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Note: This account is no longer active.
About buddonahue
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Member:
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Bud Donahue
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Epinions.com ID:
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buddonahue
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Location:
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Phila, Pa
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Member Since:
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Dec 28 '99
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Favorite Websites:
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http://www.yahoo.com
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Activity Summary
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Reviews Written: 18
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Member Visits: 235
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Total Visits: 3,253
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About buddonahue
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Retired police chief, certified master gardener and composter, VietNam Vet class of 68, LaSalle Univ class of 77.
Sometimes people go off the deep end explaining why they rate things the way they do. I'd like to try to keep it simple for you in case it matters. When it comes to movies I look to be entertained. It would be nice to learn something from movies, but it's pretty obvious the movie people could care less about our educations. They are only interested in our money, and I think it's a fair exchange most of the time.
Before I take a shot at a movie I try to understand at least some of the reasons why it was made. That is why "Heartburn" is on my hate it list but "Mars Attacks" is not. In the case of the former you have high-quality actors giving you high-quality performances in an otherwise dreadful film. In the latter you have pretty much exactly the same thing. The difference is I believe the intent in making "Heartburn" was to make a serious stab at art. To mention the other one in the same sentence with the word art is borderline criminal so I won't do it. The point is in that case they weren't trying to make art. I didn't like it but it did what it set out to do, and that is, as they say, the bottom line. Apropos of nothing at all doesn't it seem like Jack makes a lot of schlockers? I forgive you.
In order for a movie to make it onto my all-time list of favorites, it has to be something I would want to see again. To the degree that is the case indicates it's position on my list. I have a top 100, and just so you know I'm not trying to impress anybody with it "Citizen Kane" is nowhere to be found. But, "The Big Easy" is. Get it? It really doesn't get any simpler than that.
When it comes to books I need to be entertained or informed or both. I tend to stick with an author, but not all the time. I have read all of the works of a lot of authors, but if we arrive at a point where he/she just isn't getting it done anymore, I jump off the bandwagon after two in a row. Lawrence Sanders is a good example of that. It got to be where it looked like he was writing for the money, and that's where I decided to stop giving it to him. My favorites are Mark Twain, Arthur Conan Doyle, Wilbur Smith and Tom Clancy among others. I try not to have negative lists, and when it comes to books I have sat through just one "stinker" in my whole life - just to say I have one, but I doubt that there will ever be any additions to that "list". Why bother?
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