Gruppo di famiglia in un interno / Conversation Piece (Luchino Visconti, 1974) 9/10
Visconti's penultimate film, which he directed after a recent stroke which had left one side of his body completely paralyzed, is not only autobiographical but continues to explore his refined sense of obsession with all things beautiful and baroque. We enter the world of a lonely retired American professor (Burt Lancaster) living in his cloistered and luxurious palazzo in Rome surrounded by his furniture, paintings, objets d'art, books and music. His solitary life is suddenly invaded by a vulgar marchesa (Silvana Mangano) and her loud and obnoxious companions - a gigolo (Helmut Berger - Visconti's muse and lover), her daughter (Claudia Marsani) and the daughter's boyfriend (Stefano Patrizi) - to whom he is forced to rent out the upper portion of his apartment. Chaos ensues as his quiet reverie - memories of his Italian mother (Dominique Sanda) and wife (Claudia Cardinale) - are interrupted by constant rude squabbles, drug induced orgies, ruffians being invited in and constant noise of workers ripping apart walls upstairs. The film contrasts elegance - the old man's quiet demeanor and opulent abode (Mario Garbuglia's superb production design glowingly shot by the great Pasqualino De Santis) - with the modern sensibilities of the young and the renovated apartment upstairs that looks like a large modern bathroom. Visconti found inspiration in this restricted premise and the relentless talk-fest of the screenplay which perfectly suited the incapacitated director into creating a moving and highly personal film about memory, loneliness, the disentegration of family, decay of traditional values, homosexual longing and death. Lancaster (already a veteran of Visconti's cinema having worked before in "Il gattopardo") is quietly magnificent and is ably matched by lovely Silvana Mangano as the haughty, vulgar woman who, like the old professor, has chosen to "hide" from the past but doing so in the complete opposite manner by going all out with a show of defiance - flaunting her wealth, taking up with an individual (a young leftist lover) her aristocratic family would have rejected. This moving film is an ode to Lancaster's generosity who provided insurance to the film's backers so that the ailing Visconti could complete yet another of his cinematic masterpieces.
Glory at Sea / Gift Horse (Compton Bennett, 1952) 4/10
By the numbers WWII film about a British crew on a loaned out American destroyer. Repititious scenes on the day-to-day activities of the crew under the command of a tough captain (Trevor Howard) who has returned to his post after a court martial and whom the crew gradually learn to admire. Good cast (James Donald, Richard Attenborough, Sonny Tufts, Bernard Lee, Dora Bryan) go through the paces with an action packed finalé of a commando attack on a Nazi-held French coastal bastion. Rather dry story is one of many similar films depicting wartime heroics years after the war was over.
Hostages (David Wheately, 1992) 7/10
Fictionalized docudrama about the crisis in Lebanon and the Middle East during the 1980s when British (Colin Firth), Irish (Ciaran Hinds) and American (Harry Dean Stanton) hostages were kidnapped by different Muslim factions. The film focuses on the families (Natasha Richardson, Kathy Bates) going from pillar to post as the various governments either refuse to negotiate or do so by supposedly providing missiles (to Iran - which President Reagan denied) - in an attempt to broker a release. Extremely brutal recreation of the events showing the torture and squalid living conditions of the hostages during their long incarceration. The screenplay does not paint the captors as evil incarnate - they had their "reasons" - although there is more than a hint of painting the United States as the "Devil's Empire", in hindsight a notion not too far from the truth considering their role of interference in so many countries through the years which unfortunately continues to date with on-going retaliation and repercussions.
Stavisky.... (Alain Resnais, 1974) 5/10
Glossy and atmospheric film with outstanding production design, period costumes, a lovely score by Stephen Sondheim and elegantly cinematography by the great Sacha Vierny. Too bad the pacing is slow and the screenplay merely boils down to a boring talkfest. Resnais stylishly stages the true story of Jewish financier, Stavisky (Jean-Paul Belmondo), a con-man and swindler who sold worthless bonds while moving around high social and political circles in 1930s Paris. His eventual fall from grace, arrest and death reveal him to be a pawn in a swindle with political implications. Charles Boyer, at the tail end of his long and distinguished career and just three years away from his suicide, steals every scene as Stavisky's old aristocratic friend. He was awarded a special prize at the Cannes film festival.
Le Voleur / The Thief of Paris (Louis Malle, 1967) 8/10
An orphan (Jean-Paul Belmondo) is cheated out of his inheritance by his sly Uncle and discovers that the cousin (Geneviève Bujold) he loves is now to be married to someone else. So he robs her inlaws-to-be of all their jewels which results in the marriage plans going awry. It also begins his career as a thief as he plans to get back at the bourgeoise going from strength to strength robbing them blind. Malle enters the territory of Melville and Bresson with this film but does so with tongue firmly in cheek. Belmondo is in his element as the crook with a twinkle in his eye (a precursor to his role in Alain Resnais' "Stavisky") bedding various beautiful women (Marlène Jobert, Françoise Fabian, Barnadette Lafont, Marie Dubois) along the way. Lovely Bujold, at the start of her career, makes a winsome love interest for the agile Belmondo. The film's handsome production design - Belmondo proceeds to viciously destroy exquisite pieces of furniture during his robbery sessions - is complimented by Henri Decaë's lush cinematography. Entertaining film is great fun.
Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Ni Liv / Nine Lives (Arne Skouen, 1957) 8/10
True story of Norwegian resistance fighter Jaan Baalsrud's escape from the occupying Nazis during WWII. A sabotage mission goes horribly wrong and when all his fellow soldiers are shot while escaping Baalsrud (Jack Fjeldstad) manages to trek through the snowy winterland of Northern Norway into neutral Sweden. The journey on foot through deep snow and over a treacherous terrain, while wounded, is an endless nightmare which is managed with the help of brave local people. Superbly shot film is a riveting account of one desperate man's courage and determination to outwit not only the marauding Nazis but also nature which is relentless in its ferocity. One of the most famous films out of Norway was deservedly nominated for an Oscar in the foreign film category.
Cold Pursuit (Hans Petter Moland, 2019) 5/10
Notwithstanding the deadpan comedic undertones of this noirish thriller we are strictly in vigilante territory. With Liam Neeson as the star the film can't help be a rehash of almost every film he has made since the death of his wife Natasha Richardson. Not sure if her death made him go this route but he seems to be drawn to the subject in a rather macabre way. An upright citizen (Liam Neeson) of a small town in the Rocky Mountains loses his shit when a drug lord kills his son (the bit part is played by Micheál Richardson - son of Liam and Natasha). He starts to systematically use his hunting skills to knock off, one by one, members of the gang. Into this mix also erupts a gang war between the drug lord (Tom Bateman) and a rival gang led by a Native American (Tom Jackson). The screenplay takes perverse pleasure in ridiculing Native Americans via racist jokes which are not funny. The film got lost in the shuffle after Neeson stupidly dug up an episode from his distant past relating to the press how he had wandered around town with a crowbar hoping to get into a fight with "a black bastard" and kill him after a white female friend of his had been raped by a black assailant. That remark pretty much put to rest the fate of this film with its own racist overtones. The film is a remake of director Moland's own Norwegian film "In Order of Disappearance". Laura Dern, as Neeson's grieving wife, gets totally shortshrifted as she disappears from the movie early on leaving the male cast to take on each other with bone crunching violence. Maybe its time Neeson, a great actor, to reconsider the route his career has taken and return back to meaningful cinema. Alberta and Vancouver were the backdrops for the film's breathtaking snowy locations which substituted for Colorado.
Count Five and Die (Victor Vicas, 1957) 4/10
Extremely dull spy shenanigans in WWII London. The Americans and the British team up to trick the Germans into belueving that the cross-channel invasion would be in Holland instead of France. Jeffrey Hunter and Nigel Patrick lead the teams with help from a Dutch resistance worker (Annemarie Düringer) who may or may not be a German spy. Too much talk in shabby dark rooms, zero suspense and contrived and unconvincing love scenes between Hunter and Düringer kills this story.
Roadblock (Harold Daniels, 1951) 8/10
Fast moving B-noir has the great Charles McGraw getting led astray by femme fatale Joan Dixon. An honest insurance detective decides on a quick-rich scheme the minute he lays eyes on the sexy passenger next to him on a plane. She makes it very clear she wants a rich man so he makes a deal with a racketeer, provides inside information on some big cash on a train with a cut on the side for himself. The fun is in seeing how he tries to evade his fellow detectives who suspect him despite his watertight alibi - a honeymoon in the mountains with the sexy babe who is now his wife. The twist in the plot actually arrives during the opening moments of the story.
Time Out of Mind (Robert Siodmak, 1947) 3/10
Hollywood's sappy attempt at recreating a Gainsborough melodrama in an American setting. The screenplay, based on a long-forgotten bestseller by Rachel Field, tries its best creating the right atmosphere via Siodmak's trademark use of moody and shadowy lighting and the presence of British import Phyllis Calvert. A tough shipping magnate (Leo G. Carroll) lives with his son (Robert Hutton) and daughter (Ella Raines) in an imposing house on a cliff on the sea coast of Maine - the repetitive view of waves crashing on rocks below the house are meant to evoke memories of British films set in Cornwall. A crisis erupts when the son refuses to follow in the footsteps of his seafaring family and decides to pursue instead his passion for music. However, he fails at that too after getting stuck in a loveless marriage to a snooty rich bitch (Helena Carter). The only person who has faith in him is the maid (Phyllis Calvert) who has been in love with him since childhood. The romantic plot makes no sense as its difficult to understand this woman's relentless belief in a man who is an immature whining drunk and failure. The cast gives it a valiant try - Calvert, in particular, is very good - but its all rather dreary and a bore.
Operation Amsterdam (Michael McCarthy, 1959) 9/10
Taut authentic looking WWII film mostly shot on the deserted streets of Amsterdam giving it a very natural feel. A British agent (Tony Britton), along with two Dutch Diamond merchants (Peter Finch & Alexander Knox), are sent on a mission to evacuate dutch industrial uncut diamonds so that the Nazis don't get their hands on them. The story takes place during the space of one day just as the Germans are starting their occupation of the Netherlands and the screenplay superbly conveys the constant danger and surreal atmosphere on the streets. Sporadic bombs go off and while there are snipers shooting off guns in one neighborhood there are people sitting on street cafés drinking coffee in an adjacent one. Nobody can be trusted as the city is rife with fifth columnists. Most of the street scenes were shot during the early hours of the morning giving the streets a deserted look. The entire score, which underlines the suspense, consists of either drums or organ music. There are superb action set pieces filmed in a matter of fact way - a scene of chaos on a harbour as it gets bombed, a shootout between partisans and the german soldiers on the streets, a terrifying straffing by a low-flying german plane on innocent refugees on a deserted country road and a superbly staged car chase through the streets driven by an enigmatic Dutch woman (Eva Bartok) who helps the three men and who may or may not be a traitor. The film also quietly brings to life the dutch dilemma of jewish merchants, about to go under Nazi siege, who were conflicted about giving up their wealth as they thought they could use it as bargaining chips with the germans - the holocaust was still to come and nobody believed the depths of depravity of the Nazi forces. Both Finch and Bartok give superbly nuanced performances with the latter particularly memorable having actually lived through the nightmare in real life of being forcibly married to a Nazi officer at age 15 who repeatedly raped her - the actress has a sad haunted look on her face throughout. This is one of the best war films and deserves a re-evaluation.
Simon and Laura (Muriel Box, 1955) 7/10
Charming if dated satire (based on the popular hit West End stage play by Alan Melville - even the Queen attended a performance) which makes hilarious digs at the BBC and the then newly burgeoning medium of television. There is also an element of Nöel Cowards's "Private Lives" in this amusing story of a long married battling couple, here theatrical actors, who are on the verge of divorce when their agent persuades them to work on a tv soap opera based on themselves as a happily married couple. They agree to participate on the project as a business proposal as they both need the job and the money. Unfortunately the intimate comedy subject is given a lavish widescreen colour treatment which seems jarring. However, its success is mainly due to the delightful cast led by Peter Finch (in his first lead role in films) as Simon and the delightful Kay Kendall as Laura. They are given funny support by a great group of British character actors - Ian Carmichael (who also played the part on stage and many years later the lead role of "Simon" in a tv series version) as the harried BBC producer, Maurice Denham as a droll butler, Thora Hird as a gruff cook, Hubert Gregg as the exasperated agent and Muriel Pavlow as the scriptwriter secretly in love with the producer.
The Spy With a Cold Nose (Daniel Petrie, 1966) 1/10
Hideously unfunny comedy about a dog with a spying device given to the Russian government. The inventor, a bumbling British civil servant (Lionel Jeffries) who thinks he is James Bond, has to try and get the device back when the Russians suspect something smells foul. Not even Laurence Harvey as a randy vet with a plummy english accent nor Dahlia Lavi as a sexy Russian spy (with or without her clothes) can save this mess. A who's who of Brit character actors - Eric Sykes, June Whitfield, Robert Flemyng, Eric Portman, Colin Blakely, Denholm Elliott - also all flounder around miserably.
Masquerade (Basil Dearden, 1965) 7/10
One of numerous James Bond spoofs that came in the wake of the series of films with Connery. This one is exceptionally droll especially when it comes to hearing the plummy intonations of Jack Hawkins and Charles Gray (a rare chance to see both actors together in a film - a year later Gray would start dubbing Hawkins after the latter lost his voice to cancer). The William Goldman screenplay also delights in skewering Britannia - "we are British...these days we invade only when we are invited or when the Americans allow us", a sentiment that actually holds true to this day. The plot revolves around a dusty Arab country, it's oil reserves and the Brits trying to protect their interests which are being threatened by the protectorate eyeing the Soviet Union as a possible new ally instead. So a Yank (Cliff Robertson), is roped in to ensure the 14-year old sheik (who is pro-Brit), the natural heir to the throne, gets to keep it. There is a kidnapping, assorted crosses followed by double crosses, a sleazy knife thrower (Michel Piccoli in his english language debut), a dwarf and then there is the statuesque but very willowy Marisa Mell to keep you awake if by chance you are getting bored. Rugged Spanish locations add to the clever script which keeps up the relentless quip quotient running at breakneck speed mixing humour and action. Robertson is likeable enough as the born loser who finds himself in over his head as he is crossed left right and center but Jack Hawkins is absolutely delightful playing his part with just the right amount of knowing wit using his mellifluous voice to great effect. This is a film that needs to be known better and re-discovered.
Dark Places (Don Sharp, 1974) 6/10
Typical Hammer-like schlock has a haunted house with a mysterious past involving a trio of murders, an heir (Robert Hardy) searching for hidden loot and the three individuals - a realtor (Herbert Lom), a doctor (Christopher Lee) and his slutty sister (Joan Collins) - who are also after the loot and trying to scare the owner off. The plot veers off into the past as the owner slips in and out of the present getting a glimpse of the past occupants including "his" wife (Jean Marsh), a couple of devlish kids and a nanny (Jane Birkin) in whose arms he finds solace. Little known film in the genre of British horror is slow but has an interesting cast and holds interest when things go bump in the night. The only familiar aspect you may get from this film is the fact that not only is Joan Collins very sexy but her "acting style" has remained consistent throughout her 68-year film career - a sexy laugh, a pout and the ability to make her fellow male co-stars (and the male audience) weak at the knees. A lady who has built an active career without actually having an iota of acting chops. That's the sign of a true "star" and one who is still going strong.
