jmg38 Reviews

The Poison Tree (2012)

Computer Says "LIAR"

[1/10 · 22 May 2021]

To borrow from the 'Computer says NO' sketch on "Little Britain", it is apt that the lead character's computer has the message "LIAR" during one of the many attempts at a tension-filled scene in this thin miniseries. The effort to lay the foundation for future plot twists, all based on lies that are told by all the characters, is so transparent that they soon give away all the twists before they are revealed.

That is, everyone but Alice is shown to be lying, and she is the only innocent victim in the entire series. These spoilers only ruin the first part of the first episode, as you, too, will figure everything out in short order, including the fact that no one but Alice is truly a protagonist in this 90 minutes of lies.

Max lied about cheating on his wife, resulting in her suicide. Lenny and Karen lied about the final eviction notice, then Lenny lied about having negotiated a solution to the eviction. Rex, Biba and Karen lied that it was he, not Biba, who killed Max and Lenny, Karen lies (by omission) to Rex, and later to Alice, saying that Alice is "their" baby. Rex and Karen lie to Alice (a lie that Karen refuses to allow Rex to put straight) about what the charges were that sent him to prison.

All these lies, and It takes nothing to then deduce that Biba is not really dead, and therefore must be the mysterious person threatening Karen throughout the miniseries.

Three people already dead, so why not have Karen the serial-liar, already as unsympathetic as the other liars, murder Biba and reap the rewards of everyone's lying and killing?

The Boys of Paul Street (1968)

Lingers for Decades

[8/10 · 5 November 2007]

Like many of the other commentators, I saw this (once only!) when roughly the same age as the boys in the movie. 30+ years later I still find myself thinking about it from time to time. The themes of friendship, loyalty and commitment should be equally appealing to an adult viewer.

I seem to recall the subtitle "The War" appearing on the screen all those years ago. Maybe it is a false memory, driven by the film's notion of "the good us" vs "the evil them" - which is the undercurrent of the book & movie, and is usually the undercurrent of most actual wars. Even as a kid you could understand the not so subtle message that the movie was delivering.

The original 1906 book was written by Hungarian Ferenc Molnár during the long spiral of European politics into WWI. The book is still a standard read in many European grade schools. It was also voted the second favourite book in Hungary in 2005.

This movie, about Hungarian kids, was filmed in Finland. I wonder if the language might be the reason for this film not being available on DVD in an English version. Quite unfortunate, as this was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film - losing to the Russian 8 hour version of War and Peace (Voyna i Mir).

Waking the Dead (2000)

Not Political. Not Supernatural. Not Love. Just Lousy.

[3/10 · 3 July 2004]

As you watch "Waking the Dead", you can tell that it is based on a novel. There are many hints of a well developed love/supernatural story that includes the political movement in the early 1970's, the greed of the early 1980's, the heartfelt desire by Connelly's character to help improve the world, the heartfelt desire by Crudup's character to help improve America.

But that is all you get... hints. The movie tries to cram too much into 105 minutes, and ends up giving us nothing. You never come to truly feel the passion of the characters for each other nor for their causes. The acting, the editing, and the too-loud background music leave much to be desired.

I have not read the book, but the hints of a deeper story makes me think that this might have done better as a slightly longer 2-part TV movie. Any time you do NOT read the original book, but are still left thinking "the book was better", then you know that the film has really missed its mark.

The Spell (1977 TV Movie)

Thank Goodness for Telekinesis

[7/10 · 5 April 2004]

Every teenager has dreamt of having the mental power to smite their enemies. In the late 1970's, Hollywood gave that power to a select few. The made for TV production `The Spell' (1977) was a well done version of the theme, and fell between `Carrie' (1976) and `The Fury' (1978) in both chronology and style. `The Spell' came closest to the altered reality that most of us envisioned when running this scenario in our own teenage mental movie house. No ultra-evil-parents or goody-two-shoes types (Carrie) and no spies and secret organizations (The Fury).

Instead, `The Spell' presents the story of a regular out of place teenager in a regular unfair world. She finds that she suddenly has telekinetic powers, and the revenge that most of us dreamed about becomes a reality for her. The pacing is a little choppy, but the heart of the story unfolds nicely. The world is still unfair, she just doesn't realize that it is now HER that is being unfair to those who don't have her secret power. The result is a ‘teenage telekinesis' movie that actually relies on character rather than special effects for its most important moments. While the parents in the other two movies were either nuts (Carrie) or non-existent (The Fury) the parents in this movie are loving people who are trying to provide some proper guidance to a daughter who just seems to be changing from a timid young girl into a smart-ass teenager. Hallmark moments were never like this

Bullitt (1968)

This One IS the Trendsetter

[10/10 · 13 March 2004]

This movie started the ball rolling for all future rogue cop movies. Reviewers complaining that "it's all been done" need to shake their head - it's all been done AFTER Bullit was released.

