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Reviews
Lonesome (2021)
Tony K. Hall succeeds with his love letter to the Golden Age
I saw this film in the Seattle Film Festival program. LONESOME is the the directorial feature film debut for Tony K. Hall and his black and white romantic love story is a nice achievement and nod to the Golden Age of cinema. Hall's Lonesome embodies editing techniques from the silent era in film. And his actors are wonderful in capturing the spirit in silent pictures. The story is simple but takes a turn that was unexpected and interesting. A beautiful score by Tony Doubek keeps the pace of the story on track. And actress Amber De Ruyter provides the musical touch with a nice voice for Hall's love letter to the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Pocket Mouse Protector (2022)
Laugh Roaring Good Time!
I saw this film at the Seattle Film Festival and I didn't know what to expect. The director introduced the movie as a Sex Comedy but I did not realize how much I would enjoy it and how loud the audience would get. A laugh roaring good time, the director is able to get the most out of each joke even after you think it has already gone as far as it can go, this film takes it farther. I don't want to spoil anything but the protagonist takes an experimental sex drug and the effects take the protagonist on a ride of new senses that had never before been unleashed.
The acting is excellent and the actors really put themselves out there for the laughs. This is a comedy that will definitely be a cult classic in the gay community but straight audiences will also love the slapstick comedy and the happy messages throughout. I can't wait to see this again with friends!
Lost Angelas (2019)
Low Budget Indie with a new twist and perspective on the age old love triangle.
This is a small indie film that has a few recognizable faces and is quite thrilling as the protagonist starts to fall into madness.
The protagonist, an undiagnosed schizophrenic screenwriter falls in love with a beautiful starlet named Angela played by Korrina Rico. She falls into the clutches of the villain, a deranged psychopathic movie director and fulfills her destiny before disappearing "off the face of the earth."
The colors of this movie are entrancing and the actors give some stand out performances which carry the story through. Overall I would say it is an entertaining and maddening look into a young man's psychotic break. The editing style reaffirms this and delivers a high energy plot twist ending.
Mank (2020)
Fincher's unflinching love letter to Old Hollywood
Shot in Black and White and premiering on Netflix this weekend, "Mank" picks up steam once it gets going.
This film captures Old Hollywood of the 1930's and 40's. In fact, the film does this so well, you will forget it is a period piece around halfway through the movie. The story becomes more interesting around this point, especially if you know of "Citizen Kane" and Orson Welles, as you can't help but fill in the missing pieces. While "Citizen Kane" is about William Randolph Hearst and Marion Davies (played excellently by Charles Dance and Amanda Seyfried) "Mank" takes us on the journey of the brutally honest writer Herman Mankiewicz played by Gary Oldman. Oldman gives us another brilliant performance. As Herman Mankiewicz spirals out of control mainly due to his alcohol dependency and his unwillingness to compromise, we really understand Oldman's character's inner thoughts and his contempt for the people in power who surround him. This puts him at odds with everyone powerful throughout the movie, even if they try at first to befriend him. The political subplot is a nice added dimension to Oldman's character and the story as we start to believe his convictions are truly warranted.
Oldman emotes and lashes out as "Mank" but never overplays his character. And we feel like we are witnessing him in the flesh try to pick up the pieces each time he makes a spectacle of himself. Surrounded with an exception cast, Oldman brings us a very memorable character in "Mank", one that we weren't sure at first if we would root for.
David Fincher, who directs, brings his late father's script to life and treats us to a in-depth look of Old Hollywood power and the strings it weaves. Fincher who is known for dark films such as "Se7en", "Zodiac", "Gone Girl" and "Fight Club", subtly moves a grown up audience without the use of a character who is a psychopath or sociopath. But rather a powerful narcissists.
Wayne (2019)
A cult classic in the making
Created by Shawn Simmons, this Amazon Prime show rocks to a different beat. Wayne is played brilliantly by Mark McKenna and takes off on a journey of stealing back his dad's Pontiac Trans Am, a classic car known to be in Florida. This road trip will consist of his potential girlfriend, Del. Played by Clara Bravo, as a wise beyond her years high school student. Bravo and McKenna lead us on this "Badlands" type adventure in this story of misguided youth with a surreal tone. Wayne has no certain direction other than retrieving his dad's stolen car but does make it his calling to bring justice to every victim he encounters. This is a rock and roll road journey with a Pontiac Trans Am at the end of it. The supporting cast is excellent, with stand-out performances by Stephen Kearin as the quirky Sergeant Stephen Geller, Dean Winters as Del's dad, Oscar winner Ray McKinnon and Abigail Spencer as Del's mom.
