The new film about an alcoholic, struggling-against-demons country western singer, COUNTRY STRONG compares unfavorably with last years similar CRAZY HEART. Jeff Bridges won his Oscar for that film, and although I didn't really like the plotting and unbelievability of many scenes, at least Bridges performance had some authenticity and rawness to it. In COUNTRY STRONG Gweneth Paltrow is just getting out of rehab (apparently several weeks early--red flag warning!) and put back on the road by her manager husband. He is smitten with a new young "country Barbie doll" and wants her to be the warm up for his headliner wife. His wife has been having a fling with a young male singer and wants him to be the warm up. Guess what? They both are hired, and very typical complications ensue. And unfortunately, there's nary a spark of feeling and tension between any of the characters. Although the songs and singers are not bad, the music brings whatever dramatic tension that is being developed to a complete stop. Besides that, Paltrow doesn't have any rolling-around-on-the-bathroom-floor-in-her-own-vomit scenes, like Bridges had, to really get the audience rooting for her. (!?) I couldn't wait for this one to be over. GRADE-------D+
-----------------
In my last blog, I forgot to write about a DVD seen on Christmas Day evening with some relatives called LOVE ACTUALLY (2003), one of my favorite Christmas themed films, because it is set during the month of December leading up to Christmas and features carols, Christmas parties, school pageants, a crass, pop Christmas song played many times on the soundtrack, shopping and stores in decoration in London and other cheerful and symbolic events of the season. It's a multi-storied, multi-charactered film, with pleasing and occasionally amusing performances by Emma Thompson, Laura Linney, Alan Rickman, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Bill Nighy, Keira Knightly, Billy Bob Thornton, and many, many others. Because it covers so many stories and characters, it can be a bit uneven, but it is entertaining and the 2 hour 15minutes goes down very easily. GRADE-----B+
Based on a novel by James Jones (FROM HERE TO ETERNITY), the Vincente Minnelli film SOME CAME RUNNING (1958) features Frank Sinatra as a disillusioned writer just out of the service who ends up back in the hypocritical small Indiana town that he grew up in. His family is trying to maintain their upper middle class standing, and don't want him around. He hooks up with a gambler (Dean Martin) and a luckless floozy (Shirley McLaine in a fearless, memorable breakout role for which she was Oscar nominated) and falls for one of the upper class women he would normally be distainful of. It's definitely, and ultimately 50's melodrama, but the tone was so uneven--a weird mix of comedy, satire, drama, romance????--that it put me off. (I thought PEYTON PLACE which I wrote about last February did it a lot better.) And the ending, filmed in a completely chaotic, boldly colorful, jazzy style completely different from the rest of the restrained proceedings, didn't make much logical or emotional sense. Interesting, but in my mind, unsuccessful. GRADE-------C+
Monday, January 10, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Black Swan, True Grit, King's Speech, Tourist, Lady Killers
Much like last years THE WRESTLER, the new film by Darren Aronofsky called THE BLACK SWAN is an operatic, frenzied vision of an artist who gives their all to their craft at the risk of losing their ---sanity, dignity, safety net, mind, life, etc.--you pick one, or better yet, pick at least three. Aronofsky's best films (and they are all pretty good--especially REQUIEM FOR A DREAM) go sometimes way over the top, but he sucks you into the milieu and drama with fast and creative editing and photography so that it's easy to forgive his excesses. He also has an excellent cast helping him. This would be Natalie Portman's best performance since she started in film in 1994's THE PROFESSIONAL. Some of her most memorable moments have been in the STAR WARS Episodes 1,2 and 3, and CLOSER, V FOR VENDETTA, GARDEN STATE, and THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL. She gives her all as the talented but insecure ballerina who is given the lead in a SWAN LAKE production only to have her confidence undermined by her mother (the remarkable Barbara Hershey), her best friend understudy (the amazing Mila Kunis ) and her director (an excellent Vincent Cassel) who seems to want to use (or misuse) her sexually to get the right performance out of her. An unrecognizable Winona Ryder is also good as the retiring ballerina. The style is passionate and at times overwrought, with growing tension and psychological horror used to great effect--at times this film reminded me of Roman Polanski's most effective horror films like REPULSION, THE TENANT and ROSEMARY'S BABY. My only complaint--the persistent use of a jerky hand held camera. GRADE------A-
The amazing Coen brothers are back with an excellent remake of the popular story TRUE GRIT which won John Wayne his only Oscar back in 1969. This version is grittier, and much less campy than the Wayne version, because Wayne won for his huge popularity and as make-up for being ignored for 50 years at award shows, and for a wink-in-the-eye spoof performance of all the macho westerns he'd been in previously--I liked his role, too. Fresh off his Oscar win last year for the film about an alcoholic country singer in CRAZY HEART, Jeff Bridges now expertly tackles the role of Rooster Cogburn--another alcoholic, who joins up with a 14 years old girl (an excellent Hailee Steinfeld in her first role ) and a Texas ranger played well by Matt Damon to find the murderer of the girl's father. The western is very engrossing, and sprinkled with wit and clever dialogue. My only complaint--the 1969 version is still strong in my mind, but if you've never seen Wayne do his thing, then this new version of TRUE GRIT will deeply satisfy you. GRADE------B+
Anglophiles rejoice, for THE KING'S SPEECH is everything you'd want from a period piece which showcases the very talented Colin Firth (see him in last years superb A SINGLE MAN) as King George VI and Geoffrey Rush as his speech therapist trying to overcome a deadly stammer that stands in the way of the King being able to lead Great Britain into WWII with effective prose and inspirational speeches. The entire cast is excellent, especially the two leads and Helena Bonham-Carter as King George's wife. The music, costumes, photography and editing are well done, and the film is a marvelously simple time capsule of an historical drama. GRADE-----B+
Two popular actors, Angelina Jolie and Johnnie Depp meet up in THE TOURIST, and the results, while not always sensational, are at least intriguing. Both have had other big hits this year (SALT and ALICE IN WONDERLAND, respectively) and while this film is more modest in box office draw, it nonetheless has one gigantic plus---the fabulous canals of Venice are beautifully photographed and used to great effect. Venice is wonderfully captured in these other films, too--DEATH IN VENICE (1971), CASINO ROYALE (2006), DON'T LOOK NOW (1973) and THE ITALIAN JOB (2003). The director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (!) made the wonderful German Oscar winner from a few years ago called THE LIVES OF OTHERS, and the film flows with assurance and control, and the cast also includes effective turns by Paul Bettany, Timothy Dalton and Rufus Sewell. The film is more of a romantic thriller than a "thriller" spy story, but it does have a twist that I really didn't see coming, and it does have Venice....... GRADE------B-
-----------------------------------------DVD choices------------------------------------
Alec Guiness heads a motley group of robbers (which include a young Peter Sellars) who camp out in an old woman's house in the British film THE LADY KILLERS (1955) in this droll black comedy. Of course the old woman manages to spoil the robbery just by her innocence, so they decide she must be killed. Easier said than done. This film was remade in 2004 by the Coen brothers with Tom Hanks. Just as black and witty, with a bit more slapstick, and although it is different plot wise, it is also very entertaining. GRADE-----A-
CAPTAIN'S PARADISE (1953) has Alec Guiness (again) as a sea captain who shuttles back and forth between Gibraltar and northern Africa. His wife lives in Gibraltar and his mistress lives further south. The film was banned for many years due to this subject matter, and is not well known, but it is rather entertaining and delightful just the same, with Celia Johnson and Yvonne de Carlo as the wife and mistress, respectively. All is well until one day he gets careless with his anniversary gifts..........GRADE-------B
THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM (1955) is an Otto Preminger film starring an overacting Eleanor Parker and an effective Kim Novak who both love the drug addicted Frank Sinatra. This was one of the first films to deal with drug (heroin) addiction, and the film was banned and finally released without government approval. Today it seems rather tame and dated, but it does maintain interest due to the cast. GRADE-----B-
Irving Berlin's music is the the draw to the lush, colorful WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954) which was a loose remake of the b/w HOLIDAY INN (1942). The song White Christmas was introduced in HOLIDAY INN, a film that has an inn opening only for the specific holidays of the year (!) (there are songs about Washington's birthday, Thanksgiving and Easter (Easter Bonnet) and some other unforgettable tunes.) I don't really appreciate Bing Crosby's singing and acting--too laid back and lethargically lazy for me. WHITE CHRISTMAS takes the song and has a much better plot and actors including Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and a dangerously skinny (anorexic?) Vera-Ellen and better director Michael Curtiz and production values. Plus it has a better emotional, Christmas ending. GRADE------HOLIDAY INN---C and WHITE CHRISTMAS----B-
-------Other movie stuff-------
Just finish two autobiographies about two very strong, iconic women. The first was by Katherine Hepburn called, appropriately, ME. It is obviously written (or at least spoken) by her in her clipped, fragmented voice, with lots of humor, generalizations, partially remembered stories, and what I felt was a lot of editorializing---I think a lot of the details were sanitized. Still, she is a force to be reckoned with and you really get a good idea of the strong willed actress and personality she became. The portion about making ON GOLDEN POND in the early 80's was especially interesting, as the next book I had on my shelf was the autobiography of Jane Fonda called MY LIFE SO FAR. This was a fascinating book, extremely well written and thought-out, with a lot of character and psychoanalysis where she really gets to the meaning of her feelings and failures and movies and causes. She is obviously very smart, and has led an incredibly interesting life. Her mother committed suicide when she was 12, her father Henry Fonda was distant and emotionally cold (also confirmed by Hepburn in her book), her first husband insisted on sexual three-somes, she becomes politicized with her anti-war views and many travels (including an illuminating report on her infamous visit to Hanoi) and then she meets Ted Turner who seemed so different, but we can sure tell why she was attracted to him in a funny and astute section of her book. She is active in all sorts of fine liberal causes---trying to stop sexual abuse and genderfication of young girls and boys, conservation issues, ecological issues, and health issues--including her very popular work out tapes. It's all there, and it was a fabulous read, fascinating, humorous, shocking, insightful. It is the best autobiography of a film actor I've ever read. GRADE for ME---------B and JANE FONDA: MY LIFE SO FAR-----A
