Movie Reviews
Ten Days Wonder
Claude Chabrol is often called the French Hitchcock, though his themes are a lot deeper than sheer suspense. He’s made some really good films, but this isn’t one of them. It is stagy, almost operatic, but not in a good sense. Orson Welles mumbles his part, and Lee and I were both distracted by the spectacle of his nose, which seems to be made of gray putty. Tony Perkins gives his standard ... Read more »
Quo Vadis
There really should be a question mark after the title, as it translates as “Whither goest thou?” Or as I prefer to think of it “Where da fuck ya think you goin’?”
Robert Osborne at TCM said this was, at the time, the biggest cinematic spectacular ever filmed. It probably stayed that way until The Ten Commandments came along in ... Read more »
Ten Canoes
Here is a movie in the Ganalbingu aboriginal language, with an all-aboriginal cast. It is a simple tale, simply told, though fantastically photographed. Don’t expect great acting, these are all non-professionals. But there is a great deal of humor in it, and the fascination of seeing a way of life so different from ours it might as well be another planet. I was reminded a bit of Read more »
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
What a history this movie has! Fritz Lang made it, and then had to submit it to Joseph Goebbels of the brand-new Ministry of Enlightenment and Propaganda. (Hitler had come into power only three months previous.) Goebbels told Lang that the film could not be shown in Germany because it showed how a single individual could rock the State to its foundations. (Something that was proven beyond ... Read more »
Quinceañera
… is a celebration of a girl’s 15th birthday in many Latino cultures. If there is an equivalent thing for boys, I don’t know about it. It’s like a Bar (and more recently, Bat) Mitzvah, in that you’re coming of age, but you don’t have to study for it. It’s also like a debutante ball, though Latinos often do those in addition to the Quinceañera. They ... Read more »
Temple Grandin
I first became aware of Temple Grandin from a friend, John, who had a teenage autistic son. That boy must be in his thirties by now. At that time the awful bullshit known as “facilitated communication” was all the rage. John didn’t believe in it, and it’s been conclusively proven to be just another false hope. (Autism seems plagued by shit like that. Currently, it’s the vaccination scare, ... Read more »
The Tempest
This has never been one of my favorite Shakespeare plays. I’ve probably only seen it twice, in competent but not outstanding performances. Partly I’m just not enchanted by all the sorcery stuff. I’m a lot happier with the other dramas, and some of the histories. So, although almost no critic I looked at loved it, I have to say I did. For the first time I felt really involved in the story, ... Read more »
The Quiet American
One of those movies that I quite enjoyed at the time, but now I can remember very little about it. Must have been too quiet.
Tell No One
This is based on a novel by Harlan Coben, one of the very best thriller writers working today, and they got it right! Coben wisely sold it to French producers instead of feeding it into the Hollywood meat grinder and stupidity machine, and they have done a superb job. The plot is so convoluted that I’m not even going to get into it, but it is full of surprises, plot reversals, and at its ... Read more »
Quick Change
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Bill Murray comedy where he didn’t make me laugh, even the few I didn’t like. This is a good one. It’s really in two parts: an ingenious bank robbery, and then the attempt to make a getaway, which is foiled mostly by the city of New York. It reminded me of Martin Scorsese’s only comedy, After Hours. These bank robbers just keep ... Read more »