BOB ROBERTS (1992)
d: Tim Robbins
CAST: Tim Robbins; Alan Rickman; Gore Vidal; Ray Wise
> increasingly amusing U.S. political satire which, in this age of Donald Trump, (aren't you scared? I'm scared...and I'm an Australian) is becoming less and less outrageous; never been much of a mockumentary fan (I always compare them to This is Spinal Tap and Zelig and they always come up wanting) but the structure is perfect for this film's intention; love the Bob Dylan send-ups but find the allusions to the Kennedy assassinations to be questionable; the various songs maintain an acceptable standard throughout (I'd never buy the album though); always thought Tim was an overrated but competent actor and his performance in this supports that opinion...writing/directing may actually be his thing instead
THE MEDDLER (2016)
d: Lorene Scafaria
CAST: Susan Sarandon; Rose Byrne; J.K. Simmons
> so refreshing to see a movie about decent, real people going through a common life experience (loss of a loved one & rebooting their subsequent lives); Susan is marvellous as the new widow & committed mother who doesn't know what to do with herself or how to let go; Susan & J.K. are a striking onscreen couple and I would have enjoyed seeing more of them together; a little slow and draggy in some sections, the movie doesn't seem to want to end even when the issues are satisfyingly resolved; still, these are minor quibbles because the characters are such pleasant company; a nice way to spend 100 minutes
Award-Worthy Performance
Susan Sarandon
WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE (1995)
d: Todd Solondz
CAST: Heather Matarazzo; a whole bunch of other people
> the darkest of dark comedies which I still find palatable; some genuinely hilarious bits (the pre-pubescent kid is a straightfaced / put-upon joy); the scenes in this which originally put me off it (rape threats with a knife at a girl's throat & the contemplation of murder with a hammer & child abduction as contrived pathos) still sour me on it now, but it passes; just love the heinously-naff clothes that our heroine wears; all the adults are jerks of course with absolutely no redeeming features (especially the teacher); the regular injections of loud surf-style music (Wipeout meets Neal Hefti's Batman) add to the uncomfortable fun
Award-Worthy Performance
Heather Matarazzo
ARBITRAGE (2012)
d: Nicholas Jarecki
CAST: Richard Gere; Susan Sarandon; Tim Roth
> a film centred on a character who is a high-finance whiz (handsome, lying, conniving and most of all, arrogant) is only ever going to hold my attention if something really BAD happens to him and he is brought to atone; this occurs much to my satisfaction in this movie; great lead performance by Richard who just may be a largely-untapped cinematic talent (I always thought he was too much of the Smoulder & Brood persuasion, but, with age...); underuse of Susan is unfortunate; this exciting comeuppance story is told very smoothly with no attempts to ever make the main guy out as anything but a slimeball
Award-Worthy Performance
Richard Gere
CAREFUL, HE MIGHT HEAR YOU (1983)
d: Carl Schulz
CAST: Wendy Hughes; Robyn Nevin; Nicholas Gledhill; John Hargreaves
> set in Great Depression Sydney, this is the story of a child custody battle between a rich aunt (who cannot Love) and a poor aunt (who can, but hell, she's broke); a certified Aussie classic, I've always thought this to be strangely overrated; two major flaws - 1) the incessant orchestral strings are force-feeling soundtrack music at its worst & 2) the kid looks the part but doesn't act the part - he is clearly just repeating taught lines and his blank stare is devoid of emotion; the other actors range from satisfactory to excellent (John is especially good as the no-hoper bloke); affecting in parts; gorgeously staged and shot
Award-Worthy Performance
John Hargreaves
BRONSON (2008)
d: Nicolas Winding Refn
CAST: Tom Hardy
> the story of a human being who started as a baby, became a boy, then a man, then an animal, then a bestial monster; while the film is never exactly enjoyable, it is also never boring or tedious...even though the numerous bloody beatings given and dished out are repetitive; no attempt is made to explain why / how a person became so insanely violent; the staging is very theatrical (Baz Luhrmann style) and quite funny at times but this doesn't grate or belittle the highly-confronting scenes; Tom is brilliant in the lead and his character reminds me of a psychotic version of the Sergeant Major guy in It Ain't Half Hot Mum
Award-Worthy Performance
Tom Hardy
SISTERS (1973)
d: Brian De Palma
CAST: Margot Kidder; Jennifer Salt; Charles Durning
