triangulate's Reviews

Babes on Broadway (1941)

8/10

11 December 2007

This movie has great singing and dancing by Judy, Mickey, and their friends.

Actually, my favorite number is "Waiting For The Robert E. Lee"--one of those bouncy tunes with a rhythm that Judy makes so infectious you're bobbing your head as she sings.

But that number is part of the minstrel show at the end, and I had to stop and think about whether it really spoiled the movie, or not.

Personally, I think Mickey's blackface routine was somewhat racist and Judy's wasn't. Judy does not seem to engage in a caricature when she does her minstrel numbers. Her eyes are wide open when she sings FDR Jones, sure--but Busby Berkeley made her open her eyes wide all the time; that was one of her complaints about him. And the content/lyrics of "FDR Jones" is good-natured.

At any rate, this minstrel show isn't as racist as, say, Fred Astaire's "With a Shine On Your Shoes" number from Easter Parade. Or some of the scenes from "Birth of a Nation," as far as that goes.

All in all, it's a great Mickey/Judy musical. I give it an 8.5

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The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)

9/10

Moves You in a Totally Different Way

4 July 2005

Warning: Spoilers

A few weeks ago I decided to drive from San Diego to Michigan because my cat had died and I was depressed. On the road I listened to several books on CD, one of which was "The Unbearable Lightness of Being." The book intrigued me, partly because near the end, like me, Tomas and Tereza had to deal with a dying pet, but also because it dealt with big themes like love, sex and loyalty in a very unusual way. Along the way, almost incidentally, it shows you what life and politics were like in Czechoslovakia's "spring," before and after the Soviets moved forcibly back in the tanks.

So when I got back to San Diego one of the first things I did was rent the DVD of the movie. And I wasn't disappointed. First off, I think the movie is as faithful to a book as a movie could or should be, remembering that we're dealing with two different types of media. In the commentary on the CD, for example, the screenwriter explains they decided to leave out scenes with Tereza's mother because they realized that Juliette Binoche was communicating that part of the story merely by the way she (brilliantly) portrayed the character of Tereza.

Kundera's themes of lightness, heaviness, and repetition are very deep; I don't pretend to understand them completely. For me, it's enough that they intrigue, and the movie does them justice.

The acting of all the principals is astounding. I never had seen Lena Olin before, and I appreciated Juliette Binoche and Daniel Day Lewis more than ever.

And as much as I liked listening to the CD of the book, it did not make me cry at the end.

But the movie did.

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The Bourne Supremacy (2004)

8/10

Thrilling, satisfying...logical

1 September 2004

I had a great time watching Supremacy. I wasn't planning to write a comment for it but all these other whiners made me afraid people were going to get the wrong idea.

This is one of the most well-paced action movies I have ever seen, and the best part is that it all made sense at the end. Usually with this type of suspense/spy movie I'm all "...WAIT A MINUTE!.." when I'm walking out, but with this one, although there were a lot of surprises, all the pieces seemed to fit cleverly together.

Acting by all the principals was excellent, especially the CIA (or whatever clandestine agency it was) operatives. It's interesting to see Matt Damon carry a movie without a specific love interest.

All in all, a very satisfying two hours.

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The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

7/10

Good, but....

29 August 2004

I know that other people's votes shouldn't influence mine, either way--but geez, No.2 of all time? What are the IMDb demographics that create that overblown result?

I thought this was a very entertaining movie, somewhere around 8 points. But the script is kind of sugary and the characters lack the subtlety you would expect in a truly great drama. The ending reminded me of The Great Escape.

There are several good performances that aren't quite able to shake loose the limitations of the script and become stirring.

Cute, but not the greatest prison drama ever. I think there must be a lot of teenagers voting on IMDb.

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The Wizard of Oz (1939)

10/10

Emblazoned on the national psyche

29 August 2004

While some say this movie does not measure up to the masterpieces of Bulgarian cinema, the Wizard of Oz is a timeless classic, a miraculous rendering of the only authentic American fairy tale.

