Review of The Lady Eve (1941) by Milhouse V — 19 Dec 2004

I am woefully behind on reviews. Let?s start this shit.

I can honestly say that [b]The Wild Woman of Batwoman[/b] is one of the worst movies I?ve ever seen. Fortunately, I had the MST3K gang to make it bearable. It?s an unfunny, overly campy, directionless mess of a movie that looses track of its endless random plotlines. The only redeeming factor is the endless parade of buxom hotties that grace the screen. 1/10. :rotten:

Now that I?ve seen [b]The Office[/b] Christmas specials, I?m done with the series. It?s a good way to give the show closure. Sure, what happens to David Brent may be a bit out of character, but you can?t help root for him through his tribulations. The Tim/Dawn romance, which I never really felt during the regular season, is surprisingly touching. The only thing that falls flat is how the specials deal with Gareth. He was my favorite character, and he just didn?t have that odd Garethness anymore. Still, good stuff. 7/10. :fresh:

[b]Kinsey[/b] is a film that has a lot in common with A Beautiful Mind ? a look at a brilliant but troubled professor and his tenuous marriage. However, whereas A Beautiful Mind gave us a powerfully emotional look at its protagonist (yeah, I liked A Beautiful Mind, eat me), Kinsey is just an interesting character study. The film does a great job of showing the basics ? how backwards our society?s views on sex were, and how Dr. Kinsey?s work helped shine the light on what we really do about our sexual desires. But it flounders in many other places. Liam Neeson and Laura Linney do a fine job as the Kinseys, but they get most of the attention. Consider Peter Sarsgaard?s character, the research assistant who sleeps with both of the Kinseys. We see what he does, but not why. Kinsey?s other assistants (Chris O?Donnell and Timothy Hutton, who are more are less wasted) are also potentially interesting character studies, but we get only basic information about their personal lives. Why does Indiana University?s president decide to stand by Kinsey though his work becomes increasingly unpopular? Who knows? Why is the relationship between Dr. Kinsey and his wife so special, why can it withstand all of its troubles? Beats me, it just comes off as if they?re really good friends! If there?s a message to the movie, it?s that though sex is important, love is more important, but the delivery of said message is muddled and we don?t have much evidence. Kinsey is good, but it could?ve been so much more.

Compared to this year?s wave of socially conscious documentaries, [b]Spellbound[/b], a look at eight participants in the 1999 National Spelling Bee, seems downright quaint. But there?s something beneath the surface. The filmmakers turn the spelling bee into a shining example of the American Dream, where children from widely different social and ethnic backgrounds can make the best of themselves through hard work and intelligence. You?ll find yourself rooting for the kids (or at least most of them), feeling bad as they gradually get eliminated, and trying to spell the words yourself. A simple documentary, to be sure, but a compelling one nonetheless.

I knew that I would be let down by [b]Ocean?s Twelve[/b] when I saw that it had a different writer. The clever, snappy dialogue was the main thing that made Ocean?s Eleven so great. And while the new story has its clever moments, it just can?t hold a candle to the original. Fortunately, director Steven Soderbergh is back, as are the entire original cast. Joining them are Catherine Zeta-Jones, Vincent Cassell, Robbie Coltrane, and Eddie Izzard, so at least we?re in good hands. Unfortunately, Zeta-Jones? character isn?t interesting, and neither is her storyline, which takes precious attention away from the twelve, who need all the screen time they can get. George Clooney is a solid lead, but he?s not given much to do. Brad Pitt and Matt Damon get more attention this time around, and the move pays off- they?re great comic actors with charisma to spare. Soderbergh?s stylish direction doesn?t hurt, either. Everybody onscreen is clearly having fun, but this time they?re having way more fun than the audience.

[b]The Lady Eve[/b] is my first Preston Sturges, and it?s a quaint little battle of the sexes. Barbara Stanwick and Henry Fonda do a fine job as the warring couple. Unfortunately, the film is ruined by muddled pacing that gives the movie no third act, or at best a severely contracted one. However, the final minutes are perfect enough for me to give this a :fresh:.