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Reviews
Third Watch (1999)
better than Chicago Fire and ER
First off excellent writing. Stories are thought out unique and character driven.
Second superb acting. Characters are 3 dimensional and believable and interesting.
Just the right mix of personal angst and public work problems.
Third location location location. New york is big
enough to have six seasons of unique stories
diverse characters and interesting neighborhoods
buildings.
All of this adds up to superb show and more memorable than ER or Chicago Fire
The episode of boys throwing bricks off roof,
bus dangling off overpass,
faith and boscorelli trapped in basement,
faith and fred trapped in elevator, etc.
Are the some of the outstanding episodes.
Truly a great therefore rare network show.
Third Watch: Requiem for a Bantamweight (2001)
Unforgettable ending
This episode is one of dozens that standout in this excellent series.
Third WAtch is a unique tv series. It is well acted.
The writing is intelligent, funny, incisive, and at times quirky. It is a good series and NBC probably in its usual incompetence did not know what to do with actual quality.
The writing is superb. Its an old story told imaginatively with raw emotion and unashamed sentiment.
Bobby is always the decent brother with toxic friends and a brother leaving their crap behind for him to clean up.
But this time his burden is too emotional and too deadly and he is too late to realize this.
The acting is great and very believable as usual.
It is the writing that really stands out. With an ending that is strong emotional and quite spritual .
Halt and Catch Fire (2014)
Halt and Catch This Show
Excellent writing. Adult characters and situations. Amazing ensemble cast. Somehow AMC keeps cranking out these amazing productions. Very believable fairy tale about the PC and its programming early days. Imaginative, arrogant, childish, forward thinking characters giving their all in giving birth to the PC, online gaming, chat rooms, and of course stumbling into the wonderland of the Internet. Themselves and everything else kept on tight leashes by parental corporate types who haven't a clue in to what they are investing lots of money. Among many there are two moments that really stick out: the final moments of Gordon (beautifully realized); and later trying to figure out how to pronounce the name of the 500 pound gorilla - Yahoo! Like the PC itself the show is imaginative, captivating...addictive. Halt and catch this show.
Paddington (2014)
Family Film That Actually Captures Spirit of Literary Source
Sooo many "children's" movies today based on great books are boring, unimaginative and sloppy. Return of Mary Poppins (why???), Shrek, Polar Express, Jumanji, ad nauseum are pointless and stupid. Then along comes Paddington Witty, imaginative, energetic, emotionally satisfying. The acting is alive and genuine. Paddington is truly child-like. He can bearly contain his curiosity and enthusiasm for adventure and friendship. Most importantly it is all about home, family, love, and marmalade sandwich nirvana. Great film based on a great novel.
Another Year (2010)
Truly adult film
Superb story of believable characters coping with realities of life.
No super (stupid!) heroes cr#p, no knuckle-headed action, no numbing unfunny "comedy". In other words NOT a Hollowood film. Adult storyline with everyday dialog and real life interaction where emotions collide with ego. Kudos to outstanding acting all around But Lesley Manville's performance is astounding. Her acting was invisible. She WAS Mary.! Best performance by an actress I have ever seen. Makes Meryl Streep look like high school. One has to go back to the 30's and 40's Hollywood to recall such a performance. Hollowood is totally incapable of this kind of writing, directing, and ensemble performance. Mike Leigh is THE best director around. Highly recommended for movie goers preferring stories for those over 12 years old mentally.
Shetland (2013)
Good series...wait, what did he/she just say?
Stark, fantastic settings. Offbeat cast of characters. Well-written and acted. But I can only understand half of the dialog. The Sottish accents are thick and to my ears sound garbled every other 2 or 3 sentences of dialog. But I'm sticking with it because of the scenery, the characters, and know that pictures are worth a thousand heavily accented words.
45 Years (2015)
45 years of...what?
There is much talk of the past and the importance of memories. Kate foolishly opens a sensitive memory of her husband's by obsessing on how close he was to the dead woman. This happened before they knew each other. Yet for her it was like last week. They have no children which she obviously regrets. The photo she discovers opens that sensitive memory. The title refers to a marriage not a relationship -- they don't really talk about their feelings. The title also refers to a past full of hope but now regret. The ending reveals the husband has accepted the futility of reliving the past while his wife remains there. A well-acted, uninteresting movie.
All Is Lost (2013)
Christian allegory
The only external dialog is the opening which is a confession or a mea culpa. The only thing he has left is soul and body. As a sailor our man has known many storms in life. But at his age he is experiencing the final storm of hopelessness. His final attempt at clinging to life leads to losing his life boat. He does it because he sees a faint light, a glimmer of hope. But now all is lost and he is in the dark ocean of despair. He accepts death. As he sinks deeper into darkness he sees the faint light is a luminous boat. With restored faith and hope of life he resurfaces from his death and reaches out to grasp the hand of his rescuer, the fisher of men. At which point there is the bright light of salvation and all is found. This film and the 2011 Anonymous are the 2 best films I have seen in a long long time. 99% of Hollowood's output the past 20 years is absolute crap. I highly recommend this film for all who sail the stormy ocean of life and know all is not lost if you have faith.
Il vangelo secondo Matteo (1964)
Ye of little faith
The irony of this film is the director was an avowed radical, left-wing Marxist. He despised capitalism, America, and religion... opiate of the masses. Yet so moved was he by the way, the light, and the life of Jesus, that Pasolini ends up making what will probably be the most simple, eloquent, and honest cinematic expression of faith in God. Only Bach and Michaelangelo have left us something more beautiful. The story goes that Pasolini was stuck in a hotel for sometime and randomly read St Matthew's gospel to pass the time. He realized Jesus was acceptable to Marxism. He wisely used only the words of the gospel, punctuated by lingering and loving closeups, with the magnificent soundtrack of silence and nature. This movie belongs in that small, rare circle of films of intelligence, faith, and passion, by Bresson, Dreyer, and Bergman.
Ultimo tango a Parigi (1972)
Last Mumble in Paris
This is over 2 hours of incoherence, sophomoric dialog, awful acting, and male self-congratulatory acts of rape and sodomy as expressions of love and meaning. Over-rated Brando is as fatuous here as he is fat later on. He has to constantly look off camera to spout the most inane bloated pig crap in cinema. Rosa was completely justified in suicide from a bore (boar!) like Brando. Her mother could not have prayed enough to save her daughter. Marie Schneider of little talent and no underwear should have listened to the black landlady . . . "you're too young. . ." The audience is too old for this drivel. If only she had shot him 2 hours earlier we could have caught the winner of the last tango.
Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
Not for the pro-Muslim lefties!
Absolutely riveting! Another gritty, pro-American story by an excellent director and screenwriter. Strong storytelling and compelling characters always make for good cinema. It is not the usual, banal anti-American propaganda Hollowood throws up. The in-your-face truth of Muslim terrorists has all the loony lefties giving this fresh air of truth low ratings. I especially love the anti-Nobama digs by showing him only for a few seconds trying to derail the hunt for his brother UBL. It was also great that the film credits the unrelenting, life-threatening grunt work it really takes to hunt down and kill these cold-blooded Muslim terrorists. The emotional release in the final shot is more honest than Nobama's blatant lie taking credit for killing UBL. This film gives brief hope that America might still be rescued from the jaws of defeatist pro-Muslim lefties.