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+
Monday, November 22, 2010
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-
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
R.E.D, Conviction, Last Train Home plus more Dickens
LAST TRAIN HOME is a fascinating documentary about the eye opening mass holiday migration that nearly all of China takes at the same time--like what happens to a lessor degree in the Christmas holiday season in the US, but in China most factories close down for the two week period, and most everyone wants to go home to visit family since so many workers have left their families to find work in the city. Of course, there are never enough seats on the planes or trains to accommodate everyone at the same time, and this causes lots of emotional stress and a great expense of time and money just to spend what may end up to be a few days with their family. (If ever a country needed to space out their vacation time for workers, this is the one.) The film follows a family trying desperately to board an overcrowded train, and having to spend several days at a very packed train station waiting for room--it seems to be every man for himself. Then when they finally get to their destination, the stress of living apart takes it's toll, especially on the young kids, who resent living with grandparents apart from their parents. It's an emotional roller coaster of a film. Grade-----B
An action popcorn movie, easy to watch with some great moments by the actors including Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, John Malkovitch and Mary Louise Parker, the film R.E.D (which stands for Retired Extremely Dangerous) soon disappears from memory within hours after viewing. The setup has the FBI trying to terminate a retired agent (Willis), but of course he's too good for them in spite of the 25 to 1 odds. He sets out to recruit some other ex-agents to find out why this is happening and discovers that the corruption comes from very high up. The bullets fly, there's lots of running around the country, and far-fetched plotting. Forgettable fun.... Grade-----B-
Two-time Oscar winner Hillary Swank seems to do her best work playing down home, lower class characters (such as her winning performances in BOYS DON'T CRY and MILLION DOLLAR BABY) and she is the main attraction here. In CONVICTION, based on a true story, she spends nearly twenty years trying to free what she believes to be the unlawful incarceration of her beloved brother for murder, going so far as to become a lawyer during the process. It is an intriguing story, but the film making is routine, making it feel more like a quality made-for-TV drama than a theatrical release. The story and the actors keep you interested, however. Grade-----B-
----------------------------------
The following eight films were shown as part of the Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival held last week at several theatres. Three of them I saw screened at SIFF last May. But since they may not get anymore of a release than festivals, I'm writing about them as possible DVD rental options, since most were quite good.
Beautifully filmed in a Peruvian coastal fishing village, the Spanish film UNDERTOW tells the story of a young married family man with a child on the way, but he also has a secret lover--a sensual male painter/artist who is viewed with suspicion by the locals. Half way through, the movie takes a surprising turn towards the supernatural, but manages to become a heartfelt and moving love story about tolerance, acceptance and the importance of loyalty. Grade----A-
Documenting the likable comedians and singers from New Zealand, THE TOPP TWINS: UNTOUCHABLE GIRLS tell the story of how twin girls born on a farm grew up to be the famous country/pop/folk singers and entertainers (and they yodel, too!) that they are today.
They are also fierce, but charming activists, fighting racism, sexism, global warming, nuclear proliferation and homophobia. And, yep, they are both lesbians, too. Delightful, funny and informative. Grade----A-
EYES WIDE OPEN (from Israel, in Hebrew with English subtitles) is a very thoughtful and intense drama set in Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox community. A butcher with a wife and children finds repressed homosexual feelings coming to the surface when he hires a handsome young outsider as his assistant. His happiness is quickly conflicted by the pressures of the insidious conformity that the community imposes on anyone who does not live according to the majority laws of their religion and responsibility. Beautifully acted and directed. Grade-----A-
SASHA (Germany/Croatia) is a young handsome teen living with his immigrant Croatian family in Cologne and trying to hide his sexuality from his girlfriend and parents, but when his sexy piano teacher announces that he is moving to Vienna, SASHA must make some big moves of his own. This comedy-drama is quite delightful as a wacky family farce, amusing romantic (mis) adventures, coming out drama, and showing the difficulties of trying to live someone elses dream. Grade-----B+
