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cannonball66
Reviews
The Deer Hunter (1978)
Just Too Slow
It took me far too long to see this movie, and I am glad I finally did. I love the minimalist approach to the first hour of the movie before they go off to war. And I am a patient viewer - I don't need a plot to keep advancing at a rapid pace, I can appreciate a great character study. But even by those standards, this movie is just too darn slow in 2010. I would have given this a 9 or 9.5 if it had been 2 hours. In fact, I'd love to see it edited down to 2 hours just see what it would feel like. Honestly, I'm writing this review before I've even seen the entire movie - I am about 20 minutes into the war segment...but I'm at a point where I just can't take the slow pace anymore. Is this an American Classic? Sure, it probably is - but when directors get gratuitous with the length of their movies because they just don't feel they can cut anything out - well, that's just hubris. Walken is great in this movie though, even with all his verbal ticks that continue throughout the rest of his career, he's better than DeNiro in this. You can see how DeNiro patterns his later roles after his earlier ones - I'm seeing a DeNiro I've seen many times later in his career here. Cazale is great. The rest are adequate. Could always use some more of Meryl Streep back in the day - she is just radiant here.
The Family Stone (2005)
A Horrible Viewing Experience
It's been quite a while since I've been moved to comment on a film here, and that should say enough right there. One of the worst movie experiences I've ever had. I can't believe drivel like this gets produced. SJP is terrible. Another actress may have been able to salvage this, but she probably would have needed to bring her favorite writer! Why any of these actors took on this script amazes me. Diane Keaton's character is unbelievable in a sense that I have never met a mother with such lousy character. The ridiculous plot that unfolds doesn't even bother me as much as the premise. From minute one, the SJP character is unlikable...then she encounters a family that is worse! By the time they sit down for Christmas Eve dinner, I am squirming in my seat, only to be topped by the most uncomfortable dialog one could imagine - trite, silly, moronic, painful, pathetic, you name it. Just not plausible or remotely enjoyable. At this point I wished they would all go away, separating themselves from each other forever. Except for Luke Wilson's character, your typical Luke character, he is the only moment of light in the film. Even Claire Danes' character is a clichéd nuisance, but compared to the rest, bearable. They should have re-wrote the entire script after casting and had Luke & Claire run off together away from these lousy people! (Craig T. Nelson can drive). The portrayal of the "oh so close" family as a suffocating one, is well, suffocating. The Family Stone makes one not want to have one!
Finder's Fee (2001)
Sock
To the person from Saskatchewan. "Would you put a (expletive) sock in it!" was what Palladino yelled. Heard it the first time and wasn't even paying attention that closely. Guess it got lost in the NYC/Regina translation. Although none of the 4 friends were raised anywhere remotely near NYC based on their generic handling of the dialog. Otherwise, my main problem with the flick is that Tepper should have made a much better effort to recover his girl's losing ticket. At least his ruse could have gone on longer. Since lots of people play the same numbers, he would have been smarter not to replace the ticket with another, but then again, we wouldn't have had a movie...
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
2 movies
Like many have said, it is basically two movies. A half hour into it I was disappointed it had taken me so long to watch it. The opening 10 minutes are outstanding. It was like a time warp back to Dogs/Pulp, but with Clooney in the mix. Tarantino's acting was once again painful however - it's bearable in Dogs/Pulp because it's kept to a minimum. But I can't stand his voice, delivery and chin. Clooney was great, although after a while his "lines" became a bit much. It was starting to feel like a profane trailer instead of a movie. I don't know if the subtlety needed to come from Clooney toning it down a little, or Tarantino writing something less corny. This would have been a keeper for me if Tarantino replaced himself with someone from his regular group like Buscemi, then chose to direct, and sh#tcanned the whole vampire bit. I'm not into vampire movies so I had no use for the last 50 minutes. Vampire fans will like this more than Dogs/Pulp fans. Overall, a bummer. I should have known there was a reason I never saw this before.
