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cynara
Reviews
Tagebuch einer Verlorenen (1929)
exquisite
'Diary of a Lost Girl' is, in my opinion, even better than 'Pandora's Box', the other Pabst-Brooks movie. The cinematography is much more advanced (the fantastic tracking shot following Thymiane upstairs after the discovery of the body), and the acting is superb (the famous raffle scene). Brooks was never better. The scenes in the reformatory are magnificent.
My one quibble is with the story arc - I was sure that it was ending twice or three times before the end, which I found disruptive. According to Maltin, the screenwriter said that only the first half of his screenplay was shot, which would certainly provide an explanation. You won't find this at Blockbuster, but seek it out! Bribe, borrow, blackmail, threaten - do whatever you have to, but see this film.
Die Büchse der Pandora (1929)
Elegant, luminous.
Louise Brooks did not occupy the screen; she possessed it; she seduced it. I am bewitched - she is the most beautiful actress I have ever seen. Her acting is just as fresh and believable today as in 1928, a remarkable achievement. The storyline is a little difficult to follow at the beginning, but, somehow, it doesn't matter. The scene on the stairs at the end, when she smiles at Jack and says "come up anyway; I like you" is (for my money) one of the great film moments. She transcends the limits of the femme fatale and the good girl in that moment - she is purely Lulu, triumphant.
Nothing But Trouble (1991)
This movie is painful. I feel dirty.
This is, to date, the worst movie I have ever seen, bar none. If I could give it a 0 star rating, I would. With these actors, how could it go wrong, let along become this mocking carcass of a movie? It's revolting, yet boring and deadeningly obvious. I would pay to have this movie purged from video stores, if only out of respect for John Candy.
American Playhouse: Overdrawn at the Memory Bank (1983)
Bad, but fun.
Yes, this is a horrible movie, but it isn't horrible to watch; if you're in the mood, it's great, trashy fun. Bad special effects, killingly obvious use of stock footage, and a plot so simple a spaniel could grasp it.
Jezebel (1938)
Oh dear!
Oh dear. This movie has not aged gracefully. At its best, it's mildly compelling; Bette Davis is excellent. At its worst, it looks like a badly dated, thinly veiled _Gone With The Wind_. The happy slaves are difficult to watch.