Change Your Image
kentuckyblackbird
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
On the Rocks (1975)
Conflict Setting
I thoroughly enjoyed the series and agree with the above comments. I only want to add that the series ended probably because of the setting. People don't want to be identified with convicted criminals. However, I could see through that. This series, overall, was hilarious and I don't remember any character being miscast. Great comedy, great acting, great writing, uncomfortable setting. My favorite episode had to do with writing love letters. The lead character, Fuentes, was the letter writer to the spouses and girlfriends of the other inmates. He rented out his services for a small fee. I would love to be able to see all the episodes again. The stories depicted the inmates as just ordinary human beings who made mistakes and ended up in prison. The prevailing thoughts of many in that time period was that all incarcerated criminals were evil human beings who are a threat to society. The series portrayed them as a lot more gentle inside. It would be safe to say that if a new series debuted today it would be shot down right away. The quality of the program can be confirmed by the many actors who moved on to become household names in comedy and drama. Many of the actors are still active in 2010, or they are still available though in an advanced age. Hopefully though someone can bridge the gap and give us this type of humor again.
Gladiator (2000)
worth another look
Everyone seems to have an affinity for this film. Maybe I prejudged it and did not go in with an open, or even a slanted mind. I look at the background images on the screen as much as I look at the main characters in the foreground. The cinema was impressive as well as the timing from scene to scene. Maybe, just maybe, I missed something important in this film, prompting me to give it a negative critique. However, I will never change my opinion of the impossible story line. Clearly it is just Hollywood. Joaquin Phoenix was great as always and the military uniforms and other garb of the era were well done. Thanks, people. I will view the movie again........
Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005)
10 on a scale of 1-10 sometimes, 2-3 other times.
There are 3 reasons that I loved this movie, 1 reason that it was OK, and 2 reasons that I would watch it again.
The following are the three reasons that I would watch it again: 1. Kimberley Elise 2. Kimberley Elise 3. Kimberley Elise
The 1 reason that it was OK?
Most movies about persons of color are loaded with street wise persons who cannot grasp the English language with construction equipment. They portray idiocy, obscenities and disrespect as the preferred image, especially for black persons. This movie, with some exceptions for the sake of comedy, portrayed the lead characters as honest and true persons with genuine feelings, whether you can relate to those feelings, or not. Even the hard-nosed and abusive husband exhibited those feelings near the end of the movie. For this reason I consider this a good movie.' The plot was not the most original one and neither was the denouement but, it worked!.
The 2 reasons that I would watch it again?
1.-Kimberly Elise! She is a woman of stunning beauty matched perfectly and on level with her acting ability. The best actors actually 'become' the character that they are playing, Kimberley is in that category. When she pleaded for the third and final time, "I love you! -ask me again!" I actually stood up to hear the reply. Her voice and mannerisms were deep but not overdone. She was superb!
2. Another area that impressed me was the jazz nightclub and the beautiful and appropriate love song by the songstress. This movie had it's highs and it's lows, but overall it was truly worth seeing.
Sole nudo (1984)
Enjoyable
I liked this movie. As many commenter's have already brought out, the movie is just a little slow. Also, the sights and sounds of Rio could have been a little more prominent in the movie. Much of the movie scenes was indoors. The girls performing in the memorable samba scenes were excellent, however, not long enough. Much more of the carnival (carnaval) scene should have been added to the movie. I will still rent this movie occasionally (despite the old African religious scenes). All of the characters in the story were believable, which is essential in any movie. It got kind of 'corny' when Regina stopped the music during the performance of the musical, and made her statement about 'people forgetting how to love', but I forgave her due to the rest of her performance. I will watch it again.
The War of the Worlds (1953)
Special Movie
I keep reading comments over and over about this movie being excellent. Well, they are all wrong! This movie is well above excellent. From it's plot and human situations (there are people in the Spielberg movie that are creepier than the aliens) to the special effects (the meteors and ships in threes) this movie has it 'all over' anything ever made. And, how about the people in the small town near where Doctor Forrester was fishing, they are all likable. The movement of the ships, the timing of their advances, the use of the two types of weapons on the ships, all set up the suspense and the ensuing battles perfectly. To this day I am still in love with those ships, despite the fact that they were war machines. Every year I watch this 1953 version and every year I appreciate it more. Also, it seems current movies are built around a dysfunctional family or a 'mentally/emotionally struggling' lead character. I enjoyed the 'light' love story in this early version. Somebody please, make us good movies again!
War of the Worlds (2005)
just above putrid
I was elated when it was announced that Spielberg was presenting this remake of one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all times. I was extremely disappointed in the final result. The story line was only so-so and the main character would have been more acceptable with Tim Robins in the lead. I felt that the special effects were vintage Spielberg and done very well, especially the creatures themselves. Spielberg failed in this effort because he wanted to do too many 'new' things instead of improving, modernizing, and building on the old situations and personalities. Also, there was no clear indication of where these creatures came from and how they got here. Per the movie, it could be speculated that their origin might be the early Earth. Also, this movie was very 'dark' and the obscenities made it impossible to enjoy this movie with your family and friends as with the earlier version. I must admit that I may be prejudiced as The 1953 version (I loved those ships and the conveyance meteors) is within my top five all time favorite movies. I give this movie a '2' out of a possible '10.'