Hedda Review

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(More customer reviews)I first saw this movie in a European Literature class in college, and I was fascinated from the start. I forget if we read it first or watched the movie, but in any case, Glenda Jackson embodies the character of Hedda Gabler so completely that I can't imagine anyone else playing Hedda in such a convincing fashion.
The script in this version is just about the same as in my old Norton Anthology, and I always appreciate when movies follow the original work with integrity. This Hedda is the same bored housewife that tries to endure her ridiculous, academic husband and distances herself from any mention of pregnancy and motherhood. She longs for high society and to have control over other people, as well as herself. She obsesses over beauty ("Do it beautifully!" she instructs Loevborg, referring to his suicide plan) and loathes ugliness, while her deep, dark wit will either enthrall or repel the viewer. It certainly enthralls me, though I have known certain people to find Hedda's character revolting in its selfishness and cruelty.
I hope this comes out on DVD soon...I had to buy my VHS on ebay a few years back, and it's not in the greatest condition.

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A Town Like Alice (1981) Review

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(More customer reviews)Joe Harmon (played by Bryan Brown) rocks! And so does this whole movie, based on Nevil Shute's superb novel of the same name. It starts well, picks up speed, and gets better and better. During WWII, Jean (who is her family's only survivor) is force marched back and forth across Malaysia by the Japanese, who don't know what to do with a bunch of English women and children. As their group dwindles from starvation, fatigue, malaria and dystntery, Jean becomes the leader of the little group, and she negotiates a deal with the headman of a small village whose men have been taken off to fight in the war: if the village will shelter them, the surviving English will work in the rice fields.
But it was during the months of wandering that Jean met Joe Harmon, an Austrailian prisoner of war who steals food for her, is crucified and left for dead by the Japanese.
After the war, when Jean is back in England, she comes into her family's money, and she has a dream: to return to Malaya to build a well for the village women. To her amazement, she learns that Harmon actually survived: when the Japanese could not grant him his last wish, they were honor bound to save his life. Jean goes back to find him at the same time he, having just discovered that she wasn't married when he met her (a deception she fostered for her own protection), flies to England to look for her. The two planes cross.
But, as with most good love stories, they meet - and things are awkward and stilted. When he knew her, her hair was loose and tangled, she was barefoot and wearing a sarong, and she had an orphan child balanced on her hip. Now when he sees her, she's an English lady - and he's still just a bloke from the outback.
Oh, I'm telling too much. Suffice to say that Jean's attempt to resume their former easy and relaxed relationship while in Australia's Great Barrier Reef is spectacularly successful, and she's faced with spending the rest of her life in the desolate and lonely outback. Alice Springs, the nearest thing to `civilization,' is too far to go, so Jean determines to spend her small fortune turning her little nowhere town into a place from which the young people will no longer flee in frustration. In short, she creates the world in which she wants to live and raise Joe's and her children.
It's so, so, so, so good, one of those videos you'll have to buy. Trust me on that.

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A Town Like Alice (1981) Review

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(More customer reviews)Joe Harmon (played by Bryan Brown) rocks! And so does this whole movie, based on Nevil Shute's superb novel of the same name. It starts well, picks up speed, and gets better and better. During WWII, Jean (who is her family's only survivor) is force marched back and forth across Malaysia by the Japanese, who don't know what to do with a bunch of English women and children. As their group dwindles from starvation, fatigue, malaria and dystntery, Jean becomes the leader of the little group, and she negotiates a deal with the headman of a small village whose men have been taken off to fight in the war: if the village will shelter them, the surviving English will work in the rice fields.
But it was during the months of wandering that Jean met Joe Harmon, an Austrailian prisoner of war who steals food for her, is crucified and left for dead by the Japanese.
After the war, when Jean is back in England, she comes into her family's money, and she has a dream: to return to Malaya to build a well for the village women. To her amazement, she learns that Harmon actually survived: when the Japanese could not grant him his last wish, they were honor bound to save his life. Jean goes back to find him at the same time he, having just discovered that she wasn't married when he met her (a deception she fostered for her own protection), flies to England to look for her. The two planes cross.
But, as with most good love stories, they meet - and things are awkward and stilted. When he knew her, her hair was loose and tangled, she was barefoot and wearing a sarong, and she had an orphan child balanced on her hip. Now when he sees her, she's an English lady - and he's still just a bloke from the outback.
Oh, I'm telling too much. Suffice to say that Jean's attempt to resume their former easy and relaxed relationship while in Australia's Great Barrier Reef is spectacularly successful, and she's faced with spending the rest of her life in the desolate and lonely outback. Alice Springs, the nearest thing to `civilization,' is too far to go, so Jean determines to spend her small fortune turning her little nowhere town into a place from which the young people will no longer flee in frustration. In short, she creates the world in which she wants to live and raise Joe's and her children.
It's so, so, so, so good, one of those videos you'll have to buy. Trust me on that.

