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Reviews
TT3D: Closer to the Edge (2011)
One of two great racing films.
I've been a fan of the TT since I was 12, and finally got to see one in person in 2015. It was everything I'd hoped for, and more.
I've done some racing, and worked in the media, so I'm more critical than average when it comes to racing films. Until I watched Closer to the Edge, there was only one film that I considered "great", and that was Le Mans, with Steve McQueen. Now, there are two of what I consider great; ... Le Mans and Closer to the Edge.
This film is absolutely perfect, from start to finish. The camera work, music and the editing, ... especially the editing (by Beverley Mills), are excellent. If the camera work, edits and music during the run-up to the Senior TT don't give you goose-bumps, you aren't alive.
I only wish I'd seen this in a theater, in 3D, instead of on my computer screen. But on the other hand, I wouldn't be able to stop and replay scene after scene in a theater, or pause it to catch my breath every few minutes.
Everyone involved in the making of this excellent look at an amazing event should be proud of their work.
Sunset Strip (2000)
Mirror, mirror, on the wall.
After seeing the film for the first time last night, and then reading some of the negative reviews here, the only logical conclusion I can make is this; if you weren't closely involved in that era, in that place, then you probably won't enjoy the film. But if you did, you will love it.
For those who were there, "Sunset Strip" is amazingly accurate, and sometimes painfully so. The male-centric attitude women of that time had to endure from so-called "liberated" men was summed-up perfectly in the scene where Anna Friel's character is summoned - there's no better word for it - by her rock-star idol, and upon arrival at his hotel room, is asked to serve tea by some pompous jerk.
As stated much better than I ever could by "fastfilmhh" in her review of this film, it is a deadly-accurate portrayal of the time, places and attitudes back then, warts and all.
The only error that I found was when one character made reference to "bad 'ludes." While there was certainly bad coke, and bad weed, Quaaludes were far too inexpensive and easily available for anyone to waste their time knocking off fakes, at least in my experience.
But that small mistake was nicely balanced-out by the stage-whispered comment made during a party scene by yet another pompous jerk - there were lots of those back then - alerting a new arrival to the "real party" going on in a closed-to-the-less-than-super-cool back room. That sort of social status selectivity happened at every party ever held back then, and was called "cocaine politics".
The producers obviously took great effort to maintain an accurate portrait of the times, from using and recording actual Fender 'Strats, to only showing three-piece bands on the Whisky's stage, which was a hard and fast rule at that club, unless the band was currently uber-hot.
Sidenote: If you are interested in securing your grand-children's financial security, find and buy an original Fender Stratocaster like the ones used in the film, plus some strings, and place them in a large safe-deposit box. In a hundred years or so, those puppies will be worth their weight in Stradivarius violins.
Some reviews have mentioned the lack of character development in "Sunset Strip", and that is accurate, especially when compared to other film portraying that period, such as "Almost Famous." While I won't pretend to read the writer's and director's minds, I will say that, considering the accuracy of the rest of the production, it could be that they deliberately left the characters shallow because let's face it, ... they (we) all were shallow back then. You needed those high boots to wade through the wall-to-wall pretense. The only difference between the suits and the freaks was that the freaks were freaks on purpose. And just a bit more honest. Sometimes.
Anyway, if you want to watch a living textbook of that place at that time, "Sunset Strip" hits the nail on the head. Just don't say it's far-out and groovy, please, or you won't be invited to the real party.
The Way of War (2009)
Move over, "Plan Nine From Outer Space"
The amazing thing about this truly terrible movie is not that it was actually made. The amazing thing is that before it was made, dozens of people with at least average intelligence read the script and approved of it.
This piece of absolute garbage is wrong from start to finish. Not one line of dialog makes any sense at all. There is no real storyline. No plot. No nothing. The only sensible reason for it to have been made in the first place is that everyone involved must have lost a bet, or were looking for a tax write-off.
That being said, this cloud might have a silver lining. Copies of it should be distributed to every film school, with a simple message: "Don't do this, ever."
High Voltage (1998)
Move over "Plan Nine From Outer Space" ...