The amazing Coen brothers are back with an excellent remake of the popular story TRUE GRIT which won John Wayne his only Oscar back in 1969. This version is grittier, and much less campy than the Wayne version, because Wayne won for his huge popularity and as make-up for being ignored for 50 years at award shows, and for a wink-in-the-eye spoof performance of all the macho westerns he'd been in previously--I liked his role, too. Fresh off his Oscar win last year for the film about an alcoholic country singer in CRAZY HEART, Jeff Bridges now expertly tackles the role of Rooster Cogburn--another alcoholic, who joins up with a 14 years old girl (an excellent Hailee Steinfeld in her first role ) and a Texas ranger played well by Matt Damon to find the murderer of the girl's father. The western is very engrossing, and sprinkled with wit and clever dialogue. My only complaint--the 1969 version is still strong in my mind, but if you've never seen Wayne do his thing, then this new version of TRUE GRIT will deeply satisfy you. GRADE------B+
Anglophiles rejoice, for THE KING'S SPEECH is everything you'd want from a period piece which showcases the very talented Colin Firth (see him in last years superb A SINGLE MAN) as King George VI and Geoffrey Rush as his speech therapist trying to overcome a deadly stammer that stands in the way of the King being able to lead Great Britain into WWII with effective prose and inspirational speeches. The entire cast is excellent, especially the two leads and Helena Bonham-Carter as King George's wife. The music, costumes, photography and editing are well done, and the film is a marvelously simple time capsule of an historical drama. GRADE-----B+
Two popular actors, Angelina Jolie and Johnnie Depp meet up in THE TOURIST, and the results, while not always sensational, are at least intriguing. Both have had other big hits this year (SALT and ALICE IN WONDERLAND, respectively) and while this film is more modest in box office draw, it nonetheless has one gigantic plus---the fabulous canals of Venice are beautifully photographed and used to great effect. Venice is wonderfully captured in these other films, too--DEATH IN VENICE (1971), CASINO ROYALE (2006), DON'T LOOK NOW (1973) and THE ITALIAN JOB (2003). The director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (!) made the wonderful German Oscar winner from a few years ago called THE LIVES OF OTHERS, and the film flows with assurance and control, and the cast also includes effective turns by Paul Bettany, Timothy Dalton and Rufus Sewell. The film is more of a romantic thriller than a "thriller" spy story, but it does have a twist that I really didn't see coming, and it does have Venice....... GRADE------B-
-----------------------------------------DVD choices------------------------------------
Alec Guiness heads a motley group of robbers (which include a young Peter Sellars) who camp out in an old woman's house in the British film THE LADY KILLERS (1955) in this droll black comedy. Of course the old woman manages to spoil the robbery just by her innocence, so they decide she must be killed. Easier said than done. This film was remade in 2004 by the Coen brothers with Tom Hanks. Just as black and witty, with a bit more slapstick, and although it is different plot wise, it is also very entertaining. GRADE-----A-
CAPTAIN'S PARADISE (1953) has Alec Guiness (again) as a sea captain who shuttles back and forth between Gibraltar and northern Africa. His wife lives in Gibraltar and his mistress lives further south. The film was banned for many years due to this subject matter, and is not well known, but it is rather entertaining and delightful just the same, with Celia Johnson and Yvonne de Carlo as the wife and mistress, respectively. All is well until one day he gets careless with his anniversary gifts..........GRADE-------B
THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM (1955) is an Otto Preminger film starring an overacting Eleanor Parker and an effective Kim Novak who both love the drug addicted Frank Sinatra. This was one of the first films to deal with drug (heroin) addiction, and the film was banned and finally released without government approval. Today it seems rather tame and dated, but it does maintain interest due to the cast. GRADE-----B-
Irving Berlin's music is the the draw to the lush, colorful WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954) which was a loose remake of the b/w HOLIDAY INN (1942). The song White Christmas was introduced in HOLIDAY INN, a film that has an inn opening only for the specific holidays of the year (!) (there are songs about Washington's birthday, Thanksgiving and Easter (Easter Bonnet) and some other unforgettable tunes.) I don't really appreciate Bing Crosby's singing and acting--too laid back and lethargically lazy for me. WHITE CHRISTMAS takes the song and has a much better plot and actors including Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and a dangerously skinny (anorexic?) Vera-Ellen and better director Michael Curtiz and production values. Plus it has a better emotional, Christmas ending. GRADE------HOLIDAY INN---C and WHITE CHRISTMAS----B-
-------Other movie stuff-------
Just finish two autobiographies about two very strong, iconic women. The first was by Katherine Hepburn called, appropriately, ME. It is obviously written (or at least spoken) by her in her clipped, fragmented voice, with lots of humor, generalizations, partially remembered stories, and what I felt was a lot of editorializing---I think a lot of the details were sanitized. Still, she is a force to be reckoned with and you really get a good idea of the strong willed actress and personality she became. The portion about making ON GOLDEN POND in the early 80's was especially interesting, as the next book I had on my shelf was the autobiography of Jane Fonda called MY LIFE SO FAR. This was a fascinating book, extremely well written and thought-out, with a lot of character and psychoanalysis where she really gets to the meaning of her feelings and failures and movies and causes. She is obviously very smart, and has led an incredibly interesting life. Her mother committed suicide when she was 12, her father Henry Fonda was distant and emotionally cold (also confirmed by Hepburn in her book), her first husband insisted on sexual three-somes, she becomes politicized with her anti-war views and many travels (including an illuminating report on her infamous visit to Hanoi) and then she meets Ted Turner who seemed so different, but we can sure tell why she was attracted to him in a funny and astute section of her book. She is active in all sorts of fine liberal causes---trying to stop sexual abuse and genderfication of young girls and boys, conservation issues, ecological issues, and health issues--including her very popular work out tapes. It's all there, and it was a fabulous read, fascinating, humorous, shocking, insightful. It is the best autobiography of a film actor I've ever read. GRADE for ME---------B and JANE FONDA: MY LIFE SO FAR-----A
Monday, December 20, 2010
I Love You Phillip Morris,Going the Distance, The Ref and other CHRISTMAS Themed Movies
It is easy to see why the outrageous, quirky and amusing film I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS has been kept on the shelf for over a year by the studio--they just didn't know how to promote it, and they were scared that the "in your face" sexuality would be a problem for the general public. YES and YES, but as for sophisticated film-goers, this is a treat. Based on a true story, the larger than life Jim Carrey stars as a married, church-going family man, but when he survives a spectacular car crash, he decides to come WAY out of the closet and become a GAY man. When his new gay lifestyle becomes too expensive, he resorts to fraud and ends up in prison, where he quickly falls for the sweet blond queer boy Ewan McGregor. The rest of the film shows the length to which he tries to keep this relationship together, and in the money, which leads to wilder and more complicated scams, returns to prison, escapes, and more scams, etc. The manic comic energy is exhilarating at times, and sometimes it wears you out, but the film is NOT DULL, and does NOT pull punches when it comes to the sexual relationship of the two. A bit broad at times, I liked Carrey's chutzpah and commitment to the role, and McGregor, who has the quieter "straight man" role is quite charming. You haven't seen anything like this before. GRADE------B
GOING THE DISTANCE is a trifle from this past September that I saw on an airplane last week, and it still wasn't very good. Drew Barrymore and Justin Long play would be lovers who must struggle to keep their relationship going when she moves back to San Francisco from New York for a job opportunity. They rack up a lot of miles (I hoped they had signed up for frequent flyer programs) trying to keep their relationship fresh and important. Really, I didn't care, because the film has little plot and features every predictable cliche about long distance relationships that you've ever heard of. GRADE------- D+
It played at SIFF and then for a brief week just as I was going on vacation, so I missed writing about LEAVING, a French film notable for the luminous performance of the intense Kristin Scott Thomas, who plays a middle-aged woman seriously smitten with an illegal worker (the hunky Sergi Lopez) from Spain who has been hired by her husband to remodel the basement apartment. So smitten, in fact, that she suddenly leaves her husband and teen aged children to take up life with him, and of course her husband does all he can to make her financial life miserable to force her to return. We've seen this before, but never with such fascinating actors, and Ms Scott-Thomas keeps us riveted through to the tragic ending. GRADE-----B
I also missed writing about MARWENCOL, a documentary about a man who, after he becomes seriously beaten, begins creating tableaus out of Barbie and Ken and GI Joe dolls that reenact scenes from World War II military conflicts, and then photographs them. These photos have become an artistic sensation, and the film raises the questions of "What is art?" and "What is reality?" for this mentally challenged artist. This would make an interesting double bill with the recent EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP, which I found even more disturbing. GRADE---B
Every year my wife and I enjoy the brilliantly witty acerbic comedy THE REF (1994) in which a cat burglar played by Denis Leary takes as his hostages a bickering couple in small town suburbia, played with GREAT timing by Judy Davis and Kevin Spacey. The entire film is set on Christmas Eve, with five more family members coming over for dinner and a delinquent son home from military school, who has just blackmailed his teacher......There is a lot of meaty plot points, and amusing characters, and very funny lines, both irreverent and poignant, and we laugh out loud a lot. This is one of the great Christmas themed movies of all time (for adults, due to some very rough but funny language) and a good antidote to the treacly sweet Christmas crap that keeps boring you to death this time of year. GRADE------A-
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's a list of some of my favorite Christmas themed films--and all are available on DVD----
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1942) is still the top, and it seems to get better than ever with age.
