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Reviews
Seabiscuit (2003)
Great All Around
Wife and I grabbed from the shelf tonight for a known great. A very young Elizabeth Banks with Chris Cooper help heal a wide variety of broken souls in retro story telling that pulls on every heart string. The racing scenes are beautifully raw, as are the devastating set backs. Cinematography is unequalled. A beautiful movie from an imaginative start to the ultimate climax. The final moments show Seabisquit running ahead to grab the elusive win for both broken bodies, souls redeemed: cut right, an homage to Red's blindness, and finally the look ahead to the future that Mr. Howard sells throughout the movie. Happiness and sadness in one shot. That's great cinema.
Mare of Easttown: Sacrament (2021)
Great Acting
The series was enjoyable. Kate has begun a series of characters that reminds me of Streep. The main suspense sequence in episode 5 so closely mimicked silence of the lambs, my wife and I both thought there might be moths flying. Glad she got the gun while the captives didn't scream. Yet, trying to guess the main shooter was tough, so I guess they succeeded in keeping us going through the last episode. Julianne Nicholson is a wonderful actress and she should be lauded for her performance. So, it was a fun, but tough watch. Guy Pierce, originally thought in early episodes as a drifter-maybe the killer, turned to be a nice guy. Thanks. Thought Mare might take Kevin's addict girlfriend into Siobhan's room, but she climbed the attic stairs. Better ending.
10 Years (2011)
Somewhat Realistic
Oscar Isaac and 'Yellow Shoes' Kate Mara steal the show. It might've been better with them more on screen. Ari Graynor does her best playing queen married to Football prom mate drunk Chris Pratt. Tatum is sweet with Dawson, although unbelievable with older Ron Livingston. Tatum and Dewan, we'll they were married so there's obvious chemistry. The tossing of toilet paper is somewhat idiotic. The song and ending played out well. Too much Pratt drunk, and dudes pining for girl they never had a chance at, she never would've cared, and she's OK living her life with her kids. Nice try, on some relationships, could've been better. Yet, every 10 is unique.
Black Mirror: Striking Vipers (2019)
Could've been better
The unhappiness of everyone here sends the episode to emptiness. Are we to believe everyone is happy on the lead's birthday and their compromise? Or is the compromise OK to lead a happy life? The effects were great on first time in the game. The police showing up before the two could finish what they knew was a calculated scheme. Great actors, could've done better.
Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
Kelly Lynch at her best
Tough watch, yet Kelly Lynch shines as the addict that wont quit our protagonist, unless there's an end. Great stuff from William H. Burroughs. Stole the show.
Oh, Ramona! (2019)
Dumb but Fun
If you're a teen and looking for a laugh and some eye candy, it's your movie. Otherwise, standard fare. Fatal attraction and a switch ending was not expected, probably unhappy for the common audience.
Dazed and Confused (1993)
How Far Have We Come?
The 70's. The jeans, the pot, the sex, the sports, the beer, the parties, the cars, the arcade, the underage drinking, the parties in the woods, and the young adults. I graduated high school in 1980; so much of this movie rang true to my experiences, except for maybe the hazing ritual. We did play 'touch the light' on the way home from athletic events, whereas the freshman had to run through the whole upper-class team to touch the emergency light in the back of the bus – most anything happened on the attempt.
I thought this movie was unbelievably great. I could relate to many of the characters, and almost tag each with a real life person from my high school. That's probably why it is such a popular movie, as the dead-on recreation of the 70's era helps viewers in the 45-55 year age group warmly reminisce their high school days. Richard Linklater's effort exceeds American pop period greats such as American Graffiti and Grease.
Many have written there is no plot to this movie. For me the plot lies with the main character 'Pink' as he struggles with the notion that he MUST sign the football coach's newly devised written pledge barring the players from engaging in any unlawful consumption of drugs or alcohol. The movie meanders through Pink's life for 24 hours as he struggles with the concept of conformity vs. the individuality flag he flies so proudly with his assortment of friends – jocks, geeks, brains, druggies, drinkers, cheerleaders and even the 20 year old blue collar car fanatic that still hangs on to his high school glory days.
As my children (upper teens) watch this movie, they ask in disbelief – is that REALLY how it was? Yes, I know that today's high schoolers use drugs and alcohol probably to a greater extent than during the '70's – but in a far more subversive manner. Still they cannot believe the craziness that was done in the open. Smoking cigarettes on school grounds in the daylight? Riding in the back of a pick-up through a car wash? An Eighth grader purchasing alcohol? Nightly public keg parties?
