monkeyface_si Reviews

Where the Rivers Flow North (1993)

Uneven

[5/10 · 16 July 2001]

Rip Torn's characterization is monumental. The great actor has never been better. Tantoo Cardinal is a perfect fit for him and when they are on camera together, this looks like a sure-fire classic. Then, Michael J. Fox shows up as evil personified, and throws every cliche in the book into a confused performance. The score is fine. But not good enough to save this turkey.

Getting It On (1983)

Silly but harmless

[4/10 · 16 July 2001]

Simple-minded sex farce aims for sly smiles. On that level, it is amiable enough. All the actors seem to be having a genial enough time. There's not much else to tell -- just silly suburban hijinks, but nothing I found particularly offensive, or particularly interesting. But it was on a local UHF station while I worked out at a hotel gym, and for that it filled the bill nicely.

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do (1979 TV Movie)

well-acted mind candy

[5/10 · 13 July 2001]

The light and dark, happy and sad, are well-characterized in this well-acted made-for-TV soaper. It's nothing you haven't seen before, but it's done more artfully than most. David Ogden Stiers is memorable in his role. Crystal & Bradbury are poignant as a couple who do everything together except communicate.

I Will Fight No More Forever (1975 TV Movie)

Extraordinary TV movie is powerful in its understatement.

[10/10 · 13 July 2001]

Like its hero, Chief Joseph of the Nez Pierce, this movie uses understatement to incredible effect. Ned Romero is brilliant as Chief Joseph, under who attempted to take his tribe to Canada. James Whitmore is marvelous as the Army officer, with an unusually progressive outlook, but powerless to assist Chief Joseph.

The photography is exceptional, and the score is hauntingly beautiful. See it if you can.

Fury (1936)

Electrifying

[10/10 · 13 July 2001]

Tracy is fantastic as salt-of-the-earth whose soul is incinerated by fiery destruction of lynch mob. In the wake of the kidnaping of the Lindbergh baby, this was an especially emotional topic in 1936. Tracy's performance is riveting and even more-worthy of the Oscar than his Oscar winning performance that year in Captains Courageous.

Sylvia Sydney is excellent as Tracy's love interest, and Frank Albertson is superb as his hard-edged brother. Edward Ellis (title star of the Thin Man) does a good turn as the reasonable Sheriff. And Walter Brennan does an excellent job as a deputy. There are also two contrastingly poignant scenes in bars. Overall, score a home run for Fritz Lang in his first US film.

Kalifornia (1993)

Good start, good acting, but it loses its way

[5/10 · 7 July 2001]

Marvellous cat-and-mouse game between Duchovny and Pitt/Lewis. And, the chemistry between Pitt and Lewis is sizzling. And, their characters are fairly involving. But, once the table is set, the director totally loses it and is far more interested in deluging us with nightmarish scenes in a sort of Bergman-meets-Tarrentino pastiche. From this point on, the plot takes a back seat to constant reinforcement of the horrible nature of Pitt and Lewis' deadly spree. And, it all gets repetitious rather quickly. So good performances and intrigue are wasted.

Scent of a Woman (1992)

Pretentious and abusive

[3/10 · 7 July 2001]

I adore Al Pacino. He deserved the Oscar for his performances in Serpico, Godfather II, and Dog Day Afternoon. What a shame that the movie he finally won it for is so poorly written and that his character is so one-note. He is angry because he is blind. He is abusive because he is blind. He curses because he's blind. Chris O'Donnell is cute as a button but clueless as to his motivation in the role. The supporting cast is amateurish and without direction. Overall this is one of the most pretentious films I have ever seen.

Pump Up the Volume (1990)

A great Teen Angst Movie

[10/10 · 7 July 2001]

Hard-on Harry, Slater's angry-young-man DJ, is one of the great teen characters in film history. As a bonus, Samantha Mathis and he really click as a couple (Lucky Her!). The choice of music on the soundtrack is fantastic, but Slater's soulful performance is actually an improvement on James Dean's classic diffidence in Rebel Without A Cause. This underrated gem of the film is not only entertaining and audience-pleasing and memorable, but works on deeper levels as well.

The Goodbye Girl (1977)

I LOVE this movie

[10/10 · 7 July 2001]

One of the best romantic comedies ever. Dreyfuss & Mason generate as much chemistry as I have ever seen on the screen from a couple that was never a couple. Quinn Cummings delivers one of the greatest child actress performance in cinema history -- always genuine and winning. The dialogue is witty and brittle. The direction never strikes a false note. And all the dualities of New York are well exploited. I simply LOVE this movie.

