Movie Reviews
Royal Flash
Sir Harry Flashman (1822-1915) (VC, KCB, KCIE; Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur; U.S. Medal of Honor; San Serafino Order of Purity and Truth, 4th Class), is one of the most heroic figures imaginable, ending his career in the army with the rank of general. But this is how he describes himself in The Flashman Papers: “A scoundrel, a liar, a cheat, a thief, a ... Read more »
Planet Earth
A 5-disc series originally shown on the BBC. There are several odd things about this release. It was originally narrated by David Attenborough, then for some reason it was decided to have Sigourney Weaver do the American version. I have the greatest respect for Ms. Weaver, but David is the one with the real chops at this sort of thing. The only thing I missed was his often humorous ... Read more »
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
People who worked with him say John Candy was possibly the most genuinely nice person ever to come to Hollywood. They say that about a lot of people, after they’re dead, but one anecdote is enough to make me believe it. Maureen O’Hara came out of retirement to co-star with him in Only the Lonely, but didn’t decide to take it until she could meet him. Within a few ... Read more »
Rosenstrasse
Making a tearjerker with the Holocaust as the background ought to be as easy as making a comedy in a banana cream pie factory. So why aren’t I crying?
For one thing, it’s too long. Needlessly long, with lingering shots that could have been cut by half. For another, it can’t decide which story it wants to tell. It keeps jumping back and forth between present day and the past, and ... Read more »
Ronin
This movie contains maybe the purest example of a McGuffin I’ve ever seen. Hitchcock defined a McGuffin as “the thing everybody wants.” It’s the object the plot revolves around. In an Indiana Jones movie it’s the Ark of the Covenant, or the Crystal Skull. Really, it’s just an excuse for all the action. Here the McGuffin is an aluminum case of the sort that usually holds ice skates. The ... Read more »
Rome, Open City
I did a little research on the term “Open City,” and it confirmed what I thought. In wartime, if a government sees that it is unable to defend a city, they will declare it open, which means that the enemy is free to march in, the city will not be defended. This strikes me as a remarkably humane provision of the Geneva Conventions. It was invoked several times in WWII, and even the fucking ... Read more »
A Place in the Sun
Theodore Dreiser’s An American Tragedy was required reading my senior year in high school, and like most of what I was forced to read (Silas Marner, Jane Eyre, The Scarlet Letter) I didn’t care for it much. It is such a sad and sordid story. I’m not tempted to re-visit the book, but ... Read more »
Romance With a Double Bass
Connie Booth was married to John Cleese for ten years, and near the end of that time they co-wrote “Fawlty Towers,” without a doubt the best sitcom (only 12 episodes, alas) ever to come out of England or any other country. The year before, they wrote and starred in this 40-minute trifle, based on a story by Anton Chekhov, about a bass player and a princess who are naked most of the time, ... Read more »
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
I may have been a bit too unkind. There were a few other delights besides Johnny Depp’s performance, so I hereby upgrade my rating just a little bit.
I considered renting the first movie before seeing this one, but didn’t get around to it. Mistake. I hadn’t realized how much this one would rely on the back story, so much of what was going on here was a puzzle to ... Read more »
Romance and Cigarettes
I love musicals, and I love experimentation. I loved Pennies From Heaven, where the performers lip-synched to old recordings, and the dancing was really swell! I thought Woody Allen’s Everyone Says I Love You mostly worked, except for the part where Woody sang. I liked the things Tim Burton did with Read more »