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The Irishman (2019)
Geriatric
All 3 leads, DeNiro, Pacino & Pesci are too old for their parts and they look it too. They may all be good actors, but they've played these characters in the past -- nothing new or especially exciting. Overly long scenes in which they communicated little or nothing. Ray Romano is good as a sleaze bag lawyer. The shock of "mob" movies in which people are just routinely shot in the head -- just business -- has worn off. I wasn't so much bored as I was disappointed. I just watched this now & there has been a lot of praise and fanfare. I don't see it.
The Black Knight (1954)
Fun for age 10 and under
I saw most of Alan Ladd's 1950's movies in a theatre (or drive-in) as a kid and most of his 1940's movies were being shown on TV by that time. I thought he was the handsomest man I had ever seen in my life. Just caught this one on TCM -- didn't plan to watch, but couldn't stop because it was so very awful in so many ways as many other reviewers have explained. I agree, Ladd looks rough in this one (boozing)? He didn't look as bad in many of the other movies made around this time.
He was totally miscast here -- like John Wayne as Ghengis Khan in The Conqueror --- and I thought he knew it and looked embarrassed to be there. It was so obvious that all the action was stuntmen, especially when his mentor was teaching him swordsmanship. The other actor had his faceplate up exposing his face (I assume because he could handle a sword) while the stuntman playing Ladd's part had his faceplate down.
I was surprised at the end to realize it had been made in England. It looked very "Hollywoodized" -- really over the top costumes and historically inaccurate. I guess I thought the Brits usually do a much better job at being historically accurate.
Nonetheless, I would have loved this movie when it first came out in 1954 and I was 7 years old. I has no gore -- I only remember seeing blood when the heroine slashed the bare arm of her attacker -- very tame by today's standards. A fun family movie if you have young children.
My Country 'Tis of Thee (1950)
Silly 1950's propaganda short
Just watched this little short on TMC. It certainly IS a little piece of propaganda and it looks just silly now. Since I was born in 1947, I grew up in the post WWII era in which this idea of patriotism was heavily promoted -- U.S. is greatest country in the history of the world and does no wrong. Any film has to be viewed in the context of its own time. We had just been the victors of the greatest war in the history of the world and most everyone had a son, father, brother, uncle who went to war, many sacrifices were also made at home & veterans had returned home. We were proud and united. The "Red Scare" was swinging into full gear and, of course, the atom bomb hung like a menacing storm cloud in the background of daily living. I agree with most other reviewers -- this makes little attempt to give an accurate historical account and, of course, that wasn't the objective. It's just a little slice of Americana. Rated a 3 not 0 for giving insight into that era.
Thunder in the Sun (1959)
Disappointing, even for 1959
At age 12, I saw this picture in a theater when it was first released. It impressed me mainly because of the way the Basque fought -- making huge leaps between boulders, so when I saw it was on TV, I recorded & watched it again. Today, it looks like a very silly story. There are no acting performances or cinematography that redeem this picture. The Basque who have made other reviews on this site needn't be offended -- Hollywood rarely, if ever, depicts American history correctly -- let alone other cultures. The synopsis says this is a western set in the 1850's & that makes sense for Basque immigration (as near as I can tell), but Lon tells the Basque that he fought with Washington (who's last battle was in 1781)while the Basque tell him they fought with Napoleon, which I can date to prox. 1809, maybe earlier. Also, it made no sense to attack the Indians when the wagon train had guns & the Indians only bows & arrows. Women would not have been wearing pants, even riding pants in the mid 1800's. Hayward has many find performances that have stood the test of time & Chandler might have, if he'd lived. This movie is just a curiosity.
The Loving Story (2011)
Excellent documentary
The love these two people had for one another was genuinely real, and watching them and their beautiful children in the archival footage tugged at your heartstrings. I watched this documentary when it was first shown on HBO, and thought it was engrossing. I was 20 yrs. old when this case was finally decided, and I remember it vaguely. I lived in the North and had known that interracial marriage was illegal in the South, but never realized that couples were actually persecuted and jailed as the Loving couple were. The young ACLU lawyers who took the case are shown interacting with the couple in the l960's, and they also add present day commentary.
This is not meant to be a documentary about the legal machinations of the case (altho some of that is explained); but It's a compelling story about the human aspects of the case.
Laura (1968)
Impression and Stack's comment
I was 21 when this aired, a big fan of the 1944 movie "Laura" and was eagerly anticipating it. However, I remember being very disappointed. I know Radziwill got poor reviews from the critics and it seemed to end her acting career. It might have rerun within that same year. Then it disappeared. I'd almost forgotten it. I do remember a published comment by Robert Stack. Something about the way the camera lenses were used to make Radziwill look younger and "they had me looking like Grandma Moses." And he was right, he looked shockingly old and wrinkled. I looked it up and he was 49 and she was 35 at the time.
I would call it a teleplay because it was staged like play not like a TV movie. It had a distinguish cast, but I remember thinking she wasn't a very good actress and wasn't surprised by the critics.
Laura (1944)
One of my very favorite movies if all time
I probably saw this first on TV as early as the 1950's. Have seen it many times since and can probably recite much of the dialog by heart.
I agree with most of the positive reviews and I'm glad it has stood the test of time (considering the times in which it was made). I was a young girl so impressed, I named my first daughter, "Laura" -- as much for the beautiful theme as for the character. I also found and read the novel at a used book sale in the late '60s and owned an original copy of the sheet music. I was surprised to find out that this is considered a film noir classic. A film noir with a happy ending? Just the type of old classic movie to thrill a young girl's heart.
My impressions then: Laura was a glamorous career woman -- even for the 1950's when I first encountered her, but I enjoyed Gene Tierney's movies, because I could identify with her. Much is said about her socialite and high class background and demure; however, she had an every girl quality too and many educated young women fancied themselves quite sophisticated a la Tierney. Beautiful yes, but there were many actresses even more beautiful. Don't forget the overbite.
I most recently saw this movie in the past few years. Clifton Webb is the star of this movie -- a fine actor -- but he had the best lines by far. Vincent Price overacted (as he always did), and Dana Andrews literally sleepwalked (nothing new). Gene Tierney just glowed with star quality as ever. I love when old movies can just suggest what's happened thru dialog and acting, instead of beating you over the head and rubbing your face in it. But I did wonder, this time, what Mark and Laura would have in common or even to talk about once they rolled out of bed.
Laura is a perfect movie for its time, but I don't believe it would impress my daughter. It would probably be a yawn.