Some movie screens in Edmonds and Seattle finally opened last week, although the best new stuff I saw were on Netflix or Prime or Disney last month.
THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7----My favorite was on Netflix and written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, called THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7. The dialogue was sharp. informative, funny and very incicive. The fine cast includes Sacha Baron Cohen, Jeremy Strong, Eddie Redmayne, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and John Carroll Lynch but three others really stand out--Mark Rylance as the defense attorney, Frank Langella as the racist judge and Yahya Abdul-Mateen as the Black Panther leader Bobby Seale. These eight leaders were on trial a year after the riot that occured at the 1968 Democratic convention when a peaceful march against the Vietnam war turned bloody and violent when police were told to attach the protesters. The case against Seale was especially weak since he had shown up late to the protest and not been involved in the planning. Hence, the Chicago 7. It's a riviting courtroom drama with flashbacks, and as noted before, there is an amazing amount of humor. Here's one of the few Netflix movies I'm eager to see again. GRADE-------------A
THE WAY I SEE IT---A Netflix documentary about Pete Souza who was the official White House photographer for both Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. The film is based on the two best selling books by Souza called OBAMA: AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT and SHADE, but it does start off with a brief segment on his time working for Reagan as an apolitical young photographer (he calls Reagan "a decent man" in spite of some political decisions he didn't like), but it was his eight years with Obama that opened his eyes to the human side of the man and politics, and since his retirement he has worked hard to endorse and campaign for Obama's ideals. All the famous photo's are here with explained---the Obama's dancing at the inagaural balls, the intimate photo's of Barack playing with his young girls in a memorable snow fall in Washington DC, a young child who gets to feel Obama's hair in the White House, and hundreds of others familiar or new, and the progression leads one to strongly regret the lack of spontenaity when compared to the very staged and phony photos coming from the Trump administration . It's a fascinating and moving experience. GRADE---------------A
THE 40 YEAR OLD VERSION--Writer, director and star Radha Blank swings and hits, well, at least a triple run in this low budget, black and white story of a nearly 40 year old artist trying to reinvent herself as a playwright and poet in this funny, audatious and perhaps autobiographical story of a teacher who tries on rapping in middle age. It's like nothing on the TV (Netflix) or movie screens these days, and it's bracingly entertaining. I'm anxious for more from Ms Blank. GRADE---------B+
THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD--My first theatrical screening in 7 months!!!!!! and the 10 of us in the small theatre were masked and seated rows and rows apart and for the most part I forgot that I was wearing the mask--it was a pleasure to watch a film on big screen! There have been numerous versions of the DAVID COPPERFIELD novel--most notably the 1935 which featured Freeddie Bartholomew, W.C.Fields and Basil Rathbone to name a few, and also the 1999 BBC mini-series with Daniel Radcliffe, Maggie Smith, and Ian McKellin which because of it's length is able to include more of the narrative. This version has actors of every ethnic persuasion playing different parts, which creates an exotic atmosphere, including Dev Patel as the late teen David, and Hugh Laurie and Tilda Swinton and dozens of others in support. The director, Armando Inannicci directs with some witty animated moments, and quick clever cuts in the story, but the film seems a bit rushed in the final quarter. It's an ambitious undertaking for this classic story....................GRADE-------------B
BOYS IN THE BAND---This fifty year theatrical revival of the Mart Crowley play has been filmed as a movie and is now appearing in Netflix. The cast is very good and included leads Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, Matt Bomer and other fine actors, and if you've never seen the play, here's a good production, with most of the witty one liners intact and the pathos and self pity front and center. I saw the play many years ago at Seattle's ACT theatre, and saw the first film by director William Friedkin (THE FRENCH CONNECTION, THE EXORCIST etc) in 1970, so there weren't any surprises, but I enjoyed the interplay and dialogue. GRADE--------------B
