Change Your Image
el-5
Reviews
SpongeBob SquarePants (1999)
Takes the oldest jokes to the next level...weird & brilliant!
This is one of those shows I approached with a bad 'tude. Too much
hype, too silly-looking in the short clips & promos...but I figured I'd be watching it secondhand with my son. It got me. The characters
are SO quirky & ridiculous & they take comic situations one step
further than any other cartoon I've seen. Profound goofiness rules...&
there are enough sly "adult" references sprinkled throughout that a
grown-up can enjoy.
Few things are funnier to me than Marion Ross (Mrs. C from Happy Days) playing Spongebob's Grandma with the perfect pitch of goofy granny cheek-pitching hysteria AND wise street savvy. & Patrick at the start of his boxing match, arrogantly ripping off his robe & revealing...a business suit underneath.
It deserves to be watched & enjoyed 100 years from now! Can't say that of much else on TV...
Lolita (1962)
A beautiful, mysterious, perverted, brilliant love story.
A unique & moody movie that blends sex, tragedy, true love, true perversion, comedy, hate & fear. It's a long-seeming movie to sit through because there are so many layers to the plot & so much undercurrent...still, it never bores because of the killer performances. Maybe because they're already imprinted in my mind, but I can't imagine another possible Quilty than Peter Sellers, or Humbert than James Mason. Shelley Winters goes all the WAY over the top in a way that was perfect for the role. & Sue Lyon was erotic & sexy & KNOWING in a way I've never seen from an actress so young. Funny & chilling & tragic. & that "Lolita" musical theme! Haven't heard anything so evocative, before or since. & beneath all the weirdness & perversity is a true love story. Doomed, yes, but unforgettable. Worth seeing, again & again.
Margie (1946)
Endearing, dated, witty, delightful.
One of my favorite movies from the 1940s. Crain plays Margie with such sweet, believable, awkward conviction; her goofily repressed homelife & "bad girl" best friend & various boyfriends round out this story in an unforgettable way. The music is poignant & tuneful & perfectly suited to the storyline, the humor subtle & sly & ever-so-slightly off color, in a way that is completely inoffensive. A joy of a movie!
Bad Behaviour (1993)
Delightful & witty slice of life.
I caught this movie in a theatre well over a decade ago & it's STAYED with me. The characters are true to life, though a few notches wittier, more appealing & charismatic than your average neighbor. I loved the marriage of these 2 low-key but unique characters...their barbs & their little tribulations over the course of a day or so, mixed with their undeniable, enduring love for one another. A joy!
The Group (1966)
Juicy, glitzy, melodramatic, weirdly involving.
This is a thoroughly enjoyable reworking of Mary McCarthy's book...while certain portions of the story & dialog are toned down from the frank & sexual novel, the gist remains intact. The story of a group of protected collegiate girls during the Depression being plunged into real life...marriage, affairs, career paths, utter meltdown. It's got a definite soap-opera feel & the performances get a bit cartoony here & there, but this movie is a JOY. Just enjoy it for what it is...a couple (plus) hours of fun & involving storytelling, great performances, great clothes, & goofy upper-crust female bonding.