mark2-1 Reviews

Heavens Fall (2006)

Must be a changed scene?

[10/10 · 9 December 2011]

I saw the film on TV today and found it fascinating and shocking.

I agree with the opinion of the majority of the other reviewers that the cast was excellent.

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I am confused that Author: Robert J. Maxwell ([e-mail]) from Deming, New Mexico, USA wrote:

"Liebowitz, without his knowing, may have helped lose the case himself. In a café, seeing a black girl waiting for a lunch to be handed to her to take out because she's not admitted into the café. Liebowitz strides over to her, hands her the paper bag, slams down the payment on the counter, and shouts, "What kind of people ARE you?" That's no way to endear yourself to the community from which the jurors are drawn."

This is not how the scene was in the version I saw.

In the version I saw, Liebowitz sees the girl waiting outside the door and the waitress takes a very, very long time to bother to deliver the paper bag to her outside the door and collect her payment. This illustrates how little regard the waitress has for a black child.

An Almost Perfect Affair (1979)

Disappointing

[3/10 · 23 June 2010]

This is a disappointing film. We never find out why Monica Vitti suddenly decides to betray her husband nor why Keith Carradine betrays his girlfriend in the United States.

Raf Vallone portrays a powerful Italian Producer who may be a portrait of Carlo Ponti and/or Dino de Laurentis, but is puzzlingly passive when he discovers that his wife is unfaithful.

Keith Carradine portrays a man with the emotional maturity of a high school student. It is puzzling that Monica Vitti's character is drawn to him.

The only character which is drawn in some depth is Monica Vitti, Raf Vallone's wife. She had been very poor as a child, and is afraid of getting fat and losing her money. She says that when she was an actress - she was a bad actress. She tells us that this is the first time she has ever lied to her husband of many years (they also have a teenage daughter).

Monica Vitti's dialog is the flawed words of an Italian who does not have a large English vocabulary and who has difficulty pronouncing English words - this is charming, but sometimes difficult to understand.

A Good Year (2006)

A film that I could imagine Albert Finney making thirty years ago

[8/10 · 15 April 2007]

The funny thing about this movie is that it is a film that I could imagine Albert Finney making thirty plus years ago.

It resembles one of those British Angry Young Men like movies that Albert Finney and Alan Bates etc. made at that time - but it is a more mellow film and it wins over the angrier films of that era with it's calm humor and gentle conclusion.

My wife and I hadn't read any reviews and saw it in a movie theater today without and preconceptions. We both rather like this film and find it refreshing to see Crowe playing this type of role.

We had seen Marion Cotillard in the 3 Taxi films produced by Luc Besson where she played a hectic silly character. Her character here is calmer and has so much more depth and is much more interesting.

Sahara (I) (1943)

One of my favorite films

[9/10 · 24 September 2005]

I first saw this film as a child and it has been one of my favorites ever since. I am really pleased to have it as a DVD now.

The characters are all well written and well acted. The direction is of men who chat casually of everyday matters while in the face of death. Korda did well.

Rudolph Mate was the Cinematographer - and it is perhaps not a coincidence that he many years later directed The 300 Spartans (1962), a movie about the Spartans at Thermopylae. A very similar event.

*********************Spoiler**************************************** One of the reasons for this film's appeal is that it does not feel as dated as other war films of the period.

I have been trying to think of a way to express why this is true and I think it has something to do with the way it was shot. Here is an example: Humphrey Bogart thinks he is going to die during a German attack and taunts the Germans to kill him. He is photographed from behind!!! Not a closeup of his growling face as many other directors of the time would have done. This is typical of the "undramatic" way this type of event is portrayed.

Mosquito Squadron (1969)

Would have been a bad TV movie too.....

[3/10 · 29 August 2005]

Some other reviewers comment here are that it is not one of the best British films of it's time - well, the director (father of Katey Sagal from Married with Children and 8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter) was a real American TV series director and that is why this film has the look and feel of an American TV film from the period.

This is a very bad movie. It's only saving graces are the presence of some real Mosquito aircraft and some good footage lifted from another slightly earlier film about a Mosquito Squadron - 633 Squadron.

