My family, the Hammonds, first saw this movie on Million Dollar Movie on channel 11 KPIX NYC. We were fully alerted when we heard our name called out in the synopsis. We must have seen it ten times back then as the movie was shown for one week, 3 or 4 times daily. It scared us kids while our parent just rolled their eyes when we watched it again and again. It's a very atmospheric mystery/thriller, with outstanding cinematography. The actors are all good although the attempts at comedy were winch-inducing as others have mentioned. A few plot holes and stretched-thin character motivations round out the negatives but that atmosphere still carries the film and I really enjoyed seeing it again . . . and again.
Reviews
12 Reviews
Bottle Shock
(2008)
Bottle Shocked; or Who Was That Guy?
6 December 2010
Bottle Shock is the latest in a series of wine-related movies, kick-started by Sideways, with a dubious oenological lineage. (I had issues with that film as well.) Since I'm a movie nut, as well as a wine and screenplay writer, I had to comment on this film. There is no need for a spoiler warning unless you don't know who won the wine competition. First off, I did enjoy the movie. Any movie that has Alan Rickman cast as a wine snob will get my attention. Can any other actor sneer as fulsomely as Rickman? I doubt it, and his role as the Englishman, Steven Spurrier, couldn't have been better. Spurrier set up the blind tasting event between French Burgundy and Bordeaux wines and their California counterparts. Dennis Farina was also good as his amiable business associate. The setting of 1976 Paris was well mounted for the actual judgment at movie's end. (Even though the actual tasting was shot in Napa.) In many respects, this was a reasonable reenactment of the events surrounding the Paris tasting in 1976, which I learned from reading George Taber's book, The Judgment of Paris. When the story moved to Napa and images of dusty vineyards rolled by, it triggered memories of my own explorations there, proof they did a good job of evoking Napa in the 70's. Bill Pullman as the irascible owner of Château Montelena, Jim Barrett, hit all the right notes and played off Rickman well. The following dialog between Pullman and Rickman pretty much sums up what I mean. Jim Barrett: Why don't I like you? Steve Spurrier: Because you think I'm an ass. And I'm not really. It's just that I'm British, and you aren't. At this point, recalling Taber's book, I was expecting to meet the other major players in the Napa success story. And then . . . and then things got strange. Who was this Gustavo Brambila character? And where were Mike Grgich and Warren Winiarski? Grgich crafted the award-winning Chardonnay for Château Montelena, and Winiarski founded Stag's Leap Wine Cellars and crafted the winning Cabernet Sauvignon at the judging. Their bios in the book were part of what made it fascinating as these two men struggled from the bottom to the top of the Napa wine ladder. Gustavo (Freddy Rodriguez) is a real character, although he wasn't at Château Montelena when the Chardonnay was made. He even has his own winery, the well-regarded Gustavo Thrace Winery. (I've tasted his wine, which is quite good.) He was also the technical consultant to the film. Hmmm. Well, OK, add Gustavo, but why take out two of the four principal players in the Judgment of Paris? For that we need to check out the behind-the-scenes story, which may be as entertaining as the film. The screenwriter, Ross Schwartz, began work on the script before the Taber book came out. He planned to show the rivalry between Barrett and Grgich, but when Grgich asked to be removed from the film, Schwartz switched it to Jim and his son Bo (Chris Pine). If you don't think that was a rivalry, you should check out the boxing scenes. Schwartz decided to focus on this story, and the only mention of Winiarski or Stag's Leap Wine Cellars was in the closing remarks summarizing the winners and subsequent blind tastings, which were also won by the Californians. If Grgich had wished to be in the film, Danny Devito had been cast to play him. What a missed opportunity, Devito and Rickman discoursing on wine; that I'd have paid extra to see. While the lyrical subplot of Bo's and Gustavo's infatuation with Sam, (played by the glowing Rachel Taylor), was entertaining, it would tend to lead some viewers to the conclusion that Gustavo's red wine was a winner at the blind tasting. Particularly since Sam's passion for Gustavo's wine soon led to a different kind of passion in a shack. I can't believe the film played on the "shacked-up" metaphor. And I can't believe I just commented on it. What they got right was the passion for wine making and the sense that Napa was poised to take on the wine world. Wine purists have derided the movie for its inaccuracies, but the oenological sense of life felt right to me. Although Spurrier sent his assistant to Napa to procure the wine, the filmmaker's decision to have Rickman confront the Californians on their own turf was an excellent choice and provided some of the film's best moments. There is another picture about the very same event called Judgment of Paris, which is in development and slated for 2010. The screenplay is by Robert Mark Kamen, based on the book by George Taber. Kamen is also a wine maker, and will probably be more faithful to the book. The film is also approved by Steven Spurrier, who claimed Rickman was too old and portrayed him as an effete wine snob. Unfortunately, every comment I've read by him comes across to me in Rickman's voice. About Bottle Shock, Spurrier said "No doubt I shall have to watch it on my flight to Singapore next week, but at least it will be from the comfort of First Class, with a glass of Dom Perignon to ease the pain." See what I mean? Rickman, right? Once again more multiple movies based on the same story are generating controversy, and talk of law suits. While a more accurate take on the events of the Paris tasting would be welcomed, keeping it as entertaining as Bottle Shock could prove challenging. Particularly since Keanu Reeves is being cast as the diminutive Mike Grgich. What happened to Devito in all this? Who knows, if this movie comes out we may get the Judgment of Wine Movies.
