lynch-dennis-1 Reviews

Hypothèse Beta (1967)

An early warning anout Artificial Intelligence

[7/10 · 27 April 2024]

This is an odd little film, running about seven minutes, that was nominated for an Oscar for animated short in 1967. Made in France, it displays labor unrest among the holes on an IBM punch card.

It's a bit slow to start but becomes more interesting as it proceeds. There's simple plot that runs through a series of increasingly complicated variations.

The graphics are simple but effective. The soundtrack features some clever ideas, and the voices are clear universal.

There is a strong influence on this film from Kubrick's DOCTOR STRANGELOVE.

Director Jean-Charles Meunier has only 4 credits on IMDb, between 1967 and 1981.

The Colours of My Father: A Portrait of Sam Borenstein (1992)

A striking biography

[8/10 · 13 January 2024]

Live action, stills, and animation combine to tell a remarkable story of an artist I'd never heard of. How many other fine artists go unrecognized in their lifetime like this? This biography was produced by his daughter.

His style was somewhat primitive, because he was mostly self taught. He seemed to be extremely prolific, often repainting the same scenery over and over, for many years. Many of his paintings are shown in the film, sometimes using animation to transition from the narrative into his paintings.

All his life, the only thing he wanted to be was a painter. His color palate seemed to be dominated by the use of strong colors, especially reds, blues and yellows. He worked in an impressionistic style.

By the 1960s, after 30 years of work, he finally started getting his work exhibited in major galleries

Currently available on the Kanopy service through Public Libraries.

Downhill (1927)

Way more involving than I expected.

[8/10 · 30 September 2023]

First: The running time listed on this site is 1:14. But the Criterion Collection print that ran on TCM in September of 2023 ran 1:50. Also, the print has a wonderfully effective piano accompaniment that is uncredited, either to the composer or the performer.

Others here have sufficiently summarized the plot. I want to talk about my overall reaction to the film. I'd not seen it before, and my last viewing of THE LODGER was decades ago. So I was very taken in by the novel effectiveness of Ivor Novello's performance. It starts OK, but as his life spirals downward, he seems to become more subtle and restrained, drawing me in to the seriousness of his situation.

I was also impressed by the lack of title cards. One has to pay attention to all the nuances of the performances. Sympathy is often implied to the other characters, before their inevitable betrayals of Novello.

The delirium sequence seem to include a few hand-held camera shots. I can't imagine them being done on a dolly.

I was also amused by the shot of the exterior of the dance hall, clearly modeled on the Moulin Rouge, with the windmill above it. Maybe that name was trademarked or copyrighted.

To summarize, I found this an involving story, masterfully presented by Mr. Hitchcock. Despite occasional cliche sequences, I enjoyed this more than many recent films that I've seen. It may try your patience, but you may find it rewarding, like I did.

The Inventor (2023)

Disastrously bad

[2/10 · 21 September 2023]

Did none of the 30+ producers ever stop and say, "this doesn't make any sense" or "why is the dialogue so muddled?" or "What did those lyrics say?" I was the only person in the screening I attended and felt lost most of the time. I had thought of taking my 9 year old granddaughter, but I'm sure glad I didn't. Some pretty animation and cute stop-motion puppets can't make up for the incomprehensible story. Stay home.

I'm familiar with Da Vinci's life and the creative work he did in many areas. I know how the Catholic hierarchy loved some of his work but hated his exploration into forbidden areas. And there are hints of that.

There are scenes that I don't believe ever happened. Did England's Henry VIII ever visit France? And was that the Spanish king? What was his name? I couldn't make it out.

Frankly, I was expecting more of a full biography, but this starts with Leonardo in middle age, at least. He's already painted the Mona Lisa, which he hauls with him to France. Maybe that explains how it ended up in the Louve.

Tom Swift (2022)

I finished season 1

[2/10 · 5 August 2022]

It never became interesting. Confused plotting. Character too old. Black and gay characters not the problem. Time wasting tedium that panders to audience.

Beauty for Sale (1933)

Alice Brady gives a delightful performance

[9/10 · 12 June 2022]

I just finished watching a surprising pre-code romantic comedy drama, BEAUTY FOR SALE (1933). It's the story of 3 women working at a NY beauty salon and their various entanglements. There's some nice photography by James Wong Howe, and some pretty sharp dialogue.

One character in particular stands out: Alice Brady as Mrs. Sherwood, a rich narcissistic ninny who is a customer at the salon. Her few scenes are marked by high speed monologues as she remains oblivious to everyone around her.

Some situations are cliches, and the ending is too convenient, but there was much to recommend this MGM delight. It aired on TCM, where old movies wait for us to find them.

