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Two and a Half Men: Just Like Buffalo (2004)
female emotions
This episode has some hilarious moments, the one where Charlie plays in on the emotional state of Judith's female friend group is not only hilarious in itself but also an eye-opener when it comes to how the emotional state of women determines their behavior and rational thinking is completely absent.
Yet you quietly hope that Alan will some day stand up for himself for once and not let his ex-wife silence him anymore, because no matter how funny it seems, it sometimes becomes quite pathetic and even degrading at times.
Judith should actually be ridiculed more, but it seems like the writers don't dare to do that.
Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949)
nice musical but better comedy .
A more than entertaining romantic comedy and musical in which Sinatra and Kelly enjoy themselves with song and dance shows outside the baseball season.
When the new baseball season starts again, they rush to their club.
Once there, they hear that a new owner has taken over their club.
The new owner turns out to be a stunning lady and both Kelly and Sinatra fall in love with her, which of course causes problems.
The film is smooth and funny and the female beauty in the form of Esther Williams as Kc Higgins, the new owner, is well cast.
Meanwhile, Sinatra is being chased by Betty Garrett's character.
Sinatra is still very young here and plays a much less tough role than in his later films.
The Loves of Carmen (1948)
Femme fatale Hayworth
Don Jose is a solier and has been transferred to Seville, where he bumps into Carmen on the streets of the city. Inexperienced as he is, he falls head over heels for this exceptionally attractive woman.
Carmen is a gypsy, and a woman who fully exploits her charms to win men around her finger, steal them, and/or turn their heads, she enjoys this to the fullest without shame and guilt.
Yet Don Jose (however naive he is) manages to touch a nerve with her, but her depraved character will ultimately prove fatal to both of them.
Rita Hayworth is of course perfect for the role of Carmen, she can play the role of the ultimate seductress like no other and does so very convincingly (perhaps even better than in Gilda).
The transformation of Glenn Ford's character from naive shy soldier to extremely jealous husband is believable enough, although it is extreme.
This is the 3rd film with Hayworth and Ford together and all three are more than worth watching.
The Little Hut (1957)
to boring and not funny
The Little Hut is the first film starring Ava Gardner that I was quite disappointed with, the story about a kind of love triangle with a bizarre kind of humor that never really becomes funny.
Ava is stranded on a desert island with her husband and a friend she occasionally has fun with and soon a rivalry arises between the two men who compete for her affection .
David Niven plays the 2nd man who quickly gets the short end of the stick and almost only because he is a simp of the most irritating kind, his character is portrayed in such an exaggerated way that it quickly starts to irritate you as a spectator.
But the story is simply too boring, the humor is too mediocre and even the beautiful appearance of Ava Gardner cannot save the film from destruction.
Affair in Trinidad (1952)
descent spionage story
The 2nd film with Ford and Hayworth, this time a more or less spy story in which the alleged suicide of Hayworth's character's husband is received with skepticism by the police.
Chris cooperates with the investigation into the shady business relationship of her murdered husband.
However, the case becomes a lot more complicated when the brother of Chris's murdered man shows up and interferes in the investigation without having any knowledge of her cooperation with the police.
Nice spy story mixed with a romance between Ford and Hayworth that unfortunately feels a bit short and rushed.
Still a pleasant experience, if only to see Hayworth in all her glory once more .
Why are modern actresses so mediocre compared to this beauty from the past .
Singapore (1947)
romance with a touch of crime
Singapore is a mix of crime and romance, Matt Gordon has just returned to Singapore from the war, where he reminisces about his lost love who he thought had died during a Japanese bombing.
As a pearl smuggler, he has a second reason to return, hidden pearls that he has stashed in a hotel room and that he hopes to get his hands on again.
When he discovers that his lost love who is believed to be dead, is still alive but has amnesia,and is now married to someone else and no longer knows anything about her past with him, things become a lot more complicated for him.
Fred Macmurray once again in a serious role, and he does it properly, Ava Gardner is again a sight to see, their romance is not very well developed, but who cares.
Great mix between a touch of crime and romance.
Down to Earth (1947)
goddess hayworth
A nice charming romantic musical in which goddess Hayworth can shine.
The element of a somewhat modern fairy tale is beautifully told and the heavenly scenes are also both beautiful and amusing.
