gallagherkellie-51086 Reviews

The Color Purple (2023)

Sisterhood

[10/10 · 6 February 2024]

It's hard to remake a film and maybe it helped that they did so based on a musical. I don't think this takes anything away from the original but explores some things not fully addressed in the original .I like that it expanded on aspect that were brushed over before.

Great performances abound . Fantasia Barrino ,Taraji P. Henson .Danielle Brooks .Colman Domingo ,Halle Bailey . ,H. E. R to mention just a few give the most astounding performances .

I don't think the musical approach takes away the harsher side and the sisterhood which is be center of the story remains beautifully intact. It's worth your time.

Barbie (I) (2023)

The Movie I didn't know I needed.

[9/10 · 5 February 2024]

Surpassed all expectations . I honestly wasn't sure it could live up to the hype films seldom do even if they are good.

Ryan Gosling may be the most versatile actor around. Margot Robbie got the tome just right .

Greta Gerwig draws ideas from everywhere and cleverly pulls off the impossible .

Barbie as a film makes the point than we are all more than we appear to be on the surface but also explores the expectations placed on us and the ones we have for ourselves and others.

Barbie is neither too serious nor all fluff but it's a fun movie that also brings up the issues of identity and the power structure .Well worthy checking out.

Poor Things (2023)

Maybe Yorgos Lanthimos isn't for me

[1/10 · 5 February 2024]

He has his own style that's for sure but it's not one I care for .

A talented cast to be sure but they don't make the film work for me. It's polarizing and maybe that's the point.

I can't help but think people wouldn't be so drawn to it if it was more realistic and less of a fantasy . It's not a realistic way a woman in sex work would be treated nor would they skate through most of the things Bella does they certainly wouldn't get wealthy off it . Going back to a husband that basically imprisoned and getting out unscathed and getting revenge ? This movie is a complete fantasy .The graphic sex for men and the revenge for women.

The Apartment (1960)

Superb !

[10/10 · 18 July 2023]

There has never been anyone quite like Jack Lemmon .He was the perfect actor that came along at the right time with more range I believe than he sometimes got credit for .I also believe he has influenced more actors over the decades than is generally acknowledged .I guess it could be because he was unique but in an every man kind of way and no one had the knack for mannerisms quite like Lemmon and it never seems like too much. It many ways it all this was put to it's best use in The Apartment.

Shirley MacLaine was and is also something of a specialized actress especially early on in her career. The Apartment would also show of her talent like few other roles would so perfectly.

The plot is interesting both Lemmon's C. C. Baxter and MacLaine's Fran Kublik are looking for what they think they want only to discover it's not really all they thought it would be .They find each other in the process in one of the most unexpected love stories in cinema history.

Baxter and Kublik are flawed and lonely which honestly is what ultimately makes them a perfect match .The script is sharp ,witty ,sad and very spot on about the best and worst of human nature .We all get caught up in to some degree .The beauty of it is our two main characters rescue themselves and each other .

The Apartment may be the best movie that ever won best picture .If you haven't seen it yet give it a try if you have it's one you can always find something new to love about it.

Amélie (2001)

the simple and small things matter

[10/10 · 16 July 2023]

Amelie is a delightful character in a delightful film . Amelie herself is a bit lonely but due to an unexpected big even she makes a surprising discovery that sets her on a path that helps the people around her in small but important ways . She also finds some happiness for herself. She finds a kindred spirit who in a different way also had a lonely childhood.

Helping others gives her joy but she doesn't broadcast it it's enough that she helped make a difference.

Amelie has a unique charm in that it's not always apparent to the people around her and that's a lot like life we take people for granted or don't know always what makes them special .

Amelie as a film is a stunningly beautiful film colorful and a bit in it's own world but not in a complete fantasy way it's makes clear we are in the real world and the disconnect between our dreams and reality feels very real.

The main thing about the film and the character is that it's the simple and small things in life that matter and makes up a big part of our lives but they can also be the hardest to find through our own shortcoming and misunderstandings or looking for the big things to fulfil us . This is a special movie that gives us all the idea we can make a difference and it can be in small ways.

