Reviews

This is perhaps one of the worst films I have ever seen in over 70 years of watching movies. The acting is bad & I mean bad,no one has any idea of what or who they are portraying.

This is an Isreali,French film that never should have been released without some editor fine-combing it.

Our hero (ha-ha) is a good looking 31 year old spineless wimp who lets his parents walk all over him.

The idea of arranged marriages in this day & age is ridiculous & not even one drop funny. I rent my films from NF & since I see one a night,it only cost about $1. It really wasn't worth it.

My sympathy is for those who spent any more.

Will say no more as I hate using bad words.

My 2 word summary was for the first 2 minutes.

It was tediously unfunny,I had to shut it off.

I do not know who the actors were, BUT I do know I do not want to see another film with them it, The direction was non-existent, The rest of the credits was equally bad.

I never saw the Jackass films,NOW I know I wont bother.

I like good intelligent comedy,this film did not fit either one. I doubt this had a decent box-office, it it was released to the theaters.

Truthfully it does not deserve a DVD release either.

I see I need a few more lines.

I have been going to the movies since I was about 5 years old. That was in 1933.

I thing my age is sufficient to saw what a dreadful unfunny film this is.

Black Swan is a mess of a film. I cannot understand all the great reviews.

They say its a horror film, NOT TO ME. It is a long bore with good music & some very good ballet scenes.

Blood on a costume does not make this a horror film. The director Darren Aronofsky did not do his usual fine work.

Natalie Portman & the rest of the cast were OK.

I have seen Swan Lake & do like it, BUT as shown in this bore, I did not enjoy it.

I think this is 10 lines,it is not worth even 5 lines.

First let me state I am not a big fan of unions.

Now as to this film the running time is a few minutes under 2 hours long,It felt like a 4 hour film, It just went on & on.

The entire cast did first class jobs,there are' all fine actors.

I just could not fully accept the story line,I do believe in equal pay for each sex, BUT what was the pay difference.

The apartments they lived in seemed overly large, I just wonder what the rent was.,The various politicians also did not seem overly realistic. I Really cant see any raves on this movie. I need a few more lines

Another problem the film seemed very left wing,

Some of the personal stories were needless & unnecessary;/

Ratings **1/2 -- 72 points--IMDb 6

I have reviewed & or have seen many films over the years, DOGTOOTH has to be among the worst ever made.

The plot & story line is about an incestuous family relationship.

I have been waiting a long while for a movie tackling this.

Dogtooth from Greece is not such a film. I have see better porn movies than this. We have 3 late teens 2 sister & one brother,They & the father all have some suggested sex scenes throughout the film. This in itself is not that bad, BUT the dialog they all speak is mostly nonsense,

This bore of a film has won an Golden Globe & been nominated for an Oscar. What were they thinking ?

There is nothing to recommend here at all,the acting & production is bad as well.

I must have seen a different film than all those who gave this such a high rating.

By making this interesting plot of dream interception into an action film was not a good idea (to me at any rate)

Most of the budget went to the cost of bullets, explosions & car crashes.

The film runs 148 LONG minutes, We probably have a real decent drama of 90 minutes.

Leonardo Decaprio is as usual good..The supporting players are all name actors,BUT they do not have much to do except shoot bullets & wreck cars.

The production is good,its the script & needless constant action that hurts the film.

Ratings: **1/2--- 74 points --- IMDb 6

This is a dreadful film from scene one. Atrocious editing in each action scene. Inadequate, bad acting from its leads Tom Cruise, who looks worn out in most scenes. Cameron Cruz who screams in every scene.

Also, usually talented featured players who have nothing to do,Paul Dano & a few others have nothing but glorified extra roles. Filmed in many cities needlessly, the short scenes could easily have been done in studio or back lot.

The only reason for the rating *1/2* is that it does not drag on like other films have.

Ratings: *1/2*--- 37 points --- IMDb 2

This film from Sweden supposedly is a comedy about the problems of a gay couple adopting a child.

These nice 2 guys thought they were getting a 1 1/2 (1,5) year old boy,

The lad is a 15 year old troubled youth.

The young actor playing Patrik is excellent & is the only reason I stayed for all the film.

There are very few laughs or even chuckles. As a drama,it misses the mark as well. We have seen this type tale many times with a heterosexual couple.

You can guess the ending ,in the lads opening scene.

The guys playing the couple are quite good as well,BUT its the lad who is the main reason to see this.

Ratings: **1/2 (out of 4) 72 points (out of 100) IMDb 6(Out of 10)

Thats correct .

This is one LONG boring bore.

The 2 male leads may be good actors, but they sure do not come over as possible gay lovers.

What we have is a 2 maybe 3 reel film DRAGGED out to 103 minutes.

The short scenes with actresses are not that good either.

How any one could possibly like this is beyond me.

