I spent much of May watching 44 SIFF (Seattle International Film Festival) films, but just before that and just after that I've been catching up on local openings at theatres and some vintage films on TV. Here's what I've seen.
ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT'S ME MARGARET--Perfectly cast and exceedingly charming film based on the Judy Blume novel from nearly 50 years ago. There has never been a more thoughtful story about a young teenage girl going through moving to a different city, questioning religion, experiencing first time menstruation, and potential first love as this funny, thoughtful, likeable film. With Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates and newcomer Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret. GRADE-----------A
THE BOOK CLUB: A NEW CHAPTER--Possibly the most lovingly beautiful photographic views of Italy ever committed to film. The four main women have an abundance of witty one liners to work with. Jane Fonda gets all the sexual innuendoes, but Candance Bergen, Mary Steenberger and Diane Keaton are all regally amusing and very funny. The men are also quite charming, including Don Johnson, Andy Garcia, Craig T. Nelson, Hugh Quarshie, and the great Italian actor Giancarlo Giannini. GRADE-------A-
THE EIGHT MOUNTAINS--- Viewed at SIFF 2023, this Italian film set in the Alps with stunning scenery has a novelistic approach that follows two young boys in their friendship through to adulthood, even though they are separated for nearly 20 years after childhood. The film has a leisurely approach to the relationship but contains many memorable moments. Now playing at art house theatres. GRADE------B+
CHEVALIER--- Based on a true story of black French composer and musician Joseph Bologne, the flm is beautifully intense, with spectacular costumes and set designs and wonderfully acted by newcomer Kelvin Harrison Jr. in the lead--his last film was as B.B. KING in ELVIS. The film is full of music--his and others from the time period, and features his troubles with Lucy Boynton as Marie Antoinette and Minnie Driver as a spoiled, spiteful opera singer. GRADE--------B+
MASTER GARDENER--The final film of a trilogy (although all stand alone) by writer director Paul Schrader, which has included FIRST REFORMED 2017 and THE CARD COUNTER 2021, this film features the typical themes of Schrader including male solitude, character redemption, and the search for love. Joel Edgerton is a meticulous horticulturist with a secret past life. Sigourney Weaver is the wealthy garden dowager with some secrets of her own, and her grand niece Quintessa Swindell has her own set of problems. It's a thoughtful and surprising film that actually has things to say about racism, love, violence and honor. GRADE--------B+
TO LESLIE--The then unreleased film last January surprised almost everyone when it picked up a best actress nomination for Andrea Riseborough with world of mouth from some actors who had "passed around a tape", and the film was the subject of intense criticism since no public had seen it yet. I'm happy to give the film a big thumbs up, thanks mostly to the dynamic role and portrayal of Riseborough as a lottery winner who within a few short years has squandered her winnings, abandoned her teen son and is living at the bottom of a whiskey bottle. She is forced to return to her home town to seek redemption and face humiliation . There are many cliched moments, but the film's power cannot be denied. GRADE---B
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT--German remake of classic novel about WWI about 4 young friends who quickly discover the horrors of trench style war, and then struggle and suffer until the war ends several years later. Technically well done but awfully grim to sit through nearly 3 hours. GRADE----------B
FAST X---The tenth sequel to the FAST AND FURIOUS series, featuring fast car chases, explosions, fist fights and family bonds. Still, this was better, more likeable than number 9 and made more sense and comes with some spectacular sequences, highlighted by a long chase down a hill in Rome chasing and being chased by a huge bomb ball. GRADE---------B
ABOUT MY FATHER---Comedienne Sebastian Maniscalco wrote the script and stars as a man wanting to marry his girlfriend and gets a chance by traveling with his eccentric, old school father to the girlfriend's family summer home. They are wealthy and eccentric, with the jokes coming from the "fish out of water" theme. It's a solid, funny comedy, with Robert DeNiro, Kim Cattrell and Leslie Bibb. GRADE-------B
MOVING ON---Jane Fonda tries to get her old friend (Lily Tomlin) to help her kill a man who she believes wronged her many years earlier. It's mostly a deadpan comedy with some serious themes. GRADE--------B
INSIDE----An artistic film about a high tech crook who becomes locked into fancy art collector's high security apartment, with the water turned off and the climate control gone wonky. GRADE-------B
OTHER FILMS RATED B well worth viewing: CHAMPIONS, SHAZAM:FURY OF GODS, THE JESUS REVOLUTION, A GOOD PERSON, SOMEWHERE IN QUEENS, POLITE SOCIETY.
OTHER FILMS RATED B- but worth seeing: WE HAVE A GHOST, KNOCK AT THE CABIN, DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES, RENFIELD, YOU HURT MY FEELINGS, LOVE AGAIN.
RATED C+: SPINNING GOLD, JOHN WICK IV (seemed like a dull remake of JW3), HOW TO BLOW UP A PIPELINE, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Vol 3.
RATED C: THE POPE'S EXORCIST.