633 Squadron is also not one of the best WW2 aircraft films, but it is still far better than this one.

For some odd reason "our hero" has a Canada patch on his uniform, although he is supposed to have grown up with his best friend, another pilot, who lives nearby (in Britain). Very odd. I suspect someone else with a more American accent (like Cliff Robertson in 633 Squadron) was supposed to have had the role and David McCallum was a last minute replacement.

There is a scene where David McCallum actually crawl out of a wrecked and burning Mosquito - which at first I thought was also a scene lifted from the other Mosquito film. I do hope they didn't also wreck a Mosquito for this film, as they did in the other film. What a waste!

The film begins with scenes lifted from Operation Crossbow.

Note: There was actually a real, and quite well known, Mosquito raid in 1944 on Amiens prison in France to liberate important French resistance prisoners, where they breached the wall as they did in this film - though not with Barnes-Wallace bombs. This must have inspired this part of the film.

Screen Two: Persuasion (1995) Season Unknown, Episode Unknown

One of the very best Jane Austen adaptations

[9/10 · 26 August 2005]

There is little to say except that it is one of the very best Jane Austen adaptations and a must for anyone interested in the genre.

Well acted and well made.

An excellent ensemble.

What is fascinating is being able to see how very many of the story elements in Emma, Mansfield Park, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibilty re-occur here as well and perhaps even more clearly.

My only regret is that it is not longer. I was enjoying this world and it ended all too soon. But, on the other hand it told the story well and there was really no need to go into more detail.

At Sachem Farm (1998)

Eccentric film

[6/10 · 4 July 2005]

I saw this on TV a few days ago.

While it is a charming film with several good acting performances, it is also a very eccentric film and I suspect that you need to be in the right mood to experience this film.

Minnie Driver plays the usual Minnie Driver role (same as in Good Will Hunting and all of her other films) as well as she always does. The late Nigel Hawthorne plays the Mad King George odd ball with the vacant eyes as well as he always did.

It takes place in the US (California), but the main characters are all British. I am sure the actors had a very good time in California and enjoyed the producton. It looks like the weather was good during the whole production.

Nigel Hawthorne and Minnie Driver and her sister (?) were executive producers.

PS I recognize the locality from JAG (the episodes in South America where Sarah is padded to look pregnant) and other TV shows and films. So the owner of this estate must have a lot of movie community friends.

Great Expectations (1946)

A very nearly perfect film!

[10/10 · 25 June 2005]

This is very close to being one of the most perfect films ever made.

Every actor performs at his best - making every word and inflection count - and the script is perfect, the direction is perfect and the photography is excellent.

I am astounded by what Antony Wager, the young actor portraying Pip as a youngster, is able to deliver.

I only have one "but" - while Jean Simmons is perfect as the young Estella, I find Valerie Hobson - as the only member of the entire cast - miscast as the older Estella. I have researched this a little and have since found that she was married to the film's producer.

I wonder whom David Lean had been planning to use? I have been thinking about which actress, amongst those of the period who would have been available, would have been good for the role. The obvious choice is Vivien Leigh and another is Margaret Leighton.

Two years later David Lean made Oliver Twist, which, while good, is a very different kind of film. I don't really feel it lives up to the quality of Great Expectations.

I have a daughter in her early 20's. She and I saw Great Expectations on TV years ago and she still has very fond memories of it today and rushed to borrow the DVD I just purchased. She otherwise abhors "old films" and in particular those in B+W.

In Enemy Hands (2004)

See this for William H. Macy

[4/10 · 23 May 2005]

I really can't understand why so many people here have praised this film.

See this film for William H. Macy's performance - he does his job well and doesn't just go through the motions as he could have done when he discovered what it was.

It is such a pedestrian B-movie effort. They even have purchased scenes from a trio of other submarine films like U-571 to save money, instead of doing them themselves.

...spoiler.... The whole premise of the film is the idea that a German U-boat would pick up American survivors. Thomas Kretschmann, cast here as 1st Watch Officer, actually played the commander of U-571 who there shoots a boatload of British survivors because that is what they have been ordered to do.

