Reviews

I love the movies-- our American art form-- but I'm afraid the last 15 or so years have been dismal! I just saw Lincoln-- and what a bore! 2 1/2 hours of boring, inaccurate talk, talk, talk!! Anyone who tells you differently either is lying, politically correct, or worshiping at the pagan altar of Abe Lincoln ( who was really a tyrant and a war criminal who killed 600,000 people and fought a total war against noncombatants over economics and against the Jeffersonian principle of the right of sovereignty and self-determination--and not- not about slavery! Lincoln was a racist, and despite publicity to the contrary, never freed one slave!) And while I'm at it, Spielberg is a bad director-- manipulative and sentimental and Tony Kushner is a bad writer-- manipulative and political. In this movie the music is too subdued, the cinematography is too dark, the art direction is too drab and the acting is too mediocre. Even Daniel Day Lewis' extolled performance is merely just--OK-- and not the masterpiece we have been told to expect. And that's the truth. Can you handle the truth?

If you want to see a good biopic watch Lawrence of Arabia. If you want to see good acting watch A Streetcar Named Desire. If you want to see good directing watch The Graduate. If you want to hear good dialog watch The Apartment. If you want to see a good Civil War picture watch Gone with the Wind. If you want an interesting plot watch Chinatown. If you want to know the truth about dishonest Abe read The Real Lincoln by Thomas Di Lorenzo. Alas, American movies, and American culture are, I fear, in a spiraling decline.

This is the funniest movie ever made! Billy Wilder was a genius who could do the acid-serious drama (DOUBLE INDEMNITY, SUNSET BOULEVARD, ACE IN THE HOLE, THE LOST WEEKEND), the romantic comedy-drama (THE APARTMENT, SABRINA), light comedy (THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH and SOME LIKE IT HOT.) What a talent! English was his second language , and yet some of his movie language has become part of the American vernacular. In SLIH , We have the hilarious last line ("Nobody's perfect!") plus several other gems (OSGOOD: "Bass fiddle! Do you use a bow, or do you pluck it?" DAPHNE/JERRY:"Most of the time I slap it!" OSGOOD:"You must be quite a girl!" DAPHNE/JERRY: "Wanna bet?") and (SUGAR:"Diamonds! They must be worth their weight in gold!") Jack Lemmon is flat-out hilarious in SLIH, and so is Marilyn Monroe-- this is her best performance! I have seen this classic farce hundreds of times, and it's still fresh, funny, and wonderful!

HUD is one of the best movies I have ever seen! Based on Larry McMurtry's early novel HORSEMAN, PASS BY, it works wonderfully as a modern morality play showing the seductiveness of hedonism (as represented by the attractive and persuasive Hud (Paul Newman) vs. the human decency and duty represented by Homer Bannion (Melvyn Douglas) as they battle for the soul of the grandson, Lon (Brandon De Wilde). There is an important lesson about the destruction of society by the cheapening of our standards of admiration. I absolutely love Patricia Neal in this film! Her earthy housekeeper, Alma, steals every scene she's in! I am so happy that she won the Academy Award for this role. I can't think of anyone, male or female, who gave a better performance that year. I love her line resisting Hud's advances, "No, thanks! I've done my time with one cold-blooded bastard. I'm not looking for another."

I have seen this classic epic romance countless times-- and, though long, it still holds up to repeated viewings. First of all, there is the attention to detail in the sets, art direction, and costumes. Secondly, the story is truly memorable with characters that have become immortalized, and even a part of American popular culture, such as Scarlett O'Hara, Rhett Butler, Mammy, and Prissy. Thirdly, the acting is truly excellent! In a wonderful cast, Vivien Leigh must be singled out for special praise. Scarlett O'Hara was probably the most sought after movie part in history-- and it went to an unknown British actress! The casting was a risk. Considering the chaos the was the actual filming of GWTW--changing directors three times-- the artistry of the picture must be credited to David O Selznick, the producer, and to Vivien Leigh for her determined, willful, charming ,manipulating,selfish, but decent Southern Belle who is the very definition of a survivor. What a marvelous performance!!