What is surprising is the way it incorporates many small true-to-life touches throughout the movie that do not normally make it onto the screen. (NOT SPOILERS) The quiet way McQueen keeps eating his sandwich despite a withering glare from Vaughn, the way the son of the police captain interrupts his Dad and Vaughn to say that Mom wants to get into the church, the way Bisset suddenly snaps out in fear and anger just like many people in relationships do. None of these make or break the movie - nor are they meant to - but their cumulative impact is refreshing.

Another (almost) true-to-life touch is the car chase - no dramatic music, no overly suspenseful camera work, just a flat out race between two bellowing muscle cars. They even left in the mistakes of missed corners and unplanned impacts with parked vehicles. This wasn't your perfect Hollywood car chase scene, this really was a couple of dumb a**es (the cop and the bad guy) getting caught up in the adrenaline of the moment and thinking that driving too fast would somehow solve their situation.

Simply watch this movie, and you will see how good it is. If, instead, you watch it expecting the biggest most dramatic most earth-shattering breakthrough movie of all time, you immediately destroy the entire concept and only YOU will be responsible for the disappointment.

Battlestar Galactica (1978)

Lowest Grade Sci-Fi

[1/10 · 20 January 2004]

This noisy aimless mess was an attempt to cash in on the popularity of Star Wars, released the previous year. Battlestar Galactica was barely able to hang on for one season despite the fertile ground and general acceptance for sci-fi that had been created by the Star Wars hit.

This 1978 Galactica, and all the other followup Galactica "movies" and series to come from it in the early 1980's, was poorly written and poorly developed. The final product was so revolting that they even managed to mangle the hackneyed character stereotypes and plot twists that were regularly used to fill out the majority of each week's episode.

While fans of the series heap praise on Lorne Greene, John Colicos (and Richard Hatch) for their fine effort, most seem to ignore the fact that these unlucky thespians were working with ridiculous scripts. One shudders to think how much worse the final on screen product would have been if everyone performed as poorly as Dirk Benedict, the intended 'lovable rogue' stereotype who instead came across as the 'obnoxious pain in the a**' stereotype.

The final product would have been better suited for Saturday mornings, but the expense of the leading edge special effects (for 1978) forced this to be a prime time offering.

Producer Glen Larson has an impressive track record for producing fun, technology-based fare, but Galactica was simply too weak on too many levels. Catch his Buck Rogers, early Knight Rider or Fall Guy for examples of how the genre CAN work without making you wish that the 'bad guys' would win so the series could end.

Cold Mountain (2003)

See it Now, Relive it Oscar Night

[10/10 · 3 January 2004]

Hats off to "janyeap" for the great review at this site. Be sure and read it. Here's a short summary of an initial Jan/04 reaction to the movie...

Very well crafted, very well acted, with subtle story telling and entrancing visuals (from vast beautiful mountain valleys to tiny sad bullet holes in the forehead).

The performance of a lifetime for each of Renee, Jude and Nicole - mostly because they've crossed to that special point where you never notice that the actor is, indeed, "performing". Natalie Portman and Philip Seymour Hoffman give fuller portrayals, in their few minutes on screen, than most actors give in an entire film. (nice turn from Gleeson as well)

Oscar nominations will abound - and expect one actor win on Oscar night.

Damnation Alley (1977)

Painful Memories

[1/10 · 18 June 2003]

How bad is it? 26 years later I STILL feel robbed for having paid to see this joke. Caught it on TV last night, and forced myself to "give it a second chance". Wrong move!! There is nothing redeeming about this movie - special effects are terrible, dialogue stinks, each turn of events is so implausible that you get mad at everyone involved.

SPOILER (not that it matters...) Final ridiculous turn - the entire world has been destroyed by nuclear war, but they find one area that wasn't targeted by a nuke and therefore is still a beautiful green sunny place, with no radiation and no nuclear winter and little children playing ball. Give me a break!

American Beauty (1999)

Depth of writing + depth of acting = layered movie

[10/10 · 2 October 1999]

This well written and well acted movie (upcoming nominations for screenplay, best actor and possibly best actress??) is a wonderful example of a multi-layered movie. Hours after leaving the theater you are still stumbling upon new layers - and amazed to realize that you ARE, in fact, still thinking about the movie.

In the first half hour, you believe that this is another pretentious indie-style film filled with too-obvious stereotypes. By the end of the movie, you are surprized at how real all the characters are, a mixture of stereotype and true life. Writer Alan Ball seems to realize that all of us can fit into a rough stereotype, but that there are very real limits to this.

You are well into the movie before you are AWARE of just how engrossed you are with the people and the story.

Way... Way Out (1966)

Many good laughs stand test of time, others were hilarious at the time

[9/10 · 24 April 1999]

Saw this as a teen first time it hit TV - and laughed nearly all the way. Many good lines that stand the test of time (you should hear what she wanted to do last night) as well as usual over-the-top performance from Lewis and (more so) from Shawn.

Some of the humour is based on the very REAL socio-political situation with the space race and the cold war, so younger viewers might not always "get it". Too bad. You should still get enough from the rest of the lines. Movie wasn't meant to be "camp" in original release, but should gain somewhat due to campy appearance from a late 90's perspective.

Rent it - have some laughs - and "soap (yourself) all over".