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Reviews
The Dick Van Dyke Show: All About Eavesdropping (1963)
Best Episode Ever
If you've never seen the Dick Van Dyke Show and want to see a sample of this wonderful series, this is the episode to watch. The Dick Van Dyke Show is one of the best comedy series of all time. The physical comedy of Dick Van Dyke, the one-liners by Morey Amsterdam, the sarcasm of Rose Marie, the blandness of Richard Deacon, the sweet innocence of Mary Tyler Moore, the nosiness of next-door neighbors Jerry Paris and Ann Morgan Guilbert all blended with perfect timing and great scripts to keep America laughing through some tough times for our country. Way to go, team!
Paranormal Activity (2007)
What a bunch of bunk!
Who says this is the scariest movie of all time? This film is so annoying, trite and clichéd that it is FAR from the scariest movie of all time, unless it's considered scary that these people would even THINK they had a great idea for a movie.
For instance, the producers of this movie want us to think that these events really happened and were videotaped by the couple as they happened. Please. I can believe that Micah and Katie would set up the camera at night to film things while they slept, but why would they film throughout the day -- while getting ready in the bathroom, or when analyzing the film from the night before? Why, when Micah woke up to find Katie missing and was immediately concerned, would he take time to unfasten the camera and take it with him to find her? She could have been in extreme danger! The only reason is to keep the movie audience "in the loop" as to what is going on. It's scripted! Duh. Even when the camera is left on the tripod, the action is always in front of the camera. For the producers to even think that anyone would begin to believe that this really happened is idiotic.
And how about at the end of the movie, when Michah's body hits the camera? A blow like that would have knocked the camera silly. But the camera stays right there on the flimsy three-leg tripod, ready for the entrance of the demon-possessed Katie, who gives a sinister look at the camera before trying to devour it. Huh? In the first place, why would the "demon" or whatever it was, bring Michah's body back up the stairs? Because the movie audience is there. Because of the restriction of the one camera, the movie audience would have been left out of the action if the demon had left Micah's body downstairs. Obviously scripted.
So, any possibilities of having a GOOD scary movie are ruined since we are confined (by this silly premise of "reality") to one video camera, alternately held by either Micah, Katie, or the tripod. This gimmick is cloying and annoying from the start. And this movie moves SO SLOWLY! My gosh, this was boring.
Anyone watching this movie with half a mind and some critical thinking has to wonder WHY. Why did this demon want Katie? Why didn't it just take Katie at the first (and spare the movie audience the misery of sitting through this rubbish)? Why did the demon want to kill Micah (besides the fact that he was annoying)? Why were things always going wrong with the electronics, like the lights and TV, but the camera always worked? Why did the demon wait for years before haunting Katie again (she remembered it visiting her as a young girl)? Why was there a picture in the attic? Why, when the psychic said that he couldn't stay in the house because he felt the demonic presence so strongly, didn't he take Katie and Micah with him when he left? (Obviously, it takes the demon awhile to catch up with Katie since she hadn't had any encounters with it since she was a little girl.) Why would the demon-possessed Katie lunge at the camera at the end of the movie? This demon had controlled electronics all through the movie without having to use a physical body. If the demon wanted to get rid of the camera, he would have (and SHOULD have) rendered it helpless at the first of the move.
Silly. Stupid. Annoying. Awful.
Julie & Julia (2009)
Good movies, like good food, can spoil quickly.
This movie could have been absolutely charming. Meryl Streep and Amy Adams are fun portraying the title characters, and the two men do a fine job in their supporting roles. The format of the movie "jumping" from Julie's story to Julia's story was a bit annoying at first, but often clever when juxtaposing their lives' similarities.
The movie was ruined, however, by taking a generally light-hearted plot and throwing in vulgarities. Do we have to be subjected to "hair in our food"? Even the producers of the movie seemed to be aware that viewers may not believe nor well receive one especially vulgar comment that Julia Child made, because they added a "footnote" in the script by having Amy Adams' character say that Julia Child actually said that, as the comment was found in a letter. I don't doubt that she DID say it, but did we have to be subjected to it in the movie? I think the movie would have been much better without the vulgarities and a PG rating, rather than the PG-13. I'm not sure that the more adult rating brought any more people to the theaters to see it.
I guess someone just put too much picante in the pate, and ruined the whole dish.
