jodynh Reviews

Gone Girl (2014)

I'm glad I didn't pay to see this

[1/10 · 23 June 2015]

The title led me to believe that this was a movie about a teenager using drugs or becoming a prostitute. I saw some ads that led me to believe it was about a wife disappearing, so I agreed to watch it with a friend who had rented it. Big mistake. The story line was interesting at first, but the characters ruined it. There wasn't a single character I liked in this film, and I didn't care what happened to any of them. The main characters - the husband, the wife, and the husband's sister - were not people I would want to know. They seemed to be begging for trouble on bended knees, and they got it. This is supposed to be interesting because...? I told my friend I needed to leave, but I didn't tell her that it was because I hated this movie and didn't want to watch another minute of it.

A Merry Friggin' Christmas (2014)

An awful friggin' movie

[1/10 · 28 November 2014]

I'm a huge fan of Robin Williams, Candace Bergen and Joel McHale. This story line had potential, but the way it was written was downright depressing. If I had seen this movie before Robin Williams killed himself, his death wouldn't have come as such a shock. He looked and acted like he was ready to do it all the way through the film. Candace Bergen's character was lame and not very smart. She seemed to be out of touch with reality most of the time. Joel McHale's character was so filled with hate throughout most of the movie that he didn't seem appropriate for a Christmas film. I realize that holidays are horrible times for a lot of people who feel a need to spend time with people they can't stand because they're "family". But that's not the sort of thing I want to see in a holiday movie.

Taking Chance (2009 TV Movie)

Review from a Proud Soldiers' Angel

[10/10 · 7 June 2011]

I believe that when you love the art, you love the artist as well. With that in mind, I love every single person who was involved with this film.

I "adopted" a sailor in Vietnam when I was in grade school. His name was Vernon J. Lambert, and I loved him like a big brother.

During Operation Desert Shield/Storm, I sent packages addressed to any soldier/sailor/airman/marine. I kept writing to the ones who replied until they came home.

I have been a Soldiers' Angel for about seven years, and I have loved every Hero I've "adopted". It's not an easy job. Once I had an adoptee who was a crew chief on a Black Hawk helicopter. When I read in the paper that a Black Hawk had gone down, I didn't sleep for three days. I finally learned that my adoptee was still alive, but it didn't help much. I knew that someone was still grieving.

As I said, I've been VERY lucky. This film showed me what it is like for the ones who haven't been so fortunate. Even so, it still shows all the love that goes into Taking Chance and all the others like him.

The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming (1966)

This movie should be required viewing

[15 March 2005]

A very wise man once said that a government is something you have to protect you from someone else's government. To me, this film shows that governments breed hatred and distrust between people who could be great friends if it weren't for their respective governments. I have had the good fortune to have friends from all over the world. Some of these people have come from countries that were enemies, according to my government. I am so happy that I ignored the government propaganda and accepted these people for what was in their hearts.

My appreciation of this film goes far beyond the actors' talents. I am deeply grateful to them for showing me that people should not be judged by their nationalities.

I wish that this movie was required viewing for all government officials around the world.

Apollo 13 (I) (1995)

Great film, with one exception

[14 March 2005]

I think this movie is fabulous! I studied the space program in college, and I got to ride in a space shuttle simulator once. I think the film did an excellent job of showing all that goes into a space mission. The one thing that disappointed me was Chris Ellis' portrayal of Deke Slayton. I met Deke Slayton once, and he was one of those men who just seemed to have an energy field around him. He was very passionate about the space program, and he had the greatest laugh. I can't imagine that he would have seemed as mild-mannered as Ellis portrayed him during such a tense situation. The Deke Slayton in the film was far too bland for me.

Hoffman (1970)

A lost masterpiece!

[10/10 · 26 February 2005]

I had the good fortune to find this movie at my local library. After seeing it, I was dumbfounded at the fact that this film seems to have been essentially hidden from Sellers' fans. Benjamin Hoffman is a complex and perplexing character, and Sellers reveals the character's personality layer by layer. At first, Hoffman seems totally evil and cold. But as the story progresses, we see that he's a man with very limited social skills, trying to tackle a very difficult problem. He loves a woman from afar, and he learns that she could soon find herself in a disastrous situation. He may be giving her the world's leakiest lifeboat, so to speak, but it's all he has. Sinead Cusack is marvelous as Miss Smith, who has found herself in the most baffling of circumstances. A man she barely knows has blackmailed her into spending the weekend with him, but he treats her politely and makes it a point to be a proper host. He sleeps in the same bed with her but never even kisses her. He takes her shopping and out to dinner at a fine restaurant. This movie is an emotional roller-coaster ride, and it left me wanting to go get in line for another ticket.

