I hadn't seen a preview or even read a precis before going, but I generally like French movies, so I went. I didn't know what to make of it -- at the beginning I thought it was a drama, but then the scenes got absurdly exaggerated, and I decided it must be a comedy that the language barrier kept me from finding funny. So I was surprised to learn from the reviews here that it was not a comedy! I still don't know what to make of it. So, my advice is, if you have to pay money to see this and you don't speak fluent French, don't bother (in my case, I have a theater membership that allows me pretty much unlimited movies, so I do tend to take chances).
Reviews
6 Reviews
Wonder Wheel
(2017)
Save your time and money
13 December 2017
This film is terrible. Unbelievable dialogue, flat characters, hokey plot. I felt very sorry for the actors -- even Justin Timberlake, who had the worst assignment (breaking the fourth wall and speaking directly to the camera). They tried so hard (maybe sometimes too hard, to overcome the awful script) but it was in vain. Woody Allen should retire quietly from public and professional life, if this is the best he can do these days.
The look was nice, I have to say. and some of the old tunes on the soundtrack were great. But the many repetitions of one particular song were just too much. I hope I never hear it again.
The look was nice, I have to say. and some of the old tunes on the soundtrack were great. But the many repetitions of one particular song were just too much. I hope I never hear it again.
Viceroy's House
(2017)
A good TV Movie of the Week
15 September 2017
Warning: Spoilers
The main plot line is historical (Partition of India/Pakistan), so I don't need to go into the details of that. The made-up subordinate plot line is a nice love story -- perhaps a bit heavy on the longing looks from one and the rejections by the other, and it wasn't made clear why the rejections stopped. But all's well that ends well.
The movie does offer one unusual angle on the Partition process (I have no idea whether there is any truth to it) but this could have been used to much better advantage. The guy doing the partition map says "Oh, this is too hard, I can't do it" and then Lord Ismay lets him in on a secret that settles everything: a plan supposedly originating with Churchill years earlier, implying that the partition of India was what the British government sought to begin with, unbeknownst to Mountbatten, Nehru and Gandhi, who were trying to keep everyone together as one country. I think this could have been set up far more dramatically, but the film just lets it lie there. (Later on, Mountbatten gets to know the secret, but nothing much is made of that.)
The real reason I saw this as a TV Movie of the Week is the casting of Hugh Bonneville as Mountbatten. He has such a limited range -- he basically plays Lord Grantham wherever he goes (as in "The Monuments Men") -- and he was completely unbelievable in this role. If this had not been a historical personage, perhaps it would have worked out better, but he dragged down the whole film IMO.
OTOH, Gillian Anderson was utterly wonderful, as Lady Edwina Mountbatten. Everyone else was pretty good, too, although I think Michael Gambon (as Ismay) could have been allowed some lines that foreshadowed the partitioning secret. Not his fault, but it would have strengthened the movie and taken more advantage of his presence in it. He was an asset that was not fully developed.
The visuals are terrific, and the costumes quite wonderful, and most of the small scenes were engaging (such as in the kitchens). The inclusion of period newsreels is a nice touch. It's not terrible, just not the sweeping dramatic epic that its makers probably were aiming for.
The movie does offer one unusual angle on the Partition process (I have no idea whether there is any truth to it) but this could have been used to much better advantage. The guy doing the partition map says "Oh, this is too hard, I can't do it" and then Lord Ismay lets him in on a secret that settles everything: a plan supposedly originating with Churchill years earlier, implying that the partition of India was what the British government sought to begin with, unbeknownst to Mountbatten, Nehru and Gandhi, who were trying to keep everyone together as one country. I think this could have been set up far more dramatically, but the film just lets it lie there. (Later on, Mountbatten gets to know the secret, but nothing much is made of that.)
The real reason I saw this as a TV Movie of the Week is the casting of Hugh Bonneville as Mountbatten. He has such a limited range -- he basically plays Lord Grantham wherever he goes (as in "The Monuments Men") -- and he was completely unbelievable in this role. If this had not been a historical personage, perhaps it would have worked out better, but he dragged down the whole film IMO.
OTOH, Gillian Anderson was utterly wonderful, as Lady Edwina Mountbatten. Everyone else was pretty good, too, although I think Michael Gambon (as Ismay) could have been allowed some lines that foreshadowed the partitioning secret. Not his fault, but it would have strengthened the movie and taken more advantage of his presence in it. He was an asset that was not fully developed.