The script. It lives in our culture, woven into the fabric of our thoughts and conversations. "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." "Are you a good witch or a bad witch?" "Just click your heels three times and say, 'There's no place like home.'" "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain." "Surrender Dorothy." "I'm melting, melting!"

The music. Songs people hum every day. "Over the Rainbow," "We're off to see the wizard," "Follow the yellow brick road."

What other movie has even come close to engraving itself that way into our consciousness? (Casablanca and Gone With The Wind only have a couple quotes each that we remember, not even considering the songs.)

The stars. The best work of each actor. The cornerstone of the iconic reputation of the greatest cinematic voice ever. Judy, Judy, Judy.

There have been books written about the production of this movie, but in the end we just have to be grateful that somehow, despite multiple directors and cast changes and hair changes, it all came together in this incredible flick. It just happened.

Thank you, 1939!

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For a Lost Soldier (1992)

10/10

Beautiful because it makes no statements.

5 January 2003

I was happy that I was able to see this movie. I was very moved by it, by the truth of the way the relationship between the boy and the man was shown. I was also happy to see it on the IMDb, and know that Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, etc., had not been able to get all the tapes burned.

The wonderful thing about the movie is that it avoids judgment-- negative or positive--about the relationship. The relationship happened. The people involved were not bad. And yet, the fact that the boy never got over the love of that man suggests the inherent inbalance in that type of relationship. Do you think the soldier went through the rest of his life trying to find the boy?

At any rate, these are just my questions. The movie is innocent, and does not make judgments, ask questions, or give answers, as befits a beautiful work of art. This movie needed to be made.

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Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

9/10

Good movie got a bad rap.

24 December 2002

Warning: Spoilers

I went to see "Nemesis" today. I glanced at the reviews first, and then saw past them, if you will, and decided I would probably like the movie. I wasn't disappointed. "Nemesis" has the classic Star Trek plot within a plot: a Picard double, a Data double, both raising issues of "realness."

Afterwards, I returned to read the reviews more carefully, now not fearing spoilers. Geez... One reviewer thought Picard's clone should have had Picard's accent; well, it doesn't take too much science to realize that accents aren't genetic. If the clone had talked like Picard, that same reviewer probably would have objected!

And then Roger Ebert didn't think starships should shake when they are hit, and was bothered by wires hanging around after a big explosion. I think he's been watching too much Harry Potter.

This is an entertaining movie, regardless of your Trekkie generation. The characters play nicely against each other, and the plot moves along quickly. Additionally, "Nemesis" has one very, very outstanding feature: the plot does not rely on the overused gimmick of time travel!

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The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

10/10

Get Over Textual "Inaccuracies"!

20 December 2002

This installment of the trilogy is a greater achievement than the first because it was so much harder to do. It's the middle of a story, and I don't think we have another film to compare it to. The fact that most viewers accept where it "starts" and where it "ends" is just amazing. I have read the trilogy several times, and I have to point out to those who quibble about the departures from the text that "The Wizard of Oz" takes infinitely greater liberties with its text, and who mentions that as a flaw in the movie? The movie works, Jackson's a genius, and hopefully by spring 2004 the academy will have figured out some way to honor this unprecedented piece of moviemaking.

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The Warriors (1979)

9/10

"Warriors, come out and play-ay!"

8 May 2002

I became familiar with this movie on a video tape in the early 80's when I taught English in a continuation high school. My collection of drug-abusing and law-breaking truants were enthralled by it, and soon I was also. This movie is great beyond conventional standards. On a fantasy level, it's sort of like the Wizard of Oz, in that you realize the world they're presenting is fake, the effects aren't anything to boast about, and yet the amazing story line, conveyed by acting that is merely sufficient (unlike the Wizard of Oz), totally suspends your disbelief. And then you are in the movie, identifying with the Warriors, and worried about every ragtag, ridiculously costumed "gang" that threatens them on their journey home. "Warriors, come out and play-ay!"

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