Oh, those Spanish twenty-somethings. A young man gets jealous of his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend, so he decides to befriend the new boyfriend to stay close to his ex. Since she doesn't want him back, that is his PLAN B (from Argentina). The film moves very slowly as they get to know each other, and is surprisingly contemplative in it's theme of how carefully thin the line can be between homo and hetro sexual proclivities It also explores bi- and ambi- sexual natures in very subtle ways. It is interesting, but you will need a lot of patience to get through some of the long takes, some of which include gratuitous crouch shots. (It plays like the Spanish version of the French JEANNE DIELMAN. Or is could have been made by Ming-liang Tsai-- the director of GOODBYE DRAGON INN and THE HOLE and THE RIVER--but not as insightful or fascinating.) Grade----B-
From Tunisia and France comes a film called THE STRING, about a young man who returns after the death of his father, from France to his family estate in Tunisia. His well meaning mother (it's been a long time since we've seen Claudia Cardinale....she looked and seemed more like a grandmother than mother) wants him to marry but he has other plans, mainly the handsome handy man employed at the estate. It's exotic and watchable, as the family members struggle with tradition and change and open sexuality, but I wish it had a bigger punch to it. Grade-----B-
A DIFFERENT KIND OF LOVE (from Czech Republic) is a short 60 minutes, but quickly paced film (with too much herky-jerky camera movements for my taste) about a married woman's discovery of her gayness. Her husband is not too happy with her affair with another teacher at her school, and does and says a lot of typical mean things that we have seen before in other movies about infidelity---these things would have been said even if she was seeing a man instead of a woman. Perhaps that is what is so interesting about this film. The actors are quite natural and likable, and the tension between the characters feels real. Grade----B-
From the Bahamas comes CHILDREN OF GOD, an exotic and sumptuous-looking film of an interracial love between two men--an introverted white artist and a sexy, irresponsible black man, but their ethnic differences hardly matter in this ambitious but pointless, convoluted plot. Things get complicated when the black man's mother and his girlfriend (!) show up unannounced. There's also a sub plot where a preacher's wife is spear heading a political anti-gay crusade on the island--her own marriage is troubled by the preacher who has given her a venereal disease because he's on the "down-low." Not very subtle stuff here. Grade-----C
--------------------
On DVD this week was an eight hour BBC version of Charles Dickens MARTIN CHUZZELWIT (1994) with Paul Scofield and Tom Wilkenson. While not as delightful and eyeopening as the recently reviewed LITTLE DORRIT, this intriguing and in depth version was satisfying as drama and for it's cast of wacky, memorable characters. Every actor seemed to really capture something funny or unique about their character's personality. Grade------B+
An action popcorn movie, easy to watch with some great moments by the actors including Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, John Malkovitch and Mary Louise Parker, the film R.E.D (which stands for Retired Extremely Dangerous) soon disappears from memory within hours after viewing. The setup has the FBI trying to terminate a retired agent (Willis), but of course he's too good for them in spite of the 25 to 1 odds. He sets out to recruit some other ex-agents to find out why this is happening and discovers that the corruption comes from very high up. The bullets fly, there's lots of running around the country, and far-fetched plotting. Forgettable fun.... Grade-----B-
Two-time Oscar winner Hillary Swank seems to do her best work playing down home, lower class characters (such as her winning performances in BOYS DON'T CRY and MILLION DOLLAR BABY) and she is the main attraction here. In CONVICTION, based on a true story, she spends nearly twenty years trying to free what she believes to be the unlawful incarceration of her beloved brother for murder, going so far as to become a lawyer during the process. It is an intriguing story, but the film making is routine, making it feel more like a quality made-for-TV drama than a theatrical release. The story and the actors keep you interested, however. Grade-----B-
----------------------------------
The following eight films were shown as part of the Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival held last week at several theatres. Three of them I saw screened at SIFF last May. But since they may not get anymore of a release than festivals, I'm writing about them as possible DVD rental options, since most were quite good.
Beautifully filmed in a Peruvian coastal fishing village, the Spanish film UNDERTOW tells the story of a young married family man with a child on the way, but he also has a secret lover--a sensual male painter/artist who is viewed with suspicion by the locals. Half way through, the movie takes a surprising turn towards the supernatural, but manages to become a heartfelt and moving love story about tolerance, acceptance and the importance of loyalty. Grade----A-
Documenting the likable comedians and singers from New Zealand, THE TOPP TWINS: UNTOUCHABLE GIRLS tell the story of how twin girls born on a farm grew up to be the famous country/pop/folk singers and entertainers (and they yodel, too!) that they are today.
