Henry's Crime, and minor Hitchcock

The onslaught of films begins for me tomorrow, May 2nd as the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival begins with some early screenings of films that will play when the Festival opens on Thursday the 19th of May. I'll try to blog several times a week to keep up with the 3 a day filming schedule. In the meantime, here are a few leftovers.

A modest heist film with some simple pleasures, HENRY'S CRIME has nothing of great distinction to recommend it, except for the lively performance of Vera Farminga, who has recently brightened the screen with George Clooney in UP IN THE AIR (2009) and the current SOURCE CODE with Jake Gyllenhaal. She's happy to steal the movie from the star and ex-pretty boy Keanu Reeves. Reeves is not a great actor, in fact if he were any stiffer in this film he'd be laid out in a coffin. For years he got by on his looks, but as he is getting older, he's going to have to come up with another gimmick to keep our attention. James Caan is OK as the aging ex-con who tries to help Reeves rob from a bank--at the start of the film Reeves is sent to prison for supposedly robbing said bank, but he didn't really do it, so now he figures he might just as well do it. Not a great plot, and a forgettable film in the long run. GRADE---------C+

DVD Choices--------------

Even minor Hitchcock is better than most good films, and it had been several years since I'd seen DIAL M FOR MURDER (1954). I was really reminded this time around as to how stage bound this film really is. (To spice it up, Hitchcock filmed it in 3-D, but I've never seen it that way, and I doubt that could really make any type of difference anyway.) I was also struck by the straight forwardness of Grace Kelly's infidelity with Robert Cummings character--so matter of fact, that it becomes rather surprising when she becomes the accused instead of the victim, as if her unfaithfulness is the real crime here. It is a clever little mystery, and the business with the key always manages to surprise me. GRADE--------B

I admired the visuals of Frank Miller's 300 (2007) and SIN CITY (2005)--both films based on graphic novels, and THE SPIRIT (2008) has the same stark b&w look--with spatters of bright blood red. The problem is that the script is so self consciously in-jokey and the actors so glib, that the film has no gravitas and wears out it's welcome early on. GRADE----------C

Young adults out on a wild party night on the town, on Halloween, while a mad stalker/slasher cuts off their heads one by one. Sound familiar???? Yes, but this one called HELLBENT (2005) has an interesting twist. All the characters (including, possibly the killer) are gay. And guess what? It still has a predictable plot, with perhaps a bit more witty asides and flamboyant eye candy to enliven the proceedings. GRADE--------------C