Reviews

It isn't very often that a film delves into the art of conversation. The impetuous passion and exuberance to depict the romantic angle of flawed behavior was succinctly illustrated in this movie! The film "Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench" accentuates the bittersweet reality between the visceral portrayal of who we are, as opposed to the idealistic image on how we perceive ourselves. A low budget, film such as "Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench" dwells on people living on a struggling budget in New York City, and how Jazz, Dancing, and Conversations about stuff, influence the lives of two very impressionable people. So frequently, we as a movie audience are barraged with high cost sensationalism and fusillades of fire explosions to mesmerize our sense of immediate gratification. "Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench" ruminates the human element to exact people's insecurities, and purport those insecurities as being an aspect of comedic relief to the movie audience! I felt that the unpolished demeanor to this film left an indelible mark of positive energy for the artistically imbued! The acting, direction and overall production of this movie underlined the real purpose for making a film. This purpose being that "Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench" evoked a humanism that many discerning critics deem as necessary to expand the dynamic of innovative movie making. I highly tout this independent diamond in the rough as being a mandatory précis in the paradigm of film making. See this movie when you are in the mood to feel like a human being, and nothing else! I give it a faulted five stars! I think you'll know what I am talking about after you see this movie!

Originally, the term, Chauvinist, derived from the articulate Frenchman, Chauvin, who thought French culture was unquestionably superior to virtually all other cultures in the world. Today,the term, Chauvinist, is construed as something pejorative with regards to eschewing feminism, aka the "Male Chauvinist Pig". When implementing Chauvinism by its real definition,New York is the number one city (Dallas being a distant second) that would be classified as the most Chauvanistic city in the world! This adamant belief, which is garnered by many New Yorkers, (Including the people in this movie) evokes a quintessential candor with everyone about how New York is the only real city in the world. Snobbery amongst New Yorkers is not about country club elitism, rather, it deals with a cosmopolitan superiority which pertains to the actual concept of a city, and, its aggregate potential that purports how intensely urban a city like New York, and only New York, can actually be! Ironically enough, the New Yorker's bravado is predicated on how New York City is one big citadel for imperfection, and intransigent life lessons. There is just something acutely enlightening, and genuinely humorous about meeting an individual who truly believes that he is the best at something. New Yorkers of this ilk have the exuberance, not to mention, the b**ls (time to insert a euphemism) to cogently believe that they are, indeed, the greatest city in the world. What does this long dissertation have to do with the movie "Summer of Sam"? Only this, all of the characters in this movie were New Yorkers who all possess this Promethian New York City attitude.This movie deals with a lot of Italian Americans living in New York. I am Italian in descent, and, I have noticed that New York Italians differentiate themselves from all other Italian Americans in that they are for more ingrained with the old world Italian ideals. The film, "Moonstruck" established such a theory as their foundation for their movie's dynamic. Focusing now on the movie "Summer of Sam", the whole plot was very high strung. The reaffirmation of the "Saturday Night Fever" mentality gave the movie audience a crystal clear concept of the prevailing mindset for all the significant characters in this film. Set in New York, back in 1977, Elvis passed away,"Studio 54" became a nightclub sensation, Jimmy Carter was President, disco was king, gas was rationed, inflation was double digits, and that summer in New York City, in 1977, was one of the most hot and sweltering summers in the city's history. These young men were not just hot from the oppressive summer days, but also, from "really liking" Farah Fawcett Majors. While culture clashes disseminated an old stand-by motley crew of lost souls from the Bronx, the "Son of Sam" was at large to terrorize everyone just totally sh**less(time to insert another euphemism). The violence, the agitation,and the paradoxical love/hate relationship with New York City, all were executed flawlessly with this film! I found it interesting how someone would not slug you if you bumped into him and uttered profanity at him, but, he would deck you for being a Red Sox fan... Only the Yankees... Remember! The movie "Summer of Sam" covered the phenomenal event whereby Reggie Jackson hit three home runs in one game to win the 1977 World Series for the New York Yankees. This is painstakingly ironic that I just saw this movie, as I recently witnessed the World Series this year, 2011, in which, Albert Puljous hit three home runs in one World Series game against Texas. Only three players in the history of baseball have accomplished something so paramount: Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson, (As this movie points out) and, the 2011 World Series, Albert Puljous (For the champion St Louis Cardinals). Baseball in New York City has perennially been an identifiably pandemic obsession for New Yorkers to thrive on! Spike Lee directs this film, and, he is a wealth of talent (Including his performance in "Do The Right Thing"). The acting in this movie has a sensational authenticity to it.John Leguizamo was particularly convincing with his role in this movie, as the John Travolta incarnate case. Adrien Brody displayed an effective innocence as the emerging spawn of Punk Rock pop culture. Finally, the strong performance by Bebe Neuwirth(Formerly "Lilith" of "Cheers") was very impressive! The use of cuss words in this film, overwhelms you, as the "F" word is used 324 times! Invariably, if a film is truly a good one, more often than not, it sensitizes you with some sort of indelible concept.. In my case, the New York Chauvanism, as depicted with such a fervent intensity in the movie "Summer of Sam", was emphatically and indisputably, the concept which achieved such a feat. It is realistically indicative of our honestly innate human nature to be intrigued with someone who is convinced that his city is undeniably, the overall, number one, best city in the entire world, period! Americans still love a winner, in that case, they should love this movie! Without a doubt; "There are eight million stories in the naked city,and this (Wonderfully creative masterpiece of a movie) was one of them!"

The year was 1967, a groundbreaking year for movies, the Academy Award nominees were: "The Graduate" "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner", "In The Heat Of The Night" "Dr Doolittle" and, last, but certainly not least, "Bonnie and Clyde". All of these films have received the highest form of critical acclaim from one movie critic or another, hence, 1967 became a revolutionary year for film making. Focusing on the movie "Bonnie and Clyde", AFI (American Film Institute) rates "Bonnie and Clyde" the 27th best picture out of the top 100 American films ever made. I wholeheartedly concur with this assessment, yet, others may not, and, here is where a great deal of the movie audience members are seemingly missing the boat. When mentioning to people that "Bonnie and Clyde" is one of the best films to ever be produced, many moviegoers will get very disparaging and say: "I don't like gangster films, a movie like that is probably very good, but, a glorified cops and robbers flick could not possibly be one of the best movies ever made"... This is a preconceived notion which is totally erroneous! While many hoodlum bank heist movies are filled with turgid rhetoric, and evoke a sort of sinister adolescent mindset, "Bonnie and Clyde" assertively differentiates itself from the run of the mill. Brilliant acting, directing, and the sophisticated concept of colorfully accurate costuming, establishes "Bonnie and Clyde" as a stellar production in the Hollywood paradigm for films. It is true that many genres run a higher risk of being easily categorized as "stilted" more than others, and, gangster flicks are indeed, films which frequently fall into that classification. In the case of "Bonnie and Clyde", however, labeling it just another flashy and overbearing gangster movie would be an egregious miscarriage of justice.!! The picture "Bonnie and Clyde" establishes a set of vitriolic circumstances which create a vivid aura of insurrection from the anti-establishment. This was a technique that became the most effective form of entertainment to mesmerize the movie audience!! As a result, "Bonnie and Clyde" initiated a cinematic precedent by advocating the proverbial dark horse philosophy which other movies followed suit on back in the late sixties! Such a high profile presentation of early twentieth century bank robbing chicanery establishes a bevy of hard bitten accuracy through depraved channels of belligerence and rudimentary lust! Subsequently, this film became an acrimonious portrayal of the cause and effect traumas of the Great Depression! This major motion picture purports an authenticity to the aggregate rancor which prevailed between dangerous gangsters, and the officials working for the law during the late 1920's and early 1930's. The hostile fragility contained in the conversations with everyone signified a defensive reflex that criminals like Bonnie and Clyde harbored to vindicate their heinous acts of violence and robbery. This was one of the first films to depict the disconcerting scenario where the good guys and the bad guys are not sequestered by ethical polarization. The Great Depression demoralized virtually all U.S. citizens in one way or another! Invariably, poverty becomes the culprit to adversity, adversity brings about illicit behavior, and bandits such as Bonnie and Clyde are by products of this entire dilemma. Capital crimes served a purpose to flaunt a formidable individuality and acknowledgment for the nefarious perpetrators involved. While "Bonnie and Clyde" did not win for best picture in 1967, (That award was given to "In The Heat of the Night") "Bonnie and Clyde" had an irrevocable impact on the cinema world back in 1967. This is mostly on account of the fact that "Bonnie and Clyde" exuded an intensely haunting realism through the implementation of an absolutely fascinating and acutely glamorous dynamic. The acting was so incredible in this movie: It comprises of: Warren Beaty ( Actor, director, writer, producer, and, oh yeah!! Ladies Man!!). Faye Dunaway (World renown actress, particularly for her roles in "Chinatown" and "Network"). Gene Hackman, (Basically the best in the business; Famous for "French Connection" and "The Conversation" to name a couple). Gene Wilder, (Hysterically funny! and, star of "Young Frankenstein").In addition, this movie contained a host of other great performers, including Estelle Parsons, Parsons won the Oscar for best supporting actress with this role. The timing to the volatility, the emotions, and the archaic introductory harbinger to realistic violence in "Bonnie and Clyde" are sensational! "Bonnie and Clyde" is a cunningly successful masterpiece in the Hollywood repertoire of major motion pictures. The cinematography, and the camera angles to the movie "Bonnie and Clyde" manufactured a cannon of creativity which made this movie production truly innovative! Director, Arthur Penn, ascertains a succinct articulation of the pejorative human element with this film. This enables the movie audience to garner a precarious camaraderie with the dubious plight of wanted criminals. The invidious disposition to this movie's desultorily criminal Depression laden era formats a situation whereby the purveyors of societal injustice are cavorting around on both sides of the law! Whether a movie is about elusive New Yorkers, space time continua, or visceral bank robbing thugs during the Depression, the key to making a remarkable movie is predicated on the superb manner in which the movie is produced! Essentially, a film is judged by how it is auspiciously consummated from head to toe! With the coveted accolade of being up for nine Academy Award nominations back in 1967, "Bonnie and Clyde" should be commended as being one of the greatest American films ever made!! ABSOLUTELY SPECTACULAR!!

