tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60288317872801995432024-03-13T04:45:50.639-07:00Thoughts on FilmDoug Listhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339222653620926842noreply@blogger.comBlogger219125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6028831787280199543.post-83776535077091561372024-02-23T08:06:00.000-08:002024-02-28T16:27:48.270-08:00Best of 2023<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Films<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<div style="margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">1<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oppenheimer<br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> 2</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Poor Things<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>3<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maestro<br /> </span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>4<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of Us Strangers<br /> </span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>5<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Holdovers<br /> </span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>6<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Killers of the Flower Moon<br /> </span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ferrari<br /> </span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>8<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Napoleon<br /> </span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>9<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Past Lives<br /> </span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">10<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>American Fiction </span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div style="margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">11<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Master Gardener<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">12<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">13<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Air<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">14<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You Hurt My Feelings<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">15<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Flora and Son<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">16<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Equalizer 3<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">17<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Reptile</span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">18 The Lost King<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">19<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Iron Claw<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">20<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Asteroid City </span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b>Directors</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christopher
Nolan, Oppenheimer<br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">2</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Yorgos Lanthimos, Poor Things<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bradley Cooper, Maestro<br /> </span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>4<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>5<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Michael Mann, Ferrari<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> <br /></o:p></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Actors</b></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><b><br /></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cillan
Murphy, Oppenheimer<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bradley Cooper, Maestro<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Paul
Giamatti, The Holdovers<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>4<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>5<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Andrew
Scott, All of Us Strangers<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> <br /></o:p></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b>Actresses</b></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><b><br /></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lily
Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Carey
Mulligan, Maestro<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Emma Stone,
Poor Things<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>4<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Natalie Portman, May December<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>5<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Greta
Lee, Past Lives<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> <br /></o:p></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Supporting Actors</b></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Willem Dafoe, Poor Things<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>4<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mark
Ruffalo, Poor Things<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>5<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Paul
Mescal, All of Us Strangers<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> <br /></o:p></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Supporting Actresses</b></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Penelope Cruz, Ferrari<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Rosamund Pike, Saltburn<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>4<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Claire Foy, All of Us Strangers<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>5<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Viola
Davis, Air<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> <br /></o:p></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Screenwriters</b></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tony
McNamara, Poor Things<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David
Hemingson, The Holdovers<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>4<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cord
Jefferson, American Fiction<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>5<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Andrew Haigh, All of Us Strangers<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> <br /></o:p></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cinematographers</b></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Robbie Ryan, Poor Things<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Matthew Libatique, Maestro<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Dariusz Wolski, Napoleon<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>4<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Rodrigo Prieto, Killers of the Flower Moon<br /> </span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>5<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hoyte
van Hoytema, Oppenheimer</span></div>
Doug Listhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339222653620926842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6028831787280199543.post-17030521177624471012024-02-15T10:15:00.000-08:002024-02-15T10:23:11.157-08:00January 2024<p> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">2023
OSCAR NOMINATIONS<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For decades, I’ve used this space to
disparage the selections made by the usually nearsighted Academy voters. But I
must give the group props this year as they did an admirable job of voting in a
respectable collection of nominees, most prominently withstanding the “Barbie”
propaganda machine that attempted to equate its box-office success with being a
good movie.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK5rheQZrDSPYr4JIIuga1O7LLA1XNl-1FBrtr4HONSmd4BTHWj-AVXun2RAaHJNZKJHOrQC0h5i_gfr3_impV3ULOURvR2O3j-kifJ0a_7A3B5zL3Hp5OvGo1jzljLSquLWzXnxFa_z1qgCdlD8yICHfZHDk9F7hijMstuxrGe5RImnrGV6RaD9-_/s1920/BARBIE%20FILM%20260523.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK5rheQZrDSPYr4JIIuga1O7LLA1XNl-1FBrtr4HONSmd4BTHWj-AVXun2RAaHJNZKJHOrQC0h5i_gfr3_impV3ULOURvR2O3j-kifJ0a_7A3B5zL3Hp5OvGo1jzljLSquLWzXnxFa_z1qgCdlD8yICHfZHDk9F7hijMstuxrGe5RImnrGV6RaD9-_/s320/BARBIE%20FILM%20260523.webp" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /> </span>The picture still scored best picture,
best screenplay and best supporting actor nods, but the voters left director
Greta Gerwig out of the five nominated filmmakers. “Barbie” fanatics somehow
see her exclusion (is it a snub when someone finishes sixth or seventh in a
vote?) as a comment against female empowerment. Instead, they should be more
upset that Celine Song for “Past Lives” (a best picture nominee) and Nicole Holofcener
for “You Hurt My Feelings” (totally ignored) were left out; these women, by my
account, were the outstanding female directors of 2023. Gerwig’s spot on the
five select directors was most likely taken by another female filmmaker, French
director Justine Triet for “Anatomy of a Fall,” displaying the Academy’s recent
move toward rewarding more international pictures.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From my perspective, the filmmaker who
should be most upset with the directing nominations is Bradley Cooper (he was acknowledged
for his acting and screenwriting), whose “Maestro” direction establishes him as
one of Hollywood’s best filmmakers, bringing style and thoughtfulness to the
bio-pic genre.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film that Academy voters completely
whiffed on was “All of Us Strangers” (see my review below), a riveting,
superbly written and acted study of a gay man coming to grips with his life and
the loss of his parents. Actors Andrew Scott and Claire Foy both deserved
recognition, along with director Andrew Haigh’s script.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of the other misses by the Academy
were in the supporting categories: considering all the nominations for “Poor
Things” I don’t know how they left out Willem Dafoe, who gives the film’s best
performance. Among supporting actresses, three of the finest performers working
in cinema: Penelope Cruz (“Ferrari”), Rosamund Pike (“Saltburn”) and Viola
Davis (“Air”—why do voters always ignore movies released before May?) should
all be competing for the Oscar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Academy voters disagreed with my
objections to “The Zone of Interest” (see below) but there’s always one of
those every year. Yet seeing one of my longtime favorite actors, the underrated
Jeffrey Wright, among the nominees made up for much foolishness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s my Top 10, though there’s still a
few pictures I still need to see. (I will be shocked if “Oppenheimer” isn’t the
big winner next month at the Oscars.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oppenheimer
(Christopher Nolan)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> 2</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;">Poor
Things (Yorgos Lanthimos)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Maestro (Bradley Cooper)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>4<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All
of Us Strangers (Andrew Haigh)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>5<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Holdovers (Alexander Payne)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>6<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Killers
of the Flower Moon (Martin Scorsese)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Ferrari (Michael Mann)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>8<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Napoleon (Ridley Scott)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>9<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Past
Lives (Celine Song)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>10<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>American
Fiction (Cord Jefferson)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 16.5pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Just below this fine collection of films are Paul Schrader’s “Master </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;">Gardener,” Christopher McQuarrie’s
“Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One,” Ben Affleck’s “Air” and Nicole
Holofcener’s “You Hurt My Feelings.” </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;">My complete list of the year’s best will
be posted in a week or so.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">ALL
OF US STRANGERS (2023)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Few films have successfully tackled
loneliness, one of the most prevalent aspects of the human condition; the thin
line between maudlin sympathy and clear-eyed insight is hard to navigate. With
subtlety and sincerity, writer-director Andrew Haigh’s “All of Us Strangers”
examines sadness in the human heart through a man’s imagination. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSmc1WhEVViWE2FwvqwSASSBOUd3QyaJxkheluLN2VjE840qqCYGYIhdZxutcshgQL4Xk86UrqXx_VKM-wDJ9XhpC0pT_P4jU61NbfQdzy3vVHeHkldccOTHdWiU51Odvdu2_9LIY_IBI5eScQz35eUNfKFw3Nx8mLSH4KERs1PTLTCRLFPadrlteb/s1245/All%20of%20Us.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="1245" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSmc1WhEVViWE2FwvqwSASSBOUd3QyaJxkheluLN2VjE840qqCYGYIhdZxutcshgQL4Xk86UrqXx_VKM-wDJ9XhpC0pT_P4jU61NbfQdzy3vVHeHkldccOTHdWiU51Odvdu2_9LIY_IBI5eScQz35eUNfKFw3Nx8mLSH4KERs1PTLTCRLFPadrlteb/s320/All%20of%20Us.webp" width="320" /></a></div><br /> Andrew (a quietly intense Andrew Scott), a
screenwriter living in a brand-new apartment complex in London, faces his
solitary existence—he seems to have no friends or colleagues—by conjuring up very
realistic apparitions of his long-dead parents, visiting them in his family
home.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;">Mom and Dad (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell)
are surprised by their son’s visit but quickly accept the situation (while
recognizing they are dead) and try to understand what has become of 40something
Andrew they last knew as a 12-year-old. Yes, it sounds hokey, but Haigh makes
it work perfectly.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The conversations are sad, heartbreaking
but also deeply revealing and impactful for Andrew, who still has issues from
his youth. When he announces to his parents that he’s gay, the discussions grow
more intense, more to the point of his disappointment about his life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Around the same time, the other resident
in the high-rise, Harry (Paul Mescal), shows up at Andrew’s door, drunk and
seeking companionship. Quickly, a bit conveniently, they become intimate and
inseparable, but mostly staying in Andrew’s apartment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Haigh’s script, loosely based on Japanese
novelist Taichi Yamada’s book, puts much of the burden to make the film work on
the actors and the four principles deliver.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Scott, who richly deserved an Oscar
nomination, has been working in film (“Spectre,” “1917”) and on the British
stage, giving an acclaimed performance as Hamlet, since the mid-90s. On the
heels of this memorable film, Scott will play infamous conman Tom Ripley in an
upcoming series.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mescal, who scored a best actor Oscar nod
in 2022 for “Aftersun,” gives Harry a dangerous, mysterious aura while being a
caring lover to Andrew. This could be a star-making year for Mescal as he plays
the lead in Ridley Scott’s sequel to “Gladiator.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Foy (“The Crown”) and Bell (“Billy
Elliot,” “Rocketman”) are conventional 20<sup>th</sup> Century parents whose
concerns for their son, who grew up without them, represents the fragile
relationship that most children have with their mother and father. I can’t
imagine anyone not relating to their scenes with Scott.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Haigh, with this film and “45 Years”
(2015), which earned Charlotte Rampling a best actress nomination, displays an
ability to take stagey, occasionally claustrophobic stories and turn them into
compelling cinema.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">THE
ZONE OF INTEREST (2023)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>British director Jonathan Glazer
specializes in snail-paced, quietly horrific stories—“Birth,” “Under the Skin”
and, his best, “Sexy Beast”—but his chilly approach to filmmaking seems
reductive and inappropriate in this off-centered slice of the Holocaust.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just outside the fences of Auschwitz, where
the most inhuman crimes of the 20<sup>th</sup> Century were being committed
daily, the commandant of the death camp, Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel), his
wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) and children enjoy a tranquil life, seemingly
untouched by the conflict devasting Europe.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Glazer lingers over mundane moments of the
family’s day-to-day existence without entering into the camp where Jews are
being slaughtered.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can imagine this approach working for
part of the film—maybe as a 15-minute opening—but when the film’s most intense
conflict arises when Rudolf must leave his home in Poland, I gave up. Maybe I’m
too dense, or too schooled in Hollywood filmmaking, to appreciate the
director’s take on mass murder, but I found nothing of substance or value in
the German-language film.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This picture adds little to the rich legacy
of big-screen depictions of the camps and the arrogance of the Nazis. Its
inclusion among best picture and best director Oscar nominations is a travesty,
worse than the praise for the goofball 1998 comedy “Life Is Beautiful.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 34.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">THE
LOST MOMENT (1947)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The
most famous directing one-offs in cinematic history include two masterpieces,
Charles Laughton’s “The Night of the Hunter” (1955) and Jean Vigo’s
“L’Atalante” (1934), and three memorable pictures, “One-Eyed Jacks” (1961),
Marlon Brando’s only turn behind the camera, and two 1970 cult favorites, “The
Honeymoon Killers,” directed by Leonard Kastle, better known as a composer of
operas, and “Wanda,” made by actress Barbara Loden. (Vigo and Loden also
directed a few short films.) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other one-time directors include actors Jack
Lemmon (“Kotch”), Anthony Quinn (“The Buccaneer”) and Frank Sinatra (“None but
the Brave”). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This film, a Hitchcockian, romantic
mystery, deserves a spot among the better efforts made by one-and-done
directors. Martin Gabel was a well-known member of the Mercury Theatre, on
stage and radio, and then later a movie character actor, usually playing a tough
guy in such films as “Deadline-U.S.A.” (1952), “Tip on a Dead Jockey” (1957),
“Lady in Cement” (1968) and “The First Deadly Sin” (1980). He was also married
for 40 years to television personality Arlene Francis. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before he started acting in films,
possibly inspired by the success of his Mercury boss Orson Welles, Gabel was
hired to direct “The Lost Moment,” based on Henry James story “The Aspern
Papers,” and headlined by two major stars, Robert Cummings and Susan Hayward.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyTWEtNpozuZD-ICGYAVr_aHQ0F473cYtX46QgetHgW5iLx5-DCPq8pBQy1uPnOC-BKJXDKgdGWCyNXXGU7c82Wd-IjPch-aEJZOQgUBiACoW_zBKO_Ibwd200LbWPdPWYzPJ-d7soqIrHtym5AJqBmobqejLc-RcQ7dU2P2CPfHVmuEEQi0HB5duO/s1200/the-lost-moment.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="1200" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyTWEtNpozuZD-ICGYAVr_aHQ0F473cYtX46QgetHgW5iLx5-DCPq8pBQy1uPnOC-BKJXDKgdGWCyNXXGU7c82Wd-IjPch-aEJZOQgUBiACoW_zBKO_Ibwd200LbWPdPWYzPJ-d7soqIrHtym5AJqBmobqejLc-RcQ7dU2P2CPfHVmuEEQi0HB5duO/w376-h243/the-lost-moment.jpg" width="376" /></a></div><br /> While not quite “Citizen Kane,” the picture
combines noirish shadows with literary secrets and features an intense
performance by fellow Mercury player Agnes Moorehead. Cummings plays Lewis
Venable, a rather unethical book publisher determined to find the long-lost
love letters written by 19<sup>th</sup> Century romantic poet Jeffrey Ashton.
This performance ranks with his best film work, “Kings Row” and “Saboteur.”<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pretending to be a writer, he rents a
room in the estate of elderly Juliana Bordereau (Moorehead, wearing a prosthetic
mask to look 100 years old) in hopes of obtaining, or stealing, the letters. But
keeping an eye on everything in the house is her strangely robotic niece Tina
(Hayward), who seems to be under the spell of the household’s past. The
late-night meetings between Lewis and Juliana, who claims to never sleep, are
memorable.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The gothic mood maintained throughout and
the fine performances—also Eduardo Ciannelli as the local priest and Joan
Lorring as the oppressed, gossipy housekeeper—reflect well on the first-time
director. Gabel is greatly aided by a pointed, unsentimental script by Leonardo
Bercovici, who went on to work on the adaptations of two other mystical tales,
“The Bishop’s Wife” (1947) and “Portrait of Jennie” (1948).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hayward was nominated for best actress
five times in the late 40s and 1950s, starting with “Smash Up: The Story of a
Woman” the same year she made “The Lost Moment.” But I would argue that her
best performances were not in those melodramas that made her famous but in
lesser-known picture such as this one, along with “Deadline at Dawn” (1946),
“They Won’t Believe Me” (1947), “The Saxon Charm” (1948) and “The Lusty Men”
(1952).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was unable to find any information on
why Gabel never directed again; it’s hard to believe he didn’t have the chance
after this impressive start. The film can be streamed for free on Youtube.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">ANATOMY
OF A FALL (2023)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">I’ve
read that this critically acclaimed courtroom drama failed to receive an
international film nomination because France authorities were upset at director
Justine Triet’s comments about President Emmanuel Macron when she accepted the
Palme d’Or at Cannes. Instead, the Academy voters rewarded the movie with
nominations for best picture, director, actress, original screenplay and film
editing! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">After
seeing the film,<b> </b>I think there were more artistic reasons why the French
declined to put it forth to the Academy. It’s a fine, if inconsistent, film,
but not as interesting as a dozen murder-mystery streaming series I’ve watched
in the past few years. “Anatomy of a Fall,” with dialogue half in French, half
in English, follows the investigation and then the trial after a well-known
writer’s husband falls (or is pushed) to his death from a second-floor window.
Sandra Hüller, who plays the wife in “The Zone of Interest,” portrays Sandra
Voyter, who eventually lands in the docket, accused of murdering her husband.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEiHXhtzI-bIAtX7XmPQl6bXosK7wijALPfq3sjfRSrcvJjC2YPABFz32vzs0W8MytnSp2T3q1EUn6CCdNrAf4NiOj5Fzh4tUZOKXDtMhs9DBU3Z_6_kuqsNUmGHJ7CXivbi9pWuaSzIeQlv9bJ85k0J3EC_Bofrj7H4-3bqh9hhyphenhyphenlzS73wUiGnotg/s1041/Anatomy_2.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1041" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEiHXhtzI-bIAtX7XmPQl6bXosK7wijALPfq3sjfRSrcvJjC2YPABFz32vzs0W8MytnSp2T3q1EUn6CCdNrAf4NiOj5Fzh4tUZOKXDtMhs9DBU3Z_6_kuqsNUmGHJ7CXivbi9pWuaSzIeQlv9bJ85k0J3EC_Bofrj7H4-3bqh9hhyphenhyphenlzS73wUiGnotg/s320/Anatomy_2.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Combining
typical elements of “Law and Order” with an intense domestic drama (better
explored in films such as “Marriage Story,” “Fences,” “Manchester by the Sea”),
the picture focuses on the unrelenting questioning by the prosecuting attorney
that attempts to dig into the less-than-perfect marriage between Sandra and Samuel
(Samuel Theis). It occasionally flashes back to arguments and situations
between them and with their young son, who plays an important part in the
court’s deliberation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I understand Triet’s nomination (with
co-writer Arthur Harari) for the film’s screenplay—the story remains compelling
from start to finish—but too often the direction felt disorganized and choppy. I
usually have no problem with long films, but this one certainly did not need to
be 2 hours and 30 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film offers an intense dramatization of
a very complex marriage, focusing on how difficult it is to judge relationships
from the outside, but constructing the story around a crime might not have been
the best plan. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">FIVE
MINUTES TO LIVE (1961)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">I’ve
seen more than my fair share of bad movies, but few are as incompactly written
and acted as this offbeat, D-level heist picture.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beloved country-western musician Johnny
Cash stars, giving one of the most<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>inept
performance in film history as Johnny Cabot.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This dumb-as-nails loser joins Fred
Dorella (Vic Tayback, the restaurant owner from the TV show “Alice”) in a plot
to kidnap the wife of a small-town bank president and then hold up the bank.
Most of 80-minute crudely shot and directed <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">picture—I’m
guessing it played mostly drive-ins—has Johnny trying to act tough as he holds
the frightened wife (Cay Forester) captive in her home. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His jittery, baritone voice, which made him
one of the most acclaimed singers of the century, and his clumsy line readings
(I doubt there were many second takes), make his character hard to take
seriously. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A series of phone calls signally when Fred
has completed the bank robbery keeps getting confused and even the
actors—certainly Cash—seem baffled.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the while, Johnny points an oversized
pistol—it looks like something left over from a low-budget Western, at the
wife. The best moments in the film are when 7-year-old Ronnie Howard comes home
from school early and screws up the robbers’ plans. Howard gives the most
accomplished performance in the picture.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This mess was director Bill Karn’s
follow-up to his drive-in “classic,” “Ma Barker’s Killer Brood.” Not
surprisingly, “Five Minutes to Live” ended his career.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unlike his director, the Man in Black went
on to appear in numerous TV movies and a few features over the next 30 years
(including co-starring with Kirk Douglas in “A Gunfight”); certainly, it was
all uphill from “Five Minutes to Live.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">THE
IRON CLAW (2023)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a kid, one of the highlights of each
weekend was watching “Studio Wrestling” on Saturday morning. The star of the
Pittsburgh show was Italian-born Bruno Sammartino, who was always touted as the
World Champion of Wrestling. But even to an 11- or 12-year-old, it was clear
that the contests were staged for laughs, scripted battles not much different
than a “Three Stooges” short.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
Dallas, the Von Erich family took it much more seriously. Led by a demanding,
masochistic father, former wrestler Fritz (in the film played an intense Holt
McCallany), the four sons all end up in the ring, for better or worse.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWShFtgFz4WRqxZSSGoFGpiZhaKxEmDYg2oRaODqaBhX0VAAZzRK8gnJL8E0uT3W-4MDRCQ9jEV2yUUL0cynXNQgvP9HnakqsgE8dpyOta-XRh8Q7W3Fb8su2YeKPbxOospOvXzup4ICJZXt_JxP4MvgLoZepfZSbYs0hYMGSn21ZLyT6aDXIzObUq/s1192/iron%20claw2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="821" data-original-width="1192" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWShFtgFz4WRqxZSSGoFGpiZhaKxEmDYg2oRaODqaBhX0VAAZzRK8gnJL8E0uT3W-4MDRCQ9jEV2yUUL0cynXNQgvP9HnakqsgE8dpyOta-XRh8Q7W3Fb8su2YeKPbxOospOvXzup4ICJZXt_JxP4MvgLoZepfZSbYs0hYMGSn21ZLyT6aDXIzObUq/s320/iron%20claw2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> The story is seen through the eyes of
oldest son Kevin (Zac Efron), who starts out as the chosen one, following his
father’s orders without a word of dissent, and then is pushed aside for
brothers David (Harris Dickinson) and Kerry (Jeremy Allen White).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film, written and directed by Sean
Durkin (“The Nest”), alternates between sweaty success between the ropes and
devastating personal tragedies without much subtlety between. The acting is
fine throughout but the camera keeps turning away, and the script falls short,
just when you think one of these sons are going to reveal their inner demons.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another difficult balancing act the movie
tries to pull off is the Von Erich belief that they are athletes, ignoring the
reality that they are in the entertainment business. One of the best moments of
the film comes late when new wrestling superstar Ric Flair (wild-eyed Aaron
Dean Eisenberg) comes into the locker room after what looked like an incredibly
intense battle with Kevin. Flair clearly understands he’s just an actor, has a
good laugh and wants to go out drinking with his opponent.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What “The Iron Claw” does best is portray
the us-against-the-world mentality of so many traditional-value Americans, who
refuse to admit that, maybe, they are taking the wrong path.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;">PHOTOS:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Margot Robbie in "Barbie" (Warner Bros.)</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Paul
Mescal and Andrew Scott in “All of Us Strangers.” (Searchlight Pictures)</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Susan Hayward and Robert Cummings in “The Lost Moment.” (Universal Pictures)</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Sandra
Hüller in “Anatomy of a Fall.” (MK2 Films)</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Harris
Dickinson, Zac Efron, Stanley Simons and Jeremy Allen White are wrestling
brothers in “The Iron Claw.” (A24)</span></span></p>Doug Listhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339222653620926842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6028831787280199543.post-74489105983455293722024-01-02T11:25:00.000-08:002024-01-02T11:25:42.106-08:00December 2023<p> </p><h2 style="text-indent: 0in;"><br /></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">MAESTRO
(2023)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Henceforth, any filmmaker considering
making a movie about a famous person should be required to watch this
magnificently conceived portrait of mid-century musical giant Leonard
Bernstein. Directed, co-written and starring Bradley Cooper, this energetic,
emotionally raw picture, filled with adulation and criticism of the
composer-conductor tells the story of how his addiction to fame and his sexual
dalliances with men slowly destroyed his heterosexual marriage. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a short scene of Bernstein as an old
man, the narrative begins, in black and white, on Nov. 14, 1943, the day that
Bernstein filled in as conductor of the New York Philharmonic, without any
rehearsals, instantly turning him into a celebrity in the classical music
world. He jumps out of the bed he’s sharing with lifelong friend and lover
David Oppenheim (Matt Bomer) and rushes ahead to the opportunity of a lifetime.
Cooper quickly summarizes the great man’s entire life in this short sequence.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjea1QTSI3cdBZjZ-OL1ocUZ8KePA1O2K3ZAcAomkQGo138nNosj_6KFUqbxcfJFeQZDs_M2FF30dN-IO5VDKqQj7EKKkqVDhOP4pxnq-wtVASUFbFkO3pmlzOdZMIWr3G9rBgukvIxFtv_rLbL5zdba8XyZyNiAI4s0kNjqh_vPLtn9uPPxjRKxpXF/s2359/Bernstein.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1769" data-original-width="2359" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjea1QTSI3cdBZjZ-OL1ocUZ8KePA1O2K3ZAcAomkQGo138nNosj_6KFUqbxcfJFeQZDs_M2FF30dN-IO5VDKqQj7EKKkqVDhOP4pxnq-wtVASUFbFkO3pmlzOdZMIWr3G9rBgukvIxFtv_rLbL5zdba8XyZyNiAI4s0kNjqh_vPLtn9uPPxjRKxpXF/s320/Bernstein.webp" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At first, Cooper, looking astonishingly
like Lenny (as he’s known to all), seems to be overacting, exaggerating the
man’s enthusiasm, but soon it is clear that this was Bernstein and his
exuberance is central to the story. In many ways, the first part of the movie
reminded me of “Citizen Kane” in the way Cooper has the characters speak in
declarative sentences, his use of full-frame closeups and the rushing about of
the star as if there aren’t enough hours in the day.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He meets actress Felicia Montealegre (a
glowing Carey Mulligan) at a show-biz party (songwriters Adolph Green and Betty
Comden are performing) and is instantly attracted. As the film portrays their
relationship, it wasn’t a gay man using her as a public cover, but a deep love
that lasted 25 years and produced three children.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their marriage gives the film its gravity,
as Lenny’s achievements and affairs encircle his life, both keeping from being
the husband and father he should be.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the last quarter of the film, there’s a
heartbreaking argument between Felicia and Lenny that feels so real it’s hard
to watch. Cooper and his “A Star Is Born” cinematographer Matthew Libatique,
now filming in muted color, hold the shot for the entire scene, while outside
the windows of the apartment the floats of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
move by. The entire film is filled with powerful images but Cooper and
Libatique outdo themselves here.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I rarely mention a film’s makeup, but two-time
Oscar-winner Kazu Hiro’s work aging Cooper as Bernstein is crucial to the
story’s believability; it’s almost shocking how real the 48-year-old actor
looks as an old man. And Cooper adds to that believability by nailing the man’s
distinctive vocal mannerisms.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s so difficult to make bios sound
fresh and realistic, but “Maestro” does that from start to finish. Cooper’s
co-writer is maybe the best screenwriter working in Hollywood today, Josh
Singer. Among his credits are “Spotlight” (he won an Oscar), “The Post” and the
Neil Armstrong story “First Man,” having started as a writer on TV’s “The West
Wing.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, the film offers glimpses of
Bernstein’s famous works: his partnership with choreographer Jerome Robbins
(Michael Urie), starting with the ballet “Fancy Free” that turned into the
Broadway hit “On the Town” and what may be the quintessential American musical,
“West Side Story” along with his collaborations with fellow composer and close
friend Aaron Copland (Brian Klugman).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since his breakthrough as a serious actor
(no, I don’t count “Wedding Crashers” or “The Hangover”) in “Silver Lining
Playbook” (2012), Cooper has racked up nine Oscar nominations (producing,
acting, writing) and, as a director, breathed new life into an old war horse of
a musical, “A Star Is Born.” He’s done plenty of outstanding film work, but
this is the film that will define him as an artist, as both a filmmaker and an
actor. In any other year, he’d be the favorite for best director, but Martin
Scorsese and Christopher Nolan will keep him from that prize.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As much as Cooper dominates the film,
Mulligan is right there with him, giving a more down-to-earth performance but
always reflecting Felicia’s joy in Lenny’s successes. One of the most
effortless performers in movies, Mulligan sinks into her characters as well as
anyone working today (as in “She Said,” “The Dig,” “The Great Gatsby,”
“Shame”), rarely giving the showy performances that win awards—though her
Cassandra in “Promising Young Woman” was an exception. Most years, her work
here would be a shoo-in for best actress Oscar, but I think Lily Gladstone from
“Killers of the Flower Moon” has that wrapped up.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A caveat to my enthusiasm for “Maestro”
is the same as I had for recent films “The Post” and “Mank,” among others that
look back at historic events: Is there anyone under 60 who knows or cares about
the subjects of the pictures? Few. But maybe this superb movie will enlighten
those unfamiliar with Bernstein to the importance of this giant of 20<sup>th</sup>
Century music. Or, at least, they will relate to the underlying theme of the
artist struggling to balance work with a personal life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">POOR
THINGS (2023)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Imagine “Frankenstein” as a coming-of-age
story, with plenty of sex thrown in, and you’ll have an idea of what Yorgos
Lanthimos’ latest venture into the twisted psyche of humanity is all about. And,
by the way, it’s a comedy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the film earns a best picture Oscar
nomination, as is expected, it will be the most sexually explicit, and possibly
most bizarre, film ever to be considered for the top Academy Award; it makes
most David Lynch films look like an episode of “Mayberry R.F.D.” But it grows
on you. While there were many scenes I couldn’t watch—Lanthimos’ leaves little
to the imagination during the dissecting (and reassembling) of cadavers—the
journey Bella Baxter (a daring Emma Stone) embarks on when she leaves her creator,
Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe, unforgettable as always), resonates as an
extreme version of a road we’ve all travel in one way or another.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Set in some vague period of 19<sup>th</sup>
Century London, the story begins with a young, pregnant woman tossing herself
into the river and dying. Once Godwin takes possession of the body, he manages
to re-animate her, implanting the fetus’ brain inside the woman’s head. Sounds
like another twisted David Cronenberg picture or maybe a Vincent Price-Roger
Corman drive-in movie from the 1960s, but screenwriter Tony McNamara (“The
Favourite”), working from a novel by Alasdair Gray, has bigger plans for Bella
than just being a weird scientific experiment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Barely able to speak and walking with
difficulty, Bella seems to have no censor on her brain, saying and doing
whatever she feels no matter the circumstances. And then, just as she discovers
sexual pleasure, Duncan (Mark Ruffalo), a rather goofy lawyer shows up, and
whisks her away on a Dickens-like adventure with computer-generated, dreamy
sets and lots of sex.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stone, who co-starred in Lanthimos’ “The
Favourite,” clearly trusts her director—I can just imagine how twisted the film
must have seemed while it was being filmed. Wearing enormous, puffy-sleeved
gowns while saying the most outrageous things, Bella comes off as an alien to
most who encounter her, at least at first. Soon enough, she has more insight
than anyone in the room.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dafoe continues to deliver one off-beat,
memorable performance after another; his Godwin is a classic in the long
tradition of movie mad scientist. Ruffalo gives the picture’s most overt comic
performance as Duncan as he attempts to keep up with Bella after thinking he
was her savior.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also giving stand-out performances in this
strange world the filmmakers have created are Kathryn Hunter as the heavily
tattooed madame of a Paris brothel and 80-year-old Hanna Schygulla, a German
acting legend, as a wealthy woman who takes a liking to Bella.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I could have done with less
extravagance and gore, “Poor Things” manages to take a heavy-handed storyline
and turn it into a very funny, thoughtful picture, one of the year’s best.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">AMERICAN
FICTION (2023)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not many films have the audacity to focus
on a subject as obscure as authenticity and representation in the publishing
industry. Director Cord Jefferson, making his feature debut, whose script is
based on Percival Everett’s novel, delivers a smart comedy about what passes as
cutting-edge novels while contrasting those stereotype-filled tales with the
down-to-earth life of an extended Black family.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jeffrey Wright plays Thelonious “Monk”
Ellison, a perpetually agitated college literature professor fed up with overly
sensitive students and politically correct faculty while frustrated with his
stalled writing career. His books are admired but don’t sell.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Inspired by a recent best seller by
another Black author (Issa Rae) that is filled with stereotype characters and
language, Monk one-ups her, writing a cliché-riddled, life-of-crime novel under
the pseudonym Stagg R. Lee. Monk convinces his agent (a very funny John Ortiz)
to send this purposely ridiculous manuscript to publishers and, much to their
amazement, it becomes a hot property.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR3lBOi7dsu1NWkJMjJAAyv8pQ-p-BAmtNAWGO5-Ygg99wId939IxRjBSBAWSyvSTjMyKVkHeadRRW_a-77QrweLkHq11TT5hlMReNHHGZzJtgjAD4k8NjEKt__kFvohEbs7ihRsH-0yHKsTFWU9e_MulHwkQVhw5gY9oAXooWOpuGqIVquCj_B6AX/s512/wright.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="269" data-original-width="512" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR3lBOi7dsu1NWkJMjJAAyv8pQ-p-BAmtNAWGO5-Ygg99wId939IxRjBSBAWSyvSTjMyKVkHeadRRW_a-77QrweLkHq11TT5hlMReNHHGZzJtgjAD4k8NjEKt__kFvohEbs7ihRsH-0yHKsTFWU9e_MulHwkQVhw5gY9oAXooWOpuGqIVquCj_B6AX/s320/wright.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the same time, Monk is dealing with
real life family problems, including a brother (Sterling K. Brown) with drug
problems and a mother (1960s television star Leslie Uggams) with dementia.
Tracee Ellis Ross, who played the wife in the TV series “Blackish,” has a
too-small role as Monk’s sister.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like most satires, the film overplays its
hand occasionally and the script trips over itself at some of the plot turns,
but the sincerity and ethical compass of Monk carries the film. And, without
comment, the film honors two legendary Black artists, jazz pianist Thelonious
Monk and novelist Ralph Ellison. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wright has never failed to create a
memorable character in over 25 years of mostly supporting work in film, his
breakthrough coming when he was cast as the controversial New York artist in
“Basquiat” (1996). His best performances include the drug lord in “Shaft”
(2000), Bill Murray’s best friend in “Broken Flowers” (2005), Felix, James
Bond’s ally since “Casino Royale” (2006), as Beetee in the “Hunger Games”
pictures and as another writer, Roebuck Wright, in “The French Dispatch”
(2021). “American Fiction” is Wright’s third noteworthy performance of 2023,
having also portrayed the comically stoic Gen. Gibson in “Asteroid City” and
outspoken Congressman Adam Clayton Powell in the Civil Rights era drama
“Rustin.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Uggams, a showbiz fixture since she was a
child actress in the 1950s, has worked on Broadway, in television (most
famously in the 1977 miniseries “Roots”) and as a recording star. Unbeknownst
to me, the 80-year-old has been working steadily in TV and films since 2011. As
Monk’s mother, she, brings dignity and sympathy to the role of a woman
struggling with end-of-life cognitive issues.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the end of the movie, the plot starts
playing with the “third wall”—it becomes unclear if we are watching the movie
or a movie made from Monk’s book. It works as a metaphor for a white publishing
industry that desperately wants to sell stories of Black Americans they’ve only
experience through television and movies.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For those who still care about the state
of American lit, this film will hit home.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">YOU’LL
FIND OUT (1940)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before popular musicians took on the pose of
cool seriousness, somewhere around 1967, bands were often the centerpiece of
musical-goofball movies that were mostly ridiculous but gave fans a chance to
enjoy their Top 40 heroes on the big screen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pre-dating the Beatles (“A Hard Day’s
Night” and “Help!”), Herman’s Hermits (“Hold On! and “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a
Lovely Daughter”), the Dave Clark Five (“Having a Wild Weekend”) and even all
those soda-jerk movies starring 1950s rockers, big band jazz ensembles took
their acts to Hollywood in the 1930s and ‘40s, cashing in on stardom achieved
on radio shows.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the biggest stars of this genre was
gimmicky band leader Kay Kyser and his Kollege of Musical Knowledge. Kyser
dressed in graduation garb (including a mortarboard hat) as he prompted
audience members to guess the names of songs while delivering incredibly corny
jokes and puns. But he and his band also had many No. 1 hits during the Great
Depression. (Harry Babbitt, Ginny Simms—both in this film—and future talk show
host Mike Douglas were among Kyser’s vocalists.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In “You’ll Find Out,” he ventures into Bob
Hope and Abbott and Costello territory as he and the band spend a weekend in an
old mansion that seems to be haunted. The first clue that something may be
wrong is when the other guests include Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Peter
Lorre. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Filled with seances, secret doorways and an
elaborate underground special effects lab, the picture wouldn’t scare a
preschooler but stands as a time-piece of the era. (One reason I watched the
film was to see the legendary Ish Kabibble, the stage name of trumpeter and
comic M.A. Bogue, who was a member of Kyser’s band. When I was a child, my
father repeatedly joked about his name.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David Butler, the film’s director, had an
astonishing Hollywood career that began as a silent film actor. His first
credit was in 1910, followed by many roles, including uncredited walk-ons in
both D.W. Griffith’s “The Birth of a Nation” and “Intolerance” (though it seems
that everyone working in film at the time made the same claim).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He started directing in 1927 (the same
year he acted opposite Janet Gaynor in “7<sup>th</sup> Heaven”) and soon was
specializing in musical comedies and Shirley Temple vehicles. His best-known
pictures are “Kentucky” (1938) starring Loretta Young, the Hope-Crosby romp
“Road to Morocco” (1942) and a string of Doris Day films. His follow-up to “You’ll
Find Out,” was the even more ludicrous Kyser vehicle, “Playmates” (1941), which
co-stars the acting legend John Barrymore (one year before his death) as
himself, forced to teach the bandleader how to recite Shakespeare.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For 10 years, starting in the mid-1950s,
Butler was a prolific TV director and then ended his career with the 1967
feature “C’mon, Let’s Live a Little” with pop stars Bobby Vee and Jackie
DeShannon. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In “You’ll Find Out,” Butler keeps the
action chaotic and the jokes sophomoric while making sure Kyser does his best
Hope imitation. Sure, it’s a dumb movie, but that’s what makes it fun. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">FERRARI
(2023)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m usually slow in picking up movie
trends, but there is no denying that films about real people, biographical and
otherwise, have been the flavor of the year. About half of the best films that
I’ve seen this year, including this look at a critical juncture of automobile
legend Enzo Ferrari’s life, fall into this expanding genre.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Adam Driver, who just two years ago
played a member of the Italian fashion family Guggi, offers a buttoned-down,
stressed-out version of another famous, sunglass-wearing Italian entrepreneur,
one-time race-car driver and founder of the luxury automaker. Set in the late
1950s, the movie focuses on Ferrari building his racing team for major races—Le
Mans and Mille Miglia—while the company faces financial ruin and his marriage
grows untenable in the wake of the death of their son. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAsHumiTb1m0P8k3JbzeHGu_l63SlljfWcAn6oe7XJL3TGJOwBju0XLz1nyJsBaAQl8xaI0LlQjcX_qakaeU5xVG53NGjyy5Wt-dOOEf332mlLPgB4DqB-vEK40F0wAdjMCtkkiwHS2fpMHKf4vPq94Pw0ZZc_ypzNNOh81ivGr1wvva6DrAZ8GHVy/s970/ferrari_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="671" data-original-width="970" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAsHumiTb1m0P8k3JbzeHGu_l63SlljfWcAn6oe7XJL3TGJOwBju0XLz1nyJsBaAQl8xaI0LlQjcX_qakaeU5xVG53NGjyy5Wt-dOOEf332mlLPgB4DqB-vEK40F0wAdjMCtkkiwHS2fpMHKf4vPq94Pw0ZZc_ypzNNOh81ivGr1wvva6DrAZ8GHVy/w394-h272/ferrari_0.jpg" width="394" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like “Maestro,” about another flamboyant
mid-century figure, this film unapologetically portrays a man who puts his
professional passion ahead of family and has a longtime affair outside
marriage. Penelope Cruz plays his wife Laura, giving a fiery performance of a
woman who has devoted her life to her husband and his business while he
maintains another household with his lover (oddly cast Shailene Woodley) and
their son. The script, based on Brock Yates book, by Troy Kennedy Martin (who
died in 2009), never feels superfluous to the action; Ferrari and his wife come
across as real, emotionally damaged people. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet at the heart of the picture are the
cars and Formula One racing, clearly the reason director 80-year-old Michael
Mann took on the project (he was a producer on the 2019 film “Ford v Ferrari”).
The POV camera-work by Erik Messerschmidt, an Oscar winner for the
black-and-white “Mank,” is thrilling and frightening, a reminder of the
intensity of sport.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As one of the most acclaimed filmmakers
since he made his feature debut with “Thief” (1981), Mann has regularly created
tough-minded men (women are almost always secondary in his films) who soldier
on even when everyone seems to be against them. Among his best are “The Last of
the Mohicans” (1992), “Heat” (1995), “The Insider” (1999), “Ali” (2001) and
“Collateral” (2004). In 2024, or the year after, Mann is expected to deliver a
much-anticipated sequel to “Heat.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The 40-year-old Driver, who from all
reports has no Italian heritage, is emerging as one of the finest actors of his
generation, should score his third Oscar nomination for this film. He
previously was named for “Marriage Story” and “BlacKkKlansman.” Maybe his best
performance was as a New Jersey bus driver and poet in “Paterson,” while his
best known is as Kylo Ren in the concluding “Star Wars” pictures. Driver is
also the star of Francis Coppola’s long-delayed pet project “Megalopolis,” a
sci-fi epic that may or may not ever see the light of day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">MAY
DECEMBER (2023)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As creepy and unpleasant as a cheap
slasher picture, director Todd Haynes latest snarky melodrama follows an
actress (Natalie Portman) spending time with Gracie (Julianne Moore), a
notorious woman she’s going to play in an upcoming film.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Twenty years earlier, Gracie was convicted
of rape after having an affair with a 13-year-old co-worker. She had their
first child in prison and then later married the much younger man (played as if
he’s still a child by Charles Melton). Though the plot somewhat resembles the 1990s
case of school teacher Mary Kay Letourneau, the circumstances have been
altered.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not much happens of interested in the film,
written by Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik (their first feature), as Portman’s
Elizabeth hangs around Gracie and Joe and talks to others in the town. What
becomes clear very quickly is that neither woman are very nice people; Gracie
is self-centered with little empathy for the pain she’s caused while the more
self-aware Elizabeth treats the family as disposable sources of acting
inspiration. Intentional or not, the continuing hurtful behavior of these two
grows, at best, cringe worthy, at worst, misogynistic.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Haynes has made some fine films, including
“Far from Heaven” (2002), starring Moore, “Carol” (2015) and the superb cable
miniseries version of “Mildred Pierce” (2011), but in “May December,” certainly
a story with plenty of issues to address, he does little but throw two
unpleasant women into the same room. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s a chance that all three of the
central players will score Oscar nominations but I wasn’t impressed with Moore
and Melton, neither of whom made me believe they were a couple who could have
remained married for all those years, withstanding the media glare. On the
other hand, Portman knows exactly who this manipulative actress is and shines
in the otherwise drab drama. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">SALTBURN
(2023)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For almost two hours, I enjoyed this
film’s unrelenting assault on the cluelessly decadent and recklessly cruel
British upper class as experienced by a naïve college freshman who has been
befriended by the family’s son at Oxford. But in the final act, in a series of
reveals (not to give too much away), filmmaker Emerald Fennell lets the rich
off the hook.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXKRXvIJiQRkXLhAI6u68nnXbIInvDlgt4xEg_yP4AW9QEHpsAzsWWHURwJIG2SW6MTeUOrHaSN2DQ8VmF92wqt9G51FBN9qfBhRYirlMBokguo_cw7QIBo82mvNG04l2q-U543kjsbMPsHEY7aM1FQ2kUXLyA6tpUuQKnudPzMxHB1OnqvWN1UW0o/s330/barry.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="330" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXKRXvIJiQRkXLhAI6u68nnXbIInvDlgt4xEg_yP4AW9QEHpsAzsWWHURwJIG2SW6MTeUOrHaSN2DQ8VmF92wqt9G51FBN9qfBhRYirlMBokguo_cw7QIBo82mvNG04l2q-U543kjsbMPsHEY7aM1FQ2kUXLyA6tpUuQKnudPzMxHB1OnqvWN1UW0o/s320/barry.webp" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Drowsy looking Barry Keoghan, nominated
last year for “The Banshees of Inisherin,” plays Oliver Quick (a name and
character clearly inspired by Dickens), a nerdish middle-class student drawn
into the obit of the rich, snobbish kids by Felix Catton (“Priscilla’s” Elvis,
Jacob Elordi). In fact, Oliver has fallen hard for the tall, dark young man, despite
Felix’s nonstop womanizing.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After Oliver reveals to Felix that his
drug-using father has died, Oliver is invited to spend the summer at the Catton
estate. The film settles into a version of a corrupted “Downton Abbey,” updated
to the 21<sup>st</sup> Century, with Richard E. Grant and Rosamund Pike deliciously
playing the lord and lady of the manor. Also hanging around is daughter Venetia
(Alison Oliver), cousin Pamela (an unrecognizable Carey Mulligan) and a classic
stern, protective butler (Paul Rhys).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Writer-director Fennell clearly enjoys pushing
the envelope of good taste and expectations, as she did in “Promising Young
Woman” (2020), but in “Saltburn” (the name of the Catton’s castle) she
undercuts her own clever writing and characters for little more than shock
value.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">PHOTOS:</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">Carey
Mulligan and Bradley Cooper in “Maestro”</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">(Netflix)</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jeffrey
Wright in “American Fiction.” (MGM)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Adam Driver in "Ferrari" (Neon)</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">Barry
Keoghan in “Saltburn”</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">(MGM)</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Doug Listhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339222653620926842noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6028831787280199543.post-59755968518068536642023-11-24T18:47:00.000-08:002023-11-24T18:47:13.420-08:00November 2023<p> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">KILLERS
OF THE FLOWER MOON (2023)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For most of our history, at least until
the late 1960s and in many cases much longer, most of white America lived in
blissful ignorance of the mistreatment and injustice faced daily by millions
across the country. And even if they knew, they didn’t care—the inequities
faced by African Americans, Latinos, Asians, anyone who dared to admit to being
gay or lesbian, non-Christians and, first among those who needed to be pushed
aside, Native Americans, weren’t worth worrying about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the last 30 years, journalism—through
newspapers, magazines, books and television—along with the entertainment
industry started taking notice of on-going and historic injustices, helping to
shake more Americans out of their child-like blindness. Based on David Grann’s
riveting chronicle of the inhuman treatment of the Osage Indians after oil production
began on the Oklahoma tribe’s land in the early part of the century, Martin
Scorsese’s epic movie, set in the 1920s, packs an emotional punch in every
scene, every conversation, every closeup as very bad people assimilate into the
community to enrich themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5aNRy7tUGZTUvPARr-k5J3cFNOoIn-erESjpCqLX2y4nZa3BR-IUY27WkHrZ_Bu861aDfKJ8LWkjOaZmr58T4gwQT4Hf7lCkGh3Kyk_SJ5aUR-kfULjLR5evWSqxjMt9uJyonff96Sr6bIDB2p3Bt9NIaj9nHFibCwhnotNTEiG6xKJmUTVJrRurF/s750/moon.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="750" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5aNRy7tUGZTUvPARr-k5J3cFNOoIn-erESjpCqLX2y4nZa3BR-IUY27WkHrZ_Bu861aDfKJ8LWkjOaZmr58T4gwQT4Hf7lCkGh3Kyk_SJ5aUR-kfULjLR5evWSqxjMt9uJyonff96Sr6bIDB2p3Bt9NIaj9nHFibCwhnotNTEiG6xKJmUTVJrRurF/s320/moon.webp" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">Capturing the world of the Osage and
detailing how these events impacted individuals is Scorsese’s greatest
accomplishment in this film. Much credit must be given to Jack Fisk, the
veteran production designer (he’s just three years younger than the 81-year-old
director) who has created a community that feels as authentic as the hard-edged
dialogue by Eric Roth and Scorsese.</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As white men flood into the area to “find”
their fortune, the town’s boss, William Hale (a commanding Robert De Niro)
pushes the young men to woo the unmarried Native women. Once married, the women
unexplainably take ill and die, leaving the riches in the hands of their white
husbands. This happens over and over again, yet law enforcement, under Hale’s
thumb, does nothing. (The Osage can’t even spend their own money without
getting a white man’s approval.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the center of the picture is Mollie
(Lily Gladstone in a soft-spoken but startling powerful performance), one of
the richest of the Osage who seems to have resisted the advances of white men
until the inarticulate war veteran Ernest (a miscast Leonardo DiCaprio) arrives
in town. He’s the nephew of Hale, but seems to be a sincere, if naïve (and way
too old), suitor of Mollie. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later, the death of her sister spurs Mollie
to seek an outside investigation, but Hale manages to hijack those efforts.
Frustratingly, the Native people seem blind to the fact that the beloved Hale
is working against them. Not until the FBI takes an interest (Jesse Plemons
plays the lead investigator) does there seem to be much hope that justice will
be served.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At three and a half hours, the film is
unavoidably episodic, and sometimes feels choppy and repetitive—the picture
reminded me of Scorsese’s “Casino” and “The Irishman,” long, rather labyrinth
chronicles that, despite numerous brilliant sequences, don’t always hold
together as narratives. But it’s not just the length:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve seen plenty of 90- minute films that
felt much longer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While Gladstone and De Niro have clearly
defined roles, and give performances worthy of Oscar nominations, DiCaprio
seems a bit misguided in trying to capture the difficult character of Ernest.
As he descends from a rather innocent pawn of his uncle and truly in love with
Mollie to an active participant in the evil conspiracy against the Natives, he
seems unchanged. Not to mention that it makes no sense that a 49-year-old actor
is playing the role.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He clenches his jaw too many times rather
than provide some insight into what is going on inside his head. That’s
probably a fault of the script and direction, but the result creates a crucial
weakness at the center of the film.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gladstone, whose ethnic background is
Blackfoot, is so good that she almost makes you forget the flaws of DiCaprio’s
performance. Her previous best-known roles were in Kelly Reichardt films,
“Certain Women” and “First Cow.” “Killers of the Flower Moon” should make her a
star.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With a director of Scorsese’s
stature—certainly one of the 10 greatest in American film history—there is
always the question of how a new film stacks up with his other works. Despite
what many reviewers are proclaiming, this isn’t a great film (a great message,
a great story, but not a great motion picture), not ranking with the director’s
greatest works, which are among the best American films ever made. Pending a
second viewing, I would place it among “The Departed,” “The Age of Innocence”
and “The Irishman.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">THE
HOLDOVERS (2023)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alexander Payne, who has directed some of
the best films of the past 30 years, had me at the opening credits of his new
film, recreating the look of a 1970s release, down to the style of the frame
showing the picture’s rating.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The 70s theme continues as director of
photography Eigil Bryld (“In Bruges”) recreates the soft, low-lit
cinematography of the era, appropriate for this story set in a New England
boys’ prep school in the winter of 1970.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Paul Giamatti plays the school’s disliked
ancient history teacher who gets stuck babysitting a group of students who remain
on campus over the Christmas holidays.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a few days with the rather cliché
group of students, a creaky plot turn leaves just Mr. Hunham, the school
kitchen manager Mary (a touching performance by Da’Vine Joy Randolph) and one
of the smart-aleck high schoolers, Angus (Dominic Sessa), whose parents decided
to vacation on their own.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These three bring their personal quirks
and tragedies to the table that eventually brings them together in the kind of
unique family unit that was a product of the era’s crumbling traditional
values.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Payne, like many contemporary filmmakers,
has made few films since his feature debut “Citizen Ruth” in 1996, directing
only seven features over the next 25 years. (That may speak to the current
state of film funding.) But those films have been impressive, including
“Election” (1999), “About Schmidt” (2002), “Sideways” (2004), “The Descendants”
(2011) and “Nebraska” (2013).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Randolph, who deserved an Oscar
nomination for her performance as an over-the-top nightclub performer in
“Dolemite Is My Name” (2019), serves as the truth-teller of the group as she
deals with the first holiday after the death of her son, who had been a student
at the school before going to Vietnam. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Giamatti gives his finest film performance,
subtly unfolding what begins as a cliched pompous teacher, giving way to a man
burdened with his insecurities and unhappy past. The role and the film serve as
a reminder that the virtues of 1970s films, so rich in believable characters
and with scripts anchored to lived lives, are just as relevant today.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">NAPOLEON
(2023)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Director Ridley Scott has made a career
recreating past and future worlds. From “Gladiator” and “The Kingdom of Heaven”
to “Alien” and “Blade Runner,” the filmmaker shines in immersing the audience
in the atmosphere of these unfamiliar environs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His new film, spanning the adult life of
the legendary general, while in many ways playing out like a 1930s MGM
spectacular, offers a series of immaculately designed set pieces—from the
candle-lit intimacy of Josephine’s boudoir to spectacular reenactments of the
dictator’s victories and final loss. Much credit must go to Scott’s regular collaborators,
production designer Arthur Max and cinematographer Dariusz Wolski.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOffx9CGyZ0pVhfL3urUM7t_GZJsSqDjqFSsl9AXmdDGBoTsxxC7u2X5ld1q__4TuWY0fg8rOGRwn56wI_j267-gXO84PTuGSwHVKw8JBBxUb6ZJBkwOtFdUTFx-W39OL5tw-u5Y-VxdLPlmj31NXrxXeoNPEdr8jZ36bcJZHx1d1A7XbDn4fEngy1/s1280/Nap.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOffx9CGyZ0pVhfL3urUM7t_GZJsSqDjqFSsl9AXmdDGBoTsxxC7u2X5ld1q__4TuWY0fg8rOGRwn56wI_j267-gXO84PTuGSwHVKw8JBBxUb6ZJBkwOtFdUTFx-W39OL5tw-u5Y-VxdLPlmj31NXrxXeoNPEdr8jZ36bcJZHx1d1A7XbDn4fEngy1/w407-h229/Nap.webp" width="407" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">Joaquin Phoenix plays Bonaparte not as the
supremely confident, dignified “great man,” but instead as an impulsive, needy
egotist whose military smarts and brazen ambition elevate him to the highest
ranks. Who knows how true the portrayal is to the real man, but it humanizes
him, while offering little to admire. Phoenix does an impressive balancing act
and makes great use of that famous bicorne hat, worn sideways.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Josephine, played with a very modern smirk
by Vanessa Kirby, holds such a strong power over Napoleon—sexually and
psychologically—that you could almost assume that their breakup contributed to
Waterloo. Kirby, so memorable as Princess Margaret in “The Crown,” the mother
in “Pieces of a Woman” and the White Widow in the recent “Mission: Impossible”
films, again dominates every scene she’s in. Scott clearly wanted his Josephine
to rule over Napoleon and he found the perfect actress.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As far as the rest of the cast, they’ve
been turned into the scenery—no one stands out. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like so many bio-pics and historical
drama, the film, written by David Scarpa, too often feels like clips from a
longer, more interesting picture. It’s only when Scott takes the film outside
to the battle field that the story takes flight. Few combat scenes are equal to
this film’s recreation of the Battle of Austerlitz, during which the French
lured tens of thousands of Russian troops onto a field of ice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I hate to even mention the phrase
“directors-cut” when writing of Scott (how many versions of “Blade Runner” did
we endure?), apparently, he plans to release a four-hour version (the
theatrical cut runs 2 hours and 38 minutes) in December on Apple TV+. I suspect
the longer film may smooth out the flaws of this version; we shall see. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">STOP
MAKING SENSE (1984)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has become accepted judgment that this
concert film of a Talking Heads’ performance at Hollywood’s Pantages Theater
ranks as the greatest of the genre. Maybe if you are a huge Talking Heads fan
it is, but for my taste, I’d lean toward “The Last Waltz” or “Concert for
Bangladesh.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not that director Jonathan Demme (“Silence
of the Lambs” and numerous music videos and films) doesn’t do a superb job in
capturing the energy and quirkiness of the post-punk, New Wave rock band and,
most particularly, its off-center lead singer, David Byrne. They emerged as
radio favorites in the late 70s and were done by the mid-80s.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most distinctively, Demme starts the show
with a bare stage—Byrne comes out for a solo sound check—and then slowly fills
the space with the instrument set-ups, all as the band bangs out its greatest
hits. The film peaks with the incendiary social commentary song “Life During
Wartime,” Byrne signature single.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Re-released to theaters recently (though
apparently with no additional footage), it holds up well 39 years later, though
the songs, all compelling on their own, sound very similar when performed
back-to-back-to-back. The band even turns Al Green’s R&B classic “Take Me
to the River” into a Talking Heads song.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Byrne, who dons his famous oversized suit
for a couple of numbers near the end of the show, is more performance artist
than rock singer—a combination of David Bowe, Elvis Costello and Laurie
Anderson—backed by the funky bass line of Tina Weymouth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I enjoyed seeing and hearing the band rip
through “Psycho Killer,” “Burning Down the House,” Once in a Lifetime” and its
other hits on the big screen (I’d only seen it on VHS previously), but the
“greatest”? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">PRISCILLA
(2023) and THE KILLER (2023)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can withstand bad acting, bad
screenwriting, even incompetent directing, but not the most egregious cinematic
sin: being boring. These two movies share nothing except that the characters in
both seem to sleepwalk through the performances and the plots are equally
dreary.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla” positions
itself as a kind of rebuttal to Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” (2022), in which the
wife of rock ‘n’ roll’s king spends most of the film in the background. The new
movie, based on Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir, doesn’t shy away from the
clearly inappropriate early relationship between the pair. When they meet,
she’s a very-sheltered 9th grader from Texas whose father is stationed in
Germany, at the same base where Elvis is doing his required military service
(living in luxury few G.I. ever enjoyed).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once Presley returns to Memphis,
Priscilla visits and, too soon, is living there, all approved by her parents.
Yes, it’s 60 years ago, but, even then, this young teen living among the adults
at Graceland was a bit strange. Though the film goes to great lengths to show
Elvis refusing the girl’s overtures for sex, even as they share a bed, I didn’t
believe it for a Memphis second.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While Elvis never stops telling her how
much he loves her, the soft-spoken Priscilla barely casts a shadow on the
Graceland walls, as Presley hangs out with his “Memphis mafia” buddies when not
away from home shooting movies and having affairs with his co-stars. (At one
point, newspaper stories report that he’s engaged to Ann-Margret.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While every viewer knows from the first
frame that this relationship is destined for disaster, I imagined that there
must be something interesting about it to make it worthy of a two-hour film. I
was wrong.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Coppola has made a career directing films
in which not very much goes on—it’s almost her signature. This one takes the
cake: a good portion of the picture depicts Elvis and Priscilla engaging in
childish games (remember, no sex) in their bed. It’s all embarrassingly dull.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Priscilla, Cailee Spaeny, in her first
major role, doesn’t so much give a performance as model for the camera, looking
like a lost deer. The script, by Coppola, gives her virtually no personality
and nothing of interest to say.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQIcNBL9lsYqTIYTaIOf4vIoTy3_haBujpxp4BROHSaQn6Bxrpgx3K60eSnGqzDuvmdxk5Zk32Cs17mBQORrW1usfRsq7kSJjgHH0mN8wPwwIS_T-trbcJfharUdth-lyuqNp93ixvHIgSOdjX3uy5c0rgMpy2wEDDDtBNW6iydNNZ1l3HeSfLJ0Tf/s1200/elvis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQIcNBL9lsYqTIYTaIOf4vIoTy3_haBujpxp4BROHSaQn6Bxrpgx3K60eSnGqzDuvmdxk5Zk32Cs17mBQORrW1usfRsq7kSJjgHH0mN8wPwwIS_T-trbcJfharUdth-lyuqNp93ixvHIgSOdjX3uy5c0rgMpy2wEDDDtBNW6iydNNZ1l3HeSfLJ0Tf/s320/elvis.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> While I wasn’t impressed with Austin
Butler’s Oscar-nominated turn in “Elvis,” at least he brought out Presley’s
energy and ambition. Jacob Elordi, a tall, thin actor who bears no resemblance
to the singer (distractingly, he’s 5 inches taller than the real Elvis) plays
the role as if no one told him he was portraying a rather famous person.
Previously, he was a star of the Netflix movie series, “The Kissing Booth.”<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For some reason, Colonel Parker isn’t in
the film at all. Odd, considering that most accounts have him making every
important decision in Presley’s life. He might have livened up this film (where
is Sofia’s old friend Bill Murray?); someone needed to light a fire under this
story.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I wasn’t surprised at the somnolent
manner of Coppola’s picture, I never expected David Fincher to turn “The
Killer,” a tale of a failed assassination attempt, into such a slog.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Michael Fassbinder is the professional
hitman who missed and then goes on a vengeance-fueled killing spree knowing
that his mistake will likely cost him his life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film seems to be influence by “Point
Blank,” but never generates the intensity or outrage that Lee Marvin brought to
the violent 1967 classic. It’s just one senseless killing after another,
including innocents.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Without giving away one of the few
lighthearted quirks of this mostly repetitive script, the highlights of the
film are the names the assassin uses when checking into hotels. Sadly, that
minor note is the only memorable aspect of this strangely subdued picture.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would have preferred to see a film
about the killer’s storage locker, where he keeps an astonishing collection of
guns and accoutrements to hide his identity. I can’t imagine how long it took
him to accumulate all of this. He even jokes about what the bidders on “Storage
Wars” would make of his collection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Late in this slickly directed, but
hollow film, the assassin encounters a very rich woman played by Tilda Swinton,
which I suspect was the entire reason to make the film. It would have been a
very fine 10-minute short.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">N<span style="text-transform: uppercase;">YAD (2023)<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">In the 1970s, Diana Nyad emerged as one
of the most famous female athletes after a string of long-distance swims that
set records around the globe.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a career with ABC Sports (when it was
a major player) and other outlets, Nyad decided, at age 64, to again attempt
her dream swim: Cuba to Key West, about 100 miles infested with sharks and
other dangerous sea critters. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Annette Bening, looking much like the real
Nyad, plays this self-centered, sharp-tongued woman as she trains and then
swims the Caribbean Sea.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two-time Oscar winner Jodie Foster plays
Bonnie, her coach and best friend—both are lesbians but not lovers—showing
great patience with the demanding Nyad, who refuses to accept the general
opinion that she’s too old to attempt this seemingly impossible feat.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a great story and these two fine
actresses are convincing as they recreate this often-fraught relationship. What
left me cold—the film is streaming on Netflix—was the mixing of video of the
real Nyad with the performances by the actors. The film, directed by Elizabeth
Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, the husband-and-wife team who made the 2018
Oscar-winning documentary “Free Solo,” starts with five minutes worth of clips
from Nyad’s early career (including an appearance on the “Tonight Show with Johnny
Carson”) which I could forgive if the filmmakers didn’t keep coming back to
clips through the picture.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They can’t seem to decide if they are
making a feature or a documentary.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The movie touches lightly on the
inappropriate actions of Nyad’s youth swim coach but that’s not a major concern
as the filmmakers clearly are looking to paint a story of heroism. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For me, the unpleasant manner of Nyad,
which Bening and screenwriter Julia Cox (working from Nyad’s memoir), don’t shy
away from, made it hard to root for the woman. But Bening, as usual, is
outstanding. She’s recently done well playing real people, including Sen.
Dianne Feinstein in “The Report” and actress Gloria Grahame (with whom she
bears a strong resemblance) in “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool,” and also
delivered memorable work in “The Kids Are All Right” (2010) and “20<sup>th</sup>
Century Women” (2016). Her post-50 career has defied Hollywood’s agism toward
women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also giving a memorable performance is
Rhys Ifans (“Notting Hill”), as a boat owner who becomes a crucial member of
Team Nyad. The late-night phone conversation between him and Nyad is the film’s
most touching moment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">APPOINTMENT
WITH A SHADOW (1957)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the most difficult roles to play
convincingly is that of a drunk. There’s no right way as every alcoholic acts
differently, yet rarely do actors manage to bring drunken authenticity to the
screen, instead overacting as if they have seen “Arthur” too many times. Most
famously, Ray Milland in “The Lost Weekend” (1945) and Jack Lemmon in “The Days
of Wine and Roses” (1962) earned acclaim, if not total success, as heavy
drinkers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s why I was impressed with
little-know actor George Nader in this low-budget, 72-minute crime picture.
