The British film industry loves World War II films and TV, and fortunately they do it very well. Case in point is the new, small gem called THEIR FINEST, set during the bombing of London during WWII when many beleaguered citizens are just trying to go about their normal lives under dangerous war conditions, including the creative talent of the British film industry. A young woman is hired to work on a studio film to bulk up women's dialogue, and she's pretty good, but faces a lot of prejudicial discrimination at the studio. The film is comic and romantic (there are some love conflicts) and suspenseful, and the mundane everyday activities become very fascinating and dramatic. (The film plays a lot like the PBS Masterpiece Theatre production of HOME FIRES currently showing on Sunday evenings. ) My main objection to this fascinating slice of life is that the film was projected very darkly--nearly every scene seems filtered through a night time screen, or in a bomb shelter, or at night. It was difficult at times to see the faces of the characters. I don't know if that was the director's intent, but I always feel that if you go to all the trouble, time and money to make a feature film, that you would want your audience to be able to clearly watch it. GRADE----------A-
This new fantasy comedic/suspense drama is clearly the most unique film of the year so far. GET OUT features an interracial couple that goes to visit her parents on their rich country estate for the weekend, and the black man starts to get weird vibes from mostly white inhabitants, but also from the few black characters--from the hired help and other guests during a large party. The film is very curious and suspenseful, but my only main complaint is the denouncement which, although satisfying, feels like a let down which degenerates into violence. Maybe you could say this is a cross between GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER and THE STEPFORD WIFES, but without the cloying condescending feeling of GUESS WHO'S.....Still, GET OUT is very creative and engrossing and the cast is very good. GRADE---------B+
There are a lot of problems with the new science fiction film GHOST IN THE SHELL, which is based on the Japanese animated film from 1995, but being dull is not one of them. The gung ho Scarlet Johannson portrays the main character who is "reborn" as a human robot--part machine with the mind of a human, and she is confused by conflicting memories of her past. She works for the company that created her, and seeks to find an evil corporation that is trying to infiltrate and destroy said company. The film is set far into the future, and has a unique set design that reminded me of a more intricate remake of BLADERUNNER 1982. There are some giant plot holes and sometimes it feels the rules keep changing from scene to scene, but I was engaged and appreciated the special effects and the actors, including well known Japanese actor Beat Takeshi Kitano (you'll at least recognize his grizzled face), newcomer Pilou Ashaet as her hunky assistant, and Oscar winner French actress Juliette Binoche as her doctor. GRADE----------B
Based on a best selling Dave Eggars novel, THE CIRCLE is a science fiction novel about privacy in the future. A young woman played by Emma Watson (HARRY POTTER fame) joins this high tech social progressive company, soon to find her self rapidly promoted, and offered a chance to be completely transparent to the world. She soon realizes that that is not always a good thing. Tom Hanks plays the head of the company who befriends her. I've not read the book, so I was engrossed in the story, and enjoyed some of the ethical dilemmas that occur. In one of his last films, the chameleon like actor Bill Pullman plays her father--as usual I didn't recognize him until the final credits. The film feels a bit underwhelming and anti climactic, but I had a good enough time. GRADE------B
This leisurely fascinating documentary features 6 or 7 cats that hang around the ancient city of Istanbul--they represent the thousands of homeless cats that the citizens put up with ---feeding them, playing with, and petting them as they roam the neighborhoods. The photography in KEDI is beautiful, the music score is exotic, the dozens of cats in the background are lovely and cute to watch. Not much happens in this film, and nothing very new is learned, but the old city Istanbul is intriguing, the film is easy to watch, and most definitely, this is for CAT (KEDI) fans. GRADE------B
There are some grotesque plot devices that might break the mood for you in the intense film DON'T BREATHE, but basically this is a straight forward thriller about three stubborn and spoiled young adults who decide to break into a house in a derelict part of Detroit and steal a small fortune from a blind vet. This proves to be harder than they thought, and the blind vet is, of course, no fool, as he can maneuver better in the nighttime darkness than the thieves. Unfortunately, this film has four main characters who do not claim our sympathies since the actions of all four are rather deplorable and cruel. Still, the film is very intense and watchable, and in spite of being a decent popcorn movie, you won't feel much like eating. GRADE-----------B-
