Although this movie is devoid of humor, it was not a complete waste of time for me. The lack any interesting scenes put me to sleep and when the movie was over I woke up refreshed. That is something a movie with good writing and compelling characters can never do.
Reviews
23 Reviews
Of Mice and Men
(1992)
Great except for Malkovich
14 September 2003
This movie has a good script, fine acting, and is beautifully photographed. Even though I had read the book and knew the plot, I was drawn into story and moved by the ending. Gary Sinise does a very good job of showing what a complicated and conflicted character George is. George seems to be a smart man, but he has not gotten far in life. He feels the need to watch out for his closest friend, Lenny. But, you sense that George sometimes thinks Lenny is a burden and George feels guilty about those thoughts. This might be Gary Sinise's best acting performance.
I was disappointed in John Malkovich's over-the-top portrayal of Lenny. In the book, I felt that Lenny was just very simple minded, but in the movie version, Lenny seems to be seriously retarded. The Malkovich Lenny has too many odd facial expressions and a speaking style that is like a cartoon parody Lenny. That performance was distracting and irritating and made Lenny less sympathetic. It also changed the relationship with George. It makes George more of a nursemaid to seriously ill Lenny, instead of a helpful friend who watches out for Lenny.
I was disappointed in John Malkovich's over-the-top portrayal of Lenny. In the book, I felt that Lenny was just very simple minded, but in the movie version, Lenny seems to be seriously retarded. The Malkovich Lenny has too many odd facial expressions and a speaking style that is like a cartoon parody Lenny. That performance was distracting and irritating and made Lenny less sympathetic. It also changed the relationship with George. It makes George more of a nursemaid to seriously ill Lenny, instead of a helpful friend who watches out for Lenny.
S1m0ne
(2002)
A universe of imbeciles
14 August 2003
I found nothing funny in this so called comedy. It is set in a universe where everyone is an unquestioning imbecile. The movie gives us a second rate washed up director who creates movies with a CGI actress. It is obvious to us that the movies and the actress are no good, but the joke in the movie is that the CGI actress gets lots of fans and awards anyway and no one guesses that she is computer generated.
I thought the casting was bad. Al Pacino took the director role that should have been over the top funny and played it as a deranged pathetic loser. I felt bad for his character as things got more and more out of control. The movie would have been better with the director happily oblivious to problems behind his creation (like Steve Martin in Bowfinger or Johnny Depp in Ed Wood).
Also, I could not believe Catherine Keener as a dopey fan of Simone and ex-wife of Al Pacino. Catherine Keener always seems to know more that she lets on. That does not work in this role that requires blind admiration for Simone.
I would have liked this movie better if it had set up a conflict between those who thought Simone was no good and the blindly devoted fans instead of having everyone being a fan.
At some point, I was wondering if I was missing the whole point of the movie. Maybe it was intended was a cruel send up of Meryl Streep. She seems to get universal praise for every acting job she takes on -- no matter how silly or poorly written. Her acting and ability to do accents are technically excellent, although she might not have the emotional range of other actresses. Maybe Meryl Streep is a robot.
I thought the casting was bad. Al Pacino took the director role that should have been over the top funny and played it as a deranged pathetic loser. I felt bad for his character as things got more and more out of control. The movie would have been better with the director happily oblivious to problems behind his creation (like Steve Martin in Bowfinger or Johnny Depp in Ed Wood).
Also, I could not believe Catherine Keener as a dopey fan of Simone and ex-wife of Al Pacino. Catherine Keener always seems to know more that she lets on. That does not work in this role that requires blind admiration for Simone.
I would have liked this movie better if it had set up a conflict between those who thought Simone was no good and the blindly devoted fans instead of having everyone being a fan.
At some point, I was wondering if I was missing the whole point of the movie. Maybe it was intended was a cruel send up of Meryl Streep. She seems to get universal praise for every acting job she takes on -- no matter how silly or poorly written. Her acting and ability to do accents are technically excellent, although she might not have the emotional range of other actresses. Maybe Meryl Streep is a robot.
Nightcap
(2000)
Isabelle Huppert!
14 August 2003
This movie is slow paced and the plot does not make much sense, but I really enjoyed watching Isabelle Huppert. She plays this all too perfect Jackie Kennedy / June Cleaver mother/wife. As you watch her performance, you witness more and more problems, each problems increasingly troubling. This apparently normal woman has serious psychological problems.
The movie starts interestingly enough with Anna Mouglalis investigating the possibility that she was switched at birth and starting to investigate some odd behavior of Isabelle Huppert. But then the investigation halts for no reason and Anna Mouglalis loses her curiosity and caution and becomes a trusting naive idiot. The movie would have been less boring if the investigation had continued instead of just allowing Isabelle Huppert to reveal her problems on her own.
This could have been a great movie.