Anyone who has seen the very realistic Das Boot would also know that there wasn't much room on a German U-boat for any extra "cargo" and that after a few weeks on duty the vessel and crew would be in horrid condition. (This reminds me to remark about the "set dressing" on the other U-boats in the film which have large Nazi flags on the bridge and Captains very dressed up in fancy coats etc.) ...spoiler ends......

Another Submarine veteran in this film is Danish Sven-Ole Thorsen who plays a German machinist here. He was a Russian submariner in the Hunt for Red October (and the veteran Gladiator defeated by Russel Crowe in Gladiator).

Want to see a great Submarine film? See The Bedford Incident with Richard Widmark.

BTW I noticed that there was a huge list of Producers on this film: This is a recipe for disaster!! Look at this list!!! I am sure they all had their 2 cents to say and got in the way a lot.....who knows, this may have been a better film if most of these people had stayed home?

Produced by John H. Brister .... producer (as John Brister) Larry Collins .... associate producer Patrick F. Gallagher .... co-producer Carol Gillson .... executive producer David Glasser .... executive producer (as David C. Glasser) Michael Z. Gordon .... co-producer Michael S. Grayson .... executive producer David Hutkin .... executive producer Brian R. Keathley .... co-executive producer Andreas Klein .... executive producer (as Andreas R. Klein) Thomas Leath .... co-producer Robert Leveen .... line producer Julius R. Nasso .... producer Michael A. Pierce .... producer (as Michael Pierce) James Robb .... co-producer Dean Rockhold .... co-producer Gary Rubin .... executive producer in charge of production Geoffrey H. Silver .... co-producer Jeff G. Waxman .... executive producer Mark Williams .... executive producer Bob Yari .... executive producer

Hawking (2004 TV Movie)

Excellent!

[9/10 · 25 February 2005]

I have just seen this excellent film.

It begins with a character resembling Stephen Hawking slouching in a deep armchair. But, then he gets up and walks!!! This is the basis of the film. We are all familiar with Stephen Hawkign as he is today, but this film will now tell us the story of the man and his ideas before he became the the icon he is today.

I really enjoyed this film - both as portrait of a brave man and a brief description of the development of the big bang theory and some of it's underlying concepts.

Among the cast I especially enjoyed Michael Brandon as one of the two Bell Labs scientists who first discovered the sound of the creation of the universe. However, I do agree with several other comments here that the section about his German origin was confusing and unnecessary.

The film is very much aware of the fact that it will be compared with "A beautiful mind" - it even refers to the "beautiful" concept among scientists. In many ways I much prefer this portrait of a much more sympathetic beautiful mind.

Le divorce (2003)

Not such a bad film at all

[7/10 · 12 January 2005]

A Merchant/Ivory/Ruth Prawer Jhabvala film is generally a good deal. And this one also has a rather good cast albeit many in very small roles.

I am surprised to read here how many viewers have disliked this film - many even with great vehemence. My wife and I found it a charming and at times mildly amusing "little" film about types of people we could recognize.

Many years ago I lived in Paris for two years. This was during the "reign" of DeGaulle. At that time there weren't many Frenchmen/women who spoke English at all. That is different today, as this film reflects. And the cultural shock this has entailed is also reflected in this film.

My own experience has given me a relaxed attitude towards the quirks of French culture. But this film educated and shocked me with it's revelations about the male chauvinist divorce laws and attitudes in France.

This is not great art, nor does it pretend to be, but it is a film well worth seeing. Through many very serious topics and events it illustrates how people can learn from their experiences and move on with their lives. And that even extremely serious setbacks can be amusing in retrospect.

Ocean's Twelve (2004)

What a disappointment

[1/10 · 7 January 2005]

My wife and I found the Oceans 11 remake entertaining. This evening we saw the sequel, which is called Oceans 12. This is hyped as a movie where the cast are all having a lot of fun and the audience experiences their fun. They must have been totally bored having this fun as it was one of the most boring films I have ever seen. And - to be honest - I generally can find SOMETHING redeeming in most films.

