What an amazing actor! He also has all the best lines. His spy-chief character is raw and rude and very funny. He'd be campy if Oldman was not so skilled in the portrayal.
Reviews
16 Reviews
Man of God
(2021)
In a society with no social safety net, Saint Nektarios saved lives.
1 April 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I avoided this film when I was in Greece because of a bad review in Athinorama. The reviewer took exception with Writer/Director Yelena Popovic's choice to only briefly cover the intrigues that led to Saint Nektarios's expulsion from Alexandria. Now that I have seen the film, I disagree. It was a good movie that reminded me of the 2006 film "The Island" directed by Pavel Lungin. In a society with no social safety net, Saint Nektarios saved lives. Hostility towards the poor in that era (think 1890-1920) was even worse than it is now. Political intrigue would take the film in an entirely different direction.
We see Saint Nektarios save a young woman from a crazy and abusive mother. He helps young women establish a Monastery. The girls who found the Monastery are poor. One is blind. A young male student from the Seminary that he runs, the Rizario School, is at death's door and needs a hospital. The school executives want to send him to a sanitorium to avoid a bill. Saint Nektarios makes sure to send him to the hospital and covers the cost himself. This young man's death would leave a poor family bereft of a wage-earner. When the school janitor falls ill, Saint Nektarios works his shift to preserve his job and save the man's family from destitution.
Over the course of the film, it is clear why the ambitious and untalented would want to oust Nektarios Pentapoleos from the running for the Seat of the Patriarch! But while there were people who hated him, there were more who could not live without him! Kostas, the young blond man who works at the Rizario School and who seems not to like Nektarios at first comes to the Monastery in Aegina and helps.
The costumes were on point. The set design and scenery felt true. I am a native Greek speaker but did not find the film being in English distracting in the least.
We see Saint Nektarios save a young woman from a crazy and abusive mother. He helps young women establish a Monastery. The girls who found the Monastery are poor. One is blind. A young male student from the Seminary that he runs, the Rizario School, is at death's door and needs a hospital. The school executives want to send him to a sanitorium to avoid a bill. Saint Nektarios makes sure to send him to the hospital and covers the cost himself. This young man's death would leave a poor family bereft of a wage-earner. When the school janitor falls ill, Saint Nektarios works his shift to preserve his job and save the man's family from destitution.
Over the course of the film, it is clear why the ambitious and untalented would want to oust Nektarios Pentapoleos from the running for the Seat of the Patriarch! But while there were people who hated him, there were more who could not live without him! Kostas, the young blond man who works at the Rizario School and who seems not to like Nektarios at first comes to the Monastery in Aegina and helps.
The costumes were on point. The set design and scenery felt true. I am a native Greek speaker but did not find the film being in English distracting in the least.
Kalifornia
(1993)
Rewatch the first 10 minutes after the end
7 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Rewatch the first 10 minutes after the end so that you can get your ire up. Duchovny's character spouting off about therapy and medication becomes even more irritating when you see what he (naturally) ends up doing when faced by unrelenting violence and bad intentions.
Brad Pitt, in one of his earlier films, is phenomenal as are Michelle Forbes, Juliette Lewis and David Duchovny. I did not see when it first hit the movie theaters but appreciated it now.
Brad Pitt, in one of his earlier films, is phenomenal as are Michelle Forbes, Juliette Lewis and David Duchovny. I did not see when it first hit the movie theaters but appreciated it now.
An awesome and satisfying movie!
26 July 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I felt like I was taking a stroll through 1960's LA and its movie-making world and will always be grateful to Tarantino for that.
I take exception to the YouTubers who state that Bruce Lee is being made fun of. They miss the point of the scene. Bruce and Cliff are trash-talking and then fight one another on the set to test/show off their skills. Cliff can hold his own with Bruce Lee. For however funny a character he is, however, poor financially, he is deadly man and not to be dismissed. In another scene, Dalton mentions in passing that Cliff was a war hero. In scene after scene, Cliff pulls off amazing stunts: cars flying off cliffs, that sort of thing. He is tough and strong.
