Saturday, November 26, 2016
Friday, November 25, 2016
Hot Spell (1958)
A housewife is doing her best to keep her family together as it's slowly falling apart, a fact she's trying to ignore.
White-knuckled family drama and tragedy almost overdoes it, but is saved thanks to the brilliant cast.
Halliwell*:
"Overwrought domestic drama slipping perilously close to farce at
times, but a good theatrical vehicle for its stars."
Maltin**: "Well-acted but dated drama...MacLaine shines as their daughter."
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Bend of the River (1952)
When a town boss confiscates homesteader's supplies after gold is discovered nearby, a tough cowboy risks his life to try and get it to them.
A standard Western adventure in near perfection: despite the hopscotch plot you get a great cast, lots of conflict and action, wonderful settings and landscapes, and the hero is redeemed in the end.
Halliwell*: "Good standard Western with pace and period feeling but not much plot sense."
Maltin***: "Compelling Western..."
Class (1983)
A young boy in private school spends one crazy night out, but soon realizes the woman he hooked up with is not who he expected.
Unashamed rip-off of The Graduate which only shows the pretensions but never delivers; the end result is just a misogynist and outdated campus comedy for male adolescents.
Halliwell (no star): "Ghastly travesty of The Graduate, which aspires to every kind of sophistication it can think of but ends nowhere."
Maltin**: "Slick but uneven mix of romance, comedy, and drama with one-dimensional characters and a lack of credibility. Some good moments lost in the shuffle."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)