Reviews

"The Americans" starts out with a bang. The first two seasons were very good. The "Americans" are not just one step ahead of the FBI, they are two steps ahead and do we ever hate them. We are dying to see them get their comeuppance. We do...later, but not in the way we want or expect. But somewhere in the third season it begin to fall apart, much like the Sopranos did. A lot of innocent dead bodies show up all over the place and nary a Briscoe and Logan like investigation. An independent police investigation into the murders would have been made to order. Too many loose ends. What happens to Oleg? Marsha? Gaad's killers? What could have been a dyn-0-mite four season series was stretched to six. And it lost steam.

Yes. Visually the movie is striking. Beautiful colors, believable sea creatures, what not. The Maguffin as Hitchcock called it is weak and not explained well at all. In the first movie at least humanity needed some sort of mineral. Now it's a kind of whale oil that will guarantee immortality to humans. Ridiculous. Sigourney Weaver reprises her role as an avatar but you'd hardly know it. I hate the way the kids talk to each other. Right out of today's high school. I understand Sigourney wanted it this way. Ridiculous. The basic problem, other than the Navi are just butt ugly, is that you don't care about any of the characters.. Just like to first movie, there is not a single memorable line the whole movie. And they are making a third one! Go figure.

When I was 8 years old I saw a great spy movie called "Five Fingers" starring James Mason and Michael Rennie. I followed it. Mason was doing this. Rennie was doing that. I got it. I understood what was happening from beginning to end. Mason got his comeuppance. The femme fatale got her comeuppance. Loved the ending. I have seen TTSP three times. I have recently seen the Alec Guinness TTSP (all seven episodes) and I am still completely confused. Now I'm not stupid. I appreciated the great acting. I do not require James Bond like action. I would like some drama. I would like some suspense. All lacking. Someone tell me what on Earth was going on?

...the conversation between Granny Hart and Jess-belle is wonderful and worth watching over and over. But that's it. There's not else in it. Of course Anne Francis is always worth looking at and Jeanette Nolan is the perfect Appalachian witch.

A nifty little thriller with appropriate twists and turns. Lena Olin plays a perfect femme fatale, her mind stirring with evil plots. Annabella is perfect as the wife who knows what her husband hopes against hope she doesn't know. Supporting cast is equally spot on.

Only a 5.6? No! The movie is fun all the way. Jason Statham vs. The Meg. Proper justice is meted out to you-know-who. And who can resist the little Chinese girl? So cute. Grab your popcorn and make pretend you're 12 years old.

Paul Newman, James Mason, Jack Warden have never been better. Charlotte Rampling at her most beautiful. Even the supporting actors are excellent. I am a sucker for good court room dramas. This is among the best.

Robert Stephens does very well as Holmes. He's not Rathbone or Brett. But, then, who is? Christopher Lee has a fine turn as Mycroft. I was surprised how good this movie was. Nice decoy at the beginning making you think that Holmes and Watson are more than friends. Don't worry about it. It will all be explained. Add to it all a most poignant ending and you have a worthy Holmes movie.

If you love old-fashioned sci-fi you'll love this. Crazy scientist, handsome lead, beautiful love interest, great Harryhausen special effects. Enjoy!

Saturday night Autumn 1966. Parents were out. My brother and I look through TV Guide. NBC Saturday Night at the Movies. "Lonely Are the Brave" 'Man escapes on horseback to Mexico.' Can't be that good, I thought. But out of sheer boredom we tune it about 10:00 just as Kirk Douglas leaves Gena Rowlands. I didn't say another word. Loved it almost immediately. This was when the networks showed good movies and reran them. So I checked TV Guide every week in the Spring of '67 seeing when they would rebroadcast the movie. I waited patiently. Then it came. First the previews. "The brave stand alone. The brave fight alone. The brave ride alone." As a bit of a loner myself I loved the whole atmosphere, the side characters, the chase and that heart-breaking finale with Kirk Douglas's hat being washed down the road. They don't get much better.

You can't lose with an all-star cast of John Gielgud, James Mason, Marlon Brando, Louis Calhern.

This movie, along with "The Big Lebowski," are two of the most over-hyped movies of all time.

BUT! You can't have the Sun rising with the shadows advancing at the same time. Ah, that's OK. Julie Newmar makes up for it.

Heresy! Heresy!

Of course Citizen Kane is a great movie. It holds my interest up to the point where he must choose between his mistress or his family. After that it is depressing and boring...until the mystery of Rosebud is resolved.

Could use more laughs. But the ones you get are worth it.

As Roger Ebert might say, "I hate, hate, hate, hated this movie."

You have some good scenes in an otherwise laughably bad movie. More whiney over-acting than you can shake a stick at. No wonder these airplane disaster movies get parodied to death. John Wayne has a great scene when he tells the passengers the chances of surviving. This movie needed more big stars, less crying, more suspense. Can't complain about the theme song. Too bad it is wasted on this movie. I'm returning it for store credit when I get the chance.

This is a movie, like so many others, that only Siskel & Ebert could love. It starts out intriguing enough and I was following it up to the obligatory lesbian sex scene. After that nothing makes sense. Nothing is resolved. All you're left with is a jumble of questions that you don't care what the answers are. Typical David Lynch trash. Hey, look, if you liked it, fine by me. But I didn't.

How it only gets a 6.9 is beyond me. A very pleasant time killer. Everyone in top form and having a good time doing it.

Friday nights. 10 O'clock. ABC. "12 O'clock High" was the best of the QM productions hands down. Ordinarily TV shows are only as good as its lead character. None better than Robert Lansing. Pity when we hear stories of actors being "hard to work with" and I guess Lansing was. I'd love to get hold of and DVDs.

Shame this movie failed to make back even a fourth of its budget. It is everything the critics and public say it is - a sharp, smart, thriller.

I found this to be an enjoyable movie. Nothing overly special but certainly not a bad movie. The stunt at the end when the car is going at 'terminal velocity' I found to be worth the time.

"Men! Take him away!" Good dramatic episode peppered with humor

Best episode of the series. Even 007 in Skyfall borrowed from it.

Giant has its good points. The actors are very competent but the story is long and winding. Mercedes McCambridge comes off best as the embittered sister threatened by Elizabeth Taylor's arrival as Hudson's wife. James Dean is promoted front and center but for every minute he is on the screen, Rock Hudson has ten. If you treat this as a vehicle for big name stars then you will enjoy it. But the message of defeating racism is rather dated.