I've seen a lot of WWII films about Nazi occupation, and this one is very decent, if a bit civilized. Jessica Chastain portrays THE ZOOKEEPERS WIFE, an animal lover who is devastated when Poland falls to the Nazi occupation, and her animals are shipped away to German zoos or killed outright. She and her husband offer to start a pig breeding farm to supply pork for the war effort but in reality they are appalled by what is happening to the Jews in their country, and use the zoo to hide and transfer Jewish inmates to safety. The film looks good, the actors are fine and the plot keeps moving without becoming saccharine. It may be a poor man's SCHINDLER'S LIST but there are worse problems a WWII film can have. GRADE-------------B-
Pleasant enough film of child genius being fought over by her uncle who has raised her since her mother's suicide, and her estranged grandmother who was unwilling to raise her then, but now wants to cultivate the child's incredible mind. GIFTED has a charming cast with Chris Evans as the uncle, McKenny Grace as the gifted child, Jenny Slade as a teacher, Octavia Spencer as her caretaker, and Lindsay Duncan as the grandmother. GRADE---------B-
Anne Hathaway has a lot of fun playing a party girl in New York City who is kicked out by her boyfriend Dan Stevens because she parties all night and sleeps all day and has no job. She ends up in her old home town and reconnects with an old school friend Jason Sudeikis, then discovers that a horrible monster COLOSSAL in Seoul seems to be connected to her movements, causing death and destruction in the morning whenever she has a night of drinking. It's a clever conceit, but the film drags on and on in a predictable manner, the only explanation coming at the end, and it is unconvincing and disappointing. GRADE----------C+
Made in 2015 but only recently released in the US is the bizarre Polish film THE LURE which got mixed reviews at SIFF 2016 from various film goers. This science fiction fantasy musical (!) film features female mermaids who come ashore to mate with humans, but there are many rules that must be followed for successful mating to occur. Unfortunately, the rules for such mating seem to change from scene to scene, and the motivations of these undersea creatures seem to become murky, to say the least. The special effects/costumes are quite sensual and effective in a spooky manner, and the characters speak in metaphors when they are not breaking into song. (The "enchanted" men appear in a nightclub cabaret band of sorts, and the mermaids fit right into the milieu) When jealousy occurs between the two mermaids, violence erupts, but again, what exactly are the rules and consequences? By the end I was frustrated and confused although the film is curious enough to sustain interest most of the time. GRADE------------C+
A new film by Brit Terence Davies, A QUIET PASSION, about the life and times of poet Emily Dickinson is a total and frustrating bore. The austere film making which worked well in his previous films SUNSET SONG 2015, DEEP BLUE SEA 2011 and HOUSE OF MIRTH 2000 seems dull and uninspiring here, and Cynthia Nixon (from TV's SEX AND THE CITY) is so stringent and angry throughout the film that it is hard to muster much sympathy, even when some lovely poems are read on the soundtrack. The long tiresome film is a chore to watch, and I wanted to exit the theatre after 20 minutes, but didn't because the screening was packed and I was in the middle of a long row. There were a lot of nasty complaints overheard in the aisle as we departed. GRADE--------D
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THE FOLLOWING FILMS WERE VIEWED ON DVD------
MAGGIE'S PLAN 2016--The disarming charms of Greta Gerwig enliven the romantic comedy drama--she wants to have a baby on her own, but then falls for a married man (Ethan Hawke), causing him to divorce his intelligent wife (a fabulous Julianne Moore), then has second thoughts. The film feels much like a Woody Allen film, set in academia, and the characters act obtusely without much considered emotion. Written and directed by Rebecca Miller. GRADE-----B+
SUMMERTIME 1955--Katherine Hepburn is a single woman on her way to becoming an "old maid" when she unexpectedly falls in love with an older Italian man against her better judgment. The affair perpetuates the myth that Italian men cannot be faithful, and/or need to have the love of a mistress as well as a wife. David Lean directed, and Hepburn is fascinating to watch, natch. The photography lovingly details the glories of Venice in the 1950's. GRADE-----B+
