herlenwein Reviews

The Passion of the Christ (2004)

A PASSION LESS MEL

[31 August 2004]

This is truly one of the all time great films. A motion picture that has created controversy and as much publicity as anyone would credibly wish. It has a web-site selling "Jesus Nails". It has netted millions beyond Mr. Gibson's wildest dreams. And yet on this very day, when the DVD was released for public consumption it has become a hypocrisy to the very elements it tried to embelish. The audience who paid at the box office is now expecting to see; Commentary, Documentary, Behind The Scenes, Historical Perspective, Etc. Where are the "Special Features" that are required? Perhaps the "moneymongers" in the temple which the "BIG GUY" taught a lesson to is a bit appropriate here. Mr. Gibson, you may have a "4 STAR" film but you get "0" stars for saying THANKS.

Target (1985)

HACKMAN AT HIS BEST AND THENSOME

[7 August 2004]

This is a great action/thriller that should not be missed. Hackman is an absolute gem as a modern day "dad" confronted with his past. The storyline and dialogue are fast crisp and move along at an ever increasing pace. There's no need to think. Just watch and let the film grip you and take you on a thrill ride into the Cold War and how one man can affect the present with the talents of his past. A great supporting cast and excellent "mood" photography. Gayle Hunnicutt is beautiful and Matt Dillon so convincing you sometimes want to smack him. Gene Hackman is one one our most versatile and distinguished actors and if you want to see him do his thing; here it is. Enjoy and congrats to Arthur Penn for brilliant direction.

The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

A DULL CANDIDATE WITH A CONFUSED AGENDA

[6 August 2004]

The best way to judge this film is if you have not seen the original classic. See this first then the John Frankenheimer version and come to your own conclusion. I saw the original and Mr. Demme does not come close. A contemporary setting with fine lead actors. And nothing else. The storyline is confusing, the photography distracting with a multitude of continual closeups, and a supporting cast that in reality seems mis-cast. The elimination or re-structuring of key scenes was totally amateurish and unoriginal. A classic beautifully choreographed and edited murder scene becomes some vague underwater drowning. The brilliant brainwashing sequences replaced by a room of mad scientists drilling into sculls. Who can forget the great James Gregory and his ultimate resolution of Communist infiltration with a bottle of ketchup. This character almost totally shunned. I expected a lot more than Mr. Demme delivered. How about a re-make of "Silence of the Lambs" with Halle Berry and Vin Diesel.

Homicidal (1961)

SUPERB SUSPENSE/THRILLER

[23 July 2004]

This is probably the only film that ever threw me for a loop. And I wish people would stop comparing it to "PSYCHO". Hitchcock was into cinema as an art form. Castle was in for the "quick thrill" and was a master at it. "Homicidal" is a fast trip into the bizarre suited up with his traditional hype and unique form of horror. It's amazing that Mr. Castle does not have a more "cult type" following after all these years. His films were fun when it was fun to be scared.

Rent this if you can find it. Buy it, as I did, if you must. But after almost 50 years it holds up runs fast and does not give you much time to think. Don't forget to shut the lights. You'll never guess the ending.

Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)

IT COULDA BEEN A CONTENDA

[20 July 2004]

To review this documentary properly one should be objective and in doing so cast aside all political agendas. MICHAEL MOORE GETS A "10" FOR EDITING. To deliver his point he has done an admirable job. Of course one must realize that using available material one could presumably "edit" MICKEY MOUSE into a serial killer. There are some funny moments provided you have a penchant for a rather liberal sense of humor. On the whole we have what looks like a rather cheaply made production. ADDING TO THAT IS THE APPEARANCE OF MR. MOORE NOT ONLY AS WRITER, PRODUCER, DIRECTOR, NARRATOR, BUT ON CAMERA AS AN UNKEMPT SOMEWHAT OBESE FELLOW TRYING TO FULFILL AN AGENDA THAT BECKONS FOR A MORE AESTHETICALLY GROOMED PERSON. ALL IN ALL THIS FILM LACKS "the finishing touch" THAT DISTINGUISHES GREAT FROM GONE.