FROZEN RIVER (2008)--a single mom tries to raise Christmas money by--human trafficking!?
THE REF (1994)--cat burglar must deal with funny dysfunctional family to escape police.
THE LION IN WINTER (1968)--Katherine Hepburn and Peter O'Toole as Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II who fiercely fight over a successor in a brilliantly funny script about Christmas Eve survival, with Anthony Hopkins and Timothy Dalton.
MEET ME IN ST LOUIS (1944) --It covers a lot of seasons, but there's a wonderful Christmas scene where Judy Garland sings "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
MIRACLE OF 34TH ST (1947)--very sentimental and charming, with Natalie Wood as the skeptical child learning about love and truth and Santa.
THE APARTMENT (1960)--cynical yet heartwarming Billy Wilder comedy-drama with Fred McMurray, Jack Lemmon and Shirley McLaine features a long segment set at Christmas.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1938 and 1951)--still the best versions of the Dickens tale,with the later one starring the very effective Alastair Sims the best.
SINCE YOU WENT AWAY (1944)--this home front film set in WWII covers several years, but has some very effective scenes set during the holidays.
ABOUT A BOY (2002)--a self absorbed bachelor (Hugh Grant, of course) becomes involved with a lonely boy whose mother is chronically depressed in this unique comedy-drama set during the holiday period.
The above films are a solid Grade A . Below are some great films I'd rate a B+
LOVE ACTUALLY (2003)--a big cast and multiple story lines has many falling in love during the holiday season in London, with some memorable characters portrayed by Bill Nighy as an aging rock star looking for one more hit, Emma Thompson as a betrayed wife, and Hugh Grant (again) as the Prime Minister.
THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER (1941)--Monty Wooley stars as an acerbic, eccentric man who breaks his leg and must stay at the home of Bette Davis over the holidays, driving everyone crazy in this amusing story.
BRIDGET JONES DAIRY (2001)--Renee Zellwiger, Hugh Grant and Colin Firth, with several comic scenes set at the holidays--check out the Christmas sweaters!
MEET JOHN DOE (1941)--Sentimental but interesting Capra film with Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck--lots of social commentary, with emotional climax set on Christmas Eve.
BAD SANTA (2003)--outrageously profane and at times very offensive, this is not for the faint of heart, but there are many funny moments as an alcoholic, criminal Santa (Billy Bob Thornton) tries to set up a series of department store robberies with his black elf, but becomes sidetracked by young boy who still believes in Santa. Disgusting and amusing and poignant, this is one-of-a-kind.
HOME ALONE (1990)--the first and best (with three sequels) has an eight year old mistakenly left alone at Christmas while the rest of the family flies off to Paris, and he must fight off some clumsy burglars who have targeted his house. Macaulay Culkin is terrific as the child.
MIXED NUTS (1994)--a very odd black comedy set on Christmas Eve in a suicide hot line center has some laughs and quirky moments--hit or miss, but every time I see it, it grows on me. Stars Steve Martin, Madeline Kahn, Rob Reiner Adam Sandler, Jon Stewart, Rita Wilson, Juliette Lewis and others.
Others worth checking out---THE BISHOP'S WIFE (1947) with Cary Grant, THIS CHRISTMAS (2007) with large black family coming together with problems and love, THE NATIVITY STORY (2006)--a serious, reverent depiction of the birth of Christ, and POLAR EXPRESS (2004) but only on the big screen with the eye-popping (at the time) 3-D effects, which made it seem a lot better.
Not films, but A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS gets me every time, and MR MAGOO's CHRISTMAS CAROL is a lot of fun.
I know I've missed a few--send me an email or comment if you have a neglected Christmas film.
COMING SOON-----THE TOP FILMS OF THE DECADE-----and in early February---the TOP FILMS OF 2010--just in time for the Oscars.
GOING THE DISTANCE is a trifle from this past September that I saw on an airplane last week, and it still wasn't very good. Drew Barrymore and Justin Long play would be lovers who must struggle to keep their relationship going when she moves back to San Francisco from New York for a job opportunity. They rack up a lot of miles (I hoped they had signed up for frequent flyer programs) trying to keep their relationship fresh and important. Really, I didn't care, because the film has little plot and features every predictable cliche about long distance relationships that you've ever heard of. GRADE------- D+
It played at SIFF and then for a brief week just as I was going on vacation, so I missed writing about LEAVING, a French film notable for the luminous performance of the intense Kristin Scott Thomas, who plays a middle-aged woman seriously smitten with an illegal worker (the hunky Sergi Lopez) from Spain who has been hired by her husband to remodel the basement apartment. So smitten, in fact, that she suddenly leaves her husband and teen aged children to take up life with him, and of course her husband does all he can to make her financial life miserable to force her to return. We've seen this before, but never with such fascinating actors, and Ms Scott-Thomas keeps us riveted through to the tragic ending. GRADE-----B
I also missed writing about MARWENCOL, a documentary about a man who, after he becomes seriously beaten, begins creating tableaus out of Barbie and Ken and GI Joe dolls that reenact scenes from World War II military conflicts, and then photographs them. These photos have become an artistic sensation, and the film raises the questions of "What is art?" and "What is reality?" for this mentally challenged artist. This would make an interesting double bill with the recent EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP, which I found even more disturbing. GRADE---B
Every year my wife and I enjoy the brilliantly witty acerbic comedy THE REF (1994) in which a cat burglar played by Denis Leary takes as his hostages a bickering couple in small town suburbia, played with GREAT timing by Judy Davis and Kevin Spacey. The entire film is set on Christmas Eve, with five more family members coming over for dinner and a delinquent son home from military school, who has just blackmailed his teacher......There is a lot of meaty plot points, and amusing characters, and very funny lines, both irreverent and poignant, and we laugh out loud a lot. This is one of the great Christmas themed movies of all time (for adults, due to some very rough but funny language) and a good antidote to the treacly sweet Christmas crap that keeps boring you to death this time of year. GRADE------A-
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's a list of some of my favorite Christmas themed films--and all are available on DVD----
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1942) is still the top, and it seems to get better than ever with age.
FROZEN RIVER (2008)--a single mom tries to raise Christmas money by--human trafficking!?
THE REF (1994)--cat burglar must deal with funny dysfunctional family to escape police.
THE LION IN WINTER (1968)--Katherine Hepburn and Peter O'Toole as Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II who fiercely fight over a successor in a brilliantly funny script about Christmas Eve survival, with Anthony Hopkins and Timothy Dalton.
MEET ME IN ST LOUIS (1944) --It covers a lot of seasons, but there's a wonderful Christmas scene where Judy Garland sings "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
MIRACLE OF 34TH ST (1947)--very sentimental and charming, with Natalie Wood as the skeptical child learning about love and truth and Santa.
THE APARTMENT (1960)--cynical yet heartwarming Billy Wilder comedy-drama with Fred McMurray, Jack Lemmon and Shirley McLaine features a long segment set at Christmas.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1938 and 1951)--still the best versions of the Dickens tale,with the later one starring the very effective Alastair Sims the best.
SINCE YOU WENT AWAY (1944)--this home front film set in WWII covers several years, but has some very effective scenes set during the holidays.
ABOUT A BOY (2002)--a self absorbed bachelor (Hugh Grant, of course) becomes involved with a lonely boy whose mother is chronically depressed in this unique comedy-drama set during the holiday period.
The above films are a solid Grade A . Below are some great films I'd rate a B+
LOVE ACTUALLY (2003)--a big cast and multiple story lines has many falling in love during the holiday season in London, with some memorable characters portrayed by Bill Nighy as an aging rock star looking for one more hit, Emma Thompson as a betrayed wife, and Hugh Grant (again) as the Prime Minister.
THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER (1941)--Monty Wooley stars as an acerbic, eccentric man who breaks his leg and must stay at the home of Bette Davis over the holidays, driving everyone crazy in this amusing story.