Hayworth can shine as the goddess Terpsichore, who is outraged by the interpretation of her in a musical on earth and decides to ask God if she can intervene, he gives permission. But in the meantime he has a double agenda.
The story is nicely completed, it starts quite light-hearted but becomes a bit more serious towards the end without losing its light-heartedness.
Who else but Hayworth could play a goddess so beautifully.
Run (2020)
great potential but the endresult is slightly dissapointing
There is quite a lot to criticize about this film, that the backstory is rather short and insufficiant , that it all quickly turns into a thriller, and that sometimes the tension is raised just a little too much with too little foundation.
Still, I enjoyed it, it is thrilling at times and the acting of both actresses is excellent.
I didn't really liked that revenge aspect at the end, I didn't think it really suited this film.
Had attention been paid to the reunion with her real parents, that might have been a more satisfying ending.
Also a strange choice to leave the father completely out of the story, which could have offered a lot of interesting options in terms of plot.
The Tomorrow War (2021)
original but mediocre
Nice SF alien invasion film that does a weak job in terms of the time travel element (for example, Edge of Tomorrow does a lot better).
The ending part is original and we get some satisfactory answers to questions that were still open.
Well, as a subplot, critical point and question? Why does the fathers who abandon their families plot have to be forcibly incorporated for the umpteenth time.
What also struck me was Pratt's acting, which did not really come across as strong to me, I actually thought his acting was mediocre.
At the end of the day, a nice sci-fi story but not enough to be really good .
I Love You Again (1940)
amnesia comedy
Amnesia is a nice starting point for all kinds of comic situations in which William Powell has to escape in order not to reveal his true identity, which he regained after 9 years by a blow to the head.
Powell does a nice job, but I think the contrast between good, boring idiot and swindler could have been a bit more extreme, now I wondered why his wife still wanted him back because in terms of character he was actually still a bit of an idiot.
Myrna Loy's character certainly does not generate much sympathy in the beginning and at one point I wondered what he sees in her, until of course she turns around at the end, but then it is actually not really believable anymore.
Gilda (1946)
Rita's show
To my surprise I hadn't written anything about this classic yet, so I have to correct that.
Gilda the film is of course best known for the sensational sensual performance of Rita Hayworth, her sex appeal is sensational, besides the fact that she is simply an exceptionally beautiful woman to see, she also acts very well here.
You could almost say that she is the embodiment of the concept of femme fatale, but then I would be selling an actress like Ava Gardner short.
The story itself is actually a bit inferior, not that it is bad, but Rita's performance is so dominant that it overshadows the story.
Ford does a nice job, but we have seen him act better, and it is also a loss that their history together and why they hate each other so much remains so in the dark.
Very nice as a Noir, but you mainly go to see it because of Rita, the rest is secondary.
Lone Star (1996)
too much sub plots
The slowness of the film is remarkeble but works very well here, together with excellent performances from almost everyone in the cast. Too bad that kristofferson's character has relatively little screen time, I would have liked to see the flashbacks given a little more time.
The racial issues interested me a lot less, fortunately the drama is subdued and not over the top, it's a pity that this part is so dominant in the film, it is by far the most boring and slows down the pace.
Despite this, the story is still fascinating, but at times it still feels long-winded and I occasionally caught myself wondering how long it would last.
Mogambo (1953)
Gardner en gable chemistry
Victor (played by Gable) plays a tough safari hunter in Africa who catches animals and sells them to circuses and zoos
when suddenly Eloise (Gardner) appears in front of him, they have a very short-lived affair, but also the wife of an anthropologist (Grace Kelly) who comes to visit his safari company falls for him.
Tensions are of course inevitable, Eloise becomes jealous and Linda cheats on her husband who doesn't notice anything.
Nice drama that is more or less saved by the wonderful acting and chemistry between Gardner and Gable, why Gable's character falls for Linda is a mystery to me, but it of course provides the necessary drama.
Still, I would have preferred more depth to Eloise and Victor's early relationship, which would have been a lot more interesting instead of this somewhat forced drama.
The Killers (1946)
start scene is the best
The plot may be a bit far-fetched, but it doesn't really bother much because there is plenty to enjoy throughout the mystery story.
2 killers have been sent to kill Lancaster, in 1 of them we recognize William Conrad, the one who would later become famous with Jake and the Fatman.
