joecesare Reviews

Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)

What an Overrated Movie

[5/10 · 17 April 2024]

Since this film has been around for a while, and I'd never seen it, being it's now 2024 I figured I'd check it out to see what the fuss was all about. First of all, Hepburn is too old for the part, which is that of someone supposed to be around nineteen. It's hard to root for this airheaded gold-digger semi-prostitute or whatever she is. Apparently getting a job has never occurred to her - why not get a sales job at your precious Tiffany's, Hol? Her insistence on calling Paul "Fred" was just one of her many annoying traits - actually everything about her is annoying, including her reasoning for not naming the cat. Actually, Paul was too good for this ditz.

Popi (1969)

Brilliant Acting, ridiculous premise, and Popi is Spelled Wrong

[6/10 · 8 November 2023]

First of all, what man wouldn't rather marry Rita Moreno and move to Brooklyn than live in the second-most unlivable, disgusting apartment in the history of cinema (the first being Ratzo's place in "Midnight Cowboy,") and that place was condemned? The guy is working three jobs; he can't afford better? He even says out loud that the neighborhood is a sewer. He somehow saves enough money for bus fare to Miami, paint for the boat he stole, and of course we never see even one other soul on the beach where they stay for a while. Also, once the true story got out, some version of child protective services would have locked this guy up for endangering the welfare of his children. If they wanted a better life, they certainly could have lived in Miami for a while. And one more thing - since when is "Papi" spelled with an "o"?

Jayne Mansfield's Car (2012)

Sorry, Billy Bob

[5/10 · 7 September 2023]

This could have been better, a LOT better in fact, instead of some sort of inferior Tennessee Williams work. First of all, does anyone know what the members of this family do or did for a living? We know that Jim's son-in-law owns Cadillac dealerships, but not really much else. It has an obligatory lighting / power outage scene where the fathers and sons vent at each other. Also, Bacon's character would have to be in his late thirties, but he's living like a twenty year old. The ending is absolutely terrible. What a waste of good acting. And it's too long. And apparently this review's too short because of a stupid rule. Some reviews don't need to be long.

Licorice Pizza (2021)

I Thought It Was About the Defunct Record Store

[5/10 · 7 July 2023]

This is Anderson's attempt at making a Cameron Crowe film and he's partially successful. After a masterwork like "Boogie Nights," he's entitled to a few stiffs and outright stinkers like the overrated "Punch-Drunk Love." There are too many unexplained moments in this movie. A kid too young to drive owns his own muscle car, or is it his mother's, which he lets his friend drive? What about his father - are his folks divorced? And 15 year olds always hang out in expensive restaurants, right? There is a truly awful scene that seems to last forever where the two characters are on the phone together but neither of them say anything. And he goes from being a sometimes-actor to owning a waterbed store, later a pinball arcade, with his staff apparently being a bunch of pre-teens. Gary also vandalizes Peters' house and car which seems out of character. And Alana's religious father has quite a mouth on him. Too many things about this film just don't ring true, so of course the critics have to fall all over themselves praising it. Nearly two hours that I'll never get back.

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

Great Effects, Terrible Plot

[6/10 · 22 March 2023]

What a piece of junk. This whole thing is an excuse for a silly Kung Fu movie. One of the worst films I've seen, which took two and a half hours to prove it, with some stupid existential claptrap by the writers who must think that they're speaking genius philosophy. This is the kind of movie that certain people (and the Oscars) say is brilliant just to show how hip they are. I don't get the ridiculous sense of humor, the "hot dog finger" people, the bagels and worse, the happy face eyeballs. And of course we just had to have a lesbian subplot. Why, what film is complete without it! And the ever-so-apologetic filmmakers just had to remove the highly offensive but funny "Big Nose" from the credits. Wimps. This film actually would have worked better as a regular movie about laundromat owners. What a waste of brilliant special effects.

Eighth Grade (2018)

Well Acted but a Little Too Downbeat

[8/10 · 18 March 2023]

I'd never heard of this movie when it came out, I just thought I'd check it out when it popped up on cable recently. The best thing about it was the actor who played our heroine, Kayla. This paints an awfully bleak picture of middle school students, and you want to scream at them to put those damn phones down already. And talk about an unfriendly bunch - Kayla apparently has no friends - none - and the girls she tries to befriend are downright rude. She has a lot of confusion in her life, but that's no excuse to be downright mean to her loving Dad, especially at the dinner table, who would have been justified if he took her phone and earbuds and threw then across the room. Luckily she had a change of heart by the end of the movie. Of course, being an indie, it has the frequently awful $5 sounding one-person soundtrack, the worst being in the beginning when there's a synth piece that sounds like an accordion falling down the stairs.

I Saw the Light (2015)

Don't Believe the Bad Reviews

[9/10 · 31 January 2023]

Picky, picky, picky. At least the great acting is acknowledged. Most of the complaints seem to be about the script. The movie was a pretty good overview of Williams' career and life, and I don't know what people are expecting. There was also nice attention to detail paid to the instruments and amps, which you can't always count on in films like this. I'm adding characters as required, which is strange because some reviews are just a title. Does everything have to be longer than necessary? Bad move IMDB and I'd love to know why you have a minimum character requirement. I thought brevity was supposed to be a virtue.

The Card Counter (2021)

Cirk Wasn't Worth It

[8/10 · 12 August 2022]

The biggest mystery, besides why Tell covers up all the furniture in hotel rooms, is why he or anyone else would lift a finger to help this "Cirk," who is obnoxious right down to that stupid spelling of his name. Isaac was great though.

