No contest that this is one of the all-time greatest movies of the Christmas season. And the attention to period details is wonderful. But why is Mrs. Parker's hair such a mess? Circa 1940, when the story takes place, women didn't wear their hair in a frizzy mess. Rolls were very popular, or smooth, wavy, shoulder length pageboys. It seems like a significant detail to overlook, when everything else is so period-perfect. Ralphie's teacher sports a more typical style. Mrs. Parker looks like she got a cheap home perm, and then stuck two barettes in it. In any case, it's a movie we look forward to every year.
Reviews
10 Reviews
Shrill
(2019–2021)
The actors are what make it great but...
27 June 2022
I started out in Season 1 loving this show. Annie, Fran, and the rest of the cast are relentlessly funny and entertaining, while giving a portrayal of something akin to real life with its ups, downs, triumphs, and humiliations--even if a bit exaggerated.
But by season 3 it felt like it was a about SEX and nothing but SEX, SEX, and more SEX.
But by season 3 it felt like it was a about SEX and nothing but SEX, SEX, and more SEX.
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
(2022)
Just OK
27 June 2022
I was surprised that it starts right out with Nancy waiting for her paid lover and arguing with herself if she should do this, which she never stops doing. There isn't really a plot, so we don't know much about why she's doing this, other than she had a nearly sexless marriage, and never had an orgasm. Of course, its always wonderful to watch Emma Thompson, and the young actor playing Leo Grande does a lovely job of portraying someone who takes his job seriously and professionally, and with great patience and compassion for this deeply frustrated woman--as much therapist as sex worker. It's funny that she shows up for her assignations dressed like the chair of the English department about to give a lecture on Emily Bronte. Would a woman this deeply ambivalent and rolled up tighter than a Cuban cigar actually take this route to sexual enlightenment? It feels unlikely.
Casting is the problem
9 April 2022
Anne Rice's book, on which the movie is based, paints her characters with a finely detailed brush. This makes me think the casting director didn't read the book, because deciding that Brad Pitt, and even worse, Tom Cruise as Lestat, is disappointing. First, these characters would certainly have had heavy French accents when they speak English. Hearing Louis's words spoken in a flat Midwestern accent....aaarrgghh. Tom Cruise is simply unable to embody the centuries old mystery that is Lestat, who is supposed to be magnetically attractive, charismatic--not Jerry McGuire in an 1800s tuxedo, buffoonish and about as menacing as Forest Gump. There is nothing supernatural about him. This a role made for someone like Johhny Depp, a young Christopher Walken or Peter O'Toole, Joaquin Phoenix. Louis could've been more believably played by Daniel Day Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, even Bradley Cooper. Antonio Banderas could've shone in either role, rather than being wasted in a much smaller part. Kirsten Dunst holds her own as the woman trapped in her childlike body. In short, it's so difficult to get past these casting bombs that the entire movie loses its ability to pull us into the world Rice has so deftly created.
Beauty Shop
(2005)
Fun to watch, but could've been more savvy
20 September 2021
This is a watchable, likable enough film, with some stand out moments from Alfre Woodard and Djimon Honsou particularly. But the overplayed stereotypes just get embarrassing, for both the black and white characters. Especially abrasive is Alicia Silverstone's wannabe ghetto act combined with a hillbilly accent that's like a boot to the ear. Mean black girls and hapless, hopeless white folks do not make for a well rounded glimpse into the world of a black hair salon in Atlanta. They missed out on so much potential and went for the cheap laughs. Chicken and waffles for your wedding,an obsession with everyone's backside, and Alicia Silverstone twerking? Still, it's enough to pass an hour and a half pleasantly enough.
A shocker
23 July 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This episode will go down as one of the all time great moments in TV history. From David's surprise announcement, to Moira's touchingly sincere, insightful words to Stevie, to the actual Cabaret numbers--thrills beginning to end. Watching Ted, Johnny, and David in the audience, the pure delight on their faces suggests this was the first time they'd seen the complete numbers from Cabaret.
Country Music
(2019)
Touches on so many gems
1 July 2021
I particularly loved the coverage of Mother Maybelle Carter and the Carter family, a first family of country music. I'm guessing many young fans of today's country music may never even heard of them. Ken Burns traces the music from it's roots in the "hillbilly" music of the Appalachians, to bluegrass and rockabilly, to the Golden age of country in the 50s and 60s. He doesn't miss a single twist or turn, or any of the iconic artists who created the music from the early 20th century to today.
The Rose Tattoo
(1955)
It's all about Anna M.
1 March 2021
You can't take your eyes off her during this Oscar-winning performance. Every gesture, every word, is true. The disappointment is Burt Lancaster, who plays the role of the simple truck driver like Vaudeville schtick, with a horrendous attempt at an Italian accent and comes off as a completely unbelievable, a clowning imbecile who couldn't possibly inspire any passionate interest from Magnani. Every time I watch it, I can't help wondering who they could've cast in his role--if it had been made a little later, Danny Aiello leaps to mind.
Rebecca
(I) (2020)
Did they read the book?
25 October 2020
I was looking forward to this remake, being a great fan of Daphne DuMaurier's book and the film with Lawrence Olivier and Joan Fontaine. Sadly, I was disappointed, starting with the casting of Maxim DeWinter and Mrs. DeWinter. The role of Maxim--urbane and brooding--begged for a Ralph Fiennes. And the young woman playing Mrs. DeWinter brought to mind a cheerleader from, perhaps, Cleveland, when it needed Saoirse Ronan. It lacked the feel and appearance of the classic Gothic original. Sigh.
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