SIFF Screenings Sat. 26 MAY through Tue. 29 May----Highlights BELLE DE JOUR, REPORTS ON SARAH AND SALEEM, ANGELS WEAR WHITE, THE CAPTAIN, AFGHAN CYCLES......

BELLE DE JOUR---Splendid reissue of classic Luis Bunel film about a cold but beautiful Catherine Deneuve who can't have sex with her husband, so she becomes a prostitute, but her actions create problems for her and her husband.  Restored in 4k with lovely color, sound and print.              GRADE--------A

REPORTS ON SARAH AND SALEEM--Palestine and others--A married Israeli shop owner woman who is married to  a military officer begins an sexual affair with a married Palestinian delivery man who has a pregnant wife, and things go badly for everyone concerned.  An engrossing blend of sex, politics,  and relationships.               GRADE------------A-

THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS--Triplets are seperated at birth. finally meeting each other at age 19,  then discover the diabolical reasons for their separation.  This true story is fascinating and heartbreaking and funny.         GRADE---------A-

ANGELES WEAR WHITE--China/France---Three young women with similar hair styles made it difficult for me for 20 minutes to keep straight the three characters (I know--my problem) but this story of corruption and sexual abuse in power is stylish and heartbreaking.        GRADE---------B+

AFGHAN CYCLES--USA, France, Afghanistan-- Young woman must fight prejudice and
cultural norms to ride a bike in repressive Afghanistan. When the small team gets a chance to ride in a French competition, she decides to defect to France, and her story morphs into the struggles of immigrants not having job, money or home.           GRADE-----------------B+

THE CAPTAIN--Germany, Poland, France--Near the end of WWII, a German soldier running AWOL, discovers a Nazi Captain's uniform, and becomes a cruel participant in Nazi atrocities
-----against fellow Germans!  The film is in black and white, shocking and grim, but unrelentlessly riveting.           GRADE---------- B+

LOVE GILDA--Interesting documentary about life and death of Saturday Night Live comedienne Gilda Radner--a popular personality on the show and on movies and because of her death of cancer, her husband Gene Wilder created a cancer awareness clinic that has world wide recognition.     GRADE----B

VILLAGE ROCKSTARS---Not much happens in this gentle slice of life of a small Indian village, but looking back, life happens big time here---rice paddies, monsoons, flooding, fake music,  kid friendships,  picking betel nuts, puberty.......a lovely little experience.             GRADE-------B

LONG DUMB ROAD---Young man heading for art school picks up a wild, vulgar man child in this amusing, at times outrageously funny road movie that finally stops rather than ends.          GRADE------------B

A MOMENT IN THE REEDS--Finland---A nervous, continuously hand held camera works against the gentle story of  young man who finds  love in the arms of a male casual worker his father has hired to work on a lake cabin.   It didn't help that the voice soundtrack was out of sync for the entire film at my screening.  Also, there was a loud gun like clap every 4-5 minutes throughout the leisurely running time.  Still, some nice, erotic scenes and tension as their relationship builds.        GRADE----------B-

ON HER SHOULDERS--Documentary about woman who became the human face of genocidal tragedy, suffering through illness, abuse and near death by Isis--she goes around the world trying to education governments, raising consciences to help her people.          GRADE------B-

THE PLACE----Italy---Several characters drift into and out of a restaurant, visiting a character who seems to be playing (god? an angel? a prophet? a devil?) a mystery man who tells them what to do, in exchange for giving them something in return.  It felt  static and tiresome, and it felt like it should be a weekly TV show.  I found out later it was based on a TV series.           GRADE-------C+

LUK'LUK'l---Canada----Filmed in Vancouver and based on some true stories about down and outers living poorly on the streets and low income housing, this film uses some of those people who act as them selves--the acting is very mixed, and the issues include drugs usage, alcoholism, poverty, joblessness, mental illness---and in most cases, loneliness  The film is not boring, but it is not edifying.           GRADE-----------C+

FUTURE WAVE SHORTS---Program of short films from kids and teens were all a good idea, but the execution was mostly mediocre except for 3:  an interview with a short man in Vietnam, an animated rumination rant about the problem with electronic devices in our life, and the last film, about an elderly man visited throughout the years by his (also aging) niece, until he doesn't remember her name.               TOTAL AVERAGE--------------C+

THE BOLD, THE CORRUPT, AND THE BEAUTIFUL--Taiwan---The film looks good, if a bit slick with some hand held work, but I could not become engaged in the plot--a family of women seem to be involved in corruption, money laundering, scandal, and possibly mass murder.  It was hard to follow who was doing what to whom, and I soon didn't care.         GRADE-------C

BUTTERFLIES---Turkey---Possibly the most unfunny "comedy" I've ever seen----only one early laugh, then I sat stony faced until I finally left this boring--seemingly improvised film after the silly exploding chicken episode.  To be honest, I was in the minority on this one, but I didn't notice many people laughing either.              GRADE---------C-

SIFF Screenings Sun 20 May through Friday 25 May-------Top films---ANTONIA LOPEZ 1970, FIRST REFORMED, LEAVE NO TRACE, SEE YOU UP THERE, SANCHO THE BAILIFF, SADIE, THE BEAST etc

ANTONIO LOPEZ 1970 SEX FASHION DISCO--Dynamic, creative documentary about fashion illustrator who danced and sexed and drew and worked with such luminaries as Bill Cunningham, Jessica Lange, Jerry Hall, Grace Jones, Karl Lagerfeld and many others, with some lengthy, insightful interviews--creating a vivid impressive image of the wild late 1960's through the 1970's.                   GRADE--------------A

FIRST REFORMED---Excellent comeback film for Paul Schrader combining drama, politics,  religion, this thriller features a fine performance by Ethan Hawkes, and it packs a metaphysical punch.                  GRADE---------A

SANCHO THE BAILIFF--Superior direction, a vividly grim story and spectacular black and white camera work highlight this classic Japanese film from 1954.                     GRADE---------A

SEE YOU UP THERE---From France, a unique story mix of war, comedy, fantasy, and horror set during and after WWI. The lead who has lost his lower face in the war, wears a series of  surprising masks but he has very expressive eyes.                        GRADE-----------A-

LEAVE NO TRACE--Local production about broken veteran trying to live in the wild with his teen daughter.  She longs for some consistency and social structures.  Beautifully rendered.           GRADE-----------A-

MCQUEEN---Fascinating documentary about British genius clothing designer Lee Alexander McQueen and his short but celebrated life as one of the world's great and controversial creative minds.               GRADE--------A-

SADIE----Excellent local drama set in a trailer park, but performed with heartbreaking universality featuring excellent work by Sophia Mitri Scloss as a teen missing her military father and conflicted by her lonely "single" mother Melanie Lynskey.              GRADE-------B+

RAZZIA--Intriguing film from France and Morocco features five different characters demonstrating the challenges of a modernizing Morocco and how it affects their lives.  I particularly loved the epic feel given the film from the musical score.                    GRADE-----B+

MAN OF INTEGRITY--Iranian film about small town corruption used against honest man to force him from his land.  A slow burner with a sad but honest ending.            GRADE-------B+

THE BEAST---British film about relationship between troubled female older teen and a young man who may be the leading suspect to a series of murders in small community. The enigmatic events lead to a creepy ending.                  GRADE-----------B+

MADEMOISELLE PARADIS---Austria----Superior well- mounted bio-pic about a blind pianist who submits herself to a doctor trying to cure her, amid her skeptical family and society bureaucrats.       GRADE-----------B+

SULEIMAN MOUNTAIN---Older wife will do anything to keep her husband from leaving her and preferring new younger wife--all the while traveling the countryside. From Kyrgyzstan.               GRADE----------------B+

ANGELES WEAR WHITE---China
GRADE------B

BEE NATION---Spelling bee movie documentary set in First Nations of Canada made me smile throughout.          GRADE-----B

RACER AND JAILBIRD--Germany.  Slick crime thriller with good girl/bad guy.
GRADE-------B

LUNA--France---Bad girl falls for good guy she helped abuse several weeks earlier.    GRADE----B

