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Reviews
Girl in the Basement (2021)
Could've Been a More Powerful Movie
This movie did deal with deeply disturbing issues and events. Judd Nelson did a good job of portraying the creepy father of Sara. Sara's portrayer had some good moments as well. But there were inconsistencies, some of which have been already been pointed out by other reviewers. If I may comment:
One, the imprisonment of Sara lasted nearly 20 years, yet Sara looked virtually no older than she was at 18 after she is rescued. You figure she must be approaching 40, but still looks like a teen. After as much as she supposedly went thru (giving birth 4 times with no medical assistance, raped who knows how many times by her father, having seen no sunlight or fresh air to name a few), she should've been shown to have aged and suffered poor skin and hair. Ditto for the boyfriend on the motorcycle. He too should be near 40, yet he looked like he wouldn't be able to buy a drink if he went into a bar with no ID. The makeup department fell down on the job.
Second, the man walking the dog. Sure I might approach the residence if I saw the flashlight. But after going to the door to express concern and then getting the door practically slammed in your face by Don, you'd think the man would've gotten suspicious and called authorities.
Third, you have to wonder how long it had been since the rest of the family went down to the basement. Surely, there would be a reason to go down to the basement. Yet we never saw anyone there, save for Sara's sister who went down once and searched thru some items that I couldn't figure out what they were. But then again, Don catches her and can't get her out of there fast enough. I would think that a red flag since she suspected him of foul play, or so she said in one scene.
Lastly, and most important, was the lack of reaction from Don's wife after hearing what her husband did. We never did hear all explained to her. She should've been out of her mind stunned and shell shocked. Yet there she is sitting with Sara pleasantly smiling and relaxed watching the 3 kids Sara had with her husband. There should've been more interaction between her and Sara over the whole awful mess.
High School Lover (2017)
Francois Arnaud too good for this one
For anyone who has seen Francois Arnaud in "The Borgias" (and I highly recommend it), I would think they would feel his talents were wasted on a film like this. Yes, he played the role adequately, but the role seemed something it wouldn't take an experienced actor to play. Quite the opposite. I personally enjoy a lot of Lifetime movies, particularly the drama, thriller, and obsession types. Not a fan of the comedies or romantic comedies. Many, though, of the genres I like I may watch more than once. This one no. Very poor ending and quite unrealistic. And yes, very predictable. I know most are indeed predictable, but this one kind of made you groan and left a lot of unanswered questions about many details, including the characters' backgrounds.
Random Hearts (1999)
Liked It, But Wished They'd Used More of the Book
This review will probably spoil things if you haven't seen this film, so beware. I saw this movie for the first time just a few months ago, but decided to review it AFTER I'd read the book. Couldn't believe some of the differences. Yes, the cheating wife was in the fashion business, and yes the cheating husband was a lawyer, but in the book the cheated husband is not an IA Cop, he's an assistant to a congressman, and the cheated wife is not a congresswoman, but a housewife with a small child, a boy!! I'm not sure why the whole side story of him being a cop and the whole story that went with it was added. I watched the movie a second time, and pretty much FF'd thru the whole police thing. The whole trip to Miami was nowhere in the book, nor was there a sister to Kay. Also in the book, there was more detail on Peyton's family background being all Italians and hating Dutch (his name is Edward in the book) for taking Peyton (Lily in the book) away from the family and not being Catholic. I really think the movie could've been more interesting to a lot of the reviewers had they used more of the book material. Also missing in the movie was Peyton's AND Kay's pregnancies. Even so, I enjoyed the movie. I think Harrison Ford is excellent, but thinking back, to have him an expectant father would not work at his age (the characters are younger in the book). Finally, I was looking forward to clarification of the steamy, albeit a little awkward, scene in the car between Kay and Dutch, but that too is nowhere in the book. I was almost disappointed reading when and how they first "hook up" as it wasn't nearly as exciting as the movie version. I'd still recommend this as a decent movie. Have to admit Harrison Ford was the main attraction for me. But I'd also recommend the book as a supplement to the story.
