Gideon58's Reviews [Archive] - Page 15

Gideon58

08-04-20, 08:32 PM

Detective Story
With a three-time Oscar winner in the director's chair and a brilliant ensemble cast in front of the camera, the 1951 classic Detective Story, is a mostly compelling look at life inside of a police precinct that falters at the finish line with an overly dramatic finale that was hard to swallow.
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An effective blend of crime drama and character study, this film chronicles one day in the lives of police detectives and criminals in the dingy 21st precinct, centered around a hard-nosed and principled police detective named Mike MacLeod (Kirk Douglas) who is currently in the center of three cases: there are a pair of burglars (Joseph Wiseman, Michael Strong) who MacLeod is convinced he can get to turn on each other; a young man (Craig Hill), who has embezzled money from his company, his first offense, for which he is wracked with guilt and the main case, a Dr. Karl Schneider (George Macready), a doctor who has been performing illegal abortions, that have resulted in the deaths of several women. Mike's one-sided view of the law is challenged forever when he discovers that his wife (Eleanor Parker) is personally involved with one of the cases.
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This is a film version of a play by Sidney Kingsley that opened on Broadway in March of 1949 starring Ralph Bellamy as Mike and Meg Mundy as his wife and ran for 581 performances. It never really escapes its stage origins, evidenced in the entire story taking place inside the precinct, but it doesn't make the story any less compelling. If the truth be told, the claustrophobic atmosphere created here only heightens the tension of the story.
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Though the story is populated with various criminal lowlifes, this is really an up close look at this detective Mike MacLeod, whose view of the law is strictly black and white. As the story progresses, we watch MacLeod learn that cases don't always go the way they are supposed to as a bribed witness (a fabulous cameo by Gladys George) compromises one case and everyone wants him to give the young embezzler a pass, a young kid wet behind the ears who knew what he did was wrong the second he did it. A reveal of Mike's troubled childhood offers insight into why he is the way he is, but it doesn't excuse a lot of his behavior here, and with all the criminals present, MacLeod definitely pays more consequences for his behavior than anyone else, especially in the silly finale where he thinks he's Superman.
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The legendary William Wyler guides this story with a focused intensity, using his camera and the character of a frightened young shoplifter (Lee Grant) to let us inside this story and what these people are going through.
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The film received four Oscar nominations for Wyler, screenwriters Phillip Yordan and Robert Wyler, Eleanor Parker for Best Actress and Lee Grant, in her film debut, as Best Supporting Actress. Unfortunately, after this role, Grant's movie career was stalled because of the communist blacklisting. William Bendix as veteran detective Lou Brody and Wiseman as one of the burglars also do Oscar-worthy work. Exquisite black and photography is the finishing touch on this classic that despite a corny finale, is still compelling screen entertainment. 3.5

Gideon58

08-05-20, 02:54 PM

Opening Night (2016)
Musical theater fans will have a head start with 2016's Opening Night, an oddball comedy with music that starts of promisingly, but gets sillier as it progresses to a ridiculous finale, though there are a handful of performances that might help sustain interest.
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The film stars Topher Grace as Nick, a former Broadway actor who gave up acting after being in a Broadway musical that opened and closed on the same night. He is now the production manager on a musical about to open called ONE HIT WONDERLAND and finds himself having to put out several backstage fires right before opening including a bitchy leading lady who gets injured and can't go on; an orchestra member who says he can't play without being high; an arrogant leading man who is working his way through the female chorus members sexually; a gay chorus boy and girl who have a bet which of them can have sex with a new chorus boy they think is bisexual; oh, and there's Nick's ex-girlfriend, understudy to the lead who gets her big break when the leading lady gets hurt.
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This film starts off as a pretty accurate look at life in the theater and all the insanity it entails, staying pretty much in the realm of reality. The problems start when the theme of the onstage musical starts bleeding backstage and we all of a sudden get these spontaneous musical numbers backstage, all one hit wonders, that spit in the face of the realistic backstage movie that began.
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We sympathize with all the backstage troubles Nick has to deal with, but when the injured leading lady is given ecstasy instead of aspirin, the battle for the bisexual chorus boy results in a production number backstage (very well choreographed) and the understudy getting wracked with guilt because the producer wants to fire the leading lady, and when Nick walks out onstage in the middle of the show and starts singing, we're pretty much checked out by then.
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Topher Grace does deliver a terrific performance as Nick as do Anne Heche as the bitchy diva, Taye Diggs as the gay chorus boy, and former NSYNC member JC Chasez as the show's leading man, but this movie just gets too silly to be believable. The best thing about this movie is that it runs less than 90 minutes. 2

Gideon58

08-05-20, 06:55 PM

Matilda
The bold and uncompromising directorial eye of Danny De Vito is the standout element of a bizarre comic fantasy from 1996 called Matilda that features some frightening imagery, unsympathetic characters, even if it takes a little longer than necessary to get to the requisite happy ending foreshadowed in the final act.
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This is the story of a gifted and adorable little girl named Matilda, who was born to a crooked car salesman and his dim-witted wife. Matilda is simultaneously abused and neglected by her parents until she starts school, where she is befriended by a kindly teacher named Miss Honey and terrified by the school's sadistic, Neo-Nazi school principal, Miss Trunchbull. It's not long before Matilda learns that the anger and abuse she endures from her parents and Miss Trunchbull actually fuels the magical powers inside Matilda that will allow her to rebuild her life into something that will make her happy.
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Nicholas Kazan's screenplay is based on a book by Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) that messily combines elements of black comedy, fantasy, and genuine horror to mixed results. The story starts off as a loopy story of family dysfunction that eventually morphs into a black comedy nightmare that walks a thin tightrope between reality and fractured fairy tale. It seemed odd that De Vito chose to narrate the story as well, since he also plays one of the story's primary villains. The narrator should have been someone more distanced from the story. It was fun watching Matilda get revenge on Miss Trunchbull but her parents get off way too easy.
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The standout element here, though is De Vito's unapologetic direction, rich with inventive camerawork, outrageous color schemes, and some first rate visual effects. This is De Vito's most effective work behind the camera since The War of the Roses, giving this film an almost Tim Burton quality in its presentation. Fans of films like Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands will be right at home here.
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In addition to his solid work as a director, De Vito is appropriately smarmy as one of the most despicable movie parents I've seen, well-paired with real life spouse Rhea Perlman as his wife. Paul Reubens and Tracey Walter were fun as a pair of goofy police detectives, but it is Pam Ferris who steals the show with her over-the-top scenery chewing as Miss Trunchbell, though her scene in the middle of the film torturing a student with chocolate cake came off as so much filler. Mara Wilson, who was so adorable as Robin Williams' daughter in Mrs. Doubtfire is equally adorable here as the title character. This oddball fantasy provides sporadic entertainment, but never really provides the complete pay off it should and I'm really not sure who the intended demographic was for this film 3

Gideon58

08-06-20, 03:50 PM

Pacific Heights
Stylish direction by Oscar winner John Schlesinger and a bone-chilling performance from Michael Keaton notwithstanding, a 1990 thriller called Pacific Heights is hard to engage in due to plot holes you can drive a truck through.
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Drake Goodman (Matthew Modine) and his girlfriend Patty Parker (Melanie Griffith) have sunk everything they own into restoring an old San Francisco house with two rental units. Their lives and their home are methodically destroyed when a slick con man who calls himself Carter Hayes (Keaton) talks Drake into allowing him to rent one of the units and is able to take possession of the unit, despite his never paying the rent. It's not long before it comes to light that he is not just a con man, but a dangerous psychopath.
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The basic premise of the film is decent but there are so many inaccuracies and unanswered questions in Daniel Pyne's screenplay that it's difficult to believe a lot of what happens here. Just like Max Cady in Cape Fear, it was difficult accepting the way the law seemed to protect Carter Hayes through most of the film. It's hard to believe that the police cannot forcibly remove someone from an apartment who hasn't paid a dime of rent. When Drake goes to the door and and Carter's partner Greg, who Drake has never met, answers the door, that should have been grounds for Drake to call the police. And just like Max Cady, Hayes was actually able to get a restraining order against Drake. It's never made clear exactly what Hayes was doing in the apartment and no one seemed to care when Patty finally gets in the apartment and it's been destroyed.
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Drake and Patty make their share of dumb moves in the story as well. No landlord on the planet would ever let anyone get into an apartment without the rent in their hand. And the fact that Carter refused to fill out the tenant application should have been a red flag for Drake anyway. That coupled with the fake references not checking out made Drake look like a moron. Patty was a little smarter than Drake, but her playing Junior Detective wasn't really smart either. I did like the fact that Patty was smarter than Drake.
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John Schlesinger, who won an Oscar for directing Midnight Cowboy, shows endless style in his presentation of the story, filling the screen with equal doses of cinematic clues and red herrings that simultaneously pique and confuse the viewer. Michael Keaton is genuinely frightening as Carter Hayes, creating a character that does demand audience attention, but definitely not sympathy. It's impossible to accept a lot of the ridiculous directions this story goes, but the work of Keaton and Schlesinger also make the nonsense worth it. 3

Gideon58

08-08-20, 04:04 PM

Inception
The creative force behind Dunkirk and The Dark Knight is the driving force behind a bold and challenging cinematic journey called Inception, an effective blend of science fiction, corporate espionage, and star-crossed romance that requires complete attention, which doesn't always pay off, but keeps the viewer engaged because of an edgy story, effectively served by a sterling cast and state of the art production values.
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This 2010 roller coaster ride stars Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio as Dom Cobb, a thief who, along with his partner, Arthur (Joseph Gordon Levitt) has made a very comfortable living by stealing corporate secrets by entering into people's dreams, a technology known as extraction. He has now been offered a job that could set him for life that has never been done before. A Japanese businessman wants Cobb to plant an idea into the dreams of an important CEO, process known as inception. Cobb knows the process, but is beyond the scope of his and Arthur's skillset and they must assemble an elite circle of specialists to pull this off.
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Director and screenwriter Christopher Nolan has completely redefined the "And then I woke up" genre of film making here. He has employed endless imagination and eye-popping movie technology in making the concept of getting inside of people's head and controlling destiny through their dreams a viable concept. The story is given a more human layer as Cobb's personal demons come to light, revealing how Cobb's work has kept him separated from his family. Not long after the character of Cobb's wife (Marian Coitillard) is introduced, we're thrown when it's revealed she is dead but that in no way keeps her from being pertinent part of this story.
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Nolan's attention to continuity is impressive here as the action switches with often lightning fast pace from dream to awake. Often we're not sure what is awake here until the abrupt cut to sleep (with a strong assist from film editor Lee Smith and often the viewer's wait to find out what state we're in is unbearably long, but it keep the viewer on its toes. The film is rich with visual images unlike anything ever seen. There is one incredible scene where characters are seen walking down a city street and the far end of the street actually unearths and folds itself on top of the other side of the street...absolutely spectacular. Nolan's imagination and the technical craftsmen he has assembled to pull this off work in perfect tandem to create amazing visuals that often legitimize the often completely illogical elements of the story. And you gotta love Arthur's fight scenes without gravity.
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DiCaprio is solid, as always and works well with Levitt as his cynical partner. Tom Hardy, Ellen Page, Cillian Murphy, Ken Wantanabe, Tom Berenger, and Pete Postlewaithe head up the supporting cast who effectively serve Nolan's vision. The film received eight Oscar nomination, including Best Picture and won richly deserved wards for cinematography, sound mixing, sound editing, and especially visual effects. It's a slightly exhausting journey for the viewer, but it's worth the challenge and a triumph for Christopher Nolan. 4

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Gideon58

08-08-20, 08:00 PM

Fun with Dick and Jane (1977)
Despite some contrived and dated plot elements, the 1977 comedy Fun with Dick and Jane is still worth checking out thanks to the wonderful performances by the stars that make the film seem a lot better than it is.
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George Segal plays Dick Harper, an aerospace engineer who is abruptly fired from his job just as wife Jane (Jane Fonda) is supervising the installation of their new pool. Dick has trouble finding another job and the part time modeling job that Jane gets isn't enough to support their upwardly mobile lifestyle, the Harpers feel they have no choice but to resort to armed robbery.
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David Giler and Jerry Belson's screenplay is rich with a lot of dated and predictable elements. It starts off as a relatively effective look at how the economy of the 70's had millions struggling, but becomes less effective as it starts to be a more cynical look at greed and what it does to people, taking some of the sympathy away from the central characters and the situation they are in. I love the scene in the Harpers' bathroom where they first come up with the idea for their new lives and the first few failed attempts at armed robbery were also very funny. Though the scene where they rip off a phony evangelist induces cheers, It was a little predictable that the finale finds the Harpers going after the company that fired Dick, which leads to a finale that is too protective of the Harpers.
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Ted Kotcheff's direction is rather pedestrian and the exposition takes too long, but George Segal shows a definite affinity for physical comedy and, as she often did, Jane Fonda brings an intelligence to her character that wasn't in the screenplay. Mention should also be made of the late Ed McMahon, surprisingly smarmy in a rare film appearance as Dick's boss. The story is a little safe and predictable, but the stars definitely make it worth watching. Remade in 2005 with Jim Carrey as Dick and Tea Leoni as Jane. 3

Gideon58

08-10-20, 03:18 PM

The Four Musketeers
In 1973, moviegoers were treated to a sumptuous re-thinking of the Alexandre Dumas novel The Three Musketeers, featuring a brilliant all star cast and directed by Richard Lester, It was determined before the release of the film that it was too long and instead of editing the finished product, it was decided to divide it into two separate films, resulting in 1974's The Four Musketeers, sometimes referred to by its subtitle Milady's Revenge.
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This film begins exactly where the 1973 film left off, as D'Artagnan (Michael York) is officially made a musketeer and has prevented Milady de Winter (Faye Dunaway) and Cardinal Richelieu (Charlton Heston) from their plot to destroy the Duke of Buckingham (Simon Ward) and Queen Anne of Austria (Geraldine. Chaplin) you, and has also found romance with the Queen's dressmaker, Constance (Raquel Welch). D'Artagnan enlists the aid of his fellow musketeers (Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain, Frank Finlay) as Milady and Richelieu resume their plan, beginning with the kidnapping of Constance and Milady providing the kind of distraction to D'Artagnan that only she can.
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Since it was originally part of the 1973 film, director Richard Lester and screenwriter George McDonald Fraser assume that the viewer has watched the first film and offers virtually nothing in terms of rehashing the events of the first film. They do efficiently establish where we are in the story through the multitude of players on this cinematic chessboard. One thing that made the first film so successful was the tongue in cheek approach that Lester took with the story, keeping the characters and what thy go through flawed and funny. A darker tone is utilized in this part of the story, but the characters remain deliciously flawed. Though the events of the first film are not rehashed, there is backstory revealed between Milady and one of the musketeers that is seamlessly woven into the story and remains pertinent throughout.
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This film is a lot more than just swordplay. If the truth be told, there is a lot less swordplay here than in the first swashbuckler. This is a complicated tale of loyalty and politics, that is rife with a sexual tension unlike anything ever seen in similar films. The director and screenwriter makes no bones about the fact that a lot of this story has to do with lust and sexual debauchery and how no one in the story is above using their sexuality to get what they want. It's not overt or obscene, but it quietly simmers at the core of every scene involving Lady de Winter.
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Don't get me wrong...this film does provide spectacular swordplay, impeccably staged by fight director William Hobbs. I was especially impressed by the fight on ice which I didn't see coming and the final showdown between D'Artagnan and Rochefort (Christopher Lee) literally had me holding my breath.
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The cast is splendid, with standout work from Michael York, just as sexy and charismatic as he was in the first film, Oliver Reed as Athos, Lee as Rochefort, Frank Finlay as Porthos, and an icy performance from Faye Dunaway that makes her Joan Crawford look like Carol Brady. Big shout outs to cinematography, art direction/set direction and costumes as well. I also loved the final delicious touch of Lester's where, instead of rehashing the events of the first film, he provided a brief look at the first film which might effectively motivate viewers who didn't see the first film to check it out. 4

Gideon58

08-11-20, 02:48 PM

French Kiss
The scenery is gorgeous and there is some chemistry between the stars but 1995's French Kiss is a silly and illogical romantic comedy that starts off promisingly, but gets more illogical and more silly as it makes an overlong journey to a predictable conclusion.
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Meg Ryan plays Kate, a woman who lives in Canada with her doctor fiancee, Charlie (Oscar winner Timothy Hutton). Charlie has to fly to Paris for a medical convention and asks Kate to accompany him, but she's terrified of flying. Charlie flies to Paris alone and 24 hours after his arrival, calls Kate and tells her he's met another woman and that he and Kate are over. Kate doesn't accept this and gets up the nerve to get on a plane to Paris. Sitting next to her on the plane is a sexy French jewel thief (Oscar winner Kevin Kline) who gets Kate through the takeoff and then hides his latest booty in her bag. Unfortunately, the bag gets stolen with not only the jewels, but Kate's money and passport. The thief, partially worried about getting his jewels back and partially feeling guilty for Kate being stranded in France, attaches himself to Kate while she continues her mission through Paris and Cannes to get Charlie back.
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There are multiple issues with Adam Brooks' screenplay that are troublesome. First of all, why would a woman whose fiancee breaks up with her over the phone then get on a plane and fly across an ocean to get him back? Once she gets there, she loses her all of her possessions and still the only thing on her mind is getting this scumbag Charlie back? She actually locates him on two separate occasions and then doesn't say a word? And she doesn't seem to be the least bit concerned that she's stranded in Paris with no money and no passport. It was also troublesome that there were a few pertinent scenes where the characters spoke French and it would have been nice to know what they were saying.
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Lawrence Kasdan, director of The Big Chill and Silverado, doesn't put a lot of imagination into the direction, outside of brilliant use of scenery in Paris and Cannes. I wish he had reined in his leading lady a little bit too. Ryan is normally a charming screen presence, but her irritation factor here is pretty high. We're forced to put up with a lot here, but when we get to the point where Kate is crawling around on her knees in a Cannes restaurant covered in chocolate cake, it's really time to check out. Even when she finally confronts Charlie, it just seems like so much screen padding, as we wait for this girl to admit she loves the sexy Frenchman who is responsible for her being stranded in France with no money.
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Oscar winner Kevin Kline is undeniably sexy as the jewel thief and the Paris and Cannes scenery is breathtaking but it doesn't change the fact that an hour and fifty minute movie felt four and a half hours long. 2

Gideon58

08-11-20, 07:31 PM

I Wake Up Screaming
A love triangle and a murder are the primary ingredients of a slightly dated, but still effective little film noir from 1941 called I Wake Up Screaming.
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Frankie Christopher (Victor Mature) is a slick sports promotor who meets a pretty young waitress named Vicky (Carole Landis), who lives with her over protective sister, Jill (Betty Grable). Frankie sees star potential in Vicky and decides groom her for stardom, completely oblivious to the fact that while Framkie has been showering Vicky with all his attention, Jill has developed feeling for him. Vicky even mentions it one day in front of Frankie and Jill, who vehemently denies it. A short time later, Vicky is found murdered and a hard-nosed police inspector named Cornell is convinced that Frankie did it.
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Dwight Taylor's screenplay is based on a novel by Steve Fisher that features a lot of cliched dialogue and outdated police procedures, but the set up of the mystery is first rate. The film actually opens with Frankie and Jill being brought in for questioning about the murder as the story leading up to Vicky's death unfolds in front of the viewer through flashbacks of several different actors. And even when we get to the point where Vicky's body is discovered, all evidence pointing to Frankie and the movie is not even half over, we know that Frankie being the murderer is just too easy, but we really don't know who did it and the road to the answer leads to a terrific twist we don't see coming.
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Bruce Humberstone's direction is dark and atmospheric and provides motivations for the actors that keep the killer's identity a surprise until we're supposed to know. There are red herring thrown in to throw us off the scent, but this one definitely keeps the viewer guessing until the climax.
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Victor Mature's slick performance as Frankie appropriately anchors the proceedings and Betty Grable is surprisingly effective in a rare non musical role as Jill. Carole Landis is lovely as Jill and Laird Cregar is totally creepy as Cornell. Loved the "Over the Rainbow" theme in Cyril Mockridge's music, which really served the story. Yes, it has dated elements, but purely as a murder mystery, it still holds up. Remade in 1953 as Vicki. 3.5

Gideon58

08-12-20, 02:38 PM

The Laundromat
Oscar winning director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic) anchors a highly theatrical look at a poison that could someday completely destroy the world's economy called The Laundromat that begins as a look into insurance fraud that balloons into so much more, though the viewpoint from which Soderbergh chooses to share this story is questionable, to say the least.
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The opening credits of this 2019 Netflix film reveals that it's "based on secrets", which initially confuses the viewer but becomes clearer as the story progresses. Oscar winner Meryl Streep plays Ellen Martin, a widow who lost her husband on a tourist boat which killed 20 other people as well as her husband. Outraged by the settlement she received regarding her husband's death, Ellen begins an investigation that leads to a shell company in Panama, which was set up by a Panama law firm headed by Jurgen Mossack (Oscar winner Gary Oldman) and Ramon Fonseca (Antonio Banderas), who have been setting up shell companies globally, that all lead the viewer into stories revealing the ramifications of what these guys have done including murder, bribery, extortion, tax evasion, and human organ trafficking, and the eventual downfall of it all, which was eventually documented in something called the Panama Papers.
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Scott Z. Burns' merciless screenplay, based on a book by Jake Bernstein, strips bare the tragic and sometimes deadly consequences of what these two lawyers are doing, but the approach taken here, specifically, that we're told the story from Mossack and Fonseca's point of view, completely forsaking the 4th wall and talking directly to the camera, with these two guys trying to legitimize what they were doing and making them look like misunderstood martyrs, which, of course, they are not. The pair are observed telling their story from several different locations, depicting them living lives of luxury while Ellen Martin still has not found any answers, a Panama businessman is able to set up an entire second identity, a West Indies millionaire can buy his daughter's silence with a shell company, and a Chinese couple begin a profitable business trafficking human organs. In some cases, the simplicity of what these people are doing triggers their greed and having them go too far. At one point in the narration, we are even told that Soderbegh owns one of these companies, which puts a real stink on everything we've seen this far.
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During the final act of this horrific story, Soderbergh obliterates the 4th wall completely and pontificates on what we have seen, the most disturbing aspect being the fact that these two lawyers only spent three months in jail for what they did. It was also a downer that we never really get resolution to any stories, especially poor Ellen Martin.
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Soderbergh was afforded a huge budget for this film, evidenced in the round the world location shooting and breathtaking set designs. Streep, Oldman, and Banderas are splendid, but we almost don't notice because the anger that this story instills in the viewer overshadows the quality of Soderbergh and company. Anger over the fact that Soderbergh doesn't provide any solutions to the danger presented here and the fact that a lot of what goes on here is still legal. 3.5

Gideon58

08-13-20, 02:29 PM

The Court Jester
Handsome production values, a near brilliant screenplay, and a 100-megawatt movie star performance by Danny Kaye in the title role combine to make the 1955 medieval musical comedy The Court Jester sparkling entertainment.
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Kaye plays Hubert Hawkins, a carnival performer who is part of the crew for The Black Fox, who has been assigned the mission of caring for a baby who is actually the rightful heir to the King of England, who somehow survived the slaughter of the rest of his kingdom. Hubert and a loyal soldier of the Black Fox named Maid Jean (Glynis Johns) are trusted to get the baby king into the palace but the only way in is through a key that is in possession of current King Roderick I (Cecil Parker), whose interests are protected by his evil henchman Sir Ravenhurst (Basil Rathbone). On their way to the palace, Hubert and Jean run into the new Court Jester on his way to the palace. They overpower him and Hubert pretends to be the new Court Jester as a way into the palace.
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Jean is forced to put her budding romance with Hubert to the side when she arrives at the castle and is mistaken for a wench being sent to King Roderick as a gift. The story is further complicated by the King's spoiled daughter, Princess Gwendolyn (Angela Lansbury) who is trying to get out of an arranged marriage with the assistance of her lady in waiting (Mildred Natwick) who has magical powers. The lady in waiting puts a spell on Hubert (which can be reversed with a finger snap) that makes him fall for the Princess and forget about the mission at hand.
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Co-director/screenwriters Melvin Frank and Norman Panama triumph here with a clever and intricate screenplay, rich with amusing word play that redefines the use of alliteration in cinematic conversation unlike anything I have ever seen. I also loved the fact that the three primary female characters in the stories actually have brains and agendas that are independent of the male characters in the story. Loved that Jean is all about this mission, Gwendolyn is all about marrying for love, and the lady in waiting is all about self-preservation.
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Danny Kaye still manages to dominate the screen with a performance that is a perfect combination of tongue-twisting dialogue and outrageous physical comedy. My favorite Kaye performance is still in Hans Christian Anderson, but he knocks this one out of the park too and it's probably his most famous performance and the love for it is richly deserved.
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Sammy Kahn and Sylvia Fine contribute some terrific songs for the story that always enhance the proceedings, never feeling like time fillers. The score includes "Outfox the Fox", "I'll Take You Dreaming", "I Live to Love", and "Life Could Not Be Better".
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Kaye's supporting cast is splendid, led by Basil Rathbone as Ravenhurst, a classic mustache-twirling villain. This was my first exposure to Rathbone, most famous as movie's most popular Sherlock Holmes, and the touch of class he brings to the nuttiness here is ingratiating. Johns, Lansbury, and Natwick make the most of their roles as well. The film also features spectacular art direction/set direction, cinematography, and breathtaking costumes. Paramount poured a lot of money into this film and it was money well spent. A classic movie comedy not to be missed...and don't forget: "The pestle with the poison's in the vestle with the pestle." 4

Gideon58

08-14-20, 03:56 PM

The Bad Seed (1956)
The direction is overly stylized and melodramatic and some of the plot characterizations are definitely questionable, but the 1956 psychological drama The Bad Seed is still riveting entertainment due to some squirm-worthy subject matter, the origin of criminal tendencies in particular.
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Christine Penmark is a housewife whose outwardly perfect life goes spinning out of control when she learns that a classmate of her daughter, Rhoda, drowned and tries to turn a blind eye as evidence begins to mount that Rhoda might have been directly involved in the child's death. Christine's gregarious landlady, Monica, thinks Rhoda is an angel and never considers it, but her handyman, Leroy, has suspected that the little girl is pure evil, and makes sure Rhoda knows that he is onto her and will make sure that she pays for what she has done.
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This story began as a novel by William March that was turned into a play by Maxwell Anderson that premiered in December of 1954 and ran for almost a year. Apparently, the play made such an impact that several members of the Broadway cast were allowed to reprise their roles for this film version, Screenwriter John Lee Mahin's adaptation of the play is probably very loyal to the stage play as the film's stage origins come shining through as the story progresses, but the story is so compelling and so well-acted that we never feel like we're watching a photographed stage play.
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Despite director Mervyn LeRoy's melodramatic approach to the story, I still found this movie playing havoc with my emotions due to questionable character motivations throughout. LeRoy's direction makes it clear to the viewer that this little girl is guilty pretty early on, but the journey to the rest of the cast figuring it out is a little hard to believe at times. We get hints regarding the truth about Rhoda as it's revealed almost immediately that Christine lets us know that Rhoda doesn't have a penchant for lying, but her horror when the teacher from Rhoda's school questions her is so tell...that scene is so effective because the teacher never says outright what she believes.
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The presentation of the Mrs. Daigle character, the mother of the victim, was also questionable. This should have been the most sympathetic character in the movie, but she isn't because in her two scenes, the character is drunk and it was troubling to me that a woman's initial reaction to losing her child is round the clock drinking. Her second appearance in the film where she directly confronts Rhoda is genuinely frightening.
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Equally frightening is this little girl Rhoda Penmark...this girl is no dummy, she knows exactly what she's doing, what she's done, and knows that her mother and the landlady have her back. The only time she loses her composure is with the creepy handyman. Her mother's guilt about thinking Rhoda may have inherited her criminal tendencies from Christine's mother is simultaneously tragic and hard to swallow. Her guilt leads to a shocking climax that we don't see coming.
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Mervyn does elicit some theatircal yet extremely effective performances from his stars. Joan Crawford look-alike Nancy Kelly, Eileen Heckart, and Patty McCormack all received Oscar nominations for reprising their Broadway roles as Christine, Mrs. Daigle, and little Rhoda Penmark, respectively. McCormack and Heckart are particularly impressive in performances that made by skin crawl. And Henry Jones' undeniable creepy performance has the s handyman Leon should have earned him a nomination. It's not exactly steeped in realism, but this unsettling story will definitely hold your attention. The film was remade for television in 2017 featuring McCormack in a supporting role. It was also re-thought in 1993 with a gender switch of the leading role called The Good Son with Macauley Culkin. 3.5

Gideon58

08-15-20, 03:05 PM

Where'd You Go Bernadette
Emotionally charged direction by Richard Linklater (Boyhood, Dazed and Confused) and a dazzling star turn by two time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett are the primary selling points of 2019's Where'd You Go Bernadette, an often squirm worthy black comedy wrapped around a character study that looks at passion, creativity, regret, and family dysfunction through an uncompromising cinematic eye.
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Blanchett plays Bernadette Fox, an award-winning, world famous architect who gave up her career due to an incident at the height of her career and her marriage to a Microsoft engineer (Billy Crudup) and their 14-year old daughter (Emma Nelson). When her daughter asks her parents if they can take a trip to Antarctica, a request that springboards an up close look at Bernadette. We're somewhat amused as it's revealed that Bernadette is a hermit with a biting tongue who avoids contact with people outside of her family at all costs, has a medicine cabinet that looks like a pharmacy, erects billboards to keep people off of her property, and has hired a virtual assistant who is really a Russian identity thief who might cause Bernadette some serious criminal ramifications.
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Director and co-screenwriter Linklater attempts to tell a balanced story about this hot mess of a central character that is not as balanced as it seems initially. The first half of the film presents Bernadette as this tortured martyr who no one understands and has been dealt one injustice after another in her life and we are not only completely on her side, but we are amused by her. Then the story looks at the story from her husband's point of view, with the aid of some initial backstory, including a serious medical crisis with her daughter and failed attempts at therapy. Bernadette's husband is certain she needs therapy and tries to sit on it as long he can because she'll have none of it, but learning about the billboards, the pills, and the identity thief, decides he can no longer can turn a blind eye. Unfortunately, his desire to help Bernadette is complicated by his daughter, who thinks the sun rises and sets on her mother and that there's nothing wrong with her.
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Linklater puts painstaking detail into setting up backstory for Bernadette, through an authentic looking mock documentary about Bernadtee's career, which features cameo appearances from David Paymer., Laurence Fishburne, Steve Zahn, and Megan Mullally. it's a little confusing why Linklater spends so much screentime looking back at Bernadette's career. but it does turn out to be they key to all of Bdernadette's issues.
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Cate Blanchett's tour de force performance in the starring role is Oscar-worthy and is beautifully complemented by Billy Crudup's subtle underplaying as her loving and frustrated husband. Kristen Wiig also impresses as Bernadette's tightly wound neighbor. As always with Linklater's work, it's flawed but watchable. 3.5

Gideon58

08-15-20, 05:26 PM

I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale
He was one of the most iconic actors in cinema history, despite the fact that he only appeared in five feature length theatrical films that receives 40 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture nominations for all five of them. Second only to James Dean, no actor with a career of such brevity was as loved, admired, and respected by those he worked with and those he influenced and idolized his work. The actor's brief but incredible contribution to movie history is lovingly chronicled in a 2009 documentary called I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale.
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This documentary scores because it brings the viewer straight to what they came to the film to see: who this actor was, how his involvement in these five movies came to be, and how other actors felt about working with him. The movie only spends a few minutes documenting his childhood through his graduating from Boston University and moving to New York to become an actor. We understand from a practical standpoint as the film only runs 40 minutes, but I feel that director Richard Shepherd (The Matador) would have made the same choice if the film had been three hours long.
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The incredible cross section of actors, directors, and playwrights interviewed for this film (and something tells me they all jumped at the chance) were unanimous about certain things regarding John Cazale...that this was a man who most likely had a painful childhood that he channeled into his acting, he was an actor who NEVER phoned it in, never did multiple takes the same way and always forced whoever was doing a scene with him to step up their game, that he said more onscreen with his large, soulful eyes than he did with dialogue, and that he was very, very funny.
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Loved Richard Dreyfuss' story about when he was doing a play with John and invited one of the producers of The Godfather, to see the play in hopes of getting a part in the movie but he was more impressed with John, a performance that eventually landed him the role of Fredo. Al Pacino and Sidney Lumet share gems from the set of Dog Day Afternoon as did Gene Hackman regarding The Conversation. I was impressed that Hackman appeared in this documentary because I've never seen him in a celebrity documentary before. It was also quite moving how hard it was for these stars to talk about John. Obviously, for a lot of these actors the pain of his passing is still fresh.
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News to me was the romantic relationship between John and Meryl Streep, which began when they appeared together in Shakespeare in the Park. Everyone in Cazale's life was moved by Streep's complete devotion to John right up to the time of his passing. Brett Ratner, Steve Buscemi, Sam Rockwell, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Francis Ford Copolla, and Olympia Dukakis also share their love of the actor and remind us that his too early passing at the tender age of 42 was one of Hollywood's greatest losses. 4

Gideon58

08-17-20, 05:52 PM

Begin Again
A terrific performance from Mark Ruffalo raises the bar on a somewhat cliched and predictable musical drama from 2013 called Begin Again that attempts to put a contemporary flavor on some well worn cinematic themes that turns out basically to be Babes in Arms meets A Star is Born via Let it Be.
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Ruffalo plays Dan, a hard drinking former record producer who has just been fired from the record label that he started, and trying to hold onto a shred of a relationship with his teenage daughter. Keira Knightley plays Gretta, a struggling singer/songwriter who has been living with a rock star for five years named Dave Kohl (Adam Levine) whose career is about to explode. After walking out on Dave because he cheated on her, Gretta goes back to singing in dive bars and guess who's there one night and thinks her music is the best thing she's ever heard.
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Dan believes in Gretta but he has no money to back up the promises he makes to Gretta so he actually organizes a band out of nowhere and arranges to cut an entire album of Gretta's music at outside locations like alleyways and rooftops because he has no money for studio time. Of course, as the final touches are being put on the album, Dave suddenly re-appears in Gretta's life and wants her back.
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Those who saw the 2007 musical Once might have a head start on this one because this film comes from the same director, John Carney, who attempts to bring us something different here, but a lot of the plot elements just seemed to be borrowed from other movies. The first meeting between Dan and Gretta plays like something out of any version of A Star is Born and the creation of a band to back up Gretta was something like Mickey and Judy putting on a show in a barn. It was also a little convenient that Gretta and Dan's daughter, Violet, hit it off instantly. as was the return of the scummy boyfriend turned big rock star Dave.
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What totally worked though and kept me invested in what was going on here was the charismatic star turn by Mark Ruffalo in the starring role. Ruffalo lights up the screen in an Oscar-baity kind of role that suffered from some uneven writing, but Ruffalo so completely commits to this character that he makes the audience want exactly what he wants. Carney's screenplay is a little vague about that too...the story seems to bet set up as a love story between Dan and Gretta, but their relationship never quite plays that way, and that includes the unbelievably corny montage scene halfway through the film where they're wandering through Times Square listening to each other's playlist.
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Carney's direction is unimaginative, though he does make good use of genuine New York locations, though the recording session in the alley was kind of odd because, despite what we've been getting in Hollywood movies forever, there are no alleys in Manhattan. The original songs are nice though. Knightly was OK as Gretta, though I kept thinking someone else should have played this role, maybe Amy Adams or Anne Hathaway. Catherine Keener scores as Dan's ex as does Mos Def as his ex business partner, but this is Ruffalo's show and his performance earned this film an extra half a rating point. 3.5

Gideon58

08-18-20, 04:30 PM

My Bodyguard
A smart screenplay rich with universal themes, solid direction, and surprisingly effective performances from the young stars make the 1980 teen angst drama My Bodyguard, a story that moves into directions that anyone who has ever been a teenager can relate to.
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Clifford is the pampered 15 year year old son of a hotel manager beginning his sophomore year at a new school. It's not surprising that not long after arriving for his first day in the limo that his father arranges for him, that Clifford is immediately harassed by Moody, the school bully who extorts money out of classmates who are small enough to be intimidated. Clifford's refusal to be extorted results him being locked in a gym locker, a situation from which he is rescued by Linderman, an oversized student with a questionable past whom Clifford offers to pay him to be his bodyguard. Linderman does defend Clifford against Moody, without laying a hand on him, but it's revealed that he refused Clifford's money and feels his work is done. Clifford then decides if the guy doesn't want to be his bodyguard, he's going to make Linderman his friend instead.
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Alan Ormsby's screenplay is effective because not only does it not go anywhere expected, but provides a dead on look at the jungle of survival known as high school. We think we're getting a typical teen revenge comedy but when the expected scene of Clifford asking Linderman to be his bodyguard never happens, we know we're going to get something different than typical 80's teen fare. This story accurately documents the pain so many of us went through in high school, pain that can't be remedied by going to the principal or telling your parents. Also loved the development of the friendship between Clifford and Linderman, even if it's a bit rushed. The story even provides just the right amount of comic relief in Clifford's ditzy grandmother, who likes to pick up men in bars.
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Actor turned producer Tony Bill who won an Oscar seven years earlier for being one of the producers of The Sting makes an impressive debut as a director here, accurately zooming in on the often choppy navigation of high school survival waters. Bullies get away with what they do because school administrators can't do anything without actual proof and parents calling the school to complain gets back to the student in question, most often exacerbating the situation and this movie brings that home. There's a beautifully shot scene where Clifford is chased all over the school climaxing in the theater, that shows real directorial skill. They don't call it "teen angst" for nothing.
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Chris Makepeace delivers a real movie star performance as Clifford. He showed real promise as an actor here, but mysteriously his career didn't really go anywhere and he hasn't worked since 2001. Adam Baldwin's performance as Linderman has a quiet power and Matt Dillon impresses in one his earliest roles as the brutish Moody. Oscar winner Ruth Gordon garners laughs as Clifford's grandma and Martin Mull makes the most of his role as Clifford's dad. A teenage Joan Cuscack can also be glimpsed as one of Clifford's classmates. For a movie that's 40 years old, this film still is emotionally charged with emotions with which we can all relate. 3.5

Gideon58

08-18-20, 07:59 PM

Almost Christmas
Director and screenwriter David E. Talbert tries to go the Tyler Perry route in a contrived and predictable comedy of family dysfunction from 2016 called Almost Christmas that starts off promisingly, but consistently loses steam thanks to stereotyped characters, overheated performances, and a finale that is a perfect blend of melodrama and good old fashioned schmaltz.
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Danny Glover plays Walter, the family p
atriarch who has mixed emotions regarding the upcoming first Christmas with his family since his wife passed away. His son, Christian (Romany Malco) is in the middle of a congressional campaign and even brings his campaign manager (John Michael Higgins) home with him; daughter Cheryl (Kimberly Elise) is trying to pretend her marriage to a former basketball pro (JB Smoove) is still on shaky ground; younger sister, Rachel (Gabrielle Union) doesn't want anyone to know that she may have to drop out of law school because she can't afford it. Throw into the mix Aunt May (Oscar winner Mo'Nique), the deceased's sister, who has spent her life on the road as a backup singer and Malachi (Omar Epps) the now grown neighbor who always had a thing for Rachel andhttps://cdn2-www.comingsoon.net/assets/uploads/2016/04/AlmostChristmas.jpg has never forgotten her.
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This movie starts off wonderfully, as we see Walter excitedly preparing for his family's homecoming, trying to overlook the memories of his wife everywhere he looks. One of the loveliest parts of the story finds Walter trying to recreate his wife's sweet potato pie with no success. But with the arrival of the family, we are thrust into all the typical scenes that we've witnessed in a hundred holiday family dysfunction movies...the two sisters who never got along, the impromptu dance scne. the touch football game that ends in a fight, and the know-it-all uncle trying to repair rooftop decorations. The only difference between these scenes here and in a million other movies is that the scenes here involve a black family.
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Talbert cast some talented actors in the movie, but has many of them working out of their comfort zones. Union, in particular, seems really out of place in a role that involves a lot of tricky physical comedy, that is definitely not her forte. Malco, a known comic commodity, is wasted in a seriously thankless role that doesn't play at all to his strengths as an actor. Mo'Nique has been brought back to the sassy loudmouths she played before winning an Oscar. Glover is really the only actor appropriately cast in his role and it is his presence that almost makes this silliness worth sitting through.
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It was nice the way the deceased mother remains a viable character throughout the story but it becomes a detriment after her secret box of recipes is found and the family learns that Walter is thinking about selling the house. This reveals plunge the story into an overdrive rich with corny melodramatics and way-too-quickly resolved resolutions to everything we've witnessed. Talbert and Glover try hard, but this one is just too corny and predictable to serve as viable entertainment. 2.5

Gideon58

08-21-20, 06:15 PM

Rushmore
Director and screenwriter Wes Anderson had his first commercial success with an edgy black comedy from 1998 called Rushmore, a squirm worthy coming of age story centered around what ism basically, an extremely unlikable character.
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Max Fisher is a brilliant 15 year old student at a prep school called Rushmore, who utilizes all of his brilliance becoming the king of extracurricular activities and applying none of it to his school work. This eventually gets Max expelled from the school, but as he attempts to buckle down in public school, Max still has unfinished business at Rushmore that he can't let go. Primarily, a pretty teacher at Rushmore named Miss Cross and his friendship with a wealthy benefactor of Rushmore named Herman Blume, unfinished business that blossoms into a bizarre love triangle that moves in some shocking and logic-defying directions.
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Anderson is a film maker who has never gone for the simple and uncomplicated and this film is no exception. This Max Fisher is a true movie enigma...it's obvious five minutes into the movie that this guy is teetering on the edge of genius, but he uses his genius for all the wrong reasons...his genius manifests itself in a constant quest for power, popularity, seniority and self-absorption that has him wanting everything on his own terms. Just about everything he says in the first half of the film is a lie and he manipulates people to is advantage even if he can't remember their names five minutes after he meets the,
https://s.hdnux.com/photos/47/72/65/10464581/3/rawImage.jpgderson employs his accustomed theatrical and stylized way of presenting this story, which takes a little bit of the sting out of Max's behavior, but not much. His obsession of Miss Cross borders on the dangerous, but she initially doesn't do a lot to discourage it either. Yeah, Miss Crown is no prize either...she does nothing to encourage the attention of this 15 year old kid or Herman Blume, despite the fact that she still has feelings for ex-husband. And Herman Blume, who is also married, doesn't display much of a moral barometer either, sparing neither Max nor Miss Cross of his very special brand of venom.
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Jason Schwartzmann,real life son of actress Talia Shire, put himself on the map with his star-making turn as Max. Schwartzmann doesn't shy away from the negative aspects of this character and makes him quite riveting, and almost allowing the viewer to buy his semi-redemption as the film wraps up. Bill Murray received some serious Oscar buzz for his unhinged Herman Blume, though he was eventually denied a nomination. Brian Cox was also funny as the Rushmore dean and Seymour Casssel is lovely as Max's father, but this film primarily documented Wes Anderson as a director to be reckoned with. 4

Gideon58

08-24-20, 06:43 PM

Midnight Express
The recent passing of director Alan Parker motivated my long overdue first re-watch of the movie that cemented his position as one of Hollywood's most gifted and underrated directors. 1978's Midnight Express is a chilling and emotionally charged look at how a couple of stupid choices completely destroyed the life of a young college student. Those who have issues with the American justice system will definitely be quieted by this often unbelievable story.
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On October 6, 1970 a young man named Billy Hayes attempted to smuggle two kilos of hashish out of Istanbul. but is caught just before he boards the plane for the states with his girlfriend. Billy is actually offered freedom by Turkish authorities if he agrees to lead them to the people who sold him the drugs. Billy agrees to do so, but during the sting, he attempts to escape and ends up being recaptured, which leads to him being sentenced to four and a half years behind Turkish bars, a consistent nightmare of beatings, torture, isolation, and loneliness.
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Oliver Stone won an Oscar for his screenplay, adapted from Hayes book, which actually condenses a lot of what happened to Hayes, but still gets the point across...that point being that an American convicted of a crime outside of the United States, Turkey in particular, has absolutely no recourse but to serve his time. Apparently, the US State Department attempted to have Billy's sentencing transferred to the US but to no avail. After serving two years of his sentence, the real Billy Hayes was transferred to a psychiatric hospital to see if he could get released on humanitarian grounds, but that wasn't happening. And as his sentence rolls down to 53 days, Billy is thrown the ultimate curve ball and knows that escape is his only option.
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Parker's atmospheric direction is the real star here...beautifully creating the isolation and futility of Billy's situation. In reviews of other films, I've complained about scenes where characters don't speak English and no subtitles are provided, but it really works to this film's advantage....there are several moments where Billy is thrown in front of a bunch of people deciding his fate and he has no idea what they're saying...from the initial strip search at the airport to his first meeting with the judge to his final sentencing. It's heartbreaking watching Billy's fate being determined before his eyes but without his comprehension of what's going on. There are even a couple of squirm worthy moments where officials are actually laughing. There's also one corrections officer at the prison who, at moments, seems to comprehend English, but never speaks it, but we're never really sure.
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The scenes between Billy and his father were among the strongest scenes in the drama. Loved the beginning of that scene where Billy's dad has his head on the desk waiting for Billy to be brought in and when he hears the gates open and his head pops up, it's so clear that this man has been through hell, spending the last couple of weeks crying and not sleeping and terrified about his son's fates.
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After a few years of working in television, the late Brad Davis made an impressive film debut as the tortured William Hayes. The late John Hurt received his first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting for his Max, a prisoner for seven years who self soothes with a self-concocted narcotic. Mike Kellin's heartbreaking performance as Billy's dad was also Oscar worthy. Giorgio Moroder's haunting music score also earned an Oscar. Another true story turned into a compelling entertainment by a gifted director. 4

Gideon58

08-25-20, 08:42 PM

Locke
The well worn theme of actions having consequences is given a squirm-worthy and surprisingly riveting overhaul in a fascinating little piece of cinema from 2013 Locke, a film whose title assumes we're about to get a rough and tumble action movie, but what we get is anything but.
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Ivan Locke is a workaholic construction manager who lives in Birmingham, England with his wife, Katina and his two sons and is on pins and needles as the biggest construction job of his career is set to commence in the morning. He has planned to spend the evening before watching an important soccer game with his neglected family. Instead of going home, we meet Ivan in his car driving to London because a woman who he had a one night stand with almost a year ago is about to have his baby and he feels obligated to be with her.
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Director and screenwriter Steven Knight, whose previous screenwriting credits include Eastern Promises, Allied, and Burnt takes a real risky approach to telling what seems like a conventional story on the surface. The entire film takes place inside of Ivan Locke's car driving to London and he is the only character who appears onscreen. Ivan is provided interaction through other characters through his car phone, and has calls keep coming into the car through the other people in Locke's orbit, it slowly becomes clear that this man is about blow up his entire existence to be with this woman with whom he created a child.
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Knight's screenplay finds the viewer going back and forth regarding Locke and his very delicate situation. We understand that Locke wants to be with this woman, who has no one else in her life. Her situation garners her further sympathy when it is revealed there are complications with the pregnancy and she must have a C-section. On the other hand, a lot of Locke's sympathy factor goes out the window when we learn that his wife knows nothing of this affair and learns of it when we do. He is so calculated about what he's doing, evidenced in the fact that when Katina answers the phone for the first time, he makes sure she's on the upstairs phone so the kids don't hear her side of the conversation.
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Locke must also deals with calls from his boss, who when he learns Locke won't be at the construction site, promptly fires him, but that doesn't stop Locke from offering final instructions to his assistant Donal, while reading him the riot act for being drunk. I would have loved a glance inside this guy Locke's brain, because his thought process and his sense of priorities seems really out of whack. We also get the sense that this is a highly intelligent man who is a genius where his work is concerned and doesn't sneeze without writing out a plan on how and when to do it.
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Obviously, the film has a claustrophobic feel because Locke is alone onscreen, but for some reason it only intensifies the sadness and awkwardness of his situation. Tom Hardy's performance as the title character is intense and understated and I also loved the off screen work of Oscar winner Olivia Coleman as Locke's momma-to-be, Ruth Wilson as the voice of Katina, and Andrew Scott voicing Donal. A unique motion picture experience that provides equal doses of nervous laughter and knots in the stomach. 4

Gideon58

08-26-20, 06:09 PM

Harper
First rate production values, a terrific all-star supporting cast, and a deliciously charismatic performance from the star make the 1966 noir-ish drama Harper viable entertainment after all these years and was one of the biggest hits of Paul Newman's career.
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Newman plays Lew Harper, a world weary Los Angeles private detective who is hired by a disabled and wealthy socialite named Elaine Sampson (Lauren Bacall) to locate her missing husband, a seemingly simple assignment that leads to an elaborate kidnapping scheme that finds Harper tripping over suspects every five minutes and alleged allies in the job that might not be as trustworthy as Lew thinks they are.
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William Goldman, who would win his first Oscar a few years later penning another Newman classic, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, adapted the screenplay from a novel by Ross MacDonald that is an affectionate throwback to the crime noir dramas of the 40's that sets up a believable story that might be overly complex, but not enough to cause viewer interest to wane and with just the right touch of tongue in cheek that never allows the film to get to dark. A lot of the lightness of the story has to be credited to Paul Newman's breezy interpretation of the central character.
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Goldman and director Jack Smight are discriminating with the clues that are offered along the way, for those who pride themselves on figuring out who did it before the credits roll. Our first clue is during the scene where Harper is hired by Mrs. Sampson...she doesn't seem terribly distressed about her husband's disappearance, makes it clear that her marriage is not a happy one, but has no intention of filing for divorce either. The blueprint for the mystery is effectively laid out in this scene and we suspect that the Sampson conspiracy is partly an inside job, but we are pretty well kept in the dark until the final reel.
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The film is expensively mounted, featuring superb cinematography, art direction/set direction, and Johnny Mandel's great bluesy music, which perfectly scores the story. The supporting cast is uniformly splendid with standout work from Janet Leigh as Lew's ex-wife, Robert Wagner as Mr. Sampson's driver, Shelley Winters' as Sampson's boozy ex-mistress, Julie Harris as a frightened junkie, and Arthur Hill as Lew's lawyer buddy who got him the job. Pamela Tiffin is a bit much as Sampson's horny and spoiled daughter, but she was a small distraction in what was an otherwise solid little crime drama. 3.5

Gideon58

08-29-20, 02:25 PM

The Aristocats
The 1970 Disney confection The Aristocats is an overly cute charmer that stills provides entertainment for kids thanks to its international cast of animal and human characters, where the animals are the good guys and most of the humans are the bad guys.
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The setting is Paris where a wealthy aging socialite named Madame Adelaide who, because she has no other living family, has decided to revise her will and leave her entire fortune to her cat, Duchess and her three kittens and then reverting to her loyal butler, Edgar upon their demise. Realizing that cats have nine lives, Edgar is not about to wait that long for Madame's fortune, so he decides to drug and kidnap Duchess and her kittens. He plans to drive them out to the countryside and abandon them, but he gets into an accident with a couple of hound dogs and loses track of the cats,
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Duchess and her children awake from their drug-induced coma trying to figure out how they're going to get home when they happen upon O'Malley, a free-spirited alley cat and confirmed bachelor whose instant attraction to Duchess motivates him to help the cat family return to Paris. As they begin their journey, Edgar realizes he left his hat and umbrella in the country and returns to cover up the kidnapping ad eventually deciding to ship Duchess and her kittens to Timbuktu.
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It's interesting viewing animated films that I loved from my childhood and noticing so many things that as a 12-year old boy I didn't even notice. If it weren't for a shot of the Eiffel Tower about halfway through the film, I never would have known the setting was Paris. It's also hard to to tell where we are since almost every character in the movie is voiced by actors with varied accents. Madame and a pair of geese that the cats meet on their journey are voiced by Brits, Scat Cat, O'Malley Cat, and the dogs Napoleon and Lafayette are voiced by Americans, and, of course, a Hungarian is providing the voice of Duchess, but kids don't really notice and won't really care. Despite the setting, I don't think a single character was voiced by a French actor.
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The animation is colorful and detailed and there is some interesting camera work. There is a lovely shot of the camera closing in on Madame in her mansion through her window showing how much she misses her cats that had a haunting quality to it. Eva Gabor is lovely as Duchess (her singing is dubbed) and Phil Harris is fun as O'Malley. Pat Buttram and George Lindsey are fun as Napoleon and Lafayette and I loved the goose sisters, voiced by Monica Evans and Carole Shelley, whom you might remember as the Piegon Sisters in The Odd Couple. With the advances in animation since 1970, this might seem a little dated and corny, but there's still some fun to be had here. 3

