Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

[Reza]

The Incredible Sarah (Richard Fleischer, 1976) 5/10

Half baked screen biography of Sarah Bernhardt (Glenda Jackson), considered to be one of the greatest french actresses. The screenplay goes through all the usual clichés which make up a typical star's life - her audition and the start of her stage career as a teenager at the Comèdie Française, her increasingly eccentric behaviour (she liked to sleep in a coffin), loud temper tantrums, having a child out of wedlock by a nobleman (Simon Williams), her relationship with a playwright (Daniel Massey) and ultimate marriage to an actor (John Castle) who couldn't act. There are scenes recreated from Bernhardt's many stage performances - "Le Passant", "Phaèdre", "La Dame aux Camèlias", "King Lear" and her greatest triumph "Joan of Arc". Jackson strides through the role like a bully bellowing her lines and stops just short of being camp. It was her last star vehicle on screen and it's a pretty dismal effort.

I wouldn't say that. She was in 16 more theatrical releases through 1990 and had either first or second billing in most of them. She was still winning awards as late as 1981 with Stevie, the year of its New York release. She had considerable critical and box-office success with House Calls in 1978, Hopscotch in 1980 and to a lesser extent, Turtle Diary in 1985.

Her worst film was probably The Class of Miss MacMichael in 1978, the last film in which she played the title role. That one was even more of a pretty dismal effort.

A star vehicle in terms of a project specifically created for her. Yes Stevie came two years later - we shall discount the fact that it played in N.Y. in 1981 (although it was shown in L.A. in 1978 which is quite bizarre in itself that NY would not get to see it in its year of release). Her other successes with Matthau were not created for her.

[Big Magilla]

The Incredible Sarah (Richard Fleischer, 1976) 5/10

Half baked screen biography of Sarah Bernhardt (Glenda Jackson), considered to be one of the greatest french actresses. The screenplay goes through all the usual clichés which make up a typical star's life - her audition and the start of her stage career as a teenager at the Comèdie Française, her increasingly eccentric behaviour (she liked to sleep in a coffin), loud temper tantrums, having a child out of wedlock by a nobleman (Simon Williams), her relationship with a playwright (Daniel Massey) and ultimate marriage to an actor (John Castle) who couldn't act. There are scenes recreated from Bernhardt's many stage performances - "Le Passant", "Phaèdre", "La Dame aux Camèlias", "King Lear" and her greatest triumph "Joan of Arc". Jackson strides through the role like a bully bellowing her lines and stops just short of being camp. It was her last star vehicle on screen and it's a pretty dismal effort.

I wouldn't say that. She was in 16 more theatrical releases through 1990 and had either first or second billing in most of them. She was still winning awards as late as 1981 with Stevie, the year of its New York release. She had considerable critical and box-office success with House Calls in 1978, Hopscotch in 1980 and to a lesser extent, Turtle Diary in 1985.

Her worst film was probably The Class of Miss MacMichael in 1978, the last film in which she played the title role. That one was even more of a pretty dismal effort.

[Reza]

Four Faces West (Alfred E. Green, 1948) 6/10

An unlikely outlaw (Joel McCrea) robs a bank and goes on the run with a sheriff (Charles Bickford) in close pursuit. Along the way he is helped by a nurse (Frances Dee) and a Mexican casino owner (Joseph Calleia) both of whom guess what he has done but are impressed by his polite demeanor which later the sheriff also realises when he discovers the robber is using the money to help the poor. Old fashioned but charming story is beautifully filmed on location in New Mexico.

[Reza]

'Tis Pity She's a Whore (Giuseppe Patroni Griffi, 1971) 8/10

John Ford's 17th century stage play is too theatrical and melodramatic for the medium of film. However, this Italian production is beautifully filmed with a cast that exudes sexuality during the lyrically filmed sex scenes. During the Italian renaissance a beautiful young girl (Charlotte Rampling) falls passionately in love with her older brother (Oliver Tobias). After she gets pregnant by him she is hastily married off to one of many suitors - an arrogant nobleman (Fabio Testi). When her past is discovered jealousy rears it's ugly head leading to a bloody finalé. The acting is stiff although the youthful animal magnetism of both male stars comes through with full force. The camera is obviously in love with Charlotte Rampling who was never more radiant on screen. The film has wonderful production values with Gabriella Pescucci's costumes, Vittorio Storaro's glowing cinematography and Ennio Morricone's score all of which help to highlight this cult film.

