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Reviews
A Distant Trumpet (1964)
A Distant Trumpet is a Big Boring monotonous western
A Distant Trumpet is a Big Boring western with an excess of monotonous wide screen Calvary maneuvers. By the way I do so like a good western. In fact I appreciate some mediocre and cult "B" type westerns, but this movie was not even bad enough to be laughable; it was just boring.
It's like the director was making a big movie that was suitable for preschoolers; no sex, no realistic violence, no believable fighting, limited dialogue. In fact the plot and dialogue was so limited that preschoolers could have played the parts.
This was director Raoul Walsh's last film, he was 77 years old; maybe his age, health, mental and physical stamina had something to do with the lackluster result of this final production.
A Distant Trumpet totally lacks drama; screen writers/director seem to have purposely limited character development and dialogue. The Indians were just there; you did not fear or feel sorry for them. The Indian fights were not believable. The deaths and injuries were staged and not believable. Calvary life was not believable. The whole cast was stiff and unbelievable. Suzanne Pleshette is the only one who had a moment or two where the audience could connect. On the whole it was stiff and there was no connection. Throughout watching this production, you never forget that you are watching a movie. The director must have been allergic to close-ups. Even the bad whiskey dealer and prostitutes were mere caricatures. This is an extremely disappointing production.
The Dollmaker (1984)
Jane Fonda could have been an excellent Dramatic actress
This TV Moves shows that Jane Fonda could have been an excellent Dramatic actress, but political activism, personal wealth and her lack of dedication to acting have lead her elsewhere. The Dollmaker shows how drastically times have changed and helps us to understand part of our history and possibly a limited society that some people do not know exist. So often the struggles of the less well off are not given proper realism or understanding. The fact that the working poor have communication issues and different values and appreciations are often overlooked. Do people feel that the working poor have no time to have personal problems or that only the educated can appreciate art and beauty? This movie also points out the lack of women's rights and control or lack-there-of over their own lives in the 1940's.
Hooper (1978)
Hooper is a disappointment and a waste of time
Hooper is Not Funny, Not Fasted paced, Not romantic and Non informative. There is no real drama. You would think that a movie about the world's greatest stuntman would have some drama, there was an attempt but it didn't seem real. No Character study, no lessons learned, it did not even look like the actors were having any real fun, they were just trying to act like they were having fun. There is no reason to watch unless you like to look at Burt and want get an occasional glimpse of Sally. Prancer the horse was beautiful and did what he was supposed to do. In fact Prancer was the best actor in this movie. Smoky and the Bandit was such a fun movie that I was ready to like Hooper. This movie turned out to be a real disappointment and waste of time
Must Love Dogs (2005)
Very Funny! It is truly a comedy.
Must Love Dogs made me laugh out loud! This is more than I can say for many so-called comedy films that are higher rated than 'Must Love Dogs'. I had not heard any of the hype or read any reviews when I saw the movie,so I was not expecting greatness. I did find this film very funny and laughed which is what a comedy should cause one to do.
Today many comedies do not seem very comedic and often a good drama that has a few funny lines is labeled a comedy. Must Love Dogs is very funny despite the ridiculous and unbelievable swimming; that part was contrived for some reason (to show that the dog could swim, Diane Lane could swim, John Cusack could row or someone just wanted that boat).
This may not be Cusack at his best, but he is still very good. Elizabeth Perkins and Christopher Plummer are fantastic; so is Diane Lane (she is better and more believable than in 'Under the Tuscan Sun'). Although her affection for John Cusack is not convincing, despite the swim or possibly because of the poor execution of the swimming bit, it lacked in several areas like John Cusack's reception to her in the boat.
The last clip of Diane and John brought more believability to that relationship. This comedy is about romance, it is not a romantic movie. It is a very funny movie. There are many funny and hart warming sections and good acting. It is funny and it is worth watching. I did not laugh as hard the second time I watched Must Love Dogs, but I appreciated it more. It is cute and very funny.
The Christmas List (1997)
A wonderful Christmas movie.
"The Christmas List" with Mimi Rogers is a wonderful Christmas movie for adults and even school age children. This is a hopeful, funny, moralistic and rather off beat movie. It should be available with other favorite Christmas Classics. It has a good cast, and does not drag like some Christmas movies that tried to capitalize on big star power. Actions that seem like pure fantasy are explained with possible reality and give us a glimmer of hope for a fairy tale adventure in real life. Many viewers are able to relate to Mimi Rogers, young Bill Switzer or Rob Stewart; I do not understand why this movie has not been released on DVD. Every year I check, with no avail, to see if The Christmas List has been released.
The Black Knight (1954)
Excellent for a kids 'Knights of Old' action movie!
The Black Knight 1954 staring Alan Ladd is a perfect movie for young boys and girls who are interested in Knights and castles. This movie is not filled with kissing and lewd scenes as most of todays movies are. The Black Knight has lots of riding, jousting, sword fighting and castles. Today's youth do not know of Alan Ladd, his hair or height are not important to them. In this movie he looks like a knight of old may well have looked like. Who cares if he doesn't sound British? Young children building block castles and playing dress up care not for language accents, they just want to see a 'Knight of Old' action movie. So many other medieval type movies have too much sex, talking and political intrigue to interest children. To see a sword being made, rivers crossed and non-tournament jousting is like a slice of medieval life. If I could find this movie I would buy it for my grandchildren. This movie should be released with the youth market in mind and Alan Ladd would have a new generation of fans.