Movie-Viewing Experiences 31/5/17 - 19/6/17
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 & Repugnant: The Void
20th CENTURY WOMEN (2016)
A FIRST VIEWING IN-CINEMA
d: Mike Mills
CAST: Annette Bening; Lucas Jade Zumann; Elle Fanning; Greta Gerwig; Billy Crudup
> comedy-drama about relationships that, for once, is actually both wise and entertaining; set in 1979 (my personal fave year...turned 20...finished college...got a job...got a car...The Clash ruled...I had hair...), Annette is a bohemian-minded single mum struggling to raise a 15 year old boy...so she turns to her (mainly younger female) friends for help; film structure fills you in on everybody's pasts and futures whilst observing their presents, and they are all decent but flawed people, like you & me; quite moving in parts and many of the situations will chalk up recognition in anyone who has made it past 50; you'll enjoy getting to know these people
Award-Worthy Performance
Annette Bening
THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD (2007)
A RE-EVALUATION Original Grade: A-
d: Andrew Dominik
CAST: Brad Pitt; Casey Affleck; Sam Rockwell; Sam Shepard; Jeremy Renner
> attributes I missed or dismissed first round grabbed me by the shirtfront this time (especially the gorgeous dialogue...poetic & vaguely surreal...I can't entirely believe it is of its time but it adds richness); the choice of cinematic shots are luscious and worthy of being adorned with one of my-usually-most-avoided words...Art; this was my first Casey film and his performance and its basis kept recalling the twistedness of Mark Chapman; a melancholy American Western made by an Australian which contributes to and expands the genre
Award-Worthy Performance
Casey Affleck
DARK CITY (1950)
A- FIRST VIEWING
d: William Dieterle
CAST: Charlton Heston; Lizabeth Scott; Dean Jagger; Ed Begley; Jack Webb; Henry Morgan
> nifty little crime movie which goes off in an unexpected direction and becomes a paranoiac-thriller; Charlton & Ed & Jack & Henry are two-bit crims running a bookie joint...it gets raided...they need money...they cheat a goodguy sap at cards...then it gets really interesting; while Charlton is mildly impressive as a wiseguy toughie with commitment issues and Lizabeth is his main squeeze (a nightclub singer, natch), it is the support cast who really lift this tale above the mundane (and it's curious to see Jack & Henry together like this just before they entered TV's Dragnet); William pushes things along at a fair old pace and for once, the soundtrack music doesn't sledgehammer the suspense into you; good stuff
BLAST OF SILENCE (1961)
A- FIRST VIEWING
d: Allen Baron
CAST: Allen Baron; Molly McCarthy; Larry Tucker
> impressive low-low-low budget up-close-and-personal film about a hitman hired to kill some guy in New York and, of course, it goes wrong and becomes the assassin's last job; the incessant narrative is by great character actor Lionel Stander and this time the device doesn't annoy...in fact, it works more like the voice of Christmas Future, letting us (and the killer) know that it's all rigged against him...his inevitable comeuppance is finally here; while the all-he-needs-is-love premise is a bit much (he's a shit, pure and simple), it's compensated for by some snappy scenes (the first burst of violence is a shocker) and interesting camera placement and settings (the final scene was filmed in a real hurricane!); appropriately quite brutal with no attempt to make the killer seem cool...just cold
THE AFFAIRS OF CELLINI (1934)
B+ FIRST VIEWING
d: Gregory La Cava
CAST: Fredric March; Constance Bennett; Frank Morgan; Fay Wray; Louis Calhern
> uh oh...a 1934 Hollywood sex-comedy set in 16th Century Florence; well, much to my surprise, it's quite funny and fun...sort of A Midsummer Night's Dream meets The Borgias; Frank plays the Duke who lusts after dimwitted Fay and Constance plays the Duchess who lusts after philandering Fred...but, of course, appearances must be maintained so secrecy from each other is the goal; Frank (nobody does dithering and flustered like Frank Morgan!) gets most of the laughs and steals the show, but Fay is surprisingly amusing as the birdbrain stunner; proceedings only sag when Fred & Connie get too serious and lovey-dovey
