Jamie Lee Curtis smartly seduces every man in the cast, whilst we are expected to suspend disbelief and to believe that a barrister would fail to spot JLC's attempts to fish information out of him whilst supposedly seducing him. Much of the humour is barely noticeable in the modern era and what survives includes jokes involving stammering, nudity and other puerile skits. Well acted, but with not much to work with.
Reviews
16 Reviews
A Fish Called Wanda
(1988)
Overrated, not particularly funny comedy, that wastes a fine cast
20 December 2021
Amadeus
(1984)
A fantastic fictitious tale and a mesmerising masterpiece
16 October 2021
How bold and daring - to tell the story of Mozart from the perspective of Salieri (fictitiously of course) - to have Mozart wearing a slightly punk wig - to have him giggle hysterically like a child hyena. This kitsch production tells the story of a Mozart in a way that brings out all the glory of his music. A film that inspired others, with the also very good Immortal Beloved on Beethoven following several years later. How deep the fire burned, and how tragic a loss it was when it went out.
Above Suspicion
(1943)
Joan Crawford has great fun
16 October 2021
Joan Crawford has a childlike playfulness about the possibility of (and her supporting role of) being a spy. She brings a lightness to the more serious suspenseful moments - and the cast, with Fred MacMurray, Conrad Veidt and Basil Rathbone is strong. Had the movie been able to finish as strongly as it started, it could have been very highly regarded. Nonetheless, it is, for fans of 40s film making, definitely worth a watch.
Avengers: Endgame
(2019)
Overlong and overhyped superhero movie
16 October 2021
This film is more than 3 hours long. The length is totally unjustified and merely makes the bland dialogue and CGI dependent fight scenes even more tortuous than they would have been had this been half the length. No element of real danger, little intelligent wit. Avengers: Endgame is the epitome of the malaise in the movies that studios and the public choose to make and watch. You will not get these three hours back again.
The Accidental Tourist
(1988)
Geena Davis's first accident...
16 October 2021
From The Accidental Tourist to Accidental Hero a few years later, both underrated films, Geena Davis plays an almost cameo part to the lead of William Hurt, a travel writer whose marriage falls apart due to the death of their son in a robbery. The script is carefully written - it is difficult to write about loss and divorce in a sympathetic but entertaining way. Geena Davis steals the show though even if her efforts are at the start in vain. With Kathleen Turner as well, the cast is very strong and as an ensemble piece is well worth watching if on, but it is a small drama that could well have been a TV movie and whilst I appreciated watching it is not one I would go out of my way to recommend to others.
Hero
(I) (1992)
Dustin Hoffman does Dustin Hoffman in all star cast
16 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This is an underrated film even if not a classic. The role of Bernie LaPlante, a low life bum who will not make effort for anyone - not even his kid - and who is disillusioned with life, is perfectly suited to Dustin Hoffman.
LaPlante is the eponymous accidental hero who saves Geena Davis from a burning plane and then walks off not to be seen again. Geena Davis hunts him down, whilst Andy Garcia claims to be the hero and is perfectly suited to the role, depriving Dustin Hoffman, the bum, of yet another chance to make some money and to avoid jail. Then there is the casting of Joan Cusack, another indie burner.
The film makes one think about the power of journalism, attribution, being a parental role model and all sorts of other themes run through the script. Well worth a watch if on, not just for the cast, but also for the taught script.
LaPlante is the eponymous accidental hero who saves Geena Davis from a burning plane and then walks off not to be seen again. Geena Davis hunts him down, whilst Andy Garcia claims to be the hero and is perfectly suited to the role, depriving Dustin Hoffman, the bum, of yet another chance to make some money and to avoid jail. Then there is the casting of Joan Cusack, another indie burner.
The film makes one think about the power of journalism, attribution, being a parental role model and all sorts of other themes run through the script. Well worth a watch if on, not just for the cast, but also for the taught script.
Accident
(1967)
If this wasn't a Pinter...
16 October 2021
If this wasn't a Pinter would it be remembered? The answer is yes - it was after all joint winner at Cannes of the second prize, the Grand Prix - but it would not be remembered to the same extent, and even then remembrance of this film is a minority sport.
