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Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984)
I give Paul some grace on this extended music video
I'm not going to review the film per se because so many have done that. I want to explore Sir Paul's motivations for making this film. He said on the Tonite Show that he had had his season of mania with the Fab Four and wanted to explore something different. At the time he's a father of four and lives a full but more sane lifestyle. I don't care if you're a nobody or a famous entertainer, everybody gets the jitters when putting themselves out there with something new. It's a frightening proposition. I acted in a movie that made the Tribeca Film Festival and went on to Netflix. Critics were not very kind to us and for my part there was only one critic that wrote _the movie would then cut to pointless scenes with the father of the protagonist_ At least it wasn't personal! The slings and arrows hurt Sir Paul as much as they hurt me.
People complain that it's not so much a movie as it is an extended music video, it has no arc and has disjointed scenes (possibly the same critics that gave _HELP_ rave reviews.) Approach it like that, as a fan of Sir Paul. The Eleanor Rigby scene in the theater was wonderful I thought. Expect it to be just an extended music video with Ringo and Paul dressed in period costume rowing down a river for no logical reason. And give him some grace and kudos for putting himself out there. I did, and as a Beatles fan growing up in the 60's I enjoyed it. I didn't love it, but I did enjoy it.
Columbo: Last Salute to the Commodore (1976)
My least favorite Columbo
I found myself thinking right from the start that this episode was off, way off. The writing felt like it was done by a writing contest winner whose reward was to create a Columbo episode. It was beyond quirky, it was annoying. From the new detective Columbo has to take under his wing to the scene where four people cram into Columbo's car to go to the boat dock it tried way too hard to be funny. I seem to remember that Falk complained about the bit with training a new detective, but there was another actor that had played that part too. I don't know if it's this actor or the other one but neither added to the story with their one dimensional characters. It was a bad imitation of Chief Inspector Clouseau from Pink Panther. I think most fans of Columbo wouldn't miss this episode being permanently pulled from the collection.
Mrs. Columbo (1979)
Insulting to the premise of Columbo.
Normally I think it's very tough to introduce a character that is never shown on screen. But Bochco's writing (among others) was brilliant. It wasn't about the actual character of Mrs Columbo, it was a trait of Falk that went along with his cigar, trench coat and crappy car. Talking about Mrs Columbo wasn't about how she really was. It was a mechanism for him to work his observations about clues to the crime into a conversation that seemed to be innocent chit chat. He fooled people all the time setting up traps, maybe nothing he ever said about her was true. In the words of Hitchcock it was a type of Maguffin.
I think she appealed to everyone because everyone was free to see her in their minds eye, based on their own life's experiences. Nailing her down was a mistake, an insult to the original creation of her real purpose in the show. The many comments about "that's not how I saw her" speaks to that. This show has a better chance with people who are unfamiliar with the original Columbo.
As a side note, when Columbo was popular I was a police detective. I naively tried to say in interviews a few times: "you know when my wife..." It always fell flat.
Columbo: Suitable for Framing (1971)
Typically brilliant Columbo, but the little details bother me
Released in 1971 Ross Martin's character is reviewing art on a TV show when at the end he says a copy of the show can be obtained for a nominal fee by writing the station. Since VCRs didn't come out for another 5-6 years I wonder who he was addressing? A competing station? I think it would've bothered Columbo too! Great show. Most Episodes were written by Steven Bochco, directed by Steven Spielberg, music by Henri Mancini. No wonder it was a hit.
Revenant (2012)
A fun ride when you understand the conditions
An American Ghost Story has the foundation to be a good little horror movie. Our protagonist, Paul, rents a house with a reputation for being haunted. He plans to write a book about his experiences and fortunately for his book haunting stuff starts happening.
Spoiler Alert: His girlfriend moves in with him, is the first to encounter ghostly activity and quickly moves right back out. The rest of the film has Paul chasing Tom, a mischievous little ghost and Mr. Sheets, a demonic force seen only when covered with a bed sheet - California King sized of course.
If someone would have said to me "hey, take a look at this indy horror movie made by some friends for just $2k" I would have been in the right frame of mind and enjoyed the ride. I'd rate it 8 out of 10. I really appreciate the struggles Mr. Cole & Mr. Twardokus endured to get this produced. It is incredibly difficult to make a feature. Actors and crew flake out on you, gear breaks, locations suddenly change their mind and won't let you shoot there, and everybody wants money. I'm always amazed at the ingenuity and creativity of filmmakers working with little to no budget. Having said that, they need to make wise use of the resources that they do have.
The main antagonist in this film is a ghost or demonic force brought to life by throwing a bed sheet over the form. In a spooky story for 7 year olds it works, but here it comes off cheesy. The original Paranormal Activity is a good example of a small budget film that never actually shows the ghost. Seeing the form in the bed which then disappears is fine, but it should have stopped there.
I don't fully agree with criticisms about clichés concerning drawers opening, etc. Everything has already been done, it's incredibly difficult to come up with something entirely new in a horror movie. The ghost hunter shows on television have the same things in every episode - EVP's, orbs, EMF spikes, doors opening on their own. Same thing, every episode. So I expect to see these things in a horror movie, but I want to see them at unexpected moments with actors reacting in unexpected ways. I liked the flashlight being grabbed by the ghost, I think it is very effective and probably one of the creepiest moments in the movie.
In my films just about every penny I have goes to the actors. A free actor isn't really free if they bring the movie down. If you can't afford an actor and can't find a great actor willing to work pro bono, then write that part out of the script if possible. Other parts are unnecessary. The landlord played by Jon Gale doesn't propel the story forward, is poorly acted and could be omitted. I think Liesel Kopp in the role of Stella did a good job. In fact, I'm disappointed that she doesn't stick around. She is one of the characters introduced to us that never gets developed. I think Wendy Haines as Sue is the best actor in the movie. I would have liked to see her coerced into returning to the house to help Paul solve his problems. As much as I admire Stephen Twardokus and respect his efforts, I think his acting is one dimensional. He's certainly a better actor than me, but as our protagonist his role is critical to the success of the film and should have been cast differently. Sam, the friend played by Cain Clifton is another pointless character but he has an ironic scene. He sends an email to Paul that has a jump scare photo in it. Paul calls him and complains "that was a cheap shot!" Yet that's exactly what they are doing to us, most of the fright in this movie comes from cheap shot jump scares.
The lighting is very good...so good that I didn't even think about it the first time I watched the film. The tonal quality of the dialog was excellent as well.
The music is good in places. Kevin MacLeod is a popular artist who allows filmmakers to use his work royalty free. I've used his work extensively. The problem comes in the scene transitions and places where the tension changes. The music is cut and pasted to fit the scene as best as possible. It sounds great in some places, in others it doesn't. The piano melody in the beginning scenes doesn't quite work. In the last half of the film long, low notes drone endlessly on and on and become annoyingly noticeable.
Finally, the script has its highs and lows. Characters are introduced then fizzle away undeveloped. The mainstay of ghost hunting is electrical disturbances and recording EVPs, Electronic Voice Phenomena. This is where recordings, as most people know, can be played back to reveal ghostly voices that weren't heard at the time the recording was made. Paul tries to record them in one scene but curiously he fails. The only electronic problem is an old fashioned radio that likes to randomly come on and play static. Why he never tries to use a camcorder is puzzling. I don't think any ghost hunter nowadays would attempt it without a camera. In fact, the premise of writing a book about a haunted house seems to fizzle away as well.
This could be a great little movie with some edits and a better lead actor. As it is, it's still an enjoyable flick keeping in mind it's a low budget, well, no budget indy film.