msdemos Reviews

Ghosts (2021– )

GREAT Cast, SO Much FUN !!

[8/10 · 6 August 2022]

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Don't care that this is (another) U. S. version of a British series......and that (of course !) the original is better !! THIS is the one I've watched, AND IT'S WONDERFUL !!

GREAT casting and a VERY light, nicely subtle comedic tone makes for a fun, entertaining TV show !!

HIGHLY recommended if you have access to Paramount Plus (or anywhere else it may also be available) !!

CAN'T WAIT FOR SEASON TWO !!

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God Is the Bigger Elvis (2012)

Come On, NOTHING Could Be Bigger Than "The King"...... COULD IT ??

[8/10 · 17 January 2022]

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LOVE the title and LOVE this short documentary!

Had heard for MANY years the story of Ms. Hart and how she, like Grace Kelly, had left it all behind, but often wondered what her life must have been like after leaving Hollywood.

And now, I KNOW !!

Also appreciate GREATLY that they didn't feel the need to go on for another hour, simply because most "serious" documentaries tend to run anywhere from 90 minutes to two hours, just like most feature films!

This one VERY directly gives all the background info., where, and how Dolores Hart is today, and a brief idea of what her life was like in the intervening 50 years.

No muss, No fuss, and that's it !!

A job, I might add, that is well done, and leaves the viewer NOT wanting any more........simply because nothing more needs to be said !!

Well Done !!

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Monster (2008 Video)

Probably Could Have Been Interesting....

[3/10 · 5 July 2021]

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Probably could have been interesting, but the filmmakers seem to put ALL their efforts into making the film seem "real", rather than making more of an effort to make it ENTERTAINING !!

YES, WE GET IT........the film is REALLY supposed to look like it was all shot by the two women actors playing the two main roles.....but there comes a point when you HAVE to realize that LESS is MORE......and STOP with all the 'jump cuts', edits, "interference", bad (filming) angles, and 'stop and start' filming in order to CONSTANTLY keep reminding your audience of just how "real" it all is, and simply just TELL THE STORY.

Somewhat similar, in a way, to the film that REALLY started all the more recent "first person perspective" films, The Blair Witch Project (1999). Yes, that film too could be VERY annoying with all the "real" film shots that comprised the movie, but until I saw this film, I didn't really realize how COMPLETELY overboard you can go on trying to make your first person perspective film seem "real", and thus, end up taking away almost ALL of the "entertainment" value it might have to offer, by making it hard to actually sit through and watch.

Oddly, it now makes me want to go back to watch Blair Witch again, to see just how much better (or worse) it was in terms of their use of all the "real" shots that ended up in that film.

On the plus side, the two female leads are very attractive women, so if one DOES have to sit through this thing, at LEAST there's that.....though, sadly, in the end, turns out that is just NOT enough of a reason to EVER see it......

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Every Which Way But Loose (1978)

A Piece Of CRAP, Really, For Such A Talented Man.....

[4/10 · 20 June 2021]

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Sad really, that (adjusted for inflation) this one turned out to be one of Eastwood's most successful films of all time.

A (mostly) brain-dead "comedy" about UNfunny, stupid men drinking, acting crude, and using their fists to get through life.....

If that weren't bad enough, this film falls into the trap of actually believing that having a monkey (okay......an orangutan) doing "funny" things somehow added something positive to the story !! WHY do people think having monkeys (or apes, or orangutans, etc., etc.) in films (or on TV) is ADORABLE ?? It's NOT !!

The only "good" thing this film now has going for it, is the nostalgia factor of getting to see some of the 'sights' from the various location shots from back in the late 70's !

Thankfully, Clint would eventually realize that he had SO much more to give humanity, once he started routinely directing his own films.....

As Siskel and Ebert were once so fond of saying, THUMBS DOWN !!

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The Final Countdown (1980)

SO Much Promise, But SO Little To Offer....

[4/10 · 6 April 2021]

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A movie with a GREAT idea, and one that utilizes my personal FAVORITE movie premise (i.e., Time Travel......in this case, with an entire U. S. aircraft carrier that goes back to December 1941 !!), that sadly, ends up going (pretty much) nowhere.......and leaves the viewer with an overwhelming sense of "what could have been".

And that, coupled with the fact that this film's story "moves" along at a (mostly) EXCRUCIATINGLY slow pace, makes it almost impossible to sit through.....even with its roster of fair, to good cast of actors and production people.

To put it another way, all the pieces were here.........EXCEPT for the MOST important part of all.........an inventive, creative, or even MILDLY interesting script!

The worst part? The fact that the big finish "showdown" that looks like it just MIGHT help snatch this film from the jaws of 'defeat' (and FINALLY offer some REAL action!), is suddenly pulled out from under us, when the film COMPLETELY COPS OUT by abruptly 'returning' the aircraft carrier back to the present day (the setting from which the movie first began).......conveniently (for the film's producers), just BEFORE the EPIC battle that the film has been hinting at (almost) from the start !!

Because of the TREMENDOUS letdown of this film, I would MUCH rather watch (arguably) the "perfect" Time Travel film, "Back To The Future" (1985) for (roughly) the hundredth time, than ever have to sit through this COMPLETE waste of time again....

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The Uninvited (1944)

I Have NO Problem With Older, Slow-Moving Films.....But Not This One !!

[5/10 · 18 October 2019]

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Just watched this for the first time, all the way through on TCM, and sad to say, I was GREATLY disappointed!

