Reviews

Magnificently written, acted, filmed, costumed, scored, directed and produced. Precisely written, every single words' placement strategic impacting with layers of meaning. Every facial expression, camera placement, color choice, perfection.

Jenna Ortega deserves awards on top of awards if there is any true courage for artistry. Martin Freeman is perfectly cast and performs brilliantly. Ortega has a complete understanding of her character. Cairo Sweet's transformation from repressed to suppressed and then contained expressed rage is organic and invasive as the kudzu that surrounds her path and Jonathan Miller's place of creativity. What one loves and hates about Tennessee Williams is all in this film without the parts you hate. The prose is lyrical. The symbolism wonderful.

Every actor gives a depth of performance like a fine piece of jazz. Completely captivating mesmerizing, terrifying.

This work of Jade Halley Bartlett is a masterpiece written and directed. For those who loved, 'The Man In The Hat' here is another film for your cinephile cabinet. This one using rough and beautiful prose to pit the characters in conflict. Every scene a masterpiece, "grown from the hidden ruins of madman's love."

From Italy with Amore is light hearted RomCom perfection. The humor is so subtle and enjoyable that I watched it twice in four days. (I'm actually watching it again while writing this. It delivers so much comfort and warmth through great chemistry among the leads. They are at ease with each other and generous as actors in each scene. The dialogue is unhurried and made fresh by the actors. The male lead gives one of his best RomCom performances because (again) of that great chemistry. The female lead, Rebecca Dalton gives a wonderfully nuanced performance giving her character Ariel much more depth than is normally seen in a RomCom. She grows with each performance and I've suspected for years that she would helm her own movies someday and I'm glad someone saw her talent. I predict that if her agents know what they are doing they will move her into other genres. I think she could pull some complex emotional tools out for the right film. It will be our loss in the lite RomCom arena. I think anyone who didn't like her performance was convinced by how convincing her performance is, which high praise for an actor. I only mentioned Rebecca Dalton by name until now not as a slight to the other fine actors in this movie but because of the strength of her performance. Marcus Rosner is the perfect foil and together they just work wonderfully without straining like a crisp Pinot Grigio and Branzino. I would love to see another pairing of these two.

Delightful RomCom one of the best if you are looking for a light hearted warming diversion. I'm a guy who likes a good RomCom and this certainly is a good RomCom.

Entertaining Movie! Well worth getting off your sofa, traveling to the largest screen you can find and losing yourself for almost three hours in an impossibly satisfying cinematic experience. It delivered! I got more than my money's worth.

Tom Cruises Ethan Hunt always keeps his promise to thrill. I knew the famous bike jump would be impressive and it was. How can you not be impressed by a guy doing his own stunts to make a film better? This Mission also had one of the best car chase sequences ever (which will probably be overlooked in the unofficial Hollywood car chase category because it was so much fun). New to the series, Hayley Atwell's acting during the chase was so honest it was hilarious. Maybe it wasn't really acting? She has always been an under appreciated actor but gets to show fun range for the genre.

Something that stood out and should be noticed was superior sound crafting. It's a technical thing but the detailed sound crafting in the train scenes and the car chase and every other scene improved the quality of those scenes. I'm not being a snob about this. Watch the movie and tell me that the roar of the antagonist's vehicle didn't improve the chase. And the train sounds were beautiful movie making. Again watch the movie and you'll agree.

Okay back to the movie. Every returning character embodied their character with depth and history that made me care about them and their future. The new characters brought mystery, menace, suspense or suspicion and usually a combination of all these. And that oldest character, the Mission Impossible theme not only never gets old or tired, it enhances the action and more intimate scenes with a range of emotions. Lalo Schifrin's themes are still burning a fuse linking the plots of all the movies accomplishing a mission well executed. That unruly sentence if full of eggs for the audiophiles among you.

This is a well made, fun, funny, touching, must see entry to the Ethan Hunt saga. I will repeat, go to the theater with the largest IMAX screen you can find and enjoy a release from your worries, cares and world for a Mission Impossible to treasure (then buy it later when it's out).

Mister Cruise thank you for working through Covid across continents with hundreds of people to give us some good fun I appreciate your effort.

This Christmas RomCom has writing that is layered, acting that is fun almost goofy and yet the characters are true somehow. Then there is a magnificent scene with actress Jill Frappier. The leads are fun to watch as they give much more than the average RomCom expects and before I knew it I was completely buying into the rose colored Christmas RomCom slow burn. The film sets up and delivers on all it's premisses. After the nice build up it concludes with a very satisfying and unexpected climactic declaration of love(s). I wanted these characters to get together much more than I normally do in most RomComs. But for me it is the scene with Jill Frappier that made me actually spend money to buy the movie. She gave the whole love story(s) themes credibility, even if love rarely reaches the conclusion her character achieves. It's rare for me that an older actor in a supporting role inspires me to want to own a movie but Ms Frappier did just that. I wont spoil anything but do turn on the subtitles for the last quarter of the movie so you can get the full revelation of the setup and the superior writing this lightweight movie. I watch a lot of RomComs and this one is wonderful. But let me be clear it is still a cheesy RomCom, just a very good cheesy RomCom.

This film was a library recommendation and I liked it so much that I watched it twice before returning it. The dialogue pacing was near perfect and the chemistry seemed effortless between the leads and everybody now that I think of it. Cinematography spot on keeping the focus on on the actors including the animals. Lighthearted score kept the drama from being too much and the comedy grounded. Rachel Nichols nailed it. Jackson Hurst got the tune of his character perfect as well. The film gently engaged my emotions without me realizing it had. As the end of the movie approached I really did care what happed to the characters even fairly minor ones. It was a true pleasure to see Anjanette Comer who I have seen in decades and Buck Henry a classic. Once the film was over I wondered what happened next. Too bad it's too late to do a bad quirky series that would only last half a season but give fans like me little more of a good thing. Great job Ms Nichols, Mr Hurst and director Margaret Whitton (i think the only movies this gifted character actor directed). I do hope that you were all proud of this fine work.

SO wonderful that I watched it twice upon discovering it New Year's day 2022. Beautifully lyrical, cinematically wonderful with a seemingly simple narrative that conveys so much of the heart, triumphs and longings of The Man in the Hat. The French inspired score is perfect along with a soundtrack makes one wish to be part of the scenes. The cinematography is a rich vibrant loving look at these odd characters against a French backdrop that makes even the mundane look beautiful. With minimal dialogue any actual verbiage is a delight even when seemingly meaningless. The performances are mesmerizing. Each character commands your attention (in case something important is being conveyed). And the titled character's face does Charlie Chaplin like work. Ive been enjoying the magic of Ciaran Hinds since Persuasion (1995) and this is easily my favorite.

If you're a fan of "Cinema Paradiso" (long version), "The Hundred Foot Journey", "Hugo", "Cyrano, My Love" and even "Lars and the Real Girl" the chances are strong that you will at least love this film.