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Reviews
All About Eve (1950)
Bette Davis at her best
This is by far the best performance (among so many) ever given by Betty Davis as Margo Channing, an actress who fears she is aging and nearing the end of her tenure as a theatre icon, in a film that is also filled with wonderful performances by Anne Bancroft as the scheming Eve Harrington who worms her way into Margo's good graces and then tries to take over Margo's life, both professionally and personally, the latter by trying to seduce Margo's fiancé, played nicely by Gary Merrill. Additional fine performances are given by Celeste Holm, as Margo's best friend and the wife of the director (Hugh Marlowe) who directs just about all of Margo's plays, and George Sanders who plays Addison DeWitt an acerbic theatre critic who's onto Eve's machinations but supports her nonetheless. A small part, her first, was performed by Marilyn Monroe as Miss Caswell, a young actress trying to break into show business with the help of Addison DeWitt. The film has everything: great acting, humor, a wonderful story line and certain lines that have become quoted over and over again, like "Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night." All About Eve was given more nominations that any film in the history of motion pictures (13), until Titanic, which I believe garnered 14. It's a powerful film with fabulous dialog and acting.
Young Frankenstein (1974)
The Funniest Movie Ever
The first time I went to see Young Frankenstein I wasn't expecting much. Maybe that was part of the reason I was so pleasantly surprised. The cast of characters was fantastic. Who could beat Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, Peter Boyle, Cloris Leachman, etc. as an ensemble. Hardly a moment went by when I didn't laugh out loud, or should I say scream with laughter. The scenes got funnier and funnier as the movie progressed. Gene Wilder's expressions were worth the price of admission alone and his interaction with Madeline Kahn was priceless. The scenes which were comedically based on the original ones from the Frankenstein series of movies were the best, my favorite being the one with the monster going to visit the blind man in the woods (cameo by Gene Hackman) and the other with the wonderful Madeline Kahn singing "Oh, Sweet Mystery of Life." The entire audience was rolling.
Of course, Kenneth Mars and Terri Garr also did great jobs, adding to the film immensely. I had to go back the next week and see it again with another friend who I knew shared my crazy sense of humor. She sat there laughing so hard that tears rolled down her cheeks and she kept saying "I can't believe this" over and over. To this day, my friends and I quote lines from this film which has become a cult classic. I know every line in the film and when a group of friends and I get together every so often to view it, we all start laughing before the funny parts even happen because we know what's coming.
In my estimation there never was nor will there ever be a film anywhere near as funny as Young Frankenstein. It's in a class by itself, even compared to other Mel Brooks films. If you haven't seen it, you have to rent it today.
Gangs of New York (2002)
Boring and Awful
The film was dark, dirty, violent and, except for the performances of Daniel Day-Lewis and John C. Reilly, everyone else bored me to death. I didn't care about any of the characters in the movie. The film went on interminably showing one extreme brutality after another throughout the film. There was very little of anything else. I thought Leonardo DiCaprio was miscast and looked like a child in a man's clothing in the role of Amsterdam Vallon, a leader of a New York Irish gang in the 1800s, and Cameron Diaz was also miscast. I hated the brutality and the whole appearance of this film and found no redeeming qualities in it whatsoever. Next to American Beauty and Once Upon a Time in Mexico (tied for the worst film ever made) this stands next in line for the crown.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Best Movie of the past 20 Years
This movie, which I have seen at least 15 times, is my pick for the best movie of the past 20 years and certainly among my Top 10 Films of all time. It was a wonderful story with one of the best endings I've ever experienced in a film. Morgan Freeman fully deserved his Oscar nomination but, conversely, Tim Robbins was robbed of his. His portrayal of Andy DuFresne, a convict lifer wrongfully convicted of killing his wife, was nothing short of amazing. How the academy could have overlooked him in their voting is beyond me and everyone else I know that has seen the film. This is the only film for which I have never heard a bad comment and it got rave reviews from everyone I told to see it. If you haven't seen The Shawshank Redemption, you've missed one of the most wonderful and powerful films of all time. See it today! You'll thank me.