... a new "worst film ever made" has arrived. This thing should be shown to every aspiring actor, director, writer and producer, to show them how really bad "bad" can be. Why it's not billed as a comedy is the big question. Everyone involved should hang their heads in shame, or better yet, they should all be drummed-out of whatever guild or union they belong to. I have to admit I watched it from beginning to end, sort of like watching a terrible train wreck.
But the real puzzle here is why any of the other reviewers would say they enjoyed it. The fact that these people are living among us, walking around in public, and worse yet, driving on our streets, panics the hell outta me.
Straight Time (1978)
An honest jewel of a film.
"Straight Time" is by far the most honest and accurate look at the criminal mind that I have ever seen. Dustin Hoffman's performance as Max Dembo is perfectly detailed and developed from start to finish, as he charmingly deceives others, and himself, into believing that he can leave the adrenalin-rush life of crime that he is ultimately most comfortable with. The film is also an indictment of our penal system, which pretends to offer a way out of crime, but only perpetuates and intensifies it, practically guaranteeing high rates of recidivism. The end result being that the parolees are offered many roads back to crime, but very few, if any, out of it.
Max Dembo is doomed from the start, knowing that the only thing that makes him feel truly alive is crime and being among other criminals. He pretends to want "out", and to lead a normal life, but like a mountain climber without a mountain, he's lost if he's not either committing a crime, or being punished for it. Dembo is a brilliant, but lost, hedonist for whom crime is not only all he knows, but all that he needs. And both Hoffman and director Ulu Grosbard captured this beautifully.
This is truly a great film on every level.
Clear Cut: The Story of Philomath, Oregon (2006)
A frightening look at a far-right winger
The "star" of this film is Steve Lowther, who controls the Clemens Foundation, and through it, the future of dozens of prospective Clemens Foundation scholarship students. He strongly believes that his standards are the only valid standards to use when making any decision about the scholarships, the local primary and high school agendas, the school board and especially the selection of school superintendents. He even demands closed meetings, so that issues can be dealt with in a "manly" manner.
The frightening part of it all is not what Steve Lowther says or even what he does. Legally, he does have ultimate control over the scholarship funds. The fact that he has ignored the original intent of the fund, while despicable, is also not illegal.
What is frightening is the fact that Steve Lowther's views are seen by the locals as if they were simply "the other side of the issue", rather than the homophobic, fascist, and racist views of the Ultra-Right that they actually are. That he's adept at masking those views in the smoke and mirrors of his promotion of "the old values" only adds to the reasons to be aware of the tactics of this man, and those like him.
This is a quiet film that ends up saying much more than was originally intended. The producers of the film don't even try to take pot-shots at anyone. All they did was aim a camera at Steve Lowther, and allow him to say exactly what he wanted to say. He then proceeds to shoot himself in the foot, again and again, with obvious delight, and total obliviousness.
3:10 to Yuma (2007)
Save your money ... rent "Unforgiven"
If you're looking for a western on the same lofty level as Eastwood's "Unforgiven", HBO's "Deadwood", or even the original "3:10 To Yuma", this remake ain't it.
While Christian Bale and Russell Crowe give strong performances, everything else about this film rates a "C" at best. The quality of the cinematography is uneven throughout the film, looking more like a series of dailies than finished product. While some films purposely strive for a dated look, "Saving Private Ryan" being one example, "3:10 To Yuma" just looks sloppy. Wash-out in one scene, uncontrolled glare in the next. It simply looks cheaply done.
The dialogue, storyline and edits aren't much better than the cinematography. Scenes that should be longer are truncated, while other scenes just run on and on, with no apparent rhyme or reason. Somewhere in the 120 minutes of mish-mash, there's a reasonably good film, crying out for an editor who understands dramatic timing.
The storyline and dialogue seem more suited to a shoot-em-up video game than a serious film. As the body count grows, there are practically no realistic reactions from any of the characters, good or bad. Just another dead guy ... 30 points ... "ding!" All that being said; ... if you like westerns, see this film. At best, you may enjoy it. At worst, you'll have the mid-range of the graph that this film represents as a reference point with which to judge the truly great westerns.