The movie starts interestingly enough with Anna Mouglalis investigating the possibility that she was switched at birth and starting to investigate some odd behavior of Isabelle Huppert. But then the investigation halts for no reason and Anna Mouglalis loses her curiosity and caution and becomes a trusting naive idiot. The movie would have been less boring if the investigation had continued instead of just allowing Isabelle Huppert to reveal her problems on her own.
This could have been a great movie.
Hollywood Ending
(2002)
Another failed Comedy from Woody Allen
10 August 2003
The good Woody Allen comedies are packed with intelligent jokes and have characters you like and can relate to. This movie misses on both counts. There is very little that is funny in this movie unless you like Woody's exaggerated portrayal of a blind man and everyone else's unbelievable failure to notice that Woody is blind. The attempts at slapstick comedy based on the problems of a fumbling blind man are embarrassingly bad.
But the bigger problem is that Woody's character is so unlikeable. He plays a bad director that treats Tea Leoni badly. It is hard to understand how they could have ever been married or why she would ever consider going back to someone so stupid, untalented, and insensitive.
The final problem is that this movie drags on much too long. There is an incredible amount of pointless dialog that is uninteresting and does not advance the plot.
The only part of the movie that works for me is the scene with Woody's estranged son, "Scumbag X". Scumbag is an interesting original character whose intelligence is in stark contrast to all the idiots that populate the rest of the movie. That scene had my favorite Allen line: "I love you, Scumbag".
But the bigger problem is that Woody's character is so unlikeable. He plays a bad director that treats Tea Leoni badly. It is hard to understand how they could have ever been married or why she would ever consider going back to someone so stupid, untalented, and insensitive.
The final problem is that this movie drags on much too long. There is an incredible amount of pointless dialog that is uninteresting and does not advance the plot.
The only part of the movie that works for me is the scene with Woody's estranged son, "Scumbag X". Scumbag is an interesting original character whose intelligence is in stark contrast to all the idiots that populate the rest of the movie. That scene had my favorite Allen line: "I love you, Scumbag".
Maybe I was asleep during the good parts
28 December 2002
As I was walking out of the theater, I kept wondering if I had fallen asleep during this movie. I could not recall any interesting characters. I could only recall confusing battle scenes and lame dialog which did little to advance the plot or explain the characters' motivations. I did not understand what Padmé and Anakin saw in each other. Their awkward dialog and wooden acting was painful to watch.
The second half of the movie is made up of a ridiculously complicated battle scene. But instead of being exciting, it was so complicated that is was hard to follow the logic or the flow of the battle. I could not tell who was winning or what the strategy of the battle was. Whenever I started to follow part of a battle there would be lots of flashes and the scene would change.
I agree with reviewer CRoWsNest96 who said that this movie should have been titled "Episode II:Anakin, the sulky years". Anakin in this movie is uninteresting and unlikable. He is a spoiled bratty teenager. Those are bad attributes for the protagonist of the story.
The second half of the movie is made up of a ridiculously complicated battle scene. But instead of being exciting, it was so complicated that is was hard to follow the logic or the flow of the battle. I could not tell who was winning or what the strategy of the battle was. Whenever I started to follow part of a battle there would be lots of flashes and the scene would change.
I agree with reviewer CRoWsNest96 who said that this movie should have been titled "Episode II:Anakin, the sulky years". Anakin in this movie is uninteresting and unlikable. He is a spoiled bratty teenager. Those are bad attributes for the protagonist of the story.
Zatoichi's Cane Sword
(1967)
One of the best Zotoichi
2 June 2002
This is one of the best Zatoichi movies. It has lots of humor, great action scenes and a history of Zatorichi's sword. Zatoichi gives up his sword when he discovers it is about to fail. Later, when gang of swordsmen attack him he must defend himself with just his bamboo cane. In another fight he defends himself against a knife attack with his pipe. After he gets a sword back, he finds himself sealed in a barrel by his attackers. But he defeats the attachers by stabbing through the barrel.
The best scene in the movie is Zatoichi doing a crazy song and dance about trying to catch ducks. Because it is completely out of character for Zatoichi, it is very funny. But at the same time you have to appreciate how good the performance is. When the dance is over, Zatoichi proceeds to "accidentally" insult the gang leader by mooning him, ignoring his offer of sake and then spilling sake on him.
The underlying story line is the same as most Zatoichi films. The villagers are being exploited by a violent gang and corrupt leader. Zatoichi kills enough bad guys until the town is saved.
The best scene in the movie is Zatoichi doing a crazy song and dance about trying to catch ducks. Because it is completely out of character for Zatoichi, it is very funny. But at the same time you have to appreciate how good the performance is. When the dance is over, Zatoichi proceeds to "accidentally" insult the gang leader by mooning him, ignoring his offer of sake and then spilling sake on him.
The underlying story line is the same as most Zatoichi films. The villagers are being exploited by a violent gang and corrupt leader. Zatoichi kills enough bad guys until the town is saved.
