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Reviews
Amber Frey: Witness for the Prosecution (2005)
Not as exciting as Court TV
I think the real-life Amber Frey is a hero for having the guts to tell the truth and give testimony that helped convict Scott Peterson. However, this movie was nothing compared to the drama that unfolded on Court TV before and during the trial. Janel Moloney was perfect casting, but she is a bland actress portraying a bland character. Although it was good to see the scenes with her daughter and saddening to be reminded of how she was portrayed by the media, the movie was rather formulaic. Nathan Anderson was a chillingly lookalike Scott Peterson. The actress playing Sharon Rocha was touching. My wife fell asleep during the movie. I watched it until the end, and wished I had gone to sleep as well.
The Music Man (2003)
What were they thinking?
I hope Matthew Broderick got some nice things for his baby's nursery with his salary for this mess. He was totally miscast, and gave no effort to portray the character. His singing is embarrassing. Also miscast was the lackluster Marcellus (David Aaron Baker) and the boring Mrs. Shinn (Molly Shannon).
The orchestrations were over done and distracting. And why would you film dance numbers as quick cuts and from the shoulders up?
The film was redeemed by some extraordinary performances by Victor Garber as Mayor Shinn, Debra Monk as Mrs. Paroo, and especially Kristin Chenoweth as Marian. Her singing was a revelation, and I really believed her character.
One more thing: I'm sorry, I believe in equal opportunity for actors of all backgrounds, but it just wasn't believeable to have all the black characters interacting with the white characters so intimately in the place and time that the Music Man is set.
Touched by an Angel (1994)
A different take from a big fan of the show
I resisted watching this show for the first few years: too syrupy, too Christian (I'm Jewish), but once I got started (season 3) I was hooked. Yeah, it's predictable, manipulative, extremely Christian(even on the episodes which feature Jewish characters!), but I love it. I can't wait for Monica to glow and say, in that delightful brogue: God loves you so much! However, I think the show 'jumped the shark' when it introduced Valerie Bertinelli as 'Gloria'. She is totally annoying, and unnecessary to the stories. I might have liked her as a guest angel, but enough of her already. As far as the Jewish thing, I'm no expert, but I think that angels sent from God to Jews would not say 'God loves you'. Our relation to God is different than that. Maybe 'God knows you are trying your best' would be more appropriate. Still, I love this show, and now that it's been cancelled, I can't wait for the full set on DVD.
The Music Man (2003)
What were they thinking?
I hope Matthew Broderick got some nice things for his baby's nursery with his salary for this mess. He was totally miscast, and gave no effort to portray the character. His singing is embarrassing. Also miscast was the lackluster Marcellus (David Aaron Baker) and the boring Mrs. Shinn (Molly Shannon).
The orchestrations were over done and distracting. And why would you film dance numbers as quick cuts and from the shoulders up?
The film was redeemed by some extraordinary performances by Victor Garber as Mayor Shinn, Debra Monk as Mrs. Paroo, and especially Kristin Chenoweth as Marian. Her singing was a revelation, and I really believed her character.
One more thing: I'm sorry, I believe in equal opportunity for actors of all backgrounds, but it just wasn't believeable to have all the black characters interacting with the white characters so intimately in the place and time that the Music Man is set.
Brush with Fate (2003)
Misleading title, misguided project
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
If there is a movie to be made about tracing the owners of a lost Vermeer to the present, this is not it. Of course, Glenn Close was wonderful as Cornelia, the mousy school teacher who brings the new art teacher to her house to see the Vermeer stolen by her Nazi father. That this woman would bring a total stranger to her house and risk her ill father's exposure and the painting's removal is only made plausible by Close's slightly insane performance. Would that there were more of it! Instead we are given several disjointed and not-very-involving stories of early owners of the painting. Not one of them shed any light on the punny title, "Brush With Fate". Brush--painting, get it? I was hoping for some connection with the art teacher and Vermeer, or have Cornelia and him be related in some way. But this shaggy dog story of a movie just left me wondering why I had wasted my time
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002)
Hated, hated, hated this movie!
Watched this movie with my fiance. We're both fans of Ellen Burstyn, Maggie Smith and Shirley Knight. Hope you got paid well for this garbage. Unconvincing accents, big holes in the plot, a very heavy-handed story. It might have helped if any of the actresses playing the same character even slightly resembled each other. No, I take that back it wouldn't have. The thing that drove us crazy is: how can you have these younger siblings in the scenes with Ashley Judd as Vivi and never show them or refer to them in the present scenes! What a disappointment and waste of talent!
The Magic Show (1983)
Major disappointment
Have seen the original production and loved the score, imagine my delight at finding "The Magic Show" at my local DVD store. What a waste of money! Although the story is essentially the same, the show that is on this DVD is a poor substitute. Stephen Schwartz, what were you thinking? Solid Silver Platform Shoes, West End Avenue, and Sweet, Sweet, Sweet were all eliminated. Charmin's Lament was rewritten to be an interminably wretched number. Anita Morris was barely in the show. Mostly notably missing was David Ogden Stiers, replaced by someone who resembled Snidely Whiplash on drugs. Save your money!
Man of La Mancha (1972)
What a waste!
Some very talented people were involved in this not-very-good movie. The acting is all top-notch, especially by Peter O'Toole, who looks much like the famous Picasso drawing of Don Quixote. He is remarkably restrained from his usual shouting histrionics and it works well. Sophia Loren is very believable in her acting of Aldonza, but then she starts to sing and I'm reminded of Bea Arthur in Mame. James Coco is good in Sancho's scenes, but they had to lower the part for him too. Of the secondary characters, Harry Andrews as the Innkeeper and John Castle as Carrasco were wonderful.
The script is by Dale Wasserman, who wrote the original Broadway book. Many changes were made and I missed some favorite lines. Why mess with something that was nearly perfect? Whole scenes were dropped, new ones added, and a beautiful song (To Each His Dulcinea) was completely omitted! Worse than the changes to the script are the new orchestrations. They are so bad as to be distracting.
All that said, I still enjoyed the movie. I had heard it was horrendous, so my expectations were low. I still enjoyed it.
Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon (1970)
One strange flick
I've heard about this movie for years, and now that I've finally seen it, I'm not sure what I think about it. The movie starts with a disturbing sequence in which Junie Moon (Liza Minelli)throws herself at an obviously disturbed man, who *spoiler alert* knocks her down and pours battery acid on her face. She ends up in the hospital and makes friends with a homosexual man who is mysteriously crippled(Robert Moore) and a man with epilepsy(Ken Howard). The story is rather silly, and Howard's portrayal of an epileptic is not totally realistic (and I should know, I have epilepsy). His seizures seem real, but he would not likely recover so quickly. I'm not sure the point of the whole thing, but I'm glad I've finally seen it.