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jamestakisblain
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Resident Alien (2021)
Niche following?
This is one of those shows that I'm sure has its devotees, but I find myself not one of them. It's quirky for sure and the lead character steals every scene he's in. The peripheral characters are a motley bunch, each with their own baked-in personality. I watched a few episodes and had trouble following the plot because of the number of charcters coming and going, some in the know, some not, etc. Lots of moving parts. But the lead never fails to give his role his all, what with mixed emotions regarding humans. THAT I get. Humans are definitely a mixed-up species and you get the good, the bad, the ugly and the I-don't-know-whats all in there. This show can be considered a microcosm of humanity, or at least western civilization. I gave it a mere 7 because of the convoluted plot lines.
Three Coins in the Fountain (1954)
The perfect feel-good movie
Is the movie perfect? Not necessarily, but it served its purpose almost perfectly, by showcasing Rome in the 1950s. It wasn't pristine, but who'd watch the movie looking for squalor? The opening shot showed a surprisingly modern (for the early 1950s) Rome but the rest of the movie focused on all that marble everywhere. The characters had enough depth to be engaging, without becoming overwhelmingly maudlin (though there were some moments). Maria, to be honest, was a bit annoying but she, more than the others, displayed that 1950s perkiness that seemed to permeate acting in such movies. Yet she also had her moments of doubt. All in all, I didn't feel that my time was wasted finally seeing this movie; the length was just right.
The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960)
Not a joke
For 1960, this movie's undercurrent (Wilde's homosexuality) is quite progressively shown, but it is a British, not American, film. I don't think this movie could have been made as such in the US at the time. Oscar Wilde was a gifted man ahead of his time. His portrayal in the movie showed him at a stage of life I wasn't aware of, but I hadn't closely followed his trajectory. I didn't know he had a wife and children. There could not have been a better actor selected to play Wilde than Finch. I deducted 2 stars because I read the trivia and goofs, as always, and also scanned Wikipedia's article on him. The movie, as progressive as aformentioned, still followed the conventions of 1960-style moviemaking in its aesthetic. It seemed cleaned up, as bio-pics tended to be at that time, but enough was implied as to still make the case of Wilde's proclivities.
Father Stu (2022)
Emotional roller-coaster
I was skeptical at first, but Wahlberg and Gibson essentially became their characters. The acting was seamless and felt so real. I deducted a star after reading about Long's life in Wikipedia, which mentions an important trip to France--Lourdes and Paris--which the movie omits. Apparently he also earned a master's degree, but I guess he was a quick study since his journey to priesthood seemed hindered only by physical, not intellectual, obstacles. Yes, he had his previous lifestyle and temptations, but he was so bull-heaeded about his decision that one knew, while watching, that he'd persist to the end. Of course, the title says so much. Anyway, great movie overall!
Funny Girl (1968)
Great movie, but...
As a historian I had to dig, so found out that this movie is clearly a stylized, sometimes anachronistic, depiction of Fanny Brice's life. Nonetheless, I was thoroughly captivated because Barbra Streisand was perfectly cast. I can't say the same for Omar Sharif, though he is charming enough to help me forget about the miscasting. The real Nick was an American-born Jew, but Omar's accent is still present and he is so Old World; the real Nick did travel abroad and blend in with worldly travelers, but did the real Nick have or affect such an accent?
I was distracted by Barbra's hairstyles, most of which look too modern for the times. Her eye makeup is a little too '60s style as well. However, her commitment to the role generally overshadows fashion quibbles.
I, Robot (2004)
Pure entertainment
I tend to be a purist at times, but in this case I decided to let things go, since I don't remember reading Asimov's book because my sci-fi reading phase was decades ago. So I sat back and enjoyed. It delivered. I was pleased with the visual effects combined with attention to detail.
The movie was made before the advent of smart phones, but I thought they could have anticipated them, since people already had cell phones. Small thing. Del's (Will's) car was nice.
As a fan of Blue Bloods, I was a little distracted by Bridget Moynihan's presence but that is on me since I watched the movie 20 years after it was made. 20 years! So hard to believe.
