bb_org Reviews

The American Soldier (1970)

Breaking Stereotypes

[9/10 · 22 May 2018]

Americans are stereotyped as much as we stereotype others. I concede that it isn't Fassbinder's best, thus the 9 instead of a 10. Still, it the best early film I've seen. "They" had talent, raw as it was.

Without putting in spoilers, I liked the working of the triple cross and the set-up to take the rap for the crimes of others. Some might have found it slow. I saw it methodical. For a film that clocks in at under 90 minutes, the pace is realistic, if not superior.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

Couldn't Finish It

[4/10 · 6 May 2014]

I started to watch this movie with high hopes. Perhaps my expectations were unrealistic, but I expected this movie to have a story that was reasonably well-scripted with character development and complex plot elements. Call me dense, but I found none of those in this film.

To begin with, the trope of a dying woman from the Old South (former Confederate States to those of you from outside the US) telling a story of her life was done better with True Grit and The Oldest Confederate Widow Tells All.

The adaptation of Fitzgerald's work is a travesty. The early part moves slowly, and shuffles along, pardon what might some might find as a slur on the Southern stereotypes offered for popular consumption. After about an hour and a half, I decided it was not worth it.

I tried to watch the rest of the movie the following night, but lost whatever plot there might have been. Adapting a short story into a movie nearly three hours long does not make sense.

I am looking forward to a decent adaptation of Times Arrow by Martin Amis.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Not the Worst Thing I've Ever Seen

[3/10 · 15 January 2012]

The first time I saw it was in 1976,after it opened with relatively little notice. I thought it campy and corny, with a lot of puns, sight gags and prop humor that was not permitted on TV at the time but not any more clever than a mediocre sitcom or sketch. I was amused, but my wife became obsessed. She and I went to midnight showings more often that I would have preferred. My opinion dropped with each viewing and eventually I just gave up on both the marriage and the film.

The screenplay is juvenile, the acting amateurish, and the props are annoying. I didn't hate it the first time I saw it but I would not watch it more than once.

Spartacus (1960)

Still relevant after all these years

[10/10 · 26 December 2005]

A very moving and compelling story of epic proportions. The plot is relentless, propelled by a dazzling screenplay. Kubrick draws some of the greatest performances of the cast, and fills the screen with images that fascinate throughout. Well paced for a movie of this magnitude.

To those who complain of anachronisms and poetic license with historical events, I say to them, 'Remember, it is a movie.' To be truly accurate, the cast would be delivering their lines in Latin and ancient Greek, with English subtitles. Whatever Kubrick might lose with historical inaccuracies, he gains far more in his ability to convey the story to the viewer. Even though it is over forty years old, the film tells us more of the present day than it does of the past.