CRIMSON TIDE (1995)
d: Tony Scott
CAST: Denzel Washington; Gene Hackman; Viggo Mortensen; James Gandolfini
> The Caine Mutiny cranked up a couple of notches; love LOVE the bold message the movie hits out with: "just blindly following orders is blatantly moronic"; was initially worried that this was gonna be another bloody ra-ra wave-the-flag pro-war brick but, despite the pesky Russkies being the bad guys, the movie avoids (pretty much) all that crap; tense action-thriller that, as usual, is enhanced rather than hindered by its cramped setting; both Denzel & Gene are mighty fine; is that weird banter about white Portuguese horses which are born black supposed to suggest an underlying racist motive??
GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER? (1967)
d: Stanley Kramer
CAST: Spencer Tracy; Katharine Hepburn; Sidney Poitier; Cecil Kellaway
> just finished reading an excellent biography of Spencer Tracy by James Curtis and had to re-watch this (the backstage story of the film's making is movingly described in the book); while I admit that the film is mushy and as false as a seven dollar note, the final big-speech scene where Spencer stares semi-smilingly into Katharine's quivering eyes is where Life and Art meet; boy, it sure is a 60's film!; I know I've been charitable with the grade, but it's a good-hearted entertainment and a sentimental gift for us old-movie-star fans
Award-Worthy Performances
Spencer Tracy & Katharine Hepburn
ANOMALISA (2015)
d: Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
CAST: David Thewlis; Jennifer Jason Leigh; Tom Noonan
> it's not part of this blog's brief to review animated films, but this one is too special to shrug away; an exploration of the Human Condition (feeling alone / being disillusioned / what does it all mean? / am I the only weird person who feels like this? / etc) using sort-of puppets; quite affecting, especially after you get used to and understand the point of the unusual stuff; the puppets resemble stringless Thunderbirds (one in particular is a dead ringer for Lady Penelope); a very adult film with a few laughs, something significant to say with a downbeat but realistic ending; openminded, compassionate & smart
CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY (1995)
d: Darrell Roodt
CAST: James Earl Jones; Richard Harris; Charles S. Dutton
> very moving anti-Apartheid movie which is surprisingly gentle despite featuring a murder and an execution; peculiar elements in this movie (stilted, formal dialogue & a ceaseless pastoral soundtrack) shouldn't really work, but somehow do; risky performances by both leads - James plays a genuinely good, wise priest (ho-hum) and Richard is an old racist who abruptly corrects his bad attitude (how do you make that convincing?) but both rise to the occasion - it's their best work; a genuinely warming tale
Award-Worthy Performances
James Earl Jones; Richard Harris
BROOKLYN (2015)
d: John Crowley
CAST: Saoirse Ronan; Domhnall Gleeson; Jim Broadbent; Julie Walters
> lovely, old-fashioned romantic flick with the (Bias Alert) stunningly-pretty Saoirse in top form as a poor Irish girl living in a place as wild and wonderful as 1950's Brooklyn; migrating, adapting, missing home dreadfully, but returning there reluctantly; despite being the eponymous feature, Brooklyn itself is not as much of a character in the film as, say, someone like Woody Allen or Martin Scorcese would've made it; a weepie chick-flick of sorts sure, but refreshingly straightforward and free of sensationalism; makes a nice change
Award-Worthy Performance
Saoirse Ronan
DALLAS BUYERS CLUB (2013)
d: Jean-Marc Vallee
CAST: Matthew McConaughey; Jennifer Garner; Jared Leto; Griffin Dunne
> another one of those films which impressed me far more than what I was expecting; usually don't like spending too much time with characters who seem to be taking a crash-course in debauchery, but this was different; Matthew's lowlife scumbag really does become a noble hero without a whiff of the holier-than-thous (I've always been a pushover for stories of redemption); love the compassion the filmmakers show for these desperate people; not pleasant viewing of course, but certainly enriching
Award-Worthy Performance
Matthew McConaughey
SPOTLIGHT (2015)
d: Tom McCarthy
CAST: Michael Keaton; Mark Ruffalo; Rachel McAdams; Liev Schreiber; Stanley Tucci
