Wishing all my friends, relatives and readers a HAPPY CINEMATIC HOLIDAY. As usual around this time of year, I'm happy to view Christmas themed films to help get me in the mood, and this year I've seen nearly a dozen. But first, here are a couple of new releases that I've recently seen at the theatre.
Director Steven Spielberg is always a safe bet for intelligent, engrossing films, and BRIDGE OF SPIES is no exception, although watching this reminded me of other, better films about the Cold War and the wall that separated East and West Berlin, like THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD (1965) and FUNERAL IN BERLIN (1966) and Hitchcock's TORN CURTAIN (1966) and most memorably THE LIVES OF OTHERS (2006). Tom Hanks plays an insurance lawyer who gets roped in to defend a Russian spy captured in New York, and it seems that everyone expects the spy to be railroaded into a foregone conclusion: guilty as charged, and the death sentence. Hanks balks at the idea of no fair trial, and then becomes instrumental in using this spy as bait in a spy swap to take place in Berlin, just as the Wall is being erected. A lot of suspense is generated by this conflict with the legal system, and later as he attempts to negotiate the swap in a beleaguered city full of bureaucrats who have conflicting agendas. The film is full of small but choice details. Theatre actor/director Mark Rylance (WOLF HALL -TV Series 2015, OTHER BOLEYN GIRL 2008, INTIMACY 2001)is fascinating as the spy caught in the middle of this tug of war, and he seems destined to become an Oscar nominee for this role. The reliable Hanks brings his annoyed uncertainty to the role, trying to keeps his family and client safe, all the while shivering and sneezing through a cold, desolate Berlin. It may not be one of the most dynamic films I've seen this year, but it beats 90% of the others. GRADE-----------B+
Firstly, I'm a great fan of comedians Tina Fey and Amy Poehler--from their Saturday Night Live TV days to BABY MAMA (2008) and their recent collaborations hosting awards shows together. I think they are both comic geniuses. So perhaps I went to see their new film SISTERS with greater than normal expectations, although I'd read a couple of very so-so reviews as a warning. Well, I think those so-so reviews were really really generous, because I don't think I laughed once in the first hour, and not more than a couple of times in a long, long two hour plus smarmy film about middle aged women acting like idiots. The "jokes" were almost always based on crude, lewd themes (sexual frustration, anal penetration, drug and alcohol abuse, teen age one upmanship, penis obsession etc)----kind of like the DUMB AND DUMBER or HOT TUB TIME MACHINE films from past years. I felt like I needed a shower walking out of the theatre, and that I'd wasted my twelve bucks on this crap. But I think that I'm looking forward to anything else either one of these women will do in the future. They just need a better script, plot, direction, and agent etc. GRADE-----------D+
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Mostly HOLIDAY films viewed on DVD
THE REF(1994)----My favorite Christmas comedy is a caustic (rated R) film about a pair of thieves who rob a rich man's house on Christmas eve in a small town, but one (Denis Leary) becomes trapped within the confines of another house where a bickering, sarcastic couple with marriage problems (Kevin Spacey, Judy Davis) are getting ready to host a Christmas Eve dinner for the husband's controlling, cruel mother. There are many many laughs in this one, and even though I watch this every year, I laugh like a fool over and over. The film manages to spoof marital sexual relations, idiot robbers, oblivious police, pompous city officials, insensitive teenagers, fruitcake, alcoholics, and the city's manger scene. It is filled with Christmas music and visuals and spirit, and contains a couple of incredible classic scenes, including one involving lots of lit candles...... GRADE------A-
THE CHRISTMAS CAROL (AKA SCROOGE) (1951)---This is perhaps the best, most favorite of the oft told movie versions based on Charles Dicken's novel, featuring a remarkable performance by the great British actor Alistair Sims, and a superb supporting cast including Jack Warner, Michael Hordern, Hermione Baddeley and a young Patrick Macnee (TV's AVENGERS). It opened in New York city at an art/foreign film theatre and never did a great business in the US, although in Great Britain it was a modest hit. But many viewings on TV has changed it's status to classic over the years. There is a fairly new Blu ray version out that includes many extras including a silent version of CHRISTMAS CAROL (1922) and other features. GRADE--------A-
MIRACLE ON 34th STREET (1947)---Best supporting actor winner Edmund Gwenn (as Chris Kringle), a very young Natalie Wood, and leads Maureen O'Hara and John Payne are as delightful as can be in this popular, classic story of a man who believes he is Santa, and the court system that must decide whether Santa exists or Not (!?!?) There is a strong unsentimental quality that works well in this comedy drama set between Thanksgiving and New Year. GRADE---------A-
THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER (1942)--Based on a popular Broadway play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, this story of a cantankerous and acerbic writer and critic (Monty Woolley) forced to stay at a Midwestern home over Christmas due to an injury, driving them all crazy with his many guests, gifts, and sarcasm. I've seen this twice before, and I find it funnier and more clever with every viewing. Pictures with so much satire, wit and humor in every line are rare. Bette Davis plays his secretary, trying to gain a personal life for herself, falling for the local newspaper man (Richard Travis). Billie Burke is the confused hostess. Ann Sheridan is the affected actress friend of Woolley who is used as bait to keep Davis from leaving. Jimmy Durante has a featured role as another actor, playing his scenes like one of the Marx brothers, or maybe all four! The dialogue and action are fast and furious, and if you leave the room you'll miss a lot of puns and jokes and four penguins. GRADE---------A-
SHOP AROUND THE CORNER (1940)---Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullivan play young clerks in a retail shop who don't get along very well, not realizing that they are falling in love via letters they are anonymously sending each other. Director Ernst Lubitch keeps the action brisk and light and not too sentimental, and Frank Morgan (WIZARD OF OZ) plays the amusing shop owner. The romantic comedy drama climaxes on Christmas Eve in a touching and moving manner. GRADE-------A-
SABRINA (1954)---Not exactly a Christmas film, but charming romantic comedy featuring Audrey Hepburn in her second motion picture (after her Oscar winning debut in ROMAN HOLIDAY) in which she gets to romance William Holden AND Humphrey Bogart (perhaps a bit miscast as Holden's older brother). Directed with his usual charm and wit by Billy Wilder, this film cemented Hepburn's winning beauty and charm that kept her a top film draw for several decades. GRADE-----------B+
ALL MINE TO GIVE (1957)---I'd never heard of this modest little drama featuring Glynis Johns (MARY POPPINS and THE REF above) and Cameron Mitchell as Scottish immigrants who move to Wisconsin in the mid 1890's, and find happiness and prosperity until disaster strikes. I found myself sobbing several times during the final 20 minutes, in a sequence set on Christmas Day that features heart breaking bravery and tragic good will. Perhaps the most moving Christmas film ever made, in many ways stronger than the classic IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE.
GRADE---------B+
SITTING PRETTY (1948)---The witty barbs and zingers uttered by Clifton Webb who moves in with a suburban couple (Robert Young and Maureen O'Hara-see MIRACLE ON 34th STREET above) as a live in babysitter are priceless, and raises this comedy above the norm. GRADE-----B+
YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU (1938)---Despite winning best picture in 1938, this stage based comedy by director Frank Capra is marred by bullet fast dialogue that is hard to hear and understand, since some actors speak softer than others. Jean Arthur comes from a very eccentric family and falls in love with Jimmy Stewart, who works as a prim and proper lawyer for his rich and cruel father Edward Arnold. When the families decide to meet, much misunderstanding occurs and lives are changed when her eccentric father (Lionel Barrymore) confronts Arnold. The dialogue, when I could understand it, is very witty and wacky, and would work well on stage in a good production. GRADE----------B-
BLOSSOMS IN THE DUST (1941)--The film was a hit with audiences and Greer Garson received another Oscar nomination for this old fashioned preachy true story drama about a woman who starts an agency for "illegitimate" children and works toward legitimizing their status with the state of Texas. The children are charming, and there are several scenes set at Christmas time, and there is snow during every holiday! in Texas! The film is OK---but dragged down a bit by the serious sermonizing of Garson. GRADE--------------B-
IT HAPPENED ON 5th AVENUE (1947)--Likable and good intentioned, if a bit sentimental at times, this story of a homeless "hobo" who moves into a New York City 5th Avenue mansion every winter when the billionaire owner goes south for the winter has a social agenda appropriate for today's audiences. He invites a number of homeless veterans to live there with him while they try to find work. One of the homeless turns out to be the daughter of the billionaire, and she falls for one of the vets who is trying to build housing for the unemployed vets. There is a lovely sequence set at Christmas time, and the film has a (naturally) happy ending. GRADE----------B-
INSIDIOUS 3 (2015)--Definitely not for Christmas, this continuation of the popular series INSIDIOUS 1 and 2 (2010 and 2013) is not as effective as the first two. Fortunately, Lin Shaye as the psychic from the first two episodes is back in this prequel film to explain how she got into the business. She is great--unfortunately she was killed off in INSIDIOUS 2....... GRADE-------C+
WEDDING RINGER (2015)---I happen to think Kevin Hart is pretty funny at times, given the right script, and comedian Josh Gad would seem to be a good straight man for Hart's manic humor. Unfortunately, the script is tasteless and creepy at times. Hart is the director of an agency who provides friendless grooms with best men and grooms men--for a price! There's some potential for some great moments, but just when the action gets clever and witty, grotesque and crude behavior ensues. GRADE-----------C
MIRACLE OF THE BELLS (1948)----There's a short, effective scene near the beginning set on Christmas Eve, and the film has some religious themes, but this contrived and unbelievable story about a young woman desperate to be a great actress in a short time is predictable and cloyingly sentimental. It tells the story of a movie promoter/agent (Fred MacMurray) who befriends her, then handles her predictable early demise by having bells ring for three days at the small town she was from. A seeming miracle occurs which propels her story into legend. A young Frank Sinatra plays, unbelievably, a priest. The most interesting actor is Italian Alida Valli, who went by the name of only Valli while making films in the USA. Her most famous roles were Hitchcock's PARADINE CASE(1947), THE THIRD MAN (1949) SENSO (1954) and 1900 (1976) . She is very watchable--beauty and mystic were her forte. GRADE-----------C-
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Thursday, December 10, 2015
BROOKLYN (a year-end favorite), SPOTLIGHT, SPECTRE, TRUMBO, THE PEANUTS MOVIE, IN THE HEART OF THE SEA, THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES, plus the first three DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE movies from the 1950's, starring Dirk Bogarde
I was not prepared for the emotional power that director John Crowley and writer Nick Hornby created in the new film BROOKLYN, a somewhat simple story of a young girl who immigrates from Ireland to New York in the 1950's. But that simplicity only magnifies the loneliness, heartaches, homesickness and adventure that moving to a new country to start over can bring. Nominated for a supporting Oscar in ATONEMENT (2007), Saoirse Ronan brings her beauty, insight and emerald green eyes to the role which should assure her of another Oscar nomination. She really gets under your skin, and is a pleasure to watch as the woman/child who falls in love quickly in Brooklyn, only to find herself torn between two lovers when she takes a trip back to Ireland. Brilliantly written, directed, acted, scored, photographed and edited, BROOKLYN is one of the year's top films. GRADE-----------------A-
Featuring an amazing ensemble cast, SPOTLIGHT tells the true story of the Boston news paper that routed out the story of dozens of Catholic priests who were sexually abusing children over the course of many years, and were instrumental in exposing and helping to stop the abuse. Mark Ruffalo is a standout here, and he's been having a remarkable year. He had an Oscar nomination for playing opposite Channing Tatum in FOXCATCHER (2014) and won an Emmy for his role in THE NORMAL HEART earlier this year. He's been getting raves reviews(and a Golden Globe nomination) for playing a father with mental illness (bipolar) issues in this year's INFINITELY POLAR BEAR, and he's currently featured in the Marvel comic films AVENGERS playing the Hulk character. Equally good is Michael Keaton as the in charge editor of the group investigating the scandal. One of the best of the news investigating movies in recent years, and there have been a couple good ones this year. See also TRUTH above, and SECRET IN THEIR EYES, below. GRADE--------------------A-
It may not be the Best 007 film I've ever seen (I liked the last episode SKYFALL 2012 better) but there's no denying the excitement that is stirred with the opening sequences, the titles, the song, the chases, the villians, etc. Like any other colorful, kinetic Bond adventure, this one, SPECTRE ,has all the trappings, and Daniel Craig gives us his all, and Christophe Waltz makes for a compelling villian. I'm always happy to watch these again and again over the years. GRADE------------B
I've always enjoyed Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang, whether in print or on TV, and this new film THE PEANUTS MOVIE is a solid addition to the canon. The images are vivid and colorful, the story is mostly amusing and engaging (although I don't have much patience for the protracted story of Snoopy fighting the Red Baron) and for anyone who cares, THE PEANUTS MOVIE is a charmer. GRADE--------------B
A strong characterization by Bryan Cranston highlights TRUMBO, the blacklisted book and script writer who spent nearly a year in prison for refusing to name names during the witch hunt for communists. This is a fascinating chapter in US and film history, and the film moves along in an entertaining fashion, with amusing turns by John Goodman as a sympathetic movie producer, and Helen Mirren as the scandal monger Hedda Hopper. GRADE--------B
An intriguing story and some epically effective visuals keep IN THE HEART OF THE SEA from becoming too soggy. Directed by Ron Howard, this true tale tells how the classic MOBY DICK came to be written by Herman Melville, who is one of the characters in the film. But it felt to me that I'd have rather seen the story of Moby Dick on film, than the making of the story of Moby Dick. I think also that the title is rather lame. The film gets bogged down in a long "survival at sea sequence" that just about stops the film. Mixed feelings for this one. GRADE---------B-
I saw the original Spanish version of this police thriller several years ago, and yet watching this new US remake of THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES, I couldn't remember a single story plot line or twist. That is, until the final sequence, when the shocking twist is revealed. Unfortunately, the US film, presents the final scenes so oddly and matter of factly that the ending has nearly no impact at all. This is not to say that this film is unwatchable--indeed it has some interesting acting from Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nicole Kidman, who looks quite primly beautiful, and Julia Roberts, who looks (appropriately for her character) haggard and awful. As procedural police thrillers go, it has some suspenseful scenes and curious red-herrings. But the film doesn't build to a satisfying ending--it needs some emotional drama. GRADE---------C+
Viewed on DVD--------------------------
I think I've seen Billy Wilder's masterpiece SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950) on an annual basis--I get caught up by the sharp, intelligent script, the noirish black and white photography, and the vivid characterizations involving the past her prime actress and the struggling young script writer--as they both try to manipulate each other. GRADE---------A
FUNNY FACE (1957)--Director Stanley Donen directed this unusual stylized musical featuring Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire that is filled with now famous songs (S'Wonderful, How Long Has This Been Going On, Funny Face), spectacular costumes, romanticized colorful set designs, and Astaire and Hepburn doing lots of dancing, much of it jazzy and modern in Hepburn's case. The plotting is predictable, much based on a romance between Hepburn and Astaire, who is over 25 years her senior. She was often romantically paired with older (25 years or more) men like Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, Rex Harrison and others. Still, I found FUNNY FACE to be rather charming and amusing. GRADE----------------B+
DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE (1954)
DOCTOR AT SEA (1955)
DOCTOR AT LARGE (1957)---These first three films (out of seven total) all starred the young Brit Dirk Bogarde as a youthful doctor just beginning his practice in a hospital, on a military ship, and lastly back at the hospital where he treats an important patient rudely and gets fired. Fortunately, these films come all subtitled since the dialogue comes at you fast and furious and many jokes or asides would be missed otherwise. No great shakes, these, but pleasant British comedies set in more innocent times. GRADE--------------B-
SELF/Less (2015) --Improbable science fiction of old man's mind being transferred into young man's body. Unfortunately, young man's mind was not completely wiped clean, and he discovers a wife and family that thought he was dead. Many pretentious and unlikely scenes, and much science fiction mumbo jumbo. GRADE----------------D
Featuring an amazing ensemble cast, SPOTLIGHT tells the true story of the Boston news paper that routed out the story of dozens of Catholic priests who were sexually abusing children over the course of many years, and were instrumental in exposing and helping to stop the abuse. Mark Ruffalo is a standout here, and he's been having a remarkable year. He had an Oscar nomination for playing opposite Channing Tatum in FOXCATCHER (2014) and won an Emmy for his role in THE NORMAL HEART earlier this year. He's been getting raves reviews(and a Golden Globe nomination) for playing a father with mental illness (bipolar) issues in this year's INFINITELY POLAR BEAR, and he's currently featured in the Marvel comic films AVENGERS playing the Hulk character. Equally good is Michael Keaton as the in charge editor of the group investigating the scandal. One of the best of the news investigating movies in recent years, and there have been a couple good ones this year. See also TRUTH above, and SECRET IN THEIR EYES, below. GRADE--------------------A-
It may not be the Best 007 film I've ever seen (I liked the last episode SKYFALL 2012 better) but there's no denying the excitement that is stirred with the opening sequences, the titles, the song, the chases, the villians, etc. Like any other colorful, kinetic Bond adventure, this one, SPECTRE ,has all the trappings, and Daniel Craig gives us his all, and Christophe Waltz makes for a compelling villian. I'm always happy to watch these again and again over the years. GRADE------------B
I've always enjoyed Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang, whether in print or on TV, and this new film THE PEANUTS MOVIE is a solid addition to the canon. The images are vivid and colorful, the story is mostly amusing and engaging (although I don't have much patience for the protracted story of Snoopy fighting the Red Baron) and for anyone who cares, THE PEANUTS MOVIE is a charmer. GRADE--------------B
A strong characterization by Bryan Cranston highlights TRUMBO, the blacklisted book and script writer who spent nearly a year in prison for refusing to name names during the witch hunt for communists. This is a fascinating chapter in US and film history, and the film moves along in an entertaining fashion, with amusing turns by John Goodman as a sympathetic movie producer, and Helen Mirren as the scandal monger Hedda Hopper. GRADE--------B
An intriguing story and some epically effective visuals keep IN THE HEART OF THE SEA from becoming too soggy. Directed by Ron Howard, this true tale tells how the classic MOBY DICK came to be written by Herman Melville, who is one of the characters in the film. But it felt to me that I'd have rather seen the story of Moby Dick on film, than the making of the story of Moby Dick. I think also that the title is rather lame. The film gets bogged down in a long "survival at sea sequence" that just about stops the film. Mixed feelings for this one. GRADE---------B-
