Sunday 1 May 2016

1982 Page Added

Best Movie-Viewing Experiences 17/4/16 - 1/5/16      


THE VERDICT (1982)
  MOVIE JUKEBOX
d: Sidney Lumet
CAST: Paul Newman; Charlotte Rampling; James Mason; Jack Warden
> classic redemption story (hopeless alcoholic lawyer gets one last chance to fight for the little guy and save his own soul in the process); Paul gives the performance of a lifetime as a stricken man who has thrown his life away - when he photographs the coma patient / client, the self-revulsion on his face is gut-wrenching; obstacles are constantly thrown in his way to prevent him from achieving real justice: big money, corruption & conspiracy, betrayal, self-defeat; a couple of unlikely plot twists mar things a little, but not injuriously so; one of the great courtroom dramas
Award-Worthy Performances
Paul Newman; James Mason



INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1978)
A-   SECOND VIEWING
d: Philip Kaufman
CAST: Donald Sutherland; Brooke Adams; Jeff Goldblum; Veronica Cartwright
> the third-best remake of a certified "classic" movie (#1 = A Star is Born & #2 = His Girl Friday...of course); paranoia cranked up to the max; shifting the setting of the film from a small town to a big city suits the 70's and somehow makes it more plausible (there are weirdos everywhere in Sydney, I can tell you); I still prefer the original (and I'm sure most filmaholics would) for its pace, political subtext and initial impact; all actors are mighty fine in roles which could have easily just been run-and-scream performances; glad this finally shows us what happens to the original bodies once they have been replicated (the lack of which bugged me about the original); can you spot Robert Duvall?  




SONS AND LOVERS (1960)
A-   SECOND VIEWING
d: Jack Cardiff
CAST: Dean Stockwell; Trevor Howard; Wendy Hiller; Mary Ure; Ernest Thesiger
> I've always found D.H. Lawrence's novels to be tough going (turgid; guilt-ridden; flesh-obsessed) and, while I admire his way with language, I feel as if all I've read is an exquisite soap-opera; SAL as a movie is, naturally enough, enhanced by the B&W coaldust visuals (director Jack being one of the great cinematographers) and classy portrayal of working-class marriage by Trevor and Wendy; Dean, all grown up, is fine as the young man who wants to be an artist but is afflicted by shallowness; dawdles a bit but is emotionally rich 
Award-Worthy Performances
Trevor Howard & Wendy Hiller



WINTER'S BONE (2010)
A-  RE-EVALUATION / ORIGINAL GRADE: B
d: Debra Granik
CAST: Jennifer Lawrence; John Hawkes; Garret Dillahunt
> first time I watched this, I was going through a particularly awful life crisis...messed up on anti-depressants, sedatives and alcohol, I dismissed it as "too depressing" but "competently made" and that's all; clearheaded, this is a very affecting indie film about a teenage girl who really does have a reason to turn to drugs and alcohol...but she's too strong for that; trying to keep her rural Ozarks family together, Jennifer plays a great cinematic heroine, ably supported by John as her scary and tough uncle; beautiful dank textures in this film merge with a brutally cold story involving meth labs, self-sufficiency and casual violence
Award-Worthy Performances
Jennifer Lawrence; John Hawkes



CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016)
B+   FIRST VIEWING   IN-CINEMA
d: Anthony & Joe Russo
CAST: Chris Evans; Robert Downey Jr; Scarlett Johansson; Sebastian Stan; Don Cheadle
> yeah, yeah...another Marvel movie which is only okay; rift between Cap & Tony emotionally beats the one between Supes & the Bat; the bloody camera is too close up and shakes about too much YET AGAIN during the action sequences, obscuring the view and frustrating the bejeezus out of me; the airport scene is fantastic fun mainly due to the new characters (Ant-Man / Spidey / Panther); the Cap & Iron Man characters are wearing thin; not enough jokes (didn't the Russos watch Joss Whedon's Avengers movie?); speaking of which, The AvengersGuardians of the Galaxy and Iron Man remain the best of the MCU and probably always will as the franchise dwindles down from inspiration & risk into mere formula; good enough if you're a fan (which I remain...but they're starting to lose me...)



