brefane-41162 Reviews

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020)

Forced and Unfunny

[1/10 · 13 November 2020]

Though about evenly split, this film has so far received more 1 star ratings than 10 star ratings from user reviews which seemingly indicates a great divide in taste. I found Borat Subsequent Moviefilm unpleasant and tedious. The situations feel forced and phony and Cohen's Borat is more annoying than funny. Not sure how to account for the 10 star ratings as I skipped through it on Prime and kept looking for something interesting and never found it The film seems less enjoyably spontaneous than the original Borat and Cohen has lost his comedic sensibility here. Cannot recommend Subsequent Moviefilm. Even if you get it for free with Prime it's a waste of time. It feels like a collection of mediocre SNL skits strung together.

Richard Jewell (2019)

One of the year's best and one of Eastwood's best.

[8/10 · 21 December 2019]

Unlike many critics and the Academy I'm not a fan of Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby or The Unforgiven all of which to my mind are overrated, but I'm on board with Clint's latest, Richard Jewell, an absorbing, moving, entertaining and thought-provoking film executed without flaw and featuring sterling performances by a superbly chosen cast. Paul Richard Hauser, Sam Rockwell and Kathy Bates merit strong Oscar consideration and Olivia Wilde and John Hamm provide solid support. The film is commendably straightforward, it wastes no time, it doesn't grandstand and provides believable people and authentic dialog which are all too rare in current film. Perhaps its most impressive achievement is its depiction of the title character with the jewel in the crown being Hauser who perfectly embodies Richard Jewell. Though set in 1996, the events depicted are more relevant than ever and along with The Irishman, Joker, Once upon a Time in Hollywood and Ford v Ferrari, Richard Jewell is one of the few fully accomplished American films released in 2019.

Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean (1990 TV Movie)

The female Donald

[7/10 · 2 July 2019]

A hard to resist made for TV film that was quickly made to capitalize on the tabloid sensation that was Leona Helmsley who like Donald Trump put her personal stamp on her NY properties and was famous for saying, "You're Fired!" This well-made, breezy and entertaining film works fine as tabloid fodder thanks to some sharp writing, effective performances from Joe Regalbuto of TVs Murphy Brown and Llyod Bridges as Harry Helmsley and a tour de force from Suzanne Pleshette as the "Queen" in what is undoubtedly the showiest role of her career and she fills it completely. The well-chosen supporting cast all look and feel right, the story moves quickly, the Queen's barbs are funny and Pleshette has a field day.

Barbarella (1968)

Campy trendsetter

[5/10 · 30 June 2019]

This European produced futuristic comic strip is something of an oddity. Barbaella was released in 1968 by Paramount right before Jane Fonda's emergence as a serious actress in They Shoot Horses, Don't They(1969) as well as an anti-war activist. Directed by Fonda's then husband Roger Vadim, Barbarella is a moderately amusing time killer blending elements of scifi and soft core. It was a huge BO success. Fonda looks great and manages to be both sexy and innocent with her weightless striptease during the opening credits a definite highlight. The plot is never really involving; it's an excuse to get Fonda naked one way or another. Fonda and Hemmings are both good.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

Hollow as a tin can.

[3/10 · 29 June 2019]

Loud, over-produced, watered-downed film version of Tennessee Williams' play directed by Richard Brooks responsible for the overwrought and over-produced film of Williams Sweet Bird of Youth (1962). Burl Ives repeating his stage triumph won the Oscar for supporting actor for William Wyler's The Big Country (1958) and gives the same performance in both films as a stern, demanding patriarch. Ives is excellent, but would be more effective if the rest of the cast refrained from trying to out shout one another. Newman lounges about on one crutch, drink in hand, looking bored and disinterested; he was far more effective in The Long Hot Summer (1959) and Hud (1963) both directed by Martin Ritt. The arrangement of the actors, the set design and lighting are stage bound, and up close the play seems overcooked, mechanical, tedious and hollow and not as much fun as Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes, a similar family of monsters drama. The film's unpersuasive "happy ending" is of no more concern than what has proceeded it.

