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Reviews
The Mentalist (2008)
Simon Baker at his best.
I really enjoyed the pilot episode of this fast-paced show. The acting is very good; actually the lead actor, Simon Baker, is great. He is mesmerizing whenever he's in a scene. The premise is that Patrick Jane (Baker) is a former fake psychic whose family was murdered by a serial killer, Red Jack. Partically as atonement for having pretended to have psychic abilities, Jane is now on the side of the good guys. He is often called upon to help police solve crimes, not with any psychic abilities, but with his unusual and highly attuned powers of observation. The serial killer,Red Jack, is still on the loose several years later. In the pilot, another Red-Jack-like murder has just taken place. Only Jane realizes that the killer is a copycat and not the real Red Jack. Through his uncanny abilities and keen sense of observation and reading people, Jane is able to identify the real killer. The show has a great supporting cast and is smartly directed and shot. But the real pull and the big star is Simon Baker. He is simply great as the mentalist. He shows just the right amount of angst and humanity that has you pulling for him and feeling the pain and sorrow of his family's death, even though it occurred 5 years ago. He carries this show on his very capable shoulders.
Comanche Moon (2008)
I Am Really Enjoying It
This mini series just gets better and better with each night. Sunday was good but Tuesday night was even better. The two leads, Karl Urban and Steve Zahn are excellent. So is a lot of the supporting cast.
Tuesday night had lots of action and some pretty grisly scenes, but nothing that most good westerns don't have. It kept me riveted.
The only actress that I don't like is the woman playing Inez just don't get her character at all. Val Kilmer's performance is a little over the top too.
Everyone other performance rings true.
Can't wait to see the final installment tonight.
Un minuto per pregare, un istante per morire (1967)
I Enjoyed It!
I caught this for the first time a few nights ago on television. I expected to only tune in for a few minutes, but found myself intrigued by the movie. I ended up watching it all and found it surprisingly compelling. The acting by the three American leads was quite good, especially that of Alex Cord. He plays a gunslinger with quite a degree of vulnerability. Very different from how most of them are portrayed in westerns. He ended up in several situations where he was at the mercy of the bounty hunters. The final shootout between the three leads and the bad guys was very good, as was the scene where the doctor digs a bullet out of Clay McCord. Somewhat gruesome, but realistic. I must admit that, despite my initial misgivings at watching a "spaghetti western", I ended up enjoying this film quite a bit. I would recommend it to anyone who likes westerns.
3:10 to Yuma (2007)
Don't Miss This Movie
It's one of the best westerns and best all-around movies I've seen in a long time. That's largely due to the outstanding performances by the cast, ably led by the alpha male, bad guy, Russell Crowe. His protagonist is Christian Bale who turns in a nuanced performance as the down-on-his luck rancher. The scenes between these two men are riveting and a display of acting at its best. The supporting cast are all wonderful and in particular, Ben Foster, Fonda and Logan Lerman as Bale's oldest son.
The action is virtually non-stop which makes for a compelling, exciting story. But what really drew me in were the stellar performances, particularly that of Crowe. He is the bad guy you actually might end up rooting for. He goes from charming to deadly and back again all in the blink of an eye. He carries the film on his very able shoulders, but Bale gives him a good run for his money in the acting department.
This is one movie that any lover of westerns or anyone simply longing for a good movie with good acting will not want to miss. The two hours will go by in the blink of an eye and you'll be wishing there was more.
Dances with Wolves (1990)
Movie Was Good; Costner's Acting Was Not
Overall, the movie was very good. However, what marred it for me was Costner's performance. I did not find him believable in the role of a Cavalry officer. To me, he always seemed to be Kevin Costner, a 20th centrry actor, not Lt. Dunbar.
Another aspect that was hard to swallow was the white woman's accent and attempts to speak English. She really hasn't spoken it since she was a child of 4 or 5, yet it all comes back to her fairly quickly, when she is asked to communicate with Dunbar. It is a major stretch to believe she could so easily begin to converse in English after all of this time. Also, her accent was very strange and very annoying.
All of the other actors were top-notch, as was the cinematography and just about everything else about this movie.
However, since Costner's role was the most important one and key to the whole story, his performance cast a pall on the movie for me.