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Reviews
Nobody Lives Forever (1946)
Not As Good As I Remembered It
I am sitting down with a pile of Noir DVDs to see if there's anything I've really missed in the last thirty years. I remember this ... differently from what I saw the other night. I thought there was a lot more struggle between Garfield and. Fitzgerald and the crooks. I mean Inner Struggle. Some anguish.
Naw . It settles down to a typical bad guys kidnap the gal and Garfield has to go rescue her. Yawn. Seen it before. My memory of it from years ago was that he really got SQUEEZED by his feelings for her and the expectations of the bad guys. Everything unfolds pretty evenly. No surprises, no memorable dialog.
Garfield is always letter perfect. Fitzgerald has her moments. George Coulouris is very good. Walter Brennan kind of ... different. Not quite Noir, really. It's just a drama
Some... some moody photography. Nothing that lifts it off the screen and throws it into your soul.
The Set-Up (1949)
Nothing Special. Not Really Noir
I didn't care for this when I first saw it before I knew what film noir even was. There are few dozen really great Film Noirs. It';s now my favorite genre so I'm trying to find something I've missed the last thirty years.
Well, this isn't it. No surprises. Seen it all before. I enjoyed Ryan in "Beware My Lovely" and "On Dangerous Ground" but he doesn't really do anything for me here. Audrey Totter is OK. Darryl Hickman probably stands out more than anyone. Alan Baxter is as good as he is on "77 Sunset Strip". Percy Helton is always a delight. James Edwards was a nice touch.
But there's no noir to it. Everything is just plain old black and white. No dynamic lighting or camera angles. The boxing scenes are terrible. The dialogue is flat; nobody says anything clever. It's not "Bad" just so what?
Beforeigners (2019)
Unforgettable
This is a show I watched (binged) then went on to other things. There are so many good tv series these days.
When someone asked me what I was watching, I'd sy one thing or another but everything back more than one or two shows was a bit of a fig. Except this show. This and The Witcher stand out. Head and shoulder above the blur of all the countless shows Ive binged.
The strangness of the concept for one thing. People out of time. And so well done. The way they are shown on the fringes of society is very interesting. The variety of personalities. Hostile, reformed, sacrificial, heroic, calculating, inadequate... The mystery of who is doing what to whom and why... and how...
Not the least of the good choices is the casting. Nicolai Cleve Broch is prefect. A natural star.
Krista Kosonen is amazing. Another natural star. The way she inhabits the character. The way she walks and her posture. Can't take my eyes off her any scene she's in
You (2018)
Stone Colder Murderer
If you think this guy would be a good date, may I recommend Ted Bundy.
This guy stalked and lied to Beck for an entire season and then he killed her. Yeah, very romantic.
Anyone who thinks this sneaky, creepy, lying murderer is romantic is literally insane... at the very least very very... very sick
Too Old to Die Young (2019)
The Message : Sadists Are Also Masochists
This show very graphically illustrates many sadists who are also masochists. In fact you have to be both to stick with this show. I thought this show was dark and "grim"which is fine but episode 8 betrays the slightest emotional investment you may have had.
I made it through episode 8 and I wish I had never seen what I saw. The main character who seems to seek some redemption is chopped into pieces. The Innocent character, that we hope will learn a life lesson... well, doesn't.
I'm not naming names so I don't think I am giving any real spoilers. This is vague enough it could be more than one person. Only if you choose to watch this, you will know who I am talking about.
I can't unsee what I have seen. I don't care what happens to any of the other characters and I don't trust the filmmakers to care about anyone in this story anyways. I quit.
The Man in the High Castle (2015)
Unwatchable
Like, not necessarily "loved" the book. But... I do love Philip K Dick. And I do "love" the concept. I have tried Three Times to give this TV series a chance. I even "love" Alexa Davalos" from her guest star role on "Angel" and "Chronicles Of Riddick". And I "like very much" Rufus Sewell from "Dark City", "Eleventh Hour". But this series goes nowhere.
Watched first three episodes. Tuned out. Tried Season Two first episode. It was as if the previous 8 episodes never happened. I could pick up the thread of the narrative with no trouble at all. Sure, stuff happened; but nothing significant. Everyone was still in the same place as far as the story- telling progress. As much as I hated to do it, I tuned out forever. Every time I see an ad for the TV series. Every Single Time, I think: what a botched opportunity.
Too Close to Home (2016)
It May Seem A Little Slow Or Boring But Life Is Like That.
One of the two best new television shows. Tyler Perry surprised the heck out of me. Writer, Director, Editor...? What I like most about this show is the dialog, editing and pacing. It feels like Perry handed the actors a script with what happens in the scene and just said "What would your characters say to move the story along? Improvise."