Gideon58

08-29-20, 08:05 PM

42
The tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman motivated me to check out 42, an elaborate if predictable look at baseball legend Jackie Robinson and his breaking of the color barrier in major league baseball. The screenplay is a little cliched and predictable, but the performances are so top-notch it's easy to overlook.
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The 2013 film opens in 1945 when Branch Richey, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, decides to draft Robinson for his Canadian team in preparation for an eventual move to the Dodgers. We watch Robinson face racism from all sides, not just the rest of the league, but from some of his own teammates as well, but keeping his cool eventually earns him a place as the first black member of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
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Brian Helgeland, who won an Oscar for writing LA Confidential, provides a slightly melodramatic and cliched look at the racial tension that Robinson brings to the league. His time in the Canadian league features the kind of racial conflict that we would expect from any biopic about "the first black" anybody and presents it with a sledgehammer approach. The second half of the film, after Jackie becomes an official dodger, has a little more realistic feel to it, but never forgets the importance of what's being presented here. The scene where the Phillies coach is taunting Jackie with the N word crackles with tension.
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Helgeland's direction is a little heavy handed though. At some points, every emotion that every character is feeling is shoved in the viewer's faces. Then we have the scene where the National Anthem is being played at Jackie's first dodger game and the camera does a shot of just about every character in the movie and we're not sure why, because none of the characters are showing any kind of emotion about the moment. He gets a little indulgent as the finale approaches, bringing a pretension to the proceedings that slows things down just when they should be picking up because the film is walking the fine line of being a bit overlong.
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The performances are superb right down the line and make up for a lot of the film's problems. Boseman's underplaying has an undercurrent boiling beneath that is every effective and Harrison Ford is Oscar-worthy in his first genuine stab as character actor, with a charismatic and fascinating performance as Branch Richey. Ford completely loses himself in this role, burying all images of Hans Solo and Indiana Jones. Christopher Meloni as Leo Durocher, Lucas Black as Pee Wee Reese, TR Knight as Branch's assistant Harold, and especially Alan Tudyk, in the performance of his career as the nasty Phillies coach, all make the most of their screentime as well. It takes a minute to get going and weighs itself down at the end, but it's well-worth watching and a sad reminder as to what we just lost in Chadwick Boseman. 3.5

gbgoodies

08-30-20, 03:16 AM

Gideon58

08-31-20, 07:50 PM

It Happened at the World's Fair
Even hardcore Elvis fans will have a hard time getting through 1963's It Happened at the World's Fair, an unimaginative and tiresome musical whose only real selling points are its setting and a tuneful score for the Pelvis.
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Elvis and Gary Lockwood play Mike and Danny, crop dusting pilots who get their plane repossessed because of Danny's gambling debts. Reduced to hitchhiking, Mike and Danny accept a ride to the 1962 World's fair by an Oriental man traveling with his 7 year old niece. Upon arrival at the fair, the Uncle has to work and asks Mike to take the little girl around the fair. After spending the day with the little girl and trying to get to know a pretty nurse who works at the fair (Joan O'Brien), the little girl's uncle seems to have disappeared.
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This is typical Elvis fare where Elvis is assigned a random occupation which has nothing to do with singing, but allows the guy to whip out his guitar and sing a song every ten minutes. Sadly, 1963 movie audiences and Elvis fans in particular, didn't require a lot from Elvis.
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For those who are too young to remember the World's Fair, it was a large international exhibition of industry and arts from all over the world that also featured carnival rides and refreshments. The first World's Fair was held in 1851 and was held every three to six years for a couple of centuries in a different location each time My parents actually took me to the 1968 World's Fair, which was in Montreal. I was ten years old. Using the fair as a backdrop is the only thing that sets this film apart from a dozen other Elvis vehicles.
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If the truth be told, there were story elements that, in 2020, definitely had a bit of an "ick" factor. When Mike and Danny get their ride to the fair, the old Uncle actually allows the little girl to sit in the back of the truck with our heroes, which probably didn't have 1963 audiences blinking an eye, but it just seemed weird today as did Elvis' crooning of a love song meant for the nurse, but he's sitting next to the little girl while he's singing it...very strange. The whole idea of the little girl's Uncle just disappearing on her was odd as well.
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This film has earned a page in movie history as it marks the film debut of a 12 year old actor named Kurt Russell, who is billed in the credits as "Boy Kicking Mike". Otherwise this is definitely one of Elvis' more forgettable outings. 1.5

Gideon58

09-01-20, 07:47 PM

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
Put your brain in check and watch as the 80's teen comedy, the time travel adventure, and the fish out of water comedy combine pretty smoothly for the 1989 cult classic Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, a comic fantasy that provides a fair share of laughs before it starts to run out of gas.
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The setting is the year 2688 and our film's interplanetary host, Rufus (the late George Carlin) is explaining to us how his planet was actually saved by a pair of bonehead surfer dudes who headline a band called Wyld Stallyns. Rufus then takes us back to 1988 where we meet Bill S. Esquire (Alex Winter) and Ted Theodore Logan (Keanu Reeves), best buds who think they head a band called Wyld Stallyns, even though they don't know how to play or read music. Bill and Ted are also flunking history and have been informed that if their final history project doesn't earn an A+, they will flunk history and Ted has been told by his father that if he flunks history, he will be sent to a military school in Alaska.
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Since Bill and Ted must stay together in order to save is planet, Rufus travels back in time and offers Bill and Ted a time machine where they can go to any historical period bring back any real life historical figures for their report they want. Before receiving some final instructions from themselves (don't ask), Bill and Ted enter a time machine that looks like a phone booth and somehow manage to get Lincoln, Socrates, Beethoven, Sigmund Freud, Napoleon, Joan of Arc, Billy the Kid, and Genghis Khan back to San Dimas California in 1988.
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Screenwriters Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon have come up with a clever story that has a little more substance to it than appears on the surface. The opening is a little mind boggling as we realize that what we are seeing is a flashback inside a flashback with the appearance of the second Bill and Ted, but once Bill and Ted are in the time machine and off to get their report subjects, the movie is a lot of fun, despite a serious overuse of the words "dude" and "excellent". Loved the way the first Bill and Ted assist the second Bill and Ted with their mission as well as the hysterical subplot of Bill's stepmom being three years older than him who Ted asked to prom.
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The scenes of our heroes getting the guys out of their respective historical periods were kind of fun, but the fun of the film really comes when they return to San Dimas but the guys lose track of our historical figures and have to rescue them from the local mall and from the police (one of whom is Ted's father). I also think the historical figures are played a little too straight-faced and Bill and Ted's final report goes on a little too long.
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Stephen Hereck's direction is energetic and Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves are a lot of fun as the title characters. Ironically, this film would be instrumental in making Reeves a big star while Winters' career basically went nowhere. The film was followed by an animated series in 1990, a sequel called Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey and this year, Winters and Reeves have incredibly reunited for a third film called Bill & Ted Face the Music, but I thought I better watch the first two first. 3.5

Gideon58

09-02-20, 06:30 PM

There Will Be Blood
Daniel Day- Lewis won a second Outstanding Lead Actor Oscar for his blistering performance in 2007's There Will Be Blood, a dark and thunderous epic of family, greed, the oil business, and redemption that is probably the most ambitious work of director/screenwriter Paul Thomas Anderson.
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Day-Lewis plays Daniel Plainview, a miner turned oilman who works very hard at fulfilling his eventually dream of building a pipe dream. He clearly takes advantage of his employees and neglects his business partner, his young son, H,B., whose relationship with his father is truly an enigma. Daniel crosses path with a young man named Paul Sunday, who has learned that Daniel is interested in purchasing his family's farm because he believes there is oil on the land. Upon arrival at the farm, Daniel immediately butts heads with Paul's twin brother, Eli, who sees right through Daniel and the evil inside him and is willing to work with him as long as Daniel is willing work with Eli's church.
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Giant meets Elmer Gantry in Anderson's long-winded screenplay, based on a novel by Upton Sinclair, that takes an unflinching look at business ethics and religion and how it is virtually impossible for them to exist in perfect harmony. Anderson's crafting of this Plainview character is disturbing and mesmerizing, presented as a man who wants to have control of everyone and everything he comes in contact with and yet live as a complete hermit as well. He's all abut work and he only talks about what he wants to talk about and it becomes clear right away that his relationship with his son is clearly off limits.
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Anderson allows this story to unfold slowly, utilizing arresting visuals to keep this story moving. It's almost fifteen minutes into the running time before any dialogue, which was extremely effective in establishing the dark atmosphere of the story; however, it also seemed to be a major contribution in making the film a lot longer than it needed to be. The shots of the oil gushing from the derricks were almost hypnotic, thanks to Anderson's cinematic eye and the Oscar-winning cinematography of Robert Elswit.
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The other really squirm-worthy aspect of the story is Daniel's relationship with his son. The child doesn't speak more than three words during the entire movie and he appears terrified of Daniel most of the time. Daniel's treatment of his was more like a pet than like a child and during a scene where he is holding the child down for a doctor's exam, it is clear that this relationship is not what it should be. Daniel's lack of familial bonding is even further explored when a reunion with a brother he never knew he had finds him crossing lines even he never expected.
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Day-Lewis completely commands the screen and his second Oscar win was no surprise and Elswit's cinematography was a worthy win as well. In addition to these wins, Anderson received twin nominations for direction and screenplay, as did film editing, art direction, and sound editing. Paul Dano should have been nominated for his unhinged work as the Sunday brothers, but it is the work of Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Day-Lewis that keep the viewer riveted to the screen, even if the screenplay could have used some trimming. 4

Gideon58

09-03-20, 04:41 PM

Under the Yum Yum Tree
Jack Lemmon's terrific performance playing a completely smarmy character makes the 1963 comedy Under the Yum Yum Tree worth a look, despite some uneven characterizations and a lot of unsavory politically incorrect behavior.
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Lemmon plays Hogan, the womanizing owner/landlord of an elegant apartment complex who only rents units to beautiful women. He becomes completely obsessed with a new tenant named Robin (Carol Lynley) a pretty and serious minded college student who plans to live there with her boyfriend, David (Dean Jones) in a totally platonic relationship. Hogan doesn't care whether the relationship is platonic or not, he pulls every dirty trick he can think of to get Robin to dump David and be with him.
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Lawrence Roman's screenplay is adapted from his own play, which premiered on Broadway in 1961, running an unimpressive 173 performances. Onstage, Gig Young played Hogan and Dean Jones played David, the role he played in this film. A standard romantic triangle is hard to stay invested in here thanks to this really slimy Hogan character....God, where do I start? First of all, Hogan is about 15 years older than Robin, giving the relationship its initial "ick" factor. The opening scenes reveal that Hogan is a 24 hour party boy who sniffs after all the women in his complex, but once he meets Robin, all his other tenants disappear. He also breaks all landlord/tenant etiquette, entering Robin's apartment without knocking and when it was locked, just used a passkey to let himself in. Worst of all, this guy doesn't think he's doing anything wrong.
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It's also a little too convenient the way the brains of the other two principal characters are removed and returned to their original places more than once to suit the machinations of Hogan. For most of the running time, Robin is completely clueless to the fact that this guy is trying to get romantic with her and watching Hogan's moves, it makes the character look like a complete idiot, though the opening scenes do take time to establish that this girl is no dummy. As for David, during one scene he seems completely on to what Hogan is doing and is completely oblivious the next. The inconsistencies in the characters of Robin and David seem to be fashioned to protect this Hogan character, who is so not worthy of it.
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The Hogan character goes to ridiculous lengths in his mission, which include a lot of Jerry Lewis-type physical comedy that seemed a little out of place for Lemmon and detracted from the artificial sophistication initially presented. By the final third of the film, the only reason I kept watching was to make sure Hogan didn't break up David and Robin.
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The film's production values are first rate. The art direction/set direction deserve a special shout out because the apartment complex that serves as the setting for this comedy is absolutely gorgeous. Lemmon definitely had his work cut out for him keeping Hogan likable, but he was up to the challenge. Carol Lynley was bubbly and effervescent as Robin and Dean Jones is an uncanny combination of sweet and sexy as David. Edie Adams, Imogene Coca, and Paul Lynde make the most of supporting roles, but the star trio make this one worth a look, even if the central character doesn't deserve the affection he's looking for. 2.5

Gideon58

09-05-20, 03:42 PM

The Great Santini
The iconic Robert Duvall received the third of his seven career Oscar nominations for his powerhouse performance in 1979's The Great Santini, an often compelling family drama that provides moments of high drama but cops out during the final act,
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Duvall plays Colonel "Bull" Meacham, a career marine army fighter pilot who, as the film begins, is starting a new assignment, moving his wife and four children out of their home at 3:00 in the morning. The story slowly reveals that Meacham is an abusive control freak who treats his family like soldiers. His treatment has had the most profound effect on his eldest son, Ben, whose resentment of his father has caused him to act out in myriad ways.
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Director and screenwriter Lewis John Carlino adapted the screenplay from a novel by Pat Conroy, that efficiently establishes the kind of man this Bull Meacham is and establishes almost immediate sympathy for his family. Carlino's screenplay manages to set us up, initially making Meacham a likable guy with a sense of humor, but before we even realize it, we see him referring to his kids as "hogs". bullying Ben on the basketball court, and ignoring older daughter, Mary Anne,
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This is where Carlino really scores, presenting an abusive central character who is abusive in more ways than one. We see the expected physical and psychological abusive that we've seen in other films. We get to see another kind of abuse here in one of my favorite scenes in the film, where daughter Mary Anne, is just trying to get her father to pay attention to her for five minutes, rambling on and on about anything shocking and improper enough to get a rise out of her father, but to no avail. We get to see two totally different kinds of abuse here and I'm not so sure which was worse. There's also a subplot involving the stuttering son of the family maid, that just seemed to pad running time and cloud the film's initially promising premise.
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Carlino also has assembled a solid supporting cast behind Duvall to serve his story. Blythe Danner, an actress incapable of giving a bad performance, offers one of her stronger turns as Duvall's wife, and Michael O'Keefe's Ben earned him Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. I was also very impressed by a terrific performance from a young Lisa Jane Persky as Mary Anne. Other familiar faces that pop up along the way include Stan Shaw, Paul Gleason, Theresa Merritt, and David Keith. The film gets an "A" for effort, beginning what could have been a fascinating drama; unfortunately, this story lets Colonel Meacham off way too easy. 3.5

Gideon58

09-05-20, 07:12 PM

Detroit Rock City
Fans of films like Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Dazed and Confused, and Airheads might want to take a look at 1999's Detroit Rock City, an energetic and slightly raunchy teen comedy that delivers pretty consistent laughs, backed up by the most amazing soundtrack of classic rock and roll that I've ever heard.
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The paper thin story revolves around four 70's teenage stoners, who worship the ground rock group KISS walk on and are on pins and needles about an upcoming KISS concert in Detroit for which they already have tickets. Thanks to one of the guys' puritanical mother, they lose the tickets but win four more tickets on a radio call-in show. They lose those tickets too, but our heroes are not deterred as they jump into a Volvo and drive to Detroit, determined somehow, someway to see their musical idols.
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Carl V. Dupre's screenplay quickly establishes the relationship between these four guys by revealing that they have a KISS tribute band, but once they hit the road, the story takes a little while to get going. Their highway encounter with a couple of Guido bullies was a waste of screentime, except for the introduction of a girl named Christine. Once the guys get to Detroit, the fun, such as it is, kicks in as the guys decide to go their separate ways and figure out their own ways to get tickets, which include a male strip club, a convenience store sting, and an attempt to pass off as a roadie for the group.
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These antics provide enough laughs to hold viewer attention, but the real attraction here is one of the most amazing soundtracks for a movie I've heard in years. This one rivals the soundtracks for Saturday Night Fever and American Graffiti. In addition to KISS, other artists featured on the soundtrack include Marilyn Manson, Ted Nugent, T.Rex, UFO, Sweet,The Runaways, Edgar Winter, and Black Sabbath.
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The performances serve the story with a solid performance from Edward Furlong as one of the fearsome foursome. Other familiar faces that pop up include Sam Worthington, Natasha Lyonne, Kevin Corrigan, Steven Schirripa, Shannon Tweed, porn star Ron Jeremy, and Joe Flaherty, but the real star of this film is the music, that makes the movie seem better than it is. 3

Gideon58

09-07-20, 03:37 PM

The Cowboy Way
A pair of engaging performances from the leads help to make 1994's The Cowboy Way, an action comedy mixed with a fish out of water story, worth a look.
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Sonny (Keifer Sutherland) and Pepper (Woody Harrelson) are a pair of rodeo cowboys from New Mexico who have been friends since they were kids, but had a falling out a year ago when Pepper didn't show up for an important rodeo. They learn that a good friend of theirs named Nacho Salazar who has gone to New York to find his daughter, Theresa. Theresa has found herself part of a white slavery ring and Nacho has turned up missing. Sonny and Pepper temporarily decide to put their differences aside to find out what happened to Nacho.
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William D. Witliff's screenplay is a humorous take on a not unfamiliar theme already explored in films like Midnight Cowboy where country and city sensibilities clash in an attempt to co-exist or fight a common enemy. Love when Pepper and Sonny arrive in the city and decide to pick, of all places, the Waldorf Astoria, to have dinner. Pepper's reply to the waiter's query as to how he would like his steak prepared couldn't possibly be repeated, buthttps://c8.alamy.com/comp/BPF009/woody-harrelson-marg-helgenberger-the-cowboy-way-1994-BPF009.jpg
Director Gregg Champion (Short Circuit, Stakeout) gives the story a nice pacing while providing detailed focus to the action. The care he puts into the photography of the rodeo scenes at the beginning of the film are a perfect counterpart to the one-of-a-kind finale which finds our heroes chasing a subway train on horseback. Champion's direction must also be credited for clearly establishing the friendship between Sonny and Pepper, which is rock solid, but also fraught with tension, a tension that keeps the viewer wondering if these two can keep it together long enough to get the bad guys.
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Harrelson and Sutherland are terrific together and are really what makes this movie worth watching, though I have to admit that Dylan McDermott made a smooth and slick bad guy. The supporting cast is peppered with familiar faces like Ernie Hudson, Luis Guzman, Marg Helgenberger, Matthew Cowles, and if you don't blink you'll catch Oscar winner Allison Janney in a tiny role. It's a little schmaltzy and predictable, but it does put the viewer behind the heroes back and behind "the cowboy way." 3.5

Gideon58

09-07-20, 06:58 PM

First Position
Ballet fans should find rich entertainment in a 2011 documentary called First Position, an informative, fascinating and occasionally heartbreaking look at young dancers from all over the world participating in an international competition that not only focuses on this particular competition but offers insight into the passion that drives ballet dancers and takes effective swipes at some of the stereotypes associated with ballet as well.
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This film focuses on six young dancers, all under the age of 18, who are preparing to compete in the Youth America Grand Prix, an international ballet competition where 300 young dancers compete for 30 scholarships to ballet schools, medals, and contract positions in ballet companies. This film focuses on six entrants from all over the planet: Eleven year old Aran is from Rome and has been dancing since he was four; Joan Sebastian is a sixteen year old who left Columbia to study; Twelve year old Gaya is from Israel and seems to have a crush on Aran; Miko and Jules are siblings not only competing in the contest but with each other; Rebecca is a statuesque California blonde, blossoming into a prima ballerina at 17, but I was most moved by the story of Michaela, a 14 year girl from South Africa whose parents were killed in war times and was adopted by a lovely Jewish couple.
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Director Bess Kargman actually uses this competition as a canvas to springboard a lot of what drives dancers, not just the obvious work that goes into it. The movie provided a refreshing look at boys and ballet, something that most boys quit by the time they're in junior high because of the stigma attached to it regarding sexuality. I'm pretty sure that the three male dancers focused on here were heterosexual and really don't care if people might think otherwise. One aspect of this life that surprised was the expense that goes into being a ballet dancer. In addition to classes, most dancers also have a personal coach who works with the dancers privately. Then there's classes, travel, shoes. and costumes...Michaela's mom actually shows us a tutu she made that cost her $2500!
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Needless to say, there is lots of dancing in this film, beautifully showcased by Kargman, that often defies the laws of physics, but what I loved that Kargman did was during the actual competition, the camera actually went back and forth between the dancers and their parents and teachers in the audience, allowing us to see exactly how well they were doing by the reactions of their parents and coaches. There's even an unexpected piece of drama thrown in when it is revealed that Michaela, three days before the finals, has developed an injury of her achilles tendon that could not only destroy her chances in the contest, but her entire career,
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Fans of the 1977 film The Turning Point will be delighted as well because several of the dances performed here were performed by Mikhail Baryshnikov and Leslie Browne in that Herbert Ross classic. Fans of the ballet will be in heaven here. 4

Gideon58

09-09-20, 04:25 PM

Deliverance
A 1972 Best Picture nominee, Deliverance is an often harrowing and heart stopping tale of man against nature that turns into so much more, anchored by brilliant direction and performances.
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Lewis, Ed, Drew, and Bobby are four Atlanta businessmen who decide to take a weekend canoe trip on a legendary Georgia river before it is damned up and turned into a lake. Despite an air of foreboding around the whole idea of what they're doing, the men begin heading down the river, but during a respite on the journey, an encounter with a couple of demented mountain men changes the course of the trip and the lives of these four men forever, in ways they never could have imagined. Will try to review this film without spoilers.
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John Boorman's Oscar-nominated direction is the true genius here as he employs exquisite care and respect to James Dickey's screenplay, adapted from his own novel. The screenplay cleverly provides small doses of backstory for these four men, while foreshadowing some of the events coming in the story. Especially loved the opening showing the men in their vehicles driving to the entrance of the river, with their voices on the audio discussing exactly what they're planning to do this weekend. This opening effectively foreshadows a lot of what's going to happen later, without really giving anything away. The other thing that I loved about this story is that, except for these four guys, no one will ever know exactly what happened on that river.
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Dickey's screenplay is also adept at setting up backstory for the principal characters. Though it's never stated outright, Dickey's screenplay manages to establish that Lewis and Ed have experience at this kind of thing and Drew and Bobby have nearly none. It's also made clear that these guys are not lifelong friends...as a matter of fact, I've always been of the school that either Drew or Bobby were a last minute substitute for someone else and that Lewis is not happy about it. It also comes shining through that Lewis, who implies that he's living very comfortable life in Atlanta, only really feels alive when he's challenging nature.
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Boorman's camerawork is exquisite, making this river and the mountains surrounding it absolutely breathtaking. With a strong assist from Oscar-nominated film editor Tom Priestley, Boorman keeps the viewer in these canoes right at the center of these often dangerous rapids, especially during the quartet's escape from the mountain men. And it might seem like a little thing, but I do have to applaud Boorman and his crew for one thing: A lot of time in films where the majority of the action takes place in the water, there is always a moment or two where the viewer sees a drop of water hit the camera lens now and then. No such nonsense here. Well done.
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Though it was hardly his first film appearance, Burt Reynolds became an official movie star with his 100-megawatt performance as Lewis, but for my money, the acting honors in this film have to go to Jon Voight, whose full-bodied and emotionally charged Ed should have earned Voight his second Oscar nomination. Kudos to Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox for never allowing these acting powerhouses to blow them off the screen. Cox is especially impressive in the scene where he forces his friends to deal with consequences of his actions. And you can't help love him in the classic "Duellin Banjos" scene where Drew thinks he's connected with an albino who plays the banjo. An instant classic that is still just as powerful as it was in 1972. 5

Gideon58

09-10-20, 04:32 PM

I Am Chris Farley
On December 18, 1997, Hollywood lost one of its brightest lights and his way-too brief but amazing career is the focus of a 2015 documentary called I Am Chris Farley, a performer who had such an impact on everyone who knew him that some might be in denial that he's gone.
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Farley was an exhausting hurricane of comic insanity that defied logic and physics and managed to draw everyone in his orbit like a moths to a flame. His flame had been ignited since his childhood, vividly recalled by his mother and three brothers in the opening scenes of this film (his baby brother Kevin is also a comic and a dead ringer for the late star). The joy with which his family spoke about his outrageous childhood was so infectious. There actually seemed to be a sense of them talking about Chris in the present tense, as if he were still with us.
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This feeling wasn't restricted to Chris' family either. As the documentary moves into interviewing people Chris worked with, we get the same feeling, that Chris is still alive. There was such an exuberance as actors shared their experiences about working with the man and every specific incident they talked about, they remember it vividly, like it happened yesterday. Mike Meyers still remembers trying not to lose it when Chris did his famous Chippendales sketch with Patrick Swayze. The recollections of David Spade and Christina Applegate regarding the introduction of Chris' classic Matt Foley Motivational Speaker character were so much fun because we get to see the audio as they were describing what they were feeling. Their memories perfectly matched what we were watching. We were also privileged with clips of Chris doing the character at Second City, where the character originated and where he blew everyone off the stage. We even got to meet the real Matt Foley
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There were a couple of things revealed that surprised me, most notably that Chris did little or no writing of the sketches on SNL. Mike Meyers reveals that Chris would find out what other cast members were writing and beg to be in it, no matter what it was about. Meyers also shared about a weekly ritual on tape night for SNL that he found richly embarrassing, but fell for it every time.
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In addition to Spade, Applegate, and Meyers, commentary is also provided by Dan Aykroyd (who starred with Chris in Coneheads), Bo Derek (his co-star in Tommy Boy), Molly Shannon, Lorne Michaels, Jon Lovitz, Jay Mohr, Will Sasso, Tom Arnold, Bob Saget, Pat Finn, and, of course, Adam Sandler. Most everyone involved here agreed that the real essence of Chris Farley was in that segment of "The Chris Farley Show" where he interviews Sir Paul McCartney. This was the real Chris and the Chris we'll miss most of all. RIP, Chris. 4

Gideon58

09-10-20, 07:08 PM

A Soldier's Story
Despite a sluggish quality to the direction, 1984's A Soldier Story is the emotionally charged film version of a stage play that was basically In the Heat of the Night with a dash of A Few Good Men that was so well acted it did receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.
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It's Louisiana 1944 when a black military attorney from Washington DC (Howard E. Rollins Jr.) is sent to the Bayou state to investigate the death of a black sergeant (Adolph Ceasar) who, as the investigation progresses, is revealed to be hated by just about everyone on the base. Our attorney finds all kind of motive during his investigation, but his job is to find means and opportunity.
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The film is based on a play by Charles Fuller, who was allowed to adapt his own stage work into a viable screenplay. It's likely that Fuller chose to change the format of the story to make it more interesting onscreen. I've never seen the play, but I suspect the first act focuses on the character of the evil Sergeant Waters and the second half on the investigation. The film open with Waters' murder and as the attorney, Captain Davenport arrives, the Sergeant's behavior that made him so hated is revealed in flashbacks as Davenport begins questioning suspects.
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As one might suspect, racism is part of the story here, but it is a different kind of racism than what's seen in films like In the Heat of the Night or Do the Right Thing. This story takes place at a time where blacks weren't really fighting for civil rights yet, but wanted them just the same. Despite the soft peddling of the racist angle here, also due to the fact that most of the principle characters are black, there is a racial tension bubbling under the surface here that helps to make up Norman Jewison's surprisingly pedestrian direction. I loved the reactions of the soldiers on the base during Davenport's arrival, not expecting a black officer, since most blacks in the military in 1944 were NCO's.
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Jewison is no stranger to this kind of material, but if the truth be told, he doesn't bring a lot of imagination to his direction and the movie moves like a tortoise. The performances are first rate though, headed by the late Howard E Rollins Jr, who brings a real Poitier quality to his intrepretation of Davenport and Ceasar's flashy performance as Sergent Waters earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The supporting cast is solid, with the standout work from Trey Wilson, Robert Townsend, Larry Riley, and a young guy you might have heard of named Denzel Washington, who received ninth billing. It could have had a quicker pace to it and I imagine it probably worked better onstage, but the actors do manage to sustain interest. 3.5

Gideon58

09-11-20, 04:30 PM

An American Werewolf in London
Director and screenwriter John Landis almost knocks it out of the park with a contemporary thriller from 1981 called An American Werewolf in London that is meticulously directed, featuring some first rate visuals, but suffers from a fuzzy screenplay that isn't sure if it's a lampoon of classic werewolf films or an homage.
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David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne) are American college students hitchhiking through London when their are attacked by a rabid wolf, that bites David and murders Jack. While recuperating in the hospital and attracting the attention of a pretty nurse (Jenny Agutter), David begins having a bizarre series of nightmares, climaxing with a visit from Jack's spirit, warning him that the bite he suffered will turn him into a werewolf the next full moon and that the only way to save himself from this fate is to kill himself.
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Landis' concept of a contemporary horror thriller is okay, but he could have gone a couple of different ways with it. He could have presented a serious valentine to classic werewolf movies, which would have worked if he had committed to it completely. Production values and the direction are detail oriented and seem to imply an homage is coming. On the other hand, certain storytelling elements imply an almost lampoon feeling to the proceedings...most notably, a song score consisting of every song ever heard of with the word "moon" in the title, that seems to imply a more tongue in cheek story coming our way. The uneasy mix of both kinds of movies never really gels into common ground, making us wonder whether or not we're supposed to be laughing. This reviewer found some humor in this story that I'm not sure was intentional.
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There were other things that went on here I found troubling and illogical. That opening scene in the pub where the locals are clearly aware of the dangers these guys were going into yet they were all trying to cover it up. Or when authorities actually believed that Jack was brutally murdered by a man and not an animal? No unarmed man could have caused the carnage to Jack's body that occurred. Not to mention the fact that this nurse was dumb as a box of rocks. It took her way too long to figure out what was going on, leading to that silly finale, which I have to wonder might have played differently if she had been alone instead of her being backed up by the torch wielding villagers.
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Landis' direction is taut and detailed though, with grand assists from his editing, visual effects, and makeup teams. That first transformation of David into the werewolf is flawlessly executed, genuinely frightening, and just a little heartbreaking watching poor David try to fight it. The makeup effects in this movie were so spectacular that the Academy created a new category that resulted in this film winning the first Oscar for Outstanding Achievement in Makeup. The film is technically very competent, but the story should have been more committed in its style of execution. 3.5

Gideon58

09-12-20, 02:53 PM

Private Life
The creative force behind The Savages knocks it out of the park with 2018's Private Life, a poignant, funny, heartbreaking, and achingly real look at a situation that millions of couples are going through, but no one ever talks about, anchored by a pair of brilliant performances by two of the industry's most underrated actors.
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The Netflix production stars Paul Giamatti as Richard, a theater director and Kathryn Hahn as Rachel his writer wife, who is about to have a book published, who have been going through their own version of hell trying to have a baby. They have spent years dabbling with in vitro fertilization and adoption in attempts to start a family, sadly, to no avail. A light at the end the infertility tunnel finally seems to be appearing when Richard's unfocused, college dropout niece agrees to donate an egg so that Richard and Rachel can be parents.
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As she did with The Savages, director/screenwriter Tamara Jenkins has focused on a squirm-worthy subject and dissects it with microscopic intensity, offering a look into the process of in vitro fertilization unlike anything I have ever seen. The film efficiently chronicles the physical, emotional, and financial ramifications of taking this painful journey. The doctors, the waiting rooms, the medications, the forms, all those things that can not only take toll on a couple's finances, but, more importantly, on a marriage as well. As solid as Richard and Rachel's marriage is and their commitment to having a family is, we can't help but see this marriage beginning to crumble under the surface. The scene about thirty minutes in where they are waiting to meet a young girl who was planning to give them her baby and never shows up was a heartbreaker.
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Another layer of tension brought to the story, at least in this reviewer's eyes, is the possibility that Richard is tired of this and is not as committed to it as Rachel is. Richard does his best to disguise his doubts to Rachel, but we can see it and keep waiting for our suspicions to be confirmed and to see Rachel's reaction to the revelation. The reveal of another effect this journey has had on the marriage in the final act was jaw-dropping.
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Jenkins also manages to bring a lightness to the situation through an angle I didn't see coming. I was simultaneously amused and annoyed by the character of Rachel's doctor, beautifully played by Denis O'Hare, who spends a lot of time with the couple making light of the situation, trying to bring levity to a situation that really isn't funny. It reminded me of dentists who try to have conversations with patients while they have drills and picks stuck in their mouths.
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Jenkins' s direction includes some clever camerawork that gave the story the voyeuristic quality it has and why the title of the film is so perfect. This is a very private story. These people are going through something so private and would love emotional support but just can't talk about it. This is beautifully manifested through every moment where Rachel announces that part of their infertility issue is the fact that Richard only has one testicle.
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Paul Giamatti and Kathryn Hahn, actors known primarily for supporting roles, are finally given a chance to be center stage and give Oscar-worthy performances where you never catch them "acting." Kayli Carter is lovely as the niece, Sadie, as are John Carroll Lynch and Molly Shannon as her parents. A unique motion picture that had my emotions all over the place, right up to the gut-wrenching finale. 4

Gideon58

09-16-20, 09:49 PM

Liz and Dick
Lifetime just bit off more than they could chew when they attempted to bring to the small screen what was, arguably, Hollywood's greatest love story, with a lavish but hastily put together 2012 TV movie called Liz & Dick, an alleged up close and personal look at the romance of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
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The film opens with Burton writing a letter to Elizabeth on the final day of his life and then reverts to the stars narrating their own story talking about their first meeting and their first impressions of each other. The film then follows the pair and their first meeting on the set of Cleopatra through their tempestuous 12 year marriage full of passion and fighting and ego bruising that eventually led to divorce, even though they were still in love, evidenced in a remarriage that lasted until Burton's death.
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Having always been a huge fan of Elizabeth Taylor, I was hoping for some insight into the star but quickly realized that wasn't going to happen when I learned this movie was made by Lifetime, and made with all the care of a fictional movie with Lifetime queens like Markie Post or Connie Selleca. Christopher Monger's sketchy screenplay seems to be based on basic facts regarding the Burtons' life and building imaginary drama around them. I was impressed that it was mentioned that Burton was not the first choice for Marc Antony and that Sophia Loren was the first choice to play Taylor's role in The V.I.P.s, but the story just skips around too much and doesn't really teach us anything that we didn't know about the Burtons already.
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One thing I feel this story nailed was Burton's bitterness about never winning an Oscar, though nominated two years in a row, once with Elizabeth, who won that year. The movie clearly establishes the kind of shallow and flighty person Elizabeth was and how easy it was for Burton to get Elizabeth in line with a shiny bauble. Richard's heavy drinking was also well documented here, starting on the set of Cleopatra and how Elizabeth never could keep up, Where the movie lost me was trying to recreate real parts of the Burtons' story, like a scene from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? that only those who have the movie memorized like me, will know was absolutely dreadful.
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Needless to say, casting was an issue as well. Lindsay Lohan did not provide one convincing moment on the screen playing Elizabeth Taylor. Clearly, Lifetime didn't have the budget to offer this role to a more appropriate actress. Grant Bowler was better as Burton, but not much. He at least had the voice down, which is half the battle with Burton. I also liked Ifor Jenkins' as Burton's brother and Theresa Russell as Elizabeth's mother, but this movie was just above Lifetime's pay grade. I hope a big studio film will be done on the Burtons someday because their story deserves to be done right. 1.5

Gideon58

09-18-20, 09:55 PM

The Longest Week
Despite handsome production values and exceptional performances, 2014's The Longest Week is a smug and pretentious black comedy with a talky screenplay, uneven direction, and one of the most reprehensible central characters I've seen in recent memory.
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The film chronicles one week (complete with large annoying movie cards as documentation) in the life of one Conrad Valmont (Jason Bateman). Conrad is a spoiled manchild who has never worked a day in his life, living a glamorous hotel owned by his parents. When Conrad's parents decide to divorce, Conrad gets thrown out of the hotel, without a clue about surviving on his own. He appears on the doorstep of his best friend, Dylan (Billy Crudup) who agrees to take him in no questions. Conrad pays back Dylan's kindness by romancing the woman that Dylan is interested in (Olivia Wilde).
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]Director/screenwriter Peter Glanz has provided us with a pretentious screenplay that seems to be fashioned after artists like Woody Allen and Wes Anderson, but his screenplay contains little of the subtlety associated with these other filmmakers. The actors almost seem to be fumbling with this overly wordy screenplay that seems to work overtime trying to talk above the viewer. He spends a lot of time pontificating over this really nasty central character who has little or no moral compass who actually is offered redemption in the final act which is completely unbelievable.
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Glanz direction is a little better than his writing. He paints his story on a gorgeous Manhattan canvas and employs some inventive use of slow motion and the closeup. Unfortunately, the film moves at a snail's pace that makes it hard t stay committed. It should have been called "The Longest Movie."
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Despite all of this, Jason Bateman turns in one of the most dazzling performances of his career as this truly hard to like guy Conrad and works well with Crudup, offering his accustomed crisp characterization as Dylan. Also enjoyed Tony Roberts as Conrad's shrink and Barry Primus as the family chauffeur, but this film is too impressed with itself to impress the viewer. 2.5

Gideon58

09-19-20, 08:49 PM

On the Waterfront
Winner of eight Academy Awards including Best Picture of 1954, On the Waterfront is a dark and sizzling indictment of mob corruption that still packs a wallop and clearly inspired films like The Godfather, Goodfellas, and The Departed.
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Marlon Brando plays Terry Malloy, a former boxer who lives on a rooftop tending to pigeons who now works as a longshoreman and picks up a few extra bucks doing errands for mob boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb), whose second in command is Terry's brother, Charley (Rod Steiger). Johnny asks Terry to help him set up the murder of dock worker named Joey Doyle, without actually telling Terry what they were planning to do. Terry finds himself behind the eight ball with Johnny demanding Terry's loyalty when he gets a subpoena to testify in Joey's trial and finds himself falling for Joey's sister, Edie (Eva Marie Saint), who knows nothing of Terry's involvement in Joey's death. Joey feels even more cornered when a hot-headed priest (Karl Malden) joins with Edie in trying to figure out what happened to Joey.
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I don't know why it took me so long to watch this classic because this is powerhouse filmmaking thanks to a story that still has relevance in 2020 and because of its impressive pedigree. Beginning with Budd Schulberg's Oscar-winning screenplay, which perfectly captures the inner torment of a man torn between doing what is right and self-preservation and how this conflict is literally ripping him apart. The screenplay is given eloquently detailed mounting by Elia Kazan, who also won an Oscar for Best Director. Kazan shows unparalleled skill in establishing the good guys and the bad guys and most important, this poor schlub Terry Malloy who's caught in the middle. Kazan creates great power and tension when mob takes on the waterfront and creates equal warmth and sexual tension when Terry and Edie have their first date over boilermakers.
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Love the way screenplay establishes that Terry has been lost ever since he stopped boxing and why he's so easily manipulated by the mob here. We see a man whose lost the only
real passion he's ever known and we can tell because every time someone mentions his career he's reluctant to talk about it, except for one great scene. A crime commissioner investigator, played by Leif Erickson, asks him about a particular fight where the guy was in the crowd, Terry begins vividly re-enacting the fight. Loved that scene...and the classic cab ride scene with Brando and Rod Steiger is absolutely heartbreaking...loved Terry's reaction to hearing they were going to 437 River Street.
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The performances Kazan gets from his cast are nothing short of perfection. After being robbed of the Best Actor Oscar for A Streetcar Named Desire, Brando bounced back and won his first Oscar for Outstanding Lead Actor that seriously rivals his work in Streetcar. Eva Marie Saint received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her slightly pathetic Edie and Cobb, Malden, and Steiger all received Supporting Actor nominations. And I have to say that I never enjoyed Malden onscreen as much as I did here playing the beer-drinking, cigarette-smoking priest. In addition to Kazan and Schulberg, the film also won richly deserved statues for black and white cinematography, art direction/set direction, and film editing. Another classic that lives up to its reputation. 4.5

Gideon58

09-22-20, 09:33 PM

Raising Arizona
Twenty years before bringing home the Best Picture Oscar for No Country for Old Men, Joel and Ethan Cohen had their first real commercial success with a razor sharp black comedy from 1987 called Raising Arizona that rivets the viewer with endlessly stylish direction, eccentric but likable characters, and an often logic-defying story rampant with unpredictability.
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The film stars Oscar winner Nicolas Cage as Hi, a dumb-as-a-box-of-rocks career criminal who marries a romantically-challenged cop named Ed, played by Oscar winner Holly Hunter. Shortly after learning they can't have children of their own, Hi and Ed learn via TV that a wealthy couple named Nathan and Florence Arizona have been blessed with quintuplets. Rationalizing their own desires by saying that the Arizonas have to be overwhelmed, Hi and Ed travel to the Arizona home and take one of the babies.
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Their plan for familial bliss gets a couple of wrinkles when a pair of Hi's former cellmates (John Goodman, William Forsythe), escape and seek refuge with Hi and Ed. There's also a psychotic bounty hunter named Leonard Smalls (Randall "Tex" Cobb) who decides, after being turned down by Mr. Arizona, to go after the baby himself.
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The Cohens have crafted a funny if often unbelievable story that the viewer becomes completely engaged with because of these two very likeable central characters named Hi and Ed, Ed, in particular, becomes the emotional heart of this story. We're a little surprised when we learn that this plan is initiated Ed and we are just as surprised when she realizes that what they have done. That speech in the car where Ed tells her husband why what they've done is a mistake is beautifully written and performed by Hunter.
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The Cohens keep this hard to swallow story moving at breakneck speed, thanks to some highly imaginative camerawork (with a special nod to the steady cam during that chase scene through the house) and some razor sharp editing by Michael R. Miller. I loved when Goodman and Forsythe escaped from prison in the rain...it was almost like a comic variation on Tim Robbins' escape in The Shawshank Redemption. And I will never get the image out of my mind of that baby sitting in the middle of the road with the storeowner's voice on the audio counting to 825. And after all the madness that ensues, the final act coasts quietly to an appropriate and slightly dreamy conclusion.
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Wouldn't be surprised if Cage needed a year off after this film wrapped, because this one of the most physically demanding roles I've ever seen and Cage totally sinks his teeth into it, but it's Holly Hunter's Ed that is the heart of this story. She would later win an Oscar for The Piano as well as three other nominations, but I don't think I've ever enjoyed Hunter more than I did here. Goodman and Forsythe steal every scene they're in and Trey Wilson was terrific as Mr. Arizona. An underrated cult classic that takes a very unconventional cinematic journey, riveting this viewer to the screen. 4

Gideon58

09-23-20, 07:35 PM

Stage Mother
A terrific performance by Jacki Weaver makes a 2020 comedy-drama called Stage Mother worth a look, despite a contrived and predictable screenplay that is set on a somewhat bold canvas but offers no surprises along the way.
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The two time Oscar nominee plays Maybelline Metcalf, a conservative Texas housewife and church choir director who travels to San Francisco to attend her gay son's funeral, who died from a drug overdose, despite the fact that she and her husband Jeb disowned their son years ago. Upon arrival in the Bay City, she befriends her son's best friend, a slightly trashy single mom (Lucy Liu) and her son's lover and business partner (Adrian Grenier), who hates the woman on sight. One of the reasons he hates her is because Maybelline learns that her son left her his business, a drag bar called Pandora's Box. After visiting the place, instead of selling it, she decides to take over the business and refurbish it from the ground up.
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Screenwriter Brad Hennig has sort of a novel idea here, unfortunately, the story is so predictable the viewer can practically recite the dialogue along with the actors. It's hard to buy the way Hennig turns Maybelline into this superwoman who is immediately accepting of who her son was and not only tries to keep his legacy alive, but tries to solve the problems of all the people in her son's life as well. Since her son overdosed, we learn that one of the drag queens has a drug problem as well and one visit from Maybelline, and poof, he doesn't want to get high anymore. We learn that the single mom is in an abusive relationship and, poof, Maybelline disposes of him with a pistol. I liked the fact that Hennig works very hard to keep Ricky, Maybelline's deceased son, a viable character in the story but it just comes off a little forced.
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Thom Fitzgerald's direction respects the story, though it is a bit on the lethargic side. He does get some surprisingly strong performances from his cast, especially Weaver, who absolutely lights up the screen and makes a lot of the story contrivances a little easier to take. Adrian Grenier was also surprisingly effective as Ricky's widower and Liu was a real eye opener as the Grace to Ricky's Will. Jacki Weaver is wonderful but the story is just too safe. I wish it had taken more chances. 3

Gideon58

09-24-20, 08:45 PM

The Grey Fox
A charismatic performance from the late Richard Farnsworth in the title role is the centerpiece of 1982's The Grey Fox, a handsomely mounted biopic about the legendary "gentleman bandit" whose life crosses centuries and impacts just about everyone he encounters.
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Bill Miner spent a good portion of the 1800's robbing stagecoaches before being arrested and spending 33 years in prison. Upon his release in 1901, he finds a lot of changes have come along with the dawn of a new century. After briefly contemplating a new life, Miner decides to travel to Canada and begin a new career robbing trains instead.
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Director Philip Borsos has mounted this simple but richly entertaining story on a gorgeous canvas, highlighting a real life criminal who is unlike any cinematic criminal we've seen. The story initially presents Miner as a man who, upon his release from prison, wants to begin a new life, but that turns out not to be the case at all. What makes this guy different is that he has a heart, brains, compassion, and empathy. He doesn't want to hurt anybody and is not interested in being the center of attention. And though he's not interested in attention, his charm and heart seems to cast a spell over everyone he encounters, instigating this feeling from people who know him to protect him, no matter what he's done.
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Some elements of this story had me flashing to other more contemporary movie characters. The initial introduction of Miner reminded me of Max Denbo in Straight Time, the way he seems to want to forget his past and start over, but just doesn't know how to do anything else. Watch him in that scene where he goes to the movies to see the 1903 film The Great Train Robbery. And believe it or not, he also reminded me of Keanu Reeves' John Wick in the way he has established a reputation that precedes him and has afforded him respect from people who have a past with him. Even his brief romantic encounter with a liberal minded female photographer quietly concludes with him breaking away from her only to protect her.
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This film features first-rate production values, especially some gorgeous Oscar-worthy cinematography and exquisite attention to period detail. Love those breathtaking overhead shots of the train slowly moving down the tracks with the smoke billowing above it. Farnsworth, who would be Oscar-nominated for his final performance in The Straight Story (also reviewed in this thread) is just as glorious here in one of the most beautifully unaffected performances I've ever seen, where you never catch him "acting". His soulful expressive eyes project so much emotion all by themselves. The breathtaking work of this one of a kind actor makes this film worth watching all by itself. 4

Wyldesyde19

09-24-20, 11:05 PM

Surprisingly good film that was nominated in the Western HOF we did.
I think I had it #1.
Disappointed it didn’t win.

Gideon58

09-25-20, 06:14 PM

I've discovered over the last couple of months that Richard Farnsworth is ALWAYS worth watching.

Gideon58

09-25-20, 10:44 PM

Flower Drum Song
A nearly forgotten musical from the iconic Rodgers and Hammerstein. the 1961 film version of Flower Drum Song is a splashy and colorful musical extravaganza that combines classic musical comedy story elements, with a story of clashing cultures, and one of Rodger and Hammerstein's most melodic scores.
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This is the story of a young Chinese woman named Mei Li (Oscar winner Miyoshi Umeki) who stows away on a boat arriving in San Francisco's Chinatown as the mail order bride for a slick talking nightclub owner named Sammy Fong (Jack Soo). Unfortunately, while waiting for Me Li's arrival, Sammy has fallen hard for the sexy headliner at his club, Linda Low (Nancy Kwan). Not wanting to rock the boat with Linda, Sammy decides to pawn Mei Li off on a handsome college student named Wang Ta (James Shigeta), who is still under the very watchful eye of his wealthy father (Benson Fong) and his free spirited aunt (Juanita Hall). And don't forget Helen (Reiko Sato), Sammy's assistant who has been secretly in love with Wang-Ta forever and Ta's little brother Wan Sang (Patrick Adiarte) who wants nothing more than to forget he's Chinese and be a real American.
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Joseph Fields' screenplay, based on a novel by CY Lee is a clever blend of the accustomed romantic mix ups that we expect from a musical comedy with the story of Chinese Chinese who want to stay that way, Chinese Chinese who want to be American Chinese and Chinese Chinese who are in denial about American Chinese, all wrapped around a romantic quadrangle that takes just a little too long to unravel.
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The musical is anchored by one of Rodger and Hammerstein's most engaging scores, an intoxicating blend of classic musical comedy and contemporary jazz that provides endless appeal. Kwan's rendition of the song's most famous song "I Enjoy Being a Girl" in front of a three way mirror is a lot of fun (her singing is dubbed by BJ Baker). Other highlights include Umecki's "A Hundred Million Miracles", "Chop Suey", an elaborate production number led by Hall, "Grant Avenue", a big production number at a parade, and the gorgeous "Love Look Away", which segues into an elaborate dream ballet that rivals Agnes DeMille's dream ballet in Oklahoma!. Anyone who has ever seen a Fred Astaire musical should recognize the snappy choreography by longtime Astaire choreographer Hermes Pan.
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The musical premiered on Broadway December 1, 1958 and ran for a respectable 600 performances with Umecki, Hall, and Adiarte creating the roles they played in this film. The dashing James Shigeta manages to create chemistry with both Kwan and Umecki and Soo is perfect comic relief as Sammy Fong.
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Adiarte, who might be familiar to some as Prince Chululongkorn in The King and I, really gets to strut his stuff here as well, showing off a never before seen dance talent that impressed too. Younger viewers might recognize him as Ho John on the CBS sitcom M*A*S*H. It might take a little too long to wrap up, but this musical delivers everything a musical should. 3.5

Wyldesyde19

09-26-20, 01:35 AM

I just watched Flower drum Song about a year ago. I enjoyed it.

gbgoodies

09-26-20, 01:57 AM

I saw Flower Drum Song many, many years ago, but I don't remember much about it. I think it's a long overdue rewatch for me, so added it to my watchlist.