Nader, who spent his entire career in Bs, was most famous for taking the sword
to protect Rock Hudson; the magazine Confidential outed him and passed on
exposing the bigger star.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Wssh3skRAPn4X-nHPygGAUPPW_hismPyn-NOIekn2aKVb1BMO4wsdKdqx8a_bvCu-D9VOXDFxC8oZz_V7kTVWbQ607NL86oAudOa-OV-z9eRsX_xFFWSgnqd2gaHs1d959id0lCTpa4Z4g_0qfrrg5KBkfuGieXmP_b1wNuH_9dAEjMtkZrVtI36/s627/nader2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="341" data-original-width="627" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Wssh3skRAPn4X-nHPygGAUPPW_hismPyn-NOIekn2aKVb1BMO4wsdKdqx8a_bvCu-D9VOXDFxC8oZz_V7kTVWbQ607NL86oAudOa-OV-z9eRsX_xFFWSgnqd2gaHs1d959id0lCTpa4Z4g_0qfrrg5KBkfuGieXmP_b1wNuH_9dAEjMtkZrVtI36/w358-h195/nader2.jpg" width="358" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> The film opens with Nader’s Paul Baxter
passed out at O’Connell’s Bar, his favorite dive. We soon learn that he’s an
unemployed reporter whose drinking cost him his job. Meanwhile, his girlfriend
(Joanna Moore, who had a long career in serial TV) and her brother (Brian
Keith), who is also a police detective, have cooked up a plan to get him back
on his feet.<o:p></o:p></span></p><o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The detective gives Baxter exclusive
access to a police arrest of a notorious mobster. The reporter manages to stay
sober and shows up at the scene, witnessing the police shooting a man as he
leaves a restaurant. But he also spots the actual criminal watching the scene
along with him. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, no one believes this unreliable
drunkard’s story that the cops shot the wrong man, but he pursues the real guy
while uncovering the plot that left an imposter dead.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With a star in the role, this might have
been a successful A picture; the script by Alec Coppel and Norman Jolley from a
story by Hugh Pentecost (and directed by actor Richard Carlson) has some
poignant soliloquies and sharp observations about human fragility. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found the film by chance on YouTube when
I was searching for the highly regarded noir “Appointment with Danger” (it’s
not available). Not sure how good the other “appointment” is, but Nader’s
performance made this one memorable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">PHOTOS:</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone in "Killers of the Flower Moon." (Apple TV+)</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Joaquin Phoenix as "Napoleon." (Apple TV+)</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi on the long-awaited wedding day in "Priscilla." (A24)</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">George Nader plays a drunk in "Appointment with a Shadow." (Universal Pictures)</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></p>Doug Listhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339222653620926842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6028831787280199543.post-28234818752719331122023-09-29T15:35:00.002-07:002023-09-29T15:35:50.997-07:00September 2023<p><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">BLONDIE
JOHNSON (1933) and BACK IN CIRCULATION (1937)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though she never became a major star, few
actresses exemplify the 1930s as perfectly as the exuberant Joan Blondell. For Depression
era moviegoers, she was ubiquitous, appearing in 55 pictures that decade,
typically in support of James Cagney and Dick Powell but also as a headliner in
crime and romance programmers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether she was top of the bill or a
supporting player, Blondell brought the same kind of off-handed sarcasm and
unstoppable energy as the Warner Bros. male stars.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPKszZr9tiOAS7_KDPZ2kQKQG1pYc_eOiVMYKbwm4F0mTHHq8ufpEMTMANxQVbE8xsUGLepoEHYUhMIBILKHhz5TvCjqc5zoIBqgIK9gfJgV1Ya8X7ugZZqXrx7lRi5zfPwga09dCXznOamvkALP_h23Aq96zfl7EAf3mo3Z8b9ZdRHbrETFXkSi8X/s1480/blondell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1480" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPKszZr9tiOAS7_KDPZ2kQKQG1pYc_eOiVMYKbwm4F0mTHHq8ufpEMTMANxQVbE8xsUGLepoEHYUhMIBILKHhz5TvCjqc5zoIBqgIK9gfJgV1Ya8X7ugZZqXrx7lRi5zfPwga09dCXznOamvkALP_h23Aq96zfl7EAf3mo3Z8b9ZdRHbrETFXkSi8X/s320/blondell.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> In “Blondie Johnson,” she turns to crime
when she’s denied government assistance despite an ailing mother and being
forced to quit her job because of sexual harassment. Blondie partners with a
goofy cab driver (Sterling Holloway, later the voice of Winnie the Pooh, among
many animated characters) to use a sob story to con men out of a few bucks.
Then she pulls the con on a mob lieutenant (the affable Chester Morris),
leading to them starting an insurance scam that scores big for the pair and their
mob boss. But Blondie refuses to settle for anything less than control of her
own fate. <o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> Not only is the film an entertaining story of
rags to riches but it offers sharp commentary on the suffering during the Great
Depression and can be viewed as an early tale of female empowerment. It’s probably
Blondell’s most charismatic performance.</span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few dozen films later, Blondell is an ethically
challenged newspaper reporter “Timmy” Blake (short for Timothea) in “Back in
Circulation,” one of many “Front Page” clones Hollywood cranked out in the 1930s
and early ‘40s.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A tip that a wealthy businessman might
not have died of natural causes, sends “Timmy” to the funeral, demanding—as
only reporters in movies could do—that the ceremonies be stopped and an autopsy
performed. The feisty girl reporter is soon demanding interviews with the young
widow (Margaret Lindsay, the wife in “Jezebel”) and the attending physician
(John Litel), while her demanding editor (Pat O’Brien, this time taking the
Walter Burns role)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In an era where reporters were encouraged
to do what it takes to get the scoop, “Timmy” and others at the Morning Express
impersonate doctors to get past police barricade, hold a witness at gunpoint,
break into the dead man’s home and knock out a witness (“Timmy” delivers the
punch). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
snappy dialogue (Adela Rogers St. Johns, one of the most famous journalists of
the 1930s, was among the screenwriters) and the non-stop bickering between
editor and reporter make the film seem like a bridge between the original
“Front Page” and Howard Hawks’ version “His Girl Friday.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ray Enright, who had been directing
second-features for Warner Bros. since the late 1920s, was behind the camera
for both of these. The sure-handed pro keeps the action moving while giving
time for supporting players to shine; Allen Jenkins, Claire Dodd, Toshia Mori
and Holloway in “Blondie Johnson” and Regis Toomey, George E. Stone and Spencer
Charters in “Back in Circulation.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Blondell’s torrid pace during the
1930s—including six with Cagney and 10 with Powell—slowed in the 1940s, but she
gave three high-profile performances during the decade: as a hospital volunteer
in the war film “Cry ‘Havoc’” (1943), repeating her stage role as Aunt Sissy in
“A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” (1945) and as the spurned clairvoyant in “Nightmare
Alley” (1947). She scored an Oscar nomination near the end of her film career
for her role in the Jane Wyman weeper, “The Blue Veil” (1951)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From the 1950s through the ‘70s, she made
appearances on dozens of TV series, occasionally working in features, memorably
in “The Cincinnati Kid” (1963), “Support Your Local Gunfighter” (1971) and
“Grease” (1978). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The actress, whose career began in
vaudeville at age three in support of her parents, died in 1979, working right
to the end.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">DUMB
MONEY (2023)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Reddit-Robinhood-GameStop stock market
phenomenon of 2021, more than any recent event, played out like a script from
one of Frank Capra’s “common man vs. the powers that be” pictures. Yet this
film, despite its efforts to paint the retail investors as working-class heroes
and the Wall Street hedge fund bosses as arrogant blowhards, is an unpleasant
experience featuring characters that never inspire cheering. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Paul Dano captures the nerdy, headband wearing Keith Gill,
whose postings on the social media website Reddit inspired nonprofessional stock
market dabblers to put money in GameStop stock even though the video game store
was thought to be on the brink of bankruptcy. As the number of Gill’s followers
investing in GameStop multiplies, the stock price skyrockets, making them rich
overnight and creating financial disaster for the hedge fund firms that bet the
stock would sink.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgubGGNX384jQLzSZ4u9hY3rqJbF1RYtrMQNhhfAvASr9AS2TzkbK10oXiTLdprDJJ_mSw8rHK5NdrAxiBYh2NiWBMZI4mg5kopr55Qjya-r361Sz3olU3P8myrcNjxd5eRIPUilj2pdkAR5zRct0_mcLEu_6A0B9eymXKpEBfyjP2q5iPeAELS9Y7m/s700/dano.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="700" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgubGGNX384jQLzSZ4u9hY3rqJbF1RYtrMQNhhfAvASr9AS2TzkbK10oXiTLdprDJJ_mSw8rHK5NdrAxiBYh2NiWBMZI4mg5kopr55Qjya-r361Sz3olU3P8myrcNjxd5eRIPUilj2pdkAR5zRct0_mcLEu_6A0B9eymXKpEBfyjP2q5iPeAELS9Y7m/s320/dano.webp" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the movie, directed by Craig
Gillespie (“I, Tonya” and “Lars and the Real Girl,” both first-rate films),
makes its case about how easily the market can be manipulated, it’s hard to
root for those portrayed as investing money they couldn’t afford to lose. It
also doesn’t help that the Reddit community is portrayed as filled with profane
and sexist commentary, accepted matter-of-factly. In addition, everyone in the
film swears like they’re a character in a popular streaming series. (I’m
convinced that the proliferation of profanity in settings once considered
family friendly stems from the constant swearing in TV scripts.) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seth Rogen, Vincent D’Onofrio and Nick
Offerman are unrelentingly Machiavellian as Wall Street CEOs, while Shailene
Woodley is underused as Gill’s supportive wife. The most interesting character
in the film, who ironically doesn’t do any investing, is Gill’s slacker
brother, well played by Pete Davidson.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film doesn’t emphasize the recent downside
of GameStop investing: while at the height of the craze the stock hit $500 a
share, in the past year it’s hovered around $17.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">THE
EQUALIZER 3 (2023)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Few actors have ever been able to move so
comfortably between films based on classic theater (“Fences,” “The Tragedy of
Macbeth”) and violent action pictures as Denzel Washington does. In this third
installment of this adaptation of the 1990s TV series, Washington’s Robert
McCall ventures to Sicily to deliver his unapologetic vigilante justice on a
mob family.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Badly injured, he ends up recuperating in
a quaint, coastal Italian town in the Amalfi Coast region. About the same time,
another mob family thinks they can bully the town folks into handing over the
city for development of casinos and hotels. But they didn’t count on the
one-man wrecking crew in the form of this limping American stranger, who has
quickly become part of the community.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>McCall gets the CIA involved, anonymously
contacting agent Collins (Dakota Fanning, who co-starred with Washington in
“Man on Fire” when she was 10), but she and her team mostly arrive in time for
the cleanup. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Director Antoine Fuqua, who’s directed all
films of the franchise and also “Training Day,” which earned Washington his
best actor Oscar, keeps the killing to a minimum, instead focusing on the way
McCall and these small-town Italians bond in ways that aren’t possible most
places in America. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’d be easy to dismiss this as just another
star-vehicle actioner, which it is, but “Equalizer 3” also features a
thoughtful, naturalistic performance from the best in the business. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">OUR
HOSPITALITY (1923)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Celebrating its 100<sup>th</sup>
anniversary, this Buster Keaton comedy is often ranked as one of the
actor-director’s greatest works, alongside “The General” (1927) and “Sherlock
Jr.” (1924). To me, it stands up better than much of Keaton’s pictures as it
mostly focuses on an actual plot and character development rather than jumping from
one acrobatic stunt to the next.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While Keaton’s critical stature has grown
as his silent rival Charlie Chaplin’s has declined, I still find Chaplin, even
when he’s milking the sentimentality of the Little Tramp, the greater artist.
I’ve never warmed up to Keaton’s stone-faced, rather infantile character who
never tired of getting pushed around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Our Hospitality” satirizes the infamous
Hatfield and McCoy post-Civil War feud (renamed Canfield-McKay), as the
silent’s prologue shows Willie McKay’s father dying in a shootout in the Blue
Ridge Mountains with one of the Canfields. The young widow quickly leaves for
New York City with young Willie and raises him there.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fast forward 20 years and Willie is a
young, clueless dandy who receives notice that he is now the owner of the
family’s “estate” back in the hills. Imaging a palatial estate, he boards one
of the strangest transportation contraptions ever imagined.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ccOa_p10xo8-O_Lf5MK4OtxIssalW0Gn1CIKK6exOg1NPnK7ijpEjsB4mNN8jUTGLLsNeTzCwk5oY7qGBZWomrFCDRMJbH2ZD46VRrG4mca0kL7_5ZbNY8Dfuv88npzq_QqyYVYh7KFk373pYr8vDrLIGNGi99BL1FKGykWtsHpCnR1-OdrlOXn1/s1005/our-hospitality-still-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="670" data-original-width="1005" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ccOa_p10xo8-O_Lf5MK4OtxIssalW0Gn1CIKK6exOg1NPnK7ijpEjsB4mNN8jUTGLLsNeTzCwk5oY7qGBZWomrFCDRMJbH2ZD46VRrG4mca0kL7_5ZbNY8Dfuv88npzq_QqyYVYh7KFk373pYr8vDrLIGNGi99BL1FKGykWtsHpCnR1-OdrlOXn1/w309-h205/our-hospitality-still-1.jpeg" width="309" /></a></div> <o:p></o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">Keaton, who directed along with John G. Blystone,
is clearly proud of his oddball invention—a combination of a primitive train
and a stage coach—as he spends about 15 minutes of the 75-minute film on the
journey. The “train” looks like something you’d encounter at an amusement park,
with its moveable tracks and bumpy ride. (His dog beats the train to the
destination.) Importantly, Willie meets a young lady (Natalie Talmadge) who is
returning home after a visit to the big city.</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s obvious from the start, though not to
Willie, that this woman must be a Canfield. Once they arrive in the rural
community, her father and brothers immediate start plotting to shoot the young
McKay. Their plans are complicated by the tradition of “hospitality” they must
show to this courting young man while he’s in their home. It becomes a game of
cat-and-mouse that ends, as Keaton adventure inevitably do, with a harrowing
escape, this time on the side of a rocky cliff and over a waterfall. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keaton, to his credit, uses intertitles
sparingly, allowing the visuals carry the humor and drama, even in the casting,
as all the other men in the film are at least a foot taller than the star. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’ve never seen a Buster Keaton film,
this might be the perfect starting point (and is available on YouTube for free).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among the other acclaimed movies marking
a century of existence include Harold Lloyd’s most famous work “Safety Last!” Chapin’s
“A Woman of Paris,” “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” featuring Lon Chaney’s
heartbreaking performance, and Cecil B. DeMille’s first version of “The Ten
Commandments.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">SHE’S
FUNNY THAT WAY (2015)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This final feature of Peter Bogdanovich,
who died in 2022, might have come off as an amusing screwball comedy—with a few
alterations—if it was made in 1937 and starred Cary Grant and Carole Lombard.
This modernized, less subtle version of a mistaken-identity comedy quickly
grows irritating and tiresome.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Owen Wilson, at 54 still sporting his
floppy mop of blonde hair more suited to a frat boy, plays a famous film
director who regularly cheats on his wife with call girls when in New York.
When Arnold’s most recent paramour (Imogen Poots) auditions for his upcoming
play, which stars his wife (Kathryn Hahn), the stuttering, frenetic confusion
begins.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also connected to the young actress-call
girl Izzy is a doddering judge (played with stupendous idiocy by Austin
Pendleton), a distracted, angry therapist (Jennifer Aniston), and the play’s
leading man (Rhys Ifans). The sex-mad characters fly in and out of the film as
if it’s a Jerry Lewis telethon and are more grating than comical. But I did
want to see more of Izzy’s parents, played by Bogdanovich’s long ago muse,
Cybill Shepherd, and the great comedian Richard Lewis.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The story is told in flashback, which adds
nothing to the film, during an interview (Illeana Douglas plays the reporter)
with Izzy, now a success in Hollywood. The script was written by the director
and his ex-wife, Louise Stratten, whose older sister Dorothy was Bogdanovich’s
lover when she was murdered in 1980. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film has gained some recent traction,
under the title “Squirrels to the Nuts” (a line from an Ernst Lubitsch film), a
somewhat altered version re-cut by the director shortly before his death. But I
doubt it could be refined enough to be anything more than an unsatisfactory
meshing of Woody Allen and ‘30s screwballs. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">CAUSEWAY (2022)</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In recent years, it has been rare that Academy
Award voters take notice of good performances in minor, little-seen movies. But
in honoring last year’s film work, they looked beyond “Everything Everywhere
All at Once” and “The Banshees of Inisherin” to nominate Brian Tyree Henry for
his role as James, a small-town auto mechanic who befriends a depressed Afghan
war vet (Jennifer Lawrence).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While Lawence gives her usual fine
performance—her Lynsey is back home recovering from a brain injury suffered
while serving—Henry steals the picture. While the film is weighed down with too
many tragic characters, the script comes to life in the conversations between
Lynsey and James, mostly while she works cleaning pools.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m sure Lawrence was in the running for
best actress, delivering a low-ley, but intense performance, a change of pace
from her wide-eyed, frantic scientist in the end of the world comedy, “Don’t
Look Up” (2021). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Making her feature film debut, director
Lila Neugebauer keeps the temperature low through the story even as characters dig
deep into their emotional scars. She clearly knows how to get the most out of
her actors.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film is far from Henry’s first success:
the 41-year-old was in the original cast of “The Book of Mormon” on Broadway,
scored a Tony nomination for his performance in the play “Lobby Hero” and, on
television, is among the stars of the hit series “Atlanta.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, if your name isn’t Denzel
Washington, mainstream cinema doesn’t offer many good roles for
African-American actors, certainly not compared to the theater or streaming
world. Here’s hoping some filmmakers are paying attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">SEVEN
DAYS TO NOON (1951) </span></b><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">and
THE QUEEN OF SPADES (1949)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After four decades of watching way too
many movies, it has become a rare treat to discover a first-rate, vintage film.
I streamed both of these mid-century gems in the same week on Kanopy (through
the LA County Library) after they languished on my need-to-see list for years.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Seven Days” won an Oscar in 1951 for best motion
picture story (a category eliminated a few years later), honoring the original
idea by Paul Dehn and James Bernard, which Roy Boulting and Frank Harvey turned
into a terse, no-nonsense script about the development of the atomic bomb.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing could be timelier at the
beginning of the Cold War than a cautionary tale about weapon research; the
Boulting-led team (Roy and brother John direct) avoid the histrionics and
preaching that the subject can lend itself to. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Central London is under threat after a
scientist demands that Britain announce the end of A-bomb development or he
will detonate a powerful bomb in a week’s time. The picture follows the manhunt
by Scotland Yard detectives with the help of the scientist’s daughter and his
research assistant. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even with the urgency always in the
forefront—large titles announce the beginning of each day as the deadline gets
closer—the officials remain calm and levelheaded, as is the British way.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With a few stars in lead roles, this film
might be better remembered, but instead British character actors Barry Jones
(“Prince Valiant,” “Alexander the Great”), as the disgruntled scientist and
Andre Morell (“The Bridge on the River Kwai,” “Ben-Hur”), as the stoic police
investigator, head the cast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both are
fine, but I can just imagine Ralph Richardson and Trevor Howard in the roles.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Boultings were among the leaders of
post-war British cinema as both producers and directors. John was the more
successful director, receiving solo credit for “Brighton Rock” (1947), “The
Magic Box” (1951) and the comedy classic “I’m All Right, Jack” (1959). </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicLiYJLwRu2Qb4xF1GQ2niQL1_oxgkVpo7VMCIe7nZT54qyhuPe7EqEVytn2_bmOHrKq84qgqy6SYz5EvkYCPSQOVmDEgE17naYqkQBetquPFrycwn7LiwDGdU3Bcm4567KdxnIhA5NZsOArSKUFoYAbsiKx0_6XxBgjH0i9In-pZD6Wis0_1oFKM5/s600/queen.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="496" data-original-width="600" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicLiYJLwRu2Qb4xF1GQ2niQL1_oxgkVpo7VMCIe7nZT54qyhuPe7EqEVytn2_bmOHrKq84qgqy6SYz5EvkYCPSQOVmDEgE17naYqkQBetquPFrycwn7LiwDGdU3Bcm4567KdxnIhA5NZsOArSKUFoYAbsiKx0_6XxBgjH0i9In-pZD6Wis0_1oFKM5/s320/queen.webp" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even more impressive is “The Queen of Spades,”
a dark, gothic rendering of an Alexander Pushkin short story about a military
officers obsessed with gaining his fortune through gambling.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Set in early 19<sup>th</sup> Century
Russia, the story opens with a gathering of young officers wagering large sums
on the card game faro. Though the scene plays like an atmospheric way of
introducing Herman, a Russian officer played with sweaty urgency by Austrian
actor Anton Walbrook (“Gaslight,” “The Red Shoes”), it turns out to be the
crucial moment of the story. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Soon after the game, Herman reads about a
countess who regained her fortune a half century earlier by learning a magical
way to win this game. He immediately becomes obsessed with discovering the
secret.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He heartlessly
courts the countess’ naïve ward, Lizaveta (Yvonne Mitchell), to gain access to the
elderly woman (Edith Evans in a haunting performance). Dame Edith—in her first
film in over 30 years after decades of Shakespearean roles on the British
stage—creates an almost spectral figure, hovering between life and death and holding
on to her faro secret. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After her return to movies, Evans became a
regular supporting player in Britain and Hollywood in such films as “The Nun’s
Story,” “Look Back in Anger,” “Tom Jones” and “The Chalk Garden,” earning
supporting acting Oscar nominations for the last two. She scored a best actress
nod for her role in “The Whisperers” (1967), playing a lonely, fragile woman
struggling to survive in her senior years in the slums of Manchester. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Director Thorold Dickinson (the original
“Gaslight”) and cinematographer Otto Heller (“The Ladykillers,” “Alfie”)
utilize the look of film noir and Warner Bros. horror pictures to frame “Queen
of Spades” as both a powerful study of unbridled greed and a creepy ghost
story. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;">PHOTOS:</span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Joan Blondell as "Blondie Johnson." (Warner Bros.)</span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pete Davidson and Paul Dano in "Dumb Money." (Columbia Pictures)</span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Buster Keaton and Natalie Talmadge in "Our Hospitality." (Kino Video)</span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Anton Walbrook and Yvonne Mitchell admire the grand countess, Edith Evans,</span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;">in "The Queen of Spades." (Kino Lorber Studio)</span></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>Doug Listhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339222653620926842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6028831787280199543.post-69632617759179826332023-08-10T10:15:00.002-07:002023-08-12T11:14:21.842-07:00July 2023<p><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">OPPENHEIMER
(2023)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christopher Nolan, even with “Memento,” the
“Batman” trilogy, “Inception” and “Interstellar” on his resume, scales new
heights as a filmmaker with this fast-paced, succinctly written and brilliantly
edited psychological profile of the man most responsible for creating the
atomic bomb.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the three-hour picture touches on the
important events of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer’s life and, plot-wise,
spends most of its time on his work during the Manhattan Project, which
resulted in the bombs that ended World War II when dropped on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki, the film is most interested in the volatile relationship between
science and politics and the way hysteria over communism altered lives. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Irish actor Cillian Murphy, best known as
Scarecrow in the “Dark Knight” series, seems an unlikely choice to anchor a
very expensive, high-profile picture, but he nails this conflicted, prickly
man, making good use of his hypnotic eyes and quiet manner.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHOF8Rs7WkijcKNuR30IjjwI0Lz9n7-SlLFO42AynT49vinYagkXGLLG86GyhbvLTyuXDiAWjIq9xjX4StM8fDtG55JgAn9H-3ir5rV9Vjecza_WsUCIuAAl0rhTT-d7NneuxAKEUGP4ovY80hnXtPOPOaUuPpN2tj47zLfuSlAGbJavy4DomuDfLU/s1055/WI070123_FF_ChristopherNolan_02.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="820" data-original-width="1055" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHOF8Rs7WkijcKNuR30IjjwI0Lz9n7-SlLFO42AynT49vinYagkXGLLG86GyhbvLTyuXDiAWjIq9xjX4StM8fDtG55JgAn9H-3ir5rV9Vjecza_WsUCIuAAl0rhTT-d7NneuxAKEUGP4ovY80hnXtPOPOaUuPpN2tj47zLfuSlAGbJavy4DomuDfLU/s320/WI070123_FF_ChristopherNolan_02.webp" width="320" /></a></div> Adeptly chronicling Oppenheimer’s rise
from a precocious college student to a famed astronomy and nuclear physics
professor at Berkeley, the movie manages to capture the clubby, gossipy
community of pre-war scientists with dialogue that is both telling and
realistic. And it moves at a lightning pace, jumping from the classroom to
cocktail parties to the bedroom. To me, it works beautifully (based on a
biography by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin), but I can’t imagine a viewer getting
much out of the film without at least a passing knowledge of the dynamics of
World War II and America’s uneasy alliance with the Soviet Union.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like most of the director’s pictures,
“Oppenheimer” is a technical marvel, with world-class work by editor Jennifer Lame
(“Tenet,” “Manchester by the Sea”) and cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema
(“Dunkirk,” “Interstellar”).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The centerpiece of the film—and
Oppenheimer’s life—begins when Gen. Groves (a no-nonsense Matt Damon) convinces
him to take charge of the bomb-making aspect of the Manhattan Project. Using
the tension created by the time-sensitive nature of an existential world war
and the gradual process of science, Nolan creates what seems like a believable
tale of how the atomic bomb came to be, culminating in the first test in Los
Alamos, New Mexico on July 16, 1945, just weeks before the bombs were used to
expedite Japan’s surrender.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beyond Murphy’s superb portrayal of this
low-key, but egoistical man of science, the film overflows with small,
memorable performances, including Damon; Emily Blunt, as Oppenheimer’s
long-suffering but loyal wife; Tom Conti as Albert Einstein; Josh Harnett as
fellow Cal prof, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Ernest Lawrence; Benny Safdie as
hydrogen bomb inventor Edward Teller and Florence Pugh as Oppenheimer’s
longtime mistress.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the second half of this epic, Robert
Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss, a key member of the Atomic Energy Commission,
dominates as he maneuvers to cancel Oppenheimer’s influence over post-war
nuclear policy. Behind the scenes, he uses the era’s suspicions of even the
slightest connection to communism and, underlying everything, Oppenheimer’s
Jewishness to tarnish his reputation. It’s one of Downey’s finest performances.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition to the questions of loyalty to
the U.S., the film examines the moral questions faced by scientists working on
the bomb (it’s terrible, but better us than the Germans, right?) and the even
more destructive hydrogen bomb that was developed after the war. Oppenheimer’s
idea that an international board should control weapons is seen as more proof
that he was being swayed by Soviet influence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m sure the film doesn’t perfectly align
with all the facts of these mid-Century events, but it’s not meant to be a
documentary. “Oppenheimer” is an exceptionally crafted feature that manages to
be both a grand work of entertainment and an insightful look at a crucial event
in American history. Not only is this Nolan’s greatest achievement, but it
ranks as one of the best films of this century.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">MISSION:
IMPOSSIBLE---DEAD RECKONING, PART ONE (2023)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is there no end to the existential threats
to mankind Hollywood screenwriters can invent that require heroes to save us?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the latest chapter of the Ethan Hunt
(Tom Cruise) story, he and his IMF unit (Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg are back
along with Rebecca Ferguson) are tasked with obtaining a key that manages the
all-powerful, but poorly explained “Entity.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though all the nations in the world are
after it, the rogue players, as always, seem to beat them at every turn,
requiring Hunt and team to once again, this is film No. 7, stand as the only
hope to avert the apocalypse. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two women are the picture’s most
interesting characters. From 2018’s “Fallout,” Vanessa Kirby’s White Widow
returns, bringing an amoral Eurotrash duplicitousness, playing off Hunt’s
unimpeachable righteousness. Meanwhile, Grace (Hayley Atwell), a slick
pickpocket, injects some street-level crookedness into this battle of genius
operatives, becoming both foil and friend to Hunt’s efforts.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Atwell, Peggy in various Marvel
adventures, finally has a role worthy of her skills as she matches Ethan’s
spy-craft despite her character being an amateur. Previously, she gave
impressive performances in British TV miniseries, as Julia in “Brideshead
Revisited” (2008) and as Margaret in “Howards End” (2017).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Returning to the series is the memorable
Henry Czerny as Kittridge, Hunt’s distrusting controller from the first, and
best film of the franchise. He’s the perfect government go-between, playing
both sides but never completely committing to either. You never knew what he
was thinking in the 1996 actioner, which hewed closer to the TV original than
any of the sequels. But images of Hunt pulling off a mask, dangling in the
middle of a Langley computer room and dodging a helicopter chasing a train in a
tunnel are essential in development of the modern action picture. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, the new film features some
incredible chases, including a dizzying and very funny race through the narrow
streets of Rome with Hunt and Grace handcuffed to each other, squeezed into a
mini-Fiat and, of course, the epic motorcycle jump off a cliff that’s thrilling
even though I’d seen part of it in the trailer about 20 times.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This film, coming just a year after “Top
Gun Maverick,” cements Cruise’s status as the most important movie star in
Hollywood, a seemingly ageless icon (he’s 61) who is equally believable doing
an impossible stunt and mourning a colleague’s death. His continuingly evolving
Hunt grows more human, more fragile and more introspective about his place in
the world with every film (I’m hoping for a final film showing him enjoying
retirement, coaching Little League and battling with irritating neighbors.) He’s
100 times a better actor than he was when the series began 27 years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though the film is “Part One,” I didn’t
feel cheated at the end; writer-director Christopher McQuarrie, working on his
third “Mission: Impossible” (he’s also written four other Cruise pictures),
gives viewers a real ending while keeping the mystery of The Entity unfinished
business that will require more impossibilities from Hunt next year.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">711
OCEAN DRIVE (1950)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This B-movie, released amidst the wave of
mid-century film noirs, has more connection with the rise-and-fall gangster
tales from the early 1930s. If Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney or Humphrey
Bogart starred instead of Edmond O’Brien, this would be a highly admired
picture airing regularly on TCM. (Instead, I found it on YouTube.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>O’Brien, who followed his years as a solid
supporting player with a series of hard-nose cops and criminals in postwar
crime movies, plays Mal Granger, a discontent telephone company tech. After
being introduced to the illegal off-track-betting operation run by tough guy
Vince Walter (Barry Kelley), Mal quits his legit gig and begins updating the
technology used by the gambling house. (At the time, it was illegal to place horse
racing bets outside the track.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mal quickly falls for the lifestyle,
seeing the boss’ girl (Dorothy Patrick) and pining for more power. Then, right
on cue, Walter is killed and Mal takes over the business. But trouble is
brewing behind the scenes as a special police crime unit starts probing Los
Angeles gambling and a powerful mobster from the Midwest (the deceptively
grandfather-like Otto Kruger) wants a piece of Mal’s action.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What makes this film stand out from a
hundred others from the era is a smartly written, multilayered plot along with
the care director Joseph M. Newman takes with even the briefest of scenes. A
sequence in which Mal talks to a restaurant owner who knows a tailor (the
underrate character actor Robert Osterloh) who could do a job involving a
killing could have fit nicely into “The Godfather.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD7F4Z0jWewJN0EcuD1UIBETDsYxpwKEBvrOFCd6lP4Pog-bJj68RXIlmu0q9s_CXXfi8_vhie_r1YYxqe7onQBh5NRpY52yodpFVv0HNmjg8FUADaQbFrKHRTnNFSe1Pc2HxnGptLjEtq4bb31V70zQZcXRkrFFVrtTS1-dvgJRK35r76WmZfydDC/s1297/711.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1297" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD7F4Z0jWewJN0EcuD1UIBETDsYxpwKEBvrOFCd6lP4Pog-bJj68RXIlmu0q9s_CXXfi8_vhie_r1YYxqe7onQBh5NRpY52yodpFVv0HNmjg8FUADaQbFrKHRTnNFSe1Pc2HxnGptLjEtq4bb31V70zQZcXRkrFFVrtTS1-dvgJRK35r76WmZfydDC/s320/711.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> Joanne Dru, coming off three great
films, “Red River” (1948), “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” (1949) and “All the
King’s Men” (1949), plays a key role as Gail, the wife of Kruger’s righthand
man (played by Don Porter), whose striking looks and roving eye are used to
control Mal.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Adding to its believability, the picture
places the characters in numerous classic Southern California locations,
including Hollywood Park racetrack; Gilmore Field, the old minor league
baseball field; the Sunset Strip; one-time LA nightclub the Doll House and Palm
Springs. (Oddly, the title address is Mal’s Malibu house but it doesn’t play
much of a role in the film.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like too many crime films, the ending falls
short of the first 90 minutes. Here, it’s a complicated chase through the
insides of Nevada’s Hoover Dam. Then, to make matters worse, the picture
concludes with a short propaganda lecture on the evils of gambling.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Director Newman, who spent many years as an
assistant director (earning two nominations when that was an Oscar category)
and part of MGM’s short film division, spent the 1950s and early ‘60s working
in every genre, but mostly crime pictures. His best-known films are “The
Gunfight at Dodge City” (1959) with Joel McCrea, the sci-fi adventure “This
Island Earth” (1955), “The Big Circus” (1959) with Victor Mature and the
Hollywood tale, “The George Raft Story” (1961). But “711 Ocean Drive” stands
out, a low-budget gem worth seeking out.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">BARBIE
(2023)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a shrewd piece of marketing, filmmaker
Greta Gerwig has combined the enduring popularity of Mattel’s young adult doll
with a heavy-handed message of female empowerment in a world run by
dunderheaded males. After two Oscar-nominated films both grounded in the very
real lives of young women—“Lady Bird” (2017) and “Little Women” (2019)—her new
film seems an odd turn toward the fantasy, computerized constructs of 21<sup>st</sup>
Century blockbusters. Then again, maybe that’s the point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Without much explanation, the film
introduces Barbieland, a cartoonish, mostly pink community—imagine Palm Springs
meets Newport Beach—run by the full gamut of Barbies (apparently, the dolls
come in all shapes and sizes and career aspirations) with the Kens standing
around trying to look good for the gals. How and why this world exists, with
talking and walking, human-sized Barbies and Kens (yet without the need for
food or drink and lacking genitalia) is never addressed. Like a Marvel film,
you either accept the ridiculousness of the premise or move on.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But even if you buy into it, the inane
dialogue is hard to endure. Each day in Barbieland begins with stereotypical
(original?) Barbie (the shiny, exuberance Margot Robbie) repeating “Hi, Barbie”
to dozens of her friends before more childish conversations take place. While I
understand the cleverness of the dialogue, as Gerwig and Noah Baumbach are
writing for inanimate objects, it doesn’t make it any easier on the ears.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It turns out that all these dolls are
still somehow connected to a real human whose thoughts influence the dolls.
Strangely, no other Barbie has experienced this except the one played by
Robbie. Anyway, she’s off to find an answer to various mental and physical
changes by taking a long journey, with Ken (Ryan Gosling) onboard, to the real
world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film’s big dramatic irony, of course,
comes when Barbie discovers our world that hasn’t been forever changed by the
feminist power of the Barbie doll. In fact, it’s Ken who is empowered when he
witnesses a society primarily run by men. (How that translates back in Barbieland
is the film’s most problematic plot turn.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the film makes legitimate points
about identity and sexual politics, the script alternates between mini-lectures
and sophomoric sarcasm, making the message difficult to take seriously. There
is just about enough material here to sustain an episode of “Stranger
Things.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This film offers too many obstacles for
someone who sees Barbie as an outdated, borderline harmful (like the overly
realistic guns boys play with) influence on children; a far cry from the
heroine of a feminist-themed movie. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">FREEBIE
AND THE BEAN (1974)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alan Arkin, who died in June at age 89,
was both the most underrated and underused actor of the 1970s and ‘80s,
following his hilarious and heartbreaking performance in “Catch-22.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Mike Nichols’ adaptation of Joseph
Heller’s acclaimed World War II satire (scripted by Buck Henry), Arkin plays
Yossarian, a U.S. Army Air Force pilot based in the Mediterranean who serves as
the calm amid a comically dysfunctional military unit. His dream of being
grounded because he’s crazy is thwarted by the so-called “Catch-22,” which
stipulates (at least according to the brass) that anyone who asks to be
grounded can’t be crazy and thus should keep flying.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Up to that point, it looked like Arkin was
destined for major stardom, having earned two best actor Oscar nominations in
the 1960s, with his comic turn as a Soviet sub commander in “The Russians Are
Coming, the Russians Are Coming” (1966) and a thoughtful turn as an empathic
deaf-mute in “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” (1968).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was also memorable as a drug dealer
terrorizing a blind Audrey Hepburn in “Wait Until Dark” (1967).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After “Catch-22,” he continued his quirky
characterizations: As a trucker experiencing America in “Deadhead Miles”
(1972), a lonely restaurateur in Neil Simon’s “Last of the Red Hot Lovers”
(1972) and as another loner on the road in “Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins”
(1975). Those films all failed at the box office.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His two successes in the 1970s were “The
In-Laws” (1979), a cult comedy in which he plays the innocent in-law of a
mobster on the run and “Freebie and the Bean” (1974), a very dated police buddy
movie co-starring James Caan.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwtZ-uGIwsPqzpuRQR-HV7MM41QhOArJ5fq9D-Je1mvIsa3AAJwCCYPEuuJP5aE2NF2UC98szvp3X9gUMg5dxISaYKiudZHsm_D2btV1WPe-BgSYL2JM4eeVuWftgM7HkZijJ-e8tPJe7YIL0J_3MBzxBH27FPNAbPs3T5Lfjko1xnHAsIctG2yAwC/s2048/freebie.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwtZ-uGIwsPqzpuRQR-HV7MM41QhOArJ5fq9D-Je1mvIsa3AAJwCCYPEuuJP5aE2NF2UC98szvp3X9gUMg5dxISaYKiudZHsm_D2btV1WPe-BgSYL2JM4eeVuWftgM7HkZijJ-e8tPJe7YIL0J_3MBzxBH27FPNAbPs3T5Lfjko1xnHAsIctG2yAwC/w382-h215/freebie.jpg" width="382" /></a></div><br /> The nonstop comic dialogue between Caan’s
Freebie and Arkin’s Bean (he plays a Latino, which gives you an idea of the
script’s racism) as they keep tabs on a mobster is the only aspect of the film
that saves it from being a complete disaster. Much of the film, set on Super Bowl
weekend in San Francisco, is unwatchable, especially a long, pointless rant by
Bean when he thinks his wife (Valerie Harper) has cheated on him. Director
Richard Rush (“Psych Out,” “The Stunt Man”), seems to thrive on chaos and
improvisation, giving the frenetic Arkin plenty of room to rift.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the 1980s, Arkin worked in television
and on low budget pictures seen by few before he found his niche as a
supporting player, starting with “Edward Scissorhands” (1990), “Glengarry Glen
Ross” (1992) and “Grosse Point Blank” (1997), eventually earning that
long-deserved comeback Oscar playing the blunt speaking grandfather of a very
wacky family in “Little Miss Sunshine” (2006). He was even better as the
B-movie producer enthusiastically aiding the scheme to free the American
hostages in Iran in “Argo” (2012), earning another Oscar nomination. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He capped off his career with a sarcastic
yet touching performance as a successful Hollywood agent, Norman Newlander,
best friend to actor turned acting teacher, Sandy Kominsky (Michael Douglas) in
the Netflix series “The Kominsky Method.” Their leisurely lunches at Musso and
Frank, Hollywood’s most legendary restaurant, where they ruminated on life’s
tragedies and the importance of carrying on, were a virtually Acting 101 class.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Arkin, who reportedly could be prickly on
the set, was, as an actor, probably a bit too human—a mumbler with a few too
many nervous tics—to become a movie star.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yet he inevitably brought something original to any film he was cast,
even in recent dogs like “Stand Up Guys” and “Going in Style,” mirroring those
who fight doubts and inadequacies to get along in an unforgiving world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">INDIANA
JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY (2023)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hollywood’s ultimate power duo—Steven
Spielberg and George Lucas—have created some of the most memorable motion
pictures of the past 40 years, but they seemingly can never leave well-enough
alone.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Jaws,” “Star Wars,” “Indiana Jones” and
“Jurassic Park,” landmark films of varying degrees have all been tainted by the
pursuit of more money through lesser and lesser sequels.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull,” released 15 years ago, pretty much left the beloved character
in the dust, without a modicum of relevance. In fact, all indications were that
Shia LeBeouf, who plays Indy’s son in the 2008 film, would take over the
franchise. For various reasons, that wasn’t to be.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So here we are again: Harrison Ford, made
to appear sprightly at age 81, flies all over the world (travelling looks so painless
in movies) in pursuit of an invention of Greek mathematician Archimedes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The picture opens with a flashback to
Indy’s younger days—the digital de-aging works well here---in the midst of the
retreat of the Nazis and his encounter with Jurgen Voller (the great Danish
actor Mads Mikkelsen), who wants the ancient device for the Fuhrer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A fantastic pursuit inside and on-top-of a
train filled with stolen artifacts offers the promise of a thrilling movie. But
it’s all downhill from there as the chase for the mysterious dial moves ahead
to 1969 and eventually sinks to Marvel-like fantasy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jones has given up his archeological
adventures as he looks like he can barely climb out of bed—until Helena (Phoebe
Waller-Bridge), the daughter of an old colleague, comes looking for the Greek
antique.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their love-hate relationship is about all
the film offers in the way of character development. Instead, we are left to be
amazed by one ridiculous vehicle chase after another, during which no one seems
to get injured despite how many walls they end up being hurled against.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The bad guys, Dr. Voller (now a NASA
scientist!) and his henchmen, always are right behind Indy and Helena as they
race around the world, defying logic in an era before tracking devices and GPS.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ford grimaces with his usual aplomb, while
Waller-Bridge comes off as an amateur, lacking much in the way of screen
presence. (Though, much to my surprise, she’s an accomplished TV actress and
writer in the series “Fleabag” and “Killing Eve”) But here, essentially, her
character is an inconsistent moveable piece used to create tension when there
is none. To connect with veteran fans—the original movie is 42-years old—Karen
Allen and John Rhys-Davies make appearances.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For those looking for mindless action,
director James Mangold doesn’t disappoint but the set-pieces grow less
believable as they pile up on one another. Unfortunately, there is nothing here
that matches the combination of intense action and intelligence the director
brough to previous films, “3:10 to Yuma” (2007) and “Ford v Ferrari”
(2019).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Indiana Jones” Part V isn’t a complete
waste of time, but I would have thought that a more inventive script could have
been cobbled together if the Spielberg-Lucas entertainment cabal were going to
bring this famous character back for this encore.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">CHESS
STORY (2023)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite the title, this story of Nazi
cruelty has less to do with rooks and pawns than the psychological games the
mind plays on prisoners.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a sport, or even as a metaphor, chess
isn’t the most cinematic contest; even for viewers who understand the strategy,
until someone calls checkmate, it’s hard to tell who’s winning. The best-known
American movie about chess is the surprise 1993 box-office hit “Searching for
Bobby Fischer,” about a young chess prodigy. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chess is at the center of the popular
Netflix series “The Queen’s Gambit,” an adaption of Walter Tevis’ novel. At
least two pictures have used chess matches to explore the intensity of the Cold
War, “Dangerous Moves,” the 1984 foreign film Oscar winner, and the more recent
“The Coldest Game” (2019) with Bill Pullman.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Chess Story,” a German film based on a
1941 novel by Stefan Zweig, finds yet another study of Third Reich oppression.
Josef Bartok (Oliver Masucci) ignores the warnings about a Nazi crackdown and
remains in Vienna one day too long. Before he knows it, he’s been arrested,
becoming a focus of the Gestapo because he serves as an investor for rich
Austrians and knows the bank numbers of foreign accounts.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s held in a hotel room for months,
given bread and water and little else in the way of human comfort. He does
sneak a book into the room—a collection of chess matches and from that his
imagination runs wild.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The centerpiece of the picture is an
impromptu chess match between Bartok and a European champ (Albrecht Schuch, who
also plays a Nazi interrogator, and was one of the stars of “All Quite on the
Western Front”), while both are aboard an ocean liner headed to American and
freedom, at least in Bartok’s mind.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Director Philipp Stölzl might have done a
better job of delineating fantasy from reality, but he guides Masucci to an
emotionally draining performance as his character fights day by day to remain
sane. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;">PHOTOS:</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Cillian Murphy in "Oppenheimer" (Universal Pictures)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Edmond O'Brien and Barry Kelley in "711 Ocean Drive" (Frank Seltzer Productions)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Alan Arkin with James Caan in "Freebie and the Bean" (Warner Bros.)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Doug Listhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339222653620926842noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6028831787280199543.post-80016885747914521072023-06-26T15:09:00.002-07:002023-06-27T15:31:57.118-07:00June 2023<p><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">ASTEROID
CITY (2023)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since his first features, “Bottle Rocket”
and “Rushmore” in the late 1990s, Wes Anderson keeps finding new ways to
present his off-center stories and quirky characters.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His newest doesn’t disappoint in its
creativity: it’s a stage play—shot against a one-dimensional, cartoon-like
backdrop of the sun-drenched Arizona desert—about a 1955 gathering of young
stargazers and their parents that is interrupted by a brief visit by an alien.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But unlike the fast-talking, unflappable
and distressingly serious characters of “The Grand Budapest Hotel” (2014) and
“The French Dispatch” (2021), the odd-ball collection in “Asteroid City”
doesn’t have much of interest to say and their stories go nowhere.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqBlHxytXrmbgQ21ZuUj9tXHdTQlquK7DhW0JpmwNCxc-cMIKqpRmZgOLI9hO824FKkq2OT7H-pdg88pMeqb-wGkergzYqG8SAli3DkE7KEZFsv4Hxp6OkgDxr48DJ265N48tUOyLTagI77r3mjryDEifyw9o3BZaoyTlbxhcwG0TovK6rvp5oVI3u/s1170/Asteroid-City-Scarlett-Johansson.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="658" data-original-width="1170" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqBlHxytXrmbgQ21ZuUj9tXHdTQlquK7DhW0JpmwNCxc-cMIKqpRmZgOLI9hO824FKkq2OT7H-pdg88pMeqb-wGkergzYqG8SAli3DkE7KEZFsv4Hxp6OkgDxr48DJ265N48tUOyLTagI77r3mjryDEifyw9o3BZaoyTlbxhcwG0TovK6rvp5oVI3u/s320/Asteroid-City-Scarlett-Johansson.webp" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just after arriving in town, Augie (Jason
Schwartzman, the star of “Rushmore and Anderson’s longtime collaborator), the
pipe smoking father of a teen son (a contestant in the young scientist contest)
and three young daughters, meets Midge (Scarlett Johansson), a morose move star
and her daughter, another science fair competitor.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Along with Anderson regulars Jeffrey
Wright (a pompous general), Tilda Swinton (the scientist in charge) and Willem
Dafoe (a Method acting teacher), the illustrious cast also includes Tom Hanks
as Augie’s father-in-law, Adrien Brody as the play’s intense director, Edward
Norton as the playwright, Bryan Cranston as the play’s stage manager-narrator,
Matt Dillon as the town’s car mechanic, Steve Carell as the hotel manager and
Margot Robbie as an actress in another play. “Asteroid City” is the definitive
example that all the stars in Hollywood can’t save a pedestrian script.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Turns out the film’s most endearing
performances are given by Augie’s three little girls, Andromeda, Pandora and
Cassiopeia, played by the Faris sisters.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anderson has fun poking fun at the 1950s
and the film offers occasional moments of droll humor, but there’s not enough
there to leave much of an impression.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">FIG
LEAVES (1926), FAZIL (1928) and A GIRL IN EVERY PORT (1928) <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Few filmmakers were more responsible for
establishing Hollywood as the capital of smart, well-made entertainments than
Howard Hawks, whose output during movie’s Golden Age spans every genre.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among his films during the 1930s and 40s
are the gangster tale “Scarface” (1931); screwball comedies “Twentieth Century”
(1934), “Bringing Up Baby” (1938), “His Girl Friday” (1941) and “Ball of Fire”
(1942); the adventure “Only Angels Have Wings” (1939); the war picture
“Sergeant York (1941), the Western “Red River” (1948); and two Humphrey Bogart
classics, “To Have and Have Not” (1944) and “The Big Sleep” (1946). All of
these rank among the best of its genre.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(On the subject of great filmmakers, you
can find my recently compiled lists of directors’ 10 best, and sometimes 20,
pictures, including Hawks and Wes Anderson and dozens of others spanning more
than 100 years of filmmaking, posted on this site under “Directors’ Best Films,
Ranked.” The lists reflect my ranking of the works I’ve seen of each filmmaker
and, like all opinions, are subject to change on a daily basis.) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hawks’ career started in the early 1920s
as a screenwriter before he earned a shot at directing. I recently discovered three
of his silents on YouTube.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPNqYTu69txtwdgFyzDsA3gw-IivD5sULcytpidG5uoUXbeyuENhv7e3tGik4UHyK0xIB4CpZhAJBKCMPSuJ0z0-nCxRrpGwrpq4AGtCclYqnPFyg2-VixHkY-sYssODR2hdDSUyxQlbxu3uz8q-X5FON9-S-x3zXZaR7f_hK-Zn1PDeaHJB1fxFsW/s420/hawks-howard.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPNqYTu69txtwdgFyzDsA3gw-IivD5sULcytpidG5uoUXbeyuENhv7e3tGik4UHyK0xIB4CpZhAJBKCMPSuJ0z0-nCxRrpGwrpq4AGtCclYqnPFyg2-VixHkY-sYssODR2hdDSUyxQlbxu3uz8q-X5FON9-S-x3zXZaR7f_hK-Zn1PDeaHJB1fxFsW/s320/hawks-howard.jpg" width="229" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Fig Leaves,” the director’s second film,
shows his skills in satirizing the age-old conflicts between men and women, a
theme than runs through his entire career. The film begins in the Stone Age,
with a Flintstone-like couple settling into the rut of life. An inter-title
near the start of the film states: “The only honeymoon in eight million years
not at Niagara Falls is nearing a conclusion.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Papier-mâché dinosaurs and leg-propelled
buses enliven the first act of the film set in the Garden of Eden before it
fast-forwards to modern times where Adam’s clothes-obsessed wife Eve becomes
enthralled with a pretentious fashion designer. The typical mix ups that would
propel romantic comedies for the next 100 years ensue. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>George O’Brien, who was much better the
next year in F. W. Murnau’s masterpiece “Sunrise,” plays the thick-headed Adam
while Olive Borden’s Eve is the stereotypical Hollywood housewife, a trickster
who always ends up back in her husband’s arms. (Later in his career, Hawks went a long way to turn that cliché on its head.) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More fascinating is “Fazil,” which
displays the era’s prejudices against Islamic beliefs but, to its credit, puts
a multi-dimensional Arab man at the center of a Hollywood film. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, Prince Fazil is played by the
very Anglo Charles Farrell (among the most popular silent stars, mostly as
Janet Gaynor’s co-star), who falls in love with a French woman during a visit
to Venice. Fabienne (played by Norwegian star Greta Nissen) marries him, but
then discovers a very different world when they return to his desert outpost;
she’s more prisoner than wife. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The picture grows more melodramatic as most
silent romances do, but Farrell and Nissen are both memorable as this
culture-crossing couple.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A better picture, among Hawks’ best, is
“A Girl in Every Port.” Dominating this first-rate production is Victor
McLaglen, who later became a regular in John Ford films, winning a best actor
Oscar for “The Informer” (1936). He plays Spike Madden, a hard-drinking,
womanizing sailor who finds a girl and a bar fight in every port. But he keeps
losing his girlfriends to slick fellow sailor Bill (Robert Armstrong, best
known for “King Kong”), which provides both the comedy and the fisticuffs
throughout the picture.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seeing McLaglen’s performance in this
silent and the similarly themed “What Price Glory” (1926), it’s clear he would
have been a much bigger star if not for the coming of sound, when he became
primarily a supporting player. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spicing up “A Girl in Every Port,” is one
of the most charismatic actresses of the era, Louise Brooks, playing an
alluring circus girl, who flirts with both sailors. The next year she would
give one of the silent era’s defining performances as Lulu in the G.W. Pabst’s
“Pandora’s Box.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A couple of future stars show up
uncredited: Myrna Loy and William Demarest.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">MASTER
GARDENER (2023)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Walking into a Paul Schrader movie is like
turning into an unfamiliar, dark alley: what lurks at the far end remains a
mystery until it erupts into violence or opens into sunshine.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s a bit of both in his latest, the
third film in his recent trilogy about troubled, introspective men who stand
outside contemporary norms. Though not as powerful or transcendent as “First
Reformed” (2017) or as disturbing as “The Card Counter” (2021), the
writer-director’s new study of a loner (all offshoots of his masterful script
for “Taxi Driver”) takes place at a Louisiana mansion where Narvel Roth (Joel
Edgerton) serves as head gardener for the huge, lush property. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sigourney Weaver plays Mrs. Haverhill,
the owner, who rules her kingdom with quiet ruthlessness and treats Narvel
(occasionally calling him “sweet pea”) as her surrogate slave. The order of
things is disrupted when Haverhill brings on her niece Maya (Quintessa
Swindell), a mixed-race young woman as an apprentice gardener on Narvel’s
staff.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though it’s contemporarily set, the
metaphors are hard to miss as the Old South, with its lingering white
supremacy, struggles to find a place for the Black woman.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like Travis Bickle with Iris, Narvel acts
as savior for Maya, who is hooked up with drug dealers, something she inherited
from her addicted mother. While the story arc doesn’t reach the metaphysical
heights of “Taxi Driver,” it takes the darkest road to the inevitable Schrader
salvation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Edgerton (“The Great Gatsby,” “Loving”)
gives a less showy performance than either Ethan Hawke or Oscar Isaac did in
Schrader’s two previous films (though all three, like Travis, dryly narrate as
they write in their journals) but he’s perfect for this role; a man whose
sordid past colors every line he speaks.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Swindell, of the TV series “Trinkets,” holds
their own, especially in a contentious scene with her character’s aunt, while
the talky script gives Weaver the juiciest role she’s had in years. Her
Haverhill has both the cool civility of a Southern matriarch and the cold
arrogance of nobility. A constant presence in Hollywood for the past 44 years,
starting in 1979 with her unforgettable heroine in “Alien,” Weaver has brought
intelligence and strength to every role.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Schrader, a critic of contemporary films
and its audience, remains an outsider who somehow finds a way to make his kind
of movies. Though his name (as director-for-hire) has been attached to some bad
films, the 76-year-old has produced one of the most interesting filmographies
of the last 50 years--“American Gigolo” (1980), “Mishima: A Life in Four
Chapters” (1985), “Patty Hearst” (1988) and “Affliction” (1997) were his best
of last century—not to mention his scripts for Martin Scorsese. And,
considering his last three pictures, he’s still going strong.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">YOU
HURT MY FEELINGS (2023)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve never warmed up to Nicole Holofcener’s
group-therapy films—“Lovely & Amazing,” “Friends with Money”—inevitably struggling
to gather much sympathy for her characters as they fret over life’s minor
downturns. Sure, I do the same thing, but please, don’t make a motion picture
about it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgflUPKWlaZ1CvxZM9kryHkIje3zNVhe5lcaJX5e7dzrbwDX17gqv68fpV1Fmx50y_vVBABM5W9FpndGlGyYofk_9QE8wFBDdw9n3m2D-sN2IXHkhUSsDJoREEr1gx-Q87S9EIsp2ykU4uuFSvi0apmH5i_L8j9bF_2GKbCliSrOToBxT-x6b_e5I-q/s664/feelings.webp" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="664" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgflUPKWlaZ1CvxZM9kryHkIje3zNVhe5lcaJX5e7dzrbwDX17gqv68fpV1Fmx50y_vVBABM5W9FpndGlGyYofk_9QE8wFBDdw9n3m2D-sN2IXHkhUSsDJoREEr1gx-Q87S9EIsp2ykU4uuFSvi0apmH5i_L8j9bF_2GKbCliSrOToBxT-x6b_e5I-q/s320/feelings.webp" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her latest won me over as it’s clear in
“You Hurt My Feelings” that the writer-director sees the foolishness and wasted
emotional energy in the ways Beth (Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who starred in one of
the director’s best, “Enough Said”) and Don (Tobias Menzies, who played the
middle-aged Prince Phillip in “The Crown”) face their problems.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m also pre-disposed to appreciate the farcical
skills of Louis-Dreyfus, maybe the greatest TV comedian of the past 30 years.
She plays a writing teacher who is working on a novel after publishing a memoir
of her childhood (she was yelled at!). Holofcener takes digs at both the glut of
tear-filled memoirs and the too-often worthless writing classes. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her husband is equally ineffectual as a
therapist who starts to doubt himself when he overhears dismissive comments
from a patient. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The big dilemma comes when Beth
eavesdrops on a conversation in which her husband admits that he never liked
her unpublished novel, even after a dozen readings.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film explores the role of lying and
uncritical support, especially between married couples. Unfortunately, the
couple’s best friends (played flatly by Michaela Watkins and Arian Moayed) add
little to the story, except to reinforce the notion that too many people are
not very good at their chosen professions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jeannie Berlin, an Oscar nominee 50 years
ago for “The Heartbreak Kid,” brings some senior humor to the film as Beth’s
spunky mother.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">THE
NORTH STAR (1943)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even during an existential conflict with
Hitler and Fascist aggression, many Americans were uncomfortable with an
alliance with the communist Russia.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus, President Franklin Roosevelt
“suggested” that playwright Lillian Hellman write a semi-documentary script
about a simple rural Soviet Union community that comes under German occupation. What producer Samuel Goldwyn turned it into was not quite what
Hellman imagined (though the film earned her condemnation during the
congressional hearings a few years later). The first third of the picture is
nothing short of a pageant of idyllic life and bountiful crops in a Ukrainian
village populated by ridiculously happy citizens—all scored by Aaron Copland.
This while Joseph Stalin was literally starving Ukrainians by the thousands by
redirecting food to his troops.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dana Andrews and Anne Baxter play the
leaders of a small group of comrades who are outside of town when the Germans
roll in and then fight their way past the Nazis to deliver guns to a militia of
Ukrainians.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Back in the village, Dr. Kurin (Walter
Huston) debates ethics with the German doctor (Erich von Stroheim, of course),
who is taking blood from children to use for injured Nazi soldiers. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During the war years, Hollywood studios regularly
filled screens with propaganda, but the lengths “North
Star” goes to paint Russia as Shangri-la lacks anything resembling subtlety.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What distinguishes this film, beyond the
sincerity of the cast, is the high-profile artists involved: beyond Hellman,
Goldwyn and Copeland, Ira Gershwin wrote the lyrics to the folk songs, master
production designer William Cameron Menzie served as associate producer,
legendary cameraman James Wong Howe shot the film and two-time Oscar winner Lewis
Milestone directed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While now remembered as a film that the
HUAC used to label Hollywood as being too cozy with Communists, in 1943 it
earned six Oscar nominations and certainly doesn’t flinch in its portrayal of
the inhumane brutality of the Third Reich.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">MARLOWE
(2023) and PEEPER (1975)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As pleased as I was to see the return of
Raymond Chandler’s legendary detective to the big screen, I am positive that
the number of contemporary filmgoers who recognize the name Philip Marlowe
wouldn’t fill the smallest theater of a 16-screen facility.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the bigger problem, even with a
first-rate director (Neil Jordan), an Oscar-winning screenwriter (William
Monahan, “The Departed”) and a veteran movie star in the title role (Liam Neeson),
turns out to be that the picture fails on almost every level, filled with
dubious motivations, unexplained relationships, a hard-to-follow plot and a
Marlowe who seems well past retirement age. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Based on the 2014 novel “The Black-Eyed
Blonde” by John Banville, the movie, set in 1930s Los Angeles, sends the
world-weary private eye on a manhunt for Nico Peterson (Francois Arnaud), a
movie studio flunky who had an affair with Clare Cavendish (Diane Kruger), the
daughter of a famous movie star Dorothy Quincannon (Jessica Lange).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Marlowe quickly determines that Nico was
killed in a recent car accident and just as quickly figures out that the questionable
death was staged. The script bounces the detective between Clare and Dorothy,
who both treat this 70something Marlowe as a potential lover.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Danny Huston and Alan Cumming, playing
the bad guys behind the plot’s rather creaky scheme, inject some energy that is
sadly lacking from either Neeson or Kruger. Marlowe is so underplayed that he
almost seems like a supporting player in his own movie.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEUvHSQYqkhxzhOuoL7wGF8zcXdRPS-loiXsIrJoRS5j4xjRbn4JC2SxQDRGhXL3r6CUfKa_ytNDSnzs9PJLOWR2ctdMX8jcTJkBDlcKf5k8YP4_-eAzdP3S3t6yZKMKoaA8VN0CVFS-ZjUSUAVAW-dRtvq8D0tTk3zsWnza0bKx6Ppn60Rl73KbyN/s700/marlowe.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="700" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEUvHSQYqkhxzhOuoL7wGF8zcXdRPS-loiXsIrJoRS5j4xjRbn4JC2SxQDRGhXL3r6CUfKa_ytNDSnzs9PJLOWR2ctdMX8jcTJkBDlcKf5k8YP4_-eAzdP3S3t6yZKMKoaA8VN0CVFS-ZjUSUAVAW-dRtvq8D0tTk3zsWnza0bKx6Ppn60Rl73KbyN/s320/marlowe.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lange, of course, steals every scene she’s
in, even as her character says little of consequence. And the wonderful Irish
actor Colm Meaney shows up in the final act though he was clearly needed right
from the start. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jordan, responsible for some of the best
British films of the 1980s and ‘90s (“Mona Lisa,” “The Crying Game,” and “The
End of the Affair”) lets the disorganized plotting overtake what should have
been a story about an aging detective looking for morality in a corrupt city.
Or, at least, an entertaining exercise in nostalgia.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d like to report that another private
eye picture set in L.A. and starring a UK star, “Peeper” captures what
“Marlowe” fails to, but it’s just as bad. I’d never heard of this Michael
Caine-Natalie Wood comic crime picture until it showed up on FXM, which shows,
commercial-free, an unusual collection of films from all eras.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Scripted by W.D. Richter (“Brubaker”),
from a novel by Keith Laumer, and directed by Peter Hyams (“Capricorn One,”
“2010”), the film wastes its high-profile leads in a storyline that liberally
pilfers from Dashiell Hammett’s “The Maltese Falcon” and Chandler’s “The Big
Sleep.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Caine plays Tucker, a Brit relocated to
Southern California after World War II, who accepts a vague request from a very
loud, insistent Eastern European immigrant (Michael Constantine) to find the
daughter he gave up for adoption decades ago. Soon Tucker forces his way into a
wealthy family’s home where he holds a pointless conversation with an
overweight man sitting in a high-backed bamboo chair (Thayer David as the Sydney
Greenstreet character), eyes the sexy older daughter (Wood in the Lauren Bacall
role) and argues with the younger daughter (Kitty Wynn). All the characters in
the film act as if they’ve read the script instead of reacting to the events in
the moment. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Veteran crazy man (on and off screen)
Timothy Carey plays a thug who spends the movie chasing Tucker for no
discernable reason, while Wood pretends to romance Tucker for equally
unexplainable reasons. The extent of the satire never goes beyond plagiarizing
great writers of the past.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The most interesting aspect of the picture
is the opening credits, which are recited by a Bogie imitator (Guy Marks) as he
stands at the end of a long, dark alley. If there is another film with spoken
credits, I’ve never seen it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing that follows comes close to the
cleverness of those first few minutes.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">MARIUS
(1931), FANNY (1932) and CÈSAR (1936)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Four decades before “Star Wars” and “The
Lord of the Rings,” French playwright Marcel Pagnol’s Marseille Trilogy was
adapted into one of the era’s most acclaimed trio of movies. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beautifully filmed on the docks of the
French city of Marseille, this simple, heartbreakingly honest story (combined
in the 1961 American film “Fanny”) explores themes of responsibility, staying
true to one’s principles and the enduring power of love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The life-changing decision faced by Marius
Olivier (Pierre Fresnay), the son of bar owner César (Raimu), is center stage
in the first film, directed by Hungarian immigrant filmmaker Alexander Korda.
