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mgs4real
Reviews
Sneaky Pete (2015)
Binge watched...then invited my friends over...
,,,, and binged watched the whole 10 episodes in one night all over again. It was great fun to have the advantage AND....to catch things I had not caught the first time. In fact, I had watched the first four episodes,,,binge watching, of course...and stopped, shook my head, and said,,,,what just happened here....what did I miss????? And started the series all over again. So in reality I personally binge watched Sneaky Pete nearly 2 1/2 times in about that many days. :o) My only regret was that my one friend had to go to work the next morning, it being Monday night, Memorial Day, and that we stayed up til 2 a.m. binge watching Sneaky Pete. But to my delight, she called me the next day,,,,having never "binge watched" anything before....and said to me, "So was that what we would consider binge-watching?" I answered yes, that it was. And she responded, THAT WAS AN AWESOME EXPERIENCE.
It might not have been nearly as good had it not been this gem of an Amazon original, Sneaky Pete. I enjoyed every every every minute,,,and I for one gave it a 10! Soooooooo good to see Giovanni Ribisi work his enigmatic actor-ial magic in a superior, significant role. I watched Sneaky Pete to begin with BECAUSE HE was in it. From the time I saw him in a 1996 film called Suburbia, with Steve Zahn, I never forgot Ribisi...or Zahn for that matter. Yes, Ribisi has a hefty body of work,,,but somehow,,,,I just have to say Sneaky Pete is a jewel in his crown....not only his, but Bryan Cranston's (did you not love when he began to spin one of his long, long stories...brilliant), and Margo Martindale's (if the lady doesn't get what she's after with one approach,,,she's bound and determined to find another and be dang sure that one will do the job), and Marin Ireland (just watch her closely sometimes - steal scenes with a roll of her eyes, or a gesture with her head, her mouth...I love this lady), & not to omit some of the other total notables, the compassionate Otto, Peter Gerety, Shane McRae - the perfectly cast baby-fat-face-man Taylor, and Sad Eyes/Nervous Smile Eddie - Michael Drayer, then Libe Barer, the precocious Carly, and who was that ridiculous Bail Bondsman across the street, also Katie wanna-do-right-but-still-cares-for-Pete - Virginia Kull, and Brendon, the Hulk-who-will-protect-his-family-or-kill-you-in-the-process - Brad William Henke, Det. Winslow - Michael O'Keefe oh my gosh I wanted to kill him myself...and don't think for a minute if I didn't mention a name/role I didn't notice and think,,,man this casting is spot on!
My grandson built a snowman during our recent heavy duty snowstorm, rather an odd phenomenon here in the Portland, Oregon and surrounding area....like 16 inches in some places,,,as did his 2nd grade buddy and school friend, Andy. He came home with a story that Andy cried cause his snowman was melting. My 7 yo grandson told his mom that he'd cry too if his snowman melted (I guess he maybe made a bigger snowman and it was lasting longer?) His mom said she understood. Then my grandson said, "Yeah, who doesn't love a good snowman?"
So on that note...I ask you....Who doesn't love Sneaky Pete?
Lucy (2014)
A 21st Century Version of The Incredible Shrinking Man
I had just graduated from high school - 1956 - when I saw the movie, The Incredible Shrinking Man. I will never forget the ending as he battles what he believes at the time is the last threat to his life, when he discovers - there is yet one more surprise the universe has waiting for him. I pondered it, dreamed about it, and have thought about it many times still, over the years. Yes, I am no longer young. But age and the experiences of years season you, prepare you, inspire you, and when you see a movie like "Lucy" - you remember. You may indeed live as long as I have,but in the meantime, take a moment and just read the following, even it you don't order the movie on your Netflix:
The Closing Monologue from the science fiction classic, The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957).