Gideon58

09-26-20, 03:23 PM

I have to admit I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

Gideon58

09-26-20, 09:29 PM

[SIZE="6"]The Bourne Identity/SIZE]
2002's The Bourne Identity is an action filled nail-biter with an unconventional hook that so grabbed audience imaginations that it has inspired four sequels (so far).
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The story opens with a man (Matt Damon) being fished out of water by fishing boat en route to Switzerland. The man is full of bullet holes and doesn't remember who he is. Dropped off in Switzerland, he takes the few clues he has which lead him to a safety deposit box that contains large amounts of currency from different countries and five passports all with the man's photo...four say his name is Jason Bourne and one says his name John Matthew Kane. He learns that Bourne has an apartment in Paris which leads to the reveal that Bourne is a professional assassin who failed his most recent assignment and now his bosses want him dead. In Switzerland, Jason meets a young woman who he offers $20,000 for a ride to Pairs and it's not long before this young woman is in just as much danger as Bourne is.
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Screenwriters Tony Gilroy (Nightcrawler) and W. Blake Herron (Role Models) have crafted a first rate action thriller that earns its credentials by giving the central character amnesia and even that reveal isn't approached in the usual fashion. Most of the times when we see fictional amnesiacs, they're lying in a bed whining about how they can't remember anything...Jason Bourne's initial reaction to his predicament is pure anger and it rings completely true. The story also earns originality points because in trying to figure out who he is and what happens to him, Bourne assumes nothing and lets the story of who he is build around him, courtesy of this mystery agency that he works for, who have him on their radar once he reaches Paris.
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I was initially bothered by the fact that we never really learn exactly what agency Bourne works for but once, Bourne's original target is eliminated, it really becomes irrelevant and we're completely caught up in the cat and mouse game of Jason trying to remember what happened to him and this agency trying to make him forget. I loved the moments where he initially learns that he's an expert in self-defense or when he realizes he speaks multiple languages...he's a little bamboozled but doesn't make any assumptions and just uses his newfound tools to keep his eye on the prize. The prize does find Bourne leaving a lot of bodies in his wake, which should be addressed, thus the four sequels.
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Director Doug Liman does such an excellent job of mounting this international spy thriller that we forgive the small plot holes and enjoy the ride. Damon brings the same strength and vulnerability to this character that he did to his character in The Martian. Jason Bourne is slick and likable and we can't wait to see what's going to happen to him next. 4

Gideon58

09-30-20, 10:33 PM

Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
Bill S Preston, Esq. and Ted "Theodore" Logan return for another round of time traveling hijinks in Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, an overblown sequel to the 1989 surprise hit that is more of a rehash of the first story than a continuation.
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The 1991 films opens with a futuristic tyrant who announces the future of his empire is predicated on the death of these two boneheads named Bill and Ted. He decides the answer to his problem is to send a pair of lookalike evil robots back to San Dimas to dispatch of our heroes. The robots think they have succeeded, but Bill and Ted get a second chance after battling for their soul with the Grim Reaper for a chance to return to the Princesses from the first movie and the all important battle of the bands.
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Stephen Hereck, who directed the first film. declined to participate in this project because of the screenplay, which should be a red flag right there. Screenwriters Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon didn't put a lot of effort in this story, centered around doubles to the central characters, which we already saw in the first film. And when our heroes decide that the only way to save themselves is to build another set of robot doubles, we've pretty much checked out by then.
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Director Peter Hewett made the most of the huge budget he was afforded for this film. The settings and costumes walk an uncomfortable line between dazzling and cheesey. Loved the film's conception of heaven, but the costumes on the students at Bill and Ted University looked like they were made out of construction paper.
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Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter have settled comfortably into the roles of Bill and Ted. I've always wondered why Reeves became a big star and Winter faded into oblivion. The film is easily stolen by William Sadler as the Big Reaper, who turns out to be a bundle of insecurities that would put Alan Harper to shame. In a nutshell, what we have here is a sequel that never really needed to be made. 2

Gideon58

10-03-20, 07:50 PM

Manglehorn
Fans of the Blythe Danner drama I'll See You in My Dreams and the Sam Elliott drama The Hero will have a head start with 2014's Manglehorn, another character study of aging that, despite the presence of a Hollywood legend in the title role, never really comes together due to an all over the place screenplay that pulls focus from where it should be.
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Oscar winner Al Pacino plays Angelo Manglehorn, a former baseball coach who is now a locksmith worried about his sick cat Fanny and maintaining a relationship with his adorable granddaughter, Kylie, even though his relationship with her father (Chris Messina) is strained to say the least. He's also in the midst of a flirty dance with a lonely bank teller (Oscar winner Holly Hunter) and is not sure of what the next move should be.
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The main culprit here is Paul Logan's screenplay, which should have focused more on Manglehorn's personal relationships rather than accidental and unimportant encounters that really have nothing to do with Manglehorn per se. There's this scene where the character is observed strolling by a multi-vehicle car accident that comes out of nowhere and has nothing to do with anything else in the film. There's also a scene in a cafeteria where Manglehorn is telling a boring story to some fellow senior citizens that brings the movie to a dead halt. It would have been better that more of the film concentrated on Manglehorn's relationship with his son and this bank teller.
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If the truth be told, the scenes between Angelo and his son are the strongest part of the film and really energizes it, but their scenes together only account for about a third of the movie, which leaves the viewer a lot of dull stuff to wade through. I did like the scene where he beat up his obnoxious former student, Gary after being invited to Gary's massage parlor not realizing what kind of massage parlor it is.
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Director David Gordon Green, who directed the 2018 Halloween, attempts to cover up the deficiencies in the screenplay with a lot of artsy camerawork and overheated editing. There's a recurring thing during the film where we see Manglehorn doing something, while someone else is simultaneously telling a story about Manglehorn's past, which I guess was supposed to be a clever way to give the central character backstory, but it just came off as a pretentious way to make the story seem more important than it really was.
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Despite all of this, there is no denying that Al Pacino has not lost any of his power to command the screen and almost makes this strained cinematic journey worth the rest of it. Chris Messina is superb as the son and it's too bad the whole movie wasn't about Angelo and his son, they really would have had something. Holly Hunter's role is basically thankless, and did we really need scenes of a cat having surgery? 2.5

Gideon58

10-03-20, 11:17 PM

Mister Roberts
The warm and sincere performance by Henry Fonda, reprising his famous Broadway role, is the heart of the 1955 film version of Mister Roberts, a funny and offbeat look at a different side of war that is so skillfully directed and beautifully cast that it received a 1955 Oscar nomination for Best Picture.
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The story takes place a few weeks before VE Day and the setting is The Reluctant, a broken down cargo ship, that is really run by Lt Doug Roberts, the cargo captain whose main job is to be the liaison between the crew members , who have been slaving on the ship over the year without liberty, and the ship's hard-nosed Captain (Oscar winner James Cagney), the no-nonsense, in-name-only commander of "the bucket", who cares more about his home grown palm tree than he does about the men.
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We also meet Ensign Frank Pulver (Jack Lemmon), the lazy and shiftless officer in charge of "laundry and morale", who when he's not thinking about the easiest way to sneak women on the ship, is telling anyone who will listen how he plans to get back at the Captain someday, even though he is really terrified of the man.
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Josh Logan and Frank S, Nugent do a first rate job of adapting the screenplay from the Broadway pay, co-written by Logan, that premiered on February 18, 1948 and ran for 1100 performances with Fonda as Roberts. Adapting the show to the screen was a deceptively tricky thing as it takes aboard ship and could give the film a claustrophobic feel, but just the opposite effect results...we feel these guys loneliness and boredom as a lot of their frustration about their position is a result of not actually being in combat. Roberts is immediately established as the guy who really runs this ship, even though he hates it in reality and has been trying to get a transfer to get what he really wants. His work is so appreciated and has demanded him so much respect that his crew actually bands together to get him what he wants. The final ten minutes of the film could actually ignite a tear duct if in the right mood.
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Fonda is a tower of strength in the title role and has rarely been more enjoyable onscreen. James Cagney is nothing short of brilliant as the Captain and William Powell brings his accustomed class to the role of Doc, the ship's doctor who cures all ailments with aspirin. The real scene stealer is Jack Lemmon, whose energetic work as the slightly crazed Ensign Pulver, won him the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, the only award the film won. You might not recognize a young Ken Curtis as one of the crew members. Curtis would actually make his claim to fame playing Festus on the CBS western Gunsmoke. Another classic that more than lives up to its reputation, taking a lighter, but no less realistic look at the ugliness of war. 4

jimmytyron

10-05-20, 07:19 PM

GREAT

Gideon58

10-06-20, 10:10 PM

Sherlock Holmes
The dazzling directorial eye of Guy Ritchie is at the heart of 2009's Sherlock Holmes, the gothic and slightly goofy re-imagining of the Arthur Conan Doyle hero that gives a new millenium sensibility to this classic literary hero with the aid of state of the art production values and first rate performances.
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Robert Downey Jr takes on the the title role with Jude Law becoming Dr. Watson as we watch the pair track down a serial killer named Blackwood and watch him hung for his crimes. Three months after the hanging, Holmes and Watson are shocked when they learn that Blackwood has risen from the dead and has begun killing again. As Holmes and Watson go after the killer again, it's revealed that this Blackwood is a deadly nemesis who has the entire British Parliament behind him in a deadly plan that could spell ruin for all of England and even beyond.
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Ritchie has been provided with an urbane and sophisticated screenplay by Michael Robert Johnson and Anthony Peckham that dares to combine elements of the supernatural and religious defiance that raises the story above the simple movie mystery. Simultaneously, it fleshes out these two literary legends making them human and funny, but never letting us forget where the legacy of Sherlock Holmes came from.
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Strict attention is necessary in order to observe everything that's going on here and what it will initially bring the viewer is confusion as there is a whole lot of things our hero does that we don't understand when he's doing them, but they are all efficiently explained before the credits roll, displaying the distinction of this particular superhero...his memory and his eye for detail.
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Ritchie mounts this story on a dark and elegant canvas with the aid of imaginative camerawork, and, Oscar-nominated art direction and Oscar-worthy film editing that eventually has this story moving at a breath neck pace. Robert Downey Jr. adds another sterling performance to his gallery of memorable characters, but the real scene stealer here is Jude Law who brings a wit and intelligence to Watson we really don't see coming. Rachel McAdams is a solid leading lady and the golden-throated Mark Strong is also memorable as Blackwood. Looking forward to the sequel. 4

Gideon58

10-07-20, 11:06 PM

Blow
A charismatic movie star performance from Johnny Depp in the starring role makes 2001's Blow, a fact-based crime drama worth sitting through despite a screenplay that seems to borrow too much from other far superior movies.
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Depp plays George Jung, a small time pot dealer in California who, after his second arrest for selling marijuana, finds out that the real money is in selling cocaine and through a connection he meets in jail, finds himself dealing with the Medillin Cartel and its leader, Pablo Escobar, to help Jung become one of the biggest drug dealers of the 1960's and 1970's.
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Even though David McKenna's screenplay is based on a book by Bruce Porter, the events chronicled in this movie play too much like scenes I've seen in earlier and better movies, Scarface, in particular. There are several scenes that seemed to have been lifted and only slightly altered from the 1983 Brian DePalma classic. We get the scene where his partner gets ditched while Escobar puts his trust in him, the scene where Escobar gives George a test to see if he can be trusted, we eve get George stealing his boss' wife (Oscar winner Penelope Cruz). And we definitely could have done without George's corny, cliche-ridden narration.
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Despite all this, the film does an effective job of showing how dangerous dealing with Columbia drug dealers is but in a more discreet way than expected. There's a great scene where George is trying to get a pilot hired by the Carte, they tell the guy he can't be hired until they get the names of his kids and the schools they attend. The physical effects of cocaine are beautifully documented in the scene where George is in the delivery room while his wife is having his child.
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What the film sums up better than anything is what a moron this guy George really was. If you watch the opening scenes where he and his friend, Tuna (Ethan Supplee) decide to sell pot, it's obvious this guy doesn't have a clue what he's doing and he only got as far as he did on dumb luck. Every time he would jump bail, he would run to his parents' house...it didn't occur to him that this would be the first place they would look for him?
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Despite all this, Johnny Depp is dazzling in the starring role and makes this movie worth watching. Rachel Griffiths is terrific as his obnoxious mother and Paul Ruebens also impresses as George's drug dealing partner in California. Of course, the standout in the supporting cast is Ray Liotta as George's kind but not-as-dumb-as-he-looks dad. A little more originality in the writing and this one could have been something really special. 3.5

Gideon58

10-08-20, 05:07 PM

Taken 3
The retired CIA agent with the very special skillset returns to protect his family from some more very dangerous people in 2014's Taken 3, another solid entry in the franchise that takes a little too long for all the parts of the story to come together, but delivers what fans have come to expect of Bryan Mills.
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As the film opens, we learn that Mills (Liam Neeson) is about to become a grandfather and just as he learns his ex-wife (Famke Janssen) is having serious problems with her current husband (Dougray Scott), she is murdered and Bryan is set up for the crime. Of course, this forces Bryan on the run to find out who is trying to frame him and how to keep his daughter (Maggie Grace) safe.
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Luc Bresson and Robert Mark Kamen's screenplay isn't quite as personal as the first two films, but it still has his family center stage and it still puts Bryan's very special skillset center stage. Only an agent with this kind of skill would be able to allude the entire LAPD in order to meet privately with his daughter in a high school restroom and manage to get out. The relationship established between Mills and the LAPD police chief (Oscar winner Forrest Whitaker) was also a lot of fun, bringing to mind movies like The Fugitive and Catch Me If You Can.
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Director Olivier Megaton, who also directed the second film, scores by beginning this film so quietly, with Bryan delivering a gift to his daughter, that there is no way that the viewer can possibly expect the bloody international action that reaches such a fever pitch. Action fans will get their fill with two hair-raising car chases and Mills dispatching of a group of Russians in a liquor store that are cheer-inducing. One difference between this film and the other two that was a pleasant surprise was learning that Bryan had some back-up in this film courtesy of his former job. In the first two films, he was working virtually alone and it was nice to see that he still had people in his life he could count on.
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Nesson is the picture of cool, as always, as Mills, another great hero who never allows anyone to see him sweat. Scott makes his scenes count as the smarmy Stuart as does Sam Spruell as the Russian baddie. The production values, as always in this film, are first rate including spectacular cinematography, art direction/set direction, and stunning Oscar-worthy editing. A third entry in a franchise that delivers the same way the first two did. 3.5

Gideon58

10-08-20, 08:42 PM

The Skin I Live In
Director/screenwriter Pedro Almodovar (All About My Mother) has given the cinematic concept of the mad scientist a bold and bone-chilling re-imagining in a frightening and claustrophobic thriller called The Skin I Live In which appears initially as two diffrerent stories that eventually morph into one ugly story that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
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The 2011 film stars Antonia Banderas as Dr. Robert Ledgard, a widowed plastic surgeon with a mentally ill teenage daughter who is working to develop a new kind of skin that can withstand any kind of punishment and has a young woman captive in the basement of his home who has become his personal guinea pig for this skin that also has transgenic qualities that medical authorities have forbidden Dr. Ledgard to continue working on. The story then flashes back to a traumatic incident revolving around Ledgard's daughter lead to the doctor's revenge in his daughter's name and what he's doing now.
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Almodovar initially bamboozles the viewer with this story of a scientist who is obsessed with a medical advancement that is so unprecedented that it has the entire medical community terrified, but we are completely thrown when it comes to light that Dr. Ledgard's work is much more personal and has very little to do with medical notoriety. We learn that this work goes all the way back to the death of his wife, who was burned in a tragic accident and how the futility of his work to save her led to a much more deadly obsession that is difficult to get into here without spoilers.
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Almodovar's direction is alternately delicate and atmospheric, creating an almost other-worldly atmosphere for what's happening here. He has created a central character who actually recalls Dr. Frankenstein in his determination, coupled with his obsession and how he will let nothing get in his way.
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Antonio Banderas turns in the performance of his career as Dr. Ledgard, a performance that easily trumps last year's Pain and Glory, which earned him his first Oscar nomination. This performance should have gotten him that honor. There is also strong work from Marisa Peredes as his mother and Elena Anaya as the tortured Vera. Outstanding art direction and music are the finishing touches on this one-of-a-kind cinematic journey. Fans of the 2019 Best Picture winner Parasite will definitely have a head start here. 4

Citizen Rules

10-08-20, 09:00 PM

The Skin I Live In
rating_4Good review, glad you watched it. Let me ask you, what do you think the film was trying to say? Or did it not have anything it was trying to say? Just curious as it's a very different film.

Gideon58

10-08-20, 09:05 PM

Citizen Rules

10-08-20, 09:18 PM

I don't know if it was necessarily trying to say anything, it just seemed like a very contemporary re-thinking of an old horror movie, like Frankenstein. Banderas' character reminded me so much of Dr. Frankenstein.It did remind me of Dr. Frankenstein. If you're interested in seeing my review click this link below and then at the bottom of the movie image click SHOW and you can see reviews written by us in the 23rd HoF for The Skin I Live In
https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2112468#post2112468

Gideon58

10-12-20, 05:42 PM

Unfaithfully Yours (1948)
Preston Sturges, the creative force behind Sullivan's Travels and The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, scores another bullseye with 1948's Unfaithfully Yours, a deliciously black comedy that provides edgy fun thanks to Sturges' work behind the camera and Rex Harrison's work in front.
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Harrison plays Sir Alfred De Carter, an arrogant and sexist symphony conductor who suspects that his beautiful young wife, Daphne (Linda Darnell) is having an affair with his personal secretary. One night while conducting the symphony with his wife in the audience, Sir Alfred has a three-part fantasy about how to get revenge on Daphne and after the symphony is over, decides to make his fantasy a reality but it doesn't go quite as smoothly as it did in his fantasy.
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Sturges' near brilliant screenplay and meticulous direction manage to create viable suspicions in the mind of the central character while simultaneously showing the viewer that the evidence he thinks he has against her is circumstantial. Sturges displays a keen affinity regarding starched British aristocracy and the expected sexism of the period. It's clear that Sir Alfred thinks of Daphne more as a possession than a soulmate and more than once uses the phrase " a man's home is his castle", while rebuffing every attempt by Daphne to comfort and reassure him. The dialogue is crisp and witty and aids in the rapid pacing in the story.
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The other standout element here is the razor sharp performance by Rex Harrison in the starring role. With the aid of Sturges sure-footed direction, Rex Harrison manages to effortlessly blend the arrogant sophistication of Henry Higgins with some Jerry Lewis-calibre physical comedy that's hard to resist. The final act where Sir Alfred is struggling with the fancy recording machine in order to scare his bride had me on the floor. I never imagined Rex Harrison making me laugh so hard.
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The film features lovely black and white photography and some stunning costumes for Darnell by Oleg Cassini. Lionel Stander was very funny as Sir Alfred's manager as was Barbara Lawrence as Daphne's sister. A severely underrated classic that deserves more attention. Remade in 1979 with Dudley Moore and Natassia Kinski taking over the Harrison/Darnell roles. 4

gbgoodies

10-13-20, 12:19 AM

Gideon58

10-13-20, 12:47 PM

It's nice to see that someone else likes the movie Unfaithfully Yours. I saw this version after I saw the remake with Dudley Moore, and the original is definitely the better version of the two movies. I liked the remake too, but I loved Rex Harrison in this movie.

I made a point of watching the original first, I've never seen the remake...I don't think I have ever enjoyed Rex Harrison onscreen more, and that includes My Fair Lady and Anna and the King of Siam

Gideon58

10-13-20, 10:12 PM

Inmate # 1: The Rise of Danny Trejo
We all know that face. We all have a favorite movie we saw him in. We look at that world-weary face and we know this is a guy who has lived, but I had no idea the kind of living this guy did until I had the privilege of watching a 2019 documentary called Inmate # 1: The Rise of Danny Trejo, which doesn't employ a lot of imagination in presentation, but the subject is so fascinating we just don't care.
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The film begins with a look at Danny's turbulent childhood in the San Fernando Valley with Danny driving a 1956 Chevrolet Bel-Air around his old neighborhood and pointing out all the significant landmarks from his childhood. We learn of his troubled relationship with his father, which stemmed from his hero worship of his Uncle Gilbert, a career criminal whose whose power and influence over Danny eventually landed him in San Quentin.
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Admit it...the first time you laid your eyes on Danny Trejo, one of the first things that went through your mind is "I know that guy did time", but what I didn't expect was the gut-wrenching honesty that Trejo employs talking about his life as a criminal, alcoholic, and drug addict. Trejo doesn't sugar coat or glamorize anything, and yet somehow still manages to have a sense of humor about it now. Danny Trejo is one of the few people I've seen who is totally honest about the mistakes he's made, but has also learned from them. This was one of the few celebrity documentaries I've seen where I never felt the star was holding back anything...he pulls all the skeletons out of the closet and hurls them directly at the camera.
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In a refreshing change of pace, the film actually got a little less interesting when it moves into his film career, starting with his completely accidental stumbling onto the set of Runaway Train, his film debut. Loved the actual giddiness he felt when he learned he had been cast in Heat with De Niro, Pacino, Voight, and Val Kilmer. Loved a piece of advice that he was given when he first started making movies: "Danny you can't be the tough guy in Hollywood...you have to act like a tough guy." I loved when his sister knew Danny was going to make it when she saw one of his movies and he was alive at the end. And I have definitely added Machete to my watchlist.
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Commentary is offered by actors Donal Logue, Cheech Marin, Michelle Rodrigues, director Robert Rodriguez, and his three children Danny Jr, Gilbert, and Danielle. I've never seen celebrity kids talk about their famous father with the love and respect that these three did. It was so sweet when Danielle confessed to being uncomfortable about the first time she saw Dad die onscreen. I was also impressed with the fact that Danny still lives the AA program and makes regular visits to schools and prisons. It's this part of the film that gets a little pretentious, but it's so unnecessary, because the last adjective that comes to mind when watching Danny Trejo is pretentious, which is what made this film such a joyous experience. 4.5

gbgoodies

10-14-20, 12:49 AM

I made a point of watching the original first, I've never seen the remake...I don't think I have ever enjoyed Rex Harrison onscreen more, and that includes My Fair Lady and Anna and the King of Siam

It's not my favorite Rex Harrison movie, but it's one of my favorite Rex Harrison performances.

Gideon58

10-14-20, 10:22 PM

Bill & Ted Face the Music
Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves reprise their roles as Bill S. Preston, Esq. and Ted "Theodore" Logan after a twenty-nine year absence from the screen in a confusing and convoluted third (and God willing final) chapter of their cinematic journey called Bill &Ted Face the Music, a 2020 disaster that definitely qualifies for the worst and most unnecessary sequel ever made.
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After saving the universe in two previous films, we return to Bill and Ted, now married and both with daughters, who apparently have spent the last 29 years trying to keep Wyld Stallyns together, but to no avail. Now they have been summoned to the future again by Rufus' widow (Holland Taylor) and daughter (Kristen Schaal), who inform them they must travel through time again to find a song they wrote in the future in order to again save the universe as they know it.
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Bill and Ted's daughters decide to help their fathers by travelling through time to form a band to back up their dads. This band includes Jimi Hendrix, Louis Armstrong, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, an Asian flautist, a cavemen drummer, and a rapper named Kid Cudi.
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God, I don't know where to start here...I think the main problem here is that re-visiting these characters almost 30 years later was completely pointless, evidenced in another plot recycled from the first two films, which once again features our heroes spending a lot of time fighting with doubles of themselves and not really being sure of why. I cannot fathom why anyone thought revisiting these characters was a viable idea after twenty-nine years...did Alex Winter finance this mess?
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I guess it all goes back to the fact that I never understood why the fate of the universe hung on these morons, who haven't changed one iota since the first film. They are still the same idiots they were in the first film, which only enhances the unnatural aspect of their relationship, which is hilariously addressed in one of the few funny scenes the film when the guys and their wives decide to try couples therapy. But the fact that these two guys have spent twenty-nine years still trying to do something they never could do in the first place, was just kind of pathetic.
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Director Dean Parisot, who fared much better with the wonderful Galaxy Quest, does his best to disguise this lame story with expensive production values, including some outrageous set pieces and visual effects that do nothing to disguise how dumb this movie is. Even the actors seem embarrassed to be involved in this debacle, especially Reeves. The guy who was the heart of The Matrix and John Wick franchises, just didn't need to be involved with this mess and, honestly, his embarrassment is apparent throughout the film. Loved William Sadler's return as Death and Jillian Bell was hilarious as the couples therapist. but if the truth be told, staying with this one was a lot of work. What a waste of money. 1.5

Gideon58

10-17-20, 08:59 PM

Wayne's World 2
From the "If you liked the first one" school of movie sequels, comes Wayne's World 2, the nearly forgotten sequel to Mike Meyers and Dana Carvey's first big screen comedy smash that doesn't really bring anything new to the lives of these goofy characters, but still provides solid laughs and entertainment thanks to some clever writing, terrific music, and stars as far as the eye can see.
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As the film begins, Wayne and Garth are no longer broadcasting from Wayne's basement and are now in a warehouse in downtown Aurora. Wayne has a dream where he meets the spirit of Jim Morrison, who tells him that he must organize a rock concert in Aurora. Wayne and Garth work frantically to put "Waynestock" together while Wayne is trying to keep his girlfriend, Cassandra (Tia Carrere) away from her new greasy record producer (Oscar winner Christopher Walken) while Garth has his cherry taken by an aggressive woman he meets in a laundromat (Oscar winner Kim Basinger).
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If the truth be told, Mike Meyers and writing partners Bonnie and Terry Turner didn't really put a lot of thought into putting together a real sequel here as the story of Cassandra and her producer is pretty much identical to the story of Cassandra and Rob Lowe in the first film, but there's so much funny stuff going on here, that we're too busy laughing to care about the lack of originality.
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As Meyers and company did with the first film, the 4th wall is non-existent, with Wayne and Garth spending a fair amount of time talking directly to the camera. The fight between Wayne and Cassandra's father was hysterical (even if it went on a tad too long) as was the "roadie training" sequence. There are some on-target jabs at television commercials from the time and a quick wink at the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman. And it goes without saying that the dead solid perfect satire of Midnight Cowboy in the final act was all kinds if funny.
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Meyers and Carvey are still a well-oiled machine and Carrere and Basinger are breathtaking. Along the way, fun is also provided by Chris Farley as a roadie, Kevin Pollak as a parks and recreation supervisor, Harry Shearer as a DJ, Tim Meadows as Sammy Davis Jr, and Michael A Nickles as Jim Morrison. If you don't blink, you might also catch glimpses of Ed O'Neill (reprising his role from the first film), Drew Barrymore, Ted McGinley, Heather Locklear, and Charlton Heston, with Aerosmith headlining "Waynestock". It's not great art, but it's funny as hell and a worthy sequel. 3.5

Gideon58

10-19-20, 10:03 PM

Queen & Slim
A racially charged crime drama blends with a one of a kind romance in 2019's Queen & Slim, a riveting drama whose relevance in this "Black Lives Matter" world we live in is no coincidence.
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This is the story of a black couple on their first date after meeting on Tinder. On their way home, what appears to be a routine traffic stop by a white cop results in the death of the cop and sending this pair of virtual strangers on the run together.
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Director Melina Matsoukas employs a dreamy quality to the execution of this story that probably is a little overprotective of the central characters, but makes the viewer fall in love with them pretty much from jump and wanting them to find a way out of this seemingly hopeless situation. There might be an impulse to re-watch the incident that sets this whole story in motion to see if there is any legal recourse for this couple, but as the story progresses, we realize that what happened with that cop has become irrelevant before the halfway point of the film and has nothing to do with the pair becoming the most wanted fugitives in Florida and folk heroes at the same time.
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We've seen films like Badlands and Thelma and Louise that remind us of what happens here, but Lana Waithe's screenplay adds a couple of twists that give this story originality. First of all, I LOVED that she made the female character an attorney. I loved that this woman knew the law and knew exactly how much danger they were in at all times, despite the mistakes she makes at the beginning of the story. I also loved the fact that these two people were on their first date and their lives are linked forever by this tragedy. I also loved that around the halfway point of the story when they are given a little room to breathe, they decide to resume their date, which slowly and believably blossoms into a tentative romance. It was also impressive that even though they were black, there were white people who wanted to help these two in their situation. Equally frightening was how quickly the authorities were on to them despite their head start. The story also takes a couple of strange detours during the final act that slow things down when they should really be accelerating.
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Daniel Kaluuya once again commands the screen the way he did in Get Out and Jodie Turner-Smith brings an eloquent strength to her star-making performance as well. Kudos as well to Bokeem Woodbine's flashy performance as the girl's uncle and to Chloe Sevigny and Flea as the Shepherds. It goes on a little longer than it needs to and the conclusion is unnecessarily brutal and unfair after the journey we've been taken on, but it's well worth watching. 4

Gideon58

10-20-20, 09:40 PM

Funny Girl The Musical (2018)
Just like there are movies that never should be remade, there are also Broadway musicals that never should be revived. The proof of this musical pudding lies with the 2018 revival of Funny Girl, the classic Broadway musical that was written for and made a star out of Barbra Streisand and therein lies the problem with this production.
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This is a filmed performance from the 2018 Manchester England revival of the show filmed in front of a live audience at the Manchester Palace Theater. For those unfamiliar with the show, this musical is a fictionalized look at the life of vaudeville performer Fanny Brice who became one of the biggest stars of the Ziegfeld Follies and her star-crossed romance with a gambling playboy named Nick Arnstein and how her fame and his bad luck eventually tore them apart.
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Funny Girl originally premiered on Broadway on March 24, 1964, won eight Tony Awards and made a Broadway star out of Barbra Streisand. The musical became a movie in 1968 with Streisand reprising her starring role. It was the top grossing movie of 1968 and won Streisand an Oscar for Best Actress. Fifty-four years later, an English company decided that it was a good idea to revive this musical and it becomes apparent pretty quickly why it took someone fifty-four years to take on this project. This musical was written especially for Barbra Streisand and without her, it just doesn't work, case closed.
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Those familiar with the 1968 film will find a lot of differences between the stage show and the movie, including some major changes to the score. The wonderful score by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill includes "If a Girl Isn't Pretty", "I'm the Greatest Star", "Cornet Man", "The Music that Makes Me Dance", and "Don't Rain On My Parade". And though the title song is added to this production, the song "Funny Girl" was actually written for the movie.
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Fanny Brice in Funny Girl is one of those iconic musical roles like the King in The King and I that has become universally associated with one performer who is the gold standard for the role. Anyone taking on a role like this is taking on a pretty much impossible task and Sheridan Smith works very hard at being credible in this role without imitating Streisand, but perhaps direrctor Robert Delemere is partly to blame, as Smith tries to make up for not being Streisand by talk-singing a lot of the score (like Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady and doing a lot of mugging and funny faces and never capturing the vulnerability of the character. The irony is that Smith has an impressive set of pipes but is never really given the opportunity to show them off, except at the end of a couple numbers. Her performance was something akin to Carol Burnett playing Fanny Brice in a spoof of Funny Girl on her variety show. Darius Campbell, who plays Nicky Arnstein has a gorgeous voice, but his one-note performance is dull as dishwasher. There's a lot that does work here including a strong supporting cast and a terrific orchestra, but the show just doesn't work without Barbra. An "A" for effort though. 3

Gideon58

10-23-20, 04:46 PM

Project Power
First class production values are probably the standout element of 2020's Project Power, a big-budget action thriller that is difficult to completely invest in due to a far-fetched story.
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As this Netflix thriller begins, there is a new drug circulating the streets of New Orleans in the form of a pill that when it is taken, it gives the user extraordinary superpowers for five minutes. The only thing is that the person taking the pill doesn't know what kind of superpower he's going to have. Despite the obvious problems with such a drug, the supply and demand has brought the crime rate in New Orleans to a dangerous level. A local cop with a Clint Eastwood complex, a teenage drug dealer, and a former military man with his own reason for stopping the drug from being used by a dangerous organization who have a much more dangerous agenda for the drug that mere street sales.
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Mattson Tomlin's logic defying screenplay is the primary culprit as what is wrong with this film. It's difficult to understand why there would be a market for a pill that gives the user superpowers for five minutes without knowing what the power it is. For example, the first person we observe taking a pill turns into a human torch, like Johnny in The Fantastic Four. I guess it can keep the cops away from you, but how much crime can a human torch commit? The practicality and monetary benefit of such a drug seems to be a pretty difficult thing to gauge, though the film's villain does eventually inform us that this drug could be instrumental in genetic research and curing disease, which is a bit of a stretch.
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Directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman seem to be aware of the deficiencies in the screenplay and do their best to cover them up by keeping things moving at a lightning clip and utilization a first rate production team to make the alleged super powers at the center of the story credible;
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Joseph Gordon Levitt is terrific as the New Orleans cop and Jamie Foxx offers another of his slick but human performances as the ex-soldier. There's also a star-making turn from young Dominique Fishback as the young drug dealer. The film also features spectacular editing, visual effects, sound, and music, but without the credible story that should be at its foundation, the film never quite becomes what it should have been and holding viewer attention is a bit of a challenge. 3

Gideon58

10-23-20, 07:33 PM

Bye Bye Love
The trials and tribulations of divorce and co-parenting are effectively examined with the just the right light comedic touch in an entertaining 1995 comedy called Bye Bye Love, which is a lot of fun thanks to some clever writing and a terrific ensemble cast.
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This film chronicles the lives of three divorced men with children who are best friends. The story reveals how divorce has affected these guys through their ex-wives, their children, and their attempts to start over relationship-wise. It's quickly revealed that even though all three of these guys are divorced with children, they are all in different stages of divorce and all dealing with it (or not) in different ways.
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Dave (Matthew Modine) is a chronic womanizer, which was the reason his marriage ended and he really hasn't learned from his past mistakes; Donny (Paul Reiser) has never really gotten over his ex, Claire (Jayne Brook) and is still hoping for a reconciliation while his relationship with his teenage daughter (Eliza Dushku) is falling apart; Vic (Randy Quaid) is thrilled to be away from his ex-wife (Lindsey Crouse) but has only had 3 dates in eight months and is terrified about his blind date with a high maintenance hot mess named Lucille (Janeane Garafolo).
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Gary David Goldberg (the creator of the sitcom Family Ties) and Brad Hall have crafted a screenplay that doesn't provide a lot of surprises or take a lot of risks, but its look at divorce and its ramifications is on-target and there is nothing that happens in this movie that any divorced parent out there can't relate to. The story effectively showcases three divorced families in separate places from all angles, including the children. We see one child who has secretly refused to accept her parents' divorce and blames herself and another one who refuses to accept another woman in his dad's life and does everything he can to break them up.
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Director Sam Weisman (George of the Jungle) provides a lightness to the proceedings that keeps the viewer engaged, despite the melodramatics of the final act. Modine has rarely been sexier onscreen and Quaid is surprisingly funny as the curmudgeonly Vic. Reiser is fun as Donny and Amy Brenneman is vivacious as Dave's ex. Mention should also be made of Rob Reiner in a very funny cameo as a radio shrink who talks about divorce and Garafalo steals every scene she's in with her roll-on-the-floor-funny performance as Lucille. Nothing groundbreaking here, but a lot of fun. You might also recognize young Ross Malinger, who charmed moviegoers as Tom Hanks' son in Sleepless in Seattle, playing Modine's son here. 3.5

Gideon58

10-23-20, 10:33 PM

Sling Blade
Billy Bob Thornton put himself on the Hollywood map in 1996 as the director, screenwriter, and star of a riveting motion picture drama called Sling Blade, an often chilling character study wrapped around a story of friendship and abuse that rings completely true, even if it is a tad overlong.
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Based on a play (also written by Thornton), this is the story of Carl Childers, a mentally challenged man who murdered his mother and her lover when he was a child and has been institutionalized ever since. It is determined that adult Carl has been rehabilitated and is released from the hospital so he decides to return to his hometown. He manages to find a job as a mechanic and befriends a young boy named Frankie, who invites Carl home to live in the garage of the house where Frankie lives with his widowed mother, Linda and her abusive, alcoholic boyfriend, Doyle.
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Billy Bob Thornton does an impressive job of adapting his play to the screen. His Oscar-winning screenplay methodically reveals Carl's troubled past and how it has impeded him in moving onto any kind of future. There's a telling and heartbreaking scene near the beginning of the film where Carl returns to the hospital after being released saying he wants to continue to live at the hospital because the world has gotten too "big." This scene absolutely made my heart sink.
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Thornton's screenplay also takes an impressive path in its presentation of the reprehensible Doyle. The scene where he kicks all of the band members out of his house, even though it really isn't his house, was a perfect precursor to the kind of maniac that Doyle turns out to be, but best off all, is the lovely relationship that is established between Carl and Frankie. Despite the fact that Carl has been completely desensitized to any kind of emotion, we feel his connection to Frankie and know he will do anything for him.
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Thornton's directorial eye is as sharp as his screenplay. He opens up the story so that it never looks like a photographed stage play and he creates some stunning cinematic pictures, like those shots of Carl on that rickety bridge, or the long shot of Carl and Frankie in the special spot in the dark. Or when Carl bursts into Linda and Doyle's bedroom with a hammer in his hand demanding to be baptized...I swear that scene made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
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In addition to the Oscar he won for the screenplay, Thornton also received a Lead Actor nomination for his seemingly simple performance as Carl, which is a lot richer than it appears on the surface. Dwight Yoakam was robbed of a supporting nomination for dangerously unhinged performance as Doyle, a character Yoakam completely loses himself in. Also loved a seriously cast against type John Ritter as Linda's gay BFF and a star-making performance by 12 year old Lucas Black as Frankie. The middle of the film sags a bit because we know where the story is going and we want it to get there a little quicker than it does, but it's still riveting motion picture entertainment. 4

Gideon58

10-24-20, 02:12 PM

Bedtime Story (1964)
A trio of terrific lead performances are the centerpiece of 1964's Bedtime Story, a delicious comic romp centered around the art of the con that is so well-written and acted that it has actually inspired two remakes and a Broadway musical.
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David Niven stars as Lawrence Jamieson, a sophisticated con artist who has been making a comfortable living on the French Riviera fleecing wealthy, unattached women out of their money. Jamieson finds some serious competition in Freddy Benson (Marlon Brando) a way less sophisticated but no less effective con artist who is impeding on Jamieson's livelihood. When Jamieson's attempt to get rid of Freddy by pretending to work together fails, they decide to compete for "King of the Mountain" by seeing who can con an American soap queen (Shirley Jones) out of $25,000.
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Screenwriters Stanley Shapiro (Pillow Talk) and Paul Henning (creator of The Beverly Hillbillies) have created a smart and entertaining story about money and seduction that is not nearly as sleazy as the film's title might imply. This story of two very different con artists actually starts off with Lawrence and Freddy utilizing their talents with different goals. Lawrence is looking for money while Freddy seems more interested in romance, but once the two meet face to face on a train, they quickly size up each other and know that they are a threat to each other. Their first meeting on the train is particularly well-executed as Jamieson pretends to be a married businessman on vacation impressed by Freddy's ability to get a woman he's never met to buy dinner for him.
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Director Ralph Levy guides with a steady yet breezy hand and was lucky to have three Oscar winners in front of the camera. Niven, as always, urbane sophistication personified and Shirley Jones is a lovely leading lady. The real surprise here, and a pleasant one at that, was the inspired comic performance from Marlon Brando as Freddy. An actor whose never really been known for comedy was cast against type here and ran with it...Brando seems to be having a ball here creating a character that is part Dean Martin and part Jerry Lewis. Loved the scene where he pretends to be Ruprecht and the physical comedy skill he puts into the limitations of his character being confined to a wheelchair for most of the running time was a joy to watch. Dody Goodman is also cute as another one of Lawrence's marks.
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The film has been remade twice. In 1988, it became Dirty Rotten Scoundrels with Michael Caine and Steve Martin in the leads. The story was revisited with a gender switch in 2019 as The Hustle featuring Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson. In 2005, the story was turned into a Broadway musical with John Lithgow and Norbert Leo Butz as Lawrence and Freddy, respectively. If privy to any of these versions, it might be fun to check out their origin, which was surprisingly solid entertainment. 3.5

Gideon58

10-24-20, 05:14 PM

The Letter (1940)
Under the sturdy direction of three time Oscar winner William Wyler, the Queen of Warner Brothers offers one of her most duplicitous characters in a chilling melodrama from 1940 called The Letter, a film that has become an icon in the melodrama genre and so engaged audiences and critics that it earned seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.
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Bette Davis turns in another of her icy performances as Leslie Crosbie, the wife of a rubber plantation owner in Malaysia, who is observed shooting a man multiple times in the opening scene and then claiming later to her husband, attorney, and to authorities that she shot the man in self-defense, Even though the viewer knows the man was not shot in self-defense, Leslie's well-rehearsed story has everyone else convinced...until a copy of a letter turns up written by Leslie to the deceased the day he died proves otherwise, and ends up in the hands of Leslie's attorney, who learns the deceased's widow wants $10,000 for the original.
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The film is based on a play by W. Somerset Maugham that opened on Broadway on September 26, 1925 with theater legend Katherine Cornell playing Leslie. Howard W. Koch's adaptation to the screen effectively opens up the story beyond the Crosbie living room and a courtroom. It's not a typical murder mystery because we see what happens right at the beginning, but we're amazed as we watch everyone around Leslie automatically believe everything this woman says. We see a woman in complete self-preservation mode from the beginning of the film to the end, not caring what she has to do or who she has to hurt to save her own neck. Loved the moment when her lawyer, Howard Joyce, beautifully played by James Stephenson, puts the pieces together and in order to avoid answering anymore of his questions, Leslie pretends to faint.
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Two years prior, Wyler directed Davis to an Oscar in [I][Jezebel/I] and once again, they prove to be one of the most formidable actor/director collaborators of the 1930's and 40's. There were few directors who understood Davis as well as Wyler and it is his storytelling skill combined with his trust in this gifted actress that make this film such a pleasure to watch. It's also Wyler's direction that is responsible for keeping elements of the story viable despite their predictability and a surprise or two during the final act that we actually don't see coming.
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It goes without saying that Davis is dazzling here, a chilling dramatic turn that earned her the fifth of her ten career Oscar nominations. Stephenson's slick performance as attorney earned him a supporting actor nomination as well and Gale Sondergaard's performance as the widow redefines the word "creepy". I've never been so chilled to the bone through a performance where the actor doesn't say a word but Sondergaard does exactly that. Herbert Marshall was his usual dull self as Leslie's dumb-as-a-box-of-rocks husband, but Davis is so spectacular you almost don't notice. Wyler earned a richly deserved Best Director nomination as did Tony Guado for cinematography, Warren Low for film editing, and, of course, for Max Steiner's lush music. Another classic from the Davis library that is appointment viewing. 4

Gideon58

10-24-20, 09:24 PM

South Pacific (1958)
Though it features one of Rodgers and Hammerstein's most memorable scores, the 1958 film version of South Pacific is a long lumbering screen version of the stage classic that suffers from leaden direction, mostly mediocre performances, and a serious lack of pacing that makes the movie seem six hours long. This is the first movie since The Happiest Millionaire where I think I had a birthday during the running time.
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This musical is about the romance between a WWII army nurse named Nellie Forbush (Mitzi Gaynor) and a mysterious French plantation owner named Emile DeBecque (Rossano Brazzi) whose romance hits a snag when she learns DeBecque has two Polynesian children. It's also about an idealistic young soldier named Lt. Joe Cable (John Kerr) who falls for a pretty Island girl named Liat (France Nuyen, in her film debut), who is being pimped out by her hustling mother Bloody Mary (Juanita Hall). It's also about the US Navy trying to recruit Debecque to participate in a secret mission for them and trying to get Nellie to use her influence to make it happen.
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Not sure why this musical made such a messy transition to the big screen. It was a smash when it premiered on Broadway in 1949 with Mary Martin playing Nellie, running for over 1900 performances. It's been revived on Broadway several times and has always had successful runs so imagine my surprise at being bored to death by this film. Director Josh Logan has to take a lion's share of the blame because the movie moves at snail's pace and there's just too much going on plot-wise here for the film not to move with some semblance of speed.
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There are problems with casting as well. Though she works very hard in the role, Mitzi Gaynor never really convinces as an adult nurse in the navy. She comes off like a 16-year old playing dress up. Every moment she was onscreen, the only thing that kept going through my head was "Doris Day should have been playing this part." Rossano Brazzi was no prize either as DeBecque, which brings up another point...all the times this show has been revived, why has a French actor NEVER been cast as Emile Debecque? John Kerr worked non-stop during the 1950's and I've never understood why. The only completely satisfying performance for me in the film came from the inimitable Ray Walston as Luther Billis.
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One thing I will give Gaynor is that she is the only lead who did her own singing. According to the IMDB, this film features more actors' singing dubbed than any other film version of a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. One history making event on this subject, is that Giorgio Tozzi, who sang for Rossano Brazzi, actually received onscreen billing for his work here, a cinematic first I'm sure. Except for Tozzi, even the dubbing is second rate...Bill Lee, who sang for John Kerr, didn't sound anything like Kerr and his voice sounded weird coming out of Kerr.
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Despite all the problems with this film you can't beat that score: "Bali Hai", "Younger than Springtime", "There is Nothing Like a Dame", "Wash that Man Right Outta My Hair", "Some Enchanted Evening". "A Wonderful Guy", "This Nearly Was Mine", "A Cockeyed Optimist", and the haunting "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught." And what was Logan thinking with all the color changing photography throughout the film. I guess it was supposed to set particular moods, but it was just annoying and often pulled focus from what was actually going on with the actors. For a serious lover of movie musicals, this was a real disappointment. ABC remade the movie in 2001 with Glenn Close as Nellie and the late Robert Pastorelli as Billis. Circa 2006, a concert version of the musical was presented at Carnegie Hall with Reba McIntire as Nellie and Alec Baldwin as Billis and both of those versions were superior to this one. 2

Citizen Rules

10-24-20, 09:29 PM

I really like South Pacific, it would be in my top 50 musicals of all time, mostly for the story and for Mitzi Gaynor!

Gideon58

10-27-20, 03:29 PM

I know you love Mitzi Gaynor, Citizen, but I think this role was just a little above her pay grade...Doris Day should have played this part.

Gideon58

10-28-20, 08:04 PM

The Equalizer 2
Denzel Washington once again re-defines badass in The Equalizer 2, a sequel to his 2014 hit about the state of the art Good Samaritan who amidst his normal good deeds, finds himself involved with a case that hits a little too close to home.
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As this 2018 film opens, Robert McCall is after a kidnapped little girl whose mother works in McCall's favorite bookstore. He's also trying to help an elderly concentration camp survivor get his hands on a painting that is the only connection to his wife. This projects seem to get pushed to the wayside when his good friend and former boss, Susan gets involved in solving a murder that gets her murdered as well. There's also an aspiring artist and aspiring gangbanger who lives in McCall's building who McCall's attempts to keep the kid on the right path plunge the kid right in the middle of McCall's danger.
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Director Antoine Fuqua and screenwriters Richard Wenk and Michael Sloan are to be applauded for crafting a sequel that really doesn't have a lot to do with the first film, but has some unsettling parallels to the first film that quietly simmer to the surface as the film progresses. As we learned from the first film. McCall will be dealing with international criminals as well as helping ordinary people who have been wronged and are unable to help themselves.
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Again, we don't get a lot of insight into who McCall is and how he has to come to live the way he does and do what he does. It's obvious the death of his wife, Vivian (who is mentioned in the first film, but we didn't learn her name until this film) is the driving force behind what he does, but the essence of Robert McCall remains a mystery (as it did in the television series the franchise is based on) and I'm pretty sure that is intentional. I loved the fact that every moment McCall has to himself he spends reading.
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Fuqua once again proves to be a master of the action sequence, aided by first rate camera work and film editing. Despite his being in his 60's, Denzel Washington still proves to be a viable action hero with a heart. There's also a star-making performance from Ashton Sanders as the young artist. Sanders proves his wonderful performance in the 2016 Best Picture Moonlight was no fluke. Veteran Orson Bean also makes is scenes count as the elderly Jewish man McCall is trying to help. It begins to sag a little around the halfway point, but spectacular finale, set during a hurricane, brings the viewer right back into the story. Despite the occasional slow spot, Denzel makes this badass with a heart worth watching. 3.5

Gideon58

10-29-20, 09:31 PM

The Mask
A charismatic star turn by Jim Carrey and some spectacular Oscar-nominated visual effects are the primary selling points of a now minor classic from 1994 called The Mask, an energetic comic fantasy that still provides some surprisingly solid laughs after 26 years.
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Carrey plays Stanley Ipkiss, a mild-mannered bank teller whose entire life redefines the term Murphy's Law. After what was pretty much the worst day of his life, Ipkiss finds a mask that turns him into a green-faced, zoot-suited, superhero with myriad powers who ends up getting involved with some very dangerous criminals when he foils their bank robbery. He also finds himself involved with two very different women: A sexpot nightclub singer named Tina (Cameron Diaz) and a lady reporter named Peggy (Amy Yasbeck).
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Just put your brain in check and fasten in for one of the wildest cinematic rides that just throws all the rules of moviemaking out the window for the sake of pure, non-think entertainment that moves at a breakneck pace never giving the viewer a chance to breathe. The screenplay by Mike Webb is clever and detail-oriented without being overly complex, doesn't take too much time with exposition, and as fun as it is, never allows us to forget it's a movie thanks to some dazzling special effects utilized to bring this mask to life that completely defy realism.
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There's just one little plot point I really had trouble getting past. After his first two episodes wearing the mask, Stanley decides to seek advice from a writer (Ben Stein), who has just written a book about masks and when he offers to demonstrate what the mask does, this is the one point in the whole story where the mask doesn't work, even though three different characters get to use it. It was convenient to make Stanley look nuts, but it made no sense that the mask would not work this one time.
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The film is rich with visual effects and animation that provide consistent entertainment that work in perfect tandem with Jim Carrey's boundless energy and his expertise with celebrity impressions. As much as I loved Carrey's insanity as the Mask, I enjoyed his socially inept Stanley Ipkiss much more. Cameron Diaz is sex on legs as Tina, who turns out to be quite a different movie heroine. Also enjoyed Peter Reigert as a stone-faced police detective and Peter Greene as the bad guy Dorian. If Greene looks familiar, you might remember him as Zed in the classic Pulp Fiction. And let's not forget that great little dog, Milo. If you're looking for realism, find another movie, but if you just want some easy laughs, belly up. 3.5

Wyldesyde19

10-30-20, 09:25 PM

I’m usually not a fan of his, but the Mask is an exception.

Gideon58

10-31-20, 08:25 PM

Machete
After my recent viewing of the documentary Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo, I decided I had to watch Machete, a relentlessly bloody, slam-bang action epic from 2010 that provides the kind of action that fans of the genre clamor for in large unapologetic doses and had this reviewer laughing, cheering, and, at times, closing my dropped jaw.
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In 2007, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino directed Grindhouse, an affectionate valentine to the B-movie, double feature drive in film experiences of the 50's and 60's. As part of that film, Rodriguez mounted a trailer for an imaginary film to be shown between the two features called Machete starring Danny Trejo. The trailer attracted so much attention that moviegoers thought the movie was real and the demand was so overwhelming, that Rodriguez, Ethan Maniquis, and Alvaro Rodriguez actually created a movie based on the trailer.
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Trejo plays the title character, a day laborer who works near the Mexican border, who is hired by a political aide and drug dealer named Booth (Jeff Fahey) to assassinate a United States Senator (Oscar winner Robert De Niro), but the hit fails, sending Machete on the run while trying to get vengeance on Booth and clear his own name. Other pertinent players in the story include a taco stand vendor/vigilante (Michelle Rodriguez), Machete's priest brother (Cheech Marin), a crooked border patrol agent (Don Johnson) and Booth's drug dealing kingpin boss (Steven Seagal).
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Don't try to figure it out and don't try to figure out who's who, just strap yourself in and enjoy this slam-bang action comedy that features one of the most staggering body counts I have ever seen in an action film. I think there were close to two dozen deaths in the first ten minutes of the film. The damage that Machete did with the aid of his namesake was staggering, not to mention his skill with a weed wacker. This Machete is such a badass that there is a hilarious moment where he confronts a gunman and the guy just says, "I give", hands Machete his gun, and walks away.
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Rodriguez, the creative force behind the cult classic From Dusk Til Dawn puts his very creative and imaginative hand all over this one, thrusting into the big movie world of action adventure that is almost a thing of the past. The opening credits even feature those scratch marks that we see in older films, properly setting the same B-movie atmosphere he did in Grindhouse.
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Trejo is perfection as the title character, a man of few words but incites danger in every move he makes and gets solid support from Fahey, brilliant as the evil and twisted Booth and De Niro in a deliciously over the top turn as the obnoxious senator. Had a little trouble buying Jessica Alba as an immigration agent who works in stiletto heels, but a minor problem in a violent and dazzling action comedy that delivers the goods. Followed by Machete Kills and Machete Kills in Space. 3.5

Gideon58

10-31-20, 10:34 PM

Johnny Suede
The same year he stole the few scenes he had in Best Picture nominee Thelma and Louise, Brad Pitt also played the lead in a forgettable comic character study called Johnny Suede, which suffers from an all over the place screenplay rich with pretentious symbolism and a totally moronic central character whose only redeeming quality is that he looks like Brad Pitt.
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This 1991 oddity features Pitt as Johnny, an aspiring musician who sports a huge pompadour, idolizes Ricky Nelson, and is dumb as box of rocks. He claims that he wants to become a rock star but doesn't put a lot of work into it, or anything else for that matter. The viewer watches Johnny aimlessly drifting through his life while getting involved (sort of) with three very different women.
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I'm not really sure what director/screenwriter Tom DiCillo was going for here. The opening dream sequences of Johnny commanding a stage in front of a bunch of screaming girls after finding the right pair of black suede shoes is fun, but then the story degenerates into the real Johnny, an amateur musician with only a modicum of talent but in complete denial about it. The haphazard attempts to make something happen with his band are laughable as are the big dreams of him and his BFF Deke (Calvin Levels). Their conversations reminded me of two guys who sit around smoking pot, coming up with all these incredible ideas for making their lives better, but not really executing any of them.
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The most interesting aspect of the film is Johnny's relationship with a vivacious bohemian named Yvonne, beautifully played by Catherine Keener, who inexplicably falls in love with the guy but eventually pays the price for it. The funniest scene in the film is when Johnny and Deke are listing the pros and cons of him actually moving in with Yvonne.
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DiCillo has supplied this moronic character with a vivid imagination, which allows DiCillo to stage some startling and nonsensical dream sequences that come out of nowhere and end way too abruptly, not to mention some odd symbolism that is never really explained, primarily a panel of glass that keeps shattering at different parts of the movie for a reason I couldn't fathom.
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Pitt has rarely been prettier and works very hard at making the title character likable, but he really has his work cut out for him here. Keener is always watchable and there is even a brief appearance by Samuel L Jackson as one of the members of Johnny's band, but this movie is, for the most part, pointless, and snore-inducing. Can't believe this was the same year Pitt was so fabulous in Thelma and Louise. 2

Gideon58

11-02-20, 03:05 PM

The Odd Couple II
Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, and Neil Simon reunited after 30 years for The Odd Couple II, a silly, embarrassing, and unnecessary sequel to the 1968 classic that proves the Lemmon/Matthau chemistry still had a spark, but not enough to make this snore-fest worth sitting through.
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As the film opens, we find Matthau's Oscar in a Florida retirement community still playing poker (though some of his poker players are female this time around) when he gets a phone call from his son (Jonathan Silverman) that he's getting married and wants his dad to come to California for the wedding. Of course, Oscar is shell-shocked when he learns his son is marrying Hannah Unger (Lisa Waltz), the daughter of his former roommate, Felix Unger (Lemmon), the neat freak he threw out of his apartment thirty years ago and hasn't seen in 17 years.
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It's hard saying this now since Lemmon, Matthau, and Simon are all gone now, but this sadly desperate attempt to continue a story that really had nowhere else to go was just painful to watch. If you can get past the contrivance of Oscar's son meeting and falling in love with Felix's daughter, it's nearly impossible to get past the outrageous physical comedy that takes place during the course of this ridiculous road trip that both of these actors were clearly too old for.
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Simon still proves to have an affinity for the one-liner and director Howard Deutch (Pretty in Pink) shows a flair for staging slapstick comedy, but this is the kind of story that just didn't work for actors as "mature" as Lemmon and Matthau were at this time. Matthau, in particular, looks so frail and unhealthy in this film, it seems like a minor miracle that he was able to complete the film. Those familiar with the original film will also notice Simon's half-assed rehashing of scenes from the original film, like the poker paying opening, Felix trying to clear his sinuses in the middle of a crowded restaurant and even a rehashing of their date with the Peigon Sisters, who have now become a pair of biker babes, played by Christine Baranski and Jean Smart.
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Lemmon and Matthau work as hard as they can to make this mess viable entertainment, but it's obvious they know how lame the material is as well. Baranski and Smart are very funny, as are Alice Ghostley, Florence Stanley, and Rebecca Schull as Oscar's poker playing buddies, but they aren't enough to keep this film watchable. Lemmon and Matthau deserved better than this. 1.5

Gideon58

11-05-20, 05:08 PM

Heathers
Long before Tine Fey created Mean Girls, movie audiences were introduced to Heathers, a dark and mean-spirited black comedy that takes an on-target, if often unflattering, look at the war for high school popularity, but gets a lot uglier than the viewer expects it to.
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Veronica is an intelligent and vivacious high school student who wants to change her good girl image by becoming part of the school's #1 clique, the Heathers, a bitchy trio of girls, who all happen to be named Heather, who rule the school with vicious pranks and a general disdain of the entire student body. Veronica has had enough of the Heathers, but feels trapped until she meets a moody young James Dean-type, appropriately named JD, who actually convinces Veronica that the only way to get away from the Heathers is to rid the school of them...permanently.
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Screenwriter Daniel Waters (Batman Returns) has crafted a multi-layered story that starts off as a bitingly funny look at what teenagers go through in high school for the sake of popularity, but sends some really squirm-worthy messages along the way. There is a degree of discomfort with any story that suggests that murder is a way out of being ostracized in high school. The way that JD seems to enjoy what he and Veronica are doing and the way Veronica is so easily manipulated by him are also squirm-worthy. On the other hand, there's no denying that Water's dialogue is surprisingly smart and funny. Love the scene where Veronica and JD are constructing Heather's suicide note.
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The other troublesome element of this story is actually rooted in the film's backstory. It's never made clear why it's so important to Veronica to be part of The Heathers. From their first moments onscreen together, it is clear that Veronica is morally repulsed by everything that the Heathers stand for, but for some reason doesn't hesitate to do their bidding. Nothing that happens in the course of this story would have happened if Veronica had just walked away from the Heathers and we're never really told why she doesn't.
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All this in mind, the movie still provides uneasy entertainment, mounted with care by director Michael Lehrman and a pair of terrific movie-star performances by Winona Ryder as Veronica and Christian Slater as JD. Film editing and art direction are to be applauded as well and aid making this film viable, if slightly troubling entertainment. Re-thought as a TV series in 2018. 3.5

Tugg

11-05-20, 10:13 PM

Heathers
Screenwriter Daniel Waters (Batman Returns)
Heathers is one of my favourite movies as is Batman Returns. Interesting to know they have the same screenwriter.

