Change Your Image
shelly
Reviews
Esther Waters (1948)
Major disappointment.
This film is interminable. And I usually love period pieces. The pace is extremely sluggish and only Dirk Bogarde brings some life to the proceedings. This film is perfect for insomniacs. However the racing scenes are well done and the design is quite good.
I would love to have seen Vivien Leigh in the title role. She would have added the necessary fire.
The supporting cast, especially Cyril Cusack and Fay Compton are fine.
I think better direction would have aided this film tremendously.
The story itself is quite interesting. It's the execution that's the problem.
The Miracle of the Bells (1948)
Quite good,highly recommended!
Considered a box office dud and much maligned over the years, this is quite an entertaining film about the movies, religion, love and lots of other things! The entire cast is superb, even Sinatra in a very sweet role as a priest. I wonder why Valli didn't become a bigger star! Maybe she was too similar to Ingrid Bergman with not quite enough charisma. She's quite good in this and it's a far cry from her work in Dario Argento's Suspiria! All in all, a fine film!
The Secret of My Success (1965)
Absolutely Awful!!
I've been waiting to see this movie for YEARS only because I'm a huge Shirley Jones fan , but even the wonderful Ms. Jones can't salvage this godawful mess. I realize it's supposed to be a black comedy but it's more of a bleak comedy. I really tried liking this, but it just goes to show how really difficult it is to make a decent or even a halfway decent film. This one fails in all departments, but I'm still glad I saw Shirley Jones in her black wig!!! Avoid!
Specter of the Rose (1946)
Very erotic and special film!
This Ben Hecht film is one-of- a-kind. it's about the ballet world and might remind you a bit of The Red Shoes on a superficial level. However this film is quite different-more perverse and it contains some REALLY erotic dialogue between the young lovers--the wonderful Ivan Kirov and Viola Essen. Judith Anderson, Michael Chekhov and Lionel Stander are also superb. Ben Hecht wrote, produced and directed this film--too bad he didn't attempt more directing!! A must-see!
Since You Went Away (1944)
A wonderful film I loved from stsrt to finish
This is a wonderful film which I had the pleasure of re-watching last night on laserdisc. What a cast, score, direction,cinematography,etc! Claudette Colbert is worth the "price of admission!" She's simply superb, never over-playing, and effortlessly holding the film together. Hattie McDaniels and Nazimova usually,I think, over-looked in this film are great!!! But then so is everyone! Shirley Temple, Joseph Cotten, Jennifer Jones, Monty Wooley, etc. etc. as Mr. Brynner would have said! Search this one out!! Thanks Mr. Selznick and Mr. Cromwell.
Pleasantville (1998)
With a bravura performance by the great Joan Allen, Pleasantville is the sunnier mirror image of The Truman Show
Pleasantville has uniformly wonderful performances, but I think the great Joan Allen is a standout as the cheerfully happy 50's mom who realizes there's more to life than making meatloaf. What a superb actress!
Pleasantville is a beautifully designed and directed film which in some ways is like the flip side and mirror image of The Truman Show all at the same time. Though I think it gets somewhat heavy-handed in its message and could use a bit of cutting, it is still one of the best films in a long while! Extremely creative and most emphatically worth seeing.
Little Voice (1998)
A Don't Miss film--Oscar Worthy!
Little Voice is an incredibly acted film which deserves multiple Oscar nominations! Jane Horrocks and Brenda Blethyn are sensational! Ditto Michael Caine and Jim Broadbent! Horrocks is wonderful--touching, funny and brilliant in her depictions of Garland , Monroe and Dietrich, among others. Blethyn makes Shelley Winters in A Patch Of Blue seem like Mary Poppins! Michael Caine proves again why he's one of the best actors around! Don't miss!
Fargo (1996)
Very Good, but McDormand shouldn't have won!
Fargo is a very good film and ,I think deserved the screenplay Oscar it got. But Frances McDormand, as good as she is, should have lost to Brenda Blethyn in Secrets and Lies. I know it's like comparing apples and oranges, but Blethyn 's range in a LEADING role was absolutely extraordinary, while Mc Dormand's excellent SUPPORTING performance shouldn't have been in the same category as Blethyn. That said, a very good film with an incredible performance by William H. Macy who SHOULD have won best supporting actor! GO figure!!!
One True Thing (1998)
Brilliant acting by Streep, Zellweger and Hurt!
This is a brilliantly acted film which earns tears honestly. Everyone can relate in some way to the situation where an ambitious daughter must care for her dying mother---a woman she's never been close to and the rival (in her mind) for her father's affection. The film is sad, funny and superbly acted! Streep is as usual, amazing! What a wonderful actress!
Long Lost Father (1934)
John Barrymore wonderful
A kind of forgettable film, but Barrymore is, as usual, wonderful! Helen Chandler is also quite good and very lovely! Does anyone know why her career didn't go further? I definitely think she had what it takes!!!
Portrait of Jennie (1948)
A wonderfully haunting film, perfect in all departments!
I love this film! I've seen it any number of times and it's always as fresh as the first viewing! The radiant Jennifer Jones is wonderful as are all the actors--David Wayne , Ethel Barrymore and each and every supporting player ! Josep Cotten and Jones's scenes together are perfect and the beautiful Debussy music just adds to the haunting quality of the film! The cinematography by Joseph August I believe, Is breathtaking! A must-see film!!
Peg o' My Heart (1933)
A charming film, due mainly to the charming Marion Davies.
Peg O' My Heart is really charming,due mainly to the wonderful Marion Davies. She also sings and dances in a few numbers quite delightfully! I saw this on the Turner Classic Movies cable station. A real boon to classic movie lovers!