dedeurs Reviews

The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987)

She doesn't steal your heart, she tears it out...

[20 September 2019]

Only 21 reviews? The film may be a bit flawed on some levels, but is still a masterpiece. Because of her; La Smith. I don't think Maggie Smith has ever failed in a role. And Judith Hearne is one of her finest moments, as she didn't have to rely on an sophisticated, aristocratic charism. I love the Hearne character, even as I wanted to slap her sometimes.

Dame Maggie is at the top of her career right now, due to the Downton Abby craze and it's cinema version. I guess that if Maggie kicked Elizabeth II out of Buckingham palace and sat herself down in the royal chair, no one in England would protest....everybody, EVERYBODY loves the indestructible Dowager!

This movie is very touching and Maggie is truly royalty, a delightful woman, a unique actress, and her Judith won her numerous awards, but the film is mostly forgotten these days. And I will never forget that fire red 1950's spinster coat of hers....

Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King: Battleground (2006) Season 1, Episode 1

Puritanism on the battleground...

[8/10 · 3 May 2019]

A swimming pool in your living room. Okay, mega rich Americans, every American movie has one, I can go with that. The man lives alone (at least on that particular day he is). Okay, I'm a penniless and thus unattractive widower myself, but it's still fine with me, no reality clash here. We then see the guy - who is watched by no other living person - lowering himself into his indoor swimming pool in a boxershort. As if.... As if that's the most normal thing to do. Like sleeping in pajamas. I'm glad the film spared me THAT 1950s Hays Code Approved sight.

Nudity is not a must of course. And if it's unavoidable, a movie certainly doesn't have to show EVERYTHING. In this case, 'everything' would not add anything to the film. But there could have been at least a SUGGESTION that cold blooded contract killer Renshaw would never go Big Puritan in the privacy of his own home. Sorry, I'm European, this is too American for me.

Fortunately Battleground has easy-going aspects too. It's a much, much better Nightmares & Dreamscape episode than the lackluster one made of that - icky - dead pop stars story. Please, Stephen, quit this retro-sentimental horror!

In Battleground, director Brian Henson is of Frank Darabont caliber and his puppetry is well handled (Henson, Son Of after all), and William Hurt was a good casting choice.

Cloverfield (2008)

Underrated movie

[8/10 · 9 September 2018]

Cloverfield, while not perfect, is a clever film. It starts with a boring and seemingly overlong party. So when finally something is happening, you will sit straight. Another strong point is that the horror happens too fast for the people of NewYork. For the cinemaviewers too. That, and the uncontrolled camera movements, works very well. What I kept in memory mostly is Lizzy Caplan sitting in that subway tunnel. Huge eyes. I never saw an actress express SHOCK so convincingly.

Complaints all around that the 'villain' is hardly in view, or not clear enough. But that is how it would be had it been a real disaster. At such moments no one is able to keep a camera still and be concerned with focus. 9/11 is sort of an example: the shots in the streets very close to the towers and inside the lobbies; shaky, chaotic, moments of overexposure from daylight and lowering of the recorder so only the ground is filmed. And these filmers were profs with professional camera's.

Cloverfield works far better than the rather aimless Blair Witch Project. I found the ending a bit too abrupt, and realized only later that the 1h 25m film really SPEEDS by.

The Color of Magic (2008)

I want my Catweazle back!

[7/10 · 30 October 2017]

phonenumberofthebeast's review (2009) almost made me abandon the idea to write my own... Okay, David Jason's Rincewind is exactly as I pictured him, and Jeremy Irons and Tim Curry are quite memorable (as usual). Actually the set designers and 98% of the cast did a more than adequate job. Actors from the UK are always a delight!

But the special effects look 1880's (except 'Luggage', he's amazing), the score is an attack on your eardrums, and both the orangutan librarian and Death make me wish I had chosen to watch episodes from 1970's Catweazle. (same type as Rincewind, but much funnier!) 'Death' is Pratchett's best novel character, he is mystic, dead-seriously ironic and sometimes hilariously human. And I get to see an actor wearing a cheap unmovable cardboard mask?? Come on, just some extra FX wizardry, and he would have been much more impressive, and even fearsome.

