I agree with John Huston: This is the worst movie he ever helmed. Compare this to "The Treasure of Sierra Madre"...except you can't. Music by Dmitri Tiomkin and scenery earn three stars. I found the story to be so politically incorrect, and the hokey depiction (and vernacular) of the Just Plain Western Folk (hee-hawing and hanging mentally unbalanced people), so despicable, that this movie was almost unbearable to watch ... but I persisted just to see Lillian Gish chew the scenery and Burt Lancaster righteously bare his teeth. If these were all typical Westerners of the time, I'd rather identify with the Kiowa Indians (who seemed content to passively sit on their horses until someone shot them). In short, this film deserves consignment to the dustbin of really, really, really outdated movies.
Reviews
34 Reviews
Play Misty for Me
(1971)
Clint's directorial debut a HOOT!
30 April 2024
What I liked most about this movie was the strong female characters, especially the late Jessica Walter, who gives a magnificent performance as the psycho lady. Clint Eastwood mixes dread, horror and real thriller chops with moments of quiet and romance and music, so the viewer is not worn out by constant fear and violence, and the music choices are great. A few minor quibbles: too much time devoted to the jazz festival (but, hey, Clint likes jazz), and the fact Gaver and his girlfriend walk in the woods with coat and jacket on one minute, then make love in the woods stone-cold naked...but, I did enjoy that touching and tasteful scene nonetheless.
Ripley
(2024)
Beautiful, and kind of boring
21 April 2024
The cinematography is absolutely gorgeous, in moody black-and-white; and the use of sound and evocative (creepy, haunting) music is perfect. The acting is great: you can't take your eyes off of Andrew Scott and Johnny Flynn complements him wonderfully; and all the supporting and bit players are fine.... EXCEPT for "Freddie," who is just too creepy to convince anyone that he could possibly be a friend of Dickie's! I still like the Matt Damon movie better. For one thing, eight hours of Ripley is too much, and this version drags in parts (compensated by the cinematography). Matt Damon was a more convincing Ripley as a younger, less calculating sociopath. And the late Philip Seymour Hoffman as "Freddie" can never be topped; indeed, this "Ripley" version's Freddie apparently doesn't even try. 7 stars gets it for me....for a production of this length, I at least expect to see the characters eat a meal. (Apparently, they just survive on coffee and alcohol.)
May December
(2023)
I expected better
24 January 2024
Todd Haynes's movie "Carol" blew me away. Like that film, "May December" focuses on the "dark side" of relationships, but there's a flatness to the story arc that leads to boring viewing. The ominous music is annoying; it tells you right away that darkness lies at the heart of the story...but it becomes rather overbearing. I think the part Portman plays, of the actress exploring her subject (Moore) is pretty ridiculous. I can't imagine any real actor scraping away so hard at the psychology of their subject, even to the point of fantasizing things. Famously, when Dustin Hoffman got deep into his method acting while filming "Marathon Man," his co-star, Laurence Olivier, supposedly admonished him by saying, "My dear boy, why don't you try ACTING?"
Not better than the 1930 American version
10 December 2022
The battle scenes, blood and guts and mud and death, are as intense--if not more so--than the Normandy Beach scene in "Saving Private Ryan," so I have to laud this film for surpassing Spielberg's epic in that aspect. The acting is fine, the actor who plays Paul must've lost sleep due to the amount of terror he had to act out throughout the film. BUT, for sheer film virtuosity, the 1930 American film should be seen. More classic imagery in that version, though less graphic, perhaps, had more power to emotionally move the viewer, and its anticlimatic ending makes its antiwar statement in one of the finest scenes in cinematic history. What this German version leaves the viewer with is a queasy stomach from all its in-your-face realism. (Though that also makes a good antiwar statement. If you don't have the stomach to watch this war, you surely don't have the stomach to fight in a war.)
The Lost Daughter
(2021)
In your face, angst, and yawns
2 February 2022
I try to watch anything Olivia Colman stars in, but this time I had to stop watching midway through: Too boring (except when Ed Harris was onscreen), too much angst from all characters (I started developing an ulcer as I watched), and TOO much in-your-face closeups, as though the actors' expressions alone are meant to tell the story. I usually love "intimate" movies, but all the closeups in this one sent me off to watch "Terminator 2" instead. If you like constant angst, watch this...but it's been done much better by many other directors.
