diana-2 Reviews

Downton Abbey (2010–2015)

The UK version is better than the American version!

[8/10 · 10 December 2012]

Of course I am hooked on this show, as are so many others...but I have found some of the episodes to be a bit ridiculous.

However, I find that the UK version makes much more sense. And some of the hokey bits are absent in this version. I won't go into detail since I don't want to spoil things for others, so I'll leave it there.

The series does not accurately reflect the customs and mores of the period, yet I find it satisfying to watch. It just annoys me that they purport to be so accurate to the times, and yet I find it definitely inaccurate. Doesn't the Earl ever go to the House of Lords? He seems never to leave the house! Somehow they are all surprisingly modern, which seems odd since the peerage has usually been the last to succumb to modernity.

Anyhow...I recommend the UK version!

Possessed (1931)

Joan Crawford sings!!!

[22 August 2011]

Has anyone really noticed that Joan Crawford sings in this movie??? And she's really pretty good! I have to admit that I like Joan Crawford movies...even the bad ones. But to see her sing!!! You have to hand it to her, she really did work very hard to make herself into Joan Crawford... And she sings in English, French AND German!!! Quite a nice little movie here.... Clark Gable is gorgeous and luscious of course, and there are a bunch of supporting players who really became quite famous back then.

I love old movies!! A good story with interesting characters and beautiful mise-en-scene.

Try it! You'll like it! And it's worth it just to see Joan Crawford sing!

My Darling Clementine (1946)

Best Hamlet's Soliloquy

[9/10 · 20 September 2010]

This beautiful movie actually has two versions...one with a different opening. However, we never see that one for some reason.

All other things aside, the loveliest thing in this movie is Hamlet's famous soliloquy delivered by Alan Mowbray who has a bit part as an actor traveling through the west delivering Shakespearean speeches.

This is actually the most affecting, clearly delivered and thoughtful version I have ever heard of this speech, which almost everyone will recognize. Hamlet's dilemma is universal....

One has to wonder what it would have been like if John Ford had directed the actual play "Hamlet". I'm willing to bet it would have been a knockout!

June Bride (1948)

No chemistry and they're both too old

[7/10 · 13 June 2010]

Robert Montgomery is not my favorite, but he does hold up his end in this film. The script is well-written, but the two stars have zero chemistry and Bette Davis appears ill, tired and disinterested in this part. She is noticeably thin and perhaps she was really ill. In any case, they are both too old for their roles.

What saves this movie is the well-written script and Tom Tully's outdoor cider jug! Of course, any movie with Bette Davis is worth watching, and this one is no exception. I don't think comedy is really her forte anyway, and her performance and characterization strongly remind me of "The Man Who Came To Dinner" done several years before this one. That one, of course, is much better-written, and it puts Bette's character in a supporting role and makes more sense of her romantic situation. Even in 1950, would a successful magazine editor give up everything for a husband without a job?

Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King: Battleground (2006) Season 1, Episode 1

Some of the best TV I've ever seen

[8/10 · 26 February 2010]

No dialogue and no commercial interruptions... How much better can it get?! This was some of the best TV I have ever seen! I was wowed by the suspense, William Hurt's presence and the fascinating toy soldiers.

William Hurt has aged and I couldn't take my eyes off him. His face was an enigma itself. He's a hardened hit-man who has to outsmart some tiny, but committed adversaries, and one just can't figure out how it will end up.

The most amazing part was watching a TV show with no dialogue! All action! William Hurt, fine actor that he is, is just the perfect choice for such a difficult role.

I wish there were more shows like this, but, sadly, there haven't been. Thank you, Stephen King!

But all I can say is thank goodness William Hurt is back!

BTW, his IMDb biography is missing all the interesting parts of his life. I heard him on a radio interview the other day, and I think his life story would make one hell of a book! He was reticent to talk about himself but what did come out was FASCINATING!

Give us more, Bill!

The Stratton Story (1949)

Does anyone notice that Stewart "bends" his prosthetic leg?

[7/10 · 22 February 2010]

Don't get me wrong...I like this movie a lot.

But having watched it several times over the years, I never could figure out which leg was amputated and whether it was above or below the knee. Being in the medical field, I am interested in these things...

The reason I can't tell is that after the accident, Stewart bends his knees when he walks, even though he is supposed to have an above-knee amputation. And he does this throughout the last part of the movie...