Award-Worthy Performances
Frank Morgan; Fay Wray
WONDER WOMAN (2017)
B+ FIRST VIEWING IN-CINEMA
d: Patty Jenkins
CAST: Gal Gadot; Chris Pine; David Thewlis; Robin Wright; Danny Huston
> yay! it's pretty good!; what instantly makes the difference are the differences... the WWI setting & the ancient history flourishes & (my personal fave) the slow-mo bits which enable you to see what is going on when the camera becomes too mobile during action scenes; about 20 minutes too long as usual and Diana's invisible jet is nowhere to be seen (sorry... unavoidable); the fight scenes are quite spectacular (especially the early Amazons with arrows 'n' spears battling the German swine with guns 'n' bombs); acting is serviceable and Gal is spot on as the warrior princess (and check out her industrial-strength-airbrushed armpits!) although I question David's appropriateness... what's with the moustache?; well done DC Cinematic Universe Honchos...phew! you dodged a bullet
WHAT'S UP, DOC? (1972)
B SECOND VIEWING
d: Peter Bogdanovich
CAST: Barbra Streisand; Ryan O'Neal; Madeline Kahn; Kenneth Mars; Austin Pendleton
> movie that tries hard to be Bringing Up Baby and The Lady Eve but ends up dwindling into It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World...and, as such, scores some genuine laughs along with some genuine thuds; biggest weakness is that Ryan just is not even remotely in Cary Grant's league and too often looks like he needs the cardiac paddles; still, everyone gives it that ol' college try, and the supporting cast is sprinkled with memorable comedic performances and bits of business; the climactic slapstick sequence is straight out of Buster Keaton / Laurel & Hardy and the regular references to the classic Warner Bros cartoons are fitting; taps the funny bone if you're not too discerning
NO DOWN PAYMENT (1957)
B FIRST VIEWING
d: Martin Ritt
CAST: Joanne Woodward; Sheree North; Jeffrey Hunter; Cameron Mitchell; Barbara Rush; Tony Randall; Patricia Owens; Pat Hingle
> aka White Middle-Class Suffering in Suburbia; 4 couples live next door to each other and promptly interact as if they've been a gang of bosom buddies for years, with the inevitably-disastrous consequences; a lot of the biggies are here: alcoholism & domestic violence & racism & financial hardship & the meaning of manhood & war repatriation & adoption & religion (Christian only, of course) & even rape (which is dealt with appallingly)...wow...all going on right next door; melodramatic suds sloshing about everywhere but the ensemble cast does a mighty fine job in keeping it all relatively tidy but only occasionally affecting; gives ample reasons as to why you shouldn't get to know your neighbours
CHILD'S PLAY (1972)
C SECOND VIEWING
d: Sidney Lumet
CAST: Robert Preston; James Mason; Beau Bridges
> kept hoping that this would improve on a second viewing, but no; all boys Catholic school (uh-oh) is experiencing increasingly-violent assaults and self-harm among its students; it's the-English-teacher-the-boys-adore Vs the-too-strict-&-old-Latin-teacher-who-they-hate; "The Control Teachers Have Over Young Minds" is a good theme, but this film doesn't really know how to explore it and just turns hysterical instead; James gives a beautiful performance (as usual) as the crumbling old fart; the ending just comes out of nowhere and doesn't really make much sense; it should've been better than this
Award-Worthy Performance
James Mason
LADY IN A JAM (1942)
C FIRST VIEWING
d: Gregory La Cava
CAST: Irene Dunne; Patric Knowles; Ralph Bellamy; Eugene Pallette
