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mikenaughton1949
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My Favorite Year (1982)
Excellent cast, writing and viewpoint.
This is one of the funniest movies of time for me.
Hey "Somebody Stole My Gal!"
50's TV treated with reverence and style. Love it.
The Post (2017)
Powerful film about the importance of the 1st amendment
I see that the Trumpsters are rushing to diss this movie; apparently having not lived through the events depicted, or having swallowed current right-wing myths hook, line and sinker. Never mind, they are the minority and are completely unconcerned that their man continues to spout hate, vulgarities and nonsense. The movie is well-acted, fast-paced and completely truthful -- take it from those of us who were around at the time. The 1st amendment is the FIRST amendment for a reason; to protect us from corruption and lies in government. This is the beating heart of this wonderful film. Hanks and Streep are completely believable, and Bob Odenkirk's performance is particularly compelling.
Star Trek: Horizon (2016)
Quality work makes this Fan film very watchable.
I was ready to stop watching this Star Trek fan film from some of the reviews I read. I suggest giving this film a chance. The pacing, attention to detail, and technical film-making ability made the 101 minutes of this film go by pretty quickly. I found myself enjoying the acting of these people. It is sometimes more interesting to have people who look like "regular" folk tell us the story, which in this case was a good story with some weight to it. It was all put together with a good eye.
I recommend this film. The makers should be proud of their work.
The Family Man (2000)
A wonderful life possibility
This is one of the movies I watch at Christmastime. This year I seemed to get it more. And I thought Nick Cage did a great job. I am glad we have Tea Leoni on film in a good movie. She makes one understand the word wife in a more attractive physical way than we usually get in a movie. There were several moments that I considered writing about. Don Cheadle made his character completely real, a necessary task in this kind of movie. (When one wants a powerful and true performance of a character who can do better than Morgan Freeman, Don Cheadle and Denzil Washington. I guess we live in a time when such a statement is thought to come from some personal agenda. It doesn't; this just seemed like a obvious thought last night as I watched Don Cheadle. Anyway...)
Annie (the daughter) is crucial to the accepting of the basic "replacement daddy" plot. And she makes it work.
I think watching this movie is the only way to get what the performers and creators achieved. Might do it again tonight. (BTW: The commentaries are very good; however the Director commentary needed the movie volume raised whenever commentators weren't discussing.)
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982)
For me, the best of Woody Allen's films.
This movie makes me happy. The humor seems not at all forced as I feel it sometimes is in Woody Allen movies. The battles of all the participants is fun to watch. It is set in the time of early Freud, and everyone displays their inner turmoils in various and entertaining ways.
I have read several of viewer's reviews and I would recommend reading them. I will not do a synopsis nor a paraphrased review.
I just watched this film's ending again and the slowly rising, bubbling "firefly" joyful ending is one that sends me from the viewing room out into real life with a renewed interest in things (aka "Stuff").
Movies are cool.
D.A.R.Y.L. (1985)
It's about home and hearth and happiness.
A couple of minutes into D.A.R.Y.L. the gentle musical theme by Marvin Hamlisch sets the mood very well. This movie shows us an America that many of us know. Neighborhoods and friendship and family. Except for the increased technology (vital to the story's plot) this could be set in the 50's or the 30's, or any time. Barret Oliver plays the role with a straight-forward, eyes open quality. His character understands that the needs of those around him must be understood. His friend Turtle helps him in this. The acting by the children is fun to watch because it seems real. The adults are also very good in their parts.
I could criticize minor plot points, but I think that would only take attention away from a film that might bring value to viewers. I think one can emerge from this film with more than just "warm and fuzzy" feelings. There are things to be considered that might find their way into jaded "modern" minds.
The movie finishes with a boy running into the arms of home. And the song that plays is perfect.
Samson and Delilah (1949)
The Hulk of that era
I have read several reviews here about this C.B. DeMille picture and I concur with many of the assertions. George Saunders was excellent in his portrayal. Interesting that he tended to slump a bit; I noticed this because his physical presence seemed to be potentially equal to Victor Mature's. I enjoyed Victor Mature in this role although his character really did not seem to be that interested in the beauty of Delilah. I think the camera and the audience did notice Hedy Lamar. The rhythm and cadence of her speech seemed to have been dictated noticeably by her Austrian origins. I always found her to be part of each scene; I believed her character. I think if Hedy had been 10 years younger and brought to Hollywood in the silent era she would have been a major star. She knew how to move, and how to hold a position. Her image was sexual. Just watch her in each scene. She is very beautiful. And she is direct. Angela Lansbury looks quite amazing as well. And Angela shows what a fine actress she is and will be for many years. But Hedy is where is the camera is happiest looking.
As I watched this film I thought of how slow the development of man's potential was moving. At the start of the film we hear about the struggle of the Jewish people. And I thought of how life looked the same in 1500 B.C. (10 commandments era) and 1000 B.C.(the time of this film) and even 1000 A.D. (!) No new ideas had helped the ascent of man begin to find its ever-present potential. Without going into all the various ologies, itys and isms I would just say that Samson was his era's version of the Hulk. Stories to be told around campfires to encourage, entertain and inspire.