She Gods of Shark Reef
(1958)
Filmed on Kauai is its only plus
25 June 2010
I saw this movie - for free, thank heavens - at my timeshare on Kauai. This was one of many films shot on Kauai, more movies were shot here than any other island in the Hawaiian chain. Since I normally like Corman's movies, and many scenes were shot at places I've been on the island, most obviously Hanalei pier, I thought, "How bad could it be?" You know you're in trouble when you have trouble getting through half of a very short movie. My friends and I continually looked at each other as if to say, "Are you enjoying any of this?" Bad cinematography made it hard to recognize places I was at only hours before! Whoever did the transfer to DVD - and why?? - either found the worst print available, or used an ancient duplicator. There is one plus I can give this film, I now can say I saw a movie that rates lower than Plan 9 from Outer Space. OK, half a movie. Do not see this movie if you like Roger Corman's movies, you'll change your mind.
Lust, Caution
(2007)
Lust, caution are both on display
30 March 2010
What a mesmerizing film this is. Although the pace does drag at times, particularly in the early moments of the film, putting in quicker cuts between scenes would have compromised the rest of the film. This is supposed to be a slow build, so the complete character can be revealed toward the end of the movie. Set design, locales, and cinematography were excellent. Freeze frame at almost any point and note the scope of Ang Lee's vision. The film is advertised as an espionage thriller, but that's more window dressing than reality. Lust, caution and obsession might be closer. Tony Leung and Wei Tang were amazing, and what a brave performance by Wei, who was later banned from performing for her role in this film. I noted in IMDb she was slated for a new film in production and I'd say it's about time. Some reviewers had incorrectly indicated this was an R-rated film, but it was released as NC-17 for the steamy sex scenes. These scenes were far more revealing of the characters, however, which was Ang Lee's focus. Without the impact of those scenes the actions of the two principals would lack motivation. Lust, caution is a haunting and dangerous vision of the conflict that shaped Chinese and Japanese relationships for decades after World War II. If you have the patience for the slow-developing but all together captivating interplay between Tong Leung and Wei Tang you will continue to be moved by at it once the screen goes dark.
Premonition
(I) (2007)
I had a bad feeling about this
23 May 2009
Warning: Spoilers
I had a bad feeling about this going into the second act. For me the premonition made sense, which was that the movie would have a bummer ending. If that was the only thing wrong, I'd have rated it higher. Yes the acting was good, and I cared about Sandra's character, but her passivity and the time sense jumble that did not pay off made it seem like a waste of time. Have we seen time travel movies that end up with the same thing happening the protagonist is trying to avoid, if in a different way? Plenty of times, so this was not a brilliant plot point. And the faith stuff thrown in at the end - yeah, it felt thrown in. When you have been manipulated through a movie that ends like this, I sometimes wonder if the director is not out there giving me the finger. Yuch!
Amateur Porn Star Killer
(2006)
amateur is the right word
12 February 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Absolute trash. The hand-held, bad lighting, shifting camera positions wouldn't even make it on the Internet. Amateur camera work it might be trying to portray, but this was almost unwatchable. It was only momentarily helped by fast-forwarding. The sound quality was OK, but the music was uninspired although it didn't jar with what was on the screen. I won't even discuss the script, or lack thereof, and the plotting lacked any real sense of dramatic pacing. And did we have to have a shot of Shane peeing? To be fair, Shane did act like some posters doing Internet porn, and there was some semblance to reality. Michiko played the role of an innocent quite well, but the whole sequence went on far to long. Avoid this one like the plague.