Less relevant, but I always envisioned foreigner Twoflower as a little rotund semi-Asian guy. Not a robust American. (With all respect to Sean Astin)

Pratchett's books constantly tickle my funny bone, even after an umpteenth re-reading. The movie made me laugh only once (and I forgot what it was).

The problem, I think: Pratchett wrote novels in which the humor is not very subtle, it borders on slapstick, yet it is brilliant. Really, really funny. That man had an enormous wit. And although in the movie I heard familiar Discworld dialogues, they all fell flat. Director/screenwriter Vadim Jean clearly failed in transferring that quality.

I dare not think what would have happened had Hollywood taken on Pratchett, but I do wonder what Terry Gilliam, Harry Potter's Alfonso Cuaron or David Yates (Potter again) would have made of The Colour of Magic... (Yes, it's 'colour'. It's a British title.)

Impulse (1984)

Do NOT return to your small, isolated hometown

[8/10 · 19 October 2017]

Thank the Lord of Darkness; no eyliens from outer space and no munsters from the underworld! At least, that's my interpretation. I find comparisons with 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' and the Zombie franchise way over the line.

In 1984, Meg Tilly still played pretty, vulnerable girls. Eventually she would excel in eccentric or batshit crazy characters. That's when I began to notice her and became a fan. She's one of the greatest 'B' actresses around, and till this day scandalously underrated.

A bit flawed movie (scripting & pacing) but it's worth the watch. There's good (and even modestly hot) action, it does well without special effects, it's by far not as predictable as other films in the genre. And it has a young and radiant Meg Tilly.

Cilla (2014)

The Biop Curse

[7/10 · 16 October 2017]

Sheridan Smith is British, she's sassy, she's - when required - very 1960s mod. Most noticeable 'flaw': she doesn't have the famous Cilla Black crooked front teeth... Sheridan can also sing, taking in account that it's not her profession. Still her vocals are the big problem in this TV biop. For me, and everyone else who is very familiar with Cilla Black's records, Smith's vocals are almost painful. The real Cilla had a clear and truly phenomenal voice. Soft and tender one moment, the next belting out like a fog horn. Her enemies called her a 'nasal screech', but it's for sure a voice no one can imitate easily.

The 'Alfie' recording session with Burt Bacharach almost admits it. It's true that Burt Bacharach was a perfectionist and probably demanded from all the singers he worked with to do take after take after take, but in this scene he seems to think "Cilla Who again? Give me Dionne and Dusty any time." Well, Cilla Black was more than up to her 1960's contemporaries. Listen to the authentic Alfie recording session as can be found on YouTube. It may have been her 3rd or 30th take, but she leaves you breathless. What a voice, what an emotion. (A question for the director or costumer, though. In the Alfie studio session scene, Sheridan sports Cilla Black's new hair style for 1966. Why not the quite iconic Mary Quant dress as well?)

It must be very difficult to find actors who look like famous people as they were in their younger days. I found Brian Epstein too handsome and well-mannered. George Martin and Ringo Star fared better, and the actor who played Cilla's boyfriend aka roadmanager and future husband Bobby Willis is the spitting image of the real one. But when I fail to recognize Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Pete Best at all, it's both confusing and distracting.

What leading lady Sheridan Smith lacks in vocal similarities, she more than makes up in looks and charisma. She is Cilla Black as I remember her from the 1964-1965 TV appearances. In fact, it's Sheridan who gloriously saves the 3-episode series 'Cilla' from being a major drag. And had the vocals been play-backed, I would have awarded this with a 10.

Rupture (I) (2016)

Clammy hands!

[10/10 · 6 October 2017]

We have had our share of invaders and body snatchers, but 'Rupture' manages to be quite inventive and is so unsettling that it gave me the sweats. I was well into the movie before I got an inkling who the kidnappers really are. Nope, no genre clichés here.

Noomi Rapace's acting is very good (Revenge! Revenge!, I was screaming silently) and the rest of the cast is also highly effective. So, that one special effect wasn't necessary, or could have been done in a more subtle way, as the calm humane smiles of the abductors are horrifying enough in themselves. Reminds me of Rosemary's Baby where the cove celebrates the birth of Satan's son in the best of spirits and all keep treating the totally freaking out mother with a maddening mix of indifference and kind patience. Quite chilling.

