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jpaisan
Reviews
The Hucksters (1947)
ordinary film with extraordinary actors
The screenplay is actually very bad, but the actors are well worth watching.
This was Deborah Kerr's first American film, and she is not only beautiful, but also quite young and beautiful. Clark Gable falls in love with her here.
Gable is dashing, dynamic and completely likable while Ava Gardner is so young she's almost unrecognizable. Sydney Greenstreet dominates the picture, however, as his character is built up to be a terrifying tyrant amid the film's light atmosphere, but Greenstreet blows hot, pompous air masterfully.
The story doesn't make a lot of sense, but Gable, Kerr, Gardner and Greenstreet are at their youngest and/or best in this harmless but enjoyable film.
Where the Money Is (2000)
a rousing good time
In playing a small town girl taken by the world wise con man, the chemistry between Fiorentino and Newman is perfect. Mulroney is basically Bud Bundy while Paul Newman is, well Paul Newman, and Fiorentino effortlessly falls for him, as does the audience.
Well cast, well acted caper flick that runs on Newman's star quality.
Dune (1984)
visual depiction, not cinematic storytelling
There seem to actually be at least three camps--those who have read and were properly awed by DUNE, those who never read it, and those who "read" it, meaning those who never actually read it or only tried reading it and gave up. The people who say this movie isn't faithful to the book only "read" it. Only those who have read and loved the book can really appreciate this movie and what an amazing effort this was.
I read Dune, as well as the sequels, and I am now reading House Atreides, which is fantastic BTW.
I did not like this movie at first, mainly because I wanted to be blown away like the book. However, after successive reviewings, it is clear this movie is too faithful to the book to have had any mass appeal.
Little throwins like the Guild navigator scene, or the Baron's anti-gravity balls, Hawat's red lips, etc. are all easter eggs. They are unexplained, visual representations of things explained and described in detail in the book. For example, I am grateful for a visual depiction of a Guild navigator in its folding environment, and I can appreciate how immense an undertaking that is, especially since it is not necessary to the story. However, knowing what navigators are and do, the scene is positively atmospheric.
This movie is not really a movie version of the book. It is a visual representation of the fantastic creations and concepts of DUNE.