The Age Of Adaline Movie Review

At first thought, the gift of immortality seems like a dream. But like anything in life, there are drawbacks.

In The Age Of Adaline, Adaline Bowman (Blake Lively) is immortal for 78 years. Just after a freak car accident, Adaline becomes immortal. Afraid of being discovered and used for science experiments, Adaline isolates herself emotionally from the world. As the years progress, she takes on different identities with only her daughter, Flemming (Ellen Burstyn) knowing her mother’s secret.

When Adaline meets Ellis Jones (Michiel Huisman), she decides to take a chance on him. Then she meets Ellis’s father, William (Harrison Ford). William might be the one who will spill Adaline’s secret. The question is, will she open up to Ellis and take a chance or will she run as she has before?

This movie is one of the best movies that of the year so far. Lively’s nuanced, complex portrayal of a woman running from her past, but willing to take a chance  on her future is incredible. The plot is easy to follow, but with enough complications to hook the audience in completely.

I absolutely recommend this movie.

The Diary Of Anne Frank- Book Review, Movie Review and TV Movie Review

In a way, Anne Frank was both ordinary and extraordinary.  She was ordinary because she was just another teenage girl going through the same experiences that every teenage girl goes through. She was extraordinary because even as a young woman, her writing reflected a mature quality that many writers take years to develop. She was also extraordinary because she was and continues to be the voice for the millions of children whose lives were taken needlessly during World War II.

After the war, her father, Otto Frank, the only member of her family to survive the Nazi Holocaust, returned to their hiding place and discovered his daughter’s diary.  Initially published in the late 1952, The Diary of Anne Frank has not been out of print since then. It is the diary of a young Jewish girl hiding with her family during World War II. It is an extraordinary book about an ordinary young woman growing up under extraordinary and scary circumstances.

The first film adaptation of the book premiered in 1959. Millie Perks stepped into the lead role and Joseph Schildkraut played Anne’s beloved father, Otto.

In 2001, a TV movie, based on the book premiered. In this adaptation, Hannah Taylor Gordon played Anne and Ben Kingsley played Otto Frank. The difference between this adaptation and previous adaptations was that the story did not end with the discovery of the Annex. It followed the story as the member of the secret Annex lived and died in the concentration camps.  The difference between this adaptation is much darker than earlier ones, it is not for the faint of heart, especially towards the end.

I recommend all three.

 

The Critics Were Wrong (Maybe)-Timothy Dalton Double Feature-Brenda Starr (1992) & The Rocketeer (1991)

If they are lucky enough, a performer will have a live long career. But that does not mean that every project will be a success.

Over years, Timothy Dalton has played many roles. In the early 90’s, he played two very different roles.

Brenda Starr (1992), based on the comic strip of the same name,  stars Brooke Shields in the lead role. Mike (Tony Peck) is comic book artist who draws the Brenda Starr cartoon for the local newspapers.  Inside the comic, Brenda is feeling unappreciated by her creator and leaves the strip. To keep his job, Mike goes into the comic strip to get Brenda back. He follows Brenda in her job as Ace Reporter for the New York Flash. Mike also meets Basil St. John (Timothy Dalton), Brenda’s on again/off again boyfriend.

Were the critics and audiences wrong? Not quite, but they were onto something. The movie is a little hokey, but it has a comic book sensibility. It is colorful, over the top and not even close to reality.  But that is why we read comic books.

A year earlier, he starred as the villain in The Rocketeer. In the 1930’s Hollywood, nice guy Cliff (Billy Campbell) stumbles upon a rocket pack. Putting on a mask, he becomes The Rocketeer. Adding to the equation is the villain Neville Sinclair (Timothy Dalton), the love interest Jenny (Jennifer Connelly), Nazis, gangsters and the roots of the Aviation industry as we know it today.

This movie harkens back to a simpler time with simpler plots and characters. Were the critics wrong? Not entirely.But we have to consider the era that the movie is set in and the origin of the plot. Compared to today’s  superhero movies, this movie looks rather simple. But it’s not a bad movie.

I recommend both, but if I had to choose one, it would be The Rocketeer over Brenda Starr.