STREAKER--Switzerland--Pleasing, naughty comedy drama, set during soccer matches.   GRADE--B

ETERNAL ROAD--Finland--Man forced to live in Russia between World Wars finds horrors.   GRADE-----B

MARLINA THE MURDERER IN FOUR ACTS--Indonesia--Interesting story of revenge is nicely
filmed. but moves a beat too slowly for me.                GRADE--------B-

MARILYN---Argentina---Gay teen struggles to express himself in repressive environment after losing his father.  A modest film leads to shocking ending.               GRADE--------B-

THE MOST UNKNOWN--Belgium, Italy--Lots of talk about unknown scientific facts, but hardly any visuals.  I was disappointed and a bit bored, but scientists and tech people seemed to like it more than me.               GRADE----------C+

DARK RIVER--British film that desperately needed subtitles--most of the dialogue is unintelligible, and this moody, depressing film which deals with an abused woman returning to her home farm is heavy handed and pointless.             GRADE----------D

SIFF Screenings May 14--May 17

ON CHESIL BEACH--Some audience members didn't care for this version of  the Ian McEwan novella, but the actors are fabulous (another earth shattering performance by Saoirse Ronan among others) and the plotting had many people talking and disagreeing.  British newly weds have troubles on their wedding night, some funny, some tragic, and this is the early 1960's.          GRADE--------------A-

HEARTS BEAT LOUD--Likeable, musical drama of father and daughter  starting up a musical group in the weeks before daughter goes off to college.  It reminded me of the film ONCE (but made in the U.S. )where music takes a big part in the drama, and the characters are dominate over the drama.  With Nick Offerman, Ted Danson, Toni Collette and Kiersey Clemons.               GRADE------------------------B+

FAKE TATTOOS--I wasn't sure I was going to like this Canadian (Quebec) film with its wild camera work and heavy metal music in the first 7-8 minutes, but things calm down when these young millennials meet and start a tentative relationship.  I ended up loving the characters--they were like an onion slowly peeling off their armour to reveal some young souls worth learning and caring about.         GRADE-------------B+

PICK OF THE LITTER--Who wouldn't love a documentary about adorable dogs being trained to be guide dogs for the blind. It becomes a cheerful, moving journey for the dogs and the audience.     GRADE--------------B

A KID LIKE JAKE---There's a bit of a TV movie feel, since the cast is all from TV, but this is an otherwise intelligent drama that concentrates on the feelings of ADULTS (teachers and parents) who have a hard time realizing that there beloved child may be transgender.   With Claire Danes, Jim Parsons, Octavia Spencer, Ann Dowd and others.                         GRADE-------B

THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST--Well meaning drama (not an inch of "camp" here) about  teens stuck at a conversion therapy camp to cure their gay inclinations in the 1990's.  The film tries to give equal time and sympathy to both the protagonists and the counselors, but feels at times watered down from stories I've heard and read about.  The actors are all good, including Brit Jennifer Elhe and Chloe Grace Moretz and Sasha Lane (she's also in HEARTS BEAT LOUD)  but this film won the Grand Jury award at Sundance Film Festival, and it makes me think it must have been a slow year for them.       GRADE---------------B

LET THE SUNSHINE IN ----Romantic French drama with lovely Juliette Binoche making some poor choices of men--most of them already married, and she comes across as insecure and needy.  Ironically,  and amusingly, she ends up listening to the mumbo jumbo of a charlatan fortune teller, which explains a lot of her problems.  Mostly for fans of Juliette Binoche.                  GRADE-----------C+

WARRIOR WOMEN--Well meaning documentary of women and Indian rights activist Madonna Thunder Hawk and her daughter Marcella.  The film touches on Alcatraz, Wounded Knee and the Dakota Pipe line protest, but the film feels underwhelming where it should be triumphant and it felt wanting.            GRADE--------------C+

SKATE KITCHEN---Nearly all HAND HELD camera work here feels chaotic and head ache inducing.  This is all about girl skate boarders, who spend time smoking pot, talking trash and skating, skating, skating--doing tricks and surviving accidents.  There's not much story or drama here (except trite stuff like running away from home, breaking a bone, or "you slut you stole my boy friend"), and I have very little interest in watching all that skating.  Some women audience members thought it was novel to watch--saying they would not have been interested if it were boy skaters----unfortunately, I'd agree with that also.                   GRADE-----------C-

THE SONG OF SCORPIONS--Indian film set in Thar Desert, but it moves at a snail's pace, and after one hour I slipped into unconsciousness and snored softly for a few minutes, but didn't seem to miss a thing.  Tove didn't think it necessary to wake me.  What was happening?  Why?  Where did grandma go, and why?  Do scorpion stings kill everyone or just occasionally?  Nothing seems to be resolved, but main woman is angry, and she sings, sings, sings.   Why?  Even after murder attempt, husband still loves his wife.  Why?  What the hell is this movie about?  In general, most men I  talked to were befuddled and hated this film.  Some women seemed to find the film fulfilling.  Yikes.                 GRADE-------D

  

TULLY, SUNDAY IN NEW YORK (1963) plus SIFF Screenings begin.......

This new comedy drama TULLY from director Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody--it's their fourth film together, deals with the frustration and difficulties of child birth and infant rearing, and for the first 3/4th of running time it works beautifully,  with Charlize Theron giving a heartfelt, passionate, physical performance (she gained 50 pounds for the role) as a mother near the end of her tether as her children and new infant demand more attention than she has left.   TULLY is the name of a night nurse who comes to her rescue, taking care of the child at night so she can get some much needed rest.  I will concede that the final 20 minutes felt like a cheat for me, although many (especially women) may find the film very satisfying, and many will find the ending a clever enough explanation for that feeling.    With Ron Livingston as her loving husband, Mark Duplass as her concerned brother and Mackensie Davis as the mysterious nanny.               GRADE-------B  



Viewed on TV

SUNDAY IN NEW YORK 1963---Back in the day this film was released, this modest sex comedy may have seemed rather risque, although today it seems quite tame.  It is saved by some charming performances by Jane Fonda who has just broken up with her fiance because he wanted sex before marriage, and Cliff Robertson as her pilot brother, who assures her he has never had sex with a woman----saving himself for marriage.  She soon finds out he is a liar, and decides to throw herself at a strange man (Rod Taylor) she meets on a bus.  Things get funnier during the final 45 minutes when mistaken identities and sexual innuendos start to fly--there is a bit of slapstick that also enlivens  the finale.         GRADE-----------B-



SIFF Screening roundup........
 THE GUILTY --Denmark---Superior and economical thriller with one setting and just a few characters, yet it held the audience in a grip from the beginning.  A man working in an emergency call center realizes a woman on the phone has been abducted by a violent, desperate man, possibly someone who knows the woman, and he is desperate to help this woman before it is too late for her.  This was a big crowd pleaser at the screening.             GRADE----------A

THE LAST SUIT--Argentina---Excellent drama about a cranky old man who wants to return a suit to  an old friend so he travels from Argentina to Poland with the help of a number of people along the way.  Flashbacks fill in his tragic story, changing our perception of him.    A tearful audience cheered the film's ending.          GRADE-----------A 

MAKING THE GRADE--A happy documentary from Ireland, about piano students who work through different grades as they progress in their proficiency   Students and teachers from each grade level are interviewed, and the film made me smile a lot, and want to take piano lessons again.         GRADE--------B+

UNDER THE TREE---From Iceland comes a black comedy about neighbor relationships that are in steady decline due to lies and misunderstandings---it becomes very dark indeed                          GRADE---------B

AFTER THE WAR---French drama about a Italian revolutionist who finds the past coming back to haunt him 20 years after he shot a judge during a protest.  Now he has to move to another country with his teenage daughter in tow.                        GRADE-------B

THE RUSSIAN FIVE---I'm not a hockey fan, but the story of five Russian players that were recruited to play on a Detroit team in an effort to win the Stanley Cup was interesting and well made.          GRADE-----------B

AMERICAN ANIMALS----Four USA college students plot to steal some rare historical books from the library, but they are rather dim witted, in this leisurely, fascinating film based on a true story.         GRADE-----------B 

