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Reviews
Battle of the Sexes (2017)
Recommended
I enjoyed this movie! Great performances by Carell and Stone, the best I have seen from her. One critic said the romance between Billie Jean and Andrea was slow to get rolling but I disagree.
You don't have to be a tennis fan or expert to enjoy the matches.
I am curious about the setting for the climactic match. The real match was in the Astrodome which has been shut down for some years. Perhaps one of our experts can please tell us where and how that part of the movie was filmed.
R rating is appropriate IMHO.
All the Way (2016)
More well done than enjoyable.
In person LBJ was simply not a very likable guy. I do think it was pretty historically accurate. Mostly about the Civil Rights struggles of 1963 and 1964. It's just not that much fun to watch the political sausage being made. I don't think LBJ is sugar-coated by this portrayal; if anything I doubt he was as paranoid as he is portrayed here.
The Tunnel (2013)
Worst sound of any television show ever
This show deserves a Global Emmy for the worst sound ever.
First, the characters have over-the-top accents which make them hard to understand. I guess this is supposed to make it more "international".
Second, the background noise is always brought up to a high level during key moments of dialog. Couldn't hear what they said over that passing train? Too bad, it's "atmospheric".
Third, the "Truth Terrorist" speaks over the phone with an electronically scrambled voice, presumably to hide his or her identity. Everything he says is critical to the plot; too bad we can't understand a word of it.
We watch lots of British TV but this is the first where this problem has really impaired our enjoyment.
Maggie's Plan (2015)
Worth seeing
The label "Screwball Comedy" is not accurate, although the movie will make you smile and laugh. There is a little slapstick but lots of situation comedy and hapless behavior by libidinous intellectual characters. If you liked Woody Allen's "Mighty Aphrodite" you will like this also. The acting is good, especially the actresses. Mina Sundwall is terrific as Justine. Greta Gerwig carries the movie well; Julianne Moore is just right as Georgette. Ethan Hawke's character often behaves badly but he's quite believable in the part. R rating is appropriate for modest nudity and sexual content; you could take your parent but leave your sixth-grader at home.
Room (2015)
Well made but soooo depressing
I respect this movie but... "Phoenix" was a date movie compared to this.
Awesome acting, effective, grim.
I complained to my wife on our way out of the theater and she said: "Oh, the book was darker." You've been warned!
Don't go to a theater near a cliff as you may feel like jumping off.
I realize neither cinema nor any art form should be all sunshine and flowers; I just want to put a warning label on this one.
The cast was great. The production design and cinematography were very effective.
If you want to scare your daughter out of ever talking to a stranger, take her to this movie.
Ironically, she might go hide in the basement and refuse to come out.
The Omen (1976)
Worth watching
I watched this on Halloween and enjoyed it. It would have been better on the big screen.
In the very first scene, Gregory Peck is supposed to be going through the streets of Rome at 6 AM but it is still dark outside. Sunrise in Rome on June 6th is 5:36 AM :-).
I wonder why Leo McKern as Carl Bugenhagen is uncredited.
We are all more jaded to screen violence now but this must have been rather shocking for a big-studio release in 1976. Great to see those period fashions :-).
Lee Remick is lovely but the chemistry with Gregory Peck is a bit lacking.
Two-and-one-half stars IMHO.