rich56 Reviews

DC's Legends of Tomorrow: Meet the Legends (2020) Season 5, Episode 2

Full blown comedy now.

[3/10 · 22 January 2020]

You know I get that the show has leaned towards comedy the last couple of years, but this episode takes the cake. Everybody is an idiot now and there's no suspense within the story at all. I hear Brandon Routh is leaving which is sad because at least he knew how to play light without appearing idiotic. Oh well, I guess it still has its fans given the few 10 star reviews of this episode. Have fun you people still following this. I'm out.

Shazam! (2019)

Sorta fun but nothing special

[6/10 · 13 January 2020]

OK for starters I really knew nothing of the Shazam comics or the character at all so I went in with no expectations. It seemed to get fairly decent reviews so I was hopeful. First things first, it goes on way too long. This isn't Avengers Endgame here, hardly an epic tale. The setup seemed to take forever too, I kept thinking lets get on with it. So anyway, as the story played out it was all very predictable. Perhaps young kids get more out of this story of abandoned and abused kids than I do, an older male. That's ok i guess but for me I just saw one cliche after another. The suitably diverse cast is decent but nobody really excels i thought. When Zachary Levi finally appears as Shazam the story finally gets going. He's fun as the title hero and playing a 15 year old in a man's body he gets to overact all over the place. Think Tom Hanks in Big, but less subtle. The villain Mark Strong's motivations for being evil are sketchy. He's evil because he's well...evil. The big villain vs. superheroe(s) climax is well staged and everybody lives happily ever after. The final sight gag gave me the biggest laugh in the whole movie. So, it's a moderately entertaining film that kept me interested but is probably more appealing to teens or even preteens(who might not get all the jokes). They could have cut out about 20 minutes with no loss of narrative. Just have lowered expectations despite the plethora of 10 star reviews here.

Lost in Space (2018–2021)

Quite watchable

[8/10 · 13 April 2018]

Reading all the 1 and 2 star reviews I was kind of surprised since early critical reviews had been decent but you never know eh? Anyway I'm 2 episodes in and kind of enjoying it. Yes, I'm old enough to remember the old series and while I was a fan growing up the show is close to unwatchable now at least the last season and a half. The cries of 'political correctness' are here too and I'm not a fan of changing something just to satisfy whatever cultural norm is current. That said any changes they've done for LIS all work for me. The one thing I will say is that the show still has the kind of goofy charm of the original. This is no gloomy Battlestar Galactica reboot or Star Trek Discovery where everybody is fighting with each other and you don't like anybody in the cast. Bottom line is it is 'fun' in the way those mentioned shows aren't. The effects are OK and the acting is serviceable for the story. Like i said I'm only 2 episodes in and I say ignore the predictable haters and watch. I promise you it is worth your time if you like this kind of SF.

4 for Texas (1963)

A 60s comedy-western very much of its era

[5/10 · 8 November 2008]

I watched this recently as part of the Ultimate Rat Pack collection that I had purchased a while ago. I couldn't remember if I'd even seen it before although I grew up in the 60s when these flicks were on TV regularly. After viewing I realized why I couldn't remember it...it is singularly unmemorable, unlike Oceans 11 or Robin and the Seven Hoods featured in the same collection. It's a comedy-western that's not particularly funny or all that exciting. Frank and Dean breeze through this thing of course as only they can, mugging,joking almost winking at each other 'ain't we too much' during their scenes together. I'm assuming Robert Aldrich the director was merely there to corral the extras since neither of the main stars attempts to take any direction. This is not to say they are entirely un watchable but even for this kind of thing both have done better. Ursula Andress and Anita Ekberg look spectacular in various revealing outfits and Charles Bronson seems to be the only actor taking the whole thing seriously. The 3 Stooges show up and do a shtick that livens things up after the movie seems to slow to a crawl. Character actors Victor Buono(probably gives the best performance),Jack Elam,Richard Jaekel and a few other familiar faces round out the cast. The plot? Well, who cares really, you're watching this to see Frank and Dean do their thing and to some degree they do, but really it's all somewhat snooze inducing. The film of course is very much of its era when the Rat Pack ruled and smoking, drinking, gambling and womanizing were casually portrayed without any apologies. I do actually enjoy these kind of movies and have built up a collection on DVD over the last while that reflects my nostalgia for that time. I just wish this one was better.

