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Panic (2021)
Just horrifically horrible
Pretty much everything about this series is bad. The writing is cringe-worthy, and the acting matches that perfectly. Terrible direction, full of cliches and stereotypes, and boring to boot. Amazon has had some really excellent series in the past - Bosch, Expanse, Man in the High Castle, all come to mind, but some of the newest ones, like this one, are just dreck. Makes me think that the pandemic destroyed their ability to create a decent program. Hopefully they can turn things around going forward.
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)
Unique and interesting, but just short of great
First off, I saw the longer, 1976 version, which clearly has some pacing problems (how much mediocre burlesque to we want to see?), but I'm not knocking it too much for that. It does has some brilliant moments, including the title scene; the night out with the girls, where Garraza incurs his debt; and Gazzara's escape from the hit man in the deserted building. But it also has little plot and some confusing editing.
I'd give it a 5 for boring me in parts if it were not for the mind- blowing realism of the (mostly scripted) dialogue and the fascinating performance of Gazzara. Gazzara creates a truly unforgettable character with Cosmo Vittelli -- not particularly one that you like or can relate to, but certainly one that seems genuine and nuanced.
I have bit of a spoiler coming here, so fair warning. One of the most bizarre parts of the film has it cutting away just when the mob hit man is about to track down Gazzara to rub him out in order to cover the mob's involvement with the Chinese bookie killing. We see Gazzara later on, so we know he escapes, but Cassavetes jumps us out of one of the most compelling scenes in the movie. Then he ends the film with more mediocre burlesque. This is certain to be one of the scenes that splits the viewing public. I'm sure plenty of people will slam the movie just on that, and I'm tempted to do so myself. However, after thinking about it for a bit, it makes the movie more thought provoking not to see the end of that scene.
I'm guessing the 1978 version may be a bit better, since it trims down the nightclub acts. However, I'm not really subtracting too much rating on that account. The nightclub scenes all do seem very realistic, and the fact that Cosmo seems to be so interested in producing such goofy shows does tell us something about his character.
Led Zeppelin: Celebration Day (2012)
Surprisingly good concert film of elderly rockers
Well past their prime and minus their iconic drummer, I didn't expect LZ to sound nearly as good as they did here. They play a great song set and perform them extremely well.
One nitpick -- I didn't like the way the director sometimes fast froze the camera for short spurts; ditto for the color filtering. I'm guessing that the aim was to emulate a concert snap shot, but that just looked fuzzy to me. It isn't done often enough to be annoying though. Other than that, the camera work is pretty solid. The film works best when it sticks to alternating between in focus closeups with crowd perspective shots of the entire stage, including the back screen video. Well worth a look and a must for Zeppelin fans.
Dr. Kildare's Crisis (1940)
Standard Kildare fare but with bizarre diagnosis
Some spoilers in this review.
First off, one of the most positive aspects of the Dr Kildare films is the great patient "guest stars" they have. Lana Turner, Gene Lockhart, and Bonita Granville are all excellent examples, but perhaps none have done a better job than Robert Young in this movie. Young plays the brother of Kildare's now fiancée (and hasn't she been that now for about the last three movies?) Loraine Day.
However, what really sticks out about this film is the now bizarre diagnosis of Young's ailment. And this is true even considering that the Kildare films are filled with badly dated medical advice, such as Gillespie telling a man with a drinking problem that there is no hereditary connection to alcoholism; or his demanding that a middle aged man stop running 15 miles a week because doing so will doom him to the graveyard!
This one really takes the cake though. Young's character displays (to the modern viewer) all of the classic symptoms of a bipolar disorder. Kildare diagnoses him by having him consume (in the middle of the night, no less) a few shots of whiskey, a large steak which is over salted to the point of nausea, and five cups of coffee. Based on this "meal" making the patient feel wonderful, Kildare declares his condition as epilepsy!
Wow, I'm not a doctor, but still -- wow. Overall it is pretty much standard Kildare fare and possibly a tad better than most.
Ang babae sa bintana (1998)
Wildly Uneven and Ultimately Disappointing
In some ways a creative and highly unusual film based in a Manila slum. The Tagalog dialogue and quirky characters give the film promise. Unfortunately there are enough egregious scenes and acting to make you cringe.
