FRANKENSTEIN (1931)
d: James Whale
CAST: Colin Clive; Boris Karloff; Mae Clarke; Dwight Frye
> even after all this time, this remains one of the very best of all horror movies, proving that great horror does not have to equal great gore; too many classic scenes to rhapsodise about, but special mention must be made of the creepy dungeon version of high-tech: lightning bolts & massive switches & creaky pulleys & things that go zap; undeniable flaw though: the build-up is told at a far-too-cracking pace, and even the tremendously gothic B&W cinematography can't entirely compensate; Colin achieves every actor's dream: amusingly OTT and yet still complements the material; great fun and a regular late-night play on the Jukebox
Award-Worthy Performances
Colin Clive; Boris Karloff
THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA (2005)
d: Tommy Lee Jones
CAST: Tommy Lee Jones; Barry Pepper; Melissa Leo; Julio Cedillo; January Jones
> a powerful movie, interestingly told with flashbacks cut throughout; so much going on which swirls around the ethic of keeping a promise made to a friend, no matter what; a modern Western of sorts with similarities (locale; hardened people) to 1996's equally wonderful Lone Star; some confronting violence & graphic depictions of death mixed in with very dark humour; Tommy is at his performance-best in this film and his directorial flair is obvious; cameo from Levon Helm (The Band) as a blind & grizzled old man is poignant; possible future inductee of the Movie Jukebox
Award-Worthy Performance
Tommy Lee Jones
THE WEIGHT OF ELEPHANTS (2013)
d: Daniel Joseph Borgman
CAST: Demos Murphy; Angelina Cottrell; Matthew Sunderland; Catherine Wilkin
> nice little film set in smalltown New Zealand (South Island?); focusses on misfit, sensitive 10 year old boy who is already shouldering more than his share of Life burdens (run-off mum / no dad / mentally-ill & adored uncle / school-bully target); woven through is mystery of abducted children who may or may not be living next door; kept recalling To Kill a Mockingbird in its gentle depiction of children trying to comprehend adult horrors; absolutely superb performance by Demos - he's a real kid; the ending is a little forced, but that's all that's wrong with this gem (apart from its stupid title, that is)
Award-Worthy Performance
Demos Murphy
DANCE, FOOLS, DANCE (1931)
d: Harry Beaumont
CAST: Joan Crawford; Clark Gable; Cliff Edwards
> starts off as a Roaring Twenties socialite fest, then BOOM! Black Tuesday hits, and the film becomes a struggle-street shot of reality; watch Joan make the transition from airhead flapper to modern working girl; Clark is in another one of his 1931 tough-guy star-making performances; Joan is surprisingly moving in the lead role (except for her dancing, where she looks like a pair of spasming calipers); could have easily slid into the soap but the strong direction by Harry (especially in the action scenes) steers it true; shame about the sappy crappy happy ending though...it is to gag
Award-Worthy Performance
Joan Crawford
CROSS OF IRON (1977)
d: Sam Peckinpah
CAST: James Coburn; Maximilian Schell; James Mason; David Warner
> I thought this was supposed to be lousy (according to the film's initial critical reception), but that is just plain wrong; often reminded me of Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds is an obvious offspring) with its bloody killings and peculiar dialogue; unlike Tarantino though, there isn't a drop of humour in it; trademark Sam P slow-mo slaughter & destruction which turns violence into ballet; James is excellent as the weary hero, with Max playing a quivering, prejudiced stickler who is clearly off his Nazi rocker; director / cinematographer / editor team sure know their stuff: best-looking WWII film I've ever seen; a personal surprise
Award-Worthy Performance
James Coburn
MR TURNER (2014)
d: Mike Leigh
CAST: Timothy Spall; Dorothy Atkinson; Marion Bailey; Lesley Manville
> I have no idea if this movie is an accurate portrayal of the man or even if accuracy is the film's intention; he comes across as a common-fellow genius who was a highly-commercial painter and a bit of a pig of a man (he even snorts and grunts); appropriately sumptuous-looking, the film presents Turner in his time without ever supplying much in the way of a psycho-explanation for his, er, idiosyncracies; this is a classic Timothy role, and the film holds your interest without much actually happening (the Mike Leigh method of storytelling)
Award-Worthy Performance
Timothy Spall
HOUSE BY THE RIVER (1950)
d: Fritz Lang
