herb_at_qedi Reviews

Marley & Me (2008)

Touchingly old-fashioned movie about the good and sad of marriage and family

[9/10 · 26 December 2008]

Marley and Me is one of the best all-around movies I've seen in a long time. Owen Wilson poured himself into his character for the first time I've seen on film and was superb as author/main character John Grogan. The title dog was magnificent and the training that must have gone into the filming is difficult to imagine giving all that the dog did. Jennifer Aniston's support was professional. She provided a perfect and realistic compliment to the perpetually restless Grogan. Alan Arkin was excellent as Grogan's cynical but supportive editor. Kathleen Turner was a hoot as a Germanic dog trainer and I was thrilled to see Joyce Van Patten as the prudish proprietor of an Irish Bed and Breakfast. The dog-sitter was also a hoot. She reminded me of Emily Blunt but since I didn't see her in the cast, I must be mistaken. Whoever she was, she was brilliant. I was not familiar with Eric Dane from the TV show mentioned, but I thought he was quite fitting for the Sebastian character, Grogan's boyfriend who gets to do all the things Grogan wishes to do. He certainly is handsome. The actors playing the children all played their parts in a realistic yet sentimental fashion consistent with the movie.

The movie was also very well paced. I didn't look at my watch once which for me is a major feat. I warn that Marley and Me is not a lightweight comedy. It will make you cry, and if you do take children, you should probably prepare them in advance for the issues involved when a pet can no longer continue.

One Perfect Day (2004)

Warning Label Required - Not for Old Fogeys

[1/10 · 26 December 2008]

From the other comments I just read, I found out that this was about trance music and the rave scene. Or is that rave music and the trance scene. Being 52 and American, I didn't know about any of this. I did catch that it was about drugs and young people's susceptibility to drugs and the tragedies that can cause, but even that was obtuse and inaccessible to someone like me.

Someone mentioned Pieces of A Dream, and I did think of that one as I watched this. I did not care for that experience as I felt that an artistic and misanthropic director threw all nasty imagery he could think of at his audience and regarded his audience as mere guinea pigs on which to vent his venom. But, at least I understood what was going on. The director, like many reviewers, clearly subscribe to the new mantra of film-making that mandates that the best directors maximize obtuse imagery and minimize words. A lot of guesswork was required.

I guess I'm old-fashioned but I still find plot essential and wish to follow one when I see a movie. I needed a prerequisite course in trance and the rave scene in order to understand this one.

A friend asked me if I liked Australian movies, and I've loved many of them, about 20 of the 23 I've seen. He lent me this one. Make that, 20 out of 24.

Outsourced (2006)

Asha can do anything!

[8/10 · 11 December 2008]

Todd says that halfway through the movie. By the end of the movie, I believed it too.

Ayesha Dharker gives a charismatic and spellbinding performer as Asha who believes inside that she is special but needs just a jolt of external validation to really take things to the next level.

One reviewer called this a ripoff of local hero. Ripoff is the wrong word. It does bring the Ugly American fish-out-of-water aspect to the table and also revels in the manner in which the locals are able to accept what is useful about the foreigner and let the rest slide. Many stories are variation on a prior story's theme. As has been said, there are no more original stories, just original variations. This is certainly one of the latter. But, only because it is Ayesha Darkher who transforms things. Just when the Ugly American thing is getting tired and the Colors sequence fails to imbue Josh Hamilton with the transforming chemistry that his character is supposed to feel, Asha steps to the fore and the entire movie turns magical.

Love Stinks (1999)

Sporadically amusingly absurd babe-bashing

[5/10 · 11 November 2008]

French Stuart does not act. He announces, shouts, derides, and pleas, but never actually talks. But, this is really a 90-minute series of skits on the wars between women and man from the point of view of a self-righteous, successful, white, Anglo-Saxon, spoiled brat. Consequently, some of the skits are highly amusing, others merely stupid, and still others insipid.

There are a few brilliant sequences that had me chuckling and one that had me laughing out loud despite myself. And, I do believe that other guys who have been through messy divorces, who have been dumped, or spent most of their lives being derided by women for being children, will enjoy a number of these sequences amusing. Will such guys be entertained? I think so.

Is there an iota of artistic merit or redeeming social value in this movie? Absolutely not. If you are looking for that, look elsewhere.