The movie is what Homo sapiens regards these days as slow. It didn't bother me at all, I was spellbound from beginning to end. I gambled on (even hoped for) an 'unhappy' ending, and yes. I read that that's what irked about half of the viewers. Yet it seems to me that the makers kept the door for a possible sequel ever so slightly open. I'm a conservative sequence & prequel & spin-off hater, but for once I would welcome a Part II. Although this cast is wonderful, I think it would then be best if it featured a different one (continuing with Renee's son for instance, and again No Happy End!). Whatever director Steven Shainberg and screenwriter Brian Nelson may tackle next, I'm going to keep an eye on them.

I found the dialogues not easy to understand, particularly during the soft spoken and even whispered moments. Screened a copy with a low volume threshold. But hey, as a foreigner I am also linguistically not fine tuned...

A Husband, a Wife and a Lover (1996 TV Movie)

And then there was Light

[9/10 · 22 August 2017]

For the first fifteen minutes of The Strange Affair I thought, "Men like Eric should get a marriage restraint, and for life." I hate such guys, but I kept watching. Because Judith Light is in it. And the Bad Husband & Pitiful Wife story - so often exploited in LifeTime TV films - appeared to be a lot more complicated than I expected. Light is a fascinating woman. She's blessed with a long face, big hair and heavy Catherine Deneuve eyelids that make her cool, regal and tragic all at once. According to the laws of the Hollywood Beauty Norm she isn't a beauty, but she is, she is! She's absolutely gorgeous. petershelleyau wrote a much better review than me, so all I further have to say: wonderful movie. And viewers will be a Judith Light fan forever.

For All Time (2000 TV Movie)

Hooray- not a paradox in sight

[21 August 2017]

The endless problem with time travel stories... It's impossible to know how much going back in time literally would change the 'later' present. There's The Butterfly Effect, The Sound of Thunder, the latter film showing dramatic and even catastrophic results of meddling with the fabric of Time. But this film doesn't focus on the aspects of physics. It is basically a romantic fantasy, it's about a man who takes a drastic chance in life because he feels he "does not fit in his own time" as Charles Lattimer himself says. So any paradox is not really important here. It was mainly used to conjure up a happy ending. The Sommerville scenes are almost impossibly pastoral, but 'For All Time' is undeniably a beautiful, dreamy movie and Mark Harmon, always a treat, was perfectly cast. Although her contribution is very small, a special mention of Georgie Collins, I loved her snorting...

Cradle Swapping (2017 TV Movie)

Story realism leaves many questions

[8/10 · 9 August 2017]

LifeTime sells its TV movies standard as 'based on a real story'. You know then that you can expect a glittery version of that real story. First of all, it usually revolves about a young handsome couple with Money, and white American of course. The screenwriters also don't shy away from altering facts and even adding fantasy. Cradle Swapping is still a decent film with Amanda Clayton who is quite convincing in her distress over having given birth to a sickly baby girl - she is almost immediately diagnosed with opium withdrawal symptoms - but her mother instinct also warns Amanda that something is altogether not right with her little Hannah. What her mother keeps feeding repeatedly: "She doesn't look like you or Ray at all!" Following tests reveal that Hannah is indeed not the couple's product. What follows is a search after the couple's real baby. The police gets involved, but Amanda and Brandon decide to do the finding on their own. I felt such is unwise, although it (there's a murder too) certainly ads some tensed scenes to the movie. A negative is that their private investigation moves the story into the realm of thriller-fiction. No problem of course (and finally a telly drama without court case scenes!) but it leads inevitably to moments that you think "Nah, I don't believe it happened like this". Okay, I hate babbies. They're all ugly and smelly. Yet I found Cradle Swap quite enjoyable. It's one of the better LifeTime 'true stories'.

Millennium (1989)

Um, Hollywood, how about a remake?