Lots of gratuitous sex and violence punctuate a very thin plot. Without sexy Rosana Roces to highlight unrated DVDs, I bet this movie disappears after release. It might have been better that way. Too many scenes with people yelling and breaking things quickly become grating. The main character is particularly annoying. You almost root for the bad guys when they torture him.
xXx (2002)
Moronic writing brings it down a few notches
Vin Diesel is surprisingly good in this move. The Italian girl is nice as well. The Prague location is a great choice. Some of the action shots are inspired. The direction is bad, but that doesn't sink the film.
The problem is with the writing! It's beyond idiotic. Even with the assumption that they are shooting for the low standards of a James Bond movie, the writing is so pathetic that one wonders if they were actively trying for a Golden Raspberry. BTW, the Razzie nomination xXx did get was for "Most Flatuent Teen-Targeted Movie", and it lost. Rich Wilkes must be wondering just what kind of merde he needs to produce in order to get props.
The Lady Takes a Sailor (1949)
Bad to worse when it tries to do slapstick
Wyman is fine and Arden does her usual duty, but the rest is an awful mess. The main flaw is very weak plot is all over the place. First we're in Wyman's potentially interesting workplace that, after a big setup, we'll never see again. Then we have the ridiculously stupid underwater tractor where our two leads meet. After that we just have dumb slapstick and unwitty dialogue. The pacing is terrible, nothing makes sense, and there's little chemistry with the love angle. Give it a miss.
The Voice of the Turtle (1947)
Surprisingly captivating
A hopelessly outdated plot, a stupid title, and Ronald Reagan are not in the recipe book for a good movie. However, Elanor Parker gives such a neurotically endearing performance that this movie transcends its flaws. Parker looks like Donna Reed, but her quirky performance gives her character a Diane Keaton oddball quality that is quite charming. Reagan is better than usual and Eva Arden gives her standard supporting role.
Nine O'Clock Folks (1931)
Pet cruelty spoils decent dance numbers
This short film has a series of pretty good song and dance numbers, introduced by a clever hick comedian. The best dance number is done by a young man with boards attached to the front of his shoes. He's really good.
Unfortunately, the entire piece is completely ruined by a gag animal bit at the end. It's supposed to be a joke about a drunken dog, but instead a modern audience can clearly see some awful pet abuse. I'm by no means an animal activist and am not particularly sensitive to this topic either. So if I found watching a poor little dog get twisted around inside a tight suit painful, you'd better believe pet lovers would be up in arms about it.
The Law and the Lady (1951)
An under appreciated light comedy
"The Law and the Lady" is a surprisingly good movie that doesn't get shown a lot for some reason. Greer Garson, Michael Wilding, Marjorie Main, and Fernando Lamas all shine in their roles. Wilding's character convinces Garson's to team with him as globetrotting con artists who wind up in California trying to cheat a disarmingly candid (and as always, tough minded) Main. Their plans are further complicated when Garson starts to fall for Lamas and starts to rethink her relationship with Wilding.
The comedy is light-hearted and avoids taking itself too seriously. Knopf, brother of the famous publisher, only directed a few films, and this was his only effort after the early 1930's. He was able to get good performances from his excellent cast.
1960's TV fans will recognize Natalie Schafer (Gilligan's Island) and Hayden Rorke (I Dream of Jeannie) playing small but noticeable roles.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Good job with difficult translation of book to film
This is from the Tolkien fanatic's perspective. I've read the trilogy at least a dozen times and know the story by heart. However, unlike other die-hard Tolkien fans, I'm not going to complain about the movie version cutting out several big scenes, eliminating characters, and basically taking every shortcut they can to keep the story moving. They had to do it. The movie is long as it is and there are too many characters. Because of this, I'll say straight off that Fellowship is not going to be a super blockbuster. The much simpler (and far inferior) Titanic is safe with its record.
Cutting out some characters was essential. Giving Arwen the added role of Glorfindel was absolutely necessary. Did we really need another elf? How could they possibly have gotten Liv Tyler to do the movie when her role in the first book would have been trivial.
I also agree with most of the scene cuts. Did we really have to see Tom Bombadil? Do I mind that Farmer Maggot is reduced to a passing reference? Does it really matter that Frodo leaves immediately rather than waiting around in the Shire for many weeks first? These are all wisely chosen scene cuts to shorten the movie. Even cutting out the Barrow Downs is OK, although it does seems funny when Strider suddenly throws weapons at the hobbits out of nowhere.
