tpaigeba

* * * * (FIVE STARS)SECRET THINGS. . . . Utterly BRILLIANT! Deserving of a decidedly higher rating than appears on IMDb. Well written, adroitly and deftly delivered. All the actors' portrayals of their characters were flawless. The film's timing and exposition left me almost breathless, but sadly for reasons other than those manifested by the lovely dual leading femmes fatale . The purported subject matter (sex, used-as-a-tool) is only tangentially a part of this film – a metaphor, at best.

At its center, this movie bravely and honestly covered a great panoply of the ills found in 'the human condition' with all the built-in conflicts, dualities and indefinable vagaries each of us must endure, depending to a greater degree on which hand we're dealt at birth.

The originality was the movie's hidden reveal - namely the devastation which occurs when a child loses his faith, as does Christophe who at 9 years of age finds himself in circumstances too hideous to even contemplate.

With time this movie will grow in its appeal and its audience, and be seen as the truly unique and wondrous film that it is.

Having read the redundant Allen references I must say I didn't have any while watching Miami Rhapsody.

Ruth Gordon's name sprang to mind, though. She wrote many of the exceptional lines for women such as Katherine Hepburn. And spoke them in Harold and Maude (an absolutely brilliant and unique movie.)

The wonderfully witty lines by all participants in this movie are highly clever and extremely well delivered. No particular fan of SJP lately, in this she was excellent! Beautiful, witty, funny and insightful! The epitome of what every woman is (when not pretending otherwise.)

I love this little gem. And regret that others don't see its true worth.

Today's movies are based on such different expectations, never realized and all made for those with lowered realities.

S P O I L E R S! ! ! ! ! ! What a fraud! I love Il Postino and Cinema Paradiso and a myriad of other lovely, sensitive and sympathetically themed, Italian movies. This was just a "wanna-but-never-in-this-lifetime-be" and inexplicably and mindlessly mean spirited film. I got the feeling they wanted to make "American Pie - Italian Style" but knowing how vapid that was they inserted some monstrously mean and selfish men, women and boys behaving VERY badly.

In each example of the eponymous lead character's life she is grossly and erroneously gossiped about and slandered, resulting ultimately in the loss of her father's love and support which leads to her utter destitution. She is vilified, derided, debased, spied on, lied about and all for the basest of reasons - in hopeless pursuit of self aggrandizement which never even comes close to eclipsing the brave young woman's breathtaking beauty let alone her final scene of such extraordinary bravery - which has no equal in filmography.

She is savaged and publicly attacked in broad daylight - in the town square - in front of all the villagers as well as all the American troops which had recently landed. Her attackers are a large group of maniacally enraged women who, being unable to beat the vinegar out of their cheating husbands, find a perfectly sweet young woman whose only choice to avoid starvation was prostitution. And WHY was she starving? Because these same women refused to sell her food from their stands - unless it was rotten. Even the young boy who had sworn unending fealty to Malena (via his saint) merely watched, standing together with all the the town's men who lied to everyone saying she had loved them. Not one man nor boy rescued that poor young woman.

Malena's wounded husband(previously thought dead)returns home after the war with one less arm. When he falls on the courtyard's stairs - this same young boy can't reach him fast enough to help him up again.

Men are pigs but only an evil genius misogynist would actually put into words the utterly despicable and cowardly attack of the young woman, Malena, showing the women to be the monsters. Cheap trick. The author holds that title.

Don't waste your time or money. Rent Perfume. One truly magnificently original, excellent movie.

Her real name was Anne Desclos, even though she used yet another pseudonym for this documentary as well as another when she revealed that she was the author of The Story of O, after all those important in her life had died. Even her name - like her fascinating book - was a puzzle, wrapped inside a riddle wrapped inside an enigma.

This documentary is a unique and freeing study of an average-looking woman blessed with great intellect and good humor who tells yet another story - the true story of her real love life where, as a younger woman, feeling the fading rays of love in her lover's eyes, creates one of the greatest, widely-read, shocking treatments of auto-eroticism and sadomasochism written within the past century.

She adores a brilliant, dashing critic and "literateur" Jean Paulhan only as a woman of her time adores - utterly, completely and ultimately desperately as he is married to a chronically ill woman whom he would never leave. He was a man who thrilled in exercising his wondering eye. Like Anne Desclos' father, Paulhan was a connoisseur of pornography.

Being a bibliophile, sometime during her early years she surreptitiously found her father's store of erotic novels, read them, and in time fell in love with the topic in general and one of his books in particular.

Some years later, fearing the loss of her lover and following his dictum that women were incapable of writing auto erotic and sadomasochistic novels she writes The Story of O, anonymously, and asked him to publish it for her. Although the world may see it otherwise, the documentary made it clear to me that the book was merely incidental to her great and unending love of him. She said she never loved before him nor after him - and while it may seem obvious, she never married.

That was back in 1954 and that book has not been out of print since. Very few books can boast a record of that sort. I haven't read it in some years yet I find it again to be a thrilling ride - and have started to read it again after viewing this wonderful documentary.