Sam Kinison: Why Did We Laugh? (1999 TV Movie)

The real "scream"

[8/10 · 4 March 2004]

Sam Kinison was brilliant. He was not vulgar, nor was he obscene. Rather, he used X-Rated material and verbiage to express comedic commentary on a variety of topics. And the funny thing about it was that he told the truth. He was superb at it. And that's why we laughed. This film won awards for "best direction" and "best documentary" and deservedly so. Larry Carroll did a commendable job interweaving live performances with peer commentary and narrative. Beverly D'Angelo and Richard Pryor are particularly effective with brother Bill Kinison as Executive Producer and partial host. This is an insightful film of a man who finally found his place and "let it rip".

Runaway Jury (2003)

Good Recipe - Served Well

[8/10 · 28 February 2004]

If you take a cup of HACKMAN and a cup of HOFFMAN mix thoroughly and pour on a cup of CUSACK you're bound to come out with a dish worth consuming. If not, I don't think I would risk reviewing it. To see these pros do their thing is nothing next to fabulous. I would avail myself of one criticism. The film is multi-layered showing 3 different perspectives from the lead characters. This incorporates some "shotgun" dialogue and "machine gun" editing. Some members of the supporting cast, considering the fast pace, look quite alike. Brunettes, some with wigs, older men with white hair can be a little disconcerting when you need to stop and think who this was or wasn't. Other than that the film runs very smoothly. I have to mention Bruce McGill who plays the Judge and is a fine character actor. He recently appeared in "Matchstick Men", if you can recognize him, and does a credible job as a "control freak" judge. Gary Fleder does a nice job directing so don't miss this. Recommended highly.

Hour of the Gun (1967)

"OK" thereafter and for some the "hereafter".

[10/10 · 27 February 2004]

10 years after "Gunfight at the OK Corral" John Sturges decided to direct this sequel. He did not lost his touch. If anyone was capable of teaching an actor how to draw and shoot a gun and capture that precision on screen it was Sturges. He knew how to dress them too. It may not have been realistic but it worked. James Garner is good as Earp. Stoic but not unfeeling. Good casting with Jason Robards as Doc Holliday. Even better that he was not scripted to cough himself to death in every scene. Whatever happened to "big nose" Kate? In fact, what happened to the women? Not one cast or credited. Robert Ryan plays Ike Clanton as a greedy land baron trying not to have modern times catch up to him. He dies well. With good photography and music I can strongly recommend this film especially if you want a different perspective of Earp and the times.

A Child Is Waiting (1963)

A FINE ENSEMBLE

[24 February 2004]

Most of the comments concerning this film are positive and deservedly so. Produced by Stanley Kramer, written by Abby Mann and starring Burt Lancaster is hard to beat. The supporting cast with John Cassavetes directing do very well in delivering the films message. I saw this film in 1963 when it was first released. I remember something bothered me about it then but did not remember until I viewed it recently. There is a constant low audio hiss throughout the entire film making it sound like something out of the 30's. Sometimes it's not too recognizable but it's on the VHS tape just as it was in the theaters. I'd love to know why? Other than that it is a great film with Lancaster delivering what to me is a classic line: "What a pageant".

The Silver Chalice (1954)

Golden Anniversary comments for The Silver Chalice

[23 February 2004]

At 50 years of age this film should be categorized in the "cult" genre. Starting off a a biblical tale of how the cup from which Jesus drank is sculpted into a silver chalice it quickly turns into "The Rise and Fall of Simon the Magician". The chalice is finally lost and so is the storyline.

Paul Newman, as Basil the sculptor, makes his movie debut and is not all that bad considering the dialogue he had to work with. Jack Palance, as Simon, is simply superb. Insane and madly ambitious he portrays a magician who thinks he can become a "new and improved" version of Jesus. It's hard to accept the character of Helena first played by Natalie Wood as a young slave and then later by Virginia Mayo as a treacherous vixen. There are a host of familiar actors in supporting and minor roles. Notice Lorne Greene as St. Peter before he strapped on his gun and married three wives to found the Ponderosa. Also, in a quick moment, you'll notice Strother("What we have here is a failure to communicate")Martin as the father of the crippled child. See if you can find the rest. The sets are more prone for stage than screen. Huge columns, statues and archways with stairs and domed buildings and more stairs. Everything is incorrectly sterile and spotless. There is one light point when, at Nero's feast, a particular dish is described as "aged grasshoppers in honey fried to a golden brown". Not bad for 1st century AD. Maybe the "colonel" was a lot older then we thought. All in all it's a fun movie to watch. This film might have its drawbacks but Palance is worth it. See Jack fly.