BRIDGET JONES DAIRY (2001)--Renee Zellwiger, Hugh Grant and Colin Firth, with several comic scenes set at the holidays--check out the Christmas sweaters!
MEET JOHN DOE (1941)--Sentimental but interesting Capra film with Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck--lots of social commentary, with emotional climax set on Christmas Eve.
BAD SANTA (2003)--outrageously profane and at times very offensive, this is not for the faint of heart, but there are many funny moments as an alcoholic, criminal Santa (Billy Bob Thornton) tries to set up a series of department store robberies with his black elf, but becomes sidetracked by young boy who still believes in Santa. Disgusting and amusing and poignant, this is one-of-a-kind.
HOME ALONE (1990)--the first and best (with three sequels) has an eight year old mistakenly left alone at Christmas while the rest of the family flies off to Paris, and he must fight off some clumsy burglars who have targeted his house. Macaulay Culkin is terrific as the child.
MIXED NUTS (1994)--a very odd black comedy set on Christmas Eve in a suicide hot line center has some laughs and quirky moments--hit or miss, but every time I see it, it grows on me. Stars Steve Martin, Madeline Kahn, Rob Reiner Adam Sandler, Jon Stewart, Rita Wilson, Juliette Lewis and others.
Others worth checking out---THE BISHOP'S WIFE (1947) with Cary Grant, THIS CHRISTMAS (2007) with large black family coming together with problems and love, THE NATIVITY STORY (2006)--a serious, reverent depiction of the birth of Christ, and POLAR EXPRESS (2004) but only on the big screen with the eye-popping (at the time) 3-D effects, which made it seem a lot better.
Not films, but A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS gets me every time, and MR MAGOO's CHRISTMAS CAROL is a lot of fun.
I know I've missed a few--send me an email or comment if you have a neglected Christmas film.
COMING SOON-----THE TOP FILMS OF THE DECADE-----and in early February---the TOP FILMS OF 2010--just in time for the Oscars.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Alamar, Social Network, Love and Other Drugs, more BB
A lot has been written about SOCIAL NETWORK by others as well as myself, but I want to add that this is the film to beat for the year end awards so far. I took my wife to see it on the last day of operation of the now closed Uptown Theatre on lower Queen Anne. I shall miss the Uptown because it was never hard to find parking nearby (unless there was a major event at the Seattle Center), never terribly crowed, had a nice urban neighborhood feel to it and was the closest and easiest "in town" theatre to reach for me--and right on the (single) bus line for me. I hope someone else can take over this fine theatre with three screens and get better programming for it. Seemed like they were always showing second runs and low key foreign films, and they were all held over for weeks and weeks. But as for SOCIAL NETWORK, the characterizations and actors continue to fascinate on second viewing, and the script is so sharp and literate and delivered at the fastest pace possible, that you marvel at the cleverness of it all.
GRADE-------A
Part documentary, part reality film, all dreamy ALAMAR floats by like a beautiful reverie. A young boy who lives in Rome with his mother, spends his first summer with his Mexican father and grandfather on a house built on stilts on a coral reef island off the coast of Mexico, and discovers the joys of swimming, boating, fishing, and watching a bird eat insects off the floorboards of this humble shack--in other words, communing with this lovely watery-world. He takes to it effortlessly and with great enthusiasm, and it is a pleasure to watch him discover the joys of nature. The film is unstructured--no plot to speak of, with only a little talking (subtitles), and at times the uncertain camera movements moving with the waves or in the boat can make you a little sea-sick, but if you are patient, the ethereal film becomes quite moving and affecting. GRADE-----A-
LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS benefits from having two very attractive leads (Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway) cavorting in the nude many times during this love story/sex story/disease-drama/comedy film set in the 1990-s. (They made a nice, effectively hostile married couple in BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN.) Unfortunately, the film wants to be all things to all viewers, so it throws in some vulgar sex jokes, dreary disease of the week cliches, satirical jabs at the medical drug industry, and unconvincing social commentary, and introduces characters only to never have them show up again. This is probably the last film of the recently deceased Jill Clayburgh, but after her first brief scene, she disappears completely from the film. It is watchable, thanks to the leads, and if they'd kept the film edgy, with the sex, nudity and relationship angles, which are the strongest aspects, then it would be much more satisfying. GRADE-----B-
The following were viewed on DVD from the library.......
The recent independent Mexican film SIN NOMBRE (2008) was quite a revelation to me. A lot of characters are introduced early in the film, but the film narrows itself quickly to a young man who is trying to break away from the violent gang life he leads when his girlfriend is callously killed by the gang leader, the newest, younger member still a child who he has pulled into the gang world and who is to become his downfall in powerful ironic terms, and a young girl who is trying to escape the poverty of Guatemala by traveling north to the United States with her father and uncle, and who finds a dangerous attraction to this ex-gang member. These characters all come together throughout the film at various times, and it makes for a fascinating socio-ethnic collision with very intense, sobering moments. The reality seemed so vivid that it's hard to believe that many of these characters were played by first time locals. GRADE------A-
A beautiful actress tries to hide her Jewish director husband from the Nazis in the basement of his theatre during occupied Paris in the low key film THE LAST METRO (1980). The film, directed by Francois Truffaut, seemed to romanticize the occupation, with many situations that could have been intense softened by humor or mugging or the glib actions of the theatre group. The final scene was particularly odd--it seemed to tack on a fairy tale ending to what could have been a tragic ending. Still, the film has some charm and interest, especially when the leads are the beautiful Catherine Deneuve and dashing Gerard Depardieu (about 100 pounds ago.) GRADE-----B
THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER (1941) is a curious film, beautifully photographed in black and white, and with a great soundtrack by Oscar winner Bernard Hermann (who did many of Hitchcock's great films) and featuring a terrific supporting role for Walter Huston (as the Devil Scratch). It's the story of a struggling farmer who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for some wealth and good fortune, but later comes to regret his decision. I was into this story all the way until the end, which features a not-so-convincing speech by the Daniel Webster character, and I didn't buy it. Still, oddly entertaining and well worth watching. GRADE-----B
One of Brigitte Bardot's most famous films, the once scandalous ...AND GOD CREATED WOMAN (1956) seems a bit tame by today's standards, but as usual, I found BB to be believable and enchanting as a young "wild" bride who causes havoc among her husband, his older brother and her would be older lover. This is the third BB film I've seen in the last two weeks, and in each she has some peek-a-boo nudity and some extended (!) dance scenes--in this one she dances with wild, sexual abandonment in front of all three men for what seems like 5 minutes, until finally her husband steps up and slaps some sense into her. Not too politically correct, but very watchable. GRADE------B-
Since I was in college, I occasionally have had what I call APOCALYPTIC dreams--where the world is on the brink of disaster and there I sit watching it all happen, helpless to do anything about it. Many films have exploited this theme, especially the recent 2012 where the whole world is destroyed while one (lucky?) family manages to avoid death dozens of times over while all around them are sent to fiery deaths. My dreams have witnessed the atomic mushroom explosion and cloud, the moon plunging to the earth, a fireball rolling towards me, the fall from a tall building, and many variations. Unfortunately, there are NO SPECIAL EFFECTS in the Stanley Kramer film ON THE BEACH (1959) which starts when the world has already killed off the northern hemisphere with massive nuclear attacks, and the resulting poisonous cloud has killed off everyone and is slowly making it's way to Australia, where Gregory Peck and Ava Gardener must decide whether or not they want to fall in love before they die. (He's lost his family in the US while he was in a submarine in the Pacific, and she's a drunk who's never known love). Ava's friend "Julien" has also never been in love (and possibly gay--played well by Fred Astaire) but has ambitions to be a winning race car driver (!!!!!) and submarine Lt. Anthony Perkins must deal with a young wife who can't face the reality of their grim situation. The premise is VERY SERIOUS to these characters, and there are no laughs in the story---it is handled without the hint of camp. I found it intriguing, but it made me think that I wish the story had been a bit more----LURID ? LIVELY ? SENSATIONAL ? It's thoughtful, but I missed the giant mushroom cloud heading their way. GRADE-------B-
GRADE-------A
Part documentary, part reality film, all dreamy ALAMAR floats by like a beautiful reverie. A young boy who lives in Rome with his mother, spends his first summer with his Mexican father and grandfather on a house built on stilts on a coral reef island off the coast of Mexico, and discovers the joys of swimming, boating, fishing, and watching a bird eat insects off the floorboards of this humble shack--in other words, communing with this lovely watery-world. He takes to it effortlessly and with great enthusiasm, and it is a pleasure to watch him discover the joys of nature. The film is unstructured--no plot to speak of, with only a little talking (subtitles), and at times the uncertain camera movements moving with the waves or in the boat can make you a little sea-sick, but if you are patient, the ethereal film becomes quite moving and affecting. GRADE-----A-
LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS benefits from having two very attractive leads (Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway) cavorting in the nude many times during this love story/sex story/disease-drama/comedy film set in the 1990-s. (They made a nice, effectively hostile married couple in BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN.) Unfortunately, the film wants to be all things to all viewers, so it throws in some vulgar sex jokes, dreary disease of the week cliches, satirical jabs at the medical drug industry, and unconvincing social commentary, and introduces characters only to never have them show up again. This is probably the last film of the recently deceased Jill Clayburgh, but after her first brief scene, she disappears completely from the film. It is watchable, thanks to the leads, and if they'd kept the film edgy, with the sex, nudity and relationship angles, which are the strongest aspects, then it would be much more satisfying. GRADE-----B-
The following were viewed on DVD from the library.......
