Women synchronizing knee lifting, 1930’s
Saturday, January 21, 2017
First Lines: Jon Krakauer - Into Thin Air
Straddling the top of the world, one foot in China and the other in Nepal, I cleared the ice from my oxygen mask, hunched a shoulder against the wind, and stared absently down at the vastness of Tibet.
Smart People (2008)
Into the life of a widowed professor comes a new love and an unexpected visit from his adopted brother.
Mildly entertaining and well played, but unspectacular story with a simple message: smart people don't have it easy, too.
Halliwell**1/2: "Bittersweet comedy-drama isn't uninteresting but the script feels undernourished."
Friday, January 20, 2017
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012)
A childless couple bury a box in their backyard, containing all of their
wishes for an infant, and soon, a child is born, though Timothy Green is
not all that he appears.
Sappy fairy-tale-like story is nicely done, but without focus, and the nannying parents are a bit unnerving.
Maltin**: "Well-intentioned fable from the Disney studio is played with conviction by the leading actors, but every time the film shifts focus to a supporting character or subplot it sputters. Too bad."
Loulou (1980)
When a middle-class Parisian housewife, married to possessive husband, meets street thug Loulou , her middle-class respectability is thrown out the window and she leaves her husband for Loulou.
This movie offers two brilliant lead performances and works as an in-depth milieu study, but the plot meanders without a clear focus.
Halliwell (no star): "Curious but not particularly interesting character study, watchable mainly for its detail."
Maltin***1/2: "Two leads have terrific sexual rapport in dynamic star vehicle."
Monday, January 16, 2017
Lovelace (2013)
The story of Linda Lovelace, who is used and abused by the porn industry at the behest of her coercive husband, before taking control of her life.
Despite good production and some excellent performances this attempt of depicting the actual tragedy falls short on offering any depth to the story.
Maltin***: "Absorbing biopic...Evocative performances and first-rate period atmosphere help make this credible - except, perhaps, for a brief, artificial portrayal of Hugh Hefner by Franco."
Avatar (2009)
A paraplegic marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.
Spellbinding ecological science fiction with great visuals and a simplistic message.
On renewed viewing: great to warch, but the White Saviour plot is still disconcerting.
Maltin***: "Innovative, futuristic fable, set in a rich computer-generated environment and populated with strikingly designed creatures...Thrilling at times, with a cornucopia of wonders to behold. Cameron's parable about imperialism too often resorts to B-movies cliches and goes on too all long, but the visual experience trumps most of its flaws."