Reviews

If you find yourself sleepless at 3 am and you've got an hour and fifteen minutes to kill with Turner Classic Movies, you can do worse than this charming romance that, while mostly predictable, takes you places and keeps up a good pace.

"Parole Girl" comes with a competent cast, pre Hays' era sexuality, and a time capsule visit to 1930's America. I counted at least six improbable plot devices, but, oh--who cares? Bellamy was believable. And I fell in love with the intelligent, cunning Mae Clark.

What guy, sleepless at 3 am wouldn't hope to find himself in Bellamy's predicament with a woman as alluring and devious as Mae Clark's character?

I was interested in the concept of this film and so I watched it despite the 1.5 star cable TV rating it got. I was immediately drawn into the predicament of the characters and loved the ending.

In terms of form, the effects, the sets, and the filming were believable and good. The acting has been much criticized, but I find that in real life, real people aren't such good actors. This film's acting had a documentary feel about it and is definitely worth watching.

The quiet pace of this film establishes a mood that reinforces the lonely exile facing the characters. It doesn't quite live up to the eerie feel of Kubrick's 2001, but it comes close.

The basic idea of this film--people facing death in space exploration, is a noble one, and the ending gives a payoff worthy of this film's purpose.

I note that this little film from Spain has earned a lot of viewer comment, both positive and negative, much of it passionate. I find that interesting. However, I was disappointed with many of the negative reviews. I think they missed the point of this film.

The Guardsman is now one of my 10 favorite films. Thanks to Turner Classic Movies audiences can continue to see the brilliant performances of Lunt and Fontanne in this hilarious play made into a film. The performances of the support cast are excellent, especially that of Roland Young.

The Guardsman does what a good comedy should do. It should make us laugh, give us insights into the human condition, and keep us wondering what will happen next to characters that we care about.

I laughed out loud and watched the unpredictable plot move through scenes of witty, fast paced dialog that led to an ending that lived up to everything that preceded it. If you carefully watch Fontanne in the ending, you will be certain of the meaning of her character's smile.

There is a fascination in Hollywood and elsewhere with disturbed and distorted genius. Excuses are made for ugly behavior if the doer has talent, wealth or beauty. This is much the same case with women who love bad boys and repeatedly take their abuse for a few extraordinary moments of amorous connection. Such is the case with Bogart's character, Dix Steele, a talented screen writer who is a mixture of good and bad, but predisposed to an evil temper and violent disposition. Hollywood is the perfect setting for this distorted personality given its familiarity with cult worship and its tendency to excuse the ugly side of those it favors. The Frank Lovejoy's character states the proposition succinctly: `He's a genius…he's exciting…that's just the way he is.' Inevitably this love of genius hurts the beloved as well. The adoration amplifies their worst tendencies.

Other movies have dealt with this subject, but in not so complex a manner as "In a Lonely Place." It is surprising that any group of filmmakers would have had the courage to invest in such a darkly honest and relentlessly negative film. I haven't seen anything out of Hollywood lately that approaches this level of truth. Kudos to all involved, especially Bogart and my very favorite Gloria Grahame.

Ok...you've got some first rate actors who can do the material with credibility. You get sucked into the story despite your plot qualms until you get to the end and realize you've been a witness to something stupid.

I described the film to my girlfriend the next day and she said, "Are you sure this wasn't a comedy? It sounds too much like the Sopranos. Tracy Ullman?"

Maybe the problem was the casting. The public will accept swarthy actors with Jersey accents making their money from murder. But you can't fully support yourself on murder alone. You've got to have gambling and rackets, crooked politicians and bogus land swindles. Sutherland and Macy as father and son killing people a few times a year could never support themselves as pictured here. The crime in this film should have been about embezzlement, or money swindled from film investors.

The squirrel hunting scenes are completely ridiculous. No child of five or six shoots and kills squirrels with pistols.

Tracy Ullman was wasted in this role. Donald Sutherland has been in a zillion movies. He's a good actor no matter the plot, and I guess he isn't too fussy about the films he does. William H. Macy keeps playing the same unemotional but inwardly tortured soul. I like watching him on the screen, but I don't care to see him necking with pretty young women.

I can't believe that smart people with money made this movie. Some one should have said, "STOP THE MADNESS!"

I first saw The Tenant in 1976 at an art film theater with a group of friends from the TV/film industry. We all loved it. Since then, I've shown it to a number of friends and have gotten radically different responses, everything from the "best film I've ever seen" to "the worst film I've ever seen." Looking back on the friends and their responses, those who liked the film just seem smarter to me. Call me biased.

In terms of horror, this ranks among Polanski's best fright films, including Rosemary's Baby.

The best thing about the film is the wonderful cast, including, Polanski playing the lead role. In addition, you've got great performances from Melvyn Douglas and Shelly Winters. Then, there are wonderful character roles like the paranoid neighbor lady with the handicapped daughter who thinks everyone in the building is conspiring against her. Then, there's the very sexy Isabelle Adjani.

This film has horror, intelligence, and a wonderful kind of black humor. It has a Bergman feel to it, with loads of mood and atmosphere. Watch this film and transport yourself to a different world. Unfortunately, this film is tough to find.

I am one of the few people I know who loves this film. If you enjoy black and white photography, and the avant garde, you may like, even love, Last Year at Marienbad. This is the classic art film of the early sixties, and a tribute to the photography of Vogue Magazine. Each shot is beautifully composed with many tracking and moving camera shots, filled with wonderful detail of setting and social pretense.