FILM-REVIEWS:
S
FILM-REVIEWS:
S
Sabrina
Salvador
Santa Fé trail, The
Saturday night fever
Scarface
Scarlet pimpernel, The
Schindler's list
Sea of love
Searchers, The
Searching for Bobby Fischer
Sense and sensibility
Serial mom
Se7en
Seven brides for seven brothers
Seventh seal, The
Shawshank redemption, The
Sheepman, The
Sherlock Holmes and
the secret weapon
Shining, The
Shoot to kill
Silence of the lambs, The
Silver Blaze
Sleepless in Seattle
Smoke
Snapper, The
So ends our night
Some kind of wonderful
Something to talk about
Sometimes a great notion
Sommersby
Sons of Katie Elder, The
Soul man
Sound of music, The
Southerner, The
Space jam
Staircase
Star is born, A
Star wars
Strange love of Martha Ivers,
The
Sweet dreams
| Title: | SABRINA |
| Year: | 1954 |
| Genre: | Romantic comedy |
| Director: | Billy Wilder |
| The players: | Audrey
Hepburn
Humphrey Bogart William Holden John Williams Martha Hyer |
| About the film: | Sabrina is the chauffeur’s daughter at a large estate. She falls in love with one of the two Larrabee brothers, played by Holden. The trouble is that he takes notice of just about every girl but her. Frustrated she goes to Paris to learn to cook and comes back as a sophisticated woman. Now David Larrabee notices her, but she’s still the chauffeur’s daughter… It’s a very good script, very sharp dialogue and several funny scenes. The trouble is that the film is sometimes terribly sweet and Hepburns performance is much too sugary, I don’t like it. Neither did Bogart, he wanted Lauren Bacall to star, and I can only agree. Bogart replaced Cary Grant, who was the studios first choice, his performance is solid. |
| Rating: |
 |
| Rec.: |
| Title: | SALVADOR |
| Year: | 1986 |
| Genre: | Thriller |
| Director: | Oliver Stone |
| The players: | James
Woods
James Belushi Michael Murphy John Savage Elpedia Carillo |
| About the film: | A political thriller where Woods plays a US journalist working in El Salvador where the US supported regime has the country on it’s knees. Woods is very funny as the shabby journalist who brings his friend (who’s muzzy enough to follow) to El Salvador. Feels realistic and tense. |
| Rating: |
 |
| Rec.: | Born on the fourth of July |
| Title: | SANTA FÉ TRAIL, THE |
| Year: | 1940 |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Director: | Michael Curtiz |
| The players: | Errol
Flynn
Olivia de Havilland Raymond Massey Ronald Reagan Alan Hale |
| About the film: | Historically inaccurate pro-slavery film where Flynn and Reagan play two officers who try to stop the dangerous John Brown (played by Massey), who wanted to free the slaves. This film means to say that the black people themselves were far from ready for freedom and that they didn’t want Brown’s help. Note how the film manipulates the viewer, Brown’s character is unsympathetic, violent, we get the impression that he wants to free the slaves for his own cause. On the other hand the officers are cheerful, brave, witty, and gets the blessing from the beautiful girl. Van Heflin’s character, an officer who switches side, is also an unpleasant outsider. Apart from that, it’s a typical, fairly entertaining Flynn-de Havilland vehicle. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: | Charge of the light brigade, The |
| Title: | SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER |
| Year: | 1977 |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Director: | John Badham |
| The players: | John
Travolta
Karen Lynn Gorney Barry Miller Joseph Cali Donna Pescow |
| About the film: | Tony Manero is a teenager who doesn’t get along too well with his parents. He lives for the weekend-nights when he’s dancing to Bee Gee’s disco hits at 2001 (a club). That makes him forget his troubles and be someoene. He has dreams of getting away from the city. The film surprisingly became a big hit and Travolta got his breakthrough. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: | Grease |
| Title: | SCARFACE |
| Year: | 1983 |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Director: | Brian De Palma |
| The players: |  Al
Pacino
Steven Bauer Michelle Pfeiffer Robert Loggia Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio |
| About the film: | Epic tale about money and lust for power and women. To get rid of the worst Cuban criminals Castro sent them to the US. Tony "Scarface" Montana is one of these criminals. To Montana the US is a land of opportunities and he’s going to take them. The problem is that he never gets enough and fears no one which he should. He kills his way to become a major drug-dealer in Miami. Of course the film is violent at times but not to excess, just when appropriate. Al Pacino is at his phenomenal best in this film, he’s not acting, he is Tony Montana and no one else could be. Pacino himself picked this one as the best performance of his career and said that he was emotionally drained every night during the filming. The rest of the cast is also great, Pfeiffer and Mastrantonio much better than usual and Loggia is superb. Even the acting in the smaller roles are fine like Al Israel and Harris Yulin. Although Montana is a bad guy he has some moral standards; he doesn’t kill those who doesn’t have a come to it and he’s always telling the truth, even when he lies. Ironically it’s because he refuses to kill some innocent kids that he has to die. The finale is not credible; he should have died much sooner. Good score, suits the film perfectly. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: |
