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jaster-7
Reviews
Hobson's Choice (1954)
Unassuming and so much fun
I pvr'd this on TCM because it's directed by David Lean (one of my favorite directors) and was starring Charles Laughton (always a treat to watch this great performer).
I watched it tonight and was even more intrigued to see in the opening credits that David Lean co-wrote the story. And additional delight was when I saw Prunella Scales was in it! I immediately said, "Basil!!!" and thought - wow she must be young in this movie! I'd never seen the actress Brenda de Banzie before (that I'm aware of). She reminded me greatly of Deborah Kerr and I admired her very much by the end of the movie. John Mills was wonderful, and Charles Laughton - what a terrific performer.
And what a great tale it is! This isn't your "Hollywood Plot #142". It's a uniquely crafted and layered story that reminds me of an cross between "Moonstruck" and an old fairy tale called "Clever Gretel".
Hobson's Choice does have a fairy-tale-like quality to it - brimming with all the fate, fortune, conflict, pluck and lucky turns of a Grimm's tale - and in a setting akin to the era of those stories. Like a great fairy tale it includes the gentle blossoming of true love and even a happy ending that was very satisfying.
The myriad characters are perfectly cast. Each performance is fully delivered with nothing lacking, but without farce or ridiculousness, and scenes funny enough I laughed out loud.
The production value is terrific and feels authentic with the various townspeople, proprietors, and neighbourhoods you almost feel like you know it yourself. Yet it also has a whimsical moon theme, a temperance moral, and some drunken slapstick hilarity too. And boots...lots and lots of boots.
One thing that delighted me immediately about this movie is the opening scene, when the camera takes you around the closed and dark bootmaker's store. With some clever camera techniques, it makes you feel that you are actually sneaking around in the store, like an audience member sneaking a peek at the darkened set on stage, then turning around suddenly as someone comes crashing through the door...and we retreat to watch the tale begin. Like a really good book, this movie will stay with me.
Even the title is clever and the whole movie spins along on the crafty delivering of Hobson's Choices.
I do highly recommend this very engaging movie!
Casino Royale (1967)
I'm sticking up for this movie
Is it a great movie? Only for the campiness of this romp. What makes it fascinating to me then, and in retrospect now is, good or bad, you get a lot of entertainment in this movie.
Star after star, plot twist after plot twist, gag after gag, talent piled on talent, and yet one could say greatness is not achieved. Not unusual for what may seem to be an over wrought production....but despite all the obvious flaws, I'm going to stick up, stand up, for this movie.
Because:
1) It was a favourite with my neighbourhood gang and sibs to crack up at this movie - along the lines of The Magic Christian, and In Like Flint - we were fascinated by how adults behaved, and each of these examples was sexually titillating enough to excite and amuse us as adolescents, as well as this movie imbedded every one of these stars into our developing sophistication with actors of note.
2) The freaking soundtrack - hello?! Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass playing Burt Bacharach - to this very day, I want to smear those songs into my ears and go crazy with the perfection of this joining. This movie is part of my psyche. The Look of Love? Sexiest song ever. Come on! And beyond the individual hits of the movie, is the background music, like when they are doing the medicine ball strength competition at the castle. And the rompy old-time radio voiceover singer that ballads the story. Are these not iconic moments in your brain? They are in mine! The soundtrack serves as its own stand alone entity of this movie.
3) The beautiful people in this movie. Everyone is gorgeous. It's when I first thought Peter Sellers was completely hot (not so when watching Pink Panther and The Party, right? Ok, maybe a glimmer..), but here...he's one sexy, astute, cool JB. Then there's Joanna Pettet (perfection - could you find anyone more beautiful and alluring and completely unaware of it, to play Mata Hari?) and Ursula Andress...anyone remember when Mad Magazine spoofed it, and called her Ursula Undress? Forget about the cheesy sets, effects, and ridiculous farce of a story - just look at the gorgeous people in this movie, each actor seemingly in a perfectly preserved moment of their prime, or at least their iconic image. George Raft, David Niven, Deborah Kerr, Orson Welles, and Woody Allen...just the fact they are from all eras of Hollywood, all amazing talent, all in the same movie that's a totally ridiculous gallop, and they all seem to be fully giving their all to the campiness, preserving on film, at that particular moment in time, all together, and fully game to whatever this production was going to yield - well that's enough to make the movie fully worthwhile to me! You gotta love actors. This movie asks nothing from you but to have fun and enjoy.