This is an Oliver Stone film which delves into the tumultuous intricacies of the entire JFK assassination issue! Kennedy was a controversial president from the offset, primarily for the reason that he was stigmatized by many Americans because of his religion. Besides the problem which many voters perceived about Kennedy's Catholicism, a great deal of Americans were skeptical regarding Kennedy's election campaign tactics. Many citizens felt as though he orchestrated some scandalous chicanery in Chicago in the process of winning the 1960 election. All throughout his presidency, Kennedy was subjected to a ubiquitous and disdainful criticism from all sides of the political arena! Kennedy's nefarious presidency included alleged sexual indiscretions with many women, including prominent stars such as: Marilyn Monroe and Gene Tierney! The most intriguing angle which director, Oliver Stone, focused on, was the aspect of the depraved culture dissemination which prevailed in the United States during the Kennedy administration's reign. Kennedy's assassination led people to believe that our government was motivated by hate and fear, and not egalitarian democracy. Kevin Costner played a district attorney from New Orleans, Jim Garrison, someone who became ideologically wounded when he heard about Kennedy's assassination! His wife (Sissy Spacek) perpetually misunderstood Garrison (Kevin Costner) concerning his vehement pursuit to unravel a conspiracy theory relating to the whole gruesome Kennedy assassination incident! Conjecture which arose from the Warren Report, particularly with regards to the "Magic Bullet Theory", became a cumbersome and ambiguous documented fiasco which invoked a hasty dismissal to this entire affair. Dallas was fast and furiously becoming a city which embraced a bevy of secret service men who were in quest of evidence which pointed to potential political espionage that could be linked to the assassination of John F. Kennedy! The invidious aura to Dallas, back in 1963, made the city precariously conducive to being a venue that would get involved in a malignant nationwide political scandal! What the film "JFK" ultimately purported was not just that the assassination of a United States' President was a conspiracy, rather, this film wished to reiterate how deep rooted this covertly heinous conspiracy actually was! The CIA was now a corrupt arm of the law that became responsible for an egregious subornation by appointed officials to catalyst a nationally unprecedented form of deceit and collusion! The diatribes which Jim Garrison elaborated on, established a callous dichotomy between political temerity with the CIA, and an ideologically emblematic badge of justice with the American people. The scapegoat who expedited the JFK assassination, Lee Harvey Oswald, was believed to be a spawn of Fidel Castro's Communist insurgency. When Jack Ruby murdered Lee Harvey Oswald, this merely fortified the concept that a politically volatile conspiracy was the culprit to this infamous string of murders. Rumination of this entire matter, allowed director, Oliver Stone, to engage in an acute portrayal of the disconcerting vindictiveness which was prevalent in America's boll weevil culture. All three movies; "Natural Born Killers" "Talk Radio" as well as "JFK" were Oliver Stone films which depicted the numerous demented mannerisms that are indicative of many reprobates in the Dixie region of this country. This is not to say that the South is any worse than any other area of the United States. It is simply to point out that they possess a certain style of belligerence which correlates to the assassination of John F. Kennedy. "JFK" did not win for best picture in 1991. The year, 1991, was a year in which "Silence of the Lambs" swept everything at the Academy Awards Oscars Ceremony! "JFK" was an intellectual film which possessed an alert articulation with the American people that their nation witnessed a pejorative, yet mandatory, transformation in their social pattern of behavior when John F. Kennedy was shot! This necessitated a revolutionary counter culture mindset that erupted virtually overnight! In 1963, much of the United States bore a solid resemblance to the 1950's. JFK's assassination evoked a concise revelation to the emerging and indelible culture of the 1960's almost instantaneously, and, with a very intrepid disposition as well. The whole Kennedy assassination affair brought on a neon accented metamorphosis to the American people that U.S. public officials were indeed, extremely sordid, and, that they were anything, but, squeaky clean paragons of virtue! The acting ability in this film is amazing! The list goes on: Kevin Costner, Sissy Spacek, Kevin Bacon, Donald Sutherland, Tommie Lee Jones, Joe Pesci, Jack Lemmon, Walter Mathau, Ed Asner, and so many others! "JFK" is a lengthy film because it is filled with poignantly detailed dialog, not because it is hindered with a tedium of verbosity! This movie is one of Oliver Stone's greatest, and the wry authenticity to this film makes it one of the finest in the history of the silver screen! Without question, it is a 1990's classic! THUMBS UP!! PERFECT TEN!!

The year,1967, was a pivotal year for movies. The Academy Award nominees were: "Dr Doolittle", "In The Heat Of The Night", "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner", "Bonnie and Clyde" and, of course, "The Graduate". These five films revolutionized the movie industry, and addressed social issues for adults (as well as children) which changed the ossified formulae for making movies. The innovate genre to movies in 1967 manufactured a mystique to movie goers, and cultivated an enlightening dynamic to the directors and producers of the American cinema. Esoteric concepts which were emphasized with these films, encapsulated the movie audience with socially clairvoyant philosophies. The implementation of the egalitarian dichotomy between social commentary, and ,paramount Hollywood film making, for all of these five pictures, accommodated a pique for movie productions in the future. The realm of creativity with these five films manifested a cinematic ideology which was a harbinger of Hollywood's ensuing years ahead. By the beginning of the year, 1968, "The Graduate" had a gross revenue which ranked it the third highest for any movie ever made in the whole history of major motion pictures! "The Graduate" was surpassed only by "Gone With The Wind" and "Sound Of Music". As it turns out, "In The Heat Of The Night" won the award for best picture in 1967. Winning the Oscar for best picture is always a rare and coveted accolade, however, the final assessment to winning the Oscar for best picture can be conceptualized accordingly: If a film wins the academy award for best picture, it is put in the category of films like "Casablanca", "Best Years of Our Lives", "Ben Hur", "Godfather", "Deer Hunter", and "Forrest Gump". If a film is nominated for best picture and does not win the Oscar, it is put in the category of movies such as "Citizen Kane", "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", "Network", "Apocalypse Now", "Shawshank Redemption", and, what else? "THE GRADUATE" (This scenario literally being, six of one, half a dozen of another). What was the basic gist to the film "The Graduate"? Men do it all the time, so why not have the shoe on the other foot. It is very possible that the script to this movie could have been motivated by the advent of the XYY theory, which became a sexual revelation for women! The elusive sophistication of Brentwood, swimming pools, one martini after the next, and the double-entente solution to quelling your boredom, all became acrimonious elements to surviving the affluent monotony of corporate, well to do suburbia. The director, Mike Nichols, who also directed "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", which, in my opinion, is one of the greatest films ever made, does a brilliant job at expediting the aggregate comical rancor in "The Graduate". This stupendously identifiable technique exudes Nichols' directorial genius all throughout the film from start to finish! Often times, "The Graduate" is ranked as high as the eighth best film ever produced in the history of all film making by the critics of AFI (American Film Institute). "The Graduate" was an integral part of 1960's pop culture, the sixties were a complex potpourri of taboo tenets of radicalism which inevitably erupted and wound up precariously influencing the American people in one way or another. "The Graduate" became an unprecedented executive class freak show for unconventional actions and capricious mannerisms. This movie's astute depiction of disconcerting and latent emotions serves as a necessary ingredient to fortifying the foundation of the entertainment curriculum designated for movies and television! The acting in "The Graduate" is phenomenal! Dustin Hoffman was impetuously perfect as Benjamin, the sexually befuddled and precocious misfit. Ann Bancroft was sensational as Mrs Robinson. Making a relatively impossible role look naturally easy to perform is a proverbial needle in a haystack, yet, Ann Bancroft succeeded very admirably. That year,(1967) she was up for best actress, Bancroft was a lot of movie critic's choice. Second, was Faye Dunaway for "Bonnie and Clyde". The winner ended up being Katherine Hepburn for "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner". To say that the nominations for best actress were intensely competitive in 1967, would be a masterpiece of understatement. Other stars in "The Graduate" included: Katherine Ross, Murray Hamilton, William Daniels, and, even a cameo appearance by Richard Dreyfuss. Mike Nichols won for best director for "The Graduate", suffice it to say, this award for best director given to Mike Nichols was extremely well deserved. The Simon and Garfunkel music contributed to this movie in a very uplifting and auspicious manner, and became one of the movie's most memorable trademarks! The most poignant line applicable to this movie was from the song "Mrs Robinson", that would be "Put it in your pantry with your cupcakes". "The Graduate" became a flick which set a higher standard for the discerning criteria pertinent to the findings of all of the prominent American Film Academies. Yes, as this film illustrates it, a situation can be simultaneously funny and deranged! It boils down to Benjamin (Dustin Hoffman) battling with the macabre repercussions of true love! Humour about an individual's blatant imperfections is one of the crucial cornerstones to Hollywood filmmaking, "The Graduate" epitomizes such a feat. See this film!! It is outstanding!!

