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mibyph
Reviews
Ride, Vaquero! (1953)
Routine Western
A decent cast and director but weak material and certainly does not represent any of the leading actors' best work.
The plot has been recounted by other reviewers.
Judging an actors' performance is subjective of course but I thought Quinn's acting self-indulgent and much to one dimensional.
Another reviewer mentioned that this title was not in Maltin's Movie Guide. It is listed in his Classic Movie guide which covers movies prior to 1960. His review books do not contain every film ever made. Typically movies that received scant theatrical release, were released direct to video, or were TV movies. I don't remember an instance where a major studio film with A list actors was not listed.
The Everly Brothers Reunion Concert (1983)
Heartwarming
I had heard a few of their songs on oldie stations but was not really familiar with them. I did not know about their 10 year breakup. I do like concert films and happened to see this in my video rental store. After viewing, I immediately purchased it.
The concert of course features the harmony and guitars of the Everly's with a band that includes an electric keyboard and guitar and bass. The concert is basic as far as lighting and camera coverage. The brothers were not especially dynamic performers but honor their roots and their hit songs extremely well.
I believe nearly all of their major hits are represented, some as parts of medleys and others slightly updated with different arrangements. This is a very satisfying concert and quite touching as the brothers sing some love songs that the listener can't help but feel that they are being sung to one another.
Phil has passed away so there will be no more from this duo. Consider at least renting this for an entertaining musical experience.
There is a nice documentary as well which includes interviews with admirers and artists influential in their musical development.
Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940)
Sheer Pleasure
This movie has been in my library for some time. I usually just watch select dance numbers as I do with many musicals. The stories for most musicals are lame and once you know them, they don't bear repeating. I did watch the entire film recently so my impressions are fresh.
As mentioned, the same old story ingredients; mistaken identity, self-sacrificing partners, romantic entanglements. And this film includes several excruciating "variety" acts that are totally unnecessary.
However, the dance numbers with Astaire and Powell are sublime, particularly the juke box and beguine numbers. The set for beguine is spectacular and should remind all viewers how beautiful B&W can be.
I did not care for the vocal or the dance to "I Concentrate On You" the wonderful Cole Porter song that was over blown in its presentation. Listen to Frank Sinatra's version of this song for a brilliant interpretation.
C'era una volta il West (1968)
Visual Poetry
There is so much to like here. I must admit there are also flaws. The spare dialogue is sometimes apt but also on occasion obvious or crude. Because there is so little, with ambient noise and music soundtrack so beautiful that the contrast is jarring.
Several of the character actors, besides those in the opening sequence, are so little used that many of their scenes must have bee cut due to the length of the film.
The sound was all recorded independently of the filming, standard procedure in many Italian films. Claudia Cardinale's voice was dubbed which is such a shame since for an actor, their voice is an important part of their craft. View "The Professionals" from about the same period to hear her real voice.
Henry Fonda is indeed a real villain here but was nearly as bad in "Firecreek" made around the same time. The opening sequence was either inspired by or inspired that of "The Train Robbers".
My main enjoyment of this film is purely visual. Near the end there is a telephoto shot of the train arriving at Sweetwater with all the railroad workers gathering, to the music of Morricone. This is truly an emotional moment as are many others.
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Boyhood (2014)
Tedious
I did rent this on BR and watched it over several days so I realize that is not the ideal viewing experience. Still, I was looking forward to this and was disappointed. I have seen previously two of the "Before..." series by the director and found them to be charming. But what works in a constrained time frame did not work for me in this coming of age story. The story is routine and meandering like much of life, but I prefer a more artful rendering. The 12 years of filming sounds so audacious but is actually just a stunt. So I was not engaged with the characters or the plot. I normally check out the "features" on a BR but skipped them for this film.