Movie reviews of The Massie Twins

Davis is exceptional, taking on a sympathetic My Fair Lady sort of role, but with decidedly more authenticity. She lends a convincing gravity to this battle of wills, this contest of liberation from a poisonous matriarch. Review

Even the eerie electronic tonalities in the soundtrack can’t sustain potential thrills. It doesn’t help that suspense here is incredibly rare. But a sense of wonder does arise from vast subterraneous sets housing ancient extraterrestrial architecture, as well as from the eventual mystery of an invisible, murderous entity. Review

Soylent Green extrapolates authentic socioeconomic woes into believable outcomes, exacerbated by despair and atheistic tendencies. Review

But even as the story reveals shortcomings, Hepburn remains enthralling... Review

The combination of gaslighting and fear is quite unsettling, along with the fact that the audience knows of Webb’s crafty deceit, creating a shortage of heroism and an abundance of villainy. Review

Although this is one of Laurel and Hardy’s simpler pictures, based mostly in a single room, the slapstick is exceptionally diverting and destructive. Review

Unlike in some of their other shorts, Busy Bodies allows the lead duo to be the only source of humor. Review

From falling down stairs to stumbling through rooms to breaking all sorts of household items, the physical comedy is key. Review

In the end, the antics don’t amount to much, nor are any of them particularly memorable yet the scatterbrained humor is trusty Marx Brothers material. Review

The story drags in a couple of spots, but the acting remains precise and convincing, while the finale ramps up the tension by creating near-misses, excellent cover-ups, and encroaching lawmen... Review

The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother is stuffed with considerable amounts of nonsense. Yet it’s nevertheless enjoyable, very funny at times, immoderately stupid at others, and impressive considering that Wilder not only starred in it, but also wrote and directed it as well. Review

Being There progresses with a certain slowness, but it’s difficult to be displeased with any sequence in which Sellers is onscreen. Review

It’s an amusing finale, but the lead-up isn’t nearly as enticing. Review

The film is very much a demonstration of the legal process, scrutinizing the way the system is unfairly harsh on the poor (and unaccommodating for the innocent), taking on a documentary feel from time to time. Review

There’s death, blackmail, a police investigation, a stunning blonde, and plenty of noirish silhouettes and shadows, but director Alfred Hitchcock’s signature suspense isn’t as abundant. Review

Deadly scenarios are made innocuous by hollow solutions and aggravating slowness; no one behaves as if their life is at stake, instead opting to make levity-filled remarks or stand around dumbfounded as terror strikes. Review

The paranoia and suspense are exceptional, the location imparts unique chills, the notion of Ruth’s isolation and aloneness are frightening, and the finale is exhilarating. Review

It’s mostly formulaic and a touch too long, but it’s still engaging; the audience is in the dark as much as the newspapermen, which makes every fresh piece of information exciting. Review

There are plenty of conflicts brewing under the surface of military testing and cooperation with the local police force, but it takes too long to unearth the most stirring of the bunch. Review

The tone keeps switching so frequently that it’s obvious that Poison Ivy doesn’t really know what kind of film it wants to be. Review

The plot is simple and the characters are few, which leaves the bipedal beast as the primary source of amusement, screaming and clawing its way across the screen. Review

Rather than developing the weightier speculative concepts, much of the short running time is devoted to battles and shootouts, which are momentarily diverting but largely forgettable. Review

It’s an adventurous, nail-biting odyssey, full of near-misses and nervy confrontations. Review

The supporting acting is subpar, the plot is plain, and the characters are one-dimensional. Where the surrounding players fail to generate much interest, the top-billed baddie steals the spotlight at every turn. Review