Then She Found Me (2007)

Enough offbeat choices by fledgling director Hunt work to make this absorbing

[8/10 · 3 November 2008]

Despite the Hallmark ending, this is not what I would consider a romantic comedy. It is a biological-clock-ticking-at-the-worst-possible-moment movie. It is a life-turned-inside-out-and-upside-down-and-then-she-found-me movie. From the settings and the lack of make-up to the dowdy clothes and the spartan folk-rock music, Helen Hunt's life is devoid of an ounce of glamor - until Bette Midler shows up - and then it doesn't do hunt any good anyway. I found all the performances exceptionally good. Unlike others, I thought Broderick's supporting turn was perfect as the man-child with an appealing grin who will never be a mensch. In fact the actress playing his mother conveyed everything we needed to know about their relationship in two lines and 30 minutes on camera. That is the hallmark of superb cooperation between actor and director.

I must disclose that I have not been a particular Helen Hunt fan as a motion picture actress. I thought she was still playing Jamie Buckman, only not as convincingly, when she won bast actress for As Good As It Gets. I did not care fora her in Cast Away, Hurricane, Dr. T and the Women, Curse of the Jade Scorpion, and at least one or two others that I can't think of offhand. I thought the best film performance I had seen her give was in Pay It Forward -- until now. Acting in your directorial debut is not generally a good idea. However, Director Hunt gets the best and most realistic performance I'd ever seen from actor Hunt. As for the rest of the cast, there was only one flaw: John Benjamin Hickey was all schtick as Midler's assistant and seem to miss the movie's tone entirely, giving no context for his character's betrayal of Midler. Everyone else was between very good and superb, especially Lynn Cohen in her brief-but-poignant role as April's mother, the actor playing April's brother, the "natural-chid" doctor (I forgot his name), and the always dependable Colin Firth as April's peripatetic love interest. Salman Rushdie as the doctor was fine. Midler, of course, was charged with providing the absurdly larger-than-life counterpoint to Hunt's otherwise submergence in relentless hard knocks. She does so with an amazingly successful combination of gusto and restraint, conveying marvelously the awkward steamrolling she is giving her birth daughter as the second-tier celebrity trying to make up for lost time.

As for the script, it mixed some great poignantly ironic dialog with some out-of-left-field dialog, and mostly real-life dialog in sequences sometimes slowed by three-too-many montage sequences. It had a few things that one needed a leap of faith to follow but never so dense that it couldn't be followed. Overall, a pretty good first effort for screenwriter Hunt if not up to the standards of actor Hunt and director Hunt in this film.

Bottom line: this isn't a perfect film, but it is a very good one and well worth watching.

My Best Friend's Girl (2008)

Definite guilty pleasure for me, headlined by Jesus Crust - where pizza is a religious experience!

[8/10 · 1 November 2008]

I went to this only because I couldn't get into the movie I came to the theater for. I don't know Dane Cook's stand-up and hated him in the overrated Dan In Real Life. But, we figured we could pass time for two hours so we went in.

It started routinely enough. Okay, the guy gets paid to be the date from heck so the girls goes crying back into her guy's arms. Okay concept, if executed well. Then we get Jason Biggs trying to clean up his act to impress Kate Hudson who likes him but is not wowed by him. Since Jason is Dane's roommate, he hires Dane to do his specialty. By this point, we're 20+ minutes into the movie and it made me laugh twice and is otherwise pretty lame. I looked at my watch. Then, Kate's roommate preps her for the date to sow some wild oats and the real fun begins.

The humor in My Best Friend's Girl is rude, crude, inappropriate, socially irredeemable -- and made me laugh out loud - a lot! Cook's chemistry with Hudson was electric. The twist is she can give as good as she gets and vice versa. She gets under his skin, but he stays in denial, leading to his next assignment which to me was the high point of the movie. The girl is religious and he takes her to a restaurant in an old church called Jesus Crust - where pizza is a religious experience. i don't want to spoil the inspired gags in this sequence, but I was nearly rolling in the aisles. This victim actually winds up setting the stage for a few plot twists I didn't expect. The movie is raucous fun from then on until the end.

I thought Alec Baldwin was absurdly funny as the Women's Studies professor who is Cook's father. His chemistry with Cook is also terrific. Cook's former client who is about to marry Kate's sister is also hilarious as is she and the woman playing Kate's mother. Then, the movie goes a bit soft,conventional, and derivative -- but is still witty at the end, and the last two scenes play out nicely.

This is not a piece of art, but if you ever went to frat parties and can remember having fun at them and want to spend some time laughing out loud, give My Best Friend's Girl a look. I work in Manhattan so I have to be careful to whom I say I liked this movie -- that's why I call it a guilty pleasure!