This film epitomizes the term "Originality"!! Who exactly was Chauncy Gardner (Peter Sellers) anyway? Whenever Gardner would utter out some desultory and obtuse phrases, he mesmerized a lot of prominent people, including world leaders, débutantes, and even, the President of the United States! The philosophically visceral demeanor with which Chauncy Gardner exuded, became an insightfully widespread précis of seemingly good fortune, as well as, an edict for attitudinal uplifting! Gardner's proclivity for watching 12 hours of television a day, and spewing out impossibly candid answers, manifested a personality which spurred on a pandemic reaction from the top rung of the Washington DC elite! While staying at the estate of a Washington DC mogul, this individual was winding down in his emeritus years. Being a pragmatically intelligent man that this politically influential icon is, he might begin to pontificate some scathing questions. When conversing with Chauncy Gardner, Gardner innocuously provided an inadvertent and very cogent ideology which ultimately enlightened everyone's philosophical dynamic. Amidst the technical gimmickry, which film companies spend countless millions on for purposes of impressing the movie viewers, as a result, filmmakers will lose perspective on the essential human element. These production companies engage in an egregiously miscalculated assessment of people in general! By this, I mean that movie's commensurate plots should portray a scenario whereby: Before we are anything else, we are human beings! The movie "Being There" did indeed depict such a humanistic plight! This film formats the bittersweet rewards and repercussions of just being a faulted individual, to which I say, such an emotionally auspicious quality, makes this film absolutely fabulous! The acting in "Being There" was realistically articulated by some very accomplished actors and actresses (Peter Sellers, Shirley Maclaine, and Jack Warden, to name but a few). The director, Hal Ashby, is world renowned for his directorial excellence, the laundry list of his critically acclaimed films includes "Coming Home" which, in my opinion, is one of the greatest movies to ever hit the cinema! What is the gist to the movie "Being There"? Basically this, "You want reassuring optimism to quell your primal doubts?" Chauncy Gardner delivers! Gardner (Peter Sellers) is BEING THERE FOR YOU!! Fantastic film!! It possessed a very 1970's style character portrayal which was very well rounded and stunningly real! I especially loved the ending!!

This satirical masterpiece is considered, by experts, to be one of the greatest movies ever made. This website ranks it 197 out of the top 250 movies ever created. AFI (American Film Institure) ranks "Network" one of the top 100 American films (#66) to ever be produced. The phrase "I'm as mad as Hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore" is ranked the 19th most famous quote ever, in the history of the cinema by AFI. Last, but certainly not least, the script for "Network" is rated as the eighth best script ever written, according to discerning critics of the Writer's Guild of America East. This last accolade is one for which I wholeheartedly concur with. Originally, the film "Network", was inspired by an incident which involved a possible corporate takeover of the ABC News Division back in 1970. The entire matter of a corporate takeover of a network news division initiated an outburst of creative genius from Paddy Chaefsky (The writer of "Network") to address the dubious repercussions of such a corporate megalomaniac's scenario. Should a corporation take over a major network's news division, the ultimate goal of huge profits would compromise the journalistic integrity of the news, as well as the news' tenacious objective for hard bitten accuracy! The film "Network" became a cult sensation which fascinated the movie audience. The traumas of terrorism and apocalyptic catastrophe are reduced to numbers on a conceptualization analysis chart which crossed the table of a Madison Avenue boardroom! Their degree of doom and despair is measured in terms of marketability potential! Tummultuous radicalism became relegated to the mundane process of contractual consent decree. Basically, Howard Beale was a deteriorating news anchorman for UBS whose neurotic compulsions escalated into a Nielson ratings bonanza. Within the realm of exaggeration, all occurrences in this movie were acrimoniously plausible! The unprecedented talent in "Network" is unbelievable. Sidney Lumet, was a director who was driven by the uncompromising efforts of New York Theatre. Peter Finch, and Faye Dunaway, were performers who had an enormous amount of theatrical experience, this was advantageous to the support of their roles in "Network". Other performers in this film, William Holden, and Robert Duvall, were actors who were known for their straight shooter intensity, and, their ability to cogently focus! "Network" was a film which depicted a bevy of left wing coups and wanted criminals to be an auspiciously cunning carnival show for caricatured reprobates. Each character in the movie had their own brand of emotions; William Holden (Max Schumaker) was always afflicted with one sordid conundrum after another,this always left him ethically challenged. His wife, (Beatrice Straight- Who won an Academy Award for best supporting actress with her character)played the part of the proverbially injured party.Peter Finch,(Howard Beale) who won the Oscar (posthumously) for best actor with this role, became an overnight pop culture icon who was perpetually agitated. Howard Beale belonged in one of three places, Bellvue, Believe it or Not, or, the third one, which wound up being his choice; Prime Time Television. Robert Duvall (Frank Hackett) was the corporate yes man who thought everything could conform to a Fortune 500 pie chart. Ned Beaty, (Arthur Jensen) was the dictatorial disciple who explained to all parties involved that euphemistic phraseology and showbiz buzz words were simplistic subterfuges which corporations used to accommodate their precarious quest for the almighty dollar. Finally, Faye Dunaway, (Diana Christensen) was the television induced purveyor for ratings popularity.. For her, corporate callousness was a by product of lucrative business decisions. Faye Dunaway's performance as Diana Christensen was perhaps the single greatest performance that I have ever seen in any movie whatsoever. A performance like this, has the potential to spoil the writers of a movie script! Such esoteric dialog that "Network" possessed, straddles the fence of liability which can be made or broken on a performer's delivery. Such a stellar delivery of the lines in this movie, by Faye Dunaway, could very well be perceived as a windfall of reassurance to the writers, directors and produces of this film. Suffice it to say, Faye Dunaway won for best actress in 1976 with her role in "Network". The single greatest attribute which an actor or actress can garner with a part, is the quality of having a totally comprehensive control of the part in which they are playing.(Prime examples of actors with this quality are Al Pacino and Kevin Spacey) Faye Dunaway's performance in "Network" indeed, epitomizes such a remarkable feat! The ability to detach yourself from the mechanical persona which you have assumed in a movie, cultivates a zenith in professionalism, with it, emanates an idealistic state of mind! This performer's dichotomous isolation establishes a necessary bluntness for their character, thus making it easier for that character to be effectively entertaining! Faye Dunaway's portrayal of Diana Christensen was one whereby the utterly heartfelt responses of a human being were very derivative for her, realizing that, she confined herself to her work. The fact that she was impervious to compassion, devoid of vulnerability, and "insensitive to joy", was what made Diana Christensen's stilted demeanor vicariously devastating to any decent individual with whom she encountered! Director, Sidney Lumet, was vehement about requiring that the character of Diana Christensen remain academically ruthless all throughout the entire film. His purpose for doing this was to see to it that she would purport an essential mass media concept which made this movie extremely powerful. This omnipotent concept advocated a sub humanoid philosophy that unfortunately establishes rudimentary ground rules for the disconcerting and virulent world of television. This film was spectacular! Why "Network" lost out for best picture to "Rocky" is very inconceivable to me! Paddy Chaefsky and Sidney Lumet were brilliant! All of the actors and actresses were magnificent!! The fact that it did not win for best picture in 1976, leaves me with only one thing to say: "I'm as mad as Hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!!"

