pmc77 Reviews

Annette (2021)

Wanna be Modern Surrealistic Opera

[5/10 · 30 January 2022]

Weird and tedious. Adam Driver is a successful comic who isn't funny and hates his audience even though they love him. He marries a successful opera singer and it, SURPRIZE, goes wrong. He then exploits their daughter, played by a puppet, who can channel her mother's voice.

It's trying very hard to be stylish, surreal, and modern. The dialog consists of the same musical passages sung over and over with no variation. The vocabulary is limited both verbally and musically. We only know that Henry and Ann love each other because they sing "I love you so much" repeatedly. Were the writers trying to create something akin to an opera by John Adams?

I gave this a few stars because I was happy to see Simon Helberg in a decent role that isn't a nerd or a dweeb. Also some of the visuals are stunning- the storm even though it is stylised, is quite terrifying.

The Gilded Age (2022– )

Style without substance

[7/10 · 28 January 2022]

On the surface this show has everything one would expect from the creator of Downton Abbey- luscious settings and costumes, great period detail, an awareness of social issues- but it lacks a key element. The writing is sub par. The dialog is overly expository as if it has to explain every detail verbally instead of letting the characters develop naturally. The actors, even the ones who are usually quite good (and trying their best here- Cynthia Nixon and Christine Baranski) cannot get past the blank declarations of their characters status and motivations. There's no subtlety here. The only character who is allowed to have any realistic expression is Peggy Scott. The others are mostly cardboard cutouts of real people particularly the social climbing Russells.

Dune (2021)

Why is everything gray?

[5/10 · 24 October 2021]

I am not a fan of the David Lynch version and I've not seen the TV series. I am a big fan of the books.

I've always felt that the best treatment to turn the books into a film would be to tell the story as a heroic epic and hope that the script could also convey the mythic/symbolic/hidden context contained in the books. That the key elements, would be revealed bit by bit, small hints here and there, as they are in the books coming together as a whole at the end. The Lynch version failed miserably and just fell back on over the top visuals. This version is trying harder to tell the story but the characters are not fully developed and it's difficult to tell who is who or where the characters are - other than the dessert-if you are not familiar with the books because everything looks the same. It's all gray, stark, and monolithic.

Too much is revealed early on to make sure we all get it- probably because the producers weren't sure they would be able to make a part 2. Also the stopping point is logical but very unsatisfying.

Also, I want to know what the Fremen stillsuits are made of? They appear to be rubber or some plastic material. This is a planet with no vegetation and minimal animal life. Where did they get rubber or the means to make plastic?

Wanna be filmamkers-If it's your dream to make a better version of Dune, you still have a chance.

The Irishman (2019)

interminable

[4/10 · 7 September 2020]

3 1/2 hours of the same dialog over and over again. I think the screenwriter must have been paid by the word. It's every Scorcese Mob picture you have ever seen expanded exponentially and without any humor. So unless you have a love affair with Scorcese, De Niro, Pacino, or mob related cinema skip it.

Chushingura (1962)

Very Satisfying

[10/10 · 15 March 2005]

I have actually seen this film several times because it was my college boyfriend's favorite movie and I was dragged to the local art house to see it 5 times. But I have to say I found something new in it each time. While I agree with the previous reviewer that it can be confusing, the story is legendary in Japan and the film makers didn't feel the need to explain elements the Japanese audience would be familiar with. I suggest a second viewing will make it more coherent. I have yet to see a more recent samurai/martial arts film match the suspense and beauty of the snow scene or the heartbreak at the end of the first half. It is a visually rich and rewarding movie experience.