Movie-Viewing Experiences 20/11/16 - 3/12/16
A+ = Adored Masterwork A = Excellent A- = Very Good B+ = Good B = Nice Try B- = Tolerable
C = Seriously Flawed D = Quite Awful E = Truly Dreadful: Looking Into the Void F = Vile & Offensive: The Void
MICKEY ONE (1965)
d: Arthur Penn
CAST: Warren Beatty; Hurd Hatfield; Alexandra Stewart; Franchot Tone
> a great example of a film which looks like it was deliberately designed to become a cult movie; second-rate nightclub comic owes The Mob money and tries to escape their clutches... and in doing so, develops one helluva persecution complex; shot in gritty B&W with overlays of smokey jazzy music and sleazy street faces, this screams out "COOL"; little Arty touches and set-ups which would normally annoy me are effective here, adding a surreal atmosphere that feels appropriate; Warren is no comic but for this character, that's a plus...he talks in one-liners, using bad jokes as part of the narrative; it goes on a bit, as if the filmmakers didn't know when to stop, but it only occasionally drags and some scenes (the spotlight!) are held long and are appropriately tense; a possible future Movie Jukebox inductee
THE WHOLE TOWN'S TALKING (1935)
d: John Ford
CAST: Edward G. Robinson; Jean Arthur; Etienne Girardot; Donald Meek
> thoroughly enjoyable comedy (despite the impression given by its poster) spun on that old two-strangers-who-look-EXACTLY-the-same plot-point; Eddie G plays a meek 'n' mild clerk who is the twin of Public Enemy #1 (recently escaped from jail of course)...and he plays both roles perfectly...while the tough guy was a cinch, his portrayal of the doormat is terrific (maybe even a little too wimpy); Jean is the office gal who the meek one loves (and doncha love Jean Arthur's creaky/squeaky voice?); things chug along at a screwball-comedy's pace and John Ford (!!) does a nifty job of staging and hitting punchlines deftly; a neglected gem
Award-Worthy Performance
Edward G. Robinson
THEM! (1954)
d: Gordon Douglas
CAST: James Whitmore; Edmund Gwenn; James Arness; Joan Weldon
> classic 1950's sci-fi/monster movie as good as I Married a Monster From Outer Space and so much better than The Blob; giant ants (mutated by atomic testing...natch) appear in the Jericho-Tree-speckled desert, killing & munching & wrecking in their hunger for...sugar; taken totally seriously without a drop of camp anywhere to be seen, this is a suspenseful and well-shot horror movie of the old kind; good lead performances (especially by Edmund doing his charming-old-gnome routine) and mighty climax (the ants make it to the sewers of Los Angeles) help to balance out the overuse of close-up mandibles and shagpile antennae
Award-Worthy Performance
Edmund Gwenn
DANCING AT LUGHNASA (1998)
d: Pat O'Connor
CAST: Meryl Streep; Kathy Burke; Michael Gambon; Rhys Ifans; Catherine McCormack
> as I get older, the more often I tear up...and this film is full of weeping-instigators: goodbyes & loneliness & love-that-cannot-be & sad children; the story of five grown sisters living together in a little cottage in a little Irish village circa 1936, it is, as all these UK rural films tend to be, bleak & beautiful; great ensemble performance by the 5 actresses (odd one out is Meryl and, while she does a fine job, she was clearly hired to put her big head on the poster); it's a small story with large soundtrack-strings which swell at predictable times, demanding emotion, but the pull of this family by-and-large wipes out the schmaltz
Award-Worthy Performances
Meryl Streep & Kathy Burke & Catherine McCormack & Sophie Thompson & Brid Brennan
THE GREEKS HAD A WORD FOR THEM aka THREE BROADWAY GIRLS (1932)
d: Lowell Sherman
CAST: Ina Claire; Joan Blondell; Madge Evans; David Manners; Lowell Sherman
> one of those 1930's Gold Diggers movies that were all the rage during the Great Depression (the women referred to were usually down-on-their-luckers who competed with each other to hook and land a rich man, love be damned); Ina & Joan & Madge are the three women in this one, and a mighty fine bitchy-camaraderie they have too...Ina is especially a hoot as Queen Floosie (love the scene where she wears a fur coat with nothing underneath); ranges from lightly smirkful to highly comedic; lasting just under 80 minutes, scenes disconcertingly chop and cut at lightning speed, but ultimately it's okay...the fun is still there
Award-Worthy Performances
Ina Claire & Joan Blondell & Madge Evans
MOLOKAI: THE STORY OF FATHER DAMIEN (1999)
d: Paul Cox
CAST: David Wenham; Sam Neill; Derek Jacobi; Leo McKern; Peter O'Toole; Kris Kristofferson; Chris Haywood; Tom Wilkinson; Alice Krige; Aden Young
> a film set in a leper colony...hmmm; the story (actually, there's not much of a story, but...) of a Catholic priest who volunteers to serve on an Hawaiian island of exiled lepers in the late 1800's; nothing much happens in the film...the guy gets there, cleans the place up, earns the respect and appreciation of the unfortunates, fights with the mainland hierarchy, gets leprosy himself, the inevitable end; so, rather than telling a tale, the film sets a tone (no laughs, of course) and gives the priest his well-deserved due...and, as such, does a good job of it; all the actors effectively rally around this aim, and the film is suitably emotional without being especially memorable
