Ellen-Burstyn Movie Reviews

I first caught this little gem in the wee small hours of a Sunday morning, after a very late night out, on one of our main TV Networks here in Australia. I laughed so hard in many of the scenes and am still convinced it's probably one of Gene Wilder's best performances - similar at times to his wonderful take on Leo Bloom in the masterpiece 'The Producers'. It's a pretty simple tale of two close mates dealing with a series of problems that life has thrown up at them but handled so subtly and with great understanding for its characters. There's a great cast here in fine form including Ellen Burstyn, Chloris Leachman, Valerie Harper and a young Rob Reiner in a rather zany role as Gene Wilder's agent, who doesn't realise he's his agent. A very funny scene. Thursday's Game is a very perceptive and often hilarious look at famliy and friendship set against life in the Big Apple.I agree a re-make might be a good idea but I have the feeling it's the kind of story that sits very comfortably in the '70s.

I stumbled across this little gem in the wee small hours of a Sunday morning on one of the TV Networks here in Australia some 15 years ago and fell in love with its simple tale. Gene Wilder is probably in his finest form here and really strikes up a nice chemistry with Bob Newhart in the role of his very straight-laced poker playing buddy who's going through a mid-life crisis. Great cast including Ellen Burstyn, Chloris Leachman, Valerie Harper and watch out for a cameo by Rob Reiner as Gene Wilder's pretty zany agent, who doesn't realise he's his agent. Very funny scene. A low key little film but well worth the investment for its perceptive themes of friendship, family and life in New York. I agree a re-make would be a good idea but somehow this story sits too well in the '70's.

A forgotten TV Movie with an excellent cast, strong script and solid, if unexciting direction. Gene Wilder and Bob Newhart are two businessmen who continue to meet up in secret after their weekly poker game ends. Not a lot really happens and there is nothing earth-shattering, but it does a very nice job of examining marriage, love and life just before middleage. Written by James L. Brooks I am suprised no one in Hollywood has thought to create a remake. A great value at the price and if you have broadband internet access it can also be viewed for free from...

Tropic of Cancer, the book is filled with titillating imagines, it flows uneven at times but somehow remains focus. Our little movie here is like a dream of the book. Clouded and fuzzy, but still titillates. Henry Miller was alive with the soul of an angel, disguised in the body and mind of a scoundrel. I believe if you love his work, you'll appreciate this movie. It's uneven, to be sure, the dialog drifts apart at times. However, you will enjoy the moments of recognition and taste the infatuation with life, even when faced with despair. Of course Henry and June, the Kaufman Movie is superior, however, it's the uneven parts of ToC that remind one of HM's Books. Life is uneven!

Reading Miller gives you an immediate feeling of being alive. Sitting at the drive-in watching this movie with friends and a bottle of homemade wine, I believed that I was indeed living it up...and maybe I was! The actual Henry Miller made a tiny cameo appearance at the beginning of the picture.

I have read the book, I think review the movi

I had never heard of Hanna Senesh before I see this movie. I was reluctant to rent it but I was not disappointed. Although it could be rated as a "B" movie (budget wise), I could compare it to the very popular "Schindler's List". Very Underrated! How come I have never heard of this film before? I will probably view this movie again.

Most hero's depicted during war time are men, but in Hanna's War we are reminded that women play(ed) important roles, too. Though this movie is glamorized through costume design and a beautiful actress, the basis of the story is performed solidly.

If you like old american cars and auto racing this film is a must see.The film is a low budget picture with some cool old racing footage on figure 8 race tracks and stock car tracks.The film has some cool footage of Barris custom car shop and a bunch of his cars appear in the film,theres a cool scene where they show all types of old dune buggies racing in the desert.If you're obsessed with cars like I am, you'll get a kick out of the film its got a lot of cool cars and alot of action.

Greasy, cowlicked creep gets popped out of jail for street dragging by Brian Donlevy who promises him beer, women and song in demolition derby racing.
Once he gets a taste of the pennzoil and cocaine in his blood stream he stops at nothing to hustle his way to the top, leaving a trail of bloodied and broken racers and lot lizards behind him.
Sid Haig is coolest star in this film, and it's a kick to see a young Ellen Burstyn as a gear-jamming honey, too. One of Jack Hill's best.

