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Reviews
Ambassadors (2013)
Well Done Political Comedy by the Peep Show Guys
It was a nice surprise to stumble upon AMBASSADORS because I am such a fan of Mitchell & Webb - their sketch show and then PEEP SHOW are both terrific. What was refreshing was that the tone and pace and humor in AMBASSADORS is very different from their previous stuff. This show is like a mix of Yes, Minister, Veep and In The Loop. What is also impressive is the superb supporting cast - Keely Hawes, Matthew MacFayden, Tom Hollander, Amara Karan, Susan Lynch and Shivani Ghai. Don't expect the raunchy, will comedy of their sketch show/Peep Show. This is engaging, smart, measured and there are certainly laughs.
The Bikeriders (2023)
BIKERIDERS is driving near Empty.
I am a big fan of this filmmaker Jeff Nichols. Love his very first first SHOTGUN STORIES along with MUD and MIDNIGHT SPECIAL. But I have to say I was underwhelmed with this biker film. Love Tom Hardy's work (if you haven't seen LOCKE or BRONSON, seek them out - Hardy is brilliant in both). But Hardy's character seemed underwritten as did most of the biker characters. I realize it is a large ensemble but still so many characters just came along, popped in and left as one note tropes. Obviously, the main character was Kathy and I feel this is the first time I was disappointed with a Jodie Comer performance. She is stunning in KILLING EVE. But here I felt she was SO focused on nailing the midwest Illinois accent that there was nothing left. All accent, all 70's hair and cigarettes but the vessel was empty. I just never believed her - it was ALL performance, ALL acting, nothing seemed natural. And I felt the same with Mr. Butler, all superficial but nothing beneath the surface. It's a shame because the 1960's & 1970's are fascinating decades, these bike clubs/gangs are also a very interesting part of American culture but it all just seemed rather empty. All flash, no substance.
Baby the Rain Must Fall (1965)
WISH A REWRITE HAD BEEN FALLING
I am a big fan of all the talent involved in BBY THE RAIN MUST FALL, both in front of and behind the camera. In fact the team of Robert Mulligan directing & Alan J Paula producing made some true quality films (TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, LOVE WITH THE PROPER STRANGER, etc.) but this film just lays there - as dry and slow as a Texas tumbleweed. I have never read the Horton Foote play that he adapted the screenplay from but aside from laying out the tragic backstory of Steve McQueen's character - the writing is so by the numbers and slow and creaky. I love so many of Horton Foote's works - especially TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL. In fact in the beginning of this film when Lee Remick is on the bus going to see her husband and an old lady sits next to her & starts telling her her life story, it certainly reminded me as an early template for BOUNTIFUL. But the story just limps along & I found myself not caring about the characters at all (it didn't help that the little girl cast to play McQueen's daughter was just bland with zero camera presence). One of the few interesting things about this misfire is when you briefly see McQueen performing with his band, there is Glen Campbell as one of his musicians along with the drummer being legendary session drummer Hal Blaine. In fact McQueen's singing is done by Billy Strange who was also a famous musician/songwriter - in fact Strange co-wrote the classic Elvis song "A Little Less Conversation". But sadly, I really have to say - even with all these talented people - to just skip this flick.
Crown Vic (2019)
You've Seen It All Before
CROWN VIC is well done but the script is very pedestrian and full of cop movie tropes. The thing that makes it worth watching are the performances - especially Thomas Jane as the weary veteran with the LAPD. Jane has had an up & down career but I've loved his character work ever since BOOGIE NIGHTS and he is very good in the underrated Frank Darabont film THE MIST (based on a Stephen King book) Others in the terrific supporting cast include Josh Hopkins, David Krumholtz, Bridget Moynahan and Luke Kleintank as the rookie cop. Oh and oddly, this movie has terrible music - from the generic score to the stand alone music choices - so bad. But if you want to see an excellent underrated cop film, check out DARK BLUE or Q&A.
