RenoPeters Reviews

The Desperadoes (1943)

B Western doesn't know if it's a drama or comedy.

[5/10 · 16 August 2005]

I'm sure this one was issued on DVD only because it was an early Glenn Ford movie. Both Charles Vidor (the director) and Ford made a much better film together a couple of years later with "Gilda".

The action is supposed to take place in 1863 in the Utah Territory. I guess all the history books are wrong because evidently the railroad was already there six years before the "Golden Spike" ceremony.

Halfway through the film, the action takes a turn during a barroom brawl and suddenly we are watching a comedy. I guess since WWII was being fought at the time, this movie was designed to offer some entertainment value for the troops abroad and the folks at home.

It's watchable but entirely forgettable. Much better westerns were made by Michael Curtiz a few years earlier along the same theme. So see "Dodge City" and "Virginia City" instead. Indeed, the latter features both Randolph Scott and "Big Boy" Williams who also appear in "The Desperadoes".

Bend It Like Beckham (2002)

Good performances save this trite story placed in the Indian community of London.

[5/10 · 10 November 2003]

This story would never have made it into a widely distributed film except for the fact that the main character is a young Indian lady in contemporary London. The performances of the three youths make the film enjoyable to watch but the story is totally predictable and the direction mediocre if not annoying. There are too many filler scenes with pop song backgrounds that add nothing to the plot. The final scenes of the wedding party are particularly obnoxious and I believe insulting to the Indian culture. The final shots during the credits played to the awful song "Hot, Hot, Hot" might be the lowpoint of any of the films that I have seen this year. Perhaps I have been on too many cruises where that song is overplayed night after night.

Saying all that, Parminder Nagra is a delight to watch and her performance lifts the movie above the banality of its plot. I hope to see more of her in future roles, hopefully with better scripts and direction.

If this movie is at all similar to "My Fat Greek Wedding", I am very glad that I did not see it.

My rating is 5.5 stars but Imdb only allows me to vote 5 or 6. I voted 5 to counterbalance (in a very small way) all the 7's and 8's that it is receiving.

A Mighty Wind (2003)

This should have been a TV movie

[5/10 · 5 November 2003]

I just don't see the point of this movie. It reminds me of the within the movie spoof of old Hollywood films in "Singing in the Rain" except that this mostly unfunny spoof is the real movie. There's a lot of wasted talent here. I'm not sure why they wasted their time on it.

In the 60's, there were two major folk music styles that had different audiences. There were the very white and do-good activist folk groups like Peter, Paul and Mary and the New Christy Minstrels along with Pete Seeger and The Kingston Trio. The other style of folk was the more blues oriented and darker, more traditional artists like Bob Dylan, Dave Von Ronk, Eric von Schmidt, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, the Farinas, Joan Baez and Arlo Guthrie.

I never had much interest in the first style of folk musicians so a spoof of their reunion held little interest for me. The only good scenes in the film, in my opinion, were those between Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara. There were some tender moments there and I really liked her husband, the English guy with the trains but he kind of disappeared somewhere in the middle.

Kind of a waste for a major film release. This should have been a TV movie.

The Emperor's New Clothes (2001)

Well acted, humorous fantasy about Napoleon

[6/10 · 26 April 2003]

Some Spoilers Below

I found this title in the Comedy section of my video rental store and decided to give it a try. It's not really a comedy but is a humorous fantasy about Napoleon Bonaparte trading places with a common seaman to get off the island of St. Helena and return to France. Ian Holm plays both Napoleon and his double.

This movie has a nice script, excellent acting, and is beautifully photographed. It holds the viewer's attention for the full 107 minutes. Though the plot is implausible, it is not preposterous as so many movies are today.

I never heard of this movie when it was first released, so it was a nice discovery in the video store. It probably would have had a wider audience if it had been shown on Masterpiece Theater or had been an HBO movie. Indeed, the production has the feel of a made for TV movie. Looking at the credits for Alan Taylor, it does appear that his previous efforts have been for network or cable TV.

One bright spot in the film is the performance of Iben Hjejle as Pumpkin. Although her falling for Napoleon is a little hard to believe, his choosing a life with her instead of re-taking power is entirely believable. I hope to see more of her in the future.

The Gathering Storm (2002 TV Movie)

A Disappointing HBO Drama

[5/10 · 10 April 2003]

I found this film to be very disappointing. It really did not tell me much about Churchill nor the era that is depicted. In fact, to understand what is going on, you need to already have a good knowledge of British history in the 1930's.

