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True Grit (2010)
Great remake. As good as the Classic? Time will tell.
Comparing True Grit to the original is like comparing apples to watermelons. If you start there, you will be disappointed. The first is one of the greats of all time and a classic, the remake is a great movie, in time, maybe a classic. Time will tell on that.
I was first intrigued when I read a review that stated the lines in the second version, the Coen version, were straight from the book. After just finishing the book, I can honestly say, the author of that opinion is delusional, on drugs, I wish I had , and flat out wrong. In fact, the first True Grit follows the book, scene for scene and line for line , much more accurately than the remake. It is like A Christmas Carol or Bonnie & Clyde. If you read the book, or book(s) for B& C....all the movies put parts in that follow the books & yet all of them go on their own too. Between them all, you get a lot of the original story....eventually. The first meeting between Mattie and Rooster, in particular, piqued my interest in regards to reading the book. As I assumed, meeting at an out house was not in the book. It is one of the few flaws in the remake that is typical of modern film makers. It appears, some of the least desirable human conditions excite the young movie minds, be it vomiting or bowel movements, the young directors seem to think the public wants to watch these less dignified and visually unstimulating acts. The Coen brothers most heralded film, Fargo, again had a prominent vomit scene, so you should come to expect that in their creations. What is worse is, the scene is completely out of character for Mattie Ross. If you read the book you will know, she would never have chose to do that, no matter how headstrong she is, she is still at the age of 14, a lady. A very practical lady at that, who would have waited for Rooster to re-enter the bar so she could converse.
The distinct difference in the basic plot and decision making of Rooster, in the remake, compared to the book or the original movie, is confusing. His knowledge of the Indian territories is discarded to some extent in the new version along with his resolve to catch the bandits and the relationship with the Texas Ranger. In book adaptations, I can't help but always wonder, if you didn't like the plot, why did you do the movie? That being said, this is an excellent film. The look, direction, music, mood, acting, script is all of the highest quality and it was enjoyable from start to finish. Seeing an ingénue is always exciting and Hallie Stanfield shines. Between her, Chloe Grace Moretz and Raffey Cassidy, one has to wonder, how can a kid understand life enough to portray that emotion on film? If you haven't seen them, both the original and this version is must see for movie aficionados and for the causal movie goer alike. Both versions are fun and examples of the best of their era or any other era.
Lost Horizon (1973)
Lost Horizon -skip the unfair, reviews, see this movie
What makes a musical, is the music. The music in this is excellent. Burt Bacharach and Hal David seldom miss and here they hit on every song. Reflections, The World is a Circle and I Might Frighten Her Away being great songs and routines. I recall, this movie bombed, was panned, by fan and critic alike, when it came out. At the time, the 70's, musicals were not a hot topic. Unless you were making a gritty, realistic, musical, like Cabaret, you were going against the grain. Dancing and prancing people seemed strange in this time of Easy Rider, Midnight Cowboy and grittier films of the era. The movie was mistimed to be sure, because there isn't anything more ridiculous in this, than any of the great musicals of years past, be it prancing, knife wielding, gang members, to store clerks, to lions, to scare crows.
I am sure the great actors, known so much more so for drama, than a musical, threw off the public. Seeing Ullmann, Finch, Kellerman, York, and Kennedy especially, so often playing the heavy, in lighter roles was different. But guess what? They are all great actors and pull it off completely.
If you have read any of my reviews you know I review lesser known or disparaged movies that I feel deserve a lot better fate. Why review, for the one millionth time, Casablanca, Spartacus, Network, or Gone With the Wind? Guess what? They are great and considered so for a very real reason.
Lost Horizon, on it's own is one of the best musicals made and a great telling of the classic story. The B & W, Ronald Coleman version , as good as it is , is flawed due to the lost footage and the scars the film has due to it's repair. This musical version, is the best version of Lost Horizon, I recommend giving it a try . I guarantee you will be whistling the songs soon after.
Saving Mr. Banks (2013)
Sincerely Irritating Movie
If you enjoy stories about self serving, lunatic, writers, thoroughly engrossed in their own idea of self inflated importance, see this movie. Mrs Travers is so irritating that, not only could I not sit though the entire annoying movie, I couldn't recommend this movie to anyone who isn't a lunatic, self serving writer, who thinks the whole world revolves around their stupid, fictional, characters and or someone who enjoys, A- hole, diva-ish behavior.
The only enjoyable part of this movie is the port rail of Walt Disney. He comes across as the pioneer and honestly, heartfelt man that he was. Now, Disney is slighted because they are successful, a virtue eschewed by today's lame stream media, , but never forget, in the beginning, future success is never guaranteed. The only good part of this movie, he came across as the great man he was.
