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tim_simpson
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Reviews
Portrait of a Hitman (1979)
I was surprised to be honest.
I just bought this film on DVD for $5 from a disposal bin. Why? to be honest, I wanted to see if Jack could act.
I found out he can! This film is another in a stream of 1970's examples of a great script and (some) excellent acting ruined by disappointing cinematography.
Very little imagination appears to have been used in the design of shots and locations, which is a odds with the good choice of atmospheric. It's as if a minimalistic lip-service has been paid to realising the vision of the screenplay.
Was this budget related? It was right in the middle of a massive move to TV production by a lot of the big money Hollywood players.
Personally, I'd like to see this film remade with a better crew and budget - the script deserves another chance ... maybe Jack does to!
Crooklyn (1994)
The film was just ... too clean
I've seen this movie described as vibrant .. I guess it was in a way. But I really don't know if that was a good thing for this film. I started watching this film knowing nothing about it. The kid on the bed did remind me of Spike Lee, and I thought to myself "yeah this is a Spike Lee kinda thing" but not something he'd do. I'm surprised to see it is a Spike Lee film.
It's too clean, too fairytale, too ... contrived.
That needs explaining. All the poor, rough kids stealing candy and beating
each other up in the street .. including the glue-heads and the gangsters ... they are all wearing shiny brand new clothes, they're clean shaved, their makeup is immaculate, teeths sparking white (what is that fixation about!).... All of them!!!
The paint on the railing is new .. all of it!, even the garbage and the dirty building frontage is immaculately clean ... it looks designed, not natural.
That's all I saw through the entire film. In fact the props, costumes, and sets we're so unnatural, that several times I found I had been distracted from the story ... I lost the plot so to speak ...
The filming was great ... beautiful shots ... nicely cut .... technically great. But everything got in the way of the story, so it failed in the single thing you make a movie to do.
Exit to Eden (1994)
Great light hearted comedy
It's 3 in the morning and I don't want to think much. Great time to watch this film. There's enough plot to keep you interested, without the need to catch every word on the way to avoid confusion. Too many movies take themselves too seriously - this adds a little slapstick which gives it just the bit of colour it needs.
Dan Aykroyd is as usual good, the filming is good, and for once Rosie O'Donnell entertained me more that annoying me (get more roles like this Rosie!! - the betty rubble / mother in law things make you look bad!)
I've read that some people think it's a 'silly' movie. They're right - it's supposed to be. Sit back and enjoy it!
The Loss of Sexual Innocence (1998)
I liked it - but I can see that there are a lot that won't
I watched this because it billed Julian Sands. I think he's about as talented as they come.
I liked the film, though I can see why some - ok - a good number of viewers - wouldn't. It's slow, it has no blatently obvious plot, they characters are vague, and the imagery is cliche.
If you want to see a block busting adventure - this ain't it.
But - If you want to see a film which is an excellent piece of art, with wonderful acting characters that are deceptivly strong and a fascinating view on how society as a whole overacts to casual sexual encounters - then watch it. Watch it 3-4 times (it helps)
If you're thinking of making a film watch it - it's full of clever tricks and wonderful camera work.