ghlist7876 Reviews

Chappaquiddick (2017)

Curran, Allen, and Logan got it right

[10/10 · 12 August 2018]

I was really looking forward to this movie after having read Leo Damore's landmark book Senatorial Privilege. Damore's book was landmark because Joe Gargan talked to him directly about the events surrounding that fatal evening. Ed Helms did a great job portraying Gargan in the movie. A surprising and welcome shift away from the usual clownish adult characters he has played in the past. As the "New Frontiersmen" planned the media cover-up at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis; Clancy Brown excelling here in his portrayal of the acerbic Robert McNamara; Gargan was shoved aside as the foolish cousin who got involved early and nearly destroyed Kennedy's career. In truth, this is Gargan's story as he personally and professionally paid the price for Kennedy whom he had pressured to deal immediately with the tragedy and to respectfully 'do the right thing'. Kennedy did not do the right thing. This is evident watching old Joe's dealing with the weak willed Teddie in the wake of events. Bruce Dern couldn't have been any better as the amoral and degenerate Joe Kennedy. So much power with so few spoken words. This insight into the Kennedy compound discussions and an account of the time spent between Teddie and Mary Jo after leaving the cottage and prior to the accident are the two threads that make this such a great movie. Damore did not postulate on what might have happened in either of those locations or time spans in his book. He reported facts and left it to the reader to decide what happened. The known facts were that both Kennedy and Mary Jo had been drinking; a lot. They had left the cottage to supposedly go to the ferry but Mary Jo did not take her purse. Over an hour later, Huck Look had seen the dark sedan on Cemetery Rd backup then speed off down Dyke Rd at an unusually high speed. Huck Look was an unimpeachable witness and recalled most of the license plate. Kennedy took Gargan and Marham back to the scene of the accident, then, giving up the attempted rescue, made it back to Edgartown in the wee hours of the morning. He then did nothing other than fiddle around town (and sober up) before Gargan and Markham showed up in the morning and demanded again that he report the accident. What Kennedy never revealed publicly is what Director John Curran focused on in his movie. First, what happened in that 'lost' hour and a half right before the accident, and secondly, what exactly was said and done in the compound in the weeks immediately following the accident. I believe Curran, Allen, and Logan got it right. I think they understand what was going on inside Kennedy's mind and at the compound. Other noteworthy performances are Olivia Thirlby as Rachel, the thinly veiled stage name for Esther Newberg, and Kate Mara as the unfortunate and pensive Mary Jo. The top performance is that of Jason Clarke. Physically he could be Teddy Kennedy in both looks and spoken accent. But it was in those moments when he was on the phone, or in the bath, or strutting down the streets of Edgartown that made his portrayal so important. You really got a sense of the mental torture that Kennedy was enduring. As a footnote, Damore's life was ruined by publishing his book and he committed suicide a broken man.

Cosmic Slop (1994 TV Movie)

The functional word is "slop"

[1/10 · 9 March 2012]

I watched this movie on breitbart.TV's bighollywood site after Derrick Bell's story hit the news. I can't imagine how anyone could imagine a bigger bucket of racist hogwash in my entire life. Shame on HBO for financing and producing this clichéd piece of filth. Start to finish, this movie plays out one racist stereotype of Caucasians after another. The coup de gras is a bunch of white men sitting around a walnut paneled room in leather wingbacks chomping on cigars wondering how much business they'll lose selling afro-centric goods to blacks after they trade them all away to aliens in exchange for vacuum cleaners that suck all the dirty water out of Lake Michigan. Not. Kidding. It's unbelievable to think that the guy that wrote this piece of dogmatic nonsense was once a Harvard Professor. Yes, you read that right. A Harvard Professor, and apparently a mentor to President Obama, wrote this incredibly racist anti-white and anti-Jew diatribe. Here's one of the "witty" jokes from the film; "The American dream is all blacks swimming back to Africa with a Jew under each arm." Again... Not. Kidding. If you want know the plot, all you do is take the Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man", substitute a Max Headroom version of Ronald Reagan in place of Richard Kiel as the evil Alien, and then, only blacks are forced on the spaceships to the alien sausage factory... "It's a cookbook for blacks, Robert Guillaume, don't get on that spaceship!" Just sickening.

