dav4is Reviews

Moon Over Parador (1988)

You can't make this stuff up, folks! -- OK, maybe you can...

[9/10 · 10 January 2008]

... and if you're very, very good it will resemble Moon Over Parador.

This film had a slightly silly story, but it was a fantasy after all, and the casting and the acting was spot-on! Dreyfuss was perfect as the actor/impostor, full of all the little neuroses and vanities you imagine actors to have. You get a glimpse of what actors are like behind the scenes.

This was one of Dreyfuss's best roles, just like his character has his best role impersonating the dead dictator! And the parting scene: like something out of Casablanca, indeed!

Raul Julia was superb as the Paradorian Chief of Secret Police. He gets some really funny lines, some of which are homages to other films, like "Round up the usual suspects!"

And Sonia Braga was excellent as the girl friend -- in addition to being a really hot number: "You should get an Oscar for tonight!"

Let us not forget Johnny Winters as the CIA agent and the several guest stars playing themselves: Sammy Davis Jr., Ike Pappas, Dick Cavett -- all perfectly done.

All in all, a memorable romp under the Paradorian moon.

-R.

Ladies in Lavender (2004)

Like poetry...

[9/10 · 4 May 2007]

... we are required to reconstruct the whole beast from the marrow served us. How the lad came to be on their beach. How he came to be so proficient on the violin. These and other questions are left to our imaginations. The answers are not really relevant.

The story is an intense character study of two sisters in their later years, living an idyllic -- but incomplete -- existence on a ruggedly picturesque seacoast. They only come to understand the incompleteness of their lives when a storm brings this bit of jetsam to their shore: A young lad, near death, with no English. In the course of nursing him, the spinster sister, falls in love. Intellectually, she knows that she is being foolish; she is thrice his age after all, but emotionally cannot help herself. This is the love that she never had, the love that her sister did.

The two Dames, consummate actresses and good friends, play their rôles with subtlety and grace. Judi's scene with the lad where they have been out for a walk and stop to rest and watch the setting sun is particularly moving. The boy rests his head against her knee and she hesitatingly, gently, lays her hand on his head. Watch her hands.

The boy, who turns out to be Polish, is played by Daniel Brühl. The DVD extras mention that he spent much time practicing his fiddle bowing and fingering technique -- he had never touched a violin before this production. Practice make perfect, I guess, because the result was very believable. Apparently, the orchestra behind him in the concert scene gave him a standing ovation of their own!

The wonderfully alliterative title has nothing to do with color. Think "sachet".

I can't believe that Ebert gave this a thumbs down! Has the man gone dotty in his old age?

Bicentennial Man (1999)

Welcome to the Human Condition

[9/10 · 1 May 2007]

This film is not about robots. It's about humans -- humanity, more specifically. It's a touching and deep exploration of what defines the human condition. That this exploration is carried out through the mechanism -- so to speak -- of a robot is incidental.

The story is a deliberately paced and sentimental depiction of a very special being as he evolves from machine -- "a household appliance" -- to human over the course of two centuries. The hardest part is understanding and coping with loss as his human family pass away, one after another over the years.

A lengthy and unsuccessful quest to find another like himself drives him to undergo one "upgrade" after another to achieve humanity. But ultimately he fails until he understands that mortality is part of the equation.

Williams is brilliant as Andrew, the robot>android>human focal point.

Moonstruck (1987)

Snap out of it!

[9/10 · 22 January 2007]

This is probably the perfect romantic comedy.

Everything comes together exactly right: The writing, the casting, the directing, the acting, the music -- everything. There is not a single frame that I would quibble over. I was especially impressed by the attention to detail w/r/t the dialog and body language -- those oh-so-Italian hand and eye gestures. Perfecto!

And la bella luna, responsible for it all! (With the twin towers of the World Trade Center sadly featured in several shots of the Manhattan skyline.)

There are so many memorable lines in this movie:

Cage: I'm in love with you. Sher: Snap out of it! (while /really/ belting him!)

Watch it yourself to find them all!

-R.

The Bear (1988)

The critters make the film

[9/10 · 4 December 2006]

I remember this first as a book I read back in the '50s. I loved it then, and I love the film now.

First, I have to address some of the complaints made by other reviewers here.

1. About the "fake bear sounds" made by the bear cub. I recall a display of bear cubs at a local game farm; that's pretty much the sound they make, much like a baby.

2. The "unrealistic" aspects: The big male refraining from eating the cub; the bear confronting the defenseless hunter and allowing him to go free. Curwood claims in his preface, if I recall correctly, that these events not only really happened, they happened to him! He was the younger hunter, named Jim in the book.

3. Bear sex as porn: Get a grip! I think that this was straight from the book, too.

Now, to my observations.

