Gideon58's Reviews

That looks interesting!

This is always a fun movie! Love the Shelley Long breakfast scene. What a nice little figure on her.

"Corrrrndawwwg!"

Totally agree with this, I was scratching my head trying to figure out why Frank and Marla were shown as super religious, it went no where, had nothing to do with the story and seemed like a afterthought by Warren Beatty.
That's how I seen it two, especially Broderick stood out as memorable.

I love Night Shift. It's one of my favorite Michael Keaton movies.

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THE FIRM
The Firm is a slick and expensive suspense thriller from 1993 that might play some of its cards a little too quickly, but it's a pretty entertaining ride for the most part thanks to razor sharp direction and a superb cast.

Tom Cruise stars as Mitch McDeere, a wide-eyed recent Harvard Law School graduate who is married to a beautiful school teacher named Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn) who is being courted by some of the country's top law firms but is made an offer he can't refuse from a firm in Memphis called Bendini, Lambert, & Locke who want Mitch so badly that they offer him a job before he has even passed the bar. Abby senses that the lavish life being thrown at them by this firm is a little too good to be true, but Mitch tries to look the other way at her concerns but it is soon revealed that this firm has a dark side...apparently a handful of attorneys who tried to leave the firm are now dead and Mitch's discovery of the truth might be putting him and Abby in danger as well.

The film is based on a novel by John Grisham, the king of legal thrillers and has been crafted into a wordy but intelligent screenplay by David Rabe, David Rayfiel, and Oscar winner Robert Towne that does provide a spark of originality in that the alleged evil bubbling under the surface here is first hinted at through the protagonist's wife. We are provided subtle clues that something is not right here when Abby is informed that the firm doesn't "forbid" her from working and encourages her to start a family right away. Customarily, it is the wife who is left in the dark in stories like this, but not here. I loved the fact that Abby senses the wrong long before her husband does.

My only problem with the story is that we are only at the halfway point of the film when we become privy to exactly what is going on and find Mitch has been put in an impossible position of loyalty to his shady employers. who are so greasy your hands would slide off of them and the feds who are also forcing Mitch's hand in bringing them down. What Mitch has to do at this point isn't much of a stretch, but we still have over 90 minutes of screen time that makes the journey to a pat conclusion a little labored.

What the film does have going for it is crisp and stylish direction by Sidney Pollack that almost allows the viewer to forgive some dangling plot points, not to mention the brilliant cast Pollack has assembled to serve this complex but compelling story. Cruise is solid and Tripplehorn brings a strength and intelligence to Abby we really don't see coming. The brilliant supporting cast is led by Gene Hackman, robbed of an Oscar nomination for his dazzling turn as Avery Tolar, Mitch's mentor at the firm whose agenda seems to change from scene to scene. Hal Holbrook, Ed Harris, David Straithairn, Jerry Hardin, Wilford Brimley, Gary Busey, and Steven Hill provide solid support as well. The film received two Oscar nominations, one for Holly Hunter's scene-stealing performance as a not-as-dumb-as-she-appears secretary and for Dave Grusin's jazzy piano score. It goes on a little longer than it should, but it's glossy and suspenseful fun most of the way.

I'm not a fan of Tom Cruise, so I haven't seen The Firm, but your review makes it sound like it's worth seeing, so I added it to my watchlist.

If you're not a Cruise fan, you should watch it if you're a Hackman man...it's one of his best performances.

Looks like we share the same thoughts on The Firm. Saved me a review.

THE WOMAN IN RED
The recent passing of Joseph Bologna gave the 1984 comedy The Woman in Red a bump up on my watchlist. It's an economic little comedy that explores familiar themes and takes a little too long to provide the expected payoff, but the solid cast makes it worth a look.

The late Gene Wilder wrote and directed this comedy in which he plays Teddy Pierce, a San Francisco advertising executive who is married with two kids and puts his entire life at risk after he glimpses a beautiful woman in a red dress (Kelly Le Brock) in the parking garage of the building where he works. It turns out the woman is a model applying for a job at Teddy's agency and he becomes completely obsessed with her, forsaking everything else in his life, despite watching what's happened to his BFF Joey (Bologna), a married womanizer whose wife has just walked out on him and took every stitch of furniture in the apartment.

Throw into the mix a Plain Jane secretary at Teddy's office (the late Gilda Radner) who mistakenly thinks Teddy's obsession is with her and when he allegedly stands her up for a date she thinks he made with her, the Alex Forrest in her comes out, complicating Teddy's life even further.

Anyone who has seen the 1979 Blake Edwards comedy "10" will recognize the themes explored here...a middle-aged man with a terrific life getting ready to throw it away for a brief infatuation and if Wilder's story had adhered strictly to this theme, this might have been an incredible movie, thanks to Wilder's commanding comic presence. Unfortunately, Wilder's screenplay isn't as strong as his direction, a story that goes in several unexpected directions with scenes that have nothing to do with the story at hand and are just distracting. There's a really funny scene with Teddy's other BFF Buddy (Charles Grodin) where he's pretending to be blind and causing a ruckus in a restaurant. The scene was really funny, but I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out what the scene had to do with the rest of the movie.