Bee Season (2005)

A Stranger Among Us Kidnaps Akeelah and Holds Her Hostage

[2/10 · 8 October 2008]

Another IMDb user who rated this just as low as I did called this an infomercial for Kaballah. On that, I must disagree. Infomercials generally have strong narrative voices, attempt to explain their products in easy-to-understand and easy-to-appreciate terms, and try to keep you interested, informed, and engaged. As a true independent film from the 1990 - 2010 period, Bee Season does none of these things.

I know no more about Kaballah now than I did before I watched the movie. I care no more about it than I did then either. So as an infomercial, it fails miserably. The filmmakers do follow today's independent film mantra of using as few words as humanly possible. It has been decided by this generation that words are a crutch best left to Hollywood hacks. All great movies are visual only. This "Truth" alone often leaves me clueless on independent movies as to why we are seeing what we are seeing, in what order things are happening, and whether something is actually happening or imagined.

Most of today's intelligentsia calls this stretching one's mind and challenging one's audience. I call it pretentious obfuscation and self-aggrandizement. Bee Season, to me, is the poster child for this independent film phenomenon.

The trailers led me to believe that this would be another Akeelah and the Bee -- a film I loved. Instead, it is even worse than the only other movie I know that had Kabbalah as part of its plot - A Stranger Among Us -- and that was putrid.

I try to consider a movie on its own terms. Viewed that way, Juliet Binoche was remaking Woman Under The Influence without Gena Rowlands' talent or John Cassavettes' direction. If Kate Bosworth was a real Hare Krishna, on any terms, then I'm a giraffe! The movie was so ponderously directed and withholding of information about the movie's most innocuous events. Therefore, it was difficult to know when something was important or just unbearably routine.

I actually did think that the girl playing Eliza and Richard Gere gave excellent performances that made their characters somewhat interesting at times even though they both made many actions inconsistent with the characters they carefully built up. It is for these two performances that I give this film 2 out of ten instead of zero.

Juno (2007)

Juno Flows with the Universe

[9/10 · 30 September 2008]

Juno is, unapologetically, who she is. Life is a journey, not a destination, and Juno seems to appreciate that more than most of us. Hers is a journey of self-discovery, marked by choices she never expected to make. Along the way, she learns something that many of us never seem to learn -- most especially the many reviews I read condemning this movie on "moral grounds" -- not to take ourselves or life too seriously. In many ways, Juno is innately very "zen" in that she instinctively realizes that she cannot control the feelings or actions of those around her any more than they can truly control her. If you can, without preconceptions, enjoy watching this type of teenager grow with her experiences on an understated human scale, you will enjoy this movie.

Alternatively, you can insist on criticizing the movie for the hype, its lack of "moral values", its "cliched" dialog (only if you don't live there - clichés become clichés because they start out as truths), or its lack of misanthropy, then you can feel good about how superior you are to idiots like me who thoroughly enjoyed Juno.

Righteous Kill (2008)

Fast moving buddy film delivers what it promises - nothing more, nothing less

[8/10 · 30 September 2008]

I am amazed by the prevalence of critics who watch a movie like Righteous Kill and criticize it for not being more "realistic", "original", or "less Hollywood." This IS a buddy-cop movie, created to showcase the two leads as aging cops and, in the course of doing its thing, use all the "magic" that Hollywood has to offer. This includes Carla Gugino as a M.E. who is DeNiro's loyal girlfriend. Hey, it reinforces MY male fantasies! The acting is uniformly excellent although it seems a waste to use Brian Dennehy so sparingly. More importantly, it runs only 97 minutes and i never looked once at my watch.

That said, the movie isn't nearly as dumbed-down or clichéd as many in this genre. It develops characters as interestingly as the proceeding permit. Leguziamo and Donnie Wahlberg get a fair amount of screen time as the second set of cop partners and perform quite well. Barry Primus and Alan Rosenberg also do well in their supporting roles. The final denouement stretches our credibility a bit, but much less so than many others in the genre, and certainly not so much that it lessens our enjoyment.

If you watch this expecting to see "Prince of The City" or "The French Connection", you will be sorely disappointed. If you thought those two classics were well acted but overlong and a bit bloated, have fun watching Righteous Kill. It's a good way to spend 97 minutes!

