bebromana Reviews

The Public Eye (1972)

A Small Forgotten Gem

[7/10 · 27 August 2023]

Is Follow Me, aka The Public Eye, a great film? No, but it a small minor gem that will make you think long after you've seen it. It's quirky. I saw it along time ago, and a web search on another topic made me watch the film again. When I saw it many years ago, I had liked it. Is it a Vertigo thing? The film has a similar premise to Vertigo, but it is a comedy, not a tragedy, and the husband is not the villain, just a flawed human being. But so is the wife, and so is the detective. All three are extremely lonely people, and under the comedy there is an air of deep, sad loneliness, and a feeling of wanting to be connected but being clueless how to go about it. It's also about the choices people make. Mia Farrow plays free spirited wife, but her wanderlust comes from an unstructured childhood -- she's the product of a broken home. Michael Jayston plays the stuffy husband -- although there is humor under his proper personality-- he's just too repressed to let it out. Topol, who plays the detective, has lived an aimless life -- the jack of all trades, the master of none. The star of the movie is the City of London from 50 years ago. Neither Topol or Jayston often played lead roles. Topol's claim to fame was Fiddler on the roof. With Jayston, it was Nicholas and Alexander, a credible turn as Mr. Rochester in the 1973 adaptation of Jane Eyre, and as the Valeyard in Doctor Who. He's quite elderly now but was very pleased when he autographed my copy of the 1973 Jane Eyre in 2021. He was very excited I found a copy and had to show it to another celebrity at the convention in Chicago. Definitely one of those actors brought in the grand tradition of British theatre. It was a pity I didn't realize he had also been in this film -- otherwise I would have asked him about it. As far as the film goes, Mia's Belinda shines here. She makes you want to follow her, and she looks gorgeous in everything she wears, even the hat that looks like a wilted cabbage. The hat. Even after all these years, I never forgot the hat.

Postscript: I have the sad duty to announce that Michael Jayston, the man who played the stuffy husband, passed away on February 5, 2024.

Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)

Deliciously Wicked and Witty Fun

[10/10 · 7 May 2023]

The best of the Ealing comedies. It serves up a dish of deliciously, dark, witty revenge. Revenge like this is not best served cold -- it is best served with champagne. Dennis Price is suave and polished as the member of a Ducal family who scorned his mother because she married for love. Valerie Hobson and Joan Greenwood are lovely the two female leads -- one beautiful and virtuous, the other deliciously naughty. And then there is Alec Guinness, a tour de force in multiple roles in this movie. There's the duke, the banker, the general, the naval captain, the vicar, the photographer, the young cad, and the suffragette. Yes, Alec Guinness plays a woman in this film.

Dennis Price also plays more than one role in this film -- both as Louis Mazzini and as his father.

The dialogue is charming, dry, and witty. Louis's snarky little asides are very droll. You can't get better writing than this. Very arch and ironic.

If you like a good dose of crime with your cup of tea, this is the movie for you.

It also has one of the best movie endings ever, but I will not reveal that to you because . . . Spoilers.

The Choice (I) (2016)

Not Romantic and not a comedy

[3/10 · 7 May 2023]

I saw this movie in 2016 with my fiance. (He died a few months later, and this was one of the last films we saw together.) We drove 35 miles to see another film, only the projection equipment broke down, and we were offered this film as a second choice. (We originally wanted to see Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I love Jane Austen and Matt Smith, and I had read the hilarious parody spoof of Austen's work.) The theater manager described it as a romantic comedy. I love Rom Coms, so we agreed. I didn't find it particularly romantic nor particularly funny. There were a few cute animal moments, but there was no chemistry between the leads. A Hallmark movie would have been more cheesy fun than this movie. This movie wouldn't even survive as camp. At times the movie had political/religious propaganda overtones. Definitely not a movie you'd drive 35 miles to see. Finally did get to see the zombie film, and while that film was not great, it was a lot better than this one.

The Pajama Game (1957)

Enjoyable, good singing and dancing, a bit dated

[6/10 · 27 December 2020]

Some years ago I worked alongside a co-worker who had been in a college production of The Pajama Game and would occasionally regale us with Hernando's Hideaway, so I was always a little curious about this production, but it is rarely on television. I grew up on musicals and generally enjoy the genre, so I was surprised I had never seen this lost film. Some of the social mores in both this film and in How to Succeed in Business, another musical set in the workplace, seem sexist and dated. As a result, the relationship between Sid (Raitt) and Day (Babe) comes across as a bit creepy instead of romantic -- at least it does to my more modern sensibilities. It was lovely to see John Raitt, Bonnie Raitt's father, sing. I have seen clips of him singing in Carousel from when he was in the Broadway musical. He had a wonderful voice, and Hey There shows it off. HIs acting does not translate as well on the big screen. It is passable, but not subtle. One good thing the plot has is that neither Sid nor Babe are in the wrong when they break up in the middle of the story. Doris Day will always be Doris Day, and most of the time you notice that she is Doris Day instead of the role she was playing. In this movie she was a little less "Doris Day-like" than in other outings, perhaps because the role was not originally written for her, so I think it is one of her better performances. The supporting actors are all good, and it is a pity Carol Haney died so young -- only 39. Good Fosse choreography . All in all, a fairly average musical for the 1950s -- not the best and not the worst. Quite watchable, but nothing you would go out of the way to see.