"I was continuing to shrink, to become... what? The infinitesimal? What was I? Still a human being? Or was I the man of the future? If there were other bursts of radiation, other clouds drifting across seas and continents, would other beings follow me into this vast new world? So close - the infinitesimal and the infinite. But suddenly, I knew they were really the two ends of the same concept. The unbelievably small and the unbelievably vast eventually meet - like the closing of a gigantic circle. I looked up, as if somehow I would grasp the heavens. The universe, worlds beyond number, God's silver tapestry spread across the night.
And in that moment, I knew the answer to the riddle of the infinite. I had thought in terms of man's own limited dimension. I had presumed upon nature. That existence begins and ends in man's conception, not nature's. And I felt my body dwindling, melting, becoming nothing. My fears melted away. And in their place came acceptance. All this vast majesty of creation, it had to mean something. And then I meant something, too. Yes, smaller than the smallest, I meant something, too.
To God, there is no zero. I still exist!"
Very Lucy Indeed !!
Crossing Lines (2013)
At last!
.....something for the grown-ups!!!! NBC shame on you for not playing this one up --- I might have missed it altogether but somehow I caught wind of Donald Sutherland and put it on my DVR!!!! I've only watched the first nine minutes so far and I'm captivated. William Fitchner --- so good in "Prison Break" --- a delight to see him on screen again --- and --- NBC --- if you will go LOOOK at the ratings on IMDb for Prison Break they are still at 8.5! This looks great...an ensemble cast of interesting sounding characters. (In that, not unlike Prison Break...some of the best acting EVER happened in that series (Robert Kneppner "T-Bag" to name another), while Wentworth Miller certainly was not hard to look at. In fact, if you really want to mix it up a bit, NBC, throw T-Bag and Wentworth a bone, and bring them on in some surprise roles on Crossing Lines (says she with a sardonic little grin).
Not everything has to be pablum for the kiddies. There are still some of us out here who want REAL TV....not REALITY TV!
Lie to Me (2009)
Something New Under The Sun
Conceptually original. Thank goodness. We so need some of that! I, too, like many others, have been a fan of Tim Roth for some time. But my love affair with Mr. Roth really began with another film he made, not necessarily Reservoir Dogs. For me, ever since I saw the little-known and ABSOLUTELY original film, now on my list of my 10 favs of all time - The Legend of 1900, I have loved this man, Tim Roth. (Kudos always also to Pruitt Taylor Vince for his compassionate companion portrayal of Max Tooney, the trumpet player.) Now I find he has a TV series. I have every show recorded, and watching them all. His character, Cal Lightman, is casual to a fault, focused to the minutia, and thoroughly entertaining. The show's concept reminded me of my own daughter, who would always say, "I can tell when someone's lying by their face." I let her know, "You need to check out 'Lie To Me.'"
Knowing (2009)
Well, Whaddayaknow.....
I find it particularly interesting that many of the folks who express how much they didn't like "Knowing" are pretty much anti-religion, anti-God, anti-Christian atheists. God help us that Hollywood dare come out with a secular film with Biblical overtones.
Like the Bible isn't drama, and not full of amazing stories, and those, oh definitely not worth telling. Right. It has nothing to do with future telling, father-son relationships, mystery, intrigue, family, love, trust, anger, indifference, jealousy, rage, suffering, beings from other-than-earth, angelic protectors, apocalyptic events,....nah, the Bible doesn't have any of those kinds of stories.
Please.
Where do you think Hollywood and writers-at-large get some of their ideas, anyway? Truth is, they've been floating around for over 6,000 years.
Go see "Knowing." It's a genuinely thought-provoking, comment-worthy, edge-of-your-seat-whoa!, even heart-touching, remarkably good film.
Bella (2006)
It took me a while to get to viewing this film...
I only now wish I had paid to see it in the theaters and supported it in a better way than waiting until it came out on DVD.
This is the kind of film I have been praying for.