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Groucho: A Life In Revue (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)I had the good fortune to see this show at the Majestic Theatre in Boston on October 23, 2004 (Gummo's Birthday!). I sat in the 4th row and it was a treat! It was like seeing the Great Man himself. Ferrante's Groucho is dead-on accurate, and you just get completely drawn into the show watching him. I have the video, and it's terrific.
Ferrante is a great ad-libber. My show was during the first game of the World Series between the Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals. He was aware of the baseball fever sweeping Beantown, and in Groucho character, kept us all updated on the score of the game!!! He ad-libbed about the game all night, keeping the audience in stitches....hilarious.
The format is very simple: It's Groucho telling his life story to you, the audience, and the way Ferrante tranforms himself into Groucho at various ages is fabulous. Get the video to see what I mean.
It's a trip down memory lane of jokes, songs, with funny (and touching) moments in Groucho's life. You will laugh your butt off and I dare you not to shed a tear as "Groucho" reflects on his life, and the memories of his brothers Chico and Harpo.
I will admit I was teary-eyed during those moments in the theater, and you will be while watching the tape. And you will scream with laughter just as much too.
I will be purchasing the DVD soon, and it has got to be just as good as the tape, if not better. Get this one, and if you get a chance to see the show....GO!!!! You won't be disappointed, either way. It's the closest you will ever get to see a Marx Brothers show and I got the feeling that night in the theater the Marxes were looking down over us, laughing along too....

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Highlights the legendary comedian's life and amazing career. Written by the ultimate authority - Groucho's son Arthur Marx -this comedy with music chronicles the unparalleled rags-to riches story of America's funniest entertainer. Groucho is portrayed by Frank Ferrante, whose more than 2,000 performances in this role have earned him critical acclaim worldwide.

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Mother Goose Rock N Rhyme (1990) Review

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(More customer reviews)The first time I ever saw this movie was on the Disney channel when I was about 11 or 12 years old and ever since then I have been in love with it and all the endearing even sometimes annoying rhymeland characters. The story is basically simple Mother Goose played so delightfully by Jean Stapleton has suddenly disappeared from rhymeland and it is up to her uptight son played to perfection by Dan Gilroy and Little Bo Peep played Shelly Duvall who was made for the part to find her and bring her back before everyone in rhymeland disappears and mother gooses's rhymes become nothing but a mere illusion. It shows all the hilarious struggles and complications Bo Peep and Gordon have to go through to find her and all the crazy characters they meet on the way. The sets are bright, colorful, and very creative as are the costumes and makeup and while the special effects are not very realisitic and corny the great script and amazing humor make up for it. This movie just about has any star in the movie and music business you can think of including Woody Harrelson as the lamb from Mary had a little lamb, Little Richard as the party loving Old King Cole, Ben Vereen as Itsy Bitsy Spider, and the musical trio ZZ Top as The Three Men in the Tub which was pure genius putting them in that role. This movie is amazing and although it may seem corny and even childish at times it still proves to be funny, endearing and magical and I promise if you watch it, it will make you feel like a kid again.

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Sugarbaby (Zuckerbaby) (1985) Review

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(More customer reviews)It's an "Euridyce rescues Orpheus" story - Teutonic style.
Marianne Sagebrecht is stunning as the dumpy, overweight, mortician's assistant, drably commuting via subway, until she hears "that voice".Well, it happens to belong to the hunky young conductor casually announcing the various stops, and before you know it - she's tracking [stalking?] this guy, studying his eating habits, etc.......One evening on impulse,she buys him a candybar [his favourite] from an underground vending machine AND the rest is almost history.
Complications? Quite a few, but our heroine does her best and there is that transformation and THAT dinner preparation, with aftermath - funny and moving - shades of Billy Wilder's touch there.
There's also an odd twist to this original version.... slightly darker than the USA TV version.Almost a feel-good movie from Percy Adlon - who afterwards brought us "Bagdad Cafe" ["Out of Rosheim"] a real feel-good experience, also with Miss Sagebrecht -both worth watching!

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Masterpiece Theater: The Murder of Stephen Lawrence (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is actually a true story. Stephen Lawrence was a young Black man about to enter the prime of his life when he was murdered on the night of 22nd April 1993 in London. His death made the local television radio and the very news next day. It made the national press on the morning of 24th April 2003, but for most part it was hidden on the inside pages, some murders don't get the coverage they should. In the beginning the murder was one such case.
And that might have been that. After all Stephen Lawrence was not a white person, he certainly was not blonde or for that matter female. Yet the story did not and would not go away.
Watching this film is not easy an easy experience because from the very beginning you are a frustrated witness to a catalogue of obvious errors combined with blatant racism, ignorance and incredible stupidity from the British Police Force, not to mention the press' initial indifference to the story on the whole.
But when Nelson Mandela gave the Lawrence family his support, suddenly everyone wanted to know how and why Stephen died.
This film systematically chronicles all the important events from Stephen's murder up until the results of the Enquiry in1999.
Stephen's murderers have never been tried, the one attempt to get them into court failed, and it failed because the police did not do their job properly in the first place.
Everyone knew who killed Stephen, the police did, local people did, Stephen's parents did but proper justice was ultimately denied the Lawrence family and all they got out of his death was an Enquiry that told them what they already knew. The Metropolitan Police was institutionally racist.
There is nothing sentimental about this film; it is hard to watch because you are acutely aware that it is based entirely on facts even though actors and actresses are playing all the main parts.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste of "Secret and Lies" and "28 Days" plays the indomitable Mrs Lawrence, with surprising skill whilst Leon Black gives a fine performance as the doomed Stephen, destined to die before his time.
This in my opinion is a film that should be watched by every school child in the United Kingdom and by every adult who is under the misguided impression that they are basically tolerant and good. Only when you watch this film will you realise that you are the sum of all your own prejudices and fears, and that justice just might have a colour all of its very own...

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