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El orfanato (2007)
A Wonderful Ghost Story
Wow. I have waited a twenty-some years for another great ghost story. Ever since I saw THE CHANGLING (1980 - starring George C. Scott) I have longed for another movie that could make me feel the way that movie did. Some have come close, but THE ORPHANAGE is the first to really do it.
Clearly this is not a slash and gore film. No sex scenes, no half clothed twenty-somethings running through the woods/hallway/whatever until they fall and are slaughtered, no swearing; none of the cliché horror tactics (not to say this is all not fun in the right movie). This is classic and tasteful and will leave you both thinking about it and retaining feelings about it long after the movie ends.
Latter Days (2003)
Wanted to Love It (but did not)
I had been quite excited to see this movie for multiple reasons: my interest in religions and how issues are dealt with, my enjoyment of many movies with LGBT lead characters/subject matter, and finally, Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Alas, I my excitement was for naught.
It was great story concept with mediocre acting and dialog. Several times I actually cringed. But, despite those flaws, I did care for the characters, which shows this was not a total loss of time (for me).
There were many moments in the movie that I could immediately see ways to make them better in simple ways. Often, a few words changed out, or stressing certain words over another, or modifying the facial expression/body language. Then there was Jacqueline Bisset. I don't actually think she was the problem (or maybe she was), but about every scene she is in felt so terribly forced and fake. She is suppose to be the wise-mother figure and (without giving anything away) her character is vital to the story's destined conclusion. But her scenes were not just bad, they were bad (!).
Loved Erik Palladino (playing Keith Griffin). He was my favorite character in the story. Of course I loved Joseph Gordon-Levitt, but he could be in a cat litter commercial and I would be captivated. And finally, felt very motherly toward Steve Sandvoss. He is just so adorable and even when I disliked his acting or his scene, I just wanted to give him a little pat on the head and maybe some chocolate chip cookies with milk.
Last note: I am glad I finally saw this movie. But, I would not watch it again.
Playhouse 90: Requiem for a Heavyweight (1956)
When the Fighter Can't Fight Anymore
Apparently (I did not realize this until after watching) there are two versions of this movie on video. I watched the TV version (Playhouse 90) starring Jack Palance. The 1956 version also starred father and son, Ed and Keenan Wynn as Army and Maish and Kim Hunter as Grace Miller.
SPOILER: My understanding, from reading comments on IMDb.com is that there are differences between the releases beyond the actors. These differences include the ending; the version I watched has a more hopeful ending while the later release was the more realistic (and tragic) type of ending (???).
Jack Palance's performance was great. He was heartfelt and heartbreaking in this role as the aging (well, in his thirties) "Mountain" McClintock. He is this bumbling, huge, sweetheart of a guy who was uneducated (6th grade) to start with but also brain-addled and disfigured from boxing. He is heart and soul devoted to his manager, like a puppy to its owner.
I cannot compare it to the better known version, as I have not seen it. What I can say is that after watching this teleplay, I could not imagine anyone else replacing any of these characters. They were all so "right". I especially love the background story surrounding Ed Wynn's. He was a life-long comedian there was concern among many people working on the production that he would fumble, panic, and break into a comedic line, which he had done while rehearsing repetitively. To top it off, he would get flustered whenever his son's character got too rough spoken, because he had a hard time keeping in mind the difference between his son and the character. The concern was so great, that another actor was practicing the lines (Ed did not know this) to take over the role if need be at the last minute. In the end, Ed came through just fine.
Watching the teleplay was interesting because it was a recording of a live performance and it captured a number of fumbled lines. That was the nature of a live broadcast, and a pretty cool addition for someone who was not alive when this movie was made.