There is the excellent acting of Jacqueline Sassard, as the protagonist who is not the protagonist, around whom the lives of all are affected by her present. A shame her film career was so short, one of many from that era who retired as an actress once they married (e.g. The well known Grace Kelly or the lesser known Virginia North). Dirk Bogarde too acts very well.
But time has not been kind to the film, which is a mixture of a college drama and a kitchen sink drama. The visuals, though very reminiscent of the Oxford college and the wonderful surrounding countryside, are dated. The film in parts is slow, but it is worth watching, if only because it is a Pinter / Bogarde / Sassard.
There is the excellent acting of Jacqueline Sassard, as the protagonist who is not the protagonist, around whom the lives of all are affected by her present. A shame her film career was so short, one of many from that era who retired as an actress once they married (e.g. The well known Grace Kelly or the lesser known Virginia North). Dirk Bogarde too acts very well.
But time has not been kind to the film, which is a mixture of a college drama and a kitchen sink drama. The visuals, though very reminiscent of the Oxford college and the wonderful surrounding countryside, are dated. The film in parts is slow, but it is worth watching, if only because it is a Pinter / Bogarde / Sassard.
Accattone
(1961)
Breathless and some more...
16 October 2021
Coming out not long after Godard's "A Bout de Souffle" (Breathless), there are lots of similarities. Both films are about a not very high level criminal for whom things go wrong. Both are shot in black and white. Both have a protagonist with some charm, up against the world because of their disgusting behaviour.
Godard however chooses to dress his criminal up in the occasional trapping of glamour, albeit he is on the run and hiding in a Parisian room. He has the car, he has the glamourous girlfriend and he has the Parisian backdrop.
Pasolini on the otherhand, shows the underbelly of Rome. The prostitutes he tries to persuade to work for him, so that he does not have to work (only trying for one day in the film). The squalour of living without facilities in a shared room with others. The sheer hunger as he starts to starve when unable to get woman to prostitute themselves for him. There is a great scene involving pasta when he and friends are hungry that is very memorable.
For all these reasons it it the better film. It will never be one to show the kids or to show the ordinary cinema goer, but for a film buff it is a fascinating film, well worth watching.
Godard however chooses to dress his criminal up in the occasional trapping of glamour, albeit he is on the run and hiding in a Parisian room. He has the car, he has the glamourous girlfriend and he has the Parisian backdrop.
Pasolini on the otherhand, shows the underbelly of Rome. The prostitutes he tries to persuade to work for him, so that he does not have to work (only trying for one day in the film). The squalour of living without facilities in a shared room with others. The sheer hunger as he starts to starve when unable to get woman to prostitute themselves for him. There is a great scene involving pasta when he and friends are hungry that is very memorable.
For all these reasons it it the better film. It will never be one to show the kids or to show the ordinary cinema goer, but for a film buff it is a fascinating film, well worth watching.
About Schmidt
(2002)
Masterful acting in an above average small town script
16 October 2021
Worth watching for Jack Nicholson's performance alone. Understated, intelligent, witty and emotional, Jack Nicholson acts a part I never thought I would see him play. A small town actuary with "Woodman of the Word", Schmidt retires, with his wife desperate to spend time with him at long last. The feeling is not mutual. "Who is this old woman who lives in my house" he says, as he, equally old lies next to her.
Schmidt has regrets in his life. He wants to spend more time with his daughter, but she not him, not after all these years when Schmidt didn't. Schmidt's daughter is also marrying someone that Schmidt thinks is unsuitable and a road trip with some great characters ensues, including a very funny performance by Kathy Bates.
It is a small town American drama, and a mild one at that, but one that is brought to life by Nicholson. There aren't many films about old people and that is because it is difficult to film their life with any interest or adventure. That they have achieved a good story here, and with the top notch acting, it great and is up there with other stories achieving the same, such as Dean Spanley or The Straight Story.
Schmidt has regrets in his life. He wants to spend more time with his daughter, but she not him, not after all these years when Schmidt didn't. Schmidt's daughter is also marrying someone that Schmidt thinks is unsuitable and a road trip with some great characters ensues, including a very funny performance by Kathy Bates.
