Bucky-8

All woke, all the time. It''s all there:

• Dr. Claire Brown (who is black) offends a black patient in the ER (while saving her life!).
• Dr. Brown is "cancelled" from the team treating said patient.
• Dr. Brown abases herself with the requisite apology to the patient (for doing absolutely nothing wrong).

I won't even go into the confusing trans/gay/man/woman/having a baby subplot which wandered into the Science Fiction genre. Throw in the shots at "white males" and "white people" and you have the perfect storm of a series falling on its Politically Correct sword and losing its core audience.

Who writes this tripe?

This film depicting two elderly sisters nearing the end of their lives at their Maine summer home is moving, but not maudlin. Bette Davis (Libby) and Lillian Gish (Sarah) are outstanding in their roles. The effects of Miss Davis' recent real-life stroke only add to the poignancy of her performance.

Deliberately and lovingly paced by director Lindsay Anderson, the story reveals how the sisters interact with a dispossessed Russian aristocrat played by Vincent Price, neighbor Ann Sothern, and handyman Harry Carey Jr. during a day at their island cottage. The tension between the bitter Libby and sunny Sarah doesn't obscure the underlying subtle affection they have for each other.

The Whales of August is a crowning achievement for Lillian Gish and Bette Davis at the end of their long careers.

Quite simply, Lonesome Dove (1989) is one of the best westerns of all time. Even the minor characters are multi-dimensional and fully developed. All of the acting is top notch. The direction is superb.

But, this story is really about the relationship of two men: Captain Woodward Call (Tommy Lee Jones) and Captain Augustus McRae (Robert Duvall), retired Texas Rangers. Call, the stoic, is the polar opposite of McRae, a fun-loving "philosopher." Their poignant farewell is one of the most touching you will ever see on film. (Duvall said this was his favorite role.)

I rank this film right up there with The Searchers (1956) starring John Wayne.

I liked this film in most respects. John Hodiak was perfect as "Mr. Major." William Bendix, one of my favorite character actors, displayed much of his range, from humor to pathos. And Henry King's direction was superb. However, Gene Tierney was seriously miscast as the comely village girl.

Miss Tierney's Italian accent was practically non-existent. And that bleached blonde hair! I seriously doubt that an Italian girl of modest means in a fishing village would have made that a priority during World War II.

And why was John Hodiak talking about Jean Tierney's "dark skin" resembling that of his wife back home? If her skin was any lighter she could've been mistaken for an albino!

I gave this film an "8". It was one of those films where the plot line was taken too literally from the novel. The romance between Hodiak and Tierney didn't contribute much to the film. And Richard Conte's morbid description of the death of Tierney's boyfriend was way too heavy and mostly irrelevant to the rest of the film. Otherwise, "A Bell for Adano" would've have earned a "9" from me.

Ciao