This is a motion picture with a very powerful storyline which has the coveted accolade of being directed by world renowned director, Elia Kazan! In this film "A Face In The Crowd" Kazan works very closely with Bud Schulberg, (he was the writer of this movie). This procedure is indicative of Elia Kazan's modus operandi with previous pictures he has directed. As was the case with "Streetcar Named Desire", "On The Waterfront", as well as "A Face In The Crowd", Kazan works in tandem with the writers of his movies as a measure of purporting an authentic impact of the actual screenplay. Such a necessary commiseration between writers and directors is a cunningly successful technique which I wholeheartedly concur with! Elia Kazan was a director who was very controversial. Kazan became a political scapegoat who was scrutinized by the American Ethics Subcommittee for subversive behavior back sometime in the late 1940's. As a result of being an artifact for McCarthyist phobia, professional complications began to surface, ultimately, Elia Kazan eschewed this notion altogether, and, from that point on, he began to incorporate an intrepid and non-committal ambiguity to every film in which he subsequently directed since "Gentleman's Agreement" in 1947. The film, "A Face In The Crowd" is an acrimonious depiction of the television industry being every bit as much of an ethically defunct corporate nightmare as any existing Fortune 500 company in the United States. Andy Griffith starts out as an unassuming and innocuous boll weevil bumpkin who has garnered a quaint charisma with the Arkansas media. Once he is elevated into the limelight of prime time television, he thus became a neon accented spawn of Madison Avenue flow charts. He and his agent (Tony Franciosa) became infected with megalomania and avariciousness to the point where they perceived the American television market to be mere chattel for their slightest caprice. The paradox between ego-maniacal obsession, and homespun entertainment, became ruthlessly dichotomized by all of the powerful New York television executives involved with making programming decisions! Patricia Neal (always typecast as the character of hard bitten reality) played Andy Griffith's succor for perpetual amelioration. Ultimately, she became crestfallen by his egregious human pitfalls! She was instrumental for giving Lonesome Rhodes (Andy Griffith) his start in show business. Realizing that, he now wanted to establish with her an edict to justify his vehement disdain for the general public! His excessive drinking lead to his overall liquor laden line of logic being one which was tantamount to petty pontification from the bottle! Lonesome Rhodes became a cult figure who used his clout to cultivate a state of virulent insanity for the television industry! The entire film illustrates some very genuine human reactions, and becomes sarcastically sanguine about the cause and effect traumas which afflict the unsuspecting television audience. The film "A Face In The Crowd" is likened to the movie "Network". While I thought that "Network" was far more compelling, especially with regards to it's dialog, I felt both films accomplished a stellar feat that was pertinent to the portrayal of some very visceral and individualistic interactions! Both of these movies effectuate a very somber reality about how television programming is reduced to the sorry element of a marketable commodity. "Network" and "A Face In The Crowd" were very avant garde films which had the auspicious recognition for purveying the concept that the informative value to television shows was nothing more than a sensationalistic by product that took second fiddle importance to more pressing factors such as: Ratings share, and, dollar demand per commercial minute potential!! Other films that were compared to "A Face In The Crowd" were "Giant" and "Thank You For Smoking". I can most assuredly envision such an analogy, all of these movies possess a very intense behavioral rancor! Every one of these three films spreads out the welcome mat for an incongruous volatility to habitually surface! The film, "A Face In The Crowd" evokes a very definite subornation of an abhorrently despicable deception with the small screen viewers! These precarious ideologies are relegated to nothing more than a corrupt candor which harbors a distasteful set of priorities that many people would perceive to be overtly destructive! Andy Griffin's dipsomania and boorishness severely distorts his ability to think rationally, and that becomes the insidious culprit for everything that relates to his ultimate calamities! The film "A Face In The Crowd" is a spectacular movie, the acting is superb, the performers include; Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, Tony Franciosa, Lee Remick,and Walter Mathiau (Mathiau's diatribe about the ratings gambit at the end of the film was philosophically gripping). The writing in this movie is absolutely compelling! Finally, the director, Elia Kazan, is a master at articulating pejorative human emotions. The film "A Face In The Crowd" is one of the best films ever to be produced in the American cinema world. "A Face In The Crowd" did not win the Academy Award for best picture in 1957, this is probably due to the fact that it had the heinous misfortune of being produced during the same year as "Bridge On The River Kwai". ("Bridge On The River Kwai" won for best picture in 1957, and, also, "Bridge on the River Kwai" has been rated the 12th best American film ever made, by the critics of A.F.I.) Nevertheless, "A Face In The Crowd" was a fabulous picture, and, I strongly recommend to anyone that this movie should be put in the category of a "must see!!" FIVE STARS!! NO QUESTION ABOUT IT!!

This was a very well thought out movie which deserved to win the Academy Award for best picture in '2008. Based on an impoverished citizen from India who went on to be a contestant on "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire", the whole plot manufactures a very ironic correlation. It appeared as though any question that the "slumdog" was compelled to answer on this show, ultimately became a supercilious reflection of some kind of experience in his precarious life. As the plot thickened, so did the depiction relating to the intensity of oppression and emotional disarray that besieged the "slumdog" with regards to his whole dubious environment.This American film, which had a lot of Indian actors and actresses, as well as many Indian producers, wound up being one of the best American films ever made in recent history. The cinematography was sensational, the acting was thoroughly believable, and the directing was emphatically first rate! Any film which wins the Academy Award for best picture in the year it is made, will often times make a concerted effort to purport a unique ideological perspective to the movie audience. I thought "Slumdog Millionaire" was the well deserved recipient of the Academy Award for best film in '2008! I firmly believe this to be true mostly on account of the fact that "Slumdog Millionaire" cleverly articulated a pejorative authenticity with it's set of prevailing circumstances!! Anyone who is interested in seeing one of the best films in American history, they should view "Slumdog Millionaire" See this movie!! Five stars!! Definitely!!

There is love and there is hot, Charlie and Vicki had both, why is this so amazing? A myriad of reasons, so let's attempt to make the necessary detachment! Love is trust, mutual understanding, mutual respect and spiritual growth. Sex is fantasy, illusion, degrading escapism and some other kind of growth (guess what?). The film "Marrying Man" delves into the painstaking dichotomy of what a marriage should be, and what men really want out of it. The creative itemization to this movie is marvelous! All of the circumstances in this movie make love and hot the overt culprits to virtually all of Charlie's (Alek Baldwin) problems. The genre of this film evokes a tremendous wealth of humor which is based on the fact that a nefariously candid handful of guys are afflicted by their relentlessly sordid human nature! The entire movie appealed to me: Taking place in the fifties, the events of this era accommodated an auspicious camaraderie with the cavalier demeanor of this film! This movie was full of mildly lewd behavior which reflected the naivety of the times! Another stellar aspect to this flick was, of course, the given factual detail that Kim Bassinger looked utterly gorgeous!!. Neil Simon directs this movie, and, it surprises me how Mr Egalitarian Liberal of the Seventies, (Neil Simon) can be so flippant about this film's insinuated sexist wiles of chicanery, kidding or otherwise!! The music accommodated the pace of this film, and the acting was incredibly believable. People might say, "You are suppose to take a driver's license test four times if you have to, you are not suppose to marry the same woman four times". To which I say, "Marrying the same woman four times, "Can Do!!"

This film was made in 1988, that happened to be the best year of my life. Why? I became totally satisfied with all the decisions I made, I loved being a reckless bachelor, and everyone around me seemed to be happy! Nationally speaking, in 1988, we were not at war, our economy was great, and a Republican was in the White House. Invariably, our checks and balances sheet gets bonus points when our economy is booming during a Republican administration. When Democrats are in the White House during a good economy, it is as if their implemented economic plans are a necessary evil. Republican's phraseology during a good economy under their watch is one of "Rugged Individualist Spirit" which basically becomes a euphemistic phrase for "Our policies are a luxury our nation can actually afford". What does this long dissertation have to do with this movie? Mostly the fact that it reflected our cop-aesthetic disposition as a nation during this period in time (1980's). In 1988, the camaraderie everybody shared with each other was due to the fact that they were all happy. The movie "Punchline" evoked a plight of "We are all happy, except!" "Except what?" "Except for the fact that I want to tell jokes" Tom Hanks and Sally Field are an unbeatable combination of acting talent that unearth a bevy of identifiable human frailties. For Sally Field's character, this was the question that she was finally ready to answer now; "You have a happy home and a wonderful family, why is it so important for you to be funny?" The answer,"I must express a part of myself that is me". "Indeed, such a craving is so important to me that it is as addictive as any harmful drug." The fact is, making people laugh is like a gambling addiction, alcoholism, smoking whatever, cocaine, or even investing good money after bad in a go nowhere business venture. Drugs and alcohol are for a kick! Investing money in a failing business venture is for purposes of hoping against hope that you will turn everything around and make huge profits! Telling jokes and being funny are all in the anxious anticipation that you will receive an unprecedented individualistic gratification!! This movie depicts whereby for a lot of people, a huge part of them believes that often times, nothing is more important to them than to make somebody genuinely laugh at something they say which is genuinely funny! When they hit a snag and gravitate to a very lackluster sense of humor, which may be as a result of the fact that they are having a run of bad luck with their witty spontaneity, it begins to drive them crazy. Somehow, just like an addiction to drugs and alcohol, making someone laugh is the most important thing in their lives! When this movie was made, Sally Field was 42 years old, this is an age where you begin to engage in soul searching. When I was 42, I lost my job, subsequently, I have yet to get a real one ever since. Your 40's is when your perspective changes and your priorities become increasingly more flippant and philosophical about the regimented and structured criterion which you have been living by! Now is the time for your middle aged fortitude to focus on attitudinal values which are a little more spiritually rewarding. The fact that this movie did not receive critical acclaim, and was downgraded for it's transparent mediocrity, is no surprise to me! This is seemingly appropriate that the academy would not recognize the lethal emphasis on how rewarding the penchant for making people laugh really is to many alternative individuals! So critics not liking this movie too much did not mean that they were wrong! In fact, it almost went in sync with the fact that any rational person cannot fathom that the intensely obsessive urge is to make someone laugh can almost be categorized as a debilitating disease! It can be though, believe me! Tom Hanks is fantastic in this movie, that "Singin in the Rain" score he performs is tremendously authentic!! Here is the gist of this movie from my angle, your average comedian is just a tad unusual, for that matter, so is owning a yacht!! The most appropriate assessment of this film, I liked it, and that is all that matters, or let me put it another way, IT WAS FUNNY!! That's everything, remember! Think of it this way; What can I get you to make you and addict? Crack? Crystal Meth? 100 proof whiskey? Laughter?!!