I probably have a real soft spot for this movie, since the one and only time I was in Hollywood was with my family as a kid when this movie was being made. But it wasn't just your typical movie location! Of course we all wanted to see Hollywood Blvd and got there very early in the morning. What we saw blew us away. Basically the entire Viet Nam war was taking place. Literally. There were tanks and bombs and Viet Cong prisoners and marines, and men in top hats and tails dancing on the rooftops (I don't remember that from Viet Nam, actually!), and Donald Sutherland all bearded and hippy looking, leading the "parade" crying his eyes out! I just sort of knew, even as a child that this was NOT your typical Hollywood scene! It was of course the famous Hollywood Blvd.-Viet Nam War dream sequence from Alex In Wonderland. The movie seemed to be following us around, since when we got to the airport, we saw, on the tarmac, ambulance and police and tons of people wondering around as if gassed, and bodies everywhere! Again... yes, a scene from "Alex"! I tried to wonder as we flew back to Boston, how all this was going to make a movie. In fact, it almost doesn't... but this wonderful mess of a movie is filled with imagery and ideas, and self-indulgent moments of enlightenment. It reminds me of a coffee shop out here. They make something called Missy's Mess. It's scrambled eggs with about 15 other ingredients thrown in. Actually I've been told that "Missy" throws in whatever looks good in front of her and just sort of fries it all up with lots of hot garlic, onions and hot sauce. It may look terrible, and you may not want to eat it every day, but oh, in the right mood... it's ambrosia! That is, I think the best description of Alex In Wonderland. Of course, Mazursky is doing his version of 8 ½ (and in fact has a wonderful moment where Alex goes to Italy to read a script and actually runs into Fellini who editing his TV documentary "The Clowns" and really has no interest in hearing from yet another "young American filmmaking fan")... but this is more than that. Mazursky had just come off several hits and had the power to make basically anything he wanted. The studios at the time really didn't have a clue (now they not only don't have a clue, they don't even now what game they're playing)... so they let him do what he wanted. Unlike so many other filmmakers who are given this freedom, Mazursky actually has talent and intelligence... so that when he makes his personal movie with a major studio budget, it rings with so much more entertainment and eye candy. "The Last Movie" this isn't! Disneyland on acid is more like it. Simply it's a movie about a moviemaker in search of his next movie. So much of that has to do with Sutherland's performance. He is not a man full of himself, but someone who understands with total sober clarity the "fluke" of fame, the power he has... and how fleeting that power is in Hollywood (this movie was made long before the phrase "flavor the month" came into vogue). And therefore, you really feel his worry, when he realizes that his next movie must be something good... something important, or else he too will end up out of "flavor", teaching extension courses in Fresno. Scene after scene delights with staggering honesty of the "biz" without getting too "in" about the whole thing. Yes, everyone talks about his shutting down Hollywood Blvd, and then staging the Viet Nam war on it, but perhaps the most brilliant scene is Sutherland going to see the head of MGM (played by Mazursky himself). There have been dozens of scenes done before and since to show just why movies are as bad as they are... basically because the people who make the decision are functionally illiterate, incompetent, and without any qualifications for the job. To watch Mazursky trying to convince Sutherland to make a "modern day" version of Huck Finn, or a just plain dumb "heart transplant" story (ironically, Sutherland made virtually that very movie years later called "Threshold"!) is classic filmmaking of the highest degree. Sutherland's reactions to this vapid shallow man, more interested in his pet monkey and wine collection that making movies says more about what's wrong with the "biz" than volumes of text. But there are also scenes of wonderful "control". Especially the long, slow, yet achingly naturally moments of Sutherland at home with his family. A sequence of him in his tub with his daughter, and another with his wife (a young Burstyn in her best performance) in bed, right after they've made love... ring so true and so universal to ANYONE with a family that it transcends a "filmmaker's odyssey", and becomes, instead, the odyssey of any man (or woman) who find themselves suddenly holding the brass ring and has no idea what to do with it.

For anyone who loves movies, this is a must have. I never thought it would make its way to video... so I'm delighted to see it here. The nice coda to this movie is the fact that the REAL filmmaker, Paul Mazursky DID go on to make one great hit after another. It's nice to know, even those "Alex In Wonderland" ends with Sutherland running through an empty house he may buy (and which could put him in instant debt)... pretending to be Errol Flynn... still without a clue what he's going to do next... that the REAL filmmaker's triumphant, not only had a clue... but the talent and the resources to back it up.