Gideon58

11-06-20, 10:48 PM

Predator
The action and horror genres blend to startling effect in 1987's Predator an eye-popping action thriller that may not answer all of the questions it poses, but it does keep the viewer on the edge of their seat with a story that provides tons of action for the action fans and huge doses of Hitchcock-like suspense for the horror fans.
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Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as Dutch, a special ops soldier who is asked to assist CIA operative Al Dillon (Carl Weathers) in a rescue mission involving a downed helicopter in the jungles of South America. Dutch and Dillon learn they have been sent there under false pretenses, but this is the least of their problems as they and their team find the real danger in their mission is coming from a seemingly invisible creature not of this world.
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Screenwriters Jim and Jon Thomas really score here with a story that starts off as your typical action film and moves into a direction we don't see coming at all. They are also to be applauded for not playing all their cards at once. This creature that is wreaking havoc on a seemingly ordinary military mission is only seen through the eyes of the viewer for almost two thirds of the film. Unerring suspense is created as we wait and wonder when the troops are going to be privy to what we've been privy to. It's so smart that the first visualization of this creature is mere shadowy outlines that reminded me of the "liquid metal" in Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
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This larger than life adventure is given a real human touch as we see each soldier's individual encounter with this creature and their complete inability to describe what they're dealing with. They don't know exactly what they're dealing with but it's terrifying and a little heartbreaking when they realize the fight is futile, though they give it their best shot trying to fight what is basically an invisible enemy...a monstrous, terrifying invisible enemy.
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Fortunately, this fusing of two movie genres was put in the hands of a capable director. John McTiernan, who directed the best action movie ever (Die Hard) not only provides eye popping action sequences with the aid of an Oscar nominated visual effects team, but creates quiet moments of nail-biting suspense waiting for this creature to strike that rivals some of Hitchcock and DePalma's best work. Alan Silvestri's appropriately jumpy music was the perfect frame for an out of this world adventure that had me holding my breath and jumping out of my seat. Remade in 2017. 4

Gideon58

11-07-20, 08:37 PM

Dope (2015)
Despite a slightly confusing screenplay, the 2015 comedy Dope is an undeniably stylish re-thinking of the teen angst comedies of the 80's and 90's that provides solid entertainment as long as the viewer remembers that they're watching a movie and nothing that happens here would ever happen in real life.
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Set in "The Bottoms", a turbulent neighborhood in contemporary Inglewood, California, this is the story of Malcolm, a geeky and intelligent high school student who loves MTV Raps and Will Smith. Malcolm finds his life turned upside down when he and his BFFs Diggy and Jib get invited to an underground party where a violent gun battle breaks out. The next morning, Malcolm finds a large cache of drugs and a gun in his backpack which was left behind the bar.
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Director and screenwriter Rick Famuyiwa has mounted an intelligent and winning story that is based on reality but the reality of Malcolm's predicament is only the blueprint for a truly unconventional cinematic trip that makes jarring and unexpected jumps from fantasy to reality and based them around a completely likable central character, whose brains and sensitivity bring to mind movie characters like Ferris Bueller and Farmer Ted in Sixteen Candles, but because he's black, the character evokes more empathy from the viewer than those white movie kids from the 80's.
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Despite the likability of this central character, this film goes in so many outrageous directions that it's hard to accept that what happens to Malcolm could actually happen in real life. To be more specific, Malcolm really shouldn't have come out of this story in one piece. This is one of those movies that requires the viewer to put their brain in check and just let the events of the story roll over them. This is also one of the few films I have seen where I really enjoyed the narration...smart, funny, non-intrusive and helped to fill in story holes and speed exposition. I liked the way Famuyiwa's story would move to a certain point where questions arise for the viewer, and then go back and explain them.
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The film features some imaginative camerawork and solid editing that greatly assist in the acceptance of the fantasy elements of the story, some of which we don't realize are fantasy until they are over. Shameik Moore, who three years later would provide the voice of Miles in Spider Man: Into the Spider Verse gives a star-making performance as Malcolm and Tony Revelori, so wonderful as the bell boy in The Grand Budapest Hotel is terrific as Jib. The film requires complete attention, which doesn't always completely pay off, but I found myself really caring about this kid Malcolm, which seemed to be the primary purpose of this offbeat comedy. 3.5

Gideon58

11-10-20, 09:32 PM

Bob Roberts
The insanity of the 2020 presidential election motivated me to check out Bob Roberts, the scathing 1992 cinematic rendering of Tim Robbins' political conscience that provided riveting and squirm-worthy entertainment thanks to razor sharp direction, a balanced and intelligent screenplay, and some serious star power committed to bringing this surprisingly realistic story to fruition.
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Oscar winner Robbins wrote, directed, and starred in this biting satire about a folk singer who uses his popularity as a recording artist to launch a campaign for a seat in the United States senate. Shot in the form of a documentary, the film chronicles Bob trying to bring his folksy right-wing policies to the forefront of voters while trying to hide from a radical who has uncovered Roberts' possible involvement in an S&L scandal that could destroy Bob's shot at a senate seat.
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Robbins really knocks it out of the park here and after what we've been through this year in politics, has suddenly become more timely than ever. The "mockumentary" is a sub genre of film that most associate with Christopher Guest, but Robbins takes it to a whole new, more realistic level here. And he actually does it in a completely fictional context without naming any names and protecting the innocent. As a matter of fact, I was amazed that Robbins' screenplay never utilizes the words "republican" or "democrat". Whether this was a way to spread blame equally for the political climate in 1992 or just a way to cover Robbins' ass, who knows for sure. Some might think the screenwriter is a little overprotective of its star, but that's for the individual viewer to decide.
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Robbins' direction is a crucial element to the success of this film, featuring some brilliant camerawork, with Oscar-worthy use of the steady cam that keeps the viewer inside the campaign while simultaneously keeping the characters onscreen aware that they are in the middle of a documentary being shot by someone named Terry Manchester (Brian Murray). There are several moments behind the scenes where Bob is with his staff and we see them sneaking peeks at the camera that ring true, as well as several moments where staffers demand that the cameras stop rolling. The fact that there was only one moment in the film where Roberts asked them to turn the camera off was impressive.
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Robbins also impresses with his musical talent, allowing his character to sing several songs that were also written by Robbins and his brother, including "Complain" , "Retake America", "I'm a Bleeding Heart", and "Wall Street Rap."
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Even with all the hats he was wearing here, Robbins still manages to turn in a charismatic performance as the title character and has a solid supporting cast behind him. Alan Rickman and Ray Wise are superb as Robert' top staffers and James Spader, Peter Gallagher, Helen Hunt, and Robbins' real life girlfriend at the time, Susan Sarandon also appear as news anchors. There's also a kinetic turn from Giancarlo Esposito as the radical trying to bring Roberts down. And if you don't blink, you'll also catch glimpses of John Cusack, Kathleen Chalfant, Harry Lennix, and Jack Black along the way. Legendary writer Gore Vidal also impresses as Roberts' greasy opponent. Tim Robbins utilized solid skills as a filmmaker to bring his political voice to the screen. 4

Citizen Rules

11-11-20, 04:56 PM

I'll Cry Tomorrow
An explosive, Oscar-nominated performance by Susan Hayward makes the 1955 melodrama I'll Cry Tomorrow worth a look.

This alleged biopic of singer and Broadway star Lillian Roth opens with a glance at her childhood, a shy young girl pushed into show business by an aggressive stage mother (Jo Van Fleet) who has decided that her little girl is going to be a star whether she wants to. Lillian does become a star but her personal life is a mess, courtesy of alcoholism and some really miserable luck with men.
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Director Daniel Mann and screenwriters Helen Deutsch and Jay Richard Kennedy have concocted what is allegedly a biography of a great movie star, but is really a highly stylized melodrama and commercial for Alcoholics Anonymous. This is another one of those biopics, like Funny Girl, which pretty much throws the facts aside for the sake of entertainment and on that level, this totally works, but if you're really interested in learning about the life of Lillian Roth, this is not the place to look.

However, if you're looking for a stylish, old-fashioned melodrama with a melodrama experts behind and in front of the camera, no need to look further. Mann's direction is a little heavy-handed and the horrors of alcoholism are driven home with a sledgehammer, but there are some pretty accurate messages about the disease that ring quite true. There's a scene in a hotel room where a drunken Lillian, unable to stop drinking, decides to jump out a window but can't do it. This is the core of what drives most alcoholics to seek help...to paraphrase Jerome Kern, they're "tired of livin' and scared of dyin."

Susan Hayward received her fourth Oscar nomination for her powerhouse performance in the starring role, a melodramatic tour-de-force that riveted this reviewer to the screen, despite Mann's overheated concept of alcoholism. Richard Conte was impressive as an abusive con man who Lillian marries and Eddie Albert scores as the man who helps Lillian get sober and this does bring up one minor nitpick with the film's depiction of AA: We learn that Eddie Albert's character, Bert, becomes Lillian's sponsor, but IRL AA, men only sponsor men and women only sponsor women, but I let it go. It's concept of alcoholism as a disease is over-the top, as is Alex North's music, but Hayward is divine and will keep you watching. And yes, Hayward does her own singing. rating_3I just seen this last night, thought it was pretty great. Susan Hayward was a bit over the top at times but that only added to the fun. Her character reminded me of her role in Valley of the Dolls. I was surprised to learn she did her singing, pretty good too. Everyone was pretty good in this, the stand out for me was Jo Van Fleet. There were moments were Van Fleet really was insider her character.

Gideon58

11-11-20, 05:53 PM

Oh this movie is right up your alley, Citizen. glad you enjoyed it.

Citizen Rules

11-11-20, 06:14 PM

Oh this movie is right up your alley, Citizen. glad you enjoyed it.I'm on a Susan Hayward kick. The other night I watched her in Cecil B. DeMille's Reap the Wild Wind (1942) & The Forest Rangers (1942) which turned out to be surprisingly fun. Tonight I'm watching Susan in Smash-Up The Story of a Woman (1947)

Have you seen her in much else? Any recommendations?

Gideon58

11-11-20, 06:28 PM

I would also recommend My Foolish Heart, With a Song in My Heart, Adam had Four Sons, I Married a Witch, Ada, Stolen Hours, and of course, her Oscar winning performance in I Want to Live.

Citizen Rules

11-11-20, 08:35 PM

I would also recommend My Foolish Heart, With a Song in My Heart, Adam had Four Sons, I Married a Witch, Ada, Stolen Hours, and of course, her Oscar winning performance in I Want to Live.Thanks!

Wyldesyde19

11-11-20, 11:05 PM

I'm on a Susan Hayward kick. The other night I watched her in Cecil B. DeMille's Reap the Wild Wind (1942) & The Forest Rangers (1942) which turned out to be surprisingly fun. Tonight I'm watching Susan in Smash-Up The Story of a Woman (1947)

Have you seen her in much else? Any recommendations?
I liked Smash Up! When I watched it a few months ago. Decent performance.

Gideon58

11-14-20, 07:48 PM

The Bourne Supremacy
Jason Bourne returns for a second round of international cat and mouse in 2004's The Bourne Supremacy, where Jason's memory begins to return, putting him in even more danger than he was in The Bourne Identity.
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As this sequel to the 2002 film opens, Jason (Matt Damon) and his girlfriend, Marie (Franka Portente), who bailed him out in the first film, are now living underground and always looking over their shoulder. Unfortunately, bits and pieces of his memory return at the same time the CIA is trying to cover up their mishandling of Jason's original mission.
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Tony Gilroy's screenplay is overly complex, taking place at glamorous international locations that seem to change with every scene and requiring a scorecard to keep track of all these people planning to take out our hero. Not only do we have what appears to be two different factions of the CIA wanting to get Jason, but there's also a Russian assassin who has been paid handsomely to kill Bourne as well. The real basis of this sequel is revealed as the viewer learns that it's not so much what Bourne did on his bungled assignment that left him with amnesia at the end of the first film
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What I loved that director Paul Greengrass (Flight 93)) did with this story is that he delivers the kind of action that is expected from a story like this, but does it in varying ways that keep the story fresh and exciting. We have a car chase through the streets of Berlin that's a real nail-biter, we also have a one on one battle between Jason and the Russian hitman that's just as exciting. It was also interesting watching Jason trying to adjust life being on the run. He doesn't see things as normal people see them, everyone and everything is a threat. Loved the scene near the beginning where Jason thinks he's being followed and explains to Maria, "It's the way he walks, the way he dresses...it just wrong."
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Greengrass employs first rate production values to the film including Oscar-worthy film editing , cinematography, and sound. Matt Damon once again brings the dark and brooding Bourne to life and gets solid support from Brian Cox and Joan Allen as the cats in this elaborate cat and mouse adventure. Though the set-up of the sequel is kind of obvious, but we do get some closure as Jason Bourne actually learns his real name. Another sequel that stands up proudly to the original, followed by The Bourne Ultimatum. 4

Gideon58

11-16-20, 10:01 PM

Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman
A gutsy and stylish performance from Susan Hayward that earned the actress her first Oscar nomination for Best Actress is the anchor of 1947's Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman, a melodramatic look at the horrors of alcoholism that, despite a problematic screenplay, holds up a lot better than 1945's Best Picture, The Lost Weekend.
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Hayward plays Angie Evans, a successful nightclub singer who has a whirlwind romance with a struggling singer/songwriter named Ken Conway. They marry and have a baby and Angie quietly settles into domesticity. Unfortunately, as Ken's career begins to take off, Angie feels like she's being left behind and finds her only solace in alcohol.
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John Howard Larson's screenplay takes a much more realistic look at the disease of alcoholism than The Lost Weekend did. There are no scenes of Angie walking into liquor stores and just taking bottles or lying in her bedroom having hallucination of bats flying around the room. Her taste for alcohol is established in the opening scenes, but there's a gap in the story that doesn't makes sense. After she and Ken have their baby, Angie seems blissfully happy and has forgotten about the career she left behind. Then all of a sudden, she's jealous of Ken's success and drinking all the time, bewildering Ken, scaring his attractive assistant, Martha and neglecting her child. We never see how she went to blisfully happy to a miserable drunk.
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Even though the screenplay never uses the words "alcoholism" or "alcoholic", a couple of effective messages about the disease do make their way into the story. A doctor does tell Angie that she can't get better until she admits that she has a problem. On the other hand, people keep telling Angie that she has to stop drinking if she wants to hold on to Ken and her baby. It's well-known that an alcoholic can only get better if he/she does it for themselves, not anyone else and that message does get a little lost here.
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The problems with the screenplay are forgiven thanks to Hayward's superb performance in the starring role that helps the viewer forgive the fallacies in the screenplay. Lee Bowman was rather bland as Ken, but I did love Eddie Albert as Ken's songwriting partner, Steve, and the elegant Marsha Hunt as Martha, but after ten years of making movies, this is the one that put Hayward on the map and it is her performance that makes this one work. Hayward lost the Oscar to Loretta Young for The Farmer's Daughter, but according to the IMDB, Young admitted many years later that she voted for Hayward and it's easy to see why. 3.5

Citizen Rules

11-17-20, 03:37 PM

Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman

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Lee Bowman was rather bland as Ken, but I did love Eddie Albert as Ken's songwriting partner, Steve, and the elegant Marsha Hunt as Martha, but after ten years of making movies, this is the one that put Hayward on the map... rating_3_5Nice review and I love that still promo photo for the movie. I didn't care for Lee Bowman much either, but I thought Marsha Hunt was perfect as the other woman who's also misunderstood.

Gideon58

11-17-20, 03:40 PM

Citizen Rules

11-17-20, 04:12 PM

I don't know if Marsha Hunt's character was misunderstood...she admitted near the end of the movie that she did have feelings for Ken, but she never actually acted on them. she was only misunderstood by Angie.Yeah that's what I meant. Angie thought Marsha Hunt's character was having an affair but it wasn't true. Even her husband didn't know his secretary's true feelings for him.

Gideon58

11-17-20, 04:16 PM

Yeah, he didn't...Ken was kind of a dim bulb.

Wyldesyde19

11-17-20, 04:55 PM

Smash Up! Is a good film. Early look at alcoholism.

Citizen Rules

11-17-20, 05:14 PM

Smash Up! Is a good film. Early look at alcoholism.Another good alcoholism film with Susan Hayward is I'll Cry Tomorrow (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048191/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_17) I just seen it a few days ago. I'm on a Susan Hayward kick:p

Wyldesyde19

11-17-20, 07:14 PM

Another good alcoholism film with Susan Hayward is I'll Cry Tomorrow (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048191/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_17) I just seen it a few days ago. I'm on a Susan Hayward kick:p
Heard of it, I’ll have to look into that one.
It’s interesting to read that the story is allegedly based off of Bing Crosby’s ex wife Dixie Lee

Citizen Rules

11-17-20, 07:39 PM

Heard of it, I’ll have to look into that one.
It’s interesting to read that the story is allegedly based off of Bing Crosby’s ex wife Dixie LeeIt bookmarks well with Smash Up. There's another Susan Hayward film where she's hooked on pills. Poor lady was always playing the down & out parts...but she did it with gusto!

Gideon58

11-18-20, 09:45 PM

E.T. The Extra Terrestrial
Steven Spielberg created the ultimate cinematic fairy tale with 1982's E.T.: The Terrestrial, a magical and mysterious story of childhood, imagination, and friendship that begins in a somewhat realistic vein but smoothly morphs into the most enchanting melding of science fiction and children's entertainment ever.
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The very simple story follows a little boy named Elliott who meets a friendly alien in the woods and after befriending him, makes it his mission sure this alien gets back to wherever he came from. And it's not this very simple story, but the way this very simple story unfolds before the viewer.
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I've taken a lot of flack over the years for never having seen this film and, honestly, I was actually glad that there have been a few decades between this film's release and the first time I actually watched it. The immense hype behind this film notwithstanding, I still found myself completely enraptured with this film, experiencing every emotion there is. Melissa Mathieson's Oscar-nominated screenplay is a simple story told on a grand scale made completely relatable to viewers of all ages. And with cinema's greatest storyteller providing the visuals, there's no way this story could not be the incredible influence on moviemaking that it has become.
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It's the little moments in the story that resonated with me...Elliott luring ET home with Reese's Pieces, Gertie's reaction to meeting ET for the first time, ET washed up on the rocks struggling to breathe, and the physiological connection between Elliott and ET. Love when ET drinks a Coors and Elliott gets drunk. Loved that ET only connected with children and all of the adults in the story were the bad guys, even Elliott's mom. The final act is a bit confusing when all those nasty adults show up and quarantine Elliott's house in order to save the creature, but I just wanted all these mean scientists to just leave Elliott and ET alone. I loved learning in the 2019 documentary Spielberg that it was his parents' divorce that inspired this magical movie.
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This film won four richly deserved Oscars for visual effects, sound, sound effects editing, and John Williams' lush music, but I think Spielberg was seriously robbed of the Best Director Oscar. I used to think Close Encounters was his masterpiece, but I might be wrong. Dee Wallace brings an effectively ditzy quality to the mom and Henry Thomas lights up the screen as Elliott. For once, a cinema classic that absolutely lived up to its hype. I honestly wanted to find something wrong with this movie, but I couldn't.5

SpelingError

11-18-20, 10:33 PM

There's a handful of Spielberg films I prefer over this one, but I still like this one quite a bit and I'd definitely put this near/at the top of his second tier films. Nice write-up of it!

Gideon58

11-19-20, 08:52 PM

A Walk Among the Tombstones
An intriguing title and Liam Neesom as the star were the original draws for 2014's A Walk Among the Tombstones, a moody and layered action thriller anchored in a surprisingly meaty story that sustains viewer interest despite a pretentious finale that goes on a little longer than necessary.
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Matthew Scudder is an ex-cop turned private detective, who has been sober for eight years, who gets hired by a wealthy drug kingpin named Kenny Kristo to the find the two guys who kidnapped and murdered his wife. As Scudder reluctantly begins his investigation, the scope of the case unexpectedly widens as a connection is revealed between Kenny's case, a murder/kidnapping that occurred when Scudder was still drinking, and another kidnapping involving a business associate of Kristo's.
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Director and screenwriter Scott Frank (Minority Report, Out of Sight) has taken Lawrence Block's novel and fashioned it into a multi-layered murder mystery that is told out of sequence requiring complete attention from the viewer. The story seems to spend a little too much time setting up the fact that Scudder is an alcoholic, but as the other puzzle pieces come into focus, we see why. The set-up of the story is clearly inspired by Quentin Tarantino's Oscar-winning screenplay for Pulp Fiction, which is clearly no coincidence since this film was produced by three of that film's producers, including Danny DeVito.
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Frank's direction is as solid as his screenplay, featuring a lot of artsy camerawork that creates a lot of memorable cinematic pictures. There's a scene of Scudder's young associate, TJ, being beaten by some thugs that instead of closing in on the action, is shot from overhead. The tracking shot is used to maximum effect every time we see someone shadowing Scudder. Loved the way Scudder could always sense when he was being followed without looking behind him.
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The film also has a nice period feel, even though the film is set in the year 1999. There are several scenes of people talking on pay phones throughout the film, something I had forgotten are a thing of the past. There's actually a scene with Scudder on a pay phone where the call is interrupted by an operator asking for more money! There is also a scene in a library where Scudder is actually observed researching the case utilizing microfiche. I hadn't seen that in so long that it took me a minute to think of the word microfiche.
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Liam Neesom brings the same quiet intensity to Matthew Scudder that he did to Bryan Mills in the Taken franchise, even if Scudder is a little more old school than Mills. Solid support is provided by Dan Stevens as Kenny Kristo, Boyd Holbrook as his junkie younger brother, and David Harbour, in one of his slimiest turns as one of the kidnappers. The screenplay could have been tightened a little and the finale, which is narrated by a female voice reading the twelve steps of AA is a little pretentious, but it's a solid little action thriller. 3.5

Gideon58

11-20-20, 06:06 PM

Louis CK 2017
As usual, Louis CK had me doubled over with laughter with another brilliantly written evening of stand-up called Louis CK 2017, a live performance from Washington DC.
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Louis covers a myriad of topics here, a few of which are well-worn stand-up territory and other topics I have never heard broached in stand-up. The well-worn topics have a freshness because of Louis' writing. Listening closely to the material, it's obvious that Louis is an expert wordsmith whose skill with a story begins with the composing of every story and every routine that ends up in front of an audience. Once the words are in place, it is then and only then that Louis applies his acting technique and comic timing to the words so that everything he's doing appears to be completely spontaneous.
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His opening diatribe on abortion appears spontaneous because he cleverly begins the routine in the middle of a sentence. The spontaneous quality of what he's talking about easily fools the audience because he takes an edgy topic like abortion and, instead of taking sides, presents both sides of the issue evenly and equally as funny. He doesn't take a stand, he doesn't force his audience to either, and still gets the laughs that he is looking for. He also has an innate sense of when it's time to rein in one routine and move onto another.
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His transitions are a little abrupt at time because he makes sure his audience is with him before he moves on. He also has a keen sense of things that he's going to say that will spark a vocal reaction from the audience or applause and, to everyone's surprise, will put a kibosh on it, because he knows that they may not like what's coming behind it. He scores here when he begins a routine about the noble profession of teaching which goes nowhere expected.
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Louis is also known for taking on some forms of technology in his shows and in this one, we get a brilliant little routine about the difference between a text fight and an email fight, which was frighteningly accurate. Like most comics, Louis talks about his kids, but it leads into another unexpected story of what happened when he decided to get his kids a dog.
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The strongest parts of the show were the story of an elderly couple named Richard and Rose and Louis' surprising cosmic connection to the movie Magic Mike, featuring a very funny impression of Matthew McConaughey that Louis admits to being very proud of. Another roll-on-the-floor funny evening of stand-up from one of its brightest lights. 4.5

Gideon58

11-20-20, 09:50 PM

Come Fill the Cup
Alcoholism is not an uncommon subject for films, but so many of them send inaccurate messages about the disease or sacrifice the realities of the disease in favor of entertainment. A powerhouse melodrama from 1951 called Come Fill the Cup is a superior look at the disease, thanks to a solid screenplay based in the realities of alcoholism and a pair of 100-megawatt performances from James Cagney and Gig Young.
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Cagney plays Lew March, a newspaper reporter who lost his job after a five day bender but eventually gets sober. After six years of sobriety, March is tapped by his boss, John Ives (Raymond Massey) to help Ives' nephew, Boyd (Young), a talented musician, get sober.
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If the truth be told, the real star of this film is a near brilliant screenplay by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts that nails a lot of the realities of alcoholism that films like The Lost Weekend, Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman, and even Days of Wine and Roses don't. Primarily, the fact that an alcoholic is not going to stop drinking until he hits a bottom, which is different for each drinker. And more importantly, that there is no cure for alcoholism. Just because someone stops drinking, he doesn't stop being an alcoholic. This screenplay also makes it clear that one drunk cannot stop another drunk from drinking, but on the flip side of that coin, the best way for a sober drunk to stay sober is to help another drunk through sharing his own experience. All the myths regarding the disease are represented through the John Ives character, who is clueless about how to help his nephew, thinking he can throw money at the problem.
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The screenplay begins with one of the most perfectly executed pieces of exposition I've seen in a movie on the subject. We see March return to his job after his bender to find his desk cleaned off and then decide to drown his sorrows, then flashing back to his first visit to the same bar. Most movie exposition goes on too long or is inefficient, but the screentime devoted to exposition here is on the money.
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The film is shot on a shoestring budget in simple black and white and other minimal production values. However, as what often occurs in a story this powerful, the minimal attention to production enhances the power of the story. James Cagney's performance is effectively reined in and Gig Young's flashy performance as Boyd earned him the first of his three Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor (he would have to wait 19 years to actually nab the statuette for They Shoot Horses Don't They). James Gleason is wonderful as Lew's sponsor Charley and there are brief appearances from Sheldon Leonard doing his patented gangster turn and Kathleen Freeman as a switchboard operator. This film seemed to get lost in the cinematic shuffle because it was released during what was probably the second most important year in movie history, but it definitely deserves more attention than it's received. 4

Gideon58

11-23-20, 09:41 PM

Set It Up
2018's Set it Up is an overly cute and predictable romantic comedy that tests viewer patience primarily because the secondary leads are a lot more interesting than the primary ones.
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Harper (Zoey Deutch) and Charlie (Glen Powell) both work as personal assistants to high-powered executives in Manhattan. After their initial meet cute, they decide the way to relieve a lot of the stress in their jobs would be to set their bosses up with each other, since they work in the same building. As their elaborate plan to get Charlie's boss, Rick (Taye Diggs) and Harper's boss Kirsten (Lucy Liu) slowly comes to fruition, Charlie and Harper don't even see themselves falling for each other.
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Katie Silberman's screenplay does take some accurate potshots at New Millenium yuppie-dom, but there are just a few too many players on this rom-com chessboard that pull focus from the primary story. Not only do Charlie and Harper have their own romances to extricate themselves from, but Rick has an ex-wife who he still has unresolved feeling for. There's a scene near the beginning of the film where it looks like Charlie and his girlfriend are breaking up, but twenty minutes later, the girlfriend is still clinging onto Charlie and we're wondering if Harper is ever going to fit in.
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The other problem here is this film , on the surface, supposed to be about the romance between Charlie and Harper, but we never really buy Charlie and Harper as a star-crossed romance. On the other hand, the manufactured romance between Rick and Kirsten is so much fun; unfortunately, they only have half the screentime that Charlie and Harper have. This film would have been a lot more fun if it had been about Rick and Kirsten, but the point of the story is that the romance is manipulated by their assistants who fall in love, but we never really care about the relationship between the assistants.
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Director Claire Scanlon, whose primary directing experience has been in television, doesn't put a lot of imagination into the presentation other than effective on-location photography in Manhattan. Glen Powell, who has been doing supporting roles for awhile, including his memorable John Glenn in Hidden Figures is terrific as Charlie but has zero chemistry with Deutch, who seems to be trying to channel Jennifer Aniston in her interpretation of Harper. I did LOVE Taye DIggs and Lucy Liu and this film could have been great if it had been centered around their characters. Pete Davidson is wasted in a small thankless role as Charlie's gay roommate. The film gives us two romances, but only one really works and the rushing-to-the-airport finale that we saw in every 19890's rom-com was the cinematic straw that broke the camel's back. 2.5

Gideon58

11-25-20, 10:40 PM

Running with Scissors
Ryan Murphy took on musical teen angst on the FOX series Glee, the AIDS crisis in the HBO movie The Normal Heart, and the legendary rivalry between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford in Feud. Murphy really took a lot of risks that don't always pay off when he decided to tackle family dysfunction and mental health with 2006's Running with Scissors, a cinematic acid trip that, despite its all-over-the-place screenplay, still riveted this reviewer to the screen thanks to kinetic direction and some dazzling performances by a wonderful ensemble cast.
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It's 1972 when we are introduced to Deirdre Burroughs (Annette Bening), a mentally unstable writer whose manipulative therapist, Dr. Finch (Brian Cox) convinces her that the answer to her problems is to divorce her husband, Norman (Alec Baldwin) and to allow her teenage son Augustin (Joseph Cross) to move into his home with his wife, Agnes (the late Jill Clayburgh), a human vegetable who watches Dark Shadows and eats dog food; his sexually repressed daughter, Hope (Gwyneth Paltrow) and his bitchy younger daughter, Natalie (Evan Rachel Wood). There's also a schizophrenic homosexual patient of his named Bookman (Joseph Feinnes) who falls in love with Augustin and a young lesbian (Gabrielle Union) who Dr. Finch forces on Deirdre.
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Honestly, the beginning of this film totally works, establishing the very special relationship between Deirdre and Augustin. We see Deirdre calling the school so Augustin doesn't have to go, but he is telling her what to say. A perfect springboard for an unconventional look at a mother and son relationship and we are distressed when these two are ripped apart. The story then suddenly stops being about this mother and son, and suddenly becomes about the evil Dr. Finch and his complete control over his family and his patients and just as we becomes repulsed by his personal and professional demeanors, the story suddenly becomes about Deirdre and her son again. Murphy seems to be torn between two different stories he wants to tell.
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The characterizations and events that occur during the course of the story will definitely ring familiar with fans of Tennessee Williams and Edward Albee, but the story goes in so many bizarre directions that the viewer thinks they have no choice but to wait for an "And then I woke up" scene, which actually does come, but disappears as quickly as it comes, returning back to the acid trip we've been treated to thus far. Murphy's in your face direction, Byron Smith's editing and the terrific 1970's song score demand viewer attention, though the 70's setting pretty becomes irrelevant as the movie rolls across the screen.
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Annette Bening does a brilliantly theatrical, Oscar-worthy turn as the nut case Deirdre, losing herself in a cinematic melding of Blanche Dubois and Martha in Virginia Woolf and gets first rate support from Joseph Cross as Augustin, Joseph Feinnes, and the luminous Evan Rachel Wood as Natalie, another role where her huge soulful eyes totally work to her advantage. If Murphy had reined in his screenplay a little bit, this really could have worked, but I couldn't take my eyes off the screen and never checked my watch. 3

Gideon58

11-27-20, 09:53 PM

Million Dollar Mermaid
MGM poured big money into their 1952 biopic of Annette Kellerman called Million Dollar Mermaid, but it's still one of the lesser Esther Williams aquatic spectacles due to lackluster performance from the leading lady and lethargic direction that makes the movie move at a snail's pace.
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Annette Kellerman was born right before the turn of the century and overcame polio as a child to become a world renowned swimming champion, even though her father wanted her to become a ballet dancer (at least according to this film). She eventually becomes the star of her own water ballets at the famed vaudeville theater, the Hippodrome. Before that she caused an international sensation as the first woman to wear a one-piece bathing suit that actually exposed her legs (horrors!).
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Built around the sketchy facts of Kellerman's life is a fictional romance built around Kellerman, a circus owner named Jimmy Sullivan (Victor Mature), who adored Annette but couldn't stand it when she became a bigger star than he did and Alfred Harper (David Brian), the owner of the Hippodrome who loved Annette madly but was in denial regarding the fact that she was still in love with Jimmy and always would be.
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Kellerman's real life was basically used as a blueprint to mount another huge musical for Esther Williams, featuring a melodramatic screenplay by Everett Freeman that clearly plays fast and loose with the real Kellerman's life. Kellerman's life just became the framework for another over-the-top Esther Williams aquatic spectacle and there's no arguing that the water ballets in the film are nothing less than dazzling, thanks to Busby Berkley at the helm. Film purists will find it ridiculous that these huge water spectaculars could actually be mounted on a proscenium stage which the director gives away more than once, showing the water shooting all over the edge of the audience and making it clear that there's no possible way these ballets could have fit on the stage of this hippodrome.
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And speaking of the director, Mervyn LeRoy, who also directed the 1962 musical Gypsy really weighs this film down with heavy handed direction that makes a one hour and 50 minute film seem five hours long. This movie moved at a snail's pace, especially during the dry-docked scenes. When Busby Berkley's water ballets weren't commanding the screen, this movie became very labored and sustaining interest was a lot of work.
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Esther Williams also gives one of her weaker performances, which is kind of sad since she is portraying a real person. Further aggravation was provided by the screenplay constantly reminding us that Kellerman was Australian and neither Williams nor Walter Pidgeon, who played her father, make any attempt at sounding Australian. Victor Mature and David Brian were terrific leading men, and Jesse White was also very funny as Jimmy's sidekick. A little research on Kellerman revealed that she is a subject worthy of a real biopic, but for lovers of MGM musicals, it's passable entertainment, nothing more. 2.5

Gideon58

11-28-20, 09:34 PM

Dogville
Previous reviews I have written on film adaptations of stage plays have mentioned the phrase "photographed stage play" and how this is something that filmmakers need to avoid. Director and screenwriter Lars von Trier (Breaking the Waves) has taken the concept of the photographed stage play and turned it on its ear with a strikingly original work from 2003 called Dogville, an engrossing morality tale that builds slowly to a shocking and jaw-dropping climax; unfortunately, the build up takes way too long.
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The story is relatively simple on the surface. Grace is a woman on the run from the mob and finds herself in a small Colorado community called Dogville, who are initially reluctant to have her around due to the danger she might bring to their sheltered existence. They do eventually come to a meeting of the minds with Marian agreeing to be a laborer in return for the town's protection. However, things become strained when the town begins to take uncalled advantage of Marian and vice versa.
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The story is not really the thing here, but the way the story is presented. This film is actually presented in the form of a stage play, on a large proscenium stage with the homes and businesses of the characters delineated through outlines on the floor of the stage and minimal props and scenery. I actually loved the way the film opened...the opening shot of the film looks like a blueprint or a stage design for a theatrical production and as the camera begins to move, we realize it is an aerial shot from above the stage and we think we're seeing movement, which turns out to be the individual characters moving about their homes and businesses.
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I loved the way all the characters are onstage during the entire film and the camera follows certain characters when it needs to. I loved the actors pretending opening and closing doors and I also loved that the only automobiles in the story involved belonged to characters who were not Dogville citizens. The concept of all the characters always onscreen gave the story an intimacy that it might not have otherwise that was initially unsettling, but the viewer is able to settle into it eventually.
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The story takes a little too long setting up what is happening here and, if the truth be known, the time used for exposition is necessary, but the rest of the story could have had a little more forward movement because the wait between the middle of the story and the powerhouse climax was just way too long. This film ran close to three hours and I don't think it was necessary. It was hard to tell what period the film was set in, though the costumes and setting suggested the 1930's and the very pretentious narration by John Hurt was off-putting, trying to give the story an importance it really didn't deserve.
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The cast is first rate though...Nicole Kidman's quietly understated performance as Grace is riveting. Paul Bettany (so great as the villain in Firewall), Lauren Bacall, Ben Gazzara, Blair Brown, Patricia Clarkson, James Caan, Phillip Baker Hall, and Zeljko Ivanek also make the most of their screentime. von Trier gets a little full of himself around the halfway point but the finale almost redeems everything we've seen up to that point. 3.5

Gideon58

12-02-20, 09:55 PM

The Boys in the Band (2020)
Netflix scores with their remake of The Boys in the Band, a funny and emotionally charged filming of the 2018 Broadway revival of the Mart Crowley theatrical classic that has been lovingly updated for 2020, but not in the way I expected. The minimal updating respects the original piece without deleting any of its power.
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For those who never saw the 1970 film. the setting is 1968 Manhattan, where we are introduced to seven gay men who are getting ready to gather at Michael's apartment, who is throwing a birthday celebration for his friend, Harold. The party is disrupted by the arrival of Michael's college roommate, Alan, who is straight and believes Michael is straight. It is Michael's troubled reunion with Alan, coupled with a vicious party game Michael has planned, that set the groundwork for an evening where long buried feelings and resentments among the men that bubble to the surface.
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Mart Crowley's play premiered off-Broadway and first came to the screen in 1970, directed by Williams Friedkin, who would win an Oscar the following year for directing The French Connection. This piece originally shocked and repelled audiences back in the 70's because it was the first film where most of the characters were gay and many were portrayed by gay actors. It was an in your face look at homosexuality that had never been seen at the movies. As memorable as this film was, there were dated elements to the screenplay and this is why this is one of the few films that I have always wanted to see remade and updated for the 21st century, with an updating of some of the dialogue. There was an initial disappointment when it turned out that this remake still takes place in 1968 with 1968 settings and costumes, and after reconciling myself to that, I still found myself completely caught up in the motion of the piece.
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I love the piece because it reminds people that gays are people too who come in all shapes and sizes and they are not all flaming queens. One of the more interesting aspects of the story is Hank and Larry. Larry was married and left his wife and children to be with Hank, a guy who is repulsed by the idea of monogomy, The telephone game is a bit dated and I have to admit I wondered how different this game would have played in today's world of cell phones, but the bitchiness of this game still rings completely true and brings out the truly disgusting aspect of our host, Michael.
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Joe Mantello, who directed the HBO film The Normal Heart uses a beautifully sensitive camera eye to keep this story intimate and riveting. Jim Parsons works very hard at making the role of Michael his own, though I have to admit I kept picturing Matt Bomer in the role, who brings a lot more to the thankless role of Donald than is in the script. Andrew Rannells and Tuc Watkins were terrific as Hank and Larry, respectively and Robin deJesus stole every scene he had as the flamboyant Emory, as did Zachary Quinto, deliciously bitchy as the guest of honor Harold. Brian Hutchison was appropriately naive as Alan and I couldn't help but notice his uncanny resemblance to Peter White, who played Alan in the 1970 film.
Mantello has accomplished what I didn't think was possible...bringing a contemporary flavor to this story from the 1960's with minimal changes to the source material. Though I would only recommend it to fans of the original film. 4

Gideon58

12-07-20, 10:10 PM

After Hours (1985)
Martin Scorsese does a bizarre and completely different take on the midnight to dawn atmosphere her created in Taxi Driver with a 1985 cinematic nightmare called After Hours that has gained minor cult status over the years thanks to some striking directorial touches and a terrific ensemble cast.
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Paul Hackett is a mild mannered computer typist who meets a flaky woman named Marcy at a coffee shop who gives him her phone number. He calls her about 11:30 PM and she invites him to her loft in Soho. This is the beginning of a bizarre adventure that by the halfway point finds Marcy dead and half the population of Soho wanting Paul's blood, while all Paul wants is to get back to his own apartment on East 91st Street.
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Joseph Minion's screenplay is one of those logic-defying stories rich with eccentric characters that is easy to go along with as long as the viewer doesn't think about it too much. Sympathy is quickly established for Paul, but it's difficult to sustain because Paul makes a lot of dumb moves in this episodic nightmare. As each little episode in Paul's nightmare ends, he always seems to go back to the previous episode, which only gets him in deeper trouble and the silliest part is that he goes through all of this because he can't get subway money to get back home. If this reviewer had been Paul, he would have been walking back uptown.
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Scorsese's view of midnight to dawn is a little more antiseptic than the one he established in Taxi Driver, but what the midnight to dawn concept makes very clear here is that the crazies come out at night. Scorsese brings the point home with some odd camerawork, that is often off putting...there's a scene where Paul is on the phone and the camera actually stops on the receiver pressed against his ear...why?
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The cast does keep the viewer invested in what's happening. Griffin Dunne creates a perfect everyman in Paul Hackett. The ensemble cast that makes up Paul's nightmare, including Rosanna Arquette, John Heard, Linda Fiorentino, Teri Garr, Dick Miller, Cheech and Chong, and Catherine O'Hara is on the money. If you don't blink, you'll also catch brief appearances from Bronson Pinchot and the director. Not for all tastes, but there is entertainment value if you don't think about it too much. 3.5

Gideon58

12-09-20, 03:48 PM

Seven Pounds
The director and star of The Pursuit of Happyness followed that triumph with another winner called Seven Pounds, an ethereal and emotionally-charged cinematic examination of self-loathing, guilt, and redemption that rivets the viewer thanks to a beautifully constructed screenplay, sensitive direction, and a powerhouse performance from the star. Will do my best to review this very special film without spoilers.
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The 2008 melodrama stars Will Smith as Ben, who as he is introduced in the opening scene, is calling the police to report that he is about to commit suicide. The backstory that has brought Ben to this point is meticulously crafted as it is eventually revealed that several years ago, Ben caused a tragedy resulting in the death of seven people. The all-consuming guilt that has eaten him alive ever since has brought him to this phone call to the police, but not before completing a very special journey of redemption involving seven strangers that he has decided he must complete in order to rest in peace.
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The anchor of this unique motion picture experience is an Oscar-worthy screenplay by a television writer named Grant Nieporte, that mounts this out of sequence story with such ease of craftsmanship that the viewer is initially very confused, but simultaneously motivated to know exactly what's going on here. The screenplay is like a giant jigsaw puzzle where pieces are revealed in such varied forms and with such precise pacing, that the entire picture of what's going on here doesn't come clear to the viewer until about ten minutes before the closing credits. This is definitely one of those films that requires complete attention and if you miss five minutes of the film, confusion is guaranteed, but the reward for the attention pays off in spades.
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This anchor is beautifully brought to fruition by director Gabrielle Muccino, who provides loving detail to the unfolding of this remarkable story, sometimes testing viewer patience, but never challenging it. Every detail his directorial eye provides serves this remarkable story and, again, proves that with the right director guiding him, Will Smith is able to play someone other than Will Smith. Smith completely disappears inside this role, even more so than he did in The Pursuit of Happyness.
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The viewer is fascinated by the intensity and seriousness he brings to this mission, a mission that might be compromised by romantic feelings for one of the seven strangers, a woman dying of heart failure. Ben never takes his eye off the prize, but ramifications of what he's doing and his awareness of same do come to light in one particularly brilliant scene where Ben is confronted by his brother, whose job has been compromised by what Ben is doing and it's heartbreaking when, for the first time in the story, we watch Ben turn into a ten year old caught in the cookie jar. He's caught and he knows what he did was wrong, but is not deterred in his all-consuming mission. I have never enjoyed Will Smith onscreen more, an Oscar-worthy performance that punches the viewer in the gut.
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Smith gets solid support from Rosario Dawson, in the performance of her career as the dying woman, Woody Harrelson as a blind musician, Michael Ealy as Ben's brother, and Barry Pepper as his BFF. The film is exquisitely mounted featuring Oscar-worthy cinematography, film editing, and sound. Loved the offbeat music and song score too, including a sensational cover of the Anthony Newley-Leslie Bricusse song "Feeling Good" by Muse. This is a one of a kind motion picture experience that leaves the viewer emotionally spent and completely satisfied. 4.5

Gideon58

12-09-20, 09:44 PM

The First Traveling Saleslady
A sparkling performance by Ginger Rogers in the title role makes a 1956 comedy called The First Traveling Saleslady worth a look, despite its cliched characters and predictable battle of the sexes plot.
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This turn of the century comedy finds Rogers playing Rose Gillray, a businesswoman who is forced to give up her business selling corsets and sent by the barbed wire vendor who supplied wire for her corsets, to travel to Texas and start selling barbed wire. Rose's journey to corner the barbed wire business is provided serious interference from her former vendor, a wealthy Texas cattle baron named Joe Kingdom, and a charming young man named Charlie Masters who is journeying to California to sell the world on the first horseless carriage.
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The screenplay by Devery Freeman and Stephen Longstreet is an almost equal combination of ahead of its time feminism leanings and dated themes about the roles of men and women in the world. From her opening scenes, this Rose Gillray is established as a woman who wants to change the history of women, even if she's not completely sure of how to do it. She is aware that she has to do it by living in a man's world and having to compete on their level. On the flip side, all the men in the story are sexist pigs who think a woman's place in the home and have no intention doing actual business with a woman. I was amused .during an early scene where Charlie Masters looks flabbergasted when Rose asks him if she could drive his horseless carriage.
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Of course, the story sets up Rose as the smartest character in the movie, making her every hard to dislike but simultaneously wanting to wake her up to the fact that these three men would walk through fire for her...well two really, because Charlie sees what Rose really wants but still manages to make her somehow come after him. The big trial regarding the virtues of barbed wire at the end of the film is kind of silly, but the film does provide a surprising amount of chuckles up until then.
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Ginger Rogers once again proves what a gifted screen comedienne she was and a young Barry Nelson holds his own opposite her as the rakish Charlie Masters. James Arness is surprisingly effective in a rare film role as Joel Kingdom, before he settled into his TV role of Matt Dillon. Future Broadway legend Carol Channing is a scene-stealer as Rose's girlfriend Molly and stops the show with a musical number called "A Corset Does a Lot for a Lady." There's also a brief appearance by a tall, gangly actor named Clint Eastwood who plays Molly's love interest. It's predictable and often downright silly, but Rogers definitely makes it worth checking out. 3

Gideon58

12-14-20, 03:06 PM

John Wick 3 Parabellum
Keanu Reeves returns as the hitman who won't die in John Wick 3 Parabellum, another bloody and thunderous action adventure that finds our hero in danger at every turn, providing the violent and eye-popping action that we have come to expect from the franchise, but a slightly confusing detour into sci-fi fantasy during the final third of the film makes an unnecessary detour from the realism we have come to expect from this film series.
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As the 2019 adventure opens, Wick is once again on the run after killing a member of the International Assassins' Guild, an act that has put a $14 million dollar contract on his life, which motivates killers from all over the globe to get a piece of this sizable booty.
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Screenwriters Derek Kolstad and Shay Hatten have crafted a richly complex screenplay that respects the intelligence of the viewer by assuming that the viewer has seen the first two films and doesn't spend time rehashing the events of those films, while still weaving elements of those films into this story. The reviewer was immediately impressed with the way the story opened, addressing something that's been discussed in dozens of movies but never addressed in such detail. Many films have featured characters who have had contracts put out on their life, but this is the first film this reviewer has witnessed that exposes exactly what that entails. The scenes of the contract headquarters, that resembled the New York Stock exchange, were fascinating as the countdown to Wick going "incommunicado" had every hitman in the world on edge. The film actually begins twenty minutes before the witching hour and Wick, being totally aware of it as he's running through Times Square accompanied by his dog.
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The story also respects the reputation of John Wick that was established in the first two films. Every character in this film knows who John Wick is and even though his reputation might make them wary of messing with him, they are not wary enough to turn their back on $14 million dollars, which before the halfway point of the film, becomes $15 million. The final third of the film strays a little too far into the sci-fi realm finding John suddenly involved in a mission that involves retrieving memories of his wife, a a Bond-type villainess called The Abjudicator and deadly assassin named Zero who just seems to be toying with Wick for most his screentime.
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Director Chad Stahelski does an amazing job at mounting this international tale of contract murder and revenge that keeps our hero in constant danger, finding foes where he should find friends, and finding there is no safety. Even a reunion with a mysterious woman from his past named Sofia (Oscar winner Halle Berry) leads him to an incredibly staged battle involving some vicious attack dogs that brought the action to an all new level. Stahelski's pacing of the action is like lightning and never allows the viewer a chance to breathe. I was also shocked that the ending actually sets up a fourth movie.
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The film features stunning production values, with special nods to cinematography (those shots of Wick in the desert were breathtaking), film editing, visual effects, and sound. Reeves brings the same excitement to Wick that he did in the first two films and Ian McShane, Anjelica Huston Lance Reddick, and especially Mark Decascos as Zero provide rock solid support. A solid third entry in the franchise and I can't wait to see the fourth. 4

Wyldesyde19

12-14-20, 03:08 PM

I was disappointed in the third one after thoroughly enjoying the first two. Pretty much more of the same. Fights scenes lasted far too long.

Gideon58

12-14-20, 08:40 PM

What really surprised me is that it sets up a fourth movie...very curious as to what else they can do with this character.

Gideon58

12-16-20, 10:23 PM

Flirting
A sumptuously mounted Australian import from 1991, Flirting is an eloquent and intelligent re-imagining of the American teen angst/romance comedies of the 1980's, that completely engages the viewer with an arresting star-crossed romance that the viewer is completely behind from the moment the two characters meet.
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Danny Embling is romantically challenged bookworm whose idols include Jean Paul Satre and Muhammed Ali, who is student at an all-boys boarding school. Thandiwe Adjewa is a free-thinking young exchange student who was born in Uganda and is now a student at a neighboring all-girls boarding school. A chance meeting between these two young people tentatively turns into a romance that has their fellow students drooling with envy and school authority initially clueless and eventually shocked and repelled.
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This film is actually a sequel to a 1987 film called The Year My Voice Broke which originally introduced the Danny Embling character to movie audiences. An initial fear of confusion, because I hadn't seen the this film, was almost immediately vanquished because I never really felt like I was coming into the middle of or the continuation of a previous story. This film is presented simply as another story centered around the same character from the first film. The story is given an added layer of sophistication in that the central romance is interracial, but it's not really an issue central to the story.
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Even though the film is Australian and set during the 1960's, it did bring to mind the teen comedies of the 80's because the characters are very similar to the archetypes we all remember from films like She's All That, Sixteen Candles, Porky's, and ...Say Anything. The teenage characters in this film are all walking hormones whose every thought is abut sex, even though they aren't having sex and as the boys realizing what Danny is up to and the girls realize what's happening with Thandiwe, there is unconditional support for them , despite the expected undercurrent of jealousy. Some scenes are hard-to-disguise homages to previous films, most notably the boys peeking in the girls' locker room a la Porky's. And just like most 80's teen comedies, most of the adult characters in the film are written as clueless idiots.
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Director and screenwriter John Duigan, who also wrote and directed The Year My Voice Broke has spared no expense in bringing this quiet love story to the screen, utilizing some inventive camerawork and gorgeous cinematography by Geoff Burton. Noah Taylor, who nine years later would play Sweetwater's manager in Almost Famous impresses as young Danny and a young Thandie Newton lights up the screen in one of her earliest roles as Thandiwe. There's also an impressive performance from a young Nicole Kidman, as Nicolla, a snooty rival of Thandie's character who is secretly so envious of Thandiwe she can taste it. An impressive homage to a well-worn cinematic genre that entrances the viewer from opening to closing credits. 4

Gideon58

12-17-20, 10:21 PM

Kevin Hart: Zero F**ks Given
Kevin Hart is one of the busiest stars in Hollywood right now, but Netflix managed to get him back in front of the mike for a 2020 special called Kevin Hart: No F**ks Given which is given novelty being filmed in Hart's home, sadly I found it one of his weaker efforts due to an air about the proceedings that I have never received from Hart's standup before: sheer, unabashed arrogance.
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The last time I saw a star perform from their own home was way back in 1984 when Barbra Streisand decided to give a live concert for the first time in 20 years called One Voice. She had a stage constructed in her backyard, charged $5000 a ticket and gave the proceedings to nuclear disarmament. She welcomed the audience to her home and began the concert. Here, after a brief introduction of his family crammed into the master bedroom, he goes downstairs where a small audience, all masked of course, is anxiously waiting for the laughs to commence.
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I have to admit I was surprised by his opening reveal that one of the reasons he's been away from the mike was because he and his wife were diagnosed with the virus (which he likes to call "the Vid"} around the same time that Tom Hanks was, which was news to me. Hart gets a lot of comic mileage out of this but this leads to the part of the show where he really begins to lose me. He admits that he enjoyed being quarantined for awhile but it has made him a complete homebody who never wants to leave the house again and now that he's free to move about, he doesn't want to and he's learned to hate people, especially the fans who made him the success he is.
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I did like the idea of doing a concert from his home but it was more than obvious that the living room was completely reconstructed including the building of a small stage for him to perform with large movie posters of all his previous concerts hanging behind him. I have to admit it did cross my mind how this very select audience for this concert was chosen and how much it cost them.
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The usual Hart updates about his kids were offered, including some very funny stuff about his now boy-crazy teenage daughter, whom he described using another word other than boy crazy. He did redeem himself with a story about going to a dinner party at Jerry Seinfeld's house, which was extremely funny, despite the fact that his Seinfeld impression was dreadful. Impressions aren't a Hart specialty. There are laughs to be had here, but it was sad to see that all the success that Hart has enjoyed has finally gone to his head. 3.5

Gideon58

12-19-20, 10:17 PM

The Beguiled (2017)
Oscar-winning director and screenwriter Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation) attempts to bring layers and complexity to a story that really didn't require it with her 2017 remake of The Beguiled, which first came to the big screen in 1971 with Clint Eastwood and Geraldine Page in the starring roles.
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This civil war story finds a small girls' school in the south turned on its ear when one of the girls finds a wounded confederate soldier named John McBurney and brings him back to the school for first aid. The women at the school, headed by the strict head mistress, Miss Martha, are initially frightened by the stranger's presence, but the fright soon turns into sexual tension that initially amuses McBurney. but causes jealousy and resentment among the girls.
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Admittedly, the idea of remaking this movie would never have occurred to me, but Coppola does make an effort to give the story a more contemporary feel than the original. In the original film. McBurney enjoys the sexual machinations that his presence brings to the school and does nothing to discourage it. He is made the villain of the piece in the '71 film, but Coppola's screenplay makes the women in this story just as manipulative as McBurney is, which was probably supposed to bring some balance to the story, but really just confuses the viewer as to where their sympathies should lie. Coppola tries to give this story shades of gray that made it difficult to stay invested in what was happening.
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The casting of Nicole Kidman as Miss Martha brought an element of sexual tension to the story that was missing from the first film because Geraldine Page played Martha in the original film, who was a good 25 years older than Eastwood. As important as the welfare of her girls was to Miss Martha, there was a definite "will they or won't they" tension between McBurney and Miss Martha that was absent from the '71 film. Loved the first scene where they share a brandy or the scene where Miss Martha is washing the dirt off McBurney's athletic chest and legs.
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Coppola should have paid a little more attention to production values. The film was poorly lit making it difficult at times to see exactly what was going on. Perhaps this was done on purpose, but this reviewer found it extremely distracting. Kidman gives a crisp and polished performance as Miss Martha and as sexy as Clint Eastwood was in the original film, Collin Farrell effectively fills his shoes as McBurney. The same year, Kidman and Farrell also played husband and wife in The Killing of a Sacred Deer. Coppola definitely gets an "A" for effort here, I just wish she hadn't tampered with the story as much as she did. 3

Citizen Rules

12-19-20, 10:33 PM

The Beguiled (2017)

Coppola should have paid a little more attention to production values. The film was poorly lit making it difficult at times to see exactly what was going on. Perhaps this was done on purpose, but this review found it extremely distracting.rating_3Finally a movie I've seen. Nicely written review.