True story of Norwegian resistance fighter Jaan Baalsrud's escape from the occupying Nazis during WWII. A sabotage mission goes horribly wrong and when all his fellow soldiers are shot while escaping Baalsrud (Jack Fjeldstad) manages to trek through the snowy winterland of Northern Norway into neutral Sweden. The journey on foot through deep snow and over a treacherous terrain, while wounded, is an endless nightmare which is managed with the help of brave local people. Superbly shot film is a riveting account of one desperate man's courage and determination to outwit not only the marauding Nazis but also nature which is relentless in its ferocity. One of the most famous films out of Norway was deservedly nominated for an Oscar in the foreign film category.
Cold Pursuit (Hans Petter Moland, 2019) 5/10
Notwithstanding the deadpan comedic undertones of this noirish thriller we are strictly in vigilante territory. With Liam Neeson as the star the film can't help be a rehash of almost every film he has made since the death of his wife Natasha Richardson. Not sure if her death made him go this route but he seems to be drawn to the subject in a rather macabre way. An upright citizen (Liam Neeson) of a small town in the Rocky Mountains loses his shit when a drug lord kills his son (the bit part is played by Micheál Richardson - son of Liam and Natasha). He starts to systematically use his hunting skills to knock off, one by one, members of the gang. Into this mix also erupts a gang war between the drug lord (Tom Bateman) and a rival gang led by a Native American (Tom Jackson). The screenplay takes perverse pleasure in ridiculing Native Americans via racist jokes which are not funny. The film got lost in the shuffle after Neeson stupidly dug up an episode from his distant past relating to the press how he had wandered around town with a crowbar hoping to get into a fight with "a black bastard" and kill him after a white female friend of his had been raped by a black assailant. That remark pretty much put to rest the fate of this film with its own racist overtones. The film is a remake of director Moland's own Norwegian film "In Order of Disappearance". Laura Dern, as Neeson's grieving wife, gets totally shortshrifted as she disappears from the movie early on leaving the male cast to take on each other with bone crunching violence. Maybe its time Neeson, a great actor, to reconsider the route his career has taken and return back to meaningful cinema. Alberta and Vancouver were the backdrops for the film's breathtaking snowy locations which substituted for Colorado.
Count Five and Die (Victor Vicas, 1957) 4/10
Extremely dull spy shenanigans in WWII London. The Americans and the British team up to trick the Germans into belueving that the cross-channel invasion would be in Holland instead of France. Jeffrey Hunter and Nigel Patrick lead the teams with help from a Dutch resistance worker (Annemarie Düringer) who may or may not be a German spy. Too much talk in shabby dark rooms, zero suspense and contrived and unconvincing love scenes between Hunter and Düringer kills this story.
Roadblock (Harold Daniels, 1951) 8/10
Fast moving B-noir has the great Charles McGraw getting led astray by femme fatale Joan Dixon. An honest insurance detective decides on a quick-rich scheme the minute he lays eyes on the sexy passenger next to him on a plane. She makes it very clear she wants a rich man so he makes a deal with a racketeer, provides inside information on some big cash on a train with a cut on the side for himself. The fun is in seeing how he tries to evade his fellow detectives who suspect him despite his watertight alibi - a honeymoon in the mountains with the sexy babe who is now his wife. The twist in the plot actually arrives during the opening moments of the story.
Time Out of Mind (Robert Siodmak, 1947) 3/10
Hollywood's sappy attempt at recreating a Gainsborough melodrama in an American setting. The screenplay, based on a long-forgotten bestseller by Rachel Field, tries its best creating the right atmosphere via Siodmak's trademark use of moody and shadowy lighting and the presence of British import Phyllis Calvert. A tough shipping magnate (Leo G. Carroll) lives with his son (Robert Hutton) and daughter (Ella Raines) in an imposing house on a cliff on the sea coast of Maine - the repetitive view of waves crashing on rocks below the house are meant to evoke memories of British films set in Cornwall. A crisis erupts when the son refuses to follow in the footsteps of his seafaring family and decides to pursue instead his passion for music. However, he fails at that too after getting stuck in a loveless marriage to a snooty rich bitch (Helena Carter). The only person who has faith in him is the maid (Phyllis Calvert) who has been in love with him since childhood. The romantic plot makes no sense as its difficult to understand this woman's relentless belief in a man who is an immature whining drunk and failure. The cast gives it a valiant try - Calvert, in particular, is very good - but its all rather dreary and a bore.
Operation Amsterdam (Michael McCarthy, 1959) 9/10
Taut authentic looking WWII film mostly shot on the deserted streets of Amsterdam giving it a very natural feel. A British agent (Tony Britton), along with two Dutch Diamond merchants (Peter Finch & Alexander Knox), are sent on a mission to evacuate dutch industrial uncut diamonds so that the Nazis don't get their hands on them. The story takes place during the space of one day just as the Germans are starting their occupation of the Netherlands and the screenplay superbly conveys the constant danger and surreal atmosphere on the streets. Sporadic bombs go off and while there are snipers shooting off guns in one neighborhood there are people sitting on street cafés drinking coffee in an adjacent one. Nobody can be trusted as the city is rife with fifth columnists. Most of the street scenes were shot during the early hours of the morning giving the streets a deserted look. The entire score, which underlines the suspense, consists of either drums or organ music. There are superb action set pieces filmed in a matter of fact way - a scene of chaos on a harbour as it gets bombed, a shootout between partisans and the german soldiers on the streets, a terrifying straffing by a low-flying german plane on innocent refugees on a deserted country road and a superbly staged car chase through the streets driven by an enigmatic Dutch woman (Eva Bartok) who helps the three men and who may or may not be a traitor. The film also quietly brings to life the dutch dilemma of jewish merchants, about to go under Nazi siege, who were conflicted about giving up their wealth as they thought they could use it as bargaining chips with the germans - the holocaust was still to come and nobody believed the depths of depravity of the Nazi forces. Both Finch and Bartok give superbly nuanced performances with the latter particularly memorable having actually lived through the nightmare in real life of being forcibly married to a Nazi officer at age 15 who repeatedly raped her - the actress has a sad haunted look on her face throughout. This is one of the best war films and deserves a re-evaluation.
Simon and Laura (Muriel Box, 1955) 7/10
Charming if dated satire (based on the popular hit West End stage play by Alan Melville - even the Queen attended a performance) which makes hilarious digs at the BBC and the then newly burgeoning medium of television. There is also an element of Nöel Cowards's "Private Lives" in this amusing story of a long married battling couple, here theatrical actors, who are on the verge of divorce when their agent persuades them to work on a tv soap opera based on themselves as a happily married couple. They agree to participate on the project as a business proposal as they both need the job and the money. Unfortunately the intimate comedy subject is given a lavish widescreen colour treatment which seems jarring. However, its success is mainly due to the delightful cast led by Peter Finch (in his first lead role in films) as Simon and the delightful Kay Kendall as Laura. They are given funny support by a great group of British character actors - Ian Carmichael (who also played the part on stage and many years later the lead role of "Simon" in a tv series version) as the harried BBC producer, Maurice Denham as a droll butler, Thora Hird as a gruff cook, Hubert Gregg as the exasperated agent and Muriel Pavlow as the scriptwriter secretly in love with the producer.
The Spy With a Cold Nose (Daniel Petrie, 1966) 1/10
Hideously unfunny comedy about a dog with a spying device given to the Russian government. The inventor, a bumbling British civil servant (Lionel Jeffries) who thinks he is James Bond, has to try and get the device back when the Russians suspect something smells foul. Not even Laurence Harvey as a randy vet with a plummy english accent nor Dahlia Lavi as a sexy Russian spy (with or without her clothes) can save this mess. A who's who of Brit character actors - Eric Sykes, June Whitfield, Robert Flemyng, Eric Portman, Colin Blakely, Denholm Elliott - also all flounder around miserably.
Masquerade (Basil Dearden, 1965) 7/10
One of numerous James Bond spoofs that came in the wake of the series of films with Connery. This one is exceptionally droll especially when it comes to hearing the plummy intonations of Jack Hawkins and Charles Gray (a rare chance to see both actors together in a film - a year later Gray would start dubbing Hawkins after the latter lost his voice to cancer). The William Goldman screenplay also delights in skewering Britannia - "we are British...these days we invade only when we are invited or when the Americans allow us", a sentiment that actually holds true to this day. The plot revolves around a dusty Arab country, it's oil reserves and the Brits trying to protect their interests which are being threatened by the protectorate eyeing the Soviet Union as a possible new ally instead. So a Yank (Cliff Robertson), is roped in to ensure the 14-year old sheik (who is pro-Brit), the natural heir to the throne, gets to keep it. There is a kidnapping, assorted crosses followed by double crosses, a sleazy knife thrower (Michel Piccoli in his english language debut), a dwarf and then there is the statuesque but very willowy Marisa Mell to keep you awake if by chance you are getting bored. Rugged Spanish locations add to the clever script which keeps up the relentless quip quotient running at breakneck speed mixing humour and action. Robertson is likeable enough as the born loser who finds himself in over his head as he is crossed left right and center but Jack Hawkins is absolutely delightful playing his part with just the right amount of knowing wit using his mellifluous voice to great effect. This is a film that needs to be known better and re-discovered.
Dark Places (Don Sharp, 1974) 6/10
Typical Hammer-like schlock has a haunted house with a mysterious past involving a trio of murders, an heir (Robert Hardy) searching for hidden loot and the three individuals - a realtor (Herbert Lom), a doctor (Christopher Lee) and his slutty sister (Joan Collins) - who are also after the loot and trying to scare the owner off. The plot veers off into the past as the owner slips in and out of the present getting a glimpse of the past occupants including "his" wife (Jean Marsh), a couple of devlish kids and a nanny (Jane Birkin) in whose arms he finds solace. Little known film in the genre of British horror is slow but has an interesting cast and holds interest when things go bump in the night. The only familiar aspect you may get from this film is the fact that not only is Joan Collins very sexy but her "acting style" has remained consistent throughout her 68-year film career - a sexy laugh, a pout and the ability to make her fellow male co-stars (and the male audience) weak at the knees. A lady who has built an active career without actually having an iota of acting chops. That's the sign of a true "star" and one who is still going strong.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
The Expendables 3 (Patrick Hughes, 2014) 7/10
Kings of the Sun (J. Lee Thompson, 1963) 5/10
The River Murders (Rich Cowan, 2011) 5/10
Kings of the Sun (J. Lee Thompson, 1963) 5/10
The River Murders (Rich Cowan, 2011) 5/10
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Dragged Across Concrete (S. Craig Zahler, 2019) 8/10
Zahler's films - this is his third - have its origins in a Tarantino universe with a specific difference. The films revel in creating an extreme slow burn in its plotting along with pithy and rhythmic dialogue often with racial slurs that make you simultaneously laugh and wince - one bit of racial slur, coming at an extremely tense moment, is particularly nasty and outrageous and left me open-mouthed at Zahler's sheer audacity - he also wrote the screenplay. At 158 minutes the film takes its sweet time getting to the punch line but when it does its worth the wait. And needless to say the ride is brutally and unexpectedly violent. A veteran cop (Mel Gibson) and his much younger partner (Vince Vaughn) are suspended from the force after they are annonymously videotaped using brutal means to subdue a criminal during a drug bust. Fed up with a career that has brought no prizes the older cop decides to intercept a gold bullion heist as a means of bringing some respite to his sick wife and constantly harrassed daughter. His partner reluctantly agrees to go along with the plan. Their paths cross with two young African-American criminals (Tory Kittles & Michael Jai White) who have logged onto the heist as the getaway drivers working for a ruthless mastermind. The screenplay spends long moments with the two cops during a stakeout as they wait it out and talk shop. There are equally long stretches as the cops tail the robbers through city streets and on the highway. Zahler also introduces a character in great detail and gets the audience involved in her plight and just when you are starting to wonder what is going on he decides to dispense with her in a violent burst. The film's long climax also moves at a very slow pace but every moment is riveting as the clock ticks and the violence hits home with shocking intensity. Mel Gibson, after being ejected by most of Hollywood for his off-screen dramas, is quietly coming back with an assortment of very interesting smaller films in which he is doing great work - the success and Oscar nomination for "Hacksaw Ridge" was also Hollywood's way of forgiveness. He has played a cop before - most memorably in the "Lethal Weapon" trilogy - but this is a cop drowning under the weight of age and failure and Gibson plays the character in total low-key mode. The film is not for everyone. If you are expecting the usual high energy heist flick it will disappoint. But if you choose to go with its very slow flow you will be rewarded.
Testament of Youth (James Kent, 2015) 10/10
Harrowing coming of age story of a young feminist set during WWI. Poetic adaptation of Vera Brittain's memoir shows the horror of war through her eyes as her priviledged life in a stately home and later at Oxford University collapses as she, one by one, loses her fiance, brother and close friends to the devastation at the front. Stunningly photographed film is carried by Alicia Vikander who gives an exquisite performance. She brings to the screen a character who is infuritaing, loving, bitter and most of all brave and manages to convey depths of emotion through the mere flicker of her eyelids or the slight slump in her posture. This is a great performance in an old fashioned romantic film - it's David Lean without the epic sweep. It's staunchly anti-war message is remarkably put forth without any scenes depicting the actual slaughter on the front. Soldiers in trenches are shown in extreme closeup staring directly at the camera. Their eyes convey the horrors. And the film has my litmus test for great romantic films - a scene set at a train station on the platform as lovers part, one on the moving train and the other running beside with arm stretched out. This always gets me.
Strangers in the Night (Anthony Mann, 1944) 6/10
A portrait of a beautiful young woman called Rosemary which hangs over the fireplace. Her crippled and delusional mother. The timid bird-like companion. The returning shell-shocked war veteran in love with the beautiful Rosemary. And the lovely lady doctor in love with the veteran. All these lives converge in a house on top of an imposing cliff. This was Anthony Mann's first foray into the noir world with more than a few gothic touches. Filmed at Republic studios so it's production values are sub-par due to a low budget but there are flashes of the later Mann films - a swirling camera in constant motion and a deep sense of foreboding. Sadly none of the cast members register strongly except for Virginia Grey who is the sole actor who breathes life into the character of the doctor. The screenplay is obviously cobbled together from far better films and the absurd finalé is not only hilariously bad yet seemingly quite fitting for a film like this which despite its shortcomings still manages to hold attention. A very short running time naturally aids in doing just that.
The Expendables (Sylvester Stallone, 2010) 6/10
The film tries to rustle up the brainless action flicks from the 1980s and despite the awfully stale material manages to just about make this into a guilty pleasure to watch. The once-upon-a-time A-list actors have all seen better days but it's good to see they can still bring a form of charisma to the big screen. CIA operative (Bruce Willis and his smirk with a dry quip about cock sucking) hires a mercenary (Sylvester Stallone who looks like Hell blew up all over his face) to take down a dictator from a Latin country and a renegade CIA agent who is now a druglord (Eric Roberts in full-on sleaze mode). Completely over-the-top and predictable action flick brings to the mix the always reliable Jason Statham along with Jet Li (who has to face-off endless short stature jokes), Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke (who gets to do a monologue with Stallone's director keeping the camera running on his friend) and Arnie Schwarzenegger who was pulled out of the Governor's office to make a cameo appearance. Violent adrenaline fueled film manages to be fun despite the almost incoherent plot.
The Expendables 2: Back For War (Simon West, 2012) 7/10
The old gang (Stallone, Statham, Lundgren, Li, Crews, Couture) is back along with a young hot-shot sniper (Liam Hemsworth), an old adversary (Arnold Schwarznegger), a female (Nan Yu) and yet another old friend from the past (Chuck Norris, who adds to the has-been action star quotient) gets dusted out of mothballs. When their latest mission, given to them by the CIA operative (Bruce Willis), backfires resulting in the death of a team member the gang decide to go after the sadistic mercenary (Jean-Claude Van Damme making a kick-ass villain named "Vilain") who has stolen the plans of a mine housing a shit-load of plutonium. The screenplay is a mixture of outlandish action set pieces and amusing quips which the cast (now very comfortable as a team in this sequel) spout off with great glee with inside jokes aimed at their own screen personas and past films. The Bulgarian locations are an added plus.
