Movie-Viewing Experiences 26/10/16 - 4/11/16
A+ = Adored Masterwork A = Excellent A- = Very Good B+ = Good B = Nice Try B- = Tolerable
C = Fairly Awful D = Really Awful E = Dreadful Muck: Looking Into the Void F = Vile & Offensive: The Void
HOLLYWOODLAND (2006)
d: Allen Coulter
CAST: Adrien Brody; Ben Affleck; Diane Lane; Bob Hoskins; Lois Smith
> a wonderful example of turning a seemingly thin scenario into something of real substance; story of actor George Reeves (aka Superman from the 1950's kids TV show) who shot himself in 1959...the usual array of murder-conspiracy theories surfaced pretty much immediately afterwards; one of the few movies which seems to get the old days (okay...the tail-end of the old days) of Hollywood right; Ben is at his very best as the fatally-typecast actor who wanted to be so much more; Diane is terrific as his sugar-mummy; I have no idea of how historically accurate all of this is, but it doesn't really matter; perfectly-structured and poignant
Award-Worthy Performances
Ben Affleck; Diane Lane
HELL OR HIGH WATER (2016)
d: David Mackenzie
CAST: Jeff Bridges; Chris Pine; Ben Foster; Gil Birmingham
> while I always have reservations about films which promote America's Gun Culture as being acceptable and present violent crime as a fair way of sorting out financial difficulties, this story still managed to win me over; two brothers rob banks to help support ex-wife & sons...nearly-retired policeman does his job and tracks them down...it all gets out of hand, of course; the air of melancholy which hangs over this reminded me of The Grapes of Wrath (even has Savings & Loans Banks as the real villains in the lives of average people); great acting / cinematography / action sequences / ending & coda; quite impressive
Award-Worthy Performances
Jeff Bridges; Chris Pine & Ben Foster
THE ENTITY (1982)
d: Sidney J. Furie
CAST: Barbara Hershey; Ron Silver; David Labiosa
> bloody scary movie!...somewhere between The Exorcist and The Blair Witch Project on the Brown Trousers Meter; a woman is suddenly and repeatedly violated and beaten up by an unseen force in her own home...psychiatry failed to explain it, so she turns to paranormal researchers; the rape scenes are wholly terrifying, mainly due to Barbara's harrowing and totally realistic performance; the percussive soundtrack is reminiscent of that in Jaws so you know when the invisible demon is lurking about; messes with your mind and is not for the fainthearted; just one query though...why does she keep going back to the house??
Award-Worthy Performance
Barbara Hershey
THE BIG EASY (1986)
d: Jim McBride
CAST: Dennis Quaid; Ellen Barkin; Ned Beatty; John Goodman
> entertaining cops 'n' corruption story set in New Orleans; actual crime drama itself is secondary in interest to the characters and their interactions; Dennis overdoes his Cool Casual Cajun bit at the start but Ellen is a knockout as the all-business district attorney sent to wheedle out crooked police...and she looks great in a pair of glasses and a business shirt; upbeat soundtrack full of indigenous classics is a major bonus; pretty obvious who the bad good guys are right from the start but it doesn't seem to ruin things; while the action scenes are fairly standard, the movie as a whole is a little bit different
Award-Worthy Performance
Ellen Barkin
EUREKA STOCKADE aka MASSACRE HILL (1949)
d: Harry Watt
CAST: Chips Rafferty; Gordon Jackson; Peter Finch; Peter Illing
> many Australians would have a decent chortle after the intro-voiceover compares the events of the Eureka Stockade to the French Revolution and the American War of Independence (our little skirmish lasted less than half an hour with a slaughter-total of 27); Chips does his Gary Cooper / Henry Fonda bit as rebel leader Peter Lalor, but only scores when he gets riled up...every time he goes for noble or soft, it's a dud; nice depiction of the Ballarat goldfields (although the land was not as cleared as that in 1854) and the tents / diggings / pubs / multi-cultural mix / clothing / language all come across as authentic; pretty good fight 'n' battle sequences; a fair Aussie History movie
DOCTOR STRANGE (2016)
d: Steven Derrickson
CAST: Benedict Cumberbatch; Chiwetel Ejiofor; Tilda Swinton; Mads Mikkelsen
> I was never much of a Dr Strange comic reader as a kid...I could never figure out what was going on and the language was too highfalutin'; in fact, all the fantasy / mystic / dark arts stuff always left me cold...and still pretty much does; the Doc here is suitably modernized (although I could do without him calling the bad guy an asshole); the real star of this okay Marvel movie is the visual effects...they are truly sensational and fortunately there are a heap of them; all the actors do a fair job in their parts & the plot is the typical save-the-world premise & the little injections of humour are appreciated & the cinematographer held the camera still during the action sequences...that alone kicks the grade up
CATTLE ANNIE & LITTLE BRITCHES (1981)
d: Lamont Johnson
