JPMDatIMDB Reviews

45 Years (2015)

Recommend to those who welcome emotion in its many flavors

[8/10 · 8 February 2016]

After seeing the movie "45 Years" I wandered around the empty parking lot beneath a full canopy of stars on a clear and moonless night, not looking up but rather peering inward deep into my own heart. This film left me profoundly sad - not depressed, but sad - by the reversals at the close. The arc of its story and the telling of the characters (brilliantly portrayed by Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay) and their relationship was moving to me far more than I anticipated.

The film begins almost a week before the couple's 45th wedding anniversary party, with each day freshly announced by title slide and scenic splendor.

Before we get into the meat of my comments, allow me to add a side note: the sound track is a blend of 50's and 60's classics blended with traditional classical classics, all with significance to the characters and story line.

In the first reel or two, one sees an old couple comfortable in their ways, supportive of one another, and clearly in love as represented by the casual familiarity they share after nearly five decades together.

An awkward shadow is introduced very quickly into the plot, a shadow that drives the entire narrative to follow, but it is not an explosive reveal, nor is it an event that triggers explosive reactions, for all of its impact on these two people. It's simply a letter in German from Switzerland, yet it leads our two main characters in what follows, drives them to their respective ultimate realizations.

And so.,.. the sadness I felt upon this story's conclusion was not one of longing (for I elected not to have that kind of growing-old-together experience) but rather the sadness deliberately and expertly planted in me by the skillful manipulation of filmmakers exploiting their craft.

Because I was moved - subtly, deeply, progressively, organically - I recommend this film, at least to those of you who welcome emotion in its many flavors.

I Smile Back (2015)

Well Acted but Not My Cup of Tea

[6/10 · 1 November 2015]

Very hard to watch, like Silver Linings Playbook but with less mania and fewer extremes. This is actually a plus, compared to SLP: her weaknesses lurk deeper beneath a surface of normalcy.

Excellent performances will appeal to an audience of actors while a relationship-laden story line will appeal to an audience of script writers.

Normally I am drawn to character studies as I have a strong appreciation for films that leave you caring about the characters and what happens to them. Somehow though, this time I find I can't recommend this film to my non-actor/non-scriptwriter friends. Maybe it rang so true, so plausible, so "normal," that the discomfort of watching these lives unfold outweighed the excellent performances of the players.

The Assassin (2015)

Lush Cinematography, Stately Paced, Stylistic Action

[7/10 · 1 November 2015]

The images in The Assassin are like a massive coffee table book that you swear you'll open some day: Beautiful, lush, even overwhelming.

The pace doesn't suit a typical American audience, however. The action sequences are too infrequent, too much like ballet, too beautiful, and with too little blood, to satisfy the palates of my countrymen.

There are many quiet scenes--of vast landscapes, of sick old men, of beautiful women and children--that are almost as still as portraits but for the flutter of veils, drifts of smoke, and the sway of trees against a sky of wandering clouds.

A few of you will enjoy this film, appreciate its sensibilities and splendor. Too many, however, may leave the theater confused or lost as to what just transpired.

The Crunch Bird (1971)

I enjoyed it

[8/10 · 15 October 2009]

Yes, it's based on a joke. (Hey, it's a SHORT animation film, right?) Yeah, it's from 1971, with 1971 technology, audio, acting, drawing, and dialog.

Still, it was humorous in its day.

As a theater manager in the mid-70s, I sometimes showed this prior to our main features (back before you PAID to see ADVERTISING on the big screen) and the audience always roared.

I'm not so harsh on this as some.... in those days we definitely needed a big laugh to escape the real world, even if for only a few minutes.

Give Crunch Bird a fair shake for what it is... a short piece of fluff that entertained the audiences of the day.

P.S. I can't speak to the points regarding the Academy selection, not having seen (or having seen but not remembered) the other contenders.

Four Last Songs (2007)

Lovely setting, Great Idea, But a Bit Weak Nonetheless

[7/10 · 9 August 2008]

Disclaimer: I know most of the people on whom the characters are (loosely) based, and the area of the production (the village of Deia on the island of Mallorca), and the house in which it's set. I even happened to meet the director as they were getting ready to shoot the film, so I should have a natural tendency to praise this piece.

On the flip side, I've been a writer and, as a young pup, a movie theater manager, so I see a lot of film and video, which perhaps makes me a bit more, um, particular about film making.

The good stuff: The scenery is glorious, with or without the "homesick factor." The opening shot of the little church atop the mountain, with the several-hundred-year-old terraces of olives and fruit below, makes you want to call Iberia and book the next flight to Spain. The restaurant at the Cala, where you first see Miranda and Larry playing music together, is beautiful (great food, by the way) but looks more glamorous than in real life.

The idea of bringing unheard classical music out of the past into modern ears is a good premise, with plenty of subplots going on to keep things interesting, while the idea of my sister popping up in the middle of all these other complications just adds another layer to the stack of amusing plot devices.

On the flip side: I felt that the story didn't flow quite as well as I'd expected, perhaps because the dialog didn't strike me as quite sharp enough. It seems like the actors weren't quite sure where to go or what to say at times, so some of the story got a little lost. (I learned later they were instructed to ad lib most of their lines.)

Nonetheless, I'd give it good marks for a light comedy, set in an idyllic location, with interesting characters, and a different premise from the usual "two strangers meet and fall in love, with laughs for all" that appears to mark the genre these days.