Snow Angels (I) (2007)

**SPOILERS** Terrific acting and interesting dialog drowned in overwhelming minimalism

[3/10 · 30 September 2008]

Director Green, an Indie favorite, is known for minimizing dialog. He tries to make his characters "bone real." He wishes to make known his utter disdain for crowd-pleasing Hollywood endings, feel-good clichés, and conventional sequencing of scenes and events. Indeed, Snow Angels accomplishes all of the above. So, if you are an "indie-holic" cynic who loves to deride Hollywood, euphemisms, and optimism, and thrives on the misanthropic and pretentious, Snow Angels, is indeed, for you. If so, Mapplethorpe is probably one of your favorite artists.

Me, I work in New York City. Unlike others in my office I know who purported to love this, I get enough dreary reality shoved in my face every day that I like a movie, even a serious independent film, to provide me with some entertainment value. Snow Angels, unapologetically, delivers none.

It's a shame because the performances (with the minor exception of Nicky Katt as a philandering husband who has an affair with Beckinsale) are first-rate. The boy in what should have been the lead, Arthur, is a real eye-opener and the young actress playing his high-school girlfriend also is magnetic.

The real purpose in making this movie, I suspect, is to take the most glamorous supermodel-actress on the planet, Kate Beckinsale, de-glamorize her, change her accent, and show how convincingly she can play a depressed single mom in a dead-end town with a dead-end job having a dead-end affair with her best friend's husband (Solaris excellent as the friend). Beckinsale delivers all the film asks of her and more. She has some good dialog and makes the most of it. She has some pedestrian dialog and makes it palatable.

Unfortunately, neither Arthur nor Beckinsale gets the most camera time. Green's camera, for whatever reason, has fallen in love with the most clichéd character of the movie - the small-town, redneck, ex-alcoholic, irresponsible but earnest, born-again, insecure, depressed, and delusional estranged husband played by Sam Rockwell. The performance is dead solid perfect. But, we know everything there is to know about this character from his first scene onward. And, we've seen and read about him so many times before. Dwelling without sound on him dancing with an old lady in a bar or looking up at the Lord adds nothing but time poorly spent for the viewer.

Instead, almost no time is spent on why Beckinsale has such dysfunctional and oblique relationships with her mother and her daughter as if Green expected us to have read the book to find out. The actress playing Arthur's mother is excellent in the few snippets she has. I longed to learn more about her, but alas, to no avail. Griffin Dunne understands the format and does an excellent job with his eyes and body language of conveying what needs to be known about Arthur's estranged father in the minimal time he is given. As another reviewer said, Green has one of the characters states that people do things for no reason and that's supposed to be enough for us. Well, sometimes they do, and sometimes there's lots of reasons. Movies like this that are short on action normally compensate by being long on character development. Except for Rockwell, not so here. And his character needed the least development. On the plus side, Tom Noonan is given precisely the correct amount of time for his two hilarious vignettes as the self-important bandleader.

Altogether, if you watch a movie for art or to prove that all Indie movies are better than Hollywood movies, Snow Angels may be your cup of tea. If you are looking for entertainment value or character development or for a way inside the characters, look elsewhere.

To Find a Man (1972)

Poignant Coming-of-Age Comedy-Drama

[10/10 · 24 January 2005]

The two teens, Pamela Sue Martin and Darren O'Conner, are the stars, and they give as realistic a portrayal of two teenagers in a dilemma that many have had to face countless times before them, but they don't know that. Ms. Martin is perfect as the teenage girl who despite her intelligence, never thinks before she acts in matters of love.

As for matters of honor, she knows she using O'Conner because he has a pubescent crush on her, and she's neither milking it for all its worth nor shying away from accepting his misguided but genuine kindness. For O'Conner's part, he really knows Martin's not going to stick with him after he helps her solve his problem, but the dignity with which he handles the entire situation is nothing short of masterful in his own perfectly awkward way. Lloyd Bridges and Phyllis Newman are marvelous as the clueless parents and Tom Ewell is surprisingly effective in a non-humorous role. This one is well worth seeing.

The Spoilers (1942)

Professional All The Way

[10/10 · 23 January 2005]

Professionally acted, directed, filmed, and well-written "Gold Rush" movie set the standard that others have copied but never topped. Dietrich is impeccable, actually better than her great performance in Destry Rides Again. Scott turns out to be surprisingly stretched with a touch of seldom-seen whimsy. Wayne, of course, take a role he is perfectly cast for, and makes it better still. Samuel S. Hinds and Harry Carey give standout performances among a uniformly excellent supporting cast. The stunt works and the fight scenes are enduring classics not soon forgotten.

In my humble opinion, the Spoilers should be considered as much of, or more of, an essential John Wayne classic performance and movie that must be seen by any fan or student of Wayne and his movies than other over-hyped films from later days, such as The Searchers and The Alamo. To watch it is to enjoy it.

Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years (1999 TV Movie)

Sublime Dignity Earned Through The Suffering Of Untold Dignities

[9/10 · 23 January 2005]

The autobiography on which this movie is based remains one of the most heart-rending books I have ever read. It tells the amazing stories of two sisters, both who earned devotion and respect working well into their 70's as a teacher and a dentist, then lived another 30 years with dignity. Ruby Dee steals the film with her perfectly nuanced performance as the rebellious "blacker" Bessie, the dentist. She not only expresses her anger, angst, and wisdom well; she lets you know exactly where they've come from using an economy of words. Diahnn Carroll has the feel of the older sister, the teacher, down perfectly, but I'm afraid she never makes me believe that she's over 100. No matter -- the stories are well worth telling. Amy Madigan is a bit too extreme and intrusive in acting overwhelmed and insecure in the first half of the movie as the Caucasian NY Times reporter. This, too, is only a minor distraction. The stories, all true, are the attraction and although two or three get slightly damaged in the translation, most of them make it through just fine.

I recommend the book as essential reading to all people I recommend any books to. I cannot quite but this TV-movie in that rarefied air, but it certainly captures enough of the flavor to be highly worthwhile in its own right.

Letters from Frank (1979 TV Movie)

It's a sin to grow old...

[9/10 · 23 January 2005]

...and from between 1974 until about 1988 or so, no one was better at getting to the truth of teaching us that then Art Carney. Following his Oscar-Winning performance in Harry and Tonto, Carney had about a dozen opportunities to deliver nuanced performances across a number of films and a variety of genres on both the big screen and TV. Many of these characters mixed the wisdom gained through the years with the chagrin of being pushed aside because of those same years. This included fine performances in The Late Show, Going In Style, W. W. and the Dixie Dance Kings, and this made-for-TV movie, Letters From Frank. Of these, Letters From Frank about a 65-year-old Editor being put out to pasture, probably showcased his ability to express his anger through vitriolic anger the most; in the others mentioned, he limited himself to one vitriolic episode per movie and other engaged mostly in sardonic whimsy. This distinction alone would be enough reason to give a quick look at Letters From Frank, but despite a confusing and mostly one-note first third, there are many jewels on display here. Maureen Stapleton is a joy to watch as Frank's feisty wife, Betty, who helps him finally getting over getting mad and to focus on getting himself better before taking on the issue of exacting a small measure of justice. Lew Ayres and Margaret Hamiltion get to show that they haven't lost their sense of timing and a young Michael J. Fox makes a nice contribution. In the midst of the final payoff, the two unknowns who play the movers almost steal the movie altogether. Mike Farrell and Jenny O'Hara are appropriate as Frank's son Richard, the recipient of the letters, and his supportive wife. By 2/3rds through, you'll know how it all ends up. It doesn't matter because as Frank is reminded, it's not the destination that matters, but the quality of the journey.

Dakota (1945)

A Perfect Saturday Morning Western

[8/10 · 23 January 2005]

This is the most enjoyable "B" Western I'd seen in quite awhile. It is fast-paced, mostly light-hearted yet doesn't stint on the serious implications of the dramatic sequences; it makes you feel and believe the human tragedies that would occur if town boss Bender (Ward Bond, marvelously effective and subtle as smooth-talking and thoughtful villain) were to be successful at bankrupting his fellow townspeople, paving the future railroad towns with the rubes' broken dreams. John Wayne was starting to solidify the nucleus of the stock company of supporting actors he would make many movies with in the future (on hand besides Bond are Paul Fix, Walter Brennan, Grant Withers, Olin Howard, Bruce Cabot, and Mike Mazurki.

Wayne is perfectly cast as the rough-and-tumble gambler who falls for railroad heiress Vera Rhuba Ralston, much to father Hugo Haas' chagrin who is a rather slick and powerful operator himself. The twist here is that Ralston is as cunning and devious as her Dad and new husband combined, and is continually effective in steering things in the direction she wants them to flow. Not normally a Ralston fan, I thought she played the role with flair, attractiveness, and a perfect energy level. She doesn't have the on-screen chemistry with Wayne that Maureen O'Hara or Gail Russell later did, but when your husband owns the studio, you don't want to allow the chemistry to get too real-looking. Ona Munson as "Jersey" is hotter and makes both her scenes memorable. Walter Brennan is perfectly cast as a persnickety riverboat captain, and Nick Stewart provides able comic assistance as his blunt first mate(Racially stereotyped, of course, but still very funny, and not at all demeaning if you look at it objectively). Bond and Mazurki are excellent as the deceptive villains. Fix and Withers are professional and provide subtle special touches as Bond's hired guns.

