Hello Down There

The only reason to indulge in this bit of pointless nostalgia is to see Richard Dreyfuss as a punk teen. I'm almost convinced.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Seventh Son (2014)

This isn't a review. I'm forced to watch this little stinker, so I'm going to live-blog the experience so you can all enjoy it with me. THIS POST CONTAINS SERIOUS SPOILERS. Although, to be honest, you'll probably see it all coming anyway. Cliche #1: old guy who can kick your ass Cliche #2: dragon in a cave Cliche #3: men=good, woman=bad (and mother and witch archetypes, but it's a genre *shrug*) Cliche #4: seventh son of a seventh son. This one might actually be a trope, but the world building gives no reason for its existence. Cliche #5: mother's amulet - clearly a Chekhov's Gun Cliche #6: witch who possesses unnatural/immortal beauty Cliche #7: old guy with practical priorities Oh my gosh. A Tavern labelled "Tavern"!? *sigh* Terry Pratchett's Mended Drum is the pinnacle of tavern-naming genius. Cliche #8: beautiful girl being burned as a witch (damsel in distress) Cliche #9: teasing the sexual tension (when Tom meets whatshernam...
Read more

Jane Eyre

Image
 I'm afraid that Franco Zeffirelli isn't quite the "faithful custodian of the classics" the sleeve claimed. The liberties he took with the plot appalled me, not because they altered in any significant way the flow of the story, but because condensing the love story into a couple of hours merely cheapens the experience. Jane's tormented youth becomes a few moments of discomfort, and her helpless wandering transforms into a short carriage ride after which she faints for no apparent reason. I must say that the acting in the film is very fine. The spoken french rolled glibly from Charlotte Gainsbourg's tongue, and the passions evoked by the director in all the main characters fit the story very well. I have been used to seeing the housekeeper as a brusque and enigmatic arbiter, but she became a caring and somewhat lonely older woman in the honed talents of Joan Plowright. Only a brief camera moment saved her from accusations of coldness, though. This version o...
Read more

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Image
 Uma Thurman as Medusa? Interesting choice! She's been a much more believable Aphrodite in Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen . Despite its brilliance and humanity, this film suffered from two major flaws. Firstly, when Percy begins to realize his destiny and heritage, the dialogue is a mish-mash of cliches and emotionless nonsense. Secondly, this film christianizes the underworld. The ancient greeks didn't believe in fire and misery in their afterlife (well, maybe some misery sometimes, but fire and brimstone seem to be the invention of Calvinists), but a place of coldness and stone: a place of sleep and death. Persephone hated the darkness because she was tied to the warm earth, and her mother Demeter, the goddess of the harvest. Aside from these two awkward aspects, I enjoyed the film. Warning: Impending Rant Unfortunately, one of the great accuracies of this movie captured one of my biggest objections to greek mythology (and most current young ad...
Read more