ALL ABOUT EVE is a brilliant masterpiece of a film that is unique in that it is so cinematic, but its emphasis is on the word rather than the image. That makes the film more like a play than a movie-- and ironically the story is the best movie about ambition, and Broadway stage actors ever made. This is probably the wittiest, the bitchiest screenplay ever written! This is also Bette Davis' best performance in a movie. (What a blessed but ill-timed coincidence for her that Gloria Swanson was creating the spectacular Norma Desmond in SUNSET BOULEVARD the very same year- and then that neither actress won the Oscar that year as they cancelled each other out in the voting!)The whole cast is wonderful! I can watch this film again and again. It is a genuine masterpiece!

I can see the flaws in this movie as well as the virtues. I don't think the love story between Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger is particularly tender, the scoped sweep of the years is at times much too fast. So, how come the movie haunts me for weeks each time I see it? Well, I think the final scenes which revolve around closets (literally), and symbolize the internalized homophobia and shame that Ennis Del Mar (Ledger) has felt all through these years, show why his love for Jack Twist (Gyllenhall) can never be tender nor continuing (as opposed to just sporadic.) It also explains why the brilliant Ang Lee shows us the those shirts in Ennis' closet and the picture postcard of the beautiful Brokeback Mountain, and then contrasts Ennis' dismal house trailer and the flat , dull view of the countryside from his bedroom window. Such is life in the closet-- the only life some gay men are allowed by many in the rather flat society as a whole. I love this brilliant, bleak masterpiece.

THE INNOCENTS is quite simply the best ghost story ever made. I am certainly glad it was finally released on DVD. This is also Deborah Kerr's finest hour. I can't understand how the picture missed an Oscar nod, as well as Miss Kerr's excellent, and terrifying performance.Jack Clayton only directed a few films, but three of his films rank as among my very favorite films of all time (this one, THE PUMPKIN EATER, and ROOM AT THE TOP.) I am an English literature teacher, and so I am familiar with Henry James' brilliantly ambiguous novella, THE TURN OF THE SCREW, on which this film is based. Not only is this screenplay a magnificently realized adaptation of James' novella, but in some ways I think it is superior.Whether the ghosts are real, or the governess is mad, evil is present. But, (and this is the most frightening aspect of the story,) is the evil "out there" or inside?

THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL is one of those little, independent films that touch you at the deepest level of your heart and remind you of your own family, and of your own misplaced dreams and of your need to connect with home, and with your purpose in life. The haunting, but simple music, (with the lovely rendition of "Softly and Tenderly" by Cynthia Clawson) greatly adds to the film's sentimental tone, without ever becoming intrusive or maudlin. I saw this film several times in the theatre when it first was released, and was always amazed that people did not leave during the closing credits, but stayed to the very end listening to the beautiful music. Perhaps, like me, they were also wiping away a tear or two. The film is a pleasing blend of laughs and tears. I always loved the late, great Geraldine Page. I was overjoyed when she won the Academy Award for her brilliant acting here as Carrie Watts. And not a minute too soon it seems, because she was dead of a sudden heart attack a little over a year later. I am so glad Page received that richly deserved recognition. I recommend all to see her in this role, and see what acting is!

I have come to consider CHICAGO the best and most satisfying movie musical that I have ever seen. And I like movie musicals. The first delight was how well Catherine Zeta Jones, Renee Zellweger, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, and John C Reilly did with these roles-- acting, Singing!!, and Dancing!!! I was surprised, and amazed! In addition, the cheeky satire about America's obsession with the cult of celebrity and the three-ring circus that the media and opportunistic lawyers make of our justice system is razor-sharp and very timely. (It's a little like watching "O.J.: The Musical"!)The creative and brilliant direction by Rob Marshall is entertaining and wonderful. As I think over the films of the last ten years, this is the first one that comes to mind. I love it!! I simply can't watch without singing along! CHICAGO certainly deserved its Academy Award for Best Picture!!