Given the budget and the generally pedestrian record of Director Kane, this is actually a surprisingly well made. My demands/expectations of this oater were small when I tuned it in on the Encore Western channel. I was looking for a fast-paced, check-your-brains-at-the-door oater to have on in the background as I picked up around the apartment. Instead, not only is it tautly directed, fast-paced, wry, and well-acted, but it has an extremely well-crafted adapted screenplay from Carl ("High Noon") Foreman. The insights conveyed by the script, even including some of the background and "throwaway" lines, are literate and register long after the lines have passed.

Overall, this movie can be recommended on many levels. Deapite it's quite modest roots, it is a durable, high-spirited, well-acted, and well-directed oater that also is exceptionally well-written. Not the type of title that will impress your art-house buddies, unless they accept your challenge and actually watch it before they write it off. Those actually watch it are in for special treats.

Along Came Polly (2004)

2nd Half Better Than the 1st in Mostly Routine "Romantic" Comedy

[7/10 · 14 January 2005]

This movie was pitched exactly as what it is - a formulaic comedy with familiar faces. After getting bogged down a bit much with Alec Baldwin engaging in bathroom humor and Philip Seymour Hoffman doing his worst Chris Furley imitation in response to the opening plot contrivance, the film comes to life when Jennifer Aniston's presence hits the screen. This is followed by more clichés, but far less clumsy sight gags and quips made better by the handling of pros.

When Bryan Brown's Richard-Bransom-type character shows up, he brings an electricity that seems to energize the entire cast the rest of the way. A number of nice twists follow with occasional 1-1/2 turns when we are expecting single turns. Bob Dishy, as Stiller's father, has a marvelous scene with Hoffman's character, and Michelle Lee is terrific as his Mom. But, the biggest surprise to me was going through the entire movie waiting to see Hank Azaria, then finding out which character he was playing. What a scream that turned out to be! Debra Messing is adequate as the straying bride who wants back into Stiller's life.

As for the romance in the romantic comedy, Stiller and Aniston has wonderful chemistry and timing as a comedy duo and as ex-Junior-High-School buddies along the lines of Stiller with Jenna Elfman in Keeping The Faith. But Stiller's only romantic chemistry is invariably with himself! Consequently, there's nothing "hot" sexually about this pairing. From the technical sides, score was terrific, photography enhanced the experience, and wardrobe definitely added to the gags.

Overall, this is an amusing and unchallenging time-passer if you can ignore Hoffman and Baldwin being way over the top in the first half of the movie.

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

My Second Favorite Movie Of The 1970's

[10/10 · 13 January 2005]

I try to avoid using words like "the Best" when it comes to movies since it is all so subjective. I feel much more comfortable and poised discussing my personal favorites, and why I love them. Walter Matthau is virtually ideal as the world-weary and sarcastic New York police detective. Capable of interjecting quick wit into the most morbid situations and equally capable of committing numerous faux pas, he nonetheless NEVER loses his humanity and does not let fear of ridicule deter him from taking care of the business at hand. I have never seen a movie portray a cop that, at the same time, is so realistic as a human being, entertaining as a character, and effective as a detective despite inevitable false starts. There is not a false note in Matthau's performance.

As a perfect complement to Matthau's tour-de-force, the quartet of crooks (Shaw, Elizondo, Balsam, and Hindman) all present facades of coldly and brutally efficient professionalism as robbers-by-choice but murderers-only-by-necessity. Shaw and Elizondo are superb with the two showier roles, but they are made even more effective by the underplayed professional support supplied by Hindman and Balsam. The latter contributes mightily to the film's unforgettable final scene.

The plot, music, photography, background, dialog, and the rest of the supporting cast -- most especially Dick O'Neill as a vengeful city worker, Lee Wallace as the whiny mayor, and Tony Roberts as Wallace's image consultant -- are all equally up to the task.

I love many 1970's movies. Probably not coincidentally, my #1 favorite remains the Sting, another caper movie. Some of my other favorites that still hold up well today include: Rocky, Sleuth, Patton, M*A*S*H, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, American Graffiti, Paper Moon, Kramer Vs. Kramer, Star Wars, Taxi Driver, Fiddler On The Roof, Brian's Song, The Godfather, The Last Detail, and Cabaret. Nevertheless, if I'm alone on a rainy day here in New York City, and wish to be entertained, frequently the first movie I will select is The Taking Of Pelham-One-Two-Three.

