Reviews

"They're good, I swear!" Dietrich reports the ladies said this when arrested with fake checks, etc gotten from Thorndyke's Crime School.

Actress Florence Halop with her raspy voice was a favorite of mine appearing numerous times throughout the Barney Miller series, providing the some of the best laughs with each guest spot. She later went on to become a series regular on the original Night Court comedy.

By the way, under the Quotes Section for this episode, Dietrich is misquoted when he answered the phone. What he actually said is, "Katherine ain't here," referring to Arthur Murray's wife and partner in business and dancing, Katherine Murray. Arthur Murray's Dance Studio was vastly popular and well-known for teaching people various ballroom style dances.

It's good to see Seymour in a series again. And while I enjoy a good British cozy mystery, I can't recall ever reading or watching one based in Ireland. I'm enjoying the characters of Fergus and Harry and the emerging friendship and partnership between them.

I'm a fan of Colin Ferguson and know he can act so joyfully, so I found his character extolling the family values of Christmas at his ranch a believable performance. What I don't understand is how such a seasoned actress as Martin could fail so horribly. What made the woman who brought us such a poignant performance in "Christy," fail to deliver her lines in something less than a morose monotone? Was the actress in pain? In mourning personally? I literally fell asleep in what was to have been the climax, only to rewind it and realize I needn't have bothered. Sad, really.

Don't see what folks find so objectionable about the reenactment of the tragedy that was 9-11-2001 in The USA. It was well-written, well-acted and kept my interest to the end.

I was very interested to learn about this supposed based-on-real-life story of censorship campaign by religious folks, but was completely unprepared for the porn content. It was such a disappointment! It may very well have been intended to highlight an important cultural issue, but I could not stomach the rest of the film - nor can I recommend it at all.

Surely any corruption that may have led to the banning of Martin Scorcese's "The Last Temptation of Christ" in the community in question could have been portrayed better and without putting younger viewers at risk. As a teacher, I would have liked to had the film as a resource to spark discussion of the issues in class, but this film - sadly - would be completely inappropriate and unusable in that context. Such a wasted opportunity!

The mood of the film was also very heavily negative and one-sided, reminiscent of a political campaign rather than an educational or informative film. A better film would have compassionately portrayed both sides of the issue well enough to have sparked true debate. A documentary or docudrama, this is not.

Corbin Bernsen plays James Moore, a minister struggling with a kind of faith-based mid-life crisis. Quitting his job, he returns to his hometown to find that its people have been through their own share of crises and misfortunes - including a tragic, deadly house-fire resulting in the arrest and detention in a psych hospital of Travis, his childhood friend. Can James pull it together enough to make sense of life's unfortunate turns? And how far should he go to help his friend? Corbin Bernsen wrote, directed and co-produced this refreshingly original story. His use of unknown actors gives the film a realistic edginess that some may find fault with, but I found part of the charm. In the end, themes of doubt, faith, friendship, loyalty and hope are what makes the film inspirational, family fare.

"Once" is worth seeing, perhaps even worth owning, if only for the music. (Note: Take Dramamine before viewing if you easily contract motion sickness, as the camera is hand-held for most of the film). Markéta Irglová's character (the Girl) is friendly, open-tempered and penetrating - a good contrast to Glen Hansard's portrayal of the melancholic, brooding, jilted lover (the Boy). This not a Hollywood formulaic film - from the hand-held camera, to using musicians rather than actors, to the realistic way the characters relate to each other - all these things are why I love this film. And I believe that viewers will find it a refreshing change from most Hollywood tripe. Must see this film...more than once!