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dramajunkie76
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Amy (1981)
"Amy" still shines...
Back in the days of "Betamax", when we had to wait a decade or more for such Disney titles as "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" or "Cinderella" to be released, Disney's home video library consisted of movies like "Amy", family movies that captivated my young mind as well as engaged parents. Jenny Agutter passionately plays the eponymous heroine who for the love of her late son, uses that love to find a purpose in Life. The cast that supports Ms. Agutter is seasoned, so there isn't any weak performances. I find the writing to be very character driven, and the script uses its characters to tell a story that no matter what ups and downs we have in Life to never stop living it in the name of loving.
The Nesting (1981)
After five minutes...
After five minutes, I was waiting for the character, mind you not the actress, but the character Lauren to be offed. She was not written as likable at all.
Melrose Place (1992)
This was Darren Star's baby...
This was Darren Star's baby...the evolution of his brain child from earnest attempt at social relevancy to adult guilty pleasure, was in my opinion, accredited to his vision and the people who helped him achieve that...
With that said, despite Season 1 still trying to find itself before it realized it had the potential to be a great soap opera, Seasons 2 and 3 are where the show comes alive and sparks imagination of where the characters are going and who they're going with. It's like Mr. Star took a tip from 'Serial 101' and began to take pleasure in manipulating his characters socially, romantically and scandalously, but still incorporating heart and wit into his creation, giving us payoff when a character experienced poetic justice or cringe-worthy moments of irony where we couldn't wait to discuss it the next day at school or work... This talent would serve Mr. Star well in future creations.
It's when Star left his "Place" in 1995 to create and write "Central Park West", that despite that show's edge and entertainment value, "Melrose Place" began to sort of dull in its creator's absence. And this is all post infamous explosion in Season 4. Established characters no long experience change executed through story, they just change out of the blue. Favorites also don't interact with each other as much as they do secondary/guest characters. Scenes missing that acerbic, mental sharpness and social commentary are now played down for cheeky laughs. Even production lacks, the music for any climax a constant guitar whammy bar, no more sophisticated ambient. pieces. The only redeeming quality is all the familiar faces still in residence...
Until season 5 and onward, when we begin to lose a handful of characters for the last few years audiences have come to know, experience and identify as "Melrose Face". It's never the same when Jo leaves, when Jane leaves, when Kimberly leaves, when Jake leaves, when Alison leaves, when Sydney leaves, when Matt leaves and when Billy leaves and yes in that order and in almost rapid succession. As much as I want to give credit to the cache of new characters brought on to buffer the notable absences, for me it's never the same. I think because at this point "Melrose Place's" blue collar Bohemia is all but been evicted for a more White-collar tenancy...
I have to wonder, in the way I used to between anticipating some of the earlier seasons, had Star stayed on to write the rest of the series what might we have seen vs. what we saw. Who might have stayed on until the end given Star's knack for using character to initiate story and using story history to draw from...but only in a parallel universe. Special thanks to Thomas Calabro. Josie Bissett (who eventually came back) and Heather Locklear for staying loyal to the show. They never failed to entertain.
Thriller: The Eyes Have It (1973)
"...a story of heroes..."
The premise, as has been noted in four previous, generous reviews and care of IMDB...
"A group of terrorists posing as plumbers set up base at a school for the blind. The students remain blissfully unaware, while the terrorists plan the assassination of a politician who will soon be passing the school on a parade route. Only one student, Sally, suspects that the men upstairs may be dangerous..."
I can not praise this entry enough. In an anthology that boasts "Coffin for the Bride" of series 3 to be the most memorable, series 1 "The Eyes Have It" is no pushover, just like its group of protagonists. "Eyes" tells an intelligent story with no condescension. The students are blind, but are never regulated to being hapless victims because of it. They are, in creation, a surrogate family lovingly sharing each others quirks and idiosyncrasies until the family unit is confronted with a series obvious threats. Those threats are represented in the a triage of strong acting talent, veteran British actors previous reviews have lent credence to....
All in all, it is a story of heroes, benefiting from not being so self-aware that fail to champion what is right no matter what the obstruction.
Kudos to Sinéad Cusack as "Sally", and Alun Armstrong as "Mike", who just happen to captivate me despite an already strong group of players.