artie-8 Reviews

The Family Man (2000)

Empty Spaces, Big Time!

[8 January 2001]

The Family Man has an appealing cast and entertaining scenes and situations. Falls well short of its potential because of important empty spaces in the story line....

The film opens at the airport ; we witness a man and a woman deeply in love , tearily saying goodby.He is about to depart for London. He will be gone for a year and return to her!!!

WHOOSH it is suddenly 13 years later. Never sees her again during that interval. He does return to the States and become very successful. A BIG EMPTY SPACE. Why did they not pick up their lives where they left off? No mention or explanation!!!!!

Both characters are attractive and personable. Yet neither marries anyone else. .No nmention or explanation. BIG EMPTY SPACE.

Unfortunately,the originally promising story turns to contrivance and loses any ring of truth .

The ending should have been a BIG EMPTY SPACE!!! Instead , we get a cutesy teaser!! . In the real world , the shabby manner in which he abandoned her would have merited a juicy spit in the eye.

Yet, when they meet , for the first time, 13 years later, , the reunion is unrealistically casual.

Finally, instead of an imaginative ending where, she can treat him as he richly deserves, the writers resort to a banal and insipid treatment. Had these mistakes been avoided , The Family Man may have merited consideration as best picture of the year.

The Green Mile (1999)

A Mixed Bag

[11 December 1999]

You either love "The Green Mile" or find it a great disappointment. There seems little middle ground . Altho the acting was high quality, the story line does not really provide an opportunity for any character to demonstrate unforgettable mastery of a memorable role.The critics generally favor Duncan for the acting "tour de force". I cannot because I was unable to understand more than a few words he uttered. (my own hearing disability) There is more widespread agreement that this picture is too long by at least an hour. Vigorously agree. My major criticism of this movie is that it could not make up its mind whether it wanted to be realistic or surrealistic. Logic, humanity,gratitude and compassion demanded that John Coffey's execution be postponed pending re-examination of his purported guilt. It completely destroys credulity when the Warden stands by to witness Coffey'execution(Coffey merely saved his wife's life) and Eberton(Hanks) actually conducts the horrible miscarriage of justice.

This Is My Father (1998)

Blessed Relief

[30 May 1999]

There aren't many films these days that bring a tear to the eye for legitimate emotional reasons. "This is my Father",happily, is one of them that should! Beautifully acted, imaginatively directed, this movie will undoubtedly have a short run. It doesn't meet today's standards of gore, brutality or computer generated non-realities. But if you want to see a movie that will tug at your heart and sensitivities,hurry down and see this heartbreaking ,yet heartwarming, story of requited ,yet unfulfilled, love.My test for a movie is very simple and timeworn. If I am sorry to see the credits roll, I know I've seen a fine movie.Man,was I sad to see those credits roll on bye.

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)

Subtitles where art thou

[21 May 1999]

With all the brilliant folks involved in LS2B, wouldn't you think it might dawn on one of them that Cockney dialect movies should come equipped with subtitles when shown in American theaters It would help to make sense out of all the plots, counter=plots and sub-plots.Would have fared better had they turned off the sound and we conjured up what the hell was transpiring in this "hodgepodge supremo" . Wonder how many catastrophes this bloody and gore-filled attempt at movie making will inspire. Movie censorship is beginning to have some appeal if Hollywood and London insist on satisfying the 16 year old mentality that represents the movie attending public.And they deign to call this " murder a minute" travesty a COMEDY.Pitiful!!!!!

A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999)

Yes and NO!

[14 May 1999]

A few observations: Will Shakespeare thot the time and place for AMSND should be Ancient Greece. The Producers felt it should be 18th Century Italy. I think Will was right! This is one of the few films where the critics liked it better than the public. I think that is particularly true with Shakespeare where aural acuity is so much more relevant than in the "run of the mill" flick which the public rates higher than critics generally do. Lastly, am amazed that Anna Friel didn't cause a greater critical reaction. This young,active actress more than held her own photogenically against Marceau, Flockhart, and Pfiefer. No small feat and worthy of much more attention than she received.If Friel is properly managed she could become one of Hollywood's major new faces.

Affliction (1997)

A Bow Wow with Big Names

[2 March 1999]

Agree with those that pan "Afflicted". Would wager if the cast were not so "top drawer,"many audiences would admit that the movie was slow, uninteresting, and a sad excuse for a psychological thriller as many of the film's devotees regard it. Nolte struck me as unstable from the first minutes and certainly so in the last scenes. Didn't detect the supposed deterioration in his psyche and sanity that presumably took place. Highly, highly, overrated.