SOMETIMES ALWAYS NEVER--This quirky, sad, visually stylish British comedy drama features Bill Nighy, Sam Riley and Jenny Agutter and is based on the story TRIPLE WORD SCORE. Years ago the son of Nighy walked out in the middle of a Scrabble game and never returned, causing the family to become a bit fractured. I enjoyed the film, but feel it was missing a few (Scrabble) tiles by the pointless low key ending. GRADE------------------B
MULAN---This live action remake (on the Disney channel) of the Disney animated film from last decade is a colorful and lively experience, even if the plot is a rehash. I enjoyed the scenery, the costumes, the exciting battle sequences and the fact that Barbara Striesand's YENTL dealt with the same themes of being attracted to the same sex even though they are in disguise from the opposite sex. At least women trying to pass as men are doing it better these days. GRADE--------------B
THE HONEST THIEF---Here's the second film on the BIG SCREEN I saw last week, and it's a straight forward action thriller--the kind that Liam Neeson is acting in a lot these days. When a high level bank robber meets a woman that he falls for, he decides to go straight, turn himself in and return all the thousands of dollars in cash in exchange for a smaller sentence at a local prison to be able to spend more time with his new girlfriend!!!! Sure, right on. Of course, when he tries to turn himself in, the cops to whom he proposes this "deal" decide to keep the cash and double cross him, and poor Liam must convince the higher up cops that he did not accidently shoot an innocent cop in the process. You know where this one is going from the early scenes through to the end, but it is certainly entertaining enough, especially since I'd been stuck at home for 7 months watching my DVD collection. Again, there were maybe 12 or 13 people in a large auditorium all spread out and masked. GRADE-------B-
TENET---This was supposed to be the big blockbuster of the summer opening over the 4 of July holiday but Covid kept pushing it back, and even though my nephew got to drive from Los Angeles to Las Vegas over a month ago to catch a screening in September, it opened locally just 2 weeks ago. I have to say that I have mixed feelings for this science fiction thriller. Firstly, the plot is that old, OLD chestnut where an evil crazy man is going to destroy the whole world because, well in this case because he is dying and wants the world to die with him. I think 20 of the James Bond 007 movies have had the same plot, but at least I could follow the action and dialogue easier, and they were a lot more fun. (RIP Sean Connery.) There is more mumbo jumbo high tech jargon than you can imagine, and none of it is comprehensible, even when they say, "In other words, that means......." No, I still don't get it. The lead, John David Washington looks like he's trying to keep a straight face while spouting all this jargon, but Robert Pattison and Elizabeth Debicki manage to keep dignified. The evil Kenneth Branagh gets to sneer and spout in nasty, angry fashion while he tortures his wife and kills all in sight. The 2 1/2 hour film was so long I had to use the bathroom, so during the action tension final fight scenes trying to stop the nuclear bomb from going off inside a mountain with lots of scaffolding, I was desperate. When I got back they were still fighting on the damn scaffolding!!!! Throw in all this weird time travel stuff, and backward action (?!?)--none makes much sense and what you have left is some spectacular set pieces like how did they film that, and some chase scenes where the present is really the past or the future. WTF, man! Christopher Nolan, I admire your technical skills, but lets get a story worth telling next time, with out so many cliches. GRADE---C+
REBECCA---Netflix is streaming a new remake of Alfred Hitchcock's 1940 masterpiece REBECCA with Lily James, Armie Hammer and Kristin Scott Thomas--hollow shells all--filling in for Joan Fontaine, Lawrence Olivier and Judith Anderson. The photography is in lushous color and gives the film a more modern sensibility even though it is still set in the 1930's and still features themes of female empowerment, but the suspense is bland and there is nothing unique in the telling. The main difference is the ending--Hitchcock's is much more ironic, which gives the fade out some punch. GRADE----------C
THE FOLLOWING FILMS ARE OLDER, or VINTAGE, or CLASSICS, viewed on cable or DVD.