Yes, the lighting made the interior shots very hard to see detail in. I seem to recall that Sofia Coppola did that on purpose to give the film the look of indoor candlelight. Maybe she needed more candles:p

Gideon58

12-22-20, 10:11 PM

Down to Earth (1947)
Rita Hayworth's sparkling performance in the starring role is the centerpiece of a lavish musical fantasy from Columbia called Down to Earth, that founds its origins in another film but stands on its own merits as an independent musical fantasy that provides delicious entertainment.
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Hayworth plays Terpsichore, the Goddess of Song and Dance, who learns that producer/director Danny Miller (Larry Parks) is producing a musical about Terpsichore and her eight sisters, the Muses, called "Swinging Muses" that Terpsichore feels is a grossly inaccurate portrait of herself and her sisters. She decides that she must go to earth and straighten out Mr. Miller and with the aid of Mr. Jordan, comes to earth and magically lands the lead in the musical. Terpsichore casts her own spell over Danny and manages to get him to make a lot of changes to the show that Terpsichore feels are more realistic. Unfortunately, when the show leaves New York for its out of town tryouts, it is quickly labeled a bomb.
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Technically, this film could be considered a sequel to the 1941 film Here Comes Mr. Jordan as it plucks three characters from that film, Mr. Jordan (Roland Culver), Messenger 7013 (Edward Everett Horton) and Max Corkle (James Gleason) and places them smack in the middle of a similar story which finds the leading character not just wanting to change the inaccuracies in the show, but wanting to change destiny as well, which, as Robert Montgomery learned in Here Comes Mr. Jordan, can never be, though a happy compromise can be reached.
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Though I've never seen Here Comes Mr. Jordan, it didn't take me too long to figure out what was going on here. I was a little disappointed that Claude Rains was unavailable to reprise his role as Mr. Jordan as Roland Culver was a bit on the bland side, but Horton was fun and, as usual, James Gleason stole every scene he was in as the befuddled Max Corkle.
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The Doris Fisher/Allan Robert songs are pleasant, if unremarkable including "This Can't Be Legal", "Let's Stay Young Forever", "They Can't Convince Me", and "People Have More Fan than Anyone". For the record, Hayworth's singing is dubbed by Anita Ellis and Parks' by Hal Derwin. Jack Cole's very athletic choreography is also a big plus.
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Hayworth and Parks provide appropriate romantic sparks and Marc Platt, one of the busiest Hollywood dancers of the 1940's and 50's, had one the most significant roles of his career as Park's assistant and co-star. Alexander Halls' direction is energetic and there are lavish sets and costumes. People who don't like musicals complain that they aren't realistic, but this one is legitimized by being a complete fantasy from beginning to end. The film was re-thought in 1980 as Xanadu, which becomes a Broadway musical in 2007. Here Comes Mr. Jordan was re-imagined by Warren Beatty in 1978 as Heaven Can Wait.3.5

Gideon58

12-23-20, 04:56 PM

On the Rocks
The star and writer/director of Lost in Translation are reunited for a warm character driven comedy called On the Rocks that is centered around the very special relationship between a father and daughter.
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This 2020 Apple original stars Rashida Jones as Laura, a wife and mother of two married to an upwardly mobile named Dean (Marlon Wayans) who has to travel a lot for his job. Laura's life is slightly hectic, but for the most part, content until a couple of pieces of circumstantial evidence materialize that have Laura thinking that Dean could possibly be having an affair. Unfortunately, Laura makes the mistake of voicing her suspicions to her wealthy, womanizing father, Felix (Bill Murray), who immediately uses every resource at his disposal to expose his son-in-law for the cheating slimeball that he is.
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As someone who always thought Lost in Translation was severely overrated, I was a little reticent when it came to light that Coppola was the creative force behind this, but for the most part, I found the story a very pleasant surprise, a simple story given its meat thanks to three-dimensional characters at the center of things who are sketched in varying stages of gray and never fully express everything they're thinking, forcing the viewer to do a little work regarding where the story goes. Coppola's clever screenplay does a wonderful job of setting up the story and keeping us wondering about Dean for the majority of the running time. Of course, it also goes without saying that Bill Murray is always worth watching and will always bring more to his character than the screenplay provides.
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Not only are Coppola's character three dimensional, they are all very likable in their own way, which makes the premise of the story all the more perplexing for those of us on the outside looking in. Laura is a sweetheart who absolutely doesn't deserve what her husband is putting her through. Dean is a hardworking family man who should be given the benefit of the doubt, yet there is just enough evidence to raise suspicion and we just find ourselves praying that what we're thinking just can't be true. And best of all, is the irrepressible Felix...he's smart and sophisticated and funny and displays an undeniable respect for women, but knowing that Laura's mother is no longer in the picture and through the other limited backstory we get about the character, we have begrudging respect regarding his suspicions regarding Dean though we really don't want him to be right.
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/10/02/arts/00ontherocks/00ontherocks-articleLarge-v2.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale
Unlike Lost in Translation, Coppola's screenplay is superior to her direction. Her use of Manhattan and Mexican locations to frame the story were as effective as her use of Japan in Lost in Translation, but there's a lack of pacing to the direction that makes the film seem a lot longer than it is. However, another dazzling, Oscar-worthy performance by Bill Murray and a rich performance from Rashida Jones keep us completely invested in the proceedings. And I can't believe I'm saying this, but I even enjoyed Marlon Wayans as Dean. I was also impressed with a lovely cameo by the long-absent-from-the-screen Barbara Bain as Laura's grandmother. The movie could have moved a little quicker, but Murray and Jones made it worth watching. 3.5

SpelingError

12-23-20, 06:22 PM

On the Rocks
The star, writer, and director of Lost in Translation are reunited for a warm character driven comedy called On the Rocks that is centered around the very special relationship between a father and daughter.
https://i.redd.it/hksezdkaktk51.jpg
This 2020 Apple original stars Rashida Jones as Laura, a wife and mother of two married to an upwardly mobile named Dean (Marlon Wayans) who has to travel a lot for his job. Laura's life is slightly hectic, but for the most part, content until a couple of pieces of circumstantial evidence occur that have Laura thinking that Dean could possibly be having an affair. Unfortunately, Laura makes the mistake of voicing her suspicions to her wealthy, womanizing father, Felix (Bill Murray), who immediately uses every resource at his disposal to expose his slimy son-in-law for the cheating slimeball that he is.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYmM1MWZlMTgtZjQ1MC00YjY3LTk4YjctYWFlMDM2ODYyMDIwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXZ3ZXNsZXk@._V1_UX477_CR0,0,477,268 _AL_.jpg
As someone who always thought Lost in Translation was severely overrated, I was a little reticent when it came to light that Coppola was the creative force behind this, but for the most part, I found the story a very pleasant surprise, a simple story given its meat thanks to three-dimensional characters at the center of things who are sketched in varying stages of gray and never fully express everything they're thinking, forcing the viewer to do a little work regarding where the story goes. Coppola's clever screenplay does a wonderful job of setting up the story and keeping us wondering about Dean for the majority of the running time. Of course, it also goes without saying that Bill Murray is always worth watching and will always bring more to his character than the screenplay provides.
https://imagesvc.meredithcorp.io/v3/mm/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.onecms.io%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F6%2F2020%2F09%2F23%2FOn_The_Rocks_Photo_0105.jpg&q=85
Not only are Coppola's character three dimensional, they are all very likable in their own way, which makes the premise of the story all the more perplexing for those of us on the outside looking in. Laura is a sweetheart who absolutely doesn't deserve what her husband is putting her through. Dean is a hardworking family man who should be given the benefit of the doubt, yet there is just enough evidence to raise suspicion and we just find ourselves praying that what we're thinking just can't be true. And best of all, is the irrepressible Felix...he's smart and sophisticated and funny and displays an undeniable respect for women, but knowing that Laura's mother is no longer in the picture and through the other limited backstory we get about the character, we have begrudging respect regarding his suspicions regarding Dean though we really don't want.
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/10/02/arts/00ontherocks/00ontherocks-articleLarge-v2.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale
Unlike Lost in Translation...Coppola's screenplay is superior to her direction. Her use of Manhattan and Mexican locations to frame the story were as effective as her use of Japan in Lost in Translation, but there's a lack of pacing to the direction that makes the film seem a lot longer than it is. However, another dazzling, Oscar-worthy performance by Bill Murray and a rich performance from Rashida Jones keep us completely invested in the proceedings. And I can't believe I'm saying this, but I even enjoyed Marlon Wayans as Dean. I was also impressed with a lovely cameo by the long-absent-from-the-screen Barbara Bain as Laura's grandmother. The movie could have moved a little quicker, but Murray and Jones made it worth watching. 3,5

Did you mean to give this one 3.5/5? Your rating is showing up as 0/5.

Gideon58

12-23-20, 06:23 PM

Yes, I did, changing it right now, thanks for letting me know

Gideon58

12-26-20, 10:17 PM

DuBarry was a Lady
Despite some of the most spectacular production values I have seen in an MGM musical, the 1943 film version of the Broadway musical DuBarry was a Lady is surprisingly lackluster.
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The film opens in a New York nightclub where we meet Louis Blore (Red Skelton), the club's hat check attendant and Alec Howe (Gene Kelly), who are both in love with the club's headliner, May Daly (Lucille Ball) who isn't really interested in either guy because they're both broke. Things look up for Louis when he wins a fortune in a sweepstakes, but still considers Alec a threat so he decides to drug him, but Louis ends up drinking the mickey which knocks him out and finds him in the middle of a dream where he is King Louis VI, May is Madame DuBarry and Alec is the swashbuckling villain, The Black Arrow.
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The Cole Porter musical upon which this film is based on premiered on Broadway in 1940 and ran for about a year with Bert Lahr playing Louis, Ronald Graham playing Alec and Broadway legend Ethel Merman playing May Daly and this is probably one of the reasons this film version doesn't really work. Lucille Ball was a talented woman and, circa 1943, was a rising star at MGM, but she was no Ethel Merman and as hard as she works to be credible in this role, we never really buy her as the manipulative gold-digging nightclub singer torn between two men, but in denial about the fact that she is only in love with one of them.
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Major changes must have been made from the original musical because this musical, though competently mounted and cast, never engaged me the way a lot of classic MGM musicals have. Even with the presence of Hollywood's two greatest clowns in the starring roles, it was disappointing the serious lack of laughs provided by this alleged musical comedy. Don't think I laughed out loud once.
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The score has definitely been tampered with because only three songs from the Broadway score were used for the film, including the classic "Friendship" used as the finale. Composers like Roger Edens, Burton Lane, Roger Freed, and Walter Donaldson have come up with a bunch of new songs for the movie, which were nothing to write home about. The film also devotes a little too much time to overlong musical segments from Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra which just pad the running time.
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On the positive side, the MGM gloss was in overdrive here, producing some of the most breathtaking photography, settings, and costumes I have ever seen in a musical. Skelton is exhausting as Louis, but Gene Kelly is terrific as Alec and the wonderful Virginia O'Brien garners big laughs with another of her deadpan deliveries of a comic gem called "Salome", but for an MGM musical, this one was a disappointment. 2.5

gbgoodies

12-27-20, 12:43 AM

I saw DuBarry was a Lady many years ago, but I didn't really care for it much. And as much as I love Gene Kelly, I've never had any desire to rewatch it.

Gideon58

12-28-20, 10:20 PM

Soul
Disney Pixar once again triumphs with an eye-popping, endlessly imaginative, and emotionally charged fantasy called Soul that completely belies the simplicity of its title as we are bombarded with a story rich with inspiration from films of the past that creates a deliciously unique tale of friendship, passion, and making the most out of what life offers.
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This 2020 animated gem is about a junior high school band teacher named Joe who gets a chance to audition for a jazz quartet led by the legendary Dorothea Williams. While running home after nailing the audition, Joe falls down a manhole and is transported out of his body into a magical purgatory because, as he and the audience learn, he has lost his passion for music. Anxious to get back to his body so that he can be on time for his new job, Joe realizes his only chance of getting back to his body is with the help of a soul without a body named 22. Joe thinks everything's OK when he and 22 return to Manhattan but things are just beginning to get complicated as 22's soul enters Joe's body and Joe's soul enters a cat.
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Director and screenwriter Pete Docter, who also wrote Inside Out and Monsters Inc. has crafted a story that borrows a little from his own work (as a matter of fact, Inside Out did flash through my head as I was watching this), but also borrows elements from films like Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Down to Earth, and Onward, but it is not outright plagiarism, it is loving homage wrapped around a lovely story about another friendship that was never meant to be, but both participants become richer for it. Initial frustration when Joe falls down the manhole took a little longer to get over than I would have liked, but something told me that after what Joe went through to audition for Dorothea Williams, this wouldn't be taken away from us.
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We know we're in for something very special when the "When You Wish Upon a Star" theme played at the beginning of the movie is played by a very off-key junior high school band. The animation is actually stunning here...the colors are a perfect combination of stark bright colors and dreamy pastels. Loved the way the nightclub was lit and I have never seen such a realistic depiction of downtown Manhattan in an animated film before. Look at the detail that went into the subway scenes. Loved when Joe was trying to return to earth on his own and earth kept spitting him back out. Art direction and film editing are other Oscar-worthy elements of the production.
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The voice work, as expected, is on the money with standout work from Oscar winner Jamie Foxx as Joe, Tina Fey as 22, Angela Bassett as Dorothea Williams, Rachel House as Terry, and Phylicia Rachad as Joe's mother. Disney Pixar really knocked it out of the park here and the final 15 minutes of the film did ignite the tear ducts of this reviewer. 4

gbgoodies

12-29-20, 12:54 AM

I usually love Pixar's movies, and I want to see Soul, but I don't get Disney +, so I might have to wait until it gets released on DVD. :(

Gideon58

01-02-21, 09:59 PM

The Moon is Blue
Though a lot of it appears to be hopelessly dated in 2021, I can definitely see why a saucy little battle of the sexes from 1953 called The Moon is Blue, based on a Broadway play that raised a lot of eyebrows in 1953, even labeled controversial due to its very adult storyline rich with previously unheard of dialogue in a 1950's comedy.
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William Holden plays Don Gresham, a handsome architect who meets a pretty young girl named Patty O'Neill (Maggie McNamara) atop the Empire State Building and actually charms the girl into coming to his apartment for dinner. While Don does some shopping for dinner, Patty meets David Slater (David Niven) who lives in Don's building with his daughter, Cynthia (Dawn Addams), who was seeing Don but broke up with him the night before the story starts. Don and David find themselves both attracted to Patty despite the fact that she's made it clear to both of them she doesn't plan on sleeping with anyone until she's married.
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This film is based on a play by F. Frank Herbert, that opened on Broadway in 1951 and ran for over 900 performances and it's very easy to see why the play and the film caused such a stir and how the film attracted a director like Otto Preminger. The film shocked 1953 movie audiences with the use of words like "virgin", "mistress", and "pregnant" for the first time, but for a central character who in 2021 might be labeled a whore. This Patty actually meets the much older Don at the empire state and makes it clear that she is only interested in marrying an older wealthy man, but goes home with Don anyway. She learns about Don's fight with Cynthia and sticks herself right in the middle of it. Then she meets David and tells him she has no interest in him, but will take $600 in cash from him as a "gift."
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Preminger is a director who has never been known for shying away from controversial material, but his direction really doesn't add much to the proceedings and doesn't expand it beyond the "photographed stage play" stage. Not to mention, this Patty character is really kind of annoying. She never stops talking, has absolutely no boundaries, and doesn't see any problem with the way she leads these two men around by the nose for the entire running time. In 2021, this Patty character also might be characterized as a "tease."
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Preminger's direction is surprisingly pedestrian though the performances from the three leads are terrific. McNamara actually received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress here, though I thought it was Niven who really did the Oscar-worthy work here. There are selected funny moments during the film, but this story is just too dated to be relevant entertainment in 2021. 2.5

Gideon58

01-04-21, 09:37 PM

Sound of Metal
A powerhouse, Oscar-worthy performance from Riz Ahmed is the center piece of a riveting story of rehabilitation and redemption from 2019 called Sound of Metal, an emotionally manipulative story from the creative forces behind The Place Beyond the Pines and Blue Valentine.
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Ahmed plays Ruben Stone, a rock and roll drummer who backs up his girlfriend Lou, who is completely thrown when he discovers he is beginning to lose his hearing. A panicking Ruben does some research and learns about surgical implants that could restore his hearing but they are a financial impossibility, so he is eventually guided to a rehab facility for the hearing impaired that he initially fights tooth and nail, but just as he begins to make inroads at the facility, Ruben makes a couple of unexpected choices that alter his destiny and the viewer doesn't see coming at all.
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Director and co-screenwriter Darius Marder is to be credited for providing a very different and often heartbreaking look at a person dealing with a handicap. Most films about people dealing with a handicap like blindness or deafness, the character is either born with the condition or the condition has been diagnosed prior to the beginning of the story. It's absolutely heartbreaking to witness a rock and roll musician onstage and his initial reaction to what is happening to him. This is one of the first films I've seen where the character is actually observed experiencing what is happening to him for the first time and Marder and his co-screenwriters take the viewer inside what is happening by Ruben as the sound that Ruben is (or isn't) hearing is the sound we are hearing. With the assistance of an expert sound team, Marder allows us to vicariously experience what Ruben is experiencing and, often, it's quite unsettling.
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The scenes at the rehab facility have an initial familiarity and even predictability to them until Marder and company limit what the viewer hears to what Ruben and all of the other patients hear. There's a lovely moment where Ruben is participating in an AA meeting and we see the patients do the Serenity Prayer in sign language. The viewer is left out of a lot of what Ruben experiences at the facility and that is no accident. Marder wants the viewer to walk in Ruben's shoes, as it were. I loved the computer screen that the head of the facility initially uses to communicate with Ruben that writes out everything on the screen so that Ruben can read what he's saying. I also loved when Ruben is first added to the chores list for the facility and his chore is "Learn how to be deaf."
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The story is well-constructed with just enough surprises to keep the viewer on their toes, but it is Riz Ahmed's sizzling performance in the starring role that keeps this story on all four burners. Ever since I first saw Ahmed as Jake Gyllenhaal's assistant in Nightcrawler, I knew this guy was a movie star in the making and now finally given center stage, he delivers in spades. He receives solid support from Olivia Cooke as Lou, Paul Raci as the head of the rehab, and Mathieu Amalric as Lou's father. A riveting motion picture with an extraordinary performance from the leading man providing the meat. Needless to say, the work from the sound team is perfection and was also impressed by the lack of a music score, which was not missed at all. 4

Gideon58

01-06-21, 08:30 PM

With a Song in My Heart
A vivacious performance from Susan Hayward in the starring role is the centerpiece of 1952's With a Song in My Heart, a lavishly mounted musical biopic of 1940's singer Jane Froman that, though slightly overlong, provides pretty consistent entertainment for most of its running time, despite an air of predictability about the story.
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The story follows Froman's humble beginnings as a radio singer whose career is given a big boost when she marries a songwriter named Don Ross (David Wayne), who she eventually marries. even though she's not really in love with him. At the height of her career, Jane plans a USO tour overseas but finds her life changed forever when the plane crashes and she sustains permanent damage to her leg; though she does find real romance with another crash survivor, a handsome pilot named John Burn (Rory Calhoun).
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20th Century Fox poured a lot of money into this production seemingly in an attempt to disguise the fact that the story presented here is pretty much identical to at least a dozen other biopics that were made in the 1940's and '50's. Screenwriter Lamar Trotti has apparently taken the basic framework of Froman's career and constructed what I suspect is a fictional love triangle between Jane, Don, and John that borrows from a lot of other films. If the truth be told, films like A Star is Born, Smash-Up The Story of a Woman, and even Funny Girl flashed through my head watching the often used plot of a man's ego being unable to deal with the woman in his life being more successful than he is. As a matter of fact, there is a scene with Don getting drunk in a bar and being teased by his former partner (Max Showalter) that was almost identical to a scene in the 1937 and 1954 versions of A Star is Born. A little more care could have been devoted to the romantic triangle, as the overseas romance between Jane and John seemed a little rushed and the resolution of the story was a little pat and convenient.
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Director Walter Lang (The King & I, Desk Set, There's No Business Like Show Business) does display an affinity for lavish musical sequences as well as compelling melodrama, combining the two with relative ease. Lang's experience with musicals was a big plus for him here, mounting musical sequences that musical lovers won't be able to resist, set against plush settings and the performers in gorgeous costumes.
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An air of authenticity is added to the proceedings by having Froman herself singing for Hayward, but Hayward's lip-synching is convincing throughout. The film doesn't employ an original score, but some terrific old standards are performed like "That Old Feeling". "Get Happy", "Blue Moon", "Embraceable You", ":The Right Kind", "It's a Good Day", and "Tea for Two", and the lovely title tune.
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The Fox musical does employ MGM-calibre production values, including stunning art direction and costumes. Hayward offers one of the most effervescent performances of her career, which earned her a third Best Actress nomination. David Wayne makes a surprisingly solid leading man for Hayward, doing work that rivals his performances in The Three Faces of Eve and Adam's Rib...watch him in his final scene on the phone with Calhoun. Thelma Ritter offers another wisecracking turn as a nurse named Clancy and mention must be made of a very young Robert Wagner as a young soldier enamored with Froman. It's not big on the facts of Froman's life or originality, but it's a richly entertaining movie. 3.5

Citizen Rules

01-06-21, 08:42 PM

With a Song in My Heart

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rating_3_5Glad you liked it. I read that the green colored blouse that Susan Hayward wore was also wore by Marilyn Monroe in Bus Stop. But for my money, I like the sparkly number Susan has on in the photo above.

Gideon58

01-06-21, 08:46 PM

Glad you liked it. I read that the green colored blouse that Susan Hayward wore was also wore by Marilyn Monroe in Bus Stop. But for my money, I like the sparkly number Susan has on in the photo above.

There's a red dress that she wears early on in the film that I've seen in another movie as well, but I can't think of what movie I saw it in.

Citizen Rules

01-06-21, 08:51 PM

There's a red dress that she wears early on in the film that I've seen in another movie as well, but I can't think of what movie I saw it in.She slays them in that red dress. I didn't realize she was that petite.

Gideon58

01-07-21, 09:46 PM

The Prom (2020)
Ryan Murphy returns to his musical comedy roots that originally manifested themselves with the musical television series Glee. The Prom is an overblown though well-intentioned film version of a Broadway musical that features a serious dose of star power and attempts to send some positive and important messages about bigotry and acceptance. Sadly, said messages get lost among a lot of musical razzle dazzle.
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Dee Dee Allen (Meryl Streep), Barry Glickman (James Corden), and Angie Dickinson (Nicole Kidman) are three arrogant and self-absorbed Broadway stars whose careers are circling the drain and decide that they need to get behind some kind of cause to bring credibility back to their lives and careers. Accompanied by a former sitcom star who now works as a bartender at Sardi's (Andrew Rannells), the stars travel to a small Indiana town to support a teenage girl whose desire to take her girlfriend to prom results in the school cancelling the prom.
https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/TP-03507RC.jpg
The musical upon which this film is based opened on November 15, 2018 and ran an unimpressive 309 performances but I'm sure it was Murphy's passion regarding the subject matter was probably his driving force in bringing this story to the screen, but I think Murphy's passion for the project gets clouded with his desire to bring a good old fashioned musical to the big screen. The contemporary messages in Bob Martin and Chad Begulin's screenplay are important ones and a couple that haven't really been addressed onscreen before. Primarily, that people don't "turn" gay, they are born that way and that a man doesn't have to be gay to enjoy Broadway musicals, evidenced in a nicely realized subplot that finds Dee Dee falling for the school's principal, nicely played Keegen-Michael Key, who saw Dee Dee's first Broadway show and has worshipped her ever since.
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Unfortunately, these important message get buried under a lot of very long and elaborate musical numbers that, though competently mounted with some great choreography and editing, all go on much longer than they need to and take the focus off a really important story that is attempted to be told. There was a point where it felt like this story could have been told much more effectively without the musical numbers.
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Several songwriters contributed to the slightly sugary score, which should have been edgier than it was, considering the subject matter. Musical highlights for this reviewer were the production number led by Streep called "It's Not About Me", Key's "We Look to You", Streep's number in the principal's office called "The Lady's Improving", and Kidman's Fosse-like showstopper "Zazz."
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Meryl Streep fully commits to this sometimes obnoxious character who is aware of her flaws but we can't help but love her. James Corden is a lot of fun, in a performance that seems to be channeling Eric Stonestreet on Modern Family, and Kidman makes the most of a thankless role. Mention should also be made of Kerry Washington, surprisingly effective as the story's villain, the uptight PTA mom whose daughter is part of the couple at the heart of the story, charmingly played by Drew Barrymore look-alike Jo Ellen Pellman and Ariana DeBose. Murphy's direction is sincere but undisciplined, just wish the whole thing had been reined in a bit. 3

Gideon58

01-09-21, 09:33 PM

Mank
Despite stylish direction from a surprising source, a spectacular performance from Hollywood's greatest chameleon, and what I expect is some wonderful behind the scenes karma, the 2020 biopic of writer Herman Mankiewicz, affectionately entitled Mank isn't quite the film it should be thanks to a long-winded and meandering screenplay that never really answers the questions it poses.
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The film attacks a subject for which there is a lot of information, rumor, innuendo, and speculation out there, but no two sources tell the exact same story...the making of the 1941 classic Citizen Kane. This film opens in the early 1930's when a 24 year old writer, director, and actor named Orson Welles has been given complete artistic control of a movie called Citizen Kane, a thinly disguised biography of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst. Welles turns to a hard-drinking writer named Herman Mankiewicz to assist him with the screenplay and it is said screenplay that is the backbone of most of the delays in getting the movie made and also won Citizen Kane its only Oscar out of nine nominations. Checking Mankiewicz' IMDB page, it was fascinating to learn that Mank worked on almost two dozen films between the time this film begins and the release of Citizen Kane.
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The film reveals two primary sources for all the problems with getting the film made...Mankiewicz' antagonistic relationship with Hearst, which had a lot to do with Mank's relationship with Hearst's mistress, actress Marian Davies, and his relationship with Louis B Mayer, which became unglued when Hearst pulled a lot of his money out of the funding for MGM which forces Mayer to have all of his contract players take a 50% cut in pay.
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David Fincher, best known for films of darkness and realism like S7ven and Fight Club puts enormous detail and loving care into the mounting of this Hollywood story and does it in the style of a Hollywood story...even the opening credits look like something out of a 30's melodrama. Exquisitely photographed in black and white, this business behind the business of show business story suffers due to a long-winded screenplay that offers more of a look into Mank's personal demons than the look at the making of the film classic that it seems to promise us. Since Mankiewicz was a writer, we expect the screenplay to be on the wordy side, but it was a little too wordy for this reviewer's tastes. The story of how this film got made might make a more interesting film, since it was written by Fincher and his father, who died 17 year ago. The story of Fincher getting this film made sounds like a real passion project for Fincher, the way 1917 was for Sam Mendes.
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The movie is worth a look thanks to extraordinary production values and superb performances down the line. Gary Oldman could win a second Best Actor Oscar for his blistering performance as Mank, an almost seamless combination of flash and understatement. Charles Dance sinks his teeth into playing Hearst and Amanda Seyfried is surprisingly good as Marian Davies. Mention should also be made of the severely underrated Arliss Howard as Louis B Mayer, Tom Pelphrey as Herman's brother, Joseph L Mankiewicz who, a decade after Citizen Kane, would win 4 Oscars for A Letter to Three Wives and All About Eve and Tom Burke, who is frighteningly on-target as Orson Welles, the best onscreen interpretation of Welles I have ever seen. With a tighter screenplay, this film could have been extraordinary. If the truth be told, that dinner party scene at Hearst's mansion was worth the price of admission alone. 3.5

Gideon58

01-11-21, 08:29 PM

Sgt Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band
Fans of the 1975 rock opera Tommy might have a head start with 1978's Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band a silly and overblown tribute to one of the Beatles' best albums that attempts to craft a story around the songs on the album, with pointless and confusing results. The film also attempts to turn certain rock and roll musicians into actors with disastrous results.
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The so-called story follows a band from a small fictional town called Heartland that consists of lead singer Billy Shears (Peter Frampton). the Henderson brothers (The Bee Gees), and Billy's brother Dougie (Paul Nicholas) who acts as their manager. They are discovered by a sleazy record producer with a bad toupe named BD Hofler (Donald Pleasance), who gets them in the middle of a dangerous plot against the entire music industry in LA.
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The plot, if you want to call it that, is really not the thing here. The thing here was to provide a cinematic valentine to one of the Beatles biggest selling albums and on that angle, the movie really delivers. Some of the Beatles' most memorable hits are lovingly recreated with the respect they deserve. Unfortunately, the story that screenwriter Henry Edwards comes up with, based on a play by Tom O'Horgan and Robin Wagner, is so convoluted and pretty much impossible to follow. It's only made worse by the fact that the story is done in the form of a rock opera, I assume in an attempt to make sure Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees didn't have to attempt any real acting.
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The Bee Gees were fresh off their monster selling soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever and Frampton had just completed a 1000-city tour of the US, so it's not a surprise that producer Robert Stigwood wanted to ride the crest of these guys' success, Unfortunately, director Michael Schulze, who is best known for directing a lot of Richard Pryor's earlier work, was out of his element here, overseeing a big budget musical, thinking if he bombarded the senses enough, the viewer wouldn't notice the empty cinematic experience they were getting.
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Some of the musical sequences worked. I liked the opening rendition of the title tune, the fantasy production of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" consisting of a billboard coming to life, Aerosmith's take on "Come Together" and Earth Wind and Fire's cover of "Got to Get You Into My Life." But every time the operatic narrative took over, the film came to one dead halt after another.
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This film did nothing for the careers of Peter Frampton or the Bee Gees, but there are a couple of other people whose careers managed to survive this debacle like Pleasance, Carel Struycken, and in his official film debut, Steve Martin playing a demented plastic surgeon, bringing down the house with a number called "Maxwell's Silver Hammer," Sadly, stealing this film was no great feat. This big budget disaster is pretty much an embarrassment to all involved, except maybe the Beatles, who were wise enough to stay off screen. 1.5

Gideon58

01-12-21, 07:19 PM

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
The explosive performances from Oscar winner Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman, in his final film role, electrify 2020's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, the film version of the Pulitzer-prize winning play by August Wilson (Fences) that almost escapes its stage origins, creating a period gone by, populated by characters who leap off the screen in a story that still connects with 2020 movie audiences.
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It's Chicago in the roaring 20's where we meet the legendary blues singer Ma Rainey, who was known as "Mother of the Blues". As this film opens, we meet Ma (Davis) interrupting her latest national tour to record an album. It is her arrival at the recording studio in Manhattan that is the springboard for multiple dramas, including Ma's arrogant cornet player, Levee (Boseman), who is tired of being in Ma's shadow and wants to have a band of his own; Ma's desire to have her nephew, Sylvester, provide a spoken introduction to one of her songs on the record, despite the fact that he stutters and the ambitious and manipulative Dussie Mae, who seems to be using Ma to further her career, but finds herself drawn to Levee.
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A big bouquet to Netflix for greenlighting a project like this, one that is definitely going to have limited appeal. The limited appeal is not just due to the subject matter, but to the unfamiliarity of the piece. The show opened on Broadway in October of 1984 and ran for 276 performances with Theresa Merritt playing Ma and Charles S. Dutton playing Levee. Director George C. Wolfe and screenwriter Ruben Santiago Hudson really amped the appeal off the piece by giving it a serious dose of star power, a power that has only grown with the passing of Chadwick Boseman.
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Those who enjoyed Denzel Washington's mounting of Wilson's most famous piece, Fences should have a head start with this respectful reimagining of Wilson's stage play, that never completely escapes its stages origins, but brings the past to life with a contemporary flavor, thanks to characters we can relate to...black musicians who have talent and ego but are still God-fearing people who allow that fear to creep into everything they do. Ego is a big part of what drives both Ma and Levee and from their first moment onscreen together, a palatable tension is created between the characters and we can't wait for it to actually hit the fan. Loved when Ma wouldn't continue the recording session without her coke.
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Wolfe pulls extraordinary performances from the leads. A Best Actress Oscar nomination is pretty much in the bag for Viola Davis, who loses herself in Ma Rainey and I wouldn't be surprised if a posthumous nomination wasn't in the cards for Boseman, who comes thisclose to stealing the film from Davis, not an easy feat. Boseman did some splendid work in his too-short career, but he definitely went out with a bang in his final role. Loved Glynn Turman as Toledo and Jeremy Shamos as Irvin too. Production values are first rate, with a special shout out to editing, costumes, and sound, but more than anything else, this film is a sad but rich reminder of what we lost in Chadwick Boseman. 4

Gideon58

01-13-21, 05:11 PM

Two Girls and a Sailor
MGM was the king of musicals in the 1940's and 50's, but 1944's Two Girls and Sailor is an overlong musical comedy where a 75 minute movie is blown into a 2 hour movie thanks to a parade of musical sequences that have absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the movie.
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June Allyson and Gloria DeHaven play Patsy and Jean, respectively, a vaudeville sister act who both find themselves attracted to a handsome sailor named Johnny (Van Johnson). Patsy and Jean want to open a service canteen to entertain military men and are actually gifted with a warehouse by a mysterious benefactor (guess who) to make their dream a reality.
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This is another musical from the Joe Pasternak unit of MGM. Pasternak preferred that his musicals have more of a classical slant, preferring stars like Kathryn Grayson and Jane Powell to Judy Garland and Fred Astaire. His films usually included appearances by classical musicians, most notably pianist and conductor Jose Iturbi, who appeared with Grayson in Anchors Aweigh.
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This very simple story, which incredibly earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay, is the standard romantic triangle, blown up to spectacle, thanks to elaborate musical sequences featuring Xavier Cugat and his orchestra and Harry James with his orchestra. As a matter of fact, I think James must have put some financing into this one, because he's all over the place in this one. There are also appearances by conductor Albert Coates, Virginia O'Brien, Gracie Allen, and Lena Horne.
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Musical highlights include two duets for Allyson and DeHaven, "A Tisket a Tasket" and "A Love Like Ours", DeHaven's "My Mother Told Me", Allyson's "Young Man with a Horn", O'Brien's "Take it Easy" and Horne's steamy rendition of "Paper Doll". Cugat and James get plenty of time to show off their respective bands as well, maybe a little too much and Jimmy Durante gets to perform his signature song, "Inka Dinka Doo."
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Allyson is her usually sugary self and DeHaven is a lot of fun as the flighty Jean. MGM definitely poured some money into making this movie, despite the fact that it was filmed in black and white, but for an MGM musical, this one was a disappointment. 2

Gideon58

01-13-21, 07:49 PM

Girl Crazy
Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney had their eighth onscreen teaming in a brassy little musical outing from 1943 called Girl Crazy, which shines thanks to exuberant performances from the stars and a hard to resist score by George and Ira Gershwin.
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Rooney plays Dan Churchill, Jr., a teenage playboy who is making so many headlines that his father decides that Junior needs a change so he enrolls him in small all- male college in the mountains of Colorado called Cody College, which he hates until he meets the Dean's pretty granddaughter, Ginger (guess who). Despite a blossoming romance with Ginger, Dan hates college and is ready to quit when he learns that the school is being threatened with foreclosure unless they get some new enrollees...the school's about to close because it needs money, so what do you think Mickey and Judy are going to do?
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This is easily the best of the Mickey-Judy backyard musicals that were box office champs during the 1940's thanks to a believable story in an unusual setting and that great music. Girl Crazy premiered on Broadway in 1930 but was completely revamped to suit the talents of Judy and Mickey. The thing I enjoyed about Fred F. Finkelhoffe's screenplay that sets it apart from most Mickey/Judy vehicles is that this time Mickey is doing the chasing. In most of their movies, Judy is competing with several girls for Mickey's attention, but with the setting being an all-boys school, Judy's Ginger is the only girl around for miles and doesn't have to compete with other females until the climactic crowning of the rodeo queen.
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Co-directors Norman Taurog and Busby Berkley had plenty of experience working with Mickey and Judy prior to this film and were very careful not to tamper with their very special chemistry, which always manages to make any slow moments in the story bearable.
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Mickey and Judy also have one of George and Ira Gershwin's best scores to work with. Loved Mickey and June Allyson's opening number "Treat Me Rough" and Mickey and Judy's duet "Can You Use Me?" Judy also offered two of the strongest vocal performances of her career with "Embraceable You" and especially "But Not for Me", which almost ignited a tear duct for this reviewer. Needless to say, Busby Berkley pulled out all the stops for the "I've Got Rhythm" finale which featured magical streamers and hundreds of dancers. According to the TV mini-series Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows, Berkley drove Garland so hard during the staging of the finale that she passed out on the set, but none of that shows onscreen.
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Guy Kibbee is his usual befuddled self as the Dean and Nancy Walker manages to steal a scene or two as Ginger's girlfriend, but this is Mickey and Judy's show and they make this movie a smooth musical comedy experience. 3.5

Gideon58

01-14-21, 05:51 PM

Ragtime
Six years after winning the Best Director Oscar for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and two years before winning another Best Director statue for Amadeus, Milos Foreman was robbed of a Best Director Oscar for 1981's Ragtime, a sweeping and sumptuously mounted epic of racial tension, artistic expression, and infidelity that starts so quietly that the viewer is amazed at how the size and scope of the story grows and completely rivets the viewer without even realizing how involved we've become.
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The film is based on a novel by E L Doctorow and takes place in New York City circa 1910. Two separate stories evolve centering around an upper middle class family who reside in New Rochelle. Henry Thaw is outraged that a naked statue that his trampy wife, Evelyn, allegedly posed for, and Stanford White, the man who has the power to destroy the statue, refuses to and murders him. A young musician named Coalhouse Walker Jr, is preparing to start a new life with the family's housekeeper, Sarah and his infant son when a minor racially charged incident lands Walker in jail, but Walker refuses to let the incident go and demands revenge on the bigoted volunteer fireman who sabotaged his automobile. Walker's plan reveals him to be an intelligent and methodical genius with enough power to bring New Rochelle to a standstill and have the police commissioner at his mercy.
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Screenwriter Michael Weller, who also wrote another Foreman directed film (Hair) has done an admirable job of adapting a book to the screen that many felt was not viable as a film, but this screenplay works because of the slow burn of the events presented here. He begins the story as a quiet look at a wealthy New York family, but this family is utilized as a blueprint for the events that follow, evidenced by the fact that three of the family members are billed merely as "Father", "Mother", and "Younger Brother." Two stories slowly materialize as Evelyn finds a new life without Henry and actually reconnects with Mother while Father and Younger Brother find themselves on opposites of Walker's story, though they really aren't. The best thing about the screenplay is that Coalhouse Walker turns out to be the most intelligent character in the story...a man aware of racism but refusing to tolerate or accept it. The way this story builds from sort of a roaring 20's escapism to a frightening story of violence and revenge is a singularly unique cinematic experience.
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Milos Foreman brings meticulous direction to this somewhat complex story that might run a little longer than it needs to, but everything that happens seems relevant to the story. He employs exquisite camerawork that gets inside these characters that tells as much of the story as the screenplay does. Watch the camera as it follows Sarah through a crowd trying to reach the Vice President or moving about the deserted library with Coalhouse and his crew. Also loved when Father was approaching the library doors and the door opened without the viewer seeing who opened the door...it felt like everything froze at that moment.
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The film was nominated for eight Oscars, but didn't bring home a single statue. The late Howard Rollins Jr received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his explosively controlled Coalhouse Walker and Elizabeth McGovern, in the performance of her sporadic career, received a Supporting Actress nomination for her brassy performance as Evelyn. Loved James Olson and Mary Steenburgen as Father and Mother and there's a dazzling turn from Brad Dourif, who Foreman directed to a supporting actor nomination in Cuckoo's Nest as Younger Brother. Movie legend James Cagney is glorious in his final theatrical film role after a 20 year absence from the screen, as the police commissioner. Robert Joy, Kenneth McMillan, Mandy Patinkin, Debbie Allen, Jeff Daniels, and Frankie Faison round out the impressive supporting cast.
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Not sure how it was done, but this compelling story of passion and violence was actually turned into a Broadway musical, premiering in January of 1998, ran for over 800 performances, starred Brian Stoke Mitchell as Coalhouse Walker and was nominated for 13 Tony Awards. Something tells me the musical probably pales next to Milos Foreman's work here. Stunning. 4.5

Gideon58

01-16-21, 08:28 PM

Big Tim Adolescence
The teen coming of age movie gets a facelift in a 2019 comedy-drama called Big Time Adolescence centered on a relationship between two characters that makes absolutely no sense.
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SNL's Pete Davidson stars as Zeke, an aimless, 23-year old college dropout who breaks up with his longtime girlfriend, but continues his relationship with her 16-year old brother, Moe, that leads Moe down a very destructive path.
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Director/screenwriter Jason Orley has constructed a story that the viewer immediately realizes can't go anywhere good, evidenced by the opening scene which is really the end of the story and then flashes back to how we got there. Even as the story flashes back, we see almost immediately that there's something very unhealthy about a 16 year old kid who is yearning for what every high school freshman is yearning for, romance and popularity with upper classmen and a 23 year old stoner whose life is going nowhere. Orley somehow manages to make us really like Moe and Zeke together, even though we're not supposed to. We really want the relationship to work until we see Zeke giving Moe bad advice and getting him in all kinds of trouble that only comes Moe's way because of his relationship with Zeke.
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Not sure if it's intentional. but the viewer has to wonder why the people in Moe's life allow his relationship with Zeke to get as far as it does. Moe's father sees that Zeke is a bad influence on him, but never really puts his foot down regarding it until it's too late. We're actually two thirds of the way through the movie before Moe's sister reads Zeke the riot act, which seemingly should have happened a lot earlier in the story than it did. And when Zeke's romantic advice finds Moe pushing away the girl he really likes and having sex with Zeke's girlfriend, we know it's the beginning of the end. There's also a questionable placing of the Connie Francis classic "Where the Boys Are" on the audio track that didn't really work for me.
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Though the path the story takes is slightly predictable, the film is imminently watchable, thanks to some striking camera work, sharp editing, and a raw nerve of a performance by Pete Davidson as Zeke that keeps the viewer riveted to the screen. Davidson gets a strong assist from a star-making performance by Griffin Gluck, who never allows the charismatic Davidson to blow him off the screen. There's also a superb performance from Jon Cryer as Moe's father, light years away from Alan Harper. For a relatively inexperienced filmmaker like Jason Orley, a first rate twist on the teen angst drama that will demand viewer attention. 3.5

Gideon58

01-18-21, 09:53 PM

Dangerous (1935)
Bette Davis won her first Oscar for her charismatic performance in a steamy 1935 melodrama called Dangerous that is still worth watching thanks to Davis and solid writing and direction.
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Davis plays Joyce Heath, an alcoholic actress whose career is circling the drain because she has caused so much pain and heartache during her career that she has been labeled a jinx in New York theater circles. A wealthy architect named Don Bellows (Franchot Tone), who is engaged to an elegant socialite (Margaret Lindsay), runs into Joyce in a drunken stupor and decides to take her up to his country estate to sleep it off. It's not long before Joyce and Don are falling in love with each other, though they are both in denial about it.
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Laird Doyle's screenplay is surprisingly sophisticated. Loved the opening scene of Don and some wealthy fat cats comparing their memories of Heath's career with the sordid gossip her life has become. That first scene where Joyce wakes up at Don's home is a lot of fun where the first thing Joyce does is demand a drink and makes Don's housekeeper nuts. Loved Don and Joyce's first kiss in the rain and I especially loved the scene where Don breaks up with his fiancee. Alfred E Greens direction really kicks in high gear here as we watch Don doing something he really doesn't want to do and the woman he loves trying to pretend that she doesn't know what's coming.
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Love the title of the film because that's exactly what the title character is. The relationship between Joyce and Don is toxic and even though they think it's love, it's more like obsession or addiction. Don's addiction to Joyce turns out to be as strong as Joyce's addiction to alcohol and though we hope against hope, we just know this can't end well.
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Davis dazzles as usual and won the Oscar for Outstanding Lead Actress on her first nomination, though there is a school of thought that the award was a consolation prize for being denied a nomination the previous year for Of Human Bondage. It's a terrific performance that makes the movie worth watching, but Davis has done better work. This was my first exposure to Franchot Tone, who was a little one-note as Don, but I love his voice. Mention should also be made of Margaret Lindsay's as Don's jilted fiancee and Allison Skipworth as his housekeeper, but as always with the actress, it's Davis' show and her fans will not be disappointed. 3.5

Gideon58

01-19-21, 09:42 PM

Audrey
She was a dancer, an actress, a humanitarian, and one of Hollywood's greatest icons, but a gifted director named Helena Coan gives us an unexpected and completely enchanting look inside a Hollywood actress unlike anything we've ever seen. The 2020 documentary Audrey doesn't offer the behind the scenes dirt we expect from such a film, but gives the viewer a look at the person behind the icon.
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The reason I first mentioned that she was a dancer is because we are told almost immediately, in Audrey's own voice, is that Audrey's first show business ambition was to be a ballet dancer. Some early footage of Hepburn's dance ability, which eventually became forgotten, morphs into a framework for Audrey's story which director Coan represents through three ballet dancers dancing Audrey's life in symbolic ballets that introduce different parts of her fascinating life and career.
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After brief introductory material around the war-torn Belgium that brought her parents together, we are immediately thrust into the beginning of Audrey's incredible career, narrated by herself and the people who knew her best. Audrey worked with some of Hollywood's most charismatic leading men, but it was wonderfully refreshing that the first two connections she made with men were men who were behind the camera: Fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy and photographer Richard Avedon.
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We are treated to a lot of lovely footage of Audrey arriving at movie premieres and getting off planes, showing her being mobbed everywhere she went and we can see that she really didn't know what all the fuss was about. The Hollywood scene held no interest for her and never felt she was worth all the attention. Despite being known as one of our great beauties. there's a lovely moment in the film where we hear Audrey voice everything that she would have changed about herself physically if she could.
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The film looks at her marriages to Mel Ferrer and Andrea Dotti, two very controlling men who managed to have an iron grip on Audrey and having numerous affairs behind her back at the same time. What we also see and hear in Audrey's voice is no bitterness and taking her own part in what went wrong in the marriages. If it weren't for these marriages, she wouldn't have her greatest joy, her two sons, who were also the inspiration for her tireless work with UNICEF.
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Commentary is provided during the documentary by Peter Bogdanovich, who directed Audrey in They All Laughed, Richard Dreyfuss, her son Sean Ferrer, her granddaughter Emma Hepburn Ferrer, and producer Andrew Wald among others, but the real star of this film is director Helena Coan, whose perfect crafting of film with narration is what makes this such a simultaneously joyous and beautifully quiet look at a Hollywood icon who had no interest being any such thing. 4.5

Citizen Rules

01-19-21, 09:58 PM

Gideon58

01-19-21, 10:03 PM

Gosh, I need to see that! I'm a big fan of Audrey Hepburn. Glad to see you rated it so highly.

You'd love it, Citizen

Gideon58

01-20-21, 09:50 PM

Life with Father
Warner Brothers spared no expense in bringing their lavish screen adaptation of Life with Father to the screen, a warm slice of cinematic Americana that engages the viewer thanks to superb production values, some clever dialogue and sparkling performances from the stars.
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The setting is 1883 Manhattan where we meet wealthy businessman Clarence Day (William Powell), a no-nonsense businessman who thinks he runs his home with the same skill with which he runs his business, but it is Day's wife, Vinnie (Irene Dunne) who really runs the house, including her tyrannical husband and her four redheaded sons. Among the mini-dramas that spring up during the course of the story are the unwelcome visit from Vinnie's cousin and her young companion, Mary Skinner, who finds herself immediately to eldest Day son Clarence Jr. Vinnie also becomes very concerned when she learns that her husband has never been baptized.
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The film found its roots in a memoir by the real Clarence Day Jr, which was turned into a play by Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse, which premiered on Broadway on November 8, 1939 and ran for over 3200 performances, holding the record as the longest running Broadway show until 1972. Donald Ogden Stewart, who won an Oscar for writing the film version of The Philadelphia Story, does a wonderful job of capturing the spirit of the stage piece, especially in the writing of these central characters, Clarence and Vinnie Day, showing the viewer how much his parents meant to Clarence Jr., especially his hard-nosed father, who wasn't the household dictator that he thought he was.
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I love the way the opening scenes of the film establish Clarence Day's intimidation factor through Vinnie's warnings to the new maid with very specific instructions about how Mr. Day likes things. Even our first glimpse of Mr. Day isn't an actual glance, it's his shadow against the wall at the top of the stairs, bellowing at the top of his lungs, a nice directorial touch by Michael Curtiz. I also love Vinnie's subtle manipulation of her husband that she does so effortlessly without him knowing what she's doing. Was also amused by the way Vinnie sees her husband through an entirely new set of eyes when she learns he was never baptized.
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Curtiz' direction could have used a little more pacing, but it does display loving respect for this classic piece of theater and the performances he elicits from his cast absolutely light up the screen. William Powell received a Best Actor nomination for his blustery performance as the iron-fisted Clarence Day and the lovely Irene Dunne was robbed of a nomination for her performance as Vinnie, the real head of the Day household. Jimmy Lydon and a young Martin Milner are fun as Clarence Jr and John and a beautiful young teenager named Elizabeth Taylor makes an impression as Mary Skinner. A classic stage piece makes a smooth transition to the screen. 3.5

Gideon58

01-21-21, 10:40 PM

Malice
In the tradition of films like Out of the Past and Body Heat comes 1993's Malice, a sizzling noir-ish type thriller that takes its time getting to the story it really intends to tell, but is consistently watchable thanks to a superb cast working at the top of their game.
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Andy (Bill Pullman) is a college dean married to Tracy (Nicole Kidman), a teacher, who are happily married but have been having trouble conceiving a child. Their troubles are further complicated when a medical condition of Tracy's forces Dr. Jed Hill (Alec Baldwin), an arrogant surgeon we're told has a "God complex", performs emergency surgery on Tracy that required the removal of one of her ovaries, forbidding her from having children permanently. Tracy leaves Andy for giving the doctor permission to operate on her and sues the doctor for $20,000,000, but it's not long before it's revealed that Tracy is not the hapless victim that she originally appears to be.
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Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network) and Scott Frank (Minority Report) have constructed a screenplay that is initially centered around a fascinating character in this Jed Hill, putting an arrogant surgeon in the position of possible losing his entire career but deciding instead to tell a much more conventional story about infidelity and blackmail, which is a viable story, but a much more interesting story could have been told here centering on the destruction of this self-absorbed surgeon who refuses to admit that what he did to Tracy was wrong. It's probably no coincidence that the hearing in the attorney's office where Tracy and her attorney press formal charges reminded me of the hearing scenes in The Social Network.
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The story that is eventually told here is quite unsettling for myriad reasons. It's hard to believe that Tracy would go to the elaborate lengths that she does here. It was unclear how Jed and Tracy were able to manipulate that entire hearing in order to make it appear that she was suing Jed. Some of the detective work that Andy does to figure out what was going on didn't make a lot of sense either.
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What does work here is some terrific performances that really help engage the viewer. Alec Baldwin, whose career has recently been reduced to playing Donald Trump on SNL, shows what a powerhouse actor he really is here and is perfectly complimented by Kidman's bitchy temptress. Bill Pullman also offers the finest performance of his career as the cuckolded Andy. Josef Summer and Peter Gallagher offer solid support and I loved a pair of classy cameos by the late George C. Scott and Anne Bancroft. A drama that remains watchable despite a muddy screenplay. 3.5

Gideon58

01-23-21, 10:00 PM

Draft Day
Imaginative direction and a terrific ensemble cast are the main selling points of a glossy comedy-drama called Draft Day that takes an up close and personal look at an aspect of professional football that is of paramount interest to anyone involved in the NFL, but I don't think has ever been addressed on film before.
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The 2014 film stars Oscar winner Kevin Costner as Sonny Weaver Jr., the general manager of the Cleveland Browns, who took over the job after firing his father from the job. The draft is coming up and Sonny has been afforded the opportunity to get the hottest quarterback in the country, Bo Callahan, as a first round draft pick. As word spreads of Sonny's good fortune, internal investigations reveal that Callahan is not the guy Sonny thinks he is and that choosing him for a first round draft pick could be a huge mistake.
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There are other mini-dramas surrounding the central one, including a running back named Vonte Mack (the late Chadwick Boseman) who has been pursuing his dream of being a Cleveland Brown for years to Sonny's distraction; a running back named Ray Jennings, whose past might keep him from being a draft pick, the revelation that Sonny's co-worker and girlfriend (Jennifer Garner) is pregnant, and Sonny's mother (Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn) who wants Sonny to drop everything he's doing so that he can spread his father's ashes over the field.
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The draft is an aspect of the NFL that really hasn't been addressed on the big screen before and screenwriters Scott Rothman and Rajiv Joseph deserve credit for this earnest look at this little addressed aspect of the game. There are a few holes in the plot that this reviewer couldn't get past: The previous relationship between Sonny and Vonte Mack is established early on but not explained in a way that made what we saw happen between them make sense. More importantly, it is never really explained what Bo Callahan was hiding, outside of the fact that his college teammates didn't show up to his 21st birthday party.
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The other thing works here is the stylish and imaginative direction of the late Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters) who gives this story a real Capra-esque quality with his attention to the setting of the film, which is actually every US city with a pro football team and making sure that the viewer knows where we are at all times, including absolutely gorgeous shots of all of the major football stadiums. Reitman also scores with his updating of the classic split screen technique, that sometimes moves when it should and moves when it shouldn't and the pictures actually cross the lines at time, allowing the viewer to watch one character slam down a phone and see the reaction of the person receiving the slam.
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Costner gives another of his patented Jimmy Stewart turns, which quietly anchors the proceedings and is provided solid support from Denis Leary as Coach Penn and the fabulous Frank Langella as the Browns' owner. Sharp eyes will also catch appearances from Timothy Simons, Stephen Root, Terry Crews, Rosanna Arquette, Anthony Rizzo, Deion Sanders, Chris Berman, and Sam Elliott. There's a slow spot here and there, but Costner and company make it worth your time. 3.5

TheUsualSuspect

01-24-21, 02:08 PM

I liked this movie and I don't care about football....maybe that helped?

