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The Apartment, a review by Jon

1960
The Apartment
5 out of 5



C. C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) has an apartment, but he rarely gets chance to use it in the evenings. His colleagues use it regularly for affairs, while promising him promotions. His boss (Fred MacMurray) gets to hear of it and joins in, taking his current “ring a ding ding” Fran Kubelik (Shirley Maclaine). Unfortunately Baxter is very fond of Fran himself…

This is a very good film indeed from Billy Wilder. I adore Some Like It Hot, but this is more ambitious. That said, I do struggle a little with Jack Lemmon’s character and the premise; he’s such a wimp! No-one can possibly be that gullible.

However, that premise allows for a wonderfully performed and subtle screenplay that just can’t be ignored. It could so easily fall one way into farce or the other way into mawkish sentimentality, but it keeps the balance perfect throughout, especially in a late sequence where comedy is abandoned entirely for a hard-hitting dramatic twist that will leave unprepared viewers reeling. That it can go so dark and come back, all the time feeling absolutely authentic, is a testament to the first rate cast and writing.

Jack Lemmon is great, somehow making his utter wimp of a character funny and moving. Shirley Maclaine is less showy, but she’s incredible at being sparky and vunerable at the same time. By the way, the picture on the cover is the moment one of the best lines is delivered...

Calling this a romantic comedy seems to sell it short and under false pretences.


(From Jon's Best Picture Oscar Marathon on February 13th, 2009)

Maleficent, a review by addicted2dvd

Maleficent (2014/United States, United Kingdom) IMDb |Wikipedia |Trailer | Buena Vista Home Entertainment (United States) Director: Robert Stromberg Writing: Linda Woolverton (Screenwriter), Charles Perrault (Original Material By) Length: 97 min. Video: Widescreen 2.40:1 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio: 7.1, English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital: 5.1 Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

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Stars:
Angelina Jolie as Maleficent
Elle Fanning as Aurora
Sharlto Copley as Stefan
Lesley Manville as Flittle
Imelda Staunton as Knotgrass

Plot:
Explore the untold story of Disney's most iconic villain in this wickedly fun twist on the classic Sleeping Beauty. In an unforgiving mood after a neighboring kingdom threatens her forest, Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) places an irrevocable curse on the king's newborn daughter, the Princess Aurora. But as the child grows, Maleficent finds herself becoming fond of the girl. And as the conflict between the two realms intensifies, Maleficent realizes that Aurora may hold the key to peace in the land. Journey beyond the fairy tale in this soaring adventure that is "visually arresting, brilliantly designed" (Andrew Barker, Variety).

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Bonus Trailers
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
• Digital Copy

I found this to be a good and interesting take on the story. Though I must admit that I was limited on knowledge of the story to start with. I must say the visual effects was good and story easily kept my attention. I thought that Angelina Jolie did a great job as the title character. Actually I think everyone did well. For me the downside to this one is that the 3 fairies that took care of Aurora were a bit silly and aggravating to watch. But over all well worth the time put in to watch it.



(From What Movies I Been Watching on December 4th, 2016)

Angel Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

20. A New World
Original Air Date: 5/6/2002
As Angel tries to track down Connor in the streets of L.A., Lilah approaches a despondent Wesley with an offer from Wolfram and Hart.

Guest Stars:
Vincent Kartheiser
Stephanie Romanov
Mark Lutz
Erika Thormahlen

My Thoughts:
While still a good episode... I didn't find this one quite as good as the previous several. While interesting... and I enjoyed the search for Connor and such. I didn't care much for the side storyline. Where Connor meets up with a junkie. And while I understand why it had to be drawn out some... I will be glad to see Wesley back in with the group. But that may take a while yet.

My Rating:

(From Angel Marathon on March 15th, 2010)