The Day After Tomorrow
(2004)
One more thing to blame for global warming
25 May 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I actually enjoyed some of Roland Emmerich's past movies, Godzilla and ID4 for the spectacle and FX, but this one, based on bad science is the most un-SciFi of all his movies. Much of global warming is based on bad science, so here we have the ideas played out to the level of the ridiculous.
I particularly gagged on the plot point of Dennis Quade's character predicting the resulting devastation based on his computer models. The same ones environmentalist used to prove global warming only to have reality prove them wrong. And tweak their models, only to have them proved wrong, and - well, you get the idea.
I've been conditioned to expect a few you've-got-to-be-kidding moments in Roland's movies, just not this many. Most of these disconnects from logic have already been described, with all the climatic rescue scenes forming an unbelievable whole (or maybe that should be "hole").
Is any of this plausible? Apart from the human drama, which can almost be seen in isolation from the catastrophe, meteors striking the Earth pose much more of a threat, and we know how that played out in the movies. Those hoping for Armageddon, might want to go back to the bible.
For the rest of us, please give us a well-written SciFi movie that doesn't violate logic at every turn, or cover it up with CGI.
I particularly gagged on the plot point of Dennis Quade's character predicting the resulting devastation based on his computer models. The same ones environmentalist used to prove global warming only to have reality prove them wrong. And tweak their models, only to have them proved wrong, and - well, you get the idea.
I've been conditioned to expect a few you've-got-to-be-kidding moments in Roland's movies, just not this many. Most of these disconnects from logic have already been described, with all the climatic rescue scenes forming an unbelievable whole (or maybe that should be "hole").
Is any of this plausible? Apart from the human drama, which can almost be seen in isolation from the catastrophe, meteors striking the Earth pose much more of a threat, and we know how that played out in the movies. Those hoping for Armageddon, might want to go back to the bible.
For the rest of us, please give us a well-written SciFi movie that doesn't violate logic at every turn, or cover it up with CGI.
Young Guns
(1988)
History is shot down once again
3 May 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I was somewhat surprised to see the Lincoln County War portrayed as accurately as it was, even though there were a number of historical inaccuracies. Since I'm doing extensive research on the Lincoln County War for a novel about same, I expected to gag often at historical lapses, but the screenplay by John Fusco stays reasonably close to the historical record. Of course the historical record has produced many conflicting interpretations as I soon discovered.
The choice to make Billy a psychopathic killer, whether by Emilio Estevez's interpretation or the director's is not well supported by historical facts, but Emilio's insane giggle after each killing strongly suggests it.
In the context of the times, within a lawless county that at the time was as large as Connecticutt, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont combined, men often settled things with a gun and violence, and Billy was definitely a product of those times.
One glaring mistake, and one made often in Billy the Kid movies was John Tunstall's real age, which was 24, not 55 as Terrence Stamp (I'm being charitable) appears to be in the film. While Billy was loyal to the man that gave him honest work, I don't think he'd be perceived as a father figure. Nonetheless, the scene at Tunstall's home where he asks Billy to read for him did portray the fact he was quite literate as his letters to Gov. Wallace prove.
The scene where Billy kills Henry Hill in the outhouse is pure fabrication. There was a Tom Hill that rode with Jessie Evans, but he was killed later by an Cherokee Indian when Tom and Jessie tried to rob a sheep drover, John Wagner. Legend did have Billy responsible, but most accounts tagged the notorious Jessie Evans for that mishap.
The Five Day Battle, one of the most famous in the west, was done reasonable well. Col Dudley did get involved in the fray, and brought a six pounder howitzer and a Gatling Gun with him. His intent, while he denied it was to "even the odds", which meant to give the Murphy-Dolan gang a 2 to 1 advantage. However, the gun was NOT used to kill McSween, but to intimidate McSween's men housed in two other buildings in Lincoln.
McSween was killed trying to escape the conflagration, but had waited too long after Billy led a diversion to draw their fire. Many of the soldiers were shown also firing at the McSween home, but little evidence supports that possibility. However, Dudley's positioning of his men alongside Dolan's made it impossible for McSweens's men to return fire for fear of hitting a soldier that would have resulted in Dudley firing his cannon and Gatling Gun.
