richievee

This film is brilliant throughout, with never a false step. It tells of a realistically dysfunctional family in 1950 Las Vegas, living under the constant threat of a Cold War atomic blast, whether from a deliberate attack by the Soviet Union or from "friendly fire" gone wrong. Jon Voight is excellent, showing an amazing range of emotions, all of them utterly convincing. In fact, every person in the large cast, from lead to background extra, is perfect for the role. Even the children are believable, and that is a cinematic rarity. The viewer is taken back to 1950 and feels a part of that time period. Props and settings are spot-on. Voight plays Jack Chismore, a WWII combat veteran suffering from what we would now call PTSD. Seeking solace, he turns to the bottle, which turns him into an abusive husband and step-father. Annabeth Gish is the main character, thirteen-year-old Rose Chismore, and she brings her role to life in every frame. Accolades also go to JoBeth Williams as Jack's wife, Lily, and Ellen Barkin as her younger sister, a fun-loving glamorous playgirl named Starr. Even the boy next door, played by Jay Underwood, is right on target and never posturing for the camera. I cannot imagine how this film could possibly be improved, which I'm sure means director Eugene Corr did a superlative job. He also co-wrote the marvelous script with Linda Remy.

I am a BIG fan of Peter Bogdanovich's stellar "The Last Picture Show" and "Paper Moon," so I wanted to like "At Long Last Love." Alas, the film is a disappointment on nearly every level. All of the lead roles are played by accomplished and likable actors. They try hard, and the singing is (meh) acceptable, but Bogdanovich just cannot seem to inject any flair and momentum. Most scenes just lie there with no sense of forward motion. I enjoyed many of the comedic moments, but the nebulous story line caused my interest to wander. I would place "At Long Last Love" well ahead of the director's tedious "Nickelodeon," but that is not saying a whole lot. A mildly entertaining, if overlong, two hours of your life.

Much of "Flight That Disappeared" comes across as a typical episode of "The Twilight Zone" -- that is, rather intriguing with the promise of a twist ending. But then it descends into preachy, can't-we-all-just-get-along drivel that has been done much better countless times before. The airliner's interior set is quite convincing, and it is interesting to see what air travel was like in the olden days, prior to jetliners and TSA. Unfortunately, the script and acting are both barely passable, and the film reeks of low budget woes and a quickie turnaround to meet the deadline for release. Case in point is an embarrassingly egregious flub that eluded the producer's or director's eye. Around the 30:48 point, carefully watch the dark-haired female extra (passenger) in the foreground. Supposedly asleep with the others, instead she tries to stifle a smile, opens her eyes, and patiently waits for the camera to dolly past her to the scene's main action. My advice: watch the first half of "Flight That Disappeared" for a promising sci-fi premise, but then abandon it before your profound disappointment spoils the entire experience.