Young Sheldon (2017)
The perfect little escapist show
We always look forward to watching this show every Thursday evening. It's a perfect blend of thoughtful family entertainment and comedy. All of the actors have become their characters, essentially. Mee Maw is a pure delight: sassy yet vulnerable; Sheldon is perfectly cast and played; same goes for everyone else. The writing is top-notch and the lack of a laugh track adds, rather than takes away, from the appeal of the show. I can find no fault with the show in and of itself, though there are goofs, apparently, as one can read on one's own. I won't divulge them here because the show stands on its own, in my opinion, though we enjoyed every episode of The Big Bang Theory as well.
Paris Blues (1961)
All but perfect
I found this movie quite engaging and very apt for its time. The characters in isolation are believable, down to the heroin addict, but the interplay between the couples seems contrived. How convenient that a black and white pair of women fall into the arms of a black and white pair of men. The sexual tension between Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman is more believable, for obvious reasons, but that between Diahann Carroll and Sidney Poitier is shallow and somehow disjointed. Beyond both being very attractive, what else drew one to the other? But overall, the movie was quite watchable and I recommend it.
Lourdes (2000)
I'm all but ignoring one of the negative reviews this time
The negative review is informative, so I'll remove one star in light of that. However, the tensions between the various characters, as well as between science and faith, are depicted very well. I was mesmerized from beginning to end. One can quibble about facts and there is a time for that, but in matters of faith, the main point is that Bernadette didn't lie and the movie reinforces that very well.
There are many people, believers and non-believers, who can't accept Mary's role in Christianity beyond her earthly life but Lourdes, along with the Fatima and Guadalupe appearances, shows that Mary has appeared to ordinary, even simple, people who couldn't have made up their accounts.
Marie Antoinette (2006)
Entertaining, if not a little jarring
I deducted 2 stars, one for the goofs I read about and one for the music, which was thoroughly modern and mismatched to the otherwise apparent careful attention to detail (minus the goofs). I was shocked to discover that her mother, the Empress, was played by Marianne Faithful. The outline of Kirsten Dunst's body, shown early in the movie from the back against a window, was clearly more mature than a 14-year-old's would be, but she had to play her role as she got older, of course. The eventual, consummation of the Dauphin's/Dauphine's marriage was handled believably and I was really rooting for the couple to "get it on." Was the Dauphin so dark? Portaits of him don't seem to indicate so. Nevertheless, the actor played that role well.
Story of G.I. Joe (1945)
I am so glad I finally saw this movie!
I recorded this movie on DVR and watched it when I was good and ready to, and it did not disappoint. As others have said, it consists of a series of mostly gritty vignettes and the realism is as good as it gets for that era. I almost felt the soldiers' discomfort in the rain and mud. The little dog added a touch of whimsey, but overall the darkness of war prevailed, and death came to the front door, inevitably. This should be a required movie for every American high school senior history class, or at least freshman history. Many of the soldiers were just out of high school, though the ones shown were a very mixed bunch for sure. I am deducting one point for a factual error. HINTS: it doesn't take a trained expert to spot it; it isn't a military goof.
All Creatures Great & Small (2020)
Perfect combination of realism and escapism
This show comes on once a week on public television and I look forward to it like few other shows. I read All Creatures Great and Small and am reading All Things Bright and Beautiful, and this show is faithful enough to them overall, and what differs from them, particularly with some characters, is so nicely handled that it doesn't matter. The sets, costumes and hair/makeup are spot on (no, I wasn't alive then but this is my impression). The accents can be a little thick, but they are true to life. I have more characters to type so will just keep typing until the minimum is met. I love this show!
Midnight in Paris (2011)
Visually engaging, at least
The storyline is a stretch and the characters are caricatures--bumbling guy with his shallow fiancee; her snobby parents; famous people from the past being, well, famous people from the past. I always read the trivia and goofs of movies before reviewing them and that usually brings the rating down a star or two for me because people catch stuff I didn't. It's amazing how many goofs occur in the first place, when so much money is being spent on movies. Anyway, my wife loved the movie and I liked it enough; just don't think too much. Time travel is an interesting idea to tackle in movies but because it requires such suspension of disbelief, it's the most challenging to pull off.
