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Reviews
All the Light We Cannot See (2023)
Read the book.
The book is an amazing read. It is long and it is complex and it's a story you will not soon forget. The film vaguely resembles the book in places but too much has been changed, too much left out, and much has been added that was not in the book. This story could never told properly with fewer than 8 or 10 episodes. And so, the Nazi's are caricatures. The war is trivialized. Watch the series, A French Village. That's how it should have been done. And I agree with the critic who stated that the languages should have been German and French, with subtitles.
The book is a 10. The series is too short, too rushed, and too different. I give it a 6, because it holds your attention. Just don't expect it to be much like the book. And you will soon forget the series. Not so, the book.
The Great Gatsby (2013)
computer graphics detract
I've read the novel and enjoyed the 1974 movie with Redford,Farrow, Waterston, et al. This film was almost a complete disappointment. The computerized 'fills' were too obviously computerized and all the fancy zooming with computer was a further distraction from what credibility the filming retained. This psychedelic approach to the 1920's with rap music thrown in might appeal to computer game players in their 20's and 30's but to me it was a turn off. Save computerized film making for Sci Fi and Fantasy. DiCaprio, Maguire and Mulligan must have been paid pretty big bucks to participate in a film that was such a ripoff of one of F. Scott Fitzgerald's greatest novels. This production was a waste of actors' talent and my time. Read the book or see the 1974 film.
Touring Civil War Battlefields (1992)
A tour of the Civil War battlefields near Washington, DC, including Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg with re-enactments..
The producers accomplished a great deal in this hour long production. The course of the Civil War in the vicinity of Washington, DC, is traced chronologically from the first battle at Manassas in 1861 to the final surrender at Appaomatox in 1865. Key battles are re-enacted and described in a very tight narrative that is accurate and informative. The extensive and well rehearsed re-enactments provide a dimension to these battles that goes far beyond the literal description one finds even in the best of written histories.
This is not intended as a brief history of the Civil War but does provide and excellent starting point for learning about the war. I would recommend it especially for anyone who intends to visit these remarkable battlefields and monuments. If you had no interest in these places before seeing this documentary, you will certainly feel differently after viewing this excellent film.
The Goodbye Girl (1977)
They don't make many like this anymore
The witty exchanges between Dreyfus and Mason are classic! The story itself is touching. The daughter Lucy is completely believeable. You walk away from this one feeling like you've just been to a great new play. Bravo!