[Reza]

Brimstone (Martin Koolhoven, 2016) 9/10

Savage critique of religion in this gory yet elgiac Western. The relentless violence which religion "promotes" through the gospels on it's way to salvation is put forth here in a brutal way that is almost balletic in nature - stabbings, gouging, hangings, flogging, flagellations, shootings, rape, molesting and blood letting involving intestinal ooze, menstruation, animal decaptation - as the screenplay pokes a mean jab at Christian symbolism. The main plot involves a chase and tussle between "good" & "evil" with a mysterious man of the cloth (Guy Pearce) chasing a dumb woman (Dakota Fanning). The story is presented in four parts titled - Revelation, Exodus, Genesis, Redemption - and the plot moves backward in time during the first three sections with the story coming full circle in the last part as the chase comes to it's bitersweet conclusion with the promise of "hope". Pearce is truly frightening as the low voiced "man of God" with a Satanic aura about him who believes he is on a special agenda for the Lord and justifies his actions thinking he is already damned. This is an intriguing Western (set amongst the early Dutch settlers) and filmed on locations in Europe which substitute for the Old West.

[Reza]

Old Yeller (Robert Stevenson, 1957) 8/10

Disney film with a horrific finalé that is sure to bring on nightmares. A teenager (Tommy Kirk) learns to love and depend on a stray dog - Yeller - while his father (Fess Parker) is away on a cattle drive. The boy lives with his mother (Dorothy McGuire) and kid brother (Kevin Corcoran) on their farm in Texas. Typical Disney fare celebrating family, nature and animals - the plot involves horses, cows, wild boar, toads and lizards but mainly revolves around the yellow mutt which becomes part of the boy's family. The famous ending is immediately followed by a cathartic development which is in tune with life and it's traumas.

[Reza]

The Incredible Sarah (Richard Fleischer, 1976) 5/10

Half baked screen biography of Sarah Bernhardt (Glenda Jackson), considered to be one of the greatest french actresses. The screenplay goes through all the usual clichés which make up a typical star's life - her audition and the start of her stage career as a teenager at the Comèdie Française, her increasingly eccentric behaviour (she liked to sleep in a coffin), loud temper tantrums, having a child out of wedlock by a nobleman (Simon Williams), her relationship with a playwright (Daniel Massey) and ultimate marriage to an actor (John Castle) who couldn't act. There are scenes recreated from Bernhardt's many stage performances - "Le Passant", "Phaèdre", "La Dame aux Camèlias", "King Lear" and her greatest triumph "Joan of Arc". Jackson strides through the role like a bully bellowing her lines and stops just short of being camp. It was her last star vehicle on screen and it's a pretty dismal effort.

[Reza]

The Halliday Brand (Joseph H. Lewis, 1957) 8/10

Superb psychological Western that pits father (Ward Bond), a racist sheriff, against his favorite son (Joseph Cotten). When the sheriff refuses to allow his daughter (Betsy Blair) to marry a half breed ranch hand the young man is lynched and killed by the townfolk. Having fallen in love with the lynched man's sister (Viveca Lindfors) the son turns against his father and vows to see him step down as the corrupt lawman. A dark Western full of paranoia and hateful obsession with stylish camera angles (courtesy of Ray Rennahan's stark black and white photography which is surprising considering he shot and won his Oscars for lavish colour lensing) emphasizing the psychological aspects of the screenplay. The actors are all very good but Ward Bond stands out in his portrayal of the constantly bellowing bigot who can't stop bragging about his ruthless power. A neglected Western in need of rediscovery.

