About My Reviews

Professional film critics love movies. They go to see films because they love them. They consider all films good films unless they run into a bad one.
I am just the opposite. I consider all films bad unless I run into a good one. That’s because Hollywood films are about making lots of money, not about art or a higher level of consciousness or the lifting of the emotional and ethical standards of the masses. Hollywood has a, “do whatever you need to do to get all you can out of them” attitude. Violence, sex, money, power, surface beauty, and brutish language are the normal bill of fare for Hollywood movies. They are only entertaining if you have been conditioned to think that all that stuff is entertaining. I don’t. I find most Hollywood films a disgusting waste of film.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a throwback from the Hays committee, I don’t believe in censorship of any kind, but I do believe in responsibility. If you look around and see what kind of society we are living in, what values our youth have, what they think valuable and worthwhile, what they think it is to be human, you will see its a reflection of our contemporary Hollywood films. Films should lift us up as human beings not throw us down into an animal pit to wallow in the slop of greed, sex and violence. We should hope for more from our film industry. I know I do.
Hollywood is a gigantic wall in this country, well fortified with people with vested interests. I would like to think my reviews are like throwing a stone against this wall. I know Hollywood knows nothing about me and my reviews and would care less if they did. However, I will say this, and the Bible will bear me out, beware of a small man with a rock.

Doubt

There is no doubt about this film…It’s a good one. Meryl Streep plays an uptight play-by-the-rules nun who is principal of a religious school. She runs a very tight ship. (think Blues Brothers and the nun they called, “The Penguin“) She suspects the parish priest, Philip Seymour Hoffman, of molesting one of her students. She builds a mud wall of circumstantial evidence which Hoffman turns into brick in his ‘suspicious actions and guilty eyes kiln‘. She wins, he is removed from this parish, but is kicked upstairs to lead an even bigger parish. And ironies of ironies, he also becomes principal of an even larger school.
As the nun sits and contemplates what she has done a wrecking ball of doubt demolishes the wall she so devoutly built. I loved this film.

Revolutionary Road

Dreamers are like hydrogen filled balloons hovering over reality, pulling at the ropes that keep them moored to the humdrum of everyday life. Over time the hydrogen seeps out and they slowly pancake to the ground dejected and deflated. But in some cases they explode in flames like the Hindenburg, “ Oh, the humanity!“ That was the case in this film. Not a bad film…but not a good one either. The high point was the heated argument between Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. It was reminiscent of that great argument between Richard Burton and Elisabeth Taylor in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” (1966), a real earthquake of an argument. The words of Longshoreman philosopher Eric Hoffer sum up this film nicely, “To believe that if we could but have this or that we would be happy is to suppress the realization that the cause of our unhappiness is in our inadequate and blemished selves. Excessive desire is thus a means of suppressing our sense of worthlessness.”

Grande Torino

The Clint Eastwood I love is the cowboy Clint. I never cared for the Dirty Harry Clint or any of his other Clint personas. That’s not to say his non-western films are no good its just that I think Clint as Josey Wales is about the best Clint ever. Grand Torino is Dirty Harry Clint in retirement, well past his prime but still doing what he does best…snarl out tough one liners with gun in hand, like, “..feeling lucky punk?” and in this case, “Get off my lawn!” Word has it this is Clint’s last film. I would have loved to see him go out in a western…. but that’s not my call. So if this is it, farewell Clint, its been a good ride.
A note to theater owners: You should not allow any male over 65 to see this movie, especially if he is a Viet Nam vet. After seeing it he might have the illusion he’s tough. He might go off and do something stupid. You could get sued for aiding and abetting.

Mama Mia!

I don’t care much for these fancy Hollywood musicals. They’re so, so, so,….I don’t know, so corny. The only singing in a movie I like is the old Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Tex Ritter, “sing a song in the saddle on the trail to some new adventure” kind. Those weren’t musicals, Roy didn’t break into a song while he was having a shoot-out with bad guys. He just sang his song and got on with his life. He didn’t stand there looking foolish singing and dancing about on a rock by the sea. Besides, Roy, Gene, and Tex had some pipes which is more than I can say for Pierce Brosnan. Couldn’t they have dubbed in some old Robert Goulet tunes for his part?
But don’t let me spoil your fun, if you like these kind of movies you will probably like this one. Just remember, we’re in a recession. It ain’t wise to be throwing your money away on foolishness.

Benjamin Button

A BOOT for Button.
This film is waaaay too long... and flat. Its flatter than “Flat Foot Floogie’s” feet. Dullsville times two. I saw Brad Pitt and director David Fincher on the Charlie Rose show and I gathered from that interview that the making of this film was one big mutual admiration society love feast. “Everyone got along so wonderfully…” was their mantra. Therein lies the problem. The best films are made when there is some tension on the set. Maybe between actors or between one or two actors and the director. But to sit around each day after a “wonderful” day of shooting having cappuccinos talking about how great everybody is will usually produce a “blah” piece of work. Besides, the subject of aging backwards is creepy on film…it may work for a novel but visually it can give you the creeps. So, if you only have ten dollars in your pocket and you can’t decide whether to have dinner at Mimi’s or to go see this film…I would go with the Chicken fried steak.

Film reviews for 2008

It's time for me to get my branding iron out and stoke up the fire because Hollywood will be coming up the trail with a whole new herd of films soon. This 2008 herd don't look like much from what I can see from here, but I'll withhold my judgement until they are all in the corral.

So check back with me here at the Bunkhouse after the holidays cause I'm gonna start cut'n and brand'n the good ones and give the boot to the others...just like I did last year. No use you wast'in money on films that ain't worth two hoots and a damn...specially these days when money is tight.