> Brian's first Hitchcockianism (Psycho + Spellbound + Rear Window) complete with creepy Bernard Herrmann score; the build-up to the first slashing murder is terrific (game show parody & flirtatious Margot & nifty use of split-screen) but everything after it just isn't as good (draggy & too much talk & violence replaces suspense); love how the shrink is a hunchback and looks like a Nazi scientist; Margot is effective as one-half of a Siamese Twin and is sexy as all get-out; a serviceable minor thriller which is not as much fun or as funny as a King Alfred production...but let's face it, that's a pretty big ask
X-MEN: APOCALYPSE (2016)
d: Bryan Singer
CAST: James McAvoy; Michael Fassbender; Jennifer Lawrence; Oscar Isaac
> ho-hum...it's another B+ superhero movie; wondrous opening sequence set in Ancient Egypt; the movie was prematurely slammed by fanboys as being boring but they are mostly wrong; POSITIVES: punches above its weight performance-wise with the impressive cast (both well-known and will-be) & a couple of good one-liner jokes & terrific cameo by Wolverine in berserker-mode & top-notch FX of course & the camera was HELD STILL so I could clearly see what was going on & the Quicksilver guy is bloody fantastic!; NEGATIVES: bladder-burstingly long again & the baddie has no charisma whatsoever & too many fave characters competing to impress us & Cyclops is again underplayed & Magneto and Mystique as goodies seems to me to diminish them in status; a pleasant rush and that's all
Lesser Movie-Viewing Experiences 18/5/16 - 11/6/16
d: Woody Allen
CAST: Naomi Watts; Anthony Hopkins; Josh Brolin; Gemma Jones; Antonio Banderas
> Woody-Lite that sputters a bit and peters out before the end; all the now-very common Woody themes are present: complexity of relationships & the morals of artistic people & looming oblivion & selfishness trumping ethics; the cast are mostly successful in their designated roles - the exception is Anthony who never seems to be entirely at ease and certainly has zero comedic touch; Gemma stands out as the dingbat mother / ex-wife who increasingly leaves reality behind, courtesy of alcohol and a happy medium; movie seems longer than its 100 minutes even though it pulls out before all the stories are finished
Award-Worthy Performance
Gemma Jones
MALAYA (1949)
d: Richard Thorpe
CAST: Spencer Tracy; James Stewart; Sydney Greenstreet; Lionel Barrymore; Gilbert Roland
> wonderful wonderful cast in a story which is oh-so-slow in the telling; shoulda-been exciting but ultimately dull WWII tale of undercover Yanks in Japanese-occupied SE Asia trying to smuggle out desperately-needed rubber for the Allies; interesting chemistry between Spencer & Jimmy - Spence is in his usual natural-acting mode whilst James is in his latter-day wound-up neurotic persona; Sydney is always a joy...gets my vote as the greatest character actor of the Golden Age; Spencer's final for-your-own-good treatment of his ravishing love interest is a hoot!; too much noble self-sacrifice to suit me and the action scenes are strangely subdued
P.S. Can you spot Dr. Bones McCoy?
HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE (2016)
d: Taika Waititi
CAST: Sam Neill; Julian Dennison; some other people
> a deliberately-contrived feelgood movie which only managed to make me feelmild; fat orphan goes to live with backwoods (correct homonym) couple but the Earth Mother type dies so kid runs away with bereaved grumpy "uncle" to avoid juvie; everything is exaggerated to achieve humour, but to me it just makes it thinly cartoonish and silly with no emotional depth to it whatsover; gorgeous NZ scenery is a major plus and this kind of role is a doddle for Sam; how the kid doesn't lose copious amounts of sweat / weight after his constant trekking is beyond me; this is New Zealand's greatest homegrown-film commercial success?...hmm....
MAN ON A TIGHTROPE (1953)
d: Elia Kazan
CAST: Fredric March; Gloria Grahame; Adolphe Menjou; Richard Boone
> proof-positive that a cinematic supergroup (excellent cast & top-notch director & the great Robert E. Sherwood as writer) can still churn out something which is merely mediocre; a Czech circus troupe escapes the clutches of Communism...based on a factual experience; all the Commies are inhuman, suspicious bastards who turn in their friends (Elia & Adolphe ...hmm...) while all the non-Commies are noble, courageous and decent; the final make-or-break for freedom is excitingly staged; did you know that all a wayward wife needs is a good slap?...apparently she'll even thank you for it...what shite; gratingly-cliched scene: a coward turns last-minute hero and gets shot for his efforts...I hate that
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