Change Your Image
MicAdlm
Reviews
The Small World of Sammy Lee (1963)
AS AN EX LABORATORY PROCESSOR
Quite brilliant and as already stated are accurate as are all whites which certainly was due to expert lab testing and careful
checking of all chemical mixes and pedantic drying technique which needed 2 sharp eyes for neg and pos accurate drying !
These techniques were a Labour of love and every minute in that lab was challenging and success was always appreciated and
great pride in our work was a given. Re hand held, those days would have needed a much larger budget ! That said the intensity of lighting , direction and screenplay all gelled for a successful final in the can job. For the general public , if interested I modestly suggest starting
with a few now out of date technical books on film processing, screenplay writing, direction , lighting , and sound recording techniques
all of which, technically were controlled by analogue equipment as opposed to today , which is mostly, though sometimes not, controlled
by digital cameras and sound recording . There are many ( now 2nd hand ) books which can enlighten those who are interested ?
I find it somewhat frustrating that most audiences do not understand very much, if anything about the stresses, strains , frustrations
and sleepless nights endured by film cast and crew , often over many weeks or even months of sheer hard work ! That said, people
that do this work, need to be eager and enthusiastic plus at times a bit nutty and also maintain a sense of humour irrespective of
work hardship ! Those attributes seem to pass by most of the TV and Cinema audiences of past years and also today !
I hope these few words may inspire even ONE reader who may then pass that on to others ?
The Small World of Sammy Lee (1963)
AS AN EX LABORATORY PROCESSOR
Quite brilliant and as already stated are accurate as are all whites which certainly was due to expert lab testing and careful
checking of all chemical mixes and pedantic drying technique which needed 2 sharp eyes for neg and pos accurate drying !
These techniques were a Labour of love and every minute in that lab was challenging and success was always appreciated and
great pride in our work was a given. Re hand held, those days would have needed a much larger budget ! That said the intensity of lighting , direction and screenplay all gelled for a successful final in the can job. For the general public , if interested I modestly suggest starting
with a few now out of date technical books on film processing, screenplay writing, direction , lighting , and sound recording techniques
all of which, technically were controlled by analogue equipment as opposed to today , which is mostly, though sometimes not, controlled
by digital cameras and sound recording . There are many ( now 2nd hand ) books which can enlighten those who are interested ?
I find it somewhat frustrating that most audiences do not understand very much, if anything about the stresses, strains , frustrations
and sleepless nights endured by film cast and crew , often over many weeks or even months of sheer hard work ! That said, people
that do this work, need to be eager and enthusiastic plus at times a bit nutty and also maintain a sense of humour irrespective of
work hardship ! Those attributes seem to pass by most of the TV and Cinema audiences of past years and also today !
I hope these few words may inspire even ONE reader who may then pass that on to others ?
Wet Job (1981)
also not wishing to put kybosh on this ?
Lacklustre drab and miserable. Amateur acting, dreadful , or was it just badly written screenplay , or was it just badly directed ?
Which of those possibilities, or all of them ? Commplicated to the point of switch off and read a good book !
Admittedly I did not avidly follow Callan exploits back in the day so maybe , just MAybe this would have clicked as
interesting ? After 30 minutes I opted out !
Ready When You Are Mr. McGill (2003)
I cannot think of a better title than "oh deary me '
The last word of that title is DRIVEL ! Very apt, i do agree.
This embarrasing nonsensical tripe was offered to me by a helpless
family member in the form of a ticket to view as a birthday present .
Talk about misery, if you find enjoyment in that, this is it folks. Roll up roll up see how a so called professional group of FILM MAKERS wow) can lose themselves in self conglaturatory pessimism and
endless nonsensical inuendo. Simply put, this is a monumental flop, which to add to the irony, was introduced by herself in person?
Yes, you guessed , his patronisingly rude widow ( I R L )
One of the very few films I have ever run from as fast as my legs could whisk me from that venue ? And stragely enough, it really was a little less than 10 minutes in my case until I happily vacated my seat.
To cap it all, ticket price was £15 as this was purportedly a charity function ? And somepne who was involved with that charity confided in me, that they would never again volunteer their efforts, for that organisation, was not exactly, shall we say, above board ? No nudging or winking if you please ? If you were there, my sympathies ! Michael...
The Hunter (2011)
A TRIBUTE TO JOSHLORE 1 .
Joshlore 1 you stole my thunder !!! That said, I admit that i could not have written as sucinctly and with beautiful passion the way you have done here !! A goof here or there is irrelevant , no nit pickers
required .
You have covered every inch of the narrative with all the appreciation this stunning movie so richly deserves.
And I can only add to your words with full agreement that this movie is deserving of far more accolades and true appreciation.
Faultlessly presented and unequivocally recommended .
Michael....
The Pracht Inn (2014)
Accurate portrayal of survivors showing ghastly remnants of attempts to normality .
Albeit I rate it 10, this is packed thick with allegory and varied ultimate failures post horrors, to live in a modern Israeli society that lacked any sympathy, interest or attempt to understand those destroyed of any positive sign of normalcy or humanity. If ever there was a dark tale, believe me, this is it. Almost permanently low key, dark scenes, very cleverly lit. There are really clever moments of a lighter theme with jaunty music, which really added to the never spoken about horrors. And I repeat, beware, do not take a girlfriend to see this, certainly not if you hope to see her again ! my advice, maybe rent the video and watch alone ! All that said, I suspect this movie will resonate more with Jews ? It does evoke enormous power and horror for Gentiles, albeit does tread an unabated path from which many uninitiated may become more aware than they had previously been ? As this is such a sensitive ( cut glass ) subject I ticked spoilers to ensure my attempt, hopefully at reliability without giving too much away ? or losing face by all readers of this, my attempted review of harrowing subject matter ? Michael........
Kiss Me Kate (1953)
Not enjoyable ?
OK all you lovely people out there, I know you enjoyed this and I feel a bit guilty to disagree. Maybe I was in a bad mood ? I am not sure ! That said I really felt it was OTT badly acted, somehow overly stretched singing that just did not hold up to the Cole Porter songs and lyrics that I have always loved. The print which clearly has undergone stupendous clean up and stunning hues of glorious colors, added to all that 3D simply detracted from the atmosphere of the original 2d version ! Having to wear infernal uncomfortable spectacles, continually drooping on my face was an additional pain in the backside. And frankly, a film of this genre in 3D is nothing less than an unattractive addition where none is needed. In no way does 3D add any gravitas whatsoever to this great version of Shakespeare's tale. Come on, really, a juggler throwing his skittles or whatever they were, a complete waste of time and detracting from all the original value. Why on earth do we need to fix something that is not broken ? I should have known better, as in fact my preview invite did state 3D and if I would have thought about that, I could have realized, that as a fussy purist. Actually, my comment re 'badly acted ' really somehow is at the mercy of this in 3D ! For me, it is akin to placing all actors under a microscope, thereby exaggerating their performances to the point of overblowing the performances to something that was not seen or felt in the original ! Once again, my personal interprtation. I would not have made the long journey required to get to the preview theater. I left after about 25 minutes due, at least partly to 3D glasses. And finally, the theater was packed to capacity, so clearly I am in a minority of about one quarter of one percent ? So, anyone reading this, please be aware, you may well revel and thoroughly enjoy this film from beginning to conclusion. My advice, never accept someone else's opine, as the above is always nothing more than personal for that particular day of viewing ? On another day, or evening, not withstanding the pointless ( also my opine only ) 3D, I may view at a later date and also thoroughly enjoy ?