dsadajr Reviews

Plenty (1985)

5.0 out of 5 starsOne of Meryl Streep's finest performances and a really excellent film!

[10/10 · 10 February 2018]

Plenty is one of my all-time favourite films. I loved this movie.

I understand why many people did not like it, but I think they should have another look. Sure, it is not an easy movie to watch, and Meryl Streep's character is not the most pleasant woman in the world, but that is part of the point. "Plenty" is unabashedly unsentimental, and that is one of its greatest strengths.

Meryl Streep gives one of her best performances, and it's not only because of her flawless British accent. That is just the surface of Ms. Streep's complete, and absolutely brilliant transformation into a very complicated character. She is also sexier than she has ever been on screen up to that time. She looks simply beautiful!!

This film is about as performance-oriented as films get, and it is full of great performances -the entire cast is excellent!!

"Plenty" is a movie about how different life can turn out from the way we plan it. It is not supposed to be cheerful. It is gritty, gripping, and extremely powerful. It portrays the hardships of Resistance era France, and the harsh realities of Britain immediately after the Second World War; as well as the decadence that prosperity can bring, and the disappointments of life, and how the inability to deal with them can destroy a person's sanity.

Of particular note are Charles Dance, as Streep's husband, Sam Neil as her lover, Sting and Tracey Ullman in small but important supporting roles, and especially Sir John Gielgud, who effortlessly steals the few scenes he is in. In one of the movie's few comic moments, Mr. Gielgud corrects the wife of a Burmese diplomat just as he is leaving a dinner party on the nationality of a certain European film director. Just this scene makes the movie worth watching!

I have seen this movie described as an underrated tour-de-force. That is an extremely fitting description. I would add the word classic to that description. This is a film that challenges the viewer to sit through its grim depictions of what life can be like if we don't know how to deal with life not turning out like we want it to. Depicting different eras from the Second World War to the early to mid sixties, "Plenty" is a period piece with painstaking recreations and some incredible locations in England, France and Jordan.

If someone has not seen this movie, I urge them to buy it or rent it and watch it. For a long time, this film was not available in widescreen on home video. Now there is at least one widescreen DVD which restores the film to its stunning beauty and allows us to enjoy its excellent cinematography. To anyone who appreciates great acting, this film is a MUST SEE. No serious film collector should be without this great classic.

If someone has seen it but did not like it, I urge them to watch it again, and again.

I have seen this film at least 50 times, and I could easily watch it 50 times more.

Dancer, Texas Pop. 81 (1998)

An Underrated Gem!!

[10/10 · 4 April 2017]

This is a very charming film. The story of four high school friends from a small town in Texas who swore an oath at age 12 to move to Los Angeles right after graduation. It is not easy to make a film where the plot revolves around human relationships. This film is exceptionally well written and the characters are very well developed.

Between the Saturday they graduate and the next Monday when they are supposed to leave, each of the four boys find strong reasons to stay. There are no car chases, explosions, or sex and that is one of the film's strengths!

There are excellent performances all around. Breckin Meyer and Ethan Embry are especially good. All the actors that play the boys went on to make other films and guest star in TV shows such as "Dawson's Creek", "Franklin and Bash", "Grace and Frankie", "Sweet Home Alabama" and the "Twilight" films. Their roles here are from the early part of their careers, and their performances are superb! Patricia Wettig of "Thirtysomething" co-stars.

The story never gives a false note. If you like movies about people and how they relate to one another, you will like this film. It takes place in West Texas, but the story is universal and it could have taken place in a small town pretty much anywhere! An underrated gem!!

D.O.A. (1988)

Pretty good update of the original film, with good performances.

[8/10 · 8 January 2006]

OK, so this film may not have won any Oscars, but it is not a bad film. The original "D.O.A." is undoubtedly a better film, but that does not mean this film is bad.

The film stars Dennis Quaid in one of his early roles, when he was first becoming really famous, after "The Right Stuff" made him a star, and a very lovely looking Meg Ryan, when she was still now quite famous.

This is more of an "update" of the 1950 film, rather than a remake, since the setting is different and the characters too, are different. The plot is pretty much the same. A man (this time an English professor at the University of Texas at Austin) is poisoned and he has only 24 hours to find out who poisoned him and why. Meg Ryan plays a young college student who tries to help him. Jane Kaczmarek plays Quaid's estranged wife, in a low key, but intense performance; she steals every scene she is in. Daniel Stern (also in an early role, before "Home Alone" made him famous) plays Quaid's colleague. Charlotte Rampling is fine too in a supporting role.

The entire cast is top notch; The film is stylish, with a quick pace that keeps you guessing until the end.

I think this is a film that is certainly worth watching as a thriller, and as a modern version of a classic film.

Five Corners (1987)

A Diamond in the Rough; A real treat!! A charming, underrated little film.

[10/10 · 11 December 2005]

I first saw this movie at the Houston International Film Festival in April or May of 1988. From the moment I saw the names of Jodie Foster, Tim Robbins and John Turturro, and Oscar- winning screenwriter John Patrick Shanley in the festival booklet, I was interested and I put this film on my list of films I would go see.

I was not disappointed. On the contrary, I was very pleasantly surprised. I love "period" movies, and this one is warmly set in New York City (specifically, in the Bronx) in 1964. The script may be a bit unusual, but that is part of its charm.

I agree with some other comments that Jodie Foster's role is small, but I think she does a fantastic job in the time she is on screen. Her New York accent is so believable you start thinking she actually is from the Bronx! She is certainly not wasted.

Tim Robbins and John Turturro are also excellent. A few people who have written comments have said that his performance is even more admirable because it could have been over the top, but is not. This is absolutely true. You can see what a fine actor Turturro really is, and how the world would come to see that in his later, more widely-distributed films.

Tim Robbin's portrayal of a young man who renounces violence is also excellent; an early sign of his acting genius.

Besides this film being an early entry in the filmography of Jodie Foster, Tim Robbins and John Turturro, it is also one of the few films made by Rodney Harvey, a talented young actor with a lot of promise (he was the Bellboy at the bed-and-breakfast where Kevin Costner and Sean Young spend the weekend in "No Way Out") who unfortunately died of a drug overdose in 1998. Had he lived, I am sure, he would have gone far.

I also loved the sub-plot involving the glue-sniffing girls and the boys they meet. Plus, the mysterious bow and arrow vigilantes' antics are pretty funny.

Overall, this is a charming, often funny, poignant film, with excellent performances, plenty of good humour, and even social commentary. I also think its portrayal of 1960's New York is right on the button. The use of Beatles songs in the soundtrack is a nice touch. I recommend it to anyone who loves movies and good acting.

I wish John Patrick Shanley would write more for the movies!! He is an excellent writer!!

This films deserves to be seen by more people than those who saw it in its limited theatrical release. I have the Criterion Collection Laserdisc. Now that it is out on DVD, maybe it will get the audience it deserves.