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Reviews
Super 8 (2011)
Close Encounters meet War of the Worlds with a little Romeo & Juliet
The best thing about this film is Elle Fanning.
The 5:24 super 8 movie tacked onto the trailer is better than the feature.
Perpetuates the stereotype that the only movies student filmmakers make are horror or even zombie flicks.
Incomprehensible story with uninteresting climax.
Very poorly directed and written.
Addition of recreational drugs with no meaning whatsoever.
Skip this film and you will save yourself 2 hours to spend meaningfully.
Birth of the Beatles (1979)
Birth of the Beatles
This movie receives such high praise from other reviewers, because other films about the Beatles beginnings are so bad.
Contains much that is out of order and completely falsified. Stewart Sutcliff's death is presented more than six months before it happened.
The Beatles are told that they have a recording contract while in England, while actually Brian Epstein (their manager) cabled them in Germany to let them know.
The first time they meet George Martin (their producer) it is actually long after they met him historically.
They tell Brain they want Ringo in and Pete out before they even meet George Martin, and it was George Martin along with George Harrison who were the biggest advocates in getting rid of Pete.
Dick Row (Decca executive) is presented in a scene giving his famous lone (which was actually delivered over the phone) as George Martin walks in (who worked for competing record company EMI).
There are numerous of these historical inaccuracies. There is a scene where John Lennon chastises Brian Epstein for not getting a record contract that I have never heard of. And at that point Brian had raised their appearance fee from 16 pounds a performance to 100 pounds, making the confrontation unlikely and contrived.
Also this film has the Beatles playing songs years before they were written or recorded by previous groups.
The Decca recording session on January 1, 1962 presents them playing songs that are not in the actual set.
Has the Beatles in the wrong costumes and playing the wrong song for their opening appearance for Ed Sullivan.
Almost worthless as history, but it does have some of the music.
The Aviator (2004)
Cures insomnia
This film has so much wrong with it, where do I start. First, it's boring. That's enough. This film is a tedious, uninformative, self-aggrandizing pseudo-epic that historically inaccurately attempts to portray a portion of Howard Hughes' life.
The character of Kate Hepburn is gigantic in this film, unfortunately she is poorly portrayed by the great actress Cate Blanchett. Blanchett does not even approach emulating Hepburn except for maybe one or two lines. What is left is a poor attempt at an imitation.
Next, Leonardo DiCaprio is simply too young. He has a baby face, looks 19 and is never convincing as Hughes.
Kate Beckensale is the sole redeeming presence in this film as Ava Gardner. She is excellent, dynamic and a tour de force standing up to Hughes scene after scene.
This film deviates so much from aviation, where should I start. Starting will Hughes as a filmmaker, takes up most of the first third of the film.
The film never delves interesting into the economics of Hughes' reality, for example, how he had to give the banks the voting rights to his shares of TWA so he could obtain loans to buy jets to compete in the 1950's.
This film makes the viewer want to scream to say: end, end, please end, this is three hours of my life that I will never get back.
The film deals with Hughes' mental degeneration as an extreme case of obsessive-compulsive disorder. It get's boring the second time around.
I watched "Dances with Wolves," the night after I watched this film, which was excellent in comparison.
The Horror at 37,000 Feet (1973)
Captivating TV movie
I saw this program when it originally aired and I was 13. My entire family watched it together. We found it spell bounding and frightening so much that writing these comments some thirty-five years later I can still recall the thrill of the movie.
The prior comments on Shattner are self-serving and cheap. The film was exciting and fearful and I wish I could get a copy to see it again. William Shattner's performance was very good as his character gained prominence throughout the film.
The whole idea of horror at 37,000 feet has the intensity of a bull in a china shop full of danger.
A high budget production of the movie would be intriguing.
Johnny English (2003)
The Pink Panther Strikes Back
If you like the good Pink Panther films (A Shot in the Dark, The Return of the Pink Panther, The Pink Panther Strikes Again and Revenge of the Pink Panther), Rowan Atkinson makes a good new addition.
With the character Johnny English, Britain has their Inspector Clouseau (Bond spoof). This film is funny, in a Pink Panther way and opens itself to a series of "Johnny English" films.
