abi_sheldon Reviews

Counterpoint (1967)

Leslie Nielsen is worth seeing

[5/10 · 18 November 2018]

Interesting movie, but Charlton Heston's vibe is so repulsive it was difficult to watch. The irony, of course, is that his character is a dictator amidst Nazi captors. Old saying, "It takes one to catch one." applies as the movie's plot unfolds. What held my interest is the appearance of Leslie Nielsen as the concertmaster, a violinist. He is a fine actor! (I'd only been familiar with comedic roles--an immense talent, with deeper roots than I knew.) As for Mr. Heston, should I wish to see the frightening arrogance put in its place, I can always watch "Soylent Green"--an old favorite. But first, a Leslie Nielsen retrospective is in order!

Waterworld (1995)

One character in ensemble sinks the boat--

[6/10 · 25 May 2018]

I saw this when it came out and loved it--but Dennis Hopper was a really bad memory, over-acted and dull. HOWEVER, I had to see it again just because of its premise. I still love it, and it's not Dennis Hopper who bugs me any more--except for the cheap-trick eye-socket displays. He blends well with his dystopian setting, plus looks good in an eye patch. Now, in this week's re-viewing Jeanne Tripplehorn sticks in my craw--yechh!! I don't mind dumb, necessarily, or aggressive--but combined they make your average back-up villains. Having the female lead come on as dumb and aggressive was too much--nearly unwatchable. Junior female lead Tina Majorino was doing a good job in her role, so i kept swimming. I had to see the whole world of a submerged Earth with its nautical and mechanical ingenuity, and particular social problems. It is a fable beautifully told--no CGI--and a worthy part of Kevin Costner's legacy.

Hidalgo (2004)

Hidalgo suits me fine, pardner.

[10/10 · 9 May 2018]

After watching the 1918 Kentucky Derby, run in the rain on a muddy track with near to 20 horses, I needed more horse-racing and remembered Hidalgo, which I had seen and loved. I rented it, and started watching it, and then checked in with IMDB to get more background. To my amazement I had in the past only rated Hidalgo 7/10. As you can see, I now rate this a 10-star movie. I've also read many of the reviews posted here. I agree with those who give credit to Joe Johnston for putting together a truly fine movie--for bringing together a whopping good story with excellent cast, fine cinematography and editing, and a rhythm that makes Hidalgo easy for me to watch four times in a row--gallop, rest, passionate contenders, fierce obstacles, nasty villainess, lovely heroine, bugs! It is a real treat to see Omar Sharif and Viggo Mortensen work together--playing two strong personalities with a fundamental conflict that is less important than their shared interests. Two gentlemen, by golly--but passionate, witty, and very intelligent in conflict and reconciliation. I am tracking other cast members as well to see in other films they've made. Hidalgo is a movie-lover's movie.

Lightning Jack (1994)

A Good Ride

[7/10 · 3 May 2018]

Beautiful work by Cuba Gooding, Jr. in this Western comedy with beloved Aussie hero (who also directs). All heart, but includes the necessary sweaty grimy sinister bad guys and violence. Lots of horses. (Great film to work for as a wrangler.) Also the gorgeous witty professional women. And Native American medicine. Good as a break from the daily grind.

The Lobster (2015)

In the lineage of "1984"

[8/10 · 15 January 2018]

Some movies are fascinating without being enjoyable--maybe emotionally dissatisfying but intellectually compelling. That's "The Lobster" for me. I have to add that I did get some emotional satisfaction out of the sheer quality of acting and visuals, the general fabric of the film--or else the casual animal and human deaths would have caused me to leave the theatre. Then watching it again, I realized the humor takes hold of me and I will sit through the very dark joke. It is definitely science fiction about a future dystopian society. Those who think sci-fi has to come with wild special effects and mind-blowing hardware and latex body suits need to remember that sociology, anthropology and psychology are also sciences. However, as a staunch fan of Rocket the racoon, I have to say piles of space alien carnage are easier to take that the animal deaths in The Lobster. BUT--The Lobster IS STILL A GOOD PIECE OF CINEMATIC SCI FI.

Lions for Lambs (2007)

Tom Cruise performance worth the time and money

[8/10 · 17 June 2008]

I came late to this film via rental because it sounded "heavy" to me and i didn't want to get upset. Well, hey, the best way around an issue that is in your face (and our "War on Terror" is just that), is straight through, so I rented "Lions for Lambs". I also looked forward to seeing what Merryl Streep would do with the material. She is great. My queen of cool, here she plays harried and vulnerable and driven by her brains. She also plays the connection of the brains to the heart, to the conscience, if you will. She is a living prayer for Right Reason, the way we remember it from our first breath of American Civics.