The Debt
(1993)
The perfect short subject
14 May 2002
The story is dramatic, funny and surprising. Most of the story is told through the expressions on the actors faces. Paul Lazar plays the door-to-door book peddler with a perfect balance of assertiveness, insecurity, and weirdness.
The Hi-Lo Country
(1998)
This movie could have been great
11 May 2002
This movie has all the ingredients to make a great movie. It is beautifully photographed with wonderful western landscapes. It has one of Woody Harrelson's best performances as a hard drinking, hard working, hard loving good old boy rancher. It has excellent support from Sam Elliot, Billy Crudup and Penelope Cruz. It is set in the late 40's, early 50's when small independent ranchers are being replaced by large commercial farms.
The problem with this movie is that is focuses way too much on the three way relationship between Billy Crudup, Woody Harrelson and Patricia Arquette. Arquette and Harrelson are lovers and Crudup lusts after Arquette. This relationship is not believable because Arquette's character is untrustworthy, amoral, and a liar. The woman who is more interested in Crudup is the Penelope Cruz character. The movie never explains why Crudup would prefer Arquette over the much more beautiful and sexy Cruz.
The Sam Elliot character is wasted. He does a good job of portraying the businessman rancher. He is not evil, but all the small time ranchers hate him because he is contributing to, and a symbol of, the end of small ranches. But it is not Sam Elliot that is destroying the small ranches, it is the progress of commercialization which Sam Elliot represents. It is this contradiction between good person Sam Elliot is and the evil that he represents that makes is character so interesting. This movie should have been more about Sam Elliot.
The movie falls apart into silly soap opera / action movie like scenes at the end. It abandons the interesting character study and gives us emergency rescues in a storm, deaths, murders, cover-ups and "dramatic" revelations. Those scenes belong in some other movie.
The problem with this movie is that is focuses way too much on the three way relationship between Billy Crudup, Woody Harrelson and Patricia Arquette. Arquette and Harrelson are lovers and Crudup lusts after Arquette. This relationship is not believable because Arquette's character is untrustworthy, amoral, and a liar. The woman who is more interested in Crudup is the Penelope Cruz character. The movie never explains why Crudup would prefer Arquette over the much more beautiful and sexy Cruz.
The Sam Elliot character is wasted. He does a good job of portraying the businessman rancher. He is not evil, but all the small time ranchers hate him because he is contributing to, and a symbol of, the end of small ranches. But it is not Sam Elliot that is destroying the small ranches, it is the progress of commercialization which Sam Elliot represents. It is this contradiction between good person Sam Elliot is and the evil that he represents that makes is character so interesting. This movie should have been more about Sam Elliot.
The movie falls apart into silly soap opera / action movie like scenes at the end. It abandons the interesting character study and gives us emergency rescues in a storm, deaths, murders, cover-ups and "dramatic" revelations. Those scenes belong in some other movie.
Zatoichi's Revenge
(1965)
A very disturbing Zatoichi movie
4 May 2002
Most Zatoichi movies are like simple fables where the underdog stumbles into a problem and uses his sword to defeat the almost cartoonish villains and make things wonderful again. The stories are unbelievable, but the movies are enjoyable because Shintaro Katsu brings so much humility and charm to his role.
This film is much different from the other Zatoichi films that I have seen. Through deceit, murder, and trickery the village leaders have forced villagers to incur debts they are unable to repay in any way except to put their daughters to work in the brothel. The brothel is owned by the village leaders. If the daughters attempt to escape or do not cooperate they are beaten, locked in a storehouse and starved. The movie graphically depicts the abuse in the brothel. There is a very disturbing scene where Zatoichi is giving a brothel customer a massage and in the background you can hear the screams of a reluctant new girl being beaten.
Zatoichi gets involved in this situation when he goes to visit his old teacher and discovers that the teacher had been killed and the teacher's daughter had to work at the brothel to repay the teacher's debt.
The corruption in the village goes very deep and affects many people. The more trouble the corrupt leaders get into, the more they plot killing and framing people for the killings. The corrupt leaders are able to get honorable men to do almost anything to keep or get their daughters out of the brothel. This rampant corruption makes it impossible for Zatoichi to trust anyone fully. To fix the problem, Zatoichi seems to have to fight an entire army. When the movie ends, you wonder if there are any able bodied men left alive in the village or if Zatoichi has killed them all.
If you are looking for a typical light Zatoichi movie, you will not like this one. If you are looking for a dark, powerful, thought provoking move, this is the one.
This film is much different from the other Zatoichi films that I have seen. Through deceit, murder, and trickery the village leaders have forced villagers to incur debts they are unable to repay in any way except to put their daughters to work in the brothel. The brothel is owned by the village leaders. If the daughters attempt to escape or do not cooperate they are beaten, locked in a storehouse and starved. The movie graphically depicts the abuse in the brothel. There is a very disturbing scene where Zatoichi is giving a brothel customer a massage and in the background you can hear the screams of a reluctant new girl being beaten.