Cabin Boy (1994)

God, I love this movie...

[8/10 · 9 January 2007]

No, not in the 'it's so bad it's good' way. I truly think it's one of the funnier comedies of the last 20 years or so. Perhaps a lot of it depends on how you feel about Chris Elliot to begin with. I think he's priceless. Used to love his old show Get A Life and have followed him ever since. The plot of this, kind of a twisted version of Captains Courageous, really doesn't matter. What's fun are the numerous sight gags, Elliot's constant barrage of sarcastic one-liners and the generally anything goes attitude of the whole enterprise. The ship's crew, filled with a number of character actors we're not used to seeing in this kind of thing, are a wonderfully sleazy bunch. David Letterman's hysterically amateurish cameo at the beginning is the stuff of legend. "Wanna buy a monkey?" Ha! OK Citizen Kane it ain't. I own that on DVD btw. Right next to it is Cabin Boy.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

40 years later it still fascinates

[10/10 · 9 January 2006]

I may have seen this movie more times than any other, and it still holds it's power every single time. I first saw it in theaters as a kid and remember sitting mesmerized by this story on screen. I think i saw it at least 2 or 3 more times in theaters over time and countless TV viewings before the home video age made it possible to view any time i wanted. It was my first DVD purchase after getting a player a few years back. It is interesting how it has become a critical favorite over that time. On its initial release critics(those that paid attention) sloughed it off as just another spaghetti western albeit with a bigger budget. Clint was not taken seriously as an actor, now of course he is an icon. Leone's stock has risen in that time as well, to the point that he is now often named as one of the all-time great directors, amazing for a man with such a small directing portfolio.

This movie had(has) everything. Wide vistas beautifully shot,Leone's amazing close-ups,wonderful black humour, artfully staged 'violence', pathos, all set to that memorable Morricone score. Eli Wallach chewed scenery better than anyone before or since. A truly memorable performance. And that long gunfight at the end must rank as one of the greatest scenes in ANY film ever made.

Anyone who has the newly remastered DVD should watch the movie with film critic Richard Schickel's commentary turned on for some interesting insights and behind the scenes info. Highly recommended.

On my all-time list, this sits at #1.

Town & Country (2001)

Not great but...

[6/10 · 7 July 2002]

Considering the deadly reviews this got and the long delay in its release i was expecting a real bomb. So I started watching it with a little trepidation. As it was I was pleasantly surprised. I laughed more during this movie than I have at a lot of other recent comedies. The cast was quite good. Beatty,Keaton,Hawn etc go through the paces like the pros they are. If ultimately it didn't add up to much well you could say that about every other movie released these days. I particularly enjoyed Charlton Heston as an overbearing father of a woman(Andie McDowell) who gets fixated with Beatty. I'd like to have been on the set listening to the conversations between the liberal Beatty and coservative Heston. I'm not sure what the delay in its release was all about but obviously something went wrong. I think Beatty basically disowned it. Still its a decent lightweight comedy. Doesn't wear out its welcome and provided a decent evening's entertainment. Something Scary Movie 2 and its ilk doesn't provide.Anyway it worked for me.

Chocolat (2000)

A nice light confection

[8/10 · 27 February 2001]

I enjoyed Chocolat for what it was. A nice light confection of a movie. Juliette Binoche is simply luminous as a young woman who arrives in a small French town(circa 1959) and proceeds to turn it upside down after setting up a chocolate shop,selling her wares with it's 'special ingredient' apparentley designed to loosen inhibitions. Almost immediately she attracts the attention of the mayor(wonderfully played by Alfred Molina), a man who takes his Christian vows very seriously and feels everyone else should too. What follows is a battle of wills between the two,with each side finding their allies. Judi Dench is brilliant,as usual, as an elderly woman estranged from her daughter and grandson, who befriends Binoche. Other townspeople,including an abused wife who takes up with her, also add great color to the film. Johnny Depp arrives halfway through the movie as a 'river rat' to also add to the mayor's consternation.