Setting the mood and pacing for the entire series, “Marius” introduces the
community and relationships: lifelong friends Honore Panisse (Fernand Charpin)
and Cesar, who never stop arguing; the young beauty Fanny (Orane Demazis), who
they’ve all known since she was a child; the comedy asides of dockworker Felix
(Paul Dullac) and Fanny’s hysterical mother (Alida Rouffe).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In “Fanny,” the girl left behind is the
focus as Marius has gone to sea and she finds herself pregnant. (This plot turn
kept the films from getting released in the more puritanic U.S.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the much older widower Panisse, a
successful store owner, steps up and marries Fanny, knowing Marius is the
father of her expected child and that she still loves the young man. Marc
Allégret, who had a long career in French cinema, directed the middle film. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In one especially funny and poignant scene,
Fanny reads a letter from Marius, who is on a ship doing scientific
exploration, to César, who over-reacts to every revelation. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The final chapter, made four years later
and directed by playwright Pagnol, is about Fanny’s now teenage son who carries
Panisse’s name, learns that Marius, who has returned from sea, is his real
father. “César” brings the many spokes of the story together in an upbeat, but
unblinkingly real conclusion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beyond the elegant, down-to-earth
screenplay, what stands out in this trilogy is the acting of Raimu, who has
been called by no-less than Orson Welles as cinema’s greatest actor. Born Jules
Muraire, he was a French dance hall star early in the century, but only dabbled
in film before starring in the 1929 stage production of “Marius” at age 46. His
performances in the three Pagnol films elevated his reputation. Raimu remained
one of the most acclaimed and beloved French performers until his death in
1946.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fresnay later had roles in Alfred
Hitchcock’s “The Man Who Knew Too Much” (1934) and Jean Renoir’s “The Grand
Illusion” (1937), while Demazis continued to work in film into the 1980s.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pagnol emerged from the trilogy as one of
France’s leading literary and cinematic figures, later directing into the
1950s, including “The Baker’s Wife” (1938) and “The Well-Diggers Daughter”
(1940) while continuing his work as a playwright and novelist. “Jean de
Florette” and “Manon of the Spring,” based on his scripts, were among the most
acclaimed French films of the 1980s. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;">PHOTOS:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;">Scarlett
Johansson and Jason Schwartzman in “Asteroid City.”</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;">(Focus Features)</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Director
Howard Hawks</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;">Tobias
Menzies and Julia Louis-Dreyfus in “You Hurt My Feelings”</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;">(FilmNation Entertainment)<br /></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;">Laim
Neeson digs through the underbelly of L.A. in “Marlowe.”</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;">(Parallel Film Productions)</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>Doug Listhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339222653620926842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6028831787280199543.post-64355574993379566432023-06-25T20:06:00.004-07:002024-01-05T19:33:38.733-08:00Directors’ Best Films, Ranked<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbzv0d399m3tfCaC8g6gJHC-RGbUTTzafB6D4Wdxd9PxCxeWpKpladRiI2E7Irpfsd5ef_ZRnmMaoz1AgBip4VFVUUfHlKNmRCA55qqbil4C6zqs633h4k4pZoLF66i7CIQJhwjBxUrwxHjcTRZzQw3WokiLis_FfkYlg9c5VR06CvmiaRMSBTBKpF/s747/welles.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="747" data-original-width="602" height="409" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbzv0d399m3tfCaC8g6gJHC-RGbUTTzafB6D4Wdxd9PxCxeWpKpladRiI2E7Irpfsd5ef_ZRnmMaoz1AgBip4VFVUUfHlKNmRCA55qqbil4C6zqs633h4k4pZoLF66i7CIQJhwjBxUrwxHjcTRZzQw3WokiLis_FfkYlg9c5VR06CvmiaRMSBTBKpF/w330-h409/welles.jpg" width="330" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Orson Welles, behind the camera. (RKO Pictures)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">WOODY
ALLEN:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Annie Hall (1977); 2) Manhattan (1979); 3) Hannah and Her Sisters (1986);</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> 4)
Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989); 5) Stardust Memories (1980); 6) Husbands and
Wives (1992); 7) The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985); 8) Interiors (1978); 9)
Midnight in Paris (2011); 10) Love and Death (1975); 11) Broadway Danny Rose
(1984); 12) Radio Days (1987); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">13)
Zelig (1983); 14) Blue Jasmine (2013); 15) Vicky Christina Barcelona (2008);
16) Deconstructing Harry (1997); 17) Sweet and Lowdown (1999); 18) Match Point
(2005); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">19)
Bullets Over Broadway (1994); 20) Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">ROBERT
ALTMAN:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Nashville (1975); 2) McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971); 3) The Player (1992); 4)
M*A*S*H (1970); 5) Images (1972); 6) The Long Goodbye (1973); 7) 3 Women
(1977); 8) Gosford Park (2001); 9) Vincent and Theo (1990); 10) Buffalo Bill
and the Indians or: Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976); 11) California Split
(1974); 12) Fool for Love (1985); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">13)
Secret Honor (1984); 14) Short Cuts (1993); 15) Kansas City (1996); 16) Thieves
Like Us (1974); 17) A Prairie Home Companion (2006); 18) Countdown (1968); 19)
Brewster McCloud (1970); 20) Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy
Dean (1982)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">WES
ANDERSON: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">1)
Rushmore (1998); 2) The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014); 3) The French Dispatch
(2021); 4) Bottle Rocket (1996); 5) Moonrise Kingdom (2012); 6) The Royal
Tenenbaums (2001); 7) The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004); 8) Asteroid
City (2023); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">9)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009); 10) The Darjeeling Limited (2007)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">HAL
ASHBY: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">1)<b>
</b>Shampoo (1975); 2) Being There (1979); 3) The Last Detail (1973); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">4)
Coming Home (1978); 5) Harold and Maude (1972); 6) Bound for Glory (1976); 7) The
Landlord (1970); 8) 8 Million Ways to Die (1986); 9) The Slugger's Wife (1985);
10) Lookin' to Get Out (1982)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">ROBERT
BENTON:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Nobody’s Fool (1994); 2) The Late Show (1977); 3) Kramer vs. Kramer (1979);
4) Places in the Heart (1984); 5) Twilight (1998); 6) Bad Company (1972); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">7)
The Human Stain (2003); 8) Billy Bathgate (1991); 9) Feast of Love (2007); 10)
The Still of the Night (1982)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">INGMAR
BERGMAN: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">1)
The Seventh Seal (1956); 2) Through a Glass Darkly (1962); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">3)
Persona (1967); 4) Cries and Whispers (1973); 4) Wild Strawberries (1957); 6)
Fanny & Alexander (1983); 7) The Virgin Spring (1960); 8) Smiles of a
Summer Night (1955); 9) Scenes From a Marriage (1973); 10) Autumn Sonata
(1978); 11) Face to Face (1976); 12) The Silence (1963); 13) Winter Light (1963);
14) Hour of the Wolf (1968); 15) Shame (1968); 16) After the Rehearsal (1984);
17) Sawdust and Tinsel (1953); 18) The Passion of Anna (1970); 19) Saraband
(2005); 20) The Magician (1959)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">BERNARDO
BERTOLUCCI:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Last Tango in Paris (1973); 2) The Conformist (1971); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">3)
The Last Emperor (1987); 4) 1900 (1977); 5) The Sheltering Sky (1990); 6) The
Spider's Stratagem (1970); 7) Besieged (1999); 8) Stealing Beauty (1996); 9) The
Dreamers (2004); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">10)
Before the Revolution (1964)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">PETER
BOGDANOVICH:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) The Last Picture Show (1971); 2) Saint Jack (1979); 3) Paper Moon (1973); 4)
Texasville (1990); 5) What's Up Doc? (1972); 6) The Cat's Meow (2002); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">7)
Mask (1985); 8) Targets (1968); 9) Nickelodeon (1976); 10) The Thing Called
Love (1993)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">JOHN
BOORMAN:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Point Blank (1967); 2) Hope and Glory (1987); 3) Deliverance (1972); 4) The
General (1998); 5) The Tailor of Panama (2001); 6) Beyond Rangoon (1995); 7)
The Emerald Forest (1985); 8) Excalibur (1981); 9) Hell in the Pacific (1968);
10) Where the Heart Is (1990)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">RICHARD
BROOKS: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">1)
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958); 2) Elmer Gantry (1960); 3) In Cold Blood (1967);
4) The Professionals (1966); 5) Sweet Bird of Youth (1962); 6) Looking for Mr.
Goodbar (1977); 7) The Blackboard Jungle (1955); 8) Deadline U.S.A. (1952); 9)
The Brothers Karamazov (1958); 10) The Happy Ending (1969)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">CLARENCE
BROWN:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) The Human Comedy (1943); 2) Anna Karenina (1935); 3) Ah, Wilderness (1935);
4) The Yearling (1946); 5) Anna Christie (1930); 6) Intruder in the Dust
(1949); 7) National Velvet (1945); 8) Of Human Hearts (1938); 9) Possessed
(1931); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">10)
A Woman of Affairs (1928)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">LUIS
BUNUEL:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) The Exterminating Angel (1962); 2) Belle de Jour (1967); 3) The Discreet
Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972); 4) Viridiana (1961); 5) That Obscure Object of
Desire (1977); 6) Los Olvidados (1950); 7) Un chien Andalou (1928); 8) Nazarin
(1959); 9) Tristana (1970); 10) The Milky Way (1970) </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">FRANK
CAPRA:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) It’s a Wonderful Life (1946); 2) Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">3)
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936); 4) It Happened One Night (1934); 5) Meet John
Doe (1941); 8) You Can’t Take It With You (1938); 7) Lost Horizon (1937); 8)
Lady for a Day (1933); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">9)
The Miracle Woman (1931); 10) State of the Union (1948); 11) Forbidden (1932); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">11)
Platinum Blonde (1931); 12) The Strong Man (1926); 13) The Bitter Tea of
General Yen (1933); 14) Arsenic and Old Lace (1944); 15) Rain or Shine (1930);
16) Pocketful of Miracles (1961); 17) Broadway Bill (1934); 18) American
Madness (1932); 19) Dirigible (1931); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">20)
Flight (1929)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">JOHN
CASSAVETES:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) A Woman Under the Influence (1974); 2) The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
(1976); 3) Husbands (1970); 4) Love Streams (1984); 5) Faces (1968); 6) Shadows
(1960); 7) Gloria (1980); 8) Minnie and Moskowitz (1971); 9) Too Late Blues
(1962); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">10)
Opening Night (1978)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">CHARLES
CHAPLIN:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) City Lights (1931); 2) The Gold Rush (1925); 3) The Great Dictator (1940);
4) The Kid (1921); 5) A Woman of Paris (1923); 6) Modern Times (1936); 7) The
Immigrant (1917); 8) One A.M. (1916); 9) The Pawnshop (1916); 10) Monsieur
Verdoux (1947)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">JOEL
AND ETHAN COEN:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) The Hudsucker Proxy (1994); 2) Blood Simple (1985); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">3)
Fargo (1996); 4) The Big Lebowski (1998); 5) No Country for Old Men (2007); 6) A
Serious Man (2009); 7) The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021); 8)</span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">9)
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013); 10) Miller's Crossing (1990)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">FRANCIS
COPPOLA:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) The Godfather (1972); 2) The Godfather Part II (1974); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">3)
Apocalypse Now (1979); 4) The Conversation (1974); 5) The Godfather Part III
(1990); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">6)
Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988); 7) Rumble Fish (1983); 8) The Rainmaker
(1997); 9) The Rain People (1969); 10) Youth Without Youth (2007); 11) The
Outsiders (1983); 12) The Cotton Club (1984); 13) Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992);
14) One From the Heart (1982); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">15)
Tetro (2009); 16) Gardens of Stone (!987); 17) Peggy Sue Got Married (1986);
18) You’re a Big Boy Now (1966); 19) Twixt (2011); 20) Finian’s Rainbow (1968)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">GEORGE
CUKOR:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) The Philadelphia Story (1940); 2) A Star Is Born (1954); 3) Holiday (1938);
4) Little Women (1933); 5) Gaslight (1944); 6) Dinner at Eight (1933); 7)
Camille (1937); 8) David Copperfield (1935); 9) The Royal Family of Broadway
(1930); 10) Born Yesterday (1950); 11) Adam’s Rib (1949); 12) My Fair Lady
(1964); 13) The Women (1939); 14) What Price Hollywood? (1932); 15) A Double
Life (1947); 16) Pat and Mike (1952); 17) A Bill of Divorcement (1932); 18)
Romeo and Juliet (1936); 19) Travels With My Aunt (1972); 20) The Actress
(1953)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">MICHAEL
CURTIZ:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Casablanca (1943); 2) The Breaking Point (1950); 3) Angels With Dirty Faces
(1938); 4) The Sea Hawk (1940); 5) Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942); 6) Mildred
Pierce (1945); 7) The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938); 8) The Sea Wolf (1941);
9) Captain Blood (1935); 10) Life With Father (1947); 10) Bright Leaf (1950); 12)
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939); 13) Four Daughters (1938); 14)
Dodge City (1939); 15) The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936); 16) The Mad
Genius (1931); 17) Jimmy the Gent (1934); 18) My Dream Is Yours (1949); 19)
Young Man With a Horn (1950); 20) Kid Galahad (1937)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">BRIAN
DE PALMA:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Casualties of War (1989); 2) Blow Out (1981); 3) Mission: Impossible (1996);
4) Dressed to Kill (1980); 5) The Untouchables (1987); 6) Carrie (1976); 7)
Scarface (1983); 8) Obsession (1976); 9) Carlito’s Way (1993); 10) Hi Mom!
(1970); 11) Femme Fatale (2002); 12) Body Double (1984); 13) Sisters (1973);
14) Black Dahlia (2006); 15) Snake Eyes (1998); 16) Mission to Mars (2000); 17)
The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990); 18) Passion (2013); 19) Redacted (2007);
20) Greetings (1968) </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">CLINT
EASTWOOD:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Unforgiven (1992); 2) Mystic River (2003); 3) Million Dollar Baby (2004); 4)
Letters from Iwo Jima (2006); 5) The Outlaw—Josey Wales (1976); 6) Bird (1988);
7) Absolute Power (1997); 8) Flags of Our Fathers (2006); 9) American Sniper
(2014); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">10)
Breezy (1973); 11) Gran Torino (2008); 12) Sully (2016); 13) White Hunter Black
Heart (1990); 14) Richard Jewell (2019); 15) A Perfect World (1993); 16) Blood
Work (2002); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">17)
Invictus (2009); 18) The Bridges of Madison County (1993); 19) High Plains
Drifter (1973); 20) True Crime (1999)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">BLAKE
EDWARDS:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961); 2) Victor Victoria (1982); 3) Days of Wine
and Roses (1962); 4) S.O.B. (1981); 5) Experiment in Terror (1962); 6) The Pink
Panther (1964); 7) 10 (1979); 8) The Party (1968); 9) A Shot in the Dark
(1964); 10) Gunn (1967) <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">FEDERICO
FELLINI:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) 8 ½ (1963); 2) La Dolce Vita (1960); 3) La Strada (1954); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">4)
Amarcord (1975); 5) I Vitelloni (1953); 6) Fellini Satyricon (1969); 7) Nights
of Cabiria (1957); 8) Juliet of the Spirits (1965); 9) City of Women (1981);
10) And the Ship Sails On (1984)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">DAVID
FINCHER:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Seven (1995); 2) The Social Network (2010); 3) Zodiac (2007); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">4)
Mank (2020); 5) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011); 6) The Curious Case of
Benjamin Button (2008); 7) Gone Girl (2014); 8) Fight Club (1999); 9) Alien 3
(1992); 10) The Game (1997)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">VICTOR
FLEMING:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Gone With the Wind (1939); 2) The Wizard of Oz (1939); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">3)
Bombshell (1933); 4) Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941); 5) Captains Courageous
(1937); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">6)
Test Pilot (1938); 7) Red Dust (1932); 8) Treasure Island (1934); 9) The
Virginian (1929); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">10)
The White Sister (1933)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">JOHN
FORD:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) The Grapes of Wrath (1940); 2) How Green Was My Valley (1941); 3) My Darling
Clementine (1946); 4) Stagecoach (1939); 5) The Searchers (1956); 6) She Wore a
Yellow Ribbon (1949); 7) The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962); 8) They Were
Expendable (1945); 9) The Informer (1934); 10) Young Mr. Lincoln (1939); 11)
The Quiet Man (1952); 12) Rio Grande (1950); 13) The Whole Town’s Talking
(1935); 14) The Fugitive (1947); 15) Drums Along the Mohawk (1939); 16) The
Iron Horse (1924); 17) Arrowsmith (1931); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">18)
The Long Voyage Home (1940); 19) Mister Roberts (1955); 20) Mary of Scotland
(1936)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">MILOS
FORMAN:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975); 2) Amadeus (1984); 3) The People vs.
Larry Flynt (1996); 4) Ragtime (1981); 5) The Fireman’s Ball (1968); 6) Valmont
(1989); 7) Man on the Moon (1999); 8) Hair (1979); 9) Taking Off (1971); 10)
Goya’s Ghosts (2007)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">JOHN
FRANKENHEIMER:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) The Manchurian Candidate (1962); 2) The Iceman Cometh (1973); 3) The Train
(1965); 4) Seven Days in May (1964); 5) Ronin (1998); 6) Birdman of Alcatraz
(1962); 7) Seconds (1966); 8) The Gypsy Moths (1969); 9) 52 Pick-Up (1986); 10)
All Fall Down (1962); 11) The Fixer (1968); 12) The French Connection II (1975);
13) I Walk the Line (1970); 14) The Young Savages (1961); 15) Grand Prix
(1966); 16) The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996); 17) Reindeer Games (2000); 18) The
Extraordinary Seaman (1969); 19) Year of the Gun (1991); 20) The Young Stranger
(1957)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">STEPHEN
FREARS:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) The Queen (2006); 2) High Fidelity (2000); 3) Dirty Pretty Things (2003); 4)
The Grifters (1990); 5) Prick Up Your Ears (1987); 6) Dangerous Liaisons (1988); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">7)
Philomena (2013); 8) The Hit (1985); 9) My Beautiful Laundrette (1986); 10) The
Van (1997) </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">SAM
FULLER:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Pickup on South Street (1953); 2) The Steel Helmet (1951); 3) The Big Red
One (1980); 4) Park Row (1952); 5) House of Bamboo (1955); 6) Fixed Bayonets!
(1951); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">7)
Shock Corridor (1963); 8) The Crimson Kimono (1959); 9) The Naked Kiss (1964); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">10)
Underworld, U.S.A. (1961)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">JEAN-LUC
GODARD:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Breathless (1959); 2) Contempt (1963); 3) Vivre Sa Vie (1962); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">4)
Le Petit Soldat (1963); 5) Alphaville (1965); 6) Weekend (1967); 7) Les
Carabiniers (1963); 8) Band of Outsiders (1964); 9) Pierrot le Fou (1965); 10)
Hail Mary (1985)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">HOWARD
HAWKS:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Red River (1948); 2) The Big Sleep (1946); 3) Only Angels Have Wings (1939);
4) His Girl Friday (1940); 5) Scarface (1932); 6) Ball of Fire (1941); 7) Rio
Bravo (1959); 8) To Have and Have Not (1944); 9) Bringing Up Baby (1938); 10)
Sergeant York (1941); 11) Twentieth Century (1934); 12) Air Force (1943); 13)
El Dorado (1967); 14) Barbary Coast (1935); 15) A Girl in Every Port (1928); 16)
Monkey Business (1952); 17) The Road to Glory (1936); 18) Today We Live (1933);
19) The Criminal Code (1931); 20) The Dawn Patrol (1930) </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">GEORGE
ROY HILL:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Slap Shot (1977); 2) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kind (1969); 3) The
Sting (1973); 4) Slaughterhouse Five (1972); 5) Period of Adjustment (1962); 6)
The World According to Garp (1984); 7) A Little Romance (1979); 8) The Great
Waldo Pepper (1975); 9) The Little Drummer Girl (1984); 10) Funny Farm (1988) </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">ALFRED
HITCHCOCK:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Vertigo (1958); 2) Notorious (1946); 3) Rebecca (1940); 4) Rear Window
(1954); 5) Psycho (1960); 6) The Lady Vanishes (1938); 7) Foreign Correspondent
(1940); 8) North by Northwest (1959); 9) The 39 Steps (1935); 10) Shadow of a
Doubt (1943); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">11)
Spellbound (1945); 12) Suspicion (1941); 13) Strangers on a Train (1951); 14)
To Catch a Thief (1955); 15) Saboteur (1942); 16) The Man Who Knew Too Much
(1934); 17) Sabotage (1936); 18) Blackmail (1929); 19) The Birds (1963); 20)
Marnie (1964)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">RON
HOWARD:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) The Paper (1994); 2) Frost/Nixon (2008); 3) Rush (2013); 4) Apollo 13
(1995); 5) Night Shift (1982); 6) A Beautiful Mind (2001); 7) Parenthood
(1989); 8) Cocoon (1985); 9) The Da Vinci Code (2006); 10) Solo: A Star Wars
Story (2018)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">JOHN
HUSTON:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) The Maltese Falcon (1941); 2) The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">3)
The Asphalt Jungle (1950); 4) Key Largo (1948); 5) Prizzi's Honor (1985); 6) The
Dead (1987); 7) Under the Volcano (1984); 8) The Night of the Iguana (1964); 9)
The Man Who Would Be King (1975); 10) The Red Badge of Courage (1951); 11) The
Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972); 12) The African Queen (1951); 13) Moby
Dick (1956); 14) Fat City (1972); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">15)
Moulin Rouge (1952); 16) Beat the Devil (1954); 17) The Misfits (1961); 18) Heaven
Knows, Mr. Allison (1957); 19) In This Our Life (1942); 20) Wise Blood (1980)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">JIM
JARMUSCH:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Stranger Than Paradise (1984); 2) Paterson (2016); 3) Down by Law (1986); 4)
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (2000); 5) The Dead Don’t Die (2019); 6) Coffee
and Cigarettes (2004); 7) Broken Flowers (2005); 8) Mystery Train (1989); 9)
Only Lovers Left Alive (2014); 10) Night on Earth (1992)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">NORMAN
JEWISON:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) In the Heat of the Night (1967); 2) The Hurricane (1999); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">3)
Moonstruck (1987); 4) A Soldier’s Story (1984); 5) And Justice for All (1979);
6) Fiddle on the Roof (1971); 7) The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are
Coming (1966); 8) Jesus Christ, Superstar (1973); 9) Agnes of God (1985); 10)
The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">ELIA
KAZAN: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">1)
On the Waterfront (1954); 2)<b> </b>A Streetcar Named Desire (1951); 3) A Face
in the Crowd (1957); 4) Baby Doll (1956); 5) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945);
6) East of Eden (1955); 7) Gentleman's Agreement (1947); 8) Panic in the
Streets (1950); 9) America, America (1963); 10) Viva Zapata! (1952)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">STANLEY
KUBRICK: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">1)
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964); 2)
Paths of Glory (1957); 3) 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968); 4) Full Metal Jacket
(1987); 5) The Killing (1956); 6) A Clockwork Orange (1971); 7) The Shining
(1980); 8) Eyes Wide Shut (1999); 9) Barry Lyndon (1975); 10) Lolita (1962)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">AKIRA
KUROSAWA:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Seven Samurai (1954); 2) Rashomon (1951); 3) Ran (1985); 4) Ikiru (1952); 5)
Throne of Blood (1957); 6) Kagemusha (1980); 7) Stray Dog (1949); 8) Yojimbo
(1961); 9) Dersu Uzala (1975); 10) The Lower Depths (1957)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">FRITZ
LANG:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) M (1931); 2) Fury (1936); 3) Scarlet Street (1945); 4) The Big Heat (1953); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">5)
You Only Live Once (1937); 6) Metropolis (1926); 7) Woman in the Window (1945); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">8)
Clash by Night (1952); 9) The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1932); 10) While the
City Sleeps (1956)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">DAVID
LEAN:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Lawrence of Arabia (1962); 2) Great Expectations (1946); 3) The Bridge on
the River Kwai (1957); 4) Oliver Twist (1951); 5) A Passage to India (1984); 6)
Breaking the Sound Barrier (1952); 7) Ryan’s Daughter (1970); 8) Doctor Zhivago
(1965); 9) Brief Encounter (1945); 10) Blithe Spirit (1945)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">ANG
LEE:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Sense and Sensibility (1995); 2) Brokeback Mountain (2005); 3) The Wedding
Banquet (1993); 4) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000); 5) Lust, Caution
(2007); 6) The Ice Storm (1997); 7) Eat Drink Man Woman (1994); 8) Life of Pi
(2012); 9) Taking Woodstock (2009); 10) Ride with the Devil (1999)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">SPIKE
LEE: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">1)
Do the Right Thing (1989); 2) Clockers (1995); 3) Crooklyn (1994); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">4)
Summer of Sam (1999); 5) Malcolm X (1992); 6) 25th Hour (2002); 7) She's Gotta
Have It (1986); 8) Mo' Better Blues (1990); 9) Inside Man (2006); 10)
BlacKkKlansman (2018)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">MIKE
LEIGH: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">1)<b>
</b>Naked (1993); 2) Life Is Sweet (1991); 3) Another Year (2010); 4) High
Hopes (1989); 5) Secrets and Lies (1996); 6) Career Girls (1997); 7) All or
Nothing (2002); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">8)
Vera Drake (2004); 9) Topsy-Turvy (1999); 10) Mr. Turner (2014)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">BARRY
LEVINSON:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Diner (1982); 2) Rain Man (1988); 3) Wag the Dog (1997); 4) Bugsy (1991); 5)
Tin Men (1987); 6) An Everlasting Piece (2000); 7) The Natural (1984); 8) The
Humbling (2014); 9) What Just Happened (2008); 10) Avalon (1990)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">ERNST
LUBITSCH</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">:
1) Trouble in Paradise (1932); 2) The Shop Around the Corner (1940); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">3)
Design for Living (1933); 4) To Be or Not to Be (1942); 5) Ninotchka (1939); 6)
The Smiling Lieutenant (1931); 7) The Love Parade (1929); 8) The Oyster
Princess (1919); 9) Heaven Can Wait (1943); 10) One Hour with You (1932)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">SIDNEY
LUMET:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Network (1976); 2) Long Day’s Journey Into Night (1962); 3) 12 Angry Men
(1957); 4) Dog Day Afternoon (1975); 5) The Verdict (1982); 6) Serpico (1973);
7) The Pawnbroker (1965); 8) Prince of the City (1981); 9) The Hill (1965); 10)
Q&A (1990); 11) Fail-Safe (1964); 12) Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
(2007); 13) Running on Empty (1988); 14) Murder on the Orient Express (1974); 15)
Daniel (1983); 16) The Deadly Affair (1967); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">17)
Find Me Guilty (2006); 18) The Fugitive Kind (1959); 19) Power (1986); 20)
Night Falls on Manhattan (1997)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">DAVID
LYNCH:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Blue Velvet (1986); 2) Mulholland Dr. (2001); 3) The Elephant Man (1980); 4)
The Straight Story (1999); 5) Wild at Heart (1990); 6) Eraserhead (1978); 7)
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992); 8) Lost Highway (1997); 9) Inland Empire
(2006); 10) Dune (1984)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">JOSEPH
L. MANKIEWICZ:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) All About Eve (1950); 2) A Letter to Three Wives (1949); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">3)
Julius Caesar (1953); 4) Five Fingers (1952); 5) People Will Talk (1951); 6)
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947); 7) Escape (1948); 8) Sleuth (1972); 9)
Suddenly, Last Summer (1959); 10) No Way Out (1950)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">ANTHONY
MANN:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> 1) The Naked Spur (1953); 2) Raw Deal (1948);
3) T-Men (1948); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">4)
God’s Little Acre (1958); 5) Winchester ’73 (1950); 6) Reign of Terror (1949);
7) Man of the West (1958); 8) Men in War (1957); 9) The Far Country (1955); 10)
Bend of the River (1952)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">MICHAEL
MANN:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Heat (1995); 2) The Insider (1999); 3) Ferrari (2023); 4) The Last of the
Mohicans (1992); 5) Thief (1981); 6) Collateral (2004); 7) Manhunter (1986); 8)
Ali (2001); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">9)
Public Enemies (2009); 10: Miami Vice (2006)</span></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">PAUL
MAZURSKY:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) An Unmarried Woman (1978); 2) Blume in Love (1973); 3) Enemies, A Love Story
(1989); 4) Harry and Tonto (1974); 5) Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">6)
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969); 7) Tempest (1982); 8) Moscow on
the Hudson (1984); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">9)
Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976); 10) Scenes From a Mall (1991)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">LEWIS
MILESTONE:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) All Quiet on the Western Front (1930); 2) Of Mice and Men (1939); 3) Pork
Chop Hill (1959); 4) The Front Page (1931); 5) The Racket (1928); 6) The
General Died at Dawn (1936); 7) The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946); 8)
Mutiny on the Bounty (1962); 9) A Walk in the Sun (1945); 10) Rain (1932)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">VNCENTE
MINNELLI:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) An American in Paris (1951); 2) The Bad and the Beautiful (1952); 3) Meet Me
in St. Louis (1944); 4) The Band Wagon (1953); 5) Lust for Life (1956); 6) Home
from the Hill (1960); 7) Madame Bovary (1949); 8) Gigi (1958); 9) Cabin in the
Sky (1943); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">10)
Some Came Running (1958)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">MIKE
NICHOLS:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) The Graduate (1967); 2) Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">3)
Carnal Knowledge (1971); 4) Charlie Wilson’s War (2007); 5) Catch-22 (1970); 6)
Silkwood (1983); 7) Working Girl (1988); 8) The Birdcage (1996); 9) Postcards
from the Edge (1990); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">10)
Closer (2004)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">CHRISTOPER
NOLAN:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> 1) Oppenheimer (2023); 2) Interstellar (2014); 3) Memento (2001); 4) Batman Begins (2005); 5) Insomnia
(2002); 6) The Dark Knight (2008); 7) The Dark Knight Rises (2012); 8) Dunkirk
(2017); 9) Inception (2010); 10) The Prestige (2006)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">ALAN
J. PAKULA:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) All the President’s Men (1976); 2) Klute (1971); 3) The Parallax View
(1974); 4) Sophie’s Choice (1982); 5) Orphans (1987); 6) Starting Over (1979);
7) Comes a Horseman (1978); 8) Presumed Innocent (1990); 9) The Sterile Cuckoo
(1969); 10) The Devil’s Own (1997) </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">SAM
PECKINPAH:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) The Wild Bunch (1969); 2) Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">3)
Ride the High Country (1962); 4) Straw Dogs (1971); 5) The Ballad of Cable
Hogue (1970); 6) Junior Bonner (1972); 7) Cross of Iron (1977); 8) The Killer
Elite (1975); 9) The Osterman Weekend (1983); 10) The Getaway (1972)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">ARTHUR
PENN:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Bonnie and Clyde (1967); 2) Night Moves (1975); 3) The Miracle Worker
(1962); 4) Little Big Man (1970); 5) The Missouri Breaks (1976); 6) Mickey One
(1965); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">7)
Four Friends (1981); 8) Alice’s Restaurant (1969); 9) The Chase (1966); 10) The
Left-Handed Gun (1958)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">ROMAN
POLANSKI:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Chinatown (1974); 2) The Pianist (2002); 3) Repulsion (1965); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">4)
Knife in the Water (1962); 5) Macbeth (1971); 6) The Ghost Writer (2010); 7)
Rosemary’s Baby (1968); 8) Tess (1980); 9) Carnage (2011); 10) Oliver Twist (2005)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">SYDNEY
POLLACK:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Tootsie (1982); 2) They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969); 3) Three Days of
the Condor (1975); 4) Absence of Malice (1981); 5) Jeremiah Johnson (1972); 6)
Out of Africa (1985); 7) The Way We Were (1973); 8) The Firm (1993); 9) The
Electric Horseman (1979); 10) The Yakuza (1975)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">OTTO
PREMINGER:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Laura (1944); 2) Anatomy of a Murder (1959); 3) Where the Sidewalk Ends
(1950); 4) Advise and Consent (1962); 5) The Man with the Golden Arm (1955); 6)
Exodus (1960); 7) The Cardinal (1963); 8) Whirlpool (1949); 9) The Human Factor
(1979); 10) Carmen Jones (1954)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">BOB
RAFELSON:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Five Easy Pieces (1970); 2) The King of Marvin Gardens (1972); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">3)
Mountains of the Moon (1990); 4) The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981); 5) Blood
and Wine (1997); 6) Black Widow (1987); 7) Head (1968); 8) No Good Deed (2002);
9) Stay Hungry (1976); 10) Man Trouble (1992)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">NICHOLAS
RAY:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Rebel Without a Cause (1955); 2) Johnny Guitar (1954); 3) In a Lonely Place
(1950); 4) They Live by Night (1949); 5) The Lusty Men (1952); 6) On Dangerous
Ground (1951); 7) Bigger Than Life (1956); 8) Born to Be Bad (1950); 9) Bitter
Victory (1958); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">10)
Party Girl (1958)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">CAROL
REED:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) The Third Man (1950); 2) The Fallen Idol (1948); 3) Odd Man Out (1947); 4)
Outcast of the Islands (1951); 5) The Way Ahead (1945); 6) Night Train to
Munich (1941); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">7)
Our Man in Havana (1960); 8) Oliver! (1968); 9) The Key (1958); 10) The Man
Between (1953)</span></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">JEAN
RENOIR:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Grand Illusion (1937); 2) The Rules of the Game (1939); 3) La Bete Humaine
(1938); 4) Boudu Saved from Drowning (1932); 5) French Cancan (1956); 6) The
River (1951); 7) The Southerner (1945); 8) The Golden Coach (1954); 9) La
Chienne (1931); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">10)
The Woman on the Beach (1947)</span></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">MARTIN
RITT:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Hud (1963); 2) The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (1965); 3) Sounder (1972);
4) The Long Hot Summer (1958); 5) Hombre (1967); 6) Norma Rae (1979); 7) The
Great White Hope (1970); 8) The Front (1976); 9) Paris Blues (1961); 10) Cross
Creek (1983)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">ALAN
RUDOLPH:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Choose Me (1984); 2) Welcome to L.A. (1977); 3) Mrs. Parker and the Vicious
Circle (1994); 4) Trouble in Mind (1985); 5) The Moderns (1988); 6) The Secret
Lives of Dentists (2003); 7) Afterglow (1997); 8) Breakfast of Champions
(1999); 9) Songwriter (1984); 10) Remember My Name (1978)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">DAVID
O. RUSSELL:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Flirting with Disaster (1996); 2) Silver Linings Playbook (2012); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">3)
The Fighter (2010); 4) American Hustle (2013); 5) Three Kings (1999); 6) Joy (2015); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">7)
Spanking the Monkey (1994); 8) Amsterdam (2022); 9) I [Heart] Huckabees (2004); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">10)
Accidental Love (2015)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">JOHN
SAYLES:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Limbo (1999); 2) City of Hope (1991); 3) Lone Star (1997); 4) Matewan
(1987); 5) Eight Men Out (1988); 6) Passion Fish (1992); 7) Sunshine State
(2002); 8) Baby, It’s You (1983); 9) The Brother from Another Planet (1984);
10) The Secret of Roan Inish (1995)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">JOHN
SCHLESINGER:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Midnight Cowboy (1969); 2) Sunday, Bloody Sunday (1971); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">3)
Darling (1965); 4) Far from the Madding Crowd (1967); 5) The Day of the Locust
(1975); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">6)
Marathon Man (1976); 7) Cold Comfort Farm (1996); 8) A Kind of Loving (1962);
9) The Falcon and the Snowman (1985); 10) Madame Sousatzka (1988)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">PAUL
SCHRADER</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">:
1) Affliction (1998); 2) First Reformed (2018); 3) Patty Heart (1988); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">4)
The Card Counter (2021); 5) American Gigolo (1980); 6) Mishima: A Life in Four
Chapters (1985); 7) Master Gardener (2023); 8) Auto Focus (2002); 9) The
Comfort of Strangers (1991); 10) Cat People (1982)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">MARTIN
SCORSESE:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">1) Taxi Driver
(1976); 2) Raging Bull (1980) 3) Mean Streets (1973); 4) Silence (2016); 5)
GoodFellas (1990); 6) The Last Temptation of Christ (1988); 7) The King of
Comedy (1983); 8) Casino (1995); 9) The Wolf of Wall Street (2013); 10) The
Departed (2006); 11) The Age of Innocence (1993); 12) Killers of the Flower
Moon (2023); 13) The Irishman (2019); 14) New York, New York (1977); 15) Alice
Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974); 16) The Color of Money (1986); 17) Gangs of
New York (2002); 18) The Aviator (2004); 19) After Hours (1985); 20) Cape Fear
(1991)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">RIDLEY
SCOTT:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Alien (1979); 2) Black Hawk Down (2001); 3) The Martian (2015); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">4)
Blade Runner (1982); 5) Gladiator (2000); 6) Thelma & Louise (1991); 7) All
the Money in the World (2017); 8) House of Gucci (2021); 9) Body of Lies
(2008); 10) Napoleon (2023)</span></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">DON
SIEGEL:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Dirty Harry (1971); 2) Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956); 3) The
Shootist (1976); 4) Charlie Varrick (1973); 5) Madigan (1968); 6) The Verdict
(1946); 7) Private Hell 36 (1954); 8) The Lineup (1958); 9) The Beguiled
(1971); 10) Coogan’s Bluff (1968)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">STEVEN
SODERBERGH:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Traffic (2000); 2) The Limey (1999); 3) Erin Brockovich (2000); 4) sex, lies
and videotape (1989); 5) King of the Hill (1993); 6) Contagion (2001); 7) Out
of Sight (1998); 8) Ocean’s Eleven (2001); 9) Solaris (2002); 10) Logan Lucky
(2017)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">STEVE
SPIELBERG:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977); 2) Schindler's List (1993); 3) Jaws
(1975); 4) E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982); 5) Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981);
6) The Post (2017); 7) Saving Private Ryan (1998); 8) Lincoln (2012); 9) West
Side Story (2021); 10) Bridge of Spies (2015); 11) The Fabelmans (2022); 12) War
Horse (2011); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">13)
Empire of the Sun (1987); 14) Catch Me If You Can (2002); 15) Minority Report
(2002); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">16)
Munich (2005); 17) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984); 18) Jurassic
Park (1993); 19) Amistad (1997); 20) War of the Worlds (2005)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">JOSEF
VON STERNBERG:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) The Scarlet Empress (1934); 2) The Last Command (1928); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">3)
Shanghai Express (1932); 4) Morocco (1930); 5) Blonde Venus (1932); 6) The Blue
Angel (1930); 7) Underworld (1927); 8) Crime and Punishment (1935); 9) An
American Tragedy (1931); 10) The Docks of New York (1928)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">GEORGE
STEVENS:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Giant (1956); 2) Shane (1953); 3) A Place in the Sun (1951); 4) The More the
Merrier (1943); 5) I Remember Mama (1948); 6) Vivacious Lady (1938); 7) Gunga
Din (1939); 8) Swing Time (1936); 9) The Diary of Anne Frank (1959); 10) Alice
Adams (1935); 11) The Talk of the Town (1942); 12) Woman of the Year (1942);
13) Annie Oakley (1935); 14) A Damsel in Distress (1937); 15) Penny Serenade
(1941); 16) Vigil in the Night (1940); 17) The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965);
18) The Only Game in Town (1970); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">19)
Quality Street (1937); 20) Bachelor Bait (1934)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">OLIVER
STONE:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Platoon (1986); 2) Born on the Fourth of July (1989); 3) Nixon (1995); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">4)
JFK (1991); 5) W. (2008); 6) Salvador (1986); 7) Natural Born Killers (1994);
8) Wall Street (1987); 9) World Trade Center (2006); 10) The Doors (1991)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">PRESTON
STURGES:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Sullivan’s Travels (1941); 2) The Miracle of Morgan Creek (1944); 3) Hail
the Conquering Hero (1944); 4) The Lady Eve (1941); 5) The Palm Beach Story
(1942); 6) Unfaithfully Yours (1948); 7) The Great McGinty (1940); 8) Christmas
in July (1940); 9) The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend (1949); 10) The Great
Moment (1944)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">QUENTIN
TARANTINO:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Pulp Fiction (1994); 2) Inglourious Basterds (2009); 3) Reservoir Dogs
(1992); 4) Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019); 5) Jackie Brown (1997); 6)
Django Unchained (2012); 7) The Hateful Eight (2015); 8) Kill Bill, Vol. 2
(2004); 9) Kill Bill, Vol. 1 (2003); 10) Death Proof (2007)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">FRANCOIS
TRUFFAUT:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) The 400 Blows (1959); 2) Jules and Jim (1961); 3) Day for Night (1974); 4)
The Story of Adele H. (1975); 5) Shoot the Piano Player (1960); 6) The Last
Metro (1980); 7) Stolen Kisses (1968); 8) The Man Who Loved Women (1977); 9)
Two English Girls (1972); 10) The Wild Child (1970)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">GUS
VAN SANT:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Milk (2008); 2) To Die For (1995); 3) Drugstore Cowboy (1989); 4) Good Will
Hunting (1997); 5) Last Days (2005); 6) Promised Land (2012); 7) My Own Private
Idaho (1991); 8) Elephant (2003); 9) The Sea of Trees (2016); 10) Don’t Worry,
He Won’t Get Far on Foot (2018)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">KING
VIDOR:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) The Big Parade (1925); 2) Street Scene (1931); 3) The Crowd (1928); 4) The
Fountainhead (1949); 5) Stella Dallas (1937); 6) The Citadel (1938); 7) The
Champ (1931); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">8)
Hallelujah (1929); 9) War and Peace (1956); 10) La Boheme (1926) </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">RAOUL
WALSH:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) White Heat (1949); 2) The Roaring Twenties (1939); 3) High Sierra (1941); 4)
They Drive by Night (1940); 5) The Big Trail (1930); 6) Gentleman Jim (1941); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">7)
What Price Glory (1926); 8) They Died with Their Boots On (1941); 9) The Thief
of Bagdad (1924); 10) Pursued (1947)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">PETER
WEIR:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) The Truman Show (1998); 2) The Year of Living Dangerously (1983); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">3)
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003); 4) Witness (1985); 5)
Dead Poets Society (1989); 6) Gallipoli (1981); 7) The Mosquito Coast (1986);
8) Fearless (1993); 9) Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975); 10) Green Card (1990)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">ORSON
WELLES:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Citizen Kane (1941); 2) Touch of Evil (1958); 3) The Magnificent Ambersons
(1942); 4) Chimes at Midnight (1967); 5) Othello (1952); 6) The Lady from
Shanghai (1948); 7) The Stranger (1946); 8) Macbeth (1948); 9) The Trial
(1963); 10) Mr. Arkadin (1955)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">WILLIAM
WELLMAN:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) The Ox-Bow Incident (1943); 2) The Public Enemy (1931); 3) A Star Is Born
(1937); 4) The Story of G.I. Joe (1945); 5) Nothing Sacred (1937); 6) Roxie
Hart (1942); 7) Yellow Sky (1948); 8) Wings (1927); 9) Battleground (1949); 10)
Westward the Women (1951); 11) Beau Geste (1939); 12) The Purchase Price
(1932); 13) So Big! (1932); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">14)
Wild Boys of the Road (1933); 15) Track of the Cat (1954); 16) The High and the
Mighty (1954); 17) Night Nurse (1931); 18) Lafayette Escadrille (1958); 19)
Stingaree (1934); 20) Call of the Wild (1935)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">BILLY
WILDER:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Sunset Boulevard (1950); 2) Some Like It Hot (1959); 3) Double Indemnity
(1944); 4) The Big Carnival (1951); 5) The Apartment (1960); 6) Witness for the
Prosecution (1957); 7) Stalag 17 (1953); 8) The Fortune Cookie (1966); 9) The
Lost Weekend (1945); 10) One, Two, Three (1961); 11) A Foreign Affair (1948);
12) The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970); 13) Sabrina (1954); 14) Irma La
Douce (1963); 15) The Seven Year Itch (1955); 16) Five Graves to Cairo (1943);
17) The Front Page (1974); 18) Love in the Afternoon (1957); 19) The Major and
the Minor (1942); 20) The Spirit of St. Louis (1957)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">ROBERT
WISE:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) The Set-Up (1949); 2) West Side Story (1961); 3) The Body Snatcher (1945);
4) The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951); 5) The Haunting (1963); 6) The Desert
Rats (1953); 7) I Want to Live! (1958); 8) Blood on the Moon (1948); 9) The
Sound of Music (1965); 10) The Sand Pebbles (1966) </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">SAM
WOOD:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) A Night at the Opera (1935); 2) For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943); 3) Kings Row
(1942); 4) The Pride of the Yankees (1942); 5) Our Town (1940); 6) A Day at the
Races (1937); 7) The Devil and Miss Jones (1941); 8) Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939);
9) Kitty Foyle (1940); 10) Whipsaw (1935)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">WILLIAM
WYLER:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) The Best Years of Our Lives (1946); 2) The Letter (1940); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">3)
Dodsworth (1936); 4) The Heiress (1949); 5) Detective Story (1951); 6) Dead End
(1937); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">7)
The Little Foxes (1941); 8) Wuthering Heights (1939); 9) Roman Holiday (1953);
10) The Westerner (1940); 11) Ben-Hur (1959); 12) Jezebel (1938); 13) The
Desperate Hours (1955); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">14)
These Three (1936); 15) Mrs. Miniver (1942); 16) The Big Country (1958); 17)
Funny Girl (1968); 18) Friendly Persuasion (1956); 19) Come and Get It (1936);
20) How to Steal a Million (1966)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">ZHANG
YIMOU:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Raise the Red Lantern (1992); 2) To Live (1994); 3) Ju Dou (1991); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">4)
The Story of Qiu Ju (1993); 5) Coming Home (2015); 6) House of Flying Daggers
(2004); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">7)
Hero (2004); 8) The Road Home (2001); 9) Red Sorghum (1988); 10) Curse of the
Golden Flower (2006)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">FRED
ZINNEMANN:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) From Here to Eternity (1953); 2) High Noon (1952); 3) The Member of the
Wedding (1952); 4) A Man for All Seasons (1966); 5) Act of Violence (1949); 6)
Julia (1977); 7) A Hatful of Rain (1957); 8) The Sundowners (1960); 9) The
Nun’s Story (1959); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">10)
Oklahoma! (1955)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">ROBERT
ZEMECKIS:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
1) Back to the Future (1985); 2) Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988); </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">3)
Used Cars (1980); 4) Forrest Gump (1994); 5) Cast Away (2000); 6) Back to the
Future, Part II (1989); 7) Flight (2012); 8) Contact (1997); 9) Romancing the
Stone (1984); 10) Allied (2016)</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Doug Listhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339222653620926842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6028831787280199543.post-67569226051558061822023-05-05T15:12:00.002-07:002023-05-07T08:09:43.952-07:00April 2023<p> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">AIR<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2023)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every sport has a cadre of insiders who,
though little known to the general public, play an integral role in the game’s development,
promotion and recruitment of talent. Last year’s underappreciated “Hustle,”
starring Adam Sandler, looked at the scouting world of basketball. Now, a
real-life basketball insider, promoter and shoe executive Sonny Vaccaro, takes
center stage in “Air,” which tells the well-known (at least to sports fans) story
of Nike’s wooing of Michael Jordan and the creation of the most popular
athletic shoe.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Matt Damon plays Vaccaro, whose job is to
save the struggling basketball division of Nike, which in the early 1980s, was
still seen as only a running shoe company. While others in the firm are
focusing on lesser lights among the 1984 NBA draft picks, Vaccaro, a gambler at
heart, puts his job on the line to convince Jordan and his business-minded
mother (a scene-stealing Viola Davis) to pass on the bigger companies, Adidas
and Converse, and commit to a Nike shoe deal. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVAQRaB7_q6tXLvFTa4VPU5tphNoiysDZbva2LToASCnv3erGS-ZVxbwROxkhLTiDGVnH3yIYAL5IU52BnJlJ9UfFDRx03Bp9gVNGZ6Qe59o5nrmPy49Iap5HkM5dhMJOmNbPWej3TuaevzNZ8MOG0g_-1N_ATDjCy0aRFCn912i-6aH-ciN25WA/s1024/Air.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="1024" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVAQRaB7_q6tXLvFTa4VPU5tphNoiysDZbva2LToASCnv3erGS-ZVxbwROxkhLTiDGVnH3yIYAL5IU52BnJlJ9UfFDRx03Bp9gVNGZ6Qe59o5nrmPy49Iap5HkM5dhMJOmNbPWej3TuaevzNZ8MOG0g_-1N_ATDjCy0aRFCn912i-6aH-ciN25WA/s320/Air.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The highly entertaining film, directed by
Ben Affleck (who also plays Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight) never takes
itself too seriously—it is after all just a shoe—lacing the drama with humorously
profane, snappy dialogue filled with inside basketball references and the
cut-throat world of athlete endorsements.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
script, by first-timer Alex Convery, who worked on the ESPN documentary on
Vaccaro, is essentially a series of conversations Sonny has with the zen-like
Phil; his worn-down boss (Jason Bateman); Jordan’s despicable agent (Chris
Messina); his supportive co-worker (the always hilarious Chris Tucker) and
Davis’ steely Mrs. Jordan.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film momentarily soars when shoe
engineer Peter Moore (a memorable Matthew Maher) explains his passion for
creating shoes as he starts working on the Air Jordan model and again when Vaccaro
offers an eloquent prediction of Jordan’s future. But Affleck and his buddy
Damon aren’t reaching for great art here; instead, they’ve memorialized on film
one of the most important business deals in recent history along with a
heartfelt tribute to an amazing athlete.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">STORM
WARNING (1951)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This isn’t the usual 1950s crime
picture—especially when one considers the cast, headlined by Ginger Rogers,
Ronald Reagan and Doris Day. Typically, with these three on screen, the “storm
warning” would be romantic entanglements, but this movie deals with much
stronger stuff.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rogers plays Marsha Mitchell, a feisty
model who, while traveling on a bus to Los Angeles with her manager, ditches
him during a stop at Rock Point (a stand-in for Corona, Calif., where it was
shot), a small town where her sister (Day) lives.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead of a touching reunion, Rogers
witnesses the killing of an out-of-town reporter after he’s taken from the
local jail by men wearing white robes and hoods.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Based on the power the Ku Klux Klan had in
Corona in the 1920s, the film, written by Daniel Fuchs (Oscar winner for “Love
Me or Leave Me”) and Richard Brooks (just starting a directing career that
would include “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “Elmer Gantry”), pulls few punches in
its evisceration of the Klan and how it drew in ordinary, seemingly respectable
citizens. Though, pointedly, the film avoids mentioning the KKK’s role in the
lynching of and discrimination against African Americans. In those days,
Hollywood always hedged its bets. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reagan plays the town’s prosecutor,
seemingly the only man in town bothered by the KKK’s dominance, who is
determined to find someone to flip on these hate-mongers who have bullied
everyone in town. The outsider Marsha is his best chance, but she’s conflicted
by the fact that her sister’s new husband (Steve Cochran) has joined the Klan.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All three stars bring an intense
sincerity to the picture; at one point, when Reagan abruptly shows up at a
rally, he casually tells a man holding a child, “she oughta be home in bed.”
And Rogers gives one of her most down-to-earth performances even as she’s
playing a fashion model.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqAiJhoi3WiVO2daEOw-exuO30dIUrVKmLErZsa0bx2MecnZiOuB_PvFW1hvHssBUurU1JMNquvQLun5lwHKZd16YcwozYVzgParZOt1M1XmeBJNRCgO4cMIK3swK9hdB-L1_dXp0opXp03CmdnghvW67aEbEKGN0L9zNSQ8OmK1zjzNVp8I-YkA/s400/storm-warning_48799_41018.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="400" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqAiJhoi3WiVO2daEOw-exuO30dIUrVKmLErZsa0bx2MecnZiOuB_PvFW1hvHssBUurU1JMNquvQLun5lwHKZd16YcwozYVzgParZOt1M1XmeBJNRCgO4cMIK3swK9hdB-L1_dXp0opXp03CmdnghvW67aEbEKGN0L9zNSQ8OmK1zjzNVp8I-YkA/s320/storm-warning_48799_41018.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hollywood veteran Stuart Heisler, who
started with Mack Sennett in 1913, tells this frightening story without the
hysteria and over-reach that anti-Communist pictures of the era reek of. Though
he mostly worked in B-pictures, Heisler directed some fine films in the 1940s
and 50s, including “The Glass Key” (1942), “Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman”
(1947) with Susan Hayward and “The Star” (1952) with Bette Davis.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The same year as “Storm Warning,” Heisler
directed an equally unlikely picture, “Journey into Light,” in which a minister
(Sterling Hayden) gives up his calling in a crisis of faith. Heisler seemed to
have been Warners’ go-to filmmaker for controversial subjects.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The studio had previously, though tentatively,
taken on the KKK in a 1937 Humphrey Bogart film, “Black Legion,” but didn’t
name the group. “Storm Warning” is the closest Hollywood came to repudiating
the propaganda of D.W. Griffith’s “The Birth of a Nation,” a cinematic
masterpiece and an abomination. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s unfortunate that “Storm Warning,” recently
restored by the Film Foundation, has rarely been screened over the past half
century. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">SHOWING
UP (2023)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not sure what to make of the fourth
collaboration between writer-director Kelly Reichardt and actress Michelle
Williams, which trails an insecure sculptor trying to make her mark in a
community of artists. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like a short story in a literary magazine,
“Showing Up” has little plot or exposition and the main character, Lizzy
(Williams), despite her dedication to her art, possesses almost no control over
her own life, while competing with dismissive and pretentious strivers. She’s
such an empty vessel that an injured pigeon nearly takes over her life, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In her day job, Lizzy works at an art
school, serving as the secretary-assistant to her mother (Maryann Plunkett),
who seems to be an administrator. (Nothing much in the film is explained.)
While her mother treats her like just another employee, her father (Judd
Hirsch) barely listens to what she says. And fellow artist Jo (Hong Chau, Oscar
nominated for “The Whale”), who is Lizzy’s irresponsible landlord and off-and-on
friend, only notices Lizzy when she needs something.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reichardt and cinematographer Christopher
Blauvelt (“Emma.”) give considerable screen time to the small clay figures of
women in various poses that Lizzy is working on for an upcoming gallery show.
These creations clearly have importance to the director, but I wanted more from
Lizzy: a decision, a change, a reckoning. That isn’t this movie’s mission.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also couldn’t get over that Williams,
though her hair is cut to make her seem younger, is 43 years old; I would have
appreciated the character much more if it had been played by someone in their
twenties, an age when most are struggling to find themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reichardt has been a critics’ darling
since she and Williams teamed up to make the touching indie, “Wendy and Lucy”
(2008), but, as glad as I am that she’s able to get her films released, I wish
she’d stop offering appetizers and dig into the main course.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">BEST
SELLERS (2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Traditionally, British actors never retire.
Yet few have sustained a run like Michael Caine. The 90-year-old started as a
film actor 67 years ago and has been a star for 57 of those years.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After playing one of the leaders of a
British troop fighting off local Africans in “Zulu” (1964) and an amorous spy
in “The Ipcress File” (1965), Caine became an international star in the title
role of “Alfie,” playing an unapologetic (and incredibly sexist) playboy who
enjoys the “swingin’ 60s” life in London. The title song by Burt Bacharach and
Hal David was huge hit and Caine’s performance earned the actor the first of
six Oscar nominations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Highlighting his astonishingly resilient
career are performances as a brutal vigilante in “Get Carter” (1971); a cynical
journalist in “Pulp” (1972); opposite Laurence Olivier in the two-man play
“Sleuth” (1972)—he took the Olivier role in the 2007 remake; as Peachy
alongside Sean Connery in “The Man Who Would Be King” (1975); a rather kinky
doctor in “Dressed to Kill” (1980); a drunken professor in “Educating Rita”
(1984); a man who falls for his wife’s sister in “Hannah and Her Sisters”
(1986); an abortion doctor in “The Cider House Rules” (1999), a disillusioned
journalist in Vietnam in “The Quiet American” (2002); Alfred, Bruce Wayne’s
protective butler in Christopher Nolan’s “Batman” trilogy and the rebellious Jasper
in “Children of Men” (2006). That’s just the “best of” from this unassuming,
understated performer. He won supporting acting Oscars for “Hannah” and “Cider
House.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT9LLkYgQEvSKsp5Ld7wXs_gOT93h74p5Yh-rmuwS-ImGkx1vkFsK6_KHtkpeTRTuSyBeVve1D8fMHiLlCNlNoIrpcOaFsJGv_GO7JGJqmwItqWQ5P5bZ62qeF1Ohnd4AH7Rd-kPb_pms1elB4iGhVswwJKt-wE-f5UCRqN1liziReEGI8XsUY5w/s1440/caine2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT9LLkYgQEvSKsp5Ld7wXs_gOT93h74p5Yh-rmuwS-ImGkx1vkFsK6_KHtkpeTRTuSyBeVve1D8fMHiLlCNlNoIrpcOaFsJGv_GO7JGJqmwItqWQ5P5bZ62qeF1Ohnd4AH7Rd-kPb_pms1elB4iGhVswwJKt-wE-f5UCRqN1liziReEGI8XsUY5w/s320/caine2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Best Sellers” offers a perfect old man
role: Caine plays Harris Shaw, a misanthropic writer who, after one
best-selling novel, drops out of sight until the daughter of his original
publisher drags him out of his house and publishes his most recent work of
fiction. The film centers on the relationship between stressed-out Lucy (Aubrey
Plaza), who needs a best-seller to save her publishing house, and the alcoholic
Shaw, who is nothing short of a jerk. After they drop the usual
college-community writers’ circuit for a tour of pubs, Shaw becomes a star on
social media for simply shouting “It’s all Bullshite!” to cheering young
people. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The movie doesn’t move beyond its one-note
plot but I was entertained by watching Caine’s Shaw act like a jackass and
Plaza’s Lucy (an indie film star after “Ingrid Goes West” and “Emily the
Criminal”) learn to loosen up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In just the last few years, Caine has
starred as the brains behind a collection of elderly bank robbers in “King of
Thieves” (2018), a modern-day Fagin in “Twist” (2021) and, again for Nolan, in
a small role in “Tenet” (2020).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These may be the great actor’s final roles
as he had back surgery last year and now struggles to walk. But after nearly
seven decades of screen performances, longer than almost every star in film
history, I wouldn’t count Caine out yet. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">THE
LOST KING (2023)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among the most maligned figures in
history, Richard III, according to many recent investigations, may have not
been the ogre painted by William Shakespeare in his 1594 play. More than 100
years after he died in battle on Bosworth Field, possibly offering his “kingdom
for a horse,” the 32-year-old king was portrayed by the great playwright as a
murderous megalomaniac who brought dishonor to the crown.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The most recent film by Stephen Frears, one
of Britain most accomplished directors, follows the real-life journey of Philippa
Langley as she becomes obsessed with finding the final resting spot of Richard
and restore his reputation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unhappy in her sales job, Philippa (played
with quiet resolve by Sally Hawkins), after seeing a local production of the
Bard’s play, starts reading up on Richard, joins a group of quirky true
believers obsessed with the king and imagines seeing the “son of York” outside
her home, eventually speaking with him (Harry Lloyd plays both the “vision” and
the actor in the play).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the film tends to meander and the
device of her speaking with “Richard” grows tiresome, Frears and his
screenwriters (Langley herself, Michael James and actor Steve Coogan, who also
plays Philippa’s ex-husband) never lose sight that the film is about Philippa,
not the 15<sup>th</sup> Century monarch.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One
of the key themes of the film is how women continue to be marginalized by men
in power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Philippa is someone who has
been underappreciated all her life, even in her great triumph. Hawkins, who was
nominated for an Oscar for playing a similarly unassuming character in “The
Shape of Water” (2017), has rarely failed to deliver a believable performance
since her breakthrough in Mike Leigh’s “Happy-Go-Lucky” (2008). She was also
memorable in Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine” (2013), scoring a supporting actress
Oscar nomination.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The 81-year-old Frears was a British
television director until the 1980s when “My Beautiful Laundrette” (1985), with
a young Daniel Day-Lewis, and “Dangerous Liaisons” (1988) put him on the list
of top filmmakers. Among his best works are “High Fidelity” (2000), “Dirty Pretty
Things” (2002), “The Grifters” (1990) and “The Queen” (2006), the last two
earning him best director Oscar nominations. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">HOLLYWOOD
STORY (1951)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I recently started exploring the
surprisingly rich treasure trove of movies to be found on YouTube. I never
imagined how many full-length features (occasionally first-rate prints) could
be found hidden amongst the music videos and sports highlights.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Along with watching “Mickey,” a Mabel
Normand vehicle from 1918 whose popularity was second only to “The Birth of a
Nation” for many years; the directing debut of Josef von Sternberg, “The
Salvation Hunters;” and a handful of Clara Bow silents directed by Victor
Fleming and Frank Lloyd, I stumbled on a film I’d never heard of about the
movie business.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While it doesn’t stand with classic
industry pictures such as “A Star Is Born” (1935), “The Bad and the Beautiful”
(1949), “Singin’ in the Rain” (1952) or modern takes “The Player” (1992) and
“Mank” (2021), “Hollywood Story” is thoroughly entertaining even when its
coincidences grow more ludicrous.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX3Xg1Gas8_ttkPztnB_cVuqoHrNP7r3cNeosy6kExzZD4Rx4ucBMUITsEUvmkgTSkdj2dzxx2fVasxGT35S7zZQ1EO18c-VE2YJH_zuxGuYJG-_YSn5lKIVxXtPak3xm5z2G-RigV8k1Yi136AOPLG1-8dvVfDTCbtQx_T7i4m97tpAp8uAfzwQ/s900/hollywood-story-03.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="900" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX3Xg1Gas8_ttkPztnB_cVuqoHrNP7r3cNeosy6kExzZD4Rx4ucBMUITsEUvmkgTSkdj2dzxx2fVasxGT35S7zZQ1EO18c-VE2YJH_zuxGuYJG-_YSn5lKIVxXtPak3xm5z2G-RigV8k1Yi136AOPLG1-8dvVfDTCbtQx_T7i4m97tpAp8uAfzwQ/s320/hollywood-story-03.webp" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Richard Conte, one of the eras most
underrated actors, plays Larry O’Brien, a successful New York filmmaker who is
looking for a Los Angeles movie studio to take over. His publicist friend (Jim
Backus, who also provides the unnecessary narration) takes him to an abandoned
studio lot where the long-time caretaker gives them a tour. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>O’Brien’s interest is peaked when he’s
shown the long-deserted office of silent director Franklin Ferrara, who was
murdered in that very room in 1929. He immediately decides to not only make a
movie about Ferrara’s unsolved murder, but to solve the crime, a decision that
makes everyone around him unhappy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, O’Brien’s producing partner (Fred
Clark) forcefully demands he drop the film project and then a young woman
(Julie Adams) begs him to give it up. She’s the daughter of the woman who was
both the star of Ferrara’s silents and his paramour. Also, the detective who
originally worked the case (Richard Egan) warns O’Brien to back off. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the director laughs off the doubters—he
displays an arrogant confidence not unlike when Conte plays tough-guy
assassins. In fact, he pulls Ferrara’s one-time writing partner (a very quirky
Henry Hull) out of his hermit-like existence and convinces him to write the
script for the new picture.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like “Sunset Blvd.,” made the year before,
a few silent stars play themselves, including Francis X. Bushman (“Ben-Hur”),
Helen Gibson (star of many Westerns and Hoot Gibson’s wife) and Betty Blythe (a
1920s sex symbol who starred in “She” and “The Queen of Sheba”). Ramping up the
verisimilitude are many scenes shot around L.A. and Hollywood, including a
scene where the characters visit the set of a Joel McCrea film.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Surprisingly, the director is William
Castle, who later became famous for his horror thrillers, including “The
Tingler,” “House on Haunted Hill” and “Mr. Sardonicus.” But before he became
famous for his creepy horror, he made about 30 low-budget crime pictures and
Westerns for Columbia, including the Robert Mitchum film “When Strangers Marry”
(1944).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">JOHN
WICK: CHAPTER 4 (2023)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since the mid-1980s, Keanu Reeves has been
part of the Hollywood landscape: He was in his early 20s when made his mark as
part of the morally challenged teen gang in “River’s Edge” and then, three
years later, became a full-fledged star with the slacker comedy “Bill and Ted’s
Excellent Adventure.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the 1990s, “Speed” and “The Matrix”
raised Reeves’ profile, but he never seemed interested in becoming more than a
stoic, deep-voiced action star (though “The Lake House” should have opened the
door to more opportunities).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 2014, at age 50, he found another hit
franchise, playing the taciturn hit man, John Wick, the invention of
screenwriter Derek Kolstad, whose complicated relationship with his former
employer leaves a boatload of dead bodies around the world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I skipped parts two and three, but the
final chapter, confirms that I missed nothing. Surrounding by opulent settings
and sarcastic enemies and facing impossible odds, Wick outkills every
world-class assassin recruited by the bad guys. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among the ridiculous set pieces in this new
film is a long shootout as Wick and his opponents drive around the Arc de Triomphe
in Paris. And through it all, not a single policeman shows up. Same goes for an
extensive gunbattle in a hip, crowded dance club, where the partiers keep
dancing despite a hail of bullets.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Making sure there’s no connection to
reality, Wick’s most accomplished rival is Caine (Donnie Yen), a blind
assassin.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ian McShane and the late Lance Reddick
repeat their roles as Wick allies from the previous chapters as does Laurence Fishburne,
who also supported Reeves in the “Matrix” pictures. They bring some levity to
the story, but, overall, this foolishness Is played with the seriousness of a
Eugene O’Neill tragedy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 9pt;">PHOTOS:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><br /><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 9pt; text-indent: 0in;">Matt Damon and Viola Davis in “Air.” (Amazon
Studios)</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 9pt; text-indent: 0in;">Ginger Rogers under assault by the KKK in
“Storm Warning.”</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 9pt; text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 9pt; text-indent: 0in;">(Warner Bros.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 9pt; text-indent: 0in;">Michael Caine as a writer in “Best Sellers.”</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 9pt; text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 9pt; text-indent: 0in;">(Screen Media Films)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 9pt; text-indent: 0in;">Richard Conte plays a director in “Hollywood
Story.”</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 9pt; text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 9pt; text-indent: 0in;">(Universal International Pictures)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Doug Listhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339222653620926842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6028831787280199543.post-28862536746145830172023-03-17T09:45:00.000-07:002023-03-17T09:45:49.924-07:00March 2023<p><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">2022
ACADEMY AWARDS</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Academy members have been rewarding safe, crowd-pleasing
entertainments since this Oscar thing started in 1927. I’ve always wondered: what
possessed voters to select “Around the World in 80 Days” as the best picture of
1956 or, in the 1960s, “The Sound of Music” and “Oliver!”? And how foolish does
1990 best picture “Dances with Wolves” look compared in loser “Goodfellas”? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the past 20 years, what had been the
occasional unexplainable pick became the norm, starting with head-scratching
best pictures “Crash” (2005), “Slumdog Millionaire” (2008) and “The Artist”
(2011). With the expansion of the membership and the decline in the quality of
American films, it has become rare that a first-rate picture is celebrated at
the end of the Sunday night show. In the past six years, only “Parasite,” a
South Korean movie, and “Nomadland,” an offbeat indie picture, were worthy best
picture selections. While “Everything Everyone All at Once” is a better and
more ambitious film than 2018’s “Green Book,” or 2021’s “CODA,” its strongest
selling point is telling an Asian American story, even if that drama remains
buried under a numbing flurry of CGI.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzyYuzsyw_oMXoDj83f7E4bEaoILSgh56O4ewkt-xatfvM6tbQSTUQ0xqxA7PNr2bY3LYbKT_6OdZ5z3gRWJ70bL-doTHBCmeM7mCjLJhWVC_B7dfTm5a4VoBeKXk9vl-Re5upsdEx3WASyDsDeDnJiNL4N0CR0JWrONgnjw4Oh7vAQrk54hRx2A/s936/everything.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="527" data-original-width="936" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzyYuzsyw_oMXoDj83f7E4bEaoILSgh56O4ewkt-xatfvM6tbQSTUQ0xqxA7PNr2bY3LYbKT_6OdZ5z3gRWJ70bL-doTHBCmeM7mCjLJhWVC_B7dfTm5a4VoBeKXk9vl-Re5upsdEx3WASyDsDeDnJiNL4N0CR0JWrONgnjw4Oh7vAQrk54hRx2A/s320/everything.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More
astonishing than winning best picture, “Everything” become the first film to
have three actors take home Oscars since “Network” (1976). “A Streetcar Named
Desire” (1951) was the only other film to win three acting trophies, even with
Marlon Brando losing. <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Jamie
Lee Curtis gave good performances and each provided emotional high points for
the television show, it would have been nice to see at least one of the actors
from “The Banshees of Inisherin” recognized, not just the donkey. (See my list
of the year’s best on the website.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And while I’m all in favor of diversity in
movies and, by extension, movie awards, too often debates about selections
focus on the gender, race and ethnicity of the nominees rather than the quality
of the performance, writing or directing. Need it be said that not all actors
in high-profile films are equally worthy of being honored?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Giving Brendan Fraser the Oscar over Colin
Farrell was the biggest miscarriage of Oscar justice of the night, but the low
point was the trailer for “The Little Mermaid” that Disney, ABC’s parent
company, foisted on viewers. The cynic in me has already penciled in the remake
on next year’s best picture nominees.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Almost as bad were the clips marking
Warner Bros. 100<sup>th</sup> anniversary: half the movies in the montage
weren’t Warner pictures but were from MGM, whose library was acquired by the
studio a few years ago. Like the clips that aired last year of “The Godfather,”
it was a piece of advertising not worthy of being part of the Academy show.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though I never expect the Oscars to mirror my
opinions on films, I remain baffled as to why three mainstream but superbly
entertaining films—“Nope,” “The Woman King” and “Glass Onion: A Knives Out
Mystery”—were all but ignored by Academy voters. Each deserved a spot in the
best picture competition. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I ran the show, I’d ink Jimmy Kimmel to
a long-term contract, hire better writers to improve the presenters’ chit-chat,
do a better job of selecting In Memoriam people (no Paul Sorvino or Melinda
Dillon?) and bring back the live presentation of the honorary awards (instead,
they hold a dinner in November). Can you image what a great moment it would
have been had Michael J. Fox accepted this year’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian
Award Sunday night?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">TO
LESLIE (2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it takes questionable campaigning to
score Oscar recognition for low-budget, barely released pictures such as “To
Leslie,” then I’m all for it. While I am not ready to install the film’s star
into the acting pantheon as some have insisted, Andrea Riseborough gives a
superb performance that should elevate this relatively unknown to starring
roles.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This downbeat character study opens with
grainy video of an overly enthusiastic woman being interviewed on local TV
after winning the lottery. Jumping ahead six years, she’s a homeless, alcoholic
lost soul, looking like she should be hospitalized.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Attempts to stay with her apprehensive
20-year-old son (Owen Teague) and then with her hateful, bitter sister (Allison
Janney) end with her being thrown out because she just can’t keep away from the
bottle.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Riseborough captures as well as anyone has
the hopeless bar fly who makes herself a figure of ridicule as she attempts to
allure men. Leslie is the person you cross the street to avoid or look away
from when you’re drinking at the bar. A sad, lonely life, but one that she
seems to have brought on herself, alienating every relative.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Leslie finds a bit of stability when a
motel manager (a miscast Marc Maron) hires her as a cleaning lady, going out of
his way to steer her toward the straight and narrow.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqvMXc9dwKlM5DHFSBVa00bdzrO_qhsI8fTPncUqO7Q-81JLPcb2yh_YvwFIFQrlFYKIL4o9L2PQbohllG_DnCLUcWlEyzPy8mDFxy3MB3kzwmEIIxUYzES_APhvxnY0lrFQdiWswLzBx0tFaXu4t38hWSWRwAqsiH89zAZjUEc5rnaqb41nnERQ/s350/to-leslie-photo-3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="197" data-original-width="350" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqvMXc9dwKlM5DHFSBVa00bdzrO_qhsI8fTPncUqO7Q-81JLPcb2yh_YvwFIFQrlFYKIL4o9L2PQbohllG_DnCLUcWlEyzPy8mDFxy3MB3kzwmEIIxUYzES_APhvxnY0lrFQdiWswLzBx0tFaXu4t38hWSWRwAqsiH89zAZjUEc5rnaqb41nnERQ/s320/to-leslie-photo-3.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div> As unforgettable as Riseborough and Janney
(channeling her role as the mother in “I, Tonya”) the other characters come off
as a collection of one-too-many cliches—I’m sure not everyone in West Texas is
a loud-mouth loser.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sadly, without the surprise best actress
nod for Riseborough (I still maintain that few of the voters saw the movie),
“To Leslie” would have disappeared amid the onslaught of star vehicles and
sci-fi/comic strip films. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Director Michael Morris (a director and
producer on “Better Call Saul”) and screenwriter Ryan Binaco have created the
kind of gritty, down-and-out tale that flourished in the 1970s and early 80s. This
film would fit nicely on a double bill with “Scarecrow” (1973), “Mean Streets”
(1973), “Stranger Than Paradise” (1984), “Barfly” (1987) or pretty much any
Cassavetes film. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">HUSTLE
(2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Adam Sandler, after years of making a mint
by playing the dumb guy in juvenile comedies, has delivered two nuanced
dramatic performances in a row, both as basketball-obsessed characters.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Proving that his work in “Uncut Gems”
wasn’t a one-off, the 56-year-old memorably depicts an NBA scout with an eye
for raw talent who’s desperate to finally get off the road. His shot at an
assistant coaching job disappears when the longtime owner of the Philadelphia
76ers (Robert Duvall) dies and his son (Ben Foster), a rival of Sandler’s Stanley
Sugerman, takes over the team. (Queen Latifah gives an upbeat, genuine
performance as Stanley’s wife.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Back beating the bushes for future stars, Stanley
discovers a poor, humble young man (played by NBA player Juancho Hernangomez) in
a small town in Spain and quickly bonds with his family.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>While the plot outline is about as cliché as it gets, director Jeremiah
Zagar and screenwriters Taylor Materne and Will Fetters turn the story into a
fascinating look at the trials and tribulations of a foreign player getting a
shot in the Association.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sandler’s sincerity and clear love of
basketball (in “Uncut Gems” he was an obsessive NBA gambler) and the
participation of dozens of NBA stars (including LeBron James, Seth Curry, Trae
Young, Anthony Edward and legend Julius Erving) turn the film into one of
2022’s best.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
month, Sandler will receive the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American
Humor, but he also should have been among the Oscar’s best actor nominees. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">TRIANGLE
OF SADNESS (2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will not go so far as to say this is the
worst film ever nominated for a best picture, best director and screenplay
Oscar considering that the last 20 years have been lousy with poor choices by
the Academy, but the selections are pretty egregious.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I think most would agree that the
world of fashion and influencers and the filthy rich are worthy of
slash-and-burn satirizing, the effectiveness of any mockery comes down to its
execution—compare a Will Ferrell comedy to a Cohen Bros. picture; Jerry Lewis
to Stanley Kubrick. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indulgence defines this Danish (though
primary in English) film primarily set on a luxury yacht with a collection of
international travelers. It strains to show the well-to-do as inconsiderate,
delusional and self-righteous. For reasons I never really grasped, much of the
focus is on a pair of young, attractive but vacuous influencers played by
Charlbi Dean (who tragically died in August at age 32) and Harris Dickinson. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the main drama of the first half of
the film is the attempts by the boat’s staff to keep its captain (Woody
Harrelson) sober long enough to attend dinner. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When he does finally emerge from his
cabin, the yacht runs into a violent storm, spurring disrupted stomachs among
the passengers, depicted in repulsive<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">literalness
by director Ruben Östlund. If this wasn’t unpleasant enough, Östlund subjects the
audience to a long, sophomoric debate over capitalism between the captain and a
Russian passenger (an amusing Zlatko Buric).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For reasons I won’t go into—I don’t
want to spoil the “fun” for those who plan to see it—some of those aboard end
up washed ashore on a deserted beach, where a yacht employee (Dolly de Leon)
takes control of the group. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s where the film turns into a 1970s
Lina Wertmüller film, growing more didactic and idiotic by the minute. To be
clear, the great Italian director did it well 50 years ago; “Triangle” plays
like an amateurish remake. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Östlund previous high-profile pictures,
“Force Majeure” (2015) and “The Square” (2017) both share with “Triangle” a
willingness to strip individuals and institutions of their veneer of
respectability and an absence of subtlety.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But clearly many disagree with my
assessments: “Triangle” captured the Palme d’Or at the 2022 Cannes Film
Festival along with all those Oscar nods; “The Square” scored a foreign film
Oscar nomination; and “Force Majeure” managed a Golden Globe nomination. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">THE
LAST FULL MEASURE (2020)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though this based-on-a-true-story drama
has all the markings of a TV movie, leading inevitably to an emotional,
feel-good finale, a strong script and heartfelt performances from an all-star
cast of Hollywood veterans playing Vietnam vets win the day.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Set in 1999, a Defense department
staffer, Scott Huffman, ready to move on to greener pastures, finds himself
saddled with the task of investigating a long-ignored request for a Medal of
Honor by those who witnessed the acts of an Air Force man during the Vietnam
War in 1966. Posthumously, Airman William Pitsenbarger had received the Air
Force Cross by was denied the higher honor.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Huffman (played generically by Sebastian
Stan) interviews the men who are pushing for Pitsenbarger’s medal, the story of
his heroism and the admiration from those who were there inspires the young
lawyer. While the idea that all these vets have strong anti-social attitudes
seems a bit reductive, but it gives a collection of fine actors, including
William Hurt, Samuel L. Jackson, Ed Harris, John Savage, Peter Fonda and, most
memorably, Christopher Plummer as Pitsenbarger’s father, some touching moments.