DISOBEDIENCE---Great Britain film set in Jewish neighborhood has a woman returning home for the death of her orthodox father, and reheating up an affair with a woman who has recently married their mutual male friend.   Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams star.                           GRADE---------B

BREATH--Beautiful looking Australian film about two young teen boys who fall under the spell of an older surfer who teaches them how to surf and "live the life."  It's a slow burn, subtle surf movie, but it plays like a novel, upon which it is based.                    GRADE------------B 

SWEET COUNTRY--Effective Australian western--when an Aboriginal man rightly kills a white man, he finds himself and his wife on the run from a posse.  Serious themes of righteousness, bigotry, lawlessness, prejudice and survival keep this film intense.                GRADE----------B-

Following films are NOT recommended-------

GOLD SEEKERS --There are some nice scenes of urban Paraguay that are ethnocentrically interesting, but the chaotic nature of the story and all over the map acting styles leave the whole endeavor tiresome.                          GRADE-----------C+

THE RETURN--There are a couple powerful scenes here, but this documentary/faux fiction film about Korean adoptees who return to find their biological parents can't decided if it wants to be fiction or documentary, and many scenes feel staged and dishonest.  It's too bad because it is a serious problem, where records have been lost or destroyed.                  GRADE---------C+

LOOKING FOR OUM KULTHUM--This German film about a film within a film about an female filmmaker trying to film the story of the legendary Egyptian diva certainly looks very smooth and pleasing (especially the art and set directions, costumes and sumptuous cinematography). but the film becomes a bit pretentious, and the final feeling is---SO WHAT?         GRADE---------C+

THREE PEAKS--German film that looks lovely with scenery in the mountains, but not much happens, and it happens at a snail's pace.  But the scenery was nice.   Yawn.         GRADE-------C

WE THE ANIMALS--Independent USA film with low budget about poor family headed by a violent father and featuring three wild, active boys, all very close in age.  Unfortunately, the film is all hand held with the giggliest camera work of any film I've seen this year which makes it hard to watch.  The youngest boy (age 10!?) seems to have gay tendencies, but this film is relentlessly grim, and while it shared some themes with MOONLIGHT (like growing up sensitive in a tough environment, etc)--MOONLIGHT comes across as an even greater masterwork by comparison.          GRADE------C

THAT SUMMER---Home movies with poor visuals and sound tells part of the story of the Grey Gardens situation that found Big Edie and Little Edie living in squalor in a Nantucket mansion.  The characters talk and talk but the result is boring, and nothing is resolved (in this film) although it was modestly interesting  seeing home movie glimpses of Lee Radzwill, Jackie O, Truman Capote, Andy Warhol and several other celebrities from that early 1970's.  Still, the film is a mess.                GRADE--------D+

RBG, A QUIET PLACE, AVENGERS : INFINITY WAR, BLOCKERS, plus THE APARTMENT (1960), UP THE DOWN STAIRCASE 1967 and James Bond films 1995--2002

Opening Friday is a terrific new documentary about the notorious Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg called RBG, a leading legal mind who has advanced the politics of women rights and legal rights in this country for nearly 40 years, and who remains an important anchor for those left leaner's on the Supreme court, as the court has been pulled to the conservative right in the past decade.  We learn about her upbringing, her efforts to educate the old white men on the court about the problems of being a woman in a man's world, her personal family life, and the great achievements she has achieved over the course of her long career.  The film is handled with great humor and intelligence, and whatever your political leaning, this film may be an eye opener to many viewers.  At age 84 she continues to work tirelessly on the court, and also spends nearly an hour a day doing exercises, including push ups and using resistant cords to keep up her physical strength.  Long live the notorious RBG!                 GRADE--------------------------A

Without special effects or bloody violence,  this creepy science fiction film has a family living a quiet, simple life because making any type of noise will bring some horrifying blind monsters to their location to attack and eat them.  It's a simple premise, but the film A QUIET PLACE is well made and acted and completely engrossing as the family struggles to survive this plague from outer space.  TV comedian John Krasinski from TV'S The Office wrote and directed and stars in, along with his real life wife Emily Blunt (who stars in the upcoming film MARY POPPINS RETURNS) this splendid little film.       GRADE------------------------B+

Excessively action packed, overstuffed with Avenger characters, lots of violence, and the most nihilistic ending I've ever seen in a Marvel Avenger movie, that describes the new film  AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR.  The line up of superheroes is too much of a good thing:  Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, Iron Man, Spider Man, Captain America, Loki, Dr. Strange, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Black Panther and half the city of Rowanda and the bad guy Thanos, plus many others.  I had to keep concentrating to keep them all straight, and such a large cast limits the screen time each personality gets.  It was almost too tiring to process all the action.  There were the usual awesome scenes and most of the fighting segments were entertaining, but the film felt rather bloated to me, and so many major characters are "killed" off that I suspect the opening scene of the next Marvel film will start off by saying that AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR was all just a bad dream.......                 GRADE------B

Here's another gross out teen comedy with a heart of gold.  In BLOCKERS, three best girl friends are determined to lose their virginity to their dates on senior prom night, and the parents find out and behave badly, going to extreme measures to stop them.  Most of the jokes fall rather flat, or are just plain grotesque--it is hard to have much sympathy for the adults, which include John Cena, Leslie Mann and Ike Barinholtz, as they behave more irresponsibly than the kids.           GRADE------------C+



WATCHED ON TV or DVD! 

THE APARTMENT (1960)  One of the endearing classics of the master film making team of director Billy Wilder and scrip writer I.A.L. Diamond, this charming comedy drama has a dark bent of cynicism--Jack Lemmon plays a spineless up and coming executive who loans out his apartment to several higher placed executives to accommodate their extra-marital affairs, but things get complicated when his married boss uses the apartment for his affair with an elevator girl that Lemmon is attracted to.  When near tragedy strikes, he must face facts and change his life.  Fred MacMurray plays a rare "bad guy" role, and this was one of Shirley MacLaine's early roles.  The film won five Oscars including Best picture, director and writer.                         GRADE-----------A

UP THE DOWN STAIRCASE (1967)--This comedy drama of a 60's best seller stars the charmingly eccentric actress Sandy Dennis, who won her supporting Oscar for WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF  1966 (holding her own against Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and George Segal) and several Tony awards for theatre.  Her acting was so eccentric that people either loved or hated her.  Critic Pauline Kael once said "She has made an acting style of post nasal drip."  This film reminds me a lot of TO SIR WITH LOVE, only set in a tough New York City neighborhood, as this first year teacher tries to understand and love a bunch of wild high school students.            GRADE-------A-


A DOG OF FLANDERS (1999)--The production and acting were ho hum, but the story remains effective, as a poor motherless boy is raised by his grandfather and becomes encouraged to become a painter.  The ending was changed from the book (from tragically sad to happier now) but it moved me none the less.  I can understand why there are over six movie versions of this book.  Featured actors included Jack Warden, Jon Voight and Cheryl Ladd.             GRADE------------B-

JAMES BOND 007 films

GOLDENEYE 1995--Here's the first one with Pierce Brosnan, and he's quite dashingly different.  This is also the first for Judi Dench as M, who warns Bond that he's becoming a sexist pig, and Samantha Bond as Miss Moneypenny, and the lively cast includes Sean Bean, Famke Janssen, Joe Don Baker, Robbie Coltrane and  a young Alan Cumming.  There's a spectacular plunge over the edge of a very tall dam, and an amusing chase using a very large tank through the streets of St. Petersburg which rips up the bricks, sidewalks and statues and archways.            GRADE--------------B+

TOMORROW NEVER DIES 1997--Brosnan teams up with the smart and tough Michelle Yeoh and the highlight is a high speed motorcycle race while they are handcuffed together as they try to escape from a killer helicopter through the streets of Bangkok--a last minute substitution for Ho Chi Minh City, because Vietnam officials balked at the back lit  semi-naked women that always appear in the title sequence of most Bond films--in this one they are smashing sickles and hammers, clearly a symbolism of Communism.  Jonathan Pryce plays a deadly, megalomaniac media magnate.        GRADE------------B+

THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH 1999---Director Michael Apted discussed a large array of actresses for this new Bond film including Vera Farmiga, and Sharon Stone but ended up with the French actress Sophie Marceau, who had to be seductive and very evil too.  They choose Denise Richards to play a scientist! (who runs around in short shorts!)--she was effective mainly as an opposite to Marceau.  Robert Carlyle is an effective bad guy, and John Cleese takes over for Desmond Llewelyn who had played Q for 17 Bond films.  And finally, Judi Dench has a major part in this film, although she is made to look rather stupid a couple of times with her poor judgment.           GRADE-----B

DIE ANOTHER DAY  2002--Producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson were pleased with the harder edge given Bond by Brosnan, so they signed him up again for this latest one, and were excited with signing up Halle Berry, who would win her Best Actress Oscar  for MONSTER'S BALL a few months into shooting DIE ANOTHER DAY.  The entertaining film has a number of memorable scenes, including Berry who rises from the ocean in a stunning orange and white bikini, a la Andress in DR NO.  Bond is captured and tortured during the sexy opening titles, he has serious issues with his boss Judi Dench as M, and Rosamond Pike and Toby Stephen play the nasty bad guys.  (He is the son of Maggie Smith and Robert Stephens .)  Madonna wrote and sings the theme song, and has a brief cameo.  The finale takes place at an ice palace with an invisible car.  Nice and fun to watch.   In a surprising twist, this is Brosnan's last Bond, and the producers decide to take 007 into new territory---which results in the best Bond film yet.  To be continued.         GRADE------------B


James Bond returns all new and vibrant, in CASINO ROYALE --next blog.

ALSO COMING UP NEXT WEEK, the SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (SIFF) starts screening films for Press and Full Series holders this week, so I will begin brief postings on the newest films. 

Also, just a heads up for a five season TV melodrama from Australia that  I binged upon this month and enjoyed immensely called A PLACE TO CALL HOME.  The first two hours did not impress me, but suddenly about episode 3 I really started to like it.  It plays like a fast paced DOWNTON ABBEY but more modern, set in the late 1950's, and covers lots of themes like evil matriarchs, holocaust survivors, WWII survivors, homosexuality, mental illness, racial prejudices, evil politicians, cancer issues, infidelity, murder, adoption, blackmail, the list goes on and on, and every single episode ends with an amazingly shocking cliffhanger.






                           

LOVE, SIMON, UNSANE, RED SPARROW, FANTASTIC WOMAN, MARY AND THE WITCHES FLOWER, GOLDSTONE, ISLE OF DOGS, THUROUGHBREDS, GAME NIGHT, A WRINKLE IN TIME plus James Bond film from 1970-1995

Here's a charming, smart teen age love story with a refreshing twist.  Simon thinks he's the only one with  a secret in his high school---he's well adjusted, comes from a close and loving family, he's popular and gets good grades, but feels alienated because he is gay, and thinks he knows no one else like him.  He connects with another gay guy anonymously through this computer, but the other guy will not come out, and when another student outs Simon he is afraid that he will lose the friendship of this other mystery guy.  Here's a solid comedy drama that is both entertaining and vividly acted--there may be over a dozen main characters here, but each one, whether family or friend comes across as compelling and likeable.  Several high profile actors and directors have loved LOVE, SIMON  so much that they have bought out  theatres where it is playing, hoping to have audiences experience the film for free, trusting that word of mouth will make this a big hit.  They should have an easy time---here's this year's first major crowd pleaser.                        GRADE-------------A-

Director Steven Soderbergh (SEX LIES AND VIDEO TAPE, ERIN BROCKOVICH, TRAFFIC, BEHIND THE CANDELABRA, etc.) teams up with Claire Foy (TV'S THE CROWN) and a surprisingly effective iPhone, to make a thrifty thriller about a young woman, disturbed by an insistent male stalker, who finds herself involuntarily committed to an asylum for observation for a week, only to find her stalker works there.  The film UNSANE is a "is she or isn't she" conceit, and "is he or isn't he''mystery, and even when you think you have it sorted, there are still some twists to come.  It is not a perfect film, but it builds paranoia and suspense in a Hitchcockian sort of way, and in spite of being low budget and simplistic in story line, it feels surprisingly satisfying--and Claire Foy is remarkable.
                GRADE----------B+

This cold war thriller has Russian Jennifer Lawrence being recruited by her ruthless uncle to become a sparrow spy, a young person who uses sex to get spy secrets from anyone she can.  The film RED SPARROW is dark and moody, and there are some very effective (and creepy) scenes, and although the film was engrossing,  it is more SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD instead of JAMES BOND 007.  The excellent cast includes Joel Edgerton, a US spy who tries to turn her, Jeremy Irons as her superior, Mathais Schoenaerts as her evil uncle, and a nasty Charlotte Rampling as her teacher/trainer.                     GRADE----------------B

This film A FANTASTIC WOMAN from Chile won the best foreign language film  Oscar this year, mostly as a tribute to the vivid performance by Daniela Vega, who plays a transwoman who loses her lover to a heart attach early in the film.  This issue becomes the defining event to the older man's friends and family, and the police and the medical workers who assisted him.  There are many scenes of discrimination and indignities she must endure, which leave her little time to mourn her man.    It is a sad film but she is buoyantly positive throughout, lifting the film to another level of feeling.            GRADE----------------B

The clever animation,  witty dialogue, and quirky sensibilities of this new Wes Anderson film  ISLE OF DOGS make it very watchable, but the plot is convoluted and wacky and arbitrary, and although set in Japan, the Japanese speakers speak without subtitles (although mostly none are needed)  and there are so many characters (over 20 speaking parts for dogs and nearly as many for humans) that all the special  famous character actors that appear in the film seem wasted since you can't tell which actor is speaking most of the time.                      GRADE---------------B

Japanese animae continues to be more beautiful and creative than just about anything Pixar comes up with visually (COCO excluded this year) so it was fascinating to watch MARY AND THE WITCHES FLOWER, which has a young girl learning about some unknown powers she might have.  The plot is a bit convoluted but it was nearly a pleasure for the eyes throughout.                 GRADE--------------B

From Australia come this modern film noir about a new sheriff arriving to a small out back town  trying to solve the murder of a young Chinese woman who was working as a prostitute.  GOLDSTONE the town has a lot of characters who don't want this newcomer to be poking his nose in their business.  Of course, there is a big conspiracy to unravel, and although the film doesn't take advantage of some dynamic potential resolutions,  it is satisfying nonetheless.                    GRADE-------B-

The clever conceit of GAME NIGHT made this comedy a pleasure through the first 40 minutes of this film about a group of friends who meet  regularly to play different games, but one night the games take a deadly turn when it is announced by one player"s  party crashing brother that tonight will be based in reality.  As the plot turns deadly violent, I lost some of my fascination with the action, although there are some bright scenes, clever turns and wild resolutions.  It's a nice try, but maybe the story needs some edgier plotting.                GRADE------------C+

Another nice try, THOROUGHBREDS is a low budget film about two deadly nihilistic teen girls who don't really like each other, but become fixated on murdering a step father.  This is the last film of Anton Yelchin, who steals the film as a drug dealing potential  partner in crime who has a gun.  Yelchin has made over a dozen of films, but his biggest impact is in the three newly updated STAR TREK reboot films as  Chekov.  In 2016 he was killed involving a freak car accident when he tried to stop a car on a hill that lost its breaks.                       GRADE--------------C+

Ten minutes into A WRINKLE IN TIME I wanted to walk out, but then the three adult "witches" turned up and I thought this would  give me something to interest me.  Well, the make up and costumes did interest me for a few minutes. But every scene after their arrival is a wild, bizarre and abstract location with no relationship to reality or the plot (which is basically just jetting all over the "universe" (in their minds) and although you could take a photo of each location and hang it from a museum wall and it might make for an interesting discussion, this film made no sense to me.  No plot, no characters of depth or interest, the dialogue was full of simple platitudes and meaningless proclamations and I was so bored I fought napping, and I couldn't wait for this torture to be over.  The pre teen sitting with her mom in front of me kept twirling her SUN GLASSES!  between her thumb and forefinger, and that interested me more than this turgid turkey.  If it wasn't for the bizarre settings and costumes, I'd rate this film an F!            GRADE---------------D+