In May I watched about 44 SIFF films, but I won't write about them until they are scheduled to stream or open at theatres. However here are my favorites to watch for--
20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL---Several news reporters are trapped behind war lines when Ukrainian/Russian war begins, with no way to get news photos, videos and stories out of the country. This is a gripping documentary account of what happened in the first days. Some visuals have now become quite well known, and this program will soon appear on PBS Frontline. GRADE--------A
LIFT--Former child/orphan who was trained in ballet goes back to his poor neighborhood to train another group of gifted child dancers in this profound and moving documentary. GRADE------A
HARVEST MOON---Stunningly photographed scenery highlight this moving tale of an older man who befriends a youngster--both of them have recently lost their father and grandfather respectively, and they bond. I defy any one watching in the last 10 minutes to have dry eyes. Filmed in Mongolia. GRADE-----A
26.2 TO LIFE---Some inmates at San Quentin State Prison join a running club to train for a yearly marathon with the help of volunteer outside running coaches and trainers. For all of them who have completed the training and the marathon and been released from prison, none have reoffended! Extremely inspirational documentary. GRADE---------A
HIDDEN MASTER: THE LEGACY OF GEORGE PLAT LYNES--30 years before Mapplethorpe, Lynes was photographing nude bodies (mostly men) in stunning tableaus along with movie stars of the 30's and 40's and fashion garments. GRADE------A
THE BLUE CAFTAN---Older married couple run a caftan boutique in Morocco but the arrival of a young male apprentice causes friction amongst all three. Beautifully sustained drama of passion, love and honor. This was the most liked fictional film at the SIFF among the full series patrons. GRADE-------A-
SMOKE, SAUNA, SISTERHOOD ---A visually stunning film of a group of women who frequent a smoke sauna in Estonia and tell their (at times harrowing) stories of what being a woman has meant in their lives. This film and the above film HIDDEN MASTER can easily win the Most naked bodies on display award at this year's SIFF. GRADE-------------A-
Also loved FREMONT, INVISIBLE BEAUTY, BLUE JEAN, THE HUMMINGBIRD and DANCING QUEEN---all rated B+
VINTAGE FILMS ON DVD OR TV---------
REBECCA 1940--Hitchcock's masterpiece fascinates me every time I see it. GRADE ----A
WHAT'S UP DOC? 1976--Comic film peaks for director Peter Bagdonovich, and actors Barbara Striesand, Ryan O'Neal and especially Madaline Kahn. GRADE------A
LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS 1986--Funny stuff and toe tapping tunes make this a classic, with Rick Moranis and Steve Martin leading the way. Feed me! GRADE--------A-
SIMBA 1955--Dirk Bordarde heads to Africa to take over his murdered brother's farm, but runs into a cult of black natives who want all white people to leave or be killed, with Virginia McKenna. An intense and nerve-wracking film. GRADE-----A-
MALTESE FALCON 1941--Humphrey film that feels convoluted plot wise, but has some smart business handled by director, and actors are having a good time. GRADE-------B+
CODA 2021--Stands for Child of Deaf Adults, this features a teen girl with a talent for singing--something her parents can't appreciate, and they need her for interpreting to their hearing customers. This (surprisingly) won the Best Picture Oscar and Best Supporting Actor and Best script but since it was only on a cable channel I did not have until recently I'm just catching up to it. GRADE---B+
CAMPBELL'S KINGDOM 1957--When his grandfather is killed, Dirk Bogarde inherits his isolated property, but soon discovers a mean, bad man has corruptly tried to drive out the grandfather and has murderous intentions toward the grandson. Also with Stanley Baker and Michael Craig. Problem: the property in question seems to be high in the mountains, but the bad man seems to want to break a dam to flood out Bogarde, who I believe would be above the flooding zone!?! GRADE-------B
THE CHAPMAN REPORT 1962--Based on a best seller, this George Cukor film has a fine cast including Jane Fonda, Shelley Winters, Efrem Zimbalist Jr, Claire Bloom, Glynis John, Ty Hardin among others, and it looks good. Unfortunately, the film deals with the sexual lives of different woman, and you can tell that it has been censured/edited to "soften" the subject matter ie. the word "frigid" is horribly uttered by Fonda but never fully explained in the film, and Bloom is probably gang raped in one scene, but it is never admitted--only that she likes lots of sex with lots of different men--hardly the same meaning. John has the most fun with her flirtation with Hardin. The film would seem to cry out for a modern remake, and it might not be so seemingly lurid this time around. GRADE--------B
BRINGING UP BABY 1938--Kate Hepburn and Cary Grant have some amusing moments as a society woman and an absent minded professor (although Ryan O'Neal does it better in the above WHAT'S UP DOC?) but I find the last third of the film tiresome as they stumble around the woods in the dark looking for the missing leopard. GRADE--------B-
THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU 2014--The excellent cast (Jane Fonda, Tina Fey, Jason Bateman, Adam Driver, Connie Britton, Rose Byrne, etc) seems at a loss to bring any cohesion or drama or comedy to the proceedings and the film feels like a let down, in spite of some funny lines and moments. Not boring but disappointing by the end. The film was nearly over when I realized I'd seen it several years ago because I remembered the final scene. GRADE-------B-
PENNY PRINCESS 1952--Dirk Bogarde meets the new owner of a small European country and helps her make money for their economy. GRADE-------B-
AGENT 8 3/4 AKA HOT ENOUGH FOR JUNE--Dirk Bogarde becomes a secret agent in this mild spy thriller which I've already forgotten about but which was amusing at the time. GRADE------C+
STREAMING: THE MORNING SHOW, THE POWER, MARVELOUS MRS MAISIL, TED LASSO, GRACE, DAGLESISH and PHYSICAL
