mbuchwald Reviews

Love in a Cold Climate (1980)

Original Love in a Cold Climate available on DVD

[9/10 · 19 September 2012]

I just rented the original version of Love in Cold Climate on DVD. Having never seen the broadcast, I was a bit taken aback at first because it clearly belies its age (1980), but after I got into the second episode I was hooked. All commentators who have bemoaned its absence should run to their favourite source and get the DVD. The DVD is well made and has subtitles for those of us who are hard of hearing or have trouble with the accents. It was interesting to see the younger Judi Dench and a set of excellent actors that have not had immense careers afterwards. Seeing the DVD has made me want to go and read the books on which the series was based just as seeing Brideshead Revisited (to me still the best book adaptation that I have seen on TV) sent me to read the novel.

For 80 Days (2010)

Do not miss!

[9/10 · 10 September 2010]

I just saw this outstanding film at the World Film Festival in Montreal. It received a well-deserved, spontaneous applause from the audience. I saw 10 films at the festival, from all over the world, and this one was the highlight.The script is not obvious, and takes its time developing the story, of the renewed, but only temporary, friendship between two elderly women who meet again by accident. The characters and the joint history of the main protagonists are revealed in part through flashbacks. By the end of the film one really knows and loves them. Secondary characters are vivid and true to life. The ending is totally appropriate for the way the story has been going and leaves one with mixed feelings.

United States of Tara (2009–2011)

Worthwhile watching

[8/10 · 18 May 2010]

I also don't understand the negative comments about this show, for example the fact that drugs and alcohol are present. This is what makes the show realistic (except perhaps for a subsection of the population who don't accept that alcohol and drugs are part of North American society). The characters are believable and sometimes quite funny. Some of the episodes, for example the one in which Tara's sister undergoes a second breast operation, push American obsession with perfect beauty to the limit. As others have said, Collette is outstanding as Tara but the other actors more than hold their own next to her various roles. This is a very idiosyncratic take on contemporary society.

Julie & Julia (2009)

too Hollywood

[7/10 · 6 April 2010]

While this movie is enjoyable, watching the extras, in which the real Julie Powell is interviewed, makes it clear that Hollywood is not comfortable with real-looking women. I was disappointed that Nora Ephron would go along with this view. While Meryl Streep succeeds in replicating Julia Child's voice and mannerisms, the role of Julie Powell is given to an actress who doesn't look at all like the real Julie, in large part, I believe, because she fits the Hollywood view that younger leading ladies have to be thin. It is hard to see how the Julie Powell on the screen can be so thin after eating a year's worth of French cooking. This is not hard to see with the real Julie Powell, who by the way is also very pretty. In contrast to some other reviews I thought that the movie gave equal time to both characters, an appropriate balance for the purpose of the movie. This was not a biography of Julia Child.

The French Chef (1962–2022)

entertaining and instructive

[9/10 · 6 April 2010]

I recently rented a 3 DVD set of Julia Child's cooking program broadcast originally on the Boston PBS station (WGBH). Each disc has 6 shows, each lasting about 30 minutes. The early programs are in black and white but the later ones are in colour, including the one in which she describes the difference between various chickens. Child has an easy manner on the screen and watching these shows reaffirms how great an actress Meryl Streep is: her take on Child is perfect (in Julie and Julia). While one may not be tempted to make all the dishes that Julia demonstrates, viewers who are interested in cooking will learn something from each show and may be willing to try at least one of them.

Tkaronto (2007)

requires patience

[8/10 · 26 February 2010]

A interesting and different movie about being unsure of oneself, in particular being part-native in a white culture. Somewhat talky and slow but ultimately rewarding. This is a movie that asks the viewer to pay attention. The issues of identity that are discussed are universal, even if they are presented in the context of native cultures. The acting is very good, especially by Lorne Cardinal, most recently seen as the bumbling cop in "Corner Gas". The two principals are relatively unknown but I believe they will go far. They play the transient chemistry between them with finesse. Clearly a low budget film but worth seeing. Not for lovers of Hollywood movies.

Oy Vey! My Son Is Gay!! (2009)

film for the 1970s

[4/10 · 10 September 2009]

I also saw OY VEY MY SON IS GAY in Montreal and was very disappointed. Full of clichés, both Jewish and gay, it was hard to believe that families would behave the way they did in today's western world. Maybe in the 70s. The acting was over the top; mugging to the cameras; gratuitous use of Carmen Electra's physical charms. The cast of characters were all stock: Jewish parents, relatives both pro- and anti-gay, opposite types as male lovers, siblings who understand but stay silent. The list could go on. One could have predicted the denouement of the movie after 10 minutes. I don't recommend this film unless you are amused by trashy, Hollywood-type entertainment masquerading as an independent movie.