Gideon58's Reviews

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REIGN OVER ME

Actor/writer/director Mike Binder, who was the creative force behind The Upside of Anger, mounts another compelling comedy-drama called Reign Over Me, yet another story of the grieving process and how the power of friendship can sometimes impede the process.

This film stars Don Cheadle as Alan Johnson, a Park Avenue dentist who runs into his old college roommate, Charlie Fineman (Adam Sandler), who Alan has not seen since the man lost his wife and three daughters on 9/11. What follows is a sometimes volatile re-connection between the two, once Charlie actually remembers who Alan is, who instantly sees Charlie's break from reality, which may or may not be connected to his loss, but Charlie ends up having a surprising effect on Alan's life as well, affecting his business as well as his marriage to Janeane (Jada Pinkett Smith).

Binder has created a story that is a little long-winded, but is rich with humor and unpredictability, despite some hard to accept details in characterization, particularly where Charlie is concerned. Charlie seems to have some serious issues that go far beyond the grieving process but Binder's screenplay never puts a label on it, allowing the character of Charlie to be all over the place and sometimes hard to remain invested...some of his explosive and unmotivated outbursts toward Alan make for high drama but seem to come from nowhere. This not only makes it hard for the viewer to care about Charlie but also makes us wonder why Alan won't leave him alone either, especially with the negative impact Charlie's presence seems to be having on his once cushy if somewhat dull existence.

Binder's screenplay often sacrifices realism for entertainment, which is easy to do when you have a cast of professionals bringing said entertainment to life. Don Cheadle is an offbeat casting choice for the role of Alan, but it's a beautiful and brilliant performance that never gets blown off the screen by Adam Sandler's explosive scenery chewing that defies convention and manipulates viewer emotions. The scene where he FINALLY talks about what happened that horrible day does finally occur and that might be the problem...the wait for that scene is too long and Binder almost loses us, but his impressive cast makes us want to stick it out. Robert Klein and Melinda Dillon were terrific as Charlie's in-laws as was Saffron Burrows as an amorous patient of Alan's and BJ Novak as an insensitive attorney. There's also a stylish cameo from Donald Sutherland as a judge and Binder appears as Charlie's attorney, but it is the surprising chemistry between Cheadle and Sandler that almost makes you forget that this is going on a little longer than it should.



A NIGHT IN HEAVEN
Seven years after winning an Oscar for directing Rocky, John G. Avildsen tried to make his way into John Hughes/Chris Columbus territory with an alleged romantic comedy called A Night in Heaven, which beyond a wonderful performance from its leading lady, offers nothing surprising or original.

The 1983 film stars Lesley Ann Warren as Faye Hanlon, a married community college professor who is neglected by her space engineer husband (Robert Hogan) and has just flunked a student of hers named Ricky Monroe (Christopher Atkins) on his final exam in her class.

Faye's sister (Deborah Rush) decides that her sexually repressed sister needs an evening out with the girls and they end up at a strip club called Heaven and, to Faye's shock and surprise, as well as our own, Ricky turns out to be the headliner at the club dancing under the name "Ricky the Rocket" and when Ricky discovers Teach in the audience, it is Faye who wants to head for the hills not Ricky and it is the beginning of a dogged pursuit of the woman, despite the fact that she is married, even if the marriage isn't a perfect one.

Screenwriter Joan Tewkesbury's screenplay is rather unimaginative, made even more snore inducing by the less than uninteresting subplot of Faye's husband's unhappiness with his work. which we just don't care about, primarily due to Logan's lifeless performance in the role. Christopher Atkins is pretty and looks great in various states of undress but then he starts reciting lines.

What does work here is a superb performance from Lesley Ann Warren as Faye. Warren brings more substance to this role than what's written, showing us a woman whose sexuality has been dormant for longer than she cares to admit and finds it being awakened from a very unlikely source. If not for Warren and Deborah Rush as her sister, this film would have been a crashing bore...can't believe this is from the same guy who directed Rocky, but fans of Lesley Ann Warren should definitely check it out.



SISTERS
A lot of times when actors reach a certain level of celebrity, they feel that don't have to work as hard to entertain and feel that audiences will just lap up anything they do. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are proven comic powerhouses but even their proven reputation isn't enough to salvage a hot mess of a 2015 comedy called Sisters.

