mpcohen Reviews

Postcards from Buster (2004–2012)

Interesting approach to children's television

[8/10 · 23 February 2007]

I do not know how well this show goes over with its intended audience, but as an adult I am impressed by how it is put together. The premise of the show is of an animated rabbit traveling around the world with his father getting to know children and their families and taking videos. I do not know how much of the show is scripted, but it comes across as being a spontaneous interaction of the people being filmed with Buster and with one another. Sort of like a cross between a travelogue and reality TV for kids, with everyone being nice to one another.

One small thing that I find disconcerting is that while Buster is more or less given the face of a rabbit, the rest of his family look like humans with rabbit ears appended.

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Good idea but didn't go anywhere

[24 October 2004]

I saw this movie long after it was released. I rented the video from the local library. I knew the bare outline of the movie, which is what you learn in the first 5 minutes. I thought this is a great idea, using a supposed documentary made by the actors as the basis for a movie. It occurred to me that there were all kinds of possibilities of using the camera to reflect the relationships between the actors - what was filmed, what was left out, who was doing the filming, etc. None of this was done. The 3 college students in the film had a collective vocabulary of about 100 words, every other one of which was an expletive. They had no historical or philosophic interest in their project. They apparently did no prior research and seemed to take the whole thing as some sort of a joke. It was apparent from the start of the movie that they were all going to die and I found myself not particularly caring. If I had been camping with this trio I would have been tempted to strangle them right from the beginning. God they were shallow and boring. Needless to say I did not find the film frightening, which was the whole point.

Gilmore Girls (2000–2007)

Good show going into decline

[25 May 2004]

As an older male I feel a little embarrassed that I have found a show about a mother and her teenage daughter to be one of my favorites, but this is one of the few shows that does not talk down to the viewers. I love those dialogs. They are full of cultural references. It is a good thing that I tape all the shows because sometimes the conversations go by so fast that I need to rewind to catch what I missed. Lorelai is not your typical high school dropout. I find it only mildly annoying that everyone speaks this way and seems to have the same type of sense of humor.

Lately though the show seems to have lost direction. When the show started, Rory was trying real hard to get into Harvard and we saw her falling in love for the first time with Dean. Lorelai was dreaming about owning her own inn. She had this really nice friendship with Luke. Sookey and Jackson also had a nice romantic relationship. Now Rory is attending Yale, Lorelai has gotten her inn and Sookey and Jackson got married. The nice sexual tension between Lorelai and Luke has been destroyed by having them go out on a date. Lorelai's parents have separated.

When Rory was in high school there was great concern about preserving her virginity. After she broke up with Dean, he got married and in the final season episode he and Rory have sex and it seems to be a relatively minor issue to both Rory and Lorelai.

The show has lost its compass. It is degrading into a soap opera. The quirky charm of Stars Hollow is beginning to lose its charm. The characters seem to have nowhere to go. At this rate the show should implode some time next year. So sad.

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003)

How to lose an audience in 5 minutes

[2 April 2004]

Here is the setup.

A shallow self-centered guy working for an ad agency makes a bet that he can get a woman fall in love with him in 10 days so that he win the contract for a diamond seller.

An overeducated journalism major working for a woman's magazine will get the opportunity to do "serious" articles if she succeeds in writing about her experience of doing the wrong things in dating causing her to lose a guy in 10 days.

The big question of course is, who cares? Maybe my Marxist tendencies got in the way but it would be difficult to find two people who I could care less about.

It was raining out and I wanted to watch a video so I took a chance on it. Big mistake. Well I was curious to see how his wager would turn out. I suppose I should have known but I thought it might have gone the other way. Once that was determined I was suprised that the movie was still going on. You mean I am supposed to actually care about the relationship? Sorry but no.

Mr. Accident (2000)

The Worst

[21 July 2003]

I just saw this on television and I am happy to announce that I can finally answer my nephew's question as to what is the worst film I have ever seen, at least in the comedy category. To describe this film as elementary school level would be to insult elementary school students, who I think could create something far better. Yahoo Serious has apparently gone on a well deserved march into oblivion.

My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)

Made me a Julia Roberts fan

[8/10 · 13 April 2003]

This is a well crafted romantic comedy with superb performances by Julia Roberts, Cameron Diaz and Rupert Everett. Uncharacteristically for this type of film the characters reveal a certain amount of depth. I do not ordinarily care for Julia Roberts. I saw her in Erin Brockovich, which came out after this film and for which she received an Oscar. I was unimpressed. In this film, however, she turns in a finely nuanced performance as a scheming manipulator out to break up a marriage and yet manages to make us feel sympathetic toward her. I will not reveal the end of the film but will just say that it was appropriate and well done.

Operation Dumbo Drop (1995)

Entertaining diversion

[20 August 2002]

I do not understand the criticism that some professional reviewers give of this film about its unrealistic treatment of the Vietnam War. I was opposed to that war from about the time that it started but I never doubted the good intentions of those young men who risked their lives fighting it. What is so wrong in playing up that aspect of it? The film is, after all, based on a true story. The film seemed to me to be like a movie version of the television show MASH done for children. Everybody has good words for MASH. Nobody ever complained about doing a comedy about the Korean War. This is a good kid's film with some really fine acting by Liotta, Glover and Leary.

A Stranger Among Us (1992)

Lame story and mediocre acting but good portrayal of Hasidim

[9 December 2001]

There is not much of a plot in this movie and fortunately it wastes relatively little time in developing it. Melanie Griffith is miscast as a cop. However, her acting, while not great, is not as bad as some have said. The main point of the movie, as far as I am concerned, is to portray aspects of the Hasidic community, which most people do not know much about. This movie tells much more about the Hasidim than Witness told of about the Amish. For this alone the movie is worth watching.