This scene in the beginning is by far the best scene in the movie with good tension building
They succeed, and then we are drawn into the main story through flashbacks from Lancaster's past in which he, as an abandoned boxer, ends up on the wrong path when he meets a femme fatale
(excellently played by Ava Gardner) one of her first big roles .
Edmund O Brien plays the insurance agent who looks into the case well.
Again, the plot is a bit far-fetched but there is plenty to enjoy in the noir atmosphere and the characters.
Daddy Long Legs (1955)
older astaire is still fun to watch
Months ago I saw a Dutch version of this film, the difference with this one is that the benefactor sponsors a much younger girl, otherwise the story is roughly the same.
Astaire plays the somewhat hip young rich benefactor who, on a trip to France, sees Julie Andre teaching a bunch of young children, he falls in love with her and sponsors her education in America but has to keep his identity a secret.
She regularly sends him letters that he never answers because his assistant handles everything, but when he reads her letters after years, he still contacts her incognito.
Astaire is doing well here and Leslie Caron is a nice co-star, nice as a musical but the music scenes are sometimes a bit too long.
It was a great success as a romantic comedy.
Tonya & Nancy: The Inside Story (1994)
morre realistic than i Tonya
Funny, I didn't know Heather Langenkamp (our Nightmare on Elm Street lady) played the role of Nancy Kerrigan.
While Tonya's character was portrayed very over the top in the recent film (I Tonya), her character appears a lot more realistic here.
A lot more emphasis is placed on the documentary-like aspect and everything is not so extremely dramatized.
The story is presented quite solidly with occasional short interview comments from those involved.
The lack of self-discipline and constantly making the wrong choices runs like a common thread through Tonya's character and is played out quite believably.
Black Widow Murders: The Blanche Taylor Moore Story (1993)
strong performance of Montgomery
I saw this TV movie years ago, but the story didn't really stick with me.
Recently i have watched this movie again
In terms of acting, Montgomery steals the show here with the way she manages to portray this mentally disturbed character.
She does this very well
She knows how to fool almost everyone into her true character and is a master at manipulating the people around her.
The only unbelievable thing in the story is the blind adoration that her lovers seem to have for her because in terms of sex appeal she looks very average (especially considering her age) but occasionally it is pretended that she is Miss Universe.
Sudden Fear (1952)
another good Crawford film
In the 40s and 50s you had actresses who mainly relied on their looks,
such as Ava Gardner or Rita Hayworth (which does not mean that they were bad actresses, far from it), but the focus was often on their sex appeal.
And you also had actresses who were less fortunate with their looks, such as Bette Davis or, as in this film, Joan Crawford, more character actresses.
Joan Crawford shines in a film where there is a constant subcutaneous tension.
As a film noir, it was a great success and the themes of infidelity, cheating and crime are well woven into the story.
Palance is of course well cast as the bad guy.
This film noir has an unprecedentedly strong climax and is nail-bitingly exciting! Visually very strong with beautiful camera work and editing.
Magnificent Obsession (1954)
less is more
As a (doctor's novel, modern fairy tale) another successful film by Sirk (although I thought it was a bit less than his other top films).
The least elaborated was the transformation of Hudson's character, from egocentric to compassionate full of goodness, the discussion above whether or not this was seriously meant by Sirk is interesting but of course remains a question mark.
Then comes the scene where Hudson Wyman confesses his true identity. I found myself expecting (thinking in modern film narratives) that she would go crazy, which doesn't happen.
Modern rom-coms often tend to equate the drama with as many emotional (anger) outbursts as possible, and that often has a rather counterproductive effect.
Less is more is really the magic word here because this scene is a lot more satisfying.
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (1979)
jane seymore is always nice to watch
Simple cliché story that neatly follows plot cliche's
1 The gossip magazine editor who may act as the evil genius who puts the cheerleaders in a bad light
purely for the sake of profit.
2 His ex who can do the dirty work for him for a nice amount of money but of course at some point he will feel remorse.
3 The cheerleaders themselves, who are all portrayed (both individually and as an organization) in a very well-behaved and one-dimensional manner.
4 1 pathetic cheerleader member who needs to be saved from her evil ex boyfriend who is blackmailing her.
That doesn't have to be all that bad and if done well it can also be quite entertaining, but
there is still something more wrong.
For example, I thought the selection procedure for the girls seemed very amateurish and I simply cannot imagine that a football team like the Dallas Cowboys with such a budget actually
works so amateurish.
