andyevel6 Reviews

Cathedral of the Sea: Hermanos (2018) Season 1, Episode 2

Well written, intriguing medieval piece

[10/10 · 3 September 2018]

Encore Spain! The series keeps you at the edge of your seat. It's well acted, well directed, has impressive sets and a fantastic script, Saw it in Netflix. Heard there is a second book that follows the original novel. It's titled "Inherit the land". Sounds good. I was hoping for a Season 2 on this one. Hope Antena 3 does a Book 2 and Netflix adds it to its roaster of series.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)

Lots of action. Loved Rebecca Ferguson

[8/10 · 2 August 2015]

Dynamic action all the way through. Still liked M.I, #1 best of the 5 features in the series. But this one may be second best. Rebecca Ferguson did her own stunts in the film. Wow! Here's a beautiful actress with a realistic future as a star in films. Loved her here, loved her in White Queen. Here, though, her hair was brown and I kept thinking, she reminded me of someone else. I discovered who when I saw a scene from Captain from Castile on the internet.This actress has an uncanny resemblance to actress JEAN PETERS. Think of Jean in Niagara (opposite Marilyn Monroe -two gorgeous females in the midst of true suspense and the grandeur of the falls as background). Peters had a perfect nose, though; however, when Ferguson faces the camera in close ups and in certain angles you'd think it was Peters on the screen. (Peters is also the actress who married billionaire Howard Hughes). I liked the entire cast and really enjoyed the action packed film. Tom Cruise is a fine actor and should keep on doing blockbuster films. He may not get an Academy Award for them, but he's sure getting rich and the audience loves to see him in action-adventure films.

Captain from Castile (1947)

The best picture made on the conquest of the Americas

[10/10 · 13 December 2007]

There are many pleasant surprises in this epic movie. For one, it was filmed in spectacular Technicolor and was superbly photographed in actual locations. Piramids were built, volcanoes were erupting for real and ancient ship replicas were destroyed at sea. One of the main surprises was seeing that the beautiful Jean Peters could act. This actress without much dramatic training did an excellent job in her movie debut. She practically steals the picture from Tyrone Power - Impossible? She does, and he's very good in this one. See her last scene, while waiting to move deeper into Mexico with Cortez; it's a treasure. I became a fan after seeing Miss Peters in the pirate flick "Anne of the Indies" (she plays 'the pirate'), and have seen most of her movies since. It's a shame Fox didn't use her talents in better fares, such as Susan Hayward's "I Want to Live", but then Howard Hughes came into the picture while she was doing Castille and, I imagine, his obsession over her beauty ruined a promising career. This film is partly based on true events and has an excellent cast, a fantastic screenplay and a musical score by Arthur Newman that rivals any other composed for anepic flick -then and even now. It's on DVD now. Get it before they become extinct. It's worth seeing. Beautiful vistas, a handsome Ty Power and a gorgeous Jean Peters.

Take Care of My Little Girl (1951)

Get this classic film on DVD

[9/10 · 13 December 2007]

I saw this film a few years ago on television and loved it. Having been a member of a fraternity in high school, I was quite impressed with its topic: Life on a college campus and pledging to enter a sorority. The best roles (and I find these the closest to real life characters) go to Jeffrey Hunter, as the fraternity snake, and Jean Peters, as the fashion conscious snob that demands "perfection" from rookie Jeanne Crain. The acting in general is superb (an impressive cast was assembled that includes Mitzi Gaynor, Helen Wescott and Nataly Shaeffer of Gilligan's Island, among them), but Peters and Hunter do the greatest job. You could see their potential as actors that early in their careers (no wonder they went on to become top stars in the 50s). Jean Negulesco's direction is nimble. It moves from comedy to drama with ease and allows us a peek into sorority life (which, I agree, has not changed much since those years). The movie is in glorious Technicolor and very well photographed. PLEASE, get it into DVD. This is a true classic!

Three Coins in the Fountain (1954)

Oscar nominated for BEST FILM

[10/10 · 17 November 2007]

Forget about being an intellectual(though this picture certainly offers some surprising intelligent lines in its dialog). Just enjoy the film! It is very well done. The reason "Three Coins" was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar(as opposed to similar films like "How to Marry a Millionaire") is because of its cinematography, careful direction, fine acting, and the fact that it was adapted from a successful novel by John Secondari and the screenplay was smartly written by John Patrick, a Pulitzer Prize Winner. The cinematography (by Milton Krasner) won an Oscar, and so did the title song. It was the first in Cinemascope produced almost entirely on location and one of the ten most successful films of the 50s decade, so if you watch it, do it just for the fun of it and enjoy the beauty of its setting, eternal Rome. "Three Coins" is certainly a better movie than "Millionaire" and all those films with similar topics that were made during the 50s and 60s. Out of all the players, as it is signaled out in the DVD's special features, the gorgeous Jean Peters had the highest box office draw. She was a top star at the time (why she was billed third in the cast is a puzzlement). Her story is the most daring in sexual content (for the era). It is the most interesting, too, and carries the best performances. Female audiences became aware of Rossano Brazi in this film, and he was later selected as one of the ten "handsomest" leading men of the decade. Peters married Howard Hughes two years after this picture was released and retired from movies in the heat of stardom and fame. As a producer noted, "Jean Peters had a lot of fire which she kept hidden inside." It's a shame Fox never gave her the chance to show us her acting talent on a bigger scale. Clifton Webb could deliver lines. He wasn't a handsome actor, but he and Dotty MacGuire have some great and very funny scenes in this film. Although Jordan and MacNamara have to tackle the least believable roles, their story has a very funny premise (the American girl doing her best to charm a bachelor Italian prince by pretending to enjoy everything he likes), and it becomes credible thanks to their acting efforts. If you enjoy romance, having fun, traveling through Italy and seeing some outstanding players at work, you must see this film.