Zahler's films - this is his third - have its origins in a Tarantino universe with a specific difference. The films revel in creating an extreme slow burn in its plotting along with pithy and rhythmic dialogue often with racial slurs that make you simultaneously laugh and wince - one bit of racial slur, coming at an extremely tense moment, is particularly nasty and outrageous and left me open-mouthed at Zahler's sheer audacity - he also wrote the screenplay. At 158 minutes the film takes its sweet time getting to the punch line but when it does its worth the wait. And needless to say the ride is brutally and unexpectedly violent. A veteran cop (Mel Gibson) and his much younger partner (Vince Vaughn) are suspended from the force after they are annonymously videotaped using brutal means to subdue a criminal during a drug bust. Fed up with a career that has brought no prizes the older cop decides to intercept a gold bullion heist as a means of bringing some respite to his sick wife and constantly harrassed daughter. His partner reluctantly agrees to go along with the plan. Their paths cross with two young African-American criminals (Tory Kittles & Michael Jai White) who have logged onto the heist as the getaway drivers working for a ruthless mastermind. The screenplay spends long moments with the two cops during a stakeout as they wait it out and talk shop. There are equally long stretches as the cops tail the robbers through city streets and on the highway. Zahler also introduces a character in great detail and gets the audience involved in her plight and just when you are starting to wonder what is going on he decides to dispense with her in a violent burst. The film's long climax also moves at a very slow pace but every moment is riveting as the clock ticks and the violence hits home with shocking intensity. Mel Gibson, after being ejected by most of Hollywood for his off-screen dramas, is quietly coming back with an assortment of very interesting smaller films in which he is doing great work - the success and Oscar nomination for "Hacksaw Ridge" was also Hollywood's way of forgiveness. He has played a cop before - most memorably in the "Lethal Weapon" trilogy - but this is a cop drowning under the weight of age and failure and Gibson plays the character in total low-key mode. The film is not for everyone. If you are expecting the usual high energy heist flick it will disappoint. But if you choose to go with its very slow flow you will be rewarded.
Testament of Youth (James Kent, 2015) 10/10
Harrowing coming of age story of a young feminist set during WWI. Poetic adaptation of Vera Brittain's memoir shows the horror of war through her eyes as her priviledged life in a stately home and later at Oxford University collapses as she, one by one, loses her fiance, brother and close friends to the devastation at the front. Stunningly photographed film is carried by Alicia Vikander who gives an exquisite performance. She brings to the screen a character who is infuritaing, loving, bitter and most of all brave and manages to convey depths of emotion through the mere flicker of her eyelids or the slight slump in her posture. This is a great performance in an old fashioned romantic film - it's David Lean without the epic sweep. It's staunchly anti-war message is remarkably put forth without any scenes depicting the actual slaughter on the front. Soldiers in trenches are shown in extreme closeup staring directly at the camera. Their eyes convey the horrors. And the film has my litmus test for great romantic films - a scene set at a train station on the platform as lovers part, one on the moving train and the other running beside with arm stretched out. This always gets me.
Strangers in the Night (Anthony Mann, 1944) 6/10
A portrait of a beautiful young woman called Rosemary which hangs over the fireplace. Her crippled and delusional mother. The timid bird-like companion. The returning shell-shocked war veteran in love with the beautiful Rosemary. And the lovely lady doctor in love with the veteran. All these lives converge in a house on top of an imposing cliff. This was Anthony Mann's first foray into the noir world with more than a few gothic touches. Filmed at Republic studios so it's production values are sub-par due to a low budget but there are flashes of the later Mann films - a swirling camera in constant motion and a deep sense of foreboding. Sadly none of the cast members register strongly except for Virginia Grey who is the sole actor who breathes life into the character of the doctor. The screenplay is obviously cobbled together from far better films and the absurd finalé is not only hilariously bad yet seemingly quite fitting for a film like this which despite its shortcomings still manages to hold attention. A very short running time naturally aids in doing just that.
The Expendables (Sylvester Stallone, 2010) 6/10
The film tries to rustle up the brainless action flicks from the 1980s and despite the awfully stale material manages to just about make this into a guilty pleasure to watch. The once-upon-a-time A-list actors have all seen better days but it's good to see they can still bring a form of charisma to the big screen. CIA operative (Bruce Willis and his smirk with a dry quip about cock sucking) hires a mercenary (Sylvester Stallone who looks like Hell blew up all over his face) to take down a dictator from a Latin country and a renegade CIA agent who is now a druglord (Eric Roberts in full-on sleaze mode). Completely over-the-top and predictable action flick brings to the mix the always reliable Jason Statham along with Jet Li (who has to face-off endless short stature jokes), Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke (who gets to do a monologue with Stallone's director keeping the camera running on his friend) and Arnie Schwarzenegger who was pulled out of the Governor's office to make a cameo appearance. Violent adrenaline fueled film manages to be fun despite the almost incoherent plot.
The Expendables 2: Back For War (Simon West, 2012) 7/10
The old gang (Stallone, Statham, Lundgren, Li, Crews, Couture) is back along with a young hot-shot sniper (Liam Hemsworth), an old adversary (Arnold Schwarznegger), a female (Nan Yu) and yet another old friend from the past (Chuck Norris, who adds to the has-been action star quotient) gets dusted out of mothballs. When their latest mission, given to them by the CIA operative (Bruce Willis), backfires resulting in the death of a team member the gang decide to go after the sadistic mercenary (Jean-Claude Van Damme making a kick-ass villain named "Vilain") who has stolen the plans of a mine housing a shit-load of plutonium. The screenplay is a mixture of outlandish action set pieces and amusing quips which the cast (now very comfortable as a team in this sequel) spout off with great glee with inside jokes aimed at their own screen personas and past films. The Bulgarian locations are an added plus.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Thanks for the correction.Big Magilla wrote:Reza, Joseph N. Welch was not a judge in real life. He was the lawyer representing the Army at the Army-McCarthy hearings in which his opposing counsel was the infamous Roy Cohn (later Donald Trump's lawyer) representing Sen. Joseph McCarthy's committee. His Golden Globe nominated performance in Anatomy of a Murder was his only film role. He died the following year.Reza wrote: Anatomy of a Murder (Otto Preminger, 1959) 9/10
Duke Ellington's superb jazz score underlines the cynicism in the screenplay (which is based on the book by Robert Traver) and sets the freewheeling tone of the film which makes this a riveting court room thriller. The film drew big controversy in 1959 with its use of the words "bitch", "panties", "contraceptive", "rape", "penetration", "slut", "sperm" and the never before used concept of "sexual penetration" for rape into the trial. All this pales in Preminger's real aim in showing how justice can be manipulated. A small town attorney (James Stewart) takes on the case of defending a man (Ben Gazzara) who is charged with murdering the man who raped his trailer trash wife (newcomer Lee Remick was cast after Lana Turner was fired for creating a row over the film's costumes). He is helped on the case by an old friend and mentor (Arthur O'Connell) who is an alcoholic and his loyal wisecracking secretary (Eve Arden). The actual court case becomes more of a spring board for technical prowess between the defence attorney and the wily city slick prosecutor (George C. Scott). Innocence clearly takes second place in their game of verbal ping pong. Real-life judge (Joseph N. Welch who had presided over the anti-communist McCarthy trials) plays the sardonic and exasperated arbitrator over the case. Superbly directed film has one of Stewart's most memorable performances coming off various cynical Anthony Mann westerns during that decade. He is surrounded by a great cast - a sexy Lee Remick as the trampy wife, Gazzara as the hot-headed husband, O'Connell as the jittery friend and Scott making a huge impact as the reptilian prosecutor. The film, Stewart, Scott, O'Connell, the screenplay, Sam Leavit's superb cinematography and the editing were all nominated for Oscars. Stewart won the best actor prize at the Venice film festival and Duke Ellington won a Grammy for his score.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Reza, Joseph N. Welch was not a judge in real life. He was the lawyer representing the Army at the Army-McCarthy hearings in which his opposing counsel was the infamous Roy Cohn (later Donald Trump's lawyer) representing Sen. Joseph McCarthy's committee. His Golden Globe nominated performance in Anatomy of a Murder was his only film role. He died the following year.Reza wrote: Anatomy of a Murder (Otto Preminger, 1959) 9/10
Duke Ellington's superb jazz score underlines the cynicism in the screenplay (which is based on the book by Robert Traver) and sets the freewheeling tone of the film which makes this a riveting court room thriller. The film drew big controversy in 1959 with its use of the words "bitch", "panties", "contraceptive", "rape", "penetration", "slut", "sperm" and the never before used concept of "sexual penetration" for rape into the trial. All this pales in Preminger's real aim in showing how justice can be manipulated. A small town attorney (James Stewart) takes on the case of defending a man (Ben Gazzara) who is charged with murdering the man who raped his trailer trash wife (newcomer Lee Remick was cast after Lana Turner was fired for creating a row over the film's costumes). He is helped on the case by an old friend and mentor (Arthur O'Connell) who is an alcoholic and his loyal wisecracking secretary (Eve Arden). The actual court case becomes more of a spring board for technical prowess between the defence attorney and the wily city slick prosecutor (George C. Scott). Innocence clearly takes second place in their game of verbal ping pong. Real-life judge (Joseph N. Welch who had presided over the anti-communist McCarthy trials) plays the sardonic and exasperated arbitrator over the case. Superbly directed film has one of Stewart's most memorable performances coming off various cynical Anthony Mann westerns during that decade. He is surrounded by a great cast - a sexy Lee Remick as the trampy wife, Gazzara as the hot-headed husband, O'Connell as the jittery friend and Scott making a huge impact as the reptilian prosecutor. The film, Stewart, Scott, O'Connell, the screenplay, Sam Leavit's superb cinematography and the editing were all nominated for Oscars. Stewart won the best actor prize at the Venice film festival and Duke Ellington won a Grammy for his score.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Random Harvest (Mervyn LeRoy, 1942) 8/10
It takes being bred on a heavy dose of Bollywood melodrama to understand, enjoy and wallow in such schmaltzy material. The artificiality not only begins with the screenplay, based on the bestselling novel by James Hilton, but spills over onto the opulent but obviously fake settings - the quaint British country cottage with the blossom tree upfront surrounded by rose bushes and a gently bubbling stream nearby, the cobbled streets of Liverpool, the imposing high walls and gate of an asylum and a Country Manor with an imposing interior - all courtesy of MGM's backlot. An amnesiac soldier (Ronald Colman) finds himself recovering in an asylum during WWI. Wandering out in a daze he encounters a vivacious young showgirl (Greer Garson - who was on a roll that year winning an Oscar for "Mrs Miniver" and equal acclaim for her part here - a highlight is the scene where she sings "She's Ma Daisy" wearing a kilt and showing her lovely legs) - who takes him under her wings. They get married and move into a cottage living the idyllic life. However, it's not a case of happily ever after for the couple as melodrama sets in with an accident and the amnesiac suddenly able to recall his previous life as Lord of the Manor and an industrialist. He eases back into his old life with huge family, a business to look after and a much younger "niece" (Susan Peters) who is cloyingly in love with him. Will he remember his wife whom he left behind three years before and who, through a twist of fate, has now taken a job as his very efficient office secretary whom he does not recognise? Needless to say he will but it comes about via twists and turns wringing a whole lot of tears along the way. Stiff upper lips galore and sacrifices are the order of the day as this extremely old fashioned plot plays out. What keeps it all cooking along is the absolute conviction of the outstanding cast who seem to live their parts. Colman, although too old, is perfect as the confused gentleman dressed in tweeds with a cravat around his neck. Garson - the grand lady of MGM - could be very artificial but here shows great warmth and a sassy sense of joie de vivre in sharp contrast to her brooding co-star. The film is populated by many character actors in brief parts - Una O'Connor, Henry Travers, Reginald Owen, Rhys Williams, Margaret Wycherly, Alan Napier, Melville Cooper, Jill Esmond, Elisabeth Risdon and Norma Varden. The film was a massive hit - just what the WWII audiences needed - and was nominated for 7 Oscars including Best Film, for LeRoy's direction, for Ronald Colman, Susan Peters, the screenplay, production design and for the memorable score by Herbert Stothart.
Avengers: Endgame (Anthony & Joe Russo, 2019) 9/10
Riproaring, highly satisfying sequel is akin to those classic roadshow films like "Lawrence of Arabia", "Dr Zhivago" & "The Greatest Story Ever Told" - mammoth all-star productions with an interval and a three hour running time. The film's success lies in the fact that it's mostly character driven, has a lot of heart and does not waste time with repetitive battle sequences. But when the final battle comes it is indeed ferocious and well worth the wait. The eight surving Avengers from the previous installment's debacle - Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth looking like a pot-bellied alcoholic California surfer gets huge laughs), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), War Machine (Don Cheadle) & Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) - discover a way to reverse the death knell inflicted by Thanos (Josh Brolin) by going back in time to different eras to collect the six magical stones that brought the dastardly villain power to annihilate 50% of the world's population. These sequences allow the production designers to create the past through outstanding sets and costumes and allow some characters to not only confront themselves while in the past but also face their own parents when they were young. With great dexterity (and one major sacrifice of life) the mission is achieved leading to the final grand stand against Thanos and his army as the eight Avengers along with their resurrected allies - Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Spider-Man (Tom Holland), The Wasp (Evangeline Lilly), Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Scarlet Witch (Elisabeth Olsen), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) and Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) - engage in a spectacular battle to the death that results in one more major character's sacrifice along with one Avenger passing on his "baton" to another. Since this film is a grand conclusion to the twenty-two film series we also catch a glimpse of many supporting characters who appeared in the Marvel series of films and played by famous stars - Michael Douglas (who appears as himself in the present and via CGI gets to play his younger self from 1970 as well), Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Redford, Michelle Pfeiffer, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tom Hiddleston, Tilda Swinton, Natalie Portman, Hayley Atwell, Jon Favreau, Marisa Tomei, Angela Bassett, Rene Russo, William Hurt and Linda Cardellini. An ambitious, emotional and euphoric finalé that neatly ties up more than a decade of storytelling in a clear and concise manner.
Anatomy of a Murder (Otto Preminger, 1959) 9/10
Duke Ellington's superb jazz score underlines the cynicism in the screenplay (which is based on the book by Robert Traver) and sets the freewheeling tone of the film which makes this a riveting court room thriller. The film drew big controversy in 1959 with its use of the words "bitch", "panties", "contraceptive", "rape", "penetration", "slut", "sperm" and the never before used concept of "sexual penetration" for rape into the trial. All this pales in Preminger's real aim in showing how justice can be manipulated. A small town attorney (James Stewart) takes on the case of defending a man (Ben Gazzara) who is charged with murdering the man who raped his trailer trash wife (newcomer Lee Remick was cast after Lana Turner was fired for creating a row over the film's costumes). He is helped on the case by an old friend and mentor (Arthur O'Connell) who is an alcoholic and his loyal wisecracking secretary (Eve Arden). The actual court case becomes more of a spring board for technical prowess between the defence attorney and the wily city slick prosecutor (George C. Scott). Innocence clearly takes second place in their game of verbal ping pong. Real-life judge (Joseph N. Welch who had presided over the anti-communist McCarthy trials) plays the sardonic and exasperated arbitrator over the case. Superbly directed film has one of Stewart's most memorable performances coming off various cynical Anthony Mann westerns during that decade. He is surrounded by a great cast - a sexy Lee Remick as the trampy wife, Gazzara as the hot-headed husband, O'Connell as the jittery friend and Scott making a huge impact as the reptilian prosecutor. The film, Stewart, Scott, O'Connell, the screenplay, Sam Leavit's superb cinematography and the editing were all nominated for Oscars. Stewart won the best actor prize at the Venice film festival and Duke Ellington won a Grammy for his score.