| Title: | SCARLET PIMPERNEL, THE |
| Year: | 1934 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Director: | Harold Young |
| The players: | Leslie
Howard
Merle Oberon Raymond Massey Nigel Bruce Bramwell Fletcher |
| About the film: | The film is set during the time of the French revolution. Howard plays sir Percy Blakeney, who is generally regarded as a wimp, he spends his days with such honorable deeds as to knit his cravat correctly and visit the town to buy new boots etc. What no one knows is that he is The Scarlet Pimpernel who saves many of the French nobility by smuggling them out of France. Massey leads the search for The Scarlet Pimpernel, which goes on everywhere around sir Percy, but he’s not suspected. Howard is perfect in the title role, and his character is incredibly witty. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: | Pimpernel Smith |
| Title: | SCHINDLER’S LIST |
| Year: | 1993 |
| Genre: | War |
| Director: | Steven Spielberg |
| The players: |  Liam
Neeson
Ben Kingsley Ralph Fiennes Caroline Goodall Jonathan Sagalle |
| About the film: | Very powerful WWII drama about Oskar Schindler who comes to Germany with nothing but his suitcase and one idea in mind; to get rich. He creates a company that specializes in pots. The law at the time prescribed that the army was not to interfear with the industry. Schindler realises that he has a unique opportunity to save the lives of hundreds of jewes by employing them. Unlike in most Hollywood productions the violence is not glamorized and the film is in B&W which makes it feel like a documentary. Color is used to good effect on a few occasions. In true Spielberg fashion the end is as sweet as sugar. Very good performances from Neeson, Fiennes and Kingsley. Generally considered as one of the best films of the decade. Won seven academy awards. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: | Saving private Ryan |
| Title: | SEA OF LOVE |
| Year: | 1989 |
| Genre: | Thriller |
| Director: | Harold Becker |
| The players: | Al
Pacino
Ellen Barkin John Goodman Michael Rooker Samuel L. Jackson |
| About the film: | Murder mystery with Pacino playing a cop who falls in love with a seductive suspect. Ok acting doesn’t save this film from being a standard thriller. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: | Carlito’s way |
| Title: | SEARCHERS, THE |
| Year: | 1956 |
| Genre: | Western |
| Director: | John Ford |
| The players: | John
Wayne
Jeffrey Hunter Vera Miles Ward Bond Natalie Wood |
| About the film: | One of the Duke’s most famous collaborations with John Ford, but not my personal favorite. Ford was old and overworked, his health was deteriorating but that didn’t keep him from directing. Wayne plays Ethan Edwards, an interesting character, a stubborn man in search for his niece who has been captured by the commanches. Wayne puts in one of his most impressive and simply powerful performances. He often plays sensible heroes but here he plays an outsider, a man who doesn’t fit in and is obsessed with the thought of getting his niece back and the hate for the commanches. That something is wrong with him shows when he grabs his gun to kill as many of the commanches’ buffalos he possibly can. The film is slower and has less action than almost all other films in the genre which is a setback. But it’s also more complex and deeper than the standard western. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: | Rio Bravo |
| Title: | SEARCHING FOR BOBBY FISCHER |
| Year: | 1993 |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Director: | Steven Zaillian |
| The players: | Max
Pomeranc
Joe Mantegna Joan Allen Ben Kingsley Laurence Fishburne |
| About the film: | Absorbing drama about a kid, Josh, with a gift, he can play chess like few. He can see moves that others can not, no matter how hard they practise. Josh likes to play chess, but he prefers to play with his toys. It’s a difficult situation for him as well as for his parents. Should they put him in a chess school? Another problem is that he wants to play with the losers in the park, who play a wild, attacking kind of game, instead of learning how to really get better at a chess club. The film is based on the true story of Waitzkin, who was one of America’s brightest child players. One of few things I don’t think is realistic is that Josh offers a draw when he has found a 12 move winning combination in the final of the tournament. Otherwise a beautiful film, Josh happens to be a chessplayer, but he could just as well have been a hockey-player, the theme is the same: how to act as parents when your child has a special gift. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: |