Pursued (1947)
Waste of great talent
This movie neither succeeds as a film noir nor a western. The story is sporadic and doesn't have any drive -- it didn't make me want to keep watching after I was well into it. The acting is hammy and stagy. The characterizations are not consistent throughout the movie -- it's like any character can change his or her mindset at any time. The big "secret" that is revealed at the end was easily guessed a long time before the big revelation. James Wong Howe's photography is the only redeeming factor in this oater. I was truly disappointed after reading so many good reviews on this web page. Oh well, I guess I can trade this at the used DVD store for films that show Robert Mitchum, Teresa Wright and Dame Judith Anderson in better roles. If you like film noir and these stars, I highly recommend Night of the Hunter - 1955 (Mitchum), The Little Foxes - 1941 (Wright), and Rebecca - 1940 (Anderson).
The Village (2004)
B - O - R - I - N - G
What tries to be a horror movie winds up being a horrible movie. What could have been a great thirty-minute TV episode is stretched into a long, boring feature length film with silly bumps in the night. This movie is not a thriller, is not frightening, and is not credible. It's childish. The script is laughable. The only redeeming factor of the movie is the great acting by Bryce Dallas Howard, although I was confused on whether her character was blind or not until later in the picture. When will Shyamalan stop writing the screenplay and let a professional handle it? Shyamalan had a great movie in Sixth Sense, but he's a one-hit wonder. He's had three strikes since then, and you know what that means. . .
Troy (2004)
Boring
Unless you are a die-hard fan of Brad Pitt, or you just love choppy, quick-cut camera shots of hand-to-hand combat, or you just need two or three hours of extra sleep, save your money. This has to be one of the most boring summer blockbusters ever released. The plot was --- well, what plot? Boy takes king's wife, king brings army of 10,000 to get her back. No suspense, very predictable. The script was trite and non-intelligent -- a junior-high student could have written it right after he read The Illiad. A couple of beautiful actresses playing the wives of Paris and Hector helped the drab scenery of the movie (desert, beach, sea, and rocks). In short, "the gods were not with this movie."
City by the Sea (2002)
Terrible
Simply awful. I kept thinking, "Is it almost over?" "Just let us see what happens to Joey and get it over with." This movie is too slow. For a crime drama, there is not enough suspense, not enough plot, too much moralizing and too much trying to be a socially redeeming story. Blah! The characters do not do plausible acts. And where did the ring come from on Joey's finger at the end of the movie during the shootout at the body shop? The film never showed him get it back after the black dude took it from him. (Maybe some scenes were cut later that showed this.) Speaking of cut scenes, A LOT could have been cut out -- so much of the script was hooey, just "filling in" because the plot was so barren.
Gabriel Over the White House (1933)
Good, but quirky
Here's a little-known gem of a movie. I really think that it is very clever and well done. It's one of those that gives you a weird feeling, but you want to watch it again. The principles conveyed are very commendable, and the cast is believable. It is a mesmerizing movie that you want to keep watching to see what happens. Typical of movies of the 30's, the sets are a little cramped, and the direction is a little stodgy, but that's just the way they did things back then. I would definitely recommend it to lovers of classic movies that are great dramas with some suspense. It's just a very clever, original idea of a movie -- and Walter Huston was one of the greats!
The Last Samurai (2003)
The most striking cinematography
One of the most beautifully filmed movies I've ever seen. The film satisfies on all levels: a wonderful screenplay, expert acting, sweeping visual cinematography that will take your breath away, and relentless action. If this one is not nominated for Best Picture, it would be a crime. I especially appreciated the fact that, outside of the graphic violence, this movie was pleasantly old-fashioned: very little profanity, no nudity or vulgar sexual references. The results of the final battle and the denouement came off as contrived and may have been the film's only weakness, but it is minimal, and should not damage the film's overall merit. I would still rate it as one of the best movies of the year.
The Ride (1997)
Excellent Family Movie
This is one of the best movies made since the censors stopped "sensing" that can be viewed and loved by the whole family. It ranks alongside such family classics as "Lassie Come Home" and "20,000 Leagues under the Sea," but this is no fantasy. It is set in modern times and focuses on a wayward cowboy and the influence he has on a boy faced with a life-threatening illness. There's more drama than action here, but this movie will touch your heart. It would be a great addition to a family library or even a church library with its Christian principles.