Let's face it...Jimmy Stewart is so highly regarded that he got away with this. Even the director let this go? Still in all it's a wonderful cast and a nicely-paced story and I do really like this movie! It doesn't really matter what the adversity is, it's the fact that he goes on with his life and tries to get back to baseball. I came away with Agnes Moorehead's line...something like "Monty just seems to be able to figure things out. He's always been that way..." and I'm trying to be that way myself! Ya gotta roll with the punches....

Dragon Seed (1944)

note to "Old Soldier" other reviewer

[6/10 · 29 July 2009]

Just one correction. The Japanese did not surrender unconditionally. We accepted a conditional surrender because Russia declared war on Japan in August 1945 and would have taken it over if we had not accepted their surrender and occupied Japan.

A little-known fact, I'm afraid. If it had been an unconditional surrender, Emperor Hirohito would have been tried as a war criminal.

Most people think that Japan surrendered unconditionally, due to atomic bombs, but they did not.

As far as the movie is concerned, I've never found this movie to be very interesting. It makes too much of the Chinese resistance without showing much of what they did. The movie is too "talky". Katharine Hepburn is totally miscast and looks foolish.

All My Sons (1948)

who was really to blame?

[8/10 · 15 June 2008]

I saw this movie today for the umpteenth time and it finally occurred to me... Weren't both men to blame? Wasn't Herbert Deever really just as guilty as Joe Keller? No matter who "says" they are responsible, anyone involved in knowingly shipping faulty parts that could kill people is responsible. Deever shouldn't have sent them out, no matter what he was told. Isn't that what all those Nazis claimed when asked how they could commit so many atrocities? "I was just taking orders." That doesn't wash with me or with most people. We all have a responsibility to follow our own consciences with regard to right and wrong.

They were both guilty....

It's a wonderful story and very well performed and written, but that fact remains to be discussed.

The Queen (2006)

Great movie for what it is....

[7/10 · 15 May 2007]

Helen Mirren is absolutely superb. Let's just get that out of the way. But this movie sort of skims over the truth of the situation the Royals experienced with Diana. And it also skims over the truth about the Royals themselves.

First of all, I was truly upset to see the Queen and Prince Philip sharing the same bed. That is patently ridiculous, and it seemed to me that this was an embarrassingly glaring untruth known to all those involved in the movie. Everyone knows that that particular royal couple does NOT share a bed. I had read long ago that their children were conceived via artificial insemination. Theirs is definitely a marriage of convenience, a practice that is wholly accepted among Elizabeth's generation and before and which she definitely expected Diana to embrace. Poor, silly, Diana...she was actually looking for love in a royal marriage....what poor taste! One can almost imagine the queen looking down her nose at Diana for her ridiculous ideas.

All of Elizabeth's family have disappointed her in this way, so she must feel absolutely superior to them all.... Love in a royal marriage? How SELFISH! Above all, one must have an HEIR to extend the royal lineage!!! The British people must be frightfully fed-up with their society and the royals. One of the most telling lines in the movie is made by Tony Blair. Something like "this country will never be a Republic". That line truly gave me pause. Stupid me! I thought the place was really a republic.... I thought of how I experienced London when I visited several years ago. How truly important the distinction between the "classes" were, and how strangely male the country is.

One thing this movie did was to make me aware of how much I didn't know about Britain. How different Labour must be from the Conservative Party. How the royals must appear to their subjects and vice versa. What the emergence of Diana ("the People's Princess") really meant to the British. Imagine a royal who actually cared about the people! Imagine a royal who talked about love! Imagine a royal who actually mingled with the people and held the babies of the poorest and sickest in her arms and kissed them. This must have really annoyed Queen Elizabeth and that little family we see on the screen. Writing this now, I see how isolated Queen Elizabeth had become and how a mistake like the one in the movie could slip by her... She has no feelings for her people. When Queen Elizabeth opines that things have changed...this is what she is talking about.

I was very interested in the item one reviewer here brought up. How a 14-point stag must be culled or risk starving to death. Now I see that this is similar to Queen Elizabeth herself. Tony Blair saved her from being culled and put her back in the zoo with the rest of the endangered herd.

Unfortunately it is hard to tell fact from fiction in this account of a week in the life of Queen Elizabeth II. However, it all made me want to know more about the royals.

