Track the Films You Watch (2009) (1 Viewer)

[Martin Teller]

Queimada - Another strong political drama from Pontecorvo. Like his earlier The Battle of Algiers (although in this case, not a true story), it's about the inability of European colonialists to cope with or even fully comprehend the revolutionary spirit. A few awkward time cuts introduce some confusion, but otherwise the story is quite gripping with starkly realistic scenes. Brando is superb in the lead, effortlessly slipping into the character and pulling off one of the most natural British accents I've heard from an American. The other main actors, however, are nothing to write home about. Morricone's idiosyncratic score at first seems out of place, but eventually I really warmed up to it. Rating: 8


Control - I love me some Joy Division. One of my prized possessions in college was a gigantic "Love Will Tear Us Apart" poster. So any movie with JD songs all over the soundtrack, plus Bowie, Kraftwerk, and Velvet Underground, gets some bonus points (also, the movie reminded me of Crispy Ambulance, who I haven't thought about in like 15 years). But there's not a whole lot else to recommend this film. Certainly Anton Corbijn's (probably best known as director of umpteen Depeche Mode videos) choice of moody, stark black and white photography is highly appropriate. And Sam Riley is a dead ringer for Ian Curtis in looks and mannerisms, if not quite there in his voice. But the proceedings rarely elevate above your standard biopic. I couldn't help thinking of 24 Hour Party People, a far superior movie. Tony Wilson is an interesting and entertaining guy, and from his perspective, Curtis is an engaging, dynamic character. But maybe, despite the amazing music he created, Curtis just isn't interesting enough to carry a 2-hour film by himself. I never felt like I was truly getting an inside look at him. Rating: 6


Japan's Longest Day - Featuring a Japanese all-star cast (Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Chishu Ryu, Daisuke Kato, et cetera), this docudrama illustrates the 24-hour period before Hirohito announced surrender. Although the first part throws an awful lot of information and names at you, by the midway point the focus settles on an attempted coup by a group of fanatical soldiers who want to continue the war. It's riveting stuff, expertly composed by Okamoto and full of exciting, tense moments. I suppose I ought to track down more of his work, so far I've been pretty impressed. Not blown away, but always engaged. The one really sour note was Toshio Kurosawa's over-the-top bug-eyed portrayal of Major Hanataka (and whoever his sidekick was, I didn't catch the name). It was far more crazy than the role required, although I guess you see a lot of that in Japanese movies. Rating: 8

 

[Pete Battista]

The Dark Knight :star::star::star::star::star:

I loved Batman Begins... so I was excited to hear that they were making this sequel. I didn't realize until today that, like Batman Begins, this one is a very long movie at just over 2 and a half hours. But you wouldn't know it while watching the movie! The time flew by and before I knew it I was watching the credits roll. I liked how they did The Joker this time. Talk about a dark version! I am impressed... I think Heath Ledger easily out did Jack Nicholson in the roll. It is such a shame we can not look forward to any more from him. I am sitting here writing this review still in awe of this movie. And that is saying something because I let it all sink in... waiting almost an hour before writing up this review. I can not suggest this movie any higher! An outstanding job from everyone involved!

2009 Movie Watched List
2009 TV Episodes Watched List

 

[Mario Gauci]

TV, Serial & Documentary Day #1:


01/10/09: MONITOR: ELGAR – PORTRAIT OF A COMPOSER (TV) (Ken Russell, 1962) :star::star::star:

While considered something of a breakthrough in British TV, coming early in the director’s career, he wasn’t allowed to use actors in his film on composer Sir Edward Elgar other than in long shot or have them speak! Despite this fact (and noting also that none of Russell’s subsequent trademark excesses are to be found here), I was surprisingly engrossed in it regardless. Incidentally, in the accompanying audio commentary, it’s revealed that some of the episodes depicted (or mentioned in the almost-constant narration) had no real basis in fact – with the director readily admitting that he had to fabricate much of it simply because there just wasn’t that much known about Elgar at the time to begin with! Russell makes good use of stock footage, ably juxtaposing military/royal parade with the horrors of war (Elgar lived through both the Boer conflict and the First World War). Besides, he doesn’t beat around the bush and repeatedly states that Elgar’s talent was all but appreciated in his homeland and that the composer himself would eventually come to somewhat begrudge the fact that his best-known piece was the stirring yet ultra-jingoistic “Land Of Hope And Glory” (so popular that it was virtually held as a second national anthem for Great Britain while, as Russell explains in the commentary, this music is played at the graduation ceremony of every school in America)! When all is said and done, however, the film is at its most effective during the lyrical passages in the countryside.