Dominick and Eugene (1988)
I could find no fault with this gem
I started watching the movie expecting it to be sappy, but as the film progressed, it became more quirky, intense and even fraught. I was riveted! The acting is so natural you think you're watching a documentary. I loved every minute of this movie and can't believe I hadn't heard about it until now. But like others have said, Rain Man came out the same year and I do remember that from its release. Still, I'm glad I finally saw this movie and spoiler alert: the movie did turn out "light" instead of "dark" and even though it could have credibly turned dark, I couldn't stomach such an outcome after falling in love with the characters.
Ship of Fools (1965)
Riveting and unpredictable
I shorted the movie one star for fashion: some of the women reflected the era the film was made rather than the era the film is depicting. All in all, though, the characters overall are captivating and widely varying, each with a compelling story or situation. The black and white aspect helps with the historicity, despite the aforementioned fashion anachronism. I like how the ship embodied society at that time, with the rise of Naziism and different ways people coped--or didn't--with that. I also like how there was a fair amount of time dealing with the dwarf character, treating him as an equal among others rather than a two-dimensional clown as many movies and TV shows seemed to default to then.
The Martian (2015)
10-star thrills with 7-star credibility (so avg. about 8)
I anticipated a slow, cerebral slog but this movie had me on the edge of my seat (or bed, as the case may be). Toward the end, when everyone was scrambling to save Mark, things got a little confusing, especially as to the role of the Chinese. Also, when Mark and the spaceship crew decided to go rogue, NASA still seemed to be right on top of them, thus erasing the "rogue" aspect. And with such a risky endeavor, having it available to a worldwide audience didn't strike me as true to life. NASA had its own ideas; the crew had other ideas and yet everything was played out as if not only official but predictable. Still, it was exciting overall.
The Christmas Break (2023)
Meh
I tried watching this and got through some of it, but it was so cloying and shallow that I had to stop watching it before wanting to throw things at the TV. I gave it 5 stars because the dialogue, pacing and filmography are adequate, but I never could really care for any of the characters. The peripheral characters that pop up once the couple arrives in Ireland seem so shallow, and their implied backstories have no emotional impact on the viewer. The premise of disagreeing on having children is a big yawn. Have them or don't--whatever. I tuned in because I hadn't been to Ireland, but frankly I could go to YouTube and find videos there if I want because the scenery is surely more interesting than the characters in the show.
Soylent Green (1973)
Mostly way off
I'm writing this in 2023 and I was alive when the movie was made, so have a double perspective. Overall, the movie reflects too much of the time it was made rather than the time it depicts. No effort was made to change hairstyles, and those who had the means to dress however they wanted to retained the early 70s style. The phone technology looks the same as it did in the 70s, as do computers. A huge "futuristic" monstrosity in a rich person's apartment houses a simple, 1970s-style video game. One futuristic innovation is the music generator (my term) in the black woman's apartment. The round, tempered-glass shower stall is cool also. But overall, I got a distinct early-70s vibe, as though the movie's creative team focused almost entirely on social conditions and government, not foreseeing the internet--which did exist albeit only in the military--and cell phones, which the 1960s Star Trek TV series foresaw with its communicators. And did they stop manufacturing cars in the early 1970s? There were some broken-down cars in the city and no private citizen had access to a functioning car. I guess the dystopia began in the early 1970s? All that effort in making the soylent green, suddenly, and none to make cars. Had the automakers suddenly gone out of business or retooled their plants? I wanted more from the movie, but I was still riveted.
Dancing with the Stars (2005)
The good and the bad
The good is that I learn about various dances and what it takes to execute them. The pacing is good and it's perfect for light, after-dinner entertainment. The current hosting is good also.
The bad is the loss of Tom Bergeron, of course, and replacing him with Tyra, who turned out to be nothing more than a poseur. Having corrected that, the viewer voting is so unreliable because it's clearly a popularity contest rather than a talent show. I think that only the judges should vote, since they know what they're talking about.
I can take or leave this show but once I started watching this season, I kind of got hooked again. It's definitely an antidote to the plethora of disturbing news one can find on CNN, etc.
The Lord of the Rings (1978)
A muddled mess
I tried to read the book but couldn't get past the first page due to the plethora of names coming and going to the point of the plot being lost to me. I had read The Hobbit and loved it, so didn't understand why The Lord of the Rings was so different. Enter the movie. I am reviewing it now, many years after watching it, because I wanted to forget about it but what stuck with me is that it was like the book--too busy and messy to follow. Admittedly, I have trouble following complicated fiction so that's on me, but the movie did absolutely nothing to "warm" me to the story. Such a disappointment!