4) No one involved with the movie seemed to take themselves or the project overly seriously - least not as seriously as the critics. This isn't to say anyone involved just phoned it in. Everyone gave over to the spirit of the farce that it is. Supported by the classy music, this movie holds a fond place in my heart for the sheer 'high interest' the movie has. Just to say, Oh look! It's ____! (Fill in the blank). Strong serious and character actors playing either totally to type, or totally out of type, for all it's worth. Really what's not to love?
And that's why I'm sticking up for Casino Royale.
Bill (2015)
Wacky and well done
This movie was such a delightfully funny surprise. Reminiscent of Monty Python fare and wit, it totally cracked me up. Well executed, well paced, and well cast, and served up with ridiculous irreverent perfection. I got the feeling they were loving what they were doing - and I loved it too. Plus the added surprise of seeing who played who at the end. The movie takes elements of the accepted history of "Bill" (a la Shakespeare In Love) and tells very a funny story about it.
So refreshing to watch, compared to so many plot-less comedies that rely on gross out jokes, juvenile themes, and offensive language to be 'funny'. The banter is quick, the jokes and gags fresh and unexpected, the lines classic, and it contains all the twists and turns of, well, a Shakespearean comedy.
Loved it.
Best liked: Characters using Shakespearean phrases.
The Story of Seabiscuit (1949)
History on the outside, phoney romance up the inside
I liked the casting, and the costumes of this movie and I love the story of Seabiscuit. Tomorrow I am picking up the book that the 2003 film was based on, which is one of my all time favourite films. A drag in this 1949 version is the embarrassing minority stereotyping and treatment. The pace is also tedious - at one point you are watching an entire race that Seabiscuit is not even running in. The authentic archival footage was great. I liked seeing Shirley Temple in her later years as an actress - still has those adorable dimples and she's holding her own even taking on a thick Irish accent. But the story gets tedious over this injected love story between what I assume are the fictional characters of Margaret O'Hara and Ted Knowles. It spends waaay too much time on that phoney back and forth. For the most part, the movie seemed to follow the facts in all but one odd way - these fictional characters and the forced conflict between Shirley's character and this jockey Ted Knowles, who it finally dawned on me was in place of the real major player in the story of Seabiscuit, John "Red" Pollard. I'm not sure why they took this liberty with the facts and eliminated Red Pollard from being mentioned in the film, but used his story. As a viewer I didn't care about Margaret and Ted too much, and certainly didn't buy into the romantic tension of would they or wouldn't they get together. And I didn't care about the tragedy in Margaret's life that made her 'skittish' on marrying a jockey. Every time they were doing a scene, I was wondering what Seabiscuit was doing.
I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! (1968)
Kiss my ahnk
This one of these movies I remember when it came out but I was too young to see it at the time, yet I remember a touch of controversy around it. As I've now just seen it today (finally!), I realize now controversy was due to the free use of drugs in reference and in use in this movie. It's a broad yet clever story of a man learning to feel, and all the trouble that gets him into. Sellers is great and so is Van Fleet as his mom - her laugh is so infectious when they all inadvertently get stoned on pot brownies, from an Alice B. Toklas recipe - hilarious. (Is that where the term 'toke' comes from?) Someone mentioned this movie is a time-capsule, and I couldn't agree more – it truly is a commentary of social upheaval focusing on a specific time when Stein and Toklas were on the scene, and how this uptight Jewish lawyer gets caught up in the hippy movement and love is everywhere. Even though a parody and farcical, I enjoyed some unexpected laughs at the clever dialog - so many great quotes in this movies! Like when entering into the throes of passion with the always beaming, blissed out Nancy, "Kiss my face
kiss my lips
kiss my ANKH!" – it's classic Peter Sellers comedy. (I'm not sure if that's a spoiler?) The film is highly concerned with marijuana and its use, and I found it refreshing and so much more open than what attitudes and views seem to be now – I don't think you could see a film like this now coming out of Hollywood. The wonderful relish with which they enjoy the brownies is priceless! Anyway I think this movie is all about the chaos of feelings – when we open up to them - wow! They can feel like a tidal wave of wonder, but invariably wreck havoc with the secure and stable foundations of your life – and no matter how you try and put them back in the box, once you've tasted freedom like that, there's no going back.
Inside Daisy Clover (1965)
Inside-Out Movie Doesn't Hit The Mark
This movie did not hit the mark on so many levels, but certainly an interesting movie experience.
First off I just dislike the title of this film. And the name Daisy Clover is just too stupid – I understand the movie is based on a book – still stupid.