[6/10 · 21 July 2017]

Basically I hate films about time travel, they usually break their backs on the paradoxes. "A Sound of Thunder" I found an exception; the screenplay is not too complicated. This one is also comprehensible, quite a relief. But the finale, the finale...was this a leftover from The Thunderbirds? "Millennium" BEGS for a remake. The short story by Varley made a huge impression on me in the 1970s, it's quite grim and gritty, but today's tough cinema and unrelenting CGI can cope with that. We would at least be able to avoid a Dynasty look like in this version (the airport hall is filled with catwalk models, come on!), and under direction of Spielberg or Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow) the soapy love story would be much better to take. And a really good lead of course...yeez, Kristofferson had better taken the role of the robot. Supple as an airplane's wing, that man.

Decay (I) (2015)

Loving a lunatic

[10/10 · 8 July 2017]

This film got some viewers quite upset, and I understand that. The Mommy character outdoes the stepmother psycho in Cinderella by miles! But the main subject in this film is not so much what Jonathan is doing- it's what drove him to it. However gruesome his actions may be, Jonathan lost my sympathy not for a moment. He's no Norman Bates, no Carol (from Polanski's Repulsion), no Hannibal Lecter. Persons who alienate themselves to audiences. Notice how polite and perfectly normal Jonathan is towards commuters. During his talk with them Jonathan is hiding guilt, but he has done no wrong. Not really. * Quite a few reviewers elsewhere called the movie too slow. I didn't notice. It's totally mesmerizing, and extremely well made. The cinematography is beautiful, the casting perfect, the acting great, the screenplay carefully worked out (Jonathan for instance speaks during dinners only once to his 'girlfriend', him blabbering away all the time would have spoiled the delicacy of those moments), the special effects are realistic, the metaphors subtle. And let's not forget the editing. One of the fabulous assets to this film is for certain the editing. It has an amazing ending, too, even as it left me with more than a few questions. Not because of a faulty script! Just one thing bothered me a bit; a tiny continuity error. Every morning Jonathan wakes up with a small nosebleed. And in every one of these scenes the red spot looks exactly the same. You get aware of it as his face is always in close- up at these moments. In all other regards this film shot itself straight into my top three of Dark movies. * About this OCD thing that people write about in relation to Decay: I wonder why the theme must be labeled OCD. We simply have a pain and abuse threshold, at a certain point we tend to short-circuit. Dentist's fear, a hostage situation, concentration camp and school bullying traumas. And they don't go away after a good night's sleep and a pill description and a professionally nodding therapist. Hence a guy like Jonathan. For whom I can weep. * But the point is, it seems that our intelligence level got too high for us to handle. When the "I think therefore I am" awareness crept in, we threw out Instinct, and ever since we have barely been able to control our sensibilities, and carrying around warped ideas and mental issues and disorders without a clear reason only seems to increase. Autistic/borderline/bipolar children, anyone? Mother Nature, what have you done...

Oh Willy... (2012)

A must for fans of stop-motion movies

[10/10 · 4 November 2015]

'Oh Willy' was released in 2013 and runs for 17 minutes. IMDb's plot summary hardly helped to understand what I saw, and neither did the Los Angeles Jury who awarded the short with a prize ('It tells a story of life, death and rebirth with wobbly thighs, vomit, breastfeeding, space travel and bunny rabbits - all against the backdrop of a nudist colony.'), but I was certainly spellbound, and it also moved me. Those eyes...

Characters, interiors and landscapes were made from felt and woolly fabrics, giving Willy's world a wonderful warm, fuzzy quality. Unless frontal rag doll nudity freaks you out, 'Oh Willy' is a must.

The Seventh Dwarf (2014)

The most sexy entrance Snow White ever made

[10/10 · 1 November 2015]

...and let's not forget her hot pink party outfit.

Most reviewers write this German CGI production off as toddler fodder. I disagree!

The movie gives nods to traditional fairytale characters (the dragon for instance seems strongly influenced by Disney's Reluctant Dragon), however Boris Aljinovic + Harald Siepermann managed to keep their satirical story and gags original. The animation quality of SHREK and HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON may be a notch better (they probably had bigger budgets too), but I appreciated THE SEVENTH DWARF's design, style and colorful sets just the same.

And the music, well, those dreadful obligatory animation songs...here they at least get accompanied by some jolly shoe shuffling and tap dancing.

All in all I find The Seventh Dwarf good fun & great eye candy for any age. Yes, 60+ adults too.