It is a small town American drama, and a mild one at that, but one that is brought to life by Nicholson. There aren't many films about old people and that is because it is difficult to film their life with any interest or adventure. That they have achieved a good story here, and with the top notch acting, it great and is up there with other stories achieving the same, such as Dean Spanley or The Straight Story.
The Abominable Dr. Phibes
(1971)
This really should not be good...but it is!
16 October 2021
A man in a cape plays the organ in an art deco room and goes out killing people when in still in love with his deceased wife. It looks very hammy, it plays cheesily and was probably even out of date when it was made, but it does so with such joie de vivre it is pure joy to watch. Vincent Price is perfectly cast in perhaps his most fitting role and Virginia North showed great promise with a decent part in her very short career. Worth watching with very low expectations and you will be surprised and delighted.
Painfully brilliant to watch but some parts are now dated
16 October 2021
Abigail's party is one of those dramas that brings you into the room so that you are participating in the story. So many cringeworthy and embarrassing things happen and you feel responsible because of the brilliance of the scriptwriting. One feels both humour and shame, both pleasure in the pain of others and the horror of being unable to affect the journey or to step in. There are aspects of each character that we desperately hope not to be like, but at the same time knowing that there may be undesirable elements of some of them within us as we watch. Like a good horror film, one feels compelled to watch and to complete the pleasantly unpleasant journey. Some aspects are now though very dated. Those of us who grew up in the 70s and 80s know and understand things like cheesy pineapple sticks. The kids today will just not get that. The cultural references add to one's knowledge of the film and the younger generations will just not identify in the same way. A masterpiece of its generation, but not necessarily one that will stand the test of time to the absolute same heights for those who follow.
Abel
(2010)
An overwhelming feeling of nauseating parenting
16 October 2021
The film has its funny, sad and thoughtful moments and is very much about the mental health of a child who in his father's absence wants to take his place. It is well made, but throughout the story, my overwhelming thought was about the bad parenting and why the mother let the child take the place of the father and why she let the boy dominate as the patriarch (for not all fathers should be) and submit to him. The epitome of woke child rearing. Let your child be whatever it wants, what ever the damage to them or to you. Don't set boundaries or confront problems before they get out of control, rather just pander to the little darlings. 6* because of the quality of the story telling and film making.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
(2001)
A movie that makes you think
16 October 2021
Yes, there have been other films out there about robots and whether they can have human emotions. Short Circuit being a prime example. That film focus on the comedy, whilst still having an underlying thought process. This one focuses upon the intellectual ideas. It is shot well, even if a little schmaltzy in places even if the mood of the film is not. Some truly wonderful acting by Jude Law as Gigolo Joe, a rare original character in modern movies that stands out and will not be forgotten - his greatest work to date. But overall, the film is just not memorable or compelling enough to merit a higher score.
Breathless
(1960)
A technical masterpiece with flaws
16 October 2021
Great for film students wanting to analyse jump cuts etc. And with a nihilistic lead. This early French New Wave film however lacks a lead whom one can ever empathise with, one fails to understand why Jean Seberg would ever put herself at risk to be with him, and as a result, one doesn't really care about the characters by the end. That would be fine in a different film, but this doesn't come with the grace, wit or intellectual point to go with that to justify the characterisation, even if it never reaches the pits of being dull because there is always something interesting to watch and the acting is first class. One to watch, but only if interested in the historical importance of the film.
About Time
(I) (2013)
A charming, sentimental journey
15 October 2021
It is obviously a Richard Curtis film, with a shy male lead and a stunning female he is trying to woo. It has its expected tearjerking moments and moral dilemmas relating to time travel. A charming date evening, but never a masterpiece.
Atonement
(2007)
A better Dunkirk scene than Dunkirk
12 September 2021
Beautifully shot, with a real green theme pre incident / war, including KN's stunning dress, all symbolising life. The film progresses to a very long single shot scene set in Dunkirk, greater than Altman's long shots and putting Nolan to shame. All with the undertone of a complex theme such as atonement. The film is lavish yet not sentimental; thoughtful yet not stolid; and worthy of repeat viewings. A masterpiece, far better than the book.
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