The Last Post (Miranda Bowen & Jonny Campbell, 2017) 8/10
The decline and fall of colonial rule is glaringly exposed to contradict the naive view that Empire building was benevolent and instead is shown to be down right oppressive to the native populations. The story, in this six-part BBC miniseries, is set in 1965 amidst a unit of the Royal Military Police using the Aden Emergency as a backdrop. This involved an insurgency against the Occupying Forces of the former British Empire in the Protectorate of South Arabia, which is now a part of Yemen. The emergency eventually hastened the end of British rule in the territory. The main fictional plot revolves around the stationed officers and their families and their eventual violent encounters with the local population. Gradual resistance led to an unsurgency involving shooting and bombing the British officer and civilians. "White Man Go Home" was always the mantra at every colonial post and it's the same in Aden. The characters run the gamut from the newly arrived Captain (Jeremy Neumark Jones) and his naive bride (Jessie Buckley) to a senior officer (Stephen Campbell Moore) and his promiscuous wife (Jessica Raine) who is involved in an affair with the outgoing Captain to a senior Manager (Ben Miles) whose young son is kidnapped by the insurgents demanding the return of their leader. Gripping and atmospheric story captures these characters in a dangerous game that involves a secret meeting between a British Government minister and the terrorist. The film vividly captures British colonial life with South Africa substituting for Aden.
It takes being bred on a heavy dose of Bollywood melodrama to understand, enjoy and wallow in such schmaltzy material. The artificiality not only begins with the screenplay, based on the bestselling novel by James Hilton, but spills over onto the opulent but obviously fake settings - the quaint British country cottage with the blossom tree upfront surrounded by rose bushes and a gently bubbling stream nearby, the cobbled streets of Liverpool, the imposing high walls and gate of an asylum and a Country Manor with an imposing interior - all courtesy of MGM's backlot. An amnesiac soldier (Ronald Colman) finds himself recovering in an asylum during WWI. Wandering out in a daze he encounters a vivacious young showgirl (Greer Garson - who was on a roll that year winning an Oscar for "Mrs Miniver" and equal acclaim for her part here - a highlight is the scene where she sings "She's Ma Daisy" wearing a kilt and showing her lovely legs) - who takes him under her wings. They get married and move into a cottage living the idyllic life. However, it's not a case of happily ever after for the couple as melodrama sets in with an accident and the amnesiac suddenly able to recall his previous life as Lord of the Manor and an industrialist. He eases back into his old life with huge family, a business to look after and a much younger "niece" (Susan Peters) who is cloyingly in love with him. Will he remember his wife whom he left behind three years before and who, through a twist of fate, has now taken a job as his very efficient office secretary whom he does not recognise? Needless to say he will but it comes about via twists and turns wringing a whole lot of tears along the way. Stiff upper lips galore and sacrifices are the order of the day as this extremely old fashioned plot plays out. What keeps it all cooking along is the absolute conviction of the outstanding cast who seem to live their parts. Colman, although too old, is perfect as the confused gentleman dressed in tweeds with a cravat around his neck. Garson - the grand lady of MGM - could be very artificial but here shows great warmth and a sassy sense of joie de vivre in sharp contrast to her brooding co-star. The film is populated by many character actors in brief parts - Una O'Connor, Henry Travers, Reginald Owen, Rhys Williams, Margaret Wycherly, Alan Napier, Melville Cooper, Jill Esmond, Elisabeth Risdon and Norma Varden. The film was a massive hit - just what the WWII audiences needed - and was nominated for 7 Oscars including Best Film, for LeRoy's direction, for Ronald Colman, Susan Peters, the screenplay, production design and for the memorable score by Herbert Stothart.
Avengers: Endgame (Anthony & Joe Russo, 2019) 9/10
Riproaring, highly satisfying sequel is akin to those classic roadshow films like "Lawrence of Arabia", "Dr Zhivago" & "The Greatest Story Ever Told" - mammoth all-star productions with an interval and a three hour running time. The film's success lies in the fact that it's mostly character driven, has a lot of heart and does not waste time with repetitive battle sequences. But when the final battle comes it is indeed ferocious and well worth the wait. The eight surving Avengers from the previous installment's debacle - Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth looking like a pot-bellied alcoholic California surfer gets huge laughs), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), War Machine (Don Cheadle) & Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) - discover a way to reverse the death knell inflicted by Thanos (Josh Brolin) by going back in time to different eras to collect the six magical stones that brought the dastardly villain power to annihilate 50% of the world's population. These sequences allow the production designers to create the past through outstanding sets and costumes and allow some characters to not only confront themselves while in the past but also face their own parents when they were young. With great dexterity (and one major sacrifice of life) the mission is achieved leading to the final grand stand against Thanos and his army as the eight Avengers along with their resurrected allies - Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Spider-Man (Tom Holland), The Wasp (Evangeline Lilly), Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Scarlet Witch (Elisabeth Olsen), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) and Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) - engage in a spectacular battle to the death that results in one more major character's sacrifice along with one Avenger passing on his "baton" to another. Since this film is a grand conclusion to the twenty-two film series we also catch a glimpse of many supporting characters who appeared in the Marvel series of films and played by famous stars - Michael Douglas (who appears as himself in the present and via CGI gets to play his younger self from 1970 as well), Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Redford, Michelle Pfeiffer, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tom Hiddleston, Tilda Swinton, Natalie Portman, Hayley Atwell, Jon Favreau, Marisa Tomei, Angela Bassett, Rene Russo, William Hurt and Linda Cardellini. An ambitious, emotional and euphoric finalé that neatly ties up more than a decade of storytelling in a clear and concise manner.
Anatomy of a Murder (Otto Preminger, 1959) 9/10
Duke Ellington's superb jazz score underlines the cynicism in the screenplay (which is based on the book by Robert Traver) and sets the freewheeling tone of the film which makes this a riveting court room thriller. The film drew big controversy in 1959 with its use of the words "bitch", "panties", "contraceptive", "rape", "penetration", "slut", "sperm" and the never before used concept of "sexual penetration" for rape into the trial. All this pales in Preminger's real aim in showing how justice can be manipulated. A small town attorney (James Stewart) takes on the case of defending a man (Ben Gazzara) who is charged with murdering the man who raped his trailer trash wife (newcomer Lee Remick was cast after Lana Turner was fired for creating a row over the film's costumes). He is helped on the case by an old friend and mentor (Arthur O'Connell) who is an alcoholic and his loyal wisecracking secretary (Eve Arden). The actual court case becomes more of a spring board for technical prowess between the defence attorney and the wily city slick prosecutor (George C. Scott). Innocence clearly takes second place in their game of verbal ping pong. Real-life judge (Joseph N. Welch who had presided over the anti-communist McCarthy trials) plays the sardonic and exasperated arbitrator over the case. Superbly directed film has one of Stewart's most memorable performances coming off various cynical Anthony Mann westerns during that decade. He is surrounded by a great cast - a sexy Lee Remick as the trampy wife, Gazzara as the hot-headed husband, O'Connell as the jittery friend and Scott making a huge impact as the reptilian prosecutor. The film, Stewart, Scott, O'Connell, the screenplay, Sam Leavit's superb cinematography and the editing were all nominated for Oscars. Stewart won the best actor prize at the Venice film festival and Duke Ellington won a Grammy for his score.
The Last Post (Miranda Bowen & Jonny Campbell, 2017) 8/10
The decline and fall of colonial rule is glaringly exposed to contradict the naive view that Empire building was benevolent and instead is shown to be down right oppressive to the native populations. The story, in this six-part BBC miniseries, is set in 1965 amidst a unit of the Royal Military Police using the Aden Emergency as a backdrop. This involved an insurgency against the Occupying Forces of the former British Empire in the Protectorate of South Arabia, which is now a part of Yemen. The emergency eventually hastened the end of British rule in the territory. The main fictional plot revolves around the stationed officers and their families and their eventual violent encounters with the local population. Gradual resistance led to an unsurgency involving shooting and bombing the British officer and civilians. "White Man Go Home" was always the mantra at every colonial post and it's the same in Aden. The characters run the gamut from the newly arrived Captain (Jeremy Neumark Jones) and his naive bride (Jessie Buckley) to a senior officer (Stephen Campbell Moore) and his promiscuous wife (Jessica Raine) who is involved in an affair with the outgoing Captain to a senior Manager (Ben Miles) whose young son is kidnapped by the insurgents demanding the return of their leader. Gripping and atmospheric story captures these characters in a dangerous game that involves a secret meeting between a British Government minister and the terrorist. The film vividly captures British colonial life with South Africa substituting for Aden.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Sky Giant (Lew Landers, 1938) 5/10
RKO studio programmer, set in a TWA flying school, has various thrilling aerial sequences. The on ground conflict is between the tough ex-Army trainer (Harry Carey Sr.), his rebellious assistant (Richard Dix) and his son (Chester Morris), also a pilot. The two men are also rivals for the same girl (Joan Fontaine). This B-film is one of the early films to depict attempts at mapping the Arctic route from California over the Arctic into Russia. A precussor to the many similar themed films in this genre replete with a crash landing somewhere in the Yukon territory as the two men struggle to survive through an icy landscape. Who gets the girl in the end is the main plot point. Both Dix and Morris were already past their A-list days while Fontaine was just two years away from Hitchcock and full fledged stardom.
Charming Sinners (Robert Milton, 1929). 4/10
Static comedy of manners about infidelity based on Somerset Maugham's play "The Country Wife" which saw great success on Broadway two years before with Ethel Barrymore as the star. As with most early talkies adapted from stage successes this was brought to the screen by Paramount for its contract star Ruth Chatterton who came from a successful stage background. And like all early talkies the film is basically a filmed play with the camera devoid of any movement as characters talk endlessly in drawing rooms. A doctor (an awfully stiff Clive Brook) is having an affair with his scheming patient (Mary Nolan). In order to teach him a lesson his wife (Ruth Chatterton), who is aware of the on-going sexual escapade, thinks about having a fling of her own with a former boyfriend (William Powell). The stars try to breathe life into the boring proceedings with Chatterton and Powell (still some years away from stardom) coming off best. Laura Hope Crews is funny as Chatterton's sophisticated mother who is aware of everyone's sex games.
The Laughing Lady (Victor Schertzinger, 1929). 4/10
Paramount seemed to keep pulling out old Ethel Barrymore stage hits to adapt for the screen for their top contract star Ruth Chatterton. Here she plays a lady who laughs each time she feels anxiety. Saved from drowning her saviour decides to crash her hotel room to make sexual advances. Caught by a maid the escapade causes a scandal, gets her thrown out of the hotel with her baby followed by her husband (who has a shrill mistress on the side) sue for divorce. His business lawyer (Clive Brook as stiff as ever) not only wrangles the divorce but also gets him custody of their child too. Seeking revenge on the lawyer the wife implicates him in a compromising position with herself causing another scandal. Absurd plot moves at a fast pace with Chatterton the sole reason to sit through this rare early talkie which was once thought lost.
Latter Days (C. Jay Cox, 2003) 2/10
An awkward romance between an L.A. party boy (Wes Ramsey) and a mormon missionary (Steve Sandvoss) starts off as a bet but this dismal so-called romantic film has a hackneyed feel to it. And it's certainly not helped by broad characterizations, stereotypical situations and amateurish acting by the two leads. For some reason Jacqueline Bisset, Mary Kay Place and Joseph Gordon-Leavit decided to accept totally disposable roles in this tacky and very boring film.
Prayers For Bobby (Russell Mulcahy, 2009) 7/10
The belief in and interpretation of religion comes very easily to the faithful. But the interpretations of the "words of God" were written by mortal men and were a reflection of the times they lived in. This film raises interesting questions about the importance of seeing religion and the words of the Holy Books (here the Old Testament) in context to the times we live in and makes a strong point about blind faith can sometimes be very dangerous. A family is devastated when a teenager (Ryan Kelley) commits suicide. He comes from a deeply religious family and his conflicted feelings about his sexuality put him at odds with his fanatically devout mother (Sigourney Weaver) who feels the wrath of God will not allow the family to be together in the hereafter because of her son's "aberration". Guilt for causing his mother grief, estrangement from his family and not being able to accept his own sexuality makes him jump off a bridge on a busy highway. The screenplay has all the typical tropes of a sentimental and melodramatic tv film but deep down the story resonates deeply about many religious thoughts some also not dealing solely about sexuality. Thoughtful true story that speaks about prejudice and the strong need for tolerance and acceptance even if the presentation tilts towards being a tad preachy. Weaver is very good as the woman who's faith is shaken up and goes from pillar to post to find answers to questions she realises should never have been cast in stone.
The Virginian (Victor Fleming, 1929) 5/10
Classic and successful early talkie was the first sound version based on the novel by Owen Wister. There had already been two silent versions with Dustin Farnum and Kenneth Harlan playing the title character and there would be a further two sound versions later with Joel MCrea and Bill Pullman along with a tv series with Doug McClure. Gary Cooper became a star with this first sound version as the laconic and good-natured cowboy in love with a school teacher (Mary Brian) and in conflict with a cattle rustler (Walter Huston). The archetypal plot now seems hackneyed as the tropes have been repeated ad nauseum in so many similar westerns. But the film is a fine showcase for Cooper as it was the start of his stardom in Hollywood which lasted well over 30 years.
Lady With a Past (Edward H. Griffith, 1932) 6/10
Amusing comedy with Constance Bennett in one of her typical roles. A vivacious but intellectual socialite (Constance Bennett) finds herself a pariah as all men shun her as they find her boring. On a trip to Paris she reinvents herself with the help of a penniless man (Ben Lyon) who pretends to be her gigolo and escorts her around town which finally attracts the attention of other men. When she spurns the attentions of a fortune hunter he kills himself causing a scandal which brings her yet more popularity. Back in New York she attracts the attention of the man she loved but who had always ignored her. Bennett underplays and is delightful throughout although its highly unbelievable that the plot has her continuously rejected by men when she is so obviously alluring throughout.
Three Faces East (Roy Del Ruth, 1930) 7/10
Exciting WWI spy thriller which was a percursor to Marlene Dietrich's "Dishonored" and Greta Garbo's "Mata Hari". Agent Z-1 (Constance Bennett), a german spy, is assigned to infiltrate the house of a British officer in the Admirality in London. Her assignment is to make contact with another spy who will give her further orders. The other spy is posing as the butler (Erich von Stroheim) and a cat and mouse game ensues with other house guests who suspect both of being spies. But all is not as it seems as alliances change, secrets in the house safe hold the key to Allied victory in Europe and identities of characters are revealed to be not whom they claim. Briskly paced film has the two leads in fine form as romance blooms, there is intrigue upon intrigue and nail biting suspense and double crosses. For an early talkie the camera is surprisingly not static. Ten years later the film was remade as "British Intelligence" with Boris Karloff and Margaret Lindsay.