01/10/09: MASTERS OF HORROR: DEER WOMAN (TV) (John Landis, 2005) :star::star::star:

This is easily one of the best MOH entries I’ve watched thus far, and definitely the most entertaining. I missed out on Landis’ second horror outing – INNOCENT BLOOD (1992) – so I was relieved to note that he has lost none of his talent in this field (to say nothing of his uncanny ability to mix chills and gore with broad humor) in the years since AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (1981); by the way, there’s a brilliantly funny reference to that landmark film here. As can be guessed from the title, what we have in this episode is a half-woman half-deer who seduces and then brutally murders her prey (actually reminiscent of “Carpathian Eagle”, one of the more successful entries in the HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR [1980] TV series). Of course, nobody at first can make the connection between the presence of both a sensual native American girl (one minor gripe I have with this is the fact that everybody seems to fall for her obvious charms without once questioning her inability to speak, unless we’re to believe the victims are all lechers) and a deer-apparently-gone-berserk at the scene of each crime!; the single funniest sequence is the hero having multiple (and wildly divergent) visions of the first murder – culminating in a bit where a deer, clothed and walking upright, makes off with a girl into the woods! Running hand in hand with the investigation is his story – a disgraced cop forced to deal with cases of animal aggression slowly regaining his integrity and faith in the job. Ironically, since he’d been demoted after having accidentally shot his own partner, it’s only after his new assistant succumbs himself to the titular creature that he’s able to bring her to book. Wisely, Landis leaves his comic baggage behind for the intense (if somewhat abrupt) finale – though coming in again at the very end as the hero realizes that he won’t be able to satisfactorily explain the mystery to his superiors, so that it’s back to ‘harmless’ animals for him from there on in…


01/10/09: PRISONERS OF HONOR (TV) (Ken Russell, 1991) :star::star:1/2

The celebrated Dreyfus affair of turn-of-the-20th-century France gets the British TV treatment courtesy of one of its past masters, Ken Russell (thankfully restrained), and starring a famous (and alleged) relative of the man himself, American actor Richard Dreyfuss (albeit playing a different role)! Although in the past there had been more prestigious film versions of the case – most notably THE LIFE OF EMILE ZOLA (1937) which even earned the Best Picture Oscar of that year – the starry cast roped in for this modest production delivers the goods nevertheless and keeps one watching: apart from the afore-mentioned Dreyfuss, we also get Russell regular Oliver Reed, Peter Firth, Jeremy Kemp, Brian Blessed, Peter Vaughan and even iconoclastic film-maker Lindsay Anderson making one of his infrequent appearances as an actor and being entrusted with the important role of the Minister of War! Oddly enough, despite the onscreen title of the film being PRISONERS OF HONOR, every online reference to it (including the IMDb) seems to drop the final ‘s’ and turn it into singular!

 

[John Stell]

012) 01/09/2009 The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) :star::star::star::star: (out of four)

Director David Lean’s World War II classic harkens back to a time when there were rules in war, even in the enemy’s prison camps. Alec Guinness plays a British officer, Nicholson, who refuses to follow his Japanese captors’ orders that officers work along side the soldiers under his command. Such a thing would be a violation of the Geneva Conventions. What ensues is a battle of wills between Nicholson and Japanese Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa) that also emerges as a psychological study of two men trying to maintain control in a situation that will test their own sanity.

A contingent of British soldiers has been captured and put to work to build a bridge connecting Bangkok and Rangoon. If the bridge is not completed by May 22, Saito will have to kill himself. But when he orders the British officers to work also, Colonel Nicholson refuses and is put in the “oven,” a small metal shack in which Nicholson could die of dehydration. Meanwhile, an American prisoner (William Holden), a Navy Commander, escapes and makes it to a Siamese village. He’s taken to a hospital in Colombo, where he is asked to help out with a planned British attack on the bridge.

The Bridge on the River Kwai is an unwaveringly fascinating look at both the physical and psychological strategies of war. It’s easy enough to understand what the Japanese are trying to accomplish in having the bridge built and the British’s response to this potential threat. What engrosses the viewer in The Bridge on the River Kwai, however, is the psychological game that Nicholson and Saito start playing. Nicholson will not budge in his demand that officers do not work. Saito starts to weaken an offers compromise after compromise. Nicholson still remains adamant. He is heroic when he eventually wins this battle. But as he becomes obsessive about his soldiers constructing a bridge that will actually work, it becomes clear that he has forgotten what is at stake. Saito is flabbergasted at this turn of events. And the audience watches this unfold with a mix of admiration for and horror at what Nicholson is doing. Guinness received a deserved Oscar for his performance: a perfect blend of steely determination and absolute madness.

David Lean directs with a sure hand, effortlessly weaving the story threads (bridge construction and bridge destruction) together. In one startlingly suspenseful sequence, the team trying to destroy the bridge swims underneath the construct, as Japanese soldiers patrol above, and plant explosives at the base of the supports. There is no music, just the noises of the jungle and ripples of the water. One loud noise and their plan will be exposed. It is such a tension-filled scene that, when it’s over, you’ll have to catch your breath.

The Bridge on the River Kwai is a war film like no other. In intimate fashion, it looks at a specific situation and draws you in via its exploration of just a few characters. The film is frightening and funny, suspenseful and playful, without ever losing the audience’s attention. The Bridge on the River Kwai remains a classic film that deserves such a reputation.