Nothing to watch here. It's all been done (and better) before. Who cares about this woman - deficient in every way - as a mother as a wife and as a friend? In one instant when she could have taken the high road - she jumped into re-addiction with both feet and held her breath - for no better a reason than "me, too!" If she wasn't the pretty and young person she portrays on screen - but looked more like the real human wreckage that is represented by our family members, neighbors and friends who really suffer from additions we'd change channels in a nanosecond.

This movie starts out at the bottom and goes downhill. Nothing redeeming, no lessons taught - nothing uplifting in any way. None of the main characters even evoke sympathy, let alone empathy. (Well, maybe the snake.) I would have had more fun if I'd shut a door on my hand. Who needs drivel like this?

Couldn't watch the whole debacle. I am no 'priss' about the English language - blue or otherwise - but he wasn't funny. He tried so hard, and with his sadly inappropriate and pathetically redundant use of the 'f' word, turned his monologue into another 'f' word: f-l-o-p! What an embarrassment! I tuned in 3 times in order to (hopefully) witness some cleverness, wit, charm or otherwise redeeming quality to his presentation - and there was none to be had. His monologue is the worst thing I 've seen on cable - ever. Even the worst movie is a better waste of my time than this sorry excuse for humor!

I really thought he'd gone off the deep end. I even Googled "Bob Saget had a stroke" just to see if perhaps that was the case. What has happened to him? Does he think that just by saying the 'f' word often enough it would make him funny? Good night, Louise! If I were the children he mentions in his 'shtick' I would immediately get myself declared an emancipated minor, change my last name and move to an undisclosed locality.

Someone (perhaps personal career-killer Andrew Dice Clay) should have had the decency to tell Bob Saget (before his appearance on nationwide TV) that this material was not only offensive, but a comic's worst nightmare – unfunny – and demanded that Saget burn all his notes.

And, if I may ask, what is wrong with HBO? I associate their products with quality. No more. If someone at the top thought it was a good idea to put this heretofore pleasant TV personality/comedian's awful drivel on TV, then they should give serious consideration to changing careers; as it will take decades to undo the distasteful musings of this once-decent, once-likable and now and again funny guy. It's like an evil force entered Bob Saget's body and decided to utterly destroy him for the rest of time. Or has he managed over the years to keep his now apparent Tourette's Syndrome in check? Or has he had a reverse lobotomy?

I don't think Bob Saget will ever be able to overcome this career move. He has murdered his career; while sentencing his body to life.

Shame, Shame, Shame

I only rented this stinker because of its relatively high ratings. It totally sucked! I cannot imagine how anyone would think this a good movie - even an OK movie. None of the characters had ANY redeeming qualities of any kind. To varying degrees they were each selfish and mean-spirited - or abused and damaged personalities who hadn't a clue about the spirit of Christmas (when this takes place!) I know Canadians and like them - but I cannot think that even THEY would think this a good movie. I'd rather a sharp stick in the eye than watch this offensive movie again. A colossal waste of time and money. Do not believe the person who wrote the opinion that it was "worth watching." This person probably would enjoy having a dentist drill their teeth without anesthesia, too. Don't mean to be unkind but for the life of me I cannot imagine what this person was thinking. Unless they had ulterior motives. Maybe s/he was the director or the producer. If so, I'd like to ask them to give me back my money. If your money is important to you - save it instead of renting this piece of drek - or rent something (anything!) else. I'm running out of good reasons NOT TO rent this film. If I were Canadian I'd be ASHAMED that it's supposed to be a favorite Canadian flick. If so, I would say that those who think so are definitely in need of great quantities of powerful drugs. YECK!

I've watched this movie several times over the years and it is ALWAYS, tears-running-out-my-eyes funny. Often when you know what's going to happen you tend to go "ho-hum." Not in this case. TRACTRAC still holds up – 40+ years later - and who can say that about anything - let alone a movie? There's a classic scene of the postmistress warning the townsfolk (aka Paul Revere) in a motorcycle's sidecar while holding a large sign which reads "Alert." Another one is when this same woman is muffled and tied to a chair and the chair is then hung onto a high wall Shaker chair railing. Her deaf husband comes into the room and fails to see her and goes on with his breakfast - while she's flailing her legs about to draw his attention! When he finally sees her – he asks her what she's doing hanging on the wall! If you've not seen it - or not seen it in a while - give yourself a treat and enjoy a few minutes of sheer, unadulterated fun. It's funny for all ages, including kids – without dumbing down to draw their appreciation. If you don't think it funny - check your pulse - you may be dead or merely the victim of a recent (& secret) lobotomy. ha ha ha

It was a mean time both historically and geographically. The people lived on a stark and barren spit of land attached to a strikingly beautiful yet often-ferocious sea. Storms were frequent and accompanied by howling winds, slashing rains and crashing waves which occasionally ended in catastrophic shipwrecks. People scratched around just to subsist. The harsh elements succeeded in stealing love from their souls, much as the sea stole lives from the broken ships. Those who did not fit in were scorned and made to suffer. Notwithstanding all this however, this story talks to the will of 2 simple people, who though raised in a harsh land by even harsher people manage to find love and peace, albeit for a short while, despite outrageous cruelties visited upon them. *** 1/2 Stars; 1 Hankie.