Don't get me wrong, I love Tina and Amy but apparently they thought we would just ride with this because it's Tina and Amy, but this not a segment of Weekend Update...this is a silly and pointless comedy that actually runs over two hours but this film doesn't provide two hours of laughs.

Tina and Amy play Kate and Maura Ellis, respectively, a pair of sisters who travel to Florida after learning their parents are planning to sell their childhood home and, unable to let go of their teenage years and wanting to make up for missed teen opportunities, they decide to throw one big party as a last chance to play teenagers, including Maura's desire to have sex in her childhood home before it's too late.

The primary roadblock to enjoying this film for me is that it felt like Tina and Amy were playing the wrong parts. Tina playing the irresponsible screw-up and Amy playing the sensible good girl just didn't work for me. It occurred to me that Tina and Amy did this on purpose just to prove that Tina could play a screw-up and Amy could play a sensible girl but it just came off as forced. Both actresses are working unbelievably hard to be believable in these roles and there are times when it gets absolutely exhausting.

Screenwriter Paula Pell and director Jason Moore really didn't have a lot to do here, since all of Amy and Tina's Hollywood buddies agreed to participate and I'm pretty sure a lot of what goes on here was unscripted and unsupervised. As expected, several past and present stars of SNL are on hand but you're just reminded here how funny they were on that show. Ike Barinholtz made an unconventional romantic lead and John Cena has a funny cameo as a drug dealer. And I loved having James Brolin and Dianne Wiest, who play the parents on the CBS sitcom Life in Pieces, playing Tina and Amy's parents, but this movie coasts on Tina and Amy's rep rather than on its own merit. Tina and Amy are very funny women and they deserve better...so do we.



WHY DID I GET MARRIED TOO?
Tyler Perry offers one of the most useless sequels ever made, which somehow manages to be much worse than the first film, which I didn't think was possible and the fact that it seems about 14 hours long doesn't exactly help.

Why Did I Get Married Too? is the excruciating sequel to the 2007 Tyler Perry disaster about 4 black married couples who meet annually for a retreat/marriage seminar. The first film took place at a secluded cabin in the Colorado Rockies, so it should have been no surprise that this 2010 sequel begins in the Bahamas.

This film immediately brought to mind another dreadful sequel I saw earlier this year called The Best Man Holiday because it's one of those sequels that assumes you've seen the first film and doesn't bother to explain or recap anything that happened in the 2007 film and I'm so certain of this that I will say if you didn't see the first film, you might as well stop reading now.

Once again, Perry exploits every black stereotype he can think of in his over indulgent presentation of these people we really didn't care about after the first film. Marcus (Michael Jai White) continues to be the world's most tolerant husband married to that nightmare Angela (Tasha Smith), certain that Marcus is cheating on her and if he is, we wouldn't blame him because Angela is an emasculating shrew who would make anyone cheat. Sheila (Jill Scott) and Troy (Lamman Rucker) are struggling with finances that only become more complicated when her nasty ex, Mike (Richard T. Jones) shows up unannounced and uninvited in the Bahamas. We also learn that the marriage of Pat (Janet Jackson) and Gavin (Malik Yorba) has a lot more issues than what was glossed over in the first film.

Perry writes and directs with such a heavy and melodramatic hand here that these allegedly riveting scenes from a marriage come off either as unintentionally funny or snore-inducing and I'm sure neither of these were Perry's intention. The scene of Smith interrupting White's TV show to accuse him of cheating or of Jackson destroying her own house with a golf club just come off as forced and manipulative but this is a case where the manipulation doesn't work.

Unlike The Best Man Holiday, this cast has definitely aged since the last film. The entire cast could have used six months in the gym before this movie began filming, with Janet Jackson looking especially chunky, no matter how they tried to disguise it with wardrobe. At least in the other film, the cast still looked good. The performances are nothing to write home about, including a pointless cameo from Louis Gossett Jr. and Perry good luck charm Cicely Tyson. I talk frequently about films where I'm checking my watch, well I was checking mine about 20 minutes in on this one. And a gold star to anyone who can figure out why there is a question mark at the end of the title.



THE LUCKY ONES

The 2008 comedy drama The Lucky Ones was an offbeat episodic drama that put a deft twist on the traditional road trip/buddy movie genre that takes some unexpected detours but never fails to hold viewer attention.