First Love (1977)

Sweet and naive

[6/10 · 7 July 2001]

William Katt is very cute as a sweet and naive college student learning about love and sex for the first time. The director does a good job conveying this simplicity as the overall motif for the film. A very appropriate Cat Stevens soundtrack also contributes to the proceedings. Susan Dey is quite good as Katt's older-woman love interest. Then, just when the film has us in its grip, it lets us go in an ending of meaningless platitudes. I still liked it overall, but felt a bit let down with the unimaginitve ending.

Harper (1966)

Top-notch detective yarn

[10/10 · 7 July 2001]

Paul Newman makes an ideal Lew Harper (Lew Archer in Mcdonald's novels). And, he is in top form. The supporting cast is amazing. This includes Julie Harris, Lauren Bacall, Pamela Tiffin, Strother Martin, Arthur Hill, Robert Webber, Janet Leigh, and Shelley Winters. Leigh , in particular, makes a bit role one of the film's most memorable moments. The mystery has plenty of good plot twists and Smight direction is tight. All in all, a terrific picture.

Hand in Hand (1961)

Beautifully haunting and memorable

[7 July 2001]

As far away from biblical epics as you can get, Hand in Hand is definitively the most spiritual movie I have ever seen. I saw it in 1969 and cried and cried. The next time I saw it was in college in 1978 and I cried profusely again. The boy and the girl in the leads are absolutely perfect. The movie succeeds in conveying the enormity of the exploration they are doing. And how in the process, their sense of love blossoms, both for each other, but mostly for God.

Calamity Jane (1953)

Lots of fun and great music

[8/10 · 7 July 2001]

"Windy City" is my favorite song and Calamity Jane is my favorite Doris Day film. It's Gordon MacRae's first pairing with young Day and it is electric and was to be repeated many times. Fans of WKRP in Cincinnati may delight in seeing Mrs. Carlson, Allyn Ann McLerie as a young woman. Overall, a delightful piece of musical fluff.

Hard, Fast and Beautiful! (1951)

turgid melodrama has its moments

[5/10 · 7 July 2001]

Overall, this is nothing special. The tennis scenes are very well directed. The mother-daughter-scenes are keepers. And the dialogue contains some great double entendres. But, the love story has no chemistry and demands no personal involvement. It is a "B" melodrama, not much more, nothing less.

Relentless (1948)

Robert Young versus Barton MacLane

[9/10 · 7 July 2001]

Although Marguerite Chapman does fine yeoman work in her obligatory generic love interest role, the show is the pursuit of Young after horse thief MacLane. And, it is a fast-paced, cat-and-mouse entertaining game in which protagonist and antagonist take turns revealing their thoughts and feelings in a most involving way. This is certainly not a classic "B" western, but it is entertaining from beginning to end and very fast paced.

The Dark Past (1948)

Psycho-babble ruins a good premise

[6/10 · 7 July 2001]

Lee J. Cobb is a magnificent actor. But, his character here, a well-meaning police psychiatrist, ruins the film. William Holden scores big time in the lead. The tension is well set. But, the psychiatric overlay comes to dominate the movie so much that a pretty good film noir is reduced to a soap opera.

Holiday in Mexico (1946)

Innocuous fun

[7/10 · 7 July 2001]

If you have an hour and a half to kill and enjoy Jane Powell's singing and Walter Pidgeon's dashing good looks, this beats the heck out of watching this week's third installment of Dateline NBC. Seriously, the music is very good, the comedy is fast, and the sweetness is easy to take. Totally forgettable fluff, but an enjoyable way to pass time.

Suspicion (1941)

A movie that grabs you and never lets go

[10/10 · 7 July 2001]

Ah, to be swept up in Cary Grant's arms and never to be let go. That's the heroine's fantasy in this classic Hitchcock suspense film. And who among us would not share that fantasy despite the fact that Grant's character, Johnny, seems to use his impetuous nature to cover up the fact that he's more than a bit shady around the edges.

After all, if you have spent your life being a Plain Jane, and a smiling Johnny (Cary) calls you "monkeyface" with adoration in those handsome brown eyes, why quibble with details? -- Besides, didn't Cary prove that your money is not at the root of his love when he married you anyway even after your father cut off your inheritance because of his suspicions of Johnny.

Joan Fontaine deserved her Oscar in the film's central role. And it has always resounded with me as sort of a personal theme piece --- always having been attracted to men with a bit of a dark side.

Hitchcock's masterpiece and Fontaine's fantastic acting allow you to identify with her thoughts and emotions before she thinks or emotes them. This is an all-time classic.