Zatoichi gets involved in this situation when he goes to visit his old teacher and discovers that the teacher had been killed and the teacher's daughter had to work at the brothel to repay the teacher's debt.
The corruption in the village goes very deep and affects many people. The more trouble the corrupt leaders get into, the more they plot killing and framing people for the killings. The corrupt leaders are able to get honorable men to do almost anything to keep or get their daughters out of the brothel. This rampant corruption makes it impossible for Zatoichi to trust anyone fully. To fix the problem, Zatoichi seems to have to fight an entire army. When the movie ends, you wonder if there are any able bodied men left alive in the village or if Zatoichi has killed them all.
If you are looking for a typical light Zatoichi movie, you will not like this one. If you are looking for a dark, powerful, thought provoking move, this is the one.
Best in Show
(2000)
I don't get it.
10 March 2002
Best in Show was boring and did not make me laugh. All the characters except the fisherman/bloodhound-owner and Fred Willard as the commentator were were more annoying and pathetic than funny. I did not care about the characters. I did not believe people would act the way that characters in this movie did.
Maybe I just took too many grumpy pill before watching Best in Show.
Maybe I just took too many grumpy pill before watching Best in Show.
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
(1956)
The worst of Fritz Lang
14 July 2001
This movie has a terrible script. The main characters are unsympathetic and incredibly stupid. I don't want to give away the ending, but the twists at the end of the movie surprise you only because you don't expect such idiotic behavior.
Joan Fontaine's character is particularly unpleasant and unattractive. You are supposed to feel bad that Dana Andrews is sacrificing his relationship with her to pursue his project of exposing the justice system's abuse of circumstantial evidence, but unless he needs her money he seems better off without her.
Joan Fontaine's character is particularly unpleasant and unattractive. You are supposed to feel bad that Dana Andrews is sacrificing his relationship with her to pursue his project of exposing the justice system's abuse of circumstantial evidence, but unless he needs her money he seems better off without her.
Celebrity
(1998)
I could not stand Kenneth Branagh as Woody Allen
12 May 2001
This movie centers on Kenneth Branagh who portrays the speaking style, mannerisms, and neurotic attitude of 1970's Woody Allen. I could not believe Kenneth Branagh in this role. All I could see was an actor pretending to be Woody Allen. I could find nothing funny in this movie. I gave up on this movie when I got to the scene where Kenneth Branagh is giving a woman a ride in his car and she says she has mirrors on her bed and Branagh gets so flustered at that thought that he makes a left turn into a picture window and crashes the car. I think it was supposed to be funny, but the reaction was just illogical.
Limbo
(I) (1999)
Starts great then bogs down
8 May 2001
This movie starts like a typical great John Sayles movie. It is about people in Alaska struggling to get through their day-to-day lives, some with dignity, some not so much. They are all interesting and they all have their secrets and their stories. Like any small town, everyone knows everyone else's problems.
The second half of the movie is about circumstances that leave Joe Gastineau, his new girlfriend, and her daughter stranded on a remote island and their struggle to survive. I had trouble believing any of the action in the second half. It starts going wrong when Joe brings the girls on his brother's boat without asking his brother if that was OK. Then his brother does not object even though he knows it is going to be dangerous. Later, the bad guys track down the boat, even though the boat is not where it is supposed to be due to a storm. The bad guys are able to silently sneak up on and board the boat. Joe and friends are able to swim away from and escape from the bad guys even though the bad guys have a motor boat and guns. They struggle to survive on the remote island, but they always seem too clean, dry, shaved, and well fed. The movie then has a cop-out ending, although I could not think of a better ending, given the incredible action that preceded it.
The second half of the movie did not feel like a John Sayles movie. It was like someone else wrote it.
This movie has some great performances. David Strathairn is a troubled, but good hearted handy-man. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is wonderful as a singer who is just barely keeping her life in order and raising a daughter. She portrays someone who is cheerful and optimistic and at the same time someone who is weary and can see only more problems in the future. She is getting older and has given up ever becoming a famous singer. It is an interesting, appealing character.
The second half of the movie is about circumstances that leave Joe Gastineau, his new girlfriend, and her daughter stranded on a remote island and their struggle to survive. I had trouble believing any of the action in the second half. It starts going wrong when Joe brings the girls on his brother's boat without asking his brother if that was OK. Then his brother does not object even though he knows it is going to be dangerous. Later, the bad guys track down the boat, even though the boat is not where it is supposed to be due to a storm. The bad guys are able to silently sneak up on and board the boat. Joe and friends are able to swim away from and escape from the bad guys even though the bad guys have a motor boat and guns. They struggle to survive on the remote island, but they always seem too clean, dry, shaved, and well fed. The movie then has a cop-out ending, although I could not think of a better ending, given the incredible action that preceded it.
The second half of the movie did not feel like a John Sayles movie. It was like someone else wrote it.