The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984)
Roberts is a killer
A lot of people have commented on Roberts' accent. I always find the accent discussion funny, because there really isn't one NY accent, nor is there one Italian-descent NY accent. There are always variations based on how your parents spoke, to education, etc...My thought on Roberts is that his performance is so overbearing and over the top that it makes the accent seem brutal. He was asked to play an annoying, luckless, idiot and just took it to the Nth degree. No one I've ever met is that annoying and still has people who want to spend time with them at the end of day. This happens too much in the formula - the "eternal loser" character is taken far too much to the extreme. To the point that you're just wishing someone would put them out of their misery. Roberts performance just becomes a variation of "Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son". PS - the ending is ridiculous in just about every way possible.
Laurel Canyon (2002)
Potential Unreached
Surprising that the direction is better than the writing. I would have thought it would have been the other way around for a writer/director effort. I guess the devil was in the details with this movie because as soon as Bale & Beckinsale (sounds like a singing duo!) meet his mother and the band at the house, you know where this movie is going. The film is named after a mythical place of American Pop Culture, and a straitlaced couple encounters somecreative bohemians. We can immediately guess where we're headed. Issues of fidelity & monogamy can be debated forever - but watching a flick where it is so clear after initial scenes that fidelity is neither respected, no will it be maintained for the rest of the movie made me kind of sad. It's hard to put a finger on it - you understand why Diane Lane pursues the path she does in "Unfaithful" and can appreciate the movie. But to watch Beckinsale's character cave to the greasy advances of a lead singer of a band so easily makes me wonder. Glad this is just a movie and not an accurate representation of how intelligent engaged people behave. The basic idea was great - elite east coasters transplanted to Hollywood Hills hedonism - but the story was not. Helping my vote is the cinematography - outstanding in many subtle ways.
The Cooler (2003)
Ice Cold
Great idea - awful ending - ultimately I was very disappointed. I will give it another chance, but this failed the "likeability" test for me. I love a good bad guy, but Baldwin's character just had no redeeming qualities. I wouldn't have minded the ending so much if they could have at least shot the cop standing out in the road before he got hit. The way it was shot was physically impossible, stupid looking, and was resolved to quickly. Macy shouting "it was a drunk driver" a split second after looking in the offender's car was just such a quick resolution to a plodding film - it couldn't have hurt to extend to end with he and Bello another minute or two. PS - Bello is gorgeous and its sad we don't see her more - her performance was a reason to keep watching. "Likeability" is never an issue with her!
Along Came Polly (2004)
Hoffman Priceless
After hearing the tepid reviews when this came out, I was not eager to catch it. I was pleasantly surprised after watching it on cable. It was no worse than a lot of other Stiller misses, and not that far behind some of his best. Phillip Seymour Hoffman takes the cake however, stealing most scenes he is in. Any basketball fan will be in hysterics at Hoffman's interpretation of a "playground legend". It's so enjoyable when a great actor isn't afraid to take chances and show us his range. In several of his dramas I haven't enjoyed his performances - 25th Hour comes to mind. He should think about doing a comedy once and a while - he could give us a lot of laughs!
The Comancheros (1961)
Monsieur
There should be a drinking game for every time John Wayne says "Monsieur". It gets a little tedious! Completely teased by an earlier post - Ina Balin's headlights were a little disappointing (but still good - I wish she was in more films - a true beauty). All in all, entertaining fare but not nearly one of the Duke's best, although it was great to see him in such a great mood that came across in his performance. Also not a great way to got out for Michael Curtiz - the prolonged shootout with the Comancheros early in the film was just ridiculous - I've never seen such amazing shooting. In addition, the scene where Balin and the Duke talk on the hill that was shot in a studio looks horrible - a sloppy decision to add it instead of whatever was shot on location - even if the scene helped advance the plot. Just watched "Chisum" last week - check that one out, it's a little better!