The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)
One of the worst film adaptations of all time
Tom Wolfe's novel THE BONFIRE OFTHE VANITIES is a classic. In fact, if one ever asked what was America like in the 1980's, show them this book. Truly one of the best novels of that decade. And sadly, the horrible film based on it is a true disaster. Every step pf the way, they made the wrong decision, first by hiring Brian DePalma. He was wrong for the movie and he proved it - I can't say the tone is all wrong because there is no tone. DePalma worked on the script all the time so one can't really blame screenwriter Michael Cristofer, but if you read the fabulous non-fiction book THE DEVIL'S CANDY, which is about the making of the film, you'll know that DePalma threw his weight around and went about ruining the film by picking the wrong actors. Tom Hanks was miscast as Sherman McCoy - a perfect part for William Hurt. In the novel, the. Tabloid reporter Peter Fallow is a British drunk (perfect for Michale Caine or John Cleese). DePalma didn't want him to be British, so they miscast Bruce Willis and on and on and on. The film doesn't work as a satire, it doesn't work as a social drama, it certainly doesn't work as a comedy. It just lays there. If you haven't seen the movie yet - do not. Read the novel.
The Last Stop in Yuma County (2023)
Low Budget Well Made Gritty Crime Thriller
LAST STOP IN YUMA COUNTY is a very well done, smart low budget crime flick that was shot in about 20 days. Writer-Director Francis Galluppi does a good job - it's impressive he was able to round up such a strong cast - indie stalwarts like Jim Cummings, Michael Abbott Jr, Richard Brake & Sierra McCormick show up and do excellent work. Set in a rural gas station/diner in Arizona in 1073, the film is full of things you have certainly seen before and this film doesn't re-invent the wheel. Galluppi knew he could only afford one set but he makes the most of it and his script manages to still surprise you - it definitely has a touch of Coen Brothers/Tarantino to it but not in a copycat kind of way. I've been a huge fan of DIY filmmaker Jim Cummings for years (Wolf of Snowy Hollow, Beta Test, etc.) but his work in this film as the lead actor is superb.
The Humbling (2014)
So Much Talent, So Badly Made
THE HUMBLING has so many talented people both in front of the camera and behind it. But it shows that even with the best intentions, a film can still be a true misfire. I never read the Philip Roth novel the film is based on, but the screenplay just doesn't work (co-written by the great Buck Henry). It's all over the place and the tone is very uneven. The drama doesn't connect and the humor lays flat. Al Pacino tries his best and the supporting cast is full of outstanding actors - Charles Gordon, Greta Gerwig, Nina Arianda, Dylan Baker, Dan Hedaya, Dianne Weist, Billy Porter, etc. But the scenes just play out & there's no real pay-off. Trying to do a dark comedy on dementia is possible yet the tone has to be just right but unfortunately THE HUMBLING never finds the right measure.
The Bubble (2022)
Very Lame, Very Dumb, Very Inside
I figured how bad could THE BUBBLE be? I had heard it was a train wreck So I started watching it. The film starts off pretty well & has lots of talented actors in it but the script is a mess. I, too, worked on a TV series in 2021 and had to deal with 14 day quarantines and Covid testing, etc so I could relate to a lot of it at first but then the film just meanders along and you watch people like David Duchovny and Karen Gillen and Fred Armison and they really have nothing to play. And all the vicious studio heads stuff has been done to death and so much of the "satire" comes off as tiresome. This is a bad comedy - hard to believe the guy who helped make Knocked Up & 40 Year Old Virgin can make such a unfunny flick.
Silent Night (2023)
SILENT NIGHT IS A LOUD BORE
I love John Woo - I was lucky enough to see an early sneak screening of THE KILLER back in the day (1988) & I was so impressed with how well made the film was & the brilliant action choreography. Woo has made many great action films, some good ones and a few turkeys. This is one of the "holiday" turkeys. Ok, the gimmick of barely any dialogue - fine, you wanna try for that? Good on ya. And a revenge flick can be very satisfying but this one is so by the book, with every single trope you have ever seen that it actually becomes boring & even comical. Plus I haven't seen such a fake, phony cartoonish set of bad guys since DEATH WISH 3 - where a ridiculous fake "punk street gang" battled Charles Bronson. Here our broken, enraged father - called Godlock - get it - sorta close to God Like - wow, a stoned freshman would think that was totally cool, man - anyhoo, the Latino gang he is after in this breathes not one breath of reality - every stock cliche is there so by the end, you don't even care that Woo knows how to place a camera during a gunfight. But there IS a Christmas theme so you can always show it to Grandma next holiday season & all have a good chuckle! Ho Ho Ho!