I saw the original Spanish version of this police thriller several years ago, and yet watching this new US remake of THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES, I couldn't remember a single story plot line or twist. That is, until the final sequence, when the shocking twist is revealed. Unfortunately, the US film, presents the final scenes so oddly and matter of factly that the ending has nearly no impact at all. This is not to say that this film is unwatchable--indeed it has some interesting acting from Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nicole Kidman, who looks quite primly beautiful, and Julia Roberts, who looks (appropriately for her character) haggard and awful. As procedural police thrillers go, it has some suspenseful scenes and curious red-herrings. But the film doesn't build to a satisfying ending--it needs some emotional drama. GRADE---------C+
Viewed on DVD--------------------------
I think I've seen Billy Wilder's masterpiece SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950) on an annual basis--I get caught up by the sharp, intelligent script, the noirish black and white photography, and the vivid characterizations involving the past her prime actress and the struggling young script writer--as they both try to manipulate each other. GRADE---------A
FUNNY FACE (1957)--Director Stanley Donen directed this unusual stylized musical featuring Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire that is filled with now famous songs (S'Wonderful, How Long Has This Been Going On, Funny Face), spectacular costumes, romanticized colorful set designs, and Astaire and Hepburn doing lots of dancing, much of it jazzy and modern in Hepburn's case. The plotting is predictable, much based on a romance between Hepburn and Astaire, who is over 25 years her senior. She was often romantically paired with older (25 years or more) men like Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, Rex Harrison and others. Still, I found FUNNY FACE to be rather charming and amusing. GRADE----------------B+
DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE (1954)
DOCTOR AT SEA (1955)
DOCTOR AT LARGE (1957)---These first three films (out of seven total) all starred the young Brit Dirk Bogarde as a youthful doctor just beginning his practice in a hospital, on a military ship, and lastly back at the hospital where he treats an important patient rudely and gets fired. Fortunately, these films come all subtitled since the dialogue comes at you fast and furious and many jokes or asides would be missed otherwise. No great shakes, these, but pleasant British comedies set in more innocent times. GRADE--------------B-
SELF/Less (2015) --Improbable science fiction of old man's mind being transferred into young man's body. Unfortunately, young man's mind was not completely wiped clean, and he discovers a wife and family that thought he was dead. Many pretentious and unlikely scenes, and much science fiction mumbo jumbo. GRADE----------------D
Friday, November 6, 2015
One of year's best--TRUTH, plus TAB HUNTER CONFIDENTIAL, CRIMSON PEAK, ROCK THE CASBAH, OUR BRAND IS CRISIS, ALL THINGS MUST PASS plus John Wu's marathon film RED CLIFF
Finally, a film that seems to have it all together, and it feels like one of the year's best films. Based on the true story of the accounting of missing months (that turned into a year!) that George W. Bush did not spend in the National Guard back in the early 1970's, TRUTH is based on the novel ( TRUTH AND DUTY: THE PRESS, THE PRESIDENT, and the PRIVLEDGE OF POWER) by TV producer Mary Mapes, this tells the story of how she put together an illuminating news story that raised questions about the absences of Bush during his time in the Guard. Presented by stolward Dan Rather on CBS' 60 MINUTES, the film was ambushed by right wing politics that insisted that the documents were forged, and faulty testamony by a crucial witness eventually killed the story and lead to the firing of all the members of the CBS press who worked on the story, as well as Dan Rather's sudden departure from the station. The film is exciting to watch, as the "TRUTH" is slowly and carefully dug up--it works much like a mystery thriller, and it is humanized from the point of view of Mapes, as she becomes the story instead of the AWOL Bush. The ace in the movie is the presence of a superior cast--- especially Cate Blanchet, who is fascinating to watch. She often dominates most films she appears in, but she is working at her peak this year, with this spellbinding preformance. She is also excellent in the upcoming Todd Haynes film CAROL, but she propels TRUTH to moments of greatness. One partisaned movie goer, after reading the coda which proclaimed that Mary Mapes had not worked in television news since 2004 when this story broke, snorted loudly "GOOD!!!" One would wish that all fine films would effectively provoke such opinions (pro or con) and hopefully stimulate national debate. GRADE----------A-
Screened last May at SIFF, the new documentary TAB HUNTER CONFIDENTIAL is a film, based on his biography that came out a couple years back, that skillfully provides an illuminating view of the actor's private and personal life as well as an entertaining look at the many films (and records!) that he made during his long career in Hollywood. As a gay actor, the studio made him go on many dates with actresses that acted as his "beard" but he managed to have long term relationships with men along the way, notably with Anthony Perkins (PSYCHO 1960), which lasted many years until they broke if off over competition from a role that Hunter had preformed for TV, but Perkins got the film---FEAR STRIKES OUT 1957. Many clips and interviews from Hunter and actors and friends make for an engrossing experience. GRADE----------A-
For the first 75 minutes, I loved the gothic, romantic, and eirie sensibilities of Guillermo del Toro's ghost story CRIMSON PEAK. Full of lush, intriguing visuals, the story of a single lonely woman who marries a strange man who lives with his sinister sister in a huge decrepit mansion that is literally falling apart, is compelling, spooky and entertaining. Unfortunately, the slight plot becomes rather predictable, and the ending scenes lack surprise and punch. Still, if you want an elegantly looking haunted house story, this is well done enough to satisfy you. GRADE---------B+
A documentary on the rise and fall of the iconic music/book store Tower Records, the fascinating film ALL THINGS MUST PASS skillfully invokes the pleasures that one had while shopping for favorite music during the 1980's and 1990's. When the end came, it was fast. One year they were making millions of dollars, and the next year they were loosing millions--all because of the change in listening habits and new technologie. The odd thing for me is that hundreds of stores closed quickly, but in the hub of the technology world, Japan, Tower Records is still going strong! GRADE-----------B
You've got to hand it to Bill Murray. He is a comic, sardonic force to be reconed with. He is the saving grace of the new comedy ROCK THE KASBAH. It took me about an hour into the film before I realized that this was a fictionalized version of the documentary AFGHAN STAR(2009), about a TV show that several years ago featured the first female singer in Afghan history, to great controversy and threats of violence. That mixture makes for uneasy viewing here, but Murray saves the film with his asides and energy. GRADE--------B
Sandra Bullock has her moments here, but the film OUR BRAND IS CRISIS suffers from a case of "Who cares." Set in South America, and based on a documentary from 2005, the film features Bullock and Billy Bob Thornton as opponents on different sides of a political campaign. But we don't know or understand the political differences enough to really get involved in the dirty shenanigans, and even though the film has some ethnocentric themes, I've nearly forgotten about it a week later. GRADE---------B-
Viewed on DVD-------------
Director John Woo's epic five hour film RED CLIFF (2008)was viewed all in one night, and it remains a skillful balancing of character, history, and impressively staged battle scenes. Based on the true story of two warlords who band together to defeat a much larger and aggressive "government" sanctioned army, they bravely fight off the encroaching soldiers with unusual and eatherial battle tactics. GRADE--------------B+
BROKEN ARROW (1950) has Jimmy Stewart trying to broker peace between the encroaching white man and the Apaches in the mid 1800's. He falls for an Apache maiden, and deals with Jeff Chandler playing Cochise. The film is engrossing, but I was a bit distracted by the mostly sucessful effort to hide Chandler's vivid blue eyes. Still, Stewart is, as always, very good as the one honest man in the west. The final scene, an ambush, is powerfully sad. GRADE---------B
TAKEN 3 has Liam Neeson in his tough guy mode again. The plot feels recycled, the violence is plentiful, the camera moves around as if the cameraman is on roller skates, and good triumphs in the end. Watchable but forgettable. GRADE---------C
I, FRANKENSTEIN (2014) Aaron Eckhart and Bill Nighy are featured in this confusing, convoluted modernization of the monster saga, where he must fight off forces of evil (when they are killed, their "light/soul" goes down into the ground) and sides with the (good) gargoyles, who when they are killed, their light/soul zooms up to the heavens! Nothing makes much sense, and the film is dull. GRADE---------------D+
Screened last May at SIFF, the new documentary TAB HUNTER CONFIDENTIAL is a film, based on his biography that came out a couple years back, that skillfully provides an illuminating view of the actor's private and personal life as well as an entertaining look at the many films (and records!) that he made during his long career in Hollywood. As a gay actor, the studio made him go on many dates with actresses that acted as his "beard" but he managed to have long term relationships with men along the way, notably with Anthony Perkins (PSYCHO 1960), which lasted many years until they broke if off over competition from a role that Hunter had preformed for TV, but Perkins got the film---FEAR STRIKES OUT 1957. Many clips and interviews from Hunter and actors and friends make for an engrossing experience. GRADE----------A-
For the first 75 minutes, I loved the gothic, romantic, and eirie sensibilities of Guillermo del Toro's ghost story CRIMSON PEAK. Full of lush, intriguing visuals, the story of a single lonely woman who marries a strange man who lives with his sinister sister in a huge decrepit mansion that is literally falling apart, is compelling, spooky and entertaining. Unfortunately, the slight plot becomes rather predictable, and the ending scenes lack surprise and punch. Still, if you want an elegantly looking haunted house story, this is well done enough to satisfy you. GRADE---------B+
A documentary on the rise and fall of the iconic music/book store Tower Records, the fascinating film ALL THINGS MUST PASS skillfully invokes the pleasures that one had while shopping for favorite music during the 1980's and 1990's. When the end came, it was fast. One year they were making millions of dollars, and the next year they were loosing millions--all because of the change in listening habits and new technologie. The odd thing for me is that hundreds of stores closed quickly, but in the hub of the technology world, Japan, Tower Records is still going strong! GRADE-----------B
You've got to hand it to Bill Murray. He is a comic, sardonic force to be reconed with. He is the saving grace of the new comedy ROCK THE KASBAH. It took me about an hour into the film before I realized that this was a fictionalized version of the documentary AFGHAN STAR(2009), about a TV show that several years ago featured the first female singer in Afghan history, to great controversy and threats of violence. That mixture makes for uneasy viewing here, but Murray saves the film with his asides and energy. GRADE--------B
Sandra Bullock has her moments here, but the film OUR BRAND IS CRISIS suffers from a case of "Who cares." Set in South America, and based on a documentary from 2005, the film features Bullock and Billy Bob Thornton as opponents on different sides of a political campaign. But we don't know or understand the political differences enough to really get involved in the dirty shenanigans, and even though the film has some ethnocentric themes, I've nearly forgotten about it a week later. GRADE---------B-
Viewed on DVD-------------
Director John Woo's epic five hour film RED CLIFF (2008)was viewed all in one night, and it remains a skillful balancing of character, history, and impressively staged battle scenes. Based on the true story of two warlords who band together to defeat a much larger and aggressive "government" sanctioned army, they bravely fight off the encroaching soldiers with unusual and eatherial battle tactics. GRADE--------------B+
BROKEN ARROW (1950) has Jimmy Stewart trying to broker peace between the encroaching white man and the Apaches in the mid 1800's. He falls for an Apache maiden, and deals with Jeff Chandler playing Cochise. The film is engrossing, but I was a bit distracted by the mostly sucessful effort to hide Chandler's vivid blue eyes. Still, Stewart is, as always, very good as the one honest man in the west. The final scene, an ambush, is powerfully sad. GRADE---------B
TAKEN 3 has Liam Neeson in his tough guy mode again. The plot feels recycled, the violence is plentiful, the camera moves around as if the cameraman is on roller skates, and good triumphs in the end. Watchable but forgettable. GRADE---------C
I, FRANKENSTEIN (2014) Aaron Eckhart and Bill Nighy are featured in this confusing, convoluted modernization of the monster saga, where he must fight off forces of evil (when they are killed, their "light/soul" goes down into the ground) and sides with the (good) gargoyles, who when they are killed, their light/soul zooms up to the heavens! Nothing makes much sense, and the film is dull. GRADE---------------D+
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
SICARIO, EVEREST, THE MARTIAN, GRANDMA, STONEWALL, SLEEPING WITH OTHER PEOPLE, RACING EXTINCTION, plus more Marilyn Monroe, and a gay oddity THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE
Some good stuff for a fall day, perhaps not Best Picture worthy, but worthy on many other levels.....
Near the top of any list should be SICARIO, a film detailing the effects of the drug cartels in Mexico and the U.S. The film is helped immensely by following the point of view of the main character played with subtlety and moxie by Emily Blunt, a fairly new but proficient F.B.I. agent who is sent out to work with a somewhat rogue group of agents trying to get into the inner workings of one of the biggest cartels working out of Mexico. We see and learn what exactly what she is learning, which isn't much. There is confusion about who these new people she meets are working for, and uncertainty about what her job is supposed to be, exactly. This makes the film very intense and unnerving, and for that alone, the film stays fascinating and vivid despite some shocking scenes of violence. GRADE------------B+
As a novice mountain climber (two plus a few one day mountain hikes) I can verify that technically the new film about the disastrous attempt to climb EVEREST by a group in 1996 that left eight climbers dead feels true to the physical and mental anguish that climbers must deal with. Whether or not it is truthfully accurate is for others to decide. As a film, it is pretty effective, if a bit grim, as it tells the story of the blizzard that hit EVEREST unexpectedly one May day as dozens of climbers from different nations were trying to scale the tallest mountain in the world, and many became dangerously stranded by different circumstances. Technically it's an impressively photographed film, which may just leave you breathless and exhausted. GRADE----------B
The science fiction film THE MARTIAN is a solid, intriguing film about lonesome survival when an astronaut is stranded with left over equipment and his wits after being abandoned by his crew when they leave him on Mars, thinking that he's dead. (Think Robinson Caruso set in space.) Matt Damon is effective as the smart guy who must learn how to supplement his food to last for many future months. There didn't seem to be any mystery about how this would end (happy) and the film is easy to watch, if not earth shattering, but there are some great moments of suspense and prolonged tension.
GRADE-----------B
Lily Tomlin tops the reasons for seeing GRANDMA. She's a hoot---an ex hippie, free spirit, Lesbian, living below the radar, cranky soul who finds herself trying to raise some money to help her granddaughter get an abortion. Each encounter the two have during that day is a priceless short story--the hapless boyfriend who tries to ignore his responsibility, the ex girlfriend who at first wants to help but realizes how difficult Tomlin's character has become, the ex-husband who just wants to have an explanation for past actions, the anti-abortion woman and her mean daughter, and the current frustrated girlfriend who loves but feels rejected. Tomlin is a treasure in this comedy/drama. GRADE-----------B
The German film WHERE ARE YOU GOING, HABIBI? tells of a young gay Turk living in Berlin, trying to find love and a job. He falls hard for a heterosexual con man who is involved in petty scams and more (in fact there are several violent attacks against him during the course of the film) and the Turk becomes a care taker friend due to several visits to the hospital. His sister outs him to his conservative parents and he goes off to live with his understanding and handsome uncle (a George Clooney look a like!) and aunt while trying to start a business. Not much happens, but all the characters are engaging and there is some sexual tension between him and the con man. GRADE----------B-
A French Canadian film called WHAT WE HAVE was produced, directed, written and stars Maxime Desmon as a gay man who has moved from Paris to a small town in Canada to escape from the dark secret that seems to haunt him even as he tries to start a new life as a teacher of French and an actor in a small theatre troupe. He is so dour and cranky in the first hour that we have little sympathy for him, and it's a wonder he can make any friends at all. Even an affair with the theatre manager and the friendship of a teen age student seem to make him unhappy, until the back story comes into the fore ground and we understand his unhappiness. GRADE---------B-
Granted, it was 10am on a Wednesday, but I had a private, one person screening of STONEWALL, which is too bad because in spite of some issues I had with this personalized version of the Stonewall riots in 1969, there's a lot of interesting characters and compelling historical drama that would interest certain adult audiences. A young gay man is kicked out of his home and ends up hanging out in Greenwich Village in the late 60's with a group of gay youth who get by doing tricks, stealing, using drugs--most suffering from very poor self esteem. Some scenes were uncomfortable to watch, and there is a constant stream of violence (gay bashing, police arrests) against all kinds of gays---transsexuals, Lesbians, cross dressers, fems, butch, etc, and every color of gay is abused. You can see where the anger comes from, and when the first brick is finally thrown, it is truly a relief. I wish that more time was spent detailing occurrences (and politics) after the riots, and the film feels chaotic and confusing at times. It is not the best film that could have been made of the protests, but hopefully it won't be the last. Sometimes lurid and humiliating, it is nonetheless compelling. GRADE-----------C+
At times amusing and smartly written, SLEEPING WITH OTHER PEOPLE feels sleazy and disappointing due to it's subject matter. How do you make people laugh at an illness like drug abuse, alcoholism, or other addictions? Here the two main characters who meet in college, lose their respective virginity, then go off for several years having sexual affairs with dozens of others, meet up again, cute, at a sexual addiction meeting. They become best (non sexual) buddies, trying to help each other with their addiction, but obviously made for each other. I found the humor to be abrasive and sexually offensive, which is too bad because I felt that it was well written in general, but I just didn't like it. I know that addiction can be degrading and unpleasant--I just don't feel like laughing about it. GRADE----------C+
From the makers of THE COVE (2009) which I greatly admired, comes a sequel of sorts called RACING EXTINCTION which deals with the extinction of many different type of animal. THE COVE dealt with a group of covert scientist and animal activist exposing the cruel mass killings of dolphins by Japanese fisherman and the deceiving ways the meat was marketed. This new film covers a lot of fish in the sea as well as animals that are being hunted and slaughtered. I appreciate the politics, but RACING EXTINCTION covers too much ground to be effective. GRADE---------C+
________________________
The following films were viewed via DVD.......