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[John Stell]

013) 01/10/2009 Revolutionary Road (2008) :star::star::star: (out of four)

Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio are the Wheelers (April and Frank), a couple who seem to be living the ideal 1950s lifestyle. They have two children and live in a lovely suburban neighborhood. Frank has a steady if unfulfilling office job. On the outside they seem like the perfect couple. But April, once an aspiring actress, has become absolutely miserable, longing for freedom from an existence that she feels has been forced upon her. She talks Frank into moving to Paris to kick-start a new life. But subsequent developments jeopardize more than just April and Frank’s marriage.

Revolutionary Road boasts strong performances from the leads. Winslet and DiCaprio inherit their characters and their story is engrossing. They are given able support from the likes of Kathy Bates, a gossipy real estate agent, and, especially, Michael Shannon, as Bates’ mentally disturbed son who nevertheless senses what is really going on with the Wheelers. This rather clichéd character (the insane person who may be the sanest character in the movie) is given a darkly comic approach by Shannon that makes him an effective harbinger of the truth.

What’s problematic about the film is the Winslet character. Is she mentally ill herself or just a spoiled brat who does not realize what she has? (At one point Frank mentions psychiatric counseling but this never referred to again.) After some rather explosive fights with her husband she’ll play the perfect wife (by 1950s standards). Is this because her character is trying to appreciate what she has and thus starting anew, or is this actually one of two personalities that are fighting within April? Knowing whether she is self-pitying or sick is crucial since this will shape our reaction to the tragic events that play out in the final acts. Should we be sad or angry, or both?

But given what Bates’ character’s husband does in the film’s last scene, Revolutionary Road ultimately seems like an indictment on marriage - at least the 1950s view of such - in general. All the married couples we meet feature at least one spouse who is unfaithful or dissatisfied in one way or another. More specifically, perhaps Revolutionary Road is an overall criticism of “the perfect life” idea that was sold to people in a bygone era. Men and women got married, found a nice play to live, had two children, etc. The man went to work and the woman took care of the house and kids. Therefore any feelings of disappointment with this arrangement can have devastating effects.

It is curious how little we see of the Wheeler children in this film. They are always at someone else’s home, or at a Birthday party. When the kids are on screen it is to make some dramatic point, such as when April snaps at her daughter for no apparent reason. This feel likes an emotional cheat, because the film mostly bypasses the concept of responsibility. The time responsibility does get mentioned is during heated arguments, and therefore just gets lost amongst the vitriol. The screenplay unsatisfactorily explores April’s thoughts about her responsibilities to her children in conjunction with her own desires.

Revolutionary Road suffers story wise because it’s unclear, and knowing this would impact our own reaction to April and her reactions. Maybe director Sam Mendes avoids such a definitive answer because he wants to be provocative, avoiding labeling April as narcissistic or sick. Revolutionary Road is worth seeing for its great performances and involving story. But it’s refusal to reveal the truth about April will either have you praising it for such a stroke, or leave you frustrated for not knowing what to make of it all.



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[John Stell]

014) 01/10/2009 The Devil's Partner (1958) :star::star: (out of four)

This low-budget curio stars Ed Nelson as a young man who shows up in a small, rural town to claim his inheritance from the uncle that just died. In truth, however, Ed Nelson is the uncle, who made a pact with the devil so he could be young and romance the town doctor’s daughter. I think. The opening sequence is actually moody and effective as an elderly gent takes a goat into his shack and cuts its throat. Outside the shack the wind blows and owls hoot, without the aid of a music score. But once this is over the film settles down into a standard mystery tale with a supernatural bent. Not very good, but the performances are earnest which prevents the film from actually being painful.

015) 01/10/2009 Hand of Death (1962) :star::star:

John Agar plays a scientist who is exposed to a combination nerve and psychotropic gas. He can then kill anyone just by touching them. He also starts transforming into a giant piece of burnt toast. At barely an hour this throwback to 1950s thrillers does not overstay its welcome. But it’s also way too familiar and unimaginative in its execution, except for the initial description of what doc Agar is trying to do, which ultimately does not make a darn bit of difference as to how the story plays out!



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[John Stell]

016) 01/11/2009 Gigi (1958) :star::star::star::star: (out of four)

Gigi is an absolutely delightful musical about, of all things, a girl who’s being raised to be a courtesan. She’ll enter into society to be the mistress of various wealthy men, moving from one to another as they are done with her. But she’ll live a charmed life consisting of fine dining, glamorous fashion, and expensive jewelry, that is, as long as love doesn’t get in the way.

Gigi (Leslie Caron) enjoys the company of Gaston Lachaille (Louis Jourdan), a friend of her grandmother’s (Hermione Gingold) who brings Gigi candy and plays cards with her when he visits. He is bored with the carefree lifestyle that wealth has afforded him. Gigi herself does not see the practicality of love and romance. Of course, the two are meant for each other.