I'm always entranced at how absolutely beautiful Natalie Wood is. In this movie she's captivating. Her lip synching isn't great, but her energy in the production numbers is believable.
A Miss: Daisy Clover is discovered as a singer, not a musical performer – so I thought it was weird that she goes to Hollywood just because of her voice and miraculously is also beautiful, a dancer, great performer, actor, etc. I would have believed her as 20 maybe but not 15! That made it hard to really feel she was a young and innocent girl, nor feel empathy for what she must be going through.
A Miss: What is that colour of hair she has in this movie? It looks like brown with an overlay of concrete dust streaked in. And what is with the gold lame outfit they keep showing her in – it's so 60s! They could have set this the 60s – but if it's in the 30s, show the 30s please.
A Miss: Daisy seems to lose her edgy spunk after being absorbed into Swan studio. At the night of her premiere as they are preparing to leave, Plumber is telling her smile big, bigger, and curtsy low. His wife Melora gives her a personal memento gift and the whole time Daisy just smiles a little confusedly – doesn't say a word. Then she walks out alone for some reason (although they were all supposed to go together?) and Roddy McDowell says 'Here's something for your scrapbook." and it's a promo ad out of a newspaper on her premiere. Suddenly Daisy acts like she's been completely insulted and throws it aside and goes outside and has a hissy fit, fling the gift away, etc. and writing on the building "Raymond Swan is a Mother Killer!"
a convenient subplot supports this sentiment, but I'm sure the wink is, yeah, Motherkiller – I get it. And Daisy so hates Roddy McDowell it's lethal, but I never really understood why.
A Miss: If they want so much control over this 15 year old, wouldn't Swan and cohorts be making sure she had a friend/mentor to watch over her every second, know all her secrets, and indoctrinating her into studio life? Not just letting her run all over the place, out of control, after they've just groomed her up for a show – something like a little kid playing in the dirt in their Sunday best – i.e. if this is a studio family, where are the parents?
A Miss: Obviously the charming cad Wade Lewis isn't good for Daisy – hijacking her away from her shows and premiere. So why is there no one watching out to make sure she doesn't get tangled up with Wade since Raymond and Melora knew all about him? And if she's 15 isn't that statutory rape? The Swans finally get around to stepping in – and so Wade asks Daisy to marry him in front on the Swans. So they get married – same question – is she allowed to marry at 15?
A Miss: An elaborate wedding and no plans for the honeymoon? The newlyweds stay in a shabby adobe roadside motel in a place called Jaw Bone where he abandons her? And they arrive like fugitives, albeit stopping in what appears to be the middle of the day totally exhausted, saying it's an hour before dawn – seems so fake. Wouldn't Swan have everything to say about the image of his precious Daisy and take care of her honeymoon?
A Miss: The almost comedic ending to this movie – so strange. A better ending would have been that she succeeds - or does herself in with booze, etc. This is a tragedy right?
A Hit: I love when Melora screams "She doesn't have a headache – she has a HEARTAAACH!!! Best overwrought line in the show!!
A Hit: Plummer is great in his talk to Daisy by the pool. Only thing is they never show Daisy's face – just the top of her head and so you don't get any satisfaction of seeing her reactions to his words. He's such a vampire – giving her deep passionate energy-sucking kisses and the next moment slapping her face. "There's more where you came from."
A Hit: Ruth Gordon is worth watching – she's stands out as the only real, flesh and blood person, with any colour at all in the movie.
A Hit: Daisy's meltdown in the sound booth - the spooky silence with just cold machinery noises faintly heard while we see her losing it in stages. Very Orson Wellsian.
Bewitched (2005)
Sadly Clara, this movie goes over like one of your spells
I actually had no interest in seeing this movie. I instinctively put it in the category of "not interested in ruining my fond memories, thanks", where other movies like "The Avengers", "Get Smart", etc. go.
But I was loaned a copy, and when I read what IMDb posters said I just had to watch it just for the experience. BTW, I love the original series and also have it on DVD - great get for fans! I was extremely surprised that I found myself enjoying the movie! I particularly got into Isabel, as a total wide-eyed innocent, and found Nicole charmingly convincing and never flagging in that energy. I bought into all of it....up to a point. And that point, where this movie jumped it's shark, was when Aunt Clara entered the picture. For no reason other than it was forgettable. It also totally hijacked the energy of the film, and spun it into a nose dive that it never could recover from. Nothing against one of my favourite characters or the actress who played her well - it was just that it seemed so thrown in there for no reason other than giving this great character some screen time. So why not bring in Sabrina too? Right? Wouldn't *that* have been a great subplot? Nicole in a dual role as the scheming and vampy Sabrina.