> one of those movies which, if you didn't like it, you feel as if you have done something wrong; ignoring the topic, this is a pretty good investigative journalism film which is not up to the standard of All the President's Men or Zodiac; my biggest gripe is that the offending priests remain faceless men throughout the movie - surely a terrific climax would have been confronting one of these guys and posing the question "How could you?", so...an opportunity for a powerful scene has been missed; adequately engrossing, but a bit thin overall; certainly not "Film of the Year" material...so, therefore, watch it win the Oscar
Award-Worthy Performance
Mark Ruffalo
ANOTHER YEAR (2010)
d: Mike Leigh
CAST: Jim Broadbent; Ruth Sheen; Lesley Manville; Peter Wight
> I'm slowly warming to Mike Leigh's movies but I still wish MORE would happen in them plotwise and this film is no exception; a compassionate hand on the shoulder of relationships, it is graced with an absolutely stunning performance by Lesley Manville as the desperately lonely Mary; whilst conflict exists, it seems to be muffled and is quickly reined in, so I never know if I care about some, all or none of the characters; I kept expecting a tragedy like a car-crash or overdose or something; the central married couple is the movie's soul and gives tonic to the enduring sadness; it lingers, but just barely
Award-Worthy Performance
Lesley Manville
ANGEL BABY (1995)
d: Michael Rymer
CAST: John Lynch; Jacqueline McKenzie; Colin Friels; Deborra-Lee Furness
> sad tale of two schizophrenic (bi-polar? manic depressive?) people who fall in love, move in together (despite vehement opposition) and become pregnant; as an acting couple, John & Jacqueline are sweet and totally convincing; not many laughs in this, as you would expect, and it throws a doomed-before-they-even-try pall over the story; MAJOR GRIPE: the director resorts to age-old cinematic cliches to show mental illness (slow motion / tilted camera angles / 360-degree pans / severe and distorted close-ups / multi-tracked incoherent whisperings) rather than just trusting the actors to act
Award-Worthy Performances
John Lynch & Jacqueline McKenzie
LIBEL (1959)
d: Anthony Asquith
CAST: Dirk Bogarde; Olivia de Havilland; Robert Morley; Wilfred Hyde-White
> okay courtroom drama which spins on the always unconvincing & contrived two-strangers-who-look-identical device; both Dirk (supplying his neurotic routine, which Michael Redgrave was always better at) and Olivia (she of the "oh darling, darling" wifey-mantra) are merely perfunctory in the leads; Robert & Wilfred as bickering barristers should be charged with the theft of the movie (which must have been anticipated as soon as they were cast); the ending is inevitable but tidies things up nicely; a pleasant movie to have on while you are doing the Sunday crossword
Worst Movie-Viewing Experiences 7/2/16 - 18/2/16
DOLORES CLAIBORNE (1995)
d: Taylor Hackford
CAST: Kathy Bates; Jennifer Jason Leigh; David Strathairn; Christopher Plummer
> first time I saw this movie I thought it was overwrought and turgid, with a typically blustery, yelling performance by Kathy Bates; upon second viewing, I have managed to pick up a couple of positives (the eclipse sequence is pure Hitchcock; supporting performances impress) and I think I nearly enjoyed watching it; Kathy & Jennifer still strike me as being too mannered though and they don't match up as mother & daughter; the plot tilts into artificiality but not disastrously so (it is a Stephen King story after all); sitting on the fence, possibly leaning slightly forwards I guess
Award-Worthy Performances
Judy Parfitt; Ellen Muth
DEADPOOL (2016)
d: Tim Miller
CAST: Ryan Reynolds; some other people
> I am a child of the 60's, so the character of Deadpool doesn't have the nostalgic grab for me that old-school superheroes like Cap, Spidey and the FF have; film shoulda been funnier, even though it plays around with an extreme version of slapstick (smashstick?); quite appropriately, it's very violent with impalings, dismemberments and beheadings, but minimally gory; not a big Ryan fan - I find him too self-impressed - but he's a good fit for the Merc With a Mouth; lotsa pop-culture jokes that won't mean a thing in 5 years time; the romance and origin-story are draggy appendages; the (I assume) franchise has got potential, but they need to ditch the remaining superhero-movie cliches and boldly go where...etc
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