La La Land (2016)
Almost perfect
I'm not a dedicated fan of modern musicals, but this one delivered. The thought and effort that went into the movie was noticeable; bravo, Mandy Moore! But there was one small gap: MIa's transition from David to Sebastian and back. She was basically two-timing, as far as I could tell, what with the fantasies overlapping reality. I expect that in a musical, though, so I let it slide. Still, there were two strong male protagonists and just because Ryan Gosling is, well, Ryan Gosling, that doesn't mean that the other guy is meaningless. The movie doesn't shy away from it's shallow values, however, when Sebastian says that Hollywood worships everything and values nothing. This isn't watered down here, even if the characters are sympathetic when they need to be. Yes, I was entertained but for an over-thinker like myself, no, all loose ends weren't as neatly resolved in my mind as much as the movie would have liked them to be. David wins out in the end, but does he? The ambiguity is both realistic and unsettling. However, does a good movie have to have an absolute hero among flawed humans?
Chaplin (1992)
It's barely a 10, but what a movie!
I hesitated giving this a 10 instead of a 9 because I'm a Robert Downey, Jr. Fan and I didn't "lose" him in this movie enough, but I attribute this to my bias rather than the actor's work, which was spot-on, as far as I could tell. I am not a student of film or of Chaplin himself, but if you want to find out about his life, watch this movie. It doesn't disappoint. He was a man, not an icon, though later in life he essentially became an icon. He deserved all of the accolades he got. I didn't know, for example, that he stood up to Hitler so consistently during a time of ambiguity (sure, we can reflect back on Hitler's naked evilness); however, at that time the geopolitical arena was more nuanced to most. Chaplin saw through that and realized, early on, that Hitler was pure evil. Bravo!
Maria di Nazaret (2012)
Engaging but far from perfect
I believe that much effort has been put into this rendition, but there are scenes with Herod's brood and entourage that are distracting and seem to be purely imagined rather than based on reliable sources. I think that extra-biblical sources were consulted, which is certainly ok but I sometimes had trouble distinguishing what came from a reliable source and what was made up.
The best character depiction, in my opinion, is that of Joseph. The least credible depiction, to me, is Jesus. While most everyone else seems to "fit" the region, Jesus looks purely "Anglo" or Germanic--anything but Middle-Eastern. Worse, as a baby he is somewhat dark; as a child he is much lighter; as an an adult, quite Aryan. I was thrown off by this casting.
Love's Greek to Me (2023)
Very entertaining overall
I liked seeing Martina Sirtis again after a long time not paying attention (remember Star Trek Next Generation?). I am half Greek and have lived in Greece, though have never been to Santorini. The execution was well done, but not perfect. 2 examples: when members of the male lead's family are talking amongst themselves, the fact that they speak English is understandable because of the English-speaking target audience, but they say "grandma" when basically everyone (I think, by now), knows that "yiayia" is Greek for grandma. Second example: when the male lead's sister gets married to her Greek husband in the church, the priest says, at the end, "You may kiss the bride" in English. This, after all the authentic ceremonial lead-up to that moment. He should have stayed in Greek because they kissed right after.
Something else that really annoyed me was the last scene, where the 2 leads finally get married. There was no hint of religion--not even an officiant!--and in front of his "traditional" family, including "yiayia." I'm pretty traditional, so consider it an affront to Greek tradition to have such a liaison (couldn't really call it a wedding without someone officiating).
Well, the scenery was great, at least.
Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)
If it weren't for history...
Based on entertainment value, this movie ranks a 10--I wasn't bored for a minute--but the historical inaccuracies are legion, apparently (just read the trivia section) and, to a historian like me, deserving of a rating deduction. The storm and the dance scenes were depicted excellently, though, and Marlon Brando played his role convincingly.
People say they were annoyed by Brando's accent but it didn't seem off to me. The Tahitians definitely came through, as did the ship and scenery. Is "lavish production" too cliche? It was and, as I said before, based on entertainment value it's a 10...if not for facts!