In the Cut (2003)

A New Campion -- But most certainly not a better one

[1/10 · 13 January 2005]

Has Jane Campion reached the post-2001 Stanley Kubrick stage of her career? Is she convinced that her genius can only be expressed through relentless repetition of disquieting imagery accompanied by utter disdain for conventional contrivances such as plot or emotion? Is dialog best left to ordinary Hollywood hacks? Or, as an Australian, has she actually created a wry valentine to America's obsession with entwining erotic and illicit sex with brutally unrestrained violence? I could see where an enterprising Film Studies professor could spend an entire month studying and discussing some of these themes in contrast to Campion's earlier efforts.

Other than as an examination of the director as auteur, In The Cut is one of the most relentlessly and irredeemably inept excuses for a movie that it has ever been my misfortune to watch from beginning to end. What meager plot exists is disjointed, torn asunder, then restitched incomprehensibly by Campion. The scant morsels of dialog are unreasonably profane and much too hostile for the situations as presented. All the "acting" seems to be a series of exercises in lyrical improvisation and rhythmic mime. The soundtrack is annoyingly random with an undertone of mockery. The pacing is THE WORST I have ever seen in a so-called thriller. In fact, on my personal overall list, I believe that this may replace Heavywights as my least favorite movie of all time -- my new Platinum Turkey Champion by Campion. But, by my own rules, doing so would require watching it two more times, and I'm not certain I could endure THAT!

Not that In The Cut is devoid of novelty aspects. Approximately, 35% of the shots used in the movie include the bare breasts of Meg Ryan's character. I believe that I noticed a slight difference on the side of the left breast in one shot 2/3 the way through than in the next spot. If true, this could be a whole new reason for single guys to rent the movie. It could even become a popular frat party game: Freeze Frame - In this next shot, is that really Meg or is it her body double? Is that really Kevin Bacon in an uncredited cameo? How many new people do we get to add to the "One Degree of Bacon" list? Why does Meg's father have brown eyes as a young man and blue eyes when he's older? In short, this movie is so irredeemably repulsive, but with so many noteworthy quirks, that it almost must be seen to be believed. But, if you are willing to believe it without seeing it, you can probably save yourself 2 hours and 25 minutes of pure torture.

Loss of Innocence (1961)

Magnificent and under-appreciated movie

[10/10 · 16 December 2004]

The Greengage Summer is impeccably acted, directed, scripted, filmed, and scored. Excellence abounds which is why it remains one of my favorites. I join in the nearly unanimous chorus for its release on video as well. But, there is a mystery I simply find imponderable here. I hope the Editor who reviews this comment will be kind enough to e-mail me an answer to the mystery if he or she has one. My email is [e-mail]

The mystery is this. 40 of the 59 IMDb reviewers rank this movie 10 out of 10. The other 19 votes stratify down in descending order with the lowest being a 4. The arithmetic mean of these ratings is 9.1; yet the only IMDb rating listed on the main page is something called "the weighted" average which is a lower ranking than 54 of the 59 respondents at 6.6. How can this be? As I understand it, the weighted average gives a higher weight to those who have reviewed the most movies on IMDb. But, I've NEVER seen anything close to this kind of disparity between the arithmetic mean and the weighted average -- I found just a very few with more than a 1.2-point differential, but 2.5???

What, was some 19-year old who has reviewed 100,000 science-fiction and action movies for IMDb forced by his mother to watch The Greengage Summer, so out of spite and anger, he contributed the four -- and because he's watched and reviewed such a gigantic number of movies, everything gets skewed in the direction of his vote??? Am I warm? Could you please provide us with the answer?

I think that 6.6 represents a huge distortion from the large chorus of diverse reasons for loving the film. Therefore, I humbly request an executive review and overriding this formula, perhaps splitting the difference to 7.8 or 7.9. I think that the comments make it clear that 7.8 or 7.9 is far more representatives of what IMDb movie-watchers think of The Greengage Summer than a mediocre 6.6.

Is there any chance of a revision? If not, could you please explain to us devoted fans why?

Anyway, this criticism aside, IMDb provides an excellent service for us all, and I urge you to keep up the good work.

Stand Up and Be Counted (1972)

Two Different Movies -- Both bad

[3/10 · 16 December 2004]

There is one and only one lasting contribution to the arts made by Stand Up and Be Counted. It debuted Helen Reddy's inspirational song, "I Am Woman", ostensibly the theme of this movie. But, is it meant seriously or as a farce. I've seen this mess twice and still can't tell.

