A+ = Masterwork A = Excellent A- = Very Good B+ = Pretty Good B = Nice Try B- = Tolerable
C = Barely Tolerable D = Intolerable E = Looking Into the Void F = The Void
CONSPIRACY OF HEARTS (1960)
d: Ralph Thomas
CAST: Lilli Palmer; Sylvia Syms; Yvonne Mitchell; Ronald Lewis
> a WWII movie with a heart of decency; set in the tail-end months of the Italian Campaign, the story is of a group of nuns who smuggle Jewish children out of a nearby concentration camp and onto safety...surely you can't get more courageous and noble than that; the two Nazi commanders in charge of the camp begin as professional soldiers but soon become beasts who are more than prepared to commit atrocities in the name of duty; no pulled-punches here & no grabs for sentiment, despite the many miserable waifs; Lilli's portrayal of the mastermind Mother invites no cynicism - the woman is just a wonder; a minor but moving entry in the celluloid depictions of the Holocaust
CLASS ACTION (1991)
d: Michael Apted
CAST: Gene Hackman; Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio; Lawrence Fishburne; Colin Friels
> I love courtroom dramas which centre around big bad guys (usually rich pricks or corporations) trying to trample on poor little guys...left wing vs right wing...David slaying Goliath etc; this one has the extra quirk of father going up against daughter who have a mutual history of disappointment and anger; well-told and engrossing story which is enriched by the two leading performances (whatever happened to Mary?); curious how the right-wingers in movies are ALWAYS evil, money-grubbin' swine...modern stormtroopers
P.S. As an Aussie, I would like to apologise for Colin's attempt at an American accent
Award-Worthy Performances
Gene Hackman & Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
CROSS CREEK (1983)
d: Martin Ritt
CAST: Mary Steenburgen; Alfre Woodard; Rip Torn; Peter Coyote; Dana Hill
> a gentle story based on the backwoods life of author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (she of The Yearling fame...which was made into one of the all-time-great kid + animal films); in some ways just another fiercely-independent-woman movie (why are they always set in the past?), this contains no sexual-threats & no hear-me-roar moments & no men who the woman makes look foolish...how refreshing; the bayou landscape is sumptuously filmed but is never made to look postcard-pretty; get used to the slightly-lagging pace and you will be rewarded by spending time with some decent people
Award-Worthy Performances
Mary Steenburgen: Alfre Woodard
7 WOMEN (1966)
d: John Ford
CAST: Anne Bancroft; Margaret Leighton; Sue Lyon; Mildred Dunnock; Betty Field; Flora Robson; Eddie Albert; Anna Lee; Woody Strode
> peculiar final film for the great John Ford; set in 1935 rural China (of all places), the story centres around a mission staffed by women which is attacked by marauders; Anne is the no-nonsense doctor who is at odds with the deeply (twistedly-so) full-of-faith Christians; Margaret and Betty are guilty of some appalling over-acting but are balanced out by an amusingly-tough performance by Anne; statically set-bound, the film still packs a lot of trauma (plague, murder, birth, rape, suicide, chain-smoking) into its 87 minute run-time; holds your interest
Award-Worthy Performance
Anne Bancroft
A DANGEROUS WOMAN (1993)
d: Stephen Gyllenhaal
CAST: Debra Winger; Barbara Hershey; Gabriel Byrne; David Strathairn
> misleadingly-titled movie (which is kickstarted with a misleading scene...a hammer?) about a "special" woman (read: mentally-challenged / autistic / different / whatever) who just wants to fit in with everyone else but has difficulties with unethical behaviours such as deceit and pretension; leads to inevitable conflicts, misunderstandings and, for drama's sake, tragedy; Debra is pretty much the whole show and fortunately her performance is something to behold...you feel what it's like to be a moral misfit; has to have one of the most depressing "happy" endings of any movie ever made
Award-Worthy Performance
Debra Winger
55 DAYS AT PEKING (1963)
d: Nicholas Ray
CAST: Charlton Heston; Ava Gardner; David Niven; Flora Robson; Robert Helpmann; Leo Genn; Harry Andrews; Paul Lukas; John Ireland
> always thought this "epic" about the Boxer Rebellion was unfairly dismissed / dissed by critics (and the film-going public...it was a commercial disaster in its time); while I acknowledge its flaws (the Ava "Russian Baroness" subplot is dumb & the Boxers are very very wicked while the imperial soldiers are very very noble & the lead Chinese characters are played by British performers...Dame Flora strikes yet again...) its virtues are numerous (lush production values & gorgeous cinematography & a fascinating history lesson told in a "Boy's Own" way & Sir Bobby of Mt Gambier playing an evil bastard & unusual subject matter & a charming child performance); a wet Sunday movie when you're at your least discerning