My children deal with numbered parking spaces in the student lots, allowing quick recognition of any 'unexcused' vehicles. Cameras and microphones on the buses and in the hallways - big brother in full swing. Eating lunch in the classrooms, as students opt out of lunch period for another elective that'll look good on their transcript. Could you imagine O'Bannion speeding up to the side door entrance of today's school in his hot-rod, toting a wooden paddle specifically designed to repeatedly thwack an incoming freshman on the ass? He'd be arrested for intent to assault, and his parents publicly humiliated on the local news.
Our history has changed us – as Columbine and other High School tragedies have proved that safety is the most important priority of today's school administrators.
The innocent days (and they didn't seem very innocent at the time) of the '70's are long gone. This movie is timeless, and will forever document a period that seemed a little less serious. Thank you for making this film.
10 out of 10.
Marley & Me (2008)
Could've Done Far Better
Reluctant to rent, as the casting seemed wrong, I watched last night in disappointment.
Owen Wilson came around and showed some depth at times - when he meets his friend near the end in Philly, and realizes his family life has turned out better than the life of a roving journalist he once wished. But the biggest problems were Jennifer Aniston and Marley.
Does Aniston know how to perform any differently than her Rachel Green character? I kept waiting for Monica and Phoebe to show up. Too bad - the part could've gone to any number of amazing talents in Hollywood today. But no - another Jennifer Aniston let down. I realize she's good looking, but her acting shows one dimension, yet again.
As for Marley - why didn't they show the moments that Owens' character described to the vet near the end of his life? Do they show Marley looking after his son while he was sick? No - they show shot after shot of the dog trashing the house, running through a restaurant, chewing on furniture....ha, ha, ha - NOT. This misstep really killed the movie - for the audience couldn't bond with Marley, and couldn't understand why, at the end, they cared (especially Aniston) so very much that they were losing a family member.
Marley's constant destructive path reminded me a little of the children's relentless mischief in Cheaper By The Dozen - is this funny? Do directors think we are this stupid? There should've been a crotch injury joke to ice the cake.
The most laughable moment had to be when Marley gets let out of the house for a walk in the rain near the end. He's gone for probably 25 seconds and the whole family becomes 'over the top' concerned. Aniston could barely stand the creature 20 minutes earlier in the movie, now she is so overly concerned it's a joke. Not to mention they might like the dog having some space to run around now that they live in the country - Marley could be gone for hours without much worry to the average dog owning family.
It makes me a little crazy to see very small things that could've been done to make this film better, but were ignored. It doesn't take a genius to see these flaws, yet they keep pumping these films out. Too bad - they had a great book to work from. The storyline was good, but they failed to connect with the audience.
The Wedding Date (2005)
I Missed It
I rented this movie last night, and was sorely disappointed. Yes, there are several humorous moments, and the two leads are charming and nice to look at. But the overall production of the film is utterly ridiculous.
WARNING: don't read any further if you haven't seen this movie. Although by glancing at the DVD cover, you could probably guess the entire movie. It starts off cute, as many light romantic comedies with a setting close to Four Weddings and a Funeral, and the umpteen Julia Roberts' movies. But the harsh reality is the movie made no sense. Debra Messing's character, while attempting to make her ex-fiancé jealous, hires Dermot Mulroney's character to accompany her to London for her sister's wedding. While Mulroney is obviously aesthetically acceptable to Messing, she is somewhat abhorred by his profession. Fine, as long as she can make the man who crushed her life jealous it's all worth it. Of course, it's obvious from the start that the two stars would end up together at the end. I was fine knowing all of this when I plopped down the rental fee.
BUT when did they fall in love??? I blinked and missed it. There was a dance rehearsal scene prior to the wedding where Messing and Mulroney began very angry at each other, and after spinning around in circles for what seemed like hours, they were smiling. Was that when they fell in love? Hardly the J-Lo/Mathew McConaughey dance sequence from The Wedding Planner. Or was it when she kissed him at the bachlorette party when all the other women were swooning over his good looks? Nope, I think not. She never did fall in love with him, or for that matter, him with her. Maybe the two minute scene, and that's about all that was needed, was dropped to the editing floor. But this seasoned movie viewer wished they'd have shown a moment, or a simple mind changing glance to prove to the audience their feelings. It never happened and therefore the meaning of the movie was lost.