This was comedic-actor Jackie Cooper's only feature film as a director -- and it's easy to see why. There are a few well-executed turns delivered by a few lights that somehow manage to shine brightly among a deep and talented supporting cast, including Stella Stevens, young Loretta Swit, Gary Lockwood, young Hector Elizondo, and a very wry Michael Ansara. Unfortunately, they are trying to support Jacqueline Bisset who seems to think she's been cast in the Barbara Parkins role in Valley Of The Dolls -- melodramatic to the hilt. When we're not with the oh-so-earnest Bisset, we're with her mother (Lee Purcell) and sister (Anne Francine) trying to stand up to MCP Steve Lawrence who frustrates them for most of the film. If it sounds like it could work, perhaps it could have worked, but trust me it truly doesn't. And, playing like a skein of bad blackout sketches rejected from Love American Style, each scene is more ridiculous than the one before it. Jackie Cooper spent a lot of time learning how to tickle funny bones from George Burns. In other contexts this might work, but farce treating women's liberation as the ridiculous fodder for slapstick comedy should have been manifestly out of place given the presence of Bisset, Reddy's song, and Bernard Slade's original script. Instead, Director Cooper chose to bastardize the script, trivialize its subjects, and to treat the issue of adult women demanding to be taking seriously as inherently absurd and the fodder for raucous (or is that nauseous) comedy. It's a real pity. Greg Mullavey and Meredith Baxter have a nice moment in one of the vignettes. And stalwart vets Nancy Walker, Kathleen Freeman, and Shelley Morrison contribute what they can -- given Cooper's choice to treat it as absurd -- to the grand comic finale with the fed-up ladies burning their bloomers. Then we cut back to the reflective Bisset questioning whether the struggle is worth it, then resolving that it is. Fine, but nothing we just were assaulted with seems to back that up.

This is useful as a time capsule, to listen to the debut of "I Am Woman" and also to get an early look at some very talented performers. Beyond that, this is feeble, insulting, with Bisset, Purcell, and Francine all very difficult to watch in their own ways (except to be exploited for their looks as sex objects). Ironically, Cooper's listing on this site lists him as "sometimes listed as Allen Smithee", yet he used his real name on the director credits for this turkey. If he doesn't use it here, what would it take for him to use it.

Oh well, it's a shame. I rate Stand Up and Be Counted as a 3 out of 10.

The Shape of Things (2003)

Artistic Licentiousness At Its Apex -- ** Spoilers Inside **

[5/10 · 10 December 2004]

This movie spends its first 70 minutes making you think you that it is a pleasant and innocuous romantic comedy-drama about an off-the-wall, iconoclastic and rebellious artiste (Rachel Weisz in an amazing performance) and the awkward nerd (well-played by Paul Rudd) to whom she takes a shine.

There is a second couple whom are really the only other people with whom the lead duo interact, much less interestingly played by insipidly homespun Gretchen Mol and Rudd's grating asshole of a best friend played by Frederick something-or-other. The latter has some great lines that could have been great scenes if he could have summoned up the energy to play his character in more than one note. The unfortunate Mol, everybody's straight-person (quite literally), is given the weakest and slowest paced dialog scenes in the movie. She virtually fills the screen with ennui whenever she and Rudd share a scene together. Hence, the movie's middle is fairly boring.

In contrast, Weisz and Rudd are captivating and interesting together. Their exchanges are witty and winning. Eventually, the issue slowly become to what extent Rudd is willing to turn over his life to Weisz to run for him even as they both seem to fall deeper in love with each other. Then, it's time for the three friends to give Evelyn (Weisz) support as she unveils her semester's labor of love at a Performance Art Exhibition. Incredibly, Weisz is somehow able to guilt trip Rudd's two estranged friends into attending the exhibition. Romantically, Rudd presents her with an engagement ring handed down from his grandmother just before the performance is to commence.

She breathlessly informs the audience of this, and that Rudd will have his answer before the exhibition is over. Rudd smiles.

*** SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT *** As the song goes, "Set up like a bowling pin!..." Several times earlier, Evelyn (Weisz) reminded us how very important her art was to her. Still, I doubt that any of us in the audience had any idea just how important that is and how heartless and single-minded she really would turn out to be in her willingness to place her art above ALL. Suffice it to say that this scene turns out to define the heart and soul of a movie that turns out to be completely heartless and completely soulless -- unapologetically so -- such is the "genius" of LaBute!

Please excuse me now whilst I go off to take another shower!