tiffanie_says_stay_in_your_lane

I don't know why no one can get the synopsis of this movie right! On Google I read it's about a man who takes his daughter to the beach for a day, then on Rotten Tomatoes it says the little girl befriends a man while at the beach. For anyone who hasn't seen this, it's about a guy who's an alcoholic, and he takes his niece for a day trip to the beach, played by Mark Burns and Beatie Edney. The cast is British, but it's set in a seaside Danish resort town. He's also not her uncle, but her father. That's what it says on Wikipedia, but we all know that's not exactly the most reliable source. I'll just go along with what I heard in the movie, and she called him 'uncle.' It's crazy that he took her for an outing. Who would trust him to be responsible for a child, even for a day? Anything could've happened to her with him walking around drunk. She might've ran out into the street and been hit by a car, or gotten abducted. The whole plot of the movie is how his drinking ruins his niece's experience at the beach. I do feel like that's a powerful story in and of itself, considering it bears a lot of truth, because addicts don't usually think about how their choices affect their loved ones. It gives off the vibe that it was filmed by an art student, so the sound and background music aren't the best quality, but that added to its authenticity. It's slow, awkward in some places, and nothing about it makes sense. It's like you know it's weird, but at the same time you can't look away. It's a decent movie to watch if you're bored, and like character studies, although this one is weak in nature.

I feel like every time period had young adults who were directionless, made poor choices, and maybe lived with their parents. It just so happens there's a surplus of them nowadays, but they did exist at one time. I don't know why boomers are always calling my generation lazy and selfish, as if they didn't know anyone like that back in their 20s or 30s, or were possibly guilty of acting that way themselves. This was my first time watching a movie of the kitchen sink variety, and I was not impressed. I'll never understand why people rave about the genre, because it's so bleak and dated. It was also my first time watching Albert Finney. I find it perplexing that he was considered to be a sex symbol at the time, because he wasn't attractive. He looked like a regular guy to me. The filmmakers did give an accurate portrayal of working class northern England. You get a sense of the widespread poverty and hopelessness. But the characters' reactions to various problems throughout the movie were unrealistic. Finney plays Arthur Seaton, a young man who works in a bicycle factory and lives at home. He's sarcastic, opinionated, full of himself, and not doing anything meaningful with his life, besides working. He drinks heavily on the weekends. He's sleeping with an older married woman named Brenda (Rachel Roberts) and dating a woman who's around his age, Doreen (Shirley Ann Fields). He works with Brenda's husband, Jack (Bryan Pringle), and he has the nerve to socialize with him as if nothing is going on between him and his wife. Of course he gets Brenda pregnant, and she wants an abortion, which wasn't legal at the time in the UK, so she has to find other ways to terminate the pregnancy. The similarities between this film and Alfie are unmistakable. The concept of a man who has relationships with more than one woman at the same time, in addition to impregnating a married woman. Plus there's a jazz soundtrack. I don't usually like copycat material, but I prefer Alfie over this. It was filmed against the backdrop of 1960s swinging London, and it's in color, whereas this movie is black and white, which added to the dreariness. Alfie was also better written, had balanced pacing, and the main character wasn't so unlike-able as was the case with Arthur. The only thing Alfie wanted out of women was sex, and he would move on once he lost interest, but in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Arthur has other issues besides objectifying women. He talks back to his boss, plays pranks on people, and even shoots a woman who's the neighborhood gossip in the bottom with a pellet gun. Not saying gossiping is acceptable, but it's not like what she was saying about him wasn't true. None of the other characters are likeable either. Brenda actually tells Arthur that he has no concept of right and wrong... Says the woman who's sleeping with another man behind her husband's back. I lost sympathy for him too, because when he caught her with Arthur he slapped her. She shouldn't have cheated, but a woman never deserves to be hit by a man.