Belfast (2021)

Subtitles, Please

[9/10 · 7 August 2022]

I enjoyed every second of this film, but some of us Americans would have appreciated subtitles, as the Irish accents can make it difficult to understand their speech.

Lady Bird (2017)

Good, But a Bit Overrated

[6/10 · 24 June 2022]

Well acted, but the reason she chose that silly name, since she was not married to Lyndon Johnson, was never explained and should have been. Also, her brother is of a different heritage. Adopted? Never explained, of course. And of course the usual soundtrack of crappy indy music. And the idiot who chose the tiny, unreadable type font for the credits should have been fired.

C'mon C'mon (2021)

C'mon, C'mon, will this movie end already

[2/10 · 8 May 2022]

Another interminable psychology lesson masquerading as a film, about a documentary sound engineer and his annoying brat of a nephew. Of course we're "treated" to the usual artsy-fartsy indie soundtrack, most of which sounds like someone held three keys down at once on a synthesizer, creating an awful drone - on the verge of drowning out dialogue (no great loss actually). And why black and white? Oh, to show how cool the filmmakers are of course! The film gains nothing by it. Someone hit the nail on the head calling it an "NPR film." Snooze.

The Fisher King (1991)

Great Except for One Ridiculous Scene

[7/10 · 18 March 2022]

Generally almost plausible even if some of it seems out there - we never can know what goes on in a seriously traumatized individual's head. The ridiculous scene with Jack climbing up a building to retrieve the "grail" almost ruined it for me.

Swing Shift (1984)

Hawn Was Right

[31 December 2021]

There was tension between Hawn and Demme about the focus of the movie; the friendship of Kay and Hazel, or the romance between Kay and Lucky. Also, he thought Hawn was getting too much screen time. Well, it's her movie, to begin with as she was the producer and she was absolutely right about what the focus should be - a lonely woman coming into her own as her husband is at war, and all the ramifications of the affair. A great movie - critics be damned.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)

Terrible, But Well-Acted

[4/10 · 28 December 2021]

I don't know who this Lorene Scafaria character is, but she needs to find another line of work. I don't know why this silly movie ever got greenlighted - none of it looks like the NY/NJ/DE area, it's a stupid premise, and as one (and maybe all) viewers noted, that small plane didn't have the range to make it to England. Yeah, bravo Lorene!

The Humans (2021)

You've seen this kind of movie before

[3/10 · 27 November 2021]

A waste of good acting, this is a typical family melodrama set in a crummy apartment, filmed with artsy-fartsy direction. Also VERY overloooong. Poor Richard Jenkins - first "Gazillion" and now this.

Bottle Rocket (1996)

Scorsese loved this?

[5/10 · 25 November 2021]

No accounting for taste. It's a cute little film but seems much longer than it is, the character Dignan is an idiot, and anybody who would go into any kind of venture with him, criminal or otherwise, is an idiot too. Owen seems to be channeling a young Dennis Hopper. They must have spent a pile of money licensing the Stones' "2000 Man."

Kajillionaire (2020)

Jenkins Must Have Needed the Money

[1/10 · 24 September 2021]

Unquestionably one of the worst movies ever made, weird just for the sake of being weird, right down to the terrible piano music that was actually released for sale. Pointless.

The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)

Maybe It Was the Title

[7/10 · 6 July 2021]

I'll never know why this was a critical failure. Maybe because it makes New York City look like a corrupt sewer? Hey, if the shoe fits . . . I guess viewers stayed away because of bad reviews. I think the ridiculous title may have had a lot to do with it too. Some of it strained credulity - he could have driven right over that tire - but then there would be no movie. I didn't understand the critical hatred years ago on my initial viewing, and I don't understand it now after re-watching twenty years later.

Clambake (1967)

It's a Way to Pass the Time

[6/10 · 2 July 2021]

Now why would a boat manufacturer own a chemical lab?

Romance & Cigarettes (2005)

All Over the Place

[5/10 · 1 July 2021]

This could have been a really good movie - instead it bounces around from broad comedy to something very serious and depressing. Apparently Turturro thought that those distracting misguided moronic song and dance sequences were clever and innovative, Sorry.

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Nicely Acted

[8/10 · 6 June 2021]

The most amazing thing is how an Australian - Ledger - somehow managed to totally nail and clone Jeff Bridges' trademark mumble. Same timbre.

The Brothers Bloom (2008)

Nicely Acted, But a Few Holes

[7/10 · 24 May 2021]

First, why does one brother, Steven, have a first name, while the other one has the name "Bloom Bloom"? In all fairness I may have missed the explanation but it's a strange distraction from the plot. Also, in the last scene, in the car, Bloom realizes his brother was dying (not a con) because the blood on his shirt turned brown and therefore was real. But wouldn't he have known that it was not a con ALREADY in the abandoned theater, as nemesis Diamond Dog spoke to him on the phone?

Moonlight (I) (2016)

Sorry. Not Oscar Caliber

[7/10 · 23 May 2021]

This is a pretty good movie and pretty atypical. Unfortunately this only won a Best Picture Oscar due to giving in to the #OscarSoWhite crowd, for sure. How Liberal we are! And the director's idea of not having the three actors who played Chiron at different ages not meet, as to not pick up each others' mannerisms, was pretty stupid.

Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

Terrible

[1/10 · 21 May 2021]

Unquestionably one of the worst movies ever made; "Gigli" is a masterwork compared to this. Thank goodness Sandler chose better stuff later on.

Fatso (1980)

Very Nice Work From All Involved

[10/10 · 20 May 2021]

All I can say is that if you've ever read critic Gene Sissy's scathing review of this movie, you'd know that he really should have chosen another line of work. I've never really seen a movie similar to this one.