The first time I saw Boogie Nights it was on cable ( I know,...tsk tsk).I had heard it was horrible so I didn't bother to go see it in the theater. The I got to thinking something that provoked that strong of a reaction had to be worth my time. What an understatement that is!Boogie Nights is the first film I saw that was able to combine Comedy and Drama equally and effectively. Within the first 15 minutes of the movie,(the TK421 scene) I knew two things. This wasn't going to be just another T&A flick and that it was going to be a great parody of the porn business in the 70s. When the 80s were ushered in (dramatically), I realized there was more to this film than comedy. As the final notes of what P.T. Anderson referred to as "broken circus music" faded, I wanted to go through the whole journey again because while watching Boogie Nights I go through the whole gamut of emotions. That is why this movie is so much more than just "worth your time". Finally. as kind of a side note another thing about Boogie Nights that makes it such a superior film is that it is able to employ Tarantinoesque style (hip pop culture references etc.) in a very humanistic manner. For example you won't hear Reed Rothchild say " I just shot Dirk in the face." in this movie or any other PT Anderson picture for that matter. That is why I will never be disappointed or feel cheated after seeing a PT Anderson picture.

This musical ranks right up there with WEST SIDE STORY and CABARET for me as one of the best musicals of all time for me. I don't know how so many could have overlooked its great style and beautiful sets and direction. Madonna and Antonio Banderas are both wonderful and should have both nominated for the Academy Award for it. As a matter of fact, the picture should have been nominated also. It looks like the Golden Globes got right about EVITA. One of my favorite films.

I can watch BODY HEAT over and over again, and still be enthralled by it.Great acting, striking direction, sultry music, beautiful cinematography,and a wonderful film noir plot. This is one of my favorite movies. William Hurt and Kathleen Turner are great together.I would love to see a sequel.Highest rating-- be sure to see it.

WILD RIVER is one of Elia Kazan's best films, with brilliant affecting performances, beautiful cinematography, atmospheric settings, and a multilayered plot with important thematic points to make about the rights of the individual vs. the needs of the larger society as a whole. Jo Van Fleet gives one of the all time great performances of the screen in this film as far as I'm concerned. The music is also beautiful and evokes the time and place of the setting, 1930s Tennessee.Why isn't this film on video? Wonderful, one of my favorite movies.

THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON'T THEY? is a brilliant film, almost an existential allegory of the meaningless monotony of the dance of life, which unfortunately is also a fairly realistic portrait of suffering and exploitation during the Depression of the 1930s. When I first saw this film I was awakened to what a great actress Jane Fonda could be. (This film makes a worthy Depression film-bookend with her father's THE GRAPES OF WRATH.) The direction, writing, and acting in this film are wonderful. Susannah York, Bonnie Bedelia, and Gig Young are especially good, in addition to Fonda. Highly recommended, a classic.

CHINATOWN is a film noir masterpiece that gets better in repeated viewings and with the passing years. It ranks right behind Vertigo as the greatest mystery film.The performances of Nicholson and Dunnaway are complex and remarkable.

SUMMER AND SMOKE has long been one of my favorite films, as I love Tennessee Williams, and loved Geraldine Page after seeing her in this brilliant, Oscar-nominated performance.Page captures all the poignancy and need of longing and loneliness, and Williams spells it out in lyricism. Page's monologue near the end will tear your heart out, and the final fade-out will give you chills. Tennessee Wlliams is as much of a poet as he is a dramatist, and the screenplay captures some of his best bon mots. For example,in a conversation between John Buchanan and Alma in the movie, John (Laurence Harvey) describes her heart as "that little red fist that keeps knocking, knocking at the big, black door." Or, Alma's mad, kleptomaniac mother (Una Merkel)can't put a jigsaw puzzle together, and , in a panic, cries, "The pieces don't fit! The pieces don't fit!" Also made in 1961 was another Williams work, THE ROMAN SPRING OF MRS STONE, starring Vivien Leigh which I recommend highly.I certainly wish SUMMER AND SMOKE would be released on DVD!

VERTIGO is absolutely one of the very best films I've ever seen--a mesmerizing masterpiece about obsession that has the power to haunt its viewers for years to come. After seeing it, years later whole sequences will revive in the memory. Hitchcock also brilliantly explores the very nature of reality, and seems to ask the question, "Do we ever truly know anyone?" Kim Novak and James Stewart are both brilliant in the film.VERTIGO is also one of the most aesthetically beautiful movies ever made.