And to the reviewer who looked at the past 1,000 years of British rule with misty eyes, let us all remember that the Kings of England were a bloodthirsty lot, killed their own family members with glee and in more than one case were definitely treasonous and caused their subjects great difficulty and suffering. Which is why they've been reduced to the state they are in today. It's no wonder many people think they had Diana killed....their family history gives this idea a leg up...

The movie is very entertaining and the players are wonderful. Helen Mirren deserved the Oscar, even though she plays Elizabeth quite a bit younger than she was at the time.

But the royals? Queen Elizabeth has been quite successful at keeping her family dynamics hidden. Despite all the media attention. I suppose we are all longing to know what the Queen wears when she is slopping around the house, and this movie does give us a few tidbits.

I must say...I enjoyed this movie. It's thought-provoking, as you can see!

Lady for a Day (1933)

Solid performances, solid script, some beautiful touches

[8/10 · 26 February 2006]

Others have said it all! However, check out the beautiful love scene photographed through a glass fountain. Absolutely GORGEOUS! Solid performances from the stars right down to the supporting actors. I think we hardly ever see great supporting actors like these any more.

Frank Capra wrote about this movie in his autobiography, apparently one of his first hits, using the recipe of lesser-known actors, a great scriptwriter, and a low budget. He relies heavily on the great supporting actors available to him and gave them all a Runyon-esquire quality which never fails to please. They are all just great! Check this movie out! It gets better every time I see it!

Whispering Smith (1948)

great movie with Preston and Ladd

[30 November 2003]

This is one of my favorite movies because it has two of my favorite actors: Alan Ladd and Robert Preston.

These two were co-stars in other movies, but they are both used to their best in this one. Preston plays the friend gone bad and Ladd plays the honest cop who also loves his friend.

Actually, this plot is reminiscent of "The Virginian" which has always been so popular.

The vhs tape is very rare, so if you catch it on TV somewhere, TAPE IT!!

House on Haunted Hill (1959)

Anyone remember "Emergo"???

[7/10 · 9 November 2003]

I saw this movie when it first came out. Part of the draw was a surprise named only as "Emergo" which turned out to be a skeleton drawn across the theater on a clothesline just as the skeleton pops out of the acid-bath in the movie.

We had great fun screaming and laughing over that!!!

Little Buddha (1993)

Beautiful movie, visually stunning

[7/10 · 5 April 2003]

This movie is absolutely beautiful! Like having your mother tell you a story before you go to bed, and the book has beautiful pictures! It has all the Bertolucci touches...

Keanu Reeves is perfect for the role of a young Buddha (Siddhartha) because the story begins with Buddha as a young, wealthy prince who has no thought or care about the world around him. After several experiences he begins to think and care. The movie is about his transformation/maturation into the teacher he became.

Don't expect this movie to be about Buddhism. It isn't. It's about Buddha's young life. I like it, and I recommend this movie!

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

Fascinating film...gets better every time I see it.

[2 January 2003]

I never saw this movie when it came out...I guess I was too young...and I avoided it ever since because it was so highly received. Stupid me!

A truly intelligent movie, with great performances from everyone involved. Is this movie on the top 100 film list? It should be. It grabs you and holds you right to the very, very end! Great, great movie!

I guess I didn't see it when I was young because it had everyone in there that I couldn't stand... Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey and Angela Lansbury... But this isn't a movie about likable people. This movie is about fear, manipulation, power and control. And maybe redemption and strength.... Figure it out for yourself!

Don't miss it!

The Big Lebowski (1998)

Fun Fun Fun

[14 September 2002]

Oh, life is a blast! I really love this movie, and it is just so much fun. The characters are just great! A big, hearty laugh, and yet the movie has intelligence. And I truly think the movie is a play on detective movies! Jeff Bridges is PERFECT for this role as The DUDE.

Like all Coen movies, this movie is just plain DIFFERENT! You end up spending time thinking about it later....

A BIG SMILE TO THE COEN BROTHERS! Thanks, guys!

Spartacus (1960)

not your typical gladiator movie

[9/10 · 8 September 2002]

A really great film...not at all like any other "gladiator" film. The film takes its power from the book by Howard Fast (who was an admitted communist) and the writer, Dalton Trumbo, (blacklisted for 15 years as a communist). This relationship must have given everyone on the set another context in which to conceive of the film, considering that this film broke the blacklist, and several blacklisted actors were used as well. The movie is really about humanity, the joy of freedom (however fleeting) and the tremendous hatred the slaves had for slavery.