What can you say about this movie's director, Milos Foreman? He is just simply superb at the itemization of complex human nature. The film, "Amadeus" is considered to be one of the greatest movies of all time! You would think that any director who lays claim to a film with such a stellar reputation would be at the pinnacle of his professional genius. The fact is, that in Foreman's case, he previously directed another film which has been critically earmarked as perhaps the most spectacular movie ever produced, that motion picture being: "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" Milos Foreman won the academy award for best director in '1975 for "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest", just as he won the academy award for best director in '1984 for "Amadeus". Foreman takes a monotonously challenging approach to his films. I am convinced that this world renowned director could build a perfectly designed New York City skyscraper using only a pair of tweezers. This is how detailed Milos Foreman actually is! "Amadeus" was a simply remarkable movie which engages in a comprehensive biography of one of the most masterful composers of classical music in the whole history of all creation, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This movie depicts how Mozart did not even write the notes to his sheet music on script paper, he memorized all of the music which he originated !! That is just simply amazing! Clinically using the adjective, prodigal, for describing Mozart, would merely be a paramount utterance of understatement. The culprit to Mozart's vulgarity was due largely in part to his baroque environment! Mozart's corrupt candor cultivated a tailor made invitation for his spontaneity to allow his personality to open the floodgates for him to maximize his flourishing aggregate potential! The movie "Amadeus" purported an intensely vivid clarity for pointing out a great many of Mozart's talented attributes! In a time when Germanic culture carried an assertively chauvinistic aura with the world's paradigm, Mozart was convinced that if he was going to write an unequivocally marvelous opera, that this opera should be composed and expedited in Italian. The English translation for this opera was entitled "The Marriage of Figaro". The cerebral complexities to Mozart were simply astounding. The grass root recognition of ideological fervor which prevailed with the hierarchy during the period of nineteenth century Austria was portrayed with a very subtle disposition in this film! The rendition of Mozart's music which was performed by the Dallas symphony, and conducted by Edward Mata, was a compendium of Mozart concertos which I will emphatically categorize as marvelously top notch entertainment. When I was in Austria, while visiting Salzburg, I ate lunch at a restaurant which use to be Mozart's home. The plethora of Mozart artifacts in Salzburg were, to say the least, intellectually sensitizing! This enriching sojourn of mine became a reflective synopsis of how influential Mozart was to the entire spectrum of classical music. As a matter of fact, I became passionately imbued with an aesthetic appreciation for Mozart as a result of watching this film,!! Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart auspiciously revolutionized all of western civilization.The film "Amadeus" executes a successfully cogent expertise at illustrating Mozart as an aficionado with an artistic finesse and an unprecedented musical flair!! Winning the academy award for best picture back in 1984, this is just simply the introductory tip of the iceberg in terms of being an indicator of how wonderful this motion picture truly is. If you have not seen "Amadeus" yet, make it a point to do so. The acting is great, the cinematography is enlightening, and the directing, by one of the all time directors in the whole history of Hollywood film making, Milos Foreman, is totally sensational!! See this film!! Five Stars!! Perfect Ten!! No Question About It!!

"Crash" was one big citadel for disseminated catastrophe! The film, "Crash" habitually purported the unnecessarily ruthless aspects to the questions of: "What about this?" "What about that?" Fatal consequences are incurred just because people find everything around them to be just a little too irksome to stomach! The premise being; "Make it easier on me, let me hate my neighbor!!" The penchant for belligerence is very widespread in this movie. The characters in "Crash" possess a callousness which is assertively second nature to them. Their attitudes manifest themselves by perpetually saying: "I'm always angry, why? No real reason!" The film's racial unrest was so ubiquitous that some seemingly normal individuals would ask this question with a very cavalier disposition: "Is he black, or is he white? Yeah! It definitely matters!!" The scenario is situated accordingly whereby all parties concerned perceive money to be everything, and a lack of money to be the only thing!! Such a collage of pejorative proclivities has manufactured a myriad of emotional hang ups with this film. So why did this flick win for best picture? My guess; Because of the film's originality. "Crash" was a movie which was comprised of these ingredients: A dash of violence, a pinch of sexually depraved behavior, a bevy of great actors and actresses, (Including Sandra Bullock and Matt Dillon) and finally, it was topped off with wonderful directing. Galvanize all of these attributes, and it is not surprising that "Crash" was selected to be recipient of the proverbial and extremely coveted Academy Award Oscar for best film, above all other flicks that were competing for this honor in '2005! I personally liked "Good Night and Good Luck" better! This film was a runner up academy award nominee which was produced during the same year as "Crash" was! While "Good Night and Good Luck" was an intensely intellectual film, "Crash" however, was a much more elaborate production. The movie, "Crash", became the precarious purveyor of non justifiably violent responses which served as a subterfuge for camouflaging grotesque human indulgences. Mannerisms of this nature correlated to the wry vindication of everybody's personal misunderstandings! "Crash" can best be categorized as a sagacity for sinners. This film was a creative doggerel that became a reflection of the dark and psychologically unnerving criminal antics which concurrently prevailed! This plethora of felonious atrocities victimized everyone in the film in one way or another! These nefarious escapades eventually snowballed into an onslaught of cumbersome afflictions that wound up burdening the value system by which many typical Americans live! The film "Crash" is a demented depiction of how the truth is offensive because the truth is also stubborn, hence, it is simply the truth! Basically being a cunningly creative homogenization for hatred, it stands to reason that "Crash" should have won the academy award!! Indeed, "Crash" deservedly won for best picture! Okay!! So, what's the bottom line here? We have acquired a painstaking realization of just how deplorable our fixations on discriminating judgment really are!! Are we going to do anything about it? NO!!

Chris Noth was such a big part of the original series "Law & Order" and he was indeed my favorite actor on the show! After becoming world renowned on "Sex and the City" he has returned to "Law & Order" by way of the compelling spin off series "Law & Order Criminal Intent". I like the episodes that he stars in, I am not all that crazy about the episodes that those other two people are in (Ha Ha!!). "Law & Order" will probably be the longest running prime time series in the whole history of television. I definitely can fathom all of the "Law & Order" television show's appeal!! Chris Meloni is extremely convincing in "Law & Order Criminal Intent". I do feel that Chris Noth has been an integral part of the success behind "Law & Order" and "Law & Order Criminal Intent"!! This string of "Law & Order" television shows has revolutionized the small screen in terms of how the average American perceives justice and criminal activity in New York City. Budget restraints are what determine a verdict of innocent or guilty. Plea bargaining becomes the necessary evil which placates all parties concerned! Chris Noth has always played a tough guy, and has always been very believable at doing so too! I strongly recommend seeing the television show "Law & Order Criminal Intent" and Chris Noth is a big reason why!!