SARATOGA TRUNK (1945)
d: Sam Wood
CAST: Ingrid Bergman; Gary Cooper; Flora Robson; Florence Bates
> a movie which I didn't really want to like but couldn't stop watching and being caught up in; a couple of things in it really annoyed me: DAME Flora Robson in blackface playing a Creole version of a mammy always fussin' around & a dwarf-servant being used primarily as comic relief; still, Ingrid is a hoot as a conniving, flirtatious woman who is driven by her desire to be rich and her need to pay back anyone who looks down upon her...I kept thinking of Scarlett O'Hara but with more straightforward comedy; a terrific dual-train crash is the climax of some side-plot railroad shenanigans; ultimately and surprisingly quite enjoyable
Award-Worthy Performance
Ingrid Bergman
WHERE THE LILIES BLOOM (1974)
d: William A. Graham
CAST: Julie Gholson; Harry Dean Stanton
> a little story based on one of my very favourite kids' books (the same title; written by Bill & Vera Cleaver in 1969...I read and loved it as an adult); centres around what us Aussies would call an American hillbilly family of father and four kids...father dies so the 14 year old girl keeps the family hidden from the authorities by maintaining the pretense that the father is still alive; neighbour Harry is sniffing around the of-age older daughter with the aim of marriage; and that's pretty much it really; warming look at what-I-assume is an accurate depiction of (impossible to sound non-condescending) "simple folk"; so glad to not have to confront slathering Deliverance-style horrors in this portrayal; nice
DEVIL DOLL (1964)
d: Lindsay Shonteff
CAST: Bryant Haliday; William Sylvester; Yvonne Romain
> genuinely creepy movie; takes the Michael Redgrave / ventriloquist's dummy story from 1945's Dead of Night and expands then twists it...not as good as the original mind you (nothing could be, of course), but certainly gripping; crude editing makes the pace jerky, but this adds to the film's unsettling demeanor; Bryant is the evil mesmerist and his pockmarked & scarred face is up-front and centre...throw in the rich English accent and you've got an actor who was born to play horror; the dummy's frightening tendencies are brought out too early on and somewhat weaken the surprise (but still satisfyingly apt) ending; not much cinematic craft apparent in the film but its rawness is effective
MONKEY SHINES (1988)
d: George A. Romero
CAST: Some people and Stanley Tucci
> bizarro tale of a scientist who is conducting increased-intelligence experiments on a monkey...his best friend becomes a quadriplegic so the monkey is given to him as a support pet...as you would...; like Ben the Rat and Cujo the Dog, Ella the Monkey has anger issues which result in...well, y'know...; would've made a good episode of one of those horror anthology TV shows like The Outer Limits or The Night Stalker but it's trapped by the feature-length-films-must-be-at-least-90-minutes-long rule; try as he may, George the Director cannot make the monkey as terrifying as is necessary; a couple of dark humour scenes lift things (especially the ending), but it is mild horror at best, and more than a little silly
TOMORROWLAND (2015)
d: Brad Bird
CAST: George Clooney; Hugh Laurie still playing House; some kids
> this film tries to do to science & technology what the Harry Potter franchise did to the supernatural...but blows it big time; God this is awful; so many debilitating features: convoluted plot (focussed on saving the world, natch) & a group of uninspiring child actors & virtually no humour & some very violent scenes which are supposed to mesh with schmaltzy cuddly ones & a preachy coda & George "how do I have a career" Clooney as the headliner; a mishmash of Spielbergisms + Field of Dreams + Jules Verne / HG Wells sci-fi + a doomsday cult as if led by Richard Simmons + Son of Rambow + group hugs supplied by Disney + the last thirty minutes of A.I. Artificial Intelligence; only the visuals impress, but nowadays, isn't that pretty much expected?; a member of the Glass-Is-Half-Full Society
THE ERRAND BOY (1961)
d: Jerry Lewis
CAST: Jerry Lewis; some people who look embarrassed
> this was a Personal Recommendation by Danny Peary in his otherwise terrific book Guide for the Film Fanatic, and I thought it might help me overcome my aversion to Jerry Lewis...but no bloody way...I've had tinea that was more entertaining than this guy; all the things I can't stand about Jerry are on full show here: his spastic, moronic "kid" persona & his sickening stabs at sentiment & his bumbling routines that go on far too long & his blatant self-aggrandizement & his justification for being stupid (this is Jerry's version of Paul McCartney singing "Silly Love Songs"); how does anyone seriously compare this guy to Buster, Charlie or Jacques?; just watch 1963's The Nutty Professor and be done with him
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