lcantoni Reviews

The Empress (2022– )

Inaccurate but highly entertaining

[8/10 · 30 September 2022]

Being a history buff, I was pretty skeptical. All I can say is, don't come to this for the history, as many, many liberties were taken. Come instead for the gorgeous production and wonderful acting. I was hooked after the first episode in spite of my eye-rolling during parts of it. You can't beat Austria for gorgeous exteriors and interiors, and the costumes are breathtaking. And the performances are stellar all around. I loved hearing it in German. Once in a while there's a slangy clunker in the English subtitles (like "okay"), but for the most part the translation seems to flow very well. Can't wait to see more.

The Julia Child Challenge (2022– )

Excellent

[10/10 · 24 March 2022]

What a refreshing change from the nasty, vulgar competition shows that seem to breed like, well, rats in a kitchen. This one is about the food and Julia Child's amazing legacy of making great cooking accessible to all. The contestants and the judges are respectful to each other and clearly find joy in what they do, as Julia did. The interspersed videos of Julia are so inspiring.

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

Wonderful early Hitchcock

[8/10 · 2 December 2021]

To my taste, this earlier version is much more satisfying than the slick 1956 remake. This one is quirky, charming (thanks to Leslie Banks and Hugh Wakefield), and creepy (thanks to Peter Lorre and Frank Vosper). There are some striking images (e.g., Nova Pilbeam's silent scream on the sleigh). And of course there's the boffo finish at the Albert Hall. It didn't need "polish" to be thrilling.

Too Young to Kiss (1951)

Great music, OK movie

[2 April 2004]

A pleasant film about a Midwestern girl trying to make it in the cut-throat world of professional classical music. It definitely resembles "The Major and the Minor," but it's neither as funny nor as endearing. Still, it's chock full of "popular" classical music, which makes the movie extra entertaining. (The theme that one recognizes from "The Wizard of Oz" is actually Robert Schumann's "The Happy Farmer.") June Allyson is always fun to watch, but her comic talents aren't really given full play here. Van Johnson is a bit too hyper (and a little sleazy); indeed, the whole movie seems a bit too full of nervous energy, as if everyone in it were in a big hurry to get it over with.

From Hell (2001)

Not very good (mild spoilers)

[4/10 · 27 March 2003]

The actual Ripper events make a pretty exciting mystery in themselves, so why play with historical facts? This film is so full of deliberate inaccuracies and unintended anachronisms that they become distracting, and the alterations do nothing to advance the story. I didn't mind the Freemason theme - though it's part of an old and improbable theory, it is dramatically effective - but I thoroughly disliked making Inspector Abberline (who in real life was a much-decorated and respectably married cop of 45 in 1888) 20 years younger, a drug addict, and the lover of one of the women concerned in the case. Indeed, that last touch tended to drag the film's pace down to a crawl. As for the performances, Robbie Coltrane, Ian Holm, and the great Ian Richardson stole the show, but Johnny Depp and Heather Graham were just cardboard characters, flawed action hero and flawed damsel in distress, and I honestly didn't care what happened to them. One excellent touch: the sound of the metal coach steps being let down, like knives clanking against each other. The murderer's fantasy during the last murder was also well done. Other than that, a rather lame account.