Parts are really funny and other parts you'll find yourself saying "Oh, no!" Finally a comedy that you can laugh at. Note: This is not one of the greatest comedies of all time, but it has potential and delivers much of the time. Moreover, I can envision a series of even funnier more outrageous escapades from Johnny English.
Hulk (2003)
Worse than bad
In a nutshell, Ang Lee can't direct, the film is poorly photographed, terribly edited and no one can act except Nick Nolte. One of the great things about the TV series was that Bruce Banner (Bill Bixby) was a very appealing character and you got to know him and his ideas. In this film Eric Bana can't act, and you never get know Bruce Banner, at all. Even Bruce Banner doesn't get to know Bruce Banner. He doesn't even know he's Bruce Banner until three-quarters of the way thought the film, if that.
This film is filled with a lot of rage (not including all those in the audience watching it and wanting their money back). Almost every character is extremely angry, except Jennifer Connelly who plays the same type of subdued (or should I say somnolent) role she did in `A Beautiful Mind.'
The movie is extremely incoherent down to the amateurish and lose-end directing of Ang Lee. He makes several film-school mistakes that take the audience out of the narrative, little that there is of it. The first thirty minutes are worthless, and should have been cut and replaced by 45-seconds of narrative exposition. There's so little development with the villain, his demise is anti-climatic.
This film just isn't good. Save your money and see Finding Nemo, again.
The Music Man (2003)
Undertoned, but it was still fun!
Even bad casting can't destroy a great play. With the tone deaf Matthew Broderick, and the miscast Kristin Chenoweth as Marion Peroo (Sarah Jessica Parker would have been THE choice) this was not going to approach the perfect 1962 theatrical version. Additionally Victor Garber kills all the comedy with his mumbled "Phraseology!" and why is Molly Shannon in this film? David Aaron Baker is completely wrong as Marcellus Washburn, and pale to Buddy Hackett.
Cameron Adams plays Zanita, and is visually appealing, however her "eee-gads" are under toned.
Under toned is the feel for this entire production. The '62 version was broad with high contrasts. This one is muted. Some of the dance routines are spectacular, though.
Cameron Monaghan is excellent as Winthrop, a tribute to Ron Howard. (Maybe Monagan in 30 years will be directing Apollo 13 - The Remake.) However he doesn't really lisp. THE key scene to the entire film is when Winthrop receives his coronet and excitingly spits over Professor Hill. No spitting in this politically correct version.
This production has also interspersed Black Americans throughout the story. High credits for adding color to an otherwise mono-racial story, but this is Pre-WWI America! Blacks and Whites socializing together? In Ioway? -- ya-uhh? Is this a message for today -- YES, but that wasn't the way it was back then.
It was still fun though, so now buy the 1962-version on tape or DVD and enjoy the real thing!
Producers' Showcase: The Skin of Our Teeth (1955)
Rewrite of "Finnegans Wake" by James Joyce
This play is a rip-off of "Finnegans Wake" by James Joyce. There are literaly hundreds of parallels and Wilder took a four-line quote from Joyce's work verbatim, never crediting Joyce in the least.
Fortunately for Wilder, `The Skin of Our Teeth' was written in 1941, the `Wake' was published in 1939, with the war breaking out and Wilder being in the military nobody wanted to discredit a soldier.
But the facts remain. In 1945 the Saturday Evening Post published an article `The Skin of Who's Teeth, Part II' by Joseph Campbell and Henry Morton Robinson exposing the whole mess.
Cheaters never prosper.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Stanley Kubrick meet BladeRunner
If you like Stanley Kubrick and Blade Runner, you'll like this film. If you don't, you won't. I don't like either, so I hated this film which I would easily call Steven Spielberg's weakest.
Haley Joel Osment is excellent and Frances O'Connor is very attractive, but the story goes nowhere very quickly and the last ten minutes of the film is all anyone needs to see to convey this very pessimistic theme.
This one is a miss, even (especially) on video.
Charlotte's Web (1973)
Tender story that speaks to children
I was introduced to this story through my children. It is a tender story with a subtle resurrection theme. It speaks implicitly to Christians and especially to girls.
In a culture dominated my male images and mythology, this female story is a great one for girls of all ages.
The story works just on the level of entertainment for children, but for adults the resurrection theme is quietly woven and remains a haunting message forever.