SPOILER ALERT!
This is why it is believable that Cliff could disarm and kill two of the three Manson attackers while doing 75% of the job on the third. They are armed with one gun and two knives. They are physically weak albeit fueled by mental derangement. Cliff is a skilled fighter, at physical peak, accompanied by the trained pit bull that loves him and Cliff just having taken quite a bit of acid. He is a warrior. One YouTuber (with 7.2K views already day of movie opening) mentioned that he saw more violence directed against the females. Tex got it pretty bad and if the scenes against the female attackers were just a tad more protracted it is surely because, in the sad real-life situation, they acted with more bloodlust against Sharon Tate, her baby, her houseguests and at the La Bianca's.
I take exception to the YouTubers who state that Bruce Lee is being made fun of. They miss the point of the scene. Bruce and Cliff are trash-talking and then fight one another on the set to test/show off their skills. Cliff can hold his own with Bruce Lee. For however funny a character he is, however, poor financially, he is deadly man and not to be dismissed. In another scene, Dalton mentions in passing that Cliff was a war hero. In scene after scene, Cliff pulls off amazing stunts: cars flying off cliffs, that sort of thing. He is tough and strong.
SPOILER ALERT!
This is why it is believable that Cliff could disarm and kill two of the three Manson attackers while doing 75% of the job on the third. They are armed with one gun and two knives. They are physically weak albeit fueled by mental derangement. Cliff is a skilled fighter, at physical peak, accompanied by the trained pit bull that loves him and Cliff just having taken quite a bit of acid. He is a warrior. One YouTuber (with 7.2K views already day of movie opening) mentioned that he saw more violence directed against the females. Tex got it pretty bad and if the scenes against the female attackers were just a tad more protracted it is surely because, in the sad real-life situation, they acted with more bloodlust against Sharon Tate, her baby, her houseguests and at the La Bianca's.
79 Parts: Director's Cut
(2019)
Well-written and very funny!
27 May 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Full disclosure: I was in a college math class with Johnny Solo, the man who plays Gino. It is ironic that the film opens up with a student at wit's end about his tuition. It brought undergrad angst right back up to me but it has been so long since I graduated that the feeling was sweet.
I did not know what to expect when I sat down on a rainy Sunday afternoon to finally watch the movie on Amazon Prime. I loved it! And, yes, the Sarah Bernhard whose name you see in the opening credits is the very one. She plays the landlady.
The plot is comically intricate and ridiculous but simple to follow and enjoy despite the number of characters. The opening and closing scenes tie in well together. It is easy to forget that the opening narration by the Irish mobster sets the scene as his story and his movie and that, in the end, he will be the winner. The rest of the characters are equally outrageous and likely to steal the show so they are all fun.
The comedy is slapstick and many scenes made me laugh out loud. There is one where someone is set to literally digging what I thought was intended to be a grave. (It wasn't.) The young protagonists are chased and ridiculed and hold their own.
The attention to costume and set detail was especially enjoyable to me as they captured the essence of 1979 New York down to the clock radios. The clothing, the cars, the home decor - all fully 70's. The eye has something to appreciate and enjoy in each scene. They got every detail right, down to the gold watches that I recall men wearing during my childhood. The only anachronism I could find had to do with Cheeburger and I challenge you to find it.
I did not know what to expect when I sat down on a rainy Sunday afternoon to finally watch the movie on Amazon Prime. I loved it! And, yes, the Sarah Bernhard whose name you see in the opening credits is the very one. She plays the landlady.
The plot is comically intricate and ridiculous but simple to follow and enjoy despite the number of characters. The opening and closing scenes tie in well together. It is easy to forget that the opening narration by the Irish mobster sets the scene as his story and his movie and that, in the end, he will be the winner. The rest of the characters are equally outrageous and likely to steal the show so they are all fun.