Bed of Roses (Gregory La Cava, 1933) 8/10
Saucy, briskly paced pre-Code film is astonishingly very bold in presenting its female protagonist as sexually liberated. Of course the character is a prostitute (Constance Bennett), just out of prison, who immediately sets her sight on a rich man and steals from him. When caught she jumps into the river to escape getting caught and ends up meeting and falling in love with a barge owner (Joel McCrea). Since this is a pre-Code film their fairy-tale love story turns gritty and before the two come together she blackmails a rich publisher (John Halliday) into becoming her lover and getting a penthouse apartment in the bargain. The witty screenplay is full of sexual innuendo with Pert Kelton, as the hard boiled hooker friend, getting all the best lines. Bennett's natural classy demeanor is at odds with the low class character she plays here but still manages to wing it via her charming and very sexy presence. Very amusing film has a number of familiar faces - Franklin Pangborn, Jane Darwell - in small parts. McCrea and Bennett have great chemistry and make a good romantic pair.
Law of the Tropics (Ray Enright, 1941) 6/10
From being the most highly paid star in Hollywood during the 1930s Constance Bennett's career ended up in B-movies during the 1940s. Still very beautiful she brings her charm to this breezy drama set on a rubber plantation on the Amazon. Running from the police she finds herself in a makeshift marriage to a foreman (Jeffrey Lynn) with whom she falls in love. Exotic (if fake) locations, a little intrigue, some corny comedy, a good supporting cast - the gorgeous dark-haired Argentine beauty, Mona Maris, is a standout as one of the other Company wives - and the attractive chemistry between Lynn and a mature Bennett make this a very pleasant time at the movies.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2000) 9/10
Ang Lee’s exhilarating film is much more than just a martial arts film. What is most unusual about it is the depth and poetry of the main plot which goes beyond its dazzling action sequences and has a swooning quality of romantic and even spiritual nature. The director uses breathless storytelling, ravishing romance and martial-arts miracles to sweep us into an epic adventure beyond our imagination which is what the magic of movies is supposed to achieve. During the 18th century Qing Dynasty a noble warrior (Chow Yun-Fat) wants to retire from his violent career and decides to present his late master’s sword, an exquisitely designed 400-year old blade known as the "Green Destiny", to the district governor. When the sword is suddenly stolen the warrior realizes that the thief might be the person who years before had murdered his master and decides to hunt him down and seek vengeance. Helping him on his mission is his deceased friend’s betrothed (Michelle Yeoh), a machete-wielding security officer, with whom he is in love. The lady also reciprocates his feelings but both, through a rigid sense of honour for the deceased, let their love for each other merely simmer. Thwarting them both is the headstrong teenage daughter (Zhang Ziyi) of the governor, in love with a desert bandit (Chang Chen), and her governess (Cheng Pei-Pei) who has trained her in special martial arts techniques. The hair-raising spectacular stunts were all performed by the actors themselves in scenes that resemble elegant ballet moves shot in rhythm to the soaring Oscar- winning music score by Tan Dun and the weeping solos performed by the world famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The film perfectly combines sensitive acting with a mature and richly textured story which is thoroughly fascinating and downright Shakespearean in its intrigue and deadly double-crosses. The film won 4 Oscars - for best foreign film, for its exquisite cinematography, original score and production design and was nominated for the screenplay, costume design, editing, original song ("A Love Before Time"), for Ang Lee's direction and for best Picture. Both lead actors became international stars after the success of this film.
Badla (Sujoy Ghosh, 2019) 6/10
Slick Bollywood remake of the spanish film, Oriol Paulo's "Contratiempo", is like an Agatha Christie whodunnit. The convoluted mystery is presented in a series of flashbacks seen from the perspective of different characters just like in Kurosawa's "Rashomon". A highly successful entrepreneur (Tapsee Panu) is found in a locked hotel room with the body of her murdered lover. She insists she is innocent and hires a famous lawyer (Amitabh Bachchan) to defend her. Nothing is as it seems with characters shifting alliances as truth and lies get mixed up and supporting characters - a missing teenager and his mother (Amrita Singh) - form an integral part of the murder-mystery. The screenplay tries to be a bit too clever with its twists and turns and with a few too many glaring potholes. Bachchan is mainly relegated to one set - the room where he interogates Panu - and the film is basically a battle of wits between their two characters with periodic flashbacks to the past. Amrita Singh manages to upstage both stars in a strong sympathetic role.
RKO studio programmer, set in a TWA flying school, has various thrilling aerial sequences. The on ground conflict is between the tough ex-Army trainer (Harry Carey Sr.), his rebellious assistant (Richard Dix) and his son (Chester Morris), also a pilot. The two men are also rivals for the same girl (Joan Fontaine). This B-film is one of the early films to depict attempts at mapping the Arctic route from California over the Arctic into Russia. A precussor to the many similar themed films in this genre replete with a crash landing somewhere in the Yukon territory as the two men struggle to survive through an icy landscape. Who gets the girl in the end is the main plot point. Both Dix and Morris were already past their A-list days while Fontaine was just two years away from Hitchcock and full fledged stardom.
Charming Sinners (Robert Milton, 1929). 4/10
Static comedy of manners about infidelity based on Somerset Maugham's play "The Country Wife" which saw great success on Broadway two years before with Ethel Barrymore as the star. As with most early talkies adapted from stage successes this was brought to the screen by Paramount for its contract star Ruth Chatterton who came from a successful stage background. And like all early talkies the film is basically a filmed play with the camera devoid of any movement as characters talk endlessly in drawing rooms. A doctor (an awfully stiff Clive Brook) is having an affair with his scheming patient (Mary Nolan). In order to teach him a lesson his wife (Ruth Chatterton), who is aware of the on-going sexual escapade, thinks about having a fling of her own with a former boyfriend (William Powell). The stars try to breathe life into the boring proceedings with Chatterton and Powell (still some years away from stardom) coming off best. Laura Hope Crews is funny as Chatterton's sophisticated mother who is aware of everyone's sex games.
The Laughing Lady (Victor Schertzinger, 1929). 4/10
Paramount seemed to keep pulling out old Ethel Barrymore stage hits to adapt for the screen for their top contract star Ruth Chatterton. Here she plays a lady who laughs each time she feels anxiety. Saved from drowning her saviour decides to crash her hotel room to make sexual advances. Caught by a maid the escapade causes a scandal, gets her thrown out of the hotel with her baby followed by her husband (who has a shrill mistress on the side) sue for divorce. His business lawyer (Clive Brook as stiff as ever) not only wrangles the divorce but also gets him custody of their child too. Seeking revenge on the lawyer the wife implicates him in a compromising position with herself causing another scandal. Absurd plot moves at a fast pace with Chatterton the sole reason to sit through this rare early talkie which was once thought lost.
Latter Days (C. Jay Cox, 2003) 2/10
An awkward romance between an L.A. party boy (Wes Ramsey) and a mormon missionary (Steve Sandvoss) starts off as a bet but this dismal so-called romantic film has a hackneyed feel to it. And it's certainly not helped by broad characterizations, stereotypical situations and amateurish acting by the two leads. For some reason Jacqueline Bisset, Mary Kay Place and Joseph Gordon-Leavit decided to accept totally disposable roles in this tacky and very boring film.
Prayers For Bobby (Russell Mulcahy, 2009) 7/10
The belief in and interpretation of religion comes very easily to the faithful. But the interpretations of the "words of God" were written by mortal men and were a reflection of the times they lived in. This film raises interesting questions about the importance of seeing religion and the words of the Holy Books (here the Old Testament) in context to the times we live in and makes a strong point about blind faith can sometimes be very dangerous. A family is devastated when a teenager (Ryan Kelley) commits suicide. He comes from a deeply religious family and his conflicted feelings about his sexuality put him at odds with his fanatically devout mother (Sigourney Weaver) who feels the wrath of God will not allow the family to be together in the hereafter because of her son's "aberration". Guilt for causing his mother grief, estrangement from his family and not being able to accept his own sexuality makes him jump off a bridge on a busy highway. The screenplay has all the typical tropes of a sentimental and melodramatic tv film but deep down the story resonates deeply about many religious thoughts some also not dealing solely about sexuality. Thoughtful true story that speaks about prejudice and the strong need for tolerance and acceptance even if the presentation tilts towards being a tad preachy. Weaver is very good as the woman who's faith is shaken up and goes from pillar to post to find answers to questions she realises should never have been cast in stone.
The Virginian (Victor Fleming, 1929) 5/10
Classic and successful early talkie was the first sound version based on the novel by Owen Wister. There had already been two silent versions with Dustin Farnum and Kenneth Harlan playing the title character and there would be a further two sound versions later with Joel MCrea and Bill Pullman along with a tv series with Doug McClure. Gary Cooper became a star with this first sound version as the laconic and good-natured cowboy in love with a school teacher (Mary Brian) and in conflict with a cattle rustler (Walter Huston). The archetypal plot now seems hackneyed as the tropes have been repeated ad nauseum in so many similar westerns. But the film is a fine showcase for Cooper as it was the start of his stardom in Hollywood which lasted well over 30 years.
Lady With a Past (Edward H. Griffith, 1932) 6/10
Amusing comedy with Constance Bennett in one of her typical roles. A vivacious but intellectual socialite (Constance Bennett) finds herself a pariah as all men shun her as they find her boring. On a trip to Paris she reinvents herself with the help of a penniless man (Ben Lyon) who pretends to be her gigolo and escorts her around town which finally attracts the attention of other men. When she spurns the attentions of a fortune hunter he kills himself causing a scandal which brings her yet more popularity. Back in New York she attracts the attention of the man she loved but who had always ignored her. Bennett underplays and is delightful throughout although its highly unbelievable that the plot has her continuously rejected by men when she is so obviously alluring throughout.
Three Faces East (Roy Del Ruth, 1930) 7/10
Exciting WWI spy thriller which was a percursor to Marlene Dietrich's "Dishonored" and Greta Garbo's "Mata Hari". Agent Z-1 (Constance Bennett), a german spy, is assigned to infiltrate the house of a British officer in the Admirality in London. Her assignment is to make contact with another spy who will give her further orders. The other spy is posing as the butler (Erich von Stroheim) and a cat and mouse game ensues with other house guests who suspect both of being spies. But all is not as it seems as alliances change, secrets in the house safe hold the key to Allied victory in Europe and identities of characters are revealed to be not whom they claim. Briskly paced film has the two leads in fine form as romance blooms, there is intrigue upon intrigue and nail biting suspense and double crosses. For an early talkie the camera is surprisingly not static. Ten years later the film was remade as "British Intelligence" with Boris Karloff and Margaret Lindsay.
Bed of Roses (Gregory La Cava, 1933) 8/10
Saucy, briskly paced pre-Code film is astonishingly very bold in presenting its female protagonist as sexually liberated. Of course the character is a prostitute (Constance Bennett), just out of prison, who immediately sets her sight on a rich man and steals from him. When caught she jumps into the river to escape getting caught and ends up meeting and falling in love with a barge owner (Joel McCrea). Since this is a pre-Code film their fairy-tale love story turns gritty and before the two come together she blackmails a rich publisher (John Halliday) into becoming her lover and getting a penthouse apartment in the bargain. The witty screenplay is full of sexual innuendo with Pert Kelton, as the hard boiled hooker friend, getting all the best lines. Bennett's natural classy demeanor is at odds with the low class character she plays here but still manages to wing it via her charming and very sexy presence. Very amusing film has a number of familiar faces - Franklin Pangborn, Jane Darwell - in small parts. McCrea and Bennett have great chemistry and make a good romantic pair.
Law of the Tropics (Ray Enright, 1941) 6/10
From being the most highly paid star in Hollywood during the 1930s Constance Bennett's career ended up in B-movies during the 1940s. Still very beautiful she brings her charm to this breezy drama set on a rubber plantation on the Amazon. Running from the police she finds herself in a makeshift marriage to a foreman (Jeffrey Lynn) with whom she falls in love. Exotic (if fake) locations, a little intrigue, some corny comedy, a good supporting cast - the gorgeous dark-haired Argentine beauty, Mona Maris, is a standout as one of the other Company wives - and the attractive chemistry between Lynn and a mature Bennett make this a very pleasant time at the movies.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2000) 9/10
Ang Lee’s exhilarating film is much more than just a martial arts film. What is most unusual about it is the depth and poetry of the main plot which goes beyond its dazzling action sequences and has a swooning quality of romantic and even spiritual nature. The director uses breathless storytelling, ravishing romance and martial-arts miracles to sweep us into an epic adventure beyond our imagination which is what the magic of movies is supposed to achieve. During the 18th century Qing Dynasty a noble warrior (Chow Yun-Fat) wants to retire from his violent career and decides to present his late master’s sword, an exquisitely designed 400-year old blade known as the "Green Destiny", to the district governor. When the sword is suddenly stolen the warrior realizes that the thief might be the person who years before had murdered his master and decides to hunt him down and seek vengeance. Helping him on his mission is his deceased friend’s betrothed (Michelle Yeoh), a machete-wielding security officer, with whom he is in love. The lady also reciprocates his feelings but both, through a rigid sense of honour for the deceased, let their love for each other merely simmer. Thwarting them both is the headstrong teenage daughter (Zhang Ziyi) of the governor, in love with a desert bandit (Chang Chen), and her governess (Cheng Pei-Pei) who has trained her in special martial arts techniques. The hair-raising spectacular stunts were all performed by the actors themselves in scenes that resemble elegant ballet moves shot in rhythm to the soaring Oscar- winning music score by Tan Dun and the weeping solos performed by the world famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The film perfectly combines sensitive acting with a mature and richly textured story which is thoroughly fascinating and downright Shakespearean in its intrigue and deadly double-crosses. The film won 4 Oscars - for best foreign film, for its exquisite cinematography, original score and production design and was nominated for the screenplay, costume design, editing, original song ("A Love Before Time"), for Ang Lee's direction and for best Picture. Both lead actors became international stars after the success of this film.
Badla (Sujoy Ghosh, 2019) 6/10
Slick Bollywood remake of the spanish film, Oriol Paulo's "Contratiempo", is like an Agatha Christie whodunnit. The convoluted mystery is presented in a series of flashbacks seen from the perspective of different characters just like in Kurosawa's "Rashomon". A highly successful entrepreneur (Tapsee Panu) is found in a locked hotel room with the body of her murdered lover. She insists she is innocent and hires a famous lawyer (Amitabh Bachchan) to defend her. Nothing is as it seems with characters shifting alliances as truth and lies get mixed up and supporting characters - a missing teenager and his mother (Amrita Singh) - form an integral part of the murder-mystery. The screenplay tries to be a bit too clever with its twists and turns and with a few too many glaring potholes. Bachchan is mainly relegated to one set - the room where he interogates Panu - and the film is basically a battle of wits between their two characters with periodic flashbacks to the past. Amrita Singh manages to upstage both stars in a strong sympathetic role.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
My last viewings for the next couple of weeks because I'm going on holidays to 'Wake in Fright' country and will spend my time on the internet (whenever I'm lucky enough to be getting internet access) or reading.
Tremors (2019) Jayro Bustamante 6/10
Sybil (2007) Joseph Sargent 4/10
My Masterpiece (2018) Gaston Duprat 6/10
Gloria Bell (2019) Sebastian Lelio 5/10
The Chaperone (2019) Michael Engler 5/10
Repeat viewings
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) Michael Curtiz 6/10
Mother (in B&W) (2009) Bong Joon-ho 9/10
The Damned Don't Cry (1950) Vincent Sherman 6/10
The River (1997) Tsai Ming-liang 9/10
Rebels of the Neon God (1992) Tsai Ming-liang 7/10
Tremors (2019) Jayro Bustamante 6/10
Sybil (2007) Joseph Sargent 4/10
My Masterpiece (2018) Gaston Duprat 6/10
Gloria Bell (2019) Sebastian Lelio 5/10
The Chaperone (2019) Michael Engler 5/10
Repeat viewings
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) Michael Curtiz 6/10
Mother (in B&W) (2009) Bong Joon-ho 9/10
The Damned Don't Cry (1950) Vincent Sherman 6/10
The River (1997) Tsai Ming-liang 9/10
Rebels of the Neon God (1992) Tsai Ming-liang 7/10
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
La Grande Guerra / The Great War (Mario Monicelli, 1959). 8/10
WWI on the Italian battle front as seen through the eyes of two cowards (Alberto Sordi & Vittorio Gassman) who try their best to avoid getting killed and ensuring they get through with minimum hard work as soldiers. Director Monicelli superbly combines comedy and tragedy with this ironic and poignant portrait of life in the trenches. Mixing comic slapstick with horrific scenes of battle the screenplay rings home the strong anti-war message about the futility of conflicts. Both Alberto Sordi and Vittorio Gassman give superb performances and there is a sharp cameo by Silvana Mangano (producer Dino De Laurentiis' wife) as a tough but sympathetic prostitute with whom Gassman has an amusing tryst. Many of the Italians on the crew later won major acclaim on the international cinema circuit - musician Nino Rota, cinematographer Giuseppe Ruttuno and costume designer Danilo Donati. The film was awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice film festival and was nominated for an Oscar.
