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anniepack
Reviews
The Theory of Flight (1998)
Did we see the same movie?
Spoiler!! I love Branagh, love Helena Bonham-Carter, loved them together in "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" - but THIS -
I can understand an actor's desire to stretch, to avoid the romantic stereotype. Well, they did, but really - the script droned on, Bonham-Carter's clothes were tres chic, and the occasional speeded-up "madcap" sequence could have been an outtake from a Beatles' movie, or the old Rowan and Martin Laugh-In.
I never got the point - other commenters say the Branagh character was a dreamer. I never felt that. He was a loser, and not very bright, and certainly not endearing. The business with the bank robber disguise was merely painful to watch. Certainly not amusing.
Bonham-Carter's realistic (one supposes) attempts as realistic speech were harder to understand than the first 15 minutes of Lancashire accent in "Full Monty."
The poetic ending, with him high on a hill with her buried under the monstrosity of his airplane was too orchestrated. Was there a choir of angels, or merely a soundtrack?
Go back to the classics or something with a spine and an arc to it. Donate this to PBS.
Proof of Life (2000)
So where's the chemistry? (Spoiler)
I kept waiting to give a darn.
David Morse as the husband is the most sympathetic (and best developed) character, miles ahead of the 2 box-office draws. Meg Ryan and the Australian play their parts by the numbers with no sexual or emotional tension at all.
There's one kiss, which comes out of nowhere, and we're to believe he's in love with her. Coulda fooled me. The dialogue has to tell us he's head-over-heels, and Russell Crowe's character isn't even the one who says it. David Caruso, showing his age, but still likable and powerful in a quirky way acts like a translator, letting the audience into the subtext.
There is no subtext. Just David Morse playing a stolid good guy (which is, by the way, the tipoff). He has to come out; David Morse as a good guy cannot die, and you know why? Because nobody would believe the two box office biggies would know what to do if they were left alone. Two very empty characterizations, a cynical taste of Hollywood plugging pre-sold personae and hoping the audience will believe it.
Truly Madly Deeply (1990)
It could have been a 10. . .
The leading lady is such a klutz. It may be realistic (a movie about a dead boyfriend coming back in the cold flesh realistic?) but watching her wipe her nose on the back of her hand every time she cried (which was a lot) left me, along with the boyfriend,cold.
Alan Rickman is aces with me, and beautiful in this part. Michael Maloney, who hardly ever plays a leading man and hardly ever sympathetic, shines here as well.
Everybody's good, including the rats, except for Goon Girl. Far as I can tell, she got cast 'cause her boyfriend Minghella used his influence.
See the movie, but beware: the lady is very irksome.