Moonlighting (1982)
This Film Packs A Punch
There is something about this simple story that truly packs a punch. Jeremy Irons leading a trio of Polish workers to renovate a London townhouse. While they are working in London, the Soviets call martial law on Poland and since the men don't speak a word of English, Irons desperately tries to keep the international news away from the men. He is determined to finish the job even as problems arise and makes the money run out quicker than he expected. Irons gives a terrific performance - his character battling the deep anxiety and betrayal he feels as he hides the news of the violence and strife hitting their homeland. The scenes where Irons is reduced to shoplifting in the local grocery store are very well done and the feeling of dread that grows is palpable. I can see how this film may not be for everyone, but I am a big admirer of MOONLIGHTING.
Incident in San Francisco (1971)
Very Well Done & Compelling 70s TV Film
INCIDENT IN SAN FRANCISCO is a pretty gritty 70's television movie that made quite an impression on me when I was only 10. Yes, fairly heady stuff back then for a kid but I was already above my age, etc. & I was completely pulled in by the innocent man/good Samaritan being falsely accused of murder. Richard Kiley gives an excellent performance as does Christopher Connelly - who I always liked & sadly died of lung cancer at 47 - the flick is expertly directed by TV veteran Don Medford, who directed multiple episodes of such classics as THE FUGITIVE and THE TWILIGHT ZONE. The rest of the supporting cast is filled with such terrific actors like John Marley, Leslie Nielsen, Claudia McNeal & Dean Jagger.
Run Hide Fight (2020)
Well Done With A Top Notch Lead Performance
This film isn't for everyone but sadly school shootings have become a tragic part of America - so it was just a matter of time before films were made about them (ELEPHANT, FALLOUT, MASS, RUDDERLESS, etc) But the lead performance by Isabel May is terrific - she is a very gifted actress and she carries this film - I was also impressed with her superb work in the limited series 1883 w/ Sam Elliott, a prequel to "Yellowstone". The rest of the cast is quite good, even the late great Treat Williams is top notch in his scenes as the overwhelmed sheriff arriving at the school shooting as is Thomas Jane and Radha Mitchell. The film is well directed and it is tense, disturbing and compelling.
Blood Ties (2013)
Great Cast Tries To Overcome Cliched Script
This is a great cast top to bottom - with some of my favorite actors. I know it's a remake of a French film and the director Guillaume Canet made one of my all time favorite thrillers TELL NO ONE (2006). And Canet had James Gray help him with the American adaptation of BLOOD TIES and I loved Gray's THE LOST CITY OF Z. But even with Clive Owen and Billy Crudup as battling brothers and a supporting cast with James Caan, Lili Taylor, Mila Kunis, Noah Emmerich, Griffin Dunne, Marion Cotillard, etc. None of them can get through the muddled script that drowns in cliches. Good brother vs bad brother, fallen women looking for redemption, ex-cons who can't stay on the straight & narrow, etc. Set in 1974, the film also jams 70's music down your throat (I've never heard Janis Ian's "At 17" used so strangely before). The film has some well acted scenes, but overall, you've seen it all before.