Fight Club
(1999)
Five stars for direction, sound
17 October 2021
You won't be bored watching this film, but you will be disgusted, repulsed and intellectually insulted. The movie runs at a fast clip, which is good because it's so overlong. Five stars means it's a waste of life, money, and talent....but it's just "artsy" enough, and boasts just enough star power, to keep you from wanting to shoot yourself by the end.
The Barefoot Contessa
(1954)
BORRRRRINGGGG!
21 September 2021
Ye Gods, how could a movie by Joseph Mankiewicz, starring Humphrey Bogart, be so borrrrinnnggg??? Trust me, it's boring. And kind of disgusting, with Edmund O'Brien sweating his way to an Oscar (unbelievable!) and Humphrey Bogart throwing cigarette butts all over the place, on every conceivable surface (if there was a scene in this movie with Bogart in a church, he'd have thrown a cigarette butt on its floor, too). Here's a film very dated, a melodrama unworthy of the talented actors who try their hardest to bring it to life.
Dick Johnson Is Dead
(2020)
Highly original, heart-warming
22 April 2021
I rated this an 8 because, while it's not the world's best documentary, it is completely original, and thought-provoking despite its seeming simplicity. You'll fall in love with Dick Johnson as soon as you meet him, with his childlike, wide-open smile and merry eyes. That love only deepens throughout this funny and awe-inspiring film (for me, especially in the sneak-peeks into the filmmaking process, including the practice of various stuntmen hired to simulate Dick's deaths). The use of color is also highly entertaining, and the voice-over narration by the filmmaker (Dick's daughter) is concise and intelligent without being condescending to the viewer or mawkish about her dread of her father's decline and eventual demise. This film asks viewers how we'll all cope with the passing of a beloved parent, and prepare for our own unknown end.
A Night to Remember
(1958)
Brilliantly filmed, acted, edited, scored
16 April 2021
One of the best films of all time. The story is brilliantly told through intelligent script, editing and acting, all conveying equal measures of human warmth, horror and tragedy. No phony love story necessary. Special effects are believable, with no CGI required (that option wasn't around back in the '50s). This is a deeply affecting film that will haunt viewers forever, just as the true story it tells does. Cinematography and musical score also brilliant. A true 10.
Behind Her Eyes
(2021)
Starts off hot...then it's not
9 March 2021
The series will grab you right away with interesting, beautiful characters well played by the actors, including a delightful child actor. The story engrosses you quickly...but then things get weird and confusing and you finally realize the story line is a mess, and trying to follow it gets exhausting. In the end, you can justify the hopeless inconsistencies because it's all just a fantasy, right?
I Care a Lot
(2020)
A big THANK-YOU to all the reviewers who panned this
1 March 2021
Thanks to reading the many retching reviews of this execrable movie, I didn't waste a minute of my life watching it. I gave it one star just for putting Peter Dinklage back in the movies, but I won't watch this film even to see him. I believe all you wonderful cinemaphiles out there who warned me not to watch this. The premise of the movie itself---elder abuse---in the context of "comedy" is something no one in their right mind could dream up (so, obviously, some prevert out there came up with the premise).
Fascinating police procedural
23 January 2021
Maybe because I lived on the East Coast, the terror that gripped California in the wake of the Night Stalker and Hillside Strangler cases (not to mention the Manson murders) largely escaped me at the time, when I was a naive and fearless young woman. This docuseries opened my eyes to the horror of this case as it played out among citizens, police and the detectives. I was fascinated with the detective/police work that went into this case in the days before DNA testing. This series is as chilling as interesting, and should be watched by adults only, in my estimation. Kudos to the producer/director for using actual footage to large extent, and less simulations with actors. Very good audio editing.
