ddave1952-609-939427 Reviews

Avalon (1990)

One of the best movies, ever

[9/10 · 6 July 2021]

There are movies and then there are great movies, and this is one of the best movies ever made. This movie is one that is poignant, funny, and real. You live the lives of these people, you feel for Sam Krichinsky, the changes he sees in the world and his family. Ultimately a sad movie, where the closeness of the family in the 1940's, ends up in the breakup of the family in the 1960's. Where he is surrounded by family members, brothers, cousins, and grandkids in the 40's, he's living alone in a nursing home with a quick visit from his grandson and his son.

At the beginning is the family tradition of Thanksgiving. Where family stories are shared at the dinner table. Memories are shared, laughter, being close together. Dozens of the immediate family are there, the children, grandchildren, and cousins. Scenes like this are numerous in the movie. Instead of watching a movie, we feel like we're eavesdropping on their lives. This is movie is done primarily from the point of view of the Kaye family and the grandfather Sam Krichinsky. The acting is natural, the visuals are stunning. It's like we looking at a family album. Much humor in the movie, tender moments, and many tragedies just like in real life. Every scene is exquisitely done and unforgettable.

I can't you how much I love this movie. Even my adult children love this movie, and they are the not the movie lovers that I am. Being loosely autobiographical, you can tell how much love Mr. Levenson put in this movie. No big special effects, just a great family movie, who could ask for more.

Highway to Heaven: Wally (1987) Season 3, Episode 15

Probably the best episode of the series

[9/10 · 1 February 2021]

Wonderful episode it made me laugh and cry. Dick Van Dyke was wonderful. There is no such thing as bum as his character Wally proved. If this episode doesn't touch your heart then you are not human. It's about a man of the street who is a bum, but loves and cares for people. He'll do anything to help others, though he has little himself. Jonathan and Mark becomes friends with him and help him seek the mission is was destined for. Written and directed by Michael Landon, this was probably the best episode he did in the series. A must see.

Foreign Correspondent (1940)

Outstanding movie, a must see for movie lovers

[9/10 · 23 January 2021]

This is one of the best Hitchcock movies ever. Great plot, outstanding performances, a thrill about every five minutes, and a great sense of humanity and humor. This takes place just weeks before the Second World War starts. An inexperienced foreign correspondent from a New York newspaper goes to London to find out about the latest peace talks to prevent a war in Europe. Once he gets to Europe, he's in for the time of his life and falls in love with the daughter of a man trying to prevent these peace talks from happening. So many great actors too many to mention. Joel McCrea and Lorriane Day are the stars, but Herbert Marshall and George Sanders also great. The ending is especially bittersweet. If you love great movies you need to watch this, they don't make movies like this anymore.

The Loretta Young Show: The Road (1959) Season 7, Episode 1

Wonderful episode it will make you believe

[9/10 · 2 January 2021]

Wonderful episode, can you imagine something of this religious nature being on tv today, I sure can't. Loretta Young was a life long Catholic, though she did make immoral decisions in her life. The very thought of her filming a tv show at Lourdes and it's religious theme must have been challenging even then. A brain tumor, her character was angry at the world, at her herself, at her marriage. She goes to France to escape. She drives through France traveling, a skeptic who doesn't believe in anything. She meets a boy on the road who leads her eventually to Lourdes where miracles happen, and a miracle does happen to her. I won't tell you the ending, you'll just have to watch. A beautiful episode, it will make you cry even if you don't believe in miracles. What a wonderful, beautiful actress. They don't make shows or actresses like this anymore.

Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935)

Inferior Charlie Chan, it's boring

[6/10 · 7 December 2017]

Not a good entry in the Charlie Chan, Warner Oland entries. I always liked it when Keye Luke is in the movie. He adds genuine humor being No. 1 son Lee. He is a great comic foil for his father, but he's a good detective too, slower then his pop however. Stephin Fetchit is an awful black stereotype that is not funny. His comic moments take away from the film. The plot is not hard to follow, but it's development and pace are slow beyond belief. As usual Warner Orland is the highlight of the film as Charlie Chan. But it almost seemed that Chan was bored with this mystery, and I was too. I've watched most of the Charlie Chan movies with Warner Oland, and this is the worst of them. Uninteresting characters, lame plot, unfunny, in overall it's boring. Avoid this one in the series, you aren't missing anything.

Nothing But the Truth (1941)

One of Bob Hope's funniest movies

[9/10 · 7 September 2017]

This is one of the funniest Bob Hope movies I've ever seen. In many of his movies he plays a wisecracking, unsympathetic character. In this movie you pull for him, he is forced to keep a bet and he has to tell the truth for 24 hours or lose $10,000 that he's holding for Ms. Goddard. Liar Liar was based on this movie, but I find this movie even funnier. There are many funny scenes, too numerous to mention. All the cast was great in this movie. The end of the movie was especially funny as Ms. Goddard finds out what's going on and helps Bob in his dilemma. I can take or leave many of Bob Hope movies, but this one is one of his best.

The Fuller Brush Girl (1950)

Just like I Love Lucy

[9/10 · 30 June 2015]

This movie is like watching one of the best episodes of I Love Lucy. This is definitely a slapstick movie with a lot of sight gags and funny predicaments. From the hair removal scene early in the the movie to a inadvertent striptease later in the movie, to the hilarious chase scene on the ship at the end of the movie, this movie will leave you laughing out loud. Eddie Albert as her boyfriend shares in many of the funny scenes and is great also. Just enjoy this movie and don't think about the implausible story line. The last scene on the ship is the funniest scene in the movie, the humor reminds me a lot of what Buster Keaton might do. Frank Tashlin directed this movie and loves this kind of humor. He also directed another slapstick movie, The Glass Bottom Boat with Doris Day in 1966, another hilarious movie. Sit back and enjoy this movie, the funniest movie Lucy ever did.

No Sad Songs for Me (1950)

Soap opera waste of time

[3/10 · 14 July 2014]

I do like sad movies, ones that tugs at your heartstrings, I do love the movie Somewhere in Time by the way. However this movie is the most frustrating movie I have watched in a long time. What I don't like about this so-called tearjerker is that the wife, played by Margaret Sullivan, never tells her husband she is dying. He only finds it out at the very end of the movie by error when he sees a pill bottle on the bedroom table and calls up the doctor who tells him. Even the doctor doesn't tell him. She thinks she's saving him grief by not telling him, but to me she's just selfish. This was six months after she knew she had cancer. The first half an hour was okay, but when her husband is having an affair with his co-worker, even then she tells no one. Nothing in this movie seemed genuine. They even played a melody from a Brahm's symphony which I love, over and over to the point where I couldn't stand to listen to it any more. The acting was artificial from everyone. If you like soap operas this might be enjoyable, but for people who like sad movies every once in a while, this was disappointing and a waste of my time. Margaret Sullivan's last movie was not her best

Beethoven (2005)

I will never listen to Beethoven the same after watching this series

[10/10 · 18 September 2013]

I just watched the first 2 episodes of this wonderful series on Beethoven and am looking forward to watching the last episode. I have always loved Beethoven's music, especially his orchestral works. But this series makes me appreciate his music even more. The inner struggle he went through in life is portrayed in his music. The narrator, composer Charles Hazlewood, explains specific works in detail and how its essence was a reflection on his struggles during life. Paul Rhys, as Beethoven, portrays brilliantly the many moods of this musical genius. A fantastic acting performance. I do like that it's part documentary and part drama. I even like the mock interviews he does with the people involved in his life. The quality of this series make a compelling and must see for those who love classical music and especially Beethoven. After watching this series, I still haven't seen the 3rd installment yet, I will never hear a Beethoven composition without thinking what was going on in his life at that time. This documentary is a masterpiece.