The recent independent Mexican film SIN NOMBRE (2008) was quite a revelation to me. A lot of characters are introduced early in the film, but the film narrows itself quickly to a young man who is trying to break away from the violent gang life he leads when his girlfriend is callously killed by the gang leader, the newest, younger member still a child who he has pulled into the gang world and who is to become his downfall in powerful ironic terms, and a young girl who is trying to escape the poverty of Guatemala by traveling north to the United States with her father and uncle, and who finds a dangerous attraction to this ex-gang member. These characters all come together throughout the film at various times, and it makes for a fascinating socio-ethnic collision with very intense, sobering moments. The reality seemed so vivid that it's hard to believe that many of these characters were played by first time locals. GRADE------A-
A beautiful actress tries to hide her Jewish director husband from the Nazis in the basement of his theatre during occupied Paris in the low key film THE LAST METRO (1980). The film, directed by Francois Truffaut, seemed to romanticize the occupation, with many situations that could have been intense softened by humor or mugging or the glib actions of the theatre group. The final scene was particularly odd--it seemed to tack on a fairy tale ending to what could have been a tragic ending. Still, the film has some charm and interest, especially when the leads are the beautiful Catherine Deneuve and dashing Gerard Depardieu (about 100 pounds ago.) GRADE-----B
THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER (1941) is a curious film, beautifully photographed in black and white, and with a great soundtrack by Oscar winner Bernard Hermann (who did many of Hitchcock's great films) and featuring a terrific supporting role for Walter Huston (as the Devil Scratch). It's the story of a struggling farmer who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for some wealth and good fortune, but later comes to regret his decision. I was into this story all the way until the end, which features a not-so-convincing speech by the Daniel Webster character, and I didn't buy it. Still, oddly entertaining and well worth watching. GRADE-----B
One of Brigitte Bardot's most famous films, the once scandalous ...AND GOD CREATED WOMAN (1956) seems a bit tame by today's standards, but as usual, I found BB to be believable and enchanting as a young "wild" bride who causes havoc among her husband, his older brother and her would be older lover. This is the third BB film I've seen in the last two weeks, and in each she has some peek-a-boo nudity and some extended (!) dance scenes--in this one she dances with wild, sexual abandonment in front of all three men for what seems like 5 minutes, until finally her husband steps up and slaps some sense into her. Not too politically correct, but very watchable. GRADE------B-
Since I was in college, I occasionally have had what I call APOCALYPTIC dreams--where the world is on the brink of disaster and there I sit watching it all happen, helpless to do anything about it. Many films have exploited this theme, especially the recent 2012 where the whole world is destroyed while one (lucky?) family manages to avoid death dozens of times over while all around them are sent to fiery deaths. My dreams have witnessed the atomic mushroom explosion and cloud, the moon plunging to the earth, a fireball rolling towards me, the fall from a tall building, and many variations. Unfortunately, there are NO SPECIAL EFFECTS in the Stanley Kramer film ON THE BEACH (1959) which starts when the world has already killed off the northern hemisphere with massive nuclear attacks, and the resulting poisonous cloud has killed off everyone and is slowly making it's way to Australia, where Gregory Peck and Ava Gardener must decide whether or not they want to fall in love before they die. (He's lost his family in the US while he was in a submarine in the Pacific, and she's a drunk who's never known love). Ava's friend "Julien" has also never been in love (and possibly gay--played well by Fred Astaire) but has ambitions to be a winning race car driver (!!!!!) and submarine Lt. Anthony Perkins must deal with a young wife who can't face the reality of their grim situation. The premise is VERY SERIOUS to these characters, and there are no laughs in the story---it is handled without the hint of camp. I found it intriguing, but it made me think that I wish the story had been a bit more----LURID ? LIVELY ? SENSATIONAL ? It's thoughtful, but I missed the giant mushroom cloud heading their way. GRADE-------B-
Monday, November 22, 2010
CLIENT 9, TODAY'S SPECIAL, plus Jane Pittman, Old Maid, Sex and City II and Brigette Bardot!!
Top of the week is a cracker-jack of a documentary--CLIENT 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer--and before you think you know all you need to know about this movie, the tag line, which is quite accurate, reads "You don't know the real story..." To his credit, Spitzer, who is interviewed thoroughly in this film, takes full responsibility for the sexual escapades he became involved in, which ended his political career as New York governor. But the big picture paints a whole other side of the story. He started out as NY attorney general and became obsessed with stopping the rampant corruption and carelessness with which Wall Street did their business. He sued many financial companies for bad business practices--this was several years before the fall of Wall Street firms that led to the crippling effect on our current economy---and he had many successful results. When he became governor of NY he alienated many powerful (mostly Republican) people, and guess what!?--they all seemed to have a finger in his fall from grace. There are many telling moments as the heads of AIG and other institutions gloat over his disgrace, all the while stealing BILLIONS of dollars at the expense of the average American tax payer, you and I. It seems that the masses and the media care more about the sex lives of those in power, than the outrageous greediness and fraud that is perpetrated upon us by the rich and powerful of Wall Street. This film made me angry and disgusted. GRADE--------A-
When a young chef is bypassed for promotion at his high end restaurant, he quits and ends up helping out at his father's run down, greasy-spoon east Indian restaurant, and by doing so, finds his cooking inspiration and a girlfriend to boot. This is a very familiar story, with every plot point predictable from the onset, and the actors play it very broadly. While it's heart is in the right place, most of the jokes fall flat and the film lacks energy. TODAY'S SPECIAL doesn't live up to it's title. GRADE-------C+
The new thriller starring Russell Crowe, called THE NEXT THREE DAYS, is a major disappointment. The plot is the main culprit, since the film starts off with the arrest of his wife (Elizabeth Banks) but we aren't sure what for until later in the film, and that confuses us from the start. Then we never know what really happened until the very end of the film, and by that time I didn't really care. Here is an ordinary man whose wife is in prison for murder--somewhat of a mild-manner Everyman, who manages to track down and interview a famous felon who managed to escape from prison many years ago and is happy to spill the details (!?!) and then decides to break his wife out of prison because he loves her so much (?!?). The plotting didn't make much logical sense to me. He ends up paying a deaf motorcycle hoodlum (!?) to create new passports for his family, and creates a whole map with pictures and charts on the kitchen wall of his plan. (Apparently he had no friends or family who would drop in to visit, even though he has a son in elementary school who must have been suspicious, and he acts strangely towards his in-laws--but they must never go to the house, either.) And don't get me started on the scene where he single-handedly steals money from a meth-lab house BY SETTING THE HOUSE ON FIRE (!!!!!!!!!) and then tries to be heroic by pulling a drug dealer out of the flames and putting him in his car (!!!!!!) When the break out plan does start into motion, he seems to turn into James Bond, with everything seeming to fall his way. I didn't buy it for a second. The drama is manipulated in every possible manner (suspense, drama, tears, love), sort of like the ickiness I felt when I watched director Paul Haggis' earlier film CRASH in 2005. Sometimes his writing works as in CASINO ROYALE and MILLION DOLLAR BABY, but when he's off, he's really off. GRADE-------D+
______________
This was a busy week for DVD's and some TCM selections. Now over 25 years old, the made-for TV film THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MISS JANE PITTMAN (1974) still holds up incredibly well, especially the career capping performance of Cicely Tyson, who won the best Actress Emmy for her role as a woman's remarkable life from age 12 as a slave through age 110. The final simple scene in front of the courthouse is one of the most memorable moments captured on film in any medium, and has haunted me since I first saw it on TV long ago. It still carries a big BIG punch. GRADE-----B+
An early Bette Davis film I'd never seen turned out to be an excellent example of the soap opera/three hankie melodrama---THE OLD MAID (1939)--and that year was what many consider to be the golden year of Hollywood films. (Great films from 1939 include GONE WITH THE WIND, GOODBYE MR. CHIPS, STAGECOACH, DARK VICTORY, NINOTCHKA, WUTHERING HEIGHTS, MR SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, and the amazing WIZARD OF OZ.) Add THE OLD MAID to that incredible line up. Davis and Miriam Hopkins play cousins who compete for the affections of the same man--a rivalry which spans many years. The biggest fireworks seem to come on the day of some important event--usually a wedding, where some lurid secret must be revealed at that very moment---just minutes before the ceremony!!!!! Set in the 1860's-thru the turn of the century, this story based on the Edith Wharton novel, is an engrossing, and entertaining bit of Americana. GRADE------B+
I think the recent SEX AND THE CITY II (2010) got a bum rap when it opened to scathing reviews last May during SIFF, so I missed it then. I realized early on that the (very) few laughs in the first half hour were actually very serious--the opening scenes features an over-the-top gay wedding, complete with a full men's chorus and Liza Minnelli, but in lieu of the current political (gay marriage) climate, it is actually rather enlightening as the characters reflect on love and marriage and change. The film seems to reposition itself into out and out drama by the end. Fans of the TV series were bound to be disappointed by the lack of smart, shocking sex comedy antics, and I know I had to reset my expectations differently, but I think there were some very clever, sly, shocking and moving moments in the story that sees the four best friends reconnecting in a trip to Abu Dhabi and discovering that their lives had all changed drastically. Their shallowness becomes truly appalling to themselves, as they grapple with restrictive customs of the Middle East and issues dealing with their changing bodies and more adult relationships. Do I wish there were more laughs? Sure, but I was never bored, and the writers keep the faith by exploring sides of the women we didn't really get to see on TV. Except maybe Samantha, who's still a wanton slut obsessed with sex. Yeah. GRADE------B