ROMAN HOLIDAY (1953) was the first feature film of the luminous Audrey Hepburn, who stars as a young princess who escapes her rigid social duties for a weekend with Gregory Peck, who discovers early on who she is, and tries to finagle a covert feature story for his news paper without her knowing about it. Hepburn won Best Actress for this first film, and the film remains a breezy, romantic comedy with some very serious and melancholic undertones. GRADE----------A-
GRAVITY (2013) remains a spectacular, singular technical achievement---the effects seem so extraordinary and effortless that you can't take your eyes off the screen. The slender story serves the effects well, and Sandra Bullock and George Clooney add superior characterizations that add some humanity. GRADE--------A-
THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE (1968) was based on an international play that won great acclaim for Beryl Reid on both sides of the Atlantic, and she stars in the film, too, along with Susannah York as her younger child like lover, and Coral Browne as a predatorial producer who tries to fire actress Reid from her British soap opera where she plays the beloved motor bike riding nurse of a small town, and she tries to lure York away as well. This was one of the first films to feature major Lesbian characters in film, and was awarded one of the first "X" ratings in the U.S.A. Unfortunately, this greatly limited the theatres where the film could play and be advertised, and the film bombed commercially. It received mixed critical reviews at the time as well, mostly due to its controversial subject matter. It was recently released on DVD and I found the film to be most intriguing. Directed competently by the prolific Robert Aldrich, he also filmed such classics as KISS ME DEADLY (1955), WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE (1962), HUSH, HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE (1964), THE DIRTY DOZEN (1967), THE LONGEST YARD (1974) and many more. It may seem a bit dated, but Reid, who has several drunken scenes, is fascinating to watch as her life seems to be slipping away from her. York has a tough role---seemingly childlike (and with a big secret, of course) but smart enough to know where her bread is buttered.) Browne plays the producer with her usual quivering authority, and the dozen character actors who populate the the back ground are all old pros. There is a protracted nude love scene where York's breast is fondled for what seems like five minutes, hence the X rating, but by today's standards would probably earn a PG-13. With themes of loneliness, betrayal, sexual attraction, alcoholism, ageism and unapologetic homosexuality, THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE has the guts to likely keep you riveted to your seat. GRADE---------B+
BACK STREET (1941 and 1961) are two films about the same story, based on a book by Fannie Hurst. The earlier film is set in the early part of the 1900s and features Charles Boyer and Maureen Sullivan as lovers. He's married another, but loves her deeply, so she is "kept" as the other woman, but soon grows lonely and bored just waiting for him to call, and as the years go by, she is filled with depression and regret. The second film is set in the early 1960's and features the more glamorous duo of Susan Hayword and John Gavin as the lovers, and Vera Miles plays the deceived wife who doesn't appear in the early version. Fortunately, they've given Hayword a career so she doesn't have to sit and wait for him to call her, and Miles gets to play the drunken nasty wife so that the affair can seem more justified. These are definitely what you'd call "woman's pictures" but in spite of the similar plotting, I enjoyed them both on different levels. BACK STREET 1941---------GRADE--------B-
BACK STREET 1961-----GRADE------B
PHONE CALL FROM A STRANGER (1952) advertises Shelley Winters as the lead, but she has a supporting role, and in spite of Bette Davis name on the marquee, her role is even smaller, although both actresses are "choice." Gary Merrill is the star here. He plays a lawyer leaving his wife by flying to Los Angeles. On the way there is a long layover and he becomes involved with Winters and two other men(Michael Rennie and Keenan Wynn) each of whom shares their sad stories and the fact that they are headed back to make right past wrongs. A plane crash just before landing kills the three, and Merrill is left to call each family and help make right what each deceased passenger wanted to make right. The plot feels rushed at times, and convoluted at times, but I have to say that I've thought about this film over the weeks I've seen it, and the film's heart is in the right place. GRADE-------B
HUSH HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE (1965) is a Southern Gothic melodrama about a crazed woman (Bette Davis) who was accused of killing her lover 30 years earlier, and who is about to lose her lovely mansion to a freeway. Even though no one was charged with the grotesque murder, she struggles with her sanity, and although her estranged sister comes to be with her to help her move, she is filled with terror and paranoia by her visions. Olivia de Havilland smoothly plays her sister and Joseph Cotten plays her long time friend and doctor, and Agnes Morehead tries to steal scenes as her faithful maid, which is hard to do with Davis in full crazy mode. I thought I'd seen this film many years ago on TV, but if I did I didn't remember a single scene. Director Robert Aldrich (see SISTER GEORGE above) had worked on this film to re team Davis with her WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE co-star Joan Crawford, but there was much animosity between the two stars, and after several weeks of shooting, Crawford called out sick for a week, allowing producer Davis to fire her and hire de Havilland instead. Some of the suspense scenes work better than others, but overall this is a solidly produced, very well acted, mystery drama that keeps you intrigued. GRADE-------B
MONKEY BUSINESS (1952) is a light weight Howard Hawks film with Cary Grant as a distracted, nearsighted scientist who discovers (with a monkey's help) a serum that makes people act much younger and Ginger Rogers is his wife. They both sample the serum and juvenile behaviour ensues. Marilyn Monroe has a small roles as a secretary, and she makes the most of it. GRADE------B-
LET'S MAKE IT LEGAL (1951) features Claudette Colbert as a woman on the verge of finalizing her divorce when an old flame turns up to try to seduce her, just as her husband is trying to stop the divorce. Marilyn Monroe has another small part and appears in a swim suit (as she does in the above MONKEY BUSINESS) and she also has a couple of great lines delivered with her usual sexy purr, but overall the film is a bit flat at times. GRADE------C+
Near the top of any list should be SICARIO, a film detailing the effects of the drug cartels in Mexico and the U.S. The film is helped immensely by following the point of view of the main character played with subtlety and moxie by Emily Blunt, a fairly new but proficient F.B.I. agent who is sent out to work with a somewhat rogue group of agents trying to get into the inner workings of one of the biggest cartels working out of Mexico. We see and learn what exactly what she is learning, which isn't much. There is confusion about who these new people she meets are working for, and uncertainty about what her job is supposed to be, exactly. This makes the film very intense and unnerving, and for that alone, the film stays fascinating and vivid despite some shocking scenes of violence. GRADE------------B+
As a novice mountain climber (two plus a few one day mountain hikes) I can verify that technically the new film about the disastrous attempt to climb EVEREST by a group in 1996 that left eight climbers dead feels true to the physical and mental anguish that climbers must deal with. Whether or not it is truthfully accurate is for others to decide. As a film, it is pretty effective, if a bit grim, as it tells the story of the blizzard that hit EVEREST unexpectedly one May day as dozens of climbers from different nations were trying to scale the tallest mountain in the world, and many became dangerously stranded by different circumstances. Technically it's an impressively photographed film, which may just leave you breathless and exhausted. GRADE----------B
The science fiction film THE MARTIAN is a solid, intriguing film about lonesome survival when an astronaut is stranded with left over equipment and his wits after being abandoned by his crew when they leave him on Mars, thinking that he's dead. (Think Robinson Caruso set in space.) Matt Damon is effective as the smart guy who must learn how to supplement his food to last for many future months. There didn't seem to be any mystery about how this would end (happy) and the film is easy to watch, if not earth shattering, but there are some great moments of suspense and prolonged tension.
GRADE-----------B
Lily Tomlin tops the reasons for seeing GRANDMA. She's a hoot---an ex hippie, free spirit, Lesbian, living below the radar, cranky soul who finds herself trying to raise some money to help her granddaughter get an abortion. Each encounter the two have during that day is a priceless short story--the hapless boyfriend who tries to ignore his responsibility, the ex girlfriend who at first wants to help but realizes how difficult Tomlin's character has become, the ex-husband who just wants to have an explanation for past actions, the anti-abortion woman and her mean daughter, and the current frustrated girlfriend who loves but feels rejected. Tomlin is a treasure in this comedy/drama. GRADE-----------B
The German film WHERE ARE YOU GOING, HABIBI? tells of a young gay Turk living in Berlin, trying to find love and a job. He falls hard for a heterosexual con man who is involved in petty scams and more (in fact there are several violent attacks against him during the course of the film) and the Turk becomes a care taker friend due to several visits to the hospital. His sister outs him to his conservative parents and he goes off to live with his understanding and handsome uncle (a George Clooney look a like!) and aunt while trying to start a business. Not much happens, but all the characters are engaging and there is some sexual tension between him and the con man. GRADE----------B-
A French Canadian film called WHAT WE HAVE was produced, directed, written and stars Maxime Desmon as a gay man who has moved from Paris to a small town in Canada to escape from the dark secret that seems to haunt him even as he tries to start a new life as a teacher of French and an actor in a small theatre troupe. He is so dour and cranky in the first hour that we have little sympathy for him, and it's a wonder he can make any friends at all. Even an affair with the theatre manager and the friendship of a teen age student seem to make him unhappy, until the back story comes into the fore ground and we understand his unhappiness. GRADE---------B-
Granted, it was 10am on a Wednesday, but I had a private, one person screening of STONEWALL, which is too bad because in spite of some issues I had with this personalized version of the Stonewall riots in 1969, there's a lot of interesting characters and compelling historical drama that would interest certain adult audiences. A young gay man is kicked out of his home and ends up hanging out in Greenwich Village in the late 60's with a group of gay youth who get by doing tricks, stealing, using drugs--most suffering from very poor self esteem. Some scenes were uncomfortable to watch, and there is a constant stream of violence (gay bashing, police arrests) against all kinds of gays---transsexuals, Lesbians, cross dressers, fems, butch, etc, and every color of gay is abused. You can see where the anger comes from, and when the first brick is finally thrown, it is truly a relief. I wish that more time was spent detailing occurrences (and politics) after the riots, and the film feels chaotic and confusing at times. It is not the best film that could have been made of the protests, but hopefully it won't be the last. Sometimes lurid and humiliating, it is nonetheless compelling. GRADE-----------C+
At times amusing and smartly written, SLEEPING WITH OTHER PEOPLE feels sleazy and disappointing due to it's subject matter. How do you make people laugh at an illness like drug abuse, alcoholism, or other addictions? Here the two main characters who meet in college, lose their respective virginity, then go off for several years having sexual affairs with dozens of others, meet up again, cute, at a sexual addiction meeting. They become best (non sexual) buddies, trying to help each other with their addiction, but obviously made for each other. I found the humor to be abrasive and sexually offensive, which is too bad because I felt that it was well written in general, but I just didn't like it. I know that addiction can be degrading and unpleasant--I just don't feel like laughing about it. GRADE----------C+
From the makers of THE COVE (2009) which I greatly admired, comes a sequel of sorts called RACING EXTINCTION which deals with the extinction of many different type of animal. THE COVE dealt with a group of covert scientist and animal activist exposing the cruel mass killings of dolphins by Japanese fisherman and the deceiving ways the meat was marketed. This new film covers a lot of fish in the sea as well as animals that are being hunted and slaughtered. I appreciate the politics, but RACING EXTINCTION covers too much ground to be effective. GRADE---------C+
________________________
The following films were viewed via DVD.......
ROMAN HOLIDAY (1953) was the first feature film of the luminous Audrey Hepburn, who stars as a young princess who escapes her rigid social duties for a weekend with Gregory Peck, who discovers early on who she is, and tries to finagle a covert feature story for his news paper without her knowing about it. Hepburn won Best Actress for this first film, and the film remains a breezy, romantic comedy with some very serious and melancholic undertones. GRADE----------A-
GRAVITY (2013) remains a spectacular, singular technical achievement---the effects seem so extraordinary and effortless that you can't take your eyes off the screen. The slender story serves the effects well, and Sandra Bullock and George Clooney add superior characterizations that add some humanity. GRADE--------A-
THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE (1968) was based on an international play that won great acclaim for Beryl Reid on both sides of the Atlantic, and she stars in the film, too, along with Susannah York as her younger child like lover, and Coral Browne as a predatorial producer who tries to fire actress Reid from her British soap opera where she plays the beloved motor bike riding nurse of a small town, and she tries to lure York away as well. This was one of the first films to feature major Lesbian characters in film, and was awarded one of the first "X" ratings in the U.S.A. Unfortunately, this greatly limited the theatres where the film could play and be advertised, and the film bombed commercially. It received mixed critical reviews at the time as well, mostly due to its controversial subject matter. It was recently released on DVD and I found the film to be most intriguing. Directed competently by the prolific Robert Aldrich, he also filmed such classics as KISS ME DEADLY (1955), WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE (1962), HUSH, HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE (1964), THE DIRTY DOZEN (1967), THE LONGEST YARD (1974) and many more. It may seem a bit dated, but Reid, who has several drunken scenes, is fascinating to watch as her life seems to be slipping away from her. York has a tough role---seemingly childlike (and with a big secret, of course) but smart enough to know where her bread is buttered.) Browne plays the producer with her usual quivering authority, and the dozen character actors who populate the the back ground are all old pros. There is a protracted nude love scene where York's breast is fondled for what seems like five minutes, hence the X rating, but by today's standards would probably earn a PG-13. With themes of loneliness, betrayal, sexual attraction, alcoholism, ageism and unapologetic homosexuality, THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE has the guts to likely keep you riveted to your seat. GRADE---------B+
BACK STREET (1941 and 1961) are two films about the same story, based on a book by Fannie Hurst. The earlier film is set in the early part of the 1900s and features Charles Boyer and Maureen Sullivan as lovers. He's married another, but loves her deeply, so she is "kept" as the other woman, but soon grows lonely and bored just waiting for him to call, and as the years go by, she is filled with depression and regret. The second film is set in the early 1960's and features the more glamorous duo of Susan Hayword and John Gavin as the lovers, and Vera Miles plays the deceived wife who doesn't appear in the early version. Fortunately, they've given Hayword a career so she doesn't have to sit and wait for him to call her, and Miles gets to play the drunken nasty wife so that the affair can seem more justified. These are definitely what you'd call "woman's pictures" but in spite of the similar plotting, I enjoyed them both on different levels. BACK STREET 1941---------GRADE--------B-
BACK STREET 1961-----GRADE------B
PHONE CALL FROM A STRANGER (1952) advertises Shelley Winters as the lead, but she has a supporting role, and in spite of Bette Davis name on the marquee, her role is even smaller, although both actresses are "choice." Gary Merrill is the star here. He plays a lawyer leaving his wife by flying to Los Angeles. On the way there is a long layover and he becomes involved with Winters and two other men(Michael Rennie and Keenan Wynn) each of whom shares their sad stories and the fact that they are headed back to make right past wrongs. A plane crash just before landing kills the three, and Merrill is left to call each family and help make right what each deceased passenger wanted to make right. The plot feels rushed at times, and convoluted at times, but I have to say that I've thought about this film over the weeks I've seen it, and the film's heart is in the right place. GRADE-------B
HUSH HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE (1965) is a Southern Gothic melodrama about a crazed woman (Bette Davis) who was accused of killing her lover 30 years earlier, and who is about to lose her lovely mansion to a freeway. Even though no one was charged with the grotesque murder, she struggles with her sanity, and although her estranged sister comes to be with her to help her move, she is filled with terror and paranoia by her visions. Olivia de Havilland smoothly plays her sister and Joseph Cotten plays her long time friend and doctor, and Agnes Morehead tries to steal scenes as her faithful maid, which is hard to do with Davis in full crazy mode. I thought I'd seen this film many years ago on TV, but if I did I didn't remember a single scene. Director Robert Aldrich (see SISTER GEORGE above) had worked on this film to re team Davis with her WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE co-star Joan Crawford, but there was much animosity between the two stars, and after several weeks of shooting, Crawford called out sick for a week, allowing producer Davis to fire her and hire de Havilland instead. Some of the suspense scenes work better than others, but overall this is a solidly produced, very well acted, mystery drama that keeps you intrigued. GRADE-------B
MONKEY BUSINESS (1952) is a light weight Howard Hawks film with Cary Grant as a distracted, nearsighted scientist who discovers (with a monkey's help) a serum that makes people act much younger and Ginger Rogers is his wife. They both sample the serum and juvenile behaviour ensues. Marilyn Monroe has a small roles as a secretary, and she makes the most of it. GRADE------B-
LET'S MAKE IT LEGAL (1951) features Claudette Colbert as a woman on the verge of finalizing her divorce when an old flame turns up to try to seduce her, just as her husband is trying to stop the divorce. Marilyn Monroe has another small part and appears in a swim suit (as she does in the above MONKEY BUSINESS) and she also has a couple of great lines delivered with her usual sexy purr, but overall the film is a bit flat at times. GRADE------C+
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
BLACK MASS, LEARNING TO DRIVE, A WALK IN THE WOODS, plus 4 Marilyn Monroe films, and some straight to video/TV movies, and you'll know why......