CAST: Louis Hayward; Jane Wyatt; Lee Bowman; Ann Shoemaker
> minor Fritz Lang movie (and, let's be honest here...there really aren't that many major Fritz Lang movies) with his usual themes: sex & death; guilt as a brand; self-haunting & persecution; and shadows, lotsa shadows; some confronting images: a bloated cow going back & forth in the swollen river / a bagged corpse floating with wispy hair trailing in its wake; Louis means to be a repulsive sociopath but comes across more as a reptilian brat; the Jane character is a writer's literary device; more impressive is Lee as the far-too-obliging brother; this lust & murder tale is essentially well-told but a little on the turgid side
ACES HIGH (1976)
d: Jack Gold
CAST: Malcolm McDowell; Peter Firth; Christopher Plummer; Simon Ward
> WWI fighter pilot movie, complete with excitingly staged aerial dogfights (is it even possible to make these boring?) and young men being directed to the slaughter by cynical old guys; could've done without the jovial military band music; never been much of a Malcolm fan (he always seems to be playing tamer versions of his "Clockwork Orange" persona... exception: when he played HG Wells in 1979's Time After Time); Peter does a good job as the dew-eyed newbie destined to learn the hard way; pretty standard cheerio / there's-a-good-chap British war movie which still manages to crank up a bit of entertainment while delivering the War is Bullshit message - as it bloody should
FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS (2016)
d: Stephen Frears
CAST: Meryl Streep; Hugh Grant; that guy from Big Bang Theory
> first read about Florence in the 1977 issue of The Book of Lists and thought that the woman must have been an urban myth, so unlikely was the story; well, bugger me, here is the film of her life; felt a little awkward laughing at the woman's singing after the film directs us to feel sorry for her (big health problems); Meryl impersonates her well but, like many other 21st Century Meryl performances, it comes across as something she has put on rather than something which she has brought out; Hugh, yet again, plays Hugh and, yet again, plays him perfectly; admittedly, I did enjoy myself: it is a lightweight, pleasant movie which is ideal for those don't-feel-like-anything-deep moods
THE CHAMP (1931)
d: King Vidor
CAST: Wallace Beery; Jackie Cooper
> I watched the 1979 version of this tearjerker long before I saw this original and, like most filmgoers, I prefer this one (it leaves you with a bit more dignity); the two guaranteed bawling scenes work in both (unless you're a rock); Jackie is more a real kid than Ricky, and Vidor doesn't go for the Zeffirelli Arthouse stuff; Wallace is the usual unsubtle fat slob and his boxing style is of the horizontal-windmill variety (Raging Wombat?); the climactic fight is laughable (Wally's opponent grins throughout!); the kid's mother is a lousy consolation prize; still, there's something primal about the story, and little Jackie is terrific
Award-Worthy Performance
Jackie Cooper
Lesser Movie-Viewing Experiences 2/5/16 - 17/5/16
SCANNERS (1981)
d: David Cronenberg
CAST: Steven Lack; Jennifer O'Neill; Patrick McGoohan; Michael Ironside
> 1960's Village of the Damned crossed with 1978's The Fury (but not as good as either); a violent splatterfest much beloved by gorehounds and thrillseekers and considered a classic by them; somehow manages to be slick and amateurish at the same time; soundtrack music is laid on way too thick; special effects (exploding heads & throbbing veins) are indeed special without being repugnant; while Patrick & Michael are perfect for this stuff, Steven & Jennifer are walking, talking voids...and, ruinously for the film, are the heroic lead couple; not really my cup of tea but, while it gets a bit silly at times, it's at least kinda fun
A FREE SOUL (1931)
d: Clarence Brown
CAST: Norma Shearer; Lionel Barrymore; Clark Gable; Leslie Howard; James Gleason
> Gawd...Norma Shearer is dreadful in this...all hand-wringing and eye-bulging and brow-knitting; she sinks any chance the movie had of being more than just a dated-as-soon-as-it-was-made melodrama; Lionel's drunk is more convincing than his doting father and crafty lawyer; his final big courtroom scene features a terrific legless tumble; the movie only picks up whenever Clark appears (he always played a great bastard...a man's man as they used to say...although in this his character's name is Ace Wilfong...only in movies...)
Award-Worthy Performance
Clark Gable
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