stansolomon-744-391723 Reviews

Glass Onion (2022)

Wonderful Escapist Flick

[9/10 · 24 December 2022]

Outdoor temp below freezing + nasty precip: ideal weather to remain indoors and watch a rather good flick. Glad to have picked "Glass Onion" for: 1. Daniel Craig's tour de force acting, 2. The wonderful cast; and 3. A "Clue"-like story-line.

Only criticisms: 1. Sometimes confusing flash-backs; 2. That "smashing" at the finalé: more textbook Hollywood Violence than cerebral mystery.

Am still surprised by all the negative reviews here! Okay, it's predecessor "Knives Out" was better, perhaps b/c that was very original while Glass Onion is billing itself as a successor...and perhaps the start of a series...not such a bad idea.

Marriage Story (2019)

Mr. Baumbach, you owe me 136 minutes.

[5/10 · 8 December 2019]

Jeeze, Louise! Yup, I'm aware that this Drecktor...oops...Director...is supposed to be The Greatest Thing Since The Talkies, but he was never "My Cuppa" (still trying to figure-out "The Squid and The Whale"), and "Marriage Story" did nothing to convince me otherwise!

Why? Because: 1. It's too too-long (2H16M); The main characters are really one-dimensional; It's about banal First-World Problems; AND all those other faults mentioned in the one- to five star reviews on this site.

Yes, the acting is good(ish), especially in that over-the-top screaming-match, but the story line, to quote Yul Brynner, "is a puzzlement!". Driver's character is supposed to be a cash-strapped avant-garde NYC theater director who somehow has the $$$ to constantly fly NY- L.A.-NY and to afford lawyers who charge $25K retainers and to rent a spacious apartment in L.A.

And, at the end of this two-hour slog, there's Driver's character in a Karaoke Bar singing "Being Alive" (from Stephen Sondheim's "Company"). The director may have had his reasons, but that scene left ME more-dead-than-alive...as did this entire film.

Late Night (2019)

Like an After-School Special

[5/10 · 9 June 2019]

Encouraged by a New York Times' Weekend Arts top-of-the-fold review, and desperate to see a film that's NOT: all-violence-all-the-time, or-another-biopic, or-yet-another-Teenage-Angst-Weepy... we decided on this.

B-r-a-a-a-t-t-t, BAD MOVE (also...Bad Movie).

Sure, Thompson and Lithgow are, as usual, great. But the story-line MIGHT have been great if it hadn't come across as 102 minutes of Political Correctness, in which an unapologetically-overweight female-of-color (but neither African-American nor Latina) makes the haughty Cruela De Vil-like late-night TV host finally see the error of her ways.

Emotional pre-teens might appreciate something like this, but this adult could only agree with the title of an earlier review..."Please Make It Stop".

See You Yesterday (2019)

A Very Important Story For Our Times

[9/10 · 18 May 2019]

The whole controversy over the Time Travel thing is NOT that important. What IS important is: 1. This is a film that should be seen by anybody who believes that Black Lives Matter; 2. This is a film that shows the devastating after-effects of police officers using deadly force to kill rather than to merely disable a young Black man; 3. This is a film that portrays the just-trying-to-get-by lives of African-American AND Caribbean-American people in the lower-middle class areas of Brooklyn; 4. This is a film with two wonderful young actors who also happen to be people-of-color.

The credits cite Spike Lee as a producer; Thank You, Mr. Lee, for bringing this film to a wide Netflix audience. Hopefully it will make some people more "Woke".

Vice (I) (2018)

DEFINITELY 2018 OSCAR CONTENDER

[10/10 · 30 December 2018]

This great and wonderfully creative film just HAS to be nominated for: 1. Best Picture - Drama 2. Best Lead Actor (Christian Bale) 3. Best Director

It was an absolutely thorough, thoughtful, and just ASTOUNDING history lesson of a time that sent this nation off-the-rails, in some part leading to the train-wreck that is the current administration.

YES, Red-Staters will hate it just as Blue-Staters will love it...which is to be expected, considering how deeply polarized this nation has become.

But, whether liberal or conservative, few can deny that the film is astoundingly creative and that Bale, always good, here is GREAT.

Private Life (2018)

Sort Of Like "GroundHog Day"...but NOT AT ALL FUNNY!

[4/10 · 7 October 2018]

That's two hours We'll Never Get Back! Two hours spent watching this exercise in self-absorption by a writer/direcor too self-absorbed to edit her precious "creative work".

Here's a quick plot-summary: Beginning: Not-very-attractive late-40's "creatives", desperate to have a child, seek medical and other help... Middle: Not-very-attractive late-40's "creatives", desperate to have a child, seek medical and other help... End: Not-very-attractive late-40's "creatives", desperate to have a child, seek medical and other help...

Get it? They want a bay-beeee, but she's 'inconceivable" and he's "unproductive".

All this takes place in a "hip" part of Manhattan, the East Village. Seeing that in a review inspired us to watch, as we adore NYC and love seeing it portrayed on screen. Just NOT in this film, as mainly what we see are interior shots of their apartment and some exterior shots, possibly of the spiritually-dull Upper East Side. Oh, yes...there are also some shots of the "Wanna-Baby's" driving to some even more boring suburb...in November, when Northeast suburbs are at their absolute bleakest.

One wonders what a much better director like Noah Baumbach or, even better, Woody Allen, could have done with this story. Sadly, we'll never find out.

