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oldgal67
Reviews
Crossfire Trail (2001)
Excellent
All of the comments about Tom Selleck that have been made by other posters are absolutely right - he is the ultimate western hero. This film is the other half of "Quigley Down Under" and comes very close to being as 'painterly' as regards locations, lighting and photography as "Heaven's Gate". There was nothing about this film to alarm even the most delicate sensibilities and, for those with sons growing up, exposure to these two Selleck films might give the lads a glimpse of the kind of man it could be a matter of pride to emulate rather than the dubious 'heroes' of modern film and fiction whose crass brutality does none of us any good. L'Amour had a very precise understanding of what it took to be a man and everyone involved in "Crossfire Trail" translated his ideal perfectly onto film.
Snow Cake (2006)
Blah!
Alan Rickman was horribly out of place but the only person in the whole movie worth watching - Sigourney Weaver was downright irritating and far from portraying a high-functioning individual was barely functioning at all - she did autism no favours if encouraging acceptance of autistic people was supposed to be the point of the film. The remaining characters, with the exception of Vivienne who, of necessity, was gone much too soon, were flat, lacked pertinence and added nothing to the film. After watching it, I wondered why anyone bothered to make it and wouldn't ever waste time watching it again. Bits of it were marginally funny but overall it was 2 hours of almost total pointlessness.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
What a blast!
Depp et al do it again in even greater style than Pirates I. Non-stop fun and action from the opening scene until the very end which leaves one suspended and ready for Pirates III next year. Entertainment as it always should be and too often isn't. Parents might want to be cautious about taking young children as some brief scenes are gory and might frighten nervous youngsters although three little brothers sitting near us were riveted throughout and didn't seem bothered by the scary bits one iota. The special effects, CGI and costumes are brilliant, the sea battle scenes are fast-paced and not over-long and the pure action scenes are obviously the product of some extremely inventive and imaginative minds. Definitely one not to miss.
Take the Lead (2006)
Disappointing
If anyone expects this movie to have anything to do with teaching inner-city kids to appreciate the skill, hard work and dedication that go into learning proper ballroom dancing steps and techniques and if anyone expects anything even remotely resembling good dance sequences, they will be very disappointed. This film is about arrogant, half-educated youngsters trying to prove to the adult world that ballroom dancing is a waste of time and street dancing is the only style worth bothering about. I say this because, by the end of the movie apparently all they wanted to do was revert to what they were doing at the beginning of the movie while the serious ballroom dancers looked on in awed admiration; the final scene was so unrealistic it made a nonsense out of the entire film. In the final dance sequence, they chose to perform entirely outside the rules of ballroom dancing competition, thereby proving they hadn't learned a thing about self-control, discipline, following the rules or just about anything else. I was quite sure Antonio Banderas would turn in his usual high-class performance; he let me down badly. He was a very pale imitation of his usual passionate self and gave so little to the story, the part could have been played just as well by an unknown actor. We are told the story is based on fact but the connection must be so tenuous it would be hard for the people originally involved to recognize themselves.
Die Fledermaus (1990)
Joan may be Joan but....
This could so easily have been a 9 if Joan Sutherland hadn't played the self-aggrandizing prima donna right to the very end of her career and disrupted - rather like an over-long television commercial - an otherwise excellent production. For this final appearance, she chose the role of a Green Mountain - and looked ridiculous; she didn't sound all that great either which proved her point about leaving while people are still willing to listen. At any other time hearing the three stars sing together would have been wonderful but they caused a break in the opera that never really healed and the final scene hobbled to the end - the continuity gone and the stuffing knocked out of it. Despite this, the excellence of the performances and the charm of the ballets make it worth seeing - fast-forwarding through the star turns by Sutherland, Horne and Pavarotti could be an option.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
Same old same old
Does Russell Crowe still show on his passport 'Occupation-Actor'; if he does, he's playing games with the truth. He doesn't even possess the charm necessary to overcome his lack of talent and when he tries to play the sympathetic captain it becomes farcical. This was just a repeat of every historical naval film ever made with all the requisite brutality included for those who get a frisson out of watching men brutalizing other men. It was so predictable every step of the way, I came away believing I should start my own career writing screen plays. The film lacked any modicum of suspense; the viewer could guess exactly what was going to happen next and what arrogance on the part of the producers/directors to think we wouldn't notice that, to leave room for a sequel, they didn't even bother to give the thing a proper ending.