[Reza]

Carry on Jack (Gerald Thomas, 1963) 4/10

Typically silly "Carry on" farce set on a British war ship set for sail to Spain in 1804. The film spoofs "Mutiny on the Bounty". As with most of the series the film is stolen by the outrageous over acting of Kenneth Williams who plays the cowardly Captain of the ship. The plot with the goofy mid-shipman (Bernard Cribbens) and his eventual romance with a stowaway (Juliet Mills in drag) and the mutinying officers (Donald Houston & Percy Herbert) is loud and farcical. This film in the series loses much of its humour without cast regulars Hattie Jacques, Joan Sims and Barbara Windsor. Fun in bits but if not a fan of the series then skip this.

[Reza]

We Own the Night (James Gray, 2007) 5/10

Gray channels Scorsese in a grubby sort of way in this rather stale tale of New York cops and the Mob. A nightclub manager (Joaquin Phoenix) comes between his bosses - the Russian mob moving in on the mafia and dealing with drugs as a side business - and the cops. The Police Chief (Robert Duvall) is his father and the decorated officer (Mark Wahlberg) his brother, facts which he has hidden from his employers because his family considers him to be a bit of a black sheep and from whom he is estranged. After the cops raid the club and arrest one of the Russians (who is typically psychopathic of course) there is an attack on the brother which brings on pangs of guilt leading to baby brother deciding to help the cops. Gray brings nothing new to the genre - the much celebrated car chase sequence set during a rainstorm (the chase was filmed on a dry day and the rain was added later) is pretty hohum in what was a wane attempt to inject some thrills â la "The French Connection". There is also a shootout sequence during a raid which has nothing to add in terms of originality. Indifferently acted by Wahlberg, Duvall and Eva Mendes (who has the token girlfriend role) although Phoenix is superb throughout. Skip this one and instead watch some of the original films in the genre this one tries to evoke.

[Reza]

The Yards (James Gray, 2000) 7/10

The film is heavily influenced by Coppola's "The Godfather" - the conversations in low lit rooms in hushed tones with family members seen around the dining table - and the films of Sidney Lumet with their crooked businessmen, politicians and cops as bribery and underhanded deals are used to create empires. These are mostly good men with a strong sense of family yet are flawed by ambition which "allows" them to get to the top without scruples. In such surroundings live two friends - one a jailbird (Mark Wahlberg) who returns after serving his jail sentence to his widowed mother (Ellen Burstyn) after he took the rap for an auto theft for his pal (Joaquin Phoenix). The friend is in love with his cousin and childhood sweetheart (Charlize Theron sporting a hideous cropped hairdo and black shadowed eyelids) who is the daughter of his aunt (Faye Dunaway) now married to a powerful but corrupt businessman (James Caan). Gray juggles this superb all-star cast as the characters go through turmoil - a murder committed by one friend while the other is accused for the crime threatens the family structure and the business which is built on lies, deceit and corruption. The story ends in greek tragedy mode which takes the grim and bleak story into the realm of melodrama. Well acted film with everyone feeling at home in the mileu - a very young looking Wahlberg (this was filmed in 1998 but not released until two years later) is sad and subdued playing a character who wants to do good and change his life but events plan things differently for him. The superb Phoenix is like a time bomb waiting to explode full of sexual energy and violence. The presence of Caan, with his oily charm, adds to the film's sense of deja vu playing a "nice" man with many flaws who suddenly finds his life about to crumble. The surprise last act turn-around is a serious flaw in the screenplay whereby Gray tries to achieve a sort of happy ending as if paying homage to old Hollywood gangster pictures where everything comes up roses but in a bitersweet way. I liked the use of the two former Oscar winning stars in the role of the two matriarchs - Burstyn plays it sweet and weepy while Dunaway, cast against type (wearing ugly large spectacles) plays it subdued and still and is the only cast member who seems out of place maybe because the director manages to reign in her naturally histrionic demeanor. Well made atmospheric film with a flawed ending.

