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All reviews - Movies (316) - TV Shows (17) - DVDs (21) - Books (221) - Music (8)

worthy of Hitchcock

Posted : 15 years, 11 months ago on 27 April 2008 04:52 (A review of Diabolique)

Clouzot directs with a cruelty that combines a nastily tangled storyline worthy of Hitchcock with three strong performances (one of which is the beautiful Simone Signoret) and a seedy setting.
There are scenes of physical horror, but Clouzot also sets the flesh creeping with incidences of ordinary nastiness.


The remake with Isabelle Adjani, Chazz Palminteri and Sharon Stone just isnā€™t as scary or eerie as the 1954 original.


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Taylor, Dean, Hopper, Hudson

Posted : 15 years, 11 months ago on 27 April 2008 04:50 (A review of Giant)

A sprawling family saga, with James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, Dennis Hopper and Rock Hudson ā€“ what more could you ask for? The performances are outstanding, and the Texas landscape is just plain beautiful.

Letā€™s not forget the film also deals interestingly with both racial and class differences.


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chicks'-night-in flick

Posted : 15 years, 11 months ago on 27 April 2008 04:49 (A review of An Affair to Remember)

A definitive chicksā€™-night-in flick, itā€™s one of the best love stories of all times ā€“ even if itā€™s a remake of Love Affair (1939) with Irene Dunne.

Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr are unforgettable.


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splendid

Posted : 15 years, 11 months ago on 27 April 2008 04:48 (A review of La Dolce Vita)

An epic about triviality, this is a film that paradoxically set as many fashion styles as it set out to demolish. And of course, there are the splendid performances by Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg and Anouk AimƩe.


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chicks'-night-in flick

Posted : 15 years, 11 months ago on 27 April 2008 04:47 (A review of Breakfast at Tiffany's)

Several reasons to see this chicksā€™-night-in flick:
Audrey Hepburn, who frankly outdid herself (no one, not even Marilyn Monroe could have outdone her performance), sheā€™s so brilliant;
Hepburnā€™s elegance and chic attitude;
Henry Manciniā€™s score, more specifically Hepburnā€™s singing Moon River because it is enchanting;
classic cinematic moments that make you want to see this film over and over.

Itā€™s one of Hollywoodā€™s most delightful romantic dramas.


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realism

Posted : 15 years, 11 months ago on 27 April 2008 04:46 (A review of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg)

The fact that this filmā€™s dialogue is entirely sung, makes it a mandatory viewing. Director Jacques Demy incorporated song and dance in the service not of escape, but of realism. The effect is riveting and profoundly moving.

Everyone should see this for several reasons: Michel Legrandā€™s score is superbly enchanting; Catherine Deneuve gives an outstanding, convincing and unforgettable performance, probably the best in all her career. And most of all, since, in the real world, not all stories have a happy ending, the director was deft enough to convey that with emotional honesty, magic and maturity.


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a screen epic

Posted : 15 years, 11 months ago on 27 April 2008 04:44 (A review of Doctor Zhivago)

The greatest screen epic (and love story) ever produced, itā€™s a pretty accurate adaptation of Boris Pasternakā€™s novel which chronicles the discontents of early 20th-century Russian society.

This film has riveting action, and most importantly depicts one of the most important historical events: the disastrous effects of World War I on the country, the revolution that destroyed the old order, the political turmoil and insecurity.

Well-known actors like Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Geraldine Chaplin, Alec Guinness and Klaus Kinsky deliver amazing performances.


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Newman & Redford

Posted : 15 years, 11 months ago on 27 April 2008 04:43 (A review of The Sting)

Paul Newman and Robert Redford are my two reasons for watching this. I donā€™t recall seeing such astonishing, mind-blowing performances.

The witty dialogue, the soundtrack, the themes of loyalty and deception are the other reasons.


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classic comedy

Posted : 15 years, 11 months ago on 27 April 2008 04:43 (A review of Tootsie)

A classic comedy, it pioneered a new style in mainstream cinema: lots of subplots, pop allusions, dramatic complications, subversive implications, a happy ending, and marvelous performances by Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, and my favorite, Teri Garr, who isnā€™t as popular as she could be.

I never get tired of watching this film.


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Dickensian drama & fairy tale

Posted : 15 years, 11 months ago on 27 April 2008 04:42 (A review of Fanny and Alexander)

Perhaps one of Bergmanā€™s least known movies, this I consider to be one of his best.

This is an autobiographical tale of a brother and sister born in an aristocratic family in Sweden. The story is part Dickensian drama, part mystical fairy tale.

Yes, it is long and slow, and may put modern action viewers off, but every image is worth seeing. The entire film has a dreamy sense of the unreal, a relief during its more tragic moments.


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