Blindspotting (2018)

An Amazing Film...We Need More Like It

[10/10 · 21 July 2018]

1. Those hoping to see an exciting but totally realistic film WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED! 2. Those hoping to see a serious film dealing with a disturbing problem in today's America WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED! 3. Those hoping to see incredible acting and incredible film-making by Hollywood new-comers WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED! 4. Those hoping to see a film that (a) sparks much thought and discussion afterwards AND (b) affects one deeply WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!

Hopefully this film will be remembered when The Academy prepares its list of 2018 Oscar nominees.

Leave No Trace (2018)

Tedious

[6/10 · 30 June 2018]

You'll probably like this film IF: 1. You do lots of wilderness back-packing; 2. You're a big fan of trees...lots of trees; 3. You're one of the "new-populists" feeling for people on the fringes of society; 4. You're suspicious of authorities like social workers, police, etc.; 5. You dislike the uglier aspects of modern cities.

You'll probably dis-like this film IF: 1. You expect a decently well-developed PLOT; 2. You expect some 3-dimensional depth to the characters; 3. You begin to understand and appreciate the main character's back-story; 4. You appreciate the work of a very talented early-teen actress; 5. Your local movie palace offers air-conditioned relief from the latest heat-wave.

Went to see this b/c we loved Granik's "Winter's Bone" and expected something as good or better. Sadly, 'Great Expectations' remains just the title of a Dickens' novel.

Ocean's Eight (2018)

Guess we didn't see the same film !

[8/10 · 10 June 2018]

CANNOT believe all the negative reviews above for this wonderful film! To this reviewer's eyes, it was: 1. suspenseful, 2. clever. 3. and charming! It IS mostly Ms. Bullock's film! She's as attractive as ever, even though her character is cold and calculating. Also wonderful is Helena Bonham-Carter. Of course, a viewer expecting explosions, gun fights, and/or chase scenes would be "bored" because NONE of these happen. In many ways Ocean's 8 is more like a European film, because it focuses more on the cerebral than the physical. Other pluses for Ocean's 8: 1) It is a Women's Empowerment film, as every major character is female; 2) It is politically-correct, as the "gang" includes several ethnicities (Asian, Black); 3) AND, it revolves around NYC's wonderful Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of this reviewer's favorite places. In fact, with its drone shots, the film makes NYC look as beautiful as the jewels around which the plot revolves.

The Post (2017)

Hopefully, 2018's BEST PICTURE WINNER

[10/10 · 14 January 2018]

Were I a gambling person I would eagerly wager that "The Post" is a front-runner for Best Drama, for many reasons:

1) its "Trifecta" of Streep, Hanks, and Spielberg -- ALL 3 at the top of their game;

2) its timely topic, the revelation that the then-current (and earlier administrations) was deliberately LYING about an unwinnable war, thus perpetuating the slaughter of thousands (troops AND civilians)...hint: substitute "Afghanistan" for "VietNam";;

3. and, MOST IMPORTANTLY, in this current era of #MeToo, when females are finally refusing to remain quiet about male abuse, the film is CLEARLY pro-women's empowerment: from the bravery of publisher Katherine Graham to the equal bravery of the low-level Latina clerk standing up to her boss, to Spielberg's clearly showing what SCOTUS's decision meant to the dozens of young females awaiting the court's verdict.

FINALLY: judging by the number of "bad reviews" above, most of which make the ridiculous assertion that the film is somehow "anti-Trump" (!!) one cannot but fear that these reviewers are trolls sparked by some alt-right website to deliver negative reviews.

DON'T BELIEVE THEM! SEE THE FILM. Then you'll be able to boast that you knew an Oscar winner from the moment you saw it.

The Sense of an Ending (2017)

Best Movie Title EVER !!!

[3/10 · 24 March 2017]

Some films are memorable for their exotic settings and exciting story lines; "Rogue One" and "The Martian" and (fill-in-blank) come to mind.

Others are memorable for their great performances, themes, etc.

Let us not ignore films memorable for THEIR SELF-EXPLANATORY TITLES: such as "Jaws"and "Airplane". And add to the list this piece of BORING SELF-PRETENTIOUS DRIVEL ABOUT INSIGNIFICANT PEOPLE AND THEIR INSIGNIFICANT "PROBLEMS"

What makes "The Sense of an Ending" great in this category? Because after an hour, you, the audience-member squirming in your seat, will DEFINITELY BE LOOKING FOR "THE SENSE OF AN ENDING" !

Sadly, you'll still have another hour of torture before the ENDING finally arrives.

Spare yourself. Stay home!

99 Homes (2014)

A Must-See Film

[9/10 · 4 October 2015]

Certain films have a lasting truth because they reveal/analyze societal conditions that affect most of us -- i.e. "An Inconvenient Truth" (climate change), "Inside Job" (financial crash) and most of Michael Moore's work.

Add to the list "99 Homes", an absolutely great film about the 'mortgage meltdown' that still affects many.

I will not attempt to add to the brilliant analyses of the above reviews except to say that ALL 3 LEAD ACTORS (Shannon/Garfield/Dern) are SUPERB, especially in the tight close-ups that reveal so much of their characters' inner turmoil.

I will say that the film brought tears as I realized HOW REAL THESE CHARACTERS ARE to the ordinary people devastated, financially AND emotionally, by the mortgage crisis.

SPOILER ALERT: the film's final scenes IMPLY that POSSIBLY one or more characters will be undergoing criminal investigation...POSSIBLY.

The sad truth, and what might make you also cry, is the realization that, in real life, NO ONE in either Washington or Wall Street responsible for the housing mess EVER SPENT A DAY IN JAIL...despite the thousands of lives they ruined!