The other problem with this story is that it works very hard at making Teddy Pierce sympathetic when he really shouldn't be. We do snicker when he gives a doctor friend elaborate instructions on a phone call to make to his house about a fake emergency at work or when he plans a romantic evening with his wife right before he plans to spend the weekend out of town with his fantasy girl. Wilder the writer protects Wilder the star even when Teddy should be busted and seems to be letting him get away with all his wrong until a finale that really does provide the payoff we want, even if it's not in the way we expect.

Needless to say, Wilder's performance is simultaneously vibrantly funny and deliciously human and he receives terrific support from Bologna, Grodin, and Judith Ivey is lovely as his very tolerant wife, whose brain is removed for a couple of scenes. Gilda Radner is also brilliant in a performance that garners more laughs in her scenes without a word of dialogue. Mention should also be made of a terrific song score by Stevie Wonder and Dionne Warwrick, including Wonder's # 1 smash "I Just Called to Say I Love You". And of course it goes without saying that Le Brock's salute to Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch is seriously sexy. Despite a script that does a little too much meandering, Wilder does provide some solid laughs here.

Night Shift and Woman in Red are both movies that I was a little disappointed in. Haven't seen them since the 80's though. My wife is a big fan of The Firm. I was skunkfaced and would need to see it again.

I was a little disappointed with The Woman in Red too...with that cast, I thought that movie would be a LOT funnier than it was.

BEETLEJUICE
The often jaundiced directorial eye of Tim Burton was in serious overdrive with 1988's Beetlejuice, a dazzling black comedy that Burton knocks out of the park thanks to a clever screenplay, some terrific performances and some cracker-jack special effects.

Adam and Barbara Maitland (Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis) are a happily married couple living in a Connecticut suburb who are killed in a tragic accident. They are seen returning to their home, unaware that they are deceased, but can no longer deny what has happened to them when a snooty couple from Manhattan (Jeffrey Jones, Catherine O'Hara) purchase the house and move into it with their black-hearted daughter (Winona Ryder). Adam and Barbara fight to keep their house with some of their newly acquired skills that have been afforded through death, but don't really know how to use them properly. Eventually, the Maitlands have to turn to a "bio-exorcist" named Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton) for help in getting these people out of their house. Betelgeuse apparently lives in the model of the town where the Maitlands live which is in their attic and which is where the Maitlands hide once the new occupants move into the house.

The Matilands find a surprising ally in their mission to get their house back because even though no one else seems to be able to see or hear Adam and Barbara, the black-hearted daughter can. Since she can't stand her parents and hated moving away from New York, she decides to help Adam and Barbara get their house back.

More than anything else, this film is a triumph for Tim Burton, effortlessly displaying the skill it takes to bring together all the elements of a film and have them gel into a piece of entertainment that is nothing short of magical. Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren's screenplay is peppered with stinging dialogue and rich with a variety of characters who effectively cover a dramatic landscape that fascinates from jump...from the lovable and sympathetic Maitlands, to the off-kilter Dietz family trying to take away their home, the outrageous creatures that populate Burton's cinematic purgatory, and, of course, the appropriately over the top title character.

The director and the screenwriters also take their time in letting this sometimes hard-to-swallow story unfold...the opening scenes of Adam and Barbara quietly enjoying a week off from work at home are so sweet and when we see them shooing off a pushy real estate agent (Annie McEnroe) who is pressuring them to sell their house, it is only a vague hint as to the madness we are about to be witness.

Despite the logistical nightmare portions of this film must have been, Burton never neglects his cast, whose work here is perfection. The chemistry between Baldwin and Davis is lovely and has us rooting for them from jump. Jeffrey Jones and the brilliant Catherine O'Hara garner huge laughs as the socially ambitious Dietzes and Winona Ryder has rarely been more endearing onscreen as Lydia. And somehow, Michael Keaton's dazzling turn as Betelgeuse produces monster laughs, but never overpowers anyone else in the story either...I actually could have seen a supporting actor nomination for Keaton here, it's a one man comedy class that is tireless without ever being tiring.

A story like this could never have been pulled off without a crack technical team and Burton's attention to the look of his story is meticulous, as always. The film features Oscar-worthy art direction/set direction, cinematography, and especially visual effects. The film did win an Oscar for Outstanding Achievement in Makeup and, as always, Danny Elfman's music is flawless. I still say Ed Wood is Tim Burton's masterpiece, but this is definitely #2.

I've never seen Beetlejuice. One of these days, I'll catch it. It looks like you liked it, good enough for me!

THE VON TRAPP FAMILY: A LIFE OF MUSIC
For those like myself who grew up on the 1965 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music, the 2015 drama The von Trapp Family: A Life of Music might be a bit of a culture shock, but it's a compelling journey despite an eventual lapse into soapy melodrama.

