Jimtoday Reviews

May December (2023)

I was wholly engaged in this story

[8/10 · 20 December 2023]

I'm confused by the negative reviews posted here, as I was basically on the edge of my seat from almost the very start, once I realized the dynamics of the lead characters.

The basics of the story will of course be familiar to those of a certain age, and the flash forward to 2015 is a fascinating one. We rarely ask ourselves about the mundane daily lives of those who at one time had their lurid circumstances splashed prominently in the tabloids and national awareness, yet here we are forced to look with the compassion time may supply.

Julianne Moore is excellent as the unsettling protagonist and is as compelling as I've seen her, but she is matched by Natalie Portman who has no end of surprises in her character and performance. I did not know Charles Melton's work before this film, but he is superb as Ms. Moore's far younger husband and father to their children. All three are flawed yet heartbreaking, and I found the slowly divulged story absolutely compelling. Cory Michael Smith is also excellent as Ms. Moore's troubled and troubling son.

Apparently, Ms. Portman was the first to discover the script and brought it to director Todd Haynes who undertook directing the film. It is not a sweeping melodrama this time, but a somewhat spare, emotional character study of three people and the upheaval of their interactions. I saw this with a full audience and I cannot express who how silent the entire room was during some of the unpredictable scenes.

If any of this sounds like your thing, I'd suggest giving "May December" a look. I immediately wanted to ask the other people in the audience if they noticed certain details and how they perceived the story, especially the wild card, who I think is Ms. Portman's character Elizabeth.

Dancing Lady (1933)

They sure had spunk!

[6/10 · 19 January 2023]

Oddly, "Dancing Lady" was released just a couple months after the far superior "42nd Street", so I imagine they were both in the works simultaneously. MGM would have had to have been reading tea leaves to get a copycat backstage musical melodrama in the works s quickly if it were indeed a case of jumping on the bandwagon, rather than more of a coincidence. "Dancing Lady" actually did better at the box office, it was MGM's highest-grossing film of 1933!

Although watchable, "Dancing Lady" doesn't have a single memorable musical number and Joan's reputation as a dancer is almost laughable. Here, Joan displays the dancing chops of someone who has mostly danced at weddings, and her fans can see her relying upon (and recycling) what few dance steps she seems to have memorized in her earlier films (like "Dance, Fools, Dance").

Still the starry cast hurls themself into the melodrama with vigor and works hard at delivering their all. The whole thing is easy enough to enjoy with the charismatic Clark Gable and indefatigable Joan Crawford as the leads. It is also great fun to see a young Fred Astaire and the Three Stooges in their earliest efforts. Watch "Dancing Lady" and then go watch "42nd Street" to see a real classic.

Dance, Fools, Dance (1931)

I never tire of this Pre-Code melodrama

[8/10 · 21 June 2022]

It's not that "Dance, Fools, Dance" is remarkable, but it manages to cram in almost every element we've come to think of in classic film melodramas all in one fast and furious film. The movie has it all from the riches to rags leads, the crime-riddled big city, speakeasies, guns, violence, smoking and drinking and the added bonus of lots of old school big city newspaper scenes and its denizens with their crackling dialogue shouted into their classic candlestick telephones!

The plot is as predictable as they come, but it's impossible to take your eyes off of Joan Crawford even though with her enormous blue eyes she gives a rather hammy, silent film performance. She's a bit all over the place, but it matters not, she's compelling because she's a star, and a beautiful one. Clearly she had lots of room to grow as an actress but see later performances like "Mildred Pierce" and "The Women", and see how she eventually relaxes on-camera and knows her craft.

A young Clark Gable plays the bad guy (as he does in the even more lurid "Night Nurse" that same year), and he is already a commanding screen presence. He is excellent in his large supporting role and hints at what is to come in his stellar career. He and Joan are great in their scenes together. The supporting cast is excellent too, especially young William Bakewell as Joan's ethically-challenged brother. He likely gives the best performance in the film.

The montages, camerawork, fantastic sets, brisk editing and incredible sense of a time and place make the seemingly throw-away potboiler "Dance, Fools, Dance" a lot of fun. I think fans of early talkies or of the leads will find a lot to enjoy.

tick, tick... BOOM! (2021)

Either you're in the cult of Larson...

[5/10 · 6 December 2021]

...or you're not.

I'm not in that group who came of age and went crazy for RENT with its slick, skin-deep score and wholly unlikable characters, which brings us to "tick, tick...BOOM" which suffers from more or less the same issues.

Writing about writing, or seeking to make "the art of making art" your main dramatic thrust has two built-in traps. One, it isn't inherently dramatic, and two, your lead character comes across as self-obsessed, navel-gazing and unlikable pretty quickly. Often accomplished artists are like this in real life, but it's not fun to watch...and dull. This film falls into both traps as if it never sees them coming, which it well should have!

The music is pleasant enough and wholly unmemorable, there wasn't one melody that stuck with me for even five minutes and the lyrics are bland. Light pop dreck, which apparently is very popular. That being said, I don't think anyone could hide these flaws better than Andrew Garfield, but even as winning as he is, you want to kick him after an hour, he is very unpleasant to spend time with.