They (TCM) billed this as "Still one of the best of the earlier "horror" films" (or something to that affect), but, in my opinion, the actual experience was anything BUT...

A VERY slow-moving movie, which I have no problem with, as long as the film remains interesting....however, this one fails that test, because it is not just slow-moving, but slow-moving as well as DULL!! A VERY deadly combination!!

That's not to say it doesn't have GREAT production values, because it does. A great cast, good acting, good cinematography and a VERY good musical score.

However, the one thing that matters most, seems to be completely (or nearly completely) missing here......a truly engrossing (or even semi-engrossing) story.

At first, as the story builds, it seems like it's leading to a good/great payoff, but then it just kind of goes.......nowhere.

Simply put, a movie either "has it", or doesn't, and this one, in my opinion, just doesn't.

But because it's not a terrible movie, and so many others seem to feel it is the "reel deal" (pun intended), I recommend you see it, and just decide for yourself....

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French Postcards (1979)

Have Always Loved This Movie....

[8/10 · 8 July 2018]

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Ever fall in love with a movie, you know in your heart isn't the greatest of all time, but for whatever reason, you love it anyway ???

For me, this is that movie.

First saw it a few years after it's 1979 release on an early pay-per-view service (possibly, SelecTV ???), and fell hopelessly, head-over-heels in love with it.

I think it was probably because most of the actors in it are my age, and thus, was able to live vicariously through them, in effect, getting to "go" to school in France, even though I've never been there.....

Sadly, two of the lovely women starring in it, died before their time, Marie-France Pisier ("Madame Tessier") at 66 (drowning), and Valérie Quennessen ("Toni") at a FAR too young 31 (car accident). And if you've never seen Ms. Quennessen in 1982's "Summer Lovers", do yourself a favor and track it down (again, maybe not the greatest film of all time, but the STUNNING scenes of GORGEOUS Greece (and Ms. Quennessen!), are worth the price of 'admission' alone!).

SO pleased too, that this film FINALLY got a dvd release, after so many, MANY years not being available on home video (though it did have a release on VHS, prior to that).

To anyone with a little bit of 'romance' left in your heart, give this one a chance......to those who don't, or can't remember the feeling of being young and in love, don't bother.....

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The Meyerowitz Stories (2017)

Wow.....

[8/10 · 5 November 2017]

The rare film that you realize is INCREDIBLY fun almost the minute you start watching it.

Rather than go on and on about why this movie is great, I simply say, watch it.....you will not be disappointed.

If nothing else, the amazing amount of notable performances by so many recognizable faces is entertaining just by itself.......and for you Star Wars fans, two words: KYLO REN !!!

Please...........enjoy!

I Ought to Be in Pictures (1982)

Sneaky GREAT !

[8/10 · 9 April 2017]

Every once in a while, you watch a random film, and hours, days, weeks, a lifetime later, it's one you find you just never forget.

This, for me, is one of those films.

Flying under the radar, and IMMENSELY underrated, this one quietly showed up in 1982, and then seemed to be gone and forgotten about, by nearly everyone.

Though it did have a video (vhs) release, criminally, it was never released on DVD.

But now, the little film that could, is FINALLY available on DVD, as part of 20th Century Fox's Cinema Archives series.

Maybe, just maybe, the rest of the world will now slowly catch on to this sneaky little gem of a movie, and find themselves remembering it hours, days, weeks.......or even a lifetime later.

Bachelor in Paradise (1961)

Bachelor In Paradise, and I'm........

[7/10 · 28 April 2011]

..........IN HEAVEN!!!

1961........Kennedy was in the White House, the word 'Vietnam' meant little (or nothing) to the average American, and Bob Hope was close to winding down his prolific (film) career. Just getting to soak in the memorable era this film represents would normally have been entertainment enough, but this flick goes the extra mile by offering a fun little ride with Bob Hope at the wheel, in fine comedic form.

Having just watched the Warner's Archive Collection Remastered Edition DVD, I can honestly say that I can't remember having had a better time watching a movie in many, many years.

Though "The Ghost Breakers" (1940) will always be my favorite Bob Hope film, this one comes close. The script is good, Hope is Hope, and the supporting cast offers a tantalizing bevy of 'Bob' beauties, both talented AND lovely (A young Paula Prentiss showing up in form-fitting, pink short-shorts, approximately 20 minutes in, is TRULY a sight to behold!).

If you get the chance, mix yourself a pitcher of 'Gibsons', pop this one in, and let the wondrous era that once was, and will never again be, wash over you like a light sun shower....

Spring Break (1983)

1983 Brainless Spring Break Fun With Heart

[6/10 · 14 July 2005]

Charming Ft. Lauderdale spring break film from 1983. Would this movie ever win any awards for cinematic excellence? Not a chance. But then it never tries to be anything other than what it is; mindless spring break fun circa-1983, but with a difference. The movie has heart, treating its likable leads in a positive way rather than depicting them as the stupid, sex-crazed, goofs that most films of the time seem to prefer. In short, there are a LOT less worthwhile ways to spend 101 minutes.

Although this was my era, I never experienced spring break while in college myself (much to my ever-lasting dismay). But movies like this allow those of us spring break wannabe's who missed out, a way to share in the fun.

DON'T bother watching if you are looking for a deep, filmatic experience. Instead, simply celebrate the era and enjoy the good "clean" fun that was Florida's spring break, before 'girls gone wild'!