Word: maudlin
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...livered translator), and an attention to history that is emotionally edifying and alive. Still, the connecting material by which Robert Rodat's script moves from the opening battle sequence to the last is less than wholly compelling, and the framing device of the ex-soldier in the cemetery is maudlin and cumbersome. But Spielberg hasn't gotten an ending right in at least 10 years. Again, disputation seems insolent in the case of this film, but in this mediocre summer, even the best films bore compromises that were hard to ignore. Nicholas K. Davis...
...deja vu: the twin flugelhorns, the wispy strings, the fuzzy horns, the retro female background singers. Only when Bacharach stretches his orchestrations into more rock-oriented territory does the music suggest outtakes from the schmaltzy Michael MacDonald recordings from the mid-80s. Few of the songs, though, sound so maudlin, and the melodies themselves stay thoroughly grounded in reality; these pop songs may be old-fashioned, but they sound far from melodramatic or artificial. Heartbreak itself, after all, is awfully old-fashioned, but it always feels fresh...
...again sharpshooter), and an attention to history that is emotionally edifying and alive. Still, the connecting material by which Robert Rodat's script moves from the opening battle sequence to the last is less than wholly compelling, and the framing device of the ex-soldier in the cemetery is maudlin and cumbersome; Spielberg hasn't gotten an ending right in at least ten years. As I said, disputation seems insolent in the case of this film, but in this mediocre summer, even the best films bore compromises that were hard to ignore. Nicholas K. Davis...
...encouraging showcase of the CD is the A side "Sunny." In true Morrissey style the song takes its time cadencing, but once the beat begins the song is infectious. The trademark maudlin Morrissey irony is apparent from the start--the band strikes up in the most driving, happy manner possible, as Morrissey sings of heroine addiction and "the needle pressed on to tight skin" (The song is rumored to be about Jake Walters, Morrissey friend and former personal assistant). Consuming depression has never had such a foot-tapping beat. It's a guilty pleasure. "Sunny" is an excellent song, most...
...sort of homage to longtime Lethal Weapon fans, the film ends with a not-quite-maudlin finale that merges with a multi-picture photo album underlay of the credits, but the real end of the movie comes fifteen minutes earlier, when Murtaugh and Riggs clasp each other and pause for a moment after vanquishing the last villain. They have come a long way from their early days, and the scene captures that feeling even for those who don't know the duo's history. Like that scene, the movie as a whole takes both characters a step past their development...