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Reviews
The Green Knight (2021)
GROOT RETURNS TO THE SCREEN IN HIS FIRST NON-AVENGERS ROLE
Back in college we studied the Arthurian legends of Gawain, Lancelot, Galahad, and the Round Table. Very little of what we studied appears in this movie. It seems to be a series of clips of people in the forest assembled in a vain attempt to portray some sort of murky spiritual journey. Half the movie is close-ups of Dev Patel's face looking very puzzled about the weird stuff that happens to him. The saving grace of the movie is Groot's first appearance in a non- Avengers movie. Apparently he has been bulking up and taking vocal training because he does speak a few new words in his portrayal of the Green Knight. There are also 2 hump scenes to break up the forest wanderings. If you are looking for a great movie about King Arthur and his knights - check out CAMELOT - much closer to the spirit of the Arthurian legends. "Run Boy ... RUN !!!"
Cruella (2021)
DISNEY AT ITS ABSOLUTE BEST
I was not impressed by the previews on TV but my wife and mother-in-law wanted to see the movie at the theater. IMAGINE OUR GREAT SURPRISE when we realized that Cruella is a cinematic masterpiece on every level. The 2 Emmas rip through the story like dueling dragons and the supporting cast is superb. The story is extremely imaginative and constantly twisting and turning in unpredictable directions. The cinematography, soundtrack, and visual effects are state of the art - and the costuming and makeup are imaginative and effective without stumbling into the bizarre in a futile search for originality. And best of all - no dogs were de-pelted.
The Truffle Hunters (2020)
A REFUGE FROM CHAOS
The Truffle Hunters is a documentary with a lot of soul. Real people in real situations - gorgeous cinematography that makes me want to move to Italy - and a soundtrack that should win an Academy Award - Composer Ed Cortes is the heir apparent to Nino Rota and that's a good thing. The tragedy is that the score has not been released on CD - yet. I would buy the DVD just to transfer the soundtrack to my iphone.
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
The best Star Wars sequel since Emipre. No Jar-Jars in SOLO.
We saw SOLO last night. I felt is was my duty to go as a Star Wars fan since 1977. I wasn't expecting much - just hoping it wouldn't suck. The Rotten Tomatoes reviews were lukewarm ... so ... we checked it out. SOLO is the BEST sequel to Star Wars since the Empire Strikes Back. I love every minute of this movie. It is a stunning non-stop adventure. The acting is superb - Alden Ehrenreich is not Harrison Ford - but he does a great job of bringing the young Han to life. Woody Harrelson is a great actor and turns in a wonderful performance. Even the robots are great. Ron Howard and the writers, Larry and Jonathan Kasdan, did a masterful job of making the connections between Han's early years and his historic appearance at Mos Eisley Cantina in episode 3. The tech credits are, as always, world class. This movie does more to pump new blood into the Star Wars franchise than any of the preceeding Disney sequels.
The Legend of Tarzan (2016)
A Tarzan movie with a strong statement.
We just saw The Legend of Tarzan in Imax 3d. Both the story and the production are amazing. The sound is very detailed without being obtrusive, especially the gorilla vocals, and the Tarzan yell is awesome. The 3d picture is the clearest and most realistic 3d I have ever seen. Having seen all the Tarzan movies going back to the old Johnny Weismuller Tarzan movies - I can say that this new version takes the story into a much deeper and darker zone than ever before. I can't go into more detail without dropping a spoiler. Alexander Skarsgard is a great brooding Tarzan with attitude. Chris Weitz is truly evil. Margot Robbie is gorgeous. And the African animals are awesome. Check it out.
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)
Rogue Nation is the best MI movie.
We saw Rogue Nation last night. The 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes is well deserved. The story has the usual chases, gun battles, and fist fights, but it's true strength is the battle of wits between Ethan Hunt and the evil villain. Even better than the good story, the amazing action, and Lalo Schifrin's music is the consummate performance of Rebecca Ferguson as Ilsa. She is an Ingrid Bergman with dark hair - maybe that's why her character name is Ilsa. And some of the movie does take place in Casablanca. Believe me, I wouldn't mention Mission Impossible in the same sentence as the immortal Casablanca unless Mission deserves it - and it does. In a summer filled with great action super hero movies - this one stands out.
Coherence (2013)
Great Scott !
We saw this amazing movie last night on TW ON Demand. We had no idea what it was about and we found ourselves totally immersed in this story. It is very difficult to make an entertaining film that takes place in one location - and the premise of the film is very complex which makes it even more difficult to capture on film. However, these filmmakers have done a wonderful job of making it all work - and the acting is spot on real. Of all the movies I've seen that involve the alternate reality plot device - including Groundhog Day, and Star Trek: Into Darkness, the only one that is in the same class as Coherence is Back To The Future. Yes, Coherence is a low budget movie with actors whose names are not yet on theater marquees, but so was "The Day The Earth Stood Still." Both films are masterpieces in their own way.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
The Hobbit is pure magic.
We just saw The Hobbit - based on one of my all-time favorite books. I have seen reviews of The Hobbit that criticized the 48fr version and generally felt that the show was a bit slow and dull due to the fact that they are making 3 movies out of one book. With Lord of the Rings they made 3 movies out of 3 large books. I enjoyed the LOTR movies but always felt that they were all about the battles but not so much about the wonderful poetry and mysticism in the books. However, in my humble opinion - by telling the story of one book in 3 movies, Peter Jackson has given himself the screen time to bring in the flavor of the poetry and mysticism of the book in a way that never happened in the LOTR movies. And I was very surprised to find that I loved The Hobbit from the first frame to the last. It is the most successful translation of book to movie I've ever seen. We saw Lincoln a few days ago and as much as I love that movie - I love The Hobbit even more. I've got to back to hear Thorin sing "The Lonely Mountain Song" one more time. And it will be the IMAX version.
In Time (2011)
Imaginative Satire in the Vein of Phillip K. Dick
In Time is very ambitious and perhaps tries to accomplish too much. The basic premise - where time replaces money as the medium of exchange is very cool. The director is holding up a mirror to our society - in which so many of us are living week to week - paycheck to paycheck - always in fear of what will happen if the paychecks stop. And who controls this system ??? The ultra-wealthy. It may be a coincidence but the parallels between this movie and Occupy Wall Street are quite amazing. The basic premise of the story and the logistics of the system could have been engineered better - but the overall effect of the story is to make the viewer very cautious about the future of humanity --- very much like the stories of Phillip K. Dick. The acting, music, and sound were well done - significantly better than what is usually found in lower budget sci-fi movies.
How Green Was My Valley (1941)
A Beautiful Motion Picture
How Green Was My Valley is a great, well acted, well directed story but one of it's most remarkable features is the incredible black and white cinematography. If your kids are whining because they don't want to watch a movie that's not in color, show them How Green Was My Valley. It is visually gorgeous.
It would seem logical that the reason How Green was My Valley beat out Citizen Kane for the Best Picture Oscar was because the character of Charles Foster Kane was modeled on William Randolph Hearst, an incredibly powerful newspaper mogul of those times, and he was not amused by Orson Welles portrayal of his private life.