Kerry H's Reviews

I'm loving this compilation. I already own "Bullit", one of my all time favorite movies, but I had not seen "Papillon" since its original release, I had not ever seen "The Hunter" or "Nevada Smith". Papillon was just as hard to watch as I remember. The scenes when he is in prison and forced to eat bugs was imprinted in my mind at that time, and was a major reason why I cannot ever watch the "Survivor" tv show. During the pilot episode the contestants were forced to eat bugs, and that was it for me, I've never seen another minute of it. That's the kind of impact Steve McQueen as an actor in "Papillon" had on me. Now that we have the DVD, being able to also watch the featurette on the making of the movie was simply fascinating, and worth the price of the DVD all by itself. If you've never seen this movie, it's a little slow, but between Dustin Hoffman and Steve McQueen, it's worth every second of it. Do yourself a favor, and obtain a copy to view this movie. I found the "Hunter" to not be as well made, but it does not matter. Steve is great in it, and there is a strong supporting cast. I was sucked in from the opening scene to the end. Not a great award winning movie by any means, but if you are even a little bit of a McQueen fan, it's a must see. I have not yet viewed "Nevada Smith", but will do a follow up review after I do.


Review Date: 3/28/2016

Simply one of my most favorite movies ever. Since watching in the theatre, I've paid for streaming, borrowed from the library multiple times, and now I finally own my own copy. This is significant, because I rarely watch a movie more than once. If I do, usually it's because I haven't seen it since I was a kid, and now I would like to see what my take is on now that I'm an adult (case in point Georgy Girl. I watched it in the theatre when it came out, found it to be really boring. I recently watched it again, as an adult, my take on it was totally different)

Is "Age of Adaline" one of the best movies of all time? No. Did it win multiple awards? No. Will it be a movie historians talk about 100 years from now? No.

Is it really a fun, enjoyable, wonderful story beautifully told? YES! This movie is in a category with "Family Man" and "While You Were Sleeping", where they are not multiple Oscar winners, but are movies I enjoy watching, over and over.

If you like Blake Lively at all, she is really stellar in this one. The scene on New Years Night when she's wearing this incredible gown seals the deal.

Give it a try, you may love it as much as I do.
Review Date: 7/10/2019

Andromeda Strain is a well made movie well worth it's place in classic movie annals. It's too bad the transfer from film to DVD failed so miserably, making it difficult to watch. I'm speaking of the letterbox edition. I'm not aware if there are full screen or wide screen editions, if so, they'd be worth checking out. I'd advise you to stay away from the Letter box version. It lacks vibrancy, contrast, sharpness and visual detail. It looks like a so so copy from a VHS tape, to be honest. So if you have the VHS version of this movie, you'd be better off watching it than this version. If you're thinking, well, it was made in 1972, what do you expect? Well, I expect much better. I watched another 1972 movie, "Silent Running" the same week. It's widescreen, with a very good quality image; it's a great transfer. So, it is possible to attain good quality DVD's from movies from that time period, sadly, Andromeda Strain fails that test completely.
Review Date: 2/13/2025

Although the main cast are all young people in a coming of age type of movie, it still hit a soft spot with me because it plays on emotions that are still strong after so many years. Loved watching them take the tour down highway 1, which I do so long ago. Not the most memorable story, or the best acting, but it's a nice package, and very enjoyable to watch. I'm glad I watched it, and will do so again.
Review Date: 7/22/2015

We saw this when it first came out, waiting in a long line - it was a hot ticket back then. I came away enthralled, thinking it was one of the most enjoyable movies I'd ever seen, and certainly, just about the best sci fi movie ever. It wasn't until Alien came out years later that I got that same feeling again. So Close Encounters sets a pretty high standard. How does it stand the test of time, not having seen it for at least 20 years (last on VHS). I have to say, very, very well. You have to put it in context, since they did not have all the fancy CGI special effects to work with, and on that level, it's still a great story, well told, well directed, and well acted. Thank you Mr. Spielberg.

haasker in Oregon
Review Date: 5/16/2015

I love stories about the man behind the scenes, because those people are the ones that actually make it all happen. The stars would not be stars without them. So I was really interested how the Hank Garland story would be told. The man behind Elvis, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, and many others. The story turned out to be more about who has the power, and how it is wielded, as much as about the music. All in all, a story well told, I'd watch it again.
Review Date: 5/17/2015

One of the finest movies I've ever seen. Incredible performances throughout. This movie is haunting, and will stay with you forever. I don't agree with a single negative review of this fine film. Every frame could stand on it's own as a fine photo. There are not too many directors & cinematographers capable of that. David Lean comes to mind. Anthony Minghella is in that company. Sadly, his contributions were not that many, as he was taken from us far too early. If you haven't seen it, his first film, "Truly Madly Deeply", although flawed, is a wonderfully entertaining film to watch.
Review Date: 1/19/2017