INHERIT THE WIND (1960)
B+   MOVIE JUKEBOX
d: Stanley Kramer
CAST: Spencer Tracy; Fredric March; Gene Kelly; Florence Eldridge; Claude Akins
> although Stanley throws his message on with a trowel, the movie is an enjoyable plough through the Scopes Monkey Trial (with a fair amount of dramatic licence deployed, I grant you); Fredric serves up the greatest course of ham ever...to the point of it being a perverse thrill; this is Spencer's greatest white hair / old man performance and he gives it full throttle: you can spot the relish invested in every sermony speech; under-valued is Florence in the impossible role as the devoted wife who knows her husband is actually only a well-intentioned windbag; a flawed film (the Ole Time Religion can be a bit much at times), but admirable
Award-Worthy Performances
Spencer Tracy; Florence Eldridge



YOLNGU BOY (2001)
B+  FIRST VIEWING
d: Stephen Johnson
CAST: John Sebastian Pilakui; Sean Mununggurr; Nathan Daniels
> three young Aboriginal lads (not quite men) flee from their Northern Australia community to avoid jail; essentially a quest movie - what does it mean to be a man?; traditional culture Vs modern ways; thieving, vandalism and petrol-sniffing shown as replacements for hunting, warring and belonging; never understood the need to wreck, regardless of motivation; film attempts to show the captive position these kids are in and how they can escape it; biggest flaw in the film: while you care about the three boys, you don't care about what happens next; still, a cultural eye-opening for a 56 year old white urbanite like myself




KNOCK ON ANY DOOR (1949)
B+   FIRST VIEWING
d: Nicholas Ray
CAST: Humphrey Bogart; John Derek; George Macready
> Bogie looks great / is great as jaded city lawyer trying to prevent an injustice; "mean streets" courtroom drama softened in the first half by flashback device - structured as series of vignettes rather than straight narrative which the story was strong enough to be; good kid becomes bad kid becomes reformed kid (via Love, of course); populated with interesting flaw-faced side characters; striking noirish B&W; surprise unconventional resolution blighted somewhat by big preachy speech at the end (apparently, urban crime is our own fault)
Award-Worthy Performance
Humphrey Bogart 



MA & PA KETTLE AT THE FAIR (1952)
B+  MULTIPLE VIEWINGS
d: Charles Barton
CAST: Marjorie Main; Percy Kilbride; Lori Nelson
> I have fond memories of this movie series from when I was a kid - the films were regulars on the Channel 7 Saturday Movie Matinee, and if it was raining and I couldn't go down to the creek, I'd sit glued; the wafer-thin story is not much more than a structure to hang running gags on (Pa's bone-idleness & the abundant feral kids & the fixer-upperer farmhouse etc), but that's okay; Marjorie & Percy are a master comedy duo and absolutely perfect in these roles; dependably directed by Charles (he of Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein fame); this is #4 in the 9-part franchise and my favourite of the lot
Award-Worthy Performances
Marjorie Main & Percy Kilbride 



Lesser Movie-Viewing Experiences 17/4/16 - 1/5/16  

MIDNIGHT SPECIAL (2016)
B-  FIRST VIEWING   IN-CINEMA
d: Jeff Nichols
CAST: Michael Shannon; Joel Edgerton; Kirsten Dunst; Jaeden Lieberher
> a supremely earnest variation on the E.T. story; great intro scene is cinematic storytelling at its best...a boy has been kidnapped from a cult by his father, but there is something very weird about this kid...; then, somehow, it seems to slow down, despite regular actions and conflicts designed to move the plot along; Michael is increasingly coming across as a one-note actor - no complexity or shadings in his performance whatsoever; the others do their bit but could've been played by anyone really; even the kid is merely adequate; the grand sci-fi finale is ultimately silly rather than impressive; don't believe the hype




I'LL FOLLOW YOU DOWN aka CONTINUUM (2013)
B-   FIRST VIEWING
d: Richie Mehta
CAST: Hayley Joel Osment; Gillian Anderson; Rufus Sewell; Victor Garber
> starts off as a nice mystery (guy who is a husband & father & physicist goes on a routine business flight and never returns), but turns into a time travel sci-fi tale; film tries too hard to make its fantasy premise feasible and gets bogged down in fake-rationality...shoulda just dropped it on us and carried on with telling the story, like comicbooks do; Gillian does a good job as the distraught wife while Haley struggles with a tough role and an always-present acting legacy; turns out that family is more important than the advancement of quantum mechanics... gee, who knew?; would've made a passable episode of the 1980's Twilight Zone
    
  

TURKEY SHOOT (1982)
E   FIRST & LAST VIEWING
d: Brian Trenchard-Smith
CAST: Steve Railsback; Olivia Hussey; Michael Craig; Noel Ferrier
> godawful ozploitation flick; fascist dystopia (camp commandant is named Thatcher!) where political prisoners are hunted for sport; offensive allusions to the Holocaust; guns & explosions & somersaults in the air; gratuitous female-only nudity & excessive and cartoonish violence (heads blown off / amputations / impalings / immolation / etc); dialogue to cringe along to and an abrasive music soundtrack that clearly wants to cause you harm; many familiar Aussie TV faces from the 70's just earning a living; nobody bothers to act, and why should they?; meant to be watched in a drive-in after you've drunk a six-pack each, smoked a scoob, and are just about to pass around a flagon; I bet Quentin Tarantino is a fan





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