The comedy is slapstick and many scenes made me laugh out loud. There is one where someone is set to literally digging what I thought was intended to be a grave. (It wasn't.) The young protagonists are chased and ridiculed and hold their own.
The attention to costume and set detail was especially enjoyable to me as they captured the essence of 1979 New York down to the clock radios. The clothing, the cars, the home decor - all fully 70's. The eye has something to appreciate and enjoy in each scene. They got every detail right, down to the gold watches that I recall men wearing during my childhood. The only anachronism I could find had to do with Cheeburger and I challenge you to find it.
Bardo
(I) (2016)
Watched it twice
27 May 2019
It's a movie that demands a rewatch unless you are especially good at picking up clues. I am not. It was an unexpectedly satisfying film to watch. Personally, I loved the interaction between John the cab driver and Lily his wealthy and elderly customer. She was gorgeously decked out in coat and cloche hat. Her lines and her attire captured my attention, even though she was in the back seat behind the barrier. At less than 20 minutes long, Bardo is worth seeing.
Tolkien
(2019)
This film made me weep
11 May 2019
Tolkien's friendships and literary circle are wonderfully depicted and this is what makes the ending so moving. The young men from school have a certain friendly chemistry onscreen that makes you understand how they inspired one another to excellence. I had visited the Tolkien exhibit at The Morgan Library a few weeks before seeing this film and so was prepared a bit for his biopic. JRR Tolkien's life is that of the person with a talent and a calling who follows and uses them. He wrote and illustrated his own work. He created languages and wrote the stories that would give these languages "a home." He was in love with a girl and they married and had four children. The scenes in the trenches of WWI are woven throughout the film as the Great War was the turning point in his life. This film is worth watching if you are a fan of his books. You will learn how he came to certain ideas.
Detainment
(2018)
Amazing boy actors
12 April 2019
I felt guilty watching this as I know that Denise Bulger, the mother of the murdered toddler, was so upset at its being released. This short film was excellently done and, if anything, brings James's story back up to people. May his memory be eternal.
The young actors did phenomenal jobs. If you want an example of an excellent child actor, watch this. I cannot wait to see them in feature-length films in the future.
The young actors did phenomenal jobs. If you want an example of an excellent child actor, watch this. I cannot wait to see them in feature-length films in the future.
Cliffs of Freedom
(2019)
My spoilery review. More of an attempt at a synopsis peppered with my opinions.
8 March 2019
Warning: Spoilers
The movie takes some liberties but is true enough to the early days of the Greek War of Independence to make it a must-see for any history buff. It opens with an homage to the Dance of Zalongo, which happened in northern Greece while this film is set a few hours south of there. (I am of Greek descent so was confused for the first hour as to where the movie was actually set.) Rather than surrender to Ottoman troops and go quietly into slavery, the women of the village of Zalongo opted for suicide. They jumped off a cliff, one after another, singing and dancing. The film's opening begins with this and, at the cliffside, we are introduced to the heroine's aunt, Christina. The last to jump, she turns and addresses the troops in defiance. One of the soldiers, a young handsome man named Tariq, catches a glimpse of a scared young girl hiding in the bush but he ignores her, thus saving her life.
The audience is then presented a series of scenes. We are introduced to a Greek village near the Turkish sultan's stronghold in the Peloponnese (the part of Greece that looks like a hand) and the family of a cheesemaker. We learn that his 20-year-old daughter, Anna Christina, was the girl who, 12 years prior, was scared to jump and that his sister, Christina, was the woman who was last to leap and who had addressed the soldiers. We meet her two much younger brothers and faithful mother. We see Christina with her brothers at some place outside the village where she is tying oregano to dry while her brothers play in the water. She meets Tariq, whom we learn is a colonel when he brings his warhorse for a drink at the stream. They have a short conversation! In another scene, while out alone in the field, she encounters the colonel while she is cutting wheat and he admires her skill with the sickle. These two scenes require great suspension of disbelief as, apparently, this particular Greek village in 1821 has a 21st century attitude towards women (or anyone) alone in secluded areas while under violent Occupation! Plus, the segues could have been smoother and it feels like explanations were left on the cutting room floor.
