tovachanah Reviews

Cinderella (1997 TV Movie)

i really want to like this but ...

[10 February 2003]

i really wanted to like this... i really do...but....

i have seen this now 2 times. the original airing in 1997 and last weekend.

i have to admit its charming and good except (except for what.) except for one little thing...(and pray tell me what that may be)

half the cast can't sing !!!! my ears cringed when paolo mantelban and whoopi goldberg sang. the step-sisters weren't good either. the treats in this show are whitney houston, brandy, jason alexander and bernadette peters. these folks knew what to do w/ the material.

as for the choreography....i wish gower champion was still around. rob marshall, he of the uber-fosse 'chicago'..is the choreographer. the material he created tries to be charming but misses the mark. the waltz for '10 minutes ago' isn't really waltz-y nor does it show us 2 youngsters falling in love.

as noted above, because this is fantasy, the multi-racial cast works. even the introduction of some r&b is ok. but fantasy has to be well fantastical yet believable.,,and that is where this show misses.

do i like this show, yes i do...but with reservations and sweet memories of leslie ann warren.

Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974–1975)

Quirky, Campy Horror

[26 December 2001]

It's been a while since this show went off the air,but I miss it alot. As a young, impressionable teen, I would tune in weekly to see what demon or monster he would be hunting this week.

Kolchak was incredably campy sometimes silly but still scary. It had great characters:

Carl Kolchak - a tabloid reporter who could easily 'out-Mulder' Fox Mulder. always wearing the same ill-fitting suit, white loafers and hat

Tony Vincenzo - his editor w/ whom he had a love/hate relationship (mostly they loved to hate each other) and would always nix his stories because they were so incredible even for the tabloid.

Miss Emily - a sweet old lady who made Carl gag

Along w/ the demons came Carl's wry outlook on the world.

Unlike the X-Files - which takes itself too seriously - this one was played strictly tounge firmly in cheek. not too gory not too scary, just enough to make you wonder if the noises you heard at night were the wind whistling through the trees or the howl of a wolfman.

this was prime grade a entertainment. too bad hollywood canceled it even worse, that it doesn't make this kind of sheer entertainment anymore

High Society (1956)

high society -- see the original - its better

[23 July 2001]

this movie is a re-working of the hepburn-grant vehicle 'the philadelphia story' without the wit, charm and sparkle of the original.

bing crosby as the cary grant charecter lacks the charm and the wit grant brought to the film. having made the character a rich man took away a lot of the humor of the story (in the original, grant was never identified as bieng "poor" but it was obvious he was not born to wealth)

grace kelly as the katherine hepburn ice-goddess galeta lacks the sparkle that hepburn brought to the role. grace kellye is all ice w/ none of hepburn's champagne zing. as far as kelly's singing voice, where's marni nixon when you need her???

frank sinatra is the jimmy stewart role and lacks all the charm that stewart infused into the role. celeste holm is a complete blank.

the only reason i found myself watching this movie was the cole porter soundtrack and louis armstrong as the greek chorus. i waited anticipating the charming 'who wants to be a millionaire (I don't)'and 'what a swell party this is'. this and satchmo were about the only good things about the movie.

the only reasons to see this movie are cole porter's ironic songs and satchmo himself. other than that....

The Industry (1998–2002)

a dry biting satire

[12 January 2001]

Made in Canada isn't a knee=slapping sitcom; its ironic biting satire.

Not just of office politics, but of the entertainment industry, canada, and human relationships and perceptions etc. rick mercer has a fine eye for distilling the esscence of human insanity into a half-hour form (or is it 22 minutes??) everyone knows an 'alan': the take credit for it but i'm not going to work boss. victor: the spineless syncophant; richard: the aggradizing, self-promoting jerk; veronica: the one who does all the work and gets none of the credit and wanda: the "radar o'reilley" of the office who holds it all together. i even like the 'beaver creek'(aka 'little house on the prairie' etc) send-ups of bloated tv series and even more bloated star egos.

hollywood should take a look at canadian tv. these shows are character driven and entertaining and don't insult my intellegence

now why can't hollywood do this???

Da Vinci's Inquest (1998–2006)

a good show

[12 January 2001]

i am becoming a fan of canadian tv. davinci's inquest is a good example of good tv. unlike american tv, which is more plot driven, canadian tv is more character driven. this show, shot in vancouver, is a good crime show. no violence but definate tension. and the good guys don't always win - more like real life. the great thing about this show is that out of the 3 stories in the episode i saw, only 1 was resolved. we see his frustration at not bieng able to resolve his workload and the toll it takes on his personal/emotional bieng. hopefully in future episodes we will see the resolution or at least see davinci working towards resolution as he takes on more work. coroners and police don't just work on one case. they work on several cases at once with new ones adding on.

anyone who is able to catch canadian tv should catch this show. it makes american tv fare pale in comparison

The Bachelor's Baby (1996 TV Movie)

new dad has the same problems as moms

[30 October 2000]

It was nice to see a movie where the shoe is on the other foot. Single daddy has to cope w/ newborn, job, and a social life (??) all at the same time. Dan Luria fills in has the mother-of-the-new-mom role, dispensing advice and lending a hand.

Scott Bakula does nicely in this pastiche role. He even gets to make a comment on society - "its nice to know that when women run this world, it will still suck".

For a TV movie, its a nice touch