johnharrold Reviews

A Texas Funeral (1999)

This is a really fine film that I am glad that I surfed upon.

[10/10 · 7 July 2008]

The performances are excellent. I did not even recognize Olivia D'Abo.

It would be impossible to explain the plot of this film, and that is one of the reasons why I like it so much.

The film touches on the importance of family ties, without being sappy. It touches on the the importance of forgiveness, without being preachy.

It has plenty of "quirky" characters and situations, but not so much as to make them ridiculous. That is not to say that they are not absurd, and that is a good thing.

It is not a ghost story as some synopses might cause one to believe. (Albeit, I might not have watched it if it were not for my being given that idea from a Comcast blurb.)

I recommend A Texas Funeral to anybody who likes films that have plots that are difficult to detect in which direction they are going to go, but are a joy to follow.

The Night Listener (2006)

This is an awful movie.

[1/10 · 1 July 2007]

The movie is not stupid. Movies cannot be stupid. People can be stupid. The people who signed off on the finished product sure thought that their prospective audience is stupid. Richard Roeper liked it so they might have been right to some degree. The plot, while supposed to be based on a true story, is derivative of countless other films. There are plot holes throughout. The acting is exceptionally bad. This is one of those films that seems like a crime to have been made because they could have used the money that it took to make it to try and find a cure for stupidity.

Watch this film if you like being jerked around.

All We Are Saying (2005 TV Movie)

This film is excellent

[10/10 · 14 March 2006]

Ms. Arquette is hot...aside from that...she has created a film that is one of the finest films about music that I have seen.

The lady who inspired Toto's big hit...speaks with a whole lotta musicians about the business of music. They all appear to be coherent...as in Sex...Sobriety...and Rock & Roll.

The majority of the artists have been well known for over thirty years...and some of them almost did not make it this far. I am glad that they did. I just hope that Joni Mitchell does not end up like Sammy Davis Junior.

I could have watched another several hours of Ms. Arquette's interviews...perhaps not in one sitting...but certainly in two parts.

Walk the Line (2005)

Blah

[1/10 · 3 February 2006]

The actors do not look like...or sound like...the people that they are portraying. I was bored from the the start until I stopped watching it after, on or about, 45 minutes. This movie is a testimony to the masses' craving for mediocrity. I am a fan of the Johnny and June Carter Cash.

The film, Angels with Angles, has a tremondous performance by Frank Gorshin. He portrays George Burns flawlessly. It is too bad that Gorshin was not part of a well publicized film like Walk the Line, or that Burns-mania is not currently a trend. Angels with Angles is not very good...but Gorshin is. If they are going to hand out award nominations to actors portraying iconic dead people..then Gorshin should have been nominated.

The New World (2005)

The New World is pretty.

[5/10 · 2 January 2006]

The New World is beautifully filmed. It will probably become a great date movie, a chick flick in the genre of "Settlers and Indians".

If this film had been made 15 years ago, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan might have starred in it. However, aside from the scenery, my opinion is that the Disney version is much more interesting.

I think that it would be more credible, not politically correct, if someday filmmakers chose Native American actors to portray Native Americans. In this film, Q'Orianka Kilcher, whose father (according to IMDb) is a Quechua Indian from South America, portrays Pocahontas. Her mother is a native Swede from Alaska.

I predict that many people are going to like this movie, but I would rather see one about the Lewis and Clark Expedition. There is much more of a story there. That would make a good mini-series too.

On the other hand, why not re-work the Pocahontas story so that it takes place in outer space. I do not have a problem with miscast space aliens.