La Bête Humaine (Jean Renoir, 1938) 10/10
Renoir's classic film from the golden age of french cinema is a precursor to forties noir. It is also one of the great train movies and one of the best murder melodramas. Loosely adapted from the novel by Emile Zola, Renoir brings the story to contemporary times setting it amongst the working class milieu which was unusual to see for the cinema-going public at the time. Jean Gabin was cast in the lead role of the tortured and anguished train engine driver which fit the actor like a glove. No actor could play a working class hero better than Gabin who was the top star-actor in France during the 1930s. The story revolves around a love triangle - a jealous station master (Fernand Ledoux) kills the much older lover of his coquettish wife (Simone Simon) on the Paris to Le Havre train. A witness to the crime is the engine driver (Jean Gabin) who, besotted by the woman, says nothing to the police. They soon start a torrid affair and he is urged by the woman to kill her husband. When he fails to do it she dumps him and goes after another man. The film's celebrated bleak ending mirrors the upcoming events in Europe which would soon devolve into WWII. Both Gabin and Simon are at the top of their game as they disappear into their roles creating sexual sparks. The stunning cinematography by Curt Courant adds to the moody atmosphere of the plot. One of the all-time great films and a must-see.
La Marie du port (Marcel Carné, 1950) 4/10
This second rate Carné is based on a Georges Simenon novel that does not involve murder making it much ado about nothing. A middle-aged man (Jean Gabin), in a live-in relationship with a young woman (Blanchett Brunoy), falls for her even younger sister (Nicole Courcel). Or is she the one making moves on the old man? Boring film is not helped by two stiff and bland leading ladies although Gabin is good as the distinguished creep with his roving eye perpetually on young girls. Carné's best work was all behind him and nothing here resembles any of his classics from the past although there is good location work shot in Cherbourg. Disappointing film.
WWI on the Italian battle front as seen through the eyes of two cowards (Alberto Sordi & Vittorio Gassman) who try their best to avoid getting killed and ensuring they get through with minimum hard work as soldiers. Director Monicelli superbly combines comedy and tragedy with this ironic and poignant portrait of life in the trenches. Mixing comic slapstick with horrific scenes of battle the screenplay rings home the strong anti-war message about the futility of conflicts. Both Alberto Sordi and Vittorio Gassman give superb performances and there is a sharp cameo by Silvana Mangano (producer Dino De Laurentiis' wife) as a tough but sympathetic prostitute with whom Gassman has an amusing tryst. Many of the Italians on the crew later won major acclaim on the international cinema circuit - musician Nino Rota, cinematographer Giuseppe Ruttuno and costume designer Danilo Donati. The film was awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice film festival and was nominated for an Oscar.
La Bête Humaine (Jean Renoir, 1938) 10/10
Renoir's classic film from the golden age of french cinema is a precursor to forties noir. It is also one of the great train movies and one of the best murder melodramas. Loosely adapted from the novel by Emile Zola, Renoir brings the story to contemporary times setting it amongst the working class milieu which was unusual to see for the cinema-going public at the time. Jean Gabin was cast in the lead role of the tortured and anguished train engine driver which fit the actor like a glove. No actor could play a working class hero better than Gabin who was the top star-actor in France during the 1930s. The story revolves around a love triangle - a jealous station master (Fernand Ledoux) kills the much older lover of his coquettish wife (Simone Simon) on the Paris to Le Havre train. A witness to the crime is the engine driver (Jean Gabin) who, besotted by the woman, says nothing to the police. They soon start a torrid affair and he is urged by the woman to kill her husband. When he fails to do it she dumps him and goes after another man. The film's celebrated bleak ending mirrors the upcoming events in Europe which would soon devolve into WWII. Both Gabin and Simon are at the top of their game as they disappear into their roles creating sexual sparks. The stunning cinematography by Curt Courant adds to the moody atmosphere of the plot. One of the all-time great films and a must-see.
La Marie du port (Marcel Carné, 1950) 4/10
This second rate Carné is based on a Georges Simenon novel that does not involve murder making it much ado about nothing. A middle-aged man (Jean Gabin), in a live-in relationship with a young woman (Blanchett Brunoy), falls for her even younger sister (Nicole Courcel). Or is she the one making moves on the old man? Boring film is not helped by two stiff and bland leading ladies although Gabin is good as the distinguished creep with his roving eye perpetually on young girls. Carné's best work was all behind him and nothing here resembles any of his classics from the past although there is good location work shot in Cherbourg. Disappointing film.
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
La Bandera (Julian Duvivier, 1935) 6/10
Le quai des brumes / Port of Shadows (Marcel Carné, 1938) 9/10
The Mystery of Mr. X (Edgar Selvyn, 1934) 6/10
The Hour of 13 (Harold French, 1952) 5/10
Shazam! (David F. Sandberg, 2019) 5/10
Fitfully amusing film, with a stale smell of deja vu, is strictly for kids. A streetwise 14-year old orphan boy is given powers by an ancient wizard (Djimon Hounsou) and each time he yells "Shazam" he transforms into a reluctant superhero. The silly comic elements of the screenplay are lifted straight from the film "Big" which had a kid trapped in the body of an adult played by Tom Hanks. There is even an homage to that film with a scene involving a giant piano across which the hero runs recalling the delightful moment when Hanks and Robert Loggia play "chopsticks" on the giant piano keys with their feet. Shazam (played as an adult by Zachary Levi - he is incredibly bad with zero comic timing) is faced by a deadly nemesis (played by Mark Strong although I spent the entire movie thinking it was Stanley Tucci) who, rejected by the wizard, took on the powers of the seven deadly sins. The kid and his (diverse) foster siblings all rise to the occasion and take on the evil scientist. All the scenes with the young kids are wonderful and amusing but the film tanks whenever the adult superhero appears. As with all such films there is a hideously long, sleep inducing action packed finale with everyone pummelling each other with nary a scratch. Apparently Shazam and Captain Marvel were once upon a time one and the same hero until later the latter name was given to a female superhero with a franchise of her own. There are now so many superheroes flying about in movies that it's hard to keep track of them all. Still waiting for that long promised solo film on Black Widow.
Captain Marvel (Anna Boden & Ryan Flack, 2019) 3/10
There was an uproar amongst fans of this genre in Pakistan when the film failed to get a release last month. Was it banned? No it wasn't. Maybe it was because the country was in the midst of a 2-3 day mini war with India or it had something to do with theatres not paying Disney for past films. Anyway fans were bereft but I was secretly pleased that I would not have to sit through it. However, it suddenly turned up 10 days ago and I was told to see it as this superhero was going to play a major role in saving the Universe in next weekend's release "Avengers: Endgame", the sequel to "Avengers: Infinity War", a film I hated intensely although was very happy to see many superheroes getting killed off. I guess nobody died after all and which will be revealed next week. To set the stage for that we get an introduction here to yet another flying superhero just in time for her to save everyone's ass in next week's film. Air Force pilot Carol Danvers (Brie Larson who seems to be riding an Oscar curse by appearing in a bunch of B-films and a tête-à-tête with the mighty Kong ever since she won that award) crashes her experimental plane, is whisked away to a far-off planet (these scenes look suspiciously like rejects from some old "Star Trek" movie with Klingon-type creatures (apparently Ben Mendelsohn is buried under tons of makeup as one such creature) and trained under the leadership of her mentor (an older but still dapper Jude Law). Escaping back to earth, with her memory returning in fits and starts, she takes on the mantle of Captain Marvel (her costume is designed by a cute little African-American child - Hollywood's de rigueur injection of diversity) in order to solve the mystery of her past which appears to collide with her present life. The first third of this film is sleep inducingly slow (took a mini nap), the middle section is exciting as she realises she was used as a pawn in a much larger plan involving a galactic war between two alien races while the last section is the usual nonsense with everyone slamming into each other without any damage to skin, clothes or hair. Larson is stiff througout, merely going through the motions, while Annette Bening makes an absurd almost tongue in cheek appearance. Surving this feminist, but very boring film, is an amusing Samuel L. Jackson - digitally de-aged - as Nick Fury in full-on quip mode and a cat called Goose who manages to wreak hilarious havoc. I'm now mentally preparing myself for the "Avengers" onslaught next week as I've already been roped in to be the designated driver just as I was with both this film AND "Shazam!" today.
Nuit et brouillard / Night and Fog (Alain Resnais, 1955) 7/10
Chilling documentary was one of the first to deal with the Holocaust. The film uses black and white newsreels to show the death camps, the trains that transported jews from all over Europe and the dead bodies in graphic detail. Resnais intercuts these horrific scenes with shots of the camps as they were left after the liberation. All these scenes, shot in glaring colour, depict the vast serene countryside and the abandoned ghost-like Auschwitz death camp surrounded by rusted wire. These scenes of chilling tranquility raise the disturbing question of "why". Why did this inhumanity take place, who was responsible and why did people turn their faces away without anyone making a noise? These questions still haunt as the memory of it all lives on.
Jigsaw (Fletcher Markle, 1949). 2/10
Lifeless noir is badly paced with a confusing screenplay. Assistant D.A. (Franchot Tone) tries to solve two murders and discovers the answer lies with certain people in high society. Jean Wallace is the hysterical lounge singer who comes in his way. The film's only bit of interest - unnecessary cameo appearances by Henry Fonda, Marlene Dietrich, John Garfield, Everett Sloane, Burgess Meredith and Marsha Hunt. Lousy film.
The Turning Point (Herbert Ross, 1977) 8/10
After a two-year dearth of good roles for women in American cinema, the year 1977 was welcomed and celebrated with a number of films that had important parts for leading actresses. This film was one of the many that year with not one but two great female parts. Herbert Ross encountered many problems along the way taking ten years to bring this project to the screen. His original choice for the two main roles were Audrey Hepburn as the star ballerina and Grace Kelly as the former dancer who gives up her career for marriage and kids. Princess Grace was not allowed to return to the screen and the casting switched to Doris Day and Joanne Woodward which also didn't pan out. Hepburn always regretted not getting the part as she had started her career as a dancer. Arthur Laurents' screenplay, set in the world of ballet, is a soap opera with often trite dialogue but has many soaring moments during the dance sequences. A former dancer (Shirley MacLaine), who years before gave up her career to raise a family, reunites with an old friend and rival (Anne Bancroft) who is the star performer with a major ballet company. Initial delight soon turns to long simmering recriminations, jealousy and regrets as both friends lash out at each other. One regrets not having pursued her career while the other, approaching middle age and nearing the end of her career as a lead, regrets not having a husband and kids. The catalyst is the housewife's young daughter (Lesley Browne), also a dancer, who joins the company as part of the chorus and eventually rises to play the lead opposite the charismatic but womanizing Russian star (Mikhail Baryshnikov) with whom she has an affair. The film's explosive showdown between the two older women is an all-out cat-fight as they berate each other followed by hitting and slapping. Both Bancroft and MacLaine are superb as they tear into their parts recalling the era of old Hollywood studios that created great parts for stars like Garbo, Davis, Crawford, Stanwyck and Dietrich. Both Baryshnikov and Browne, in their screen debuts, are of course better dancers than actors. All the dance sequences - there are excerpts from more than a dozen ballets - are superbly, if rather hurriedly, staged with Baryshnikov breathtakingly electric during his solos. Old fashioned film recycles old material which often gets maudlin and sentimental but the funny, tense and touching relationship between the two stars makes it all work. Martha Scott scores in a small part as the acerbic grand old lady of the ballet company. The film holds the record (along with "The Color Purple") for the most nominations (11) without winning a single Oscar.
Dumbo (Tim Burton, 2019) 6/10
Charming but not great live-action remake of the 1941 Disney classic animated film. Burton overwhelms the film with his typical dark whimsy as outsized characters - played by star actors in over-the-top fashion - compete with the incredibly cute new-born elephant with huge freaky ears. The film also reunites Burton's former "Caped Crusader" and the "Penguin" - a scruffy but pompous circus owner (Danny DeVito) is struggling to maintain his motley group of acts when one of his elephants gives birth to a baby with huge floppy ears much to his disgust. The two kids of the returning one-armed WWI veteran (Colin Farrell) - a former stunt horse rider - discover that the baby elephant (dubbed "Dumbo") can fly while flapping its giant ears. He soon becomes a part of an act at the circus drawing the attention of a greedy (and evil) impresario (Michael Keaton) who moves the circus to his Xanadu-like playland where he hopes to cash in on Dumbo's act. His mistress (Eva Green), who flies on the trapeze, becomes part of the act with the elephant while flying on his back. There is a noisy action packed finale set amongst a massive set which Burton creates as an art-deco monstrosity dispensing with his usual obsession with all things gothic. The film is hit and miss but soars whenever the adorable computer-generated baby elephant is on screen as the screenplay piles on anguish when baby is separated from its mother. Colleen Atwood's stunning costume designs stand out and the film recycles the classic Oscar nominated song, "Baby Mine", from the original film. Watch the 1941 version as it is the real deal.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Steven Spielberg, 2008) 4/10
Weak entry in the Indiana Jones franchise has its moments but too often devolves into absolute nonsense when the screenplay brings on beings from outer space - Spielberg needs to put that wretched "ET" to rest. The return of Karen Allen is a welcome sight and, like Bond, Indy too gets married. There is also an important familial revelation played by Shia LaBeouf who tries to come off as Brando in "The Wild One" with switchblade intact. Oh yes, there are the obligatory Brit sidekicks (both Sean Connery and Denholm Elliott are given tribute by way of a farewell look-in) played by John Hurt and Ray Winstone who aid and/or cause hindrance. Cate Blanchett has a hoot playing an over-the-top campy villain - Stalin's Ukrainian scientist-floozie - complete with hilariously bad accent and wearing a severe bob â la Louise Brooks. The plot, involving a skull made of crystal, has everyone mentioned above converge in Peru where all the action takes place with booby trapped temples, locals giving chase with poisoned darts, the Russian Commies being a nuisance (the film is set during the 1950s so America's "Red Scare" gets a reboot) leading to an explosive climax smelling of deja vu. Let's hope that the long-promised next installment is better. Ford manages to sail through all this with his charm intact.
Gorilla at Large (Harmon Jones, 1954). 6/10
Taut mystery-thriller-noir has a tongue-in-cheek screenplay which the great cast play with straight faces. When a series of murders take place at a carnival, suspicion falls on the playground Barker (Cameron Mitchell), the owner (Raymond Burr), the star gorilla and its handler. Two cops (Lee J. Cobb & Lee Marvin) try to solve the mystery. Slinky Anne Bancroft (during the B-movie phase of her screen career) is the sexy trapeze artist wife of Burr who uses the gorilla as part of her act. This is clearly a tacky B-film, shot in stunning technicolor, which the game cast manage to give life to. Filmed in 3-D.
