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Reviews
The Hero (2017)
Disappointing
My wife and I are retired and watch movies for relaxation and enjoyment. This one was disappointing, to say the least. We expected Sam Elliott to be portrayed as the laid back, yet wise, and lovable curmudgeon that that was a vital part of his past demeanor in Hollywood land. There were traces of that in the film but that was overshadowed by him not acting as the actor we expected as an integral part of, yet aloof from the rest; but as an aging pot head and druggy indulging in behavior a bit extreme for his age, at least in the main. It would have been put to a fitter portrayal by a younger more vigorous actor who viewers would understand as seemingly plausible. The director and writers have either attempted to place their own agenda into an unlikely scenario---and have missed the mark. As for us. It was a waste of time.
Road Less Traveled (2017)
A Surprise Movie
I rented this for my wife. She's into the romantic genre and I liked the cover intro of the story. As for myself, I've been expecting this showing to be the usual formulaic boy meets girl, girl has trouble deciding, conflict evolves, emotions roil among parties, parties resolve situation---film credits run. Not so. This was a step above the rest. The development of the characters, the swing country music, the good songs and lyrics made this cynic into a believer, But I am not averse to enjoying country music, or the pastoral scenes of a bucolic way of life. Those were to my preferences and very appropriate for the plot. It was the portrayal of the reality within the story and the people in it. It had depth and talent that I never expected from a cast that I'm not familiar with, that went beyond the banal and trite. It was a good evening's viewing.
Beatriz at Dinner (2017)
Ugh!
Definitely not a comedy-drama. More like a personal agenda slate from a writer, producer, director, power broker, or who ever else is responsible for this film. Its more to the taste of a left-leaning liberal elite with a tunnel vision of the world and present society who define some of it as a voracious, vicious jungle where only the wealthy, environmentally shattering and 'devil take the hindmost' sort of people survive at the expense of others and their welfare in general. Its a message movie and should be suspect for its one-sided view. I rented it and got suckered in by its initial hype. Shame on me. Oh well, That's marketing.
For the Love of Ruth (2015)
Worthwhile Viewing
A faith based film loosely tied to the Old Testament story of Ruth and Naomi, but without overwhelming the viewer with the proselytizing dialogue that promotes an agenda for members of the choir, rather than a diverse audience. The acting and the characterizations are excellent. You have your good people striving to overcome what life throws at them, who persist to do what's right in the face of mounting obstacles. And then you have the villains who bear all the typical human traits of avarice, greed and power who stand to profit from eliminating those that stand in their way. You cheer on the sidelines for the decent people to win out and hope that the selfish ones get their comeuppance--its that good. Its a hopeful and eventually a joyful movie could possibly affect even the most cynical viewer. Give it a look.
The Americans (2013)
Incredulous
Lasted through a couple of disks of Season 1 and found my tolerance waning. Our government agents, the FBI, and the Soviet KGB are shown in an improbable and often ridiculous portrayal. If they acted as the way this series attempts to illustrate, it would take one far-reaching stretch of the imagination to buy into the episode writers' scripts. I see there are some plaudits in other reviews regarding this program. All I can say is-- that's all well and good. But for me and others its something else.
Every Thing Will Be Fine (2015)
An Excellent Portrayal of Life
My wife and I are movie buffs. Our times date back when films were only shown in B/W. But I'm writing this review, so I must speak for myself. I mention that because in my younger film watching years I would probably find this production from director Wim Wenders and writer Bjorn Olaf Johannessen as slow-moving, unexciting cinema. However with age, it isn't wisdom that necessarily arrives,but life experiences. The movie is about an accidental death of a child on a wintry afternoon. The driver of the vehicle, Tomas, played by James Franco, walks to the residence of the victim.... From this point on we become engaged with the child's mother, the driver's life, his relationships with his friends, his father, his agent (he's a writer) and other persons one meets. The film, as in life, just goes along at a slow pace, now and then highlighted by some excitement, tragedy, or a good event. You witness people through their various moods, faults, blessings, shortcomings,and behavior swings: in other words--- acting human. I highly recommend this film and consider it a cinematographic work of art.
The Hollars (2016)
A Different But Not Unusual Portrayal Of A Family
I liked the family portrayals of the leading characters in this film. They were gritty, erratic, whimsical, maudlin...in a sense they covered the gamut of emotions of a struggling lower middle class family from a small town.Its one that many viewers can relate too and conversely perhaps many can't--or wont, regarding the Hollars as 'losers'. Its a slice of life presentation and well worth an evening's viewing.
Vinyl (2016)
Disappointed by it.
In search of something to watch, I visited our local video store and spotted on the new-release shelf a DVD titled: Vinyl. It was the first two-episodes disc of a series highlighting the 1970's Big Apple music scene. The jacket blurb had it as an HBO network output and the names of Martin Scorcese and Mick Jagger as influential contributors in its production. Wow! You can't miss with those powerhouses---HBO, Jagger, Scorcese. Wrong! As I ran the disc through the first hour and a half, I stopped it. There was some difficulty with following the time line of the main characters and their roles; also the drug use, the foul language, the swaggering arrogance of the leads was ridiculous. As if, we the viewers are to be impressed by this overt and heavy handed portrayal of the 70's music scene. It fell short of my expectations. The good points were the cinematography and the music. But I could have gotten the same for free from other sources on the television. I never finished the viewing...