As Good as It Gets (1997)

Not as good as it got

[4/10 · 8 June 2019]

Considering the awards and praise this popular comedy received, the result is a drawn out and mediocre affair with too many characters that serve little purpose where a shorter, more focused script would have alleviated the the tediun and seeming endlessness of this movie that feels like a pilot for a TV series.. The script is awkward and contrived with the lead characters not seemingly meant for one another; the ending was not a happy one for me. Nicholson lacks charm where say Kevin Kline might have made it work, Hunt periodically turns on the waterworks and Kinnear is a bland stereotype. The film is occasionally maudlin with Shirley Knight and the dog giving the best performances.

Long Shot (2019)

Not by a Long Shot...

[3/10 · 11 May 2019]

Not by a Long Shot is this film a superior rom-com as the critics have stated, but a dumb, raunchy male fantasy about 2 forty somethings seemingly written by a 15 year old! If the script was more straightforward and realistic, the story might have made a good film, but you wind up feeling embarrassed for Theron and Rogen and exasperated by the plots lack of focus and the low brow humor that is at odds with the basic premise. Wit and charm are in short supply here as well as original ideas. Forgettable film.

The Group (1966)

The Whiz!

[3/10 · 13 April 2019]

After making 12 Angry Men, The Hill and The Pawnbroker Sidney Lumet directed this film adaptation of Mary McCarthy's The Group. Like his film version of The Wiz he is clearly out of his element here. Lumet, director of Dog Day Afternoon, Network, Serpico, Murder on the Orient Express and Prince of the City is one of the most underappreciated and neglected of all American filmmakers, and is to be admired for attempting to step out of his comfort zone, but unfortunately, The Group could have been titled The Whiz because even at 2 hours and 30 minutes the film feels rushed and hurried with characters, and there are a lot of them, always rushing in and out of scenes. In trying to encompass too much the film leaves little impression. The frequent references to Roosevelt, communism, Trotsky, breadlines...don't persuasively render the Depression as it relates to the lives of the characters. Lumet's direction is rather poor, and the scene of Kay (Joanna Pettet) falling from a window ledge is particularly clumsy in every sense of the word. The large cast with Pettet, Bergen and Hackett making their film debuts doesn't have a chance to create cohesive characterizations with Larry Hagman as the despicable Harold and Carrie Nye as the vindictive Norine making the strongest impression. Not unwatchable, but you feel as if everyone involved is just going through the motions.

Us (II) (2019)

LudicrUS!

[4/10 · 8 April 2019]

Like Jordan Peele's first film, Get Out, his sophomoric second feature, Us, demonstrates that his directorial talent outweigh his ability as a scenarist. Despite good, if borrowed premises, both films become problematic in the final third where the elements don't come to a meaningful or satisfactory conclusion. Us, more ambitious and large scale than Get Out, is less enjoyable. It's both overlong and tiresome. How many times can I watch Lupita Nyong'o swing a golf club at a doppelganger? Unfortunately, the film gives one plenty of time to ponder the absurdities, inconsistencies and clichés. Why do the Wilsons' doppelgangers allow them so much time and opportunity to escape and ultimately survive while everyone else is killed immediately without warning. The tethered apparently destroyed all of Santa Cruz with no policeman firing a gun or anyone else offering resistance unlike the Wilsons whose son destroys his doppelganger by having it mimic his actions. And why does his mother waste time listening to her doppelganger spout (expository) gibberish instead of continuing to search for him in the underground. The underground is a mall with seating, numerous rabbits, classrooms, an escalator and perhaps a sweatshop that produces form-fitting red jumpsuits, leather gloves and shears! Get Out had some sharp humor; here the humor is ill-placed and uncertain. Despite the reviews that say it needs to been seen twice to be understood, once was more than enough for me. Like some other recent films: A Quiet Place, Velvet Buzzsaw and Bird Box, the antagonists/creatures need better definition, consistency, some sense of purpose and a screenplay that doesn't require the audience to fill in the gaping holes in logic and reason. An unsatisfactory film during which I was aware of the audience becoming fidgety.

Spartacus (1960)

Kubrick at his most commercial.