> in The Awful Truth, My Favourite Wife and Anna and the King of Siam, Irene was a sweet-natured charmer who was covertly in charge of her man, stringing him along for the sheer pleasure of it...in LiaJ, she is an annoying manipulator of all around her...you just want to see her suffer more indignities as long as she shuts up about it; she is "supported" by Patric who clearly was what was left after all the other leading men at Universal joined the war effort... wooden & bland & out of his depth; all the comedic pressure therefore falls on the character actors who are either under-utilized or not up to the challenge; a rom-com dud dully directed by Gregory "My Man Godfrey / Stage Door" La Cava...man, did he take a dive with this
KANSAS CITY BOMBER (1972)
D FIRST VIEWING
d: Jerrold Freedman
CAST: Raquel Welch; Kevin McCarthy; Helena Kallianiotes; Norman Alden
> this roller derby clinker coulda been a pretty good comedy (something Raquel showed flair for a couple of times) but instead goes for sludgy drama which is only occasionally enjoyably trashy: rising star replaces boozed-up hasbeen, sleeps with the boss, gets beaten up by her jealous team mates...but she's gotta keep rollin' for the sake of her kids (and we are expected to accept Jodie Foster as Raquel's daughter...HA!); film obviously suffers from self-image problems (tries to convince us that on-rink violence is genuine rather than theatrics) and hates its pro-blood audience (and wants us to hate them too); Highly Offensive Scene: two women are nearly abducted and raped and the movie brushes it away as if it is a mere glitch in their evening out
PRIME CUT (1972)
E FIRST VIEWING
d: Michael Ritchie
CAST: Lee Marvin; Gene Hackman; Sissy Spacek; Gregory Walcott
> as the opening credits roll, you see a failed hitman being turned into sausages... the film never rises above that level of ugly; Lee plays the nice killer / good badguy who is after the bad badguy played by Gene (if the roles had been reversed, there mighta been a chance); all takes place in Hicksville Kansas, surrounded by cows, wheat and sunflowers; the chases & shootouts are tensionless & ineffectually-elongated, and even the combine-harvester-as-murder-weapon scene isn't as striking as it should be; side-business of orphan girls being raised as flesh-fodder for rich farmers just adds to the awfulness; Sissy contributes a ray of sunshine as an enslaved moonchild; still just hideous though, complete with sugary ending
Go something you want to tell me?
GO RIGHT AHEAD: masted59@gmail.com
20th CENTURY WOMEN (2016)
d: Mike Mills
CAST: Annette Bening; Lucas Jade Zumann; Elle Fanning; Greta Gerwig; Billy Crudup
> comedy-drama about relationships that, for once, is actually both wise and entertaining; set in 1979 (my personal fave year...turned 20...finished college...got a job...got a car...The Clash ruled...I had hair...), Annette is a bohemian-minded single mum struggling to raise a 15 year old boy...so she turns to her (mainly younger female) friends for help; film structure fills you in on everybody's pasts and futures whilst observing their presents, and they are all decent but flawed people, like you & me; quite moving in parts and many of the situations will chalk up recognition in anyone who has made it past 50; you'll enjoy getting to know these people
Award-Worthy Performance
Annette Bening
THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD (2007)
d: Andrew Dominik
CAST: Brad Pitt; Casey Affleck; Sam Rockwell; Sam Shepard; Jeremy Renner
> attributes I missed or dismissed first round grabbed me by the shirtfront this time (especially the gorgeous dialogue...poetic & vaguely surreal...I can't entirely believe it is of its time but it adds richness); the choice of cinematic shots are luscious and worthy of being adorned with one of my-usually-most-avoided words...Art; this was my first Casey film and his performance and its basis kept recalling the twistedness of Mark Chapman; a melancholy American Western made by an Australian which contributes to and expands the genre
Award-Worthy Performance
Casey Affleck
DARK CITY (1950)
d: William Dieterle
CAST: Charlton Heston; Lizabeth Scott; Dean Jagger; Ed Begley; Jack Webb; Henry Morgan
