Film Forum

Episode Recap

Episode 11

7/20/04

Films Reviewed: De-Lovely and The Terminal

Commentary: Films about Composers 

Featurette: How they built the airport for The Terminal

Regarding De-Lovely:

Matt: You know, for a bio-pic to work, you really need to get into the heads of the subjects featured.  While we were treated to some wonderful music from Cole Porter (played- and sung!- by Kevin Kline), we really didn't get to know why he was the way he was.  Having current musical stars perform Cole's hits was a mixed bag, but the effect worked.  Two and a half stars.

Aron: Actually, I did figure out who Cole Porter was.  And Kevin Kline did a masterful job at portraying him at various stages throughout his life.  Ashley Judd had a good role as his long suffering wife and the musical numbers really were something out of the Golden Age of Broadway.  Definitely check this one out.  Three and a half stars.

Average Rating: *** (out of ****)

Regarding The Terminal:

Aron: A great performance by Tom Hanks could not disguise a disgusting politically motivated character portrayed by Stanley Tucci.  While Tucci's acting was excellent, was his character supposed to be that heartless and stupid?  Regardless, the movie has some wonderfully sublime moments that make it worth seeing.  Three stars.

Matt: Stanley Tucci's performance is a thankless one, but it's a good one nonetheless.  Also, it's nice to see Steven Spielberg make movies that are fun again, but that may change with his next project.  Only Tom Hanks can take saltines, onion scraps and ketchup and make a performance out of them.  Three stars.

Average Rating: *** (out of ****)

Commentary: Rock Me, Amadeus!  Aron and Matt looked at movies about composers and musicians.  Some picked included Amadeus, Immortal Beloved, any of the Beatles films and just about any concert film.  All out on DVD.

Featurette: How they made the airport set in The Terminal, complete with working kitchens!