Change Your Image
cwd2017
Reviews
How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)
They used to call them golddiggers...
...but now we call them discriminating call girls who
investigate men's finances and who won't sleep with
a rich man without that marriage license. And forget
that "it was harmless and it was also the times". Lynching was part of the times, also. So was sex
discriminating. Does that mean the woman that Emmet Till whistled at was "empowered" by getting
him lynched for looking at her sexually and not as a whole human? And don't think I'm being way too heavy. If these women had not found true love and married lovelessly rich men, they would have deprived their wealthy husbands of wives who truly cared for them. What if today we made a film about
guys who only wanted to marry busty blondes with
tiny waists. And one of the jokes would be "are you a
man or a girl?" Also funny, what if, any time up to just
a few years ago, a rich young guy married a girl who
loved and cared for him who only made love to her
dutifully and passionless a couple of times a month
because, you see, he was gay and needed a cover. That would be a riot, wouldn't it? No? Gays have had
it worse much worse than females for a lot longer and it's never been illegal to be a woman. So I think
marrying for cover has rich comedic gold. You?
The Thing from Another World (1951)
The most humane and civilized movie ever made.
This is not a joke or an expression of sarcasm. But before I start praising this film, I need to address 2
science complaints made about TTFAW. First, what
good would be achieved by saving a few seeds for study? What good would aliens get if THEY stole some newly born humans and raised them? Would they learn anything about our technology or defense systems or capabilities? No, of course not. And neither
would we learn anything from growing little Things in an earth environment except what was learned in the film. And two, why would a group of our top scientists push for examining the Thing in a non-sterile setting? They wouldn't, and to the film's credit
only about half of the scientists belong in the "I want
my Christmas present NOW!" group.
Here is what makes this film the GOAT:
1. Only two human characters die in this ww3, and they are never shown, only named. Could have been a
bloodbath of Eskimos and minor characters.
2. NIKKI NEVER SCREAMS! Compare that to, say, the CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON. Plus, she tells
the military how to fight the Thing and is the first to
spot the Big Freeze.
3. The movie is defiantly pro sex, right down to its last
double-entendre. The first (after a couple of typical
HAWKSian references to anal sex) is this: try to untangle the evening date/sleepover in Anchorage
3 weeks prior to the start of the film. As in when would NIKKI have had the chance to see Capt. Henry's
legs if she hadn't slept with him? The weather would
have been just as cold and blizzard-y, so no need for
bermuda shorts. The censors fell asleep on that one.
4. the military boys mock atomic energy and atomic
bombs even though as career Air Force men they would still be bombing Japan without the two atomic
bombs shortening the war.
5. Ned Scott reports that Dr. Carrington was injured in
the struggle against the Thing. And the co-pilot says
"Good for you, Scottie."
6. When Ned quips "they'll probably make you a general for destroying evidence they were wrong" he
was right. Hawks was against bureaucracy no matter
the scale and viewed self-perpetuating bureaucracies
as being by their very existences anti-human.
See if you can find another movie that touches all
these bases and I'll show you...another copy of TTFAW.
Get Out (2017)
Good luck guys, you're gonna need it!!
In the era of BLACK LIVES MATTER and George Floyd,
this movie should be ashamed of itself. The final scene is just the prologue to what these guys are about to go through. Murdered rich white people?
These guys did it. Murdered black servants? These guys did it. Stopping soul transplants? Are you nuts!
Even the black detectives laughed the TSA guy out
of the station. The final line in the movie should be
"Now it's time to get the hell out of dodge before every cop in the country comes after us and we get
killed resisting arrest." Because THAT is exactly what's
Going to happen. All that is handled is getting shovels
to these two so they can dig their own graves.
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
An occurrence at Tarantino Creek bridge
Remember seeing the French film of Ambrose Bierce's short story "an occurrence at Owl Creek bridge" when you were in the sixth or seventh grade? It was a point of death fantasy, a micro second's wish that turned into an extended dream. That is the only explanation for inglourious basterds; it is also rains pre d day death and lifedream. Only reviewers in a post-literate world would fail to see this. Pitt does not survive any lynching or hanging; the movie is his last thoughts or fantasy. Hopefully Tarantino never has to explain the obvious - and ridiculous.
