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Holiday (1938)
Could be Worth Your Time...
I took a chance on this.
It's Friday night in Los Angeles, my girlfriend is out of town, there's nothing on TV but some 80 year old, never-heard-of-it-before, black & white flick on the local PBS station - So, what the heck! I'll give it ten minutes then see what is on YouTube. But something clicked.
I'm not crazy about Katherine Hepburn but from time to time Gary Grant is entertaining, the rest of the cast were standard character actors of the time, neither here nor there.
And everybody has said it before, George Cukor was great at making movies about and for women - NOT my usual cup of tea, for sure.
Of course, being eight decades old there wasn't going to be any CGI, aliens, cities blowing up, super heroes or million selling soundtracks - How could I possibly sit though it? But I did.
The story was nothing out of the ordinary - Earnest 'regular guy' enters the world of the hoi polloi, falling for the attractive but 'wrong' sister. Complications ensue until friends and situations push the two 'made-for-each' stars into each others' arms and they all live happily...
I guess it was the charm and simplicity of it all that did me in.
Hepburn, at the top of her game was better than I thought she would be but Grant was a tad wooden. I looked him up on IMDB and he was just coming into his own around this time - He wasn't exactly weak, but neither did he show the solid presence he possessed later in his career.
Oddly enough, the big surprise for me was an actor that never really struck a chord with me before - Lew Ayres. He plays a spineless, alcoholic brother caught under the thumb of his dominating father. Oddly enough, in looking up any awards for the film I was quite happy to find he had won a national Board of Review Award for his role - Glad to see I wasn't the only who enjoyed his work.
I'm 70 years old so I don't get too bothered by black & white films, many of the best I have ever seen were made that way, but younger people might have trouble watching it.
Also, the old style of long takes, limited background music and tedious side shots might turn some off, but, hey, it was the 30's, that's how they did it at the time.
All in all I'm comfortable giving it 8 out of 10 points.
If it pops up near you, go ahead and give it 10 minutes, maybe it'll grab you, maybe it won't...
Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood (2019)
And Thus begins The Sad Downfall of Quentin Tarantino...
The best way to describe this movie is - My girlfriend nagged me to go see it and then fell asleep 1/3rd of the way through.
It has no SNAP! It has no CRACKLE! It has no POP! It has Rumer Willis! Need I say more?
I'm quite amused by all these reviewers claiming this is homage to the films of the 60's - Pure Horsepucky - No 60's film studio would have allowed this tedious two hour and forty one minute stinkbomb to leave the lot.
My mother could have done a better job editing.
Tarantino desperately needs a co-producer with the cojones to stand up and tell him - This is excrement.
Yes, Quentin, PLEASE take on a Disney STAR WARS sequel/prequel and we'll be done with you...
Zimna wojna (2018)
Dig deeper, People!
It's amazing how so many people miss the real meaning of this film, even though the title literally hits you over the head with it - COLD WAR.
Yes, superficially it is a love story between two people, but it's so much more than that.
Put yourself in Poland in 1949 when the movie begins - What was going on? Russia was grinding out the souls of the Polish people and replacing it with Communist doctrine, turning human beings into bricks in the wall.
The essence of this film is the fight to remain a Pole while a mass dehumanization is going on all around you.
Both leads struggle with it, within the system and without.
They're pulled away and then drawn back, both to each other and to Poland.
Compromises are made along the way, humiliations are swept under the rug but they still tear at the heart.
When you're under someone's thumb, you fight back in little ways - The girl gets married to an official, not for love but for advantage, then as she tells her true love later - it doesn't count because it was not in church.
Poland is one of the most Catholic countries in the world, we're brought back to that for the ending where the two lovers finally 'get married' in a real church, or what the Soviet Union failed to destroy. It was a symbol of love but even more than that a symbol of defiance during the... COLD WAR.
All the Queen's Horses (2017)
A Winner !
I was quite happy to see this film pop up on Netflix and was anxious to view it after remembering the initial breakout of the story on the Internet and never hearing anything further about what happened to the woman. But my girlfriend checked IMDB, read me the review by 'heathrocksla' and we quickly decided to take a pass on it.
Oddly enough, the very next day my girlfriend suddenly remembered a hair salon appointment she had made and I was stuck at her place alone with nothing to do, so, I decided to take a chance on the film.
And I'm sure glad I did!
I kept waiting for the annoying issues that 'heathrocksla' fumed about to show up but they never really did. What unfolded was an excellent documentary, well written, well paced, well researched and most enjoyable to watch.
Yes, there was a scene where the subject being interviewed suddenly pushed himself forward in his chair and the camera operator had to refocus, but it was quickly done and the interview continued without incident.
And, yes, again, the filmmaker did have a few shots of herself as a 'talking head' but I'm sure after preparing to make the movie she had become a worthwhile, knowledgeable expert on the subject matter, knew what she was talking about and was quite 'easy on the eyes' to boot, so, what's the big deal?
In short - All the Queen's Horses is a fine, clear, concise, professionally produced documentary that is well worth your time and energy to watch - Please don't short change it because of one unfair review.