If you did get to see it in the theater and view it again on DVD, please be sure and watch the special features. The heart and soul that went into the making of "Bella", the simple uncomplicated yet thoughtfully precise way the story is told, the occasional out-loud laugh you have - when Jose's father says "Whatever you say, my queen", as he backs down when mama goes to turn down the music because it is time to eat, and the other precious scene with Jose and Manny as they meet once again back at Manny's restaurant, the tender protectiveness Jose feels toward Nina, even before she tells him the real problem, and the growth in Jose as he is now presented somehow in his mind and heart with a way to atone for what happened in his own single moment that changed his life forever, so many many aspects in this film just plain "did it for me" that I cannot recommend it enough. I give it a "10".
Bella means "beautiful". It is.
30 Miles (2004)
Strange and wonderful little film.
Strange and wonderful little film. Two characters. A simple dialog. 99% of the film takes place in the front seat of an SUV. And yet this film had me from the first frame. I found myself watching every nuance of expression, listening to every word, seeking insights to the characters, as these two characters unfolded their lives, letting down their guards, little by little, until the final climactic unexpected moment. Sorry for those who didn't catch the beauty in this small tale. One of those little films I'd never heard of like "Rush Hour" with Danny Aiello and "Around The Bend" with Christopher Walken and Michael Caine, which I simply discovered on the walls of my local video store and which apparently didn't make it to the big screen on the west coast....."30 Miles" is definitely worth the see. I gave it a "10" more because I wanted to weight the vote so more people might watch this neatly tied together little piece.
Lady Jane (1986)
In the end, Lady Jane Grey
...simply died for her faith, regardless of her love for her husband, Guilford. What a testimony! She truly was a martyr. The film does not mince words to characterize her devotion, her own personal revelation, her separation from Catholicism, her faith in Christ alone.
As a former Catholic, and admittedly now Christian, I most appreciated her comment (repeated in the tower as she is questioned pursuant to her being sentenced with finality, without possibility of change, to death) when asked about the sacrament of the Eucharist, in which Roman Catholicism teaches the transubstantiation, the actual changing of the bread and the wine into the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ. This tenant of the faith was one I tried very hard to believe, but was never able to reconcile. When asked to speak of the Eucharist, "Do you not receive the blood and the body of our Lord?", Lady Jane answered, "No, I do not." The priest asked again, "Did not our Savior say...?" She answered, "Our Savior said, 'I am the vine. I am the door.' Was he a vine? Was he a door?" The priest responds, "You are right, my lady. And the queen is wrong." And because of her refusal to deny Christ, she was beheaded. The film tells a simple story of the simple faith of a young woman who wanted justice, peace, and prosperity for an oppressed and impoverished people. IMHO it does it well. I give it a 9.
La leggenda del pianista sull'oceano (1998)
Recommending it to my friends and family
I enjoyed this movie so much, I will likely buy it, and I rent, not buy, most DVDs I see. The concept was unique, the story captivating, the acting flawless, the score was haunting, the ship was glorious and hideous all at the same time, as you were carried through. I am half Italian by heritage, so I got pleasure out of reading more about how the film was made, finding stories about it on dedicated websites. Apparently the ship was a Russian vessel pretty much in a salvage state, used for training Russian seamen, when the Italian filmmakers found it, sailed it to Italy, docked it near Rome, and prepared it for the film. I loved that ! It was modeled after the Lusitania and the Mauritania...the ballroom was MARVELOUS,,,and the engine room was frightening ! Like in the Titanic, the classes are neatly divided,,,the richly rich and the very poor, living their lives as they sailed from one continent to the other, according to their state in life...with one exception..."1900" himself..who lived his own life in his own way from beginning to,,,, There are scenes in the movie that took my breath away...and,no, I won't do spoilers here. You will just have to find the beauty, the joy, the poignancy, and the pathos in this film for yourself. You just don't see this kind of film every day. Personally, I gave it a 10 ! edit: 1) my daughter did give me this film on DVD for Christmas !! 2) I viewed it with a very creative friend of ours, an artist. He was so moved that when the film was over, he breathed a heavy breath and said, "That may very well be the best movie I've ever seen." How sweet it is !