Who realized that back in 1982, a film like "Diner" would possess such an extraordinary wealth of talent, both on and off the screen. What was emphasized by this film's director, (Barry Levenson) was the impetuousness with which this movie's actors and actresses had to orchestrate. So often, during the film's production, Barry did not even say "ACTION" to commence a scene. So many times, would Levenson omit the word "CUT" for a scene to conclude. All of these non conventional actions by director, Barry Levenson,were for purposes of manufacturing a tertiary spontaneity from the actors in the movie. Such an auspicious lack of inhibition sparked a natural emotional realism that made the film "Diner" truly unique! Many scenes brought on a free spirited innocence that prevailed back in Baltimore in 1959 (The city and the year that this film was suppose to take place). "The Popcorn Scene" with Mickey Rourke was hysterically funny, as it is indicative of the sordid wiles men will engage in to get the attention of a beautiful woman, especially if it for purposes of impressing his close knit buddies!! "The Piano Scene" was one of the best scenes in any movie I have seen whatsoever!! Tim Daly's piano playing was a mandatory form of entertainment to break up the sedentary monotony of an ossified nightclub! The type of character Steve Guttenberg played was one which was very identifiable to me. I saw myself in Steve Guttenburg's character so many times in the movie, but, particularly in the "Piano Scene". I could envision myself dancing recklessly in dare devil fashion while wearing Shetland wool! This was so Steve Guttenberg's character, and, it was so much like something I might do as well!! This film focused on the bittersweet scenario, pertaining to the peculiar viewpoint by some barely adult men, who had a penchant for believing that an individual's sense of humor should be his single most coveted attribute in the world. Such a mindset purveys the ground-rules of survival being a case of how a human being's sense of humor should be endless, because his egregious flaws as an individual are endless as well!! "Diner" accentuated the necessary dichotomy between social cohesiveness and individuality! Ultimately, the film would bridge the gap with precocious candor. This itemization of quirky concepts accomplished a successfully ambiguous cultural dissemination of adolescent ideas with all the main characters of this movie. The incongruity contained in the conversations with everybody became a capriciously acute element to this film which successfully evoked a superbly unprecedented directorial finesse!! "Diner" did not win the academy award for best movie in 1982. When a movie wins an Oscar for best picture during any given year, it is usually a very good film. When a film manifests a fondness for individual expression by establishing a reality on how people truly are by what they find amusing, with that, emanates the real definition of a comedy. If a movie can accomplish such a feat, then this is an undeniably great film. Without question, the film "Diner' is a movie that may be put into this category!! A bevy of talented people partook in this movie. This box office bonanza of stars comprises of; Mickey Rourke, Steve Guttenberg, Tim Daly, Ellen Barkin, Daniel Stern, Kevin Bacon, and Paul Reiser. (Reiser's curiosity with the term, nuance, in this movie, later surfaced itself to reality by way of a production company which was entitled "Nuance Productions" that Paul Reiser was part owner of). Given the fact that so many actors, actresses, directors and producers have 30,000 square foot domiciles in Beverly Hills and on Park Avenue, it becomes rather obvious that money is not always a top priority with them. Ultimately, they realize that the purpose for making a movie is to raise the bar on entertainment standards. This encapsulation concerning man's sanguine flippancy about perpetual failure, which this film, "Diner" illustrated, was totally astounding! More specifically put, an integral facet of movie entertainment is predicated on accurately pinpointing what human nature is truly like. Often times, I have thought that if you only want to see two movies in your entire life, those two films should be "Glengarry Glen Ross" and "Diner". Both movies capture a grass roots recognition of what people's attitudes and instinctive reactions really are. I would give the nod to "Diner" over "Glengarry Glen Ross" because "Diner" illustrates a realism which is portrayed with a far more positive disposition! Such a reality gives "Diner" an enthusiastic identifiability. Attaining a stranglehold on the positive elements of human intuition in a movie like "Diner" is a goal that is so crucial to a film! So much so, that if a director does this, but, he does not win an Oscar for his film, his response should be "SO WHAT!!" The movie "Diner" is a one of a kind gem! "Diner" has achieved the ultimate accolade of being a movie which ignites a humanistic gratification to a near perfect state! This film has artistically conquered an elementary objective for making a movie! Such an accomplishment is what film making is all about, to which, I have only one thing to say, "An Oscar!! What's that?"

This movie is a film which every Chicagoan should love. The historical account of the St Valentine's Day Massacre was on which mesmerized millions of people, and how it restructured the syndicate's power back in the 1930's.! The 1929 catastrophe underlined the ruthless struggle with which the Irish and the Italians were engaged in. Presently, Boston is the only city in the United States where the Irish rule organized crime. The Italians run the most prominent criminal mobs in virtually every other city! Bugs Moran and Al Capone were two criminal leaders who operated very differently. Their personal agreements with one another established ground-rules about demographics. Capone had the south and west sections of the city, and Moran had the north. The whole predicament manifested itself when these organizations perceived that one was invading on another one's turf!! This heinous violence had the entire city of Chicago by the throat. The movie "The St Valentine's Day Massacre" depicted the precarious scenario very astutely! Jason Robards played Al Capone brilliantly, this is remarkable, especially considering that he is not even Italian! The directing and the authentication of Chicago in 1929 was excellent! I have an affinity for gangster movies, and this one is one of my favorites!! See this film if you possibly can!!

Chicago during the dry years (prohibition) was a venue which had a very rough exterior. Morally rigid guidelines, and a facet of poverty comprising of reprehensible destitution were unfortunate elements of American living which initiated an irascible backlash of pandemic criminal activity. Such tumultuous and illegal shenanigans embodied some extremely visceral emotions with hundreds of thousands of people who lived in Chicago! The television show "The Untouchables" dealt with hard bitten reality which evoked agitated behavior on both sides of the law! Elliot Ness was on a vigilante crusade to stop the flow of liquor into Chicago during the Prohibition era! As it turns out, Elliot Ness himself died of a heart attack which was attributable to his alcoholism! What is the point of this information? Not to depict Ness as a hypocrite, rather, to reiterate that Elliot Ness believed in enforcing the law, regardless of what his position was on any given social issue! The series, "The Untouchables" is an historically succinct account of how Al Capone ruled Chicago during a specific era! The federal agents were either bought off, or, like Ness, they were motivated by disdain and vehement objection for key members of the syndicate who were repetitively thwarting them! An onslaught of prominent actors and actresses made guest appearances on "The Untouchables". This made the series very powerful!! These special guest stars played the roles of Ness' scruple-less adversaries! More often than not, Ness would engage in an ideological diatribe with these criminals. In turn, these ruthlessly calm and collective masterminds of financially lucrative chicanery would emphatically ameliorate their reckless actions by blaming either their environment, or, the nation's prevailing circumstances! A couple of guest stars' appearances won Emmy awards for their segment performances on this series. (Elizabeth Montgomery and Robert Redford) The directing for "The Untouchables" focused on being extremely authentic! The narrating by Walter Winchell added a very wry and supercilious touch to the entire plot of each week's episode! The acting by guest stars and regulars (like Robert Stack) was outstanding! (Especially for the small screen). Chicago, in the twenties and thirties, was a city that cultivated it's identity by making nefariously illicit and felonious escapades their precariously notorious trademark!! The series "The Untouchables" illustrated such copious crimes with a very vividly pejorative and fatalistic disposition!! I loved this show, one of my favorites in all of television!! Mostly on account of the fact that as a Chicagoan, the show "The Untouchables" exudes a very definite and cynical identifiability!

Almost nothing that I have ever seen on television is quite this depressing! That does not mean that I thought this episode of "Twilight Zone" was bad! It does mean, however, that this episode entitled "The Long Morrow" was very poignant! The two main stars in this "Twilight Zone" segment were Mariette Hartley and Robert Lansing. Mariette Hartley is an actress who evokes very heart felt expressions that harbor an asserted and clarified cogency! This is a quality of an actress (or actor) which is very believable! Robert Lansing has a subtle disposition which purveys an intense and dedicated conviction throughout this entire episode.The characters that Mariette Hartley and Robert Lansing play, winds up being a situation where they encounter each other through happenstance interaction in this "Twilight Zone" segment. Their intuitive nature dictates that they follow their auspicious urges and get to know each other better. They decide to have an absolutely wonderful evening together regardless of the fact that he (Robert Lansing)has been assigned to a space mission which commences the very next day. This mission will distance Robert Lansing's character from the world for 40 years! As a result,all kindred spirits, and emotional cohesiveness he has experienced with everybody, including Mariette Hartley, must be abandoned and reduced to a bittersweet memory! Turns out, because of a mechanical failure, that his venture into space results in the earth aging all but a few days, while he has aged over 40 years! So now, the end result is one whereby the caprice of a space time continuum has relegated a sorry soul of a man into a plight of unprecedented loneliness!! This emotionally insurmountable tedium which comprises 40 years of festering an affection for a potential loving soul mate, has abruptly resonated into a situation where he must sever all ties, and, bid farewell. Arctic desolation has become the savage assassin which has alienated a man from societal contact, this inevitably means he has no ability to act on any love interests either!! Returning from this journey, 99.999% of all men would call in their marker and claim their love for their woman, even though she is 26 and he is 70! Love in this case is not tough, it is utterly gruesome! The disheartening circumstances are such whereby this man must let the love of his pre-isolated world go. This is a selfless act for the benefit of her well being. Such a philosophical catastrophe ruthlessly demonstrates that this is a case where love truly means total sacrifice! Idealistically phrased, she says "it doesn't matter the way you are, nor the way I am". More eloquently and astutely put, he says "Oh!! it matters"!! While watching this "Twilight Zone" episode and being barraged with an unusually precarious paradigm, I noticed that Rod Serling wrote this segment. You have to generously indulge Serling to attain the total gist of what he was trying to say with this episode. I did, and I got extremely depressed. In this instance, I would say that depression is not entirely pejorative, rather, depression serves as a strengthening tool for fortifying my stamina as an individual! This "Twilight Zone" episode is outstanding, and is one of the best episodes that this series has ever manufactured! I put it up with the top ten "Twilight Zone" segments in all of this series' history!!