> nifty little crime movie which goes off in an unexpected direction and becomes a paranoiac-thriller; Charlton & Ed & Jack & Henry are two-bit crims running a bookie joint...it gets raided...they need money...they cheat a goodguy sap at cards...then it gets really interesting; while Charlton is mildly impressive as a wiseguy toughie with commitment issues and Lizabeth is his main squeeze (a nightclub singer, natch), it is the support cast who really lift this tale above the mundane (and it's curious to see Jack & Henry together like this just before they entered TV's Dragnet); William pushes things along at a fair old pace and for once, the soundtrack music doesn't sledgehammer the suspense into you; good stuff
BLAST OF SILENCE (1961)
d: Allen Baron
CAST: Allen Baron; Molly McCarthy; Larry Tucker
> impressive low-low-low budget up-close-and-personal film about a hitman hired to kill some guy in New York and, of course, it goes wrong and becomes the assassin's last job; the incessant narrative is by great character actor Lionel Stander and this time the device doesn't annoy...in fact, it works more like the voice of Christmas Future, letting us (and the killer) know that it's all rigged against him...his inevitable comeuppance is finally here; while the all-he-needs-is-love premise is a bit much (he's a shit, pure and simple), it's compensated for by some snappy scenes (the first burst of violence is a shocker) and interesting camera placement and settings (the final scene was filmed in a real hurricane!); appropriately quite brutal with no attempt to make the killer seem cool...just cold
THE AFFAIRS OF CELLINI (1934)
d: Gregory La Cava
CAST: Fredric March; Constance Bennett; Frank Morgan; Fay Wray; Louis Calhern
> uh oh...a 1934 Hollywood sex-comedy set in 16th Century Florence; well, much to my surprise, it's quite funny and fun...sort of A Midsummer Night's Dream meets The Borgias; Frank plays the Duke who lusts after dimwitted Fay and Constance plays the Duchess who lusts after philandering Fred...but, of course, appearances must be maintained so secrecy from each other is the goal; Frank (nobody does dithering and flustered like Frank Morgan!) gets most of the laughs and steals the show, but Fay is surprisingly amusing as the birdbrain stunner; proceedings only sag when Fred & Connie get too serious and lovey-dovey
Award-Worthy Performances
Frank Morgan; Fay Wray
WONDER WOMAN (2017)
d: Patty Jenkins
CAST: Gal Gadot; Chris Pine; David Thewlis; Robin Wright; Danny Huston
> yay! it's pretty good!; what instantly makes the difference are the differences... the WWI setting & the ancient history flourishes & (my personal fave) the slow-mo bits which enable you to see what is going on when the camera becomes too mobile during action scenes; about 20 minutes too long as usual and Diana's invisible jet is nowhere to be seen (sorry... unavoidable); the fight scenes are quite spectacular (especially the early Amazons with arrows 'n' spears battling the German swine with guns 'n' bombs); acting is serviceable and Gal is spot on as the warrior princess (and check out her industrial-strength-airbrushed armpits!) although I question David's appropriateness... what's with the moustache?; well done DC Cinematic Universe Honchos...phew! you dodged a bullet
WHAT'S UP, DOC? (1972)
d: Peter Bogdanovich
CAST: Barbra Streisand; Ryan O'Neal; Madeline Kahn; Kenneth Mars; Austin Pendleton
> movie that tries hard to be Bringing Up Baby and The Lady Eve but ends up dwindling into It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World...and, as such, scores some genuine laughs along with some genuine thuds; biggest weakness is that Ryan just is not even remotely in Cary Grant's league and too often looks like he needs the cardiac paddles; still, everyone gives it that ol' college try, and the supporting cast is sprinkled with memorable comedic performances and bits of business; the climactic slapstick sequence is straight out of Buster Keaton / Laurel & Hardy and the regular references to the classic Warner Bros cartoons are fitting; taps the funny bone if you're not too discerning
NO DOWN PAYMENT (1957)
d: Martin Ritt
CAST: Joanne Woodward; Sheree North; Jeffrey Hunter; Cameron Mitchell; Barbara Rush; Tony Randall; Patricia Owens; Pat Hingle
