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dalefarmer
Reviews
Romeo Must Die (2000)
Great Film, Great Star, But Too Many Chiefs And Bit Parts:
The star of this film was Jet Li. The Star. I cannot fault his performance at all. His first real scene was incredible, this involved a jail breakout. That scene set the film and had you cheering for Jet Li from thereon. But after that it all got to be pretty confusing he was supposed to be an ex-cop? We were not introduced to the other characters slowly or at all. It would have helped to know that some deal brokered by Vincent Roth, Edoardo Ballerini, was being set up to buy waterfront dockyards and shipping wharfs. Delroy Lindo was introduced as a leading Black American mob boss whose role in this property deal was never defined and because of this his part went downhill. I thought he was a drug dealer. We then had another Chinese Mob boss who was also buying up properties for the mysterious Vincent Roth, but, we never saw any property deals done or any waterfront properties being surveyed for buying. The Chinese gang boss figure mentioned was probably the best mature actor in the whole film but got a hell-of-a-poor script to work with. This film could have done with a large number of roles being cut including the female star part, Aaliyah, Trish O'Day, Her role was simply the candy-floss role with no depth or adequate performance from her. This is a film in which the audience has to second guess what was happening on screen and tie in the various scenes, and the ending was poor. Acting honours go to Jet Li, Russel Wong, whose role was highly believable, Delroy Lindo and Matthew Harrison.
The Grey Zone (2001)
The Grey Zone, "Excellent film and real life documentary.
I was amazed at how accurate this film was and at times thought parts of it had been filmed in the actual Birkenau death camp which is now a Polish State Holocaust Museum. It was filmed in Bulgaria and for filming purposes the producers re-created the Auschwitz-Birkenau Crematorium area from the original Nazi plans. The scene builders deserve favourable praise for the care taken to get it right. They also did an excellent job of rebuilding the notorious Auschwitz basement prison known as Barracks 11 whose prisoners were shot each Saturday morning without fail. If it had included the following historical information it would have served a useful 'schools purpose' by educating the public and school students because very few people today have heard of Auschwitz and are aware that Birkenau was a sub-camp of it. This film lacked a sound recording of Hitler ranting on about the Jews, old newsreels of Nazi torchlight processions and shots of Synagogues burning with Jewish families -RIP- fleeing their homes during the night with one of the sons becoming a leading character through out this film. Events then take a routine course thats if murder can ever be considered routine - it can't. The film needed an office area where mass murder decisions were taken whilst coffee was being drunk and served by prisoners. The camp commander Hoess and sub-commander Kramer needed to be seen. The events shown in this film are real enough except the young girl who survived gassing was in reality shot and then thrown into a crema-furnace soon after her discovery. What the film lacked was some mention of the mass shootings taking place and the serious prisoner starvation that occurred. Maybe scenes of the railway train guards stood laughing and joking at the fate of the disembarking passengers might have aided realism and a guard stealing goods or offering to buy watches would have been added the right touch. Also where was Canada? the camp area in which dead peoples luggage was sorted in bulk. The film failed to mention that the 4 women -RIP- who stole the explosives were executed by hanging in front of the other prisoners. A nice ending to this film would have been the four Nazi Hoess, Kramer, Mandl and Irma Grice being hung with the trapdoor banging loudly as it opened wide. It needed the monster from hell Dr Mengele in disguise sneaking aboard a ship leaving for Argentina and maybe the Hatikvah Jewish Anthem being sung. This is a great documentary but not a great film and the subject was harrowing. The Oscar went to the Jewish male actor who lost his temper in the undressing room before entering the gas chamber. A camp lawyer amongst the prisoners would have been a welcome addition to the cast if his words were used to remind the world that this was murder and not explainable in any other way than murder. What you saw in this film actually happened and for that reason alone it deserves to be shown worldwide as a stain on all societies especially Germany.
The Chaperone (2011)
THE CHAPERONE; Good, Good, Good, Family entertainment.
This film will appeal to several groups of people, especially those who can remember the great family entertainment films of 1930 - 1940, made by MGM, Columbia, RKO, Paramount, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. This type of 'juvenile script' created some great films with 'Boys Town' being the prime example.