This is the story of three soldiers who are returning from the war after being injured. Cheever (Tim Robbins) is a veteran who was injured in a non-combat incident who is being sent home for good. TK (Michael Pena) received an injury that rendered him impotent and he is on leave for 30 days, as is Colee (Rachel McAdams), who was shot in the leg. The three soldiers hook up accidentally and end up on the road together and eventually learn that the people they left behind before the war have moved on with their lives and have not been standing patiently next to the old oak tree with the yellow ribbon tied around it.

Director and co-screenwriter Neil Burton has created a realistic journey for three characters who at the core of this, are virtual strangers except for their connection to the military and this story drives home how important that connection can be and how friendship and unconditional support and defense can build from that connection. Virtual strangers at the beginning of the movie, there is no doubt that by the end of this film, Cheever, TK, and Colee would walk through fire for each other.

The story also effectively showcases different reactions to the service our three central characters have provided and how everyone doesn't feel the same about it. We see our heroes receive thanks for their service and we see them ridiculed for it as well, The balance that this portion of the story revealed was a pleasant surprise.

Tim Robbins and Michael Pena are solid and though I thought Rachel McAdams came off a little soft initially, she eventually sold me on this quiet little girl becoming a soldier who was full of spit and vinegar. A different kind of buddy movie that featured a screenplay that could have used a little tightening, but it was still a pretty entertaining ride that provided unexpected surprises along the way.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
I thought The Lucky Ones was one of the best movies nominated in the recent HoFs. I especially liked that it didn't take the easy way out with the ending, and go with the predictable ending. I was sure that I knew how it was going to end, but I was pleasantly surprised that I was wrong.
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If I answer a game thread correctly, just skip my turn and continue with the game.
OPEN FLOOR.



SUNDAY IN NEW YORK
Before she became "Hanoi Jane", two-time Oscar winner Jane Fonda went through what I call her "sex kitten" period where she made a nice handful of naughty adult comedies that took the Doris/Rock will-they-or-won't-they comedies to the next level. One of the best of these was a tasty little offering from 1963 called Sunday in New York.

Based on a stage play by Norman Krasna, this is the story of Adam Tyler (Cliff Robertson), a womanizing airline pilot who gets surprised with a visit from his little sister, Eileen (Fonda), who is smarting after breaking up with Russ (Robert Culp) who lives in Albany and Eileen claims broke up with her because she refused to have pre-marital sex with him. Adam assures Eileen she did the right thing and he claims to be equally pure as the driven snow. Things heat up for Eileen when she "meets cute" with a handsome writer named Mike(Rod Taylor) and during their initial meeting, it begins to rain and Eileen brings Mike back to Adam's apartment to dry off and that's where the fun really begins.

This breezy adult comedy (for 1963) probably raised a few eyebrows in 1963 with some pretty in your face dialogue regarding pre-marital sex, a subject that was pretty much non-existent on movie screens in the 1960's and to find it front and center in a saucy mainstream comedy released by a major studio probably made this quite the water cooler movie during its release.

Krasna adapted his own play into a workable screenplay and did a pretty decent job, with the aid of director Peter Tewskbury, of keeping it from looking like a photographed stage play, even though the majority of the action takes place in Adam's apartment, there is some effective use of New York locations utilized that keep the story from feeling too claustrophobic.

Tewksbury has also gotten some surprisingly sharp performances from his cast, a cast which consists of actors who really weren't really known for making comedies and I think that has a lot to do with why the performances work. Fonda and Robinson had some comedy experience but this was definitely new territory for Taylor and Culp and I think that's why their performances worked as well, because they weren't mining laughs, they were just playing the characters as written and let the laughs develop from the characters...Taylor has rarely been this appealing onscreen. And it goes without saying that Fonda is way more intelligent than the character she is portraying here, giving it an added richness that makes her work here hard to resist. A clever story and a terrific cast at the top of their game...they don't make 'em like this anymore. And a bouquet to that jazzy title tune crooned by Mel Torme.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Great review!

I absolutely love Sunday in New York, so I'm so happy to read that you liked it. I've probably seen it well over a hundred times. I watch it every time it airs on TCM, and if I'm not home when it airs, I DVR it. It's the movie that made me a fan of both Cliff Robertson and Rod Taylor.

I also like the Mel Torme song too.

BTW, Sunday in New York was my #1 movie for the 1960's Countdown.



INSIDE OUT
Disney Pixar hit another bullseye with 2015's Inside Out, an endlessly imaginative and delightfully intricate story of human emotions and how they can manipulate behavior, fuel passion, and the concept of it all being controlled by selective memory.