Gigi is one of the best musicals of the 1950s. Its breathtaking color, opulent art direction and costume design, pitch-perfect performances, and, best of all, memorable songs help make this film an absolute joy. Right from the opening number, with Maurice Chevalier crooning the now-classic “Thank Heaven for Little Girls,” were are warmly invited into turn of the century Paris, where single, wealthy men need not look at marriage as the only means of love, which, in this context, refers to sex. Jourdan, shortly there after, delivers the delightful “It’s A Bore,” where he bemoans this very existence. When we meet Gigi, we are instantly taken by her. She is full of enthusiasm and good humor, but has little use for romance. We know these two will fall in love. Along the way, we are treated to such musical delights as “I Remember It Well” and “I'm Glad I'm Not Young Anymore.”

There is humor and shock in learning what defines happiness for certain Parisian women of the time. In one such scene Aunt Alicia, who is training Gigi to be such a lady, brings out her jewelry and tells Gigi that just by looking at what a woman is wearing one can tell if her man is losing interest in her. In another highlight, Gaston enters a popular restaurant with his current mistress and all the patrons stop their chatter, observing the lovers’ entrance and commencing to gossip about the couple. This approach is repeated when, near the end of the film, Gaston arrives with Gigi at the very same restaurant, but with different emotional results.

Leslie Caron’s Gigi is an endearing character. We love her instantly and wish the best for her. And we watched astonished, as this bright-eyed, pig-tailed cutie transforms into a beautiful woman before our – and Gaston’s – eyes. You’ll be grinning from ear to ear at the film’s final moments. Lovely to look at and listen to, Gigi is a great entertainment from an era when audiences were more than willing to let films tell their stories in both word and song.



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[Michael Elliott]

My girlfriend and I went to an AC/DC concert last night so my brain was a little rattled but I managed to pump these out.

Bullets or Ballots (1936) :star::star::star: William Keighley

A hard boiled detective (Edward G. Robinson) gets kicked off the force so a gangster (Barton MacLane) hires him onto the underground. Robinson pretends to be telling them how to stay clear of getting busted but a second hand man (Humphrey Bogart) rightly suspects the detective of just being undercover. Here we have yet another gangster film from Warner and yet another winner as the film contains some very good performances, nice action and some true drama. The actual story of a cop going undercover is certainly nothing new and the film really doesn't hit on anything new but that really doesn't take away from any of the entertainment. The story this time out is also rather low key and we don't get any major action scenes but that's okay because the dialogue is strong enough as are the performances to give us the drama we need. Robinson turns in another fine performance as it's always nice seeing him play the hero. MacLane does a very good job in his role as the top guy and of course it's always fun seeing Bogart playing the second fiddle. Joan Blondell does a fine job as well even though her character, a numbers runner and friend to Robinson, is underwritten. Then for comic relief we get Frank McHugh but he too doesn't have that well of a written character. In terms of the Warner gangster films this certainly can't compare to Little Caesar, Angels with Dirty Faces or White Heat but on its own it's a nice little drama that has enough appeal to overcome its weaknesses.

How to Eat (1939) :star::star:1/2 Roy Rowland

Robert Benchley short, in his long running "How to..." series, which tackled a wide range of subjects with this one here taking a look at eating. The short deals with various issues that might cause a person to lose their appetite. There really isn't any scientific evidence to back up anything Benchley is talking about and my guess is that the majority of what he speaks about, in this short or others, are just things that bother or effect himself. There's certainly nothing wrong with that and this short comes off mildly entertaining and features a couple nice laughs. The best sequence is the section on picking at dinner before it's actually on the table and how this might cause one not to be hungry when it's actually time to eat.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Tropic Thunder (2008) :star::star:

Sorry, I just thought this would be A LOT funnier. I like Ben Stiller, and I thought the odd dea of casting Robert Downey Jr. as a black man would make for some humorous situations. Well, Downey doesn't really play a black man, he's playing a white actor playing a black man, and he doesn't have a lot of funny lines. This was just a pretty average movie all around, it left little impression on me. I would say the only times I got a slight chuckle out of it were during the bits with Stiller playing the fictional retarded character, and even Tom Cruise's guesting bit as a bald ball-buster was more inspired than anything else... though it was obvious that Cruise was "just playing a part" and didn't really come off as authentic.


The Happening (2008) :star::star::star:1/2

I'll never understand why so many people are down on M. Night Shyamalan, who I like to call my Savior of Modern Horror. I've only seen SIGNS, THE SIXTH SENSE (both exceptional) and THE VILLAGE (decent enough) but I love the way the man relies on tension and fear, trying to make you think a bit when telling a story, without blowing it up into mind-numbing action and special effects overkill. I am especially surprised when it's purists like me, who usually prefer the older styles of the genre and science fiction stories of the Twilight Zone variety, who are first in line to pounce. I just don't get that. The man is good at what he does (though I admittedly have yet to see LADY IN THE WATER, and I have trepidations reserved for when I do get to it).

In this terrifying story written by Shyamalan, a strange and unknown source is causing citizens of cities and small towns in the Northeast to begin rambling incoherently and then seeking to commit suicide, by any gruesome means readily available to them. Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel are a married couple swept up in the nightmare, who join up with strangers bonded together in their mad dash to try and vacate the infected areas, though the deadly plague keeps surrounding them. Is it terrorism? Something in the water? The wind? Without coming right out and saying the suspected cause here (though it's never 100% verified in the movie, I don't believe - sort of like with NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD) it is believed that nature is responsible.