Unfaithful (2002)
WHY!!!???
Some ask why Diane Lane's character, a good woman with an attentive husband, would risk her whole life by having an affair with a much younger man. To feel young again? Lust? Excitement? Her husband, Richard gere, is portrayed as the kind of guy who would be open to honest communication that should have taken place before Diane Lane jumped in the sack with Paul. Obviously there was discontent in her life before she met the guy; no one goes from happily married to happily married plus one. And Gere had to have been tempted over the years. But he apparently never acted on those impulses and channeled his energy and emotions into his marriage.
So what's up with Lane? Having recently watched all ten episodes of GYPSY,with Naomi Watts, I can answer that: POWER. having a huge secret makes you feel powerful and excited and continually aroused, and your emotions aren't invested in one person, which is scary when you first get married. Lane has nothing of her own, no job, no money of her own to hide from her husband. So she feels she needs something of her own that will put a Mona Lisa smile on her face when not with her lover, with whom she can experiment sexually, try things she's be too embarrassed to try with Gere. POWER is what the affair gives her, and she is seduced by it. And that POWER consumes everything in her life.
Gypsy (2017)
Mussolini, Naomi Watts style
Ever listen to an album or read a book or see a painting that you found compelling but no one else
around you could even tolerate? Gypsy is like that.
Ever see the movie Unfaithful and wonder why Diane Lane's character was willing to risk everything in her life for her affair? 'Excitement'
doesn't really answer the question. Gypsy does. And
Watts actually lays it all out in speech about school bullying at the very end of the season. It's all about power, power and control and secrecy, all of which add up to excitement. And that kind of excitement
is so full of power that it's impossible to walk away from...if you can pull it off.
She goes for Sydney because of Sam's description of her. She wants to test her sexual power against the younger woman's sexual power. And she wins.
Sophie Cookson never stood a chance against the screen's sexiest woman alive - Naomi Watts. I half expected Watts to seduce Sam just to show him what real excitement was.
As for the other characters, Watts wants to fix one
and is apparently grooming the other (Allison) to be a submissive...whatever Watts wants to do with/to her.
I also doubt that gender plays a part in State's scheming; she merely uses what/who comes her way as a therapist. And she's probably already
discovered that men are too easy. After all, Jean is
played by NAOMI F. WATTS!!! I was surprised that those suburban husbands weren't lining up to make
a play for her. But then men were probably too intimidated by her looks - you can't cast a Watts or a Kidman or a Paltrow and ask her to play an average woman; do that, and you're asking viewers
to watch science fiction.
Gypsy is like an album by the velvet underground
or Roxy music or a Faulkner novel or a Rothko painting. It sucks you into its own beauty and artistry and truth whether you like it or not.
The Orville: Home (2019)
Nooooooooooooooooo!!!!!
I don't care how well acted, well produced, well written, and well designed this episode was (and it was all these things), I want Alarm/Ms. Sage!!!!!!!! She's capable of being hot,cute,
sexy, and sweet at the same time. And also very charismatic.
In fact, I hoped she and Capt. Mercer would come together
romantically because he's not in the least intimidated by her
physical strength.
This may ruin the show for me. Goddamn MacFarlane and
everyone who advocated Halston's departure from THE ORVILLE!
The Walking Dead: The World Before (2019)
Best episode ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow! How do they do it? This was the best episode EVER! Best of the entire series! Angela Kang should take a bow for continuing the always-on-the-upswing quality of the greatest show that has ever been on television!!!
Ms. Kang should also be lauded for making the show more diverse. Now, nearly every character is either female, gay, a person of color, or physically challenged, and that's the way it should be, because that reflects our country. And this show IS America.
If I could, I'd give this 1000 out of 10. Cindy Dare
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Able to Be Truly Reviewed for Its First Year...