A strong cast including Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch, Joel Edgerton and Dakota Johnson keeps this engrossing true crime saga, BLACK MASS, very watchable. Set in the 1970's, the story tells of a Boston gangster Whitey Bulger (Depp), who with the help of a childhood friend who now works for the FBI (John Connolly played by Joel Edgerton), ruthlessly takes over the south Boston syndicate by leaking plans of his enemies to Connolly. His own criminal activities are tolerated or ignored because of this friendship, but they ultimately become so egregious that we know soon the ax will fall to all involved. I wish there were more of an emotional connection made to these characters--some of them are disposed of very quickly, and I found Depp's make-up to be rather inconsistent---sometimes effective, sometimes it looks like they didn't bother to make it right. But it is Depp's best film performance in years, and the over two hour film seemed effortless to watch.
GRADE-------------B+
She (Patricia Clarkson) is a distracted intellectual book critic who has just had her husband walk out of her marriage. She meets an east Indian taxi driver (Ben Kingsley) who is being set up in an arranged marriage, and who also teaches driving lessons. The film LEARNING TO DRIVE takes off from there in some surprising ways as these two lonely people drive around New York City, learning from each other how to cope with tough life lessons. Thankfully the film does not fall into the predictable "romantic comedy" trap, and Clarkson and Kingsley play intriguingly off each other. It might be light weight stuff, but it's made with carefully calibrated humanity. GRADE--------B
Based on the novel by the same name, and optioned years ago by Robert Redford as a vehicle for himself and Paul Newman to reteam after BUTCH CASSIDY and THE STING, this true story called A WALK IN THE WOODS features two older men who decide to walk the entire length of the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine--over 2000 miles. Newman died several years ago, so Nick Nolte was recruited. He is a long lost friend who is quite out of shape and wants to walk for his own reasons--mainly to escape from debt and bills. The scenery and photography are terrific, even if the plot rambles, but fortunately, Nick Nolte brightens the film with a comic performance that had me chuckling through the entire film. Light weight, perhaps, but a pleasure to experience. GRADE--------B
THE FOLLOWING FILMS WERE VIEWED ON DVD------
I recently read an exhaustive biography by Donald Spoto about MARILYN MONROE, and felt inspired to watch some of her films that were in my personal library which I hadn't seen for a while. I can definitely state that in all cases, she was by far the most delightful, intriguing presence in each film, whether or not they were "classic" or not.
HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE (1953) is one of my favorites, mainly because Monroe creates a goofy character of a "blind as a bat" girl who won't wear her glasses as long as there is any man in the room---"guys won't make passes at girls who wear glasses." Fortunately, Betty Grable also has fun as a gold digger who mistakenly falls for a poor forester, thinking his trees over which he has domain (as a fire fighter) means he owns thousands of acres. Lauren Bacall is hilarious as a single minded gold digger who doesn't realize the guy who's after her is very rich indeed, but he acts like a casual "gas jockey." The film has a colorful segment where all the women participate in a fashion show, and the film is in glorious Technicolor. And there's a very funny final knee slapper scene! GRADE---------------B+
THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH (1955) is based on a popular stage play that featured much sexual innuendo. Unfortunately, writer George Axelrod and writer director Billy Wilder faced much censorship efforts by the Hayes office (created to censor movie sex and violence.) In the play, nerdy Richard, his wife gone for the summer, has an affair with the upstairs neighbor, a single sexy free spirit. For the film, they were not able to illustrate adultery had actually occurred. Still, there is some sparkling dialogue and humor, and Monroe creates a sympathetic comic "innocent" who seems more than willing. This film contains the iconic scene where Monroe's dress catches the subway wind from below and blows up above her head. For publicity purposes, they filmed the scene out of doors with hundreds of reporters, cameras clicking and the street public cheering. (This experience was the final straw for retired baseball legend husband Joe DiMaggio who disapproved of Monroe's sexy image. He filed for divorce just a few weeks later. They remained friends, however, and near the end of her life they had reconciled, and they apparently had made plans to remarry when she died of a drug overdose. ) Because it was so noisy, the scene was recreated on a sound stage later, but in a much tamer version for the actual film. GRADE----------B
NIAGARA (1953) was an early dramatic starring role for Monroe, and she's quite effective. Married to a jealous older man (Joseph Cotten), she takes a lover, but is discovered by a married neighbor woman (Jean Peters), who becomes involved when the relationship takes a tragic turn. Filmed at the dramatic Niagara Falls area, the suspense film creates some tension up to the final scenes when is loses some energy due to predictability. GRADE---------B
GENTLEMAN PREFER BLONDS (1953) an eye-popping Technicolor musical with a slim plot (mostly set on board a cruise ship headed for Paris) but with at least two fabulous songs. Jane Russell gets to sing the first one--featuring hunky Olympic hopeful men wearing only short shorts swim wear doing athletic exercising while Russell slinks around them singing "Ain't There Anyone Here for Love?". Later Monroe sings the iconic song "Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend" -- and she has the best lines, too. My favorite occurs while she's being instructed as to what exactly a tiara is---" You wear it on your head!?! (Cooing) I just love finding new places to wear diamonds!" GRADE-----B
MARILYN MONROE: THE FINAL DAYS (2001) was a TV movie documentary based on Marilyn's last year, her relationships, drug dependency, filming of her last (unreleased) film and her troubles with the studio. The film also includes about 30 minutes of her last unreleased film, reconstructed, which features famous scenes of her nude swim in a pool. SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE featured Monroe, who missed 17 of the first 30 days of filming due to a cold and sinus infection, looking terrific and intriguing as a wife who's been missing, presumed dead, for over 5 years. Her husband (Dean Martin) has just remarried Ava Gardner, when Monroe returns. The film was a remake of an earlier Cary Grant/Irene Dunne film MY FAVORITE WIFE (1940). SOMETHINGS was scrapped after Monroe's death, but remade a year later with Doris Day and James Garner as MOVE OVER DARLING. GRADE---------------B-
THE LUNCHBOX (2013) is a sweet drama about a bored housewife whose lunch to her unfaithful husband is misdirected to an older man, and they begin a relationship through notes to each other in the lunchbox. Set in Mumbai, the film features English and Hindi (subtitles), and is a touching romantic fantasy. GRADE----------B
CAPTAIN FROM CASTILE (1947) is a plotty, talkative epic about a soldier (Tyrone Power) who must flee Spain because he has insulted (and then stabbed) an officer of the Inquisition. He ends up in Mexico and joins the Cortez expedition. There is a lot of plot, and the film is nearly 2 1/2 hours long. It's watchable, thanks to Power, Jean Peters as a servant girl who falls in love with him, and a colorful Cesar Romero who plays Cortez. There are scenes shot in Mexico (1946) where a volcano is erupting in the distance. Apparently, in the 1500's another volcano was erupting as the events were happening, noted on the historical records. GRADE-------B
HAMLET 2 (2008) is a goofy comedy with Steve Coogan playing a free spirited drama teacher with a class full of outcasts and a school that is trying to discontinue the arts program. His wife Catherine Keener is sympathetic but tired of his inability to move beyond teaching. He decides to write a sequel to Shakespeare's HAMLET (!!!???) and even though there are some predictable moments, there are some bright spots of slapstick humor and clever dialogue. Amy Poehler, Elizabeth Shue and David Arquette add some comic flair. GRADE------ B-
THE DROWNING POOL (1975) has Paul Newman returning to the HARPER (1966) character he created a decade earlier. Joanne Woodward plays an ex love who hires him to find out who is sending her threatening letters. Of course he gets in deeper and deeper in corrupt family politics, and of course, no one is telling him the truth. Set in New Orleans, there are some fascinating characters, among them Tony Franciosa, Melanie Griffith, Murray Hamilton and Gail Strickland. There is an excellent climactic scene (hence the title), but the plot is mostly luke warm noir. GRADE--------B-
WET, HOT AMERICAN SUMMER (2001) has become a cult classic lately, and been made into a Netflex TV series this year with much of the cast returning. And what a cast it is! Janeanne Garofalo, David Hyde Peirce, Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black, Paul Rudd, Christopher Meloni, Molly Shannon, Amy Poehler, Bradley Cooper and Elizabeth Banks. Unfortunately, the film plays like an extended Saturday Night Live sketch, and many jokes fall flat. It is fun to see the cast over 14 years ago, as most of them have gone on to bigger things. GRADE-------C+.
RIDE (2014) was written and directed by Helen Hunt, and she also stars as an obsessive working NYC mother who can't let her son live his own life. He goes to spend time with his dad in L.A. during the summer before college, then decides to quit school and stay in L.A. surfing. Mom freaks out, flies to L.A. to spy on him, then takes up surfing to spend some time when he finds her spying on him and naturally gets angry. I couldn't figure out her character, and her actions seemed unbelievable to me, as well as annoying. Hunt is dangerously thin in this film (as she was in SESSIONS 2012, too) and looks like she's had some plastic surgery that makes her look gaunt and overly severe. To her credit, her direction is fine, and she throws herself into learning how to surf--scenes which require her to "wipe out" a lot--way too much for me. Luke Wilson plays in a laid back manner the surf instructor she hires, and, natch, she has an affair with him although she is (probably) 20 years older than him. Brenton Thwaites plays her son, but he has little emotional "meat" to work with from this script. This is a straight to TV movie, and it's easy to see why. GRADE---------C
THESE THOUSAND HILLS (1959) is a lack luster western about a young man torn between two women--Lee Remick plays the prostitute who seduces him (Don Murray) and Patricia Owens is the respectable one. Richard Egan plays the bad guy who wants Remick, and he has dubious morals when it comes to law enforcement. Stuart Whitman barely registers as Murray's long time friend who has drifted into a life of crime. I saw this one just days ago, but I can hardly remember anything about it. Not good. GRADE------C
UNFINISHED BUSINESS (2015) opened and closed quickly last March--I'm not even sure it opened in Seattle, and it's easy to see why. Vince Vaughn is quitting his sales job (selling scraps of scrap metal !?!) as the film opens, and sets out to start his own company, with an old guy (Tom Wilkinson) and a way to young stupid guy (Dave Franco)--both played as cliches. Flash forward one year, and they are off to Germany to close a big deal with a handshake that they can't close in the U.S. (!?!) They have various adventures that include drugs, sex, an extended scene in a gay bar bathroom with "glory holes" and frantic calls using SKYPE back home where he must deal with his young daughter being a bully and his Goth want -to -be son being bullied, and EVERYTHING depends on closing this deal. I will admit that I laughed about 10 times, usually because of the shock value in certain outrageous scenes, but the plot line/ story is BORING--there is no interest in a business deal involving scraps of scrap metal, and the film moves from one outrageous unbelievable scene to another and many scenes make absolutely NO sense. Thank God I laughed occasionally, or I'd give it a D-. GRADE-------C-
GRADE-------------B+
She (Patricia Clarkson) is a distracted intellectual book critic who has just had her husband walk out of her marriage. She meets an east Indian taxi driver (Ben Kingsley) who is being set up in an arranged marriage, and who also teaches driving lessons. The film LEARNING TO DRIVE takes off from there in some surprising ways as these two lonely people drive around New York City, learning from each other how to cope with tough life lessons. Thankfully the film does not fall into the predictable "romantic comedy" trap, and Clarkson and Kingsley play intriguingly off each other. It might be light weight stuff, but it's made with carefully calibrated humanity. GRADE--------B
Based on the novel by the same name, and optioned years ago by Robert Redford as a vehicle for himself and Paul Newman to reteam after BUTCH CASSIDY and THE STING, this true story called A WALK IN THE WOODS features two older men who decide to walk the entire length of the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine--over 2000 miles. Newman died several years ago, so Nick Nolte was recruited. He is a long lost friend who is quite out of shape and wants to walk for his own reasons--mainly to escape from debt and bills. The scenery and photography are terrific, even if the plot rambles, but fortunately, Nick Nolte brightens the film with a comic performance that had me chuckling through the entire film. Light weight, perhaps, but a pleasure to experience. GRADE--------B
THE FOLLOWING FILMS WERE VIEWED ON DVD------
I recently read an exhaustive biography by Donald Spoto about MARILYN MONROE, and felt inspired to watch some of her films that were in my personal library which I hadn't seen for a while. I can definitely state that in all cases, she was by far the most delightful, intriguing presence in each film, whether or not they were "classic" or not.
HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE (1953) is one of my favorites, mainly because Monroe creates a goofy character of a "blind as a bat" girl who won't wear her glasses as long as there is any man in the room---"guys won't make passes at girls who wear glasses." Fortunately, Betty Grable also has fun as a gold digger who mistakenly falls for a poor forester, thinking his trees over which he has domain (as a fire fighter) means he owns thousands of acres. Lauren Bacall is hilarious as a single minded gold digger who doesn't realize the guy who's after her is very rich indeed, but he acts like a casual "gas jockey." The film has a colorful segment where all the women participate in a fashion show, and the film is in glorious Technicolor. And there's a very funny final knee slapper scene! GRADE---------------B+
THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH (1955) is based on a popular stage play that featured much sexual innuendo. Unfortunately, writer George Axelrod and writer director Billy Wilder faced much censorship efforts by the Hayes office (created to censor movie sex and violence.) In the play, nerdy Richard, his wife gone for the summer, has an affair with the upstairs neighbor, a single sexy free spirit. For the film, they were not able to illustrate adultery had actually occurred. Still, there is some sparkling dialogue and humor, and Monroe creates a sympathetic comic "innocent" who seems more than willing. This film contains the iconic scene where Monroe's dress catches the subway wind from below and blows up above her head. For publicity purposes, they filmed the scene out of doors with hundreds of reporters, cameras clicking and the street public cheering. (This experience was the final straw for retired baseball legend husband Joe DiMaggio who disapproved of Monroe's sexy image. He filed for divorce just a few weeks later. They remained friends, however, and near the end of her life they had reconciled, and they apparently had made plans to remarry when she died of a drug overdose. ) Because it was so noisy, the scene was recreated on a sound stage later, but in a much tamer version for the actual film. GRADE----------B
NIAGARA (1953) was an early dramatic starring role for Monroe, and she's quite effective. Married to a jealous older man (Joseph Cotten), she takes a lover, but is discovered by a married neighbor woman (Jean Peters), who becomes involved when the relationship takes a tragic turn. Filmed at the dramatic Niagara Falls area, the suspense film creates some tension up to the final scenes when is loses some energy due to predictability. GRADE---------B
GENTLEMAN PREFER BLONDS (1953) an eye-popping Technicolor musical with a slim plot (mostly set on board a cruise ship headed for Paris) but with at least two fabulous songs. Jane Russell gets to sing the first one--featuring hunky Olympic hopeful men wearing only short shorts swim wear doing athletic exercising while Russell slinks around them singing "Ain't There Anyone Here for Love?". Later Monroe sings the iconic song "Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend" -- and she has the best lines, too. My favorite occurs while she's being instructed as to what exactly a tiara is---" You wear it on your head!?! (Cooing) I just love finding new places to wear diamonds!" GRADE-----B
MARILYN MONROE: THE FINAL DAYS (2001) was a TV movie documentary based on Marilyn's last year, her relationships, drug dependency, filming of her last (unreleased) film and her troubles with the studio. The film also includes about 30 minutes of her last unreleased film, reconstructed, which features famous scenes of her nude swim in a pool. SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE featured Monroe, who missed 17 of the first 30 days of filming due to a cold and sinus infection, looking terrific and intriguing as a wife who's been missing, presumed dead, for over 5 years. Her husband (Dean Martin) has just remarried Ava Gardner, when Monroe returns. The film was a remake of an earlier Cary Grant/Irene Dunne film MY FAVORITE WIFE (1940). SOMETHINGS was scrapped after Monroe's death, but remade a year later with Doris Day and James Garner as MOVE OVER DARLING. GRADE---------------B-
THE LUNCHBOX (2013) is a sweet drama about a bored housewife whose lunch to her unfaithful husband is misdirected to an older man, and they begin a relationship through notes to each other in the lunchbox. Set in Mumbai, the film features English and Hindi (subtitles), and is a touching romantic fantasy. GRADE----------B
CAPTAIN FROM CASTILE (1947) is a plotty, talkative epic about a soldier (Tyrone Power) who must flee Spain because he has insulted (and then stabbed) an officer of the Inquisition. He ends up in Mexico and joins the Cortez expedition. There is a lot of plot, and the film is nearly 2 1/2 hours long. It's watchable, thanks to Power, Jean Peters as a servant girl who falls in love with him, and a colorful Cesar Romero who plays Cortez. There are scenes shot in Mexico (1946) where a volcano is erupting in the distance. Apparently, in the 1500's another volcano was erupting as the events were happening, noted on the historical records. GRADE-------B
HAMLET 2 (2008) is a goofy comedy with Steve Coogan playing a free spirited drama teacher with a class full of outcasts and a school that is trying to discontinue the arts program. His wife Catherine Keener is sympathetic but tired of his inability to move beyond teaching. He decides to write a sequel to Shakespeare's HAMLET (!!!???) and even though there are some predictable moments, there are some bright spots of slapstick humor and clever dialogue. Amy Poehler, Elizabeth Shue and David Arquette add some comic flair. GRADE------ B-
THE DROWNING POOL (1975) has Paul Newman returning to the HARPER (1966) character he created a decade earlier. Joanne Woodward plays an ex love who hires him to find out who is sending her threatening letters. Of course he gets in deeper and deeper in corrupt family politics, and of course, no one is telling him the truth. Set in New Orleans, there are some fascinating characters, among them Tony Franciosa, Melanie Griffith, Murray Hamilton and Gail Strickland. There is an excellent climactic scene (hence the title), but the plot is mostly luke warm noir. GRADE--------B-
WET, HOT AMERICAN SUMMER (2001) has become a cult classic lately, and been made into a Netflex TV series this year with much of the cast returning. And what a cast it is! Janeanne Garofalo, David Hyde Peirce, Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black, Paul Rudd, Christopher Meloni, Molly Shannon, Amy Poehler, Bradley Cooper and Elizabeth Banks. Unfortunately, the film plays like an extended Saturday Night Live sketch, and many jokes fall flat. It is fun to see the cast over 14 years ago, as most of them have gone on to bigger things. GRADE-------C+.