Leave Her to Heaven (1945)
Leave Her To Heaven (so Richard Harland can find his "heaven" on earth).
I have always enjoyed this movie. The technical and production values are very good. The New Mexico home and "Back of the Moon" cabin locations are beautiful. The train sequence captures well the look and colors of the era.
I liked the pacing. The melodramatic story was told very cleanly with no "treacly" moments. I thought Jeanne Crain was just right in her figure of a girl of depth who had no need to be noticed as such. And Gene Tierney just continued her mastery of roles of strong and complicated women. "The Razor's Edge" and "Leave Her To Heaven" were similar types who became real when Tierney's beauty and sense of character were on view. I like Cornel Wilde in the film. I do think Dana Andrews would have been a better choice. There was always a feeling that Dana Andrews' characters could see more of what was going on in a situation than the other characters. He always seemed like an "author" type to me. He seemed to be seeing without response, or judgment. It was about this time that he did "The Best Years Of Our Lives". He is very powerful in that film. Dana Andrews gives the appearance of a man who can surmount problems.
I found the demographics of the IMDb raters of this movie interesting.
Man of Steel (2013)
A fine looking movie whose problems escalate and remove believability. (for me)
I went into this movie hoping that the messianic junk would not be there. It was there in abundance. We seem to be stuck in a groove. A one-way narrow groove.
I wasn't exactly hoping for a contemplative, neurotic, Nietzschean hero. But I was hoping we could have an actual hero who was a Superman among Women and Men. A society of individuals who were only lesser because Kal-El was born where a different sun allowed his body to become more physically powerful on the planet Earth. (A notion that works in Sci-Fi but bears no resemblance to life whatsoever. Yes, I know: it is a movie.)
But, I did want to be able to believe in the journey this man would have in finding his place in society. And I am very, very tired of our single, solitary idea about what constitutes man's journey.
That said: I liked all the actors. I liked the action (mostly). Although it seems a bit hypocritical to make a big deal about Superman killing Zod with a twist of his arm when the last twenty minutes had seen a blood bath of epic proportions. (I assume there were people in those falling skyscrapers and on those streets.) And when it comes to intending to harm each other Superguy and Badguy weren't exactly holding back their fisticuffs.
Could there be a Superman who defuses the problems human beings actually face? Could he fly to Africa and free the girls kidnapped and abused by mindless bands of bad guys? Could he take on the muscular powers who destroy nations and slaughter innocents in the name of their particular belief system? And causing further harm to those who are sullied by the profane use of that belief. Perhaps we seek shelter in our theaters because of these true active illnesses in our present day, headline shouting reality. (You know, I think it would be really healthy if Ethan Hunt (Another more accessible superman) would take on a mission that might a little more closely resemble reality.)
And that is what I have always hoped for with the Superman franchise(s). The first Christopher Reeve Superman started out so well I thought. The beginning bucolic portion of that film seemed to be a different movie from the superficial cartoon Metropolis section that followed. I like both parts, but I thought the beginning had a sincerity and sense of reality that was lost in the "grown-up" part.
I remember reading Superman comics in the 60's. I still wish the story of Jonathan and Martha Kent and their adopted son could be told so that it seemed to be real. I still think it can be done. I still think it can be entertaining without destroying countless innocent lives. I think there are ways of entertainment that could be achieved; and probably found to be more enjoyable. Maybe we can get it right when we make Superwoman.
Mr. Pip (2012)
A very good movie that displayed the stupid realities of our backward world
I have to say at the beginning of this that I was unable to understand some of the dialog and lost parts of the story at times. And I must also say that when it became apparent that we were witnessing the exact same scenarios that we see played out in our evening news coverages of how bullies with weapons can do whatever they want to do I became less interested. (And, the careless and unintelligently provocative behavior by Mr Watts in the face of mindless malevolence seemed more aimed toward "point making" than realism and sense. But that is my POV.)
I do suppose that makes me rather superficial. And I do wonder if the way we might actually stop the many injustices wrought by visceral, knee-jerk, gun-toting, undereducated and over-stimulated para-military types is by watching their acts of desensitizing brutalities. But no, I think we then become part of their sickness. There is a part of me that disagrees with my squeamishness. I remember seeing a movie called Africa Addio when I was young. I was a senior in High School and some friends and I went to a drive-in to see this along with Mondo Cane. Mondo Cano (World gone to the dogs) was moving. Africa Addio was nightmarish. Human beings were cold and cruel, and it was real. It was a documentary. We saw things that were removed from our evening news programs.
