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Reviews
(500) Days of Summer (2009)
trite with colored lenses
Shallow, gimmicky, trite teen-angst film that takes place in Los Angeles that somehow manages to make 500 days of weather there look like it takes place in Seattle! Matter of fact the entire film looks like Seattle. Enough with the colored lenses! Even the sunshine is dark. I didn't believe a single line in this script. It's loaded with film clichés. There is little truth to the characters and especially the situations they get into. The male lead is completely unconvincing as an architect grad working as a greeting card writer. I guess the writer thought this would be cool. Every scene is written that way, not for any truth, but for the writers idea of what would be cool. And while your at it, lose the narration too, it doesn't work.
The Crowd (1928)
pride
This wonderful film is a classic tragedy. The hero's downfall is...his pride. He wouldn't take a job offered by his wife's family, even when their survival depended upon it. The direction is superb, the acting realistic, and the editing/cinematography years ahead of it's time. And then, a happy ending. Well, considering the year it was made it's hard to find fault with the studio. While watching this masterpiece a thought occurred to me that is anathema - turn it into a talkie. Cut out the cards and record the dialog. I think it would work. Not that I like remakes or colorization or any of that kind of stuff (I detest them) but this is one film that is shot and acted so realistically (for it's time) that I would love to see how it plays with modern sound. It's so good I think it would work beautifully.
Kid Nightingale (1939)
fun to watch
This little film is classic 30's Hollywood comedy. I admit it's too short (it's one reel shy of being fully realized) and would have benefited from some fleshing out (more story/plot than character) but Walter Catlett's performance alone makes this film highly watchable and quite enjoyable. He reminds me so much of Phil Silvers. John Payne is terrific and Jane Wyman a doll but what truly makes this film fun to watch are all the great character actors in it. At 57 minutes, if Kid Nightingale was strictly made as a short than we sure get a lot of bang for our buck. But I think a better choice would have been to expand on it, especially the fight scenes and the ending, which are rushed, and go the distance, which would have made this film a real contender.