RIDE (2014) was written and directed by Helen Hunt, and she also stars as an obsessive working NYC mother who can't let her son live his own life. He goes to spend time with his dad in L.A. during the summer before college, then decides to quit school and stay in L.A. surfing. Mom freaks out, flies to L.A. to spy on him, then takes up surfing to spend some time when he finds her spying on him and naturally gets angry. I couldn't figure out her character, and her actions seemed unbelievable to me, as well as annoying. Hunt is dangerously thin in this film (as she was in SESSIONS 2012, too) and looks like she's had some plastic surgery that makes her look gaunt and overly severe. To her credit, her direction is fine, and she throws herself into learning how to surf--scenes which require her to "wipe out" a lot--way too much for me. Luke Wilson plays in a laid back manner the surf instructor she hires, and, natch, she has an affair with him although she is (probably) 20 years older than him. Brenton Thwaites plays her son, but he has little emotional "meat" to work with from this script. This is a straight to TV movie, and it's easy to see why. GRADE---------C
THESE THOUSAND HILLS (1959) is a lack luster western about a young man torn between two women--Lee Remick plays the prostitute who seduces him (Don Murray) and Patricia Owens is the respectable one. Richard Egan plays the bad guy who wants Remick, and he has dubious morals when it comes to law enforcement. Stuart Whitman barely registers as Murray's long time friend who has drifted into a life of crime. I saw this one just days ago, but I can hardly remember anything about it. Not good. GRADE------C
UNFINISHED BUSINESS (2015) opened and closed quickly last March--I'm not even sure it opened in Seattle, and it's easy to see why. Vince Vaughn is quitting his sales job (selling scraps of scrap metal !?!) as the film opens, and sets out to start his own company, with an old guy (Tom Wilkinson) and a way to young stupid guy (Dave Franco)--both played as cliches. Flash forward one year, and they are off to Germany to close a big deal with a handshake that they can't close in the U.S. (!?!) They have various adventures that include drugs, sex, an extended scene in a gay bar bathroom with "glory holes" and frantic calls using SKYPE back home where he must deal with his young daughter being a bully and his Goth want -to -be son being bullied, and EVERYTHING depends on closing this deal. I will admit that I laughed about 10 times, usually because of the shock value in certain outrageous scenes, but the plot line/ story is BORING--there is no interest in a business deal involving scraps of scrap metal, and the film moves from one outrageous unbelievable scene to another and many scenes make absolutely NO sense. Thank God I laughed occasionally, or I'd give it a D-. GRADE-------C-
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
MISTRESS AMERICA, DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL, AMERICAN ULTRA, SHAUN THE SHEEP, 7 CHINESE BROTHERS, GUIDANCE plus middling but watchable Marlon Brando and BROTHER SUN SISTER MOON (1972)
Here comes the end of summer movies before the seriousness that is FALL......
A modern madcap comedy that fires off witty, clever dialogue that you haven't heard the likes of since Katherine Hepburn or Bette Davis at their peak, MISTRESS AMERICA is Noah Baumbach's newest (others include THE SQUID AND THE WHALE 2005, FRANCIS HA 2012 and the recent WHILE WE'RE YOUNG 2015)featuring his wife Greta Gerwig as a spunky woman/child still full of giddy energy, who takes her new step sister to be under her wing in the big New York City, charming everyone she meets. We don't always like her--she can make us wince at times, but she resounds with positive vibes and general good will. This talky comedy may not be every one's cup of tea, but if you like your films with style, humor and sophistication, then this will be for you. GRADE------A-
THE DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL has a lot going for it, especially the leads including Bel Powley who gives an all out performance as the title character dealing with loneliness, sex, drugs, and alienation during the wild mid 1970's era of San Francisco, and Kristen Wiig as her super-liberal mom and Alex Skarsgard as mom's boyfriend. Powley is very effective when she discovers her own sexual appeal and the control she has over Skarsgard. The relationship is not exploitative, but it IS very sexual, which surprised me, and I laughed uncomfortably at times as she continues her sexual conquests over her shyness and men (and women). The film features intriguing snippets of animation at times to highlight the feelings and situations, and there is rarely a false emotional move in the film. My main objection, which keeps me from giving DIARY an even higher score is the obnoxious hand held camera work that kept pulling me out of the narrative. GRADE--------B+
Violent, sexy, smart, and intriguing, with a lot of zingy humor, AMERICAN ULTRA surprised me by being a totally unique experience. Jesse Eisenberg plays a stoner grocery clerk who lives with his stoner enabling girlfriend (Kristen Stewart) in a small town. An encounter with a strange woman at his store triggers something in his mind, and suddenly things are not what they seemed on the surface. There are a number of twists in the plot, and the body count is high--to say much more may ruin the clever narrative for some. Give it a try, it is a KICK. GRADE-------B
An enchanting animated animal adventure with out a word of dialogue, the British film SHAUN THE SHEEP comes to us from the people who made the WALLACE AND GROMIT series. The simple plot has Shaun wanting a day off from the dull routine of daily farming, so he accidentally sends the farmer careening off down the road to the big city. When the sheep realize that their lives are better with the farmer than without him, they go after him. For what is basically a children's film, the clever jokes, story and characters are surprisingly smart, and at the matinee I attended, the children (and adults) were incredibly attentive to the movie screen the whole time. GRADE------B
This laid back slacker comedy called, for no apparent reason, 7 CHINESE BROTHERS, features a very lazy slacker performance by Jason Schwartzman who doesn't seem to have much energy for working and making money. He does, however, visit his perky grandmother in a senior home on a regular basis (Olympia Dukakis) and makes some fun of those who do work. The film is leisurely directed, and not much happens. The film doesn't end so much as just STOP, but I enjoyed the film's humor once I got into the milieu. Some people at SIFF really hated it, however. You've been warned. GRADE-------B-
The Canadian film GUIDANCE is a low budget comedy about a seriously dysfunctional man who used to be a child actor, who is now desperate for a job. He unbelievably gets a job as a high school guidance councilor, encouraging kids to smoke pot and take pills and drink alcohol---all of which he does daily, to solve their personal issues at school. The writer /director/ star is Pat Mills, and he is goofy, silly, moving, and hilariously awesome and if you are in the right mood, this could become one of your favorite GUILTY PLEASURES, like it is mine. GRADE--------------B-
______________________________
The following were viewed on DVD's......
I first saw BROTHER SUN SISTER MOON (1972) several times when it came out whilst in college, and it struck me as a beautifully filmed portrait of St. Francis of Assisi, from before his conversion to his visit with Pope Innocent III in Rome. It moved me deeply as a rare film that deals with love of humanity, love of nature, love of innocence, without the cynicism that such themes often incur. The simple song score by Donovan was apparently added just for the US release, but the music fits well with the tone. I was glad to see that the film, directed by the master Franco Zeffirelli (ROMEO AND JULIET 1967, ENDLESS LOVE 1981, TEA WITH MUSSOLINI 1999 and many opera to film versions) holds up so well. Especially emotional is the scene when St. Francis meets Pope Innocent III. It's a masterpiece of understatement. This is one of my all time favorites. GRADE----A-
I don't recall that this version of NICHOLAS NICKLEBY (2002) ever had a local theatrical release, but there are many things to recommend it. The excellent cast includes Charlie Hunnam, Jamie Bell, Anne Hathaway, Nathan Lane, Christopher Plummer, Timothy Spall, Barry Humphries and Juliet Stevenson. The script is an excellent adaption of the Charles Dickens novel, the music by Rachel Portman is beguiling, and the production values are even better than many Masterpiece Theatre productions. GRADE-------B+
An unusual international production of a kidnapping thriller, THE NIGHT OF THE FOLLOWING DAY (1968) is saved by a quirky, menacing Marlon Brando as a kidnapper who with his drug addicted girlfriend (Rita Moreno) and his sadistic partner (Richard Boone) hold a young heiress for ransom in an isolated beach cabin. A lot of tension is created since the criminals don't trust each other, and the sadist projects sexual violence. The finale is violent, if predictable. GRADE---------B-
Special effects inter cut with vintage film of the real catastrophe is the main reason for watching THE HINDENBERG (1975) which features George C. Scott, Anne Bancroft, William Atherton and others in this semi-fictionalized story of the explosion of the zeppelin that has just arrived in the US from Germany during the Nazi era. The film is handsome in costume, set design, photography and some of the actors are accomplished. Mainly the script is awkward and unconvincing at times, and the direction (by Robert Wise) seems to lumber along. Watchable but dull, until the end. GRADE-----C+
THE CROWDED SKY (1960) is an early disaster movie starring Dana Andrews as a pilot who discovers too late that his radar system is not working while he is mid-air. Other stand out actors included Rhonda Fleming, Troy Donahue and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. There is some suspense including another subplot that has a passenger jet in trouble and possible on a collision course with the broken fighter jet, and there are lots of flashbacks--who will live, who will die, who cares.
Watchable, but who cares? GRADE-------C+
Charlie Chaplin directed this dull film (his last) A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG (1967), which is helped along by his famous music score. Marlon Brando seems heavy handed trying to do comedy. Sophia Loren has a lighter touch, but the film is light weight and tiresome much of the time. GRADE-------C
THE PROUD ONES (1956) is a western that I simply cannot remember seeing a month ago, even though I've looked it up. Must not have made much of an impression, although it wasn't that bad. Robert Ryan is a sheriff and he is helped by Jeffrey Hunter, whose vivid blue eyes I do remember.
GRADE---------------C
A modern madcap comedy that fires off witty, clever dialogue that you haven't heard the likes of since Katherine Hepburn or Bette Davis at their peak, MISTRESS AMERICA is Noah Baumbach's newest (others include THE SQUID AND THE WHALE 2005, FRANCIS HA 2012 and the recent WHILE WE'RE YOUNG 2015)featuring his wife Greta Gerwig as a spunky woman/child still full of giddy energy, who takes her new step sister to be under her wing in the big New York City, charming everyone she meets. We don't always like her--she can make us wince at times, but she resounds with positive vibes and general good will. This talky comedy may not be every one's cup of tea, but if you like your films with style, humor and sophistication, then this will be for you. GRADE------A-
THE DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL has a lot going for it, especially the leads including Bel Powley who gives an all out performance as the title character dealing with loneliness, sex, drugs, and alienation during the wild mid 1970's era of San Francisco, and Kristen Wiig as her super-liberal mom and Alex Skarsgard as mom's boyfriend. Powley is very effective when she discovers her own sexual appeal and the control she has over Skarsgard. The relationship is not exploitative, but it IS very sexual, which surprised me, and I laughed uncomfortably at times as she continues her sexual conquests over her shyness and men (and women). The film features intriguing snippets of animation at times to highlight the feelings and situations, and there is rarely a false emotional move in the film. My main objection, which keeps me from giving DIARY an even higher score is the obnoxious hand held camera work that kept pulling me out of the narrative. GRADE--------B+
Violent, sexy, smart, and intriguing, with a lot of zingy humor, AMERICAN ULTRA surprised me by being a totally unique experience. Jesse Eisenberg plays a stoner grocery clerk who lives with his stoner enabling girlfriend (Kristen Stewart) in a small town. An encounter with a strange woman at his store triggers something in his mind, and suddenly things are not what they seemed on the surface. There are a number of twists in the plot, and the body count is high--to say much more may ruin the clever narrative for some. Give it a try, it is a KICK. GRADE-------B
An enchanting animated animal adventure with out a word of dialogue, the British film SHAUN THE SHEEP comes to us from the people who made the WALLACE AND GROMIT series. The simple plot has Shaun wanting a day off from the dull routine of daily farming, so he accidentally sends the farmer careening off down the road to the big city. When the sheep realize that their lives are better with the farmer than without him, they go after him. For what is basically a children's film, the clever jokes, story and characters are surprisingly smart, and at the matinee I attended, the children (and adults) were incredibly attentive to the movie screen the whole time. GRADE------B
This laid back slacker comedy called, for no apparent reason, 7 CHINESE BROTHERS, features a very lazy slacker performance by Jason Schwartzman who doesn't seem to have much energy for working and making money. He does, however, visit his perky grandmother in a senior home on a regular basis (Olympia Dukakis) and makes some fun of those who do work. The film is leisurely directed, and not much happens. The film doesn't end so much as just STOP, but I enjoyed the film's humor once I got into the milieu. Some people at SIFF really hated it, however. You've been warned. GRADE-------B-
The Canadian film GUIDANCE is a low budget comedy about a seriously dysfunctional man who used to be a child actor, who is now desperate for a job. He unbelievably gets a job as a high school guidance councilor, encouraging kids to smoke pot and take pills and drink alcohol---all of which he does daily, to solve their personal issues at school. The writer /director/ star is Pat Mills, and he is goofy, silly, moving, and hilariously awesome and if you are in the right mood, this could become one of your favorite GUILTY PLEASURES, like it is mine. GRADE--------------B-
______________________________
The following were viewed on DVD's......
I first saw BROTHER SUN SISTER MOON (1972) several times when it came out whilst in college, and it struck me as a beautifully filmed portrait of St. Francis of Assisi, from before his conversion to his visit with Pope Innocent III in Rome. It moved me deeply as a rare film that deals with love of humanity, love of nature, love of innocence, without the cynicism that such themes often incur. The simple song score by Donovan was apparently added just for the US release, but the music fits well with the tone. I was glad to see that the film, directed by the master Franco Zeffirelli (ROMEO AND JULIET 1967, ENDLESS LOVE 1981, TEA WITH MUSSOLINI 1999 and many opera to film versions) holds up so well. Especially emotional is the scene when St. Francis meets Pope Innocent III. It's a masterpiece of understatement. This is one of my all time favorites. GRADE----A-
I don't recall that this version of NICHOLAS NICKLEBY (2002) ever had a local theatrical release, but there are many things to recommend it. The excellent cast includes Charlie Hunnam, Jamie Bell, Anne Hathaway, Nathan Lane, Christopher Plummer, Timothy Spall, Barry Humphries and Juliet Stevenson. The script is an excellent adaption of the Charles Dickens novel, the music by Rachel Portman is beguiling, and the production values are even better than many Masterpiece Theatre productions. GRADE-------B+
An unusual international production of a kidnapping thriller, THE NIGHT OF THE FOLLOWING DAY (1968) is saved by a quirky, menacing Marlon Brando as a kidnapper who with his drug addicted girlfriend (Rita Moreno) and his sadistic partner (Richard Boone) hold a young heiress for ransom in an isolated beach cabin. A lot of tension is created since the criminals don't trust each other, and the sadist projects sexual violence. The finale is violent, if predictable. GRADE---------B-
Special effects inter cut with vintage film of the real catastrophe is the main reason for watching THE HINDENBERG (1975) which features George C. Scott, Anne Bancroft, William Atherton and others in this semi-fictionalized story of the explosion of the zeppelin that has just arrived in the US from Germany during the Nazi era. The film is handsome in costume, set design, photography and some of the actors are accomplished. Mainly the script is awkward and unconvincing at times, and the direction (by Robert Wise) seems to lumber along. Watchable but dull, until the end. GRADE-----C+
THE CROWDED SKY (1960) is an early disaster movie starring Dana Andrews as a pilot who discovers too late that his radar system is not working while he is mid-air. Other stand out actors included Rhonda Fleming, Troy Donahue and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. There is some suspense including another subplot that has a passenger jet in trouble and possible on a collision course with the broken fighter jet, and there are lots of flashbacks--who will live, who will die, who cares.
Watchable, but who cares? GRADE-------C+
Charlie Chaplin directed this dull film (his last) A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG (1967), which is helped along by his famous music score. Marlon Brando seems heavy handed trying to do comedy. Sophia Loren has a lighter touch, but the film is light weight and tiresome much of the time. GRADE-------C
THE PROUD ONES (1956) is a western that I simply cannot remember seeing a month ago, even though I've looked it up. Must not have made much of an impression, although it wasn't that bad. Robert Ryan is a sheriff and he is helped by Jeffrey Hunter, whose vivid blue eyes I do remember.
GRADE---------------C
Friday, August 14, 2015
RICKI AND THE FLASH, MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 5, TOM AT THE FARM, BEST OF ENEMIES, END OF THE TOUR, PEOPLE PLACES THINGS, PHOENIX, plus 2 by Anthony Asquith THE BROWNING VERSION and PYGMALION
I keep thinking I'm going to blog with more frequency, but the summer activities have gotten away from me and suddenly I've over 20 films to report on!
