bg11215-366-263177 Reviews

American Beauty (1999)

What can I say...

[10/10 · 16 September 2013]

...about American Beauty, that hasn't already been said? This is hands-down one of the best films ever made. EVER. For starters, the tone & dialog are very sharp and stunning: it goes from being sardonic with acerbic wit and dialog, to just plain funny. It's an indictment on a certain segment of American culture, at least as seen through the eyes of Alan Ball, and it's immensely entertaining in the process.

This film broke new ground in cinema, which is not an easy thing to achieve. The characters are each superbly written and well-studied: there's not one character that doesn't belong or serve a purpose in the story. Then, it hits on so many different levels. What's more is, as the audience, we get to see each character in their own private world, so we can feel sympathy for each one of them, that they are each going through their own struggles in their life, even if we don't agree with or loathe them otherwise.

Then there's the ending...and WHOA, what an ending: Alan Ball manages something incredible and triumphant, something that is rarely achieved, in that he all of a sudden presents an entirely new, if dark scenario (when Lester is killed), asks a question (who shot him?), and answers it all in the span of about two minutes, all on the heels of of very entertaining and grippingly dramatic journey through the characters' lives that is at once funny, serious, devastating and poignant, and leaves you thinking "what the heck did I just see?". I've never seen any other film that accomplishes this. It's simply a stunning piece of work from every angle, one that reveals more and more layers with each repeated viewing. This movie broke the mold for what a film can be. A masterpiece among masterpieces.

It's Complicated (2009)

Misses the mark, suffers an identity crisis

[3/10 · 2 September 2013]

My opinion is that the film has some things going for it, but as far as the script/story goes, it falls way short of its intended goal, if it had one that is. This film suffers from an identity crisis; it's unclear exactly what kind of story it's telling. There were definitely a couple laugh-out-loud moments, and the film does an excellent job of putting you in the world of the characters; but because of the mostly singular storyline and ankle-deep manner in which the writer waded into the subject matter, this is mostly a shallow, one-dimensional piece that barely scratched the surface of where it could have gone.

The film is carried mostly by the stellar performances of the leading cast--Meryl Streep & Alec Baldwin make for a wining duo of ex-spouses--but unfortunately, that's about where it ends. The picture that the screenwriter paints is unclear. It goes from being a drama told through the eyes of Streep, then has comedic elements, then veers back into a drama like an 18-wheeler being driven by a driver who fell asleep at the wheel. And the ending was unsatisfying and ambiguous.

In short, I found it to be entertaining and enthralling in places, but the writer didn't venture very far into the lead characters' dilemmas, resulting in a basically flat, one- dimensional story, which as far as I'm concerned is the kiss of death for any story. As done, it seems more suitable to a half hour sitcom than a two hour feature. The only reason to see this is to watch fine performances by Streep & Baldwin. But overall it tries to be something that it isn't, and doesn't achieve what it set out to do. The writer gave only cursory nods in the direction of the characters' dilemmas, whereas she could have taken it much, much further. For me, watching this movie felt kind of like drinking a diet soda: it's wet and tastes a little sweet, but ultimately it contains only one calorie and the sweetness is artificial.

Peyton Place (1957)

A Classic

[8/10 · 2 June 2013]

I first saw this movie more than 10 years ago, and it really affected me. The themes of the story are classic and timeless; about the walls we put up between ourselves and others, and about how judgmental we can be. And the performances are dramatic, especially that of Lana Turner, she's phenomenal. I just watched it again and thought it seemed a little bit hokey, and the story not as strong as I'd remembered it, keeping in mind however that it was made in 1957, based on a book that was written well before that. What was seen as scandalous back then it probably routine today (teenage pregnancy for example), but again keeping in mind when it was made, the themes are timeless. I don't think it would have been half the film it turned out to be had it not been for the indelible Lana Turner. Such an amazing actress with a magnetic presence, she was one of the main driving forces behind the picture in my opinion. I was especially affected by the voice over at the very end "We'd finally discovered that season of love. It is only found in someone else's heart. Right now someone you know is looking everywhere for it, and it's in you". The world of the movie represents something that seems impossibly almost wholesome, yet still leaves one yearning for a return to closeness among community, something more wholesome than the world we live in today.

Drive (I) (2011)

I have mixed feelings about this film.