Apache (1954)

First Western Filmed Through the Indian's Point of View

[9/10 · 16 November 2007]

There may be some criticism as to Lancaster and Peters with blue eyes and classic American features portraying Indians, but this was a box office hit in its day and is still worth watching today. This was the first movie that allowed audiences to see the world through the eyes of an Apache and that merits consideration when you select to see this film. It opened the road for other movies focused through the Indian's point of view, which are still being made today (and that includes Gibson's Apocalipto). Both Lancaster and his beautiful squaw, Jean Peters, give excellent performances, despite their blue eyes; which is another reason to watch this flick. It is very well done and the Indians come out as dignified people thanks to good acting. These two actors are definitely pros. They actually manage to act natural with difficult, though smart, dialog that was written to enhance the way Apaches talked at the end of the 19th Century. The screenplay is very interesting and based on the acclaimed novel "Bronco Apache". Look for Charles Bronson (billed as Bruchinsky) playing Peters' beau. Lots of action, too. Lancaster broke his leg when the film started shooting in October '53, but resumed shooting the following month. Peters was liked by cast and crew, but, like some members of the cast, developed an animosity toward the difficult Lancaster during the final days of shooting; which makes her performance the more outstanding because she had to play a squaw that is totally devoted to his character, Massai. The romantic part is quite subdued, but it had to do with the way it was written, and nothing more; which is fine, for Apache warriors had little time to devote to love. The film's ending was fine. But you be the judge of that.

Broken Lance (1954)

Best Western Ever Filmed

[16 November 2007]

This 1954 Cinemascope flick, full of action, was inspired by Shakepeare's King Lear (as was West Side Story by Romeo and Juliet) and you can appreciate that in the script adaptation (which won an Academy Award). There's some great acting in it. Tracy, Peters, Wagner, Widmark and Katy Jurado (also nominated as best supporting actress for the film) are all top rate. Dmytric directed a very special western (that is much more than just a simple western because it has character). The film, his direction and most of its players should have been considered for Academy Awards. Nominated were also the cinematography and the musical score (which won). If you like westerns, definitely see it. If you don't, you should consider some of its other outstanding assets: Its theme, plot, suspense, no-nonsense romance, bigot-ism, action, family betrayal and the exceptional combination of great cinematography, with top level direction and acting. This was movie-making at its best. They don't make them like that anymore!

A Man Called Peter (1955)

The film, Todd, Peters and Rambeau deserved Academy Awards

[10/10 · 16 November 2007]

This was the most beautiful and most inspiring movie in Cinemascope of the 50s decade. Very well directed and a box office hit in rural America and other parts of the world (lines to see it formed around the block all over Scottland, but also in cities like Havana, Madrid, London, Dublin, etc.), yet the Academy of Arts and Science ignored it as best film and passed on nominations to its players. It won only one award for screenplay adaptation (from the best selling biography). The reason for this may have been that Jean Peters, its star, quit the screen all too suddenly after its release, and Fox made no effort to push or promote the film within the academy when nominations were being selected. Releasing companies normally do that. Richard Todd certainly delivered the best performance of his career in a very difficult role. The strikingly beautiful Jean Peters amazed critics with a down to earth and totally believable performance that certainly merited a best actress nomination. And Marjorie Rambeau (of Tobacco Road fame)won other awards as supporting actress for her portrayal(including Critic's Choice), but wasn't even nominated for an Academy Award. If you check the 1955 nominees for best acting, you'll discover that only Susan Hayward, for I'll Cry Tomorrow, was at par with Peters' portrayal in this flick. True of the film as well. It was a much better picture than most of those nominated. Fox had scheduled this film as the first in Cinemascope to be released, with Peters and Richard Burton in the lead roles, but producer Lamarr Troti died; and so, Fox offered The Robe as an alternative-which was an inferior film in regards to content, facts and script. At any rate, see this film believing it did win "best picture of 1955". As it ends you'll likely become certain that it did.

It Happens Every Spring (1949)

Great comedy

[10/10 · 16 November 2007]

This is a great comedy. The fact that a college professor uses a chemistry formula (that makes most things repel wood) to win the World Baseball Championship actually makes it funnier. And it's wholesome fun, despite what some moralists may think. The premise that Ray Milland can't actually pitch too well is what makes this a true screwball comedy - and he is redeemed at the end (I won't say how so I won't spoil the fun of watching it). Absurd situations is what makes funny films. This definitely has the formula for comedy: Witty, lots of jokes, madcap romantic situations, and abundant twists and turns. Milland chose to star in this flick right after his Best Actor Oscar for a reason -it became a top comedy of the era. Paul Douglas is outrageously funny as his bemused catcher (the scene where he rubs Milland's wood-repelling formula into his hair is priceless). And the gorgeous Jean Peters comes across with top honors -she can actually do comedy and it's a shame Fox didn't assign her to more of these. Some other Fox actresses without a knack for comedy, were persistently featured in comedies that could have been much funnier if Miss Peters or Marilyn Monroe had been assigned the female lead. See this film. Like "Some Like it Hot" or "It Should Happen to You" (two films featuring Jack Lemmon), this one's full of fun and you'll laugh every other minute. It should have been selected as one of the 50 top comedies ever, but you know how critics love films with a message (which should never be the case with comedies).