Funny Girl (1968)

The show must go on

[7/10 · 15 July 2023]

Yes it's a highly fictionalized account of Fanny Brice and the movie is too long but it's a tour de force by Barbra Streisand and worth the time . The first part is Fanny trying to get her big break and interesting enough she gets it not only once but twice rather quickly .Fanny rises to the top so quickly she dramatically announces she hasn't suffered enough! She is even able to get her way with the great Ziegfield! Enter Nick a charmer who finds Fanny a breath of fresh air ,funny and interesting. They fall in love quickly but the moments of courtship are probably the least interesting parts of the story except when it takes place in Fanny's neighborhood.

The musical numbers are for the ages and still enjoyed today. Barbra is nothing short of brilliant in not only the musical numbers but in the more comedic moments as well as the emotionally charged ones and the moments of heartbreak. Fanny continues her success in her career along with marriage and motherhood having their daughter . Nick however struggles to match her success he's a gambler and goes high but ends up owing everyone .Fanny is the only one who seems oblivious her mother is the one who tells her to love Nick less and help him more. She does help but it backfires in a spectacular way . It's only at the end Fanny sees things a bit more clearly and knows she has to do what she was born to do and the show must go on without Nick. While the second half is a bit long and what many complain about I actually found that it helps understand what does and doesn't work about Fanny and Nick and that makes the ending even more poignant .

Irma la Douce (1963)

Underrated gem

[7/10 · 12 June 2023]

Billy Wilder reunited with Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine in this farce about an honest policeman or a recently fired one trying to keep streetwalker Irma la Douce off the street until he can marry her and runs himself ragged in the process. In the end Nestor (Lemmon) gets everything he wants and rather quickly once it's all set in motion .In the middle a lot happens . Irma actually has no qualms about her profession as a streetwalker but Nestor is determined to change that. Nestor gains a buddy known as Moustache the owner of the local hangout .Moustache it seems can do a little bit of everything .The one thing he isn't so good at causes some temporary trouble for Nestor but , Moustache helps him out there too. And looks after Irma as well. The movies does run long and could have had a tighter running time. Overall though the Lemmon/Maclaine chemistry is still there and the script plays to the strengths of each . The third character that makes this movie memorable is of course Moustache played superbly by Lou Jacobi .Irma la Douce is not quite on the level of The Apartment but is still enjoyable.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show: 1040 or Fight (1970) Season 1, Episode 11

Rare view of a romantic episode

[8/10 · 7 June 2023]

I am as a rule not fond of dating episodes on this show. I actually struggle with them on many tv series The Big Bang Theory being a rare exception. I do like this one though a lot. Part of it is it isn't just a dating episode Mary is being audited .The auditor in question is played by Paul Sand a very likable actor that generally played likable ,slightly quirky characters. He's an honest and fair person and likes Mary and while giving her no breaks he is careful to make sure he does a good job and not go for or against Mary. In the end she owes very little and they both admit they are fond of each other and will go on a real date not the business lunch where he in a slightly clumsy way shows her he likes her.

A sweet funny episode. I really wish he had been the one for Mary he was the best one for her in my humble opinion. They were a good match.

Tár (2022)

Odd

[1/10 · 7 June 2023]

For a film that takes forever it feels like it's rushed at the end . The first two hours are slow and laborious . There is not much there for you if you are not interested in Cate Blanchett's character Lydia Tar and I can't help but wonder what Tilda Swinton or Olivia Colman could have done with this. Maybe nothing as the script and direction offer no inspiration or guidance . Tar herself is indifferent to most and has no qualms about ruining others unfortunately none of her victims are explored this is a vanity piece about Lydia Tar. When she falls she falls fast and that part of the film is quite choppy ,uneven and just plain weird. We see her in some unknown place they don't explain and then we don't even know what happens to her wife and daughter as the apartment they shared is being sold. We see her reaction to the apartment but not her family? She ends up far away and continuing her career but with none of the fawning and prestige. The script in particular makes little sense too spend two hours slowly laying things out but rushing the last nearly forty minutes .This character they have deemed so important that they give us two hours to see how things are done on her terms gets a rushed and uneven ending. Where was she staying after attacking a member of her orchestra ?What did happen to her wife and daughter? It feels like they tacked on an ending because the film was already running long. The script is painstaking in places but also sloppy .I can't imagine how this script got a green light. The one thing it they did get right was they cinematography which is very good but not enough to find this worthy of all the praise and acclaim .

The Help (2011)

Powerful performances.

