bankcello Reviews

Brand X with Russell Brand (2012–2013)

Oddly enough, I like it.

[10/10 · 3 March 2013]

Being an old guy (73) I suspect that this is not my demographic, but I love vulgarity and this had a great deal of that.

I also like Legit and Archer, which are part of FX's vulgarity segment.

I have said what I have to say in a cogent and concise manner, yet IMDb' rules require me to pad this.

If what you have to say can be said in twenty works, why be forced to use two hundred.

Let me say again and again, being forced to pad this review is silly and counterproductive. Isn't it enough to know that and old guy (I will avoid using my favorite term for that since it it vulgar (hint: its initials are O.F.)

The Killing (2011–2014)

A decent show that became terrible.

[1/10 · 19 June 2012]

This show was promising. It had interesting characters and a not bad plot. We all wanted to know "Who killed Rosie."

It then went on for far too many episodes. Each episode had a different suspect, who then turned out to be innocent. It could have gone on forever with new suspects (one for each resident of Seattle), but eventually the producers took pity on the viewers and killed the show.

Eventually I couldn't care who did away with Rosie. I would rather someone had killed Linden and Holder. They became the most annoying pair of cops I have ever seen. If any police personnel acted as they did, they would be criminally prosecuted. Reckless, incompetent and insanely possessed might begin to sum up their characters' actions. Of course, Linden is in the running for the dangerous mother of the year.

I also realize that the continuity of weather suffered from carelessness. Even though it was raining almost all the time (enough to float the city away), sometimes it unaccountably fair -- then back to the rain.

The ending was not only stupid, but frustrating. The evildoers seemed chosen at random since they had to end the show. And I have no idea what happens to Linden. Perhaps she walks off into another show.

Breaking Bad (2008–2013)

Well made show, but there is much that bothers me.

[5/10 · 10 May 2010]

When this show first appeared I liked it very much. However, as time went on I found it less and less attractive because of its violence, which I found excessive. In fact I stopped watching somewhere in the middle of the second season.

I decided to give it another try for the third season. I am again struck by the good quality of the acting, and I enjoy its being set in Albuquerque, I city that I have spent some time in.

HOWEVER. The violence is still excessive. I also find, that with the exception of Walt Jr., there is no character that I find even remotely appealing. Of course, the "law breakers" are uniformly bad and vicious, but so are the law enforcers, with Hank bordering on homicidal. Walt's wife is a singularly unpleasant woman and her sister is no better.

If the program offers any lesson it is that our drug laws produce much more harm than the drugs.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

Not the content, but the presentation put me off.

[3/10 · 24 September 2009]

Although I had read the book, my sieve-like mind had forgotten all of the details, so the differences between the book and the movie that bothered many other viewer didn't bother me.

I guess that I enjoyed the plot, acting etc. However it was the technical presentation that put me off.

We paid extra to see it in IMAX and 3-d. All I can say about that is "Never again". The problem with the IMAX was the absurd level of sound coming from all over the theater. I do not need to be jolted out of my seat with the sound effects. In an opening trailer the theater boasted about how many watts were available to the sound system. Most of them were not needed, but were used. If I wanted a sonic assault I would attend some sort of rock concert, and that is not about to happen.

As to the 3-d. Thankfully, it was only the first twelve minutes of the picture. The combination of 3-d and rapid movement made for a nausea producing effect. If I wanted that I would go on a roller coaster. Again, that is not about to happen.

Perhaps it is an age divide (I am 70), but I don't need high volume and all sorts of drastic effects in a movie. A decent plot and acting will suffice.

The Godless Girl (1928)

A good film, but . . .

[8/10 · 29 December 2008]

I very much enjoyed this film. Noah Beery was appropriately villainous and the stars were attractive and appealing.

However, as a life-long atheist, I was offended by De Mille's take on the question of atheism vs. belief. It is clear that he considers atheism to be a very evil thing and something that should be shunned, if not forcibly eliminated.

To my eyes, the religious kids in the school were the truly intolerant ones, who came to the atheist meeting with the intention of breaking it up, using force if needed. Force was indeed used, and the ensuing Merle resulted in the unnecessary death of a student.

The reformatory was a hellish place, though it was interesting that De Mille put in a disclaimer to the effect that although the events depicted actually do take place in some reformatories, there are many that actually try to rehabilitate, so we shouldn't judge such places too harshly.

The first is exciting and it seems that the set was actually burned down, with injuries inflicted on the star.

As an atheist, I wasn't too fond of the heroine's conversion.

