mikesturgill49 Reviews

The Sergeant (1968)

A completely misunderstood art house masterpiece.

[9/10 · 22 March 2023]

I hate to be condescending but the first few minutes were an important plot device. Please try imagining killing a young boy with your bare hands regardless of the circumstances. Imagine a man seeking absolution while condemning and punishing himself all the while. And are you ready for this: He wasn't necessarily even homosexual. Yes, this film is a psychological horror/drama!

By our reviews some are affronted by the handling of the subject matter and feel it makes the film outdated while forgetting this is a period piece. If you'd like to be transported back to France a few years after the war and are interested in the people of the period then you may appreciate the film as it is presented.

The great Rod Steiger was a craftsman who sought out the most thought provoking scripts and, as a twist, brought out the best from his directors. If you didn't appreciate "The Pawnbroker" you might certainly avoidt "The Sergeant".

The Blue Bird (1940)

The Kiddies Get It!

[10/10 · 25 December 2022]

I saw this around '63 or '64 and believe me it did a real number on my young noggin. Most particularly the 'unborn children' segment, and in a way that could be done only on a child.

Upon recent review I was very surprised to find that it was in color. It's a shame that folks can't enjoy and appreciate these beautiful treats as the time capsules they truly are! Old ghosts back to life singing dancing and daring you to remember. Oh how I tried to kindle the spark in my own grandchildren but their own agenda crowds everything else out. I had no more success with them than I did with their parents...

Blackfish (2013)

I'll Admit it...

[8/10 · 28 November 2022]

...there is nothing that stands out with the production itself that merits all the accolades but rather the subject matter. Yes it's a heinous crime to keep these beast in captivity and for these corporations to lie about the circumstances around these deaths. The subjects alone raise this documentary from mediocre to 8 stars.

Why are those responsible not held accountable for what they've done? Money. Plain and simple. These same villains will find out there is in fact an 'eye in the sky' that watches all and bring them into judgement for their greed, lies and lack of respect for the truth and human (and animal) life!

Carrie (1952)

A Classic Greek Tragedy

[8/10 · 28 March 2022]

So many reviewers here don't appreciate and are disturbed by this film because they don't like the plot and the feeling that they're left with but such is art. Olivier truly is Odysseus untied from the mast doomed to crash upon the rocks to Jones' siren who in desperate futility cannot but call out for escape.

Such is life.

Friendly Persuasion (1956)

Thank You gkieth_1 !!!

[10/10 · 19 March 2022]

Yes, for saving me from posting this. Amazing.

The daughter in this film is not discussed much in comments here. The males are glorified, and the mother is admired. The daughter looks twelve to fourteen, in love with a Northern officer, who may be about twenty to twenty-one years of age. The actress playing this daughter was in real life around thirty years old during filming, so this was quite a stretch.

Happiness (1998)

An entertaining film with some very strong messages.

[7/10 · 4 March 2022]

Yes watch out for your kids and don't depend on sex or other people for happiness and fulfillment in life. Attitudes toward sex and celebration of porn in society will continue to victimize many and things will only get worse. There's no happiness in cultivating and straining to fulfill appetites, only frustration and victimizing.

The director did a daring but fair job of presenting this material. After all it was a commercial venture.

A solid 7.5 stars!

Bathtubs Over Broadway (2018)

For some of us, a trip down memory lane!

[7/10 · 27 February 2022]

Many of those same musicals were used in public advertisements and promotions. Back in '65 I remember the neighborhood Citgo had a circus elephant tethered on their lot and, among other things, those same ZOOM glasses being distributed!

The Madness of King George (1994)

I Know For A Fact...

[7/10 · 26 February 2022]

...that this movie was rated 'R' upon it's theatrical and DVD release (I lost a bet) yet there's no info on this! A case of Hollywood manipulating the rating system to hike revenue!

The Twentieth Century (2019)

Enter a rabbit hole of Canadian history!

[10/10 · 10 January 2022]

After Hemingway received the Nobel Prize for "The Old Man and the Sea" he was asked about it's many metaphors and their validity. Hem answered in words to the effect that it was true those symbols represented many things depending on what the reader brought to the sitting.

Well friends, this jeweled marvel is very much like a woman or sea, capable of bestowing or witholding great treasures! I just discovered it and now the world seems just a little less desolate, a little more comforting.

And why are we affronted by and attack those things we don't understand? The very best professional critics are guilty of the same.

Ok so I'm laying it on pretty thick but I'm trying make a strong point to the hosers. All I ask is that you please at lease skim a Wiki page before lending this, my new favorite film a discouraging rating.

Lakeview Terrace (2008)

There must be something wrong with me...

[8/10 · 23 February 2021]

...Because I see this movie much differently than everyone else. To me Abel Turner was Nietzsche's Ubermenchen, a "good shepherd" and model example who broke under extreme duress. Roger Ebert invited us to turn the races around and ask ourselves if our views would change (challenging our own racism) and I would go further - take away race from the equation. That would make AT our hero and victim who's place of escape from dealing with the flotsam and jetsam of society being immediately attacked by his new neighbors and their litter, their exhibitionism and unwanted influence upon his family. But then, again, I saw Max Cady as a man driven to madness by a bad lawyer. FWIW

The Trip to Greece (2020)

Gorgeous!

[8/10 · 9 June 2020]

The funniest thing I've seen in years. It reminds us who invented the language. So there.

The Darwin Awards (2006)

My favorite award was missing!

[5/10 · 17 December 2019]

That's the one about the fella who urinated on the electric fence. Yes, he survived but was awarded because he became serilized, thus protecting the gene pool!

Thief (1981)

Having never read a satisfying review of this title...

[10/10 · 1 April 2018]

... I have decided to write one myself (my first!) The first time I saw this movie was on RCA LaserDisk back in 1985. The experience was overwhelming as the screenplay hit home on so many intriguing ideas. What's more, true art is measured by the emotions it can create and this movie stirred my own far more than any other! As a youth Frank committed a petty crime and was as a result subjected to a penal system that attempted to 'turn him out' and forced him to commit homicide in self defense, which in turn brought on a much longer prison sentence. Upon release we see Frank as a middle-aged victim of society and a righteous thief who is attempting to catch up on his life with his 'magic act'. He doesn't particularly want to involve his efforts with the underworld yet time and risk factors pressure him to agree to one big final score working with "Uncle Leo" who readily agrees to go along with Frank's terms. As we watch this big score develop we come to understand how valuable Frank is to the success of this undertaking and when Leo goes back on their agreement by denying him the fruits of his labor and revealing his determination to work Frank until he's 'busted, burned out or dead' our hero realizes he is once again being 'turned out'. I was enamored by the fact this movie in no way condescends to the viewer. In fact we're regularly offered up deep metaphors and questions demanding answers (particularly in a society that considers prison rape an acceptable part of prison punishment). There's no warts on this gem and I consider it the greatest film of all time!