Varsity Blues (1999)

Surprise

[9/10 · 28 January 1999]

Went to see what a movie, the critics panned something fierce, could have to enable it to be Top Box Office 2 weeks in a row. Expected to walk out in early part of the movie.Didn't. To my utter surprise, I rather enjoyed it. In trying to put a tag on it, I came up with a few good reasons. The characters were likeable.The story line sure didn't drag,especially if you were a pigskin devotee. The only violence was on the gridiron Altho there were some plot discontinuities,in the end every thing came out in a believable fashion. Would have preferred to know what happened to the female leads as they moved from teens to mature women in the same fashion accorded the male leads. All in all a pleasant surprise!

Delicatessen (1991)

Not my Cup of tea

[20 January 1999]

I'm apparently swimming against the tide of critical opinion. If this film is the 2nd best ever,as one enthusiast asserted,Hollywood,our society and my sanity are doomed. I will concede that the co-habitation scene was different and amusing despite the lack of naked bodies struggling to achieve perfect union.Saw this movie in non -theater environment which may be a mistake . The unpredictable dynamics of audience reaction can be very critical. Audience belly laughs create a different mood to viewers than groans or other unappreciative reactions I thought it most illogical that in what was presumably a post war devastated society some of the characters' dress was straight out of Bergdoff Goodman.If this was intended to convey some deeper message, it was way over my head. Illogical movies are a big letdown for me.

Emmanuelle 5 (1987)

A mammiferous disaster

[12 January 1999]

If your thing is frequent viewing of all varieties of colossal mammillae and the constant fornication the heroine engages in with every Tom, Dick and Harry (and I emphasize Dick.) don't miss this movie!!! If you have an IQ anything above moron, avoid it like the plague. The acting is beyond atrocious . The story line? You mean there was one? This film is such an accumulation of excrement that no professional would review it .All the participants must have used phoney names. If anyone was paid , it was an abomination! To be fair though, Dominique Gabrielle does have one hell of a figure. It is the crime of the century that they made her act.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Oh For Just One More Chase Scene

[10 January 1999]

I am getting very weary of writers,directors and producers who over-do race scenes in their films at the expense of the story and the logic of the film's message.And does every mental institution have to be peopled with cruel,uncaring staff. However it is the constant chasing by car,foot, car,motorcycle ,truck (U name it) that I feel transforms an otherwise entertaining film into a boring experience! I am surprised we weren't treated to a couple of chases featuring lions ,tigers and other ferocious creatures. What a blast that would have been!!!! Ronin was bad because it too overdid the "chase" element. By comparison the director of Ronin was a "piker". I still insist! Each unnecessary and boringly long race scene, means one less opportunity for creativity or character development. If this trend continues, it won't be long before the ultimate movie will one long, continuous race scene. "Terminator 2" almost achieved the ultimate!!!!!

The Joy Luck Club (1993)

Most favorable.

[10/10 · 13 November 1998]

Movie started slowly for me.However, as the storyline began to take form and meaning ,I realized I had chanced upon a marvelous movie that really grabbed your heart while part of it grabbed your throat." A magnificent moment in movie making". I doubt that I recognized more than one or two of the ten major characters but it has a long time that have been so impressed with a group of actors. The title was prophetic for me. It was a great Joy to see it and it was sheer Luck to chance upon it.

The Heidi Chronicles (1995 TV Movie)

Succinct

[11 November 1998]

The picture was sad and wistful, but a pleasant diversion from the current run of violent and de-humanizing films. It was curious that: !. The rental I viewed did not include a list of the major actors in the credits but went on endlessly to list everyone else who came within a`mile of the studio! Tres Strangeaux!!!! 2. On the other hand, your list of characters showed the name of some of the actors but did not include the role they played. Tres Sloppi!!!!

Contact (1997)

Terse

[9/10 · 10 November 1998]

While the visual effects are stupendous, it seems to me that this exciting contemplation of cosmic space, has a major flaw of logic. A scientist such as our heroine,would never insist that the time compression required by equating 56 space travel years to seconds of earth time was remotely within the limits of Relativity Theory. She would be the first to postulate that the tremendous dynamic stress she experienced produced a humongous case of plain old but powerful hallucinatory panic attack. This reality undercuts the films integrity and results in universal farce.

Beloved (1998)

Frustration

[7/10 · 9 November 1998]

I am sure "Beloved" would have been less confounding and more rewarding if Oprah had confined herself to acting. Stars should neither produce nor direct the films they perform in if they want to promote artistic objectivity and integrity in their work.That's my long held conviction. Beloved is a splendid example of the full flowering of that theory.It is sad because the film could have been a magnificent exposition of the diabolical nature and inhuman horror of slavery which as a nation we accepted without reservation for generations. Instead most viewers came away confused when they should have been enlightened.I have to agree Beloved is a major, major missed opportunity.