Michele Lein

I seem to be in the minority here, but I wasn't convinced by either Nicole Kidman as Lucy or Javier Bardeem as Desi. I used to watch 'I Love Lucy' every afternoon from the time that I was around 8 until I was about ten years of age. I never liked her silly antics and facial expressions, or her crazy kinetic style. I thought it brash and abrasive. The only time I found her funny was during her interactions with Desi, at home or on his show. The classic 'But Ricky, I want to be in your show' line is timeless. But Bardeem is too old and does not look at all like Desi because his facial features are way too heavy and prominent, whereas Desi's features were more even and classical. Adding to the problem is that his voice is an octave or two deeper than Desi's, making it seem like you're watching Desi's grandfather instead of Desi. Kidman went way overboard on the acting, and the makeup made her look older than Ball would have been at the time. The only time I was convinced by her portrayal of Ball was when they flashed to a reenactment of a black and white scene from the 'I Love Lucy' TV show. It was amazing how much the black and white scenes along with the perfect 'Lucy' hair and makeup transformed Kidman into Ball. But otherwise, I think the problem I had with her as Ball was that Kidman is very delicate and feminine naturally, whereas Ball was brash and blunt. It was obvious that it was a strain on Kidman's acting skills to portray someone so abrasive. She tried too hard. Which is why she did better in the reenactment scenes. Ball's harshness of character was muted when she played a fictional version of herself as a housewife, instead of being an actor and business woman. On another note, I was totally convinced by J.K. Simmons as William Frawley/Fred Mertz, and likewise an actress I'm not familiar with as Vivienne Vance/Ethel Mertz. Simmons had the voice and physicality of Fred nailed because Frawley was Fred Mertz in real life. What you saw was what you got. The actress portraying Ethel Mertz/Viviane Vance had just about as perfect a resemblance to the real Vance as you could get. The facial expressions and physical movements were pure Vance. I loved it when they were backstage and Vance/Ethel would shoot those sideways looks and backhanded eye rolls at Simmons/Fred, exactly as she did in the real show. It contrasted so sharply with the labored performances of Kidman and Jardeem as Ball and Arnez that it made me wish that Frawly and Vance were the main focus of the film, instead of the focus being on Ball and Arnez. This is also the first time that I've noticed Kidman looking like she had gotten some cosmetic filler or Botox. With Lucy's penchant for silly facial expressions, it was hard not to notice Kidman's unmoving forehead and puffy, filled cheeks. I hope they do a film about Fred and Ethel with the same actors they used in this fllm, lol.

First, let me say that this is a good movie; if you can stomach everybody preparing for certain death during the holiday season and getting ready to take their government approved painless death pill; if you have no problem watching a pregnant woman determined not to take said pill because she doesn't want to kill her baby; if you can stand to watch parents of young kids trying to have a happy Christmas pretending everything will be alright, but nothing is right at all; and if it doesn't wrench your heart out to see a precocious, very intelligent and altruistic ten year old boy trying to convince his parents not to take the government sactioned death because the government might be wrong and because he doesn't want the pregnant woman (a girlfriend of one of the guests ) to die alone, and the parents very explicitly explaining step by step what will happen if he doesn't take it, and his growing realization that there's nothing anyone can do to stop the poisonous gas exploding from deep in the earth blowing in like a hurricane and killing his family and everything he's ever known; and as an added joy, watching this family having their last skype call with their mother/grandmother while she watches the poisonous cloud rolling down from the mountains. This is 'Melancholia' on steroids having a very bad day. I have only been able to watch it in twenty minute increments, and I'm not sure at 60 mins in if I can go back for the last 30 minutes. This is a horribly upsetting and depressing film. If you are someone who has the psychological condition known as a Highly Sensitive Personsonality, I wouldn't advise watching it. I have to wonder though, if we all were in their situation now, would we actually laugh and dance, drink and party until death came for us? Because that seems to be what everyone does in these types of apocalyptic movies. And for goodness sake, don't let your kids watch it.

I don't care what the people who pick apart this movie for it's "flaws" think, or that it only got low 50s on the tomato meter. Don't listen to either one. This is the best 'rabid pack of vampires vs isolated townsfolk in a blizzard' movie ever! The vampires are off the chart scary and the special effects makeup on them was AA+. There was a horror inducing vampire language spoken by 'King of the Vampires' Danny Huston, and the female vampire and her look alike brother (I guess) were unbelievably realistic in their vampiric facial distortions. And if there's one thing I love, it's remote, snowy, icy, dark towns threatened by supernatural forces, a' la 'Storm Of The Century' and 'The Shining'. I can't believe I've never seen this movie before, because I loved 'The Strain' and have been a life long vampire fan. If you haven't seen it yet and have been discouraged by some of the reviews, see it now. You won't be disappointed. Oh, and contrary to some reviewer's opinions, the ending wasn't stupid.

I don't know if this movie was intentionally infused with a hint of subtle humor and absurdity, but, nevertheless, it plays like Stephen King's 'Storm Of The Century' if King suddenly developed a sense of humor. Eastwood's deadpan portrayal of his conflicted, emotionally numb sociopathic hero/villain's character is amazing in it's comedic timing, especially from a guy you think of as more suited to 'Snakes on a Plane' than "sensitive sociopath on a creepy remote island". The characters are wonderfully quirky, a' la Stephen King, but with a Washington State flare rather than a salty Maine accent. The character actors are superb in their performances, with Eastwood's character's mom leading the bitter brigade, and Kevin Durand, with style and flare, leading the criminal brigade, although with nary a vampire in sight. And Mel Gibson being, well, Mel Gibson, who thought that giving the part of the learned psychiatrist to "Mad Max" would result in smooth sailing, either for his castmates, or for his no doubt beleaguered director. Although, aside from the fact that he didn't match Eastwood's success with his out-of- character performance, he was either unintentionally incompetent, as you would expect Mad Max to be, if Mad Max suddenly hung out a shingle with "sikiatrist" hammered into it with nails and bullets, or he gave a cleverly done "clunker in the attic" performance complete with wild hair and manic-bright eyes that screamed "out-of-control actor stopped by cops loses it on side of road and harpoons any shred of a career he has left". Personally, I believe it's the latter. I found it's delightfully sly and ingenious plot device of casting the lead against-type to be a breath of fresh air, albite Washington air at that. People without a sense of the absurd need not watch.

I was disappointed. Given the high bar of Kidman's last HBO series 'The Undoing', and all the hype that was given to 'Nine...Strangers' I did not expect to see the sloppy, disjointed handwriting on the wall twenty minutes into the first episode. I had expected something along the lines of the darker side of the Hari Krishna or 'Flower Children' story, and the tragedy of James Arthur Wray's motivational seminar retreat in the Arizona desert about ten years ago. Instead, we got a trippy Nicole Kidman floating and flitting about, and the afore mentioned nine strangers, well on their way to a soapy and messy time that was had by all. The most irritating 'strangers' by far had to be Melissa Mcarthy and the person the series threw her together with, Bobby Cannivale- a look and sound alike version of Ray's older brother Robert on 'Everybody Loves Raymond'. I like Melissa Mccarthy, but put her together with a giant 'Eyore' and give her a non-comedic role and you have a recipe for depression inducing acting, and characters you dislike and pity at the same time. The most interesting (or maybe the least annoying) characters were Samera Weaving and her on-screen husband. They had the most normal problems, which was refreshing in this drama overflowing with soap suds, but they also got the least screen time. Anyway, it was just a big mess, caused by underdeveloped storylines and actors who seemed like they were also expecting better from the writers, but leaving as disappointed as the viewers. Such a let down.