This movie is so good, so believable, and so natural that Polanski was actually BLAMED for by the tabloids my mother read religiously (sorry) for the Manson murders!! "Well, what can you expect after making that movie? He glorified Satan and said God was dead.". This ignores the fact that he - Polanski - merely made use of an early 60s TIME magazine cover article that in fact read "IS GOD DEAD" about declining American church attendance. And before Manson, America blamed Polanski for Mia Darrow's new Auschwitz hairdo, which was really just a hip European female cut. So Rosemary's Baby couldn't buy an impartial review except in that too-brief span anchored between THE HAIRCUT and THE MURDERS. And this doesn't even mention Polanski and the Holocaust and the fact that he really wanted Tuesday Weld in the lead because Rosemary-in-the-novel was described as a healthy milk-fed all-American blonde beauty.
Well, now let's hope the dust has settled enough to call this movie what it is: one of the best horror movies of the 20th century, a regular Val Lewton
A-list big budget movie, if Lewton had ever been given A-list actors and writers and time AND an A-list budget. Of course, A-list money, talent, and time wouldn't have meant squat without Roman Polanski at the helm. Private life aside,he will always be one of the top-five directors in history. After all, he re-invented and improved film noir. Who among us can claim the reclamation of TWO genres, much less
kmone?
Dracula II: Ascension (2003)
Who is the star?????
I honestly thought Amanda Crew was the star of this, playing the med student who finds the body with Jason London (boy, did DAZED AND CONFUSED do him -or anyone else except MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY no good at all - that movie was like the premise of MONEYBALL - these kids are all so good they will all be stars. And sure Ben affleck and Matthew m. did, in spite of this excellent film but the stars? How could a great movie with great performances jinx so many people?)and how could Diane Neal look so much like Amanda Crew that I actually didn't trust the credits and went to IMDb to check it out. Anyone else have this reaction?
The Walking Dead: We Are the End of the World (2019)
Best episode ever!!!!!
As usual, TWD improves from episode to episode, each being much better than the last. This season is the greatest season of the series, and the cast is the best ever! How do they do it? This is the best show ever in the history of television!!! How good will season 30 be?
A Few Good Men (1992)
A FEW GOOD PLOT HOLES
Originally this was a play about how best to defend this country and the correct way those at the 'sharp end' (the men and women on the front lines) should conduct themselves during peacetime, no matter how shaky the 'peace.' Writer Aaron Sorkin took no sides, although you could feel his sympathy lay with Col. Jessup and Lt. Kendricks, even though no one outside the military would want to hang around with them as friends. But something happened to the story on its way to the screen: Rob Reiner. Listen to the dvd commentary and you'll discover that he saw a much different play than the rest of the world. Reiner saw a play about himself and his attempt to get out from under the shadow of his legendary father Carl Reiner. He had zero interest in what makes career military personnel tick or how they behave. He instantly decided 'Nicholson bad, Cruise good' and quickly moved on to what he felt was the real.story: Rob Reiner vs. Carl Reiner. Look at the film and think about a few things that make no sense. First, Jessup is supposed to be a star on the rise, the future director of operations for the NSC. That he would provide a Perry Mason moment and erupt in anger under the rather easily dismissable questioning of a Lt. J.g. is ludicrous. If he felt caught by Cruise, a future Ops Director would calmly state his position regarding the training of young men who are placed at the very front of a peacetime military's potential hot spots. Ask any combat veteran about his training, and he or she will tell you that nothing can approximate the terror and chaos of a suddenly hot war. They will also tell you 'the tougher the training and discipline, the better. And if people die in training, it's tragic but unavoidable. Second, Tom Cruise goes from a plea-bargaining lawyer to the best trial lawyer in the Navy in sixty seconds flat. Actually, he didn't win the case; Jessup handed it to him by going to pieces on the stand. Thank God for the NSC that he revealed his volatile nature before his 'star' rose any further. Third and most glaringly ridiculous is Demi Moore's Internal Affairs lawyer Lt. Cmdr Jo Galloway. She weasels her way onto the defense team, putting her supposedly impartial finger on the scales and siding with the defense instead of watching both sides and presenting any reports or judgements after the trial. Do police internal affairs cops go on ride-alongs to prevent law enforcement