The 2 star rating is for a few nice shots of scenery. The film is from Argentina.

Films from here are usually much better. I cannot even recommend this as a gay themed movie.

When his was first released in 1940, I was about 12 years old, & if I saw it I may have thought it was quite funny.

That was 70 years ago,The movie is no longer funny.It is a silly, almost stupid slapstick comedy.

I no longer enjoy slapstick comedy.

Loretta Young & Ray Milland,both seem out of place in this farcial effort. Reginald Garner & Edmund Gwenn, Gail Patrick are featured.

I wonder if this was originally a play,as it is basically one set.

This was on a disc with A Night to Remember, I had to shut it off as it was even stupider than this film.

Rating: **1/2 (out of 4) 68 points (out of 100) IMDb 6 (out of 10)

Yikes.

I have find ten lines to tell you about it. There is only one recognizable cast member. RON PEARLMAN, he does a good job, The actor in the lead role sleepwalks through it. The same applies to rest of cast, There is no life to the cast nor the story.. This was written, directed & produced by one person, that I never heard of before,nor wish to hear about again,

There is nothing in this piece of garbage, that I can say anything decent about.

I think this is 10 lines.

RATINGS: * (out of 4) 30 POINTS (out of 100)IMDb 1 (out of 10)

Two years ago I was bored with part one,I was not as bored this time out. This sequel written & directed by same team that made part one is more fun to watch. Jon Favroux directed & Justin Theroux wrote the screenplay,which was taken from Stan Lee's comic strip. Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow are leads,Cheadle replaces Terrence Howard,the villain this time out is Mickey Rourke. Sam Rockwell,Samuel Jackson are on board as well. Scarlett Johansson in a red wig is here as well.

All are talented & do perform well under Jon Favroux's very capable direction.

Running time before the credits is about 113 minutes,over 90 of them are well done computer effects.

I do hope they forget about doing part 3,.there is nothing that memorable about the characters to warrant another film.\ My ratings say it all. a low 3 star rating.

Ratings: *** (out of 4) 81 points (out of 100) 7 (out of 10)

This is another BAD film from Touchstone. Apparently the magic that was Disney is no more. The screenplay for this mess was written by Nicholas Sparks, He wrote the novel after he did the screenplay,Hopefully he omitted all the clichés that are in the movie.

It seems that most films from this once great studio are now cliché ridden,there are scenes after scenes that we all have seen too many times.

This in itself is not that great a sin as many films have an overabundance of clichés.

What does this in is the acting & direction. Julie Anne Robinson did not do a good job at the helm.

Miley Cyrus is the star, besides the fact she cannot act, she is very unappealing, she shows no screen presence at all. Greg Kinneer tries to give a credible performance.as her father. Liam Hemsworth is the romantic lead opposite Miley,He at least is good looking& tries hard. Bobby Colemanas the typical younger brother is near perfect.

There are many songs in the film,NONE done live,Miley is supposed to be a singer I do not know what if any songs she sang, nor do I care.

Nice scenery of the coast in Georgia.

It is not even worthwhile as a rental.

Ratings: *1/2* (out of 4) 36 points (out of 100) IMDb 3 (out of 10)

This film is a pure delight. This was directed with his usual style by Jamea Ivory & written by Ruth Prawer Jhabwra (they previously created Remains of the Day and a few other classics). This drama with much humour was taken from the novel by Peter Cameron.

The cast includes known performers such as Anthony Hopkins , Charlotte Gainsburrough,and Laura Linney, plus new faces from US & UK Television. Omar Metwally & Hiroyuki Samada.

All the performances are first rate.

Most of story takes place in Uraguay & the scenery is beautiful,

As typical with good dramas that that have no car crashes ,violence & needless sex scenes. This had only a very short limited screen life in Apeil 2010.

I highly recommend renting or maybe even buying this movie,it is that good a film.

I did tone done my ratings, I have been known to rate some films higher, just because I liked them very much. See it & you probably will agree with me.

Ratings: ***1/2 (out of 4) 95 points (out of 100) IMDb 9 (out or 10)

Now I have to find 10 lines about this garbage.

Kevin Smith mis-directed.

Bob & Mark Cullen write the script,

I wonder what they were on. The acting was equally bad, The cast was headed by Bruce Willis, (he should be ashamed of himself). He was badly miscast, Tracy Morgan as his cop partner was better in Death at a Fnneral.

The only female role was by a Hispanic actress,

she will not be remembered for it,.

I think thats 10 lines.

Ratings: 1/2 * (out of 4) 15 points (out of 100) IMDb 1 (out of 10)

I select films I want to see for many reasons.

An intriguing title many times will do it. The title fits that reason. Also the fact that former juvenile star Rick Schroeder has the lead role.