Circus World (1964)

The Duke & Rita - That's All Folks

[16 February 2004]

I can't understand how a producer like Samuel Bronston, who gave us the 70MM spectaculars "King of Kings" and "El Cid", could deliver something as poor as this. And with Henry Hathaway directing it's even more of a puzzle. Is it that bad? Well you see there's this circus ship docked in France performing on deck and when a crowd of people move to one side it falls over. Does not list. It just falls over. And then it won't sink. I think some of the sets were salvaged from "The Fall of the Roman Empire". There isn't even a clear timeframe i.e. year or decade. The editing along with terrible backdrops and processed shots are amateurish. Dimitri Tiomkin wrote some of the most beautiful scores for motion pictures but I think he was watching "The Nutcracker", by mistake, when he penned this one. It is kind of fun to watch a young Claudia Cardinale play a naive superstitious acrobat. But Lloyd Nolan and Richard Conte are never really given a chance to fulfill their parts. The basic storyline is not a bad one, it's just the execution of it. If you like John Wayne playing "The Duke" here he is. Watch it and file it for old times sake. If your a Rita Hayworth fan, here she is, lovely and charismatic as ever. These two stars carry the show . The rest is not much to talk about. And that's how I rate it. 2 Stars.

Where Eagles Dare (1968)

An Old Standby

[15 February 2004]

There are so many reviews about this film I thought I'd better put my 2 cents in. Whenever I get the urge to see a superior action-adventure film this is the one I pop in for a quick fix. It's hard to beat. I have seen this movie about twenty times and I still lose count on how many Nazi's Clint Eastwood, as LT. Shaffer, blows away. Now I know how Dirty Harry learned to shoot. Richard Burton, as the stoic Major Smith, makes the most of his role as leader and master manipulator. Together they make a great team. Supporting roles should be noted with Anton Driffing as a Third Reich officer. You may remember him in "Circus of Horrors" playing the lead. Also Derrren Nesbitt, as Von Hapen, recreates himself almost entirely in his role with Frank Sinatra in "The Naked Runner" as Hartman. Only this time he's a good guy. Everything is A-1 in this film. In fact there should have been a special award for the cable cars. Rent it, buy it and keep watching it. Maybe you'll be more successful with the body count. Good Luck.

Night Falls on Manhattan (1996)

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

[14 February 2004]

This is a good film but I found myself hitting the "back" button on my remote more than once; in fact quite a bit. Dialogue is mumbled or muffled, by many of the actors, throughout the whole film. It's a shame because a lot of this fidelity problem occurs at key points in the storyline. I was sorry I was'nt viewing a DVD, instead of VHS, so I could turn on the subtitles. The irony here is that a courtroom playback of a police radio call-in which should sound garbled is absolutely and incorrectly clear as crystal. The acting is great but the casting of Andy Garcia as the son of Ian Holm is a bit of a stretch. I guess he takes after his departed mother. Ron Leibman is really "over the top" as the District Attorney. James Gandolfini and Richard Dreyfuss are totally credible in their respective roles as cop and defense attorney. Lastly there's Lena Olin who, though underused here, can add class and beauty to any film. She deserved a bigger part. All in all with Sidney Lumet directing this is a worthy film and if you live in New York City you will appreciate it even more.

Turn of Faith (2002)

A first rate "B" movie action drama.

[11 February 2004]

This is not "The Godfather Epic" with a cast of thousands. So it should not be rated or categorized as such. It is a very satisfying and plausible suspense drama well worth watching. The cast is full of veteran talent with Ray Mancini and Mia Sara turning in fine performances along with Charles Durning, Tony Sirico and Tom Atkins. The storyline supported by good direction, editing and dialogue leave nothing to be desired. It unfolds very smoothly with a great finale that could easily lead to a sequel. If your in need of a quick fix while you await the new "Sopranos" season to begin this is the one to see. I give it a strong "3 stars" and recommend it with pleasure.