| Title: | SENSE AND SENSIBILITY |
| Year: | 1995 |
| Genre: | Romantic drama |
| Director: | Ang Lee |
| The players: | Emma
Thompson
Kate Winslet Alan Rickman Hugh Grant James Fleet |
| About the film: | Fine period drama based upon Jane Austen’s novel. It’s a story about love and romance in the upper classes during the 19th century. Thompson plays Elinor Dashwood (sense), a woman who stands firmly with both feet on the ground, she doesn’t waste her time dreaming of true love. Emma Thompson is always good, but I think she was more commited in other films like HOWARD’S END, THE REMAINS OF THE DAY and IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER. Kate Winslet, on the other hand, shines as Elinor’s younger sister Marianne (sensibility) who can’t hide her emotions. The fact that she always looks as though she’s just been crying helps. Alan Rickman also deserves praise. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: | Emma |
| Title: | SERIAL MOM |
| Year: | 1994 |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Director: | John Waters |
| The players: | Kathleen
Turner
Sam Waterston Ricki Lake Matthew Lillard Scott Wesley Morgan |
| About the film: | Turner plays a "normal" mother of two who becomes infuriated on small things like people who don’t recycle. It doesn’t take long before she’s a serial killer. The police has clues leading to her but no one can believe she’s guilty. Turner gives a very good performance. The film is a funny and entertaining satire about the pampering with serial killers. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: | Falling down |
| Title: | SE7EN |
| Year: | 1995 |
| Genre: | Thriller |
| Director: | David Fincher |
| The players: | Morgan
Freeman
Brad Pitt Kevin Spacey Gwyneth Paltrow Richard Roundtree |
| About the film: | Exciting thriller about a serial killer, John Doe, who uses the seven deadly sins to choose his victims. Doe is extremely hard for the police to deal with, he’s an intelligent, patient and sick perfectionist. He’s the kind of guy who cuts off the skin of his fingertips to never leave any fingerprints and tortures one of his victims for over a year. Two diligent detectives, Somerset – a calm sensitive veteran and Mills – a hotheaded youngster (common movie-cop combination), track down Doe faster than he expected so he has to alter his plans slightly. Repulsive images of Doe’s victims help giving the impression that Doe must be the most horrible man ever to walk the earth. The story takes place in a very dark world, a big city where crime has taken over and even the cops know they can’t do anything about it. Mills’ wife doesn’t even want to have a baby because she knows the world where the child will grow up. The constant raining adds to the feeling that this place is forbidding. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: |
| Title: | SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS |
| Year: | 1954 |
| Genre: | Musical |
| Director: | Stanley Donen |
| The players: | Jane
Powell
Howard Keel Jeff Richards Russ Tamblyn Tommy Rall |
| About the film: | Keel plays the oldest of the seven Pontapee brothers who live alone on a farm. One day he sets out to get married before sunset. How normal is that? This film is a ridiculous fairy-tale. One sequence has the oldest brother telling the others that the old Romans abducted women to get married. Then they’re off, to town to kidnap the girls… Just how thick-headed are these boys? The settings are fine and Powell’s song "Beautiful" is precisely that. There are also several other memorable musical numbers such as the dance number before the barn-raising competition. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: | Sound of music, The |
| Title: | SEVENTH SEAL, THE |
| Year: | 1957 |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Director: | Ingmar Bergman |
| The players: | Max
von Sydow
Gunnar Björnstrand Nils Poppe Bibi Andersson Bengt Ekerot |