The film is full of distractions, inside baseball (theater) references and gimmicky moments, but they cannot sustain the dramatic vacuum. It seems bizarre to basically admit that Larson's career doesn't take off until he exploits the tragedy of the AIDS epidemic happening all around him to which he is only a sideline viewer. It seems somewhat opportunistic, even assuming his fine intentions. The dialogue given to Robin De Jesus is anachronistic and not what any gay people were thinking in 1990. I don't know that "Marriage Equality" was on the minds of people just trying to survive the AIDS epidemic. Some woke moments force you out of the story which was too bad. It is all somewhat maudlin, on-the-nose, and eventually wears you out.

If you're in the thrall of Larson/RENT you will see none of this, but if you're not....beware.

Garbo Talks (1984)

Underrated Lumet comedy. What's with people!?

[10/10 · 28 August 2021]

I fell in love with "Garbo Talks" upon my first viewing and I've watched it countless times since, waiting for the cracks to show, the characters to ring false, or for the magic to wear off, yet it never has.

I favor domestic comedies with real relatable people and their daily concerns, and a little romance doesn't hurt, and it's all here delivered by pros like Ron Silver and the incomparable Anne Bancroft. The simplest, sweetest premise: A son wants to fulfill his dying mother's wish. Add the quest for Greta Garbo and an eclectic, perfectly cast group of actors (including two film debuts, (Harvey Fierstein and Dorothy Loudon), and two film farewells (Howard DaSilva and Hermione Gingold), and a very funny, charming script full of hilarious one-liners and you have a classic.

Gilligan's Island: The Second Ginger Grant (1967) Season 3, Episode 24

Just the Castaways in this very funny episode

[10/10 · 4 October 2020]

Thurston: ...Mary Ann thinks she's Ginger, Ginger thinks she's Mary Ann, and now Gilligan thinks HE'S Ginger, so we've got three Gingers and we're fresh out of Mary Anns and Gilligans!"

This Season Three gem has no visiting guest stars arriving on the island just our Castaways, and it reflected the talents of the cast in their now-developed characters in making it so very funny.

Top notch performances by Dawn Wells and Tina Louise make you realize what skilled comediennes they both were on this show, and the rest of the cast doesn't miss a laugh either. The boys all trying to teach Ginger to walk like Mary Ann is hilarious, especially Jim Backus doing a very funny Bob Hope walking imitation. The whole episode is a riot, and one of my absolute favorites.

The Ghost of Hank Williams (2019)

Delightfully realized comedy/horror hybrid

[8/10 · 21 November 2019]

I recently caught this film at the Big Apple Film Festival and was completely delighted and entertained. A simple yet engaging plot with three of the most compelling and charming leads you'd ever want.

"The Ghost of Hank Williams" nimbly avoids the short film trap of too much (or too little) plot and successfully tells a satisfying (and spooky!) tale in fifteen minutes. I think viewers will enjoy its clever premise and solid execution!

Matango (1963)

Enough creepiness for a LIFETIME!

[9/10 · 2 January 2019]

I saw "Matango" when I was eleven years old (dubbed, as "Attack of the Mushroom People"), and now in my 50s, it still makes my skin crawl!!

Basically it's a Japanese version of "Gilligan's Island" with a psychedelic mushroom turn, then adding in "Ten Little Indians"! It messes with your head! Is this really happening? Is it a fever dream? Why are those shoddy mushroom creatures SCARING THE CRAP OUT OF ME?

A classic Toho feature, a Cold War allegory, a top-notch psychological thriller, AND deranged MUSHROOM PEOPLE! The ending is a surprise gut-punch (at least it was to me!). Everyone should see "Matango"...or you deserve to be attacked by Mushroom People!!

Bathtubs Over Broadway (2018)

Charming Shaggy Dog of a doc will move you

[9/10 · 17 November 2018]

At first "Bathtubs" seems like just a little story about a sweetly nutty guy who discovers a hobby which becomes his true passion, but as he delves deeper the real people behind the creations he has rediscovered give his life a new resonance. It draws you in with its humanity and is ultimately quite touching.

The sub genre of industrial musical theater is mostly forgotten, but here, it is rediscovered by a man who sees the heart, the soul and the magic behind this almost forgotten corner of Americana. I can't imagine the fun-hater who won't be charmed and moved by this delightful doc.

August: Osage County (2013)

Stagey adaptation of Broadway play cannot find film-appropriate tone.

[3/10 · 26 December 2013]

The movie is a total disaster! Roberts in is WAY over her head, and it seems as if her upper lip takes focus in every scene she's in, which is a lot. I don't think she's any good, but it's not her fault here, it's a lack of direction, and she is the focus of the whole film, so she has been poorly served. Streep is working so hard to make something BIG and IMPORTANT of her role, she fills it with mannered tics, and grunts and bizarre behavior. In the end it's just desperate. The last time I saw an actress working that hard, she was on a capsized ocean liner on New Year's Eve, swimming underwater lifting a door off of someone!

The tone of the movie is erratic, the scenes all call out "Important Table Scene", "Important Veranda Scene", "Setting Up Secret You'll Find Out Later Scene", and so forth. The tone pitches from melodrama to attempts at bleak comedy very unsuccessfully. It's easy to tell which scene must have KILLED on-stage, as it is practically in parenthesis, but it comes off as disturbing, shrill and phony, when it should be tragically hilarious. I felt sorry for the actors in it. Two British actors including the perennially charisma-free Ewan MacGregor play typical Americans (poorly), and the scenery chewing in general would have made Geraldine Page blush! It's the director's fault. The whole thing plays like a parody of "Cat On a Hot Tin Roof"....and not in a good way.

Only Julianne Nicholson, Chris Cooper and Juliette Lewis get out alive....barely.