BRING YOUR OWN BRIGADE--Superior documentary about fires two years ago in California (Sunrise (aka Camp Fire) and Malibu). It's a CBS sponsored film so should be showing soon on TV. Stunning footage showing people trapped in burning houses and cars, and later some shown arguing with fire officials about what should be done to prevent this tragedy from happening again! GRADE------------A
PIG--Someone steals the prize truffle hunting pig, and Nicholas Cage moves heaven and hell to find it. Unusual and moving mystery/love story. GRADE----------A
DEAR EVAN HANSON--Excellent film version of smash hit Broadway musical that broke records and won awards just before Covid struck. I'm not sure why many film critics were so venomously negative--it seemed to really divide the consensus, but for those who love good music, a strong story line about mental health issues including suicide and drug usage with high school teens, fine singing and acting with a cast that includes Amy Adams, Julianne Moore and Ben Platt and some very moving plot lines, this is top notch, without being mawkish or overly sentimentalized. Of course, if you don't like musicals........... GRADE-------------A-
EVERYBODY'S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE----This is another film version of a London smash hit musical that was doing bang up business just before Covid, so we are grateful to have it in theatres and on Amazon'Prime Video. Jamie is a motivated high school senior who announces (via song and dance of course) that his goal as a graduate is to become a...............drag queen, complete with some shiny red heels that his mother buys for his birthday. Naturally things don't go smoothly for him but the songs are all lovely and spirited, the actors including Sarah Lancashire, Richard E. Grant and especially Max Harwood as Jamie are inspired. Again, critics are split as LGBQT+ themes are bound to do, but I think the film will win you over. GRADE-----B+
STILLWATER--Suggested by a similar story, this new crime drama by director Tom McCarthy (SPOTLIGHT) features Matt Damon as a countrified blue collar worker who travels several times to France to help get his daughter (Abigail Breslin) out of prison. In spite of the fact that names and events have been changed, the film is engrossing and logical and suspenseful. GRADE------------B+
RESPECT--Based on the life of singer Aretha Franklin, this musical drama is all about Jennifer Hudson and how she does Franklin proud--Franklin had wanted Hudson to portray her in a movie before she died. The fine cast also includes Marlon Wayan, Audra McDonald, Forest Whitaker, Mary J. Blige and others, and the music and drama makes for entertaining viewing. GRADE----------B+
THE PROTEGE--As I watched this entertaining action thriller which stars Maggie Q, Micheal Keaton and Samuel L. Jackson I kept thinking that it plays a lot like a James Bond thriller. When I got home I looked up the director Martin Campbell, and sure enough, he directed two of them: GOLDENEYE 1995 and CASINO ROYALE 2006. GRADE-------------B+
NO TIME TO DIE--The new James Bond thriller is finally here after an 18 month delay due to covid. This is in a serious mood, still lots of action and chases, and it seems Bond has finally found love at long last. But of course nothing lasts for Bond, and soon he's finding that even close associates are not always truthful. Several explosions shocked me, the car chases are dangerous and the plot was sometimes confusing. I had questions about a number of plot devices, but Bond is still one of the more dynamic film series out there, and in spite of a bladder busting 2 3/4 hours running time, I enjoyed the experience, and look forward for the next installment which the final title card promises, though not with Daniel Craig, I assume. GRADE---------------B+
THE CARD COUNTER--Here's another intense, serious film about male redemption from Paul Schrader, which features Oscar Isaac, Tiffany Haddick and Willem Defoe. GRADE--------B+
SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE 10 RINGS--This new Marvel film based on a comic book character has the distinguished feature of featuring a nearly all Asian cast, with the great Tony Yeung, Michelle Yeoh, Awkwafina, and a fine new comer Simu Liu as he learns things about a superpower that belong to his father (Yeung) but it is about to be used for the wrong purpose. It's a very entertaining pop corn movie. GRADE---------B+
