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Reviews
Any Given Sunday (1999)
Too much of too much
I was greatly disappointed in this movie. Any Given Sunday has a great beginning. The film starts off fast-paced with brilliant, exciting editing that puts the viewer right in the middle of the action of every play. But after a while, it becomes clear that the editing prevents the viewer from actually seeing what's going on. Everything's a blur of color.
The acting is first rate by everyone in the movie, but the writing is pedestrian. The plot covers the same territory as that of North Dallas Forty but doesn't explore the issues as well as the earlier movie. There is the same subplot involving a sleazy team Doctor willing to shoot the players up with anything to keep them going, but Stone handles the conclusion of this in an unrealistic way. And man, is this movie sexist! The scene that involves domestic violence depicts the wife of a NFL quarterback slugging her husband as hard as she can, while he just hangs his head and takes it. Yeah, right. NFL players are beaten by their wives all the time. And the final half-hour of the movie is intolerable. The inevitable climax of the Big Game is drawn out with every possible delay. A touchdown is called back, there's a penalty, there's a time out. On and on and on. I must have looked at my watch five times. There's definitely some great visuals which look good on the big screen, but I'd recommend to my friends to rent this one. That way you could put it on pause every once and a while. You definitely need a periodic break from this movie.
The Old Curiosity Shop (1995)
Excellent adaptation
I rented this video mistakenly believing that it was a Masterpiece Theater offering. Initially, I was disappointed to see in the credits that it came from the Disney Channel. But only 15 minutes into the story, I realized that this was an excellent adaptation of Dicken's story. The period atmosphere was excellent, as were the costumes and sets. The acting was first-rate, particularly that of Tom Courtney as Quilp and Sally Walsh as Little Nell. Both of these parts could have been played too broadly by less accomplished actors. Sally Walsh's role could have easily become cloying, but she played it with radiant innocence. The villain, Quilp, might well have turned into a scenery-chewing, comic overstatement played by anyone but Courtney. I highly recommend this mini-series to anyone who enjoys film adaptations of 19th century British novels.
Betrayed (1988)
Well worth a rental
Betrayed is a surprisingly effective movie with a good script. Deborah Winger play an FBI agent who has infiltrated a farming community that may have ties to white supremacist groups. Her undercover work leads her to an emotional involvement with one of the people she is meant to investigate, and the situation leads to her become conflicted about her loyalties. The movie has a good plot and some genuinely suspenseful moments.