I haven't seen Mary Poppins since the 60's and after watching this, I will avoid it like the plague that the author of the story was. Why is Hollywood always enthralled with insane A-holes? Oh wait, I know why. Likes attract.
The House of Yes (1997)
House of Yes is a resounding YES !
As anyone who has read my reviews knows, I like to promote movies that, by no fault of their own, no one seems to have heard of. House of Yes is one of them.
This is a dark comedy about a strange family, but it hits with every scene where they attempt humor. The lines are irreverent, witty, cutting, and hilarious. Parker Posey IS THE MOVIE. As great as Genevieve Bujold is, and she is, Parker still is the movie. Even Tori Spelling is great, and how many Tori Spelling movies do you know of? If you like a comedy that has so many quotable lines coming at you fast and furious, see this movie. You will most likely re watch it again , as you have to to process all the great , hilarious lines coming at you and the Daffiness of Parker Posey. If you like to laugh, SEE THIS FILM.
The Imitation Game (2014)
An Imitation of a good movie
The Imitation Game had a buzz around it like few other movies. With the culture in Hollywood it is understandable. The acting is first class by all the actors but the movie itself is very good at best, for one simple reason, it is not that entertaining. Halfway into the movie you will realize what the Hollywood buzz was all about. Fitting the Hollywood agenda perfectly, the movie got rave reviews, but the fact is on it's own , the plot is slow, plodding and it turns very preachy at the end. If the heroine was just a plain, old, normal, guy, not only would this movie have gotten no notoriety, it would not have even been made.
The film is listed as a "thriller". That is one of the biggest misnomers in history. It is slow and boring. The ending is so preachy, I honestly expected a national anthem of sorts to be played at the film's end. That an agenda filled anthem has not been created is a mystery. Joan Baez, Helen Reddy or The Cure I am sure would have a song worthy of this movie's ending.
Almost half of the people who watch this film will like it. Even the ones who like it though will not watch and re-watch this film, it is not an enjoyable movie like Gone With the Wind or Casablanca, or My Cousin Vinny, where you want to see the film over and over. The other half of the people who watch this movie will wonder , what office do I apply to in order to, "get these two hours of my life back".
Gravity (2013)
Gravity is light on dialog too
This is a visually stunning, spectacularly shot movie about outer space. The special effects are perfect. The movie is about outer space because it sure isn't about any people. The real problem with this movie is that you don't know or care about any of the three characters. Cowboy Joe, who goes tooling around in his space-go-cart, wasting precious fuel, that, gee, you may just need it in case there is an emergency. Then there's Doctor-Science- Annie, who after way too little training, doesn't even belong in outer space, and then there's Abbu, I don't know anything about this guy other than he dances around on his tether like a drunk monkey. I hope to God, NASA isn't really sending anyone up like this. The faulty O-rings are bad enough but with these loose nuts in space, we may have stuff crashing on our heads any minute now. The little you do know about these characters, just annoys you.
It is the type of movie where you imagine there is no script. Seriously. There is no dialog. Unless you consider constant NASA chatter, dialog. It is all procedure and dry and unfortunately very boring. I usually do not do reviews about movies I do not like. But this one got so much hype, I feel I had to counter it to some extent, being this is a vastly overrated movie to the point of being one of the most overrated ever. This movie has great special effects and is, as aforementioned, visually stunning, but all studios larger than a garage do CGI nowadays. All the Jurassic Parks had seamless special effects, that was a decade ago, it is not so special anymore. It is expected. Character development and crisp dialog hold up in any era and this movie has none of that. If you want a gravity less space movie, see this. If you want to actually hear dialog and care about the characters involved, then avoid this one.
Ride with the Devil (1999)
A Perfect Movie
I saw parts of this on cable and thought, what are these young whippersnappers doing making a Civil War movie? Then I caught a few poignant scenes. This movie may be one of the most accurate movies in terms of dialog ever. If you have ever read 1700's-1900 books, you know, this is how they spoke. Stilted, wordy, over done, florid, yet with a touch of a Southern drawl to it. Some of the letters that are read you are sure they are real. Most important, what they say makes sense and the unusual way they phrase things is humorous and very entertaining, yet realistic. Not an easy thing to do. The young actors are brilliant. Tobey Maguire shows he is so much more than Spidey and Jewel is so natural you can't imagine she is acting. The whole cast is perfect.
This movie has a few scenes in it that are all time greats. Not an easy thing to do as movies are now into their 100th year of being made. In fact, almost every scene is quotable. The authenticity of the dialog is matched by the battle scenes. It is guerrilla warfare, small scale and intensely close quartered. This movie doesn't miss on any level. The dialog scenes between the main characters is unforgettable and some of the best ever made in Hollywood's history. To mention one scene or another would be to disparage the other three dozen of them. If you want to see a lesser known movie, for no fault of it's own, that is perfect, see this movie. Great acting, action, dialog, and Ang Lee is one of the modern greats. He proves it with this jewel, total pun intended.