QUO VADIS 1951---Just bought a Blu Ray version of this epic film set in the time of Nero's rule when Christianity was growing in Rome, and Nero sets fire to Rome, then tries to blame Christians and throws them into the arena with hungry lions. Robert Taylor is a general returning from war, and falls for the young nubile Deborah Kerr (who is a Christian, of course, and in conflict with the decadent Roman philosophy of Nero's rule.) Peter Ustinov is an amusing and over the top Nero and is in sharp contrast to his close friend and senator Petronius played with steely balance by Leo Genn--both men were nominated for best supporting actor Oscars, and the film received other nominations for photography (it looks great), music, picture, art direction and costumes. The film is nearly 3 hours, but it's lavishly produced and effective for it's time . Historically, the film might not be totally accurate, but I was really engrossed and went on to read some of the background of this time period. GRADE-----------A
THE SEA HAWK 1940--This could be the best of the 10 films director Michael Curtiz made with Errol Flynn--it's a rousing swashbuckling adventure with Flynn at his most dashing. Also Brenda Marshal and Claude Rains and an amusing plot that has Flynn protecting England from Spain by looting Spanish ships, just as Spain is about ready to invade England. GRADE-------------A
GROUNDHOG DAY--1973---Believe it or not, I've never seen this film before, and found it particularily effective during the covid virus lock downs. I thought perhaps seeing a repeat of the same day over and over again would hit too close to home, but fortunately Bill Murray (and Andie McDowell and others) managed to find some growth and variation in their characterizations that made me consistantly laugh out loud. and it's also a sweety natured romance to boot. I can sure see why it's a comedy classic with a huge following, and I will certainly look forward to watch it again and again and again..........GRADE----B+
CAPTAIN BLOOD 1935-- During the oppressive reign of King James II, a doctor is unjustly accused of being a traitor because he administered first aid to an injured citizen and is exiled to a Jamiacan prison where he befriends the govenor with his medical expertise, but he soon escapes to become a pirate. In spite of being a black and white film, the film is full of derring do, chases, sword fights and a strong plot of revenge and retrobution. This was one of Errol Flynn's first films with director Michael Curtiz, and it holds up wonderfully today. GRADE---------B+
SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON 1960---Entertaining film of British family who are ship wrecked on a nearly deserted tropical island, salvaging most of the animals and stock from the ship, and set up an elaboratete tree house. The story seemed to be derived from another previous book ROBINSON CRUSOE and there are several movies and stories that followed this popular Disney film. John Mills, Dorothy McGuire, James MacArthur and others along with a group of amusing animals are featured, and according to some of the extra features, a good, if difficult, time was had by all. GRADE----B+
RESURRECTION 1980---One of my favorite films from 1980 was this mysterious drama about a newly married woman who survives a serious car crash that kills her husband--she appears to come back from the dead, bringing with her unexplained healing powers that she is happy to share. Unfortunately, her conservative, strict father and her new boyfriend are suspecious of her new powers, causing conflict in her home town community. The amazing Ellen Burstyn was Oscar nominated as was the elderly Eva LaGallienne in a supporting role as Grandma. With Sam Shepard, Lois Smith and Richard Farnsworth. The final coda is devastating--in a good way. GRADE---------B+
NOTORIUS 1946--A minor masterpiece from Alfred Hitchcock--Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman play two spies recruited to infiltrate a Nazi German spy ring headed by Claude Rains in Rio. Unfortunately, she recieves orders to seduce Rains, just as she is falling in love with Grant...Great suspense scenes included a long, long kiss on a balcony, the long long crane shot that begins high above a dance floor and zooms down to reveal a store-room key in her hand, the accidental breaking of the "wine" bottle, and the long long slow poisoning of Bergman. GRADE-----------------B+
MURPHY'S ROMANCE 1985--From the moment that the jeans and cowboy hat wearing Sally Field and starched white shirt and cowboy boots wearing James Garner meet cute in the small town drug store--well you knlow how this comedy is going to go. But getting there is filled with some small pleasures and surprises, including the arrival of Field's immature ex-husband to complicate the courtship she has with Gardner. The music and theme song by Carole King are sweetly charming and the final line of dialogue is as sure and funny and memorable as anything in this May December romance. It's a real pleasure to watch. GRADE-----------B+