The acting and the basic theme of the film -- how people handle further attachments after losing a spouse -- are good. There are a number of funny lines and poignant moments. The main romance is handled well and realistically on an emotional level. The final scene in the music store was unfortunately marred by Ben's phoney stuttering when he tries to get out the word marriage. The idea is fine, but the execution seemed really hokey. All in all, an enjoyable film that had a lot of nice touches, particularly the bedroom/hotel night scene.

This 1985 TV movie is compelling due more to the path leading to the find of a 19 year old Canadian student who heads off from Ottawa alone in a van to drive to Colorado but goes missing in Nebraska, than the sledgehammer direction of Roger Young. Although this story is said to be true, credit must go to writer George Rubino, particularly in downplaying and omitting most of the cliches of the genre. There is the ubiquitious drama about someone wearing an article of the missing boy's clothes, but thankfully it is skimmed over quickly. As the boy's mother, Ellen Burstyn has 2 good scenes, one where she has an angry outburst at a police station, recalling Shirley MacLaine's hospital scene in Terms of Endearment ("Give her the shot!"), and the second when she emits animal noises on discovery of her son's trashed van. Also good is Sam Robards as her other son, and Robert Prosky as a private investigator Burstyn hires. The treatment comments on the "jurisdictional complexities" which unnecesarily burden missing person investigations, and makes out that the police and FBI were blundering incompetents in this case. There is also a postscript that tells us hundreds of teenagers go missing every year without trace, a bleak and dour note to end on, though perhaps in line with the fate of the boy.

This 1985 TV movie is compelling due more to the path leading to the find of a 19 year old Canadian student who heads off from Ottawa alone in a van to drive to Colorado but goes missing in Nebraska, than the sledgehammer direction of Roger Young. Although this story is said to be true, credit must go to writer George Rubino, particularly in downplaying and omitting most of the cliches of the genre. There is the ubiquitious drama about someone wearing an article of the missing boy's clothes, but thankfully it is skimmed over quickly. As the boy's mother, Ellen Burstyn has 2 good scenes, one where she has an angry outburst at a police station, recalling Shirley MacLaine's hospital scene in Terms of Endearment ("Give her the shot!"), and the second when she emits animal noises on discovery of her son's trashed van. Also good is Sam Robards as her other son, and Robert Prosky as a private investigator Burstyn hires. The treatment comments on the "jurisdictional complexities" which unnecesarily burden missing person investigations, and makes out that the police and FBI were blundering incompetents in this case. There is also a postscript that tells us hundreds of teenagers go missing every year without trace, a bleak and dour note to end on, though perhaps in line with the fate of the boy.

This really is a gorgeous production and it's nice to note that the critics have been kinder to it than other Mary Lambert films ("Pet Semetary 1 and 2" and "Siesta", to name a few). Lambert is usually a flamboyant director and not afraid of wearing her influences on her sleeve (Ken Russell, Nic Roeg, etc.). But like her many mentors, Lambert is capable of showing restraint when needed and "Grand Isle" is a perfect example. Set in Louisiana at the turn of the century, "Grand Isle" is filled with excellent set design and costuming. The photography is drenched in sunlight and the sequences are framed by "fades to white". In other words, an atmospheric and ambient endeavor. The musical score is quite nice. Touches of classical piano with synthesizer washes. Other reviewers have mentioned the plot, so I won't go in to that other than mention that there are some fabulous fantasy/flash-back sequences that are lovely and thought provoking. Those looking for a classy period romance/drama will enjoy this as much as the Mary Lambert and art-house afficianados.

GRAND ISLE is a technically excellent version of "feminist" classic: THE AWAKENING. Kate Chopin's creole MADAME BOVARY is granted sacred respect in an "ars gratias artis" production. Kelly McGillis plays cossetted,turn-of-the-century Reconstruction Era "aristocrat" Edna. Her portrait of a fragile, spoiled, woman-child-mother struggling to liberated WOMANhood through adultery and mildly competent artistic endeavor is fine. But the story is "overwrought". Despite sunny,"gauze-lens"photography; hypnotic nocturne music by Elliott Goldenthall; Edenic flashbacks of Edna's reveries(within battle-array of Beautiful People promenading before their post-Bellum servants);the film's concern about a pseudo-aesthete is often unsympathetically trying.

Again:the production is superb; as is the ensemble cast. "THINK of the children!" prods best friend Glenne Headly before an often less-then-appealing protagonist commits suicide.(Her true love, Adrian Pasdar, has marched-off in imagined rejection.) Director Mary Lambert's effort is,in my estimate,likewise "doomed" because Edna's AWAKENING doesn't. Give me Scarlet or Hester Prynne over this beautiful exercise in tragic decadence(3 and 1/2 stars).

