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Reviews
September Affair (1950)
So so romantic non-thriller
This was an okay romance...not a great one by any means. The main characters were such selfish and cowardly people, it was hard to like them. They thought of no one but themselves!
It was obvious the tourist board of Italy had a big hand in the funding of this movie, as the first half is mostly the main characters gadding about various tourist locales, complete with educational narration.
The movie is also peppered with stereotypes of Italians, depicted as loud, fat, and annoying ( except for the children, who are merely loud and annoying). There is an especially awful scene where some Italian children sing off key for what seems like an eternity.
It's not all bad - the story is somewhat interesting, and the supporting characters you can feel some sympathy for their situation. It's worth watching, but not as a thriller, just a "pass the time" romance.
The Yellow Wallpaper (2012)
Awful!
I just can't understand why everyone loves this movie! The acting was comically wooden, with the exception of the sister and the psychic. My husband gave up on it after 15 very painfully slow minutes, but I persevered with it. The story by the the way has NOTHING to do with the short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" other than a reference to the "rest cure" and place of women in Victorian society. And as mentioned by another reviewer, the main character is named Charlotte, a reference to Charlotte Gilbert, who wrote the short story. Oh, and there's an attic room with yellow wallpaper that the wife sometimes retreats to, but it's existence is Pretty arbitrary. THe plot was very broken up, and half the scenes take place in very dark rooms, making it difficult to see what was going on. The ending was a bit of whatever as well - it didn't seem to match the rest of the movie. it was an interesting premise, too bad it just didn't seem to flow. This could have been a good movie if: 1. They didn't call it The Yellow Wallpaper. False advertising! Why not give it it's own name? 2. The plot had some kind of flow to it, 3. better acting! Especially the male lead, who gave the most wooden performance I have EVER seen. Sadly, these elements were not there, making this clunker a discombobulated boring mess.
Dream House (2010)
A surprise, not bad at all
I rented this movie thinking it was a run of th mill "spooky little evil kids in a haunted house" affair, but got a pleasant surprise, as it turned out to be a real thriller. other reviewers are right - the marketing on this one was really off. i'm impressed that this movie had me thinking all the way through. It does get confusing about 3/4 the way through,but try to keep up, as it does come together nicely in the end. the acting is excellent, very solid performances. Daniel Craig can go from "good looking suburban hubby" to "creepy nutcase" with ease. One thing that really grated on me was the wife's grating voice,; every time she screamed or even raised her voice, it was like nails on chalkboard. I was very impressed with the children's acting, especially the older one. all in all, a good solid thriller, well worth the $6 rental fee.
The Spell (1977)
Below average 1970s teen horror
I was pretty sure what I was going to get when I decided to watch this on NetFlix, as I've seen most of the more successful 70s teen horror movies, and as I hadn't even heard of this one, it didn't bode too well. However, i do enjoy movies that are "so bad they're good" and thought perhaps The Spell would fall into this category. Firstly, the main character is supposed to be fat enough to be teased relentlessly about it - she's very slightly overweight. So this immediately made for a weak premise. People do get teased for being hopelessly nerdy - this would have been a far more believable scenario to get things rolling along. The family is well played - all very unlikable characters, shallow and annoying. I agree with one of the other reviewers - you will be rooting for them all to die under the hand of the "fat" teenager. (this movie is so bad I've forgotten the name of the main character already). Simply put, there wasn't enough drama, with the exception of the (SPOILER!) mom's friend's spontaneous combustion and the popular girl taking a tumble...if I had to describe this movie with one word, it would be "tepid". It's not totally unwatchable though - it reminds me a lot of an After School Special movie (those in the U.S. will know what I mean), albeit with some supernatural violence. If you love ugly 1970s fashion and annoying people, you might enjoy this movie. Otherwise watch Carrie or even Summer of Fear, instead.
Tilly Trotter (1999)
Watchable bodice-ripper of a romance
Tilly Trotter is the story of a Northumberland girl's struggle to survive. I read a synopsis that described it as a story about witchcraft, but this aspect is pretty weak throughout - although she is accused of witchcraft initially, and it is brought up from time to time, it's hardly the focus of this series.
The focus is Romance with capital "R" - Tilly is beset with both peasant and gentleman attention from the get-go. Literal bodice-ripping scenes, and plenty of ravishing going on. At about part three it gets a little much, as even the children she watches fight over "who gets to marry her". I suppose this sort of thing does happen to the very good-looking...
I did enjoy the story, and found Tilly's character to be very likable; the acting in the series was great. This can make a huge difference in a period romance.
One very unrealistic part (SPOILER!): when Tilly's grandma's house is burned down, the grandma was in it. When Tilly rushes to the house, it is already completely burnt to the ground, with just the chimney and a few sticks remaining. However, the grandma is lying on the ground, not even her shawl is singed! Did the grandma get magically transported out of the window while the house burned? Not like I need to see a burnt body, but showing her completely untouched on the ground was a little bit unbelievable.
In all, if you love period romances, this is a fine one - not quite BBC caliber, but very watchable and definitely will satisfy the romance seekers out there!
A Woman Possessed (1958)
Worth watching, but the ending!?!
For most of this film, it's a gripping tale of a jealous mother-in-law who seems bent on getting rid of her daughter-in-law - permanently. A young doctor comes home with a surprise for his mother - his new fiancée, Ann. Mother is less than pleased - John is all she lives for, and sees Ann as an intruder, someone who will take John away from her. Ann has a weak heart, and has two during the course of the movie. The mother hatches a number of devious schemes taking advantage of this, which lead up to the final scene in the movie. And this is where a good film fails miserably- (MAJOR SPOILER!) - as the mother is accused of trying to kill Ann by giving her sleeping pills instead of heart pills, the housekeeper jumps up and tells everyone that she deliberately switched the pills, because SHE didn't want John to go away. Mother is off the hook, and it's all (very unconvincingly) happily ever after for all. The housekeeper did rant on earlier about how she felt, but come on! Twist endings can be great, but this one is just way too abrupt, and everyone's happy way too quick. despite the dreadful ending, this Is worth seeing, as the acting is very good, and the story very entertaining. Great fashion and backdrops are another plus. I'm giving it a seven because of these factors - shame about that ending, it could have been at least a nine!
The Age of Innocence (1993)
no chemistry!
I was prepared to love this movie, as I'm a big fan of Edith Wharton. however, I found it to be lacking, most notably in the scenes with Daniel Day-Lewis, who played the leading man with all the aplomb of a cardboard cut out. Michelle Pfeiffer was great, as was the rest of the cast. The visuals in the film were also wonderful, not a detail was spared. But this was not enough to make up for the lack of chemistry between Pfeiffer and Lewis, which made the "lost love" theme fall flat. I also really disliked the voice over - the narrator had an overly sweet intonation most of the time, which I found distracting and grating. I'm very surprised everyone loved it. I've watched many a period romance,and this one is at the bottom of the heap.
Paris Follies of 1956 (1955)
Just fabulous!
I can't believe the two bad reviews on this site for this movie - I loved it! The title I watched it under was "Fresh from Paris", it's alter ate title evidentially. The plot is indeed pretty thin, almost non-existent really, but that's not why you'd watch this - it's great because of the fantastic dance numbers, and the sometimes hilarious singing numbers. (I'm referring to the funny act by the four male singers, it made me laugh aloud). Loads of gorgeous costumes too, a real visual treat through and through.There are quite a few modern day burlesque girls who could learn something from watching "Fresh from Paris".
I enjoyed this film so much I will be buying it on DVD (if available). Don't miss this if you love good old-fashioned entertainment!