Movie-Viewing Experiences 8/1/17 - 21/1/17
A+ = Adored Masterwork A = Excellent A- = Very Good B+ = Good B = Nice Try B- = Tolerable
C = Seriously Flawed D = Pretty Awful E = Truly Dreadful: Looking Into the Void F = Vile & Offensive: The Void
STATE SECRET (1950)
d: Sidney Gilliat
CAST: Douglas Fairbanks Jr; Glynis Johns; Jack Hawkins; Herbert Lom
> cracking on-the-run suspenser of the old style (ref. The 39 Steps); a US surgeon is roped into covertly operating on a Balkans national dictator...the old guy dies and the surgeon's life is now in danger because he knows too much; the film picks up pace as it goes along, so hang in there; some interesting choices of structure (flashback / first person camera) to veer it away from the completely usual; cast is strong with Douglas especially effective as the desperate hero; car chase through tunnels + cable railway + mountain-climbing jazz things up; only a lack of any light humorous touches prevents it from being an undeniable classic of its genre
Award-Worthy Performance
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
SUPERMAN (1978)
d: Richard Donner
CAST: Christopher Reeve; Margot Kidder; Gene Hackman; Marlon Brando; Ned Beatty
> still the best Superman ever on screen; Christopher is a very good Superman but is THE definitive Clark Kent (it is a terrific comedic performance); being a superhero comicbook tragic, I love the fact that the iconic costume has been left alone; the to-and-fro between Supes/Clark and Lois is a delight and the pre-digital SFX are pretty good (he flies convincingly); as much as I enjoy Gene doing funny, Lex Luthor should not be trifled with; the big names are a needless distraction and the turn-the-world-back climax is just dumb; still, it's impossible to dislike; Christopher really was a superhero, wasn't he?
Award-Worthy Performance
Christopher Reeve
NOT OF THIS EARTH (1957)
d: Roger Corman
CAST: Beverly Garland; Paul Birch; some other people
> a Roger Corman drive-in quickie / cheapie, this time combining vampires with aliens; not bad at all, this little indie flick is based around a creature from a dying world who has been sent to Earth to find out if our blood is good enough to sustain his species (!); the alien wears cool shades, dark suits and is not dissimilar to a hit-upon-hard-times Terminator in accent; the pre-title sequence is quite unnerving (a teenage girl gets it...that'll teach her to make with the hepcat lingo in a hotrod), and is followed by suitably unusual touches, such as a blood transfusion contaminated with rabies and a chilling is-this-the-end ending; flickers of humour here and there (a door-to-door salesman is satisfyingly dispatched) add to the enjoyment tally; brief, clever and fairly impressive
I AM DAVID (2003)
d: Paul Feig
CAST: Ben Tibber; Joan Plowright; Jim Caviezel
> like a lot of kids, the 1963 novel of the same name had quite an impact on me in lower High School (I had just found out about the horrors of Stalinism), so I approached this film with trepidation...which was largely unfounded; certainly not as harrowing as the book, the film is a gentler version of the still-sad story of an 11 year old escapee from a Bulgarian labour camp and his attempt to reach Denmark; the kid does a reasonable job of the role (although he expresses "blank" which I choose to interpret as "numb") and the soft English accent is at odds with the brutality which haunts him; pretty much manages to avoid blatant heartstring-tugging without being robotic about it; whether a non-admirer of the novel would be equally enamored is probably unlikely
MOGAMBO (1953)
d: John Ford
CAST: Clark Gable; Ava Gardner; Grace Kelly; Donald Sinden
> remake of 1932's Red Dust with Ava replacing Jean Harlow (Jean was sluttier and funnier), Grace replacing Mary Astor (Grace is sluttier and more of a viable sexual rival) and Clark Gable does it again...impressively 20 years older but still a feasible chick-magnet; gorgeous technicolor replaces the non-epic B&W and John Ford makes more of the scenic opportunities & ingrained action sequences than the original's Victor Fleming ever did...but Red Dust clearly remains the better movie; this one leans more into the soap opera aspects of the story and there's virtually no humour; the supporting cast are a rather anonymous lot, so there's no comic relief there; an enjoyable watch but not one of the great jungle movies
I, DANIEL BLAKE (2016)
d: Ken Loach
CAST: Dave Johns; Hayley Squires
> I suffer from mixed feelings regarding "real life"/"kitchen-sink" movies...to me, they deliberately wallow in bleakness and negativity merely just to show us "how things really are" (isn't that the job of a documentary?)...how come the stories which are chosen to be told in this way are always big downers...Life isn't always just shit, y'know; this movie is about a commonman battler and a young, female counterpart and their struggle with bureaucracy and search for common sense / genuine humanity; more cautionary tale than narrative, this dwindles down into you-can-see-them-coming-a-mile-off melodramatics the closer it gets to the finish; truly heartfelt and very well acted but emotionally rigged
