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A Place in the Sun, a review by Hal

A Place in the Sun (1951/United States) Paramount Home Entertainment (United States) Director: George Stevens Writing: Michael Wilson (Original Material By), Harry Brown (Original Material By) Length: 121 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: Mono, French: Dolby Digital: Mono, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo Subtitles: English

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Stars:
Montgomery Clift as George Eastman
Elizabeth Taylor as Angela Vickers
Shelley Winters as Alice Tripp
Keefe Brasselle as Earl Eastman
Anne Revere as Hannah Eastman

Plot:Extras:

• Scene Access
• Audio Commentary
• Feature Trailers
• Featurettes
• Closed Captioned
• Interviews

This is another "star-crossed lovers" story, with all of the essential elements of the handsome boy, the beautiful girl, wealth, greed, deceit, ambition, love, betrayal, murder (or is it?) and ultimately tragedy.  Taylor was stunningly beautiful at the age of 19 in this film, while Clift was 31, but somehow, it was easy to believe that they were very close to the same age.  While very good looking, I have never really been taken by Montgomery Clift's acting abilities, being a bit too brooding and laconic for my tastes, but it seemed to fit the mood of this film.  I  found the contrast between the factory-worker lives and that of the wealthy owners to have been very well done here without being judgmental or exaggerated for effect.  This movie doesn't seem to come up on the radar when people talk about Elizabeth Taylor's career, but I  think it's in her top 5 performances.

Rating: 4

(From The Movies From Within My Lifetime on March 24th, 2011)

Sunshine Cleaning, a review by goodguy

Sunshine Cleaning (2008) Written by: Megan Holley Directed by: Christine Jeffs Starring: Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin DVD: R1-US Anchor Bay (Aug 25, 2009) My rating:

Cover blurb: Academy Award Nominee Amy Adams, Golden Globe Winner Emily Blunt, and Academy Award Winner Alan Arkin find an unexpected way to turn their lives around in this "colorful, refreshingly quirky comic drama" (Leah Rozen, People).
Desperate to get her son into a better school, single mom Rose (Amy Adams) persuades her slacker sister Norah (Emily Blunt) to join her in the crime scene cleanup business to make some quick cash. With the help of their ill-fated salesman father (Alan Arkin), they climb the ranks in a very dirty job, finding themselves up to their elbows in murders, suicides, and... specialized situations. But underneath the dust and grime they also come to discover a true respect for one another, and create a brighter future for the entire Lorkowski family.

"Quirky" is pretty much an indie staple nowadays, and while this one doesn't exactly disappoint, it is a bit too well-calculated as an audience pleaser. Amy Adams and Emily Blunt are both gifted actresses and give strong performances. Adams has the more interesting role while Blunt is a bit underused, especially since a side plot involving her and the tech girl from 24 (name?) ends rather abruptly. All in all, pretty light fare, but nontheless worth watching.


(From goodguy's Watch Log on October 4th, 2009)

Weekend Movie Marathon: TV Show Reunion Movies, a review by addicted2dvd

The Incredible Hulk Returns
The Incredible Hulk is back...But is he any match for the Mighty Thor?
It's been two years since his last transformation, and Dr. David Banner (Bill Bixby) has developed a new Gamma Transponder that he hopes will cure him of his inner monster forever. But when a former colleague unearths the frozen tomb of an ancient Norse warrior king, the Mighty Thor (Eric Allan Kramer) is unleashed upon 20th Century society. Can the Hulk (Lou Ferrigno) end the rampage of this mead-crazed barbarian, or will the two raging beasts become allies to save both the Transponder and the woman Banner loves?

Six years after their hit series ended, Bixby, Ferrigno and Jack Colvin (as nosy reporter Jack McGee) returned for this top-rated television movie. Tim Thomerson, Charles Napier, Lee Purcell and Steve Levitt co-star in this action-packed fan favorite that Stomp Tokyo calls "quite possibly the best thing to come out of the series!"

My Thoughts:
Another show I always enjoyed in my younger years. This one was a great reunion movie. In it The Incredible Hulk teams up with The Mighty Thor. This made it twice the fun for me... as I used to watch the Thor cartoons when I was a kid as well. This reunion movie always felt like it should have also served as a pilot for a series for The Mighty Thor! I know I would have loved it as they made both the characters likable as well as interesting... I think it could have been a lot of fun!

NOTE: Jimmy... this is just another recycled review... no need to add it to the list.



(From Weekend Movie Marathon: TV Show Reunion Movies on June 15th, 2008)