[5/10 · 5 January 2019]

Not half as good as Kubrick's Paths of Glory, but at 3hrs and 17mins it's twice as long. Kirk Douglas, superb in Paths of Glory, is not always effective or varied enough here and the film's wayward focus makes for a wearying and sometimes tedious 3 hours. The interior set design is unpersuasive as well as uninteresting. The varied cast includes Olivier and Laughton who seem at home in their roles as well as Woody Strode who cuts a striking figure, a rather embarrassing Tony Curtis, handsome John Gavin and beautiful Jean Simmons who is moving particularly in the film's satisfying last scene. I much prefer Kubrick's next feature the outrageously funny Lolita (1962) as well as the superb 88min Paths of Glory (1958).

Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind (2018)

Stand Up and Shut Up!

[2/10 · 28 July 2018]

This shallow look at Robin Williams contains numerous interviews with friends and fellow comedians who seem to be testifying to their own heartbreak over his death rather than illuminating the subject. There is nothing new here that non fans like me don't already know and the talking heads provide comments which are windy and cliched. The film tiptoes around the tougher issues of his life as not to offend the recently deceased. I actually found Williams comedy too frenzied; exhausting rather than funny. I liked him best under a directors' control in films such as Mrs. Doubtfire, Good Will Hunting and Dead Poets Society. The film feels incomplete because it actually doesn't explore his long and varied career in depth or in an interesting manner. It's a film with nothing to say. It would have been better to use clips of Williams to do the talking for him. The film is funereal something Williams himself might have loathed!

Hereditary (2018)

Excrutiatingly slow Grief Porn

[1/10 · 2 July 2018]

One of those films where you not only lament the money spent, but the time wasted as well. Toni Collette cries, screams and implodes without variation in relentless close up for 2 hours while Alex Wolff as her son always looks bewitched, bothered and bewildered and Gabriel Byrne as her clueless husband is always in the dark in every sense of the word. Hereditary is numbing: it's the Manchester by the Sea of supernatural horror; it feels endless, and when it does end you experience relief. There's no atmosphere, character interaction, supporting characters or anyone to care about. The silly last scene explains little, and 1967s Eye of the Devil had the same basic revelation. Everything about Hereditary feels borrowed. A dreary 2 hours and 7 minutes; the grief you feel has nothing to do with the characters on screen!

Get Out (I) (2017)

Don't watch "IT", watch "OUT"!

[6/10 · 6 December 2017]

Get Out may not be everything the media may lead you to believe, but compared to other recent horror films like the atrocious and tedious IT, it's a masterpiece. Skip IT, and go with Get Out. Anyone familiar with The Invasion of the Body Snatchers or The Stepford Wives will find Get Out a new and effective variation on an old theme that disappointingly looses steam as it goes along, and runs afoul of clichés with no real payoff or satisfying resolution, and the last minute rescue is hokey as is an awkward attempt at exposition via television. The acting and directing go a long way in making Get Out compelling and enjoyable and a level of social critique in the script makes Get Out a welcome relief from the usual horrors.

Detective Story (1951)

Dated and Dreary

[3/10 · 2 December 2017]

Superficial drama with a seething, scenery chewing Kirk Douglas playing opposite a seemingly miscast Eleanor Parker as his sweet wife with a dark past. William Wyler director of the masterful The Heiress ('1949) and The Collector (1965) is unable to make the talky and tedious Pulitizer-Prize winning drama interesting, and there is no pacing or atmosphere, and despite the overwrought dramatics there is little excitement. The film is largely confined to one set and the film seems redolent of so many detective TV shows. In its day, Detective Story was considered somewhat daring due to the abortion issue, but the conflict feels forced and pointless. Douglas cannot make sense of his character who seems unduly obsessed with persecuting an abortionist. Despite the Oscar nominations for Wyler, Douglas, Parker and Lee Grant, they all seem to be merely marking time.

Where It's At (1969)

Wasted celluloid

[1/10 · 18 September 2017]

Along with the equally trite Some Kind of Nut, Where Its At was one of two films released in 1969 written and directed by Garson Kanin signaling the end of his career with this dull and uneventful film that is rarely funny and never truly involving. Though not a period piece, Where It's At is somewhat reminiscent of, but far less charming than The Flamingo Kid and Dirty Dancing. The leads are not particularly likable. Robert Drivas comes across as creepy and drifts through his role while David Jansen as his father walks through his. Visually it's ugly looking and claustrophobic. The supporting cast is led by the bland Rosemary Forsyth as well as Edy Williams, Don Rickels and Brenda Vacaro who supplies much needed charm. A rudderless comedy/drama without pace or purpose.