But what awed me was Tom Cruise. I did happen to watch this on Fathers Day, and Cruise plays a Dad. Nuanced but not self-consciously so--his inner primal energy projects through wrinkles, doubts, weariness, fears, self-righteousness, plain righteousness, and of course, both genuine warmth and the cold fire of political charm. However his personal vitality may zig and zag him through his "private" life, it serves him well as he remains an actor of incredible skill, fascinating to watch, and i honor him for that. From American Cutie to American Father Figure--this appears to be a leap he has made with grace.

Overall, the war story is heartbreaking. I am grateful to Redford that he gives the young soldiers their due. With their commander and comrades, we watch from a helplessly remote position while they are "played" on the front line that the players back home are talking about. The truth is that the two young men had joined up in order to be players, but from the Washington D.C. point of view it seems--and this hurts--that their hope cannot be so. Or is it up to us to make it so, to focus on their reality and take our position from their point of view? As Professor Malley says, "At least you do something." This is a film of questions . . . .

There are final shots of very verbal actors saying nothing, silenced by the gravity of what their characters have become aware of. Their silence and the depth of these reflective moments is well enough captured on film to have stuck firmly in my mind's eye, even through repeated subsequent viewings of "Blade Runner".

Well done, all!

The Garden of Allah (1936)

Good Film Therapy

[6/10 · 13 November 2007]

First, I rented this film because of Charles Boyer, who mesmerized me on the Late Night Movies when I was a young babysitter. His hypnotic gazes of pain, adoration, some inner darkness, a glowing kindness--wow! I rented this film in spite of Marlena Deitrich, who has the misfortune of 1936 eyebrows and script lines and type. Cast against type here, no matter. John Carradine I didn't even recognize--had to go back to find the actor in the brilliant characterization of the Sand Reader. So. In my life right now I have a dog I love a lot, a big blonde dog who is 13 years old. I'm in a Zen Buddhist residence where no dogs are allowed. Mack the dog has been with my daughter in her small apt. which is also her art studio. Now she needs her time and space. Do I leave my religious residence to live with Mack in civilian housing? Or do I give up the dog I love to remain in the temple? I am Charles Boyer in this case, and Mack is Domini, the character played by Dietrich. I am working on the revised script.

Fargo (1996)

O Hollywood, Hollywood

[3/10 · 9 December 2006]

I put off seeing this one because my dad went to Fargo High and I knew it would be weird to see this movie. Then i decided it was time--gee, what a good rep the movie has had to this day. However, my early doubts were sound. Hokey accents and "character bits"---beginning with the waggy headed blonde cashier. So, that dates this movie. Cuz now we know that the Upper Midwest is populated with regular people, who are not painfully cute in their snowsuits. In fact, audiences moved to penguins, who don't even have to wear snowsuits. As time has gone by we have also grasped the range of William (Pleasantville) Macy. He's gone on to better things. But the caricatures and gruesome psychosis juxtaposed with inept human greed and self-centered myopia---ah! it is a diversion. And it is very agreeable to watch Frances McDormand work. The Coens seem to have gone in, done their job and pulled out. A directorial road movie in which the repetitive snowy road goes through mood changes--same road, but the story has altered its meaning. At the end, it's comfortingly familiar. I feel the skeleton of a better movie here. Like Peter Jackson's animated bugs in "King Kong", the smiling heads of quickly daubed "local color" wouldn't be missed. There's good stuff, and it's just off the road a bit, that beautiful straight, snowy road.

The Heart of Me (2002)

Super Acting, Soupy Music

[7/10 · 17 August 2005]

The players outdid their director in mining the emotional significance of this story. In the first place, i checked this one out because of Paul Bettany--encouraged in the venture by a comment that Helena Bonham-Carter goes into new dimensions with her character, Dinah Burkett. Which she does. A love story with ugly triangle is not easy territory in which to find people particularly appealing. All three of the forces in this triangle are profoundly and consistently themselves, however. And that alone is appealing. Bettany, Bonham-Carter and Williams all cover a heart-wrenching range of human feeling--not just the big stuff (anguish, desire), but the subtleties as well (self-doubt, tenderness, quiet resentment). Too bad the music behind them is exemplary of the concept "sugar-coated". Or, more generously, sort of like wilted lettuce. The look of the film honorably frames each moment of this powerfully acted story. The art direction is as crystalline as the score is murky. Since one cannot "tune out" the way a film looks, the audience wins big-time in this regard. Eleanor Bron, by the way, who plays the rather monstrous mother (a woman of her place, class and time), has shown up recently also in "Wimbledon". I love to see her. She was totally great in "Women in Love" when she was young. I hope there is more of her over-the-top comedy out there for me to find. Happy trails . . . .