I did not know that this was based on a novel or is basically a true story of a murder & bigotry in a small town in rural North Carolina in 1970.

The director is Jeb Stuart ( I wonder if he is related to the US Civil War General ).

Now if the makers of this movie did not use every film cliché ever done,this could have been a good film..

Now I do realize, films of this nature will have clichés,BUT there is a cliché used in just about every scene.

Rick Schroeder is the only known name,the balance are either featured TV performers or unknowns. They are are capable.

Another problem is the length 128 minutes is about 30 minutes too long.

Ratings: **1/2 (out of 4) 67 points (out of 100) IMDb 6 (out of 10)

A few months back we bought & read the novel by Robert Harris, It was a thrilling read. We both hoped the film version would be as good. The film we just finished viewing was even better. So many times they change the tone ,plot etc of a novel.

The only changes we noticed was in the tightening of some scenes, ad the accents of a character.

Robert Harris wrote the screenplay with the fine assistance of the director ROMAN POLANSKI.

Roman proves once again that he is one of the very best film directors, I feel he is one of the very best directors.

Ewan MacGregor gives a superb performance as the writer. (the title character). Liam Neeson is equally perfect as the former Prime Minister. The distaff side is handled by Kim Catrall & OLivia Hussey, Eli Wallach shines in a very small cameo role. Tom Wilkinson as usual adds worthy support.

Mr.Polanski always gets magnificent performances out of his actors. Due to his personal problems scenes were filmed in Germany & not on Cape Cod.They looked like the Cape to me.

Hopefully this movies will bet many award nominations. It is that good a movie & yes they kept the book ending.

Ratings: **** (out of 4) 99 points (out of 100) IMDb 10 (out of 10) cameo

If the running time was 30 to 40 minutes shorter , my rating would have been much higher.

125 minutes is way way too long. The writer/director Clair Denis must have forgotten that all the beautiful scenery & fantastic cloud effects are meaningless if there is no story to go along.

We have a middle aged man who had a recent heart transplant operation, who wants to find the man who gave him his new heart. We do see his overly vivid scar. HINT TO Ms Denis. Todays body scars are hardly visible. This I know for a fact.

That is a minor point. The film takes place in many locations BUT we are not told in most cases where the scenes are set.. .

I do disagree with most of the reviews this has received, It is no a great film nor is it a bad one. It is just an overly long bore.

One of the directors previous films was the excellent BEAU TRAIVAL.

Ratings: **1/2 (out of 4) 72 points (out of 100) IMDb 6 (out of 10)

First, as most of my readers know I started watching films over 75 years ago. I have seen seen many war movies, some of them would belong on many best lists.

Green Zone is not one of them.

In a long 115 minute (including 12 minutes of credits),we have about 100 minutes of action, There is no character development of anyone, The plot is about WMD during the Irag war. Unless one knew the political situation. we would not really know what they were talking about. They talked so fast, as if they wanted to get the next action scene.

What makes Green Zone so disappointing is that the writer & director as well as its star, were involved in the creation of such films as: Mystic River, 2 of the Bourne movies & the excellent United 93. Paul Greengrass, Brian Helgeland are the director & writer of the above really good films as well as this film.

Matt Damon stars in Green Zone.In the Bourne films. He was Jason Bourne. He is a very capable actor,He just did not create a person to remember in Green Zone. He seemed very uncomfortable & ill at ease.

Brendan Gleeson is a CIA agent & Khalid Abdula as an Iraqi translator. Khalid was a villain in United 93. He is a fine actor, I hope to see him in more films.

There are also 2 very small female roles (CNN reporters) As I stated this is an all action (boring) film.

One other point. they use hand held cameras throughout..

It was filmed in Spain & is well made,

Ratings: **1/2 (out of4) 68 points (out of 100) IMDb 6 (out of 10)

Over the years there have been many versions of Lewis Carroll's classic tale of the young girl who falls into a rabbit hole & has many adventures, with creatures of fantasy..

The Disney Studies created more than a few & most were the same juvenile pablum.

NOW this time, We still have a Disney Studio release, BUT with a most gifted craftsman as the director.

TIM BURTON lets his very gifted imagination,go where few have gone before.

Alice is no longer the star. now its THE MAD HATTER who has the lead, Of course there is only one actor today who can recreate that magic. JOHNNY DEPP. In my humble opinion he can get an Oscar for this. He deserves one by now anyway. Equally superb & award worthy is Helen Bonham Carter ( Mrs Tim Burton,by the way) as the RED QUEEN.

Not forgetting the lass who is Alice, a bright newcomer. Mia Waskowska (a teen ager) is excellent as Alice.

Yes they wisely made Alice into a teen ager, & is to me much more appealing. Anne Hathaway as the White Queen & Crispin Glover as the KNAVE. also shine.

The make-up & special effected are flawless, the film is a combo of Live Action, Green Screen & computer animation, ALL expert;y done.

