'The Last Station' *stars

'the last station' or 'the history of histrionics as offered by 'watch me over emote' helen mirren'.

as the countess sophia who all but kicks her husband leo tolstoy in his nuts ms. mirren proves she is the most overrated british actress of her time. she is such a 'phony' actress. it's all kind of ''watch me act. am i not wonderful? i'm going to scream and shout now. am i not a brilliant actress?". no ms. mirren you are not brilliant. you are damn annoying is what you are.

those who follow this blog know that my love and admiration for british actresses are bountiful and always has been. julie, judy, maggie, keira, deborah and kate are always at the top of all my lists. but mirren my god stop already. you are maddening.

christopher plummer what can i say? you gave an admirable performance considering the scene chewing ham you were playing against. she actually recieved an oscar nomination for this. makes one wonder.

the film itself is a waste of 1:53 hours. the one star is for the location shots, james mcavoy and the cinematography. i am being kind much to kind.

oh well...my suggestion is do not buy, do not rent...pass it by.

Revisiting: 'Hair' *1/2

i love to revisit film yesterday. i pulled out my dvd of 'hair' and much to my surprise i hated it. i can only say i must have been stoned or tripping when i first saw this. though the locations shots were mostly authentic the wardrobe came right out of costume. show me one real hippie and/or flower child that had 'designer hippie' clothes. the orchestrations though serviceable killed a few of the numbers and a few bars in almost every number.

the acting was appalling thus i apologize but treat williams you sucked. and beverly d'angelo got the career she deserved following her portrayal of shelia...no career...gone...forgotten...take a hint anne hathaway.

john savage as claude was almost redeemable but just almost.

i have no idea what i was on the night i went with my friends to see this in 1979 but i'd love to get my hands on some of it, well a lot of it, today.

p.s. 'hair: a tribal musical' opened in 1967 off broadway. in 1968 it transferred to broadway and caused a sensation and quite a stir. waiting until 1979 to film it was so untimely as those days were well gone. at best some musicals should never be filmed. this stands atop a semi long list. this milos forman directed movie was so far from tribal and as close to hollywood mediocrity as one could get. what was i thinking or yet again what was i on?