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Reviews
Radium Girls (2018)
Watchable and an important story
A fine effort but not a great movie. I also am greatly annoyed when period pieces screw up the easy things. (Swing music in the Jazz era, modern light switches, vintage radios that play without warming up and then without the need of a speaker horn. It's not likely that this impoverished family could even buy such a rare luxury. A Victrola maybe.)
Please forget the reviews that consider this Communist propaganda. I know that the American Communists were involved in helping workers in this era but it is only passingly referenced with a quick visual image of a young man's pin. Hardly the pro-commie propaganda film some have insinuated in other reviews.
It is a fairly good movie and you will get a good sense of the important story. It will mostly inspire you to find the book.
C'era una volta il West (1968)
Best western ever
Looking at this again you can see the elements that Tarantino used in the Hateful Eight.
A classic that is still an essential.
Beforeigners (2019)
I want season 2
The first Nordic tv I've seen but worth the wait. I've got no idea where it's going after just seeing 3 episodes but I'm definitely in for the ride. A fresh plot, time travel, and completely believable characters that you quickly care about. They have enough here for several seasons at least.
The Current War (2017)
With its faults it's still well worth your time!
Saw Current War and loved it. Viewer reviews should be higher. My wife also liked it but we agree that the director overused camera devices to the point that it distracted from the story. It is saved by a good, little known, story, well acted by all, a strong budget and decent screenplay. There were historical errors but I feel like I have a better understanding of the three subjects and the battle to control electricity. (I think that the chronology of Edison's three main inventions was changed to give a good Hollywood story, but I'll need to read more.)
I've never seen a movie about any of these three men nor one that presents the grandeur of the 1893 Chicago Worlds Fair (Full disclosure: we have collected Chicago Fair items for years and also have two nice Edison phonographs.).
I especially hope that it stimulates more interest in Tesla who really needs his own movie, and inspires DiCaprio to finish his 1893 worlds fair serial murderer movie. (Devil in the White City).
Phenomenon (1996)
My favorite Travolta film
I can't add anything more than Roger Ebert said in his warm review. I would bump his rating a few notches however. The movie has it all. Likeable characters, fine acting, award wining title song, intelligent dialog and a message. The scene where the townspeople and media person become aggressive was rather cartoonish but it made the points: Fear of the "different" by some, hunger for a messianic figure for others and shallowness of "the media". (The local electronic press has its problems but it's not the Enemy of The People. Just too superficial). Great film overall.
Passengers (2016)
Great, original SciFi!
I love good SiFi but it's seldom original. Far too many are just cgi orgies. This one however hits every mark. It's believable, you care about the characters, and it's cgi is there for a purpose. Without a great story a movie is pointless and this one has it. The crushing despair and hopeless of a man living alone in a high-tech tomb stayed with me for days. His actions are at once understable and unforgivable. There is redemption through heroism of course but the premise of living entrapment is hard to forget.
Both Pratt and Lawrence are great. They created a loving couple that you want to know more about at the end but you will have to fill in the blanks from what you are given. It's not a movie that will spawn endless sequels. It's simply a singular powerful story that you won't soon forget.