Reviews
Hail, Caesar! (2016)
Movie never really added up
I couldn't wait to see this movie. The previews were stupendous, the setting was a fascinating time in history, and the casting seemed perfect. I'd watch the trailers every few days to sharpen my interest and get ready for the entire movie.
What a letdown! Each scene of the movie was wonderful and delicious, but the whole movie added up to a fat zero. It was like watching someone hold up the individual pieces of a jigsaw puzzle but never assemble them into a big picture. I came close to walking out of the movie halfway through, but I soldiered on, hoping the ending would snap everything into place. It didn't.
This movie could have been so much more with the addition of a sturdy plot line. As it is, it's merely a random sequence of richly detailed scenes and wispy subplots, culminating in a giant question mark that pops and leaves the audience grumbling, "That's the end?!?" Very disappointing.
The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968)
Visual extravaganza
The visual richness of this movie is simply breathtaking. I was swept along by the vividness of the images and almost found myself ignoring the plot. After it was over, I was shocked to learn that it was 162 minutes long because it seemed much shorter. My only gripe is that the plot feels thin, and too much time is spent on the crumbling marriage of the TV reporter and his wife. They could have left that out and expanded the main plot, which literally concerned the fate of the planet. Nevertheless, there are many enjoyable parts of this film, especially if you're curious about the inner workings (and pomp) of the Vatican.
House of Cards (2013)
Could have been great, but too much disturbing content
I was a huge fan of the British "House of Cards," so I looked forward to the American version very much. I watched its 1st season and found some scenes troublesome, and I got several episodes in the 2nd season and found too much disturbing content to continue, so I stopped watching. I'm sure no animals were harmed in the making of this series, but there were too many scenes that either simulated cruelty to animals or openly discussed it. I was also bothered by the sexual content of some scenes, which seemed to glamorize practices that most people would find sick. One character discusses in detail how she attacked a man who was raping her. The same character is willing to withhold needed medicine from an expecting mother and let the unborn child die. Sure, this adds razor-sharp edges to a political thriller, but after watching some of these episodes I felt icky and degraded, not enriched and entertained. Truly a great shame. 90% of the series was really wonderful, but it was corrupted by a few raunchy, disturbing scenes that revolted me.
The Window (1949)
Like a time machine to New York of the 1940s
Part of the appeal of the film noir genre has always been its ability to freeze everyday life from the past and redisplay it faithfully to viewers many decades later. It's one of the reasons why I enjoy the genre so much, and "The Window" does its job better that most. If you want to step into a time machine and see what real life was like in New York City in the 1940s, this is the movie to see. I saw it at a local film noir film festival, and I hope it comes out on DVD.
It's a bit jarring to see Della Street as a gritty Manhattan housewife with a coarse blue-collar husband, but it's also a lot of fun and she looks terrific. Barbara Hale is still alive as I write this, amazingly, and will turn 91 in a few weeks. At the film festival, this film was introduced by someone who had telephoned Barbara Hale and asked her for her memories of making this movie. She said the movie was supposed to take place in the summer, so the actors dressed very lightly, but it was really filmed in a much colder time of year and she remembers freezing as they shot scene after scene. Could have fooled me, the movie comes across as summery and hot with lots of sweat.
Every detail fascinated me, especially of apartment life in the 1940s: tiny rooms, closet-sized bathrooms with dwarf sinks, and kitchens that looked like airplane galleys. Dark and sinister stairwells up to dingy apartments, fire escapes and alleys, cigarettes galore, and black telephones like my grandmother used to have. Every scene is richly textured, almost as if the director knew that audiences of the distant future would be watching his movie and be mesmerized by the detailed scenery, from the local police station to the pay phone at the corner drugstore.
Others have reviewed the plot and I have nothing much to add. But I will emphasize that the plot develops along paths that I would never have predicted, and the ending will rivet you to your seat. The conclusion was deeply satisfying and caused the audience to burst into whistles and applause. Hope this movie comes out on DVD quick... it's a treasure.