There's no denying the power and skill with which Meryl Streep throws herself into a role, and that's amazingly apparent in the musical drama/comedy called RICKI AND THE FLASH. She dominates the film playing a mature mother of three who "abandoned" her family many years before to follow her dream of becoming a rock and roll singer--now she spends her days as a grocery clerk and her nights singing for the locals live at a bar that caters to her special talents. She is pretty good as a singer--you feel her energy and passion, but fame has eluded her and she lives from pay check to pay check, dating the lead guitar player (Rick Springfield) on a less than serious basis. When a family emergency calls her back to suburbia and her ex-husband Kevin Kline, she finds herself challenged and questioning her role as mother. All the supporting characters register strongly (including her real life daughter Mamie Gummer, who plays her suicidal movie daughter ) but Streep captures our attention and affection like no other whether she's playing the good, bad or indifferent mother. It many not be a perfect film, but she's the perfect actor in this role. GRADE---------B+
Director Guy Ritchie (the recent remakes of SHERLOCK HOLMES) is back with a reboot of the late 1960's TV series called THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. Here's a wonderful example of the "less is more" issue that many movies about spies suffer from, including the newest MISSION IMPOSSIBLE below. They've taken the story back to the origins of the cold war time, forcing together an American spy with a Russian spy, and illuminating the relationship between Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin, played ably by Henry Cavill (MAN OF STEEL 2013), Armie Hammer (SOCIAL NETWORK 2010), along with Hugh Grant and Alicia Vikander (EX MACHINA, TESTAMENT OF YOUTH). The pacing is carefully calibrated to allow the viewer to take it all in without getting lost in over the top plotting, and the action scenes are not improbable. It does not have the the improbable scene upon scene of the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE series, nor the stylish bling effect of many of the James Bond films, or the laughs of the recent SPY, or the dramatic power of the realistic films like TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY. It does, however, create a realistic time and place, believable characters, engaging patter, and a clever, solid plot. I anxiously look forward to the next installment with grateful enthusiasm. GRADE-----------B
I always enjoy watching each new version of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE. --ROGUE NATION is the latest one, and I give it credit for keeping me diverted with a plethora of preposterous action sequences, any one of which would be incredibly unlikely to anyone other than Tom Cruise. Fortunately, Cruise still looks healthy and strong enough to pull off these romps, although for how much longer he'll be believed remains to be seen. Thinking back on the other four M:I films, they all run together in my mind, and because they consist of scene after scene after scene after scene of unbelievable moments, they don't have the staying power of , say, each new James Bond film. Still, it's good popcorn fun, and I'll probably see the next one in a few years. GRADE------B-
Finally beginning short runs after showing up at the recent SIFF festival, are a group of worthy films as follows.
TOM AT THE FARM (2013) was a favorite of mine two years ago. This French-Canadian film is directed by the writer and lead actor Xavier Dolan, and concerns a young gay man who travels to the country to attend the funeral of his lover, not knowing that the mother and brother do not know that the dead man was gay. The situation creates an atmosphere of dread, especially when it becomes clear the brother has his own bizarre, cruel agenda. GRADE------A-
BEST OF ENEMIES is a new documentary about the 1968 presidential conventions that ABC TV decided to cover using two witty, polar opposite commentators that erupted into tongue lashings on either side, changing TV forever, and making the way for the cruel "reality" TV that we have today.
Liberal Gore Vidal and conservative William F. Buckley proved lively and compelling adversaries and the film demonstrates that when it comes to extreme politics, things have not changed that much in over 45 years. GRADE------A-
Jermain Clement is an engaging newly divorced dad with young twin girls learning to live alone in New York City. He is shy and it's hard to start dating when he still has a thing for his ex. Not a lot happens here, but there are some pleasant and amusing moments in PEOPLE PLACES THINGS.
GRADE-----------B-
Two fine actors play writer and interviewer--Jason Segel is a marvel as novelist David Foster Wallace and Jesse Eisenberg plays the Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky, and that keeps END OF TOUR above the fray, although viewers not familiar with the novel or the situation may wonder what all the fuss was about, but the film illuminates loneliness, celebrity, fame, intellectualism and keeps our attention with the strangely polarizing personalities. GRADE----------B-
There are plot holes large enough for a truck to drive through, but the lead in the new German film PHOENIX helps cover a lot of faults. Nina Hoss plays a woman who escapes from a concentration camp needing a new face. She finds and baits her missing ex-husband without telling him her identify to determine whether or not he was responsible for her arrest in the first place. It's a curious, moody film. If you can swallow a lot of unbelievable twists, then this film has some interest. GRADE-------B-
THE FOLLOWING FILMS WERE VIEWED ON DVD--------
WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION (1957) is the perfect version of an Agatha Christie court-room novel, directed by pro Billy Wilder, and featuring Tyrone Power (his last film), Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester and Marlene Dietrich at their BEST. I've seen this film several times, but find myself drawn in and surprised by some of the stylish twists. GRADE------A
THE DROP (2014) is a modern crime drama about some low level characters who must handle the cash drops for some dangerous men who have bought the tavern. Tom Hardy, Noomi Pace and the late James Gandolfini (his last film) are all suberb and subtle, and the film has a haunting denouncement. GRADE----------A-
Director Anthony Asquith made only a few films that have stood the test of time, but at least two of those were both excellent. An early film of George Bernard Shaw's play PYGMALION (1938), later remade as the musical MY FAIR LADY (1964) has Wendy Hiller in an early role as Eliza Dolittle and Leslie Howard as Henry Higgins who makes a bet that he can transform the guttersnipe to act and sound like a countess in 6 months. The surprise for me was the meticulous dialogue of Shaw's play that not only fascinates, but it is clearly presented and directed with considerable skill. The musical remake keeps most of the same dialogue, and the play even has the perfect cues for the songs ie "I've grown accustomed to her face...." and "the rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain..." Both Hiller and Howard are excellent as is the supporting cast. Another film based on a stage play is THE BROWNING VERSION (1951) featuring the incredible Michael Redgrave as a failed school teacher who is leaving his teaching job to take on another that he doesn't really want at another school. In spite of being unpopular, he gives a going away speech that galvanizes sympathy for him. Mr. Chips he is not, but it shows what might have been had his career gone in a different direction. He must also deal with a faithless wife, a deceitful friend, and a student who comes from nowhere to boost his morale. This film was so emotionally moving for me, and Redgrave creates much sympathy from such an unlikeable man. Both PYGMALION and THE BROWNING VERSION-------------------GRADE -----------A-
At the time, GHOSTBUSTERS (1984) was a big hit, and I'm pleased to say that it remains pretty darn good today, thanks to the laid back, droll delivery of Bill Murray, and the funny, scary scenes of demonic possession by Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis. Of course, who can forget the giant Sta-puff marsh mellow man. If you've never seen it, what are you waiting for? GRADE------B
The dependable Robert Mitchum and the "better than you'd expect" Marilyn Monroe shine as an unlikely couple forced to take a raft down a rapid filled river with dangerous Indians along the way in this Otto Preminger western called RIVER OF NO RETURN (1954.) Some of the plot twists may seem a bit predictable, but the film is a satisfying adventure. GRADE------B
CHEF (2014) is a newish film that is cashing in on the fascination with the foodie craze. Director/writer Jon Favreau stars as a chef who quits in frustration because he doesn't get to expand his food repertoire, then discovers his second career running a food truck. A lovely Sofia Vergara is his ex wife, although it is clear from the beginning that they both still have a thing for each other. John Leguizamo is his friend, and the relationships are all sweet and loyal, and the film is easy to watch. GRADE--------B
ANASTASIA (1956) is the story of a Russian businessman who tries to pass off an impostor as the Grand Dutchess Anastasia of the Romanov empire. She is so convincing that most Russians believed her story. Ingrid Berman won her second Oscar for the role, and Yul Brenner and Helen Hayes are believable in supporting roles. I saw a Biography episode that detailed the real details of the massacre and deceit that appears on the DVD, and it is a fascinating story. GRADE-----B
I'm not too familiar with Lana Turner's films, with the exception of THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE(1946) which is very good film noir. I was especially intrigued by the double feature DVD that contained two of her popular films. PORTRAIT IN BLACK (1960) is a melodrama that has her offing her ill husband with the help of her doctor/lover, only to become nervous and guilty when it appears someone is trying to blackmail her, and of course the relationship with her lover suffers, too.
Another melodrama, MADAME X (1966) had been filmed 4 times before, although none seemed to be as successful as this version. In it she is involved in the accidental death of a man who was trying to seduce her when her husband was gone. To save his career, she agrees to go away, abandoning her husband and young son. Ironically, years later, her now adult son is trying to defend her from murder of a man who was trying to blackmail her. Although the final 20 minutes is moving and emotional, it is also hard to swallow. In fact many plot twists were suspect. Turner is a very good actress, nonetheless, and she makes these films watchable. PORTRAIT IN BLACK and MADAME X both GRADED---------B-
The British film MORGAN! (1966) features David Warner as a psychotic man who fantasizes about animals, and thinks and acts like a gorilla at times. He won't leave his ex wife (Vanessa Redgrave) alone, although she still cares for him but can't stand his fantasies and strange rants and actions. It's an odd comedy/drama, irritating at times, occasionally humorous and can be moving if you can get into the eccentricities of the characters. GRADE---------B-
MY LITTLE CHICKADEE (1940) has the great Mae West and W.C. Fields appearing together in a western parody, and there were some moments of great amusement. West is run out of town for having an immoral relationship with the masked bandit. She meets and marries Fields on a train to provide her with some respectability, but they never consummate the relationship. He becomes sheriff (!?!) and she teases all the men in town. Not a great plot, and they've each been better in other films.
GRADE-----------C+
There's no denying the power and skill with which Meryl Streep throws herself into a role, and that's amazingly apparent in the musical drama/comedy called RICKI AND THE FLASH. She dominates the film playing a mature mother of three who "abandoned" her family many years before to follow her dream of becoming a rock and roll singer--now she spends her days as a grocery clerk and her nights singing for the locals live at a bar that caters to her special talents. She is pretty good as a singer--you feel her energy and passion, but fame has eluded her and she lives from pay check to pay check, dating the lead guitar player (Rick Springfield) on a less than serious basis. When a family emergency calls her back to suburbia and her ex-husband Kevin Kline, she finds herself challenged and questioning her role as mother. All the supporting characters register strongly (including her real life daughter Mamie Gummer, who plays her suicidal movie daughter ) but Streep captures our attention and affection like no other whether she's playing the good, bad or indifferent mother. It many not be a perfect film, but she's the perfect actor in this role. GRADE---------B+
Director Guy Ritchie (the recent remakes of SHERLOCK HOLMES) is back with a reboot of the late 1960's TV series called THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. Here's a wonderful example of the "less is more" issue that many movies about spies suffer from, including the newest MISSION IMPOSSIBLE below. They've taken the story back to the origins of the cold war time, forcing together an American spy with a Russian spy, and illuminating the relationship between Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin, played ably by Henry Cavill (MAN OF STEEL 2013), Armie Hammer (SOCIAL NETWORK 2010), along with Hugh Grant and Alicia Vikander (EX MACHINA, TESTAMENT OF YOUTH). The pacing is carefully calibrated to allow the viewer to take it all in without getting lost in over the top plotting, and the action scenes are not improbable. It does not have the the improbable scene upon scene of the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE series, nor the stylish bling effect of many of the James Bond films, or the laughs of the recent SPY, or the dramatic power of the realistic films like TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY. It does, however, create a realistic time and place, believable characters, engaging patter, and a clever, solid plot. I anxiously look forward to the next installment with grateful enthusiasm. GRADE-----------B
I always enjoy watching each new version of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE. --ROGUE NATION is the latest one, and I give it credit for keeping me diverted with a plethora of preposterous action sequences, any one of which would be incredibly unlikely to anyone other than Tom Cruise. Fortunately, Cruise still looks healthy and strong enough to pull off these romps, although for how much longer he'll be believed remains to be seen. Thinking back on the other four M:I films, they all run together in my mind, and because they consist of scene after scene after scene after scene of unbelievable moments, they don't have the staying power of , say, each new James Bond film. Still, it's good popcorn fun, and I'll probably see the next one in a few years. GRADE------B-
Finally beginning short runs after showing up at the recent SIFF festival, are a group of worthy films as follows.
TOM AT THE FARM (2013) was a favorite of mine two years ago. This French-Canadian film is directed by the writer and lead actor Xavier Dolan, and concerns a young gay man who travels to the country to attend the funeral of his lover, not knowing that the mother and brother do not know that the dead man was gay. The situation creates an atmosphere of dread, especially when it becomes clear the brother has his own bizarre, cruel agenda. GRADE------A-
BEST OF ENEMIES is a new documentary about the 1968 presidential conventions that ABC TV decided to cover using two witty, polar opposite commentators that erupted into tongue lashings on either side, changing TV forever, and making the way for the cruel "reality" TV that we have today.
Liberal Gore Vidal and conservative William F. Buckley proved lively and compelling adversaries and the film demonstrates that when it comes to extreme politics, things have not changed that much in over 45 years. GRADE------A-
Jermain Clement is an engaging newly divorced dad with young twin girls learning to live alone in New York City. He is shy and it's hard to start dating when he still has a thing for his ex. Not a lot happens here, but there are some pleasant and amusing moments in PEOPLE PLACES THINGS.
GRADE-----------B-
Two fine actors play writer and interviewer--Jason Segel is a marvel as novelist David Foster Wallace and Jesse Eisenberg plays the Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky, and that keeps END OF TOUR above the fray, although viewers not familiar with the novel or the situation may wonder what all the fuss was about, but the film illuminates loneliness, celebrity, fame, intellectualism and keeps our attention with the strangely polarizing personalities. GRADE----------B-
There are plot holes large enough for a truck to drive through, but the lead in the new German film PHOENIX helps cover a lot of faults. Nina Hoss plays a woman who escapes from a concentration camp needing a new face. She finds and baits her missing ex-husband without telling him her identify to determine whether or not he was responsible for her arrest in the first place. It's a curious, moody film. If you can swallow a lot of unbelievable twists, then this film has some interest. GRADE-------B-
THE FOLLOWING FILMS WERE VIEWED ON DVD--------
WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION (1957) is the perfect version of an Agatha Christie court-room novel, directed by pro Billy Wilder, and featuring Tyrone Power (his last film), Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester and Marlene Dietrich at their BEST. I've seen this film several times, but find myself drawn in and surprised by some of the stylish twists. GRADE------A
THE DROP (2014) is a modern crime drama about some low level characters who must handle the cash drops for some dangerous men who have bought the tavern. Tom Hardy, Noomi Pace and the late James Gandolfini (his last film) are all suberb and subtle, and the film has a haunting denouncement. GRADE----------A-
Director Anthony Asquith made only a few films that have stood the test of time, but at least two of those were both excellent. An early film of George Bernard Shaw's play PYGMALION (1938), later remade as the musical MY FAIR LADY (1964) has Wendy Hiller in an early role as Eliza Dolittle and Leslie Howard as Henry Higgins who makes a bet that he can transform the guttersnipe to act and sound like a countess in 6 months. The surprise for me was the meticulous dialogue of Shaw's play that not only fascinates, but it is clearly presented and directed with considerable skill. The musical remake keeps most of the same dialogue, and the play even has the perfect cues for the songs ie "I've grown accustomed to her face...." and "the rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain..." Both Hiller and Howard are excellent as is the supporting cast. Another film based on a stage play is THE BROWNING VERSION (1951) featuring the incredible Michael Redgrave as a failed school teacher who is leaving his teaching job to take on another that he doesn't really want at another school. In spite of being unpopular, he gives a going away speech that galvanizes sympathy for him. Mr. Chips he is not, but it shows what might have been had his career gone in a different direction. He must also deal with a faithless wife, a deceitful friend, and a student who comes from nowhere to boost his morale. This film was so emotionally moving for me, and Redgrave creates much sympathy from such an unlikeable man. Both PYGMALION and THE BROWNING VERSION-------------------GRADE -----------A-
At the time, GHOSTBUSTERS (1984) was a big hit, and I'm pleased to say that it remains pretty darn good today, thanks to the laid back, droll delivery of Bill Murray, and the funny, scary scenes of demonic possession by Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis. Of course, who can forget the giant Sta-puff marsh mellow man. If you've never seen it, what are you waiting for? GRADE------B
The dependable Robert Mitchum and the "better than you'd expect" Marilyn Monroe shine as an unlikely couple forced to take a raft down a rapid filled river with dangerous Indians along the way in this Otto Preminger western called RIVER OF NO RETURN (1954.) Some of the plot twists may seem a bit predictable, but the film is a satisfying adventure. GRADE------B
CHEF (2014) is a newish film that is cashing in on the fascination with the foodie craze. Director/writer Jon Favreau stars as a chef who quits in frustration because he doesn't get to expand his food repertoire, then discovers his second career running a food truck. A lovely Sofia Vergara is his ex wife, although it is clear from the beginning that they both still have a thing for each other. John Leguizamo is his friend, and the relationships are all sweet and loyal, and the film is easy to watch. GRADE--------B
ANASTASIA (1956) is the story of a Russian businessman who tries to pass off an impostor as the Grand Dutchess Anastasia of the Romanov empire. She is so convincing that most Russians believed her story. Ingrid Berman won her second Oscar for the role, and Yul Brenner and Helen Hayes are believable in supporting roles. I saw a Biography episode that detailed the real details of the massacre and deceit that appears on the DVD, and it is a fascinating story. GRADE-----B
I'm not too familiar with Lana Turner's films, with the exception of THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE(1946) which is very good film noir. I was especially intrigued by the double feature DVD that contained two of her popular films. PORTRAIT IN BLACK (1960) is a melodrama that has her offing her ill husband with the help of her doctor/lover, only to become nervous and guilty when it appears someone is trying to blackmail her, and of course the relationship with her lover suffers, too.