The Beguiled (1971)

Beguiling Tale

[7/10 · 21 April 2017]

The most interesting collaboration of star Clint Eastwood and director Don Siegel is this beguiling southern Gothic set during the Civil War featuring Clint and an all female cast. A first rate production directed with unexpected finesse by Siegel who obtains excellent performances not only from Page and Hartman, but also Eastwood, Mae Mercer and Pamelyn Ferdyn. Released the same year as Dirty Harry and Play Misty for Me, this unusual film did not attract an audience and is rarely shown. Sofia Coppola's remake starring Nicole Kidman unseen by me was not well received so as is almost always the case it's better to seek out the original.

Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)

Hush...Hush, Dear Bette

[5/10 · 18 April 2017]

Not a sequel to 1962's What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, but an obvious attempt to duplicate Baby Jane's success with Davis once again playing a character haunted by the past until the last scene reveals the truth. Despite a classy production with a plot lifted from Gaslight and Diabolique and 7 Oscar nominations, Hush...Hush comes closer to Strait Jacket(63) than to Baby Jane. Davis and Moorehead are shameless, Davis' non-stop screeching becomes annoying, and Aldrich's direction drags out the cumbersome plot. Victor Buono, Mary Astor and a perfectly cast Olivia DeHaviland provide some compensation, but couldn't someone have taken a cleaver to Cecil Kellaway? Davis' fans will be pleased though I prefer The Nanny 1965, The Anniversary 1968 and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

Wild Seed (1965)

Mild Seed

[2/10 · 10 March 2017]

Actor-director Brian G Hutton's directorial debut is an unrelentingly downbeat tale of a young girl's quest to find her biological father. She runs away from home and hooks up with a drifter who has nothing else to do and nothing in particular on his mind. Despite the title and advertising, there is nothing wild about these two. Celia Kaye and Michael Parks are so low key, they're barely alive and Conrad Hall's (In Cold Blood) moody cinematography envelops them in darkness. The story might have sustained an hour long TV drama, but there's no character development, and the journey from NY to California is uneventful and filled with stock characters of no consequence. Tedium settles in long before the predictable conclusion.

Carnal Knowledge (1971)

Cold and Punishing

[2/10 · 4 March 2017]

Mike Nichols has one of the most overblown reputations in cinema. To my mind he's responsible for one film classic: The Graduate. The rest of his films are a mix: workmanlike entertainments (Working Girl, Primary Colors, Postcards from the Edge),duds(The Fortune, Regarding Henry, Wolf),disasters(Catch 22, Day of the Dolphin),overrated (Silkwood, Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf?). Carnal Knowledge is overrated and a dud and it is rarely screened or talked about today, even though it was much discussed at the time of it's release. It's view of the battle of the sexes is one of a constant war with no winners. It follows the sexual history of 2 men, Jack Nicholson and the oafish Art Garfunkel, whose friendship like many other things in their lives is never explained. With few exteriors, frequent close-ups and no sense of time or place Carnal Knowledge feels claustrophobic with a dreary moralistic tone. As for the women, Candice Bergen and Ann-Margret are playing a blank and a cliché respectively, Carol Kane makes her film debut looking and acting like a zombie while Rita Moreno has a good bit at the end and Cynthia O'Neal makes a suitably repellent ball-buster.

The Americanization of Emily (1964)

Wake Me When the War is Over

[2/10 · 15 September 2016]

Though just under 2 hours, this tedious talk-fest seems considerably longer due in part to lack of pace and focus. The film is of 2 minds as it attempts to blend contemporary satire with old fashioned romance which doesn't work because the romance is a wet blanket and the satire is weak. Written by Paddy Chayefsy (Marty, Network),the film is heavy on the speechifying, and Arthur Hiller's direction is devoid of any cinematic savvy. Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove, released the same year, is far more daring and accomplished and in comparison makes The Americanization of Emily feel like a film from the 1940s. Andrews and Garner are a dull pair and were considerably better in the more entertaining Blake Edwards' film Victor, Victoria.