Having read all the Reacher books, and anxiously looking forward to the next installment, I was shocked and started laughing when I heard Tom Cruise was going to play Jack Reacher. Yeah, right. So when the movie came out, I thought I'd tune in for some good old fashioned guffaws watching Tom attempting to play a guy 6'2' with huge hands and an imposing glare that makes people cross the sidewalk to avoid. Well, I was pleasantly surprised. The movie, based on the absolutely wonderful book "One Shot", followed the book closely, with good cast selection. I even enjoyed Tom's portrayal of Jack. All in all, a well made, very enjoyable movie. The reason Tom made it work is he did not attempt to be the Jack Reacher of the novel, physically. He turned the Reacher character into his own. I'm thinking Tom could be the Reacher franchise character. I was impressed, he made it work. I also loved Duvalls' portrayal of Cash; spot on. I've watched it three times now, and will most likely watch it again. If you love the Reacher books, and have avoided this movie because of Tom, then don't, dive in the deep end, you'll enjoy it. If you don't know who the character is already, then watch it anyway, it's a good Tom Cruise movie (better than any of the mindless MI movies).
Review Date: 6/20/2015

Ok. Good news and bad news -- SPOILER ALERT --. Production values are high, the dinos are great and scary, characters that you love or wish would get eaten really quickly. That's the good. The bad news it's really 2 different movies. I know it was Spielberg's grand idea to take the story off the island, but that's where it just turns into a Godzilla wannabe.... and oh just shaking head how bad that was. The first part of the movie was as good or even better than the 1st one. The dinos are better and CGI has gotten better over the years. But it really falls down at the end, wonders how a 3rd one ever got made. Thankfully it did, and now a 4th, hopefully it will stand the test of time. I'm sorry, "Lost World" just got lost.
Review Date: 7/2/2015

Truly awful. Should have been called "A Man Called Sludge". Interesting only for seeing James Garner playing a different type of character than he is known for. Other than that, hopeless tripe. Bad plot, bad acting, so so cinematography, bad direction, nothing more to be said.
Review Date: 3/28/2016

Wayne. Hepburn. What more can you say? Wonderful pairing, wonderful story. Great location. I've come to appreciate Wayne's talents now that I'm older, and I'm really enjoying going back and watching his later movies, which I would not have taken a 2nd look at when I was younger. Hepburn was amazing. If you haven't seen "Rooster Cogburn", take your first opportunity to own it.
Review Date: 6/9/2015

"Sin City" is waaaay cool. The visuals are stunning. Take the time to watch the special features. Seeing how they made the film was almost as interesting as watching the film. I totally loved it, can't wait to watch it again.
Review Date: 6/16/2015

I've been an "art film" lover since my studies in college, and I've been following Charlotte's career over many years, beginning with her chilling performance in "The Night Porter", 1973. I feel like I've grown up with her, watching her in her many films over the years. The "Swimming Pool" is a perfect bookend to her career (hopefully she is not done making films yet). She is the older woman now, wizend and deserving of respect. Does she get it in this film? Possible **** SPOILER ALERT *****

Does she really meet her host's daughter, and have all the interactions with her? You be the judge.

I totally loved the mind games that were such a huge part of the film. I thought about it for days afterwards, always a very good sign of having watched something very special. As with many Rampling films, this is not for everyone, I'm sure there are those who would find it incredibly dull and lacking in action. For me, I can't wait to watch it again. I'm very happy it was available on Swap to become a permanent part of my collection.
Review Date: 4/1/2016

Without a doubt one of my favorite movies of all time. I can watch it over and over again, and never tire of it. Each viewing seems to bring out a different nuance that I missed the previous viewing. A must see for any Cary Grant or Grace Kelly fan.. or for that matter, anyone who dreams of visiting the south of France!
Review Date: 5/2/2016

I wanted to see this because of the lead actors, especially Alison Lohman. I loved her so much in "Drag Me To Hell", I wanted to see something else she was in. The movie served that purpose very well. Beyond that, the characters that Colin Firth & Kevin Bacon played were both so morally bankrupt, I really had trouble watching this movie. And I guessed the ending way before we got there. The film was well made and acted by all. I've seen worse movies, but when you find every single character you're watching to be of just despicable moral standards, well, it just made it hard to watch. In my humble opinion, this one's worth watching only if you want to live a little in the gutter for awhile. Take a shower after.
Review Date: 6/14/2015

I wanted to see Julia Stiles to see what she was like as an actress before the Bourne films. All in all, a pleasant surprise. This one is not an Oscar worthy performance, by any of the characters, but it is worth watching. My only quibble with the film was the lack of realistic police behavior. My guess is the filmmakers had a low budget, so they could not hire any extras. But there was just not enough presence of crime scene investigators, or any behind the scenes activity going on that you would expect taking into account what took place on that quiet neighborhood street. I can't say anymore cuz I don't want to spoil the movie, but the lack of additional characters and locations (like a school for instance, or visiting friends, kids playing in the street) made the film seem unnecessarily claustrophobic to me.
Review Date: 5/2/2017

As a stand alone horror movie, not bad. However, if you've read the book, you know how much they changed the characters and the plot line in the film screenplay. In the Featurette making of "The Woman in Black", Sue Hill, the original author, is given some screen time, and seems to support the movie. Frankly, I was surprised she let them put her name on it, much less supported the result.

I do understand book to screenplay limitations, especially on pacing and exposition, but since the book itself is pretty short, almost a novella as opposed to a full book, there really was no excuse to make so many changes.

If you read only the book, you'll likely really love it. If you watch only the movie, you'll likely love it. But in my estimation, they are almost two different entities. I will give my nod to the plot line and characters in the book, I thought them superior to the screenplay.


Review Date: 12/10/2016

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