Viewed on DVD----------------------------------

SPY 2015--Melissa McCarthy and Jason Statham make a fine pair of spies with different styles.  McCarthy has been a desk agent who provides back up to street agents, but must go undercover when all the spies in her office are compromised.  Statham tries to go by the book but exaggerates so much it's hard to know what is true or not.  McCarthy is in fine timing form, and Stratham is great as a physical klutz.  Allison Janney does a lot with her role of chief spy and the supporting cast is also very funny, especially Rose Byrne and Miranda Hart who is a staple on PBS show CALL THE MIDWIFE.   I've been seeing so many James Bond films lately that this is a nice parody of the spy thriller.                                             GRADE--------------------B

THE INCREDIBLE HULK 2008--This was the second Marvel produced superhero movie (after IRON MAN) and actually does feature Robert Downey Jr. near the end to explain that a group (of superheros) is getting together......This Hulk is a lowkey affair, featuring mostly a lot of running away from evil government agents (headed by William Hurt and Tim Roth) by Edward Norton who is enamored of Hurt's daughter Liz Tyler.  There is a climactic fight scene by Norton (who transforms into the green HULK) to fight the supersized Roth who has taken a multi dose of the serum.   In 2003 director Ang Lee created a HULK film with Eric Bana that centered on the early life of the Banner/Hulk event.  In recent Marvel super hero films, Mark Ruffalo becomes the Banner/Hulk creation.             GRADE-----------------------------B-


THAT DARN CAT! 1965---Disney modest suspense comedy about a cat who could possibly lead the FBI to a kidnapped woman and two bank robbers that might be holed up nearby.  There are two things that help rise this lame feature above others.  One of course is a striking looking cat who is definitely not sweet or cosy, in fact the cat seems to be snarling and lounging out and hissing at every actor that had to deal with it.  But the cat had great vivid blue eyes, and was able to follow direction well.  The main goody  is that Brit Haley Mills, in her teen years here, is as compellingly blunt and charming as she ever was in the dozens of Disney mush that she participated in.  With Dean Jones, Dorothy Provine, Roddy McDowall, Elsa Lanchester and William Demarest who steals all his scenes by insulting his wife Lanchester.                     GRADE--------------------C


James Bond 007 in order (see previous month for earlier films...) 

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER 1971--After passing on Bond due to other commitments and having George Lazenby step in (for ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE for what I thought was a superior episode...)Sean Connery is ready to quit Bond, but the money was "tremendous" say sources.  The film is set for the first time in the USA--mostly Las Vegas,  and the head of a local film teamsters recommends a small part for his friend Jill St. John.  She had been a friend of Henry Kissinger, and had dated the previous Bond George Lazenby for a while.  The producers argued for a while before deciding on St. John--for the lead!!! ahead of Faye Dunaway, Jane Fonda and Raquel Welsh!  I've never cared for the sexual brashness of St. John, but in this role she is rather on point, as the film is populated with teamsters, crooks, card sharks, tough guys and money men.  There are some memorable car chases through the streets of downtown Las Vegas, and the sets feature a lot of Mid century modern houses and buildings. A brief scene featuring a singing Sammy Davis Jr. was filmed but ended up on the cutting room floor.  In an attempt to copy the GOLDFINGER sound, Shirley Bassey recorded the Diamonds Are Forever song and had a modest hit with it.  In what I felt was a rather chaotic and unmemorable finale on an oil rig, this modest feature finally ended.        GRADE---------------------B-

LIVE AND LET DIE--1973--Connery is resisting Bond again, so the producers suggest Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood , John Gavin and Burt Reynolds, but they finally decided they wanted to stay with a British actor.  They decided on Roger Moore who they'd rejected 10 years earlier for looking too young.  Moore was initially intimidated by taking over for Connery--he even felt he was delivering his lines with a (Connery) Scottish accent, but soon found his own style by not taking Bond too seriously, and he does give the role an easy touch.  This plot has Bond in New York, Florida and Jamaica, tracking down a drug lord Mr. Big who seems to have dispatched three previous agent to death.  While most of the characters are black, this was the first major role for British actress Jane Seymour (Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman on TV)who plays a mystic oracle card reader/fortune teller for Mr. Big, played by Yaphet Kotto, a dynamic black actor who at the time was well into Black Power/Panther and pride politics, and had some conflicts with the director over some of his direction and dialogue. There was also a lot of prejudice while filming in the South.  The producers offered a white land owner well over a million dollars to film the epic boat chasing sequences--the most they'd ever offered to rent sets or land.  These boats would come out of the water--fly over the land, and then back into the lakes or bayou.  After settling on the amount, the land owner said that he'd noticed a lot of black men in the cast and crew and that would not be acceptable.  When the producers threatened to cancel the deal, the land owner backed down. The producers then decided to have every boat involved in the massive boat chase to be driven and maintained by black crew members.  Still, there was a lot of concern that Bond has an affair with a black agent near the beginning of the film (although action occurs off screen), and Seymour is portrayed as the mistress of Mr. Big.  Even though Black Cinema was exploding on movie screens in the U.S. (like SHAFT, WATERMELON MAN and others) the producers were nervous that theatres in small town America would not screen their film for social or political reasons.   International dancer  Geoffrey Holder also has a memorable early role as a Jamaican voodoo priest, and he choreographed several dance sequences.  There's also a memorable scene that has Bond trapped on a small island in a lake full of crocodiles, which he cleverly maneuvers, natch.  At the end of shooting, Paul McCartney called to offer a completed song to the producers--and was nearly turned down.  The producers kept thinking that they needed a woman to sing the song but the deal was that Paul and wife Linda and their group Wings were a packaged deal.  The producers and directer were not sure they liked the song, but hey--it's a Beatle!  Every one was astonished when the song became a world wide best seller, and was nominated for an Oscar.  The film also out grossed every past Bond film, so worries about the racial tensions dissipated easily.               GRADE----------------B

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN--1974--The producers didn't much like this story from this book which was published  three months after Ian Fleming death, so they "winged" it.  The film is memorable because it was filmed mostly in Thailand and the climax was filmed in Phuket, which at the time only had a brothel as a major business, so the producers bought out the entire place for the crew, and the prostitutes took an extended vacation.  Christopher Lee was distantly related to Ian Fleming (cousins) and was offered the part to get the Dracula out of him, since at the time he'd done a lot of Hammer horror films, and Maud Adams and Britt Ekland were both separately, oddly offered parts without actually auditioning, and they both spoke Swedish, so they made the best of friends while on locations.  Also cast was the short actor Herve Villechaize who later played a continuing character on TVs LOVE BOAT series, as Lee's manservant.  There is another chase on the water that features a spectacular stunt as Bond must use a motor boat to cross a bridge that is collapsed halfway across the water, and it does sort of a corkscrew maneuver to get across.  Other wise, this is a modest film that doesn't work as well as it should, mostly due to the haphazard plot that was pieced together, with only Lee and Villechaize truly memorable.  There's also a red neck southern sheriff left over from LIVE AND LET DIE who turns up on vacation in Thailand, who recognizes Bond from his previous boat chase and lends an amusing hand.           GRADE-----------------B-  

