dancing15bear Reviews

The Intern (I) (2015)

A Good, Clean, Wholesome Entertainment

[9/10 · 1 November 2015]

Sometimes you go to the theater, and you cringe at some of the previews, most of which are full of sex, violence, and an apocalyptic view of the world. It's hard to find a movie that is respectable and clean, with charm and wit, one that is suitable for thinking adults. "The Intern" is such a movie.

Robert DeNiro is superb. How a guy who played such ruthless characters in "Goodfellas" and "Taxi Driver" can pull off this avuncular gentlemen is a testament to his craft. His Ben Whittaker almost seems too perfect, but DeNiro brings a humanity that makes him eminently believable. Anne Hathaway does a fine turn as the Internet entrepreneur, and fleshes out well what could have been a cartoon character of the Übermom. The supporting cast supports wonderfully, giving the stars plenty of room to shine, not distracting from the story. And the plot never goes where it shouldn't, something that does happen in other, more cynical films.

So I would very highly recommend this film. It has some "legs," as evidenced by the fairly sizable audience given that it's in its sixth week of release. You know why? You'll leave the theater entertained and uplifted. And how often can you say that at the cinema these days?

Persecuted (I) (2014)

A Huge Disappointment

[3/10 · 18 July 2014]

I had expected much more of this film. I've been looking forward to it for months, having read about it in Brad Stine's e-mail newsletter. I had liked it on Facebook, saw all the trailers and news feed updates, and had high expectations. Well, I saw it this afternoon, and left feeling cheated.

I'm an evangelical Christian and a Tea Party conservative. In my mind, it is not outside the realm of possibility that it may one day become illegal to practice my faith. The Bible and the Constitution are both under attack in today's America. So I had hoped that this film would be a great dramatization about how that just might come to pass, because that's what all the hype pointed to. Well, if that's what they tried to make, they failed. Maybe my expectations on that front were too high. But it's not even a particularly good movie.

None of the characters are likable, and there is no time given for any real character development. Those who are supposed to be Christians are hardly shining examples for the faith, not what one would have expected from these producers. Brad Stine's character is particularly odious, and given that he's a Christian comedian, and listed as a co-producer, I have to wonder what he was thinking about. The "bad guys" are pretty much boilerplate. Fred Thompson plays the most sympathetic character, but his effect is diluted because his relationship with the preacher is not explained early enough. (Plus, I couldn't get his reverse-mortgage commercials out of my head!)

The music is ominous from the beginning, never seeming to stop, and the lighting is dark and stark. You can't support a nightmare scenario without first setting up normalcy. This film never does. The plot progression is confusing and portions of the action are not credible. There are some good production values, and I suppose it works on some levels as an action thriller, but I found it largely unsatisfying.

I had read some negative reviews this morning, but figured they were just examples of non-Christians who felt threatened. We've seen that with good films with a Christian message such as "Courageous," "Fireproof," and "October Baby." Turns out that this time, the secular reviewers were unfortunately right on. "Persecuted" is not what it was advertised to be. It is a huge disappointment.

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Badfellas

[4/10 · 13 January 2014]

I'm not sure just how far into "The Wolf of Wall Street" that the realization finally hit me that Martin Scorsese had made this movie before. It's "Goodfellas" with different criminals, and it's not as good. This film is longer, and raunchier -- I wished my soul could take a shower fairly early on -- and while it's certainly lavishly made, with great acting, this restatement lacks the charm that the mob movie had. The artifices that were so novel in 1990 (the narration, playing to the camera, the long steadicam shots) now look derivative, and you cannot root for these characters like you might have before, even though both casts are replete with lowlife, scum criminals. At least Henry, Tommy, and Jimmy were likable lowlife, scum criminals. Jordan Belfort and his partners are simply reprehensible.

I expected the cursing and didn't mind it, even though this film probably tops both seasons of "Deadwood" in uses of the f-word, because many New Yorkers do talk that way. I must admit that I was a bit taken aback by the gratuity of the sex scenes, which made "Caligula" look tame by comparison, and I can't imagine that people could possibly take the amount of drugs depicted in this film and still live, much less function. Perhaps I've lived a sheltered life. But this film is not for the faint of heart.

On the positive side, I very much enjoyed the performance of Rob Reiner as Belfort's father, loved Kyle Chandler as the FBI agent, and thought it was a great touch to have Bo Dietl play himself (plus that he appears in both "Wolf" and "Goodfellas"). There are many faces you've seen before, and I'll probably spend a good deal of time surfing the IMDb to see all the connections. And I hope that we see more of Margot Robbie -- meaning seeing her in more films, since we will have already seen all of her in this one -- as this is her meatiest role since "Pan Am," and she proves here that she has some real acting chops.

In short, I would say that you should save your money on this film, and buy the DVD to "Goodfellas," that you many enjoy it in its brilliance over and over, instead of this rehash.

3 Days (1984)

An Insightful Re-Creation

[9/10 · 6 April 2012]

"Three Days" is a very insightful re-creation of what might have happened during the interval between the death of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection. Scripture is mostly silent about details of those days, so the creators of the video had to infer what the disciples and others must have gone through during that tumultuous time. I think that they have done a credible job trying to portray what it may have been like. I believe it's faithful to what we know of the characters from what scriptural references exist, it's doctrinally faithful, and the actors do their best to try and convey what those involved may have experienced. It's somewhat similar to "The Passion of the Christ," which also had to fill in details not revealed in the Bible, but I believe that in both cases there is a definite influence of the Holy Spirit in the faithfulness of the re-creation. Technically, "Three Days" has some shortcomings, in that it is obviously a videotape work of the '80's, not having the advantages that today's cinematographers have to give their video work "a film look," and there is something of a made-for-TV cheesiness about it; still, it's a great story and something that is quite uplifting. It's available on DVD from Vision Video, pretty cheap, too, and I would definitely recommend giving it a viewing.

Birthday House (1963–1967)

An amusing kids' show

[7/10 · 16 August 2007]

I used to watch this show as a youth. It featured a bunch of kids having a birthday party. It was amusing enough. The most specific thing I remember is that the boom microphone was a character in the show, and each time it was introduced, Paul Tripp used to sing,

"Hi, Mike! Hi, Mike! I like to say, 'Hi, Mike!' Hi, Mike! Hi, Mike! I like you very much!"

I guess that speaks for the power of music, that I would remember that little ditty.

Also, each December, the show would feature commercials for "The Christmas That Almost Wasn't," which would show up in movie theaters as a matinée each year. The commercial featured the scene where the villain, Rossano Brazzi, would bellow, "Merry Christmas, I don't think!!" I'm pretty sure us kids dragged my poor mother out to see it two or three years in a row...

The Christmas That Almost Wasn't (1966)

Commercial More Memorable

[7/10 · 16 August 2007]

I remember the commercial for this movie more than I do the film itself! It featured the line where Rossanno Brazzi would bellow, "Merry Christmas I don't think!!" It was very scary for someone just starting school! The commercials would show up each December on the Birthday House show with Paul Tripp. The movie would run as a matinée at local theaters, and I remember the place being pretty crowded. My sisters and I dragged our poor mother out to see it for a few years running. I guess it was great marketing. It must all be pretty arcane, because every now and then I'll quote the bellow, and no one seems to know what I'm referring to.