Movie Reviews
Steve Jobs
When I was getting my first computer (and I was a late adopter) I was faced with the choice we all still have to face: Mac or PC? I chose PC for several reasons, one of which is that I can say all these years later that I have never given so much as a nickel to Steve Jobs. I have never owned an iMac, an iPod, an iPhone, an iPad, or an iSpy. Seeing this movie reinforces my self-satisfaction ... Read more »
Suffragette
There is a big dishonesty in this film that I have to point out first. Meryl Streep is featured prominently in the poster and the advertising. And she is in the picture, playing the formidable Emmeline Pankhurst. But she is there for only one scene! She delivers a speech from a balcony, speaks briefly to Carey Mulligan as she gets in a car, and then she is gone. This didn’t sit very well ... Read more »
Carol
I didn’t know much about Patricia Highsmith, author of the terrific Ripley novels, many of which have been made into good movies, and of Strangers on a Train, one of Hitchcock’s best. I didn’t know that she was a lesbian (bisexual, actually, though she said her relationships with men were always unsatisfying). This movie is based on her novel Read more »
The Goodbye Girl
Re-making a movie is seldom a good idea, but some movies just simply cry out not to be re-made, and this is one of them. The original was from 1977 and starred Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason (Neil Simon’s wife at the time), while this one has Jeff Daniels and Patricia Heaton, who I am not familiar with. And let me say that Daniels and Heaton do not disgrace ... Read more »
Up to His Ears
The original French title translates as “The Troubles of a Chinaman in China.” It is taken (very broadly) from a story by Jules Verne, of all people. Jean-Paul Belmondo is a suicidal billionaire whose interest in life is revived when he learns he his broke. But there is a contract out on him, and before long literally half of Hong Kong is out to kill him. He is accompanied by Ursula ... Read more »
That Man From Rio
I saw this when it was new in the only theater in Port Arthur, Texas, that ever showed any films that didn’t come from Hollywood. I’m pretty sure it was dubbed in English, but I was young enough and inexperienced enough not to really care. (I care a lot these days.) It was me and my BFF Calvin, almost alone in the theater. And we began to notice that Jean-Paul ... Read more »
Spectre
Bottom line: This is a quarter of a billion dollars and two-and-a-half hours of real silliness. That’s what they spent making this thing, and that doesn’t even count the publicity. This franchise is now saddled with so much stuff they have to get in … the can-you-top-this opening credits. “Bond. James Bond.” The Bond girls, three this time. The pretty tame sex scenes with the Bond girls. ... Read more »
Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World
The films of Albert Brooks (real name, Albert Einstein, did you know that? Brother of Bob “Super Dave Osborne” Einstein, son of radio star Parkyakarkus) are not for everyone. His brand of humor is a little esoteric, but I mostly love it. This is not his best, but like all his films, it has its moments. Playing himself (or the cinematic version of himself, his usual insecure screw-up guy) ... Read more »
Room
I have not seen the performances of Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Lawrence, Charlotte Rampling, or Saoirse Ronan, so I can’t say this performance by Brie Larson is the “best” of 2015. What I can say is that it is definitely Oscar-worthy. She totally shines, as does her young co-star, Jacob Tremblay.
The idea was inspired, I assume, by the ordeals of women like Elizabeth Smart and Jaycee ... Read more »
Henning Mankell’s Wallander
Henning Mankell wrote a dozen novels featuring Swedish detective Kurt Wallander between 1991 and 2009, and he sure did get a lot of mileage out of them. There was a series of Swedish TV movies from 1994 to 2007, starring Rolf Lassgard. Then there was this Swedish TV series from 2005 to 2013, starring Krister Henriksson. As if that weren’t enough, there is another production, from the BBC, ... Read more »