Another melodrama, MADAME X (1966) had been filmed 4 times before, although none seemed to be as successful as this version. In it she is involved in the accidental death of a man who was trying to seduce her when her husband was gone. To save his career, she agrees to go away, abandoning her husband and young son. Ironically, years later, her now adult son is trying to defend her from murder of a man who was trying to blackmail her. Although the final 20 minutes is moving and emotional, it is also hard to swallow. In fact many plot twists were suspect. Turner is a very good actress, nonetheless, and she makes these films watchable. PORTRAIT IN BLACK and MADAME X both GRADED---------B-
The British film MORGAN! (1966) features David Warner as a psychotic man who fantasizes about animals, and thinks and acts like a gorilla at times. He won't leave his ex wife (Vanessa Redgrave) alone, although she still cares for him but can't stand his fantasies and strange rants and actions. It's an odd comedy/drama, irritating at times, occasionally humorous and can be moving if you can get into the eccentricities of the characters. GRADE---------B-
MY LITTLE CHICKADEE (1940) has the great Mae West and W.C. Fields appearing together in a western parody, and there were some moments of great amusement. West is run out of town for having an immoral relationship with the masked bandit. She meets and marries Fields on a train to provide her with some respectability, but they never consummate the relationship. He becomes sheriff (!?!) and she teases all the men in town. Not a great plot, and they've each been better in other films.
GRADE-----------C+
Thursday, July 23, 2015
ANT MAN, MAD MAX;FURY ROAD, TRAINWRECK, INFINITELY POLAR BEAR, TESTAMENT OF YOUTH plus Bette Davis in STOLEN LIFE, Maggie Smith in TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT, Vivien Leigh in SHIP OF FOOLS, plus JAWS for the 4th of July!
Summertime movie going so far has been pretty fine this year, with one big day of "Flicking out" featuring four films that we all (seven of us) really liked. Here's what I've seen this month.
MAD MAX; FURY ROAD features the female- centric plot of driving six women to the "promised land" out of the violent desert that they have been held captive in. They've been sex slaves/wives/mothers to the brutal men who hoarded water supplies. Max is inadvertently caught up in this endeavor, and the film, like the original first two kinetic films in the 1980's that featured Mel Gibson (MAD MAX and THE ROAD WARRIOR) is quickly awash with spectacular scenes of racing, fighting, violence and spectacular stunts that turned us on nearly 30 years ago. The original director George Miller is back, and all the wiser. My main complaint is it takes nearly 30 minutes before we can see the (handsome) face of actor Tom Hardy--the new Max, since he wears a grotesque face mask that he can't get off for a while. Charlize Theron is imposing as the leader of the oppressed women who learns how to convince Max to do her bidding. It's an exhilarating summer time treat. GRADE-------A-
The newest movie based on a Marvel comic is ANT MAN, and it is rousingly good, with a plot that doesn't get too messy and complicated, keeping the action from going way over the top. Likable Paul Rudd beefs up for this role and manages to keep most scenes from being chewed up by scene stealer Michael Douglas as his mentor. Special effects are special and clever, and other production values have punch and meaning. This is a great addition to the Marvel comic to film catalogue. GRADE---------B+
A spectacular comic turn by "new comer" Amy Schumer brightens this funny, ribald film TRAINWRECK about a woman writer who drinks too much and resists monogamy, until she happens to fall for the subject of her magazine article, a smooth, sincere sports doctor who seems to really like her. Bill Hader smoothly plays the doctor, and his best friend/client is Lebron James, who amusingly portrays himself. Wrestler John Cena sympathetically plays her confused, thick headed boy friend, and Colin Quinn is her dad, who keeps telling her that "fidelity is unnatural..." An unrecognizable Tilda Swinton appears to be channeling Meryl Streep from THE DEVIL WORE PRADA. The film is directed by the talented Judd Apatow who has produced and/or written and/or directed a slew of funny popular films like BRIDESMAIDS, GET HIM TO THE GREEK, 5 YEAR ENGAGEMENT, FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL, KNOCKED UP, and 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN. GRADE-----------------B+
Seen at SIFF last month, MR HOLMES is dominated by a brilliant, subtle, commanding performance by Ian McKellen as the master Holmes who is now in his twilight years, and he's now a bit forgetful The mystery is low-key and thoughtful, and the cast which includes Laura Linney is splendid. GRADE-------------B+
The British period film TESTAMENT OF YOUTH based on Vera Brittian's novel of young love and how World War I dashed the hopes and dreams of the young gets the lush cinematic treatment with Alicia Vikander (EX MACHINA) and Kit Harington (POMPEII and GAME OF THRONES) as the young lovers and a solid cast of costars. Many scenes were reminiscent of the current BBC series Crimson Fields about WWI nurses working near the front lines. Well acted, impressively photographed and solidly made. GRADE---------B
Based on a true story, INFINITELY POLAR BEAR tells of a manic depressive father who attempts to raise his two young girls when their mother moves to another city to get a college degree to help move the family out of poverty. Mark Ruffalo plays the father in a flamboyantly endearing manner, complete with hysteria, anger, depression and compassion---he steals the movie, but his daughters have their day as they try to understand his confusing mood changes. The music is a bit too cheerful for some of the drama, but the film attempts to stay positive and upbeat despite some of the traumas.
GRADE---------B-
VIEWED ON DVD---------------
Our guests agreed that the perfect 4th of July film would be to watch JAWS (1975) and it is still as riveting as it was 40 years ago. We tried to play a card game while watching it, and there were many long pauses as it kept us engaged and distracted. GRADE--------A
Watched a new Blu-Ray version of Alfred Hitchcock's THE BIRDS (1963) which if anyone knows me well, they know it is my FAVORITE film of all TIME!!!!! The photography was so clear that I noticed so many little things like the metal stripping above the car front window in Tippi Hedren's convertible. It holds up so well still today, with an eerie mixture of suspense and apocalyptic horror and humor. It fascinates. GRADE-------A
In the film noir drama SHADOW ON THE WALL (1950), Ann Southern kills her sister in a jealous rage when she finds she had been sleeping with her fiancé, and the blame goes to the sister's husband who was unconscious at the time. He's set up to die, and then she finds out that his young daughter may have been a witness to the crime of passion. Zachary Scott is the husband, but the star is the young daughter and the doctor who tries to unlock the mystery, played by Nancy Davis--who later marries Ronald Reagan. She was pretty good. GRADE---------B
Bette Davis dynamically plays twins, one good, the other not so good, in the drama A STOLEN LIFE (1946). When one twin dies, the other tries to steal the identity of the dead one. Glenn Ford is the man torn between the twins and Walter Brennan has a restrained supporting role. A satisfying, engaging drama. GRADE--------B
Another film noir, HIGH WALL (1947) tells the somewhat convoluted story of a released convict
who looses his memory after waking up to find his wife dead just hours after arriving home. Robert Taylor is convincing as the confused man, Audrey Totter plays the doctor trying to help him, and Herbert Marshall plays the wife's boss who just might know more than he's letting on. The plot requires some suspension of disbelief, but it moves right along. This film and the above SHADOW ON THE WALL feature psychiatric "baths" where the mental patient is tied down into a bathtub of soothing water............ GRADE-------B-
CORIOLANUS (2012) is a version of William Shakespeare's war drama done in modern dress, and fairly effective, too. Ralph Fiennes is the military politician who falls from grace, only to end up teaming with his mortal enemy, Gerard Butler, to overtake Rome. His manipulative mother is played to stunning effect by Vanessa Redgrave. Brian Cox and Jessica Chasten are both effective in smaller roles. GRADE------B-
Vivien Leigh stands out in a large cast in the Stanley Kramer film SHIP OF FOOLS (1965), as a divorced wealthy woman searching for love aboard a ocean liner filled with delusional people and hundreds of refugees from Mexico going to Europe, just prior to WWII. She becomes slightly entangled with a drunken, coarse Lee Marvin as a past his prime baseball player, and other subplots include an illicit affair between the doctor Oscar Werner and a political prisoner Simone Signoret, the most touching story. George Segal and Elizabeth Ashley play a mismatched romantic couple who squabble a lot. Michael Dunn feels like a Greek chorus character, making dramatic comments to the camera. GRADE-----B-
George Cukor's film TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT (1972) is an eccentric, quirky experience, headed by a leading performance by Maggie Smith, who is all mannerism and affectations, but as usual, she is something to see. (She was an Oscar Nominee, and the film won for Best Costumes.)(She should/could have played AUNTIE MAME!) The plot has her trying to raise ransom money for an ex-lover who has been kidnapped, and she forces her conservative nephew to assist her running around Europe. The film, based on a Graham Greene novel, is leisurely, yet at the same time feels frenetic, and the time lapses are unclear and somewhat confusing. The costumes and sets are creative and unusual, and the other actors (Alec McCowan, Cindy Williams, Lou Gossett Jr.) are fine, but the film leaves you with a shrug-- it's colorfully exotic at times, but unsatisfying. GRADE----------C+
THE WHALES OF AUGUST (1987) features some fine subtle performances by mature actors Lillian Gish, Bette Davis, Ann Southern, Harry Carey Jr, and Vincent Price. Gish and a blind Davis are sisters needing increasing care, and Price is a charming aristocrat trying to seduce them into travel or at least into their lives. Southern plays their exuberant old friend, and received an Oscar nomination for her efforts. The action all takes place in a summer home--it was based on a stage play, and the total effort is pleasant, if underwhelming. GRADE--------C+
MAD MAX; FURY ROAD features the female- centric plot of driving six women to the "promised land" out of the violent desert that they have been held captive in. They've been sex slaves/wives/mothers to the brutal men who hoarded water supplies. Max is inadvertently caught up in this endeavor, and the film, like the original first two kinetic films in the 1980's that featured Mel Gibson (MAD MAX and THE ROAD WARRIOR) is quickly awash with spectacular scenes of racing, fighting, violence and spectacular stunts that turned us on nearly 30 years ago. The original director George Miller is back, and all the wiser. My main complaint is it takes nearly 30 minutes before we can see the (handsome) face of actor Tom Hardy--the new Max, since he wears a grotesque face mask that he can't get off for a while. Charlize Theron is imposing as the leader of the oppressed women who learns how to convince Max to do her bidding. It's an exhilarating summer time treat. GRADE-------A-
The newest movie based on a Marvel comic is ANT MAN, and it is rousingly good, with a plot that doesn't get too messy and complicated, keeping the action from going way over the top. Likable Paul Rudd beefs up for this role and manages to keep most scenes from being chewed up by scene stealer Michael Douglas as his mentor. Special effects are special and clever, and other production values have punch and meaning. This is a great addition to the Marvel comic to film catalogue. GRADE---------B+
A spectacular comic turn by "new comer" Amy Schumer brightens this funny, ribald film TRAINWRECK about a woman writer who drinks too much and resists monogamy, until she happens to fall for the subject of her magazine article, a smooth, sincere sports doctor who seems to really like her. Bill Hader smoothly plays the doctor, and his best friend/client is Lebron James, who amusingly portrays himself. Wrestler John Cena sympathetically plays her confused, thick headed boy friend, and Colin Quinn is her dad, who keeps telling her that "fidelity is unnatural..." An unrecognizable Tilda Swinton appears to be channeling Meryl Streep from THE DEVIL WORE PRADA. The film is directed by the talented Judd Apatow who has produced and/or written and/or directed a slew of funny popular films like BRIDESMAIDS, GET HIM TO THE GREEK, 5 YEAR ENGAGEMENT, FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL, KNOCKED UP, and 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN. GRADE-----------------B+
Seen at SIFF last month, MR HOLMES is dominated by a brilliant, subtle, commanding performance by Ian McKellen as the master Holmes who is now in his twilight years, and he's now a bit forgetful The mystery is low-key and thoughtful, and the cast which includes Laura Linney is splendid. GRADE-------------B+
The British period film TESTAMENT OF YOUTH based on Vera Brittian's novel of young love and how World War I dashed the hopes and dreams of the young gets the lush cinematic treatment with Alicia Vikander (EX MACHINA) and Kit Harington (POMPEII and GAME OF THRONES) as the young lovers and a solid cast of costars. Many scenes were reminiscent of the current BBC series Crimson Fields about WWI nurses working near the front lines. Well acted, impressively photographed and solidly made. GRADE---------B
Based on a true story, INFINITELY POLAR BEAR tells of a manic depressive father who attempts to raise his two young girls when their mother moves to another city to get a college degree to help move the family out of poverty. Mark Ruffalo plays the father in a flamboyantly endearing manner, complete with hysteria, anger, depression and compassion---he steals the movie, but his daughters have their day as they try to understand his confusing mood changes. The music is a bit too cheerful for some of the drama, but the film attempts to stay positive and upbeat despite some of the traumas.
GRADE---------B-
VIEWED ON DVD---------------
Our guests agreed that the perfect 4th of July film would be to watch JAWS (1975) and it is still as riveting as it was 40 years ago. We tried to play a card game while watching it, and there were many long pauses as it kept us engaged and distracted. GRADE--------A
Watched a new Blu-Ray version of Alfred Hitchcock's THE BIRDS (1963) which if anyone knows me well, they know it is my FAVORITE film of all TIME!!!!! The photography was so clear that I noticed so many little things like the metal stripping above the car front window in Tippi Hedren's convertible. It holds up so well still today, with an eerie mixture of suspense and apocalyptic horror and humor. It fascinates. GRADE-------A
In the film noir drama SHADOW ON THE WALL (1950), Ann Southern kills her sister in a jealous rage when she finds she had been sleeping with her fiancé, and the blame goes to the sister's husband who was unconscious at the time. He's set up to die, and then she finds out that his young daughter may have been a witness to the crime of passion. Zachary Scott is the husband, but the star is the young daughter and the doctor who tries to unlock the mystery, played by Nancy Davis--who later marries Ronald Reagan. She was pretty good. GRADE---------B
Bette Davis dynamically plays twins, one good, the other not so good, in the drama A STOLEN LIFE (1946). When one twin dies, the other tries to steal the identity of the dead one. Glenn Ford is the man torn between the twins and Walter Brennan has a restrained supporting role. A satisfying, engaging drama. GRADE--------B
Another film noir, HIGH WALL (1947) tells the somewhat convoluted story of a released convict
who looses his memory after waking up to find his wife dead just hours after arriving home. Robert Taylor is convincing as the confused man, Audrey Totter plays the doctor trying to help him, and Herbert Marshall plays the wife's boss who just might know more than he's letting on. The plot requires some suspension of disbelief, but it moves right along. This film and the above SHADOW ON THE WALL feature psychiatric "baths" where the mental patient is tied down into a bathtub of soothing water............ GRADE-------B-
CORIOLANUS (2012) is a version of William Shakespeare's war drama done in modern dress, and fairly effective, too. Ralph Fiennes is the military politician who falls from grace, only to end up teaming with his mortal enemy, Gerard Butler, to overtake Rome. His manipulative mother is played to stunning effect by Vanessa Redgrave. Brian Cox and Jessica Chasten are both effective in smaller roles. GRADE------B-
Vivien Leigh stands out in a large cast in the Stanley Kramer film SHIP OF FOOLS (1965), as a divorced wealthy woman searching for love aboard a ocean liner filled with delusional people and hundreds of refugees from Mexico going to Europe, just prior to WWII. She becomes slightly entangled with a drunken, coarse Lee Marvin as a past his prime baseball player, and other subplots include an illicit affair between the doctor Oscar Werner and a political prisoner Simone Signoret, the most touching story. George Segal and Elizabeth Ashley play a mismatched romantic couple who squabble a lot. Michael Dunn feels like a Greek chorus character, making dramatic comments to the camera. GRADE-----B-
George Cukor's film TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT (1972) is an eccentric, quirky experience, headed by a leading performance by Maggie Smith, who is all mannerism and affectations, but as usual, she is something to see. (She was an Oscar Nominee, and the film won for Best Costumes.)(She should/could have played AUNTIE MAME!) The plot has her trying to raise ransom money for an ex-lover who has been kidnapped, and she forces her conservative nephew to assist her running around Europe. The film, based on a Graham Greene novel, is leisurely, yet at the same time feels frenetic, and the time lapses are unclear and somewhat confusing. The costumes and sets are creative and unusual, and the other actors (Alec McCowan, Cindy Williams, Lou Gossett Jr.) are fine, but the film leaves you with a shrug-- it's colorfully exotic at times, but unsatisfying. GRADE----------C+
THE WHALES OF AUGUST (1987) features some fine subtle performances by mature actors Lillian Gish, Bette Davis, Ann Southern, Harry Carey Jr, and Vincent Price. Gish and a blind Davis are sisters needing increasing care, and Price is a charming aristocrat trying to seduce them into travel or at least into their lives. Southern plays their exuberant old friend, and received an Oscar nomination for her efforts. The action all takes place in a summer home--it was based on a stage play, and the total effort is pleasant, if underwhelming. GRADE--------C+
Monday, June 29, 2015
Melissa McCarthy in SPY, THE OVERNIGHT, FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD, PITCH PERFECT 2, SAN ANDREAS, SAINT LAURANT, plus THE SEARCH (1948), THE GROUP (1966)........
The 2015 Seattle International Film Festival is officially over, but many films are now showing up for regular runs, and I'm catching up on some I missed. The brilliant comedy adventure film from the 2014 SIFF called THE 100 YEAR OLD MAN WHO CLIMBED OUT THE WINDOW AND DISAPPEARED is a witty Swedish film based on an international best seller that packs a lot of laughs and adventure and entertainment into its two hours, and its still playing at the Crest this week.
The intriguing, if flawed, THE WOLFPACK is at SIFF EGYPTIAN, and ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL is playing all over town. Here's what I've seen in the last couple weeks.