The setting for this riveting animated journey is inside the brain of an 11 year old girl named Riley (voiced by Kaitlyn Diaz), where we are introduced to the five emotions that apparently control everything Riley does and feels. Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler) is the head emotion and she is assisted by Sadness (voiced by Phyllis Smith), Fear (voiced by Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), and Disgust (Mindy Kaling) who all have their own ideas about Riley's happiness but Joy seems to have the final word on everything and seems to have control of the large computerized console that controls Riley.

Riley's happiness controlled by these emotions until Riley's parents (voiced by Kyle MacLachlan and Diane Lane) announce that they are moving from Minnesota to San Francisco and Sadness reacts by affecting Riley's memories, which force Joy and Sadness to make a very dangerous journey to retrieve Riley's memories, leaving Fear, Anger, and Disgust with control of Riley and unable to figure out how to help her, they decide to have her run away from home and the story becomes a race to see if Joy and Sadness can return Riley's memories to their proper place in Riley's subconscious before Riley runs away from home.

Once again, Disney Pixar has come up with another strikingly bold concept in animated storytelling where human sensibilities become part of non-human entities and providing them with a voice that we can understand. The complexity of the screenplay is no surprise since seven people had a hand in the screenplay (including Poehler and Hader), but the complexity never leads to boredom and the humor here, as always with Disney Pixar stories, is never aimed directly at the intended demographic. The story presented provides humor for the young and the young at heart who still want to believe.

The fun in this story was watching the emotions working the computer console and seeing how what buttons they push would affect Riley's behavior and the pleasant surprise was that most of the time, it was never exactly what we expected and sometimes it even got her in trouble with mom and dad. This was beautifully addressed though when during a scene at the dinner table where mom and dad are trying to figure out what's wrong with Riley, we see the emotions inside their subconscious, equally clueless as exactly how to deal with Riley...loved mom's emotions complaining about dad being useless and dad's emotions just wanting mom to stay from in front of the TV.

This film is colorful and fast-paced and I would be lying if I said understood everything that went on here, but I can't think of a single Disney Pixar film where I did understand everything that was going on but that has never kept me from getting the underlying theme and being captivated by the imaginative characters at the same time. The animation and sound are rich and the voice work is splendid with standout work from Poehler, Lewis, and Kaling. Another fun entry from the mad geniuses at Disney Pixar.



ELVIS & NIXON
The 2016 docudrama Elvis & Nixon is a deliciously entertaining movie that traces a meeting between these two iconic figures in United States history that features some terrific performances and some fun situations, despite the fact that I don't believe a lot of what happened in this movie.

The movie immediately planted seeds of doubt with me with the disclaimer that rolled before the opening credits claiming that there is no documentation of this meeting ever occurring, but that was just the beginning of my difficulty accepting what happens here as reality, but it did not make this film any less entertaining. According to the screenplay by Joey Sagal, Hanala Sagal, and actor Cary Elwes, in 1970, Elvis Presley, worried about the state of the country because of the war against drugs, got on a plane to Washington DC to request a meeting with Richard Nixon because he wanted to become an undercover Federal agent for the government and help with the drug problem as well as other political issues, such as communism and brainwashing.

This movie reminded me of Confessions of a Dangerous Mind in the way that this is the first I've ever heard of any of this and characters who are at the center of this story are also people who I have never heard of, Elvis' handlers in particular...it seemed odd that a movie about Elvis circa 1970 wouldn't have Priscilla or Col. Tom Parker anywhere in sight yet we're introduced to a pair of brothers named Jerry and Sonny who are so tight with the King that he insists that Nixon meet them as well.

What works in this movie is the way the screenplay and director Liza Johnson paints the main characters. Elvis is presented as slightly arrogant but sincere about what he wants and was not above using his celebrity to get what he wanted, particularly in this situation, though he does make a couple of ridiculous moves that I find hard to accept that even Elvis thought he could get away with. Did he really think that he could just stroll into the White House with firearms under his cape and in his boot? Was the man really that dumb?

And on the Nixon side, are we really supposed to believe that he knew so little about Elvis that he actually asks for a bio on the guy and that he agrees to entertain Elvis' foolish notion in exchange for an autograph and a picture? Or are we supposed to believe that Nixon was only interested in meeting Elvis after learning that he was into karate?