[5/10 · 7 April 2013]

On the one hand, there is some directorial brilliance in it, and the cinematography is brilliant. It's beautifully stylized, the work of an auteur. However, it also contains some EXTREME violence, to the point that it was very disturbing to me and I wished I hadn't seen it (the motel scene, elevator scene to name but two of the five or six scenes containing extreme violence). Some people might be able to stomach it, but it was so gruesome & graphic that I really truly wish that I hadn't seen it. I am of the opinion that excessive violence is not needed to tell a story.

Moving on to the actual story, I found that it dragged in places, particularly around the 30-40 minute mark, where I began to wonder "is this going to go anywhere"? Then the story lines slowly developed, but remained however a bit under-developed. But for the kind of movie that it is, I don't think this is particularly a handicap; this type of violent action thriller doesn't need a deep story; some high speed car chases and shootouts apparently will do just fine.

Ryan Gossling's understated portrayal of his character was both a bit confusing and brilliant. He says so little during most of his scenes that it had me wondering, "is there any emotional depth to this character?" That question was soon answered in the way that Gossling proceeds to pick off his adversaries one by one, which was kind of bad-ass. Part of the main story line was a bit muddled (for me anyway), and again, I just wish that I had known about the violence ahead of time so that I could have looked away during certain scenes. Extreme violence is apparently this director's trademark.

To summarize: again there was some brilliance in this film, but I wish that they had focused more on developing the story and in finding alternate ways of portraying the story than resorting to the shock value of such extremely disturbing violence. That's why I only gave it 5 stars.

The Rebound (2009)

What a Gem!

[9/10 · 5 January 2013]

I was just browsing through Netflix looking for something to watch, stumbled upon Rebound, and decided to check it out. For the first twenty minutes or so, I wasn't sure where it was going, what to expect or what kind of story it was going to be. Actually I didn't expect it to be much, but WOW I was not expecting it to be the gem of a movie turned out to be! The setup seemed a little undeveloped, and there were a couple parts here and there that I thought were a little ambiguous as to what they were supposed to be to the story; but what soon emerged was a really, REALLY touching love story about two people who formed an unlikely couple and who by all outward appearances should not have been together romantically; but you WANTED them to be together. "Sandy" (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and "Aram" (Justin Bartha) were so cute as a couple and played so extraordinarily well opposite one another that I was so drawn into the story that I couldn't wait to see how it was going to turn out. When they broke up, I was heartbroken and misty-eyed. The story then follows each of them on their post-split endeavors and they bump into one another what turns out to be five years later, and get back together again. Then I couldn't stop smiling from ear to ear and got misty-eyed again!

This film touched a few places for me and while not perfect in places, was quite an unexpectedly touching story that turned out to be a rare gem of a movie. Deftly navigating through the emotional ups and downs of a serious relationship and of career/family/life events, it's a commentary on life & love, finding one's path in life, and of finding love where you least expect it. I definitely recommend!

Pan Am (2011–2012)

Not totally surprised it was canceled...

[9 December 2012]

...but a bit disappointed nonetheless. I watched the first season (while it was still available for free online), and while I was interested in some of the characters and story lines, I felt that it just missed the mark somehow. The story lines seemed kinda cheesy, like a daytime soap opera. What it comes down to, I think, is the writing just wasn't there. It was a great idea for a series, but I think they would have needed to bring in different writers to make it work. Or tried to make it a completely different kind of show, like a comedy. But as it was, the type of drama it was, just didn't work very well. Obviously. Take the lesbian element for example. That was just kinda odd. And the other romances/dalliances were just melodramatic, lacking any real depth or interest.

The Golden Palace (1992–1993)

Not as good as GG but funny in its own right

[7/10 · 4 September 2012]

OK, so the writing wasn't nearly as good as the Golden Girls. Sometimes the jokes were thin. And the humor wasn't nearly as witty. Nevertheless, I think the format worked. Also I like the other characters (Roland, Chuy & the kid). Some episodes were hilarious. I kind of wish it had lasted longer than one season. I guess it must have had low ratings. But still I like this show and think it was funny. It didn't deal with serious themes as GG did, but still I find it a nice spin-off to one of the greatest shows in TV history. I recommend it! See it. See it now. Watch it tonight and experience the laughs with familiar faces for the first time all over again.