movie review

时光倒流七十年SomewhereInTime英文影评(1980)Heisatalentedyoungplaywrightof1980.SheisagreatnewstaroftheAmericantheaterin1912,onherwaytobecomingthetoastofonecontinent.Theymeet,fallecstaticallyinloveandaresuddenlyseparated,itseems,forever-timetravelbeingfarlesspredictablethaneventheLongIslandRailRoad.Thisismoreorlesstheplotof''SomewhereinTime,''whichisherebynominatedforthe1980''HanoverStreet''awardthateachyeargoestothebig-budgetscreenromancewiththehighestgigglecontent.ThefilmopenstodayattheTrans-Lux85thStreetandothertheaters.SomewhereinTime,''whichdoesfortime-travelwhattheHindenburgdidfordirigibles,waswrittenbyRichardMatheson,basedonhisnovel,''BidTimeReturn,''anddirectedbyJeannotSzwarc,whoselasttriumphwas''Jaws2.''ItsstarsareChristopherReeve(''Superman''),asRichardCollier,theplaywrightwhofallsinlovewithanoldphotographandsuccessfullywillshimselfbackintotheworldof1912,andJaneSeymour,abeautifulyoungEnglishwomanwhoplaystheactress,EliseMcKenna.ThemusicislargelybyRachmaninoff,whose''RhapsodyonaThemebyPaganini''isplayedmoreoftenthansanitycaneasilyaccommodate.Thefilm'sprincipalsettingisMackinacIsland,Mich.,anditsGrandHotel,whichisoneofthelast,great19th-centuryAmericanresortsstillintip-topshape.ThehotelandMackinacarespectacularlylovely,butfailtogivesubstancetothisephemeralendeavor.Thescreenplayispriceless(funny)andthoughbothMissSeymourandChristopherPlummer,whoplaystheactress'ssternmanager,arecredible,it'sMr.Reevewhosetsthefilm'stone.Unfortunately,hisunshadowedgoodlooks,graniteprofile,brightnaiveteandeagernesstoplease-thequalitiesthatmadehimsuchanidealSuperman-lookabsurdhere.Thoughheisphysicallyhuge,hehasnomoreweightonthescreenthanagiant,helium-filledcanary.Hedoesn'tevenwalkwithauthority.Hesortoffloats,butawkwardly.Itmayalsobethathehasbeenbadlydirected,urgedtoact,to''dothings,''toaddbitsof''business''tothecharacterizationwhenlesswouldhavepossiblybeenmore.Anothermovielikethisanditwillbebacktothephoneboothforever.公主日记2:RoyalEngagement英文影评(2004)ThestoryopenswithMiagraduatingfromcollege(whenwelastsawhershewasinhighschool)andzippingofftoGenovia,whichhergrandmother,QueenClarisseRenaldi(JulieAndrews),hopesshewillgovernsomedaysoon.Asintheoriginal''PrincessDiaries,''muchoftheputativecomedyinvolvesthefree-spiritedMiaworkingingentle,contrapuntalharmonywithherveddy,veddypropergrandmother.Becausetheuglyducklinghasalreadymoltedintoaswan,however,theplotthistimearoundhingesonsomeminorpalaceintrigueandromanceswithtwoblow-driedsuitorswhotaketurnsholdingtheroyalhandwhilekeepingasafedistancefromtheroyalchastity.Inbetweenthecooingandwooing,thepratfallsandproductplacements,Ms.HathawayandMs.AndrewsflashsmilesofsuchdazzlingwattagetheycouldcarryCaliforniathroughitsnextenergycrisis.''ThePrincessDiaries2''wasdirectedbyGarryMarshall,whohasbeensellingwish-fulfillmentfantasiesforyears,mostnotablyin''PrettyWoman''andinthefirst''PrincessDiaries''movie.Mr.Marshall,whoseplaceinpop-cultureheavenwassecuredlongagobytelevisioncomedieslike''TheDickVanDykeShow,''onwhichheservedasawriter,isnotmuchofafilmdirector.Dependingonthebudget,hismovieslookeithercheap(likethisone)orstudioslick(''PrettyWoman''),andtendtohavethesameflat,presentationalvisualstylethat'sfamiliarfrommostsitcoms.(That'swhyhismoviesfitsosnuglyintoairplanemonitors.)Andasinthosesitcomsshotinfrontofliveaudiences,Mr.Marshall'sactorsoftenplaytothecameraandwaitforlaughs,whichcanbeaseriousproblemwhenthescreenplayisasdeeplyunfunnyasthisone.Builtonvintageandnewlymintedclichés,ShondaRhimes'sscriptcombinesaclassicstorybookscenariowiththeusualself-helpuplift.Afterundergoingaradicalmakeoverinthefirst''Princess''movie,Annehasmetamorphosedintoaself-possessedyoungwoman.Sheknowshowtowalkinhighheels,ironthefrizzoutofherhairandwhirlaroundthedancefloorwithineligiblepartnerswithoutmakingthemfeelbad.True,hersexualitycomesacrossasweirdlyunderdeveloped,closertothatofthepreadolescentswhoconstitutethisG-ratedmovie'scoreaudience,thanthatofmosttypicalcollegegraduates.Butthat'sinkeepingwiththecharacterwhoseappealislargelypredicatedonbeingessentiallyunremarkableineveryrespectinlooks,intelligence,personalityandthatmostdubiousofdesignatedfemaletraits,niceness.There'snothingwrongwithbeingniceifitmeansgivingsuccortothepoorandbeingkindtoanimals,butthere'ssomethingunsettlingaboutacharacterasbland,mushyandfiber-freeassoggycornflakes.Onceuponadifferenttime,Miamighthavefoundhertruestselfbyhangingoutwiththesoulfullytruculentadolescentgirlsin''GhostWorld.''Instead,Ms.Andrewswhiskedinwithafacefrozenindo-re-mibeatitudeandcarriedMiaofftoaworldwhereeveryunrulyhairandthoughtisassmootheddownasthegrassonawindsweptBavarianmountain.Inthefirstfilm,Miadiscoveredshewastothemannerborn.Now,theprincesswhowouldbequeenlearnswhattherestofusknowalready:happymovieendingsgenerallycometothosewomenwhoeattheirindependenceand,intime,aweddingcaketoo.贫民窟里的百万富翁SlumdogMillionaire英文影评（2008）Agaudy,gorgeousrushofcolor,soundandmotion,“SlumdogMillionaire,”thelatestfromtheBritishshape-shifterDannyBoyle,doesn’ttravelthroughthelowerdepths,itgiddilybouncesfromonehorrortothenext.Amoder