Reviews

Like thousands of others I enjoyed the James Bond films. This documentary adds a great deal of information about Ian Fleming, the author of the original stories and other details about how the James Bond name became known worldwide. The documentary has many interesting details, for example interviews with the daughter of Albert R Cubby" "Cubby" Broccoli, the producer who had a lifetime interest in the Bond Films. Each James Bond actor is presented with personal statements about how they were selected to play James Bond, some with PG-14 details of their personal lives. This documentary brings to memory details of various Bond films that is almost like seeing the films over again. I rate this one of the best documentaries I have seen.

I find myself watching this film again when come across it on my movie channel. I think Jen Proske's impersonation is excellent. The film is outrageous and violent but entertaining. Vampire movies are all violent. I suspect vampire film aficionados are offended when this genre is spoofed. The fact that there are relatively few reviews does not mean it's a bad movie. I realize the sparse reviews can mean a dud. Vampires Suck is not a great movie but I believe the movie is significantly better than its IMDb rating. I could be wrong. I notice there is not a large number of reviews. The fact that the movie is not popular speaks for itself. However it probably did not get much promotion. I notice box office income is double it's production cost. I suspect this movie did not have much promotion.

To IMDb staff: Please remove MD from my name on your site. I am a physician but I prefer to keep my movie interest separate from professional activities.

The actors in this French movie with English titles work hard. They act as if they feel everything intensely. The film may be enjoyed if the viewer is French and familiar with the French language and customs. I was unable to feel what the actors obviously wanted to get across to viewers. I was unable to suspend disbelief. The actors dress and personal hygiene does not correspond to what I see every day in America. This may not be a negative to French audiences. The woman in the film regarded as an outstanding beauty would not be so to most American viewers. This criticism may be unfair if viewers expect most young women to be beauty-contest gorgeous. The French woman's persona and actions may make her beautiful to a French person. French audiences may appreciate the realism in dress and actions. If I was asked to recommend this film I would say that French audiences may find the movie entertaining. However American audiences are likely to have difficulty appreciating the French appearance, emotions and behavior.

Trust 1 (2010) There are twenty movies with the title "Trust". In this one Liana Liberato, a skilled actress who started acting at age 7 plays a fourteen-year-old girl, Annie, who falls in love with a sexual predator decades older than she.*** Stop spoiler alert.*** This begins as an Internet liaison, that goes on for months until she meets him, realizes he is much older, but submits. Her obsession persists even though she knows she was raped. She thinks their relationship is true love. She's stunned when she learns he raped three other girls. Clive Owen and Katherine Keener play Annie's distressed parents to the hilt. Good acting throughout kept me watching but wore me out for almost two-hours. Even though I know this is fiction, the acting is so good that I "suspended disbelief" a term coined in 1817 by the poet and aesthetic philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge. This enables us to enjoy, books, plays and movies even though we know know the action is not real. The screenwriters and directors should have tightened the plot. In a second viewing I lowered my rating.

Anonymous (2011) B+ My brief research convinces me that William Shakespeare was a real person who wrote the works attributed to him and that he acted in his own plays. The movie Anonymous takes the position that Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford, a prominent figure in Queen Elizabeth's court, anonymously wrote Shakespeare's works. Much of the film is about de Vere and his troubled life. Realistic violence makes this a compelling historical thriller.-----Stop here to avoid spoilers-----Production required a great deal of work depicting scenes of Elizabethan plays, court intrigue, and life at that time. I enjoyed watching rowdy audiences in primitive theaters. In one scene, when no play was showing, the audience was entertained by watching a bear fight a pack of dogs. The movie shows every possible variety of sexual activity, common then as it is now. This complicated succession in the English court. I enjoyed this 2+ hour movie but it wore me out. (May2012)

Elegy (2008/I) C "Elegy" is a poem lamenting a dead person. Eighteen movies share this title. This movie, taken from Philip Roth's book The Dying Animal, stars Ben Kingsley (64) as David and Peneolope Cruz (34) as Consuela . Ben Kinglsey proved his acting ability in House of Sand and Fog (q.v.). However, in Elegy Kingsley plays David, a narcissistic, horny aging professor who regularly seduces his young students --Stop spoiler alert -- including Consuela, a Mexican beauty, thirty years younger than he. Viewers have repeated opportunities to see what attracts David. This movie is somewhat like Venus (q.v.) except Peter O'Toole's sexual advances with the young woman are associated with caring while Kingley's are dirty, like Mickey Rourke in Wild Orchid (q.v.). *** The dénouement has Consuela facing deforming cancer surgery. All of a sudden David starts to care. Most women would by turned off by Kingsley, who is bald as a cue ball, with bulging forehead veins and a frown, but Consueula falls for this old roué. Harvey Keitel and Kate Winslet in Holy Smoke (q.v.) have the same older man/young woman relationship. Second viewing same conclusion (May 2012)

