ljmcfarland Reviews

Like You Mean It (2015)

Disillusioned & Disappointed

[4/10 · 7 January 2024]

Although the cinematography and actors were interesting I found the plot was depressing.

To like a film, I have to either relate to at least one of the characters or enjoy the subject matter. In this case, neither were found in this. The two main character seemed to both just walk through the movie with neither of them showing any chemistry. I question if either actor was gay. The character of Joshua was perhaps the most sympathetic of the pair, yet eventually became the more annoyingly pathetic. I never understood why he continued to stay with Mark. Nor could I understand what the reason was for all the times that car went through the car wash. The best thing about "Like You Mean It" is that we didn't waste the money in purchasing the DVD.

On the Beach (1959)

When I hear Waltzing Matilda from now on

[9/10 · 31 December 2022]

Much like "Ode to Joy" always reminds me of. "A Clockwork Orange", from this point on, "Waltzing Matilda" will always bring me back to this movie, especially if it's played as a dirge.

Gregory Peck plays a Commanding Officer, but there seems to be little that he can command, considering he has no control over the lives of the sailors who are on his submarine.

Ava Gardner is said by many to be the most beautiful actress in the world, and I suppose it's to her credit that her character comes across as boozey and needy.

Fred Astaire in a non-musical role somehow seems to be wasted as a drunkard who smiles at the most inappropriate times. I really don't understand why he was cast in this.

Anthony Perkins, I have to say, was the best of the major actors. He plays a young man with a wife and baby that he truly loves and is faced with the heartbreaking position to protect them in whatever way he can.

I'm glad I was able to find and watch this, but I can't imagine ever wanting to watch it again.

The Escort (1996)

Je ne sais pas " blah, blah, blah"

[4/10 · 4 September 2021]

Canadian film from the 90s in French with subtitles. A bunch of drunken party goers are bored, so to amuse themselves, they order a male escort from the back of a newspaper. The request was supposed to be cancelled, & they leave the host alone but the escourt shows up anyway. There's more drinking, a little sex and a lot of shirtless pontificating. There's a lot more but I don't want to be as annoying and pointless as their movie.

The Family Tree (2020)

Beautiful movie, terrible soundtrack

[10/10 · 10 June 2021]

Found this on YouTube with the title "Don't Leave Me" with no credits at the beginning nor end. Some of it was in English, some of it with no soundtrack at all, and some of it in Spanish. Using Closed Caption was needed, even when they were speaking English, otherwise I would have given it a higher score.

Arizona Sky (2008)

Sweet loving and bashful

[8/10 · 10 May 2021]

I really enjoyed this. The complaints in other reviews about stilted conversations seemed natural for two guys who aren't sure if what they're saying is too much or not enough. I could easily see myself having the same conversation with the one I left behind 40 years ago. There's no sex or real nudity, just a couple of kisses.

Last Ferry (2019)

At least I'll never have to watch it again.

[1/10 · 21 March 2020]

It starts out murky and goes down hill from there. I wanted to like this, but an attractive cast wasn't enough to pull it off. There isn't a character in this that makes you want to like them or care what the reasoning was for their actions, background or future would be. As the movie starts, it begins with a terrible crime, followed by a senseless crime by a peripheral character. Instead of being called "Last Ferry" they should have all taken the First Ferry home.

True Bloodthirst (2012)

Hope there's no sequel

[4/10 · 21 January 2020]

Sucky (pardon the pun) vampire movie. An Eastern European RIP off of "True Blood" but more of a C movie rather than B. All the contrived and expected stereotypes, special effects, cleavage and scenes. Can't help but be reminded of the Sharkado series except with blood suckers.

Krampus (I) (2015)

Revisited this again tonight.

[3/10 · 1 December 2019]

Saw it in the theater when it first came out, excited to finally see a movie that would give justice to the old Krampus legend. I was really disappointed. Tonight I thought "Perhaps I was in a bad mood." And decided that I would give it another chance. The actors did a decent job with what little they were given, but I'm pretty sure that none of them were proud of the end result. If there were one positive thing to say about it, it's that at least there wasn't a dubbed in laugh track.

Sea Beast (2008 TV Movie)

Wvlho will be the next victim?

[2/10 · 29 June 2019]

We really enjoy finding campy, corny, fun monster movies with dramatic over-acting. This isn't one of them. The actors seem to have all taken sedatives before going on camera, and the only ones excitable are the beasts, & by the first half hour, you're hoping they eat everyone in town. One can only hope!

Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eyes (1973)

Slasher movie pretending to be Gothic

[6/10 · 27 June 2019]

It's basically an Italian movie with an International cast being dubbed into poor English, and just to prove it, one of the servants has a Scottish accent,and a bag pipe at a funeral. Ar one point the voice over had some sort of issue and the whole movie went back to Italian then back to english.