Upload (2020)
Sitback and Upload all ten episodes and enjoy
Created by Greg Daniels who is also responsible for "Parks and Recreation" and the American version of "The Office." "Upload" is a binge-worthy show with humor and romance in a sci-fi themed future.
Starring Robbie Amell (who is the real life younger cousin to Stephen Amell from "The Arrow") and starring Andy Allo as Nora, "Upload" is a smart and often feel good comedy that tugs on the futuristic heart strings. In a complicated world, there is a solution to living forever and that is uploading your memories into a world that resembles a utopian heaven. However our protagonist Nathan has several obstacles coming at him and keeps us bingeing each episode until we finally reach the finale of ten.
The chemistry between Amell and Allo is fun to watch develop and Allegra Edwards who plays Ingrid keeps the intrigue and laughter coming for the audience. Jessica Tuck is as delightful as ever, playing Nathan's mom and the supporting actors are all well cast.
Sit back and get ready to watch episode after episode.
The Irishman (2019)
Great Performances which you have time to enjoy because its too long
I am glad this film was made although I think this might have been better suited as a TV series on Netflix. But then it wouldn't have been nominated for nine Oscars. De Niro is amazing, Pesci is amazing and Pacino is amazing! However, it is not as believable even with the special effects when we see these three actors playing their characters as young men. Unfortunately Scorsese didn't go to close-ups while De Niro plays a young Frank Sheeran giving a beating in the street in front of his daughter. Its hard to play 30 years old when you are 76 and even De Niro struggles with this. The story is fascinating and the performances with the 70's generation is still sound but the movie is just too long to keep the audience's interest.
A Star Is Born (2018)
6 Stars for great performances and music but the tempo is just too slow
"A Star is Born" has been done now with a big budget production over the years since William Wellman's 1937 version a total of four times. And each version over the years is worse than the one before. Except for the fact that Bradley Cooper's version is better than the 1976 Barbara Streisand version, the pattern continues. To compare the Cooper's 2018 version to Wellman's movie staring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March is unfair. And to compare it to George Cukor's "Star is Born" starring Judy Garland and James Mason is again too much to ask. With this being said Cooper did a good job directing Lady Gaga. He also brought a performance that might be one of his best in his career. However the movie drags on too long as the editing could have helped keep the scenes shorter and sharper. Although we might not have had the performances, we would have been able to watch it from beginning to the end without having moments of losing interest.
The performances of Lady Gaga, who won an Oscar for her performance, and Cooper are not the only reasons to watch this film, Sam Elliott is another reason to check this movie out if you haven't already as he is excellent as the older brother to Cooper's character. Finally the music in this film brings up the level of its rating. Lady Gaga shares the Oscar for Best Original Song, "Shallow."
A River Runs Through It (1992)
A piece of wonderful art under the guise of addiction, literature and fly-fishing.
Winner of Best Cinematography at the Academy Awards, this movie is a pure gem filmed in rural Montana. Brad Pitt in a shining performance plays the younger brother who has his hidden troubles kept from his family. Tom Skerritt plays the minister father who reaches his boys best with sermons and fly-fishing. Robert Redford directs this wonderful film. His directing resume is pretty stellar now after this story and his Academy Award winning "Ordinary People." The movie takes place around 1910 and follows Norman Maclean (Craig Sheffer) an aspiring writer. Norman Maclean is also the writer of the original story and is a semi-autobiographical account of his relationship with his brother Paul and their upbringing as Presbyterians while dealing with alcoholism and gambling addiction.
The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming (1966)
Hilarious time off of Cape Cod with a beached Russian crew
Directed by Norman Jewison and adapted off the Nathaniel Benchley novel, this movie is a hilarious farce exploring the cold war relations on an island of Cape Cod. Carl Reiner is hilarious as a vacationing New York writer and Alan Arkin is outstanding as a Russian Lieutenant trying to find a boat to pull his commander's submarine from being stuck in shallow water. An all star cast and a fun feel good movie leads to a good time. The supporting cast is rounded out by such stars as Eva Marie Saint, Brian Keith, Jonathan Winters and Theodore Bikel who plays the Soviet commander. This is a comedy that stands the test of time.