They are also fierce, but charming activists, fighting racism, sexism, global warming, nuclear proliferation and homophobia. And, yep, they are both lesbians, too. Delightful, funny and informative. Grade----A-
EYES WIDE OPEN (from Israel, in Hebrew with English subtitles) is a very thoughtful and intense drama set in Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox community. A butcher with a wife and children finds repressed homosexual feelings coming to the surface when he hires a handsome young outsider as his assistant. His happiness is quickly conflicted by the pressures of the insidious conformity that the community imposes on anyone who does not live according to the majority laws of their religion and responsibility. Beautifully acted and directed. Grade-----A-
SASHA (Germany/Croatia) is a young handsome teen living with his immigrant Croatian family in Cologne and trying to hide his sexuality from his girlfriend and parents, but when his sexy piano teacher announces that he is moving to Vienna, SASHA must make some big moves of his own. This comedy-drama is quite delightful as a wacky family farce, amusing romantic (mis) adventures, coming out drama, and showing the difficulties of trying to live someone elses dream. Grade-----B+
Oh, those Spanish twenty-somethings. A young man gets jealous of his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend, so he decides to befriend the new boyfriend to stay close to his ex. Since she doesn't want him back, that is his PLAN B (from Argentina). The film moves very slowly as they get to know each other, and is surprisingly contemplative in it's theme of how carefully thin the line can be between homo and hetro sexual proclivities It also explores bi- and ambi- sexual natures in very subtle ways. It is interesting, but you will need a lot of patience to get through some of the long takes, some of which include gratuitous crouch shots. (It plays like the Spanish version of the French JEANNE DIELMAN. Or is could have been made by Ming-liang Tsai-- the director of GOODBYE DRAGON INN and THE HOLE and THE RIVER--but not as insightful or fascinating.) Grade----B-
From Tunisia and France comes a film called THE STRING, about a young man who returns after the death of his father, from France to his family estate in Tunisia. His well meaning mother (it's been a long time since we've seen Claudia Cardinale....she looked and seemed more like a grandmother than mother) wants him to marry but he has other plans, mainly the handsome handy man employed at the estate. It's exotic and watchable, as the family members struggle with tradition and change and open sexuality, but I wish it had a bigger punch to it. Grade-----B-
A DIFFERENT KIND OF LOVE (from Czech Republic) is a short 60 minutes, but quickly paced film (with too much herky-jerky camera movements for my taste) about a married woman's discovery of her gayness. Her husband is not too happy with her affair with another teacher at her school, and does and says a lot of typical mean things that we have seen before in other movies about infidelity---these things would have been said even if she was seeing a man instead of a woman. Perhaps that is what is so interesting about this film. The actors are quite natural and likable, and the tension between the characters feels real. Grade----B-
From the Bahamas comes CHILDREN OF GOD, an exotic and sumptuous-looking film of an interracial love between two men--an introverted white artist and a sexy, irresponsible black man, but their ethnic differences hardly matter in this ambitious but pointless, convoluted plot. Things get complicated when the black man's mother and his girlfriend (!) show up unannounced. There's also a sub plot where a preacher's wife is spear heading a political anti-gay crusade on the island--her own marriage is troubled by the preacher who has given her a venereal disease because he's on the "down-low." Not very subtle stuff here. Grade-----C
--------------------
On DVD this week was an eight hour BBC version of Charles Dickens MARTIN CHUZZELWIT (1994) with Paul Scofield and Tom Wilkenson. While not as delightful and eyeopening as the recently reviewed LITTLE DORRIT, this intriguing and in depth version was satisfying as drama and for it's cast of wacky, memorable characters. Every actor seemed to really capture something funny or unique about their character's personality. Grade------B+
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Superb early story of John Lennon: Nowhere Boy
You don't have to be a Beatles fan or know anything about music to enjoy and be moved by the new film biography based on the early teen years of John Lennon called NOWHERE BOY. The universal story is a theme anyone can relate too. Raised by his stern aunt, the brilliant Kristin Scott-Thomas, the young John finally meets his erratic, flawed mother after 10 years. As played with fascinating skill by Anne-Marie Duff, we know why John is eager to integrate himself into this new family. As the film progresses, we see his interest in music evolve and his
rebellious nature develop. The film has some interesting moments that Beatles fans will recognize as the inspiration to certain songs, but mostly the comic yet moving story plays out as an excellent coming of age/leaving home saga with terrific casting. Aaron Johnson, who starred in last springs KICK-ASS is spot on as the young Lennon--this is a breakout role for him. GRADE------A-
DVD rentals from the library round out the rest of this weeks viewing. Based on the true story of Thailand's most famous kick boxer, BEAUTIFUL BOXER (2004) tells the unusual story of a poor young boy who feels that he is born to be a woman. His winnings from being a kick boxer help feed his family and ultimately fund his sex-change operation. The lead actor Asanee Suwan is very physical and emotional in the role (this is his first acting role--he's a boxer in real life) and is quite compelling. He won the Thai Best Actor award for his role. Despite what could have been a lurid telling, the film is laced with very dramatic scenes punched up with a lot of humor, and the feeling of authenticity in the fighting scenes. GRADE--------B