Without a Paddle (2004)

I strongly disagree that this film is forgettable

[22 February 2005]

Sometimes you just need to destress. My two kids and I especially need that because a psycho we had never seen before pulled a knife on us while we were out recently. That's life in America, unfortunately. I wish the cast of this movie would read this post so they would know that they had us laughing when we desperately needed to laugh. I can't think of a higher compliment I could give them. The soundtrack of this film has some excellent songs, too. I will remember this film, and everyone involved, for a very long time. They're pure gold with me. This can't have been an easy film to make. The actors had to do some hard physical work in some scenes. And they did it to give us an hour and a half or so of happiness. I can't understand why anyone would react negatively about that.

The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004)

What were they thinking?

[1/10 · 15 February 2005]

I can't fathom the rationale for turning such a disorganized mess of a book into a film. I checked out "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers" at the library and gave up in frustration after reading only the first chapter. I couldn't face another 400 pages. Roger Lewis appears to suffer from Attention Deficit Disorder, and he also appears to have had no editorial help whatsoever. Lewis jumps from one decade to another with each paragraph. For example, page 14 covers a span of 70 or 80 years. A look at the index makes it clear that the entire book is a disaster. If you look up any of Sellers' movies, you'll find a list of 30 to 40 pages throughout the book on which the film is mentioned. It's as if Lewis can't stay focused on a topic long enough to describe it completely, so he just tosses things in as they occur to him, regardless of any attempt to put anything in context. When I emailed the publisher about this monstrosity of a book, I received a reply saying that their editorial staff had been replaced after the Sellers book was released. It is also so thoroughly biased against Sellers that you'd think Sellers had stolen Lewis' wife (although I can't imagine him having one) or run over his cat or something. The film is the same way. There is no attempt whatsoever to find anything but ugliness in Sellers' character. I can't believe someone actually paid money for this garbage.

The Comedy of Terrors (1963)

One of my all-time favorites!

[4 February 2005]

I've been a movie buff from a very young age. I discovered this movie on the late show when I was a teenager, and I dragged my older brother out of bed so that he wouldn't miss it. Thirty years later, I still enjoy it just as much. Seeing the mega-heavyweights of horror films doing a spoof of the genre, yet still playing it as though they are deadly serious, is such great fun! ("Airplane" was a sensation years later for taking a similar approach but going it into the realm of the absurd.) The basic plot, about an undertaker who commits murders when business is slow, could easily be used for a horror film. In fact, I'd be very surprised if it hadn't. The slight tweaks to the story line are hilarious, and the film is full of lines that will stick in your mind long after the closing credits. For example, Peter Lorre's plaintive, "Why did I ever escape from prison? It was so peaceful there."

Conspiracy of Silence (1991– )

A story that cuts to the heart

[10/10 · 4 February 2005]

I have seen this movie many times over the years, and it is no less gut-wrenching today. Michael Mahonen won a Gemini award for his portrayal of Lee Colgan, a teenager who went out for a good time one night and ended up as an unwitting accomplice to a murder. The story is a complex tale in which the high school students who know what happened are threatened with violence if they go to the police and the older citizens don't want to see whites go prison over the death of a Cree.

The first half of the film takes place at the time of the murder, and the second half takes places roughly fifteen years later. Lee Colgan has become an alcoholic, while the other three boys who were in the car have gone on with their lives. Some of the young women who heard about the murder after the fact are still haunted by guilt at not having spoken up. There is also a sense of frustration on the part of the Mounties at knowing they're surrounded by people who know something but refuse to tell. I would like to add a personal observation here. Michael Mahonen's transformation from a carefree teenager to an alcoholic who is far older than his years was impressive to me when I first saw it. The performance became absolutely astounding to me when I learned that he made the film while he was working on the "Road to Avonlea" series. In the mornings, he was playing a teenager in the early 1900's with an Irish accent. In the afternoons, he was portraying a thirty-something alcoholic in the 1980's with a Canadian accent.

The St. Francisville Experiment (2000)

more realistic than most

[5 March 2004]

I used to investigate haunted houses with a reputable group in the Kansas City area. The leader of the group, Maurice Schwalm, has written a book called "Mo/Kan Ghosts" which tells about some of our work. I love to watch movies and documentaries about haunts. The movies are usually so overblown as to be ridiculous. (The remake of "The Haunting" with Liam Neeson comes to mind. The original was far closer to the real thing.) I found many aspects of this film to be quite familiar. The cold spots, unexplained sounds, doors opening and closing, and things moving are all things that I experienced. The phone call that's mentioned at the end sounds like something pulled from paranormal expert D. Scott Rogo's book "Phone Calls From The Dead". The story of Madame LaLaurie is quite well documented. The more traumatic the environment was, the more likely it is that investigators will stir things into action. It is not so unbelievable that things would become very lively. That said, this is a great movie to watch with the lights out, some popcorn and beer, and someone to hang onto! It will get your heart pounding.