Stalingrad (2013)
One of the best war films ever
Comparing modern war movies to yesterdays is like apple and oranges. All John Wayne movies are good/great, but The Longest Day, They Were Expendable, Flying Leathernecks etc....others like, 12 O'clock High, Battle of Britain, Devil's Brigade, can any really be compared with Pvt Ryan, Das Boot, Downfall, Platoon, Enemy at the Gates, etc? The new ones are brutal in realism. They are all great but, not comparable. Stalingrad is one that only Pvt Ryan can eclipse. One of the greats.
Anyone expecting a huge, panoramic overview of the battle will be sorely disappointed. Get over it. This is Stalingrad, small scale, brutal. That the film makers inserted such a deep and rich storyline to this story is amazing. I do not think Hllyd could have made this film. They're too obsessed with mamby-pamby happy endings and could not fully understand the meaning of this brutal battle. This film hits on every cylinder. If you are a fan of war films, see it. If you are a fan of films, period, see it. This film is one of the best war films ever and one of the best films ever.
By the way. Use the subtitles. The English dubbing is terrible. I would strongly suggest this as the native language makes it more authentic and the acting is great. The dub actors voices/acting is terrible.
The Lone Ranger (2013)
The origin of the legend of the Lone Ranger
What exactly is so wrong with this movie? All I have heard is that it is bad, really bad. Well, I don't agree. It is a normal "actioneer", with all the fiction and fantastically , impossible, stunts that many , nearly all, of it's genre contain. Why hate this over any other modern movie? This is a comic book hero story , it is allowed to be be over the top.
First and foremost, the movies of today in general are of excellent quality in terms of all the technical aspects. They are shot beautifully, great DPs , costumes, the actors are authentic, there isn't a category where they miss. Bad movies are bad from inception. Why did they do a story like this in the first place? It never should have gotten past the treatment phase. Or the script is bad or too preachy or agenda filled. That is the problem with modern films, not in the actual making of the movie. There is no problem here with The Lone Ranger. It is a nicely shot movie with some great faces, good script, and realistic looking backgrounds including all the western gear and accouterments. And a good storyline.
In general, Depp is always worth it and this movie is no exception. He brings a great comic relief to the movie. It has a nice balance of action, humor and realistic, fairly gory ( for Disney esp. ) scenes of evil depravity. It is a worthy plot and story about the inception and introduction of the two main, mythical, legendary figures, the Lone Ranger and Tonto.The cast is quite established and carries the movie perfectly, Helena Bonham-Carter, through to Tom Wilkerson, Barry Pepper and Armie Hammer. Butch Cavendush, played by William Fichtner, is one of the best bad guys ever, a really great character, behaving and looking as evil as can be. He and Depp make the film worthy by themselves.
It may have thrown the public off that the LR was a pacifist in the beginning and not really a hero type and perhaps for too long into the movie. It was not my favorite aspect of the interpretation of the LR's origins. That being said , the Lone Ranger is a classic actioneer of the comic book genre. Comics are hard to bring to the screen properly. There is a balance that must be struck, they are from, based, on comics, so they are going to be fantastic, maybe more so than the norm. But they have to be realistic, because that realism carries better , it can't be as silly as the real comics. Most do this well. From X-Men, to the Spider Man trilogy to Marvel's The Avengers, perfect examples of this. All excellent comic book movies.
So is the Lone Ranger.
I Married a Witch (1942)
This is Veronica Lake's best movie.
This is Veronica Lake's best movie. She is the reason to watch this movie. It is a slower paced movie than today's comedies with a more subtle humor, sometime even a dry humor. I thought it was great. She is great. Veronica makes the movie , she is a great comedian, cuter than a button, and this is the best character she plays in her career. Talk about a great cast, Susan Hayward is hilarious as the bitchy fiancée. She is stunningly radiant in her opening scene in that white dress and both are a feast for the eyes.
The scenes of the re-staging of the wedding gets funnier and funnier, the angrier that she and her dad become. Veronica has a "beauty shot" ( a shot set up perfectly, almost as a still portrait and many times an establishing shot of that actor in the film, like Rita Hayworth flinging her hair back in Gilda or John Wayne, when the camera pulls up to a close-up in Stagecoach), that is one of the best ever. Later she is in a dress that you can see through, may be worth it just for that, and she is tiny and adorable throughout. Robert Benchley is a great comedian to play off of Frederick March, and Frederick is downright dashing and perfect for the part. The maid and Veronica's father are so important, as great character actors are, and shine in the few scenes they do.
