laskinner-124-924636

Dreadful script full of fake characters and bad acting resulting from bad writing and non existent direction. This movie proves you can have an abundance of talent involved and still manage to make a truly dull movie with no creditability or truth on the screen. Sad to see such talent wasted.

This movie was criticized when it came out because of it's humor and supposedly too lighthearted approach to blacklisting. But the director, writer and many of the actors were black listed and I think they knew it was a better way to approach the material than some turgid drama about blacklisting. Zero Mostel gives simply one of the most extraordinary performances on film in this movie. He runs the gamut and it is a crime he didn't win the supporting Oscar for this film. Woody Allen has never been better as an actor. The writer and director expose the black listing system in a way that makes you understand the human aspect of it. The acting throughout is convincing and in Zero Mostel's case, heartbreaking. His performance is reason enough to see this film. It is tremendous in it's humor, pathos and skill. You will witness many great character performances in this movie and the patina of an era long gone but not forgotten in this country. You will find familiar faces in this film which draws on many of the talents that populated the era of blacklisting.

The film is beautifully shot and the director knows how to shoot landscape to illuminate a story like no one else but the movie remains hobbled by the director and writer's inability to make the DuPont character anything less than opaque. He remains an enigma from beginning to end. If this was their idea it is a fatal error because with no way into DuPont's character we are at a loss on who to process the information that unfolds. Steve Carell gives a good performance with very little material to work with on this role. We never understand "how" he came to the terrible last moments of the film. Mark Ruffalo gives the most complete portrait in the movie in the supporting role of Mark--he truly transcends the material. Channing Tatum (not a favorite of mine) is adequate in looking like a clueless ape in the movie, but he like Steve Carell fall victim to the inadequacies of the script. Vanessa Redgrave is underused and clearly her part could have illuminated many of the aspects of her son's character. The narrative seemed inadequate to the story being told. Or the story it seemed they wanted to tell but could not.

I am not a Jennifer Anniston fan although I have enjoyed the odd thing she has done over the years but she truly is gifted in this portrayal. The movie hinges on this character so if it was not done with great integrity and clarity and humor --it would not work. Ms. Anniston actually looks like a person and not terribly attractive at that --not a movie star in any way. Which is crucial to entering into this story. The supporting characters particularly her "maid" who is absolutely wonderful and integral to the story are mostly well drawn. It is not a movie that to entertain in the light vein (needless to say) but it is well worth watching for this compelling story of a woman in many kinds of pain and how she begins to overcome that overwhelming pain.

Reese Witherspoon is good in this movie but not great by any means and I happen to be a fan of hers. The movie is directed in a fragmented way that does not serve the story in any way. We cannot get to know this woman --her journey from the lowest depths to some sort of epiphany because to this fragmentation. We are kept at a distance from her transformation by the choice of the director. And it hampers the development of the character. There is no way into this movie and ultimately it becomes tedious. There is no depth and not enough character development for us to care about this woman's journey. The supporting cast also suffers from this fragmentation. In every way it lacks the intensity and realism that the directory brought to DALLAS BUYERS CLUB. You won't find that kind of honesty in this film. Many scenes seem almost "stock".

They were profoundly lucky to have gotten Peter Sellars to do this movie. I can't think of anyone else who would have been as brilliant. It is difficult to imagine anyone else inhabiting this idiot savant so precisely and believably. The movie is a tremendously entertaining satire and yet so deeply human. The film is peopled by wonderful performances. Melvyn Douglas is excellent as the dying, wealthy political figure. As his wife, Shirley MacLaine is perfection as his elegant, younger wife who has a wacky side. Jack Warden as always doesn't disappoint as the President. RIchard Dysart delights as the doctor who figures out the truth about Sellar's character.

It is beautifully shot and designed. The script and film certainly surpasses the book in many ways which is rare in a movie. A hilariously dark film that remains disturbing and entertaining to this day.