It took me nearly an hour to realize that I had already seen STEALTH (2006), a French, Polish, Swiss production that leaves a lot of questions and unresolved relationships in its wake. When a young gay French man discovers that his great grandfather may have been Polish, he becomes obsessed with everything Polish, to the point of dumping his boyfriend and trying to marry a Polish nanny staying in France to give her citizenship. When his unhappy sister "kidnaps" him for a road trip to Poland, he rediscovers his sexuality and other family heritage histories. The tone varies between comedy, tragedy, drama and farce, and the actors, while mostly good, seem betrayed by a script that can't decide what, exactly, it is trying to say about love, sex, family, heritage, and road trips. GRADE---------C+
James L. Brooks has made a lot of great films, including AS GOOD AS IT GETS and BROADCAST NEWS, but he has a miss-step with the comedy-drama called SPANGLISH (2004), which like STEALTH (above) has a tone that is all over the map. There is a decent idea here, which involves a newly emigrated woman from Mexico being hired as a housekeeper to an afluent L.A. family of eccentrics. The problem is that this family is so dysfunctional and at odds with each other that the housekeeper seems like the only sane/normal one. And she doesn't even speak English for the first hour of the film. I admired the energy Tea Leoni brings to the neurotic wife (of cook Adam Sandler), but she is so annoyingly contrary to the rest of the family's values and style that it is easy to hate her. The Sandler character is so laid back and obtuse to other issues that you want to slap him. Add to that the chaotic pantomiming and struggle for them (and us) to understand the Spanish only speaking housekeeper (Paz Vega) that the film becomes quite exasperating. Only the bemused, drunken "grandma" Cloris Leachman remains unscathed, and becomes, as a supporting character, the only one to root for in the film. GRADE------C
rebellious nature develop. The film has some interesting moments that Beatles fans will recognize as the inspiration to certain songs, but mostly the comic yet moving story plays out as an excellent coming of age/leaving home saga with terrific casting. Aaron Johnson, who starred in last springs KICK-ASS is spot on as the young Lennon--this is a breakout role for him. GRADE------A-
DVD rentals from the library round out the rest of this weeks viewing. Based on the true story of Thailand's most famous kick boxer, BEAUTIFUL BOXER (2004) tells the unusual story of a poor young boy who feels that he is born to be a woman. His winnings from being a kick boxer help feed his family and ultimately fund his sex-change operation. The lead actor Asanee Suwan is very physical and emotional in the role (this is his first acting role--he's a boxer in real life) and is quite compelling. He won the Thai Best Actor award for his role. Despite what could have been a lurid telling, the film is laced with very dramatic scenes punched up with a lot of humor, and the feeling of authenticity in the fighting scenes. GRADE--------B
It took me nearly an hour to realize that I had already seen STEALTH (2006), a French, Polish, Swiss production that leaves a lot of questions and unresolved relationships in its wake. When a young gay French man discovers that his great grandfather may have been Polish, he becomes obsessed with everything Polish, to the point of dumping his boyfriend and trying to marry a Polish nanny staying in France to give her citizenship. When his unhappy sister "kidnaps" him for a road trip to Poland, he rediscovers his sexuality and other family heritage histories. The tone varies between comedy, tragedy, drama and farce, and the actors, while mostly good, seem betrayed by a script that can't decide what, exactly, it is trying to say about love, sex, family, heritage, and road trips. GRADE---------C+
James L. Brooks has made a lot of great films, including AS GOOD AS IT GETS and BROADCAST NEWS, but he has a miss-step with the comedy-drama called SPANGLISH (2004), which like STEALTH (above) has a tone that is all over the map. There is a decent idea here, which involves a newly emigrated woman from Mexico being hired as a housekeeper to an afluent L.A. family of eccentrics. The problem is that this family is so dysfunctional and at odds with each other that the housekeeper seems like the only sane/normal one. And she doesn't even speak English for the first hour of the film. I admired the energy Tea Leoni brings to the neurotic wife (of cook Adam Sandler), but she is so annoyingly contrary to the rest of the family's values and style that it is easy to hate her. The Sandler character is so laid back and obtuse to other issues that you want to slap him. Add to that the chaotic pantomiming and struggle for them (and us) to understand the Spanish only speaking housekeeper (Paz Vega) that the film becomes quite exasperating. Only the bemused, drunken "grandma" Cloris Leachman remains unscathed, and becomes, as a supporting character, the only one to root for in the film. GRADE------C
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Let Me In: new "cult" classic? plus Never Let Me Go, Freebie (not classics)
Two years ago, the Swedish vampire film LET THE RIGHT ONE IN became a minor hit (for a foreign language film) in the US--and the rights were immediately snapped up for an American remake. The GREAT news is that the new film, LET ME IN is just as good as the original--in fact, some of the plotting makes more sense, and many of the scenes are shot for shot the same. When it first screened at SIFF several years ago, no one really knew anything about it, but it clearly was not what anyone expected. In fact it transcends it's subject matter, and even festival goers who do not like horror or "vampire" films were quite moved by the story which involves a 12 year old boy who is being ignored by his estranged parents, becoming involved with a young girl who has been 12 years old for quite a while. The film doesn't cheat on the classic vampire lore, but it creates a moody, fascinating story that is involving, creepy, satisfying and sympathetic towards its three main characters, although some may complain that the final scene aboard the train leaves more questions than answers. I wish that the producers could have taken the clue from the original on how to promote this new version better. The current picture on the poster of a child making snow angels just doesn't have the emotional depth or edge that the new picture delivers. I would urge you to give this one a try, even if you think you won't like it. This film gets under your skin and may haunt you for months.