He also lets the scenes run too long but that is great because it is more lifelike. People do repeat themselves. Often, we don't know when or how to end a conversation. This takes you deeper into each character.
I stick with a TV show because I like having the characters in the room with. For instance, the first season of "American Horror Story" was really good because we could relate. The second and third seasons made this more difficult. And then we get to that forking awful hotel. I did not want any of those characters in the room with me.. Saw the first episode of this season and it is more creepy people doing creepy things because Ryan Murphy gets off on that. I only like creepy when it uses some imagination and not just shock for shock value. If you like that then A.H.S. is for you.
I am not a snob. I like all the " Resident Evil" movies to some degree. And I like spending an hour a week with these charters. I just hope they get more than seven episodes.
Catfish (2010)
If this is fake then Angela Wesselman should have won the Academy Award
The first half of this movie had me thinking how phony it was. The lead actor was not convincing. His dialog, his expressions were unrealistic and contrived.
Then he meets his internet friend in the flesh. Again, I don't believe some of the film footage here either but the actress who plays the Internet friend is spot on perfect. Her line readings and her expressions are absolutely spot on perfect. As I say in the title, if she is reading script, she deserves the Oscar for the best acting of the year and as good acting as I have ever seen in any movie ever.
I am with the filmmakers all the way from this point on. Whoa, she's not like her facebook page but as we get to know her and see her in some of the close-up shots, she is actually beautiful.
Then the bonus self-interview with the lead actor and his film-making friends. If they are acting here, it is light years better than in the movie itself. Which speaks to the film's authenticity... which I am not saying what that is... see no spoilers : = )
Animal Kingdom (2010)
"Pineapple Express" With Red Paintball Guns and Australian Accents
The "animals" in this "kingdom" are three mentally disabled brothers, their mother (who kisses them on the mouth O, My Goodness Gracious, I'm Shocked) and their nephew who has had a lobotomy. They also have another brother who apparently wandered in from the set for "The Lovely Bones" (rejected for the Stanely Tucci part).
There is nothing suspenseful or sinister about this movie or clan of characters. The only tension is on the soundtrack; some pinched strings. These clowns never do anything. They are as threatening as the guys in "Pineapple Express".
This movie is like a Marx Brothers comedy. The plots lines are dropped, the narrative flies all over the place, people say and do the dumbest things... you cant imagine. The main character is Harpo Marx; because he never speaks, he is mute. There is a "cute" brother (Zeppo), a ringleader (Groucho) and a follower (Chico)... and in this case an extra brother, the Pedophile.
The first part of the movie concerns the family hiding the Pedophile from the police because they "have the goods on him". When the police close in in him, they turn and blast Groucho with red paintballs. The one they have been chasing, they let walk away. The Pedophile is so upset, he gets the other two brothers to blast a couple of cops with red paintball guns. The police then have no trouble bringing the Pedophile into the station but they let him go.
Understand this: the whole movie so far has been about the police trying to apprehend this guy, they kill his brother instead (for no reason), they catch him and they let him go. Got it? Up to speed? Now the movie becomes about the police trying to use Harpo to testify against his brothers. Except: he doesn't really know anything. I mean, he really doesn't know anything. He is absolutely totally useless as a witness because... he doesn't know anything.
It goes on and on with characters doing the dumbest things you don't really want to know. (This person is innocent so I will kill them. This person is trying to kill me, I will go visit them.) Jackie Weaver has gotten a lot of press about her role. Her character is cut from the same cloth as Rose Tyler's mom in Doctor Who ("sexy", overweight, blond bimbo with raccoon eyes). That character contains mountains more of emotional impact than the mother in this movie. Like everyone else in this movie, she says and does things on whims, so nothing she says or does has any meaning or impact because it is not grounded in any logic whatsoever.
What a bunch of dumb animals.
Emma (2009)
IMDb rating system has this down perfectly
Emma with Gwenyth Paltrow has a 6.8 rating. Emma with Kate Beckensdale has a 7.3 rating. This Romola Garai has an 8.6 rating as of tonight. I like all three versions but each actress and each Mr Knightley is so plain and simple, so obviously, different, it really is amazing to watch each one. Each one can be enjoyed for what each set of actors brings to their roles.
I just saw her in "Atonement" and really blew my mind. I've gone on a Romola bender and also just went out and got "Mary Bryant". Whoa! What an actress, what a screen presence. What a career she has for the future. I can't wait.
As for her "Emma", she just nails it. Makes it her own. The character is so real through her eyes and actions.