A lot of the film is made in Spain...interesting considering that Spain was run by a fascist dictator (Franco) at the time. There are a strange bunch of extras used in the film...elderly twins, dwarves, really elderly women, etc. It was a good technique to give a feeling of reality....

The love scenes between Spartacus and Vorynia are just beautiful, and I love the music which accompanies them.

Kirk Douglas' finest film, bar none!

The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936)

Ahhh, How Very British!

[9/10 · 10 May 2002]

Well, I love this movie! Errol Flynn was never more dashing, handsome, and so veddy veddy British! He plays Major Vickers as the absolute best of British sentiment, gentlemanliness, diplomacy, heroism and gallantry. This movie is a gem for all admirers of Errol Flynn. The movie follows Kipling's poem rather than real history..."Into the valley of Death rode the six hundred!" And as was Kipling, the movie is absolutely wonderful propaganda for British values. As such, it works very, very well. As history, it fails miserably, so don't look here for truth. The truth is that the whole episode was apparently a mistake of transcription of orders, and a TREMENDOUS screw up by the military. Soldiers were apparently treated just like the sailors of HMS Bounty (of mutiny fame); that is, MISERABLY. More often than not they died of exposure, disease and hunger than of military exploits.

BUT, not in THIS movie! In this movie they are knights in shining armor fighting against "savagery". The final charge scene is absolutely breath-taking, but don't think about the cruelty that was shown to both the animals and the actors. This is the movie that led to the ASPCA getting involved in the movies.

All in all, I can't take my eyes off Errol Flynn...that's how good he is in this movie!

The Boston Strangler (1968)

This is the story of a search

[9/10 · 15 January 2001]

This movie is most accurate as the story of a search for a killer. I love all the performances, and it is actually filled with stars, both leading and supporting.

Tony Curtis' performance is absolutely wonderful. Although Albert DeSalvo, the man traditionally supposed to be the Strangler, was nothing at all the way Tony Curtis plays him, this does not detract from Curtis' performance, which has great depth and poignancy. However the real Albert DeSalvo was not the quiet person played by Mr. Curtis. He was accused of the murders after bragging about the murders for a couple of years to his cell mates. He was in jail for, I believe, burglary, when he asked F. Lee Bailey to negotiate his confession. This is one of the big parts that they left out....the rise of F. Lee Bailey to the attention of the media.

But for all its omissions and poetic license and all that, the movie is powerful and astounding and FRIGHTENING.

I was glad to read from a previous post that they are going to try to prove that DeSalvo was the murderer by DNA testing. There were many problems with his confession, including, I believe, a complete retraction and some wrongly remembered important elements to some of the crimes.

The Sky's the Limit (I) (1943)

Definitely a gem!

[28 October 2000]

I love this movie. Great, funny dance routines and a nice, light plotline which somehow keeps you smiling all the way through. Great songs by Johnny Mercer like "Shining Hour" and "I've Got a Lot in Common With You!" Joan Leslie and Fred Astaire have a great chemistry and their dances hold dramatic interest as well. Great writing, with a nice performance by Robert Benchley.

Definitely one of Astaire's best. But consider that I hate all his dances with Cyd Charisse. Joan Leslie is funny and cute and keeps Fred smiling. She keeps up with Fred nicely in the dance routines which are nice and light for the most part. Best dance routine is "I've Got A Lot In Common With You!" The songs have those great Johnny Mercer lyrics.. Definitely a winner!

Working Girl (1988)

Cinderella

[17 September 2000]

Beautiful aerial photography and music. It's another Cinderella story. No wonder that story has been so popular all these centuries. Tess McGill strives upward and onward in Corporate America because she has a "fire in her belly". Everyone in the cast is perfectly suited to their roles and Mike Nichols' direction is seamless.

The Story on Page One (1959)

Excellent acting

[8/10 · 17 September 2000]

Excellent performances from all, and especially a rare performance from Sanford Meisner. Great direction and intensity from Clifford Odets. A rather simple story superbly told. Sanford Meisner's performance is especially outstanding and fresh as the prosecuting attorney on the scent.