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doroberts
Reviews
Smoke (1995)
Boring and Pretentious
I saw this movie with two friends. We all are intelligent moviegoers, not action-movie fans, or blockbuster addicts. I kept thinking, " Oh God, this is AWFUL", but thought maybe they might be enjoying it. It turns out none of us was enjoying it. It was the most boring piece of pretentious garbage I have ever sat through in a movie theatre. There was no plot, to speak of, just a series of 'episodes", and it seemed like most of the inane dialogue was improvised. The worst "detail" was Forest Whitaker's fake hook, which was about 12 inches longer than his "good" arm. What a joke !! This looked like some NYU film student's senior project. I would have given him a D-.
Brigadoon (1954)
really bad !
I have to agree with all those viewers who had issues with this film - it is really a horrible version of a charming show! The idea of Gene Kelly isn't bad in itself- - he has the right kind of personality for Tommy. Even his voice, while not " up to it", is okay in terms of character- - Howard Keel would have been ALL WRONG ! But Kelly was a horrible choice for choreographer. So we are subjected to more of those Kelly-Charisse pas de deux which are totally inappropriate for the story line: too sophisticated!, and not enough of the folk dance-inspired numbers that DeMille did so successfully! In fact, the dancing was much of the success of the original production. Add to this the fake scenery ( complete with livestock ! ), the really bad 'fifties-looking costumes (by Sharaff, of all people, who should have done better ! )and the downplaying of all the character roles, and you're left with a Gene Kelly vehicle. As for Cyd, she is TOTALLY miscast ! Can't sing a note, therefore dubbed, and completely wrong personality. Even her looks are all wrong ! MGM was going into a really bad phase of musical producing ( viz " ShowBoat"), but this was one of the worst adaptations of what had been a great show !
Sadko (1953)
Beautiful film with absurd English dubbed screenplay
This is a visually splendid film version of an old Russian legend, which was the basis of an opera by Rimsky-Korsakov. The plot has been altered somewhat to enhance its appeal as a film, and , in the English version, the names of the characters and even locations have been completely changed, giving a most bizarre effect! The eponymous hero is now " Sinbad", and he is now a citizen of " Kobasan" instead of Novgorod. Some of the special effects are a little crude, but the art direction is often stunning. The acting style and even the makeup reflect Russian films of the fifties, and show an affinity to operatic style. Even the score borrows liberally from Rimsky-Korsakov. My advice to the viewer of the English version is to turn the sound so low as to be inaudible, and enjoy the visuals !