Archive (2020)

Pretty but predictable

[4/10 · 5 October 2021]

This is one of those stories that could be told more effectively in an hour. It looks good and the cast is fine in their roles, but it suffers from extreme vagueness and padding. I figured out the ending about 20 minutes in, based on the dreamlike quality of the narrative. It's always nice to see Toby Jones in anything.

Requiem for a Gunfighter (1965)

1 standout scene

[4/10 · 2 July 2021]

There is one scene set an a campfire at night. At one point in the scene, one of the actors gets up and walks around behind the campfire and the other Cowboys sitting around it. As he does so, he bumps into the painted background and all of the distant mountains shake on the set.

This was the source of unending laughter in my high school film class in the spring of 1970. It is also the only thing I remember about this movie.

This is also notable as the last film performance of Raymond Hatton, who did over 500 movies starting back in the 1910s.

Segodnya (1929)

Soviet documentary compares them to the US

[8/10 · 5 June 2021]

TODAY (TRACTORS OR CANNONS) No subtlety, but a very gung-ho look at the advantages of the workers' paradise. Factories, farmers, schools and happy workers completing their 5-year plans in 4-years.

Included is an amazing critique of capitalsm, using footage of America up to 1929. We even see pro-red soapbox speakers promoting communism on street corners. Paranoia is demonstrated through persistent hints that capitalists are preparing an attack in Russia.

Silent, with a driving symphonic score.

Numbers (2015– )

Interesting look at math concepts and history

[9/10 · 30 May 2021]

This is an international production, aimed at making math more intriguing. It is full of splendid visuals and commentaries about the people who helped develop various techniques and methods we all use.

Each episode focuses on 1 concept: Pi, Infinity, Equations, Zero and i. Needs for the concepts are presented, followed by biographical and historical context, and finally, examples of their applications.

Pacing is sometimes a bit odd. I'd like to have seen more examples of the concepts in action, but given the limited 5-episode 1-hour format, that is understandable. It might make you want to study more about these topics.

And there are some fascinating things here. From the episode on Zero, I learned how to multiply using Roman Numerals, and some of the symbols they used to represent 5,000 and 10,000.

Useful for high school students and up. Available on Amazon Prime.

Sijipeuseu: The Myth (2021)

A good idea undone by too many episodes.

[7/10 · 3 May 2021]

A very interesting time travel story with terrific production designs and visual FX, and an attractive cast, partially squandered by excessive padding. Some scenes just drag on, especially interpersonal relationships and dialog scenes. Repetitive back and forth time loops mean that eventually anything can happen, and often does. Somebody dies? Oops, he got better. Somebody lives? Wait, there's another killer. This could have been done in a more satisfying way if there were only 8 episodes. I made it to the end, but it was hard to stay interested. A number of characters could be dropped, too.

Bloodshot (2020)

Welcome to cliche land

[2/10 · 8 April 2021]

Tedious macho drivel, copying many other films.

Glad I had mail and facebook to check while this droned on in the background.

Moonbase 8 (2020)

It took 9 producers to make something this bad. ZERO stars

[5 December 2020]

I watched the first episode and didn't laugh once. None of these characters would have made it through the application process to make it into the experiment. They are never believable, so nothing they do matters. No experiment would have them cut off from communication to the outside world. It might have worked in a comic book format, because you could read it faster and not have to wait for dialog that wanders endlessly. Mad magazine never produced anything so week. "Space Force" is vastly superior in all regards. Never again.

American Heretics: The Politics of the Gospel (2019)

Missing the point.

[3/10 · 25 April 2020]

Properly takes on the fundamentalist movement, while still buried under Christian superstition. "They're bad, but we're good" without recognizing their own nonsense. Will play to unquestioning audiences while reinforcing their own fictional superiority.

Batwoman (2019–2022)

Good start to interesting concept

[9/10 · 10 October 2019]

The title character is bringing a strong Rachel Maddow vibe to this series. My wife and I both liked it a lot.

Up on the Wooftop (2015)

Cute but simple talking dog Christmas story

[5/10 · 17 November 2015]

An OK film for kids, this film moves along quickly, but predictably to its inevitable conclusion. 75 minutes is plenty long. This is a film made in Iowa, by a team with 4 other films to their name. It is going directly to video distribution, so I got to see one of the very few theatrical showings. Kids and adults laughed occasionally, partly because of slapstick humor, and they also enjoyed seeing some familiar local sights. It mentioned the need to believe a couple of times, but that wasn't as overbearing as it is in so many other films. The cast varies from competent to amateur. Some music is too loud, but that could have been the theater's sound system. There are no really bad parts, but there's a continuous feeling of "I've seen that before."