This film focused on the infamous Watergate break in of the Democratic National Committee during the summer of 1972!! As it turned out, the whole Watergate fiasco wound up being, much to the revelation of the American people, something which the Nixon administration was peccant for. When the Watergate incident hit the media, the principle bone of contention was that television was after showmanship, and that the major deception with T.V. was that the news anchors merely simplified disaster. When an onslaught of scandalous theatrics occurred with the Nixon White House, such culpability on the Nixon Administration's behalf was labeled as illicit and nefarious! These actions that the Nixon Administration engaged in were a total exploitation of executive power. Nixon and his cabinet were initially nonchalant about Watergate, eventually, as trouble with the Watergate break-in began to escalate, the Nixon Administration responded accordingly. At best, Richard Nixon and key aids of his expected no higher than a grade of a D- for political containment. When the final verdict of a resounding red F was issued to the Nixon White House for their reprehensible breach of trust with the American people, impeachment proceedings began immediately. The intransigence with the U.S. voters about the Watergate break in resulted in Nixon having to resign from his post as President of the United States. This is something no other President was ever forced to do in the history of our nation. As a result, Richard Nixon acquired a peptic ulcer. The resonating aftermath with the American people was one whereby they wound up delving in dirges of shame and self righteous indignation for a protracted period of time, and the rest, as they say, is history!!. For David Frost, however, this was merely the beginning of his bloodthirsty agenda!! The Watergate scandal was perceived as an instance of espionage, and political corruption that the United States citizens were totally ashamed of. The Watergate affair was perceived by David Frost as a potential for a pique in publicity and soaring ratings for his talk show career. What was identified as pejorative for the American public's codes of decency, became an auspicious endeavor for nationwide television notoriety!! Complications with the Richard Nixon interview were dealt with in an insidiously successful manner. These were the ground rules, simply circumvent the BBC, and, as far as sponsors were concerned; SO WHAT!! Oldsmobile and Honeywell will not sponsor this event, but Alpo Dog Food will!! Bottom line: The show must,and will go on!! Once the interview with David Frost and Richard Nixon commenced, Nixon enjoyed a preliminary advantage. Richard Nixon was very elusive, as a result, he was perpetually caricatured as well as extremely underestimated in terms of his knowledge of the prevailing political arena!! Both Frost and Nixon shared the unnerving proclivity of being afflicted by compulsive behavior. It was the final interview which opened up an ideological metamorphosis pertaining to the purpose of this entire string of interviews. David Frost's intrepid disposition during this interview now made Richard Nixon (the private citizen) capitulate to a heinous admission of guilt yet another time, thus making Nixon the fall guy once again!! The entire string of Frost/Nixon interviews was initially perceived as an ersatz replacement for other ideas such as a banal discussion about male menopause with some Columbia chancellors. Ultimately, these Frost/ Nixon interviews became transformed into a harsh exposure of the myriad of character discrepancies which lurked in the Oval Office while Richard Nixon was President!! This final interview with Nixon was the pinnacle of David Frost's days as a talk show host. This long dissertation about this entire affair was what the movie "Frost/Nixon" centered around. So, how was such a disgraceful event in American history depicted by the producers, writers, directors, and actresses and actors in the movie? The answer is; brilliantly!! The visceral portrayal of the seventies went into relentless detail, particularly with regard to the abhorrent facade in fashion which the seventies possessed!! The accentuated diamonds on Richard Nixon's ties was conspicuously deliberate. The Neanderthal mops, which the seventies referred to as hair styles, were unfortunately realistic!! As far as the suits are concerned!! Put it this way "I can't hear you with that sport jacket you're wearing!!" Surprisingly enough, the film "Frost/Nixon" was directed by Ronny Howard. This is surprising because Ronny Howard (via his role as Oppie Taylor) comes across as the twentieth century version of Hucleberry Finn. The screen writing of William Perry was excellent! As far as the acting goes, Michael Sheen was so believable as David Frost that he got the part of Frost in less than ten minutes. Oliver Platt did a remarkable job in this movie!! Kevin Bacon was excellent as Jack Brennan. the shunned general, I always thought that having disdain for soldiers who fought in Vietnam was a very convoluted line of logic anyway!! Frank Langella (Who was brilliant as William Paley in "Good Night and Good Luck") was simply spectacular as Richard Nixon in this film!! Frank Langella seemed to have a very cogent recognition of Nixon's dubiously painful plight!! Langella's agitated responses invoked a very genuine temerity and insolence, this is a very authentic rendition of Richard Nixon's attitudes!! Movies such as these cannot be noted for original dialog, as they are merely paraphrasing the actual events which occurred. It is about how powerful the delivery on these events is. I feel that this film delivered these ominous events with the Nixon Presidency in an absolutely flawless manner. The challenging approach with the film "Frost/Nixon" puts this movie in a category by itself. The itemization concerning the Nixon Cabinet's penchant for volatility was graphically prolific. The correlation to dire circumstances involving doom and despair with the movie "Frost/Nixon" were extremely gripping!! The directing, screenplay writing, and acting in this movie is emphatically first rate, I definitely recommend seeing this film!! Tremendous films such as "Frost/Nixon" raise the bar on an intensified intellectual awareness in the cinema today!! FIVE STARS! NO QUESTION ABOUT IT!

This TV Show was rated one of the five worst shows ever made!! When I saw this evaluation of this Steven Bocho production, I was perplexed a little. Bocho has a reputation for cranking out prime time top quality television shows!. "Hill Street Blues" is one of the best shows ever made, now comes along "Cop Rock" by the same producer, it almost seems impossible to believe. I guess putting heinous crimes to notes and lyrics seemed like a novel idea, however, it BOMBED!!! Television has the right to bad programming, so long as it gets canceled right away!! This show was a mistake, and that's about all you can say about it!! Policemen and detectives do not need to take voice lessons to expedite their jobs effectively, therefore, putting music to police responsibilities seems rather purposeless!! I am glad I saw this show only a couple of times, I will not see it in reruns, and I hope ABC never comes up with a show like this one ever again!! THUMBS DOWN!!

Audrey Hepburn plays the elusive socialite. She is a New York gadabout who winds up cavorting around with parasitic, well to do reprobates. Her life is a sort of manufactured intellectual recreation, so to speak. For this social circle, engaging in supercilious delusions of grandeur is everybody's favorite hobby. Audrey Hepburn masquerades a pusillanimity that George Peppard is far more familiar with than he cares to admit! Both of them have a life that is full of euphemistic phraseology which provides a double entente meaning to words and phrases such as: "Friend", "Succor for social enlightenment", "Financial backer", "Ardent supporter thereof", or "I am in need of some very intriguing conversation". Audrey Hepburn is so beautiful in this film!! The jewelry is spectacular!! In particular, the diamond necklace, and tiara, are famous artifacts in the Hollywood world of collectibles, they are right up there with the "Wizard of Oz" ruby slippers!! Singing "Moon River" out the window of her Manhattan apartment, Audrey Hepburn garnered a charismatic following with the movie audience with this scene. Hepburn's wardrobe, including the hats, and the Jaqueline Kennedy style sunglasses, all became extremely sensationalized with this film. The conversations with the men in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" sort of ran the run of the mill gambit of the proverbial aging men seeking female companionship. The acceptable scourge with everybody was one in which constructive candor was replaced with one alcoholic beverage after another. "Breakfast At Tiffany's" is a totally marvelous film which brings out the disconcerting genre of the stilted arrangements which prevailed. While pinpointing this dubious rigmarole for the precarious quest of suitable liaisons, it becomes evident that these circumstances are, without question, comfortably symbiotic. This auspicious realm of monotony evokes a very succinct and humorous romanticism for this film's entirely non-conventional dynamic! Such an eccentric scenario in "Breakfast At Tiffany's" is formatted whereby pretenses of sophistication were nothing more than pejorative mendacity, and, reality, was in fact, true love! Best parts of this movie: It makes you want to go to Rio De Janiero, and, never more than ever before, do you want to get caught in the rain!! The amazing array of acting talent in "Breakfast At Tiffany's" will astound you. In addition to Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard,(The inadvertent gigolo) other stars included; Patricia Neal, Buddy Ebsen, Martin Balsam and Mickey Rooney. Director of this film, Blake Edwards, (Best known for an onslaught of "Pink Panther" movies, and television shows such as "Peter Gunn and "Mr Lucky") does a remarkable job at directing "Breakfast At Tiffany's". My total assessment of this film; EXCELLENT!! Or, as many prominent spawns of academia would say with an emphatically undaunted demeanor: DARLING MOVIE!!!!