It was a highly unsatisfying film. Arthur never experiences any consequences for his actions. A police officer does come to his house after he shoots his neighbor, but he doesn't get into any kind of trouble since the gun was hidden. Arthur's father came home after the shooting happened, and Arthur said he didn't do it, so his father sided with him. He does get beaten up by Jack's brother and his friend, but when it's all said and done, he's lying in a warm bed safe and sound. Even after he confesses to Doreen that he was having an affair with a married woman, she continues dating him. I thought her character was intelligent, so I was completely let down. Not only does she stay in a relationship with a man who has no morals, but they have discussions about buying a home together and settling down. How stupid! I would've loved to see him get punished in some shape or form, but he walks away from getting a married woman pregnant, shooting his neighbor, and being rude to his boss. I can't stand films where the main character has no redeeming qualities. You just don't feel sorry for Arthur. He acted like a spoiled child. Albert Finney was 24-years-old when this film was made, and it's not like he was playing a teenager. If he was so unhappy with his life, he could've did something about it. Why not try to find another job, or move out of his parent's house. Nothing about it made sense. And the ending was so abrupt, that it left me disappointed. The second it was over, I thought to myself I'm never watching this movie again. I actually felt sad afterwards. It might've been all of the sugar I was eating at the time, but this film certainly didn't help. Albert Finney wasn't a terrible actor, but his performance was nowhere near the level of Michael Caine's. Alfie is a brilliant film that teaches the audience an important lesson. Saturday Night and Sunday Morning was depressing and pointless. I wish I could get that wasted hour back.

By the late 70s, movies were starting to get lame and campy, especially if they were made for TV. But Summer of Fear is unique in such a way that it has compelling performances, and a steady pacing, which helps make the characters' development believable. Adapted from the novel by Lois Duncan, and directed by renowned horror film director Wes Craven, Summer of Fear opens with a car veering off of a cliff. The next scene has teenager Rachel (Linda Blair) getting out of bed at the start of the day to find her mom crying. She shares the tragic news that her uncle and aunt perished in a car crash. Her parents leave the house, with her dad telling her to let his secretary know he'll be away if she calls. Rachel's cousin, Julia (Lee Purcell), comes to live with them on their California ranch. She's excited to have another girl to spend time with, seeing as how she has two brothers, but the experience turns out to be the complete opposite of what she was expecting. Julia is reserved, quiet, and just overall not the most fun to be around. Rachel is the only one in her family who notices bizarre stuff happening ever since her arrival. And their horse becomes skiddish whenever he sees her. Despite all of these occurrences, her parents invalidate and dismiss her concerns. Julia gives off such unsettling energy, that she suspects her of being a witch. She has evidence there's something off about her, so it's quite stupid how she's not taken seriously. Why does the horse only run after her and not bother anyone else? And why did she become dizzy when she was standing next to Julia? She had broken out in hives, so her parents just figured she was feeling weak from being sick, but what are the chances of it happening right at that very second? The exclusion she feels within her household increases over time. It's like she's in a fish bowl, watching her family's interactions on the outside.

Julia's newfound confidence pretty much destroys Rachel's life. She develops a close relationship with her parents, steals her boyfriend, and leaves her feeling uncomfortable in her own bedroom. You'd think with having a large house, there would've been a guest room, so she still could've had her own space. When her dad discovers she's been sleeping on the couch, he says her petty and jealous attitude has been going on for too long, leading him to make the suggestion of moving in with her boyfriend. That is so dumb and crazy. What kind of a man would encourage his teenage daughter to go live with a guy? Her mom becomes furious when she comes right out and says Julia is a witch, but then starts feeling depressed when she catches her husband sharing a nighttime snack out of the fridge with her, in what looks like quite an intimate moment, so at that point it was like okay, now do you believe there's something off about her??? It reminded me of a Lifetime movie, how a person is the only one who notices someone is strange. It's not obvious in the beginning, but after Julia takes over, the Bryant family's weirdness is uncovered. It's surprising Rachel and her siblings aren't messed up. Throughout the course of the film, it's evident their parents don't pay attention to them, because her little brother was eating cake for breakfast. Without fail, her warnings about Julia aren't heeded, which results in terrifying consequences. The ending will have you on the edge of your seat, so you have to see it for that alone. Although it won't satisfy true horror fans, it's decent enough if you just want something to fill a lazy afternoon. It wasn't overly demonic, and I liked how the tension gradually built, instead of the scary material happening early on in the story. Ignore the negative reviews and give it a watch.