This is a scary concept that works, though I'm a sucker for desperate end-of-the-world movies of this type which leave us no sure-footed understanding or way to escape the horror. The only things I could find mildly lacking here was that Wahlberg isn't a great actor, and he wouldn't be my prime choice for a film like this. Zooey Deschanel leaves something to be desired as well, but the events that are going on around these two are suspenseful, intriguing and frightening enough that it doesn't interfere with the intense experience. Some of the kill scenes are properly disturbing, and I liked the ominous music score. There are a few silly lines now and then ("cheese and crackers!"), but this is a quibble. I very much enjoyed Betty Buckley's eccentric old lady character, and she was also an asset to the film. John Leguizamo touched a nerve in his part as a loving father/husband, and good friend of Wahlberg's.

M. Night is a master horror/sci-fi filmmaker, and we need more of him and his work, especially in this present day and age of mindless cookie cutter genre films that rely on an over-abundance of CGI and chess piece characters. I am completely baffled as to why there's such an outcry against his movies after THE SIXTH SENSE.

 

[Michael Elliott]

I wouldn't say there was any outcry after THE SIXTH SENSE. Most of the hatred comes from the past three films. The rest were pretty well reviewed by critics and fans.

 

[Martin Teller]

A Matter of Life and Death (rewatch) - Watching this wonderful film again was a very pleasant experience, and makes me want to revisit other Powell & Pressburger films. There have been a number I've enjoyed, but before now I hadn't really considered giving them a second look. Their work has such an inspirational quality to it. Even the awkward trial scene doesn't bother me so much anymore. Rating: 9


Age of Consent - It's a shame that Michael Powell never got to make another feature film after this, because it's far from his best work. It does have that breezy, effortless tone of some of the films from his prime. And even without Cardiff behind the camera, the film is gorgeous with color and wonderful little glimpses of nature (not to mention a nubile Helen Mirren). And the themes of Mason's reawakening as an artist and Mirren's sexual awakening are potent, though perhaps not all that fresh. But what hurts this movie are the characters each is burdened with -- Mason with his slimy friend Ned, and Mirren with her shrewish grandmother. I know they're there to create dramatic conflict, but every time they were on screen I couldn't stand it. I also didn't care for the very final moment of the movie, I really didn't want it to go there. Still, for the most part it's a very pleasant film and unjustly overlooked. Rating: 7

 

[Michael Elliott]

Jeff, I wanted to hold off on answering this until I had watched UNFORGIVEN again, which I just got done doing. This was the first Eastwood film I got to see in the theater so I guess you could say I was old enough to "view" Eastwood's comeback and his journey into the type of filmmaker today. Being only 28 I can't say that about too many people. I'm not certain but I think this might have been my first Eastwood movie as well. Of course over time I went back to check just about everything he's done with the exception of a few titles.

It seemed to me that the past 17 years had people asking if he'd make another Western or a Dirty Harry film. In a lot of ways I think GRAN TORINO is the "end" to the Dirty Harry series. Of course it's an unofficial end but I do think it should end that series and would end the series better than another actual entry. In terms of Westerns I think UNFORGIVEN is one of the greatest movies ever made so I would vote no to Eastwood making another just because I don't think he could top this one.

For me at least, Eastwood will always be remembered for Westerns and Dirty harry and, to me again, he ended both perfectly so I won't mind it if he goes the director only route.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Melinda and Melinda (2004) :star::star:1/2

The premise of this Woody Allen film going in sounds extremely captivating: take a story and then try to approach it two separate ways - once as a comedy, then as a tragedy. We begin with a typical Allen setup from older films like BROADWAY DANNY ROSE where another group of people are having dinner in a restaurant, and two playrights begin to discuss and relate the events we're about to see unfold. This time they're debating amongst themselves whether a life story works best as a "dramatic tragedy" or a "comedy".

When I settled in I expected that we were going to see the same cast of characters, actors, settings and scenes, only that they'd be doing the same basic narrative from two parallel sides (one funny and the other serious), which would have been a bit more intriguing. Instead, neither story reflected its other in any way, except that the central characters are two opposite kinds of girls named Melinda and are played by the same actress (Radha Mitchell). Mitchell is a dysfunctional, depressed, suicidal wreck of a neurotic in the tragic side of the movie, while her comical persona is more bouncy and fun to be around. Ms. Mitchell is actually quite good in conveying both parts.

The supporting players change between both stories ... in the tragedy version, the messed up Melinda with a shattered past crashes at the home of her friend Laurel (Chloe Sevigny) and her husband (Jonny Lee Miller). She causes a strain on their already troubled marriage, as Melinda herself seeks to find a reason to want to live; in the comical version, the more likable Melinda spends her time with a female director and her nebbish husband (Will Farrell), who just happens to fall in love with Melinda. Farrell is basically filling in for Woody here, as he gets all the same nerdy lines and mannerisms you'd expect Allen to do himself, had he been young enough to take on the part. Sometimes the too-tall Farrell's Woody impersonation is effective and there are some occasionally witty lines, but one cannot help feeling it should have been Allen on the screen doing them.