This movie has some great performances. David Strathairn is a troubled, but good hearted handy-man. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is wonderful as a singer who is just barely keeping her life in order and raising a daughter. She portrays someone who is cheerful and optimistic and at the same time someone who is weary and can see only more problems in the future. She is getting older and has given up ever becoming a famous singer. It is an interesting, appealing character.
Magnolia
(1999)
Five scripts shuffled into one movie
6 May 2001
I saw this movie yesterday, and I still don't know if I liked it. It is a three hour movie that is so tightly paced that the time goes by very quickly. It feels like someone took five movie scripts and shuffled the pages together into one script. It is a struggle to follow and make sense out of each plot line because the movie cuts between each plot line with the pace and music of an MTV video. At some point, you give up and just let the scenes wash over you faster than you can comprehend. On one hand viewing the movie is an amazing experience with great scenes and great actors. On the other hand, the plots do not really tie together and it does not have a conclusion or make any sense. The ending is particularly goofy and pointless.
I would recommend this movie in spite of its flaws because it is so different from any other movie you are going to see and if you don't try to make sense out of it, it is very entertaining.
I would recommend this movie in spite of its flaws because it is so different from any other movie you are going to see and if you don't try to make sense out of it, it is very entertaining.
Philadelphia
(1993)
Preachy, predictable, slow pace.
28 April 2001
I am surprised at the praise this movie gets. The characters are all one dimensional. The lawyers at Tom Hanks' firm are all evil bigots, Tom Hanks plays the most brilliant and kind lawyer in the world, his gay friends are kind and supportive, every member of his family is kind and loving and supportive. Denzel Washington starts out as a bigot but is cured by the wonderfulness of Tom Hanks and friends. I could not buy any of these characters as real life people. They were all caricatures.
The movie was totally predictable. A wonderful beloved man man with AIDS sues the evil lawyers. Guess which lawyers present a pathetic, incompetent case. Guess who wins. Guess who dies. Guess who is sad about the death.
The pacing was very slow. The scene where Tom Hanks explains the Maria Callus aria goes on much too long. In the scenes with Tom Hanks giant family, all the family members have to get in their camera time.
Tom Hanks does a great portrayal of a Gay man struggling against bigotry, the effects of AIDS, and the fears of AIDS. It it too bad that character was not placed in a better movie.
The movie was totally predictable. A wonderful beloved man man with AIDS sues the evil lawyers. Guess which lawyers present a pathetic, incompetent case. Guess who wins. Guess who dies. Guess who is sad about the death.
The pacing was very slow. The scene where Tom Hanks explains the Maria Callus aria goes on much too long. In the scenes with Tom Hanks giant family, all the family members have to get in their camera time.
Tom Hanks does a great portrayal of a Gay man struggling against bigotry, the effects of AIDS, and the fears of AIDS. It it too bad that character was not placed in a better movie.
Shanghai Noon
(2000)
Typical Jackie Chan
22 April 2001
This is a typical Jackie Chan movie with a silly plot and ridiculous fight scenes. None of the plot is believable. There is some needless swearing and killing that seems to server only to raise the rating to PG-13.
Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable movie because of the charm of Jackie Chan. He always seems to be having fun no matter how much trouble he gets into. The plot and his problems only serve to provide a framework into which he can fit fight scenes with their incredible, yet funny stunts. I'll remember the stunts in this movie long after I have forgotten the plot.
Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable movie because of the charm of Jackie Chan. He always seems to be having fun no matter how much trouble he gets into. The plot and his problems only serve to provide a framework into which he can fit fight scenes with their incredible, yet funny stunts. I'll remember the stunts in this movie long after I have forgotten the plot.
Bicycle Thieves
(1948)
I don't get it.
15 April 2001
Warning: Spoilers
I don't understand all the praise that this movie gets. It does not make sense to me. I'll have to watch it again.
The part of the movie that works for me is the reaction of the son, Bruno, to problems his father is having. He wants to be proud of his father, but things only go from bad to worse.
A guy with no bicycle gets a job that requires a bicycle. He relies on his wife to solve the problem by pawning their new and used sheets to get their old bicycle out of hock. Why would a pawn shop value a bicycle the same as used bedding especially when they already have a warehouse full of pawned bedding?
The job entails carrying a big ladder, a bucket of paste, a big paste brush, and movie posters on a bicycle and putting up posters. That would seem to be a dangerous and stupid balancing act. Why aren't the people and supplies delivered by truck?
The bicycle gets stolen from under his nose at the first job and he is unable to catch the thief even when he is "aided" by someone in a truck. Why didn't he put some kind of restraint on the bike? Why didn't the thief choose an unattended bike? It is hard to believe he could not catch the bike thief.
He tries to find the stolen bike and then gives up. Why couldn't he borrow someone's bike or even promise to pay someone part of his new big salary to use their bike?
Spoilers: As a last resort, he grabs an unattended bike, but as soon as he touches it, ten people appear out of every door and window and chase him down and catch him. It is incredible that out of all the bicycles in Italy this guy chooses the one that is guarded by ten athletes that are able to outrun a bicycle that has a big head start.