The impressive cast also includes Diane Ladd and Amy Madigan. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Plummer, who seemed to improve with age—he
was 90 when this was released—has one of his best moments in his long,
illustrious career when, looking out a bedroom window, he remembers watching his
son cut the grass as a boy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was his
final big screen performance, as it was for Fonda.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also giving what may be his best film
performance is Dale Dye, as a senator whose connection to the war is crucial to
Pitsenbarger getting his due. The long-time military adviser on dozens of
pictures (“Platoon,” “Born on the Fourth of July,” “Saving Private Ryan” and
the television series “Band of Brothers”), Dye has acted in more than 80 films
since 1986. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Writer-director Todd Robinson, best known
for “Lonely Hearts” (2006), his remake of the cult classic “The Honeymoon
Killers,” provides this superb lineup of actors with poignant backstories and
memorable dialogue, creating a fine addition to the Vietnam War film catalogue.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">THE
PALE BLUE EYE (2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For some reason, writer-director Scott
Cooper gets no respect. Since his debut as a director in 2009 with “Crazy
Heart,” which earned Jeff Bridges a long-deserved best actor Oscar, Cooper has
made five films; I’ve seen four of them and all are excellent.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His latest, which quietly debuted on
Netflix in January after a very limited theatrical release in December, stars
Christian Bale (who also headlined Cooper’s “Out of the Furnace” and
“Hostiles”) as Augustus Landor, a melancholy detective, circa 1830, who is
recruited by the superintendent of West Point academy (the always superb
Timothy Spall) to solve a hideous crime. After a cadet hanged himself, someone
breaks into the medical facility and steals his heart.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSdZGwmhOMDSDzrtMM_yQuJWTFVTT8G16DV6A_fx5vnqmrchWcoaKpQUa8fuglyHCupTrsxkY_wun6SlkmA0-mbgJcze2no33EhB570SGFi-RTO1059fHzUTIWa4J5Z8XfSFoRF8pTkpRU6um_wllnfCUx8E-BnWZe_qSY-XrbTRsz9l6q-zPa6Q/s1200/20221217_ThePaleBlueEye-4-1200x732.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="732" data-original-width="1200" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSdZGwmhOMDSDzrtMM_yQuJWTFVTT8G16DV6A_fx5vnqmrchWcoaKpQUa8fuglyHCupTrsxkY_wun6SlkmA0-mbgJcze2no33EhB570SGFi-RTO1059fHzUTIWa4J5Z8XfSFoRF8pTkpRU6um_wllnfCUx8E-BnWZe_qSY-XrbTRsz9l6q-zPa6Q/s320/20221217_ThePaleBlueEye-4-1200x732.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> The situation becomes more dire when
another student turns up dead. The mystery doesn’t add up to much but Landor
encounters suspiciously odd characters at every plot turn. Most interestingly,
he teams up with an outcast cadet who has a keen interest in sleuthing: Edgar
Allan Poe. (The future literary giant entered West Point after spending a few
years in the Army.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Harry Melling (Dudley Dursley from the
“Harry Potter” films) gives a quirky performance as Poe, counterbalancing the
intensity of Bale. Together, they uncover some strange goings on at the Point. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Toby Jones as the trusted academy’s doctor
and Gillian Anderson as his eccentric wife liven up the story as does
92-year-old Robert Duvall, hidden under a bushy beard, who plays an expert in
ancient symbols. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While not as compelling as his 2017 Western,
“Hostiles,” Cooper’s new film, adapted from a novel by Louis Bayard, is one of
the more entertaining pictures of 2022, impressively recreating the era and
providing another well-written role for Bale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">A
BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY (1991)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Edward Yang, who directed just eight
features before his death of cancer at age 59, is one of the preeminent
filmmakers to emerge from the Taiwanese New Wave of the 1980s, along with
Hsiao-Hsien Hou and Ang Lee.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yang first gained international fame on the
festival circuit with “Taipei Story” (1985), a look at the struggle of a young
Taiwanese family and the influence of Western values, starring his fellow
filmmaker Hou. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it was “A Brighter Summer Day,” a
four-hour, documentary-like film, which brought Yang into the conversation of
great directors, earning 11 nominations at the Taipei Golden Horse Film
Festival, the one of Asia’s most important festivals. I finally saw it recently
after it landed at No. 78 on Sight & Sound Top 100.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first thing any newcomer to Asian films
needs to prepare for is the incredibly slow pacing. If most Western cinema
fast-forwards through life, filmmakers on the other side of the globe prefer to
let the action play out in what seems like slow-motion.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film follows the in-fighting between
high school students (a milder version of Western youth gangs) in the 1970s,
caught between the traditional ideas of their parents and the growing American
influence. Chang Chen, who later starred in “Happy Together,” “Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon” and, in 2021 “Dune,” plays the 14-year-old who has his feet in
both worlds along with his off-and-on girlfriend, played by Lisa Yang.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though I probably have more interest in
the film’s themes than most Western filmgoers as my wife grew up in Taipei in
the same era, this film was a bit of a slog to get through. At two hours, it
might have been a pretty good film; at four it grew tiring.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To me, Yang’s “Yi Yi: A One and a Two…”
(2000), for which he won best director at Cannes, is a much better picture. (It
landed at No. 90, making Yang one of the few filmmakers to have two movies on
the Sight & Sound list.) The story focuses on a multi-generational family, seen
mostly through the eyes of 8-year-old Yang Yang (a wonderful Jonathan Chang).
“Yi Yi” is equally slow-moving (and almost three hours long), but its vivid
acting and insightful writing make it more digestible for Western audiences. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;">PHOTOS:</span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ke Huy Quan, Michelle Yeoh and Stephanie Hsu in "Everything Everywhere All at Once" (A24)</span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Owen Teague and Andrea Riseborough in "To Leslie" (Momentum Pictures)</span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Timothy Spall and Christian Bale in "The Pale Blue Eye" (Netflix)</span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Doug Listhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339222653620926842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6028831787280199543.post-3013949351207844622023-02-21T09:02:00.000-08:002024-02-23T08:09:07.511-08:00Best of 2022<p><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: left;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"> Films<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">
1 Tár<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">
2 She Said<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">
3 Nope<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"> 4
Top Gun: Maverick<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"> 5
The Banshees of Inisherin<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"> 6
The Fabelmans<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"> 7
The Woman King<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"> 8
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"> 9
The Pale Blue Eye<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">10</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">
</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">To Leslie</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">11 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Empire of Light<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">12 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Wonder<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">13 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hustle<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">14<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Emily the Criminal<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">15<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Good Nurse<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">16<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>10 1/2<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">17 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Benediction<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">18<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sundown<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">19<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Living<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">20<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Cha Cha Real Smooth<br /></span><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> <br /></span></o:p><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> <br /></span></o:p><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Directors</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">1<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Todd Field, <b>Tár<br /></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">2<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jordan Peele, <b>Nope<br /></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">3 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Steven Spielberg, <b>The Fabelmans<br /></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">4 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maria Schrader, <b>She Said<br /></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">5 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Joseph Kosinski, <b>Top Gun: Maverick<br /></b></span><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> <br /></span></o:p><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Actors</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">1 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Colin Farrell, <b>The Banshees of Inisherin<br /></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">2 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Daniel Kaluuya, <b>Nope<br /></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">3 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Daniel Craig, <b>Glass Onion: A Knives Out
Mystery<br /></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">4 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Adam Sandler, <b>Hustle<br /></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">5 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bill Nighy, <b>Living<br /></b></span><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> <br /></span></o:p><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Actresses</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">1<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Cate Blanchett, <b>Tár<br /> </b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">2<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Michelle Williams, <b>The Fabelmans<br /></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">3<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Andrea Riseborough, <b>To Leslie<br /></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">4 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Olivia Colman, <b>Empire of Light<br /></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">5 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Viola Davis, <b>The Woman King<br /></b></span><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> <br /></span></o:p><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Supporting Actors</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">1 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Barry Keoghan, <b>The Banshees of Inisherin<br /></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">2 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anthony Hopkins, <b>Armageddon Time<br /></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">3 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ke Huy Quan, <b>Everything Everywhere All at
Once<br /></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">4 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eddie Redmayne, <b>The Good Nurse<br /></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">5 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Harry Melling, <b>The Pale Blue Eye</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <br /> </span></span><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> <br /></span></o:p><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Supporting Actresses</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">1 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kerry Condon, <b>The Banshees of Inisherin<br /></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">2 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jennifer Ehle, <b>She Said<br /></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">3 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Janelle Monáe, <b>Glass Onion: A Knives Out
Mystery<br /></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">4 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jamie Lee Curtis, <b>Everything Everywhere All
at Once<br /></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">5 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lashana Lynch, <b>The Women King<br /></b></span><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> <br /></span></o:p><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Screenwriters</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">1 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Todd Field, <b>Tár<br /><o:p></o:p></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">2 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rian Johnson, <b>Glass Onion: A Knives Out
Mystery<br /></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">3 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rebecca Lenkiewicz, <b>She Said<br /></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">4 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jordan Peele, <b>Nope<br /><o:p></o:p></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">5 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ryan Binaco, <b>To Leslie<br /></b></span><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> <br /></span></o:p><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Cinematographers</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">1<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Darius Khondji, <b>Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths<br /><o:p></o:p></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">2<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>James Friend, <b>All Quiet on the Western Front<br /><o:p></o:p></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">3<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Roger Deakins, <b>Empire of Light<br /></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">4<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Claudio Miranda, <b>Top Gun: Maverick<br /><o:p></o:p></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">5<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Hoyte Van Hoytema, <b>Nope<br /><o:p></o:p></b></span><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><o:p> <br /></o:p></span></b><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Foreign-Language Films</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">1<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths (Mexico)<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">2<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>All Quiet on the Western Front<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(Germany)<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">3<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Decision to Leave<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(South Korea)<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">4<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Official Competition<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Spain)<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">5<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Worst Person in the World<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Norway)<br /></span><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></div>
Doug Listhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339222653620926842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6028831787280199543.post-37854952800362767082023-01-31T17:59:00.002-08:002023-01-31T17:59:34.760-08:00January 2023<p> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">2022
OSCAR NOMINATIONS<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Jordan Peele’s third, and best, film,
“Nope” was released in July, the reviews proclaimed it as brilliant, stunning,
frightening and hilarious. The acting, writing, directing, cinematography,
production values were profusely lauded by virtually every publication. I found
all the praise a bit over-the-top, but it is a very good film.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I foolishly assumed that the movie, Peele,
his go-to leading man Daniel Kaluuya and maybe Keke Palmer, playing his spunky,
savvy sister would be nominated. Nope. The picture didn’t receive a single
nomination. (I didn’t even see it mentioned in stories identifying so-called snubs.)
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet an actress, Andrea Riseborough, whose
name and the 2022 film she starred in, “To Leslie,” I read of for the first
time only a few days before the nominations were announced (though, it turns
out, I have seen her in many films) was among the best actress nominees. From
all reports, she scored the nomination after voters were influenced by high
praise from Gwyneth Paltrow and Edward Norton, among others. Nothing wrong with
that, but I wonder if many of those who voted for her had seen this
little-known film.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA4XtB9tfiMpN4NE1NBS167J8RY2YMtfjKd-y70EkowpHXTf2GmCkx4xIWkc_1omv0l7FJHlkkb62U_9XqOdRkdUv4iJSBwlr4o9hpUk7Gp37rj6x_t23QVDfA0PsdWPLDWhLHOookfDaePktYPUmCXnSwH7DDwRyXYbR0Y7zv5ACgimOLZ0G3EQ/s1200/to-leslie-movie-review-2022.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1200" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA4XtB9tfiMpN4NE1NBS167J8RY2YMtfjKd-y70EkowpHXTf2GmCkx4xIWkc_1omv0l7FJHlkkb62U_9XqOdRkdUv4iJSBwlr4o9hpUk7Gp37rj6x_t23QVDfA0PsdWPLDWhLHOookfDaePktYPUmCXnSwH7DDwRyXYbR0Y7zv5ACgimOLZ0G3EQ/s320/to-leslie-movie-review-2022.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div> When it comes to the Oscars, nothing much
makes sense.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To say the nominations for “Triangle of Sadness”
and its director Ruben Östlund are surprising is an understatement. This Danish
film, though primarily in English, on the surface resembles a Luis Buňuel or
Lina Wertmüller picture from the 1970s, far from 21<sup>st</sup> Century
Hollywood. It’s attempts at lampooning Western capitalism is about a subtle as
a roomful of monkeys. (I’ll expand upon its failures in a later edition of the
blog). It seems that the expanded Oscar voting contingent couldn’t resist a
Palme d’Or winner. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, astonishing to me, Alejandro González
Iňárritu’s “Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths” was passed over
except for its cinematography. It was the best film in any language I saw in
2022. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also complete shut out was the superb “She
Said,” about the investigation into movie mogul Harvey Weinstein’s criminal
treatment of women. Instead, a rather bland picture in the #MeToo category,
“Women Talking” was among the best picture nominees. Also deserving more
consideration (I assumed a best picture nomination, at least) was “The Woman
King” and the film’s stars Viola Davis and Lashana Lynch.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was happy to see Colin Farrell, Barry
Keoghan and Kerry Condon from “The Banshees of Inisherin” earn acting nods, but
the number of nominations for the film says everything about how weak 2022
releases were. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I acknowledge the technical accomplishments
of “Avatar: The Way of Water,” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” but I
have no interest in them as films. And I don’t know what to say about “Elvis,”
other than it’s an embarrassing piece of fiction trying to pass as bio-pic.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Amusingly, virtually every publication offered
congratulations to the voters for including a handful of box office hits in the
best picture selections as if that is the measure of what the Academy Awards
should stand for. It should not be about helping ABC charge more for the Oscar
ads, but celebrating the best in film, be it “Tár,” “To Leslie” or “Top Gun:
Maverick.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s my current Top 10 of English-language films, though I’m still
trying to catch up with various movies that barely receive theatrical releases
(who said streaming would make it easier to keep up?). A more detailed list
will follow.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 34.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Tár
</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Todd Field)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 34.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">She
Said</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Maria Schrader)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 34.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Nope</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(Jordan Peele)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 34.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Top
Gun: Maverick</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Joseph Kosinski)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 34.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The
Banshees of Inisherin</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Martin McDonagh)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 34.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The
Fabelmans</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Steven Spielberg)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 34.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The
Woman King</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Gina Prince-Bythewood)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 34.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Glass
Onion: A Knives Out Mystery</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Rian Johnson)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 34.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">9.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The
Pale Blue Eye</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Scott Cooper)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 34.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">10.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b>Empire
of Light</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Sam Mendes)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">BARDO:
FALSE CHRONICLE OF A HANDFUL OF TRUTHS (2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There isn’t a more inventive, more
insightful filmmaker working today. In his new movie, Alejandro González
Iňárritu, having already directed two of the best films of the century,
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” and “The Revenant,” continues
his exploration into what keeps us going despite life’s numerous and unexpected
obstacles.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In “Bardo,” Iňárritu protagonist,
Mexican-American journalist/documentarian Silverio (Daniel Giménez-Cacho),
returns to his hometown of Mexico City to celebrate with old friends and
relatives his upcoming award from the American Society of Journalists and the
premiere of his new doc. In the grand tradition of magic realism, the director
flits between reality, Silverio’s dreams and scenes from his documentary work,
slipping from one to the other without warning, capturing Silverio’s
frustration about the state of his homeland, his divided emotional loyalty
between his U.S. career and his devotion to Mexico and fulfilling his roles of
husband, father, son and public figure.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI26FTAP6uCoIXmukOv_eAt-eR9eCQodp4Ay4bIdT9xO53-PpRoO-QOCw7fX6drGbthW2dtENIy_Wfnn-a4EhNGC0SdPJ8Qpcpta9yg6HPThte7VzP0pYwzaRPfhXkDt4ygiLa67f5fu00rO0WJm7bNp0Xz2ZZOUGruhR6BSAlv_sb3nwzdOoFRw/s681/bardo.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="681" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI26FTAP6uCoIXmukOv_eAt-eR9eCQodp4Ay4bIdT9xO53-PpRoO-QOCw7fX6drGbthW2dtENIy_Wfnn-a4EhNGC0SdPJ8Qpcpta9yg6HPThte7VzP0pYwzaRPfhXkDt4ygiLa67f5fu00rO0WJm7bNp0Xz2ZZOUGruhR6BSAlv_sb3nwzdOoFRw/s320/bardo.webp" width="320" /></a></div> The two-and-a-half-hour psychological study
is made up of about a half dozen elaborately designed and staged set pieces
beautifully shot by cinematographer Darius Khondji (“Midnight in Paris”) and
over-stuffed with rich, thoughtful dialogue written by the director and Nicolás
Giacobone.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Early in the film, Silverio returns to
the television studio where he started his career to be interviewed on a show
hosted by old friend Luis (Francisco Rubio). With the camera swirling behind
him, we witness the chaotic business of Mexican TV, where multiple shows are
filming on various stages and then his so-called friend mercilessly grilling
him…until it’s clear this is all in Silverio’s imagination. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The centerpiece of the picture depicts the
massive party thrown in Silverio’s honor, where he has it out with Luis,
reunites with friends and relatives, celebrates with his wife and children and,
finally, imagines meeting his late father, who is surprised how old his son
looks. “Age comes without warning and then it’s a full-time job,” the deceased
man tells his son. “Nobody ever warns you about it.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Giménez-Cacho creates such a lived-in,
sincere Silverio that you’d swear you’ve known the man for years; he’s not so
much humble but baffled to know what he’s responsible for, where his
obligations should be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film hasn’t received the acclaim it
deserves as many reviews (and apparently Oscar voters) found it pretentious and
indulgent. It probably is—just look at the title. (Bardo is a state of
existence between death and rebirth in Buddhism; the subtitle is the name of
Silverio’s documentary)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Bardo” might come off as a preachy, smug
tale of a self-consumed filmmaker (Silverio and Iňárritu) but it also offers
more truth about the second half of life than any film I’ve seen in a
while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">BABYLON
(2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dante’s nine circles of hell pales in
comparison to Damien Chazelle’s chaotic, unrelentingly ostentatious depiction
of the 1920s Hollywood sinful filmmaking community and the comeuppance that
sound delivered.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From its opening scene, the transporting
of an elephant to what’s portrayed as a typical gathering of movie people (more
orgy than party), to the sophomoric video collage ending that offers up the
magic of the cinema as an excuse for the three hours of excess, the picture
overflows with doomed characters doing bad things under the influence of art.
As much as I disliked Chazelle’s more acclaimed films—“Whiplash” (2014) and “La
La Land” (2016)—they didn’t prepare me for this madhouse mess, which ranks as
one of the most unpleasant moviegoing experiences I’ve had in years. If it had
been 90 minutes, I’d call it a disappointment; at 3 hours and 9 minutes, it’s
an unmitigated disaster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
story revolves around the careers of two actors, Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt), a
matinee idol who seems to be modeled after John Gilbert, and Nellie LaRoy
(Margot Robbie), a drug-addled, amoral party-crasher (maybe Clara Bow) who
lucks into stardom. The connection between the two is Manny Torres (Mexican
actor Diego Calva), a young Latino who advances from Conrad’s assistant to
studio exec by spotting money-making trends.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the scenes of silent filmmaking are
entertaining, even when ridiculous, and capture the seat-of-the-pants approach
to the business in the early days, Chazelle is clearly more interested in the
difficulties, for both individuals and the process, once “The Jazz Singer”
becomes a hit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the unfocused energy of first grader
on a sugar high, Robbie roars through this film, a force of nature that’s
wasted in a film going nowhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every
time I wanted to sympathize with Nellie, she does something so unbelievably
stupid that I was rooting for her downfall. Chazelle’s script isn’t satisfied
with just parodying the arrogance of Hollywood—its racism, its sexism, its
elitism—but exaggerates everything until it loses its bite. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Near the end, when the audience is
exhausted from the visual and auditory (this film is extraordinarily loud)
assault it has endured, Tobey Maguire shows up as a L.A. mobster who takes
Manny and his friend on a tour of the twisted decadence that has replaced the
now-sanitized movie scene. Clearly, the director has seen too many David
Cronenberg films.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As unwatchable as that sequence is, when
the film then fast-forwards to the 1950s, Chazelle offering a maudlin flashback
of the story’s highlights (almost like a trailer placed at the end of the film)
and a recap of the history of film. While it’s foolish for me to imagine I
understand Chazelle’s thinking, the ending has the pretense of something made
to conclude a grand statement on movie making. Whatever the motivation, it’s an
embarrassing, if appropriate, ending to this bloated, misguided picture.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">WANDA
(1970)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not to beat a dead horse, but I’ve been
watching some of the films on Sight & Sound’s Top 100 that had previously
missed my attention, including this low-budget indie written, directed and
starring Barbara Loden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like so many films of that era—“Brewster
McCloud,” “Five Easy Pieces,” “I Never Sang for My Father,” “I Walk the Line,”
“Loving,” “Rabbit, Run,” “WUSA” to name just a few from 1970—this picture feels
as much like a documentary of the times as a fictional tale. Shot in the
depressed area of Scranton, Pa., and other small towns in Eastern Pennsylvania,
the story follows Wanda (Loden) as she escapes a marriage (and two children)
she has no interest in and hooks up with a small-time criminal on the run. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlFSJOrpxwhxZTjhJa6OqJN6WVlcECyA04zJ9z0KOpOWT5NROdpqThAIK5jyYD6vDBItlU3Fo9GDJRwYzZqKuiSyDy3W8nNwElQ3KlYHi4ElF8gL1Mt1rEJKFXUK4CQ9L0Wv9tNTRsFzzu3OgWdnHBNdZppsTCqxbENbPxQRjpXUWCycVNJYzC-g/s1240/Wanda-Barbara-Loden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="697" data-original-width="1240" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlFSJOrpxwhxZTjhJa6OqJN6WVlcECyA04zJ9z0KOpOWT5NROdpqThAIK5jyYD6vDBItlU3Fo9GDJRwYzZqKuiSyDy3W8nNwElQ3KlYHi4ElF8gL1Mt1rEJKFXUK4CQ9L0Wv9tNTRsFzzu3OgWdnHBNdZppsTCqxbENbPxQRjpXUWCycVNJYzC-g/s320/Wanda-Barbara-Loden.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> From the workers at a strip mine to
proprietors of corner stores to a group of hobbyists flying a model plane, the
people who populate the background of the movie seem to be locals living out
their lives as Dennis (Michael Higgins) and Wanda, in the foreground, drift
toward a reckoning. <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, to my mind, Wanda is not a
feisty, independent, liberated woman to match the confused male rebels that
filled early ‘70s Hollywood pictures, but a hopeless victim who puts up with
abuse—verbal and physical—from this lowlife she barely knows and joins him in
crime without much argument.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Loden never made another feature
(directing two short films in 1975) and only made two more acting appearances
after “Wanda.” She was best known as the discovery of director Elia Kazan,
winning the Tony Award for her performance in his “After the Fall” and scoring
good reviews as the sister in Kazan’s film “Splendor in the Grass” (1961).
Loden was married to Kazan from 1967 until her death of cancer in 1980 at the
age of 48.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the story goes nowhere, “Wanda”
benefits from its doc-like realism and its off-the-cuff manner, and, in
retrospect, would probably deserve a spot in that year’s Top 20. But the rarity
of a female independent filmmaker has raised the film’s stakes, propelling it
into a tie for the 48<sup>th</sup> greatest film ever made.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ironically (or pointedly), Kazan’s two
masterpieces, “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1951) and “On the Waterfront” (1954),
elevating Marlon Brando to the pinnacle of screen acting, failed to make the
esteemed Top 100 list.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">AVATAR:
THE WAY OF WATER (2022)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>James Cameron has directed—or more
accurately constructed—three of the most popular motion pictures in history.
His place in the annals of entertainment is secure, even if he has more in
common with a designer of amusement park rides than a filmmaker.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not to make much of the plot, as few who
witness this production care about the story, the sequel to the 2009 original
follows Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and their look-alike
children who find themselves hunted by a small special military unit of
earthlings looking to squash the rebellious Na’vi complicating the takeover of
Pandora.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Soon the family is forced to flee their
community, taking refuge with another species on the planet who can breathe
underwater. What happens with the Na’vi people is anyone’s guess.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The main attraction is the underwater scenes
as the azure people learn the ways of the greenish people. In fact, the most
interesting character in the film is an old, injured whale.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It should be in the running for the year’s
best animated film along with “Pinocchio.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">GLASS
ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY (2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After years as the tough-as-nails legend
James Bond, Daniel Craig, in his second outing as deceptively humble Southern
detective Benoit Blanc, has proven his comedy chops playing this farcical
sleuth who sees through every suspect, every alibi.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In “Knives Out” (2019), Blanc faced a
houseful of greedy relatives at each other’s throats in the wake of a
patriarch’s apparent suicide. In the new concoction by writer-director Rian
Johnson sends his brilliant detective to a Greek island getaway, a guest (or
maybe intruder) at the gaudy home (the Glass Onion) of the genius businessman
Miles Bron (Edward Norton at his best) along with Bron’s four (well, maybe
five) oldest friends.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bron, an extreme egotist who represents
everything repulsive about the excessively wealthy, has innocently brought this
group together for a fun, relaxing made-up murder mystery in which he is the pseudo
victim. When that plan—written, he tells Blanc, by “Gone Girl” novelist Gillian
Flynn—quickly peters out, a real death intervenes. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAnw92YsU8IbB9sconY5_6h9GdICLvrybY66R-Lns0fgF5R0OXHDKOqJnhCgIBOvLJI4NhhbSgeEAJ6b_oTeSZ7_jOpyM0Mmp9cGqiJJPfAB5fzjxqdx7F0fWpKP9JoIrfgeWdJl0Y5nEZpsjHGT9RLtTnsFkYLQhiQqZgj3Nt2wUbtCv9jDZ-uA/s681/KO2_20210708_11644r-e1672165544301.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="681" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAnw92YsU8IbB9sconY5_6h9GdICLvrybY66R-Lns0fgF5R0OXHDKOqJnhCgIBOvLJI4NhhbSgeEAJ6b_oTeSZ7_jOpyM0Mmp9cGqiJJPfAB5fzjxqdx7F0fWpKP9JoIrfgeWdJl0Y5nEZpsjHGT9RLtTnsFkYLQhiQqZgj3Nt2wUbtCv9jDZ-uA/s320/KO2_20210708_11644r-e1672165544301.webp" width="320" /></a></div><br /> But it’s the presence of Andi (singer Janelle
Monáe) that most upsets Bron and his old pals (played by Kate Hudson, Leslie
Odom Jr., Dave Bautista and Kathryn Hahn) as she recently lost her half of the
company in court when they all backed Bron’s version of events. <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What makes this tale interesting is what
happens about an hour and fifteen minutes into the film: Johnson restarts it,
allowing the audience to see events through Blanc’s eyes and discover what’s
really going on. It’s a trick that the writer-director pulls off deftly. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like “Knives Out,” the script is
overflowing in cleverness, filled with verbal and physical gags, including
finding laughs with allusions to Jeremy Renner, Jared Leto, “The Big Lebowski,”
the harpsicord music of Agatha Christie movies, Tom Cruise, Hugh Grant (in an
actual appearance) and a touching tribute to the musical theater. (It’s worth a
second viewing, if you have Netflix, to catch all the glib dialogue.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite first-rate performances by Craig (channeling
a combination of Clouseau and Columbo) and Norton (a bit of Elon Musk, a bit of
Steve Jobs), Monáe nearly steals the picture as a woman who must play games to
find a bit of justice. She was impressive as Mahershala Ali’s girlfriend in
“Moonlight,” but this is a more complex, delicate performance that deserved
Oscar consideration.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Glass Onion” is filled with too many
moving parts yet Johnson somehow manages to bring them together, juggling these
ridiculous characters and their comic interactions (at one point, Hudson’s
character screams: “What is reality?”) and a serious murder mystery that finds
a way to compare itself to the Mona Lisa.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">WOMEN
TALKING (2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Good intensions don’t always equate to a
good movie. Actress-turned-director Sarah Polley’s spare tale of a crisis in a
religious community plays like an off-Broadway play that has little chance of
moving uptown. It presents a slice of the story that cries for a wider viewpoint.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A handful of the women gather in the upper
floor of a barn after a vote of the females in the community failed to
determine a response to the arrest of a man for rape. In fact, various men have
been getting away with rape and sexual assault on the women for years, blaming
the attacks on ghosts or the dreams and hysteria of the women.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At this point, I had a problem: This isn’t
the 16<sup>th</sup> Century when men could take advantage of ignorance and the
general acceptance of the supernatural. This contemporary story wants me to
believe—even if it is based on actual events--that these women just figured out
they (and their children!) were being regularly abused by the men of the
community, yet they are intelligent enough to have long conversations on the
moral consequences of their decision.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beyond the believability factor, the
debate quickly grows repetitious and tiresome. And, fittingly, the conclusion
makes little sense, even when taken as a metaphor for the suffering of women
over the millenniums.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m still stunned that it earned a best
picture and best screenplay nominations. It addresses an important subject, but
not very convincingly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If “Women Talking” was going to be honored
by the Academy, I would have guessed it would be for the performances: Claire
Foy, unforgettable as Queen Elizabeth in the first two seasons of “The Crown,”
and Jessie Buckley, nominated in 2021 for “The Lost Daughter,” both do
memorable work as leaders of the debate.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s very impressive that Polley walked away
(or put on pause) a very promising acting career to become a director; her
“Away from Here,” starring Julie Christie as a woman suffering from
Alzheimer’s, was one of the best films of 2006. I expect many more fine films
from Polley, but I don’t think “Women Talking” is one of them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">PLEASE
MURDER ME!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(1956)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just a year before he became the most
iconic defense lawyer in television history, Raymond Burr played an attorney
who finds himself being scammed by a diabolical client he loves.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Please Murder Me!” defines low budget
noir, with minimal sets, choppy editing and stiff acting other than Burr and
co-star Angela Lansbury, but the plot, if not for its bleak ending, would have
made a clever Erle Stanley Gardner mystery.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It opens, before credits, with a man
walking a dark street and into a pawn shop, where he purchases a gun. He stops
a taxi and while the camera focuses on the gun in his hand, the cheap looking,
minimal credits pop onto the screen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s only when the man enters his office
that it’s clear it’s Burr as Craig Carlson. The lawyer begins dictating the
story on a reel-to-reel tape recorder for the district attorney: “I’m going to
be murdered in 55 minutes….”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Flashback to a few weeks earlier, when he
reveals to his wartime buddy Joe (Dick Foran) that Craig has fallen in love
with his wife and they want to be married.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkkLivdWBLxGWTXrbAVyFpcZ39zic35h8fgX9ofVvLL9w1-6jlrurKZzxJKlkLa8C6uioEXPmkIYonvQvQf_sSDV98K2GXWXuKdlzY5LtF72Lk8MXv_1BiZNsYzRKrkdRJ_SRmfvzyVr5drNb7_hN4kmnonc3506kDfrp3IpJNDa8c1zbxke83bQ/s1007/Angela%20Please.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="839" data-original-width="1007" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkkLivdWBLxGWTXrbAVyFpcZ39zic35h8fgX9ofVvLL9w1-6jlrurKZzxJKlkLa8C6uioEXPmkIYonvQvQf_sSDV98K2GXWXuKdlzY5LtF72Lk8MXv_1BiZNsYzRKrkdRJ_SRmfvzyVr5drNb7_hN4kmnonc3506kDfrp3IpJNDa8c1zbxke83bQ/s320/Angela%20Please.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> Next thing you know, Joe has been shot to
death by wife Myra (Lansbury) and she’s claiming self-defense. <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The picture drags a bit once it becomes a
courtroom drama, a battle between the soon-to-be Perry Mason and the district
attorney (John Dehner, one of the most distinctive supporting players in film
and TV through the 1980s). But after the trial, Craig receives a letter Joe
wrote the day he died, which turns the story into a bitter, deadly battle of
wills in its final 30 minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Director Peter Godfrey (“Christmas in
Connecticut,” “The Two Mrs. Carrolls”) spent most of his career doing B films,
but “Please Murder Me!”—his last feature before moving to TV work---might be
his most stylish picture, with most of the scenes, outside the courtroom,
brimming over with doom.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lansbury has her moments but isn’t the
perfect choice for this femme fatale role that cries for the toughness that
actresses Lizabeth Scott or Audrey Totter would have brought to the film.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For Burr, this was one of at least six
features he made in 1956 (including the American version of “Godzilla: King of
the Monsters!”) before beginning the role that defined his career. He shows in
“Please Murder Me!” that he’s more than capable in what’s a rare lead
performance for this expert in playing menacing supporting characters in such
film noirs as “Desperate,” “Raw Deal” and “Pitfall” and for Alfred Hitchcock in
“Rear Window.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">THE
WHALE<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This claustrophobic, hard-to-watch one-set
picture, based on a stage play by Samuel D. Hunter, offers a slice in the life
of an obese English professor who remains in mourning for his deceased partner.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The real drama is watching Charlie (Brendan
Fraser, weighted down with prosthetic fat) struggle to get in and out of his
chair while fending off two of the most irritating characters you’ll likely to
encounter in a movie. While his daughter (Sadie Sink) uses her troubled father
to improve her grades, offering little sympathy for him, a persistent,
misguided missionary (Ty Simpkins) from a local Christian group keeps harassing
the too-generous Charlie.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The cast also includes a blunt-speaking
nurse (Hong Chau, who was so memorable in “Downsizing”) and Charlie’s ex-wife
(Samantha Morton), both more interesting than the main characters. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Director Darren Aronofsky specializes in extremes
and mentally and physically challenged characters, including “Requiem for a
Dream” (2000), “The Wrestler” (2008), “Black Swan” (2010) and “Mother!” (2017).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler” and
Natalie Portman in “Black Swan” earned well-deserved Oscar nominations (she
won) under Aronofsky’s direction, but in his latest, Fraser, who hasn’t had a
first-rate role since “The Quiet American” (2002), gives a good but
unexceptional performance. But, of course, he scored an Oscar nod.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;">PHOTOS:</span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Andrea Riseborough in "To Leslie" (Momentum Pictures)</span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p>Daniel </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Giménez-Cacho with "Bardo" director </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Alejandro G. Iňárritu (Netflix)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Barbara Loden in "Wanda" (Criterion Collection)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Daniel Craig and </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Janelle Monáe in "Glass Onion" (Netfliex)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Raymond Burr and Angela Lansbury in "Please Murder Me!" (DCA Films)</span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Doug Listhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339222653620926842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6028831787280199543.post-80106137864470844662022-12-14T14:32:00.003-08:002022-12-18T16:54:19.356-08:00December 2022<p><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">JEANNE
DIELMAN, 23, QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLES (1975)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s a school of filmmaking—popular in
Asia and Europe in the past 20 years—that is enamored with holding a static
shot of an actor or even a shot of a setting without any actors for what seems an eternity, representing,
I guess, the monotony of daily life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this country, acclaimed directors
Terrence Malick, David Lynch and Wes Anderson, among others, occasionally use
this static style, but usually find their way back to plot and dialogue. This
highly regarded Belgian film may be the ultimate example of a director dispensing
with anything resembling traditional filmmaking and performances as it
chronicles three long, boring days in the life of a stay-at-home mother of a
teenage boy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My favorite scene in this 3 hours and 22
minutes picture shows Jeanne (French actress Delphine Seyrig of “Last Year at
Marienbad”) sitting at the kitchen table peeling potatoes. It goes on for at
least five minutes, the camera unmoving and the actress barely registering any
emotion. In fact, there are enough scenes of her preparing meals that this film
might make a nice addition to the Food Channel’s lineup.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ujCtjcTLLbLRq4Nk96JmlixEOZ_LfpcQLBr1gxN9QiMtO3GCmTiKyZe3D16bwnxFHjLEucDUNBsdDj--9D49xEB-R8LKDp6SiCafsepFyGzXqBsAdItPmI68FlGVq4pZx2OPxCwx88xeid-ma1hQPn9MWBLwaLFbaaul1YogeyCtEbqJdbcizQ/s1600/dielman.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ujCtjcTLLbLRq4Nk96JmlixEOZ_LfpcQLBr1gxN9QiMtO3GCmTiKyZe3D16bwnxFHjLEucDUNBsdDj--9D49xEB-R8LKDp6SiCafsepFyGzXqBsAdItPmI68FlGVq4pZx2OPxCwx88xeid-ma1hQPn9MWBLwaLFbaaul1YogeyCtEbqJdbcizQ/s320/dielman.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With little dialogue, delivered with a
minimum of emotion, the film follows Jeanne’s daily routine (it’s virtually the
same each day), that includes her having sex with a different man every
afternoon. That seems to be her only source of income. While the sex isn’t
shown, the film does show her bathing, making coffee in the morning, shopping
for and preparing dinner, sitting in the living room with her son while they
read and washing the dishes (shot from behind so we only see her back.) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All these scenes run minutes without
movement (and if you think that isn’t long, watch any movie with a clock in
front of you and see how much goes on in 60 seconds). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is nothing to keep one interested in
this film until the last 10 minutes and by then, for me, it was too late. While
I understand that director Chantal Akerman was trying to show the drudgery of a
housewife’s life (in this case a widow), but that idea can be demonstrated
artfully by most directors, even with the repetition, in 10 minutes. I didn’t
need three hours of day-to-day routine to understand the woman’s plight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Her nonchalant attitude toward being a
prostitute said it very quickly).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Akerman spent most of her career (she died
in 2015) directing French-language TV movies but her feature “News from Home”
(1976) is also a critical darling. In America, her best known work is “A Couch
in New York” (1996), starring William Hurt and Juliette Binoche.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I watched this dreary movie because earlier
this year it was rumored that it was vying for a top spot in the once-a-decade
list of greatest films as selected by film critics for the British magazine
“Sight & Sound.” Two weeks ago,<b> </b>that was confirmed: it jumped from
No. 35 in 2012 to dislodge “Vertigo,” that year's top film, and “Citizen Kane,” the top picture from
1962 to 2002, for the top spot. For me, the once esteemed ranking has lost any
historical importance, having been turned into a forum for critics to show off
their appreciation of diversity rather than great films. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;">Here’s a partial list of films that dropped
out of this year’s Top 100: </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0a0a0a; text-indent: 0in;">“Lawrence of Arabia,” "Raging Bull,” “The Wild Bunch,” “Chinatown,” "Touch of Evil,” “The Godfather
Part II,” “Pickpocket,” “The Seventh Seal” and “Grand Illusion.” The 2019
French film “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” about a lesbian relationship in the 1700s,
ranked higher than such time-tested masterpieces as “8 ½,” “City Lights,” “M”
and “Bicycle Thieves.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""calluna-sans",serif" style="color: #0a0a0a;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;">Another obvious trend is style over
substance. How else does one explain the ranking of Wong Kar-wai’s “In the Mood
for Love,” Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” and Lynch’s “Mulholland
Dr.” in the Top 10? Are they great films? Arguably, yes. Are they by any
measure among the ten greatest of all time? Definitively, no. (Even Lynch must
be scratching his head at the ranking of “Mulholland Dr.” as the best American
film in the past 50 years.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe the most baffling entry in the Top 100
is “Meshes of the Afternoon,” a 1943 experimental film directed and starring
Maya Deren and Alexander Hackenschmid. That a 14-minute silent scored more
votes than Ingmar Bergman’s “Persona” or Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai” tells
me all I need to know about the voters. (Judge for yourself, "Meshes" is on YouTube.)
I’m guessing it was influential to Lynch and Guy Maddin, but it has no business
as the 16<sup>th</sup> greatest motion picture. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clearly, critics pushed for the addition of
movies directed by women, with Jane Campion’s “The Piano” (#50), Akerman’s
“News from Home” (#52) and Julie Dash’s “Daughters of the Dust” (#60) moving
ahead of “Casablanca,” “The Third Man” and “Sunset Blvd.” Yet where are Italian
director Lina Wertmuller (“Seven Beauties”) or Australian Gillian Armstrong
(“My Brilliant Career”) or American Kathryn Bigelow (“The Hurt Locker”), all
equally deserving? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s easy to dismiss these rankings as
just another discussion-stirring magazine poll, but Sight & Sound’s list
represents—or did—the accumulative opinion of the important film critics and
historians of our time. In an era when critics have lost most of their power to
influence, supplanted by social media promotion, the inclusion of films for
what they represent (or the gender of the director) rather than their artistic
achievement further distances the audiences, many of whom see CGI as the pinnacle
of cinematic greatness, from critics who still champion movies with insightful
content. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is hard enough to convince younger
viewers that “Citizen Kane,” with a defined narrative, realistic characters and
energetic camerawork, is a great film; I can’t imagine their reaction to the
new “greatest film of all time.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">THE
FABELMANS (2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can find bits and pieces of
filmmakers’ lives scattered throughout their movies, from Charlie Chaplin to
Orson Welles to Martin Scorsese, but this new film from Steven Spielberg may be
the first celluloid version of an autobiography.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The picture contains the same flaws as
most bio-pics—overtly literal dialogue, the usual coming-of-age hurdles,
artistic ambitious that are inevitably dismissed by parents and an influential
wise man (why is it always a male?) from outside the immediate family to
encourage them—while, occasionally, getting to the heart of subject: what makes
this individual different from the thousands of others who went through similar
pains of youth? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The Fabelmans” tells the story of young
Steven’s (here called Sammy) early love affair with motion pictures and, most
interesting, his first experiences making movies as a youngster. At the same
time, it chronicles the slow-motion breakup of a seemingly happy family.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While this is a fictionalized version of
his early years—it’s the Fabelmans not the Spielbergs—it follows the general
outline of the filmmaker’s actual biography. From seeing “The Greatest Show on
Earth” at a young age, becoming obsessed with the train-crash scene, moving
from Cincinnati to the suburbs of Phoenix and then California, his Boy Scout
years, his amateur debut as a filmmaker (the war film “Escape to Nowhere”) and
his attempts to land a studio gig while attending college, the touchstone events
of this movie legend’s life are re-created.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the most compelling story of the film
belongs to the mother character, Mitzi Fabelman, played by the still
underrated Michelle Williams, who has curtailed her dreams of becoming a
concert pianist for motherhood. On the surface, she’s the perfect wife to
brilliant electronic engineer Burt (a restrained Paul Dano) and entertaining
mother to Sammy and his three sisters, but there is an underlining sadness that
foreshadows cracks in this picture of 1950s domesticity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s clear that something is brewing when
Mitzi insists that family friend Bennie (a gregariously unassuming Seth Rogen)
accompany them when they move to Arizona. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The problem with dramatizing real life is
that what seemed so monumental to those affected often loses its emotional
impact when put on film. The script by Spielberg and playwright Tony Kushner
(“Angels in America” and screenplays for the director’s “West Side Story” and
“Lincoln”) is a bit too pointed as it leaps from one important moment to the
next. Too often, I felt like I was watching a theatrical production in which
every piece of dialogue feels carefully composed and rehearsed, losing the
illusion of spontaneity necessary for great cinema.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the film isn’t already front-loaded
with life lessons for young Sammy, his long-lost uncle (87-year-old Judd
Hirsch) shows up like a shadier version of Uncle Ben from “Death of a
Salesman,” offering tales, true or not, of life outside the suburbs and the
world of showbiz that enthralls the budding filmmaker. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m sure there were influential teachers in
Spielberg’s life and I kept waiting for one to appear in Sammy’s story; maybe that
was seen as one cliché too many.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That said, there are sequences in the
film, as there are in every Spielberg picture, beautifully realized and
heartfelt that reflect the real impact of joy and tragedy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s a wordless scene mid-film in which
the teenage Sammy edits film he shot during a family camping trip that reveals
more about his mother than he wants to know. And then there’s the final scene
when a chance meeting signals that this young man may be in line for some
success (who would have guessed?).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While newcomer Gabriel LaBelle, who plays
Sammy as a teen doesn’t resemble Spielberg—the actor reminded me of a young
Michael J. Fox—he <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>captures the obsessive
youth perfectly and is believable as he navigates the anti-Semitism bullying in
his California high school.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the performance of the film is given
by Williams, who continues to deliver pitch-perfect portrayals of women
struggling to find their place in the world. With her work in “Brokeback
Mountain” (2005), “Wendy and Lucy” (2008), “Blue Valentine” (2010), “My Week
with Marilyn” (2011), “Manchester by the Sea” (2016) and in the TV series
“Fosse/Verdon” (2019), she’s putting together one of the most impressive acting
filmographies of this century.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This isn’t one of Spielberg’s best, but
clearly an important one for the filmmaker as he reflects, at 75, on what
formed him as an artist and offers a glimpse of it for those of us who have
been enriched by his films for 45 years.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">SHE
SAID (2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The methodical, often tedious process of
investigative reporters, filled with dead ends, hostile sources and endless
meeting with a series of editors seems an unlikely topic for a movie. The crime
or corruption itself makes for a more action-filled, thrilling picture. Yet
almost a half century after the godfather of all scandal reporting films—"All
the President’s Men” (1976)—three pictures have taken up the heroic mantle:
“Spotlight” “The Post” and now “She Said.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never would have imagined that the work
of Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor of the New York Times in 2017 to expose Harvey
Weinstein’s sexual misconduct could be fashioned into a compelling, entertain
film that captures both the slow grind of reporting work and the jubilance and
relief when the resulting story is finally printed (or posted).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrPf9Qrk4Dg9kJZbMoeXADB6QEAmiW9m5fzCMgDwDOlkmFJ6__wG5T_pVh-1WNwEZrCbp1m_dR8hz9oNtIFDF59QgrF4241L-5Pfg0CgBkR7JvLTJxZD-3XuNhKbm3Qz0VZNISXIo2gYXE-TyanrOwLGi0k4eAhyc9kKEm13G6HFsHZzZP8rLPvQ/s720/she%20said.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="720" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrPf9Qrk4Dg9kJZbMoeXADB6QEAmiW9m5fzCMgDwDOlkmFJ6__wG5T_pVh-1WNwEZrCbp1m_dR8hz9oNtIFDF59QgrF4241L-5Pfg0CgBkR7JvLTJxZD-3XuNhKbm3Qz0VZNISXIo2gYXE-TyanrOwLGi0k4eAhyc9kKEm13G6HFsHZzZP8rLPvQ/s320/she%20said.webp" width="320" /></a></div> Smartly, director Maria Schrader, a German
actress who won an Emmy for directing the 2020 Netflix miniseries “Unorthodox,”
and screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz (“Ida”) first establish the life and
character of the reporters, Twohey as played by Carey Mulligan and Kantor,
portrayed by Zoe Kazan.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Twohey seems to be the more seasoned
journalist, but when they are paired up, she has just given birth and working
through post-partum depression. Kazan, married with young children, is more
low-keyed, less confrontational.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, they make a perfect team as they attempt
to convince long-silent women to go on the record about Weinstein’s horrific,
though not atypical in Hollywood, actions toward young women.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like all movies in this genre, it is about
the process, celebrating the efforts and tenacity of the reporters and their
editors even while the audience knows the ending.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a former newspaper editor, these details
are probably more interesting to me than your average moviegoers, but I think
anyone can be swept away by watching first-rate professionals take down a truly
evil and powerful man who had been getting away with repulsive and criminal
behavior for decades.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mulligan has the showier role but Kazan,
granddaughter of the legendary director, equals her in showing the
obsessiveness required by the job while balancing a homelife.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Patricia Clarkson, as usual, is excellent
as their immediate editor Rebecca Corbett and Andre Braugher, though hardly a
physical match, captures New York Times editor Dean Baquet’s quiet yet
commanding manner. (Weinstein isn’t portrayed—you hear his voice in phone
calls and see the back of his head during a newsroom meeting.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also memorable is Ashley Judd, one of the
first women to go on the record about Weinstein’s misdeeds, as herself. I don’t
think I’d seen a more memorial performance as someone playing themselves in a
fiction film.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Samantha Morton, as a former Miramax
executive whose complaints years ago was ignored by the company’s board of
directors, and Jennifer Ehle, as a former assistant in the company going through
difficult times, give superb performances as women willing to go on the record
about Weinstein. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Best remembered for her Elizabeth Bennet
in the 1995 television miniseries of “Pride and Prejudice,” Ehle deserves an
Oscar nomination for this emotionally charged performance.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The story and the repercussions in the
aftermath (when hundreds of women come forward about assault by bosses across
the entertainment industry) spurred the #metoo movement and has, at least, put
a dent in the age-old practice of the “casting couch.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The question that is asked often in the
film (based on the reporters’ book) is why did it take so long. Always blamed are
the women, who for various reasons, felt unable to speak publicly about
Weinstein and others of his ilk.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But some of the blame must be placed on the
Hollywood press—the Los Angeles Times, Variety, Hollywood Reporter—for not
making concerted efforts to turn what everyone knew into a publishable story.
Either for sexist reasons or simply supporting the status quo (the sexualization
of actresses and other women in the industry is older than sound films), it is
a black mark on any organization that covered Hollywood, especially in the past
40 years. Instead, the behavior was recalled as a remnant of the old days or
tossed away as an awards show joke, while it was ruining careers and damaging
lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">THE
BIG BROADCAST OF 1936 (1935)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s a sequence in this cornball joke
fest that is a reminder of what could have been part of Hollywood’s Golden Age.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film begins with the Nicholas Brothers
(then 21 and 14) tap dancing on a radio broadcast before the scene cuts to the
legendary Bill Robinson in a barber’s chair in Harlem. Inspired by what he
hears on the radio, he dances onto the street and the community joins him in a
spontaneous celebration. These three amazing song-and-dance men were mostly on
the sidelines during the era of studio musicals, relegated to short specialty
numbers inserted into musicals starring white actors or short films made for
Black audiences.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For some reason (lets give credit to
producer Benjamin Glazer and director Norman Taurog), unlike most Hollywood
films, the brothers were allowed to interact with the white stars of the film,
Jack Oakie and Henry Wadsworth. They run a radio station, WHY, but leave to try
to sell a TV-like invention brought to them by George Burns and Gracie Allen.
(Remember this is 1935!) and are ultimately kidnapped by a Russian countess
(Lyda Roberti). Along the way, this promotional picture for Paramount stars
turns the spotlight on Bing Crosby, Ethel Merman, the Dandridge sisters and
Charles Ruggles, among many other names long forgotten.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But back at the radio station, Harold and
Fayard Nicholas (called Dot and Dash in the film) remain on the air, running
the show without a hitch. Who would have imagined finding such radical
portrayals in a movie-variety show? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">ARMAGEDDON
TIME (2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s hard to dislike a film that wears its
heart so prominently on its proverbial sleave. Writer-director James Gray
continues to shine as one of the unsung filmmakers in America, regularly
chronicling the hurdles faced by immigrants and their descendants.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But too often this film and the family
troubles it depicts seem uncharacteristically (for the film’s 1980s time frame)
harsh and confrontational with the 6<sup>th</sup> grade son as a very unlikely
rebel, cluelessly seeking a cause.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Paul (a convincingly real Banks Repeta)
forms a friendship in his public school with Johnny (Jaylin Webb), an unhappy
African American classmate, who acts out in ways those in charge of him expect.
Soon, his parents transfer Paul to a private school filled with elitist administrators
and racist students.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To categorized his parents (Jeremy Strong
and Anne Hathaway) as clueless is being kind—they don’t seem to understand the
first thing about parenting and Paul’s teacher is even worse.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing happens that isn’t foreshadowed
from the opening scenes when the stereotypical teacher isolates them from the
rest of the class for minor distractions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Saving the film for me, is a poignant
performance by Anthony Hopkins playing the boy’s grandfather. While trying to
explain what it means to be Jewish, he tells Paul the reason his great-grandmother
left Ukraine 50 years earlier: “People wanted to kill her.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not sure what I should take away from
the film---life is made up of a series of random luck or that racism is never far
from the surface—but it didn’t resonate like many of Gray’s earlier works, including
“Little Odessa” (1994), “Two Lovers” (2008) and “The Lost City of Z” (2016).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">ALL
QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Erich Maria Remarque 1928 book about the
experiences of German soldiers on the front lines during the waning days of
World War I stands as one of the most acclaimed war novels and, in a much-sanitized
version, was turned into the first great Hollywood sound film in 1930.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not sure why it took so long for a German
filmmaker to take on the horrific, anti-war epic, coming just three years after
Sam Mendes’ brilliant “1917” about English soldiers on the same front. The best
remembered picture on the war from Germany is G.W. Pabst’s brilliant “Westfront
1918” (1930). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a short preface showing the
unthinkable slaughter taking place on the front lines, we meet the main
character, Paul (Felix Kammerer) as he and his schoolmates enthusiastically
prepare to serve in the Kaiser Wilhelm’s army.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><br /><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhmqij3xbnjXf45hDqxm5HXUQnqN7vWamQjQ8En4Mzcs8DNl3ItHlI7Jb8nVLYP0W06P4ww3NH7aG7EdSR-J-dRFqGx74jnh7gtUi2mupUVCuqQo8X8dQRwotDSUIftF1omuwzXTxbNkd5dj5d_nZ9F1LKDmB2ckXkpSfs1AmhADSrXgVUHyFYAA/s1020/quiet.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="1020" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhmqij3xbnjXf45hDqxm5HXUQnqN7vWamQjQ8En4Mzcs8DNl3ItHlI7Jb8nVLYP0W06P4ww3NH7aG7EdSR-J-dRFqGx74jnh7gtUi2mupUVCuqQo8X8dQRwotDSUIftF1omuwzXTxbNkd5dj5d_nZ9F1LKDmB2ckXkpSfs1AmhADSrXgVUHyFYAA/w407-h244/quiet.webp" width="407" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though more episodical than “1917,” this film
shows the hopelessness of the fight as it’s clear Germany will go down in
defeat. While the generals keep pushing their men to fight on for national
pride, the soldiers die in the mud and blood in large numbers for a lost cause.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The direction of Edward Berger and sweeping
camerawork of James Friend puts moviegoers in the middle of the chaos, a
killing field that may have been the closest man has created an earthly hell.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
film does a good job of keeping the focus on Paul and his buddy Kat (Albrecht
Schuch) as a reminder that these are real young people whose lives are
needlessly, gruesomely erased. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While “All Quiet” doesn’t get into the
rational for the costly war—unlike World War II, this conflict is harder to
explain 100 years later—it does show the bitter negotiations (Daniel Brühl as
the German representative) that led to harsh punishment for the Prussian Empire
and spurred the rise of fascism 15 years later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The war, and the peace that U.S. President
Woodrow Wilson engineered, marked the end of the major empires that dominated
Europe for hundreds of years, creating countries that were closer aligned to ethnicity,
but at an unimaginable cost<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">EMPIRE
OF LIGHT (2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Landing in theaters somewhat under the
radar, this is an intimate, heartfelt picture about the redemptive qualities of
the movies written and directed by Sam Mendes (“1917,” “American Beauty”) and
starring Oscar winner Olivia Colman.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most alluringly, it takes place in the
early 1980s at an old-style theater on the waterfront of Margate on the
southeast coast of England. As filmgoers line up for “All That Jazz,” “Stir
Crazy” or “Raging Bull,” we are introduced to the staff, led by manager Hilary
Small (Colman), owner Mr. Ellis (a slumming Colin Firth) and the new guy,
Stephen (Micheal Ward), an African-Brit who faces a growing street movement of
white supremacy under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though the politics eventually push its
way to the forefront, “Empire of Light” focuses on Hilary, who has struggled
with her mental health, but seems to find happiness in an unlikely relationship
with Steven.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Master cinematographer Roger Deakins
(Oscar winner for “1917”and “Blade Runner 2049”) creates a glow of warmth
inside the theater that contrasts with the almost blinding light of the seaside
exteriors.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mendes tries too hard to tie up all the
loose ends, allowing the last act to go on too long, but another brilliant
performance by Colman (who won the Oscar for “The Favourite” and an Emmy for
the middle-aged Queen Elizabeth in “The Crown”) keeps the film afloat.