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2009) (Swedish books and movies) I had not read the Swedish book(s). The Steig Larsson books are still best sellers. I watched the movies with my wife who helped me follow the complex plots. The Swedish actors, accents, personalities and interaction are typically European and gritty. Dubbed English and closed captions make the content understandable. The Dragon Tattoo books and movies are complex, violent thrillers. Stop here spoiler alert. These movies depict multiple murders, political intrigue and graphic sexual torture. The movies run 2 to 2 ½ hours but don't drag. Sexual activity is explicit but not erotic. The Swedish author Stieg Larsson began the books as a hobby and later learned their market value. Larsson was a workaholic, ate junk food, was a heavy smoker and died prematurely of a heart attack. The foreign films are well worth watching. Noomi Rapace is excellent as Lizabeth, the tattooed girl. Journalist Michal Bloomkist works tirelessly to solve the crimes. A caring relationship between the two protagonists continues in the books and movies. I also enjoyed The Girl Who Played With Fire (2009) and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest (2009)

21 Grams (2003) Iñárritu from Mexico directed this film. 21 grams is the amount of weight a body is said to lose at the moment of death. Paul (Sean Penn) plays a seriously ill mathematics professor, before and after a heart transplant. Christina (Naomi Watts) takes the part of a recovering drug addict with two small girls and a loving husband. Naomi Watts and Sean Penn make full use of their acting skills. Spoiler alert stop here. Benicio del Toro plays Jack, alcoholic. Christina loses her husband and children in a tragic accident caused by Jack's careless driving. I got tired of Benedicto del Toro's overdone mea culpa behavior. Paul gets Christina's husband's heart. Heart transplant recipients may acquire personality traits of the donor from "cellular memory". Paul is strongly attracted to Christina. He approaches her gently. The opening scene shows Christina asleep and Paul sitting on the bed smoking, both naked. Flash backs confuse or add an avant-garde touch depending on your point of view. The film includes hate, guilt, suicidal depression, anger, fear, confusion, helplessness, violence, love, addiction, sex, etc. Christina discovers she is pregnant with Paul's child. Paul dies. Jack goes back to his family. The credits list Penn, Del Toro and Watts in that order. I list Watts, Penn and Del Toro in order of good acting.

The Vow (2012) Rachel McAdams' good looks, sparkling personality and good supporting actors make this biopic compelling. Kim and Krickitt Carpenter wrote the book entitled The Vow about their marriage that was interrupted by memory loss. The movie is taken from their book. I did not read the book but my impression from the beginning of the film is that the actors do very well in making the biopic accurate in a very exciting and challenging situation. After about half of the running time of almost two hours I began to wonder how and when this film would end. This is because of subplots, that although very well acted, almost make one movie into several movies. I became anxious to see what happens to the lives of this couple. This feeling increased until I finally fast forwarded the film to the end. I recommend The Vow for viewers who can enjoy complicated subplots without being losing interest in the main direction of the movie. The film is successful commercially but did not get good reviews. This could have been an A movie had screenwriters and directors tightened the plot. R.Small

J Edgar (2011) B+ Leonardo DiCaprio excels in this extraordinary 2¼ hour biopic of the 48 year career of J. Edgar Hoover who developed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). DiCaprio's convincing acting and appearance, supported by Naomi Watts, as his secretary and other good actors held my attention throughout.

Make-up artists in this film deserve high praise.

Watching this biopic is an easy way to be informed and be entertained at the same time.

Screenwriters and directors characterize Hoover's unusual personality, complex sexuality and close relationship to his mother (Judy Dench) and his lover Clyde Tolson. This males a compelling, and I believe accurate, on-screen interpretation of this unusual man who had a strong affect on this country for almost fifty years.

Leonardo DiCaprio's superb acting makes this biopic believable. I know something about Hoover and this time in our history. This movie adds to my understanding.

The tragic Lindberg child murder case was one of the most highly publicized crimes of the 20th century. This and the other segments make J Edgar several movies in one.

May 2012.