sunnymusic

When will I learn not to be swayed by critics, especially those with laudable reputations? Roger Ebert, who is in general one of the best, gave this movie 3 1/2 stars, while the lesser known Kamal 'The Diva" Larsuel came right out with this pronouncement: "This movie sucked." I should have heeded The Diva. The only reason I gave it a 2 rather than a 1 was because of the acting, which is superb - Bob Hoskins is fantastic, as usual, and so is Elaine Cassidy as Felicia. But the story is a complete bore - I kept waiting for things to heat up and they never really do - after a good deal of dullness the temperature rises from room to tepid. I don't think I'll be guilty of writing a spoiler by saying that the ending is ridiculous and contrived. So don't count on anything but good acting and occasional nice scenery and you won't be disappointed.

Sometimes I really wonder if there's something wrong with me. I'm admittedly not a big fan of "romance" movies but when I see one that's really good it grabs me. This picture, however, I found to be incredibly boring. Taken in by the 7.1 rating, I thought I'd give it a try and stuck with it all the way through to see if anything happened to justify that score. Afraid not. Berenice Marlohe is astonishingly good looking, but the faultless character she plays is more annoying than attractive. As for Anton Yelchin, I have doubts that he could have made his sad faced character any less interesting. The story is not really all that original and is actually pretty sappy; writer/director Victor Levin does not hesitate to "cue the strings" to make sure that sap keeps flowing. As I said, maybe there's something wrong with me - plenty of reviewers thought the movie was great. Maybe you will too, who knows...

Since I'm citing a Beatles song in the heading of this review I figured I might as well use a movie title, "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" to help frame it. As to what is good, there are definitely some exciting scenes to help get you through a series in which there is a lot of rough sledding. I hope you don't mind the sight of blood, however, as the episodes are fairly drenched in it and it figures as an important element in general. Some of the acting is excellent, but some is unbearable, which we'll get to in the "bad" section. The cinematography is also admirable and may make you eager to visit southern Spain, the beautiful spot where all the nasty events of the series take place. And speaking of Spain, the show is an excellent way to practice the language of that beautiful country, although the rapidity with which some characters speak may make you question whether those Spanish classes you took did any good at all. The plot twists are also a plus. Personally, I have trouble following Perry Mason but even the most astute of viewers will probably be surprised how the story develops. Now perhaps I really shouldn't say there is any bad acting as all the actors are skilled and put their hearts into their characters. But what some viewers may find annoying, as I did, is the over the top melodrama, which not only detracts from the story but becomes repetitive, boring and depressing. The length of the first season could be cut by a good couple of hours with some further editing, especially of the histrionics. Also in the bad category are some aspects of the plot. But you said the plot was good, you may justifiably complain. Yes, I did. It is one of the highlights of the series; it holds our attention as we go from point A to Point B and finally come in for a landing at Z. The problem is that there are so many absurdities, coincidences and just plain ridiculous incidents that challenge our belief on the journey. I wrote down a nice list of them but in order not to tax your patience will mention just a couple, leaving out the characters' names so as not to risk spoiling anything: a man crosses the street with the intent to kill, carrying a gun in his hand the whole time, resulting in his being stopped. Couldn't he have put it in his pocket until he reached his potential victim? People search for a body with no clue as to where to start digging until a stray dog happens to pass by and start sniffing around. A daughter tells her mother her birthday is coming up and the mother expresses surprise. OK, that's enough. They don't make much sense out of context, anyway. You really have to be there. Finally, the ugly. There are many beastly people and by the end of the season you may be eager not to see their mugs anymore. I certainly felt that way and couldn't wait for the season to finish but found myself unable to quit because I just had to find out how it all ends. Which it finally did, and, dear viewer, I don't think you're going to like how it does.

Yes! This is what you slog through the mediocre movies for, those weary times when you're trying to get through an afternoon, hoping to at least come across a good scene or two, an interesting line of dialogue, a scenic view to take you out of your crowded apartment for a while. Because this, this is the kind of experience that finally makes it all worthwhile - a fast-paced, fascinating story with unbelievable characters, snappy patter, exciting scenes and some of the best acting you'll ever see. There's a reason Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio are stars and they tell you why right here. And, perhaps best of all, it's all true! It's great that writers can make up stories that grab you by the throat, pull you in and still have a hold on you even when it's all over; Dickens, Hemingway, King, O'Connor. How do they do it? But when it all actually happened, didn't spring from someone's vivid imagination but came from actual lived life - for me it adds an extra impact and somehow makes it more important. And in this case, it actually is a writer's story, the story of a writer, because "This Boy" is Tobias Wolff. I've never read anything by him, but you know what? Now I have to.