Twenty-five-year-old Ward, who is best known for the British TV series “Top
Boy,” holds his own with the veteran actress.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My favorite scene in the film comes when
Stephen is granted admission to the projection room and shown how to run the
films by projectionist Norman (the quirky Toby Jones). Deakins’ camera captures
the magic of the process while lingering over the hundreds of movie stills and
magazine pictures Norman has papered the walls with. A touching remembrance of
a world lost to the digital revolution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;">PHOTOS:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: small; text-indent: 0in;">Delphine
Seyrig in “Jeanne Dielman.”</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: small; text-indent: 0in;"> (The Criterion Collection)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: small; text-indent: 0in;">Carey
Mulligan and Zoe Kazan in “She Said.” (Universal Pictures)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: small; text-indent: 0in;">Felix
Kammerer in “All Quiet on the Western Front” (Netflix)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Doug Listhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339222653620926842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6028831787280199543.post-40860193850465541912022-11-17T20:59:00.002-08:002022-11-17T21:46:49.350-08:00November 2022<p><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">TÁR<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This film quickly establishes orchestral
conductor Lydia Tár, whose distinguished career is chronicled in an on-stage
interview with New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik (as himself), as a self-assured,
name-dropping intellectual who rarely censors her opinions, barley notices
those who cater to her every whim (including an ambitious assistant played by
Noemie Merlant) and enjoys being feared as she rushes through her life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a seminar at The Juilliard School, Tár (a
steely, strutting Cate Blanchett) berates a student composer while
establishing the central question of the film: should artists be judged by
their art or how they lived their lives?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After the young man informs her that he’s not interested in Bach because
he was a straight white man who sired many children, Tár throws the same
judgment back at him: if he creates some important music does he want it judged
by its artistic worth or by his personal life?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgcfIoeMiBV8sdshl54nS0XTBdlSJs7dfLKhZYotvqejQBDKpWXOKcrN3ipHBYkvRJgFa57znJFpJWjvQCnpNTcAoq3LJTYiWjAMd3hxttqBfGIuvW1bLEFGoBjRtrc5wA2ry191Osi0nEwe0Y1Cl-bdhOT4zpQUjeRNhEYqhlXvBrra-WqQB4_g/s608/cate-blanchett-tar-2-ht-gmh-221005_1665021926611_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="342" data-original-width="608" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgcfIoeMiBV8sdshl54nS0XTBdlSJs7dfLKhZYotvqejQBDKpWXOKcrN3ipHBYkvRJgFa57znJFpJWjvQCnpNTcAoq3LJTYiWjAMd3hxttqBfGIuvW1bLEFGoBjRtrc5wA2ry191Osi0nEwe0Y1Cl-bdhOT4zpQUjeRNhEYqhlXvBrra-WqQB4_g/s320/cate-blanchett-tar-2-ht-gmh-221005_1665021926611_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> Unlike most American films, “Tár,”
written and directed by Todd Field (“In the Bedroom,” “Little Children,”)
focuses on seemingly mundane aspects of a life—long scenes of rehearsing
Mahler’s 5<sup>th</sup> with the Berlin Symphony, discussions with the
conductor’s assistants and agent and complaining to her partner (Nina Hoss), who
is the orchestra’s first violinist (read into that what you want).<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nearly two hours into the film, rumblings
of a plot being to stir when a video of her the Juilliard class (editing to
make her look bigoted) surfaces and, simultaneously, a woman she had rejected
for a symphony position, and may have had a relationship with, commits suicide.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The filmmakers don’t push for a judgment on
Tár; instead leaving the controversies she faces vague and unresolved. But
what’s crystal clear is that Tár’s refusal to recognize the tenor of the times
spells her doom. What you are allowed to say, do or write and how you respond
to others has changed dramatically in the past 10 years. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just because she’s a self-described
“U-haul lesbian” and a protégé of “Lenny” (legendary conductor Leonard
Bernstein) doesn’t exempt her from the vagaries of societal expectations. Even
her clumsy attempts to bring the orchestra’s new, young cellist (Sophie Kauer)
into her orbit can be seen through two lenses. Is she a boss playing favorites
in hopes of a sexual relationship or a woman searching for love? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As much as I enjoyed this film, it
requires hard work. Blanchett, giving an extraordinary performance, one of her
best in a stellar career, rips through the musical-jargon filled dialogue in a
no-nonsense, keep-up-if-you-can manner. At least a passing knowledge of
classical music helps as nothing is explained.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tár’s fate and what it all means remains a
bit of an unsolved puzzle right to the sad and shocking ending. (Some critics
have speculated the final act is a dream.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Writer-director Field hadn’t directed a
film, nor acted in one, since 2006, having worked on a pair of high-profile
novel adaptations that were never competed—Cormac McCarthy’s “Blood Meridian”
and Jonathan Franzen’s “Purity.” But, after his previous work and “Tár,” it’s
clear he remains one of the cinema’s finest writers and most interesting
filmmakers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">THE
WOMAN KING (2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not long into watching this intense story
of 19<sup>th</sup> Century West African tribal warfare, I recognized its
source—John Ford’s classic Westerns.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That the film utilizes the format created
by Ford and other 20<sup>th</sup> Century directors of Westerns in no way
diminishes what director Gina Prince-<br />
Bythewood (“Love and Basketball”) and writers Dana Stevens and Maria Bello
(yes, the actresses with her first writing credit) have accomplished here. As
another cliché goes: there are no new stories, just new ways to reimagining
them. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The result is a first-rate picture, with closely
observed characters, the usual generational conflicts and action sequences that
makes Marvel movies look like video games for children.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Viola Davis plays Gen. Nanisca, the John
Wayne character, who leads the Dahomey tribe’s already legendary troop of female
warriors. If she seems a bit old, at 57, for the part, she makes up for it with
her fierce, determined attitude, a brutal back story and a take-no-prisoners
stance. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course there’s a neophyte member of the
troop---Nawi (an excellent Thuso Mbedu)---who struggle to earn the respect of
her elders but eventually becomes a key member of this impressive fighting
force. (In the Ford films, John Agar would serve in this role.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And not leaving any element of classic
storytelling out, there’s also a tough but beloved “drill sergeant”-type (think
Ward Bond in a dozen films) played by Lashana Lynch, who whips the new recruits
into shape.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The reason behind the tribe’s reliance on
women to fight their battles is that the slave trade has decimated the male
population. The way that Prince-Blythewood deals with this issue turns what
could have been an ordinary actioner into something more relevant. Not only
does the film show the results of slavery at its source but also explores how
the tribes themselves grew rich by selling off its population and those of its
rivals captured in battle.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film pivots on the decision by the
tribe (led by the King played by John Boyega) to either take the easy route to
wealth and continue to supply the slavers or take a moral stand against it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a story that has too long been ignored
by Hollywood: looking at Africa in a real way (not the comic book version in
“Black Panther”) where heroic and heartbreaking lives were playing out with
equal drama to those in Europe or America. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it is, to some degree, based on real
events. In the area that now is the country of Benin, adjacent to Nigeria, a
feared group of woman warriors fought many vicious battles with neighboring
tribes. Whether this tribe considered dropping out of the slave trade is most
likely a stretch.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Davis should score her fifth Oscar
nomination and Mbedu, a South African actress in her second feature, also
deserves consideration. Equally impressive is Polly Morgan’s vivid, dexterous
camera work. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">JOE
MACBETH (1955) <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have seen plenty of film adaptations of
“Macbeth,” including Roman Polanski’s and Orson Welles’ versions, Akira
Kurosawa’s magnificent “Throne of Blood,” along with recent efforts featuring
four of the best actors in film—Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand
directed by Joel Coen and Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard in Justin
Kurzel’s film. But this 1950s noirish mob picture might be the most unusual and
creative.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Paul Douglas, best known for “Angels in the
Outfield (1951) and “Clash by Night” (1952), plays Joe Macbeth, an underboss to the Duke. If you know your Shakespeare, it’s not hard to guess what Duke’s future
holds.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Interestingly, he’s stabbed to death while
out for a swim near the estate Macbeth has taken over when he executes another
mobster for Duke.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCoGQbB0hkHdnycFQRGiz5B-ydh54J8dsBAn9geh9S6aSMky4aZ1JVQw5NkbruqwdfM_DqW0VjTztuv-x25slTMi7gh6SV0RtlKzn2yBannPQzCClAO02VJ2qSZQRgN7Q6e-F6TwoUMi86PjgnYLqQd1Q9REVbDzxelYtb04wmIoV9jjZWRjlwRQ/s1024/joe-macbeth-poster.webp" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="538" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCoGQbB0hkHdnycFQRGiz5B-ydh54J8dsBAn9geh9S6aSMky4aZ1JVQw5NkbruqwdfM_DqW0VjTztuv-x25slTMi7gh6SV0RtlKzn2yBannPQzCClAO02VJ2qSZQRgN7Q6e-F6TwoUMi86PjgnYLqQd1Q9REVbDzxelYtb04wmIoV9jjZWRjlwRQ/s320/joe-macbeth-poster.webp" width="168" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s a Banquo (Sidney James as Banky)—Macbeth’s
comrade in arms who ends up as a victim—and his son (a fiery Bonar Colleano),
here a twentysomething mobster whose fate in the original play is vague. He
plays a crucial role as an outspoken critic of the power-hunger Macbeth. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, of course there’s a Lady Macbeth,
played by the underrated Ruth Roman (“Tomorrow Is Another Day,” “The Far
County”), pushing the indecisive husband to take what the fortune teller (a
feisty Minerva Pious), subbing for the witches, predicts.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The strength of the picture is its
screenplay by the great Philip Yordan, who had just won an Oscar for the Western
“Broken Lance.” Yordan scripted some of the best films of the 1950s, including “Detective
Story” (1951), “Johnny Guitar (1954) and “The Big Combo” (1955), “The Harder
They Fall” (1956) and “God’s Little Acre” (1959). In “Joe Macbeth,” he deftly
combines the film noir cliches with the Bard’s bloody tale.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Director Ken Hughes, a Brit whose oddball
career includes the inane musical “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” (1968) and Mae
West’s comeback attempt “Sextette” (1977), shows some stylish touches in the
final sequence and makes interesting use of severe closeups, but most of the
film looks like a TV production.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is very much a B-film, but offbeat
enough to merit a look. Maybe the most interesting decision the filmmakers make
is that no one in the film takes note of the parallels to the Scottish play.
Not that the members of this crime group spent much time in English Lit, but
surely someone would have noted their boss’ name as sounding somewhat familiar?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">THE
BANSHEES OF INISHERIN (2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The team that gave us “In Bruges,” one of
the true gems of the last 20 years, reunite for this seemingly simple tale of a
pair of friends who live on a desolate island off the coast of Ireland, circa
1920s.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The leisurely picture grows repetitive
after Colm (Brendan Gleeson) tells his long-time drinking buddy Padraic (Colin
Farrell) that he no longer enjoys his company, demanding that he stop talking
to him. Yet “Banshees” shines as a portrait of a world that no longer exists
while exploring timeless issues of the importance of friendship and what
constitutes a worthwhile life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Farrell, giving what may be the best
performance of his career, and writer-director Martin McDonagh create a classic
small-town character who lives for his afternoon beer and has little interest
beyond his uneventful life (he resides with his unmarried sister and has a pet
mule). Colm, a fiddle player who wants to write a piece of music that will
outlive him, has grown tired of listening to Padraic’s nonsense and seeks
peace.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That conflict makes up almost the entirety
of this episodical film. Yet it’s filled with hilarious, ridiculous and
touching moments are just as impactful as the main plot, not unlike McDonagh’s
last film, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While Gleeson has the less interesting
role, he is, as in so many of his films, a charismatic force; in many scenes in
“Banshees” just by sitting silently in his humble home. His 67-year-old face is
like a map of Ireland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Farrell, whose best work has mostly been
done in little seen pictures including “Tigerland” (2000), “The New World”
(2005), “In Bruges” and “The Lobster (2015), deserves Oscar consideration for
his Padraic. You can sympathize with this limited, but good-hearted man while
understand why Colm wants nothing to do with him. The sadness you see in his
face as he keeps trying to resurrect their friendship is heartbreaking. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among those populating this rocky island
are a nosey store owner, a bully of a policeman and his troubled son (a
memorable Barry Keoghan), an elderly woman who could be related to one of
Macbeth’s witches and Siobhan (Kerry Condon), Padraic patient sister who has
dreams beyond the confines of Inisherin.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The picture grows unnecessarily intense in
the last act, a metaphor, I assume, for the unforgiving world they lived in,
but breaking the comical magic it had built for the first hour or more. Yet the
time spent with this collection of very recognizable and unforgettable
characters makes up for the picture’s extremes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">BLONDE
(2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As someone who has never bought into the
deification of Marilyn Monroe, I find myself in the surprising position of
defending the reputation of the actress-model-celebrity against this bleak,
disturbing profile.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Joyce Carol Oates, among the finest
novelists of the past 50 years, wrote the fictional account of Monroe’s life on
which the film is based. In other words, the reader/viewer has no idea what
parts of the profile are true and what are imaginary. Unless done as a satire,
I’m not sure there’s much value in this approach to a life. And it becomes more
troubling when acted out on film.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Director Andrew Dominik (“The
Assassination of Jesse James…”), who also adapted Oates’ novel, and actress Ana
de Armas (“Knives Out,” “No Time to Die”) depict Marilyn as a socially inept,
easily manipulated child-woman who, damaged by the absence of a father, never
shows the ability to make the most basic of decisions about her life. Even when
she’s discussing Chekhov with future husband Arthur Miller (Adrien Brody,
billed as “The Playwright”), her eyes and voice indicate a woman on the verge
of a nervous breakdown. To drive home her father issues, she calls both husbands
“daddy.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Blonde” touches some highlights of
Monroe’s life, while skipping large, important periods, leaping from a
childhood dealing with her insane mother (Julianne Nicholson, giving the film’s
only believable performance) to her early film roles. The film erases her first
marriage and her pre-Hollywood days, when, according to most accounts, Norma
Jeane was a very normal young lady. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the film avoids showing her interactions
with other actors, it portrays her first serious Hollywood relationship, a ménage
à trios with Charlie Chaplin Jr. and Edward G. Robinson Jr. (reportedly, she
dated both but not, as the movie depicts, at the same time). Later they are
shown trying to blackmail her second husband, baseball great Joe DiMaggio
(Bobby Cannavale) with nude photos of Marilyn. In actuality, she had appeared naked
in the first issue of Playboy magazine, a year before she married DiMaggio.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU_H2LOEBbDNPSg3vz59lQ0weq7aGlkVkLOpVVm0aem71kp_fgsd4XHPNbD66xkTutpoH9y8h2x3KopZjJCeL1duk7v4QkxdvfuqahXuXfVV8bPb1r1KWEZKXhRJH_zpas_k7Pw2qB2ScKSx8hgy1AOueEJcSHg3c3uI4w6rsIQ1uBD19tg8yGyQ/s2048/marilyn.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1543" data-original-width="2048" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU_H2LOEBbDNPSg3vz59lQ0weq7aGlkVkLOpVVm0aem71kp_fgsd4XHPNbD66xkTutpoH9y8h2x3KopZjJCeL1duk7v4QkxdvfuqahXuXfVV8bPb1r1KWEZKXhRJH_zpas_k7Pw2qB2ScKSx8hgy1AOueEJcSHg3c3uI4w6rsIQ1uBD19tg8yGyQ/s320/marilyn.webp" width="320" /></a></div><br /> But facts are secondary to “Blonde” as it
tries to explain her journey through the sexism of the 1950s while documenting
her inability to give birth despite various pregnancies. Surprisingly, only one
scene shows the alleged relationship with President John Kennedy; by then she’s
little more than a drugged-up rag doll, at least according to the film.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The picture skips from the filming of
“Some Like It Hot” (her best performance) to her final days in 1962, having
ignored her work on “Monkey Business” (1952) opposite Cary Grant, “Bus Stop”
(1956), “The Prince and the Showgirl” (1957) opposite Laurence Olivier (see “My
Week with Marilyn” for what seems like a more believable portrayal) and “The
Misfits” (1961), starring Clark Gable and Montgomery Clift. It seems obvious
why the film ignores this period of her career: it contradicts the premise that
she was falling apart, misused by Hollywood and incapable of simply doing her
job.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Overall, this is a cold and lifeless film
that jumps from one bad moment to the next (usually ending with Marilyn topless).
It’s popular to blame the studio system, run by misogynistic bullies, for the
tragedies: Monroe, Judy Garland and a dozen other lesser knowns. Yet, as
portrayed here, she would have lived a terrible life no matter what her
profession, a teacher or CPA or sales clerk. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">RAWHIDE
(1951) and THE MAN FROM COLORADO (1948)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From the late 1940s through the 1950s
Westerns reached their apex, led by filmmakers John Ford, Howard Hawks, Anthony
Mann and Budd Boetticher. I recently saw two rarely shown cowboy pictures that
may not be great films but deserve recognition as better than standard Hollywood
horse opera.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With “Rawhide” starring Tyrone Power and
Susan Hayward, I assumed I would be seeing a cliché-filled story about a frontier
romance but instead it’s an intense, brutal, psychological study that plays out
more like the B-westerns of Boetticher and Randolph Scott than a picture by
studio veteran Henry Hathaway and two star actors.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not long after Vinnie (Hayward) and a young
child (it turns out to be her deceased sister’s) arrive at a remote stagecoach
stop, Rafe, an escaped con (Hugh Marlowe, far from his usual urbane roles), and
his gang kill the station manager (Edgar Buchanan) and take her and the
assistant manager Tom (Power) prisoner. While they all wait for a gold shipment
that Rafe plans to rob, the film plays out like a dusty version of “Key Largo,”
a claustrophobic waiting game with Vinnie constantly under danger from the
psychotic Tevis (Jack Elam, of course).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cinematographer Milton Krasner (“All About
Eve,” “Three Coins in the Fountain”) shoots the picture like a film noir,
filled with interesting shadows and angles. This nail-biter was written by
Dudley Nichols, one of the most successful screenwriters in Hollywood history,
penning scripts for “The Informer” (1935), “Bringing Up Baby” (1938) and
“Stagecoach” (1939), among dozens of others.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hathaway, a child actor in silents who was
still directing in the 1970s, was best known for “The Lives of a Bengal Lancer”
(1935) and “Kiss of Death” (1947) before this picture. Later, he directed parts
of “How the West Was Won” (1962) and guided John Wayne to his best actor Oscar
in True Grit” (1969). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In “The Man from Colorado,” William
Holden and Glenn Ford, Columbia Pictures twin stars of the 1940s and 50s,
shared the bill, as they did in “Texas” (1941).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It begins with a vicious scene of Northern
troops, led by Ford’s Owen Devereaux, killing a regiment of Confederates after
they raised the white flag. (We’ll ignore the fact that there actually weren’t
any Civil War confrontations in Colorado.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later, he’s appointed the region’s judge
by the local silver baron (Ray Collins), who has taken over (many would say
stolen) the stakes of dozens of men who volunteered to serve in Ford’s
regiment. Though outrageous, it was legally sound—the men had failed to work
the mines during a three-year period, so it was up for grabs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Holden plays Del Stewart, the more
sensible best friend of Owen, who serves as the court’s Marshall. But it is a
tenuous relationship as Owen’s wife (Ellen Drew) is coveted by Del, who also
suspects that his friend suffers from mental problems.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Never before have I seen a picture that
addressed the possibility of Civil War vets suffering from battle fatigue or
any type of post-war stress issues. Ford does a nice job of showing the Jekyll
and Hyde nature of Owen as Del eventually takes sides with the victimized
citizens against his friend and Collins’ greedy monopoly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though B-movie director Henry Levin doesn’t
bring much in the way of style to the film, it is well written by Robert Hardy
Andrews and Ben Maddow from a story by Borden Chase (“Red River,” “Winchester
‘73”). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Holden, of course, went on to become one
of the most enduring stars of the cinema, winning a best actor Oscar for “Stalag
17” (1953) along with top lining four of the greatest films ever made, “Sunset
Boulevard” (1950), “The Bridge on the River Kwai” (1957), “The Wild Bunch”
(1969) and “Network” (1976). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ford’s best work can be seen in crime
pictures like “Gilda” (1946) and “The Big Heat” (1953) and the Western “3:10 to
Yuma” (1957). Even though his choices in roles landed him in many mediocre
films, Ford’s combination of soft-spoken sensitivity and tough-guy
determination made him a popular star throughout the 1950s.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">AMSTERDAM
(2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s baffling that the same director who
made first-rate pictures “The Fighter” and “Silver Linings Playbook”
back-to-back supervised the ridiculous chaos of this dreary Coen brothers
imitation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This isn’t David O. Russell’s first
disaster; he made “I (Heart) Huckabees” after directing “Flirting with
Disaster,” one of the best comedies of the 1990s, and “Three Kings,” a popular
action picture. Then, in 2015, his “Accidental Love,” despite enthusiastic
efforts by Jessica Biel and Jake Gyllenhaal, was so disappointing that Russell
had his name removed from the final print. Not helping his rep, the director
has been repeatedly accused of abusive behavior on his sets.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The primary action of “Amsterdam” takes
place in 1933 New York, when three friend from the World War I battlefield,
played by Christian Bale, John David Washington and Margot Robbie (three of
Hollywood’s best actors), try to uncover those responsible for the poisoning of
a heroic general and the murder of his flighty daughter (Taylor Swift).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipJG7ijcYv_Mv_qIkr1dbWfOkhIt0sw8DyDbPFiM9rwLKi59U_AZI3QJ41rxPfQHhq1yVwOjLhRRIhJtWehsv1QENwrItr3G9YdsGYJ0zf0y4ul8xPE2OrD5KfbREj-jCybTil8bWASiLClqPTXQEGDes3VGZP435UUfd5Gq4Bx9OqVikndgavzQ/s2048/amster.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1484" data-original-width="2048" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipJG7ijcYv_Mv_qIkr1dbWfOkhIt0sw8DyDbPFiM9rwLKi59U_AZI3QJ41rxPfQHhq1yVwOjLhRRIhJtWehsv1QENwrItr3G9YdsGYJ0zf0y4ul8xPE2OrD5KfbREj-jCybTil8bWASiLClqPTXQEGDes3VGZP435UUfd5Gq4Bx9OqVikndgavzQ/s320/amster.webp" width="320" /></a></div> Nothing makes much sense or generates much
energy as the bad guys are mostly hiding in plain sight.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The idea is based on the very real attempt
by a cabal of American businessmen to install a dictator and end democracy in the
U.S. in the 1930s. (Similarities to 2022 are not coincidental)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like the writer-director’s “American
Hustle” and “Joy,” the actors are occasionally amusing—Bale’s Dr. Berendsen is
half crazy, half genius, while Washington and Robbie are convincing as an
on-and-off couple—but mostly wasted.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also
in this impressive cast are Rami Malek as an eccentric bird-loving millionaire,
Zoe Saldana as a sympathetic medical examiner, Michael Shannon and Mike Myers
as some kind of federal agents and Robert De Niro, who almost saves the film as
another WWI general who befriends the sleuthing trio.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While no filmmaker scores a success every
time out, Russell’s highs and lows have been especially extreme, despite the
powerhouse lineup of stars he attracts for every film. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">PHOTOS:</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Cate Blanchett in "</span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Tár.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;">" (Focus Features)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-small;">"Joe Macbeth" poster (Columbia Pictures)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Bobby Cannavale and A</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">na de Armas in "Blonde." (Netflix)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Christian Bale, Margot Robbie and John David Washington in "Amsterdam."</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> (20th Century Studios)</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Doug Listhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339222653620926842noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6028831787280199543.post-51088101481966254612022-09-18T19:03:00.002-07:002022-09-19T11:54:53.021-07:00August 2022<p><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">VIVRE
SA VIE (1962) and HELAS POUR MOI (1993)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the tributes poured in following the
death of Jean-Luc Godard, most declaring him as the most influential filmmaker
of his generation, I rewatched a few of his films in hopes of seeing that
brilliance others write about.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I haven’t seen his entire
filmography, I have seen 20 of his films and, aside from his audacious,
entertaining and, yes, influential debut, “Breathless” (1960), there’s an
argument to be made that he’s the least interesting director to emerge from the
French New Wave. Truffaut, Chabrol, Melville, Rohmer, Resnais all show a
stronger sense of storytelling and character development while also having
something intelligent to say. In most cases, their films are the opposite of
what Hollywood movies represent; in Godard’s case, I’d have a hard time
classifying his work as filmmaking.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo-qV4wsvRFAkqxgy3_YC9GnsRQIvGHbyBnKlR73h2aB_YnL2PDIFjQXmTV__C2LhjxcqobgujnyqFKpjw9QNp_gnNBDfTNhHiQ44tMMYhzywvYnA2lMGdP7J5eTBkCqdiW3sjagHfpvPMImpu8_kUH3q89K18i1TgZ8L8wfhqLe-x_SH6k3WFHw/s824/JeanLucGodard.72527.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="537" data-original-width="824" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo-qV4wsvRFAkqxgy3_YC9GnsRQIvGHbyBnKlR73h2aB_YnL2PDIFjQXmTV__C2LhjxcqobgujnyqFKpjw9QNp_gnNBDfTNhHiQ44tMMYhzywvYnA2lMGdP7J5eTBkCqdiW3sjagHfpvPMImpu8_kUH3q89K18i1TgZ8L8wfhqLe-x_SH6k3WFHw/s320/JeanLucGodard.72527.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> By his fourth picture, “Vivre Sa Vie” (My
Life to Live), Godard seems to have run out of ideas, offering up this disjointed—though
coherent compared to later works—tale of a young French woman Nana (his
paramour at the time Anna Karina) who, lacking money to hold on to her
apartment, takes up prostitution. <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The camera lingers over Karina while she
has pointless conversations with a variety of men and, at one point, the film turns
into a Q&A about the life of a hooker. Clearly that was provocative in 1962
but it’s rather dull stuff unless you're 12.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the years went on, Godard’s movies became less
cinematic and more didactic, essentially excuses for long discussions of philosophical
issues. At one point in the mid-1960s, he all but gave up on commercial
filmmaking and focused on anti-war, anti-capitalism propaganda films.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Helas Pour Moi” (Oh, Woe Is Me) is an odd
mixture of politics and fantasy—God takes over the body of Simon (Gérard
Depardieu) so he can sleep with his wife, Rachel. Scenes rarely connect to each
other and most of the talk is little more than platitudes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also rewatched “Goodbye to Language”
(2015), his last film to receive mainstream attention. While just over an hour,
it’s hard to sit through. He seems especially fascinated by Mao and Hitler and
shooting over saturated forest and streams. And while one could make a case
that nearly every film of the 1960s and ‘70s was sexist, Godard never grew up.
He seems especially obsessed with the female body, filling the screen with
nudity without a point.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To me, Godard’s art was artless; his
films a scattershot of images coupled with actors speaking to the audience and
not to each other. I’m all for the cinema as a form of personal expression, but
Godard’s movies remind me of the work of an earnest film school undergrad who
just read Marx.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have always been arrogant about my
opinions—I’m right and everyone who disagrees is wrong—but in this case, I
think everyone else is right and I’m wrong. There’s got to be something there
if all these critics and filmmakers who I admire find Godard so important. Not
to mention the straight line between Godard and two of my favorite directors,
David Lynch and Jim Jarmusch. I’m just not seeing or hearing what they do.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More provocateur than filmmaker, Godard
led the way to push cinema away from the constraints of Hollywood, gave fiery
interviews and always had a pithy quote: “The cinema is truth 24
frames-per-second”; “He who jumps into the void owes no explanation to those
who stand and watch.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For me, all those films after “Breathless”
left me in the void without a compass.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">NOPE
(2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What distinguishes a good sci-fi film
isn’t how sophisticated the special effects are, but that it never allows those
effects to overshadow the people. Despite the popularity of “Star Wars,” “Star
Trek” and “Aliens” from an early era, the last 20 years have been the golden
era of sci-fi, highlighted by “Interstellar,” “Gravity,” “Arrival,’ “Children
of Men,” a better version of “Star Trek” and “Mad Max: Fury Road,” while the
Marvel Universe ruled the box office.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The new Jordan Peele (“Get Out,” “Us”)
movie doesn’t quite reach the level of those films, but it smartly puts two
interesting characters and how they deal with supernatural events at the center
of the story.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Daniel Kaluuya, who won a supporting
actor Oscar for “Judas and the Black Messiah” and scored a nomination for
Peele’s debut “Get Out,” plays a horse trainer who seems unprepared to run his
uncle’s business of renting out the animals to Hollywood after the old man dies
mysteriously.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Joining Kaluuya’s laconic OJ (for Otis Jr.
but there must be something symbolic about that name) in the business is his
more flamboyant, self-promoting sister Emerald (Keke Palmer, who’s been in
movies since she was 10), who dreams of some kind of fame.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She sees a chance when a UFO hovers above
their ranch in Agua Dulce, a desert area in northern LA County. OJ and Emerald
reluctantly recruit a twitchy tech head working at Fry’s (gone but not
forgotten) with the hope of capturing the alien ship on video.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later they are joined by a wild-eyed
cinematographer played by Michael Wincott in a part that seemed to be written
for Michael McConaughey.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlMOyrzvPT2KQKWjrOyaMAT12JTsLUYxW5ObrADA9KVwLQ0whlCjGj-5CVW6Jp4k6HjjYKDA_R16guHHjI4T7yic1nHbmHCwaQUl8MZHTwhcqINP08jVcgmW5mncBagJDgqX_QeBhiFy5A9gUai7nRz6J2JiUn4PQ75NPcl7zk7RPyRXgWBBQIAQ/s1200/VFLQRTKDUJBCVJTZH27DJLJARY.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlMOyrzvPT2KQKWjrOyaMAT12JTsLUYxW5ObrADA9KVwLQ0whlCjGj-5CVW6Jp4k6HjjYKDA_R16guHHjI4T7yic1nHbmHCwaQUl8MZHTwhcqINP08jVcgmW5mncBagJDgqX_QeBhiFy5A9gUai7nRz6J2JiUn4PQ75NPcl7zk7RPyRXgWBBQIAQ/s320/VFLQRTKDUJBCVJTZH27DJLJARY.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, not surprisingly, things turn ugly,
highlighted by a visit by the alien entity to a nearby cowboy town tourist trap
run by a former TV child star Jupe (Steven Yeun). The thrice-repeated backstory
about the show Jupe starred in as a child, involving a homicidal chimp, felt
like it was left over from another movie pitch (one David Lynch might direct).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Peele is clearly saying something about celebrity and Hollywood—everyone
is connected to the movie business somehow—but it wasn’t clear to me: maybe
that it will suck the life out of you if you hang around long enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or, more simply, that the desire for fame has
surpassed the quest for real success in this still evolving century.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Superbly directed by Peele and
photographed by Hoyte van Hoytema, “Nope” is long, deliberate and, of course,
supernaturally ridiculous, but the banter between OJ and Emerald keeps it real.
Like in “Get Out,” Kaluuya’s expressive stare is worth a thousand words. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">EMILY
THE CRIMINAL (2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Aubrey Plaza, memorable as a celebrity
stalker in the 2017 indie “Ingrid Goes West,” delivers an equally feisty and slightly
unhinged performance in this story of a young woman whose desperate search for
financial stability turns criminal.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because of an aggravated assault charge
(a love affair gone wrong), Emily, a talented illustrator who dropped out of
school, struggles to find a decent job and instead is stuck delivering food for
a restaurant. Then her co-worker connects her to Youcef (an excellent Theo
Rossi), who runs a credit-card scam. Liking the quick money, she starts working
her own side scams, which Theo gets a cut. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beyond the life of criminal hustling, the
well directed and written debut by John Patton Ford takes aim at the barriers
of gaining entry to corporate America. When her best friend Liz (Megalyn
Echikunwoke), after much delay, arranges an interview for Emily with her boss
(Gina Gershon), Emily discovers that the position is unpaid. She vents her
anger for all the so-called “interns” of the world as Gershon’s character
explains that she should be thanking her for the opportunity. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, the film leaves the
impression that the unfair treatment Emily finds in the legit world excuses her
criminal behavior. It explains it, but hardly gives her a free pass. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">THREE
TOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING (2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After about 1000 years I started to doze
off. I found virtually nothing of interest in these slow-moving, uninvolving
recollections of an immoral genie (called a Djinn here), who is unleased from
his bottle by a mild-mannered literature professor.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After figuring out what’s what, Alithea (Tilda
Swinton) insists that the Djinn (Idris Elba) tell the story of his life.
Starting with his love affair with the Queen of Sheba (Aamito Lagum) through a
much more recent involvement with an inventive third wife (Burcu Golgedar) of a
repulsive 19<sup>th</sup> Century aristocrat, the Djinn’s life is depicted in
vivid detail as he explains it to Alithea. But because these are all presented
as stories told rather than lived, the tales are more like turning the pages of
a glossy, coffee-table book rather than watching a motion picture. The
cinematography by veteran John Seale (“Mad Max: Fury Road,” Oscar winner for
“The English Patient”) is a bit too gorgeous.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Until
we arrive at the end of the film, Swinton’s Alithea almost disappears amid the
outlandish history of Djinn. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Directed by “Mad Max” auteur George Miller,
adapting a novella by AS Byatt, the picture’s attempt to extoll the virtues of
storytelling don’t make for much a film. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">THE
KING OF MARVIN GARDENS (1972)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bob Rafelson, who died in July at the age
of 89, directed just 10 features, but his contributions to American culture
outweighed his rather slim filmography.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First of all, he helped create “The
Monkees,” turning an offbeat comedy series about four “hippie” musicians into a
television phenom. The anarchistic adventures and catchy pop music of Micky,
Davy, Peter and Mike topped the charts and were the center of Rafelson’s
chaotic directing debut, “Head” (1968).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Secondly, he provided the opportunity for
Jack Nicholson to fully emerge from the drive-in movie world (“Easy Rider” had
offered a glimpse) and become the standard-bearer of a new kind of movie
leading man; a rebel who was fighting himself and society to understand what it
was all about.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, with “Five Easy Pieces” (1970) and
“The King of Marvin Gardens” (1972), Rafelson became a crucial architect of a
New Wave of American cinema, which undercut the studio system’s way of making
movies and introduced themes, characters, attitudes and language that rarely
made appearances in films during the previous four decades.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though this iconoclast was never able to
reach the heights he touched with the two Nicholson movies, all his features
were interesting, the best of the rest being a sizzling remake of the film noir
classic “The Postman Always Rings Twice” (1981), with Nicholson and Jessica
Lange; “Mountains of the Moon” (1990), his sweeping telling of the Burton-Speke
expedition to find the source of the Nile; and “Blood and Wine” (1996) in which
Nicholson and Michael Caine play jewel thieves. His last picture, the barely
released “No Good Deed” was another crime film, starring Samuel L. Jackson and
based on a Dashiell Hammett story. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While “Five Easy Pieces” is his
masterpiece, among the 50 greatest American films, his less well-known “Marvin
Gardens” is essential viewing, one of the best depictions of the love-hate
relationship between brothers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUMU1vRPny6qKDxJCQyUJ8Iw-UPAz9XQM0ukpmGmKeNSDuejruB_fZ68AV7qC_HI2qoQLpbBWoIl69v7jUAeL6NjHppIV5y8NEd_rY0oKsjGI6G-mzcj8UWqDVD61b7KN1D774ml-5LvkqdVuwrLcV4qnoDOUVT2P58JkPlsindmJSuTcJ9UNxNw/s1600/king.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUMU1vRPny6qKDxJCQyUJ8Iw-UPAz9XQM0ukpmGmKeNSDuejruB_fZ68AV7qC_HI2qoQLpbBWoIl69v7jUAeL6NjHppIV5y8NEd_rY0oKsjGI6G-mzcj8UWqDVD61b7KN1D774ml-5LvkqdVuwrLcV4qnoDOUVT2P58JkPlsindmJSuTcJ9UNxNw/s320/king.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div> Rafelson opens the film, before the
credits, as few would dare, with a full-screen closeup of Nicholson in a dark
room telling a story about himself and his brother when they were kids. It
continues for close to five minutes as he calmly remembers the death of his
grandfather as the two boys look on. They became “accomplices forever.” When a
red light starts flashing on the side of Nicholson’s face, it’s clear that he’s
on the radio, finishing up his 3 a.m. show. <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The original title of the script by Jacob
Brackman, an Esquire movie reviewer, from Rafelson’s idea, was “The Philosopher
King”—the role Nicholson’s sullen, thoughtful David Staebler plays in this
morality tale opposite his fast-talking con-man brother Jason (Bruce Dern). It
shouldn’t be a surprise, considering that Jason has 70 percent of the dialogue
that the actors were original set to play the opposite roles.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dern has rarely been better as he schemes to
find funding to build a casino on an uninhabited Hawaiian island, but even when
David is standing silently in the background it’s always Nicholson’s film.
(Though in her key scenes, Ellen Burstyn is just as riveting as Jason’s depressed,
aging companion.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Set in the Monopoly world of a nearly
deserted, off-season Atlantic City—yes, life is just a game for some—this movie
sees America as a shell of its former self; a crumbling dream with the dreamers
drifting from one grift to another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film ends with David back on his show
“etc.” offering his version of his trip to the Jersey coast (a monologue
written by Nicholson) and then returns to his home that he shares with his
grandfather, alive and well. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
Rafelson didn’t live up to early expectations, you certainly can see his
influence in the works of some of the best filmmakers of the 1970s: Coppola,
Ashby, Pakula, Ritchie. Not a bad legacy. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">HONKY
TONK (1941)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All these years, I never made an effort to
watch this popular frontier romance, assuming that it recycled the same cliches
of the genre. And it does: Shady but good-looking man, fast with the women and
his six-shooter, becomes civic minded, helping create a real community out of a
Western outpost.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the film, despite its meaningless,
generic title, offers something more. Though a mainstream commercial product,
starting Clark Gable, still the “King of Hollywood,” and the newly crowned
glamour girl, 20-year-old Lana Turner, and directed by MGM veteran Jack Conway
(who had been directing pictures since De Mille and Griffith relocated to
Hollywood), it dares to show what most pro-capitalism American movies ignore.
From the very start, America was built on corruption, from newly appointed
governors, local judges or struggling shopkeepers everyone was getting their
cut of the action. Bribery and illicitly gained profits, taken at the end of a
gun or under pressure from powerful officials, were what turned America, at
least west of the Mississippi, from a dusty frontier to thriving money-making
machine, be it Las Vegas or Dodge City.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gable, just two years removed from his
signature role as Rhett Butler in “Gone with the Wind,” plays Candy Johnson,
who, when the movie starts, is literally about to be tarred and feathered,
along with his partner The Sniper (a low-key Chill Wills), for scamming the
locals.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s when Candy realizes that there are
other ways to con the public. In the ironically named Pleasantville, he finds
an old friend (Frank Morgan), who now is a county judge facing trouble for
taking public money to maintain his drinking. (I doubt if there is any film
made before 1950 that doesn’t feature a falling-down drunk, usually as a comic
aside.) And, just arriving from Boston, is the judge’s daughter, Elizabeth
(Turner), who quickly becomes the focus of Candy’s charming nature.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Candy hoodwinks the good citizens into
thinking he’s better than the last bunch of crooks by building a church and a
school and pushes out a corrupt sheriff, but he keeps getting richer and richer.
And even after he marries Elizabeth, he keeps his old flame “Gold Dust” (the
quintessential saloon gal Claire Trevor) nearby.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The key scene takes place in the large
dining room at his palatial estate, where Candy serves as host for the state’s
governor and other legislators, all happy to look the other way in regards to
Johnson’s skimming of the public till as long as they get their cut. They all
laugh at the drunken judge who condemns Candy. There in miniature, is the
foundation of our country. (While another half of the country prospered on the
back of inhumane slave labor.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I’m not trying to make a case for
“Honky Tonk” as great film, but one can’t help but admire its undersold, but
clear message that systemic corruption was as much a part of the winning of the
West as saloons, poker games and main street shootouts. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix_leW0euSWywZt8SLv8CziE_jNLBpB-6Hs8-SIZE1Jd6eOdUEslYAnYlaDyjvS_9ygYtgfYgWKE8Jk6RRLoa4hP8l4nKbV07-GLfq4X4zrVoKnB52F3S3pXmU87nCUCxtv_SuCRo1s6DOWIPEibKVsekfrZAXEO7uwCY0LfBUA-7qXKodR-LDdA/s599/480px-Clark_Gable-Lana_Turner.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix_leW0euSWywZt8SLv8CziE_jNLBpB-6Hs8-SIZE1Jd6eOdUEslYAnYlaDyjvS_9ygYtgfYgWKE8Jk6RRLoa4hP8l4nKbV07-GLfq4X4zrVoKnB52F3S3pXmU87nCUCxtv_SuCRo1s6DOWIPEibKVsekfrZAXEO7uwCY0LfBUA-7qXKodR-LDdA/s320/480px-Clark_Gable-Lana_Turner.jpg" width="256" /></a></div> Gable is just about perfect for this role;
a slight variation of Rhett Butler and a template for many of the performances
he gave for the next 20 years of his short career. As an actor, he wasn’t on
the level of contemporaries Fredric March, Gary Cooper, Cary Grant or Spencer
Tracy, but he never lost his screen charisma that made him a star by 1931. And,
unlike his more talented brethren, he was extraordinary consistent. I recently
watched “Call of the Wild” (1935), “Lone Star” (1950), “Soldier of Fortune”
(1955) and “It Started in Naples” (1960) and he’s equally fine in each. No
matter the quality of the film, Gable seemed to always give his all. <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A director of over 100 films starting in
1912, Conway’s best works include the sound version of “The Unholy Three”
(1930), Lon Chaney final film; “Viva Villa! (1934) with Wallace Beery, “A Tale
of Two Cities” (1935) and numerous other Gable movies.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">MRS.
HARRIS GOES TO PARIS (2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This lightweight fairytale-like picture, a
well-acted version of the Lifetime movie template, serves as an entertaining
vehicle for one of Britain’s finest actresses, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lesley Manville.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rarely in the spotlight, the 66-year-old
has been stealing scenes in mostly English movies since the mid-1980s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 2020, she was extraordinary as Liam Neeson’s
wife, fighting breast cancer, in “Ordinary Love.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her Ada Harris is a World War II widow
working as a housekeeper and seamstress in late 1950s London. But once a
wealthy client shows her a dress purchased at the famous French fashion house
Christian Dior, Ada has stars in her eyes. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After her financial luck takes a turn (an
unexpected veteran’s widow pension, winnings from the dog track and a reward
for a good deed), she’s off to Paris to buy her Dior dress.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film loses any sense of gritty, post-war
reality it had in England when Harris lands in the City of Lights. It grows
increasingly silly as she becomes enmeshed with the staff at
Dior--match-making, leading a strike by workers and butting heads with the
uptight store manager (the great French actress Isabelle Huppert). It’s almost
as if the Paris scenes are but Mrs. Harris’ daydream. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet the resourceful acting of Manville
keeps the film upright. She’s never less than a salt-of-the-earth, humble
working woman of the 1950s. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s been disappearing in roles since she
became a regular in Mike Leigh pictures, including “High Hopes” (1988),
“Secrets & Lies” (1996) and “Topsy Turvy” (1999). In 2002, Leigh gave her a
more substantial part in “All or Nothing” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">as
Timothy Spall’s wife working through the ennui of a couple’s middle age. It was
one of the year’s best performances, but she topped herself in Leigh’s “Another
Year” (2010) as Mary, the needy alcoholic who clings to a much happier married
couple. The way she cuts to the emotional bone of this sad character’s
loneliness is as heartbreakingly real a performance as you are likely to see.
The script earned an Oscar nomination for Leigh, but Manville was ignored.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally, in P.T. Anderson’s “Phantom
Thread” (2017), as the devoted sister who cleans up after her irresponsible
brother’s (Daniel Day-Lewis) messes, she scored an Oscar nomination. The next
year, she took on the difficult role of Mary Tyrone in a stage production of
Eugene O’Neill’s masterpiece “Long Day’s Journey into Night,” which had a short
run in Los Angeles. Both she and Jeremy Irons were nothing less than
mesmerizing in the play, the most emotionally draining work of the American
theater.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This year, Manville plays Princess
Margaret in the latest season of “The Crown” along with the scheming Marquise
de Merteuil in a series version of “Dangerous Liaisons” on Starz. <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">VENGEANCE
(2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Any story that sends a hotshot New York
writer to rural West Texas in search of the problem with America risks being
damned as elitist as it solicits laughs from the stereotype of poor white Southerners.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this movie’s insightful, if wordy,
script by star-director B.J. Novak and the sympathetic characters he creates
manage to spread the satire evenly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Novak plays Ben Manalowitz, who we first
meet at a party holding a facile, sexist discussion about women with his buddy
John (musician John Mayer). But he’s really there to convince a radio exec
Eloise (Issa Rae) that he should do a podcast on the issues that divide
America. Then, later that night, on cue, he’s bullied into attending the
funeral of a women he barely knew months earlier. Abby had led her family to
believe they had a real relationship.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For
the first 30 minutes, “Vengeance” plays like a dumb comedy, with Ben unable to
express himself and the dead woman’s family overwhelm him with Southern
hospitality and insults. Then brother Ty (Boyd Holbrook) insists that Ben stick
around and find out who murdered his sister—she apparently overdosed (law
enforcement could care less) after a weekly outdoor party.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though Ben thinks Ty is nuts, he sees the
dead girl and her conspiracy-following family perfect fodder for his podcast and
gets the family to agree to be recorded.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His
investigation leads him to an assorted collection of locals, including smooth-talking
record producer Quentin (Ashton Kutcher), who recorded Abby before she
travelled to New York to seek fame, but not much clarity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film captures both the good and bad of
rural America (you don’t have to be from Texas to know these people) but tries
too hard to make Ben equally foolish. Sometimes it’s hard to believe he’s a
successful writer. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This first feature film from Novak, best
known as Ryan Howard from the TV show “The Office,” reveals a writer-director
interested in ideas—especially the nationwide obsession to be famous (a theme
the film shares with “Nope”)—and a willingness to let characters talk at length,
a rarity in 21<sup>st</sup> Century Hollywood films.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">THE
MIRACLE MAN (1932)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s unusual when a Hollywood picture deals
with religious faith, but it was a much safer bet 90 years ago when a large
majority of the country were regular church-goers. But this 1932 remake of a
silent film goes a step further, presenting a faith healer as legitimate.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The movie begins with a quartet of
pickpockets and small-time hustlers—Doc (Chester Morris), Helen (Sylvia
Sidney), Harry (Ned Sparks) and The Frog (John Wray)—slipping away from New
York cops and regrouping in a small upstate town where Doc finds a philosophical
religious man called “The Patriarch.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doc quickly sets up the scam: Helen
arrives in town claiming to be the Patriarch’s long-lost niece, while the Frog,
who fakes being a paraplegic, crawling across streets and floors, shows up to be
“cured.” Once the word gets out, Doc and Helen plan to rake in donations from
all over the country. The plan looks like a sure thing as the Patriarch, played
by silent film director Hobart Bosworth, seems to be in a constant stupor.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But things take a strange turn when the
Patriarch actually does heal people, including a crippled local boy and a
society woman. Oddly, there’s no long line of people seeking cures—apparently
the filmmakers decided that would muck up the story, which, surprisingly, comes
from a stage play by legendary song-and-dance man George M. Cohan. Director Norman
Z. McLeod, best known for Marx Brothers and W.C. Field comedies, doesn’t bring
much to the film, lingering over closeups of star Morris, waiting, it seems,
for some sign of acting to kick in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As usual, Sidney, one of the finest
actresses of early sound, is completely convincing as she struggles with her
role in the scam. In 1931 alone, she starring in Rouben Mamoulian’s “City
Streets,” Josef von Sternberg’s “An American Tragedy” (from Theodore Dreiser’s
novel) and King Vidor’s “Street Scenes.” Later in the 1930s, she headlined
Fritz Lang’s “Fury” and “You Only Live Once,” William Wyler’s “Dead End” and
Alfred Hitchcock’s “Sabotage.” Though few actors have ever worked with so many
great filmmakers in a single decade, she fell out of favor in the 1940s—when she
was still in her 30s—and then turned to TV in the 1950s. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 1973, she scored a supporting actress
Oscar nomination playing Joanne Woodward’s mother in “Summer Wishes, Winter
Dreams” and continued to work steadily until 1996—her last film was as the
grandma in “Mars Attacks!”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The 1919 original “Miracle Man,” a lost
film, is most famous for Lon Chaney’s ability to distort his limbs as The Frog.
John Wray, who played the drill sergeant in “All Quiet on the Western Front,”
does a good job following the master of offbeat characters.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;"> PHOTOS:</span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jean-Luc Godard</span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Daniel Kaluuya in "Nope" (Universal Pictures)</span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Bruce Dern and Jack Nicholson in "The King of Marvin Gardens" (Columbia Pictures)</span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Clark Gable and Lana Turner in "Honky Tonk" (MGM)</span></o:p></span></p>Doug Listhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339222653620926842noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6028831787280199543.post-46182872476439670652022-07-28T15:03:00.001-07:002022-07-28T21:45:32.602-07:00July 2022<p><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">ELVIS
(2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This fictional telling of Elvis Presley’s meteoric
rise to fame and his slow descent isn’t really worth a sentence of criticism.
Obviously, to expect a biopic to stick to the truth about its subject is
absurd—even the most illustrious lives aren’t exciting enough to sustain a
big-screen entertainment. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But director Baz Luhrmann has invented an
Elvis life that didn’t exist. And, even worse, his lead actors—Austin Butler as
the King and Tom Hanks as his shady manager/puppet master—fail miserably in turning
their characters into anything more than cartoon figures. Actually, Hank’s Col.
Parker comes off as more Muppet than human. This will be remembered as the low
point of this legendary actor’s career.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Butler possesses an “Elvis” look—though
the filmmakers are very slow in altering him into the prematurely aging, drug-abusing
singer—but he seems incapable of expressing emotions other than shaking his
body.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDnPW3cwVm3-aAwhPiTIOADfuZ0MXVT3dkjmhD8XfPze3gsNQiOAg-_zQ1sag3xQSPjvwq4bPKvFcb2xKmaLaiK8c8IO_kzAg6qYJjpGbtrLNvIrvofOQIiKBLWv0BpSJHoQmriLVzQGrQ4lAoH8e6vRfdEdzIJvb5aDpzzWex9guhOOSSac4MVQ/s720/elvis.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="720" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDnPW3cwVm3-aAwhPiTIOADfuZ0MXVT3dkjmhD8XfPze3gsNQiOAg-_zQ1sag3xQSPjvwq4bPKvFcb2xKmaLaiK8c8IO_kzAg6qYJjpGbtrLNvIrvofOQIiKBLWv0BpSJHoQmriLVzQGrQ4lAoH8e6vRfdEdzIJvb5aDpzzWex9guhOOSSac4MVQ/s320/elvis.webp" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first sin of “Elvis” is to turn
Presley’s on-stage performance into a national crisis while exaggerate his
gyrations into something almost spasmatic. I’ve seen hundreds of videos of
Presley performing and he never shook like Butler does in the film. (I can’t
wait until someone does the Joe Cocker story.) In addition, Lahrmann and his
screenwriters leave the impression that Elvis is headed for jail for his lascivious
performances and that spurs his draft notice. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, Elvis stirred up the conservatives who
feared the influence of Black music becoming part of mainstream white culture,
but there was no doubt that Presley’s career would be ending.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
movie star part of Presley’s life is glossed over, both his success and how it
pushed the singer to record middle-of-the-road material at the same time that
British-invasion rock left him behind. But the film hits its heights with the
recreation of, and behind the scenes look at, Presley’s 1968 television special,
a rare instance of the thrill of rock ‘n’ roll music captured on TV. It also
marked the moment Elvis stood up to Col. Parker’s safety-first approach, but it
didn’t last. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The attempts to show Elvis’ sensitivity to
what the country is going through in the late 60s—the killing of Martin Luther King
Jr. and Robert Kennedy—ring hollow and the film’s constant flashbacks to remind
viewers of his Black music influences come off as heavy handed. (Pointedly, the
film never mentions Presley’s biggest singing influence, Dean Martin.) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After
the slam-bang editing of the first two hours of the picture, the final, sad
conclusion of his life drags to a close. Butler’s laid-back performance fails
miserable by the end as I could barely tell the difference between a clean
Elvis and a drugged-up one. The only change seems to be a willingness to call
out Parker for the manipulator he was.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that is the saddest aspect of Elvis’
life and career—allowing Parker to control it, never growing up and taking over
his own life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you really want to know about Presley,
seek out the 2018 HBO documentary “Elvis: The Searcher” or watching the
superbly done 1979 TV movie “Elvis,” starring Kurt Russell.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This “Elvis” isn’t even very good at
myth-making: If I didn’t already know it, nothing in this film would persuade
me that Presley is one of the most important figures of modern music. But, then
again, if this film inspires those who don’t know Presley’s music to take a
listen, then it has done something worthwhile. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">PHILIP
BAKER HALL (1931-2022) and JAMES CAAN (1940-2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More than once in this blog I’ve lamented
the disappearance of the roster of great character actors who made 20<sup>th</sup>
Century movies so entertaining<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Philip Baker Hall, a latecomer to film who
died last month at 90, was among the last of those actors whose skills, instant
recognition and commitment to even the smallest role, continued that
traditional into this century. (Paul Sorvino, who also recently died, also fits
the category, mostly in mob roles.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I first encountered the sad-eyed Hall in a
lead role—a little-seen one-man performance filmed by Robert Altman—as a
drunken, ranting, but spot-on Richard Nixon. In “Secret Honor” (1984), the
53-year-old Hall, after a decade of toiling in small roles on television, gives
nothing less than a career-making performance as the disgraced former president.
It should have propelled him to stardom, but it took a while.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOTqbQlXO-cZ4kq0XgyaE2a55WTusjrDg6AxTfiBLsbsl3QHSCRqDjqjWUY-b4fsss19tYqtYtt25fSbeWsUlKo7M38Bza-GBMd6plSjUG140FXjelqQXQqhUqFPnhCzUHMvaTafem5vzvrJhnXwrCZF_v8E0zpAQI1ozSX_Hp8WuSTWHZ6xmInQ/s700/Philip.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="700" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOTqbQlXO-cZ4kq0XgyaE2a55WTusjrDg6AxTfiBLsbsl3QHSCRqDjqjWUY-b4fsss19tYqtYtt25fSbeWsUlKo7M38Bza-GBMd6plSjUG140FXjelqQXQqhUqFPnhCzUHMvaTafem5vzvrJhnXwrCZF_v8E0zpAQI1ozSX_Hp8WuSTWHZ6xmInQ/s320/Philip.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Twelve years later, he was top billed in
Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Hard Eight” (1996), as a veteran Vegas gambler who
schools a struggling John C. Reilly in the life. Though little seen, the role,
along with a smaller role in Anderson’s masterpiece “Boogie Nights” the
following year, made Hall one of the leading supporting players over the next
20 years. (In 1991, he made his now legendary appearance on “Seinfeld” as a
library cop.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just a small sample of his roles include
CBS executive Don Hewitt in “The Insider,” a fictional game show host Jimmy
Gator in “Magnolia” (again for Anderson), another TV exe in “The Truman Show,” a
detective in “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” as Sen. Everett Dirksen in the TV film
“Path to War,” as the CIA director in “Argo,” a police captain in “Rush Hour”
and a mob boss in “You Kill Me.” His last role was as part of the ensemble of
the TV series, “Messiah” in 2020. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(For a heartfelt remembrance of Hall, look
for the article by LA Times sportswriter Sam Farmer, who was a friend of the
actor.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Any remembrance of James Caan begins with
his Sonny Corleone in “The Godfather,” a supporting role that concludes with
one of the cinema’s most famous death scenes. “Sonny at the tollbooth” has
become a standard idiom describing any situation that ends badly. But before
that bloody takedown, Caan supplies the fire in an otherwise underplayed,
surprisingly quiet film. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though the actor felt cheated that some of
his best moments were left on the cutting room floor, his combative, boisterous
Sonny—overreacting to the shooting of this father even as he’s unsure of how to
fill the Don’s chair—earned an Oscar nomination.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But before that landmark role and after
years of working in television, he established himself as a leading man, first
as a scientist-astronaut in Robert Altman’s “Countdown” (1967); as a dangerous
character who hooks up with a woman running away from her life in Francis
Coppola’s “The Rain People” (1969), both co-starring Robert Duvall; as author
John Updike’s one-time high school star Harry Angstrom running from the
drudgery of middle-class life in “Rabbit, Run” (1970); and, to much acclaim, as
real-life doomed NFL running back Brian Piccolo in the TV movie “Brian’s Song”
(1971). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqsphnj93pweF8G2YsiQ5DbiwR6FA9qyw44EKDOvCwLonlh5PHw9ek1skFjfHg023FXUkLMRzjegADteknxX7xqI1zhPjBB-ahPf1o6PHnlJpii7RMfOFSuZfKOeRsbxnNMyoGLa9gFEQxq4Cd1xgVa28uuXx_XJGZG732JZXWwPPc-7Z8CcqQJg/s300/caan.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="201" data-original-width="300" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqsphnj93pweF8G2YsiQ5DbiwR6FA9qyw44EKDOvCwLonlh5PHw9ek1skFjfHg023FXUkLMRzjegADteknxX7xqI1zhPjBB-ahPf1o6PHnlJpii7RMfOFSuZfKOeRsbxnNMyoGLa9gFEQxq4Cd1xgVa28uuXx_XJGZG732JZXWwPPc-7Z8CcqQJg/s1600/caan.jpg" width="300" /></a></div> His “Godfather” performance raised his
profile and for the next 10 years he starred in both challenging low-budget
pictures and in less successful, but higher-profile movies. Caan’s best
post-“Godfather” performances were in Mark Rydell’s “Cinderella Liberty”
(1973), an offbeat romance between a sailor and a prostitute; in Karel Reisz’s
“The Gambler,” writer James Toback’s tale of a college professor obsessed with
gambling; and in Michael Mann’s superb psychological study of a safe cracker
“Thief” (1981). If only he had sought out more roles like these, but the call
of big money and stardom led him to “Freebie and the Bean” (1974), “Funny Lady”
(1975), “Rollerball” (1975), “Chapter Two” (1979), badly cast as the fictional
version of Neil Simon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For
a time, Caan succumbed to the destructive habits of stardom, becoming persona
non grata in Hollywood before Coppola cast him as the by-the-book military man
facing family problems in “Gardens of Stone” (1997). That led to starring roles
in “Alien Nation” (1988), a big budget bust; “Misery” (1990), a mega hit that
won co-star Kathy Bates an Oscar; and then, opposite Bette Midler, in “For the
Boys” (1991). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From the mid-90s onward, Caan was
relegated to mostly touch guy supporting roles, memorably in Wes Anderson’s debut
“Bottle Rocket” (1996), a corrupt contractor in “The Yards” and as Will
Ferrell’s long-lost father in “Elf” (2003). But he never stopped working:
romancing Ellen Burstyn, another 1970s legend, in the “seniors” comedy “Queen
Bees” (2021) and as an elderly mobster in “Fast Charlie,” scheduled for next
year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While Caan’s career doesn’t match what Duvall
and Al Pacino, his “Godfather brothers,” have accomplished, he remains an icon
of 70s-80s cinema who, at his best, was just as believable as a twitchy
mobster, a professional athlete or a discontent husband.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">THE
MOB (1951)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I watch a ton of low-budget film noirs from
the 1940s and ‘50s and even those with sophomoric scripts and awful acting hold
my interested better than most new films. And then, occasionally, I catch a gem
that I’ve previously never seen or even heard of. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This fast-paced police vs. mobsters
starring Broderick Crawford, just a couple of years after winning the best
actor Oscar for “All the King’s Men” (1949), and filled with great character
actors, benefits from a first-rate script and its moody, deep-shadow
cinematography by legendary cameraman Joseph Walker (“Mr. Smith Goes to
Washington,” “His Girl Friday,” among over 100 others). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film opens with Crawford, a Los
Angeles cop, buying a ring for his fiancé at a pawn shop when he witnesses what
looks like another policeman shooting a suspect. He tells the cop to call in the
shooting but instead the guy bolts. Turns out, the man killed was the cop and
the shooter was a mob gunsel disguised as a cop.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His commanders explain to Crawford’s Johnny
Damico that the dead policeman had infiltrated the mob that controls the docks.