And this is the main flaw of the movie. Because there is so much story to tell, the movie seems choppy in places. The editing is weak. Plus, they've made an attempt to put the story in chronological order, meaning that they had to bring some scenes from later books into the already long Fellowship. It doesn't quite fly. I think they really needed four movies to perfectly render the three books. Fellowship, for example, would have been far better off ending after the escape from the mines.
Worse, they've botched a few important scenes. We see Aragorn giving Frodo his tacit permission to leave the group before he sneaks out. This has got to be incomprehensible to fan and novice alike. Since we later have a scene with Aragorn restraining Legolas from giving chase to Frodo and Sam, the earlier added scene is unnecessary. They should have just left it with Strider refusing the ring to contrast him with Boromir.
Another big botch is at the Prancing Pony. We never hear about the letter that Gandalf gave Butterball. So how in the world do we understand why the hobbits eventually learn to trust Strider?
OK, we've gotten the picky bits out of the way, on to the positive side. The art direction is absolutely fabulous, quite possibly the best I've ever seen in a movie. Every location -- Shire, Isenguard, Rivendell, even the difficult Mines of Moria, are wonderfully brought to life. An amazing achievement! Plus they've handled the special effects well, including the tricky task of making the hobbits look small.
As for the acting, McKellen's Gandalf is getting all the advance press, but really, almost everyone in the cast does an admirable job. It's hard for the actors to not be overshadowed by the effects, and they are to some extent, but most of them get the essence of their characters to come out.
While this is not a perfect Fellowship, it is almost certainly about the best Fellowship they could have made today, and that far exceeds my expectations. The first book of the Rings trilogy is the hardest to translate. Two Towers, with it's three part parallel story lines, will be much more cinematic. Return of the King will be easier to render since it can get by without so much introductory material and will be easier to condense. With that in mind, I'm very much looking forward to the next two films, which are already in the can and coming out one per year.
The Birds (1963)
Two bad scenes ruin the credibility
I like this film, especially the clever beginning. However, two unbelievable scenes stretch credulity a bit too far. The first is when Suzanne Pleshette is found dead in front of her house after pushing a completely unhurt little girl into the house. One would think that if she could get the little girl inside the house without a scratch then she could also manage to get herself inside.
Along the same vein is the infamous attic scene, which supposedly took four days for Hitchcock to shoot. He certainly didn't spend those four days trying to make the scene believable! Tippi Hedren blunders into an attic full of attacking birds. She gropes interminably for the doorknob but can only manage to collapse in front of the door. Come on! These are seagulls and crows! Turn the knob and go out the way you came in girl.
The ending scene and closing shot are great. The birds are most ominous when they are not attacking.
Know Your Enemy - Japan (1945)
Creative propaganda
Frank Capra has mentioned that he considers his army propaganda films as among his most important work. No doubt he was speaking more about their purpose than their content. Nonetheless, "Know Your Enemy: Japan" has some very compelling scenes. This work has many, effective fast contrasting cuts. In one of the best, Japanese war atrocities, such as graphic shots of dead babies, is alternated with euphoric Japanese soldiers at a rally. This is an extremely effective propaganda piece, perhaps the best of the many Capra did for the US Army.
Guo dao feng bi (1997)
Unsettled lives come together briefly on the Taiwanese highway.
A fascinating film, depicting the chaos and loneliness of modern life. The acting is uniformly excellent and the pace and intertwining of the various stories is great. My favorite segment is with the girl who steals a man's cell phone and then calls him on it, but all the stories are good. This was the best picture I saw in 1997.
La última cena (1976)
Historical drama examining a slave revolt with religious allegory.
Aside from a fairly realistic depiction of how a historical slave revolt could have occurred on a sugar plantation, the best part of this film is the interplay between the slave owner and his slaves. The arrogant slave owner, believing himself to be sacrosanct, tries to teach his slaves to accept their lot in life. Not surprisingly, they can't understand his bizarre efforts, which wind up igniting the revolt.
One part I really liked about this movie was the way it showed the different characters of the slaves. Instead of just lumping them together as one downtrodden mass, their individual personalities are displayed.
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
One of my favorites
I watch this movie every year and never get tired of it. I think it is Capra's best work and I'm happy to see it is appreciated more now than when he made it. All of the acting is perfect.
One quirky thing to note is Capra's subjective use of time and crowds. For example when Uncle Billy is at the bank window, a crowd suddenly appears behind him when he can't find the deposit money. Similarly, when George tries to get Violet to go on a romantic (to him) romp through nature, a crowd suddenly forms when she ridicules him. Same with Mr. Gower in the bar.