The Lost Patrol (1934)

Good movie, but I don't have any love for the British Empire

[9/10 · 28 May 2008]

This is a very good movie. It gets it point across with brevity and style. Some have complained about the acting style being too much like the silents. As a fan of silent movies, I consider that an asset rather than a failing.

What dates this film is its attitude toward the war and the empire. In listing the good things in life, the sergeant mentions the sheer joy of killing Arabs. He says that Malayan women should be poisoned at the age of 21, since they are beautiful before that but not after. The racism and sexism of the empire is portrayed in all its dubious glory.

But it is a very good movie.

Family Business (1989)

Not too bad a movie, but I hated the ending

[6/10 · 28 May 2008]

Since this movie has been commented upon dozens of times there is no need to repeat the plot. I am a fan of Connery and Hoffman and usually enjoy their acting. They did OK in this one.

I did not like the attitude expressed by the Broderick character. It is really not the most wonderful thing in the world to be a petty criminal. Connery seems to think it is, and Hoffman thinks it is not. We, the audience are meant to believe that criminality=freedom in this case.

What I hated about the ending was that Connery, a Scot is given a traditional Irish wake, complete with Danny Boy. Would a good Scot put up with that, even while dead?!

The Bedroom Window (1987)

The stupidity is rife!

[5/10 · 30 March 2008]

I was surprised to see the very favorable comments about this movie. There is no need for me to recapitulate the plot since many others have done so.

I was shocked by how stupidly the characters of Terry and Denise are. Since they are the central people in the film, stupidity is not what we want from them.

The plot is thin, but what Terry does with the situation beggars belief. I know that many movies depend of the main characters not doing what any reasonably intelligent and sane person would do in similar circumstances, but for some reason I found that in this movie the stupidity was too much to take.

I will admit that I watched to to the end (on television), but I can't say that I would have been unhappy about the main characters coming to a bad end. They would have earned it.

Choose Me (1984)

Liked it and wonder if anyone else agrees with my take on the last scene

[9/10 · 27 February 2008]

I just saw this film, having recorded it on my ReplayTV. I liked it very much. I am a fan of Genevieve Bujold and try to see her films. It was occasionally a bit confusing and took a little while for everything to sink in.

Some characters, such as Zack really didn't make much sense. Also, what was he doing in a Studebaker? The poker game was fun, and even had a Goethe quotation, which I remember from way back in college (the late fifties).

Does anyone else think that the final scene is a recreation of the final scene of the Graduate? As soon as I saw it, that it what came to mind. Am I nuts, or not remembering, or is it really so?

Barney Miller (1975–1982)

The best

[10/10 · 12 February 2007]

Having watched all the episodes on DVD, I realize once again just how good the program was. The dvds I had were taken off the air (from TVLand). Since some people might be uncomfortable with unauthorized dvds I hesitate to mention my source. However, if you email me I can give it to you.

I was going to sell the dvds after seeing all 170 episodes,but have decide to keep them. In a while seeing them again will be just fine.

I remembered this show with fondness from when it first was air, and was disappointed to see that it was nowhere to be found on TV. It had been on TVLand where I saw one episode, but that was it. It was gone. The folks at TVLand explained that they were having trouble getting affordable rights to the program.

Imagine my pleasure at finding a DVD set of the complete series. It seems to have been taken off the air and the quality is less than perfect.

If you might be interested in purchasing this email me privately and I will point you in the right direction. I got a wonderful bargain price, the the price seems to have gone up.

He ni zai yi qi (2002)

Wonderful film and a surprise for me in the credits

[10/10 · 3 February 2007]

There is not very much that I can add to the positive things said about this film. I agree with them, all, though I could have wished for a different ending.

I am an amateur musician and appreciated the emphasis given to how important music can be in our lives. The great music that we her can transcend many things.

The surprise for me in the credits was seeing who played the violin solos. I was convinced, and surprised to be so, that they were played by the lead actor, since the synchronization between the image and sound were so good, even to the point of vibrato. Usually fine actors cannot feign playing an instrument with any degree of accuracy. A case in point being Gerard Depardieu in Tout le Matins du Monde. He is a great actor and didn't seem to be playing the viol at all.

Porco Rosso (1992)

One of the best!!

[10/10 · 19 May 2006]

There is not a great deal that I could add to what has been said about this movie. I was bowled over by it, as was my wife.

As has been said before, it is not like any other animated feature that I have seen. I kept wondering who would play the leading role if this were a live movie. Porco (or Marco) is a great swashbuckling romantic hero. Perhaps the Humphrey Bogart of Casablance would be similar.