Much credit has to go to the casting directors and animal trainers. These critters seem perfectly cast! Could any bear cub possible be any cuter than this one? With expressive little eyes, even! I particularly liked the sequence where he chases the frog and ends up imitating it by jumping around after it.

The big male is suitably big and ferocious.

The sow (female bear) is amazingly attractive and fetching, lolling on her back and practically begging "Come and get it sailor!".

The dogs in the book were Airedales, but in the movie were black Dobermans, looking like the spawn of Hell!

Now cougars can be pretty appealing looking beasts, but this one has a distinctly dastardly appearance!

I especially liked the cub's reaction of studied indifference during the Bear Sex scene, reminding me of the Ron Perlman character in Quest For Fire while his chum was making it with the native girl. Oh! Same director! But how did he get the bear to have that same expression as Perlman?

Vi hade iallafall tur med vädret ... (1980 TV Movie)

At Least the Weather was Nice

[9/10 · 22 May 2006]

I saw this on Swedish television in ca 1980, and thought it was a scream. I think that it has been once on American TV, and would like to see it again. A rough translation of the title would be "In any case, we had good luck with the weather." It was so long ago, that I can't recall all the gags, but I do remember these:

* The incident at the car-wash! Priceless! Interestingly filmed from inside the car, watching the Father being swept up and over the windscreen in the midst of all that soapy water. And the family's reaction, they all being inside the car, of dead silence.

* Spending the night camping at the dump, with thousands of seagulls whirling about. They headed for the seagulls, thinking it was the shore, and got locked in.

* Grandfather's bladder control problems.

The film appeared three years before -- and likely inspired -- Chevy Chase's /Vacation/.

Blue Velvet (1986)

Dennis Hopper's scariest role ever, in a most disturbing film -- but a must-see!

[8/10 · 7 May 2006]

This is a difficult film to watch, with some of the most intense imagery imaginable. Dennis Hopper's Frank is one bad-ass dude, sucking on a whole tank of poppers! Lynch's heavy handed symbolism aside, it is a mystery of the /Hardy Boys/ sort, but plumbs far deeper waters than Fenton's boys ever did.

It is the acting that makes the film, and Dennis is at the top of his form as Frank, the psychotic drug dealer, and Dean Stockwell is outstanding as Ben, his gay, ever so suave, pimp friend. Stockwell's scene lip-synching to Roy Orbison's /In Dreams/ (aka erroneously /Candy Colored Clown/) with a drop-light for a microphone is memorable.

Kyle MacLachlan (Jeffrey) and Laura Dern (Sandy) play two all-American kids with more curiosity than is healthy, caught up in a web of evil beyond their wildest imagination. It /is/ a strange world!

Then there is the beautiful Isabella Rossellini's tragic Dorothy, kept for Frank's twisted, sadistic pleasure, with her husband and little son held hostage. We are never told how long she has endured this horror, but Frank's depravity has rubbed off on her.

A budding romance develops between Jeffrey and Sandy, with Dorothy thrown in to complicate things.

Be prepared for the vilest language endlessly voiced by the foul-mouthed Frank. Every sentence he utters has one or two f--k words -- but this is wholly in character for him! Don't let that put you off viewing this film.

(Laura Dern is my distant cousin!)

Smoke (1995)

"You'll never get it if you don't slow down."

[8/10 · 28 April 2006]

Pointless? Boring? You're not taking the time to think about what you're viewing. Some films are about more than action and SFX. This is one of them. So, forget about quick takes. Forget about "interesting" camera angles. Despite the package label as "Comedy", this is a serious film that requires serious study.

And serious study will reward you with an understanding of this film as the masterpiece that it is.

It's not about smoke -- although tobacco and the smoking of it is a thread that ties the film together: a mere plot device.

Everything happens for a purpose. That's what this film is about.

Rashid/Thomas is witness to a robbery and ends up with the cash dropped by the robbers. Which puts him on the run from the robbers. Which puts him at the right time and place to save someone's life. So that person can befriend him and get him a job in a small shop. So he can accidentally ruin thousands of dollars of stock. So he can repay his employer with the cash from the robbery. So the proprietor has the cash to give for someone's rehab treatment.

And so it goes.

Reviewers who liked the film were taken with Keitel's performance, which was exceptional. But look more closely at William Hurt. Take the time to study his method: his delivery, his small expressions, his body language. Very subtle, but masterful.

An example: In the scene where Rashid/Thomas is chatting up the clerk to get her to come to his birthday celebration, he tells one of his tall tales. Hurt as novelist Paul goes along with a tiny roll of the eyes: What am I getting myself into? Easily missed.

At the end of the film, stay through the entire Christmas story, even though the credits begin to roll. The Tom Waits song, "Innocent When You Dream", is an nice touch.

I had to laugh at the reviewer who made much of the "improvisations" of the actors. In fact, much of the dialog is word for word from the screenwriter's previously published short story: "Auggie Wren's Christmas Story".

