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Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Report Card---"Inside Llewyn Davis".

Today, I am keeping my word.
I am doing a Report Card on a movie that I absolutely detested.
And it's been getting a lot of hype.
And it's by the Coen brothers, whose work I am generally in awe of.
It's about folk singing in the early 1960's.
I remember folk singing in the early 1960's.
It was fun.
"Hootenanny" and all that.
Llewyn Davis, the title character, doesn't have fun.
He NEVER has fun.
The audience NEVER has fun.
This is a dreary movie.
Llewyn Davis is a dreary character.
Nothing good happens to this character.
He doesn't seem to want anything good to happen to him, unlike the audience, who does.

On to the scoring:

Is it interesting?

It starts out interesting,  just from establishing the atmosphere,  but by about twenty minutes into it
all interest is lost.
C-.

Compelling even?

Never.
D.

Is it controversial?

Never.
D.

Is it a story worth telling?

Not to me.
F.

Is it good storytelling?

Only if you like well-crafted stories about deterioration.
C.

Is it well written?

I was too bored  to notice.
D.

Is it well cast? Well played?, Well shot?

The lead actor, who I never heard of, is a complete cipher.
He sings well, but that's not enough.
You know you're in trouble when you have John Goodman in a movie and HE'S boring.
C-.

Is it too long? Too short?

It seemed endless.
F.

Is it believable? Do you care about the characters?

Yes, and not at all.
D.

Is it predictable? Does it surprise you?

Not predictable, surprising, but none of it in a good way.
F.

Do you think about it after you've seen it?

I've tried not to.
F.

Is it funny?

On rare occasions.  Too rare.
C.

Would it have been worth the thirteen bucks it would have cost to see it in the movies?

What do you think?
F.

Is it impressive ?

Only the music.  All it needs is a better movie to be wrapped around it.
C-.

Overall grade: D.

I promise you that there will be more movies that I didn't like.
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My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.

And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

******

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Hi. I am, according to my Wikipedia entry,(which I did not create) a noted television writer, playwright, screenwriter, and occasional actor. You can Google me or go to the IMDB to get my credits, and you can come here to get my opinions on things, which I'll try to express eloquently. Hopefully I'll succeed. You can also e-mail me at macchus999@aol.com. Perhaps my biggest claim to fame is being responsible, for about six months in 1975, while Head Writer for the "Happy Days" TV series, for Americans saying to each other "Sit on it."