FAMILY PLOT 1976--Alfred Hitchcock's last film is not one of his classics, but contains many of his trademark pleasures and suspense twists. The often campy actress Karen Black is nicely restrained as the mystery blond wigged kidnapper and she makes a good foil to the smoothly sinister William Devane as her partner. They cross paths with a wacky fake medium (a wacky Barbara Harris) and her cab driving boy friend (Bruce Dern) who are on the trail of a lost heir to a fortune. That talky scene starts FAMILY PLOT--unusual because Hitchcock was usually a very visual story teller, but once that is set up, the visuals, sexy humor and suspense take over and the film swishes along in classic fashion. I hadn't seen this film for over 20 years and it seems better to me and more well constructed, than ever. GRADE--------B
MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT 1959--The first of three Kim Novak films I watched in a row. Written by Paddy Chayefsky, Novak plays a young divorced woman who falls into an affair with her much older boss, played subtly by Fredric March, and they must battle the ageism and sexism of their friends and family. GRADE------B
JEANNE EAGELS 1957--Novak stars in this film biography of theatre and silent film star Jeanne Eagels, who got on the fast lane to fame but didn't learn how to handle the attention, burning on drugs and alcohol by age 39. Jeff Chandler was good as the Italian average Joe who tried to love her, but she kept rejecting him when something better came along. (Every time I see Chandler I keep thinking of him as an Indian--he was so effective in many Westerns in his career.) GRADE-----B
A MURDER OF QUALITY 1991--A stand alone murder mystery from the BBC based on a novel by John le Carre, with Denholm Elliott as George Smiley, and one of the final appearances by the great Glenda Jackson, with Joss Ackland, Billie Whitelaw and a young Christian Bale. GRADE------------B
PAL JOEY 1957--Kim Novak starred with Frank Sinatra and Rita Hayworth in this wide screen technicolor trifle. She plays a good girl trying to keep Sinatra out of her panties. This is a film for the Trump/Fox generation, where men can come on to woman continually in an obnoxious manner just because they can, and it should all be OK. There's a lot of sleazy moments in this film, but it is redeemed, barely, by some wonderful classic songs, including THE LADY IS A TRAMP, MY FUNNY VALENTINE, and BEWITCHED BOTHERED AND BEWILDERED. GRADE------------B-
LAZY EYE 2016--A lonely, partnered gay man meets up with his ex-lover 15 years after their break up and tries to figure out what went wrong in this basically two character chamber drama which explores sexual attraction, jealousy, loyalty and friendship, in a small cabin near Joshua Tree California. In a small way, the film works, and the two leads are convincing. GRADE-----B-
WILD IN THE STREETS--1968--This independent, cheaply made drama caused a stir upon release with the wild premise that 14 year old teens should be given the vote, and "old" people over the age of 35 should be forced to retire. The film features a lot of music, the only memorable song is THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME which was a hit for Paul Revere and the Raiders in 1971 and again for the Ramones in 1993. The cast is willing, including Christopher Jones, Shelley Winters, Richard Pryor, Hal Holbrook and Ed Begley, but the script is not developed, and the dialogue borders on camp, but not in a good way. GRADE--------C+
Other film that I watched were made for TV by the BBC. They included 11 episodes of FOYLE'S WAR, at 90 minutes each, 3 episodes of Agatha Christie's MARPLE also 90 minutes each, and about 12 episodes of MIDSUMER MURDERS at 90 some minutes each. Most of them were of superior quality for television in general.
I have usually watched that much programming per month, I just don't write about it because this blog is especially for FILM, although much of what I watch is better than about half the films I see. In the previous months I've watched most of Agatha Christies's POIROT series from the BBC. I also almost always watch whatever is on Masterpiece Theatre on Sunday evenings--now I'm involved in CALL THE MIDWIFE as I've watched for several years. Also HOME FIRES and WOLF HALL, and I was a passionate watcher of DOWNTON ABBEY for all of it's run.
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Starting this week begins the 2017 version of the SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL. I will write briefly of the films screened each week and give more info as each film opens for an official run later in the summer through spring. Because I see about 130 films in the next six weeks, I am going to try to write twice a week, with shorter blogs. Thanks to all my friends and fans for reading.
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