This is one of the unknown great movies. Why it isn't as popular as, It happened One Night any Katherine Hepburn movie, or The Odd Couple type of movies is a mystery. Perhaps you may notice, that is the movies I will review to start, the great unknowns. Everyone knows about Gone with the Wind, Ben Hur, Casablanca etc... I hope my reviews can interest you enough to go see these lesser known films. This is one of them. Veronica's best and one of the best comedies of all time.
Carrie (2013)
Carrie- 2nd best version
Carrie Did not meet expectations. When you are the 2nd remake you better bring something special to the table. The first version was terrible. From Sissy Spacek to Vinny Testorino, the sweat hog, to the afro on William Katt and Nancy Allen, everything that was wrong about the 70's was in this first POS Carrie, unwatchable.
The first remake, the second version, was brilliant. Angela Bettis WAS Carrie. Great script, cutting, realistic dialog. When you thought, I would react and say this, they said it. Patricia Clarkson was great as her mom, everything was spot on. To find out it was a TV movie and was going to lead to a series was shocking. One of the best TV movies ever.
Chloe-Grace Morentz's version had her. She is always worth it but what a waste of talent. The direction of the modern Carrie was lacking. From the opening scene, who wants to see that?, to the decision to make the emphasis on Carrie's mother, a hagatha character, why not call it, Carrie's Mom? , a lot of agenda in this version. CGM is always worth it but after seeing her in Let Me In ( how can a child bring such depth to a character at that age? She was brilliant ) and Hick ( tour de force performance-- see them both), this was a let down, not her fault. Where was the scene where Sue Snell ( that blonde actress will go far, she was worth it) takes her under her wing and shows her how to quaff herself, that was so great in the AB version? And the bad guy in the AB version was brilliant, this one one almost non-existent.
The best part of the CGM version was the end, she looked great, great choice of hair. In the AB version, she didn't look much better than when she was homely, and Sissy Spacek, well, she could never look good. The end of the evil couple was great and explicit enough to produce great satisfaction. The AB version had excellent CGI for a TV movie and the best effect when the water just cleared a path for her footsteps, much better than having her levitate through the danger. Still the end of the CGM version was great, the only part that was.
All in all, not bad but it would have been better to have the director of Let Me In do this Carrie, perhaps then they would have flexed CGM's acting muscles and reintroduced the accurate dialog, similar to the dialog in the AB version, placed less emphasis on the loony hagatha mom, and they could've added a few minutes to it so that we could really feel for Carrie, as you did in the AB version. Too short of a movie, add 20 minutes. Not a bad movie, but don't expect greatness, If you want that, see the Angela Bettis version. Best performance of her career.
Let Me In (2010)
Let Me In -simple- SEE THIS MOVIE
Let Me In See this movie. One of the best acting performances you will ever see. One of the best acting performances you will ever see by a child actor. Chloe Grace-Morentz is brilliant. How can a child have this depth in a role that desperately needs depth? This is a remake of the European version of, Let the Right One In, this is much better, mainly due to CGM.
One of the best films and acting jobs you will ever see, one of the best horror films you will ever see, one of the best vampire films you will ever see. It does have a bit of gore in it, but even if you were not into that, this is a must see film. CGM may have turned in the best child's performance EVER in this film. The only rival to that category would be, Natalie Portman in The Professional, and/or Freddie Bartholomew in Captain's Courageous or one of CGM's own, Hick (If you haven't already, see that just for her ).
Let Me In was the first I had ever seen of CGM and she is worth it. The next bright star to be, the next Meryl Streep? Time will tell, and I will be watching and I recommend you do too.
Rapture-Palooza (2013)
This movie is hilarious....crude but hilarious
This is one of the funniest films I have ever seen. From Gone With the Wind to Casablanca to Amelie and modern films, I have seen all the greats over 50 years, this is one of them. Totally unknown, totally under rated.
First though, you have to like swear words, S, P & F are said non-stop. If you found parts of Good Fella's, 21 Jump Street, and/ or Midnight Run funny with the very realistic cursing you will love this. If not, do not watch. They swear so naturally in this that it is hilarious, it is what you would really say in those situations. The Anti-Christ is after all, like they say, the Anti-Christ, he is beyond crude, but funny. Each scene in a great comedy is a comedy routine in itself ( ie. Spinal Tap , 21 Jump Street I Married A Witch, Father Goose ) and this one delivers. Very creative story, Anna is hilarious, great narrative. Her acting and vocal intonations are subtle , witty and hilarious. Any scene that is one of those slower types, of uncomfortable humor, she will bring the joke home with something....like"awkward".
Spoiler Alert- I am sure it will get critics from both sides due to mocking the rapture and the choice of the Anti-Christ, but it is well balanced in that way and one of the bravest projects I have ever seen. And it hits a grand slam. One of the funniest farce type movies ever.