Change Your Image
grifco
Reviews
A Late Quartet (2012)
Speaking of Musicianship
Maybe I'm too Picky, but as an amateur string instrument player I found the scenes where each of the five principal actors attempted to mimic actual playing and/or handling of their respective instruments simply awful and highly distracting. In that respect, fortunately this was mostly a melodrama. But compared to the classics of yesteryear where in 'The Great Lie' Mary Astor was actually an accomplished pianist off screen. And in 'Deception' Paul Henreid seemed to have worked hard at learning to play the cello, and with the assistance of some clever stagecraft with actual musician arms and hands superposed, pulled this bit of fakery off very well. Yes, a little of this kind of stagecraft was done in 'A Late Quartet' -- too little. Hey, but with a small investment in modern CGI techniques, maybe we could even further unburden actors from trying to fake musicianship. Or cast actors that took some lessons as a kid, and maybe even advanced to play in their high school orchestra? Oh, I forgot, we don't have high school orchestras anymore. In the credits I see that each of the five fake musicians had real player coaches. Had to be frustrating for those coaches. But bottom line, if you're one of the few like me, go see this anyway -- I did overall enjoy it.
What's Up, Doc? (1972)
Nobody Mentioned the Seagulls!
Just purchased the DVD as we wanted to see this again. Still fresh and entertaining as ever. And after using my search tool on all the prior reviews here, nobody mentioned the seagulls, which is one of my favorite parts. The comic detail in this movie is incredible. And at the end of the chase scene where all the modes of transportation are going off the end of the dock and into the bay, a line of seagulls viewing this action do a double take! This happens pretty fast, so if you are not paying attention you may miss it. These are real seagulls standing in a line, apparently just hanging around nearby. Apparently the film crew spent quite a bit of time and film until they captured most of these birds turning their heads in unison. Thanks to all who participated in creating this masterpiece for lightening our lives. We needed that!
The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt (1939)
As an aside, did you notice the diction?
Viewed on Turner tonight, and found myself being fascinated with the diction. Especially Lupino and Hayworth (maybe because they're easier to look at). Good (and fun) dramatic emphasis, syllabled but natural. Understood every word from the entire cast. What a contrast from more modern productions where mumbling seems to be in vogue and my wife and I are constantly backing up to catch what was said. So, whatever happened to those diction coaches? This was 1939 sound recording technology for Pete's sake. Okay, now filling out the 10 lines that seem to be required. Yes this was B-movie fare, but good costumes, production values AND, all too rare, some fun for the kids. Also, we enjoy these older films for the time machine aspects, e.g., the cars, the decor, cityscapes and the cultural values in evidence. For instance, lots of furs on the gals in this one--one thing we're well without now, unlike the diction.