My wife first said she didn't find it as boring as I said it was but then she admitted that she had spent a long time thinking about a meal at home for some guests in great detail. You don't do this if you find the film interesting.

I saw Matt Damon on Leno (I think it was) and he made a comment about the "all having fun" thing. He said that Cannonball Run II was likely the film that the cast most enjoyed making. Implicit here was "and what was that worth?"

Leno kept referring to the film as an "art house film" and my impresion was that he meant that it was far from being one of these. But, now that I have seen it, I understand that he actually meant that the camera-work etc. do resemble what he might associate with that type of film.

I think Damon and Leno might have been telling us what they actually thought about Oceans 12.

I must admit that this film was worse than Cannonball Run II as the plot was total confusion and the film was made as if it were an early Danish "Dogma" film with intentionally shaky camera and bad lighting and awful sound.

With such a "star studded" cast - you would expect that the villain was also someone "worthy" ie well known rather than the man who usually does the voice-over for Hugh Grant in French dubbed films.

One little note about the "surprise guest". I really wonder how many of this film's target group know this elder actor.

The Hollywood Mom's Mystery (2004 TV Movie)

Enjoyable

[6/10 · 1 January 2005]

This is a pleasant and enjoyable little film about a children's book author who gets involved in some Hollywood murders and decides to try to solve them. Sort of "Murder, She wrote" with a younger protagonist.

Justine Bateman (Mallory of yore) is very relaxed and does well as this amateur detective.

There are some plot loose ends that never get resolved(for instance, why doesn't her husband Andrew Macarthy call her when he is out of town and who is the mysterious neighbor etc.) but it doesn't matter that much.

The film ends in a way that might suggest that they hope to make more of these stories and I wouldn't mind seeing more of them.

Champagne Charlie (1989 TV Movie)

A yawn biopic

[1/10 · 21 December 2004]

We bought this film as an inexpensive DVD here in Denmark mainly on the strength of Hugh Grant's name in the leading role.

When I looked here I saw, to my surprise, that no one has yet reviewed the film. Now that I have seen the film I know why.

This is an "Official" (that is what it says in the titles) Canadian-French co-production mini series in two parts. It is a biopic which tells the story of the Charles Heidsieck who opened the market for Champagne sales in America just prior to the American Civil War. He became known in America as Champagne Charlie. The film tells this story very slowly and in excruciating detail. Many of the actors are dubbed and/or are not very good actors or they are poorly directed by a director who has mainly some episodes of Star Trek and Stargate to his credit. Hugh Grant has a variety of accents during the film and a very narrow range of emotions to portray. He was apparently neither suited nor comfortable in this limited role. It is also a few years before Sense and Sensibility and Four Weddings and a Funeral, so he made up for this lapse with quite a vengeance later.

Alexandra Stewart, who has been in many a good film of directors like Truffaut, is seen hovering in the background in many scenes. I don't think she has a word of real dialog in the entire film. sic transit gloria mundi

Battle Hell (1957)

As good as I had recalled

[10/10 · 16 June 2004]

I recently got a copy of this film on VHS. I was expecting to be disappointed as I haven't seen this film in about 35-40 years! I often get a film I once enjoyed find it doesn't live up my memories. But, I was pleasantly surprised with this film.

There are, of course, some period stereotypes, especially racial (Akim Tamiroff again plays the evil oriental....), but they are minor annoyances as the story unfolds.

I had read that H.M.S. Amethyst had actually been used for the film and was so badly damaged during the filming due to underwater explosions that she was soon scrapped. I can now see why this might have happened. There are quite a few detonations in the water very close to the hull.

While watching the film I felt it could just as well have been a good story from Hornblower, Aubrey etc. Take away the modern vessel and replace it with a wooden ship and you have a timeless (true) tale.

Richard Todd (who served as a paratrooper on D-Day) plays with the authority he often gave to many similar roles (like the Dam Busters).

It was fun to see that Bernard Cribbins and Ian Bannen were unlisted in the role list. They were novices, and were actually both quite good in this film.

I highly recommend seeing this film!