THE CINCINNATI KID (1965)
d: Norman Jewison
CAST: Steve McQueen; Edward G. Robinson; Karl Malden; Ann-Margret; Tuesday Weld
> hadn't seen this in quite a while, but my opinion of it isn't any different...it's okay, but not up to its big-brother The Hustler; the card game at the end is appropriately tense and well-staged, but a lot of the peripheral stuff that stacks up before it (especially the largely-naff romance / sex shenanigans) is turgid and brings the level down somewhat; apart from Eddie G (who gives Steve a lesson in how to underact and still be riveting), the performances range from maddeningly under-utilized (Tuesday as Steve's gal) to oh-brother silly (Ann-Margret as the Slut Queen); the cockfight with splattering blood is a peculiar insert
Award-Worthy Performance
Edward G. Robinson
SPUD (2010)
d: Donovan Marsh
CAST: Troye Sivan; John Cleese; Jamie Royal
> the most sex-obsessed "kids film" since 1980's Little Darlings; a South African production, the story is about a late-blooming teen's first year in an elite all-boys school; yes...there is the usual bullying and focus on bodily functions but refreshingly no sexual abuse (unless blackballing counts); the school stages Oliver! and our nerdy hero takes the lead...and sings up a storm; the adults are the usual cartoonish twits; some scenes drop like lead but some are genuinely moving; top-quality performance by Aussie Troye; John plays a schoolmastery version of Fawlty which is now a cliche; not bad but the content is questionable at times
Award-Worthy Performance
Troye Sivan
THE HATEFUL EIGHT (2015)
d: Quentin Tarantino
CAST: Samuel L. Jackson; Kurt Russell; Jennifer Jason Leigh; Tim Roth
> remember that terrific scene in Inglourious Basterds...the one in the cafe where Michael Fassbender holds up three fingers...?; now, imagine that scene s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d out to last two hours...that is the centrepiece to TH8, bookended by two other slowburn set-ups; the build-up dialogue, long before our cold Western characters get to the log cabin store, is substandard, peppered with the uncomfortable 'n' word and only occasionally interesting or even quirky...unusual for Quentin but there is the usual splattery-violence mixed with the darkest of humour...which lifts things of course; not a disaster, just not great either
Award-Worthy Performance
Jennifer Jason Leigh
A STUDY IN TERROR (1965)
d: James Hill
CAST: John Neville; Donald Houston; John Fraser; Anthony Quayle; Barbara Windsor; Frank Finlay; Judi Dench; Robert Morley; Cecil Parker; Kay Walsh
> another Sherlock Holmes vs Jack the Ripper story; the very impressive supporting cast only helps to highlight how lacking in charisma the blokes playing Sherlock, Watson and the Ripper truly are...they are a dreary threesome and prevent the film from achieving memorability; the Ripper murders were gruesome, but these murder-scenes are too muted and hidden from view, taking away any chance of true horror being felt; the setting is suitably grimy / foggy / cobblestony with an effective use of colour; Robert Morley does his usual scene-stealing routine and temporarily gives proceedings a lift; dig the groovy movie poster!
PETER'S FRIENDS (1992)
d: Kenneth Branagh
CAST: Kenneth Branagh; Stephen Fry; Emma Thompson; Imelda Staunton; Hugh Laurie
> a Brit version of The Big Chill but, surprisingly, the Yanks prove to give the better ensemble performance... who woulda thunk it?; only Emma delivers something fresh and, despite the eccentricity of the character, something believable; (Confession Time: I think Kenneth is one of the most forced, unnatural film actors ever... I can't name a single performance... including his overrated Wallander series... where he is convincing); in Brit 90's comedic tradition, "fuck" is yelled a lot and happens a lot in a Carry-On kinda way; the various conflicts and inevitable revelations are more soapy than amusing; the soundtrack is full of toe-tappin' radio classics, which is nice; mildly disappointing
THE FOOL KILLER aka VIOLENT JOURNEY (1965)
d: Servando Gonzalez
CAST: Edward Albert; Anthony Perkins; Henry Hull; Dana Elcar; Salome Jens
> difficult to know what to make of this movie, it certainly being one of the more peculiar and offbeat I have ever seen; set just after the American Civil War, an orphaned 12 year old boy runs away from his abusive guardians... meets up with a dirty old man (no, actually dirty)... meets up with a war-wounded young man who may be an axe-murderer... meets up with a childless couple who want him as their own; weird camera effects are mixed in with airy philosophical discussions and some terrific acting; not so bizarre it can be easily dismissed as a mere Arty failure... a subject for ongoing contemplation... maybe...
Award-Worthy Performances
Edward Albert; Henry Hull
Got something you want to tell me?
Go right ahead.
