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Reviews
The Lickerish Quartet (1970)
A load of rubbish
If you're going to make a soft-porn movie go ahead by all means but don't try to pretend it is cinematic Art because it isn't.
Take away the sex scenes (which aren't so titillating anyway) and you have a film with no plot, no continuity and no comprehensible dialogue to move the story (such as it is) along.
I cannot understand the enthusiasm shown by some of your reviewers. I am not surprised to hear from one of them that he saw the film in a theater where not a sound came from the audience throughout the screening. If I had been in that audience you would have heard my snores --- a suitable accompaniment to what I regret to say is a pretentious load of rubbish.
Dark Country (2009)
Most disappointing
This film starts out as a gripping thriller with all the makings of a successful film noir and it did keep me on the edge of my seat, (unlike some other film with similar failed ambitions) until the moment when the hero realizes he has dropped his watch while burying his victim and decides to go back and look for it. From then on the film becomes totally disjointed and incomprehensible, (at least to me) which is a great pity because I think it had great potential. Also, there is no explanation for the sudden bursts of lightning that accompany the car all along its journey through the desert and how the car can keep speeding continuously along routes 93 and 95 without running out of gas! Most disappointing!
Remember Last Night? (1935)
brings back memories
I saw this 1935 movie as a Greek twelve-year old in Alexandria, Egypt where I grew up, and I have never forgotten it -- because of the cast which contains many of my favorite actors and mainly Arthur Treacher (who is unjustly trashed by another of your reviewers). Ever since it became possible to own and view movies on VHS and DVD I have been trying to get a copy of this one but to no avail. I even sent IMDb an email asking if you could help me find it but got no reply. Then, lo and behold, I found it the other day on a web site entitled LovingtheClassics.com, on sale for $14.99. I ordered it immediately and have just enjoyed seeing it again after all these years. I am sending you this in case there are any other old codgers like me around and who might remember and want to see it again.
Best regards, Alec Kitroeff
Malice (1993)
film noir
When I refer to Malice as a film noir I am not likening it to such masterpieces as Sunset Boulevard, Double Indemnity or The Maltese Falcon, nor am I comparing director Becker to Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Stanley Kramer or Luis Bunuel. I am merely registering a protest against the darkness that pervades this movie from start to finish, to the extent that most of the time you simply cannot make out what is going on. I can understand darkness in night scenes but this movie was dark even in broad daylight, for what reason I am at loss to understand. As it is, however, it wouldn't have made much difference if director Becker had filmed it in total darkness.
Match Point (2005)
Woody Allen should stick to comedy
Woody Allen should stick to comedy, which he does very well. Match Point has an unlikely and rather banal story line, interpreted by unsympathetic characters, with gratuitous sex scenes, and although the acting was above par, the opera bits in the background were totally incongruous and the whole thing left me with a profound sense of disappointment because I had been looking forward to something more edifying from a genius like this writer/director. There is no point in Match Point but I will give it 3 points for its production values and its authentic capture of the London scene. Perhaps Woody Allen should think seriously about returning to comedy -- the medium that put his on the map.
About Schmidt (2002)
Accurate portrayal of the less attractive aspects of life in America
This film is the most accurate portrayal of the less attractive aspects of life in America that, in my opinion, has ever been screened. The man who has devoted his entire life to his work and can't get over the shock of retirement; the wife who looks after him but makes him obey her strict rules; the discovery of the wife's love affair with his best friend; the banality of the retirement dinner; the headstrong daughter who insists on marrying a totally unsuitable wimp; the crudeness of the wimp's family, just to mention some of the all-too-common and negative aspects of American life, interpreted in this film by a splendid cast headed by Jack Nicholson and ably directed by Alexander Payne. Don't look for anything edifying in this film but it is definitely worth seeing.
The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (2003)
A sordid story full of sordid characters
I haven't seen the 1961 version nor have I read the Tennessee Williams novella but I found nothing redeeming in this picture except for poor Brian Dennehy who withdraws gracefully in the early part with a fatal heart attack and is spared further contact with his sex-starved wife (Mirren), the scheming contessa (Bancroft) and the repulsive gigolo (whatever his name is). Helen Mirren is undoubtedly a first class actress and she plays the sordid role assigned to her with near perfection But that doesn't absolve the makers of this film from their responsibility in producing a thoroughly nasty picture peopled by unspeakably nasty characters. The scene where the gigolo urinates in full view of Mirren was utterly revolting.
Flightplan (2005)
Improbable, implausible and impossible
I agree with the comments that Jodie Foster is to be commended for her acting and that there are as many holes in the plot as in a fishing net. Taken as a whole, however, the story is totally implausible, the events in it wildly improbable and the feats performed by the heroine completely impossible. This is a pity because the idea was a good one to start with and a more believable story line could have produced an eminently successful movie. Some of your commentators liken it to a Hitchcock movie but I do not agree with that because Hitchcock never entered the realm of implausibility and the suspense in most of his movies is far superior to anything attempted or achieved in this picture.
The West Wing (1999)
Too much rushing around with breathless and inarticulate dialogue
I have watched 35 episodes of this series and although different directors are involved it seems to me that all of them wind up the actors before they start filming and then release them to rush at full tilt through the corridors of the West Wing, talking to each other over their shoulders and stopping only to slurp innumerable cups of coffee. When, on rare occasions, they and the camera stop for breath and the dialogue becomes articulate and intelligible, there are very good moments, particularly when Martin Sheen takes the stage. The worst culprit is Toby who manages to mumble his way through every episode and defy any viewer to understand what the hell he is talking about.
It's a pity because the screenplay (the little that gets through) is very good and the acting (apart from Toby) is first class. If the directors are trying to give us a sense of reality they should not sacrifice more important factors such as good and intelligible diction.
Drop Dead Fred (1991)
A thoroughly delightful and very funny movie
I am a Rik Mayall fan and I found him at his best in this picture. It is full of laughs and comic situations and I cannot understand the mentality of the many people who didn't appreciate it (including Halliwell and Maltin in their film guides).
Code inconnu: Récit incomplet de divers voyages (2000)
Disjointed and incomprehensible
This film starts well but then breaks off into various disjointed and incomprehensible episodes. We are not told what happens to Jean and the black boy after they are hauled off by the gendarmes. Juliette Binoche spends an inordinately long time ironing her blouses and the significance of the drummers escaped me completely. Also, the camera lingers on a scene much too long after everyone has gone away such as in the tractor ploughing a field where we are left looking at the empty field for longer than necessary. It's a pity because the racial subject matter could have been developed into a good story.