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Reviews
Beach Rats (2017)
boring and aimless
Summary above actually needs no further elaboration, but I have to fulfill my IMDb 5 line minimum.
If the director wanted to show people who are boring and aimless then she succeeded in spades.
Having to sit through this movie with a story that does not engage you on any emotional level, full of unappealing characters who have nothing to offer, is about as exciting as watching paint dry and at least the color of the paint on my walls is appealing!
Beauty and the Beast (2017)
So much negativity, not that my opinion is more important, but ....
Whether you argue that Disney has run out of creative ideas or not this movie was totally enchanting and also a feast for the eyes with great SFX. Not a fan of the bombastic show tunes that musicals tend to nowadays, but I could live with it. Biggest surprise is what a great singing voice Luke Evans has. Get that man into a musical soon. Emma Watson sounded a lot like Anna Kendrick, but it seems she did her own singing.
Slander (1957)
surprisingly good little hidden treasure
Saw this on TCM yesterday (thank you TCM for unearthing so many great little unknown movies) and was riveted from beginning to end, all the more so, because it's suddenly so relevant with the whole News o/t World debacle going on at present. I liked the fact that the suspense hinged on an ethical dilemma and was excellently acted by all, even Van Johnson, who is one of my least favorite actors, was convincing. Impressive was Steve Cochran, whom so far I have only seen in "pretty boy" roles and proves to be an actor of a lot more depth and gravitas. I agree with some of the statements that the ending was rather melodramatic and for me rather unsatisfying the way it played out. I wanted to see our villain suffer much more for his misdeeds (or I would have given it a 10 out 10). Particularly noticeable was the very natural acting of the young actor, who played Van Johnson's & Ann Blyth's son, whereas most young actors of the old Hollywood days relied mostly on cute posturing and almost rote delivery of their lines. Catch it when it plays again on TCM
The King's Speech (2010)
regardless of our feelings about the monarchy .....
.... can we not just enjoy this film as a great character driven drama with great acting and sharp, witty dialog !!!!
As a Canadian I'm all for keeping the monarchy where it belongs, in the UK, and let them deal with it however they please. But because we are part of the commonwealth, the queen is considered our head of state and billions of taxpayers dollars are wasted to support the governor general as her representative in our country and a lieutenant governor for each province + all the royal visits we have to contend with. So do away with them I say (in a non-violent way of course). Unfortunately, like in Australia not too long ago, if a referendum were to be held, most would vote to hang on to them.
Having said that, for me this is the best movie I've seen this year. Immensely enjoyable and engaging on all emotional levels as a story of human beings, royal or not, dealing with hardships of sorts and overcoming them. Acted to perfection by each cast member, with dialog that was smart, literate, funny and moving.
Start preparing your speech for that Oscar, Colin (and any other actor in this film to be nominated) !!!!
In conclusion: down with the monarchy, up with The King's Speech !!!!
P.S. After reading up on the Windsors, what would make a really interesting movie is about his brother Prince George the duke of Kent: reputedly a bi-sexual, drug addict who was possibly murdered by the higher ups during WWII because of his nazi sympathies.
A Walk in the Spring Rain (1970)
"a fusion of Cape Fear and Deliverance": you've got to be kidding
The only "suspense" is whether Ingrid & Anthony will really hook up or not and be found out. The violence is the encounters between Anthony and his rebellious son, in the "I see .... you want to fight the old man eh" vein. It's more like a combo of The Bridges of Madison County and Li'l Abner, but infinitely worse ! Madison was more romantic and had better dialog and at least Li'l Abner had good tunes. Ingrid Bergman remains dignified throughout; Anthony Quinn is once again channeling Zorba, but with less gusto and a slow Appalachian drawl; Virginia Gregg as his wife, doing a bitter old Mammy Yokum impression, is the (unintended) comic relief, as is the"repartee" between the father and the rebellious son every time they meet. The only actor more or less perfect for the part is Fritz Weaver, a rather stodgy actor, in the type of part he often played in movies.
Not a film that anyone involved can be proud of.
Brick (2005)
this movie left me without a clue
I get all the film noir references and dialog, but am I so out of touch with the way young people talk nowadays that not only did I need a hearing aid, but also a translation for the dialog ? Plus in the end I have not been able to figure out what the hell the whole plot was about ! Those Bogie and Dick Powell movies that are being paid homage to, seem by comparison a lot less complicated ! Sorry, but this film was a huge disappointment and a waste of time if all I'm left with is wondering what it is that I just saw. I decided to watch this film based on the critical raves and my admiration for Joseph Gordon Levitt's acting, but it seems every review I read was in on some secret code that I could not unlock. Well at least Mr. Levitt's acting skills are still high in my esteem.