The movie's turning point comes when Anna Christina loses her entire family to the Turkish blade because of the scheming antics of a treacherous fellow Greek. Channeling Beatrix Kiddo of "Kill Bill" Christina announces that she will no longer be known by her first name of Anna. She follows her rebellious aunt's path and joins guerrilla soldiers in the mountains. In her first battle, she is led by the ghost of her father to perform a daring act that blows up a Turkish guard of at least 20 armed men.
The Greek traitor whose treachery got her family killed is played by Billy Zane and is modeled after Dathan of "The Ten Commandments." (Remember him?) A sycophant to the hostile leadership and a brutal tax collector of his own people. I grant you one guess as to his end.
The colonel's "best friend and brother-in-arms" has some Greek lineage which the latter despises. He makes sure to be especially brutal to Greeks to prove his fealty to the Ottomans. The Sultan is believable as are the members of his court. The Sultan is surrounded by flatterers and brutal men, but he respects Tariq and we learn that Tariq's father once served the Royal Court with wisdom.
The elderly have powerful roles in this film. Thanasi, played by Christopher Plummer, was Tariq's tutor and mentor. Tariq's father entrusted his son to him to "teach him the ways of the Greeks" with the hope that Tariq would grow to be a wise and kind leader who could keep the Ottoman Empire together through proper rule. Patti LuPone stars as Christina's fiercely proud grandmother ("yia-yia"), a woman with a warrior's heart who has lost two children to the cause.
The movie really comes together in the second half and becomes a joy to watch. I almost wonder if a narrator would have better served for the film's start. There are too many characters and storylines to keep track of and it makes the first half-hour confusingly dull.
The audience is then presented a series of scenes. We are introduced to a Greek village near the Turkish sultan's stronghold in the Peloponnese (the part of Greece that looks like a hand) and the family of a cheesemaker. We learn that his 20-year-old daughter, Anna Christina, was the girl who, 12 years prior, was scared to jump and that his sister, Christina, was the woman who was last to leap and who had addressed the soldiers. We meet her two much younger brothers and faithful mother. We see Christina with her brothers at some place outside the village where she is tying oregano to dry while her brothers play in the water. She meets Tariq, whom we learn is a colonel when he brings his warhorse for a drink at the stream. They have a short conversation! In another scene, while out alone in the field, she encounters the colonel while she is cutting wheat and he admires her skill with the sickle. These two scenes require great suspension of disbelief as, apparently, this particular Greek village in 1821 has a 21st century attitude towards women (or anyone) alone in secluded areas while under violent Occupation! Plus, the segues could have been smoother and it feels like explanations were left on the cutting room floor.
The movie's turning point comes when Anna Christina loses her entire family to the Turkish blade because of the scheming antics of a treacherous fellow Greek. Channeling Beatrix Kiddo of "Kill Bill" Christina announces that she will no longer be known by her first name of Anna. She follows her rebellious aunt's path and joins guerrilla soldiers in the mountains. In her first battle, she is led by the ghost of her father to perform a daring act that blows up a Turkish guard of at least 20 armed men.
The Greek traitor whose treachery got her family killed is played by Billy Zane and is modeled after Dathan of "The Ten Commandments." (Remember him?) A sycophant to the hostile leadership and a brutal tax collector of his own people. I grant you one guess as to his end.
The colonel's "best friend and brother-in-arms" has some Greek lineage which the latter despises. He makes sure to be especially brutal to Greeks to prove his fealty to the Ottomans. The Sultan is believable as are the members of his court. The Sultan is surrounded by flatterers and brutal men, but he respects Tariq and we learn that Tariq's father once served the Royal Court with wisdom.
