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Reviews
Grand Prix (1966)
Pre CGI effects hold up well.
Actually saw this movie on the big screen as a kid, found it impressive then and it's actually held up quite well. My 31 year old son mentioned it recently, he saw it way back when on VHS on a smaller screen. The story itself is rather thin and cliched but everything else about this flick is outstanding, starting with the opening credits, not to be missed. The racing scenes wouldn't be replicated until Formula One installed cameras on the vehicles in the late 80's. Watch an F1 race and the movie, you'll appreciate how well the racing sequences are done.
Midway (2019)
Better than 'Pearl Harbor'
They made a little effort to get the story right, it would probably take a longer movie to get most of the background material and the movie covers a 6 month period, Pearl Harbor to Midway. Most of the fx were reasonably well done but like Bay in 'Pearl Harbor' the director tried to cram way too much action into each frame showing planes flying several feet off the ground, or flying in spaces between ships that they couldn't actually fit through. And the characters are every bit as wooden and cliched as you've read about elsewhere. For a thorough understanding of this period of WWII a much better choice would be to read 'Pacific Crucible'.My guess is that the screenwriter(s) probably did.
Drive (2011)
I've been transported back to the 80's!
Watching this flick for the second time, couldn't help but notice the absolute 80's action flick ethos of this story. All it seemed to be missing was the big hair. What should have been a fine supporting cast was wasted in cardboard cutout characters, as was RG's leading man. Maybe it was the intent of the director, couldn't help but notice the 80's font that was used for the titles. Not a terrible or unwatchable movie but not original and definitely overrated.
The Beginning or the End (1947)
Utter rubbish
Passable as a drama, but anyone with a passing familiarity on the subject knows that much that is presented as fact in this movie is complete fiction.
What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
DiCaprio's best performance
I had heard of this movie but had no idea what it was actually about, it was marked at $5.99 so I thought it was probably a decent choice, Johnny Depp/Leo DiCaprio, a quick look at the credits on the back showed Lasse Hallstrom as the director and John C. Reilly, Mary Steenburgen and Juliette Lewis in supporting roles. A great little movie in many ways, the supporting cast-including Crispin Glover, not listed on the DVD box, carry this movie. Leo DiCaprio's performance in this movie is stunning. Oscar worthy, he was nominated that year but he really should have won the award. Depp and Lewis provide adequate performances, decent work but not particularly noteworthy. Will not talk about the plot itself, definitely better for the viewer to watch it unwind. The only problem I had was the ending, utterly predictable like most movies.
Titanic (1997)
Good movie but grossly overrated
Couldn't help but notice the number of posters that feel criticizing the movie-in any way-lumps you into a group of social misfits described as 'haters'. I thought the movie was fairly entertaining with outstanding special effects, but had a large problem with the lack of realism, especially ironic as Cameron 'got' most of the details correctly.
The 'love story' was patently ludicrous, but probably the thing that drove the numbers at the box office, the treatment of historical figures like 'Molly' Brown-for example-was appalling, dripping with misogyny.
With a little more even handed treatment the movie could have been outstanding and compelling to the degree that it actually deserved the Oscars it won that year, and still included a plausible romantic plot.