Mystic River (2003)
One of my favorites of the last 10 years
I absolutely loved this movie. The acting was amazing by everyone in the cast and especially, in my opinion, Tim Robbins. He just blew me away with his performance as Sean Penn's sadly traumatized pal, Dave Boyle, for which he received an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. I thought this honor was overdue as he should have been nominated and won an Oscar for his performance of Andy DuFresne in 1994s The Shawshank Redemption. Shawshank, Mystic River and Million Dollar Baby were my favorite 3 movies of the last ten years. Mystic River was so powerfully written and acted that nothing else could compare with it last year. Sean Penn, Laura Linney, Lawrence Fishburne and Kevin Bacon were perfect for their parts.
Secret Window (2004)
I loved it
I thought the movie was really terrific and Johnny Depp's acting was tremendous. I especially loved the scene where his ex-wife walks into the house and he emerges from behind a door with this evil look on his face. I actually got the chills. I've always prided myself with the fact that I'm a pretty good detective and so I must say that I figured out the mystery before it was revealed to the audience. It was quite a twist ending though and very well written. John Turturro also did a great job. I would love to see this film again. It was so well done. Johnny Depp is an amazing actor and so very versatile. This movie shows an entirely different aspect of his acting abilities.
American Beauty (1999)
I think it's the worst movie I've ever seen.
When my friend and I emerged from the movie house after seeing American Beauty, we looked at each other and then tried to figure out the purpose of the movie. We decided it had none and also felt it was the worst movie we had ever seen. We couldn't understand all the hype about it. People said it was "real life." Maybe it's real life in la-la land but not in New York City.
I personally didn't see any interesting story line in this movie and what was there bored me to tears. I didn't care about the characters, and the plot was ludicrous. I know Academy Awards were given to this movie and its main stars that year, but I felt the voters must have been inebriated when they cast their votes.
Big thumbs down for me.
Summer of '42 (1971)
One of my all-time favorites.
This is truly a wonderful film and a classic. It has everything: romance, comedy, sadness and the reminiscence of puberty and coming of age. The dialog between Hermie and his two teenage buddies wile exploring their emerging sexuality is a wonderful and hilarious, i.e., "Do you think I'm in love with Vera Michaels. I hope I'm not in love with her. I hate her." Who couldn't relate to those things in our youth.
Jennifer O'Neill, as Hermie's crush Dorothy, is gorgeous and well suited for her role. The scenes between her and Hermie go from funny and clever to sad and wondrous. One can only guess the emotions going on inside Dorothy's head when she finds out her husband has been killed in the war. I always felt she just wanted to experience closeness with someone during that time and Hermie just happened to be nearby. She also knew he cared about her and it was important for her to be needed . . . by someone.
A glorious film and one I can watch tons of times and discover something different each time. Highly recommended.
P.S. Michele LeGrand's musical score is beautiful. Just another plus for the movie.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
It's my favorite movie of all time.
I loved everything about it. Newman and Redford were terrificly matched and their chemistry was unbelievable. I loved the direction of George Roy Hill, especially the sepia scenes in the middle of the movie when Butch, Sundance and Etta were heading to New York, and the end of the movie where you know Butch and Sundance get killed but you never actually see it. Absolute perfection. I also loved Bert Bacharach's music which permeated the film, and who could beat the dialog between Butch and Sundance all through the film, particularly when they were being chased by Joe LeFors and his posse.
Absolute perfection. This is a film I could watch 1000 times and never tire of it. I loved every second of it.
Casbah (1948)
Loved Casbah. I know all the lines and songs by heart.
I've watched this movie many, many times and I truly love it. Tony Martin, as Pepe LeMoko, plays a suave, fascinating and very sexy jewel thief who is wanted by the police but is protected by everyone in the Casbah to the point that they will not let the police arrest Pepe and remove him from its confines. Marta Toren, in the role of Gaby, is a very beautiful, classy and mysterious lady visiting the Casbah who meets Pepe. Pepe finds her so extremely different from anyone he has ever met in the Casbah and she also finds him fascinating (what women wouldn't?). It's easy to see how they become attracted to each other and the sparks start flying. Yvonne DeCarlo plays Inez, Pepe's long-time girlfriend who tries to break up Pepe and his new interest. The supporting cast, including Peter Lorre and Thomas Gomez, are well-cast and believable in their roles.
The music is wonderful and Tony Martin's voice is too. It's truly one of my favorite movies of that era.