The elderly have powerful roles in this film. Thanasi, played by Christopher Plummer, was Tariq's tutor and mentor. Tariq's father entrusted his son to him to "teach him the ways of the Greeks" with the hope that Tariq would grow to be a wise and kind leader who could keep the Ottoman Empire together through proper rule. Patti LuPone stars as Christina's fiercely proud grandmother ("yia-yia"), a woman with a warrior's heart who has lost two children to the cause.
The movie really comes together in the second half and becomes a joy to watch. I almost wonder if a narrator would have better served for the film's start. There are too many characters and storylines to keep track of and it makes the first half-hour confusingly dull.
A Simple Favor
(2018)
Not a thriller
22 January 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Thrillers are my favorite genre. I enjoyed the opening of the film. The mommy vlog idea was charming and the scenes where the main characters befriend one another promising. I thought that I was in for a compelling film.
SPOILER ALERT! My fiance and I watched this film late at night and I woke up with the idea that we had watched "an evil twin" movie! I am NOT a movie sophisticate but even I recognize certain tropes. We discussed it and he felt the movie was a feature film length soap opera. I believe he nailed it. From Emily's disappearance on, the movie becomes a soap opera.
It was not bad to watch at home, on iTunes, for a fairly cheap rate. I would have felt worse if we spent the money to see it in the theatres. Blake Lively's character (Emily) was super stylish and immaculately turned out. There were some entertaining scenes. It was an okay way to kill time.
This was not a mystery and not a thriller though! It is miscategorized.
SPOILER ALERT! My fiance and I watched this film late at night and I woke up with the idea that we had watched "an evil twin" movie! I am NOT a movie sophisticate but even I recognize certain tropes. We discussed it and he felt the movie was a feature film length soap opera. I believe he nailed it. From Emily's disappearance on, the movie becomes a soap opera.
It was not bad to watch at home, on iTunes, for a fairly cheap rate. I would have felt worse if we spent the money to see it in the theatres. Blake Lively's character (Emily) was super stylish and immaculately turned out. There were some entertaining scenes. It was an okay way to kill time.
This was not a mystery and not a thriller though! It is miscategorized.
Crazy Rich Asians
(2018)
They kept this too fluffy
9 November 2018
Warning: Spoilers
The book had a few scenes that really explained why the mindless worship of wealth is pitiful. In one, an old man tries to explain why the deceased family patriarch was a great man - not because he made money but because he bravely saved lives during the war. In another storyline, cousin Astrid's husband longs for a divorce because he has been treated poorly by his wife's family. She is stunned when she realizes that she too is guilty. It comes to her, in a moment, that her family has never invited his to dinner. All these years of marriage and she had not noticed. Rachel's mom's story was cut out.
This movie is a fluff piece but it's fun.
This movie is a fluff piece but it's fun.
The Casual Vacancy
(2015)
Too many departures from the book
27 September 2018
They did not need to add a "thorough intro" to the mini-series. The introduction that the book provided was perfect. (The book's end was perfect too.) We start with Barry Fairbrother's sudden death and then see how the town starts to deal with it. Barry Fairbrother: What happens when the good man in town, the smart man, the progressive man, the honest man, the open-hearted man, up and dies? You are left with everyone else. This is what JK Rowling explores. The dynamics of a small-minded tight community.
Worth watching if you are a history buff
27 September 2018
This is the Granddaughter's story. They skip (or, at least, I missed) Sobell's full story. He escaped the US to Mexico but could not get anywhere. Her grandfather was guilty. Her grandmother, yes less so, but still not innocent. Fascinating glimpse into history.
Murder on the Orient Express
(2017)
The most perfect ending in all literature...ruined
27 September 2018
I had to listen to a BBC Radio production of the book to cleanse my ears and eyes of this movie. There was no need to kill the ending. Moviemakers: You are not smarter than Agatha Christie! Other than that, the visuals were stunning. Poirot's eyes are so blue.
Tell Your Friends