Hotshots Movie Reviews
Hotshots Movie Reviews by Dan Culberson
“Hitchcock” about the Master of Manipulation
Dec 22nd
“Master of Manipulation”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Hitchcock is about the famous British director, Alfred Hitchcock, who was known as the Master of Suspense, and takes place in Hollywood when he was making his most famous film, the 1960 Psycho.
We see Hitchcock in 1959 Chicago at the opening of his previous movie, his 46th, and a reporter points out that Hitchcock is 60 and says shouldn’t he just quit while he is ahead.
Thankfully, Hitchcock didn’t, who is played by Anthony Hopkins made up to look like the director and using a voice as reminiscent of the popular figure on television that we soon begin to believe that he is Hitchcock.
In fact, Hitchcock says that he is looking for a nice clean, nasty little book to make into his next movie.
That book becomes Psycho, a novel by Robert Bloch, based on Ed Gein and the murders he had committed in Wisconsin.
Meanwhile, we meet Alma, Hitchcock’s wife, played by Helen Mirren, and we learn that she had even been Hitchcock’s boss in England when he was first starting out in the movie business, and they had collaborated on some of his early movies.
So, Alma helps Hitchcock with some of the casting and even makes suggestions for the plot, such as killing off the leading actress after the first 30 minutes instead of waiting halfway through.
Scarlett Johansson plays Janet Leigh, James D’Arcy plays Anthony Perkins, and in their first meeting, Hitchcock says, “Call me Hitch. Hold the ‘cock.'”
Then we see all the difficulties that Hitch had making this movie, with the studio, the censors, and even an actress with whom Hitch had a previous history, Vera Miles, played by Jessica Biel.
At one point, the picture is two days behind and $60,000 over budget, Hitch gets sick and confined to bed, and Alma goes to the set and takes over, showing everyone that she knows what she is doing.
One thing that might confuse you is that Hitch dreams and fantasizes about Ed Gein, the real murderer, and we see those scenes, but there is enough humor and lightheartedness in the movie to make up for these distractions, just like Hitch had in his own movies and TV shows.
Hitchcock is about the Master of Suspense, but he could just as easily have been called the Master of Manipulation.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
“Smashed” about Wasted People
Dec 15th
“Wasted”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Smashed is just another in a long line of films about alcoholics going back at least to the 1945 The Lost Weekend with Ray Milland and the 1962 Days of Wine and Roses with Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick, and the only thing different is that this time the lead alcoholic character is a woman.
You’ve come a long way, Baby.
Also, it is an independent film that was shot in only 19 days; so don’t expect too much in the way of production values.
And the only message in films about the fall and more falling of an alcoholic is “Don’t do this,” which leaves only great acting, marvelous settings, or compelling story to see a movie like this, none of which are contained in this movie.
Kate is played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and she is married to Charlie, played by Aaron Paul. Kate is a first-grade schoolteacher, and Charlie stays at home and writes music, although we find out later that Charlie has wealthy parents who support them.
In fact, when they wake up one morning after another night of binge drinking, Kate makes a reference to the fact that Charlie stays home and writes, and Charlie says, “Yeah, but my real job is to change the sheets.”
Kate even takes a drink from a flask in her car on the way to work, and then when she is in the classroom teaching her students, she throws up into a wastebasket because she is so hung over.
This prompts one of the students to ask Kate if she is pregnant, because the kid’s mother does that when she is pregnant.
So, Kate lies and says yes, which just leads to an embarrassing chain of events when Kate’s principal and other teachers find out.
Well, Kate keeps drinking, Charlie keeps drinking, and Charlie’s brother and their friends keep drinking, too. Eventually Kate admits that she has a problem, and she agrees to attend a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous with another teacher in the school, played by Nick Offerman.
However, a few meetings don’t do the trick, and Kate keeps drinking and worse.
Matters become aggravated between Kate and Charlie, too, even though he makes a half-hearted attempt to stop drinking along with Kate’s attempts.
Smashed is about wasted people, and don’t waste your money on it.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
“Anna Karenina” Is Cinematic Opera
Dec 13th
“Cinematic Opera”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Anna Karenina is based on Count Leo Tolstoy’s second great major novel, it is about a tragic love story, and of all the versions that have been filmed about it, this one is the most recent.
This one might also be the most daring of them all, considering how it portrays the action, and it undoubtedly will not be to everyone’s liking.
It stars Keira Knightly as Anna, Jude Law as her stodgy husband, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the dashing Count Vronsky.
The story begins in 1874 Imperial Russia, and you might wonder what the heck is going on with the action consisting of actors and actresses being on a stage in a theater?
Talk about suspension of disbelief! We have to pretend that we are watching a stage performance of this familiar story, and then we have to pretend that we didn’t see the actors walk through the back of the theater building and continue acting in a realistic setting like we are accustomed to seeing in most traditional films.
And then before we know it, the realistic scenes switch back and forth without warning with the surrealistic scenes inside a theater, including an unbelievable scene inside the theater about a horse race with real horses and riders dashing across the stage.
If that technique doesn’t throw off the audience enough, even if you are familiar with the story, you might be thrown off by the confusing Russian names, which make it difficult to keep all the characters straight, as well as by a subplot of another love story between two of the minor characters.
The main love story is about Anna, an aristocratic married woman with a child who falls in love with Count Vronsky and eventually has a child with him.
I won’t spoil the ending for those of you who are not familiar with the story, but for those of you who are, you might be disappointed in that a subplot coda is tacked on after the traditional ending, which in my mind ruined the story.
In addition, this film reminded me of opera, which is a stylistic rendition of a story consisting of vocal performances with orchestral accompaniment.
Anna Karenina is cinematic opera without the singing, but with music throughout, it ruins a perfectly good, classic love story, and I don’t like opera.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”