I had heard for years that the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical was not big on the facts and, if the truth be told, never really cared that much about the facts. I'm not even sure how factual this movie is, but I will admit that it felt a lot more authentic than the musical for myriad reasons.

This story begins long before the musical did, just before the death of Captain von Trapp's wife and the mother of his children. The eldest daughter, Agatha (who became Leisl in the musical) became the family caretaker and seemed to relish the position and was not happy when her father hires a young governess named Maria, who he eventually falls in love with, marries, and has another child with.

This story rings true because the acceptance of Maria into the lives of these children, especially Agatha, is not immediate and they are not as thrilled with the news of their father remarrying as they were in the musical. The screenplay by Chris Silber and Tim Sullivan takes the focus of this story off the romance between the Captain and Maria and focuses it on the Captain's relationship with Agatha, which is very complex...it's sad watching the Captain's remarriage almost completely destroy his very special relationship with Agatha, and even though we're not initially feeling what is happening here because it's not what happened between Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, it definitely feels more authentic and realistic... the tensions behind becoming a step parent and accepting one.

One thing this film does have in common with the musical is its approach to Hitler and WWII and how it permanently altered the lives of the von Trapps forever. Surprisingly, this is where this film seems to become very melodramatic...the writing becomes pretentious and the camerawork becomes simplistic, spoonfeeding the audience on who the good guys are and who the Nazis are, but until then it's a riveting journey and the hook of the film unfolding in flashback, being told by Agatha to her granddaughter, who is running away because of her wicked stepmother, totally works.

The film also rivals The Sound of Music in the area of production values...the cinematography, set directions, and costumes are nothing short of exquisite. The performances serve the story beautifully, with standout work from Eliza Bennett as Agatha, Yvonne Catterfeld as Maria and an absolutely dazzling performance from Matthew MacFayden as Captain von Trapp. And the legendary Rosemary Harris shines as contemporary Agatha and our narrator for the story. Despite an eventual slip into soap opera territory, the film is an often moving look at a story we thought we knew.

Glad you could watch THE VON TRAPP FAMILY: A LIFE OF MUSIC. I thought it made a great companion piece for fans of The Sound of Music and so enhanced the pleasure of watching the musical.

You should definitely see Beetlejuice. It's a fun movie, and one of Michael Keaton's best performances.

@Tacitus Gideon's Beetlejucie review has a ZERO popcorn rating under the reviews section, despite him giving it a

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Suspect's Reviews

I mis-typed the rating the when I wrote the review, I have since corrected it.

THE INVENTION OF LYING
Ricky Gervais is a funny guy, to which anyone who has seen him host the Golden Globes can attest, but he really misses the boat with a 2009 comic fantasy he co-wrote and co-directed called The Invention of Lying that starts off promisingly but just doesn't work due to a problematic premise not properly established and some disturbing mixed messages the story sends.

This story is allegedly set in a world that has been created in Gervais' mind that really doesn't exist. Gervais' opening narration informs us that this story takes place in a world where everyone tells the truth and there is no such thing as a lie. It's sort of like the premise of White Man's Burden where we are told that black men are the superior race and whites are the victims of bigotry and racism. Gervais' Mark Bellinger is an unemployed screenwriter whose life is systematically going down the toilet and he tells the world's first lie ever in order to avoid him getting evicted from his apartment. Mark continues to use the concept of lying to improve his life, even to the point where he becomes a contemporary messiah who is the only person on the planet with the real dirt on the existence of God.

Gervais and co-director/co screenwriter Matthew Robinson have the germ of a really good idea here, but it's not properly developed. Maybe the power of lying would have had a little more legitimacy if Gervais had taken a little more time to show us what a world is like where everyone tells the truth. We do see some amusing skirting of accustomed small talk and some insensitive insulting that on the surface is funny, but it seems that a world where no one ever tells a lie would be a lot different than the one we live in and we never get that feeling here. Not to mention the fact that when Mark tells his first lie, it's a lie that really shouldn't have worked to his advantage the way it did here, making it hard to invest in the rest of the story.

And the rest of the story is no prize either as Gervais and Robinson are asking us to sit back and blithely accept quite a bit here. I had difficulty watching this unemployed writer become rich and famous through this new skill called lying. On the other hand, there is a contradictory theme in the story that no matter how many lies you tell and no matter how powerful they make you, that power is meaningless if you're ugly, which seems to be more of a personal jab Gervais might be making at Hollywood's treatment of him rather than a pure idea for this troublesome film.

On the positive side, Gervais has managed to assemble an impressive cast to help pull off this highly improbable story. Jennifer Garner is an appealing leading lady and seems to understand what Gervais is trying to do here. The rest of the "Spot the star" cast includes Tina Fey, Jeffrey Tambor, Jason Bateman, Edward Norton, Rob Lowe, Louis CK, Jonah Hill, Christopher Guest, and the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman, but it's all for naught since from the moment the first lie in the story is told, the selected laughs up to that point sadly diminish. Gervais fans should just go to You Tube and watch reruns of the Golden Globes.