At some point, everybody has to do a bunch of things they do not want to do, right!! Jason Robards plays a character who is plagued with the tedium of monotony and banal laboriousness!! As a result, he throws caution to the wind about accepting basic responsibilities. He and his ward, Nick, are completely capable of conveying messages to each other which involve an entirely different set of priorities than the mass public is accustomed to dealing with. The film "A Thousand Clowns" evokes a very flippant disposition about many ominous circumstances. Being perennially jobless, and living together in a New York City's makeshift definition of a cramped studio apartment, the New York Child Welfare Department does not feel that this is a suitable environment to raise an adolescent boy. The recurring song "Yes Sir,That's My Baby" throughout the entire movie, signifies an extremely nonchalant attitude that both Jason Robards and his ward (Barry Gordon / Nick) purvey in this film!! It's all about asking different questions, and wanting different answers!! Murray and Nick's ultimate desires are to pinpoint what exactly it is they want to do with their lives, and how they want to do it, without threat of fatal repercussions,, Suffice it to say, they are fighting a dreadfully losing battle while attempting such a dubious endeavor!! The movie "A Thousand Clowns" winds up being one big acrimonious jeremiad which denounces boredom and anonymity!! In addition to Jason Robards and Barry Gordon, there were many other terrific acting performances in this movie. Barbara Harris plays the perpetually misunderstood social worker who has her seriously low salary written all over her face. She develops an ideological crush on Murray (Jason Robards). Martin Balsam plays Murray's brother, he gives his brother a lending ear and is Murray's succor for empathy, yet, he realizes the urgency of the prevailing situation. Gene Saks is the total corporate man lock, stock, and barrel. He is painfully aware of the fact that he is not funny. Such a harsh reality can leave permanent scars on your fragile ego, as a result, this clown (literally) becomes Jason Robards' greatest nightmare!! Director, Herb Gardner, is sensational at instigating a catastrophically horrible occurrence, and making it utterly hilarious!! Such a scenario purports the real definition of comedy, especially a dark comedy!! What the film "A Thousand Clowns" ultimately makes provision for is the concept that a prerequisite to getting by in this world does not mean that you must engage in a total capitulation to the conventional!! More to the point, you have to sort of have a compromising relationship with conventionalism in order to feasibly survive!! Like most relationships, there is always give and take!! The film "A Thousand Clowns" takes on a very unique approach to what specific problems are afflicting Murray (Jason Robards), and how Murray's feelings about these dilemmas, affect everyone around him. Marching to a radically different drummer has created a rather fatal side effect of potentially catastrophic devastation regarding any definition of an harmonious family unit between Murray and Nick, or whatever the kid's name is this week!! The visceral reactions from all of the characters in this movie, give the movie audience a crystal clear indication that this film cannot afford the luxury of being ironic!! What was wonderful about this film is that human responses replaced stilted ones!! It is almost as if the title "A Thousand Clowns" translates to a thousand people with a thousand errors!! This domino effect disaster equals a million discrepancies, and so on, and so forth!! Excellent film!! Some off Broadway critics in New York have rated this play turned movie as perhaps the best movie ever written. I don't really agree with this assessment of the film, however, I do feel that "A Thousand Clowns" was superbly done!! A PERFECT TEN!!

The writings of William Shakespheare are always accredited as being the greatest literary works in the history of western civilization. The film, "Hamlet", won the academy award for best picture in 1948; suffice it to say, that an accolade such as this merely scratches the surface on the brilliance of this Shakesphearian production!! So many famous quotes of Shakespheare's are from "Hamlet" "Sweets to the sweet": "The dog will have his day": "There is something rotten in the state of Denmark": "Neither a borrower nor a lender be": "Get thee to a nunnery": "Sometimes Sister" : These are some famous quotes from "Hamlet". This literary masterpiece contains a list of world renowned soliloquies as well. "Too too this flesh shall melt-": And, of course, "To be or not to be-",: These are some of the quotes and soliloquies. There are so many, I have just rattled off a few!! When an actor or actress takes on a Shakesphearian endeavor, it becomes an acutely sensitizing challenge for them which represents an artistic epitome in their careers!! Shakespheare evokes an absolute height in human creativity, and the succinct polarization of both genders in "Hamlet" establishes a necessary storyline cohesiveness which is pertinent to all of the main characters in the movie. While a film like "Hamlet" is viewed as lofty in its disposition, the actuality of Shakespheare's work, is that such an idealism is very disconcerting! More often than not, the esoteric philosophies which are so eloquently manifested from the romanticist characters in Shakespheare's works, are usually vitiated with an emphatic desperation!! These Promethian philosophies are invariably preempted by the visceral components of perseverance. Shakespheare has always had a penchant for his characters to be provoked into agitated responses. "Hamlet" is an example of such emotions, "King Lear" and "Merchant of Venice" are also such examples of these intense displays of rancor!! I have seen this version "Hamlet" many times. Sir Lawrence Olivier does a remarkable job at directing this film (He also plays the role of Hamlet). Olivier won for best actor in 1948 with this role!! Olivier is a Shakesphearian aficionado who has the ability to carry off a successfully cunning articulation of "Hamlet" by astutely depicting its fatalistic irony!! The solemn imagery in "Hamlet" is extremely poignant!! Shakespheare had such a profound prescience with human emotions that he has manufactured an eternal impact on man's conception of what intellectually spellbinding literature should be!! I do like the 1948 performance better than the 1996 version with Glen Close and Mel Gibson,the gripping enmity in the 1948 movie seemed more believable!! The fact that "Hamlet" won for best picture in 1948 is a very insignificant modicum of this movie's formidable allure!! Such an embodiment of pejorative candor which is illustrated in "Hamlet" became an enticing attribute to the film in which the movie viewer could easily appreciate!! The myriad of belligerent proclivities demonstrated by the part of Hamlet encompasses a mindset which nurtured an extremely tumultuous cerebral unrest!! This is the principle reason that Olivier's rendition of "Hamlet" is so incredibly stunning!!The cinematography is sensational in this film, and the acting from virtually everyone with this presentation of "Hamlet" is paramount!! See this film!! It will elevate your intellectual awareness of Shakespheare, and hopefully, it will also enlighten your perspective of this great masterful work of Shakespheare's which became an academy award winning major motion picture!!

This has got to be one of the greatest movies ever made, why? Everything was about strategy, strategy which ultimately led to successfully walking away with the trophy (in a manner of speaking). Ultimately, everything turned out to be a false alarm, and it's back to the drawing board!! Seems as though this whole fiasco accomplished one thing however, it did serve as a tremendous test for everybody's morals, or, shall I say, the lack of them. You'll have to watch the movie to know what I am talking about!! This website ranks "Maltese Falcon" the 73rd best picture ever made. AFI (American Film Institute) rates "Maltese Falcon" 34th best American movie ever to be produced. Finally, the famous quote from "Maltese Falcon" "This is the stuff that dreams are made out of" is ranked the 14th most famous quote from any film made whatsoever!! What is so remarkable about this film is that it immediately establishes ground rules. These ground rules vicariously and unabashedly obviated all caitiff behavior for everybody involved! For purposes of survival, these wry mannerisms are instantaneously detected, and dealt with accordingly. The art of masquerading pretenses gets metaphorically and emphatically defenestrated with this film. Humphry Bogart (Who was on the head of the list as a desirable selection for numerous detective roles, and hence, Bogart was concurrently chosen with the advent of the "film noir") is absolutely sensational in this movie. His mercurial disposition establishes the premises which harbor his formidable awareness, this becomes his principle component for nourishing his yearning for survival. His chicanery is essential in terms of dealing with his predatory and nefarious adversaries. The disconcerting genre to "Maltese Falcon" cultivates an intrepid set of circumstances which makes the plot to this film plausibly entertaining. Interaction was predicated on going under the guise of a sordid collusion, as well as the clarification of euphemistic phraseology. The writing in the movie "Maltese Falcon" was very unique to the cinema in 1941!! Mary Astor plays the role of the spawn of a plutocratic offspring. Her inherent megalomaniac's nature seemingly accommodates her extra curricular activity of lying, it is just too bad that she is amongst a bevy of professional liars. These professional liars are boxed into a precarious situation whereby they must now tell the truth- This creates a very interesting paradigm!! The visceral affection between Astor and Bogart articulates both characters' struggle with a tenacious and lethal monotony. Sydney Greenstreet is virulently scruple-less beyond belief!! Peter Lorre and Elisha Cook are discarded in one way or the other, and, they become the newly ostracized guinea pigs for purposes of pecuniary expediency. It becomes a proverbial case of who is fit and trim for emerging victorious in an onslaught of sophisticated and conniving emotional game plans!! All film critics rate "Maltese Falcon" to be one of the most fascinating and well produced American films to ever hit the silver screen, I concur!! The plethora of prime quality acting performances in "Maltese Falcon" utterly astounds me!! Hal B Wallis is the executive producer of this movie (He is best known for "Casablanca"). John Huston directs this film, he is nationally renowned for other greats such as "Treasures of Sierra Madre" , "Key Largo", "African Queen" and copious others!! Huston also made an appearance in the all-time movie classic "Chinatown". The aggregate summation of this movie is that it possesses top notch talent from head to toe!! If you have not seen "Maltese Falcon", please make it a point to do so.... I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!!!!! THE FILM "MALTESE FALCON" IS A TOTALLY MARVELOUS MOVIE!! PLEASE SEE THIS FILM!!