An early, episodic George Stevens film, ANNIE OAKLEY(1935) features a sparkling Barbara Stanwyck as the most famous sharp shooter in the world, who joins Buffalo Bill's Wild West show and has a romantic relationship with another sharp shooter. The Wild West show seemed portrayed very authentically. Another charming bit of Americana. GRADE-----B
I saw my first two Brigitte Bardot films this week. The first is a comedy mystery called COME DANCE WITH ME! (1959) which has Bardot joining a dance studio to try to solve the murder of her husband's blackmailer. The plot is nothing special, but Bardot is a revelation to the uninitiated. There are several homosexual characters that are treated with natural grace, so it comes as a bit of a shock when some nasty stereotypes are dragged out towards end of the film. GRADE-----B-
An earlier Bardot film, NAUGHTY GIRL (1956) aka MAM'ZELLE PIGALLE has a younger teen Brigitte staying with a famous entertainer friend of her father while he's away, and she innocently wrecks havoc on all concerned. She is delightfully charming, the best thing in the film, and clearly a star in the making. GRADE------C+
Cary Grant and Betsy Drake (who were married at the time) star in a sentimental comedy called ROOM FOR ONE MORE (1952), about a kind hearted couple who keep adopting kids and pets. Grant keeps complaining that he can't get any (sexual) attention because their house is full of five kids, a large dog, and a litter of kittens, and that running joke becomes rather tiresome, but I have to say that it seemed very true! GRADE------C+
When a young chef is bypassed for promotion at his high end restaurant, he quits and ends up helping out at his father's run down, greasy-spoon east Indian restaurant, and by doing so, finds his cooking inspiration and a girlfriend to boot. This is a very familiar story, with every plot point predictable from the onset, and the actors play it very broadly. While it's heart is in the right place, most of the jokes fall flat and the film lacks energy. TODAY'S SPECIAL doesn't live up to it's title. GRADE-------C+
The new thriller starring Russell Crowe, called THE NEXT THREE DAYS, is a major disappointment. The plot is the main culprit, since the film starts off with the arrest of his wife (Elizabeth Banks) but we aren't sure what for until later in the film, and that confuses us from the start. Then we never know what really happened until the very end of the film, and by that time I didn't really care. Here is an ordinary man whose wife is in prison for murder--somewhat of a mild-manner Everyman, who manages to track down and interview a famous felon who managed to escape from prison many years ago and is happy to spill the details (!?!) and then decides to break his wife out of prison because he loves her so much (?!?). The plotting didn't make much logical sense to me. He ends up paying a deaf motorcycle hoodlum (!?) to create new passports for his family, and creates a whole map with pictures and charts on the kitchen wall of his plan. (Apparently he had no friends or family who would drop in to visit, even though he has a son in elementary school who must have been suspicious, and he acts strangely towards his in-laws--but they must never go to the house, either.) And don't get me started on the scene where he single-handedly steals money from a meth-lab house BY SETTING THE HOUSE ON FIRE (!!!!!!!!!) and then tries to be heroic by pulling a drug dealer out of the flames and putting him in his car (!!!!!!) When the break out plan does start into motion, he seems to turn into James Bond, with everything seeming to fall his way. I didn't buy it for a second. The drama is manipulated in every possible manner (suspense, drama, tears, love), sort of like the ickiness I felt when I watched director Paul Haggis' earlier film CRASH in 2005. Sometimes his writing works as in CASINO ROYALE and MILLION DOLLAR BABY, but when he's off, he's really off. GRADE-------D+
______________
This was a busy week for DVD's and some TCM selections. Now over 25 years old, the made-for TV film THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MISS JANE PITTMAN (1974) still holds up incredibly well, especially the career capping performance of Cicely Tyson, who won the best Actress Emmy for her role as a woman's remarkable life from age 12 as a slave through age 110. The final simple scene in front of the courthouse is one of the most memorable moments captured on film in any medium, and has haunted me since I first saw it on TV long ago. It still carries a big BIG punch. GRADE-----B+
An early Bette Davis film I'd never seen turned out to be an excellent example of the soap opera/three hankie melodrama---THE OLD MAID (1939)--and that year was what many consider to be the golden year of Hollywood films. (Great films from 1939 include GONE WITH THE WIND, GOODBYE MR. CHIPS, STAGECOACH, DARK VICTORY, NINOTCHKA, WUTHERING HEIGHTS, MR SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, and the amazing WIZARD OF OZ.) Add THE OLD MAID to that incredible line up. Davis and Miriam Hopkins play cousins who compete for the affections of the same man--a rivalry which spans many years. The biggest fireworks seem to come on the day of some important event--usually a wedding, where some lurid secret must be revealed at that very moment---just minutes before the ceremony!!!!! Set in the 1860's-thru the turn of the century, this story based on the Edith Wharton novel, is an engrossing, and entertaining bit of Americana. GRADE------B+
I think the recent SEX AND THE CITY II (2010) got a bum rap when it opened to scathing reviews last May during SIFF, so I missed it then. I realized early on that the (very) few laughs in the first half hour were actually very serious--the opening scenes features an over-the-top gay wedding, complete with a full men's chorus and Liza Minnelli, but in lieu of the current political (gay marriage) climate, it is actually rather enlightening as the characters reflect on love and marriage and change. The film seems to reposition itself into out and out drama by the end. Fans of the TV series were bound to be disappointed by the lack of smart, shocking sex comedy antics, and I know I had to reset my expectations differently, but I think there were some very clever, sly, shocking and moving moments in the story that sees the four best friends reconnecting in a trip to Abu Dhabi and discovering that their lives had all changed drastically. Their shallowness becomes truly appalling to themselves, as they grapple with restrictive customs of the Middle East and issues dealing with their changing bodies and more adult relationships. Do I wish there were more laughs? Sure, but I was never bored, and the writers keep the faith by exploring sides of the women we didn't really get to see on TV. Except maybe Samantha, who's still a wanton slut obsessed with sex. Yeah. GRADE------B
An early, episodic George Stevens film, ANNIE OAKLEY(1935) features a sparkling Barbara Stanwyck as the most famous sharp shooter in the world, who joins Buffalo Bill's Wild West show and has a romantic relationship with another sharp shooter. The Wild West show seemed portrayed very authentically. Another charming bit of Americana. GRADE-----B
I saw my first two Brigitte Bardot films this week. The first is a comedy mystery called COME DANCE WITH ME! (1959) which has Bardot joining a dance studio to try to solve the murder of her husband's blackmailer. The plot is nothing special, but Bardot is a revelation to the uninitiated. There are several homosexual characters that are treated with natural grace, so it comes as a bit of a shock when some nasty stereotypes are dragged out towards end of the film. GRADE-----B-
An earlier Bardot film, NAUGHTY GIRL (1956) aka MAM'ZELLE PIGALLE has a younger teen Brigitte staying with a famous entertainer friend of her father while he's away, and she innocently wrecks havoc on all concerned. She is delightfully charming, the best thing in the film, and clearly a star in the making. GRADE------C+
Cary Grant and Betsy Drake (who were married at the time) star in a sentimental comedy called ROOM FOR ONE MORE (1952), about a kind hearted couple who keep adopting kids and pets. Grant keeps complaining that he can't get any (sexual) attention because their house is full of five kids, a large dog, and a litter of kittens, and that running joke becomes rather tiresome, but I have to say that it seemed very true! GRADE------C+
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Wasteland, Unstoppable, Morning Glory, Boys Are Back
The best documentary at SIFF last May was an amazing film that illustrates how art can affect and possibly change the lives those who make it and view it. In this case, the art can empower the people living at the bottom of society. WASTELAND chronicles Sao Paulo born artist Vic Muniz (now living in Brooklyn) as he goes back to Sao Paulo to a land fill dump, and creates some astonishing works of art out of the garbage that is collected there, with the help of some local garbage collectors and sorters. The film has great emotional power as it shows how subjects become overcome when they realize that even their humble lives can have great beauty and dignity. The film doesn't flinch or sugar coat--there are some tragic ramifications, too, as it raises that decades old question--if you offer a poor, disadvantaged person a way out of the ghetto through art (or acting or a taste of some sort of celebrity, etc.) then how responsible are you to keep them out of poverty? Indeed, how do you keep them out of poverty without supporting them totally? GRADE--------A
UNSTOPPABLE is a runaway train thriller starring Denzel Washington, and it works about as well as this situation can work itself out. Fortunately, the camera work is not as chaotic as other thrillers (the dreadfully jerking camera work drove me crazy in the recent FAIR GAME and BOURNE films) and the actors are all game. It is a popcorn movie--loud enough to drowned out the chomping of kernels, but smart and swift enough to keep most people from feeling the need to chomp in the first place. Satisfyingly and realistically grounded. GRADE-----B
The script is witty and fast, and the leads, especially Diane Keaton and Harrison Ford add some charming gravitas to the familiar story of a young naive girl (a flighty and sweet Rachel McAdams) who gets a dream job as an executive producer for a struggling early early morning TV talk show in NYC and struggles to raise it up in the ratings. The film, MORNING GLORY actually gets better at the half way mark, when she tries to convince the higher executives and her cranky co-hosts (Keaton and Ford) to try to lighten up and stop taking things so seriously, and there is a lot of humor in seeing these old pros try to be civil while acting like fools for the cameras. We do know where it is all headed, however, but it is an easy watch.
