HermioneO Reviews

Happy, Texas (1999)

A Surprise

[7/10 · 15 December 2007]

I was just watching this the other day and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I had finished watching something else on the same channel and couldn't get up the energy to change it - there was nothing on that peaked my interest. The plot synopsis didn't do much to encourage me but once I got into it I couldn't stop watching. It was a sleeper kind of movie, like Encino Man or Happy Gilmore, kind of sneaking up on you with the humor.

I love William H. Macy as an actor and seeing him in this role just confirmed for me why I enjoy him so much. Excellent performance by Steve Zahn as well, and a nice cameo for Ron Pearlman.

Comparing this to the awful remake of We're No Angels with a cast of heavy Hollywood superstars several years back, this is a much more worthy effort. Considering the talent involved, I would have to blame the writing.

My Name Is Nobody (1973)

Joyful Tale in a fine tradition

[9/10 · 14 May 2006]

I remember watching My Name Is Nobody on a local station (back before the days of superstations and then cable), along with other classics like the Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean. This was a classic tale told with a humorous twist, almost perfect within the genre. For spaghetti western fans, this is a must see. It wasn't all doom and gloom. And the music was inspiring.

Henry Fonda put in a beautiful performance as the aged gunslinger who just wants to leave the "wild" west and sail off to somewhere peaceful and beautiful. His expressive face tells it all in the scene where he first encounters Terence Hill (Nobody). Hill is splashing about in a pond and has just caught a fish with his bare hands and is enjoying the innocent pleasure of this deed, and spots Fonda and invites him for dinner. You can see by the amused, wistful expression on Fonda's face that he would like to have said yes, but he just turns and rides away without comment. He didn't get to be that old by trusting apparently innocent strangers.

Terence Hill is sassy and respectful at the same time. He's just a playful kid out to make a name for himself. He is "Jack Beauregard" before he became Jack Beauregard, only maybe he's a little smarter and more philosophical at this stage in his career.

Watch this movie. You won't be disappointed.

Take the Lead (2006)

Predictable but entertaining teacher-student story

[6/10 · 27 April 2006]

I saw the previews for this film on a DVD and I admit I have a soft spot for fish-out-of-water teaching underprivileged student films. It is a familiar story, told many times in film. The odd bit is that a lot of them are based on true stories, like this one. It may be clichéd, but it's no less real.

Antonio Banderas is warm and sophisticated and moves well on screen. The choreography of the dance scenes is well done and doesn't go on too long anywhere. The romance between him and his assistant was superfluous and incidental, as though it were added in as an afterthought.

I particularly liked the awkward débutante and the Big Girl/scrawny white dude relationship.

Most of the situations of the various kids were the same stories we've heard before. I saw nothing new in their dramas.

For all its flaws, however, I enjoyed the watching experience, the contrasts between the ball room dance music and the hip-hop of the kids, and the characterizations. And something interesting - there weren't any really evil villains here. All of these kids were in bad situations, and there were "bad guys." But none of them were caricatures, and they all had something to make them sympathetic. Except maybe that one john of the girl's prostitute mother. He was totally out of line.