Le quai des brumes / Port of Shadows (Marcel Carné, 1938) 9/10
The Mystery of Mr. X (Edgar Selvyn, 1934) 6/10
The Hour of 13 (Harold French, 1952) 5/10
Shazam! (David F. Sandberg, 2019) 5/10
Fitfully amusing film, with a stale smell of deja vu, is strictly for kids. A streetwise 14-year old orphan boy is given powers by an ancient wizard (Djimon Hounsou) and each time he yells "Shazam" he transforms into a reluctant superhero. The silly comic elements of the screenplay are lifted straight from the film "Big" which had a kid trapped in the body of an adult played by Tom Hanks. There is even an homage to that film with a scene involving a giant piano across which the hero runs recalling the delightful moment when Hanks and Robert Loggia play "chopsticks" on the giant piano keys with their feet. Shazam (played as an adult by Zachary Levi - he is incredibly bad with zero comic timing) is faced by a deadly nemesis (played by Mark Strong although I spent the entire movie thinking it was Stanley Tucci) who, rejected by the wizard, took on the powers of the seven deadly sins. The kid and his (diverse) foster siblings all rise to the occasion and take on the evil scientist. All the scenes with the young kids are wonderful and amusing but the film tanks whenever the adult superhero appears. As with all such films there is a hideously long, sleep inducing action packed finale with everyone pummelling each other with nary a scratch. Apparently Shazam and Captain Marvel were once upon a time one and the same hero until later the latter name was given to a female superhero with a franchise of her own. There are now so many superheroes flying about in movies that it's hard to keep track of them all. Still waiting for that long promised solo film on Black Widow.
Captain Marvel (Anna Boden & Ryan Flack, 2019) 3/10
There was an uproar amongst fans of this genre in Pakistan when the film failed to get a release last month. Was it banned? No it wasn't. Maybe it was because the country was in the midst of a 2-3 day mini war with India or it had something to do with theatres not paying Disney for past films. Anyway fans were bereft but I was secretly pleased that I would not have to sit through it. However, it suddenly turned up 10 days ago and I was told to see it as this superhero was going to play a major role in saving the Universe in next weekend's release "Avengers: Endgame", the sequel to "Avengers: Infinity War", a film I hated intensely although was very happy to see many superheroes getting killed off. I guess nobody died after all and which will be revealed next week. To set the stage for that we get an introduction here to yet another flying superhero just in time for her to save everyone's ass in next week's film. Air Force pilot Carol Danvers (Brie Larson who seems to be riding an Oscar curse by appearing in a bunch of B-films and a tête-à-tête with the mighty Kong ever since she won that award) crashes her experimental plane, is whisked away to a far-off planet (these scenes look suspiciously like rejects from some old "Star Trek" movie with Klingon-type creatures (apparently Ben Mendelsohn is buried under tons of makeup as one such creature) and trained under the leadership of her mentor (an older but still dapper Jude Law). Escaping back to earth, with her memory returning in fits and starts, she takes on the mantle of Captain Marvel (her costume is designed by a cute little African-American child - Hollywood's de rigueur injection of diversity) in order to solve the mystery of her past which appears to collide with her present life. The first third of this film is sleep inducingly slow (took a mini nap), the middle section is exciting as she realises she was used as a pawn in a much larger plan involving a galactic war between two alien races while the last section is the usual nonsense with everyone slamming into each other without any damage to skin, clothes or hair. Larson is stiff througout, merely going through the motions, while Annette Bening makes an absurd almost tongue in cheek appearance. Surving this feminist, but very boring film, is an amusing Samuel L. Jackson - digitally de-aged - as Nick Fury in full-on quip mode and a cat called Goose who manages to wreak hilarious havoc. I'm now mentally preparing myself for the "Avengers" onslaught next week as I've already been roped in to be the designated driver just as I was with both this film AND "Shazam!" today.
Nuit et brouillard / Night and Fog (Alain Resnais, 1955) 7/10
Chilling documentary was one of the first to deal with the Holocaust. The film uses black and white newsreels to show the death camps, the trains that transported jews from all over Europe and the dead bodies in graphic detail. Resnais intercuts these horrific scenes with shots of the camps as they were left after the liberation. All these scenes, shot in glaring colour, depict the vast serene countryside and the abandoned ghost-like Auschwitz death camp surrounded by rusted wire. These scenes of chilling tranquility raise the disturbing question of "why". Why did this inhumanity take place, who was responsible and why did people turn their faces away without anyone making a noise? These questions still haunt as the memory of it all lives on.
Jigsaw (Fletcher Markle, 1949). 2/10
Lifeless noir is badly paced with a confusing screenplay. Assistant D.A. (Franchot Tone) tries to solve two murders and discovers the answer lies with certain people in high society. Jean Wallace is the hysterical lounge singer who comes in his way. The film's only bit of interest - unnecessary cameo appearances by Henry Fonda, Marlene Dietrich, John Garfield, Everett Sloane, Burgess Meredith and Marsha Hunt. Lousy film.
The Turning Point (Herbert Ross, 1977) 8/10
After a two-year dearth of good roles for women in American cinema, the year 1977 was welcomed and celebrated with a number of films that had important parts for leading actresses. This film was one of the many that year with not one but two great female parts. Herbert Ross encountered many problems along the way taking ten years to bring this project to the screen. His original choice for the two main roles were Audrey Hepburn as the star ballerina and Grace Kelly as the former dancer who gives up her career for marriage and kids. Princess Grace was not allowed to return to the screen and the casting switched to Doris Day and Joanne Woodward which also didn't pan out. Hepburn always regretted not getting the part as she had started her career as a dancer. Arthur Laurents' screenplay, set in the world of ballet, is a soap opera with often trite dialogue but has many soaring moments during the dance sequences. A former dancer (Shirley MacLaine), who years before gave up her career to raise a family, reunites with an old friend and rival (Anne Bancroft) who is the star performer with a major ballet company. Initial delight soon turns to long simmering recriminations, jealousy and regrets as both friends lash out at each other. One regrets not having pursued her career while the other, approaching middle age and nearing the end of her career as a lead, regrets not having a husband and kids. The catalyst is the housewife's young daughter (Lesley Browne), also a dancer, who joins the company as part of the chorus and eventually rises to play the lead opposite the charismatic but womanizing Russian star (Mikhail Baryshnikov) with whom she has an affair. The film's explosive showdown between the two older women is an all-out cat-fight as they berate each other followed by hitting and slapping. Both Bancroft and MacLaine are superb as they tear into their parts recalling the era of old Hollywood studios that created great parts for stars like Garbo, Davis, Crawford, Stanwyck and Dietrich. Both Baryshnikov and Browne, in their screen debuts, are of course better dancers than actors. All the dance sequences - there are excerpts from more than a dozen ballets - are superbly, if rather hurriedly, staged with Baryshnikov breathtakingly electric during his solos. Old fashioned film recycles old material which often gets maudlin and sentimental but the funny, tense and touching relationship between the two stars makes it all work. Martha Scott scores in a small part as the acerbic grand old lady of the ballet company. The film holds the record (along with "The Color Purple") for the most nominations (11) without winning a single Oscar.
Dumbo (Tim Burton, 2019) 6/10
Charming but not great live-action remake of the 1941 Disney classic animated film. Burton overwhelms the film with his typical dark whimsy as outsized characters - played by star actors in over-the-top fashion - compete with the incredibly cute new-born elephant with huge freaky ears. The film also reunites Burton's former "Caped Crusader" and the "Penguin" - a scruffy but pompous circus owner (Danny DeVito) is struggling to maintain his motley group of acts when one of his elephants gives birth to a baby with huge floppy ears much to his disgust. The two kids of the returning one-armed WWI veteran (Colin Farrell) - a former stunt horse rider - discover that the baby elephant (dubbed "Dumbo") can fly while flapping its giant ears. He soon becomes a part of an act at the circus drawing the attention of a greedy (and evil) impresario (Michael Keaton) who moves the circus to his Xanadu-like playland where he hopes to cash in on Dumbo's act. His mistress (Eva Green), who flies on the trapeze, becomes part of the act with the elephant while flying on his back. There is a noisy action packed finale set amongst a massive set which Burton creates as an art-deco monstrosity dispensing with his usual obsession with all things gothic. The film is hit and miss but soars whenever the adorable computer-generated baby elephant is on screen as the screenplay piles on anguish when baby is separated from its mother. Colleen Atwood's stunning costume designs stand out and the film recycles the classic Oscar nominated song, "Baby Mine", from the original film. Watch the 1941 version as it is the real deal.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Steven Spielberg, 2008) 4/10
Weak entry in the Indiana Jones franchise has its moments but too often devolves into absolute nonsense when the screenplay brings on beings from outer space - Spielberg needs to put that wretched "ET" to rest. The return of Karen Allen is a welcome sight and, like Bond, Indy too gets married. There is also an important familial revelation played by Shia LaBeouf who tries to come off as Brando in "The Wild One" with switchblade intact. Oh yes, there are the obligatory Brit sidekicks (both Sean Connery and Denholm Elliott are given tribute by way of a farewell look-in) played by John Hurt and Ray Winstone who aid and/or cause hindrance. Cate Blanchett has a hoot playing an over-the-top campy villain - Stalin's Ukrainian scientist-floozie - complete with hilariously bad accent and wearing a severe bob â la Louise Brooks. The plot, involving a skull made of crystal, has everyone mentioned above converge in Peru where all the action takes place with booby trapped temples, locals giving chase with poisoned darts, the Russian Commies being a nuisance (the film is set during the 1950s so America's "Red Scare" gets a reboot) leading to an explosive climax smelling of deja vu. Let's hope that the long-promised next installment is better. Ford manages to sail through all this with his charm intact.
Gorilla at Large (Harmon Jones, 1954). 6/10
Taut mystery-thriller-noir has a tongue-in-cheek screenplay which the great cast play with straight faces. When a series of murders take place at a carnival, suspicion falls on the playground Barker (Cameron Mitchell), the owner (Raymond Burr), the star gorilla and its handler. Two cops (Lee J. Cobb & Lee Marvin) try to solve the mystery. Slinky Anne Bancroft (during the B-movie phase of her screen career) is the sexy trapeze artist wife of Burr who uses the gorilla as part of her act. This is clearly a tacky B-film, shot in stunning technicolor, which the game cast manage to give life to. Filmed in 3-D.
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Galveston (2018) Melanie Laurent 4/10
The White Reindeer (1952) Erik Blomberg 6/10
Petra (2018) Jaime Rosales 6/10
The Quietud (2018) Pablo Trapero 4/10
One Cut of the Dead (2017) Shin'ichirô Ueda 6/10
Carmen & Lola (2018) Arantxa Echevarria 6/10
Repeat viewings
Humoresque (1947) Jean Negulesco 7/10
Memories of Murder (2003) Joon-ho Bong 8/10
The Little Foxes (1941) William Wyler 7/10
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945) Elia Kazan 7/10
Mia Madre (2015) Nanni Moretti 7/10
Only God Forgives (2013) Nicolas Winding Refn 1/10
Lourdes (2009) Jessica Hausner 7/10
David Copperfield (1935) George Cukor 7/10
Deep Impact (1998) Mimi Leder 6/10
The White Reindeer (1952) Erik Blomberg 6/10
Petra (2018) Jaime Rosales 6/10
The Quietud (2018) Pablo Trapero 4/10
One Cut of the Dead (2017) Shin'ichirô Ueda 6/10
Carmen & Lola (2018) Arantxa Echevarria 6/10
Repeat viewings
Humoresque (1947) Jean Negulesco 7/10
Memories of Murder (2003) Joon-ho Bong 8/10
The Little Foxes (1941) William Wyler 7/10
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945) Elia Kazan 7/10
Mia Madre (2015) Nanni Moretti 7/10
Only God Forgives (2013) Nicolas Winding Refn 1/10
Lourdes (2009) Jessica Hausner 7/10
David Copperfield (1935) George Cukor 7/10
Deep Impact (1998) Mimi Leder 6/10
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
The ABC Murders (Alex Gabassi, 2018) 8/10
Fans have been up in arms with the casting of American actor John Malkovich as Agatha Christie's famous detective Hercule Poirot. Yes, Malkovich is totally wrong for the part - he is bald, has a goatee and his french accent is absurd as it comes and often goes as he slips into a Brit accent alternating with an American one - but the actor grows into the role as this 3-part BBC remake swiftly moves along. It's not so much this actor's presence but more Christie's riveting plot that makes this version such a successful adaptation. The story is set in England during the 1930s with fascism on the rise and rampant racism and distrust against all foreigners which makes Poirot, a Belgian, an easy target while also making this plot point an obvious reference to modern-day Brexit. The main plot of the book is faithfully followed but with some glaring changes, one of which involves Poirot's past and the reason why he turned detective in pursuit of murderers. A cat-and-mouse game ensues when Poirot receives mysterious typed letters in which the writer indicates that there will be murders. Each victim and place of murder will be according to the alphabet with the murderer signing himself off as ABC. The murder victims are - Alice bludgeoned in a tobacco shop in Andover, Betty a flirtatious waitress strangled by a stocking in Brexhill and Sir Carmichael hit on the head and beheaded by a spade in Churston. Next to each victim is found an ABC railway guide. Poirot's old companion Inspector Jap is dead and the new cop (Rupert Grint - one of the kids from the Harry Potter movies now all grown up) does not trust the old detective. The screenplay points an obvious finger at a stocking salesman who happened to have visited each of the victims but this is Christie after all so there is a strong chance that a number of other characters could well be the murderer too. The film has loads of atmosphere - superbly shot in hues of browns and yellows - with superb production design depicting a dreary pre-war foreboding backdrop. There is nothing quaint here about the english countryside or small towns. Graphic violence and sexual situations also turned off many fans of Christie but it all adds colour hitting home the fact that murder is not pretty to look at. The Poirot we see here is not the familiar fussy detective as portrayed on screen in the past by the likes of Albert Finney, Peter Ustinov, David Suchet or Kenneth Branagh. The detective we get instead is guilt ridden, depressed and angsty with a tragic past which is revealed in horrific detail. Malkovich is quite spectacular as the dour detective wrestling with his inner demons. An interesting interpretation and a compelling murder-mystery well worth a watch.
The Whole Town's Talking (John Ford, 1935) 9/10
Edward G. Robinson is very funny spoofing his own typecast image as a gangster. The deft screenplay and Ford's playful direction makes perfect use of the actor's menacing screen persona giving us two distinct personalities for the price of one and in turn shows us his untapped comic talent. A meek clerk (Edward G. Robinson), secretly in love with his vivacious colleague (Jean Arthur), goes about his daily business at work. He is horrified to discover that he resembles a vicious gangster who is on the lam with the police on the lookout for him. When the gangster (also played by Robinson) turns up in his apartment pandemonium ensues as the mixup results in farcical situations. Robinson takes both roles and runs with it easily providing the contrast in the two distinct characters. Delicious-voiced Jean Arthur matches him every step of the way as the hard boiled, sarcastic dame who is amused by the turn of events and finds herself enjoying the meek man's attentions. The film was instrumental in getting Robinson out of his career doldrums and helped re-establishing him as one of Hollywood's top stars. A great cast of supporting actors (both Donald Meek and Etienne Girardot are standouts) seem like refugees from a Frank Capra film. Great fun.