GRADE-------B-
The remaining films of the week are all from the public library's DVD collection. Released just last year, THE BOYS ARE BACK (2009)stars Clive Owen and was directed by Australian Scott Hicks who created the wonderful SHINE over 10 years ago. Based on a true story and book, the film creates a world where a widowed man must build a relationship with his young son after the death of his wife and then also with his older teen son who lives in England with his ex-wife. He does this by giving them a lot of freedom, and things don't always go very well. There is a strong sense of sadness and grieving in the early part of the film, but the film centers on the love and humanity of this damaged family, and transcends the circumstances of losing a loved one. The two sons are played with extraordinary skill by two unknowns and the film looks gorgeous, with beautiful scenery of southern Australia. The music is moving and technically this is one quality movie-- an under appreciated GEM...... GRADE-------A-
Samuel Fuller's NAKED KISS (1964) is a lucid, sometimes lurid melodrama of an ex-prostitute who is trying to go good in a new small town, but of course, many folks, especially the town cop who beds her when she first arrives, think she can never change. The opening scene is most memorable, as a bald woman pummels a drunken man unconscious with a very large and heavy purse. This is our first glimpse of the heroine, played with striking authority by Constance Towers, who reminds me a great deal in this film of the beautiful,icy cold but humane presence of Tippi Hedren (THE BIRDS and MARNIE). Towers has appeared on quite a number of TV shows over the years (including Perry Mason, Young and the Restless and Frasier just to name a few, and currently she's a regular on General Hospital) but this film and Fuller's SHOCK CORRIDOR (1963) are her most memorable films. She is so watchable and likable in this potboiler that it is a shame she hasn't made it bigger in movies. This is the performance of her life and she will mesmerize you. GRADE------B+
The British spy thriller THE QUILLER MEMORANDUM (1966) reminds me of other classy, down and dirty (and subtle) spy films from mostly the 1960's which include IPCRESS FILE, FUNERAL IN BERLIN (both with a young Michael Caine as spy Harry Palmer), and THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD and others, which were sort of an antidote from the glossy, noisy Ian Fleming/James Bond extravagances. George Segal is in Berlin trying to find the headquarters of the continuing neo-Nazi presence of this post WWII city, and a dashing Max Von Sydow is his nemesis, with Senta Berger and Alec Guiness in support. Intriguing, if a bit underwhelming, with an economical script by Harold Pinter. GRADE-----B.
UNSTOPPABLE is a runaway train thriller starring Denzel Washington, and it works about as well as this situation can work itself out. Fortunately, the camera work is not as chaotic as other thrillers (the dreadfully jerking camera work drove me crazy in the recent FAIR GAME and BOURNE films) and the actors are all game. It is a popcorn movie--loud enough to drowned out the chomping of kernels, but smart and swift enough to keep most people from feeling the need to chomp in the first place. Satisfyingly and realistically grounded. GRADE-----B
The script is witty and fast, and the leads, especially Diane Keaton and Harrison Ford add some charming gravitas to the familiar story of a young naive girl (a flighty and sweet Rachel McAdams) who gets a dream job as an executive producer for a struggling early early morning TV talk show in NYC and struggles to raise it up in the ratings. The film, MORNING GLORY actually gets better at the half way mark, when she tries to convince the higher executives and her cranky co-hosts (Keaton and Ford) to try to lighten up and stop taking things so seriously, and there is a lot of humor in seeing these old pros try to be civil while acting like fools for the cameras. We do know where it is all headed, however, but it is an easy watch.
GRADE-------B-
The remaining films of the week are all from the public library's DVD collection. Released just last year, THE BOYS ARE BACK (2009)stars Clive Owen and was directed by Australian Scott Hicks who created the wonderful SHINE over 10 years ago. Based on a true story and book, the film creates a world where a widowed man must build a relationship with his young son after the death of his wife and then also with his older teen son who lives in England with his ex-wife. He does this by giving them a lot of freedom, and things don't always go very well. There is a strong sense of sadness and grieving in the early part of the film, but the film centers on the love and humanity of this damaged family, and transcends the circumstances of losing a loved one. The two sons are played with extraordinary skill by two unknowns and the film looks gorgeous, with beautiful scenery of southern Australia. The music is moving and technically this is one quality movie-- an under appreciated GEM...... GRADE-------A-
Samuel Fuller's NAKED KISS (1964) is a lucid, sometimes lurid melodrama of an ex-prostitute who is trying to go good in a new small town, but of course, many folks, especially the town cop who beds her when she first arrives, think she can never change. The opening scene is most memorable, as a bald woman pummels a drunken man unconscious with a very large and heavy purse. This is our first glimpse of the heroine, played with striking authority by Constance Towers, who reminds me a great deal in this film of the beautiful,icy cold but humane presence of Tippi Hedren (THE BIRDS and MARNIE). Towers has appeared on quite a number of TV shows over the years (including Perry Mason, Young and the Restless and Frasier just to name a few, and currently she's a regular on General Hospital) but this film and Fuller's SHOCK CORRIDOR (1963) are her most memorable films. She is so watchable and likable in this potboiler that it is a shame she hasn't made it bigger in movies. This is the performance of her life and she will mesmerize you. GRADE------B+
The British spy thriller THE QUILLER MEMORANDUM (1966) reminds me of other classy, down and dirty (and subtle) spy films from mostly the 1960's which include IPCRESS FILE, FUNERAL IN BERLIN (both with a young Michael Caine as spy Harry Palmer), and THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD and others, which were sort of an antidote from the glossy, noisy Ian Fleming/James Bond extravagances. George Segal is in Berlin trying to find the headquarters of the continuing neo-Nazi presence of this post WWII city, and a dashing Max Von Sydow is his nemesis, with Senta Berger and Alec Guiness in support. Intriguing, if a bit underwhelming, with an economical script by Harold Pinter. GRADE-----B.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Hereafter, Fair Game, Life As We Know It, Jolene
Clint Eastwood keeps churning out a movie a year, and they are predictably smooth, entertaining, engrossing and watchable. This is equally true of his latest film HEREAFTER, which despite the fact that there are a lot of this type of topic on TV and theatre and movies (think MEDIUM, The MENTALIST, The SIXTH SENSE to name just a few), Eastwood makes this film very serious and contemplative, and because it is so well acted and produced, our attention is held raptly for the whole two hours. Afterwards we might complain that we've seen it all before, but at the time it works well. There is a particularly rapturous and frightening early segment that is awesome in its technical skill and special effects---a tsunami hits an Indonesian coastal village---but the rest of the film is more concerned with feelings of loss and loneliness, and sadness permeates most every scene. GRADE------B
There is a good, complex political story in FAIR GAME (a lame title) by director Doug Liman, which is based on the true story of Valerie Plame, the ex-CIA spy who was outed by the Bush administration in retaliation for articles written by her husband writer Joe Wilson about the lack of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and the political lying and coverup. Unfortunately, the film is nearly undone by a busy camera style that feels like the camera-person is a 12 year old dyslexic boy filming while on roller skates. Watching such a film makes a lot of people nauseous and can give you a headache. It is certainly annoying, and instead of creating tension (the plot has plenty of that anyway) it makes you want to escape to the exit. Fortunately, the plot has a lot of surprises and irony, and the actors, especially leads Naomi Watts and Sean Penn create a very human side to these protagonists. GRADE--------B
I kept avoiding SECRETARIAT because it seemed to be promoted as a generic Disney-fied film, and I was partly right. (I saw it this week because AMC theatres have now added early matinees before noon on Fridays in addition to Saturdays and Sundays for just $5 and I was desperate to see something to show my support. I ended up with a PERSONAL, PRIVATE screening, and enjoyed myself for it.) The film plays like a very safe, gentrified version that many Disney dramas fall in to. But the story is very engrossing, and the ace in this film is Diane Lane's strong performance as a wife and mother of four who against the odds (and her husband's wishes) takes over her dying father's horse ranch and raises and trains the remarkable big red horse who went on to win the very rare triple crown of horse racing. A colorful near-hammy performance by John Malkovich is also quite entertaining, and by the end I was won over. GRADE------B-
LIFE AS WE KNOW IT is a predictably plotted comic filming of a sad and serious subject. When a young couple dies in a car crash, they leave the care and upbringing of their baby to their best single friends---two people who tried to date once, disastrously, and who now hate each other. They are forced now together to raise this one year old. Thankfully, Kathrine Heigl (Grey's Anatomy) and Josh Duhamel (TV's Las Vegas) are charming together and create some interest in the obvious plot trajectory. GRADE---------C+
One of the first creators of the Seattle International Film Festival, director