Emma. (2020)

Good Adaptation, Light and Frothy, Good Fun

[7/10 · 9 March 2020]

I've seen numerous adaptations of this Jane Austen classic. The earliest version I'm aware of is a 1970's TV version with Doran Godwin. The 1990's were rife with Emma adaptations, ranging from a modern take on Emma in the film Clueless, the 1996 Gwyneth Paltrow version (fairly accurate to the book with a beautiful score by Rachel Portman), and a 1996 TV version with Kate Becksindale. There was a more recent TV version in 2009 with Romola Garai.

How does this version stack up? It was a light-hearted, enjoyable romp, filled with great character acting performances. It was not as accurate to the book as some other versions, but it did not deviate so much as to be unforgivable.

A lot of the success of any adaptation of Emma pins on how successful the actress is at portraying her. Emma is perhaps one of the most flawed of Austen's heroines, spoiled and rich, but not necessarily ill-natured. A lot of Emma's flaws come out of her youth, isolation, and inexperience. She's never really been challenged. Any actress playing her has to show the flaws while still being appealing. Anya Taylor-Joy is rather cute in the role, so is able to negotiate that tightrope of being a flawed, yet appealing character.

The characters of Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax are underdeveloped. I felt 1996's Ewan McGreggor did a better job in playing a charming young man who may or may not be a little less than completely honest.

Bill Nighy and Miranda Hart were a riot as Mr. Woodhouse and Miss Bates. Miss Bates' role in the novel is quite pivotal. She has huge verbal torrents of streams of consciousness that reveal things Emma is blind to, yet this talent is not picked up upon in the movie. Many of her ramblings provide clues to secrets later to be revealed.

The actors playing Harriet, the Westons, the Eltons, and the John Knightly family were all reliable in their roles.

So this gets us down to Mr. Knightly. Mr. Knightly's portrayal was not was I imagined Mr. Knightly to be. Johnny Flynn reminded me just a little too much of Kristoff from Frozen. Any moment I thought he'd take off and sing a duet with Sven the Reindeer. And what were with those high collarpoints? He could barely turn his head. Mr. Knightly is a man's man, not a dandy. I was rather smitten with Jeremy Northern's Mr. Knightly from the Paltrow version, but perhaps he was a little too handsome to be Knightly. Knightly is the only person who can keep up intellectually with Emma -- Frank Churchill is close, but a little too much like her. I was looking for a little more sparkling wit. Still Johnny Flynn is a credible actor. Knightly is more observant than Emma, but has his blind spots.

The audience broke out in laughter several times during the movie. All in all, an enjoyable romp. Not perfect, but good fun.

Rachel Getting Married (2008)

Good performances, but be prepared to reach for the vomit bag

[3/10 · 22 September 2019]

I saw this in the movie theater with my fiance, who sadly has passed away. I saw this movie once, and I will never see it again. My reasons have nothing to do with the performances, which were good all around, or with the plot of a family in turmoil, but has everything to do with how the movie was filmed. It is all handheld camera, like someone's uncle with shaky hands were shooting it.

I left the movie theater ready to throw up, and I know several other people felt the same way. If I wanted to see a homemade film, I'd be better off watching an uncle film. I don't expect to pay hard earned money for throwing up.

Vampires Suck (2010)

A B Movie. A Twilight spoof, good for seeing with a crowd.

[5/10 · 28 October 2018]

I saw this movie at a Halloween Party. By no means is this movie great art, but those of us watching had a few good laughs at this skewering of the Twilight saga. Pretty good performances from the leads. I thought the actress playing Becca was particularly good. Great Bella Swan impersonation. The script and production values were definitely B movie level. As long as you're not expecting too much, this is a light, frothy movie to see with your friends on Halloween. It's a bit like reading a trashy novel at the beach.

End of the Game (1975)

Not up to par with the source material

[5/10 · 4 September 2017]

I read Der Richter under Sein Henker in college German class and fell in love with it. Then we saw the German movie version, which was a dubbed version of End of the Game, and I was disappointed. Drastic changes from the source material. Anna's role has been plumped up to the point I scarcely recognized her. She appears only fleetingly in the book, is just the girlfriend of Schmied, and is more innocent. Different person pushed from the bridge. Novella is a great psychological drama; the movie is a bit a a mish-mash. After about 25 years I saw the English version of the film on TV. Book review: Wow! Movie review : Meh. It retains a shadow of the original. Maybe one day they'll do a proper adaptation.