CAST: Burt Lancaster; Amanda Plummer; Diane Lane; Rod Steiger; John Savage; Scott Glenn
> amiable little western which manages to rope you in from the start and hang on, despite not having much actually happen; Burt is the oldtimer outlaw and Amanda & Diane are a couple of orphan teenagers who want to (and do) join his motley gang; no real shows of desperation or bloody violence despite a lot of shootin' & explodin', the film has a gentle, warm spirit; all characters are decent / kind / affectionate; Burt is charming in the lead; Amanda began her Jennifer-Jason-Leigh-on-steroids acting-style here & Diane is sweet as the young girl who clearly just wants a dad; even Rod Steiger picks up the affable vibe and keeps his Mr Shouty persona largely in check; the movie meanders along and is pleasant company for 90 minutes
TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE (1959)
d: John Guillermin
CAST: Gordon Scott; Anthony Quayle; Sean Connery; Sara Shane
> this movie is usually regarded by aficionados as having an apt title; to me, it plays more as a good jungle adventure rather than a typical Tarzan movie (in fact, it has more in common with an Anthony Mann western...obsession & revenge are the driving motivations); a number of iconic characters are absent: Jane has been replaced by Angie & there is no Boy & Cheeta gets left at home; this version of Tarzan is well-spoken and flawed (he's not a good shot with a bow); still, the Yodel is there, and so is the vine-swingin' and the crocodile wrestlin'; strong supporting cast greatly helps; terrific fight scene as the climax and all the baddies satisfyingly get their rightful rewards; apart from missing Johnny & Maureen, I enjoyed it
711 OCEAN DRIVE (1950)
d: Joseph M. Newman
CAST: Edmond O'Brien; Joanne Dru; Otto Kruger; Don Porter
> old-fashioned (even for 1950) cautionary crime tale about the Rise & Fall of a Good Man...who became a Very Bad Man...and gets the comeuppance which Society demands; similar to 50's TV shows such as Dragnet and Naked City, this has a police procedural structure mixed with a semi-doco feel...but it's clearly all faked-up from beginning to end, regardless of what the intro-placard says; some good stuff though: unusual setting (bookies and touts etc) & a focus on (the then) cutting-edge electronics & a terrific climax in the innards of the Boulder Dam which really pumps things up; a side-romance, as usual, is a drag and gets in the way; Edmond and Joanne, as always, play well without being particularly exciting
OF HUMAN HEARTS (1938)
d: Clarence Brown
CAST: James Stewart; Walter Huston; Beulah Bondi; Charles Coburn; Guy Kibbee
> never has a film with such an enjoyable and absorbing story crashed & burned so disastrously in its final section; starts off as a yarn about a preacher with wife and son in a mid-1800's backwoods American town...father tries to teach son about importance of humility and sacrifice over self-gain...son rebels and leaves home, father dies, son squeezes mum for money, son becomes surgeon, American Civil War hits...(so far, so good)...AND THEN... President Abe Lincoln sends for son and scolds him for not keeping in touch with mum...son finds family horse that was sold...gallops back to mum...and, of course...it's Christmas Day!
Vomitus Maximus. Grade for first 80 minutes = A-; Grade for last 20 minutes = D
CUTTER'S WAY aka CUTTER AND BONE (1981)
d: Ivan Passer
CAST: John Heard; Jeff Bridges; Lisa Eichhorn
> much beloved by clever people such as Danny Peary, Richard Schickel and the Belgian Film Critics Association, this film's greatness still largely eludes me; my Number One criticism is that I just do not understand why or how the three main characters (aka Rage, Shallowness & Misery) got together and stay together...all three are wrecks in their own ways and do nothing but hurt each other emotionally and physically; John's crippled Vietnam Vet is too mannered and ScoobyDoo-like in voice to be believable; and while the murder mystery is intentionally secondary to the harassment of the rich guy, it's tawdriness lingers and belittles the quest for righteous vengeance; I'll give it one more try...
THE MASK OF FU MANCHU (1932)
d: Charles Brabin
CAST: Boris Karloff; Lewis Stone; Karen Morley; Myrna Loy; Jean Hersholt
> ignoring the cringing racism throughout (which is impossible to do...it was even lambasted for the same thing when it was first released), this is a pretty stupid movie even by 1930's creaky 'n' quaint thriller standards; some twaddle about Fu wanting the mask & sword of Genghis Khan so he can unite the Asian peoples and rule the world; Karen is truly awful as the damsel in distress; the memorable scenes are also the most ludicrous fun (kidnap by mummies & torture by big bell & the static electricity generator & the crocodile pit & the spiked walls closing in); BEST: Myrna as Fu's daughter twitching orgasmically while she whips the white man she secretly fancies; ghastly but uncontrollably amusing
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