I saw this in Japanese, not in English, and I think that might be the best way. The male characters use the sort of voice tone and inflection that I associate with samurai movies -- a loud and very gruff tone. That seemed to fit the movie very well. I can't imagine English language actors doing the same.

I have now seen a number of Miyazawa's films, and am amazed each time.

Music from the Inside Out (2004)

I loved the film,

[10/10 · 3 May 2006]

I very much enjoyed this. There is little that I can add to what has been said. Saying that, I will try to add.

I am an amateur musician and have run chamber music workshops for many years. It was a joy to see the playing portions of of the Brahms Sextet and Schubert Quintet. These are possibly the best examples of chamber music that there are.

However, I was very disappointed in the fact that the musicians were identified only by first name. The only one that I knew was David Kim. After choosing to only use first names, there should have been at least a list of the participating players in the closing credits. That would have been much more interesting than seeing the names of the various technical people.

I would have hoped that IMDb would have more information, but it doesn't. I would have liked to know where the chamber music session was filmed. It seemed like a beautiful place.

I went to the PBS site hoping for more information. Nothing there,and the link to the film's own web site produced a ridiculous Flash presentation almost devoid of content.

The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

Amazingly no mention of anti-semitism

[7/10 · 25 March 2005]

This is a good movie. However, it exhibits the strange quality of pictures from the thirties and forties in that is almost completely ignores the issue of anti-semitism.

At the heart of the Drefuss affair was anti-semitism. The only reference to Dreyfuss's Jesishness is a brief moment when we see the notation that his religion is Jewish.

I have lately noticed in films from this era that Jews were an oddly invisible group. Movies about World War II spoke about refugees, but seemed have overlooked the fact that Jews were the particular target of the Third Reich. Obviously this was a conscious decision on the part of the movie makers. Perhaps they felt that the country was not ready to face the fact of anti-semitism.

It is in this context that I have come to realize the importance of "Gentleman's Agreement".

The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

The best

[10/10 · 28 February 2005]

I have read all the other comments and agree with all of the favorable ones. This is the best film I have ever seen. There is not much I can add to what has been said.

I was surprised, however, that there wasn't more mention in the comments of the connection of this movie with at least two of Sergei Eisenstein's.

The last portion of the movie shows that Dreyer must have seen Potemkin. The similarity to the Odessa steps scene is striking. This is not to take any thing away from Dreyer.

I had always thought the Eisenstein's Ivan the Terrible has the most amazing closeups and interesting faces. Having seen this film, I think that Eisenstein must have seen this.

Thus, I see a two fold connection between Dreyer and Eisenstein. Dreyer taking from Eisenstein's Potemkin and Eisenstein using Dreyer in Ivan the Terrible.

Of course, since both directors are in my cinematic pantheon, it just could be that genius often expresses itself in similar ways.

Osama (2003)

Some disturbing political thoughts about this fine film.

[30 November 2004]

There is no need for me to rehash the plot of this film. Many others have done that.

It is a harrowing experience. However, something occurred to me after seeing it. Given the inhuman treatment of women by the Taliban, why did it take the attacks of September 11 to finally have the US decide to remove the regime. Winston Churchill said that you could always count on the US to do the right thing, after it has done everything else.

That we (the US) should attack Iraq because our commander in chief didn't like them and they acted poorly towards his father, yet we refrained from doing anything about the Taliban until we were attacked, reflects very poorly upon us.

Tevya (1939)

Wonderful! Very moving.

[10/10 · 16 December 2001]

I noticed this on TV after it started, so I missed the beginning. However, what I saw, which was most of it, moved me greatly.

I grew up in a home where Yiddish was used by my parents when they didn't want the kids to understand. Russian was used when they really didn't want us to understand! Unfortunately my Yiddish is not up to fully understanding the dialogue of the movie, though a meaningful percentage did come through. The titles were OK, and sometimes inadequate.

To compare this to Fiddler is impossible. This is a tragedy and Fiddler is a musical. The acting is very good. It is old-fashioned acting, with large emotions and gesture. The Yiddish, that which I could understand, is a very nice Yiddish. No Americanisms in it, as the Yiddish I heard at home.

One thing that was disturbing was the stereotypical portrayal of the non-Jewish characters. They were portrayed as coarse and mean-spirited. Of course, in a steytl in 19th century Russia, that was probably the norm.

I recommend this film to all. To those who grew up in an immigrant Jewish household, it is a must.