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Reviews
A Christmas Story (1983)
One of a--Wonderful--Kind
Many cuts above the usual "feel-good" Christmas movie, but it's all that and much more. One of a handful of movies that are beyond description, such as Repo Man, The Wizard of Oz, and Apocalypse Now. As the storied producer said, "Don't miss it if you can!" While there are no "name" performers, all are excellent, and the kids are beyond compare, like the movie. Set in the most unimaginable city on earth for such a movie (not Hong Kong, not Rio de Janeiro, not Tristan de Cunha), Cleveland, Ohio, the movie plumbs the depths of a boy's Christmas desire for what was once far more magnetic than any video game or latest electronic marvel: a genuine Daisy B-B gun (politely known as an "air rifle"). The kids he hangs out with are also intriguing, and his family is a joy. As the famous man said, "Don't miss it if you can!"
The Departed (2006)
Wonderful cast, but bloated, overblown, & never-ending
Nicholson is always worth the admission price, and other cast members do a creditable job. But in the end this is a movie that's wayyyyyyyyyy too long, weighed down by endless clichés of the genre (top Mafia boss is endlessly clever, a real sex machine, and full of philosophical one-liners in street patois; police management is too gullible to remain alive; when educated women meet tough guys they can't wait to leap into bed with them; etc. etc. etc.) As always with Scorsese the film is technically brilliant, but never comes alive (no play on words there) except now and then in Nicholson scenes, and quite often when Dicaprio is on camera--he does very well. Did I mention that it's formulaic and way too long?
The Sopranos handled similar plotting and material ever so much better. Another proof--if needed--that "Oscars" mean little except for their enticement value for the gullible.
(I don't know what a "spoiler" is--does that mean giving away key plot details?)
The Trip to Bountiful (1985)
A performance that must be seen to be believed
The basic story/plot here is stagy, melodramatic, and sentimentalized, evincing a superficiality that makes it difficult to stay with the movie for sufficient exposure to realize what Geraldine Page is creating in it as an actor. What she's doing in this movie is stupendous, one of the few performances ever by an American actor which stacks up against the best that the Brits can do. For me the movie then progressed on two levels: one carrying a mundane, sentimental story which barely engages; the second a mesmerizing and utterly believable journey in the company of a dauntless old woman traveling to bring her life to a satisfactory completion (all things considered). Toward the end, one expects death but gets life, carried on the wings of perhaps the best acting performance ever delivered in an American movie.
High Society (1956)
Some movies aren't that good, but have staying power--this is one of them
Other than the gaffe of having Armstrong and his band opening in the back of the bus (Hello? Hello?), the movie is delightful in several ways and on several levels. You want stars? You get stars. You want incomparable music? You get Cole Porter. You want some superb singing? You get Crosby, Sinatra (including a duet between them, the high point of the movie for me), and Armstrong, and even a creditable croon by Grace Kelly. You want a silly plot, with silly characters that you can't possibly take seriously? You get that too. And you get Celeste Holme thrown in for good value. If you haven't seen this movie, correct that lack--they don't make them like this any more.
The Weather Man (2005)
Well worth watching; unusual because not gimmicky
Well cast, well acted, well directed, and well produced. Also a very unusual movie in that its plot doesn't follow a traditional arc, but moves along a route that adult viewers will understand as typical of civilian life in our day and age. It reminded me very much of Philip Roth's "Sabbath's Theater," especially in the way it truthfully followed the successes--but much more numerous defeats--of its male protagonist. Cage does an excellent job, as does the rest of the cast, though I wish that Michael Caine had been granted a bit more voltage--as a Pulitzer Prize winning writer, he's neither as articulate as he might be, nor as insightful.
Watch this movie.
The Weight of Water (2000)
Not the sort of movie Americans are used to watching.
Creditable effort by all concerned, but lacks a certain spark, which is perhaps a matter of pacing. Polley and Penn are fine, as is the entire cast. But "Why am I watching this?" comes to mind too often when viewing the movie.
Made in Britain (1982)
A riveting drama, and a shattering, must-see performance by Tim Roth--
When I caught most of this by accident one evening in 1983 I realized that it was not like anything I'd ever seen before on American television, and I committed the title, and the name of the lead actor, to memory. I was certain that I'd see much more of Tim Roth in the years to come--absolutely a shattering, must-see performance. Unfortunately, this TV drama is unavailable in this country, I assume because it's thought to be about a British problem. Not so. And anyway, who cares? This is riveting drama, marvelously performed and, like Shakespeare's _Othello_ or _Macbeth_, telling it like it is.
Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000)
Dull and hackneyed; stunt drivers don't redeem this dog.
Dull and hackneyed in the extreme--pretty much an embarrassment for all concerned, although it will probably turn a small profit. Stunt drivers alone don't redeem this dog. Having attended the opening of Mission Impossible 2 a couple of weeks earlier, I can say that this one will sink fast by contrast, although video release will probably move it into the profit column. Duvall and Cage should read scripts more closely--they can do much better--
Life (1999)
Funny stuff, if hard to categorize
A very funny movie in many spots, although there are a few slow stretches. The subject is extremely serious, but this treatment milks it for laughs without trivializing it. Murphy and Lawrence make a funny duo and play off each other well. Ned Beatty adds a short star turn near the end. And, whatever you do, don't miss the outtakes at the end--a couple of them are worth the rental all by themselves.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Needed professional help.
Excellent story idea, but suffers badly from lack of variety, plot twists--cf. Alien, Psycho, et al. Amateurishness thus shows in the script--could have used a lot of professional help. End is well done, but how plausible is it that kids scared almost out of their wits would (virtually) rush into a very scarey-looking "haunted house" in the middle of their inescapable and haunted forest? --Needed professional help.
Amarcord (1973)
One of the most wonder-full movies ever made
The only movie I literally couldn't leave. As I tried to escape after the first showing I was drawn in as the movie began again, sat on the aisle floor at the rear of the theater to see the opening scenes again, and remained there through a second showing. A "desert-island movie" choice if there ever was one.
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
The best American movie ever made.
Combining what American film makers have always done best, musicals and fantasy, The Wizard of Oz permeates English-speaking culture. It is revealing to speculate about whether any other movies on the IMDb "top" list will be strong enough to be released again commercially 60 years after their original appearance, as The Wizard of Oz was last year.
Sherman's March (1985)
And you'll actually learn about William Tecumseh Sherman!
Unique--insightful and humane, never succumbing to the temptation to satirize the failings and fallacies evinced by the almost-too-real people the filmmaker documentarizes. And the viewer learns a surprising amount about William Tecumseh Sherman as well, a Sherman clearly admired by the filmmaker (a Southerner), who identifies with him in some characteristics. See it if you can--nothing like it.