Proof of Life (Taylor Hackford, 2000) 5/10
Kidnapping drama set in an exotic locale - the film was shot in Equador which passes off for a fictional Latin American country. The film is now more famous for the off-screen liaison that started between the two leads during the shoot. Hackford cut a graphic sex scene from the final print either to downplay the fact which eventually resulted in Meg Ryan's divorce, a year later, from Dennis Quaid or because the two stars totally lack screen chemistry. More likely the latter. An engineer (David Morse), working on a dam, is kidnapped by revolutionaries who hold him for ransom. His wife (Meg Ryan), who is nursing their troubled marriage, is helped by a mercenary (Russell Crowe), who with the help of a comrade (David Caruso) tries to retrieve the kidnapped man. The film cross cuts between the mercenary and his methods, the wife's guilt and emotional confusion and the husband holding up to the horrors of dealing with his captors. The Crowe-Ryan romance ambles along with suppressed emotions - a look here, a kiss there - showing in their body language but luckily it doesn't come in the way of the thriller aspects of which unfortunately there are few until the action-packed finale. Coming off better are Pamela Reed as the outspoken sister of the victim and Gottfried John as another prisoner who feigns being a crazy missionary.
On the Basis of Sex (Mimi Leder, 2018) 7/10
Interesting film from the historic perspective. Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Felicity Jones) - woman, jewish wife, mother and hard headed lawyer worked towards advancing gender equality and women's rights. From the start she faced an uphill battle dealing with rampant discrimination at Harvard Law School (where she was one of nine women in a class of 500) during the 1950s and all the way upto the 1970s and beyond. Winning five out of six gender discrimination cases she charted a strategic course in her plan to gradually get the courts to end inequality in many areas of the law. She is supported by her astoundingly modern egalitarian husband, Martin Ginsburg (Armie Hammer), at home. He later became a taxation law expert but while at Harvard, a year ahead in class to his wife, is diagnosed with testicular cancer and while he is home recovering and looking after their infant daughter she attends his lectures along with her own in order to keep his education going. Ginsburg eventually went on to be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court but this film focuses on two key elements - her relationship with her husband and the one case they argued together which proved to be a landmark in outlawing discrimination "on the basis of sex". The word "sex" was substituted with "gender" so as not to ruffle male judges in court. Sam Waterston is testy as the sexist Harvard dean who encounters her later again when the case goes to trial. A story about a remarkable woman who brought a distinct change in the law allowing women many rights long denied to them.
From Here to Eternity (Fred Zinnemann, 1953) 9/10
James Jones' mammoth 860 page novel, set in Hawaii on the eve of the WWII Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, was brought to the screen sanitized due to censorship (the screenplay downplays the bawdy vulgarity, the anti semitism and the indictment of army brass depicted in the book) but is held together by an all-star cast enveloped in a plot screaming of soap opera. The melodrama plays at full throttle and is given life by the superb actors, of whom the two leading ladies were cast against type to great effect. The screenplay focuses on a group of dysfunctional characters on an army base who during off-duty hours manage to generate heat by taking their testosterone levels sky high with physical "activities" of the rough and sexual in bars, on the street, in the stockade, at the local brothel and in the surf - the film's most celebrated sequence that still packs a punch as two lovers are seen in an erotic embrace lying on a beach as the waves crash over their entwined bodies. The story revolves around two major characters whose lives, caught up in ecstacy, pain and anguish, drastically change by the time the Japanese attack takes place. A tough sergeant (Burt Lancaster) gets involved in an affair with the unhappy nymphomaniac wife (Deborah Kerr) of his incompetent base commander and finds himself miserable not only because he realises that the forbidden romance is doomed but also because it comes in the way of his army career. The other protagonist is a boxing-champ-cum-bugle-player (Montgomery Clift) who refuses to box for the Company and is cruelly ragged mercilessly by his fellow officers. He finds solace in a tender romantic relationship with a prostitute (Donna Reed) who is biding time before returning to the mainland to settle down with a rich husband she hopes to catch. His only other friend is the hot headed, hard drinking but lovable private - the scrawny "wop" (Frank Sinatra) who gets into a major conflict with the vicious sergeant (Ernest Borgnine) in charge of the stockade. The film is capped by a superb staging of the attack on the base at Pearl Harbour. Both Sinatra (making a spectacular comeback after being washed up as an actor/singer - the story of how he got the role has become part of Hollywood lore) and the heartbreaking Reed won well deserved Oscars as did the film, the screenplay, Burnett Guffey's cinematography, the sound design and editing. Lancaster, Clift, Kerr, the film's costumes and score were all nominated. Superb old fashioned cinema that still packs a punch
Fans have been up in arms with the casting of American actor John Malkovich as Agatha Christie's famous detective Hercule Poirot. Yes, Malkovich is totally wrong for the part - he is bald, has a goatee and his french accent is absurd as it comes and often goes as he slips into a Brit accent alternating with an American one - but the actor grows into the role as this 3-part BBC remake swiftly moves along. It's not so much this actor's presence but more Christie's riveting plot that makes this version such a successful adaptation. The story is set in England during the 1930s with fascism on the rise and rampant racism and distrust against all foreigners which makes Poirot, a Belgian, an easy target while also making this plot point an obvious reference to modern-day Brexit. The main plot of the book is faithfully followed but with some glaring changes, one of which involves Poirot's past and the reason why he turned detective in pursuit of murderers. A cat-and-mouse game ensues when Poirot receives mysterious typed letters in which the writer indicates that there will be murders. Each victim and place of murder will be according to the alphabet with the murderer signing himself off as ABC. The murder victims are - Alice bludgeoned in a tobacco shop in Andover, Betty a flirtatious waitress strangled by a stocking in Brexhill and Sir Carmichael hit on the head and beheaded by a spade in Churston. Next to each victim is found an ABC railway guide. Poirot's old companion Inspector Jap is dead and the new cop (Rupert Grint - one of the kids from the Harry Potter movies now all grown up) does not trust the old detective. The screenplay points an obvious finger at a stocking salesman who happened to have visited each of the victims but this is Christie after all so there is a strong chance that a number of other characters could well be the murderer too. The film has loads of atmosphere - superbly shot in hues of browns and yellows - with superb production design depicting a dreary pre-war foreboding backdrop. There is nothing quaint here about the english countryside or small towns. Graphic violence and sexual situations also turned off many fans of Christie but it all adds colour hitting home the fact that murder is not pretty to look at. The Poirot we see here is not the familiar fussy detective as portrayed on screen in the past by the likes of Albert Finney, Peter Ustinov, David Suchet or Kenneth Branagh. The detective we get instead is guilt ridden, depressed and angsty with a tragic past which is revealed in horrific detail. Malkovich is quite spectacular as the dour detective wrestling with his inner demons. An interesting interpretation and a compelling murder-mystery well worth a watch.
The Whole Town's Talking (John Ford, 1935) 9/10
Edward G. Robinson is very funny spoofing his own typecast image as a gangster. The deft screenplay and Ford's playful direction makes perfect use of the actor's menacing screen persona giving us two distinct personalities for the price of one and in turn shows us his untapped comic talent. A meek clerk (Edward G. Robinson), secretly in love with his vivacious colleague (Jean Arthur), goes about his daily business at work. He is horrified to discover that he resembles a vicious gangster who is on the lam with the police on the lookout for him. When the gangster (also played by Robinson) turns up in his apartment pandemonium ensues as the mixup results in farcical situations. Robinson takes both roles and runs with it easily providing the contrast in the two distinct characters. Delicious-voiced Jean Arthur matches him every step of the way as the hard boiled, sarcastic dame who is amused by the turn of events and finds herself enjoying the meek man's attentions. The film was instrumental in getting Robinson out of his career doldrums and helped re-establishing him as one of Hollywood's top stars. A great cast of supporting actors (both Donald Meek and Etienne Girardot are standouts) seem like refugees from a Frank Capra film. Great fun.
Proof of Life (Taylor Hackford, 2000) 5/10
Kidnapping drama set in an exotic locale - the film was shot in Equador which passes off for a fictional Latin American country. The film is now more famous for the off-screen liaison that started between the two leads during the shoot. Hackford cut a graphic sex scene from the final print either to downplay the fact which eventually resulted in Meg Ryan's divorce, a year later, from Dennis Quaid or because the two stars totally lack screen chemistry. More likely the latter. An engineer (David Morse), working on a dam, is kidnapped by revolutionaries who hold him for ransom. His wife (Meg Ryan), who is nursing their troubled marriage, is helped by a mercenary (Russell Crowe), who with the help of a comrade (David Caruso) tries to retrieve the kidnapped man. The film cross cuts between the mercenary and his methods, the wife's guilt and emotional confusion and the husband holding up to the horrors of dealing with his captors. The Crowe-Ryan romance ambles along with suppressed emotions - a look here, a kiss there - showing in their body language but luckily it doesn't come in the way of the thriller aspects of which unfortunately there are few until the action-packed finale. Coming off better are Pamela Reed as the outspoken sister of the victim and Gottfried John as another prisoner who feigns being a crazy missionary.
On the Basis of Sex (Mimi Leder, 2018) 7/10
Interesting film from the historic perspective. Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Felicity Jones) - woman, jewish wife, mother and hard headed lawyer worked towards advancing gender equality and women's rights. From the start she faced an uphill battle dealing with rampant discrimination at Harvard Law School (where she was one of nine women in a class of 500) during the 1950s and all the way upto the 1970s and beyond. Winning five out of six gender discrimination cases she charted a strategic course in her plan to gradually get the courts to end inequality in many areas of the law. She is supported by her astoundingly modern egalitarian husband, Martin Ginsburg (Armie Hammer), at home. He later became a taxation law expert but while at Harvard, a year ahead in class to his wife, is diagnosed with testicular cancer and while he is home recovering and looking after their infant daughter she attends his lectures along with her own in order to keep his education going. Ginsburg eventually went on to be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court but this film focuses on two key elements - her relationship with her husband and the one case they argued together which proved to be a landmark in outlawing discrimination "on the basis of sex". The word "sex" was substituted with "gender" so as not to ruffle male judges in court. Sam Waterston is testy as the sexist Harvard dean who encounters her later again when the case goes to trial. A story about a remarkable woman who brought a distinct change in the law allowing women many rights long denied to them.
From Here to Eternity (Fred Zinnemann, 1953) 9/10
James Jones' mammoth 860 page novel, set in Hawaii on the eve of the WWII Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, was brought to the screen sanitized due to censorship (the screenplay downplays the bawdy vulgarity, the anti semitism and the indictment of army brass depicted in the book) but is held together by an all-star cast enveloped in a plot screaming of soap opera. The melodrama plays at full throttle and is given life by the superb actors, of whom the two leading ladies were cast against type to great effect. The screenplay focuses on a group of dysfunctional characters on an army base who during off-duty hours manage to generate heat by taking their testosterone levels sky high with physical "activities" of the rough and sexual in bars, on the street, in the stockade, at the local brothel and in the surf - the film's most celebrated sequence that still packs a punch as two lovers are seen in an erotic embrace lying on a beach as the waves crash over their entwined bodies. The story revolves around two major characters whose lives, caught up in ecstacy, pain and anguish, drastically change by the time the Japanese attack takes place. A tough sergeant (Burt Lancaster) gets involved in an affair with the unhappy nymphomaniac wife (Deborah Kerr) of his incompetent base commander and finds himself miserable not only because he realises that the forbidden romance is doomed but also because it comes in the way of his army career. The other protagonist is a boxing-champ-cum-bugle-player (Montgomery Clift) who refuses to box for the Company and is cruelly ragged mercilessly by his fellow officers. He finds solace in a tender romantic relationship with a prostitute (Donna Reed) who is biding time before returning to the mainland to settle down with a rich husband she hopes to catch. His only other friend is the hot headed, hard drinking but lovable private - the scrawny "wop" (Frank Sinatra) who gets into a major conflict with the vicious sergeant (Ernest Borgnine) in charge of the stockade. The film is capped by a superb staging of the attack on the base at Pearl Harbour. Both Sinatra (making a spectacular comeback after being washed up as an actor/singer - the story of how he got the role has become part of Hollywood lore) and the heartbreaking Reed won well deserved Oscars as did the film, the screenplay, Burnett Guffey's cinematography, the sound design and editing. Lancaster, Clift, Kerr, the film's costumes and score were all nominated. Superb old fashioned cinema that still packs a punch
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Precious Doll
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Dumbo (2019) Tim Burton 4/10
Never Steady, Never Still (2018) Kathleen Hepburn 4/10
Bumblebee (2018) Travis Knight 5/10
The Aftermath (2019) James Kent 4/10
Edgar G. Ulmer: The Man Off-Screen (2004) Michael Palm 6/10
Naples in Veils (2017) Farzan Ozpetek 7/10
Piercing (2019) Nicolas Pesce 1/10
White Boy Rick (2018) Yann Demange 4/10
Repeat viewings
Advise and Consent (1962) Otto Preminger 8/10
Coming Home (1978) Hal Ashby 10/10
Crime and Punishment (1935) Josef von Sterberg 6/10
Shampoo (1975) Hal Ashby 8/10
Detour (1945) Edgar G. Ulmer 10/10
Once Upon a Time in America (1984) Sergio Leone 6/10
Never Steady, Never Still (2018) Kathleen Hepburn 4/10
Bumblebee (2018) Travis Knight 5/10
The Aftermath (2019) James Kent 4/10
Edgar G. Ulmer: The Man Off-Screen (2004) Michael Palm 6/10
Naples in Veils (2017) Farzan Ozpetek 7/10
Piercing (2019) Nicolas Pesce 1/10
White Boy Rick (2018) Yann Demange 4/10
Repeat viewings
Advise and Consent (1962) Otto Preminger 8/10
Coming Home (1978) Hal Ashby 10/10
Crime and Punishment (1935) Josef von Sterberg 6/10
Shampoo (1975) Hal Ashby 8/10
Detour (1945) Edgar G. Ulmer 10/10
Once Upon a Time in America (1984) Sergio Leone 6/10
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
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Precious Doll
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- Posts: 4453
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- Location: Sydney
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Re: Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Funnily enough I rewatched Advise and Consent for the first time in years on Sunday night. Goodness it holds up so well.Reza wrote: Advise and Consent (Otto Preminger, 1962) 8/10
Riveting political film based on the Pulitzer prize winning potboiler by Alan Drury. Preminger overcomes the stagy premise by shooting the film in widescreen (shot in crisp black and white by Sam Leavitt) and uses extraordinary mise-en-scene for dramatic effect. The film is acted to perfection by a superb cast of big stars. The political machination at the heart of the story has a universal sting and is still relevant today which the witty screenplay puts forth with a savage thrust. The ailing President (Franchot Tone) of the United States nominates a liberal academic (Henry Fonda) to become Secretary of State. This sets off a fiery reaction with Senators taking sides and using people as pawns for their own gain. The candidate has skeletons in his closet but the President insists he remain. Going after him tooth and nail is a curmudgeonly Senator from the South (Charles Laughton who is superbly slimy in his last film role) while strongly siding with the candidate is the President's right-hand man (Walter Pidgeon) whose job it is to push his agenda through Congress. The amazing supporting cast each get their moment to shine - Burgess Meredith as a dim-witted witness against the candidate, Lew Ayres as the ignored Vice President, George Grizzard as an ambitious right-winger who goes tooth and nail after a junior senator (Don Murray) involving blackmail which ends in tragedy, Peter Lawford as a JFK-like womanizer who is disgusted by the hypocricy in play and the welcome return of elegant Gene Tierney who was lured out of retirement by Preminger to play a socialite. Some of the plot points (the Red-Scare trappings and the gay subtext) seem rather quaint but seeing it from the perspective of that period it comes off as potent melodrama and this remains one of the best films about Washington. Frank Sinatra is heard singing on the juke box in the brief sequence set in a gay bar which was a first in an American film and raised eyebrows at the time.
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)