Death Curse of Tartu (1966)

This makes my brain hurt

[3/10 · 15 June 2019]

I love tacky B movies. They're usually campy and fun. I'm sitting here in awe of how truely awful this one is. The terrible over-acting, the background is, understandably, the Everglades so it's all water and overgrown brush, which makes me want to go out in the yard and weed. The sound man should have been sacrificed to the alligator gods. In fact everyone associated with this mess should be eaten by Tartu. If there is anything to say in it's defense, it's that it was made just a year after Beach Blanket Bingo, when teenage make-out movies were still at their height and didn't need any kind of quality. Oh, yeah, that, and the fact that no matter how much Swamp, trauma, crying, running around or diving in the water, the two lead actresses never mussed their hair, their makeup remained perfect, and their clothes didn't wrinkle. As for me, I hope Tartu "gets" them all!

4 Days (2016)

Is that all there is?

[3/10 · 22 March 2019]

The movie is full of painfully slow shots of nothing interesting. Long drawn out aerial views of their school, several minutes of one squinting with the sun behind him, an artsy scene shot through a pool ladder of one of them doing so many laps in a pool that I felt my fingertips wrinkling. One of the characters has a long line of ex-girlfriends and all I can think of is how each of them is lucky to no longer be involved with him. The two main characters are not endearing enough to want the viewer to care about either of them. Then, just when you think that there might be something interesting about to happen, the closing titles come on.

Code Name: Dynastud (2018)

A Fun Time with something different.

[8/10 · 28 December 2018]

Better than average campy fun movie. As someone earlier mentioned, think of a James Bond movie done by a collaboration of Mel Brooks & the Broken Lizard folks. The acting was decently accomplished, particularly by the two leads. There was full frontal nudity which wasn't titillating and I suppose would turn some off. If there was one thing that turned me off it was the impression that the entire movie was dubbed.

I Dream in Another Language (2017)

Beautiful movie

[9/10 · 28 October 2018]

So happy we found this. The scenery was beautiful right from the start. The acting was flawless. The storyline timeless. Subtitles are needed for those of us that don't speak Spanish. Without giving away any spoilers, it's a story of love, commitment, social and personal evolvement, and universal spirituality.

Madam Satan (1930)

Art Deco Masterpiece!

[8/10 · 15 September 2018]

Combine Cecil B DeMille, gowns by Adrian and the most incredible Art Deco sets, and do it before the Hayes Code, (husband & his best friend are suspiciously chummy despite he's supposed to be a philandering womanizer) then forget about plot, the singing and the awful soundtrack. The party scene aboard the dirigible is absolutely not to be missed!

The Lost Island (1975 TV Movie)

The Lost Island should stay lost.

[2/10 · 14 September 2018]

A group of sailors shipwreck on an uncharted vocanic island. One is especially handsome compared to the rest. There they find natives ruled by a middle-aged mad professor who has a gorgeous woman as his captive. There's also a bunch of aquatic slaves (think creature from the black lagoon) who bring to the professor treasure from Atlantis, 2,000 feet below the island. You can imagine what happens when handsome man, gorgeous woman, older madman, resentful creatures and a volcanic island come together.

A Warm Wind (2011)

One of the Best Movies Ever.

[10/10 · 3 September 2018]

Reading the reviews, I didn't hold out much hope for this one. Man, was I wrong! Humanistic and utterly moving, there are conservatives, gays, war wounded, and an alcoholic, but not one of them is a stereotype, and they mesh perfectly to show how we're all just people and how ideally living in a symbiotic world. The writing, direction and acting were flawless.

Regarding Billy (2005 Video)

One of our favorite movies

[8/10 · 9 August 2018]

Wholesome and loving. It reminds me of meatloaf and mashed potatoes. It's "comfort food", only for the heart. If you haven't seen it before, give it a try.

Marathon (2010)

A fine story of love and devotion transcending genders

[10/10 · 28 May 2013]

Until this evening we had never even heard of this gem. When the description of two poets came up I thought it would be too flowery overly dramatic and make vague references to ancient characters. I couldn't have been more wrong. Here is a true love story which transcends time and genders. Although I don't see this as a gay movie, others perhaps will, however it was a joy to find something in the gay grendre that wasn't campy, didn't have twenty-somethings bed hopping. Here we have two grown-ups in a time prior to Connecticut offering marriage, and therefore little rights. Speaking of Connecticut the scenery along our southeast shore could have been used as a promotion for the state's tourism association. Mr. Pomeroy, in particular was wonderful with an incredible range of emotions that one rarely sees any more.