The visuals are terrific, and the costumes quite wonderful, and most of the small scenes were engaging (such as in the kitchens). The inclusion of period newsreels is a nice touch. It's not terrible, just not the sweeping dramatic epic that its makers probably were aiming for.
Step
(2017)
A wonderful, inspiring documentary
15 September 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Like some other reviewers, I was expecting more athletics/sport content, but I found the film gripping, and I didn't feel anything was missing - on the contrary.
With all the awfulness in the news these days, seeing these young women strive and succeed over the course of a year was such a positive experience. This film surpassed my expectations even though it was not the film I expected. That film -- given the obvious skills of the director and everyone else involved -- would have been a good sports movie, but this one provided much more food for thought, and inspiration.
With all the awfulness in the news these days, seeing these young women strive and succeed over the course of a year was such a positive experience. This film surpassed my expectations even though it was not the film I expected. That film -- given the obvious skills of the director and everyone else involved -- would have been a good sports movie, but this one provided much more food for thought, and inspiration.
Memphis
(I) (2013)
Short movie but still too long
9 October 2014
Warning: Spoilers
This film wasn't offensive in any way but it was very puzzling, and at times tedious. There wasn't any plot or character development -- OK, it's billed as a sort of documentary, so I can accept that lack, but unfortunately there wasn't much of anything else, either. For example, the camera spent far too much time in closeups of people who were not doing anything or following (in foreshortened manner) a car driving apparently aimlessly. Those shots could have been given more depth had there been more of a soundtrack -- some music that might have expressed characters' thoughts or emotions or evoked some associations in viewers. (I have to say, for a movie entitled "Memphis" there was surprisingly little music.)
Some of the camera work was interesting -- the streetlight effects in one road scene, the Malick-like tree shots and the swamp, and the dancing scene. But there wasn't a context for any of it, or a point. I can't even think of it as neo-Warholian because there was a sort of storyline, and of course everything was staged (though I don't know what the script consisted of).
I think this could have been a decent short film, capturing a mood and a moment in someone's life, artistically and poetically, but at 75 minutes it just did not work.
Some of the camera work was interesting -- the streetlight effects in one road scene, the Malick-like tree shots and the swamp, and the dancing scene. But there wasn't a context for any of it, or a point. I can't even think of it as neo-Warholian because there was a sort of storyline, and of course everything was staged (though I don't know what the script consisted of).
I think this could have been a decent short film, capturing a mood and a moment in someone's life, artistically and poetically, but at 75 minutes it just did not work.
The Immigrant
(2013)
Bad in so many ways
6 June 2014
Warning: Spoilers
...that I almost walked out, something I have never ever done. I am amazed that most of the posted reviews are so favorable! Much too long, much too melodramatic, no character development, no motivations, really, riddled with anachronisms and remarkably unlikely happenings -- shallow and sensationalist. At the beginning, I had hopes for Joaquin Phoenix's character, and the story arc of Ewa and Magda, but those just petered out into emotionality. Plot twists that could have added depth to our perception of the characters and events were hidden until near the end, when they were just lost in the climactic excess of emotion and aforesaid melodrama.
I have now had a lifetime's surfeit of Marion Cotillard looking angelic and tearful or fearful -- why couldn't they give her something more to do? Also, though Phoenix turned in a predictable tour-de-force performance, I believe he is capable of more/better, but alas I think it would have to be with a different director.
I guess it's a good thing that there was so much Polish spoken, but it really didn't add anything to the movie -- just to the director's ego, I suppose. They could have used those efforts better in making sure the English was appropriate for the time and place.
I suggest you not spend your money on this one. Watch it if they put it on TV -- it's colorful, and maybe they will cut its run time a little and that will improve it, I'm sure. I'm giving it a 2 instead of a 1 because it is still professionally executed -- it's the material that's the problem.
I have now had a lifetime's surfeit of Marion Cotillard looking angelic and tearful or fearful -- why couldn't they give her something more to do? Also, though Phoenix turned in a predictable tour-de-force performance, I believe he is capable of more/better, but alas I think it would have to be with a different director.
I guess it's a good thing that there was so much Polish spoken, but it really didn't add anything to the movie -- just to the director's ego, I suppose. They could have used those efforts better in making sure the English was appropriate for the time and place.
I suggest you not spend your money on this one. Watch it if they put it on TV -- it's colorful, and maybe they will cut its run time a little and that will improve it, I'm sure. I'm giving it a 2 instead of a 1 because it is still professionally executed -- it's the material that's the problem.
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