Gideon58

01-25-21, 05:10 PM

I liked this movie and I don't care about football....maybe that helped?

I'm no football fan either, but I enjoyed this film nevertheless

Gideon58

01-27-21, 10:03 PM

Dance Girl Dance
A dazzling performance by Lucille Ball is at the center of a 1940 musical melodrama from RKO called Dance Girl Dance that has a place in cinematic history as Hollywood's first example of feminist cinema that was actually directed by a woman, something pretty much unheard of in 1940.
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Judy (Maureen O'Hara) and Bubbles (Lucy) are dancers in an Akron, Ohio nightclub that gets shut down. Finding themselves unemployed, Judy decides to seek her dream of being a prima ballerina, but decides against it after watching ballet dancers in a company run by Steve Adams (Ralph Bellamy). Meanwhile, Bubbles finds success as a burlesque queen and gets Judy a job as her "stooge" while both girls find themselves pursued romantically by a wealthy divorced playboy (Louis Hayward) still in love with his ex-wife (Virginia Field).
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Director Dorothy Arzner, whose other directorial credits include The Bride Wore Red and The Last of Mrs. Cheyney, brings a firm yet understated hand to Tess Slassinger and Frank Davis' thoughtful and adult screenplay that was groundbreaking in 1940 because female characters are at the center of the story as leads, and not just as romantic interests. Judy and Bubbles are the heroes here...these characters have brains and hearts and ambition and have more on their minds than marriage. The character of Bubbles has a surprising complexity to her that I really didn't expect. It's never really made clear whether Bubbles getting Judy hired for her show was an act of altruism or revenge and I think that was Arzner's intention. We're not supposed to know, because in the grand scheme of the story, it's really not important. If I had one problem with the story, it would be Hayward's
character. This guy is clearly still in love with his ex and still chasing these other two women. The cap on this character's appeal was permanently sealed when he tells Judy that he doesn't like that her eyes aren't the same color as his ex-wife
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When it comes down to it, it is the 100 megawatt performance by Lucille Ball that keeps this movie on boil. After watching her less than impressive performance in DuBarry was a Lady recently, I was a little hesitant about spending more time at the movies with Ball, but she more than makes up for it here. Watch that audition scene near the beginning where she is auditioning for a hula show...brassy and sexy to the nth degree. We even get a glimpse of the Lucy Ricardo character we would come to love eleven years later during a number called "My Mother Told Me" where Lucy has to battle a wind machine.
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Despite being filmed in black and white, RKO definitely poured some money into this movie, evidenced in art direction/set direction and costumes. Maureen O'Hara starts off a little one note but grows into the role of Judy, though her big speech at the climax might be a bit much, and Bellamy's role is basically thankless, but if the truth be told, Lucille Ball's fabulous performance as Bubbles makes this film worth the price of admission. 3.5

Gideon58

01-28-21, 09:41 PM

George Lopez: We'll Do it For Half
Netflix was on hand when comedian George Lopez picked up the standup mike for a 2020 concert entitled George Lopez: We'll Do it for Half and something tells me they might be wishing they had utilized their resources elsewhere.
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Don't get me wrong. At the heart of it, George Lopez is a very funny guy. His years of standup eventually led him to his sitcom on ABC. The last special I saw of his was American's Mexican, which was back in 2007. That special provided a lot of laughs, but its appeal was severely limited because Lopez spoke a lot of Spanish and we get even more of it here, to the point where if the viewer doesn't understand Spanish, they just want to turn it off.
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Live from San Francisco, Lopez spends the opening moments reaching out to the audience in Spanish before launching into a myriad of topics that are not foreign territory to comedians but becomes foreign territory when he stops speaking English. Lopez' pride regarding his race is to be admired, but he works so hard at connecting with his Latino fans that he pretty quickly alienates everyone else. His abrupt transitions through topics like immigration, aging, and children respecting their elders begin with general thoughts that always get a cheer from his audience and the build up to the punchline is usually pretty funny, but then the punchline is in Spanish and the non-Latino viewers are left in the cold.
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There were a few funny bits here and there. He did a very funny bit about those Life Alert "I've fallen and I can't get up" necklaces and being pulled over for drunk driving, and an impression of a white person ordering food in a Mexican restaurant, but these bits only took about 5 minutes out of a 51 minute concert.
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Lopez' limiting of his appeal can also be evidenced in the size of the audience. There are a couple of shots of the balcony during the concert and most of it was empty. There were empty seats observed downstairs as well. Unless he makes a concerted effort to broaden his appeal beyond the Latino community, his career is going to come to a stand still. Loved the stage dressing. A huge disappointment. 1.5

Gideon58

01-29-21, 04:41 PM

Ballet 422
Fans of the ballet should be enchanted by a 2014 documentary called Ballet 422, an intimate and beautifully detailed look at the mounting of an original ballet from choreographic concepts to opening night.
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This film centers around a dancer with the New York City Ballet named Justin Peck, a 25 year old member of the corps de ballet, which is the equivalent of being a chorus dancer in a Broadway musical, who has been pegged to mount a brand new ballet and only has two months to do it. It is the 422nd original piece mounted by the legendary ballet company.
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Needless to say, this film will have limited appeal. If the arts of dance, choreography, and theater hold no interest for you, give this film a pass. As a college musical theater major, I found this film fascinating from start to finish, in its eloquent presentation of ballet as a collaborative effort that involves a lot more than watching snooty, long-legged dancers competing for center stage. The film begins with Justin sketching out his ideas for the ballet on paper and then taping basic movements on his phone right up to opening night, and everything in between.
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Director Jody Lee Lipes, who was the cinematographer for 2016 Oscar nominee Manchester by the Sea, has chosen to mount this story as simply as possible...there is no narration and the camera seems to be invisible as it follows the choreographer and the dancers around, without any acknowledgment of the camera's presence. Lipes doesn't feel the need to explain anything as we watch dancers working together, Justin meeting with the wardrobe department, lighting technicians, and thanking the orchestra for their hard work.
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Enjoyed the fact that Lipes chose not to explain a lot of terminology that might be unfamiliar to those not familiar with the ballet. There's one moment during a rehearsal of the finale where Justin tells the company that the movements aren't "crispy" enough. We don't know what that means but the dancers do and that's what matters. This documentary doesn't pander to non-fans of the ballet and doesn't apologize for it. This film lays out bare what a completely collaborative effort the ballet is and how it's not for the lazy or uninspired. Lipes utilizes first rate production values here, with a special nod to sound...love the sound of a group of female dancers moving across a floor on pointe shoes. As a lover of the arts, this was a joy from start to finish. 4

Gideon58

01-29-21, 09:40 PM

The Wilde Wedding
Director/screenwriter Damien Harris attempts an homage to Woody Allen with 2017's The Wilde Wedding, a handsomely mounted comedy about a show business family that has a serious shot of star power going for it, but an overstuffed screenplay with way too many characters working against it.
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The film stars Glenn Close as Eve Wilde, a retired movie star preparing for her fourth wedding at her glamorous country estate. In addition to Harold, the groom to be (Patrick Stewart, almost unrecognizable with a full head of hair), the guest list also includes Eve's first husband, Laurence (John Malkovich), a Tony Award winning stage actor, Eve's drug addicted rock star daughter, Priscilla (Minnie Driver), and Laurence's three sons (Noah Emmerich, Jack Davenport, Peter Facinelli), and our hostess for the festivities, Eve's granddaughter, Mackenzie (Grace Van Patten), who has a secret crush on her cousin.
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Harris' screenplay seems to be delving into Hannah and her Sisters territory with a story centered around a show business family that divides into several mini-dramas as the story unfolds; unfortunately, he has populated the story with so many children, grandchildren, boyfriends, hetero girlfriends, and lesbian girlfriends that it is virtually impossible to keep up with everything that happens in the course of the story.
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What does work here is the story of the characters at the center of the story and the actors that portray them. It was a joy watching Close and Malkovich working together for the first time since Dangerous Liaisons playing characters nothing like the ones they played in that film. One touch I loved that Harris did with their characters was making Eve a movie star and making Laurence a stage actor and the differences between the kind of actors they are is made perfectly clear. There's a cute moment right before the rehearsal dinner where Laurence's sons bet on how long it will take their father to mention his Tony Award at the rehearsal dinner. Minnie Driver also does some flashy work, which includes an impressive cover of Billy Idol's "White Wedding".
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Harris' mounting of the story includes some first rate production values, especially the cinematography. The movie gets an "A" for effort, but truthfully, whenever Close, Malkovich, Stewart, and Driver aren't onscreen, the film screeches to a halt. These talented movie veterans do make this one worth a look. 3

Gideon58

01-30-21, 09:56 PM

Broadway Melody of 1936
Eleanor Powell was one of the first big talents to come out of MGM studios and it is her dancing that is the primary attraction of a lavish production called Broadway Melody of 1936 that has a few other things going for it as well.
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The 1935 musical stars Robert Taylor as Bob Gordon, a Broadway producer who is looking for financing and a leading lady for his hew show. A stuck-up diva named Lillian Brent agrees to finance the show if she can have the part. A dancer from Gordon's hometown named Irene Foster (Powell) shows up in New York thinking her past with Gordon will guarantee her the lead. Things are further complicated by a newspaper reporter named Bert Keeler (Jack Benny) who plants a story that a famous French actress, who doesn't really exist, is also interested in the part.
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Jack McGowan and Sid Silvers (who also appears in the film as Keeler's buddy, Scoop) have constructed a fun backstage story that provides the perfect escapist entertainment that 1930's movie audiences were looking for. Of course, there are some things that happen that are a little hard to swallow in 2021, like when Irene decides to pretend to be the French actress and all she does is put on a blonde wig and completely fool Gordon.
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It's the musical numbers that make this one worth the price of admission. Frances Langford impresses with her interpretations of "You are My Lucky Star" and "Broadway Rhythm". Decades before becoming Jed Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies, lanky Buddy Ebsen scores in a couple of numbers with his real life sister, Vilma. Buddy and Vilma play a brother/sister act onscreen as well, who befriend Powell's character. It's Powell's amazing dancing that is the standout element of the movie though. Trained in ballet and tap, Powell is allowed to display both skills here with an elaborate dream ballet and the energetic finale where Powell gets to display her unparalleled skill with pique and chaine turns. Dave Gould's choreography has a real Busby Berkeley influence.
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Robert Taylor brings a nice breeziness to the Robert Gordon character and Benny is surprisingly funny as Keeler. Can't leave here without mentioning a totally scene-stealing turn from Una Merkel as Gordon's secretary. Elaborate sets and costumes are the final touches on this slightly dated, but still entertaining musical romp. 3.5

Gideon58

02-01-21, 04:37 PM

A Thousand Acres
Some powerhouse performances from an amazing ensemble cast are the primary reason to check out a 1997 drama called A Thousand Acres, a Shakespearean-styled drama of family dysfunction from the writer of Oscar and Lucina and the director of Muriel's Wedding.
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The setting is an Iowa farm community where we meet Larry Cook (Jason Robards), the most respected farmer in town who is tired of farming and wants to give his farm to his daughters Ginny (Jessica Lange), Rose (Michelle Pfeiffer), and Caroline (Jennifer Jason Leigh), but Caroline wants nothing to do with the farm, which is the impetus for a whole lot of family secrets to come bubbling to the surface that have been buried for years.
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Laura Jones' screenplay, based on a novel by Jane Smiley is, interesting at its core. The story seems to be a modern re-thinking of King Lear that degenerates into a talky and predictable story that comes off as a combination of bad Tennessee Williams and bad daytime television. Once Caroline separates from the rest of the family, the family secrets come spilling out at a dizzying rate that is pretty much impossible to keep track of. Not to mention a pretentious narration by the Ginny character that added nothing to the story.
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Jocelyn Moorhouse's direction is overly detailed and panders too much to a very talky screenplay that is not nearly as compelling as it intends to be. The talk comes in the forms of family secrets that are supposed to shock and titillate, but there's so many secrets that the shock factor begins to wear off pretty quickly.
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The film is beautiful to look at, including some Oscar worthy cinematography by Tak Fujimoto, but what really works here and held this viewer's attention were some spectacular performances by a once in a lifetime cast, led by Oscar winners Jessica Lange and Jason Robards as the oldest daughter struggling to hold her family together and the bitter angry patriarch tearing his family apart. Pfeiffer and the always watchable Leigh bring a richness to their roles that isn't in the screenplay. Keith Carradine and Kevin Anderson are solid as Ginny and Rose's husbands and Colin Firth is sex on legs as the man who comes between Rose and Ginny. There are other strong contributions by Pat Hingle, John Carroll Lynch, Bob Gunton, and if you look closely, you might recognize a very young Michelle Williams and Elisabeth Moss playing Pfeiffer's daughters. The story tries to cover too much, but the incredible performances do make it worth a look. 3

Gideon58

02-03-21, 07:01 PM

Nomadland
Two-time Oscar winner Frances McDormand should be in serious consideration for a third Best Actress statuette as the centerpiece of an achingly real, harrowing, and squirm-worthy drama called Nomadland that takes an up close, often too up close, look at a forgotten aspect of American society that this reviewer doesn't recall ever being addressed onscreen before.
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The 2020 film opens by informing us that, in 2011, a factory in Empire, Nevada went out of business and crippled the town to the point that their zip code was eliminated. We are then introduced to a widow named Fern, played by McDormand, an assembly line worker for Amazon whose life was so severely damaged by the death of her husband and the closing of the factory, that she is now reduced to living in her van, becoming what is known as a nomad, a person who doesn't have a permanent residence and is forced to live in her vehicle.
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Director, screenwriter, and film editor Chloe Zhao has crafted an intimate and deeply personal look at a lifestyle that most of us have not really seen before. The plight of the homeless has been addressed in film, both in comedic and dramatic veins, but this is a different kind of homelessness that has its own set of challenges, in addition to what the homeless on the street go through. Yes, they have shelter but their shelter is on wheels and it's often a problem to find a place to park a van for any serious length of time without being bothered. There's a frighteningly realistic moment in the film where Fern is sitting in her van parked near a gas station, enjoying a piece of fried chicken, like it's a seven course meal and someone bangs on her window, telling her she can't park there. The look on Fern's face is sheer terror as she would prefer to die than to actually communicate with the person banging on her window.
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Zhao's screenplay eventually finds its way to a theory that the nomad lifestyle has its basis in different forms of grief and loss where often the only solace is isolation. We get brief glimpses into Fern's backstory that come full circle when Fern makes contact with her sister, whose offer to let Fern move in with her is politely refused. There's a great moment of outrage from Fern when her brother-in-law refers to here lifestyle as "chucking it all and hitting the road." Serious drama is also provided when Fern discovers her van is breaking down, which we forget as normal homeowners, would be comparable to our house burning down.
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We get other serious doses of reality when we see Fern having to find a place to urinate or when she has to battle with a fellow nomad over a can opener, which we learn is life's blood for a nomad. There's a beautifully edited scene where Fern disappears from a tour because she has to go to the bathroom and gets caught before she does. The moment when she has to admit to an auto mechanic that she lives in her van, the only time she says it out loud during the running time, is heartbreaking.
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This surprising look at a subculture we know so little about is gorgeously photographed, featuring Oscar-worthy cinematography and a lovely, but minimalistic music score that fills moments that need to be filled and disappears when not needed. Frances McDormand's beautifully understated performance in the title role could well earn a third Oscar and Zhao really scores by having several real-life nomads inhabit the story, making the film experience even richer. A simultaneously harrowing and hopeful motion picture experience that haunts long after the credits. 4.5

Gideon58

02-03-21, 09:40 PM

Dames
Though we have to wait for it a little longer than usual, the magic of mad genius Busby Berkley does finally take center stage in a bubbly musical comedy called Dames that does provide a surprisingly solid backstage story leading up to the movie dancing magic that is pure Busby Berkley.
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The 1934 musical is about a prissy bank president named Ezra Ounce (Hugh Herbert), who is repulsed by anything to do with Broadway. who travels to the home of his cousin, Horace Hemingway (Guy Kibbee) and offers him $10 million dollars if he will help him start a foundation whose primary mission would be to destroy Broadway. A charming songwriter named Jimmy Higgens (Dick Powell) is looking for backing for a new musical he's written for himself to star in with his tap-dancing girlfriend, Barbara (Ruby Keeler), who happens to be Horace's daughter. Throw in a smart dancer named Mabel (Joan Blondell) who uses a brief encounter with Horace to blackmail him out of $25000 to back Jimmy's show.
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We have to wait until the final third of the film, but in two musical numbers, we get the complete essence of what Busby Berkley was all about. While Florenz Ziegfeld was doing it on stage, Berkley was doing it in the movies...the glorification of woman and nobody did it like he did. I loved the way Berkley's numbers were always supposed to be part of a Broadway show, but Berkley always threw out any conception of reality and the confines of a proscenium stage and just presented the biggest most elaborate musical numbers, utilizing as many pretty female dancers he could cram on a stage, including his patented kaleidoscope photography from above the stage. The "I Only Have Eyes For You" actually moves from the from the front of a theater, to the stage, to a subway, to a dream sequence and even a train station! This number completely defies description, you just have to experience it. Only in the musical.
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Hugh Hubert and Guy Kibbee garner major laughs as Ezra and Horace as does Zasu Pitts as Horace's wife and Johnny Arthur as Ezra's secretary. This film established such a firm blueprint for 1930's musicals, that in 1966, an off-Broadway musical was written called Dames at Sea where the three principal characters were named Dick, Ruby, and Joan that introduced an unknown singer named Bernadette Peters to New York theater audiences as Ruby. 4

Gideon58

02-04-21, 06:56 PM

One Night in Miami
Oscar winner Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk) makes a solid feature-length directorial debut with her 2020 film version of a play called One Night in Miami, a fictional story fashioned around four real life icons in black history that suffers a bit due to a talky script and an air of pretension that seems to taint the director's vision.
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Based on a play by Kemp Powers, it's Miami in the 1960's where legendary civil rights leader Malcolm X is anxiously awaiting three guests in a motel room: R&B singer Sam Cooke, heavyweight boxing champion Cassius Clay, and NFL legend Jim Brown. The three men seem to be just as anxious to meet with Malcolm X as he is to meet with them. Unfortunately, what begins as an evening of mutual admiration turns tense and ugly as the legendary civil rights leader begins berating these other three men for selling out for the sake of their own careers and not stepping up as they should in the war for civil rights.
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The play upon which this film is based first opened at the Donmar Playhouse in England, which should be a bit of a red flag. This story feels like experimental theater and it's no surprise that it never made it across the pond to Broadway. There's a real danger of alienating an audience when real life historical figures are placed together in a fictional situation...characterizations are muddy and it's often difficult to accept real life people in certain situations. Even though this story is fictional. I do get the impression that, at some point, Malcolm X met with all three of these guys and Powers decided to compile these three separate meetings that Malcolm X had with these three men into a single story.
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It's no coincidence that we meet Cooke, Brown, and Clay at major turning points in their lives and careers...Cooke is trying to accept the pandering he has to do with white show business to remain viable; Brown has just left the Cleveland Browns and is getting ready to make his first movie, and Clay has been secretly meeting with X in order to join the nation of Islam. We then witness these three clearly conflicted men actually get browbeaten by Malcolm X for caring more about themselves than the civil rights movement. It seems we're supposed to give X a pass because he's at the point in his work where he is angering a lot of people and requires bodyguards in front of his motel room.
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This starts off as a really interesting idea and King's attention to production values and to casting is on the money, but Powers' adaptation of his own play is talky and pretentious, making all four of these guys seem very full of themselves and diluting the message that King and Powers are trying to send. Malcolm X comes off as an arrogant prick who has no right to tell these men about their responsibilities where the civil rights movement is concerned and the character's appeal went completely out the window when Malcolm told Sam Cooke that Bob Dylan's "Blowin in the Wind" was a better song than anything Cooke ever recorded.
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King's directorial hand is sensitive and the performances she gets from her hand-picked cast are just sensational, with standout work from Kingsley Ben-Adir as Malcolm X, Leslie Odom Jr., whose Sam Cooke earned him a Golden Globe nomination, and especially Eli Goree, who lights up the screen as Cassius Clay AKA Muhammed Ali. Not the full film experience it should have been, but still well worth seeing. 3.5

Gideon58

02-07-21, 06:04 PM

The Trial of the Chicago 7
A decade after winning his first Oscar for writing The Social Network, Aaron Sorkin is likely to come home with at least one more Oscar for directing and writing 2020's The Trial of the Chicago 7, a ferocious and unapologetic look at one of the most ugly and often unbelievable events in American history that completely mesmerized this reviewer, taking me through a myriad of emotions, and convincing me that this is the frontrunner for the Oscar for Best Picture of 2020.
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I was only ten years old when the events of this film occurred but really didn't understand a lot of what happened and even after viewing this film, there is a lot I still don't understand, but what I did learn here incited a lot of anger and shame inside me. For those who weren't around, riots and demonstrations at the 1968 Democratic Convention, primarily serving as a protest to the Vietnam War. There was massive destruction of property, injuries, deaths, and, if memory serves, CBS correspondent Mike Wallace was seriously injured during the mayhem. Five months after the convention, eight men were brought to trial for inciting the conspiracy that led to this devastating series of events and it is this trial that serves as a blueprint for this film, which provides a look at exactly what happened in Chicago as well as a lot of the fallout.
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For my money, Aaron Sorkin is a lock for the Original Screenplay Oscar for his meticulous crafting of a turbulent time in history, made only richer with the release of this film coming during this country's current political climate. The story begins as we meet Tom Hayden, Jerry Rubin, Abbie Hoffman, Rennie Davis, David Dellinger, John Froines, Lee Weiner, and Bobby Seale planning their individual pilgrimages to Chicago, as well as their varied intentions for doing so and then skipping straight to the trial, where these events find these virtual strangers at the same defense table as co-conspirators, despite the fact that some of them had never met and some weren't even present at the riots.
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This film chronicles allegiances that are sharply divided on both sides of this monumental legal case. We learn that prosecuting attorney Richard Schulze was pretty much shoved into this and that the judge presiding over the case, Julius Hoffman, at least according to this screenplay, was dealing with some form of senility or dementia that made his handling of the trial a mockery and Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman's mockery of the process, that just enflamed the judge. Above all this was the absurdity was the fact that Bobby Seale went into this trial with no legal representation and the judge didn't seem to care, despite reluctant assistance from counselor William Kunstler, who tried to have Seale's back without actually representing him, which I didn't understand at all.
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Sorkin's directorial skills make their mark here too, with an effective blending of archival footage of the events along with his own recreation of the events, which are in-your-face disturbing and hard to discount, where Sorkin gets a strong Oscar-worthy assist from film editor Alan Baumgarten. Sorkin's skill of blending archival footage with the event of the film recalled Oliver Stone's JFK.
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Sorkin's attention to serving this ugly story is greatly aided by some terrific casting that greatly added to the emotional impact of this story. Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne is the moral heart of the story as Tom Hayden with a solid assist from Oscar winner Mark Rylance as William Kunstler. There is also solid work from Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Bobby Seale, Jeremy Strong as Jerry Rubin, a stylish and theatrical turn from Frank Langella as Judge Hoffman, and especially a show stopping performance from Sasha Baron Cohen as Abbie Hoffman that should earn him the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. This film was a blazing experience that was a triumph for Aaron Sorkin that left me spent and wiping tears from my eyes. 5

Gideon58

02-08-21, 04:22 PM

Belushi
John Belushi was a one-of-a-kind talent who has finally been afforded a tribute to him by SHOWTIME that is worthy of him. The 2020 documentary Belushi scores not because of a lot of new information provided regarding the star's life but the imagination employed in the way the information is presented.
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Prior to this film, the only tribute to Belushi we had really had was a dreadful 1989 biopic called Wired starring Michael Chiklis, that was done on the cheap and provided little insight into Belishi, so this documentary was long overdue, but the pleasant surprise was some heretofore unfamiliar methods of looking at the star's too short life and career.
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The blueprint for this documentary is a large series of audio tapes of interviews with people who were important to Belushi that were recorded shortly after his death. None of these people are seen onscreen. Instead we hear them talking to video of John's life, whether it be archival TV or movie footage, childhood photographs, or best of all, some crisp animated recreations of certain interviews with John and other major events.
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Among the people contributing to the audio are Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Lorne Michaels, Jane Curtin, Harold Ramis, Candice Bergen, Matty Simmons, Annie Beatts, Penny Marshall, Jim Belushi, and John's wife, Judy.
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Written correspondence between John and Judy is lovingly recreated for us and we are given some insight into a man who spent a lot of his career trying to forget his ethnicity of which he was truly ashamed, that he didn't think women were funny, that he was extremely jealous when Chevy Chase became the first breakout star from SNL, and that the one time in his life where he seemed content and happy was during the filming of National Lampoon's Animal House. I also loved learning that Belushi thought his career was set for life when he learned he had been signed for the lead in the Steven Spielberg comedy 1941.
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Director RJ Cutler is to be applauded for the style and imagination he employed in bringing this very special star's story to the screen. He does so with respect and a dash of hero worship which comes through in every frame. 4

Gideon58

02-08-21, 09:55 PM

The French Connection
1971's The French Connection was a gritty yet meticulously crafted fact-based action adventure that helped usher in a new era of realistic filmmaking that earmarked a lot of the films made in the 1970's. Its connections with audiences and critics made it a box office smash and won the film five Oscars, including Best Picture of the Year.
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The film follows a hard-nosed narcotics cop named Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle and his partner, Buddy Russo who, after years of moderate success chasing small time drug dealers, get a chance to stop a huge shipment of heroine on its way to Manhattan from Marseilles, coordinated by international drug dealer named Alain Charnier and a French television star named Henri Devereaux.
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Ernest Tidyman's Oscar winning adaptation of a book by Robin Moore is actually a somewhat fictionalized story centered around a pair of real life cops named Eddie Egan and Sonny Russo (who has a small part in the film) and how their work on this case actually ended up terminating their jobs on narcotics. The screenplay is carefully constructed with an uncanny attention to exposition, setting up exactly what is going to happen, beginning in Marseilles, and providing just enough backstory on all of the characters involved to help the viewer understand the players. It was especially impressive the way the opening scenes found time to provide a sympathetic side to Charnier showing him bidding farewell to his young bride before leaving for America.
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There were a couple of things that really impressed me about this film. There were some things that happen in the beginning of the film that initially made no sense, but by the time the credits rolled, the importance of everything we had seen at the beginning of the film came into focus. Also loved the establishment of this central character, Popeye Doyle, who lived his job, and just seemed to ignore his superiors when during the second act was taken off the case.
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There's one memorable scene after another here. Loved Doyle pretending to shake down an entire bar in order to speak privately to his CI and that memorable little game of cat and mouse between Doyle and Charnier on the subway. And that nail-biting chase between automobile and subway was unlike anything I've ever seen.
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The film features some dazzling camerawork that actually made this reviewer dizzy during some moments with a grand assist from the Oscar-winning film editing by Gerald Greenberg. In addition to Best Picture, after two previous supporting nominations, Gene Hackman won his first Oscar for Outstanding Lead actor for his explosive work as Doyle and the late Roy Scheider received a supporting nomination for Buddy Russo. Fernando Rey made an imposing Charnier, a performance that was more attitude than dialogue, which gave the character an imposing chill. A must-see for action fans that was followed by a sequel. 4

Gideon58

02-09-21, 09:52 PM

Down Argentine Way
Classic Hollywood's million dollar legs crosses a romantic path with classic Hollywood's toothiest smile in a rather slight musical confection called Down Argentine Way, which was one of 20th Century Fox's biggest hit musicals, though I'm not sure why, except for a couple of memorable appearances by some specialty performers who were allowed to make their first serious impressions onscreen here.
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Betty Grable plays Glenda Crawford, a bubbly American heiress who is vacationing in Argentina with her Aunt Binnie (Charlotte Greenwood) who falls in love with the charming son of a racehorse owner named Ricardo Quintana (Don Ameche), who feels the same way about Glenda until he learns that her father is a sworn enemy of his father.
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The stars do their best to make something out of this paper-thin screenplay that would make a rather fun hour-long film, but director Irving Cummings managed to stretch the running time out to 90 minutes by inserting several musical numbers along the way that really have nothing to do with the story at hand, but do introduce a couple of future popular musical acts who would eventually earn their places in Hollywood musical history: This 1940 film marked the American film debut of Carmen Miranda, known for her outrageous head gear and her fractured English, who is given three musical numbers here, including one that opens the entire film. This film also marked an early film appearance for the legendary Nicholas Brothers. Harold and Fayard Nicholas actually stop the show with an incredible tap number done to the title tune, which, alone, is worth the price of admission.
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and Ameche called "Two Dreams Met" and a rowdy production number led by the long-legged Greenwood called "Sing For Your Senorita."
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I must admit another disappointment here because for years I had heard about the incredible legs of Betty Grable, which, according to Hollywood legend, were once insured for a million dollars by Lloyds of London, but had to wait until almost halfway through the film to get a glance of Grable's legs. Ameche's 127 teeth were on display for the entire running time.
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Fox must be applauded for taking the time and expense to actually film some of the movie in South America. There were so many musicals made during this period that were set in foreign countries but it was obvious that the entire movie was done on Hollywood sound stages. Grable and Ameche make an engaging screen team and Greenwood is a real scene-stealer, but truthfully the five minutes that the Nicholas Brothers are onscreen are the best thing in the film. 2.5

Gideon58

02-10-21, 07:37 PM

Promising Young Woman
A bone-chilling and Oscar-worthy performance by Carey Mulligan in the starring role makes 2020's Promising Young Woman worth investing in despite some confusing plot elements.
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Mulligan plays Cassandra, a 30-year old med school dropout who now works as a barista and still lives with her parents. It is revealed that Cassandra was so traumatized by a tragic event in her past that was some kind of sexual assault. We know this because every weekend Cassandra goes out to bars and pretends to be drunk and let men take her home, then shocking them when she reveals that she's sober and puts the men trying to take advantage of her in their place. Cassandra's bar adventures actually turn out to be just part of an elaborate plan of revenge for that tragic event that actually didn't happen to her.
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Director and screenwriter Emerald Fennell has come up with a story that is relevant in this "Me too" era, but gets away from her a bit as this event that triggers this snap in Cassandra not only finds her seeking revenge on the people who were directly involved but also finds her taking out her suffering on bystanders who were aware of what happened and chose to remain silent. What I do like about the screenplay is the way Fennell constructs Casandra's plan so that with each confrontation she has with someone involved, a piece of the puzzle regarding this assault falls in place, but it's not spelled out for the viewer. The viewer is able to piece together what happened, though another layer of viewer confusion is added as it's revealed that Cassandra was not the victim of the original assault. Early on after each trip to the bar, Cassandra is observed making hash tags in a notebook, but the purpose of this notebook is never really made clear,
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Director Fennell effectively creates a contemporary and believable canvas for this story to unfold with a genuine sociopath right at the center of it. The creep factor of this Cassandra character is high voltage, bringing to mind movie characters like Jennifer Jason Leigh's character in Single White Female, Kathy Bates' character in Misery, with just a dash of Margaret White in Carrie. This Cassandra character rivets the viewer to the screen because her mental issues are as prevalent as the character's rampant unpredictability.
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Fennell has a terrific eye with the camera that create some memorable images for the viewer. That scene where she smashes the headlights of a stranger in a truck and she's standing in the middle of the street was chilling, as was her preparation for the final showdown at a bachelor party. The problems with the story fade to the background thanks to the deliciously unhinged performance by Carey Mulligan as Cassandra, that should earn Mulligan her second Oscar nomination. Solid support is provided by Bo Burnham as a young doctor, Allison Brie as a former schoolmate, and Clancy Brown and Jennifer Coolidge as Cassandra's parents. An impressive debut for a practically unknown filmmaker and a brilliant showcase for one of our industry's most underrated actors. 4

Holden Pike

02-10-21, 08:21 PM

Director and screenwriter Emerald Fennell has come up with a story that is relevant in this "Me too" area, but gets away from her a bit as this event that triggers this snap in Cassandra not only finds her seeking revenge on the people who were directly involved but also finds her taking out her suffering on bystanders who were aware of what happened and chose to remain silent about.

I didn't find that at all incongruous as a comment about the era or that kind of trauma. What she puts the Alison Brie and Connie Britton characters through is an appropriate extension of her rage and disappointment in not just the perpetrators but the system that allows it to continue to flourish. I thought the Dean's punishment and forced realization was wonderfully done and one of the highlights.

Early on after each trip to the bar, Cassandra is observed making hash tags in a notebook, but the purpose of this notebook is never really made clear.

Initially you are supposed to think she is killing each conquest, but it is later revealed that she "just" humiliates them and forces them to see themselves as predators rather than "nice guys". These were practice runs for the finale, but even that we can wonder if she actually would have gone through with it or if once again the torture of their helplessness and confrontation about the past would have been enough and her actual goal? Of course for the ending to pay off she certainly did not underestimate what they are capable of.

...the deliciously unhinged performance by Carey Mulligan as Cassandra, that should earn Mulligan her second Oscar nomination. Solid support is provided by Bo Burnham as a young doctor, Allison Brie as a former schoolmate, and Clancy Brown and Jennifer Coolidge as Cassandra's parents. An impressive debut for a practically unknown filmmaker and a brilliant showcase for one of our industry's most underrated actors.

Really well done movie. I especially liked the casting. A deliberate effort was made to choose actors who have "kind" screen personas and are not known for playing creeps and heavies. Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Adam Brody, Bo Burnham, Sam Richardson, and Max Greenfield are all known for playing charming characters in light comedies, underlining the film's point that "nice guys" are capable of some dark sheeeee-it.

Wyldesyde19

02-10-21, 09:23 PM

I too, really enjoyed Promising Young Woman. I agree largely with Holden’s take.

Gideon58

02-11-21, 07:47 PM

Invitation to the Dance
After the unparalleled success of An American in Paris and Singin in the Rain, Gene Kelly had the juice with MGM to get his own passion project on the screen. The uneven result was the 1956 film Invitation to the Dance where Kelly tries to tell three different stories through the art of dance without any dialogue.
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The film gives us three different stories: "The Circus" is a romantic triangle between a circus clown, a beautiful trapeze artist, and a daring tightrope walker. "Ring Around the Rosy" is a sophisticated look at an unfaithful wife and a magic bracelet. "Sinbad the Sailor" is a variation on the Aladdin legend where Kelly performs with animated characters.
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I completely understand Kelly's desire to bring his passion for the art of dance to the screen and tell a story while doing it, but if the truth be told, I would have preferred to have seen a little more dance, and not so much story. Kelly takes a little too much time setting up the stories, especially "Ring Around the Rosy", where we are introduced to all of the characters involved before the ballet even begins. Honestly I didn't understand "Ring Around the Rosy" at all, though I loved sections of the ballet, especially Tommy Rall's number at the stage door backed by a male chorus and Kelly's steamy pas de deux with Tamara Toumanova, an elegant Russian ballerina who is given the provocative character name "The Girl on the Stairs."
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Truthfully, the third story, which blends live dancing and animation, made the rest of the film worth sitting through. Kelly plays a sailor who finds a lantern, lets the genie out, and turns the genie into a little boy (David Kasday). Kelly's sailor finds himself doing a soft shoe with a pair of animated guards which for me, was the film's strongest moment. The sailor's pas de deux with Scheherazade was almost identical to the end of Kelly's Broadway Ballet in Singin in the Rain, including Charisse dancing with a gigantic scarf around her neck just like the animated princess does here.
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Clearly, MGM afforded Kelly a huge budget to make his dream a reality. Production values are first rate with standout art direction/set direction, sound, and orchestrations. It's lovely what Kelly tried to do here, but it was just a little dry and overly sophisticated for 1956 movie audiences who made the film one of the year's biggest box office bombs, but for Kelly fans, definitely worth a look. 3

Gideon58

02-12-21, 03:33 PM

Palmer
Sensitive direction and an intense performance from the star make a manipulative and sometimes challenging drama called Palmer well worth investing in despite some cliched plotting.
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The 2021 Apple original release features Justin Timberlake in the title role, an ex-convict who returns to his hometown after 12 years and finds himself developing a relationship with the young son of drug addict named Sam, who wears makeup, plays with dolls, and more than anything wants to be a princess.
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Screenwriter Cheryl Guerriero has penned what initially appears to be a story we've seen a million times...the ex-con trying to start his life over and cleverly blends it with a story of tolerance and bigotry which will make some viewers uncomfortable because the victim of the bigotry is a little boy and it's understandable to a point. There's something extremely squirm-worthy about watching a little boy struggling with his sexual identity. The situation is further saddened by the fact that young Sam doesn't know he's struggling.
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Director Fisher Stevens offers a sensitive and sometimes intrusive eye into the lives of Palmer and Sam. An ex-con starting over is nothing new the screen and a large portion of Palmer's rehabilitation and its roadblocks are pretty predictable. It's the combination of watching a man trying to start over with a troubled child who doesn't know he's troubled is what gives the story its dash of originality. The first scene where Palmer sees Sam playing with dolls is so unsettling that we are actually surprised when these two eventually bond. Palmer's acceptance of something he really doesn't understand is a joy to watch.
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Stevens employed first rate production values to this unusual story and a cast that serves the story. Timberlake proves to be a actor of substance in the complex title role...I especially love the beginning of Palmer's relationship with Sam where Palmer is truly embarrassed by the kid. Young Ryder Allen lights up the screen as Sam and there's a flashy performance by Juno Temple as Sam's messed up mom. A somewhat familiar story is provided some meat we really don't see coming. 4

Gideon58

02-17-21, 09:20 PM

Give a Girl a Break
Despite some silly and cliched plot elements, the 1953 MGM musical Give a Girl a Break is still worth watching because it showcases three of the best dancers from the MGM stable of stars.
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As the film opens a snooty Broadway diva named Janet Hallston has just quit a Broadway show three weeks before it's scheduled to open. The scramble for a new leading lady reveals that the director and star of the show (Gower Champion) wants his ex-co-star and girlfriend, Madeline (Marge Champion) to take the part. The show's composer (Kurt Kazner) wants a self-absorbed ballerina (Helen Wood) to take the part and the dance director (Bob Fosse) wants an experienced cutie fresh off the bus from Missouri named Suzy (Debbie Reynolds) for the lead.
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It turns out that the ballerina is married and her husband has been offered a job at a college outside of New York; Madeline has been away from the stage for a couple of years and she has a new boyfriend who hates Broadway as well, and poor Suzy, as talented as she might be, just doesn't have the experience.
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From the casting alone, we can pretty much tell how this is going to end, but there are some really silly roadblocks to the requisite happy ending. First of all, we hear the composer complain that he's going to have to re-write the whole show because Janet has quit, which would never happen three weeks before opening. And there's no way would the final casting decision come down to putting the three girls' names in a hat and picking one, but it's MGM in the 1950's, so we go with it.
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What makes this film worth watching is the magic of Marge and Gower Champion, an amazing pair of dancers, who unfortunately, never became the stars they could have been because they were terrible actors but they really get to shine here. Their jazzy pas de deux on the rooftop and their dance during the final fantasy ballet. Of course, Gower would later become a Tony award winning director and choreographer who directed the original Broadway shows Hello Dolly and Bye Bye Birdie. We also get to watch the iconic Bob Fosse, also a terrible actor, but one of the finest dances ever to grace a stage or screen, who, 19 years after this film was made, would blindside Francis Ford Copolla and win the Oscar for Best Director for his film version of Cabaret. He really gets to shine with Reynolds during the In Our United States number. Champion choregraphed most of the musical numbers, but those familiar with his style will be able to tell that Fosse choregraphed his own.
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The film features some fantastic set direction and costumes and Lurene Tuttle was adorable as Reynolds' mother. It's no Singin in the Rain, but the Champions and Fosse make it worth the time for true fans of movie dancing. 3

Gideon58

02-18-21, 04:28 PM

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
His powerhouse performance in The Trial of the Chicago 7 could win him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, but it doesn't change the fact that Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Sasha Baron Cohen's sequel to his surprise 2006 hit, is the most crude, tasteless, offensive, repellent, unfunny, illogical, and just plain stupid film that I've seen in about 20 years and makes the first film look like Citizen Kane.
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In this 2020 sequel, we learn that the report Borat submitted to his native land of Kazakhstan as a result of his trip to America in the first film has disgraced him upon his return home and has had him threatened with execution. Borat decides the only way to avoid execution is to return to the United States and offer his daughter, Tutar, as a sexual gift to former Vice President Mike Pence.
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There is no denying that Sasha Baron Cohen is a talented writer and actor with a strong political conscience but he really missed the boat here. It's mind-blowing that 10 other writers contributed to this outrageous screenplay that doesn't seem to be rooted in anything but Baron's obvious political conscience and what seems to be an inexplicable desire to disgust movie audiences.
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My primary problem with this film is that a lot of what happens with Borat and his daughter in this movie is kept a complete mystery to the viewer because the characters are speaking in what research revealed to be Bulgarian for a lot of the story. It's understandable that foreign characters are going to be speaking a foreign language, but there are just too many crucial moments in the story where it would have been nice to know exactly what Borat and Tutar are saying and we don't. Cohen and director Jason Woliner attempt to provide understanding with the camerawork but that only works in small doses. There were just too many scenes where the camerawork implied that what was being said between the characters was important, but this reviewer just felt shut out and in the dark.
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There are countless moments of crude and tasteless humor throughout, including a scene at a debutante ball that literally had me turning my head from the screen. Cohen's treatment of the Republican party is merciless and I'm shocked that Mike Pence and Donald Trump, aren't suing Cohen and I can't believe Rudy Guiliani agreed to appear in this mess. An attempt to make up for the insanity seems to be attempted as Cohen implies that Borat may have been responsible for the Pandemic, but it's way too little, way too late.
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If I had to say something positive about the film, there's no denying that Maria Bakalova gives a fearless performance as Borat's daughter. but I'm not sure if it's enough to recommend this film. This film has unbelievably been nominated for the Golden Globe for Outstanding Film, Comedy or Musical and all I can say about that is there must of only been five or six comedy or musical films made in 2020. Or maybe the Hollywood Foreign Press were just drunk when they saw this. 1

Gideon58

02-20-21, 10:04 PM

For Me and My Gal
The film features one of Judy Garland's richest performances, but the 1942 MGM musical For Me and My Gal is best known as the film debut of a charismatic young hoofer named Gene Kelly...and deservedly so.
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It's the golden age of vaudeville and singer Jo Hayden (Garland) decides to leave her partner Jimmy Metcalfe (George Murphy) when she meets a cocky young performer named Harry Palmer (Kelly). Jo and Harry achieve a modicum of success and fall in love in the process, but they find their careers and their relationship disripted by the outbreak of WWI.
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Hollywood was a big supporter of the war effort during the 1940's and a lot of films made during this period were in big support of the war and this musical was no exception, though Richard Sherman's screenplay takes its time getting from a backstage musical to a commercial for the war, but the transition is smooth and believable.
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Director Busby Berkley does a superb job of showcasing his stars instead of cramming three hundred pretty girls on a stage and photographing them from the ceiling. He also gives his stars a chance to prove their versatility. Though she was always known for her incredible pipes. Garland really gets a chance to show off her dancing skills and Kelly's vocal abilities get a real showcase, doing lovely two-part harmony with Garland for several numbers.
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Musical highlights include Kelly and Garland's "Ballin the Jack", Garland's powerhouse belting of "After You've Gone", and the title tune which also features a delightful soft shoe for the stars.
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The musical seems to have been afforded a big budget despite the black and white filming and the cast is terrific. Garland and Kelly get strong support from Murphy, future director Richard Quine as Garland's brother, and a small role for Keenan Wynn as Kelly's agent. A solid effort from MGM and a stellar debut by Kelly. 3.5

Gideon58

02-22-21, 04:30 PM

Willy's Wonderland
There are plot holes that a truck could drive through, but 2021's Willy's Wonderland is an unapologetically bloody action thriller that's from the "put your brain in check and enjoy" school of filmmaking that actually riveted this reviewer to the screen.
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In order to get his car repaired, a quiet drifter, played by Oscar winner Nicolas Cage, agrees to clean and restore a condemned children's restaurant/arcade, something akin to the Chuck E. Cheese franchise, called Willy's Wonderland, which is full of some creepy animatronic robots that come to life and try to murder our hero. Meanwhile, there are a group of teenagers who approach the wonderland with the intention of burning it to the ground, but they end up inside and in just as much, if not more danger than our hero, simply billed as "The Janitor".
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G O Parsons' debut as a screenwriter has concocted a story that seems to be Westworld meets Friday the 13th with just a dash of Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones where we find alleged machines coming alive and wreaking havoc, promiscuous teenagers being punished for their behavior and backstory that features human sacrifice and group suicide, but the viewer is still left in the dark about a lot of things. We are surprised when the robots begin attacking the janitor, he makes no attempt to escape and takes on every challenge from these mechanical monsters. When he is offered help from the teenagers to get away, he is not interested and when the kids are in trouble, he doesn't lift a finger to help them either. There's also a lot of screentime devoted to the janitor's consumption of what appears to be some sort of energy drink and we think it's going to figure in the story somewhere, but it never really does. Even the allegedly dimwitted Sheriff that is usually part of thrillers like this isn't what she initially appears to be either.
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We soon find these story inconsistencies moved to the backburner thanks to the imaginative direction that provides some serious "boos" and some unrelentingly bloody battles between the janitor and the robots and Lewis doesn't rush into it either...I love the first shot of the animatronic robots where the janitor has his back turned to them and we're waiting for an actual attack, and all we get is one robot briefly lifting his wings and putting them right back in place...one of the great movie false starts I've seen in movie thrillers. The robots are actually so terrifying that it's actually hard to believe that they were designed for a children's themed restaurant, but it seems like they really weren't. I also loved the unexpected storytelling gimmick employed where Cage's character doesn't speak a word for the entire running time.
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Lewis' camerawork is endlessly imaginative and gets a strong assist from film editor Ryan Liebert. The pacing of what happens here is so electric and distracting enough to make us forget about the plot holes. Cage brings a real Rambo quality to the Janitor and in an offbeat but effective bit of casting, LOVED veteran Beth Grant as the Sheriff. So put your brain in check and enjoy this bloody bumpy ride. 3.5

Gideon58

02-23-21, 04:39 PM

The Elephant Man
David Lynch, the director of Mulholland Drive and Blue Velvet, created his masterpiece with 1980's The Elephant Man, his exquisitely mounted, fact-based tale of friendship, bigotry, and tolerance that is so riveting and heartbreaking that this reviewer spent the entire running time with his stomach in knots and fighting tears , eventually losing said fight to this movie powerhouse that received eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.
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The setting is 1860's Victorian London where an important surgeon named Frederick Treves (Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins) meets a hideously deformed man named John Merrick (the late John Hurt) who is resigned himself to his life as a carnival sideshow freak owned by a Mr. Bytes. We watch Treves try to help Merrick retrieve his dignity as a human being even if he can't fix what's wrong with him physically.
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Lynch applies loving care to a beautifully crafted screenplay that tells a detailed and believable story rich with three dimensional characters rich with believable emotions. The characters involved in this story are surprisingly painted in realistic shades of gray that I really didn't see coming. Even the evil Mr. Bytes, who uses Merrick for economic purposes, is provided a moment near the film's opening where a speck of genuine affection is displayed for John. The reactions to people's first sight of Merrick are all believable and the transition that some characters make to respecting who John is completely enchants the viewer, and in another realistic turn that we don't see coming, John's journey to acceptance takes a dark and heartbreaking turn during the third act that absolutely destroyed me.
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One of my favorite parts of the story is the instant and believable acceptance that John receives from an acclaimed actress (Anne Bancroft), who treats John like the sensitive and intelligent person he is revealed to be. Bancroft sparkles in this scene and watching the two characters reciting Romeo and Juliet was a joy. Also loved the scene where John learns the 23rd Psalm. Loved when John asked Treves if he could cure him and Treves gave him an honest answer without any hesitation
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The film deserved every Oscar nomination it received (and a couple it didn't), though it didn't win a single award, falling under the crush of Raging Bull and Ordinary People. Filmed in stunning black and white, the film features brilliant performances from Hopkins, Hurt (unrecognizable under an Oscar-worthy makeup job a year before the Academy invented the category), John Gielgud as the hospital administrator, Wendy Hiller as the head nurse, and Freddie Jones as Bytes. In a word, a breathtaking film experience. 5

SpelingError

02-24-21, 12:15 AM

Yeah, great film. Glad you loved it.

Wyldesyde19

02-24-21, 12:18 AM

Elephant Man recently moved me to tears. 3rd film I can think of that has ever done that.

Gideon58

02-25-21, 04:41 PM

Robin's Wish
The 2018 documentary Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind was a thoughtful and detailed overlook at the life and amazing career of Robin Williams, but a 2020 documentary called Robin's Wish takes a much different tack as it basically looks at the final year in the actor's life, the pain and real reasons for his suicide in 2014, and the many misconceptions of same, from some refreshing sources.
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As expected, the film begins with archival news footage reporting Williams' death to the world, but instead of then reverting to his childhood and getting a birth to death chronicle of the actor, we are returned to the final year of the actor's life, where we are treated to a tragic look at the depression and pain the actor was going through, which eventually manifested itself in the final diagnosis of his death, a disease called Lewy Body Dementia, which was originally misdiagnosed as Parkinson's Disease.
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In a refreshing change of pace for a celebrity documentary, a good portion of the people interviewed for this film were simply Robin's neighbors from the Bay area of San Francisco, where it is made clear that Robin was not interested in the Hollywood scene and the concept of celebrity. He just wanted to be a neighbor and that's exactly the way his neighbors talk about him.
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The sections of the film with Robin's widow, Susan, were a different story. As painful as talking about this might have been, there are only two moments in the film where she briefly loses her composure. Loved the way director Tylor Norwood had the camera follow Susan through the Williams house as if the camera is Williams' ghost.
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In addition to Susan Schneider Williams and his neighbors, commentary is also provided by comic legend Mort Sahl and director Shawn Levy, who worked with Williams on the Night of the Museum franchise and whose recall of the beginning of the end for Williams during the filming of the third movie, is still a pretty fresh wound for him. Also enjoyed the shots of Williams' initial work on Aladdin opposite original drawings of the character. An intimate and moving look at the final days of a show business legend unlike we will ever see again. 4

gbgoodies

02-26-21, 03:48 AM

As much as I want to watch both of the Robin Williams documentaries, I still find it hard to watch anything about him and his life. His death was one of the most shocking celebrity deaths, and possibly the most heartbreaking one in recent years.

Gideon58

02-26-21, 09:33 PM

I can understand how you feel GBG, but I was equally shocked by news of his passing, especially that it was by suicide and watching these documentaries have helped me to cope with what the man was going through and why he chose to end his own life. Robin's Wish really helped me with some closure about what happened.