MELINDA AND MELINDA is fair enough, but it's still ultimately another familiar essay from Woody Allen on his studies of human relationships.

 

[John Stell]

017) 01/12/2009 Ben-Hur (1959) :star::star::star:1/2 (out of four)

Winner of eleven Academy Awards, director William Wyler’s Ben-Hur is an engrossing and visually arresting entertainment. Taking place largely during the public ministry of Jesus Christ, the film chronicles the events of a man who learns the importance of forgiveness even though, in his heart, he desires vengeance.

Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) is a member of a wealthy and respected family in Jerusalem. His childhood friend Messala (Stephen Boyd), a Roman who is now a Tribune, returns to Jerusalem to restore order to a people who have grown restless and speak out against the Roman Empire. Messala asks for Judah’s help in exposing potential traitors, but is refused because Judah will not betray neither his people nor his religion. When Judah is involved in an accident that injures the newly arrived governor, Messala seizes his chance to make an example out of a prominent Jewish family, even though Messala knows Judah is innocent of any wrongdoing. Judah’s mother and sister are imprisoned, and Judah becomes a galley slave. But a sudden change of events in Judah’s life offers him a chance to seek revenge against his once-dear friend.

Ben-Hur comes from a time when Biblical epics (e.g. The Robe, King of Kings) were a staple of Hollywood. And although Judah does encounter Christ at several key points in the story, Ben-Hur is mostly a straightforward combination of drama and action. The majority of the film is devoted to Judah’s struggle to survive being a slave and find a way back to Jerusalem to reunite with his family. The truth is that, although the ability to forgive is certainly a positive character trait, the audience looks forward to Ben-Hur’s confrontation with Messala.

This of course comes in one of the most famous sequences in film history: the chariot race. After almost fifty years, this race, in spite of numerous advances in special effects, remains as thrilling, exciting, and suspenseful as it must have been to those who viewed it on the big screen in 1959. The scene is edited in such a way that we can follow the action (too many of today’s action set pieces are over-edited and incoherent) and when chariots collide and crash, we cannot help but gasp as if someone where really harmed. The scene plays mostly without music which adds to the suspense as a score can sometimes give us advance notice of events. Ben-Hur needs to be seen in its widescreen glory to fully appreciate the chariot race and its staging.

Charlton Heston received a lot of grief in later years because of his association with the NRA and some of this has unfortunately and unfairly spilled over into assessments of his acting career. Heston is unreservedly perfect for the role of Judah Ben-Hur. The part needed a charismatic and physically strong performer to convincingly play someone who can both survive Judah’s arduous ordeal and endear himself to the audience. Heston succeeds on both counts. There is not a false note in his pleasure in first seeing his old friend Messala, his agonizing over the fate of his mother and sister, his romance with the former slave he loves, etc. Heston’s abilities were put to great use in various epics (The Ten Commandments, El Cid) through the years. He won an Oscar for his role in Ben-Hur.

Ben-Hur is also aided by its rich supporting cast (Stephen Boyd, Haya Harareet, Sam Jaffe, Jack Hawkins, Hugh Griffith, etc.), photography, and art direction, which all combine to paint a vivid picture of this religiously important time in history. William Wyler’s direction keeps things mostly moving at a brisk pace, an impressive achievement for a three hour and forty minute film. Wyler also got an Oscar.

Ben-Hur was recently voted the second best epic of all time by the AFI. It’s a shining example of a type of film (the biblical epic) that Hollywood does not make anymore.



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[John Stell]

018) 01/12/2009 The Apartment (1960) :star::star::star::star: (out of four)

C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) lets various higher-ups in the insurance company at which he works use his apartment for their sundry extramarital interludes. He’s told that they’ll thank him by recommending him for promotion. Mr. Jeff Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray), a director at the company, finds out what is going on and decides to join the party. Baxter gets his promotion, and works up the nerve to ask the perky elevator operator Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine) to The Music Man. The problem is that Ms. Kubelik is the woman with whom Sheldrake is having his latest affair.

Director/co-writer Billy Wilder’s acerbic The Apartment takes an attitude that at one time may have been seen as cynical, but today can be viewed as business-as-usual for certain men in power. There are equal amounts of humor and drama in this story of a lonely man who, even if he were to find a lady friend, would have trouble taking her back to an apartment that has a revolving door. Baxter gets in over his head and finds his job on the line if he stops letting those in power use his pad. They flippantly call him “Buddy Boy” but they are no friends of his. When a near tragedy strikes, Baxter is shocked at the callous reaction of Sheldrake. But Baxter himself has helped set up the circumstances. Baxter must now decide if the price of corporate success is too costly.