As Is (1986 TV Movie)

Hauntingly realistic

[8/10 · 6 September 2008]

I saw this when it first was broadcast and now, 22 years later it's still with me. The characters are not whitewashed, they're real. Dewhurst, always one of my favorite earth-mother actresses brings a needed bit of humor and also a sensible comment on attitudes, Carradine as the PWA is neither a victim nor the bad guy. His frustrations with life being alternately at a point where "he had been jogging and coming to the realization that "it doesn't get any better than this" juxtaposed with barely being able to stand and being angry by early prejudice and fears about his disease. Best of all however, was Jonathan Hadary as Saul, the one person who loves him enough to argue with him when he doesn't appear to love himself. In my view, this is one of THE classic AIDS movies.

Endless Night (I) (1972)

Fairly typical and outdated

[4/10 · 8 June 2008]

The stars in this film are what made me purchase it, what with Hayley Mills, my childhood crush, George Sanders, Britt Ekland, Lowis Maxwell, and music by Bernard Hermann and written by Agatha Christy, how could one go wrong? I kept waiting for something important to happen, something that would shock me. It didn't. By the time the film was barely half way through, I had guessed the ending, but sat through the rest of it hoping I was wrong. It reminded me quite a bit of "Something for Everyone" with Michael York and Angela Lansbury, which I think was much better. To me this is a movie for a rainy afternoon or snowy night when there's nothing better to do.

Love Life (2006)

An Open Marriage of Convenience

[7/10 · 27 November 2007]

I really enjoyed this movie more than I expected to. It reminded me in a minor way of the relationship between Ennis and his wife in Brokeback. In both instances we have men who feel trapped within a marriage that they felt was the right thing to do. In this instance, we have the additional variation of the wife not only accepting both their extracurricular affairs, but feeling that she should control what men her husband has relationships with. There's symbolism here. Their home, much like their relationship, is unfinished, and under construction. Sheets of plastic protect the walls and cabinets much like condoms and dental dams. He has a red 64 Mustang convertible. the only thing that he owns and can have any control over, yet it sits in the garage, unable to be fully enjoyed and displayed proudly in public for being something so hot and desirable... just like it's owner. Although I generally fast forward past lesbian love making scenes, there's a section where the women are enjoying themselves secretly in one room while the men are enjoying themselves locked in the bathroom and the scenes are concurrent. Husband and wife are making love, together, yet separately and with different people. Lastly Mr. Gill is very attractive, and it's great to see Ronnie Kerr in a minor roll after seeing him in the sweet movie "Regarding Billy"

24 Nights (1999)

Cute Alternative Holiday movie.

[7/10 · 27 November 2007]

Initially I was sorry we bought it and had wished we'd only rented it, but now having seen the entire flick, I realize it's a keeper and don't know if I should store it in my DVD library in the Gay film section or in the Holiday film section. At first it seems a little fluffy and badly filmed until you realize it's intended innocence and that the parts that appear badly filmed are flashbacks, like an old home movie or a distant memory that fades from it's true colors. It grows on you and is a welcome change from the boy meets boy - boy loses boy - boy gets boy back formula since you don't really know how it ends. The actors seem to be a little more professional and above the level that you normally see in films like this. It struck me that this might actually have been based on a true life event.

Route 66 (1960–1964)

What a terrific show

[15 August 2007]

It's said "they don't make 'em like they used to" and Route 66 certainly brings credibility to that statement. I was only about eleven years old when the show went off the air, but what an impact it had. I can't see one of those old two seater Chevys without the sweet theme song going lightly through my head. Here's a masculine buddy show, two good looking guys, side by side, all the way across the country. Pure and simple, clean and fascinating, both the relationship and the adventures they achieved. I have no doubt that my own cross country odyssey in a little open air two seater from New England to Southern California in the mid 1970s was subconsciously a way to live briefly as Buz or Tod. Can't wait for the DVD which I understand is coming out in a couple of months because the world is a place more lacking for want of reruns of this All American classic.

A Slice of Terror (2004 Video)

L.J. McFarland-Groves

[1/10 · 19 February 2007]

Sometimes there are movies that are just so bad they're funny or campy, like those of Ed Wood. This isn't one of them. It's embarrassing and painful. My comments would have stopped there except IMDb.com insists a review have a minimum of ten lines and therefore I will include the following; Don't waste your time. Don't waste your money. Don't bother trying to find anything redeeming about this movie. I bet the actors have never admitted to being in this, even when they're drunk. To fill up the remaining 5 lines I can only repeat myself.Sometimes there are movies that are just so bad they're funny or campy, like those of Ed Wood. This isn't one of them. It's embarrassing and painful. My comments would have stopped there except IMDb.com insists a review have a minimum of ten lines and therefore I will include the following; Don't waste your time. Don't waste your money. Don't bother trying to find anything redeeming about this movie.