Change Your Image
clsimon
Reviews
Press for Truth (2006)
An amazing, well-researched piece of work!
This is an incredibly well-researched and detailed documentary. Paul Thompson has done an amazing job outlining the events that preceded and followed 9/11. This is not a propaganda piece, however it does focus on the efforts of the families of the 9/11 victims to uncover the truth about that fateful day. The Bush administration and the American mainstream media do not fare well in this analysis. I felt as though I was watching Thompson try to put together a jigsaw puzzle made up of a million tiny pieces, scattered all over the globe. Many of the details he has uncovered are completely unknown to most Americans. I found myself moved at times nearly to tears, and at other times driven to anger. Not only do I recommend this documentary, I intend to buy my own copy and show it to anyone who will watch!
Designing Woman (1957)
Such a Disappointment!
After hearing about this movie my whole life, I finally got to see it last night on TCM, hosted by Robert Osborn and Lauren Bacall. What a build-up! And what a let-down! Viewers and Ms. Bacall herself call this her best comedy. They are wrong. How to Marry a Millionaire is far superior in every way! Designing Woman offers a few good laughs. And Dolores Gray is brilliant indeed. But Bacall and Peck both seem stilted, phony and staged. One bright spot is the business in the restaurant, when Dolores Gray dumps ravioli on Peck's lap. This is highlighted later, when Gray offers to pour Peck tea and he jumps out of his chair in horror. The gags revolving around the punch-drunk boxer are childish and dumb. Bacall, as a fashion designer, gets to wear some terrific gowns, with the exception of a particularly heinous purple and white number during the "rehearsal vs. poker game" scene. In all, disappointing, over-rated, and mercilessly over-produced.
Torn Curtain (1966)
Really very good!
Some of the user comments for this film are unduly harsh. I just re-watched it last night, and I thought it was really very good! The decoy bus scene was very suspenseful, and the murder scene had me squirming in my seat! And any time we get to see Paul Newman laying on his back with his shirt open is great in my book!
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
Great comedy, with just one major flaw.
I don't mean to find fault, as this is one of my favorite comedies. However, this film is often touted as a showcase for the all the greatest comedic talents. The greatest male comedic talents, that is. Ethel Merman, Dorothy Provine, and Edie Adams are all wonderful. One can only imagine how great it might have been with the addition of Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, Mildred Natwick, Elsa Lancaster, Joan Davis, Ann Southern, Rose Marie, etc.