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rlong7246
Reviews
Land Girls (2009)
The Ahistoric Historians
The series is well acted. The complaint here about "cliches" is itself one. Look up the history and look it up from first-person, eye-witness research. The events are based on real-life experiences and the protagonists being women should not frighten away legitimate historians who understand the time period and the sacrifices British women had to endure. The shape of the events are far closer to real history than some of the bleating-heart (not a typo) critics imagine. Yes, it is a soap opera. That was a given, by the way, to anyone who started watching it. But the position of women in Britain during the war and the dynamics that could and did occur are a part of history that also shapes the future for that society. For that focus, alone the series deserves respect.
If the negative critics of this series are Americans, they can be forgiven for their ignorance. If the critics are British, they can only be apologists for the behavior of officials who had totally lost their moral bearings.
The Edge of Seventeen (2016)
Edge of Seventeen
When you think about the history of coming-of-age.movies in the 50s and 60s, like Rebel Without a Cause or the Graduate, you could get the sense that only boys, somehow, went through angst in their teenage years.That had changed by the 80s with Breakfast Club, but still, this 2016 component of the genre featuring a teenage girl, Edge of Seventeen, kicks the concept up a notch. Here the focus is honed in on a person with an outsider's sense of not belonging, and yet clearly painted as someone with a distinct and agile personality. Hailee Steinfeld lights up this movie and so do the whole cast. The writing is sharp and sensitive to the time, and also keeps the viewer engaged with the characters without letting any of them slip into afterthoughts.
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
The struggles of three American servicemen returning from WWII.
The stories of American combatants under the psychological stress of returning from World War II is often left out of the narrative of American participation in the conflict. Here Wyler strikes an incredible tone that is full of angst and yet lives in periods of silence, handled brilliantly by a group of actors who play their roles authentically from the heart. In particular, Frederick March allows a sensitive script to shine through his portrayal of a successful businessman whose war experiences end up altering his life's priorities. Teresa Wright, Dana Andrews, Harold Russell, Cathy O'Donnell, Virginia Mayo (in one of her best performances), and Myrna Loy round off a cast clearly dedicated to bringing alive Wyler's concept.
On the Beach (1959)
still relevant
I am afraid the previous reviewer was a little premature with his suggestion that the premise of the movie turned out false. That, frankly, is still an open question. True, the human race seemed to have dodged the nuclear bullet with the end of the cold war, but the chances are even greater now than then, in fact, that miscalculations could bring an ending not too dissimilar from Shute's book. Both the United Sates and Russia have more nuclear weapons and more powerful delivery systems by far than in 1959, even with treaties and the dismantling of stockpiles. And instead of it being only the US, Britain, France and Russia, there are now four other nations with nuclear weapons and even less secure systems to protect against mistakes. I wouldn't count out the possibility that the stupidity ingrained in some human animosities could still leave this planet unlivable.
The Freshman (1990)
Brando's role in this movie
Anyone who has seen Brando for years understands this. He finds the space in each role to try something totally unlike he has ever done. When you think about it, that is not easy for any actor. In fact, let's face it. Many actors make a career... making a career. They find one hook and take it to the bank for the rest of their lives.
Now no actor can completely move outside of himself or herself in every role. But what Brando has done in this movie defies imagination. He takes a role that assumes he must portray a direct caricature of his role in the Godfather and then does not merely caricature that role; he adds depth and nuance beyond what even that role allows for. This is spectacular acting. The end, in any comedy, tends to be predictable, of course, but the middle of this movie especially, as one reviewer notes here, the dormitory scene with Matthew Broderick, and an earlier scene where Brando sips espresso with Broderick and discusses his daughter, are the height of American acting. You may think you can't see them at times when he squints-but watch Brando's eyes in that scene.