farberw-1 Reviews

The Beast with Five Fingers (1946)

A film I will have to revisit,, my memory of the details nil...

[22 July 2017]

The film is dated 1946, at which time I was 8 years old. I have no recall of the film except for the following visual effect; I remember a pair of unattached hands playing the piano & being scared of my wits. The fright stayed with me when I returned home & if I'm not mistaken, I had a nightmare & it woke me up. Thinking back on it now, I still get the chills although I know now that just as it takes a village to raise a child (thanks Hillary) it takes an entire body for a pair of hands to play the piano. After I watch this film again, at my advanced age, I know enough now to keep a night light on, just in case it has the same affect on me as it did the first time I saw it...Be warned!

High Crimes (2002)

This film is a disgrace to the USMC!

[1/10 · 13 February 2017]

I served in a different branch of the military, USN, for 6 years, (1957-1963) & came to know something about the Corp & military procedures in general. I was Honorably Discharged, never having been reprimanded during that time. I saw service men at their best & not so admirably, having served on Shore Patrol & Armed Service Police details. It was not like Frank Sinatra & Gene Kelley in "On the Town," far from it. It is important to know for those who did not serve, that military life is much different than civilian life; guided by different rules & standards, according to traditions & the Uniform Code Of Military Justice.(UCMJ) Military justice has two different ways that a court marshal is structured, something I disagree with to this day. For Officers, they are judged by a jury of their peers, other officers. For enlisted personnel, they too are judged by officers, there are no enlisted men on the jury, not a jury of their peers! Why not? Methinks they don't trust enlisted men & women to be impartial & reach the "right" verdict... SHAMEFUL. The premise borders on the absurd, & the procedures followed are not what would take place in trying to ascertain guilt or innocence. I first noticed A. Judd in "Ruby in Paradise," & to this day is stunningly beautiful, adequate to the roll she is playing. The character portrayed by A. Peet is like no one I have ever encountered, thankfully, for this I blame the director, Ms. Peet would do well not to include it on her resume, she has done better work; please choose more carefully. Morgan Freeman, also, has much to answer for, a totally unbelievable character, for the circumstance he is involved in. Same advice to you, Mr. Morgan, the co-STAR of "Shawshank ..." Rather than wasting your time with this dud, see 'A Few Good Men," a much better representation of military life & justice.

Extraction (II) (2015)

It ain't no " Three Days of the Condor!"

[1/10 · 3 February 2017]

It took 24 Producers to put this mess together, why? It's about the CIA & " condor " is mentioned. I know one person & one organization who are not enamored by this portrayal, Robert Redford & the CIA. In the Subtitles, which I use so as not to miss any dialogue, they even spelled the city in NJ, Patterson. Hey, there is only one "t" in Paterson. Can't any of the Producers spell, even just 1 out of the 24? Bruce, baby, you can do better than this...can't you? I stopped going to the theater years ago; the Coming Attractions are way too loud & there are too many, & I simply can't afford the price of a ticket, nor can my wife. We made the choice that we would rather eat & pay our bills than risk seeing a movie we did not like. I use the word movie rather than film, using the word "film" for only those that are worthwhile. More & more I watch foreign films. I do miss not seeing films on the "big screen." I recently saw " Carol " on Showtime & it blew me away; I watched it every time it was shown. I have 250 films on MyMovies list; more if I could learn how to add more, since it was made more difficult to add to the list.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)

The role of father of the bride

[8/10 · 31 October 2014]

I have watched this film countless times & never tire of it. Although the entire cast does admirably well, for me Michael Constantine steals the film, hands down. How he was not at least recommended for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor is beyond my comprehension. He was brilliant! The frustration he was feeling, something I never felt when my children chose their partners, although sympathetic, was self inflicted. I was always in disagreement with Tevye, when he sang " Tradition, " in " Fiddler On The Roof. " To me tradition, in any religion or culture, is one of the greatest pitfalls to progress. When Gibran wrote in " The Prophet " that children are not ours, instead " they come through us, " I was in complete accord with his way of thinking. When Gus finally came around & welcomed Ian Miller to the extended family, that was when I said to myself, " It's about time. " Had I been in Ian's position, I would not have been so patient & understanding. To his credit, the dunking he got in the baby pool was more than I would have agreed to, even though I loved Tula almost as much as he did.

The Bag Man (I) (2014)

Adjectives have not yet been invented to describe what I saw

[1/10 · 8 March 2014]

Having just seen this film, I am in a state of disbelief, bordering on numbness. That John Cusak, memorable in " The Grifters, " & Robert De Niro, would sign on to this train wreck is beyond comprehension. De Niro's hair stylist is only surpassed by Stevie Wonder's & his costume designer is from the Liberace School of Tackiness. As far as the plot, theme, story-line, whatever...it is an embarrassment to the film industry, at large. To borrow a phrase from Judge Welsh, when questioning Senator Joseph McCarthy, to all who participated in this disaster: " Have you no shame?" I take no satisfaction in saying what I just did, but I could not, in good conscience, let this slip by & traumatize those out there who would expect to see a quality film & end up wondering what they just wasted their time watching. It is B A D!

The Monuments Men (2014)

recommend you see a superb film, thematically similar

[4 February 2014]

If you have not seen the 1964 film " The Train, " I highly recommend it. That the film is only IMDb-rated @7.9 is shameful. The only fault I found with the film was that it ended, not too soon, but ended...at all. I have viewed this film countless times & it never fails to move me; notice I did not say " entertain me." Burt Lancaster, Paul Scofield & Jeanne Moreau are excellent, as is the supporting cast. Filmed in B&W was a brilliant choice; I can still taste & smell the soot & smoke from the locomotive's coal-burning engine. I recently saw this film in a refurbished " movie theater " in Suffern, NY, on the theater's BIG SCREEN, which made me appreciate the film more than ever before. After all this time, it blew me away like it did the first time I saw it. I promise you, at the end of film, you will sit there until you are able to compose yourself & only then, leave the theater. It is film making of the highest order. I hope I have not over-sold this film. If you are not impressed by this film, you need to unsubscribe from IMDb.com; you are not a film lover!!!

Partir (I) (2009)

on viewing film for the second time...

[8/10 · 11 July 2013]

I saw this film for the first time, some months ago. It stayed with me to the point that I began watching it again, just before writing this review. I was unable to finish watching, knowing already how the film would end.

Ms Thomas's performance & film presence is outstanding. Once I got past her physical beauty, I was able to focus on the character she was portraying & how she inhabited that woman & what she had to deal with in the changes to her past life.

Maybe at some future time I will re-visit this fine film & try to make it to the end. For now, I have added it to My Movie list & will approach it with caution, knowing the powerful affect it had on me both times I saw it.

If you are a Ms Thomas fan, I recommend it... but be aware, this is not for the faint of heart.