rscowboy2005 Reviews

My Week with Marilyn (2011)

Michelle Williams nails it.

[10/10 · 26 December 2011]

No, I don't know if she reincarnated the original Marilyn because I didn't know her.

After this film, I know her a lot better, thanks to Ms. Williams.

I first fell for Ms. Williams in "Wendy and Lucy" (filmed right in my neighborhood) when she inhabited every single scene (and the camera rarely left her expressive face). They say there are over 256 muscles that control the face. Ms. Williams has the best-trained facial muscles of any woman acting. It is the close-ups that we learn so much about Marilyn.

Oh, yes, there is also a wonderful full-body portrayal (best 30 seconds of transformation -- as the couple walks in public, Marilyn is recognized and she turns to Colin asking, "Do you want me to be her?" She instantly becomes what the public looked for and seconds later has the crowd adoring her.

Speech in all aspects is wonderful, but also the delivery. "I never kissed a younger man before." Followed in the blink of an eye with the softer, "There's a lot of older men in Hollywood.".

Almost a throw-away line, but delivered with the most naked form of vulnerability.

So. As for the rest of the film. Colin's role started weakly; really too much exposition in his early character development, but that's probably the fault of the writers. The rest of the ensemble were spot-on.

But really, this film sparkled and shone the way it did, and left me with a smile of a wry sort and better understanding of a woman who was the sex symbol of a generation, but was quite a bit more, thanks to Ms. Williams.

PS: Rent "Wendy and Lucy". Really.

The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (2011)

Clever concept; middling to fair execution.

[6/10 · 30 April 2011]

Let's see. If it's a $1.5 million film and after the title, $25,000.00 is the smallest player level, at most there should have been 20 other partners, but it seemed like hundreds.

Perhaps that was the intent, but the film's unsteady follows and quick-cuts intensified the effect and left my head whirling.

Fewer scenes, cut 20 minutes from the length and it might be in a class with Supersize Me. I'm disappointed that he trotted out Ralph Nader (or maybe Ralph is a "partner" and paid to be in the film) as some counterweight to what is right before our eyes. The 2 professors got what? 13 seconds? Where are the concrete steps viewers can take?

Love, Lust & Lies (2010)

Reality... with honesty over 30+ years

[8/10 · 12 March 2011]

True,the film doesn't really engage until you are 55% into it, but then, like the tumblers to the key, you cannot turn away.

Criticism? My wife (for whom English is her second language) asked for subtitles for the first film. It was difficult for me to follow and subtitles would have let me focus on the visual and fill in the blanks where I could not understand.

I cannot sing enough praises for Gillian Armstrong who had the foresight to structure the series from the second chapter (age 18) to most recent (age 47). She secured an agreement of honesty from them and then told their stories with grace.

A season's worth of TV reality shows does not have the kind of heart these stories do and you'll smile for days.

Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us? (2010)

The world's end will not be big and violent...

[8/10 · 18 September 2010]

It seems anymore that I prefer documentaries more and more. You can walk away with something to chew on and think about.

The film opens with a topless woman wearing a swarm of honey-bees weaving in a trance-like state. The camera circles her and then cuts to a single honey-bee crawling on a sunflower.

The film updates the story of honey-bees from wonderful world of Disney to today's crisis where hives have been dying off in staggering numbers.

Without honey-bees, most of the fruits, flowers and foods we love go without pollination and do not reproduce. It seems as though only New Zealand has avoided the mass bee die-off.

The film balances good information about the crisis with individual stories and people who make us smile, but move the story along.

No 3D. No FX. Just an important story well-told that will be remembered the next time you see a honey-bee.

Other than encouraging more urban bee-keepers (the film ends with a small bit about the repeal of NYC's ban on urban bee-keeping which seemed tacked-on), the film doesn't give the average viewer much hope or many suggestions for personal action. I mean, I don't think I'l be asking if the queen bee of the hive from which the farmer extracted the honey for sale was naturally de-flowered (which is nicely rendered in a simple animation) or was inseminated with the semen of just one drone.

Good for all ages.