COPSHOP--Fast action highlights this drama about the bloody taking of an isolated police station that "hosts" a professional hitman, (Gerard Butler) and his hit, a small time criminal (Frank Grillo). But the film is stolen by newcomer Alexis Louder who plays a young honest, hardworking cop who is nobody's fool. GRADE------------B+
THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE--The strong leads, especially Jessica Chastain, make this biofilm about televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Baker and her makeup, feel like a fascinating dose of history and camp come to life. GRADE-----------B
NIGHT HOUSE--Rebecca Hall is the main reason for seeing this mystery, suspense film about a widowed woman who realizes the house her husband just finished for her before his suicide may be haunted, and starts to reveal things she didn't know about husband. Hall takes us down many dark and emotional paths. GRADE---------------B-
FREE GUY---Based on a video game, presented like a live action cartoon, and reminiscent of the Jim Carrey film TRUMAN SHOW where the main character is just a video character, the film is likeable at times and amusing at times but often becomes tedious and repeats itself. GRADE-----------B-
THE GREEN KNIGHT--This unusually moody and lovely to look at film based on an Arthurian legend has the hero Dev Patel challenging the green knight to a duel where he beheads the knight, and then a year later must let the green knight have a chance to knock off his head. Hardly a fair fight, I'd say, since the green knight is not exactly human, but the film has it's mystic, playful , suspenseful and erotic charms and left our movie party with plenty to discuss over lunch--along the lines of "what the hell was that all about?" GRADE-------- B-
OLD--A seemingly simple story has several families trapped on a deserted beach where the aging process is sped up to cover a lifetime in 24 hours. The intriguing premise holds the film together until the creepy resolution. GRADE-------B-
JUNGLE CRUISE---Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt and Jack Whitehall have some clever and amusing chemistry together as they set off down the Amazon river in search of a tree of life, but the film turns into a chaotic chase with ghosts and spirits and special effects by the end. GRADE--------B-
SUICIDE SQUAD--Thankfully this violent and bloody cartoonish film has a strong sense of humor or it would have been hard to take. Bad superheros are sent to an island to try to stop the overtaking of the world by a super villian who creates an evil giant one eyed star fish (no kidding--think giant marshmellow man in GHOSTBUSTERS)---yep this is a goofy film. GRADE--------B-
BOB ROSS: JOY OF PAINTING--Interesting documentary about the PBS painter with an large following and how he lost his fortune to his partners. GRADE---------B-
REMINISCENCE--This sci-fi action, film-noir thriller certainly has a lot of ambitious ideas--mostly about visualizing memories in your mind, but the plot is murky and confusing and ultimately becomes a lot of noise about not much at all. Hugh Jackson, Rebecca Ferguson and Thandiwe (formally Thandie) Newton are all strong characters and the art and set direction are top notch. GRADE--------C+
DON'T BREATHE 2--Stephen Lang is still impressive as the blind but dangerous ex-Marine trying to protect a young girl he saved from a house fire a dozen years earlier, and the first half works well, but the ending becomes tiresome with extended scenes of blood and extreme gore, and overall, this film is not as good as the first surprising film was. GRADE---------C+
NINE DAYS--This modest indie film gets a "B" for effort and plot, but the execution dulls the rest of the this "meaning of life" film and I got bored and restless watching this play out. GRADE-------C+
SNAKE EYES--This mild epic thriller has some moments of fun, but star Henry Golding, who is charming and handsome in other films, appears to be sleepwalking in this one, leaving the supporting cast on their own to steal various scenes from him. And they do. GRADE----------C+