GRADE------ B+
DOUBLE TAKE is an initially fascinating experimental film that unfortunately just doesn't jell. By using vintage clips and ads and an Alfred Hitchcock look-alike, the director tries to patch together a thin plot which has Hitchcock meeting his doppelganger (double), and then tries to conjecture that some of Hitchcock's films (with occasional clips) are influential in the Cold War maneuvers. It is all stretched pretty thin. Go see a Hitchcock film instead. GRADE-----C
A one-concept-idea, the new film THE FREEBIE is (what should have been) a 12 minute short film that has been stretched into 85 dreary minutes. A young happy couple talks themselves into giving each other a one time evening where they each can go have a one night stand (sex) with any one else with out feeling guilty or having to explain, etc. The execution is (of course) harder than it seems, and the next day (of course) is filled with remorse and regret. BLAH BLAH BLAH. GRADE------C-
The new film called NEVER LET ME GO, based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, who also wrote REMAINS OF THE DAY, wants to haunt you, too, but I found it to be too mild and obscure. The actors are well cast and the photography and the music are lovely, but the plot, about children raised to be organ (and other body parts) donors doesn't feel right. This is set in the mid 1970's to mid 1990's---where is the rebellion, the sense of righteousness, the social protest? Why do all the characters act so unimpassioned and docile? The film raises questions and red flags at every turn. Even the subplot of jealousy and a misdirected love triangle feels uninspired. I could hardly wait for the film to be over. GRADE-------D+
Back in 1974 when the Worlds Fair was held in Spokane, I went with my parents for a weekend stay. While they were sleeping in the motel bed next to mine, I watched for the first time, and on the late show-- IMITATION OF LIFE (1959) and sobbed so hard that my mother woke up and asked what was the problem. When I told her it was a movie on TV she just shook her head and went back to sleep. I have to say that I cried and cried all over again this past week. This glossy version of the Fannie Hurst novel has got to be one of my favorite tear-jerkers of all time, the it's a lot of fun to watch. Lana Turner has never been better, and John Gavin, Robert Alda, and Sandra Dee are all terrific as her two lovers and her daughter. But best of all is Juanita Moore who plays the good-hearted black woman who works for Turner and must deal with her selfish troubled daughter who tries to pass for white. GRADE------A-
On the same DVD is the first version of IMITATION OF LIFE (1934) which features Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers. Instead of wanting to become an actress which Lana Turner was so good at, Colbert starts selling a pancake mix based on Beavers recipe. Obviously in the 30's the portrayal of black and white friends was more carefully orchestrated. When they make it rich, they both live in the same townhouse mansion, but Beavers and her daughter live downstairs in the basement and Colbert and daughter live upstairs. (In the 1959 version, the mansion is quite large--they have their own wing.) There's a great emotional scene which has them parting, with one ascending and the other descending in the same frame. Beavers daughter also tries to pass for white, and the scenes carry a dangerous feeling of racial hatred. It is most interesting to compare the two pictures. Even though they both have the same story arch, the approach and emotional result is quite different yet effective in both versions. I didn't cry watching this version, but found it to be quite fascinating for its socio-economic milieu and for what-at the time- must have been a very provocative theme. GRADE-----B
Released just one year after the shocking success of Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO, gimmick master and hack director William Castle tried to cash in with HOMICIDAL (1961), the picture with a "fright break," which was 60 seconds of a heart beating and clock ticking to allow frightened people to exit the theatre before the "shocking" ending. The film moves very slowly and oddly--the first murder seems to come out of nowhere, and then there's an hour before things pick up again. The murderess seems so completely psychotic that is seems strange that her boyfriend and their friends don't pick up on the problems much earlier. The finale is surprising, although my wife and I both made a comment half way through that surprised us by actually being true!!!!!! Interesting in an odd, stilted sort of way. GRADE------C+
I didn't remember much about the original movie version of SLEUTH from 1972, except that I thought that Laurence Olivier and Micheal Caine were both very good actors. The remake version of SLEUTH (2007)stars Caine in the Olivier role, and Jude Law as the younger man. It has been modernized and set in a cold stylized British country mansion, and the dialogue is pithy and sharp. The plot is basically a word game between the two characters over the older man's wife, that could turn deadly at any time and I was not emotionally engaged, but found it to be watchable. GRADE-----C
GRADE------ B+