Schindler's List (1993)
Spielberg's masterpiece!
Winner of seven Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director and was adapted from the Thomas Keneally book about Oskar Schindler, who witnesses the persecution of his Jewish employees during the Holocaust.
Liam Neeson expertly plays the real life Schindler, a German businessmen who realizes the cost of making money is his humanity. Ben Kingsley is fabulous as Itzhak Stern, his Jewish accountant who helps him open his eyes and see what is going on around him. Ralph Fiennes plays the real Amon Geoth in an extraordinary performance as a psychopathic Nazi officer who loves murdering innocents. This is a film that entertains, educates and enlightens about the danger of man's own enemy, himself. Spielberg's best film and definitely the very best of 1993.
Versailles (2015)
mise en scene is at its finest in this show.
Interesting take on the decadent and flamboyant life of Louis XIV. Sex and power rule this show along with juicy gossip of the nobles. The performances are impressive, George Blagden plays Louis XIV and Alexander Vlahos as Monsieur Phillippe d'Orleans are charismatic brothers building up and living in Versailles. Although based on real historical rulers, the show creates several fictional story-lines. Nevertheless it is probably for the best as is as entertaining as it is as beautiful to watch.
Joker (2019)
Joaquin Phoenix is the reason to watch this...
A great character piece of a man who does not fit into society. Todd Phillips directs Joaquin Phoenix in an Oscar winning performance as Arthur Fleck. An anti-hero, Fleck struggles with mental illness and brings us on his journey as he is bullied and beaten. How does Fleck deal with the events in his life as he spirals out of control? Well, depending on how you view the ending will probably be the deciding factor of whether you like the movie. It is a dark take on one's depression and Tourettes-type syndrome. Either way you can't deny Phoenix's performance.
Yesterday (2019)
The songs, Lily James and Himesh Patel shine
Great premise and music but unfortunately this movie misses the mark.
Lily James is a star and is fantastic while Himesh Patel is charming throughout.
The Beatles songs carry us through while we root for James and Patel's characters to get together but its not enough to watch a second time.
Great for the family but not a hit enough to recommend to friends. Danny Boyle has won every award by now in his previous movies, but his directing in this one keeps us from the deeper depth needed to make it more heartfelt. Still I noticed tears from my sister as Patel's character hits his crossroads and is forced to make his decisions of consequence.
The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018)
Kunis almost saves this
Mila Kunis has the screen persona to pull of this comedy adventure. Although the premise sounds interesting, the plot is rather dull. But it doesn't matter as Kate McKinnon performs her comedy routines around Kunis and together they are fun to watch. While this movie is lacking, Kunis will shine again in better movies.
River's Edge (1986)
River's Edge launches a story based on real life and the careers of three soon to be stars
Keanu Reeves, Crispin Glover and Ione Skye star with Dennis Hopper in a movie based off of real life events directed by Tim Hunter. When a friend (Daniel Roebuck) commits murder, how far will they go to cover for him. Hopper brings another great performance as a man who has been hiding out for decades from society. Reeves and Skye have undeniable chemistry, while Glover delivers one of the strangest and odd characters in Layne, while keeping him believable through the dramatic story.
The Doors (1991)
This movie is as artistic and entertaining as The Doors best hits
Oliver Stone's "The Doors" starring Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison, lives up to the iconic band's best hits. Although critic Roger Ebert only gave it a 2 1/2 out of 4 stars, this movie was a hit with audiences. Arguably Kilmer's best performance in his career, he auditioned for Stone by sending tapes of him singing The Doors tunes. Meg Ryan plays Pamela Courson, Morrison's love interest who goes in and out of his life depending on the drug trip he is on. Supporting characters include Kyle MacLachlan as Ray Manzarek, Frank Whaley as Robby Krieger, Kevin Dillon as John Densmore and Kathleen Quinlan as a satanic worshiper who helps Morrison get his virility back.
The movie travels like a drug trip and the audience takes the journey as a member inside the famous band. Definitely a classic afor any Doors fan.
Disturbing Behavior (1998)
Distrubing Behavior leads to a good time.
I first saw this movie in the theater having been enamored with Katie Holmes. Recently having viewed this movie again, I appreciate the sci-fi references to the "Stepford Wives." This one has a twist that is surprising and a soundtrack that will rock you all the way after you've left the theater. James Marsden shows his matinee good looks in this and why audiences used to refer to him as Generation X's next James Dean.