Tag Archives: movie review

STRAWMAN STUART

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THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE, JOHN FORD

This revered John Ford movie makes James Stuart’s character a straw man – a fake and a phony. He ventures into the frontier and believes he can use only law (and law books) to resolve disputes. Someone who is that idealistic could not live during the time the movie was set (1865 – 1875). Stuart isn’t a Quaker so he doesn’t have that religion as support. Stuart mouths off while joining the community of Shinbone. It’s no wonder people beat him up or wonder about him.

Everyone in the American west knew that law was a casual thing. Adherence to laws found in books was isolated. The late nineteenth century in America was greatly affected by the Civil War. Violence frequently proceeded or accompanied law. Frequently there was a sense of community equity. Those lessons were not forgotten by the generation which fought the War, nor subsequent generations.

But the movie only makes sense if the audience forgets history and goes along with the  thinking of James Stuart’s character. Spoiler alert! I can only say, to make it a story, thank God John Wayne shot Liberty Valance. Spoiler alert!

DISBELIEF

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LOVE ACTUALLY – movie review

This film has been around the block more than once. It’s supposed to be a big romantic thriller. Ha, ha!

A mostly British predictable production of an ensemble story about love and relationships, everything happens in the six weeks before Christmas. The British don’t celebrate Thanksgiving so no one has to climb through the Planes, Trains and Automobiles of that holiday.

Jerks showing up like the President of the United States (Billy Bob Thorton appearing as Bill Clinton) interfere with love. The first third of the movie pairs couples, one being the British Prime Minister. The next third is about the difficulties of life making love impossible. Nothing is very interesting about any of those episodes, most of which have been seen by American audiences on failing sit-coms lasting only a season because the laugh track has gone awry.

There is some interest when a couple removes their clothes to shoot a movie, an MTV piece or an ad for the Nude Olympics. They are the only naked people in the flick. It’s good the see Martin Freeman who plays Doctor Watson on Sherlock burst out of that role and get some action. Liam Neeson is a much better actor when he’s killing Albanians than in this movie (father trying to help his son’s romance along).

The final third of the movie is about couples coming together. Intimacy is swamped by the drive to love actually. There is a lot of coincidence and wow – this should have happened years ago! The most preposterous is Colin Ferrel who flies somewhere (Portugal?). He intends to propose. His intended is a waitress at work. Half her village follows wanting to see Colin pop the question and get an answer. The parade goes down the street; not everyone can fit into the restaurant. It’s a true waste of film showing the crowd and time, attempting to provoke a tear or two, before the whole thing becomes incredulous.

Don’t bother with this movie, either in 2005, 2015 or 2025.

ART HEIST – Review

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This movie stars Ellen Pompeo and Steven Baldwin.

Theft of El Greco in Madrid. Ellen, a high-powered art dealer, might lose her most lucrative client. She advised him to loan the painting to the Madrid museum which was robbed.

At home in America she loves her daughter and husband (Baldwin-cop) recently separated. They live in New Jersey.

To protect her relations with her client, Ellen goes to Madrid to help the investigation. Who are the suspects? Pompeo is not convincing in the role. Her New Jersey house looks like a set from a Doris Day movie in 1958, not the digs of a dealer/one time aspiring painter. She says nothing smart about painting or the market for stolen art. Her role in the movie is pathetically clear.

She’s driving in the first chase scene, after the same art culprits steal a painting from an art auction. She rips along the streets of Madrid, across plazas and around circles. She crashes into a coffee shop, but is too injured to order. Baldwin and daughter fly the Atlantic to comfort her.

If I had seen this movie before the tragedy in Paris, I would have been incredulous about the lack of local police activity to violent crimes within the city: Boots on the ground, investigators looking into high value thefts, electronic resources. In California when someone boasts a car or just doesn’t want to stop for a traffic ticket, there are at least five cop cars trailing him along with the police and media helicopters. Within the last decade when Eastern Europeans robbed a bank in the San Fernando Valley, cops stopped them. The bad guys were wearing full body armor; at least 100 cops including SWAT were on scene within ten minutes. End of bank robbers.

In Paris this year twelve people were murdered; 11 were wounded; police officers were killed or wounded. The bad guys drove 12-15 miles and were located on the second day and killed. Meanwhile, that festering situation allowed the attack on the grocery store. A question arises, and the answer is not, C’est la vie. If the murdering bad guys had been stopped immediately, would have the attack on the grocery store have ensued?

in Art Heist people are murdered during the art theft. Paintings worth $100 million are stolen. There are no cops anywhere. Ellen has to chase the bad guys herself. A week later (a few minutes of film time) Ellen is threatened (knife to throat). Baldwin intercepts and chases the two bad guys. Three minutes of motorcycles through Barcelona, making old people jump, young people watch and children cry. Baldin catches up with them, fights, loses (two against one). There’s not a cop closer than 20 miles.

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? TAKE WHAT YOU WANT. EUROPE IS UP FOR GRABS!

Art Heist becomes preposterous: Baldwin tells Ellen the situation is dangerous. He knows of the people accused of the thefts. He advises return to New Jersey. She gives him every illogical, unrealistic, unreasonable, unfathomable explanation why she will stay, be insensate and endanger herself. About this time in the movie, Baldwin, doing real police work (his character is the only credible one in the flick), meets a promising babe-informant (seen her but don’t know her name). She has a day job in a sporting goods store. It’s time for abandon Ellen to the wilds of Spain, take his daughter and the sporting good woman home to mother in New Jersey.

NOPE, and I can neither write more nor recommend the final 20 minutes of this movie, any more than I can the beginning.