You have to wonder if this guy is too dumb to function in that society. He takes a ridiculous job, depends on his wife to get a bike, is unable to hold on to the bike, unable to catch the thief, unable to find his stolen bike, unable to come up with a plan to get a new bike except for theft which he bungles. When you see him putting up a poster, he seems very sloppy and the results do not look good. So even if he had a bike, he would probably be fired for sloppy work.
If you a looking for a real masterpiece of Italian cinema, look at Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, a movie that is much better.
The part of the movie that works for me is the reaction of the son, Bruno, to problems his father is having. He wants to be proud of his father, but things only go from bad to worse.
A guy with no bicycle gets a job that requires a bicycle. He relies on his wife to solve the problem by pawning their new and used sheets to get their old bicycle out of hock. Why would a pawn shop value a bicycle the same as used bedding especially when they already have a warehouse full of pawned bedding?
The job entails carrying a big ladder, a bucket of paste, a big paste brush, and movie posters on a bicycle and putting up posters. That would seem to be a dangerous and stupid balancing act. Why aren't the people and supplies delivered by truck?
The bicycle gets stolen from under his nose at the first job and he is unable to catch the thief even when he is "aided" by someone in a truck. Why didn't he put some kind of restraint on the bike? Why didn't the thief choose an unattended bike? It is hard to believe he could not catch the bike thief.
He tries to find the stolen bike and then gives up. Why couldn't he borrow someone's bike or even promise to pay someone part of his new big salary to use their bike?
Spoilers: As a last resort, he grabs an unattended bike, but as soon as he touches it, ten people appear out of every door and window and chase him down and catch him. It is incredible that out of all the bicycles in Italy this guy chooses the one that is guarded by ten athletes that are able to outrun a bicycle that has a big head start.
You have to wonder if this guy is too dumb to function in that society. He takes a ridiculous job, depends on his wife to get a bike, is unable to hold on to the bike, unable to catch the thief, unable to find his stolen bike, unable to come up with a plan to get a new bike except for theft which he bungles. When you see him putting up a poster, he seems very sloppy and the results do not look good. So even if he had a bike, he would probably be fired for sloppy work.
If you a looking for a real masterpiece of Italian cinema, look at Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, a movie that is much better.
South Park: Funnier, Smarter and More Musical
13 April 2001
I do not care for the South Park TV show (too much puerile humor, talking poop, and vomit jokes). I do not like movies with a lot of swearing. I went to this movie with low expectations and it warped my fragile little mind with all the obscenity and disgusting behavior.
After it warped my mind, I found this to be one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. The obscenity works because it is a movie about the censorship of the Terrance and Phillip (T&P) movie due to that movie's use of obscenities. So, they have to show T&P's obscene movie. The South Park movie is then able to poke fun at its own bad language, how it affects children, and people's criticism of it by showing the silliness of T&P and the ridiculous reactions to the T&P movie.
The songs in this movie are great. The music is a good as any Disney movie and most of them are hilarious. "What Would Brian Boitano Do?" is great musically, creatively and its very funny. The Les Miz parody, La Resistance, is a brilliant medley that make you want to cheer when it is over. The way T&P go overboard on the obscenities is extremely funny. I especially liked the song Uncle F**ka which is mostly obscenities.
I have watched this movie several times and I laughed each time. My recommendation is to watch this movie at least twice. The first time it will warp your fragile little mind allowing you to fully appreciate the movie the second time you watch it.
After it warped my mind, I found this to be one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. The obscenity works because it is a movie about the censorship of the Terrance and Phillip (T&P) movie due to that movie's use of obscenities. So, they have to show T&P's obscene movie. The South Park movie is then able to poke fun at its own bad language, how it affects children, and people's criticism of it by showing the silliness of T&P and the ridiculous reactions to the T&P movie.
The songs in this movie are great. The music is a good as any Disney movie and most of them are hilarious. "What Would Brian Boitano Do?" is great musically, creatively and its very funny. The Les Miz parody, La Resistance, is a brilliant medley that make you want to cheer when it is over. The way T&P go overboard on the obscenities is extremely funny. I especially liked the song Uncle F**ka which is mostly obscenities.
I have watched this movie several times and I laughed each time. My recommendation is to watch this movie at least twice. The first time it will warp your fragile little mind allowing you to fully appreciate the movie the second time you watch it.
The Story of Qiu Ju
(1992)
Realistic portrayal of China life as Qix Ju fights bureaucracy.
13 April 2001
Most Chinese movies are about victims of the culture or political system or how beautiful you men and women are kept apart or forced together by forces outside their control. This movie is completely different. It is a simple story about the ordinary Chinese people you can meet on the street and in their homes today and their ordinary lives. It is an amazingly accurate portrayal, unlike anything I have seen before. I only spent 3 weeks in China, but this movie brought back the feel of China, its people, and organizations.