Jack Lemmon is perfectly cast as the likeable nebbish, and Shirley MacLaine is cute as a button as the woman Baxter adores. It’s very easy to understand the attraction. MacLaine invests Fran with warmth and charm, and she is totally adorable. Baxter is basically a decent guy and Kubelik has a habit of picking the wrong men. There is real chemistry between the two, whether they’re chatting on the elevator or playing gin rummy. And there’s a beautifully heartfelt scene where Baxter observes Fran, who is resting on his bed and gazing out the window, as his face reveals all he is feeling, a mixture of love, concern, and sadness.

The Apartment is a film that improves with subsequent viewings, and seems to be more relevant as time passes. So many stories in recent news have shown how (mostly) men in power take mistresses and/or professional ladies and put them on the expense account. There is much humor in The Apartment, which is character-driven and subtle, such as when Baxter has to juggle the schedule of trysts so he can deal with a cold, or the fact that Baxter’s neighbors think he is a no good womanizer. And the ending is upbeat. But there is also this sad reality of perceived entitlement at the expense of others that gives The Apartment some real sting.

Billy Wilder’s resume includes such classic films as Double Indemnity (1944), Sunset Boulevard (1950), and Some Like It Hot (1959). The Apartment can easily be included in the list of Wilder classics.



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[Mario Gauci]

War Day #1:


01/11/09: THE PURPLE HEART (Lewis Milestone, 1944) :star::star::star:

To borrow a couple of adjectives from its own theatrical trailer, this is one of the most “original” and “gripping” movies about WWII, made by Hollywood’s ‘Chronicler Of War’ par excellence Milestone. It deals with a group of eight American airmen who bail out over China after having bombed Japan; betrayed to the enemy, they find themselves on trial for murder – to which reporters with Communist sympathies from various countries are “invited” to perform jury duty! – since the Japs claim that their targets had been hospitals (which they’re ready to corroborate by means of newsreel footage depicting the carnage, even if jury members readily admit amongst themselves to be fake!) rather than munitions factories as the Yanks assert. However, despite the physical and mental torture to which the latter are subjected, all doesn’t go smoothly for their accusers: first an opportunistic Chinese Governor, who’s a prime witness, is assassinated (by his own upstanding son) in the courtroom and, then, when the Japanese Navy and Military (represented by the wily yet over-confident Richard Loo) themselves lock horns over the means of transportation used by the Americans (which would imply that one or the other was slack in its defense duties!). Being a wartime production, the tone is heavily jingoistic: peppered with homespun recollections of the prisoners’ lives back home and displays of camaraderie every time one of them returns from his ‘cross-examination’, to say nothing of defiance in the face of their impending execution. Milestone’s handling never strikes a false note throughout and has selected a sturdy cast besides: led by decent captain Dana Andrews (though the actor preferred to conceal his own operatic background for fear of being typecast, we do get to hear him sing here albeit in unison with his fellow soldiers), Italo-American Richard Conte, youngster Farley Granger and tough-but-compassionate Sam Levene. That said, the film is equally notable for its moody lighting (by top Fox cinematographer Arthur Miller) and inspired art direction (with proceedings mostly confined to the courtroom, prison cell and interrogation room).


01/11/09: THE STEEL HELMET (Samuel Fuller, 1951) :star::star::star:

Fuller’s first major work is typically hard-hitting: not that many films have been made about the Korean War (in fact, this was reportedly the very first) but leave it to Fuller to have the last word on the subject – at least, with respect to the actual conflict. One could argue that we had more or less seen this type of jungle warfare in WWII films based in the Pacific, but there’s no denying that the writer/director brought unprecedented realism and a moral outlook all his own to a genre he tackled most frequently throughout his career. Furthermore, he sketched soldiers of true flesh-and-blood with their sense of discipline and judgment often clouded by selfishness, prejudice or just plain fear – no wonder that, when the disheveled survivors are belatedly rescued from a brutal onslaught inside a Buddhist temple by their colleagues, one of the latter is induced to remark: “Say, what kind of outfit is this anyway?” For the record, the most familiar cast members are Gene Evans (though he had done a number of bits since debuting in 1947, his name is preceded here by the epithet “introducing” – and he’s already fully in character as the tough, cigar-chomping sergeant), Steve Brodie as his disgruntled commanding officer and James Edwards as the black medic; others in the ragtag company are a man studying for priesthood, a youth whose bout as a child with Scarlet Fever has turned him prematurely and completely bald and even a Japanese (played by none other than Richard Loo – the villainous General from THE PURPLE HEART [1944] which, coincidentally, preceded this viewing). An effective addition to these – however unlikely a figure in a Fuller movie – is that of a South Korean child who helps the wounded Evans at the very start (the latter immediately dubs him “Short Round” – Steven Spielberg must have watched this at some point!) and eventually tags along, acting as guide-cum-mascot and even prays to Buddha for their safety. The second half of the picture is confined to the aforementioned temple, where the soldiers first fall victim to and then capture a solitary enemy-in-hiding; in pure Fuller mode, he tries to coerce fellow ‘outsiders’ Loo and Edwards into defecting, while Evans shoots him down (despite orders by their superiors to secure themselves a P.O.W.) after “Short Round” is pitilessly targeted by the approaching North Koreans.


