A good, cracking yarn, which looks wonderful and has a strong cast. Greta Scacchi was never more beautiful or Charles Dance more debonair; Joss Ackland is empathetic, touching and scary, Sarah Miles a wonderful batty thing, John Hurt an enigma.
Fascinating world. It maybe lacks something... not sure what. Structure?
Magnificent. Witty, clever, deeply felt. Chris Evans's character is as much a unicorn as Pedro Pascal - i.e. an actor who listens and doesn't talk about himself all the time. Says important things.
Curtis said he restructured this in the edit maybe he did but it feels very close - Nicole Kdiman referenced instead of Claudia Schiffer and there's the African sequence which was filmed but cut.
There's a sub industry of hot takes about the flaws of this film, many from the US who I think are annoyed their country is described as a bully. And the fat jokes clunk and they could've jettisoned Colin in Wisconsin and yes flaws flaws.
But it's very sweet - grieving widow and step son have a lovely bond and satisfying pay off, the Prime Minister plot is (fat jokes aside) charming, the married woman stuff is great, no it makes no sense Sarah doesn't schtup Karl but it works, the flabby friend-in-love-with-mate's-wife story is redeemed by the cards at the end. So many iconic moments.
One of the best underrated glossy directors
1) The Three Musketeers (1948) - wonderful swasbuckling version
2) Scaramouche (1952) - an even better swashbucker with career high efforts from Granger and Eleanor Parker
3) Viva Las Vegas (1964) - the greatest Elvis movie
4) The Eddie Duchin Story (1956) - splendid tearjerker
5) Bathing Beauty (1944) - fun, all star silliness
6) The Harvey Girls (1946) - some Golden Era fun
7) Showboat (1951) - cripes he did this one too
8) Annie Get Your Gun (1950) - and this one!
9) Young Bess (1953) - slight change of pace, great stuff, a little whiffy script wise
10) Jeanne Eagles (1957) - serios biopic, solidly done
Worthy. Dull. Surprised it got green lit. Barry Spikings really liked Oscars. "The story of the woman who wrote The Yearling" isn't that sexy. Mary Steenbergen is fine. Peter Coyote a little dull. Malcolm McDowell is lively but has clunky dialogue. Alfred Woodard shines - story from her POV might've been more interesting.
This should've been a TV movie.
Look, it's fine. I felt as if I'd seen it before. Maybe if I was more into Oscar Isaac. His performance is fine but you see the acting. I would've loved a real nutter in that part. Mia Goth struggles with her words.
When the film gets fantastical - the make up, some revived bodies, blood splattering - it becomes more interesting.
Key problem - no emotional relationsship you care about. Frankenstein is so odd and eccentric he doesn't have real feelings for his brother or Mia Goth or Chris Walken or the monster. The monster bonds with the blind man but that's about it.
It's made with love but the whole thing is... so. Jacob Elordi is fine.
Basically same as the final film, from memory, with a few key exceptions
- this doesn't have the coda explaining they got married and Earl got elected (which I think was a great addition)
- this has a sequence where a girl goes to work at the Chicken ranch, admits her dad got "sweet on her" and Monda sings a song - great character stuff but I can see why it was cut.
It's wholesome, cheery, a fine star vehicle. Making it a romance totally works. I know Larry King whined but this works better.