wrongdoing? Of course not! It would make no sense. Fourth, Galloway proves time after time after time that she has no business being in a courtroom on EITHER side, prosecution OR defense, and a capital murder case is no place for on the job training. She lies to Downey about his being able to return to his unit, she doesn't verify his whereabouts when Kendrick orders the code red, she pushes Cruise to put Jessup on the stand and 'GET' the Perry Mason moment from him, without having the slightest idea as to how to do such an impossible thing, and once Cruise agrees to such a ridiculous (or seemingly ridiculous)thing, she warns him just before entering the courtroom that if he goes too far, she essentially would have to recommend that he be court-martial. Given her lies to her client, her colossal blunders, and her push-pull about questioning Jessup on the stand, she should arrest herself after the trial or at least disbarred herself. Six, what does Tom Cruise do after yelling at her after her biggest mistake (in completely justified anger) and her fantasy of 'getting' an under-oath confession from Jessup? Cruise APOLOGIZES to her!! I guess that Reiner lives in a completely whipped world where attractive females can do no wrong and must be knelt before. Seven, the only way Galloway makes sense in this movie is that she's there to sabotage the defense and protect Jessup. That and only that would explain her actions, probably as an order from above and possibly as Jessie's sometime lover. Seven, Dawson and Downey would, in the real world, be found guilty of voluntary manslaughter at the least. After all, they DID cause the death of Santiago while commiting assault upon him, a horrific assault. And the 'only following orders' defense has NEVER worked, not for Nazis, not for Calley, nor for Manson Family followers. Never, never, never. Only a Presidential pardon saved Calley. This is a slick, facile piece of pop entertainment if you put your brain on hold and don't think. Still, somewhere deep in this piece of cheese is a good movie about the collision of military and civilian mores. Oliver Stone would have been the perfect director;say what you want about his politics, the man KNOWS war and it's uneasy relationship to the home front. And he knows EXACTLY who fights in wars, what is expected of them, and what it takes to win. This movie gets four stars for only one reason: the presence of Kevin Bacon as Cruise's best friend, attorney-of-record, and the only voice of reason within miles of this movie, probably because Reiner has no interest in the government's case. Rob Reiner is of course known first and foremost as a romantic comedy director; this movie did nothing to change that. Cindy Dare
A Few Good Men (1992)
A FEW GOOD PLOT HOLES
Originally this was a play about how best to defend this country and the correct way those at the 'sharp end' (the men and women on the front lines) should conduct themselves during peacetime, no matter how shaky the 'peace.' Writer Aaron Sorkin took no sides, although you could feel his sympathy lay with Col. Jessup and Lt. Kendricks, even though no one outside the military would want to hang around with them as friends. But something happened to the story on its way to the screen: Rob Reiner. Listen to the dvd commentary and you'll discover that he saw a much different play than the rest of the world. Reiner saw a play about himself and his attempt to get out from under the shadow of his legendary father Carl Reiner. He had zero interest in what makes career military personnel tick or how they behave. He instantly decided 'Nicholson bad, Cruise good' and quickly moved on to what he felt was the real.story: Rob Reiner vs. Carl Reiner. Look at the film and think about a few things that make no sense. First, Jessup is supposed to be a star on the rise, the future director of operations for the NSC. That he would provide a Perry Mason moment and erupt in anger under the rather easily dismissable questioning of a Lt. J.g. is ludicrous. If he felt caught by Cruise, a future Ops Director would calmly state his position regarding the training of young men who are placed at the very front of a peacetime military's potential hot spots. Ask any combat veteran about his training, and he or she will tell you that nothing can approximate the terror and chaos of a suddenly hot war. They will also tell you 'the tougher the training and discipline, the better. And if people die in training, it's tragic but unavoidable. Second, Tom Cruise goes from a plea-bargaining lawyer to the best trial lawyer in the Navy in sixty seconds flat. Actually, he didn't win the case; Jessup handed it to him by going to pieces on the stand. Thank God for the NSC that he revealed his volatile nature before his 'star' rose any further. Third and most glaringly ridiculous is Demi Moore's Internal Affairs lawyer Lt. Cmdr Jo Galloway. She weasels her way onto the defense team, putting her supposedly impartial finger on the scales