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Reviews
The Doors (1991)
Hot Mess
The first 35 minutes were passable.
We see Jim Morrison at UCLA film school where he and Ray Manzarek were classmates. Post graduation they meet on Venice Beach. Jim reads his poetry to Ray and they decide to form a band. The next scene Robby Krieger and John Densmore are just dropped in and they're working on Krieger's song Light My Fire. The sequence was compressed as Light My Fire was originally sort of pop sounding. Densmore and Krieger had some Latin music background. They need an intro so Manzarek comes up with the organ part that was inspired by Bach's Invention # 8. Then the group goes on tour and gets recognized by some producers.
After that, the movie falls apart into "Jim Morrison being drunk/high and incoherent" in one gratuitous, chaotic scene after another - concerts, dinner parties, the studio. There's really no further story or character development. It gets really tedious, boring and repetitive.
Frailty (2001)
One of the few movies that's better the second time.
One of those small budget movies that benefits from DVD and streaming.
Starting with the script. It is very taut, and well written about a man on a mission from God in a small town in Texas. Nothing about it, including the plot twists and turns seems forced or contrived. While the lead actors, Bill Paxton, Matthew McConaughey, and Powers Boothe (all three from Texas) put in great performances, the performances by young actors Jeremy Sumpter and Matt O'Leary are brilliant and remarkable. They truly hold the picture together.
In the "Making of" bonus feature, Bill Paxton mentioned that he wanted to make a movie that people would want to see twice to pick up on all the myriad clues that are dropped through out the movie. He was absolutely spot on in this regard.
The second time I watched it, I was appreciating it on a whole different level.
Friday Night Lights (2006)
Small town life in Texas IS high school football
I attended high school in a small town in Texas. It really hits home.
Of course, it's television but the show captures the ambiance of what life is like in a small town, in the middle of West Texas and high school football is THE only entertainment. The show draws its inspiration from H. G. Bissinger's book by the same title and the Odessa Permian High School's Panthers (and rival Odessa High School). The closest major city is Fort Worth, Texas - a good 5 hour drive so high school football is literally the only game in town.
Kyle Chandler delivers a perfect performance of high school football coach. He's totally in control at the football field but at home with a wife and daughter Julie, not so much. Connie Britton is brilliant as Tami Taylor.
Yes, the actors look and act a tad older than teenagers but so does every other television show and movie about high school.
One of the touches is that the characters leave the show without explanation or closure - just like real life high school. Students move away in the summer or graduate and no one hears from them again. Also, realistic is the socio-economic diversity of the student body in a small town.
Some of the story gets a little out of hand when Jason, Lila and Tim go to Mexico on their own for a week and none of the story includes what the parents and school are doing about it. Lila becomes a born again Christian without any hint or setup. Julie drives all the way to Chicago instead of returning to school and her parents never bothered to check on her and never told them.
It really came close to "jumping the shark" early in Season Two but the writers and producers made an admirable recovery. For all its flaws, it is still television at its finest and the show has held up even after ending 10 years ago.
Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders (2016)
Holy Bat-treat!
I'm a big fan of the 1960's series. When I heard that Adam West and Burt Ward were going to reprise their roles, I figured how could this possibly be bad? I was not disappointed. The producers and director captured the fun and corniness of the show perfectly. There are Easter Eggs for attentive fans all over the place. Added bonus - Julie Newmar voiced the Catwoman. If you are a fan of the show, this is for you. I could have bought this used or streamed it but I made the decision to buy a DVD at retail to support the effort and if you are a fan and want to send them a positive message, I urge you to do the same. I heard that they are going to produce another one with William Shatner voicing Two-Face. Tune in tomorrow. Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.
Thirteen Days (2000)
Casting change
In my opinion, this movie looks like it was rewritten after it was green-lit. I can't help but think that Kevin Costner was originally cast to play President Kennedy but somehow it was decided that he didn't fit the part and it was given to Bruce Greenwood. Therefore they had to boost the presence of Presidential Aide Kenny O'Donnell (Costner)even though Kennedy was the character holding the story's center of gravity. I thought this made the movie seem somewhat awkward and forced.
Batman Returns (1992)
One my "Top Ten Worst Movies I've Ever Paid to Watch".
Top of the list for worst movies. I don't know why these early Batman movies had our hero fighting two villains at once (actually three if you want to count Max Schreck). In my humble opinion, just fighting either the Catwoman alone or the Penguin alone would have had a tighter dramatic structure. However, watching a flock of penguins waddling around with missiles strapped to their backs, supposedly a threat to the citizens Gotham City, was unintentionally one of the funniest scenes I've ever seen.
Hank (1965)
Testing my unreliable memory but as a public service . . .
to all "Hank" fans, I seem to recall the theme song going something like this:
He's up with the sun, And he's got the college singing, As he goes off on another swinging day.
There're jobs to be done, Or errands to run, He's A - Number One - OK!
He'll drive, clean your clothes, Be a butler or a porter, If it means another quarter in the bank.
He'll get his degree, His Phi Beta key, And get 'em both for free, That's Hank.
Unhook the Stars (1996)
Intelligent, well written and brilliantly acted
Targeted to the intelligent, non-adolescent. Character driven story, extraordinarily well written. How did this ever get the green light from a major studio? Marisa Tomei displays her trademark ability to portray hard edged, gritty women.