THE DEATH OF STALIN 2018--Director and co-writer Armando Iannucci keeps it funny and frantic (see also PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD, above) with inspired moments from the amusing actors including Steve Buscei, Jason Isaacs, Jeffrey Tambor, Michael Palin and Andrea Riseborough as they play out the possible scenerio of Stalin's death and funeral. I giggled in every scene, even if some violent atrocity was occuring. GRADE-------B
WITHOUT LOVE 1945--This stage play turned film is charming and funny--Spencer Tracey is a scientist obsessed with his work, Hepburn is letting him live in her huge house to work on his major project and wants to help him as an assistant. They grow to like each other although both have been hurt in love before. They agree to marry but only platonically because sex messes up relationships. Of course we know what will happen. Keenan Wynn and Lucille Ball are witty and funny as friends of the two, althought they are not given much to do. GRADE---------B
UNDERCURRENT 1946--Vincent Minnelli's first film noir about an insecure, dowdy young woman who marries a handsome man that her father knows, but she knows nothing of him. He treats her fairly well and sets her up in society, but oddly throws a fit whenever she mentions his long missing brother, and she begins to suspect that the brother may have been murdered--by her husband. It's an interesting film, although Katherine Hepburn seems a bit miscast because she is supposed to be weak willed but her actions seem rather straight forward. Robert Taylor is her unstable husband, and Robert Mitchum is the brother. GRADE--------------------B-
MORNING GLORY 1933--This early Hepburn film has her as an aspiring actress who loses her virginity to a Broadway producer Adolphe Menjou, while the producer's assistant looks helplessly on--he's (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) infatuated with her. The producer dumps her and she struggles with mental illness and poverty for a while, then suddenly gets her chance when as the understudy she gets to go on suddenly when the lead actress has a tantrum, and you can guess the rest. This was only her third film, and she won best actress Oscar for this odd role. This was a pre-code film--nobable for her being seduced and abandoned. If she hadn't won the Oscar, this little melodrama probably wouldn't even be remembered today. GRADE------------B-
MICHAEL 1924--This Danish silent film from Carl Theodore Dryer is one of the first to deal with a male artist who takes on a male art student protoge, setting him up with money and an apartment. Conflict comes when a young countess becomes interested in the young bisexual Michael. Although it is not explicit, this was considered one of the earlier films dealing with gay themes. GRADE--------B-
STRANGERS IN THE CITY 1995--This early Ang (BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN) Lee film features Daniel J. Travanti as a aging gambler who agrees to marry a Chinese immigrant for money to secure her a green card so she can stay with her boyfriend. Sort of a companion film to a later (better) Ang Lee film called THE WEDDING BANQUET about a gay man who marries a woman to please his visiting parents. This film is low key and sad. GRADE------------B-
THE GRAND SEDUCTION 2014--This low key Canadian film features Taylor Kitsch as a young doctor who comes to a small town for a one month internship but the whole town is in on trying to charm him into staying on permanant because this small community is trying to secure a contract for a big company to start up a businesss, but only if they have a full time doctor. GRADE------C+
THE HOSTILE WITNESS 1968--This modest British mystery is based on a play. Ray Milland and Sylvia Sims star in this story of his daughter's death by a hit and run driver and his attempt to find the killer. He ends up being charged in the death of a neighbor--both of them judges, and realizes someone is trying to set him up for murder. GRADE------------C
SYLVIA SCARLETT 1935--Katherine Hepburn stars as a young girl who flees to England with her rogue father dressed as a boy. They soon meet another rogue Cary Grant, then others. Halfway through the film she meets Brian Aherne and falls in love, then quickly drops her disguise and the film loses it's fizz. George Cukor directed, but the light touch disappears by the end, and Cary Grant becomes an obnoxious character though much more handsome than Aherne, so the story feels disappointing when he literally disappears in the final 10 minutes. GRADE-------C
THE MYSTERY OF THE 13th GUEST 1943--This low budget mystery film has a very few number of chills--after 13 years a young woman must come back to her grandfather's house and open instructions to find his will, but someone is killing the other family members that were at the final dinner. I'm being generous with a GRADE--------C-