Also, on this point, the soldiers of Fort Stanton would have been hard pressed not to get involved with all the guns going off. These were battle tested veterans, many of whom knew Murphy and Dolan as they both were mustered out at Fort Stanton, and Murphy had a store at the fort years earlier and no doubt got drunk with some of them.
The character of L. G. Murphy was perfectly cast with Jack Palance. You never had any doubt this was a bad dude. However, at the time of the battle, Murphy suffered from Cancer of the bowels, and was singlehandedly drinking up his saloon's profits. Dolan was by then the man in charge, and an even nastier man than his ex-boss.
The one point of departure that had me completely aghast was the needless peyote scene. Unless, true to the times, we had to have a "drug scene", where were they going with this? Others have commented on the music, and I must say, when playing the DVD in its intro mode, the replaying of that dreadful song is enough to make one hit the mute button. One of the extras that I appreciated is a documentary of Billy the Kid, which does correct some of the deviations in the movie.
One place they did get things right was in the characterization of Buckshot Roberts by the late Brian Keith, one of my favorites. Buckshot got his name from a load of same that shattered his shoulder making it impossible for him to raise his rifle above his waist and Keith mimicked that perfectly.
There were other inaccuracies to be sure, but I have covered the most glaring. And of course most of you are not watching this as western history, I trust. Faults aside, this is still one of the most realistic and accurate portraits of the 1870's in New Mexico.
The choice to make Billy a psychopathic killer, whether by Emilio Estevez's interpretation or the director's is not well supported by historical facts, but Emilio's insane giggle after each killing strongly suggests it.
In the context of the times, within a lawless county that at the time was as large as Connecticutt, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont combined, men often settled things with a gun and violence, and Billy was definitely a product of those times.
One glaring mistake, and one made often in Billy the Kid movies was John Tunstall's real age, which was 24, not 55 as Terrence Stamp (I'm being charitable) appears to be in the film. While Billy was loyal to the man that gave him honest work, I don't think he'd be perceived as a father figure. Nonetheless, the scene at Tunstall's home where he asks Billy to read for him did portray the fact he was quite literate as his letters to Gov. Wallace prove.
The scene where Billy kills Henry Hill in the outhouse is pure fabrication. There was a Tom Hill that rode with Jessie Evans, but he was killed later by an Cherokee Indian when Tom and Jessie tried to rob a sheep drover, John Wagner. Legend did have Billy responsible, but most accounts tagged the notorious Jessie Evans for that mishap.
The Five Day Battle, one of the most famous in the west, was done reasonable well. Col Dudley did get involved in the fray, and brought a six pounder howitzer and a Gatling Gun with him. His intent, while he denied it was to "even the odds", which meant to give the Murphy-Dolan gang a 2 to 1 advantage. However, the gun was NOT used to kill McSween, but to intimidate McSween's men housed in two other buildings in Lincoln.
McSween was killed trying to escape the conflagration, but had waited too long after Billy led a diversion to draw their fire. Many of the soldiers were shown also firing at the McSween home, but little evidence supports that possibility. However, Dudley's positioning of his men alongside Dolan's made it impossible for McSweens's men to return fire for fear of hitting a soldier that would have resulted in Dudley firing his cannon and Gatling Gun.
Also, on this point, the soldiers of Fort Stanton would have been hard pressed not to get involved with all the guns going off. These were battle tested veterans, many of whom knew Murphy and Dolan as they both were mustered out at Fort Stanton, and Murphy had a store at the fort years earlier and no doubt got drunk with some of them.
The character of L. G. Murphy was perfectly cast with Jack Palance. You never had any doubt this was a bad dude. However, at the time of the battle, Murphy suffered from Cancer of the bowels, and was singlehandedly drinking up his saloon's profits. Dolan was by then the man in charge, and an even nastier man than his ex-boss.
The one point of departure that had me completely aghast was the needless peyote scene. Unless, true to the times, we had to have a "drug scene", where were they going with this? Others have commented on the music, and I must say, when playing the DVD in its intro mode, the replaying of that dreadful song is enough to make one hit the mute button. One of the extras that I appreciated is a documentary of Billy the Kid, which does correct some of the deviations in the movie.
One place they did get things right was in the characterization of Buckshot Roberts by the late Brian Keith, one of my favorites. Buckshot got his name from a load of same that shattered his shoulder making it impossible for him to raise his rifle above his waist and Keith mimicked that perfectly.