Ghost Rider (2007)

Could someone please tell me what the point of this movie is?

[1/10 · 6 March 2011]

Bad CG, bad acting, a plot line that just doesn't seem to exist, characters that are uninspiring out of the box. Why? WHY? I just wasted two hours of my life and I want it back. Spoiler- "Look into my eyes, LOOK INTO MY EYES !!" Well I did look into your butane lighter CG eyes and they are stupid. Can someone please let the Devil out of the Cage? Every time Nicolas Cage gave that soulful, ponderous, wrinkled brow look, I just wanted to hurl. BTW - Who was the Ghost at the end (Fonda) supposed to be? By the time I saw him I was ready to immolate myself with gasoline. And after being taken over by the Devil, Cage finishes with a kiss at sunset and Sam Elliot posts a final voice overlay in his typical "I'm the Marlboro Man" style. Ohh, gulp. I just vomited in my mouth again.

Black Swan (2010)

Amazing movie. Can't stop thinking about it, even after a few days.

[10/10 · 16 January 2011]

As I was walking out of the theater, I just kept thinking of Hillary Swank's performance in Million Dollar Baby. Can Portman be denied the Oscar for Best Actress? Cassel certainly deserves a shot at Best Supporting Actor as well, and Aronofsky for Best Director. Hard to think of anything that wasn't first rate anywhere in the performances, writing, directing, or scene design. I was struck by how seasoned Mila Kunis has become since enjoying her breakthrough role in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. She is likely to have some pretty solid scripts coming her way after this knockout performance in Swan, and I expect she will soon find herself among the highest paid women actresses. Kudos to Barbara Hershey for turning in a strong character performance as a woman fifteen years younger than her present age; always helps to have an attractive and skilled expert play the key role as the manipulative Mother, and I loved seeing her in this role.

The Town (2010)

Best movie of 2010? I think rather far from it.

[4/10 · 27 December 2010]

I was expecting a lot more from this film than it delivered. What I liked were the supporting cast performances, chiefly Jeremy Renner's performance as the "like a brother", who will not be going back to Walpole any time soon. Next in line were the stellar performances of Blake Lively, Chris Cooper, Pete Postlethwaite, and a surprisingly good showing from Albert Magloan, as the curiously happy driver. Jon Hamm played a very stiff and believable FBI agent. What I could have done without, was the writer and star of the movie, Ben Affleck. I found his character malformed, uninteresting and his portrayal uninspired and lackluster. He dragged through this movie like an anchor in soft sand during choppy surf. About the time I started praying that he was going to be blown into a million bits of shredded and unneeded flesh, I checked my watch and saw that I still had another forty five minutes to go. Oh No! Affleck was so bad that it ruined the performance of Rebecca Hall, who might very well be a good actress, but we certainly weren't given the opportunity to find out in this film. Further, Affleck's ego is so overblown that he couldn't just let his character die in a blaze of gunfire the way he should have. Oh no, he had to escape to a southern bayou with a half a sack full of cash, so I'm sure there will be a "The Town II" coming to a theatre near you soon. Now consider this plot line disaster for a moment. Every cop in the city is looking for this guy because he just shot up a bunch of policemen, so the Boston PD sends men to Logan and Bradley airports (Bradley is over an hour and a half away) to wait for him, but they forget to send even one patrolman to South Street Station, the only place where one can board the Amtrak out of 'The Town'? It's hard to believe that Affleck would even try to pull that obvious plot flaw over on anyone, because South Street Station is exactly where any reasonably sane law enforcement professional would begin looking for a fleeing suspect. No one can escape by air anymore, this isn't the 70's, and you can't waltz onto an airplane carrying half a sack full of cash and an AR-15. Even the Boston PD would probably agree that you can't get most firearms past the TSA, thus to leave 'The Town', extended rail or car would have been the only options for a fleeing suspect. I was ready to shoot myself by this point. If there is one thing that they "got right" in this movie, it was when a cop on 'construction detail' plainly saw the robbers dressed as nuns and just looked the other way. However, that brings up another great plot flaw… did that cop not have his police radio on? Was he not listening to all the chatter on the radio that there was an armored car heist, huge gunfight, and police chase going on right on the other side of the river and that the fleeing criminals were crossing the Charlestown bridge and coming right down his throat? Simply unbelievable, due to all the plot flaws.

Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death (1989)

Was this called something else at the time of it's release (?)

[2/10 · 4 April 2010]

I recall seeing a Bill Maher movie sometimes in the 80's that I though was titled "CHARACTER NAME in the Land of the Yum Yums". It was one of the worst movies I've ever seen, but throughout the movie, all the female characters started showing up topless, until by the end ALL the women in the movie were topless. And there were dozens of them. The film was like a knock-off Russ Meyers movie. It was as though the Director knew he had a stinker on his hands and thought he could partially save it by ordering every woman to remove her shirt as filming ensued. Bill Maher was in the movie, being as foul mouthed and ignorant as ever, perhaps a portent of things to come in his career. So I'm giving this movie two stars just because of the vast wealth of hooter shots in the movie. Watch it with the sound off. Then you don't have to listen to that obnoxious buffoon Maher and you can see all the "Big Hair & Breasts".

The Passion of the Christ (2004)

Sorry Folks, that's the way it really was, like it or not.

[10/10 · 4 April 2010]

After reading a bunch of reviews, I'm struck by how many people hate Mel Gibson, and how many people hate Christians. It seems like one feeds the other. This is not a story about Jesus's teachings, nor his life, and it wasn't meant to be. It's the story of him sacrificing his life for the sins of man. There were many people who witnessed the event and lived to tell the tale. It is fact, whether you like it or not. It is horrid, because that's the way it was at the time. If it makes you feel uncomfortable, it should. This guy died so you can do whatever you want and have him take the blame for it. I know that many Jews are extremely upset that Caiphus was portrayed the way he was, and have made it their vendetta to get Mel Gibson at any cost. The NY Times published an article written by Frank Rich about Jew baiting BEFORE the film was released. The Hollywood elite have plagued Gibson ever since. I think that there is a lesson here for everyone, including Frank Rich and the secular Hollywood elitists, that forgiveness is the solution, not revenge. The rest of you folks can go back to watching Bill Maher's "Religious".

Five Corners (1987)

Worth searching for in the bargain bin

[9/10 · 7 August 2008]

I am a big fan of John Turturro after seeing him in all the Coen Bros movies. When I had a chance to catch this movie, I was blown away by the great performances. Particularly Turturro's as the neighborhood psycho. If you are the kind of person that can sit down and watch an old "Playhouse 90" episode and marvel at how great the talent was, and what those stars have become over the years, then Five Corners is a "must see". The movie was set in the 60's, so nothing seems dated by todays terms. The cinematography was good at the time it was filmed, although I'm sure the camera angles and lighting would be a little different if it was filmed today. If I find it in the bargain bin, I'll own it.

The Departed (2006)

Not a bad performance in the bunch.

[10/10 · 14 February 2007]

Can we give Scorsese the Oscar NOW PLEASE? The best scene has to be the one where Nicholson grills DiCaprio in the bar after starting off with "I smell a rat". It's the greatest butt puckering movie moment since Pesci's "funny like I'm a clown, I amuse you?" Oh yeah, that was Scorcese's, too. After disliking Matt Damon's performances in every movie since "Good Will Hunting", I have to say that he did a great job here, particularly on the long pauses before dialogue. It was those shots where you can watch people calculating things in their minds that makes this movie truly powerful. Mark Wahlberg stole the show every time the camera was one him. Even the old war horses Sheen and Baldwin were believable as too tough cops. Kristen Dalton was perfect as the gangster gal, how come we haven't seen more of this beauty in other 'A' films? I have to get the DVD.