The Spy
(2019)
Sacha Baron Cohen's best
21 November 2020
Okay, my review title says it. Despite many other reviews here, I must say that although the story is told from the perspective of the Israeli spy mission and Eli Cohen's life as a spy for Israel, I did not feel that the story is overly "positive" about Israel and overly "negative" about Syria. Although in reality I am generally pro-Israel, I did not see the Mossad as "heroic" in this depiction, but rather as terrible in its own way for its cynicism and exploitation of its star spy. I also did not see the Syrians as depicted as "monsters" (although they did torture and hang political prisoners in public, which is indeed barbaric). I was left, after watching the series, with a great sadness over the human cost on all sides of the conflict. Cohen is superb in this, as are the supporting cast. My chief beef with the series is with the choice to have the actors use accents. When the entire cast speaks English, there is no need to affect accents, which are distracting and, in the case of some of the actors, rather bad.
Tell Me Who I Am
(2019)
A meditation in family dysfunction, horror, grief, the power of memory, and deep fraternal love
5 January 2020
An unusual documentary, based on a most unusual life of a man and his identical twin. It's a story that needs no fireworks or dramatizations to deeply move viewers, whether they come from a "dysfunctional" family or not. The power of this documentary rests completely on the stories these men tell each other and us.
The Two Popes
(2019)
Thank you Netflix
28 December 2019
Excellent movie for adults. I loved the writing, and both Hopkins and Pryce are terrific. I loved the subtle suggestions of moving forward the film's writer included: the early scene of the cardinals sitting together and a wind blowing through the chamber (a symbolic reference to the winds of change blowing through the Catholic Church); the modern health monitor encouraging the popes to "keep moving" (progression); the symbol of oregano as an herb fresh from the garden (new life, adding flavor to basic foodstuffs). For a very talky film, the filmmaker found ways to insert visual elements to accentuate the themes of growth and renewal in the Church.
Weirdest wild west movie Ford ever made
29 October 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I gave this a 7 based on terrific performances by Lee Marvin and---gasp!---little Strother Martin. The rest of this film, which I've see at least a half dozen times, is indescribably weird, most of all the casting... with OLD men Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne, both in their 50s, playing young men (not to mention the "kid" (O.Z. Whitehead, who was actually 51, and whose "dad" (Denver Pyle) was in reality 7 years younger. (And look at Pyle's makeup; you can see the obvious powdered, white hair and stage makeup lines on his forehead). Not only does Ford stretch credulity by casting aged actors in young roles, but the mix of comic touches by supporting actors blows gargantuan holes in the dramatic story arc (but in a strangely good way). The actors all apparently have only one suit of clothes apiece, and everybody constantly eats steak or drinks alcohol (in a very un-P.C. kind of way by today's standards). This movie just gets weirder and weirder every time I view it. And the punchline? "Print the legend." Well, Ford may have gotten that right, as today's politics would support. But, "Liberty Valence" is no legend (Ford's "Stage Coach" was); it's a bizarre dream John Ford woke up laughing from.
Cagney & Lacey
(1981–1988)
TV series proves Feminism = Humanism
5 August 2019
I was 29 when this show started; it dovetailed beautifully with my growing identification as a feminist at that time. Besides helping me to see women in an action series who were strong, positive role models, I could realistically identify with them as normal, conflicted human beings with foibles, families and everyday problems and concerns. Gless and Daley made their characters real people. The writing in this show was terrific. Right up there with the best TV series of all time.
Big Sonia
(2016)
Heart-warming and inspiring
1 July 2019
Not only the above, but an extremely well-crafted documentary, right down to the graphics, editing, sound, camera angles, etc. ... there is enough "action" and movement in this documentary (never mind the riveting pesonality of Sonia herself) to keep one from zoning out, as happens when docs are little more than a series of talking heads). As second-generation myself, I understood Sonia and her family's stories on a deep level, but I can see here how magnificently, through this documnetary, they can reach and touch so many others who know little of the Holocaust. I can't tell you what my favorite scene in this film was, because every minute was touching, entertaining, inspiring and deeply humanistic.