ROAD RUNNER: ANTHONY BOURDAIN--After a best selling cook book, chef Bourdain had the world on a silver platter, then proceeds to piss on it. Knowing in the beginning that he commits suicide over a failed love affair, the scenes of eating exotic food and drink left a sour taste in my mouth, even though the film features many striking locations and other culinary personalities. GRADE-----C
JOE BELL--Based on a true story, a father goes on a walk across country after his gay son is murdered in a hate crime. Despite some strong scenes, the film is unstructured and rather aimless, a disappointment considering the powerful themes it wants to present. GRADE----------C
VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE--Tongue in cheek dialogue keeps this violent and chaotic film from becoming downright disgusting. I still wonder when Tom Hardy and Woody Harrelson transform back and forth from creature to human, what is happening to their clothes? At least the INCREDIBLE HULK has an explanation. This silly, wild film did not satisfy me. No wonder I couldn't remember the earlier film. GRADE--------C
TITANE--This odd French film features a female serial killer who hides from police by pretending to be the long lost son of a firefighter, which gets to be harder with each passing day as she is pregnant, and the tape holding in her breasts and belly is painful to wear. The fire fighter is a macho and delusional character, and the film flirts with lesbian sex, gay sex, incest, fetishes, full nudity and features cruel and bloody scenes of gore and death. It's ugly to watch but certainly not boring. It steals scenes/themes from DEMON SEED, ROSEMARY'S BABY and THE OMEN, predictably so. GRADE--------C-
CANDYMAN--When I heard Jordan Peele, who so brilliantly directed GET OUT and US was the producer and co-writer of this new version, I was intrigued. The set up and first 30 minutes are interesting, but unfortunately the film degenerates into a grotesquely violent and bloody scenes of slit throats and severed limbs, and becomes totally incomprehensible plot wise. And who the hell is the man from the laundry mat? GRADE-----------C-
VINTAGE FILMS ON DVD OR STREAMING ON TV
STAR TREK 2009 (reboot)-Director J.J. Abrams really hit the mark with this new version of STAR TREK by hiring a young cast that looked remarkably like the actors who made the TV version so popular, and setting the film back in time when they were all just starting out. He also jacked up the action and editing to make the film feel fresh while still being true to the origins. GRADE---------A
MARATHON MAN 1976--Director John Schlesinger gives energy and style to this thriller that has an innocent college student becoming involved with his secret agent brother who is on the path of a Nazi war criminal, stolen diamonds, and deceitful dealing. Famous scenes include a deadly attach on Roy Schieder in underwear, a wincing tooth drilling by the evil dentist Laurence Olivier, and Dustin Hoffman running barefoot in New York City for his life. GRADE---------A-
TO BE OR NOT TO BE 1942--Hilarious dark comedy satire on Nazi Germany has an English comedy troupe using their ability to impersonate Nazi officers to thwart plans to turn in Resistance workers in France. Jack Benny plays Hamlet--everytime he starts his speech "to Be Or Not to Be", a young air force pilot (Robert Stack) leaves his front row seat to meet with Benny's wife Carole Lombard, who is attracted to the young pilot. Shot in 1941, the film could be in bad taste by some if it wasn't so clever and funny. Sharply directed by Ernst Lubitsch. GRADE--------A-
BAREFOOT IN THE PARK 1967--An early Neil Simon play becomes a charming comedy about newlyweds Jane Fonda and Robert Redford with Mildred Natwick nearly stealing the show--they try to adjust to married life in the big city with Fonda's mother Natwick close by. GRADE------------B+
BACKFIRE 1950--Virginia Mayo, Gordon MacRae, Vivica Lindfors, Dane Clark star in this convoluted film noir mystery about recovering soldier who is visited one Christmas Eve in hospital by mysterious woman who seems to suggest that his missing best friend may be involved in a murder plot. GRADE-------B+
SCHOOL OF ROCK 2003--Pretending to be a certified substitute teacher, a wild Jack Black hilariously decides this class of elementary school kids from wealthy parents is born to become his back up band, in spite of the prissy principal played amusingly by Joan Cusack. But the film is powered by the manic Black who has never been funnier. GRADE-------------B+