A History of Violence (2005)
Dreadful rubbish
Poor acting, shoddy and barely believable plot line, pointless scenes which bear no relation to the plot and which drag on forever and of course the usual totally gratuitous sex. When will film makers realize that porn fans have their own genre and those of us who experience really excellent sex ourselves aren't interested in watching other people do it badly? Any film which requires fast forwarding just to get past the really tiresome bits is not worth watching and was not worth making; pick something else is my advice - don't waste time and money on this one. Viggo fans should be very disappointed that he's gone downhill so soon.
The Libertine (2004)
Unparalleled in the history of film
Move over Olivier and all others with any pretensions to being the greatest actor ever. Depp is IT as of "The Libertine". You'll never see another movie this brilliant unless Depp manages to outdo himself which I suspect he will! There was not a sound, not a rustle, not a cough, not a movement in the theatre from the first scene to the last.
If you are a narrow-minded, illiberal, prude - stay away; you'll almost certainly find plenty to offend you. However, if you are the adult, sophisticated, possessor of a sense of hum our, no need to worry that the film goes beyond the limits even you find tolerable. It edges around pornography in the most elegant, mature way and never steps over the bounds into smut.
Lovers of British comedy will recognize some familiar faces perfectly cast who bring their own particular comedic talents with them.
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
The point is.........
It's surprising so many people have completely missed the point of this film; which is how a gay man - Jack Twist - seduces a man who may never, otherwise, have known he might be gay. Ennis was already engaged when the film started and did go ahead with his wedding and married life as the hard-working father supporting his wife and two children. Ennis married, as planned, for love; Jack eventually married for money after he was himself seduced and forced into marriage as the result of a pregnancy. It was obvious that Ennis could have valued Jack as a friend without the sexual aspect of their relationship. Jack couldn't - so all of their meetings became primarily sexual. Ennis never tried to solicit another gay in the times between his meetings with Jack - Jack did so repeatedly and it was Jack who couldn't bear to be separated; Ennis never goes to Jack - Jack always comes to Ennis. This is not a gay romance; it is a picture of how a dominant gay behaved and ultimately left his conquest alive but unable to function either as a straight man or as a gay without Jack as his sexual companion. Jack, it is suggested, died for his overt sexuality; Ennis survived because he was not overtly gay - the only person who knew, his wife, loved him enough not to betray him. This was 1963 when to be homosexual was much more dangerous than it is today.
Chicago (2002)
Brilliant!
I have not previously thought Catherine Zeta-Jones possessed of much talent; I had found her performances wooden. However, the performance she gives in Chicago indicates that type of movie is her forte. Her singing and dancing were precisly what was needed in the role and I thought she outshone Reneee, whose acting ability is unquestioned, by a mile. Mister Cellophane is a haunting song, one that stays in one's head for days on end and All That Jazz is full of verve. I rate this movie as definitely one of the best to come along for a long time - we all need more fun and entertainment, in its purest sense, in this sad old world and Chicago is the greatest fun. I plan to buy the DVD the minute it arrives on the shelves. If you need a lift, see Chicago!
Heaven's Gate (1980)
You'll be surprised at the end to find it was only a movie and you weren't really there - that's film-making at its best and this one does it
This is a film for people who love beauty and who think romance still matters; those who don't will get nothing from it and had best stay away. At first some scenes may feel over-long but later, the long scenes settle into a rhythm; the points of the film are made by letting some scenes continue for as long as they would in reality. The scenes of nudity, sex and cruelty are precise without being self-indulgent; at no time is the viewer made to feel revulsion at the style of the portrayal even when the material is shocking. Criticisms about the use of sepia, the smokiness/dustiness of some scenes and the fuzzy dialogue are made by those who need every "t" crossed and "i" dotted. One doesn't need to hear every word to understand who is who and where the plot is going. I thought it one of the most beautiful films I have seen and would happily have watched a further two or three hours of the same; I hope someone in the industry will have the intelligence to release it on DVD.
Updated - and now it is on DVD and I am able to watch it whenever I like. Having just done so once more, I repeat - some scenes are so beautifully lit and photographed they are a joy just to look at - never mind what's going on - like fine paintings. This film, in my view, shows ordinary people enjoying simple entertainments like roller-skating and dancing - as a relief from their hard-working daily lives and it shows - what we all know to be true - that those who already have more than they need and who have never been taught to enjoy simple, joyful pleasures, are, as ever, determined to deprive those who have little enough of the little they do have. It would be a greater service to the film industry and those film goers who look- mostly in vain - for excellence in film, if critics, instead of constantly bleating on about how this film nearly bankrupted the studio, encouraged, instead, more studios to make more films of this fine calibre. The relevance of this film to modern life is extraordinary. As the rules that protect the profits of the music and film industries are dusted off and sharpened, we see once again the greedy determination of the rich that ordinary people should never, ever, enjoy themselves at the expense of the bottom line.