| About the film: | Classic Bergman film, filmed in a hurry on a minimal budget. The time is the 12th century, the plague kills thousands and thousands of people, von Sydow plays a knight who returns from the crusades. He wants to prolong his life by playing a game of chess against Death. Death, of course, is unbeatable, and though the crusader plays as well as he possibly can, Death will always beat him. Being from Sweden myself I can say that the language in this film is as though they read their lines from a book, pronouncing every word in a very poetic way. The film has strong elements of life as well as death. Andersson and Poppe represent life, they enjoy life, pick wild strawberries, they have a new-born baby. To be with them is a big moment for the desillusioned crusader. The film is about religion; is there a God? Why do people have to die? Death says: Don’t go looking for a reason, I’m not that complicated. The most famous sequence is the dance at the end, watch the clouds during that scene. When Bergman was asked wich his best film was he picked this one. The characters in this film are not real, I can’t relate to any of them, neither to their solemn monologues. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: | Wild Strawberries |
| Title: | SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, THE |
| Year: | 1994 |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Director: | Frank Darabont |
| The players: |  Tim
Robbins
Morgan Freeman Bob Gunton William Sadler Clancy Brown |
| About the film: | Masterful directorial debut from Frank Darabont, the film is based on a short subject by Stephen King. Tim Robbins plays Andy Dufresne, an innocent banker convicted for murdering his wife and her lover. In prison his mental strength is put to the test. No matter how bad he’s treated and how long it was since he was outside the walls, he refuses to give up his dreams. Dufresne is obviously a very intelligent and resourceful man, with a big heart. At times though he does things that obviously isn’t exactly bright. Such as when he locks the office and plays classical music in the loudspeakers all over the prison. Definitely not very hard to figure out that he will be punished big time and it’s definitely not worth the punishment. It’s also doubtful that the warden would trust him again after that incident. These are minor flaws in an otherwise very strong and often beautiful film which boasts one of the best endings I’ve ever seen. Most of the film takes place in the prison, we see it all from Red’s point of view, Red is played to perfection by Morgan Freeman. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: | Cool
hand Luke
Papillon |
| Title: | SHEEPMAN, THE |
| Year: | 1958 |
| Genre: | Western |
| Director: | George Marshall |
| The players: | Glenn
Ford
Shirley MacLaine Leslie Nielsen Mickey Shaughnessy Edgar Buchanan |
| About the film: | Ford plays a headstrong man who is determined to start a sheepfarm in a small village. The other farmers, especially his old aquaintance Nielsen, make it more than clear to him that he’s not welcome. Ford outsmarts them and when he has won the battle he decides to get rid of the sheep, that’s going through a lot of trouble for a principle. Good-natured film but very ordinary in style and execution. MacLaine is good in one of her early roles. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: | Jubal |
| Title: | SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE SECRET WEAPON |
| Year: | 1942 |
| Genre: | Mystery |
| Director: | Roy William Neill |
| The players: | Basil
Rathbone
Nigel Bruce Lionel Atwill Kaaren Verne William Post, Jr. |
| About the film: | When Rathbone and Bruce moved to Universal the studio let Sherlock Holmes be a secret agent battling nazi’s which ruined the beautiful atmosphere of their first films. Here he faces his usual nemesis, professor Moriarty, who’s about to sell a bombsight to the nazi’s. A propaganda film, just listen to Holmes telling Moriarty how low it is of him to sell his country, and then the final line of the film when he praises England. The film feels like routine. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: | Hound of the Baskervilles, The |
| Title: | SHINING, THE |
| Year: | 1980 |
| Genre: | Horror |
| Director: | Stanley Kubrick |
| The players: | Jack
Nicholson
Shelley Duvall Danny Lloyd Scatman Crothers Barry Nelson |
| About the film: | Kubrick’s adaption of Stephen King’s book is a classis in it’s genre, voted scariest movie of all time by "Empire", and for good reason. Nicholson is perfectly cast as Jack Torrance, a writer who needs peace and quiet to work. He takes a job for the winter to watch over a summer hotel. This seems like a classic setup for a horror film. Kubrick doesn’t use the usual tricks of the genre, in fact Stephen King was very displeased with the result and said that Kubrick doesn’t know anything about horror films. For one thing Kubrick makes the hotel very spacey and light (very stylish). The place is definitely haunted, but that is not all, Torrance doesn’t find peace to write when his wife is around. He’s about to "correct" her, and their kid is involved in some creepy scenes, one of them when he walks into the infamous room 237. Kubrick uses classic music, as he often does, which of course is unusual in this genre. It’s more style than substance as we’re given more questions than answers. Why does Torrance go mad so quickly? And all this super-natural stuff, anyway it contributes to make this something special. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: | Clockwork orange, A |