Although Finney does a very good job in impersonating Churchill, he is hard to understand and his Churchill is not a very sympathetic character. There is no way that "this" Churchill is going to become a future Prime Minister. I also objected to the fact that the film forces us to watch Finney urinating twice, once with a view of his full backside.

I did not learn much from this dramatization. Far better were the 60's TV documentary "The Valiant Years" and the 1981 PBS series "The Wilderness Years".

Sleepers (1996)

Unbelievable Conclusion

[5/10 · 10 April 2003]

Warning: Spoilers Within

This movie seems to be a favorite with a certain age group of young men. There are hardly any comments here from women.

As a film, the first part is much more convincing than the last. The story of the children and the performances of the actors is very good and very believable. The film goes downhill fast when the so called "stars" make their appearance. There is nothing remarkable about the performances of Pitt, Hoffman, and DeNiro. The film would have been much better off (and a lot cheaper to produce) if they had stayed with unknowns. Kevin Bacon, on the other hand, gives an excellent performance.

I would have enjoyed this film a lot more if the "revenge" factor had shown a little more originality that just two thugs blowing away Bacon in a pub. Not only was this a hideous crime that involved Bacon but it also wreaked havoc on the lives of those who witnessed it not to mention the cost of cleaning up the mess for the owner of the establishment. There was no sympathy in the mind of this viewer for the characters who carried out this act.

The fact that the prosecutor was the boyhood friend and detention hall mate was a little hard to believe. It was also very hard to believe that a priest would lie to save these two murderers. Whatever happened to the moral of "two wrongs don't make a right"? And, would the jury believe the priest since the defendants had never claimed that they had been to the basketball game on the night of the shooting? If they had an alibi, they would never have been charged. The conclusion is not very believable.

It's too bad the last third of the film could not equal the quality of the first two-thirds.

Long Day's Journey Into Night (1962)

One of the best filmed plays in movie history

[13 December 2002]

I just caught an interview with Sam Shephard on Fresh Air where he mentions that this movie was one of the reasons he got interested in the theater. He talked about the great performances of Jason Robards, Ralph Richardson, Dean Stockwell, and Katherine Hepburn. My memory of the movie goes back to the late 60's in Berkeley when I had just seen a performance of the play by the Berkeley Rep and then watched the film shortly thereafter in an on campus showing. I, too, was blown away by these performances. In my mind, they rank up there with the very best in the history of film as an ensemble piece of acting. The direction by Sidney Lumet was outstanding and the screenplay remained true to the original play which has never been a common practice in Hollywood. Perhaps these characters resemble members of my family a little too much but they have not been forgotten in the 30 plus years since I last saw the film.

Gladiator (2000)

A better film than I expected

[8/10 · 16 March 2001]

After reading some of the comments here and being generally leary about Hollywood blockbusters, I did not expect much from this film. I was pleasantly surprised.

If you can get by the preposterous premise of the film, you will find a literate script, good performances, and a movie that really moves along at a fast pace. It is the only Roman epic that I would willingly see again besides Spartacus. In fact, there is a lot in Gladiator that can be compared to the first half of Spartacus but Spartacus remains the superior film. I am glad that the producers of Gladiator chose to emulate Spartacus rather than The Fall of the Roman Empire(which was a terrible film) upon which the plot was based.

Some good things about the film include the lack of sex and foul language which would have restricted the viewing of this film. There is plenty of violence but it's in a comic book style and not too realistic. The use of Oliver Reed and Richard Harris was truly inspired and they contribute to the film in the way that Alec Guiness contributed to Star Wars. The overall quality of acting is very good. The special effects are fine and the scenes in the Colluseum are especially memorable.

It is not a great film, or even the best film of 2000, but I enjoyed it and would recommend it with enthusiasm.

The Big Country (1958)

Great western with perfect cast and great music score

[10/10 · 1 October 1998]

Underrated by many critics when first released (and still rather unappreciated), this movie has stood the test of time. The cast is superb with winning performances by Peck and Simmons and career performances by Heston and Baker. Burl Ives almost steals the show with his academy award performance. This is a big western, best viewed in the widescreen version and listened to in digital sound. The music score by Jerome Moross is simply one of the finest ever composed for any movie. In a way, watching this movie is more like viewing an opera than a normal flick.