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Reviews
All In (2006)
Unwatchable
I have watched many bad movies, many bad movies! There are few I could not watch. I got through "Children of the Corn IV" rather well. "Psycho Beach Party" while painful was watchable. This film (sic) was not.
The plot was possible, the execution was not.
I tried to watch it three times. The first two, I started at the beginning and just had to turn it off from sheer embarrassment. The third time, I decided to sample the movie. No matter where I tuned in, it was worse.
Domique Swain is certainly a capable actress. She lends some credibility to the movie. Madsen at his very worst is Madsen. (Not a bad thing) Swain carries the movie, but the load is too heavy.
Instant Beauty Pageant (2006)
Not just a beauty pageant.
Yes there is a beauty pageant. It has all of the accoutrements of the standard pageant. Opening number, swimsuit, talent and evening gown. However it is extremely compressed. They learn the opening number in twenty minutes. The talents are varied. Some people have genuine talent, others have ad hoc talent. The swimsuit competition has a variety of shapes. The audience chooses the winners in each. The results are never predictable. A bookie would never offer odds on this one.
The real fun comes in the preparation. Each contestant is chosen with a companion. The companion is the "coach". They are given $500.00 and three hours to buy the swimsuit, evening gown and any accessories. The interaction between the coach and the contestant makes this a superb reality show. These interactions are often exquisite. A mother of a 21 year old woman is in on the purchase of her swimsuit. A best friend coach has a meltdown because(suddenly) attention is shifted to her friend. Another coach makes inexplicable yes, no decisions.
These interactions make it close to a genuine reality show. Who is dominant, why were these people ever friends in the beginning? The husbands (so far) have been really sweet. They really want to support their wives.
This superbly dissects human behavior. If it were a documentary, it would make the art house circuit.
Me? I am an older male with just enough testosterone left to click on something called "Instant Beauty Pageant" and left enchanted.
Macbeth in Manhattan (1999)
Better Macbeth than You'll ever see!!!
It is definitely not the scholar's version. Good thing, because the text is virtually unplayable in the last century. The plot is delicious but for the text you definitely had to be there - 1606.
This takes the narrative and runs with it. No cries of foul unless you want to take on Kurasawa, Welles or Verdi. This just takes a straight narrative of the play; excises the boring parts and provides the motivation by parallel plot developments of the players within the play. Does Macbeth have a narcissistic personality disorder? Is Lady Macbeth unhinged by lust? Does Macduff have a clue? Could you get it on with a witch in a vermin infested apartment? All this and more will be answered here.
The end? Well, we all must have our little secrets, just say it is eminently Shakespearean.
Best Men (1997)
Could be this generation's Citizen Cane vs. Hammersmith is Out
I woke up this morning with a severe ankle spasm, crawled around on my hands and knees to let the cats out. I thought I'd watch something for ten minutes while I iced my ankle. Ten minutes and I was hooked. It was interesting. Ten minutes later, I was enchanted. A few minutes more and it was lacerating every stereotype in society. It gets better, pure surface, go deep, fluff out - back to deep. The comedic moments are nuanced. There is a great Cliff's notes scene. The serious moments are often cliches. the cliches then often return to the comedic moments. The serious moments could be viewed as bathos. Contextually, they worked for me. I found I could only recommend this to one person because you need a certain level of sophistication to go with it.
lamentably by the rules, almost none of the details of this movie can be revealed. A great movie. If you have always wanted to see the "Murder of Gonzaga" watch this, it will salve your soul.
Un divan à New York (1996)
A charming romantic comedy.
The basic tension of opposites attract is carried out in an exquisitely delicate manner. A New York psychiatrist exchanges apartments with a woman in Paris. He is orderly tidy controlled. She is - well opposite. He moves into her disheveled apartment complete with bad plumbing, a roof in disrepair and the importunities of her crazed lover. She moves into his and is beset by his patients demanding to be treated. She obliges and with the help of her friend (who has had analysis) learns to say "uh huh" and repeat the last word of the patient's sentences. They get better. His dog is happier. A nice point is he is shown as competent as her lover starts to feel better when talking to him. This is the last straw that drives him back to New York.
He can't go back to his apartment, but stops by, sees his patients coming out looking better. Fascinated, he makes an appointment. The relationship unfolds.
The cool thing about this movie is it is not forced like so many modern comedies.You realize how strident such recent comedies such as "One Fine Day" and "Fools Rush In" are in comparison.
So wonderfully delicate.