Chrystal (2004)
Powerful rural drama filled with Great Performances
CHRYSTAL is a very well made low budget rural drama with a fine cast. The multi-talented Ray McKinnon wrote, directed, produced and co-stars in the film. Ive been a fan of his work for many years (his TV series RECTIFY is incredible - highly recommend it as it also draws on many of the same themes - forgiveness, tragedy, redemption, etc.) Ray's late wife Lisa Blount is superb as the damaged title character in CHRYSTAL. She died way too young of cancer in her early fifties. I'm so glad this film was made to show her talents - the scene where she sings on the porch is amazing. Billy Bob Thornton delivers another solid performance - I'm such a fan of his - from SLING BLADE to MONSTER'S BALL to A SIMPLE PLAN to the FARGO TV series - but he is heartbreaking as Chrystal's husband Joe. The supporting cast is top notch - Harry Dean Stanton, Walton Goggins, Johnny Galecki, Grace Zabriskie and even thought the singer/songwriter James Intveld does a fine job as the police officer Charley.
Snake Eater III: His Law (1992)
WOW - Snake Eater 3 Delivers The Cheesy Goods
My movie group is a huge fan of the first SNAKE EATER - which has to be seen to be believed but we got our hands on the third installment and watched it tonight and we were howling with laughter. Lamas again with perfect hair and dead eyes and robotic line readings. A stuntman given a chance to be his sidekick "Cowboy" gives one of the worst uncomfortable performances on camera we've ever seen - he does everything but stare directly into the camera. The outlaw biker gang is one of those movie biker gangs - so not real, so cartoonish that it is unintentionally hilarious. The former pro wrestler Bam Bam Bigelow gives it his all as Goose - sadly he was dead by the age of 45 after a drug overdose. The acting is so lame, the fight scenes under rehearsed, the dialogue so bad it is hysterical - everything you want in a bad movie! Highly recommended to watch with pals and booze and weed.
Pickup (1951)
Trashy, Well Done Noir From Haas
Hugo Haas had a fascinating life - a top actor in his native Czech Republic, he lost everything when the Nazis took over. He escaped just in time but he lost many relatives in the concentration camps. Coming to America, he established himself as a working character actor throughout the 1940s but in the early 50s Haas started making films himself - they usually were looked down upon by the critics of the day but a few did very good box office - like PICK UP. The film is now regarded as a terrific little noir and Haas is good as well as the femme fatale Beverly Michaels. If you enjoyed PICK UP, check out some of Haas' other films THE GIRL ON THE BRIDGE, BAIT, THE OTHER WOMAN, HIT & RUN, HOLD BACK TOMORROW, etc. Yes, they are low budget but they are always interesting and filled with good performances.
Monkey Business (1952)
Not Their Best Work, But Still Quite Entertaining
Director Howard Hawks & star Cary Grant collaborated on one of the greatest comedies ever made with HIS GIRL FRIDAY (1940). They liked working together and this 1952 comedy is very entertaining and the strong cast totally delivers. Some of the broad humor is a bit dated but over all Cary Grant gives it his all as does the wonderful Ginger Rogers. The superb supporting cast includes Charles Coburn, Hugh Marlowe and of course Marilyn Monroe at her most voluptuous. (The very next year she would make GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES with Mr. Hawks.) Three legendary writers - Charles Lederer, Ben Hecht and I. A. L. Diamond - worked on the screenplay and there are certainly many funny scenes and verbal jokes throughout.
Gone Baby Gone (2007)
Well Acted, Well Made Crime Thriller
The fact that Ben Affleck made two excellent Boston crime films (this and THE TOWN) is very impressive and they make a hell of a great double feature. I am a big fan of Dennis Lehane - who wrote the novel the film is based on - and the screen adaptation is top notch. Casey Affleck is terrific as is the rest of the cast - with big shout outs to Amy Ryan, Titus Welliver & Amy Madigan for hitting their scenes out of the park. The film really captures the local flavor of this working class, struggling neighborhood & the early scene when Affleck & Monaghan go the run down sleazy bar The Filmore to ask questions - this scene is perfect. The way the sense of dread and danger slowly builds in the scene is masterful. I've seen this film quite a few times and each time, it only gets better. Highly recommended.