I love this movie. Kate Chopin is one of my favorite writers and this film is a wonderful adaptaion of the Awakening! I highly suggest this movie. It is a movie with a strong female lead and can be called a "chick flick" but it is a wonderful movie.

It's hard to like a film adaptation of a novel. They just so rarely hit their mark. It is difficult to take a novel and transform it visually. But, I was not pleased. I felt like so many of the important elements were left out and some things were tucked in that weren't important.

This is a film about mother/daughter relationships and about unconditional love. Despite being marked by fine performances, the film never really grabs the viewer, at least, not this viewer. While moderately enjoyable, I found the film to fall a little flat, as the whole Ya-Ya thing left me cold, finding it all a bit silly.

Not having read the book of the same name upon which the film is based, I had no frame of reference. Judging strictly on the merits of the film, I found that it has its ups and downs. The name of the film is apparently derived from a childhood club to which a group of lifelong friends belonged as children in which they were all Ya-Ya priestesses. These friends, of which Vivi (Ellyn Burstyn) is at the center of this story, are all trying to reconcile Vivi to her daughter Sidda (Sandra Bullock). The friends, as well as Vivi, are all aging southern belles from Louisiana. Sidda, however, has moved North, where she is a budding, successful playwright.

Sidda had a traumatic childhood, as her mother is a mercurial woman with a drinking problem. It seems that Vivi never got over losing her childhood sweetheart during the war. She married another man, Shep Walker (James Garner), Sidda's father and a man who has loved Vivi unconditionally throughout their entire married life, and proceeded to put her husband and their children through a living hell. Still, Vivi and Sidda manage to plod along as so many mothers and daughters do, until Vivi goes too far and Sidda decides that enough is enough.

The story of Vivi, Sidda, and Shep is told in flashbacks, which provide the most interesting parts of the movie. Ashley Judd is simply sensational as the young Vivi, and she outshines all the film and stage veterans in this film, infusing the role with a gritty reality. David Lee Smith is very good as the hunky young Shep, the husband who tries to understand a mercurial wife who has become unbalanced by her longing for what could never be.

Ellen Burstyn as the senior Vivi is not as compelling as the younger one portrayed by Ashley Judd. The senior Vivi comes across as a silly, petulant, spoiled, self-absorbed woman who needs a good swift kick in the butt. Consequently, the viewer cares very little for what happens to her, even though she is eventually reconciled to her daughter and comes to appreciate her patient, selfless husband.

Maggie Smith, Fionnula Flanagan, and Shirley Knight are all very good as Vivi's lifelong friends, though Ms. Smith occasionally seems to have a bit of difficulty suppressing her British accent. They inject a touch of humor into their attempts to reconcile the estranged Vivi and Sidda, which is a good counterpoint to the underlying pathos of the film. Sandra Bullock is also excellent as the fed up Sidda, who has said that enough is enough. As in all her film, she charms the viewer. James Garner is wonderful as Vivi's long suffering husband, who comes to be appreciated by Vivi only at the end.

Unfortunately, the director appears to have striven for mawkishness. Consequently, the ending of this film is enough to make one gag, as Sidda is inducted into the Ya-Ya sisterhood. This alone is enough for me to counsel viewers to rent, and not buy, this film.

You always know that a great book is going to be largely compromised when it comes to film. I often avoid seeing the film just because I don't want it to compromise my own vision of the story. This film doesn't bring the depth of the novel to the big screen, but it does seem to contain the essence of the novel. The tone is right; the roles are well cast; the overall sense of novel pervades the movie. But I was a little sad to see some of my favorite parts changed or missing. And people who have read the book understand the film at a level that others don't.

Ya-Yas has some first rate performances. James Garner does so much with his responsive, largely non-verbal role. And the casting of the Ya-Yas themselves is fantastic. Each actress is so well chosen. Fionnula Flanagan really brought a whole other dimension to the role of Teensy. Ellen Burstyn captured Vivi. Ashley Judd gives a real and gritty performance. I think if we put Sandra Bullock and Rebecca Wells in a blender, we'd get the perfect Sidda. When I see these actors now, I think of them as their role in Ya-Yas. That tells you something.

For these reasons, I'd recommend watching the film. But most of all, I'd read the book.