So they send Johnny to New Orleans to create a new identify and then,
eventually, return to Southern California and find work on the docks.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Union corruption is hardly a fresh film
topic—best examined in Elia Kazan’s masterpiece “On the Waterfront” in 1954—but
“The Mob” stands out with its snappy, sarcastic dialogue and willingness to
show across-the-board criminality. The screenplay by William Bowers, one of Hollywood’s
best writers of the era, is based on a book by Ferguson Findley. Credits for
Bowers, who 20 years later showed up as a congressman questioning Michael
Corleone in “The Godfather Part II,” include “The Gunfighter,” “Cry Danger,”
“30“ and “Support Your Local Sheriff!” to mention just a few.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s probably Crawford’s second-best
performance—his Johnny is convincing as both an uncompromising tough guy and a humble,
working-class cop. He’s well supported by Richard Kiley, a superb actor who
should have been a star, as a dockworker who befriends Johnny; Ernest Borgnine as
a smooth-talking mob boss; Neville Brand as the mob enforcer; Jay Adler as a
slimy hotel manager; Matt Crowley as an in-the-know bartender; Lynn Baggett as
a sexy blonde who tries to get info out of Johnny; along with Charles Bronson
and John Marley in small roles. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the actual first film directed by Robert
Parrish, who served as editor on “All the King’s Men,” as he was replaced by
actor Dick Powell on his first assignment, “Cry Danger.” He made high profile
pictures through the 50s (“Lucy Gallant,” “Fire Down Below,” “The Wonderful
Country”) but never directed a better film than “The Mob.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">OFFICIAL
COMPETITION (2022)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While it’s an easy target, actors and
their egos and pretense inevitably make for amusing comedies. “Tootsie,” “My
Favorite Year,” “Birdman,” “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” are just the most
prominent examples of the laughs that are easily mined when filmmakers take aim
at their own business.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add this uncompromisingly biting Spanish-language
gem to that list. Argentine co-writers-directors Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat
(Andrés Duprat also gets a writing credit) offer a sausage-making look at the
process, from the financing process to rehearsals to post-screening press
conferences and the indulgent, childish ways that actors and directors go about
their business.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Penélope Cruz, fresh off her down-to-earth,
Oscar-nonmined performance in “Parallel Mothers,” sports a frizzy, mountainous
red wig as determinedly serious avant-garde director Lola Cuevas, whose antics
to elicit the performances she seeks is just this side of torture. Suffering
under her martinet-style direction are two full-of-themselves actors, movie
star Felix Rivero (Antonio Banderas) and acclaimed thespian Ivan Torres (Victor
Martinez). It’s as if Anthony Hopkins and Sylvester Stallone were cast as
brothers in a Wes Anderson film.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nearly the entire film takes place during
rehearsals Lola orchestras with the two actors. As repetitive as this seems, the
filmmakers never run out of new ways to show the bloated egos of this trio.<br /><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvebClg1VNN-jcZzHRWV5kHTVkOJj_8m2mTQgKwywefh9ysL80ok6ZBhRiQTce4BST-ehY6OH7M1yCk0oyeWstfgFGIIgpO-XYuDhynFE9Kl171rv-rwE8wAJ1nog3cKkAYnBQEw_GLJzo0CyZwe7ntad1uM7uevBZ-rrR-ucl9pG6ayuSO5melQ/s681/penelope.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="681" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvebClg1VNN-jcZzHRWV5kHTVkOJj_8m2mTQgKwywefh9ysL80ok6ZBhRiQTce4BST-ehY6OH7M1yCk0oyeWstfgFGIIgpO-XYuDhynFE9Kl171rv-rwE8wAJ1nog3cKkAYnBQEw_GLJzo0CyZwe7ntad1uM7uevBZ-rrR-ucl9pG6ayuSO5melQ/s320/penelope.webp" width="320" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Martinez, who has spent most of this
career on Argentina television, nails the persona of an “artiste,” whose life
is devoted to intellectual pursuits: in one scene he and his wife, a children’s
book author, rhapsodized while listening to a pretentiously awful classical
record. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This may be Banderas’ best film
performance as he hits all the right notes of fake sincerity and cluelessness. His
Felix never tires of bragging about his various acting awards.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like few actresses, Cruz has the ability to
portray a classic beauty, as glamorous as Elizabeth Taylor or Ingrid Bergman, or
play a quirky comic figure as well as Diane Keaton or Sandra Bullock.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In what thus far has turned out to be an
uneventful year at the movies, this import might be the best film I’ve seen. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">THE
GRAY MAN (2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If this is the best Netflix can deliver, I
think I can safely predict that its stock will continue to plummet. Generic,
predictable and lacking any sense of quirkiness, this lifeless actioner from
Anthony and Joe Russo, directors of “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers:
Endgame,” doesn’t give star Ryan Gosling much to do beyond firing his gun.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gosling plays “Six,” a “Bourne”-like
creation of a secret CIA program who discovers that his latest assigned killing
was of a fellow assassin. Like Jason in “Bourne,” he realizes he’s next on the
list and goes on the run, skipping around from one world capital to another
(each proudly labeled when the action shifts).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His nemesis is a rogue agent (pretty
original, right?) played by Chris Evans, clearly trying to exorcise his
“Captain America” persona. Sporting a 1970s-style black mustache and making all
those “Avenger” bad guys look like humanitarians, Evan’s Lloyd is so
outrageously destructive in his methods to capture “Six” that there’s nothing
left to believe about the story.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gosling is one of the best actors of his
generation, but he never has a chance in this mess. I can hardly wait for the
sequel.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">CHA
CHA SMOOTH TALK (2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Somewhere there’s a checklist independent
filmmakers use if they have any hope to secure big-screen distribution that
looks something like this:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 31.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">§<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Young
adult working in dead end job;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 31.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">§<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Single
or remarried mother;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 31.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">§<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Goofy
best friend who acts like he’s still in high school;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 31.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">§<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Older
woman whose uncertain life leads to some kind of relationship;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 31.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">§<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Writer-director
also plays the lead character;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 31.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">§<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Cathartic
fight breaks out during a wedding, birthday party or some type of traditional American
gathering;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 31.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">§<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">An
indecipherable, yet cool title;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 31.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">§<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Obtain
a slot at Sundance, Telluride or South by Southwest.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 31.5pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;">I
could go on but you know these films; “Cha Cha” checks all these boxes except
the “best friend” storyline—maybe it was cut in editing.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad
film and writer-director-star Cooper Raiff presents an appealing,
TV-series-like persona.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fresh out of college, Raiff’s Andrew works
at a generic version of Hot Dog on a Stick, but after a spirited appearance
escorting his younger brother (Evan Assante) to a friend’s Bar Mitzvah
celebration, he’s convinced to start a business as a party starter. Andrew
becomes the go-to guy in this Jewish community (I never did catch where the
film is set) to serve as organizer of Bar Mitzvahs and, most importantly,
enthusiastically pushing teens to mingle and dance.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, at that first gathering, he meets
Domino (the effervescent Dakota Johnson), a young mother—but older than
Andrew—whose autistic daughter Lola (an impressive debut by Vanessa Burghardt)
struggles to socialize. He quickly wins Domino’s heart by coaxing Lola onto the
dance floor.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rest plays out as you’d expect,
though the film’s strength is its focus on the touching relationship between
Lola and Andrews—he becomes her regular sitter and she grows to trust him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Leslie Mann as Andrew’s mother and Brad
Garrett as the step-father help find some humanity in these stereotype roles,
while Johnson, who became infamous in the “Fifty Shades” franchise but was
quite good in last year’s “The Lost Daughter,” steals the film. Her and Lola’s
story is much more compelling than the undefined difficulties Andrew faces.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is just the second feature for the
25-year-old Raiff, (2020’s “Shithouse”—see the checklist on titles) so I have
hope that he will throw out overused plot points next time and work on writing
a story that allows the lead character to grow, not just go through the
motions. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">ENCANTO
(2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t imagine a more childish film
winning an Oscar in any category. For some reason, it has become OK for
animated pictures made for an audience of grade-school kids to be honored as
the best in the genre.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Occasionally, a movie with wider appeal—“Up,”
“Inside Out,” “WALL-E”—have captured the best animated film Oscar, but too
often it’s been kid-friendly, song-filled fare such as “Brave,” “Frozen” and
“Coco.” The latest winner falls into the latter category.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Disney fairy tale is set in a mansion
with a mind of its own, located in a small town in Colombia, where the extended
family dominate the community because each has special powers. Everyone except Mirabel,
the teen daughter who mopes around because she didn’t inherit the magic that
has touched other family members. The rest plays out like every story about
fitting in and appreciating others. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are plenty of songs—composed by
either Lin-Manuel Miranda or Germaine Franco—that all sound the same, while the
animation, though extravagantly colorful, feels as realistic as a computer game
background. All the characters look like they were made from the same mold:
computer versions of giant-eyed plastic baby dolls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m happy films such as “Encanto” get
made, both for their lessons and their diversity, but surely the Academy should
be honoring more ambitious animated works. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 9pt;">Photos:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 9pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 9pt; text-indent: 0in;">Austin Butler in “Elvis.” (Warner Bros.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 9pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 9pt; text-indent: 0in;">Philip Baker Hall as the gameshow host in “Magnolia.”
(New Line Cinema)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 9pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 9pt; text-indent: 0in;">James Caan with Al Pacino in “The Godfather.”
(Paramount Pictures)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 9pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 9pt; text-indent: 0in;">Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz in “Official
Competition.” (The Mediapro Studio)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Doug Listhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339222653620926842noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6028831787280199543.post-48381478655024403222022-06-17T08:06:00.000-07:002022-06-17T08:06:58.372-07:00June 2022<p><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">TOP
GUN: MAVERICK (2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Almost 40 years ago, Tom Cruise became a
movie star by dancing in his underwear in “Risky Business.” That he’s still a
star as he nears his 60<sup>th</sup> birthday (July 3) stands as a minor miracle
in an entertainment era dominated by youth and computer-generated spectacle.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this sequel to his 36-year-old megahit,
Cruise refuses to act his ago even as his renegade pilot Pete “Maverick”
Mitchell is forced to take on the role of teacher; the adult in the room, no
less. The original, a testosterone-driven frat house collection of egotistical
Navy pilots competing for glory, represents what made the 1980s such a
forgettable movie decade. The new film, though anchored in the same clichés and
stereotypes, manages to be soaring entertainment, with its “Star Wars”-like POV
aviation photography and the charisma of Cruise. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Admittedly, I winched through the set-up:
The Navy brass (the venerable Ed Harris and Jon Hamm) wishes Maverick would retire,
but his friendship with his old colleague Iceman (Val Kilmer), now an admiral,
scores him a post back at the Top Gun training school. But once the training
begins, it’s a compelling story, as the young flyboys (and a girl) train to
take out a nuclear facility in some unnamed enemy country.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY-5elQ9uGIGxfOvwEmXCgvrQjzU4Cu9noPPtqnkIqCXPeycf1GgUPu3mEnYsVIdhGZBcaM59iGxk9pOUIjPENl0Jn82E4-HTQ9r2-YkWr-OOAksRP1n9Ydrkkmsl0zXdjl_ZUqPoF9_HhSXAobOl7kfrcyEpoMCRR8M3OIK-5YeZl3Z6Qr1qPYQ/s976/top%20gun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0in;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="976" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY-5elQ9uGIGxfOvwEmXCgvrQjzU4Cu9noPPtqnkIqCXPeycf1GgUPu3mEnYsVIdhGZBcaM59iGxk9pOUIjPENl0Jn82E4-HTQ9r2-YkWr-OOAksRP1n9Ydrkkmsl0zXdjl_ZUqPoF9_HhSXAobOl7kfrcyEpoMCRR8M3OIK-5YeZl3Z6Qr1qPYQ/s320/top%20gun.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /> </span>Arriving back in San Diego, Maverick
reconnects with Penny (Jennifer Connelly)—a character apparently mentioned but
never portrayed in the first film—who runs a bar near the base, where
20something pilots listen to 80s music (in a galaxy far, far away….). Like the
original, the pilots compete to be the best and earn the chance to go on the
upcoming bombing run. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maverick’s emotional return intensifies when
he finds the son of his late friend Goose among the pilots. Rooster (Miles
Teller) holds Maverick responsible for his father’s death. Emotions also run
high when Maverick is summoned to Iceman’s home where they have a
heart-to-heart talk even though the Admiral (like Kilmer himself) can barely
speak because of throat cancer. The scene is more about Cruise paying tribute
to his old friend than any “Top Gun” plot point. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Director Joe Kosinski (“Oblivion,” also with
Cruise) smartly keeps the film airborne most of the time in death-defying
maneuvers that reportedly were flown by the actors themselves. Maybe, but
what’s on-screen owes much to brilliant editing by Eddie Hamilton (who did the
last two “Mission: Impossible” films and the upcoming two-parter). I’m sure
there’s plenty of CGI here, but what’s important is that the danger feels real.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though the ending plays out like the
opening of a Bond picture, “Top Gun: Maverick” won me over in its second half,
in large part because Cruise, though never a great actor, remains so committed
to the character and the story that he makes even the ridiculous seem
plausible. It’s easy to forget, but that’s what we should expect from movie
stars.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">SPIDER-MAN:
INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE (2018) and<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">SPIDER-MAN:
NO WAY HOME (2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though I’ve never considered Spider-Man a
very appealing superhero—he’s too whinny and needy for my taste—I binged the
two recent versions of his seemingly every-changing backstory.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the animated “Into the Spider-Verse”
finds a way to liven up the shy teen turned savoir of the world formula, the
Tom Holland-starring live action “No Way Home” wastes its brainstorm of bringing
all three Spider-Men together.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The winner of the Oscar for best
animation, “Into the Spider-Verse” features a mild-mannered African American
teen Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore), whose graphic art skills turn him
into a Spider-Man, eventually joining forces with a gaggle of Spider-People,
include a mischievous pig, Spider-Ham, an amusing homage to Warner Bros.’
classic toon Porky Pig. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
film, directed by veteran animators Bob Persichetti and Peter Ramsey and
one-time “Letterman” writer Rodney Rothman, is loaded with impressive visuals
but the story was yet another version of “megalomaniac wants to destroy the
world.” “Into the Spider-Verse” also suffers from what I can only describe as
distinctive visionary planes, in which the characters are dropped onto a CGI
background, never seeming to be part of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll admit to not having seen a “Spider-Man”
since Tobey Maguire’s second outing as the web-master, having skipped Andrew
Garfield’s two films and the first two Holland pictures (though I did catch
Holland’s character in the final “Avengers” episode.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My previous opinion of Holland was confirmed
in “No Way Home”; he plays the role as if he’s the best friend in a high school
romance. At least Maguire and Garfield, as they have shown in other film roles,
are actors who can pivot from youthful innocent to mature gravitas.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never believed Holland’s Spider-Man was
capable of his many feats, as he battles, among others, Dr. Osborn (Willem
Dafoe) returning from the dead from the first 2002 adventure.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The script makes a weak attempt to explain
the existence of different universes co-existing, which opens up the portal for
Garfield and Maguire to meet Holland and plan an “Avenger”-like team battle. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The banter between the three superheroes,
which should have been the highlight of the film, never goes beyond high school
reunion cleverness.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At 2 hours and 28 minutes, the film is 30
minutes too long, padded out with redundant heartfelt bonding moments between
Peter Parker, his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) and his best buddy (Benedict Wong).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The high-profile supporting cast provides some
diversion from the garish CGI, including Jamie Foxx, Benedict Cumberbatch (as
Dr. Strange), Alfred Molina and Marisa Tomei, returning as Spiderman’s feisty
aunt.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">DOWNTON
ABBEY: A NEW ERA (2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t let the title fool you: this is the
same era “Downton Abbey” fans have been obsessing over since the show debuted
in this country in 2010. So jam packed with plot developments that you almost
need a score card, the film temporarily splits the family by sending a large
gaggle of the Crawley clan to the south of France to visit a villa that Violet
(Maggie Smith) has inherited from a man she knew more than half a century
earlier. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery), now running
the house as her father Robert (Hugh Bonneville) has “retired” from being a
wealthy landowner, holds forth back at Downton as a film company arrives to
shoot a silent drama. That storyline turns out to be the most interesting of
this second movie sequel to the television series. Hugh Dancy (“Law and Order”)
as the film’s director and Laura Haddock and Dominic West as the stars bring
new blood to the too-familiar collection of upstairs-downstairs characters.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stealing generously from “Singin’ in the
Rain,” the script explores the sudden changes in the movie business with the
arrival of sound, which forces the director to insert spoken dialogue to save
the film from being shuttered. That Mary is the one who suggests they dub in
vocals is either writer-creator Julian Fellowes’ jab at the industry’s lack of
ingenuity or just another opportunity to promote the “specialness” of the upper
class. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As usual, the Dowager is given the best
lines, including wondering why they would add sound to movies as she thought
the best thing about the cinema was that you couldn’t hear it. Both the
family’s current butler Barrow (Robert James-Collier) and the retired butler
Carson (Jim Carter) are given substantial roles in “A New Era” while Mary’s
husband (Matthew Goode) couldn’t get away from “The Offer” (the miniseries
about “The Godfather” in which he plays Robert Evans) to make an appearance.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like its predecessor, this film doesn’t try
to be anything more than a few more episodes crammed together made specifically
for fans who can never get enough of these characters. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">THE
UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT (2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have to give him props: After years of
plowing through January-February acting duds, Nicolas Cage pokes fun of his
reputation in this ridiculously titled picture, playing a puffed-up version of
himself.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Egotistical yet lacking any sense of self-esteem
and fearful that his lucrative career has reached its inglorious end, Cage as
Cage accepts a gig to hang out with a rich Spaniard (Pedro Pascal) who’s an
obsessive fan. (His Nick Cage museum is a sucker punch to all those memorabilia
collectors.) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Satirizing the depth that celebrities
will go to hold onto a sliver of fame—we’ve seen the reality shows—the movie,
written by Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten and directed by Gormican, has much to
enjoy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, inevitably and understandably, it morphs
into another bad “Nick Cage” popcorn flick, even if we are meant to chuckle at
it. The supporting cast---Sharon Horgan as his put-upon ex-wife, Lily Sheen as
his daughter and Tiffany Haddish and Ike Barinholtz as FBI agents who recruit
the actor, seem to have been selected for their generic, B-movie screen presence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkcD81AciwjgTQy_Mbv7y0k0spgFGcES84b3kciZAmZYBL5imcJLGQMxe16NokLpGoG8LkZQeavNzy0ezOI9hRdXxiyS_Hqv7BjUK-smm2Azkaqr3jp-2voDhx-oiF1giFKkh2xqdfuAtuTvWaOPyF8sSiV-aWq9Konzb5lj6pO6Ue765ViJfOEQ/s1280/cage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkcD81AciwjgTQy_Mbv7y0k0spgFGcES84b3kciZAmZYBL5imcJLGQMxe16NokLpGoG8LkZQeavNzy0ezOI9hRdXxiyS_Hqv7BjUK-smm2Azkaqr3jp-2voDhx-oiF1giFKkh2xqdfuAtuTvWaOPyF8sSiV-aWq9Konzb5lj6pO6Ue765ViJfOEQ/s320/cage.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> For me, the film loses its way when real
bullets start flying and people die. Hard to laugh at that.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, Cage plays himself like a
cartoon character, an overly rehearsed “SNL” skit version; you never feel like
he’s looking very closely at the mirror.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the 1980s and ‘90s, Cage was a
risk-taking, sometimes outrageous actor, doing memorable work in “Birdy”
(1984), “Raising Arizona” (1987), “Moonstruck” (1987), “Wild at Heart” (1990),
in the cable movie “Red Rock West” (1993) and then culminating in his
Oscar-winning role in “Leaving Las Vegas” (1996). Then<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>popular, stupid films—”The Rock” (1996), “Con
Air” (1997) and “Face/Off” (1997)—sent his career in a different direction. He
became the Cage satirized in “Unbearable Weight.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Between the action junk, the actor has managed
to squeeze in some quality work, in “Adaptation.” (2002), to me his best
performance; “The Weather Man” (2005); “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New
Orleans” (2009); and last year’s “Pig,” which he should have been nominated
for. Though the 58-year-old has made more bad movies than good ones, he’s still
has had a pretty good career. And one can hope that this film signals his
desire to work on more serious fare as his senior years approach. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then again, he’s playing Dracula in
“Renfield,” a film scheduled for next year.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">THE
OUTFIT (2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This confusing tale of mid-1950s Chicago
mobsters comes close to being a one-man show, as the only reason to watch is
Mark Rylance.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I first became aware of this acclaimed
British stage actor in the imported miniseries “Wolf Hall,” in which Rylance
plays Cromwell to Damien Lewis’ Henry VIII. He was mesmerizing and has been
ever since in his big screen performances. His deliberate, low-key menacing
line readings and sad eyes combine to steal every scene he’s in. As a
supporting player, he dominates in “Bridge of Spies,” “The Trail of the Chicago
7,” “Dunkirk” and “Don’t Look Up,” to name a few.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this new film, he plays Leonard, an
old-school British tailor—or “cutter” as he insists—trained on London’s Savile
Row and now designing suits for wealthy Chicagoans. For reasons never
explained, his shop also serves as a dead drop for mob communication, thus
spurring a late-night situation in which a dispute between two young hoods
plays out in very deadly ways.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though “The Outfit” was written for the
screen, by director Graham Moore (who won an Oscar for “The Imitation Game”)
and Johnathan McClain, it plays like an off-Broadway production, set entirely
in Leonard’s business and offering fewer and fewer plausible reasons for
characters to pop in and out of the shop.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The script creates multilayered,
hard-to-fathom explanations for why characters know what they know and do what
they do. It’s not worth following that closely.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rylance, who also narrates parts of the
story, giving another under-cooked, detail-oriented performance as this
stereotype of a mid-Century professional. There’s much more to Leonard, but
it’s revealed in such a last-minute rush that the impact, like the film,
doesn’t land.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">NOSFERATU
(1922) and PAYDAY (1922)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among the arts, motion pictures are a
relative newcomer, which makes watching films that were made 100 years ago a
recent treat. For no good reason, I re-watched these two very different movies
released in 1922.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The German silent “Nosferatu” introduced
the Dracula legend, from the 1897 novel by Bram Stoker, to the screen. Like
most vampire pictures, there isn’t much to the story except for the chilling
presence of the title character. This version shines as an early work of
director F.W. Murnau, one of the masters of silent cinema. In many ways,
“Nosferatu” invented the horror movie genre.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The director’s “The Last Laugh” (1924),
“Faust” (1925) and “Sunrise” (1927) are among the greatest movies of the 1920s,
with “Sunrise,” the first of his Hollywood films, regularly listed as among the
finest movies ever made. Murnau was 42 when he died in a car crash in Santa
Barbara in 1931. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Nosferatu” gained legendary status
because it was out of circulation for many years as the Stoker estate sued to
halt distribution. In addition, the otherworldly performance of Max Schreck as
the vampire Orlok was rumored to have been so effective because Schreck was
actually a vampire. In truth, it’s all about the makeup and Murnau’s superb
direction. With a skeletal-like head, Vulcanish ears and fingers that look
about a foot long, Schreck, at 6 foot 4, creates a ghoul not easily forgotten.
(In fact, Willem Defoe earned an Oscar nomination for his performance as
Schreck in the 2000 film “Shadow of the Vampire”—John Malkovich plays Murnau.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF_AcDmt51v76PtVCLQeiwH7x_-Ovhi5NSN_nR68h6ZCXgYqmcmIxYqpks0b-TIVJs9-5PYVtI1Keav1D_DLPf0oiVX43mjmOZe1uWi9kDV6ExyCeWTEXp8KkUH07AttEXGBmp5vIMU_Dv8n_zX3KiVYmnLiuwdrWDceJPDRCg2iTSrhkgfLoDlA/s983/murnau.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="983" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF_AcDmt51v76PtVCLQeiwH7x_-Ovhi5NSN_nR68h6ZCXgYqmcmIxYqpks0b-TIVJs9-5PYVtI1Keav1D_DLPf0oiVX43mjmOZe1uWi9kDV6ExyCeWTEXp8KkUH07AttEXGBmp5vIMU_Dv8n_zX3KiVYmnLiuwdrWDceJPDRCg2iTSrhkgfLoDlA/w426-h185/murnau.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /> The most dramatic scenes of the film come
after Orlok smuggles himself onto a ship headed for Wisboug, Germany (not sure
where exactly Transylvania is supposedly located) where he has bought a house
near our hero Jonathan and his wife. You know trouble is brewing when Orlok
comments on seeing a picture of young Ellen, “Your wife has a beautiful neck.”<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While
ensconced in his casket in the hull of the ship, Orlok unleashes the plague and
kills the entire crew, with only Jonathan escaping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once on the ship, the vampire goes from just
a creepy character to a horrific, specter of evil.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While Schreck is memorable, the best
performance in the film is given by Alexander Granach as Knock, the real estate
agent who has some psychic connection to Orlok, eventually going mad and
imprisoned. The wild search for Knock when he escapes plays like an outtake
from another movie—maybe a Keaton or Chaplin comedy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Pay Day,” one of Charlie Chaplin’s final
short films, fulfilled his First National contract before he ventured into
starring and directing feature-length movies full-time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over its 20 minutes, “Pay Days” follows a
construction worker (a foppish Chaplin), who arrives at the site in his usual
Little Tramp outfit, offering the foreman (silent comic legend Mack Swain) an
orchid to apologize for his lateness. Later, the Tramp swoons over the
foreman’s daughter (Chapin’s longtime leading lady Edna Purviance).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The picture’s highlight involves a camera
trick, in which the film is run backward to make it look like his co-workers
are tossing bricks up to Chaplin as he stands on a scaffolding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later, after failing to hide his pay from his
wife, he gets drunk with his buddies and then sneaks home at 5 a.m. In a
classic bit that was repeated many times in the last 100 years, the alarm goes
off just as he’s trying to slip into bed, waking his wife and forcing him to
pretend to be dressing for work.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Pay Day” is far from Chaplin’s best,
especially coming right after one of his masterpieces, “The Kid” (1921). But
all of his work, from 1914 to the early ‘20s, forms the foundation for all
movie comedy going forward.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among the best films of 1922 were Erich
von Stroheim’s epic “Foolish Wives,” Frank Lloyd’s “Oliver Twist” with Jackie
Coogan and Lon Chaney and Allan Dwan’s “Robin Hood,” starring the first great
action star Douglas Fairbanks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">ONE
NIGHT IN MIAMI (2020)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember the 1985 film “Insignificance”
that brought Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio, Joe McCarthy and Albert Einstein
(without using their real names) all into a hotel room for a night of drinking
and philosophizing? The idea—not to mention the execution—ranks just a tick
above fan-fiction. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This well-received entry into this off-beat
genre at least is based on a sliver of truth and uses real names. On February
25, 1964, Cassius Clay defeated Sonny Liston to become the heavyweight boxing
champion of the world and then joined pop star Sam Cooke and football great Jim
Brown in the hotel room of Malcolm X. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These men were among the era’s
high-profile African-Americans, whose independence and willingness to speak
their mind would alter the standing of Blacks in American society. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brown, then 28, arguably the finest player
in NFL history, was about to exit football for a movie career; Cooke, at 33, already
the first black performer to own the rights to his music, was among the top
recording artists in America; 22-year-old Clay, under the guidance of Malcolm,
was about to announce his conversion to Islam, embrace the ideals of the Nation
of Islam and become Muhammad Ali. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film, based on Kemp Powers’ play,
focuses on Malcolm X’s insistence that his friends aren’t sacrificing enough
for the Civil Rights movement and, by extension, their people. Too much of the
movie amounts to Malcolm lecturing the others. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, there is no record of what was
actually discussed at this summit, and the only living witness (Brown)
apparently isn’t talking---thus the dialogue is pure fiction.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While Clay/Ali’s boxing career brings
these men together, the boxer (played by Eli Goree) receives little attention,
painted as a rather naïve young man who will be molded by the Nation. And
Malcolm (Kingsley Ben-Adir) seems instinctively to know not to mess too much
with the low-key Brown (Aldis Hodge). So the story, in large part, comes down
the Chicago preacher debating Cooke. (Ironically, both men would be shot to
death within the year.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the key moments of the film comes
when Malcolm pulls out the record “Blowin’ in the Wind” and plays the Bob Dylan
song on the motel turntable. Why would Malcolm haul a record to Miami and, even
odder, what motel includes a record player? This is hardly a suite.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The implication is that what Malcolm tells
Cooke inspires him to write his Civil Right anthem “A Change Is Going Come,”
but in fact he had already recorded the song and had performed it a few weeks before
the Miami gathering on the “Tonight Show.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Leslie Odom Jr. (“Hamilton”) gives the
standout performance as Cooke, earning him a supporting actor Oscar nomination.
His Cooke is the only one of the four who made me see a real person behind the
famous name.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But facts aren’t what “One Night in
Miami” is about. Astonishingly, the script did earn Powers an Oscar nomination
and good notices for first-time director Regina King, who won the 2018
supporting actress Oscar for “If Beale Street Could Talk.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
kind of didactic drama is easy pickings for filmmakers wanting to offer a
pointed history lesson to a new generation. And maybe this film does that, but
for someone very familiar with the accomplishments and importance of these men,
it is more reductive than enlightening.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photos:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">Tom
Cruise in “Top Gun: Maverick.”</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">(Paramount Pictures)</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">Nicolas
Cage and Pedro Pascal in “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.” (Lionsgate)</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">Max
Schreck as Orlok in “Nosferatu.”</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">(Museum
of Modern Art)</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Doug Listhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339222653620926842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6028831787280199543.post-47621787958227912522022-05-02T15:03:00.001-07:002022-05-02T21:39:35.042-07:00April 2022<p> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">THE
ACADEMY AWARDS <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Usually, I refrain from weighing in on the
Academy Awards ceremony and its continuing efforts to turn the presentations
into entertaining television. But this year’s disaster, following 2021’s that
played like a bowling league banquet, begs for commentary.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll dispense with the obvious by stating
that the huge ovation (many standing) for Will Smith when he was announced as
the best actor winner minutes after he assaulted presenter Chris Rock marks the
low point in the history of awards show adulation. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet long before this Oscar nadir, the show
was a poorly planned, clumsily scripted, amateurish attempt to do
something—anything—that would attract more viewers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among the bright ideas were two Twitter
polls to determine “Top 5 Fan Favorites” of 2021 (“Army of the Dead”) and “Most
Cheer Worthy Moments” (some special effect from “Justice League”). Forget about
Smith, I demand the resignation from the Academy of all involved in these
ideas. To make room for this kind of idiocy (along with the K-pop band BTS
discussing their favorite films), eight categories, including editing, score
and production design, were given out before the show and then sliced into the
telecast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then there was the show’s endless series of
film anniversary celebrations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Surely, at some point during the planning
stage, someone must have said, “Four anniversary spots? Isn’t that, just maybe,
two too many?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, the two that were most worthy of
celebration—“The Godfather” at 50 and the Bond franchise at 60—were given short
shrift.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To honor the Bond films there were no 007s
in sight, instead skateboarder Tony Hawk and a couple of other X-game types
(thinking this is who young movie fans want to see?) introduced a
thrown-together 90-second compilation of the 27 pictures. Any high school
student could have created a more interesting video.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tribute to “The Godfather” (see mine
below) was nearly as uninspired. Sean Diddy Combs was chosen to introduce the
clips, for reasons I can’t even imagine, and seemed to improvise his lines. Why
not have someone connected to the Godfather legacy? Wouldn’t Sophia Coppola
have been perfect? But then there was the compilation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film that they should have been
memorializing was released in 1972, not the sequel released in 1974 or the
third part released in 1990. Yet the clips included all three films, I guess so
they can recycle it in 2024 and 2040.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Academy organizers couldn’t come up with a 40 second clip of a nearly
three- hour film with more memorable scenes than all the 2021 best picture
nominees combined? Best of all, they played a hip-hop song over the “Godfather”
music during the clip. That will definitely bring in the younger viewers. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The grand gesture was bringing out Francis
Coppola, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro (who wasn’t in “The Godfather”) to allow
the audience to show their appreciation. The director said a few words, but the
actors had no lines. They dragged them back in for that?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The reunion of the three stars of “White
Men Can’t Jump”---Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson and Rosie Perez—for the film’s
30<sup>th</sup> anniversary was just an excuse for a few one-liners, though no
mention of writer-director Ron Shelton. But the clip they showed was nearly as
long as the one for “The Godfather.” But, seriously, “White Men Can’t Jump”?
What’s planned for next year: a 30<sup>th</sup> reunion of “Free Willy”?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They couldn’t wait for the 30<sup>th</sup>
for “Pulp Fiction” (1994), instead celebrating its 28<sup>th</sup> anniversary
with Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta. After Jackson offered a
comic bit, Travolta mumbled, “Did Quentin help you write that?” That was the
only mention of the writer-director of the film. Maybe they’ll have Tarantino
on stage for the 30<sup>th</sup>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The irony of all these anniversary celebrations
was the derisive tone the hosts took toward this year’s best picture nominees.
Poking fun at the year in movies has always been part of the show, but there’s
a line between funny and delivering bad reviews for the films the Academy has
chosen as the best. Among the comments from the hosts included “I’ve watched it
three times and I’m halfway through” (about “The Power of the Dog”); “I guess
the Academy members don’t look up reviews” (about “Don’t Look Up”); and, on the
entire slate of nominees: “[They are] hard to understand…I didn’t see any of
them.” I guess the show’s writers thought they were auditioning for a gig on
“SNL.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Along with insulting the best picture
selections, host Wanda Sykes’ “tour” of the new Academy Award Museum, a decade in
planning and building, seemed just an opportunity for laughs. Even the
Academy’s crowning achievement couldn’t be presented with dignity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then there was the “In Memoriam” video,
usually a somber relief from the noisy show. But this year the clips of those
who had passed during 2021 was obscured by a 25-person choir singing and
dancing on stage in front of the movie screen. As they sang a melody of upbeat
numbers (including a bit of the ‘70s pop hit “Spirit in the Sky”), the video
occasionally stopped so that a select few could be personally remembered (Tyler
Perry on Sidney Poitier; Bill Murray on Ivan Reitman and Jamie Lee Curtis and a
dog on Betty White). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It didn’t work and just made you wonder
why these individuals received top billing---especially White who, though a
legendary TV actress, had a negligible film career.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The “In Memoriam” singers, along with the
superbly produced live best song presentations, and the taped Beyoncé opener,
turned the show into a version of the Grammy’s, interrupted by a few movie
awards.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s not why I, or most movie fans, watch
the Oscars; it’s for moments like Troy Kotsur signing his acceptance speech or
Kevin Costner reminiscing about seeing “How the West Was Won” at the Cinerama
Dome or Lady Gaga help out Liza Minnelli announce the best picture winner. You
don’t get those moments by cutting out awards, ignoring Lifetime Achievement
winners or taking Twitter polls.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">CODA
(2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This variation on the
coming-of-age/clinging-parents plotline, which scored a surprising best picture
Oscar, never strays too far into reality, preferring to float through as a
fairy tale. The only aspect of interest is that these clinging parents are
deaf.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A remake of the 2014 French film “The
Belier Family,” this by-the-numbers picture follows the travails of Ruby Rossi
(Emilia Jones), a Massachusetts high school senior who begins her days at 3
a.m. as the only hearing person on a fishing boat with her father (Oscar winner
Troy Kotsur) and brother (Daniel Durant). They rely on her as their ears and
voice, communicating with the buyers of their catch and anyone else who has an
issue. Then she hurries off to school.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s never explained how long Ruby has
been serving as the interpreter in their business, but I have a hard time
believing she was working with them when she was 10. Yet her duty to work with
the family and not attend college becomes the central issue of the film.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beyond the cliches, a few aspects of the
film hit me as ludicrous. First of all, she enrolls in chorus out of the blue
in her senior year, yet it turns out she’s an amazing vocalist (starts
receiving private lessons from the flamboyant Latino choir director), earning a
music school tryout. You are telling me that she went through 11 years of
schooling without her or anyone else noticing her singing ability?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then there are the parents. Father and
mother (Kotsur and Marlee Matlin, 1986 best actress winner for “Children of a
Lesser God”) mostly play the roles for laughs, constantly talking of sex,
embarrassing the daughter. It’s almost as if writer-director Sian Heder (who
wrote for the cable hit “Orange Is the New Black”) thinks that having deaf
people sign dirty words humanizes them. And they seem to see nothing wrong with
demanding that their 17-year-old devote a few more years to aiding them rather
than getting an education. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like “Hillbilly Elegy,” the working-class
parents are depicted as incapable of seeing what’s in the best interest of
their children beyond making their life easier. The film asks me to sympathize
with Ruby’s plight, while finding the parents naively lovable.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“CODA” (children of deaf adults) isn’t a
bad film and addresses issues that resonate in the deaf community, but it
doesn’t come close to rising to best picture levels (as dubious as those have
become) and ranks near the bottom of movies earning the honor.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also becomes the most unavailable best
picture winner in movie history. “CODA” received almost no theatrical
screenings, remaining available only to Apple TV subscribers. Let’s hope this
doesn’t become a trend.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">EVERYTHING
EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE (2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Astonishing technical accomplishments
don’t always equate to good filmmaking. Like a multi-dimensional roller
coaster, a jigsaw puzzle with a dozen missing pieces, with dialogue that whips
by like “My Girl Friday” on speed, this movie left me dizzy, wishing it had
continued on the path it began with, staying on Planet Earth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Michelle Yeoh (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden
Dragon,” “Crazy Rich Asians”) made it tolerable, playing Evelyn, a world-weary,
stressed-out owner of a laundromat facing a tax audit on the same night she’s
planning a party for her elderly father (the masterful James Hong). Then
something strange happens as the family rides up the elevator to the IRS
appointment—Evelyn’s husband (a squeaky voiced Ke Huy Quan) turns into an agent
from another dimension attempting to recruit her to help their cause. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4CsXFS2ibqFF8sSlNX_xG4YCogfQQOnvNh3woFIfX6CTl4HjKxBjwhKbS0UFoX3xqXNlCs1dmlliL2kOh-aUqizOeqA-_XznA69L2itS6pO6cHyv3NKGZpRrKhVYYbyNmm2Yu9yzDTAfDdccD6oHHo6w0KprA1mm2HNdtLVlChdZeyZyZ5oAYFw/s1030/everything.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="1030" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4CsXFS2ibqFF8sSlNX_xG4YCogfQQOnvNh3woFIfX6CTl4HjKxBjwhKbS0UFoX3xqXNlCs1dmlliL2kOh-aUqizOeqA-_XznA69L2itS6pO6cHyv3NKGZpRrKhVYYbyNmm2Yu9yzDTAfDdccD6oHHo6w0KprA1mm2HNdtLVlChdZeyZyZ5oAYFw/s320/everything.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> She dismissed the incident as a dream (he
quickly returns to his normal persona) until she wishes to escape the
oppressive lecturing they face from determined IRS agent (Jamie Lee Curtis at
her comic best). She takes on the challenge and the game is on. <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll admit that I understood little of the
details of the next two hours of time-shaping, hyper-reality unrelenting
fighting, all set, in its many alterations, at the IRS office. For the majority
that love the film, I doubt they care about the details and just enjoyed the
ride.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Written and directed by Dan Kwan and
Daniel Scheinert (they go by the collective Daniels), best known for the cult
film “Swiss Army Man,” “Everything” plays like a Marvel film, replacing the
invincible superhero with a middle-aged Asian woman. No question, that’s a
positive and the film does its best to play up that irony, but it relies on the
cartoonish action and CGI tricks way too much for my taste.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would have enjoyed a film about this
overwhelmed woman’s rocky relationships with her daughter (Stephanie Hsu) and
unhappy husband while facing an IRS audit. But when it turns into
“Matrix”-lite, I zoned out. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">THE
GODFATHER (1972)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are two dozen angles of this
masterpiece I could write about to mark its 50<sup>th</sup> anniversary. I
recently read the 2021 book about the production, “Leave the Gun, Take the
Cannoli” by Mark Seal, that offers some insight into the making of, but mostly
brings together tidbits reported elsewhere over the years (overstating, from my
point of view, real-life mob connections to the film). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The book’s most interesting details
include a chronicle of how close Francis Coppola came to getting fired, how
James Caan instead of Al Pacino was set to play Michael, that Richard
Castellano improvised the second half of his most famous line and, most
damning, how Paramount executives did everything they could to undercut the film.
Any time you read about Robert Evans, the boy-wonder head of Paramount
production at the time, remember that he envisioned a low-budget,
contemporary-set picture starring Ernest Borgnine and Ryan O’Neal.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But what I’d like to discuss are the
film’s shortcomings; even Hollywood’s finest achievements, be it “Citizen
Kane,” “Vertigo” or “Casablanca,” aren’t flawless. Knowing what Coppola was
forced to cut, mostly in an effort to keep the running time under three hours,
and the contents of the deleted scenes (detailed in “The Annotated Godfather”
and available in the DVD Collection of all three films) makes it easier to see
what’s missing. And like all films, the more you see it—I’ve probably watched
“The Godfather” 20 times—the more you see where it could be improved.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1) After an almost perfect opening 40
minutes—the introduction of Don Vito (Marlon Brando) holding forth in his
office during the wedding reception for his daughter, the legendary horse’s
head sequence and the meeting in the ancient Genco Olive Oil offices between
the Corleones and drug dealer Sollozzo (Al Lettieri)—the aftermath of the
assassination attempt on the Don is needlessly confusing. There’s no scene in
which Sonny or anyone in the family is officially notified that their father
has been shot or a scene in which the family visits the hospital. Cut were
scenes in which Sonny is notified by a friendly cop that his father has been
shot and a short scene of Sonny telling his mother. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My question is: where is Fredo? He was at
the scene of the shooting. Didn’t he immediately contact Sonny and his mother? It
doesn’t make sense. A few more minutes of explanation would have improved this
part of the film. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2) Another scene that was left on the
cutting room floor shows Sonny going into the Don’s office and trying to
contact various members of the Corleone crime family—including Luca Brasi (Lenny
Montana), who viewers know is already dead. Most interesting is Sonny’s shying
away from sitting in his father’s chair—a telling sign that Sonny is more
reluctant to take his father’s place than it seems in later scenes. After
seeing the finished film, Caan complained about his screen time: “It was like
painting a fourteen-foot canvas and ending up with a three-foot canvas.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3) The invisible women: I’m not even
referring to Sonny’s and Tom’s wives. Connie (Talia Shire), whose full face has
barely been shown through half of the film, gets her big scene in a screaming
session with husband Carlo before he beats her up offscreen. Her only other big
moment comes at the very end when, again hysterical, she accuses Michael of
murdering her husband. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As for Mama Corleone (jazz singer
Morgana King), it’s almost as if she doesn’t live in the same house as Vito.
One son is killed, another spends more than a year in Sicily and her husband
dies, yet her biggest scene is when she sings during the wedding reception.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
then there’s Kay (Diane Keaton): after being central to the film before Michael
leaves for Sicily, she’s more “out” than Robert Duvall’s Tom once Michael becomes
the don. Not only do we not see their wedding (was there a honeymoon?)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>or the birth of their son, but there isn’t a
moment of domesticity between them. At least, her and Connie were given their
due in “The Godfather Part II.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>4) When Michael returns from Sicily,
after Sonny is killed at the causeway, two things are never explained: how the
family pulled it off (he’s wanted in the murder of a police detective and a drug
dealer) and how he formulates his plans for revenge and the move to Las Vegas.
In Mario Puzo’s novel, a death row inmate agrees to confess to the murders, but
it’s never mentioned in the film.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9zG9LH7l9brgOVhwi9QMx3WP0nJ-hXYc9yYifmbOhSAU9Hvw4Qzw5hw1Lnc-Z-Dw7gOD_MiU5rsDdQIqz5MZSa6END1JsIFzErlb84KEzKYV3q0aGoN5b3H62oDe0B1x6RkuSCfmoLvPaSWRQzZGBYaGt_ZX76JsaxNV9b4DGpshogHJciFkXAg/s1200/Brando.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="1200" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9zG9LH7l9brgOVhwi9QMx3WP0nJ-hXYc9yYifmbOhSAU9Hvw4Qzw5hw1Lnc-Z-Dw7gOD_MiU5rsDdQIqz5MZSa6END1JsIFzErlb84KEzKYV3q0aGoN5b3H62oDe0B1x6RkuSCfmoLvPaSWRQzZGBYaGt_ZX76JsaxNV9b4DGpshogHJciFkXAg/s320/Brando.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As
far as Michael evolving into Don Michael, the viewer never sees him transition
from a wide-eyed “college boy” to a hard-hearted mobster. Obviously, the brutal
killing of Sonny and the murder of his Sicilian wife have changed him, but
there needed to be addition material to make the change more believable. And
never is there any explanation of the Las Vegas plans. He flies out to meet
with Moe Greene (Alex Rocco) and nothing more is said. (At least it gives John
Cazale some screen time as Fredo; otherwise, he’s barely in the first film.)<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>5) These wealthy mobsters never seem to
enjoy themselves. No expensive vacations, yachts or even fancy dinners.
Ironically, Fredo seems to be the only one enjoying himself, unless you count
Sonny’s extramarital affair.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>6) This isn’t really a criticism because
it illustrates what a powerful story Coppola and Puzo were telling, but how
many movies lose its lead character for about an hour and 15 minutes in the
middle of the film? Don Vito is shot at the 44-minute mark and doesn’t have an
audible line until the two-hour mark. Remember, at the time few moviegoers knew
who Pacino, Caan or Duvall were—Richard Conte as Barzini and Sterling Hayden as
McCluskey were far more famous. This was all about Brando, the world’s greatest
actor returning in a major role.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet despite all these shortcomings,
“The Godfather” hasn’t lost any of its punch over a half century. While
Paramount brass kept pushing Coppola for more action, more violence, he instinctively
knew that his low-key approach was much more effective and would enhance the impact
of the handful of bloody sequences. Michael shooting Sollozzo and McCluskey in
the Italian restaurant remains one of the most intense killing scenes in film
history—if Coppola never directed another scene he’d still be a legend.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And though they fought throughout the
production, Coppola stuck with cinematographer Gordon Willis, whose Renaissance-like
interiors bathe the characters in noirish darkness, giving the film an
instantly recognizable look. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
was also Coppola insistence on the casting of Brando, Pacino, Duvall and Caan
over unending objections even after filming began that became essential to
making “The Godfather” so enduring. Few films have ever had a more brilliant
ensemble of actors. And I haven’t even mentioned the great work by Castellano
as Clemenza, Abe Vigoda as Tessio, John Marley as Woltz and even Gianni Russo
as Carlo, though I wouldn’t believe a word of his recent book.) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s also Nino Rota score, one of the
most memorable in recent film history, turning, for better or worse, the
actions of a gang of hoods into high opera.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet it’s more than aesthetic reasons that
this best picture winner deserves a spot near the top of the list of great
American movies. While Puzo’s novel became a best seller because of the
killings and the sex and its characters’ similarity to real life figures (how
much of Johnny Fontaine is Frank Sinatra?), Coppola molded a story that offers
a sever critique of an American society that has allowed criminals to operate
without restraint, turning gambling and drugs into big business and,
paralleling that corruption, the disintegration of the family, as evidenced by
the many turncoats in the Corleone family. There’s also the decent of a young
educated, war hero who slips into a world where killing and bribery are accepted
realities. While the full extent of Michael’s tragedy—not unlike
Macbeth’s—reveals itself in Part II, it’s clear by the final sequence, as he
eliminates his rivals and orders his brother-in-law’s execution, that his
ambition will come at a high price. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To
me, what remains most astonishing about “The Godfather” is how close it came to
falling apart or turning into an easily dismissed B picture. How does great art
emerge from what everyone involved thought was verging on disaster? Coppola,
just 32, seemed to have an innate ability to see what others couldn’t and
maintain his vision of this story despite the dissent around him (he did it
again with “Apocalypse Now”), crafting a timeless chronicle of greed, violence
and uncertain loyalty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">THE
HIGH WALL (1947)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything about this post-war amnesia
movie—admittedly an overused plot device in the 40s and 50s---suggests that it
should be better known and receiving regular showings on TCM.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Robert Taylor, one of Hollywood’s most
popular leads since the mid-1930s, stars as a World War II vet who took a
dangerous assignment after the war in hopes of satisfying his wife’s expense
tastes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He returns home to discover her in her
employer’s apartment. He then blacks out with his hands around her throat,
awaking to an apartment in disarray and his wife’s lifeless body on the floor.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Putting the body in his car, he drives
off the highway into a ravine in hopes of killing himself.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While most viewers will realize that a
star of Taylor’s magnitude is bound to be proven innocent, to one degree or
another, the storyline maintains the uncertain sense of doom more typical in a
low-budget noir.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most films would send Taylor’s Steven on
the run, but instead he’s sent to a mental hospital, over the persistent protests
of the D.A. (a feisty John Ridgely). Desperate to understand his actions, at
least enough to explain to his young son, Steven agrees to brain surgery he’s
been putting off since he was injured overseas.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Director Curtis Bernhardt, an underrated
German emigrant who also made “Devotion” and “Possessed,” brings plenty of
stylish touches to the script based on a play by Alan R. Clarke and Bradbury
Foote, including opening the film with Willard Whitcombe (veteran character
actor Herbert Marshall) having a cocktail before returning to his Christian publishing
house to discover his secretary has left early. Turns out, she is the dead
woman.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The bulk of the movie centers on the
relationship between Steven and his sympathetic doctor played by film noir
regular Audrey Totter. As usual, Totter steals every scene she’s in with her
realistic line readings and believable emotions (a rare chance for her to
portray someone not a mobster’s dame); why she wasn’t a bigger star continues
to baffled me. On the other hand, I could never understand Taylor’s stardom,
but here the gritty details bring out a worthy performance, far from his usual,
rather stiff, romantic figures. The snappy dialogue throughout the film clearly
reflects theatrical beginnings of the material. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Encouraging Steven to remember the details
of the night his wife died, she administers sodium pentanol, another gimmick
plotline screenwriters fell in love with after the war. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A combination of 1940s melodrama and a more
serious psychological study of the tricks the brain can play, enhanced by the
claustrophobia cinematography by Paul Vogel (Oscar winner for “Battleground”) and
two compelling performances, “The High Wall”—while not quite a film noir—is a
first-rate man-in-peril picture that rises above the cliches that prop up the
plot.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">SIDNEY
POITIER (1927-2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the last 20 years of his life, Sidney
Poitier, who died in January, was lionized by mainstream Hollywood as one of
the finest actors in American film history. Yet it was that same Hollywood that
ran out of roles for Poitier after he shocked the old guard by becoming one of
the most popular stars in the mid-1960s.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 1967, he starred in two of the year’s
five best picture nominees (“In the Heat of the Night,” “Guess Who’s Coming to
Dinner”) and was originally cast in a third (“Doctor Dolittle”) before his role
was written out of the bloated musical fantasy. On top of that, in 1967 he
played his most beloved role, as a London public school teacher in “To Sir,
With Love.” This watershed year came after his 1963 best actor Oscar for
“Lilies of the Field” and, in 1965, another hit film, “A Patch of Blue” (1965).
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKCwXtxWWh8q6GlOETN_pHRmLErbnwGHcGGIfVgCzJE5UQlv5qLevp8qjKWaNUY9oX2eu3iKjMjIqtab5Rku9yRnu5rfyUXHdYVa0U5q7LFarMj_xLfYsxETPRukwpjPULpHtwDucsrl5Ag-HzFJVm7teW0Twe1gOBaEFqEuyTJrsq8evI7RJvRw/s800/Heat.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="636" data-original-width="800" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKCwXtxWWh8q6GlOETN_pHRmLErbnwGHcGGIfVgCzJE5UQlv5qLevp8qjKWaNUY9oX2eu3iKjMjIqtab5Rku9yRnu5rfyUXHdYVa0U5q7LFarMj_xLfYsxETPRukwpjPULpHtwDucsrl5Ag-HzFJVm7teW0Twe1gOBaEFqEuyTJrsq8evI7RJvRw/s320/Heat.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> But Poitier was fed up with the series of
“proper Negro” roles he was offered and the criticism he faced for being
pigeon-holed by these upper-class characters. But Hollywood had no idea what to
do with a Black star and seemed to have no interest in promoting any other
Black actor or actress.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After Poitier’s best actor win in 1963,
only two Black actors were nominated in the category over the next 20 years:
James Earl Jones in “The Great White Hope” (1970) and Paul Winfield in
“Sounder” (1972) and neither became popular stars. Not until 1984, did another
African American actor, Eddie Murphy, rank in the Top 10 of box office stars.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Poitier’s career as a star pretty much
ended within a year or two after 1967; he had another mainstream hit with “For
the Love of Ivy” (1968) and then milked his Mr. Tibbs role in two “In the Heat
of the Night” sequels. After that he took his skills into blaxploitation
pictures, directing and starring in “Buck and the Preacher” (1972), “Uptown
Saturday Night” (1974), “Let’s Do It Again” (1975) and “A Piece of the Action”
(1977). At that point, he stopped acting, focusing his energies directing, on
writing his autobiography, the politics in his native Bahamas and the U.S.
Civil Right movement, something he had been involved in since the 1950s. He
didn’t act again until 1988.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
easy to dismiss Poitier’s acting career based on his mid-1960s roles, but he
had already established himself as a fine, occasionally powerful actor in the
first decade of his career.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He manages pretty well in his film debut,
“No Way Out” (1950), a high-profile picture directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz in
which he plays a doctor who is harassed and eventually kidnapped by the racist
brother (Richard Widmark) of a man he treated. The film wears its liberal heart
on its sleeve, offering up Poitier’s character as the ultimate “turn the other
cheek” guy. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two gritter roles showcased his talent, in
“Blackboard Jungle” (1955) as one of the angry students in a New York ghetto
and in “Edge of the City” (1957) as a dock worker trying to carve out a life
amid repressive racism. Then stardom arrived with another race-relations film,
“The Defiant Ones” (1958), playing an escaped convict on the run with a white
man (Tony Curtis). He became the first Black man nominated for a best actor
Oscar nomination.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
1959, he played Porgy in Otto Preminger’s film version of the Gershwin opera
“Porgy and Bess,” then had two of his best roles. As Walter Lee, reprising his
Broadway performance, in the superb adaption of Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin
in the Sun” (1961), about a struggling family fighting over their late father’s
life insurance policy, Poitier encapsulated a generation of young Black men
desperate to find a way to break away from the dead end of low-paid jobs. In
“Paris Blues,” he and Paul Newman play jazz musicians working in Paris who fall
in love with a pair of American women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A career of these types of roles would
have been revolutionary, but as his star rose, the roles softened as did
Hollywood’s take on race. The last of his great performances was as Virgil
Tibbs, the Philadelphia homicide detective determined to solve a murder in
Sparta, Mississippi in “In the Heat of the Night.” While he spends most of the
movie reacting to Rod Steiger’s Chief Gillespie anger and the town’s racism,
Poitier gives a commanding performance as the proverbial fish out of
water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While Steiger deserved his best
actor Oscar, Poitier should have been among the nominees.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When he returned to acting, it was mostly
in action pictures (“Shoot to Kill,” “Little Nikita,” “Sneakers,” “The Jackal”)
but did some prestige TV projects, including as Thurgood Marshall in “Separate
But Equal” (1991), alongside of Burt Lancaster, and as Nelson Mandela in
“Mandela and de Klerk” (1997) with Michael Caine.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Poitier isn’t the first or last
actor—Black or white, male or female—who Hollywood has failed, but his career
is emblematic of the industry’s inability to find room for the African-American
experience during the last half of the 20<sup>th</sup> Century. But Poitier
forged a legacy none the less; as a star actor who occasionally delivered great
performances and a pioneer who went through a once-locked door that many,
eventually, would follow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">APOLLO
10 ½: A SPACE AGE CHILDHOOD (2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As my regular readers know well, modern
animation has rarely impressed me—I prefer Bugs Bunny, Bullwinkle or Top Cat
over all the Pixar, Disney and even the more serious indies.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So imagine my surprise when I was almost
immediately drawn in by this heartfelt work of nostalgia by director Richard
Linklater. As much as I’ve enjoyed some of his films (“Dazed and Confused,” the
French trilogy), I didn’t enjoy either of his previous attempts at animation
(“Waking Life,” “A Scanner Darkly”). But “Apollo 10 ½” is very different.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The plot of the Netflix film is ludicrous:
NASA recruits a 10-year-old boy who lives in suburban Houston to pilot a test
flight to the Moon in preparation for the landmark trip of Apollo 11 in the
summer of 1969. While that gives the writer-director a chance to animate the
Moon landing, what makes the picture so appealing is Linklater’s spot-on
remembrance of a boy’s life circa the late 60s. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Leisurely narrated by an older Stan (Jack
Black), the story, after getting the main plot in motion, hones in on daily
life, from what we had for dinner 50 years ago to the TV shows and movies we
watched, the music we listened to, the clothes we wore. Though I grew up 1500
miles away in Pennsylvania, as a 13-year-old in 1969, I can attest that
Linklater doesn’t miss much (he was four years younger).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most amusing is his name checking of at
least 25 TV shows from the era—from “Bonanza” to “Dark Shadows,”—even showing
scenes from “The Johnny Cash Show” (Joni Mitchell’s appearance) and Dick Cavett
interviewing Janis Joplin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was like
an animated version of one of those CNN retrospective shows.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Linklater and his team use a process
called rotoscope animation, created by trancing over live-action footage. While
much of it feels very realistic, it also has a dream-like sheen that fits the
film’s themes. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stan goes to the movies to watch “2001: A
Space Odyssey,” listens to his older sister’s vinyl collection (The Beatles’
“White Album,” Jefferson Airplane’s “Surrealistic Pillow”) plays Little League
baseball, collects baseball cards, enjoys canned-ham dinners and home-made
popsicles and huddles under his school desk during A-bomb drills. Linklater
doesn’t miss a moment of the era.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But for Stan there’s also the intense
training for his “mission” and, later, watching Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and
Michael Collins follow in his footsteps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While in many ways, “Apollo 10 ½” is no
more than a vanity project, the director’s memories are so vivid that they
become personal for anyone who grew up in that era.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;">PHOTOS:</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jamie Lee Curtis and Michelle Yeoh in a rare quiet moment in "Everything Everywhere All at Once. (A24)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Francis Coppola directing the opening wedding scene as Marlon Brando looks on in "The Godfather." (Paramount)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger in "In the Heat of the Night." (MGM)</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Doug Listhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339222653620926842noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6028831787280199543.post-73927340776934496282022-03-10T08:20:00.003-08:002022-03-13T13:51:47.582-07:00March 2022<p><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">THE
BATMAN (2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Remember
“The Dark Knight”? This latest incarnation of Batman doubles down on the
darkness, in both our hero Bruce Wayne’s character and the look of the film.
