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marshall-dan784
Reviews
The Godfather (1972)
The banality of evil, and of this movie
Certainly the most massively overrated movie of all time. I finally saw it today, out of sheer curiosity, after avoiding it for so long. I usually avoid movies involving the mob, true crime, horror, or overly violent movies- but I wanted to see what the fuss was all about.
I still don't understand. I am reminded of Hannah Arendt's expression "The banality of evil", which she coined after observing Adolf Eichmann's trial in Jerusalem in 1961. To her, Eichmann seemed to be a common man, evidenced in his transparent superficiality and mediocrity- "not stupidity but a curious, quite authentic inability to think." Critical thinking especially. Perhaps I am predisposed to feel this way, growing up in an intellectual family with high moral standards- evil is quite boring to me. I was originally going to rate this 2/10, and then I found out the actress who did the only nude scene, in one of the few hopeful periods of the movie for one of our main characters, was only 16 at the time. Eww. Legal then but not legal now.
Still don't understand what the fuss is about.
A Jazzman's Blues (2022)
HUGE Disappointment!
I have never in my 65 years wanted a movie to to not have a cliched, predictable ending as much as this one! It started with a lot of promise- it wasn't horrible or anything- and how often do we see a movie without a single actor we have seen or heard of before? Seems to me that if Perry had been thinking about this for 27 years or whatever...and I'm not even talking about the logical inconsistencies in the story, since that is so not the point! What is the point of having an imagination, a work ethic, tons of experience in the movie business- yes, I know about Medea but it's not like anyone else was involved in this movie!
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020)
Boring
I wanted to hear more music- instead we get the band members bitching with each other the whole time. When we did see Ma Rainey, she was mostly being a diva. One scene was absolutely senseless and disturbing and completely unnecessary- what was the point of this movie anyway?!?
Modern Romance (1981)
Worst movie I have ever seen
Very painful to sit through. His character is obnoxious, clingy, smarmy, weak, manipulative, as a man I felt offended by his portrayal. I realize that everyone has different taste but I have never been so baffled as to why people would like something than I am right now. This is billed as a comedy. I didn't laugh once.
Barefoot (2014)
Wonderful movie!
I was not aware that this was a remake, so I had no expectations. At the beginning I said "this is an intriguing premise- I hope they do well with it!"- and they certainly did! Evan Rachel Wood was perfect in this role- could have not played the innocent, sweet, naive character any better! Scott Speedman reminded me of Bradley Cooper, but not quite as good, which was a little distracting- but he did fine. JK Simmons and Treat Williams were excellent in supporting roles. A few minor implausibilities, but fewer than most- but overall they hit almost all the right notes. A real sweet movie, about the redemptive power of love, healing the lives of two troubled souls- all a hopeless romantic could want!