Battle Planet (2008)
Along W/ ALIEN CARGO, One Of The Best super lo-budget sci fi flicks
It's great to see Zack Ward finally pull a "Lee Marvin". Typically cast as a villain or supporting character actor, he is masterful as the hero and even "gets the girl".
Brea Grant, hot off "Heroes", where she really shines and steals all her scenes... is recognizable : = ) as the alien.
Unlike a typical Sci-Fi Channel production, it is surprisingly devoid of eye-rolling dialog and moronic plot. Yes, the bar is set rather low for such a cheapo production but it actually doesn't look cheap. It has everything it needs production-wise to tells this story.
The plot twists are not mind-blowing but still plentiful and the thing really zips along. It was reminding me of "Alien Cargo" simply from the aspect of getting a mountain of character and plot out of a molehill of sets... and then... the ending. Im not giving anything away by saying it is ... uncompromising. KUDOS.
And then the coda. Not a spoiler : = )
Rachel Getting Married (2008)
The Hype For Anne Hathaway's Dramatic Breakthrough is just that: PURE HYPE
I guess Jonathan Demme should just give up directing as a career. His entry into the wobbly, weaving seasickness camera work made profitable by "Blair Witch Project" and "Cloverfield" has an even worse script and acting.
The script concerns itself with a family of idiots (to call them dysfunctional is extremely generous) and the actors play them like their first attempt at improv. Demme is only concerned with waving his camera around and worried about how he is going to edit the mess together.
You've seen bits of all these morons before and all the plot points, too. Some scenes of uninteresting dialog go on F O R E V E R. None of it is believable but it seems to think it is some kind of reality.
The strangers in the theatre to the right of us AND to the left all said they wished they had spent the two hours somewhere else.
Artsy Fartsy Camera-work Tries To Mask Lack of Interesting Characters Bad Acting / Anne Hathaway does nothing special.
AVPR: Aliens vs Predator - Requiem (2007)
Makes 1st AVP look like Citizen Kane
Firstly, this movie is photographed so dark, I can't tell the Aliens from the Predators. The close-ups are so close up you cant tell if what you are looking at is right-side-up or up-side-down.
Secondly the cast is terrible. Not one ounce of charisma in the whole gang. Not even the usually wonderful to behold Reiko Ainsworth registers.
The script, like the cast seems to have been handed over to the quality of people who write Return of the Living Dead sequels. This movie rates right down there with Rave To The Grave. No surprises anywhere along the way.
The bad boy who returns to town, his best friend who is now chief of police, the blonde cutie with the bully boyfriend who really likes the loser bother ... Everyone cliché we have seen a thousand times before. Right down to the evil government who nukes the town rather than try to save any human lives.
No clever dialog, no clever plot twists. Just one seen it before after another.
Two stars is generous.
The first AVP had great casting, a tight little nutshell plot, an admitted guilty pleasure. This is a complete waste of time and opportunity.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
South Park Does Sondheim
I saw the Angela Lansbury version on PBS more than 20 years ago and was blown away. I think I've been two one professional play in my life. No fan... but this was Rock and Roll! So here comes the Hollywood movie version and they give it to Tim Burton. What a perfect fit. Well, then again, maybe not.
It gets off to a good start. Nice mood and art direction and singing and all that. But Deep really blows the "My Friend/ Now I am one" song. Doesn't compare with the George Hearn. In fact, as things progress, he is nowhere as sympathetic as Hearn portrays the Demon Barber.
And then the killing starts. And its like South Park blood. And corpses falling on their heads and flopping on their necks. Like Trey Parker and Matt Stone took over directing duties. Over and over again. Every killing never fails to show the bodies falling on their heads or necks.
Some nice moments (Nellie's seduction of Sweeney, his death) stand in stark contrast to the over-the-top ones. Pretty much a seesaw experience. Nothing gripping.
Living on Love (1937)
Better Than the '33 version
Maybe I just like Whitney Bourne better than Ginger Rogers but I liked this one better than "Rafter Romance". It is 12 minutes shorter so it has no filler. It is short and sweet. It "feels" more like a silent film than the earlier version because it really hops along.
I like Ginger Rogers in "Major & The Minor", otherwise, I cant think of a movie I really like her in. Maybe "Vivacous Lady". She's OK in the Fred Astaire movies but he is so smug I find them barely watchable. Whitney Bourne on the other hand is a super gorgeous woman that I would like to see a lot more of.
IMDb wants a few more lines out of me to print this: I find it interesting that Whitney Bourne was born in 1914 and died in 1988 and her female rival in this movie, Joan Woodbury, was born a year later and died a year later. What are the chances of THAT!