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+
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