DODSWORTH (1936)
d: William Wyler
CAST: Walter Huston; Mary Astor; Ruth Chatterton; David Niven
> geez I love this movie; a cold, wet Sunday under a quilt, crumpets and a hot mug of tea and this movie; so comforting to be involved with a story about such genuinely decent people; I can even work up some sympathy for Mrs Dodsworth (silly old cow); Walter is one of the great unjustly-overlooked actors; Wyler's mastery began here; a perfect movie
Award-Worthy Performances
Walter Huston; Mary Astor; Ruth Chatterton
THE IMPOSSIBLE (2012)
d: Juan Antonio Bayona
CAST: Naomi Watts; Ewan McGregor; Tom Holland
> didn't expect to particularly like this because I'm not much of a disaster movie fan (all SFX and all-star casts who get bumped off one-by-one apart from the male headliners); this has (impressive) SFX but focusses on a small number of characters and stays with them as they go through ordeal after ordeal; while the struggle to survive and overcome the odds is appropriately front and centre, it seems to be happening to a real family, so the experience is more affecting; a surprise
Award-Worthy Performances
Naomi Watts; Tom Holland
THE MOSQUITO COAST (1986)
d: Peter Weir
CAST: Harrison Ford; Helen Mirren; River Phoenix
> very interesting character study crossed with jungle adventure movie; gets darker and darker as it progresses; Harrison is impressive as non-action hero / increasingly unlikeable type; absolutely criminal under-use of Helen Mirren really bugs me (she's a doormat!); as you'd expect, River hints at his future acting-greatness if he'd given the drugs a big pass...only 23...shit...
Award-Worthy Performance
Harrison Ford
SHE'S FUNNY THAT WAY (2015)
d: Peter Bogdanovich
CAST: Imogen Poots; Owen Wilson; Jennifer Aniston; Rhys Ifans
> WOW. It's been a long, long time but, here it is: a clever, charming comedy for adults; no diarrhoea or impotency jokes in sight; a deftness of touch that is genuinely reminiscent of Ernst Lubitsch and Woody Allen; thoroughly enjoyable because the actors are clearly enjoying themselves too; can't trust my objectivity because I'm just so damned glad it turned up
Award-Worthy Performance
Imogen Poots
THE ONION FIELD (1979)
d: Harold Becker
CAST: John Savage; James Woods; Franklyn Seales
> first half is full of quirky dialogue, unusual characters, real tension, riveting; second half bogs down in courtroom rigmarole which I guess is the point but it's uninspiring storytelling; while James Woods is James Woods (which is wonderfully creepy) and Franklyn Seales is appropriately pathetic, John Savage is barely there (imagine what someone like Montgomery Clift would've done with the role); attempted happy ending is silly; still, there's something about the movie that lingers and chills
Award-Worthy Performance
James Woods
SOUTHPAW (2015)
d: Antoine Fuqua
CAST: Jake Gyllenhaal; Forest Whitaker; Rachel McAdams
> I'm a sucker for movies about redemption; this movie is a blend of The Champ, Million Dollar Baby and Cinderella Man, so it's got a sentimental heart pumping out the blood and violence; Raging Bull-ish celebration of the Beast, which is unfortunate; acting is outstanding, including from the little girl (where do they keep getting these kids from?); the tragic turning point happens before characterization is completed, which hurts the film; still, packs a fair wallop (sorry...unavoidable) emotionally
Award-Worthy Performances
Jake Gyllenhaal; Forest Whitaker
IN THE BEDROOM (2002)
d: Todd Field
CAST: Sissy Spacek; Tom Wilkinson; Marisa Tomei
> American gun culture strikes again: a gun causes a tragedy and a gun is used to try and fix things; up until the second gun was used, the film had me, but after that, I just kept repeating the mantra "whaddya expect?"; however, superlative acting by the women (I'm not convinced by Tom Wilkinson's accent) with flawless direction by Field...just wish the ending had been rethought
Award-Worthy Performances
Sissy Spacek; Marisa Tomei
SHOOT (1976)
d: Harvey Hart
CAST: Cliff Robertson; Ernest Borgnine; Henry Silva
> anything which questions or (even better) ridicules America's gun culture instantly piques my interest; this indictment of machismo is barely-realistic, ignoring practicalities and sense to make its point; explores the stupid brutality behind credos such as "they might've started it, but we're gonna finish it" and "I speak softly but I carry a big stick"; build-up a little bit slow & the climax is a little too quick; Cliff is his usual bland self and Ernest is nobody's idea of a righteous man; hangs around a while afterwards
COMA (1978)
d: Michael Crichton
CAST: Genevieve Bujold; Michael Douglas; Richard Widmark; Rip Torn
> pretty good murder-conspiracy-thriller; good to have a woman as the pro-active hero although this is undermined by the corny rescued-by-a-man finale and totally gratuitous full-frontal nudity; some effective set scenes and images (love the use of the corpses!); Genevieve is winning as the central character who just will not be fobbed off; far too easy to guess who the bad guy is, and this leaks out some of the suspense
ARISE, MY LOVE (1940)
d: Mitchell Leisen
CAST: Claudette Colbert; Ray Milland
> Phew!; starts as a screwball comedy set in the Spanish Civil War, becomes a romance aboard the torpedoed SS Athenia, winds up as a wartime drama during the Fall of Paris; always considered Ray Milland to be a member of the Robert Cummings / Don Ameche / Robert Taylor "How Did They Become a Movie Star?" Club; Claudette just glows with starpower; a Billy Wilder / Charles Brackett script that must've been written over a weekend, a bottle of scotch and a stack of newspapers; you get dragged into it purely because of the "what could possibly happen next" factor
Worst Movie-Viewing Experiences 23/08/15 - 29/08/15
HOLD THAT GHOST (1941)
d: Arthur Lubin
CAST: Abbott & Costello
> the first of the A&C horror-comedies and certainly not the best (and it is amazing to me how many people do rate it highly though); my usual complaint with A&C is that C is allowed to carry on too much (the moving candles scene here is dumb, not funny); there are at least three other A&C movies I infinitely prefer to this and there are at least eight which are far worse; still, it does bring up fond childhood memories which may or may not be true, but that's one of the advantages of getting old
ALICE, SWEET ALICE (1976)
d: Alfred Sole
CAST: Brooke Shields and some other people
> this slasher flick has a pretty good reputation, but I just don't get it; yes, I'm not much of a slasher guy anyway I know, but I expect to be scared or revolted or something; the closest I got to revulsion was when the atrocious acting (Brooke is lousy) started to give me a headache; the closest I got to fear was when the fat guy started to topple over and his rolls created a tsunami-like effect; the single saving grace was the screaming by Aunt Annie: funny ha-ha; even the killing of Brooke lacked impact (although I was grateful)
P.S. Lillian Roth, the singer and actress who was portrayed by Susan Hayward in the 1955 alco-drama I'll Cry Tomorrow, is in this. Isn't that fascinating?