This version of Gotham City, never a bright and shiny island, exudes such a
grimy, dangerous pitch black that it’s hard to imagine anyone other than
homicidal maniacs wanting to live there.</span><span style="text-transform: uppercase;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">If
you assumed that after at least 10 big-screen tales in the past 35 years about
Wayne and his crime-fighting alter-ego screenwriters had run dry of original
storylines, you’d be correct. Despite numerous jaw-dropping sequences, the
script offers little beyond the usual “everyone is corrupt” scenario, while
piling on to the already tapped-dry absent-parent diagnosis.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Robert
Pattinson, who’s done good work in “Tenet” and “The Lighthouse,” slides into
the legendary costume, bringing a more cynical, arrogant attitude but not much
more. As Wayne, he’s barely there, looking more like the bass player in a
neo-punk band than a city leader and industrialist. Poor Lt. Gordon (the always
reliable Jeffrey Wright), who serves as The Batman’s escort, interpreter and
defender; eliciting more than a half sentence from Batman is played like a major
breakthrough.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5-w4e2-Zum0C83CXrceCJ3ZOea7ZpEIe5atIPyuFb02HPnTw-8H2qj6PqHH09Uo5p5l5sFSztzHVqn3hMyzTDAXz_5hedXOm-lLbIseZrswUV-epprJkxBC3extu2r43Q8fmruCUcu-F7nOSzz0E376-nBZoclYB7CLPCVH-ooov0fa34IumAiQ=s681" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="681" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5-w4e2-Zum0C83CXrceCJ3ZOea7ZpEIe5atIPyuFb02HPnTw-8H2qj6PqHH09Uo5p5l5sFSztzHVqn3hMyzTDAXz_5hedXOm-lLbIseZrswUV-epprJkxBC3extu2r43Q8fmruCUcu-F7nOSzz0E376-nBZoclYB7CLPCVH-ooov0fa34IumAiQ=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;">As expected, the supporting players have
all the fun, starting with Paul Dano as the main provocateur, The Riddler, who
plays the role as if his hair is on fire; Colin Farrell, unrecognizable as The
Penguin; Zoe Kravitz as an unnamed Cat Woman, who serves as Batman’s wingperson
and love interest; and, best of all, John Turturro as Carmine Falcon, a mobster
who seems to have connections to everyone in Gotham.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hard to know exactly what director Matt
Reeves (who did first-rate work on two of the “Planet of the Apes” films)
brings to this CGI-heavy picture, but the look of the movie is worth the price
of admission. I can almost guarantee that director of photography Greig Fraser,
nominated this year for “Dune,” will be back at the Oscars show in 2023. The
production design by a team led by James Chinlund, who worked with Reeves on
the “Apes” films, creates a bleak, claustrophobic universe that dwarfs the
story.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I don’t see this Batman franchise
reaching the artistic heights of Christopher Nolan’s trilogy, but, for my
money, any Batman is better than all the other comic book heroes put together. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">RIFKIN’S
FESTIVAL (2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Casting is everything. I’m constantly
watching B-movies from the 1940s and ‘50s and, in many cases, the only thing
that separates them from the prestige pictures that remain critical darlings
half a century later are the actors. Not even the quality of the performances,
but simply the name. If it’s Lawrence Tierney on the run rather than Kirk
Douglas, the picture’s fate is all but sealed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Woody Allen’s latest film, which
received a very short theatrical release but can be streamed, the 86-year-old
writer-director all but tanks the project by casting the curmudgeonly
78-year-old character actor Wallace Shawn as Mort Rifkin, former cinema
professor married to a much-younger movie press agent.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have always enjoyed Shawn in his many
appearances in film and TV since his debut in Allen’s “Manhattan” (1979); he
was great as the radio star Masked Avenger in the director’s “Radio Days”
(1987). But his unsteady, high-pitched voice and disconcerted manner are hardly
the stuff of a leading man, especially one nearing 80. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The very elementary story follows Mort to
the San Sebastian Film Festival, where he’s the plus one of his wife Sue (Gina
Gershon), whose client Philippe (French actor Louis Garrel) is a painfully
serious director whose film is the most anticipated of the festival.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Almost immediately, Mort suspects his wife
is carrying on with the younger (but much closer to Sue’s age) man and spends
the rest of the story fretting about it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only relief from his constant
complaining comes when he meets an attractive physician (Spanish actress Elena
Anaya) with an equally problematic marriage, who he befriends.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In nearly every scene, despite the usually
quotient of clever, amusing Allen dialogue, I kept imagining another actor in
the role of Mort—Alec Baldwin (remember, the film was shot two years ago),
Steven Carell, Colin Firth, Josh Brolin, all stars of recent Allen films—rather
than Shawn, the epitome of the regular old guy, who looks like he arrived on
set directly from a mid-afternoon nap<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDOBvny6YX1JcNOl9LGSPX6pxHfaWAMed-WNP62RvbvGGsYJyrDwyanOkjevGoI0IkpV73HHuyZHQnD3H0DNWnDo31VAP5g2k_gM3v7O0zbv2Bv4BdCkq5mQCj446UZveYBzbwC-zeIlAqPY7LfC1-vJ00uwYKnFyLUJFL9N2KaaNjAyD14nrqUA=s696" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="696" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDOBvny6YX1JcNOl9LGSPX6pxHfaWAMed-WNP62RvbvGGsYJyrDwyanOkjevGoI0IkpV73HHuyZHQnD3H0DNWnDo31VAP5g2k_gM3v7O0zbv2Bv4BdCkq5mQCj446UZveYBzbwC-zeIlAqPY7LfC1-vJ00uwYKnFyLUJFL9N2KaaNjAyD14nrqUA=s320" width="320" /></a></div> The reasons to see “Rifkin’s Festival”
are the handful of expertly done comic homages to some of the great European
films of the 1950s and ‘60s, usually in the form of Mort’s dreams, including
Fellini’s “8 ½,” Truffaut’s “Jules and Jim,” Godard’s “Breathless,” Bergman’s
“Persona,” Bunuel’s “The Exterminating Angel,” and, lastly, recreating the
chess match from Bergman’s “The Seventh Seal,” with Christoph Waltz as a
sarcastic messenger of death. <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All are beautifully shot in glorious black
and white by master cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, including a very funny
take-off from “Citizen Kane.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Storaro’s
camera work throughout the film makes you want to book the next flight to the
Spanish coast.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Otherwise, the movie is a frustrating
slog—not nearly as interesting as Allen’s previous, barely released, “A Rainy
Day in New York.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a side note, “Rifkin’s Festival”
brought the number of movies (not counting repeat viewings) I’ve seen since I
started keeping track in 1978 to 8,000. It’s no coincidence that watching a new
Allen film registered that milestone—I planned it, foolishly hoping for a much
better film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Approaching the number, I was struck
mostly by how many hours of my life I’ve frittered away on bad movies—maybe
half the total, being generous—even as I continue to be hopeful every time the
opening credits roll. But I watch on, expecting, health permitting, to hit the
10,000 mark in the next 10 years. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">THE
WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD (2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite the title, Julie isn’t really a
bad person—just indecisive. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This Norwegian film offers the prelude to
a life, all those relationships, rash choices, wrong and right turns, that we
inevitably experience before we settle into what we generally define as “our
life.” Yet all these half-stops need to add up to something cohesive—at least
in drama—and writer-director Joachim Trier doesn’t make much of an effort to
deliver a payoff.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First introduced as a medical student,
Julie (a luminously flighty Renate Reinsve) then turns to psychology before
taking up photography, while actually earning a living as a bookstore clerk. At
one point, she’s inspired to try her hand at writing, getting an article published
on sex in the #metoo era.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet all these pursuits exist purely to lead
her to different men. As much as the film embraces Julie’s feminist
independence, it continues to define her by the boyfriend de jour. I seriously
doubt that a similar movie about a man’s early adulthood struggles would be so
centered on his partners.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Julie’s most lasting relationship is with
Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie), a punkish, 40something graphic cartoonist whose
success seems to stifle her progress as he seeks some kind of permeance.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What elevates this picture, and I assume
earned it nominations for best screenplay and foreign-language film, is
Reinsve’s performance. She makes you sympathize with her plight even as you are
shaking your head at her foolishness.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">She
brought back memories of 1970s performances by Jill Clayburgh in “An Unmarried
Woman” and Judy Davis in “My Brilliant Career,” characters searching for
something even as they’re not sure what.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have no doubt that if I had seen this
film when I was in my 20s, I would have found it irresistible. But that was
then. Fits and starts of youth make for amusing moments but eventually they
need to add up to something.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">THE
REPORT (2019)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the 1960s and ‘70s, when American politicians
found themselves being held accountable after a couple hundred years of playing
gods, filmmakers jumped in, turning the political thriller into a popular
genre. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of the best films of the 1960s took
both military and civilian leaders to the cleaners (“The Manchurian Candidate,”
“Dr. Strangelove,” “Fail Safe,” “The Best Man,” “Seven Days in May”), before
the conspiracy theories became more sinister in the 1970s with “The Parallax
View,” “Three Days of the Condor” and “All the President’s Men.” Hollywood was tapping
into the growing belief that maybe the guys (and in those days it was all men)
running the country weren’t all to be trusted.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since that awakening, politicians, generals,
the intelligence community and corporate bosses have been featured as bad guys
in American films more often than serial murders. Everyone seems to be
corrupted in the “Mission: Impossible” and “Bourne” franchises. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But no paranoiac creativity was needed in “The
Report,” written and directed by Scott Z. Burns (screenwriter of “The Bourne
Ultimatum” and “Contagion”), which chronicles the actual investigation into
America’s torture program launched post-September 11. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead of Woodward and Bernstein or the
“Spotlight” section of the Globe, the Senate Intelligence Committee ran this
probe with a very determined Daniel Jones (Adam Driver, more intense than
usual) as its lead investigator.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Working for about seven years with a
small team, Jones, along with his boss Sen. Dianne Feinstein (an excellent Annette
Bening), fought the stonewalling of CIA and the Obama administration to gain
cooperation, access to records and ultimately publication of the heavily
redacted, almost 7000-page report.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Burns impressively turns the drudgery of the
meticulous probe cinematic—adding scenes of the torture and meetings held by those
who greenlighted the plans—without turning the film into a Frontline
documentary.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What the report makes clear is that despite
the unspeakable acts of torture on hundreds of men, nothing of substance was
ever discovered from the secret program. Almost as depressing, no one in the
intelligence community ever took responsibility for the Bush administration’s
actions—even though Obama was president when it was finally revealed. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Burns avoids overplaying the dramatics,
instead detailing the facts: this is a political procedural that tells the
disturbing story of unchecked, easily duped, secretive government agencies that
do whatever they want in our name.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">THE
TENDER BAR (2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>J.R. Moehringer’s acclaimed remembrance
of his Long Island upbringing, which seemed like a natural for big-screen
treatment, took 15 years to be turned into a motion picture. That should have
been a clue.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The screenplay, by Oscar-winner William Monahan
(“The Departed”), and lead actor Tye Sheridan (“The Card Counter”) fail to make
the film version of “J.R.” engaging enough to steer the ship of a coming-of-age
story. While the adults dominate the first act, when it’s Sheridan’s turn to
carry the narrative, the movie grows tedious.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhEm6UlMJxxUa-gNxX7EpQ-kLPPiIIlLtCph3IfVuRx1Qx4l9kADqhW-PuNYZQchzl0dq6mkKdFOPe935yIVCXYWar-3xvxfwqSvzvQE3_CUxiJe3QK63K_8OC2B35SPpV3pS3OCFbatItiskSJencsq4E6xWHZLBDhurSr5R2iNtWkT9qAvc1Lxw=s681" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="681" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhEm6UlMJxxUa-gNxX7EpQ-kLPPiIIlLtCph3IfVuRx1Qx4l9kADqhW-PuNYZQchzl0dq6mkKdFOPe935yIVCXYWar-3xvxfwqSvzvQE3_CUxiJe3QK63K_8OC2B35SPpV3pS3OCFbatItiskSJencsq4E6xWHZLBDhurSr5R2iNtWkT9qAvc1Lxw=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The movie begins with young JR and his
mother (Lily Rabe) moving back to his grandfather’s home (Christopher Lloyd,
looking like he just walked off set of “The Addams Family”) and the boy, with
little contact with his father, forms a bond with his bartender uncle (Ben
Affleck). Director George Clooney does a good job of replicating the 1970s,
with a soundtrack of Top 40 tunes and those classic fashions, but the story
comes off as too generic to have any impact. Once JR heads off to Yale to
become a writer—he spent time as a Los Angeles Times reporter in the 1990s,
winning a Pulitzer for featuring writing—the film loses almost all its energy. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While Clooney’s record as a filmmaker is
far from flawless; for every “Good Night, and Good Luck” and “The Midnight
Sky,” there have been flops, “Monument Men” and “The Ides of March.” In “Tender
Bar,” Sheridan simply doesn’t have the screen presence to hold the episodical
plot together. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only Affleck manages to carve out an
original character, though the bromides he offers whenever JR hits a bump in
his road grow tiresome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All in all, it’s
a disappointing trip down memory lane.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">ANNETTE
(2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">This
painfully serious musical goes beyond just being a bad film—it’s an aggressively
unpleasant bad film. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Adam Driver (who else…he seems to star in
six films a year) plays an outrageous performance artist, whose act is so
offensively idiotic that it has to be taken as parody, marries a famous opera
singer (Marion Cotillard) much to the displeasure of the paparazzi.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing much happens for the next hour or
so, until, the story soars into fantasy land when Driver discovers that his
newborn can cry loudly in tune. She becomes a huge star during a worldwide
tour---and did I mention that the child is a wooden, Pinocchio-like puppet?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe the satirical insight of this
creation by director Leos Carax and writers Ron and Russell Mael (avant-garde
pop duo Sparks) went over my head, but I can definitively state that the score
by the Maels is unlistenable. A child could have written a more interesting set
of lyrics.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Driver and Cotillard, usually fine
actors, don’t have a chance in this misguided art-film, but I kept wondering as
I watched: at what point did they realize they had hit the low point in their
careers? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">BEST
FILMS OF 2021<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe the industry still hasn’t recovered
from the pandemic, but the year offered startling few quality pictures. Here is
my list of best films and performances. I found it a struggle to fill out my
Top 20, filling the second half with films that weren’t very good, but had something,
usually performances, that at least made them palatable.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> Films</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>West
Side Story <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>11<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spencer<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The French
Dispatch<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>12<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Green Knight <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Card
Counter<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>13<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nightmare Alley<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>4 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pig <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>14<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the Heights<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>5 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Tragedy of Macbeth <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>15<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No Time to Die<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>6 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Lost Daughter <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>16<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being the Ricardos<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>7 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Passing <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>17<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Licorice Pizza<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>8 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t Look Up <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>18<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>King Richard<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>9 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>House of Gucci <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>19<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Belfast<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">10
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>tick, tick…BOOM!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>20<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Power of the Dog<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Director<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Steven Spielberg, <b>West Side Story</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wes
Anderson, <b>The French Dispatch</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Joel
Coen, <b>The Tragedy of Macbeth</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>4 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Paul
Schrader, <b>The Card Counter</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>5 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lin-Manuel Miranda, <b>tick, tick…BOOM!</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Actor<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Benedict
Cumberbatch, <b>The Power of the Dog</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nicolas
Cage, <b>Pig</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oscar
Isaac, <b>The Card Counter</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>4 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Denzel Washington, <b>The Tragedy of Macbeth</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>5 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Andrew Garfield, <b>tick, tick…BOOM!</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Actress<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Olivia Colman, <b>The Lost Daughter</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kristen
Stewart, <b>Spencer</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jessica Chastain, <b>The Eyes of Tammy Faye</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>4 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lady
Gaga, <b>House of Gucci</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>5 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jennifer Lawrence, <b>Don’t Look Up</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Supporting Actor<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ciarán
Hines, <b>Belfast</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jared Leto, <b>House of Gucci</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kodi
Smit-McPhee, <b>The Power of the Dog</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>4 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mark
Rylance, <b>Don’t Look Up</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>5 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jeffrey
Wright, <b>The French Dispatch</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Supporting Actress<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ariana
DeBose, <b>West Side Story</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ruth
Negga, <b>Passing</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jessie Buckley, <b>The Lost Daughter</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>4 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Toni
Collette, <b>Nightmare Alley</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>5 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tilda Swinton, <b>The French Dispatch</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Screenwriter<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wes
Anderson, Roman Coppola, Hugo Guinness<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and
Jason Schwartzman, <b>The French Dispatch<o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maggie Gyllenhaal, <b>The Lost Daughter</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rebecca Hall, <b>Passing</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>4 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Paul
Schrader, <b>The Card Counter<o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>5 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Steven Levenson, <b>tick, tick…BOOM!</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cinematographer<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Janusz Kaminski,<b> West Side Story<o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dan
Laustsen,<b> Nightmare Alley<o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Andrew Droz Palermo,<b> The Green Knight</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>4<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ari
Wegner,<b> The Power of the Dog<o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>5<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bruno Delbonnel,<b> The Tragedy of Macbeth<o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">Photos:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 0in;">Jeffrey Wright and Robert Pattinson in “The
Batman” (Warner Bros.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 0in;">Wallace Shawn, Gina Gershon and Louis Garrel in
“Rifkin’s Festival. (Gravier Productions)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 0in;"><br />Ben Affleck and Tye Sheridan in “The Tender
Bar.” (Amazon Studios)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>Doug Listhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339222653620926842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6028831787280199543.post-60559864981298787122022-02-19T08:22:00.000-08:002022-02-19T08:22:51.953-08:00February 2022<p> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">2021
OSCAR NOMINATIONS<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Considering the scarcity of quality
Hollywood films in 2021, the Oscar nominations arrived as expected with a best
picture lineup filled with movies that feature moments of inspiration but never
jell into cohesive cinema.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Best picture nominees “Belfast,” “Dune,”
“Licorice Pizza,” “Nightmare Alley,” “King Richard” and “The Power of the Dog” made
for much better trailers than full-length movies; even “Don’t Look Up,” which
made my Top 10, doesn’t quite deliver on its initial promise. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“West Side Story,” a remake of the 1961
Best Picture winner, is clearly the finest picture of the year and the
strongest competition for Oscar front-runner “The Power of the Dog.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg3h0MH8G9tWTGqm5c6mg8fErXKXdn1-4e099iE_bukd-cgqx8Mf7WqvvQiydb-QpVXi3ATwbVz4S-Adm2MQ6PPgGBtuiroaFvVJA7Kr8LWtyIBxq4emOxl7k2cKoOCIGOrYMHRFoEhS3SFdsfgbamojvItUKm2X-MX0202fr4pPkstDesEPaeRqA=s681" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="681" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg3h0MH8G9tWTGqm5c6mg8fErXKXdn1-4e099iE_bukd-cgqx8Mf7WqvvQiydb-QpVXi3ATwbVz4S-Adm2MQ6PPgGBtuiroaFvVJA7Kr8LWtyIBxq4emOxl7k2cKoOCIGOrYMHRFoEhS3SFdsfgbamojvItUKm2X-MX0202fr4pPkstDesEPaeRqA=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m surprised that Academy favorite Joel
Coen didn’t receive more love for “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” but I was pleased
that Denzel Washington scored a best actor nomination. I hardly expected
nominations for favorite of mine, including “The French Dispatch,” “The Card
Counter” and “Pig,” but I was taken aback that “Passing” and its actresses Tessa
Thompson and Ruth Negga weren’t recognized. I suspect that its story of African
American life wasn’t upbeat enough, with voters preferring “King Richard,” a
predictably uplifting entertainment. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have no real quarrel with the best
actor and actress nominees, save the absence of Oscar Isaac for “Card Counter,”
Nicolas Cage for “Pig,” Lady Gaga for “House of Gucci” and Jennifer Lawrence for
“Don’t Look Up,” who gives her best performance since her Oscar-winning “Silver
Linings Playbook.” A pleasant surprise—for someone who hasn’t kept up with the
pre-Oscar predictions—was the inclusion of Andrew Garfield in “tick,
tick…BOOM!” It’s the kind of small, little-seen film that rarely receives
recognition. In the opposite camp is “Being the Ricardos,” that seemed to be
too big to fail, a very ordinary film that scored three acting nominations. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I assumed “The Lost Daughter” would be
among the best picture nominees—it’s a better film than most of the
nominees—but it was good to see its trio of look-alike actresses, Olivia
Colman, Jessie Buckley (both playing Leda) and director Maggie Gyllenhaal for
her screenplay, garner nominations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among the supporting nods, Ciarán Hands’
revived my belief in the Academy Award system; this Irish actor has been doing
amazing work for decades and was the best thing about “Belfast.” I’m not sure
what the voters had against two previous winners, Jared Leto, who was hilarious
in “House of Gucci,” and Mark Rylance, who stole “Don’t Look Up” from the
bigger stars.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The nominations for best picture, best
director and best screenplay for “Drive My Car,” the cathartic story of a
Japanese actor-director dealing with tragedy following the win by “Parasite” in
2019 confirms that Oscar voters are more in touch with critical approval than
ever before. (If I included foreign-language films in my Top 10, it would be
among the top 5.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the year’s most satisfying
nominations was for “Summer of Soul,” the reclaimed concert film documenting an
exuberant 1969 Harlem music festival. It may have been the most entertaining
film of the year. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s my Top 10 thus far:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">1. </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">West Side Story</b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> (Steven
Spielberg)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2. <b>The French Dispatch</b> (Wes
Anderson)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3. <b>The Card Counter</b> (Paul Schrader)
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>4. <b>Pig</b> (Michael Sarnoski)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>5. <b>The Tragedy of Macbeth</b> (Joel
Coen)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>6. <b>The Lost Daughter</b> (Maggie
Gyllenhaal)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>7. <b>Passing</b> (Rebecca Hall)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>8. <b>Don’t Look Up</b> (Adam McKay)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>9. <b>House of Gucci</b> (Ridley Scott)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>10. <b>tick, tick…BOOM!</b> (Lin-Manuel
Miranda) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">DRIVE
MY CAR (2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though it takes a long time to get
there—interminable rides inside the main characters red Saab listening to a
tape of Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya”—this Japanese import unearths the deep-seeded
anger, guilt and sadness of the protagonist and his driver.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The best reviewed film of 2021, winning
best picture honors from the National Society of Film Critics, the New York
Film Critics Circle and the L.A. Film Critics, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s meticulously
directed contemplation on how humans react to personal tragedy plays like a
primer in the different between Eastern and Western people, or at least how
they are presented in most motion pictures.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In almost every American film, characters
are too anxious to share their feelings (especially in this era of reality show
confessions), rarely holding in for more than a few scenes their entire range
of emotions. Hollywood movies, from the beginning, have hinged on characters
confronting one another, be it with loud voices, tears or guns. Asian films,
those not directly imitating the West, allow unhappy characters to brood,
deflect and generally carry on as if nothing has happened, often without ever
achieving resolve.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a name="_Hlk93690519">Yusuke</a> Kafuku (a
relentlessly stoic Hidetoshi Nishijima) is a well-regarded stage actor married
to Oto (Reika Kirishima), a television writer. While their marriage seems
relatively happy, considering that they lost a child at a young age, secrets
create a troubling undercurrent. For Yusuke, that intensifies when Oto dies
unexpectedly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After this long introduction, Yusuke, two
years later, is contracted to stage “Uncle Vanya” in Hiroshima—an unspoken but
clearly potent symbol of those dealing with loss.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The long scenes of table-reading rehearsals
consume much of the film’s three-hour running time as Yusuke patiently guides
his multilingual cast (actors speak in Japanese, Mandarin, Korean and,
stretching the realm of diversity, Korean sign-language. The rehearsals do have
an unspoken dynamic as Yusuke has cast in the lead a young, volatile TV actor
who he knows had an affair with his late wife.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the key relationship of the second half
of the film involves Yusuke and a young woman, around the age that his daughter
would have been, assigned to chauffer him during his six-week stay in
Hiroshima.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the start, Misaki (a convincingly
restrained Tôko Miura) is all business, but slowly—everything in this film
moves slowly—they bond during the long drives from the theater to his hotel
while he listens to the “Uncle Vanya” tape his wife recorded for him. A family
unit of sorts is formed within the confides of the Saab.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t think it’s a great film, but in this
extraordinarily weak year for movies, I understand why it has garnered so much critical
attention. “Drive My Car” offers what American films rarely attempt: a quiet,
understated examination of how people deal with tragedy and the way loss can
bring us together. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">BEING
THE RICARDOS (2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While it’s surprising that it took so long
for a major motion picture to depict TV legends Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, I
don’t think this is the film anyone wanted to see. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Telescoping all the difficulties of this
power couple into one week in 1952, during the second season of “I Love Lucy,”
writer-director Aaron Sorkin, with his third and least successful work behind
the camera, paints a harsh, uncompromising portrait of Lucy, someone who is
hard to like even as her comic genius and whip-smart humor is shown in full
flower. The film’s drama centers around the uproar at CBS after gossip
columnist Walter Winchell mentions on his radio show that the biggest comedy
star on TV is a communist. (In the late 1940s and throughout the ‘50s, even
being accused of being a communist could end one’s career.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the same time, she and Desi announce to
the network and sponsor that Lucy is pregnant and they want to turn that into
the focus of the show until she gives birth. (At the time, pregnancy wasn’t
acknowledged on television, considered an inappropriate topic for families.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meanwhile, the real-life marriage of the
first couple of TV isn’t going well.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like so many bio-pics, even those that
avoid the cradle-to-grave story arc, the Ricardos, despite the emphasis on
their flaws, never rise above imitations.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibkNnOpbxrx0ScXpaPpkdM2itb_Kdf3v5hLEsGPj5XwX8QcnU2DR0iabmVgLdXQCDQIetmw3mSRjfnl4PyYHW6B7D6K47kkwnil_l6u975jxFoKyxsbbIo2zF0OUY1HMjDhJ-THFmddFGa-fA5X-M4LCR8soHMy606JzIvVh_C0Y1YrvFLpOzvGg=s990" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="732" data-original-width="990" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibkNnOpbxrx0ScXpaPpkdM2itb_Kdf3v5hLEsGPj5XwX8QcnU2DR0iabmVgLdXQCDQIetmw3mSRjfnl4PyYHW6B7D6K47kkwnil_l6u975jxFoKyxsbbIo2zF0OUY1HMjDhJ-THFmddFGa-fA5X-M4LCR8soHMy606JzIvVh_C0Y1YrvFLpOzvGg=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /> Nicole Kidman, made up with a smooth,
shiny face I guess to “look” like Ball,” does an incredible imitation, both in
her head and hand movements and her distinctive voice. But I’m not sure that
was the best approach to the role. <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Undoubtedly, Sorkin and Kidman, knowing
that Lucy has probably been seen and heard by more people than anyone in the
history of filmed entertainment, felt<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">they
had to create a look-alike. Yet Javier Bardem as Desi, J.K. Simmons as Bill
Frawley and Nina Arianda as Vivian Vance look nothing like their real-life
counterparts and are just as effective.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
structure of the film seems disjointed to me in the way Sorkin has the writers
and producer, shown years later and played by older actors, talking about the
situation and leading into flashbacks of Ball’s film career and how she met
Desi. (It’s sloppily researched also: among other things, they present Judy
Holliday as a film rival to Lucy three years before Holliday made her debut.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While this isn’t legitimate criticism, what
I really wanted to know and have always been curious about, is why CBS ever
agreed to allow a Cuban-American to co-star in a show in 1951. At that point,
Ball was a minor movie star and had no industry clout. The film offers no
answer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For devotees of the show, the film
shouldn’t be missed for its extensive rehearsal scenes, cast member interaction
(even though it doesn’t go much beyond what has been talked about in the
intervening years) and the moments that illustrate Lucy’s comedy acumen. For
the rest of us, re-watching a couple of old episodes will suffice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">TICK,
TICK…BOOM! (2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s something very appealing about
seeing the creative process portrayed on screen—it’s rarely been done
successfully. In this Lin-Manuel Miranda film, the story of “Rent” creator
Jonathan Larson’s writing his earlier failure, “Superbia,” reveals more about
what it takes to “make it” than any tale of success.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The pop musical “Rent,” which took
Broadway by storm in 1996, chronicles a collection of poor struggling artists
(an updated “La Boheme”) in New York City as AIDs devastated the community. It
went on to win the Pulitzer Prize and Best Musical Tony, running 12 years.
Tragically, the 30-year-old Larson died of aortic dissection the night before
its premiere. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This musical is also a Larson creation,
written about his attempt to write “Superbia,” a futuristic musical, as his 30<sup>th</sup>
birthday approaches (tick…tick) that was staged as a one-man show. Miranda and
screenwriter Steven Levenson (“Dear Evan Hansen” and the TV miniseries
“Fosse/Verdon”) turn it into a lively entertainment and an insightful look at
young ambition, both Larson’s and anyone who has tried to express themselves in
art.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Andrew Garfield, best known as the 2012-14
Spiderman but who has given impressive performances in “The Social Network,”
“Hacksaw Ridge” and most memorably in Martin Scorsese’s “Silence,” holds this
crazy quilt of a movie together as it bounces from his day job at a diner, to
long hours trying to write that one last song to actually performing at preview
of “tick..tick.” I never would have imagined Garfield in the role, but he’s
superb, well deserving of his Oscar nomination. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The musical is filled with believable
characters, not that common for musical adaptations, including Robin de Jesus
as his best friend and Bradley Whitford as a supportive Stephen Sondheim, who
agreed to hear a presentation of “Superbia.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a teen, Miranda was inspired by “Rent”
and his admiration for Larson is clear through the picture as is his love of
the Broadway musical. In one of the film’s most memorable sequences, stage
legends Chita Rivera, Bernadette Peters and Joel Grey, among many others, show
up at the diner for “Sunday,” a lament about Larson’s waiter job and the glory
of big production numbers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For me, this was one of the real movie
surprises of the year; I found “Rent” to be pretentious and dull at least in
the road show version I saw 15 years ago and probably would not have watched
“tick..tick” if it wasn’t available for streaming on Netflix. I ignored my
expectations and saw one of the year’s most entertaining films.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">DEADLINE
AT DAWN (1946)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now all but forgotten, Harold Clurman was
among the key architects of American theater during its creative height in the
mid-20<sup>th</sup> Century. Among the founders of the Group Theater—an
incubator for modern acting and playwriting—in the 1930s (with Lee Strasberg
and Cheryl Crawford), he directed such landmark productions as Clifford Odets’
“Awake and Sing,” “Waiting for Lefty” and “Golden Boy;” Maxwell Anderson’s
“Truckline Café,” which introduced the world to Marlon Brando in 1946; and
later Broadway hits “The Member of the Wedding” and “Bus Stop.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clurman and other Group Theater alumni,
including his wife, legendary acting teacher Stella Adler, reinvented drama by
introducing Method acting and putting the focus on characters’ internal
struggles and motivations as part of a probing, psychological presentation of a
playwright’s work.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiAaAENsSMnJlwPotC88tAH6ugxzfzJEvcFX4hBJwhZPjIf5zhYhGjqDPILy74kensUVXzgzI6lEYHs-Dirg2EYR3gFeQOTUOW0wU7a047LjqxDe7xG--lneQ8xZwGFtE5uWmaroAJroXM4iM7SSNER1URTDE1X8ZlMt85mD6GZmU9W7sP0JvZrcQ=s600" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiAaAENsSMnJlwPotC88tAH6ugxzfzJEvcFX4hBJwhZPjIf5zhYhGjqDPILy74kensUVXzgzI6lEYHs-Dirg2EYR3gFeQOTUOW0wU7a047LjqxDe7xG--lneQ8xZwGFtE5uWmaroAJroXM4iM7SSNER1URTDE1X8ZlMt85mD6GZmU9W7sP0JvZrcQ=s320" width="320" /></a></div>Along with his stage work, he wrote
extensively about the theater, off and on as a theater critic for The New
Republic and The Nation. <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the Method started to influence movie
acting after World War II, Clurman dipped his toe into filmmaking, for the
first and last time, directing this 1946 crime picture.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Scripted by longtime collaborator Odets,
from a novel by veteran crime writer Cornell Woolrich (“Rear Window”),
“Deadline at Dawn” follows a late night-early morning journey through New York
City’s underbelly by Alex, a wide-eyed innocent sailor (Bill Williams). After
blacking out after a night of drinking, the Navy man on shore leave finds
himself in possession of a wad of money given to him by a woman he finds dead.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fearing that he’s responsible, Alex
enlists June, a cynical dance hall girl, played by Susan Hayward, and talkative
cabbie Gus, superbly portrayed by Paul Lukas, fresh off his Oscar win for
“Watch on the Rhine,” to help him track down who killed the girl, one step
ahead of the mob and the cops. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The smart script by Odets and noirish
location cinematography by veteran Nick Musuraca (“Cat People,” “Out of the
Past”) helps the movie overcome its clunky plot; clearly, the filmmakers were
more interested in ideas and the movie’s menagerie of nighttime characters. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hayward’s performance is among her best,
just before she became the ultimate Hollywood drama queen, racking up five
Oscar nominations that culminated in her Oscar-winning turn as the prostitute
sentenced to death in “I Want to Live” (1958). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Lukas gets the best lines and has the
most interesting role in “Deadline at Dawn,” as he offers philosophical asides
and street-wise wisdom to the innocent Alex. His (Odets’) best line: “Remember,
speech was given to man to hide his thoughts.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">PARALLEL
MOTHERS (2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The plot of this Spanish film might have
been lifted from a television soap opera yet director Pedro Almodóvar layers
the film with thoughtful insight into human nature through his fully drawn
characters and an overarching connection to the country’s tragic past.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a film overloaded with plot turns,
Almodóvar’s muse of 25 years, Penélope Cruz, plays Janis, a magazine
photographer who connects with Arturo (Israel Elejalde), a well-known
archeologist, during a photo shoot. She’s hoping he can expedite a request to
excavate an unmarked grave where her family believes her great-grandfather was
buried by Fascists after he was executed during the 1930s civil war.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The horrors of the past hang heavily over
the film even as the plot turns toward personal problems. After giving birth as
a result of an affair with Arturo, Janis begins to doubt the child’s paternity;
a DNA test confirms that she isn’t the mother and most likely her child was
switched with the newborn of a younger woman who she shared a room with in the
hospital and gave birth on the same day. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Janis and the young woman, Ana (Milena
Smit) reconnect, they end up living together and raising the child together. At
the same time, Arturo keeps popping back into Janis’ life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In lesser hands this film would be a jumbled,
cliché-filled throw-away, yet Almodóvar’s pointed dialogue and obvious sympathy
for the women and their various dilemmas turn “Parallel Mothers” into a
heartbreaking study of womanhood. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cruz gives one of her best performances as
Janis, a careful, old-fashioned woman who guides the viewer through the
complexities of life the director throws onto the screen. Smit matches the
veteran actress in their emotional intense scenes together as does Aitana
Sánchez-Gijón as Ana’s mother who prioritizes her acting career over being part
of her daughter’s life. And, as in almost all recent Almodóvar films, Rossy de
Palma is a presence as Janis’ best friend.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since the 1980s, the writer-director has been
among the foremost filmmakers in the world, continuing to bring powerful,
emotional, sometimes outlandish stories of modern women to the screen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">THE
GREEN KNIGHT (2021) and THE LAST DUEL (2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess the 14<sup>th</sup> Century is
where it’s at, as two major films, set on opposite side of the English Channel,
were released last year. While Ridley Scott, one of Hollywood’s most
accomplished directors, with three major stars, delivered a plodding “Duel,”
the lesser-known David Lowrey (“The Old Man & the Gun”) works magic with a
Middle Ages fantasy in “Green Knight.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beautifully photographed and directed,
this offshoot on the Round Table legend based on a 14<sup>th</sup> Century epic
poem tells of the journey by Gawain, a low-regarded nephew of King Arthur to
pay his debt to the monstrous Green Knight.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gawain’s destiny is determined when an
imposing knight rides into a Christmas gathering of Arthur’s court challenging
anyone to swing their sword on him. The caveat of the challenge is that the challenger
must endure the same blow from the Green Knight in a year’s time. Gawain, who
has led a life of debauchery up until now, wants to prove himself to his uncle,
the King. So he takes up the sword and foolishly beheads the monster, who promptly
picks up his head and rides off reminding the young man that he’ll see him in a
year.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCUYYjhGfoiHb5dJANxtCmzdzOXObPY4GflwCmhrkdNDShE0GvoJlfkwcM5_Dnd5deNYS3gUK03JwPMoWvh2YOPlshj9tFgbjafgGFX7qEX6RukOX1omDAxDs3RtiznaEKCOs2roJnYa2ICB8-e-m_XVHSuGnFqxvQEULvM3p_z1PAu6ZD3oF0fQ=s1020" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="1020" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCUYYjhGfoiHb5dJANxtCmzdzOXObPY4GflwCmhrkdNDShE0GvoJlfkwcM5_Dnd5deNYS3gUK03JwPMoWvh2YOPlshj9tFgbjafgGFX7qEX6RukOX1omDAxDs3RtiznaEKCOs2roJnYa2ICB8-e-m_XVHSuGnFqxvQEULvM3p_z1PAu6ZD3oF0fQ=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Impressively, he doesn’t dodge the
challenge, determined to prove his worth and earned knighthood. In December, he
sets off on the journey where he encounters real and ghostly obstacles.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dev Patel, who I’ve been underwhelmed by
in the past (“Slumdog Millionaire,” “Lion”) shines as a man who is determined
to rise above his natural tendencies even if it costs him his life. He makes
you believe every fantastical trial he endures on his way to the Green Castle.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alicia Vikander, whose career seems to have
stalled since she burst on the scene in 2015 with “Ex Machina” and “The Dutch
Girl,” which earned her an Oscar, stands out as both of Gawain’s love
interests, first as a local girl and then as a noble woman. Also memorably are
Joel Edgerton as a mysterious hunter who lives near the Green Knight and Sarita
Choudhury as Gawain mother who conjures up all sorts of strangeness. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the key to the film’s power is the
vibrant look created by cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo (“A Ghost Story”)
and production designer Jade Healy (“I, Tonya” and “A Beautiful Day in the
Neighborhood”).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In “The Last Duel,” French knight Jean de
Carrouges (Matt Damon sporting an awful mullet), a hot-headed ruffian, keeps
getting undercut by his former best friend, Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver), who
steals part of his property and his title while eyeing his wife. While Jean
lacks the sophistication (1380 version) to be part of the in-crowd, Jacques
hangs out with the unsavory, hedonistic Pierre d’Alencon (a blond Ben Affleck),
including participating in his orgies, earning protection from this
high-ranking nobleman.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In an attempt to present all side of the
story, Scott tells the same story three times, from different perspectives.
Unfortunately, only minor differences are revealed; too many scenes play out
three times in almost duplicated form. I appreciated the subtlety, but at 2 and
a half hours, the repetition grew tiresome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only reason to sit through the movie is
for Jodie Comer’s moving performance as Marguerite, Jean’s wife. The star of
the TV thriller “Killing Eve” (she won an Emmy for it), Comer also played Rey’s
mother in the last “Star Wars” episode “The Rise of Skywalker” (2019). In “The
Last Duel,” she creates a character with believable emotions, while the three
male stars chew on the scenery. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">ON
THE ROCKS (2020)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve not been impressed with Sofia
Coppola’s directing career thus far, but her latest is clearly the most
interesting film she’s made since “Lost in Translation” (2003). The reason is simple:
she’s once again tapped into the genius of Bill Murray.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since the late 1970s, he’s made everything
he’s been in better, from truly awful films (“Where the Buffalo Roam,”
“Scrooged”) to comedy classics (“Tootsie,” “Caddyshack”). It’s long past the
time to acknowledge that Murray, even as he plays the same character in almost
every film, is among the finest comic actors in film history. He can make you
laugh just by standing there or with a simple sideways glance. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s in his element as Felix, the wealthy,
martini-sipping playboy father of Laura (TV veteran Rashida Jones), who
encourages her suspicions that her husband is cheating on her. I’m being
charitable in saying the plot is flimsy, but when Felix starts turning his
daughter’s marital problems into an adventure—he brings crackers and caviar
when they spy on Dean (an unconvincing Marlon Wayans)—the picture comes alive. The
scene in which he talks his way out of a traffic ticket is a classic Murray
bit. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the heart of the film’s weakness is the
lack of chemistry between Laura and Dean---it doesn’t even matter if he’s
having an affair; the body language of the couple and their conversations make
it clear that they aren’t meant for one another. But the movie tells me
something else.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But that’s easily put aside as you enjoy
the manner in which Murray, so casual, seemingly unrehearsed, creates yet
another comic gem. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">Photos:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; text-indent: 0in;">The community dance scene from “West Side
Story.” (Twentieth Century Fox)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; text-indent: 0in;">Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem in “Being the
Ricardos.” (Amazon Studios)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; text-indent: 0in;">Paul Lukas, Susan Hayward and Bill Williams in
“Deadline at Dawn.” (RKO Radio Pictures)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; text-indent: 0in;">Dev Patel on the road in “The Green
Knight.”</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; text-indent: 0in;">(A24)</span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Doug Listhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339222653620926842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6028831787280199543.post-89253784648146631272022-01-14T20:32:00.001-08:002022-01-14T20:33:43.657-08:00January 2022<p><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">LICORICE
PIZZA (2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Paul Thomas Anderson’s mash-up of his and
his boyhood friend’s recollections of 1970s Southern California, filled with so
many appealing moments, fails over and over again to turn those scenes into a
coherent, emotionally meaningful movie. Like too many films in the last 20
years, “Licorice Pizza” works as great trailer but disappoints when it spools
out over two hours.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The movie opens with a cherry bomb going
off in the boys’ restroom and a long tracking shot of self-assured child actor Gary
Valentine making time with photographer’s assistant Alana Kane as he waits in
line to have his yearbook photo taken. Gary, played by Philip Seymour
Hoffman’s son Cooper, impresses the older girl (played by Alana Haim of the pop
trio Haim, who Anderson has directed videos for) enough that she meets him at
his regular hangout, the Studio City restaurant Tail o’ the Cock, a popular
spot for Hollywood celebrities, and lesser lights, for decades before closing
in the 1980s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCNvXZemst2D4BC6_ebW64PCjUx8jFLaAZJl8fhS0pBUF9gKaIzZOvI348XSrZeEl3Hu4kCMqaiOc6_xvG0-uzU0iaOBWXgit9uPOZdayDF_aT8YL06CcEQbZ34gwNbz8Oii7TRkSEiTGMqwr98JjGCXBPaPp6wFUrsNhlMbN2mcPOK-Tn-4xwrQ=s670" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="670" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCNvXZemst2D4BC6_ebW64PCjUx8jFLaAZJl8fhS0pBUF9gKaIzZOvI348XSrZeEl3Hu4kCMqaiOc6_xvG0-uzU0iaOBWXgit9uPOZdayDF_aT8YL06CcEQbZ34gwNbz8Oii7TRkSEiTGMqwr98JjGCXBPaPp6wFUrsNhlMbN2mcPOK-Tn-4xwrQ=s320" width="320" /></a></div> Not long after, Gary arranges for Alana to
be his adult chaperone on a trip to New York to promote a movie he appeared in
(Christine Ebersole plays a tough-talking, barely disguised Lucille Ball), but
the truth is that his acting career has stalled. But this film isn’t interested
in what Gary, an actor tossed aside by Hollywood, feels about his fate.
Instead, he’s soon opening a waterbed store, a plotline that goes nowhere.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later, Alana volunteers for a candidate
running for L.A. mayor and Gary opens a pinball arcade, more episodes that
Anderson doesn’t even attempt to connect to the central story of the young
couple.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The two talked-about sequences that are
responsible for the film’s mostly positive reviews center on real-life
Hollywood figures, hair dresser turned producer Jon Peters and William Holden
(called Jack here), one of the biggest midcentury movie stars.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Holden (a spot-on performance by Sean
Penn) is introduced when Alana auditions for “Breezy,” (a role played in the
real film by Kay Lenz) a 1973 Holden movie. The 57-year-old actor makes a play
for Alana and they end up at Tail o’ the Cock (where else?). It’s an amusing
episode until Tom Waits shows up, playing a producer friend of Holden, who
rants incoherently and then leads the restaurant patrons outside to watch
Holden make a motorcycle jump. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The episode featuring Peters (an outrageously
over-the-top Bradley Cooper)—reportedly approved by the still-living
producer—involves the delivery of a waterbed, Peters running out of gas in the
midst of rationing and, like Holden, putting the moves on Alana. I’m not sure,
but maybe the creepy old guys hitting on Alana helps to mitigate the idea that
she’s a 25-year-old hanging out with high schoolers. Cooper’s best moment—seen
prominently in the trailer—isn’t used (it does show up in the closing credits)
and the overly long sequence ends without resolving what happens to Peters.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The scenes also include a flamboyant
assistant to Peters, whose portrayal is patently offensive. Though he’s not as
bad as a restaurant owner, played by John Michael Higgins, who speaks to his
Japanese wives in English with a Japanese dialect right out of a World War II
movie. Both seem to be used for cheap laughs, not making any social point.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words: the film is a hodgepodge
of events that apparently happened to Anderson’s friend Gary Goetzman (now a
producer in partnership with Tom Hanks), held together by the off-and-on
relationship between Gary and Alana. It most reminded me of a Roger Corman film
from that era, where the only glue to the craziness is the smart-ass high
school student.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Haim does her best to hold the film
together, her screen presence for a newcomer is impressive, but Cooper Hoffman
has zero acting skills, creating a huge void throughout the picture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To say this is a long way from “Phantom
Thread” or “There Will Be Blood,” both starring Daniel Day-Lewis, is an
understatement. In some ways, it resembles Anderson failed hippie private eye
film “Inherent Vice,” which also kept teasing viewers with amusing scenes. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like Quentin Tarantino with “Once Upon a
Time in Hollywood,” Anderson’s passion for his nostalgic milieu—the alluring
fringe of the movie business—serves as a weak substitute for storytelling.
“Licorice Pizza” offers an impeccable recreation of the era but has nothing to
say about it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">PETER
BOGDANOVICH <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(1939-2022)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Few filmmakers have managed, for better
or worse, to entangle their personal lives with their profession to such an
extent as Peter Bogdanovich, who died this month at the age of 82. Yet no
matter how many times scandals or financial problems sent his film career spiraling,
he re-emerged for yet another act in his bumpy ride of a life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though he dropped out of high school, he found
work writing about film for various magazines in the early 1960s, leading to
the crucial gig of his early life: interviewing legendary filmmakers about their
careers for a Museum of Modern Art film retrospective. After soaking in the
knowledge of the masters—John Ford, Alfred Hitchcock, Howard Hawks and, most
importantly, Orson Welles—and then serving a four-year stint in the Roger
Corman company (as did Jack Nicholson, Francis Coppola and Martin Scorsese,
among many others), Bogdanovich was primed for success by the end of the 1960s.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His official directorial debut was for
Corman on “Targets” (1968), an underrated gem about a psycho who goes on a
shooting rampage that also features Boris Karloff as an aging movie star.
During this period he also had a role in Welles unfinished film “Written on the
Wind,” which Bogdanovich helped reconstruct and engineer its released in 2018.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, at age 32, he directed the film
he’ll forever be remembered for, “The Last Picture Show” (1971), based on Larry
McMurtry’s novella. The movie earned eight Oscar nominations, including best
picture and best director. This heartbreaking black-and-white tone poem about
the death of small-town America hasn’t aged a bit and remains among the
half-dozen finest Hollywood films made in the past 50 years.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3HRWWp4078jT1hBXAH6twRGPDGNKSC0ZfYzihYVJGLKgS2QsAxNOWa9aqHXlwzN0YHIw3e5XRhK_F9gLovbEI2xVWMf9HFnbGpuKNnkrZB5naJzvcjg91bXq2AWVBcEzfZ50uNGuC4EvuhCn0GCQxkLjpfhwm8MuhH6BQbkF--e82UQriqwAwTw=s992" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="992" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3HRWWp4078jT1hBXAH6twRGPDGNKSC0ZfYzihYVJGLKgS2QsAxNOWa9aqHXlwzN0YHIw3e5XRhK_F9gLovbEI2xVWMf9HFnbGpuKNnkrZB5naJzvcjg91bXq2AWVBcEzfZ50uNGuC4EvuhCn0GCQxkLjpfhwm8MuhH6BQbkF--e82UQriqwAwTw=s320" width="320" /></a></div> A hard act to follow, but Bogdanovich kept
the box-office hits coming, with two comedies, “What’s Up, Doc?” (1972) with
Barbra Streisand and “Paper Moon” (1973) with Ryan O’Neal and his young
daughter Tatum. But the magic disappeared when he tried to elevate the career
of his girlfriend Cybill Shepherd (he “discovered” her for “Last Picture Show”)
with “Daisy Miller” (1974) and a musical “At Long Last Love” (1975), both of
which bombed.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over the next 20 years, he directed two
good films, “Saint Jack” (1979) starring Ben Gazzara as a Hong Kong hustler and
“Texasville” (1990), a sequel to “The Last Picture Show,” with Jeff Bridges
returning as Duane in a superb performance. But the key film for Bogdanovich in
this period was “They All Laughed,” a 1981 comedy starring the director’s
latest love, Playboy model Dorothy Stratten. Before the film was released her
jealous husband shot her to death. (Her tragic story was the basis for Bob
Fosse’s 1983 film “Star 80.”)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When “They All Laughed” did poorly,
Bogdanovich bought the film from the studio (an unheard-of move) and tried to
release it himself. He later penned a book about Stratten that accused Playboy magazine’s
Hugh Hefner as contributing to the woman’s death and then married Stratten’s
younger sister. The scandal all but destroyed the director’s career.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the 1990s, he was making TV movies and
struggling to stay financially afloat—at one point he was reportedly living in
Quentin Tarantino’s guesthouse.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he kept remaking himself. In the new
century, he took up the mantle of the spokesman for the great directors and
films of the 20<sup>th</sup> Century (He published a collection of his
interviews with those filmmakers in 1997, “Who the Devil Made It.”) His last
film of note was “The Cat Meow” (2001), about the suspicious death of silent
film producer Thomas Ince while aboard William Randolph Hearst yacht. It was a
story right up Bogdanovich’s alley.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Always elegantly dressed with his signature
kerchief—a New Yorker profiled described him as looking like Thurston Howell
III---the filmmaker never lost his smug, sardonic tone and never tired of
discussing his friendship with Welles and others. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While
he wasn’t a great director and often a comical figure, Peter Bogdanovich did
make one masterpiece and, just as valuable, remained the living link between modern
Hollywood and those 20<sup>th</sup> Century giants that the industry was built
upon.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">THE
LOST DAUGHTER (2021)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every time I came close to dismissing
the film’s main character Leda as a spoiled curmudgeon, actress Olivia Colman
(and Jessie Buckley as her younger self) brought out another aspect of this
complex, unstable and fascinating woman.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The actresses dominate this thinly
plotted, sketch of a film, the directing debut of Maggie Gyllenhaal (“Sherrybaby,”
“Crazy Heart”). We first are introduced to the 48-year-old version of Leda, a
college professor, when she arrives at a sea-side cottage in Greece for a
summer vacation and soon is forced to share the small beach with a large,
boisterous American family. When the young daughter of the family gets lost,
Leda’s connection to this rowdy, bickering group grows, but more importantly it
brings back her memories of her own struggles as a young mother and her
conflicting desires when she was in her 20s.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As young Leda’s academic career flourishes,
her interest in being a stay-at-home mother and homemaker withers. And almost
30 years later, she is still grappling with the decisions she made. Which may,
or may not, explain some of the odd behavior displayed by this seemingly stable
teacher.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While Colman, who won an Oscar playing an
unstable 18<sup>th</sup> Century queen in “The Favourite” in 2018, and Buckley,
memorable as the unhappy fiancé in “I’m Thinking of Ending Things,” are the
movie’s focus, the supporting cast is just as interesting. The always
distinctive Ed Harris plays the caretaker of the rental, Dakota Johnson is the
young mother who mirrors Leda’s youth, Paul Mescal plays a college student
working at the resort and Peter Sarsgaard portrays a self-assured professor who
meets young Leda at a conference.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Based on a novel by acclaimed Italian
writer Elena Ferrante, the film explores motherhood in complexities rarely seen
on screen, where mothers are typically saints or sinners, but offers more
questions than answers about this conflicted woman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">TWENTY
PLUS TWO (1961)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">This
low-budget, well-plotted black-and-white crime film starring TV star David
Janssen, a picture that was seen by virtually nobody when it was released and has
been nearly unseen since, would make my Top 10 if it was a 2021 movie. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For Janssen, who had just finished a
four-year run as “Richard Diamond, Private Eye” and was two years away from
“The Fugitive,” “Twenty Plus Two” was among his first starring film roles.
Oddly, he doesn’t play a detective but a specialist who seeks out missing
persons who have inherited money. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tom Alder’s interest in a 12-year-old case
is revived when the murdered secretary of a movie star’s fan club has a
collection of clips about the missing girl. He tracks down the star, Leroy Dane
(a miscast Brad Dexter), but also runs into Linda, an old girlfriend (Jeanne
Crain) and her friend Nicki (Dina Merrill). Soon Tom is jetting around the
country in search of clues and keeps running into Dane, Linda and Nicki. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shot like a TV series (with way too many
shots of airplanes taking off and landing) and directed with little style by
Joseph M. Newman, a longtime second unit director who made dozens of B-movies
in the 1950s and ‘60s, the film comes to a head-scratching halt during a dreamy
flashback to a Japanese hostess bar when Janssen’s Alder was in the military.
It all but undercuts the believability of the story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet interesting characters keep showing up
to prop up Janssen’s flailing investigation, most prominently William Demarest
and Agnes Moorehead, two of Hollywood’s finest supporting players, and Jacques
Aubuchon, a low-budget, but entertaining Sidney Greenstreet-type. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Demarest plays a down-and-out alcoholic
newspaper man who covered the disappearance of the young heiress, while
Moorehead plays her mother. Aubuchon mysteriously shows up in the midst of
Jansson’s investigation, clearly more involved in the situation than he lets
on.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Twenty Plus Two”—the poster tagline was
“20 mysterious clues plus 2 beautiful women”—is nothing special; a second-rate
programmer no different than dozens of others released that year. But in
retrospect, basic filmmaking and solid, professional acting added up to so much
more than all the tech advantages that dominate contemporary movies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">THE
TRAGEDY OF MACBETH (2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Set mostly in a spare, bleak, sterile
rendering of Inverness Castle, Joel Coen’s vision of Shakespeare’s Scottish
play of unrestrained ambition that drives the principals to insanity keeps
coming back to the faces of the Macbeths.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For most of its 105 minutes, the film has
the feel of a filmed stage play, unadorned by any attempt to open up the
production. The stifling atmosphere as doom closes in on the blood-thirsty
couple is palatable, enhanced by the shadows and light of Bruno Delbonnel’s black
and white cinematography. The production most closely resembles the
Shakespeares of Orson Welles, especially his cobbled together, but brilliant,
“Othello.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But central to Coen’s film—a long way
from his and his brother’s more commercial movies—is the superb performances of
Denzel Washington as Macbeth, the recently named Thane of Cawdor and Frances
McDormand as his blood-thirsty wife who sees bigger things for her husband.
While both actors are too old for the roles (traditionally, the couple has been
played by actors in their 30s) they make you forget that problem with emotional
readings of some of the greatest speeches ever written. These performances just
add to the legacy of these two great actors.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only
the two scenes featuring the weird sisters who prophesize Macbeth’s rise to
power and ultimate demise (I don’t think there’s a need for a spoiler alert for
the almost 400-year-old play—next year is the anniversary) and the killing of
Banquo, Macbeth’s close friend who knows too much, offer a break from the
barren castle surroundings.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEinwd8SVlHk6513f1eim9kNO3-yhrXaxhxIYOJU_ToxWiMFdfm5__C-V64OJny4rJ8I0iZ8CbZG_cMGBzY052M-4WaBKa_AIKrTx-RCGoXkKkchO8P5VhWht3_z4Y899mGg72VlGIVY47S9w8ikAifwOYbwAvJ-DXOmaUkh6Uuu8l_OQNrl7xptaA=s1200" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEinwd8SVlHk6513f1eim9kNO3-yhrXaxhxIYOJU_ToxWiMFdfm5__C-V64OJny4rJ8I0iZ8CbZG_cMGBzY052M-4WaBKa_AIKrTx-RCGoXkKkchO8P5VhWht3_z4Y899mGg72VlGIVY47S9w8ikAifwOYbwAvJ-DXOmaUkh6Uuu8l_OQNrl7xptaA=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Bard’s Early Modern English (no SparkNotes
version here) might be hard to follow for those whose high school curriculum
skipped over “Macbeth”; this probably isn’t the best version to be introduced
to the play as it focuses so intently on the words. While I enjoyed the new
film more than the 2015 version, starring Michael Fassbender and Marion
Cotillard, which lacked the verve the play thrives on, that version is probably
better suited to general audiences.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
a deceptively simple tale of a returning warrior who is told by witches that
he’ll soon be king, spurring his wife to devise a plan to make it come true.
But nothing good comes of it as what follows is all “sound and fury, signifying
nothing.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The
supporting cast doesn’t have much of a chance to distinguish themselves, though
Brendan Gleeson’s King Duncan is properly royal, Alex Hassell<b> </b>brings out
the cautiously disloyal character of Ross and Corey Hawkins shows the inner
fury of Macbeth’s chief rival, Macduff. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If Coen had thoughts of improving on the
Bard’s play, he restrained himself. Even the color-blind casting doesn’t change
anything about the play. But I certainly would have applauded some additional
scenes with Lady Macbeth, one of the most fascinating characters in English
literature, who disappears in the second half of the play. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did the world need another movie version of
“Macbeth”? Probably not, but for me, Coen’s film felt like a welcomed visit from
an old friend. “Macbeth” remains my favorite Shakespearean play, as vital today
as it was five centuries ago. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">DON’T
LOOK UP (2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Adam McKay’s latest satire uses a
fictional catastrophe—a very large comet is headed straight for Earth---to
skewer the manner in which every issue, be it climate change or COVID, are
turned into a political debate, reducing life and death issues into agenda
items.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film, written with knives out by
McKay and David Sirota, manages to be both entertaining and depressing as all
the so-called responsible parties—the media, the White House and business
leaders—treat the apocalyptic event as a way to improve their imagine or make
money. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jennifer Lawrence, in one of her best
performances and sporting shockingly red hair, plays doctoral student Kate
Dibiasky, who first spots the celestial event and reports it to her astronomy
professor, Dr. Randall Mindy (an inauspicious looking Leonardo DiCaprio). Once
they are sure of the trajectory of the comet, they, along with a NASA scientist
(Rob Morgan) take their concerns to the White House. There they find a
scandal-plagued president (Meryl Streep) and an arrogant chief of staff (Jonah
Hill), who all but laugh the scientists out of the Oval Office. (In a bit of
offhanded commentary, a Pentagon general makes the three of them pay for what
turns out to be free water and chips—not unlike those $500 screwdrivers.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Frustrated and astonished by the lack of
concern, Kate and Randall take their story to the press and eventually to a
highly rated morning show (hilariously hosted by Cate Blanchett and Tyler
Perry), during which Kate flips out at the dimwitted anchors and becomes the
object of ridiculing memes. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even when the president decides to take
action, the plan is compromised by the dictates of socially awkward, but
beloved tech businessman Peter Isherwell (an unforgettable Mark Rylance) who
runs BASH Cellular that bears striking resemblance to Facebook and Apple. Turns
out, there are billions to be made from the comet---as long as it doesn’t
destroy the planet.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For DiCapro, Streep and the rest of the
cast, this film is clearly a political statement on the dire state of American
resolve, but it never becomes didactic or outrageous; the characters and the
reactions are completely believable considering what we’ve gone through in the
last six years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the most important points the film
makes is how we’ve come to judge those who offer information by their
appearance and manner. We now expect well-spoken, attractive, media savvy
spokespeople on our TV screens before we’ll take a message seriously.
DiCaprio’s Dr. Mindy needs a quick redo before anyone listens to his warnings.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>British stage actor Rylance, who won an Oscar
for his turn as an imprisoned spy in “Bridge of Spies,” gives one of the year’s
best performances, simply mesmerizing as the social media guru who bamboozles
the president and the executive branch into become sycophants for his ludicrous
plans. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While “Don’t Look Up” can’t match the
inventiveness or overall quality of McKay two previous satires, “The Big Short”
(2015), about the housing crash, and Vice” (2018), an offbeat look at Dick
Cheney’s manipulative reign as VP, it’s a long way from his early Will Farrell
slap-stick comedies.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His next film is a look at the Elizabeth
Holmes case, starring Lawrence. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">NIGHTMARE
ALLEY (2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This updated, more venal, version of one
of the most interesting pictures of the 1940s, features a superb cast and
first-rate production design, but time has taken much of the bite out of the
amoral sliminess of main character Stan Carlisle.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The original version, made just a year
after William Lindsay Gresham’s novel was published, starred Tyrone Power,
1930s matinee idol trying to change his on-screen image, as a carny who perfects
a mind-reading act, becoming a popular nightclub performer with his wife. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bradley Cooper, who seems to star in an
Oscar contender every year, portrays Stan, in this version clearly identified
as a drifter with a shady past before he joins the carnival. One of the most
interesting plot developments of the film is his relationship with Zeena (Toni
Collette), a sexy psychic and her alcoholic husband Pete (David Strathairn),
who struggles to contribute to the act.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After Pete’s suspicious death due to
alcohol poisoning, Stan becomes part of Zeena’s act. But he has eyes on Molly
(Rooney Mara), who has her own act as the electricity girl, and soon they leave
the carnival to strike out on their own.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Director Guillermo del Toro’s version is
a great ride when the action centers on the carny, with such characters as Ron
Perlman’s blustery strongman, Willem Dafoe’s sleazy owner of the traveling show
and Paul Anderson as the chicken-eating geek. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But once Stan and Molly move to the
big-time and Stan turns into a diva, the film loses its steam. The key
character of the movie’s second half is psychologist<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Lilith
Ritter (played in 1947 by minor actress Helen Walker), who hooks up with Stan
in a scheme to bilk big money from the city’s elite. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cate Blanchett gives a rare bad performance
as Lilith, ridiculously slinking around her office like a teen playing
dress-up. The over-heated interaction between Lilith and Stan never makes
sense, rendering the last act reversal hard to buy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of the acting is uniformly fine, with
Bradley equaling Power’s characterization of Stan’s roller coast life and Strathairn
giving real depth to Pete, the once-skilled conman now reduced to a pitiful
figure. Del Toro and his director of photography Dan Laustsen are in their
element while capturing the carny atmosphere, but their slick filmmaking can’t
overcome the story flaws of the second half.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">Photos:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 0in;">Cooper Hoffman and Alana Haim in “Licorice
Pizza.” (United Artists)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 0in;">Peter Bogdanovich in 2014. (Associated Press)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 0in;">Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand in “The
Tragedy of Macbeth.” (A24)</span></p>Doug Listhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339222653620926842noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6028831787280199543.post-1711320183071283352021-12-18T20:12:00.005-08:002021-12-18T20:12:59.437-08:00November-December 2021<p><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">WEST
SIDE STORY (2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On
the face of it, the idea of remaking a film that won 10 Oscars, including best
picture, seems foolish at best. Yet again, the original movie version, based on
the landmark Broadway production, was released 60 years ago. It’s really no
different than staging another production of Shakespeare, which, of course, is
exactly what “West Side Story” is: “Romeo and Juliet” relocated in 1950s New
York. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The result surpasses the overrated
original as Steven Spielberg and his team deliver a film version this
musical—some would argue the greatest in Broadway history—deserves. Supported
by hypnotic choreography by Justin Peck (of the New York City Ballet),
incredibly detailed production design by Adam Stockhausen, two-time
Oscar-winning cinematographer Janusz Kaminski’s colorful day scenes and noirish
nighttime and a script by Tony Kushner (“Angels in America”) that grounds the
characters in real life, Spielberg has brought to life what is probably the
best film musical since “Cabaret” (1972).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSe-39hbdlZD9CQoHnwKpNX1p0lJXaIqv7nPdT_jBQ279N9LS_93Ec5JiDE1hOYspyf1O27SJgGIv2rjO1hU--09RdenCZQljLozx_gghVg_HZSAUpeVGRwsSan1vG9UA1ImHQX7NjFGGj3PMAJB5SYsa44JhP8gBGg4uTVMTcbTcpttHFYZGoxg=s840" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="840" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSe-39hbdlZD9CQoHnwKpNX1p0lJXaIqv7nPdT_jBQ279N9LS_93Ec5JiDE1hOYspyf1O27SJgGIv2rjO1hU--09RdenCZQljLozx_gghVg_HZSAUpeVGRwsSan1vG9UA1ImHQX7NjFGGj3PMAJB5SYsa44JhP8gBGg4uTVMTcbTcpttHFYZGoxg=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, the foundation was laid by some
of the greatest talents in musical theater history: Leonard Bernstein’s music,
as essential to America as the National Anthem, Stephen Sondheim’s lyrics of
impossible love and racial unrest, Jerome Robbins’ energetic choreography and
Arthur Laurents’ story. Theirs was a musical of its time, dealing with
contemporary issues as a white gang (The Jets) fights against newly arrived
Puerto Rican community and its young toughs (The Sharks) for control of an area
of Manhattan in the process of being razed to build Lincoln Center.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the new film, Ansel Elgot (“Fault in
Our Stars,” “Baby Driver”), plays Tony (the Romeo stand-in), fresh out of jail
and trying to stay clear of the delinquent activies of the Jets. But he attends
a community dance staged to bring whites and Latinos together and falls in love
with Maria (Rachel Zegler, in her film debut), the Puerto Rican sister of the
Sharks’ leader Bernando (David Alvarez of Showtime’s “American Rust”). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You need not have ever heard of “West Side
Story” to know how this will turn out, but the dramatic staging and smoothly
integrated dancing and singing elevated this simple story. And what a
collection of songs this Bernstein-Sondheim collaboration created: “Maria,”
“America,” “Tonight,” “I Feel Pretty,” and the soundtrack’s masterpiece
“Somewhere,” poignantly sung by 90-year-old Rita Moreno, the Broadway legend
who won an Oscar for her role as Anita in the 1961 version (Ariana DeBose
shines in the role in the new film.) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As important a filmmaker as Spielberg has
been over the past 45 years, he’s rarely moved the camera as much as he does
here. In an obvious homage to “Citizen Kane,” the film opens with a traveling
shot over the construction site and then rises over a fence, signaling that
this world is on the edge of extinction. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Unlike the original Tony and Maria (Richard Breymer and Natalie Wood—as
a Puerto Rican!), Elgot and Zegler come off as real people, sincere in both
their love and attempts to bring their feuding communities together. In this
version, the Jets (led by a snarling Mike Faist as Riff) and the Sharks
actually seem dangerous, even as they do pirouettes. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This Spielberg-Kushner version doesn’t shy
away from the racism of the Jets; these are misguided, hate-filled young men
whose offspring are still fighting against immigrants and those who don’t look
or act like them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So yes, it was a good idea to refilm this
essential musical, getting it right on the second try and introducing its still
timely themes to a new generation of viewers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">THE
POWER OF THE DOG (2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you don’t mind movies that raise
questions, about the story and characters, without answering them you’ll appreciate
Jane Campion’s new film, a Western set in 1925 Montana.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Filled with exquisitely composed visas shot
by cinematographer Ari Wegner, the film seems influenced by Terrence Malick’s
work, his early film “Days of Heaven” and his more recent work that attempts to
present psychologically complex characters with little dialogue. For me, “Power
of the Dog” tries too hard to be murky and vaguely symbolic, filled with
characters whose actions and reactions remain unexplained.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Benedict Cumberbatch plays Phil Burbank, an
Eastern educated man who has dedicated his life to running a cattle ranch with
his brother George (perfectly cast Jesse Plemons). It’s hard to imagine them as
brothers; Phil never stops bullying and berating his brother, whose calm
demeanor feels almost ghostly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The dynamics change, but not much, when
George marries Rose (Kirsten Dunst), a widow who runs a restaurant in a nearby
town. (I wanted to know what happened with her business when she moves in with
her husband, but that was never addressed.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film kicks into full Freudian when
Rose’s son Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee) returns from medical school. A rail-thin,
well-scrubbed effeminate young man in a world of tough-guy cowboys, he’s
endured a lifetime of harassment and it continues at the ranch. But what is
also clear, almost from the opening frames, is that Phil is a closeted gay
whose belligerence can be traced to his frustrations over his sexuality. Yet,
why, as a gay man in the 1920s, did he return to Montana instead of finding a
freer world on the East Coast?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A friendship emerges from the bullying
between Phil and Peter, which seems destined to end badly. (The picture’s
much-discussed ending—no matter how you interpret it—doesn’t bring much clarity
to the script.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of my central problems with the film is
Rose and her decent into depression and alcoholism after she marries George.
Here is a woman who lost her husband, put up with ornery cowpokes in her
business and dealt with what had to be a fraught childhood of her son, yet
finding herself between her passive husband and his snarling brother descends
into darkness.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dunst, one of the finest actresses of her
generation, does her best to work out her character, but she’s let down by
Campion’s script (based on a novel by Thomas Savage)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cumberbatch, as usual, offers a memorable
performance as this deeply conflicted man who seems to relish berating everyone
who comes near him, including his parents and brother. Though I’m partial to
his hypnotic portrayal of Julian Assange in “The Fifth Estate” (2013), the
British actor gives his best film performance as the intensely sad Phil. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The 25-year-old Smit-McPhee, an Australian
who played Viggo Mortenson’s son in the desolate “The Road” (2009) and was
Nightcrawler in a couple of X-Men films, gives a breakthrough performance as
Peter, a teen whose outward appearance belies what is going on in his head.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Campion, the second woman to receive a
best director nomination, in 1994 for “The Piano” (the first was given to Lina
Wertmuller, who just recently died at age 93), hadn’t made a feature film since
2009’s “Bright Star” and certainly has failed to live up to expectations for
her career. Positive critical appraisal for “Power of Dog” seems to guarantee
she and the cast will be contenders during the award’s season, but, for me, the
film falls short of the basics: telling a clear, interesting story with
understandable characters.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">DEAN
STOCKWELL <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(1936-2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the big picture of Hollywood cinema,
Dean Stockwell was a minor figure. But I’d argue that if he hadn’t turn his
focus to television work, he might have been one of the leading actors of the
1960s and 70s.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stockwell, who died at 85 in November, was
the son of a pair of Broadway actors, which led to his film debut at age 9 in
the Gregory Peck movie, “The Valley of Decision.” Before he was 14, he was in the
war musical “Anchors Aweigh,” the Oscar-winning “Gentleman’s Agreement,” and as
the title character in both “The Boy With Green Hair” and the adaptation of
Rudyard Kipling’s “Kim.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it was in the late 1950s and early
1960s when he looked to be right there with Paul Newman (who was 10 years
older) as the most talented young actor of the era.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHufzOC-fVIB2S4mLNZ2SjBoER5LaQttyp9Ty38HgCLrgOyX7dPZu2U9fmq-bwCl2md_V5GdCUUznU9qJmCD29OACPwDxwggvXFlZlIfv6D4hybuXipHCPD-2rkqfoBIGvO0U7WaywHkuKkzqCVgS48OrKj4U7a0URW6Hqgyt4_HXFEvr7SDIWfA=s411" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="411" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHufzOC-fVIB2S4mLNZ2SjBoER5LaQttyp9Ty38HgCLrgOyX7dPZu2U9fmq-bwCl2md_V5GdCUUznU9qJmCD29OACPwDxwggvXFlZlIfv6D4hybuXipHCPD-2rkqfoBIGvO0U7WaywHkuKkzqCVgS48OrKj4U7a0URW6Hqgyt4_HXFEvr7SDIWfA=s320" width="320" /></a></div> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
“Compulsion,” an intense courtroom picture based on the famous Leopold and Loeb
murder case, he plays an easily manipulated, sensitive student who comes under
the spell of a psychotic classman (Bradford Dillman). These wealthy young men arrogantly
believe they are too smart to be convicted of murder. It’s a memorable
performance, which he followed by playing a pair of sons trying to escape oppressive
fathers, in “Sons and Lovers” (1960) and “Long Day’s Journey Into Night”
(1962). Stockwell holds his own with British acting legends Trevor Howard and
then Ralph Richardson.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the brilliantly acted Eugene O’Neill
adaptation by director Sidney Lumet, Stockwell plays Edmund, the sickly younger
son, who goes mano-a-mano with brother Jamie (Jason Robards) in some of the
most emotional scenes ever put on film. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rather than becoming a star, he turned
into a familiar face on episodical TV, occasionally popping up in
counterculture movies, including “Psych-Out,” “The Last Movie” and “The
Loners.” Near the end of the 1970s, he quit the business and worked in real
estate.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not until 1984, in German filmmaker Wim
Wenders’ “Paris, Texas” did he reestablish himself as a mainstream movie guy.
