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Reviews
Cold Mountain (2003)
Well Done
Whenever I see a movie based on I book I really like, I always expect the worse. Cold Mountain is a great exception. The Romanian scenery is perfect. The actors all give it their best. One problem...after months of hard labor on the farm, Nicole always appears like she just walked off a Cosmo cover shoot, I mean, come on, NOBODY looked that good coming off a hardscrabble North Carolina farm in 1864. But that's a small quibble...the movie is great The music really works well too. Another good credit for T Bone Burnett.
Gangs of New York (2002)
Too long, Too much Leonardo, Too little actual history
Gangs Of New York is a very ambitious attempt by Scorsese to invoke a time and a place that most Americans are completely ignorant about. In some ways he succeeds brilliantly, but all in all, the movie fails to deliver. Daniel Day Lewis is a force of nature...incredible to watch. Every minute he's there...the movie totally grabs your attention. Decaprio on the other hand, seems totally miscast. In some movies he may be a fine actor, in this case however, he was apparently chosen for the potential box office rewards of inserting a "hot" young star in a big role. Actually I found it hard to believe that a slight, pretty boy like Leonardo would last 5 minutes on the mean streets depicted in the film. And finally...the movie was way too long.
Quando le donne avevano la coda (1970)
If you're a teen-ager and really drunk...hey it's funny
I saw this movie in Aberdeen,S.D. in the summer of 1974, as the third show in a dusk-to-dawn marathon at the local drive-in. There was a car-full of us, well lubricated with wine and weed, and I thought this was one of the funniest pictures I'd ever seen. We practically peed our pants laughing. Fast forward to 1995. I see "When Women Had Tails" at the local video store and,remembering the hilarity, take it home. I got through, maybe 20 minutes. It sucks really bad. Really, really bad. The actors, the script, it all sucks. They didn't even have the decency to show some nudity (I mean...come on,it's supposed to be a sex comedy).
Just goes to show...you were stupid when you were 19. At least I was.
Problem Child (1990)
A truly terrible one
I saw this film with a girlfriend and her child. It's the only film I have ever left in the middle,walked out to the parking lot, had a smoke, enjoyed the evening air, came back to the theater and was instantly depressed by how truly wretched it was. A kid who is apparently suppose to be cute causing havoc. I just don't get it.
The Black Stallion (1979)
A Gorgeous Movie
The Black Stallion is possibly the most overlooked, and underrated movie of recent times. Regardless of how you feel about horses and horse racing, you can't help but get emotional over this one. The movie unfolds like a song...boy with his Dad...boy on desert island with beautiful black horse...boy and horse back in hometown.Boy and horse try racing. Director Carroll Ballard is an absolute genius...the man can paint, unlike any other director. Do yourself a favor...watch this movie,it's better than great!
The Exorcist (1973)
Yes, It's Still The Best
I think the Exorcist is a masterpiece, and quite possibly the greatest horror movie ever committed to film. Maybe the problem the younger crowd has with it is that a):Religion,especially Christianity, has come to be regarded as a vague superstition at best...there is no God, therefore there can be no Devil and b): after 20 years of slasher/hacker/blood and guts type movies, this one probably looks pretty tame and wimpy by comparison. As for those who think it's too "slow"...get an attention span! The devoted fans of Friday The 13th/Halloween/Scream/etc. must be a bit baffled by the presence of actual intelligent conversation that lasts for,golly, minutes! The idea that a quarter hour can pass by without a beheading,boiling,burning or topless starlet must be the sign of an inferior movie. I saw the Exorcist on it's original run in 1973. I love horror movies and this is the only one that really put a scare on me. I think what spooked me was that this was about a true story...Blatty based his story on an actual incident that occurred in Maryland in the late 40's. It involved a young boy, and of course a lot of the details were different...but there were some very big similarities. I think the most frightening, primal part of it all was the concept of monstrous evil inhabiting the body and soul of the most innocent and vulnerable. But of course that's just my opinion...