When the script is good, Melissa McCarthy works her special magic, and this film, SPY, a spoof of secret agent thrillers, allows her to create some of the funniest moments she's ever been in. She works for the CIA inside on a computer helping field agents escape from danger--her favorite is a spy played by a suave Jude Law. When he goes missing, she volunteers to go deep undercover, since she is the only uncompromised agent left on the team. No one is going to suspect an overweight, middle aged "housewife" as a field spy, and many laughs are milked from that situation. Fortunately, director Paul Feig (BRIDESMAIDS) has a great story and script to back up the situations Allison Janney is a hoot playing her boss, Miranda Hart (CALL THE MIDWIFE) is her goofy best friend, Jason Stratham spoofs his own tough guy image with some hilarious incompetence, and Rose Byrne plays a nasty baddie--all of them to great effect. SPY is a most satisfying and funny spy thriller. GRADE------B+
SIFF 2015 closed with an edgy adult sex comedy that I missed, but recently saw at a screening. It is very challenging for most audiences, to be sure. There were moments when people were squirming all around me as THE OVERNIGHT was playing. I loved the fact that it takes you places that most "sex" comedies refuse to go, dealing with swinging sex, homosexuality, full frontal nudity, masturbation, anal sex discussions and other "no-no's" for normal movie goers. I enjoyed it for being right out there without resorting to gross juvenile humor. Two couples each with a young child get together for a dinner that lasts all night, and what a night it is. NOT FOR EVERYONE, but if you are game, it is witty, clever fun. GRADE--------B+
The good news and the bad news: As interesting as she is in the new version of FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD, Carey Mulligan IS NO JULIE CHRISTIE, who starred in the superior 1967 version directed by John Schleshinger (MIDNIGHT COWBOY 1969). In fact, although they all have their moments, sheep farmer Matthias Schoenaerts looks good but lacks gravitas, the mature suitor Michael Sheen falls to spark, and good looking soldier Tom Sturridge is just a pretty face. They are no match for the powerful men from 1967--Alan Bates, Peter Finch and Terrance Stamp. Part of the problem may lay in the new script which quickly streamlines the novel into 2 tight hours, deleting many small details and plot turns, and makes it hard to realize the passage of time. In 1967, the film clocked in at 2 hours and 45 minutes, which included more details and more interesting characterizations that made it more powerful. If you have never seen the Christie version, or the BBC TV version from a few years back, either, this MADDING CROWD is still worth seeing for some lovely photography and some different characterizations, and the Thomas Hardy classic story is still quite powerful. GRADE--------B
The special effects are even more awesome, and watching people getting eaten by dinosaurs is still a thrill, but as hard as JURASSIC WORLD works to impress you, it is still the same old story from JURASSIC PARK and its two sequels--innocent folks disobey rules and find themselves threatened by out of control dinosaurs. One of those dinos is a genetically altered, larger and smarter than usual creature who is basically just a killing machine. Goodbye bad guys, goodbye stupid guys. Vincent D'Onofrio and Bryce Dallas Howard have their moments, but beefy Chris Pratt commands control of the picture by a mile. If you get a large popcorn to go with it you will have some fun, in spite of some "seen it all before" moments. GRADE--------B-
PITCH PERFECT 2 tries hard to be different from the original PP 1, and in many ways it is, with some great gags, clever singing and zinger jokes. But again (see JURASSIC WORLD above) we have seen it all before. So just set your sights low, buy the giant popcorn, and enjoy on that level. I did especially like Rebel Wilson, who also manages to steal this movie as well as the first. I would love to see her headline her own comedy. GRADE---------B-
The cast is decent and the special effects and photography are excellent, but SAN ANDREAS is full of faults, pun intended. Dwayne "THE ROCK" Johnson stars as a search and rescue helicopter pilot who spends the first 10 minutes trying to rescue a young woman who was a bad bad driver to begin with and manages to fly over the cliff while being distracted by her cell phone. When the earthquakes begin in earnest in Los Angeles, what does Johnson's character do? He spends all his time trying to rescue his nearly ex wife from the roof of a high rise that amazingly, is still barely standing amidst the flattened downtown LA scene, then high tails it to San Francisco to try to find his missing daughter amidst the devastation and flattened buildings there. She, in the meantime is busy trying to save and protect a rather dubious possible "date" and his younger brother--the two brothers seeming to have zero survival skills. Yes, the plot is a big problem in this disaster film, but if you relish seeing LA and SFO slipping away towards the Pacific, than this is the (popcorn) film for you. The film ends with a splendid, appropriate version of California Dreamin'. GRADE-----C+
What should have been a wild, decadent, colorful film of his life in fashion, becomes a draggy, dull, druggie film about his life of drug addiction in SAINT LAURANT. The lead actor Gaspard Ulliel certainly looks and acts right, but the film is presented almost in a haze, with no clarity, point of view or irony. Back in 1970, Helmut Berger (GARDEN OF FINZI-CONTINIS, SECRET OF DORIAN GRAY) was a young handsome hunk similar to Ulliel, and here he plays Yves Saint Laurant as an old man--hardly recognizable and completely uninteresting. The fashion highlight comes with a fashion show from the 1970's, but is presented in split screen---possibly 8 to 12 small images at the same time, and I couldn't see what any of them were about. I knew so little about him, and after 2 1/2 hours of film I still don't know him or like him. What a wasted effort. GRADE------D+
_____________________________
Viewed on DVD or TV------
Back when I was about 11 or 12, I remember watching with my father on TV, a film THE SEARCH (1948) and we were both mesmerized by this moving, simple story of a young boy being helped in his search to find his mother after World War II by a soldier in Germany played by Montgomery Clift. I finally saw it again last week and I'm grateful that after more than 50 years, to realize that back then, I had such good taste in film. Director Fred Zimmerman was an Oscar nominee, as was Clift, and the film ended up winning the Oscar for best story, and a special Oscar for child actor Ivan Jandl. Born in Czechoslovakia, he suffered from polio at a young age, before finally being selected by Zimmerman to star in the film. Politics prevented him from continuing his film career in the US, despite many offers, and he made only 3 other Czech film after that as a young teen. He died at the age of 50 from complications of diabetes. It's a moving and memorable film, and I hope you will take the time to track it down from Netflix or your library (where I rented it). GRADE--------A
It seems now to be ahead of it's time, but a recent viewing of THE GROUP (1966) based on a novel by Mary McCarthy about six college graduate friends who splinter off after a 1933 Vassar graduation to vastly different careers and life styles proved to be compelling and profoundly effective soap opera. Director Sidney Lumet gives them all nearly equal time to tell their stories, although some are more effective than others. Joanna Pettet is the first to marry, and along with her philandering playwright husband Larry Hagman get much of the screen time until tragedy affects their story. Joan Hackett and Shirley Knight make the most of their dramatic scenes, both of them involved with untrustworthy men. Jessica Walter plays a flamboyant gossip writer, and Elizabeth Hartman plays a mousy housewife. The strongest character is played by Candice Bergman as a secure, proud lesbian, but it feels like the majority of her part, relegated to the first few scenes and the last few, were cut from the film. Still, she dominates in the finale. Although it is 2 1/2 hours long, the film zooms by and kept me engaged to the end. GRADE-------B+
The film noir thriller MYSTERY STREET (1950) directed by John Sturges features a young Ricardo Montelban as a detective trying to discover, in documentary style, the identity for the bones discovered on the beach. The trail leads to an innocent man and a crafty land lady (Elsa Lanchester). Nice style, photography and story. GRADE----B+
Film noir thriller 99 RIVER STREET (1953) has John Payne as an ex boxer, now a taxi driver, who discovers his wife is having an affair with a jewel thief. Effective Evelyn Keyes is a friend trying to help him, and the film generates lots of suspense when the wife turns up dead. GRADE----B+
Complex thriller BORDER INCIDENT (1949) about illegal Mexicans trying to escape to the US (shockingly contemporary!) has Ricardo Montalban and George Murphy as special Mexican and U.S. agents trying to close down the organization that prey on these illegals. Anthony Mann directs in a solid, forthright manner, and there are some cruel, violent scenes. GRADE-------B
Lightweight, charming film THE MATING OF MILLIE (1948) has Evelyn Keyes playing a stern, single Human Resources director of a large department store, who finds she wants to adopt an orphaned child in her apartment complex, but first she must find a husband. Enter Glenn Ford, who is determined to remain single, but is willing to help her loosen up. Ending is no surprise, but the characters are delightful. GRADE-------B-
Joan Crawford is the over baked star of this melodrama QUEEN BEE (1955) about a Southern aristocrat who tries to manipulate those family members and friends around her. Not campy enough to be amusing, not good enough to be a minor gem, but the actors, including Barry Sullivan, John Ireland, Betsey Palmer and Fay Wray, as well as Crawford, keep it watchable. GRADE----C+
DON'T MISS top films from 2015 SIFF----see previous blog.
The intriguing, if flawed, THE WOLFPACK is at SIFF EGYPTIAN, and ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL is playing all over town. Here's what I've seen in the last couple weeks.
When the script is good, Melissa McCarthy works her special magic, and this film, SPY, a spoof of secret agent thrillers, allows her to create some of the funniest moments she's ever been in. She works for the CIA inside on a computer helping field agents escape from danger--her favorite is a spy played by a suave Jude Law. When he goes missing, she volunteers to go deep undercover, since she is the only uncompromised agent left on the team. No one is going to suspect an overweight, middle aged "housewife" as a field spy, and many laughs are milked from that situation. Fortunately, director Paul Feig (BRIDESMAIDS) has a great story and script to back up the situations Allison Janney is a hoot playing her boss, Miranda Hart (CALL THE MIDWIFE) is her goofy best friend, Jason Stratham spoofs his own tough guy image with some hilarious incompetence, and Rose Byrne plays a nasty baddie--all of them to great effect. SPY is a most satisfying and funny spy thriller. GRADE------B+
SIFF 2015 closed with an edgy adult sex comedy that I missed, but recently saw at a screening. It is very challenging for most audiences, to be sure. There were moments when people were squirming all around me as THE OVERNIGHT was playing. I loved the fact that it takes you places that most "sex" comedies refuse to go, dealing with swinging sex, homosexuality, full frontal nudity, masturbation, anal sex discussions and other "no-no's" for normal movie goers. I enjoyed it for being right out there without resorting to gross juvenile humor. Two couples each with a young child get together for a dinner that lasts all night, and what a night it is. NOT FOR EVERYONE, but if you are game, it is witty, clever fun. GRADE--------B+
The good news and the bad news: As interesting as she is in the new version of FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD, Carey Mulligan IS NO JULIE CHRISTIE, who starred in the superior 1967 version directed by John Schleshinger (MIDNIGHT COWBOY 1969). In fact, although they all have their moments, sheep farmer Matthias Schoenaerts looks good but lacks gravitas, the mature suitor Michael Sheen falls to spark, and good looking soldier Tom Sturridge is just a pretty face. They are no match for the powerful men from 1967--Alan Bates, Peter Finch and Terrance Stamp. Part of the problem may lay in the new script which quickly streamlines the novel into 2 tight hours, deleting many small details and plot turns, and makes it hard to realize the passage of time. In 1967, the film clocked in at 2 hours and 45 minutes, which included more details and more interesting characterizations that made it more powerful. If you have never seen the Christie version, or the BBC TV version from a few years back, either, this MADDING CROWD is still worth seeing for some lovely photography and some different characterizations, and the Thomas Hardy classic story is still quite powerful. GRADE--------B
The special effects are even more awesome, and watching people getting eaten by dinosaurs is still a thrill, but as hard as JURASSIC WORLD works to impress you, it is still the same old story from JURASSIC PARK and its two sequels--innocent folks disobey rules and find themselves threatened by out of control dinosaurs. One of those dinos is a genetically altered, larger and smarter than usual creature who is basically just a killing machine. Goodbye bad guys, goodbye stupid guys. Vincent D'Onofrio and Bryce Dallas Howard have their moments, but beefy Chris Pratt commands control of the picture by a mile. If you get a large popcorn to go with it you will have some fun, in spite of some "seen it all before" moments. GRADE--------B-
PITCH PERFECT 2 tries hard to be different from the original PP 1, and in many ways it is, with some great gags, clever singing and zinger jokes. But again (see JURASSIC WORLD above) we have seen it all before. So just set your sights low, buy the giant popcorn, and enjoy on that level. I did especially like Rebel Wilson, who also manages to steal this movie as well as the first. I would love to see her headline her own comedy. GRADE---------B-
The cast is decent and the special effects and photography are excellent, but SAN ANDREAS is full of faults, pun intended. Dwayne "THE ROCK" Johnson stars as a search and rescue helicopter pilot who spends the first 10 minutes trying to rescue a young woman who was a bad bad driver to begin with and manages to fly over the cliff while being distracted by her cell phone. When the earthquakes begin in earnest in Los Angeles, what does Johnson's character do? He spends all his time trying to rescue his nearly ex wife from the roof of a high rise that amazingly, is still barely standing amidst the flattened downtown LA scene, then high tails it to San Francisco to try to find his missing daughter amidst the devastation and flattened buildings there. She, in the meantime is busy trying to save and protect a rather dubious possible "date" and his younger brother--the two brothers seeming to have zero survival skills. Yes, the plot is a big problem in this disaster film, but if you relish seeing LA and SFO slipping away towards the Pacific, than this is the (popcorn) film for you. The film ends with a splendid, appropriate version of California Dreamin'. GRADE-----C+
What should have been a wild, decadent, colorful film of his life in fashion, becomes a draggy, dull, druggie film about his life of drug addiction in SAINT LAURANT. The lead actor Gaspard Ulliel certainly looks and acts right, but the film is presented almost in a haze, with no clarity, point of view or irony. Back in 1970, Helmut Berger (GARDEN OF FINZI-CONTINIS, SECRET OF DORIAN GRAY) was a young handsome hunk similar to Ulliel, and here he plays Yves Saint Laurant as an old man--hardly recognizable and completely uninteresting. The fashion highlight comes with a fashion show from the 1970's, but is presented in split screen---possibly 8 to 12 small images at the same time, and I couldn't see what any of them were about. I knew so little about him, and after 2 1/2 hours of film I still don't know him or like him. What a wasted effort. GRADE------D+
_____________________________
Viewed on DVD or TV------
Back when I was about 11 or 12, I remember watching with my father on TV, a film THE SEARCH (1948) and we were both mesmerized by this moving, simple story of a young boy being helped in his search to find his mother after World War II by a soldier in Germany played by Montgomery Clift. I finally saw it again last week and I'm grateful that after more than 50 years, to realize that back then, I had such good taste in film. Director Fred Zimmerman was an Oscar nominee, as was Clift, and the film ended up winning the Oscar for best story, and a special Oscar for child actor Ivan Jandl. Born in Czechoslovakia, he suffered from polio at a young age, before finally being selected by Zimmerman to star in the film. Politics prevented him from continuing his film career in the US, despite many offers, and he made only 3 other Czech film after that as a young teen. He died at the age of 50 from complications of diabetes. It's a moving and memorable film, and I hope you will take the time to track it down from Netflix or your library (where I rented it). GRADE--------A
It seems now to be ahead of it's time, but a recent viewing of THE GROUP (1966) based on a novel by Mary McCarthy about six college graduate friends who splinter off after a 1933 Vassar graduation to vastly different careers and life styles proved to be compelling and profoundly effective soap opera. Director Sidney Lumet gives them all nearly equal time to tell their stories, although some are more effective than others. Joanna Pettet is the first to marry, and along with her philandering playwright husband Larry Hagman get much of the screen time until tragedy affects their story. Joan Hackett and Shirley Knight make the most of their dramatic scenes, both of them involved with untrustworthy men. Jessica Walter plays a flamboyant gossip writer, and Elizabeth Hartman plays a mousy housewife. The strongest character is played by Candice Bergman as a secure, proud lesbian, but it feels like the majority of her part, relegated to the first few scenes and the last few, were cut from the film. Still, she dominates in the finale. Although it is 2 1/2 hours long, the film zooms by and kept me engaged to the end. GRADE-------B+
The film noir thriller MYSTERY STREET (1950) directed by John Sturges features a young Ricardo Montelban as a detective trying to discover, in documentary style, the identity for the bones discovered on the beach. The trail leads to an innocent man and a crafty land lady (Elsa Lanchester). Nice style, photography and story. GRADE----B+
Film noir thriller 99 RIVER STREET (1953) has John Payne as an ex boxer, now a taxi driver, who discovers his wife is having an affair with a jewel thief. Effective Evelyn Keyes is a friend trying to help him, and the film generates lots of suspense when the wife turns up dead. GRADE----B+
Complex thriller BORDER INCIDENT (1949) about illegal Mexicans trying to escape to the US (shockingly contemporary!) has Ricardo Montalban and George Murphy as special Mexican and U.S. agents trying to close down the organization that prey on these illegals. Anthony Mann directs in a solid, forthright manner, and there are some cruel, violent scenes. GRADE-------B
Lightweight, charming film THE MATING OF MILLIE (1948) has Evelyn Keyes playing a stern, single Human Resources director of a large department store, who finds she wants to adopt an orphaned child in her apartment complex, but first she must find a husband. Enter Glenn Ford, who is determined to remain single, but is willing to help her loosen up. Ending is no surprise, but the characters are delightful. GRADE-------B-
Joan Crawford is the over baked star of this melodrama QUEEN BEE (1955) about a Southern aristocrat who tries to manipulate those family members and friends around her. Not campy enough to be amusing, not good enough to be a minor gem, but the actors, including Barry Sullivan, John Ireland, Betsey Palmer and Fay Wray, as well as Crawford, keep it watchable. GRADE----C+
DON'T MISS top films from 2015 SIFF----see previous blog.
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