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mickdoyle
Reviews
Popeye (1980)
Songs and Lyrics by Harry Nilsson
Harry Nilsson wrote all songs and lyrics, 3 years after his RCA contract expired, right after Steve Cropper, the producer of his last album, "Flash Harry," was unsuccessful in getting the album released in the US and had to settle for releasing it in the UK only (on Mercury). This soundtrack is probably one of the last things that Harry Nilsson did as an actual job, making actual money. The simplicity of his lyrics is key, keeping the movie accessible to children (See "The Point"). A few of Harry's colleagues & friends have bit parts - Van Dyke Parks as the piano player, for example.
Robert Altman's direction is dead on. He keeps everything moving. Robin Williams showed he can act. No doubt a lot of Williams' mumbling was ad-libs, but surely he and Altman created the character together. Shelly Duvall is a great of course. A 30's style musical updated for 1980. It still works. How hard has it been to actually pull off a musical since the 1950's? HARD; REALLY hard, yet Altman and company do it.
The screenplay: This is first and foremost a musical. Considering, the screenplay holds up rather well. With Popeye, what would YOU do?
Recommended to fans of Popeye, Altman, Harry Nilsson, Shelly Duvall and of course Robin Williams.
The Greatest (1977)
If only Ali could act....
I am a big fan of Muhammad Ali. I am a HUGE fan of Muhammad Ali. I WANT to like this movie. But I can't. Ali is a horrible actor, simply terrible. And playing himself was a bad idea; it's like the old saying `the man who represents himself in court has a fool for a client.' Here, the man who plays himself in a biographic film of himself looks like a fool. Some of the worst scenes are the 1977 version of Ali playing the young Casius Clay. He appears rather, well, OLD for the part. Where was Will Smith when we needed him? Hiding from this dog in his mother's ovaries apparently. If you are a big fan of Ali's as I am, I recommend avoiding this film if you wish to remain a fan of his. Leave the room if you have to, box your way to the remote control, get it off your TV or leave the house yourself.
Ali truly was the greatest. But this movie is not the greatest or even greater than any other flick I can recall. Even the legendary 'The Crawling Hand' of 'crawl back to bed and forget it' fame is better than this movie. So please, don't watch this bomb as I did; crawl back to bed and forget it.
Tinseltown (1997)
A HILARIOUS PITCH-BLACK comedy
A HILARIOUS PITCH-BLACK comedy with twist after twist; I cannot believe it's selling for $0.75! I saw that and was going to tape over my $2.50 copy, but decided to watch it first; what a treat! I WON'T be taping over it and I sure won't be selling it for $0.75! Grab it while you can; it's practically free! Cheaper than a blank tape! Why wasn't this a hit?
Remember the Titans (2000)
Passes the time well, but you have seen it all before.
A rousing High School football movie, well done, supposedly bases on a true story, with all the clichés, including an injured player watching the "big game" from his hospital bed. Cross that with a end-of-segregation era race-relations formula. It's great that Disney is pro-equality of blacks and whites, but Disney's support was needed back in 1970, not NOW, in this rehashed mishmash. Given all the clichés, the movie presses the right buttons, the actors all do well, and the time passes quite nicely. If you already have the movie in your possession, go ahead and watch it, it should satisfy, but don't go out of your way to see this - you have seen it all before, and your time can be better spent. Unless you are a bigot or a serious high school football fan, then you should definitely see it.