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Reviews
Lucy Shimmers and the Prince of Peace (2020)
Nicely Done
If you've seen the outtakes from 1994's The Little Rascals, you know it's incredibly hard to get a child to NOT look at the camera. Aside from the lack of a serious cough, little Scarlett's work was exceptional. Vincent Vargas, meanwhile, lent the project the gravitas it needed with his portrayal of a prisoner who would rather be dead, even though his only activity for much of the movie is staring at a photograph - remarkable job, and I'm looking forward to seeing him again in the future. Aaron J. Owens also deserves a mention as the guy you love to hate - he does mean unapologetically. On the negative side, there's a cute bit with the alarm that could have been employed more consistently and escalated each time with some deft directing. Instead it was used only a couple times; begging the question as to why it was necessary at all except to amuse the one who did it.
Eat: The Story of Food (2014)
Record This!
I happened upon a marathon viewing of this series and was amazed at the facts they served up. We all know that people changed as different types of food became available, but do you understand why you love a Doritos corn chip? Do you get that corn was the real "gold" that Columbus brought back from the Americas? While another review mentioned the loud music and volume issues, I didn't notice anything of the sort and was busy listening to the amazing amount of knowledge presented. This show explains that to understand our culture, you must understand the history of our food.
The show is populated with a wide variety of experts and food enthusiasts. If you love marketing and love understanding people and why they do what they do, watch this show and keep a copy of it. Noteworthy, quotable, and important.
The Hateful Eight (2015)
Slow
Appears to have been written by an 8th grader. The actors may as well be on a middle school stage, as anachronistic as they are in both dialogue and action. To aid in this perception, Russell emotes as if he were back in his Disney days. The whole thing is typical of Tarantino's ha-ha blood and gore, and cheaply accomplished through the Surprise! plot he usually manages with a defter hand.
Apparently the entire effort was treated as a joke by all participants at the expense of the people paying good movie to watch a film. Further proof that the Academy looks no further than the names involved in any given project. The stars I'm giving are for cinematography since nothing else about this film deserves one.
Tickle (2013)
Community Fun
Steven Tickle is crazy like a fox with this series about small-town moonshining. In the (soon to be) olden days community drama buffs put on monthly shows at the local theater and hoped to cover expenses. This guy has come up with a whole new money-making venue for the entire town and as the first one out of the gate, is reaping the rewards. The scripts aren't bad (Tickle is apparently rather well-read), the jokes are actually funny, and unlike scripted network TV, this show isn't crammed full of sexual innuendo. Although...you might count the cousins' 7th month revelation that Megan isn't fat - she's pregnant as a sexual joke, but as lame as it sounds the cast pulls it off for some comedy gold. Or comedy silver depending on your willingness to laugh. The bottom line is that unlike Duck Dynasty there is no marketing prowess involved and the best parts aren't kept in the family. I've seen probably 20 or more townsfolk get pulled into roles that I'm sure earned them some scratch. Possibly thanks to many takes and good editing they didn't suck. So that beats a community rehash of "The Importance of Being Earnest" any day of the week.
The Day After the Fair (1986)
A Memorable Story
This is a movie I've thought about for years without knowing the title, so you might imagine how thrilled I am to finally find it. Lacking a plot summary or a way for me to add one, here it is for anyone else who may be looking:
This story - I believe it's set in the Edwardian era - is about an unhappily married woman named Edith. One day at the fair Edith's maid Anna meets a handsome barrister from London and is seduced by him. Later when she discovers she's pregnant, Edith insists that Anna write to him and let him know.
Anna being illiterate, Edith writes the letter for her. Before long Edith and the barrister are exchanging letters regularly and they fall in love. He is so taken with the person he thinks is "Anna" that he comes to marry her, and finds out too late that the Anna he has married is devoid of thought and the woman he loves is Edith.
The ending of this movie is one of the most memorable I've ever seen.
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
An Icon Movie
If you didn't get around to seeing it in the 80's, it's never too late to watch Ferris Bueller. I recommend the DVD, with an interesting commentary by Hughes. This movie is a great homage to the decade, to Chicago, and to unloved or misunderstood teenagers everywhere.
The Omega Code (1999)
He won't be "Michael Who?" after this!
Our local movie guru who's famous for reciting entire scenes from memory can't even picture Michael York.
It's October 19th, three days after the big Omega Code debut. (And what a debut it was!) The post-weekend review of Omega was not unlike the pre-debut pans, ranting about violence and misinterpretations of the Biblical story, etc. (Hard for me to believe, since the lame "Noah" thing with John Voight and Mary Steenburgen was embraced by the media even though it was sickeningly violent and so far from the original story as to be ridiculous. I get mad every time I think about it.)
Setting aside all the "religion movie" complaints, Michael York is the best reason to see Omega Code. Though he was nervous about his involvement, what with some other actors not pulling their weight--and there were certainly one or two really lame graphics scenes--the man was awesome and makes me regret ever thinking ill of him for his sad Dilbert-boss goofiness in the Austin Powers body-humor flicks.
For any thinking person in Hollywood, the Alexander Stone role is York's official transformation from a character actor to a lead who has proven that he can not only hold his own, but everybody else's own too. His performance was that powerful. Even people who wouldn't get all the Biblical nods or appreciate the conversion scene should see this movie just so they can witness the power that Michael York can plug into a role. Did I say role? Movie. The man plugged this movie in and turned on the lights.