DOUBLE TAKE is an initially fascinating experimental film that unfortunately just doesn't jell. By using vintage clips and ads and an Alfred Hitchcock look-alike, the director tries to patch together a thin plot which has Hitchcock meeting his doppelganger (double), and then tries to conjecture that some of Hitchcock's films (with occasional clips) are influential in the Cold War maneuvers. It is all stretched pretty thin. Go see a Hitchcock film instead. GRADE-----C
A one-concept-idea, the new film THE FREEBIE is (what should have been) a 12 minute short film that has been stretched into 85 dreary minutes. A young happy couple talks themselves into giving each other a one time evening where they each can go have a one night stand (sex) with any one else with out feeling guilty or having to explain, etc. The execution is (of course) harder than it seems, and the next day (of course) is filled with remorse and regret. BLAH BLAH BLAH. GRADE------C-
The new film called NEVER LET ME GO, based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, who also wrote REMAINS OF THE DAY, wants to haunt you, too, but I found it to be too mild and obscure. The actors are well cast and the photography and the music are lovely, but the plot, about children raised to be organ (and other body parts) donors doesn't feel right. This is set in the mid 1970's to mid 1990's---where is the rebellion, the sense of righteousness, the social protest? Why do all the characters act so unimpassioned and docile? The film raises questions and red flags at every turn. Even the subplot of jealousy and a misdirected love triangle feels uninspired. I could hardly wait for the film to be over. GRADE-------D+
Back in 1974 when the Worlds Fair was held in Spokane, I went with my parents for a weekend stay. While they were sleeping in the motel bed next to mine, I watched for the first time, and on the late show-- IMITATION OF LIFE (1959) and sobbed so hard that my mother woke up and asked what was the problem. When I told her it was a movie on TV she just shook her head and went back to sleep. I have to say that I cried and cried all over again this past week. This glossy version of the Fannie Hurst novel has got to be one of my favorite tear-jerkers of all time, the it's a lot of fun to watch. Lana Turner has never been better, and John Gavin, Robert Alda, and Sandra Dee are all terrific as her two lovers and her daughter. But best of all is Juanita Moore who plays the good-hearted black woman who works for Turner and must deal with her selfish troubled daughter who tries to pass for white. GRADE------A-
On the same DVD is the first version of IMITATION OF LIFE (1934) which features Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers. Instead of wanting to become an actress which Lana Turner was so good at, Colbert starts selling a pancake mix based on Beavers recipe. Obviously in the 30's the portrayal of black and white friends was more carefully orchestrated. When they make it rich, they both live in the same townhouse mansion, but Beavers and her daughter live downstairs in the basement and Colbert and daughter live upstairs. (In the 1959 version, the mansion is quite large--they have their own wing.) There's a great emotional scene which has them parting, with one ascending and the other descending in the same frame. Beavers daughter also tries to pass for white, and the scenes carry a dangerous feeling of racial hatred. It is most interesting to compare the two pictures. Even though they both have the same story arch, the approach and emotional result is quite different yet effective in both versions. I didn't cry watching this version, but found it to be quite fascinating for its socio-economic milieu and for what-at the time- must have been a very provocative theme. GRADE-----B
Released just one year after the shocking success of Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO, gimmick master and hack director William Castle tried to cash in with HOMICIDAL (1961), the picture with a "fright break," which was 60 seconds of a heart beating and clock ticking to allow frightened people to exit the theatre before the "shocking" ending. The film moves very slowly and oddly--the first murder seems to come out of nowhere, and then there's an hour before things pick up again. The murderess seems so completely psychotic that is seems strange that her boyfriend and their friends don't pick up on the problems much earlier. The finale is surprising, although my wife and I both made a comment half way through that surprised us by actually being true!!!!!! Interesting in an odd, stilted sort of way. GRADE------C+
I didn't remember much about the original movie version of SLEUTH from 1972, except that I thought that Laurence Olivier and Micheal Caine were both very good actors. The remake version of SLEUTH (2007)stars Caine in the Olivier role, and Jude Law as the younger man. It has been modernized and set in a cold stylized British country mansion, and the dialogue is pithy and sharp. The plot is basically a word game between the two characters over the older man's wife, that could turn deadly at any time and I was not emotionally engaged, but found it to be watchable. GRADE-----C
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Grade "A" films for week: Social Network, Cell 211, and Life and Death of Col. Blimp
It's always a good week when 3 of the 8 films viewed rate an A- or better, and this past week was pretty good.