This movie is a classic thriller but with characters so deeply inhabited by everyone in the film one can almost forget it's essentially a genre film. Jane Fonda NEVER better (except in THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON'T THEY) gives a master class in film acting in this movie with her guarded, vulnerable performance of Bree. She runs the gamut and you believe every frame. Donald Sutherland absolutely brilliant as the contained title character. He imbues the character's reticence with a humanity that is profound and makes Bree's attraction to him make sense. Sutherland is a master film actor who is able to delineate subtle and often underwritten characters in a way that few others can match (Ordinary People is a prime example as well). The film is populated with wonderful NY actors and offers rich rewards in small parts. It is rare to see a female character as the focus in a thriller and certainly never one that offers such depth of character as Bree. She is not a hooker with a heart of gold but a real living breathing woman trying to live her life as best she can. There are so many pleasures to be had in this movie among them a virtual tour of demimonde of NYC during the 70's.

I've seen this movie several times and even the first time I saw it --back in the early 70's I knew that Kitty Winn's performance was vastly superior to Al Pacino's. Now I am a big fan of Al in subsequent films but he is "acting" in this film and his "movie star" quality does not aid him in this gritty film in which every actor seems like a street person EXCEPT for Pacino. Kitty Winn, a brilliant stage actress gives a heartbreaking and subtle performance from the first frame to the last. Quite astonishing and it holds up every time. Al went on the greater glory but Kitty wins the prize for this one and not just at Cannes.

If you have any knowledge of the theatre and especially classical English theatre--you will find this movie immensely entertaining on many levels--but it's brilliance is in the construction of the movie and its humor which allows both the knowledgeable and those unacquainted with this period of English drama to enjoy it (almost) equally. Extremely witty screenplay and portrayals of well known figures of the period. Though Gwyneth Paltrow won an Oscar and is certainly good in the film--it's not as if you couldn't imagine someone else being quite good in the role - -although I must say most of the names bandied about wouldn't have been better. The other players execute precise and hilarious characterizations. It is a film you can watch more than once and still enjoy quite a lot, which always seems the mark of a truly well made film.

I saw this when I was a child at a drive-in movie theatre in Phoenix, AZ (where is was a $1 a car) and I remember it so vividly because even as a young child I understood that what happened to Tom Robinson was wrong. Not because I was precocious but because even as young child I could understand what were the underlying tenants of this movie. The storytelling is straight-forward and yet it plumbs the depths. I didn't know anything at that age about civil rights or the struggle of African Americans. This movie is profound because even if you never had encountered this environment (the South) you would come away with a profound understanding of it in all of its levels and permutations. It has a deceptively simple script that belies it's deep roots and in that way Horton Foote's script truly honors Harper Lee's book. PS--Truman didn't write that book --he would have been the first to claim it --IF he had! It is a genuine, true American movie that never fails to move one by it's deeply human characters and story.

It is the consummate court room drama but also a searing examination of character. Paul Newman who gives the performance of his career as Frank Galvin. A role reputedly turned down by Robert Redford. He is full of guile and self loathing and redeems himself in a last bid for self respect. The supporting cast is filled with the finest actors this country has to offer--led of course by Jack Warden, Milo O'Shea, Ed Binns and James Mason (officially from the UK but a great Hollywood actor). Lindsay Crouse gives an astonishing performance in her brief scenes as does Julie Bovasso. And of course, Charlotte Rampling who is devastating as his betrayer. It is one of the ultimate tales of redemption on the par with A Christmas CAROL. And though I haven't read the novel, the script Mamet did for this is a work of genius. You would be hard pressed to find a better written, directed or acted movie than this. It will haunt you.

WHITE Christmas is one of the best holiday movies not to mention musicals to come out of Hollywood in the 1950's. It has great performances by the 4 leads (Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera Ellen) who act, sing and dance with effortless aplomb. Crosby and Kaye have some amazing comic set pieces. It also has Mary Wickes in one of her signature comic supporting roles. Criticism of the acting in this film is really off base--the movie requires a certain style and the performances reflect it perfectly. This is the kind of film that could never be made now and it contains all the genuine pleasures of the movie musical as developed by Hollywood. There are several wonderful scenes set in "supper clubs" which evoke a bygone era.

It has nothing to do with "real life" (what musicals do?) however it is completely charming, entertaining and satisfying. If you haven't seen it--I guarantee you will want to watch it every holiday season after you do.