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Reviews
Night Falls on Manhattan (1996)
Don't Bother
Wonderful performances by Ian Holm, Ron Leibman, Sheik Mahmud-Bey, and Richard Dreyfuss. If you're a student of great acting, this is a solid rental to enjoy several excellent "moments" from each. But as a film, the plot is beyond formulaic and predictable. The big reveal is presaged in the first act, in the courtroom, it just becomes a question of how they get there. Garcia's romantic interest is laugh-out-loud bad: felt like 60 seconds from meeting to dinner to sex to marriage talk. What's the rush, Sidney? And there's no real climax or ending. Credits roll - big shrug.
Back to the acting. Andy Garcia mostly sleepwalks through this one, mumbling his lines, other than an explosive moment with his dad's partner played by James Gandolfini. Ian Holm makes us ask the question again: why do great British actors play Americans better than American actors? He is completely believable as a lifelong New Yorker. Dreyfuss does well to moderate his trademark intensity to believable levels. Ron Leibman is funny and fantastic and makes me wish we'd seen a lot more of him in more films. Mahmud-Bey gives a mesmerizing subtle performance in the courtroom, just barely smirking as García needles him till he suddenly explodes.
Triangle of Sadness (2022)
Great fun but...
Great fun that generally deserves the accolades. Clever, absurd writing and marvelous performances across the board. I also appreciated the more subtle commentary on class and caste: the shirtless crewmember who was fired, the last lines of Yaya.
But pacing was sometimes a problem; a slightly shorter movie would have been stronger. Many opportunities for trimming: the extended captain's cabin scene, the endless island scenes. Even 5 seconds from the grenade scene. Plainly the director/writer fell in love with every shot and couldn't bear to cut much. It'll never happen, but what a great opportunity for a Director's cut that's 15 minutes shorter!
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Overrated, But See It Anyway
I can only shake my head at some of the fawning film-school comments here. Yes, Sellers' performances are brilliant, you'll laugh out loud at his Dr. Strangelove, and the rest of the cast is excellent. Yes, it was an especially daring satire for its time, making light of a subject that was deadly serious in 1964. And yes, you'll enjoy the Kubrickian touches and details - the contemplative camera, the "cold" lighting, the political sarcasm, the signature "head bent, eyes up" expression from George C. Scott which we later saw in Clockwork Orange, Full Metal Jacket et al; and the final scene set to intentionally light and inappropriate music, a precursor to the evocative use of "Blue Danube Waltz" in "2001". For all these reasons, see Dr. Strangelove.
But the whole is less than the sum of its excellent parts. It's simply not a great movie. The set pieces in the war room and Keenan Wynne's office drone on and on towards modest punchlines, the B-52 scenes are interesting mostly to electricians, the attack on the military base resolves awkwardly, and the movie's climax is clumsy at best (and yes, I "get" the intent of the final cut away from the warroom). The movie as a whole hangs together poorly.
Although not a great film, its an important film, especially for its time. See it, but temper your expectations.
Green Dolphin Street (1947)
A lush, old-fashioned epic
I watched this on a rainy day 25 years ago. While a bit slow-paced at times, it thoroughly drew me in to the characters and storylines - this movie truly *develops*. It's a fascinating picture, with rich performances and locations, and is ultimately quite moving.
I'd forgotten how much I loved this film, and look forward to seeing it again soon. 8.5 stars out of 10.