Narcos
(2015–2017)
Frightening, thrilling, fabulous
13 March 2019
This is the BEST series ever on Netflix. Engrossing, adrenaline-rousing action; absolutely believable and sometimes bone-chilling acting; great cinematography.... capped by a superb performance by Wagner Maura as Pablo Escobar. He aptly conveys the charisma that the real Escobar (not as good looking as Maura) must have exuded. This series will take you on a dark rollar-coaster ride that will leave you breathless to see the next episode.
A film that will suck you into a nightmare that really did come true
9 March 2019
Along with "Schindler's List," this is a stark, brutal re-enactment of actual events in possibly the most brutal and horrendous of all the concentration camps, Mauthausen. The film faithfully chronicles a true story... perhaps too faithfully for the faint of heart to watch. This finely acted film, which must have been excruciating for the actors to work on, is a must-see for its historical value, not for casual amusement (there's nothing amusing about sadism, unless you're a Nazi). The recreation of scenes the real photographer captured is amazing for their detailed accuracy, and the film brilliantly brings the images, originally captured in black and white, to life. I rated this film an "8", which I deem a very high rating, only because production values were not of top-notch calibre... but, then, they really didn't need to be for this film. The setting, along with the acting, was perfectly believable as is, and you'll be sucked into a nightmare as soon as the film begins... and stay there until the last few minutes. That alone makes this film a huge success.
Lorena
(2019)
Excruciating, redemptive, fascinating look back at a pivot point in America's conscience
24 February 2019
I rated this documentary high because, technically, it's editing was so well done; by choice of editing certain scenes, juxtaposing spoken words with focus on different people and actions, the viewer could glean so much more of what was left unsaid and implied. When this incident actually occurred in the '90s, I gave it only my cursory attention, since I've never been a "tabloid" follower. But, the filmmaker recreates here the era, including the politically vacuous attitude toward women's issues even after the "Second Wave" of feminism was winding down, and the ultimate resiliance of Lorena Bobbitt that brought her to reclaim a life beyond being a tabloid joke. This is an important film. I am in awe of the filmmaker for having the inspiration and guts to make it. In this era of #MeToo, this should be required viewing in all high schools.
Hostiles
(2017)
Not even Christian Bale could save this one
5 January 2019
Warning: Spoilers
This film is not just "slow," it's downright soporific. Bale is fine, and at least his character develops an arc of emotion and growth. But... it takes way too much screen time to get there n film. Wes Studi and Adam Beach are wasted; the filmmaker could have gotten much cheaper actors for their parts. Heck... Studi doesn't even get to play a great death scene. The guy was completely robbed. For my money, I'll watch "Stagecoach" for the 100th time.
Three Identical Strangers
(2018)
Before the dawn of medical ethics
19 August 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Just saw this remarkable, important documentary, which, as a film, was superbly and sensitively directed and edited. As always for me, after I've seen a film this moving and provocative, I emerged from the theater unable to return to "normal" life for hours, instead being absorbed in thought and a review of my own life... that's how powerful this film is. I am struck by how the incredibly unethical "research" behind this story echoes such other research and medical practices that have preceded our present day, e.g., the Tuskegee syphilis study, the widespread use of HeLa cells and other tissue biopsy samples taken from unwitting patients and their families, the CIA's study of LSD for mind control purposes. I am taking a wild guess that the Dr. Neuberger who conducted the research study of the twins---right here in the U.S., not Nazi Germany--was inspired (perhaps unconsciously) by the "medical" experiments conducted on twins by the Nazi doctor, Josef Mengele. Dr. Neuberger, himself a Jew who escaped the fate of so many other Jews in the Nazi era, perhaps suffered from some form of Stockholm Syndrome, that is, he actually seemed to have been enthralled with the implications of research using identical twins the same way Mengele was, even if his motives seemed more benign and well meaning. The questions behind Neuberger's motives--and how a powerful Jewish institution supposedly devoted to children and families could abet him in his bizarre experiment--boggles the mind. I can not help but see a long-term infection from the collective trauma of the Holocaust as some explanation for why a respected and revered psychologist would, in turn, inflict his own antiseptic brand of horror on innocent children and their families in the footsteps of one of the most insane and sadistic Nazis in history.
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