dmatthews03 Reviews

Ocean's Twelve (2004)

Cult movie of the future.

[6 January 2006]

This is a sly dog of a movie. Like "Beat the Devil" you have the impression that the cast and crew are having a great time but are not always letting the audience in on the joke.

I'd forget about the almost incomprehensible plot details. Just go with the flow and keep your ears and eyes open for the odd snappy line of dialog and striking composition.

I can see in the future some movie fans having earnest discussions about the plot details and characters (probably much to the amusement of the makers of the film.

I liked it.

The Moonstone (1996 TV Movie)

Nice production of a story that is now high camp.

[15 June 2003]

The Moonstone was of course a landmark Victorian novel it being the first detective novel.

There is much to enjoy here, the scenery and settings are great, the photography and music excellent. The principal actors, Greg Wise and Keeley Hawes, are fine, playing it straight and acting their way through the twists and turns of the often ridiculous plot with great sincerity. I wasn't too keen on Anthony Sher's Inspector Cuff I found it too stagy and mannered and some of the minor characters are over blown but all in all it's a good production.

Lots of fun if taken in the right spirit.

An Affair to Remember (1957)

Over long and over sentimental but has it's moments.

[25 May 2003]

With the talents involved this could have better. The comic scenes are just not funny enough and the dialogue isn't as sharp and clever as it seems to think it is, the stars look great though and fill their roles admirably. Their are delights along the way, some great locations and nice photography and a few nicely staged musical numbers which do however slow down the pace even more. McCary's Irish sentiment gets a bit mawkish at times but the ending is well done.

If you're in a nostalgic and benevolent mood this isn't a bad time waster.

Virginia's Run (2002)

Hokey but enjoyable family film.

[4 March 2003]

O.K. you can see the plot twists coming a mile way but the film ends up being a pleasant experience and a notch better than the usual 'girl and her horse movie' mainly because of the superior production. There is some beautiful Nova Scotia scenery and many shots of galloping horses to delight the horse lovers.

The acting is generally good although Gabriel Byrne's mind seems elsewhere and he tends to mumble his lines and that, with his Irish accent makes him difficult to understand sometimes. The two young girls playing his daughters however bear the brunt of the film and they are both excellent and pretty. There is sentiment in the movie but it never gets maudlin. The scene where the girls reminisce about their dead mother is genuinely moving.

The lengthy final endurance horse race is well done and the suspense is maintained until the end as the bad guys (more jerks than anything else)try their skullduggery to stop Virginia from race. The kids will love it when one of them gets his comeuppance in that old cliche - the horse trough.

There in nothing scary for the kids and when the film is over you are left with a nice warm feeling, which is the way this type of film should leave you.

The Four Feathers (2002)

Would be epic turns into a jumbled, boring mess.

[4 March 2003]

There was obviously money spent here, it shows in some glorious desert vistas and some lavish (but not very well directed battle scenes) but like most people after seeing Shekhar Kapur's film "Elizabeth" I found this film a deep disappointment.

It seems that about half way through the film completely loses it's focus and like Stephen Leacock's Knight "gets on it's horse and rides off in all directions". Heath Ledger just wasn't right in the main role and disguised as an Arab he would have fooled no-one in their right minds but according to the whims of the plot, sometimes he does and sometimes he doesn't.

I was expecting this to be different to the 1939 classic version and it is but not in a good way. The plot becomes incoherent sometimes and characters seem to pop up then disappear for no good reason. The scenes in the squalid prison camp showing Ledger's mental breakdown seem to go on for ever and serve no purpose plotwise. After Ledger's return to England (right as rain and seemingly unchanged) the would be dramatic scenes between him Ethne and the blinded Durrance are very badly handled,dramatic pauses are held too long almost as if they were trying to drag out the film's length. I found myself almost shouting at the screen "Get on with it!".

I'm not surprised the film did badly at the box office.

Alexander the Great (1956)

Draggy, would be epic.

[2 November 2001]

This is one of those international productions popular in the 1950's. Made in Spain with British, American and French actors.

Robert Rossen is a good director with many fine movies to his credit but really doesn't seem to have the flair for historical epics. There is too much talk and the battle scenes tend to be rather confusing and poorly choreographed.

Richard Burton does his best, his magnificent voice can make something of the most mundane dialogue and he certainly looks virile despite a rather swish looking blonde wig.

A good supporting cast is largely wasted.

On the Riviera (1951)

Lavish and colorful Danny Kaye comedy.

[26 May 2001]

Not all Danny Kaye films have lasted well. In my opinion the two that have are "The Court Jester" and "On The Riviera".

"On the Riviera" is a superbly mounted comedy, with gorgeous Riviera scenery, lavish sets, and some ravishingly beautiful women. The mistaken identity plot is an old one but there great scenes of confusion and some good and sometimes surprisingly suggestive dialogue, unusual for the time especially in a Danny Kaye movie.

Dance routines are imaginative and energetic with some statuesque and eager looking chorus girls. Gwen Verdon does a specialty number.

Thoroughly enjoyable, it stands up to repeat viewing.

Royal Deceit (1994)

Low key version of Hamlet

[11 May 2001]

When I got over the initial surprise of what this movie was,(for some reason the writers of the blurb on the tape packaging don't want you to know), I found myself enjoying it.

This is not Shakespeare's Hamlet, with poetry, dramatic speeches and opportunities for showy histrionics but a steadily paced re-telling of the original Norse legend.

It's not for everybody but I found the combination of bleak Jutland scenery, calm voice-over narration and the momentum of the Royal intrigues fascinating and hypnotic.

Good acting by the principals.

Call Me Mister (1951)

Pleasant, easy going musical.

[26 March 2001]

This was just about the last of the "putting on a show" musicals and even in 1951 it probably had rather an old fashioned look about it. It's nothing special, the music and sets are rather uninspired and the humor is dated but Betty Grable and Dan Dailey make a pleasant couple. Apparently they liked working together and it comes across in their dance numbers.

Highlights are Grable and Dailey's love duet and Bobby Short in the "Going Home Train" number.

Nice, nostalgic way to spend 90 minutes and the Grable legs have lost none of their lustre.

My Pal Trigger (1946)

The best of the Roy Rogers Movies

[15 February 2001]

I went on a nostalgia trip and screened this movie when hearing of the death of Dale Evans. It is the best of the Roy Rogers movies with a real story and some genuinely touching moments, it is also a nice reminder of what a pretty and gracious lady Dale Evans was.