> aka White Middle-Class Suffering in Suburbia; 4 couples live next door to each other and promptly interact as if they've been a gang of bosom buddies for years, with the inevitably-disastrous consequences; a lot of the biggies are here: alcoholism & domestic violence & racism & financial hardship & the meaning of manhood & war repatriation & adoption & religion (Christian only, of course) & even rape (which is dealt with appallingly)...wow...all going on right next door; melodramatic suds sloshing about everywhere but the ensemble cast does a mighty fine job in keeping it all relatively tidy but only occasionally affecting; gives ample reasons as to why you shouldn't get to know your neighbours
CHILD'S PLAY (1972)
d: Sidney Lumet
CAST: Robert Preston; James Mason; Beau Bridges
> kept hoping that this would improve on a second viewing, but no; all boys Catholic school (uh-oh) is experiencing increasingly-violent assaults and self-harm among its students; it's the-English-teacher-the-boys-adore Vs the-too-strict-&-old-Latin-teacher-who-they-hate; "The Control Teachers Have Over Young Minds" is a good theme, but this film doesn't really know how to explore it and just turns hysterical instead; James gives a beautiful performance (as usual) as the crumbling old fart; the ending just comes out of nowhere and doesn't really make much sense; it should've been better than this
Award-Worthy Performance
James Mason
LADY IN A JAM (1942)
d: Gregory La Cava
CAST: Irene Dunne; Patric Knowles; Ralph Bellamy; Eugene Pallette
> in The Awful Truth, My Favourite Wife and Anna and the King of Siam, Irene was a sweet-natured charmer who was covertly in charge of her man, stringing him along for the sheer pleasure of it...in LiaJ, she is an annoying manipulator of all around her...you just want to see her suffer more indignities as long as she shuts up about it; she is "supported" by Patric who clearly was what was left after all the other leading men at Universal joined the war effort... wooden & bland & out of his depth; all the comedic pressure therefore falls on the character actors who are either under-utilized or not up to the challenge; a rom-com dud dully directed by Gregory "My Man Godfrey / Stage Door" La Cava...man, did he take a dive with this
KANSAS CITY BOMBER (1972)
d: Jerrold Freedman
CAST: Raquel Welch; Kevin McCarthy; Helena Kallianiotes; Norman Alden
> this roller derby clinker coulda been a pretty good comedy (something Raquel showed flair for a couple of times) but instead goes for sludgy drama which is only occasionally enjoyably trashy: rising star replaces boozed-up hasbeen, sleeps with the boss, gets beaten up by her jealous team mates...but she's gotta keep rollin' for the sake of her kids (and we are expected to accept Jodie Foster as Raquel's daughter...HA!); film obviously suffers from self-image problems (tries to convince us that on-rink violence is genuine rather than theatrics) and hates its pro-blood audience (and wants us to hate them too); Highly Offensive Scene: two women are nearly abducted and raped and the movie brushes it away as if it is a mere glitch in their evening out
PRIME CUT (1972)
d: Michael Ritchie
CAST: Lee Marvin; Gene Hackman; Sissy Spacek; Gregory Walcott
> as the opening credits roll, you see a failed hitman being turned into sausages... the film never rises above that level of ugly; Lee plays the nice killer / good badguy who is after the bad badguy played by Gene (if the roles had been reversed, there mighta been a chance); all takes place in Hicksville Kansas, surrounded by cows, wheat and sunflowers; the chases & shootouts are tensionless & ineffectually-elongated, and even the combine-harvester-as-murder-weapon scene isn't as striking as it should be; side-business of orphan girls being raised as flesh-fodder for rich farmers just adds to the awfulness; Sissy contributes a ray of sunshine as an enslaved moonchild; still just hideous though, complete with sugary ending
Go something you want to tell me?
GO RIGHT AHEAD: masted59@gmail.com