| Title: | SHOOT TO KILL |
| Year: | 1988 |
| Genre: | Action-thriller |
| Director: | Roger Spottiswoode |
| The players: | Sidney
Poitier
Tom Berenger Kirstie Alley Clancy Brown Richard Masur |
| About the film: | Big city cop Poitier goes to the mountains together with mountain climber Berenger to catch a serial killer who’s on a guided tour. Neither interesting nor probable. Comeback for Poitier who hadn’t appeared on the screen since 1977. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: |
| Title: | SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, THE |
| Year: | 1991 |
| Genre: | Horror, Thriller |
| Director: | Jonathan Demme |
| The players: | Jodie
Foster
Anthony Hopkins Scott Glenn Ted Levine Anthony Heald |
| About the film: | Clarice Starling is assigned to catch a serial killer who calls himself Buffalo Bill. She needs help to find out who he is and it seems that the only way is to talk to dr. Hannibal "the cannibal" Lecter, a man sentenced for life. Hannibal is one creepy character because he is extremely intelligent and at the same time extremely mentally ill. He will help her but in his own way, he speaks in riddles and want something in exchange every time. It feels like he’s very dangerous even though he’s behind plexi glass because we know that if he only gets half a chance he would show no mercy. Letting Lecter escape is a flaw, he had earned his place in the cell and should remain there, we don’t need a demonstration of his ability to escape and he shouldn’t steal the end. First horror movie ever to win the best film oscar and third film ever to win all four major oscars. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: | Se7en |
| Title: | SILVER BLAZE |
| Year: | 1937 |
| Genre: | Mystery |
| Director: | Thomas Bentley |
| The players: | Arthur
Wontner
Lyn Harding Ian Flemyng Judy Gunn Eve Gray |
| About the film: | Holmes arch-enemy dr Moriarty steals a race horse. Holmes not only follows the clues but also his instinct to solve this mystery. Wontner’s last appearance as Sherlock. Not exciting. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: | The hound of the Baskervilles |
| Title: | SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE |
| Year: | 1993 |
| Genre: | Romantic drama |
| Director: | Nora Ephron |
| The players: | Tom
Hanks
Meg Ryan Bill Pullman Rosie O’Donnell Rita Wilson |
| About the film: | Ryan becomes deeply touched when she hears a boy tell about his unhappy dad on the radio. She begins a desperate search for the man. The film alternates between emotionality and emotional nonsense. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: | You have mail |
| Title: | SMOKE |
| Year: | 1995 |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Director: | Wayne Wang |
| The players: | William
Hurt
Harvey Keitel Stockard Channing Harold Perrineau, Jr. Forest Whitaker |
| About the film: | Wang uses very small means to make an interesting film. We follow the lives of some ordinary persons, among them a tobacconist, a writer and a black kid. These characters become increasingly interesting once you get to know them. The film doesn’t hurry anywhere, it’s one of those few films which sets its own pace, takes its time without ever being tardy. A well acted, thoughtful slice of life. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: |
| Title: | SNAPPER, THE |
| Year: | 1993 |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Director: | Stephen Frears |
| The players: | Colm
Meaney
Tina Kellegher Ruth McCabe Colm O’Byrne Eanna MacLiam |
| About the film: | Warm, human British film with a drastic sense of humour, about a lower class family and the problems that occur when the oldest daughter becomes pregnant. She becomes the talk of the town, and she won’t even tell her parents who the father is. Sympathetic performances all around, the family sticks together in thick and in thin and supports one another 100%. Far from anything that would be produced in Hollywood. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: | Commitments, The |
| Title: | SO ENDS OUR NIGHT |
| Year: | 1941 |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Director: | John Cromwell |
| The players: | Fredric
March
Margaret Sullavan Frances Dee Glenn Ford Erich von Stroheim |
| About the film: | Fine film about the poor people who lost their German citizenship during WWII. There was not one country where they had the right to live, they were moved from one border to the next, hopefully they could sneak into a country and hide there and get some illegal job. A depressing situation for sure. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: |
| Title: | SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL |
