nancybw Reviews

Upload (2020– )

Fabulous

[10/10 · 16 October 2023]

Witty, funny, affecting as well as effective. It's wildly creative and some of the funniest parts are small asides and graphics. The mass transit system starts in the Pete Buttigieg station. I laughed out loud. Same episode one character tell us the other not to be a Wilsmith. There are some really wonderful performances. No one disappoints, really. Andy Allo is amazing.

The Roger Ebert page compares this to quote the good Place" which I really hate so don't listen to them.

I can't get enough of this show. Truly it's great. Don't listen to Ebert. He's dead, and whoever is writing his stuff now it's not in the same league. Watch it just watch it.

Too Much, Too Soon (1958)

Pedestrian biopic

[5/10 · 19 July 2023]

The only good thing about this movie is that it made me want to read the book. As a general rule, I like 50s movie the least of any time. They're so heavily censored and trying hard for that good ol' American dream kind of perfection. It's too bad that this movie couldn't have hewn closer to the truth. The truth was certainly interesting enough.

Dorothy Malone certainly tried hard but she's just awful. She was 34 when she made this, and there was nothing at all convincing about her as a sixteen year old. She fares better at the end but she just wasn't up to the material. She was a tv actress trying to carry a movie.

Errol Flynn saves the movie.

George & Tammy (2022–2023)

Derivative

[4/10 · 4 July 2023]

Take a horribly unattractive actor who's way too old for the part (but who sings beautifully), mix in an attractive actress who looks fabulous but can't sing. Add a derivative script, drug and alcohol abuse, compulsory sex scenes, irresponsible people, having too many marriages and too many children, MCM sets and costumes and hair that is waaaay wrong (beach curls anyone?) and what do you have?

This mishmash of a docudrama about two legends of country music. The bad taste of chastains covers of Tammy's songs still lingers

If you want a good CW life story, watch "coal Miners Daughter" again. It's worth ten of this mess.

The Big Cube (1968)

Truly Dreadful... but fun

[3/10 · 24 June 2023]

George Chakiris starts every line with a ironic little snort. He's absolutely awful.

The plot has been revealed in many places here so I won't rehash it. And Lana has been raked over the coals, and understandably so. But her biggest problem is that no director ever corrected the overacting that was overlooked by directors through the years. She's still stunning though - as lovely to look at as ever. Her "freak-out" however, is some of the worst acting ever.

Mossberg has been taken to task, but I don't think she's that bad. Her accent is not her fault. Blame casting and directing, not her.

The effects are trippy, the scenery is beautiful and the cars, interiors, fashion, hairpieces, are fabulous. Sixties nudity is hard to come by. Don't take it seriously, just enjoy it.

Petulia (1968)

Just bizarre

[3/10 · 22 April 2023]

There's nothing "classic " about this except maybe Julie Christie and Shirley Knight's beautiful faces. The best way to watch it is with the sound off to enjoy the scenery, fashion, and decor. George C. Scott and his weird teeth are just so amazingly unattractive. This movie makes absolutely no sense at all. The flashbacks, the cynical 70s dialogue - it's just all so artsy and sloppy. How high would you have to be to have sat through this in the theater? I had high hopes for this when Janis Joplin opened the movie but truly she was the high point. Save yourself some trouble and just. Skip. It.

Julia (2008)

I wanted to...

[4/10 · 14 January 2023]

I really wanted to like this movie. I like Tilda Swinton. Afterwards, I read the reviews touting its greatness, and thought "Is that the same thing I just watched?"

The first thirty minutes - the buildup - gave me great hope.

The kidnapping itself was credible. But are we really to believe that this mess of a woman nearly got away with this crime? On a bus? Crashing through the Mexican border? Come on.

The actress who played Elena was terrible, the kid was terrible, and Swinton's American accent made me want to weep. What state is that?

The whole last half of the movie was dreadful. Dreadful. I had too much invested to quit though.

Ack.

The Wonder (I) (2022)

ITS NOT SLOW

[10/10 · 19 November 2022]

Beautifully written. Beautifully photographed. Amazingly acted. This movie is not SLOW. It's intelligent. There is a difference.

Give yourself over to this movie - there are no special effects, no monsters, no big names. But there is a wonderful story here and it requires that you actually think about it. Breathe it in.

Many awful things have been done in the name of religion. And to quote nurse Lib, "love requires some action".

I loved this movie. I will watch it again and again and I know I will see many more things in it then.

Give this movie a chance. If you're looking for a movie they does not look deeply at faith, find something with Kirk Cameron in it.

This Woman Is Dangerous (1952)

David Brian is a Stick

[4/10 · 21 August 2022]

This film is ridiculous. Joan Crawford is her usual overacting, melodramatic self with tight-waisted suits and an even tighter acting "style". Tell me again wht every man in her orbit falls madly in love with her? I guess you either like her or you don't. It's David Brian whom I found the most annoying. What a stick. Dennis Morgan made this watchable for me, and the crisp black and white photography that highlights beautiful costuming and sets. Strictly a pot boiling melodrama for when you can't sleep at 3am.