He was also in David Lynch’s “Dune” that year, which led to being cast as the
twisted Ben, part of Dennis Hopper’s hopped-up crew in Lynch’s masterpiece
“Blue Velvet” (1986).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His lip-syncing of
Roy Orbison’s “In Dreams” remains one of the creepiest moments in recent film
history.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stockwell became a go-to character actor at
this point, peaking in 1988 with two fabulous performances, as mobster Tony
“The Tiger” Russo in “Married to the Mob” (which scored him an Oscar
nomination) and as Howard Hughes in Francis Coppola’s underrated “Tucker: The
Man and His Dream.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The following year he was tapped to
co-star in the TV series “Quantum Leap,” which became a huge hit, continuing
until 1993. Though his last memorable performance was as the judge in Coppola’s
“The Rainmaker” (1997), he continued to act in both TV and film until 2015. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, could have beens/should have
beens are a dime a dozen in show business, but few 20<sup>th</sup> Century
actors have shown such screen presence and understanding of creating characters
as Dean Stockwell displayed in a 70-year career. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">BELFAST
(2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a 32-year career as an
actor-director, 60-year-old Kenneth Branagh has tapped into his own childhood,
1969 Belfast amid the Northern Ireland Troubles, for his most recent picture.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though the black-and-white remembrance has
its share of heartfelt moments and touching performances, the film’s episodical
script and overuse of uplifting pop music undercuts the serious nature of the
situation faced by the story’s young family.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The nine-year-old Buddy (a very natural
Jude Hill) seems to have an idyllic life contained in his close-knit Belfast
neighborhood until the violence of the centuries-old feud between Catholics and
Protestants erupts anew.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Between the scenes of menace, Branagh’s
script offers the usual coming of age moments for his young stand-in---a
classroom crush, bullied into shoplifting, talks with Pop, his grandfather,
superbly portrayed by Ciarán Hinds---until the family must consider leaving the
only home they’ve ever known.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Too often, Branagh relies on the
comforting spell of the songs of Irish blues master Van Morrison to camouflage
the story’s shortcomings in connecting disconnected scenes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Belfast native Hinds, who has been a
reliable supporting player on both side of the Atlantic since the mid-1990s,
shines as Buddy’s grandfather, the lived-in face of 20<sup>th</sup> Century
Ireland. As his wise-cracking wife, Judi Dench, as always, delivers a perfectly
calibrated performance. Less memorable are Buddy’s parents, played by Jamie
Dornan and Caitriona Balfe.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Branagh has never realized his promise as
an actor-director predicted by his “Henry V” (1989) when he was 29, and then
“Hamlet” (1996), both among the finest Shakespeare adaptations put on film. In
recent years he’s directed “Thor,” “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” and a remake of
“Murder on the Orient Express.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the
last 20 years, Branagh has had more success finding interesting character
roles, including his doomed detective in the British TV series “Wallander,”
probably his finest work as an actor; as Laurence Olivier in “My Week with
Marilyn” (2011); the commander in “Dunkirk” (2017) and the despicable Sator in
“Tenet” (2020). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though it falls short of its ambitions,
“Belfast” is probably director Branagh’s best film since his Shakespeare
movies, and, I suspect, will reap plenty of nominations come Oscar time.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">PASSING
(2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Actress Rebecca Hall, daughter of British
theater director Peter Hall, seems an unlikely candidate to bring to the screen
Harlem Renaissance writer Nella Larsen’s 1929 novel about the lives of two
upper-class Black women. In fact, Hall, in recent years, discovered that her
American mother was part African American, who, in some ways, spent her life
“passing.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This thoughtful, understated picture,
appropriately shot in glistening black-and-white, begins when Irene (a quietly
intense Tessa Thompson) pushes her bonnet to cover half her face and gains
entrance to a high-end café in downtown Manhattan, far from her Harlem home.
There she is spotted by an old friend from school, the fearless, outgoing Clare
(Ruth Negga) who is not only passing for white in the café, but has married a
white man who remains clueless about her race. (Though he has noticed her
growing “darker” as she ages and has an offensive pet name for her.)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1wyRkMREk87CvAs35gUvaYN-ohL_84T2cQAzJLweDzZKUvi4iTLwg7yvTGNDvilMyXRtrUP_B7g8vE8Fbp4L7JXr8P8u8IwuJjk5cc6OTZFZ_28BWRRqsqcj9dOaRzx0cZNuD5MEz-oc5HGeEHgasTLodvS4p_Xk1lYUAPR05FOhDSS_wk7iuyA=s800" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="800" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1wyRkMREk87CvAs35gUvaYN-ohL_84T2cQAzJLweDzZKUvi4iTLwg7yvTGNDvilMyXRtrUP_B7g8vE8Fbp4L7JXr8P8u8IwuJjk5cc6OTZFZ_28BWRRqsqcj9dOaRzx0cZNuD5MEz-oc5HGeEHgasTLodvS4p_Xk1lYUAPR05FOhDSS_wk7iuyA=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While Irene’s life in her large home with
a housekeeper, her doctor husband and two children seems ideal, especially when
considering what most African Americans faced in 1920s America, she feels like
something is missing. When Clare becomes part of their lives—her husband seems
to constantly be away on business---Irene’s feelings of inadequacy grow as her
husband and children embrace the charming Clare.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite the lack of plot (and actually
little about passing), Hall’s adaptation offers a fascinating psychological
study of the African American life, focused on the two women who have sought
out happiness in very different ways.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both actresses are superb. Thompson, who
plays Michael B. Jordan’s girlfriend in the “Creed” films, has the more complex
role as she navigates Irene’s path out of her depression. Negga, who in “Loving”
(2016) played a Black woman whose legal fight to marry a white man was a
landmark case in the 1960s, is perfect as the life of the party who, unlike
Irene, lives life one day at a time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hall seemed destined for stardom after her
turn in Woody Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (2008) and the British TV
thriller “Red Riding 1974” (2009), but nothing much happened for her after
that. She received good notices for “The Night House,” a thriller released
earlier this year. If her work behind the camera in “Passing” is any
indication, she may have just carved out a new career.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">HOUSE
OF GUCCI (2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ridley Scott, while one of Hollywood’s most
accomplished filmmakers, is hardly a stranger to over-heated melodrama. “The
Gladiator” (2000), “American Gangster” (2007) and “The Counselor” (2013) are
among his films that have ratcheted up the histrionics, which makes him the
perfect director for this barely believable, hot-blooded revenge tale of the
Italian fashion family, the Guccis.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lady Gaga, still a work-in-progress as an
actress but with screen presence to spare, plays Patrizia Reggiani, the ambitious
daughter of a small-town trucking firm owner who sets her sights on Maurizio
(Adam Driver), the wide-eyed, law-student son of Roldolfo Gucci (a corpse-like
Jeremy Irons), half-owner of the fashion house. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Against the family’s wishes, they marry.
Then, seeing an opening, Maurizio’s uncle Aldo Gucci (perfectly cast Al Pacino,
back in “Godfather” milieu) bring the newly minted lawyer into the fold,
looking to undercut his brother. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film is so overstuffed with plotting
that it would take longer to explain than the picture’s excessive 2 hours and 38
minutes running time.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jared Leto provides the most entertaining
performance of the picture, unrecognizable under heavy makeup playing Pacino’s
comically inept son who longs to have his own fashion brand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He soon finds himself—this played out in
the 1980s and 90s—in the middle of a family-crushing takeover scheme set in
motion by Patrizia and Maurizio.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Scott’s film plays like a condensed
version of a streaming series, with many crucial details left out or
unexplained, but the director, as always, keeps the action moving and guides
his actors to spirited performances. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The script, by Becky Johnston and Roberto
Bentivegna based on a book by Sara Gay Forden, sometimes struggles to make
sense of the idiocy of the truth, but this isn’t a documentary. It’s an Italian
soap opera as seen through the equally extravagance of Hollywood. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">SPENCER
(2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not sure what to make of this
psychological study of Princess Diana, circa 1991, ten years into her misguided
marriage into the suffocating world of the British Royal Family.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not even sure how to label the film:
deep-dish fan fiction? A metaphorical diagnose of a troubled celebrity?
Certainly, as I’ve argued for decades, most feature films about real people or
events should be viewed as an uncomfortable mixture of truth and fiction, in
the best-case scenario, uncovering the underlining truths without becoming a
documentary.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chilean
director Pablo Larraín, who made the compelling “Jackie,” starring Natalie
Portman as Jackie Kennedy, along with screenwriter Steven Knight (“Dirty Pretty
Things,” “Eastern Promises”) paint a disturbing picture of 30-year-old Diana
(an impressive Kristen Stewart) unraveling during a Christmas gathering at the
royal’s country estate, Sandringham. The stress of her husband’s affair, her
nonexistent relationship with the Queen, her eating disorder, her conversations
with 16<sup>th</sup> Century Queen Anne Boleyn and her frustration of playing
the good wife and mother all culminate in this weekend filled with traditions
going back hundreds of years. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While there are a few scenes in which
Diana interacts directly with Charles (Jack Farthing) or his mother (Stella
Gonet), the royals are mostly seen in the background as the camera swirls
around the Princess, seeing everything from her POV. She does confide in her
dresser (the always wonderful Sally Hawkins), a sympathetic chef (Sean Harris)
and earns a bit of respect from the steely head butler (Timothy Spall, who’s
become the go-to old guard Brit), but the script is much more concern with what
goes on inside Diana’s head. Adding to the Freudian reading of her life, within
walking distance from Sandringham is her childhood home, now boarded up and
crumbling. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, and that’s a very serious “but,” the
story is an invention of the filmmakers. Other than the basic premise that the
royal family repairs to this country estate for the holiday, the film has
little basis in fact, creating events and confrontations that might have
happened, but probably didn’t, to represent how Diana saw her life, they think.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not sure if there’s real merit in this
kind of fiction featuring real people. Yet my criticism may be biased.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After watching “Spencer,” I thought about the
classic bio-pics from the movie studio era that pretended to be telling the
true story of athletes, politicians, soldiers, scientists and writers while
spinning tall tales of flawless heroes. For some reason, I accept the fiction
in these stories even when I know better, but expect something more in
contemporary films. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Judged as a piece of fiction about a woman
in crisis, “Spencer” is an inventive, insightful film; as a story of the late
Ms. Spencer, who knows? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photos:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-indent: 0in;">Ariana
DeBose and dancers in “West Side Story” (Twentieth</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-indent: 0in;"> Century Studios)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-indent: 0in;">Dean
Stockwell, right, with Jason Robards in “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” (Embassy
Pictures)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-indent: 0in;">Tessa
Thompson in “Passing” (Netflix)</span></p>Doug Listhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339222653620926842noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6028831787280199543.post-90316976933456049322021-11-05T16:33:00.001-07:002021-11-05T16:33:58.858-07:00October 2021<p><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">THE
FRENCH DISPATCH (2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wes Anderson, with a great painter’s eye
for details, has crafted a striking piece of original filmmaking, filled with
so many finely constructed shots and dryly hilarious performances that multiple
viewings seem required. I haven’t seen a movie as rich or accomplished as this
in years.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Using techniques he’s flirted with in
previous films, Anderson offers a visual homage, clearly enjoying the irony, to
great magazine writing of last century, as exemplified in the New Yorker. He
lets the quirky writers narrate their stories that range from a profile of a
prison painter to a legendary police cook.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The French Dispatch,” the name of this
eccentric magazine that began as a Sunday insert to a Kansas newspaper before
relocating to Ennui, France (on the river Blasé, of course), opens it pages as
a kind of cinematic Power Point, with four stories presented as a sample of the
wonderous journalism the New Yorker and other magazines of the era were known
for.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dlA8Y9fWxEs/YYW-jehBRpI/AAAAAAAABwc/4K7RyefFNK8IOVTCC1J1Jt9-SbGYcOg0QCLcBGAsYHQ/s976/French.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="976" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dlA8Y9fWxEs/YYW-jehBRpI/AAAAAAAABwc/4K7RyefFNK8IOVTCC1J1Jt9-SbGYcOg0QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/French.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a quick introduction to the publication’s
dour, exacting editor, Arthur Howitzer Jr., son of the original Kansas
publisher (a role tailor-made for Bill Murray), Herbsaint Sazerac (Owen Wilson)
leads us on a tour of quaint Ennui, a lighthearted warmup for a more
substantial piece on Moses Rosenthaler (Benicio Del Toro). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Convicted of double murder, he occupies
his life sentence by painting impressionistic abstracts of the block’s prison
guard (Léa Seydoux), who regularly poses nude for Moses. The writer/narrator
J.K.L. Berensen (Tilda Swinton, hilariously eloquent) lectures on this
art-world sensation to what seems to be gathering of museum members. Anderson
manages to skewer both the art world and those who write about it, while
composing the kind of offbeat story emblematic of what great writer/reporters
regularly dig up.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The weakest section of the film chronicles
a student protest—the leader is played by Timothée Chalamet—as reported by
Lucinda Krementz (Frances McDormand; you knew there’d be a part for her), who,
like many of the famed New Journalism practitioners—Tom Wolfe, Hunter S.
Thompson—becomes personally involved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The final piece is narrated by Roebuck
Wright (Jeffrey Wright), while being interviewed on a television show. He
recites by memory his story of a famed cook (Stephen Park) who becomes involved
in the kidnapping of the precocious son of a police commissioner (Matheiu
Amalric).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beyond the literary touches of the
stories, the magic Anderson brings to these extended profiles, as he moves from
movie studio realism to animation, using freeze frame, horizonal camera
movement and alternating between black-and-white and color, is what makes the
film so memorable. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition to the wryly executed major
roles there are a dozen memorable performances in small roles, including Adrien
Brody and Lois Smith as art experts, Christoph Waltz as an unexpected suitor,
Willem Dafoe as a convict, Edward Norton as a chauffeur, Saoirse Ronan as his
girlfriend and Anjelica Huston as the film’s overall narrator. (In some odd
twist of casting, three members of this cast have prominent roles in “A Time to
Die”: Waltz, Wright and Seydoux.) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anderson receives sole screenplay credit,
but “story by” credits are given to Roman Coppola, Hugo Guinness and Jason
Schwartzman (who also plays a member of the magazine’s staff). I dare say that
they might have combined for a comedy masterpiece.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">DUNE
(2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the sci-fi cinematic world we live in,
dominated by Avengers, zombies and DC heroes, “Dune” represents a more deliberate,
uncluttered, solemn universe.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The plot of this much-anticipated epic is
less complex than a typical 1950s Western and, unlike most important sci-fi
literature, offers little critical insight on contemporary society (either of
2021 or 1965, when the Frank Herbert novel was published) in this adaptation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While well directed by Denis Villeneuve
(“Arrival” and “Blade Runner 2049”) and lushly photographed by Greig Fraser, the
movie lacks a compelling story and, with the exception of its young lead,
interesting characters. As this is only Part I maybe I’m judging too early, but
the same could be said of any of the “Star War” trilogies or the “Avenger”
finale; a two-and-a-half-hour film should stand on its own. At this point, the
tale didn’t hold my interest.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Part of the problem is that the people of
this world, set centuries in the future, seem to live dull, joyless lives
dominated by tribal traditions and mythology. Even the ruling class seems bored
(they don’t even have cellphones!); at least those subjugated have a purpose, gaining
their freedom, but we don’t see much of them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the center of the story is the planet
Arrakis, which supplies this universe with an element called spice that is essential
for the universe’s technology. Yet the natives of the planet have been forced
into hiding as outsiders rule and mine the desert.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The newest landlords, led by Duke Leto
Atreides (Oscar Isaac) and his military leaders (Josh Brolin and Jason Momoa),
arrive on Arrakis with the hope of making peace with the natives, led by a
stoic Stilgar (Javier Bardem). But the universe’s slimy Emperor (an
unrecognizable Stellan Skarsgard) has other plans for the future of the planet
(I never understood why) and that sets the action in motion.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Behind this basic setup lies the mythical
aspects of the story in the form of the Duke’s young son Paul (star of the
moment Timothée Chalamet), who has inherited supernatural skills from his dour
mother (Rebecca Ferguson, best known as part of the “Mission: Impossible”
troupe), and is rumored to be some version of the chosen one. His slight frame
belies his impressive warrior skills, but he remains a work in progress. It’s
his story that will carry the second part of “Dune,” expected in 2023.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve not been particularly impressed with
Chalamet’s acting (he was nominated for “Call Me by Your Name”) in past roles,
but here he’s well cast; his Paul slowly evolves from an enthusiastic teen to a
thoughtful leader of his clan. I hope that bodes well for Part II.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have only vague memories of David
Lynch’s 1984 version but considering its poor reputation and the advancement of
special effects in the past 35 years, I’m sure this new film better reflects
Herbert’s themes. But, thus far, it’s much more sand than vision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">A
TIME TO DIE (2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who would have guessed? Sean Connery spent
10 years (not counting the unofficial 1983 “Never Say Never Again”) as James
Bond; Daniel Craig, who retires from the role with this new film, held the 007
portfolio for 15 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While Craig wasn’t the stereotypical
Bond, more brutish, less cautious, clearly coming from less refined upbringing
than past incarnations and bringing a quiet sentimentality, he has managed to
make the Bond tux and cool demeaner his own. I think few would dispute his
ranking as the second-best Bond.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t think “A Time to Die” will be
remembered as top-flight Bond, but it serves well as Craig’s farewell and an
unflagging entertainment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NWs3sF8R-SM/YYW-uxYVJhI/AAAAAAAABwk/jnsSr1X-ooALhW20vOCtbvbSurkvzDw7wCLcBGAsYHQ/s2000/Bond.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NWs3sF8R-SM/YYW-uxYVJhI/AAAAAAAABwk/jnsSr1X-ooALhW20vOCtbvbSurkvzDw7wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Bond.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> After a lengthy pre-credit intro—during
which the evil cabal S.P.E.C.T.R.E., still casing chaos across the globe, steal
a biological weapon being developed by British Intelligence—James’ bucolic
retirement in Greece with companion Dr. Madeleine Swann (French actress Léa
Seydoux) is interrupted. As Michael Corleone lamented in “The Godfather, Part
III,” “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the help of the new 007 (seems
Bond’s legendary posting is quickly filled) Nomi (an under-utilized Lashana
Lynch), Bond follows the trail to the man behind this sinister plot, Lyutsifer
Safin (where do they get these names?) played by Oscar-winner and over-acting
extraordinaire Rami Malek.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe the most intriguing encounter in
the film takes place in a federal lockup where James interrogates his old
nemesis Blofeld (the always sly Christoph Waltz), kept enclosed in a glass
cage. It’s Bond’s Hannibal-Clarice moment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other familiar faces fill out the cast,
including Ralph Fiennes as M, Naomi Harris as Moneypenny, Jeffrey Wright as
American spy Felix Leiter and Ben Whishaw as Q.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As with most Bonds, the climactic scene
goes on forever, adding psychological layers and tying up loose ends, to the
explosive ending. But director Cary Joji Fukunaga (TV’s “True Detective”)
offers a poignant, heartfelt farewell to Craig’s Bond and the formula that has
endured 60 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">CRY
MACHO (2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While movie fans should applaud Clint
Eastwood for being able to direct and act at age 91, there’s something just as
honorable about knowing when it’s time to retire.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Admittedly, just seven years ago he
directed the first rate “American Sniper,” which earned a 2014 best picture
nomination, but age catches up to all of us<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">very
quickly. In “Cry Macho,” he clearly struggles to walk and even deliver his
lines (Eastwood is not a “young” 91). And, as the man in charge, he seems to
have lost his ear for dialogue and what passes for reality on the screen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are so many ludicrous scenes in this
film starting with the basic storyline, that it’s hard to take a moment of the
picture seriously.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clint plays Mike Milo, a broken-down rodeo
rider and horse trainer—must have been 40 years earlier—who is asked by his
former boss (Dwight Yoakam) to kidnap the man’s son who lives with his mother
in Mexico City. That’s who I would send on such a mission—a man who can barely
walk across the room.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s Clint, so we are expected to ignore his
age—he’s still a can-do kind of cowboy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not going to linger over the inane
story, but just to give you an idea, he drives right up to the mother’s
luxurious hacienda, walks in and announces that he’s there to take her son. In
a very short time, this attractive, very rich woman is inviting this elderly
stranger into her bed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was historical that Eastwood made three
great films as a septuagenarian—“Mystic River” (2003), “Million Dollar Baby”
(2004) and “Letters from Iwo Jima” (2006)—and then continued to take on major
projects like “J. Edgar” (2011), “Jersey Boys” (2014), “Sully” (2016) and
“Richard Jewell” (2019) while in his 80s.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now’s the time to go gentle into that
good night and be remembered for his unprecedented accomplishments of being one
of Hollywood’s most popular movie stars and among its finest directors. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">THE
PIT AND THE PENDULUM (1961) and<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">CREATURE
FROM THE HAUNTED SEA (1961)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another icon of the movie industry who
hasn’t let age slow him down is Roger Corman. Since he turned 90 in 2016, he’s
produced five films, and has another planned. Since 1954, Corman has had producing
credit on over 500 films, according to IMDb (and that’s just the ones he was
willing to put him name on.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He claims to have never lost money on a
film and stories of his economical shooting schedules are legendary (“The
Little Shop of Horrors,” which spawned a popular Broadway musical years later,
was shot in three days.) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the start of his career, Corman was also
a director, highlighted by his series of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations along with
“The Wild Angels,” “The Trip’ and “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I recently revisited two 1961 pictures
Corman directed: one a first-rate horror flick and the other a schlocky,
tongue-in-check monster movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The
script for “The Pit and the Pendulum” by Richard Matheson, one of the finest
science fiction novelists and a prolific writer of television scripts, bears
little resemblance to the Poe story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other
than the title torture chamber and the connection to the Spanish inquisition,
the Baltimore bard wouldn’t recognize his work. But the spirit of Poe is in
every frame of Corman’s film. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>John Kerr (“Tea and Sympathy,” “South
Pacific”) plays Francis Barnard, an English nobleman who has travelled to Spain
to discover why his young sister (Barbara Steele)</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gmJR4X4DPzY/YYW-52QgWqI/AAAAAAAABws/Qhgfwmg2lSc83VwrixC55GVHtaHMkWyIACLcBGAsYHQ/s500/Price.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="500" height="221" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gmJR4X4DPzY/YYW-52QgWqI/AAAAAAAABws/Qhgfwmg2lSc83VwrixC55GVHtaHMkWyIACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Price.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>recently died. After he
arrives at the castle of her widower Nicholas (an especially lugubrious Vincent
Price), Barnard struggles to get a straight story from either Nicholas, his
sister Catherine (Luana Anders) or the attending physician (Antony Carbone).<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eventually, spurred by bizarre occurrences
in the clearly haunted castle, Barnard and the audience learn that Nicholas’
father was a torturer during the inquisition (the film is set in the 1500s) and
murdered his wife by entombing her alive. You might say this left young
Nicholas a psychological mess. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Corman makes great use of the castle’s labyrinth
of stairs, hallways and passages, which all seems to lead the characters toward
their darkest fears. His flashback scenes are particularly effective, shot in a
hazy blue tint that looks like lost footage from a German silent.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Price mugs his way through the role—he’s
always on the verge of throwing himself on the floor in a fit---but Kerr’s and
Carbone’s straightforward readings make for a nice contrast to the macabre
setting. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anders, who plays Price’s sister, was a
longtime friend of Jack Nicholson and Robert Towne (both Corman protégés),
later showing up in small roles in “The Last Detail,” “Shampoo,” “The Missouri
Breaks,” “Personal Best” and “The Two Jakes,” among many others.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then there’s “Creature from the Haunted
Sea,” which looks like it was made on a shoestring budget and clearly for a
laugh. Charles B. Griffith, who also wrote “Little Shop of Horrors,” fills the
script with oddball lines and sarcasm in a haphazard story about a mobster who
plans to steal a cache of gold from Cuban exiles. Carbone is the star this
time, playing a Bogart-like tough guy who assembles a motley crew (including a
young man who only speaks by imitating animal sounds) to divert the gold to a
small island near Puerto Rico.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Getting most of the comic lines is Edward
Wain as Sparks Moran, an American spy amongst the crew who foolishly falls for
the femme fatale (Betsy Jones-Moreland). Turns out Wain is actually Robert
Towne, future acclaimed writer-director, who, I suspect, had a hand in the
script.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Best of all is the sea monster of the
title, which looks like the neglected cousin of one of the Banana Splits; its
bulging rubber eyeballs are the highlight of the film.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once those who haven’t been eaten by the
monster make it to the island, the film gets nuttier, as two of the crew and
Moran fall for native women. It makes an episode of “Gilligan’s Island” play
like Chekhov.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thankfully, “Creature from the Haunted Sea”
is just an hour, the perfect opening bill for a night at the drive-in, Corman
style.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">THE
MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK (2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not sure how to categorize this
“origin” story of Tony Soprano, which presents a glimpse of the world he grew
up in and, apparently, made him the man he was in the celebrated HBO series
“The Sopranos.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll admit that I’ve only seen a half dozen
episodes of the series, so I really only know what I’ve read about it (which
was a bunch considering that during the 2000s it seemed to be the only cable
show anyone wrote about). Yet, I am not the target audience for this film, but
as a fan of mob films I expected to find something worth my time. I didn’t.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This prequel, which probably should have
been a directed-to-DVD extra on an anniversary package of the series, moves at
a snail’s pace as it jumps between one character and another with little
exposition to guide unschooled viewers. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the center of the film isn’t young
Anthony (it mostly covers his teen years when he’s played by Michael
Gandolfini, son of James), but his favorite uncle, Dickie (Alessandro Nivola).
The exposition is so lacking that it was 20 minutes into the film before I
realized he wasn’t Anthony’s father. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dickie comes off as a reluctant mobster
who seems more likely to manage a shoe store or work as the unwitting mob
accountant. Nivola has been a serviceable supporting player for years, but
proves to be a poor choice to carry this film. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Along with all the Italian family squabbles,
the film tries to show the connection between the mob and African American drug
dealers. But the storyline feels tacked on; creator David Chase’s attempt to be
inclusive. For a much better look at the Mafia’s rife relationship with Blacks,
see EPIX TV’s excellent “Godfather of Harlem,” with Forest Whitaker as
notorious 1960s crime lord Bumpy Johnson. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In “The Many Saints,” the most compelling
moments are provided by a snarling Ray Liotta playing Dickie’s father, and then
later, as the man’s brother who is serving a life sentence in the pen. While it
was a bit heavy-handed to have Liotta play both parts, his performances were
all that offered a flicker of energy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For “Soprano” fans, it will probably be
cool to see younger versions of Junior Soprano (Corey Stoll), Silvio Dante
(John Magaro) and Tony’s mother Livia (Vera Famiga), but they left little
impression on this unschooled viewer. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">THE
EYES OF TAMMY FAYE (2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyone who lived through the 1980s and 90s
could not avoid hearing about Tammy Faye Bakker, the flamboyant wife of televangelist
Jim Bakker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You didn’t need to be a
disciple of the Bakkers (of which, sadly, there were many) to see the needy desperation
that radiated from Tammy Faye in every public appearance.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These sentiments, along with her child-like
enthusiasm, dominate Jessica Chastain’s none-to-subtle portrayal in this overly
straightforward bio-pic. Andrew Garfield plays Bakker as a weaselly conman just
waiting to be uncovered.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Directed by Michael Showalter based on the
2000 documentary of the same name, “Eyes” chronicles their rise from newlyweds
tossed out of seminary school to ambitious members of an evangelist troupe led
by Jerry Falwell (a surly Vincent D’Onofrio), the godfather of television
preaching/moneymaking. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tammy’s main contribution at the start of
their career was as a puppeteer and neglected wife, but her personality clearly
helps the pair rise in the world of Christian TV. Soon they are living the
high-life in an extravagant mansion.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was
expecting (always a bad idea) the film to approach this story with comic
sarcasm, baring the irony of these amoral criminals making millions by selling
the teachings of Jesus. But Showalter, who previously directed the very funny
“The Big Sick,” apparently believed that the details of the Bakkers’ rise and
fall was interesting enough to carry the film. It isn’t. Without an exceptional
actress like Chastain at the center this film would be a bad made-for-TV
docudrama. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photos:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Bill
Murray and Jeffrey Wright in “The French Dispatch” (Searchlight Pictures)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: 0in;">Daniel
Craig and Ana de Armas in “No Time to Die” (MGM)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: 0in;">Vincent
Price in “The Pit and the Pendulum” (American International)</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Doug Listhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339222653620926842noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6028831787280199543.post-53653878218571138902021-09-30T21:05:00.000-07:002021-09-30T21:05:45.366-07:00September 2021<p><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">THE
CARD COUNTER (2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Occasionally, if it is to remain a viable
art form, movies need to make viewers uncomfortable, explore the dark side of
society and introduce characters you’d rather not know. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Paul Schrader, as both a screenwriter and
director, has been doing just that since the mid-70s, when he wrote “Taxi
Driver” for Martin Scorsese. In such films as “American Gigolo” (1980), “Patty
Hearst” (1988), “Light Sleeper” (1992), “Affliction” (1997), “Auto Focus”
(2002) and “First Reformed” (2017)—as director—and his contributions to the
screenplays for “Raging Bull” (1980) and “The Last Temptation of Christ”
(1988), he has brought characters and issues to screens that rarely show up in
Hollywood pictures.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add “Card Counter” to his list of
impressive, disturbing films, and William Tell, played with steely precision by
Oscar Isaac, to the roster of memorable characters created by this unflinching
observer of the human condition. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EI4w3q-u98k/YVaHd0N_DUI/AAAAAAAABvk/lZd69B53eOkOfIE8zifTeSx2POzb1T7owCLcBGAsYHQ/s1108/oscar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="831" data-original-width="1108" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EI4w3q-u98k/YVaHd0N_DUI/AAAAAAAABvk/lZd69B53eOkOfIE8zifTeSx2POzb1T7owCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/oscar.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film tells two stories, simultaneously.
While travelling the country playing poker tournaments, having learned to count
cards in prison, Tell is recruited to play for big time purses and a spot in
the World Series of Poker, by a smooth talking young woman La Linda (a very
cool Tiffany Haddish). Around the same time, Cirk (Tye Sheridan), a young man
whose father served with Tell in Iraq, tracks down Tell in hopes that he’ll assist
him in a revenge plot against the man who was their commanding officer in Abu
Ghraib.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tell’s prison stretch was for his role in
what went on in that U.S. detention center, where he and others followed orders
and then took the blame after the scandal was revealed in a CBS News report in
2004.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As this
mismatched, trio traverses the country, following the poker circuit, nothing
much happens even as Schrader keep upping the intensity through Tell’s flashbacks
to Abu Ghraib. Even watching Tell “prepare” his hotel rooms is disconcerting. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Schrader, as usual, doesn’t ask audience
to warm up to his characters, just to understand their place in the world and
Isaac serves him well; convincingly an unpredictable loner with more than a
little Travis Bickle in him (Tell keeps a journal like the “Taxi Driver”
character.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very
quickly, Isaac has established himself as one of the most interesting
contemporary actors with a series of chameleon-like roles. He was a
mild-mannered folk singer in “Inside Llewyn Davis” (2013), a maniacal AI
inventor in “Ex Machina” (2014), a 1970s trucking firm boss dealing with the
mob in “A Most Violent Year” (2014), a heroic Resistance pilot in the recent
“Star Wars” episodes and the 19<sup>th</sup> Century painter Paul Gauguin in “At
Eternity’s Gate” (2018).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The weakest link in “The Card Counter” is
the performance (and Schrader’s dialogue for him) of Sheridan. He never
convinced me that Tell would find him interesting enough to drag him along, let
alone entertain his amateurish revenge plans. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chilly and distant, with more poker
playing scenes than most viewers need to see, yet it’s hard to turn away from
this troubled man and the road Schrader sends him down. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">THE
LAST VOYAGE (1960)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have little patience for disaster films
(including that ridiculous melodrama “Titanic”), which is probably why I had
never taken the time to see this pre-CGI tale of a luxury liner sinking. Turns
out, it’s a compelling, startlingly realistic movie that had me completely rivetted.
(It was billed at the time as “91 minutes of the most intense suspense in
motion picture history.”) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Robert Stack and Dorothy Malone (both of whom
had scored supporting Oscar nominations for “Written on the Wind”—she won) star
as the Hendersons, a married couple taking a cruise across the Pacific to Japan
with their young daughter. This was to be the Claridon final trip, but it turns
out it was one too many. In what has become the clichéd first clue, the
pressure gauges skyrocket and soon the engine room is bursting with holes in
the hull.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jack Kruschen, Edmond O’Brien and Woody
Strode are the main engine room guys trying to patch things up while warning
the arrogant captain (a perfectly cast George Sanders) that the ship may not
stay afloat.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While Sanders ignores his executive
officers’ suggestion to evacuate the passengers, explosions begin to decimate
the liner. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Written and directed by Andrew L. Stone,
the film alternates between Cliff Henderson’s frantic attempts to save his
family after their quarters are destroyed in one of the explosions and the work
by O’Brien and others to save the ship. This is edge-of-your-seat suspense,
nonstop action and daring-do that is all the more enthralling knowing this was
made long before computers started doing the heavy lifting of special effects.
Veteran FX master Augie Lohman—who worked on everything from “The Lost
Continent,” a 1951 B film, to “Barbarella” (1968) and “The Cheap Detective”
(1978)—earned his only Oscar nomination for “The Last Voyage.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stone is a fascinating Hollywood success
story, having started in the industry during the silent era, making a few
shorts and a feature, but mostly working behind the scenes. He never stopped
making low-budget pictures and became known for his location shooting,
especially in his crime pictures in the 1950s. “A Blueprint for Murder,” “The
Night Holds Terror” and “Cry Terror!” are among his well-made noirs. He also
directed the all-Black musical “Stormy Weather” in 1943.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The Last Voyage” should be on any list of
top disaster films for its realistic effects and high-spirited performances,
but also should be noted as the rare film from the era that portrays a Black
man (Strode) coming to the rescue of a white family. When no other crew member
will help, Strode’s Lawson goes above and beyond the call of duty to help.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">DEATH
WATCH (1980)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had no idea what this film was about when
I started streaming it off the LA County library site; all I knew was that it
starred Harvey Keitel and Harry Dean Stanton.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Based on a 1973 novel by D.G. Compton, the
film, set in the near future when humans rarely die of diseases, anticipates
the reality television craze that was still more than 10 years away. In this
case, an amoral TV producer (Stanton) and a doctor on his payroll convince a
woman that she has a fatal illness and has but a few months to live.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Katherine (European star Romy Schneider,
in one of her last roles) seems very accepting of her fate—not even seeking out
a second opinion—and, despite her disgust with the producer and his show, signs
a contract to have the end of her life filmed. But just before the filming is about
to start she disappears into the British countryside.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What she doesn’t know is that Roddy (Keitel),
a seemingly kindly young man she meets by chance, is actually video taping
everything she does or says.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was once
blind and his eyesight was replaced by a camera in his head that sends the
images he “sees” back to the studio.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sounds preposterous and it is for the
first 30 minutes of the film, but once Katherine and Roddy are traveling
together—she wants to say goodbye to her first husband (Max von Sydow) who
lives off the grid—the film becomes more about what makes life worth living and
the strength of human relations than its sci-fi trappings.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Directed by the great French director
Bertrand Tavernier, who also adapted the novel with David Rayfiel (“Three Days
of the Condor”), “Death Watch” overcomes stilted performances by Keitel and Stanton
by virtue of Schneider’s moving portrayal of a woman struggling to find meaning
in the world. Just two years later, the 43-year-old Schneider, one of the
biggest movie stars in France, died somewhat mysteriously, either of a heart
attack or possibly from a sleeping pill overdose<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tavernier, who died in March at age 79,
started out as a film journalist and press agent before becoming an assistant to
the revered French director Jean-Pierre Melville. Tavernier went on to make
some of the best French films of the 1980s and 90s, including “Coup de Torchon”
(1981), “A Sunday in the County” (1984), “Life and Nothing But” (1989) and
“L.627” (1992). He is best known in this country for his English-language film
“’Round Midnight” (1986), which earned jazz legend Dexter Gordon an Oscar
nomination.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tavernier’s 2016 documentary “My Journey
Through French Cinema” is a thoroughly entertaining survey of the topic, filled
with great clips and insightful commentary by this cinematic historian. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Twelve years after this movie, “The Real
World,” usually cited as the first of modern reality TV shows, first aired,
followed by “Survivor” and “Big Brother” later in the decade.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">THE
LAST RUN (1971)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just when I thought I’d seen every
worthwhile film from the 1970s, I caught this George C. Scott car-chase crime
picture on TCM.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 1971, Scott was at the top of his game,
having won the Oscar for his larger-than-life portrayal of “Patton” (1970) and
followed it with his cynical physician in “The Hospital” (1971). On TV, he
starred in productions of Arthur Miller’s “The Price” in 1971 and as Rochester
in “Jane Eyre” in 1970. In the midst of these high-profile performances, “The
Last Run” has mostly been forgotten, rarely mentioned as among the actor’s best
work. But it is.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The movie opens with Scott’s Harry working
on his high-powered BMW sports car and then test driving it along a
treacherous, Portuguese seaside road before heading to Spain. Turns out, he’s
the getaway driver in a prison break, his first “driving” job in nine years. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s quietly established in this superb
Alan Sharp (“The Hired Hand” and “Night Moves”) script that Harry sees little
to live for; his young son died and his wife has left him. He’s looking for a
reason to make life worth living and he seems to find it in Rickard (Tony
Musante), the escapee/gunman, and his girlfriend Claudie (Trish Van Devere)
after Rickard’s former gang members turn on him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not a big fan of long car chases—they
take up a quarter of the film---but here they serve as metaphors for Harry’s
determination to speed toward his doom. It’s only behind the wheel that he feels
in control and finds life temporarily rewarding.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The Last Run” could easily have been a
B-movie from the 1950s, thus who better to direct than Richard Fleischer, who
made two film noir masterpieces, “Armored Car Robbery” (1950) and “The Narrow
Margin” (1952). While Fleischer’s later career was filled with some of the
worst films ever made—“Che” (1969), “Mandingo” (1975), “The Jazz Singer” (1980)
and “Conan the Destroyer” (1984)—his work here shows that given the right
material he remained a talented filmmaker. (And it doesn’t hurt that Sven
Nykvist serves as the film’s cinematographer.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Musante nails the smart-ass tough guy who
seems, at first, to be nothing more than a gunsel, but he knows how to keep the
upper hand on Harry. (The actor later starred as a detective in the 1973 TV
series “Toma”). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This also may be the only film in which an
actor starred with two of his wives. Colleen Dewhurst, who plays a sympathetic
prostitute Harry relies on, was married to Scott from 1961 to 1965 and then
again from 1967 to 1972. Seven months after their second divorce, Scott married
van Devere, whose career from this film forward was almost always as co-star or
under the direction (on TV, Broadway and in movies) of Scott. She was married
to him for 26 years until his death in 1999. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Scott’s world-weary, gravelly voice, his
thoughtful cadence and seemingly eternally squinting eyes brings Sharp’s fascinating
character study alive, turning a straight-forward crime picture (originally a
John Huston project) into something much more substantial.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">THE
PRIVATE LIFE OF DON JUAN (1934)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Few on-screen performers are more important
to the early development of the American cinema than Douglas Fairbanks. Though
his star faded with the coming of sound, the influence of Fairbanks and his
wife Mary Pickford as the first couple of Hollywood cannot be underestimated.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Along with Charlie Chaplin, Fairbanks defined
movie stardom with his oversized personality and athleticism, turning heroes
like D’Artagnan, Zorro, Robin Hood and the Thief of Bagdad into versions of
himself. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His last starring role was in this biting
satire about the aging Spanish playboy, Don Juan. Trying to avoid a reunion
with his wife (the film is filled with jokes about marriage), the still beloved
Don Juan slips out of Seville after a young doppelganger is killed in a
swordfight by a jealous husband.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iyn0b_0n46A/YVaHqerFw_I/AAAAAAAABvo/-dWVmI7YCGwtDDn_hXbCyZnX4UuW8ZlaQCLcBGAsYHQ/s824/donjuan.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="537" data-original-width="824" height="209" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iyn0b_0n46A/YVaHqerFw_I/AAAAAAAABvo/-dWVmI7YCGwtDDn_hXbCyZnX4UuW8ZlaQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/donjuan.webp" width="320" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The picture’s centerpiece is the funeral of
Don Juan, observed with amusement by Don Juan and his friend. Attended by
dozens of women, most who never meet the famous Lothario, they are all
inconsolable at his demise.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like an actor without a hit film, Don
Juan, under an assumed name, leaves town, but doesn’t much like being an
undistinguished middle-age man (Fairbanks was 51 and quite thick around the
middle). When he returns to Seville, expecting to be hailed as a returning
hero, no one can believe it is him. No, say all the women, Don Juan was
younger, taller and more handsome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This British-made film, by legendary
director-producer Alexander Korda (he produced almost every important UK film
from the 1930s and ‘40s), is based on the French play, “L’Homme a la Rose.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No doubt, Fairbanks saw the dual joke, on
the legend of Don Juan and the legend of Doug Fairbanks, but plays the role to
the hilt, unafraid to play the fool.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It turned out to be a worthy final turn—his
only other appearance was as himself in “Ali Baba Goes to Town” (1936)—as he
died after a heart attack in 1939 at age 56. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">A
MAN CALLED ADAM (1966)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The history of jazz is littered with
brilliant musicians whose addiction ruined both their careers and personal
lives. This independent picture offers an uncompromising profile of fictional
coronet player Adam Johnson (Sammy Davis Jr. at his most anguished), whose
drinking, coupled with his anger over the daily racism he encounters, wreaks
havoc on his relationships on and off the stage.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The opening sequence in this Leo
Penn-directed film (Sean’s father) immediately defines the temperamental
performer: While on a nightclub stage with his band, he loses his cool with a
heckler and then walks out on the gig. Then, returning to his apartment
(apparently after being on the road for awhile) he flips out because an old man
is staying there (Louis Armstrong, playing a legendary trumpeter) along with
the man’s granddaughter (a 42-year-old Cicely Tyson still playing a “young
lady”).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a bit confusing as to why they are
there, but there’s nothing unclear about Adam’s character. He’s an angry,
unpleasant drunk who treats others like they’re fools and practically sexually
assaults Tyson’s Claudia. Turns out, Armstrong’s Willie Ferguson is an old
friend and mentor to Adams, which he remembers the next morning. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are used to seeing Davis, one of the
most acclaimed entertainers of the 20<sup>th</sup> Century, as a sycophant in
Frank Sinatra films or as a slick hipster along side buddy Peter Lawford (who
plays an arrogant business manager in this film.) Playing the hard to like,
hot-tempered Adam, who manages to hurt everyone he comes in contact with, is a
stretch for the singer, but, overall, he creates a convincing character, whose
tragic past defines him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Armstrong, in addition to being, arguably,
America’s greatest musician, had a lengthy career in film, mostly playing
himself and usually getting a chance to display his trumpet virtuosity. But
he’s done well in straight-acting roles, including with longtime pal Bing
Crosby in “Pennies from Heaven” (1936) and as Ralph Meeker’s buddy in “Glory
Alley” (1952). Here, he has a couple of poignant scenes as he tries to point
Adam on the straight-and-narrow.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qHqQXgE5hX4/YVaH2UkRx_I/AAAAAAAABvw/fMB50bD1MdsrKM0hL9TgDDOtv4_eQKeqwCLcBGAsYHQ/s620/Sammy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="372" data-original-width="620" height="192" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qHqQXgE5hX4/YVaH2UkRx_I/AAAAAAAABvw/fMB50bD1MdsrKM0hL9TgDDOtv4_eQKeqwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Sammy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> The cast also includes Ossie Davis, a
friend who tries to smooth things out after Adam’s inevitable outbursts; Frank
Sinatra Jr. as a young trumpeter who Adam takes under his wing; and musicians
Mel Torme and Kai Winding as themselves. Needless to say, the score is filled
with superb jazz; the great Nat Adderley (brother of Cannonball Adderley) plays
Davis’ cornet parts.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Made in an era when Hollywood rarely
examined the lives of African Americans with anything resembling reality (even
Sidney Poitier films were typically set in a very white setting), “A Man Called
Adam” stands out as presenting both the racist barriers even a successful Black
man faced and a lead character with a litany of problems. Lester and Tina Pine
penned the edgy script; he went on to write the screenplay for “Claudine”
(1974), which earned Diahann Carroll an Oscar nomination.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Penn, who only made one more feature in
his long career—“Judgment in Berlin” (1988)—directed episodes of virtually
every important TV series from the mid-1960s to the 1990s (“Dr. Kildare,” “I
Spy,” “Bonanza,” “Marcus Welby, M.D.” “Kojak,” “Columbo,” “In the Heat of the
Night” and “Matlock,” to name a few.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">FLAG
DAY (2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a director, Sean Penn is clearly Leo’s
son. Despite bigger budgets, his films have all the characteristics of B-movie
indies, focused on those on the fringe, struggling to find their place in an
often-unwelcoming world. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At his best, in “The Pledge” (2001) with
Jack Nicholson, and “Into the Wild” (2007), about the young man who found a
home in the Alaskan wilderness, Penn is a strong director of actors who pushes his
performers to dig deep into the emotions of relationships. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s his intention in his newest film,
but there just isn’t enough substance to sustain interest in the story of these
characters. Too much of the film plays like a two-person acting class exercise.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Penn plays John Vogel, a failed conman,
bank robber, drug addict and wannabe entrepreneur who tries to maintain a
relationship with his equally rebellious daughter Jennifer (played by his
real-life daughter Dylan). In some ways, the movie could be seen as a father’s
vanity project to promote his daughter’s acting career (the 30-year-old has had
just a few indie roles).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This true story, based on the Jennifer Vogel’s
book, keeps repeating the same cycle: Jennifer reaches out to her father, who
disappoints her again after they both remember better times. It grows
especially tiresome when the director keeps going back to the same car trip
when the daughter and (mostly ignored) son were young. The same hazy shots of
nostalgia are reused at least four times. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jennifer eventually overcomes her horrible
childhood (the mother is equally irresponsible and, of course, there’s a sleazy
step-father) to become a working journalist. But I had a problem believing that
she could gain admission to the University of Minnesota after dropping out of
high school and then lying about it on her application. Maybe that was possible
in the 90s; today she’d need a 4.0 and tons of extra-curriculars.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both Penns give good performances (the
cast also includes son Hopper playing his son), but except for close friends of
the family, I can’t imagine anyone caring about this predictable, slow-moving
story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">PHOTOS: </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Oscar Isaac in "The Card Counter."</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Douglas Fairbanks, with Merle Oberon, in "The Private Life of Don Juan."</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Sammy Davis Jr. and Cicely Tyson in "A Man Called Adam."</span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> <br /></o:p></span><p></p>Doug Listhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339222653620926842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6028831787280199543.post-74875479936170579122021-08-22T17:31:00.001-07:002021-08-22T17:31:49.809-07:00July-August 2021<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">RESPECT
(2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
recent years, Hollywood has fallen in love with musical biopics—"Rocketman,”
“Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Straight Outta Compton,” “Jersey Boys,” “Judy” and “Get
on Up,” to name a few. It’s hard to go wrong when portraying a popular
performer; as long as there are plenty of songs and the usual quotient of
tragedy, filmgoers don’t seem concerned if the filmmakers fudge on the details
of the musician’s life. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The latest in this genre, “Respect,”
chronicles the life of Aretha Franklin, whose stunning voice earned her the title
of “The Queen of Soul” even before she hit her prime in the late 1960s.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UJ-6RkGpjRk/YSLkOzILdEI/AAAAAAAABus/h3w4NajSvCE4YgXqF7MerZogrhaG1rk3wCLcBGAsYHQ/s940/respect.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="705" data-original-width="940" height="247" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UJ-6RkGpjRk/YSLkOzILdEI/AAAAAAAABus/h3w4NajSvCE4YgXqF7MerZogrhaG1rk3wCLcBGAsYHQ/w320-h247/respect.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The key relationship of the film is between
Franklin (Jennifer Hudson, whose terrific singing makes up for her limited
acting skills) and her preacher father C.L. Franklin (the always excellent
Forest Whitaker), who controls his daughter’s career and life well into her
twenties. The film spends an inordinate amount of screen time focused on these
early years, as she goes from singing protégé to a failed pop star after
signing with CBS and legendary producer John Hammond in 1960. <o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film comes to life along with
Franklin’s career when she is signed by Ahmet Ertegun’s Atlantic Records
(neither are mentioned in the film, I assume for legal reasons) and paired with
visionary record maker Jerry Wexler, played by an excellent Marc Maron, the
podcaster and sometimes actor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wexler records her at the Muscle Shoals,
Alabama studio Fame; finally, the movie shows Aretha’s musicianship as she
interacts with studio musicians who understand R&B. At Atlantic, she became
a pop superstar with a string of hits, including "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)," "Respect," "(You Makes Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," "Chain of Fools" and "Think."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> While the film does a pretty good job of portraying her career arc (though I wasn't pleased that the film left the impression that Franklin wrote her signature hit "Respect," when in fact it was a cover of an Otis Redding song), it fails to elevate Franklin above the cliché of talented victim. Her father and then boyfriends/husbands (most notably Ted White, played by Marlon Wayans) control her as if she's a child. It's frustrating to see her stand up for herself in one scene and then go back to becoming a victim in the next. Maybe that reflects reality, but it didn't ring true to me.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The emotional complexity of the film's Aretha is in the script--written by Tracey Scott Wilson and veteran screenwriter Callie Khouri--but Hudson struggles to find the character. Too often she plays important scenes with a blank face, failing to communicate what is going on with the film's central character. Theatrical director Liesl Tommy, making her feature debut, fails to give the film a consistent tone.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Astonishingly, for a two- and a half-hour film, the story ends in 1972, with the filming of her return to her gospel roots for a documentary and live album in the church of her mentor, the Rev. Dr. James Cleveland (a nice turn by Tituss Burgess). She lived another 46 years, dying in 2018 at age 76, but never had the recording success again, instead taking on legendary status. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Even with its faults, "Respect" is better than most biopics and benefits from the great music. Though it does make the too common mistake of showing the real performer at the end of the film. Seeing Franklin perform "A Natural Woman" at Carole King's Kennedy Center tribute (King wrote the song) in 2015 is so powerful that it nearly erases everything you've just experienced in the film.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></b><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></b><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">MANDALAY
(1934)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This obscure picture of exotic romanticism was
the 60th film of director Michael Curtiz I’ve seen. Yet that’s only a bit over
half of his Hollywood movies. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Warner Bros. stalwart helmed about
100 films between 1926, when the Hungarian moved to Hollywood, and his final
movie, “The Comancheros,” in 1961. Too easily dismissed by critics and
historians because he was so prolific—despite directing such classics as “The
Adventures of Robin Hood,” “Angels With Dirty Faces,” “Yankee Doodle Dandy,”
“Casablanca,” “Mildred Pierce” and “White Christmas”—Curtiz was a master of
camera movement and placement, managing crowd scenes and getting the most out
of every performer. By all reports, he was a dictator on the set, but the
results are hard to argue with.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Born in 1886 in Budapest, he began his
directing career in 1912, using the name Kertész Mihály, and then later Michael
Kertész, making over 60 films before heading to America. By 1930, the director,
now Michael Curtiz, was given such high-profile assignments as “Noah’s Ark”
with Dolores Costello and, in 1931, “The Mad Genius” with John Barrymore. One
of his early hit films was “Mystery at the Wax Museum” (1933), with Fay Wray.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While “Mandalay” is hardly among his best
pictures, it features one of the era’s biggest stars, Kay Francis playing a
woman living in Rangoon, Burma. She is sold to a sleazy nightclub owner (Warner
Oland) by her boyfriend (Ricardo Cortez) to cover his debts. She becomes Spot
White, the singer/hostess at the club who ends up being forced to leave the
city. During the trip upriver, headed to Mandalay, she meets an alcoholic
doctor (Lyle Talbot), bonding with him as they both try to forget their pasts.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The studio-styled exotic surroundings and
the pre-code sexually charged storyline are supplemented by Curtiz’s flashy
direction. Various scenes find his camera shooting from above a ceiling fan,
behind curtains as the actors enter a room and travelling shots not often seen
in early talkies. The scenes inside the nightclub foreshadow the director’s superb
direction inside Rick’s in “Casablanca.”</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gmWGZqbqJ5Y/YSLlbzThCyI/AAAAAAAABu0/UfJTLPbDM2UroXUsCPSBZouFpxcXnxBPQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1003/curtiz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1003" data-original-width="1000" height="223" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gmWGZqbqJ5Y/YSLlbzThCyI/AAAAAAAABu0/UfJTLPbDM2UroXUsCPSBZouFpxcXnxBPQCLcBGAsYHQ/w222-h223/curtiz.jpg" width="222" /></a></div><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Curtiz’s most famous collaboration was
with action star Errol Flynn; the pair worked together 12 times, creating such
first-rate entertainments as “Captain Blood” (1935), “The Adventures of Robin
Hood” (1938), “The Private Life of Elizabeth and Essex” (1939) and “The Sea
Hawk” (1940).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the 1950s, his films lost the energy
of his earlier works, getting stuck with dreary material that resulted in “The
Jazz Singer,” “The Egyptian,” “The Vagabond King” and “The Helen Morgan Story.”
But he made three terrific pictures that were released in 1950.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Bright Leaf,” the story of the American
cigarette industry, with Gary Cooper as the tobacco mogul, tries for a “Citizen
Kane”-like study, and almost succeeds, while Kirk Douglas portrays a
temperamental musician in “Young Man With a Horn,” a film that deals with a
collection of outsiders trying to find their place in the world (both films
co-star Lauren Bacall). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the best of his output that year is
“The Breaking Point,” with John Garfield as Ernest Hemingway’s conflicted
tough-guy Harry Morgan, in this superbly realized adaptation of “To Have and
Have Not.” A sharp script by Ranald MacDougall (he also adapted “Mildred
Pierce” for Curtiz) that improves upon the original novel, maybe Garfield’s
best performance and Curtiz’s dynamic direction combine to make this a great
film and one of the least appreciated. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not surprisingly, this industry lifer worked
right up to the end, passing away a year after his last film was released. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">SUMMER
OF SOUL (…Or, When the Revolution<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Could
Not Be Televised) (2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In July 1969, about a month before
Woodstock, another multi-day music festival was held in New York—this one in a
park in Harlem. The Harlem Cultural Festival also featured an impressive lineup
of musical performers but was soon forgotten by all but those who were there. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film of the shows, discovered still in
the basement of the festival’s producer Hal Tulchin (he failed to get a deal
for a concert movie in 1969), has been edited, along with current interviews
and clips from the turbulent times that led up to the event, into a powerful
statement about a crucial period of African American life and its soundtrack.
Director Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, drummer of the band Roots, seamlessly combines
this “lost” footage of the performers with the world these artists were part
of.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among the inspired performances delivered
during the festival are Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone, Gladys Knight
and the Pips, the 5th Dimension, B.B. King, the Chamber Brothers, Nina Simone
and the Staples Singers. The high point of the film is a soaring duet by gospel
legend Mahalia Jackson and Mavis Staples on “Take My Hand, Precious Lord.” Introduced
by Jesse Jackson, he explains that it was Martin Luther King Jr.’s favorite
song.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The death of King, just 16 months earlier,
hangs heavily over the event, making the festival as much a healing process as a
musical gathering. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While it’s disappointing that it took more
than 50 years to get this concert to the big screen (the producers became aware
of the footage while doing the documentary “What Happened, Miss Simone?”), I
wonder if its impact will actually be greater in 2021 than it would have been a
half-century earlier. If it brings underrated performers like Sly Stone, the
Staples Singers and the 5<sup>th</sup> Dimension the attention they deserve and
proves to be a Black Lives Matter touchstone, it was worth the wait. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">BLACK
WIDOW (2021)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unlike most action pictures, there’s never
a shortage of dialogue in the Marvel Universe. Detailed explanations of every
aspect of the plot, along with long discourses on the emotional failings of
each character, seems as essential to these films as robotic warriors firing
lasers from their wrists.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet all these words just serve as little
more than noise the audience suffers through to get to the next over-the-top
fight or impossibly spectacular, CGI-enhanced escape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The latest entry, much delayed and
anticipated, offers the origins of Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), who
as Black Widow, is part of the superhero Avengers troupe. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tale begins with her Ohio childhood,
the night when her parents are somehow identified as Russian spies. They manage
(even when mother Melina is wounded by gunfire) to pilot a small aircraft to
Cuba—in a sequence laughably unbelievable—where Natasha and her sister Yelena
are whisked away for indoctrination, never to see their “parents” again. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But 20 years later, sister Yelena (Florence
Pugh) draws her famous sister into her obit as she tries to destroy a Russian
network of female assassins, all chemically controlled from a vaguely explained
secret headquarters called The Red Room. Yes, it does sound like a plotline
from a “Man From U.N.C.L.E” episode.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dbe0DL3kNmc/YSLloO86TBI/AAAAAAAABu4/2pC_oFzRQ6gW8c4kJPJnLwLEbRYf7pYVACLcBGAsYHQ/s1000/black%2Bwidow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1000" height="192" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dbe0DL3kNmc/YSLloO86TBI/AAAAAAAABu4/2pC_oFzRQ6gW8c4kJPJnLwLEbRYf7pYVACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/black%2Bwidow.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> After much talk between the
long-separated sisters, they hatch a plot to free their hated “father” Alexei
(David Harbour), who serves as the sole source of comic relief, from a heavily
guarded prison. This complex sequence serves as the film’s centerpiece as
Natasha and Yelena pluck Alexei via helicopter, fighting off dozens of guards
and a fast-moving avalanche, before reuniting with Melina (a miscast Rachel
Weisz).<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one doubts Johansson’s acting skills (for
evidence see “Marriage Story,” “Lucy” and her three films for Woody Allen), yet
she doesn’t bring much to her Black Widow character other than looking great in
a white jumpsuit that never seems to get stained. In the Marvel world (this is
her eighth), she always seems to be playing Scarlett Johansson.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The directors in these MCU pictures seems
interchangeable and that seems true for “Black Widow.” Cate Shortland, an
Australian who previous directed a few indie films fails in the non-action
scenes, providing little to unpeel these characters’ love/hate relationships.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But most egregiously (spoiler alert!), two
of the films’ most reprehensible characters are allowed to live while hundreds
of foot soldiers on both sides die anonymously. That, for me, was more
jaw-dropping than most of the computer-choreographed chases.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">LORD
JIM (1965) and NATIVE SON (1951)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While there are numerous examples of great
literature being turned into great films (“The Grapes of Wrath,” “Great
Expectations,” “To Kill a Mockingbird” come immediately to mind) more often,
attempts to turn insightful writing into screenplays has resulted in
disappointment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not sure why I had never seen “Lord Jim,”
starring Peter O’Toole and directed by one of the best directors of the 1960s,
Richard Brooks, but time has only made this adaption of Joseph Conrad’s epic
more embarrassing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>O’Toole, fresh off his breakthrough role
in “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962) and brilliant work in “Beckett” (1964) with
Richard Burton, plays Conrad’s title character, a 19<sup>th</sup> Century
British naval officer who, along the rest of the crew, reluctantly abandons a
troubled ship, leaving the passengers, Islamic religious pilgrims, to die. When
they make it safely back home, Jim is stripped of his naval rank.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seeking to redeem himself, he ends up
attempting to aid a local uprising in the imaginary Southeast Asian country of
Patusan, where he becomes a hero of sorts, living with a tribal leader’s
daughter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he ends up being tested again and
again, first by an Asian warlord (the very non-Asian actor Eli Wallach) and a
murderous pirate (James Mason). Conrad’s critique of European incursion into
Eastern culture is lost in the muddled plot populated by characters whose
motivations are unexplainable. Even as the white man’s place in this part of
the world is questioned, Lord Jim displays resourcefulness that seems beyond
the natives’ abilities. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the biggest drag on this picture is
O’Toole, one of the great actors of the 1960s and ‘70s. Throughout the film, he
goes through the motions as if he’s a George Romero zombie, reciting his lines
expressionless while attempting, I guess, to show a man who has given up on
life. It’s more like an actor whose given up trying. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, O’Toole is an interesting study
of an actor who earned his reputation early and then seemed to cruise through a
career. Looking at his post-“Lord Jim” career—from age 33 to his death at
81—there are few highlights. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He gave another Oscar-nominated
performance as Henry II, the same character he played in “Becket,” in “The Lion
in Winter” (1968); played an insane dilettante in “The Ruling Class” (1972);
and then, in the 1980s, played two arrogant showbiz characters, the heartless
director in “The Stunt Man” and the Errol Flynn-type Alan Swann in “My Favorite
Year.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No actor has been nominated more times, eight,
without winning, but also few acclaimed actors have given so few memorable
performances in a career lasting more than 50 years. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet
he was a legendary drinker and raconteur, which became more important than his
actual acting career. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rarely screened film version of Richard
Wright’s landmark novel of race, “Native Son,” isn’t nearly as bad as “Lord Jim,”
but it’s quite an oddity as the 43-year-old author plays the twentysomething protagonist
Bigger Thomas. Not sure whose decision that was, but the casting undercuts the
story of a young man hired to drive for a wealthy white family who accidentally
kills the family’s daughter after she has befriended him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film, directed by French director
Pierre Chenal and filmed in Argentina, clearly some producer’s lark, doesn’t do
a bad job of capturing the horrific conditions of Chicago slums, but once the
young, white, well-to-do couple start trying to “enlighten” their Black driver,
the heavy-handed issues overwhelm the human story.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bravo to Eddie Muller for screening the film
on TCM’s Noir Alley, but I wasn’t buying his argument for the movie’s value as
a noir (I love the show, but Muller does tend to oversell some second-rate pictures.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Co-star and victim Jean Wallace also played
Richard Conte’s girlfriend in the noir classic “Big Combo” (1955).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">ROCK
‘N’ ROLL HIGH SCHOOL (1979)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the same time that innovative directors
were reshaping the American cinema, the popularity of drive-in movies spurred
an explosion of cheap, amateurish films about high school life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my town, where there wasn’t much to do
for a high school student, summer meant drive-in movies. Weekly, pictures like “The
Pom Pom Girls,” “Porky’s,” “Malibu Beach,” “The Van,” and “Cheering Section”
offered outrageous classroom behavior we’d never dare attempt, clueless
administers we immediately recognized, plenty of cute girls and, if we were
lucky, a dash of female nudity. The king of this underbelly of the movie
industry was Roger Corman (still around at age 95) who has produced hundreds of
films starting in the 1950s and served as mentor to such future legends as Jack
Nicholson, Francis Coppola, Peter Bogdanovich, Martin Scorsese and Ron Howard,
to mention just a few.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Rock ‘n’ Roll High School” abides as one
of the masterpieces of the genre, primary <br />because the band featured—there’s almost
always a band—is the Ramones, the essential performers of punk and the most
influential post-60s American rock band. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They became the house band of the New York
club CBGB in 1974 and two years later the group’s debut became a critically hit
and ignited the punk movement.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The movie takes place at Vince Lombardi
High School where spunky high school girl Riff Randell (P.J. Soles, who was a
B-movie presence through the 1980s, including in “Stripes”) is obsessed with
the Ramones and determined to pass along a song she wrote to the band. When the
Ramones are scheduled to play the Roxy, Riff skips school and stands in line
for three days to buy for tickets for her classmates.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PFucOrMlh5E/YSLmI4COCmI/AAAAAAAABvE/k9DdcgOrPZEeGzAXMOhY-CimtsWg8KEtgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/ramones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="283" data-original-width="400" height="226" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PFucOrMlh5E/YSLmI4COCmI/AAAAAAAABvE/k9DdcgOrPZEeGzAXMOhY-CimtsWg8KEtgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/ramones.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Back at Lombardi High, Principal Togar
(cult film actress Mary Woronov) has just taken over the school with the
mission of stopping any interest in rock ‘n’ roll. Of course, it’s ridiculous,
but Woronov, one-time member of Andy Warhol’s Factory, gives a great comedic
performance, channeling a Nazi prison commander as she directs a pair of
sycophant hall monitors to carry out her orders. The other prominent adult is
Paul Bartel, another cult film legend, as the music teacher who learns to love
rock ‘n’ roll.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are the usual romantic complications
(Dey Young and Vince Van Patten) and even a student love counselor (an
enthusiastic Clint Howard), who gives advice from his “office” in the boys’
restroom.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it’s the stage performance of Joey,
Dee Dee, Johnny and Marky that makes the film a must-see. Director Allan Arkush,
who convinced Corman to drop the original plans for “Disco High School,” hoped
to feature more interaction between the band and the actors, but the musicians’
off-stage shyness made it impossible. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The quartet do make an appearance at the
high school for the explosive finale, when Woronov delivers the classic line:
“Do your parents know you are a Ramone?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today, more serious, realistic movies give
a truer picture of high school life, but contemporary teens are missing out on
what, back in the ‘70s, was a rite of passage and an early lesson in the
hypocrisy of adults. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photos:</span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jennifer Hudson and Forest Whitaker in "Respect" (MGM)</span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Michael Curtiz (Warner Bros.)</span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Scarlett Johansson in "Black Widow" (Marvel Studios)</span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;">P.J. Soles with the Ramones in "Rock 'n' Roll High School" (New World Pictures)</span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Doug Listhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339222653620926842noreply@blogger.com1