and siding with the defense instead of watching both sides and presenting any reports or judgements after the trial. Do police internal affairs cops go on ride-alongs to prevent law enforcement wrongdoing? Of course not! It would make no sense. Fourth, Galloway proves time after time after time that she has no business being in a courtroom on EITHER side, prosecution OR defense, and a capital murder case is no place for on the job training. She lies to Downey about his being able to return to his unit, she doesn't verify his whereabouts when Kendrick orders the code red, she pushes Cruise to put Jessup on the stand and 'GET' the Perry Mason moment from him, without having the slightest idea as to how to do such an impossible thing, and once Cruise agrees to such a ridiculous (or seemingly ridiculous)thing, she warns him just before entering the courtroom that if he goes too far, she essentially would have to recommend that he be court-martial. Given her lies to her client, her colossal blunders, and her push-pull about questioning Jessup on the stand, she should arrest herself after the trial or at least disbarred herself. Six, what does Tom Cruise do after yelling at her after her biggest mistake (in completely justified anger) and her fantasy of 'getting' an under-oath confession from Jessup? Cruise APOLOGIZES to her!! I guess that Reiner lives in a completely whipped world where attractive females can do no wrong and must be knelt before. Seven, the only way Galloway makes sense in this movie is that she's there to sabotage the defense and protect Jessup. That and only that would explain her actions, probably as an order from above and possibly as Jessie's sometime lover. Seven, Dawson and Downey would, in the real world, be found guilty of voluntary manslaughter at the least. After all, they DID cause the death of Santiago while commiting assault upon him, a horrific assault. And the 'only following orders' defense has NEVER worked, not for Nazis, not for Calley, nor for Manson Family followers. Never, never, never. Only a Presidential pardon saved Calley. This is a slick, facile piece of pop entertainment if you put your brain on hold and don't think. Still, somewhere deep in this piece of cheese is a good movie about the collision of military and civilian mores. Oliver Stone would have been the perfect director;say what you want about his politics, the man KNOWS war and it's uneasy relationship to the home front. And he knows EXACTLY who fights in wars, what is expected of them, and what it takes to win. This movie gets four stars for only one reason: the presence of Kevin Bacon as Cruise's best friend, attorney-of-record, and the only voice of reason within miles of this movie, probably because Reiner has no interest in the government's case. Rob Reiner is of course known first and foremost as a romantic comedy director; this movie did nothing to change that. Cindy Dare
Goldfinger (1964)
Better than the Bible!!!!
Really! Women know their place, people of color know their place, and rock music is seen as what it was:. the end of Western Civilization (I of course refer to Bond's anti-Beatles remark). If historians could save only one movie that correctly predicted the end times, this would HAVE to be it. and of course it's the most entertaining film on celluloid. Only 1977's Star Wars even comes close. Really and truly, this movie has everything right. There is no need to see any other movie.
It Conquered the World (1956)
remade for TV
this is a decent s-f movie for corman but the interesting thing to me was hearing my father talking about seeing the same movie with two different casts at various times on TV! I've heard that corman remade or authorized remakes of some of his early films for TV. Is this true? Does anyone know anything about the remake or who was in it? I know that there are two versions of The Day The World Ended, but no one seems to know about the remake of it, either. It would be fascinating to see and compare the two, especially to see if anyone in the remakes went on to have any sort of career in TV or the movies worth mentioning. And I AM talking about the remakes. I know all about Graves, Garland, Mike Conners in The Day The World Ended, etc. But the remakes (possibly for TV) interest me more. Cindy Dare. cwd2017@yahoo.com
Day the World Ended (1955)
corman remakes?
this was a very chilling movie ... to a kid. Still entertaining. But my question is the remake of it in the early 1960's, possibly by corman himself. does anyone know about it? He remade several of his early 1950's sci-fi movies in the early 1960's - or had someone do it for him. Same exact plot, same dialogue, different (cheaper?) actors. Another corman movie remade was one starring peter graves originally and involved killer bats from space...or something like that. again, there are two versions of this: one from the 1950's and another from the 1960's. if anyone knows about these, let us all know. or at least contact me. thx.