Gideon58

02-27-21, 01:33 PM

A Patch of Blue
Powerhouse performances by the three leads are the main attraction of A Patch of Blue, an emotionally charged 1965 drama of family dysfunction, abuse, and bigotry that had this reviewer riveted to the screen with his stomach in knots.
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Salina is a sensitive, uneducated blind girl who lives in a cramped tenement with her alcoholic and abusive mother, Rose-Ann and her equally alcoholic and abusive grandfather. Salina's only respite from the virtual prison where she is lives is visits to the local park where one day she meets Gordon, an intelligent black office clerk who begins to help Salina learn survival techniques in the sighted world, but eventually becomes determined to help Salina escape her miserable life while in the process, Salina finds herself falling in love with Gordon.
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Director and screenwriter Guy Green has crafted an engaging tale of a young girl who's been trapped in this dysfunctional existence for so long that she doesn't know how dysfunctional it is. Green's screenplay reveals most of Salina's backstory through her meeting with Gordon, including how she lost her eyesight, which reveals why Salina has been kept in darkness ever since, rarely leaving her house and not knowing how to go grocery shopping or even how to use a phone.
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Salina's plight tugs at the viewer's heartstrings immediately and we want to see her escape from the life that she's been living and we are offered hope through her meeting with Gordon. Conflict is revealed for Gordon when he and Salina share their first kiss and Salina says she loves him. Gordon never says he loves her. though there are feelings there. but there is something in his past that has him keeping an emotional distance, hinted at in scenes with his brother, but never fully revealed.
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The film takes a simple but effective tac in showing the viewer how difficult being sightless is in two very powerful scenes. One is when Salina's in the park at night and a sudden thunderstorm stirs up, striking more terror in her than we have seen up to that point. We also see it later when her grandfather refuses to take her to the park and she tries to get there by herself, where she is informed she has no "right" to be alone. Things look grim for Salina when Rose-Ann sees Mark and Salina for the first time, but, in a refreshing change of pace, the bigotry angle of the storyline doesn't beat the viewer over the head. The scene where she does finally strike back at her mother does induce cheers and hope.
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Elizabeth Hartman gives a luminous performance as Salina, a performance that completely endears the character to the viewer and earned her an Oscar nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress. Shelley Winters won her second Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her ferocious performance as Rose-Ann and Wallace Ford also scores as Salina's grandfather. And Sidney Poitier offers one of his warmest and most engaging performances as Gordon. A sensitive, angry, and hopeful tale of loneliness and friendship that hits all the right notes. 4

gbgoodies

02-28-21, 01:13 AM

Gideon58

03-01-21, 04:37 PM

The United States vs Billie Holiday
Despite a spectacular performance from the leading lady, the 2021 Hulu production The United States vs Billie Holiday falters due to a confusing screenplay and melodramatic direction that causes the film to move at a snail's pace.
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This film opens in 1947 where we find Billie Holiday on the cusp of true stardom, but her star is out of reach partly because of her heroine addiction and partly because of a song she recorded called "Strange Fruit" which the federal government is actually trying to figure out how to stop her from performing because of its subject matter. A federal agent named Jimmy Fletcher is sent undercover to bust Billie for drugs so that her cabaret license can be revoked and she can be rendered incapable of performing "Strange Fruit", but Fletcher's job becomes complicated when he enters into a toxic affair with the singer.
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Holiday's life first came to the screen in 1972 as Lady Sings the Blues which was the film debut of Diana Ross and earned her an Oscar nomination. Suzan-Lori Parks' screenplay for this film, based on a book called "Chasing the scream" pretty much begins where the 1972 film left off, with Holiday losing her cabaret license and her first arrest which landed her in jail for a year. According to this film, after her release from jail, she somehow gets booked at Carnegie Hall and actually continues her affair with Fletcher, even though she knows he's a fed. This film on the surface seems more authentic because Louis McKay, the great love of Billie's life in the 1972 film, doesn't appear until the final third of this film and this federal agent doesn't appear in the '72 film at all. The placing of the full performance of "Strange Fruit" is rather odd as well....right in the middle of the film instead of the beginning or the end.
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The screenplay aggravates as not only Billie continues her affair with this fed but his bosses don't pull him off the case for compromising the assignment either. This agent's true feelings about Billie are impossible to gauge here and Billie's continued attraction to the man makes her look like an idiot. About halfway through the film, there's a confusing flashback sequence to Billie's childhood where she is accompanied by Fletcher that didn't make any sense either. It doesn't help that Lee Daniels, who directed Precious, directs with a pretentious leaden hand that has this film move way too slowly and a lot longer than it needed to be.
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Andra Day is absolutely superb as Holiday, a dazzling movie star turn that earned her a Golden Globe. Day does her own singing and stops the show with "Ain't Nobody's Business if I Do" and "Strange Fruit". Travonte Rhodes works hard in the complex role of Jimmy Fletcher and Garret Hedlund is terrific as his boss. And if Billie's sax player looks familiar, that's a grown up Tyler James Williams who had the starring role on the sitcom Everybody Hates Chris. It's melodramatic and overlong, but Andra Day's performance makes it worth watching. 3.5

Thief

03-02-21, 02:39 PM

Creed 2
It seems to attempt the bring the Rocky saga full circle, but Creed 2 suffers from too many lapses into melodrama and trying to cover way too much territory.
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This 2018 sequel to the 2015 hit finds Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) six matches since the first film and now the Heavyweight Champion. He has proposed to girlfriend Biance (Tessa Thompson) and they are expecting a baby. Adonis is then challenged to step into the ring with Viktor Drago, the son of Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), the boxer who killed Adonis' father.
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The lure of avenging his father's death is irresistible to Adonis, even to the point of ignoring the advice of trainer Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) to take the match. Rocky responds by refusing to train our hero, who finds Viktor a little more than he can handle. Though Viktor is the victor, he is disqualified for hitting Adonis when he was already down, but this defeat not only destroys Adonis physically, but beats all of the fighter's spirit out of him as well.
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The primary problem with this film is that it suffers from "Sequel-itis"...that dreaded cinematic disease afflicted upon sequels to make them bigger and better and more of everything that was provided in the first film; unfortunately, they rarely succeed and this film is no exception. This film tries to give balance to a story that touches on the personal professional life of Adonis Creed, but the son and grandson of Rocky that he has lost contact with, the possibility that his daughter might have inherited a hearing problem, and even how the fight in 1985 destroyed Ivan Drago, his family, and his life.
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Actually, I really didn't mind the look at the Dragos...it was a very effective nod to a 33 year old movie to actually address the consequences of Drago losing that match and how he lost everything because of it, including his wife (Brigitte Nielsen). The look at the Dragos revealed a connection to the present in that, just as I felt in the 1985 film, Viktor's involvement in revenging his father's loss all those years ago did not seem to be his idea and we get the feeling that his heart is not in what he's doing. The tensions in the Drago family rung so true and I have to say that the years have been very kind to Dolph Lundgren and Brigitte Nielsen.
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There were other story elements here that I found troubling as well. On one hand, I didn't like the fact that Rocky refused to train Adonis for the first fight and sat in that empty bar yelling at poor Adonis on the TV. On the other hand, I was also bothered that Adonis triumphs with Rocky in his corner. I was very troubled by the implication that Adonis only won the second fight because he had Rocky in his corner. Not sure if this was co-screenwriter Ryan Coogler's intention, but if it was, I didn't like it. Director Steven B. Caple should have kept a closer eye on his editors...there were several shots of the opponents landing shots in slow motion that were cut too quickly without revealing their actual impact.
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On the positive side, the training sequences were first rate, especially the second one, though I do miss Bill Conti's "Gonna Fly Now" as a background. Ludwig Goranson's music was overbearing and a little creepy. Jordan and Stallone created some powerful moments and Phylicia Rachad made the most of her screen time as Adonis' mother, I just wish the whole thing had been trimmed down and reigned in a bit. 3

Hey, sorry for bringing this up after several years but I just saw the film last month and I was reading reviews here on it. I agree with pretty much your whole review, particularly what you say about how effective the development of Ivan Drago. It's the kind of thing that you think there's no way they will make it work, and yet they did.

However, I just wanted to bounce something off regarding the bolded sentence. Even though I understand your point (Adonis loses without Rocky, wins with Rocky), I do think that the script and the direction make an effort to show us that he lost because he wasn't in the right frame of mind. He wasn't following the game plan that Little Duke had set out for the fight, which he tells Adonis after the first round, and that's what almost cost him the fight. By the second fight, yes, Rocky is back, but we're also supposed to understand that Adonis has come around as far as trying to live up to expectations and his feelings towards his father's legacy and whatnot. I mean, I know the implication that he "wins with Rocky" is there, obviously, but I felt that the film managed to give us enough extra information to say that winning/losing was ultimately on Adonis.

Gideon58

03-02-21, 03:48 PM

Never apologize for bringing up a review I didn't write yesterday. A few months ago, I got a response to the very first review I wrote on this site. It's actually very flattering that people are reading reviews I wrote years ago.

Gideon58

03-02-21, 07:08 PM

Broadway Melody of 1938
MGM's Broadway Melody of 1938 is best remembered for a memorable musical number performed by Judy Garland, but the movie does have a few other things going for it.
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The 1937 musical stars George Murphy and Buddy Ebsen as a pair of former vaudeville hoofers who are now into training horses and meet a pretty young dancer (Eleanor Powell) who is trying to buy a horse with the help of these guys while simultaneously being pegged by a Broadway producer (Robert Taylor) for his new musical, but his backer doesn't want an unknown as the star of the show. Our heroine moves into a theatrical boarding house run by a former vaudevillian (Sophie Tucker) who is trying get her teenage daughter (Garland) on Broadway as well.
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Jack McGowan's screenplay is a little more complex than it needs to be. The whole story involving the ownership of this horse is confusing and really slows things down. Once we think we're past the horse storyline, things pick up as Murphy, Taylor, and Powell make an interesting romantic triangle and Ebsen offers perfect comic relief. Not to mention the presence of the legendary Sophie Tucker (who for those who don't know, is the inspiration behind Bette Midler's famous "Soph" character), who commands the screen whenever she's on, stopping the show with her powerhouse rendition of "Some of these Days."
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This film is best remembered for Garland's performance of "(Dear Mr. Gable)You Made Me Love You", which was added to the film after Garland actually sang the song at a birthday party MGM threw for Clark Gable. But we also have some terrific dancing from Powell, Murphy, and Ebsen. The trio's opening number "Follow in My Footsteps" features superior tap skills from all three dancers and Powell and Murphy's duet to "Yours and Mine" rivals Astaire/Rogers. Murphy's dance skills are particularly surprising and almost makes one wonder why he gave up movies for the US Senate.
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Roy Del Ruth's direction is energetic enough that the viewer can forgive the slow spots, but if the truth be known, the dance skills of Murphy, Ebsen, and the extraordinary Eleanor Powell, plus the vocal magic of Judy Garland are alone worth the price of admission. 3.5

Gideon58

03-03-21, 01:36 PM

I Care a Lot
Stylish direction, a disturbing story, and a solid ensemble cast come together to make 2020's I Care a Lot bold and riveting entertainment. What starts out as an indictment on the system of elder care and assisted living in our country, methodically turns into a very dangerous cat and mouse game where it's very difficult to cheer for the cat or the mouse. Will try to review without spoilers
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Marla Grayson is a con artist of the highest order. She targets elderly and well off senior citizens, has herself appointed as their guardians, commits them to an elder care facility, and then bilks them out of everything they own. Her comfortable and profitable hustle is threatened when she gets appointed guardian to a woman named Jennifer Peterson, who it turns out was definitely the wrong person to target.
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Director and screenwriter J Blakeson knocks it out of the park here with a story that starts off with an almost docudrama feel, as we witness Marla Grayson in action with a hustle that she is extremely good at and has made her a very comfortable living. We can't help but be impressed by a woman whose simple on the surface con has worked so well that she has judges, police, and an entire assisted care facility in her pocket, though the details of how she was able to do this aren't really addressed. Her power is methodically established so that the viewer instantly feels this woman has to be stopped. She is established as the cat in this game, but when the mouse enters the story and seems to have more power than she does, viewer allegiance tend to waver. By the halfway point of the story, we don't really want to see either win leading to an ending that initially angers but will have the viewer cheering as the credits roll. It should be obvious that this film requires complete attention, but said attention is paid off in spades.
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Blakeson's direction is undeniably imaginative, employing some unique camerawork and terrific utilization of slow motion, advancing the story at times without the use of dialogue. There's a wonderful shot of a safe deposit box being opened and the camera is underneath the box which was unlike anything I've ever seen. Blakeson gets huge assists from film editor Mark Eckersly, art director Michael C. Stone, and cinematographer Doug Emmett. Big bouquet to Marc Canham's creepy music as well.
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Blakeson's hand-picked cast delivers the goods, headed by Rosamond Pike as Marla, a fire and ice performance that won her a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy, though I found little comedic about this film. Peter Dinklage does a bone-chilling turn as the mouse in this story, proving once again to be an actor incapable of giving a bad performance. Enjoyed Eliza Gonzalez as Marla's assistant/girlfriend, Chris Messina as a slick lawyer, Damian Young as one of Marla's winged monkeys at the hospital, Nicholas Logan as Dinklage's henchman and Oscar winner Dianne Wiest as Jennifer Peterson. A crisp and cold crime drama that had this reviewer on the edge of his chair for the entire running time. 4

Gideon58

03-05-21, 06:41 PM

Come Back Little Sheba (1952)
Guided by the sensitive directorial hand of Daniel Mann, Shirley Booth beautifully reprises her Tony Award winning stage role in the film version of William Inge's Come Back Little Sheba, a somber and often deeply moving tale of regret, loss, romance, and addiction that stirs strong emotions and might ignite the tear ducts.
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Doc Delaney (Oscar winner Burt Lancaster) is a chiropractor who has been sober for a year. He is married to a slovenly and terribly lonely woman named Lola (Booth) who divides her time between watching every move Doc makes and trying to get someone, anyone, to have a five minute conversation and still mourning the loss of her little dog, Sheba, who ran away from home months ago. Doc is sincere yet realistic about staying sober, but feels endless pressure from Lola about it. Doc and Lola's vacuum of a marriage is disrupted by the arrival of Marie (Terry Moore), a pretty young college student who has profound but different effects on both Doc and Lola.
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Inge's play premiered in February of 1950 and closed in July the same year, but the unimpressive Broadway run did not deter Hollywood from seeing the film potential in this often powerhouse drama. Ketti Frings' solid adaptation of Inge's play almost exclusively provides backstory regarding Doc and Lola's marriage through present events. Without flashbacks or long Tennessee Williams-type monologues. we learn that Doc only married Lola because she was pregnant but she lost the baby, which destroyed Lola and has kept Doc trapped in a loveless marriage where his only solace could be found in alcohol. Even in their very first scene together, thanks to Mann, we can see almost immediately that this is not a happy marriage.
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The most riveting part of this story is the character of Lola, who reminded me of a more serious version of Edith Bunker. This woman is drowning in loneliness and seems to have accepted her plight. When she's certain everything is OK with Doc, she immediately looks for someone to share her loneliness with or gets in their business. There's a heartbreaking scene where she invites the mailman in the house just to have someone to talk to and innocently starts rambling about Doc's history with alcohol and the mailman's discomfort with this is crystal clear.
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The messages sent regarding alcoholism are solid for the most part. We learn in the opening scenes that Doc keeps a bottle of scotch in the kitchen cabinet as a reminder of how dangerous it is to him, but this reviewer found that message troublesome. With only a year sober, most alcoholics are still pretty shaky and really shouldn't have alcohol so accessible.
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I've seen a good chunk of Daniel Mann's work as a director and this film definitely ranks among his finest work. Shirley Booth's emotionally charged Lola ignites this film in one of the most impressive film debuts in cinema history that won her the Oscar for Best Actress. Terry Moore's slightly trampy Marie also earned her a nomination for Supporting Actress. Burt Lancaster works very hard in the role of Doc, but of the truth be told, I kept picturing Brando in the role. Still, a sad and touching film that riveted this reviewer, thanks mostly to the extraordinary performance from Shirley Booth. The film was remade for television in 1977 with Joanne Woodward as Lola, Laurence Olivier as Doc, and Carrie Fisher as Marie. 4

xSookieStackhouse

03-06-21, 06:21 AM

Gideon58

03-08-21, 04:38 PM

Judas and the Black Messiah
Shaka King scored as the director and co-screenwriter of 2021's Judas and the Black Messiah, an ambitious and uncompromising docudrama chronicling a very personal and very ugly war between the most powerful law enforcement agency in the country and the organization that they considered their biggest threat and decided must be destroyed.
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The Judas of the title is Bill O'Neal, a car thief who in order to get out from under some very serious jail time, agrees to infiltrate the the Illinois chapter of the Black Panthers, which is being head by Fred Hampton, the Messiah of the title, initiating not only a war between the bureau and the panthers, but a war for Bill O'Neal's soul.
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Shaka King has taken on another racially charged period in American History that is probably going to anger a lot of people in this time of the death of George Floyd. but King has chosen to tell this story with a lot less pretension and a little more balance than someone like Spike Lee might have. If Spike Lee had chosen to bring this story to the screen, there would be no difficulty in separating the black hats and the white hats in this story. King's interpretation of this story finds a lot of the hats drawn in serious shades of charcoal gray.
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According to this screenplay, the FBI's vendetta against the Panthers came right from the top, as we see J. Edgar Hoover himself declaring that Hampton must be destroyed. The degree of the FBI's culpability in what's going on here is put in question every time FBI agent Roy Mitchell meets with Bill O'Neal. Just when we think we know exactly what's going on with the FBI, see Hoover meet with Mitchell and warning him that things aren't moving quickly enough. Hoover seems to legitimize what he's doing here by claiming that the Black Panthers are just as dangerous as the KKK, but when we see the Panthers actually drop in on a Klan meeting, we're not so sure.
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The real heart of this true story is the conflicted battle within Bill O'Neal. He initially seems to get into this assignment to save his own neck and then it seems like he's falling under the spell of the charismatic Hampton, but then he reports to Mitchell and we're not so sure where his head is. It's a little hard to accept O'Neal's very quick rise in Hampton's ranks as it is to accept Hampton's mellowing after a jail stint and learning that his young radical girlfriend is carrying his baby. O'Neal's squirm-worthy dilemma reminded me of Leonardo DiCaprio's situation in The Departed.
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Though sometimes it's hard to catch some of the dialogue, the tension and intentions of what was going on was always clear. Daniel Kaluuya won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Best Supporting for his dazzling performance as Hampton, even though the role is clearly a lead. Kaluuya is matched beautifully by Lakeith Stanford as O'Neal and Jesse Plemmons turns in the performance of his career as Agent Mitchell. Kudos to the hair and makeup people for making Martin Sheen unrecognizable as J. Edgar Hoover. Like The Trial of the Chicago 7, a riveting recreation of a disturbing piece of history that will anger right through the written epilogue. 4.5

Gideon58

03-08-21, 09:38 PM

That's Entertainment III
Eighteen years after That's Entertainment Part 2, MGM once again dug into their endless cache of musical treasures in order to bring us 1994's That's Entertainment III, which not only provides glorious musical highlights from MGM's greatest films, but backstage secrets and several long-buried treasures that were left on the editing room floor.
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As in the first two films, former MGM superstars are utilized as narrators introducing the varied musical segments (sadly, all of these stars are no longer with us), but the structuring of the narration is a little looser than it was the previous films, allowing the clips to move from one era of filmmaking to another and to move the focus of the stars featured in a more fluid manner.
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We get a wonderful clip of MGM's first big dancing star, Eleanor Powell perform a number from Lady Be Good, which is shown in split screen format to show the special camera and rotating stage that were used to shoot the number. The split screen also allows us to see Joan Crawford perform "Two Faced Woman" in Torch Song and the same song performed by Cyd Charisse in The Band Wagon, which was cut from the latter film, even though the audio track for both numbers was performed by a studio singer named India Adams.
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We thought we had seen everything we could from Astaire, Kelly, and Garland in the first two films, but new gems were dug up here including "Drum Crazy" from Easter Parade, the "Slaughter on 10th Avenue" ballet from Words and Music, and a couple of real surprises from Garland...an elaborate production number called "March of the Doagies" that was cut from The Harvey Girls, and the fabulous "Mr. Monotany", which was cut from Easter Parade, featuring Garland in the same cut off tuxedo she wore when she performed "Get Happy" in Summer Stock.
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There's even a bittersweet look at how one MGM star had to deal with racism as the legendary Lena Horne shares her early days at MGM as a specialty performer that the studio really didn't know what to do with until a battle began for Horne to play the role of Julie in MGM's 1951 remake of Showboat, a battle Horne eventually lost as the role went to Ava Gardner and her bitterness about it is attempted to be shielded here.
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This movie was such a pleasant surprise because I really didn't think there was anywhere else MGM could go with this franchise, but I was wrong. 4

Gideon58

03-11-21, 04:40 PM

Sylvie's Love
2020's Sylvie's Love is an exquisitely mounted story of star-crossed romance that would have worked a lot better if the film had focused more on the white hot chemistry between the stars and less on the cliched, soap opera plotting that keeps the stars apart and makes the film a lot longer than it needs to be.
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The film opens in 1950's Harlem where we meet a jazz saxophonist named Robert who takes a day job in a music store in order to get close to a dreamy-eyed girl named Sylvie who is working there until she gets married. Despite Sylvie being engaged, a romance that they both fight develops until they are pulled apart by Sylvie's marriage and the jazz quintet that Robert plays in getting a gig in Paris.
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Director and screenwriter Eugene Ashe gets an "A" for effort here with the establishment of this lovely relationship between Sylvie and Robert that we are behind from jump. We know that Robert being in Paris and Sylvie getting married can't keep these two apart forever, but around the halfway point of the movie, it sure seems that way, as a bunch of contrived soap opera-ish plot contrivances keep Robert nd Sylvie apart for so long that it really tests viewer patience, not to mention some very manipulative moves on Sylvie's parts that don't help. Star-crossed lovers being kept apart are nothing new (The Way We Were, New York New York, La La Land), but the conclusions of those romances are more direct than the one here.
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Ashe's screenplay is also populated with too many unnecessary characters who are painted in obvious shades of black and white. It would have been nice if the characters surrounding the principals were a little more three-dimensional.
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Despite the problems with the story, the film does feature spectacular production values, including Oscar-worthy art direction/set direction, costumes (check out the gloves Sylvie's wearing in the first nightclub scene), and a song score to die for. Tessa Thompson, who played Michael B. Jordan's love interest in Creed, makes the viewer forgive some of her character's bad moves with her enchanting performance. Former Oakland Raider turned actor Nnamdi Asomugha is sex on legs as Robert and if the film had concentrated more on the actors' chemistry, this would have been a direct bullseye. 3.5

Gideon58

03-12-21, 04:14 PM

Ellen DeGeneres: Relatable
The recent firestorm of controversy surrounding the toxic work atmosphere on her talk show was a motivating factor in my viewing the Netflix special Ellen DeGeneres: Relatable, a 2018 comedy concert by the talk show diva that was her first return to the standup mike in 15 years.
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The overall theme of the show and her motivation for wanting to return to the mike was an interesting one, especially considering what happened just a few years later. Ellen seems to want to prove to her fans that she's still the same woman she was 15 years ago, but a lot of what she does here comes off as pandering and apologizing for not being the same person she was when she first got her talk show.
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Beginning the show once again whining about the way she was treated when she lost her sitcom and came out did not endear me to the comic at all, despite the fact that I have always found her to be a very funny woman. Her attempt to humorously show how she hasn't changed by joking about the glamorous way she lives today had the opposite effect for this reviewer.
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It was almost the halfway point of the show where Ellen's comedy was actually about something I could actually relate to because it was something that happened to myself a couple of years ago. She does a routine about dining in a restaurant and being served by a waiter who didn't write her order down, simply memorizing it and the combination of marvel and discomfort it caused for her, followed by a roll on the floor funny impression of a waiter taking orders by memory was probably the funniest moment in the show for me.
https://media.newyorker.com/photos/5c2fd64d2396212cbb9fcff5/master/pass/Battan-Ellen-Netflix-Special.jpgOne thing that this concert brought back for me about DeGeneres the standup that I had forgotten about was her superb skill at physical comedy. Her bit about the things people do when they are trying on a new pair of sneakers was hysterical. I was also amused and impressed by her confession that a lot of the appeal of her talk show came from the fact that she gave away a lot stuff. There are laughs here, but if Ellen's mission here was to prove that she's still relatable to her fans, I'm not really sure if she accomplished that. 3

Gideon58

03-13-21, 04:28 PM

Coming2America
Eddie Murphy has clearly put a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and money into Coming2America, the overblown and long-winded sequel to his 1988 smash that just depends a little too much on the legacy of the first film to stand on its own legs. It should also be mentioned that this review is coming from someone who thought the first film was severely overrated.
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This 2021 debacle opens with King Akeem and his Queen Lisa (Shari Headley), happily married with three daughters, but anticipating the death of Akeem's father (James Earl Jones), who informs Akeem that the heir to his throne must be male and quicker than you can say "plot contrivance", Akeem is informed that he has a son living in Queens, where Akeem traveled in the first movie and met Lisa, and returns to Queens to locate his son, Levelle (Jermaine Fowler) and takes him and his mother (Leslie Jones) back to Zamunda in order to groom Levelle to be heir to the throne.
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Akeem also is dealing with General Izzi (Wesley Snipes), the leader of a neighboring country who is the brother of the princess Akeem had barking and hopping on one foot, who now wants Akeem's son to marry his daughter. Akeem must also deal with his eldest daughter (KiKi Layne), who has been training to rule Zamunda since she was a child and is not happy about her birthright being stolen from an illegitimate heir.
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After his lovely performance in 2016's Mr. Church, I was hoping Eddie Murphy would seriously try and reinvent himself but instead he really missed the boat with this overblown return to one of his biggest hits, which, incredibly took six writers and Murphy to come up with. In order to make this story work, re-writing of certain events in the first film had to be re-imagined, always a red flag where a sequel is concerned. There's even a moment where a pair of characters actually discuss the validity of sequels that never needed to be made in the first place.
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This reviewer would have liked to have seen Akeem having a little more difficulty getting Levelle back to Zamunda. Had a hard time believing this kid just accepted what Akeem tells him and hops on the gold jet with James Earl Jones' image painted on it. Once they return to Queens, most of the characters we met in the first film are paraded in front of us, but they have little or nothing to do with this story. There was a sweetness to Akeem's personality that is completely absent from this film and the relationship between Semmi (Arsenio) and Levelle's uncle (Tracy Morgan) is a serious waste of screen time. So are some seriously overlong musical and dance sequences featuring En Vogue, Salt and Pepa, and Gladys Knight that just felt like so much filler. Even the barbershop scenes and the surprise appearance of Sexual Chocolate fell flat.
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The millions poured into production values are really easy to overlook here except for one...the costumes, which are garish and ugly to the point of distraction. Eddie Murphy is phoning it in as Akeem, but Jermaine Fowler brings a lot of charm to Levelle. Fowler is really fighting the screenplay though and Craig Brewer's lackluster direction makes the whole thing move at a snails' pace. A big waste of money for Murphy and time for the viewer. Murphy deserves better than this. 1.5

Wyldesyde19

03-15-21, 12:37 AM

Such a pointless sequel. The trailer showed me everything I needed to know.

Gideon58

03-16-21, 04:42 PM

Mr. & Mrs. Bridge
The creative team behind films like Howard's End and The Remains of the Day are slightly less successful with an Americanization of the stories they like to tell with 1990's Mr. & Mrs. Bridge, a crisp but somewhat talky look at a family that starts to drift apart that is still worth watching because it is the final feature film pairing of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward.
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It is shortly before the outbreak of WWII as we are introduced to Walter and India Bridge, an upper class couple who are the parents of a son and two daughters. Patriarch Walter runs the family with a firm but loving hand, but is in denial about the world's changing mores and how his children may be dragged down into sin and degradation. He is also completely unaware of India's discontentment as a woman who has been trained to be what her husband wants her to be and nothing else.
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Three time Oscar winner Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's screenplay is actually based on a pair of novels called "Mr. Bridge" and "Mrs. Bridge" that is a slightly pretentious look at a wealthy family enjoying the perks of Walter's lifetime of toil at the local bank but secretly screaming on the inside, especially India, who has spent her entire life putting her own wants and desires on the back burner in favor of everybody else. We see a woman who has been completely devoted to her family, oblivious about her own unhappiness that even she seems a little surprised when she asks Walter if she can begin therapy.
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Director James Ivory allows the story to unfold slowly, cleverly introducing us to the Bridge family in authentic looking home movies and eventually moving to their elegant estate where an outer air of civility and pleasantness is covered by the challenge of a changing society that is brewing underneath and the Bridge children are dying to be a part of.
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The story gets a little long-winded, but the extraordinary performances by Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward keep this film imminently watchable. Watch Newman in the scene in the restaurant where a tornado is about to strike or watch Woodward when India is at the eagle scout ceremony or when she asks Walter if she should begin therapy...Woodward beautifully conveys India's heartbreak without ever letting her family know, but showing us. Woodward's rich performance earned her a fourth Oscar nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress. Also have to give a shout out to Blythe Danner's flashy performance as India's BFF Grace. It's a little slow in spots, but the Newmans definitely make it worth your time. 3.5

Gideon58

03-18-21, 04:33 PM

Hillbilly Elegy
Despite strong direction from Oscar winner Ron Howard and some powerhouse performances, the 2020 docudrama Hillbilly Elegy promises a very special look at family sensibilities in an exclusive culture, but ends up degenerating into an all-familiar tale of family dysfunction and addiction.
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This fact based story begins as a Yale law student named JD Vance is trying to get into a graduate program when he gets a phone call from his hometown in the backwoods of Kentucky informing him that his mother has overdosed and has been hospitalized. As JD travels back home to tend to his mother, the story also flashes back to the toxic relationship he had with his mother as a teenager.
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Vanessa Taylor's screenplay, based on the real Vance's memoirs, initially seems to be presenting a realistic peek into a subculture whose only exposure to us prior to this was The Beverly Hillbillies. After a beautifully scenic introduction to this very tight community where everybody knows everybody, the story cleverly alternates between a look at young JD's troubled relationship with his drug addicted mother Bev, and adult JD trying to help his mother start over again.
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With a strong assist from film editor James Wilcox, Ron Howard does an exemplary job of moving back and forth between JD's constantly troubled teenage years and his adult life of establishing a law career. Unfortunately, with the title of the film and after the opening, we're expecting a specific look at a US subculture that eventually becomes a another story of addiction and family dysfunction, though it never gets boring.
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Howard has mounted this story with great care and, as always, gets solid performances from his cast, led by six-time Oscar nominee Amy Adams as the very damaged Bev and eight-time nominee Glenn Close as her mother, a fascinating performance devoid of all glamour that has earned Close a ninth nomination. Owen Asztalos is also remarkable as young JD. It wasn't what I really expected, but it will hold viewer attention and Adams and Close deliver as the always do. 3.5

Gideon58

03-22-21, 04:35 PM

Pieces of a Woman
Grief and loss are not uncommon cinematic themes, but these themes get an unapologetic and unvarnished re-imagining in an emotionally charged cinematic journey called Pieces of a Woman that had this reviewer riveted to the screen and fighting tears for the majority of the running time.
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The setting of this 2020 drama is contemporary Boston. Martha (Vanessa Kirby) and Sean (Shia LaBeouf) are expecting a baby girl and have decided to have a home birth aided by a midwife. As Martha's water breaks and labor begins, Martha and Sean learn that the midwife they've been working with is unavailable and a another midwife is sent to aid them. Unfortunately, something goes wrong and the baby dies before they can get her to the hospital. Sean and Martha are then shown dealing very differently with what's happened. Sean is angry and has spearheaded criminal proceedings to prosecute the midwife. Martha seems to have been just numbed by the tragedy and wants to donate the baby's body to medical research, but eventual Sean and Martha's individual grief come together to a tension that cuts like a sword.
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Screenwriter Kata Weber has crafted a terribly personal and terribly voyeuristic story of a couple whose relationship is methodically destroyed by this unspeakable tragedy. Weber and director Kornél Mundruczó are to be applauded for the care and detail that they put into the scenes of the birth, realizing how important the actual birth and what happened during same are to the rest of the story that unfolds. It was impressive that the scenes of Martha going into labor were not limited to her screaming and grabbing Sean by the throat and yelling "You did this to me!" A squirm-worthy atmosphere is established instantly as we watch Martha not just screaming, but moaning, a low animal-like moaning, and unable to stop belching and wanting to vomit, side effects to labor I had never witnessed in a film before.
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Weber finds unique ways to reveal backstory that will cross the viewer's mind as the story moves, though not all the questions that came to this reviewer's mind were answered. Most immediate was wondering why Martha wanted a home birth, which isn't answered until the final 15 minutes of the film, but I loved the answer. The other question that came to mind for this reviewer that never really was addressed was if Sean and Martha were only together because Sean got her pregnant, which was impossible to gauge because the first 30 minutes of the film frame Sean as the best prospective father- to-be ever. There are a couple of provocative storyline moves that I didn't see coming, but they just added to the richness of the story. Martha's courtroom speech was a little hard to take, but the carefully directed ending was breathtaking.
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Vanessa Kirby's bold and brave performance as Martha earned her an Oscar nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress and Shia LaBeouf matches her scene for scene with his edgy Sean. Ellen Burstyn's powerhouse turn as Martha's manipulative mother should have earned her a nomination. A fresh look at the grieving process that had me fighting tears until the final scene, which had me grinning ear to ear. 4

Gideon58

03-23-21, 04:32 PM

Bathing Beauty
After a bit part in an Andy Hardy movie, MGM aquatic queen Esther Williams got her first official starring role in an elaborate but unremarkable musical called Bathing Beauty which despite an enchanting performance by Williams, suffers from an exhausting leading man and interminable musical sequences that just pad the running time.
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The 1944 musical is about a producer named George Adams (Basil Rathbone) who wants his best friend, a songwriter named Steve Elliott (Red Skelton) to write the music for a water pageant he's producing, but Steve is giving up songwriting to marry his girlfriend, Caroline(guess who). A desperate George breaks up the marriage at the altar and a heartbroken Caroline returns to her job as a gym teacher at an all-girls school. In order to win her back, Steve enrolls in the school on a loophole in order to win Caroline back.
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MGM poured a lot of money into this musical, which apparently was also designed to springboard some new talent they studio had discovered and wasn't sure what to do wit, including a Latino baritone named Carlos Ramirez and an organist named Ethel Smith. Ramirez' rendition of "Magic is the Moonlight" in Spanish near the beginning of the film and Smith's two organ solos are pleasant enough, but have nothing to do with the story and bring the film to a dead halt. Xavier Cugat and Harry James and their orchestras are also given way too much screentime . All this screen time would have been better suited getting Esther in the water.
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The other big problem for this reviewer was Red Skelton's role, that was an uneasy mix of leading man and comic relief that doesn't really work. There's a sequence of Red pretending to be a woman getting dressed in the morning which I'm sure was an invention of Skelton's that the director and screenwriter let him do what he wanted that featured a lot of physical detail from Skelton, but it just wasn't funny. Neither was a number in a ballet class which feature Skelton in a pink tutu.
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What did work here was an enchanting performance by Esther Williams, which only found her in the water at the beginning and the end of the film. The water ballet finale was spectacular and would later be featured in That's Entertainment, but there's about 90 minutes of very labored comedy and music the viewer has to wade through to get to it. And if you don't blink, you'll catch the film debut of dynamo Janis Paige in a tiny role. The film has its moments, but I was definitely checking my watch. 2

Gideon58

03-25-21, 10:13 PM

Minari
After the unprecedented Best Picture win for Parasite, it's easy to see why critics and audiences have embraced 2020's Minari, a deliberately crafted family drama that I thought was a foreign film, but it's actually an American film about a Korean family that has earned six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and a finale that literally had me weeping.
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It is the 1980's when Jacob and his wife decide to move from California to Arkansas with their two kids (son David has a heart condition) and free spirit Grandma. Jacob has purchased a parcel of land on which has planned to build a fruit and vegetable farm from the ground up. Jacob is pumped about this new life he's starting but Monica not so much and it's taking a toil on their relationship.
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Director and screenwriter Lee Isaac Chung has crafted a lovely story that we initially think is going to revolve around clashing cultures, but instead what we get is a family being torn apart by the kind of things that lots of families go through, but it looks fresh here, because the story seems to imply that emotions are kept in check and unhappiness is not verbalized, especially through the Monica character, whose unhappiness and fear about this new chapter in her life is evident from the opening scene.
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The expected bigotry/fish out of water story is scrapped here and what we find is a family that is embraced by their new community, but their inability to be completely honest with each other is what's keeping them apart. I had to chuckle when Monica tells Jacob that they can't afford to live in Arkansas and that life was easier in California. And the final fifteen minutes of this film destroyed me.
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Lee Isaac Chung has received double Oscar nominations for directing and writing this gem, though the story does take a minute to get going. Steven Yeun has earned a Best Actor nomination for his strong and loving Jacob. This performance is so special...watch the conflicted emotions on his face when Monica announces that she and the rest of the family are leaving,. The one Oscar I'm sure this film will win is for Emile Mosseri's gorgeous music. It's not as good as Parasite, but any film that moves me to tears is worth your time. 4.5

xSookieStackhouse

03-26-21, 02:50 AM

Pieces of a Woman
Grief and loss are not uncommon cinematic themes, but these themes get an unapologetic and unvarnished re-imagining in an emotionally charged cinematic journey called Pieces of a Woman that had this reviewer riveted to the screen and fighting tears for the majority of the running time.
https://posterspy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Pieces-of-a-Woman-HIGHRES-1500x1875.jpg
The setting of this 2020 drama is contemporary Boston. Martha (Vanessa Kirby) and Sean (Shia LaBeouf) are expecting a baby girl and have decided to have a home birth aided by a midwife. As Martha's water breaks and labor begins, Martha and Sean learn that the midwife they've been working with is unavailable and a another midwife is sent to aid them. Unfortunately, something goes wrong and the baby dies before they can get her to the hospital. Sean and Martha are then shown dealing very differently with what's happened. Sean is angry and has spearheaded criminal proceedings to prosecute the midwife. Martha seems to have been just numbed by the tragedy and wants to donate the baby's body to medical research, but eventual Sean and Martha's individual grief come together to a tension that cuts like a sword.
https://niu.com.ni/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/pieces-of-a-woman-1.jpg
Screenwriter Kata Weber has crafted a terribly personal and terribly voyeuristic story of a couple whose relationship is methodically destroyed by this unspeakable tragedy. Weber and director Kornél Mundruczó are to be applauded for the care and detail that they put into the scenes of the birth, realizing how important the actual birth and what happened during same are to the rest of the story that unfolds. It was impressive that the scenes of Martha going into labor were not limited to her screaming and grabbing Sean by the throat and yelling "You did this to me!" A squirm-worthy atmosphere is established instantly as we watch Martha not just screaming, but moaning, a low animal-like moaning, and unable to stop belching and wanting to vomit, side effects to labor I had never witnessed in a film before.
https://i2.wp.com/teaser-trailer.com/wp-content/uploads/Pieces-of-a-Woman-movie-2021.jpg?ssl=1
Weber finds unique ways to reveal backstory that will cross the viewer's mind as the story moves, though not all the questions that came to this reviewer's mind were answered. Most immediate was wondering why Martha wanted a home birth, which isn't answered until the final 15 minutes of the film, but I loved the answer. The other question that came to mind for this reviewer that never really was addressed was if Sean and Martha were only together because Sean got her pregnant, which was impossible to gauge because the first 30 minutes of the film frame Sean as the best prospective father- to-be ever. There are a couple of provocative storyline moves that I didn't see coming, but they just added to the richness of the story. Martha's courtroom speech was a little hard to take, but the carefully directed ending was was breathtaking.
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Vanessa Kirby's bold and brave performance as Martha earned her an Oscar nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress and Shia LaBeouf matches her scene for scene with his edgy Sean. Ellen Burstyn's powerhouse turn as Martha's manipulative mother should have earned her a nomination. A fresh look at the grieving process that had me fighting tears until the final scene, which had me grinning ear to ear. 4

was she on fast and furious shaw and hobbs movie? i swear she looked like the chick from the movie

Gideon58

03-26-21, 02:56 PM

I don't know, ever since I watched this movie, I got the feeling I've seen her in something but nothing on her IMDB page rang a bell with me./

Gideon58

03-26-21, 09:38 PM

State of the Union (1948)
Legendary director Frank Capra returned to Mr. Smith Goes to Washington territory with a talky but smart political comedy from 1948 called State of the Union that still brings the sizzle thanks to Capra's cinematic eye behind the camera and cinema's greatest acting team in front.
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Spencer Tracy plays Grant Matthews, a wealthy industrialist with a solid political conscience but a strong loathing of politics, who is actually persuaded to run for President by Kay Thorndyke (Angela Lansbury) a ruthless newspaper publisher and ex-lover of Grant's and a slick-talking political spin doctor named Jim Conover (Adolph Menjou). Grant refuses to even consider a run for the White House without unconditional support from his wife, Mary (Katharine Hepburn), who does offer it, but can't stand it when Matthews' campaign staff tries to turn her husband into something he's not, not to mention the way the campaign is bringing Kay back into Grant's life.
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Anthony Veillier and Myles Connelly adapted the screenplay from a play by Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse that opened on Broadway in 1945 and ran for over 700 performances. Changes were probably made from the play to suit the talents of Tracy and Hepburn and I'm OK with that. The opening scene establishing how Kay earned her job and some scenes of playing cat and mouse in airplanes seemed to pad running time, but when the story centers in on Mr. and Mrs. Matthews and the venomous Kay Thorndyke, it's easy to stay invested in what's going on. I actually liked the fact that the screenplay was a little vague about Grant's past with Kay Thorndyke, but make it clear that it had a strong impact on the state of his marriage and that the wounds for Mary are still fresh.
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This fifth onscreen teaming of Tracy and Hepburn is a little different for them as their is no romantic pursuit. Their characters are already married, but like most of the Hepburn/Tracy films, the viewer once again will find themselves trying to figure out who's wearing the pants in the relationship, something we're accustomed to with Hepburn's onscreen persona, but this Mary Matthews is no "speak when spoken to" hausfrau and we wouldn't have it any other way.
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Tracy and Hepburn once again document their position as cinema's greatest acting team and Lansbury's crisp and controlled Kay Thorndyke is the perfect thorn in the side of this political marriage that doesn't start out that way. Menjou is terrific as Conover and Van Johnson has some funny moments as Grant's speechwriter, but this is the Tracy/Hepburn show, with a strong Frank Capra shaker and it goes down pretty damn smooth. 4

Gideon58

03-27-21, 09:28 PM

The Father
Playwright and director Florian Zeller has put a lot of style and impeccable detail into the 2020 film version of his own play The Father, a bold and terribly sad look at a universal problem that millions are dealing with on a daily basis, but spices it up with a couple of unconventional storytelling tools.
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Oscar winner Sir Anthony Hopkins plays Anthony, an aging gentleman slipping into dementia, who is either unaware of it or in denial of it, who spends every waking hour trying to convince everyone, his daughter Anne (Oscar winner Olivia Colman) in particular, that he can live on is own and this 24/7 battle for continued independence has Anthony questioning his own sanity and everything else going on in the world.
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Zeller and writer Christopher Hampton (who won an Oscar for his screenplay for Dangerous Liaisons) have received an Oscar nomination for this beautifully crafted story that, on the surface, appears to be simple and, if the truth be told confusing and all over the place, but if the viewer pays very close attention, the initial confusion experienced by the viewer is no accident and it is left up to the viewer to arrange the puzzle pieces of Anthony's life and put them together.
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Don't get me wrong, for the first 30 minutes of this film, this reviewer was completely confused. It's unclear as to whether the flat where Anthony is actually belongs to him, Anne's marital status is unclear, and the story appears to flash back and forth. What seems to be going on here is that Zeller and Hampton's story seems to blend the facts of Anthony's life with what is going on in Anthony's life in Anthony's mind, which makes for a confusing but heartbreaking story about the aging process that makes squirm worthy entertainment. Though there is a lot Anthony is fighting here, it's interesting watching how his focus can boil down to something relatively minor, like his missing wristwatch which he accuses two different people of stealing. I also loved the way the music over the opening credits, which plays while Anne is going to the flat, reveals is what Anthony is listening to on his headphones. We later learn that all the music in the film is the music that Anthony listens to.
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This groundbreaking drama has been nominated for six Oscars. In addition to Zeller and Hampton's screenplay, the film has also has earned a Lead Actor nomination for Hopkins' blistering performance in the title role, a supporting actress nomination for Olivia Colman, whose beautifully understated work as Anne is easy to overlook. Some of her strongest work in the film has nothing to do with dialogue. Watch her in the elevator scene when Anthony tells her how pretty she looks. There were other nods to production design, film editing, and, of course, Best Picture. It requires a little patience and the viewer might be tempted to check out early in, but will regret it because this complex and imaginative film is definitely worth the rocky ride. 4.5

carolynperry

03-29-21, 06:55 AM

you this guy on IMDB who wrote this review back in 2005?

Yoda

03-29-21, 08:37 AM

you this guy on IMDB who wrote this review back in 2005?
Which?

Gideon58

03-29-21, 04:07 PM

Michael Che Matters
A couple of years after beginning to co-anchor "Weekend Update" on SNL, Michael Che was given his own Netflix special called Michael Che Matters that is smart and funny, but portions of what is presented here comes off as dated, which can't be blamed on Che.
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Taped live from the Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse in Brooklyn, Che manages to cover a myriad of topics whose relevance in 2021 comes off as questionable. To put it in the proper prospective, the viewer has to remember that this special was filmed in 2016, which in terms of everything that has happened in the world since then, seems like decades ago. The viewer must remember that this special was taped before Donald Trump was elected President, before the death of George Floyd, and before the Pandemic crippled this country. It's hard to look at this special in the same context as when it was actually filmed.
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Che starts off with a funny bit about a very personal encounter with a homeless person that could be taken as offensive, which smoothly segues into a discussion of the proper and improper use of the "N" word which actually garnered pretty big laughs because Che's thoughts on the subject went to different places than other comics have dared to tread and this is one thing liked about Che's writing and his delivery. His material has an edge, a bite, that often doesn't bring the big guffaws from the audience but definitely keeps them thinking and sometimes makes his audience feeling a little guilty about some of the things they're laughing at. Che's work here reminded me a lot of the great Dave Chappelle.
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Che's discussions of Trump and "Black Lives Matter" seemed to divide and even temporarily alienate his audience, but Che didn't seem to care. He managed to overcome a lot of the tension he creates when personalizes what he's doing by making direct contact with two guys in the audience named Paul and Nick, seeking their individual viewpoints on Jesus and pornography. It was also interesting that the majority of the audience seemed to be made up of white females, which served as a perfect springboard for a strong dissertation about the powers that white females have over varied people and situations.
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Che's writing is carefully structured and he stays pretty aware of what is working with his audience and what isn't. As long as the viewer keeps in mind that this concert was filmed in 2016, solid entertainment is provided here. 4

Gideon58

03-30-21, 04:36 PM

Malcolm and Marie
Did you ever wonder what happens with a Hollywood power couple after they come home from the movie premiere or the awards ceremony? A terrific premise is tackled in 2021's Malcolm and Marie, an edgy, self-indulgent, and stylishly directed, two-character drama that definitely earns an "A" for effort, but tries so hard to be different that it almost loses the viewer more than once, not to mention production issues that get in the way.
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Malcolm is a film writer and director who has just returned from the premiere of his latest film with his glamorous girlfriend, Marie. It's immediately revealed that Marie is furious with Malcolm because we learn that during his speech before the film, Malcolm neglected to thank her, which is just a springboard for an often vicious, sometimes funny, and slightly over the top look at an extremely dysfunctional relationship wrapped up in a lot of Hollywood glitz that is methodically stripped away as the drama progresses.
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Writer and director Sam Levinson shows real promise as a filmmaker here, taking a calculated risk with a two character movie, but sometimes he allows his obvious style with a camera and with a screenplay actually get in the way of the often legitimate issues that permeate the piece. There is some terrific camerawork here...loved the opening ten minutes of the film where we are watching Malcolm and Marie inside the house but the camera is outside the house. There are also moments where the characters are outside and the camera is inside the house that are equally effective.
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Levinson's writing is intelligent and explosive, if a little long-winded because we realize early on that the entire movie can't possibly be about Marie not getting mentioned in Malcolm's speech and it's not, but it takes a little too long to get there. There are some breathtaking images in the film that would make lovely paintings, but they just slow the film down. A costume choice for Marie of a white T-shirt where her nipples are exposed for a good portion of the film also distract, especially when she first appears in it and the scene is initially sans dialogue. There's also an issue with audio where the director attempts to create intimacy in certain moments, but the audio makes it difficult to hear exactly what's being said and sometimes I felt like I was missing something important.
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What I do love about the screenplay is that Malcolm and Marie are intelligent and articulate black people who are extremely knowledgeable about the business they're in. Malcolm has one tirade in the film where he actually references, David O Selznick, Spike Lee, and Elaine May in the same monologue. If the truth be told, Malcom and Marie reminded me of George and Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf...two people who really knew how to hurt each other but also loved each other intensely.
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John David Washington's often explosive performance as Malcolm commands attention and reminded me a lot of his father, but it's Zendaya's eye-opening performance that will surprise you. It's not a home run, but it's never boring and Sam Levinson is definitely a filmmaker to watch. 3

Gideon58

03-31-21, 04:42 PM

Top Secret Affair
Top Secret Affair is a breezy 1957 comedy that is about as predictable as they come, but there is entertainment value thanks to a witty and adult screenplay and offbeat roles for the stars.
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Oscar winner Susan Hayward plays a wealthy publishing magnate named Dottie Peale who is not happy that a decorated army General (Kirk Douglas) has been selected to head an atomic energy committee, though she has planned to throw her publishing empire behind another candidate for the position. She takes it upon herself to disgrace the General personally in order for him to be considered unfit for the position, initiating an amusing battle of the sexes that takes both Dottie and the General out of their personal comfort zones.
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The screenplay, based on a novel by John by John P Marquand, is clever and rich with a lot of sexual double entendres, more than I would expect from a 1950's comedy. Unfortunately, it takes a little too much time setting up the differences between the protagonists, which is unnecessary because we can tell exactly what kind of people they are from the moment they appear. It really wasn't necessary to spoon feed the viewer regarding what kind of people Dottie and the General are.
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From Dottie's first entrance in the opening scene where we see her staff shaking in anticipation of her arrival back at the office after a two week vacation to the General stopping Dottie in her tracks with his impassioned rendition of "When the Caissons Go Rolling Along" in a crowded nightclub, it's quite obvious we have a case of opposites attract and the road to romance will have definite roadblocks. Though it was a pleasant change of pace to have the lady doing the chasing.
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Not only are the characters taken out of their comfort zones, but so are the actors. Hayward reveals a little seen expertise at light comedy that was a pleasant surprise. There was a scene at her swimming pool where she's drunk that had me chuckling because we've all seen Hayward play several serious drunk scenes and it was nice seeing her playing drunk for laughs. Douglas, who has rarely looked better, comes off a little tight-jawed as the General initially, but as the story progresses we see why and it works for the character. Jim Backus and Paul Kelly also steal a scene or two in supporting roles. There are no surprises here making the film slightly overlong, but fans of Hayward and Douglas won't be disappointed. 3

Citizen Rules

03-31-21, 06:29 PM

Top Secret Affair rating_3Glad you watched this! I enjoyed it, it's just a fun farcical film. I'd rate it the same as you. What I thought was interesting was seeing Susan Hayward do comedy, instead of popping pills or downing booze by the gallon:p I can't really think of any other comedies she did?

Gideon58

03-31-21, 06:56 PM

She also did a comedy in the early 60's with James Mason and Julie Newmar called The Marriage Go Round. I Married a Witch was also a comedy but she only had a couple of scenes in that one.

Citizen Rules

03-31-21, 07:59 PM

She also did a comedy in the early 60's with James Mason and Julie Newmar called The Marriage Go Round. I Married a Witch was also a comedy but she only had a couple of scenes in that one.Oh yeah, I forgot about The Marriage Go Round. I hardly remember her in I Married a Witch.

I did think of one Susan Hayward comedy I seen recently, Young and Willing (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036553/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_47) a screw ball comedy with an ensemble cast. It was kind of fun in a frantic way.

Gideon58

04-01-21, 06:47 PM

Greyhound
Tom Hanks not only provides his accustomed star power but adapted the screenplay for 2020's Greyhound, a taut and claustrophobic game of cat and mouse during a WWII sea battle that provides the expected sweeping drama and action, but does it in a surprisingly economic fashion.
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This Apple original production opens in 1942, just a few months after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor when Captain Krause (Hanks),a relatively inexperienced naval commander is given the dangerous assignment of leading convoy filled with soldiers and supplies for the British into an attack by a group of German U Boats who have made Krause's ship, the Greyhound, their primary objective.
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Hanks adapted his screenplay from the CS Forester novel The Good Shepherd (not to be confused with the 2006 Matt Damon film about the CIA), which provides effective detail into military protocol, providing a sophisticated canvas upon which this action-filled drama unfolds.
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And it is this part of the story that sets this film apart from a lot of military dramas. The story pays strong attention to basic traditions of military rank and file minus a lot of the expected melodramatic conflicts that usually arise in stories like this one. Captain Krause is established as the leader of this mission immediately and no one under his command is ever seen questioning his command. On the flip side, Captain Krause, despite his inexperience. never loses his head, always knows what needs to be done next, and never disrespects or belittles his crew. Even when there are moments when he's not exactly sure what is going on or what he should be telling his men, he never shows any sign of fear or ignorance regarding his next move.
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I was also impressed with a couple of scenes that seemed irrelevant as they were playing, but they definitely come into play later. At the beginning of the film, we see the Captain saying goodbye to his wife (Elisabeth Shue), who gifts him with a pair of monogrammed bedroom slippers. There's also a couple of moments near the beginning of the mission where we see the ship's mess captain (Rob Morgan, who played Mary J. Blige's son in Mudbound) preparing elaborate meals for Captain Krause because he's worried the man is not eating. We don't understand these scenes as they're playing but they both become relevant later.
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The film is handsomely mounted by director Aaron Schneider, featuring Oscar-worthy cinematography (those dangerous waters look so foreboding) and film editing, and the ship itself provides the claustrophobic atmosphere the story demands. And, incredible, the whole thing plays in 90 minutes! Well done and Godspeed. 4

Citizen Rules

04-01-21, 06:57 PM

Greyhound
rating_4 I seen this recently and was disappointing in it and I do love me a good war film.

Gideon58

04-01-21, 07:03 PM

I think you and I disagreed about either Dunkirk or 1917 as well...we've always disagreed when it comes to war movies, LOL!