Let's start with the voice-over. This can be an effective atmosphere- or plot- enhancing technique when done well. It is not done well. Antonio Banderas mumbles and whispers his way through the entire movie and this can really get on one's nerves, especially as he does it even more when he's on screen. I wonder if he thought to himself, Oh, this movie is so bad it doesn't matter what I do so I'll just assume this whispery persona and everyone will think I'm a great actor. Guess what. It doesn't work. It comes across as bad acting and did I mention how annoying it was? Now let's get to the plot. Must we? Can't we just forget about it? I wish we could but movies do have plots, especially action thrillers (yes, there is action, people do move around and drive cars and stuff, but whether to thrilling effect or not is debatable), so let's just say that the plot is almost as absurd as the acting. I can't for the life of me figure out why Banderas is put through so much grilling when the bad guys only need to know one thing. I guess they make him tell his life story as a way to move the plot along. And why, when he's driving his beautiful car near the end of the picture, why oh why doesn't he immediately swerve away from the danger? Sigh...OK, enough negativity. Let me say that Sam Elliott's appearance toward the end of the film almost makes sloughing through the dreck worthwhile. Where Antonio mumbles, Sam booms. You know his voice. It's inimitable and it's a mighty refreshing thing that it comes in when all seemed doomed. You know, I always check out reviews before I watch a movie to see if I'm going to like it. Skimming through, I noticed a lot of people did, and one professional reviewer, who shall remain nameless, thought Banderas was brilliant. This is because, as the old maxim goes, there is no accounting for taste. And this is a very hopeful thing. Maybe someday someone somewhere will find a use for my poor, lonely, neglected songs and put them in a movie. I wouldn't even say no to one as bad as this.

"You must be patient," someone says to the protagonist, Maria, about halfway through the movie. Ain't it the truth. I kept waiting for something to happen. A new acquaintance tells her he's working on a project about how birds change their song when they go from the country to the city. This is the most interesting thing that has happened so far, I thought to myself. Ever keep watching a movie you hated all the way to the end just because you couldn't believe what you were watching could be that bad and you just had to see if something, anything was going to salvage it from disaster? Well, I did keep watching and toward the end a few things do finally happen, including a scene the movie had basically been building up to in its effort to show us how clever it is (if I may be permitted to anthropomorphize a movie). Also, some philosophy gets thrown around as does some hanky-panky and some more measurements (in one case to complement the hanky-panky) and we get to hear the birds again. Perhaps, dear fellow film fan, you are more patient than I and when the credits finally begin to roll you will sigh and whisper to your beloved, or to yourself if, sadly, you are alone, "Ah, that was a lovely movie." As for me, my TV menu informs me that Die-hard 2 will be showing this afternoon. I don't know if I will like it, but I do know that I need it.

If you are offended by nudity, perversity or violence this movie is not for you. There is plenty of all three and the violence is at times unremitting. But these features are not gratuitous - they are part and parcel of the setting, plot and character development and the film would not be what it is without them, especially as it is based on a play - if you are expecting to get a good look at life in Texas, you will be disappointed as pretty much everything takes place indoors. But what does take place will have you glued to the screen. Most of your personal problems will fade away as you find yourself enrapt by the almost surreal problems and solutions the characters have to deal with. I should also mention that the actors were superb. They must have been drained after a day's work. But for some strange reason when the movie ended I snapped out of my usual lethargy and hustled out for a brisk walk. Maybe it'll have the same effect on you. And we all need our exercise.

Here's a classic case of bad music spoiling a movie. There is way too much of it and it is way too loud. I often found the need to mute the soundtrack and follow along with closed captions to spare myself the misery of the insipid score. Music should be enhancing, not overwhelming. In addition, I have to agree with other reviewers that some of the butterflies seemed to be the product of CGI, which was also disconcerting, as was the overall gearing of the film toward a school-aged audience. Nevertheless, the inspiring story of the Monarch migration and fortuitous convocation of events that resulted in its eventual discovery make this film worth viewing. But you might want to keep a finger close to the mute button.