Martin Teller
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2006
- Messages
- 2,414
- Real Name
- Martin Teller
The Demon - A woman abandons her illegitimate children with their spineless father and his spiteful wife, with horrifying results. This is one of those movies, like the work of Haneke and Noe, that's masterful in the way it makes you feel awful and despair for mankind. You try to comfort yourself by saying things like this don't really happen. But of course they do. Even if they don't happen that often, it's the kind of thing that provides a glimpse into the darker side of humanity, the evil impulses in all of us. Ken Ogata has just enough of a conscience to make him real, but not enough to make him at all sympathetic. Shima Iwashita is a little too nasty to take seriously, and if it wasn't for Ogata to balance her out, the film wouldn't be nearly as effective. Good use of music and some fine cinematography. Rating: 8
The Devil and Miss Jones - No, it's not the porno (that devil is in Miss Jones), I just felt like watching some Jean Arthur. She's got such a down-to-earth genuine quality to her. Here she plays the titular Jones, and the devil is Charles Coburn, as a corporate fatcat. It's a Capra-esque, populist working class fantasy where said fatcat earns his soul by hobnobbing with the everyday honest folk. Rather simplistic moralizing, but with a few shades of grey to redeem it. Anyway, it's a good spot of fun thanks to winning performances from Arthur, Coburn, and Spring Byington. I even liked Robert Cummings in this, at least during the moments when he wasn't being smug and cocky. Also look for a pre-Casablanca S.Z. Sakall in an amusing secondary role. Rating: 7
The Devil and Miss Jones - No, it's not the porno (that devil is in Miss Jones), I just felt like watching some Jean Arthur. She's got such a down-to-earth genuine quality to her. Here she plays the titular Jones, and the devil is Charles Coburn, as a corporate fatcat. It's a Capra-esque, populist working class fantasy where said fatcat earns his soul by hobnobbing with the everyday honest folk. Rather simplistic moralizing, but with a few shades of grey to redeem it. Anyway, it's a good spot of fun thanks to winning performances from Arthur, Coburn, and Spring Byington. I even liked Robert Cummings in this, at least during the moments when he wasn't being smug and cocky. Also look for a pre-Casablanca S.Z. Sakall in an amusing secondary role. Rating: 7