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Reviews
About Last Night... (1986)
A darling movie
What a lovely film? What lovely chemistry between the two leads, Rob Lowe and Demi Moore? What lovely direction?
About Last Night based on David Mamet's play, Sexual Perversity In Chicago, is wonderfully translated into a screenplay by screenwriters Tim Kazurinsky and Denise DeClue.
Director, Edward Zwick takes it even further and gives us a very pleasant time watching this movie. He also elicits really good performances from his actors.
Heading the cast of accomplished actors are Rob Lowe, who is excellent; Demi Moore, who is also excellent and very appealing; James Belushi, who is funny being obnoxious and Elizabeth Perkins, who is always good and fun to watch.
Lowe and Moore seem to be made for each other as a match in this movie. I think I liked them both in this movie over their others.
I had a good time.
The Fugitive (1993)
Terrific action
This movie worked really well for me.
A doctor comes home and finds his wife dying and a one-armed man fleeing.
The doctor is accused of the murder and sentenced to death. He escapes and becomes a fugitive. The rest of the movie deals with a U.S. Marshall who chases him.
Andrew Davis directs with real vigor in this very exciting film adaptation of an old TV series. I never saw the series, but I understand that it was great too. based on characters by Roy Huggins and the story by David Twohy, the screenplay by Jeb Stuart and Twohy is fast paced without sacrificing character development.
The action sequences are great.
Harrison Ford, as the fugitive is excellent in his muted, reserved deliverance. Tommy Lee Jones is very good and fun to watch as the seasoned U.S. Marshall.
Gran Torino (2008)
A film I very much enjoyed
Clint Eastwood takes the directing reins and stars in this movie about widowed man who has also lost his children and who has a lot of prejudice. He starts to protect a gang member and becomes a target himself.
The actors are all good in this movie. Eastwood, as always, is stoic and real in a quiet way.
The fine screenplay, written by Nick Schenk, based on the equally fine story by Dave Johannson, gives a solid framework for which the director can tell his story.
Eastwood directs with sureness and very good pacing.
Dead Calm (1989)
A taut thriller
Wow, what they can do with very little sets!
And I mean it. Almost all of the movie takes place on a boat (and some sequences on another boat), but the filmmakers were able to pull off a taut thriller about a psycho who terrorizes a girl when the two are on the boat together.
Based on the novel by Charles Williams and screenplay by Terry Hayes this story is brought to the screen (or DVD in my case) with great skill by director, Phillip Noyce. Noyce obviously had a clear vision on how to build the suspense in this movie, never going for it all at once.
This apparently was what made Nicole Kidman famous to general audiences. Well, she did a very fine job.
Sam Neil plays her husband and he's always good. He always approaches his roles with a sense of intelligence.
Billy Zane is great as the psychopath.
The Conversation (1974)
Engrossing
Gene Hackman's character is asked to spy/record a couple's private conversation. Hackman is convinced that he is putting the young couple's lives at risk.
"The Conversation" is a a fascinating study on character.
Gene Hackman carries the film with honesty and intensity.
John Cazale was one of our most gifted actors, and he left s too early.
Allen Garfield is always true to his character and completely fun to watch.
The cinematography by Bill Butler fits right in with the lonely existence of our main character and also the paranoia that ensues. David Shire's music as well as the production design by Dean Tavoularis enhance that.
The director, Francis Ford Coppola, expresses himself like never before. The Godfather movies are classics and great works of art (1 and 2) and this is not competing with them. But I get the feeling that "The Conversation" expresses more of the filmmaker's own feelings and point of view. So, in that sense, I feel that it is more artistic. Coppola has given us some great movies, this being my favorite. I look forward to him coming back with that fire in his belly to deliver another one.
Channels (2008)
Imaginative, inventive, a work of art.
Contributions to works of art in the medium of motion pictures have always been collaborative. Yet, at the helm of a project, navigating all of the many talents is the director, who is attributed with having the vision to carry out and complete such a work. One often wonders if the completed work carries more of the writer's or the director's vision. Or in some cases the leading actor's.
In a situation where the writer, director, actor and co-editor (and producer) are embodied in one person, there is little doubt that the vision belongs to that individual. In rarer situations, such an individual chooses to express his/her original "voice" against the seductive pull of playing it safe or trying to be more commercial.
I discovered "Channels" to be such a rarity.
The voice belongs to writer, director, actor, Nat Christian, who engrosses the viewer with the story of a man who arrives at a crossroads where he must choose between what his logic and his heart are telling him simultaneously. As the writer/director, Christian focuses on the emotional subtext and visuals, and he does so with great artistry.
The talented director of photography, Michael Hardwick, helps carry out the vision with confidence. The romantic production design by Dolores Piazza expertly lends itself to the vision. Duane Condor creatively whips up Special Visual Effects, which are organic to the story. And, very moving, is the powerful score by Rossano Galante, a talent that I feel we'll be hearing about a lot.
The acting talent is outstanding. Kim Oja as the female lead is bewitching, with a natural honesty. In the comedic portions, she has a willingness to play, reminiscent of one of the ballsy actresses (Carole Lombard?) during Hollywood's heyday.
Nat Christian, in the lead role, is spontaneous and powerfully moving. A fascinating actor to watch, he acts with great economy, never hitting an untrue note. His acting choices are unconventional and seem to be derived from the core in the writing.
John Kassir, a gifted performer, is wonderful to watch as a self-serving talent agent.
Taylor Negron resists going for the easy laughs and is very touching.
Joan Van Ark allows her vulnerability to seep through as a tough TV executive (and she looks great).
Ed Asner, a true artist, convincingly walks the fine line of being a tough guy and humorous at the same time.
Some of the supporting roles: Chloe Hunter is perfect as a an actress who plays small roles. Gil Glaskow is honest and appealing. Richard Partlow plays it convincingly tough and believable as a television network executive. Ellyn Lindsay and Herman Poppe are very funny as a late night comedy soap opera couple.
I think of other movies such as Wings of Desire (Wim Wnders), The Conversation Francis Ford Coppola), Midnight Cowboy (John Schlesinger) and many others where the one strong common denominator is that an artist's voice is expressed. Channels allowed me an experience, which I thought of long after the movie was over.
Mamma Mia! (2008)
Lots of foot tapping
Screenwriter: Catherine Johnson and Director, Phyllida Lloyd bring us this quirky musical.
With a super cast - Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried and Colin Firth, who infuse Mamma Mia! with energy and zeal, Mama Mia may not be for everyone, but ff you dig ABBA and if you want to tap your foot a lot, then go and see Mama Mia. It is loud and in-your-face.
We're seeing normally non-musical actors bursting into song and dance. It's just us. Meryl Streep has never seemed to be having so much fun as she does here. Brosnan, Firth, and Skarsgard also clearly relish the chance to do something they haven't done before. Amanda Seyfried. has always shown the kind of spark that suggests a star in the making. This is undoubtedly a breakthrough performance, as she brings charm, sweetness, and charisma to the role of Sophie.
I tapped my foot a lot.