How to Be Very, Very Popular (1955)

What a Dog

[2/10 · 19 August 2022]

This movie is just plain awful. Even giving the time, passing around a hypnotized girl for kidding is just plain creepy. How could a movie with Grable and Sheree North be so - so boring??

Fanny (1961)

I don't get it

[2/10 · 31 July 2022]

Perhaps you had to see this movie when you were young, fall in love with it, and always carry a torch for it. How else to explain the rave reviews for this interminable soap opera of a movie? The "comedy" is sophomoric and silly. The old people laughing at the practical joke with the hat? The drama has been done better many times before. Maurice Chevalier as Pannise just seems creepy.

I'm giving it two stars because the scenery and Caron are so gorgeous.

The Haunting (1963)

I just don't get it

[2/10 · 25 June 2022]

Julie Harris whimpers her way through this melodramatic mishmash. I hate her whiny voice. I kept waiting for the scary part but then it was over. The voiceover was just silly. And then there's a scare-ride of a silly spiral staircase, walls that breathe, etc etc. It's hard to believe this scared anyone at any time.

The Shooting (1966)

Ridiculous waste of time

[2/10 · 19 June 2022]

I believe that often people call it Art if they can't understand it.

Well there's no "there" there. This movie is stupid and inane. Millie Perkins looks and sounds like "Gidget Goes West". Those eyelashes -

I've never understood the popularity of Jack Nicholson and I certainly don't here. It's 100 degrees or so but he's wearing a black vest buttoned up? Come on!

Warren Oates saved this "movie" and he probably went to his trailer every night shaking his head.

Stupid.

Child 44 (2015)

Whaaat?

[4/10 · 7 May 2022]

Noomi Rapace and Tom Hardy are good. I think this movie was good. I think it was interesting. I think I might have liked it. I think it so. If only I had understood the damn thing. So many twists and turns and so dark and convoluted.

Gold Diggers in Paris (1938)

Seriously awful

[1/10 · 13 April 2022]

One of the worst movies I've ever watched. The songs are execrable, the "comedy" is deplorable. There is absolutely nothing good to say about. Skip it and watch something else. Anything else. How anyone can give this anything above a 2 is beyond me.

Made in Paris (I) (1966)

FF to the pretty parts

[7/10 · 9 April 2022]

Fun to watch but very light on plot or humor. Just fast forward until you get to the dances and the fashion show. I loved the 60s fashion and set pieces.

Let's Make Love (1960)

Dullsville

[5/10 · 24 March 2022]

Slooooow and painfully unfunny. I kept waiting for it to get better. Marilyn acts like she has no idea what's going on. The shots of her watching Jean-Marc are just strange. Just serving her up as the movies eye candy. Montand looks very old and is boring in the long bits.

Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)

Meryl Streep is awful

[6/10 · 21 March 2022]

Movie is funny and sweet in SPITE not because of Streep. I've always thought she was wonderful in drama, and terrible in comedy. This proves my point. It's like Hollywood loves her so much that they forgive her anything - much like Jenkins herself.

The Fugitive (1993)

Seriously?

[4/10 · 12 February 2022]

I can't believe the good buzz on this over-the-top movie. Full of preposterous situations and coincidences. Tommy Lee Jones has no other bad guys to follow? Come on.

Always in My Heart (1942)

Worth watching for Walter Huston

[4/10 · 6 January 2022]

...whose natural acting style is a revelation. Kay Francis is fine too, but the teenage children are simpering idiots, and the singing is awful and interminable.

By far the best thing in the movie is the little girl who plays Booley. Adorable, precocious and always on target. I fast forwarded after the first half of the movie just to see her.

The King (I) (2019)

Slow and Dark

[6/10 · 31 October 2021]

Inaccurate portrayal of history, it is still engrossing at times. Chalomet's broody emo Hal does not appeal to me. He looks like he belongs in a Twilight movie. It is very visually dark and best viewed in a dark room. It takes concentration to follow.

Payday (1973)

Rip Torn's good...

[6/10 · 22 October 2021]

Everybody else is baaaad. Some here have wondered why this movie sank and fell. I don't wonder. All you have to do is observe the cringe-worthy performances and execrable southern accents. Better casti g and this could be been a masterpiece.

Booked for Safekeeping (1960)

Interesting

[5/10 · 18 September 2021]

Really interesting to see. Makes you want to know how many of these were professional actors. Some folks were reallly bad and some better than most actors in the 60s. ("Paul"). Obviously filmed in real locations - apartments and stores and police cells.

The Great Gatsby (2013)

Overblown but Fun

[7/10 · 16 September 2021]

Just have a drink and try not to think how much Fitzgerald would hate it. Maguire and DiCaprio are as awesome as always but God save me from the score.

Green Book (2018)

Shallow but appealing

[7/10 · 13 September 2021]

If only things were this simple. But it's undeniably entertaining.

The Comic (1969)

Not worth your time

[3/10 · 3 September 2021]

. It's just a re-do of silent-era shorts, strung together with tv-style acting and scripting. There's a reason this sank.