What makes this movie worth watching is the two powerhouse performances from Michael Shannon as Elvis and Kevin Spacey as Nixon, performances that are more than impersonation, but capture the spirit of these historical figures without ever resorting to caricature or parody. Shannon especially gets lost inside of Elvis and makes us accept some of Elvis' silly behavior here, including his serious reaction to his treatment by Nixon. Alex Pettyfer and Johnny Knoxville were fine as Jerry and Sonny as was Colin Hanks as a Nixon aide, but Shannon and Spacey made this hard to believe trip worth taking, and the photo of Elvis and Nixon at the end of the film did nothing to firm my belief in what I just sat through, but I found entertainment value, if not a history lesson.



Hey great review on Elvis & Nixon, you almost make me want to watch it again. I think the director is 'winking' at the audience with his 'filling in the blanks' with what happened off record with the meeting of Elvis and Nixon. At first I was taken back by it, as that's not the Elvis we all know and love...but the director is doing a bit of satire, so yeah it works. Fun movie



The Rocky Horror Picture Show (2016)

I must admit to strong mixed emotions when I heard that FOX television's next foray into live television musicals was going to be The Rocky Horror Picture Show for myriad reasons. Number one, the original 1975 film was on my list of films that should never be remade. Number two, I heard a woman was going to be playing the lead role of Dr. Frank-N-Furter and, maybe my biggest concern, the fact that FOX's live presentation of Grease sucked. All my fears were put to rest about 10 minutes into this bold and brassy remake that respects the original material but establishes itself as an independent entertainment and credit for that has to go to director Kenny Ortega, the man behind the High School Musical franchise.

For those unfamiliar with the original, the piece, with a musical score written by Richard O'Brien, who played Riff Raff in the '75 film, is about a nerdy engaged couple whose car breaks down in front of the castle of a kinky, transsexual, mad scientist, started as a theater piece and was given the big screen treatment in 1975 and it promptly died at the box office. Later, someone had the idea to start showing the film at B movie houses at midnight, where the movie became an international phenomenon, which resulted in people bringing props to use during the movie, lines they yell at the screen during the film, and some theaters would have a group of fans actually duplicating the show in front of the movie screen while it was being shown. Soon, this became the only way to experience the film that is now considered a cult classic and kicked off the film careers of Barry Bostwick who played Brad, Susan Sarandon who played Janet, and carved a place in cinema history for Tim Curry, whose one of a kind performance as Dr. Frank-N-Furter is now part of pop culture.

This remake is pretty much scene for scene, but Ortega has been very careful in making sure nothing here is a duplicate of the 1975 film...he has given every moment in this film a respectful reboot and they work for the most part. Ortega even had the insight to provide an actual theater audience who execute some of the audience participation activities that were part of the midnight movie experience. The huge red lips that sing the opening number, "Science Fiction Double Feature", are replaced by a movie theater usherette played by Ivy Levan, who brings fresh life to the classic song.

My concerns about the role of Frank-N-Furter being played by a woman (Laverne Cox of Orange is the New Black) were quickly vanished because Cox, and I'm sure with Ortega's assistance, doesn't play the role as a woman, she is played as a transsexual male and there is nary a moment in the performance that comes across as female. Cox is an actress playing a man with female sensibilities, something like Julie Andrews was supposed to do in Victor/Victoria, but Cox does it so much better...this actress commands the screen right from her opening number "Sweet Transvestite" to the out of this world finale. Hunky Ryan McCartan and the lovely Victoria Justice were perfection as Brad and Janet, their vocal chemistry was just as solid as their somehow child-like sexual chemistry. Their take on "There's a Light" was on the money. Reeve Carney brought a freshness and smoldering sexuality to the role of Riff Raff that was just dazzling and Adam Lambert, who I kept thinking would have made a terrific Frank-N-Furter, made every moment he had onscreen as Eddie count. Christina Milian and Annaleigh Ashford properly chewed scenery as Magenta and Columbia, respectively. Ben Vereen seemed an odd choice to play Dr. Scott but it didn't distract, and of course, Tim Curry, the original Frank-N-Furter in '75 was allowed to play the Narrator here, a performance that had its own level of sadness since Curry is wheelchair-bound IRL, but it was still lovely of Ortega to have him involved.

Ortego clearly is a fan of the original piece and of the midnight movie house experience as he tried to create the whole experience for us and he did a surprisingly competent job, providing entertainment that had me laughing and singing along for the entire running time. Ortega had solid assistance with film editing, musical direction, and his choreography was inventive. This recent trend of live musicals on television has been a real hit and miss thing, but this one was a hit.




