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jay393
Reviews
Operation Mincemeat (2021)
Watch "The Man Who Never Was" Instead
This remake is a re-telling of the old Man Who Never Was (MWNW) version of Operation Mincemeat which, although somewhat dated now, was much better-paced and without all the nonsense subplots added by this Hollywood-style treatment. In addition, the subplot detail in the older movie is much closer to actual events and is directly relevant to the main story.
MWNW screenplay was actively supervised by Ewen Montagu himself who was the actual creator of Mincemeat, and was much more suspenseful.
Nevertheless, Colin Firth does a good job adding gravitas to the story, and the surrounding cast is entirely creditable in portraying one of the greatest intelligence stories of WWII.
Veronica Mars (2004)
Stands My Test of Time
Never saw this series when it first aired, but enjoyed the 2014 movie enough to binge watch the original show.
Best female action hero since Modesty Blaise.
The Last Days of Disco (1998)
Great snapshot of an Era
This is a much better movie than a casual glance at existing reviews would indicate. It's already a cult classic -- take a look at the prices for OOP copies on Amazon -- and it provides a picturesque look at some of the wretched excesses of the end of the disco era. When it comes to understanding the American experience in the twentieth century, there are important parallels between the Roaring 'Twenties and 'Seventies. Both eras ended with a kind of hangover from the initial exuberance and expansion that kicked them off. Maybe it's a bit of a stretch, but in a limited way, the Last Days of Disco is as good a meditation on the end of its era as The Great Gatsby is about the end of the Jazz Age.
Some people won't like this film because they'll have a hard time relating to the yuppies who are the major characters, but the character development (or lack thereof) is one of the movie's major strengths. Director Stillman is in perfect control of the dynamics of their interactions. He knows all these people very well from real life.
Although it's a wee bit stilted at times, another strength of the movie is its dialog, which is very original and first class. The Last Days of Disco is a superb tableau of the morality of its times and deals with a number of themes that are central to the human condition.
All in all, I think this movie deserved a better fate than it has received so far. I'm afraid that it was probably as big a failure as Barcelona was a success, and I find it sad that Stillman, whom I regard as a very original voice in American movies, has perhaps been unable to find backers for new projects since that time, although I understand that he may soon (2007) finally have another release in the offing. If you like The Last Days of Disco, you will almost certainly enjoy his two earlier films, Metropolitan and Barcelona.
Brides of Christ (1991)
Well acted, involving - you might love it 'tho not demographic
I loved this series although I'm not a Catholic, not Australian, not a woman. Extremely good exploration of conservative institution beset by a plateful of changes in turbulent times. Depicts how different woman struggle to find the path forward using their different talents and faculties to arrive at their own approach to challenges.
In my opinion, very well cast. I found the characters for the most part very involving. This mini series is a good example of how the Australian movie- and television-making industry outperformed the entire rest of the English-speaking world on any kind of per capita measure in producing wonderful projects in the last two decades of the 20th century.