[Reza]

The Magic of Belle Isle (Rob Reiner, 2012) 7/10

A gruff, alcoholic, wheelchair bound former writer of Westerns (Morgan Freeman) moves to an adyllic lakeside cabin in pictureque Belle Isle for the summer. He is drowning his sorrow in booze after his wife died six years earlier. Before the summer is over his life is changed and he has the will to live and write again after he meets the single mom (Virginia Madsen) who lives next door with her three young daughters. This is pure sentimental claptrap (aided by the saccharine score of Mark Shaiman) but so charmingly perfomed in a laid back manner that the characters and the film win you over. The best scenes involve Freeman's interaction with the middle daughter as they discuss words and literature. He allows the child actor to steal every scene although with a twinkle in his eye. The whiff of romance is beautifully conveyed between Freeman and Madsen as they discuss music and dance and delicately explore the possibilities without a single touch - this was apparently the first hint of romance on screen for Freeman in his long career until then and he subtly manages to show his feelings. This is a gentle drama about real but ordinary people and manages to create magic despite the clichés.

[Reza]

Stevie (Robert Enders, 1978) 5/10

The life of British poet, Stevie Smith (Glenda Jackson), is told in a highly un-cinematic film version of the play by Hugh Whitemore. Her story is told as a monologue by the poet with brief interludes by a narrator (Trevor Howard), a dotty old maiden aunt (Mona Washbourne) who lives with her and in flashbacks the poet's suitor (Alec McCowen). The main focus of the story is on her beloved relationship with her aunt and her poetry which she uses to escape her dull middle-class existence while living in a drab residential part of London. The entire film is set inside the drawing room of her house with brief flashback scenes set outside. Both Jackson and Washbourne recreate their acclaimed stage performances and the film comes alive during the scenes of gentle and loving comraderie between the two characters while they discuss minor daily affairs. Rather surprisingly this was undertaken as a film project considering the subject's niche appeal. With Jackson at the top of her game during the 1970s it was probably felt that her stage performance should be preserved and she deserved every accolade that came her way. Using her distinct voice, superb diction and forceful personality she brings to life a forgotten character who in her quietly sly way was very outspoken.

[Reza]

Downhill Racer (Michael Ritchie, 1969) 8/10

Ritchie's directorial debut is a fantastic film set in the competitive world of downhill ski racing. Despite superbly shot ski sequences using camera and sound techniques the story is mainly character driven as the brilliantly written screenplay tells about the chase for fame and the cost it has on sportsmen. A cocky member (Robert Redford) of the US ski team, in Europe to attend a series of competive races, clashes with his coach (Gene Hackman) and his fellow skiers. He is unsympathetic, ambitious and egotistical but it is to Redford's credit that he creates such a character yet makes him charming. With him in the lead it could have been very easy to romanticise the character but the screenplay clearly stops short despite two brief liaisons shown - in his hometown with a former girlfriend who he treats like dirt and in Europe with a sophisticated woman (Camilla Sparv) whom he meets at an Austrian resort and who dumps him. Both relationships are brief and the story focuses on the man himself and his efforts to win at all cost. The race sequences are shown both in long shot as the skier moves swiftly and gracefully zigzagging down the slopes or in closeup where you witness the terrifying pressure of the wind and the enormous strength it takes for the skier to stay upright as his speed increases with each slope. The film's sound design sharply captures the speed of the sport making it seem like a fast moving ballet between man and the elements. The heartstopping finalè set during the Olympics memorably ends with a freeze frame. The film and particularly the performances by both Redford and Hackman - very early on in their careers - are extremely underrated. This is a film that needs to be re-discovered for not only being one of the best films about sports but also for capturing one of Redford's greatest performances before he became a romantic icon of the screen.

[Reza]

The Heart of Me (Thaddeus O'Sullivan, 2002) 6/10

Genteel melodrama of the soapy kind that seems lifted off the filmography of Merchant-Ivory. In 1930s London a man (Paul Bettany), married to an elegant but cold woman (Olivia Williams) proceeds to have an affair with her free spirited sister (Helena Bonham Carter). It's the kind of plot where none of the protagonists have a jolly time (they do have lots of sex while nude) and spend their time moping in misery. The intense adultery opens up searing wounds between the two sisters who have always been enmeshed in sibling rivalry with the weak husband/lover oscillating between the two. The drama plays out through the war and beyond but not before the sisters both face many personal upheavals in their lives. Superbly acted film has marvelous production values but it's all rather tiresome with none of the characters appealing save for Eleanor Bron playing the regal mother of the sisters whose stiff upper lip tries to hold onto a sense of propriety which clashes with the sexual hypocricy of her family.