Superb Scenes With Seanc

This film had me hooked in the first thirty minutes. The sharp dialogue and the comfort with which the characters interact is a recipe for success in my movie viewing. It reminded me very much of a film I love, The Grass Is Greener. The setup involves a couple who are having a dinner party with another couple and a medium. Our protagonist is writing a book and it involves the supernatural. His plan is to have this medium over so that he can see the way she works but also to affirm his notion that she is a charlatan. The entire dinner party is delightful to watch. The witty banter continues and maybe even elevates when the medium appears. At first I found this character over the top but after she settles into the scenes she fits right in and has some of the better lines in the scene.



This film is above average for me, but ultimately just lost any engagement with me that it earned in the first third. I'm not 100% sure what I wanted this movie to become but I know that where it went was just too outrageous for me. The couple from the beginning become uninteresting. The medium, who shows up again in the last act, this time stays silly and over the top. For my viewing I think a film is better off to start slow and end strong. I feel like this leaves the viewer with a more positive overall experience. I am disappointed that Blithe Spirit went the opposite way but would still recommend this movie.

The Butler is exactly what you would expect from a broad biopic that scales across not just years but decades. You will more than likely run the gamut of emotions. There is humor, sadness, and melodrama. Most of the emotion that Daniels is trying to evoke is earned, some is not. Despite all that what struck me the most while watching The Butler was just how thrilled I was to be sitting in a theater watching a film that cared about the narrative and its characters. I feel like The Butler has started off the fall season and that could not thrill me more.


The Butler is a simple but extraordinary story. After seeing his father killed in cold blood by the plantation owners son he is brought into the home to learn to be a butler. Soon he has to leave the plantation but his skills serve him well in finding a new job. When he receives an invite to become a butler at the White House his amazing adult journey begins. He serves under eight presidents, and while we get a glimpse into many aspects of American culture during each one the stories main focus is on civil rights. The Butler has two sons, one who becomes extremely active in civil rights activism. Much of what he does is disapproved of by his father and this is where the majority of the films conflict comes from. However next to Whitaker's butler, in my opinion the most interesting character is his wife played by Oprah. The couple survives some truly tumultuous circumstances and I would have enjoyed to see this explored more deeply. There is simply not enough time to delve deeply into every character which is usually the issue with a film that covers so much time and it is no different with The Butler. Whitaker and Winfrey make the most of every single scene together though, they work perfectly together and are giving A+ performances. It is especially great to see Whitaker back in top form, it seems to me that he has been settling for many lesser films over the past few years.


I recommend reading up a little on the true events of this man after seeing the film. I won't comment on those things here for fear of ruining the experience of the film. I do have some thoughts that would be interested to share with anyone who has seen the film. Sometimes I think that film makers take too many liberties with true stories, Argo anyone, but other times I have no issue with it and that is the case here. There is a major discrepancy but after dwelling on the film I think I understand why Daniels chose to do what he did. I believe that it made for an interesting exploration into the butler's psyche and thus was warranted.


The Butler is by no means a perfect film but is an above average bio-pic and more than worth your time.

My first time wading into the cornetto trilogy and I am very pleased I did. Up to this point the only Edgar Wright film I had seen was Scott Pilgrim and this kept me from being excited about seeing others. The tongue in cheek dry humor is right up my alley and is non stop in Shaun Of The Dead. The pairing of Pegg and Frost is perfect and they carry the entire film. The peripheral characters are not bad and Wright is having some fun with their relationships but everything feeds off of Pegg and Frost.


Shaun Of The Dead did lose me towards the last third when things become more conventional action than comedy. Overall I really enjoyed this film though and look forward to seeing Hot Fuzz next.

It is easy to see why this film gets all of the love that it does. The small guy, in this case longshoreman, against the big guy, the mob, is a story that is as old and relate-able as civilization. Brando and Malden are amazing. This is probably my favorite Brando performance and that includes The Godfather which is one of my favorite films. There are four or five scenes in this movie that are so show stopping great that they could make you over look some of the flaws, of which there are a few.


Terry (Brando) is an ex-boxer who now is doing work for a union boss who is not anything more than a mob boss (Cobb). He has a couple of reasons for doing this kind of work. One: it is the only kind of work that most men in this town can get. The union is deciding who works and when, and if you want steady work being with them is the only way to assure it. Second: his brother is second in command which gives him little wiggle room. From the moment we meet Terry we see him as a conflicted man. When he plays a part in the death of a worker who is adored by everyone who knows him his regret is apparent. When he begins to fall for the deceased's sister things become much more complicated.


Their relationship is my biggest issue with the film. It never took me out of the story completely but the thought that she would have anything to do with this man who everyone knew is a part of the organization that killed her brother was tough to believe. Brando does an outstanding job of making Terry a sympathetic character however, and that helps alleviate some of my issues. One of my other issues with the film, despite my love of Cobb's performance, is when we are introduced to the boss and and Terry's brother. Much of the scene works because of the performances. The scene seems to exist just to spoon feed us exposition a tactic which always leaves me with a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.


Brando is magnificent and has a lot of great scenes. The scene in the cab with his brother and the climax on the dock are two that jump immediately to mind. What shocked me while watching the film though is that Malden is every bit as great as Brando, playing the priest with a true conscious for the people. Malden and Brando don't spend as much time on screen together as you would hope, but the scenes they do have together are mesmerizing and perfect. Cobb's role is smaller, but he is great in every moment we get to spend with his seedy character as well.


On The Waterfront is a true classic. A very good story with outstanding performances. I enjoyed the time I spent with it very much.