Elisabeh Shue's utterly enchanting performance in the starring role is the centerpiece and main selling point of 1987's Adventures in Babysitting, a highly improbable but richly entertaining comedy, that is sort of a distaff re-thinking of Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Shue plays Chris, a high school senior who is dumped by her scummy boyfriend (Bradley Whitford) right before their big date. With no other plans, Chris accepts an offer to babysit for Brad (Keith Coogan), who has a major crush on Chris, and Sara (Maia Brewton) while their parents go to a party.

Right after Brad's BFF Daryl (Anthony Rapp) shows up with the latest edition of Playboy that features a centerfold who bears an uncanny resemblance to Chris, Chris gets a phone call from her BFF Brenda (Penelope Ann Miller), who has run away from home but is in some serious trouble at the downtown Chicago bus terminal and asks Chris to come pick her up. Chris has no choice but to pile the boys and Sara into the station wagon and drive downtown, beginning one of the most bizarre comic adventures ever filmed, which includes car trouble, an encounter with some very dangerous criminals, and a garage mechanic (Vincent D'Onofrio) who bears an uncanny resemblance to a comic book hero that Sara worships, a strange detour into a blues club, and Chris' encounter with a dreamy frat boy (George Newbern) who becomes her savior.

This movie isn't exactly steeped in realism and it is hard to believe that everything that happens here happens in the course of a few hours and credibility is stretched to its limit at every turn. There is one scene where the children are actually climbing the exterior of the building where the party is that their parents are attending! But what makes this movie so deliciously entertaining is Elisabeth Shue's wonderful performance as Chris...no matter how dangerous or ridiculous their situation becomes, Chris never forgets that she is the babysitter and that these kids are her responsibility, not to mention making Brad feel like a king without leading him on.

Shue receives solid support from Keith Coogan and Daryl Rapp and from Calvin Levels as a sympathetic thief. According to the IMDB, Elisabeth's brother, Andrew, who played Billy on Melrose Place, is an extra in this film but I have never noticed him (the frat party is probably a good place to start looking if you care). Shue makes this a fun little ride and if you liked Ferris Bueller, you'll like this.
Great work on this review! “Adventures in Babysitting” is a classic and I hated to see that it was being remade into a TV movie this year.




Helen Mirren's complex and mesmerizing Oscar-winning performance anchors The Queen, an intimate story told on a grand scale, documenting, in what could only be a blend of fact and speculation, the movements of the royal family, Queen Elizabeth II in particular, during the days following Princess Diana's death. Peter Morgan's uncompromising screenplay hypothesizes much of the Queen's thoughts and emotions during this difficult period as this story takes us into extremely private moments with the conflicted monarch of which no one could be privy, but basically, this story portrays the Queen as an icy and cold-hearted harridan who is curiously unmoved by Diana's death and does nothing to publicly grieve or acknowledge the Princess, who by this time, was already divorced from Prince Charles and had basically turned her back on the Royal family.

The film shows how Englanders' begin to publicly air their resentment of the Queen for her actions, or lack thereof, and her battle of wills with Prime Minister Tony Blair, who tirelessly advocated that the Queen acknowledge Diana publicly and what she had come to mean to the rest of the world as "the People's Princess."

Stephen Frears' bold direction does not sugar coat the screenplay, which doesn't necessarily paint the title figure in a flattering light, but puts a human face on this mysterious icon. Mirren's delicately nuanced performance is breathtaking and Michael Sheen (FROST/NIXON)proves to be a formidable screen presence in his interpretation of Tony Blair. Mention should also be made of James Cromwell as Prince Phillip and Sylvia Syms as the Queen Mother, who also make the most of their screen time, but it is the bold screenplay and Mirren's artistry that make this film sing.
I enjoyed reading this review as well. I’ll have to give this one a watch sometime!



I feel like saying "shame on you" to your Rocky Horror remake review. But I didn't watch the whole thing. I turned it off after 40 minutes when I realized how stupid it was. I was actually gonna PM you during the thing and ask, "Are you watching this?" I was expecting a positive review from you, but hoped you'd trash it.



I hadn't read anything positive online about it before I watched it and considering how much I hated the Grease remake I thought I would hate this too but I didn't. I really enjoyed it and nothing anyone says is going to change my opinion about it or anything I wrote in my review and if anyone has a problem with that, feel free to write your own review.