Reviews
Thriller (1960)
Quite simply, the scariest...
I was 11 years old when I had the fortunate (though for the sleepless week that followed I didn't think I was so lucky) when I saw the episode 'The Hungry Glass'...of course, being a kid generated its own fright quotient. Certainly 43 years later I could see the same show and laugh at it---maybe. I'll just say this, the sight of the spectres in that damnable mirror has never quite left me...much like the Banshee outside Darby O'Gill's door which I saw at about the same period in my life, causing me to wonder if mere acting can ever work up such emotional involvement again. Or as we age does life's humdrum banish true horrors to some remote chamber we've lost the key to?
Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940)
Abe Lincoln would've made a great Raymond Massey...
If only we could've cloned Mr. Massey back in 1940, and then waited for a scriptwriter who could take a more controlled hand with historical accuracy than was fashionable in those days, and released the movie today...this remains my favorite treatment of one of my favorite historical figures; Massey seems born to have played Lincoln, from the obvious physical resemblance to the supposed mannerisms, and in doing so far outshines other Lincoln performances (Fonda's and Peck's come to mind). My peeve with the film is with historical detail, and I realize that Hollywood willingly sacrifices accuracy for dramatic artifice without so much as a blush...
Gods and Generals (2003)
Haven't seen it yet, but...
...as a former reenactor who garbed both Union and Confederate (rebel rags were a once and done deal with me) in 'Gettysburg', I can be expected to cut this film some slack. And it is true that I fervently wish to do so, and yet...I was hoping some of the problems that I feel hurt 'Gettysburg' (changing the title of the novel was one of them)had been corrected, but from reading some of these scathing reviews I'm thinking they might have gotten worse instead. Apparently the powers that be failed to appreciate that however purple the prose of the 1860's may have been, even on a battlefield, when portrayed on a modern silver screen and mouthed by modern actors, these orations decline into silliness. There were some real lulu's in 'Gettysburg', with the actor looking earnestly into the camera and talking to us the audience...great for a documentary, asinine for a feature film. On a more prosaic level, I hope the little details, like the ersatz facial hair and vocal accents are at least muted somewhat. I don't think I could abide Tom Berenger's beard or Thomas Howell's muttonchops for 200 some odd minutes...speaking of which, it's not often that a movie runs almost as long as it takes me to finish a marathon. And I am praying, almost as hard as Stonewall himself, that the more, ahem, portly reenactors are sent to the rear for the critical scenes. It was an experience in the fence climbing scenes with some of those lardbutts on either side of me... As for perspective, I'm not going to complain if the Union gets short shrift, insamuch as today's youths think that the Stars&Bars represent skinheads and Klansmen instead of young men thrown into a terrible conflict, to die and become mutilated, who in most cases had no vested interest in the continuation of slavery...our current crop of students and even more so their educators are sorely wanting in the breadth of their historic sightlines. Let the Southrons have their day...or lat least, their couple of hours.
Dead Poets Society (1989)
A Moving Example of 'Raging Against the Machine'
I stayed up late last night to watch this again; I'm paying but a small fatigue price for it today...I find the varying comments on the movie interesting, and somewhat amusing, noting the wide variance in the assessments. I would say it's not the best movie I've ever seen, but then again I'd be hard put to say what is. Suffice to say it's well worth whatever time is spent in the viewing. A few niggling things about it, however...I find it hard to imagine such an obvious iconoclast as Keating being hired at this school, given the pains taken with its stodgy identity, and Neil's character showed a remarkable weakness for a putative leader of an 'offbeat' group. His father, as well, was so one dimensional as to strain belief; why would he object so strenuously to his son's acting, if (as stated) it didn't affect his other schoolwork? And Knox's silly little love affair...why was this given so much play? Finally, Neil's ultimate solution to his problem was, well, not too credible, for a teenager with his entire life ahead of him. On the plus side, there's the emergence of Tod from his sheltered cocoon, and his rallying the boys for one last (albeit empty)defense of their mentor...a scene which I found gut wrenching. Some have commented on the boys' timidity in not standing up for Keating earlier, but the film made clear the futility of that, given the power of the parents/administration vis a vis a group of idealistic youths. For what it's worth, I urge anyone who hasn't seen this movie to do so, and to prepare to be moved, regardless of the cynic within you...