Oh well: mind at zero and it still provides some entertainment, especially with Jane Seymour and a young actress from Love Boat.
Persona (1966)
what a boring thing
I personally could not get much of a feeling for this, the plot seemed interesting to me for a film, but I found the execution far too art house artificial , it starts with those short scenes in the beginning, the crucifixion, I wondered I wondered what that had to do with the film itself,
other than the main story, nowhere could I empathize with the characters and when Alma starts talking in an endless monologue and continues in exaggerated emotional excesses, ultimately culminating in almost My tolerance limit has long been reached in hysteria.
Luckily the playing time is quite short, but I thought it was almost too long.
Checked out for the IMDB top 250, but that excessively high score is a mystery to me.
The Tinder Swindler (2022)
no accountability for women
This documentary is fascinating, not because it is that good, but because it gives us a glimpse into the psyche of women and mainly what drives them instinctively when it comes to choosing a partner.
We all know that women rely much more on emotion than on rational thinking, and our conman Simon managed to exploit that to the full, an emotional rollercoaster ride full of mystery and danger, a rich guy with an exceptional lifestyle and even his own bodyguard.
Cecilia shows at the beginning how she actually lives in a fantasy world in which she is ridiculously critical when it comes to choosing a partner (more than 1200 matches but still no relationship) and in which the beauty and the beast fairy tale is a kind of benchmark for her in her subconscious. .
You can actually say that this woman does not want to marry him, but purely based on the lifestyle that he can offer her.
Then the tone of the documentary itself, because that also says a lot about the state of our society today.
In all its subjectivity, this film does not dare or want to point out to the girls involved their own responsibilities for their stupid choices and decisions.
This is evident in the conversations with the women themselves, but also in the decision of the documentary makers not to allow any family members or friends to speak who could possibly be critical of the irresponsibly stupid and sometimes even potentially dangerous behavior of the women.
How is it possible that women can make such irresponsible choices
but no one is there to point out how stupidly they have behaved?
Even afterwards there is not a word of criticism to be found, no self-reflection, no sense of reality, not even by the makers of this documentary themselves, nothing, they are not held accountable at all and can simply continue as if nothing had happened.
No doubt there will be plenty of simps ready to help them get out of debt so why change your behavior?
Ninotchka (1939)
nice comedy
I had seen Silk stockings before, so when a review referred to this original, I became curious and really wanted to see this version to make a comparison.
This time no film producer and composer but a more serious theme as a starting point in the form of jewelry that has to be sold in Paris by the Russian state.
The 3 emissaries have to sell the jewels but are thwarted by the rightful owner.
The emissaries are then seduced by the western pleasures of life, after which Moscow sends a new vassal in the form of the ice queen Garbo.
Garbo does it slightly more convincingly than her remake version, but the romance is actually just as rushed .
The scene in the restaurant where Douglas tries to make Garbo laugh is a lot of fun.
Both versions have their charm, but I slightly prefer silk stockings.
Silk Stockings (1957)
nice romantic comedy
Yoschenko is a woman! That is your opinion
amusing romantic comedy in which Fred Astaire plays a film producer who records a film in Paris with a Russian composer for the soundtrack.
However, Moskow is not happy about this and sends a female emissary to retrieve the composer.
Stiff as she initially is, she eventually thaws to the charms of Asraire's character.
In my opinion, the switch happens a bit too quickly, but hey, it's a comedy and the film can be forgiven for that because there is plenty to enjoy.
To be honest, I like this musical better than the old musicals that Astaire became so famous for, the songs are nice and Astaire's character is a bit more normal and not such an extreme softie.
Cyd Charisse plays Yoschenko wonderfully and the dialogues between her and Astaire's character about capitalism and communism are amusing but remain light in tone.
Smartest Girl in Town (1936)
weak love story
Ann Sothern plays a model here who, especially in the beginning, is portrayed as quite a spoiled brat, as a viewer you quickly start to dislike her because of her selfish character.
However, Raymond nevertheless falls head over heels in love with her upon their first meeting. While he knows that she is purely after money, it comes across as very naive.
Gradually she becomes more sympathetic and the sharp edges in her character are smoothed away.
The scene in the bathroom is crucial but actually a bit too little to make it really believable.
All in all, somewhat amusing, but the romance is ultimately not very believable.