THE BLUE LAMP--1950--Directed by Basil Dearden and featuring a very young Dirk Borgarde, this British film about two young punks who murder a cop during a theatre hold up plays like a police procedural film--dry but effective. With Jack Warner and Bernard Lee. Newly released in Blu Ray. GRADE---------B
CALL NORTHSIDE 777--1948--Based on a true story of trying to release an innocent man from jail, Henry Hathaway directs Jimmy Stewart as a reporter covering the case. Lee J. Cobb is his boss, and Richard Conte is the innocent man. GRADE-------B
ARIZONA 1940-- Early William Holden western (he's nearly unrecognizable) about drifter who tries to help an independent young woman (Jean Arthur) run her cattle ranch but corrupt business man in town has other plans. GRADE--------B
TEXAS 1941 --Another early William Holden western, this time teamed with early Glenn Ford as two roustabout buddys who fall for the same woman (Claire Trevor) and they end up on opposite sides of the law. GRADE-----------------B
ALVEREZ KELLY 1966--William Holden western set during the Civil War. He's hired to move cattle from the Union to the starving confederates, but he wants no part in the war or politics. Richard Widmark plays the confederate Colonel who forces his hand. Also staring Janice Rule and Patrick O'Neal. GRADE--------------B
THE YELLOW ROLLS ROYCE 1964--Three stories about three very different owners of a yellow rolls royce. The first has rich Rex Harrison buying a gift for his wife Jeanne Moreau, who is having an affair with a young officer. Later the car is sold to George C. Scott who has married a trophy wife Shirley MacLaine. She also has an affair while husband is back in USA for business. Later the car is sold to a rich philanthropic widow Ingrid Bergman, who uses the car to help allies in World War II, and wouldn't you know it, has an affair with a freedom fighter Omar Sharif. Predictable at times, but richly filmed and acted and I enjoyed this soap opera very much. Also featured are Art Carney, Alain Delon and Wally Cox. GRADE----------B
VALLEY OF THE DOLLS 1967--Smooth melodrama about 3 young women seeking fame and fortune in the Big Apple is filled with cliches, stylish clothes, traumas---and aside from the continuous playing of the theme sung by Dionne Warwick--there is nothing I much remember from my first screening. This time felt about the same--good song but not much to get excited about. Then I watched it again and felt about the same. Mildly intriguing and there were a few funny lines. So I was surprised when I watched the extras about the cult following this film has, especially among GBLTQ+ communities. The film seems too mild for such excited worship. Oh well, perhaps I'm getting too old to care about a female cat fight in the ladies room! I did appreciate the shadings given to Sharon Tate's character as the beautiful but untalented actress --I'd forgotten she was in it originally. GRADE---------B
DEADLINE AT DAWN 1941--When a young sailor comes back to return some money that a woman has given him, he finds her murdered, and with the help of a weary dance hall girl (Susan Hayward) and a cranky old taxi driver (Paul Lukas) must try to find her murderer before he ships out at dawn. The biggest surprise for me was the sailor played by Bill Williams who was sweet and honest . I don't remember seeing him before, yet discovered he was in quite a few films in the 1940's through 1960's period. He was later married for many years to Perry Mason's secretary played by Barbara Hale. The ending was also a surprise, seeming to come out of nowhere, but made sense. GRADE----------B
HOUSE BY THE RIVER 1950-- Directed by Fritz Lang, this film noir has a demented writer who accidently kills the maid, then asks his brother to help dispose of the body. The film is moody and tense, with strange lumps in a bag floating back and forth in the river, and features Louis Hayword and Jane Wyatt, who is best known for 6 years on TV's Father Knows Best. GRADE-----------B
WORTH 2020--Michael Keaton and Amy Smart work at a law firm that is tasked with placing a financial price on every human killed on 9/11/01. Based on a true story that is both fascinating and grim. GRADE-----------B