SUSPICION (1941)
d: Alfred Hitchcock
CAST: Joan Fonatine; Cary Grant; Nigel Bruce; Cedric Hardwicke; May Whitty
> hadn't seen this in many years...thought I might have underrated it...no, I was spot-on; kinda Gaslight / Rebecca feel to it, but the ending is just so disappointing, rushed and vaguely ridiculous (apparently, it was not what Hitch had planned and it was foisted upon him by the studio) that it blights everything that came before (and most of what came before was pretty good); some classic Hitch scenes (illuminated glass of milk & anagrams game & fast car ride) but the two main actors don't help much: Joan whimpers and dithers too often and while Cary is good as a charismatic cad he is awkward as a murderous schemer; Nigel does his bumbling twit thing again (and does it well); forever a minor Hitch
DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE (1954)
d: Ralph Thomas
CAST: Dirk Bogarde; Kenneth More; James Robertson Justice; Donald Sinden; Muriel Pavlow
> eminently likeable British comedy which was the first in what nowadays we refer to as a film franchise (there were six more in the series); largely keeps away from the Carry On tits'n'bums humour (although the young doctors and nurses are all clearly sex-mad) so relies on situational gaffs for its comedy... and some are quite amusing; not enough of James to suit me (his loud gruff pomposity always tickled me) and the fleeting appearance by Kay Kendall is a tease; Dirk and Kenneth both do their nice well-mannered young men bit and the whole thing ends up being quite pleasant and totally forgettable; a movie to do the ironing to
Award-Worthy Performance
James Robertson Justice
JACKIE (2016)
d: Pablo Larrain
CAST: Natalie Portman; Peter Sarsgaard; John Hurt; Billy Crudup; Greta Gerwig
> curiously overrated methinks; focussing primarily on Jackie Kennedy's immediate grief and reaction to the assassination of JFK, the film gives us a concentrated (almost pressure-cooker) character-study of the widow; while Natalie's performance is fine (although she never makes a large enough move from vapid), it is structured in tight close-ups, so our understanding of the woman is mainly relayed through voice, eyes and cigarettes... quite restricted actually; the most affecting scenes are those when Jackie is clearly in shock, blood-soaked outfit and panic all around her; didn't make as much of an impression on me as 2013's similarly-staged Parkland
THE CLAIRVOYANT (1935)
d: Maurice Elvey
CAST: Claude Rains; Fay Wray; Jane Baxter; Mary Clare
> an English music hall mind-reader suddenly develops the gift of foresight and starts predicting tragic events; initial hints of creepiness give way to more melodramatic concerns...a shame, because the concept (and Claude) have the potential to produce quite a chilling tale in a Dead of Night kinda way; too much relationship angst (will he desert his wife for the woman who has power over him?) to suit me and the story wanders into areas I don't much care for (picking winners in horseraces, for example); still, the dual tragedies perk things up a bit and Claude's wide-eyed ethereal stare (which apparently is what a medium must go through) is very entertaining and only a little bit amusing; was it intentional casting for Fay Wray and Jane Baxter to look like identical twins?
MYSTERY, ALASKA (1999)
d: Jay Roach
CAST: Russell Crowe; Hank Azaria; Burt Reynolds; Colm Meaney
> a film based around two countries which are totally foreign to me: Small Town Alaska and Ice Hockey...but it could just as easily be Kingscote S.A. and Football, I guess; small town team gets a chance to play a big city team...that's pretty much it; a quaint / soft-centred film like this succeeds or fails dependent upon the Charm Factor, and in this movie, only Russell Crowe manages to provide any; the usual rat-tat-tat of naughty words and reliance on sexual shenanigans among the townsfolk deliver the (apparently) necessary pathos and humour but all are very much incidental; it's a watchable, feelgood story but hardly cultish; nice surprise cameo by Little Richard(!)
WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH HELEN? (1971)
d: Curtis Harrington
CAST: Shelley Winters; Debbie Reynolds; Dennis Weaver; Agnes Moorehead
> taken from the same vein as Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? but a few organs lower; it's the mid-1930's and the mothers of two convicted murderers escape their notoriety by moving to Hollywood and opening up a dance school for girls; Shelley increasingly loses her mind (surprise! surprise!) and becomes a danger to herself, her associates and her bunnies; crappy and just plain stupid slasher flick which squanders numerous plot-possibilities and allows Shelley to twitch and scream far too often (another performance from her which just gets on my nerves); the midway kiddie-dancin'-revue is too long and too awful, and the climax is broadcasted long before it happens; graded leniently for Debbie R.I.P.
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