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Carl-70
Reviews
The Nature of Nicholas (2002)
entrancing, hypnotic, confusing
and yet very watchable.
I don't pretend to know what this film is about, I just know that it was very satisfying to watch. Some movies, a very few, leave you with that feeling, the one that says, yeah, that's what a movie should be; that's how you feel when you have watched cinema art.
I know I should discuss the freudian symbolism and explain how it all fits into Freud's stages of sexual maturation, but I just can't bring myself to reduce this film to such cant.
It is a mythic story, best experienced in a childlike (vs.childish)state.
McKeever and the Colonel (1962)
Memorable
For some reason, this short-lived show really imprinted on my psyche. I was only seven when it premiered, but I have always remembered it fondly. I don't remember many specifics, but the whole ambiance remains clear to me.
The one plot I do remember is one where the Colonel decides to keep McKeever out of trouble by making him a Military Policeman. The MP gig does not work out the way the Colonel expected, of course.
Jackie Coogan was great as the sympathetic sarge.
I think the show influenced my whole life; I went to a military school, became an army officer, and am now retired from the service.
Thanks, Scott.
Heintje - Einmal wird die Sonne wieder scheinen (1970)
1970 Springtime in Germany
For anyone who was around back in 1970, esp. in Germany, this movie is a real nostalgia bomb. The star is the boy singer Heintje, who was a big pop star back then, at least in Europe. I don't think he ever caught on in the U.S.
At the time it was released, it was a kids movie. Now, it is camp. I mean that in a good way. It was fun to see it after all these years, and though the full blown orchestral production of the songs Heintje sings in the movie seem odd (riding in a convertible, he opens his mouth and a full music studio sound comes out) it is just the way they did it in those movies. Think Elvis in any number of movies, you get the idea.
Also some nice views of the French Riviera back then. Cool.
Rich Kids (1979)
struck me oddly when it came out
Who can not like John Lithgow even when he is an adulterer? But that isn't the main theme of this movie. Kids dealing with divorce in a very touching way is the real story here. I saw this when it was released and was so struck by it I went back and saw it again the next day. In Lawton, Oklahoma, no less. Not my fault, I was in the Army stationed there at Ft. Sill. Years later I got a copy of the VHS and watched it again. Trini Alvarado is just excellent in this. It is what a movie should be, a thoughtful look into people's lives, with the plus of beautiful cine of NYC. Being from the wide open spaces, the whole NYC thing is pretty fascinating to me. Anyway, this is a really good movie that stands up pretty good over lo, these many years.
Sons of New Mexico (1949)
NMMI Class of '48 should be listed as the real stars
Other than the scenes of the NMMI mounted corps and polo teams, this is just one more of the same cookie cutter movies Gene cranked out. It is interesting to note how the film was edited, switching you back and forth from the movie ranch in southern Cali to the plains, dust and cottonwoods of southeast NM. Gene didn't shoot so much as one scene in NM; he did go to Roswell for the premier, though. Wish I could have been there for that.