| Year: | 1987 |
| Genre: | Romantic drama |
| Director: | Howard Deutch |
| The players: | Eric
Stoltz
Lea Thompson Mary Stuart Masterson Craig Sheffer John Ashton |
| About the film: | Same type of film as Pretty in pink, by the same producer and director. Here a working class boy falls in love with an upper class girl (in Pretty in pink it was the reversed). The three youngsters in the leading roles make a very good impression, perhaps thanks to Deutch, who’s known for his abilities to work with kids. The young cast is very credible. Stoltz doesn’t want to be regarded as a nerd and therefore wants to date the most beautiful girl in school. Masterson is devastated that he doesn’t prefer her whom he’s known all his life. The dialogue is ready-witted. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: | Pretty in pink |
| Title: | SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT |
| Year: | 1995 |
| Genre: | Drama, Comedy |
| Director: | Lasse Hallström |
| The players: | Julia
Roberts
Dennis Quaid Robert Duvall Gena Rowlands Kyra Sedgwick |
| About the film: | Hallström’s goal with this film was not to let the actors be funny themselves but to create funny situations instead. It keeps the film afloat, but it has some weak periods. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: |
| Title: | SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTION |
| Year: | 1971 |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Director: | Paul Newman |
| The players: | Paul
Newman
Henry Fonda Lee Remick Michael Sarrazin Richard Jaeckel |
| About the film: | Newman’s filmatization of Kesey’s novel about a niggardly woodcutter-family, hated by their community. The film has no focus and leads nowhere. Good end saves the film from being plain bad. Jaeckel won an oscar. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: |
| Title: | SOMMERSBY |
| Year: | 1993 |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Director: | Jon Amiel |
| The players: | Richard
Gere
Jodie Foster Bill Pullman James Earl Jones Lanny Flaherty |
| About the film: | Jack Sommersby returns home to his wife from war but she’s not certain that it really is her husband who has returned. Some are sure he’s the man and some are sure he’s not. As a viewer you are unsure till the very end. The cast is very credible but I think the theme of the film (Who’s the man?) is silly. You should be able to tell if it’s your husband or not, if they look like each other, a few wisely choosen questions should give the answer. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: | Maverick |
| Title: | SONS OF KATIE ELDER, THE |
| Year: | 1965 |
| Genre: | Western |
| Director: | Henry Hathaway |
| The players: | John
Wayne
Dean Martin Martha Hyer George Kennedy Dennis Hopper |
| About the film: | The guys in the title roles set out to learn about the cause of their mother's death. Wayne takes charge, of course, with his usual authority, he knows what to do and how all the time. This was Wayne’s first film after his cancer operation and he’s even slower than before. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: | Searchers, The |
| Title: | SOUL MAN |
| Year: | 1986 |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Director: | Steve Miner |
| The players: | Thomas
Howell
Arye Gross Rae Dawn Chong James Earl Jones Melora Hardin |
| About the film: | Mark’s application for Harvard law school gets accepted but he has no money and his parents won’t help him out. There’s a scholarship for the best black student in L.A., only problem is that Mark is white. He changes the colour of his skin and has to face the difficulties of being black. I think neither Mark nor his buddy seem to be the types that go to Harvard. Most of the movie is more stupid than funny, especially the sequence when Mark’s parents come to visit him. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: |
| Title: | SOUND OF MUSIC, THE |
| Year: | 1965 |
| Genre: | Musical |
| Director: | Robert Wise |
| The players: | Julie
Andrews
Christopher Plummer Eleanor Parker Peggy Wood Richard Haydn |
| About the film: | Andrews in the part of her life as a nurse for the kids at the von Trapp-family in WWII Austria. Sickly sweet large scale musical with beautiful footage and classic songs. Winner of five Academy awards. One of the most loved movies of all time. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: |
| Title: | SOUTHERNER, THE |
| Year: | 1945 |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Director: | Jean Renoir |
| The players: | Zachary
Scott
Betty Field Beulah Bondi J. Carrol Naish Norman Lloyd |
| About the film: | Depression drama about a factory worker who earns just enough to survive and decides to start a farm on his own with a chance to live a better life. His situation just gets worse as he and his wife has to face all kinds of troubles; weather, bad neighbours, housing, sick kids etc. The beautiful thing is that they stick together in thick and thin and sometimes they can see some light. |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: | Grapes