No Time for Love (1943)

It stayed with me all these years

[8/10 · 25 July 2006]

This is a corny love story, no doubt about it. Colbert was at her prime, and MacMurray was on the way up. She was shapely, witty and ravishing as the Uptown NYC reporter, and he was sweat-laden, resolute and brawny in the mud somewhere below the Hudson. I saw it about thirty five years ago, and somehow it has stuck with me all these years. Now that I live in Massachusetts, where the taxpayer has just poured $16BN into a death hole below Boston, I just wish that old' Fred was still kicking so he could jump down in that glory hole and make it all right. Claudette could put the ink out on all the shady contractors and corrupt politicians. How come life isn't more like the movies?

Team America: World Police (2004)

Anti-politically correct

[10/10 · 7 November 2004]

I've read a lot of reviews from the "big paper" critics on this movie, and it seems like no one gets it right. It is not "pro-Bush" or "pro-war", but the same critics who rave about Fahrenheit 911 seem to have a real problem with this movie. This movie takes all the politically correct psycho-babble and wacky misinformation that the elitist tele-boobs and entertainment idiots treat as gospel, and puts it all on a spit for roasting. It is drop-dead funny, and I could not stop laughing all the way through. If you are one of these "one-world", peace, love, join-arms-and-sing bleeding heart liberals (or is that progressives?) you will not like this movie, and should avoid it at all costs. However, if you would like to take all those "one world" buffoons and put them on the next boat out of here, then this is the flick for you. A+ stuff all the way through.

Supercar (1961–1962)

48 Years old and remember Supercar like it was yesterday.

[20 October 2004]

Maybe you got here after seeing "Team America" and couldn't help but trace the geneology of these puppets back to their earliest roots. As for me, I recall sitting on my living room floor at age 7 watching this on WPIX TV (New York) in total fascination. My parents looked down at me and asked; "Why do you watch this garbage? Turn it off". I couldn't, I was transfixed. I didn't care if they couldn't walk right, talk right, or that you could see the strings as plain as day. I was hooked. The Supercar looked like a deluxe Monogram kit with a sparkler stuck in the back. Thank you Trey and Matt for bringing em' back alive. Well, maybe not alive, but at least kickin'. I haven't laughed like that in years. Hans Brick - Oh No!

Adaptation. (2002)

Whuh?

[30 November 2003]

How could Jonze make a brilliant film like "Being John Malkovich", then sign on to direct this lunatic sideshow? He must have mistakenly thought that Kaufman can write better substance than he came up with for "Adaptation". If I want to listen to a whiny, sweaty, balding, Hollywood neurotic, I'll tune into "Curb Your Enthusiasm", as it will at least bring a belly laugh with it.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

What not to expect

[14 July 2003]

Let's face it, any movie based on an amusement park ride that people only go on to get out of the blistering heat is not going to be as deep as Citizen Kane. Do not bother with the holes in the plotline, as there are more of those than a trainload of Swiss cheese, but rather focus on the fact that the digital engineers at Disney were able to study the Errol Flynn movies and recreate them using the latest in imaging techniques. The result is a mindbending display of scenery and swordfights all acted out with a cast of quality performers, who seem to be plucked right from the pages of what we perceive to be accurate history. It plays right to the imagination, and I loved it. Johnny Depp steals the show as the swishbuckling androgenous pirate, and the supporting cast was selected with an eye on keeping the right mix of wisdom, youth, characterization, and sex appeal. Especially loved the scene of the drunken revelers on the island of Tortuga, as it was a living snapshot of the theme park ride.

Mulholland Drive (2001)

It's not that hard to understand people.

[30 July 2002]

---Spoilers Abound---- This is a movie about what writers and directors go through when they are practicing their craft. They create characters with backgrounds, they have props, they have scenes, they experiment with plot lines, and they use them in different combinations to see what works. Sometimes things don't work so well, so they have to tinker with the formula. Sometimes external forces, studio directors and such, pressure them to modify things. When did things in this movie change, after the girls went to Silencio? Listen to what the characters in Silencio are telling you, it's all just tape, nothing is live. And some events can escape control. And sometimes things have to be "undone". It's not that hard to figure out once you know the key. My only gripe with this movie is that there's no chapter index on the DVD. Oh well, I'll guess I'll just have to watch it all again from the start.