Citizen Rules

04-01-21, 07:14 PM

I think you and I disagreed about either Dunkirk or 1917 as well...we've always disagreed when it comes to war movies, LOL!Very true:p

Gideon58

04-02-21, 09:43 PM

I Never Sang for My Father
The explosive performances by Melvyn Douglas and Gene Hackman in the starring roles take a 1970 drama called I Never Sang for My Father to a level it might not really achieve without them.
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The film is based on a play by Robert Anderson that revolves around Gene Garrison (Hackman), a middle-aged widower who has spent most of his adult life playing caretaker to his parents. When his mother passes away, he finds himself consumed with trying to somehow connect with his 80-year old father, Tom (Douglas), whose love he's been seeking forever but has never really found it and thinks he hates the man.
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Things get complicated when Gene's sister, Alice (Estelle Parsons) arrives for the funeral and forces Gene to look at his relationship with his father through more realistic eyes. Gene is also involved in a long distance relationship with a pretty doctor who lives in California, but he keeps putting the relationship on the back burner because something inside him just won't allow him to leave his father.
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Anderson was allowed to adapt his own play into a screenplay, which is almost always a plus when adapting a play for the screen. Anderson doesn't put a lot of focus into opening up the story for the screen, but it didn't seem terribly important here. The heart of this story is this extremely complicated relationship between Tom and Gene which throughout the story takes two steps forward and one step back.
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The Tom Garrison character will be all too familiar to anyone with an elderly relative. He's gregarious to point of never letting anyone else talk, loves to tell long boring stories that everyone has heard a million times, and most important of all, doesn't need any help taking care of himself. Loved the scene where Gene goes downstairs and finds his father asleep in front of the TV. Gene turns the TV off and Tom instantly awakens and claims that he was enthralled by the western he was watching.
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It's so heartbreaking watching Gene trying to forge a relationship with his father and in complete denial about it never happening. Even when he's in bed with a woman, all he can talk about is his father. One of Hackman's best moments in the film is in the final act where he thinks he's finally connecting with Tom and Tom suddenly starts sobbing. Through Hackman's reaction, it's crystal clear that this is the first time Gene has ever seen his father cry.
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Melvyn Douglas' moving performance as Tom earned him a lead actor nomination and Hackman received a supporting actor nomination as well. Anderson's screenplay also earned a nod. Parsons, reunited with Hackman for the first time since Bonnie and Clyde is very effective in an unsympathetic role. If I had one quibble, it would be with the musical score, which often seemed more appropriate for a horror film than a family drama, but it did not keep me from drinking in this warm and genuinely moving melodrama. 4

Gideon58

04-03-21, 09:42 PM

Lost in Yonkers
Neil Simon and director Martha Coolidge score a direct bullseye with the 1993 film version of Simon's play Lost in Yonkers, a warm and nostalgic comedy-drama that doesn't provide the rapid-paced one-liners we're accustomed to from Simon, but there are genuine laughs and drama provided from richly drawn characters brought to life by a winning cast.
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It's the summer of 1942 when two young boys named Jay and Arty are sent to live with their iron-fisted grandmother (Irene Worth) and their simple-minded Aunt Bella (Oscar winner Mercedes Ruehl), when their father has to travel around the country for his job. Jay and Arty are immediately intimated by their grandmother and so are the rest of Yonkers. They are confused by their overly emotional Aunt Bella, who has begun a romance with a 40 year old movie usher named Johnny (David Strathairn), but is terrified to tell her mother about it. Then there's Uncle Louie (Oscar winner Richard Dreyfuss), a wannabe wiseguy who temporarily returns home because he's on the run from the mob.
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Simon's play opened on Broadway on February 21, 1991 and ran for almost two years with Ruehl and Worth creating the roles of Bella and Grandma and that's no coincidence because these two characters are the meat and potatoes of this family drama, even though the characters are presented through the eyes of the two boys. These characters are so richly drawn and completely believable that the viewer can't help but be drawn up in their conflict. The mental issues behind Bella aren't really explained and neither is grandmother's hostility toward everything and everybody. The first time we see Grandma strike Bella with a cane, Bella's reaction implies that constant beating with the cane might have something to do with her mental faculties. We do gain some insight into Grandma through stories that Bella and Uncle Louie share with the boys from their childhood, which have affected Bella and Louie very differently. Bella has found escape through the movies and Louie just escaped.
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Director Martha Coolidge is to be applauded for the handsome attention to period detail here. The 1940's are vividly brought to life here with authentic settings, vehicles, and costumes. LOVED that candy store and the gas station where the boys and father stop for gas at the beginning of the film.
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The performances are superb, for the most part. Ruehl is just dazzling as Aunt Bella, an effervescent performance that should have earned her an Oscar nomination, matched note for note by Worth's steely grandma. Dreyfuss is a bit much as Uncle Louie, though I have to admit I kept imagining Kevin Spacey in the role, who played Louie on Broadway. Art direction/set direction and Elmer Bernstein's lovely music are the icing on this sentimental and richly entertaining cake. 4

Citizen Rules

04-03-21, 10:55 PM

We had the same thoughts and same rating for Lost in Yonkers, nice review!

Gideon58

04-05-21, 03:31 PM

Thank you Citizen, and thanks for the link, I've been looking for this movie for years,

Citizen Rules

04-05-21, 05:15 PM

Thank you Citizen, and thanks for the link, I've been looking for this movie for years,Take a look at my review for Lost in Yonkers when you get a chance.

Gideon58

04-05-21, 05:46 PM

Just read your review...it's practically identical to mine!

Citizen Rules

04-05-21, 07:28 PM

Just read your review...it's practically identical to mine!Great minds think alike:)

Gideon58

04-06-21, 04:14 PM

Donny's Bar Mitzvah
A first time filmmaker named Jonathan Kaufmann actually knocks it out of the park with 2021's Donny's Bar Mitzvah that provides a look at the party following the barmitzvah of a boy named Donny Drucker that is crude, raunchy, outrageous, silly, brave, tasteless and effectively blends brassy senseless slapstick with unbelievable fantasy and breaking of the fourth wall unlike anything I've ever seen. This is a movie that could bore some people, offend some people, but had this reviewer doubled over with laughter.
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This film opens with an almost reverence as we watch the camera move through a large video library and finally focus on a VHS tape on one of the shelves labeled "Donny's Party". We then hear a bunch of people arguing what's wrong with the tape as they keep trying to put the tape in the VCR and it keeps popping back out. When the tape finally decides to stay in the machine, we learn we are about to witness the party that followed the Bar Mitzvah of a 13 year old named Donny Drucker that took place in 1998.
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Though I have utilized the phrase in my review of other films, this film absolutely throws out all of the rules of filmmaking, providing an up close and personal look at an obnoxious family and their equally obnoxious friends, utilizing the dawning of Donny Drucker's manhood as an excuse to drink shamelessly, get a breather from their own relationships, chase after people they've always lusted after, and even come out of the closet.
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Not sure where to start here...among the several mini-dramas that unfold during the course of this film, we have Donny's sister Michelle in denial about the fact that her boyfriend David is gay, Donny's old brother Bobby who meets an attractive older woman at the party, has sex with her and fifteen minutes later she's pregnant, an uptight Asian couple who have completely different reactions to the going-on, a memorable game of "Never Have I Ever", a messed up delivery of souvenir hats, and an undercover agent (a hilarious cameo by Danny Trejo), who has been sent to the party to sniff out a party pooper.
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There are lots of films that will pass through the viewers' mind as they watch this, but this film is not a direct rip-off of anything, but has an unabashed shock value that is something akin to the Borat films and is really not concerned with the viewer catching everything. It's impossible to keep track of the dozens of central characters and their relationship to the Druckers, and the action often moves outside the realm of an actual VHS tape, but we're so busy laughing that we don't care about any of that. Kaufmann clearly had a limited budget here but he makes the most of it. Loved Wendy Braun and Reagan Burns as Donny's parents, John de Luca as Bobby, and Connor Del Rio as Mike the Valet. Obviously, Jewish people might find a lot of what's going on here quite offensive, but I thought it was very funny and was totally on target with the underlying theme that the Bar Mitzvah is not about the kid at all, but how his parents can impress by throwing money at a pointless party. There are some genuine flashes of brilliance in this rookie effort from a new filmmaker. 4

Gideon58

04-09-21, 04:36 PM

The Sandpiper
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were teamed onscreen for the third time in The Sandpiper, a tedious and overheated soap opera that produces more unintentional giggles than genuine melodrama, but the chemistry between the stars might make it worth a look.
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The 1965 film follows the star-crossed romance between two people who were, of course, never meant to be together: Laura Reynolds is an artist and aging hippie with a young son who doesn't believe in conformity, rules, religion, or convention. Edward Hewitt is the headmaster at an Episcopalian boarding school for boys who meets Laura when it's determined that Laura's laxed home schooling of her son has made him a discipline problem and, of course, it's recommended that Laura's son be sent to Edward's school.
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Other pertinent players in the drama include Edward's devoted wife, Claire (Eva Marie Saint), who is working tirelessly to help her husband raise funds for a new chapel. Ward Hendricks (Robert Webber) is on the church board and is an ex-lover of Laura's. Cos Erickson (Charles Bronson) is a wisecracking sculptor who has initiated a relationship with Laura by paying her to pose for him in the nude.
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This film came about during the early years of the Taylor/Burton relationship where they really weren't paying much attention to the quality of the material offered them, they just wanted to work together. If they had looked at Martin Ransohoff's screenplay a little more carefully, the might have noticed that Taylor was way too old to be convincing as the hippie artist who hangs out at the beach with friends half her age...the character of Laura often looks like she's been dropped into the middle of a Beach Party movie and Burton seems to have a hard time forgetting that he's not playing Macbeth here.
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Despite the chemistry between the stars, a lot of what goes on here is just laughable. One scene Laura is whining about how she's jealous of Edward's wife and wishes she could be her and, five minutes later, when she learns that Claire knows about their affair, she bursts into tears and screams at Edward for telling Claire about them. And the scene where Ward actually tries to rape Laura is just as funny.
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The film does feature some gorgeous location filming in California's Big Sur, a lot of which seems to just pad running time. I wish the attention paid to the Big Sur could have been spent on Taylor's look, who looked frumpy and overweight in some really unattractive costume choices.
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Vincente Minnelli, who has succeeded in the past with the melodrama genre (Some Came Running, The Cobweb) really misses the boat here with some seriously overheated direction and I think depends a little too much on the chemistry between the stars which only carries this silliness so far. Eva Marie Saint does make the most of her thankless role as Claire and Bronson is a lot of fun as Cos, but this is really for hardcore fans of Taylor and Burton only. The film's love theme, "The Shadow of Your Smile" won the Oscar for Best Song. 2

Gideon58

04-10-21, 08:50 PM

Let Him Go
Even with the superb performances by Kevin Costner and Diane Lane at the heart of it, 2020's Let Him Go, though creating genuine chunks of heart-stopping suspense during its running time, ultimately falters due to sluggish direction and a meandering screenplay that takes too long to get where it's going.
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Costner and Lane, who co-starred as Jonathan and Martha Kent in Man of Steel, take center stage here as George and Margaret Blackledge, a retired sheriff and his wife who are enjoying a quiet retirement on their ranch with their son James, his wife Lorna, and their grandson Jimmy. James is killed in a riding accident and a few years later, Lorna gets married again to one Donnie Weboy, who Margaret one day witnesses physically abusing Lorna and her grandson. Shortly after, Margaret learns that Donny, Lorna, and Jimmy have moved to North Dakota to Donnie's hometown and George and Margaret decide to travel to North Dakota to find their grandson and bring him home.
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Thomas Bezucha's screenplay, based on a novel by Larry Watson, is wonderful at its roots and engages the viewer easily from the beginning. Loved that Margaret is prepared to embark on this mission with or without George but we are relieved when George agree to go. We're still intrigued when the Blackledges arrive in North Dakota and get no help in locating the Weboy family, but Bezucha begins to lose us when the Weboy clan turns out to be this creepy hillbilly type family who reminded me of those mountain men who violate Ned Beatty in Deliverance. We come closer to surrendering when Lorna's terror is revealed but she's afraid to leave and the Weboys appear to have the local sheriff in their pocket.
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Bezucha's direction effectively establishes atmosphere. but it also makes the movie move at a snail's pace. The exposition setting up the story is fine, but the trip to North Dakota takes too long...we didn't need four or five scenes of the Weboys being protected by their hometown. We knew we were in trouble when the Blackledges finally arrive at the Weboys for dinner and family matriarch Blanche, sort of a demented blend of Ma Kettle and Ma Barker, wants to talk about anything but little Jimmy. And the over the top finale is completely unsatisfying on so many levels.
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On the positive side, the film is handsomely mounted and features Oscar-worthy cinematography, film editing, and I loved Michael Giacchino's music. Kevin Costner and Diane Lane provide a strong heart for the film, with standout work by Lane, providing her strongest performance since Unfaithful. Mention should also be made of the severely underrated Jeffrey Donavan as Bill Weboy and a flashy performance by Oscar nominee Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread) as the slightly maniacal Blanche, an eye opening performance that is nothing like her performance in the Paul Thomas Anderson drama. With tighter direction and writing, this could have been an almost Hitchcock-calibre nail-biter, but Costner and Lane make the viewer care enough to keep watching. 3

Gideon58

04-12-21, 04:16 PM

Meatballs
The star-making performance by Bill Murray in his first starring role is the only reason to watch a seriously dated semi-cult classic called Meatballs, which incredibly was the 14th top grossing film of 1979. Admittedly, the only reason I watched this is because during a recent round of channel surfing, I was subjected to a steaming pile of crap called Meatballs Part Two and I wanted to see what was so great about the first film that merited a sequel.
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Murray plays a counselor at a summer camp called Camp North Star, that charges $1000 per camper and has a long standing feud with neighboring Camp Mohawk. This alleged comedy of wacky summer camp hijinks features one really interesting storyline where Tripper, Murray's character, brings an introverted young camper named Rudy (Chris Makepiece) out of his shell.
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This film features a lot of the hijinks a 12 year old would expect from the paper thin premise, unfortunately, most of them just aren't that funny. I'm totally scratching my head as to why this film was such a box office smash back in '79, because whenever Murray wasn't onscreen, this film comes to a screeching halt. Murray's supporting cast including counselors in training who were basically just walking hormones and the girls either chasing them or being chased by them were about as funny as paint drying.
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It is Bill Murray's presence in the starring role that kept this movie from being a complete bore for me. Aided by director Ivan Reitman and screenwriters Len Blum and Dan Goldberg, Murray gets laughs out of every moment he has onscreen here. The friendship of Tripper and young Rudy is the best part of the movie, but it's only about a third of the running time. The rest of the film is spent on moving counselor's beds, hot dog eating contests, a silly basketball game, and a so-called Olympic competition between the two camps, which includes a cup and saucer carrying contest where one of the contestants is a guy named Spaz. Murray is the saving grace here though. He even makes the most out of a series of PA announcements like MASH, but his romance with a fellow counselor named Roxanne falls flat, the only time onscreen he is unable to salvage.
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Even though the film launched Murray's career, it pretty much destroyed the careers of everyone else involved. An actor named Russ Banham who played Crockett, followed this movie with one part on a TV series and never made another movie. Only for hardcore Bill Murray fans. Murray, Reitman, Blum, and Goldberg would reunite and fare a little better with 1981's Stripes. 2.5

Gideon58

04-13-21, 04:35 PM

Body Brokers
For those who like to think that the war on drugs and addiction is one that can be won over with treatment might want to take a look at 2021's Body Brokers, a slick but deeply disturbing, fact-based drama that takes the bold and unabashed stance that the concept of treatment and rehabilitation in this country is becoming one big, ugly sting operation, leaving a lot of bodies in its wake.
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Utah and Opal are a pair of heroine addicts who have been stealing and prostituting themselves for years to support their habit. They meet a slick talking stranger named Wood who convinces Utah that he wants to get clean and offers him a chance to change his life by getting him a bed at a rehab center in Los Angeles. Before he realizes it, Utah finds himself a mule in an elaborate hustle which includes paying so called recovered addicts for referring new clients and surgically implanting drugs inside junkies for insane amounts of money.
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Do not confuse the above-referenced phrase, "fact-based". What I suspect that director and screenwriter John Schwab has done is construct a fictional story based on statistics and research on the subject of rehabilitation that cannot be explained away and the story presented here is Schwab's possible theory based on the research.
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Anyone who has any experience with addiction and rehabilitation will see the subtle yet glaring clues that let the viewer know right away that the New Way Recovery Center is not what it purports to be...Utah's initial intake only takes a few minutes and the girl who does the intake also does his physical, which would never happen at a real rehab facility. Suspicion is also raised when the residential counselor (Oscar winner Melissa Leo) feigns concern about Utah leaving treatment after 30 days. Sadly, legitimate treatment ends when the addict's insurance ends, no matter where they are in treatment. But when we see Opal show up and Utah receive cash for the referral, the jig is definitely up. I also wasn't thrilled the way this story made Utah look dumb as a box of rocks. Addicts are a lot of things, but dumb is not one of them.
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Not since the 2013 film Compliance have I experienced a film that aroused such anger in me. We've been told for years that treatment and rehabilitation are the answer to the war on addiction and the idea that treatment is just a big hustle offers little hope in this battle we continue to lose. The film's epilogue does remind the viewer that millions get sober through 12 step programs, which cost nothing, but this is the message that should have been center stage here. And can't deny that the ending just made my heart sink.
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Schwab's in your face direction is a plus and there are solid performances by Jack Kilmer as Utah, Michael Kenneth Williams as Wood, and an especially slimy turn from Frank Grillo as the New Way CEO, which rivals his slimy bad guy in Black and Blue. Sadly, the subject matter here is so disturbing, that my anger for what is presented here made it hard to be objective regarding the film's entertainment value. 3

Gideon58

04-15-21, 04:59 PM

Undercurrent
Moody direction by Vincente Minnelli and effective performances by the stars somewhat cast against type make a slightly overheated melodrama from 1946 called Undercurrent worth a look.
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The film stars Katharine Hepburn as Ann Hamilton, the daughter of a science professor, who is on the cusp of spinsterhood. After continually turning down marriage proposals from one of her father's colleagues, Ann does have a whirlwind romance with a wealthy industrialist named Alan Garroway (Robert Taylor) who she impulsively marries. It's not long before Ann learns that her new husband has a lot of issues involving his younger brother, Michael (Robert Mitchum), who Alan paints as a dangerous psychopath, but it's not long before Ann realizes that Alan is the real psychopath.
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Edward Chodorov's screenplay is a little cliched and a little predictable. The way Alan or anyone who knows or works for Alan bristles every time someone mentions Michael's name
seems to draw the audience into the direction they want the viewer to go. Unfortunately, it's so obvious that by the halfway point of the film where we meet Michael, the effect of the plot twist has lost a lot of its power. This is also another story where, in order for the story to work, the heroine's brain is removed and replaced for several parts of the story. The smart and strong-willed Ann Hamilton we meet at the beginning of the film turns into a naive and insecure waif after she marries Alan.
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What I did like about this film is Minnelli's direction, which turns out to be the driving force behind the story...I loved the way whenever Ann mentions Michael's name to Alan, the screen would turn dark and the camera would close in on Alan's burning eyes. It was also fun seeing the usually strong and outspoken Hepburn playing a damsel in distress, normal romantic lead Robert Taylor playing the psychopath, and well known cinema psychopath Mitchum playing the misunderstood brother.
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Hepburn's luminous performance as Ann is really the heart of the film and makes us care about what's going on and Taylor works very hard at being a domineering psychopath. Mitchum also surprises in one of his most sensitive performances as misunderstood Michael. Edmund Gwenn, who would in an Oscar the following year for Miracle on 34th Street, is lovely as Ann's father and Clinton Sundberg was surprisingly creepy as Alan's underling. A must for Hepburn and Minnelli fans. 3.5

Gideon58

04-17-21, 09:11 PM

Happily
BenDavid Grabinski is the director and screenwriter of a bizarre 2021 black comedy called Happily which displays endless style and imagination as a director but his writing skills definitely leave something to be a desired, providing a story you can't walk two feet through without falling in a plothole.
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Tom and Janet have been blissfully married for 14 years. They are so happy that their small circle of friends are jealous of them and want to un-invite them for a weekend at an air B&B. The night before they are to leave for the B&B, they are visited by a mysterious stranger who announces to them that are too happy and produces a briefcase with two large syringes stating that he is going to inject them with and make them "normal." Tom and Janet's attempt to escape from the stranger ends with his death and, of course, as soon as they arrive at their weekend getaway, they start seeing the dead stranger everywhere.
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And that's just the beginning of this oddball comedy that actually plays more like an extended episode of The Twilight Zone. Grabinski sets up the entire story as some sort of nightmare from which we are not allowed to awaken then once we arrive at the B&B, we seem to be moving into a revolving beds sex farce where it's revealed none of the guests at this party are really happy, and when we think it's all about to wrap up in a neat bow, we learn that the mysterious stranger is the owner of the B&B and traps them in the house. Eventually we just decide to wait for an "And then I woke up" scene that will explain everything up to this point, but that never really happens.
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The story might make little or no sense, but Grabinski does show enormous skill in how a film should look. The production values are first rate, featuring some inventive camerawork (including expert use of slow motion and the tracking shot), beautiful cinematography, and breathtaking art direction/set direction (the B&B is stunning). Unfortunately, when you look past the detail that went into production, the story just contains too many questions that never get answered, most importantly, who is this mysterious stranger and why is he judging all these people and forcing them to air all of their dirty laundry.
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Joel McHale finally gets a chance at leading man status and makes the most of it and Kerry Bische is a charmer as Janet. Natalie Zea is fun as sexpot Karen as is Stephen Root as the mysterious stranger, but this film just left me scratching my head. 2.5

Gideon58

04-19-21, 04:27 PM

Bullitt
The 1968 classic is a crackerjack action thriller that is best known for featuring the best car chase ever featured in a film, but it has so much more going for it than that.
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The film stars the personification of 1960's movie cool Steve McQueen as Frank Bullitt, a San Francisco police detective who is approached by a politician named Chalmers (Robert Vaughn) to guard a small time wiseguy named Johnny Ross, who has been put up in a cheap hotel because he has agreed to turn state's evidence against the mob. Less than 24 hours after taking the assignment, Bullitt finds himself in hot water when Ross and one of Bullitt's partners both end up in the hospital suffering from gun shot wounds.
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To reveal anymore of what happens here would be wrong, but let me say that this film is a triumph for director Peter Yates, his fourth film as a director. Yates creates an atmospheric crime thriller that actually begins during the opening credits and forces complete attention from the viewer because the screenplay, based on a novel by Robert L. Fish, is an effective combination of dialogue and action that requires complete attention from the viewer as a lot of what is going on here is never really explained to the viewer but keeps the viewer interested in exactly what Bullitt has gotten himself into and how widespread the alleged conspiracy goes. There's a whole lot of characters on both sides of the law involved in what's going on here and the viewer is never really sure exactly who the black hats are here, which is a lot of the reason why this film is so much fun.
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There were a couple of minor plot holes revolving around the shooting that I didn't really understand. The primary one being when Johnny Ross and Bullitt's partner are shot early on in the film, the assassin definitely wants Ross dead but, for some reason, only shoots Bullitt's partner in the leg. If this was intentional, didn't really understand why the guy would want to leave a witness. I was initially confused as to why Ross left the chain off the door before the shooting, but that gets clarified for the viewer paying attention.
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As for that car chase, it definitely did not disappoint. The camerawork actually made me dizzy and I'm pretty sure that this chase was the only reason the film was set in San Francisco, whose hills made a perfect canvas for this awesome car chase, which started with the bad guys chasing Bullitt, but that was quickly reversed. Also loved the fact that the car chase featured minimal collateral damages...hardly any property damage and only one injury of a guy on a motorcycle. The most surprising thing was it didn't take place at the end of the film. The finale at a crowded airport didn't disappoint either.
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McQueen never breaks a sweat as the title character and Robert Vaughn is appropriately slimy as Chalmers. Jacqueline Bisset received third billing for her role as McQueen's girlfriend, even though she has less than ten minutes screen time. Some other familiar faces pop up along the way including Simon Oakland, Georg Stanford Brown, Norman Fell, Ed Peck, Vic Tayback and Robert Duvall, but this film is all about the McQueen cool and the masterful direction by Peter Yates, who really put himself on the map here. 4

Gideon58

04-20-21, 10:08 PM

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
A wicked story that goes nowhere we expect it to and the white hot chemistry between the stars are the primary ingredients that make The Postman Always Rings Twice the classic it is that still remains riveting after 75 years.
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This steamy melodrama stars John Garfield as Frank Chambers, a drifter who gets hired as a handyman at a California seaside diner owned by Nick Smith (Cecil Kellaway) who finds himself instantly attracted to Nick's young sexpot of a wife, Cora, played by a drop dead gorgeous Lana Turner. Cora fights her attraction to Frank as long as she can, but eventually drifts into a passionate affair with the man right under her husband's nose. They decide to run off together, but Cora doesn't want to leave penniless or without the diner, so she convinces Frank to murder Nick.
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Based on a novel by James M. Cain, the screenplay takes its time in setting up the story by presenting Frank and Cora as star-crossed lovers whose destiny is sealed in their passion by setting up the seductive dance between the two of them that begins the film...love after their first kiss, which Frank initiates, Cora counters by wiping the kiss thoroughly off of her lips. We think it's going to be smooth sailing for Frank and Cora when they finally put their plan in motion, but when their plan backfires, we are surprised to see them torn apart and their passion destroyed.
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But what really makes this film work is the chemistry between Turner and Garfield. Turner is sex on legs here, giving probably the strongest performance of her career in a tailor made role and Garfield is perfect as the sensitive beast who brings out the passion in the woman. Kellaway is rather silly as Nick and his early exit from the story is welcome, but Leon Ames is excellent as the DA and so is Hume Cronyn as Cora's attorney. There's also a brief appearance from Alan Reed as a detective. Reed, of course, would make a name for himself a couple of decades later as the voice of Fred Flintstone. A classic melodrama with a deliciously ironic finale we don't see coming. The film was remade in 1981 with Jack Nicholson as Frank and Jessica Lange as Cora, but it doesn't a hold a candle to this. 4

Gideon58

04-21-21, 04:00 PM

Showbiz Kids
Alex Winter, the young actor whose onscreen work pretty much came to a standstill after the Bill and Ted franchise, has had some success behind the camera and really impresses as the writer and director of an intimate, moving, and surprising look at the trials and tribulations of being a child star in 2020's Showbiz Kids, a documentary which offers viewers to form their own opinions about questions that are posed.
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This has always been an endlessly fascinating subject on which everyone has different opinions, the most primary of them are addressed here and every viewer of this HBO film will probably see something different but this is what this reviewer saw.
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Was being in this business the child's idea or were they forced into it? The impression I got here is that Todd Bridges (Different Strokes) and the late Cameron Boyce, former Disney star who died at the age of 20, wanted to be in this business and never had any interest in doing anything else. Henry Thomas (ET), Evan Rachel Wood, Milla Jovovich, and Wil Wheaton (Stand By Me) seemed to have had no interest in stardom and were shoved into it by their parents, but there is no doubt that everyone who watches this film will not feel the same way. I also got the impression that even though she wasn't forced into the business, Mara Wilson (Mrs. Doubtfire) became uncomfortable with the trappings of stardom and sometimes longed for escape. The parallels of the career of Jovovich and Brooke Shields were also a little eerie.
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We get a balanced look at child stars and beginning child stars and their parents as we watch Jada Pinkett share the joys and fears of her children following in her footsteps. We also meet the mother of a young newcomer named Marc Slater and a young girl named Demi Singleton and her mother at the beginning of their careers (both Slater and Singleton do have IMDB pages). And again, Slater appears to be a little confused and bored by it all. His blank expression during a session with an acting coach speaks volumes. Singleton, on the other hand, is focused and determined and doesn't want to do anything else.
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Though the film does eventually become a bit of a downer as the subject turns to the sexual abuse that child stars must endure (more males than females believe it or not) and how drugs and crime ended many of their lives before the age of 21, this film was a sad but riveting experience that will probably affect individual viewers differently. 4

Gideon58

04-22-21, 04:38 PM

Enough Said
Despite pedestrian direction and an overly complex screenplay from the creative force behind Can You Ever Forgive Me?, the 2013 romantic comedy Enough Said remains completely watchable thanks to an absolutely winning cast, anchored by the surprising chemistry between the leads.
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Eva (Julia Louis-Dreyfuss) is a divorced masseuse with a college-bound daughter who goes to a party where she meets a vivacious divorced writer named Marianne (Catherine Keener), who she starts massaging and strikes up a friendship. At the same party, Eva also meets Albert (the late James Gandolfini), a divorced television historian with a college bound daughter as well. Eva begins dating Albert and the relationship is going swimmingly until Eva figures out that Albert is Marianne's ex-husband.
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Director and screenwriter Nicole Holofcener has crafted a story that plays a little like an extended episode of a sitcom, but aggravates when the really terrific relationship that is set up between Eva and Albert is blown up by the revelation of who Marianne is. Absolutely loved the initial scenes of Eva and Albert's first few dates, where they get to know each other. The dialogue has a refreshing and surprisingly frank, Woody Allen-esque quality to it that puts the audience behind the relationship immediately. Eva is a smart woman and it's a little hard to believe that she thought she could get away with keeping this secret from both Albert and Marianne.
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There are a couple of subplots involving Eva's daughter's BFF and a massage client who lives on the second floor of a house who never offers to help Eva carry her table that just seem to pad the running time. But what makes us stay invested here is the completely believable and rich chemistry between Louis-Dreytfuss and Gandolfini that, when we see their names in the credits, we think "really?", but it totally works.
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It was nice to watch an actual movie romance where the leads aren't in their 20's. There's an absolutely lovely moment when Albert and Eva have just finished lovemaking and he tentatively asks her if she has trouble breathing when he's on top of her...an unabashedly human moment of romantic vulnerability that melted my heart.
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Louis-Dreyfuss, Gandolfini, and Keener receive rock solid support from Toni Collette (who is allowed to use her natural Australian accent) as Eva's BFF, Ben Falcone as Collette's husband, and Tracy Fairaway as Eva's daughter. There's also a brief appearance from Toby Huss as Eva's ex...you might recognize Huss as a romantic interest for Elaine Benis on Seinfeld. The story is a little overstuffed, but it's sweet and richhly entertaining. Fans of the film it's Complicated will have a head start here. 3.5

Gideon58

04-23-21, 04:38 PM

A Wedding
A severely underrated and nearly forgotten gem from the resume of legendary director Robert Altman is a 1978 film called A Wedding, a simultaneously voyeuristic and bombastic look at an unconventional wedding and its repercussions, which adheres to Altman's accustomed free form style of direction, but it's really hard to tell, thanks to a spectacular ensemble cast.
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The film opens during the wedding ceremony of young Muffin Brenner to Dino Corelli, Muffin is the daughter of a truck driving head of a large WASP family and Dino is the heir apparent of an equally large Italian family who are clearly mob connected. As the ceremony concludes, the story unfolds into a multitude of minidramas that are attempted to be kept under wraps in order to preserve the sanctity of the day. Of course, everything does bubble to the surface, with two particular stories taking center stage: Nettie Sloan, the elderly matriarch of the Corelli clan has passed away just as the reception begins and that the groom has gotten his sister-in-law, Buffy, pregnant.
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As Altman fans would expect, this story, the brainchild of Altman and actor John Considine (who also appears as the Corelli head of security) is painted on a large canvas and it is pretty much impossible to track every single character that hits the screen, but it is made pretty clear which characters are part of the bride's family and which a part of the groom's and as the film progresses, that's pretty much all we need to know.
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Altman's presentation of the story is a little more deliberate than a lot of his films and establishes an atmosphere of tension immediately as we see the ceremony begin and guests arriving and being seated. Our first clue to what we are about to witness is that no one arriving for this wedding seems to be particularly happy about this union and the audience is immediately wondering why. Other events contributing to the madness are the arrival of ex-suitors of the bride and groom who make it clear they still have feelings for them and a member of the Corelli wedding party declaring his love for Tulip Brenner, the mother of the bride.
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As with a lot of Altman's work, a lot of the dialogue in the film is unscripted but the brilliant thing about that is that it is really difficult to tell. This was one of Altman's gifts a director though...making improvisation appear completely scripted.
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A lot of this works because of the incredible cast Altman has assembled for this bizarre story including Carol Burnett as Tulip, Nina Van Pallandt as the alcoholic mother of the groom, Vittorio Gassmann as the father of the groom, Paul Dooley as the father of the bride, and Mia Farrow as the pregnant sister-in-law and as various other members of the wedding party, Dina Merrill, Peggy Ann Garner, Pat McCormick, Marta Heflin, Pam Dawber, and a standout turn from Howard Duff as the Corelli family physician, a role similar to Robert Preston's role in the Blake Edwards film S.O.B.. The film provides surprises right up until the closing credits and provides as many shocks as it does giggles. 4

Gideon58

04-27-21, 09:28 PM

Compromising Positions
1985's Compromising Positions is a black comedy that is told with perhaps a little too straight a face, but sporadic entertainment is provided thanks to solid direction and a winning cast.
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A lecherous Long Island dentist named Bruce Fleckstein, who was having affairs with most of his female patients is found murdered. Judith Singer, a former investigative reporter turned bored housewife, who had just begun seeing Fleckstein as a patient, is fascinated by this murder and begins her own investigation, despite the strong objections of her sexist husband and a handsome police detective assigned to the case, who instead of keeping Judith out of the investigation decides to work with her and, of course, finds himself attracted to the woman.
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The basic concept of Susan Isaac's screenplay, adapted from her own novel, is a strong one, but the black comedy premise that established in the opening scenes of the slimy dentist in action, eventually degenerate into a story that should have had more of a farcical feel to it, than the straight up murder mystery that materializes in front of the viewer. Judith Singer should have been the realistic center behind more over-the-top, almost cartoonish characters in the style of a Mel Brooks farce, instead of the grade Z Woody Allen sensibility that Isaacs attempts to establish.
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Those opening scenes of Fleckstein are so much fun but as the film progresses, the only thing for the viewer to hang onto is the Judith Singer character, who provides the alleged black comedy the emotional center it deserves. The coming out of the Judith character as her life becomes recharged because of this murder is a joy to watch, something akin to the transition that the Joan Wilder character goes through in Romancing the Stone. We love the Judith character so much that we try to overlook the fact that no real police officer would actually involve a civilian in an actual murder investigation or that he wouldn't be taken off the case completely when his attraction to Judith comes to light.
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Director Frank Perry (Mommie Dearest) provides some colorful directorial flourish to the proceedings, with a grand assist from a terrific cast. Oscar winner Susan Sarandon offers a deliciously layered performance as Judith Singer and she creates a genuine chemistry with the late Raul Julia as the sexy police detective. Edward Herrmann gives another of his slimy turns as Judith's nasty husband, the kind of role Herrmann had a patent on in the 70's and 80's. Deborah Rush, Josh Mostel, Anne deSalvo, and especially Judith Ivey also shine in supporting roles. And Joe Mantegna makes the most of his opening moments as the freaky Dr. Fleckstein. If the screenplay had been of a lighter tone and had been more of a farce than the standard murder mystery it becomes, this could have been more than passable entertainment, but Sarandon and company make it worth s look. 3

Gideon58

04-28-21, 08:23 PM

Thunder Force
Melissa McCarthy and hubby Ben Falcone have come up with their own twisted variation of the Marvel comic book movie with a big budget action adventure called Thunder Force, which despite McCarthy's proven ability to command the movie screen, still isn't what it could have been thanks to a sketchy screenplay and some questionable casting.
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McCarthy plays Lydia, a fork lift operator and Chicago Cubs fan who is reunited with her childhood BFF, Emily (Oscar winner Octavia Spencer),a brilliant scientist who has been working forever on a formula to turn herself into a superhero in order to defeat a group of supervillains called The Miscreants, led by the King (Bobby Cannavale), who is running for the Mayor of Chicago. Lydia arrives at Emily's offices to persuade her to attend their high school reunion and stumbles into one of Emily's testing rooms, which begins injecting Lydia with superhuman strength, so Emily decides to begin treatments giving her the power of invisibility and together they become the title team, determined to bring down the mighty Miscreants.
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Director and screenwriter Falcone has constructed an affectionate wink to the Marvel comic book genre that finds its nucleus in a childhood friendship. Falcone begins the film showing Lydia and Emily as children, establishing their relationship and initially it seems to go on a little too long, but before the credits roll, just about everything that was addressed during the scenes of the heroines as kids gets play later on in the story. Falcone also includes a clever recurring bit about how the gals costumes begin to get ripe, from being worn all the time, not to mention the ladies difficulty squeezing into their version of the Batmobile.
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There were two main problems with this film that I couldn't get past. First of all, the superpowers possessed by these miscreants seemed ions ahead of Thunder Force and, realistically, there's no way these two women could have defeated the Miscreants armed with only super strength and invisibility. The other big problem here is the casting of Spencer as Emily...Spencer is a proven commodity on the screen, but her performance is a little one-note here, not in step with the farcical cartoonish villains presented and I never bought her as this "Wyle E Coyote, Super Genius" she was supposed to be.
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As always, McCarthy delivers the laughs, especially in the training scenes as do Bobby Cannavale as the King and Jason Bateman as the crab. Oscar winner Melissa Leo is wasted as one of Emily's employees, she deserves better. Falcone applies first rate production values to the story, with a shot out to art direction, film editing, and visual effects, but they don't make up for the deficiencies and inconsistencies in the story. 2.5

Gideon58

04-29-21, 08:26 PM

Born to Dance (1936)
Dancing dynamo Eleanor Powell is center stage for 1936's Born to Dance, an early entertaining entry from MGM worth checking out because of Powell and a terrific Cole Porter score.
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Powell plays Nora, an aspiring dancer who comes to New York looking for stardom on Broadway who falls instantly in love with a sailor she meets named Ted (James Stewart). The romance is disrupted when Ted meets a glamorous Broadway diva named Lucy James (Virginia Bruce) when he saves her dog. Lucy's agent thinks creating a romance between Ted and Lucy would be great publicity for her new show and Ted only agrees when he learns Nora has been hired as Lucy's new understudy.
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Screenwriters Jack McGowan and Sid Silvers (plays Ted's pal Sacks) offer a classic musical comedy plot with a few adult touches I didn't see coming. We are almost immediately introduced to the character of Jenny (Una Merkel), who is raising a child she conceived with Sacks before he began his naval tour. Sacks' trials and tribulations trying to get Jenny back provide some of the movie's funniest moments.
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The best musical moments are indeed provided by Powell, Buddy Ebsen, Frances Langford, and, believe it or not, James Stewart, who actually sings in one of his earliest film performances. The scene of him serenading Powell with "Easy to Love" would eventually be featured in 1974's That's Entertainment. There are vocal and dance interpretations provided to the film's most famous song, "I've Got You Under My Skin", which earned an Oscar nomination for Best Song of 1936. Long-legged Ebsen shows a very contrasting dance style to Powell's that reminded me of movie dance legend Ray Bolger. And the Busby Berkley-style finale to "Columbia Gem of the Ocean" is spectacular, highlighting the precise and breezy dance style of Powell, which makes her seem like a female counterpart to Fred Astaire.
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Stewart is a charming leading man, even though he appears to be uncomfortable during any moment onscreen where he has to sing. Merkel's wisecracking Jenny and Silver's flustered Sacks are perfect comic relief. It's no Singin in the Rain, but Eleanor Powell is always worth watching. 3.5

Gideon58

04-30-21, 09:40 PM

The Little Things
Despite the presence of three Oscar winning actors in the starring roles, 2021's The Little Things is a pretentious and slightly confusing crime drama that isn't quite what it should be thanks to a fuzzy screenplay that leads to an unsatisfactory conclusion.
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Denzel Washington stars as Deacon, a laid back Kern County Deputy Sheriff who is sent to Los Angeles to pick up some evidence for a case and, upon his arrival, finds himself assisting in the hunt for serial killer. The case finds him working with Jim Baxter, played by Rami Malek a buttoned-down, by the book police lieutenant who works strictly through the evidence and can't get behind Deacon's use of instinct and his focus on "the little things" that pop up during a case which, on the surface, might not seem important.
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As the story progresses, this case in Los Angeles is very similar to a case that Deacon worked in Kern County that is still occupying a whole lot of space in his head and still has him wrapped in guilt. There's so much guilt there that Deacon sees the victims everywhere and sometimes they even talk to him, only strengthening his resolve to help Baxter with his case.
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Director and screenwriter John Lee Hancock (Saving Mr Banks, The Blind Side) has stumbled into relatively unfamiliar waters here as a filmmaker, clearly evidenced in the spotty screenplay that never really gives any real details into the case from his past, except for the fact that somewhere along the way, Deacon may have not played by the rules and endangered his job as well as the job of a medical examiner. This is also another one of those murder mysteries where we know who the murderer is the second he comes onscreen (brilliant performance by Jared Leto) and we can't wait for him get what's coming to him and anything less feels like a cheat.
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Hancock put a lot of sweat into this project, though I wish a little more attention had been put into production values...several scenes are poorly lit and the audio made it hard to hear what appeared to be some pertinent dialogue in more than one scene. Still, Denzil is solid , as always, and Malek appears to be so intimated by Washington that is performance is a little too affected. But Jared Leto commands the screen in his creepiest performance since Chapter 27. Loved the detail Leto put into the physicality of the character, watch the walk, it's so obvious that Leto developed this character starting with the walk and worked from there. Wish the rest of the film could have been as good as Leto. 3

xSookieStackhouse

05-01-21, 12:17 PM

Gideon58

05-01-21, 01:51 PM

Something tells me he would make an awesome Bond villain

Gideon58

05-01-21, 09:26 PM

The Visitor (2007)
A veteran character actor was given his first leading role and knocked it out of the park in 2007's The Visitor, an unassuming and unique drama rich with warmth and originality that washed over this reviewer and found myself riveted and caring for the characters.
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Richard Jenkins plays Walter Vale, a widowed writer and college professor who teaches in Connecticut and is sent to New York to attend a conference, his first trip to the city in 25 years. When he arrives at the apartment that he has kept in the city, he finds a young Syrian musician named Tarek and his Sengelese girlfriend living there. When they realize it really is Walter's apartment, they politely offer to leave immediately, but Walter doesn't have the heart to throw them out on the street in the middle of the night and offers to let them stay. Walter and Tarek form a bond over their mutual love of music and then one night on the subway, Terek is accused of jumping the turnstile and it is revealed that Terek is an illegal and is transported to a detention center in Queens for possible deportation.
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Walter hires a lawyer to look into Tarek's situation while Tarek's mother arrives in town to find out what she can do about her son. This situation not only becomes an outlet for Walter's discontentment with his life, but develops a lovely relationship with Tarek's mother that the viewer doesn't really see coming.
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Director and screenwriter Tom McCarthy, who won an Oscar for writing the 2015 Best Picture winner Spotlight again reveals an uncanny ability to weave an intimate story of human relations around a topical subject like the plight of the illegal alien. McCarthy takes his time in setting up what happens here by putting a lot of loving detail in the relationship that develops between Walter and Tarek, not only because Tarek gets to share his love of music and his gratitude to Walter for not kicking him out of his apartment, we also get to see Walter slowing coming out of the shell that he's been living in since the death of his wife.
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Even more unexpected is the relationship between Walter and Tarek's mother, a lovely platonic romance that is so healthy for both of them. Watch Walter's gentlemanly approach to getting the mother to stay with him or when he takes her to see Phantom of the Opera. It's not just the joy in her excitement, but Walter's joy in seeing her excitement.
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We fall in love with this Walter character immediately because the man's unhappiness with his life is not glossed over, but evident in everything Walter does. We love when that one Christian act of not throwing this couple on the street changes his life and the other change that occurs after Terek is detained...Walter takes responsibility for Terek even though he doesn't have to and McCarthy never sugarcoats the reality of the situation.
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Richard Jenkins delivers a rich and deceptively complex performance in the starring role that , after over 20 years of making movies, earned the actor his first Oscar nomination for Lead Actor. The scene where Walter learns of Terek's fate might have earned Jenkins the Oscar nomination by itself. Haaz Sleiman lights up the screen as Terek and Hiam Abbass is luminous as his mother. Lovely Manhattan scenery and Jan A.P. Kaczmarek's music are the icing on the cake on this sensitive and often moving drama which offers a realistic resolution and a final scene that had me fighting tears. 4

Gideon58

05-04-21, 04:06 PM

The Rat Race (1960)
Despite some dated plot elements, 1960's The Rat Race is a gritty and engrossing romantic drama that is still watchable after all these years thanks to atmospheric direction and some eye-opening performances.
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It's a hot and grimy summer in New York City where we find two people thrown together by circumstance and find themselves first needing each other and eventually wanting each other: Pete (Tony Curtis) is a jazz musician fresh off the bus from Milwaukee who finds himself sharing a cramped one room apartment with Peggy (Debbie Reynolds), an aspiring model who is currently supporting herself as a dance hall hostess who is in serious debt to Nellie (Don Rickles), her boss at the dance hall.
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Garson Kanin adapted the unconventional screenplay from his own play that had a short run on Broadway approximately a decade prior to this film. Kanin's story effectively sets up the sweaty atmosphere of this concrete jungle and effectively represents the millions who did (and still do) come to New York City as the ultimate symbol of success and, more importantly, the trusting souls who trust the wrong people and find one disappointment after another.
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Director Robert Mulligan provides a sensitive directorial hand to an on the surface, often unpleasant story centered around a romance that never really plays as a romance though the viewer finds themselves rooting for these two to realize that they love each other as much as they need other.
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What really makes this movie worth watching is some of the performances, which are really out of the comfort zones of the actors. Tony Curtis, who usually plays the wisecracking romantic leading man, is surprisingly effective as the small town guy looking for fame and fortune in the Big Apple. The real eye opener here though is Reynolds, who has played more than her share of virginal characters, who, with a strong assist from Mulligan, delivers the performance of her career as the hard-nosed hustler who is willing to sell her virtue to keep her telephone turned on. Reynolds is a revelation in this film, unlike anything I've ever seen.
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Mention should also be made of veteran Jack Oakie, who made his film debut in 1923, in his second to last to last film role as a kindly bartender and Kay Medford as a greedy landlady and even Rickles brings the sleaze to his role as well. Also loved Elmer Bernstein's music, who also makes an onscreen cameo. A nearly forgotten gem from the 60's that is appointment viewing for Debbie Reynolds fans. 3.5

Gideon58

05-06-21, 04:23 PM

Any Wednesday
The sparkling performances from the stars make a 1966 romantic comedy called Any Wednesday worth watching despite a rather contrived and predictable plot whose ending is telegraphed long before the final credits but the viewer's patience is sure tested waiting for it.
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The always reliable Jason Robards stars as John Cleves, a married, womanizing business executive who takes every Wednesday off work in order to cheat on his wife. After chasing her for almost a year, John manages to convince a pretty art gallery employee named Ellen Gordon (Jane Fonda) to move into an elegant apartment belonging to his company so that they can be together every Wednesday. Things get complicated when Cass Henderson(Dean Jones), a business associate of John's, is given a key to the apartment so he can stay there until he and John can complete their deal and John's wife, Dorothy (Rosemary Murphy) leaves the Cleves country estate to surprise her husband in town.
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Muriel Resnick's often deft screenplay is adapted from a play by Julius J. Epstein, which opened on Broadway in 1964 and ran for over 900 performances. Don Porter played John, Sandy Dennis starred as Ellen, Gene Hackman played Cass and Murphy played Dorothy, the only star from the play allowed to recreate her role in the movie. The movie starts off very amusingly with a detailed breakdown of John's pursuit of Ellen, which makes him look like the ultimate ladies man and makes Ellen look like a complete idiot and this is probably my main problem with the story. Ellen appears to have her head on straight as the story begins and avoids John for a long time because she knows he's married. But it all changes because he brings her home from the hospital one day and he has filled her apartment with balloons...seriously?
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Ellen is then transformed into this ditzy fool whose brain gets removed and returned to her head several times throughout the story. There's a point where it's made clear to the viewer that John has Ellen convinced that he's really going to leave his wife, and even if Ellen believes it, we don't and Cass doesn't and we just know this has to be Ellen's way out of this mess, though the mess does take WAY too long to get untangled.
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Director Robert Ellis Miller does provide some imaginative directorial touches to avoid the photographed stage play look, most notably, a very inventive use of the split screen technique that Michael Gordon originated in Pillow Talk that shove a bit against the 4th wall but never break it. He also gets terrific performances from his cast. Robards offers one of his slickest performances as Cleves and Jane Fonda finishes out the sex kitten phase of her career with the slightly pathetic Ellen, the girl who is really taken for a ride by Cleves, but we never stop wanting her to wake up. Jones is an absolute charmer in a non-Disney role and Murphy is quietly brilliant recreating her role as the wife who is not nearly as clueless as we're supposed to think. George Duning's music is a little much, but doesn't distract too much and even though we have to wait a little too long for it, the ending is a winner. 3.5

Gideon58

05-06-21, 09:58 PM

The Map of Tiny Perfect Things
Fans of the Bill Murray comedy Groundhog Day and the Andy Samberg comedy Palm Springs will have a head start with 2021's The Map of Tiny Perfect Things, another story of people stuck in a time warp and their completely different outlooks on what is happening to them.
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Mark is a cocky small town teenager who has discovered that he is living in some sort of time loop where he keeps living the same day over and over again. He embraces what is happening and enjoys it in a way until he meets Margaret, who confesses that she is stuck in the same loop and decides to share with Mark all the cool things that she keeps seeing day after day. Mark and Margaret decide that while they have the chance, they need to document all the perfect things that happen in front of them on this ever ending day in a special map. Making this map does allow Mark and Margaret to bond to a point, but it is soon revealed that Margaret is not as anxious for the loop to end as Mark is.
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Screenwriter Lev Grossman offers us an overly complex story that relies a lot on the continuity that Harold Ramis' screenplay to Groundhog Day did but, sadly, does not. The opening scenes of Mark as the happy go lucky kid who just seems to be trying to make the most out of his somewhat tedious life do not properly provide the exposition that a loopy story like this requires. Likewise, with the introduction of Margaret her complete defiance of what is happening is initially very confusing and the viewer just wants her to shut up and accept what Mark is trying to help her deal with. We eventually learn why Margaret isn't as anxious for the loop to end as Mark, but it takes a little longer than it should. When their first kiss doesn't work and when Margaret gets off the plane to Tokyo, we're pretty sure all bets are off, until Margaret's revelation, which leads to a finale not unlike an 80's John Hughes rom-com, completely out of step with what we've seen up to this point.
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Director Ian Samuels does offer some beautiful photography and superb camera work (including excellent use of the tracking shot), but should have paid more attenton to the logistics and continuity of the story. Kyle Allen, who is also featured in Spielberg's upcoming remake of West Side Story and Kathryn Newton offer star-making performances in the leads, but they're fighting a story that doesn't deliver everything it promises. 2.5

Gideon58

05-12-21, 08:52 PM

The Ballad of Cable Hogue
The thinking man's western, 1970's The Ballad of Cable Hogue is a warm and winning combination of revenge, romance, and character study set against a western canvas that engages the viewer completely thanks to superb direction from a surprising source and a wonderful central character that the viewer falls in love with instantly.
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Jason Robards stars as Cable Hogue, grizzled old prospector who is robbed and left to die in the desert by a couple of former partners-in-crime. After days of crawling around in the desert, Cable discovers an underground spring, which he digs up and decides to build a rest stop for stagecoach drivers with the assistance of Rev. Joshua (David Warner), a creepy clergyman whose carnal desires have probably kept him on the run before meeting Cable. Cable also finds romance with a brassy and beautiful prostitute named Hildy (Stella Stevens), who puts a real crimp in the new life that Hogue has built for himself.
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What can I say, I LOVED this movie. Screenwriters John Crawford and Edmund Penney have constructed the kind of story that one would not normally expect in a western setting, but makes it seem perfectly natural there. The story is initially a look at this man, who we meet at death's door who pulls himself back from the brink to forge a friendship with a man who is not really worthy of it and a romance that has him thinking about giving up his new life for a woman who might not be ready for him to do so. And just when we think it's been forgotten about it, Hogue gets the opportunity to get back at the scumbags who left him to die in the desert.
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Director Sam Peckinpah, who directed another classic western The Wild Bunch, and one of my favorite actions films, 1972's The Getaway, really scores here with a story that is definitely out of his comfort zone. Peckinpah, as always, choses to tell a lot of his story with his camera and his accustomed expertise with slow and fast motion photography. One of my favorite things he does here is every moment in the film where a character is observed running, the running is done in fast motion, almost like a cartoon character, which lightens the mood and allows the viewer not to take the story as seriously as they might. The detail he puts into the relationship between Hogue and Hildy conveys a sensitivity I've never seen from this director.
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The relationship between Hogue and Hildy is so enchanting because so much of it is told through the camera and not dialogue. Loved how Peckinpah documents the first moment that Hogue lays eyes on Hildy...I don't think I've ever seen the concept of love at first sight so beautifully presented on film before. The scenes when they are reunited in the desert at Hogue's rest stop are lovely. We've seen scenes like this before where a couple seems to be settling into domesticity with a musical background. What I loved here was that the musical background this time was a song actually sung by Hogue and Hildy, a storytelling tool that spoke volumes about the relationship between these two characters. And the scene where Hildy tells Hogue she's leaving and she wants more than anything is for him to beg her to stay and he can't do it, is nothing short of heartbreaking.
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The film also features gorgeous Oscar-worthy cinematography and a lyrical musical score with just the right western flavor. Jason Robards is absolutely extraordinary in the title role, a dazzling and beautifully layered performance that should have earned him an Oscar nomination. Stella Stevens also gives the performance of her career in the kind of role she pretty much invented in the 1960's...the hooker with the heart of gold. Warner was a perfect combination of creepy and funny as Rev. Joshua and Strother Martin, LQ Jones, and Slim Pickens make the most of supporting roles. This is the western for people, like myself, who hate westerns, that enchants thanks to the magic of Sam Peckinpah behind the camera and the iconic Robards in front. 4.5