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Reviews
The Killing of John Lennon (2006)
Jonas captivating as Chapman ... makes worth seeing
So I have not once expected ANY portrayal of Lennon or ANY of the Beatles to be believable. Not anymore than seeing Val Kilmer portray Jim Morrison ( incidentally everyone should check out the recently posted " Lost Ray Manzarek interview". So seeing Jonas Ball as Mark David Chapman was both disturbing and refreshing ( for lack of a better word). Honestly it was so disturbing I really had to watch the film like it was detached from what it was reenacting. Sort of puts me in a bad light as a reviewer for saying that, but it's true. So what exactly made me give this docudrama an 9 of 10? It was the performance of Jonas. His psychotic realism gripped me from the start.
Why Be Good? Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema (2007)
Liked this feature ( great theme song, vocals especially!)
Sometimes documentaries on Hollywood don't seem like documentaries at all. This is a good example. Maybe it's because of the familiarity of what is being shown and the stars ability to captivate your attention. Still,the pleasant narration by actress Diane Lane immediately draws you in to the world of the golden age of cinema, telling us the hows and whys without reason Hollywood was basically forced to conform to ridiculous codes obviously steered by the church. It was censorship. Something that was needed to keep America holy. But all at once?
Removing partying and nudity from the screen ( and radio too) was only a vehicle by which the censors began their agenda into brainwashing America into a false sense of reality. They forced Hollywood to always make the bad guy lose, the loose woman die or reform, and the American patriot concur in the name of God. Meanwhile in our own government much worse was going on behind the scenes, but having the censored Hollywood serve as a barometer as to what the average sheepish American will buy as the truth, Hollywood censorship ultimately became a powerful agent in distracting Americans ( and maybe Western Civilization in general) into fighting among themselves and holding each other accountable for upholding these bogus unspoken laws.
Today we face the very same subtle tactics. We know what they are, and if we are wise we know how incessant and paradoxically evil something as simple as a Hays Code can become. And become it has! Never mind the rating system introduced 50 years ago. The people currently running our nation operate on the platforms that were set up by those who were around during the Hays Code.
Perhaps I am way off here, but I don't think so. Slowly Americans are waking up when they aren't being sucked into a video game or...a movie. I'm guilty of that, but am awake. So many in the 20's and 30's were awake too. Thank God!
Also enjoyed very much, the very infectious little theme song, sang by a little known ( at least on Google) vocalist, Irene Liberatore. What a voice!
Gone Girl (2014)
Excellent acting, suspense, and certainly kept me guessing.
( This is being written in my 'simpleton mode' because I was typing all day before watching this film, but hope the points get across:)
The acting was awesome. The sets were true to life. The main actress played a great psychopath. As a musician/composer I strangely enough did not notice the music. That means either it was dull or it was so good at seeming together the moods of the film that it went past the ears straight into my subconscious mind.
Now as far as the story line goes, I felt the lack of any images of his wife on all of the media coverage was unrealistic and it seemed to lessen the chance that the girl she befriended at the hotel would ever connect the dots and rat her out. The film reminded me of how much I really hate mainstream media and Nancy Grace. Living out of any spotlight has been a real privilege. People shouldn't wish for such icky things. The last 30 minutes could have played out in any of a number of ways. One of which I would have taken (too?). I can't say, that would be a spoiler;) Bottom line, the film was a very good suspense thriller that kept me captivated. By that last 20 minutes the I think just about any viewer would feel they were being shown a top notch movie simply because of the awesome acting. The 'Elvis' attorney was a bit shallow, but that was the point. The sister was the leavener of the film and added the warmth that seemed to missing from the psycho wife's parents roles. The pen pal ex boyfriend was performed very convincingly. Overall, an 8 out of ten.
Countdown to Looking Glass (1984)
If I only knew then what I know know...
I used to buy every word of the national evening news back in 1984. Perhaps all of that Vietnam footage ( remember war footage anyone?) made me loyal because of big people explaining all of that blood to my little ears.
Turned 19 the day before this aired originally. Didn't have HBO in my meager Hollywood,Ca apartment, but had I seen it I'm sure it would have been moving. Well years have passed and two Bush's in the White house later, I only see such films as a good example of how capitalism feeds the flame of war as propagated by big business. Where oh' were is the politics in that!? There is no political control or reform, just media blasphemy like this being fed to a blind public. Well, daily more and more of us are waking up to the truth. That NOW is the time for WE THE PEOPLE to rethink who is deserving of truly protecting and serving us and MAKING IT SO! Don't ask me how, but the current liars need gone!
Movie brought back memories though of my dad talking to Walter Cronkite through the screen disagreeably. Hmm...
Gardens of the Night (2008)
One of the best portrayals on the subject.
Gardens Of The Night was a very well done film in my opinion. It pulls the viewer in right from the beginning. Excellent acting, scripting, and directing. The New Yorker review says you need recover time after seeing this film. I believe it because I am finding it very difficult to write this review. Forget the reviews, just watch it because it is a must see like it or not! Gardens Of The Night was a very well done film in my opinion. It pulls the viewer in right from the beginning. Excellent acting, scripting, and directing. The New Yorker review says you need recover time after seeing this film. I believe it because I am finding it very difficult to write this review. Forget the reviews, just watch it because it is a must see like it or not!