Dan Ireland's latest film was screened several years ago at SIFF, and has just now started opening around the country. To be fair, the film has almost faded from my memory and I have not seen this latest version which may have been tweaked or reedited, but what I remember most was that the film seemed to be a hodge podge of adventures as the young main character called JOLENE (played nicely by newcomer Jessica Chastain) grows up from her teen years from a neglected orphan to a manipulative young adult, the result of abusive relationships and an unloving family base. The most distinctive episode has her under the care (in prison) of a lonely guard (Frances Fisher) who has sexual designs on her, and later she becomes involved with a Las Vegas mobster, with tragic results. The film ends enigmatically. I didn't really care too much about her. Yes, it was a hard knock life, but she is also portrayed as an amoral, mixed up human being who makes a lot of bad choices, too. The film was a let down for much of that SIFF audience, who mostly walked out in stunned silence, even though the film makers were present in the audience. GRADE------C
This week the DVD choices were not so hot. My wife and a good friend Curt are both fans of THE LONG LONG TRAILER (1954) which is based on a popular novel at the time, but played to me like an extended version of an I LOVE LUCY episode, where Lucy and Ricki get married and leave for an extended road trip/honeymoon pulling a very (dangerously) long trailer across the country. There are the typical jokes about trying to control a trailer that large (can't pull over easily, can't stop too fast, can't back it up without some catastrophe, etc), and Lucy has a hobby of loading up on canned goods in the already overloaded rig, as well as collecting huge rocks (mini boulders the size of sea turtles) that add tons of weight. I don't think I laughed once, but smiled a few times. Strictly for lovers of I LOVE LUCY. GRADE-----C+
A film noir that seemed rather flat to me was CRISS CROSS (1949) with a strong cast including Burt Lancaster, Yvonne de Carlo and Dan Duryea. It is very watchable (especially de Carlo, who I haven't seen much of except for The Munsters), but raised a lot of red flags for me, and the ending (Shakespearean, with everyone lying dead) left me feeling rather tired instead of inspired. GRADE------C+
Guy Ritchie's film before SHERLOCK HOLMES(2009)--- which plays like another version of LOCK STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS--is called ROCK N ROLLA (2008)which features some amusing performances by Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkenson and Tom Hardy. But is it just me or has he remade the same film some 4 times now. (Also see REVOLVER and SNATCH.) London gangsters with strong accents, lots of humor amidst the violent outbursts, plenty of gun play, plot twists, revenge, murder, torture and corruption and a scene or two of kinky sex. Seen it all before, Guy. Let's try a different genre. (In fact, SHERLOCK HOLMES 2 is coming soon.) GRADE------C+
A British film that was hardly released, CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA (2005) wants so hard to be a BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM or BRIDE AND PREJUDICE or THE WEDDING BANQUET, but it is most definitely not in every aspect. When a young man returns from medical school he moves in with his male lover and his aunt and cousin. Immediately his East Indian family plans for him to get married to a long time family friend, and arranges a wedding party. The young man is so passive that he cannot tell his family that he is gay, so ends up going along with the plans so as not to hurt any one's feelings (?!--what about his boyfriend?!) There are a couple of funny characters, including the abrasive, drunken auntie, her precocious daughter, and the grandmother who loves to give the evil eye to the auntie. After several amusing twists, the truth comes out in a potentially very moving scene, but the film is so poorly filmed and photographed and leisurely directed that even that scene is blown. If ever a film needed to be remade, this one could be improved about 200 percent. GRADE--------C-
There is a good, complex political story in FAIR GAME (a lame title) by director Doug Liman, which is based on the true story of Valerie Plame, the ex-CIA spy who was outed by the Bush administration in retaliation for articles written by her husband writer Joe Wilson about the lack of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and the political lying and coverup. Unfortunately, the film is nearly undone by a busy camera style that feels like the camera-person is a 12 year old dyslexic boy filming while on roller skates. Watching such a film makes a lot of people nauseous and can give you a headache. It is certainly annoying, and instead of creating tension (the plot has plenty of that anyway) it makes you want to escape to the exit. Fortunately, the plot has a lot of surprises and irony, and the actors, especially leads Naomi Watts and Sean Penn create a very human side to these protagonists. GRADE--------B
I kept avoiding SECRETARIAT because it seemed to be promoted as a generic Disney-fied film, and I was partly right. (I saw it this week because AMC theatres have now added early matinees before noon on Fridays in addition to Saturdays and Sundays for just $5 and I was desperate to see something to show my support. I ended up with a PERSONAL, PRIVATE screening, and enjoyed myself for it.) The film plays like a very safe, gentrified version that many Disney dramas fall in to. But the story is very engrossing, and the ace in this film is Diane Lane's strong performance as a wife and mother of four who against the odds (and her husband's wishes) takes over her dying father's horse ranch and raises and trains the remarkable big red horse who went on to win the very rare triple crown of horse racing. A colorful near-hammy performance by John Malkovich is also quite entertaining, and by the end I was won over. GRADE------B-
LIFE AS WE KNOW IT is a predictably plotted comic filming of a sad and serious subject. When a young couple dies in a car crash, they leave the care and upbringing of their baby to their best single friends---two people who tried to date once, disastrously, and who now hate each other. They are forced now together to raise this one year old. Thankfully, Kathrine Heigl (Grey's Anatomy) and Josh Duhamel (TV's Las Vegas) are charming together and create some interest in the obvious plot trajectory. GRADE---------C+
One of the first creators of the Seattle International Film Festival, director
Dan Ireland's latest film was screened several years ago at SIFF, and has just now started opening around the country. To be fair, the film has almost faded from my memory and I have not seen this latest version which may have been tweaked or reedited, but what I remember most was that the film seemed to be a hodge podge of adventures as the young main character called JOLENE (played nicely by newcomer Jessica Chastain) grows up from her teen years from a neglected orphan to a manipulative young adult, the result of abusive relationships and an unloving family base. The most distinctive episode has her under the care (in prison) of a lonely guard (Frances Fisher) who has sexual designs on her, and later she becomes involved with a Las Vegas mobster, with tragic results. The film ends enigmatically. I didn't really care too much about her. Yes, it was a hard knock life, but she is also portrayed as an amoral, mixed up human being who makes a lot of bad choices, too. The film was a let down for much of that SIFF audience, who mostly walked out in stunned silence, even though the film makers were present in the audience. GRADE------C
This week the DVD choices were not so hot. My wife and a good friend Curt are both fans of THE LONG LONG TRAILER (1954) which is based on a popular novel at the time, but played to me like an extended version of an I LOVE LUCY episode, where Lucy and Ricki get married and leave for an extended road trip/honeymoon pulling a very (dangerously) long trailer across the country. There are the typical jokes about trying to control a trailer that large (can't pull over easily, can't stop too fast, can't back it up without some catastrophe, etc), and Lucy has a hobby of loading up on canned goods in the already overloaded rig, as well as collecting huge rocks (mini boulders the size of sea turtles) that add tons of weight. I don't think I laughed once, but smiled a few times. Strictly for lovers of I LOVE LUCY. GRADE-----C+
A film noir that seemed rather flat to me was CRISS CROSS (1949) with a strong cast including Burt Lancaster, Yvonne de Carlo and Dan Duryea. It is very watchable (especially de Carlo, who I haven't seen much of except for The Munsters), but raised a lot of red flags for me, and the ending (Shakespearean, with everyone lying dead) left me feeling rather tired instead of inspired. GRADE------C+
Guy Ritchie's film before SHERLOCK HOLMES(2009)--- which plays like another version of LOCK STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS--is called ROCK N ROLLA (2008)which features some amusing performances by Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkenson and Tom Hardy. But is it just me or has he remade the same film some 4 times now. (Also see REVOLVER and SNATCH.) London gangsters with strong accents, lots of humor amidst the violent outbursts, plenty of gun play, plot twists, revenge, murder, torture and corruption and a scene or two of kinky sex. Seen it all before, Guy. Let's try a different genre. (In fact, SHERLOCK HOLMES 2 is coming soon.) GRADE------C+
A British film that was hardly released, CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA (2005) wants so hard to be a BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM or BRIDE AND PREJUDICE or THE WEDDING BANQUET, but it is most definitely not in every aspect. When a young man returns from medical school he moves in with his male lover and his aunt and cousin. Immediately his East Indian family plans for him to get married to a long time family friend, and arranges a wedding party. The young man is so passive that he cannot tell his family that he is gay, so ends up going along with the plans so as not to hurt any one's feelings (?!--what about his boyfriend?!) There are a couple of funny characters, including the abrasive, drunken auntie, her precocious daughter, and the grandmother who loves to give the evil eye to the auntie. After several amusing twists, the truth comes out in a potentially very moving scene, but the film is so poorly filmed and photographed and leisurely directed that even that scene is blown. If ever a film needed to be remade, this one could be improved about 200 percent. GRADE--------C-
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