOES TO RIO
Jane Powell and her breathtaking lyric soprano take center stage for a delightful MGM confection from 1950 called Nancy Goes to Rio. This film was produced by the Joe Pasternak division of MGM. Pasternak was a producer who preferred legit sopranos like Jane Powell and Deanna Durbin as the stars of his movies as opposed to belters like Judy Garland and this movie appears to be a real valentine to Powell from Pasternak as no expense was spared here.

Powell plays Nancy Barclay, the daughter of Broadway star Frances Elliott (Ann Southern), who is just as talented as her mother and has been toiling quietly in her college summer stock productions keeping boyfriend Scotty (Scotty Beckett) at arm's length, looking for her big break wherever it might come. Nancy gets her break when the author of a new musical (Fortunio Bononova) sees Nancy in a college production and offers her the lead in his new musical, a role that he had promised to Nancy's mother, even though the character in the new show is much closer to Nancy's age.

Nancy is sent to Brazil on a cruise ship to learn the role secretly and while on the ship meets a handsome playboy (Barry Sullivan) who overhears Nancy rehearsing lines from the play which he, of course, misinterprets leading to some classic musical comedy complications that find Nancy and her mother not only competing for the same role, but for the same man.

The MGM gloss makes this piece of fluff appear a lot more important than it really is and if you look at the basic plot, in this day it would be laughed off the screen because in 2016 a mother and daughter competing for the same part or the same man would not be nearly as considerate of each other's feelings as Frances and Nancy are in this movie, which is what makes this movie such a wonderful escape, and wasn't that what MGM musicals were all about?

Powell and Southern are wonderful together and their voices blend beautifully on "Magic is the Moonlight". Other musical highlights include "So This is Love", "Ca-Room Pa-Pa", "Shine on Harvest Moon", "Yipsee Ky-Ay", "Time and Time Again" and the title tune. Powell even offers a stunning rendition of "Musetta's Waltz" from LaBoheme.

Carmen Miranda, in her second to last film, shines in her two musical numbers that disguise how pointless her role really is and Louis Calhern is a lot of fun as Nancy's grandfather. Only Sullivan misses the boat here, light comedy not really being his thing and failing to produce chemistry with either of the leading ladies, but it's a bit of a nitpick in a colorful and entertaining MGM musical package that is a pretty smooth ride.