So that's about when I began to understand the inescapable truth that they messed with this story so bad that I could no longer find a sliver of enjoyment in it. Even when Uncle Arthur FINALLY makes a showing, it's too late to enjoy it - and again, if it's only to give stupid screen time to a character 'for the fans' that's bad enough, but folks if you don't have some insight and talent for writing for this character, then leave him out.
I actually found that I could get into the story-behind-the-story premise - OK. But didn't get the presence of these girlfriends of hers, and the romantic subplots went nowhere.
I didn't recognize what they portrayed as the Stevens' house - would have been neat to see the original recreated, inside and out. I also would have liked to see them actually doing the show, that's when the Aunt Clara and Uncle Arthur characters could be brought in on screen doing their Bewitched characters, with action going on behind the scenes, as they find out they are all witches/warlocks, or all Isabel's relatives in disguise taking over the characters to keep an eye on her. But that's one movie. Not this one. And that's not where this movie started - it started with a sweet, determined, adolescent energied Isabel and that was promising. Besides the "Aunt Clara" shark jump, I also hated when Isabel became 'enraged', petulant, and spoilt, then back to puppy love emotions.
I'm also personally very tired of people going on about their pain and hate for someone, and the other person saying knowingly, "That's love!" Um, no it's not. More like control. Poor Isabel, just another control freak. However, that must be a pretty common witch trait, I guess!
Howard the Duck (1986)
Still makes me nauseous 20 years later...
If this movie could be given a negative rating it would deserve a -10 out of -10.
I haven't seen this god-awful sickness since the 80's, but even when I am reminded of it, I feel the same sense of queasiness that I experienced watching it way back then. I suppose that is something to recommend it, in an alternative universe, prison-camp-hell sort of way.
If you find fake plastic puppets believable, have a tendency to lose control of your sexual inhibitions over a large yellow duck's bill and webbed feet, and enjoy fantasizing about such a puppet having the smarmy vain personality of the creepiest 'ladies man(?)' ever hammed up - plus enjoy watching a virginal girl-next-door actress (a rather sweet gal who didn't stand a chance of redeeming herself in this creep-fest) reduced to displaying hard-to-watch horniness for this dork...I mean, duck...then Hey, your stomach is stronger than mine.
(I felt sorry for Lea Thompson at the time - it was hard to watch - she had this pretty solid 'image' going from the successful BTTF series - likable and talented - then to see her get trashed - likened it to seeing her in a porno or something. I give her props for her desperate attempt to portray as believable a direction that seemed to be coming from a drug-fueled, sadistic, pervert bent on humiliating her. I mean, it was that bad.)
Nauseatingly fake, fake, fake, fake, fake - made worse by being washed over with creepy sexual tension....
Bye Bye Blues (1989)
Great Movie - Bye Bye Blues
I love this movie - I saw this years ago when it was first out and it never left me. I now own it on VHS and I couldn't be happier to see it again - it was everything that I remembered it was. For those of you looking for a copy - I found mine through a private seller through Amazon. It was wonderful to see this movie again. I love Rebecca Jenkins, her voice is thrilling. I love the music. I love the dramatic period and world events that are affecting these people living in the Canadian Praries. I love the strength and colour of the characters. I love Rebecca's relationship with her sister, her husband, her band mates, her mother and father, her children - everything about this movie feels real and it flows beautifully. There is so much that happens in her life, and so many changes in her relationships with everyone in her life - from asserting herself and what she wants to do, despite to her family's consternation, something that she knows she needs to do - but through all the upheavals, downturns, and excitement she never loses her connection with her life before the war, her love and devotion to her husband. It is so real, and so tender, and so heartbreakingly involving to watch her internal struggles as she faces the restrictions of the time. Bittersweet.
Con Air (1997)
Entertaining
Watched it lots in my house as everyone liked it - definitely put the popcorn on for this one.
I like seeing the ensemble cast - always entertaining to see John Malkovich being his oily best. And Steve Beuscemi. I enjoy just seeing him because of his unusual look and the past roles he's played. He adds something to any movie - nice to see someone who's not Hollywood pretty - so I like this movie for the variety of characters.
Pros: Lots of action, spots of humour, entertaining plot, great cast. Cons: Never lets off the gas, and the biggest 'Con' of Con Air is the ending: a TOTAL b.s. groaner (even for this movie!)