FATHER OF THE BRIDE 1950--Spencer Tracey is the put upon father, who makes a lot of bad jokes about how expensive this wedding is becoming. Elizabeth Taylor is radiant as the bride, and Joan Bennett is the mother. Somehow the only scene I remembered from a previous screening was the father being trapped in the kitchen the whole party making different drinks for the mostly male drinkers, and missing his giving of his little speech. Otherwise this film is fairly predictable. GRADE-------B
THE DARK CORNER 1946--Lucille Ball, Clifton Webb, Mark Stevens are directed by Henry Hathaway. Ball plays a secretary trying to help her private PI from corrupt and dangerous art dealers (!) because she just started this job and likes her boss! Lucy is great! in this exciting film noir. GRADE----------B
MADAME 2018--The social class divide of Paris is explored in this comedy-drama. Rich Toni Collette is hosting a dinner party and to avoid 13 guests at the table she enlists the help of her maid Rossy De Palma, who attracts the attention of a single rich man. An interesting situation ensues as Collette and her husband played by Harvey Kietel try to discourage the entanglement. GRADE---------B
DESPERATE 1947--A nifty little film noir of suspense. An honest truck driver foils a gangster's plan to rob a fur store, then has to go on the run from the gangster seeking revenge, and the police who think he was involved . With Steve Brodie, Raymond Burr and Audrey Long. GRADE--------B
CORNERED 1945--Dick Powell is a hard headed jet fighter pilot in WW2. After the war he tries to track down the Nazi collaborator who may have killed his wife. He is helped, sort of, by Walter Slezak and his journey takes him from France to Argentina. I've never seen Powell so hard headed before, and the film noir is quite engrossing. GRADE--------B
THE PHENIX STORY 1955--The fifteen minute interview of "actual" citizens that start the film seems unnecessary but adds to the feeling of a docudrama about a corrupt Southern city that is basically run by gangsters and is heavy on gambling, vice, prostitution. A small group of honest men try to fight back and run a decent lawyer to take control of government, but he is stopped at every turn. The hard hitting action includes racist threats, beatings and murder. Apparently Martin Scorsese considers this one of his top film noir films. Richard Kiley, John McIntire, Kathryn Crosby and Edward Andrews are featured. GRADE----------B
ARMED CAR ROBBERY 1950--An armored car heist that was supposedly well planned goes wrong when a cop is killed, and methodically the police hunt down the four perpetrators. I remember seeing this 8 years ago or so, but found the pacing so compelling that I watched it again. Low budget but effective. GRADE----------B
KAJILIONAIRE 2020--Director Miranda July's droll comedy/drama about a homeless grifter "family"where the youngest woman tries to go her own way. Featuring Debra Winger, Richard Jenkins, Evan Rachel Wood and Gina Rodriguez. GRADE---------B
RED JOAN 2018--Based on true story, in her 80's character played by Judy Dench is arrested and accused of treason from events that happened 50 years earlier when she was a college student and flirted with communism values along with fellow students. Most of the action takes place in the past, so Dench has not much to do but plead with her disgusted lawyer son to represent her. GRADE-----B-
HEATWAVE 1954--AKA HOUSE ACROSS THE LAKE in England--A cold, beautiful woman tries to get a neighbor writer struggling with writer's block to kill her boring husband. Typical film noir plotting with attractive players. GRADE-------B-
GAMBLER AND THE LADY 1952--A social climbing American opens a casino in London, then falls for a "titled" lady, but competing gangsters and her family put up resistance. One of several British film noir films that featured American actor Dane Clark. GRADE-----B-
BAD BLONDE 1953--British film noir--a prize fighter has an affair with his manager's wife, and she wants out of the marriage. Barbara Payton is the steamy star. GRADE-------B-
MAN BAIT 1952--British film noir. Diana Dors acts a lot like Marilyn Monroe. She tries to blackmail her boss and that leads to murder! This is my first DD movie and she's pretty effective. GRADE---B-
