Share doggedstrength's profile
doggedstrength
doggedstrength's stats
- Review count5
- Helpfulness votes0
- First reviewMay 10, 2009
- Last reviewDecember 8, 2012
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating3.8
doggedstrength's Reviews
Overall rating
4
/
5
hear the music inside
PostedDecember 8, 2012
doggedstrength
from New York, NY
Age:65 or over
Gender:Male
Goes to the movies:monthly
Dialogue
4
/
5
Special Effects
4
/
5
Art Direction
4
/
5
Acting
5
/
5
Story
3
/
5
Camerawork
4
/
5
"don't play the notes, play the music," miles davis admonished the members of his bands. this movie not only follows that wise advice, but teaches that even the finest musicians have discordant hearts, and listening to those overburdened hearts isn't a matter of technical mastery. the story is perhaps overloaded with personal crises all falling at a given moment. but all of the actors do fine, nuanced work, with hoffman excelling and walken transcending. this is surely among the finest performances walken has ever given. his work is so quiet, yet so haunted, that you feel his character's life ebbing right before your eyes. bravo to a game, bristling, stirringly in-the-moment cast.
Pros great actors, well shot, fine score
Cons overstuffed plot
Yes, I recommend this movie.
Share:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
5
/
5
One for the Ages
PostedMay 6, 2012
doggedstrength
from New York, NY
Age:65 or over
Gender:Male
Goes to the movies:once every few months
Dialogue
5
/
5
Art Direction
5
/
5
Acting
5
/
5
Story
5
/
5
Camerawork
5
/
5
This movie captures a moment in New York City and indeed American history where a drug-fueled subculture was choking on itself, and yet showed a kind of life -- a kind of defiance -- that resonated, illegal though its activities were. You could judge the people in this story if you liked, but you'd miss the point: they were scratching out an existence in an environment where they could find and make no place for themselves. If you withhold judgment, you can look at their pain, and the actors here superbly dig it up and spit or snarl it out. It's not pretty. But it's a moment when some people couldn't find answers for themselves, and eased their unease with drugs. You must take people sometimes as you find them. And this superbly shot (in black and white) and acted movie lets people be who they are, and shows the price they're paying for their folly and their inability to come to grips with it. What you take away is more than a slice of life; it's a picture of human struggle. A losing struggle for nearly everyone in this story. But you can't take your eyes off the screen. The characters get under your skin because all the performances are committed and raw. Shirley Clarke's direction is amazing because she clearly could stir up the actors but she then lets them shape their performances, find their own rhythms to express their characters' drug-craving, drug-fueled anguish. Jack Gelber's script, from his play, captures a moment in New York history that should never be lost; in language that still sears. This kind of pain takes new forms, but never goes away, including in our own day -- the need to "connect". These characters may or may not make it, but it's a transforming experience watching them try. Brace yourself, and go.
Pros well paced, great story, great actors, beautifully shot, terrific jazz
Yes, I recommend this movie.
Share:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
3
/
5
Male Bashing Yet Important Movie
PostedJuly 11, 2010
doggedstrength
from New York, NY
no spoilers, but the guy (mark ruffalo) doesn't stand a chance right from the beginning of this script. he can't win for losing. he's open and straightforward at first and later makes a mistake (which i don't approve of). but he doesn't do it alone, yet he gets blamed and bashed, and is given no tears, hugs, beg-for-forgiveness-speech or redemption at the end. he's just a cad. that's a loaded, unfair premise. so the movie doesn't have as much tension as it claims. still, it's great to have a gritty, long-term lesbian relationship portrayed in an american movie. and the actors are all good. so it's a welcome breakthrough. but with a somewhat bogus story at its core. it still should be seen. a lot in it is new, unprecedented.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
Share:
-2points
0of 2voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
5
/
5
Visual Heaven
PostedJuly 16, 2009
doggedstrength
from New York, NY
this is what ONLY a big studio can do when it sets craftsmen free. there's art direction and lighting here that you rarely see any more -- clean, expressive and deeply assured. director yates is no trickster. his camera mostly seems to disappear -- it's the austere lighting that keeps you gripped. and the special effects linger without lambasting you. the three kids their best ever, gambon grave and restrained, and rickman unflashily brilliant, as he's been throughout. newcomer broadbent is wonderful.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
Share:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
2
/
5
Better Days Ahead
PostedMay 10, 2009
doggedstrength
from New York, NY
loud and action-packed. the actors are strong and cohesive. best is zachary quinto as spock: elegant, understated, nuanced, an actor who wants to give pleasure to the audience, not indulge himself. the rest respond to their director's taste for noisy excess, so they're rarely inspired. bones, scotty and chekhov have their moments. the bloated, lazy script passes itself off as hip. but the effects wear out one's patience since it's unclear what danger is being overcome or why. in the future the actors will need sharp, clear, uh, logical writing, not street badinage to bump the plot forward. this isn't writing, it's overhearing. but the cast is game. better luck next time.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
Share:
-1point
0of 1voted this as helpful.