hilarythebaker Reviews

Factory Girl (2006)

Edie Sedgwick

[31 October 2007]

Not the best biopic I've seen recently (actually saw it on DVD last night). I have read "Edie" by Jean Stein about a million times, so I could figure out a lot about what was wrong in the movie. I also thought the use of the musician character was quite amusing, simply because he was supposed to be a portrayal of Bob Dylan, and from what I have read, Bob Dylan barely even remembers Edie Sedgwick.

Another goof I caught in the movie was when Edie was listing all the popular drugs at the Factory, was that Adderall was mentioned. This drug did not come out until 1996. I was rather surprised it was mentioned, because if they had been on methylphenidate at the time, Ritalin was probably their drug of choice. It was available at the time. I myself have been on Adderall (for ADHD) for a very brief period in the 90s, and it was really horrible...I can't possibly imagine anyone wanting to be on that thing.

In the 90s I knew a guy who had been Warhol's room mate in the 1950s and a very, very minor character in Andy's later life, I asked him once if he ever knew Edie, and he just groaned and said, "she was the MOST BORING girl I ever met in my life." End of discussion.

Need vanad armastuskirjad (1992)

Life and Times of the Estonian "Cole Porter"

[8/10 · 18 January 2006]

You could very well compare Raimond Valgre, who was a famous Estonian songwriter during the 30s and 40s, to the American songwriter, Cole Porter. While one wrote popular songs (Valgre) and the other wrote both popular songs and musicals (Porter), they were both alive during the same time and probably had some of the same experiences.

I don't understand Estonian, but it is easy to see that this film is a love story (Just like De-Lovely was; except Valgre liked women and Porter liked both men and women). It is also easy to tell the time period, especially due to the clothes and the music.

The movie is quite good, but it does have its weird parts, especially during a couple of scenes regarding sex.

I would recommend this DVD to anyone, especially those who like jazz and love foreign movies and don't care whether they understand what's being said or not.

The Bremen Town Musicians (1969)

Bremen Town Musicians, Russian, quite 60s!!!

[10/10 · 11 January 2006]

This is my favorite Russian cartoon. I don't understand very much Russian, but I do like Russian films. I have loaned my DVD copy of this cartoon to some of my friends, and both families LOVED it! The first family was American, and they had a lot of trouble believing that the cartoon was made during Communism! They don't know any Russian, but they loved watching the cartoon. The lady told me that her husband saw the title for the second part of the cartoon, and claimed that the title meant, "They went that-away!!!" Their younger son thought it was very cool and wished his friends could have seen it.

The other family had adopted children from Russia, who are quite young, so I thought the kids might like to see it. They enjoyed it, but the little girl wondered why there weren't any words, and her daddy explained that the words were in the song.

What I like best about this movie is the fact that one of my very favorite Russian singers, Oleg Anofriev, is one of the principle voices. Overall, it is a very pretty movie. Anyone who likes a good cartoon or who is learning Russian, must watch this Soviet classic!

Chopin: Desire for Love (2002)

Wonderful Movie about Poland's Favorite Son

[23 July 2004]

I don't understand a word of Polish, and there are no subtitles present, but I have had many wonderful times watching the DVD. (I own a multi-system DVD player.) The Polish countryside scenes are beautiful, and the actor who played Chopin certainly knew how to play the piano! There are a lot of fights in this movie, usually between Chopin and George Sand, or else George Sand and her husband, or George Sand and her son, or Chopin and George Sand's son (Maurice, her son, HATED Chopin.) George Sand was a French lady writer really named Aurore Dudevant. She wore trousers (practically unheard of for a lady in her day), smoked, and climbed mountains. George Sand was married to another fellow while she was having a lengthy affair with Chopin. There are also a lot of parties in this movie. At one of the parties, George Sand makes a long speech. Also, somebody always seems to be riding a carriage somewhere. In the beginning of the film, there are a lot of soldiers running around.

All in all, it's a great picture and a must see for any Chopin fans. Chopin: Pragnienie Milosci is a famous movie in Poland and from what I understand, it was a very big deal when it came out. In English, the title means: Chopin, Desire for Love.