The first scene from the SOCIAL NETWORK, a new film by David Fincher (FIGHT CLUB) and writer Adam Sorkin (WEST WING), features the future creator of Facebook being dumped by his angry girl friend, mostly because he is inconsiderate, clueless and arrogant, and when she is done he angrily runs back to his dorm room and blogs lots of lies about her and vents his anger at women in general by creating a "vote for the most beautiful student" by comparing two different coeds and having each (mostly) male vote between the two on what becomes a very quickly popular web site. Subject matter aside, the scene is quite startling for several reasons. The first is that the characters talk incredibly fast--double time or maybe even triple time--and you must struggle to keep up to the college jargon and the ideas that are being tossed back and forth. Second is that you know exactly why this young man is being dumped even though he is unaware--you'd dump him yourself if you were in her position. And thirdly, the scene packs in more humor, wit, sarcasm, and drama than many films have in their whole 90 minute screenplay. The good news for the viewer is that this energy and sparkling dialogue keeps right on going, with ups, downs, double-crosses, sarcasms, genius outbursts, crazy parties, betrayal, sex--well, it may not be your college life or mine, but it makes you feel that it should have been. This is an amazingly smart, funny-tragic film, and even if you can't always follow the comupter-eze lingo, it is wonderfully intelligent and entertaining. It could be the movie of the computer-age decade. GRADE----- A-
One of the top films of this year's SIFF, and winner of the Best Actor award, CELL 211 from Spain, starts off with a bang, as a new prison guard, on his first day, is left behind on his prison tour just as the prison inmates begin a violent riot to protest conditions. He must convince the inmates that he is indeed a violent criminal, because if they suspect that he is a prison guard, he will be tortured, used for ransom, and/or killed. As you can imagine, things become very intense very quickly, and the film is very high on sustained tension and drama, with some horrific plot twists and ironic plot resolutions. GRADE-------- A-
I saw two films from the Spanish Film Festival last weekend, and both were well made. The first was RABIA, about a young couple who fall in love. She works for a rich couple as a maid in a huge mansion on the outskirts of town, and he is a short tempered construction worker. When he accidentally kills his foreman, he hides out, unbeknownst to his girl friend, in the attic of the mansion where she works, using the second phone line to call her at work, and stealing food from the kitchen when no one is around. She is pregnant, and lots of tension develops from this scenario---will he make himself know to her, will she be fired for being pregnant, will he be discovered by the couple or their family....?????? As tragic love stories go, this one kept me involved until the melodramatic ending. The second film, called AFTER was about 3 young forty-somethings who have been friends for a while and get together for a night of drinking, drugging, dancing, sex and talking, and then more drugging. The story is told three times from the three different points of view to include their lives outside of this one particular night. I kept thinking that these broken characters should really be over this type of careless behavior by now, and it was rather disturbing watching them self-destruct. GRADE for RABIA------B and for AFTER----B-
The new documentary WAITING FOR SUPERMAN tries to take on the exhaustive subject matter of EDUCATION in general, and ends up focusing on quality "charter schools" --in particular, how sad and frustrating it is for the small amount of kids to get accepted by them. The final 30 minutes is especially grim, as it shows the humiliating lotteries that will pick the small 5% of qualifying kids that can attend these special schools. The first 60 minutes are all over the map with charts and graphs that try to indite principles, teachers, the government, parents, racism and other issues as the reason kids are failing so much. These are ambitious topics to be crammed into 120 minutes--and there is a lot of information here, but the final effect for me was depressing and chaotic exhaustion. GRADE------- B-
Hot young actor Ryan Reynolds stars as an American working in Iran who is kidnapped and BURIED alive in a coffin, and has air and phone service for just 90 minutes to try to negotiate a ransom of a million dollars for his life. The whole film is set in the coffin, using light from his cell phone and a cigarette lighter only, and I kept wondering what cell phone company he was using because it had excellent, clear, multi-functioning, WORLD WIDE service that took forever to wear out, and where does one get a cigarette lighter that will last for an hour and a half with a giant flame like that?!?
Otherwise, the film is a gimmick and a rather tiresome one at that, but Reynolds gives it his all and the film does create some tense, claustrophobic moments. GRADE-------C+
Top pick for the DVD's this week was an excellent British film THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP (1943) from directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger who co-directed an impressive list of films including I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING, THE RED SHOES, STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN, and PEEPING TOM among others. This one covers the period from the Boar War through WWII, and during this 50 year period, charts the career and life and marriage and politics of Colonel Blimp, played with amazing skill and great humor by the remarkable Roger Livesey. Deborah Kerr delightfully plays three different women during his life, and Anton Walbrook charmingly portrays his faithful German friend. At times sentimental, funny, witty and dramatic, this three hour film is a magnificent character study of a staunch British soldier who has a hard time adjusting to "modern" times, and is the perfect example of the type of film that "they just don't make them like this anymore." GRADE------- A
Apparently one of Robert (AMC) Osborne's favorite films of the forties, ROADHOUSE (1948) left me feeling rather non-plussed. Ida Lupino plays the "singer" brought in by the psychotic Richard Widmark to draw in the crowds, but she falls for Widmark's best friend Cornel Wilde. Celeste Holm rounds out the foursome. The plotting was unconvincing, especially when Widmark frames Wilde for stealing the ROADHOUSE receipts. Lupino has a sexy, gravely singing voice and introduces the standard song "AGAIN"---and the cast is definitely the reason for seeing this film, but by the end I was rolling my eyes. GRADE-------C