Qxi Ju wants an apology from the Chief of the commune for kicking her husband in the groin. This is a story about her travels from the commune to the big city to try to get action from various bureaucracies. Although she is treated kindly and with much respect by the bureaucrats, she never gets exactly what she wants. It is fun to watch naive country girl Qxi Ju quickly learn about master doing things in the big city.
For me, the plot in this movie is secondary. It is each of the simple scenes that make this movie wonderful: The doctor's office is heated by a wood stove and the doctor chops the wood and feeds the fire. Qxi Ju's sister gives here a ride to town on the back of her bicycle on a snow covered unpaved road. They use dried chili peppers to trade for money to get a ride to the next town. Qxi Ju negotiates for the price of each thing she buys. The scenes all seem so realistic and beautifully photographed.
Yimou Zhang also made "Raise the Red Lantern" which gets higher praise, but that movie is about a world that is harder for me to relate to. This movie is like real life and real people and China today.
Qxi Ju wants an apology from the Chief of the commune for kicking her husband in the groin. This is a story about her travels from the commune to the big city to try to get action from various bureaucracies. Although she is treated kindly and with much respect by the bureaucrats, she never gets exactly what she wants. It is fun to watch naive country girl Qxi Ju quickly learn about master doing things in the big city.
For me, the plot in this movie is secondary. It is each of the simple scenes that make this movie wonderful: The doctor's office is heated by a wood stove and the doctor chops the wood and feeds the fire. Qxi Ju's sister gives here a ride to town on the back of her bicycle on a snow covered unpaved road. They use dried chili peppers to trade for money to get a ride to the next town. Qxi Ju negotiates for the price of each thing she buys. The scenes all seem so realistic and beautifully photographed.
Yimou Zhang also made "Raise the Red Lantern" which gets higher praise, but that movie is about a world that is harder for me to relate to. This movie is like real life and real people and China today.
Kiki's Delivery Service
(1989)
The greatest movie ever made
13 April 2001
Kiki's Delivery Service is my favorite move. I have seen it at least 10 times and I laughed and cried each time. The animation by Hayao Miyazaki is wonderful, as always. The flying scenes and scenery of the generic European city are totally convincing. I think I really got a feeling of what it would be like to fly in on a broom over and through a European city. In each city scene, I feel like it is some place I have visited in my trips to Europe.
What I really appreciate about this movie is the simplicity of the characters and the plot. There are no robots, no psychotic megalomaniacs, no monsters, no superheros, no bratty smarty kids that are smarter than adults, no evil moron adults, and no fight scenes. No one is kidnapped or seriously injured. Even though the movie a about a witch, the only supernatural acts in the movie are Kiki flying on a broom and talking to her cat.
The movie is about a young girl witch who leaves home with her cat Jiji, moves to a new town, and starts a delivery service. In her business she has some adventures and meets mostly nice people who help her out. In the process she meets a boy named Tombo. Tombo does not have any special powers. He is just a nerdy guy who is trying to build a bicycle that can fly. Tombo gets in to some trouble and Kiki helps him out.
That sounds very dull, but by avoiding the supernatural and monsters, the story is much more easy to relate to. It is a story about leaving home and starting anew, meeting people, helping people, and have people help you when you get into trouble. It is very upbeat, even when things look bleak, they work out with a little help from friends. I liked Tombo's problems trying to be friends with Kiki because they seem like the problems people really have. One of the most beautiful scenes in the movie is Tombo silently waiting in the rain for Kiki who never shows up.
This movie is full of silent beauty. When the baker's wife invites Kiki to move in above the bakery, you get the impression that the gruff but silent husband does not care for Kiki. But in a later scene you see that he has baked a loaf of bread shaped like a girl riding a broom and mounted it in the bakery window. Nothing is ever said about it, but you see how he appreciates her.
I have both the dubbed and subtitled version of the movie. They are both great. This movie is one of the best dubbed I have seen. The dubbed version has a lighter, funnier tone because of the wise-cracking Jiji. I felt I could appreciate the animation better in the dubbed version because I did not have to focus on reading the subtitles. In general the voice acting in the dubbed version is excellent. The subtitled version is also the letterbox version, so you get to see the full beauty of the animation. In some of the flying scenes, Jiji is humorously complaining about the flying conditions in the dubbed version, where the subtitled version lets you silently appreciate the beauty of flying. Due to licensing problems the dubbed and subtitled versions have different theme songs. I think both songs are great. I recommend getting both versions.
What I really appreciate about this movie is the simplicity of the characters and the plot. There are no robots, no psychotic megalomaniacs, no monsters, no superheros, no bratty smarty kids that are smarter than adults, no evil moron adults, and no fight scenes. No one is kidnapped or seriously injured. Even though the movie a about a witch, the only supernatural acts in the movie are Kiki flying on a broom and talking to her cat.