[8/10 · 6 June 2023]

I won't go into much detail on the plot as it's well covered here . The Help has been both praised and criticized .The performances deserve all the praise the storytelling deserves more scrutiny. One of the ugliest parts of our history is told in a comfort food way . We can feel good about it at the end . I understand the desire even the need for that but it's history that has a harsher reality than the tone in The Help. That story needs to be told too.

The performances though are incredible. Viola Davis has said she regrets making the film but loves the friendships that came from the experience . Ms. Davis gives a quietly powerful performance with a weariness and sadness that you can always feel. The weight of all her troubles and loss are always there but she soldiers on and even has her say within the pages and outside of them.

Bryce Dallas Howard playing the villain of the movies plays Hilly or Two Slice Hilly to the hilt yet manages to not enter cartoon territory .

Emma Stone probably has the least interesting part as Skeeter but she is the vessel of the story . Allison Janney plays Skeeter's mother and she actually has an arc of her own coming to grips with her own shortcomings and supporting her daughter against Hilly in one of the highlights of the movie.

In smaller roles Cicely Tyson brings great dignity and Sissy Spacek gives a more lighthearted performance as the kind and good humored mother of nasty Hilly and feels Hilly got her just desserts !

My final comments are saved for Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain as they are my favorite part of the movie. Chastain as Celia plays a very different kind of southern woman and hires Minny(Spencer) and in truth they need and help each other. Many times I have watched and mainly paid attention to their scenes .Celia won't be accepted by the people she thinks she needs but as Minny tells her Johnny Foote married her and he wasn't wrong. Johnny also proves to be one of the more worthy characters. Minny and Celia get stronger with the support they give each other it's .Minny is able with that and the money from the book Skeeter gets published is able to provide for her children and leave her abusive husband. Celia is able to let people accept her or not she doesn't need them and won't worry about it.

Is it too simple and clean not gritty enough ? Yes but it still highlights inequities .

Cabaret (1972)

A masterpiece!

[10/10 · 6 June 2023]

The more I watch this film the more I love it. I remember as a kid finding it kind of scary. I mean Joel Grey's character alone could scare a kid and that was just in brief clips! That said this film has it all superbly written , masterfully directed ,brilliant performances and production and cinematography second to none. Liza Minnelli gets the perfect role for her talent and the supporting cast is exceptional especially Joel Grey and a small role by Marissa Bernson . I am making a special point of mentioning Marisa because on rewatching the film a couple of days ago I was struck by her character ( Natalia) interacting with Sally Bowels (Minnelli ) they couldn't be more different. Sally is free spirted ,uninhibited by the mores while Natalia is demure and proper ,conventional .Their one and only one to one conversation they are very respectful and not judgmental of each other. Her romance with Fritz one of Brian's students(he tutors Fritz and Natalia in English) faces a barrier that will prove to be nonexistent . Happily they work it out.

The film shows the rise of the Nazi party in Berlin in the early 1930's everyone is affected by it sooner or later except it seems Sally This however is not to be critical of Sally as it simply fits her personality and outlook. I wish it had affected her more but it is keeping with her character.

There is humor and poignancy in her friendship and maybe something else with her relationship with Brian especially when Maxamillian is here and then gone. Things get complicated but Sally makes a choice for herself and them because she knows herself and knows what needs to be .One of the most amusing parts is when Sally realizes Maxamillian has been sleeping not only with her but Brian as well.

Joel Grey as the Marster of ceremonies keeps feeding us information or observations but doing it with mirth and detachment and an unsettling smile.

The musical numbers stay with you long after the film is over .The title of the film of the highlight number could easily be Sally's anthem .

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

A Breath of Fresh Air

[10/10 · 5 June 2023]

Why movies are made to touch us in some way and entertain us and maybe make us feel less alone. The concept behind the film is fascinating but it's the execution that ultimately matters .There was a hundred way this could fail and maybe two that it could succeed .The Daniels and the cast and crew the assembled nailed the landing and gave us the most incredible experience. They found the heart and gave us an adventure .

Winning seven Oscars Best Actress for one of the best and most original wins for the category .Michelle Yeoh gives a performance that demands much from her and she delivers . Supporting Oscar wins along with wins in editing original screenplay and best directing and picture are much deserved. The Academy continues to expand on what is considered the finest achievements in film. But even without that this is one of the all time standouts .A mix of humor, adventure fantasy and just enough family drama. It's well worth your time.