THE SPY WHO LOVED ME 1977--The two main producers for Bond films, Albert  Broccoli and Harry Saltzman had been sharing lead producer responsibility on alternate Bond films, as well as their own films, but their relationship was being fractured by casting decisions, story conflicts and other issues, and they would soon split up their working relationship forever.  Saltzman was "bought" out by Broccoli--at the time it was a large amount of money, but in retrospect, because the Bond franchise was continuing to be increasingly successful, Saltzman got the raw end of the break up.  To this day Broccoli and family have been the sole executive producers of the 007 adventures.  Broccoil brought in his son in law Michael Wilson to co produce, and although they loved the title THE SPY WHO LOVED ME they didn't care much for the story, and there were some legal challenges, so it was rewritten.  The spectacular ski chase scene-- a long long downhill escape for Bond  takes up nearly five minutes of pre title action, and features the wow of having Bond skiing off the edge of a cliff and plummeting down several seconds to his possible death, only to have a parachute open at the last second featuring-------the UNION JACK.  This was the only scene I had remembered from 40 years ago, that and the wonderful theme song NOBODY DOES IT BETTER sung by Carly Simon that became a big smash hit for her.  The film is actually pretty rousing, with Bond teeming up with a Russian spy equivalent woman--whose fiance Bond had killed back during that first first ski chase scene.  She is played by Barbara Bach, who had previously only appeared in French and Italian films, but was considered a great beauty and model(--born in the Oregon!) in those countries..  She does a lovely job, and four years later became the celebrated wife of Beattle Ringo Starr.   This was also fan favorite bad guy's first major movie role for giant Richard Kiel, who appeared as JAWS--his mouth full of nasty metal teeth--a character he repeated in the next Bond film MOONRAKER.   At one point during production,  famed director Stanley Kubrick offered  some cinematography advice to the director and photographer about submarine and underwater shots and lighting.                    GRADE--------------------B+ 

MOONRAKER 1979--  I vaguely remember  this film as the most disappointing Bond ever--where the story spends a lot of time in outer space, and I felt that was not so believable--it had become too fantastical--more like a science fiction actioner than a spy film.  Still on second viewing, there are many pleasures---starting with another spectacular opening scene where Bond is left  without a parachute, then is pushed out of a plane to his certain death.  He dives toward the closest parachute and tries to steal it from him, which he does, of course, leaving Jaws to plummet towards HIS certain death, but there is an amazing "save" that is both shocking and funny.   There is also an exciting cable car sequences with Bond and Jaws fighting high above ground on swinging cars.  It ends, ironically, with a big crash, where Jaws meets the woman of his dreams, and by the end changes his allegiances to Bond.  I'm still not pleased with the final actions in the space station, but the film is still watchable, and future  007 adventures bring Bond back to earth since.  Lois Chiles tries to give her character some back bone and seriousness, but the director shot her down, causing a crying confrontation, but it's clear that Bond women are changing--for the better.                GRADE------------------------B-     

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY 1981--Moore has been Bond for nearly 10 years, and MOONRAKER is the highest grossing 007 film yet, so he is wanting a lot more money, causing producers to start checking out other actors, including the next Bond Timothy Dalton and Michael Billington, who was tested to play Bond more than any other actor, without success.   The new story comes from a couple of Ian Fleming's short stories that were merged together. When a couple--friends of James' boss "M" are murdered, Bond teams with their daughter to find the killers who are heroin smugglers. French actress Carole Bouquet plays the daughter, but there were some issues with her boyfriend who caused her to often be late to the set, and she thought that Moore, who had finally, coyly, agreed to one more outing as Bond, and now age 53, reminded her too much of her father.   Ironically, the daughter is so determined to find the killers that she has no time to be seduced by Bond.  They meet in a wild car chase--for once the car  is a small clunky European sedan (a Citroen 2CV--tiny!) with no special equipment.  There are some great moments as they careen down a steep slope narrowly missing their pursuers (and farmers) , who amusingly end up atop a large olive tree, being showered with olives. 
Professional ice skater Lynn Holly Johnson plays a young Olympic hopeful ice skater with an unhealthy fascination with the much older Bond, and the finale takes place in a small stone monastery on top of a mountain peak, with some exciting cliff climbing moments. Unfortunately, the two monks that showed  up as extras were real monks, who sabotaged the use of the interiors, so the crew was forced to build a monastery "set" in another location. Most of the sets were in Athens (too much smog for good photography,) and on Corfu, and there is another snow chase scene in the Italian Dolomite mountains but a mild spring caused the crew to ship in tons of snow from another mountain top.
The producers were impressed with the powerful voice of Sheena Easton, and wanted her to sing the driving ballad, that went on to become nominated for an Oscar and became a giant international hit.  Easton became the first and so far only singer to appear in the opening titles, superimposed with the writhing naked (in back lit profile) women who have appeared in every Bond film except the "illegitimate" film NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN--see below.                    GRADE--------------B

OCTOPUSSY 1983--The company responsible for distribution, United Artists, is having growing pains (Michael Cimino's HEAVEN'S GATE  has been a major financial disaster for the company, although I saw it about 15 years ago, and it is a decent attempt at a personal western), so they team up with MGM, so now UA/MGM help Broccoli with financial production.  It is announced at the time that Sean Connery has been offered $5 million to star in an "unofficial James Bond" film that will be direct competition using a similar story as THUNDERBALL but they cannot use many of the Bond trademarks, so Roger Moore coyly balks again, causing the producers to screen test Oliver Tobias, Michael Billington, and American James Brolin, who is surprisingly good (his screen test appears in the bonus material of OCTOPUSSY).  This new film  went through a number of rewrites, but a concerted effort was made to keep the action grounded---more in the FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE mode.  The plot involves jewelry smuggling into Russian, which it was soon discovered to be for fact than fiction as Brezhnev's son in law was involved in a similar scandal.  A nuclear explosion at an army sight in Germany was also planned that would increase global tensions.  For the female lead, Faye Dunaway, Barbara Parkins, Persis Khambatta and Kathleen Turner were all considered, among others, but the decision was made by Broccolli who had watched MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN on TV the night before, and thought Maud Adams was so good that she should be used again.(!)
Writing a song that included the name OCTOPUSSY (a nick name because she loved octopus and her father called her that with a "Y")--lyricist Tim Rice (JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, EVITA, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, LION KING, ETC)  took the lines from dialogue, "two of a kind" and wrote TWO OF A KIND, sung by Rita Coolidge.  The song had only modest success, but when I heard it again last week, I remembered it well, and liked it all the more.                        GRADE------------------B

NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN 1983-- After 12 years, Sean Connery, who worked with novelist Len Deighton on James Bond research, was offered $5 million and a percentage to make one more Bond film, using the character but not the other trademarks, and he insisted that he have a lot of artistic control.  What the film lacks is the bombastic Bond theme and titles of naked writhing women, but otherwise the film has the same familiar fights, double crosses, near escapes, and exotic settings.  Klaus Maria Brandauer, Barbara Carrera and Max Von Sydow make convincing bad guys, and Kim Bassinger plays the good girl who who gets her man by the final scene.  The photography is exotic, and the fighting action is above average.     Unfortunately, the title song is a dull dud.  Connery looked good for an older guy, but he also looked a little tired.  This was his last Bond.  Released over the same summer, OCTOPUSSY grossed about S10 million  more than NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN, but those grosses together were tremendous.   1983 was the year of BOND.        GRADE----------------B-

A VIEW TO A KILL 1985--The thing that I remembered most vividly here is the performance of bad guy Christopher Walken, who had recently won a supporting Oscar for THE DEER HUNTER who plays a psychotic killer who schemes to take over the Silicon Valley by being the sole distributor of computer ware, and he's going to cause the Valley to flood, killing millions of people, by causing a major earthquake with some dynamite in a cavern......!?!  Weird.  And stranger still is Grace Jones  who plays his lover and assistant--she's got quirky mannerism and odd deliveries of lines.  Tanya Roberts is an innocent caught up in his/her scheme, but ends up being an asset to Bond a number of times, especially as she is climbing high above San Francisco's Golden Gate bridge, where the climax takes place.  Both Walken and Jones come across as psychotic without any problem.   To me, this is the least likable, least memorable Bond film of the bunch, although there are still some fine special effects including an amusing sequence with Bond hanging on to a fire truck ladder as it swings and sways will being chased through the wild and busy San Francisco streets.  During the filming it became clear that this would be Roger Moore's final Bond, and Broccoli also called stalwart actress Lois Maxwell who had played Miss Moneypenny from the start to personally let her down.
The song was written fast by Duran Duran and pieced together.  It was apparently a big hit in the USA  but I found it unmemorable and boring while watching the film on DVD last week.                                        GRADE ----------------------C+

THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS 1987--The script was being written based on a Fleming short story, and expanded by writer Richard Mailbaum who had worked on a few previous scripts, and Michael Wilson (Broccolli's son in law, ) who is now completely involved with all aspects of each project.
The story deals with an attempted assassination--Bond stops it by shooting the arm of a cellist--scaring "the living daylights" out of her, he hoped. It turns out she is connected with a drug smuggler and arms dealer, and the story takes off from there.  With Moore out, their next option was Pierce Bronsnan, who the producers had met a few years earlier while filming FOR YOUR EYES ONLY.  At the time Bronsnan was an unknown up and coming actor and they all thought he would be a perfect Bond, but now he was involved with a TV show Remington Steele and they told that after 6 segments of the show he would be released, but at the last minute, NBC demanded a 22 episode contract, so Bronsnan was officially out as Bond.  Ironically, shortly after the six episodes completed, NBC suddenly canceled the show entirely.  Timothy Dalton had been approached several years ago, and he was available now between theater and another film, so when the final decision was made he jumped to it, having been a big fan of Fleming's  novels.  With minor adjustments the script was adjusted for Dalton.  Although the title song was sung by The Pretenders, the song never took off. With an new more serious understated Bond on board, and a more dramatic, believable story line, this new Bond grossed slightly better than VIEW TO A KILL, and everyone involved was hopeful for the future.                                 Grade---------------------B-

LICENCE TO KILL 1989--Director John Glen was signed for a record breaking 5th time to direct a Bond film, and with this new actor was determined to make these film with a harder edge, but film budgets were being cut, and movie audiences were dwindling due to TV, DVD, and computers.  In this one, Bond is out to revenge a vicious attach on his good friend's wedding day.  The film has a solid story, a moody edge and some well directed action scenes.  Carey Lowell from TV's LAW and ORDER series is a good, serious match for Timothy Dalton.  Because Bond is on a revenge mission, he is compromised, and the original title LICENCE REVOKED became more accurate, but it was changed midway through filming to feel more threatening.   The killer is a drug lord, with a wide spread of friends, so manages to escape captures.  This film became an early role for Benicio del Toro, who plays a heavy, and Wayne Newton gave up his Las Vegas gig for $1million a week to play the role of a corrupt evangelist in Mexico, and for him it felt like a vacation.                          GRADE----------------B

BLACK PANTHER, early James Bond films, TOP FILMS OF 2017 plus OSCAR picks (OSCAR show next Sunday 4 March!)

Plenty has been said already of the new Marvel comic book version of BLACK PANTHER--a film that has received the most buzz and comment of any film for many months, and most of that acclaim has been well deserved, especially for the themes the film espouses.  Sometimes overstuffed with ambition, the film deals with pride, betrayal, customs,  racial politics, tradition, and honor, all the while surging forward with exciting action sequences of good vs bad and life vs death.  Many characters have attributes of several things all at once, including villain, royalty, warrior, genius and revolutionary, and the cast is splendid on many levels.  Chadwick Boseman as the BLACK PANTHER has appeared in a number of excellent films--most memorable as baseball great Jackie Robinson in  42 from 2013 and this year as the first black Supreme Court Justice Thurgood MARSHALL.  Michael B. Jordon is also quite effective as the "villain" (although that would be open for discussion) Erik Killmonger--he appeared to fine effect in FRUITVILLE STATION from 2013--a startling film directed by BLACK PANTHER director Ryan Coogler.  Oscar winner from 12 YEARS A SLAVE Lupita Nyong'o shines and current Oscar nominee Daniel Kaluuya from GET OUT is effective as well.  Andy Serkis, Martin Freeman, Forest Whitaker, and Angela Bassett all have some regal moments.  This film feels so different from any other Marvel comic story that if feels fresh and innovative, even though there are the typical moments--the hero is at one point presumed dead, but......  Some of my reservations fall to the wayside just because the film, steeped in African tradition, culture and pride, is something we've rarely witnessed before in a super hero film.                   GRADE-------------B+


WATCHED ON TV/DVD---------------

MR. TURNER (2014)---A biographical impressionistic film about British painter  JMW TURNER during the last 20 years or so of his life does not ingratiate audiences much because of his grunts, gropes or bellyaching, and the pacing is very slow.  But the cinematography and settings are lovely, and actor Timothy Spall has never been better, and the cast and direction, once you start to get into the flow, casts a magical glow, as his masterful impressionistic paintings take center stage.  It made me want to learn more about him.            GRADE--------B+

THE FUGITIVE KIND (1960)---This film version of Tennessee Williams stage play ORPHEUS DESCENDING is probably the best that could have been done to Williams' odd, challenging drama, and features fascinating work by Marlon Brando, Anna Magnani Joanne Woodward and director Sidney Lumet.  Brando was at his peak at the time--this was his first time earning one million dollars for a film, and although the film bombed financially, but you can still be gripped by his performance.  I'm aware of Anna Magnani, but have never seen her other films (my bad, I know) but her presence here is magnetic, and I will look forward to seeing what else she is capable of.  (She won her best actress Oscar in 1955 for THE ROSE TATTOO--another Tennessee Williams play/movie.)  Woodward was younger here than I've ever seen of her roles, and a revelation.  Ditto with Maureen Stapleton--a memorable portrayal.  Especially impressive is the direction--it's an imperfect drama, but very effectively rendered by one of the great directors Sidney Lumet.  Here's a list of just some of the great films he made--and many of them won Oscars for the leading actors:  12 ANGRY MEN, DOG DAY AFTERNOON, THE GROUP, THE PAWNBROKER, LONG DAYS JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, RUNNING ON EMPTY, THE VERDICT, DEATHTRAP, SERPICO, EQUUS, BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU RE DEAD, MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS 1974 and my favorite, NETWORK.                                    GRADE--------B+

SNATCHED (2017)---It might seem to be inspired casting to have a rarely seen Goldie Hawn playing the mother to the hot new comedian Amy Schumer, and physically they do match up at times, but this not so funny comedy about a kidnapping in South America that turns all wrong and violent has a mess of a script. It's like the writer set up a situation, then didn't know how to resolve it, so the scene just ends and picks up the characters later--no explanation as to what happened in between times.  Fortunately, a mute Joan Cusack has some amusing physical slapstick moments, and Wanda Sykes and Christopher Meloni have some wry, funny supporting scenes.                GRADE-------------C





IT'S BEEN OUT FOR NEARLY 10 YEARS, BUT I JUST BOUGHT THE FULL JAMES BOND 007 BLU RAY SET (ALL 25 FILMS), AND I'M STARTING AT THE BEGINNING.

DR. NO--1962---This first adventure is a bit restrained from the later episodes, but all the amazing features are in place---an evil mastermind SPECTRE scientist (Dr. No, who has strong steel hands that can kill with a blow---unfortunately they are no good at climbing out of treacherous waters full of phirana fish since steel poles and steel hands don't work well together.....)---a beautiful young woman rises out of the water wearing an ivory colored bikini (model turned actress Ursula Andress, and side note, in 2001 her "rag" of a bikini sold for over 41000 pounds!)------extreme car chases against a tricked out Bond vehicle end tragically for the bad guys------deadly but sexy women try to seduce, then try to kill Bond---this film was the first of the three girl scenario--the first woman he meets at the casino who technically becomes the FIRST Bond girl is Sylvia Trench, then he beds the "great in a towel"  evil Eurasian secretary, and finally the "good"Andress-ETC. This new film is a surprise big hit--the buzz started in the theatres when Bond utters "The name's BOND, James Bond"  and in London the film plays for 11 months!  The casting of Bond was convoluted--Cary Grant was considered too expensive,  producer Broccoli felt David Niven was not tough enough, and he felt Roger Moore was too young and pretty! Patrick MacGoohan declined on moral grounds (!)  Other names tossed around included Trevor Howard, Richard Johnson and Michael Redgrave.  The producers liked new comer Sean Connery in his first leading role for Disney, DARBY O'GILL AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE, and Dr. NO director Terence Young had worked with Connery before, so it was finally decided.  The only top tier decider who didn't want Sean:  writer Ian Fleming who had created the  James Bond books about 10 years earlier, because he didn't like Connery's Scottish accent!    GRADE-----B


FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE(1963)---There's a better plot, and more characterization to the characters--the evil seductress may not be so bad after all, and the active bad guy is a young, blond brutal killer Robert Shaw (who later played Quint in JAWS)--he and Connery were friends and had worked together, giving their scenes some extra tension, especially in the wild, tense fight scene in a small cabin aboard the Orient Express train.  Lotte Lenya plays a cruel spy for SPECTRE who has deadly poison in knives in her shoes.  Over all, the film plays like more of a cold war thriller and is more satisfying than DR. NO.  One note:  at age 31 when he started Dr. NO, Connery was already balding, and plays all of his Bond films in a toupee.  It's a wonder they could all stay on his head with scenes that include thrilling running scenes, wild boat chases, train chases, car chases, etc.  English singer Matt Monro sang the first theme song, but not too memorably in this film.                  GRADE----------B

GOLDFINGER (1964)--This film broke open the popularity of Bond films in general, grossing nearly twice what the first two films grossed, and it is still a high water mark for the number of memorable scenes.  The spy in the center of the circle was there from the beginning, but now the other graphics became more explicit, with a woman in gold paint writhing in back lit profile (which foretells the death of one woman early in the film) and that booming music sung by Shirley Bassey which has to be the most popular and iconic sound from any of the other popular Bond songs.  (According to Rolling Stone, and something I'd never thought about before, the Goldfinger song is actually based on Moon River, the theme from BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S--and if you hum it you realize that is true.)
Other amazing scenes involve hit man Oddjob and his killer hat, Goldfinger himself and his sneering deliveries.  "I don't expect you to tell me anything, Mr. Bond--I expect you to die!!!! while Bond is ready to be lazered in two by a new deadly beam, and  the updated special car that can shoot, protect, shoot fire, and eject from the passenger seat! and the climatic air plane fight that has the large Goldfinger ejected from a window  while airborne.  Certainly one of the more unusual Bond woman is Pussy Galore whose name provides many snickers from the viewers, and whose lesbianism seems a mere convience for the erotic tension.                                   GRADE---------A-

THUNDERBALL (1965)-- The only thing I remembered from this film was the general atmosphere--nearly half the film takes place under water of the Caribbean where Bond is trying to track two stolen atom bombs by a diabolic mad man trying to control the world (a typical plot repeated a number of times in future films.)  Visually on land it looks exotic, but under water it is hard to watch as the water is dark and murky at times, and when the characters are all wearing wet suits and masks it can be tough to tell who is who, although conveniently the good guys wear red wet suits and the bad guys wear black suits.    Tom Jones sings the OK theme song.   Still a bit tedious at times.                             GRADE---------B-

YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE 1967--This smart looking film is filmed almost entirely in Japan, and starts with a startling scene where Bond is killed,but of course, just kidding.   Nancy Sinatra sings the hummable title song.  While not continuously  exciting, there are a number of good set pieces--a car chase scene and an ambitious ninja attach inside a volcanic mountain cum evil fortress.               GRADE------B

ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE 1969---Holding out for more money and a shorter work schedule, Connery did not appear in this film--which featured the one time newcomer George Lazenby as a more than adequate Bond--in fact on seeing this for the first time in over 40 years, I wish that he would have made some more Bond films.  He is a masculine, physical presence, he throws out the sarcastic bon bons as well as Connery and the plot is filled with great moments like trying to escape from a mountain top chalet by skiing down hill with more than a dozen gunmen coming after him--and then one of his skis breaks, and he must slalom the rest of the way!   There's a fantastic car chase on  icy roads that ends up in a car rally on ice, and a spectacular snow avalanche that endangers several participants.  Best of all is the choice of the leading lady--Bridget Bardot and Catherine Deneuve were both considered, but both fell through due to other commitments.  Fortunately, they all wanted Diana Rigg--fresh from the TV smash THE AVENGERS, and she is definitely the most memorable of  Bond women--plus Bond asks her to marry him!  She was well known for her work in British theatre, and they felt her professionalism would help Lazenby, which it seemed to do.  They had a lot of chemistry, and their relationship packs a punch.  Lazenby also has a great sequence in which he plays a stuffy Scottish professor while imprisoned in an all women's hospital clinic where he amusingly comes across to the woman as gay, but of course he doesn't hold out very long.                         GRADE-----------------------------A-  


FAVORITE 2017 FILMS

No  specific order--favorites first

THREE Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri--funny, fierce, literate.
LADY BIRD--smart, funny, moving--and the car jumper lives!
DARKEST HOUR--I didn't want it to end.
MOLLY'S GAME--literate script and fascinating Jessica Chastain
STAR WARS: LAST JEDI--one of the best episodes
WIND RIVER--compassionate murder mystery
MAUDIE--moving artist bio-pic w/Sally Hawkins and Ethan Hawke
DUNKIRK--war story deconstructed
ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD--engrossing based on true story w/ nominated Christopher Plummer and Michelle Williams
PARIS OPERA--beautiful documentary
COCO--best animation with thoughtful memory theme
CALL ME BY YOUR NAME---literate gay love story/drama, moving and thoughtful
THE POST--another triumph for Meryl Streep--truth better than fiction
ONLY THE BRAVE--moving true story of firefighter heroes
THEIR FINEST--nostalgic film of London in WWII
UNITED KINGDOM--true story of interracial love in 1950's in Africa
GET OUT--excellent mixture of GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER and THE STEPFORD WIVES
I, DANIEL BLAKE--social injustice personified
GHOST STORY--patience rewards for thoughtful memory film

Flawed but very interesting-- close to perfect movies:  THE BIG SICK, WAR OF PLANET OF APES, BRISBY BEAR, STRONGER, VICTORIA AND ABDUL, GOD'S OWN COUNTRY, JUSTICE LEAGUE, WONDER WOMAN, BATTLE OF THE SEXES, MEYEROWITZ STORIES, DOWNSIZING, THE FLORIDA PROJECT, PHANTOM THREAD,  BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

BEST GUILTY PLEASURES--MOTHER!--modern abstract version of book of Genesis--audacious and fascinating. Also PERSONAL SHOPPER--a  sort of ghost story, with great glamorous clothes, motor bike rides, stressful jobs and sexual tension--and a fabulous Kristen Stewart.





OSCARS------Sunday 4 March ====PREDICTIONS

BEST PICTURE----Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri is the strongest choice, but I loved LADY BIRD and wouldn't mind if that won.

BEST DIRECTOR--Greta Gerwig for LADY BIRD and Christopher Nolan for DUNKIRK are the strongest to me, but with 13 nominations I suspect Guillermo Del Toro will win for THE SHAPE OF WATER.

BEST ACTOR--All good, but this is the role of his lifetime--GARY OLDMAN for DARKEST HOUR.

BEST ACTRESS--FRANCES MCDORMAND for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri is heads above the others, but Saoirse Ronan is splendid for LADY BIRD.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY--Martin McDonagh for THREE BILLBOARDS seems strongest, but Greta Gerwig for LADY BIRD and Jordan Peele for GET OUT are very worthy.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY--James Ivory for CALL ME BY YOUR NAME has a lock on this one (three time nominee but no wins, yet), but I also love Aaron Sorkin for MOLLY's GAME.

BEST ANIMATED FILM--COCO has a lock on this one.

BEST SONG--I liked THIS IS ME from THE GREATEST SHOWMAN but also REMEMBER ME from COCO is a strong choice.

SUPPORTING ACTOR--Sam Rockwell is very deserving for THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING MISSOURI

SUPPORTING ACTRESS--Allison Janney from I, TONYA was remarkable, but Laurie Metcalf from LADY BIRD is competitive.

 MAKE UP/HAIR--DARKEST HOUR

 EDITING--DUNKIRK

 VISUAL EFFECTS--STAR WARS LAST JEDI

 MUSIC SCORE--I loved Hans Zimmer for DUNKIRK, but also very good was Alexandre Desplat for SHAPE OF WATER

BEST SOUND EDITING--DUNKIRK

 COSTUME DESIGN--Toss up--PHANTOM THREAD, DARKEST HOUR, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

CINEMATOGRAPHY--DUNKIRK

PRODUCTION DESIGN--DUNKIRK or BEAUTY AND BEAST