The movie is about a young girl witch who leaves home with her cat Jiji, moves to a new town, and starts a delivery service. In her business she has some adventures and meets mostly nice people who help her out. In the process she meets a boy named Tombo. Tombo does not have any special powers. He is just a nerdy guy who is trying to build a bicycle that can fly. Tombo gets in to some trouble and Kiki helps him out.
That sounds very dull, but by avoiding the supernatural and monsters, the story is much more easy to relate to. It is a story about leaving home and starting anew, meeting people, helping people, and have people help you when you get into trouble. It is very upbeat, even when things look bleak, they work out with a little help from friends. I liked Tombo's problems trying to be friends with Kiki because they seem like the problems people really have. One of the most beautiful scenes in the movie is Tombo silently waiting in the rain for Kiki who never shows up.
This movie is full of silent beauty. When the baker's wife invites Kiki to move in above the bakery, you get the impression that the gruff but silent husband does not care for Kiki. But in a later scene you see that he has baked a loaf of bread shaped like a girl riding a broom and mounted it in the bakery window. Nothing is ever said about it, but you see how he appreciates her.
I have both the dubbed and subtitled version of the movie. They are both great. This movie is one of the best dubbed I have seen. The dubbed version has a lighter, funnier tone because of the wise-cracking Jiji. I felt I could appreciate the animation better in the dubbed version because I did not have to focus on reading the subtitles. In general the voice acting in the dubbed version is excellent. The subtitled version is also the letterbox version, so you get to see the full beauty of the animation. In some of the flying scenes, Jiji is humorously complaining about the flying conditions in the dubbed version, where the subtitled version lets you silently appreciate the beauty of flying. Due to licensing problems the dubbed and subtitled versions have different theme songs. I think both songs are great. I recommend getting both versions.
M
(1931)
A black and white gem where nothing is black and white
13 April 2001
I was curious about the movie M because in Firesign Theater's "Further Adventures of Nick Danger", the Peter Lorre like Rocky Rococo says "This hasn't happened to me since M". When I realized that M was a 1930 black and white film in German, about a serial child murderer I was ready to fast forward to the the end just to see what happened to Peter Lorre. I was expecting a simplistic plot with the over-acting typical of the early talkies, and an unsympathetic evil Peter Lorre.
What I really like about M is that things are not good vs. evil, black and white. You end up with conflicting feelings about all the groups. The evil Peter Lorre is sadly mentally ill and you worry about him as he is being tracked like an animal. The good police are ineffective and doing evil by trampling on everyones rights and subsequently making everyone mad at the police. The evil gangsters, in reaction to the increased police activity hurting their businesses, are doing good by systematically tracking down the murderer.
I was very surprised at how modern M felt. It felt like a modern Hitchcock movie. You are given more information than any of the characters and then you worry about what the players will do as the discover what you already know. Peter Lorre was used perfectly in M. He has very little dialog until his speech at the end of the film. That makes him both more frightening and more sympathetic in the beginning and it makes his final speech more dramatic because you have been waiting through the entire movie to hear what he thinks. That works especially well for Peter Lorre because of either his limited acting range or his type-casting his voice immediately suggests someone evil and deranged. Keeping him quiet keeps us guessing about what is going on inside him.
Some of the reviews called this a scary movie, but I thought is was thought provoking and compelling. I could not stop watching it.
What I really like about M is that things are not good vs. evil, black and white. You end up with conflicting feelings about all the groups. The evil Peter Lorre is sadly mentally ill and you worry about him as he is being tracked like an animal. The good police are ineffective and doing evil by trampling on everyones rights and subsequently making everyone mad at the police. The evil gangsters, in reaction to the increased police activity hurting their businesses, are doing good by systematically tracking down the murderer.
I was very surprised at how modern M felt. It felt like a modern Hitchcock movie. You are given more information than any of the characters and then you worry about what the players will do as the discover what you already know. Peter Lorre was used perfectly in M. He has very little dialog until his speech at the end of the film. That makes him both more frightening and more sympathetic in the beginning and it makes his final speech more dramatic because you have been waiting through the entire movie to hear what he thinks. That works especially well for Peter Lorre because of either his limited acting range or his type-casting his voice immediately suggests someone evil and deranged. Keeping him quiet keeps us guessing about what is going on inside him.
Some of the reviews called this a scary movie, but I thought is was thought provoking and compelling. I could not stop watching it.
Dudley Do-Right
(1999)
Just Awful
8 April 2001
You would think that if you started with Brendan Fraser, Sarah Jessica Parker and Eric Idle in a movie based on a Jay Ward creation, you would get at least a few laughs even if they just read the phone book. The laughs in this movie are few and far between. The writing is awful. The characters are annoying. The movie lacks any of the wit or charm of the original TV series. It seems like the writer for this movie never saw the original series or just did not understand what made it funny. For example, Dudley gets hit in the head by a loose floorboard about 10 times. I don't think Jay Ward ever used the loose floorboard joke in the original series, and it is not funny in live action.
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