I have loved this movie since I first .saw it while I was in the 8th grade.The Miracle Worker is a shatteringly emotional experience and has been extremely inspirational and influencial in my own life . Why wasn't this film on the AFI 100 best list? It is a genuine classic that I love very much. Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke are marvelous in the roles of Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller,and certainly deserved the Oscars they won for these roles. I think I learned more about my profession of teaching than in all the college courses I took on the subject, and I think seeing this film at such a young age made me want to be a teacher. This is a film that I cherish.

I recently watched this classic after not having seen it for many years and I can only say that Judy Garland gives here one of the greatest performances ever put on film. It is a travesty that she didn't win that Academy Award for it. James Mason is also brilliant, giving surprising depth and poignancy to a role that could have been flat and shallow.The two stars have a remarkable chemistry. The sequence with "The Man that Got Away" is magnificent, and must surely be one of the great moments in movie history.Wonderful!!

To me this film ranks right up there with The Innocents as one of the very best ghost stories ever made. The surprise ending really IS a surprise, and works even better on multiple viewings. I think that this film really is about the profound human need for communication, connection, and most of all for compassion. The Sixth Sense transcends its genre, as do most classics, and I do think that this one is going to a classic. Bruce Willis proves once again that he can act, despite what his detractors would have us believe. Haley Joel Osment-- in one of the truly great child performances-- is wonderful. Bravo! This film should have won the Oscar instead of American Beauty.

Vivien Leigh plays the aging, isolated Mrs. Stone with a tragic grace and beauty that only she could bring to this exquisite, lyrical film of Tennessee Williams' haunting tale of the human need of permanence in a transitory world. (I remember reading Williams' Memoirs in which he says that this was his favorite film made from his work.) It is only now that I've attained Mrs. Stone's age that I've really come to understand the "drifting" that is portrayed here. Lotte Lenya is also brilliant in the role of the Contessa.Lenya was nominated for the Academy Award as "Best Supporting Actress" for this role, and she should have won. She is unctuous, smarmy, and brilliant. Vivien Leigh should also have been nominated, for her alienated, unfulfilled, sad ex-star. She gave another excellent performance-- an interesting bookend to her magnificent Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire, the other of Tennessee Williams' "lost" ladies she immortalized on the screen.

There are scenes from this movie that have been burned into my memory for years-- Anne Bancroft being accosted a crazed and lonely housewife while in a beauty parlor, her nervous breakdown in the middle of Harrod's in London, James Mason revealing her husband's infidelity to her cruelly while having tea at the zoo-- The Pumpkin Eater is one of my favorite movies. Anne Bancroft never gave a better performance-- she is startlingly good-- plus the excellent Harold Pinter screenplay and the brilliant direction of Jack Clayton-- this film is an eloquent essay on isolation and emptiness among other things. I recommend this film to all serious students of acting, writing, and directing. What a brilliant performance by the great Anne Bancroft. She won many awards for inc,, and should have won the Oscar Award also.

There seems to be a lot of controversy about this film in these comments. This is my opinion. This film is brilliant. Fine acting, wonderful directing, interesting camera angles and lighting lush settings, mesmerizing music, serpentine plot - this is a haunting film, with profound comments about the human need for identity and community. This film gave me new respect for both the director, Minghella and actor, Damon. Mr. Ripley is an interesting character with whom we identify in his isolation and desperation and frustration with being one of society's pariahs which makes him also disturbing, since he is a serial killer. Suffice it to say, the film is a cautionary tale about accepting yourself for who you are which I find a haunting experience.

I first saw The Apartment as a pre-teenager, and I fell in love with this movie, seeing it again and again. I hadn't seen it for many years until recently, and I'm glad to report that it has remained as charming as always, and the social satire about corporate manipulation is as fresh as ever. Billy Wilder is a genius, and this is one of his best! Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine were never better. Jack Lemmon has just enough naiveté that he can make pimping for his bosses seem innocent, and the audience can understand how a decent hardworking Everyman could get involved in the corporate sleaze. Shirley MacLaine is brilliant, realizing that "she's getting took, and there's nothing she can do about it." The screenplay is caustic, yet charmingly warmhearted, and extremely wise. Nearly fifty years have not diminished The Apartment's luster. Rather, it makes most modern satirical comedy-dramas suffer in comparison. It is a masterpiece.