There were other inaccuracies to be sure, but I have covered the most glaring. And of course most of you are not watching this as western history, I trust. Faults aside, this is still one of the most realistic and accurate portraits of the 1870's in New Mexico.
Independence Day
(1996)
Fireworks and fun, but weak SciFi
3 May 2006
This is one of those entertainment-only movies that often gets a black eye for being something it's not. Hard SciFi this isn't, although its still up a few notches from the 50's SciFi movies that are its historical roots.
Stereotypical or thin characters are required when you have that many actors involved in scenes, although Jeff Goldblum's character, and that of Judd Hirsh as his Dad are quite good. A director makes a choice on the focus, it could follow one character or group of characters and alter the scale to near human dimensions. Tom Cruise in War of the Worlds comes to mind. But more often, particularly if box office receipts are a major concern, it is SciFi as spectacle, and in that realm, Independence Day works very well indeed.
I'm just thankful they didn't include one of those ridiculous scenes where the hero blows up the control panel to open the airlock door. Let's see, design an airlock so when power is removed the door opens and everybody gets sucked into a vacuum. Yeah, that'll work.
Stereotypical or thin characters are required when you have that many actors involved in scenes, although Jeff Goldblum's character, and that of Judd Hirsh as his Dad are quite good. A director makes a choice on the focus, it could follow one character or group of characters and alter the scale to near human dimensions. Tom Cruise in War of the Worlds comes to mind. But more often, particularly if box office receipts are a major concern, it is SciFi as spectacle, and in that realm, Independence Day works very well indeed.
I'm just thankful they didn't include one of those ridiculous scenes where the hero blows up the control panel to open the airlock door. Let's see, design an airlock so when power is removed the door opens and everybody gets sucked into a vacuum. Yeah, that'll work.
Switch
(1991)
Barkin turns on Switch
3 May 2006
This is one of my favorite Barkin vehicles. In fact, without her wonderful comic turns this one would sink under its constrained plot. Besides Barkin, Jimmie Smits and Lorraine Bracco (of Sopranos fame) give good supporting performances. The idea and story Blake Edwards uses is a variation on Victor/Victoria, which was good enough to be recast as a musical, but here his usually daring ideas don't quite make the grade. Nonetheless, this is one of those comedies that calls for repeated viewing, because once you've laughed at some of Barkin's comedic scenes, a second viewing will have you laughing even before the scene unfolds. Roger Ebert commented that a deeper exploration on some of the themes would have made it a timeless comedy, and I'd agree with that.But if you just want to laugh till your sides ache, I'd recommend this one for your funny bone.
Wimbledon
(2004)
Love doesn't have to be a zero
3 May 2006
Playing on the tennis term "love" added a couple of good lines to this feel-good romantic comedy/sports movie. In fact, the dialog between Peter Colt and Lizzie Bradbury(Paul Bettany and Kirsten Dunst) was one of the well-done elements of this movie. The tennis scenes were extremely well done, particularly Paul's many court scenes. The internal dialog added to the suspense, even though we know early on that Paul will play above himself. I'd bet Bettany plays a pretty mean racket himself. There were a few stereotypical characters, but also some off-beat roles, such as Peter's family that added an element not often seen in sports movies. While I was not sure of Kirsten's true feeling at times, Paul did an outstanding job in his role, from physicality to emotional reactions. The Wimbleton setting was as authentic as one could hope for, although at times I wondered about the prescient comments of announcer John McEnroe reflected in Paul's internal dialog. Noentheless, the final match had as much tension as the real thing, and I very much admired Paul's handling of it. It isn't every day a movie comes along that is engaging, fun, and leaves one with a warm sense of satisfaction. This one won't test your critical faculties, but it will be time well spent.
The Long Ships
(1964)
The mystical bell floats!
21 March 2006
Warning: Spoilers
This is NOT the movie to see for historical accuracy or a seamless plot. This one has so many seams showing even Velcro couldn't help it. But so what. It's supposed to be a fun movie, and it is. OK, a bell made of gold floating when it hits the water is a real eye opener, but they had to know this was hokey, right? And Widmark swimming from Africa to Norway after he escapes Poitier the first time? Hm, and I though Tarzan was a heck of a swimmer. I particularly liked the way Widmark shakes off the water and those 1800 miles?, with hardly a smirk - now that's acting! And the harem scene is worth the price of the movie alone. Bring your sense of humor and you'll love this one.
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