of wrath
They drive by night |
| Title: | SPACE JAM |
| Year: | 1996 |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Director: | Joe Pytka |
| The players: | Michael
Jordan
Wayne Knight Charles Barkley Larry Bird Bill Murray |
| About the film: | Jordan, Bird and Barkley have a nice round of golf when MJ gets sucked into Looney Tunes world where he has to save Bugs Bunny & co by defeating some monsters in a b-ball game. The sad thing is the total lack of humour and the very thin story that is drawn out to 80 min. I don’t even think kids are going to enjoy it. Jordan works alright in front of the camera although he doesn’t have to do any serious acting. It’s a lot more fun to watch these NBA stars in real games, that’s for sure! |
| Rating: |
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| Rec.: |
| Title: | STAIRCASE |
| Year: | 1969 |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Director: | Stanley Donen |
| The players: | Richard
Burton
Rex Harrison Cathleen Nesbitt Beatrix Lehmann |
| About the film: | The only reason for seing this movie is the strange casting of Burton and Harrison as a gay couple. They’re hairdressers and they constantly argue and live in total misery, to watch it is downright depressing. The two leads try their best to give serious performances but I don’t think anyone will enjoy watching it, homosexuals probably least of all. |
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| Title: | STAR IS BORN, A |
| Year: | 1937 |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Director: | William Wellman |
| The players: | Janet
Gaynor
Fredric March Adolphe Menjou May Robson Andy Devine |
| About the film: | Gaynor plays Esther Blodgett, a young girl who’s determined to make it in the movie business. She marries established star Norman Maine who has severe drinking problems. Esther, on the other hand, is on her way up, and stars are born and dies quickly in Hollywood, pretty soon she is the star while he is out of work. She accepts his drinking habits and still loves him without reservations. It is a very tragic story, but it also has many comic sequences. The message is that you should go on whatever happens, never quit. Solid performance by March. Filmed in technicolor, remade in 1954 and then again in 1976. |
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| Title: | STAR WARS |
| Year: | 1977 |
| Genre: | Science fiction |
| Director: | George Lucas |
| The players: |  Mark
Hamill
Harrison Ford Carrie Fisher Peter Cushing Alec Guinness |
| About the film: | The first film in Lucas’ innovative trilogy. He wasn’t a big name when he was given the opportunity to direct this adventure. The original plan was to squeeze the whole story (episode IV-VI) into one film but pretty soon it became clear that it was impossible. He neither got the budget nor the time he wanted to make the film so he had to rush the project. This is a fantastic tale that takes place "in a galaxy far away a long time ago". The peace loving rebellians have stolen the map of the evil empire’s death star. To survive they’ll have to find a weakness and destroy it. The film makes you part of a world that isn’t like we know it. There are strange creatures, civilizations, technologies and the force. This film is a good introduction to how this world works. It’s the slowest film of the trilogy but probably the one that makes the most sense. The story is good and carried out by quality actors who makes this a real treat for all open minded viewers. The special effects are awesome considering that it was filmed in ’77. Winner of seven academy awards. |
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| Rec.: | Empire strikes back, The |
| Title: | STRANGE LOVE OF MARTHA IVERS, THE |
| Year: | 1946 |
| Genre: | Film-noir |
| Director: | Lewis Milestone |
| The players: | Van
Heflin
Barbara Stanwyck Kirk Douglas Lizabeth Scott Judith Anderson |
| About the film: | Martha Ivers commits a horrible crime when she’s just a kid. Douglas is the only witness and he’ll keep quiet if they marry. Martha falls in love with Heflin but is tied to her weak husband. Dark and uninteresting. Douglas’ filmdebut. |
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| Title: | SWEET DREAMS |
| Year: | 1985 |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Director: | Karel Reisz |
| The players: | Jessica
Lange
Ed Harris Ann Wedgeworth David Clennon John Goodman |
| About the film: | Biography about country singer Patsy Cline, played by Lange. The film circles mostly around her unhappy marriage which is not that exciting to see. Some nice music and serious performaces from the cast. |
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