I remember reading that story in the New York Times, Christmas, 1990.

Microcosmos (1996)

Beyond anything we could imagine...

[10/10 · 10 April 2006]

"Beyond anything we could imagine, yet almost beneath our notice." An exquisite film, painfully beautiful. It's relatively easy to find beauty in the majestic Grand Tetons, Monument Valley, or the brooding giants of a Big Tree forest. This film finds incredible beauty unnoticed at our feet.

Ants drinking raindrops, or clustered around a tiny puddle -- then sharing back at the nest.

Caterpillars marching in close formation.

Ladybugs as the voracious predators they are. Ants protecting their aphids from the ladybug. Ants drinking the nectar exuded by the aphids they farm.

Two snails locked in loving embrace.

Alien-looking mantids suddenly taking notice of the camera.

Beetles in extended combat. We are not shown why.

A mosquito emerging from pupa. A butterfly also. A caterpillar hatching from an egg -- then eating the shell.

Winged ants crowding out of the nest for their nuptial flight.

Caterpillars in weird diversity, one with two horns on its posterior that extrude and retract bright red filaments. What /are/ they?

The film is almost entirely visual. There are only a few seconds of voice-over at beginning and end, and the soundtrack is very low-key, for the most part, of the natural sounds of the action. Occasional light touches of music or choral voices nicely complement the photography.

I was struck by the cleanliness! Bugs cleaning, cleaning, cleaning! Even an earthworm emerging from burrow glistens in pristine translucent beauty. After viewing this film, how could anyone say that bugs are dirty?

March of the Penguins (2005)

Simply incredible!

[10/10 · 11 December 2005]

I already knew the basic facts of the Emperor's terrible hardships -- but this film really brought it all home: The other-worldly Antarctic landscapes of stark beauty; The unbelievably dark and brutal winters. The production crew deserves congratulations for their own survival!

The director could have emphasized that these majestic animals undertake to survive in the most brutal climate on Earth for the chance, just the chance -- on very long odds -- to raise a single chick. One egg.

In the scenes where the chicks had graduated to the crêche, they reminded me of little Shmoos running about. Does anyone remember the Shmoo? ;o) -R.

Scrooged (1988)

Carol Kane makes the movie

[8/10 · 24 November 2005]

*** SPOILERS AHEAD *** This movie is plenty funny enough -- albeit a bit loud and annoying in places -- but the sequence with Carol Kane as the Ghost of Christmas Present is absolutely priceless. She delivers killer lines with a cute little lisp: "HE: If you touch me again, I'm gonna rip your goddamn wings off", "SHE: You know I like the wough stuff, Fwank". All the while putting a beating on him: "It's for you, Fwank. It's a TOASTER!" (SMASH) Ms Kane is a comedic genius, and Murray rose to her level in these scenes.

The Elfman score was great. Way to go, Danny!

-R.

The Black Stallion (1979)

Stunning masterpiece

[10/10 · 15 November 2003]

I dislike comparing a film to its book, and this book and movie are a good example why. Judged on their own merits, each can be superb, yet be quite different. Such is the case here. Folks who have read and enjoyed the book were apparently expecting a one-to-one translation to the film. Why? If the book was perfect, is it reasonable to expect a film -- a different medium entirely -- to exactly duplicate the book in every detail? And what would be the point?

This film and book must be considered as separate and distinct works, different interpretations of the abstract story.

Artistic interpretations will differ, especially if in different media.

-R.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

Flawless, indeed!

[10/10 · 4 October 2003]

The TCM commentator made an excellent point when introducing this movie tonight. MTV and that ilk have produced a generation of short attention span viewers. Tight shots, quick takes, "interesting" angles. These poor blighted folks have no patience for, e.g., a wide shot of Peter Sellers walking across the computer room and turning out the overhead lights one by one before leaving. They are unwilling, and probably unable, to invest the time to study this scene.

True, this is not a key scene, but it does say something about the methodical, careful nature of this Sellers character. And it also helps to establish a pre-crisis tone of calm normalcy, ready to be shattered by the actions of a loony air base commander.

-R.

The Miracle Worker (1962)

This may buck the trend somewhat...

[9/10 · 3 July 2003]

Viewing this excellent film again after many years revealed a few flaws for me -- very few, I might add.

The famous extended struggle in the dining room shows a little too much of its choreographed (and well-rehearsed) nature, and comes across just a little too obviously as a Performance.

Likewise for Duke's oft-repeated flailing about with head studiously thrown back, arms windmilling: Those arms never bruised themselves on the clunky Victorian furniture, and seemed to find the breakables a bit too easily. Not to mention the facial slaps and punches that were a trifle too well-connected. Still, a remarkable early performance for this wonderful actress.

Perhaps this is due to the roots of the work -- and the two main leads -- in the stage.

