Jeff's Reviews

Thoughts on every movie I've ever seen.

recent product reviews

Bicycle Thieves (1948)

Reviewed on Dec 31, 1969

I’m not an avid fan of Neo-Realism. What makes film so exciting and interesting to watch as an entertainment medium is its ability to “cut out” uninteresting time and only leave the necessary plot-driving components behind. The excitement comes from watching “compressed” time and eliminating wasted screen time, leaving the…

Full Review

L’amore (The Miracle) (1948)

Reviewed on Dec 31, 1969

Another story from Rosselini about a manic-depressive woman who doesn’t know how to handle her emotions. Long monologue like L’Amore. I didn’t know guys got chicks drunk and knocked them up in the 40’s. It would have been funny if he fucked her and then admitted that he was a…

Full Review

The Set-Up (1949)

Reviewed on Dec 31, 1969

A really simple story. Stoker was not much to look at, but he was probably casted well for this movie. Lots of dollying from character to new character. An obvious mix of film stocks. Wise uses more comedy that most old directors. Cool ending. A man come so close to…

Full Review

She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (1949)

Reviewed on Dec 31, 1969

It’s a good thing it wasn’t a blue ribbon. Hell, it didn’t deserve any ribbon. It was hard to find anything good about the film. I feel bad giving a classic western like this one such a bad rating, but it was just plain bad. Sleep is more exciting than…

Full Review

Born Yesterday (1950)

Reviewed on Dec 31, 1969

Slow. An incredibly slow start for what is supposed to be a comedy. Maybe a couple of funny moments, but that’s it. That card-playing scene was OK. I like the way she talks. A few dated lines that wouldn’t work today, like “pulled a boner”. If this movie was at…

Full Review

Rashomon (1950)

Reviewed on Dec 31, 1969

Very slow-moving. If this movie was temporally compressed by a factor of 600, it could have passed for an episode of “Perry Mason.” Geez, that girl had funky eyebrows.

Full Review

Sunset Blvd. (1950)

Reviewed on Dec 31, 1969

This movie was a surprise coming out of the black and white era of motion pictures. Most pictures out of that era strive for perfection and perfect endings, but this movie showed glimpses of intentional imperfection and a look at the real world of Hollywood. The movie was very pure…

Full Review

Los Olvidados (1950)

Reviewed on Dec 31, 1969

There is very little of a story, just enough to keep my interest hanging by a thread. What there is of a story is almost totally uninteresting, and the way in which it is presented is even worse. It was very cheaply made. One could blame this on the fact…

Full Review

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

Reviewed on Dec 31, 1969

Wise had a good sense of timing, but the movie seems a bit sterile (no art). The genius character (the alien) is obviously representative of Jesus. The movie is a little bit too pumped with political and religious messages for my taste. Good music. It may be time for a…

Full Review

A Place in the Sun (1951)

Reviewed on Dec 31, 1969

This movie didn’t have any major faults that I could pick at. Basically, it was a very generic but enjoyable love story that with no icing to make it a really great movie. This movie was probably great when it first came out because of it’s purity as a simple…

Full Review