'The Chaperone'starring Paul Levesque, as got a very interesting 'Ive been around and don't mess around with me' new actor in it called Paul Levesque. Living in England I have not heard of him before, nor am I a wrestling fan. My views are: To hell with his wrestling background name of Triple H, to hell with the all too familiar body building and the toned in the gym muscle look, this guy Levesque can act. I can see suggestions and shades of Bond, James Bond in him. My other favourite player was the school teacher with the squeaky voice, Yeardley Smith, who stole all her scenes and is another 'Thelma Ritter'- of Pillow Talk fame- if ever I saw one. The young girl who played Paul's daughter, Ariel Winter, was good she's only 13, so hang around 10 years and she maybe heading for the red carpet. The main group of boys on the bus especially Romeo, Israel Broussard, were winners. Admittedly this films another Boys Town that takes part on a bus, it was fun. There was two new stars in this film, Paul Levesque, and Yeardley Smith, the Thelma Ritter teacher, Romeo, Israel Broussard was robbed by not having a bigger, more revealing part to play.
Paul's next film should show him playing the part of an down on his luck hobo who buys a newspaper to find work, he goes for a job interview as a gardener and odd-job man but is hired as the butler / bodyguard to a crippled Bond character of MI5 fame. This elderly Bond is recovering from another Smersh attack and Levesque plays the 'My Man Godfrey role' who rescues him. Levesque as Godfrey saves the day and scores are settled with Smersh and they walk off into the sunset. Thank you to the writers and producers and all the other dogs-bodies. The casting was brave, well picked and believable which is quite rare today.
The Moon and the Stars (2007)
Great Film, Great Acting, Wonderful Camera Work, Even Sound Was Good.
When I look back over the last 25 years, many of the best films I have seen are foreign which means in practice not made in Hollywood. Some like 'China', Catherine Deneuive, are exceptional. This film 'The Moon and the Stars' is another winner. The subject is a tricky one, an film producer who looks as if he's going to cry any minute whilst dealing with a Fascist state and its corrupt officials making a film called Tosca. All four of the main actors are exceptional and all give-of-their-best. Catherine Macormack took the honours only because I fell madly in love with her the moment she walked on screen, Jonathan Pryce was the supreme English professional in an head of Smersh sort of way.
But trying to convince the audience that he and McCormack were discreet lovers was hopeless due to the obvious great age difference. The part of the foppish young man about town, Niccolo Sinetti, should have been written out completely, or another more convincing actor given the part. Somewhere in the film I spotted the young actor who played the horrible Nazi in 'The Boy in the Striped Pajames', his talents were not really used or brought out, and it might have been best if he had been given the fops/foppish person part. The camera work made this film, and being partially deaf I really appreciated the excellent sound. The ending was wrong, I'd would liked to have seen the mythical producer Alfred Molina allowed to escape to Switzerland, and in the last scene the corrupt official and him parting as good friends along the lines of the ending in Casablanca. Why the main actor Alfred Molina in this film had to be gay was a mistake, no one really believed it nor did it add to the films soul or message. Much better he played the part of an David Selznick or Louis B Mayer than another fellow struggler heading for an death camp. Lord spare me the pathos in films, I want happy endings, clappy-happy endings not mission statements. 9 / 10. And yes its a good film and made for adults not USA children age 12.
Nell (1994)
Nell : Another Shawshank Redemption. A winner.
Hollywood is a wonderful place, it's certainly brightened my lonely hours, and took away the gloom of cold winter nights, closed steelworks, mounting boarded up shops, my worrying about taxes, getting the car serviced, or finding hammers and shovels and sheep wire and fencing and nails and screws that go missing whenever they are needed.
As you can imagine like royalty I have a padded chair throne, a pint mug of hot tea, and a warm fire. I have no visitors but my house is never ever empty. Great stars call regularly and I'm the sort of guy who always ends up walking into the sunset with Humprey Bogart and Claude Raines, or humming 'April Showers' with Jolson. Sometimes I cry, rarely great big tears, but, the occasional 'the truth can hurt you tears', and NELL was such a 'truth can hurt you film that can make you cry', because it exposes to ourselves our isolation from the busy bee world and, our growing old fears and wary'ness about meeting strangers.
Someone said NELL was a sleepr, maybe they meant because no one got shot, stabbed or beaten up spoilt it at the box office, but take my word for it, lots of young folk are missing out a great trip down hardship lane if they miss this wonderful film. This film is a sort of well acted small town 1930 depression film that hit the moon and my heart. See it, talk about it, and after seeing it, try and get involved as NELL did with the world?. As for marks, 10 out of ten. Loved it, you will too. Nell lives up to the adage that the purpose of films is to educate and entertain, it did this admirably.