I have to mention how riveting the presence of Xzannjah Matsi as Matilda is in this film. We see more in the goings on by watching her face than if we turned the camera around and watched for ourselves. And she did not use histrionics to display her thoughts and feelings. Her eyes absorbed the scenes and we felt the atrocities like a blow to the most vulnerable parts of ourselves. Hugh Laurie was excellent as well. Healesville Joel as Matilda's mother Dolores pulled my emotions in several directions. The actress was very powerful. Early on in the story Dolores expresses the idea that a belief in a structured theology is necessary in order to know right from wrong. And she implies that to see evil as a metaphor also evil. Kind of puts the act of thinking into an impossible position to exist or function at all. Superstition and fear seem to rule her reasoning mind. We find later that she is a woman of tremendous courage. Both she, Tom Watts and a little boy "poked the bear in the eye" and the lives of others lost the daily benefit of their presence. Probably a greater loss than the impact of their sacrifice.
I won't speak more of this movie. It is probably better rated at 8 than the 5 I gave it. I have to rate as I feel after I see a film. I recommend this movie but I think we need to be careful of damaging our view of mankind too much. That is the game of those who want us to play out their sad, sick scenarios of dehumanization. They want to enlist our interest and engage our fear.
Luce dei miei occhi (2001)
A well made film that makes change in life seem possible.
I will not completely summarize the plot since so many have done this well in these reviews. And although I clicked the spoiler alert I prefer not to spoil the movie's resolution.
The main character is a man who we slowly learn has known loneliness and abandonment in his life. From Antonio's cheery, direct face as he relates to others we might not know that he is in need of another person. He meets Maria and we begin to see Antonio coming to the surface. At first he relates to us, the audience, through the persona of a science fiction character named Morgan. He finds it easier to explain his feelings of detachment through the fictionalized concept of being an alien on another planet. At first I actually found this to be off-putting. But it works. And his feet finally do find the ground. The point that I found to be the most telling about him and about the raison d'etre of the plot came about near the end as Antonio spoke with his employer about the duties of a chauffeur. Knowing when to speak was the number one ability. But secondly Antonio mentioned that in difficult situations he should find a way out. "There's always a solution" he concluded. That gave me his personality. He focuses on fixing. That is the direction he moves in.
I enjoyed the way the story was told. There were times that the camera would follow someone outside the story, and we would notice that Antonio watched life seemingly from actual interest. If we were to project what Antonio might do when he "grows up" it would probably be as a writer, or a filmmaker.
The acting and direction were excellent. The script was real, and spare. These seemed like real people. One of the reviews here criticizes the ending as though it didn't follow the course we expected. I can see why a viewer might feel this way. But endings can be beginnings. It does seem that the term "realism" implies a less than happy ending. With the huge popularity of dystopian prognostications in film I can understand why most people prefer a jaded POV.
I cannot think of a film that supposes the future as an extension of the things that work well in society.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
A great movie
I really enjoyed this movie. The soundtrack was cool, surprising and unique. I was glad that the songs that Peter listened to weren't there just there to punch up a scene. I might have chosen different songs but these songs were perfect. And Chris Pratt's Peter is such a contemporary and real guy that no matter how odd situations became his reactions and utterances made everything seem plausible. I only had a quibble with the narrow, metaphorical background which seems to be a constant in most super hero films. I won't go into details here, just suffice it to say that when I saw Chris Pratt's other film, "The Lego Movie", I was encouraged to see the idea of "the one" relegated to the position of nonsense. I loved it when Morgan Freeman's "wise man" states that the reason that his prophesy is true is based on the fact that "it rhymes". Back to "Guardians ...": The plot and script were solid. The graphics were just amazing. I watched the 3D version and it is excellent. I always feel like 2D films are really missing something after a good 3D viewing. And this 3D film is superb.
I do think that we are on some strange path of always having to "one up" the mayhem levels of previous films. And I think that it does not make the drama more effective to continually raise the body count. What is our intent in making films? I think we could make better films with less mindless darkness. Zombies and vampires and fears. Oh my.
Pompeii (2014)
This is not a good movie
I wanted to enjoy the geological pyrotechnics and hoped the plot would not be too awful. I was hoping that such things as clichéd characters and heavy usage of writer's devices would not be too apparent or off-putting. I lost hope and did not regain it even after the volcano took over and became the main event. The finale does have a sense of beauty in the image we are left to view.
There is some enjoyment in the Keifer Sutherland portrayal. At one point I almost expected Keifer to spin around and do a pirouette after delivering a pique-filled pronouncement.
Another reviewer here wrote Carrie Anne Moss and Keifer Sutherland have better films to show their abilities. I would agree.
This film could have been better. A new script would have been a big help.
September 2015 update: I can buy the 3D version for $9. 3D. $9. hmmm. I really like 3D. Quandary.
Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia (2006)
Beautiful to look at.
Yes, this is a visually beautiful film. The manipulations of the entitled classes is the main plot point.
The ending is not at all positive or happy. I know life is not always pleasant, but it is amazing to realize how much of life's unhappiness is artificially caused by those in power. To me the bad guy in this drama is merely an *******. Same as Henry the 8th and all those who abuse power.
I was disappointed in this movie, but I can see how others might find it a beautiful, even a great film. I have another kind of movie that I would like to make.