IAC, these minor defects cost the file only about 1/2 star in my book: an 8.5/10 instead of 9/10.

-R.

ABBA: The Definitive Collection (2002 Video)

Certainly one of the most successful pop groups of all time...

[9/10 · 25 June 2003]

I have been an ABBA fan since I lived near them på Lidingö in the late 70's and early 80's. But I have always wondered why they were never the huge hit here in the USA as they were in the rest of the world. Perhaps it has been critical dismissal as mere "Scandinavian pop rock". Despite this, ABBA continues to sell well, even 20 years after they last performed together. Indeed, there is now a revival of their popularity: a Broadway play, movie soundtracks, more exposure on radio play-lists.

There is much more to this group than the critics' had seen, as this DVD shows.

The DVD is a simple compilation of their music videos in roughly chronological order with no added commentary. In those days, they were called "promo clips". The term "music video" had yet to be invented, and these clips show the early development of that genre by the additions of story line, more complicated camera work, special effects and other high-level production values.

The DVD also shows the progression of ABBA's music from the infectious dance rhythms of their early work to the more introspective and darker later songs. This, I believe, parallels their personal lives; i.e. the breakup of their marriages, and ultimately of the group itself.

But the music! The music is wonderful!

Were two female voices ever more perfectly complementary? The one powerful and operatic, the other more subtle and melodic, yet with a certain power of its own. And the other instruments: masterful keyboard and guitar work -- but you have to listen carefully for the guitar.

The overall production of the songs, redolent of Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound", is perfect. As is the timing: never a note out of place, and voices in perfect synchrony. It's the timing that tells the tale of true professionalism, here as in good jazz or Bluegrass.

Do you hear their accents? Probably not, because it's very subtle. English has been the mandatory second language in Sweden's schools for many years, so forget Sesame Street's Swedish Chef! Listen carefully to the ABBA recordings on this DVD, especially to the S-sounds. Like "Thank You for the Music". We say "myoo'-zic", with a voiced "S"; they say it unvoiced, "myoo'-sic". Very subtle, as I said. And charming.

And, finally, the girls sure are mighty tasty! ;o)

-R.

Grand Canyon (1991)

Say what you like about the writing and the rest...

[8/10 · 15 June 2003]

... but watch Mary McDonnell's performance closely. Her body language. Her fine body movements. Her subtle, but powerfully effective, reactions. This is an accomplished artist at the top of her craft. And the rest of the cast were pretty damned good, too! ;o)

This is perhaps the 3rd or 4th viewing for me, and I see more in it each time. What /IS/ this world coming to, anyway? -R.

Groundhog Day (1993)

This film just gets sweeter with each viewing

[9/10 · 2 February 2002]

I make a point of watching Groundhog Day each year on 2 Feb. (of course!) and it never fails to reaffirm my admiration. Everything about it is just perfect.

Over the years, I have come to see beyond the humor -- and there is plenty of that -- to the deeper character development study, and what it takes to transform a hardbitten jerk into a human person: Years of hard work!

And Andie is mighty tasty!

-R.

Starman (1984)

A favorite of mine, with just a few flaws

[8/10 · 14 June 2001]

Starman is one of my favorite movies, and I have viewed it a number of times over the years. The combination of story, acting, direction and production comes together in a touching product that just reels me in every time.

Bridges gives an especially brilliant performance, one that I'm sure that he studied long and hard to produce. He was very believable as an alien in an unfamiliar body, with all the nuances of body language finely honed to convince us in almost subliminal fashion. The ultimate fish out of water. There were a few incongruities, though -- such as: despite a lack of precise physical control of his new body, he nevertheless manages some nifty moves with that handgun!

Karen Allen was perfect as the bereaved widow, Jenny Hayden. And beautiful, as always, in her wide-eyed vulnerability. Her performance was the equal of Bridges', with the subtle development of her character's relationship with the starman from puzzlement to terror to trust to understanding to love. The only problem I have here is that sometimes her (Hayden's) deep understanding of the human psyche ("Define love.") seems a bit out of character, although she (Allen) tries to compensate by delivering these lines in halting fashion.

But that's Hollywood! If the movie was true-to-life realistic, it would be too dull for words!

I admire Carpenter's restraint in avoiding the typical schlock humor typical of the "fish out of water" genre. The story wisely focuses on the character development of the two principals. I was a bit disturbed, however, by the overly bloodthirsty, "shoot first, ask afterwards", bent of the Fox character as representing U.S. policy. But the shootdown and pursuit were a necessity to make the story work.

The Nitzsche score was perfect: unobtrusive, yet supportive, and with a bit of an other-worldly undertone -- rather like the whole production.

This is a finely crafted film. I rate it 8/10, missing the 9/10 mark only by a hair for the few minor flaws mentioned above.