The first scene from the SOCIAL NETWORK, a new film by David Fincher (FIGHT CLUB) and writer Adam Sorkin (WEST WING), features the future creator of Facebook being dumped by his angry girl friend, mostly because he is inconsiderate, clueless and arrogant, and when she is done he angrily runs back to his dorm room and blogs lots of lies about her and vents his anger at women in general by creating a "vote for the most beautiful student" by comparing two different coeds and having each (mostly) male vote between the two on what becomes a very quickly popular web site. Subject matter aside, the scene is quite startling for several reasons. The first is that the characters talk incredibly fast--double time or maybe even triple time--and you must struggle to keep up to the college jargon and the ideas that are being tossed back and forth. Second is that you know exactly why this young man is being dumped even though he is unaware--you'd dump him yourself if you were in her position. And thirdly, the scene packs in more humor, wit, sarcasm, and drama than many films have in their whole 90 minute screenplay. The good news for the viewer is that this energy and sparkling dialogue keeps right on going, with ups, downs, double-crosses, sarcasms, genius outbursts, crazy parties, betrayal, sex--well, it may not be your college life or mine, but it makes you feel that it should have been. This is an amazingly smart, funny-tragic film, and even if you can't always follow the comupter-eze lingo, it is wonderfully intelligent and entertaining. It could be the movie of the computer-age decade. GRADE----- A-
One of the top films of this year's SIFF, and winner of the Best Actor award, CELL 211 from Spain, starts off with a bang, as a new prison guard, on his first day, is left behind on his prison tour just as the prison inmates begin a violent riot to protest conditions. He must convince the inmates that he is indeed a violent criminal, because if they suspect that he is a prison guard, he will be tortured, used for ransom, and/or killed. As you can imagine, things become very intense very quickly, and the film is very high on sustained tension and drama, with some horrific plot twists and ironic plot resolutions. GRADE-------- A-
I saw two films from the Spanish Film Festival last weekend, and both were well made. The first was RABIA, about a young couple who fall in love. She works for a rich couple as a maid in a huge mansion on the outskirts of town, and he is a short tempered construction worker. When he accidentally kills his foreman, he hides out, unbeknownst to his girl friend, in the attic of the mansion where she works, using the second phone line to call her at work, and stealing food from the kitchen when no one is around. She is pregnant, and lots of tension develops from this scenario---will he make himself know to her, will she be fired for being pregnant, will he be discovered by the couple or their family....?????? As tragic love stories go, this one kept me involved until the melodramatic ending. The second film, called AFTER was about 3 young forty-somethings who have been friends for a while and get together for a night of drinking, drugging, dancing, sex and talking, and then more drugging. The story is told three times from the three different points of view to include their lives outside of this one particular night. I kept thinking that these broken characters should really be over this type of careless behavior by now, and it was rather disturbing watching them self-destruct. GRADE for RABIA------B and for AFTER----B-
The new documentary WAITING FOR SUPERMAN tries to take on the exhaustive subject matter of EDUCATION in general, and ends up focusing on quality "charter schools" --in particular, how sad and frustrating it is for the small amount of kids to get accepted by them. The final 30 minutes is especially grim, as it shows the humiliating lotteries that will pick the small 5% of qualifying kids that can attend these special schools. The first 60 minutes are all over the map with charts and graphs that try to indite principles, teachers, the government, parents, racism and other issues as the reason kids are failing so much. These are ambitious topics to be crammed into 120 minutes--and there is a lot of information here, but the final effect for me was depressing and chaotic exhaustion. GRADE------- B-
Hot young actor Ryan Reynolds stars as an American working in Iran who is kidnapped and BURIED alive in a coffin, and has air and phone service for just 90 minutes to try to negotiate a ransom of a million dollars for his life. The whole film is set in the coffin, using light from his cell phone and a cigarette lighter only, and I kept wondering what cell phone company he was using because it had excellent, clear, multi-functioning, WORLD WIDE service that took forever to wear out, and where does one get a cigarette lighter that will last for an hour and a half with a giant flame like that?!?
Otherwise, the film is a gimmick and a rather tiresome one at that, but Reynolds gives it his all and the film does create some tense, claustrophobic moments. GRADE-------C+
Top pick for the DVD's this week was an excellent British film THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP (1943) from directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger who co-directed an impressive list of films including I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING, THE RED SHOES, STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN, and PEEPING TOM among others. This one covers the period from the Boar War through WWII, and during this 50 year period, charts the career and life and marriage and politics of Colonel Blimp, played with amazing skill and great humor by the remarkable Roger Livesey. Deborah Kerr delightfully plays three different women during his life, and Anton Walbrook charmingly portrays his faithful German friend. At times sentimental, funny, witty and dramatic, this three hour film is a magnificent character study of a staunch British soldier who has a hard time adjusting to "modern" times, and is the perfect example of the type of film that "they just don't make them like this anymore." GRADE------- A
Apparently one of Robert (AMC) Osborne's favorite films of the forties, ROADHOUSE (1948) left me feeling rather non-plussed. Ida Lupino plays the "singer" brought in by the psychotic Richard Widmark to draw in the crowds, but she falls for Widmark's best friend Cornel Wilde. Celeste Holm rounds out the foursome. The plotting was unconvincing, especially when Widmark frames Wilde for stealing the ROADHOUSE receipts. Lupino has a sexy, gravely singing voice and introduces the standard song "AGAIN"---and the cast is definitely the reason for seeing this film, but by the end I was rolling my eyes. GRADE-------C
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)