Stuey (2003)
High Roller Rolls Snake Eyes
Even though Michael Imperioli tries his hardest, the screenplay & the direction are so bad that he ends up just shuffling instead of dealing. It doesn't help that the flashback scenes to when Stu was little have not one ounce of 1966 in it - plus the kid actor playing Stu is not very good - all you see his him acting, the Dad acting, you don't believe any of it, none of it seems real. And knowing about the real Stu Unger makes you even more disappointed with the film. His real story is tragic and fascinating, while this film is just lifeless and by the numbers. The wardrobe, the Venetian blinds lighting, the forced "casino pop songs" it all screams student film. I feel bad for Michael Nouri - they gave him nothing to play but cliches.
You People (2023)
Major Failure
YOU PEOPLE is a mess. Trying hard to be a GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER meets MEET THE PARENTS for the 21st Century but aside from a sharp joke here and there, the film is filled with one note characters behaving so stupidly and then changing their ways at the last minute because it is the end of the movie & time to wrap this crap up & tack on a "happy ending". It's a shame because the cast is full of talented people but the script is terrible. They show Ezra (Jonah Hill) being quick and smart and funny on a podcast & then whenever he needs to talk to his boss or his prospective in-laws he becomes an absolute idiot. Why? Because Hill & Barris think people saying the absolute wrong thing at the wrong time is hilarious - they must because they use this trope like 8 or 9 times. London, who plays Hill's girlfriend, is wonderful but again, the script makes her a character with no dimension. Julia Louis-Dreyfus gives it her all but sadly, it's so unbelievable how her character behaves over & over and instead of cringe-inducing laughs, it's all just cringe-inducing.
Rizzoli & Isles (2010)
Good Cast
I liked the acting on Rizzoli and Isles - not jut the two leads but the supporting cast as well, especially Bruce McGill, one of my all time favorite character actors. If you have never seen the film The Insider, do yourself a favor & watch it - McGill has a courtroom scene that is absolutely brilliant!!!!! Sometimes the writing & plot structure on this show is a bit sloppy, but Angie Harmon & Sasha Alexander are great together!! I have also read a few of the novels by Tess Gerritsen that this television series is based on & they are quite good. Of course anytime you adapt a book series to Tv things have to change but overall, the TV show captures the spirit on the characters.
Beyond the Reach (2014)
Pale remake
The Robb White novel DEATH WATCH is excellent as is the 1974 TV movie SAVAGES - which it is based on. That gritty TV movie of the week features a great performance from Andy Griffith as the ruthless big game hunter. He is cast against type & totally delivers. Sam Bottoms is terrific as the young man who is his guide. But this 2014 feature film version is all over the place & over explains everything and keeps nudging the audience, "get it? Ya get it?" Yeah, we GET it. Douglas gives it all & he is fine but the lead here Jeremy Irvine is rather dead-eyed & lifeless (and this is BEFORE the sun-stroke)
Chesapeake Shores: Are the Stars Out Tonight? (2021)
Good Episode
We enjoyed this episode! We are enjoying the new fresh feeling to Season 5. Feels more like a family drama than the tired will they or won't they Trace/Abby on again/off again romance, which was tiresome and cliched. Always found Jesse Metcalfe a one note "pretty boy". But the O'Brien Family is a terrific bunch of characters - sibling rivalries, father & daughter trying to work together, marriages, business success & failures, little family moments that cut through the heart and some actual comedy. The banter between Abby & Evan was great!
Hard Kill (2020)
HARD WATCH
This is a truly awful movie - not even SO bad that it is good - just BAD. Obviously Bruce Willis will now take a paycheck NO matter what the project is. The "script" is just every bad action cliche that there ever was and another dead-eyed robotic "performance" from Jesse Metcalfe.
London Boulevard (2010)
Underrated Crime Drama Filled With Great Performances
LONDON BOULEVARD came & went but it is filled with terrific performances - not only Colin Farrell & Keira Knightley ("Sometimes they come over the walls") but the entire supporting cast is incredible - Stephen Graham, Ray Winstone, Ben Chaplin and David Thewlis knocks his scenes out of the park. Yes, you've seen this story before - mate out of prison, wants to try and live the straight life, not go back to prison, etc. But aside from the cliches, it all works and the compelling acting and strong scenes make for a helluva film. Highly recommended.