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Gennavette
Reviews
Without a Trace: Check Your Head (2006)
Who played the gangster?
I loved this episode. Very light. Very funny. The music in the opening scene clued us in that this was going to be lighter than usual.
I enjoyed the story line and the acting. It seems everyone in the cast got to have a little fun and show what they can do in comedy. They all measured up.
The reason I'm looking it up: Who was the actor who played the gangster-father at the end? He looked and sounded so familiar. I thought it might be Aidan Quinn but can't find a listing confirming it. Would this be part of the entertainment, too -- a big-name actor playing an uncredited role? I love the way they say hey to each other at the end.
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Insults the audience
This movie has no conflict, no character development, and no story. Everybody starts out miserable, and then things get worse. Its sensationalism is supposed to carry it? Imagine a movie about two alcoholics -- they start to drink, then they drink some more, then their wives leave them and their families are miserable, and then they are alone and then they die. With a non-story line like that, no one would say they've seen a good movie. Is it saved because the characters are miserable gays instead of miserable alkies? Oh, please, you're boring me.
Worse, the movie insults the audience. Its so-called resolution finally comes when unknown, unseen people in Jake Gyllenhaal's world kill him -- presumably because (and only because) he is gay. What a world we live in, huh? A lady in my beauty parlor said Randy Quaid should get the best supporting actor award for narrowing his beady eyes and showing what "everybody" really thinks about gays. Here we have the PC people understanding the plight of miserable emotionally stilted gays and showing how despicable the other people are who don't sympathize with what the miserable gays have to endure. What if the movie is wrong and most people are too busy with their own lives to care about what gays do, one way or another?
The movie gets close to comedy at the end when the two characters finally -- FINALLY! -- have an argument. One says, 'you never take me anywhere, just this miserable mountain.' That's pretty funny. In the movie and play "Same Time Next Year," the writers take essentially the same situation -- rare illicit romantic interludes -- and are able to show a range of character development and conflicts over the years. The two in B-Movie Mountain never change,never grow, and never have any interesting conflicts in 20 years.
I can't believe people are buying this "best movie" baloney.
Firewall (2006)
Best line
Best line of the movie:
As a fan of 24, I love it when Chloe O'Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub)-- who is so often called on to risk everything to get Jack Bauer out of a tight spot ("Chloe, you're the only one I can trust.") -- gets to get in her boss's face and say "Screw you, Jack." She really puts some feeling into it.
If Chloe can learn a few more facial expressions, she's good for a whole series of her own. "The Computer-ist." Using technology to save the day for powerful men who can't seem to keep themselves out of big trouble.
The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
Where was the ambulance supposed to GO?
Sela Ward stays with the sick child because everyone else leaves. Her assistant does call an ambulance service for her, though, before taking off and so Doctor Sela decides to wait it out. Finally the ambulance driver arrives (presumably having worked through his list of earlier calls and having stopped to shower, shave, and put on a fresh new rescue-worker suit) and she is so happy. Well, where is the ambulance supposed to take the boy? They're already in a hospital, and civilization outside has collapsed. Where are they going? Disneyland? Other than that and the TV speech, the movie is great fun. I watched it in Florida on a 96-degree day in May and for once I appreciated the heat. I was positive I was watching Tobey Maguire the whole time and wondered why I didn't remember his name from the credits, but, then again, I'm a Florida voter. The movie is great fun.
Macabre (1958)
People died in the movie theaters, they said, out of fear
I remember the hype surrounding this movie when we were kids. It was said that people were dying in movie theaters, it was so frightening. Little children would have heart attacks. Naturally, we all begged to go. We never let up and so our mothers eventually said yes. I saw it at the River Park Theater in South Bend, Indiana, on a Saturday afternoon. The place was packed with kids. Movies cost 35 cents in those days, and the parents didn't come in -- they just dropped you off and picked you up. I remember being thrilled with anticipation, then keeping my face in my hands for about half the movie. I've never forgotten Macabre. Now Matt Drudge says a lady died in the theater watching Mel Gibson's "Passion." As far as hype goes, we've heard this one before.