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thomrobbin-1
Reviews
Kimi (2022)
Shades of Hitchcock
While everyone is entitled to their opinion, I'm surprised to see so many negative or low reviews for this film. Although it does start off at a frustratingly slow pace, the patient viewer will be rewarded. I particularly appreciated the soundtrack.
Reacher: Reacher Said Nothing (2022)
Low rating for STUPID fight at house
I rarely write reviews, but the absolute buffoonery of the fight between the shrimp with the crowbar and Reacher was more than ridiculous. No broken bones? No bruises? And Reacher taken to task by a guy outweighed by 100 lb? More than disappointing and certainly not up to the quality of most of the other fight sequences in this series.
Perry Mason: The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife (1958)
Excellent
Well written, performed. Mason's performance in court is among the best. Claude Akins cop role and Hansen's DA are very good, too.
The Favourite (2018)
Appalling headache
I am astounded that this film has received so much acclaim. Three cheers though for the performances, costumes, efforts at period accuracy. Jeers for the distressing, murky, low-angle, wide angle photography, some aspects of the mind-numbing sound design and the over-all bad taste this film left me with. Oh, and yes, mustn't forget that final series of dissolves, which was reminiscent of a student film I saw long ago. Wabbits. Wabbits! Wabbits!!!
Penny Dreadful (2014)
Season 3 Finale
For the first 2 seasons, I was a big fan of this series. Delighted at the intriguing meld of classic characters, re-imagined and poetically entwined. However, this last season has been a disappointment, especially the finale. Felt the show was running on fumes a few episodes back and this was confirmed by the disappointing conclusion. I think John Logan has marvelous creative ability, but the concluding episodes left me with the sense that he had lost enthusiasm for the project (and had perhaps over-extended some of the plot lines that simply couldn't be resolved in the limited time that remained for the series). Loved so much of what came before, I will try not to let the many missed opportunities and dangling plot lines sour the memory and the prospect of what could have been. I vote a 10 for the series as a whole, a delightful mash-up of so many beloved characters and legends.
Mr. Majestyk (1974)
Maybe I saw a different movie...
I'm kind of surprised to see all the 8,9, even 10 star reviews for this flick. After Bronson decides to turn in the Lettieri character by calling Lettieri's girlfriend and expects her to deliver them both to the sheriff while he sits in the back seat ... it was downhill from there for me. We started laughing at the stupidity of this plot point when (shock) Lettieri gets the drop on him by pulling a gun (gasp) from the girlfriend's purse. The great melon murder scene was also good for a few snorts. Sorry, I like some Charles Bronson films (The Mechanic, Death Hunt, Hard Times, Once Upon a Time..., and The Magnificent Seven), but I think a more convincing vehicle could have been dreamed up for Il Brutto than a tough-guy melon farmer who manages to tweak the nose of a big-time hit man.
Silver Blaze (1937)
A few comments on camera moves
Just caught this as a restored version on TCM. I thought the most interesting (or comment-worthy) aspect of this film was the use of camera by director Thomas Bentley. Some interesting shots (low angle of Moriarty as he enters his new lair), tracking/dolly shots that tie aspects of the scenes together (dolly along the Baskerville terrace when Holmes arrives) and quick pans which bring characters together in scenes. Although I don't consider myself an expert on this period of production, I generally find many lower-budget films of this era were fairly static visually. It definitely improved my enjoyment of the film as a Holmes fan.
Rear Window (1954)
A quibble about casting in both RW & Vertigo
While I recognize that star-power and box office are serious considerations in the casting of any film, I've always had a sense of discomfort with Jimmy Stewart in this film (and Vertigo). Perhaps my real problem is not really the casting of Stewart, but the mis-match of the beautiful and youthful Grace Kelly (and Kim Novak in Vertigo). Stewart was over twenty years older than Kelly & fifteen years older than Novak when the two films were shot. I think an actress with a little more maturity and depth might have worked more believably against Stewart. While both films are among my favorites (particularly Vertigo) I continue to suffer from a sense of discomfort at the implausibility of the love interest and the lack of a sense of any real chemistry in the performances. Nevertheless, they're both eminently entertaining and delightful films.