If you are hoping to learn a lot about Leonard Bernstein’s artistry, Maestro will disappoint you. There are two moments where one gets a sense of Bernstein’s creative power. Otherwise, the film is dedicated to chronicling his complicated love life. Bernstein is homosexual but marries and has children. Bradley Cooper (director and actor of Bernstein) focuses on telling this story. Bernstein’s musical artistry merely serves as a background that remains largely unexplored. I once saw a little video of Bernstein teaching the history of music in five minutes at Harvard. Given the title Maestro, I was hoping music would be at the center of the film. Perhaps there is a good documentary on Bernstein I can look for.
Continue ReadingCrocodile Dundee was made with $7 million and took in over $300 million at the box office. It was the commercially most successful Australian film ever. Because the film became so popular, I wasn’t sure whether I had seen it or not. It turns out I had never seen at least the first “Crocodile Dundee” movie, and I fully appreciate why it was so successful. It is utterly charming. A young journalist happens to be in Australia when she hears the news that a man in the outback was attacked by a crocodile and then managed to rescue himself through an ordeal of several days.
Continue ReadingThis film is inspired by *Pretty Woman. *This time, the girl is a graduate of Stanford University who found out that she can make easy money by not using her degree from the elite university. The boy/man in this film is not rich. In fact, he is so behind in his rent that he reluctantly goes back to his father to get a cash infusion. The more salient new twist is this: our boy/man has a sex addiction.
Continue ReadingI love films about music legends such as Marley, Walk the Line, and Ray *because the soundtrack is guaranteed to be excellent. So I could not wait to see *Elvis. It starts out strong but pretty soon it fails to create the magic of great movies that pull you in and make you believe what you see is a real story. Baz Luhrmann, who wrote and directed the film, never lets you forget that the film and Elvis’s true life are different.
Continue ReadingI saw the original top gun movie and was not very impressed. It lacked depth and tried to make it up with too many acrobatic jet fighter stunts. Not surprisingly, I had no plans to see the sequel. But Top Gun Maverick received raving reviews. Every review I read claimed that the sequel was much better than the original. I got a chance to see it on a big cinema screen. Top Gun Maverick is a fantastic film. I was impressed with the storytelling, the camera work, the suspense, and the surprising twists and turns. No wonder that this is the best crossing film Tom Cruise has ever participated in. You can see that all people involved treated it as a labor of love. You can sense that the script was rewritten and reworked many times so that it would reach a level that is rare for action movies made mainly for young people. See Top Gun Maverick. I extend my rare money-back guarantee for it. If you don’t like the film, I will reimburse you for the price of the tickets.
Continue ReadingIndian parents, even in the United States, still feel entitled that they can help find spouses for their children. Caucasian parents no longer have those rights. This romantic comedy of a man and woman of Indian descent who are living in the USA and are (n their mid-twenties is very creative. Except for a final scene, the film plays only in the house of the lady. The two seem to be a perfect mismatch. The woman goes on set-up dates by her mother so her mother pays the rent for her house.
Continue ReadingCoda is the remake of a French movie. The American version is taking place in a small fishing town in New England. At the center of the film is a high school senior whose parents and older brother are deaf. She has been the translator for her family with the outside “hearing” world for her entire life. But she’s getting tired of this as she wants to lead a more independent life.
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