smrhyne Reviews

Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)

Great Music!!!

[8/10 · 26 July 2004]

The movie follows the same plot as the original Blues Brothers, but I enjoyed the music in this movie more--especially the battle of the bands at the end. In this movie, as in the original, Aretha steals the show. I'm sure Aretha must be as sick of singing "Respect" as I am of hearing it, but she put her heart and soul into it and made it sound just as fresh as it did in 1967. My brother refuses to watch this movie, because he can't imagine John Goodman replacing John Belushi. I'm sure there are other people who feel the same way, but I say give it a chance. While Goodman is no Belushi, I was pleasantly surprised by his performance. Most sequels fall short of the originals. I think if people would judge this movie on its own merits and not compare it to the original, they would get more out of it.

The Fighting Temptations (2003)

The Music Is Worth the Price of a Ticket

[7/10 · 10 July 2004]

Plot-wise, not much of a movie, but the musical numbers more than make up for it. I had never paid much attention to Beyonce' before seeing this film. Actually, she's a pretty decent singer. I especially enjoyed "Swing Low", the song that they sang at the prison. The O'Jays were excellent, as always, but surprisingly, my favorite number was the rap number with T-Bone. It's surprising because I'm not a rap fan at all. I have watched this movie several times, because I find the music to be so uplifting. The acting certainly wasn't Oscar-caliber, but remember, most of the people are singers, not actors. Keeping that in mind, they did their job well.

Imitation of Life (1959)

A Real Tear Jerker

[26 December 2003]

I have seen this movie a countless number of times and know the dialogue by heart. Each time I watch it, I say, "I'm not going to cry this time". Sometimes I almost make it, but then Mahalia Jackson starts to sing and I lose it. My children don't understand why Sarah Jane wanted to pass for white. I tried to explain to them that in that day and age, it was sometimes necessary. The beautiful Susan Kohner steals the film. It's a shame that she only made a handful of movies. To me the most heart-wrenching scene is where Annie visits Sarah Jane in her hotel room. She says' "I want to hold you my arms one more time. Just like you were my baby." I puddle up just writing about it.

In Lana Turner's biography, she writes about the making of this movie. It was made shortly after her daughter stabbed Lana's gangster boyfriend to death. She said that when you see her crying in the funeral scene, those tears were real. When Mahalia started to sing "Troubles of the World", all of her troubles started to come back to her and she got up and ran out of the church. They had to run after her and bring her back to complete the scene.

The Last Angry Man (1959)

Paul Muni Shines

[12 October 2003]

This is the story of an elderly Jewish doctor who lives and works in the Brooklyn slums. He is dedicated to his work and his patients. The movie revolves around his nephew's attempts to produce a documentary based on the doctor's life. The movie is ok, but Paul Muni shines. He received an Oscar nomination for this, his last role. Billy Dee Williams makes his movie debut as one of the doctor's patients. He plays a young thug with a brain tumor. He's a difficult patient and the doctor has to chase after him in order to treat him. If you look closely at the girl left on the porch in the opening scene, you'll see that it's Cicely Tyson, also an unknown at that time.

Perry Mason (1957–1966)

What A Guy!

[14 September 2003]

"Perry Mason" is one of my all time favorite series. I especially love the early episodes. Sometimes, I just sit and try to decide who is handsomer, Raymond Burr or William Hopper. I can never decide! Even though the shows are very predictable, it's always fun to watch Perry wring a confession out of the guilty party. Who wouldn't break down under that stare? In addition to being handsome and brilliant, Perry was also kind and generous. In one episode, a woman comes to him for help, but admits that she has no money. Perry pulls out his checkbook and asks her how much she needs. What a lawyer! What a guy! Once when I had the flu and had taken a LOT of medicine, I dreamt that I was one of Perry's clients. I was sitting with him at the defense table. I became upset and Perry let me put my head on his shoulder. I looked back and saw Della Street giving me a very mean look. I said, "Della, eat your heart out!"

Bringing Down the House (2003)

Mindless Entertainment

[13 September 2003]

I had no great expectations of this movie, so I was'nt disappointed. It was just mindless entertainment with lots of stereotypes (what else is new?)! Much of it was trite, but it had it's moments. I enjoyed Eugene Levy, as usual, and I thought Joan Plowright was hilarious.

NYPD Blue (1993–2005)

I Love It!

[30 July 2003]

I had never seen NYPD Blue until the ninth season. Then I went back and watched all the reruns, starting from the first season. I have been hooked ever since. I taped all the the episodes and watched them every evening. Now I'm going back through the first season! As the stories unfolded, I found myself getting caught up in the stories and the lives of the characters. At the end of a hard day's work, I can always count on Andy Sipowicz to say something to make me laugh. What a great character! He runs the gamut of emotions and I find myself going there with him. I alternate between loving the guy and hating him! As an African-American, I sometimes rankle at his racist remarks. But I sometimes find myself agreeing with him when he makes remarks about other minorities, which has made me realize that I must be a racist too. I admire Andy because he is honest enough to voice his opinions and own up to his shortcomings. I have enjoyed each of Andy's partners. I feel that each one has brought something different to the show. But Jimmy Smits was my favorite and I was devastated when his character dies. But my favorite characters on the show are Greg Medavoy and John Irving, both underrated and underused on the show. One of my favorite episodes is "Israel", where a homeless deaf mute man was accused of killing a little boy. Andy was trying to find clues to the killing in the deaf man's Bible, but became so frustrated that he threw the Bible across the room. Later while trying to comfort the boy's mother, Andy picked the Bible up from the floor and started to read aloud from it. As he read over the hustle and bustle of the squadroom, a peace started to fall over all under the sound of his voice, himself included. It was a great moment,from a great scene from a great show.

We Are Not Alone (1939)

Paul Muni is a pleasure to watch

[8/10 · 24 June 2002]

I have watched this movie many times because I always enjoy watching Paul Muni, no matter what role he is in. This movie is an opportunity to see Muni without the heavy make-up that he wore in many of his movies. Although I like this movie a lot, I was rather disappointed in the ending. It seemed to change gears about halfway through. The movie goes from being a poignant love story to making a political statement about war. But I still recommend it. Muni, Flora Robson and Jane Bryan all give excellent performances and Muni's relationship with his son is beautiful to see.