Trainwreck (2015)

Occasionally derails

[6/10 · 2 July 2016]

There is a lot to like and laugh at in this somewhat off beat romantic comedy especially the fact that the screenplay does not need to constantly use the F-word in order to get laughs though the ending is conventional with Amy giving up her bong and her belongings to the homeless guy. Good direction and cinematography and supporting characters who do not fall into the dumb or dumber category are a plus. An unrecognizable Tilda Swinton steals every scene she's in and a group of well-chosen actors who can be funny without being frantic place this film above the trash that passes for contemporary film comedy i.e. virtually anything starring Eddie Murphy, Tina Fey, Ben Stiller, Jim Carrey, Owen Wilson, Cameron Diaz, Kevin Hart, Will Ferrell, Jennifer Aniston, Adam Sandler, Vince Vaughn, Kate Hudson, Ashton Kutcher, Zac Efron... Trainwreck does goes on too long and some scenes feel unnecessary and out of place, but I laughed quite a bit and found Schumer appealingly real and I actually cared whether she and Hader stayed together.

Lolita (1962)

Oh! What a tangled web we weave...

[8/10 · 24 June 2016]

It ranks with Kubrick's best films and remains one of the 60s finest, most daring and outrageous comedies. Lolita, a sly and inventive adaptation of Nabakov's novel with a screenplay by the Nabakov himself that resulted in the film's sole Oscar nomination while duds like The Music Man, the Longest Day and Mutiny on the Bounty were all Best Picture nominees. Mason, Sellars, Winters and Sue Lyon have never been better and surely merited Oscar consideration. Lolita is one of the rare Kubrick films that deals with people rather than institutions or war. Along with Paths of Glory, it's my favorite Kubrick film and it sustains interest throughout the films 2 and a half hours running time. Highly recommended.

Ray (I) (2004)

Strictly by the numbers

[2/10 · 8 May 2016]

An uninspired, standard biopic that follows a familiar arc featuring poverty, fame and drug addiction, Ray tells us less about the man, and more about Hollywood formulas applied to music legends. Jamie Fox's Oscar winning impersonation of Ray Charles is excellent, but the character is one-dimensional and Fox's performance is all surface. The film features so many of Ray's songs that it feels like a jukebox musical. The film itself is undistinguished and overlong with a secondhand feel thanks to Taylor Hackford's strictly by the numbers direction and a screenplay that refuses to part with a single cliché. An A&E Biography would have been better and more authentic.

West Side Story (1961)

Lopsided story

[3/10 · 7 May 2016]

The choreography, dancing and on location photography create excitement, but the story, an update of Romeo and Juliet, is trite, sugary and uninteresting. Ultimately, aside from the singing and dancing, the film really drags with far too many characters and caricatures crowding the screen making the star crossed lovers Tony and Maria peripheral characters which may be a blessing because Wood and Beymer are a dull pair and Beymer is not persuasive as a former gang leader even if the Jets are the Dead End Kids with ballet training. Oscar winners Rita Moreno and George Chakiris give the only memorable performances. The film's energy and interest is not sustained making the film's 2 and 1/2 hours running time feel punishing and the ending more relief than tragedy.

The Great Race (1965)

The Endless Race

[1/10 · 12 February 2016]

Blake Edwards has one of the most overblown reputations among critics and film buffs, and this lavishly produced, star and cameo studded, box office smash is long, loud and tedious. Seemingly inspired by the success of Kramer's It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), The Great Race, 2 hours and 40 minutes long, is a seemingly endless series of elaborate set pieces populated by annoying characters played by Curtis, Wood, Lemon and Falk who are one-note and overbearing. Since the outcome of the race doesn't matter, the race lacks any excitement; there's no one to root for and it becomes sidetracked with songs and an elaborate pie throwing fight while all of the other participants in the race apparently fall off the map. Edwards' films The Days of Wine and Roses, Experiment in Terror, S.O.B. and Ten are all over rated and Darling Lili like The Great Race is almost impossible to underrate. Breakfast at Tiffany's is probably his best film even though it turns sentimental in the last third.