Mildred Pierce (2011)
Really Enjoyed This
I finally got around to watching this mini-series after having it sitting on my DVR since it came out. Many reviewers thought this series too long, even boring at times. But I really enjoyed it, and the extra length of presentation, I thought, really allowed for more in-depth character development and details of the story. I knocked off two stars from my review for two reasons. First reason, the actors.I thought Kate Winslet was every bit as good as Joan Crawford in the 1945 movie. Guy Pearce was far better than Zachary Scott in the 1945 movie. But actors who were far superior in the 1945 version were Ann Blyth as Veda, Jack Carson as Wally, and Eve Arden as Ida. Far, far better. Evan Rachel Wood came nowhere close to Ann Blyth's great performance. The second reason I took off a star was the ending. The 1945 movie was far better. It was just wonderful to see Veda not getting what she wanted and with no one able to come to her rescue. I have the novel, but have not read it yet, so I will have to see how it really ends. One more comment is about the sex scenes and nudity. I thought the ones involving Mildred were very tastefully done, and frankly quite hot at times. It was refreshing not to see her in the sexiest underwear and perfect skinny figure. Just blah white bras and slips, far more realistic. The one nudity scene which I could have done without was that of Veda parading around after she bed Monty. I felt it totally unnecessary, pointless, and even embarrassing - and I'm no prude. I felt all the episodes worth watching and I would watch again.
The Dollanganger Saga: Flowers in the Attic (2014)
Very Disappointed
I read the book "Flowers in the Attic" a number of years ago around the time when it first came out. I also read all the sequels and still have them on my bookshelf. When I finished one, I couldn't wait for the next one to come out to find out what happened. When the 1987 movie version came out, I was eagerly looking forward to that. I was very disappointed. The only saving grace was Louise Fletcher's portrayal of the grandmother. When this new movie version was advertised, I thought surely it would be better, but it wasn't. First, the acting was very poor. The actress who played Cathy was particularly unsuitable. As one reviewer pointed out, Cathy was supposed to have this mane of beautiful blonde hair, not the shoulder-length, scraggly hair that was on her portrayer. A wig would have been a big improvement. She seemed to be just going through the motions, not putting much effort into the part. EllenBurstyn is always good, and she was in this too. She could've been far better and more impressive if she had been given better material to work with. As several other reviewers pointed out, the movie seemed very rushed, and there was so discernible difference with the kids, in looks or activities, as their stay in the attic increased. Without any warning, they were there a month, then along comes two years, and they still seemed the same as they did when they first arrived. I kept hoping as the movie went along it would get better, but it seemed to get more rushed as it went along, especially towards the end. The book was far superior.
Morning Glory (2010)
Better Than I Thought
I first noticed this title while looking on the Harrison Ford page on this web site. Not having ever heard of this movie, I clicked on it to see what the main story was. My first reaction, as was other reviewers, was that it was basically a romantic comedy or a chick-flick type. I am a chick, but usually almost always dislike such types of movies, because they almost always have the same boring, inane plot to them. Give me a good drama, mystery, or thriller any day instead. So I pretty much dismissed this title and went on to something else. But I was subsequently perusing the on-screen guide on my TV looking for something to watch while I did a walk on my treadmill, and this was on. I went ahead and put this on remembering Harrison Ford was in it, and he is one of my favorite actors. Was it a great movie? No. Was it Oscar worthy? No. Would I watch it a second time? Not likely. But to my surprise, it was pleasantly amusing and I wanted to see it to the end. Some reviewers thought Ford not so good in this. I think he played the role very well, but thought, for an actor with his talent, he was almost too good for it. I think a lesser-known, lesser experienced actor could've pulled off the role without too much effort. But then - maybe I wouldn't have watched.