Much of this,of course, is a little predictable and the ending comes as no great surprise. Still I enjoyed it quite a lot while it was unfolding. Yes,perhaps it doesn't quite deserve all its Oscar nominations(you can blame or credit Miramax's marketing for that) but I'd still say if you love movies you'll like Chocolat. Like our heroine's delicious looking hot chocolate, it goes down easily.

Fantastic Voyage (1966)

Still fun but dates badly

[7/10 · 29 January 2001]

Caught this on TV the other day,after not having seen it for ages. Was surprised at how dated it had become. Despite being set in the 90s all the characters act like they're in the 60s. I remember being terribly impressed by this when I first saw it as a kid. To some degree the special effects still work,and the art direction and sets are still as garish as I remember. The cast with the exception of the wonderfully underrated Donald Pleasance is unexceptional. Rachel Welch became a star after this movie. She was kind of the Pamela Anderson of her day. She's actually improved over the years but here she's merely a sexy distraction. Can't speak for the scientific accuracy although even when it came out many felt it was laughable.(For instance why wouldn't the molecules of the ship return to normal size even though it had been absorbed ny the antibodies?) Still the movie is still fun to watch and for that I'd give it a solid 8/10.

What Lies Beneath (2000)

Best Hitchcock rip-off I've seen lately

[7/10 · 3 August 2000]

While What Lies Beneath isn't the best Hitchcock ripoff I've ever seen(Dressed To Kill would fill that bill) it's the best I've seen recently.So to people who harp on that...relax.I mean if you're going to ripoff somebody it might as well be the best.Zemeckis builds his suspense slowly,throwing in a couple of red herrings.Or are they?The movie does keep you guessing a little even if you think you've figured it out.Michelle Pfeiffer carries the movie with a believable performance considering we only get sketchy views of her character.Harrison Ford is okay in what seems to be a change of pace for him.The final twenty minutes we see him in a different kind of light than we've seen him before.Still considering his limited screen time in this it seems odd he accepted the part.It's really Pfeiffer's show.I have to agree with some critics and posters that a lot of the 'scares' in this are a bit obvious and telegraphed ,especially if you've seen enough of these kinds of films as I have.Still a couple of times they got me and that's what I pay admission price for.It's certainly a well made film.To his credit,Zemeckis films this fairly straight,without a lot of showoff effects and camerawork that other directors might have used(dePalma comes to mind).Only in the frenetic(and overly protracted)climax does the movie go over the top,stretching credibility almost to the breaking point.Still having said that I can still say I was breathless watching it.So yes you've seen it all before and it won't be on any oscar lists but I think if you sit back and go with it you'll be entertained.I'd give it a 7/10.

The Patriot (2000)

No classic but well done

[8/10 · 30 June 2000]

Mel Gibson's latest,The Patriot,is a generally engrossing well-mounted spectacle that falls a little short of being great but is still very good filmmaking.Filled with some spectacular battle scenes,brave heroes,snivelling villains,a little romance and a bit of cornball sentiment its the (near)perfect summer movie.Whether it's good history seems to be a matter of debate.Well,who cares?Gibson gives one of his best performances as a plantation owner whose family becomes caught up,against his best efforts,in the revolutionary war of 1776.The rest of the cast is equally good particularly Tom Wilkinson as Cornwallis and especially Jason Isaacs as Col. Tavington,possibly the most evil and sadistic character I've seen on screen for a long time.I wanterd to reach up on the screen and strangle him myself.Photography,score,sets,costumes are all topnotch as you'd expect for this kind of thing(considering the budget,they should be)If perhaps you're left feeling a bit manipulated,well so be it.It's a popcorn movie after all.Highly recommended.Rating?8/10.