STOLEN FACE 1952--British film noir. Plastic surgeon falls for pianist, but she rejects him. He later gives her face to an ex-con, marries her, then finds the pianist wants him back. What to do? Paul Henreid and Lizabeth Scott star. GRADE-------B-
BLACKOUT 1954--Another British film noir with Dane Clark. Just before passing out, he agrees to marry a beautiful woman, then awakes to find blood on his clothes and his supposed father in law has been murdered? He follows clues trying to find the woman and the older man's murderer. There is a surprise ending, but it's pretty convoluted stuff. GRADE----B-
DIAL 1119--1950--Modest film noir about escaped mentally ill serial killer patient who holds a handful of patrons in a bar hostage, waiting for the doctor who put him away. William Conrad has a small early role. GRADE------B-
ROGUE MALE 1977--This BBC TV movie features Peter O'Toole, Harold Pinter, John Standish and Alistair Sims. O'Toole plays a British aristocrat hunter who for sport tracks down Hitler at his mountain resort, but just as he is ready to pull the trigger, he's captured, tortured, thrown down a steep cliff, left for dead, but finally makes an escape back to London, only to find he's the hunted in the big city. Production values are modest, but O'Toole, as always, is fascinating. GRADE---------B-
THE ALPHABET MURDERS 1965--Adapted from the Christie novel THE ABC MURDERS, this is a dull and weird version of Hercule Poirot featuring Tony Randall as the smart detective, but he acts in a buffoonish, comical manner while still being brilliant (!?) Anita Ekberg acts in an annoying manner, as does Robert Morley. One brief amusing scene features Margaret Rutherford who appeared in four films as Miss Marple in the early 1960's meeting Randall on the stair case, only to have them stare and sniff at each other. A wasted cameo if you ask me. GRADE---------C-
TEN LITTLE INDIANS 1989--Flat and dull version of Agatha Christie story, which has been filmed several times before to much better success. This one was set on African safari because the producer could save money! Frank Stallone, Brenda Vacarro, Herbert Lom and Donald Pleasence are the known actors in cast, but this one is a stinker. GRADE----------D+
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I attended four days at the Vancouver International film festival last week, and will write about each film (8) if and when they open. Briefly I saw, in order of preference:
EVERYTHING WENT FINE--From France, director Francois Ozon smooth and comforting film about a father who has a stroke, then asks his oldest daughter to end his life..... GRADE----A-
WILDWOOD--From Canada, a low budget gem about indigenous teen who runs away from an abusive father with his younger brother in search of his long missing mother. Along the way he connects with a two spirited indigenous teen who offers to help, and changes both their lives. GRADE----B+
ISLANDS--Canada and Philipines--An extremely shy 50 year old man still lives with his parents, but when his mother suddenly dies, he seeks help from a female distant cousin who teaches him to cook, clean, and communicate. WILDWOOD and ISLANDS were the big crowd pleasers. GRADE ---B+
TIME--From Taiwan--A parentless teen hangs out with old man who used to be an assissin in his youth, and still practices euthanasia to make a living. GRADE-----B
THE SIX--USA--Documentary about 6 Chinese men who survived the sinking of the Titanic and the efforts to find their stories and their children. James Cameron was the producer. GRADE---B
CHARLOTTE--Animated story of Charlotte Saloman, a Jewish-German artist whose greatest work before she was killed in a concentration camp was called "Life? or Theatre?" I'm not sure why they felt the need to animate, and I had mixed feelings about the result, but I learned a lot about her life. GRADE-----B-
ZO REKEN--from Haiti, this documentary is filmed mostly through the windows of a truck (a Zo Reken) used to move food and supplies and patients to hospitals, along the wretched streets of town. Like scenes of crowded India, this film showed the desperation of those living on the streets, and left me with the feeling I never want to visit Haiti, ever. GRADE---C+
AZOR--France and Argentina--a banker has disappeared and his financial partner goes to Argentina to meet with his clients. This is a slow slow burn thriller with feelings of dread and mystery, but it left me unsatisfied. GRADE----C+