A few minor gripes tho,some scenes could have been sped up while others (namely the prologue at the beginning & ending) could have been a bit longer). The also could have cut the title song (over the credits).

Repeating, This is not our memory book version of Alice.It is a re-imagination by a most gifted artist Tim Burton & actor Johnny Depp.

SEE IT FOR THESE REASONS if you are skeptical.

Ratings: ***1/2 (out of 4) 91 points (out of 100) IMDb 9 (out of 10)

Here we have another movie that has just been released to DVD with no US theatrical release. To me, this alone is UNTHINKABLE.

Granted we have plot & story on the physical torture of a very possible terrorist,who may have planted nuclear bombs in 3 US cities.

It is an unpleasant subject,BUT a vital film & should be seen.

Gregor Jordan directed from the script by Peter Woodward. I for one could have used more information on certain plot points. I would have given this a higher rating if I had these answers.

The superb acting & tight production values make up for these minor points.

Samuel Jackson & Carrie Ann Moss are excellent as the 2 interrogator, Micheal Sheen as the tortured suspect gives a possible award performance. Samuel Hackson & Carrie Anne Moss are also possible award nominees this year.

This is basically a one set film,it runs a fast 90 minutes before the credits. You will be held in your seat throughout.

Ratings: ***1/2 (out of 4) 95 points(out of 100) IMDb 9 (out of 10)

This film took forever to get moving

After about 20 or so long moments, I shut it off.

I normally like films about pornography . I appreciate many that do not have on over-abundance of sex scenes.

Some scenes for very badly photographed, to many double images.

The few characters I did see, were not that interesting. & what was this film supposed to be about,the audience needs to know fast in this type of story. The director tried to make a decent movie, BUT it did not come across to me.

Ratings: ** (out of 4) 60 points)out of 100) IMDb 5 (out of 1)

This movie is 192 long boring minutes of naked men & a few women walking around & being in sexual positions. It is also in Black & White,The locations & persons cry out for color. There is no real plot or story, I do not mind figuring things out, BUT do not want to spend over 3 hours doing so.

The late Andy Warhol made film like this when he first started out,He quickly changed to softcore porn. He was also a gifted artist I watched the first 30 minutes then fast forwarded it., IT still was a big bore. Please don't waste your time or money on this. My 3 rating is for some nice views ONLY, Ratings: ** (out of 4) 35 points out of 100 IMDb 3 (out of 4)

WOW? One would think that a cast of Oscar Winners, in a film set at Christmas time would be a pleasurable movie. I really wanted to like this, BUT it was so lame, it just was not that funny or enjoyable.

The director was Seth Gordon, there were four writers of the screenplay,Maybe if it was all 'ad libbed' it would have been funnier.

The cast are all top draw persons. Vince Vaughn & Reese Witherspoon are the leads, Robert Duvall, Jon Voight, Mary Steenbergen Sissy Spacek,are their parents, Jon Favenau & Dwight Yoakum are featured..

With this cast, we should have been treated to a gem of a movie,.

We never feel the joy of the season.

The best thing I can say is that the movie is short only 82 minutes before the credits roll.

It really should have been a much better film.

Ratings: **1/2 (out of 4) 72 points (out of 100) IMDb 6 (out of 10)

This movie & the next (Adventures of Sherlock Holmes) were made by 20th Century Fox, in 1939 & were better than the ones made by Universal in the 1940's. Let us also remember that Universal was not the big studio it is now.

In 1939 one of the studios up & coming stars was Richard Greene. (he later became Robin Hood). He is the top billed actor & actually the major role. He always was a good hero,but not that good an actor. The one & only Basil Rathbone is Sherlock Holmes & Rathbone does what he always did, creating a memorable character. Mr. Rathbone had the fantastic talent to play any sort of role, villain or hero.

A few years prior he created the most memorable Pontius Pilate in a Cecil B. DeMille almost forgettable epic, I may have forgot the title BUT not his Pontius Pilate.(this was before supporting actors got Oscars-) over the years he made many unforgettable characters.

This was his first time as Sherlock. Nigel Bruce was a good Dr. Watson, I never could figure why they made Watson a comic character.

Wendy Barrie is the love interest.(this was then & still is a staple character). I do not think she figures into the original Conan Doyle story. The made a few changes to the original.

Sydney Lanfield (a studio director) did his usual good work. The screenplay was written by Ernest Pascal. Look for Lionel Atwill & John Carradine in supporting roles. They both always gave fine performances.

This is no where a great film, BUT is an enjoyable time spent. It is only 80 minutes long..

One more point of information. They made films fast back them. It too less than 90 days from first day of shooting to actual release date.

Ratings: **1/2 (out of 4) 78 points (out of 100) IMDb 7 (out of 10)