01/11/09: THE HIGH BRIGHT SUN (Ralph Thomas, 1964) :star::star::star:

Though glossy and peopled with stars (Dirk Bogarde, Susan Strasberg and George Chakiris), this is a surprisingly compelling – if obviously biased – film about the 1950s British ‘invasion’ of Cyprus. Truth be told, the first half is pretty much run-of-the-mill stuff, but the latter stages – involving the various assassination attempts on Strasberg’s life (a naturalized American local who, having accidentally stumbled upon a secret meeting at which the leaders of the Resistance were present, is feared to have revealed all to enemy official Bogarde, whom she has befriended and subsequently romances) – generate considerable suspense and excitement. The first plot has her being ambushed in the countryside, though the son of the eminent doctor (an old family friend) she was lodging with alerts her to this and even defends her with his life; later, she and Bogarde are besieged inside his flat; finally, the impulsive Chakiris opts to deal with the matter personally and boards the plane which is supposed to take the heroine to safety in Athens (where, however, both the flamboyant Denholm Elliott and the enigmatic George Pastell vigil over her). While Bogarde isn’t particularly taxed by his stiff-upper-lipped serviceman role, Strasberg comes off quite well as the confused but resilient girl – the unwitting pawn of a dangerous political game. Also notable is the unusual score, at once exotic and moody, curiously supplied by an Italian (Angelo Francesco Lavagnino).

 

[Michael Elliott]

Re: MELINDA AND MELINDA

You shocked me by watching THE ACE OF HEARTS and this was another that shocked me.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

edit

 

[Pete York]

01/12/09

Coney Island (1917) Dir: Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle
Production: Comique Film/Paramount Pictures

Excellent short finds Fatty and wife on an outing to Coney Island. While Fatty wants to check out the amusements, his hectoring wife wants to enjoy the beach. Fatty sneaks off to the park where he runs into Buster Keaton and Al St. John and they fight over a woman in fine slapstick form (and pure slapstick, there is no subtlety here).

First thing I really dug was some of the shots of Coney circa 1917 (some pretty cool old rides too), particularly the amazing Luna Park, which burned down for good in the 1940’s. In some of the scenes you can see crowds watching the guys do their thing. This is one of Keaton’s first roles, and while he may not have his ‘character’ down yet, the physical prowess and dexterity is on full display, nearly stealing the whole shebang. Of course we’re treated to the spectacle of Fatty cross-dressing, and the attendant scene of St. John cluelessly pitching woo to the Fatty-in-drag. There’s also a funny bit where Fatty demurely asks the camera to pitch its gaze up a little so that he can change his drawers. Loses its steam a little towards the end, with an extended ‘Keytstone Kops’ scene that’s wearying, but good fun overall.

:star: :star: :star: out of 4

01/12/09

Fashions of 1934 (1934) Dir: William Dieterle
Production: Warner Bros. (First National)

William Powell is Sherwood Nash, a floundering schemer whose latest venture has just gone in the tank. But opportunity soon comes knocking anew, in the form of Lynn Mason (Bette Davis), a young lady whose talent for fashion design sketching (?) gives Sherwood the idea for an elaborate ‘latest fashions’ knockoff scam. The enterprise eventually turns to Paris and a nightclub/house of couture and a big Busby Berkeley-choreographed revue stands as the highlight. You might expect some combination of Frank McHugh (mostly funny) and Hugh Herbert (rarely so) to be involved, and sure enough they’re both on hand.

There is some gentle satire of big business (“What has business got to do with unethical?” says one of the dress moguls Nash is trying to bilk) that audiences of the time would have enjoyed, as well as the idea of an everyman sharpy who connives to strike it rich. The Paris location also adds the continental exoticism so popular in the musicals of the day. The big number, “Spin a Little Web of Dreams”, may be the moment when the ostrich feather as prop first reached its true potential. It’s perhaps modest Berkeley, but still a hoot.

Slight and almost routine, but interesting and even enjoyable to see the two stars put their stamp on the material (although these were the kinds of roles that were slowly killing Davis at the time).

:star: :star: 1/2 out of 4
--------------------------------
WILLIAM DIETERLE – “Miscellany”
Fashions of 1934 (1934) :star: :star: 1/2

 

[Dave Gorman]

For people I've talked to, the problem is that none of his movies after "Sixth Sense" IS "Sixth Sense". They loved "Sixth Sense" and wanted every movie MNS made thereafter to be "Sixth Sense".

Personally I was a huge fan of Shyamalan through his first four major films (Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, Village) with "Unbreakable" and "The Village" being my favorites. I was disappointed with "Lady in the Water" and had hoped he would be back on track with "The Happening". Now I think his next film will be a "wait for DVD" for me. There was exactly one scene in "The Happening" that I liked -- when the old lady at the farmhouse went mad. The direction and use of music and sound were incredible for that scene. Other than that, I though the acting was uniformly bad, the premise was weak, and the "suspense" was non-existent.

Joe, I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I'm certainly not knocking your opinion of the film. We'll just have to agree to disagree on this one