I just watched And Justice For All for the first time since its theatrical release. I liked it very much back in 1979, but it never felt like an overall success. The acting is terrific, of course, with Pacino carrying the main load, and some great support by Jack Warden, John Forsythe,and Jeffrey Tambor. With a better score this could have been a 'great' movie. I usually like Dave Grusin music, but this soundtrack seemed out of place and more suited to a light-hearted TV movie. I do think it was a very bad choice indeed. Still, pretty enjoyable movie!
Reviews
4 Reviews
The Fury
(1978)
One of De Palma's best
8 February 2017
Warning: Spoilers
De Palma movies do not hold up well in my opinion. On first viewings I loved Carrie, Obsession, Sisters, Dressed to Kill, and The Untouchables, but so many years later, none of them hold up. I still hold dear Sisters and Obsession, just because they are fun. But De Palma's use of slow motion is soooo overdone, in most of these movies, that I'm surprised he was ever revered for it. I hated Scarface from the beginning, and Body Double and Raising Cain, as well, so I stopped viewing his later films. The Fury is the exception to all of these problems. Maybe because it doesn't pretend to be more than it is. It just works and it works very, very well. Despite an awful performance by Andrew Stevens. In fact, that awfulness actually works for the character. Kirk Douglas though, is just terrific. And the soundtrack is a great one by John Williams. And for those who have read some of the other reviews here and don't wish to be misled. Now comes the spoiler: the head does not blow up. The body does. The head remains intact. All the way up. And all the way back down. And so will your sense of fun!
Manchester by the Sea
(2016)
I loved this movie and Casey Affleck was GREAT!
22 December 2016
Terrific movie! Great Acting! Casey Affleck was simply at his best with a performance that has to rank as one of the top performances of the year! All of that character's pain came straight through into the audience. It was amazing, but I really expected it after The Killer Inside Me (which was also a great movie with Affleck's overlooked performance as the psycho sheriff). Michelle Williams was terrific, as well. And for the first time, for me, Kyle Chandler really came through with a winning performance of his own. And while I'm at it, Lucas Hedge is an actor to watch out for. Pretty fine work all around. I really wanted to rave about the acting here, and not give away any key points of the plot. The movie itself is quite moving and ultimately very devastating. I loved it.
Nocturnal Animals
(2016)
Extremely disappointing!
22 December 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Unfortunately, Nocturnal Animals was completely unbelievable right from the beginning, with dialog that seemed written by a machine. Given the 'novel' idea, that might have been excused, but all the dialog in the supposed 'real world' was just as bad. The only actor able to shine through this pretentious crap was Michael Shannon, but after a time his character just disappeared from the story. And what was Michael Sheen doing in this movie? And the nude fat dancers? It really added up to nothing. And oh my goodness, what a payback for leaving a man and aborting his child: He got her to go to a dinner meeting AND DIDN'T SHOW UP! Wow! Now that's payback in a BIG WAY! Sorry, but this exercise in audience manipulation was a real disappointment after A Single Man.
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