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Mooozart
Reviews
Gone in the Night (2022)
Still worth watching but not great
I will always be inclined to watch anything by Winona Ryder but the good to great actors here work with a problematic script even though they tried their best. The film started okay but went downhill, and was ruined by an entirely unconvincing ending. I simply winced at the thought of all these actors "make the ending work" but it is so absurd (the logic, the action, the haphazard turn of events...) even considering suspension of common sense in these "thrillers". The expositions with a guy who showed up out of nowhere to explain Dermot Mulroney's background, and the girl revealing the father's false diagnosis are downright crude.
Ted Lasso (2020)
Did not like football / "Let It Go" before watching the show...
Being a lifelong non-fan of football, I skipped over the show immediately when hearing about the premise even I am a Scrubs / Cougar Town fan, both by Bill Lawrence.
The show unexpectedly won me over, finished S1 in two days. The "Let It Go" segment was quite touching.
The Conners (2018)
First several episodes were a bit weak but regained strength now
Fairly loyal fan of Roseanne decades ago--they had a really great cast then.
The Conners -> I was determined to like it but did not like the first several episodes.
Surprisingly, regained strength after the first three/four episodes~ Laurie Metcalf and John Goodman just as good. Lecy Goranson Becky used to pale against Darlene (and most of the cast), but she becomes a unique and interesting character now. The supporting cast are generally likable.
The Final Cut (2004)
Self-important and lukewarm
Do not waste any money on this dud.
*SPOILERS*
Whoever who greenlighted this project probably made an unintended bad decision. The idea sounded marginally original enough to be made into a movie but it felt flat all the way. The idea of the Zoe chip and the emotions it caused in people felt totally unreal and insignificant.
Mira Sorvino and Jim Caviezel were forced to portrait strong emotions but under the premise, it was simply laughable. The relationship between Sorvino and Williams was more underdeveloped than a Saturday Night Live skit. I think anyone could have seen way early about the catch with the lawyer's daughter. The lawyer's wife is a total joke.
The ending dialog is one of the weakest I have seen in a while. It seemed they ran out of idea and patience and just want to put the pitiful project to an end as soon as possible.
Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)
Not perfect but a gem of a movie
I wish to laud this film first for its structure as it could have slipped so easily into your standard TV-movie sentimentality--and it escaped.
This is achieved by the superb acting by Richard Dreyfuss, and with a very strong and balanced supporting cast. True, some of the characters were cliche but they were played ably. I agree with someone here that Glenne Headly did an excellent job. She was on an even playing field with Dreyfuss--great acting don't come into singletons usually.
It is a movie not as much about accuracy in music as a gentle condolences of all the unfinished dreams in all of us. It is not about the opportunities we missed, the talents we ignored. I will venture to say it doesn't matter if Mr. Holland had real talent or not. To me, I see Dreyfuss' character not as a teacher intent on inspiring all his students into kodak "aw shucks moments", but a person who stuck to his decisions in life with integrity.
Many cliches, "pass the tissue" moments were played with subdued thoughtfulness by Dreyfuss. Great job!
If anyone is accusing the movie as being manipulative while describing "Forest Gump" as "emotionally honest", then I will stand guilty and taste the sinful pleasure. I, as an average joe, will identify more with Dreyfuss infinitely more than an unrealistic caricature (of human goodness) that Hollywood assembled. Perhaps I have some inexplicable bias towards "Gump" due to it being a Hollywood fantasy about human goodness (with everyone around Gump flawed in some way but somehow redeemed by his purity), which is the diametrical opposite to "Holland"--a realistic portrait of a less-than-perfect human.
Chu Lai Yip yu Leung San Pak (2000)
How do you mend a broken heart?
A crying shame that Sandra Ng was not even nominated for this role which was probably one of her career best. The movie was jagged and unrefined at times, but Francis & Sandra Ng made it work.
Being a divorcee with her breast removed, Sandra Ng was able to portray the placidity with a reservoir of emotions beneath the hardened face.
In come Francis Ng, a hoodlum with his own past, equally alone in the world. A bunch of two dimensional characters propagated the movie along....the cutesy baby, the cutesy (mobster's) son, the cutesy grandfather, the cutesy driving instructor. But the two Ngs have good chemistry and Sandra Ng slowly transformed not by the prospect of love, but merely the ray of hope for being able to feel and love again.
There were enough detail for us to notice the sincerity the director put in. The greatness come in fragments and at some instances within the movie, the ordinariness of things were elevated into something magical. The lyrics (not the singing) of the theme song complemented the movie quite well.
The Accidental Tourist (1988)
One of the best adaptations from a novel.
I watched this movie when I was 18 years old. I am 30 now and it still moved me deeply. Having read the excellent novel, I do acknowledge that some of the finer psychological development of the characters were not covered fully. Otherwise, the movie is perfect in its place.
As an adult who was grieving for the departure of the loved one for the last whole year, I thought the movie captured the feelings of someone dwelling in the grief and seemed impossible for escaping.
Both the beginning and the ending of the film are perfect. Those who did not read the novel may be interested to know that the ending of the movie was an excellent replica of the last paragraph of the novel.
The acting--how should I describe it? Everyone did an excellent job (kudos to the casting choices). William Hurt, Geena Davis, Kathleen Turner, Bill Pullman, Amy Wright, Ed Begley Jr., David Ogden Stiers. The only mild weakness was Kathleen Turner--her husky voice somehow didn't fit Sara.
There are many attempts in movies to portray grieved souls. Some were syrupy whereas some others portray the same sentiments through overt drama. The excellent all-round acting made this movie perfect and believable in achieving so.
Palwolui Keuriseumaseu (1998)
One of the most touching films I've seen in a long long time.
This film would have put the typical Hollywood "tearjerkers" to shame. The emotions portrayed are subdued and understated in a very comfortable fashion. The plot is cliche enough with a lead role having terminal disease (this is not a spoiler and was well established quite early into the movie) The method of execution is somehow unique from most love stories you ever saw--not even a kiss was being exchanged and yet you will feel the enormous current of love between the two leads. Initially, I assumed this "restriction on emotions" to be something analoguous to the typical "eastern values" but later decided against it.
This film is so understated that if you compare it with movies like "Cinema Paradiso", CP would have felt overtly manipulative by comparison. So, it's definitely not everyone's cup of tea.
After watching the film, I have this strong feeling that Holly- wood love movies, (or love movies all around, to be accurate) have been glorifying romance or passion and label it as "love". I am sure we all have our own definitions and I wouldn't say these qualities are mutually exclusive. But, I would venture to say that the movie will let you wonder if there is any added dimension you have with you loved one.
It's very obvious that I enjoy this movie a lot. Considering the fact that the movie is so plain in appearance, it is paradoxically one of the more "cinematic" movie I saw lately.